Chapter 12: Interlude 1: Radiant Rhiannon

Radiant Rhiannon vaulted off her faithful Epona, landing directly on the ship's bow. Her feet were now on solid ground, technically speaking.

With a flash of magic, her battle attire changed to a stylish maroon officers' uniform with a cape and peaked cap. She brushed her hand through her long, flaming red hair and stood tall, gazing out across the shimmering clouds and water beneath her.

"Welcome to the Elysium, Colonel Rhiannon." The soldier at the gate said to her deferentially with a salute.

"At ease, soldier," Rhiannon nodded and walked past him.

The Elysium had just recently been launched, and she now had the chance to see it in its full glory. As someone who had studied at the Airforce Academy, the Magical Girl appreciated the military craft's beauty. The Elysium was indeed a sight to behold.

Her heeled footsteps echoed loudly in the empty hallway as she strode past the soldiers and officers, who still had their eyes on her.

The ship was a direct reflection of its commander. It was decorated with the finest artwork and decorations in the entire Airforce. It wasn't just for show, however. Rhiannon knew the technology within made it the most sophisticated battleship she had ever seen.

She sighed at the stench of sweat and stale cigarettes that hung in the air and wrinkled her nose. Step after step, the proud warrior strode through the ship down the corridor.

Rhiannon was one of five active Magical Girls worldwide to receive an SS-rank designation, a near-mythical status among Magical Girls. She was the oldest of the five, and her power was the greatest by far. Legends of her prowess in battle spread far and wide, with only the young Celestial Sonata having any chance of one day surpassing her. The days of her great power were numbered, however, for it was said that all who reached the peak of their power would soon exceed their capacity to hold it. Still, she would see her duty through to the very end.

Her path had been chosen entirely by herself and one to her eyes, driven by a combination of luck and intensive training more than any natural-born talent. Her determination was unparalleled, and she never put down any challenge placed before her.

She pushed open the door to the command center and strode inside, her heels clicking against the floor.

The commander stood next to the window, her hands clasped behind her back. The room was devoid of soldiers or officers, and only the two were left.

"Radiant Rhiannon."

Elaine Escathos stood with her back turned to Rhiannon, staring out the window. She was wearing a formal military uniform. Her hip-length white hair was tied in a simple ponytail.

"It has been a while since we last met, Madame President." Rhiannon said.

Brilliant ocean-blue eyes turned to look at her over the shoulder, and Rhiannon could easily see the twinkle of amusement in them.

"Likewise, Colonel Rhiannon. I see you have finally joined us." she replied. "So, why did you come here all the way? What have you come to report? I've gotten a couple of reports, but I want to hear it from your mouth."

Rhiannon summoned the documents she had brought with her and sucked in a deep breath. "I'm afraid that both my men and the local magical girls have concluded their investigations. There were zero signs of sabotage this time either, Elaine. The Chaos Event occurred in spite of fully functional neg-entropy fields, and no other anomalies or malfunctions have been discovered."

The statement hung in the air between them.

Elaine Escathos swore under her breath and rubbed her temples. "Fantastic. Fan-fucking tastic. Everything is falling apart, Rhiannon. I don't like the implications of this. I don't like this at all."

Rhiannon sighed. "I don't either, Ellie. This isn't normal. Now, at the very least, we won't be able to use our usual cover story to explain away these Chaos Events. A lot of Magical Girls are starting to get restless, and you know how these girls are. We may not fully understand the phenomenon even now, but you know the types that they select for. You know me."

Elaine fell silent for a short while. Rhiannon walked up to her side and gazed out the curved window. The sea's surface sparkled in the sunlight, and the winds gently blew through the air, rippling against the ship's hull.

"So, how are your girls doing these days?" she asked, gazing into the air. "That program has run the old bat a pretty penny. I'm surprised you talked her into it."

Rhiannon noticed that the coalition president seemed tired and stressed. The brilliant politician didn't look like she'd aged 30 years overnight or anything. Still, she definitely looked as if she hadn't slept in days.

"Our favorite drill sergeant and I have been keeping an eye on them, so thankfully we were able to mobilize the city in minutes. We have a lot of capable girls under our care." Rhiannon said with a wistful giggle. She looked out the ceiling and laughed at herself again. "I suppose the peaceful lull we've had for a few years has been too good to be true."

"We should just be thankful there were only a few thousand civvie casualties this time, Rhiannon. That new Duke variation caught us with our asses up in the air. I can't imagine what would have happened if you and Sonata weren't there to intercept it."

Both women fell silent.

Rhiannon shook her head, and Elaine Escathos turned away from the window.

"Look, Rhiannon. I don't need to tell you that I've got a lot on my plate right now. This is a critical time for us, one where we were hoping to have a lot of things in the bag. Instead, the shit keeps hitting the rudder and crashing the damn ship beneath it."

"We'll figure this thing out eventually. This can't be a coincidence. You know that as well as I do, Ellie."

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"Of course I do, dammit. The question is, how can we stop a threat that we can't see?"

Rhiannon frowned and bit her lip. Her sharp golden-red eyes darted across the room, and she ran her hands through her long, fiery red hair. She clenched her fists and took a deep breath.

"The winds are changing, Rhiannon. And I'm not sure in which direction." Elaine continued with a sigh and returned to the window.

Rhiannon swallowed hard. Her mind ran wild with possibilities and worries.

"Elaine," Rhiannon started again with trepidation. "What if the worst-case scenario is here? What if we're looking at another Imperatore-level event? Or worse?

The commander was silent for a moment, and Rhiannon could hear her breathing heavily before she recomposed herself.

"We've got to be ready for any possibility, Rhiannon. I've had the thought too, and started putting in amplified budget deficit requests, just in case."

"And your grandmother?" Rhiannon asked.

Elaine smiled and shook her head. "Her secretary Marisa has already told me to put in my request, and she herself suggested we increase the budget by four fold. Now that we have a good sense that these may not have just been infrastructure failures we'll arrange some more troop mobilizations as well. If a fight breaks out, we'll be ready for it this time."

Rhiannon felt a cold chill run down her spine. "We're getting ready for war, aren't we?"

Elaine looked over her shoulder at her and gave her a grim smile. "We're always ready for war."

"You know, I don't like this at all, Rhiannon." Elaine added, turning back to the sea. "I'm not looking at long term anymore. I'm looking at the immediate future. I hate that."

Rhiannon looked at her and felt a sense of dread wash over her. "I know. I feel the same, even though we don't know what's about to strike us."

"I've started working on a few contingency plans, but I don't think any of them are viable at this point in time. I'm stringing out everything I can. I've sent a request to the alliance, and they should be raising some more magitech troops. God knows how long it'll take for them to get that done, though, if ever. Everyone's grown complacent and thinks the primary battlefield is off Terra and on reclaiming Earth's arable land, for fucks' sake."

Elaine shook her head. "We have to have a better picture to present them than an old soldiers' instinct. We need to know what's going on right now, Rhiannon. What's the situation with the other nations outside of the Coalition?"

Rhiannon paused for a moment and considered the question. She knew that her liaisons in the other countries had had the same thoughts as her, and she was confident that they had activated the emergency response system.

"I think so," she replied. "I'm sure that our allies across the ocean have started making preparations of their own. Rest assured, Elaine, they're scaling up as well."

Elaine inhaled sharply, letting out aside. "I just feel this sense of impending doom. Something's wrong. It's so strange, but I don't think I've ever felt this way before. Not even during the Imperatore event that hit Earth all those years ago."

Rhiannon nodded in agreement, biting her lip. "I've been feeling something like that as well."

The two women fell silent. The ocean was beautiful, blue, and turbulent, the waves churning and foaming as they crashed into a rocky coast below.

"Rhiannon," Elaine said, turning around to face her. "I need your girls to be ready. I have other things to take care of right now, but I need to depend on you to prepare the Girls. You can play auntie when we're sure we're safe, but every instinct I have is screaming. We'll need the best of our best when the time comes. I need her most of all. We can't afford to have our powerhouses sidelined when the time comes."

Rhiannon swallowed the lump in her throat and hesitated before nodding.

They both fell silent and continued to stare out into the sea. Rhiannon sighed and leaned against the window. Sighing, she looked out at the horizon, and her mind went wild with possibilities.

Rhiannon thought of all the civilians she'd seen fall victim to Chaos Events. She thought of her men and felt her hands begin to tremble.

As she watched the ocean stretch out before her, she looked at the vast blue sky and the clouds that floated outside, and she felt a sad smile grace her lips.

Rhiannon fidgeted for a moment and straightened up as she ran a hand through her fiery red hair.

She sighed. "I hope what we're doing is going to be enough, Ellie. I really do."

The woman next to her shared her sigh and nodded. "Yeah."

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