Kohei sidestepped and struck. His strike was parried by the training cage, as the setting was on the highest level. He had been practicing for the past hour, losing himself in the pure motion, being in the moment. He hoped the practice would help clear his head and settle his disquiet. Not for the first time he regretted his promotion. Leadership had its perks, but the perpetual headache made him question if it was truly worth it. He frequently wondered how the primarchs managed it - and more often, how Susanno would handle the Oasis system. So much here was utterly baffling.
"Daimyo?" The vox crackled and he hit the terminus.
"Go ahead."
"Encrypted transmission from Auk for you."
"Auk? Not High Command?" In the past the only encrypted transmissions had come from the military platforms orbiting the various planets.
"No sir. Transmission originated with the Genebank."
"Send it to my cabin. I'll be along shortly."
"Yes sir."
Hanging his sword up on the rack Kohei reflected once again that this system made no earthly sense.
Cáel met them inside the double doors. Like a primitive airlock there were two sets of doors, and a side passage cordoned off with a velvet rope. She unclipped the rope to admit them then lead them up into the wings of the stage.
"I'll be back here, it's up to you if you both want to go on stage." She explained.
"I'm sure Kenji ca-"
A whistle interrupted, high pitched and excited. The armadillo, which had been contently cuddled up to Kenji's neck suddenly sat up on its hind legs and whistled in response. There was a scrambling sound, and an olive and sky blue feathered Kru child dashed out from the other wing, whistling again.
Kenji turned and stepped out beyond the curtain, the armadillo whistling once again in response, then launching itself in its excitement off the very tall shoulder of the Marine. Only Kenji's quick response saved the armored creature from a painful fall, and as the child hesitated in front of him, he knelt holding the armadillo out to her.
"I believe this is yours?" He asked softly. The child snatched up the equally happy armadillo, trilling with joy. Picter flashes filled the room.
"She's saying, 'you really did find him'." Cáel chuckled softly from the vox. The armadillo licked her face, wriggling all over with happiness. The girl looked up from her pet, then jumped up hugging Kenji around the neck, whistling the same three notes over and over again.
"And now she is saying 'thank you'. Repeatedly." Tatsuhiro glanced at Cáel who was grinning broadly at the very human display of childlike gratitude.
Startled, but not in a bad way, Kenji smiled and gently patted her back while the room lit up with thousands of blinding picter flashes.
Two more Kru, almost as tall as the Marines, stepped out and politely joined the two on stage. The girl finally let go, and dashed over to show her parents the returned armadillo. Both of them trilled back at her, petting the creature on its scaled head, then walking up to Kenji, and bowing.
Citizens bowed differently from the military, in this system, their hands clasped together, held at the waist and bowing. They whistled a rather formal sounding bit.
"The captian and pilot thank you heartily for the safe return of the crew mate, and dear pet."
Kenji stood, and bowed the way he had seen Cáel do it.
"We live to serve." He replied, the previously decided upon answer. More picter flashes.
The girl whistled another question, still cuddling the armadillo.
"She asked when we fed him last. The armadillo had breakfast, but will be ready to eat again in a few hours. " Cáel provided.
Kenji knelt again, and more flashes followed.
"Your jeffy had breakfast, but he might be hungry again in a couple hours." The child twittered, something akin to laughter, then chirped a comment.
"He's always hungry. I have to be careful or he'll get fat."
"Is that a bad thing?" Kenji asked, and the audience chuckled. The girl nodded factually, and whistled.
"If he gets fat he can't crawl in bed without help." Cáel sounded amused. Further conversation was suspended by the addition of a fourth Kru, this one a startling large male with bright red plumage. He bowed to Kenji, then to the waiting taifeadta, and began a long formal series of whistles and chirps.
"Red Like Autumn Dawn wishes to welcome you and the gathered taifeadta to this hall. The crew of the Farthest Shore That Touches The Golden Light expresses it's great gratitude for the sacrifices made by the Legion, especially over is single crew member. There will be a question and answer session of the representative of the Legion, but now, the crew will be taking their leave. Please thank them for their time." Cáel translated quickly, as the taifeadta applauded. The Kru family bowed to the audience, then left, leaving Kenji alone on stage. Red Like Autumn Dawn bobbed his head at the Marine, and trilled a request.
"Please state your name and title."
"I am Kenji Higa, Senshi in the Legion Segundius."
There a was a pause, as Red Like Autumn Dawn checked something on his data slate, then looked out at the gathered taifeadta, and whistled something.
On the other end of the vox Cáel choked, and Tatsuhiro glanced at her. Cáel recovered, and quickly translated.
"Dawn gave your Kru name just now. And now he's opening the floor to questions. Don't hesitate to hold up a hand if they get-" the barrage of questions quickly overwhelmed the poor Marine, and he held up both hands in a 'stop' gesture. The taifeadta fell quiet, and Kenji began by pointing to the Kru taifeadta in the back rightmost seat.
"Is it true you took casualties during this mission?"
"No, we had two injured Marines, but no deaths." Kenji pointed to the taifeadta next to him.
"What were their injuries?"
"Don't answer that." Cáel advised Tatsuhiro. "They know they are not privy to medical records of the Army."
"Tell them that both injuries required a few days bed rest." Tatsuhiro replied, and Kenji curled a finger, to signal he had heard.
"The injured Marines only required a few days of bed rest, fortunately." Kenji explained with a reassuring tone, and pointed to the next taifeadta.
This went on for some time, and presently Tatsuhiro became aware of another person standing patiently in the wings near them. He turned slightly, and caught sight of an older man, with a mechanical arm, watching them. Their eyes met and the man smiled faintly, dipping his head. Tatsuhiro took a step back, to face him, still listening to the ongoing question session.
"May I help you?"
The man shook his head.
"Nae, I wanted ta thank ye for bringin' back the jeffy. Hope twas beyond delighted when she learned Wiggles twas still alive. "
"We live to serve." Tatsuhiro replied automatically. The man chuckled and shook his head.
"I served in the Army, sir. We wouldn't have taken the time ta return the beast. Ye made me adopted niece happier than we had any right ta hope for. I wanted ta personally thank ye." He bowed deeply, his mechanical arm crossing his chest. "Ye and the champion both."
Cáel turned, an eyebrow arched as she appraised the retired soldier.
"Ye t'aint be that old, leanabh." she replied in the same brogue, and the man laughed.
"Nae, ma'am but I read a lot."
Cáel furrowed her brow for a moment, then spoke into her wrist comm. "Kenji, make sure your next three questions are in Gothic, I need to step away for a moment."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean ta take ye away from yer work." He objected slightly.
"I'm not that necessary." Cáel demured, joining him. "Have ye been sleepin' well, mhac?" She asked in the same accent. He blinked and looked at his feet, embarrassed.
"Most nights, aye."
"Are the dreams comin' back?" She pressed gently. He shook his head.
"I donna remember me dreams."
Cáel reached under her parka and rifled through a pouch until she found what she was looking for.
"Perhaps tis for the best. Here." She took his hand in her own, and pressed a small round metal disk into it. "Take this ta any apothacarion, in my name, and see a psyksician. If not for yerself, do it for Hope."
Her burnt honey eyes searched his troubled green ones for a long moment. "What's yer name, mhac?"
"Nathrach MacDavis." He all but whispered. Tatsuhiro, eavesdropping shamelessly, also monitored Kenji, who continued answering blissfully unaware of what was going on backstage.
"Nathrach MacDavis, I expect a letter from ye in a month's time." She smiled understandingly at him. "Go, get better, so ye can rejoin yer crew when they find a new ship ta run." He nodded once more, and she gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "Go with me blessin's, mhac. Ta yer happiness."
"Thank ye, ma'am." His voice wavered, then he drew to his full height and saluted her, mechanical hand over his heart. She returned the gesture, then watched as the man left.
"What was that all about?" Tatsuhiro asked when she returned to his side.
"When I was in first in the Army we called it stormtaint, but it changes names every couple of generations." She sighed. "You see it most in old soldiers. During their service they see too much, lose too many comrades to the Warp. It preys on their minds, even decades after they complete their service. We try to catch it before it gets to this point, but long term soldiers are particularly stubborn about admitting they have problems."
"He seemed open about it with you."
Cáel snorted.
"I called him on it. He couldn't ignore it once I asked. Kenji, choose three Krun speakers for your next questions." She spoke into her wrist comm, effectively ending further questions on Tatsuhiro's part.
The question and answer session ended after several hours, Kenji answering every taifeadta twice, then Red Like Autumn Dawn called a close to the meeting. Kenji bowed to the crowd and received a standing ovation as he retreated to the wings.
"Well done, Senshi." Cáel smiled warmly at him, and he responded with a chagrined half smile of his own.
"I had no idea they thought those things about us." He admitted, and Cáel chuckled.
"You should hear what they believe about the Guard, and we've been in system since the beginning." She grinned, waving him and Tatsuhiro to follow her.
"Cáel."
"Yes, Taisa?"
"What was it that you gave MacDavis?"
"The favor coin?" She pulled a curtain aside and headed for the back exit. "You don't have those?"
"No. What is it's function?"
Cáel held up a hand, opening the backdoor and checking before she motioned them through. This road was built for vehicle traffic, and sparsely populated at this hour.
"Step lively. Becoming a Guard means giving up a lot of things, and one of those things is personal wealth. Because of that we are granted the use of favor coins, which pretty much covers the cost of any good or service we might have need of. I always carry a couple, in case I get stranded someplace. But we can give them to others too, and as long as they declare using it in our name, they can receive the same benefits."
"What happens to these coins once they change hands?" Tatsuhiro and Kenji matched her speed, not quite a jog but certainly faster than when they had walked in.
"The Creche covers the costs incurred and recovers the coins."
"What's the Creche?" Kenji asked.
"It's the command center for the Guard, yes?" Tatsuhiro replied. Cáel nodded. "It's also where we're modded." She added, then pointed to an alley directly to the left of them. "Turn here, then up the wall of the hab."
"Up, ma'am?" Kenji gave her one baffled look as she turned, then leapt up onto the external wall escape ladder.
"Quickly. There's not a lot of distance between us and them." Cáel ordered.
"Magboots, Senshi." Tatsuhiro reminded him, and strolled up the wall. "Although, Colonel, I'd like to know who we are running from."
"Muckrackers- are you familiar with the term?"
"No."
Kenji followed suit, and soon all three were on the roof. Cáel paused, facing them.
"They are a flavor of the taifeadta you do not want to meet. They make their money with vid of people in compromised positions. They are extremely aggressive."
"We can be aggressive too, Colonel." Tatsuhiro reminded her.
"Unless you're prepared to hide bodies as well, I highly recommend against it." Cáel peered over one side of the hab, then walked to the other. "I'm suppose to keep you from meeting, since there's simply no way you walk away from an encounter with the Legion's honor intact." She gave them both a sharp look. "I say this in the utmost confidence. The anti-Legion faction is looking for any excuse to get rid of you. And they will happily use muckrackers to achieve that end."
"Does Kohei know?" Tatsuhiro frowned as she checked over the side.
"If he didn't when we left he will have by now. You asked what was passed to me, it was a warning about their presence." She sat down suddenly, below the lip of the edge. She faced them. "The Grand Dame has decided to share all our intel with you, which means she has no confidence in High Command. This isn't surprising, it's actually been a long time in coming, but High Command is now aligning with some pretty questionable power players." She grimaced. "So, please, can we avoid an encounter?"
Kenji glanced apprehensively at Tatsuhiro.
"Who do you owe the most loyalty to, Cáel of Sentinel?" Tatsuhiro asked quietly.
"The Grand Dame and the Creche."
"Then we will avoid meeting these muckrackers." He looked around. "We could travel mostly along the hab tops back to the port. Was that your plan?"
Cáel nodded, and crawled on all fours until she was far enough away from the edge to stand without being seen from the street.
"You recall the way back?" Tatsuhiro and Kenji nodded. "Good. It sounds like they've move away. Let's go."
Glossary:
Taifeadta: reporter/s
psyksician: a psyker who specializes in healing mental disorders
Muckrackers: reporters who specialize in fabricating situations to catch people of interest at their worst moments.
Mhac: Oasian word meaning son
Leanabh: Oasian word meaning baby
As always if you notice misspellings or grievous misuse of in universe knowledge, drop me a line.