Back Home – The Dual War
by Warringer
Chapter 36 (Partly written by BrainCaster over at the Maximum Addventure)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The Ferron Pulser was a very interesting and very powerful weapon. And like its Earth brethren, there were many companies that produced these types of weapons.
Like the Tesanekal KP-31, a weapon the size and general design of the H&K XM8 carbine. It was a marvel of modern Ferron weapons technology, as it was a projectile weapon that fired ceramic darts at Mach 15 to 20, using directed gravitic fields inside the barrel. Each of the darts was 5 millimeters in diameter and 3 centimeters in length and made from one of two possible ceramics. Both of the ceramics were special the way they reacted to the gravitic fields of the weapon.
There was the AP dart, made from a special ceramic that got compressed as it was accelerated by the weapon and became twice as dense as uranium making it possible to punch its way through a good number of armors.
The HE dart was even worse the way it reacted. The ceramic mix became a violent explosive when it got compressed by the gravitic fields and even its the impact in soft objects, such a flesh or skin, made it detonate on the spot.
The KP-31 was getting its energy from a ultra compact fusion reactor, the size of a soda can build into the stock of the weapon and had enough energy reserves to operate for a week of continuous firing at its maximum of 600 rounds per minute, before the hydrogen tank needed to be changed. The weapons also had two magazines inserted into it at the same time. One with one hundred AP darts in the grip and one with one hundred HE darts in front of the grip.
It was impressive to see such a weapon in action as they were extremely silent, the ceramic projectiles making less sound than any earth bound weapon as they flew towards their targets at hypersonic speeds.
"I think you can stop now," Jack could hear a now familiar voice inside his head.
Jack just grinned like a boy who had a new toy as he leveled his two KP-31 at the next group of heavily armored Doranians and pressed the triggers of both weapons.
"But there are still some of them left," he noted.
"Well," the voice continued," you continue like this and there won't much more left."
"Isn't that the whole point, Daniel?"
Suddenly Jack was hit by several PPC blasts from the heavy armored troops, but they slammed into the shield of his Mjolnir Powered Armor.
"By the way," Daniel said with a deadpan voice," It seems that they get out of their shock. Shield down to 67 percent."
Jack turned around, letting the pulsars sweep over the Doranians troops to get the ones who fired. With a certain satisfaction he grinned as the pulsar darts slammed into and through the heavy powered armor that had survived hydras and most other weapons back in LA.
"Show of."
"Hey," Jack said as he jumped behind a large rock as his shield went down to 25 percent," What sort of AI are you? Shouldn't you be more supportive?"
Jack didn't even breath heavy as he leaned against the rock and switched the AP magazines of his pulsers.
"I can't do much more than giving you advice and some warnings from my position. I'm just along for the ride anyway."
Jack grumbled for a moment as PPC fire went by left and right of him and the rock. The shield needed a little too long to fully regenerate for him.
"Than make yourself a little useful and get some infos at the mortar crews. I need a little support here."
"I'm on it."
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Tenchi sighed and closed his eyes as he walked up to the front gate of the Masaki home/Jurian Embassy. There he nodded at the pair of Jurian Log Robots and noted that they had picked up moss.
"Azaka, Kamidake," he said.
"Tenchi-dono, it's good to see you back," Azaka said with a friendly voice.
"You have to talk with Ayeka-dono, we fear for her sanity," Kamidake added.
Tenchi sighed again and pulled his bag a little higher, his other hand instinctively reaching to the place where he had secured his PPC and the Tenchi-ken to his belt beneath his jacket. He shook his head as he noticed where his hand was going to and let his arm drop.
"I intend to talk to her. There are a few things that make he uneasy."
With heads, the logs would have nodded sagely, but as such they didn't really move.
"We can understand that, Tenchi-dono," Azaka said and the gate opened.
"Good to see you again," Tenchi said and entered the Masaki property.
He breathed in a few times as he walked towards the house his father had build but was relocated here by Ryoko and Ryo-ohki about two years ago. He stopped in front of the door for a moment before opening it and closing it behind him. He took a deep breath as he kicked off his shoes.
"I'm home," he called out.
Not even two seconds later he found himself in a bone breaking hug from Mihoshi, who began to wail at the same moment. As he slowly turned blue and fought from the next breath, he could see how Sasami and someone else came around the corner. But it wasn't Ayeka who followed Sasami.
Tenchi managed to take a deep breath, even through he was hindered by Mihoshi.
"Mihoshi, I need to breath," he said, slightly wheezing.
"I'm sorry," Mihoshi said and let go of him, only to wail a little more.
Tenchi sighed.
"Its okay, Mihoshi," he said with a slight smile.
He let go if his backpack and dropped it to the ground next to him, leaning it at the wall, just in time to catch Sasami.
"Welcome back, Tenchi," the girl welcomed him with a lesser version of Mihoshi's hug.
"Thank you, Sasami," he said with a smile and set her back down on the ground.
Than he turned around to face the unknown woman. Tenchi had a nagging feeling that hew knew this woman somehow, before it made click in his mind and his eyes narrowed. The woman looked exactly like he remembered his late mother.
"And who might you be?" he asked after a moment of looking at the woman.
The woman looked back at him. While she was hiding her emotions quite good, he could see them clearly flashing over her eyes. After another moment, she took a deep breath.
"I'm your sister, Tennyo."
Tenchi raised an eyebrow.
"I don't remember having a sister," he answered and crossed his arms.
"I..."
Before she could say much more, everyone could hear the theme of Star Trek Deep Space Nine. Tenchi sighed and reached into his jacket, pulling a cellphone from it. He opened the cellphone and put it to his ear.
"Masaki," he answered the call before his eyes narrowed." What?"
He turned away from the woman who had claimed to be his sister.
"Damnit."
He began to massage his temple as he walked into the living room before dropping down in the couch that stood there. He nodded a few times and stared over the lake.
"You one hundred percent sure?"
Again the person on the other end of the phone talked for a longer time.
"We should set up a holo-conference," he finally said." We can talk better that way."
He nodded again.
"Okay. You call me back over the holo-com."
Tencho dropped back in the couch and spread his arms, his fingers closing the cellphone. His head dropped back and he closed his eyes and breathed in deep.
"Shit," he cursed and as he opened his eyes he found the tree women looking at him.
Tenchi frowned. Here he had hoped to get some peace and quiet away from Earth Defense and now...
"The Doranians just attacked New Omelos, while the relief convoy was in system. The escort fought back and we have a good amount of losses. And it seems that the Doranians have just attacked the Narn Regime several hours ago and captured five Narn controlled systems."
He sighed again as he looked into the horrified faces of Mihoshi and Sasami, while Tennyo didn't show her emotions.
"I need to talk to the heads of the GDI."
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"They attacked the Narn! What the fuck are they trying to do, pick a fight with the entire galaxy?" asked Jack Ryan, president of the United States of America in a rather unstatesmanlike way.
"Quite possible. It matches their psychological profile. The defeat of multiple fleets and their inability to save their home-planet are seen as a sign of weakness, and now they are trying to reassure themselves of their own superiority by taking on what are – at least in their eyes – even more powerful enemies. Doranian logic."
Even on the small screen of his laptop Ryan could clearly see how Tenchi Masaki rolled his eyes. Obviously the Commodore thought that the cats we're idiots, and Ryan was inclined to agree.
"Anyway, they're playing right into our hands. I'm transmitting the rest of report about the Dilgar and Narn situations. Goodbye, and good luck with the meeting."
Ryan closed the connection and switched of his laptop. He almost dropped it when Air Force One touched the ground and decelerated rapidly. Another country and another meeting. The heads of virtually every GDI nation's government awaited him. And as always it would be boring as hell. The more things changed the more they stayed the same.
He stood up and sighed with a sense of resignation.
...or maybe...
It was... slightly unconventional, but then, Earth was currently involved in an interstellar war after having nearly been invaded by giant talking alien (though not necessarily intelligent) cats. There was nothing that wasn't unconventional about the whole thing. Yes, why not...
This time Ryan grinned.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The doors had closed with a loud WAMM, only seconds after the last photographers had left the room. It was now completely empty, except for the about twenty or so politicians sitting at a half-circle of tables around the center. After the representative of the host country had made a short (but still too long) speech, the meeting began. 3 politicians had talked for about 15 minutes each, supposedly making well-thought-out arguments about the Dilgar and Narn situation, but essentially just filling time and saying nothing in a very sophisticated way.
Then it had been Ryan's turn. He'd stood up, but hadn't wasted time walking to the small speaker's desk opposite to the half-circle of tables.
"Gentlemen," he had said, "we can sit here for the rest of this day and bore each other to death, or we can get straight to the point and get through with this meeting. We all know what happened. We all know what we're going to decide in the end, so let's do it now.
I hereby propose to offer a military alliance against the Doranians to the Narn. I also propose to offer protection to the Dilgar which is not only the right thing to do but will also, as your advisors have doubtlessly told you just as often as mine told me, provide us with access to some quite useful pieces of Dilgar technology. Anybody who agrees with this course of action, please raise you hands."
For about three seconds nothing had happened, the politician's minds struggling to process what they had just heard. Then, hesitant at first, more decidedly shortly after, no less than twenty-one hands had risen into the air. None had stayed down.
The rest had been a pure formality. Some details needed to be agreed upon, but that was a matter of minutes. Ryan still couldn't believe that he had really done it, and that it had actually worked.
"And Checkmate. That was almost too easy."
"Excuse me?"
"Aren't really paying attention, are you? Maybe that explains why I just beat you for the third time." Grushayov grinned wolfishly.
"Oh... yes, I was just thinking. New try..."
Three tables two the right, Jacques Chirac was just pulling a fast one on Tony Blair and two of his colleagues. Who would have thought the French president was so skilled at Poker. If their game continued like this, Britain might have to cede most of Cornwall to France before the day was over.
The entire table shook when German chancellor Schroeder slammed a big, respectable-looking black executive case on it. He opened the case, revealing a month's stock of beer, the bottles lying orderly alongside each other.
"My private reserve" he explained, "for longer journeys to certain coke-loving, beer-hating countries on the other side of the Atlantic."
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"... came to a decision after nearly 15 hours of continual discussion. Terra's GDI nations are going to offer military co-operation to both the Dilgar survivors and the Narn Regime, with only a few conditions that..."
zap
"... specifically mentioned the speech of US-president Jack Ryan as one of the most memorable of the meeting. "It is a shame that the meeting wasn't recorded. His speech was a little bit drawn out, but still one of the best I've ever heard." so Grushayov."
zap
"... described the atmosphere as "very relaxed and productive". Slightly puzzling was only Tony Blair's remark about "cheating at Poker"."
zap