Patlabor: Personal Files
An Episodic Patlabor Fanfic by David A. Tatum
Disclaimer: Insert legal junk here...
Episode 04: Birth of a New Millennium, Part 1
December 30, 1999
Kanuka walked through the door and up to Gotoh's desk. "Captain, can I
talk to you?" she asked.
Gotoh blinked. Kanuka didn't usually barge into his office and ask him to
talk without knocking first. In fact, he was somewhat surprised she was in
the building- by his watch, her plane was leaving in a few hours, and she
barely had time to get on it. "Well... Unit Two doesn't go on active duty
for another couple of hours, and things have been quiet so I doubt we'll be
needed for other reasons, so yeah, sure."
"Sir, my grandmother is... ill. I want to ask you for a job in your unit
for a while, so I can stay in Japan and take care of her."
Gotoh thought about it for a moment. "Hmm.... Ill, you say? Ill in what
way? How long do you need to stay here?"
Kanuka was silent for a moment before sighing. "She's... dying. She's got
a year, maybe a little longer, but she isn't expected to recover..."
Gotoh's eyes widened. "What is her problem?"
"Heart condition... and bronchitis, but that's treatable. She'll be able
to live normally for a while- after she gets over the bronchitis, that is-
but she's got a year a most. I... just want to be around her as long as I
can."
Gotoh looked at his one-time subordinate for a full minute before replying.
"I can't give you a job in Unit 2, and I'm not sure there's a job
available in any labor unit right now. The rookie class of 1999 was just
sent to fill in all available slots. If anyone decides to return to the
academy, there might be an opening, but it almost certainly wouldn't last
for a full year. However..."
"Yes?"
"Do you think you'll be able to deal with an assignment to the Academy?
They're always looking for experienced labor pilots as instructors, and
your time with us will make you an even better candidate. You wouldn't be
able to get the position for another three months- the Academy doesn't
re-open until the first Monday in April- but I might also be able to swing
you an intermittent assignment with the street patrol until it does."
"Street patrol?" Kanuka said, her nose wrinkling in disgust. "You mean as
a traffic cop?"
Gotoh shrugged. He turned to look out the window at the gathering storm
clouds approaching- it was supposed to snow sometime that day, but hadn't
started yet. Looking outside, all Gotoh could do was think about how
inadequate his offer was. "Essentially, but it's the best I can do on
short notice."
"I would never...." Kanuka's voice trailed off. No, she wouldn't ever
have considered going to the traffic cops- she was a labor pilot, after
all. That was all she was good at- and she was one of the best out there-
and she would never have considered being a traffic cop even if it meant
resigning... except, in this case, she didn't have much choice. If she
didn't get SOME job here, she couldn't stay with her grandmother... "I
guess I don't have much choice. Do you mind if I borrow your phone and
call my captain in New York? I'm going to need to get his permission, and
I might need you to talk to him as well..."
Gotoh nodded. "Go ahead, I'll back you up as much as I can." He paused.
"I pretty sure all of the old gang will."
Kanuka stopped for a moment. A small tear was forming in her eye, and she
couldn't afford to let anyone see it or her reputation would be ruined, so
she forced herself to stand still for a moment to recover.
* * * * *
Shige was looking through the engine of the labor transport for Unit Two's
Labor 2 when he heard it- a thumping sound followed by a distinctly female
yelp of pain. Quickly dropping everything (including a toolbox that landed
on his foot and forced him to hop around on the other for a few seconds
while recovering from the pain) he made his way to the sound. There he
found the cute labor officer which he and most of the rest of the
maintenance crew had only seen at the tournament, and even then they'd
barely gotten a glimpse at her.
There she was, rubbing away the pain in her derriere. Shige's eyes
widened- this cute little girl would be WORKING here? Every day? In the
same building as HE was?! He was almost speechless.
"Uh... are you okay, miss?" he finally got out.
"Ow... yes, I think so. I fell trying to climb into the transport's cab-
that step is too high..."
Shige looked at the cab and noticed that it probably was, in fact, too high
for the girl. Shinshi had never complained about it, true, but then again
this girl was nearly a half foot shorter than he was. "Hmm... I think
you're right. Tell you what- give me about a half hour to finish the
tune-up I'm giving to the engine, and I'll mount a small step ladder for
you."
Her face brightened. "You will? Thanks!" she squealed, giving Shige a
brief but powerful hug. With that, she dashed off in the direction of Unit
Two's lounge.
Shige didn't start moving again for another ten minutes.
* * * * *
A couple of hours later, Shige strolled into the Maintenance Squad Lunch
Room (really, just an empty storage area with tables set up) and sat down
with a happy sigh, a smile on his face. He seemed to be just picking
through his food, and those in the room who knew him well figured something
weird was going on.
"Hey, Shige, what's going on?" one of the junior mechanics asked him.
"Oh... you know that new female labor officer?"
"The cute one?" another of his friends asked.
"Yeah... well, I offered to install a step ladder for her Labor Transport,
and so she... she HUGGED me!"
"Wow..." said a third mechanic.
More questions about the incident followed, but there wasn't really much
else that Shige could say. So, with that, the rumors started to circulate.
* * * * *
"Did you hear? Shige got hugged and kissed by whatsername- Natsume, the
new female labor officer!"
"No way... Shige? Ah, man- that girl must be desperate!"
"Well, she could just be very friendly- maybe she'd hug and kiss anyone!"
"Maybe that would mean WE could get her to give US hugs and kisses!"
The exuberant whispering continued until Chief Sakaki showed up, at which
point things became dead silent. When Sakaki left, conversation picked up
again... but was a bit more subdued.
* * * * *
When night fell that day, so did the snow. Winter had finally arrived in
Tokyo, and soon the ground was blanketed in a soft white carpet. Things
were quiet for the SV2- most of the time, snow tended to pacify criminals,
and the only problems were with traffic accidents. That made it a
difficult night for some traffic cops, but not for labor units. The next
morning, however, Kanuka was thankful her transfer didn't take effect until
January 1st when she read the paper and saw exactly how many accidents
there were.
December 31, 1999
Gomioka sat down in the captains office, and started writing. Absolutely
nothing had happened during his active duty period, and he was just about
to collapse in boredom. Funny, when he was a labor pilot, he at least had
something to do most of the time- he'd ordered his own unit to do the
dishes and clean the kitchen, then to trash out the cafeteria. Just busy
work, yes- something he'd done a millions times and found boring himself-
but at least something to do. The only work he had was to sit around at
the phones and wait for a message to come in. Hopefully, he could get
suggestions from Shinobu for things to do to kill the time, but not right
now- she was out with Unit One supporting the rescue squad as it attempted
to save a construction labor that had lost its traction and slipped off of
the building it was working on, holding on to a girder to keep it (and the
pilot) from falling to its demise. He made a mental note to ask her when
she got back, though.
Now, of course, he had to write a report SAYING nothing happened during his
active duty shift- how in the world was he supposed to do that? He could
always ask Captain Gotoh how he did it, but Gomioka wasn't exactly sure how
useful he would be- Gotoh always struck him as being a bit shady- not
corrupt, exactly, just not very by-the-book. Gomioka prided himself on
being a model officer, and would NOT look to Gotoh as an example of how to
do things, if he could avoid it.
He was a little surprised when Kanuka Clancy came into the office- he
thought she was back in New York already. She looked at Gotoh's desk
before walking over to him. "Did Captain Gotoh leave a note for me?"
"Um, no- or if he did, he didn't give it to me. What are you looking for?"
Kanuka absently brushed a hair from her eyes. "My grandmother is very ill,
and so I've asked for an assignment here until... until she gets better.
I'm eventually being transferred to the Patlabor Academy, but until classes
open there I need an intermittent assignment- probably as a... TRAFFIC
COP," she said with obvious disdain. "Gotoh is supposed to have a listing
of some openings for me today."
Gomioka blinked. What kind of illness would last so long she'd need to be
here until April, at the very earliest? It was none of his business,
however, so he chose not to pry. Instead, he made a suggestion. "Don't
take any assignments in either the Bokuto or the Nerima provinces."
She blinked. "Why's that?"
"Well, Bokuto has the reputation of having the WORST traffic violators in
all of Tokyo. Real nutcases- very dangerous stuff. Also very boring- you
almost never get anything BUT traffic violations. Nerima, on the other
hand... well, a lot of cops call it a 'grey area.' So many weird things
are rumored to have happened there- monsters, epic battles of martial
artist which cause millions of yen in property damage, and..." he blushed
slightly, "Panty thefts. However, that precincts cops are specifically
ordered NOT to arrest those involved- some have political connections, some
have too much money and are able to BUY the connections, and some are
considered to be undetainable- mostly the martial artists. But, like I
said, you can't arrest any of them, so most people assigned to that
district get frustrated at not being able to do ANYTHING." He sighed. "If
those two are your only choice, choose Bokuto- at least there you have
something to do. I know right now I'm suffering from near terminal
boredom."
"Ah- slow day?" He nodded in response to Kanuka's question, to which she
smiled slightly and continued, "Well, I'd suggest you try doing what Gotoh
does to pass the time, but you're married."
Gomioka frowned. What did being married have to do with anything Gotoh
could do on the job? "What is that?"
Turning to walk out the door, Kanuka looked back at him, the same little
smile on her face. "Hit on Captain Nagumo... and get rejected every time"
Gomioka sighed, turning back to his report. Yep, he would definitely avoid
asking Captain Gotoh for advice any time soon.
* * * * *
Chief Sakaki waited at the terminal for a while. Finally, Shige showed up.
"Ah, Shige- you're here. Good. There's something I've been wanting to
ask you..."
Shige sighed when he noticed the computer was on. Ever since the Chief
decided to start learning computers, he'd come up with questions commonly
associated with those 'Funny Computer Support Line Questions' he'd found so
many copies of on the internet. Things like people using their CD players
as cup holders, and people thinking something was seriously wrong with
their computer when it was just unplugged. Fortunately, Sakaki had done
nothing like that yet, but he'd come close- Shinohara had mentioned
something about reformatting some storage disks before each use, and he'd
personally seen him mess up the computer's configuration files about a
dozen times. This was not going to be fun.
"Yes, Chief? What is it?"
Sakaki pointed to the computer screen. "I was... how do you kids put it?
'Surfing the Web,' and I found this site. It mentioned something about the
'Y2K Bug' effecting almost anything with a computer in it. What is this
bug, and how does it effect our labors? Should we be making preparations
for tonight?"
Shige looked at the screen- the web page Sakaki was looking at was a couple
of years old- though probably accurate for the time. "Don't worry about
our labors- their computer systems were built after this person put up this
information. The worst that can happen to them is to find that data from
outside sources, like satellite uplinks, a little unreliable. Nothing to
worry about."
Sakaki nodded and turned back to the computer. "Okay, thank you, Shige."
Shige turned away, not wanting to see the chief typing in URLs instead
using his bookmarks- why did he make them if he didn't use them, anyway?
* * * * *
It was about ten minutes till midnight when Shinobu walked in to get ready
for standby duty. Gotoh's unit was on active duty, and Gomioka's was
preparing to go on active duty. It was the first time all three captains
had been in the office at the same time that day.
"I haven't seen you since I went on active duty this morning," she said to
Gomioka, smiling. "How was your first full day as captain?"
"Actually," he admitted, "It was quite boring. What do you usually do on
those quiet days when nothing is happening? I was able to give my labor
officers some busy work, but I didn't really have anything to do myself
except sit around and wait for a call which never came."
Shinobu laughed. "Well, usually I just sit around and chat with Captain
Gotoh, or read a book, or do the crossword puzzles in the paper... There
really isn't much that can be done as far as work is concerned, unless you
wanted to 'supervise' your subordinates in their busy-work, if you're not
on a case. It doesn't really matter what you do, as long as you're near
the phone and you don't let you hobbies interfere with your professional
work. I understand Captain Mamoru Oshii scribbles down notes for this
manga he's been working on. I could give you some more suggestions, but I
think it would be better if you were to just come up with something to do
on your own."
Gomioka blinked. When he'd heard from Kanuka that Captain Gotoh spent his
time flirting with Captain Nagumo, he'd assumed that not only was it
something that was very unprofessional, but it was something unwelcome as
well. He certainly couldn't imagine someone as serious about her job as
Shinobu encouraging such a thing on the job, but as she just said,
their 'chats' were just a way of getting rid of the boredom. He also was
astounded to learn that she did things like read books and fill in
crossword puzzles on the job. Well, he had much to learn.
His thoughts were interrupted by a banging from the door. Without waiting
for any of the three captains to give their permission, the door opened and
Shinohara strolled in, carrying a television. "Hey, Captain Gotoh! I have
the TV set you wanted to watch the New Years celebrations on!" he bellowed.
"I split Unit Two's dorm room's cable from the antenna upstairs so that
you could get a clear channel, since we have the best reception, I think."
Noa followed him with the cable line.
Gotoh smiled. "Ah, good, you got it. Set it down on my desk, facing the
door, would you? That way, there'll be more room for Captains Nagumo,
Gomioka, and myself to sit around it."
Asuma and Noa, working together, hooked up the television in under a
minute. Shinohara turned the TV on and set the channel to the appropriate
station. Assured it was working properly, he turned to the captain.
"Everything's set up now, sir. I hope you enjoy the- ack!"
"Come on, Asuma- we have to get back to the dorm room before midnight! I
don't want to miss this!" Noa said, dragging him by the back of the shirt
and inadvertently choking him as she scrambled out the door.
Gotoh chuckled at the departing chuckle. Gomioka smiled at the humor of
the situation, as well, but wasn't entirely sure that the relationship of
the two labor officers was appropriate for people in their position. That
everyone kept it a secret for them disturbed him even more.
In fact, he was a little uncomfortable with keeping secret the
fact that Noa had smuggled in a few bottles of her family store's champagne
to help her, Asuma, and the rest of Unit Two celebrate the New Years
with.... However, even he had to admit that Noa and Shinohara were largely
responsible for Captain Gotoh's unit being as effective as it had been- of
course, now that Ohta was one of the labor pilots in HIS squad instead of
Gotoh's, it should be easier for Unit Two to gain much of the
respectability that Unit One had. Gomioka sighed- Ohta would be trouble
when they were called in to assignments. Things were going to be pretty
rough for the new Unit Three.
"Hey, come on," Gotoh was saying, breaking in on Gomioka's thoughts.
"Aren't you going to join Shinobu and me around the television? It isn't
every day you see the birth of a new millenium."
"Uh, what? Oh, yeah, of course! Thanks for arranging this," Gomioka said
politely, and joined him and Captain Nagumo on the three chairs in front of
the television. Shinobu sat between the two of them- something both men
were happy about. Gotoh, because it meant he was sitting next to her, and
Gomioka, because it meant he DIDN'T have to sit next to the man who'd
foisted Ohta Isao on him.
"...commonly felt that the new millenium will bring with it many advances
in society," Momoko Sakurayama, the reporter for SNN, was saying, standing
in front of a fenced off zone with a small labor about twenty feet behind
her. A light snow had covered the ground, and her hair had been frosted
lightly. "Including the development of faster and stronger labors- such as
the one that will be sending out the signal of the new year in Japan two
minutes from now. We have with us Mr. Jitsuyama, a plant manager for
Shinohara Heavy Industries, who will explain how this prototype labor
will-"
Suddenly, the picture disappeared and all that was heard was interference
as the signal disappeared. "What happened to the picture?" Shinobu asked,
concerned. She wanted to see this just as much as Gotoh did, and it was
actually her suggestion that he bring the TV into the office. Of course,
she didn't think he'd actually take her up on it, but since he did, he
wanted to see the turning of the millenium.
"Hmm, I don't know," Gotoh frowned, examining the back of the television
where the cable was plugged in. "Maybe it's the antenna."
"How about another station? Maybe they're having technical problems..."
Gotoh half-smiled. "Well, I hate to turn it off of someone who actually
gives us good press on occasion, but I guess we don't have much choice."
He flipped the station to where a male reporter was televising from some
party, with a clock showing a little under a minute until midnight. "There
we go."
"I wonder what happened at SNN?" Gomioka pondered.
"I dunno- but let's not worry about it until after midnight, okay?" Shinobu
asked, smiling.
Niether Gomioka nor Gotoh could say anything in response to that plea, and
settled down to watch the television. Everyone kept quiet until the
countdown began, and then they echoed it with their own voices.
"Ten... nine... eight... seven... six... five... four... three... two...
one... HAPPY NEW YEARS!" They all cried. Gotoh puckered up in the hopes
that he could entice a New Years kiss out of Shinobu, and approached.
* * * * *
Noa looked at Asuma as she popped the cork on the cheap champagne,
celebrating the New Year. If he was her boyfriend, then he'd probably try
to get a midnight kiss or something. He looked back at her, with something
like regret on his face. Was he interested? Was he scared of her
rejecting him? Just in case, she leaned in, hoping to show her interest.
Shinohara's eyes widened when he noticed.
* * * * *
All over the SV2 Headquarters, seconds before two kisses might have
happened, power went out.
* * * * *
Gotoh fell on his face in the dark, missing Shinobu completely.
Nagumo herself was walking over to the phone. "I'm going outside to see if
anyone's trying to start up the backup generator."
Gotoh picked himself up off the floor and searched his desk with his hands.
"I'll come with you," he said, turning on a flashlight he picked up.
Shinobu nodded, and the two went outside to see the generator. There, they
found three members of the maintenance squad, led by Shige, trying to get
the dusty old gasoline generator started up. Shinobu was about to suggest
they return to the office and report the power outage when she noticed
Gotoh staring across the bay.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Tokyo is powered by multiple power plants, right?" he replied.
"Yeah, so?"
"Even if a whole plant went down, Tokyo should have power from the
generators in the other plants. So why are the only working lights in
buildings which have their own independant generators?"
Shinobu looked across the bay as he pointed, and noticed that, except for
at a hospital, there wasn't one building she could see which had any lights
on at all. Tokyo was in blackout.
-------------------------
Next Episode: The SV2 helps to stop several riots caused by the blackout.
Yuhki shows he still gets nervous. A plane crashes into Tokyo. And a
number of other things that were supposed to happen in THIS episode.
(and please remember, this was written BEFORE the Y2K scare went bust)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
desaix@sysnet.net
Sir Desaix, member # 116 of the Knights of the True Fiancee
anime fanfics available at
http://www.geocities.com/zednik.geo/fanfics.htm
An Episodic Patlabor Fanfic by David A. Tatum
Disclaimer: Insert legal junk here...
Episode 04: Birth of a New Millennium, Part 1
December 30, 1999
Kanuka walked through the door and up to Gotoh's desk. "Captain, can I
talk to you?" she asked.
Gotoh blinked. Kanuka didn't usually barge into his office and ask him to
talk without knocking first. In fact, he was somewhat surprised she was in
the building- by his watch, her plane was leaving in a few hours, and she
barely had time to get on it. "Well... Unit Two doesn't go on active duty
for another couple of hours, and things have been quiet so I doubt we'll be
needed for other reasons, so yeah, sure."
"Sir, my grandmother is... ill. I want to ask you for a job in your unit
for a while, so I can stay in Japan and take care of her."
Gotoh thought about it for a moment. "Hmm.... Ill, you say? Ill in what
way? How long do you need to stay here?"
Kanuka was silent for a moment before sighing. "She's... dying. She's got
a year, maybe a little longer, but she isn't expected to recover..."
Gotoh's eyes widened. "What is her problem?"
"Heart condition... and bronchitis, but that's treatable. She'll be able
to live normally for a while- after she gets over the bronchitis, that is-
but she's got a year a most. I... just want to be around her as long as I
can."
Gotoh looked at his one-time subordinate for a full minute before replying.
"I can't give you a job in Unit 2, and I'm not sure there's a job
available in any labor unit right now. The rookie class of 1999 was just
sent to fill in all available slots. If anyone decides to return to the
academy, there might be an opening, but it almost certainly wouldn't last
for a full year. However..."
"Yes?"
"Do you think you'll be able to deal with an assignment to the Academy?
They're always looking for experienced labor pilots as instructors, and
your time with us will make you an even better candidate. You wouldn't be
able to get the position for another three months- the Academy doesn't
re-open until the first Monday in April- but I might also be able to swing
you an intermittent assignment with the street patrol until it does."
"Street patrol?" Kanuka said, her nose wrinkling in disgust. "You mean as
a traffic cop?"
Gotoh shrugged. He turned to look out the window at the gathering storm
clouds approaching- it was supposed to snow sometime that day, but hadn't
started yet. Looking outside, all Gotoh could do was think about how
inadequate his offer was. "Essentially, but it's the best I can do on
short notice."
"I would never...." Kanuka's voice trailed off. No, she wouldn't ever
have considered going to the traffic cops- she was a labor pilot, after
all. That was all she was good at- and she was one of the best out there-
and she would never have considered being a traffic cop even if it meant
resigning... except, in this case, she didn't have much choice. If she
didn't get SOME job here, she couldn't stay with her grandmother... "I
guess I don't have much choice. Do you mind if I borrow your phone and
call my captain in New York? I'm going to need to get his permission, and
I might need you to talk to him as well..."
Gotoh nodded. "Go ahead, I'll back you up as much as I can." He paused.
"I pretty sure all of the old gang will."
Kanuka stopped for a moment. A small tear was forming in her eye, and she
couldn't afford to let anyone see it or her reputation would be ruined, so
she forced herself to stand still for a moment to recover.
* * * * *
Shige was looking through the engine of the labor transport for Unit Two's
Labor 2 when he heard it- a thumping sound followed by a distinctly female
yelp of pain. Quickly dropping everything (including a toolbox that landed
on his foot and forced him to hop around on the other for a few seconds
while recovering from the pain) he made his way to the sound. There he
found the cute labor officer which he and most of the rest of the
maintenance crew had only seen at the tournament, and even then they'd
barely gotten a glimpse at her.
There she was, rubbing away the pain in her derriere. Shige's eyes
widened- this cute little girl would be WORKING here? Every day? In the
same building as HE was?! He was almost speechless.
"Uh... are you okay, miss?" he finally got out.
"Ow... yes, I think so. I fell trying to climb into the transport's cab-
that step is too high..."
Shige looked at the cab and noticed that it probably was, in fact, too high
for the girl. Shinshi had never complained about it, true, but then again
this girl was nearly a half foot shorter than he was. "Hmm... I think
you're right. Tell you what- give me about a half hour to finish the
tune-up I'm giving to the engine, and I'll mount a small step ladder for
you."
Her face brightened. "You will? Thanks!" she squealed, giving Shige a
brief but powerful hug. With that, she dashed off in the direction of Unit
Two's lounge.
Shige didn't start moving again for another ten minutes.
* * * * *
A couple of hours later, Shige strolled into the Maintenance Squad Lunch
Room (really, just an empty storage area with tables set up) and sat down
with a happy sigh, a smile on his face. He seemed to be just picking
through his food, and those in the room who knew him well figured something
weird was going on.
"Hey, Shige, what's going on?" one of the junior mechanics asked him.
"Oh... you know that new female labor officer?"
"The cute one?" another of his friends asked.
"Yeah... well, I offered to install a step ladder for her Labor Transport,
and so she... she HUGGED me!"
"Wow..." said a third mechanic.
More questions about the incident followed, but there wasn't really much
else that Shige could say. So, with that, the rumors started to circulate.
* * * * *
"Did you hear? Shige got hugged and kissed by whatsername- Natsume, the
new female labor officer!"
"No way... Shige? Ah, man- that girl must be desperate!"
"Well, she could just be very friendly- maybe she'd hug and kiss anyone!"
"Maybe that would mean WE could get her to give US hugs and kisses!"
The exuberant whispering continued until Chief Sakaki showed up, at which
point things became dead silent. When Sakaki left, conversation picked up
again... but was a bit more subdued.
* * * * *
When night fell that day, so did the snow. Winter had finally arrived in
Tokyo, and soon the ground was blanketed in a soft white carpet. Things
were quiet for the SV2- most of the time, snow tended to pacify criminals,
and the only problems were with traffic accidents. That made it a
difficult night for some traffic cops, but not for labor units. The next
morning, however, Kanuka was thankful her transfer didn't take effect until
January 1st when she read the paper and saw exactly how many accidents
there were.
December 31, 1999
Gomioka sat down in the captains office, and started writing. Absolutely
nothing had happened during his active duty period, and he was just about
to collapse in boredom. Funny, when he was a labor pilot, he at least had
something to do most of the time- he'd ordered his own unit to do the
dishes and clean the kitchen, then to trash out the cafeteria. Just busy
work, yes- something he'd done a millions times and found boring himself-
but at least something to do. The only work he had was to sit around at
the phones and wait for a message to come in. Hopefully, he could get
suggestions from Shinobu for things to do to kill the time, but not right
now- she was out with Unit One supporting the rescue squad as it attempted
to save a construction labor that had lost its traction and slipped off of
the building it was working on, holding on to a girder to keep it (and the
pilot) from falling to its demise. He made a mental note to ask her when
she got back, though.
Now, of course, he had to write a report SAYING nothing happened during his
active duty shift- how in the world was he supposed to do that? He could
always ask Captain Gotoh how he did it, but Gomioka wasn't exactly sure how
useful he would be- Gotoh always struck him as being a bit shady- not
corrupt, exactly, just not very by-the-book. Gomioka prided himself on
being a model officer, and would NOT look to Gotoh as an example of how to
do things, if he could avoid it.
He was a little surprised when Kanuka Clancy came into the office- he
thought she was back in New York already. She looked at Gotoh's desk
before walking over to him. "Did Captain Gotoh leave a note for me?"
"Um, no- or if he did, he didn't give it to me. What are you looking for?"
Kanuka absently brushed a hair from her eyes. "My grandmother is very ill,
and so I've asked for an assignment here until... until she gets better.
I'm eventually being transferred to the Patlabor Academy, but until classes
open there I need an intermittent assignment- probably as a... TRAFFIC
COP," she said with obvious disdain. "Gotoh is supposed to have a listing
of some openings for me today."
Gomioka blinked. What kind of illness would last so long she'd need to be
here until April, at the very earliest? It was none of his business,
however, so he chose not to pry. Instead, he made a suggestion. "Don't
take any assignments in either the Bokuto or the Nerima provinces."
She blinked. "Why's that?"
"Well, Bokuto has the reputation of having the WORST traffic violators in
all of Tokyo. Real nutcases- very dangerous stuff. Also very boring- you
almost never get anything BUT traffic violations. Nerima, on the other
hand... well, a lot of cops call it a 'grey area.' So many weird things
are rumored to have happened there- monsters, epic battles of martial
artist which cause millions of yen in property damage, and..." he blushed
slightly, "Panty thefts. However, that precincts cops are specifically
ordered NOT to arrest those involved- some have political connections, some
have too much money and are able to BUY the connections, and some are
considered to be undetainable- mostly the martial artists. But, like I
said, you can't arrest any of them, so most people assigned to that
district get frustrated at not being able to do ANYTHING." He sighed. "If
those two are your only choice, choose Bokuto- at least there you have
something to do. I know right now I'm suffering from near terminal
boredom."
"Ah- slow day?" He nodded in response to Kanuka's question, to which she
smiled slightly and continued, "Well, I'd suggest you try doing what Gotoh
does to pass the time, but you're married."
Gomioka frowned. What did being married have to do with anything Gotoh
could do on the job? "What is that?"
Turning to walk out the door, Kanuka looked back at him, the same little
smile on her face. "Hit on Captain Nagumo... and get rejected every time"
Gomioka sighed, turning back to his report. Yep, he would definitely avoid
asking Captain Gotoh for advice any time soon.
* * * * *
Chief Sakaki waited at the terminal for a while. Finally, Shige showed up.
"Ah, Shige- you're here. Good. There's something I've been wanting to
ask you..."
Shige sighed when he noticed the computer was on. Ever since the Chief
decided to start learning computers, he'd come up with questions commonly
associated with those 'Funny Computer Support Line Questions' he'd found so
many copies of on the internet. Things like people using their CD players
as cup holders, and people thinking something was seriously wrong with
their computer when it was just unplugged. Fortunately, Sakaki had done
nothing like that yet, but he'd come close- Shinohara had mentioned
something about reformatting some storage disks before each use, and he'd
personally seen him mess up the computer's configuration files about a
dozen times. This was not going to be fun.
"Yes, Chief? What is it?"
Sakaki pointed to the computer screen. "I was... how do you kids put it?
'Surfing the Web,' and I found this site. It mentioned something about the
'Y2K Bug' effecting almost anything with a computer in it. What is this
bug, and how does it effect our labors? Should we be making preparations
for tonight?"
Shige looked at the screen- the web page Sakaki was looking at was a couple
of years old- though probably accurate for the time. "Don't worry about
our labors- their computer systems were built after this person put up this
information. The worst that can happen to them is to find that data from
outside sources, like satellite uplinks, a little unreliable. Nothing to
worry about."
Sakaki nodded and turned back to the computer. "Okay, thank you, Shige."
Shige turned away, not wanting to see the chief typing in URLs instead
using his bookmarks- why did he make them if he didn't use them, anyway?
* * * * *
It was about ten minutes till midnight when Shinobu walked in to get ready
for standby duty. Gotoh's unit was on active duty, and Gomioka's was
preparing to go on active duty. It was the first time all three captains
had been in the office at the same time that day.
"I haven't seen you since I went on active duty this morning," she said to
Gomioka, smiling. "How was your first full day as captain?"
"Actually," he admitted, "It was quite boring. What do you usually do on
those quiet days when nothing is happening? I was able to give my labor
officers some busy work, but I didn't really have anything to do myself
except sit around and wait for a call which never came."
Shinobu laughed. "Well, usually I just sit around and chat with Captain
Gotoh, or read a book, or do the crossword puzzles in the paper... There
really isn't much that can be done as far as work is concerned, unless you
wanted to 'supervise' your subordinates in their busy-work, if you're not
on a case. It doesn't really matter what you do, as long as you're near
the phone and you don't let you hobbies interfere with your professional
work. I understand Captain Mamoru Oshii scribbles down notes for this
manga he's been working on. I could give you some more suggestions, but I
think it would be better if you were to just come up with something to do
on your own."
Gomioka blinked. When he'd heard from Kanuka that Captain Gotoh spent his
time flirting with Captain Nagumo, he'd assumed that not only was it
something that was very unprofessional, but it was something unwelcome as
well. He certainly couldn't imagine someone as serious about her job as
Shinobu encouraging such a thing on the job, but as she just said,
their 'chats' were just a way of getting rid of the boredom. He also was
astounded to learn that she did things like read books and fill in
crossword puzzles on the job. Well, he had much to learn.
His thoughts were interrupted by a banging from the door. Without waiting
for any of the three captains to give their permission, the door opened and
Shinohara strolled in, carrying a television. "Hey, Captain Gotoh! I have
the TV set you wanted to watch the New Years celebrations on!" he bellowed.
"I split Unit Two's dorm room's cable from the antenna upstairs so that
you could get a clear channel, since we have the best reception, I think."
Noa followed him with the cable line.
Gotoh smiled. "Ah, good, you got it. Set it down on my desk, facing the
door, would you? That way, there'll be more room for Captains Nagumo,
Gomioka, and myself to sit around it."
Asuma and Noa, working together, hooked up the television in under a
minute. Shinohara turned the TV on and set the channel to the appropriate
station. Assured it was working properly, he turned to the captain.
"Everything's set up now, sir. I hope you enjoy the- ack!"
"Come on, Asuma- we have to get back to the dorm room before midnight! I
don't want to miss this!" Noa said, dragging him by the back of the shirt
and inadvertently choking him as she scrambled out the door.
Gotoh chuckled at the departing chuckle. Gomioka smiled at the humor of
the situation, as well, but wasn't entirely sure that the relationship of
the two labor officers was appropriate for people in their position. That
everyone kept it a secret for them disturbed him even more.
In fact, he was a little uncomfortable with keeping secret the
fact that Noa had smuggled in a few bottles of her family store's champagne
to help her, Asuma, and the rest of Unit Two celebrate the New Years
with.... However, even he had to admit that Noa and Shinohara were largely
responsible for Captain Gotoh's unit being as effective as it had been- of
course, now that Ohta was one of the labor pilots in HIS squad instead of
Gotoh's, it should be easier for Unit Two to gain much of the
respectability that Unit One had. Gomioka sighed- Ohta would be trouble
when they were called in to assignments. Things were going to be pretty
rough for the new Unit Three.
"Hey, come on," Gotoh was saying, breaking in on Gomioka's thoughts.
"Aren't you going to join Shinobu and me around the television? It isn't
every day you see the birth of a new millenium."
"Uh, what? Oh, yeah, of course! Thanks for arranging this," Gomioka said
politely, and joined him and Captain Nagumo on the three chairs in front of
the television. Shinobu sat between the two of them- something both men
were happy about. Gotoh, because it meant he was sitting next to her, and
Gomioka, because it meant he DIDN'T have to sit next to the man who'd
foisted Ohta Isao on him.
"...commonly felt that the new millenium will bring with it many advances
in society," Momoko Sakurayama, the reporter for SNN, was saying, standing
in front of a fenced off zone with a small labor about twenty feet behind
her. A light snow had covered the ground, and her hair had been frosted
lightly. "Including the development of faster and stronger labors- such as
the one that will be sending out the signal of the new year in Japan two
minutes from now. We have with us Mr. Jitsuyama, a plant manager for
Shinohara Heavy Industries, who will explain how this prototype labor
will-"
Suddenly, the picture disappeared and all that was heard was interference
as the signal disappeared. "What happened to the picture?" Shinobu asked,
concerned. She wanted to see this just as much as Gotoh did, and it was
actually her suggestion that he bring the TV into the office. Of course,
she didn't think he'd actually take her up on it, but since he did, he
wanted to see the turning of the millenium.
"Hmm, I don't know," Gotoh frowned, examining the back of the television
where the cable was plugged in. "Maybe it's the antenna."
"How about another station? Maybe they're having technical problems..."
Gotoh half-smiled. "Well, I hate to turn it off of someone who actually
gives us good press on occasion, but I guess we don't have much choice."
He flipped the station to where a male reporter was televising from some
party, with a clock showing a little under a minute until midnight. "There
we go."
"I wonder what happened at SNN?" Gomioka pondered.
"I dunno- but let's not worry about it until after midnight, okay?" Shinobu
asked, smiling.
Niether Gomioka nor Gotoh could say anything in response to that plea, and
settled down to watch the television. Everyone kept quiet until the
countdown began, and then they echoed it with their own voices.
"Ten... nine... eight... seven... six... five... four... three... two...
one... HAPPY NEW YEARS!" They all cried. Gotoh puckered up in the hopes
that he could entice a New Years kiss out of Shinobu, and approached.
* * * * *
Noa looked at Asuma as she popped the cork on the cheap champagne,
celebrating the New Year. If he was her boyfriend, then he'd probably try
to get a midnight kiss or something. He looked back at her, with something
like regret on his face. Was he interested? Was he scared of her
rejecting him? Just in case, she leaned in, hoping to show her interest.
Shinohara's eyes widened when he noticed.
* * * * *
All over the SV2 Headquarters, seconds before two kisses might have
happened, power went out.
* * * * *
Gotoh fell on his face in the dark, missing Shinobu completely.
Nagumo herself was walking over to the phone. "I'm going outside to see if
anyone's trying to start up the backup generator."
Gotoh picked himself up off the floor and searched his desk with his hands.
"I'll come with you," he said, turning on a flashlight he picked up.
Shinobu nodded, and the two went outside to see the generator. There, they
found three members of the maintenance squad, led by Shige, trying to get
the dusty old gasoline generator started up. Shinobu was about to suggest
they return to the office and report the power outage when she noticed
Gotoh staring across the bay.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Tokyo is powered by multiple power plants, right?" he replied.
"Yeah, so?"
"Even if a whole plant went down, Tokyo should have power from the
generators in the other plants. So why are the only working lights in
buildings which have their own independant generators?"
Shinobu looked across the bay as he pointed, and noticed that, except for
at a hospital, there wasn't one building she could see which had any lights
on at all. Tokyo was in blackout.
-------------------------
Next Episode: The SV2 helps to stop several riots caused by the blackout.
Yuhki shows he still gets nervous. A plane crashes into Tokyo. And a
number of other things that were supposed to happen in THIS episode.
(and please remember, this was written BEFORE the Y2K scare went bust)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
desaix@sysnet.net
Sir Desaix, member # 116 of the Knights of the True Fiancee
anime fanfics available at
http://www.geocities.com/zednik.geo/fanfics.htm