Unstable Loyalties

Chapter 30

"Bismarck?" Lightning asked, turning to look at the battleship next to her. 

"Yes, Lightning?" 

"What matters most to you?"  Bismarck sighed softly as she gazed at the stars before replying, "Family matters most. I would consider you family, Lightning. You have always been here for me and I will always be here for you. Family do not abandon each other. I care about you Lightning, you understand me and i understand you. Its the bond between us that makes me consider you as family. Lightning, I will always be here for you, in life and death. You just have to look within yourself to find me. Us." Lightning smiled.  

The memory changed and Lightning saw herself again. 

She was sleeping in the Autobot base on Cybertron in her room.  She was awoken by the sound to someone talking outside. 

"Blueflash, shut up," Yamato snapped as Blueflash vented, grumbling about the battleship being dense. Lightning just snickered softly. Yamato unsheathed her katana, gazing at the word carved on it. ' 忠'  

"Loyalty..." Yamato whispered softly, re-sheathing the blade. She valued loyalty above all else. Ratchet turned to the battleship once Blueflash left, asking, "Why do you ignore Blueflash all the time?" 

"Nothing good will come of me responding. Besides, he has not yet proved his loyalty to me. Why should I care about him?"  Yamato replied. Ratchet merely nodded. 

"While loyalty may be most important to you,  honesty is what I value above all else," he spoke. Yamato smiled as she stood. 

"Make sure you get some rest," she called as she walked off. She did care, just that she didn't show it. 

Lightning opened her eyes to see the sunlight streaming in from the window. She got up slowly, smiling. That was probably the best dream she had in weeks. Changing up, she hurriedly ate her breakfast, slipping on her gloves afterwards. Picking up the Argenibus, she was about to head to the lab when she heard someone knocking on her door. Putting away the sample, she opened the door a crack. 

"Yes?" she questioned, seeing Purifier standing in the corridor. 

"Devastator needs to see you." Lightning just dipped her head before following Purifier to the control room. 

Once Purifier left, Devastator spoke, "Storm, I intend to attack Azur Lane tomorrow. How many ships should we bring?" 

Lightning contemplated the question for a few minutes before answering, "We should bring sufficient ships to meet their forces as well as backup, just in case. However, we should not bring our strongest force. Save that for the main event," Lightning forced a smirk on her face, referring to Project Hakai. Devastator nodded slightly, dismissing Lightning shortly after.

As Lightning walked back to the room, she kept her face impassive. However, on the inside, her mind was whirling. She knew that Azur Lane would be ready for this, based on the information she gave them, but still, she hoped the warning she passed them would have been accurate enough. She ran a hand through her hair, shaking her thoughts aside. She needed to complete an experiment. Lightning could only hope the message she gave was sufficient for now. There were other more important things to be addressed. 

Closing her room door behind her, she took out the map of the Siren base, gripping the pencil firmly in her hand. Sketching a few lines on the map, she completed the overall layout, adding on some of the more important details and labeling it. Her eyes scanned the map, trying her best to memorise as much as she could. She would need this information if she ever needed to make a quick getaway. Her heart ached as she looked out of the window. She missed them all so much. 

And to think that tomorrow she would have to attack her own friends... Lightning didn't really have a choice though, she had done what she could, convincing Devastator not to send such a big invading force. perhaps that would let Azur Lane have a greater advantage. As her mind ran through all the possibilities of what could happen during the battle, she was able to come up with a suitable excuse if they lost. 

She just sighed as she turned away from the window, hiding the map once again. She would have to dye her hair soon if she was going to be staying here for a few more weeks. The blue streaks in her hair were already fading. Taking a deep breath, she pushed away the rest of her thoughts. She could not afford to make the slightest mistake here. Lightning knew that. A tiny mistake would cost Azur Lane greatly. It would be best to nip those problems in the bud before they grew out of hand. taking the sample, she headed to the lab, locking her room door behind her.

She took a few more samples, trying to see whether the Argenibus would react to them. Based on what she had read, the Argenibus would glow for a mere second if it had been deactivated, so she would have to look out for that. So far, all the raw forms of minerals had not worked, so she had experimented, crystallizing and melting some of them. Taking out her newest sample, she prayed that it would work Lightning was running out of time. This particular sample had taken a few days to perfect. She had crystallized an unknown mineral from the Siren's home planet, hoping that it would have some effect on the Argenibus. 

Picking it up with the tweezers, she placed it below the shard of Argenibus, looking at the shard intently, searching for that glow. Just as she was about to give up and remove the mineral, she saw it. The shard glowed, emitting a pale, weak light. A hint of a smile appeared on Lightning's face. She had finally done it. All she needed to do now was to crystallize more of this mineral. Fortunately the Sirens had a large deposit of it. Taking enough of the mineral to last her, she started formulating her plan. The first step had been achieved. Now, all she had to do was to ensure that the second step was completed flawlessly. 

That is another chapter finished! Hope it was okay! Tell me what you think of it in the comments below!

~Lightningstar out