Kentaro went back into the bedroom. He lay down in the bed with a groan.
He was sore everywhere from their earlier 'discussion'. " Still it had been
worth every bruise," he thought.
Kentaro lay trying to get comfortable. Finally sheer exhaustion overcame his discomfort, and he slipped into an uneasy sleep.
Ken awoke much later. He had slept like a baby. As he rose shaking off sleep, the previous days events came rushing back. His father, he was here! It wasn't just all a dream he thought disoriented for a moment. He quickly stood and headed to his room at the end of the hall. There was the sleeping form of his father in his bed. No, it definitely was not a dream.
Ken looked at his father silently for a moment. A rush of guilt washed over him as he saw the bruises on his face. His father hadn't fought back. He lost control, and used his father as a punching bag. His father had accepted it as his just due. Ken vowed to amends somehow.
Ken called to his father. He didn't move. That definitely was not normal. His father was an exceptionally light sleeper. Ken remembered getting a knife at his throat the one time he attempted to wake him from sleep. He had never made that mistake again.
He went over and called his name again. "Father, wake up! Red Impulse!" Ken shook him and still there was no response. He tried several times without success. Something was very wrong.
Ken called into his wrist communicator. "Hakase, this is Ken. There's an emergency over here at my place." His voice was urgent as he spoke to Nambu.
"Nambu here Ken. What is it?"
"Hakase I can't wake Red Impulse. I've tried several times and I'm not getting a response."
"Ken, was there any trouble last night?" Hakase asked.
Ken turned his father over and received a groan of pain for his efforts.
"Yes, Hakase. We got physical. I think I may have hurt him. He seemed fine last night,but I can't rouse him now. He usually jumps at the slightest sound. Something is wrong."
"OK. I'll be there shortly." Nambu agreed Something was not right. "Keep trying to wake him until I get there. Nambu out."
Ken tried to wake his father several more times.
Approximately 15 minutes later Ken heard a helicopter arriving in the back. He went to check on Hakase's arrival. He walked to Jun and Nambu they exited the helicopter.
Ken hurried Jun into the house and took her to where Kentaro lay on the bed.
Jun gasped in shock. Red Impulse's face was badly bruised. Jun immediately withdrew a medical scanner from the bag and ran it over him. He had several ribs and a minor concussion. Ken had really beaten him badly.
She called to him several times and received no response. His vitals all appeared good.
She hooked up a portable brain monitor to check the severity of the concussion. What she saw surprised her. Red Impulse was fine. The concussion was minor. It was not responsible for his lack of response.
Kentaro was in an extremely deep state of sleep. He would have collapsed from exhaustion if he had not already been in bed. The only time she had ever seen this was with patients who had been severely sleep deprived. Usually as a result of combat or torture. Most people could not push themselves to this limit and function rationally. Red Impulse had driven himself to exhaustion.
She set up a portable regenerator to speed the healing of his wounds. Normally with a concussion this would have been unpleasant for him. Luckily he wouldn't feel a thing.
Nambu had entered the room. He looked stunned as he saw Red Impulse. "What did you do?!" He yelled angrily at Ken.
"I lost it. There's no excuse. He wouldn't fight back. He just stood there and..." Ken looked horrible.
"How could you? You know what you..." Nambu interrupted and kept yelling
Jun interjected before they both lost it completely.
"The Captain is going to be fine. He has a minor concussion and some broken ribs. That's not the problem here though. He collapsed from exhaustion. The fight just exasperated the issue slightly. He is in a state of extremely deep sleep."
"Will he be OK? How come I can't rouse him?" Ken asked.
"I would guess he hasn't slept in four or more days. His body just gave out, so you can't wake him. Give him few days with the regenerator and he'll be fine. What he needs now is sleep."
Nambu double checked everything. Jun found that annoying sometimes. She knew he was a very capable practitioner, but she was the medical doctor not him. Still it was his friend and Ken's father, so she said nothing for the moment.
Nambu concurred with the diagnosis. "This will shift the meeting back by a day" Nambu stated "I want you--"
"Hakase by two days at least." Jun interrupted "I know this is important, but the Captain will be useless if he collapses while on a mission."
Jun was surprised when Nambu agreed without questioning her. "Do you think he'll be functional after a few days rest."
"Given his tenacity and personality, I think you'll have trouble keeping him in bed that long." Jun smiled. " As long as he gets rest his injuries should heal quickly. Two or three days will be enough."
Nambu smiled. Jun had described him perfectly. He remembered an incident many years ago where Kentaro had gotten back from a mission. He had a serious knife wound that would have incapacitated anyone else. He had had to sedate him so the wound could heal properly.
Nambu turned to Ken and motioned to the kitchen.
"Let's continue this over lunch. I haven't eaten in a while."
Nambu headed to the kitchen with his briefcase in hand.
"I'll make some food." Jun stated " Why don't you two get down to business. I know there's a lot to review." They both nodded.
Nambu looked at Ken for a moment and sighed. "I know this has been hard for you. Still, you of all people cannot afford to lose your head."
Ken nodded. He already knew he was to blame." Hakase, it was my fault. There was no excuse for my behavior. I'll accept whatever you feel is necessary."
Nambu's expression softened a bit then he added. "I will leave this between the two of you. Whatever your father decides to do will be his choice."
Ken looked at him surprised
Nambu looked amused and added softly. "Knowing your father he will tell me to butt out, this is personal. So, I'll let him handle this and avoid the argument with him. Now down to business."
That closed the issue as far as Nambu was concerned. Ken breathed a sigh of relief. He hoped his father would be as understanding.
Nambu pulled out a sheaf of papers and photos as they sat at the table.
"Here is the intelligence from Red Impulse. Jun and Joe also were able to get some thermal scans indicating the size of the base. I have Ryu and Jinpei doing a high altitude fly over in the Phoenix right now. I want independent confirmation of the data. I'm not willing to rely on our intelligence other than O'Rourke. I'm sending him on a surprise inspection tour of the Huntworl facilities as we speak."
"Hakase can we rely on him? We know the leak is highly placed and we know for certain they have infiltrated intelligence. There is no other way to hide this data."
"We'll know that soon. We know if there is anything wrong he'll find it. If he can't find it then, we have a starting point to our investigation."
Ken smiled. He should have trusted Hakase. Jun appeared with tray full of sandwiches, soup, and coffee for them. They ate as Ken studied the photos of the base.
It was huge. It would be deadly if they ever launched a first strike from there. He ate and continued to study the data they had. Red Impulse had detailed that at least six squadrons of planes and at least a hundred battalions of soldiers could be housed. He had partial schematics of living and functional regions of the base. The equipment and systems were the most modern money could buy. The technology was fantastic and deadly.
Red Impulse had not been able to determine conclusively whether biological, chemical, or nuclear capability existed on the base. The security was so sophisticated that his ability to penetrate it was severely limited. Given its size and complexity he assumed it was likely.
They would have to infiltrate the base. Find out its capabilities and then destroy it before anyone could use it. They'd have to determine who had created this monster and stop them before it was too late.
After lunch Jun and Nambu left Ken alone to care for his father. He had specific instructions to keep him in bed for at least the next two days. He noticed neither offered any suggestions for how he might actually accomplish this.
Ken cleared the dishes and went to check on his father. He took the intelligence materials with him. He sat down by his father and looked at his prone form.
The regenerator was working quickly. Already the visible bruises were healing. He hoped his father wouldn't be in much pain when he woke. He looked better than before and was resting peacefully for now.
Ken sighed and turned back to task at hand. He studied the documents detailing the base. At least his father couldn't accuse him of squandering the time.
Ken had been studying the papers for hours when he rose and took a break. He went and poured himself some iced tea and grabbed some cookies and headed back for the bedroom. Ken soon lost himself in the mission planning again.
Kentaro's movement in the bed roused Ken from his seat. It was late he realized. He checked on his father again. Good, he was stirring finally!
Kentaro felt like he was coming out of a heavily drugged sleep. His mind was foggy. He couldn't seem to think properly. His whole body felt heavy and lethargic. He moved slightly and heard a voice coming from a distance. It sounded like his son's voice. He wondered for a moment if he was dreaming again. He didn't want to wake and find himself alone in Huntworl again .
"Father, Father, can you hear me? I need you to wake up for a few minutes." Ken called to him.
Kentaro opened his eyes and a blurry image of Ken came into view. He closed his eyes again and concentrated on waking up. He was laying in a bed covered with several blankets. He had some type of medical device hooked to him.
He opened his eyes again and looked around the room before settling on Ken.
"Father how are you feeling?" Ken asked.
Ken seemed worried about him. Kentaro wondered what had happened. The previous several days came rushing back to him. No, he wasn't dreaming this time. He remembered falling asleep last night and then nothing until now.
"Ken? What happened?" his voice croaked. His throat was extremely dry.
Ken handed him a glass of water. Very slowly he sipped it. He handed the glass back to Ken exhausted.
"What happened?" he asked his voice a little stronger now.
"You suffered some injuries from last night and collapsed from exhaustion." Ken stated.
He looked away from his father and continued. "I lost control and..."
Kentaro stopped him. "Ken!" "Last night was twenty years overdue." He added softly looking directly at his son.
"I hurt..."
"Don't feel guilty about this." Kentaro commanded. "You were entitled. Now, I consider the topic closed." Kentaro's tone allowed no argument.
Ken nodded. His father did not want to pursue what happened.
"Besides, if you injured me badly enough to knock me out, I really must have been exhausted. Otherwise you never would have gotten the drop on me." Kentaro stated deadpan.
Ken snorted and looked at his father. He had that obnoxious half-smile on his face.
"I see your modesty is showing again." Ken retorted.
"Mind your tongue boy." Kentaro warned smiling. "Now tell me what happened."
"I tried to wake earlier this afternoon. When I got no response after trying repeatedly I called Hakase and Jun. You have broken ribs and a minor concussion. Mostly you were suffering from exhaustion. You slept for most of the day. You'll be fine in a day or two. Meanwhile Hakase and Jun both ordered you on bed rest for two days. So what can I get for you old man." Ken grinned wickedly.
"Great! You mean to tell me I'm at your mercy for the next two days. Wonderful."
Ken laughed." Yup, the old rat bastard is going to be fine. I think I liked you better when you were quiet."
Kentaro chuckled. Ken propped some pillows behind him. "Let me get you something to eat. Jun said you need fluids and food if you feel up to it."
Kentaro agreed. He thought he could defi0nitely use something to drink and maybe something light to eat.
Kentaro laid back on the pillows. He hadn't slept more than a few hours in several days. It had finally caught up with him. He felt totally drained. It felt odd having his son wait on him. He remembered previous times where it had been reversed. I must be getting old he thought.
Ken returned a few minutes later with soup and juice. Kentaro found he was extremely hungry once he started eating. Ken just watched and drank a beer he had grabbed from the refrigerator. When Kentaro was done he handed the dishes back to Ken.
Ken removed the dishes. Kentaro realized his son had been reviewing the data and making notes about the base. He looked at the clock. It said 2 AM and they had gone to sleep about 6 am that morning. He had slept almost 20 hours. No wonder they had been worried about him he thought.
Ken came back in the room and caught Kentaro studying the information and notes he had taken.
"I was just reviewing the information on the base. You were right to be scared. Are you feeling up to a few questions, or would you rather sleep now and wait until tomorrow?"
"No, now would be fine. We really need to start going over this stuff and figure out a way to get in there."
Ken agreed. First he wanted to understand where Kentaro had gotten the data.
"How did you get the schematics and the information on staffing? I was looking through here and none of the names ring a bell with Galactor. I cross-referenced the staffing list with the ISO database. There were a few minor hits, but nothing significant."
He showed his results to his father.
"I found the base by accident. There is a small airport in Huntworl where I keep a small plane. I was flying over Mt Heza area one day when I noticed someone had cleared a very large swatch of vegetation in the middle of nowhere in a nature preserve."
"I was curious , so I came back and went hiking with a camera. I was able to get some long distance photos. I noticed a defense perimeter, and didn't want to risk being detected. I was able to go back several times over the next several months gathering information."
I had told Jun and Joe how when Dr Rafael found me I had started putting a network together for him. Once Dr Rafael was dead I had all his resources. I set up a small operation in Huntworl. I know this goes into the government there. The Prime Minister and several members of the parliament are involved. I am having trouble connecting any of them to ISO or the UN. I have looked and I can't find the missing pieces."
Ken nodded. If his father couldn't find the missing piece, this was going to be terribly hard. He had managed to stay undetected in Galactor territory for over ten years. It was only his that had brought him out of hiding.
Ken looked directly at Kentaro. "Have you been inside the base? Have you been able to access their systems at all?"
"Yes, I've been through the base, but the security is tight. I can't get into any of the high security areas. They have very sophisticated security. I've thrown multiply cracker programs at it with no luck, I've had some of my best technicians in there with me, Again no luck. Whoever designed this base knows what they're about."
Ken and Kentaro discussed in as much detail as he could provide about the living and functional areas of the base. From several trips inside the base, he had learned the base was not operational yet. There had been no information on the purpose or the mission of all the people recruited. He gathered they didn't know their employer. The pay was good and these were the type of men who didn't ask questions. They simply followed orders as given.
"There's a connection here, no doubt. Maybe Hakase will have some ideas how to penetrate the security to fill in the missing pieces." Ken stated.
Kentaro nodded in agreement. That's what I was hoping. The data is annoyingly incomplete. I was ..."
Kentaro stopped on a yawn.
Ken looked at the clock it was 3:30am. His father looked tired.
"Jun and Hakase are going to yell at me for keeping you up. They made me promise to keep you in bed for another day."
Ken sounded rather uncertain about the whole thing.
Kentaro laughed at his son. "I promise I'll be on my best behavior."
"I've seen you on your best behavior. That's exactly what I'm worried about." Ken retorted.
He and his father had fallen into this bantering relationship naturally. Ken decided he could grow to like this given some time.
"Is there anything else you need before I go to sleep?"
"I was thinking I might take a shower, since I've been in bed for quite a while. Then I think I'll probably go back to sleep."
"Do you need any help?"
Kentaro removed the blanket and stood up slowly. Ken helped remove the regenerator. His body ached badly but after a few minutes he was steady enough on his feet to walk a few feet. " I think I'll be fine just to take a shower."
Ken studied him and was satisfied that his father would be all right.
"You'll find towels and soap in the bathroom. There's an extra toothbrush and razor in the closet. Do you need anything else?" Ken asked.
"No, that should do it."
"OK, good night then. I'm going to clear out the spare room and get some sleep now that I know you're better."
"Good night then." Kentaro headed for the bathroom.
Ken was still clearing out the spare room and making the bed. He heard his father come out of the bathroom and head to the kitchen. Ken went to investigate. He saw his father looking in the refrigerator for food.
"Hungry still?" Ken asked.
"Yes, sorry I didn't mean to get you up."
"I'll make something. Why don't you sit down and rest. Doctor's orders after all."
"I'll be fine , Ken. Go to sleep. I've already caused you enough trouble for today."
"Don't make me get Jun out here." Ken mock threatened.
"After the examination she subjected me to, no way. I'd rather face a platoon of Galactors." Kentaro sat down. He was exhausted, but his stomach was rumbling.
"Examination? This sounds intriguing.." Ken laughed.
"Scrambled eggs and bacon OK for now?"
"Sounds good. Are you sure I'm not keeping you up?" Ken dismissed the question and started frying the bacon.
"So tell me about the 'examination'" Ken asked intrigued.
"It seems Jun has grown up while I was away." Kentaro started. "She said she had become a doctor. She used to be a very quiet young girl. Well, not anymore." Kentaro emphasized.
Kentaro grinned wickedly at Ken.
Ken nodded.
" No, she's definitely grown up." He commented amused.
"She's not just a doctor. She's a premier geneticist. Hakase is very proud of her. She was top at Harvard Med. Cloning is a sub-specialty of hers. Most of her research is in the treatment and regeneration of the severely injured. Neural connections and their regeneration is her main interest. She's really sought after. She hasn't even finished yet, and the offers are coming in already."
Kentaro could hear the pride in his son's voice. He smiled to himself.
"God save me from smart female doctors."
Ken laughed as he placed the food on the table and sat down.
Kentaro continued "That woman of yours has developed a saucy mouth and a bit of an attitude." Kentaro challenged Ken to deny it.
"You mean she wouldn't tolerate you harassing her?" Ken said stifling a laugh. "What exactly did you do to get her annoyed at you?"
"Me??" Kentaro feigned innocence.
Ken laughed aloud " Yes, you."
"I just asked what had happened to the sweet docile girl I remembered."
Ken laughed. "You're still here. Now I know she loves me, otherwise she would have buried you alive for that."
Kentaro laughed and raised an inquiring brow at his son.
"She's a little tougher than she used to be. First she fought for so long, and now she's competing in a man's field with the older men still giving women a hard time. She has to be twice as good and she is more than that. Hakase wants her to start a lab at ISO." Ken explained.
Kentaro looked impressed.
"She must be the best then. Kozaburo never played favorites when it came to research. He always went for the best talent."
Ken nodded in agreement.
They finished the food and headed for bed.
Ken fell to sleep tired but content. He was grateful to finally get this chance to know his enigmatic father.
Kentaro laid back in bed feeling much better. He drifted off to sleep more content than he could remember in many years.
Kentaro lay trying to get comfortable. Finally sheer exhaustion overcame his discomfort, and he slipped into an uneasy sleep.
Ken awoke much later. He had slept like a baby. As he rose shaking off sleep, the previous days events came rushing back. His father, he was here! It wasn't just all a dream he thought disoriented for a moment. He quickly stood and headed to his room at the end of the hall. There was the sleeping form of his father in his bed. No, it definitely was not a dream.
Ken looked at his father silently for a moment. A rush of guilt washed over him as he saw the bruises on his face. His father hadn't fought back. He lost control, and used his father as a punching bag. His father had accepted it as his just due. Ken vowed to amends somehow.
Ken called to his father. He didn't move. That definitely was not normal. His father was an exceptionally light sleeper. Ken remembered getting a knife at his throat the one time he attempted to wake him from sleep. He had never made that mistake again.
He went over and called his name again. "Father, wake up! Red Impulse!" Ken shook him and still there was no response. He tried several times without success. Something was very wrong.
Ken called into his wrist communicator. "Hakase, this is Ken. There's an emergency over here at my place." His voice was urgent as he spoke to Nambu.
"Nambu here Ken. What is it?"
"Hakase I can't wake Red Impulse. I've tried several times and I'm not getting a response."
"Ken, was there any trouble last night?" Hakase asked.
Ken turned his father over and received a groan of pain for his efforts.
"Yes, Hakase. We got physical. I think I may have hurt him. He seemed fine last night,but I can't rouse him now. He usually jumps at the slightest sound. Something is wrong."
"OK. I'll be there shortly." Nambu agreed Something was not right. "Keep trying to wake him until I get there. Nambu out."
Ken tried to wake his father several more times.
Approximately 15 minutes later Ken heard a helicopter arriving in the back. He went to check on Hakase's arrival. He walked to Jun and Nambu they exited the helicopter.
Ken hurried Jun into the house and took her to where Kentaro lay on the bed.
Jun gasped in shock. Red Impulse's face was badly bruised. Jun immediately withdrew a medical scanner from the bag and ran it over him. He had several ribs and a minor concussion. Ken had really beaten him badly.
She called to him several times and received no response. His vitals all appeared good.
She hooked up a portable brain monitor to check the severity of the concussion. What she saw surprised her. Red Impulse was fine. The concussion was minor. It was not responsible for his lack of response.
Kentaro was in an extremely deep state of sleep. He would have collapsed from exhaustion if he had not already been in bed. The only time she had ever seen this was with patients who had been severely sleep deprived. Usually as a result of combat or torture. Most people could not push themselves to this limit and function rationally. Red Impulse had driven himself to exhaustion.
She set up a portable regenerator to speed the healing of his wounds. Normally with a concussion this would have been unpleasant for him. Luckily he wouldn't feel a thing.
Nambu had entered the room. He looked stunned as he saw Red Impulse. "What did you do?!" He yelled angrily at Ken.
"I lost it. There's no excuse. He wouldn't fight back. He just stood there and..." Ken looked horrible.
"How could you? You know what you..." Nambu interrupted and kept yelling
Jun interjected before they both lost it completely.
"The Captain is going to be fine. He has a minor concussion and some broken ribs. That's not the problem here though. He collapsed from exhaustion. The fight just exasperated the issue slightly. He is in a state of extremely deep sleep."
"Will he be OK? How come I can't rouse him?" Ken asked.
"I would guess he hasn't slept in four or more days. His body just gave out, so you can't wake him. Give him few days with the regenerator and he'll be fine. What he needs now is sleep."
Nambu double checked everything. Jun found that annoying sometimes. She knew he was a very capable practitioner, but she was the medical doctor not him. Still it was his friend and Ken's father, so she said nothing for the moment.
Nambu concurred with the diagnosis. "This will shift the meeting back by a day" Nambu stated "I want you--"
"Hakase by two days at least." Jun interrupted "I know this is important, but the Captain will be useless if he collapses while on a mission."
Jun was surprised when Nambu agreed without questioning her. "Do you think he'll be functional after a few days rest."
"Given his tenacity and personality, I think you'll have trouble keeping him in bed that long." Jun smiled. " As long as he gets rest his injuries should heal quickly. Two or three days will be enough."
Nambu smiled. Jun had described him perfectly. He remembered an incident many years ago where Kentaro had gotten back from a mission. He had a serious knife wound that would have incapacitated anyone else. He had had to sedate him so the wound could heal properly.
Nambu turned to Ken and motioned to the kitchen.
"Let's continue this over lunch. I haven't eaten in a while."
Nambu headed to the kitchen with his briefcase in hand.
"I'll make some food." Jun stated " Why don't you two get down to business. I know there's a lot to review." They both nodded.
Nambu looked at Ken for a moment and sighed. "I know this has been hard for you. Still, you of all people cannot afford to lose your head."
Ken nodded. He already knew he was to blame." Hakase, it was my fault. There was no excuse for my behavior. I'll accept whatever you feel is necessary."
Nambu's expression softened a bit then he added. "I will leave this between the two of you. Whatever your father decides to do will be his choice."
Ken looked at him surprised
Nambu looked amused and added softly. "Knowing your father he will tell me to butt out, this is personal. So, I'll let him handle this and avoid the argument with him. Now down to business."
That closed the issue as far as Nambu was concerned. Ken breathed a sigh of relief. He hoped his father would be as understanding.
Nambu pulled out a sheaf of papers and photos as they sat at the table.
"Here is the intelligence from Red Impulse. Jun and Joe also were able to get some thermal scans indicating the size of the base. I have Ryu and Jinpei doing a high altitude fly over in the Phoenix right now. I want independent confirmation of the data. I'm not willing to rely on our intelligence other than O'Rourke. I'm sending him on a surprise inspection tour of the Huntworl facilities as we speak."
"Hakase can we rely on him? We know the leak is highly placed and we know for certain they have infiltrated intelligence. There is no other way to hide this data."
"We'll know that soon. We know if there is anything wrong he'll find it. If he can't find it then, we have a starting point to our investigation."
Ken smiled. He should have trusted Hakase. Jun appeared with tray full of sandwiches, soup, and coffee for them. They ate as Ken studied the photos of the base.
It was huge. It would be deadly if they ever launched a first strike from there. He ate and continued to study the data they had. Red Impulse had detailed that at least six squadrons of planes and at least a hundred battalions of soldiers could be housed. He had partial schematics of living and functional regions of the base. The equipment and systems were the most modern money could buy. The technology was fantastic and deadly.
Red Impulse had not been able to determine conclusively whether biological, chemical, or nuclear capability existed on the base. The security was so sophisticated that his ability to penetrate it was severely limited. Given its size and complexity he assumed it was likely.
They would have to infiltrate the base. Find out its capabilities and then destroy it before anyone could use it. They'd have to determine who had created this monster and stop them before it was too late.
After lunch Jun and Nambu left Ken alone to care for his father. He had specific instructions to keep him in bed for at least the next two days. He noticed neither offered any suggestions for how he might actually accomplish this.
Ken cleared the dishes and went to check on his father. He took the intelligence materials with him. He sat down by his father and looked at his prone form.
The regenerator was working quickly. Already the visible bruises were healing. He hoped his father wouldn't be in much pain when he woke. He looked better than before and was resting peacefully for now.
Ken sighed and turned back to task at hand. He studied the documents detailing the base. At least his father couldn't accuse him of squandering the time.
Ken had been studying the papers for hours when he rose and took a break. He went and poured himself some iced tea and grabbed some cookies and headed back for the bedroom. Ken soon lost himself in the mission planning again.
Kentaro's movement in the bed roused Ken from his seat. It was late he realized. He checked on his father again. Good, he was stirring finally!
Kentaro felt like he was coming out of a heavily drugged sleep. His mind was foggy. He couldn't seem to think properly. His whole body felt heavy and lethargic. He moved slightly and heard a voice coming from a distance. It sounded like his son's voice. He wondered for a moment if he was dreaming again. He didn't want to wake and find himself alone in Huntworl again .
"Father, Father, can you hear me? I need you to wake up for a few minutes." Ken called to him.
Kentaro opened his eyes and a blurry image of Ken came into view. He closed his eyes again and concentrated on waking up. He was laying in a bed covered with several blankets. He had some type of medical device hooked to him.
He opened his eyes again and looked around the room before settling on Ken.
"Father how are you feeling?" Ken asked.
Ken seemed worried about him. Kentaro wondered what had happened. The previous several days came rushing back to him. No, he wasn't dreaming this time. He remembered falling asleep last night and then nothing until now.
"Ken? What happened?" his voice croaked. His throat was extremely dry.
Ken handed him a glass of water. Very slowly he sipped it. He handed the glass back to Ken exhausted.
"What happened?" he asked his voice a little stronger now.
"You suffered some injuries from last night and collapsed from exhaustion." Ken stated.
He looked away from his father and continued. "I lost control and..."
Kentaro stopped him. "Ken!" "Last night was twenty years overdue." He added softly looking directly at his son.
"I hurt..."
"Don't feel guilty about this." Kentaro commanded. "You were entitled. Now, I consider the topic closed." Kentaro's tone allowed no argument.
Ken nodded. His father did not want to pursue what happened.
"Besides, if you injured me badly enough to knock me out, I really must have been exhausted. Otherwise you never would have gotten the drop on me." Kentaro stated deadpan.
Ken snorted and looked at his father. He had that obnoxious half-smile on his face.
"I see your modesty is showing again." Ken retorted.
"Mind your tongue boy." Kentaro warned smiling. "Now tell me what happened."
"I tried to wake earlier this afternoon. When I got no response after trying repeatedly I called Hakase and Jun. You have broken ribs and a minor concussion. Mostly you were suffering from exhaustion. You slept for most of the day. You'll be fine in a day or two. Meanwhile Hakase and Jun both ordered you on bed rest for two days. So what can I get for you old man." Ken grinned wickedly.
"Great! You mean to tell me I'm at your mercy for the next two days. Wonderful."
Ken laughed." Yup, the old rat bastard is going to be fine. I think I liked you better when you were quiet."
Kentaro chuckled. Ken propped some pillows behind him. "Let me get you something to eat. Jun said you need fluids and food if you feel up to it."
Kentaro agreed. He thought he could defi0nitely use something to drink and maybe something light to eat.
Kentaro laid back on the pillows. He hadn't slept more than a few hours in several days. It had finally caught up with him. He felt totally drained. It felt odd having his son wait on him. He remembered previous times where it had been reversed. I must be getting old he thought.
Ken returned a few minutes later with soup and juice. Kentaro found he was extremely hungry once he started eating. Ken just watched and drank a beer he had grabbed from the refrigerator. When Kentaro was done he handed the dishes back to Ken.
Ken removed the dishes. Kentaro realized his son had been reviewing the data and making notes about the base. He looked at the clock. It said 2 AM and they had gone to sleep about 6 am that morning. He had slept almost 20 hours. No wonder they had been worried about him he thought.
Ken came back in the room and caught Kentaro studying the information and notes he had taken.
"I was just reviewing the information on the base. You were right to be scared. Are you feeling up to a few questions, or would you rather sleep now and wait until tomorrow?"
"No, now would be fine. We really need to start going over this stuff and figure out a way to get in there."
Ken agreed. First he wanted to understand where Kentaro had gotten the data.
"How did you get the schematics and the information on staffing? I was looking through here and none of the names ring a bell with Galactor. I cross-referenced the staffing list with the ISO database. There were a few minor hits, but nothing significant."
He showed his results to his father.
"I found the base by accident. There is a small airport in Huntworl where I keep a small plane. I was flying over Mt Heza area one day when I noticed someone had cleared a very large swatch of vegetation in the middle of nowhere in a nature preserve."
"I was curious , so I came back and went hiking with a camera. I was able to get some long distance photos. I noticed a defense perimeter, and didn't want to risk being detected. I was able to go back several times over the next several months gathering information."
I had told Jun and Joe how when Dr Rafael found me I had started putting a network together for him. Once Dr Rafael was dead I had all his resources. I set up a small operation in Huntworl. I know this goes into the government there. The Prime Minister and several members of the parliament are involved. I am having trouble connecting any of them to ISO or the UN. I have looked and I can't find the missing pieces."
Ken nodded. If his father couldn't find the missing piece, this was going to be terribly hard. He had managed to stay undetected in Galactor territory for over ten years. It was only his that had brought him out of hiding.
Ken looked directly at Kentaro. "Have you been inside the base? Have you been able to access their systems at all?"
"Yes, I've been through the base, but the security is tight. I can't get into any of the high security areas. They have very sophisticated security. I've thrown multiply cracker programs at it with no luck, I've had some of my best technicians in there with me, Again no luck. Whoever designed this base knows what they're about."
Ken and Kentaro discussed in as much detail as he could provide about the living and functional areas of the base. From several trips inside the base, he had learned the base was not operational yet. There had been no information on the purpose or the mission of all the people recruited. He gathered they didn't know their employer. The pay was good and these were the type of men who didn't ask questions. They simply followed orders as given.
"There's a connection here, no doubt. Maybe Hakase will have some ideas how to penetrate the security to fill in the missing pieces." Ken stated.
Kentaro nodded in agreement. That's what I was hoping. The data is annoyingly incomplete. I was ..."
Kentaro stopped on a yawn.
Ken looked at the clock it was 3:30am. His father looked tired.
"Jun and Hakase are going to yell at me for keeping you up. They made me promise to keep you in bed for another day."
Ken sounded rather uncertain about the whole thing.
Kentaro laughed at his son. "I promise I'll be on my best behavior."
"I've seen you on your best behavior. That's exactly what I'm worried about." Ken retorted.
He and his father had fallen into this bantering relationship naturally. Ken decided he could grow to like this given some time.
"Is there anything else you need before I go to sleep?"
"I was thinking I might take a shower, since I've been in bed for quite a while. Then I think I'll probably go back to sleep."
"Do you need any help?"
Kentaro removed the blanket and stood up slowly. Ken helped remove the regenerator. His body ached badly but after a few minutes he was steady enough on his feet to walk a few feet. " I think I'll be fine just to take a shower."
Ken studied him and was satisfied that his father would be all right.
"You'll find towels and soap in the bathroom. There's an extra toothbrush and razor in the closet. Do you need anything else?" Ken asked.
"No, that should do it."
"OK, good night then. I'm going to clear out the spare room and get some sleep now that I know you're better."
"Good night then." Kentaro headed for the bathroom.
Ken was still clearing out the spare room and making the bed. He heard his father come out of the bathroom and head to the kitchen. Ken went to investigate. He saw his father looking in the refrigerator for food.
"Hungry still?" Ken asked.
"Yes, sorry I didn't mean to get you up."
"I'll make something. Why don't you sit down and rest. Doctor's orders after all."
"I'll be fine , Ken. Go to sleep. I've already caused you enough trouble for today."
"Don't make me get Jun out here." Ken mock threatened.
"After the examination she subjected me to, no way. I'd rather face a platoon of Galactors." Kentaro sat down. He was exhausted, but his stomach was rumbling.
"Examination? This sounds intriguing.." Ken laughed.
"Scrambled eggs and bacon OK for now?"
"Sounds good. Are you sure I'm not keeping you up?" Ken dismissed the question and started frying the bacon.
"So tell me about the 'examination'" Ken asked intrigued.
"It seems Jun has grown up while I was away." Kentaro started. "She said she had become a doctor. She used to be a very quiet young girl. Well, not anymore." Kentaro emphasized.
Kentaro grinned wickedly at Ken.
Ken nodded.
" No, she's definitely grown up." He commented amused.
"She's not just a doctor. She's a premier geneticist. Hakase is very proud of her. She was top at Harvard Med. Cloning is a sub-specialty of hers. Most of her research is in the treatment and regeneration of the severely injured. Neural connections and their regeneration is her main interest. She's really sought after. She hasn't even finished yet, and the offers are coming in already."
Kentaro could hear the pride in his son's voice. He smiled to himself.
"God save me from smart female doctors."
Ken laughed as he placed the food on the table and sat down.
Kentaro continued "That woman of yours has developed a saucy mouth and a bit of an attitude." Kentaro challenged Ken to deny it.
"You mean she wouldn't tolerate you harassing her?" Ken said stifling a laugh. "What exactly did you do to get her annoyed at you?"
"Me??" Kentaro feigned innocence.
Ken laughed aloud " Yes, you."
"I just asked what had happened to the sweet docile girl I remembered."
Ken laughed. "You're still here. Now I know she loves me, otherwise she would have buried you alive for that."
Kentaro laughed and raised an inquiring brow at his son.
"She's a little tougher than she used to be. First she fought for so long, and now she's competing in a man's field with the older men still giving women a hard time. She has to be twice as good and she is more than that. Hakase wants her to start a lab at ISO." Ken explained.
Kentaro looked impressed.
"She must be the best then. Kozaburo never played favorites when it came to research. He always went for the best talent."
Ken nodded in agreement.
They finished the food and headed for bed.
Ken fell to sleep tired but content. He was grateful to finally get this chance to know his enigmatic father.
Kentaro laid back in bed feeling much better. He drifted off to sleep more content than he could remember in many years.