Chapter 11: Gathering storm.

"You can't be serious!" Nabiki said aghast. "There is no way that you didn't…"

"OHOOOHHOHOHOHOHOH" Laughed the maniac doctor. "Don't tell me you fell for that ridiculous 'I'm cursed' story." Nabiki nodded tentatively, while moving her chair just a little further away. "Who ever would have believed it. You who is so intelligent in so many other ways falling for a cock and bull story like that. OOHOHOHOOHOHOHOHOH!"

Nabiki suddenly found the wall blocking her escape. "But you were his shrink there is no way you couldn't have known?" Nabiki questioned.

"OH my poor simple peasant child," Kodachi lamented with a superior air. "Of course the two of them tried to deceive me. Many times in fact. They were very good aat it indeed, I hardly ever noticed the drugs they were slipping me, or even the ways they chose to misdirect my attention. Unfortunately for them they were dealing with a master. Or a Mistress if you wish to be correct." She leered.

"No they tried and they tried. Even managing to pull off some very impressive tricks, but I am not some naive little girl that believes in 'magic' I am a scientist, possibly the best the world has to offer. I was not fooled, not for a moment, no matter how many times they poisoned my coffee with hallucinogenic compounds, no matter how many times they rigged up alien projection techniques to attempt to fool me, and no matter how many times they managed to switch for each other even while tied to my table, I was Never taken in. For am I not Kuno Kodachi, Black Rose, scientist unparalleled!"

"Fruitcake unparalleled" whispered Nabiki.

"Thank you peasant" nodded Kodachi, having heard something completely different. "You have been very…diverting…. I shall return" and with that the black rose swept out of the room. Leaving silence and the scent of roses in her wake.

"There is definitely something wrong with that woman" Nabiki sad in what was one of the understatements of the century.

-

Ranma was sleeping in. This was good. Kimiko was asleep on his chest amd he was happy, warm and at a lovely point between dreams and reality where everything seemed right with the world. This was not a coincidence; long ago he had found this the best way of keeping Kimi happy in the mornings. The fact that it felt so good was pure happenstance. His warm fuzzy thoughts projected off of him and somehow Kimi was able to pick them up. Somewhere deep down he knew he should have been more concerned about this but 'feh' the baby liked it, he liked it, who gave a shit about the science.

As if from very far away he heard the door open quietly, and detected the faint scent of Nabiki's perfume wafting in.

"Ohiyo Anata," He mumbled.

"Freak" she accused, miffed at still not being able to sneak up on him. "Move over, I'm coming back to bed"

"Uh?" asked, sleepily shuffling.

"Just met Kodachi, have to start the day again" Nabiki explained, Maybe it will make more sense this time."
"U-uh," Ranma agreed, lifting his head and feeling her arms slip around him before settling back into a contented doze.

Nabiki took just one moment to look at her Husband and daughter, lying there with identical contented tiger smiles and then snuggled in a bit closer and let herself join them in the happy land of nod.

-

"Ladies and Gentlemen" Nabiki began, "Boys and girls," she added nodding towards Ranma and Laura "We have a problem." The senior team was once again assembled in Jack's briefing room. Nabiki had called them here on what she called 'A matter of some importance.' As usual everyone was in casual barrack dress, grey or blue overalls with coats for the doctors. The normal exceptions were observed, Kodachi in her black and Nabiki in a 'personalised version of the shapeless overall that showed more and fitted better.

"Armand was just the tip of the iceberg." Nabiki continued. "It seems that he was a willing participant in what appears to be a much larger conspiracy. By now most of you will have heard the problems that have started on Cydonia. We have reason to believe that the sabotage is being directed from elsewhere, and that the deliberate targeting of our one priceless resource is no coincidence. Add to that the 'lost' shipment of Elerium that should never have been sent and we have the tip of our iceberg.

"Unfortunately I have more bad news you probably will not of heard," Nabiki continued with ominous coldness "One of the alien human hybrids that we had secured at X-Com Cheyenne has disappeared. Not just any one either, the only one that is missing is the psychic hub. Worse still the 'escape' was covered up by one of our own, and he in turn has met a sticky end."

"Ladies and Gents X-Com has officially been penetrated. Somehow enemies of our organisation have managed to get to people within X-Com and are using them against us. And we have no idea how!"

"As of today we are back on a War footing. Should these attacks continue the chance that we will be ready for the alien Armada are slim to none. This subversion of our people is officially the biggest threat to mankind since the Secret City.

"Questions?" Nabiki finished, throwing the floor open.

"Couldn't Armand give us some clue as to who was behind all this?" Ranma asked.

"He didn't know" Kodachi replied, "If he had he would have told us. Even with the speed the worm snapped we were unable to prevent his contact's abrupt foreshortening."

"Foreshortening?" Jack asked.

"She was found decapitated in a freak storeroom accident," Nabiki explained. "I'll never look at a tin of beans the same way."

"What about the saboteur on Cydonia" Sam asked, "They must have been acting as a sleeper for some time. Presumably they would be further up the network."

"I agree, which is why I am going there personally to ensure that no 'accidents' befall our sleeper before Kodachi has had a word." Nabiki replied, causing the maniac doctor to giggle in quiet anticipation.

When everyone was through shuddering Jack piped up again "I there any chance this is all a leftover of the last war?" Nabiki shook her head.

"All the Aliens in the system were either shut down when the mother brain got hers or exploded and crushed as they fell into the trench. Nothing we have found on any of the stolen systems indicates that the aliens are capable of this level of independent action. If it were one of the controllers then they wouldn't have given up Cydonia so easily." Ranma snorted at the 'easily.' " Sorry Love" Nabiki corrected, "what I meant is that they wouldn't have written off the troops there. Even months after we took control of the base there were still hundreds of drones alive up there, just waiting for orders."

"What about the Nemesis program?" asked Daniel, quietly. The room went quiet. That particular project was about as secret as anything in X-Com could be, nobody even spoke of it if it could be avoided. Nabiki let the silence stretch before she answered.

"It continues on target" was all she said but the room visibly relaxed afterwards.

"Now to more pleasant things," Nabiki said, "I am reliably informed that the mess has just received its first delivery of Martian synth-steak, and I can confirm that it tastes better than we had hoped." The occupants fidgeted for a moment then one person towards the back made a lame excuse and left. This started a flood and soon only Ranma and Nabiki were left. He was looking at her with his big puppy dog eyes.

"Go on" she laughed. He smiled, kissed her and ran after the throng.

-

As Nabiki arranged to have all the other CEO's of the various X-Com spin-offs checked for interference things took another bad turn. Presidential change in America had brought the 'Doves' back into prominence and already bad noises were emerging from the corridors of power.

Suddenly Nabiki was torn between continuing as planned to Cydonia or staying to cap the American problems. In the end she had to stay. America was still the single largest supporter of the agency. Even if Nabiki's economic tricks were now accounting for far more of the organisation's income than the UN stipend ever amounted to America represented an important power block. If they came out against the organisation then the power blocs she represented might soon follow and they would have little choice but to abandon the UN all together. There was also the chance the US would try to take what they viewed as their contributions back. There was no way the technology could be trusted to any terrestrial power. There was no doubt in the minds of the top brass of X-Com that the pressure parties on any democratic government would soon cause proliferation. A single ill-advised contract bought by graft and the worst secrets of X-Com could be out.

"Yes Mr President" Nabiki said over the phone, waving Ranma into silence, "I would be more than happy to put together a briefing on the current operations of X-Com."

" We can be there on Tuesday afternoon."

"I'll look forward to it," Nabiki finished. She looked at Ranma, he looked at her.

"Shit!" she said, and meant it.

"Er correct me if I'm wrong but isn't this a little too convenient?" Ranma asked.

"What do you mean" Nabiki asked.

"Smokescreen" Ranma replied.

"Go on" Nabiki said, starting to get the point.

"All these things, they are tying us up, diverting our attention-

"From what is really going on?" Nabiki finished. "But what the hell is going on!" Ranma had no answers, and for the moment nor did she.

"I'll tell Sam" Ranma said.

"Tell Laura too," Nabiki asked him.

"Why Laura?" Ranma asked.

"Because I need her husband for Cydonia" Nabiki replied.

"Why him?" Ranma asked.

"Because he's smart enough for the job and I know I can trust him" Nabiki replied. Ranma nodded.

"Laura's going to be pissed," he informed her.

"Send her too," Nabiki told him. "Its about time she got her own Commando."

"You want to tell her she's an officer?" he asked with faked trepidation. "I can hear her now, 'Och Aye. Oh the shame! Me an oci-fer, what would my dearest departed father say!'" He added in a (bad) fake Scottish accent. It got a smile from Nabiki and that was all that counted.

"We'll need a new babysitter" Nabiki said remorsefully. Ranma stopped.

"Too true, what about Sam" he added.

"Sam?" Nabiki asked.

"She's been hinting at Jack" Ranma explained.

"I'll talk to her" Nabiki said, wondering how she had missed that.

-

Far away in one of the most important civil buildings in the world a distinguished looking woman was sat at a large desk. She had just been handed a file by the man opposite her. It was a standard manilla envelope but for two things, on the front were stamped the words "TOP SECRET" and "X-COM: DEEP SPACE."

The contents appalled her, apparently not only had a rogue agency been withholding vital technologies but they were also determined to keep doing so. Here in front of her a mission to another solar system was described, and a meeting with an alien species in deep space. The conclusions were not hard to reach.

"Thank you Colonel this is very 'informative'" she said.

"Just doing my duty Madam Vice President" the colonel replied before being escorted from the room.

Vive president Weir looked again at the folder in front of her, it was everything she feared, and everything she expected. The idiots in the pentagon had handed their entire world over to a completely unelected group of proto-tyrants.

"Damned if I'll let them do this" she swore.