saviorgoddessastrid:

fleet-admiral-red:

“Mm…” Hope murmured as she took in that information.

Every time Lumi had returned from her suicide missions, she’d always rushed to be the first to meet her and bring her to the repair bath-docks.

She’d done her best to get Lumi to let go of her guilt and self-hatred, and that had worked to some extent. But even she could only do so much. After all, she hadn’t really been there at the Battle of Coruscant. Never known what it was like to face such impossibly overwhelming numbers.

But let it never be said that Hope didn’t try.

“I’m guessing Lumi never told you about what exactly happened for the Admiralty to confine her to base, huh?”

Seeing a shake of the head, Hope explained, her gaze becoming distant as she recalled the events of years past.

“It was about three years ago. Lumi was coming back from another suicide mission of hers. She tried to hide it on the way back to Zephyr Station, but…her central AI was all but screaming at us that…that…”

Hope took a shaky breath, remembering how her fear had skyrocketed that day upon hearing the AI’s alarmed report. “Lumi…was on the verge of critical hull integrity failure. I brought her to the repair docks as soon as I could.”

That had been the only day everyone had seen her in terrified tears, cradling the barely-conscious Lumi in her arms to the repair baths.

“After she was healed up, Admiral Green chewed her out hard. That was when the Admiralty unanimously decided to have Lumi confined to base. So that was it.”

Hope calmed herself the best she could, giving Astrid a slightly sad smile. “I’ll admit, at that time I was so scared. I…I didn’t want to lose her. My beloved sister…the Admiralty thanked me personally. They said that if I hadn’t rushed to the baths, she would have…”

The usually cheerful shipgirl couldn’t finish that sentence. But even so, her meaning was known.

Astrid nodded as she listened to Hope’s statement.  She was quite glad to hear Hope explain things and how she had saved Lumi.  “I see,” Astrid replied.  “That explains why she was so urgently sent to me.  You did the right thing, Hope, and I’m glad that you succeeded in saving her that time.”  It’s clear that Astrid had more than a hint of relief in her voice at Hope’s saving of Lumi.  The loss of life was a terrible thing for Astrid, one to be avoided at any opportunity.

At hearing Astrid’s reassurance, Hope smiled, only more happily this time.

“Thank you. Lumi sulked and moped for a few days in her quarters afterwards, let me tell you. I was really just about the only one she didn’t immediately shout at when entering.”

Not that Lumi had continued such overt hostility all the time, of course. Hope remembered the time when she’d managed to convince her sister to share a drink with her in the starbase’s cafeteria, which was where that cherished holopic in her locket had come from.

And like Lumi had told Astrid previously, there were the times where she’d tried to seek help from counselors, which Hope had attended as well.

A sudden thought struck Hope, and she looked to Astrid, hands laced together again.

“Um, miss Astrid, if it’s not too much trouble, can I ask you for a bit of advice? I…want to know how I can really get through to Lumi.”

Hope began blushing with a lovestruck smile, averting her gaze as her mind concocted images of herself and Lumi in various affectionate situations.

“She’s so headstrong, enduring her guilt and suffering alone for so long…but I want my sister to know I’m always there for her. No matter what, she’ll never be alone.”

saviorgoddessastrid:

fleet-admiral-red:

A few moments passed as Hope considered what Astrid had told her.

Much as she wanted to be by Lumi’s side when she needed someone to lean on, especially when it came to her yearly tradition, it made sense to give her some space and time to sort things out.

A sigh escaped Hope as she thought of how Lumi had gone through so much in the past decade that she’d lived in her new life. Always so headstrong, her sister.

“Yeah, I can stay here for a bit. It’ll sure be nice to chat.”

Hope looked up at Astrid again. “Mind if I start with a question, then? How did Lumi strike you as when she came here at first?”

Now that was an interesting question Hope had asked Astrid, what she thought of her sister Lumi.  Astrid had to think on it for a bit before admitting, “Lumi has clearly been very psychologically damaged over what happened, and kept blaming herself for the events that transpired.

“However, the events were beyond her controls, and I feel as if that played into her frustrations, and drove her to increasingly suicidal acts in an attempt to make amends for her failures.  I’m just glad that I was able to talk her out of such actions before she did something horrible to herself.”

“Mm…” Hope murmured as she took in that information.

Every time Lumi had returned from her suicide missions, she’d always rushed to be the first to meet her and bring her to the repair bath-docks.

She’d done her best to get Lumi to let go of her guilt and self-hatred, and that had worked to some extent. But even she could only do so much. After all, she hadn’t really been there at the Battle of Coruscant. Never known what it was like to face such impossibly overwhelming numbers.

But let it never be said that Hope didn’t try.

“I’m guessing Lumi never told you about what exactly happened for the Admiralty to confine her to base, huh?”

Seeing a shake of the head, Hope explained, her gaze becoming distant as she recalled the events of years past.

“It was about three years ago. Lumi was coming back from another suicide mission of hers. She tried to hide it on the way back to Zephyr Station, but…her central AI was all but screaming at us that…that…”

Hope took a shaky breath, remembering how her fear had skyrocketed that day upon hearing the AI’s alarmed report. “Lumi…was on the verge of critical hull integrity failure. I brought her to the repair docks as soon as I could.”

That had been the only day everyone had seen her in terrified tears, cradling the barely-conscious Lumi in her arms to the repair baths.

“After she was healed up, Admiral Green chewed her out hard. That was when the Admiralty unanimously decided to have Lumi confined to base. So that was it.”

Hope calmed herself the best she could, giving Astrid a slightly sad smile. “I’ll admit, at that time I was so scared. I…I didn’t want to lose her. My beloved sister…the Admiralty thanked me personally. They said that if I hadn’t rushed to the baths, she would have…”

The usually cheerful shipgirl couldn’t finish that sentence. But even so, her meaning was known.

saviorgoddessastrid:

fleet-admiral-red:

“Oh, about that…” Hope said with a brief giggle.

“Um…while I was on patrol, I sort of heard the chatter from Zephyr Station’s local comms about how Lumi had been sent here. So once my patrol was done, I rushed here as soon as I could!”

She laced her hands together in front of her, swaying around. “And I heard from your clerics that Lumi had left a while ago with you. Do you know where she is?”

Hope blushed, placing a lightly clutched hand near her heart. “Lumi…um…she matters a lot to me. She’s my sister, after all.”

It seemed quite clear to anyone watching exactly what Hope meant with those words and her tone.

“I see,” Astrid replied.  “She came here by order of the Admiralty so I could help sort out her suicidal depression, then I went with her to meet with Admiral Red so they could talk things out.  I think she was headed to Coruscant after that talk.  But perhaps you’d like to stay and chat a bit? I think your sister needs some time to herself in order to reflect on everything I discussed with her.”

A few moments passed as Hope considered what Astrid had told her.

Much as she wanted to be by Lumi’s side when she needed someone to lean on, especially when it came to her yearly tradition, it made sense to give her some space and time to sort things out.

A sigh escaped Hope as she thought of how Lumi had gone through so much in the past decade that she’d lived in her new life. Always so headstrong, her sister.

“Yeah, I can stay here for a bit. It’ll sure be nice to chat.”

Hope looked up at Astrid again. “Mind if I start with a question, then? How did Lumi strike you as when she came here at first?”

spartan-joe371:

phazonhuntress:

saviorgoddessastrid:

astrids-templars:

Show felt a sudden pain in her heart when Astrid refused to reply, a sudden burning that she hadn’t felt in ages. “Fine, don’t answer.” She responded, before meeting with Adam. It was odd, about a year ago, this man was her mortal enemy, now here he was, a devil living in utter comfort. She felt that he should have gotten worse then this, but for now, she had to play nice. The cleric accompanying Isabella was silently muttering a prayer for guidance, as Isabella stood next to her. Should anyone try anything on the cleric, Isabella was ready to kill them.

@saviorgoddessastrid

Adam couldn’t help but chuckle at Joe’s question.  “An astute individual you are, Spartan, and one who actually bothers to show manners,” he commented.  “Yes, that army comprises of one of the three Demon Lords you’re after and his forces.  He enjoys swarming his foes with hordes of minions, few of which are truly a match for any competent warrior.

“His army makes up the bulk of the Demon Lords, and eliminating them would be a tremendous benefit.  Kill them, or turn them against the other Demon Lords, and you will be well on your way to finding your target.

“Though you are few in number compared to your foe, it will not be difficult for you to turn the tides.  He must maintain control of multiple fortresses in order to keep bringing in more soldiers to replenish his fallen.  I am certain you can find a way to turn this against him, Spartan.”

Of the others, Adam showed little interest in them.  He didn’t even bother commenting on Nora’s obvious irritation.  “Now then, you are free to use my palace as your base of operations while here in Hell.  Should any of my minions become an irritant to you…feel free to kill them.  They should know better than to agitate guests, and such is the price of failure to me.”

@phazonhuntress​

Nora didn’t say anything at Adam’s words, just crushing a metal box in her hands into rather literal dust. at the mention of using his palace as a base, Nora had to nod, her face ticking in a way that might be considered a smile,”And with that permission granted, I can work some of my magic” She spreads her hands wide, and six blue portals open, facing across from each other in the palace, Promethean Knights, Pirate Commandos, and War Droids spilling forth at a steady pace,”This is a small start from my end of things, if anyone has any other reinforcements they want to send, i’ll mentally transmit the portal frequency” She explains

@spartan-joe371

“I think I got an idea,” Joe commented upon seeing Nora summon reinforcements for them.  “Nora, keep that portal frequency on standby, I might be able to make use of it in that battle ahead of us.  The rest of you guys, hold off on calling in reinforcements just yet.  I’m gonna scout out that army of demons we have to deal with.  Adam, we’ll talk more later.”

With that, Joe activated his Active Camouflage and began stalking his way towards the mass gathering of demons that they had to deal with.  It wasn’t too clear just yet what Joe had in mind, but given how long he’s been alive on really lethal battlefields, his idea is probably a good one.

@fleet-admiral-red​

Red spoke up, an idea forming as he heard that they would be able to call for reinforcements.

“Requesting that portal frequency on standby, Nora. I have someone in mind that can help us out.”

Quantum entanglement did its work as he mentally called up that specific someone.

“Green, I need you for something. Get your war gear ready to go. And bring your hammer.”

“On it.”

Ruler looked at him curiously, wondering who he would bring in to assist their party. “Master? Who are you calling for?”

Having already closed the line of communication, Red glanced at the saint. “Did I ever tell you of the one that some call the Lord of Iron…?”

It was then that Ruler realized exactly who was coming to join them. “You asked…for him.”

And all that she got in reply was a nod.

@astrids-templars

saviorgoddessastrid:

fleet-admiral-red:

Upon hearing the appearance of Warp Doors, the shipgirl looked up and around before spotting Astrid’s arrival.

She jumped up instantly, returning the holo-locket to that inner pocket before leaning forward to look up at Astrid, her maid outfit incidentally showing some more of her cleavage.

“Hi! You’re Astrid right?”

Upon receiving a reply in the affirmative, the shipgirl promptly introduced herself with a cheerful grin and a rather casual salute.

Quite a contrast to the (initially) prim and proper Lumi before her.

“Nice to meet you, Astrid! That’s alright. I’m Hope Eternal, Advent-class cruiser! You can call me Hope for short!”

Hope, as she’d called herself, always did love meeting new people.

“Hope? What a lovely name you have,” Astrid commented.  “So, what brings you here to Terra Hope?”

How curious, Hope seemed so casual, much more like Astrid than Lumi did.  Still, that wasn’t a bad thing in Astrid’s eyes, at least they weren’t someone who’s a stick in the mud.

“Oh, about that…” Hope said with a brief giggle.

“Um…while I was on patrol, I sort of heard the chatter from Zephyr Station’s local comms about how Lumi had been sent here. So once my patrol was done, I rushed here as soon as I could!”

She laced her hands together in front of her, swaying around. “And I heard from your clerics that Lumi had left a while ago with you. Do you know where she is?”

Hope blushed, placing a lightly clutched hand near her heart. “Lumi…um…she matters a lot to me. She’s my sister, after all.”

It seemed quite clear to anyone watching exactly what Hope meant with those words and her tone.

saviorgoddessastrid:

fleet-admiral-red:

The shipgirl took a few breaths to steady her hurried mood before exhaling and smiling at the cleric who’d spoken.

“Yeah, I can do that!”

She followed the clerics to a nearby seating area, and promptly found herself a nice seat.

With little else to do besides wait for Astrid to come back, the meido shipgirl took something out from one of her outfit’s inner pockets, which turned out to be a locket-shaped holoprojector.

A press of a haptic pad projected an image of her and what was clearly Lumi, the two sharing a drink with both women smiling.

She sighed, a blush appearing on her face as she thought of the raven-haired woman in the holopic.

“Lumi…sis…I know you just came here. Where’d you go?”

Once Astrid was done with her meeting with Red, she reappeared at Terra Hope via her usual Warp Doors.  She was surprised to see the Shipgirl present here.  “Oh, hello!” she said.  “Didn’t expect another visit from the GDI’s shipgirls so soon.  My apologies, I would’ve given you some proper words before I came back if I had known this would be the case!”

Upon hearing the appearance of Warp Doors, the shipgirl looked up and around before spotting Astrid’s arrival.

She jumped up instantly, returning the holo-locket to that inner pocket before leaning forward to look up at Astrid, her maid outfit incidentally showing some more of her cleavage.

“Hi! You’re Astrid right?”

Upon receiving a reply in the affirmative, the shipgirl promptly introduced herself with a cheerful grin and a rather casual salute.

Quite a contrast to the (initially) prim and proper Lumi before her.

“Nice to meet you, Astrid! That’s alright. I’m Hope Eternal, Advent-class cruiser! You can call me Hope for short!”

Hope, as she’d called herself, always did love meeting new people.

saviorgoddessastrid:

fleet-admiral-red:

The Great Sister Chase

(Closed starter for @saviorgoddessastrid )

Not long after the GDI shipgirl known as Luminous Horizon had left Terra Hope to return home, another GDI signature was detected racing towards Terra Hope at very high FTL velocities.

The unknown, tiny Initiative contact had barely waited for landing clearance to be given after dropping out of FTL before squeaking out a very quick thank-you reply and diving straight for the area outside Astrid’s Temple.

The clerics who had seen Lumi arrive and leave with Astrid now saw another new person, a bright corona of burning air dissipating as she reversed her drives to hastily halt her descent.

A brief sight of starship rigging was what the clerics could see before they vanished in strange shimmers of light, and a young woman with hair as white as snow dropped onto the landing platform with a wobbly landing before righting her balance.

Unlike Lumi before her, the unknown woman was clad in what appeared to be a maid outfit, though one that tastefully showed some skin and emblazoned with the GDI emblem.

“Hey, hey, you two!” she waved energetically to the clerics. “Did ya happen to see a young woman come here recently?! Black hair, same eyes like mine? This is Astrid’s place, right?”

Clearly, this shipgirl was quite the lively one.

“Ah, yes.  She left with Lady Astrid to go somewhere,” one of the clerics answered.  “I know not where she has gone.  Perhaps if you wait, Lady Astrid will return and give you the answer?”

The shipgirl took a few breaths to steady her hurried mood before exhaling and smiling at the cleric who’d spoken.

“Yeah, I can do that!”

She followed the clerics to a nearby seating area, and promptly found herself a nice seat.

With little else to do besides wait for Astrid to come back, the meido shipgirl took something out from one of her outfit’s inner pockets, which turned out to be a locket-shaped holoprojector.

A press of a haptic pad projected an image of her and what was clearly Lumi, the two sharing a drink with both women smiling.

She sighed, a blush appearing on her face as she thought of the raven-haired woman in the holopic.

“Lumi…sis…I know you just came here. Where’d you go?”