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Things don't always go as planned. Some days you wake up planning to eat cereal for breakfast and end up settling for toasted bread, other days you board an airship expecting a smooth journey and end up traversing darkness accompanied by girls you barely know. Suffice to say the day wasn't exactly going the way Vanna had anticipated, but there was no use bemoaning one's fate. All she could do was persevere and follow her training. Today was simply a crash course. An expedited curriculum if you will. 

And now, as two soldiers approached them, flashlights uncomfortably bright in the darkness, it was time for the next class of the day. [i][color=#DC143C]Survival?[/color][/i] A dour topic to be sure. And as a tendril interrupted the no doubt important instructions Vanna's early expectations all came true: Their host had been called for a crisis and that crisis was the Void. Vanna had been right. [i][color=#DC143C]Again[/color][/i].

Not really a thrilling comfort in this situation. 

She was not, however, the first to respond to the creatures before them. That honor went to the bespectacled user of the Lightning Elementum. Equal parts foolhardy and brave the girl had charged into the unknown with an electrified fist dedicated to the Void beast. Surprisingly the blow was at least successful in momentarily saving the absconded soldier. Dana Noel was quick to follow up with treatment while the daughter of Lennox let loose her frustrations; frustrations her fellow Venusian did her best to assuage. A half baked plan of reconnaissance appeared to be forming. All the other players had taken their place on stage.  

Thus the daughter of Diana found herself at a crossroads. 

She knew better than most the dangers of the Void. She had watched her brothers shoot stragglers at the borders of Potentia for years, she had seen injured soldiers rushed to the ICU. And she had seen those they left behind. Her father had made sure Vanna knew the stakes for the lives she would one day be tasked with protecting. A creature of the Void was no easy target, not some practice dummy to learn the ropes against. 

They were humanity's greatest enemy. 

Oh how easy it would be to run, to escape and find reinforcements. Truthfully it was probably their best chance of surviving, who knew how strong the creature in front of them was and whether their underdeveloped magic even stood a chance of harming the monster. She could do it too, the Aether coursing through her body would provide more than enough speed. The monster was distracted, now was her opportunity. Sacrifice others for a greater good?

But that was never an option. That was not the Diana way. That could only be called one thing: [i][color=#DC143C]Disgraceful[/color][/i].

One breath, one deep breath was all she needed to steady herself and let her training take over. 

"[color=#DC143C]Miss Cognoscenti, Lady Lennox,[/color]" she called out, as her mind worked fast to formulate a plan, "[color=#DC143C]take Miss Noel and the soldier with you. The three of you should be able to make it to the control room with him. I suspect that's where the other soldiers will be stationed and with any luck a few Ars Magi will be in their ranks. Regardless that man had instructions for us so whenever he regains consciousness I'm certain he'll be able to guide you to reinforcements.[/color]"

As far as Vanna could tell, this was the ideal maneuver. It didn't appear any of the other girls had received any sort of combat training. Asking them to fight would be suicidal. Their best hope was regrouping with the ship's main forces. 

"[color=#DC143C]I'll assist Ms. Grenoble, as soon as we can disengage from the Void we'll catch up with you. So now please. Get going.[/color]"

Vanna didn't bother looking back to see if the other girls followed her instructions. She didn't have that luxury. But she hoped they were already moving. It was truthfully the only path to victory she could see. If they made it to the control room, or wherever the soldier had wanted to take them, if they found reinforcements, they may yet survive this doomed voyage. 

But Pennelope Grenoble's fate would depend upon Vanna. 

As she approached the other girl Vanna's mind once more drifted back to her youth: words from her eldest brother the day he found out she would be joining Nova Lux. [i]'[color=#C0C0C0]Well if you're going to be fighting the Void, I'd be remiss if I didn't teach you the basics...[/color]'[/i]        

"[color=#DC143C]Miss Grenoble,[/color]" Vanna began as she took her place by the other girl's side, makeshift weapon in hand, "[color=#DC143C]if nothing else you have courage.[/color]"

It was an earnest compliment, dangerous as the other girl's actions had been, they had also saved a life and that was [i][color=#DC143C]admirable[/color][/i]. 

"[color=#DC143C]If you wish to survive today's harrowing adventure please listen closely. The Void are dangerous, especially for incomplete women like ourselves. I do not know what class of Void creature stands before us, but I suspect our odds of defeating it are slim, I believe our best bet is to find an opportunity to extract ourselves and run from the creature. But if we can't escape.[/color]"

And so her brother's words came back, an echo for a new recipient. 

"[color=#DC143C]Low level Voids are relatively dimwitted beasts, using their raw strength to overpower humans. Magic is the most effective weapon and they have a core hidden somewhere in their body. Find the core, break it with magic, and you get a dead Void.[/color]" [i]'[color=#C0C0C0]Simple right?[/color]'[/i] 

She didn't add her brother's last words to her instructions. 

"[color=#DC143C]Now brace yourself, I believe you angered the beast.[/color]"

And thus Vanna stood ready, poised to react and find some way to achieve victory against the monster before her. She would win, that was her job after all. 

She would win. 

[color=#DC143C][i]Definitely[/i][/color].