Of all the things that happened to me, this may take the cake. Shani smirked. "Your clothes were the only casualties we incurred during the fight, sir. I brought spare clothes for you." She placed the uniform on my bare chest. Careful not to set them on the massive wound now decorating the middle of it. "I now know why Trillian blushes when you enter a room." She had the nerve to give me a wink and two thumbs up. I have never been so humiliated. Cheeky tart. When she finally left me to change, I stood up on shaky legs. Stretching my bulky frame, I noticed the mirror on the opposing tent wall. My hair was still pearl white, but now it glistened with a golden light. My silver gaze now had golden flecks in them. "Huh, that's new." I grabbed my pants and walked to the mirror. My chest was thicker, the toned lines were more prominent. The wound looked like the shape of a six-pointed star, my biceps were larger than I remembered, the tattoo on my arm of a sword in the shape of a phoenix throbbed slightly, but not with pain. I felt power coming from it. Shani said I fought the dragon alone except for at the end when I made it extra crispy. I touched the tattoo and it glowed gold a sword twice as large as me appeared in my right hand. She wasn't joking, the weapon was massive and the blade itself was in the shape of the Phoenix. It looked like the heat it put off melted the blade into the shape of the Phoenix, the golden hilt had an elaborate guard shaped like the wings of the bird. "It's lighter than I thought." It weighed nothing to me. I touched the blade tip to my right triceps again and the blade dissolved and returned to the shape of a tattoo. "That's neat." I twisted to look at my back. A huge elaborate image of a Phoenix in flight was spread across my entire back. The wings wrapped around to encompass my sides, the tail feathers spread out across my lower back and the top of my ass wrapping around my hips. Every time I stretched or raise my arms the bird looked like it was flying. "I can dig this." The Phoenix glowed with a faint golden light. "I don't know if I like the fact that every time I go off, I lose my clothes. I wonder if Musaki could come up with something to withstand the intense heat?"
I got dressed with that hopeful thought. Going nuclear only to end up buck ass was not a very cool image for a soldier to have. I left my tent and found Sargent Cid Newind waiting for me just outside the doorway. His sea green gaze settled for a moment on my chest. I could visually see the worry darken his bright eyes. "Yes Sargent?" I forced him to put his eyes on my face instead. I was touched that my men worried about me, but Musaki left me feeling self conscious at the moment.
"Sir, we need more room for the surviving crew."I had to give it to Shani and Princessa, the two of them completed the mission with full marks this time. The only reason I am wary of them teaming up too much was that one incident with the pirates on station six. Never again shall I not supervise those psychopaths.
"Officers get their own tents, so you can tell everyone to bunk with a few buddies. Musaki, Esqueezeme, HelFire, and you get your own tent, as does Kyet. She deserves it. Tell the officers to meet me on the bridge. We need to assign duties for the next step." Cid saluted me then walked off to carry out my orders. I walked to the Bridge of my ship; I could see a corral under the shade of the scaffolding. Chocobos grazed on seed in the large enclosure. Cid managed to find a breeder, good. Now we had better transportation. I met a guy by the fence and looked at them while I waited for my men. "Oh, Captain I was told to keep a special one just for you. The white one hiding behind the black one Sargent Musaki claimed. Its feathers have gold highlights and that one is stronger than any bird I ever bred."
I grinned, now I had my own mount. The bird in question watched me with wary golden eyes. "I call him, Windchaser, he loves to run like the wind."
I took the man's hand. "Call me Jason, what's your name?" The man smiled like I was a gift from God. "Lance sir. I was handpicked to take care of your Chocobos."
"Newind did well in hiring you. Until I am able to properly pay you, room and board will be provided, talk to Sargent Newind for your tent and supplies."
"Yes sir, thank you Sir."
I left Lance to walk up the newly built ramp to the bridge. My men were inside, so was Khimari. Hmm, how to explain this one. "I believe I have you to thank for helping Musaki and Esqueezeme."
"No need, Kyet believe in Darksky, I believe Kyet. She will be a good ally." He waved off the thanks then walked to stand by the large plate window. I turned to my men. "Okay, I want Prince in charge of guarding the work detail. Keep them safe, take Kyet and Cid with you. Musaki, handle guard assignments. While they are away, you take charge of the protection here. Esqueezeme, I need a team of scouts with high combat ratings. Go through the men you brought back; you are in charge of taking on missions for the Hunter's camp. We need money to support our crew. You handle assignments for the missions. I will be here to delegate. Any questions?"
Princessa moved forward. "I have free reign over the men I choose?" Her Ruby eyes gleamed, the psychopath. I could see she had a few in mind. "Within reason, don't kill them."
She nodded taking a second to think. "I'll need personal files of fifteen people." Musaki walked over to her and pulled up the names of the surviving crew. "Give me a list and I'll send you the files." Princessa handed over the list. Shani typed in the names and sent each file to Princessa. "Prince pick out some extra hands, make sure everyone you pick goes to see Dale for weapons and grids. I want no mistakes." They spent an hour sorting through the crew list, picking out members they wanted for their teams. I watched them work for a moment longer then plopped into my chair. "I'm surprised we haven't met an army when we arrived." Khimari answered me. "Not new for ship to crash. Albhed fall more than fly." I tried not to think about that thought. "Don't worry, Captain. We have a 99% chance of success. I know more about this ship than anyone, well maybe Cid, but I can guarantee flight." Coming from the psychotic doll, I was not sure if I believed that. With most of the meeting handled I turned our attention to my next idea. "Okay, guys we go back to Ivalice." I worded it throw off Khimari and Kyet. They don't need to know we actually came from space. "Any suggestions on getting there." Musaki opened up the holographic map. The map of Spira appeared before us. "We need to go through Midgard first. From what information I have gathered, they are in a constant state of war. It wasn't until recently that a freedom group took down the acting power. If we go there, we run the risk of being an invading force. We need our ship put back in one piece beforehand." I folded my hands over my chest, careful not to place my hands on the gaping hole that was slowly healing. I would forever have a scar, another reminder of every time I sacrificed my own safety for my men. That battle took it's toll on me.
Shani had a point though. Going without full power was the dumbest way to die. I was not dumb by any means. "Okay then, we have a rough idea of where to go from here. Master Gunnery, this mission rides on your success. No mistakes, no mercy. Copy?"
"Aye Captain." Prince saluted me and began talking to Kyet about his plan for the men placement along the route. "We make check points along the route, put six men at each position to ensure safety, you, me and Cid walk with the group making the run. it's the only way to ensure they don't run into a behemoth or anything bigger." Kyet crossed her arms and looked over the map. "Place men on Ten spots. I know where to put them." Prince grinned at her. I noticed the way they just clicked. Turns out, Prince was not just muscle. He had a brain too.
I dismissed them to carry out my orders. "Musaki, hang back. I want to talk to you." She actually giggled. The psychopath was having a blast at my expense.
"Sir, you wanted to speak to me?" Her grin told she knew exactly what I wanted to discuss. "I need you to fabricate clothes that won't burn up when I go nuclear again. I have a feeling that this won't be the last time I turn something into ashes." She lit up with excitement, her cobalt eyes sparkled. "I will need my lab to run tests, but I have a few ideas." She was hopping up and down. I was actually getting scared.
I left Shani in the Bridge and made my way back to the main camp. I watched as Princessa called out for specific people to meet her by the entrance, I watched Prince and Kyet turn their troops into a fighting force. They were running drills. Smart, I bet they didn't want any mistakes either.