"Just a bit more, sweetie. This'll all be over, and we can live peacefully together with your dad. Just a bit more..."
Ex-Commander Riku "Wokenblade" Komoru has been kidnapped, and his first mate, Mikaro Sarashi, has no idea where to look for hi...
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It had been a week already, and Riku hadn't shown up yet. Normally, Mika wouldn't stress too much over his safety; he had gone through several tough situations before and had proven he could take care of himself. However, the unusual circumstances of his disappearance had the soldier woman on edge.
The pair had been out on a supply raid on a UPC transport. Nothing out of the ordinary; they were just getting ready for a well-deserved vacation. Suddenly, an ethereal female voice, softly chanting a song, had come out of nowhere. Right after that, Mika's partner had vanished into thin air, not before giving her a terrified look. Both of them knew who that voice belonged to: Cath Blazeglow, formerly a childhood friend of Riku's, now a willing servant of the devil Arcanum. The person that had beaten the Niji Army two years ago, making Riku disband them after they lost their honor in that battle. Mika didn't understand what more she could want from her defeated, scattered, non-threatening enemies. Why would she kidnap him now? What could she be doing to him at this very moment? She could be pretty vicious, and she did give him quite a whupping in that fight... The young woman feared for her companion's life.
Now, with only the Revindication to keep her company, Mika had made it her personal task to find the ex-Commander of the Niji Army. There was a big problem with that, though: She was pretty much alone.
In the years following the defeat of the Empire, a new faction had risen. The United Peace Corps, or UPC for short, were a peaceful intergalactic organization that strived to restore order among the worlds conquered by Imperial forces, assisting them to make sure their governments could develop and sustain their own selves. They had a whole bunch of support and had grown quite fast; they were pretty legit and appeared to be sincere and well-intentioned. Unfortunately, even though the Niji Army had been a key factor in taking down the Empire, Riku had refused to cooperate with the UPC, and had been branded a wanted traitor in their eyes, along with the rest of the army. Not only that, but almost all of the rebel factions that had supported the anti-Empire cause and that had survived the war had naturally defected to the United Peace Corps, turning their backs on the Niji Army. Times were changing, and it seemed that nobody wished to side with pirates or rogues that didn't work towards a new era of order and peace. Mika understood her old allies; she couldn't judge them for their decisions. She had contacted the remaining rebels that could still help her, but they just weren't enough to make a difference in the search. So, aside from not having any support from them, she was also on the run from the UPC. Just perfect.
She had also tried contacting her old friends from the Niji Army, but that wasn't too helpful, either. Red and Kai had left to pursue their own goals following the disbandment of their home, and hadn't been heard of since. Scarlet had her hands full with finding a new homeworld after discovering her old one had been destroyed during the Empire War, so she was busy just trying to survive on her own. As for Amaya, she and her husband were too far away to reach. Luckily, Tsukiko and Risa had answered the call, and they reliably assured they would keep an eye out for any leads on Riku. Even though there was little they could do, at least Mika wasn't completely alone, which was reassuring.
