Sabine: The rise of an Assassin:

[Sabrina Bergin]

Conspiracy:


It was a week before I was allowed to venture into the upper levels, and the garden again. This would alert others, to my apparent recovery. Yuki knew I was angry Saya had returned with Ceri’s head in a box. She also knew I had wanted to kill that bitch myself. She had overruled me, concerned that Ceri might be able to make me obey her again, despite my assurances to the contrary. The question we all waited to be answered now, was who would come to claim the prize? That being me, the only known example of a successful human resurrection.

If it was Jenner, that was not a problem, if it was Hiro… That would confirm Yuki’s fears as to his ambitions. To be fair, Kamishi’s message had pretty much dammed him already. Yuki had taken steps to block him, she didn’t bother explaining how. There would be a final confrontation between them. I was certain of that much, better it occurred here, at a time of our choosing, rather than on his home ground. Once we had word he was on his way, his agents were dealt with. By the time the ground cars reached the house, we had all gathered in the formal reception hall. At first glance, it would appear we were simply watching a practice match. So he must have been feeling quite sure of himself, when he walked in with only ten personal guards, eleven counting his assassin Sakura. The match halted as soon as Yuki rose from her seat, and clapped her hands once. The two fighters moving to the sides of the room, to clear a path for Hiro, and his entourage.

[Sabrina Bergin]

Continued:

“Ms Poler, please gather your possessions, you will be returning to Kyoto with me.” The fact that he expected me, to meekly follow his orders, told me he really didn’t know me at all.

“You know Hiro I’d rather not, Yuki here has promised to take me into town, tonight and I’d rather not disappoint. What say, I give you a rain check on that?” His face was a picture as my refusal registered, he’d probably never been openly defied before in his life. He failed to see what Sakura did, that this… was more than me simply refusing him. Sakura’s hand moved to his sword hilt. He would know, or have guessed, an EMP field had already rendered his other weapons useless.

“Sakura… you will teach this gaijin manners” Hiro ordered, as if my refusal counted for nothing.

************

“Arlen I free you of all restraint defend yourself, with all honour.” I was hoping Yuki could have avoided using those precise words. It meant, I had to fight in the time honoured fashion, they considered acceptable. Me… I would have used the chemical grenade; I had readied for this, as things stood… Yuki, Saya, and Ritsuko, were still bound by their stupid code of ethics, that would only change when Sakura actually attacked me. Then they would be able to defend me, as an honoured guest must be. Yeah… only the Split could understand that, or agree with it. Then, everyone knew the Split were pretty much insane.

Ritsuko had, over the last few days, taken the time to show me, what she knew of Sakura’s techniques, she had sparred with him often enough. That gave me some idea, of what I was up against. Time to see if my skills had deserted me as well. It soon became clear he was not going to make the same mistakes as Taddeo, and others facing me in the past had. This man had been killing people, longer than I had been alive, after all. So it could be more of a challenge than I wanted. As soon as he launched his attack I heard Yuki give orders to Saya and Ritsu, vaguely aware that Hiro’s other guards, had moved to prevent them interfering. I ignored that as I began the first of many passes, with Sakura… our blades flashing at speed through the air between us. As we fought I felt my anger rising, I could feel the surge of the lust for battle, as rage joined with me. I swear the bitch was enjoying this.

***********

So, now we see the rumours about you are true Sabine, you do have the eyes of a demon, when in combat.”

“I’ve been told they are rather pretty…., by men about to die Sakura”, knowing that distraction was his only purpose in talking. I followed his example. “I’m disappointed Sakura, they call you the silent killer, so shut the frack up, and get on with it. I have a hot date tonight… remember.”

That got to him, his bigotry emerged, he lost all pretence at courtesy, launching a series of attacks I recalled Saya had once used on me. He had probably taught her that sequence. If he hoped for the same result; he was in for a disappointment. I evaded the final strike, that had once allowed Saya to knock me of my feet, cutting him in his side as I countered it.

“Oops sorry” I apologised, mocking him. That gave him reason to pause for a moment. He realised I had turned his own taunts against him. His eyes narrowed, as he readied himself for yet another attack. This time as he came at me, I felt his sword cut me across the stomach. That should have had my guts spilling onto the floor. The look of amazement in his eyes, when he saw I had, what appeared to be only a shallow wound, was more than satisfying. Rage was enjoying this now, more than I was in fact. Then, she didn’t feel the pain wounds caused me…, never had. Sakura shifted the tempo of the duel, probably figuring he would outlast me. He might have been right, if I hadn’t been dosing myself on energy drinks all day. I could keep burning adrenaline for some time yet, before fatigue started affecting me. “Preparation is everything”. I remembered saying that to a girl somewhere, or had I? I pushed the memory, not quite memory aside, as Sakura came at me again. This was not the time to reminisce.

**********

After a while it became obvious, we were the only remaining combatants. It was time to finish this. It was a pity he had to die, he would have made a good instructor. Ritsuko had spoken at length to point out, I must not offer him mercy. If he yielded… that was another matter altogether. He wasn’t going to yield; the look in his eyes told me that. I took the attack to him. Forcing him back down the length of the hall. Our blades clashing repeatedly as I advanced. He knew he was going to lose, that it was just a matter of time now, crazy bastard. All he did was smile at me. Not a sneer, just a knowing smile. I took his head as I passed him a few moments later. Then stepped clear as he fell. I cleaned my blade, then remembered to bow before joining Yuki, and the others. Hiro stood alone, surrounded by his dead, the outer doors to the room sealed shut behind him.

**********

“Lord Kanagawa, you have sought the life, of a guest in my house.” He looked up at Yuki’s condemnation of his actions. “I trust sunrise will be met with your formal apology.” I had to give the man his due, he accepted his fate without protest. He faltered only once as the inner doors opened, so he could be escorted from the hall. Kamisha stood there waiting. Staring at him her disgust, anger at what he had attempted, done, clear in her eyes. She walked past him to join us, never once looking back.

[Sabrina Bergin]

That is as they say "All she wrote".

No Sabine's story is not finished.

Just paused whilst I flesh out the details of where she goes next.

I'll Give you a hint. "Phantoms".

Time line now is "From Nothing" a month ahead. Hey this has always been a back story.

Still no reason not to let a certain "Pirate Prince" be worried.

I will not attempt to change what has been written. I'm just going to tweak it a bit.

**********


Edited due to a change in direction.

[Sabrina Bergin]

Seppuku:


Hiro was not afraid of this, nor was he angered by Yukiro’s besting of him. It showed only that he had trained her well. She would be a worthy successor.
He glanced to where they waited to bear witness, feeling a momentary surge of anger that the Gaijin was amongst them. Then a sense of desolation as Kami’s eyes met his.

He would not falter, for good or ill, he was a lord of the Kanegawa, already his works reached out to shape the future of his people. In time they might recognise that. As the sun touched the trees he sank the blade into his soft flesh. His second did not hesitate.

***********

Okay that was weird, I mean I got the significance. What it meant to the people around me when Hiro killed himself. I just didn’t get it. That’s when Kamishi pulled me aside and gave me a list. She didn’t have to elaborate. Bitch even had a flitter waiting for me. That’s when I started to wonder who really ruled here. I glanced at Ritsuko and felt her eyes lock onto mine.

She knew.

**********

Just a taste. Hope you like it.

[Triaxx2]

Interesting.

[Sabrina Bergin]

“I am concerned; she seems lost to us, almost as she was before…”

“Send her to kill another of your enemies my Lady.” Saya suggested…, “that always seems to cheer her up.” That only earnt her an angry glance from Ritsu.

“I have spoken with her at some length Yuki, she is troubled by those memories she has lost. My thoughts are, she had plans that stretched far beyond this moment but is no longer aware of why she might have made them. I have taken the liberty of sending people to make discreet enquiries, based on the information she has been able to provide. That and what we know of her ourselves. So far such enquiries have revealed only that she is a woman who has successfully hidden herself from military and public notice. There is no trace of Arlen Poler in the Argon database’s at least none matching her genetic profile and description. This confirms Jenner’s assertion that she is believed to have died at the time of the Ahriman project. I have found one clue that leads to an Argon sector in the south. She was in contact with a woman there before events overtook her. With your permission I will speak with her.”


***********

End of Book One.


***********

[Sabrina Bergin]

Book 2: Chapter 1.

Reunion:

Yukiro, and Kamishi had both agreed to my making this journey. My problem was Saya who insisted she also travel south. Or at least take Arlen with me, that was not possible of course. Arlen still had much to do to ensure Yukiro’s safety. The transition of control over her grandfather’s holdings, was being met with some resistance. That was one of the reasons, we had remained here, at the estate in Hokkaido. Despite its defences, the security of the estate in Kyoto had been breached twice since Hiro’s death. Only here, where all were sworn to Yukiro, was she truly safe. Saya knew this as well of course, knew also that she must stay at Yukiro’s side till I returned. That this was a condition Kamishi had demanded, Saya was unaware of. It was perhaps for the best, she remained so.

**********

“I will be safe my dearest friend; into your hands I place the safety of my lady. There is no one else I would entrust with this task.”

“My Lady, I know full well the honour you grant me in this, it is just… I have ever been at your side Ritsuko. That you travel alone, this is what troubles me the most.”

“Hardly alone Saya, though I understand your meaning. I have an escort suitable to my station, and I will return here as soon as I may.”

“Then I shall delay you no longer my Lady.” Saya bowed, finally accepting my words.

I boarded the shuttle that would take me first to the Torus, then board a transport that would take me to this sector they called Aladna hill. To be honest, I had some curiosity about this commonwealth, and the strange races that dwelt there. Particularly these Split, some of whom Arlen described as being similar to my own people. That seemed unlikely to me, despite her assurances. Then there were the lady Kamishi’s motives to be considered. She did nothing without purpose, that she lent me her own Spring blossom for this task, told me she set great store in its outcome.

**********

Was it her intent to bind Arlen to Yukiro’s service… or her own?

[Sabrina Bergin]

Continued:

It came as no surprise to me, that Kami’s captain Masaki had jump co-ordinates for this sector. I suspect he held several more which made me wonder how often he had come south at her bidding. Aladna hill, which Arlen had spoken of fondly at times was not as I expected. There was a strong military presence here, given the number of pirates who appeared to be allowed to travel freely, that came as no surprise. It seemed odd that they should be tolerated. I questioned Masaki on this and he assured me, it was much the same everywhere in the south. That gave me no comfort. Whilst I was certain as to the capabilities of his ship and his crew, had my lady been aboard, I would have destroyed them as they came in range to scan us.

“This is normal here my lady,” he assured me as he set course for our destination ordering that we reach there in a timely fashion.
That was another oddity, in the north any who exceeded sector transition speed would be questioned. Here they seemed unconcerned, the only attention we garnered, was from the sectors militia ships, which struggled to match our speed. “I assume you have informed the station that we intend to dock?”

“I have my lady. I sent the message you gave me, the Station manager herself will be waiting at the docking port. She seems anxious to meet you.”

That served only to confirm my suspicions, that this woman Helga knew Arlen personally. Given the time that had passed since Arlen last communicated with her, she must be worried as to her fate. Was this woman Arlens lover? I wondered, if so she might be careless in what she revealed.

**********

There had been sufficient time to change into a form of dress, they might recognise here. I found the business suit restricting, as I am sure Masaki did. That he chose to escort me himself was no great surprise, no doubt Kami had insisted on this. Of course I was certain that should need arise his crew, and my escort were ready to take the station. The woman was waiting to meet us in the arrivals lounge, alone. There were no guards, not even an escort for herself. This must be deliberate, even so I did not relax my guard as I studied her. She seemed a little old for Arlen, attractive enough, though not what I would have expected.

“We need to talk I suspect” was all she said Masaki bristled at her familiarity, still he caught my signal to control himself. “My names Helga if you’ll follow me, I can offer you some refreshments. Perhaps something to eat?”

“That would be kind Helga.” I smiled whilst accepting her hand then followed her into the interior of the station. Masaki gave me a slight nod indicating he would follow my lead in how we dealt with this woman. There was no need to antagonise her after all.

***********

The offices she led us to were warmly appointed, not what I expected of a complex manager. Two things struck me at once, on her desk was a still of her and a child. There was no doubt the girl was her own. So… not Arlens lover then? That raised another question, did she know of Sabine? Somehow I doubted it, this woman did not seem the typed to consort with assassins. We took the seats we were offered, then she asked what we would care to drink. “Arlen has often boasted of Sonra” I admitted, making her focus once more on the purpose of our visit. She did not fail to notice that, and soon we were all sat together regarding this coffee that Arlen had always claimed rivalled anything earth had to offer. She showed remarkable restraint before she asked the questions she wanted answered.

“Where’s Rabeka, is she alright? I’ve been worried sick about her” she admitted. “So has Selma.” This changed things, clearly Rabeka was the name this woman knew Arlen by. She also knew, or assumed Arlen was an alias. What was the truth here? I produced a vid cube of Arlen walking the gardens of Yuki’s estate. She watched it closely her eyes brimming. “Alright how much do you want?” That startled me, yet it seemed, this was to her, the most likely motive for my visit here.

“We are at cross purposes Helga; I seek no ransom. Arlen, as I know her, is safe and well. She is an honoured guest at my lady’s estate. She was badly injured in my lady’s service.” I saw no need to explain more than this. “Suffice to say, my lady is grateful to her, and has instructed me to seek out her family. “Much of her memory, is lost to her. In all the years I have known her, she has never spoken of her life as Rabeka.”

“No she wouldn’t… excuse me, I need something a little stronger than coffee.” She left us at the table, fetching a bottle and some glasses from a cabinet before joining us at the table once more. Only after she had swallowed a large glass of whiskey did she turn her eyes back to me. Her confusion evident, she nodded as if coming to a decision before speaking. “Arlen Poler is Rabeka Polar. She owns this whole station, and a lot more besides.” That was a name I knew, Rabeka Polar. She owned the Onyx corporation. One with strong links to Argon intelligence.

**********

Arlen it seemed, was adept at compartmentalising her different persona’s, I had to wonder how many she maintained. Was this why Kami was so interested in her, or was it just her link to Argon Intelligence? I sipped my coffee, which was excellent as Helga told me something of Arlens life here. She was stalling of course, a suspicion Masaki whispered to me in our own language whilst she refilled the coffee pot. That much was obvious, the woman was waiting for someone else to arrive. This he confirmed, when I excused myself to use the washroom. A corvette was approaching the station at unprecedented speed. One he refused to accept as possible.

“Calm yourself Masaki, order your crew to remain aboard our ship unless we signal otherwise.” That order did not please him I knew, yet he obeyed, and gave no sign of his concerns as we joined Helga back in her office. I poured myself a glass of whiskey having become tired of so much coffee, and waited. Helga’s expected visitor arrived opening the door to the office accompanied by a woman who towered over her protectively. Her eyes scanning the room for threats, that told me much. As did the desperate need in the eyes of the woman’s she warded.

Helga rose to her feet, ran and embraced the woman before turning to introduce us properly. “Selma, this is Ritsuko, she came to me with word of Arlen.”

“Kaylen, Helga would you give us the room please,” she said quietly. “The Lady Naymuri and I have much to discuss. In private.” The fact she chose to offer me the same bow Arlen often used, prompted me to signal Masaki he should also leave us.

She knew who I was.

**********

This then was Arlens woman, I had to admire her taste. I studied her as the others left the room. She was tall for a woman, and had the air of one who had training. Military, that much was obvious, yet it was in her eyes she, came here concerned only for Arlen. So I doubted she had set a trap for me. “Please let us be seated Selma, there is as you said, much we should discuss.”

***********

[Sabrina Bergin]

Continued:

Selma took her place at the table and waited for me to speak first, though she gave the appearance of being calm, her eyes told me otherwise. “So Selma, the fact that you know both my name, and rank tells me Arlen has spoken of me.”

“She has, not in any great detail. Only that you serve a corporate executive on earth. Lord Kanegawa.” So Arlen had not told her all that much, but then this conversation must have taken place some time ago for her to have made such a mistake.


“That is not entirely correct.” I admitted. “I am sworn to the service of his granddaughter the lady Yukiro. She is the one who sent me here. Arlen has never been one to speak much of herself, or those close to her, for reasons I am sure you are aware of.” In this way I tested, her if she knew nothing of “Sabine.” This reply would surely puzzle her. As it was, she took some time before replying. Perhaps considering how much I knew, or if I was here only to find out more about Arlen. “I believe the expression you might use, is that we should both put our cards on the table Selma.”

“As I have no cards to speak of, I have little choice. What do you want to know?”

“Why did she travel to Earth Selma? This question is the one my lady, and I would have answered.”

“Until I received the call from Helga, I didn’t even know she had gone there. Listen when Arlen left, she was not herself…” I waited for her to continue, surely now I would have an answer to Arlens strange behaviour. “We had just rescued her from a group of pirates, they had kidnapped, and tortured her. If she had stayed, we might have been able to help her, instead she grabbed a ship and simply vanished. Then a wozura later, you show up. You told Helga she’s been badly injured” So Selma had listened to our conversation, no doubt Helga had left a com link open to her. "When we docked we scanned your ship. I’m sorry… I simply can’t trust you yet. Your men are unharmed..., but you will be coming with me.” My men are unharmed, that made no sense, my escort were not inexperienced.

The door opened then, Kaylen re-entered the room. In the corridor I could see both Masaki and Helga lying on the floor. Why would Helga be lying on the floor? Then I looked to the glass of whiskey I had taken. Helga had drunk from the same bottle, I had no reason to suspect… I leapt to my feet though already I could feel the poison slowing my reactions. Treachery! I reached for my weapons even as the room spun about me. I was dimly aware that it was Kaylen who broke my fall.

[Sabrina Bergin]

Kami Nagoya:


Waiting was no hardship, I had endured many years of such, it was then I had learnt the value of patience. That, had finally given me the means to escape from Aldrin. I turned my thoughts away from those years. My duty demanded I watch this one carefully. It would be interesting to know, if she was aware that I had once been sent to kill her. I allowed her to feign sleep for a few minutes more, before speaking quietly.

“Lady Naymuri I have tea prepared for you, and a bath also awaits.” The woman uncoiled swiftly like a wound spring. Yet I was ready for this as well, I stepped back a pace avoiding a blow that might have been lethal. “There is no need for this lady Naymuri will, you not take tea?” If you prefer some other refreshment, I am at your service.” I brightened the lighting a little, that she might see me more clearly.

“The tea will suffice.” she replied in the same dialect of our ancient language as my own. Her eyes followed mine to the robe I had laid on the chair next to her bed. Beyond that lay the table where the tea I had prepared waited for her.

“Will you join me then?” she asked, slipping on the robe. This I knew would place me within reach for her but that was of little consequence, Selma had been most insistent, the lady be offered the opportunity to trust her intentions. This I suspected would not happen. Not until lady Naymuri stood next to the Lady Kanegawa once more. This I had explained to Selma, yet still she insisted, I do what I could to put the lady at her ease. “You are Asian, are you also from Aldrin?” She asked pleasantly enough as she tasted the tea.

**********

“Indeed, I am Kami Nagoya, my father manages a small tea farm, on a habitat by the west gate. This tea was blended there.”

“Then I suspect this comes from your personal stores, will you join me and perhaps tell me what Selma Hayak expects to accomplish by my abduction?”

“This is why I am here Lady Naymuri, Ms Hayak will be asleep for some time yet, I am to answer any questions you might have.” I accepted the tea she offered and drank deeply. She had only been sipping her own, suspecting it too might be drugged. It was of course, but only with a mild stimulant I thought might counter the effects of the drugs, that had rendered her unconscious yesterday.

“It was not her intent abduct you Lady Naymuri….”

“Please address me as Ritsu in private at least” she interrupted before I could continue.

“Very well then… Ritsu, Selma did not intend to abduct you... You however approached Helga with news of Arlen Poler, then told her she had been badly injured, without giving her the signal Sabine warned she must receive from one she trusted. Helga simply followed the orders Sabine had prepared for this eventuality, she contacted Selma, informed her of your imminent arrival, and of your ship, which she had scanned before you docked. Then when the opportunity presented itself, she drugged you. When we docked Selma, kept you busy, whilst we boarded your ship, and for the drug to take effect. None of the crew were seriously hurt, those with injuries we treated before we left.”

“So you abduct me… board my ship, injure some of my crew. Why should Selma ever suspect, I would consider this hostile?” She snapped back, unable to fully conceal her outrage. Her sarcasm did not escape my notice; I simply chose to ignore it.

“Perhaps because your crew, and the troops aboard, had orders to take the station. I think your anger at events, equal that of Selma’s.” That silenced her for a moment, as she considered my words. By making clear I had also taken part in that operation, should give her pause, before attempting anything rash.

“May I ask where we are going?”

“Earth of course, we have informed Captain Masaki of our destination. He will arrive there some time after we do. Selma wants to see Arlen much sooner than passage aboard your ship would allow. Till then you have the freedom of the ship, if you need anything you merely need to call for me on the com.” I cleared the table and left the room. Perhaps once she had enjoyed a bath she might be prepared to be more amenable.


***********

Ritsu:

The attack on the woman might have been a mistake, if I had given it more thought I might have succeeded at a later time. Now they would be wary of me. I waited a few moments after Kami had left the room before I found the bathroom. As promised, a hot bath had been prepared for me, along with a selection of soaps and oils that would not have been out of place in my own home. This Kami Nagoya was, I suspect, responsible for this as well. No matter I slipped into the warm water feeling it wash away, the many minor aches that I had failed to acknowledge till now. Only after I had relaxed somewhat did I consider the absurdity of having a hot tub aboard a corvette. The luxury was not unappreciated; it did however indicate a certain hedonism on the part of the ship’s owner. This Kami had said, I might roam the ship freely… I would test that statement, after I had spent a little longer here.

On returning to the bedroom, I found a choice of clothing had been laid out for me. I quickly changed into a simple ships suit, much the same as the one Kami had been wearing, then went into the other room where I heard movement. I opened the door to find Kami had returned and was busy laying a table for me. “My apologies, I had hoped not to disturb you. I have taken the liberty of preparing a breakfast for you. I was uncertain as to when you last ate, so I thought a large breakfast would suffice for the moment.”

**********

I looked at the dishes she had placed upon the table, it seemed they did not intend me to starve then. There were bowls of steamed rice, broiled fish of some description, a large plate of tamagoyaki, tsukemono, natto, miso soup, and soy sauce alongside a large pot of what could only be green tea. I also noted that she had placed both chopsticks, and common utensils for me to choose from.

“Since it, is clear you prepared this Kami, perhaps you might join me. I do not like eating in solitude.” That was not entirely true, but this woman appeared to be going out of her way to accommodate me. Kami smiled happily, and removed another place setting from the food trolley, Had she anticipated hoped for my request? before joining me at the table. Kumi poured us both tea whilst I filled my bowl, though I knew this had been done to please me, did not mean I could not enjoy it. It had been a while since I had eaten a proper Japanese meal. The first thing I noted, was that Kami was an accomplished cook. I doubt even my lady, had often had a finer breakfast, a point I made to Kumi who had the grace to blush at my praise.

“It is a passion of mine I must admit Ritsu. Here in the south..., the food whilst interesting, lacks refinement. I am fortunate that My lady allows me to indulge myself on occasion. Though it is difficult to obtain fresh ingredients.”

“I can imagine So tell me Kami, how is it you came to be in Sabine’s Service?” The look of concern was fleeting though she hid it well. Had I perhaps touched upon a raw wound there?

“My apologies Ritsu… I am employed by Sabine, how we came to meet is a matter she should speak of. I am not her bo-di-ga, that duty falls to Kaylen. She was sworn first to her service.”

**********

There was much unspoken in her words, I did not believe she resented Kaylen…. Remembering the huge woman, I had seen briefly on the station. Rather I thought she felt herself better suited, for the role the woman claimed for herself. That was interesting. Then I recalled how easily the woman had avoided my earlier attack. She was skilled. Where had she been taught? I wondered, as I concentrated on my tea for the moment.

“Might I ask one favour Ritsu? when we discuss my lady in Selma’s presence or elsewhere, it might be best if you used her given name of Arlen. As you will know, my Lady does not like the name Sabine to be heard, other than by those she chooses.”

“A reasonable enough request, you imply Selma knows nothing of the Arlens, other life then?”

“She knows well enough Ritsu, it is a distinction they make between themselves, to keep those two aspects of Arlen’s life separate.”

I could see the sense in that, as an assassin for hire, Arlen would not want her true name known, beyond those she trusted without question. This was something of a puzzle to me, I was not an assassin in that sense, those I killed I did so in defending Yuki, or at her orders. It must be much more difficult working for others. No doubt Sabine, was the name she used in her occupation, that of Arlen… When she was at home, or going about her normal life. This must be necessary, were an enemy of Sabine discover that she was also Arlen Polar, it would place those she cared for at great risk. That would explain the extraordinary lengths she had gone to, in order to preserve her anonymity. It also suggested to me, that those who knew of her secret were also at risk. Should Arlen become concerned she was being sought..., she would go to even greater lengths, to protect those she loved more than her friends. This was a warning I must give to Yukiro, should I ever see her, or Saya again. I gave no sign of the concern Kami’s words had given me, after a few moments when it was clear we were both done with our meal Kami once again cleared the table, and offered to give me a tour of the ship should I wish it. That would be of interest to me; I asked her to call back in an hour or so if she was free. I had no doubt she would be; she would accompany me whether I wished it or not. No doubt, she had been set to watch over me, as well as see to my needs.

**********

Once she had gone, taking the serving trolley with her, I explored the rooms that had been given me. There was no doubt in my mind, even Yukiro would find them more than acceptable. I found it hard to believe a corvette would have such well-appointed rooms aboard… That was a troubling thought, was I even on the corvette Masaki had reported approaching the station? A tour of the ship would answer that question.

I accessed the com terminal, and for a moment, was tempted to try and contact Yukiro directly. That would be foolish, it would only reveal my concerns to my Hosts.? Instead I contacted Kami whose name was conveniently placed at the top of the contacts page.

She arrived within moments, suggesting she had been waiting for me to summon her. The tour took little over an hour with us ending in what she described as the observation lounge. This was a corvette after all, I had already confirmed this, having been certain we had explored the ship from tip to stern. Yet it was unlike any corvette, I had ever heard of. I looked out through the windows which Kami assured me were just that, not view screens as I had thought.

“This is an unusual ship Kami.”

“The Kaiken, is a Hyperion Vanguard Ritsu, built by the Paranid as a private yacht for their Emperor..., there are less than a handful of them in the entire universe, it is hardly surprising you do not know of it.” Kami agreed enjoying the view as much as I.

“Indeed, then perhaps you could tell me where one might purchase such a ship, I am sure my lady would want one?” I was not prepared for the peals of laughter that question elicited from Kami.

“Forgive me Ritsu… being unaware of this ship, you could not possibly know that it cannot be purchased. Not at any price. If your Lady wishes to own one, she would have to obtain it the same way Arlen did. I was shocked at her words, was Arlen then a pirate, as well as an assassin? “It is not what you think Ritsu, Arlen took this ship and many others when she worked for the fleet, some she chose to keep rather than destroy. This is but one of them, there are others as you will soon see. I believe we are due to make the jump in a moment." She added enigmatically, smiling at my concern.

As the space ahead of us dissolved into a swirl of colours, I asked the question I believed I already knew the answer to. "So tell me Kami are you Ninja?" Kami looked mortally offended at the term I used.


"No my lady, I am no common sell sword... I am Shinobi." She answered proudly... For the first time since I had been abducted, I felt fear grip my heart.

[Sabrina Bergin]

The Hidden Fleet:

There was time to compose myself as the swirling colours of the jump, were replaced by the solid darkness of normal space. Only for a moment did I feel sadness, as I realised this was not the asteroid belt. If it were, I would have found myself looking upon the Huge Defence station, that guarded our southernmost border. There was a brief ache in my heart at the thought of not seeing her Yuki or… Saya again. Looking out of the corner of my eye. I expected to see Kami enjoying my discomfort, instead she seemed happy to be here wherever here was, and was looking out of the window expectantly…. Eagerly even. This was not what I expected. My thoughts were interrupted as the lounge door opened behind Us. Selma walked in accompanied by Kaylen, and another woman I had seen, but not been introduced to during the tour of the ship. This woman was somewhat older than Selma, though she carried herself with in the manner of one used to both combat, and command. To my surprise Kami strode angrily towards Kaylen, stopping just a pace away from her, then began shouting at her in a language I did not recognise. From her tone, it was clear she was furious at Kaylen’s being here. Kaylen pointed to me then replied to Kami in the same language. The older woman stood to one side, not interfering, a small smile on her face as she watched the two argue. Much as a mother might have watching a squabble between her children.

“Enough you two.” Selma roared. We have a guest present; I have said, we will all speak common, when she is in our presence.”

“Very Well Selma” Kami hissed. “I told this big ox, that the lady was perfectly safe in my care. Her presence here…, makes it clear that she doubts my word. This is insulting I demand… Satisfaction!”

“That is quite enough Kami” the older woman said, in a calm, crisp voice that betrayed no suggestion her words would be questioned. “I told you to inform us whenever you escorted our guest from her stateroom, did I not Kami?”

“You did Erine," Kami agreed reluctantly, her face colouring. Clearly she had disobeyed this order.

“We shall discuss this later, My apologies Lady Naymuri.” The woman said turning to me, her eyes bright with mischief. “Children sometimes forget their place, follow me you two.,” she snapped, after offering me that strange bow they practiced here.

**********

Selma waited for them to be gone before speaking. “I am sorry about that Ritsuko, you should not have had to hear that sort of language.” I had already assumed, that a lot of swearing had been involved despite not understanding the language. “I wanted to speak to you before we entered this sector, when we found you were not in your rooms, Kaylen became concerned.” Why would Kaylen be concerned? Unless she suspected I might not be safe in Kami’s company, or she in mine. It was clear that Selma would not be explaining this, so I pointed to the sector before us.

“Their lack of discipline is your problem; I have concerns of my own Selma… This is not the asteroid belt. My understanding was, we were traveling to Earth. This is what you told Captain Masaki, is it not?”

“It is, and we are… The Torus is our next port of call. This is something I wanted you to see first.”

Looking out of the viewports, I could see the ship had changed its position, and orientation. Ahead of us I could see a large base station and, dozens of transports traveling throughout the sector ahead of us. To my right I could now see a massive production facility that seemed to be the focal point for all the traffic in the system. Sitting above it I could see a shipyard and equipment dock, with a large number of capital ships either docked, or nearby. Around them, I could just make out, groups of fighters moving in patrol patterns I recognised. The Capital ships were a mixture of all the types, used by the various races in the commonwealth. Those did not trouble me as much as the AGI carrier, I saw standing of from the others. My concern must have been obvious to Selma.

“Welcome to Sanctuary Ritsuko, and yes that is a Xenon J.” She had obviously noted my shock on seeing it. “We captured it last year, and have been outfitting her ever since. She’ll be ready before the day is out.” Captured it… I had not thought such a feat either desirable, or possible.

“Ready for what Selma?”

“That depends on whether we return with Arlen or not Ritsuko, if we do… This fleet will remain here. If not, we will destroy every asset and ship belonging to Japaco industries we come across, in both Terran, and Aldrin sectors. We already have the positions of most of them mapped.” This was a threat then, no not that, rather a promise of the retribution they would seek, should Selma not retrieve Arlen. “I will tell you plainly Ritsuko, we have already suffered betrayal by our own kind... We will not tolerate similar treatment, from either yourself or Lady Kanegawa.” There was no way I could prevent her from sensing my anger at her words, nor did I want to.

“Should you attack any of our stations, our fleets would hunt you down and destroy this base, they will eradicate all here.” I shouted, sensing that she already knew, this would be our response…. “You would start a war…, surely neither you or Arlen want that?”

“It is not a question of what I want Ritsuko... It is what they want,” Selma pointed to the capital ships.” If I do not return with Arlen…, they will assume the worst. They will set out to wage war on the Kanegawa, every single production plant, and ship they own will be targeted, nor will this fleet be easily stopped. The Argons knew where our previous base was located, the location of this one…, is known only to ourselves, and cannot be discovered by conventional means. If war should result… what of it? This sector provides us with everything we need. We will stand aside, watching whilst your people, and the commonwealth destroy each other. That’s why Arlen called this place Sanctuary. We will remain here long enough to re-provision; we will also be taking along a medical team.” She caught my surprise at that perhaps sensing the guilt, I felt at what had been done to Arlen. “They will want to discuss her injuries, and treatment with you… Particularly if she was questioned by the ATF.” Selma gave me a long hard stare, as if expecting me to confirm this had happened, before leaving me.

**********

My silence had angered her I knew, but what could I have said, that would not have made the situation worse? Two ships, approached and took station less than five hundred metres from where I stood. One was a passenger transport, the other a cargo vessel. I decided to go below and see if they were bringing troops aboard… If they were, I would activate the beacon Kamishi had given me to warn of a possible attack, on Hokkaido.

Kami must have been waiting for me, as soon as I left the observation lounge, she followed me. She did not however, attempt to stop me from entering the cargo bay, I heard the sound of heavy machinery. I was surprised to see Erine stood in a control booth to my left overlooking the bay. Then I glanced down from the gallery I was stood on, and saw missile racks being moved into loaders that were set at the side of the cargo bay. My concern was, I recognised those missiles, they were Wraiths. “The missiles are being loaded directly into the ships missile storage.” Kami explained helpfully. “Once the cargo has been dealt with, crew transfers will commence. The Doc will come aboard last; he prefers it that way. Oh one thing Ritsu… Put away any xenophobic tendencies you might have; the doc is really nice.”

“I assume then he is an alien.” I was unable to keep my disquiet at that out of my voice.

“He’s a Boron Ritsu, he’s also a friend of Arlens… So be polite to him if nothing else. Once you get to know him, you might even come to like him.” I very much doubted that still, it would be interesting to see one of these Boron. The fact Kami called him a doctor, made this likely to be the creature Selma wanted to examine Arlen. I shuddered at the thought of allowing such a creature to examine me.

When he was finally transported aboard, my curiosity overcame my revulsion. The Boron was suspended within a sphere, filled with what I assumed was a liquid suitable to sustain him. About its middle, I could see various devices that no doubt allowed him to communicate with those around him. None of the workers in the cargo bay seemed troubled by his appearance, many of them even waved greetings at him as he passed below us, presumably to go to his quarters. “Does he stay in that sphere all the time Kami?”

“No, Arlen had some rooms next to the medical bay adapted for his use. He only has to use his pod when he wants to travel beyond them. He does have an environment suit but he hates wearing it. Says it’s to restricting. At the complex, we have a reservoir level, adapted for him and his staff. It’s quite handy actually, especially since we introduced the fish farms. That’s a bit of a hobby with him.” Kami continued, not noting the horrified expression on my face.

“You allow that creature to live in your water reservoir? Surely even…”

“Ritsu, we have several reservoirs; we don’t tap into his because he claims it stirs up too much of the sea floor he’s added, we could if we had to though. That reservoirs water is purer, once it’s been processed than any you might find in the verse.” Despite Kami’s calm assurance I still felt nauseous at the thought. I left the cargo bay and returned to my rooms, using the elevator to reach them rather than using the stairs. If I was going to vomit, I would prefer to do so in private.

**********

Fortunately, I was able to avoid that indignity, I did however drink a large glass of a rice wine I found a bottle of in a cooler in the small kitchen I had discovered earlier. It was whilst drinking this, I decided to risk accessing the com terminal, to my surprise the screen lit up, and I was able to input Yukiro's estates contact code, without being interrupted. The call did not connect though, instead the display kept repeating that it was searching for a gate network signal. I let it cycle through several times before cancelling the call. Was this a deceit I wandered? Intended for me to believe I had com access when the truth was the opposite? I hacked into the terminals base programming, searching through its functions, till I found the one I wanted. I switched back to the opening interface screen, and had it display a map of this sector. I was not prepared for the mass of information, that scrolled down the screen alongside the map itself. There were several other complexes in this sector, one seemed to be solely for the provision of power cells, the other for food stuffs of various types. There were also a number of mines in the sector, along with several dozen cargo ships, that were traveling between all of them. After skimming through that list, I turned my attention to the sector map and began searching it for a gate, once I located that, I was certain I would be able to access its communication network, no matter what steps had been taken to restrict access to it. There at the bottom of the map I found the icon that identified the location of the gate. I increased the map display size and zoomed in on the gate itself. The display feed must, I realised be coming from a satellite, my hopes were crushed when I got a closer look at the gate, it was a ruin. By the look of the meteor impacts on its surface it had been destroyed at some time in the distant past. I restored the map to its original display setting and searched for where the other gate might be, it had to be here somewhere.

**********

After nearly an hour of searching I gave up, I was confident I had accessed all the satellites in the system, even switching through their various camera views to no avail. Impossible as it seemed, this sector did not possess a gate… Wait what had Selma said earlier? “This sector cannot be discovered by conventional means.” That was it, that meant this had to be an unknown sector they had found, using the unfocused jump drive. That made no sense, it was impossible, as far as I knew to relocate one once you left. I sat back totally frustrated, enjoying the wine whilst I allowed my thoughts to roam freely. The answer had to be here I knew that much, I had simply failed to recognise it. Again I turned back to the display of the sector looking for something out of place. There in a position far from the ecliptic was a jump beacon. It was heavily shielded; it was also not listed on the sectors display. That must be the means they used to travel to this place. I resisted the urge to try accessing, it assuming that could only be done using an encrypted frequency. It would probably alert them to any unauthorised attempts to do so, for the moment I would prefer they did not know I had found it. This left me with another question to ponder… How had they managed to achieve what I, and all others regarded as impossible?

***********

It was unfortunate that we had given up the use of jump gates, only my home sectors had used them, even that had come only after the gateway to Neptune had been re-established. The terrans had refused to use them after the first AGI attacks, that was why they had developed the trans orbital accelerators after all. Only the races of the commonwealth had continued research into their technology. There was an answer I was certain of it. I returned to the display once more, looking for anything else out of place, that was not listed on the sector display. It was by pure chance I saw it, recognising it at once from the reports Jenner had given us. I zoomed in the satellites camera. That was the Aran… The Goner ship that was believed to have been destroyed, during the Argon attack on Sabine’s base. So not destroyed then… The Goner, as I recall were the only people in the commonwealth, who understood jump gate technology to any degree. The presence of that ship here, hinted, at how revisiting an unfocussed jump sector might be done. That ship had as I understood, it been designed to return to Earth, without the use of a jump gate. That implied, it must have the ability to return to its starting point, had they succeeded. It also meant, they had a means to repeat the journey. That knowledge did me little good, even if the technology could be replicated, the odds of locating this specific sector… were incalculable. No wonder Selma had been so confident of this bases security. I shut down the terminal, and waited for the ship to leave this place.

[Sabrina Bergin]

Continued:

Selma stepped back from the terminal as Liom got to work, once they arrived in Terran space, he would have limited time to access the Torus mainframe. Having Ritsuko input her security clearance codes, when she tried to contact Yukiro had been an unexpected bonus. Fortunately, the ship near the east gate had managed to disrupt her transmission, and it had failed to get a lock on the gate network.

“That’s it Selma, I have enough to get you clearance for an Earth landing. Are you sure you wouldn’t rather dock at the Torus, and take a shuttle down?”

“Quite sure Liom, input the codes to both Rapiers IFF transponders. We’ll take both. Given the fact that we’ve left most of the crew at Sanctuary base, I’ll have Kami fly one… I’ll fly the other. If you lose contact with us for more than, a day…"

"Erine will take command.” Liom looked at Selma wanting to suggest otherwise, he already knew she wouldn’t listen though. Ever since she'd learnt Sabine was alive, she’d wanted nothing more than to join her. Erine had warned her it was most likely a trap, and nearly got her head bitten of for her trouble. She was, he had to admit right, not docking the Kaiken, was a good idea. The ship was unusual enough to attract attention, that was why Sabine had never brought it here herself. Still, the way he figured it, it was her call to make. Gods help the Kanegawa’s, if they tried to screw them over. Jako’s eyes had lit up, when he had been told he might have to target the Torus, in order to allow the fleet to attack the Kanegawa’s bases dirt side.

**********

The call from Selma came just a few minutes after I had felt the slight disorientation, that accompanied a jump. By then I had already checked the external cameras, and had been gratified to see the moon ahead of us. We were some distance away yet, so I assumed we had just transited the Venus accelerator. If Selma did not reduce her speed, she would attract the attention of the military. That in itself would not be a problem, it was however a complication I am sure we both wished to avoid. The biggest problem I could foresee, was the Boron. I expected they would want to hold him in quarantine, even my clearances could not prevent that from happening. I would have to warn her about that.

“Yes Selma what is it?” I asked, wandering if now would be the best time to discuss the alien.

“I was wondering if you might care to join us for lunch in the main galley? We have a few hours before we reach Earth, and there are some details we have to go over.” Perfect..., that would give me the opportunity to explain about the quarantine procedures.

“I will be down in a moment Selma.” She closed the link before I could say anymore. I left my rooms, and went down to the main crew area where the galley was located. To my surprise there were only a dozen people present and Kami was plating up meals behind the counter. Kaylen was helping her, by distributing the filled plates to the crew members, who were sat at the far end of the room. Selma waved me over to her table, where there were three vacant seats. No sooner had I sat down than Kaylen started placing bowls of food on the table. The smell of teriyaki and gyoza was unmistakable. This them explained Kami’s presence behind the serving counter. I raised an eyebrow in question to Selma.

“Since we are likely to be eating Japanese food for a while, I thought it best we try some.”

“We can provide western style food Selma…, this is not really necessary.”

“Kami suggests otherwise…” She countered looking at the bowls with some curiosity. Kami and Kaylen joined us at the table and urged us all to dig in.

I noted that Kami had placed a choice of utensils for all of us at the table, most of them favoured the standard sporks, most commonly used by ship’s crew. Selma struggled with chopsticks but was, after discreetly observing Kami, beginning to grasp how they should be used. Only Erine and Kaylen, showed little difficulty in eating properly with them.

“I forgot the tea.” Kami left the table, and returned with two large pots. One held Sonra coffee, the other a green tea. “The tea is an acquired taste” Kami warned the others,as she poured me, then herself a cup. To give her, her due Selma did try some, but her dislike was evident. So she, and most of the others switched to the coffee. I should not have been surprised to find, they had no difficulties eating the meal. I supposed that in the commonwealth they were used to a variety of foods, favoured by the other races. A point I put to Selma.

“Not all Ritsu, the Paranid’s main diet is soya husks, that’s like eating sawdust. I’d rather starve than eat that stuff again.” She assured me, as the others all chimed in with their agreement. They then discussed the various dishes they had tried, naming the ones they found most disagreeable. It seems the Split dishes, were the ones they favoured most, other than their own.

“Arlen has spoken of these Split…, amongst all the races she said that they were most similar to our own, is this so Kami?”

Kami gave the idea some thought before answering. “Only in the broadest terms Ritsu, they are combative by nature… They also hold to an honour code of sorts, and favour bladed weapons when duelling. Most of them are overly aggressive, almost to the point of insanity. They tend to go berserk in battle, worse still…, they typically fail to follow the orders of their commanders when this happens. They are…” she paused as if searching for the correct term. “Unreliable.”

“Not all of them Kami.” Erine pointed out some of them are excellent marines.”

“Only if they survive past their teenage years Erine, even then only if they are properly trained.” Kami countered. I was surprised Erine chose not to dispute this further, obviously there was much in Kami’s assessment of the Split, she agreed with. It was likely she had fought alongside these aliens in the past. We had all pretty much finished eating by then, save for Kaylen who was doing her best to finish the last of the teriyaki. The crew from the other table cleared our dishes for us, placing a cooler box of beer bottles on the table, presumably before returning to their duties.

**********

“Your crew seem to be somewhat diminished in number Selma, why is that?”

“To be honest, I saw no need to risk the full crew on this journey Ritsuko. Which brings me to the matter, I wanted to discuss with you. I’m not prepared to risk the Kaiken, by docking at the Torus.”

“Then how do you propose to travel to Hokkaido?” I ignored the fact, she had made clear, she still did not entirely trust me.

“That’s simple enough, we’ll use the fighters, you’ll fly with Kami, and Kaylen with me.”

“You have fighters docked aboard this ship.” I asked looking at Kami accusingly. Kami just shrugged, as if her failure to reveal this before now, was a trifling oversight on her part.

“Yes, two Rapiers at the moment, once we undock we’ll fly straight to Lady Kanegawa’s estate. I assume she has a landing field there. Don’t look so alarmed Ritsu, we won’t be carrying any ordinance.”

“It has, but I cannot see the Torus watch commander, allowing your ships to make landfall.”

“That’s already been arranged Ritsu… It would be helpful if you asked Lady Kanegawa, not to order us shot down when we approach her estate though.”

“Do I have any choice in this,” I asked coldly.”

“Not really.” She answered. “Kami, has had suitable clothing prepared for a Lady of your status. As well as those weapons, you would be expected to bear as a matter of course… We will not be armed.” That last remark, was obviously intended for Kami.

Kami took that moment to drink some of her beer, that was probably so that I did not question her, regarding that last statement. She would be armed of that I was certain. In her place Saya would be. That raises one other problem Selma… Kami is… Shinobi. She will not be welcome in my lady’s house. I suggest you leave her behind.”

“That is not possible Ritsuko, she is the only pilot aboard, other than myself, with flight experience in a Rapier. Her com link chimed then, after listening for a moment, she turned her attention to me again." Captain Masaki has arrived in sector, perhaps you should tell him of our intentions, if you’ll follow me to the bridge? Then we can get ready to leave.”

**********

It was obvious her mind was set on this, so reluctantly, I followed her to the bridge. A glance at the sector display, once we got there, showed that we were some considerable distance away from his ship. Clearly the Kaiken had not entered this sector via the accelerator. No doubt they had used a jump beacon. This pointed to gross negligence on behalf of the sector commander for not detecting it. The communications officer vacated her seat, indicating I should use it.

“The channel is open Ma’am.” The woman advised as she left me to use the console. Masaki’s face came on screen at once. I informed him we would be traveling ahead of him, and ordered him to dock at the Torus. He waited a few seconds, for me to give the signal that I was acting under duress, when I failed to do so, he acknowledged my order, then closed the channel. Kami then invited me to her quarters, where I might get changed into appropriate clothing, as she put it. I was a little surprised when she led me to a stateroom similar to my own. She swiftly informed me this was in fact Selma’s, and that she had the spare bedroom, for her own use.

“Normally when Arlen or Selma are aboard, I am their steward.” She admitted. “These are the garments I had prepared for you.” She selected several items still in their wrappings, laying them on the bed for me. If you will call me when you have made your selection. We can discuss what arms you will wish to carry.”

“What arms will you be carrying Kami?” I asked her bluntly.

“None, I know you doubt that Ritsu, Erine however has warned…, that if need be, she will have me strip searched, before I board my Rapier. In fact, it might be better, if I allow you watch me dress. Otherwise I expect she will carry out her threat to do so.”

Kami left the room after saying that, I looked at the outfits she had set aside for me. I chose one that was similar to one, I might normally wear about the estate. It was made of a material similar to silk, yet it felt oddly different. As I dressed, I made note of the weapons that were fixed into racks on the walls. Kami had quite a selection of them. Some were totally alien to me, these I suspected were the weapons favoured by the Split. One Katana was separate from the others, contained within a glass display case. It was a beautifully crafted, I studied it carefully, suspecting this must be an heirloom of some sort. It was then I saw the Shamisen, it was placed on a chair near her bed, that and the obvious signs of wear, led me to believe she made frequent use of it. This was unexpected. Once I had finished dressing, I opened the door to allow her to join me. As promised, she dressed herself in front of me, keeping her distance from her weapons.

**********

Once she had finished she opened a closet, that was filled with a selection of swords and knives. “I was uncertain what weight you would prefer Ritsu, please feel free to select the ones that suit you. The Wakizashi you might find easier to carry, at least until we land the cockpit of a rapier is quite cramped.”

“You have a formidable selection to choose from Kami, were these all made in Aldrin?”

“They were; I keep several, as I use them to teach some of Arlens Split warriors. I would prefer they use Iaido myself, but they will have none of it. I am constantly having to replace them.”

“That must lead to some serious injuries.”

“Normally I manage to separate them before that happens, when I am teaching… I carry a stun pistol.”

“Are they that ill-disciplined then?”

“Only once blood has been drawn, then they lose control. It makes for interesting lesson periods.” I could imagine, I was beginning to trust her appraisal of these Split, more than I was Erine’s.

Once I had chosen weapons, closest in weight to my own, she closed the closet. Her unhappiness at doing so was plain enough to see. “I cannot object, should you wish to carry a Tanto Kami.” Her eyes widened at my permission, she reached into the closet and selected one, hiding it quickly within her clothing. “If Erine asks..., you may say I insisted.” She bowed, then led me back down to the lower decks, presumably to where the fighters were docked. It was disconcerting to say the least, to find that I could see open space beyond the fighter itself. Kami explained, that a force field kept the vacuum at bay. In a combat situation, the pilots would be sealed within their ships, and the bay depressurised. Erine was present, giving Kami a searching look, no doubt suspecting she had weapons concealed about her person. “I watched her dress Erine.” I assured the woman. Only then did she help us into the cockpit. It was cramped, as Kami had warned. I had to wander how both Kaylen, and Selma hoped to fit into such a space.

That question was answered after we launched, and drew up alongside them, Selma’s Rapier must be a trainer variant, the cockpit was elongated, with Kaylen sitting behind, rather than alongside her. Once we were clear of the Kaiken, it disappeared from sight. Kami applied more power to the drives, as we followed Selma to the accelerator. As she had said earlier, we were swiftly given permission to land on Earth itself. I had to wonder how that had been arranged. After that, it was less than an hour before we were coming into view of Yukiro’s landing field. I contacted the landing tower, and simply ordered them to clear the field for us to land. Yido recognised my voice. Knowing full well my temper, should my orders be questioned, he did as I ordered. He did however keep, the fields defences trained on us till I climbed down from the cockpit.

[Sabrina Bergin]

Hokkaido:

I watched as Selma landed her Rapier, then bought it to a halt only twenty metres from our own. Till now, I had never considered learning to fly a spacecraft. After having enjoyed the flight here, I made a mental note to do so. “Selma flies well.” I observed to Kami as she began to shut down the drives on her craft.

“She is an excellent pilot, though I would guess Arlen is slightly better.” Then I did a double take as I realised that Kami wore a Wakizashi in a scabbard slung to her back, with another at her waist. Somehow, the woman had managed to bring her weapons with her after all. She handed me a cloak similar to the one she was wearing, given the cold of the early dawn I was grateful for it. I could not for the life of me, understand how she had managed to conceal her weapons from me. No doubt sensing my confusion she answered that question for me.

“I stowed my weapons aboard my ship last night Ritsuko, it has concealed compartments for them. I will not shame myself by not wearing them here.”

“You do realise, that both Kaylen and Selma will be angry with you I pointed out.”

“They will get over it, I merely promised them I would not board my ship bearing weapons… I made no other promises in that regard.”

“No matter, what is done is done Kami, do not expect to receive a warm welcome here, from either my lady or her staff. Their anger will be all the greater for the fact that you…, a Shinobi chooses to bear weapons here.”

“Forgive me, but neither their anger, or Selma’s is of any concern to me. If Arlen is truly here I will not go about without the means to defend her.” I could not fault that argument, recalling that it was one I had used many times myself in the past.

“That duty…, you said was assigned to Kaylen.”

“If you recall lady Naymuri, I actually said… that was a duty she appointed to herself. She has sworn an oath to Arlen that precedes mine, I will not dispute her right to act as honour demands.” There then was the source, if not of dispute at least disagreement between the two. It was a shame Kami had not been born to a proper house, her bearing and skill would have gained her much honour.

There was no point arguing with her regarding the weapons, in truth they would be considered ceremonial at best, unless she came too close to my lady of course. I turned back to see Selma walking towards, us the scowl on her face, made it clear she had already seen the weapons Kami carried, at least the ones that were visible.

“I would rather you not engage in a shouting match here.” I told her coldly, pointing to the cars that would be here within seconds. “For the moment I will allow Kami to bear arms here, should my lady later rule otherwise…, then that is a different matter. Now come let us get out of this cold.” Kami was the last to join us in the car having returned to the ship briefly to fetch a package from a storage compartment in its tiny hold.

“I almost forgot this, my apologies for the delay.”

“You brought Arlen a gift, that was thoughtful of you” I allowed, hoping to defuse the tension in the car.

“This is not for Arlen…, though I should have brought one for her as well. Kami replied inscrutably.

“Do you have any luggage my Lady?” Yadao asked looking over the back of his seat.

“There are some cases in the cargo holds of both ships.” Selma answered in my stead. “Both ships are open.” Yadao spoke briefly into his com unit, no doubt to arrange for them to be brought to the house. Only then did the car move of.

**********

The journey was mercifully brief; I was glad to be home once more, there was much I needed to discuss with both Yuriko and Kamishi. Not least of which was the fleet Selma had shown me, whilst I was no expert in the use of such, the confidence that Selma had, that they could strike even here worried me more than I cared to admit even to myself. I had seen reports of cities struck from vessels in high orbit, even without using nuclear weapons, the results had been devastating. The Torus was supposed to be our final line of defence, yet it had been conceived and built, long before the commonwealth had been discovered. Given the use of hidden jump beacons I had already seen…, the confidence in Selma’s words, I could not hope she was wrong to believe they could strike at us at will. If all the soldiers aboard those ships, were even close to the quality of those I had seen myself, they presented a very real threat to us. Those thoughts I put aside, as the car came to a halt before the main entrance to the house. Servants came down the steps, moving to the back of the car to collect the luggage, such as it was. As we walked through the main doors, it was not the appearance of Selma and Kaylen who gave me pause for concern, it was Kami, her eyes gleamed as if in triumph. She came here for more than Arlen… Of that I was certain.

**********

Mariko the lady of the house came to greet us, dispatching the servants to the quarters that had been prepared for our guests. Selma and Kaylen began following them yet Kami remained, ignoring the request of the maid who had asked her, to follow her to her room.

“I have not yet been greeted properly Ritsuko. I will not suffer the attentions of a servant, nor your offers of hospitality whilst I have not been properly welcomed here.” Kami said speaking in our mother tongue.

“Then one would ask, by what right do you refuse courtesy Kami Nagoya?” Kamishi demanded, stepping out from behind a pillar at the far end of the hallway. The sudden words caused all to pause and look back towards us, Selma looked concerned, yet Kaylen placed a hand on her shoulder to hold her still.

“My father made me swear to deliver this, his gift to you my lady, if it is not to be accepted I will leave.” Kami held the box she had retrieved from her Rapier in her hands; only now did I look at it properly. This was not some packaging from a merchant, the box was Ivory, its surface yellowed with such age that it had led me to think it some common wood. Kamishi recognised it of that I was certain, putting a hand to her face she walked forward slowly, her eyes never leaving the box Kami held.

“Is your father well? she finally asked, accepting the box from Kami’s hands.

“He is gone…, there is much we should discuss, in private Lady Kamishi. Though I think the Lady Naymuri should join us. She intends to anyway; I can see she will not allow me to speak to you alone.” She was right in that, her smile met my eyes as she spoke briefly to Kaylen in that foreign tongue they shared. Kaylen nodded and turned Selma, leading her after the servants who had been assigned to them. Only when they were gone did Kamishi speak again.

“Ritsuko will require you leave your weapons here Kami.” To my surprise Kami did not protest, and started placing her weapons into the arms of the servant who still waited at her side. Even I was amazed at the number she truly carried. The last, the Tanto I had granted her the right to carry she handed to me. I was touched by the honour she gave me in doing so. I was certain then that she had disarmed herself totally.

“Take those to the Lady Nagoya’s rooms.” Kamishi ordered, leading us from the hall to her own quarters, the box she had been given held tightly in her hands.

[Sabrina Bergin]

Continued:

There was much that disturbed me here as we waited for the servants to leave the room, having placed a large pot of tea and rice cakes on the table for us. Kamishi seemed fascinated by the box she still held close to her chest, Kami equally fascinated by it, or its contents, she had disarmed herself too easily. Though I knew that she was still capable of killing with her bare hands, this I sensed was not her intent. She too had an uncommon interest in that box. Why had she never opened it I wondered? I would have. Kamishi poured tea for us before placing the box on the table and breaking the seal on the ribbon that held it closed. From within it she removed two bound rolls of parchment each sealed with waxed ribbons.

“You have never opened this Kami?”

“I have been sorely tempted to do so many times my lady, yet it was my fathers wish that the box be delivered to you, just as he gave it to me.”

Kamishi did not question that, despite the fact it would have been easy enough to break the seals and have them remade. She opened the first roll of papers and read through them, her eyes focused on whatever message they contained. The second roll she put aside, no doubt what she had read so far told her of their contents. “Your father was ever presumptuous Kami. He demands I recognise both you and your house. That he knows will not be possible given that you have openly declared yourself to be Shinobi.”

Kami said nothing in reply to that accusation she merely reached for my sword grasping enough of the blade as I drew it, in response to her sudden movement. She held her hand there till I could clearly see that she had grasped the edge of the blade and cut herself, her blood running down her arm. The wound did not heal itself.

“Despite what you may suspect of us my Lady, my blood is not tainted by nannites. This my father made me swear never to allow, though why that should be is still a mystery to me. Forgive me Ritsuko, I do not mean to question your honour with my words..., the truth of your tale is known to me.” Only then did she remove her hand from the blade and wrap it in a cloth she found within her clothing. I was impressed at her speed and control; a careless act here could have left her maimed for life. “The box contains many answers lady Kamishi, some I already suspect, I would know the truth of them.”

**************

Kamishi watched Kami intently as I did, her eyes flickered to the Shamisen that were placed on the walls behind Kamishi, she also saw that, “perhaps you could play for us whilst I consider this,” Kamishi suggested.

Kami seemed to be relieved at the suggestion and took one from the racks, sitting back down before she began to play. She chose not to sing, yet I knew the song, who could not, it was a legend that was often spoken here. I had to wonder if this choice was deliberate, it was one of Kamishi’s favourites. A simple tale of a woodsman and his young wife, they had lived happily till a lord had seen her beauty and decided to claim her for his own.

Forewarned, they had fled into the mountains hoping to find safety beyond them. The woodsman knew he could not hope to outrun those sent to track them down and chose to make a stand to give her and their son, time to reach the safety of a path, that would soon be closed by the storm. His courage and desperation gave him strength, he defeated those who followed him. Yet when he sought after his family along the trail, he had found no sign of them, their steps simply ending on the path. Some said the goddess had taken them into her house, others suggested they had simply fallen from the path. Yet all through the years, people spoke of seeing a lonely figure on the mountains when the storms raged. The woodsman, who still searched for his family.

To my dismay Kamishi did not attempt to hide the tears that ran down her cheeks, in truth such was Kami’s artistry that I had also been moved by the way she had played. That seemed to give Kamishi the courage to say what she wanted Kami to do now. “Tell Ritsuko when you first met her Kami, your father mentions it here, though as ever his words are scant in detail. Assume your suppositions are true.” This was news to me, before I had woken aboard Selma’s ship I had never met her before… If I had I would have remembered her.

“As you will my Lady” Kami agreed turning to face me directly, unable to hide the happiness in her eyes as she spoke to me of this mystery. “Years ago my father had my wet nurse claim me as her own, this was to protect me from my father’s enemies. It was difficult, but in time I saw the wisdom in this. When Taddeo imposed an unjust tax, one he knew my father could not pay, he took twenty of us to be trained, some as servants, others as assassins. Conditions were harsh, yet my father had already seen that I was able to defend myself, so I grew in favour with those who ruled over us.

Then one day I was given a task I had long feared, I was sent to a house where I was to seek out and kill the daughter of a lady whose life my father valued more than his own. I saw you then on the docks Ritsuko, with your friend Saya hiding in the shadows. Had you boarded our ship, you would have been captured as Taddeo hoped. Instead I killed the guards he had set at the ship in the berth next to ours. Once you were safely gone I arranged an explosion allowing them to think we had all three died, whilst I made my own escape. I had no choice but to go to the south, you were more fortunate.”

More fortunate? I would question that remembering Hadaka, yet I remembered that night, how we had planned to board the ship she spoke of despite the guards, then we had chosen the other which had none near their cargo bay. In my mind’s eye I think I recalled a memory of her walking away from the ship we had finally managed to sneak onto. She had been dressed then in merchant spacer garb. I looked at her then both stunned and confused, Shinobi boasted they never failed a contract, if she had seen us why…”

“Ritsuko, it is my honour to present my daughter to you,” Kamishi said simply, her eyes glowing with pride. “Kamiko, know that I have missed you, that I did not part from you willingly.” Kamishi could say no more, I sat back stunned by her words as they embraced each other.

[Annette Barret]

Post Deleted.

[Sabrina Bergin]

Continued:

This revelation was more than I had been expecting, for a moment I considered it might be a ploy to dis-arm Kamishi. Yet…, if true as I believed it was, it would explain much of Kami’s behaviour towards me. She had suspected all along then, that we were related by ties of blood. Had my mother known of this I wondered? That seemed unlikely, by her own account Kami had said both she and her father had kept her hidden from Taddeo and that implied from Hiro Kanegawa as well. My lady would have to be informed of this, then there was the matter of Arlen. Kami had said she was sworn to her. How would she react on learning what had been done to her, at Hiro’s orders yes…? But at our hands, this could, no this would complicate matters. I knew now what the second roll of papers must contain, it would be Kami’s patent of nobility. Would Yuriko allow the house Nagoya to be re-instated? Her grandfather had been the one to exile them, she had it in her power to reverse that injustice. It was Kami who bought matters to a head by asking to see Arlen.
Kamishi must have been expecting this. “She will be in the garden at this hour Kami perhaps you should take Selma with you, she is not the person she was.” Kamishi warned.

“That much we all suspected mother, otherwise she would have contacted us long before now. We have the means to treat any harm done to her, physical or otherwise on her ship. This will not be the first time Arlen has suffered wounds others might assume fatal… She is resilient mother.”

“She is That” Kamishi agreed, “find her then, it may be that she will remember you.”

“Was that wise Kamishi? She may be your daughter, yet I fear she will come to see us as an enemy once they learn what happened to Arlen.”

“Perhaps not wise Ritsu, I have spoken to Arlen often and at length since she recovered, she holds no ill will towards Saya. She knows that was done at Hiro’s orders, yet her mind is on a dark path. We owe it to her to attempt to restore her to what she once was.” I doubted that was possible, I also suspected that Kamishi still felt the burden of guilt for allowing her to be tortured. It was then I warned Kamishi of the hidden sector and of the fleet Selma had shown me. “You believe that they could carry out their threat then?”

“What I believe is of little import Kamishi, the fact they believe they could attack us here with impunity is.”

“Then perhaps we are wise to attempt to forestall such an attack.” Kamishi activated a display, we watched as Selma and Kami approached Arlen in the garden. Even I could not fail to be moved at Selma’s recognition of Arlen. There was I thought a moment’s hesitation on Arlens part before she turned to face the women as they approached. I saw the sudden movement, seeing the sword stop before the strike could be completed. I doubt I could have managed such a feat, the two women faced each other. I turned my eyes from them sensing that this was a moment of intimacy more than one might expect to see between mere friends being reunited. “As I thought she does remember her after all.” Kamishi commented switching of the display for which I was grateful.

***********
Arlen:

This was my favourite part of the day here; the garden was quiet, most of the servants who were up at this hour were busy in the house. There had been some activity earlier. I had heard the movement as servants woken from their sleep, moved about the corridors, to attend guests who had arrived unexpectedly. Normally, I would have taken the time to find out why I had not been informed of these guests. I wasn’t fooling myself, much as I might wish to. Kamishi had run out of people she wanted me to kill, that made me a liability to her.

“We should escape now whilst they are distracted.”

“Why bother, it will just delay the inevitable?” That silenced her, the voice in my head that was as confused as I was by events. I had considered the possibility of getting away from here. I could do it, steal a flitter and head to Kyoto. From there I could steal a ship, I might even have a chance of getting to the Torus. The trouble was that would be where it would end, and badly at that if Jenner got his hands on me again. Kamishi would never let me leave… I knew to many of her secrets. I’d considered sticking a gun in my mouth and pulling the trigger, either that or provoking Saya or Ritsu enough in training to kill me. Problem with that, I was pretty sure my instinct for survival would take over, and I’d end up killing one of the few people I could count on, if not as a friend, then at least not an enemy. That was one of the reasons I was pissed off with Saya, she probably thought she had been doing me a favour, when she had bought me Ceri’s head back in that box. In a way I had to respect that, accept it for the apology it was that she couldn’t or wouldn’t express in words. I had wanted to get hold of Ceri and kill her after all. I had wanted to know what she had made me forget, before I did that. She had done a real number on me, selecting the memories she would let me keep, the stuff about the Ahriman project, the Tengu mission and my training and work for Argon intelligence. As well as those skills, I’d developed as Sabine the assassin.

Other than that… I was left with only the personal memories I’d had when I was seventeen years old, when I still went by the name of Arlen Poler. Given I was an assassin; I couldn’t be sure I would survive long, even if I did make it back to the commonwealth. Assassins tended to have few friends after all. There was always Lannar, if I could reach her perhaps…. No, I dismissed that idea… Every time I thought of Lannar, I would see that woman’s face again, the one that kept appearing in my nightmares. I was fairly sure she was, or had been important to Lannar. I kept getting glimpses… Flashbacks of them together. Chances were I had killed her, that might explain the overpowering sense of guilt that overwhelmed me, whenever I tried to put a name to her face.

Those nightmares had become more frequent of late, despite the sleeping pills I took that should have left me unable to think, let alone dream. That was why I was out here in the garden, watching the sun come up over the trees, trying to shake of the sense of dread they imposed. I understood Saya’s anger at me now for saving Ritsu, the idea of dying as she had seemed inviting. That was impossible of course, the nannites in my blood would staunch such a wound. It was whilst I considered this I felt a mild sense of alarm.

***********

It was time then… I heard them coming long before they could reach me. I didn’t recognise their footsteps. They were strangers here, I guessed Kamishi didn’t want to risk Ritsu or Saya’s lives after all. It would be interesting to see if I could let them kill me, or if the shadow in my thoughts would force me to attempt to defend myself. It was odd I hadn’t seen any one out here with rifles. Did Kamishi think the two she sent to kill me, were sufficient for the task. The insult prompted the rage, I was always careful to keep reined in. In a single move, I spun around to face the one nearest me, my katana scything through the air in a strike that would take her head. Confused for a second as I saw she was unarmed.

“No we must not!” Screamed the shadow in my mind, wresting control of my arms, from me. The sword strike coming to a sudden halt, wrenching several muscles in my arms, as the blade reached her neck, drawing blood.
The other woman stepped forward and carefully moved the blade aside. “Sabine! this is not the manner in which you should greet your Koishii. Will you not sheave your sword? The other woman snapped.

I couldn’t speak, my mind was in shock as I tried to understand why the woman from, my nightmares was here. I recognised her face…, yet still couldn’t put a name to her. More worrying, was that my body seemed to remember what I could not. Dropping my sword, I embraced her wondering at the sudden pain in my heart as she pulled me closer.

“Hey Hun, it’s okay I’ve got you,” she whispered, her own eyes bright with tears as she pulled my lips to her own. I couldn’t reply, I was acutely aware; my cheeks were burning though.

“Perhaps we should return to the house?” The woman who had caught my sword before it touched the ground suggested. “Clearly there is much to discuss Sabine.” She handed me my Katana, which I absently returned to its scabbard. The woman who had drawn such a response for me, leading me along by the hand, one she seemed determined not to relinquish, as we followed her diminutive companion back to the house.

**********
Restoration:

The injector lay on the table before, Kami, Selma’s companion waited for me to use it. I think she understood my reluctance to do so, better than anyone else here. “You say I prepared this before my memories were erased?”

“You did Sabine, even then you suspected that Ceri did not act alone and you knew that it was possible you could be manipulated. Prepared yourself, against the possibility of betrayal. Had you not fled we could have avoided much of what has happened to you since then. What have you got to lose Sabine, just now I saw how you would have welcomed death. Now we offer you a choice, to be who you once were, instead of this shadow of Sabine, that I see before me.”


“We’ve already tried this Kami,” I sighed remembering the pain recovering even this much of myself it had caused.

“I suspect it is because they used Terran nannites, that the process remained incomplete Sabine. These are different, you made them yourself. From what the Boron doctor has said, you prepared these, as you prepared yourself in case you were captured, and the Ahrtiman conditioning used against you.”

There it was then, I had a choice, of sorts. Kami was right to say that I felt voids in my mind. How was it she had described me? As a shadow of myself, I think that described it full well. Selma gave my hand a reassuring squeeze, not speaking, ready I think to accept any decision I might make. It was the warmth of her feelings towards me that made me accept the choice I must make. I placed the injector to my neck and activated it not knowing the agony I was about to endure.

**********

“What the frack?” Selma cried out, as Arlen almost threw herself to the floor, screaming in agony seconds, after she had injected herself.

“The good Doctor warned me of this Selma, it will pass in time, it would be wise I think if you stayed here with her. You may need this.”

Selma looked in horror at a second injector, filled with the drugs Arlen was supposed to use daily, to keep her psychosis under control. Arlen surely would not want to revert back to the woman she once had been, yet recognised Kami was right, the Arlen who had so nearly killed her, when they had met in the garden had seemed so much less than she had been. “I’ll stay with her” she said, in tones that made clear she would not be denied, lifting Arlen easily, placing her carefully on her bed. Kami acknowledged that with a nod, leaving the second injector on the table, before she left them alone.

**********

Kami was not surprised to be invited to join her mother for lunch after what had occurred, no doubt Kamishi had found a means to circumvent the security Sabine would have installed in her quarters, as a matter of course. She would no doubt be hoping to gain the secret of the nannites Sabine used. Her mother would see the enormous potential of such a weapon. She did herself, yet Sabine had ensured it was a weapon, she alone had access to. A fact she had demonstrated to her own satisfaction. Her mother would be annoyed at that, then she had always been ambitious, ready to do much, to ensure that she held the reins of power. That was the reason she had refused to accept the life her father had offered her in Aldrin. To be content for the life, her sister Akura had chosen. Why had she chosen to discard Hiro was the question that was uppermost in her thoughts as she made her way to her mother’s quarters, did she think lady Yukiro would be easier to control? Or as seemed more likely, she decided that it was Yuki who promised greater hope that her family would remain pre-eminent in the corridors of power here on Earth, and elsewhere. Those were questions she would have answered, before she decided whether she would stay here, or leave with Sabine.

**********

It was that warning that had provoked her mother’s anger, even Yuki and Ritsu could see how furious she was, at my refusal to consider any other alternatives.

“You know I cannot let her leave Kami? Jenner would take any opportunity to get his hands on her again, especially now she is likely to regain herself fully.”

“I doubt he will make any real attempt to disregard your will in this mother, he will no doubt be busy trying to duplicate the Ahriman project, using clones of Sabine. He will not want to alert you to his research, by provoking renewed interest in himself.”

“Cloning is a forbidden research.” Ritsu pointed out.

“Yet it goes on, both here and in the commonwealth Ritsuko, to deny that is to refuse to acknowledge that the sun will rise again tomorrow. That is another reason why you will have to let them leave, others will see their continued presence here as a threat to themselves. They would in time move against you, fearing perhaps that you had succeeded, where they cannot.”

“Your daughter is right Kamishi, you already know this. There is also the matter of the debt we owe Sabine; she has held to her oath towards my house. We have sorely abused her faith in us.” I had not sought such support from Yukiro, even my mother could see that in this Yuki and I were in agreement, I suspected Ritsu and Saya were as well, though they did not say so.

“She is too dangerous,” Kamishi announced which brought a smile to my lips before I refuted that argument.

“Dangerous indeed mother, Sabine is not the girl you thought you knew from her last stay here. At the moment, she is respecting her oath never to raise her hand against this house. Attempt to detain her…, you will make an implacable enemy, one even I would not care to face. I have taught her all that I know. I tell you plainly, her skill far surpasses my own. A wise woman, would seek to keep her as an ally, one to look on this house with some gratitude. It would also give you a means to know much of what occurs in the south. Something that no other Terran will have.” That convinced her, as nothing else would. To be able to retain Sabine as a weapon, was too tempting to be ignored. I had no need to add, that in keeping Sabine as such, I might also remain loyal to the Kanegawa, and through them her. That was the real reason for my mother’s anger of course. That I could so easily choose to ignore her wishes, as to what I might do next. That was something she should have considered before she left me, and later allowed Hiro Kanegawa, to unjustly bring shame to my father’s house. She knew that as well of course.

“The matter is decided then,” Yukiro announced with steel in her words. “I will escort Sabine to her ship, Ritsu and Saya will accompany me of course.”

That was a bold move, one I saw my mother respected. She would seek to refuse the Lady leave to do this but it resolved many issues. Besides having been told of the Kaiken by Ritsuko… I knew Yukiro wanted to see it for herself. She would want one of course, I wondered if she would appreciate the cost so easily, when Sabine presented her with the bill for her services in providing one. I excused myself then knowing that this was likely to be a protracted argument. It would be resolved as the Lady Yukiro wished. Even my mother could see that in this, she would be wise not to do other than Yukiro wished. Her power was based on her influence over the lady’s holdings after all.

**********

Jenner watched the display’s intently, as the Kanegawa party travelled through the corridors of the Torus to their waiting transport. He had personally installed the upgrades to the scanners they would pass through. If there was any indication that Poler had somehow managed to reintroduce the Ahrtiman project nannites into her system, he had teams on hand to secure all of them. He dare not act without some proof of course, which was why, after getting confirmation of the results of all the scans he was standing in the departure lounge ostensibly to see them off. Kamishi knew exactly why he was there of course, a fact she made clear with a glance of displeasure as he arrived and moved to speak to Arlen. He knew this woman better than anyone alive, if she was Sabine not Arlen Poler he would know it. He made his way to the Kanegawa docking zone.

**********

“How are you feeling Miss Poler? He asked as he offered his hand, the micro diagnostics pad would analyse her in seconds, it was the ultimate test. One she could not hope to circumvent. She could not fake the momentary look of confusion in her eyes as he asked her that, nor the tremor that shook her as she finally remembered him. It was starting then, the nannites he had used to force the imprint on her, were beginning to fail. This had happened to every one of the test subjects he had used so far. Once she left Terran space and no longer had access to them, the deterioration would accelerate.

“Mr Jenner, there was no need to come to seem us of.” Arlen replied unable to keep a suggestion of fear from her voice.

“I wanted to be sure that your passage was not impeded Miss Poler.” He assured her, stepping aside to let her pass. Ignoring the hostile looks from the others in her company.

Kami smiled as she sensed the man’s frustration, Sabine had warned them he might be here, though how she could have anticipated this was a mystery to her. Perhaps he would, as Sabine had suggested loose interest in her now. If not…, she would have to take other, more permanent measures to ensure that on Sabine’s behalf. That was in her interest as well of course. The fact that the Ahrtiman nannites could effectively be turned on and off at will, to avoid detection, was a secret only she and Sabine shared. Kami certainly didn’t want anyone to know that those same nannites coursed through her veins. As Sabine had told her long ago, it was an invaluable tool for an assassin to have. One not to be shared.

**********
Ritsu:

Only when they were aboard the Kaiken, did Selma inject Arlen again, bringing her fully back to herself. They joined Kami as she led Yuki, Saya, and myself on a tour of the ship. I had seen it already of course, still that did not stop me enjoying the look of yearning in my lady’s eyes as she some new wonder, or luxurious detail, was pointed out to her. She would definitely want one, of that I was certain. She even prevailed upon Arlen to take her on a cruise through the sector, escorted by a wing of fast interceptors, just in case of course. Kamishi did not trust Arlen that much, she would have less reason to do so had I told her that I knew this ship could easily have evaded this escort had Arlen chosen to do so. Perhaps that was why Selma did not allow the Kaiken, to exceed the listed specifications of the Hyperion on which it was based. I would have to ask her how they had managed to exceed them. No doubt, it was due to some secret technology, they kept at that hidden base of theirs.

**********

Yukiro raised the matter after dinner that evening, I had wondered that she had managed to show such restraint, in delaying to ask before then.

“If you want a Hyperion, then yes one could be acquired for you Yuki, it would not be cheap though. Arlen pulled out a pad and made a few calculations then handed her the pad with a rough estimate of the cost on it. I paled at the figure I saw when I glanced at the display.

“That is an extortionate amount to ask Arlen. I could build two such transports for this.” Yuki seethed.

“No, that is cost price Yuki, to take a Hyperion, you need to pay a team of skilled specialists, people who risk their lives in the capturing the ship. Their services do not come cheap, nor should they. Then there is the cost of recovering the ship to a secure shipyard, where it can be repaired and outfitted properly. This all adds to the final cost, that’s before you consider the reputation loss that would be incurred; I can assure, you that were anyone else to ask this of me Yuki, that figure would be double the one I’ve shown you.”

Yuki did not appear to be convinced of this, “Erine, I believe you are familiar with such matters, perhaps you could explain bluntly, that which Arlen has chosen not to.” I took the pad from Yuki and handed it to her.

Erine examined the number, “think triple this Yuki, you’d have to pay for two ships, a corvette with the right weapons, then if you want to do it clean you would need a missile boat with a turbo to keep it safe from the Hyperion. Add in twenty or thirty drones, the pay for the crews, and the boarding party. Collateral damage to the other ships, yeah this figure is way too low.”

“It is possible though?” Yuki persisted.

“It is.” Erine agreed handing back the pad, with her revised estimate. The trick is, to find a crew mad enough to do it for you.”

The fact that she was looking to Arlen when she said that, made it clear she would consider this only at her request. I was equally certain, that she had been one of those mad enough, to have acquired the Kaiken for Arlen, and that Arlen herself had fought alongside her in doing so. Yukiro saw that as well, for a moment I hoped she might reconsider this, it was one thing to order a member of one’s own security, to risk themselves. Quite another to ask a friend, particularly Arlen after all she had been through to do so. To my relief she let her hopes fade.

“You are right Erine, one should not ask others to take such risks, purely to satisfy one’s vanity. I would have paid the price, even the outrageous one you suggested for such a beautiful ship, we will speak no more of it.” After that announcement, the mood at the table returned to more pleasant matters, much to Selma’s obvious relief. My lady was being gracious in hiding her disappointment, I could see how much she had wanted a personal transport like this.

***********

It took me a while to find Yuki the next morning after breakfast, she had been somewhat subdued since the dinner the night before, part of that was due to facing the prospect, of not seeing Arlen again for some time. The other reason was having accepted that she could not have a Hyperion, not without asking Arlen and her friends to risk themselves in the acquisition of one, that was something I knew now she would never do. I found her in the observation lounge, cursing myself for not realising, that was the first place I should have looked to find her. Even though I moved quietly, she was aware of my presence when I entered the room with its magnificent views.

“It is a pity Ritsu, I would have loved to own such a magnificent ship as this,” she admitted finally.

A discreet cough caught both our attentions at that point. I was startled even I had failed to detect Erine’s approach. “All is not lost Lady Kanegawa, if you were willing to pay the price I suggested for a Hyperion, I might be able to lay my hands on one at short notice.”

“Has Arlen agreed to this Erine?” After all that had been said last night, I could not understand why this woman seemed to have changed her mind.

“Well there was no real need for her to do so Ritsuko, I did mention it of course, that and the fact that myself and certain other…, shall we say enterprising individuals, already have a Hyperion. It’s not fully outfitted of course, but it is in mint condition, fully armed and with only one… well two previous owners. As you can appreciate the difficulty in owning such a ship, let alone selling one, is problematic in the commonwealth. Here however…”

The woman didn’t have to say anymore, I stood back in amazement, as the two of them began haggling like market traders, over the price, the arrangements for delivery, and countless other details. It was a discussion that was to be ongoing for the next few days, as we changed course to dock at the power plant in the Venus sector. What did not help Yuki’s growing impatience, was that we were forced to plod along, at the same slow pace as Kamishi’s transport. That was probably just as well though as it allowed her to make the necessary arrangements to have Yukiro’s Hyperion granted access to the jump beacon there. It was a rare sight to see even one Hyperion, let alone for two to be docked alongside each other at the. From the observation lounge, we could see that the observation ports overlooking the docking arm we approached were filled with curious onlookers.

**********

Both Selma and Arlen joined us as we made our final approach, looks beautiful doesn’t she?”

“She does Selma,” Yukiro agreed. “But shouldn’t you be on the bridge?”

“Erine’s doing this one, besides there are a couple of things we have to do before Kamishi decides to join us aboard your ship, and we transfer ownership. There are also some things that Selma needs to teach you, like teaching Ritsu how to pilot the thing for one. We’ll be staying at dock here till that is done.”

“I cannot fly a corvette I protested.”

“Give me a week and you will,” Selma countered. “Besides who else would you trust at the controls with your lady aboard?” She had a point, I would entrust no one save Saya with that honour.

“There is also the matter of security to consider,” Arlen continued on a more serious note. “Despite having the specifications of the ship itself I imagine the ATF would love to tear your ship apart, that’s why Selma didn’t dock at the Torus, not with me on planet. So as soon as we’ve docked we’ll go aboard and get things set up for you. The rest of the details we can sort out later.”

That made sense to me so I saw no reason to protest, I knew Arlen was right in what she said, more importantly I knew she was also saying that in this Kamishi would not be able to intervene, or undo whatever Arlen had in mind. I trusted my aunt, not enough for me to risk Yuki’s safety though. So as soon as we had docked we made our way directly to her new ship. There in the stateroom Arlen revealed a console I had not suspected and activated it. This is a biometric scanner, a little bit more sophisticated than, most Yuki if you will place your hand next to mine I’ll transfer ownership. Ritsu you will have to place your hand next to Yuki’s.” Arlen did not explain that but I did as she instructed then felt a sharp burning sensation as the display under our hands brightened for a moment.

“I’m sorry Ritsu there was no way to warn you of this, as well as recognising Yukiro as the owner, the ship will not accept that being changed unless you agree to it.”

“Those cursed nannites again I assume.”

“They do have their uses Ritsu, think of it as another level of security for Yuki, Kamishi could order Masaki to take her out of dock till time ran out and nothing would happen, that’s why we have to get you trained as a pilot, then I expect Saya here, will want to be trained as well. I can’t imagine you will be available to fly her all the time.”

“Will I not have to be aboard to enable this?”

“No Yuki can order it, but you can override the ships manual controls, it’s a safety measure that is unique to my ships. It’s not something you want to let people know about though. There are various other security features, which Selma and Erine will go through with you over the next few days.”

“Speaking of which, take out that crystal Ritsu, and secure it in the concealed vault over there. There’s another one built into the unit on the bridge where it’s usually kept, but that one is a slave to this one. I should add that only you or Yuki can touch that now, that’s why I need you to do it.” Selma warned me. I did as she asked wondering at the multiple layers of security that Arlen insisted on, still she should know better than most what was necessary. I was already considering, some changes I would be making in my lady’s own security systems, on our return to Hokkaido. “Don’t look so worried Ritsu, I’ll give you a copies of my manuals, they will tell you all you need to know, on how to handle her.” I could only pray to my ancestors she was right, at the moment it seemed an impossible task.

[Sabrina Bergin]

Keppel:

Gant flinched as he exited the gate, moving swiftly out of the out of the path of the Dragon corvette that his proximity alarms warned, had followed him to closely through the gate. “Stupid fracking Split” He cursed aloud, engaging his turbo to give him the distance he needed from the offending corvette. Shutting it down as soon as he was safely out of the corvettes path. He’d hoped to save that jump fuel, to avoid having to make the long boring flight to M148. Muttering oaths which questioned the bastard’s parentage, Gant altered his course and headed for the western gate.

**********

Normally in a situation like this, he would have turned around, and headed back to the outpost in Black Hole to refuel. This time, his orders when he’d been briefed on the Colossus in Circle of labour, made clear he wasn’t to stop anywhere on route. Whatever his cargo was, the brass didn’t want to risk anyone having a chance to examine it. “Shit if it’s so goddamn important, why the hell hadn’t they put it on a Centaur, and jump straight back to base with it? Instead of leaving me out here with my arse hanging out.” Cursing the stupidity of his supposed superiors, Gant pushed the throttles to max, taking the safeties of as he checked his gravidar again.

“Sorry May looks like we’re in for the long haul” he called to his shotgun over the intercom.

“Can’t be helped skip, I swear I could have touched that bastards bow when he came through on top of us like that. I got his ID though, I’m filing a complaint when we get back.” Gant smiled as May vented her anger at the Split Captain, she was still new to this, so hadn’t worked it out yet, such reports were routinely binned. They would only draw unwanted attention to the courier ships, allowing them to be tracked. Perhaps he’d explain that to her when they were having that drink later back at base. He was looking forward to that, she had made it clear, she wouldn’t mind if that ended up being more than just a drink. That was another reason why he was keen to get back, sooner rather than later.

**********

They were half way to the gate when May gave him a warning of the fast fighters, she'd spotted approaching. “Shit that girl has good eyes”, Gant thought, as he finally got sight of them on the edge of his gravidar display. He watched that display with one eye as he looked for local militia or custom ships that he might be able to call on for help, if those Pirates turned hostile. He got some information on them as they slowly overhauled him. They were all faster than he was though he couldn’t get a read on what they were packing just yet. “Okay May at the moment they’re flagged as friendlies, I’m going to change course here , and see if they follow us, keep your eyes on them back there.”

“Fracking A! skip, I’m tracking the mothers. Shall I go weapons hot?”

“Not just yet May, let’s keep it friendly for now. Button up your rig just in case though.” Gant sighed as he slid his own helmet into place and sealed it. He hated the feeling of being confined, he always felt when he had to do this. Still, if they had to eject.., it could make all the difference between life and death in the escape pods. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that though, he felt an icy pain in his gut as their pursuers matched his course change. “Go weapons hot and free May” he ordered. Accepting they were targeting them, as he ejected the drone that would sit here, and record whatever happened. He wasn’t ruling himself out of the game just yet, it was a procedure, that’s all. “Okay May make sure your well strapped in I’m going fully defensive now.”

“Copy that sir, weapons are hot” May confirmed, falling back into the military jargon her training in the corp, had instilled in her.

May squinted her eyes half closed, looking into the dark towards the approaching ships, their position highlighted by the glow of their drives. It wouldn’t help of course, it was just one of the things she did, when things started getting sticky. “Come on Gant show me all your fancy pilot shit,” she whispered, as Gant started his evasive manoeuvres, trying to prevent the bastards getting missile lock on them. Glancing up at the mark two eyeball the small mirror, fixed to the upper edge of her turret, that let her see what was going on ahead of them. May could see the gate was getting closer by the second. She didn’t let that distract her any longer than necessary, she switched her eyes back to her targets, “Shit incoming swarm missiles," she called out over the open com, lining up her P.R.G. on the nearest target.

“Copy that” Gant replied, hurling the Nova into yet another evolution that set the star field spinning around her. "Damn! He was good" she acknowledged, as Gant threaded the eye of the needle, twisting a path through the swarming ships, that were all over them now. Gunne knew how, but he was keeping the tango’s from getting a lock on them, whilst he kept moving closer to the gate. "Get us through that damned Gate Gant, and I’m going to give you a night you’ll never forget," she promised herself, as she opened up on the missiles as they came in range of her gun. After that she was totally in the zone. Moving from one target to the next, as they came ever closer. She felt the Nova take a few hits but the shields were still holding. Seems the pirates didn’t appreciate that, a couple of jaguars seemed to leap forward, and started targeting her. One of them stayed straight and level for too long, so she hosed it from bow to stern, grinning savagely as she tore through its shields, and blew it away. The rumbling through the hull when Gant opened up with the mains told her he was hitting the bastards as well, there were a few smoking fighters drifting in their wake that he'd taken out. May looked for the other jaguar, but couldn’t see it yet. She felt the inertial dampers screaming, as Gant pulled another crazy manoeuvre, that dropped them through the gate.

[Sabrina Bergin]

Continued:

May took a moment to catch her breath as they dropped out the other side, her eyes staying focussed on her gun sights, expecting the bastards to follow them through any second. She almost managed to believe they had made it till she heard Gant say “Oh Shit!” as he manoeuvred violently. May had time to glance up at her mirror and caught a glimpse of that fracking Dragon as Gant maxed out the drives. That’s when she wet herself as she felt the hull taking major damage, her systems frying all around her as the ship shuddered, under the pounding it was getting. “Hey May,” Gant whispered hoarsely. “Going to have to take a rain check on that drink.” He was hit, she could hear it in his voice. She knew what he was thinking.

“Don’t you dare you bastard! We’re not….” She never got a chance to finish the sentence, as he launched her pod out into space, snapping the com’s connection.

May got banged up pretty badly, as her pod fired its thrusters to reach a pre-set `Safe’ distance. She could only watch, as the Dragon came to a halt a few metres from the Nova. Gant’s pod hadn’t launched she realised, seeing the cockpit module hadn’t blown clear. She knew what he would do now, she waited for the blast that would signal the fact he’d hit the self-destruct, she knew him well enough to know he’d make the effort to take out the Dragon if he could, or at least put some hurt on it. It never came, that meant he must be unconscious, but still alive, if he wasn’t, the autodestruct would have triggered itself by now. May could only look on in horror at what happened next as a Split exited the Dragon in a Marine battle rig, and jetted over to the cockpit of the Nova.

**********

Sabine smiled as she saw Gant was still strapped in his seat in the cockpit, as she approached the crippled Nova. A slight anomaly in the light from the gate caught her eye, there… an escape pod. So that was why he had chosen not to ram her Dragon, depriving her of the prize he'd assumed she was after, she had wondered at that. For a moment she considered letting Hur l’ed use it for target practice, but then decided she could use this witness to her advantage. She eased herself up to the shattered plexi glass of the canopy. Gant had been hit by the pulsed beam emitter barrage, that had crippled his ship and left him pinned in the cockpit. She reached her arm and head through the canopy raising her anti-glare visor so that he would know who gifted his death to him. As she slipped the terminal input shroud over the one it would hide on top of the data recorder housing, before moving back to see his reaction.

“You fracking bitch Sabine” Gant roared, his scream painfully loud in his suit as he recognised her. Gant could only watch as she gave him the Split death gesture, smiling at him as she raised the gun with that huge barrel to eye level, and fired.

**********

Sabine turned away from the Nova, satisfied that the last of the people connected to Arlen Poler, and able to recognise her as Sabine was dead. It had taken a lot of time and credit's to make sure the unit found out about the package she had designed, she had known they would use their best man, to ferry it back to M148 given the rumours she had spread as to its value. Sabine removed her satchel pack and fitted it to the hull of the Nova next to the cargo bay. She looked one last time towards the pod, then gave its occupant the gesture, that meant its life was beneath her taking for now, before making her way back to the Dragon. The patrol launched from the outpost would arrive in a few Mizura, and she intended to be long gone before they got here. Hopefully they would disarm the bomb she had left for them… If not she had other means she could use, to ensure her goals were met.

**********

May could only watch, as the Split bitch executed Gant, that’s what it had been. An execution. Whoever she was, she had wanted Gant to know who killed him. Typical murderous bloody Split. Then she had felt the icy touch of fear grip her heart, as the bitch had looked straight at her, and given her the Split version of the bird, before heading back to her ship. For a moment she was frozen in shock at what she had witnessed, then as the Dragon jumped out, May remembered the bitch had stuck something onto the hull of the Nova. Cutting through the pods thin membrane, she used her suit thrusters to make her way back to the Nova. Chances were she had just killed herself, this suit only had a limited supply of O2, and power. Well screw that, the Split bitch wasn’t going to make Gants last mission a failure. She figured she owed him that much. Keeping her respiration rate as low as she could, May cut open the satchel, exposing the bomb it concealed. “Yeah thank god for demolition 101” she muttered, as she reached for the small pack of tools strapped to her thigh. It wasn’t that difficult to disable it, no doubt the bitch hadn’t planned on anyone being around with the skill to do that. When she examined what they had used to pack around the main charge May knew why the bitch hadn’t just blown the Nova with her ships guns. If this had gone of it, would have destroyed her escape pod as well. Unclipping her tether, May moved forward to look into the cockpit. She nearly puked, when she saw Gants head had been blown away, by whatever ammo the bitch had used. A suit alarm a few mizura later, served only to confirm what she already suspected, her suit was dying on her. That meant the scrubbers would fail soon. Still it wasn’t supposed to be a bad way to go. Just like falling asleep, so they said. “Sorry Gant, I screwed up” she whispered, as her eyes closed.

[Triaxx2]

The more Sabine I see, the more of her I hate. Nice work.

[Sabrina Bergin]

Triaxx2:

Thank you Triaxx, to be honest it took me a while to get her where I wanted to go. More coming shortly.

Time wise is about four months before AP Kicks in, so there is a lot more coming, and very little time to do it. Now I've got the outline of events pretty much worked out.