Bubble Gum Crisis
An Alternate Story of the Knight Sabers
2034 Year of the Tiger
Neo No Armour Against Fate (Section 3 of 5)
Satisfaction For a Sin (5 of 8)
by Shawn Hagen(1999)

Based on situations and characters created by Suzuki Toshimichi.

"I have to admit I was a little surprised when I heard you were resigning, and for what reason," Kaoru said. "It's a little strange."

"Do you think so?" Nene asked him as she put her hashi(chop sticks) across her rice bowl.

"Genom, the ADP, not a mix one would normally think of."

"I guess that is why I'm resigning."

"Why did you chose Gendai in the first place?"

"A friend urged me to do so. She said it was one of the best Universities in the country."

"Is it?"

"I think so, now that I've done some research."

"I wonder if there might be a way to out a positive PR spin on this?"

"Always at work?" Nene picked up her hashi.

"Just thinking out loud."

Nene took a piece of fried shrimp from her plate and placed it in her mouth. She chewed, swallowed, then said, "So, how are things down in PR?"

"Same old thing. Press conferences, a lot of questions about last month's strangeness, but that is on the decline."

"Do you answer their questions?"

"For the most part. What about your new work?"

"I can't say it is the same." Nene smiled. "Right now it is mostly research."

Kaoru looked at his watch. "I think we should be getting back."

Nene looked at her own watch. "Is it really that late?"

"I guess time goes fast with pleasant company." He smiled at her.

"I guess it does." She put her hashi down on the side of the tray. "Gochisosama(it was a feastidiom)."

Kaoru got to his feet. "Let's go." He offered her his hand, which Nene took, letting him help her up.

"What are you doing tonight?" Nene asked him.

"Early, nothing, late, I'm busy."

"Want to go for dinner after work, assuming nothing comes up?"

"It's a date."

Nene smiled at that, and followed him from the Hot Extractionstopping on the way out to pay their bill. They crossed the street and entered the ADP building, talking and laughing with each other.

Before they reached the elevators he suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her behind a large planter that shielded them from sight. He put his hands on the side of her head, tilted her face up, and then lowered his lips to hers.

Nene was a little surprised by the kiss, but she liked it. While it was obvious that he knew a little more about kissing than her, Nene responded as best that she could. She was not too bad at it. The kiss ended as suddenly as it begun, Kaoru stepping back. "Sorry," he said. His smile suggested that he was not.

"Don't be," Nene said, flushing a little.

"See you tonight?"

"I hope so."

He nodded, turned, and walked away, heading towards his office. Nene watched him go, liking the way he walked. She sighed and stepped out from behind the planter, walking towards the elevators.


The cat meowed at Sylia, cocking its head to the side as it looked at her. She leaned back in her seat, examining the cat in turn. She had finally finished putting Nene's project together. Now all she had to do was finish up work on her new motoslave. That she had put off that work in order to get a boomer cat working was a little surprising to her.

Sylia got to her feet. "Come along," she said to the cat, turning and walking from the workroom. The cat leapt down from the table and followed after Sylia. Unlike a real cat, the boomer animal would follow ordersthough there was a program setting that would make the cat as aloof and independent as its organic counterpart.

She walked through the halls, the cat at her heels, to the small office she maintained in the basement. As she sat down in front of her computer the cat leapt up onto the desk, turned itself about, then sat facing her.

Sylia took a diagnostic computer from one of the desk drawers and set it up near the cat. "Open," she said to the cat. The cat opened its mouth, like it was yawning. Sylia slid a lead into the mouth, sliding it into a small socket in the back of its throat. Of course an organic animal would be choking and gagging, but it was not organic.

The cat closed its mouth on the cable, being careful not to bite it in half. Sylia turned on the computer and allowed it to begin running its tests on the cat. That finished, she turned her attention to her own work.

Programming the cat had brought some facts strongly to Sylia's attention. While her father's technology was still the defining work on Artificial Intelligence, there were still areas that needed attention. One such area was work on a flexible, dumb AI.

Sylia typed, putting her thoughts into the word processor. The main advantage of such a dumb AI was the chance of it gaining self-awareness and sentience was lowered greatly. While Sylia doubted her father's design would ever fall by the wayside in favour of such a system, it would have its uses. The cat sitting on her desk could be one such use.

Menial labour boomers also had little use for the advanced AI system they currently were outfitted with. In fact, it could be considered cruel to sentence a creation with such potential to such a fate.

She was just warming up to the subject when the diagnostic computer chimed, indicating the completion of its task. Sylia turned to look at the readouts, happily noting that everything was as it should be. She almost said, 'good cat'.

The cat opened it mouth as Sylia reached for the cable, and let Sylia pull it free. "Go into suspension mode," she ordered the cat.

What should have happened was that the cat would close its eyes and shut down. Instead it got to its feet, walked around in a circle, then lay down, putting its tail across its nose. It yawned, then closed its eyes, looking just like a sleeping cat.

Sylia shook her head. Already the thing was getting too smart. She turned her attention back to her article and began typing.


Yoshiro checked the contents of the briefcase one more time, making sure everything was as it should be. Satisfied with what he saw, he closed the case, snapping the locks shut. He listened to the clicks as several internal bolts snapped into place.

He looked around his office, for the final time he was certain. Once more he was switching allegiances. He hoped things would turn out for the better this time. He picked up the briefcase from his desk, turned, and walked from his office, closing and locking the door behind him.

His office was in one of the high security areas of the Tower. A lot of cutting edge work went on around himnot that he had much to do with it. His work in the Tower had moved away from a position as an innovator to that of an advisor.

He stopped at the security station to present his ID before being buzzed out. The guard made a friendly comment on his late hours. Yoshiro laughed and told him that there was a lot of work to do. No one asked to examine the briefcase. He had not expected anyone to, but he had been worried about the possibility. Once he passed through the security doors he had to keep himself from visibly relaxing.

He took the elevator down to one of the Tower's garages where his car was parked. The security around him had steadily dropped off so he was fairly certain that there was no longer anyone watching him. The freedom gave him the chance to make his run.

Once he left the Tower he drove towards Shinjuku, planning on losing himself in the busy traffic of the area. His white, four-door sedan was a fairly common design; it blended in well with the other cars on the road.

Some time later Yoshiro pulled into a parking garage, taking a ticket from the machine at the gate, then driving up the ramp. He parked on the fifth level and exited his car, taking his briefcase with him. He walked to the exit, but did not take the stairs down. He climbed to the sixth level where another car was waiting for him.

After opening the door he tossed the briefcase into back seat and then slid into the driver's seat. Arranging for the car to be there had been expensive, especially since he had to keep it hidden from Genom. Fortunately he had learned a few things that made it possible.

He pulled out of the parking spot, turned the car about, and then started down the ramp. At the exit he paid the parking fee, then drove out onto the busy street. Things looked to be working out, so far. He just had to hope that things would continue to work out. All he had to do was make it to Ueno.

The closer he got, the more worried he became. He had been sure that he had outwitted Genom, but could he really have done so? So many others had tried, and so very few had succeeded. Twice he came close to turning the car around and heading back to Genom. He would turn himself in and hope for the best.

What kept him going was his fear that the best might mean his death. Even if he was not killed for his betrayal, what could Genom offer him if he stayed? Not much really, not any longer. So he kept going, because he was sure he had no other choice and he felt his talents were being wasted.

When he reached Ueno everything was quiet. Most of the businesses were closed, and the late night crowds were in other places. He parked his car on a side street. It would be towed away in a few hours, but he did not plan of returning for it.

The park and zoo were basically empty at that late hour. Once he entered the park the treesmany replanted after the quakewere like a shield from the rest of the city. It was quieter and darker than it had been on the street. He found himself looking over his shoulder; the darkness around him was more threatening than he would have thought.

He was near the five-storied pagoda, rebuilt since the quake, when he spotted them. At the front of the group of six or seven men stood Terrence.

"Doctor," he said quietly, "I'm glad you could make it."

"I've brought what you wanted," Yoshiro said, holding the briefcase up as if it were some sort of defensive measure.

"Of course," he told him, a slight smile on his face. "Let us go now Doctor."

"You did not think it would be that easy did you?" a voice called out of the darkness. Yoshiro recognised it.

Domino and four men walked out of the darkness, appearing like wraiths. "Andrews-hakase, thank you for this service. I suggest you move into cover," Domino said.

Andrews looked back at Domino and her people. They wore long coats, and even in the dark they wore sunglasses. Boomers, they had to be. He looked back towards Terrence. Yoshiro was close enough that he thought he could see doubt in the other man's eyes. He thinks I betrayed him, Yoshiro thought.

There was no choice now. He turned and ran. He had to get away from what was about to happen. Behind Domino a man moved out of the shadows to follow after Yoshiro.

Terrence reached under his jacket, his men copying him. Domino did not know if he was going to shoot the fleeing Yoshiro, or her. It did not matter, not really. She was certain he would not get a chance either way.

Domino reached under her coat, grasping the two 9mm pistols she had tucked in her waistband. The other men with her drew large framed, combat automatics from within their coats. They moved faster than the opposing group.

Gunshots rang out in the silent park, the small clearing lit by the muzzle flashes of many weapons. Domino picked the man who had spoken as the leader and opened up on him. She did not wish to kill him, so she aimed for his extremities. He jerked back, spun about and fell to the ground.

It was then that Domino took full note of the other men. They had not fallen under the barrage of fire, though their clothing was torn apart and there was blood. Damn, Domino thought as she let her empty pistols drop from her hands.

Her boomers were also letting their weapons drop. The men in front of them staggered up straight then began to quiver slightly as their clothes began to tear. Domino's boomer's wasted no time; they began to rip free from their own disguises.

Domino flipped her coat back, revealing the tight, leather and kevlar body suit she was wearing. Strapped to the outside her thighs were a pair of H&K SMGs. She ripped the Velcro straps open and pulled the weapons free.

While most of her attention was fixed on the opposing boomers, she noticed the man she had shot was beginning to move. Armour clothing, or perhaps cybernetic enhancement. Or both. She would have to worry about him later.

The seven other boomers were of an older model. The four boomers with Domino were 55Cs, all cutting edge. She had no doubt about the final outcome of the battle, but it was going to take some time.

Domino lifted her weapons, gently squeezing the triggers, activating the laser sights. At the same time she was prompting her housekeeping computer, letting it activate the adrenal pump in her body. Adrenaline flooded her system, her heartbeat doubled, then tripled in but a moment. Around her everything seemed to slow down. The sound of her heart was like a taiko drum in her ears, a warm flush spread across her body as her capillaries filled with blood. She was aware of all that and more even as she began to move, the weapons in her hands vibrating as she fired.

The opposing boomers came in as well, three taking to the air. A good attack pattern, Domino noted even as she opened up on one of the rising boomers. The cocktail of HESH and HEAP rounds tore into the boomer.

There was a flash of light to her side as one of her 55Cs fired its mouth laser, hitting another of the airborne boomers. That boomer exploded, its fuel going up, a bright fireball in the sky for a few seconds. It was joined by a second as the one Domino was firing on exploded, after taking two full clips.

Domino dropped her spent SMGs and pulled two .454 automags from shoulder holsters. They were the same pistols the ADP used, but Domino's were loaded with much better ammunition. The third and last of the airborne boomers exploded a moment later as she and the boomer beside her hit it at the same time.

Domino spun on her heel, putting her back to the boomer beside her, giving it her full trust to cover her. She lined up both her pistols on another of the boomers and began squeezing off shots. The boomer staggered back, and then turned towards her. Its mouth opened as its laser slid forth. Domino fired at the same time, destroying the weapon.

That did not stop the boomer, not that Domino thought it would. Older or not, it was a Genom design. It charged her, its hands extended, ready to rip her apart. Domino waited until it closed, then stepped to the side, slamming her elbow into the boomer. Adrenaline boosted strength, the reinforced ceramic plate over her elbow, a well placed hit, slammed the boomer to the side, cracking its armour slightly.

She let her arm continue so it swung out, the pistol she held ending up pointed directly at the boomer, at the crack in its armour. She fired the rest of the clip off rapidly, finishing the boomer off, destroying its internal systems without touching off its fuel.

The adrenaline was still burning in her body, her heart still thundering in her chest, the rest of the world still moving in slow motion when the last of the opposing boomers was destroyed. The entire fight could not have taken more than twenty or thirty seconds, perhaps less. Domino looked around for her prisoner, but he was gone. Unfortunate. For a moment she considered sending one of her boomers to follow the blood trail, but decided against it. They would be too obvious without their human guise. For now that man would go free, but only for now, Domino promised herself.

She dropped her pistols to the ground, turned, and began to walk away. "Grab a few heads and then let's go," she called out to the boomers. Two fell in behind her, walking away from the battle site and two took time to tear two of the skulls from the fallen units before following after her. Domino shifted her shoulders, and let her long coat fall from her, leaving itand the incriminating powder residue on itbehind.

In the distance she could hear the wail of sirens. The police would be coming, probably in force if they had a report of multiple gun shots. Domino removed her empty holsters, tossing them aside, and then pulled off the gloves she had been wearing. Underneath was a pair of latex glovesthose she left on.


Buneto Ubea member of Genom's special securitychased after Yoshiro. The Doctor was moving very fast, and seemed to know exactly where he was going. Buneto, not having that luxury, could only follow. Behind him he could hear the sound of gunshots and then a flash of light as something exploded. It was getting much louder than he had expected.

He leapt over a bench, trying to take a shortcut, but was slowed down when he went crashing through a hedge. Just off to his side he could see a shadowy opening in the hedgeprobably how Yoshiro had gone through. The man had obviously planned things out.

He lost the Doctor in an area of thick vegetation, but was sure he could find him again. The sound of his footfalls gave him something to follow. Then he heard a creaking sound, and a click. He came around the path to see a door that led into one of the service tunnels. He ran towards the door, but it closed just before he reached it. There was a loud click.

Buneto grabbed the handle and tried to open it, but it would not move. Even as he began to exert his augmented strength on the door he heard a sound of metal on metal. Another locking mechanism he guessed. He could not get the door to budge. He tried several more times before giving up on the brute strength method.

He drew a large pistol from under his coat and then fired several rounds into the door. Sufficiently weakened, the door and its locks gave under his kick. He loaded a fresh magazine into his pistol, then moved forward into the entrance.

Soon he was running through the tunnel, listening to the far off sounds of Yoshiro's footfalls. He was far ahead. Finally Buneto climbed a ladder and pushed open a doorthat it was unlocked was proof enough that Yoshiro had gone that wayexiting from the tunnels into a parking lot.

He looked around, seeing nothing. Then in the distance, he heard the sound of an engine. He ran towards it, but he saw no sign of the car. He was obviously too late.

He reached into his pocket for his NAVI. Odotte-san would not be pleased about this. He had been hoping to impress her that night. Now he only hoped she would not be too angry.


Domino cut the connection, Buneto's face disappearing from the NAVI's screen. She suddenly found herself wishing D was there. D would not have lost Yoshiro, Domino was certain of that. D would have taken into account the possibility of boomers, and that Yoshiro might get away. D would have managed it better. Domino sighed softly, then she shook her head. No time for regretting past actions, Domino thought as she entered a number into her NAVI. She had work to do.

Beside her a boomer, light security C-Class, drove the car. She called up Genom's information centre and went to work. There were a lot of things she was going to have to do to clean up the messher mess.

It took her several minutes to arrange it all and once done she folded the NAVI closed. Domino closed her eyes and leaned back in the seat. Using the adrenal pump had taken a lot out of her, but the sense of power when she had activated it had been quite exhilarating. The way that everything else had seemed to move so slowly had given her a great feeling of power.

Of course that was dangerous, and hubris had its price. She would have to be careful of that in the future.


March 10th, Friday, 12:34 am

Kaneko flashed her badge at the police officer before ducking under the line of police tape and entering the crime scene. The area was brightly lit by portable halogen lamps. The wreckage of several boomers lay on the grass. Three police photographers were moving about taking many pictures. Forensic officers were bagging various pieces of evidence; Kaneko saw one putting an SMG into a clear bag.

"Akamura, over here," she heard Captain Yamano call to her.

Kaneko altered her course and walked over to the scarred officer. "Yamano-kichou, I came as soon as I could."

"Good. I want you to take a look at these," she said, indicating several piles of shredded, bloody clothing.

Kaneko nodded and placed her briefcase down on the grass, making sure she covered nothing of importance. She opened the case up, then took out a pair of latex gloves, as well as a small forensics kit. She walked over to the first pile, and used a probe to look through the clothing. "You know the signs as well as I do Yamano-kichou. It looks like a boomer's cast-offs."

"Give me confirmation on that."

Kaneko nodded, then used a pair of pickups to remove a piece of shredded skin. She put the skin into a sample tube, poured in some dyes and reagents, and then plugged the tube. "It will take a minute or two," Kaneko told Asako as she began turning the tube back and forth in her hand.

"No problem."

"So what happened?"

"That's what we are trying to figure out. Obviously a fight, but between who, we don't know. All the wreckage here looks like it came from older models, the sort of units we saw back in '29. It will be hard to solve this one."

"Why?"

"Whoever did this dumped everything, weapons, clothing anything that could link them to this crime. Very professional."

"And you think it is Genom," Kaneko said, regretting it almost as soon as she said it.

Asako gave Kaneko a hard look before answering. "It has the look of their operations."

Kaneko nodded, then said, "This is very likely synthetic skin, and the clothes will show patterns consistent of ripping patterns of a boomer, but that won't prove anything."

"I'm aware of that officer," she said coolly. "I still have a job to do."

"Yes ma'am," Kaneko said a little quickly. She had stepped over a line.

After a minute the mixture in the tube had become a bright red. "Synthetic skin. I can perform a more detailed examination back in the lab. I might be able to tell you what factory it came from."

"Do that."

"I'll start bagging the samples."

"Good," Asako told her. "Does it look like they were fighting each other?"

Kaneko looked up from her work and around at the wreckage about them. "Hard to say, but, no, not really."

"That is what I was thinking."

Kaneko nodded after a moment. "It looks like these boomers were taken down quickly, all within a tight area. Little damage to the surrounding area, so they did not spend a lot of time pounding on each other. I'd guess it was 55Cs."

"Can you prove that?"

"Possibly," Kaneko said after a few seconds. "The 55Cs rip from their clothes in a slightly different manner than these older units. I might be able to make a positive identification from that."

"Good. Do that."

After Kaneko nodded Asako turned and walked away, leaving the taped off area, walking towards the ADP CP(command post) parked close by. She walked up the stairs into the vehicle, ducking under the doorway as she entered. She truly wanted to know what had happened there that night, and why. She was going to have to start talking to her informants.


Terrence stumbled down an alley, almost falling. He was no longer bleeding, at least not externally, but his left arm hung limply at his side. Between his armoured clothing and his cybernetics he was still alive, and still functional, but it had been close. Not as close as the time that Sharon Knight had had one of her boomers attack him. He had not had the cybernetics back then.

He needed to get back to his base of operations and get things underway. He was still not certain if Andrews had betrayed him, but he was going to find out. If he had there was not much that could be done, other than attempting to assassinate him. On the other hand if he had not, then Terrence's employers still wanted him, and the information he had promised.

He stumbled again and had to put out a hand to catch himself. "Damn," he hissed softly as he pushed himself away from the wall. "This is going to be a long night."


Domino walked into her office, freshly showered and dressed in a black pants suit. The heels of her shoes were higher than she normally chose, but she wanted that height. She wanted to project an aura of power. She was going to need it.

Letting Andrews get away, and with the information he likely had, was a huge mistake. She walked around her desk and took a seat. She had become arrogant in ways, had been sure that she could deal with the problem, and make it become an advantage.

Already she had sent a full report off to Quincy's office. She had not heard back and did not expect to. Quincy would allow her to try to fix the problem, If she did, all would be forgiven. If not, well, she did not care much for thoughts like that. Of course she would not be under his protection, as it were, and that would get around the Tower. Executives in such situations often found open season had been declared on them.

She was going to have to show everyone that she still had power, that she was best left alone. She was going to put terror into some of the executives over the next few days. She smiled slightly. There was a Darwinistic feel to the Tower at times.

Her primary concern was finding Andrews, though she did not think she would have an easy time finding him. While not the genius that Stingray-hakase had been, he was, as far as most were concerned, one of the leading experts in the field of boomer technology. It would not do to announce that Genom had lost him. Being forced to keep things quiet just made it all that much harder.

If only Buneto had not let him go.

She was not really angry with Buneto, more at herself for trusting him. Oh, he was very good, but she needed better. She needed someone as good as herself, perhaps better. Operatives like that were rare, and prized by those who had their services. Once again she missed D.

She turned to her computer and entered the passwords. D was gone, but there were other options, just maybe. Would Quincy let her do it though? Well, there was only one way to find out.

It did not take her long to find the information she wanted. It was not a project that Mason had had a part of, but he had known of it. Now she might be able to benefit from it.

There was a lot of information in the files that she wanted, but most of it was no longer current. The units in question had ceased functioning and were of no use to her. Of the surviving units, most were no longer stable. After an hour of reading it had been narrowed down to only one possibility.

Domino read through the information, then reached for her NAVI. She keyed in the number then waited for an answer. Several rings later the person on the other end picked up. They were using a standard phone with no visual feed. It was a secure line, however.

"Sheffield," a voice mumbled.

"Sheffield-hakase," Domino said. "This is Odotte Domino from Genom."

There was a pause on the other end. "Do you know what time it is?"

"Three forty two, a.m.," Domino said simply.

"Odotte-san, while I'm sure that you feel this is important there are a number of other people you could have called, who are awake right now," she said, anger obvious in her voice.

"I'm activating unit 25B, I'll give you one hour to get here," Domino told her, then cut the connection. She knew that Sheffield-hakase was going to be very angry about such treatment, but Domino really did not care. It was all part of the image of power she had to project. Occasionally stepping on toes was not going to make her any friends, but it would make her enemies think twice.

She leaned back in her chair, looking over the data on the screen. 25B might prove to be the operative she was looking for, in the short term at least.


Sylia woke up to the shrilling of her phone. She rolled over in her bed, reached out from under her covers, and tapped the speaker button on her phone. "Stingray-desu," she said.

"Sylia-san, this is Fargo."

Sylia was suddenly completely awake. She sat up in her bed and looked towards the phone. "What is it?"

"Can we talk?"

"The line is secure."

"The employers who have you on retainer want the job done."

"Details."

"Very odd. I don't want to talk about it over the phone, even if the line is secure. I'll have a courier drop off the details soon. Standard set up."

"Okay," Sylia said, reaching for her robe.

"If you want more information, get in touch with me."

"I'll do so. Are you in contact with the employer?"

"Very sporadic."

"Okay. I'll be in touch with you soon."

"Later Sylia-san," Fargo said, cutting the connection.

Sylia cut the connection on her side, then got to her feet, slipping into her robe. She expected that Fargo's courier would arrive shortly. It would be interesting to see just what the job entailed.


Sayako Sheffield did not look completely happy as she entered the storage room. Her hair was a bit of a mess, and she had obviously not taken much time in dressing. Her black hair was streaked with grey, and her brown eyes were behind round frame glasses. The middle-aged woman walked straight towards the figure in the suit, who was standing by the glass window that looked into the coffin bay.

Sayako hated the way everything had been named. Storage room, coffin bay, others like that. It was so wrong for such terms to be used. It always made her angry for so many different reasons.

"Odotte-san," Sayako said abruptly. "Just what do you think you are doing?"

Domino spun about on one heel and met Sayako's angry gaze with her calm one. Green eyes meeting brown. While Sayako was a little taller, even when Domino was in heels, there was little doubt who had the advantage. Sayako, seeming a little surprised, backed down, letting her eyes drop.

"Sheffield-hakase," Domino said. "I'm glad you could make it. We might need your help in reviving 25B." It was not really true of course, there was no need for Sayako to be there, but she had requested that she be present any time 25B was revived.

"She likes to be called Kiki," she said.

Domino shook her head. "Sheffield Akiko, your daughter, liked to be called Kiki."

Sayako looked a little angry. "This Akiko does as well."

"We shall see," Domino said, turning back towards the window, watching as the tech removed the cryostorage pod, the coffin, from its rack.

The techs moved it out of the coffin room into the revival area. Domino followed after them, stepping into the revival area. Sayako followed her into the room.

The techs had attached hoses to the pod and had begun to pump the storage gel from the pod.

"How long will she be active for?" Sayako asked.

"Until she dies," Domino said, moving closer to the pod.

"What?"

"She will be active until her disease, if we can call it that, kills her."

"You can't do that!"

"I think you'll find I can."

The techs were looking nervous. They had no desire to be around if those two started fighting.

"You can't let her die!"

Domino looked over at Sayako. "And you can't save her."

Sayako took a step back, as if she had been hit.

"I've read the reports. You are no closer to discovering a way to reverse the damage the MBW system caused. She is doomed."

Sayako opened her mouth, as if she was about to say something, but no words came.

"I'm sorry," Domino said after a moment, softening slightly. Unnecessary cruelty was pointless. "Let her go Sheffield-hakase. Let her live for what little time she has left."

Sayako dropped her eyes to the floor and said nothing. Domino turned around and walked closer to the pod.

The gel had been pumped out, revealing 25B, Akiko. She wore a black, single piece suit; several small tubes were attached to itand into the skin underneath. The tubes began to pulse, like something living, as the antifreeze agents were drained from her body and saline solutions flushed her system. Then warmed blood began to flow into the body, replacing the saline solution.

It took several minutes to complete the transfer. Domino watched as Akiko's skin lost the pale, bluish tinge, taking on a more normal colour. One of the techs removed the mask from her face, then slid the tubes from her mouth and nose. She made slight choking sounds, and Sayako was suddenly by Domino's side, looking down at Akiko, making sure she was all right.

Her hair was blonde, and her eyes grey, like the real Akiko Sheffield. She had taken after her father, also killed in the quake. Sayako had not been the only person involved in the sexaroid project to recreate a lost loved one. It was understandable really, but with the second-generation project it had caused nothing but trouble.

When the problems with the second gens had come to light and they had started dying, their creators had suffered greatly. Regaining a loved one, only to lose them again, had been very hard on all involved.

Well, soon enough it would be history, Domino thought. Very few of the second generations were left alive, as they died their creators mourned them, dealt with the pain, then went on with the livesexcept in a few cases where they had killed themselves. The sooner the likes of Sayako got on with their lives the better for Genom, and themselves.

"She's coming to," the woman who had taken the mask off said.

Sayako moved closer. "Okay, let's get the suit off her, and be careful when you remove the needles."

Domino stepped back to let them work, wondering if she had been revived in such a way? Of course when she had been revived she had been nothing but an empty shell, waiting to absorb the memories of a dead man.

"Send her into the meeting room once she is awake," Domino ordered before turning to walk from the room.


Akiko sat in the meeting room; hands in her lap, waiting to be told what she need to know. She had cleaned up, changed clothes, and her housekeeping computer showed her condition to be stable and within operating parameters.

Across from her sat a woman named Domino Odotte. Akiko had never met her before, but there were many people in Genom she did not know. Would never know.

Sheffield-hakase had not told her anything of what the mission was about. She had been very quiet this time, sad as well, sadder than usual. She looked older as well. It had been six months since she was last revived. Six months did not seem like it should make someone look older.

"Akiko-san I will not waste any time with pleasantries. Nor will I lie to you. You are going to die, and there is no way to stop it."

Akiko looked at Domino for a moment, then she nodded. "I know."

"I'm not surprised. I should mention that the design team has worked themselves to exhaustion, and in one case death, in an attempt to solve this problem. You were never abandoned. I think that is important for you to know."

Akiko nodded. "Thank you for telling me that."

"With the stresses of multiple cryogenic storage, and the psychological impact of the missions you undertake, it has been estimated that you will last four more missions. Based on your standard deployment, you will be dead in two to three years time."

"But I won't know those years," Akiko said softly.

"Or, if you are left out of storage, you will have a month, maybe two, before the effects of your disease reach a point where you can no longer function." Domino paused for a moment. "I need an operative of your talents. You'll know what it is to truly live your life, for a month at least. I'll do all I can to make that time as enjoyable and fulfilling as possible. I'll give you a chance to live before you die. All I ask for in return is your loyalty."

Akiko looked down at her hands for a time, saying nothing. Domino drank from her coffee cup and waited for the young woman in front of her to make a decision. She looked very young, Domino noted, the same as Akiko Sheffield when she died. It was hard to think of her as a master assassin, but she had performed assassinations the world over at Genom's behest. She was exactly what Domino needed.

"I won't have to go back into cryo?"

"No."

"When I'm not working I can go out, talk to people, go to restaurants, like anyone else would?"

"Yes."

Akiko nodded. "I'll work for you Odotte-san."

"Good." Domino got to her feet and walked to the door to make sure it was locked. "There is something else."

Akiko looked at Domino and said nothing.

"I don't think there is anything that can be done to save you."

"I know."

"But there is something I can offer you."

"What Odotte-san?"

"For something of you to go on, to perhaps live beyond you. The design team has already tried to move a sexaroid mind into a new body, but there is too much tied up in the organic part of your brains. It was never a true transfer. There was a loss of skills, which Genom was not happy about, and a loss of memories, which the design team was not pleased with. It was never seen as a solution."

Domino returned to her seat and sat down. "There is another option, though, which will allow almost true transfer from one mind to another."

Akiko looked at Domino for a moment. "Do you mean I could live?"

"Not you, not really. Someone like you, but yet not you. Everything that you are will live on, but it will live on in someone else. That is the best way to explain it."

"It does not seem like much."

"No, it does not, but it is something."

"How would this new person be different from me?"

"In various ways. There is a loss of emotional attachments to memories. For example, when this person meets Sheffield-hakase, she will know her, and will think that she should love her, but won't feel that love. It will be a void."

Akiko's eyes widened slightly at that, she looked very uncertain.

"And when she meets her, this person will know that she should hate her for what she had done, but won't feel that hate."

Akiko's eyes widened even more, and she shook her head as if in negation, but it was a weak movement. "How did you know?" she asked after a time.

"I just knew. Its all right for you to be angry at her."

"It's not her fault, she could not have known what the system would do."

"Yes, but she could have been honest with you from the beginning."

Akiko nodded after a moment. "Please don't tell her."

"I have no reason to."

"When," she stopped and swallowed. "When will you do this?"

"Once you have had your chance to live. I promised you that."

"Thank you."

"Do we have an agreement?"

"Hai, Odotte-san."

"Good," Domino stood up. "Come along, we have work to do Akiko-san."

She walked to the door, unlocked it, and then opened it. Akiko got to her feet and followed after her.

As they entered the main room Akiko's steps faltered as she saw Sayako. Domino looked over her shoulder and saw the two looking at each other. It was going to take more care on her part than she had thought. She hoped Akiko was going to prove worth it.

"Sheffield-hakase, would you be so kind to bring Akiko-san up to my office in half an hour?"

Sayako looked a little confused at first, then nodded, smiling slightly. "Of course Odotte-san."

"Akiko-san, much of what I have told you is classified."

Akiko nodded. "I understand."

"Good," Domino said, then turned and left the two by themselves.


It was dirty apartment. Well, dirty was not quite the right word Yoshiro decided. It was neat, well looked after, but it was old. The smoke from countless cigarettes had stained the ceilings and walls and there were also water stains from leaky pipes.

The furniture was old, but serviceable. In one corner of the apartment's living room was a computer. The computer was new. Yoshiro sat in a creaky, wooden chair, working at that computer. He needed information, and he needed to make some important decisions.

He could not go back to Genom. Not after the way he had betrayed them. What they might do to him... He did not want to think of it.

Terrence and the people he represented were no longer an option as far as he was concerned. He could not trust them, now that they thought he had betrayed them.

That left other companies. There were many that he was certain would take him. After all, he was one of the leading experts on boomer theory and he had the secret of Katsuhito's AI with him. He looked over at the briefcase, next to a large bundle lying on the floor near the kitchen.

The problem was who to make his offer to. He knew that Genom had links of one sort or another into most of the other big companies, the companies with the power to protect him. He had to find someone who he could be sure of. If he was not careful he was going to step right back into Genom's arms.

It was going to take some work to find just the right person.

Fortunately he felt he had the time. The apartment was safe, he was sure of it. He had set it up as a safe house a few years before. No one knew of it, he was certain of that. All he had to do was stay put, search for the right person, and let them extract him from the area.

Turning back to the computer, he entered the commands and began calling up information on the various departments within Federated Aerospace International. He would have to find a department that Genom would have likely left alone.

He would find what he was looking for. All he needed was time.


Priss walked up the stairs towards the upper part of her factory. She stopped just in front of the door and turned to look down at the floor. Four boomers were spraying the floor with a thick gel. The gel was acidic, bleaching the stained floor clean. She had not really felt that it was necessary, but the contractor had convinced her that it would improve the appearance of the floor and prepare it for a protective covering.

She opened the door and walked into what had been office space. It was busy with boomers and their human supervisors removing walls, and cutting the openings into the ceiling. She looked about and spotted the contractor. She stepped over a pile of wood and crossed the floor, side stepping a boomer.

"Asagiri-san," he said, nodding to her. He was working the fasteners out of one of the walls.

"How's it going Koda-san?"

"We're a little ahead of schedule right now. I think that we'll be finished on time." He pulled a fastener out and dropped it to the floor. The wall began to fall back, but stopped suddenly, then was lowered by a boomer on the other side. "Thanks," Koda said to the boomer.

The boomer nodded and lowered the wall to the floor.

"You've got a lot of boomers here," Priss said.

"They're useful," he told her. "Not bad to work with either. We kept our staff when we bought the boomers, lets us do a lot more work and keep our quality of that work high."

"Ever worry about them?"

"Not really."

Priss nodded, suddenly at a loss for words. She had come to check up on things, and now that she had she had no reason to stay she did not know what to say. Whether Koda sensed that or if he really did have other work to do, he excused himself and walked towards another area that needed his attention.

Priss left, climbing down the stairs to the floor. The boomers had left a pathway for people to walk through. The smell of the acid was stronger close up, but no too bad. Like being near an over chlorinated pool. Still, she walked quickly to get out of the old factory and into the fresh air.

As she stood on the cracked sidewalk that led to front entrance, she looked around. Many of the other industrial buildings in the area were being torn down. With the recent rezoning of the area to residential many people were taking advantage of the land. There would probably be a lot of apartment buildings going up, maybe some condominiums. The factory would stand out amongst them. She wondered what her future neighbours would think about the place? Admittedly Priss was not too concerned about it, more curious.

At that moment her cel phone rang.

She reached into her pocket, flipped the phone open and put it to her ear. "Moshi, moshi, this is Asagiri," she said.

"Is this line clear," a distorted voice asked.

Priss took the phone from her ear and then pressed one of the buttons on it. She returned it to her ear. "It is now."

"Good," the voice, now undistorted, was Sylia's. "How soon can you get to my place?"

"Half an hour.

"I'll be waiting." There was a click, and the connection was cut.

Priss turned off the scrambler, it was a power glutton, then folded the phone shut before returning it to her jacket pocket.

It looked like they had a new job. "I hope it pays well," Priss said as she started towards where her bike was parked. She shook her head. "Damn, I'm beginning to talk like Linna."


"So, who is he?" Priss asked, looking up at the screen.

"Andrews Yoshiro-hakase," Sylia said. "Thought to be one of the foremost experts on boomer theory."

"Better than you?"

Sylia only smiled. "We've been hired to extract him from Genom."

"Does he want to go?"

"According to our clients."

"Do you believe them?"

"I think I do. There seems to be an upset of some sort in Genom that may be related to him. I am told they tried to pick him up last night, but ended up losing him when Genom showed up."

"Do they think he is still alive?" Priss asked.

"They are not sure. They have no idea where he might be and want our help in finding him."

"Why do they think we can find him?"

"I'm not sure if they do, but they are desperate."

"So, what do you want to do?"

"I've already sent a message to Nene asking her to find out what she can. I have other people looking for Andrews-hakase, both within and without Genom."

"If he is in Genom it will be hard to get him out."

"If he is in Genom he is either dead or does not what to leave."

"So it is not our problem. And if he is out?"

"Then Genom will want him dead, which is one of the reasons we have been hired," Sylia said.

"Sounds like fun. What's Linna up to?"

"Nothing, right now."

"Think if we need her while she is dancing that she will come?"

"I suppose we will find out."

"Gone to see her perform yet?"

"No," Sylia said. "You?"

"Maybe tonight, assuming I'm not up to anything."

"You've had contacts that have proven useful in the past. Can you go to them this time?"

"I can try, but they might not know anything. If this guy is good at hiding himself, good enough to avoid Genom, I'm not sure how easy he will be to find."

"Anything you do may be of use."

Priss nodded. "I might need some money."

"You'll have it."

"Anything else?"

"How's the new house coming along?"

"Good. It's pretty expensive, but I knew that would be the case. You lost a lot of money at the price you sold it to me to."

"As I said before, tax write off," Sylia told her.

"Well, thanks anyway."

"You're welcome."

"Can I borrow your piano?"

Sylia sighed. "Go ahead."

"Thanks," Priss got to her feet. "Once I finish up here I'll go and see what I can find out."

Sylia nodded and watched as Priss walked from the room.


With her promotion and transfer to Leon's squad Nene's level of clearance had increased significantly. She had direct access into almost all of the sections of the computer system; the rest simply required a little creative work on her part.

She picked up a ride and poppy seed cracker and took a bite from it. She was reading over Lieutenant Akamura's report of the night before and what she had found. She was now fairly certain that 55Cs had been involved from the torn clothing. There had been two types of synthetic skin on site as well.

One had been a fairly standard type, made by a factory in Thailand, used exclusively by Genom, and found among the clothing that had been tagged as belonging to the 55Cs. Which of course proved nothing. The other skin was a cheap, generic type, made by a company in Germany. Again, it proved nothing.

A trace on the boomer parts that had been found in Ueno led Akamura-keibu to suggest that the boomers had been put together from the parts of maybe eighteen boomers. She was tracing them; six so far had led to scrap reports. She also suspected some parts were missing, specifically two of the heads.

Interesting, but it was not what Nene was looking for.

Captain Yamano's reports were of less help. She was still looking for a Genom connection. Nene could have told her what the connection was, but she would not.

Nothing in any of the reports Nene was reading suggested that anyone else was looking for Andrews-hakaseat least none of the official agencies.

Nene finished off her sembe and took another from the bag. Where to look now? she wondered. How do you find someone who is hiding, and in a city MegaTokyo's size? Hotels and hostels, and similar places would be too obvious. Genom would have checked them already. In fact most of the places she could think of would have already been looked at by Genom.

Might he send up a signal of some sort, by accident? Possibly, but what? Think Nene, she told herself. What would he be trying to do? Get out of the city, get out of Japan, away from Genom. Getting away from Genom would be hard. The company had holdings world wide. Who could help him?

A country? Nene thought about that. Possible, there were many countries that might be willing to take him in, to protect him, if he was willing to give them information about Genom. In some ways that would put him very much out in the open. Not a good thing really, not with Genom.

Another company then, that was possible. He could stay hidden that way. It would have to be a powerful one, to keep him safe. If he was looking for a company to go to... Nene turned in her chair and placed her fingers on the keyboard. She could look for requests for information about those big companies. It was a bit of a long shot, and assumed he was not hiding his work in some way, but it would be worth giving it a try.

"Romanova-san," she heard Kaoru say.

Staying calm, Nene looked over her shoulder. "Wada-san, what is it?"

"Want to go for lunch?" he asked her, smiling. "Almost noon."

"Is it?" Nene asked, a little surprised. She looked at the clock display on her computer. "I lost track of time."

"That interesting?" he asked as he walked towards her.

"Just some interesting ideas I was playing around with," she told him as she began to shut down the computer.

"I hope I did not disturb you."

"No," Nene assured him. "I should take a break anyway."

"I'm glad I can be of assistance then," he told her, smiling.

"It's probably why I like you so much," Nene said as she finished shutting down the computer. She suddenly realised what she had said. "As a friend," Nene added quickly as she got to her feet.

Kaoru simply smiled. "Let's go."

Nene nodded and grabbed her purse from the desk, then walked with him from the office. They went to the Hard Extraction, as usual. Nene ordered a salad, not feeling very hungry, Kaoru got a large bowl of ramen and a hamburger.

They ate and talked during the meal. It was a fairly standard lunch date for the two. Kaoru asked her if she wanted to go out for dinner, but Nene had to decline. Sylia had told her to keep herself ready for action, and had also called a meeting for that night.

Nene was almost finished her meal when she looked over at Kaoru. "Kaoru-san, if you were trying to hide, how would you do it?"

"Pardon?" he asked her, obviously surprised by the question.

"I'm playing this online RPG, and right now we're looking for this person who has gone into hiding."

"Is that why you lost track of time earlier?" he asked with a smile.

Nene smiled back. "Maybe."

"Okay, what's the deal with this game?"

"The person is being hunted for by a lot of other groups, and they have not found him. I'm not sure how to search."

"Well, if I had to hide, I think I would hide as someone else."

Nene gave him a questioning look.

"If you can, and I don't know what the rules of this game you are playing allows, taking over another person's life is a good way to hide. There is no way to find the person then."

Nene nodded. "I'm not sure the technology allows for that."

"Well, you could do it with someone who is a shut in maybe," he told her. "I hope you win this game."

"You can't win an RPG," Nene said offhandedly.

"I suppose. Are you off tomorrow?"

"Yes, and Sunday, in theory. If something comes up Leon can call me in. What about you?"

"Yes."

"Maybe we could do something."

"I'd love to, but I'm heading up North to visit with family."

"Maybe next time," Nene said happily. While she would have liked to spend some of the weekend with Kaoru, her work with the Knight Sabers might interfere.

"Maybe," he said nodding.


Tech Notes: The Boomer Cat was one of Genom's failed projects, or one that was cancelled for various reasons. No one really knows. Officially the project was cancelled due to lack of funds.

If marketed the small, quadruped boomers would have been hyped as pets that need little care and made no messes; A pet that could double as a security system; Give your elderly parents a pet and a monitoring station. There were among the way it was thought that the cat (and dogs) might be marketed.

That they would also make perfect spies was never actually said, but it was certain it was considered. The skeletal system was made out of very strong, very light plastics, and the muscles were the same that any boomer uses. Power systems were housed behind the ribs; the brain was put in the head. That still left a lot of internal space, which in the production models was to be filled up with air and saline bladders to maintain shape and feel.

That the bladders could be removed and other things put on was not lost on those who knew boomers.

After the project was cancelled all the units, but for a few, were chopped up and recycled.

Nene's cat has been modified from the standard design. Sylia has put a fuel cell into it, as opposed to the original batteries, which gives it an operating time of close to thirty hours. Mind you, since the cat has the ability to access power sources, in a city like MegaTokyo it could operate for months without needing any care.

With the extra power Sylia also boosted the power the cat's muscles are capable of producing, As well at heat, unfortunately. While never seen in the story, the cat can produce heat dissipation fins to cope with this, though it will be obvious that it is no ordinary cat-if things like multi story jumps and near car speed haven't given it away. At times like this that Cat's signature goes down quite a bit.

She also put a hacking computer in the cat, for Nene's use. Nene basically has a computer (deck) that looks like a cat. Give it the same stats as a Navotech Slimcase 10.

As well as transmitters and ECM/ECCM gear, the cat also has a signal booster, much like that of a rating 8 cyberlimb signal booster. It might be loud, but it will get the job done.

While a boomer pet might have sold for around 500000 yen, Nene's cat is much, much more expensive than that.

"If we were to cast aside every man who had made a mistake once, useful men could likely not be come by. A man who makes a mistake once will be considerably more prudent and useful because of his repentance. A man who has never erred is dangerous"
- Anonymous