Chapter 3: Friends in low places.

"Adapt, Improvise, Overcome."


One Week Later.


The week had passed without much event except late at Night Ray had begun instructing Miku in various martial arts and how to rely on speed over brute strength (Despite the fact that she was powerful as she was an android, Ray was not the only person with Bio-Mechanical Cybernetic Augments and thus this made her advantage useless if say the Military or worse, any of the PMCs decided to go after her as after all in this day and age, the PMCs were larger and more powerful than even the US military at this point.)

Ray had expected a Seraph or two to pop up but it was eerily silent after he had threatened Baltar, the vision this Kara Thrace gave him some restless nights of the week however. No more visions came, perhaps the Seraphim realized she had helped him. Though occasionally a word echoed in his head as to the name of the world he saw, he more or less realized this would have to be a last resort as Earth was nowhere near functional FTL but then again, if the ship in the first vision was covertly recovered and analyzed then perhaps somewhere in Kazahana Industries' bowls was it's FTL drive. If KI ever became hostile to Miku, that would be his long term goal, to find a means to leave entirely as KI though dominant only in Japan and Korea, could become a real threat as they can make it nearly impossible for someone to leave the Japanese Islands.

The vision of those other androids also weighed a bit on Ray. He now knew their faces and names but how exactly would he get to them. Have all or some of them already been built yet? Either way the fact that he was severely on the disadvantage of a cycle that likely has been well planned not to fail did not sit well with him.

As the day of the next week dawned Miku had made some progress but nowhere near the level necessary to defend herself against a close encounter with a PMC.


Morning, Sunday.


Ray woke up from another difficult night, teaching Miku had to be done in secret and he noticed a security flaw in the layout of the guards, one that he decided to overlook as it meant there was a place he and Miku could train with both open space and without prying eyes as the entire guard staff excluding him lacked augments which made him wonder as to how much they valued Miku as even though technically he was also under Kazahana Industries' employ still one augmented guard would not be enough if a well funded criminal organization or worse, a PMC unaffiliated with KI decided to cause trouble.

Getting up he put on his black trenchcoat and a pair of black cargo pants. Under his trenchcoat was a simple black short-sleve shirt. Ray dressed in black because one, he had a liking to such clothing and two, it's the best way to send a "Don't mess with me, I'm packing." message these days when in public eye, especially at night as crime had risen worldwide. If Kazahana Industries ruled the public scene of Japan, the Yakuza, now unified into a single clan after years of underground conflict, ruled the nightlife.

Today would not be uneventful as occasionally Ray left the mansion to buy things at a convenience store not far down the road and as he left, knowing Miku wouldn't be harassed because of his reputation followed by several detached sensors he placed around the mansion connected to his AR (Augmented Reality) display which because of his Augments simply meant that he would never truly be unaware of what happens in the mansion.


Ray was looking around at the drinks when a familiar voice spoke, saying "It's been a long time hasn't it?" Ray turned his head to the voice and there was an elderly Japanese man attire similar to Ray.

Ray sighed and said "Not long enough. I've got a stable job now and I don't need any work. Need I remind you the last time you tried to strong-arm me into something?" The elderly man replied "Actually I'm here because a friend of yours hired me to deliver you some information. He told me to let you know th-" Ray stared at him with a scowl followed by an annoyed sigh as if telling him to simply speak straight. The man then resumed speaking, saying "A rather high ranking Yakuza boss has taken interest in your current job, he plans on raiding the next concert planned within three weeks from now. This comes from Alexei." With those words the elderly man left, Ray realized just what was happening now. Alexei was a high ranking member of the Bratva AKA The Russian Mafia and he never beat about the bush. Alexei likely sent word to Ray only so he could screw up the operations of this Yakuza boss who Ray assumed was likely a man named Nagumo Takeshi, an otherwise unremarkable individual that Alexei developed a professional rivalry with and with the Bratva and Yakuza that meant the two were at war. Alexei was cunning and manipulative, able to get over on Ray once though Ray's retaliation reminded Alexei of why he was called both "The Grim Reaper" and "The Ghost" but this time all Alexei needed to do was mention something about his job and if the information was correct and it was most likely so as Alexei never lied, he just left some things out here and there as he knew most people with Augments can determine if someone is lying most of the time and Ray's time with Sentinel had given him that ability (though recent events have proven it doesn't work on the Seraphim or Androids as they don't have human biological factors necessary for detecting changes of pattern. The Androids had mechanical parts which made certain hormones and chemicals non-existent within them, operating purely on electrical impulses which likely redefines what emotion is and the Seraphim only showed up as anomalies that were capable of shapeshifting their external form but the readings he got on the internal level suggested they were incorporeal to an extent.)

Ray finished gathering what he intended to buy and made way back to the mansion once he purchased the goods.

On arrival he went to his room, to check up on equipment as if it was Takeshi that was making a move, he would doubtlessly have a small army with some augments.

Everything in his personal arsenal was in order, the concert hadn't even been publicly announced yet so he assumed both Alexei and the Yakuza had infiltrated Kazahana Industries to obtain the information. He made a note of his internal weapons, within his arms were both above-wrist and below-wrist blades of different design. He had taken a personal touch with the below-wrist weaponry and also had an internal compartment for discharging spare blades as silent projectiles. His legs also had metal blades within them set to extend from his heel and retract after a quick use which made a simple kick lethal if he chose to. Sub-dermal plating and EMP shielding were also top notch as his personal fortune from both his Sentinel days and his less-legal activities was halved by a simple visit to a Detroit based augmentation clinic.

He also had eyes and ears within some military organizations and if need be, he could call some favors to pressure the Yakuza in general to force this one individual after Miku (supposedly, there was a chance someone else dropped Alexei's name to yank Ray's chain which would actually be a stupid idea as Alexei has been known to respond... savagely to people using his name as a reference when he had not given his blessing, even amongst his own ranks.) to cease any plans in favor of keeping KI from more aggressively dealing with non-corporate crime.


With everything seemingly in order he decided to relax on the couch and watch whatever was available or more specifically, whatever channels Miku was watching at the moment and indeed as he sat down there was the aforementioned Vocaloid, watching TV with a bored expression on her face when a call came to Ray's phone which he answered.

On the other line was the eccentric old man who had explained in detail what exactly Miku was when Ray was hired. (he could have simply summed her up as a fully realistic android. Though technically the term Gynoid would apply here it was used in modern times now to describe lesser quality androids with rudimentary Virtual Intelligence in the less sanctioned parts of society, something that continued to disgust Ray, even more so now that Humanity had accomplished the construction of a true AI in Earth's recorded history. This eccentric man was also coincidentally the one who designed Miku's "VI" or in essence her programmer (And to her point of view, a kind of a father.)

The old man spoke, saying "Ah Raymond, I was wondering if you would answer right away. I need you and Miku-chan to stop by my office, something important has come up and I need to introduce the two of you to someone. I'm sure you've heard of the Utau Project in the past?" Ray's mind said something his mouth did not.
"Kasane Teto" said his mind, his mouth spoke the words "Yes, didn't Kazahana Industries merge Utau and Vocaloid some time ago? Unlike Vocaloid, Utau started out as freeware but as corporations garned more economic and political power, the two essentially became the same thing. Why bother me about this? My job is security." The man replied "Well that's why I'm calling you actually, I've successfully constructed a VI like Miku in the image of Kasane Teto with as close a personality matrix as I could get, there is another matter that I wish to discuss with you about Miku and Teto, in person."

Ray didn't like where this was going, surely the programmer would know they were AIs, the question was now whether or not he had news Ray wasn't going to like.

Ray replied "Well Miku is right next to me so getting there isn't going to be much of a problem. Are we going to set an appointment or do you want to see us now?"

The man replied "Now." and hung up which unnerved Ray who sighed and placed his phone back in his pocket and looked at Miku who said "Was that Takamichi?" Ray replied "Yes, he wants to see both of us at his office as soon as possible, shouldn't be too much of a problem to get there as my car has tinted windows."

Hagase Takamichi, the lead programmer of the Vocaloid VI systems officially. Unoffically he had just designed two artificial intelligences and there was no way he couldn't be aware of that possibility.


An hour later


The drive was uneventful as the tinted windows kept the public from realizing who was in the passenger seat of Ray's vehicle. As the two entered the private parking section of Kazahana Industries' Programming Offices, the place Miku was built or perhaps better to say, born.

Miku and Ray got out from the inside of the parking garage in which thus was out of public eye, he took security well into consideration even in sudden transit as there is no way anyone in this time and place would not recognize her as Hatsune Miku and furthermore after the first concert they would know what her face looks like so the chance of her being brushed off as a Cosplayer was reduced.

Walking up the offices with his security ID around his neck was without incident, the workers and guards here knew who Ray was and definitely who Miku was.

Opening Takamichi's office door revealed the eccentric old man with an unusually serious face, sitting on a futon nearby was Kasane Teto, her facial expression seemingly cheerful but Ray's experience had revealed that something linked androids and mankind. You could tell what their true mood was by looking at them in the eye and no doubt Teto was sentient and the slightly large size of her pupils suggested she was afraid and their also slight fluctuation in size as if they were vibrating removed the possibility that she was built with abnormally large pupil designs.

Miku walked in last and closed the door behind her and along with Ray sat on the chairs facing Takamichi's desk. Takamichi decided to speak openly, saying "I called you here officially because Kasane Teto will be joining you at the mansion, her security is covered in Article III of your Contract, under Extension of Responsibilities.

Ray nodded, having gone over the contract in full, it basically meant any further Androids under KI could be assigned to Ray's security clause.

Takamichi pressed a button on his computer's keyboard and Ray's augments told him what had happened. He had activated a loop protocol for the visual and caused the audio to stop being recorded. In short he was circumventing Kazahana Industries' security surveillance of his office. Takamichi said in a serious tone "I discovered recently a type of self-programming script within the base coding of our Android production programming. In short, someone has altered all of the androids we've set to produce, including Miku and Teto. I only recently discovered this and realized that it was altered by itself, a sub-script in the coding from an older holographic and audiovisual Hatsune Miku program from years ago had managed to rewrite certain programming scripts without tipping off security. After learning this I came to the conclusion that, these two, along with several others who haven't yet been revealed are not Virtual Intelligences but rather Artificial Intelligences. You do realize the difference?"

Ray nodded and replied "Before we continue, I want to know your direct opinions on Artificial Intelligence Takamichi.". Miku slowly grabbed Ray's hand as if afraid of a negative answer from Takamichi, Teto over in the futon focused her attention on Takamichi with what Ray recognized as killing intent, he quickly shot a glare at Teto who relaxed her gaze, the wordless, one second moment was basically Ray telling Teto not to make things worse though could have been misinterpreted as a threat.

Takamichi spoke, saying "Contrary to the executives of Kazahana Industries, I see all the AIs that we have built here as having rights. Sadly a lack of any Artificial Intelligence regulations and the mindset of the company would have them try to delete them as they had done before with the first AI. I cannot accept this and I've made arrangements to get both Teto and Miku to more, safe locations. I called you here because I know your past, I've also made arrangements for a large sum of payment, twice that which your entire contract pays over the years, to assist a Yakuza boss whose name is Nagumo Takeshi in getting her to a remote island under an alias I've created in the United States, a place Kazahana Industries can't touch because I've made sure no paper trail leads back to them and thus they have nothing they can liquidate. That being said-" Ray interrupts him, saying "I assume whatever precaution against surveillance you've taken won't last much longer so I'll give you a simple reply. I've already deduced that Miku is an AI, she is the one who confirmed it by telling me directly. I have no problems with AIs, in fact if anything I see Miku as a fellow human, the same is said about how I will regard Teto and any other AIs out there. I won't turn down your payment and as far as this agreement goes, I accept. However after I do this, keep in mind that I will be returning to the shadows. If it gives you some consolation about Miku's long term safety, I will personally see to it that this is taken care of. I have contacts that can help as well but I'll warn you of a possible complication in your plan. Someone who was hired likely by a man called Alexei Stukov-" Takamichi let slip the word 'Damnit." before allowing Ray to continue, Ray said "Alexei Stukov, your reponse tells me you know of him at the least but I'll state it simply. It's possible the Bratva has been unofficially contacted by Kazahana Industries to assist in covert security of their interests, if this is true then things are going to get complicated and I won't be able to stop the two criminal organizations from causing collateral damage. Instead of acting three weeks ahead, we need to act now to avoid the possibility of a gunfight in the midst of thousands of vocaloid fans. If you can't arrange this then I will."

Takamichi nodded, sat up and bowed in thanks and respect, saying "Thank you. I see Miku and Teto, as I personally programmed their personality matrixes, as my own children. I am in your debt." Takamichi sat back down and said "I'll be able to easily explain the lack of audio recording a-" He stopped when a timer beeped on his computer, Ray, Miku and Teto correctly assumed that this meant the audio recording was back online and the loop had stopped, likely a built-in timer to prevent security from getting too suspicious as sooner or later someone will notice the loop. Takamichi then said "That is all, in short, Teto is now also your responsibility as I've explained before. Good day." Ray nodded and Teto sat up and walked over to him, at this close range Teto noticed something about Ray, his eyes had a small dot that to the naked eye is not visible to someone else but Teto being an android also meant heightened senses in terms of sight and hearing, much like Ray's own augments. Teto then assumed Ray was a Cybernetic Augment. Ray spoke, saying "So, like Miku you also have a realistic personality. My name is Ray Zenji." Teto nodded and shook his hand without saying anything, likely untrusting of her ability to mislead any surveillance.


On the way back to the mansion Ray's vehicle is suddenly rammed by another vehicle from the side but however Ray is able to maintain control of the car and then suddenly floors it, both his vehicle fitted for rough assignments and his own augments preventing whiplash from affecting him as easily, the same could not be said for Miku and Teto who were rendered temporarily incoherent as Ray sped through the thankfully mostly-empty streets as a vehicle was pursuing him, It was a Russian model and his senses allowed him to notice a star designed Tattoo on the driver's shoulder, signifying that he was a member of the Bratva.

Ray turned suddenly as Miku and Teto shouted in fear at the sudden turn, their fear was heightened as the Bratva's partner in the passenger seat began firing a pistol at them, it was a classic, a Makarov, something that usually only belongs either in the hands of a collector or as a favorite for the Russian Mafia (Old Soviet Sidearms had found themselves a preference amongst them even before the Cybernetic Age.).

Ray took a zig-zag route as the pursuit continued, self-sealing tires combined with bulletproof glass and an armored frame made the Makarov's obsolete ammo useless against them which the Bratva shooter realized and ceased firing and despite the situation, Ray was on the advantage as the Russian model wasn't able to keep up with his personalized vehicle, built both for speed and endurance as he exited the city and proceeded towards the mansion, using his cybernetics to wirelessly activate and use his phone to warn the mansion's security.

As Ray reached the Mansion the Russians had turned and left, not willing to pursue them to a secure location. Ray's theory that the Russians were working with KI was now shot to hell as if it were so then they wouldn't have attacked him. There was one other possibility.

The Seraphim may have gotten hold over Alexei's ear and knowing Alexei was a fanatic when it came to religion it would stand to see that if they could trick him into believing their angel lie then Alexei would go to no end to do their bidding.

Ray explained the sudden attack to the security and a police report was made later. Police Reports had become easier to file and less time consuming and despite this also more effective as Kazahana Industries officially financed the Japanese Police Force more than the government could. Sure this meant most cops in Japan were in KI's pocket but it also meant that they could better handle the increasing crime rate instead of being overrun with crime like in a Judge Dredd comic or like the fictional Gotham City.

Suffice it to say, Ray liked comic books, a lot and DC Comics along with Marvel have become the corporate representation of Great Britain. Unconquerable and unshakeable, able to withstand merging attempts from the two major corporations in the US. Sentinel Inc. (Sentinel's non-military branch.) and Patriot Industries (of which Ray had many, many friends within.).

Ray had settled Teto into one of the open rooms, clearly the place had room for many more occupants as the security staff had their quarters in a separate building 40 meters from the Mansion.


11:15 PM


Ray had brought Teto with him and Miku to the private and empty room he had been using as a place to secretly train Miku. It's clear that perhaps it used to be a dining room but the change in management following Ray's employment had left it empty and disused.

Ray noticed a new presence and his AR display noticed the female Seraphim appear behind Teto, Ray reacted immediately, moving her out of the way and faster than the Seraphim could react he slammed his fist full force into the Alien's chest (And that was saying something, his augments meant that he was pretty much firing a tank shell at her in terms of kinetic impact.). The blow connected as the Seraphim was still in a corporeal form as Ray shook his hand, the Seraphim had been pushed back to the wall but despite what should of happened, there was a lack of a gaping hole in her chest as that punch would have gone through solid concrete without any problems.

Teto and Miku turned to the direction of where Ray was sending his fist, Teto saw the woman, Miku did not. Ray said "Both of you have the right specs to see her, tune your visual frequency to view into the infra-visual spectrums such as Infrared.

Teto replied "I can see her." whilst Miku did as Ray asked, switching to an Infrared sense which showed her a redshifted woman.

Six got into a normal standing position and said "I changed my spectrum, how could you see me?" Ray gave a smirk and said "My augments can detect anything in and out of the visible spectrum. Even if you went further than Ultraviolet or below Infrared I can still sense you." Six visually twitched, linking her visuals to the three in front of her and thus allowing them to hear and see her directly and thus removing Ray's need to lip-read in order to hear her.

Six then said "As I intended to tell Kasane Teto, it's obvious that several people are aware of you and Miku's status as AIs. It's only a matter of time before Kazahana Industries realizes this as well and decides to kill the two of you and place a VI to replace the programming in your bodies. I'm offering you a solution, there is a group that has dedicated itself to AI Research in secret, I want to tell you how to get there so you can live in safety." Teto and Miku both pondered this though Ray brushed it off and said "More likely you intend to speed up this cycle because you've realized just how powerful humanity has advanced. You continue to try and get Miku and Teto and possibly other AIs I have yet to come across to alienate themselves from mankind when in fact they are merely another form of humanity. My own bio-mechanical augments prove that the line between man and machine is imaginary. Humans are merely organic machines and Androids are merely Synthetic Life Forms." Six replied "Believe what you will but the choice is up to your 'friends', not you. Furthermore you know very well who is doing the AI Research, your previous employers." Ray sighed and replied "Sentinel has been toying with fire for a long time and I'm not surprised they're trying to play God now. This conversation is over." Ray drew from his trenchcoat his Masamune that was passed down to him during his days as a Sentinel PMC, he had modified the blade since his first encounter with Six. The grip of the blade was now protected by a hard plastic fiber to insulate various EMP Shielded circuts and wirings connected to a red painted trigger facing the same direction as the blade and was small yet full (not a hair trigger like with most firearms) Holding the trigger sent a red electrical charge through the blade which had an unexpected result, his Masamune's blade turned from its silver steel color to a crimson red blade, ionized from the improvements to it.

It was now a High Frequency Blade.

Six materialized some type of white energy blade and tried to charge Ray who reacted faster than the Seraphim and evaded the slash and quickly sent his HF Masamune in a reverse-thrust, impaling Six from behind as instead of bleeding a normal red blood sight, a white mist began to slowly flow out like a gas from the injury. Ray then used his augmentations to turn to face her back, his arm twisted in an otherwise unnatural position to hold the Masamune in place and he sent an electrical ionization charge through his below-wrist blade on his left arm and sent the charged weapon through Six's head, causing a large amount of the mist to pour out like steam exploding from a crack in a pipe. Ray held his breath incase the mist was toxic and thanks to his augments is lungs were also closed and were breathing from an internally grafted rebreather, which meant he had a built-in oxygen supply in the event he was exposed to a hostile environment. Coupled with his cybernetics to apply emergency pressure in the event of a drop in pressure he could quickly resurface from extreme depths without depressurization problems and also reversely true is the fact that he wouldn't need a space-suit to survive in the vaccum of space. Science had advanced now to the point that it redefined what it means to be "Human".

Memories on his augments aside he quickly retracted his below-wrist blade which he has decided to simply call a Hidden Blade as it's design mimicked the iconic weapon from the Assassin's Creed series and his right arm returned to a natural position after he pulled his Masamune Katana from Six who then dropped dead on the ground in the sight of the two Androids.

This alien entity that dared call itself an angel in the service of God was now dead by Ray's hand, killed not by an advanced weapon but rather a traditional weapon, a Sword. True the blade being ionized is probably what allowed it to kill the Seraph but regardless still it was a sword that did this.

Miku felt uneasy as the Seraph's entire body began to dissipate into the white mist which then cleared up, Ray's augments scanned the mist and made the conclusion it was not toxic to the human body and thus he left his rebreather state, breathing through his nose once more (His augments allow him to force himself with little effort to deny muscle memory and stop breathing through the nose and mouth and coupled with the internal O2 Supply he didn't need to worry about his lungs having problems and thus causing the involuntary gasp for air (which could also be suppressed if necessary by his augments as muscles may be strong, but metal is stronger)

Teto merely observed the sight, having a combination of fear and respect for Ray. Respect because he had mentioned that he was doing this for their benefit, or at least that is what Teto garnered from what Ray said. Fear at the fact that Ray had killed something that had revealed itself to Teto before she met Ray as an Angel. If that claim was even remotely true than the power Ray had is also to be feared.

Ray had calmed down, he would now decide to instruct Teto on how to fight along with continuing to instruct Miku. Collecting his thoughts he realized it would likely be a good idea to have himself and the two androids "disappear" a week before the next concert which meant two weeks from now he would seek out Takamichi's files and offices once Teto and Miku are hidden.

It seems his only option now against the Seraphs (who will likely act more directly now that Ray has killed one of them.) is to find the planet that Kara showed him in his vision.

A name along with the Coordinates was given to him during that vision.

The name was Higaara.


To be continued...