Late morning, and with the truck transporting the sub parked on the riverbank twenty miles upstream of Mizutani in readiness for launch, it's time for Hanna and Rob to get on board.
Hanna gets in first. The lack of space combined with the unusual seating position and the bulk of her tail make the job laborious: it takes three full minutes to get herself comfortably seated and buckled in. "By the Ancients, this is tight!" she remarks once she's finally in place, her face just a few inches from the seat in front, her legs splayed wide around its base, and her arms across her abdomen. "And did you really have to secure the harness over my arms?"
"It's not like you'll be able to use them for anything anyway," Rob reminds.
"Shuō dé hǎo," Hanna admits.
Rob's climb into the pilot's seat is a much simpler affair, but it's still awkward to fold himself into place under the control column and dashboard. Hideyoshi then secures the canopy in place, and starts counting down from five via hand signals.
"Brace yourself," Rob instructs when the count reaches three.
"How?" Hanna asks.
"Good point," Rob admits. "Just be ready."
The count hits zero.
The submarine slides down the ramp and into the water. Once it's floated a few feet from the bank, Rob starts the engine and sets course downstream, submersing as they accelerate.
"You OK back there?" Rob asks.
"I can't move, I can't see where we're going, and my tail's being pressed so flat, it'll look like a beaver's," Hanna replies, doing her best to relax. "Other than that, I'm fine."
"Don't worry, I'll get us there as fast as I can," Rob promises, stroking Hanna's right shin in assurance.
"I know," Hanna acknowledges, Rob's caress helping her relax. "Oh, and F.Y.I., if you fart, I'm divorcing you," she adds, her cheeky smile hidden from Rob.
"Noted," Rob chuckles as he accelerates to top speed.
An hour later, the submarine crosses the border of Mizutani. Rob slows down to half speed and descends as low as he can to avoid detection.
"Why are you slowing down?" Hanna asks, the restrictiveness of her position starting to cause her noticeable discomfort.
"To minimise our noise signature," Rob explains. "I don't want to have to get out of this in an emergency."
"I'm starting to get paraesthesia," Hanna informs.
"Flex your muscles rhythmically," Rob instructs.
Hanna takes Rob's advice, and after a couple of minutes, the prickling sensations are gone. "Ah, that's better," she sighs in relief, settling down again.
As Rob pilots the sub deeper into the city, Hanna's ears start twitching. "I can hear the battle," she announces. "Most the forces are south of the river, and getting closer."
"You're my radar," Rob decides. "Let me know if you hear anything I need to know about."
Just two miles from their destination, Hanna hears something worrying. "Bombers! They're hitting the river!"
"Shit!" Rob exclaims. "Things are gonna get rough!"
Seconds later, a bomb hits the river directly above the sub, exploding on impact. The shockwave from the blast knocks the sub off course, grazing the riverbed as Rob fights to correct. Just as he gets back on course, another bomb hits the river, the shockwave buffeting the sub badly.
"Hold on to something!" Rob commands, opening the throttle.
"How?" Hanna asks.
"Oh, right…"
Rob accelerates hard, his eyes wide as he looks for the tell‑tale shadows of falling bombs. On several occasions, bombs land close enough to buffet the craft badly. Rob's constant fighting to keep the sub on track is at best semi‑successful, and the sub's hull starts taking substantial damage.
Eventually, Rob spots the canal leading to the moat. He slews the sub hard and pushes it to top speed, making it into the canal just before a bomb lands on the north bank, collapsing the sides and blocking the entrance. Soon, the sub reaches the moat. Rob turns hard again, desperately looking for an entrance into the dojo. A couple of minutes later, he spots the hidden dock. Maintaining speed, he turns hard once more, and powers into the dock.
"Uh‑oh," Rob utters as he realises something.
"What?" Hanna asks.
"We have no brakes!"
Hanna closes her eyes and steels herself for impact. This is gonna hurt…
Rob kills the engine and tries to shave off as much speed as possible, but it's too late: the sub hits the boat ramp at sixteen miles per hour, launches off the top, and crash‑lands in a stack of wooden crates, sliding to a halt half‑buried in splintered wood.
"And you complain about my driving," Hanna winces, dizzy from the crash but otherwise unhurt.
"I was trying to not be dead," Rob grimaces in reply.
"By nearly killing us?"
"Sorry."
Suddenly, a snarling steel blue wolf lands on the canopy, raises a tonfa to strike… then recognises his friends. Holstering his tonfa, Xander steps to one side, clears the debris, and opens the canopy. "Sorry for the scare," he greets. "Hope you enjoyed your honeymoon. Need a hand?"
Twenty minutes later, Xander returns to the command centre with Hanna and Rob, the vixen still trying to restore the fluffiness to her crushed tail. "Found a couple of low‑lifes mincing around the docks," the wolf announces.
Chika looks up from the map table. At the sight of Hanna and Rob, she can't help herself: she sprints to the newlyweds and hugs them both tightly. "I'm so glad you're here!" she cries in relief.
"You have Hideyoshi to thank," Rob informs. "What's the situation?"
"…and that's pretty much the current state of play," Chika finishes. "Even our best estimates only have us holding out another two days. And that's only if no‑one gets into the dojo and hits our generators."
Rob continues to analyse the map for a few moments. "There's no easy way to say this, but you're right: this is a battle Mizutani is destined to lose."
"Our only hope is to show the other senators the evidence we found," Hanna adds.
"That won't work," Senator Akiko Saito informs. "They'll assume whatever evidence you have is fabricated, and part of Mizu‑dojo's conspiracy."
"Because we're Red Scarves?" Hanna asks.
"Exactly," Akiko confirms.
Hanna removes her scarf, bundles it up, and hides it under her top. "There: they'll never know."
"Thanks for trying, but I'm afraid that won't work," Akiko reveals. "All five of us already know who you are, and that you're an active Scarf."
"Crap." Hanna retrieves her scarf and puts it back on. "Well, I'm out of ideas."
"I'm afraid there's only one realistic option," Rob informs the group. "We need to get Xander, Chika, and the senator out of Mizutani and into Yamakasai before it's too late."
"I'm not leaving my city to fall without me," Akiko asserts.
"And I'm certainly not leaving my dojo to be overrun by Tsubaki and Kaede," Chika growls.
"The sooner we get you out, the easier it will be to keep you safe," Rob explains.
"I'm not leaving," Akiko re‑asserts.
"Nor me," Chika states defiantly.
Rob looks to Hanna for assistance.
"Don't know why you're looking at me," Hanna replies to Rob's silent request. "I can't think of a better way to die than fighting to your last."
"I'm afraid I have to side with Chika on this one," Xander adds.
Rob looks around the group to see naught but faces determined to stay to the bitter end. "I won't pretend to understand, but it's clear what you all want to do. Just remember, the longer we stay here, the harder it will be to get out alive."
"Acknowledged," Chika replies. "Now let's focus on defending the dojo as long as poss‑"
The lights go out as power to the dojo fails.
"That's not good," Hanna comments redundantly.
A few moments later, the lights reignite as the backup generators engage.
"At least the backups work," Chika sighs in relief. "Now, back to‑"
The lights go out again, leaving only emergency lighting.
"Ah," Chika comments flatly.
"I've lost all communication with the field," the general reveals. "We're on our own."
For several moments, all six remain silent.
"Who wants to hunt a tanuki and a pika?" Hanna asks.
"I'm in," Chika agrees.
"We should escape while we can," Xander suggests.
"No," Chika refuses in a tone that will brook no argument.
"Then I'm in on the hunt," Xander decides.
"For the record, I really don't approve of this," Rob states.
"In that case, you get Akiko out of here," Hanna suggests. "And before you start, don't worry about me: I'll make it out, one way or another."
"What about Xander and Chika?" Rob asks.
"I'll get us both out," Xander promises.
Rob sighs in resignation. "OK. Akiko, with me."
Hanna watches as Rob departs for the dock, Akiko right behind him. Ancients, make sure he gets out safely.