An Alternate Story of the Knight Sabers
2034 Year of the Tiger
Neo No Armour Against Fate (Section 5 of 5)
No Armour Against Fate (6 of 10)
by Shawn Hagen(2000;2005)
Based on situations and characters created by Suzuki Toshimichi.
When Priss opened her eyes she was a little surprised to see Ali Romanova leaning over her. The last thing she remembered was the boomer pushing her out of the way of the truck. She had obviously been moved since then.
"How are you feeling?" Ali asked her.
"I've been better," Priss said, wincing as she sat up. She looked around. She was obviously in a hospital room. "What are you doing here?"
"I was called in to take a look at this," Ali said, putting a hand behind Priss' head. The slight pressure she applied made Priss aware of how tender the area was. "There was some bruising of the brain, but nothing too significant. A little work, some medication and that was taken care of easily enough."
"Good," Priss said.
"How does the shoulder feel?"
Priss was a little surprised by the question. "Fine. Why?"
"You broke your left collarbone and put a crack in your scapula. They've been braced internally, strong as ever. The technique was new to me but I was assured that it was the best thing for the break."
Priss nodded. "So where am I? Is this the clinic you work at."
"No," Ali said, shaking her head. "I was brought in because they wanted a familiar face when you woke, and, though they did not say so, because I'm in the top of my field. You're in the Genom Tower, their private clinic."
"The Tower?" Priss asked. A knot of fear formed in Priss' abdomen.
"Yes," Ali nodded, not picking up on Priss' concern. "I'm a little curious as to why you ended up here."
"So am I," she said softly. It was obvious that Ali had no idea why Priss was there, that it had been Genom that had put her there, and Priss was not going to let her find out either. As long as Ali did not know anything she could not be seen as a threat.
"Well, there is someone who wants to talk to you," Ali said, getting to her feet. "He's been waiting for you to wake up."
I'm sure he has, Priss thought. You could not interrogate someone who was unconscious. She felt bad that Ali had done all that work that would no doubt be ruined.
Ali opened the room's door. "She is awake now."
"Thank you very much Romanova-hakase," an old man said as he came into the room.
He was not as Priss pictured a torturer. For a moment she would have said he looked harmless, then he turned to look at her and when Priss saw those eyes she knew that he was anything but.
"I'll give you some privacy," Ali said, then walked from the room.
The old man closed the door and turned to look again at Priss. "Good morning Asagiri Prisila Saki-san," he said, walking towards the bed.
"Who the hell are you?" Priss demanded. She wondered why he had used her complete name, but only a small part of her mind was on that. She was feeling her limbs move under the sheets, testing them. It still hurt a little, but she could move easily enough, and she was not restrained.
"I'm Okami Devon," he said. "Please, call me Devon."
The name sounded familiar to Priss, but she was not sure where she had heard it. Maybe it was in some security briefing that Sylia had given her.
Devon took a seat in the chair beside the bed.
"I suppose you have a lot of questions," Devon said as he picked up the carafe of coffee from the bedside table and poured himself a cup. "Would you like some?"
"No. Why am I here?" Priss asked.
"I'm not entirely sure of that myself really," he told her, taking a drink.
Priss sat up in the bed, feigning weakness. "What do you mean?"
"What I said. I'm sure Stingray-san will inform you when she gets out of her meeting with Quincy-san."
Priss managed to cover her surprise at that statement. They had Sylia as well? Impossible. It had to be. They could never get Sylia.
"Why do you think you are here?" he asked her, startling her from her thoughts.
"Genom wants something from me." It was simple enough
"Possible." He nodded. "What?"
"Why don't you tell me?"
"As I said, I can't help you. I suspect that the Knight Sabers are being hired for a task."
"And what does that have to do with me?" she said, reaching for the carafe, deciding she wanted some coffee after all. She was not going to give away any information. Maybe they had pulled her in on suspicion. Hell, maybe Leon had talked, or given something away trying to find out more about the night of the twenty-fifth. Best that she said nothing.
"I don't really care about the Knight Sabers. The question right now is not what Genom wants from you, but what I do."
"What?"
"Why do you think I came into this room, with a very dangerous young woman who might very well kill me if she panics a little? A young woman who is in better shape than she lets on I might add."
Priss stared at him for a moment. "Why?"
"I wanted to show you some pictures."
"What the fuck are you talking about old man?"
"Like I said, pictures," he said, reaching slowly into his jacket and then removing a billfold just as slowly.
He opened it and began removing pictures, placing them onto the bed, near Priss' hand.
"What are these?"
"Photographs from a long time ago."
"Why are you showing me?" Priss asked, picking one up. There was a handsome, middle aged man in the photo, holding a little girl. Both looked familiar.
"As a way to break the ice."
"You're crazy," Priss told him, picking up another. The same man, a little older, as was the girl, standing beside him in a child's kimono. What sort of interrogation technique was this, and why did the little girl look familiar?
"I've heard that before."
Priss picked up several more, looking at them, putting them back on the bed.
She was about to toss the next picture down then stopped and looked closer at it. She reached down and picked up three more, holding them fanned in her hand. Suddenly she felt her mouth go dry and her hands began to shake slightly.
"You," she said, looking up from the pictures to the man across from her.
"She was my daughter," he told her.
"That's a lie! You're lying!" she yelled.
"To what purpose?" Devon asked calmly.
"To get me to do something for Genom!"
He laughed loudly at that. "If Genom wanted you to do something they could arrange it in a much easier way. Your friends, any of them could be killed and no one would ever know it for anything but an accident. One of your band members, Norio-kun, twenty minutes. How about that little boy, Shou? He could be killed quite easily. Romanova-hakase, an accident on the way home. Or..."
Anything else was lost as Priss from the bed, scattering the photos, and then grabbing the lapels of his jacket to yank him to his feet.
"Touch any of them and I'll..."
"You'll what?" He looked right into her eyes.
Priss released her hold and dropped back onto the bed. What would she do? She could not kill everyone in Genom and revenge would not bring the dead back to life.
"As you can see there are easier ways to ensure co-operation than cooking up some elaborate hoax," he told her as he sat down again.
"It can't be true," she said slowly. "She said you were dead."
"Better than the truth I suppose. Would you like to hear a story?"
"What?"
"It was quite a long time ago, more than forty years ago really," he said, ignoring Priss' question. "I met a young woman. She was," he paused, "in trouble. A number of people wanted her dead. She was beautiful and brilliant and deadly and I fell in love. But she was living on borrowed time, as the saying went, and one day she was going to die. She knew that and accepted it.
"I made a deal with her. I exerted my not inconsiderable power to keep her safe, kept the assassins away from her for two years. Enough time to conceive a child, to see it born, to hold it for a few months before she had to leave, before her past could catch up with her and destroy us all.
"She left me and our daughter and disappeared.
"Who was she?" Priss asked, curious in spite of herself.
"Just a woman with a past. She's dead now."
"Did she have a name?" Priss asked angrily. Why was she angry? Everything he was telling her was a lie.
"Not one that mattered, not one that will mean anything to you," he told her. For a time he said nothing. He reached down and picked up one of the pictures, of him beside the girl who was wearing a senior high school uniform, holding a diploma and bouquet of flowers in her arms. "My daughter was everything I had ever wanted in a child and so like her mother. Beautiful, intelligent, charming, but always..." He looked off at nothing for a moment. "Always a little sad."
"Yes," Priss said quietly.
He looked at Priss and then smiled. "I wanted her to be part of Genom. She could have you know? If she had, I think she might be in charge now. Quincy may have stepped down by now had she been there. That was my hope. That my daughter would one day be part of the company I had given so much of myself to create."
"She didn't though," Priss said.
"No. I was quite surprised when it happened," the way he said it told Priss he still was not sure about it. "She was in her second year at University when she told me she was marrying a fellow student. I of course was ready to refuse to let her, but she told me that I could not stop her. She had simply done what I said for so long that it never occurred to me that she had it in herself to disobey me.
"She was right of course," he continued. "I could not stop her, short of having her fiancee killed or hurt."
"Why didn't you?"
"For loving my daughter. For wanting to make her happy? What sort of monster do you think I am Saki-san?"
"The sort that threatens to kill little boys and doctors. And don't call me that."
"Actually I would not have done that, but there are some who would. And why should I not call you that? It is your name."
"No, not any longer."
"You can't hide from the past like that," he said as he shook his head. "As I was saying, I could not harm him. So, my daughter married. He was an intelligent young man, but had no drive. He made her happy though and I could not fault him. I still thought my daughter would carry on as I wanted her to. She remained in school after all. That lasted until a few days before she gave birth." He sighed softly. "After that, well, she was happy to be a mother. It was in her nature you see. She was very empathic really. I think that would have stood her well in the business world. In the end she wanted to care for her child, however.
"Again, I could not be too angry, I had a granddaughter after all. Then something unfortunate happened."
"What?" Priss had leaned forward slightly, the story capturing her attention more than she would have thought.
"She was truly brilliant you know. I could never hide anything from her. I found that out when she told me she did not want a man like me near her daughter. She knew who I really was, what I had really done. What she was truly saying was that she did not want me trying to force her daughter down the same road I tried to force my daughter, her, down.
"She had a very strong will, stronger than I had ever realised. I think she feared her daughter might not be strong enough to resist my influence. It was her way of telling me to be a grandfather, not a corporate recruiter.
"I was hurt by that. I was hurt that she knew me for what I was as well. I was hurt that she disapproved. I took her at the form of her words and not their meaning and never went back again, never saw her, or her family. It was my way to try to get back at her.
"She loved me, the young fool," he said sadly, and Priss thought she might have seen unshed tears glitter in his eyes for a moment. Then he blinked and if they had been there, they were gone. "I loved her as well. I was torturing us both. She was not the only fool in the family," he told Priss, shaking his head.
"She died in the quake, with her husband. The girl survived. I was going down to get her from the hospital where she was, but I never did."
"Why?" Priss asked, something demanding her tone, something that worried her.
"Because I wanted to ensure that my daughter would have begged me to help her child. It was my last bit of petty revenge."
"You bastard," Priss said quietly, an anger in her words she did not understand.
"Yes. I left her to orphanages, waiting for the time to claim her. It never came. Always when I thought she was at a point where she needed me to survive, she would come out of her low points, on her own, a little stronger, a little more deeply hurt. And I sat there and watched it all. I've come to regret that, as much as I regret never having a chance to say good bye to my daughter."
"It's too late to undo the past though. I can try to make the present better."
Priss said nothing for a time. She shook her head. "You're a liar."
"Pardon?" he looked up at her.
"You left me the first time because you wanted to hurt her. After that you stayed away from me because you were afraid I'd see the truth about you, like she did, and you could not stand that. You are a pitiful, empty man."
Devon looked at her for a few seconds, then a sad smile formed on his face. "So much like her," he said softly.
"And what did you plan to do if this meeting had not been forced?"
"To simply watch over you as I have. Make sure you stay safe."
"What?"
"Have you ever wondered why you could always find a back street clinic when you needed one? Why the doctors that treated you never screwed up like the others you had heard about? Ever wondered why you never were charged in any of the crimes you committed? Why your appointed lawyers were so good? I did what I could without revealing myself."
Priss was not sure what to say about that. She had always thought she was lucky and always caught the good break. Now it looked like there had been a lot of work involved in her lucky breaks.
"Had things worked out as I wanted you would have never known of me until after I had died. Then you would have received notice that you were my sole heir."
"So some lawyer would have come up to me and told me that I was rich? You are a bastard."
"You would not have wanted to know me."
"That may be true, but I wanted to know more about my mother and you can tell me that."
Devon looked a little surprised at that. "I suppose that is true." He got to his feet. "Someone will show you to your suite. I'm sure Stingray-san will send word to you when she is ready to talk." He walked to the door then turned to look back at her. "If you wish to speak with me, I'm sure someone can give you my number."
Priss said nothing.
"As I said, you are very much like your mother, but you are also very much like me."
Priss wanted to tell him that she was nothing like him, but she could not.
Devon turned and left the room.
Priss stared at the closed door, wondering just who Devon was. She wanted to brush off everything that he had said as a lie. Somehow, she could not.
Sylia stifled a yawn as she read through the last page. It was quite the document.
"I'll want to go over this with my lawyer before I sign it," Sylia said.
"Of course," Quincy told her.
She looked at the man who was willing to give her back the technology he had stolen. Well, not quite. She was going to 'allow' Genom to sign a one hundred-year contract with her company that licensed the unique aspects of her father's technology to the corporation. Genom was in it for the long term and always looked to the future.
The fees for the licensing of that technologyplus damages Genom would pay in an out of court settlementwere rather large. It would be more than enough to finance the creation of Stingray Industries. Stingray Industries was the company she was going to form for boomer research. Genom was assuming a lot in thinking that she would enter that area of research. Of course it was an assumption that would pay off. She already knew she could not stay away from it.
She would have some control over Genom's use of boomers, as long as she had what Genom wanted. That meant creating technology they needed and then making agreements on how it would be used.
It would be quite the fight. She had no illusions about the fact Genom would want as little control imposed on them as possible.
The contact also had the corporate equivalent of a 'Most favoured Nation' clause. For the next fifty years any contract she made with any other company, or individual, gave Genom the right to the same, if they so wished.
That was going to be hard to accept and she would try her best to get it rewritten in a way more favourable to her company.
Her company.
Already she was thinking of it that way.
She had a new way to oppose Genom, one that Quincy himself had given her. She was already planning on using it.
She would lose the Knight Sabers.
It was an unwritten part of the contract. She would have no time, and no use, for the organisation after she signed the papers. The Knight Sabers time had come and gone.
That hurt.
"How long have you known?" She looked across the desk at Quincy.
"Longer than you," he told her. "I was not about to ignore the daughter of Katsuhito-san after all."
"And you just watched and did nothing."
"Your organisation served me in a number of ways."
Sylia said nothing, just nodded.
"The other members of your team are waiting. I'll leave it to you to convince them."
Sylia got to her feet. "I will not make this easy for you," she told him.
"I never expected you would."
She turned and walked to the doors. "Shitsurei shimasu," she said as she walked out the doors, not stopping.
Quincy watched her go, smiling slightly.
Sylia stopped by her room to clean up and change. She also had her aide arrange for a meeting room and that Priss, Nene and Linna be informed. She considered asking that any security monitors in the room be deactivated but decided against it. It was likely Quincy had all the security around them locked down already.
Several minutes later she entered that room.
Nene was seated at the table, wearing clothes that were her usual style, but of much higher quality than anything she had worn before.
Linna was on the floor, stretching. She was wearing loose clothing, and like Nene's outfit, it was of very high quality.
Priss stood by the window, looking out at the city. She wore a black suit that complemented her well. That surprised Sylia.
Then Priss turned around and slumped back against the window, destroying the image. "What the hell is happening?" Priss asked.
"Genom has hired me," Sylia said as she closed and locked the door behind her. She did not expect anyone to enter, but in what was essentially enemy territory in many ways, a locked door was better than an unlocked one.
"What?" Nene asked.
"They need me to take care of a problem they have."
"And you are going to help them?" Linna got to her feet.
"None of you have to stay," Sylia told them, ignoring Linna's question. "You may go now, Genom had already deposited funds in your accounts for the trouble. They have been quite generous."
"You sold out," Priss said.
Sylia looked across the room at the singer. She felt a tiny stab of anger at that, but the singer's accusation was not unjustified. "Perhaps, in a way."
"There is no 'in a way'. You either sold out or you didn't. You sold out, didn't you?"
Sylia wondered why Priss was so angry. She had expected a little anger from her, but not that much, not a direct attack.
"Sylia-san?" Nene said, looking at her.
"I sold out," Sylia said.
"What did they give you?" Priss asked.
"Calm down Priss," Linna said, also a little surprised at Priss' actions.
"Full control of all my father's technology," Sylia told Priss. "There are strings of course, but I think I can deal with that."
"They gave it to you?" Nene looked at her.
"Genom will still be building and selling boomers, but I will be able to impose controls on them."
"So you won't need the Knight Sabers any longer," Priss said, pushing away from the wall.
"No," Sylia said.
"What?" Nene and Linna asked at the same time.
"Genom's become tired of us," Priss said, pulling back one of the chairs, then sitting in it.
"There is some truth to that." Sylia walked forward to pull one of the chairs out.
"We can't help Genom," Nene said.
"We can." Sylia took a seat.
"Why?" Nene asked, a little anger in her tone.
"Because Genom, as bad as they are, would never detonate a nuclear bomb in this or any other city."
"Nuclear..." Nene began. "What are you talking about?"
"The same people who let Flecks boomers wander this city tried to obtain three nuclear weapons. It seems likely that they would have used them to hold the city ransom. It is quite possible they would have detonated one elsewhere to prove their willingness to use them."
Nene looked at Sylia, shock on her face.
"You trust Genom on this?" Priss asked.
"Yes."
Priss nodded.
"So you are going to do it?" Linna asked.
"Yes."
"And if we decide to stay?"
"You become Genom employees for the duration of this and are very well paid."
"That's something," Linna said.
"What does that mean if we want to bail after we agree?" Priss asked.
"Genom has never been kind to rogue employees. We all have people that could be used as levers against us."
"Figures." Priss shook her head.
"I can't work for Genom," Nene said.
"It would not be the first time," Priss told her.
"But this..."
"You don't have to stay," Sylia told her. "You can leave right now."
"I'm in this. I'll see it through to the end. You'll probably need a shooter," Priss said.
Linna sighed. "I guess I can say goodbye to my dance career, but I am in."
"Okay," Nene said. She did not sound happy about it.
"What about Mackie?" Priss asked.
"He won't become involved in this," Sylia said.
"Suits."
"Now what?" Nene asked.
"At 4pm we have a briefing where the exact nature of this job will be laid out."
"You don't know what they want us to do?" Priss sounded surprised.
"Not everything. They want us to stop these people. The rest I don't know."
"Think they want wetwork?" Priss asked
"I don't do wetwork."
"Assassinations," Nene said, her tone holding disbelief. "We can't do..."
"If they wanted assassins they could have found them elsewhere," Sylia interrupted her.
"You've already agreed to the job," Priss said. "For all you know they want you to go and kill these people."
"I don't think so," Sylia said, looking across the table at Priss. Something was bothering the other woman.
"Why?"
"Because Genom seems to know me well enough to know what I will and won't do."
"Maybe they are hoping we will have to kill in self defence." Linna suggested.
"That is possible."
"Stop it," Nene said, sounding angry. "Can we wait until we know what is going to happen before we argue about it?"
Sylia smiled slightly. "Of course," she reached into her jacket and took out three cards. She put them on the table and pushed them towards Nene. "You will find this ID lets you go most places in the Tower"
Nene reached forward for the cards and pulled them across the table to herself. She took one and slid the second across the table to Linna and handed the third to Priss.
"What does all this mean," Priss looked at the ID she had been given.
"Welcome to the Genom family," Sylia said, smiling ever so slightly.
She wondered why Priss reacted as if she had been slapped.
"Sylia-san, did they find out about us because of Okami-san?" Linna asked. No one noticed Priss' eyes widen slightly.
"No," Sylia shook her head. "Quincy has been watching me for some time now. As he said, I think he knew I was going to form the Knight Sabers before I did."
Linna nodded. "Maybe this is the wrong time to say this, but I'm glad I can see you again, now that the danger of discovery is over."
Andrea Kikuchi was having a slightly bad day. While she usually knew a few minor problems were bound to crop up in any day, Yamazaki's failure to show was a moderate problem. She was always bothered when dancers did not make it, especially when they did not call in, and attempts to reach them failed.
Having to worry about what might have happened to one of her dancers was not a problem Andrea liked to deal with. As much as she tried, it was hard not to feel somewhat responsible for her dancers.
Near noon she had set the dancer understudying Linna's part to practice with Miki and Mako. She felt a little bad about that, but it was the nature of her dance troupe that no one was irreplaceable. Andrea would have no prima-donnas in her troupe.
During lunch one of her assistants told her that a visitor was waiting in her office. On entering her office she found Devon Okami waiting for her.
"Devon-san?"
"Andrea," he said, giving her his most charming of smiles. "I'm glad you could see me."
"Well, I always can make time for you," she told him as she circled around to sit behind her desk. "Please, sit."
Devon did so.
"So, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I'd like to speak to you about Yamazaki-san."
Andrea was a little surprised. "Is she all right?"
"Yes, she is fine, but something has come up that is beyond her control."
"What?"
"I am not at liberty to say."
"Which means?"
"That I can't tell you anything, as I said."
"I don't understand this."
"And I suspect you never will, but it is not something you have to worry about."
"So you say."
"So I say, and you know I have never lied to you before." That was a lie in itself, but he knew Andrea would believe him. They always believed him. "I want you to ensure Yamazaki-san has a place when she returns."
"Will she be able to tell me why she was gone?"
"I doubt it."
"Then no," she said, shaking her head. "I have rules for my dancers. I don't care how good they are, I will not keep anyone who will not follow those rules."
"Even if it is not their fault?"
Andrea paused for a moment, then nodded. "Even then."
"Well, you are a woman of your principals. Mostly."
"Mostly?"
"You started looking for funding for one of you big projects."
"Yes I have," Andrea said, a little confused by the question,
"I'll give you complete funding, more than you need actually. You'll be able to go first class all the way."
"If I keep Yamazaki-san."
"Yes."
"Hardly fair."
"Yes, but that is the way it is."
Andrea nodded. "This time I'll let you bribe me, but only because Yamazaki is very good and I was hoping you'd give me a reason to cut her some slack."
"Then we both get what we want."
"This doesn't mean I won't draw her over the coals for not showing up, and if she slacks off for even a moment, she's out like any other dancer would be."
"Agreed. That is how Yamazaki would want it."
"I won't ever know what this was about, will I?"
"No," Devon said as he got to his feet.
Sylia cradled the phone, hanging up on Dr. Raven. She had called him, deciding it was best to let him explain things to Mackie. She also needed the hardsuits and the motoslaves ready to move. She had no doubt that she would need them.
She only hoped that Mackie would accept that he was not coming without giving Dr. Raven a hard time about it. She suspected that he would want to come. She could not blame him. This was to be the Knight Saber's last mission. To be left out would hurt him.
Sylia would deal with Mackie later. Right now she had little time to worry about hurting the feelings of her younger brother.
Nene read through the letter that had been delivered to her a few minutes before. It was from Kumiko Yusa, apologising for the part she had played in Nene's being brought to the Tower. She also assured Nene that she would help in verifying Nene's excuse for her absence. Nene had told her mother that she and her professor would be attending a conference in Hokkaido. It was really quite an honour for an undergraduate to be invited to such a thing.
Her mother was, of course, ecstatic about it.
Nene thought it was strange that her mother had been in the Tower, treating Priss' wounds and Nene had not known. Then again, it was probably equally strange that Nene was in the Tower herself.
She put the letter aside. When it was all over Nene was going to request that she be appointed a new academic advisor. She was fairly certain that she would get her way.
"Thank you," Linna said coolly.
"There is of course no need to thank me," Devon told her over the vid-phone. "We both know that I owed you at least this."
Linna nodded. "Yes, that is true," she said, then hung up on Devon.
She felt a little bad for being so rude to Devon; he had saved her spot in the dance troupe after all. And while he had brought her into Genom, if it had not been him, it would have been someone else. She, Sylia and Nene had been brought in quite easily considering what Priss had gone through.
The phone buzzed, the light on it indicating that it was in intercom mode. That meant it was Juliet. Linna pressed the speaker button. "Yes Juliet-san?"
"Asagiri-san would like to see you Yamazaki-san," Juliet told her.
"Of course, thank you," Linna said.
A moment later the door to the anteroom opened and Priss walked in. "Should I have made an appointment?" she asked, closing the door behind her.
"Juliet-san's just doing her job," Linna told her.
"I told the one they assigned to me to go back and drown in whatever pool they had pulled her out of."
"Well, some of us would rather be polite."
"Where does that get you?" Priss asked her as she dropped down into one of the overstuffed chairs. "Nice place."
"They're not sparing much to make us comfortable, and to try to impress us."
Priss shrugged her shoulders. "I think they are trying to intimidate us."
"Maybe. So, what kind of set up has Genom arranged for you being missing?"
"Supposedly I'm down in Shikoku visiting an old friend. They've arranged for this band, 'Red Tear' to fill in for me at the Hard Rock."
"I've heard of them. They are pretty good."
Priss nodded. "That keeps Kano happy, and the band will make my apologies every night, which should keep my fans from starting to hate me. I suppose it is pretty decent of Genom. How about you?"
"Okami-san arranged things with Kikuchi-sensei so that she won't boot me out."
"Nice of him," Priss said, keeping her tone neutral.
"I guess."
"So, what is this Okami person like?"
"Why do you ask?" Linna asked her.
"We haven't had much chance to talk lately. I'm just a little curious about the man."
"Oh," Linna said, accepting Priss' explanation. "He comes off as very nice, and he is for the most part, but he can be completely ruthless when he wants to be. He was fun to be with, and great in bed." Linna smiled.
"Do you still like him?" she asked, keeping her voice calm, trying to sound indifferent.
"In a way." Linna shrugged her shoulders. "I won't forgive him for what he did though."
"Why did you leave him?"
Linna thought about it for time. "Because he wanted to be loved, but he did not want to love. He had this story about having loved someone and not being able to love anyone after that. I don't know. It might be true."
"Sounds kind of messed up."
Linna nodded.
Priss looked at her watch. "Damn."
"What?"
"I've got to take care of a few things," Priss said, making an excuse to leave. She had what she had come for.
"I'll see you at the meeting then."
"Right, see you then," Priss said as she got to her feet and started towards the door.
At four fifteenPriss had shown up latethe meeting started. Sylia, Priss, Linna and Nene sat on one side of the table. On the other side were Domino, Katherine and a man who Sylia thought was familiar looking but could not identify.
Domino waited until everyone was settled and the office ladies had served the tea. Once the OLs had left she began the meeting.
She got to her feet and looked at the women across from her. Sylia she knew, the other three were basically mysteries to her-though she knew Linna was a dancer. In the hours before the meeting she had learned everything she could about them.
Nene Romanova was so clean that Domino almost suspected that she was some kind of plant. Deeper digging had revealed a few things, but they were rumours for the most part. Trying to find something bad about Nene Romanova was a bit like grasping at smoke.
Prisila S. Asagiri was another matter. A long arrest record, no convictionsnot surprisingand a grandfather that should not have been who he was. Domino had only discovered that because he had told her earlier.
Then there was Linna Yamazaki who at first look was the most normal of them, but there was more to the woman than first looks showed.
She picked up a remote, dimmed the lights and then turned the projector on.
The wall at the head of the table lit up with a picture. A picture of a man with a cruel, handsome face, golden eyes and bluish grey hair.
"This was a boomer that called itself Largo," she began. "I'm sure you all remember him."
"He's behind this?" Priss asked.
"No, he's dead, or," Domino smiled, "perhaps deactivated is a better way to put it. You ensured that. Thanks to Andrews-Hakase, in part, he stayed very dead."
"So why show us this?" Priss asked.
"Because he is, to an extent, the base of this."
"So what is happening is related to Largo?" Sylia looked up at Domino. She also looked the man with Domino. She suddenly realised why he looked familiar.
"In a way. Largo was, without too much doubt, insane. He never believed he could fail, yet, he planned for it. I wonder if he ever admitted that to himself?" Domino asked the last softly, as if she were talking to herself.
"What Odotte-san is saying," Katherine got to her feet and walked to the head of the table, "is that Largo left some unfinished business behind him when he died. Associates, and I use the term loosely, who are continuing on with his plans."
"Why?" Sylia asked.
"A very good question. Odotte-san?"
"Andrews-hakase, if you will please explain." Domino said, handing him the remote.
Yoshiro got to his feet as Domino took her seat.
"Wait, I thought you were dead," Priss blurted out.
Yoshiro flinched slightly, as if he was worried he might be hurt.
"That people thought Andrews-hakase dead was in Genom's best interest," Domino told her.
Priss was not entirely happy with that answer, but decided to let it slide.
Yoshiro fumbled with the remote for a bit and almost dropped it. He was nervous being so close to Sylia, to Katsuhito's daughter. What would she do when she learned the truth? Domino had basically teased him about that, telling him that he would soon be of little use and that Sylia might learn the truth of his involvement in her father's death.
He forced himself to be calm and began his presentation. "This is a schematic of Largo's right arm," Yoshiro said, pressing one of the buttons.
Sylia leaned forward in her seat, looking at the design. It was a very well constructed limb.
"I made the following changes to it." He pressed another button.
"What?" Priss interrupted. "Are you saying you worked with him?"
"I would not worry about Andrews-hakase's loyalty, he won't betray Genom, as he has betrayed others, like Largo. At least not this time," Domino told her. She looked up at Yoshiro, who was looking a little nervous. She smiled at him, enjoying the way it made him blanche.
"If I may continue," Yoshiro said, picking up a laser pointer. "I added these induction pads to the fingertips, put signal boosters just below the elbow and the main unit occupied some of the shoulder and some of the upper chest. It was all tied into his brain, with a one way gate connection."
"Main unit for what?" Nene asked.
"You stole that from him too," Sylia said, looking into Yoshiro's eyes. He took a step back.
"What is it?" Priss asked.
"The device my father created to allow information in the brain to be stored and ultimately, 'downloaded' into another brain."
"What, he could make," Priss struggled for the words for a moment, "brain clones?"
"No," Domino said. "He could transfer his knowledge and other things."
"Other things?" Sylia asked.
"There were a number of side effects to this procedure, with the much smaller equipment," Yoshiro said. "We were never able to isolate out all of the side effects, but we could choose for the ones we wanted."
"He decided a free floating anxiety, brought about by periods of inactivity, was the best choice," Domino told them.
"And how did he direct the activity he wanted?" Sylia asked.
"Sexaroid companions."
"33-Ss?" Nene asked.
"33-Ss," Priss said softly.
"Why?" Linna asked.
"People can become addicted to a sexaroid's presence, if the sexaroid is trying," Domino said.
"He pulled them in, either by himself, or with a sexaroid, 'gifted' them with his knowledge and then left a 33-S as their keeper," Katherine told them.
"How did he ensure the 33-Ss would be loyal?" Sylia asked.
"We tossed them aside," Domino said. "He told them that he loved them. Maybe he did. After a while I suspect it was just habit."
"And these people helped him?" Priss looked between Domino, Yoshiro and Katherine.
"They had little choice. Anxiety attacks if they did nothing, a Sexaroid directing their actions, I doubt that anyone could resist that," Katherine said.
"And they believed that once Largo was done they would be free," Domino said. "I think all of them believed it once. The ones that are still alive may still believe it, though I doubt it."
Sylia saw the brief look that Katherine gave Domino. Katherine had not known about that. "So they are attempting to carry on his work."
"His dream really," Domino said.
"A delusional fantasy," Katherine said.
"What a bastard," Priss said, wishing she had done more to Largo than just blow his arm off.
"Why did he need them at all?" Sylia looked at Domino.
"They had a number of useful things to offer. Information, resources, and skills. They were also in no way connected to Mason. That was important I think."
"Do they know he's dead?" Nene asked.
"Yes," Domino told her. "I think they are quite happy about that."
"How many of these people are there?" Sylia asked.
"Four remain," Katherine told her, walking over to Yoshiro. She took the remote from him.
"Alice Myers." She pressed a button on the remote and the woman's face filled the screen. "Scientist, DNA work. We assume that she was chosen for her contacts within the scientific world."
"Rafael Browning." She pushed the button again. "Canadian Secret Service. Large web of contacts and access to the information CSIS had."
"Marcelle Camberlain." A picture of an unattractive man who looked to be in his late thirties appeared on the screen. "Assassin."
"Kirk Richards." A picture of a handsome young man appeared on the screen. "Weapons designer. We think he helped to build the Flecks units, and some other things."
"Richards-san may be of some interest to you Stingray-san," Domino said. "He might have been your brother."
"This really has no place here," Katherine said.
"What do you mean?" Sylia asked. She had heard of Richards, but only bits and pieces.
"His mother was Linda Richards, one of the four founders of MRAStech. Very close to your Otousan, before he left for Japan."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"I thought you might appreciate the irony of that. I'm certain Largo did."
"Speculation," Katherine said. She turned off the projector and brought the lights up. "These are the last four left. You will go and get them."
"Why us?" Priss demanded. "You must have people who can do this."
"Not you," Domino said. "Stingray-san. You, Yamazaki-san and Romanova-san are here because we thought Stingray-san would appreciate familiar backup."
"Why?" Sylia asked.
"Largo was fascinated by you."
"He tried to kill me."
"Yes."
"I'm not a target."
"If we send anyone else our targets may very well bolt before we can get close. We might capture one, maybe two, but as long as even one is out there, there is still a danger. They will stay for you, against their better judgement, but they will stay, for a little while. Use that little while well."
"Why not just take the two and get the others later?"
"We might not have a later. We suspect they are still negotiating to purchase nuclear weapons, or working on some other plan. The sooner all of them are dealt with the better."
"There must be more to them than just those four," Linna said.
"They have a reasonable sized organisation working for them, though now much smaller than it was. Those people are of no concern. We can deal with them at our leisure, if at all. Without those four they are of no real threat. They will have no direction."
"We won't kill them," Nene said.
"We don't want them dead," Domino said. "We need to interrogate them."
"And then you will kill them," Priss said.
Domino ignored the statement.
"Where are they?" Sylia asked.
"Right now?" Katherine said. "We don't know. In three days they will be on the USSD experimental O-Neil colony, Alpha 2."
"Why there?"
"Because they think it is safe. We have closed down large parts of their organisation. We have left everything in space alone. They don't know that we are aware of those holdings."
"Why are they meeting in one place?" Sylia looked at Katherine.
"They need to meet and plan in a place they think safe."
"Why not teleconference?" Nene asked.
"Because they believe that Genom has managed to tap all communications with a rather impressive, and very illegal, satellite, ground line, and computer link up."
"Have you?" Nene asked.
"That is need to know information Romanova-san," Domino said.
"Of course," Nene said.
"You seem to be placing a lot on them not scattering when they see me," Sylia said.
"It is a vital part of the plan, and we are sure that it will happen like that."
"You are sure," Sylia told her.
"That I am sure is enough for the Chairman. Could you ask for more?"
Sylia looked at her for several seconds. There was something so familiar about the woman and something so alien as well. "Yes. I could ask that I was sure."
"We can't give you everything."
"So we go in there, we grab them and then it's over, right?" Priss said.
"Then it is over." Domino nodded.
"Over," Nene echoed softly.
"We will meet again tomorrow at this time," Domino said. "I suspect you will want to read up on what information we have. I'm sure that will answer most of your questions."
"Why don't you just wait until they are on the colony then blow it up?" Priss suggested, her tone sarcastic.
"It is in our best interests that the public consider living in space to be very safe. Also, such an action could have serious repercussions."
"And the ten thousand plus people on it?"
"You've already made up your mind about that Asagiri-san. Anything I say won't convince you otherwise.
"I'm glad you understand me so well," Priss told her, only the barest hint of sarcasm remaining in her voice.
"So do you think Priss-san is coming?" Nene asked. She and Linna were in Sylia's suite, having dinner.
"I'm not sure," Sylia said. "So, are you pleased with the cover story that Genom constructed for your absence?"
Nene nodded. "It should keep my parents from panicking."
"Good." Sylia looked over at Linna.
"I don't think I'll ever be able to explain my absence to Kikuchi-sensei, but I've been assured that won't be a problem."
Sylia nodded. "Genom is very good at solving certain problems."
"You don't sound as if you like them much," Nene said.
"I don't, not really."
"Then why are you helping them?"
"Because the other option is unacceptable. Because Genom has given me something I can't resist."
"Genom won't give up control of your Otousan's technology that easily," Linna said.
"I know. The Chairman expects that I will give back to Genom more than I take. He's taking a chance. So am I."
"Is this the only way?" Linna picked up a piece of sashimi with her hashi(chopsticks).
"I can't destroy Genom. I can't kill Quincy. I can't reveal the truth about Genom, in part because I'm not sure of the whole truth."
"What about the Knight Sabers?" Nene was nervously playing with a teacup.
"I can't run my company and operate the Knight Sabers. I can't let you the three of you operate without me. The Knight Sabers' time is done."
"Why does it have to be done?" Nene asked. There was a hint of tears in her voice
"You are a beautiful young woman Nene-san, with a future ahead of you that most would envy. I can't hold you anymore. If you have to oppose Genom, find your own way. The same is true for you Linna-san."
"But, what we did, we helped, we made a difference," Nene said.
"We did." Linna nodded her head.
"To an extent. Too many times it was just about revenge."
"That's not true!" Nene stated.
"We were not Samurai Nene-san. We were, and are, mercenaries."
"No."
Sylia reached out and put her hand on top of Nene's. "You are too noble for your own good." She smiled. "I should have never brought you in."
"If you end it like this, it's like it never mattered."
"It mattered," Linna said. "It all mattered, it all meant something."
"Yes, yes it did," Sylia said.
"Then why end it?" Nene demanded.
"Everything has to end."
"That's not much of an answer," But Nene's tone had softened. "What am I supposed to do?"
"Live your life as best you can."
"Hard to do," Linna said.
Sylia nodded. "True, but you both have the ability to do it."
Priss stood, leaning against a wall, looking up at the stars. Above her were the windows of Quincy's office. The cold wind cut through the clothing she wore, the fine material of the suit hardly proof against the winds.
Nothing remained in the area to testify to her fight with Largo. Everything had been repaired, cleaned, made right again. It was all so easy with inanimate objects.
She had started at the very bottom of the tower, as low as she could get and then she had worked her way up.
Priss knew she had not seen even a small part of it, but she had needed to look around. To know what might have been.
No. She shook her head. It had been curiosity that had sent her on a tour of the Tower, nothing more. The story was not true. It was not true.
She reached into her jacket, touching the photographs in the pocket. Taking her hand away she put it back at her side and continued to look up at the stars.
Of course it was true.
"Asagiri-san," someone said off to her side.
Priss turned and looked towards the voice. A young woman stood several meters from her. She held a tan, long coat in her hands.
"What?" Priss said rudely.
"You must be cold." She approached Priss, holding out the coat. She smiled
Priss looked at her for a moment, thinking of telling her to go away. Then she reached out and took the garment. "Thanks," she mumbled as she pulled it on.
"I'm, Rei, pleased to met you." She bowed deeply.
"Why are you here?"
"Your grandfather asked me to talk to you."
"He's not my grandfather," Priss snapped.
"Yes he is," Rei said.
Priss stared angrily at the young woman and said nothing
"Why does that upset you?" Rei asked her.
"It does. Why are you here?"
"To talk to you about Sylvie."
Priss just stared at the woman. "Why the hell would you want to talk about Sylvie?"
"She was a 33-S like me."
Priss stared at the woman across from her. "Is that so?"
"I never met her, but we were from the same series. It makes us sisters in many ways."
"Good for you. What is the point of this?"
"I admit I am a little confused over what Okami-san expected me to do."
"That makes two of us," Priss said. She turned and then walked to the place where Largo had fallen.
"I think he cares about you," Rei said, following after Priss.
"He wants something." Priss looked over the edge of the shaft, staring down into the darkness. She wondered how deep it went.
"So this is all some sort of play. To get something from you?"
"In a way."
"That seems an odd way to do it. He could just threaten your friends."
"You don't understand," Priss told her.
"No, I don't," Rei admitted.
"He wants a sense of family, and unfortunately I am the only one that can give it to him." Priss shook her head. "It's too bad kasan couldn't have been twins. Probably would have saved me this crap."
"Pardon?" Rei asked.
"It's not important. You can go."
"Are you angry at Okami-san?"
"It is hard not to be mad at him."
"Being abandoned hurts doesn't it," Rei said, moving closer to Priss.
"How would you know?"
"It happened to me, twice, three times maybe. You only just found out about him I think. There must be a lot of anger in you."
"Maybe," Priss said. "Anger and I are old friends."
Rei nodded. "It hurts, doesn't it."
"Yeah, it hurts. But in time you get used to it," Priss told her. "You shouldn't have to get used to it though."
Rei thought about that for a few seconds. "Do you mean everyone, or 33-Ss, or just me?"
"Yes," Priss said, smiling slightly. "Were you really abandoned three times?"
"Yes," Rei told her. "The first was when Genom shut me down and put me in stasis. I barely had four hours of existence and that point, but I wanted more. They didn't care."
Priss nodded as she lifted one side of her coat and put it over Rei's shoulders. "Life sucks."
Rei leaned into Priss and said, "That is one of the three noble truths."
"A sexaroid that is a Buddhist." Priss shook her head. "This place just gets stranger and stranger."
"Good and bad fortune are matters of fate. Good and bad actions are Man's way"
-Yamamoto Tsunetomo
