Chapter Four
In the blackness of space, the spinning planets of solar system #9-814 turned on their axes, one by one running rings around their central sun as they worked their hardest to be the first one to complete one cycle and begin a new planetary year. In the midst of their dancing and dodging, the absence of one of their brothers seemed to have completely passed them by, as the drifting debris that once made up the planet Kihaku spread and mingled with the remains of meteor showers and the frozen tails of long-dead comets.
As the bulky red vessel pushed carefully and swiftly through the centre of the space zone, one of the ship's inhabitants paused for a moment, staring out at the darkness with a thoughtful, troubled expression on her clever face. For a moment she cast a glance at her craft's radar, then back out at the universe beyond, biting her lip as she realised where they were.
"Kihaku." She murmured. "Well. So this was it. All of that...happened here."
"Kiyone?"
The voice of her partner startled her and she jumped, staring blankly at the tall, blond woman who had just entered the drive room. Somehow - though only the Gods themselves knew how - the officer had tripped over her own feet, descending into her seat with a less than elegant thud and spilling the tea she had carried in her hand all over the ship's console. Kiyone Makibi sat back in her own seat, rolling her eyes as her partner fussed around with scraps of tissue, struggling to clean the dashboard of warm green liquid before it did any damage.
"Oh Kiyone! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"
"No, I know." Kiyone's gaze flitted back towards the window. "It's all right, Mihoshi. Yagami's dashboard is spill-proof, you know. If it wasn't, we'd probably never be able to leave Headquarters."
"That's probably true." Mihoshi Kuramitsu giggled, pushing the soiled tissue out of her way and relaxing back in her chair, sipping the remains of her drink. "But I cleaned it up anyway. Where are we, Kiyone? I thought we were following a distress beam - why are we here? I don't see any ships in trouble in this part of space. Do you?"
"I don't see any ships at all." Kiyone admitted, unable to keep the relief from her voice. "It might just be a false alarm. In which case, we shouldn't hang around here when there's other work to be done."
"I guess not." Mihoshi pushed her face to the glass, gazing out at the debris that floated past their window. "Wow, it sure is messy out there, Kiyone. Maybe there's been a meteor storm or something."
"Or something is more like it." Kiyone's fingers ran thoughtfully over the radar screen. "You've been here before Mihoshi - this is where Washu's planet was, before she and Tsunami blew it up. At least, I think that's what happened - but either way, it's not here any more. Yagami's space map says it should be - right about where we are, in fact. But it's definitely not. I guess it just goes to show how powerful Washu's weapons can be, if she puts her mind to it."
"Wow...we're back here? Really?" Mihoshi seemed more impressed than alarmed, turning to offer her partner a beaming smile. "I remember. That woman had Tenchi and me prisoner, but Sasami turned into Tsunami and rescued us."
"Yes, so I've heard." Kiyone sighed. "Still, as you say, there doesn't seem to be anyone in trouble in this sector. So I guess whatever it was has either been resolved, or it was a false alarm. I do hate hoax calls...we should head back."
"Wait a minute." Mihoshi pressed a finger to the ship's monitor, casting her companion a quizzical look. "Do you see something over there, or did I press the wrong button on my scanner again?"
"Over where?" Kiyone frowned, squinting at the screen. Then she sighed. "No, it looks like you're right. I see it too, now. It's not a very strong signal, is it?"
"No, but I guess that's why they're in distress." Mihoshi said in her usual happy-go-lucky way. "So we should go and help them, right? Isn't that what we're here to do, partner?"
"Yes, it is." Kiyone sighed again, but obediently put her craft into drive mode, adjusting their course for the source of the signal. "Let's go."
"Kiyone, are you all right?" Mihoshi's blue eyes became big with concern as she regarded her friend, and Kiyone shrugged, nodding her head.
"Yes, I'm fine. Just tired." She said frankly. "We've been very busy lately, you know that. We've had a lot of call outs, and..."
"And you don't ever seem to want to go flying any more." Mihoshi rested her chin in her hands. "I mean, Washu fixed Yagami, so it's not like the ship can't fly. It works perfectly, now. Maybe even better than it did before. And I know you like everyone at Headquarters, but you seem to have way more paperwork to do or something these days. It's a major bummer. We should be out here helping people, but we don't seem to do it so much."
"I don't know what you mean." Kiyone bit her lip, refusing to meet her friend's gaze as she piloted her ship towards the third planet from the distant sun, from which the signal had first been located. "We've just had lots to do."
"Yeah, but we used to sometimes stop off for food or for karaoke on our trips back." Mihoshi sighed. "Or we'd just fly around for a bit, and make sure everything was fine. Now you always want to go back and work. You work way too much, you know. We could relax a bit more."
She eyed her companion keenly.
"Are you missing Ayeka and Ryoko and the others? Is that it?"
"I'm fine. Really. And we have a job to do." Kiyone said darkly. "Look...I think I see the ship now. Do you? It's a military style bug - but I can see from here that something has blown out it's main thrusters and it's engines are gone. I'm gonna try and open communication channels with the ship now...so stop babbling, all right? If they're in trouble, the last thing they'll want to think is that the Galaxy Police have sent some complete nutters to rescue them from certain death. All right?"
"Sure, whatever you say, Kiyone." Mihoshi shrugged her shoulders, finishing the last of her tea and setting the mug down on the arm of her chair, balancing it precariously against her hand as Kiyone activated the communication screen. "I'm sure they'll be relieved when they know the Galaxy Police have come to help them."
"Yeah, I'm so sure." Kiyone muttered, jamming buttons on with bad grace as the communication screen shot up before them.
"This is First Class Detective Kiyone Makibi of the Galaxy Police vessel Yagami." She said clearly. "Responding to a received distress signal. Can you copy me? I repeat, this is the Galaxy Police vessel Yagami. Can you read me? Over."
The screen blinked and flickered for a moment, then lit up to reveal an unfamiliar drive room. A woman's face blurred into view, her features becoming clearer by the second, and as they did so, Kiyone registered the blood that stained her brow and her cheek. Her skin was ash pale, and even at a glance Kiyone could tell she was badly wounded. A knot of fear began to wind itself around her stomach, and she swallowed hard, forcing herself to retain her professionalism.
"Can you copy me, ship? Please state your ident and status. This is the Galaxy Police craft Yagami. We've come to help you."
"The Galaxy Police?" The woman's voice was faint. "Thank Goodness...Please...we can't hold out much longer. Our engines...the motors..."
"Can you state your ident and status, please. We are drawing alongside you and are preparing for boarding." Kiyone said frankly.
"This is the Shitorian military bug, Tsubasa." The woman's face flickered as her image blurred across the screen. "Please...we can't last much...we need..."
The screen went abruptly dead, and Kiyone bit her lip, exchanging looks with her companion.
"She must've hit the wrong button. That's so easy to do." Mihoshi frowned. "She looked kinda upset though, didn't she? We better go see what's up, hadn't we, Kiyone? Maybe there are people hurt on the ship."
"Well, she sure didn't look too fit, that's for sure." Kiyone admitted. "I'm going to release the boarding tunnel and then we'll go and see. I guess when the engines blew out, people must have been hurt...that's the only thing I can think of. The craft is stable, but it doesn't look in very good shape."
"Or it was attacked by something." Mihoshi suggested cheerfully, oblivious to the expression on her companion's face as she got to her feet, knocking the tea mug to the floor and shattering it into hundreds of pieces. "Oh! Whoops! I forgot about that."
"We have others." Kiyone rolled her eyes. She stood, glancing down at the ship's computer system for a moment, then retrieving her weapon, sliding it into it's holster. "All right. Contact has been made - let's go see if we can find survivors. If something attacked this ship, it's long gone now."
"Yeah. There are no other ships, except ours, right?" Mihoshi pursed her lips, clearly thinking things over carefully. "Did she say Shitorian?"
"Yes, she did." Kiyone grabbed her friend by the hand. "Stop dreaming, will you? And come on?"
"That's a real bummer, if their ship is from Shitori." Mihoshi obediently quickened her pace following her companion down to the bottom level of the expansive police craft, to where the boarding tunnel's entrance was situated. "I used to go there when I was a little girl. Father would take us - Misao was just a baby then, and we'd have so much fun. I hope they're not hurt."
"You are so random sometimes, Mihoshi." Kiyone sighed. "What has a holiday on Shitori got to do with us helping out a few of their stranded armed forces?"
"Well, I don't know." Mihoshi said with a casual shrug. "I just thought of it, that's all. Because it's weird and all, that it should come from Shitori."
"Not really. Shitori isn't far from this part of space...they must have gotten into trouble on their way home." Kiyone shrugged, leading the way into the tunnel as she fought hard against her rising trepidation. "It happens, as we well know. They're lucky we received their signal."
"Well, that's the funny thing." Mihoshi skipped along behind, completely unconcerned. "I didn't know Shitori had a military force, that's all. Weird, huh? But they must have...because here we are."
"Sometimes I wish I knew how your brain worked." Kiyone muttered, as they stepped off the tunnel and onto the ship proper. She glanced around, biting her lip as her hand closed around the butt of her weapon. "All right. Split up. You go that way, and I'll go this. If you find anyone alive, get them back to Yagami. Don't try and do anything else. If you need help, signal me, and I'll do the same for you. It should be fairly straight-forward - and it looked like some of them might need medical assistance."
"All right." Mihoshi nodded her head. "You can count on me, Kiyone! I'll help them any way I can!"
With that she ran off along the corridor in the direction Kiyone had indicated and the dark haired officer sighed, closing her eyes briefly as she leant back against the ship's wall.
"I swear, sometimes she still gives me a headache." She muttered, rubbing her temples. "Even if we have been through so much stuff together, I still don't know how she thinks. I mean, what on earth was she talking about - holidays on Shitori? Sometimes, I swear, she's only a few steps away from lunacy."
Slowly she pulled her gun from her holster, holding it at waist level as she made her way cautiously along the corridor towards the back of the ship.
"Hello?" She called. "Is there anyone there? This is Galaxy Police Detective First Class Kiyone Makibi - we've come to help."
There was no response, and something about the dark eeriness of the ship set her nerves on edge. She swallowed hard, forcing herself to continue as she glanced in on rooms here and there along the way. The ship seemed deserted, however, and as she reached the main communications room, she found the woman she had spoken to only moments before. She lay sprawled on the floor, blood gushing from a wound across her throat and Kiyone dropped down at her side, searching in vain for any sign of life. Fear gripped her heart as she registered the woman's condition.
"You weren't hurt like that when we spoke. That's a fatal wound." She whispered. "I was wrong - whatever hurt you - it's still here."
She swallowed, then,
"Mihoshi! Oh, she might walk right into something..."
Her finger hovered above the signal button on her watch, then she hesitated, shaking her head.
"Mihoshi has unbelievable luck." She said firmly. "She'll be all right, and if she's not here, I can at least try and find out what's going on here."
She got to her feet, her gaze resting briefly on the woman's still body, and she frowned.
"A military bug from Shitori." She murmured. "But come to think of it..."
She paused, glancing around the drive room with new eyes. "Maybe Mihoshi had a point. This doesn't look much like a military vessel. In fact, I'd almost say it was...something else."
Her frown deepened and carefully she moved the woman's cooling body aside, placing her hands on the ship's control panel as she accessed the craft's CPU. Immediately, an access denied screen flashed up before her, and she sighed, shaking her head.
"Top secret, no doubt." She muttered. "I wonder...would you have a pass to get into this system? A key, perhaps? Because if I didn't know better, I'd swear this was a..."
She trailed off, kneeling at the woman's side and examining her body carefully, quelling the nausea that rose inside of her as she ran her fingers over the dead officer's wrists. At length she found what she was looking for and, wiping the specks of blood from it, she pressed it into the system, turning it and glancing at the data that flashed onto the screen. She pursed her lips.
"I thought so." She murmured. "This isn't a military bug at all, and it's not from Shitori. It's a spy ship...a Seniwan spy ship. But why did she lie to me? She wanted our help, didn't she? What can be so top secret that someone would kill to keep it quiet - and more, that an officer would conceal the truth even to the people trying to save her life?"
She slid a hand into her pocket, pulling out a small box-like device and clipping it onto the ship's control panel as she downloaded the ship's memory. As she waited for it to finish, she conducted a cautious search of the drive room, but nothing else seemed strange or out of place. And yet...
"She wasn't dead when we spoke to her, and she didn't do that to herself." She muttered. "There are no other ships in the area, so whatever did this must still be aboard. When that's done, I think the best thing is to find Mihoshi and get Yagami the hell out of here. Seniwa can deal with their own murdered staff - Heaven only knows there are enough high ranking Seniwan officials on the Galaxy Police as it stands. It shouldn't be a problem for them."
The bleep of her device told her that her work had been completed and she detached the box, slipping it back into her pocket as she removed the key, taking that with her also as she stepped back out onto the hallway.
"Kiyone!"
Mihoshi's voice startled her and she spun around, seeing her friend standing at the other end of the hallway, her white gloves red with blood and tears in her blue eyes. "Kiyone, we were too late! Everyone...they all died! They're all dead!"
"Same here." Kiyone bit her lip. "Mihoshi, how many did you find?"
"Two." Mihoshi's voice wavered. "I wanted to help them, Kiyone...but they were already dead."
"Yes, I found the same." Kiyone hesitated, then, "The woman we spoke to - she didn't make it. You didn't see anyone else at all?"
"No. Just you." Mihoshi shook her head. "So what do we do now? Do we go back to Headquarters and report this?"
"I think so." Kiyone agreed. "But you know...when you said you didn't know Shitori had a military force, what did you mean?"
"Does it matter?" Mihoshi looked surprised. Kiyone shrugged.
"I don't think this is a Shitorian ship at all." She said vaguely. "That's all."
"Well, of course it isn't. It's a Seniwan ship, silly." Mihoshi shook her head. "Isn't that what the report said?"
"No..." Kiyone's eyes narrowed. "No, it isn't."
"Oh. Well. That's what it is." Mihoshi shrugged her shoulders. "My father used to have one just like it. It's weird really, isn't it? That we'd come aboard a ship and it'd be from my planet? I just wish we could have helped them, that's all. Don't you?"
"Yes." Kiyone sighed. "All right. Let's go back. Let's go back to Yagami."
"I'm right with you." Mihoshi nodded her head. "The commander won't be able to believe this."
"You know, Mihoshi, when you said your father had a ship like that one..." Kiyone pursed her lips, leading the way back along the passage to the waiting police craft. "What kind of a ship was it? I know he worked for the Elite Force for a long time, before he retired. But that wasn't a Galaxy Police craft."
"No...well, Father didn't always talk about his work." Mihoshi said pensively. "But he did a lot of important work, I know that."
"Did he ever...was he ever involved in spy work, do you know?"
"Father?" Mihoshi looked startled. "No, I don't think so. But if he was, he wouldn't tell me, would he?"
She laughed.
"After all, I might tell someone by accident."
"True." Kiyone sighed. "All right. I was just curious, anyway."
"Do you think that ship was a spy ship, Kiyone?" Mihoshi's eyes became big. Kiyone nodded her head.
"I think so." She agreed. "And from a glance at the ship's files, it was sent here to monitor a very particular thing. Whatever it was, it was top secret. So secret that the woman told us she was from a completely different planet, just to throw us off the scent. Even though she knew we wanted to help them, Mihoshi - that means whatever it is is a big deal. We'd do better getting back to Headquarters and filing our report. This is obviously something the Elite should be dealing with. Not us."
"I guess you're right." Mihoshi agreed, pushing open the door of the drive room as Kiyone released the walkway. "It's weird though, don't you think? That all the people were dead, although there was noone there to kill them?"
"I thought that, too." Kiyone admitted unwillingly. "But I didn't see anyone. And you didn't, either. So...so whatever did happen, I don't know. I don't want to think about it, in truth. I just want to get back and hand this over to someone more experienced. There are times when I'm glad I'm not an Elite, Mihoshi. This is one of those times."
"I know what you mean." Mihoshi said fervently. "All that blood. And Seniwans, too. It sucks. I wish we could have helped them."
"All we can do now is pass the case on and hope justice can be done for them." Kiyone said sadly. "All right, Yagami. Let's get out of here."
------------------
"So, remind me again why it is we're sitting in the living room eating instant noodles?"
Ryoko set down her chopsticks, eying Washu with a quizzical look as she did so. "Where's Yume? I thought that was part of the agreement - if she stayed here with us, she'd cook."
"She's running an errand for me." Washu said simply. "And if you don't like noodles, Ryoko, you can always try and cook your own food. Of course, we might need to alert the fire department first, but you know. That's the deal. Yume isn't just the housekeeper and the cook. She's a very powerful creation and she does have other strengths than filling your stomach whenever you cry for food."
"I didn't say she didn't." Ryoko glowered. "But since when did she become your servant? I thought you said she can't be expected to do everyone's dirty work. Now she's doing yours...again. What's with that?"
"Ryoko, it doesn't matter." Tenchi put a hand on his fiancee's arm, shaking his head. "Whatever it is, I'm sure Yume will be back soon. And we won't die from eating instant food one night of the week, will we?"
"That's the spirit." Washu beamed in his direction. "And if you must know, Ryoko-chan, the errand she's gone on is an important one. I'm doing some research into things that might help Tokimi...and Yume is the only access pass I have to get into the Science Academy right now."
"The Science Academy? Tokimi?" Ryoko stared. "But hang on a minute. That nutty woman tried to kill Tenchi. She tried to kill all of us! Why do you want to help her!"
"She's my sister, Ryoko."
"So?"
"So I guess that makes her your aunt. You shouldn't be so harsh towards your family, masume-chan."
"Will you quit it already?" Ryoko exclaimed. "Tokimi is no family to me - she's a nutjob who should stay in a coma! That way at least she can't hurt anyone ever again!"
"Destroying Kihaku took it's toll on her, didn't it, Washu-san?" Tenchi asked thoughtfully. Washu nodded.
"Yes, and she's no longer the demonic force Ryoko thinks she is." She agreed. "Kihaku's tortured spirit has been laid to rest. She's just an ordinary woman, who was unlucky enough to be struck down by twisted magic. She's sick, she's not evil. And I want to help her remember who she used to be - if I can. So Yume has gone to the Academy in search of the files I need. She's the only one who might get past their security."
"Because of Dr Clay?" Tenchi asked. Washu shook her head, a shadow touching her gaze.
"No...she has other data to draw on to fool the security staff." She said quietly. "It doesn't matter so much how. Those files are important...and I'd like to read them over. I did so once, but it was a long time ago and at the time I was only providing a translation, anyway."
"And this time you are...?" Ryoko raised an eyebrow.
"Finding out everything I can." Washu said simply. "Although I suspect it won't be enough, I have to try."
"So we're all stuck eating ramen. Great." Ryoko sighed. "You could at least have waited till we were in Osaka or something. Or somewhere where there was actually food, before you sent her all the way across the universe."
"I almost think you miss her, Ryoko." Washu's eyes twinkled. "Where's Noboyuki-san this evening, by the way? How come you haven't pestered him to cook for you?"
"Father isn't home from work yet. He phoned a half hour ago to say he expected to be late." Tenchi grimaced. "This is meant to be his day off, but his office are demanding sometimes."
"Ah. Then that explains it." Washu sat back in her seat. "Well, it doesn't matter. Ryoko-chan, there's something else I want to discuss with you - if you don't mind."
"I'm listening." Ryoko eyed her mother warily. "What is it?"
"So suspicious?" Washu's eyes opened wide. "Nothing major. I just want to borrow Ryo Ohki for a while. That's all."
"Borrow...Ryo-Ohki?" Ryoko echoed, and Washu nodded.
"When Yume comes back, I need to take a trip to Jurai to see my sister, and see what records that planet have." She agreed. "But I don't have a spaceship to hand. And I hoped..."
"That you could commandeer mine." Ryoko's brows knitted together. "Is that it?"
"Basically." Washu nodded. "I've asked Ryo Ohki and she's agreeable - but I thought I should ask you too. After all, it would be bad manners not to."
"Ryo Ohki has only just recovered from the last adventure in space." Tenchi objected. "Are you sure she's well enough to fly again, Washu?"
"Oh, yes. She's fine, now." Washu nodded. "Ryoko's recovery marked an incredible upturn in the little one's spirits. She's much more herself."
"If you fly Ryo Ohki to Jurai, Tenchi and I will be left without space options." Ryoko frowned. "And she's my ship, Washu. Noone takes her out but me."
"Then you can come with me." Washu shrugged, unconcerned. "I don't mind. I'm sure that the Emperor is just dying to see his great niece and I suppose Jurai should know sooner rather than later that you two have progressed your relationship to an official level."
"Washu, if you're going to start in on that..." Ryoko began, but Tenchi shook his head.
"No, Washu does have a point." he said, his cheeks reddening slightly as he contemplated the scientist's words. "We both have family on Jurai. And, well, it's only fair to that family that we...or one of us...goes there and tells them about the choice we've made."
"I don't see why." Ryoko frowned. "It's not their business if we're engaged or not, you know. It's our business. We don't belong to Jurai."
"No...but I think it would be fairer if we were to go, anyway." Tenchi looked troubled. "Great Grandpa might take exception to us, otherwise. And he's a powerful man, in the final analysis. Remember, Earth are still building tentative links with Jurai. We don't want to upset them."
"At least one of you has sense." Washu nodded. "But I was thinking less about Azusa. Tenchi, I was actually thinking about Ayeka. I think she'd appreciate hearing it from your own lips...don't you?"
"Ayeka?" Ryoko stared. "She has even less to do with this. She's married!"
"Yes, but she considers Tenchi a very dear friend." Washu said levelly. "And she'd be hurt, if he didn't."
"Washu is right." Tenchi sighed heavily. "When you put it that way, I do owe it to Ayeka and Sasami to tell them myself, in person."
"Then it's up to you, Ryoko-chan." Washu raised an eyebrow. "Is a trip to Jurai on the cards? Or are you still convalescing from your last adventure?"
"I'm fine and you know it." Ryoko bristled.
"So we'll go?"
"I guess I'm outnumbered." Ryoko grimaced. "Fine! We'll go. When Yume comes back, we'll head to Jurai. But believe me, I'm not happy about this. I don't see why Tenchi and I have to parade our relationship for people there to gawk and gossip about. It's none of their damn business."
"And it will give you ample opportunity to tell them so." Washu was unmoved. "Thank you, Ryoko-chan. When Yume returns, we'll make preparations."
She smiled at Tenchi.
"After all, some things really are better done face to face."
------------------
"All right, Detective. What do you have to report?"
The commander cast his junior a warm smile, resting his hands on the desk as he met Kiyone's grave eyes with gentle ones of his own. "I've bumped my meeting off the top of my schedule to see you at short notice - but I thought I sent you and Detective Kuramitsu on a routine rescue trip. Was it not routine, after all?"
"No...not really." Kiyone looked troubled. "Sir, I really don't think Mihoshi and I should have become involved, to be quite honest. We thought that it was a military bug whose engines had died, but when we got aboard, something had killed the crew. I don't know what, exactly, only that Mihoshi found two of them dead and I found one - the woman who had tried to make contact with us. She told us herself where the ship came from, but Mihoshi is sure she was wrong and I...I agree with her."
"I see." The commander frowned. "So the crew were killed - by what means? An explosion, perhaps? Or...?"
"I can only speak for the woman I found." Kiyone said frankly. "But her throat was slit."
"Murder, then. Sabotage, even." The commander looked startled.
"I think so." Kiyone twisted her hands together absently as she remembered what they had found aboard. "Mihoshi thought the ship was Seniwan and when I tried to access the CPU, it gave me Seniwan data, also. So it wasn't from Shitori at all. In fact, Mihoshi says Shitori don't even have a military force. They're a dependant of Seniwa, aren't they? So I guess she'd know."
"Detective Kuramitsu seems to have been uncommonly perceptive today." The commander reflected. Kiyone looked rueful.
"She was telling me all about a summer holiday she once took on Shitori. That's how we got into ships." She said with a slight shake of the head. "But she was right, Sir. I...well, Sir, if you don't mind me saying, I think...it might have been a spy vessel. And...and that's why the woman lied to me about it's origin. She didn't give me a name, and I didn't recognise her or the uniform she wore. But the ship's CPU required a key to access anything beyond the basic home screen."
"I see." The commander drummed his fingers absently on his desktop. "I'm sorry. Had I realised how much was involved, I would have passed the matter on to the Elite Force right away. In any case, that's what I'll have to do now. I know how you hate to lose a case, Detective, but in the circumstances..."
"No, sir. It's all right." Kiyone bowed her head. "It wasn't nice, being there and seeing these poor people slaughtered like that. I thought that it was probably better the Elite dealt with it. After all, there are a lot of Seniwan officers in the Elite Force, aren't there? And they might have insider knowledge that we don't have."
"I had forgotten Mihoshi was Seniwan." The commander rubbed his chin. "That was careless of me - considering her father's record. But it probably explains why she was so sure about the ship. Her father likely flew one very similar to it at one point in his career."
He smiled, shaking his head.
"Not that that matters now." He added. "Detective, is there anything else you can report to me about the damaged craft? It's location coordinates are logged in Yagami's computer, I trust?"
"Yes, sir." Kiyone nodded her head. She slipped a hand into her pocket, her fingers closing around the black data box, but for some reason she hesitated, changing her mind. "And that's all I know. I'll transmit Yagami's data to the Headquarters Central Computer as soon as possible, then they'll know where to pick up the ship and it's poor occupants."
"You've let this go very easily, Detective. Are you sure you're quite all right?" The commander eyed her keenly. Kiyone raised her hand in a salute.
"I'm fine, sir. Just...it's never nice to see people murdered." She said quietly. The commander nodded his head.
"Indeed." He agreed. "All right. You are dismissed. Thank you for your report, Detective Makibi...and for the urgency with which you brought it to my notice. I will ensure that action is taken right away and the relevant people are informed. You may go."
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." Kiyone bowed her head again, withdrawing from the office and shutting the door behind her, leaning up against the cold steel as she let out a heavy sigh. Fumbling in her pocket, she pulled out the small black data box, glancing at it hesitantly.
"If it was a spy ship, and from a powerful world like Seniwa, they might not take kindly to knowing I duplicated the system memory." She murmured. "I don't want to get in any trouble. If this case isn't mine any more, it's probably better I just erase any data I recorded there, and let the whole thing drop. Better they don't know that I might have compromised their security. I know Seniwa aren't as powerful as Jurai these days, and I might be closely aligned with a member of the Kuramitsu family. But I know they wouldn't look kindly on someone interfering in their private affairs."
She sighed, sliding the box back into her pocket.
"Besides, the mission is over and I completed my part in it successfully." She added. "I've done all I can do, and nothing went wrong. You see, Kiyone? There is nothing to be afraid of. Yagami isn't dangerous, space isn't dangerous. Nobody is going to come after you the way Agent Tennan did that night six months ago. You're being silly and Washu was right - it's just something I have to work out of my system. Things are fine now...and I'm in the thick of the action once again. No problem. I was all alone aboard that vessel, after all. There was a dead body right there and I still didn't get swayed from my purpose. It's bound to get easier now. Isn't it?"