The Price of Peace   von chelle76
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                             Kapitel 20: Showdown
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I DO NOT own Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs or Sei Jushi Bismarck, they are
owned by their respective animation companies.

The Price of Peace

Chapter 19: Showdown

"Do you think they know we're following them, Saber?" Colt asks as they lie in
wait after landing on an asteroid that seems to be some sort of base.

"They may not know that it is actually us following them, but I'm sure they know
that someone came after them," Saber replies, shifting uncomfortably in his
saddle unit.

"Want me to move?" Amanda asks quietly.

"No," he replies. "I need you to be here."

"Um Saber, several red dots have appeared all over the screen. A dozen or so of
them, and they look to be heading our direction," Amanda says suddenly. "How did
they get so close without me seeing them before?"

"Cloaking, most likely," Saber replies quietly.

"Well, they're here now. And there's a lot of them," Amanda says dryly.

Colt hops into his saddle unit, "Got it, Ms. Amanda. I'm ready for shootin'
practice."

"You're always ready to blast things, Colt," April replies as she hits a series
of buttons and they see several robots heading towards them, along with small
fighter-style ships. "We're a bit outnumbered, Saber."

"Let's setup for challenge phase. I think we stand a better chance that way,"
Saber says.

Fireball nods, "Yeah, I think you're right, Saber. Get ready."

"Amanda, hold onto my waist with your good arm, we're going to shift a little.
I'll keep you from falling, okay?" Saber says as they get ready for battle.
Amanda nods and grabs him firmly and he places an arm around her, to keep her
from shifting too much. "Once we've completed the phase shift, we can resume how
we were sitting."

They enter battle phase and just get repositioned when they are hit with several
blasts, shaking the unit. "They're everywhere!" Amanda says as she struggles to
remain seated without using her injured arm.

"Okay, Colt, start shooting at will!" Saber says as they start fighting three of
the robots and attempting to dodge the fighters.

They manage to knockout about half the robots quickly, only to have more
fighters show up. "They keep coming! I swear they're just multiplying," Amanda
says annoyed.

"We'll get 'em," Colt says confidently.

"We need to do something quickly or they are going to pin us down!" April says.

"I'll try and get us off this rock," Fireball says kicking in the thrusters and
heading towards space.

"We need there to be more of us," Saber says frustrated.

"I can call for reinforcements," April offers.

"They won't get here in time," Saber replies, standing up.

"Where are you going?" April asks.

"To get Steed," he replies heading for the cargo bay.

"Like Hell you are, Saber!" Amanda says forcefully. "You are in no condition to
go out there!" She gets up and stands defiantly in front of him.

Saber starts to say something, but Colt intervenes, "I'll go out in the Bronco
Buster. Saber, you can shoot, right? Especially if Amanda tells you the
direction." Saber nods. "Then cover me. Amanda be his eyes and don't let him
shoot me, got it?"

"Got it, cowboy," Amanda replies and Saber heads to Colt's saddle unit and she
returns to his.

"Amanda, do like you did before, to tell me where to hit, okay?" he states as if
the previous confrontation never happened. "Colt's unit should show up as a blue
dot on the screen."

"You got it," she starts spouting off directions and he begins firing. after
several minutes, they begin to make some headway when they are hit hard and she
is knocked out of the saddle unit and yelps in pain.

"Amanda?" Saber says turning towards her.

She gets up slowly and fights the urge to throw up and sit back in the unit.
Gaining control again she manages to speak, "I'll be fine. Keep shooting. We
need to turn about one hundred and eighty degrees, that last hit came from
behind us." she says through her clinched teeth.

Fireball casts her a worried glance, but sees she is determined and does as she
says. "Okay, what have we got-" he stops mid-sentence as he sees what hit them.

"That thing is huge! What is it?" April asks shocked.

"Some sort of new renegade unit, I think," Fireball says.

"Amanda, you should see a button with a barcode looking symbol on it to your
left. Hit it and see if it tells you any information on your screen," Saber
says.

"Got it," She hits the button and several things pop up onto her screen, "You're
right. It's some new renegade unit. It's a lot stronger than the old ones. It's
a prototype unit and it's firepower is fifty times the old one. It's specialty
is close-range combat and has a single pilot unit." An alarm starts beeping and
Amanda gasps as something pops up on her screen,"It's locking in on us!"

"Fireball, can you get us away from it, quickly," Saber says urgently.

"Already on it," he says throwing the ship into full drive and backing away as
quickly as possible. He destroys several fighters in the process, ramming into
them with the ship with it's shields up. "Colt, get out of there!"

"I'm way ahead of you! We'll regroup away from here," Colt replies as they
retreat. They get far enough away that Colt is able to join them again and they
come out of the challenge phase and back to the transport phase of the unit.
"Where do we go from here?"

"Home for now, I suppose," Fireball says.

"They'll only follow us there. Then we'd be putting all of the people on the
ground at risk," Amanda replies, not looking away from the screen.

"She's right. We can't go back until we finish this," Saber confirms as he
returns to Amanda's side.

"They're already trying to track us," Amanda states. "They're a good distance
away, but they are in pursuit of us."

"Well, it looks like we can rest for an hour or two. If we take shifts," April
says glancing to Saber and Amanda. "We can watch for trouble the two of you need
to rest."

"What about you?" Amanda asks.

"I didn't just ram my bad shoulder," April states. "The two of you go and rest.
We can rest here. We'll call for you if something happens."

"Yeah, Colt does it all the time," Fireball quips.

"Hey!" Colt protests getting a laugh from April.

"Perhaps they're right, Amanda. We should rest. They are much better off
physically than we are," Saber says quietly.

Amanda sighs in resignation. "Okay, I suppose you're right. Thank you," she says
getting up slowly. They head to the sleeping area, the doors closing behind
them.

"Do you think he's mad at her?" Fireball asks after a long silence.

"Why?" Colt asks.

"Well, she basically went against him in front of us, and technically he's the
superior officer," Fireball states.

"I think he was mad for a second, but then realized that she was right," April
replies.

"If one of us had said it, he would have probably went off on us," Colt states.

"But he knows that she is speaking from personal knowledge, not as a soldier.
Perhaps that's why he didn't argue back," April states.

They lapse into their own thoughts for a while, taking turns watching for
trouble. "Hey, the ships are starting to get closer again., Fireball states
watching the screen in Saber's unit.

Suddenly the com-screen is activated. "Do we answer it?" April asks.

"I will," Fireball replies and hits the button to connect.

Sean's face appears on the screen. "I should have known it was you people.
Corporal Blue said it would be."

"Corporal Blue?" They all ask in reply.

"Yes, the new leader of the Outriders. Nemesis is dead, and those that survived
have regrouped. You are all marked for death. I will personally take care of
Saber, and as a bonus, I'll get Amanda as well. The rest of you I'm going to
kill just for fun. Perhaps then I can move up in rank in the Outrider regime as
we take over the entire new frontier."

"You really think that the Outriders are gonna let some human join their ranks?"
Colt asks defiantly.

"They have already told me that if I kill all of you, that I will become an
officer," Sean says coldly. "Just the offer is enough motivation to me. They
kept me from being put to death for some heinous so-called crime that is really
a personal matter. I never should have been charged in the first place."

"You tried to rape Amanda! That is a crime," Colt says fighting back anger.

"She should have not fought me and done as she was ordered. It wouldn't have
been rape then and none of this would have happened," he says simply. "But that
time is gone. She will learn that you don't make a fool of me. I'll kill you,
then I'll go after them." He closes the connection and suddenly more ships
appear and start gaining on them.

"He doesn't know that they're on this ship! We hopefully can use that to our
advantage," Fireball states.

"They're gaining on us. We need to get them back here to help," April says
getting up and heading for the sleeping quarters. The doors open and she almost
runs into them.

"We were listening from here. He doesn't know we're here. Let's use that to our
advantage," Saber says as they head to his unit as Fireball jumps out and heads
to his own.

"Ready to go to Challenge Phase?" Fireball asks.

"Saber?" April says glancing his direction, "Should we try the challenge phase
2?"

Saber looks over to her with a surprised look, "We've not tried it before. Are
you sure it's a good idea to do so now?"

"I know it's a risk, but that renegade unit out guns us in the phase we're used
to. While we were all out of commission, I had a few upgrades done. We'll have
stronger armor and more firepower. It will also have a bladed weapon, well a
laser-type sword. So if needed, you can take control of that, Saber."

"Where..how...how did you manage to get all of that done?" he asks completely
astonished.

"I was bored while you were still in a coma, and not being able to do a whole
lot, I had some time to think. I came up with some rough schematics, and the
rest was taken care of by the development team. Why do you think they're having
a hard time training people to fly this thing?" she says with a smile.

Saber shakes his head, "Let's try this out then. Ready, Fireball?"

"You got it. Entering Challenge Phase 1," he says as he hits the button and
activates the challenge phase. "Now what?"

"Hit the button again and it should turn blue," April says watching her
screens.

He does as instructed and hits the button again and the phase activates. After
the transformation, they can see that the blaster from before is different. It
has a stronger setting and that several other beams are able to be fired. Next
to where the blaster is stowed is a sheath for the sword. "Let's stop them
before they have time to figure this out," Colt says. "I'm itchin' to try out
the new guns."

"Let's face Sean head-on," Saber says. "I don't think he'd expect a head-on
attack."

"You got it," Fireball says as he turns the ship towards Sean's unit.

"We have a dozen or so fighters heading right for us!" Amanda says. "I don't
think they like that we're coming back to them."

"I see them," Colt replies as he starts shooting.

"Let's try the chest cannons," Saber says. "Perhaps we can wipe out several at
once."

"Roger that!" Colt replies and fires the cannons. Suddenly about six ships
disappear from the screen.

"Looks like you're making headway. I just lost six dots from the screen., Amanda
states. "Four more coming at us at two o'clock!"

Colt fires and they are wiped out, "Just a few more."

"Four o'clock and eleven o'clock, Cowboy." Amanda says.

Colt fires and they disappear.

"Let's go for Sean now," Saber says coldly.

"Right." Fireball replies. "Amanda?"

"One o'clock, Fireball. And he's closing in really fast."

"Then let's get him first," Colt says pulling out the blaster and firing.

It makes a solid hit and knocks him back a bit. Sean's unit stops and pulls out
a laser beamed sword.

Colt fires again and the shot is deflected back towards them. "Evade!" he yells
as Fireball struggles to move the unit fast enough.

"Hit the purple button next to the phase button!" April says and they are hit,
but it activates a shield that softens the blow. "Now, we will need to try the
sword. I'm going to shift weapons control to Saber's unit. We can't fire at him
and risk another deflection. By using the sword, we activate the phase shift
armor that will deflect laser weapons without depleting our power. Amanda, can
you sit behind Saber so that he can reach the controls, and still see well
enough to guide him visually?"

"I'll try," Amanda moves so that she is on her knees behind Saber, sort of
bracing herself between him and the back of his unit.

Saber takes the controls, "Ready, April." She shifts the controls and he grabs
the sword, activating the phase shift armor. A couple of fighters start firing,
but the shots are deflected and one of them is hit and blows up. Sean continues
his approach and swings first. Saber evades the attack and slashes back towards
him as they pass one another. He misses and turns around, ready for a second
shot. Sean launches forward attacking head on.

"He's coming right at us, can you duck down and roll him over us?" Amanda asks.

"I'll try. Say when," Saber replies.

"Ready...Now!"

Saber ducks down and reaches up, throwing the other unit off balance and tossing
it behind him. They turn and are on him quickly, sword ready to strike. Sean's
unit tries to right itself, but they stab through the unit and then pull back,
severely damaging it. He manages to get up and tries to lunge for them.

"Nine o'clock!" Amanda says, and Saber swings hard with the laser sword, slicing
the unit in half. It falls to a planet not far below, catching fire as it
returns to orbit. "It's burning up in the atmosphere of that planet."

"Follow it, Fireball. I want to know he's dead," Saber says coldly.

"Got it," he turns the ship and they follow the unit down, landing near the
craters it created when it crashed.

"I'm going out," Saber says and stands up.

"Not without me," Amanda says getting up behind him. Saber starts to protest,
"I've been hurt by him too. You are not the only one he's threatened, Saber,"
she states firmly meeting his gaze.

He nods. "You're wearing a suit that April gave you, correct?" he asks quietly.

"Yes. It has a helmet, so I can breathe if the atmosphere is different. My sword
is attached. I am coming with you."

Saber sighs and nods. "Let's go. We'll take Steed. I'll help you on," he says
deciding it best not to waste time arguing with her.

April lowers the ramp and they descend on Steed. Approaching the crater, they
are almost immediately fired on. They manage to evade the shot and get behind
some nearby rocks. They dismount.

"Looks like we're better on foot," Amanda says quietly.

"So you were the one fighting me, Saber. I should have known you would be on
that ship," Sean says coldly. "Too bad you didn't finish me off. I'll kill you
and whoever else is with you on that ship. Then I'll find that woman and kill
her too, after I get what I want from her."

"You won't be leaving here today," Saber says stepping out from behind a rock,
sword in hand. "Nor will I be killed."

"That's what you think. It's a shame that you're so misguided. You would have
enjoyed the life I've led. You could have had any number of women," Sean says as
he lunges to attack.

Saber parries the attack and they fight back and forth for a while. "I don't
need any number of women. One is quite enough for me," Saber retorts as they
fight.

"She only wants you for your money. She's not like us," Sean says as he gains
the upper hand.

Saber is starting to tire, but presses on. "Actually, she's from an old French
Family, not that it matters," he swings again, managing to land a hit on Sean.

Sean grimaces in pain, but sees Saber wearing down. "A few more minutes and
you're dead, Rider," Sean says as Saber trips and hits the ground, dropping his
sword. He goes to finish him off when he feels a sharp pain in his back and sees
a point come from his chest and drops his sword.

"No Sean, you're dead. This ends now," Amanda says coldly as she pulls her sword
back out and Sean drops to the ground as Saber manages to roll out of the way.
She kicks Sean's sword away from him and he gasps for air, blood trickling from
his mouth as he collapses on the ground. She goes to Saber's side. "Are you all
right?" she asks concerned.

He nods slowly in reply. "Did you?" he manages to ask.

She looks to where Sean is lying on the ground and nods, "He's dead," she
replies barely audible.

"We need to get back to the ship," Saber says as he stands up slowly. "Can you
make it?"

"Yeah," she replies quietly and slowly stands up, wincing in pain as she does
so. "Let's go."

Saber grabs Sean's sword and they make their way back to the ship, Steed along
side them. They enter the control room and everyone looks at them expectantly.
"He's dead," Saber says to the unasked question and goes and plops down in his
saddle unit, setting Sean's sword on the floor at his feet.

Amanda walks over beside him, "May I go and lie down?" she asks barely audible.
He nods and she turns and heads to the sleeping area without another word. She
removes the helmet and the sword and collapses on the bed crying.

The four of them sit in silence as they take off. "Are we going to your place?"
Fireball asks after a while.

Saber nods. "I would assume so," he replies quietly.

They begin heading towards Saber's home and after several minutes Colt speaks
up, "So how did you kill him?"

"I didn't," Saber replies simply. "He was about to kill me and Amanda..." The
others gasp in shock.

"Is she all right?" Colt asks.

"I don't know. I think she's in shock," Saber replies.

"We'll be okay here. Why don't you go and see about her," April says quietly.

"Thank you," he replies as he gets up and heads to the back.

The doors close behind him and Colt lets out a low whistle. "I can't believe
it," he says a hint of admiration and shock in his voice.

"I think Saber is shocked too," Fireball replies.

"She killed that thug that was shooting at them before. Didn't she?" Colt asks.

"Yeah, but that I don't think was entirely on purpose," April states.

"This time she did it on purpose to save Saber," Fireball says.

"Wow. I'm not sure Robin would have had the guts to do such a thing. Even under
those circumstances," Colt says.

"Amanda has been a bit different from the start. I just hope she's okay. She
looked pretty upset," April says.

"She just killed a man. How would you feel after killing someone?" Colt asks.

They fly in silence for a while. "Should someone try and contact Commander
Eagle?" Fireball asks breaking the silence.

"I'll do it," April says and heads over to Saber's unit to make the call.

Saber enters the sleeping area and heads to his quarters. He hears Amanda crying
and heads to her. Sitting beside her he places an arm around her, being careful
of her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Love," he finally says quietly. "I'm sorry for
bringing you into this."

She tries to force herself to stop crying and manages to sit up and face him.
Her face is tear-stained and her eyes red from crying. She looks at his face and
sees the concern he has and lays her head against his chest. He pulls her closer
and kisses her forehead. "I know I shouldn't be upset like this. I'm sorry," she
says barely audible.

Saber sighs, "Amanda, Love, you have every right to be upset. You have faced so
much since you've met me. You have killed someone protecting me. I would have
died had I gone out alone as I intended to do. I owe you my life. I am sorry
that it came to this. That you were put in the position of having to make the
conscious decision to kill another human being," Saber replies.

She looks up and him and shakes her head, her hands are shaking and tears are
still falling down her face, "Saber, I would do it again if it meant saving you.
I would probably do it again to save anyone of your friends, to be honest." He
goes to say something and she places a finger to his lips, "Will I consciously
make the decision to kill again? I hope I never have to, but if it came down to
protecting the people I care about, I would do it."

Saber nods and runs a finger across her face, stopping the tears momentarily. "I
am here, if you need to talk, or just want someone to cry against, okay?" he
says and she nods and snuggles against him.

"Thank you," She says as he holds her gently rocking her to try and calm her.
She suddenly realizes that he's rocking her and chuckles.

"What's so funny?" he asks confused.

"You're rocking me," she replies quietly.

He stops and chuckles, "I didn't realize it. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I just thought it was kinda funny," she takes a few breaths and
manages to calm down almost completely. "I wonder what the others are talking
about right now."

"Probably wondering if you're going to be all right. They were all shocked when
I told them what happened."

"Am I going to go to jail for this?" she asks suddenly.

"Why would you think something like that, Amanda?"

"Because I murdered a human being," she replies, her voice breaking a bit.

He shakes his head, "No Love, you will not go to jail. You killed a man that
threatened your life and has tried on more than one occasion to take it. At the
time you killed him, he was going to kill me, so you did it to save me, if
nothing else. He had already been sentenced to death for his crimes, you just
saved Calvary Command the manpower of doing it themselves. No one would dare
convict you, even if they tried to prosecute you. And believe me, they won't.
Commander Eagle knew that we would kill him, that's why he let us go after him,"
Saber replies seriously.

"I can only imagine his reaction to how this played out. I hope he isn't in too
much trouble for letting us take this ship," Amanda says quietly.

"I'm sure he can handle himself," Saber replies and he holds her close. "Would
you like to lay down and rest a bit? I should go and see where we are going from
this point."

"May I come along?" she asks hesitantly.

"Of course. Why would you think otherwise?"

"I wasn't sure how they would act after..."

"Trust me. They are fine with it, Love. Colt seemed rather impressed," he adds
with a chuckle. "Although we should have your sword cleaned properly when we
return home."

Amanda nods. "Okay. Let's go and see what they're doing then. Maybe we can go
home and rest," she says. They get up and head back out to the control room.

"Yes. Sean is dead. I don't want to give you the details over a com connection.
We are heading back towards you," April says.

"How are they doing?" the commander asks.

"We're as good as can be expected, sir," Saber replies, walking carefully up to
his unit. April moves so that Saber can be seen, Amanda hangs back behind him a
bit.

The commander nods, "I want a full report when you return."

"Yes sir," Saber replies quietly. "We shall see you soon." The connection
terminates and Amanda comes up beside him silently.

April comes over and places a hand gently on her good shoulder, "You did the
right thing, Amanda. You were brave. It's never easy to take a life. I just hope
you never have to make that decision again."

Amanda looks up to meet her gaze, struggling to not break down, she nods
slightly. "Thank you," she manages to whisper.

"We're about forty-five minutes out. If you want, you can rest, Amanda,"
Fireball says.

"I'd like to sit out here, if it's okay. I'm afraid if I lay back down, I'd
sleep for days," she replies.

"Sure. You're welcome to be out here with us anytime you wish. You should know
that we were all impressed that you were able to do what you did. So please
don't feel like we fear you or something. We don't," Fireball says, trying to
help her feel better.

Amanda nods and goes and sits beside Saber. "We'll be home soon," Saber says
quietly into her ear and takes her hand.

They go the rest of the way in silence and land as close as they can to Saber's
property. They are met by a group of soldiers and several vans. They load up and
arrive at the estate a short time later, greeted by Commander Eagle and Elaine.
They head into the house and stop suddenly when they see General Whitehawk
waiting for them in the sitting room.

"Sir!" The four say and salute him, Amanda hanging back a bit.

He returns the gesture and nods, "Please, sit down. We have a lot to discuss,"
the general says.

They glance nervously to each other, but each take a seat. Robin hears them
arrive and comes down the stairs and rushes to Colt, who hugs her briefly. "We
need to discuss what's happened Robin, perhaps you should go to the kitchen or
back upstairs. Some of it isn't pleasant," Colt says quietly.

Robin glances to the others and notices how tired everyone looks and nods. "I'll
be in the kitchen," she replies quietly as she gets up and leaves.

They all sit in silence, no one wanting to be the one to open the discussion.
Finally, the general speaks up after studying the faces of the people before
him. "Commander Eagle tells me that Mr. McCully has been dealt with. Is that
correct?" he asks.

"He is dead, sir," Saber replies quietly.

"He was sentenced to die anyways for the crimes against you, Captain, among
other crimes. So despite the way you and your crew went about it, I suppose you
did us a favor," the general replies.

"So we aren't in trouble?" Colt asks confused.

"That all depends, Mr. Wilcox. I need to know exactly what happened, and how Ms.
Kelly, whom I presume you to be," he says looking towards Amanda who nods
slightly, "ended up on the ship with you."

Saber sighs, trying to think of how to begin his explanation. "Amanda and I
arrived for the sentencing I guess it's been three days ago now. We entered the
courtroom and things progressed normally. All of us were there, the commander,
April, Colt, Fireball myself, and Amanda. The others were sentenced and led
away, then it was his turn. Sean was sentenced and was being led away when the
Outriders attacked. He was in the process of escaping, but stopped to tell me
that no matter where I was, that he would find Amanda and myself and he would
make us pay. I took that as a direct threat, sir. April, Fireball, and Colt
jumped up to go after him, but he had already vanished with the Outriders. That
is when Commander Eagle told them to take the Bismarck. I told him I was going
with them and he said to go to my estate and we'd regroup there. All of us went
to the ship. Amanda stayed with me, I felt it was safer to keep her near me, in
the event of a direct attack on us, her life had also been threatened by Sean.
Once in the air, we got a fix on the Outrider's ship, so instead of going
directly to my place, we followed the ship. April had a spare suit that fit
Amanda, so she helped her change, so that she could be somewhat protected if we
were attacked. Amanda has no formal military training, I'm sure by now you are
aware of that fact. She acted as my eyes, relaying after some instruction what
was on the screens. We fought a couple of different times with some fighters and
renegade units. Then we entered the Challenge phase 2, something we had not done
before. The unit that Sean was piloting was a good bit stronger, so it gave us
no choice but to do so to even our chances. We fought, and ended up slicing his
unit into two parts. It fell thorough the orbit of the planet below us and
crashed, making two craters in some mountainous terrain. We followed it down and
landed, I decided I would go out to be sure he was dead. Amanda insisted on
coming along. Trust me, I know better that to argue with her on certain points,
and this was one of them. We took Steed and landed close to one of the craters
and we dismounted. Almost immediately we were fired upon. After trading fire
with Sean for a bit of time, I engaged him in combat with my sword. We fought
quite a while, each gaining an advantage at some point. He then managed to
disarm me and just as he was about to kill me, Amanda impaled him from behind,
he dropped to the ground and died fairly quickly. She saved my life, sir. We
then took his sword and returned to the ship, where we contacted Commander Eagle
and then returned here," Saber says recalling the recent events.

There is a stunned silence for several minutes as the two commanding officers
process the information presented to them. Finally General Whitehawk manages to
find his voice, "So none of you that were trained formally were the one to take
his life?" several heads shake no in reply. He looks to Amanda, "And how is it
that you came to have a sword, Ms. Kelly?"

"It was a gift from Saber, sir." she replies quietly not looking up from her
hands on her lap. "He taught me to fence and had decided I was good enough to
receive one. I wear it openly, it is not concealed," she says nervously. Saber
reaches for her hand and squeezes it gently, trying to calm her nervousness.

General Whitehawk looks between them, "What is the nature of your relationship
with Captain Rider, Ms. Kelly?"

"We are engaged, sir." she replies daring a glance to him.

"Is this true, Captain?" the general asks.

"Yes sir," Saber replies.

General Whitehawk shakes his head and smiles slightly, "Don't worry, Ms. Kelly,
you will not be prosecuted for any wrongdoing. You acted in defense of your life
and Captain Rider's. For willingly risking your life to save his, we could
easily give you a medal. Not many would so boldly face the danger that you did
in going after Mr. McCully as you did."

"I don't think we could have restrained her, sir," Colt says with a smirk. "She
is not afraid to tell Saber he can't do something if she believes it would
endanger him."

The general nods, hiding a smile, "I'm sure Captain Rider can handle himself."

"I would not be here now were it not for Amanda. I have no qualms in saying
that. It is good to have someone that is not afraid to speak their mind to me.
Just as she knows I will speak my mind to her," Saber replies.

Commander Eagle stands up and looks over them, "I think all of you can do with
some rest. Why don't you make your way upstairs and lie down. We can come and
get you once the food is ready."

"Dinner won't be for a couple of hours," Elaine says as she comes into the room
from the kitchen. "If you wish something before that, let me know and I'll fix
you something."

Colt gets up and heads upstairs, followed by April and Fireball. Saber and
Amanda hang back, watching them leave.

Commander Eagle comes over and studies Amanda's face. "Are you all right, Ms.
Kelly? You look rather pale," he asks concerned.

Amanda looks up startled momentarily. "Um, yes...yes sir. I'm all right," she
replies hesitantly. "I'm in a good deal of pain, but I'll be okay."

"I want you both to know that I knew you'd go after him, given the opportunity.
I am glad that he can no longer threaten either of you,"Commander Eagle says
looking between them. They nod in agreement. "I also want you to know Ms. Kelly,
that I admire your resolve throughout this ordeal. You would have made a good
soldier."

Amanda smiles weakly, "Thank you, sir. I know that coming from you that is
indeed a compliment. Oh, and if it's all the same to you, please call me
Amanda."

The commander nods, "I'll try and remember that, Amanda," he replies with a
smile.

"What will we do about Jesse and the Outriders, sir?" Saber asks quietly. "Once
they know what happened with Sean, they could very well attack at any time."

Commander Eagle nods, "A valid point, Saber. I have sort of commandeered your
property, Amanda. It is just charred land anyways, and you were otherwise
occupied. We have set up a temporary command outpost on your property. It is
large enough to support a large number of troops and there is enough land to
enable ships to come and go a few at a time."

"Calvary Command will pay you nicely for the use of the property, we are not
taking it from you outright," General Whitehawk adds. "Seeing as nothing about
this situation is normal, we took an abnormal approach to getting the land we
needed. We will be keeping the Bismarck here, as the only people who can fly it
are you and your team, Captain Rider."

"I beg your pardon sir, but I have not been even remotely cleared for duty, and
given my lack of sight, I doubt that I will be. The others should be fine, but I
don't see how I can continue as the Captain of the Bismarck." Saber replies.

"Just as you have these past few day, Saber," the general replies with a
chuckle. "That is if Ms. Kelly is willing to accompany you and your crew."

Amanda nods, "If he is needed and wants to fight, then I will go with him. At
least until you can train someone to replace him."

"The two of you seem to work well together, so if something comes up before we
can get someone else prepared to fly with the Bismarck, then I am relieved to
know that you are willing to help and from what I've heard, you will be an
asset," he replies.

"Sir, if she is willing to fight, then shouldn't she be instated somehow?" Saber
asks hesitantly.

"He has a point, General. If we are asking her to willingly take such risks, she
should be instated as a proper soldier, just as Mr. Hikari and Mr. Wilcox were
those years ago," Commander Eagle states.

General Whitehawk nods, "You would be correct, Saber. Give me until the morning
to work out the legalities and we shall do something first thing tomorrow."

"Yes, sir. Thank you," Saber says and then turns to Amanda., "Shall we go and
make an attempt at lying down?"

"Could we get a snack first? I need to take something for pain, but I need to
eat something," Amanda replies, obviously tired and in pain.

Saber nods, "Let's go into the kitchen and see if Elaine can help us find
something." They get up and head into the kitchen.

"Well sir, what is your feeling on this situation?" Commander Eagle asks after
Saber and Amanda leave.

"I'm actually impressed by her. I think considering everything that you've told
me that has happened, she has one very strong resolve to still be here," the
general answers honestly.

"Perhaps it hasn't completely sunk in yet that she has killed Mr. McCully, "
Commander Eagle replies.

"I think it has. Her eyes show more than she wants us to know. But I also can
see why Saber is attracted to her. She is strong willed, and she won't
compromise her personal beliefs for anyone. I wish she had been a soldier, she
would have made a good one. She will make a good one, even if for a brief time,"
General Whitehawk states and pauses, "She has had surgery on her shoulder,
correct?"

"Yes, a few weeks ago. But I believe she may have re injured it during the
pursuit of Mr. McCully. She seems to be in a lot of pain. We should have a
doctor look at it." Commander Eagle says.

" Do you still have her information from where you had hired her as Saber's
assistant?" General Whitehawk asks.

"Yes, sir I do," the commander replies opening up his laptop. He searches
through some files before opening up her file. "Here we go. Kelly, Amanda G. Age
23, Female... This should be all we need to make an EBU and such for her," he
says as he continues typing.

Elaine looks up as Saber and Amanda enter the kitchen and comes over to them, "I
was so worried when I'd heard what happened. I'm glad you both made it home
safely."

Saber places a hand on Elaine's shoulder, "I'm glad we made it back too. If
Amanda hadn't been there, I wouldn't have made it," Saber says quietly.

Elaine looks over to Amanda and sees her expression and hugs her gently, "Oh, I
know you have been through it, but things will be better." Elaine says. "Maybe
you two should go on and get married," she adds as almost an afterthought.

"What?" Saber and Amanda say simultaneously.

"You both are obviously committed to each other, why not just do it?" Elaine
states. "Perhaps even Commander Eagle or the General could marry you."

"What brought this on, Elaine?" Saber asks surprised.

Elaine looks down, "I overheard everything about what happened. I know how Sean
died," she says quietly looking to Amanda, who looks away nervously. "I figure
he got what he deserved. And that if she is willing to do that to save you, then
you should just go on and get married. You would not find another woman that
would go through what she has and still be with you. Your Mother and Father
would have been honored for you to be with such a woman."

Saber looks shocked for a moment then glances to Amanda, who is sitting there
staring at Elaine with a look of shock on her face, "Amanda?"

"I'm all right. I'm not against the idea, but I don't want you to feel -"

He chuckles, "Amanda, I would have eloped with you the day we were teasing Colt.
I want to be with you for the rest of my life. I owe you my life. If you are
willing to get married, then I will gladly do it whenever you wish. Be it sooner
or later," Saber says.

Amanda looks at him and smiles. "I would have married you that day too, Saber.
I'm not opposed to the idea of getting married sooner rather than later. I would
at least like a day to rest and maybe get a nicer dress than what I have. Oh,
and a shower," she adds with a smirk.

"Ah, you're no fun," Saber replies with a grin. They eat a light snack and talk
a bit more. "Perhaps I should go and ask Commander Eagle or General Whitehawk if
either one of them could marry us, if you have no objections, Love."

"None at all, Saber," Amanda replies stifling a yawn.

He smiles and kisses her forehead. "Perhaps we should rest first. And ask them
after while," he suggests.

"I'll be all right for a few more minutes. I think it would be fair to give them
some time to think about it. So let's go ahead and ask them, then we can go and
rest for a while," Amanda replies.

Saber nods. "Okay, let's go and ask them then," he says as he takes her hand and
they head back to the sitting room. The two men look up as they enter.

"I thought that you two would be out cold by now," Commander Eagle says as they
approach.

"We'd like to ask a favor, sir," Saber replies a bit hesitantly.

"I'll do what I can, what do you need?" Commander Eagle says looking between
them.

"We were wondering if either you, or General Whitehawk could marry us?" Saber
replies, looking between the two men.

General Whitehawk casts a knowing look to the commander and smiles, "How soon
were you wishing to be married, Saber?"

"Perhaps as early as tomorrow evening, but most likely a couple of days, sir,"
Saber replies.

"I would like to have time to get a nice dress, sir. The nicer dresses I had
were destroyed when my property was burned," Amanda says quietly.

"Given all of the uncertainty of our current situations, we just want to go
ahead and get married. Everyone that I'd want here is here," Saber says.

"And I have no family to invite, so everyone I'd ask is here as well," Amanda
adds.

The commander and the general look to each other and nod. "I think we can
arrange it, Saber. I will perform the ceremony whenever you wish. I would like
to have enough time to get my dress uniform to do so," General Whitehawk says
with a smile.

"Thank you, sir. Both of you," Saber says sincerely. "I think we shall go and
rest now. We'll see you later."

"Go and rest. We'll work on arrangements with Thomas and Elaine and get with you
once you've had time to rest," Commander Eagle says as Saber and Amanda head
upstairs.

About an hour later, everyone save for Saber and Amanda are downstairs talking
and eating dinner. "Shouldn't we go and get them?" April asks.

"No. Let them rest. They were down here with us for quite some time after the
rest of you went to lie down," Commander Eagle replies.

"Why? I know they had to be exhausted," April asks.

"We were talking about things. Including what to do if the Outriders attack and
we still don't have another crew that can pilot the Bismarck."

"And what was decided?" Fireball asks in between bites.

"That we will be instating Amanda as an official member of your crew. She will
do as she did during this last outing and basically serve as Saber's eyes. The
only difference is she will now be sanctioned to be there," Commander Eagle
replies.

Colt nearly spits out his drink. "Seriously?" he asks in surprise.

"Do you have a problem with that, Mr. Wilcox?" the general asks.

"No sir. I'm just surprised that she agreed to do it."

"She was a bit hesitant, but she told us that if the need arises and that if
Saber is needed, she will accompany him as she did this time. I am working on
getting her an EBU put together as we speak. I have only met Ms. Kelly today,
but from the stories that I have heard and they way Saber is with her, I feel
confident that I am making a good call," General Whitehawk states.

"You are sir. She has my admiration for what she's done. It's not too many that
can tell Saber off and live, nor is it often that a woman would willingly go
into danger to help protect you. I'm sure my face was priceless when I found out
that she was the one who killed Sean, and did it to save Saber's life," Colt
replies honestly.

"Oh, do each of you have your dress uniforms here?" the general asks.

"Yes sir. We do. We just need to have them cleaned. Why?" Fireball asks.

"You may need them in the next couple of days. So see that they get cleaned and
are ready to be used by tomorrow evening," he replies and gets up from the
table.

"Father, what is going on?" April asks.

"You'll find out as soon as we know something for sure. We have already spoken
to Saber, so he knows to be sure that his is clean as well," he says. "I've got
a few things that I am looking into. I'll be in my room if anyone needs me," he
says before getting up and heading upstairs.

"I wonder what's going on?" April asks to no one in particular.

"Maybe they're gonna give Amanda some sort of medal or something," Colt replies.
"She did save Saber's life during a battle."

"Well, we'd need the dress uniforms for that. That's probably what it is,"
Fireball says.

Saber is lying awake after a few hours of sound sleep, replaying the past few
days events over in his mind. Repeatedly he sees where Sean gains the upper hand
in their fight and the smug look he has as he's about to end it. Then the look
of shock when he's stabbed from behind. Saber then spots Amanda and realizes
what has happened. He recalls the look of shock and fear on her face. It's then
he realizes that he was actually able to see clearly, in those few moments and
sighs running a hand over his face. He feels Amanda tense up against him in her
sleep. She seems restless and he instinctively holds her tighter. He then
realizes that she's crying and he shakes her gently, "Amanda?" he whispers and
she stirs a little. "Wake up, Love it's only a dream." She stirs a bit more and
her eyes pop open and she looks terrified. He holds her tightly and kisses her
head. "It's okay, Love. It's over," he whispers trying to calm her.

She starts gasping for air, then suddenly seems to realize where she is and
relaxes a bit. She sees the concern on Saber's face and presses her head against
his chest and starts sobbing. "I'm sorry. I...I..."

"Shhh. Shhh. It's all right," he says quietly trying to calm her. He holds her
tightly against him, running his fingers through her hair. "I'm sorry, Love."

"It's not your fault, Saber." she finally manages to say after calming down. "I
just keep seeing it over and over. Sean...you...you're fighting and then you
trip and he's about to kill you and I just...reacted. It took me a minute to
even realize what I'd done. My only concern in that moment was protecting you. I
still remember the feeling of the sword piercing him and then pulling it back
out. I don't think I'll ever forget that feeling, no matter how hard I try to."
She lays against him quietly, not sure what else to say.

He nods slightly, "I can imagine. I've not killed a human before, but I've
killed plenty of Outriders, including several that looked human," he says
quietly. "Taking anyone's life is never easy, Amanda. But sometimes it comes
down to the greater good. You or them and that's when you have to make those
hard decisions. I wish I could say that it gets easier, but it doesn't.
Especially if it's a one on one situation. Those are always more personal. I'm
just sorry that you ended up in that situation of having to decide. I never
wanted that to happen. I wanted to be the one to protect you," he adds quietly.

Amanda looks up at his face, "You have protected me, many times since we met.
I'm glad I was finally able to return the favor. I just had no idea how bad it
was going to get with him. He was insane, Saber," she says her voice breaking a
bit.

"Yes, indeed he was. Had I known that he was as bad as he was towards women, I
never would have allowed him to come here."

"You had no way of knowing, Saber. It had been years since you'd seen him."

"Aye, but I knew how he had been, and I should have remembered and warned you
and made sure that he knew you were not to be treated as he treated you. "

"Your memories were still a bit muddled. You can't go on blaming yourself for
his actions, Saber. So look at me," she moves so she is looking him directly in
the face, her eyes meeting his, "This is NOT your fault. Got that?" she says
forcefully, poking him in the chest with her fingers.

He manages not to smile much and nods, "Yes ma'am," he replies as seriously as
he can and kisses her. After a minute he pulls back and looks at her. "When
Sean...was about to kill me, just before you stabbed him, I was able to see
clearly for the first time since the accident," he says quietly.

She gasps her eyes widening in shock, "You...you can see again?" she whispers.

He shakes his head. "Not now. By the time we got back to the ship, my vision was
back to the blurred focus and shadows and outlines again. But I wanted you to
know that it happened., he replies quietly. "It's the only time I've seen you
clearly."

She nods slightly. "Thank you for telling me," she replies sounding unsure.

"What's wrong, Love?"

"I'm afraid of what you think now that you've seen me. Especially because of
when you saw me," she replies quietly.

Saber chuckles, "I'm still here aren't I?" she nods. "It's never been about the
physical attraction, Amanda. I love you because of who you are. How you act, not
what you look like." she smiles weakly at him. "Although I do think you're
beautiful," he adds barely above a whisper and she blushes slightly.

She snuggles against him and sighs, finally calming down. "So are we going
through with the wedding then?"

"If that's what you want, I surely won't complain," Saber replies with a smile.

Amanda chuckles, "Then I suppose in the morning we should go into town so I can
get a dress of some sort."

"You don't have to wear a dress, you know? You can be in shorts for all I care,"
Saber replies.

"I want to wear a dress. Not the frilly kind of traditional wedding dress, but
something nice. Especially since the general is doing the ceremony. I figure
you'll be in your dress uniform."

He nods, "Yes. I need to take it with us and see about getting it cleaned. I
suppose the others will want to as well. I guess that means we'll have to tell
them beforehand what we're up to," he replies with a sigh of disappointment.

Amanda laughs, "You weren't going to tell them, huh?"

"I was thinking of waiting until right before to tell them," Saber says
mischievously.

Amanda smiles at him and kisses his cheek, "We still could."

"And just how would we pull that off?" he asks curiously.

"Simple. Tell them that we're going into town and that you're dropping off your
uniform to be cleaned. Ask them if they need anything. If they reply that they
want to drop theirs off as well, we can offer to do it for them. Maybe Elaine
could accompany us, so that I have a female opinion on the dress I choose too.
They won't think anything of us going to town with her to run errands, I don't
think. At least not if Elaine agrees to go."

"You are a devious thing, aren't you?" Saber asks laughing.

"I can be," Amanda replies grinning. "We could talk to Elaine in a bit and see
if she's agreeable to it. If she is, we could make the offer to the others
before bed, so that they have time to get everything out and ready to be dropped
off. Then in the morning get up and leave right after breakfast."

Saber nods, "That could work, if Elaine is amenable to it. What if they require
an escort to accompany us?"

"Are you borrowing trouble?" she asks.

He shakes his head and is about to speak when a knock is heard at the door.
Amanda sighs. "Who is it?" Saber asks loud enough to be heard.

"It's Elaine, Saber," she replies.

"Come in," Saber says as he sits up in the bed.

Elaine comes in and sees them both awake, "Ah, I was just coming to see about
the two of you."

"We were just about to come looking for you, Elaine," Saber replies.

"Oh? What do you need?" Elaine asks taking a seat in the chair beside the bed.

"Well, we wanted to know if the others are aware that we're getting married so
soon," Saber replies.

"No, Commander Eagle told them they need to look into getting their dress
uniforms cleaned because they might need them in a few days, but he wouldn't
commit to what purpose. They have guessed a few things, but not a wedding. Why
do you ask?"

"Well, we would like for you to accompany us into town tomorrow, if possible.
Amanda needs a dress and some other clothes, since she lost a good deal of hers
in that fire, I also need to get my dress uniform cleaned," he replies and turns
to Amanda, "Oh, and I'd like to get wedding bands while we're out if we can find
some we like." Amanda nods.

Elaine smiles, "I think that would be fun. A nice change of pace from the recent
string of events."

"I'd like for you to help me choose a dress, Ms. Elaine. I've not gotten
anything formal in a very long time," Amanda says quietly. "And I could use a
woman's opinion."

"I'd be delighted to, Ms. Kelly." she replies and looks to Saber. "I'll see if
the others would like me to take their uniforms to the cleaners as well, since
we'll be in town anyways. I'll tell them that I have other errands to run and
you two are coming to get out of the house. That way, they hopefully won't
suspect anything. I think the Commander and the General want to surprise them
too." Elaine says smiling.

"I suppose I should go and make some sort of appearance downstairs for the
evening. I probably should mention our plans to Commander Eagle, in case they
have an objection we need to rectify before we leave in the morning." Saber says
as he moves so he can get up. "Do you wish to remain up here, Love? I'd
understand you not wanting to be asked questions right now."

"Please, Ms. Elaine, call me Amanda." she says to Elaine who nods. "I was
thinking that if Elaine wouldn't mind, she could maybe help me shower and find
some fresher clothes. I know I need to have my shoulder re wrapped before we go
out tomorrow anyways. That way, you can do what you need to when you come back
and not have to worry about putting me out. I'll probably be asleep again before
long," Amanda replies.

"I'll help you, Ms. Amanda. That's no trouble at all." Elaine replies.

Saber nods. "All right then, I'll head down stairs and I'll hope to be back up
before you go to sleep." He leans over and kisses her lightly and gets up and
heads downstairs.

Saber is heading down the stairs when he hears his name and stops, turning
around. "Oh, good evening, Commander."

"How's Ms. Kelly?" Commander Eagle asks as they head down the stairs together.

"I think she'll be okay eventually. She was having nightmares a while ago. It
took a bit of talking to calm her down," Saber replies quietly. "I actually was
hoping to find you alone, sir. I wanted to ask you about something."

"What's that?" Commander Eagle asks as they go and sit down.

"In the morning, Amanda and I want to go into town with Elaine, who has a couple
of errands to run. We plan on dropping the my uniform and the others off as well
if they want us to, to be cleaned while we do some running around. Amanda wants
to get some clothes, and a dress. We would also like to go and get rings and
file the appropriate paperwork at the courthouse," Saber replies.

"I'm not sure I like the idea of you going without an escort." the commander
states.

Saber nods. "I figured you would say that, sir. That is why I was going to ask
if either one of the other soldiers could come, or if you could come. I'd like
to keep this low key for as long as possible," he states.

Commander Eagle chuckles, "Don't want Colt to come calling us in a panic
again?"

Saber smiles, "That could be fun...but we'd like to take our time and make a day
of it."

"So you'd want to get married the day after tomorrow then?" the commander asks.

Saber shrugs, "Honestly sir, I'd just as soon go to the courthouse and be done
with it, but because of family tradition I have to go through some sort of
formal ceremony. I would have married her the day we were teasing Colt, but it
wouldn't have been acknowledged by my family then."

"I thought you were the last of your family, Saber."

"Technically, I am. Supposedly I have some far distant cousins that live
elsewhere, but for the family line to remain noble blood, we must uphold certain
traditions. A proper wedding ceremony being one of those traditions. So
depending on how long it takes and how we feel afterwards, we could possibly get
married tomorrow evening."

The commander shakes his head, "I suppose I just don't understand all of this. I
married Natalia just after she was out of high school. We went to the courthouse
and got married as soon as we were both of legal age. We were happy. We
eventually had April. And when Natalia died, it was hard, but I never looked for
anyone else. But to be told your whole life that you are going to marry a
person, just because of who their parents are. I just can't understand it. What
happens to those who don't follow through with the agreement? What if you had
run off and married someone while you were on another colony or something?"

Saber sighs and rubs his hands together, trying to think of how to explain
things, "It would depend on the extenuating circumstances. In my case, Sincia
broke off the engagement because she feared the stigma of being with a disabled
person."

"But you're not disabled, Saber." the commander interrupts.

"But it can be seen as such. I saw it as such at first too, sir. I really
thought my entire life was over when I realized that I'd most likely never see
again," Saber admits quietly. "I was practically suicidal, to be honest. God
knows what I'd have done if I hadn't met Amanda. She has been good for me in
more ways than I could have imagined, and she has suffered immensely for knowing
me," he finishes getting a look of shock from the commander from his admission.

"That is totally circumstantial. You can't dwell on what has happened. Both of
you need to focus on what's ahead. Build your lives together. I honestly never
thought you'd be fulfilling your station as Captain again after the accident,
but evidently being blinded hasn't stopped you too much." Saber goes to speak,
but the commander continues, "I am well aware of how Amanda was on the ship.
From the discussions I've had with the others I know that she understands how
you think and can relate to you without much instruction. She's also not afraid
to tell you that something is beyond your abilities. I think the others admire
that in her. They all seem to be quite taken with her. So yes, things have
turned out quite differently than you planned for your life, but I think it has
overall been for the better, Saber."

Saber nods, "You're right, sir. Things have turned out nothing like I always
thought my life would be. Do I wish I could see? Of course, but in a way I see
things more clearly than I did before. I can see people for who they are, not
how they appear. If I went by appearances and the known social status of the
time, Sincia would have been fine for me. Although personality wise, I don't
think it would have worked. But duty would have forced me to remain with her,"
Saber says quietly.

"Well then, look at the situation as a blessing and make the best life you can
with Amanda. I don't see much of anything keeping you from a perfectly normal
life. I think you will be happy with her and she with you." Saber nods and the
commander continues, "Why don't you go and get some rest. I'll get the others to
get their uniforms together for Elaine so that in the morning, you can slip off
in peace. I'll have two soldiers ready to leave here by seven. I'll also make
sure to go ahead and have Amanda's name changed on her EBU, so that we don't
have to immediately turn around and give her another one. I would also like to
talk with Thomas about the proper protocols for the wedding ceremony, so that we
properly uphold your family's traditions. He seems to be well schooled on such
subjects."

"Thank you, sir. I'll see to it that we are ready just after seven in the
morning to leave. Good night," Saber replies.

"Good night, Saber." the commander replies as Saber retires upstairs.


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