And after another long wait of a couple of months, here is the next installment of this fanfiction. Thank you for those who have reviews so far. As always, I hope you enjoy it and that you continue the reviews. Still looking for artists. I have gotten offers but nothing comes out of any of them. So please contact me if you're interested in doing art for this fic.

H.N.S Freedom's Cry, Beach Delta 4

Nabooru sat in her office awaiting the army major that Saria had informed her had arrived. Soon enough, the cherry red headed female from before walked in, her tank helmet under her arm. She was a small woman a couple of years younger than Nabooru herself, with a pretty face but a sense of strength and determination radiating from her.

"Major Malon Lon, 11th Armored Cavalry Squadron ma'am," the major reported with a crisp salute.

"Welcome aboard Major. We appreciate your timely arrival as we were on the verge of being overrun," Nabooru thanked the young major.

"Well luckily Central Command dispatched reinforcements so that we could push them back. As we speak now, a fleet of ours is attacking their invasion fleet which is not in position to fight as they are recovering their troops," the Major informed.

"Very well, however, I believe you also have something for me?" Nabooru re-directed the conversation.

"Yes, Central Command has new orders for you but they couldn't send them to you as your long range communications went down, so they relayed them to the base and then to me," Malon informed the Captain handing over the information chip which Nabooru plugged into the computer built into the desk.

OpOrd 415

MOST SECRET

Intelligence has provided vital information about the IFC's next big move. IFC naval and ground forces are moving to take the post at M-354 holding the corridor to the Silesian Cluster. The outcome of the war may very well rest on this action. Captain Nabooru, you and your ship will embark the 11th Armored Cavalry Squadron for immediate transport to the post to reinforce the army garrison there. Upon arrival your ship will assume its role as Flagship Battleship Squadron 15 with yourself in command, including the battleships H.N.S Warspite and H.N.S Ramillies as well as your own. You will operate as escort to the carriers of Taskforce 49, charged with the defense of the transit lane. Proceed to Nayru Lunar Base immediately for refit and resupply. After refit has been completed you will rendezvous with the Warspite and Ramillies at the Racknall IV Shipyard before proceeding to M-354 and to the rendezvous with General Lowell's Taskforce 49.

Hylian Naval Command

"Well then that's pretty clear. How soon are your troops ready to embark Major?" Nabooru asked.

"They're ready now ma'am," responded rapidly.

"Alright, begin loading. Your tanks and other vehicles can move into one of the marine deployment bays. We'll quarter your men with the marines, there's plenty of room in the quarters of their section," Nabooru ordered.

With a salute, the young female Major spun about and walked out.

As soon as the Major left, Nabooru hit the intercom to Impa, "Impa, I want a meeting with all section chiefs in the main briefing room in 15 minutes."

On the beach, the original defenders were collapsed in various positions on the sand in exhaustion. They had been pushed to the brink by the IFC landing and only with fierce resistance and the timely arrival or reinforcements were able to stop the advance and push the IFC back into the sea. Bodies of soldiers from both sides floated in the wash of the tide, which was stained red in many places. Derelict tanks studded the beach crewmen stuck in grotesque poses as they tried in vain to clamber out of their flaming vehicles. Several landing craft were sunk in the shallow waters some with body parts visible. Medics scurried about the former battlefield picking up the wounded in their litters and identifying the dead for burial.

"I guess we did it huh?" Navi remarked.

"Yeah we did, but barely. If those reinforcements hadn't have come we would either be dead or on our way to a IFC prison camp," Kitana replied.

"I feel really lucky. Once the shooting started I definitely felt scared. They didn't train us for that at the academy. It's a lot different on the ground with a rifle and seeing the face of your enemy before you kill him," Mido mused.

"You did a good job kid. I know what you mean. We paid a high price to keep 'em off this island but we did it," Kitana reassured the Kokiri.

"I wonder what's going on now," Navi wondered as she observed the tanks of the recently arrived Hylian armored unit driving into one of the marine deployment bays.

"Must be a new assignment, I'm sure we'll find out soon but for now I'd advise rest," Kitana advised as she hauled herself up and gathered her equipment before rounding up her marines.

In the medical bay of the ship the doctors were again busy with the influx of new patients. Those with less serious wounds were separated from patients with more life-threatening injuries. It was at this time that Zelda returned to consciousness. One of the nurses seeing the previously comatose form of the ensign return to life called over the doctor who had performed the transplant procedure earlier.

"What happened?" inquired Zelda, still dazed and disoriented.

"You're in the infirmary now Ensign, you took severe injuries when the IFC attempted to board the ship. You were brought to the medical bay and we identified you as having lost a massive amount of blood and that we didn't have any blood of your type on board, but we found a young man who had a matching type and volunteered for the transfusion you would have been dead," the doctor informed.

"Who was this person?" Zelda asked, curious as to who her savior was.

"Sorry ma'am. I can't tell you that, physician-patient privilege," the doctor kindly refused. "Now hold still and after we run a couple of more tests you'll be free to go.

Zelda watched as the doctor left, already an idea in her head of who the donor was…

New Clocktown Hylian Naval Base - 14 days 16 hours, 32 minutes until commencement of Operation Endgame

Marth's father had just finished a meeting with the divisional commanders of his fleet that were present. Just two hours ago, Battleship Division 21 had arrived in port and General Lowell had to bring their officers up to date. Now that the meeting was over, he was sitting alone in his office aboard his flagship, the Chrysalis, reviewing the battle plan. So much of it depended on the intelligence source which Command had placed so much faith on and even more of it required a large amount of sheer luck. With a careful bit of tweaking, the general thought to himself, he could hopefully accomplish a victory like none other in the war thus far. Finishing his touches, the general called in his most trusted aide to whom he gave a sealed packet addressed to Command and ordered him to take a small courier ship to convey the package.

H.N.S Freedom's Cry, Bridge - 14 days 3 hours, 52 minutes until commencement of Operation Endgame

"All sections report readiness ma'am," Impa informed the captain.

"Very well, helm increase power to one fourth and begin ascent," Nabooru ordered.

"Power to one fourth, aye," Mido acknowledged manipulating the thrust levers at his console.

Slowly, the ship began to rise from the beach from whence she had fought and again began to climb into the sky. Several of the fighters from the base were assigned to escort them to the edge of the stratosphere of the planet and stayed in close formation with the battleship.

"Sensors station, can you detect anything in orbit?" Nabooru queried the secondary sensors officer who was now on duty due to Zelda's injury.

"Nothing so far ma'am. Command's exit vector and timeframe took into account the I.F.C patrol schedule. All patrols are currently on the far side of the planet and are not able to catch up. No warships have sortied from the surface either ma'am," the officer

"Very well, keep me informed," Nabooru replied, tense as ever.

Eventually the blue sky began to recede as the darkness of space once more began to envelop the Freedom's Cry. Reaching their limit, the escorting fighters took their leave and descended back to the planet's surface. Yet the battleship was not long without company as soon, a pair of frigates from the lunar base arrived to escort the battleship into one of the massive craters.

Like the first time she had arrived, Nabooru was greeted by the base commandant.

"We've already been informed of your current orders. Command wants you out of here and on your way to Racknall IV in 3 days. I'm pulling every single able-bodied man and woman together to repair your ship. Unfortunately I don't think we can fix every little thing. So you'll have to give us a list of things you need repaired according to their priority and then we'll work on it as fast as we can," the commandant informed.

Nabooru was a bit uneasy at the fact that she would be taking out her ship in what her gut feeling told he would be a fierce fight at less than 100 capacity but orders were orders.

The area surrounding the ship was a blur as a swarm of personnel began entering and clambering over the ship. Crates of supplies were hauled onboard while empty containers were hurriedly switched out. Several holes in the hull were already in the midst of having steel patches slapped onto them while welders in their masks eagerly fused the metals together. They had three days left to get the Cry back into fighting shape.

H.N.S Freedom's Cry, Mess Hall

The mess hall was packed to capacity. Some of the crew, weary from the previous days combat had slumped down in their chairs onto the tables and were dozing off. Others were drinking coffee and pumping themselves up with the stimulating liquid so they could continue their duties.

Navi, Saria, Mido, and Ruto were at a table when suddenly they looked up in surprise.

"Hey guys!" they heard the voice of Link through the din of conversation elsewhere. Their friend looked a bit weary and haggard but he still had his trademark grin and was slowly walking over to them.

"We were just about to visit you. I can't believe they let you out already!" exclaimed Mido.

At that Link looked a bit sheepish, "Well they didn't let me out per se. I just felt so cooped up in there and I wanted to see you guys so I just left when the docs weren't looking," Link grinned.

"I just hope that you really are alright," Navi said concernedly.

"Where the hell are we now and what are we doing? Did we drive em off at Onogoro?" Link quickly remembered the ship's last posting.

"It got pretty close out there on the beach. We were on the verge of being overrun before reinforcements came to help out. The ship took quite a bit of damage in the course of things. We have new orders now and we're at the lunar base again. Captain says we leave in three days for Racknall IV to rendezvous with two other ships before moving to M-345. Evidently Fleet Intel got word that M-354 is objective for the I.F.C's objective to end the war so they're mustering up a task force," Ruto informed him.

"Well then that's cheerful news. Hopefully you have something else to tell me besides that our fate hangs in the balance, like maybe Marth got shot and then run over by a tank yes?" Link commented hopefully.

"I wish, he ended up drawing a post in the engine room. I have no idea why he needed to be in the engine room seeing as we were in one place but there you go," Mido replied in disgust.

Just then a pair of Hylians entered the room who slowly made their way over to Link and his friend's table. It took a while for them to recognize Marth helping Zelda along through the crowd. The five friends consciously took efforts to ignore the pair as they took seats at a table next to their own.

"When I awoke earlier today, the doctors told me what had happened to me. They said that I had lost a lot of blood was had a good chance of dying but there was only one on the ship who had my matching blood type and he donated a large amount of blood and marrow and saved my life. The doctor wouldn't tell me who it was, but I had an idea. It was you wasn't it Marth?" Zelda looked up to the taller Hylian hopefully.

Marth took a second to respond having no idea whatsoever what Zelda was talking about, but he wasn't one to slouch away from honor and glory that found its way into his lap.

"Of course it was me. I wanted to tell you but the doctors went on about their little confidentiality thing, you know how doctors are. You know that I'd do anything for you though Zelda," he gallantly pledged.

Link and his comrades were privy to the conversation and had heard every word.

"That bastard!" Saria exclaimed.

"Are you just going to let him do that Link? I mean I know you don't like the girl and all but you risked your life to save her and you're going to let him take the credit for it," Navi whispered incredulous.

"Whatever, it doesn't matter. Let him take whatever credit he wants. Like you said, I don't care for Zelda at all so I really don't care about what she thinks, if she wants to believe that Marth saved her, that's fine with me," Link replied dismissively, however with a trace of anger that his friends detected but let pass.

"Let's get out of here and walk around the base a little. That way we can get away from them and get a little change in scenery," Mido suggested much to the agreement of his comrades.

The five left the mess hall, to disembark from the ship and wandered around the rest of the base, conversing with crewmembers of other ships who were currently docked in port.

New Clocktown Hylian Naval Base - 13 days 9 hours, 14 minutes until commencement of Operation Endgame

The Hylian installation had rapidly become a frenzy with pilots scrambling to their fighter craft and defense personnel racing to their stations.

"Enemy scout in sector 43 Alpha moving at high speed, he's making for the perimeter," one of the base controllers exclaimed.

"Scramble a squadron of fighters immediately and alert all defense stations. Destroy that bastard now!" another controller ordered.

The small spy ship that the IFC information gatherer was using moved at breakneck speed through the base weaving through the girder spacedocks that held warships of the Hylian fleet. He came into the base with the strict orders of obtaining the Hylian defense plans for M-354 and had succeeded. Tracers and energy beams lanced through the darkness of space reaching in vain to stop him. Just a few more seconds and he'd be clear of the Hylian defenses. However, just when he was poised to run past the perimeter battlestations, a pair of HF-29s dropped down in front of him causing him to swear and break hard left. The fighters turned hard in pursuit, trying to get a missile lock on the desperately evading spy ship. In the act of turning his head back around from searching for the pursuing fighters, the spy barely managed to evade a supply freighter that was outbound from the base. More fighters joined the chase as increasingly dense anti-aircraft fire began boxing in the tiny ship while the fighters swarmed in eager for the kill. Deciding to make one last ditch effort for the perimeter, the spy threw all available power into the engines but fate caught up with him as a beam pierced the hull causing instant depressurization and asphyxiation of the spy. And so it was that the IFC was completely in the dark of the Hylian plans, their spy having been killed at the brink of success.

"General Lowell, defense force commander reports that the enemy spy ship has been destroyed," and aide informed the general.

"Thank you, Captain," the general said.

Marth's father looked out the window contemplatively. During those brief exciting moments of the chase, he knew that his plans for the operation were on the verge of catastrophe and that it was sheer luck that the enemy did not obtain his plans. He would have to be more careful in the future because another such incident would mean extreme consequences.

H.N.S Freedom's Cry Main Observation Room

It was now "night" time on the ship, or what would have been night had the ship been on a planet and most of the crew were asleep although many of the maintenance personnel of the base were still at work round the clock.

Link had returned to the ship with his friends after spending time with them catching up on their various escapades during what would become known as the Battle of the Onogoro Sea. After returning to the ship, Link, unlike his friends found himself not that tired so instead of retiring to his quarters he found himself wandering to the ship's library which was located in the main observation room. Looking around the shelves for something to read, he saw an older looking volume that caught his eye. His eyes recognized the gilded title that was beginning to wear off the spine of the book Ocarina of Time: The Hero of Time and Princess of Destiny. That tale was his childhood favorite and every night when he was little he would always ask his mother to read the same story. Sure the story was an old one, but it was a story that was well loved by all. Link loved to read about the adventures of the sword toting hero bearing the same name as him. Randomly flipping to a page, Link saw an illustration depicting perhaps one of the saddest parts of the tale. The figures of the ancient Link and princess stood in the sky, each looking into the eyes of the other with sadness and regret etched into their faces. Beneath the picture the text of the story read, "And so it was, that having vanquished the Evil King Ganondorf the hero and princess were reunited one final time. Yet at this moment Princess of Destiny told the hero that she must send him back to correct her errors and that no one except her would remember their exploits. The hero stood shocked and saddened, not because he would not receive his due fame and credit for those meant nothing to him. He felt the way he did because during the course of their journey he had fallen irrevocably in love with the fair princess. These feelings were not unrequited for the Princess herself had fallen for her dashing hero. However these feelings were not meant to come to fruition as moments later Princess Zelda played the Ocarina of Time, sending Link back and sealing the Gate of Time."

Link then closed the book gently marking the page where he had been with the hospital bracelet that he had cut off earlier. He had read this passage many a time before but he could not help but feel saddened by it every time. Two people brought together by a war that threatened to engulf their homeland but through heroic efforts on both of their parts they had succeeded but only to be forcefully separated at the end. Looking at the illustration once more, he couldn't help but comparing the Zelda that he knew to the one portrayed in the book. Physically the two were exactly alike, quite tall, slender, beautiful with golden hair and luminous eyes. Both seemed to be strong willed in their own ways. Yet the Zelda of the past seemed a bit more kind and accepting than the Zelda that he knew. What would it be like if Zelda and him fell in love, Link wondered. Would they too be separated by fate? But those were stupid thoughts Link reminded himself. The present Zelda was interested in Marth first of all and it seemed like she'd never be able to look on common people like himself as equal much less prospective romantic candidates.

Just then, Link looked up and was surprised to see Zelda entering the room. Unfortunately Link's mind picked that awkward moment to notice that Zelda cut quite the figure in her light blue Fleet Command uniform. The blue uniform blouse kept to her figure but not in an unprofessional matter and the uniform skirt didn't hurt either. The young woman took no apparent notice of Link, instead moving over to the bookshelves looking for a book to read. Minutes passed by as Zelda looked at every single shelf unable to find what she was looking for. She redoubled her efforts until she finally stood stymied, unable to think of what to do next. Her brow was furrowed as if she was making a momentous decision. Zelda suddenly turned to Link and began to speak, while Link braced himself for a tirade that was sure involve something ridiculous.

"Ummm, I was looking for a book but I can't seem to find it, do you think you can help me?" the female ensign timidly requested.

"Alright, I guess…" Link replied confused at this bipolar change from her usual pompous self. She really was a strange one she was, most of the time stuck up, arrogant, but a others gentle and caring, but always with a fiery spirit.

"It's going to sound childish so please don't laugh," Zelda muttered, flushing a bit in embarrassment.

What could she ask for that was childish, Link wondered to himself while nodding assent.

"I'm looking for an old fairy tale, it's called Ocarina of Time: The Hero of Time and Princess of Destiny. Do you think you could help me find it since you've been living here longer than I have?" Zelda inquired, her blush still lingering, timid as if she expected Link to make fun of her for looking for what many deemed as a fairy tale for young children.

"Oh!" Link exclaimed in surprise. "I happen to have it here, but I was in the middle of reading it," Link commented.

Now, part of Zelda, the more aristocratic, arrogant part told her that it would be alright to simply demand and take the book from him. Yet it was not that part of her that was speaking, instead it was her more gentle aspect.

"Do you think that I could perhaps read it with you?" she tentatively asked.

Link was entirely caught off guard. He expected her to demand the book from him citing her superior social status as she usually did, but this docile request was different. As much as he disliked her from his experiences with her so far, he couldn't really say no to a polite request such as this.

"Sure, I guess," Link replied, opening the book once more and taking out the bracelet.

I.F.C.N.S Ganon's Fury – 13 days, 8 hours till Operation Endgame

Having briefed the officers in direct command of the campaign, now Admiral Twinrova was informing Ganondorf of this latest IFC stroke.

"Admiral, much of your plan relies on the Hylians cooperating with your timetable. Is that not risky? If they somehow deduce our intentions they might reinforce their garrison at M-354." Ganondorf commented.

"Yes, my lord. But we shall be conducting a series of raids over the next few days to keep them off balance and not knowing where our blow will strike. Our patrol line of frigates will be deployed soon and detect any Hylian Fleet movements towards M-354," Twinrova replied confidently.

"What of our spies in the Hylian midst, have they been briefed on our operation?" Ganondorf interjected.

"It's mixed news sir. One of our spies was killed trying to breakout from the perimeter of the New Clocktown naval base. Others are reporting some activity but nothing major. Our lead spy was due to contract us through the escaping one but since he was killed, contact has been lost for the time being. However, he knows his mission and he will be able to fulfill it," the admiral stated.

"This had better work Admiral. Already our plans have been disrupted by the insolence of these Hylians. I grow impatient with this war. There will be severe consequences for those that fail me Admiral," Ganondorf threatened.

The Admiral nodded her acknowledgement without even blinking at the threat.

H.N.S Cramden, Supply Convoy HX-117 – 13 days 7 hours 34 minutes till Operation Endgame

Soon after Admiral Twinrova informed her lord that disruptive operations were planned, several leading task groups began to near their objectives.

The Savior class Cruiser Cramden, was the flagship of the supply convoy HX-117 en route to the front lines at the Veracruz Shoal Zone. The convoy consisted of the Cramden, another cruiser of the same class, 5 Termina class frigates, and 30 Jumbo bulk carriers.

The commodore of the convoy was sitting on his command chair in the Cramden. He sorely wished that he had an EF-14 early warning craft however none of his ships were equipped to carry that craft and as a result the convoy had to rely on the sensor arrays of its escorting warships which were thinly spread around the perimeter.

"Captain! High density energy readings, 42 degress off the port bow!" the sensors officer shouted.

There was little time to react as flashes of red energy struck one of the escorting frigates and hit the reactor, causing a cataclysmic fireball. Two of the nearby freighters were destroyed while another spun lazily through space, fires jetting from its surface fed by the internal atmosphere of the ship. Another salvo struck the bow of the cruiser, rocking the entire ship and melting the front quarter of the ship into a twisted sculpture of slag and debris.

"Who's firing on us?" the captain yelled back, panic setting in, while damage control personnel and other individuals ran about shouting through the smoke that was pouring onto the bridge.

"I can't get anything definitive sir but it looks like 4 Restitution Class Battleships, and 10 Flanker cruisers," the sensors officer reported seconds before an explosion riddled him with shrapnel, soaking his uniform in blood.

"My goddesses, we don't have a chance," the captain whisphered.

Outside one didn't need to look that hard to see that the captain was correct. Freighters were being as they tried to flee while the escorting warships tried in vain to protect them. The Hylian fighters for the most part had been unable to launch, their carrier ships being caught by surprise and sustaining severe damage.

On the Cramden, the captain regained some of his composure, "Gunnery officer, can you get a firing solution on the enemy ships?"

"Sorry sir. The opening salvo took out our main rangefinder. Without it, we'll just be firing by sight and luck and at this range we'll never score a hit," the gunnery officer conceded.

"Damn, communications officer! Send a message to Central Command. Tell them we are under heavy attack and give them our position. Order all remaining freighters to disperse and make a run for it. We'll try to cover their withdrawal with whatever we had left," the Captain enunciated his final orders.

Seconds later, the transmitter on the bridge tower began broadcasting the encrypted message while the remaining weapons on the cruiser returned an ineffective fire as the remaining few freighters attempted to leave the battlefield.

R.O.H Headquarters Goron's Redoubt

The communications center at the massive underground base was always a hive of activity however now more so than normal.

"Admiral, we have another report. This one's from convoy HX-117, they report that they're under heavy attack and their location," the senior communications officer handed the message form to the flag officer on duty.

The Admiral could only look at the message with confusion. This was the 40th message he had received about IFC forces conducting vicious small scale raids on Hylian convoys and outposts. This sort of activity against such relatively small scale targets had so far been unprecedented in the war. What did it mean the Admiral thought to himself? Was it possible that intelligence had it wrong and that the IFC was not going to strike at M-354? The only thing he could do was arrange for a conference on the issue in the next few hours.

H.N.S Freedom's Cry, Main Observation Room 13 days, 6 hours, 54 minutes till Operation Endgame

Since Link had approved of Zelda's request, she moved much closer to him until their shoulders were rubbing together so that they could easily share the book. The two talked tentatively to each other about the story each enumerating reasons why they liked it and surprised that two entirely different people had such a thing in common. Yet the talk still could not entirely break through the barriers between the two and for much of the time Link didn't know if Zelda would suddenly erupt at him for some petty reason or other.

Link couldn't help but glancing sideways at the stunning ensign who was sitting next to him. He had a slight blush in his cheeks as he had never been in such close proximity with a woman like Zelda before. Often he found himself enraptured by the range of her expressions as he read the story. The thoughts that teased Link earlier returned, was it possible that for all their animosity so far, that Link was falling for or in the very least feeling attracted to Zelda.

Preoccupied with his thoughts, Link absently reached a hand out to turn the page. However, he was greatly surprised when he didn't feel the papery touch of the page corner but a soft warmth. Suddenly, paying attention, Link looked to see that his hand was indeed not resting on the page but instead of Zelda's hand which was in the act of doing what he had wanted to do.

The two merely stared at this for a few seconds until they awkwardly met the other's gaze. Both suddenly very aware of the contact abruptly withdrew their limbs as if from a fire. Silence reigned as neither knew what do to do. Link sat there half expecting to receive the beating Zelda had become famous for and half wanting to touch her hand so that he could again feel the brief warmth.

Zelda was in no less turmoil than Link. The brief moment of contact had given her an unprecedented sense of warmth and security that no one had ever provided for her. She felt guilty for having experienced such feelings. Wasn't she not Marth's girlfriend and didn't she pledge her love to him and him only. Then why had Link provoked such feelings within her while Marth as good as he made her feel sometimes had never caused any feelings approaching what Link had done. Words failed her at this moment as did her brain, not letting any part of her body take action.

It was Link to speak first, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that…" he trailed off bracing himself for a slap to the face.

"It's alright, it was just an accident I'm sure," Zelda found herself replying, much to Link's relief.

"Well, uh, I guess I'm going to go then," he stammered still embarrassed and wanting to leave this awkward situation.

"Oh, alright," she replied.

Link slowly got up from couch the two had been sharing and began to walk slowly out of the room tossing the hospital bracelet in the waste bin next to the bookshelf before stepping out of the room leaving Zelda alone.

Zelda let go of the breath that she didn't know that she had been holding. Sitting there with the book on her lap, she tried to make sense of the rush of emotions she had just felt. Ever since she had stepped foot aboard the ship it seemed as if Link and her were polar opposite and fought often and fiercely. Yet here she was sharing what some would consider a romantic moment with a young man who she had only a few days before been yelling at. Instead now, she was being confronted with feelings that were foreign to her and that even her own boyfriend couldn't evoke. This only brought up the question which she didn't know that Link had been wrestling with also, was she falling for Link? It just seemed so unlikely to her, they were of the entire opposite upbringing and class. Not able to find a suitable answer, he instead resolved to find Marth to spend some time with so that these feelings could go away or so she hoped. Unfortunately for her, fate seemed to intervene by throwing her another twist. On her way out she noticed that Link's hospital wristband near the top of the waste bin as it had been quite full. One part of it, the one containing patient data stood facing her and one line stood out: Patient Blood Type: H-Positive. Compelled to look at her own bracelet which was still on her wrist she was confronted by what shocked her: Patient Blood Type: H-Positive. Her mind began whirling again. Didn't the doctor say that she had an extremely rare blood type and that only the lucky occurrence of a matching donor had saved her life. When she encountered Marth and asked him about it, he assured her that it was him and that he'd do anything for her. Yet then why did Link's bracelet have this blood type. Since it was so rare, did it mean that Link was the actual donor and that Marth had lied to her? No, it couldn't be. It must be random chance. 'There were after all over 1000 individuals aboard ship, it wasn't entirely unlikely to have at least 3 people of the same type, right?' she asked herself. Marth wouldn't lie to her, he told that that he loved her and would never do anything to hurt her. So of course it had to be him that saved her. Sated, at least temporarily by this line of reasoning, Zelda left the room to find Marth whom she hoped could allay these thoughts dancing around her head.

Authors Notes: So what do you think. Please read and review. Lot's of development for both the romance and the action here I think.

Next time on Legend of Zelda Freedom's Cry: Repairs to the ship are completed and the ship once more sets course through the vastness of space. Rendezvouing with their assigned contingent at Racknall IV, the ships make their way to M-354 while the start date for Operation Endgame looms near. The Hylian High Command must deal with doubts sown by the rash of IFC attacks while traitors and spies within the Hylian military threaten to destroy the Republic. Meanwhile, young ensign Zelda, confused by her encounter with the pilot Link tries to find reconciliation within her heart.