He'd done the gentlemanly thing; he'd turned his back to her so Jun could change from civvies to the same outfit he was wearing. And he didn't even peek. Yes, he could handle this...
Except the silky grey fabric looked a whole lot better on her, clinging softly in all the right places.
Quit staring at her -look at something else, anything else! Talk about something normal; he used to be able to talk to Jun. So many conversations, at the Snack J, at the Crescent Base -never about anything too personal but whether she knew it or not, her companionship had fed his soul when he could gaze into her eyes...
But that was before he started falling apart, started failing as leader of the Team.
He realized he was breathing a little too quickly, clenching his hands. Stop that, act normal.
But what the hell was "normal" these days, much less right now?
He occupied himself by folding his civvies very neatly and stacking them on top of his belt and shoes, in a corner of the floor. Jun was exploring the compartment.
"It reminds me a bit of a sleeper car on a train," she said, examining one of the walls and pressing some buttons, "There are probably things that fold down to make..."
She didn't say the word "bed," but that was indeed what now folded out from the wall -with just enough room for two though it filled half the room.
Damn it! Ken had to fight down a surge of almost-panic. Relax! He'd already decided he wasn't going to sleep; he was on guard duty here.
Yes, on duty.
But in a tiny room with only Jun and a bed. And she looked so beautiful. The sterile greyness of the room only enhanced the rich green of her lush hair and luminous eyes and the warmth of her lips, as her silky garments did the curves of her body.
He sat down, perched on the very edge of the bed. He would treat it like a chair.
Jun sat down too, but thankfully, not too close to him. He knew he should say something but he couldn't think of anything, couldn't think clearly at all. This horrible awkwardness between him and Jun now, it made him feel sick. It shouldn't be this way! But how...
"It's been a long day," Jun said, "Don't feel like you have to keep up a conversation."
He glanced at her. She looked wistful, even sad, but managing a small smile.
So, they were silent, which was okay...
How very Jun, though, he realized, now that he was getting his thoughts back in some semblance of order. He'd been such a complete jerk to her yesterday, and here she was, as ever, trying to make him feel better.
He didn't deserve her. He was an incompetent leader who couldn't defeat Galactor, and now he had lied to her -the worst lie he could tell. He was feeling sick again... trapped. Trapped in this small room and trapped in the reality of his life, his duty.
He could go patrol the corridor, and walk in endless circles. But then Jun might think he didn't want to be near her and that, really, would be another lie...
He did. Always. But...
More silence.
Jun had turned slightly towards the wall, tentatively pressing some of the other buttons.
The compartment lights shut off, plunging them into the blindness of total dark.
"Oops," she whispered.
But then there was a click and a wall panel slid away, revealing a window before them that filled the entire wall and bathed them in gentle light. They both gasped.
There before them was Earth, so far away that they could see complete continents and oceans. And further away, the moon, with its eons of craters and dry seas. And stars too, made fainter by Earth's reflected sunlight but so many of them, shining steadily in the utter blackness of space.
How many minutes did they sit there, in a silence now filled with celestial awe? There were no words for how wonderful it all was.
How beautifully and infinitely serene it all was...
All the suffering and death he'd seen down there on Earth, you would never know it from where he sat now. He felt as if the Earth were telling him that it was eternal, that it had always been here and always would be here in this panoply of vast grandeur. Telling him that he shouldn't worry.
He'd found glimpses of peace and hope, sometimes, flying in his plane, detached from reality on the ground, but from up here... it enfolded him in an embrace.
"Everything will be okay," whispered Jun, "I believe it."
Ken looked at her as she gazed, her face glowing in Earth's light. She felt it too, she understood. Really, she'd always understood, better than him.
Faith, hope and love.
He reached for her hand and held it in his. She turned to look at him then, and the open vulnerability in her beautiful face made him catch his breath.
And then she smiled at him, light and joy in her face and the warm clasp of her hand. What was she seeing in his face? No, he knew. He knew. No more lies...
"I love you, Jun," he said.
"Ken..." He pulled her toward him, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close against his chest as her fingers found his neck, entwined in his hair. "I love-"
He kissed her before she could finish. Jun didn't have to say it, she'd never had to say it. It was his turn now.
He lay back on the bed, taking her with him, still holding her close, still kissing her. Now their bodies were together. His heart was pounding; he was on fire, as their mouths, hips, thighs, joined in intense caress. Her shirt had slid up, the skin of her stomach so smooth and warm, moving beneath his fingers' touch, so much of Jun he'd never touched, except in his dreams. Jun was his dream.
But what about his reality? He was still Gatchaman. There was still a war, far down below, yet be won.
He broke their kiss but stayed close enough to feel her breath on his face, her breasts against his chest.
"Jun, when we get back -until the war's over, we won't be able-"
"It's okay," she whispered, stroking his face so gently, "This is our moment -here and now- and it belongs only to us."
She'd closed her eyes, and he kissed both their lids, tasting tears.
"Yes..." she was whispering as she kissed his mouth, slid her hands beneath his shirt, wrapped her legs around his hips...
Here and now, they would be one; he would share his dream with her, make it all real... if only here and now.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
He was floating, flying. So peaceful...
Yet there were distant shouts, a scream. Harsh metallic stomping.
Ken opened his eyes, not to peace, but to chaos. He was floating. So was Jun. So was everything in the entire compartment! Another distant scream, more stomping, from somewhere out in the corridor. The anti-grav was shut off? What the hell was going on?
He tried to swim through air, to reach Jun. No good; he had to push off a wall with one foot to get to her, fumbling to shake her, wake her up.
"Jun!" Her eyes flew open; he didn't give her a chance to speak. "We're under attack -get your clothes on -now!"
He pushed away from her; he had to get his civvies on, get out of this room -fast! But it was a nightmare; everything was spread around the room, floating. It took forever for him and Jun to get everything back on and change into Gatchaman and the Swan. Every time he moved his arms, his cape floated up and obstructed his view. He couldn't even walk!
Worst of all, he'd been caught off guard. Caught with his pants down -literally! He was the worst excuse for a leader; he should never have let this happen! He should have stayed vigilant, on duty!
Somehow they both made it over to the compartment's door and Ken hit the button to open it. Nothing was going on in the corridor in front of them but there were still distant banging noises. He couldn't tell what direction they were coming from; in a circular corridor, it was both directions.
"We split up," he said to Jun, realizing his tone was harsh but not able to care in the midst of his panic and anger, "You go that way, I'll go this way."
"We should stay together," she said, her own voice raw, "We're stronger together."
Hell, this was no time for clinginess and hand-holding! What was she thinking?
"Damn it -just do it," he snapped, "That's an order!" Holding the doorframe, he pushed away from her, giving her a shove in the opposite direction down the corridor and not looking back.
At first, he made terrible progress, but then he managed to alternate between pushing off the right wall and then the left wall, over and over, trying to keep his cape out of his face, until he'd left the sleep compartment, and Jun, far behind. Periodically, there were little round doors in what should have been the ceiling -entrances, he realized, to the spoke-tubes that led to the anti-grav generator. He wondered if he should climb up one of them.
It was all quiet now, but he was pretty sure the noise he'd heard earlier had been from inside the main corridor, and whatever had been done to shut down the anti-grav -which they needed to repel the meteor- it was already done and he had no clue how to get it going again. Galactor must somehow be here; he had to find and protect the three scientists!
Then he heard screaming -female screaming- and sounds of a struggle, stomping. Angry male voices. Getting closer. What to do here? Think.
Harsh metallic footsteps... Magnetic boots?
There was a door to one of the spokes, above him here. Could he open it? Yes. And get inside the spoke, out of the corridor and out of sight, though he kept the round door slightly ajar so he could peer into the corridor.
A moment later, two Galactor goons came into sight; they were indeed walking normally, on the floor, courtesy of magnetic boots, but they were dragging a struggling and floating Dr. Silva between them.
"I'm telling you, there's no one else on the station," she was saying, "You've got all of us!"
"Bullshit," said one of the goons, "We heard other voices only a couple minutes ago."
They were going to be directly below him, Ken realized, in just a moment. With their magnetic boots on, might they forget that no one else here had gravity? Might they forget to be looking in all directions -including looking up?
Fortunately for Ken, they did forget. As soon as the backs of their heads were towards him, Ken opened the door fully and propelled himself out of the spoke with a shove of his legs against a ladder rung. He grabbed each of their necks, and in their surprise they let go of Dr. Silva -and that was Ken's chance to slam their heads together as hard as he could, several times. They didn't collapse on the floor -no gravity for that- but they were definitely not going to be moving again. Ever.
"Thank God!" gasped Dr. Silva, her face streaked with tears, "Quick, get to the launch bay. They have Nathan, and David too -they must have come here in a rocket of their own -don't let them leave!"
Had Jun, going in the opposite direction, already reached the launch bay, Ken wondered. He had to get there, fast. He pulled a gun from one of the goons' holsters and put it into Dr. Silva's hands.
"You remember the launch bay?" she said, trembling even as she floated, "It's where we disembarked yesterday."
"Wait here," he told her, yanking off the same goon's magnetic boots and stuffing his own feet into them, and taking the other goon's gun, before storming down the corridor as fast as he could...
He thought he could hear sounds of heavy doors sliding shut, even over the clatter he was making by running.
When he got there, the launch bay doors were closed. He found the control to open them, and saw that Virtanen's rocket was still in the launch bay, but there was no other rocket and no one else in sight.
He was too late... Damn it!
Galactor now had two of the scientists, and it was all Ken's fault.
He had failed again.
And it got even worse, after he and Dr. Silva had searched the entire space station. Not only were Dr. Virtanen and Dr. Uriah gone...
Jun was gone too. His dream had truly become his worst nightmare.
"I don't understand how they knew how to turn off the anti-grav," Dr. Silva said later, once she'd restored it, and she and Ken were in one of the station's labs.
"Maybe they grabbed Dr. Virtanen, first thing upon arriving, and forced him to do it," was all Ken could suggest.
"That must be it," she replied, "When Nathan and I woke up, it was already off, but almost immediately, Galactor soldiers broke down our compartment's door. They'd already captured David at that point. They were going to leave the station immediately, and take all three of us with them, but then they heard voices -yours and the Swan's- and two of them went to see who they'd missed, and dragged me with them."
"Probably wanted you as a guide," said Ken, "Or a hostage if a standoff situation ensued."
Dr. Silva pushed her hair back from her face, which was haggard with anxiety. "If anything happens to Nathan..." she whispered.
He knew exactly how she felt. And his added guilt and shame were an even more crushing weight.
Jun had been right -they should have stayed together; they would have done better. But he'd been so ashamed of himself, so quick to push her away. After their beautiful time together in the compartment, the last words he'd said to her had been so harsh and cold...
How could he have let everything go so disastrously wrong? He was supposed to protect the scientists, and now he'd failed everyone. He'd failed to protect Jun too.
Dr. Silva stood up, tentatively touching Ken's gloved hand. Her eyes were beseeching.
"I will stay here at the station," she said, "I think I can still make the anti-grav keep the meteor from striking Earth, even working by myself. You must take the rocket and go rescue the others. Please."
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Ken rubbed his eyes. He felt like complete crap. Had he eaten anything since he'd returned to Earth in Virtanen's rocket? He wasn't sure...
No one was saying much to him. The shock of learning that Jun had been kidnapped by Galactor was still sinking in. As soon as he got back to Earth, Dr. Nambu had summoned them to the Crescent Base. Ken hadn't seen Jinpei since they'd arrived... poor kid. But Ken wasn't sure he could face him anyway, after failing his sister -all of them- so very badly.
Dr. Nambu had gruffly pointed out that his rescue of Dr. Silva meant that at least the redirection of the meteor with anti-grav could still be done. According to all of her calculations, the optimal time for that would be tomorrow. Dr. Nambu was apparently in contact with her by radio, and said she seemed confident that she could pull it off.
"But she will be working alone, and she's clearly very upset about Dr. Uriah..."
He didn't have to say that it was imperative that Jun and the two scientists be located and rescued immediately -Ken had no higher priority than that!
But he couldn't find out where she had been taken. Somehow the Galactor rocket had evaded tracking and detection upon its return to Earth; no one had any clue where it might have landed.
Memories of holding her in his arms, kissing her... he couldn't keep them from his thoughts. And they were now utter torture.
He stood up, looked around the room. Joe was staring out the window at the fish. Ryu was sitting in a chair, slumped forward and holding his head in his hands.
He should have stayed at the space station, Ken realized, or go back there now. He was completely useless here, and who could say that Galactor wouldn't send another rocket there to kidnap Dr. Silva? But he would have to tell her to her face that he'd failed to rescue Dr. Uriah.
Minutes dragged into hours...
Until Dr. Nambu suddenly entered the room.
"Everyone, we've finally found a lead on Jun's location. Launch the God Phoenix!"
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Ken sat, staring at the viewscreen on the bridge of the God Phoenix. Desert, some mountains -they were in the middle of nowhere.
"How close are we now?" he asked.
"Very close," said Joe, "Slow up, Ryu -don't let Galactor know we're coming."
Ken closed his eyes.
"And you're sure it's a signal from one of Jun's tracking beacons?" he asked.
"Yes," said Joe, his voice grim, "Dr. Nambu was right. And it's coming from an abandoned air force base near the southern end of the Berulean Mountains."
Jun, you are wonderful, thought Ken.
"We're coming to get you, Sis!" crowed Jinpei.
This was good news, thought Ken. Why did he still feel the tightness in his chest, the knot in his stomach?
Because he no longer had any faith in his ability to rescue her.
"Here's the deal," said Ken, standing up and turning to face his remaining team members, "Ryu, you're going to land the God Phoenix near the air force base -and I don't care if Galactor sees us coming. Joe, you and I are going to go storming in there, kicking down doors and busting heads."
Silence, and blank looks.
"Ken..." said Joe, after a moment, his voice thick with sarcasm, "Don't you think we need a 'real plan' here?"
"Oh, you and I aren't going to rescue Jun," replied Ken, as everyone looked bewildered.
"Jinpei will," Ken continued, "He's going to leave now, in his helico buggy. While you and I go barging in the front door and creating a distraction, Jinpei is going to sneak in a back door, find Jun and the scientists, and get them out of there."
"That's a big load," said Joe, after a pause, eyes narrowing, "For a bean-sized buggy."
"I can do it!" insisted Jinpei, "...I hope."
You can't do worse than me, thought Ken.
"Hope is all we have, kid," said Ryu.
And love, thought Ken. If only he could find some faith...
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Ken's boomerang sliced across the throats of two goons, even as he kicked another one into a concrete wall before catching his boomerang. More were rushing in; one tried to grab him from behind but Ken flipped him over his back and then stomped on his face before spinning a roundhouse kick into yet another goon, while punching a third one in the face.
He couldn't see Joe, but what he was hearing -goons' cries of pain, blows and crunching of bones- let him know his friend was doing just fine.
But more goons were pouring into the room. And these ones had machine guns...
"Take cover!" he yelled to Joe, as he tossed a handful of explosive charges in their direction and dove behind a desk.
The room erupted in explosions, smoke and rubble everywhere.
Yes, he and Joe were creating one hell of a distraction for Jinpei. And the more goons that came rushing their way, the better.
He had less than a minute here, before the smoke cleared. Had Jinpei been able to find a way to infiltrate this base?
"Jinpei," he hissed into his bracelet, "Anything to report?"
"I found her," said Jinpei's voice, several seconds later, making Ken's heart leap before his brain could process the fact that Jinpei sounded far from happy.
"What's wrong?" demanded Ken.
"She's been drugged, I think," said Jinpei, "She's barely conscious and she can't stand up!"
Oh no...
"What about the scientists?"
"I can't find them!" Jinpei sounded like he was suppressing sobs. "And Sis is in bad shape!"
With the smoke clearing, Ken realized Joe was crouching beside him now, listening in. He could hear shouts, the sounds of more booted feet approaching.
"Listen, just get Jun to the God Phoenix then. Get her out of here -can you get her to your buggy?"
"I... I'll do it!"
"Don't set any big explosive charges. We can find the scientists later, but not if we've blown them up."
"What do we do?" Joe was asking him.
"We get the hell out of here too, back to the God Phoenix."
He and Joe stood up. Courtesy of his explosive charges, there were now some new holes in the walls by which he and Joe could leave, but they were filling up with goons.
"Ryu," he barked into his bracelet, "Jinpei's on his way out -look for his buggy and pick him up! Then come find me and Joe."
Joe was already charging the goons, tossing handfuls of shuriken. With a cry of rage that must have been building inside him for years, Ken leapt into the fray as well.
He would not fail Jun again.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
