Chapter Ten

"Washu?"

Washu glanced up from her dusty pile of papers and books, squinting through the fuggy dim light of the library's chamber as she tried to make out her companion. She frowned, setting her reading aside as she recognised the speaker.

"Kiyone? What are you doing down here?" She asked softly. "I thought the door needed a genetic key to get in - how did you get past the Emperor's security?"

"It wasn't locked. Ayeka said you were down here, and I wanted to speak to you." Kiyone said simply, carefully manoeuvring herself between the heaps of documents as she came to her friend's side. "What are you doing, Washu? Redecorating the palace library? Ayeka said you were doing some kind of research, but your kind of research usually involves top speed databases. What's with all this?"

"Wider reading." Washu said ruefully, indicating for the detective to sit down. "So Ayeka left the door unlocked? Careless of her."

"I suppose she thought you'd want to get out at some point." Kiyone said astutely, and Washu grinned, glancing down at her hands.

"I'm not as good at teleportation as my daughter, but I still have the knack." She said with a shrug. "But still, I suppose she didn't think of that. The last time we spoke, my magic was very much exhausted, so she wouldn't know that it's still inside of me. And I guess I'm glad she didn't want to lock me in...but I'm not sure whether you should be here. We don't want you getting yourself into trouble while you're on discharge, do we?"

"I don't care." Kiyone said frankly, settling herself more comfortably in her seat as she glanced down at the scroll spread out on the table before them. "What kind of wider reading? I've never seen characters like that before. Is it Ancient Juraian or something?"

"You mean Old Era, and no." Washu shook her head. "This is older even than that."

She touched the edge of the manuscript gingerly.

"This is Kii."

"Kii?" Kiyone's brow creased as she squinted at the characters once more. "You mean your language - from Kihaku?"

"Yes, that's right."

"I didn't know the Kii wrote things down."

"The Priest's tribe kept records. Quite detailed ones, as it happened." Washu nodded. "This isn't a complete file by any means, and a lot of things are left open to assumption - you can only imagine they were passed down through word of mouth and they didn't need written explanation. But it's made interesting reading anyway. Sort of nice, to read my own language again."

"I don't know how you can. It looks like scribbles to me." Kiyone admitted, and Washu laughed.

"But you're looking at it from the wrong side." She said softly. "It doesn't read in the same direction as Common Galactic Tongue tends to, and it's a lot more flexible in terms of grammar. But enough about this...that isn't why you came to see me, is it? I imagine you wanted to talk about the little episode the other day. Am I correct?"

"Sort of. Actually, no...I wanted to not talk about it." Kiyone said, somewhat confusingly, and Washu raised an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?"

"I wanted to ask you not to turn me into some kind of scientific experiment because I had a momentary lapse the other day." Kiyone glanced at her hands. "I'm fine now. It was just a shock to see him and I wasn't expecting it. But I'm all right and I'd really rather you left it well alone. If you don't mind."

"And you came all the way to find me to tell me you don't need to talk about it? I see." Humour flickered in the depths of Washu's sharp green eyes, and Kiyone sighed.

"No, I didn't. I came for another reason." She said quietly. "You said you wanted to know why I was on Jurai. And having thought it over, I want to try and explain that to you. I've made a decision and I might need your help in figuring it all out."

"That sounds like a challenge." Washu said contemplatively. "Although here is probably not the best place to talk. I've found something of what I was looking for, anyway, and I'm more or less done here now. It's dusty and the light isn't so good - I think we could talk better elsewhere. Is that all right with you?"

"I suppose so." Kiyone looked surprised, but she nodded her head. Washu smiled.

"I'm guessing from the fact you came to me that this is going to involve computer technology of some nature, and I can handle that better outside of the library." She explained. "Nothing but dusty old books down here, but I brought a few essential things with me to Jurai, in case I needed them. They're set up in an old chamber at the bottom of the palace - Azusa let me use it once before for my dabbling, and I've commandeered it again to continue my research into the Kii magic as best I can. It seems like the perfect private place to have a heart to heart. Will you come with me?"

"Sure." Kiyone nodded her head, and Washu grinned at her impishly, grasping her around the wrists and blurring them both out of the study room. Kiyone let out a gasp as the world swam around her, closing her eyes against the dizzy spin of colours. When she opened them again they were in a spacious, high-ceilinged chamber at the bottom of the palace, and already Washu had begun to make herself at home, with various componants and bits of equipment glittering and flashing up against the far wall. She drew a deep breath into her lungs to calm herself down, putting a hand to her chest.

"You could have warned me that we were taking a short cut." She said darkly. "I guess there is nothing wrong with your magic now, after all."

"Well, I don't know about that. But short transfers are easy and it's good practice for me." Washu said flippantly, pulling up two chairs and dropping down into one, indicating for her companion to follow suit. "All right...so here we are. What's on your mind, Kiyone?"

"A lot of things." Kiyone frowned. "Washu, whatever state I was in the other day, I want you to know that I'm not crazy. Okay? I'm not having delusions and I'm not losing my wits."

"I never thought that you were." Washu said complacently. "I already told you what was wrong with you where Lord Tennan was concerned. It's up to you whether or not you listen - but at no point have I thought you were crazy."

"Well, good." Kiyone sighed. "Because what I'm going to tell you might sound it. Certainly everyone at Headquarters thinks so."

There was a bitter edge to her words and Washu raised an eyebrow.

"Headquarters?" She echoed. Kiyone nodded.

"Mihoshi is the only one who doesn't think so, and you can guess how much people listen to her ideas." She said heavily. "Listen, Washu, Mihoshi and I were sent on a routine rescue mission into the sector of space where Kihaku used to be. Right?"

"Right." Washu agreed slowly. "What of it?"

"Well, you know Kihaku better than anyone. Is it possible for, well, the soul of that world to exist outside the planet itself?"

"For what?" Washu stared, and Kiyone looked rueful.

"I know. I did warn you, but I can't think of any other explanation at present." She said with a sigh. "The craft we went to, well, the crew were all dead. But I spoke to one of them before we boarded, meaning that she was killed some time inbetween our brief contact and boarding. Her wound was fresh - it was still bleeding. So whatever killed her was probably still aboard the ship. Yet Mihoshi and I found nobody."

"You think Kihaku killed them?" Washu looked startled. Kiyone spread her hands.

"I don't know." She admitted. "But you did say it was a powerful spectral force, didn't you? Capable of bad things?"

"Yes, but Kiyone, it was entirely tied up in the existance of the planet." Washu shook her head. "When Kihaku exploded, that was the end of its spirit. If it hadn't been, Tokimi would not have lost her power and Seiryo Tennan would still be under the dark lure he was under when he attacked you."

"Let's not go there." Kiyone said frankly. "All right. So in your opinion, it's impossible for any part of it to have survived?"

"Yes, Kiyone. Completely impossible." Washu agreed.

"Okay. Then something else killed them." Kiyone ran fingers through her hair absently as she considered, and Washu could tell that her friend was deliberating over the various other options in her head. "This is all a lot more complicated than it sounds, you see. When we got back to Headquarters I had to hand the case over to the Elite. Honestly, I didn't mind. It was a bit unnerving, knowing something had been there but that you hadn't seen them. I thought that was the end of it...but then Yagami's drive room was vandalised."

"Yagami, huh?" Washu looked thoughtful. "After all my hard work to fix it?"

"I'm afraid so." Kiyone grimaced. "I...I rather freaked out when I found it. Whatever did it was still there, I'm sure of it - because I heard laughter. But I didn't see anyone, and the Commander thinks it was a delusion...or worse, a direct lie. He thinks I vandalised Yagami out of some post-traumatic stress haze, since, well, I did react badly to the whole business. Mihoshi opened her big mouth and told the chief all about what happened with Agent Tennan and that she thought I was unsettled...the end result was I was sent away here."

"I see." Washu pursed her lips, resting her chin in her hands. "You didn't see anyone aboard Yagami?"

"No."

"But you are sure something was there?"

"Yes. Absolutely certain, Washu."

"All right." Washu shrugged her shoulders, putting her hands behind her head as she tilted back on her chair. "Then that leaves only one possible explanation."

"Which is?"

"There was something there." Washu shrugged again. "If you say it was there, and you didn't hallucinate or imagine any of it, then it must have been there."

"I wish the Commander could look at things like that." Kiyone sighed. "The problem is that the security scanners didn't pick up anything. The only person to board Yagami was me. Hence why I'm suspect number one."

"Well, if you're fair to the Commander, that's pretty compelling." Washu said thoughtfully. "And he's not a genius, so he can't see his way around the obvious. However..."

She trailed off, eying her companion keenly.

"Of course, if you'd dealt with your demons sooner, he probably wouldn't have doubted your word." She added softly. "Whatever happened aboard Yagami, you are suffering from post traumatic stress. And you are having flashbacks to Seiryo-san's attack on you...that was clear enough from our encounter when you arrived. It's little wonder that he thinks the two things are related."

"Yeah, except they're not." Kiyone said darkly. "And I was handling the other thing just fine, if you want to know. I was doing my job and that was all right. The only reason that Yagami freaked me out so badly was that something made me remember...like it had gone through my mind and pulled it out deliberately to tease me. The attack happened in the drive room of Yagami...I guess my brain saw the parallels."

"Or something made your brain see them." Washu's eyes narrowed. "Which would indicate a high level of psychic activity. High enough, perhaps, to conceal their existance from the scanner system as well. I have to admit, I'm fascinated."

"I'm glad someone's getting some pleasure out of this." Kiyone sighed.

"So how can I help you?" Washu asked. "You're off duty, aren't you? All your police equipment, Yagami, everything has been confiscated. I'm guessing you want to clear your name, but honestly, I think you could use the break to deal with the issues you do have. I believe you when you say you didn't vandalise Yagami." As Kiyone opened her mouth to protest. "But you can't pretend that Seiryo Tennan doesn't bother you, and that is something you need to handle. Perhaps a sojourn away from work will do you good."

"It's not just about clearing my name." Kiyone shook her head, frustrated. "It's about those people...the ones who were murdered. And whatever happened on Yagami - they're connected. It's like whatever it was was looking for something. Something they thought was on my ship. I was half afraid it was me."

"That's illogical." Washu shook her head.

"Huh?" Kiyone stared. "How is it? Yagami is my ship."

"Yes, but you already said that they were there when you were." Washu shook her head. "If you're sure that this thing - whatever it was - followed you from the stranded ship, and that for whatever reason it wanted to kill you, it would have done it. It had the opportunity. No. If it is looking for something, Kiyone, it isn't looking for you. It's looking for something you have."

"Something I..." Kiyone echoed, her eyes widening in surprise. She hesitated, then fumbled in her pocket, pulling out the small black data recorder and setting it down on the desk between them. "Something like this?"

"I thought your stuff was confiscated?"

"That's blank, so it hardly matters if I still have it or not. I erased it after we returned to Headquarters...well, I had handed the file over and I didn't think it would be a good idea to tell the Commander I'd made a copy of the ship's memory using the dead woman's key pass."

"I think there's something about this ship you haven't told me, Kiyone." Washu eyed her keenly. "And it strikes me that whatever followed you aboard Yagami probably is looking for that black box, which means whatever it is you haven't told me is important."

Kiyone flushed red.

"I'm not supposed to...I mean...it's police policy." She began. Washu raised an eyebrow.

"And the police have sent you where, again?" She reminded her. Kiyone frowned.

"I know. You're right." She agreed with a weary sigh. "But if I do discuss this with you, please, don't mention it outside of these walls. I don't want to get either of us into trouble for interfering in something we shouldn't be."

"I'm intrigued, but all right." Washu nodded. "I promise. Go ahead."

"The woman I spoke to aboard the ship said that the craft was a military bug from Shitori, but actually it was a Seniwan spy ship." Kiyone said slowly. "Operating on some mission so top secret that so far noone seems to know what that mission was. But the fact they lied even to us about who they were means that it's extremely top secret. And so if people thought we were discussing it on a wide scale..."

"I see." Washu's face cleared. "Seniwa isn't a power you want to upset."

"Right." Kiyone agreed.

"But who knows you copied the ship's data drive?" Washu asked. "I mean, you said the crew of the ship - what was it called? - were all killed. Right?"

"The Tsubasa, and yes." Kiyone agreed. "All of them. There was noone with me when I duplicated the ship's files. Just the dead woman I spoke to over the intercom and believe me, she was definitely dead. Her head was cut almost clean off."

She met Washu's gaze, paling as she realised the implication of her words.

"You think that whatever killed them was there with me, don't you?" She whispered. "In the room...watching me."

"Yes." Washu agreed thoughtfully. "But I don't suppose they realised the significance of what you were copying until sometime afterwards - they must have overheard a conversation later on that led them to believe what you had acquired was important - otherwise they would have taken their chance to stop you then and there. I think that you held another purpose for them then - and so they didn't kill you. You said they boarded Yagami...I suppose that with the Tsubasa a dead ship, you were their transport."

"I reasoned that out for myself." Kiyone shivered involuntarily. "But I never imagined that the...the thing was watching me while I was in the drive room of the ship. You mean that if I'd been a few moments earlier, I might have saved that poor woman's life?"

"Maybe, but she's beyond your help now and you mustn't dwell on it." Washu said matter-of-factly. "Right now all that can be done for those people is to bring to heel whoever decided it was time to turn the lights out."

She scooped up the small black box, eying it carefully, then, "You erased the files on this before you left?"

"Yes." Kiyone sighed. "I shouldn't have done. But I didn't want to get into trouble for having Seniwan state secrets or something like that."

"I highly doubt that this involves Seniwan state secrets." Washu said acidly. "Seniwa is nowhere near Kihaku and none of the planets in that solar system have any political connections to any of the Seniwan Daimyo families. Some are independant and others belong to Jurai or Juraian holdings in some respect. No...whatever this was, I imagine it was something much bigger than Seniwan pride at stake."

"There are a lot of Seniwan officers in the Galaxy Police Elite Force." Kiyone remembered. "I suppose that might explain it. But it was a Seniwan ship, Washu. Mihoshi said as much - she said her father had one once, and he used to work for the Elite Force, before he retired."

"Mihoshi?" Washu looked startled. "I didn't realise she was Seniwan."

"Yes." Kiyone nodded. "Her people are fairly wealthy, actually. The Kuramitsu family have a lot of influence on Seniwa."

"That does explain why Mihoshi is so far advanced in the Galaxy Police, poor girl." Washu reflected. "She does try, but she really isn't cut out for it all."

"Yeah, I know." Kiyone pursed her lips. "But she does take it very seriously."

"So Mihoshi is a Daimyo's daughter? Is that right?"

"Something like that." Kiyone nodded. "I've only visited their estate and met her family a few times, but they have a lot of land. You wouldn't know it from Mihoshi - she's the most indiscriminate person in the galaxy when it comes to making friends - but yes, I think they're one of the big families on Seniwa. That was my impression, anyway - and they have a long tradition in the Galaxy Police. Her Father wasn't the first one to be enrolled there. Her brother attended the Academy also, but wound up doing some kind of missionary work somewhere and many of her ancestors have been involved somewhere along the line. It's why I took her seriously, when she mentioned the ship."

"Yes, I imagine she would know something like that." Washu rubbed her chin. "Well, then there's only one thing to be done, isn't there? I mean, if you really think something dark and nasty is out there that might cause a threat to innocent people."

"I don't think it, I know it." Kiyone said flatly. "And what do you mean, one thing?"

Washu tapped the black box.

"I have to retrieve the files from this and see if we can crack them." She said simply.

"But I wiped them!"

"Computers don't actually erase file data, though." Washu said with a careless shrug. "When you hit the delete button, the machine just re-assigns the space to be re-used at a later date. And since you've taken no cases since this happened, I imagine you haven't re-used your data recorder since that visit to the Tsubasa. Am I right?"

"Yes." Kiyone looked startled. "You mean it is all on there still, after all?"

"I imagine so." Washu sent her an impish smile, getting to her feet and walking across the chamber towards a whirring, clicking computer system in the far corner. Pressing the box into one of the adapters, she keyed in a sequence of numbers and immediately a list of files flashed up on the screen. Kiyone came to stand beside her friend, gazing at them in clear amazement.

"They are still there!"

"I told you they would be." Washu nodded. "Opening them, though...that might be more difficult. Look."

She hit another few keys, and an access denied screen popped up. Frowning, Washu typed in a long sequence of numbers and the Access Denied screen faded and exploded into fragments, revealing the front page of a document. Kiyone squinted at it, shaking her head.

"What on earth?"

"That isn't what you found aboard the ship, huh?"

"I only got as far as a main computer database page. A list of files, nothing else." Kiyone shook her head. "What is that? Is it in some weird language...or what?"

"Encrypted. In a big way." Washu shook her head. "Someone doesn't want just anyone reading the information that's sealed inside."

"Can you crack it?"

"Maybe." Washu bit her lip. "But I suspect it will take me some time. I speak a lot of languages, Kiyone, but tracking down which one this belongs to might take some time. I would have to construct a computer program to unlock the text and it might take a while for me to do it. At a glance it doesn't look like Seniwan - but I can't be totally sure."

"How long is a while?" Kiyone glanced at her apprehensively, and Washu shrugged.

"One, maybe two weeks." She admitted. "I've never seen encryption like this before and I'm as much at a loss as you are."

"Two weeks?" Kiyone's eyes widened. "But if I'm right - if we're right about this thing, other people could be hurt. Mihoshi could be hurt!"

"Yes, I agree." Washu drummed her fingers absently on the desk. "But that's the best I can offer. Aside from the fact I'm here to help my sister and that is still foremost in my mind, I really haven't anything with me that might unlock the code quicker. I didn't think I would need it - and while I've hacked through Galaxy Police and Science Academy files before, this doesn't look like the same kind of encoding at all."

"So what do you suggest we do?" Kiyone asked helplessly. Washu sent her a thoughtful glance, then,

"I have one idea." She admitted. "Which you won't like, but which might be a quicker solution to the problem."

"Go on." Kiyone's eyes narrowed. "What idea?"

"There is an Elite Forces Agent here on Jurai...or at least, a former one." Washu said quietly. "Who would have undergone rigorous encryption training and who is probably extremely familiar with forms of encoding. Much more so than me."

Kiyone swallowed hard, and Washu could tell her friend had read her meaning. The Detective shook her head.

"No, Washu." She said unsteadily. "Not Seiryo Tennan. I...I can't."

"I could speak to him for you." Washu offered. "I wasn't suggesting pushing the two of you together. In truth, it might hurt him as much as you if I was to do so - he's been through a lot of things too, since Tokimi's magic was pulled out of him. But if you really want this unlocked at any speed, I think he's the one to ask. He might have resigned from the force, but you've told me yourself that he had one hell of a reputation when he was in uniform. He must know something we don't about unlocking top secret files. He might even know the encryption key that's been used here."

"But..." Kiyone bit her lip, and Washu eyed her gently.

"Kiyone, it's up to you." She said softly. "I won't make you. It was just an idea."

Kiyone's brows knitted together, and she shook her head.

"Discharged or not, protecting people is my job." She said quietly. "And if that means involving...involving him, well, okay. But I don't want to speak to him, Washu. Ask him, if you must. If it will help, we have to try every avenue of investigation we can. I won't pretend I'm happy about the idea, but I see the point in what you're saying. And well, this is my responsibility."

"Good girl." Washu offered her a smile. "I'll speak to him the first chance I get."

-------

Another morning at Headquarters.

Mihoshi glanced at her reflection in the mirror, absently brushing her hair out across her shoulders as she wondered how her partner was getting on on planet Jurai.

"I hope she's getting plenty of rest. I want her back." She murmured with a sigh, fumbling in the drawer of her cabinet for her hair-tie and sending accessories flying across her small cabin as she did so. She frowned, pulling the tie haphazardly into her thick blond curls to keep it out of her face, then dropping down onto her hands and knees as she ferretted around for the scattered odds and ends.

"What a way to start the day." She scolded herself. "This would never have happened if Kiyone was here."

"Detective Mihoshi?"

The door of the chamber swung back to reveal Mitsuki and Mihoshi started, letting out a yell as the carefully gathered accessories flew out of her hands once more. Her hairbrush glanced off Mitsuki's shoulder and the officer raised an eyebrow as Mihoshi scrambled to her feet, sending her colleague a rueful smile.

"Gee, I'm sorry, Mitsuki. You made me jump." She said contritely. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No, but I suppose there's room in this life for a few more miracles." Mitsuki said with a sigh. "Mihoshi, your knees...your uniform is covered in dust!"

"Dust?" Mihoshi glanced down at herself, exclaiming at the whiteish patches that marked her trousers. She reached down to dust it off, shrugging her shoulders.

"I didn't realise." She said unecessarily. "Is something wrong, Mitsuki? Why are you here?"

"The Commander sent me to speak to you." Mitsuki replied, in tones that clearly indicated she'd rather be cleaning the latrines. Mihoshi's blue eyes opened wide with surprise.

"To me?"

"Yes. You." Mitsuki frowned, reaching across to grab her colleague by the arm and pulling her out into the hallway, kicking Mihoshi's door shut behind her. "So come on, will you? To my office - and don't you dare touch anything when we're there, all right? I've seen what you've done to Kiyone's belongings over the years and she might put up with it, but I'm not Kiyone. So I won't. Got it?"

"But Mitsuki, what about breakfast?" Mihoshi protested. "And I haven't finished doing my hair!"

"Trust me, your hair looks the same before and after you brush it." Mitsuki snapped. "And this is more important than your stomach. Listen to me...this is about Kiyone."

"Kiyone?" Mihoshi stopped dead in her tracks, almost causing Mitsuki to fall headlong at the unexpected halt. "But why? I mean, she's not even here. She can't be in trouble for something if she isn't here!"

"She could...but that's not what I mean." Mitsuki shook her head. "It's about her office and the way it was vandalised. You seemed pretty sure that Kiyone wouldn't do something like that. The Commander wanted me to ask you if you could think of anyone who would do it. After all, you probably know Kiyone better than any of us."

"On purpose?" Mihoshi frowned. "No. I mean, I've accidentally knocked things over before, but Mitsuki, I don't think anyone here is nasty enough to want to hurt Kiyone's stuff. And I mean, well, Kiyone doesn't exactly have enemies. She's good at her job and everyone likes her a whole lot. Why would someone attack her?"

"That doesn't make sense with what you said the other day." Mitsuki objected. "Will you get a move on? We're not going to talk about this in the corridor, where anyone can hear us!"

"Oh, sorry." Mihoshi looked sheepish, obediently falling into step with her impatient companion. "And I don't know what you mean. You asked me if I thought anyone could have done this to Kiyone's office. And I said no...noone here hates her that much."

"So in that case, who wrecked her office?" Mitsuki was fast losing patience, and Mihoshi sighed, shaking her head slowly.

"I told you. The invisible people did it." She said frankly, in tones that implied that the solution was obvious. "Like Kiyone said. That's who."

"Mihoshi, will you please return to the world of the sane and focus for a moment?" Mitsuki bristled. "There are no invisible people. All right? No invisible people! You and Kiyone went on a mission and there were dead people...fine. But there was no killer there. And there was no mysterious attacker aboard Yagami...or in Kiyone's office. Will you get that straight in your head?"

"But Kiyone said..."

"I don't care what Kiyone said!" Mitsuki exploded, causing Mihoshi to stare at her in surprise and consternation. "Kiyone's been discharged because she's suffering from mental stress and quite obviously she's having delusions, too. You shouldn't listen to her, when she says something that sounds illogical and crazy!"

"Kiyone is my friend and I believe her." Mihoshi folded her arms across her chest. "And she's a better detective than you are, so she probably knows what she's talking about, too."

"Mihoshi!" Mitsuki clenched her fists. "Right. That's it. Shut up. This is a waste of time anyway. Just get into my office and sit down, will you? We're going to go back to basics and you're going to answer my questions with yes or no, because I've had enough of your crazy theorising. If you ask me, you should have been discharged from the force a long time ago - no wonder poor Kiyone is losing her wits. Being saddled with a partner like you for the best part of the last few years is enough to drive anyone over the edge."

She swiped her pass across the lock for her door, keying in the override as with a hiss the partition slid back. She froze, letting out a gasp and as Mihoshi stepped closer, she saw what had made her companion falter. Her eyes big with alarm, she shook her head slowly, swallowing against the rising bile in her throat.

"What did you do, Mitsuki?" She whispered. Mitsuki turned an ashen face on her companion, her earlier annoyance forgotten as she shook her head.

"I didn't...they weren't..." She faltered. "Mihoshi, what is going on?"

Mihoshi's eyes darted back to the inside of the office, forcing herself to remain calm as her gaze flitted over the room's two silent occupants. In the centre of Mitsuki's perfectly neat bureau, the still forms of two of the Galaxy Police's most prestigious Elite lay on the floor, blood pooling around them. As Mitsuki stepped dazedly forward, Mihoshi could see that both men had had their throats slashed, but other wounds across their body and damage to their clothing suggested that they had put up a fight. As she looked at them, something else flitted into her brain.

"These are the men who took Kiyone to Jurai." She whispered in horror. "But what...what's happened to Kiyone?"

"Kiyone is on Jurai." Mitsuki seemed to rally herself, bending at the side of the nearest officer as she touched the cooling skin for a pulse. "The Commander has had communication with the Crown Princess Ayeka to confirm her arrival there. But you're right, Mihoshi. This is Agent Tsunetomo and Agent Hirayama. And they've been dead a while, by the looks of it. Agent Tsunetomo at the very least...his body is stone cold."

She bit her lip, her hand shaking as she repeated the pulse test on the second man. "I don't know about Hirayama-san. But most of the blood seems to have...come from him. I guess he fought harder...maybe Tsunetomo was taken by surprise and Hirayama had a little more warning. He looks more...more roughed up somehow."

"What are we going to do?" Mihoshi demanded. "There are dead people in your office, Mitsuki! Just like...just like on board the Tsubasa!"

"Yes." Mitsuki got to her feet, nodding grimly. "Just like on the Tsubasa."

"I told you there were invisible people." Mihoshi whispered. "How else could they kill people in your office and you not know about it?"

"I haven't been in here for a day or two." Mitsuki admitted. "Too busy working on Kiyone's situation. I've spent most of my time in the digital lab. But...we couldn't find...find Agent Tsunetomo then and I guess this is...is why."

She swallowed, then grabbed her companion by the arm, pulling her out of the room as she slammed the door shut behind them. Carefully she re-set the lock, then met the startled detective's gaze.

"We need to speak to the Commander." She said softly. "And Mihoshi, maybe you should tell him everything Kiyone told you about these...invisible people."