***THUMP***
Ran felt the air explode from her lungs as she slammed into
the bulkhead of the "Rose Emperor" in a futile attack on the shinobi
matriarch of the Moroboshi family. The red haze of her rage cleared,
to be replaced by white dots in her field of vision, along with the
disorientation to be expected from the self-inflicted blow.
Words were disjointed as she tried to regain her senses and
rise.
"Heads up!"
"...my grandmother.......crazy......."
*No crazier than you are, you son of a bitch!* thought Ran as
she strove to recover her bearings. How dare that spirit-damned
creature try to separate Lum from her! Didn't he understand that she
was just about the only family she had after Shingetsu was destroyed?
Other than Rei, maybe the *only* real kin she had or most of her
life, in spirit if not in flesh. Didn't he care that without her...
...without her she...
...she'd...
...be...
...ALONE?!
It seemed to her he didn't, that Ataru was so far outside the
circle of tolerable companionship that things like desire, love, and
*need* didn't register. A place where hot tea and taiyaki, frilly
dresses, picnic baskets, and dates in the park had no place!
Worse, maybe he fully understood what he was doing to her,
and like some demon out of a demented and sadistic theology, rejoiced
in her misery!
Snatches of voices echoed as she gathered her wits. Or
rather, a single voice, filled with bile and wrath!
"You'd attack me..."
Ataru!
*Yes, demon, you're damn right I would!* reverberated the
retort through Ran's brain. You want me beat down. You want to kill
Rei, MY REI!! My one and only!!! You and your hellspawn 'daughter'
wanted his carcass on the deck.
Just as you want me groveling before you; beaten in body,
battered in soul, broken in spirit! Just like Mother did...
"...my daughter..."
*Attacked me first!* Ran remembered, as she replayed her
horror as Rei landed in the classroom with the injuries Reiko
bestowed to the Oni pilot she loved.
"...and now you'd attack my grandmother..."
When you've been pushed down for so long, why should anyone
punish you for pushing back. No one ever punished *YOU,* Ataru!!!
"If you think I'm going to let you get away with that, you're
mistaken!"
You got away with destroying *Shingetsu*, didn't you? You
even taunted me with that during the Spirit War!
Nobody punished *YOU* for wrecking *OUR* lives, our dreams
*OUR* town during the Spirit War!!! Your family had a free pass
from the destruction your little pet demon caused, signed by the
Emperor himself! Hell, you even got a sister as a reward!!!
WHO IN THE NINE HELLS DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?????
What makes you think that *you*, who with the permission of
your grandmother got away with *EVERYTHING*, can judge *ME???*
WHAT GIVES **YOU*** THE RIGHT?????
Why should *you*, who always yelled about leading his own
destiny, be so angry over the notion that someone else just might
want to live his own life as well. Do you really think, *Darling*
monster, that you're the only one who's suffered?
The only one tortured in a universe of tortured souls?
The only...
Her train of thought was derailed by the sight of a dollar
coin sized object with a red button. The excommunication badge!
Ran's eyes froze with fear as Ataru approached, indifferent
to the screams for mercy from his own parents. She tried to get up,
to run, but saw the guns pointed at her from the Inquisition and so
slumped down to weep.
**NO. DON'T WEEP! DON'T GIVE THE THEM THE SATISFACTION!**
I must not show sorrow to Darling Devil, Ran decided. I
won't show anything but total defiance, even to the face of hell!
There will be time enough for tears and weeping there...
....but to cry here would be irredeemably wrong!
As her former friend and present tormentor knelt down, she
knew with stone cold certainty she was going to die on the ship. Her
body would continue to function, her heart would continue to beat,
her lungs would continue to inhale and exhale...
But *Ran* would be elsewhere. A place of torment from which
there was no return. A place where only death could hold any
possible release.
And perhaps not even then...
And she would be sent there by a man she used to know as a
decent and caring, if somewhat annoying, individual; Ataru Moroboshi.
A man who, in his most heinous, most cruel, and most evil moment,
declared himself judge, juror, and executioner over his classmates.
And was about to carry out sentence...
It didn't seem possible to Ran.
Yet at this moment, the demon who possessed the name Ataru
Moroboshi was more himself than he'd ever been. The skirt chaser was
an illusion. This was his truest self.
He had become his *grandmother's* son!
Another person who hurt a little, defenceless red haired
young girl who seemed to live her life with an invisible bulls-eye
around her, inviting everyone to take their shot!
Just like Benten and Nassur...
Just like *Mother!*
As the red button was pressed, one last conscious thought
ran though Ran's mind...
ABANDON ALL HOPE, YOU WHO COME HERE.
...to Hell.
**** **** ****
"Beyond the Point"
Chapter One of Urusei Yatsura - The Senior Year:
"Insurgency!"
by Steven P. Cornett
Comments, flames, grunts & loud noises to <cornetts@gemair.com>
**** **** ****
An alternate "Urusei Yatsura - The Senior Year" fanfic story based on
the series "Urusei Yatsura" created by Rumiko Takahashi
**** **** ****
Edited by Fred Herriot <fherriot@yahoo.com> and E.B. Kushnir <kush1
@iaw.on.ca>
**** **** ****
Many thanks to Anand Rao, Sean Gaffney, and June "Karaohki" Geraci
for the C&C they've given me on this.
**** **** ****
THE UBIQUITOUS WRITER'S NOTES:
1) This is an alternate history story for "Urusei Yatsura - The
Senior Year" which diverges from the original history in the middle
of "Ataru's First Girlfriend! Arrive Windy-chan!!" I got the idea
from a writer's challenge on the Fanfic Mailing List in which the
writer must explore the relationship between might and right.
2) The premise: what if Nagaiwakai *refused* to suspend the
excommunication of Ran, Mendou, Megane and the Guards. First answer:
they die, right? That was my thought too, so the first thought was
make a story going over the characters' reaction to their murders as
they attend (or don't attend) the funeral. Everyone would be buried
side by side (even Ran would have a cenotaph provided by Yedris).
3) That isn't the story I'm writing. The next thought I had
was: maybe the Urusians can't shut down a excommunication badge, but
a society with Sagussan-level knowledge...say the Avalonians...
*could*. That also provides a motivation for them to do, since at
the time of "AFG" they are still oppressed by the Niphentaxians.
4) This story will be much more character-oriented than other
TSY stories in the main series. There will still be a lot of action.
I will try to explore the ex-condemned's interaction, motivation, and
state of mind as they adapt to their new status, and to the duty
asked of them in return.
5) Those of you who are fans of Ataru as he appears in TSY be
warned: I will be exploring the darker aspects of the character in
this story. He won't come out smelling like a rose here!
**** **** ****
"Ah, Takesei, there you are! I've been looking all over for
you. I have a financial database I need on line in a month and *you*
are just the person to do it!"
The indefatigable smile on the middle-aged man's face meant
that 34-year old Takesei Yoshimitsu, middle-level programmer and
warrior in the eternal struggle against network downtime, was in for
a project with too many features and too little time. That, of
course, didn't include the features added by customer whim during the
work!
*Oh well,* thought the technical gofer. *It seemed to be a
good morning for at least...what? Three minutes?*
Takesei sauntered over to the coffee pot, and poured the
usual high-octane drink into his mug and sauntered to his desk at the
center of the building, a few steps from the mainframe room. He
booted up his system as he gulped his drink and proceeded to read
over the latest database requirements for the upgrade project
recently undertaken at the Sendai branch of Toranoseishin Finances.
It was fifteen minutes after he arrived, and it already
looked as if it would be a three coffee mug and two Jolt Cola kind of
day.
The programmer began his work, bringing up his database and
programming tools to develop the programs required. As he typed and
clicked time lost all meaning. All that mattered was that he shaped
the keywords, variables, classes and objects that flew by his screen
into the special incantation his electronic tools would use to shape
the abstraction in his mind into working code that others would use.
This was his world, he was the sorcerer, the code on the screen his
spell, and the windows that came up on his command the magic made
manifest.
The spell was broken when the phone by his desk rang.
Takesei assumed someone in the department would pick it up, such as
the IS manager who seemed to be off to get his second cup of coffee.
After three rings he picked up the phone and answered the call,
prepared to either answer the question or pass it off to the
appropriate bank teller or manager. "Hello, Toranoseishin Finances
Information Department. How can I help you?"
"No. There's nothing *you* can do to help. I have a message
for those in charge," the voice on the phone answered coldly.
Takesei wondered why someone would be so snobbish to a person
she hadn't met. *Guess she must not be a morning person.* "Well, my
supervisor is not in the office at the moment. Can I take a message,
or would you like me to page him?"
"No. You'll do for this message. You see, we've planted a
device somewhere in your office...and you'd better start moving
everyone toward the exits. It won't be healthy to be there in a
little bit."
*'A device?!'* Takesei thought. "You don't mean...?" he
asked in disbelief as he realized the implication of the euphemism.
"Kami, don't let this mean what I think it does...!"
"A bomb. A big one at that. Should level the whole building
in about a half hour."
*Oh gods, what do I do now?!* thought the programmer. *I'd
better call the boss!* He waved Ichiro, his supervisor, to his desk
to hear the call. "Boss, I got someone who says there's a bomb
here."
"What?! Hello, this is Ichiro, Information Services. Is
that true about a bomb?!" the manager yelled to the person on the
other end.
"Yes, it is. And you just wasted two minutes that you could
have used to get everyone out. I suggest you not waste any more...
unless you just *like* being blown to bits."
At this point, Ichiro turns pale and drops the phone.
"Takesei, call security. Tell them what the woman told you. I'll
try to get some information from this woman about the bomb."
"Yes...uh...sir", was the programmer's response as he dialed
up the number for security.
***** *** *****
Five minutes after security got the call from Takesei, the
fire alarms rang throughout the building. Everyone in the office
filed out to the street facing the building, duly waiting for the
supervisors to come around and count them off, then stood around and
waited for the all-clear signal. In the meantime, most of the
workers mingled with each other and conversed. After all, no one
ever believes a fire or major disaster will occur near *them,* so the
workers reveled in an unplanned free moment.
Some individuals left the crowd to adjourn to the nearest
cafe, restaurant, or coffee house with their favorite co-worker. As
soon as Ichiro came around to check off his section, Takesei sought
out his coworkers to enjoy snacks at the nearest coffee shop as the
police conversed with the guards about possible places the bomb could
be.
As they left, the police cordoned off the place and cleared
the employees out from within the area. Some began to worry...they
didn't do this for a drill, after all. Mumbling about a fire drifted
around the crowed after that, and other rumors started as well.
None of this talk reached the programmers congregated in the
nearby coffee shop. Most of the talk there was about married life
(for those already hitched), possible dates for the single folks, the
latest baseball games and wrestling matches, and speculation as to
whether the programmers will win against the accountants in the next
indoor tennis match the company would soon hold.
All the banter stopped when a loud *BOOM!!* shouted through
the shop, shaking up the table and causing the window to vibrate for
a second. Everyone looked around startled trying to figure out what
happened, when Takesei jolted with realization, and rushed out to see
the scene outside. "The company. That bomb the lady called about.
Could it be...?!"
The others ran out to catch the errant programmer, and
stopped short upon seeing the sight of the Toranoseishin Finances
Sendai branch...now *sans* front windows and much of the side.
"Oh, my God...!" was the only comment that passed their
lips...
***** *** *****
"Looks like Gojira stomped on the front of it!" was the first
thing out of the mouth of Moroboshi Special Intelligence operative
#22 when he first arrived at the scene. Indeed, with the front of
the building torn off in an inverted cone for at least the first
three floors, it looked as if an escapee from Monster Island
inadvertently knocked the back of a giant foot into the building.
The truth of course was far more grim, which was why the
agent was in Sendai along with a young woman, a Kuromoroboshi. They
had arrived from the Moroboshi COC, located on Komeru's compound
outside the city, along with lab equipment and scanners to locate the
blast center and determine the cause. From the reports of the
security officers, and the preliminary searches of the local police
and fire departments, all indications were of a bomb set by a
terrorist group, identity unknown.
The woman went ahead with the evidence kit to locate and
scout around the blast Centrex for evidence ahead of the police.
While she would locate areas of possible evidence, such as chassis
parts in which to find assembly IDs, chemical residue, and the like,
she would not tamper with the site itself. That would insure that
the authorities had uncontaminated data for evidence in the trial.
It was a task for which the Kuromoroboshi were well-suited, due not
only to the years of training and practice in ninjitsu that made them
the deadliest practitioners of their art, but because of the training
of some in the modern techniques of forensic science in order to find
and locate their targets.
In the meantime, the Moroboshi agent walked past the officers
maintaining the cordon and entered the tent that served for the
center of the investigation. Seeing the chief inspector for the
local district, the agent introduced himself. "Inspector Nori, I'm
Nijunin Takajima, Toranoseishin Finances. I'm here to get some
information on the incident that took place here. Find out if the
cause is natural or...otherwise."
"Ah, I was told someone was coming, but I didn't expect an
insurance investigator to arrive so soon. A little quick, aren't
you?" the inspector inquired, suspicion darkening his eyes.
"Not really, considering that Komeru-sama's main compound is
only ten minutes from the center of town. So, what have you got so
far?" Nijunin pressed.
"Not much. We haven't reached the blast center to make an
absolute determination yet, but the reports from the eyewitnesses
says it may be a bomb. We got testimony from the section chief of
Information Services, who got a bomb threat about a half-hour before
the blast, and one of his programmers who initially got the call.
You'll want to talk to them, I take it?" the inspector looked at the
man curiously, but allowed any suspicions to pass for the moment.
"I think so," the Moroboshi agent replied.
"Right this way then."
The policeman escorted Nijunin out of the central tent and
into a back entrance of the building. "We'll have to use the stairs
to the third floor. That's where the IS section is. We should be
safe there, and that's where the witnesses are."
"Why are they even in the building?"
"They say they have to check out the equipment in the IS
room. Salvage the programs and data that was exclusively here,
prepare all that for transport to the main office. That type of
stuff." The inspector shrugged at this point. "Guess information
these days is becoming as valuable as gold."
"Information *is* gold, Inspector Nori! More so, since you
can make gold with the right data."
With that, the Moroboshi agent looked toward the computer
area and the desks outside it to see the IS people busy at work, with
the exception of Takesei and Ichiro, who were giving their statements
to the police investigators. "Nijunin-san, We heard you were coming.
I'm Ichiro Nobiyuki, and this is Takesei Yoshimitsu, one of our
department's ace programmers."
"'Ace?' That's the first time I ever heard you call me
*that,* Boss!" Takesei replied in surprise.
Nijunin cut off further banter by proceeding to the business
at hand. "Inspector, if your men are done here, I'd like to speak to
these men myself. Is there someplace we can speak privately?"
Ichiro responded to the request. "We can go to the
conference room. Follow us. It's to your left, two doors down."
After the three seated themselves around the table (after
clearing the dust that had fallen on the chairs as a result of the
blast), the Moroboshi agent began his inquiries. He quickly got the
story of the phone call from Takesei and Ichiro, and learned of the
accent, demeanor and other pertinent facts.
"Interior decoration through high explosives. How charming!"
the Moroboshi investigator looked up from his interviews to see
Jinseiko Fusegu, the Kuromoroboshi who scouted the bomb site, enter
the conference room. Dressed in the blouse, blue vest, and knee
length skirt that was the standard for the modern up-and-coming
businesswoman, she looked to all like an executive assistant or
professional, effectively masking the combat tested ninja training
and instincts. Still, Nijunin knew from her expression that Jinseiko
had found something important.
"Gentlemen, you may have heard of some of our resources, like
the defense forces. Jinseiko-san here is another of our family's
resources...and the root of its existence. She's a Kuromoroboshi.
You may have heard of them." The agent stated, waiting a second to
let the statement sink into the programmers before continuing.
Takesei looked somewhat astonished by the revelation. He
had heard rumors about their role in the owner's ongoing disputes
with the citizens of Tomobiki. The name had a legendary quality in
some sections of the company, but he never knew why. It was one
thing to hear about the elite female ninja bodyguards, but to
actually meet one...was quite another entirely. "You mean this
person's a ninja? She's been searching the building?"
"Yes, that's what the Kuromoroboshi are. Ninja practitioners
taught by Komeru-sama's mother in Rishiri-tou. Jinseiko-san is here
to discretely search the blast site for evidence that might be found
that can help us find out what happened."
The agent continued. "Needless to say, what I've told you
just now is to be kept completely confidential, as is what is about
to be divulged now." The witnesses quickly nodded in agreement.
Satisfied, Nijunin gestured to Jinseiko to relate her
findings. "I've scanned the damaged area of the building, and I've
been able to locate the blast center. There is no gas line nearby,
and the blast seems to be centered around a large truck, such as one
used to carry mail or food."
"So it is a terrorist attack, then?"
"Looks like it. But a truck attack doesn't seem like
something the Yakuza or a far-right ultra-nationalist group would do.
I might say it would be someone connected to the Red Army faction,
but we haven't heard from them in a long time."
"Are you suspecting that this may have been a new group,
Jinseiko-san?"
"It appears to be. We'll have to wait until the police
gather the evidence...including the stuff we help them find."
Nijunin explained to the confused programmers. "Sometimes
the local authorities are not as...thorough...as we would like. We
help point them to evidence that exists on site...we don't plant
anything fake...that they might otherwise miss. We will be lending
our assistance and those of our allies to find those responsible. In
light of this, I must ask you both if there's anything you noticed
that is in any way out the ordinary around this building in the last
few days. People who seemed like they shouldn't be here, someone
acting suspiciously, anything like that?"
Ichiro contemplated the question for a few moments before
shaking his head in the negative. Takesei looked as if he would do
the same, but then changed his expression to one of realization.
"Hey...ah...I don't know if this is significant, and you'll think I'm
some sort of weirdo for this. But...um...There were some high
school students...girls...who spent quite a bit of time watching the
place. One time as I was coming home from a late night here, I
thought I saw one of them in the garage level."
Both of the Moroboshi investigators perked up at that
comment, and focused intently on the junior programmer. "Was there
anything you noticed about the schoolgirls? Something that stood
out? Can you describe them?"
Takesei mulled over the matter for a few moments before
giving an answer. "At the time, they just looked like regular
students. Medium height, dark hair, rather pretty for the most
part. The most distinguishing feature was the school uniforms.
Red vest, black beret. Nothing like the uniforms worn around here,
and before you ask, I grew up around here and know the schools
like the back of my hand. In fact..."
Another pause as Takesei remembered something else. "You
know, I also went to school in Nerima during my junior high years.
My parents moved back to Sendai as I was about to attend high school,
otherwise I would have been at Tomobiki High. I think the uniform is
from around there."
Nijunin and Jinseiko looked at each other, then at the two
gentlemen. "That might be a useful lead. You can both leave. We've
got what we need for now. If we require more information we'll call
you into Moroboshi COC for questioning. Thank you both for your
help."
"You're welcome. I hope you catch whoever did this!" the
manager responded as he left.
After their departure, the agent and the ninja looked at each
other and considered what they just heard. Nijunin was the first to
speak. "You think maybe the Otaku-no-Lum idiots in Tomobiki just
took their little beef with us to the next level?"
"Without any evidence, we can't say one way or the other.
Besides, my sisters and I are watching, as are the informants we've
got there. They're still in shock over what happened to Mendou and
his classmates. They may do a lot of stupid things, maybe even some
stuff that doesn't reach us. A bombing plot would certainly have
reached us," the Kuromoroboshi responded. "I doubt it was them.
Someone from there may have fallen in with the terrorists, but the
group itself is probably someone established."
"Still..." Nijunin mused, "It might be prudent to look into
some of Shutaro Mendou's more ardent admirers in the area. See if we
can get any clues to this from their actions and associations. Until
we get some clues analyzed, that's the best angle to go on at the
moment."
At that point the agent's cell phone rang. "Moroboshi
special agent Twenty-two, go! Yes, I got the statements, there may
be some clues with our friends in Tomobiki...WHAT?!! Another one?
We'll be right over!"
"What was it?"
"Orders from Komeru-sama at COC. He wants us to head back to
the compound as soon as we can. There's been another bombing...and a
claim of responsibility...one related to the excommunication
business!"
"Sounds like we'd better wrap things up here, then," the
ninja quipped as the two got their papers together and prepared to
leave.
"Indeed we'd better. Looks like we'll be on this for a
while."
***** *** *****
When Nijunin and the others arrived back at COC, they were
greeted by the special intelligence chief, several of the
Kuromoroboshi and Komeru himself. It was hard to tell who was the
most distressed, with all of their angry expressions. This was going
to be a tough meeting, the agent concluded.
"Agent Twenty-two, what did you find at the scene?" the chief
asked in a stern manner, one which implied that whatever he said
wouldn't be much worse than whatever else transpired.
"It was definitely a terrorist bomb. We won't know the
specific type for a while, but a cursory run through points at a
terrorist attack. Also, witnesses noticed suspicious activity that
suggests a connection to the situation with Ataru we've been working
on. I'd like to check that lead out."
"And check it out you will, Agent Twenty-two!" came the
measured reply from the CEO of Toranoseishin Finances. "You and a
team of detectives, along with Jinseiko, will be transferred to the
main office in Tokyo in a few days. We have received an e-mail
claiming responsibility for the bombings in *every* mail account in
the company. It arrived just a few minutes ago...anonymously, of
course....but it included details of the bombing and the two others
today that have not been made public. Indeed, confirmation of some
details will take days, but I already suspect it will only further
support the statements."
"What letter was that, Komeru-sama?" the puzzled investigator
asked.
"We have a copy of the e-mail and attachment that was sent.
If you would all look at the screen," Komeru pointed to the end of
the conference room. In a moment, the e-mail program displayed the
text of the critical announcement, enlarged for all to see.
Komeru continued in a measured pace. "The letter came in two
parts. One is the text attachment, and the other is a compressed
sound file to be played by any computer with the standard audio
playback equipment. Both say the same thing, except the sound file
contains what we believe to be the calling card for the group: 'The
hills will run red with the Zephyrite oppressors!'"
The screen displayed the following message, which all read in
rapt attention as the sound file played:
'Attention Toranoseishin Finances and all concerned:
'We, the members of the Army of the Scarlet
Uprising, hereby take responsibility for today's bombing
of the Sendai main office of Toranoseishin Finances, and
for actions against the firm in Yokohama and Melbourne.
We take these actions to strike back at the levers of power
held by the Moroboshi Clan and their sponsors, the so-called
"Holy Republic" of Zephyrus.
'The recent slow torture death sentences, endured
as we speak by members of Tomobiki High School, Class 3-4,
demonstrate clearly that the "Holy Republic" is the real
threat to the life and liberty of every citizen of Earth!
They and the UN SCAA would have us cower in fear of the
Urusians and other "outsiders" and accept edicts allowing
the Zephyrites to shield and protect us. By accepting this
"protection," pushed on us by Ataru Moroboshi and his
family, we allow the Zephyrites to become our masters, our
judges, our juries, and as this episode proves, our
executioners.
'In all of this, we will be allowed no recourse or
appeal!
Is our liberty so worthless that we should
relinquish it for the false security of an alien flag? Or
should we resist this threat, and all its instruments,
wherever they exist?
'We of Scarlet Rising say "Resist!" Our liberties,
hard fought and won through centuries of struggle, far from
being worthless, are worth the sacrifice of our very lives
to protect! It is in that cause that a device was planted
in the first underground level of the Sendai office tower
of Toranoseishin Finances, placed so that the front of the
building would be damaged, the area where the money is
changed! Since our target was the ability of the firm to
carry out its business, and not the needless deaths of
workers, we made a warning call to the building a half hour
before the device went off.
'Please make a note of that last fact: it is what
separates us from the Republic, who have murdered whole
worlds in their quest for cosmic "order!" We punish only
those who have wronged, and only in ways that cause the
least amount of death and injury.
'But not damage! Until the UN renounces ALL
contact with, and deports all citizens of the Republic of
Zephyrus, and until those citizens of Earth presently under
the influence of the Zephyrite excommunication badges are
restored and reparations made for the injustice done them,
we will continue to attack Toranoseishin Finances, the
United Nations' Special Committee on Alien Affairs, and any
other institution allied with the Republic or the Moroboshi
Clan!
'This we pledge, with our lives and honor, one and
all.
'Signed
'Scarlet Rising.'
"Impressions, anyone?" Komeru asked.
Agent Nijunin responded first. "It clearly fits with the
facts we have so far, and they do know a couple of things that are
not public at this moment. I'd say they're the real thing. The
problem is: how do they know about our family's contacts with the
Republic and the SCAA? The answer has to be that they have contacts
or recruits from Tomobiki."
"I agree," Jinseiko seconded. "They mentioned our clan
specifically, and the only ones who we made that obvious to were the
denizens of that Gods-forsaken place! Necessary, because we put our
foot down so often."
"And it would seem..." the CEO and amateur archeologist
responded, "That they, or those sympathetic to them, decided to send
a reply..."
"It would seem so," the Special Intelligence chief concluded.
Komeru stood up, towering over the others in the conference
room as he began to speak. "In that case, I'm transferring Agent
Nijunin and operative Jinseiko to the main office in Tomobiki to
begin an investigation of the town, the school and its students to
find and capture those involved with Scarlet Rising. You have full
authority to use any of our facilities, and are authorized to use
whatever force is necessary to find those responsible. I'll arrange
and pay for temporary lodging and billet space in the office, and
expect you both to arrive in Tomobiki in two days. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!" replied the agent and the ninja in unison.
"In the meantime, I'll contact Mother about this incident,
and confer with her on further action. This involves her even more
than it involves us," he concluded with some concern and no small bit
of fear in his voice. Though he and Nagaiwakai weren't feuding as
she was with Ataru's parents, they argued nearly every time they
spoke, and weren't in any way close.
That fact alone made an already unpleasant duty even more
difficult. But it was necessary...and Komeru understood and obeyed
necessities, whatever the consequences.
***** *** *****
The Mendou armed force's soldier escorted Raven Darke to her
new office inside the main bunker, only a floor above the main
command and control complex for the private army. "The system you
requested is on the desk, with all the programs you should require.
You have full access to all Mendou intelligence files on-line and the
authority to request any files not transferred as of yet."
"Do I have secure line communications, as promised?" Raven
asked the armed force's bodyguard.
"Yes, ma'am. You have secure voice and data access. You
also have access to the special services anonymous network access and
active invasion programs and all data mining services, as the head of
the company requested."
The guard, like all of Shutaro's bodyguards, wore the classic
brown suit, tie and dark Ray-Bans. *Not unlike the agents of the
Special Commission,* Raven thought. "Good. Do I also have access to
surveillance feeds?"
"Yes, that's available through your system. Just activate
the web-cam program, and give the access name to the camera or device
you desire. Is there anything you wish to relay to the head of
special forces, ma'am?" the bodyguard inquired.
*Other than 'Drop dead, asshole,'* Raven mused, *Only one
thing in particular.* "Yes. Tell him to have the data analysis
people search our systems for computer viruses and Trojans. Tell
him to be thorough about the search too and shut down any systems he
needs to." Raven noticed the servant start to leave and remembered
that the Head of Special Operations would not take kindly to being
ordered to do something by anyone other than a member of the family.
Very well then. "Wait! If he has any questions, tell him this came
from Hajime-sama himself. If he has any other questions...have him
call me."
"Yes ma'am. Anything in particular we should be looking for?
I'm sure he'll want to know."
"In particular? Harvester viruses. If he wants more
details, have him call me here," Raven replied. A Harvester virus
wouldn't damage the computer system, but simply gather and store
data, or the location of data, in locked sections of the storage
within the infected system. At a pre-programmed cue, such as a date
or an operation within the system, the harvester would cause the
system to link with a predetermined Internet address, and download
the code, masking the transfer as a web search or standard network
operation. Simple to create, difficult to locate and patient in
their operation, harvester programs were an effective means of
penetrating a computer system. Which ultimately meant that Raven
presently had authority to search the Mendou Conglomerate computer
systems for any such systems, and could by-pass the normal
Information Management heads.
"Yes, ma'am."
The guard left the office at a somewhat faster pace than most
would expect. Raven seemed to have that effect on people. Ignoring
the guard and his distress, Raven sauntered over to her desk and
booted up the system. As the OS loaded, Raven surveyed the office
which would act as the hub for activities during the next while.
Since the complex was largely underground, the office was windowless
and sparsely furnished, with the desk, executive chair and file
cabinet as the main pieces. The desk was wooden with space for
writing, with a monitor and keyboard on the left side. Alongside to
the right of the desk was a space for the laser printer, while the
CPU was tucked underneath the desk to her left. A suitable
arrangement, one that would allow Raven to quickly and efficiently
perform all necessary office work.
Most of her work, though, would be done on the outside. That
was where all the information she needed was, after all. Of course,
offices tended to isolate one from one's sources, allowing others to
control and limit the information available to the person who sat in
the leather seat.
The monitor screen lit up with the opening screen of the OS,
and Raven wasted no time opening the security monitor stream program.
*Now where would Hajime have placed Yedris?* the new special
operation chief mused, hoping that he placed her in accommodations
where audio and video monitors were in place.
After some searching, she found that the Oni mother and
Tribal council leader were in the second guest bungalow, a house
equipped with traditional landscaping, the latest in creature
comforts, and full surveillance. *Nothing but the best for our
guests, especially when we want to know something,* Raven wryly
thought as she activated the data feed.
Her first shot came from the bedroom of the guest quarters.
The bedroom, designed in a Western manner, consisted of a cherry wood
dresser, varnished with natural grain, a wooden desk with rollover
top and a western style bed. This befitted its original purpose as
rest and working quarters for Western executives doing business with
the Conglomerate.
Raven scanned the bedroom and found no one present. She then
switched to the living room, whose doors faced the koi pond which was
part of the traditional landscaping of the quarters. Finding her
target of interest sitting on the porch, she activated the nearest
bug and listened in...
***** *** *****
In Mendou Guest Quarters 2, the Oni woman, the object of
Raven's spying, sat on the porch facing another sand garden, near
another koi pond, with similar feelings as Hajime Mendou, if more
keenly felt. Grief, anger, sorrow and guilt warred with this woman's
heart as she contemplated the events that sealed the fate of the girl
Yedris hoped would someday marry her son.
Much of the Tribal council member's anger centered on the
matriarch of the Moroboshi Clan, and her sudden refusal to grant a
reprieve for Ran and the others. She saw the picture of Nagaiwakai's
children, and saw how the part-Vosian had lost many of them to the
chaos the Moroboshis attracted in the aftermath of Japan's defeat in
World War Two. She used that, and her own history with Ran and her
father, to try to sway Nagaiwakai to hand over the key to the
excommunication badges that were killing Ran and her classmates.
For a while she wondered if she would get through, with
Ataru's grandmother asking how Yedris could possibly keep the reins
on the alien teenager. Then two calls came. One, on a space phone
not dissimilar to ones seen on her homeworld, informing Nagaiwakai
that the engagement of her grandson and a Zephyrite woman was
annulled by order of the Cabal of Archbishops for reasons unknown.
Had that been the first call, Yedris was almost certain that her
efforts would have succeeded and Ran's life secured.
Unfortunately, Komeru's telephone call arrived first. The
events that occurred when the call came would haunt Yedris for the
rest of her life, since it sealed Ran's fate...
***** *** *****
RING, RING!!!
"Komeru? What is it?! This had better *damn* well be
important, because I'm in the middle of something here!!!" the
part-Vosian matriarch screeched with more force than was necessary.
Given the spleen just vented by the woman, Yedris supposed that was
the force Nagaiwakai used much the time.
"Yes. A bomb planted in your Yokohama branch office?"
Silence as Nagaiwakai listened to the voice on the other
line. "Thank goodness there was enough warning to get everyone out."
More listening. "It does sound like whoever it was is more
interested in destroying property than taking lives. Leaves out Aum
Shinrikyo, but you still have possible Red Army Faction, Yakuza,
right-wing extremists and other lunatics of every possible
description. Your forces should be able to find and deal with them.
Where do I fit in on this?"
Another pause. "A letter? To every address in our system?"
the Moroboshi Clan matriarch queried to the voice on the other end
as Yedris watched. "Does that include my special address? It does?
I'll bring it up on the other line."
At this point, Nagaiwakai strode to her terminal, located at
the far end of the library from where the picture Yedris first
noticed sat. The elder woman booted up the terminal and activated
the e-mail program, then inquired about the message from the voice
on the phone. "Which message is it? Oh, I see it!"
Yedris strolled over to catch a glimpse of the unfolding
drama which had overshadowed the matter of Ran's life or death. As
she stepped just short of a position where she could look over the
elder Moroboshi's shoulder, the matriarch pressed a button on the
side of the terminal. This brought a false bookshelf down, behind
which a flat screen displayed the message in its entirety.
"'Army of the Scarlet Uprising,' is it, Komeru?" Nagaiwakai
queried the CEO on the other end of the line. "Hmm, what else does
this rabble have to say? Oh, yes. 'We take these actions to strike
back at the levers of power held by the Moroboshi...' Yes, we've
heard that line before...ara?...'Their sponsors, the so-called *Holy
Republic* of Zephyrus?' Well. They blame us Moroboshis for troubles
you people," Nagaiwakai quipped while passing a snide glance at the
Uruseian leader in the library with her, "...caused us! Let's see
what else they got up their craw, shall we?
"'The recent slow torture death sentences'...ah. Must be
what you and the other goons came to see me about," Nagaiwakai
commented offhandedly to Yedris. She then spoke to the person on the
line. "I got one of the relatives of those 'sentenced to death'
right here. I didn't think that bit of news was generally known.
It's in the papers? Ah.
"I see the group's in an uproar over us in general, but that
might still be a cover for something else. The excommunications
could just be a means to an end. You can have the SCAA and the
anti-terrorist people investigate with you."
Yedris' gut tightened another notch as another pause
descended over the library. During that time she read the rest of
the note. Whatever else they had against the Moroboshis, it was
apparent this group did not like the resolutions enacted by the UN
before the Third Tag Race and the implication that Earth was a
potential protectorate of Zephyrus. They felt the excommunications
were a taste of the horrors one could expect at the hands of
Zephyrite justice, and didn't want any part of it.
The talk of hard-won liberty made their position clear on
that: "Is our liberty so worthless that we should relinquish it for
the false security of an alien flag. Or should we resist this
threat, and all its instruments, wherever they exist?"
Yedris noticed that the group made clear their intent to
damage property only. For her part, she thought that was noble and
a little stupid. After all, if you're a small group in revolt
against a large force, it would be natural to eliminate as much of
the force in one shot as you could. The exception, of course, was
where the main source of power was something other than armed forces,
like information...the target of corporate wars on her own homeworld,
she realized with a start. Could she be looking at the future of
terrorism and battle on Earth, a form familiar to many Urusians? If
that was the case, that was another area in which her race and
Terrans were more alike than either could imagine.
The defiant tone of another line from the letter drew her
attention, along with a sense that a huge secret fell into the wrong
hands: "Please make a note of that last fact: it is what separates
us from the Republic, who have murdered whole worlds in their quest
for cosmic order..."
*That's what drew me to that sentence. The reference to the
Republic,* Yedris realized with a shock. While everyone in the rest
of the galaxy knew about the larger Zephyrite excesses, that wasn't
a matter of general public knowledge on Earth. Not general
knowledge, but special knowledge of the events unfolding in Tomobiki.
Special knowledge that may just condemn Ran!
"Yes, Komeru, I agree about the possible Tomobiki angle,"
Nagaiwakai said before turning to Yedris to get her full attention.
"It's as plain as the noses on our faces. With that sentence,
they've practically flaunted that connection! What, you want me to
read the demands? Yes, here they are!!"
Nagaiwakai read the demands, her expression growing more sour
with each sentence taken in. By the time she finished, the rage
apparent on her face reminded the Oni tribal councilor of Ran when
she wished to take out a slight on someone. And, thought Yedris, the
folks in Tomobiki, with people whose life hung by the Righteous
Gentile's decision, would suffer terribly from her ill will.
"Well, I'll give the people outside credit. During the time
their children hung around Lum like remora, they've learned to
operate the way *your* people do," Nagaiwakai scornfully told Yedris.
"Beg for leniency on one hand while plotting my family's destruction
on the other. That is a level of deceit worthy of your people."
"I hope you're not implying *we* had anything to do with the
attack your son's company suffered," the Uruseian noblewoman
responded hastily.
"I don't have to imply anything," the part-Vosian matriarch
scornfully replied. "The group claiming responsibility revel in
their knowledge of Zephyrite society that they could only have got
from the people in Tomobiki...and they dare to demand the release of
those who tried to KILL me?!!"
"That still doesn't mean that...!" Yedris attempted to
retort before Nagaiwakai raised a finger to point at the library
door.
"People in the town *those* thrice-cursed jackasses came
from helped to support Scarlet Rising, may have even set the bomb!"
Here, Nagaiwakai's voice began to rise, until by the end of her
tirade it was nearly a shriek.
Yedris paused before answering the Zephyrite religious
figure, even taking a deep breath before continuing. "What I was
about to say is that there is no proof of a deliberate effort on
the part of anyone from there to cause harm to your son's company.
The situation Ran and her friends find themselves is public
knowledge...and even the bit about the crusade is known to others
outside of the city."
"You really think so? Then why did my investigators uncover
visits by schoolgirls from that town, where they had absolutely no
business being?" Nagaiwakai snidely inquired. "It's obvious to me
that Scarlet Rising either uses or consists of people from Tomobiki,
perhaps some of the very people outside that door.
"If you think about it, that's all the more reason not to
show any leniency. To show mercy will encourage this group to
greater acts of terror against the Holy Republic. It would also
encourage the idiot's convention in Tomobiki to greater acts against
Ataru and myself. It's time to separate the wheat from the chaff
now, wouldn't you say?"
"Will that be your decision, then? Just let them die?"
Yedris shouted, waving her arm sideways to emphasize the point.
"That makes you as cruel and terrible as those who took your own
children from you!"
Just then, the space-phone rang from nearby the terminal.
Nagaiwakai silently walked over to a within an inch of Yedris' ear
and whispered, "For the sake of my grandson, I'll be as cruel and
terrible as I need to be!"
With that, she took up the line and answered. When the
caller from Zephyrus announced the annulment of Ataru and Sunhair
Windhair's engagement, she took it with calm resignation since, as
the bishop stated, his destiny was secure. When the bishop stated
the suspension however, Nagaiwakai was as good as her word. When
Yedris walked dejectedly out of the library, she knew how cruel and
how terrible the matriarch was when it came to protecting Ataru...
...and as the oaken doors closed shut, and she let Shinobu,
Ryuunosuke and the parents of Ataru's victims know that there was no
reprieve for anyone...they knew as well.
***** *** *****
That night, Yedris looked over the comatose body of the soon
to be late Ran Aruka. She watched the monitors keep their beep-beep-
beep drone while other devices kept pumping in sedatives at
predetermined intervals. Not that it did any good, since EEG and
other scanners reported the same state. Induced heavy REM state with
blood pressure near acceptable limits and concentrations of adrenalin
and other stress related enzymes dangerously high.
Yedris sat alongside Ran's bed and slipped a gloved hand
gently on top of the alien teenager's still hand as the monitors kept
their deathwatch. *They have their vigil, I have mine,* the Oni
matriarch mused.
She regretted that she kept her hand gloved as she kept her
vigil with the girl she hoped would marry her son. Intellectually,
she knew that if she made skin to skin contact with the Seishin teen
she would likely be pulled into Ran's unending nightmare, unlikely
to remove herself. It still didn't silence the still small voice
berating her cowardice and self-imposed isolation from the rest of
galactic humanity. She had no desire to read the thoughts and
feelings of anyone she touched, but that still didn't stop her from
wondering if this could have been prevented had she made an exception
and acted more like a parent to Ran instead of a semi-remote
benefactor.
Too late to wonder now. With Nagaiwakai's pronouncement, the
only thing left to do was keep Ran as comfortable as was possible,
and prepare for the end. The other thing that would have to be done
now was to make the necessary funeral arrangements.
Yedris remained on Earth because she had the sense that the
troubled teen had found a home in Tomobiki she could not find
elsewhere in the galaxy. The matriarch suspected that Ran would wish
to end her life in the place she felt at home and to be buried on
Earth as well. To fulfill that desire, the Oni tribal councilor
contacted Sakura's temple to arrange for burial in the shrine
cemetery and indicated all special rituals to be followed for the
funeral (there were not many, as Seishins preferred cremation as
the Japanese did).
"Ran, I may not be able to do much else for you, but I can at
least see that you can get the rest you deserve, in the place you
called home." A tear fell from the cheek of Rei's mother as she
gazed upon Ran's face. "I'm sorry I couldn't get Nagaiwakai to spare
your life. I tried, I honestly did."
"I'm *sure* she'd be pleased to hear that, if she were
capable of responding," came a retort from the doorway of Ran's
bedroom.
"Who's there?!" Yedris gasped as she turned to the source of
the remark, only to see a person she hoped was dead and gone since
the destruction of Shingetsu two months ago.
"I'm shocked that you've forgotten my voice, and after so
short a time as well!" came the sarcastic lilt of Ran's mother, Chena
Aruka.
"I wish I could, Chena, but I'm afraid your voice is burned
in my memory beyond the point of removal. So what's with the buzzard
imitation?" Yedris responded to her former romantic rival as she
crossed her arms to more dramatically project complete irritation.
"And why've you cursed Ran and myself with your presence. Surely it
can't be out of parental concern, since we both know that's a foreign
concept with you. I know!" the Oni said sarcastically as she pointed
a finger at the ceiling in a gesture of discovery. "You've just
heard of your daughter's excommunication, and you felt compelled to
see if your favorite punching bag has assumed room temperature.
Sorry to disappoint you, but she hasn't yet. Guess you'll have to
hold off on getting her stuffed!"
"Believe it or not, it's for my daughter's best interest that
I came here," Chena sneered. "If you'd been able to save her, I
would never have shown up here. I know Ran doesn't want me around,
so I tend to respect her wishes in *that* regard."
"Only because *you* were banned to Shingetsu because of what
you did to Ran," Yedris shouted. "You should have died with the rest
of the Lannarkites' victims, instead of sauntering in here to molest
your daughter at the very edge of death!"
"Whatever," Chena waved dismissively as she sauntered from
the doorway to sit on Ran's bed less than a meter away from the Oni.
"I really don't care what you think of me or the way I've disciplined
my daughter over the years. The fact is that I'm here now...and I
have a plan I hope will save Ran and the other victims of that witch
you just visited. Like it or not, I intend to take my daughter to
save her!"
Yedris stood up from the bed to glare at Chena. "Ran is
*not* yours to use however you like! I won't have you take her away
to do gods know what with her corpse!!! Now GET OFF RAN'S SHIP!!!!"
Chena responded by scooting over to reach Ran's hand and
smiling evilly. She remained still for a moment in order to let the
magnitude of her disdain sink in before speaking. "Yedris, you
disappoint me. You really do!"
Chena let another moment slide before continuing. "Here
someone you profess to love as a daughter, the person you hope will
marry your son, although it's not like he has any *better* offers on
the table," Chena stated, the smile on her face expanding a fraction
as her verbal barb flew, "lies on the verge of death. I come here
with an idea to save her, and do I get a 'What's your plan?' or 'Gee,
What can we do?' No, we simply trade insults and accusations as *my*
daughter's life is stolen by the Zephyrite's awful device!" Ran's
mother concluded with a shrug and a light giggle, totally out of
place with the surroundings. "I guess that shows the *shallowness*
of your concern, doesn't it?"
"All right, let me hear your 'plan,'" responded Yedris, who
was quickly tiring of the verbal warfare.
"Okay," Chena heartily replied, in a satisfied, nearly
gloating tone, devoid of the slightest hint of motherly concern.
"Let's go back to a trip you made to Phentax Twelve, say, seventeen
years ago? There were distress signals, a crash landing on the
planet and wreckage of such complete devastation that no one could
possibly survive. Yet not a day later, you emerged without a scratch
and fine as can be, thank you very much!"
"You said a medical procedure of an unknown type was
performed on you, but no one could figure out what happened. The
planet was soon closed to visitors, so no further investigation could
be performed. Ever since, people have reported that you have
telepathic powers beyond that of other Oni, and there are rumors
about the abilities of your daughter. Add to that your...current
preservation and it becomes clear that a rather advanced medical
facility, with genetic manipulation abilities far beyond that of Uru,
exists on Phentax Twelve."
"Rumor and conjecture, Chena. I thought somewhat more highly
of you than that," Yedris derisively replied. "And even if it is
true, what does that have to do with the situation Ran and the others
find themselves in now?"
"Simple. This facility may be able to remove the
excommunication badges; something doctors on Uru can't do. It has
the ability to modify the genes of adult individuals and have those
changes be passed down to the children. It can even perform
anti-agathic treatments though the same means, a trick that only the
Zephyrites and perhaps the Vosians can perform at present. So they
may make short work of the devices, wouldn't you say?"
"So what are you suggesting, Chena? That we simply wrap up
the bodies, cart a ship to Phentax Two and ask the Church of Lum to
kindly resurrect their Apostles...and a Sinful Doubter while they're
at it...if it wouldn't be too much of a bother? Assuming by chance
we get the Niphentaxians' permission to use such a device, do you
realize what a can of worms would be unleashed if they knew what
happened to their religious icons?!" Yedris was animated now,
gesturing and pacing around Chena's location. "Goodness knows how it
is they haven't found out about the excommunications already, or
Phentax Two and Zephyrus would be prepping for war now, and Uru and
the other worlds of the Federation would be choosing up sides!!"
"I wasn't saying we contact the idiots in the Church, Yedris.
I have associates who've got people there now, and they'll help us
infiltrate the planet. They also know the location of the facility.
They just need someone to get inside. With these unfortunates, that
could be us."
The Oni tribal councilor grimaced at the last remark. "I
knew your only concern would be the advancement of whatever scheme
you cooked up this week. If you haven't guessed already, the answer
is 'NO!' Now, GET OFF THE SHIP!!"
With that, the now enraged Oni grabbed Chena's wrist and
threw her out the bedroom door and into the living room of the ship,
where the middle-aged Seishin fell over the coffee table and landed
headfirst into the sofa. "GET OUT OF MY LIFE, AND STAY THE *HELL*
OUT OF WHAT'S LEFT OF RAN'S!!!!"
Yedris stomped to the sofa, grabbed her rival by the hair,
and pushed her in the direction of the exit. As she emerged from the
exit, she pushed Chena one more time. "I DON'T WANT ANY PART OF YOUR
PLANS FOR YOU DAUGHTER, AND I'LL MAKE SURE YOU DON'T INVOLVE *HER* IN
THEM EITHER!!!!"
With that, the Oni closed the hatch behind her, returned to
Ran's bedside, and wept for Ran and the latest turn of events until
sleep overtook her...
***** *** *****
Meanwhile, Ran's mother picked herself up from the stairway
of the ship and walked down to the ground. As she did, she grinned
slightly as new schemes formed. "You won't go along, but I'm sure
the *others* are desperate enough to accept any offer I make. I know
just where to start.
"I *will* have your secret, Yedris. I'll make sure you won't
stop me, I'll even make sure you aid me in this," Chena swore in the
direction of the ship. She then looked at herself and shuddered.
"Not because I care about you or any of the others, but for me...it's
the difference between life and death!"
***** *** *****
Ataru took his seat at the end of the computer-generated
conference table, ready to attend the impromptu holomeeting with
Brother Darklight Sunfire. Having completed his treatments at the
abbey on Jiyuu, he was preparing for the return voyage to Oshika
with his fiancee. At that time, the monk himself informed him of
the Cabal's desire for him to meet with them. The other monks led
the two to the main holodeck where the table awaited, complete with
place settings for the teen and the abbot.
When both Ataru and Brother Sunfire were ready, the abbot
gave a nod to the monk at the archway of the deck, who worked a
control to indicate readiness and walked outside. The archway doors
closed as the chamber and the table darkened until the surroundings
were completely black, with only the table's outline visible. In an
instant, the images of the Cabal of Archbishops became evident,
surrounded by a glowing space at their seats. Ataru got the biggest
surprise of the whole event when he saw his grandmother's holo-image
at the head of the table.
"Your Eminencies. You honor us with your presence," Brother
Sunfire intoned to the assembled Zephyrite archbishops.
Ataru, for his part, gave the customary bow to the
archbishops, then turned to Nagaiwakai. "Grandmother, I hope you
are well."
"As are you, I hope. The treatment has been successful, I
take it?"
"It has, Most Righteous One," the abbot responded.
One of the archbishops cleared his throat, ending all small
talk. The archbishop, a slight man with small octagonal glasses and
a hawk-like nose, started the meeting. "Ataru, you and your
grandmother were summoned to discuss a matter that has come up on
Earth which may change our plans in a minor way. For reasons we
shall not go into here, Ataru, we declared that anyone who tries to
hurt you will be excommunicated by us without benefit of trial. Your
enemies are now our enemies, and will feel the full wrath of the Holy
Republic. That includes those from Tomobiki (may it rot in Entropy
forever) who caused you and your grandmother so much trouble on the
'Rose Emperor.'"
"They're dead then?" Ataru's calm resembled that of a pilot
getting confirmation that the place he was sent to bomb was already
destroyed. No hint of regret or consideration for his classmates
emanated from the query.
"No, but they will be soon. I asked the archbishops here to
annul a suspension of sentence that was granted to those you
excommunicated," the Moroboshi matriarch explained. "They asked me
to explain my reasons to reimpose excommunication upon them when they
are in no position to commit any further crimes without our
knowledge. I am not certain why you were called."
The hawk-nosed archbishop continued. "The people involved
are related to you, and it is you, Ataru Moroboshi, who
excommunicated them. Therefore, it is you who must hear the Most
Righteous One's explanation and make the final decision regarding
the fate of the six heretics."
Ataru turned from him to gaze evenly at his grandmother.
"Why annul the suspension of sentence? They are in no position to
ose a challenge to you or me, and I would eventually break them all.
And from what I've heard from Brother Sunfire, with the engagement
annulled so is the writ that caused these events in the first place.
So, why carry through with their deaths?" Ataru asked, confused about
more than the suspension. Why, he thought, was he asking about the
reason for their deaths when only a moment ago he spoke of it with a
sense of fait accompli.
*Because,* Ataru remembered, *...if they ARE suspending it,
it isn't. Not that it matters.* They tried to kill his grandmother
and interfere in his life again. They got what was coming. Shouldn't
they get what they deserved?
Nagaiwakai Moroboshi scanned the holographic assembly, each
seated in a section of the table illuminated with a different primary
color, before turning to Ataru to begin her answer. Ataru knew his
grandmother well enough to realize that she was raising the tensions
of those assembled while composing her response. When all in the
chamber looked at the part-Vosian matriarch as if she was about to
reveal a great secret to them, she began.
"Minutes before the call came from those assembled here,
my elder son Komeru called with some disturbing news. It appears
a band of heretics have taken it upon themselves to punish
Toranoseishin Finances...and by extension, us," she explained,
pausing to scan the archbishops in the room to silently impose a
sense of common cause. "The group calls itself Scarlet Rising and
they have bombed centers in Yokohama, Melbourne...and Ataru, Sendai
as well.
"I say 'punish us' because in the letter in which they
claimed responsibility, they mentioned us very specifically," she
reached over to touch a control on her end of the transmission, and
a copy of the group's manifesto displayed in front of each seat.
Ataru scanned its contents, and noted the demand for the release of
Mendou and the others. "As you can see, they also demanded the
release of those my grandson dealt with."
Nagaiwakai scanned each member of the Cabal before continuing.
"This group has set upon itself the task of destroying us, and I must
show them that we will not allow our actions to be altered by the
prattle of terrorists. The deaths of those punished by Ataru will
demonstrate our resolve at which point I can muster my forces to
destroy them utterly."
Ataru eyed his grandmother steadily for a moment before
responding. "So what you are saying is that the final fate of the
fools I dealt with on the 'Rose Emperor' will either embolden or
crush the spirits of our enemies?"
"Yes. If we release Megane, Mendou and the others...may they
rot in the Master's keep forever," Nagaiwakai added automatically in
respect to the Zephyrites present, "...from the badges you placed on
them, it would send a signal that we can be made to accede to the
demands of any rabble with guns and explosives. That will make the
task of crushing these people that much more difficult."
"I see your point, Most Righteous One. I think the sentence
should be carried through. I cannot believe that a suspension was
ever considered," said another archbishop. His seat was illuminated
with a blue glow. He was a tall man with a chiseled face and dark
hair, whose imperious manner was obvious even with the blue tint his
image imparted.
A Scripturalist, Ataru surmised from the descriptions his
grandmother, Brother Sunfire and others at the abbey gave him. *A
knee-jerk response, I'll bet. He couldn't make it fast enough,*
Ataru thought with not a little derision. He disliked the man
instantly. Ataru turned his attention to that man. "Have you
considered the possibility that if those I punished died, Scarlet
Rising and our other enemies would adopt these idiots as martyrs?
It could serve to unify what up to now was disjoint, and cause our
show of force to backfire." *Why am I defending their lives in this
way?!* Ataru thought. *If Grandma wants them to suffer the full
punishment that was intended, shouldn't I stand up for that?*
*Shouldn't I...?*
"I believe the possibility of that is quite slim. If we
take steps before and after their demise to discredit them, we could
alter the public perception so as to make it impossible to accept
these people as anything other than punks who got the punishment
they deserved. I can influence the manner in which news about this
is received to cause such a response," Nagaiwakai responded to Ataru's
query. While she had no love for the Scripturalist archbishop either,
he did agree with her and she had to give an answer. "If we link
these people to Scarlet Rising and other enemies of Earth, we will be
free to take the necessary steps to bring Scarlet Rising down."
"Perhaps, Grandmother, we can discredit them publicly even
if they are released from the badges. We would still be free to deal
with this group. I'll even help!" Ataru said to Nagaiwakai in a
humble, but powerful, manner.
"I see that you two are divided on this matter, so may I
humbly propose that Ataru consider the evidence brought before us
here, and give his decision to the Most Righteous One when he returns
to Earth tomorrow?" Brother Sunfire requested of the Cabal. He then
turned to Nagaiwakai, bowed, and asked. "If I am not mistaken, these
individuals should be able to hold out until then?"
"They will, from what I know." *Or care,* Nagaiwakai
thought. Still, the abbot, who was a friend to her since she first
contacted the Zephyrites, proposed a course of action she could
accept. "I think Brother Sunfire's idea is a good one. I will await
Ataru's decision. Whatever he feels their fate will be, I will of
course accept."
The hawk-nosed archbishop looked around, and finding general
agreement on the idea (except for the Scripturalist, who was hoping
to get all to agree to annul the suspension outright), spoke.
"Without objection, so ordained. The Most Righteous Lady Nagaiwakai
Moroboshi will await the judgement of her grandson on this matter
until his return to Earth. Until then, the excommunication stands."
The other archbishops nodded agreement as the chair moved to
close the matter. He looked at both Ataru and Nagaiwakai to gain
their attention. "The rest of this meeting does not concern you. I
will leave you two to discuss this matter privately. Thank you for
coming."
Nagaiwakai, Ataru and Brother Sunfire bowed respectfully to
the archbishops before their images faded, leaving a black table
except for the places Ataru and his grandmother were seated. The
abbot placed his hand on the Terran teenagers shoulder. "I'll be
outside when this is over."
Ataru nodded, stood up and walked over to the holo-image
of his grandmother. "You *could* make this a matter of family honor
and order me to annul the suspension. Make it a matter of giri."
"I won't. This is your decision, and I will abide by the one
you make. I won't even ask why you made it," Nagaiwakai turned away
from Ataru for a moment to collect herself before continuing. "I do
not know what the Cabal meant when they said your destiny is secure,
but from what I surmise, it may be one where matters of family honor
are irrelevant, even detrimental. If that is so, there will come a
time where I will have to let you go to whatever awaits you and make
whatever decisions you need to make.
"I feel like that damned woman Kinshou in that I don't want
to let you go after fighting so hard to get you back...but unlike
her, I will do so when the time comes. I think...a part of that
letting go starts here, doesn't it?"
Ataru looked at his grandmother, at her long raven hair and
imperious features. He noted, as if for the first time, her
dignified stance, one of a person used to making harsh judgements and
carrying them out. After noting all that, he made the only response
that could be made at the moment. "I'll give you my decision when I
arrive, Grandma."
Nagaiwakai said nothing, but merely smiled slightly and
nodded to Ataru before signaling to someone on her end of the
communication. Soon after, her holographic image faded to black,
leaving Ataru alone in the holochamber with his thoughts and his
conscience. After a moment, he turned to the arch and left to find
Brother Sunfire.
***** *** *****
As dusk fell upon the Abbey at Jiyuu, Ataru watched the alien
sunset from the courtyard just inside the main entrance of the
monastery. Soon the melodic chant of the evening call to prayer
echoed from the top of the dome to the turrets and the valley beyond.
A song reflecting both awe-inspiring beauty and eternal longing, it
reminded those who chose the spiritual path to renew their prayers
and bare themselves before the Creator.
It called the faithful to renew their efforts to seek
simplicity, to strip the layers of pretence, deception, and Entropic
influence until they had nothing but the soul at the moment of its
formation from the Te'a. To rid the masks they wore until they were
left with the bare foundations of the self from which the supplicants
could renew themselves.
"Strip away your masks," the abbey through the summons
invited. "Be free to remake yourself..."
The only problem with the invitation, Ataru mused, was that
he *had* remade himself, only to find that his creation consisted of
nothing *but* masks. The oddest part of that revelation, to his
mind, was that, for now at least, he was fully at peace with this
predicament. As he recognized that, he remembered his conversation
with the abbot...
***** *** *****
Shutarou Mendou's father looked at the faces of those
assembled in the drawing room of the family mansion. On many
occasions, this room would be filled with the stern faces of those
making deals with the businesses he owned. Today however, the faces
bore merely apprehension and fear. They bore despair in place of
steely concentration.
This was understandable, Hajime mused, since most of those
in the parlour were parents of the six teenagers condemned by Ataru
Moroboshi only a few days ago. *You also have a son to lose as
well,* he reminded himself bitterly. *And a family legacy.* "When
Ataru unleashed his newfound power, what was it he promised to do?
Destroy the dreams of Tomobiki?" Hajime's broodings continued as his
expression matched the gloom of his guests. "What better way to
destroy the dream of a parent than to kill his child. Well played,
Moroboshi-san."
He scanned the faces of those assembled once more before
beginning, noting two exceptions to the tableau. One was the
eternally poker-faced Raven, her expression that of the consummate
bodyguard. To be expected from a warrior such as her...
The surprise was Ran's mother.
None of the shock, desperation, or grief was on the face of
the woman who supposedly came from the stars to see her dying
daughter. The elder Mendou wondered if that was because she was so
confident of the success of the idea she relayed to him.
He hoped that was the reason, and not some of the darker
alternatives that came to the Mendou patriarch's mind. Ideas such
as the one that said that Chena didn't really care if Ran lived or
died. The idea that said her plan had some other objective, and
the lives of those she would soon ask to be entrusted with didn't
really matter to her.
*I'll find out soon enough,* he silently sighed as he
called for everyone's attention. "Thank you all for coming this
evening. I wish I could say that the condition of Shutaro, Aisuru
and the others have improved since last night, but I can't," he
began. "They've shown no signs of response to external stimuli, and
complications have set in on some of them due to the extreme stress
they are undergoing.
"The doctors I've assigned to care for them tell me that the
devices seem to be counteracting the drugs they've used to induce a
true coma and halt the active REM state they seem to be trapped in.
And, I'm afraid to say, they have no clue how to shut down or
counter the devices."
"So what you're saying is the best your hired help could do
make our children into vegetables, and they're not even able to do
that much?!" a middle aged woman yelled. The CEO quickly recognized
her as Aisuru Megane's mother Rui, who had visited her stricken son's
bedside often. "I expected better of those oh so capable doctors of
yours when you offered their services for my son."
"Mother, please! They're doing the best they can. Even the
Uruseian doctors said they couldn't do anything about this," a young
man, about twenty or so, whispered to the distraught woman. From
the glasses and the rugged handsome face, looking like an older
Aisuru, Mendou guessed that it had to be the student's older brother.
The college student turned to him. "Please forgive my
mother. She's been alone with me and my brother since our father
died, and since I've left it has been only her and Aisuru. She
hasn't taken the loss of my younger brother well."
"I understand as I'm sure the others do also," the Mendou
patriarch replied. He remembered speaking to the young man earlier
that day, and hearing about his recent troubles at university. Not
over grades or the normal issues a college student faces, but
threatening letters and increasing ostracism from the other students
because of who his younger brother was.
Aisuru Megane, condemned by Ataru Moroboshi for the incident
a week ago on the "Rose Emperor." In the minds of those attending
Tokyo University...and elsewhere around the world...the man's brother
was one of the Tomobiki Six.
"I concur with our patron here. I, for one, can sympathize
with your present situation since I'm in the same place as your
mother," said the middle aged redhead as she walked over to the thin,
pale woman who spoke, taking her hands. "I also share your
desperation. Your wish that something can be done to undo this
curse. The only difference is..." Chena finished as she looked into
Rui's eyes. "...that I *can* do something to cure my daughter."
The middle-aged woman turned to stare into the eyes of the
alien woman before to see if she was mad, cruel, or honest. The
redhead simply nodded. "I can...and I will."
"Wha...what are you going to do?" Rui asked the Seishin
matron."There's nothing the doctors here can do. Ryuunosuke and
Shinobu said the Oni doctors couldn't help either."
"Who said anything about taking Ran to Uru? Ours is not the
only culture out there, or even the most advanced (though we like to
think we are at times)," Chena responded hopefully as she stood,
pulling Megane's mother with her. "There is a planet with medical
secrets far beyond Uruseian science, perhaps equal to or beyond that
of the Zephyrites. I intend to take Ran there to seek treatment. I
could take your son, and the others as well."
She spoke the last sentence aloud with the full intent of
catching the attention of the other parents at the update meeting.
Chena was not disappointed, as the parents of Lum's other bodyguards
turned toward her. *Got the nibble,* Ran's mother greedily thought.
*Time to reel them in!* "Yes. All of them," she continued. "I have
equipment to preserve their bodies for an extended period without the
devices damaging them further. I brought enough for all six in fact,
in the hope I could persuade you all to this endeavor."
One of the fathers, a rugged, bulky man who looked like one
used to heavy work, spoke up. "What is this idea of yours? It
sounds like you've put some effort to bring it forward already, if
you've brought preservation devices. How far forward *have* you
carried this?"
"I have the devices in anticipation of your asking me to
take your own children along, of course. I suspect my daughter would
ask me to do so, if she were capable." *Or not,* Chena thought as
she spoke those words in apparent warmth and sympathy. It didn't
really matter, since to her the others were extra leverage in dealing
with the Niphentaxians. Of course, it wouldn't do to let the poor
parents know that, would it now?
Well, maybe *some* of it...
"A couple of years ago, some...associates of mine encountered
a group of warriors unlike any they had ever faced before. The group
attacked had the most powerful weapons and most able soldiers of
their race...and they were cut down like wheat! The warriors were
faster than anyone ever encountered, were immune to telepathic scans
and psionic countermeasures and stronger than any humanoid force seen
before or since."
"The warriors were of a race known to my associates, but
somehow genetically enhanced to a level of strength and power far
beyond the known capacity of that or a majority of humanoid peoples
known in the local cluster. For years my associates and others have
tried, unsuccessfully, to locate the source of the DNA and solve the
mystery behind the attack."
Ran's mother continued, satisfied that she thoroughly
captured the group's attention. "Recently, it was found that the
source of the DNA was a planet within the Phentax system. The group
assigned to solve the mystery then...came across a source that
quickly revealed a Uruseian who crashed on Phentax Twelve more than
sixteen years ago..."
***** *** *****
"What do you mean, Ran's mother is in the group update
session?! Who gave *her* the right to be there?!" an outraged Oni
matriarch, Yedris Seq to be exact, loudly queried the now quite
intimidated bodyguard.
"Hajime-sama updates the parents of the Young Master's
classmates who were excommunicated with him. The Master usually
holds one every couple of days, and would have held it tomorrow, but
he said something came up to call the other parents here tonight."
Then why wasn't I invited to this meeting? I may not be
Ran's biological mother, but her boyfriend is my son, and it might
have been prudent to let me know it was occurring." Rei's mother
then cast a harsh stare at the bodyguard. "So for that, my
closeness to Ran, and other matters, I will be allowed to enter,
correct?!"
"Yes, ma'am," the Kuromegane yelped. "If was an oversight,
I'm sure it was unintentional. Go right in."
Yedris entered the drawing room just as Chena spoke. "That
person is someone some of you here have met. Someone...who just
entered," Chena smiled at this turn of events. Things had gone
from good to so much better. "Yedris my dear, tell these grieving
parents about your crash on Phentax Twelve, and how you managed to
walk away from a wreck that was declared unsurvivable by everyone
who studied the events!"
The Oni matriarch suppressed any shock she had and gazed
evenly at her nemesis. "I don't know what you are talking about. I
survived that crash landing without a scratch and returned to the
central city of Phentax Twelve forty-eight hours later. Really
Chena, you must do something about those delusions of yours!"
"We should talk about delusions!" Ran's mother calmly
retorted. "I have the pictures the commission received of the site.
The blood stains they found, that turned out to be Uruseian, not
Niphentaxian in origin. The levels of fuel and coolant components
that should have been in lethal concentrations...the report the
investigators produced was as thorough as it was hard to obtain.
Tell me Yedris, is their conclusion that your recovery could only
have been produced by regenerative technology beyond the level of
either Uruseian or Niphentaxian capabilities a result of deluded
minds? And why is it that you chose to make yourself a virtual
hermit ever since, making your considerable presence felt only
through teleconferencing and indirect contacts. And the rumors of
special powers...ones unknown to our kind?
"Sounds to me like you know more about this than you wish to
let on, eh?" Chena concluded. She turned to the others. "In any
case, the facility exists, and may be capable of destroying the
devices now on my daughter. I will take her there, and meet with my
associates to make use of the facility. I humbly offer the same
chance at my life Ran now enjoys to your children as well."
"Ah. And the devices that I noticed on the way in.
Suspended animation canisters in a hanger, guards all over the
place? Did you have a hand in acquiring them and bringing them
into the Mendou compound?" Yedris asked Ran's mother with an icily
even tone.
Chena's only reaction to the accusation was to run a hand
through her scarlet hair and give a bemused smile. Something
calculated to annoy the Oni matriarch further. "As a matter of
fact, it is. I had them sent here in the expectation that I would
get the others to agree to my suggestion."
"A little overconfident of the outcome, wouldn't you say?"
"Perhaps, but given the circumstances, I suspect I have good
reason to prepare for it," Chena responded.
At this, Hajime Mendou spoke up. "The fact is that I asked
Chena-san to deliver the devices are in Hangar Fourteen as proof of
her intent and ability to deliver on her offer before including my
son in her voyage. Whatever doubts the rest of you have, and
whatever issues you have with Chena-san, Yedris-san, the fact remains
that this is a chance to save my son. One that the Zephyrites have
refused to grant and is available perhaps nowhere else."
"Mendou-sama, permission to speak freely?" the heretofore
silent Raven spoke up.
Mendou nodded to his agent to continue. "Sir, I still have
questions about the wisdom of this plan and the safety of your son
in this situation. While his condition is serious, the doctor's
estimates give us time to bide our time and reattempt negotiations
with Lady Nagaiwakai. We may want to see if such an opportunity
presents itself."
"And the devices?" Hajime wondered. "You took receipt of
them yourself, and the scientists tell me that they in fact do work
on living things as Chena described. What do we do with them?"
"With the Lady Chena's permission, I would like to have our
doctor's make use of them to stabilize the teenager's conditions.
At the very least, it will minimize damage to them, and allow us the
space we need to make another attempt to persuade Lady Nagaiwakai to
reconsider."
She turned her stare to Ran's mother. "After all, however
obstinate the Moroboshis and their Zephyrite handlers may be, working
with them would have a greater chance of success than this may have,
would it not? What do you say?"
All eyes turned to the elder Seishin as she momentarily
glared knives at Raven. Then, suddenly, she lit up and gave a small
glimmer of a smile as she responded. "If you believe that we can
persuade her 'self-righteousness' to cave on anything, I will not
stand in the way. And I will assist you in the use of the suspension
chambers." She turned to the elder Mendou before continuing. "At
this time of shared crisis, how can I in good conscience *not* aid
my daughter and her friends?"
"I think that the next time we go to see the Lady Nagaiwakai,
it would be best to limit the group to myself, Raven and the Lady
Yedris. I will see if we can also have Komeru-san accompany us,
since he may know a way to persuade Lady Nagaiwakai to see our side
of this issue that we have not considered. I will let you know our
progress a the next meeting. Thank you all for coming," Hajime
concluded, bringing the meeting to an end...
***** *** *****
"Lady Yedris, could you stay for a moment? I would like a
word with you," the elder Mendou requested on the Oni Matriarch.
Yedris stayed in the drawing room with the middle aged tycoon
as the last few of the guests, along with Chena and Raven, walked out
of the chamber. When Hajime satisfied himself that no one could
eavesdrop, he closed the doors and purposely returned to the chair
across from Yedris. "I want you to know that despite today's
disaster, I still have confidence that we can bring this to a
satisfactory conclusion," Hajime sighed, implying that he believed
she still had the best chance of persuading Nagaiwakai to suspend
the excommunication.
"Thank you. I know I was near a breakthrough when the call
about the bombing came, and I agree with Raven that we should wait
until they've captured the perpetrators. They should be inclined to
listen to reason by then," Yedris replied.
"I agree. They'll have a lead on the events in Sendai and
Yokohama once they shift through the rubble. I'll speak to
Komeru-san about returning to Rishiri-tou once they do. Hopefully
they'll know enough to quiet the Lady Nagaiwakai's suspicions about
us and put the issue to rest," Hajime nodded. He started at the
Oni a moment before continuing, as if gauging the likelihood of
receiving a truthful answer to a difficult and personal question.
"You seem to believe that I was premature in agreeing to Chena-san's
offer. I sense that you have known her for a long time and may have
reason to distrust her. May I ask what that reason is?"
Yedris sat in silence, considering her answer. Her manner
suggested a person condensing years of betrayal into a few
well-spoken sentences. Hajime assessed the Oni's manner and
concluded that the differences between the two were long standing
and irreconcilable. After a few moments, Yedris faced him. "As was
said, we aren't out of options yet, so agreeing to Chena's plan was
rash. I share your desperation, sir, but we do have alternatives.
As for Chena, we've argued and fought for years. First over someone
we both admired and loved, then over other matters. One of which
was the way she raised her daughter Ran. I found out that she
mistreated her and I was forced to separate Chena from her daughter."
"Hmm. That is a drastic step to take. You had no other
choice in the matter, I hope?" Hajime mused.
"Correct. While I can't say I was ever her friend, she was
Mamoko's wife and I respected that. It pained me to take such a
step, but Chena's abuse made it necessary."
"I see. Given that, can we trust her to help us by letting
us use the suspension chambers to buy time to negotiate with Lady
Nagaiwakai?"
"Chena is abusive, greedy, and cowardly, but she isn't
stupid. If she believes you can act as an ally, she'll help. The
other factor working in our favor is that she is as loath to see Ran
dead as you and I are to see our loved ones die," Yedris concluded.
"If it keeps Ran alive, she'll let us use the tubes."
"I'll speak with her later about that, then," the Mendou
patriarch decided. "I just wonder what her motive is behind the
expedition, though."
"I don't know. Whatever it is, we can be sure she intends
herself as the prime, if not only, beneficiary," Yedris mused.
Which made Chena's activities worthy of investigation, the
Oni councilor decided...
***** *** *****
"I'm a little fatigued from the long journey. May I retire
for the night?" Ran's mother asked Raven.
"Go ahead. All the information is compiled; it just needs
to be taken to the medical section to analyze. I was about to go
take it to them, then turn in myself," the agent replied, waving
Ran's mother off as she continued with her work.
Chena quickly returned to her quarters and rechecked the
scanners to block out any surveillance in the room. Assured of
privacy, she turned to open a small case that she placed near the
dresser when she arrived.
She removed a small hyperspace transceiver and a mini-screen
with earphone-like attachment. Chena quickly connected the screen to
the transceiver's port, then placed the display on her face so that
it sat on her nose like a pair of sunglasses. After touching a
button on the side of the device, the real world shifted into an
array of colors before coalescing into the environment of a computer
generated illusion.
It was a dark room, devoid of props other than the pipe that
appeared to be a meter and a half overhead. Within this
conspiratorial atmosphere a figure emerged, and faced Chena with arms
stretched to embrace her. The fit of the Vosian military uniform and
the short cropped and slightly greying hair demonstrated that the man
was a colonel of the Mikado's military forces. The man was handsome,
and had a stern, disciplined bearing. "I've contacted the Mendou
family on Earth and give him my proposal," Chena reported. "He's
accepted the temporal suspension chambers, and seemed close to
accepting my plan...but there's a snag."
"Their children are trapped in a death sentence. Zephyrite
archbishops are serious about excommunication, even if they tend
toward overkill with it. If an archbishop or Righteous Gentile wants
someone dead that way, they usually get their wish."
"True," Chena nodded. "However, that little troublemaker
Yedris is involved. She may have failed this time, but if anyone can
charm 'her self-righteousness' into relenting, it's she."
"Perhaps you should return, then," the officer said in a
concerned voice. "It will not be long before the egg in you starts
to develop, and then we'll have to use drugs or a temporal suspension
chamber on you. If you stay for too long, we won't be able to get
you back in time to prevent the Lannarkite's hatching."
"Dosur darling, I'm touched by your concern," the Seishin
mother purrs. "But really, I still have the medicine you sent to
delay the process, and it seems to be working. I can take care of
Yedris simply; I'll use extra persuasion with Mendou to agree with
me, and the other Terran parents will go along. Once I've secured
them, I can use the others to get Yedris to fall in line. I *still*
gave birth to Ran, after all!"
"I see. Be careful, though," Dosur responded as he gently
ran his fingers though Chena's hair. "Do not underestimate these
Earthlings, or overestimate yourself."
Chena wrapped her arms around the Vosian colonel and rested
her head on his shoulder. "I will succeed in this, Darling. You can
count on me to always give you what you need...
"Always..."
***** *** *****
A moonless night added to the gloom surrounding Ran's ship
as a female figure climbed the ramp to the entryway. The figure
connected a device to the airlock entry pad and pressed a few
buttons to gain silent access to the ship.
"There is only so much disobedience I can accept from you,
daughter," the figure thought as she entered. "And nothing I do
not know of you, including the back door to your ship."
The figure silently crept into the comatose teen's room, and
stepped unhindered to her bed. As she suspected, Yedris slept in
her own room, unable to withstand the cauldron of fear and torment
imposed by the excommunication badge long enough to sleep by Ran's
side.
"Daughter," the figure spoke to the unmoving teen as she
removed a pneumatic syringe from a pouch she carried. "You never
obeyed, never stayed near me, always had to follow your wanton urge
for revenge. For love. For freedom. Now do you see where it's
gotten you?" Chena continued. Only the constant beep of the life
support monitors answered the mother's query.
Chena lifted Ran's arm, and pushed the gown from it to
reveal bare skin. "But even now I still try to take you back to me,
daughter. That's a mother's duty, right? To punish her daughter's
wrongs, but always be by her side."
A small hiss escaped from the syringe as Chena injected its
contents into Ran's bloodstream. "Not even Yedris can keep me from
you, daughter. I will take you back...because that's my love for
you."
Chena gently stroked Ran's hair after returning the empty
syringe to her pouch. "Because I love you, Ran. Love you enough to
kill you."
***** *** *****
Raven awoke from a dream.
More like a nightmare really, as attested by the fact that
she was sitting straight up with knees bent, encased in pure terror.
She spent the next few breaths trying once again to put the
sights of ruined buildings and rubble aside. With another breath,
she put aside the acrid smell of burning plastic, mixed with the
smell of blood and charred flesh. And of course she had to put aside
the sight of men with large weapons, caged in obsidian armor on which
no marking or insignia could be seen. The black knights of death,
with only reflective slits where their eyes should be and who looked
almost like man-sized mecha, chased her down the rubble strewn,
smoldering streets: of all the sights of the dream that had played
in her sleeping mind on occasion for the last few decades, that was
the most terrifying.
So busy was she with putting aside the now familiar nightmare
that she didn't notice the buzzing of the phone on the side of her
bed. When she did, she picked up the receiver and responded with
typically professional demeanor. "Raven!"
One of her employer's operatives responded.
"He's deteriorated? How?"
Another pause.
"He's dying? I thought that's what these things were
supposed to do."
Another pause.
"Damage specific to him? I see. I'll be right over," she
replied before returning the phone to the cradle.
Raven got up from her bed and walked over to the bathroom to
shower and dress. As she reached the shower, it occurred to her that
it she seemed to have awakened from one nightmare only to walk into
another...
***** *** *****
"What's the situation?"
"Not good," the attending physician replied grimly. "Just a
few hours ago, Shutaro's condition started to deteriorate rapidly.
The entire autonomous nervous system is beginning to collapse, and
the other systems are starting to follow suit. First temperature
regulation went. He started shivering and showing signs of
hypothermia. Not long after that, his breathing became labored and
we nearly lost him...twice!"
Raven's curiosity was peaked, since these weren't the final
stages of the badge's work. Or at least, not the ones she remembered
from the place her subconscious recently visited. "Did you observe
any seizures, or sudden deterioration in his higher functions?"
"No, we didn't. Shutaro remained in REM state all during the
episode, and remained in that state long after. Of course," the
physician continued, "this is a totally new form of trauma we're
facing. Who knows what the final stage looks like?"
*I do, for one,* Raven thought. She decided to act on a
hunch. However, before she could, a crowd of medical personnel
surrounding a gurney crashed through the doors of the medical
section.
"Doctor, we've got another one! Ran's temperature just
started to crash, and she's having difficulty breathing."
"Put her on the respirator and get thermal blankets on her,
now! Try to stabilize her condition!"
"Doctor," Raven asked in the moment before he tore into the
group of medics working on the teenage alien. "Contact me when she's
stable. Have your medics check for toxins or anomalous drugs in the
system when they do their workup."
She saw the doctor acknowledge her request as he ran into
the unfolding medical drama in an attempt to save the alien teen...
***** *** *****
Raven drank the last sip of a cup of the coffee Abraham
Shapiro brought her as she read the report from the relative privacy
of her nook at Shapiro's Ice Cream Parlour. She absorbed the key
findings and other information in the medical results as a detective
might the key clue in a difficult case. Which, as it turned out, was
what happened. For if the findings held up, the sudden downturn in
Ran and Shutaro's condition was due not to the excommunication
badges, but attempted murder!!
The blood work-up spotted the presence of neuroactive
chemicals with very complex chains that looked like adrenal hormones
excreted during a fight or flight reaction. The thing was, this
chemical was not entirely natural, and ran the stresses through the
roof. And that was just one of a dozen different chemicals, some of
which could be analyzed by the doctors against the many toxins found
on Earth, while others could not. Indeed, a dozen compounds found
in the blood were totally new to Terran medicine.
But one thing was for sure: this blend of chemicals was
tampering with their autonomic systems in a way that would kill them
in a week if nothing was done. Another thing was also clear: this
was not a result of the excommunication badge, which possessed no
chemical injection apparatus and carried no drugs within it.
"Anything else, ma'am?" Shapiro asked his customer. Raven
turned to find him behind her, looking not quite at her but at the
document. "Taking your work with you, I see."
"I am at that," Raven replied before looking into her cup
to find it empty. "Another cup, please?"
"Coming right up," the Vosian restaurant owner responded as
he walked over to the counter to prepare the drink. "I have seen so
much since I came to Earth these many years ago, but one of the
things that most amazes me is the progress of this world's medical
science. It's almost as if after nearly abandoning outer space after
Apollo, mankind decided to make inner space - the workings of life
itself - its new frontier."
Abraham Shapiro continued as he brought the large coffee to
Raven, who was continuing to digest the contents of the report.
"Take for example the progress in hematology. There are a dozen
worlds that might entirely miss the presence of a baha'li slow
poison. Not that the Mendou doctors would know what it is, but just
the fact that they know it's neither naturally occurring or due to
the badge is amazing enough, don't you think?"
Raven looked up in shock at Shapiro as he concluded. She
put down the report and attempted to evaluate the possibility that
this man got through the Conglomerate's security, visited two
separate places in the middle of the night, and struck two highly
guarded individuals. She didn't think it likely, but the fact that
he slipped in and read her report unnoticed indicated that perhaps
this man wasn't all he appeared to be. "And what would you know
about such a poison? Something you were involved in before your
arrival, perhaps?"
"I'd rather not say; it is not really that important.
Suffice it to say that I do have some familiarity with such toxins;
my former line of work made such knowledge a necessity."
Raven began to wonder how who might have access to such an
alien toxin, with the answer largely revolving around one of the
recent guests. However, she needed more information on this poison
if she was to able to settle on who wasn't involved...
And who was.
"All right, just as long as I'm able to have some confirmation
of what you're saying."
"I'll transmit it to Ran's ship computer in a couple of
hours. I just need you to give me a phrase I can use as a password;
something you'll be sure to remember."
"Agreed. So what about the baha'li poison?"
"The Dali'la Sect is the religious faith connected most
closely to the Silent Ones, our version of ninja. The baha'li toxin
was a tool of assassination. Its purpose is to quickly sicken and
kill a target while masking its effects as the symptoms of diseases
peculiar to my people. It's been in use for centuries among the
Silent Ones...and since the Mikado was a member of that group, it was
natural that use of this poison would become known and preferred
among those in the Mikado Marines, especially in the performance of
black ops. Of course, practically all of the Mikado Marines are
involved in black ops to some extent or other."
"I see. Are there any other races in the galaxy, perhaps
those the Vosians have traded with, that know about this poison and
can produce it?"
"Many races know of it, but few others make it. Here, may
I?" Shapiro asked, pointing at the medical report. Raven handed it
to him, and he scanned it for several minutes before shaking his
head. "No, this is indeed the original. No other race makes a
poison that results in this precise set of symptoms, or this set of
trace compounds in the blood. The Ipraedies and perhaps the
Niphentaxians have slow poisons they developed, but the toxins they
derived from it are crude at best," Shapiro mused as he read the
report. He then turned to Raven with a slight smile on his face, as
if inordinately proud of something. "No finesse at all, you
understand."
*So one of the aliens, or one of Mendou personnel, had to be
in contact with the Vosians to acquire this, eh?* Raven thought. "Is
this easily produced here on Earth?"
"If one had a rack of chemical equipment and the precise
formula...and I lack one of those you see. However, if you're
looking for infiltration from the Mikado's forces, I suggest you
first investigate your guests. Especially since I got it from
sources that a wife of a high ranking colonel was due to arrive here
a couple of days ago. Apparently, she's here on personal business."
Raven knew who the suspect might be, but would have to check
with some of her former colleagues to be sure. She paid the bill,
rose from her seat, and plucked the document from Shapiro's hands in
rapid fashion. "Thank you for the time," was all she said as she
passed through the exit...
***** *** *****
Chena awoke groggily from her afternoon nap. These periods
of repose were becoming increasingly necessary for her, and not just
from approaching middle age. The voice from the Lannarkite egg
attempting to revive itself was the main reason: her struggle to
keep it at bay was taking more out of her.
She ran quickly to the dresser in the quarters the Mendou
family provided her so that she could be with Ran when she needed her
the most. *Or so they assume. Little do they know!* Chena laughed
at the thought.
Chena opened the dresser and retrieved the ampoule of serum
Dosur's medics prepared. It wasn't perfect; its side effects
incapacitated her for a quarter-hour after injection, and it had to
be administered every day. More seriously, it didn't destroy or
remove the parasite that would change her into one of the insect-like
breed; it only halted the egg's gestation, and was only temporarily
effective. It wouldn't be long before the dosage, and the number of
injections needed, would start to increase until, after a few month's
time, she would no longer be able to function.
But it kept her alive and able to carry out her plans, so she
accepted the troubles associated with the serum. Just as she got the
dosage dialed into the hypospray, her phone rang. Mendou's father
was on the line. "Hello...ah. Yes, I can meet with you, but not for
another half hour or so. I'm a little indisposed, I'm afraid...oh,
nothing to be concerned about; I just need a little rest."
Hajime assented. "Oh, the tubes? Why yes, I certainly agree
with you that they should be used for all of them."
"Thank you for your concern about my daughter...it touches me
greatly," Chena finished as she put down the receiver. She then
returned to her bed, and administered the life-preserving hypospray.
"Everything is going the way I want now. Soon, the secrets of the
Lechashuto attackers will be mine," Chena thought as the drug took
hold...
***** *** *****
Yedris sat in front of the living room terminal in Ran's
ship, accessing Shapiro's download on the Dali'la poison. Raven and
Shinobu sat on either side, watching the information displayed on the
wall size screen. The information on it did nothing to lift the
spirits of those assembled. "So the only treatment available is from
the Temple of Dali'la on Vos?" Shinobu asked.
"That seems to be the case. Them or the Mikado, since he was
apparently a member of this sect before he became dictator. Given
the paranoia displayed by the old snake, getting anything from him is
unlikely. And never mind his troops," Yedris mused.
"What about the temple?" Raven asked the Oni matriarch.
"I think we can scratch that as well, on multiple counts.
First, while the Mikado was a Silent One trained by the Dali'la, the
report indicates that he's had a falling out with them. He's tried
to exterminate them, and they responded by setting up the An'san-
Mikado revolutionary movement. They'll be too busy to meet with us,
and we would make ourselves targets in any attempt. If we had the
time, we could contact the rebel officials discreetly and try to
obtain the antidote that way as well," Yedris continued. "That is,
we could if we had the time, but with things as they are, we simply
don't!"
"Then there's nothing that can be done for them?" Shinobu
asked.
"Apparently not," Raven replied. "Then what about the
possibility of apprehending the assassin? We are sure that the
poison is Vosian in origin, but my sources (those still willing to
talk to me at least) say that the only people cleared for landing
were you and Ran's mom."
"Which doesn't exclude the possibility of stealth entry
through either a meteor or satellite spoof," Yedris added. "If I
was wanting to land without anyone noticing, that's how I'd do it."
"Do you have any specific tests I can implement to detect
a surgically disguised Vosian, or..." Raven tried to say before a
beeping sound indicated an entry into the ship.
Yedris activated the camera monitoring the main hatch, to see
people carrying large containers that looked vaguely coffin-like.
With a start, she realized what they were. "Those are the stasis
units. What are they doing transporting them in here?"
"I'll go and ask," Raven responded as she walked across to
the ship's foyer. Shinobu walked over to see what was transpiring,
leaving only the Oni Matriarch, who watched the camera image and
turned up the microphone inputs to observe the situation without
chancing an inadvertent contact with the Kuromegane bringing the
containers.
The last thing she wanted was to be flooded with the thoughts
and emotions of a person whether she wanted them or not; usually she
didn't. So she sat alone by the terminal, isolated as usual from the
mass of humanity by a power that made casual contact unbearable...
***** *** *****
"...So why don't you save yourself some trouble now and tell
me *why* you're bringing the temporal stasis pods on board?" Raven
calmly asked the Ray-ban wearing bodyguard heading up the group
bringing the chambers on board.
"Ma'am, I was ordered to bring these aboard in preparation
for possible launch. The Young Master and those in his...situation
...have been placed in the chambers, and the temporal stasis fields
are active," the bodyguard replied. From the expression on the man's
face as he said it, it was clear he was performing the task despite
his distinct unease. The look on Raven's face did nothing to calm
his disquiet. "Ma'am," the bodyguard stammered as he handed Raven a
memo. "Th-...this comes from straight from Mendou-sama himself."
"What? Just now?"
"Yes, ma'am." At this point the bodyguard looked around the
hatchway trying to avoid Raven's stare. "In fact...he also wants
you to call him back as soon as the pods are in place."
Raven read the memo, thus confirming that the orders were as
the guard stated. Upon doing so, she nodded to him, and re-entered
the ship. The bodyguard returned to the pod he and the others
carried, and the procession bore Mendou, Ran and the others into the
ship...
***** *** *****
*They look like coffins!* Shinobu thought as saw the temporal
stasis pods arrayed around her in the storage bay. Even the way the
last pod, Mendou's as it turned out (the folks even took the time to
create name plates for each of them to identify the occupant), was
put in the hold reminded her instantly of a funeral procession. Even
the way the men carried the device in, three on a side with slow and
deliberate pace, had the feel of people bringing a loved one to a
final resting place where they would be buried and left behind
forever.
As the last of the Kuromegane left, Shinobu walked over to
Mendou's stasis pod. After another long moment her fingers lightly
touched the name on the plate, yet another reminder of how this
preparation held the finality of a funeral. Even the surface of the
pod, with its opaque surface which it did not have before the doctors
activated it completed the deathly metaphor.
Perhaps the similarity was appropriate, Shinobu thought,
because like a funeral there was a sense of an imminent and final
leave-taking. After all, even given the extraordinary ordeals they
endured and survived, was there any real chance that these six would
somehow return whole and ready for the next adversity Fate would
throw at them? Or was it more likely that they would die on a
strange world, or even if they survived have to live as fugitives
from an aggressive justice?
Either way, in all likelihood they would never return, and
like the dead pass from being flesh and blood move on to mere names
and memories. So in a way, much like a Western funeral, this liftoff
would serve, at least to Shinobu, as Mendou's passage from the living
to the dead.
Shinobu's thoughts were interrupted as she saw someone enter
the bay and come alongside her, supposedly to view the pods as well.
She turned to the visitor expecting to see Raven or Yedris, but was
surprised to see Ran's mother by her daughter's pod. "Oh, come to
see your daughter off I take it?" Shinobu asked the newcomer.
"You mean am I paying my respects? Actually, it's more like
I'm seeing how my daughter is before we take off."
"Take off?!" Shinobu said with a shock. From what she heard
from Raven, the plan was to use the pods to extend the lives of
Mendou and the others until things calmed down enough for Nagaiwakai
to listen to reason (assuming such a time ever arrives, she thought).
Chena cast a level gaze at the teen as she spoke the next
words. "Yes. There's been a change in plans, very recent one I
might add. Given the fact that the poison will kill my daughter
even if they remove the badge, it really is the only sensible one.
Of course, Mendou-san was mainly thinking of his own son or the
continuation of the company, but either way it works for me."
"But what about the others? They weren't poisoned as far as
anyone knows."
Chena looks around at the other pods before returning her
gaze to Shinobu. Unease welled up in Shinobu as Ran's mother stared
at her with the faint...*Almost feral. Why does it remind me of a
shark or something?!* Shinobu thought...smile play across her lips
before speaking her next words.
"Yes, I know all about that," Chena explains as Shinobu took
a step back from her without consciously knowing why. "Let's just
say that where I'm going, it's better to take the whole set than just
a saint and a sinful doubter."
*A saint and a doubter...what did she mean by that?!* Shinobu
thought as Chena took a step toward her.
"You usually travel with many of these people, especially
that Mendou fellow from what I've heard. You've been on the 'Rose
Emperor,' haven't you?"
Shinobu nodded fearfully. "Then you won't be surprised to
learn you're going on this little trip as well!" Chena answered, as a
spray hissed from her dispenser to Shinobu's face.
Shinobu caught the expression on the face of Ran's mother as
she passed out from the gas. It didn't have the concern or grief
that might have expected from one about to lose a daughter, but only
the satisfied smile a predator has when ensnaring prey...
***** *** *****
As Yedris and Raven entered the drawing room to await Hajime's
arrival, a klaxon sounded throughout the compound. "ALERT, ALERT,
THE SPACESHIP THE YOUNG MASTER IS ON IS POWERING UP FOR TAKEOFF!!!
REPEAT, THE SHIP CONTAINING THE YOUNG MASTER'S SHIP IS TAKING OFF!!"
"What the...?!" both women yelled as they rushed to the window
in time to watch Ran's ship retract its landing gear and accelerate
into the upper atmosphere and beyond.
Mendou's father rushed in. "What this I hear about the ship
taking off?"
"I don't know. We were coming to ask you the same question,"
Yedris replied.
"They were to be stored there for the time being," Hajime
stated. He turned to the bodyguard that let the two women in. "Do
you know where Ran's mother is? I checked at her quarters and she
wasn't there!"
"Could she be in...the ship somehow?" Raven mused.
The bodyguard made inquires and answered, "She is not anywhere
in the quarters, and the last place anyone has seen her is around the
ship."
"I'll have to contact cruiser before we try to catch up with
Ran's scout," Yedris said as she ran out the door with Raven. "I
just hope we can find it in time."
As the dot of light from Ran's ship faded out, Mendou's
father stood alone at the window and cast his gaze at the spot where
it stood. "Kami forgive me," he softly intones, "I was just about to
give that woman permission to launch when she stole the craft..."
The silence of the drawing room gave him little solace as he
considered the disaster he allowed...
***** *** *****
To be continued...