:: Author's Note ::
Disclaimer: I don't own "Inu-Yasha" or any of the related characters, but if I did, they would be picketing Cartoon Network right now. I can't believe "Inu-Yasha" was *re~esta~arted.* To~
My knowledge about military status is more or less non-existent; bear with me here. I have constructed a tower, to the best of my knowledge. It's going to have to do.
PrivateCaptainColonel
LeuitenentGeneral
Admiral
Ya ya, and the Code. Imperative, I know.
*Emphasis*
/Japanese/
\Flashback\
Thought
The Hanyou Project
Phase Four
"Awakening"
By Jann
"Colonel Sampson. Thank you for joining us," the general said as warmly as the militia-ego would allow. The colonel shifted in his shoes and wished to be just about any place other than the one he occupied that second.
"Glad to be of any service, sir!" Sampson managed, jerking into a salute. He had just received his rank several weeks before. He had been looking forward to a few good years in it before he moved up. *Up,* he had expected. Not *stripped.* He wasn't sure which was more likely in the situation. In his late twenties, he was young to such eminence. He wasn't ready to be a hero and he was afraid he would be expected to take exactly that role.
"At ease, Colonel," the general commanded. Sampson slid out of the salute before the general went on. "Please, Colonel Sampson, repeat to myself and the admiral what you told me over the phone earlier today."
Sampson swallowed the lump in his throat. "We've been monitoring the activity of all the Youkai in the ranges of the Union Planets and it seems they're . . . preparing for attack."
"What makes you think so?" the admiral demanded urgently, not waiting for the general to relay the question for him. The older man leaned onto the desk, planting his palms firmly in front of him in obvious distress.
The general looked a bit flushed at the outburst, but he didn't say anything to his superior. Sampson swallowed violently again. "We have been recording massive amounts of . . . fuel is being burned on the stations. Lots of it. The buggers are getting ready to attack," he said softly, abandoning all protocol. "They did it before the First Invasion and they did it before the Imp Invasion and they did it before the Stoic Invasion and they're doing it again."
The admiral sighed and removed his hands from the general's desk. He regained control of his emotions and stood again. "Keep tabs on this, Colonel Sampson. Keep tabs for the slightest hint of intent of violence towards any of the Union Planets. Tell me when I need to call the Alliance."
Sampson slauted again, assuming, or rather *hoping*, he would be dismissed. "I will continue to monitor the situation personally, sir! They won't catch us off-guard this time."
"General. See if you can't speed up work on the X-Projects. We may just need the exact insanity they hold in the coming months," the admiral said wearily.
"Of course, sir!" the general said, standing to salute.
"Sit down, general. Saluting to me really isn't gonna kill the damn Youkai any deader; get to work if you want to do anyone any good."
"Yes, sir."
+++
The computer within the freezing cell whirred to life to process Kagome's hand-print. A shiver ran up her spine at the noise. It couldn't possibly take this long to process a print that would be rejected, could it? Computers must have been slower fifty years before than Kagome had thought. But she didn't remove her hand. She had put it there and there it would stay until the scan was complete. Finally, the computer registered Kagome's print and Kagome reclaimed the appendage.
To her horror, the stripe across the top of the panel turned from red to green and the mechanism produced an under-heard chirp of recognition. "System: Online," the soft, motherly voice of technology informed Kagome. "System: Draining."
"Oh, shit. *Shit!*" Kagome murmured. She had wanted to release the hanyou from his prison, but it wasn't supposed to happen like *this.* "Oshitoshitoshit!" she hissed, frantically ordering the computer to stop what it was doing.
It didn't respond to her pokes and prods to the random buttons and the clear liquid in the cell began to slowly drain.
"System," Kagome ordered. "System, retreat."
"Cannot obey. Unlogged user," the computer explained unsympatheitcally.
Of course. Neither of them had been logged into the room's computer. Of course the cell wouldn't listen to her. "Mo~om," Kagome whimpered, darting around the corner into the holding room where her mother was reviving the last of the rabbits. "*Mom*!"
"Kagome, what is it?" Nyoko asked, perplexed by her daughter's tone. She carefully dumped the last rabbit into the cage and closed it quickly. She placed the empty cell on the stack with the others.
"Mom, I think I, uh, what I mean to say is, uh," Kagome began. "I, er . . . I think the, uh, I think Inu-Yasha's waking up," she said, squeezing her eyes shut.
Nyoko chuckled lightly. "What, did you put your hand on the scanner? They hum for a few minutes, Kag, it's an old computer. Don't worry about it, I tried it too," she added, a bit embarrassed. "It's harmless."
"No, Mom," Kagome said firmly. "The system spoke. 'System: Online. System: Draining,' " she mocked. "It *is* draining. I can't stop it."
The color emptied from Nyoko's cheeks as she darted past Kagome to the hanyou's cell. Kagome followed, nervously.
"Drain at ninety percent," the female voice said happily. The tips of the hanyou's ears met the air being pumped into the cell from the lab.
"Kagome!" Nyoko cried. "How did you get past the blocks? More over, why the *hell* did you initiate the draining sequence?!"
"I didn't, Mom!" Kagome defended.
"You had to Kag! Computers are *programmed* to do what they're *told.* They don't act on their own!" Nyoko insisted, pressing buttons frantically.
"Drain at eighty percent."
"Well who knows what kinds of preferences that Kikyou had on her system! She might have set it *up* to drain on log-in," Kagome explained.
Nyoko's face lost all the color it had managed to regain.
"We can't be in *trouble,* can we?" Kagome asked. "It's our project."
"They assigned us with the assumption that we couldn't open the hanyou's cell," Nyoko pointed out, wringing her hands. Kagome had never seen her mother so nervous before in her life.
"Drain at seventy percent."
"Then they shouldn't have made assumptions," Kagome pouted.
"It's the military, Kag. They can do whatever they want," Nyoko murmured, watching as the hanyou's neck cleared of the gel and glistened against the harsh lights of the lab.
"Well get ready to play welcome wagon, Mom," Kagome said dryly.
"I've got to call the general," Nyoko said suddenly. "We *have* to call the general."
"Drain at sixty percent."
"Well, wait!" Kagome cried. "Wouldn't they just send him off to some scientist to study him? Wouldn't they take him away? It's our project," Kagome added vehmnantly.
"Honey," Nyoko said, bursting in laughter. "*We're* the people you're so afraid them sending the project to."
"Drain at fifty percent."
Inu-Yasha's upper chest was totally visible. It was actually somewhat amusing, what Kikyou had dressed him in, though why she had kept him clothed through the duration of the freezing was beyond Kagome. Even humans were asked to strip before they were put into a freezing cell. The more mass there was in the tank, the more energy it took and the numbers were amazing from ounce to ounce. The kimono looked just like the ones out of the history books from the Warring States era in Japan, on *Earth.* Bright and merciless red. Why hadn't Kikyou had him undress? Was it time? Had she run out of time?
"What are they going to expect us to do?" Kagome asked, her fear subsiding. She approached the cell and fingered the latch just under the computer panel. "What are we supposed to *do* with him? For now, I mean. We can't very well put him into the holding area. He's sentient. The code is very clear, you know. Or the more recent version that I was reading up on. If you experiment on a sentient being, you have to treat him or her like a sentient being."
"I haven't read the most recent version of the Code yet," Nyoko admitted softly. When she had traveled from planet to planet before, it had been a practice of hers to read it first thing. She had slid from protocol during the years of motherhood. The last she remembered, expirimenting on sentient creatures was outrageous. Just one more mystery as to how far technology and morals had evolved or fallen respectivley over the past thirty-three years. Or perhaps just how insane the medical community was when they gave Kikyou the go-ahead to perform such as expiriement.
"Drain at forty percent."The hanyou would soon awaken. When his systems pulled back into awareness, his eyes would open and he would look around blearily as Kagome had. She stepped back unconsciously and regarded the latch on the door.
"I'm calling General Daven," Nyoko informed her daughter and she stepped crossed the room to the desktop. She minimized the windows and windows of the reports that Kagome had been reading and opened another to call Daven's office.
"Drain at thirty percent."
By the time Kagome had pulled back into consciousness, all the gel had been long gone while Sota hadn't woken on his own at all, but had to be injected with something to reawaken his systems and remind them to complete reflexive actions like respiration and circulation. How long would it take the Youkai?
She remembered Kikyou's reports. He was "easily angered" and "difficult to befriend," Shimiko had written. She took another small step away from the cell, clenched her hands into fists at her sides and waited.
"Drain at twenty percent."
The hanyou's eyes snapped open and his head jerked up.
"Kikyou," was the soft and vengeful whisper over the speakers. Kagome read his lips as he spoke his next sentence, no louder than the first, looking straight into her eyes. "Bitch," he sneered at her, those amber eyes never faltering from hers. "How dare you?"
Disclaimer: I don't own "Inu-Yasha" or any of the related characters, but if I did, they would be picketing Cartoon Network right now. I can't believe "Inu-Yasha" was *re~esta~arted.* To~
My knowledge about military status is more or less non-existent; bear with me here. I have constructed a tower, to the best of my knowledge. It's going to have to do.
PrivateCaptainColonel
LeuitenentGeneral
Admiral
Ya ya, and the Code. Imperative, I know.
*Emphasis*
/Japanese/
\Flashback\
Thought
The Hanyou Project
Phase Four
"Awakening"
By Jann
"Colonel Sampson. Thank you for joining us," the general said as warmly as the militia-ego would allow. The colonel shifted in his shoes and wished to be just about any place other than the one he occupied that second.
"Glad to be of any service, sir!" Sampson managed, jerking into a salute. He had just received his rank several weeks before. He had been looking forward to a few good years in it before he moved up. *Up,* he had expected. Not *stripped.* He wasn't sure which was more likely in the situation. In his late twenties, he was young to such eminence. He wasn't ready to be a hero and he was afraid he would be expected to take exactly that role.
"At ease, Colonel," the general commanded. Sampson slid out of the salute before the general went on. "Please, Colonel Sampson, repeat to myself and the admiral what you told me over the phone earlier today."
Sampson swallowed the lump in his throat. "We've been monitoring the activity of all the Youkai in the ranges of the Union Planets and it seems they're . . . preparing for attack."
"What makes you think so?" the admiral demanded urgently, not waiting for the general to relay the question for him. The older man leaned onto the desk, planting his palms firmly in front of him in obvious distress.
The general looked a bit flushed at the outburst, but he didn't say anything to his superior. Sampson swallowed violently again. "We have been recording massive amounts of . . . fuel is being burned on the stations. Lots of it. The buggers are getting ready to attack," he said softly, abandoning all protocol. "They did it before the First Invasion and they did it before the Imp Invasion and they did it before the Stoic Invasion and they're doing it again."
The admiral sighed and removed his hands from the general's desk. He regained control of his emotions and stood again. "Keep tabs on this, Colonel Sampson. Keep tabs for the slightest hint of intent of violence towards any of the Union Planets. Tell me when I need to call the Alliance."
Sampson slauted again, assuming, or rather *hoping*, he would be dismissed. "I will continue to monitor the situation personally, sir! They won't catch us off-guard this time."
"General. See if you can't speed up work on the X-Projects. We may just need the exact insanity they hold in the coming months," the admiral said wearily.
"Of course, sir!" the general said, standing to salute.
"Sit down, general. Saluting to me really isn't gonna kill the damn Youkai any deader; get to work if you want to do anyone any good."
"Yes, sir."
+++
The computer within the freezing cell whirred to life to process Kagome's hand-print. A shiver ran up her spine at the noise. It couldn't possibly take this long to process a print that would be rejected, could it? Computers must have been slower fifty years before than Kagome had thought. But she didn't remove her hand. She had put it there and there it would stay until the scan was complete. Finally, the computer registered Kagome's print and Kagome reclaimed the appendage.
To her horror, the stripe across the top of the panel turned from red to green and the mechanism produced an under-heard chirp of recognition. "System: Online," the soft, motherly voice of technology informed Kagome. "System: Draining."
"Oh, shit. *Shit!*" Kagome murmured. She had wanted to release the hanyou from his prison, but it wasn't supposed to happen like *this.* "Oshitoshitoshit!" she hissed, frantically ordering the computer to stop what it was doing.
It didn't respond to her pokes and prods to the random buttons and the clear liquid in the cell began to slowly drain.
"System," Kagome ordered. "System, retreat."
"Cannot obey. Unlogged user," the computer explained unsympatheitcally.
Of course. Neither of them had been logged into the room's computer. Of course the cell wouldn't listen to her. "Mo~om," Kagome whimpered, darting around the corner into the holding room where her mother was reviving the last of the rabbits. "*Mom*!"
"Kagome, what is it?" Nyoko asked, perplexed by her daughter's tone. She carefully dumped the last rabbit into the cage and closed it quickly. She placed the empty cell on the stack with the others.
"Mom, I think I, uh, what I mean to say is, uh," Kagome began. "I, er . . . I think the, uh, I think Inu-Yasha's waking up," she said, squeezing her eyes shut.
Nyoko chuckled lightly. "What, did you put your hand on the scanner? They hum for a few minutes, Kag, it's an old computer. Don't worry about it, I tried it too," she added, a bit embarrassed. "It's harmless."
"No, Mom," Kagome said firmly. "The system spoke. 'System: Online. System: Draining,' " she mocked. "It *is* draining. I can't stop it."
The color emptied from Nyoko's cheeks as she darted past Kagome to the hanyou's cell. Kagome followed, nervously.
"Drain at ninety percent," the female voice said happily. The tips of the hanyou's ears met the air being pumped into the cell from the lab.
"Kagome!" Nyoko cried. "How did you get past the blocks? More over, why the *hell* did you initiate the draining sequence?!"
"I didn't, Mom!" Kagome defended.
"You had to Kag! Computers are *programmed* to do what they're *told.* They don't act on their own!" Nyoko insisted, pressing buttons frantically.
"Drain at eighty percent."
"Well who knows what kinds of preferences that Kikyou had on her system! She might have set it *up* to drain on log-in," Kagome explained.
Nyoko's face lost all the color it had managed to regain.
"We can't be in *trouble,* can we?" Kagome asked. "It's our project."
"They assigned us with the assumption that we couldn't open the hanyou's cell," Nyoko pointed out, wringing her hands. Kagome had never seen her mother so nervous before in her life.
"Drain at seventy percent."
"Then they shouldn't have made assumptions," Kagome pouted.
"It's the military, Kag. They can do whatever they want," Nyoko murmured, watching as the hanyou's neck cleared of the gel and glistened against the harsh lights of the lab.
"Well get ready to play welcome wagon, Mom," Kagome said dryly.
"I've got to call the general," Nyoko said suddenly. "We *have* to call the general."
"Drain at sixty percent."
"Well, wait!" Kagome cried. "Wouldn't they just send him off to some scientist to study him? Wouldn't they take him away? It's our project," Kagome added vehmnantly.
"Honey," Nyoko said, bursting in laughter. "*We're* the people you're so afraid them sending the project to."
"Drain at fifty percent."
Inu-Yasha's upper chest was totally visible. It was actually somewhat amusing, what Kikyou had dressed him in, though why she had kept him clothed through the duration of the freezing was beyond Kagome. Even humans were asked to strip before they were put into a freezing cell. The more mass there was in the tank, the more energy it took and the numbers were amazing from ounce to ounce. The kimono looked just like the ones out of the history books from the Warring States era in Japan, on *Earth.* Bright and merciless red. Why hadn't Kikyou had him undress? Was it time? Had she run out of time?
"What are they going to expect us to do?" Kagome asked, her fear subsiding. She approached the cell and fingered the latch just under the computer panel. "What are we supposed to *do* with him? For now, I mean. We can't very well put him into the holding area. He's sentient. The code is very clear, you know. Or the more recent version that I was reading up on. If you experiment on a sentient being, you have to treat him or her like a sentient being."
"I haven't read the most recent version of the Code yet," Nyoko admitted softly. When she had traveled from planet to planet before, it had been a practice of hers to read it first thing. She had slid from protocol during the years of motherhood. The last she remembered, expirimenting on sentient creatures was outrageous. Just one more mystery as to how far technology and morals had evolved or fallen respectivley over the past thirty-three years. Or perhaps just how insane the medical community was when they gave Kikyou the go-ahead to perform such as expiriement.
"Drain at forty percent."The hanyou would soon awaken. When his systems pulled back into awareness, his eyes would open and he would look around blearily as Kagome had. She stepped back unconsciously and regarded the latch on the door.
"I'm calling General Daven," Nyoko informed her daughter and she stepped crossed the room to the desktop. She minimized the windows and windows of the reports that Kagome had been reading and opened another to call Daven's office.
"Drain at thirty percent."
By the time Kagome had pulled back into consciousness, all the gel had been long gone while Sota hadn't woken on his own at all, but had to be injected with something to reawaken his systems and remind them to complete reflexive actions like respiration and circulation. How long would it take the Youkai?
She remembered Kikyou's reports. He was "easily angered" and "difficult to befriend," Shimiko had written. She took another small step away from the cell, clenched her hands into fists at her sides and waited.
"Drain at twenty percent."
The hanyou's eyes snapped open and his head jerked up.
"Kikyou," was the soft and vengeful whisper over the speakers. Kagome read his lips as he spoke his next sentence, no louder than the first, looking straight into her eyes. "Bitch," he sneered at her, those amber eyes never faltering from hers. "How dare you?"
