Bubblegum Crisis Post 2040 File 1: Dominant Species
Part 1: "Stripes in the Jungle"
Chapter 2: Girl Talk
by P. Kristen Enos (bgcpost2040@aol.com)
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A Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 English Dub Version Fanfic. All rights belong to AIC, ADV Films and the other creative powers that be. I just want credit for writing the story. Contains spoilers! Rated PG13. Yuri warning! Nothing in here should be a shock if you've watched the episodes and paid attention. All I'm doing is filling in the gaps with my own interpretation of events! Special thanks to egret for betaing!
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Author's Notes: Hello, All. This chapter continues with the foundation and plot building. Because I don't have to worry about TV budgeting, scheduling or demographics concerns, I can write this story at the pace which continues to amuse me and fits my storytelling style. So you fast-paced action and mecha freaks are going to be thoroughly frustrated if you aren't already!
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"So what's this big news you've been dying to tell me?" Linna asked as she tossed Nene a can of coffee drink. They had settled themselves on her living room floor of her new apartment in the midst of opened boxes and piles of packing materials.
Nene gave a sniff of feigned offense and said, "And what makes you think I've been holding back on something?!"
"Because all day you've been hinting left and right that you've got big news, so spill already!" Linna teased with an exasperated roll of her eyes.
"Well, if you insist!" her friend responded a little too quickly and energetically to be credible. "You remember my friend Daley Wong? He was Leon's partner in the A.D. Police."
Linna had to think for a moment as she came up with the face. "The good-looking dapper guy who can't fly a copter if his life depended on it?"
"Yeah, that's him!" Nene confirmed, not batting an eye at the insult. "About half a year ago, he transferred back from Osaka regular police to be a detective. He helped to create a new division they're calling Neo Tech Crimes. And he's got me a position as one of the support staff!"
"Neo Tech?" Linna repeated blankly, afraid that this would be one more concept that her country girl education wouldn't let her understand.
"Yeah, we'd catch people who commit more sophisticated technology-based crimes, like the simple stuff from corporate database raids to creating illegal high-tech weapons."
"You mean everything that Sylia does?"
Nene's face fell for a moment. Then she stated firmly, "We're out to catch people who are 'criminals' who commit 'crimes'."
Linna wisely hid her smirk behind her can and took a sip before asking, "So what do you do?"
Nene's eyes lit up again. "I get to help figure out how the criminals do the things they do and create ways to nab 'em! -- Linna, it is so cool! I started yesterday and the stuff they have in the lab is incredible! -- I mean, nowhere near as wild as Sylia's lab, but still, it's amazing the things they have! And some of it I haven't even heard of before! And the computer they gave me is to die for!"
Linna was genuinely pleased for her friend but still a little puzzled, "But why would they create such a department? It sounds like a version of the A.D. Police."
"It kinda is. I mean the staff is pretty much the same, for those people who are still around from those days. I don't know if you heard, but a few months ago, but there was a crime spree involving a gang who managed to virtually shut down the electricity in bank buildings and jewelry stores before breaking in and stealing everything. They didn't just zap the lights but all of the connected security systems as well, even shutting down the support systems of the security firms hired to protect the businesses. Because of my computer experience, Daley got me to help them with the tracing and development of the program which would counteract the shutdown commands. But by the time we were able to stop the crime spree, thirty stores throughout Tokyo had been hit in the course of just four months, with a loss of millions of yen, most of which was never recovered. I think the big brass realizes there's a need to have a division to handle the crimes that are beyond the knowledge and technology of regular cops and detectives."
"Then maybe they should resurrect K-Suits as well," Linna commented dryly.
"Don't think the NTC Division doesn't have a group of them waiting on standby."
"Then it almost sounds like we should have our hardsuits ready too," Linna said, getting the appropriate giggle in response. Then she frowned and asked, "So, Nene, do you ever miss being a Knight Saber?"
"All the time," her friend answered seriously. "I even asked Sylia once if she ever thought she would need to make hardsuits again."
Linna felt her heart skip a beat. "And her answer was…?"
"She said she would 'think about it if there was ever a time that the police proved they couldn't handle something that we could.'"
"Then if you want to be a Knight Saber bad enough, it sounds like you've got a reason to sabotage the work of your new department to make it happen."
Nene's face fell once again. She answered carefully, "Well, after hanging around Sylia's lab as much as I have the past couple of years, I wouldn't put it past her to have a stash of hardsuits somewhere in that big old mansion just in case. And even though everyone considers rogue boomers to be old news, there's concern that people can still use them for criminal activities."
"Even though they're really limited in functionality?"
"Just the same way someone can pick up a hammer and use it for a crime. Boomers are the same way. Plus, there's been news that old model boomers have been smuggled in from outside of the city for private use. It's believed that some people feel that the rogue boomer problem was confined to those created in Tokyo since the boomer revolution didn't spread to other cities. And Tokyo's the only city that's made a public stance against old gen boomers. Plus, they're not even illegal here."
Linna had to remind herself that this was true. It had been a shock to transfer to Osaka and find that boomers were still operational and well used, though probably not to the degree of matching their height of popularity in Tokyo. The news of the boomer revolution was enough to almost cause a collapse of the boomer industry, but not quite.
"Do you honestly think these models could go rogue?"
Nene shrugged, "I asked Sylia and she doesn't really say anything definitive except 'the possibility is always there.' I don't know if Galatea just left a really bad experience in her mind that she thinks it's possible even if Galatea's not around to instigate anything anymore."
"What do you think?" Linna persisted, trying to get an opinion that felt a little more knowledgeable on the matter than her own.
Nene kind of squirmed and said, "I honestly don't know. I asked Mackie what he thought and he firmly believes that with Galatea gone, the rogue risk is gone too. I guess it's something he and Sylia disagree on. And I've never asked Nigel what he thought because he probably wouldn't tell me anyway."
"Well, I like not dealing with old model boomers on a regular basis," Linna stated firmly. "After the Galatea crisis, Hugh-Geit got rid of the managerial boomers, so my job is now tolerable, even if I don't really like it."
She smirked at the thought of never having to face Manager 0352 again, and she regretted not being able to witness that thing morph into mechanical monstrosity the synthetic female-based exterior hid so well. That was one core she regretted not having the opportunity to crush personally.
"So, are you always going to be an office lady?" Nene suddenly blurted.
Linna blinked in surprise at the rather direct question. "I, uh, don't know," she admitted with a blush at the truth in the statement. "I mean I moved to Tokyo to be a Knight Saber, not an O.L. But I really don't have anything else I can do."
"You could always be a cop," Nene suggested, eyeing her critically as the idea seemed to have positive implications in her mind. "I think you'd be a good one. And you're still young enough to be accepted into the academy."
It was Linna's turn to squirm as she answered, "Let's just say I don't relish the idea of fighting something without the protection of a hard suit. Plus I've seen and heard enough through you that I don't think it would be a good career choice for me." And there would be comparisons with Leon she didn't even want to contemplate.
"If you say so..." Nene teased, indicating that she was going to let the subject drop even though her opinion was quite clear on the matter.
"By the way, have you talked to Sylia recently? I haven't really spoken to her since the beginning of the year," Linna asked, noting that it was now May.
"Oh yeah. She's moving her stuff back bit by bit. I think she's got the challenge of trying to break down her lab at her mom's mansion after transferring it from here to begin with. She should be back permanently by the end of the month. She's planning to reopen her shop by mid June. It's kind of weird because she actually seems excited about it," Nene mused. "I never understood why someone like her ran that shop to begin with. I mean, no one would have suspected her Knight Saber activities even without the storefront."
Linna smirked and said, "She once told me she had it as a hobby of sorts. It allows her an outlet where she can look but can't touch."
Now Nene was thoroughly bewildered. "Hunh?! If she's not supposed to have so many clothes, then why would she have a clothing store?"
Linna stared at the blond and contemplated what to say next. It was in these occasional moments which reaffirmed the fact that all the computer smarts in the world didn't always make up for some common sense.
Then again, to be fair to Nene, she didn't think Sylia was necessarily open about her bisexuality to the other former Knight Sabers, or anyone else for that matter. Oh sure, Sylia teased and flirted outrageously with women, but Linna didn't think most people took it as anything deeper than someone who just wanted to get a reaction for her own personal if weird amusement. Besides, the fact that Sylia was in a long term monogamous relationship with Nigel tended to put a blanket over the issue. When Linna was trying to come to terms with her own attraction to women during the Galatea crisis, Sylia offered her own kind of support by telling her about a lover she had in her school days.
On the other hand, Linna didn't think Sylia was ashamed about the fact of her orientation. Linna was starting to realize that the other woman probably had lots of secrets but would only own up to them if you could actually guess what they were, which would be nearly impossible. And to be truthful, Linna liked sharing something with her in what has become a private joke between them. In the beginning, Sylia openly teased Linna in front of everyone; now she just did it in private, or when no one else was really paying attention. Linna eventually learned how to tease back, much to Sylia's obvious pleasure.
Finally, Linna took a sip from her can and said, "I guess I must have misunderstood her. You know how bizarre she can be sometimes."
Nene nodded, for some reason suddenly flashing on the one time Sylia came close enough to kiss her and just smirked at Nene's flustered babbling that she wasn't "like that." Suddenly another question burned in Nene's mind.
"Are you dating anyone yet?" she blurted out.
It was Linna's turn to have her face fall.
"No," she answered finally. "I've tried a couple of dates with some women I met in Osaka but nothing came out of them. So I'm still looking, but I admit not actively since it's so hard to meet someone I'm attracted to, much less find interesting. Of course, if I still bomb out romantically now that I'm emotionally 'home', in the biggest city in the country, then I might as well accept the fact I'm not meant to be involved with anyone at all. It's almost enough to make me rethink my stance of 'no men'... Well, I'll give it a few more years before I goes that far. After all, that's desperation territory, and I'm only twenty-four."
"Well, I'm hardly one who can give dating advice," Nene admitted sheepishly, obviously referring to her own relationship with a sentient boomer.
"Things going well between you and Mackie?"
"Great. He's the sweetest guy. And luckily, I still don't look that much older than him. But I don't know how much longer that's going to last before people start to think I'm just a cradle-robber."
"Oh," Linna said, not realizing before how awkward it would be to have a relationship with someone who would never physically age beyond seventeen years. "Is there anything that can be done about that?"
Nene shrugged. "Well, it's only something I've started to notice. I just haven't yet figure out how to bring it up to Mackie. I mean, I definitely don't want to break up with him. But it's...well, you know..."
'No, I don't,' Linna thought, but she nodded in sympathy to her friend.
-- End Chapter 2 --
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Special Author's Note: I've decided to try an experiment by using the Private Forum feature and allow for a public discussion (with occasional input from me) on this series: update notification, discuss what's currently going on, and explore ideas for future stories. Interested? Go
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