&&&&&&
Gustav rubbed his temples with his index fingers. He had debriefed Basile and sat alone with the mission report on the desk in front of him. Hikaro's words were right there in black and white. What did it mean? His thoughts turned to Yuri. She was alive, but for how much longer? Without the document, everything changed. Damage control protocol demanded she be classified a rogue agent by the 3WA, and they would disavow any knowledge of her actions. She would most certainly be brought up on charges of espionage.
"Toma, have you figured it out yet?" Toma's glasses gave a glint of glare through the monitor as he looked up from what he was reading.
"Well, chief, as you are aware, Admiral Soren Verispano-Zengia's "Attack and Defense in 5 Dimensions" is a work written in 12 volumes. The passage Hikaro referred to is not in the section he indicated, but in a completely different section; number 4. Also, the ratio of combatant forces is 3:1, not 5:1 as he stated. The 3WA main computer has reviewed the video of his conversation with Chief Basile and confirmed through R.E.M., facial stress point and breathing rate analyses that he knew he was giving erroneous information."
"Does that mean what I think it does?"
"Yes, sir. He was giving us a coded message, and the code is 7:5:1."
"What do you think it could mean?"
"My research indicates only one possibility that stands out. With 97.562 % probability, he's given us the 3 numerical values for the variables of Savarius' long-range scanning algorithm."
"That means we can..."
"Yes. We can now input these values into our cloaking modulator. Savaruis- 3 will not know where we are until we enter their atmosphere; by then we'd be able to land and deploy before they could intercept. It took us two weeks to calculate the previous values that allowed the Lovely Angel to land on Savarius the last time. It is almost certain that these were changed after Yuri's escape. This will give us a very good element of surprise.
Kei announced herself at the door. Gustav invited her in and explained the situation.
"But it could be a trap." Some of Kei's old instincts reared themselves. "How do we know we can trust this guy?"
"You're correct, Kei. That's why we'll send an exploratory unit in first before we risk a larger force." Basile turned to say something into the comm-unit.
Kei cracked her knuckles; a gleam in her eye. A little action would relieve a lot of the stress she was feeling lately. She absent-mindedly pressed the locket to her chest. The steady heartbeat helped keep her focus.
'We'll be back soon Keitaro, the both of us.'
"All right, Toma. Create the patch to the cloaking program and upload it to the Apache unit immediately. Kei, let's get ready."
"Right, sir." Both Kei and Toma chorused.
&&&&&&
First planetary defense minister Kapriel stood abruptly and saluted as the prince entered the inner chamber of the war room.
"Your Highness."
Monsuud nodded and sat down, motioning for Kapriel to do the same.
"Status?"
"Hikaro has retrieved the pod and she is alive." Kapriel was glad to be the bearer of good news this time. He had felt the prince's wrath before; the scar on his right arm bore testimony to that.
"Our scans did not detect any transmission activity from the pod, save two hail attempts, so we are confident the 3WA does not have it."
The "it' was the complete list, on opti-disc, of Savarian operatives assigned to various planetary systems within the triple star cluster. Monsuud was intent on building a Savarian empire. His strategy included political and economic destabilization of the surrounding civilizations within the cluster. Once his operatives ensured conditions were optimal, he would enter as the "white knight" with an offer of either military, financial, or political support (or any combination) that could not be refused. He then moved quickly to ratify an interim government before the 3WA could intervene. Taking candy from small children was more difficult. He had employed this strategy successfully six times. The Savarian Union now stood at twelve planets and 77 billion people. His ultimate goal of total control of all 37 planets would soon be within his grasp. With that many potential soldiers and that much raw material, he would amass a force that would rival the largest in the known universe. The 3WA could not sit idly and allow this shift in the balance of power.
The list even included moles within the 3WA itself. Yuri hadn't the time to transmit the data to headquarters as the device Toma had given her had not performed completely as expected. It had successfully bypassed 14 layers of security to access the data, but the hidden 15th layer was tripped when she extracted the data to an external medium. The breach alarms sounded, and she had to move quickly.
Her contacts met her at the rendezvous point. Pataira and Yui-ten had originally helped her infiltrate the palace using their cover as attendants- in-waiting. Members of the "3-Free!" movement, they had dedicated their lives to regaining freedom from the prince's tyrannical rule. Their group, while numbering in the hundreds of thousands, could not succeed without help. That was why they requested assistance from the 3WA. The 3WA needed irrefutable proof before it could act unilaterally against a standing government. Yuri now had that proof. A massive sweep would arrest and detain those identified. The evidence compiled would either topple the prince's regime internally, or it would provide the moral justification for removal by force.
The three quickly made their way through the palace via the escape route that had been pre-planned. Guns drawn and covering for each other, the freedom fighters took turns through each checkpoint, always keeping Yuri protected. At one turn, Yui-ten encountered a security detachment and a firefight ensued. They didn't have time for this. They had to get Yuri out of there. She gave a signal to Pataira. Three fingers, then two, then an open palm across her forearm. Pataira nodded her understanding, and threw herself onto the floor of the corridor, squeezing seemingly random bursts from her weapon. Yui-ten knew the timing of the bursts; they were not random. She advanced in a zig-zag pattern from wall to wall until she was close enough to use the concussion field generator. Activated, she hurled it down the floor with all her strength. As it reached the enemy's position, she ignited it remotely, then quickly curled herself into as small a package as possible, jamming her thumbs into her ears for protection. Pataira threw herself onto Yuri. The shock wave did its job. After gathering Yuri and helping Yui-ten up, Pataira took the lead the rest of the way out of the palace. They encountered no more resistance, but Yui- ten was bleeding from a wound in her shoulder.
"I'm all right. We have to keep going."
They continued making their way to the abandoned quarry where the Lovely Angel was hidden. They barely said their good-byes when security forces opened fire on their position. The deja vu flashback of Flair's hit on Ralmophon was not lost on Yuri. She quickly completed the pre-flight checklist and launched. Reaching an altitude of 1000 ft., she strafed the first wave of security forces, trying to gain time for her colleagues. She couldn't continue as her sensors picked up the launch of their pursuit squadron. She had at most 3 minutes to get out of there. Her first priority was successful completion of her mission. That didn't make it any less difficult as she watched her comrades on the monitor . They fought valiantly, but were soon overmatched. Yui-ten was the first to fall as she was shot through the back. Pataira continued to fight, but her end came quickly as well. A grenade exploded to her left, killing her instantly.
"Nooooooooooooo!!!!!!!"
With a cry of anguish, Yuri released the Lovely Angel's entire array of Solon cluster bombs, incinerating a 5 square mile area. Yuri pushed the Lovely Angel to escape velocity; a stream of tears staining the front of her uniform. Their sacrifice would not be in vain.
No it would not.
&&&&&&
"Next!"
The fallen opponent needed assistance getting up from the floor. That made four that Ja-len had dispatched in less than 15 minutes. This was supposed to be a combat training session, but Ja-len made it his personal therapy session. If not for that, he would explode.
"Ja-len. Take it down a notch. We are on your side." Ja-len bowed his apologies to the training coordinator, still keeping an eye open for another opponent.
"I'll go next, but only if it's hand-to-hand", said some brave soul. Ja- len threw down his bokken, a wooden version of a samauri sword; a wicked smile on his face.
"Mission briefing in twenty minutes", came the announcement. A sigh of relief arose from the the group as the coordinator dismissed them, much to Ja-len's dismay. Maybe this would be good news. God knew he could use some. He headed off to the showers.
Later, in the briefing room, Gustav spoke.
"I am asking for 3 volunteers for a reconnaissance unit to Savarius-3. This might be a suicide mission."
Ja-len was first in line.
'This is it. This is my destiny - what I was born for - what I have trained for - what I am now willing to die for. If - no, when I find her, I will not let anyone ever take her from me again. This I swear.'
&&&&&&
The retrieval unit released the pod in Bay 2 of the Yamunesse. After pressurization, an ensign unlocked and opened the hatch, quickly stepping away. Yuri, still not used to full gravity, nearly fell from the hatch door. She analyzed the situation as best she could. There were about 25 of them in the landing bay. Half of them appeared to be soldiers; the others were only technicians.
"Stay behind me Mughi."
"Meooow"
She reached down to retrieve her saber where it had fallen. It felt a bit odd in her right hand; she made a mental note to practice right-handed a lot more, if she lived. She crouched in a defensive position and waited for her attackers. The ones who were armed circled her. She saw fear in the eyes of some of them. The loss of so many of their ships by her hand was still a fresh memory. They surmised that she could fight as well hand- to-hand as she could dogfight. Momentarily, the rear of the semi-circle opened and Hikaro stepped forward.
"Lovely Angel Yuri of the 3WA, you are hereby placed under arrest for espionage. Put down your weapon and surrender at once. As you can see, you are outnumbered, and your left arm is turning black and blue. Allow us to give you the medical attention you require."
A smile curled the right side of Yuri's lips at being called a "lovely angel" and not that other phrase that she and Kei despised. The opti-disc was still secured in her boot, and she momentarily considered destroying it. Her quick scan of the bay gave her an idea. On the far end sat two shuttle craft. If she could just make it to one of them, and if it was fueled, and if it was armed, she could try to break out of the bay and make another run for it. She frowned. There were a lot of "ifs" in that equation, but she didn't see any other choice. The saber fired up with a flash.
"Hiiiiyaaaah!!!"
&&&&&&
Sevahnn hit the 'enter' key and waited. It would take about 2 hours. Toma really was brilliant, he thought. Who else could have thought of taking the theorem that matches trouble consultants into teams, to scan the medical records of the known universe of 73 trillion people? Keitaro's exact genetic profile was established in only one out of 670 million cases. Both his parents were dead, and neither had any extended family. The odds were still good that they would find a donor match. What they were doing was illegal, of course, and they both would be reprimanded at best. At worst, well, he didn't want to think about that.
There had been some interference by bureaucrats who caught wind of their intentions and did not want the 3WA main computer used for such reasons. Rather than wait for "official" authorization, Toma merely used an entry point he had designed into a patch and accessed the system anyway. The resources used in the search routine would be masked through his "whitewash" program. Although he was fond of joking that he had absolutely no romantic interest in either Yuri or Kei, they were still two of his dearest friends, and he would never let anything get in the way of Keitaro's successful recovery.
&&&&&&
"Stop her! She's moving towards the shuttle craft!" It dawned on Hikaro what Yuri's strategy had been. Attack and slightly retreat. Attack and slightly retreat. All the while continue to move left. Closer. Closer. Mughi wisely kept pace right behind her. They were hamstrung as they couldn't risk injuring her any more than she was. Monsuud would have their heads. She was ten meters away when they tried to cover her with a net. She cut through it easily. A little closer. Her left arm was ablaze but she was almost there.
Three meters.
Suddenly, a wave of nausea and dizziness overtook her. Unknown to Yuri, the capsule had cracked slightly when she was shaken up, allowing a trace amount of the poison into her system. Weakness overtook her, and she dropped to one knee to gather herself, grasping the side of the hatch opening. Lifting Mughi into the hatch, she took deep breaths to try to clear her head. What a corps of soldiers could not do, .004 milligrams did. Panting with the effort to stand again, she lost her balance as everything went black. She was unconscious before she hit the floor.
&&&&&&
Gustav rubbed his temples with his index fingers. He had debriefed Basile and sat alone with the mission report on the desk in front of him. Hikaro's words were right there in black and white. What did it mean? His thoughts turned to Yuri. She was alive, but for how much longer? Without the document, everything changed. Damage control protocol demanded she be classified a rogue agent by the 3WA, and they would disavow any knowledge of her actions. She would most certainly be brought up on charges of espionage.
"Toma, have you figured it out yet?" Toma's glasses gave a glint of glare through the monitor as he looked up from what he was reading.
"Well, chief, as you are aware, Admiral Soren Verispano-Zengia's "Attack and Defense in 5 Dimensions" is a work written in 12 volumes. The passage Hikaro referred to is not in the section he indicated, but in a completely different section; number 4. Also, the ratio of combatant forces is 3:1, not 5:1 as he stated. The 3WA main computer has reviewed the video of his conversation with Chief Basile and confirmed through R.E.M., facial stress point and breathing rate analyses that he knew he was giving erroneous information."
"Does that mean what I think it does?"
"Yes, sir. He was giving us a coded message, and the code is 7:5:1."
"What do you think it could mean?"
"My research indicates only one possibility that stands out. With 97.562 % probability, he's given us the 3 numerical values for the variables of Savarius' long-range scanning algorithm."
"That means we can..."
"Yes. We can now input these values into our cloaking modulator. Savaruis- 3 will not know where we are until we enter their atmosphere; by then we'd be able to land and deploy before they could intercept. It took us two weeks to calculate the previous values that allowed the Lovely Angel to land on Savarius the last time. It is almost certain that these were changed after Yuri's escape. This will give us a very good element of surprise.
Kei announced herself at the door. Gustav invited her in and explained the situation.
"But it could be a trap." Some of Kei's old instincts reared themselves. "How do we know we can trust this guy?"
"You're correct, Kei. That's why we'll send an exploratory unit in first before we risk a larger force." Basile turned to say something into the comm-unit.
Kei cracked her knuckles; a gleam in her eye. A little action would relieve a lot of the stress she was feeling lately. She absent-mindedly pressed the locket to her chest. The steady heartbeat helped keep her focus.
'We'll be back soon Keitaro, the both of us.'
"All right, Toma. Create the patch to the cloaking program and upload it to the Apache unit immediately. Kei, let's get ready."
"Right, sir." Both Kei and Toma chorused.
&&&&&&
First planetary defense minister Kapriel stood abruptly and saluted as the prince entered the inner chamber of the war room.
"Your Highness."
Monsuud nodded and sat down, motioning for Kapriel to do the same.
"Status?"
"Hikaro has retrieved the pod and she is alive." Kapriel was glad to be the bearer of good news this time. He had felt the prince's wrath before; the scar on his right arm bore testimony to that.
"Our scans did not detect any transmission activity from the pod, save two hail attempts, so we are confident the 3WA does not have it."
The "it' was the complete list, on opti-disc, of Savarian operatives assigned to various planetary systems within the triple star cluster. Monsuud was intent on building a Savarian empire. His strategy included political and economic destabilization of the surrounding civilizations within the cluster. Once his operatives ensured conditions were optimal, he would enter as the "white knight" with an offer of either military, financial, or political support (or any combination) that could not be refused. He then moved quickly to ratify an interim government before the 3WA could intervene. Taking candy from small children was more difficult. He had employed this strategy successfully six times. The Savarian Union now stood at twelve planets and 77 billion people. His ultimate goal of total control of all 37 planets would soon be within his grasp. With that many potential soldiers and that much raw material, he would amass a force that would rival the largest in the known universe. The 3WA could not sit idly and allow this shift in the balance of power.
The list even included moles within the 3WA itself. Yuri hadn't the time to transmit the data to headquarters as the device Toma had given her had not performed completely as expected. It had successfully bypassed 14 layers of security to access the data, but the hidden 15th layer was tripped when she extracted the data to an external medium. The breach alarms sounded, and she had to move quickly.
Her contacts met her at the rendezvous point. Pataira and Yui-ten had originally helped her infiltrate the palace using their cover as attendants- in-waiting. Members of the "3-Free!" movement, they had dedicated their lives to regaining freedom from the prince's tyrannical rule. Their group, while numbering in the hundreds of thousands, could not succeed without help. That was why they requested assistance from the 3WA. The 3WA needed irrefutable proof before it could act unilaterally against a standing government. Yuri now had that proof. A massive sweep would arrest and detain those identified. The evidence compiled would either topple the prince's regime internally, or it would provide the moral justification for removal by force.
The three quickly made their way through the palace via the escape route that had been pre-planned. Guns drawn and covering for each other, the freedom fighters took turns through each checkpoint, always keeping Yuri protected. At one turn, Yui-ten encountered a security detachment and a firefight ensued. They didn't have time for this. They had to get Yuri out of there. She gave a signal to Pataira. Three fingers, then two, then an open palm across her forearm. Pataira nodded her understanding, and threw herself onto the floor of the corridor, squeezing seemingly random bursts from her weapon. Yui-ten knew the timing of the bursts; they were not random. She advanced in a zig-zag pattern from wall to wall until she was close enough to use the concussion field generator. Activated, she hurled it down the floor with all her strength. As it reached the enemy's position, she ignited it remotely, then quickly curled herself into as small a package as possible, jamming her thumbs into her ears for protection. Pataira threw herself onto Yuri. The shock wave did its job. After gathering Yuri and helping Yui-ten up, Pataira took the lead the rest of the way out of the palace. They encountered no more resistance, but Yui- ten was bleeding from a wound in her shoulder.
"I'm all right. We have to keep going."
They continued making their way to the abandoned quarry where the Lovely Angel was hidden. They barely said their good-byes when security forces opened fire on their position. The deja vu flashback of Flair's hit on Ralmophon was not lost on Yuri. She quickly completed the pre-flight checklist and launched. Reaching an altitude of 1000 ft., she strafed the first wave of security forces, trying to gain time for her colleagues. She couldn't continue as her sensors picked up the launch of their pursuit squadron. She had at most 3 minutes to get out of there. Her first priority was successful completion of her mission. That didn't make it any less difficult as she watched her comrades on the monitor . They fought valiantly, but were soon overmatched. Yui-ten was the first to fall as she was shot through the back. Pataira continued to fight, but her end came quickly as well. A grenade exploded to her left, killing her instantly.
"Nooooooooooooo!!!!!!!"
With a cry of anguish, Yuri released the Lovely Angel's entire array of Solon cluster bombs, incinerating a 5 square mile area. Yuri pushed the Lovely Angel to escape velocity; a stream of tears staining the front of her uniform. Their sacrifice would not be in vain.
No it would not.
&&&&&&
"Next!"
The fallen opponent needed assistance getting up from the floor. That made four that Ja-len had dispatched in less than 15 minutes. This was supposed to be a combat training session, but Ja-len made it his personal therapy session. If not for that, he would explode.
"Ja-len. Take it down a notch. We are on your side." Ja-len bowed his apologies to the training coordinator, still keeping an eye open for another opponent.
"I'll go next, but only if it's hand-to-hand", said some brave soul. Ja- len threw down his bokken, a wooden version of a samauri sword; a wicked smile on his face.
"Mission briefing in twenty minutes", came the announcement. A sigh of relief arose from the the group as the coordinator dismissed them, much to Ja-len's dismay. Maybe this would be good news. God knew he could use some. He headed off to the showers.
Later, in the briefing room, Gustav spoke.
"I am asking for 3 volunteers for a reconnaissance unit to Savarius-3. This might be a suicide mission."
Ja-len was first in line.
'This is it. This is my destiny - what I was born for - what I have trained for - what I am now willing to die for. If - no, when I find her, I will not let anyone ever take her from me again. This I swear.'
&&&&&&
The retrieval unit released the pod in Bay 2 of the Yamunesse. After pressurization, an ensign unlocked and opened the hatch, quickly stepping away. Yuri, still not used to full gravity, nearly fell from the hatch door. She analyzed the situation as best she could. There were about 25 of them in the landing bay. Half of them appeared to be soldiers; the others were only technicians.
"Stay behind me Mughi."
"Meooow"
She reached down to retrieve her saber where it had fallen. It felt a bit odd in her right hand; she made a mental note to practice right-handed a lot more, if she lived. She crouched in a defensive position and waited for her attackers. The ones who were armed circled her. She saw fear in the eyes of some of them. The loss of so many of their ships by her hand was still a fresh memory. They surmised that she could fight as well hand- to-hand as she could dogfight. Momentarily, the rear of the semi-circle opened and Hikaro stepped forward.
"Lovely Angel Yuri of the 3WA, you are hereby placed under arrest for espionage. Put down your weapon and surrender at once. As you can see, you are outnumbered, and your left arm is turning black and blue. Allow us to give you the medical attention you require."
A smile curled the right side of Yuri's lips at being called a "lovely angel" and not that other phrase that she and Kei despised. The opti-disc was still secured in her boot, and she momentarily considered destroying it. Her quick scan of the bay gave her an idea. On the far end sat two shuttle craft. If she could just make it to one of them, and if it was fueled, and if it was armed, she could try to break out of the bay and make another run for it. She frowned. There were a lot of "ifs" in that equation, but she didn't see any other choice. The saber fired up with a flash.
"Hiiiiyaaaah!!!"
&&&&&&
Sevahnn hit the 'enter' key and waited. It would take about 2 hours. Toma really was brilliant, he thought. Who else could have thought of taking the theorem that matches trouble consultants into teams, to scan the medical records of the known universe of 73 trillion people? Keitaro's exact genetic profile was established in only one out of 670 million cases. Both his parents were dead, and neither had any extended family. The odds were still good that they would find a donor match. What they were doing was illegal, of course, and they both would be reprimanded at best. At worst, well, he didn't want to think about that.
There had been some interference by bureaucrats who caught wind of their intentions and did not want the 3WA main computer used for such reasons. Rather than wait for "official" authorization, Toma merely used an entry point he had designed into a patch and accessed the system anyway. The resources used in the search routine would be masked through his "whitewash" program. Although he was fond of joking that he had absolutely no romantic interest in either Yuri or Kei, they were still two of his dearest friends, and he would never let anything get in the way of Keitaro's successful recovery.
&&&&&&
"Stop her! She's moving towards the shuttle craft!" It dawned on Hikaro what Yuri's strategy had been. Attack and slightly retreat. Attack and slightly retreat. All the while continue to move left. Closer. Closer. Mughi wisely kept pace right behind her. They were hamstrung as they couldn't risk injuring her any more than she was. Monsuud would have their heads. She was ten meters away when they tried to cover her with a net. She cut through it easily. A little closer. Her left arm was ablaze but she was almost there.
Three meters.
Suddenly, a wave of nausea and dizziness overtook her. Unknown to Yuri, the capsule had cracked slightly when she was shaken up, allowing a trace amount of the poison into her system. Weakness overtook her, and she dropped to one knee to gather herself, grasping the side of the hatch opening. Lifting Mughi into the hatch, she took deep breaths to try to clear her head. What a corps of soldiers could not do, .004 milligrams did. Panting with the effort to stand again, she lost her balance as everything went black. She was unconscious before she hit the floor.
&&&&&&