Chapter 6 – Captain Jun, Captive Fressange

Author's Note: Legal stuff: Nadesico, its plot, and its characters are property of Xebec and I am in no way affiliated with them. This is my first attempt at fanfic so any feedback, even on mechanical and writing issues is appreciated. Please ask permission before distributing.

Update from the author: After a busy schedule and some writer's block I am finally updating this story. Thanks for all the feedback I have gotten. For those who asked, yes Inez will show up very soon. She was not forgotten but had been tied up for a bit (literally).


Akito awoke with a scream. His body was covered with sweat as his breath came out in a deep staccato. He felt as if he had been running for his life. The room was filled with a darkness that seemed to obscure reality itself. As he reached for his light he prayed that illumination would show him his own room back on Earth. His room above the restaurant with his pictures and Geki memorabilia. He knew this had to be a bad dream and everything would be alright, he just had to turn on the light. He held his breath and flicked the switch. A near suicidal wave of depression swept him when he realized that he was in his cabin on the Cosmos. That meant the disc really did exist. That meant he really was kidnapped by Erina Won. That meant his father's message had fallen into her hands. That mean Yurika and her father…
Akito closed his eyes and bit his tongue as the last bit of information swept over his mind again and again. Yurika and her father. Up until a few hours ago he had believed her innocence. Hell, he desperately needed her innocence to make sure that there was something in his life that was not twisted by the lies and destruction of war. However, after the battle of the sun and Admiral Shatner's message, he wasn't sure what to believe in anymore. All he could do was live from day to day. What today's task would be he was not sure but he knew that it would probably involve Erina, Suzuki, and his father's message. His father's message. He suddenly filled with a sense of purpose. If anything he must keep its contents from being abused. This one mission filled the vacuum in his heart like air from a leak. He couldn't change what happened with his parents or Yurika but maybe this last bit of good would give him some consolation. He then stared dumbly at the floor as he thought about his next move.

On the bridge of the Cosmos Erina sat in displeasure as her science officers described how the message was encrypted. It seems that some sort of code was needed to unlock its contents and no one knew what it was. They contemplated trying to decrypt it but they could not ensure the message's full integrity and could put no firm amount of time on the task. Where was Fressange when you needed her? Probably dead after that sneak Jovian attack on the ship carrying her research group to do further studies on the Martian ruins. After realizing that she wasn't helping by tying them up with repeated questions she released them to their work.
She slumped back in her chair and tried to gauge the situation. It was about 12 hours ago that they had survived the flare and powered away from the sun. In the resulting radiation interference their sensors had been inoperable so it was impossible to tell where the Excalibur and Nadesico were and their course. She decided to fly the Cosmos along one of the more intense streams of the solar wind in order to continue to possibly hide their signature from their pursuers.
She felt like she should be celebrating on the success at the first part of her mission. After all, she had the contents of probe that Dr. Tenkawa had sent off so many years ago. She also had Akito…Her face fell at this thought. "Damnit, why am I getting so remorseful now?" she thought. At first she thought her idea for Admiral Shatner to send the message to confuse Akito had been a good idea. She had told herself it would drive him closer to her so she could accomplish her objectives. Why the guilt then?
After soul searching she felt that she empathized with Akito. How his heart must have been torn in two from the "revelation". How the beautiful life he had been carefully building was falling apart like a house of cards. And how she was the catalyst for it all. After all, she knew what love was like.
She had been its victim before. Few people cared about her history, and even fewer ever asked. If they had they would wonder why a top graduate of Kyoto University would have contented herself with only a secretary's job. She had been the highest graduate in the economics department receiving a bachelors and masters degree in four years. Here she had also found her first love. He was a graduate from the economics program as well. While she had decided to enter the UEF in order to better help the war effort coordinate its economic necessities and supply chains, he had been offered a cushy position at the global central bank's Monetary Policy division.
They both planned to move to Geneva where their jobs were located. Though there was no formal engagement, he assured her that marriage was in their future. Her only worries were the fact that he was from a prominent space shipping family. While she wasn't exactly poor, her middle class social status was the constant disdain of his parents. She can never forget the interrogation at his house about how she could know nothing about being married to a man of high class and stature like their son. But through it all he defended her and seemed impervious to their remarks.
Everything seemed to have fallen in place. Then their lives, like everyone else's, were shattered once the war hit. Grasshoppers preying on the trade routes began to decimate the space trade and his family's business. Their only hope was to shift into war production materials. However, this sector was already well-entrenched and fiercely competitive. In order to help his family cope he resigned from his position in Geneva and returned to Japan. They visited each other often and kept correspondence. Then, suddenly the letters and email from him became fewer and fewer. She consoled herself saying he was busy but she could not knock a nervous feeling. One month she received no reply. After that the replies became bland and formulaic, deprived on any emotional content. Every time she offered to hop on the jet to see him he always had an excuse or was on a business trip. Only the stress of her job kept her from hunting him down and finding what was wrong. After three months she couldn't take it any longer and left for Japan.
She took a taxi straight from the airport to his home. Frantically ringing the doorbell she was answered by an attractive young woman wearing a kimono. The young woman looked at her strangely and asked why she was so frantic. Erina said she needed to see him. The lady replied puzzled, "I'm sorry, my husband is off at work now. You could leave a message though and I'm sure…"
Erina didn't hear the rest of it. The endlessly resonating word "husband" drove out any other sense or thought. Dumbfounded she walked away without a word. Like a woman in a daze she went to a bar where she hoped to drown away her sorrows. Before she was drunk though she met an old friend from college who had been close to them both. She explained that his parents had pressured him into marrying the daughter of a high-ranking UEF official both for reasons of prestige and in order to secure a munitions and troop transport contract that would ensure the survival of the family business. Erina returned to Geneva shocked and broken.
The next week at her job she was going through logistics reports when she realized that her department from now on would be mostly handling the supply and orders of products from her former lover's company. She asked to be transferred. Her request was denied. The next day she resigned. She had made preparations to return home with no plans in hand for her future when one of her supervisors called. Sympathetic to her situation he had arranged for her to get a job interview as a secretary with Nergal Heavy Industries. Without other options, she took up his offer and went to the interview. Despite her distraught feelings, she impressed the interviewer well enough to be hired. Her interviewer had been no other than Akatsuki Nagare. Perhaps she had hidden it all. Knowing Akatsuki's penetrating gaze though perhaps he had felt sorrow for her or felt she would be easy to control.
The job started regularly and she impressed him with both her competence and strategic insight. One day, he brought her in for a private briefing. "Erina, there are many secrets at Nergal. We can very rarely trust others with them but I think you have earned my confidence. You may think the future of Nergal lies with battleships or mass producing defense satellites. You're wrong. The future of Nergal lies with a powerful but relatively unknown technology called boson jumping…" And so it began. Overnight Erina had risen to a position of power beyond her wildest dreams. Having nothing else to strive for she strove for more power and more until it became almost an end in itself.
She kept telling herself that she was doing this for her own success but deep down she knew there was another reason. A voice, somewhere deep inside her psyche, kept saying that one day if she became rich enough, powerful enough, and respected enough one day she could prove to her old love and his family how wrong they were and just maybe, he could find a way to love her again….
But how could anyone love her now and what she had become? She had wreaked the same hell on Akito and Yurika now that she had gone through. Despite her suffering, whatever moral high ground she once had she had just flushed down the toilet. Maybe she couldn't stand to see them happy while she was just miserable? Maybe Yurika reminded her too much of the young wife she had met at his doorstep.
She was jolted from her contemplations by the arrival of Suzuki Miaka. "Haven't you gotten any rest captain? You can't continue to operate like this, sir." Erina nodded and agreed. "I plan to go to bed now. I just had to wait for the report to come back from the data we retrieved." "And the answer is captain?" Suzuki inquired. "As of now indecipherable," Erina finished. "You have the bridge. I'll be back in six hours," Erina said as she got up to leave. "Sir, did we have to use the message from Admiral Shatner? Tenkawa seemed extremely distraught and removed when he disembarked from his Aesti? I know I shouldn't care but…" Erina looked down. "We all have regrets and I understand your sentiments. Carry on." Suzuki nodded and saluted her.

Back on the Nadesico a wearied crew sat and contemplated the latest turn of events. After about two hours of repairs the Nadesico had been able to leave the close solar orbit. The sensors were worthless at this range so Jun had ordered Ruri to make out a course that could take them slightly above most of the solar radiation and allow them to scan for the Cosmos and Excalibur. He then started issuing commands, "Minato, let me know how fast we can move with our damages so we can plan our pursuit. Megumi, make sure communications are properly encrypted to prevent any Nergal or UEF reading, Ryoko, Izumi, Hikaru…" Jun stopped giving orders when he realized no one was listening or cared. Everyone was so steeped in misery that they did not pay attention or care to acknowledge his existence. Jun was sad too, but he was getting aggravated by this disrespect. "LISTEN! This is your captain speaking…" he was cut off by Ryoko sarcasm. "What's your problem Aoi? That time of month again? You are the first officer, OK. Our captain is enduring a nervous breakdown and right now I can't blame her. The last thing I need to hear is your mouth blathering orders that we know are futile." Jun was struck by the viciousness of her diatribe. In order to hide his own blushing and cool down he rapidly left the bridge.
Walking along the corridor he tried to keep himself from being enraged. "Why don't they respect me! Can't they see that acting helpless will not improve this situation?" Jun was surprised at this own determination. Why was he so determined to win this? The answer hit him on the head like an anvil. "I hate seeing Yurika sad and I feel rescuing Akito would help her," he thought. He felt like a bit of an idiot. Still loving her even after it was a forgone conclusion she would be marrying Akito. What kind of loser was he? Thinking of Yurika, he wondered how she was faring. He stopped his wandering and headed towards her quarters.
Admiral Misumaru sighed as he held his daughter in his arms. She had cried and cried after they had come here, then they had both fallen asleep. Now she was awake again. Her eyes were dry of tears and she just lay in his arms shivering as her sobs continued. He held her with the warm, paternal concern any father would hold for his daughter. Ever since her mother had died in the great Martian Plague she had been all he had. He had raised her to be strong, both in mind and body. Yet still there were things that caused her to completely break down and lose all composure. Love was one of these things. He remembered the roller coaster she had gone through in high school with her first boyfriend. So many tear fests and shouting matches. Later he learned she had never even kissed the boy! When she went to the Academy he thought she had matured and changed for the better. Then Tenkawa, who he was certain had been killed, resurfaced.
His thoughts were jolted by her voice. "Father, why does it have to be this way? Why can't we just be a normal couple, not dealing with all of this ?" He shook his head. "If I had any idea being a captain would do this to you, I would have persuaded you from the service. I don't know what Akito is thinking now, but I'm sure it is of you." She sniffled and then raised her head and looked at him. "Father, I believe you now. You really weren't involved were you?" He rubbed her back. "Thank you for believing me. I still feel guilty until this day for not doing anything." Just then the doorbell rang. Yurika invited the visitor to come in and the door opened revealing Jun. Yurika smiled, "Come in Jun." Jun hesitated saying, "If I'm disturbing anything I can come back later." Admiral Misumaru replied, "Just give us one more minute." Jun nodded and closed the door.
The admiral turned to his daughter. "Yurika, many people are out to get me in order to hide their own venal past. If I'm ever in trouble, don't worry about me. Get Akito first." He got up to leave. He then turned around and said, "One more thing. If I don't make it back and Akito asks for your hand, the answer is yes. Have my brother give you up at the wedding." Yurika smiled and said a thank you. The admiral left the room and turned to Jun, "Thank you for coming, please help cheer her up." Jun nodded and walked in.

He walked in to see Yurika staring blankly at the floor, her brief smile now replaced with anguished contemplation. Jun sat down next to her at put his arm around her. He instantly became guilty at the heightened feeling that accompanied this action. "She's already taken. You are her friend and you respect that," he reminded himself. "Yurika," he said looking at her. She raised her head and stared at him with an unchanged expression. Jun had thought out his words in the brief minute he had waited outside. First, he needed to restore her confidence in herself and her relationship.

"Yurika. It's clear to me that what we saw on the transmission from the UEF was a cheap ploy. I bet Erina is using Akito's suspicion of you and your father from the disc as leverage to try to separate you and gain control of the situation. You should not feel that what Akito said there was informed or even final. I'm sure he is regretting his choice of words as we speak. Once the truth comes out everything will be fine," he finished.

"But why does the truth always seem to evade us? Every time we seem to get closer we seem to just realize how much more ignorant we really are. How can Akito know the truth while he's held captive. I'm sure he's hating me right now, wishing we'd never met again, wishing he'd never heard of the Nadesico…" Yurika stopped and began sobbing again.

"Yurika, think about it. What just happened was normal. You two had a fight. Did you think your relationship could always stay a happy-happy utopia? The fact that he was so vehement only means how much he cares about you. If only he was here you could reconcile this easily. You've got to stop these knee-jerk reactions. Your mood swings when Akito is around sometimes make me wonder if you're manic-depressive. But hey, maybe everyone on this ship is a bit loopy." Yurika chuckled a bit at that comment. Her brow instantly furrowed again though as she continued to contemplate.

"Maybe you're right Jun, but I still can't forgive myself for nearly getting us all killed out there. If I were still officially enlisted I would submit my resignation immediately," she finished.

Jun sighed. "Yes, your actions earlier were rash and irrational. Much as to be expected from someone under the stress you are in. I think you should have heeded the warnings you were given about how emotionally explosive this mission would be for you. But I am understanding. You need to stay here and get some rest. I'll take command for the time being." He held her close. "Just think of all the great things you and Akito will do once you're together again." The thought helped evaporate her sadness like water on a hot summer day. Jun released her and got up to leave. Yurika grabbed his hand though and said, "Thank you Jun. Everyone should have a friend like you." Jun smiled as he clenched his fist to resist the urge to break something after hearing that "friend" word again. Then he realized that's the best he could hope for in their relationship. He relaxed, nodded, and walked out.

As Jun walked down the hall he realized that for the first time he was really in charge. The buck stopped with him. He had hoped that his ascension to his own command would not be a battlefield promotion but that's what this was. As he headed back to the bridge he stopped himself. "Why bother? They aren't going to listen to me anyway." Jun slumped against the wall in helplessness. He really was pathetic wasn't he? He lost the girl of his dreams and no one would listen to him. Even if Akito was captain then he would get the respect of Yurika, Megumi, and Ruri and the rest would listen.
Then the idea struck him. He went to his office and immediately pulled up his console. He set a meeting to start in the next half-hour an invited two people he thought he could trust to help him. Thirty minutes later, Hoshino Ruri and Uribitake Seiya walked in answering his summons.
Jun invited them to take a seat, which they did looking at him with inquisitive expressions. "I know you are wondering why I invited you here. Don't worry this meeting will be quick and you can be on your way. As you know Captain Misumaru was relieved of duty during our recent battle in the sun's corona region. We have both decided that she will remain out of duty for an indefinite period of time." Both Seiya and Ruri frowned, digesting the new situation.
"Therefore, you are in command," Seiya said matter-of-factly. "Yes," Jun replied. "But I need your help in order to do my job. I realize that I have not always had the most…forceful of personalities." Seiya snickered at this comment. Even Ruri had to smile, as miniscule a smile it was. "Therefore it will be difficult for the crew to respect me and without their respect it will be difficult to command. What I need you to do, despite how you may feel personally about me, is to be my advocates. I you follow my orders and respect my authority I think the rest of the crew will follow suit. I wish I could offer you something in return but all I can say is that I am as interested in rescuing Akito and returning home alive as anyone."
Seiya and Ruri looked at each other. Seiya then smiled and saluted. "Understood Captain," he said. Ruri gave her own silent salute. "Thank you. You are dismissed," Jun said smiling. Hopefully now things could get back on track after such a harsh derailment.

+++++++++++++++

Jovian Jump Research Facility, Europa

Kusakabe felt like falling asleep. These technical lectures were always the pits. The only thing that kept him awake was watching the slender figure of the lady talking and pointing in front of him. He admired her body and silently cursed the fact that she was too rational and unsociable to even consider an affair.

"As you see we have figured out the main obstacle to organic boson jumping," Inez continued. "The problem with Earth-based life forms is that they are all composed of proteins which use left-handed amino acids. As you know many molecules can have mirror images of themselves. We call these enantiomers…"

Kusakabe wasn't sure how much longer he could take this crap. She always had to throw some big word in. He was sure that deep down she was mocking him. Isn't that what all scientists did? Throw out big words for simple concepts and congratulate themselves on their understanding?

Inez continued, unaware or uncaring of her audience's boredom. "By the addition of several chemical compounds using methyl groups…"

Kusakabe had had it. "Get to the point Inez. You know that we don't have all day here."

Inez wanted to respond that this was the point but she though exposing Kusakabe's lack of scientific knowledge would be unwise. "In summary, the alien nanomachines on Mars altered the DNA of their recipients so that they produced special proteins which under boson jumping could switch their parity, the technical term for handedness, to accommodate a boson jump."

"But if the ancient aliens had this problem why all the DNA manipulation? Couldn't they just alter the boson computer to compensate?" "Kusakabe asked. "Let her answer this one," he thought.

Inez replied in her typical matter-of-fact manner. "I have considered this question in depth myself," she said. "In physics we know that parity, or handedness is not a conserved quantity. However, the computer still could probably introduce corrections for this effect. My conclusion is the race that built the boson jump technology was not composed of any organic chemistry we know and was not restricted to left-handed amino acids like Earth life-forms."

"So they really were Martians?" Kusakabe retorted.

Inez shrugged and continued. "The microbes we know to be native to Mars have a similar restriction to Earth microbes, left-handed amino acids. In fact they are similar to a class of organisms called Archaebacteria. Considering the evidence, many technical structures from this civilization have been found around Mars and Jupiter but do you know what is strange? Such a thriving and advanced civilization should have remains of thriving residential areas. So far these have been few and far between. I conclude that these aliens are not native to Mars or Jupiter, and perhaps not even our solar system. What we have found may just be a small colony or industrial center at the edge of a larger civilization."

"Oh great. Then they could be out there somewhere still?" Kusakabe noted.

"Who knows? They have not come back to visit. I don't remember enough from my childhood jump to their time to remember what they were or what may have happened to them."

"Thank you, Dr. Fressange. You are dismissed." Inez left without a word. Kusakabe knew that despite his displeasure at these briefings capturing Inez and her researchers had been a boon to Jovian jump research.

If the current progress continued they would soon be able to develop gene therapy drugs to alter normal humans to undergo boson jumps. Or perhaps even better, alter the boson computer itself if they could find it.

Kusakabe left the briefing room, saluted the guards on the outside, and began to walk back towards the turbo lift that would take him to his office. As he rode up to his office on the highest floor he also reflected on the current state of the war. Things were going badly. The front was nearer to Jupiter than at any time in the conflict. Now people were dying, not mechanical robots, so public sentiment was as agitated as ever to find peace. Even knocking their leaders off hadn't completely destroyed this sentiment. The propaganda films broadcast on Jovian TV between Gekigangar episodes continually reminded the public of their eminent victory. How the UEF could not keep up a sustained war with such long supply routes, how UEF morale was supposedly sapped dry (actually it was higher than it had been in months), how justice would always prevail.
The truth was though if this research didn't pan out within a year the Jovians would have to sue for a stalemate or worse...defeat. Kusakabe dreaded the prospect of another diaspora. Where to this time? Pluto? They would still be found and hunted down. That's why Earth must be subdued at any and all costs.
When he arrived at his office one of his lieutenants was waiting outside. He was clearly agitated. "Come in and sit down," Kusakabe invited him. The lieutenant sat down and began to explain his presence. "Sir, yesterday one of our secret probes in the inner solar system picked up a flurry of distressing intelligence data." Kusakabe nodded. Those probes that masqueraded as drifting asteroids were certainly paying for themselves.

"Decoded UEF communications indicate that the Nadesico and Cosmos are once more in service and a new Nergal ship, christened the Excalibur has joined them."

"Are they heading towards Jupiter? This is the last thing we need," Kusakabe stated dryly.

"No sir, that is the strange thing. All three headed directly to the inner solar system. The sun to be exact. They disappeared in electronic noise after they entered the corona but energy emission readings indicate that there was a firefight."

"So the UEF is fighting itself now? This division could be the wedge we need to halt their advance. Do you have any details?"

"Only a few. We believe the Nadesico is still being piloted by Misumaru Yurika. The Cosmos is being headed by Erina Won and the Excalibur we have no reliable information on who is captain. However, it is likely that it is Chairman Akatsuki."

"If the Nadesico is back in service the boson computer may still be on board. What would they profit from bringing that thing back?"

"We do not know sir, however, we have sent a group of probes after all three ships to track their progress. We will let you know more when it becomes available. And also, there is one additional piece of news," he said haltingly.

"Oh?" Kusakabe said raising his eyebrow.

"Yes, it seems the Earth media is abuzz about a disc found on Mars from the parents of Tenkawa Akito. They were well-respected boson jump researchers. It seems that his parents died at the hand of UEF agents, in particular Admiral Misumaru, Yurika's father. However, analysis of the content reveals some subtle discontinuities that may mean it is heavily edited. The full disc may contain more information."

"Really? So this information comes out accompanied by a dash to the sun and a battle between the top ships of the UEF navy? This is definitely not coincidence though it is a strange set of occurrences. I know this is a near impossible request. Get me that disc and I will get you a promotion," Kusakabe finished.

"Yes, sir!" the lieutenant said snapping to attention.

++++++++++++++++

Jun returned to the bridge. It's time to test out his scheme. "OK, everyone I'm back and I will be captain for the foreseeable future. Our first order of business is to find the Cosmos. Any suggestions are welcome. But first, Minato, lay out a course to rise us up into a less turbulent area of the solar wind. Ruri, I want to you to run a scan of gravitational disturbances produced by a ship with a phase transition engine. Megumi, monitor all UEF traffic for any future communications by Erina with the UEF or Nergal on Earth." He then turned on the communicator. "Seiya, we need all Aestevalis's to be repaired and ready ASAP. Two hours max." Minato looked up at him, seemingly oblivious to half he had said. Megumi briefly stopped filing her nails. Then started up again. Finally, breaking the silence Ruri replied. "I understand Captain. I will begin the scan now. Omoikane will weed through the disturbance for us." Ruri then turned around and saluted. "Thank you for bringing us back on track, Captain Jun." Soon there after the view screen came on with Seiya giving a similar acknowledgement of his orders and respect for his authority.
First, everyone was shocked. Someone was actually listening to Jun? But then, whether it was through duty or a desire not to be singled out as the recalcitrant one, everyone nodded and complied with his orders. Jun sighed in relief. Well, one battle won there. Now we just need to find the Cosmos.
Thirty minutes later his wish seemed to be answered. "Captain, picking up a gravitational disturbance ahead. It is consistent in size and fluctuation of an ND class ship with a PT engine." Jun jumped. "Is it the Cosmos or Excalibur?" he asked. "We cannot tell at this distance sir."
"Fine, move us in close. Seiya! How many Aestevalis units are ready?" Seiya came up on the screen. "We could send Ryoko out but the other two are still at least an hour away from being ready." "Fine, Ruri keep us at a distance that will allow a closer scan but prohibit them from using their Aestevalis units against us." Ruri complied.
As they moved closer the other ship seemed to be ignorant to their presence. "Either dumb or faking it," Jun thought. No need to take unnecessary risks though.
"Captain," said Ruri again. "Analyzing the heat output from the ship, the ultra-efficiency of the engines would suggest it is the Excalibur, not the Cosmos." Jun frowned. He was doubtful they could win a fight in open space against the Excalibur. Then again, at this distance they still could run. Akito was their main goal so maybe they should slink off and look for the Cosmos. As if to answer his indecision the other ship suddenly sped up and turned about having clearly detected them. "Damn! Red Alert. Distortion fields on max prepare the gravity blast cannon." Megumi chimed in, "Sir, they seem to be hailing us. It is Captain Akatsuki.." Well, here was a chance to prevent violence. "On screen," Jun replied.
Akatsuki's pompous smile filled the view screen. At first he looked confused and then laughed in surprise. "Jun Aoi, so you are in command now? Where is the beautiful Miss Misumaru? Her nerves being worn thing worrying about her AKITO!?" he said in a clear parody of Yurika's high pitched call of her lover's name. "She's resting thank you very much. I see you're still spiteful of losing her as a trophy," Jun replied acrimoniously. A big roar of "OOOOH!" came from the crew of the Excalibur. Someone yelled, "Busted!" as well. A quick look in their direction by Akatsuki silenced the hecklers.
He turned again to the screen retaining his cool demeanor. "I have contacted you to ask you to stop this silly game before I blow your head off."

Jun laughed, "You mean before we blow each other's heads off."

"Whatever. I come to offer you a cease-fire agreement of sorts. We chase down the Cosmos together and disable and capture it. You can have Tenkawa Akito back and I will deal with Erina personally," he said with an evil grin coming on his face.

"And the object, whatever it is, that Akito retrieved from the solar probe?"

"I am willing to allow us to analyze the contents jointly though any patents or resources derived from it will be the property of Nergal Heavy Industries."

"I know. I know. The almighty TerraDollar before everything right?" Jun said still not hiding his disdain.

"Be honest Jun. Neither you nor anyone on your crew wants anything from this message. You would be just as happy if it did not exist. Only for Tenkawa Akito are you really flying this mission. Be happy with this settlement and achieve your objective."

Jun knew Akatsuki was going to betray them sooner or later. Right now though we would be better as a collaborator (definitely not a friend) than an adversary. "Very well, we will accept these terms. Power down your shields and weapons and fly tandem with us. Any act of provocation or any failure to share information relevant to our quest will be grounds for immediate dissolution of this agreement."
"Agreed," Akatsuki replied. "Tell us how you found us and perhaps we can utilize a similar method to find the Cosmos." Ruri looked at Jun warily but he nodded and told her to send him the relevant information. "Now you Akatsuki. Send us everything you know about this disc, the last research of the Tenkawas, and the upgraded Cosmos's capabilities." Akatsuki frowned but relented advising his science officer to send the info.

"I'll be in the ready room to review the information. Ruri please come with me. If anything happens call us immediately," Jun said. Minato and Megumi nodded and the two walked off the bridge.