Buddha's Hoard, Elusian City, Nirasaki
Al Na'ir Prefecture, Dieron Military District
Draconis Combine
February 13, 3051
"I don't care if the drinks are free, I wanna watch the last Solaris match!"
Ethan shook the sleep from his eyes, pumping blood to his limbs and ears to listen to the slight man on the bar with a strange accent. The two women in his arms were roused by his movements, and they started giggling again just like before they fell asleep. Ethan didn't catch what the obviously gaijin man said next, but he managed to catch the elderly bartender's apology as the young man flailed his arms about.
"Forgiveness, please, sir." He bowed deeply. "But the matches on Solaris VII are not transmitted to this world--to any world in the Draconis Combine." The old man leaned closer to the sandy-haired foreigner. "It is forbidden to even mention them."
A red haired youth raised his empty bottle into the sky, screaming in japanese. "Hey! You! My drink is drunk, stop lying to that Lyran dandy and get me another bottle!"
Bowing all the while, the bartender replied with "Hai, hai!" as he scrambled for another bottle of sake. Ethan poured himself a new glass from his table's bottle, which was never allowed to become empty, and watched the spindly, apparently Lyran, intercept the bottle from as the bartender reached the red haired man's table.
It didn't take particularly sharp eyes to notice that both the brown and red haired men were MechWarriors. Each had the healthy swagger of a 'Mech jock, the self-assuredness and a deadly grace to their movements. Of course, Ethan had the advantage in that he knew the red haired youth was a MechWarrior of House Kurita even if he didn't carry himself as a samurai or even look the part. Compared to the Lyran, Edward Brody was even skinnier and less physically pronounced.
The young Morimoto watched passively as the Lyran plopped himself down on seat near his newest militia recruit and smiled as they locked eyes. Like a Wolfhound against a Panther... He reconsidered. Or a Stinger against a Wasp...
The Lyran's grey eyes glinted in the subdued sunlight. "Let me pour you a drink friend," startling even Ethan as the gaijin spoke in accented but clear japanese. "It's on me. Now tell, what did you mean by the bartender 'lying' to me?"
Brody's quick hands snatched the glass from the stranger, spilling a few drops on the table. In drawling standard, "You heard me wrong, Elsie."
"The name is Tomas."
Ethan would forever replay the next few moments in his mind's eye, going over it as slowly as his memories would allow. He had never been able to catch the Tomas' hands until both materialized on poor Brody's face, crunching Edward's long nose with his right and the jaw with his left.
He did remember, and never let Tomas forget, what happened next. Two off-duty corporate security guards to Ethan's left immediately withdrew their pistols, frustrated perhaps by long hours of boredom, and didn't even bother demanding the 'Elsie' to back down as they aimed for his centre mass.
Ethan was on his feet, tackling the nearest one as the first shots rang off, thrown clear wide as he and his new-found hugging partner toppled over the table.
Tomas had closed in, using the fallen MechWarrior as a launching pad as he leapt, arms wide, atop the three Kuritans. The brawl was one in the truest sense of the word, with the bar erupting into chaos with civilians, offduty militiamen and even a few eta lending feet, teeth and fists into the swirling melee.
Ethan rolled to the side, kicking away some uniformed cretins, as he put his back to a wall. At the corner of his vision, he saw the two fine ladies that had helped him celebrate dance to the edge of the battle. They were still giggling.
A kick, a slight chop and a reverse-throw had him in the centre of the fight where there was a Lyran doing a good impression of a fearsome warrior. Several of the less combat-trained brawlers were already backing away, but Ethan saw through the facade. He's playing it well, growling and yelling like some viking! Hahaha, I think I like this---oooff!
"Hey!! I'm helping!" Ethan roared, kicking one of the Lyran's shins in return for his own now-bruised one.
"Ahh damnit! I said I was sorry!" Tomas spat back.
Ethan twisted away from a fairly large civilian and planted an open palm into the face of one wielding a chair leg. "No you didn't!"
"Pardon me! I'm kinda busy!" Tomas hurled himself at two dishevelled looking fighters, knocking both over in a tangle of dirty clothes and alcohol soaked hair.
"I didn't notice!" yelled the young Morimoto as he ducked away again and spin-kicked at the nearest brawler to gain some room. He took the moment to assess the situation.
The brawl was settling down, Ethan had seen it happen several times being a veteran of many such battles. Fights as furious as this one tend to need a constant fuel; an Elsie was a good appetizer, but homegrown grudges could fan a fight into a riot. Ethan identified workers from various businesses seeking out rivals, security guards and militiamen ganging up on each other and those just swept up in the moment seeking a quick escape.
Stragglers first. A brawler wielding a broken bottle crashed down with a prominent imprint of Nirasaki militia standard issue boots on his cheek. He was followed by two more inebriated workers sharing the broken pieces of a table. In the midst of the fighting, Ethan realized he wasn't alone in his efforts. The crazy Lyran, still whooping and screaming and no longer the main target was lashing out alongside him. Tomas had gained a strange looking collar, probably the seat cover of one of the bamboo chairs and sported several bruises, but he had a smile on his face.
It took a while for Ethan to realize he was smiling himself, even when two factory workers slammed their meaty fists into the sides of his head. He was down before he felt the blows.
His ears were still ringing when more gunshots rang out. Ethan didn't even register them as gunshots, thinking the two fat labourers had found his head again as he was sprawled on the floor. "Damn, fat sons of Davions... I should cut off your rations..."
The second set of gunshots Ethan did hear, the one firing the weapon was standing right above him; a uniformed - slightly blurred - beauty. It took a while for his vision to clear back up, he heard some german-sounding cursing in the background as he was pulled to his feet by a young dark-haired female police officer. She wore her hair tight, her features even softer in the bar's sparse light and her figure greatly enhanced by several litres of alcohol, the young noble found it hard to resist trying to 'charm' the lady.
"Hey luscious, how does a hundred C-bills and a half hour with the cuffs sound?"
In retrospect, as he found himself on the floor again with at least two new bruises, Ethan believed he should expressed himself more eloquently. Or perhaps not at all.
He could hear the laughter of the subdued fighters as he flickered through blackness and consciousness. What the hell... I got an audience, don't I?
"Alright," Ethan licked his lips, "a hundred and fifty."
The next blow from the female officer made everyone gathered wince in sympathy.
----
Here, Somewhere
Morning?
"You know, I don't think I did say 'sorry' about kicking ya."
Ethan's head throbbed, his throat felt like he swallowed bits of the same foamed aluminum that made up the bones of a 'Mech. What was the purple monkey saying to him? A few moments passed. Why was a purple monkey saying anything? Were there even purple monkeys? He opened his eyes slightly more. Or monkeys that talked for that matter?
He opened his eyes even more, looking straight at someone familiar. "Dear Buddha, you're hideous." Ethan coughed, giggling at what he just said. This Lyran, this Tomas, was bathed with a thick, purple cream on his bruised face. It didn't matter that Ethan felt the same substance on his own wounds, it just shocked him to wake up staring at such a strange sight.
Luckily, the Lyran had a sense of humour. "You're not so sexy yourself, gorgeous. Or should that be 'luscious'?" Ethan winced again as he felt that that particular area was free of the healing purple smudge.
"Hey, it was supposed to be a 'Glorious Day of the Governor's Birth' wasn't it?" Ethan coughed again, pulling himself up from his bunk. "I mean, what's a birthday party without seeing some 'birthday suits', eh?"
Tomas laughed at that, nodding his head. "I just wanted to catch the latest Sol-seven fight--"
"--so you picked a fight with a MechWarrior instead."
"I don't like redheads. Cocky bastards."
Ethan laughed cautiously, feeling out his ribs for any pains. He ran his fingers through his hair and smacked his lips open a few times as he glanced around the cell. Kuritan jails were often goulags on most worlds, but on Nirasaki, where even an eta can rent a kimono, dull grey wouldn't do. A clean white-wash was on the walls, offset by the dark green of the metal bars. The floors were an earthy brown, and without looking, Ethan could smell the presence of various potted plants in the cell.
He flicked his head towards the plants. "They're supposed to be calming for the prisoners."
Tomas nodded. "I didn't know Kuritans even bothered--"
Ethan smiled, replying quickly to show he didn't take offense. "We usually don't, unless you can afford justice or did something minor." Tomas' eyebrows arched slightly. "Bar fights aren't 'minor' per se, but we were quite drunk. Least I was."
The Lyran shrugged, and sat on the floor cross-legged. "Do... uhh, they bother feeding us?"
"Depends."
"On what?"
"Whether the guards remember to or not," Ethan said dramatically. "But they usually do, it's in the planetary constitution. We're in luck."
A few awkward moments passed. Ethan stood up and started to stretch but just stopped immediately as he saw the purple-cream all over his arms. He turned to Tomas, pointing at the purple mess on his forearms. "What do you think of our local bit of lostech, 'Tomas' isn't it? Call me Ethan."
"Yeah, oh... well... It's, heh, it's very purple."
The two laughed at that. "Should've been white," Ethan confessed, "but Nirasaki has this birch tree that has purple leaves." He shook his head, "That's where the main ingredient comes from, it turns out white when you make it yourself but the store-bought ones like selling them purple. They call it, appropriately enough, the Drunkard's Dressing."
Tomas smiled and nodded his head. "They make it that way to stand out, to shame someone huh?"
"Yep." Ethan winked at his cellmate, noting his sharp mind even when his own was a sea of grey and black. "Ironically enough, you need alcohol to get the colour out. If you're bleeding and real drunk, well heh, it turns clear." He pointed to a few patches over his arm that looked as if it were wet with water; thick, gelled water.
The Lyran laughed out hard at that, wiping away a few tears. Ethan didn't think it was that funny, but they both had been hit in the head a lot last night and he joined in.
"I wasn't going to say anything," Tomas sniggered, "but most of the stuff on your face looks like you're bleeding water, man."
They laughed again, Ethan holding his ribs to keep everything more or less in the same configuration. He remembered several fat fists making their impressions on his head as he momentarily drifted into darkness.
A large metal door flung open, two uniformed figures hurrying over to their cell whispering to each other. Ethan recognized both immediately, but addressed the younger one first.
"You know, when I proposed the use of handcuffs, you didn't really have to bring me all the way here, officer..."
Tomas chimed in. "It was for a hundred and fifty," he shrugged, "might as well get your C-bill's worth. And I get to watch for free."
The police officer was having none of it as she stepped closer to the bars. "Listen, you worthless drunks. You both are charged with assaulting officers in uniform, the magistrate will--"
"--dismiss the case immediately and beg your forgiveness for the foolishness of this girl! Our sincerest apologies!" The older officer, resplendent in brass, stepped in, pushing the female officer away as he struggled to place his thumbprint on the reader.
Ethan watched the rookie cop, an offworlder herself, try to form words. His cellmate was just as confused, but Tomas managed to appear that he knew what was going on. "Nonsense, Chief Suan. Your officer there managed to rescue us from a particularly nasty brawl wouldn't you say Tomas?" The Lyran nodded once, smiling.
He cleared his throat, adopting a haughty, over-exaggerated tone that some visiting Lyran merchants adopted. Ethan saw Tomas recognize it. "I do say, she may have saved our lives what with everyone else already out of the fight," Ethan looked the shocked officer in the eyes. "She did, also, allowed us to partake of the state's hospitality for the evening. But I do think it may be time to get along."
The bars of the cell withdrew into the walls, hidden from view. The two MechWarriors stepped out, dusting themselves off and shaking the hand of Chief Suan. Tomas wasn't even bothering hiding his confusion now, staring at Ethan's bruised and grinning face.
Escorted out of the building by the two officers, again with another round of apologies, Ethan moved closer to the female officer. "Just for the record, Chief Suan, I'd like to know this officer's name."
"Uhh, bwah, she's uhh, umm, Sergeant Felicia Noboro, from the Dieron constabulary office."
Looking straight at Sgt. Noboro, Ethan adopted his smuggest face. "Please ask Sergeant Noboro that since we have no means of conveyance that perhaps she would be kind enough to escort us to my home. We do so feel much safer when she's around."
"Umm, bwoohh, ahh yes. Ahem, Sergeant Noboro-"
Felicia bit her lip, her eyes quivering with hatred. "Hai, Chief. I shall escort our guests home."
"Good, good." Ethan nodded as they walked to her patrol car. Felicia moved to open the driver's seat and was stopped with a loud 'Ahem'. Both the former prisoners were staring oddly at the rear passenger doors, as if they had never seen one in all their life. Repressing her rage, she opened one door for Tomas and was preparing herself to do a curtsy for when she opened Ethan's until she realized he was no longer standing beside the car.
He was sitting quite comfortably on the driver's seat, shaking the Chief's hand yet again, and whispering. "Thanks a lot, Frank."
Chief Suan whispered low. "Ethan, Ethan, Ethan... when are you ever going to grow up?"
Ethan whispered back indignantly, just loud enough for Tomas behind him to hear. "I have! I didn't even request she show me her, uhh, badge!" The Chief shook his head and grunted, as if saying 'Not yet, you mean.'
Putting back on the aloof, smug mask, Ethan turned to the stationary sergeant. "Well don't just stand there Felicity--"
"--Felicia--"
"--Yes, yes, Fecia. Now, I gather that you are new on-world so I suppose you are not privy to local knowledge as of yet." Ethan flashed her a smile. "I'll drive, get in." He couldn't believe how silly he sounded, but Noboro was obedient if furious. It added a smouldering quality to her beauty.
"Now where is the acceleratium and the deceleratrix, hmm?" Ethan asked airily as he gently, but firmly, squeezed the car's gas pedal till the speedometer registered 150 kph. Sgt. Noboro was already shouting commands to the foppish noble in attempt to not hit anyone on the road. Tomas suggested that he turn on the siren to move the peasants out of the way.
Ethan thought it was a grand idea, and said so himself. He was sure he could hear the gritting of teeth over the wailing.
---
Morimoto Manor, Nirasaki
Al Na'ir Prefecture, Dieron Military District
Draconis Combine
February 14, 3051
The police car dragged a cloud of dust behind it as it screeched out of the manor's driveway, with Felicia gripping the steering wheel tightly enough for her knuckles to blaze white.
Ethan shook his head and picked himself up, struggling not to rub his throbbing left cheek in front of his gaijin guest. He yawned into his right hand and nodded to the front door, ignoring a large, obviously angry, older man standing in front of it.
Tomas coughed. "I guess she wasn't that charmed after all."
Ethan nodded once and chuckled, rubbing his head now that his jaw was going numb. He took out a small clear bottle of pills and tossed them to Tomas. "Gets rid of hangovers and headaches quicker than coffee."
Tomas nodded, realizing that this strange, obviously rich, Kuritan had managed to take one of the magic pills before setting off to drive - he couldn't even tell where he took the pills from. He chuckled as he still heard the police car's sirens wailing in the air: Ethan had accidentally broke the siren controls, leaving it permanently on. Tomas swallowed one of the pills and waited until Ethan moved closer to the front door, not willing to put himself in front of the furious man.
The two stared at each other for a while, neither exchanging any words until the bigger one spoke in a rumbling voice. "Who's the idiot in purple?"
Ethan guffawed. "Relax Shin, this here is my partner in crime." Ethan motioned with his head, intentionally leaving out Tomas' name, allowing the Lyran the choice to reveal himself.
For now, anonymity would suffice for Tomas; he kept silent and watched on as the bald headed man and Ethan spoke.
"If you're finished with your partying, you should see to your new guests."
Ethan arched an eyebrow. "New guests? What is this, the Nirasaki Hilton?" He waved to Tomas to follow him into the massive pagoda-style building, grinning all the while as Shin cast them both a steely glare.
The Lyran must have just seen the building for the first time as the pills worked their wonders. It was old, ancient, but it looked sturdier than some of the government buildings he saw in Tharkad. His experienced eyes allowed him to pick up on the manor's heritage, a fomer fort - most likely Hegemony-vintage - converted to a domicile for the idle rich.
Tomas ducked quickly into the manor, avoiding the large man, and eager to get a closer look at what Ethan called home. From his stance and manner of speaking, he judged the furious man to be a fellow countryman - at least in name - from the other half of the Federated Commonwealth, and another MechWarrior at that.
His Kuritan host nodded as if reading his mind. "I do manage to find the most unusual guests. Why, five years ago both of you would probably have been gutted and propped up on stakes outside." He shook his head and winked. "Me befriending FedCom MechWarriors... This must be causing quite a scandal with the media."
Tomas exchanged glances with Shin, wondering if Ethan was some sort of Kuritan holovid action-star. He certainly had the attitude, and a MechWarrior's personnae wasn't exactly hard to adopt. The flowing opulence of the foyer certainly reflected that theory.
"And, as always, you are loving it. Baka." said a woman descending a spiraling set of stairs.
Ethan's smile grew wide, recognizing the soft, slightly mocking voice instantly. "Ane," older sister, "what brings your fat, exiled butt home?"
The mix of an endearing tone and hateful words made both smile, each remembering their sparring wordplay as children in a slightly different manner. Unlike most Kuritan noble children, none of the Morimotos had any qualms about displaying familial affection in front of strangers. In fact, Ethan's mother had encouraged it.
Ethan wrapped his arms around his sister, feeling a sense of relief he hadn't felt in ages. "Nara, my sweet, fat Nara." She jabbed her fist into his hardened stomach, barely holding back despite Ethan's condition. If he felt anything, he didn't show it as both hugged each other again.
Tomas grinned. The resemblance was striking between brother and sister, the same set of blue-green eyes was obvious, but so was the ease with which both handled themselves. Their poise. The Davion motioned to him, wanting to leave the siblings alone and both ducked out of the foyer unnoticed.
The afternoon sun was already low in the sky when Ethan rejoined the two FedCom visitors relaxing in a large, open balcony. Both were speaking calmly, sipping drinks and trading bits of knowledge they had gleaned. The sky was aflame in orange and blue, below it was rolling grasslands and flowing rivers.
It was serene.
In his arms, Ethan held a baby, his niece, barely six months old and already had eyes as wide and as bright as her mother's. She laughed again, a slightly mischievous giggle that reminded him of her father. He peered closely to young Keiko's face. Just what the Morimoto line needs, a funny, caring, rebellious, artistic and intelligent woman. Ethan didn't know if he was speaking about the child or his late mother.
Marcus followed Ethan to the veranda moments later, Nara clasped tightly to his arm. The two walked in just in time to see Keiko place a hand on Ethan's smiling face, promptly pulling Ethan's nose. Proudly, he thought, Now that's a grip!
He whispered, his noise still in the baby's grip, just loud enough to be overheard, "Definitely your mother's daughter..."
Marcus coughed at that, smiling slightly as the arm around his tightened even more. "Forgive the imposition we are placing on fellow guests and our host, but there is a matter to discuss--"
Ethan didn't feel the first shot, he didn't even hear it. All he heard was the sound of flapping wings as he felt a warmth in him.
He heard the report of the second, third, and fourth shots. His eyes were strangely looking upwards even as he was laying on his side gently hugging something soft. His mind was groggy for a seeming eternity, but he lay still and calmed himself.
Ethan felt Keiko still in his arms but as the Star League fort-turned home's weapons seared the countryside, he wondered how he could hear the rasping of the massive guns and not the crying of a surely frightened baby.
Over the chattering fire of the Manor's arsenal, he heard a familiar sound but couldn't place what it was. Warmth seeped from his chest, leaving him colder and colder as tears streaked through his face, washing away red. He remembered now: it was the same sobbing whimper that was carved into his memory so many years ago.
Ethan shivered uncontrollably, as if physically restraining the flood of tears aching to pour out of him. His rocking somehow nudged what he was still hugging gently, freeing a soft arm that gently laid a palm on Ethan's face. It closed slightly on his nose, and he found the courage to open his eyes to look at a bloodsplattered, but unharmed, baby in his arms.
Shin rushed to his side with the manor's guards following behind him, providing a wall of flesh as he dragged Ethan inside.
The youngest Morimoto smiled at Ethan, still cradled in his arms. Worry still consumed him as he handed her back to her mother. "Is she alright? Is she going to be okay?"
Nara nodded. "She's going to be fine, Thanny..."
"Are you sure? Check, you gotta check--" Ethan freed himself from Shin and propped himself up.
"Damnit Ethan! Stop moving!" Shin roared.
"But Keiko! She's..."
Tomas darted in close and grabbed Ethan by the shoulders. "Relax, Ethan, relax. The baby's fine... you're the one that got shot. Now lay still--"
"--I got shot? No I didn't--Why must you lie?" His limbs moved quickly, unhinging Tomas's hold with ease. Everyone around him repeated the same thing. Why couldn't they understand that they needed to see to Keiko first?
Tomas decided a more direct approach. He grabbed Ethan's head and pointed down into his bleeding chest. "There, do you believe me now?"
Ethan shook his head. "How many holes--"
"--Four!--"
"--All of it?--"
"--Yes!--"
Ethan stopped struggling, realizing that there was a man holding down each of his limbs. He looked thoughtful for a moment. "So I got shot?" He wrinkled his forehead.
"For the love of--YES!!!" The Commonwealthers roared one after another.
He nodded once, looked up at Nara holding Keiko and smiled.
"Thank, Buddha."
Sorry for the long wait in-between chapters, I actually went ahead and outlined what's to happen in future additions so hopefully the next one won't take that long.
Reviews are very much welcome at this point, and thanks to those of you who did bother to read this.