1915

The moving platform screeched to a halt as it transported the hundreds of tons of metal stained in dark-blue ichor to its dry dock. Highly-pressurized steam hissed from the hatch on its back as it opened, out stepping a pilot with a rifle in her hand, visibly shaking.

From the looks of the arbiter alone, it was evident that it had been used to its utmost limits even for the Pacific-class. What was once its pristine alabaster cloak had now been soaked entirely in blood, along with the rest of its chassis creaking and sparking. On its right hand, the Lumiere Anti-Materiel Revolver had been completely expended with smoke trailing from its overheated barrel.

Its pilot stood on its shoulder for a moment, before disregarding the proper dismounting procedures entirely to leap towards the nearby catwalk, colliding with the railing with her back, eliciting a wince and making her hand drop the rifle it was gripping tightly just moments ago.

She laid on the cold metal floor, before weakly pushing herself up to lean against the railing. Her body was covered head to toe in bruises, cuts, and absolutely drenched in sweat. Copious amounts of blood gushed from one of her eyes as the blue life essence dripped and splattered into the floor.

"Rie!" A voice called out, though she didn't seem to quite notice it, as a sharp ringing sensation was the only thing she could hear at the moment.

"Rie!" The voice called out again, and this time, she turned towards the source of it after the vibrations of a rapidly approaching person alerted her. It was a fellow pilot, and she looked worried, and rightfully so.

Without a pause, the pilot in front of her knelt to assess her injuries, before continuing to provide her medical treatment. First, she injected a syringe filled with Boltstream to her neck and administered its contents. The momentary prick made her flinch, before her senses regained its vitality. For the first time since she retreated from the objective hours ago, she could see and hear clearly now.

"Maya..." Rie spoke softly as she turned towards her friend, only to be met with a gloved finger to her lips. "Save the gratitude for later, Sergeant. Let the medicine do its work." Maya spoke more casually now, yet there was still and underlying tone of worry to her voice. She set down the emptied syringe and retrieved a bandage from the medkit beside her and gently wrapped it around the wound on Rie's head.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't contact command to make a status report. My headset was damaged." The patient took off the defunct communications device from her head and set it down before continuing. "The first wave failed, everyone except for me are dead, though we've made considerable damage to their defenses." Rie explained in her usual cold tone now.

Maya helped her friend to stand up on her feet and assisted her with walking towards the elevator shaft. The piercing red lights of the hangar glared at the silhouettes of the workers rushing towards the docked arbiter to begin emergency repairs as klaxons blared. There was no doubt that the war wouldn't give anyone a break, yet a small respite was all the weary pilot needed before being deployed to the front again.

"I see." Maya replied. "Can't exactly say that we didn't expect this. The Huaxians are really giving it their all now that they're nearly wiped out. You should rest in the medical wing for now, you deserve it." She assured.

Another precious night.

Maybe her last.

1919

The morning light infiltrated through the hangar's windows and illuminated the newly acquired asset of the shipyard, thought it has yet to be combat-ready. It still needed its systems to be calibrated, its autocannon loaded, and most importantly, its shield equipped.

"So this is why you made me bring a toolbox." Rie remarked. The newly designated pilot of the Challenger-class Phalanx stared at her arbiter in awe, even if her eyes didn't show it.

The toolbox in her hand felt small, almost comically underequipped for something this massive, but from what she researched about the Vostaryan engineering, it was simplicity made manifest.

"Indeed! It wasn't easy getting your request approved for the shipment of the parts, especially with me making some under the table 'negotiations'." Maya noted.

"...What?" The clueless pilot was surprised.

"Just make it up to me by helping me prepare it." Her friend gestured towards the arbiter.

"Alright." She agreed.