Chapter Ten: Running after Red Beard
AN: Okay, this chapter and from now on is of the present time. All this takes place a few years AFTER Serena went through the Ritual and Kumori took over. SO just keep in mind that Kumori IS Serena only in a different form sorta speak.
6 YEARS LATER
Miki Taro stood at the large window called the "ship's eyes" and peered out at space. Behind him were members of his crew dressed up in tight fitting uniforms. A different color for each because of their rank and jobs. Miki, being captain and highest of them all, wore a silver suit with ribbons, metals, and a cape that was a dark blue. The cape stood out most of the time. It was made of a silky material that shined in the light and was held in place by a silver chain attacked to patches on his shoulders. It went to mid thigh on him and was worn to the side, only covering his left side. His hair was in its usual loose pony tail. He connected both his hands to his back and stood straight. He always stood or sat in a composed position, giving of a superior presence to the people around him. He never really spoke on the ship, only nodded and stared out in space.
"Captain?"
Miki stood at the window for a minute before he turned around. Before him was a scrowny little man that had no more than 70 pounds on him. He held a few papers in his hand. He was shaking, Miki saw, probably afriad of his boss. Miki smiled on the inside at that thought. He liked it when people were afraid of him. He took a second glance at the man and raised his eye brow. It seemed that the other man had reason to be scared to wits, he held information that might anger Miki.
"S-s-sir...I...I have the umm..the graphs from...umm..uhh..the u- the Tawa Galaxy.."
"Go on."
"..R-r...Red Beard...he..he was sighted only an hour ago, sir."
"What plantet?"
"umm...uhhh.."
The man franticly shuffled through his papers to find the name of the planet. Miki grew frustrated and snatched the papers from his hands and read for himself. For a long moment, Miki just stood there searching. His members looked up at him, ready for his orders. He glanced up at the three men in back at the computers.
"What are we currently setting?"
"135 degrees North...45 degress West, sir." one man pitched in.
Miki nodded and handed the paper back to his small messenger. He stepped down off the plateau and moved over to the men at the computers. He studied the map and then pointed.
"Here. We need to get here. How long will it takes us?"
"If we use all 8 engines we can get there as fast as two light speeds."
"Good then lets do that!"
"Uhh..sir...I might add that if we do use those engines, well have to stop and refuel."
"So what's wrong with that?"
"We aren't familiar with the Tawa Galaxy, sir. If we move in without knowing their resources, we could get stuck."
"We'll find something. I am more focused on getting there in time. I need to get to Red Beard. Do you understand that?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Now get started."
While his crew prepared for the trip, Miki moved from corridor to corridor. He headed for the bed chambers of a particular young female. Miki got there and stood at her door. He pressed a small yellow button and bent down to talk on the inter com.
"Kumori, you desent?"
No answer. He tried again and still no answer. Getting a bit worried he took out a thin card that resembled a really shiny credi card. He slipped it a hole and punched in some numbers. He put his card back where it belonged and allowed the doors to slide open. Miki walked into a pitched black room and called out to Kumori. He heard whispers and looked around. He patted down the wall beside the door and found the light switch. When the lights came on, he took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust and looked around.
"Kumori?"
Miki found the silver headed woman standing in the middle of the room. She stood their in a defense mode between three body length mirrors. He raised his eye brow and walked in full way to allow the doors to slide close.
"Kumori? Why didn' you answer me when I called?"
"I thought you would have gotten the hint that I wanted to be left alone. I pegged you as the smart type. I must've been wrong."
Miki ignored her comment and crossed his arms on his chest. He looked around the rest of the room.
"I heard something. Is anyone else in the room with you?"
"No. I am here by myself."
"Who were you talking to then?"
Kumori stood there glancing at all three mirrors. She saw her reflection in each of them and stared.
"I was talking to my reflection. Who else would I talk to? My imaginary friend?"
"You're a smart ass."
"Comes with the package. Get used to it. So what's wrong?"
"Huh? What would you think something is wrong?"
"You're in my room. You don't talk to me unless we have a clue on Red Beard."
"Oh...yeah. We are heading towards Tawa Galaxy. That is where he was last seen. I came in to tell you to get ready."
Kumori walked passed him to her closet and began pulling out an outfit to wear. She began taking off her night gown and Miki went wide eye and turned away.
"You always get nervous around girls or is it just me?"
Miki cleared his throat and shook his head.
"Only when it comes to my mother. You are in her body remember? I don't think it would be...right...if I watched my mother undress."
Kumori tapped him on the shoulder and he instictively turned around. When he saw what he was doing he quickly shut his eyes pantickly.
"Open your eyes you moron, I'm already dressed."
Miki opened his right eye to check and then opened the other. He sighed a breath of relief. Kumori only grinned. He scowled.
"I hate it when you do that."
Kumori shrugged and turned back around and gathered her weapons. Miki took this time to check out what she was wearing. Her top consumed of a black leather snake-type skin. It had no sleeves and wrapped around her neck as a turtleneck would. The top was tiny and stopped only a few inches from where her breast sat. Her stomach and pack showed easily. Her pants were also a black leather that held skin tight to her. She wore a silver belt with straps attached to it that held two daggers on either side of her. She wore a loose strap over one of her shoulders. In that back was a thin, neatly designed bow and a pack that carried her arrows. She had one silver braclet tightly clasped to her left arm. On her feet were knee high boots that were covered by the pants. Attached to her boots were straps that supported two more daggers. By that time, Kumori was brushing out her long, elbow length, hair. She pulled it back in a french braid. Feeling a bit naked, she left a small amount of strand in her face, then braided them. She turned around with her hands on her hips.
"Ready."
" Then come on...I bet the boys are ready to land by now. The first stop is a planet called Chadron. It's suppose to be a small, peaceful piece of rock. The poplulation is no smaller than a clan."
Within an hour, Miki and Kumori landed on the planet with a handful of picked men. They stepped out of the cruiser and glanced around. The planet's surroundings seemed to be in order. It reminded Miki of a grassland region on Earth. There was no sign of any life here.
"Spread out. We need to find these people. They are said to be nomadic. So they may not be around here."
"We need to get into two groups." Sounded Kumori. Miki looked at the men and nodded.
"Five will go with me, the other five with Kumori."
Kumori studied the men and picked her five. Then Miki got what remained. She looked up at the sky.
"We'll go northeast. You check southwest. Search for half an hour then meet back here. Got it?"
The men looked up at Kumori and then back at Miki, their leader. Miki stared at Kumori, almost furious for taking over. She had a habit of barking out orders before given permisson. He saw the expressions on his men and narrrowed his eyes.
"You heard her! Let's get started!"
The two groups split up and started walking in their directions. It didn't take long before Kumori could smell smoke. She lifted her nose in the air. One man snickered behind her back whispering a comment. Kumori narrowed her eyes and spun around.
"What was that?"
The man made a gulping sound and stood stiffly. He shook his head and watched as she walked in front of him. She grabbed him by the jaw and made him look her in the eyes.
"Would you care to let us all know what's so FUNNY!"
"N-n-no ma'am."
"No? Really? Because I would really like to hear what was so funny. I'm in for a good laugh. So go on. Share with us what's so damn funny."
When he didn't answer she threw him back a little far and he landed flat on his ass. She stared at each of rest.
"Just because I'm a woman..doesn't mean I'll act like one. I'll let you all in on a secret. I am smarter..faster...BETTER...than any of you. I will rip you a part without breaking a sweat. DON'T think I can't..just because I LOOK like I can't..cuz your dead wrong. Got it?"
They all nodded. She did an about face and started walking towards the smell of smoke. It only took within a ten minute walk before they landed upon a village. Kumori stopped and took in what she saw. Peaceful. Quiet. A little TOO quiet for her liking. She glanced over at one of the men.
"Find Captain Miki. We'll wait for him before entering the camp site."
Kumori started walking towards the hay built huts. Smoke rose up from every few spots. Kumori was about to go farther on, hypnotized by the knowledge that laid ahead, then stopped again when she noticed that she stepped on something. She looked down and removed her foot off the object. She bent down and picked it up. In her hands, was a tiny hand-knitted doll. It was covered in dirt. She swiped, what she could, off and took a better look at it. She smiled at the midget figure of a lady. The doll had black yarn for hair and a bright pink dress.
"Let's enter."
Kumori snapped out of her thoughts to see Miki and the others already entering the camp. She tagged alone in the back playing with the doll. One of the childer in the clan must've dropped it while playing with it. She made a note to return it. When they ented the site, again, there was no sign of life. Miki leaded everyone in and glanced around. He hadn't watched where he was going and tripped over a big lump. He groaned in pain and lifted himself up arms length to fact what he had landed on. Then the sicking realization hit him. It was a dead corpse. He swallowed his dry throat and quickly stood up. This time, when he looked around he could see the bodies every where. Kumori made her way to the front. Her white skin only turned paler. How they could have missed such an obvious scene was un answerable. She looked up at Miki.
"Why weren't we able to see this many before?"
Miki stood there with his hands in fists. Kumori guessed that he was reliving the time on Earth. He had found his entire life..just like this.
"Because we were looking for LIVE bodies...not corpses."
Kumori held the doll tighter to her chest and walked farther, searching for something.
"Kumori..I don't think it's such a good idea...to-...hey what are you searching for?"
She wasn't listening to the man. Then she spotted her target. Holding up the doll, she took in a quick study of it, then of her target. Kumori swallowed hard and hesitantly moved to the other side of the village. She bent down to a young girl lying near, what seemed to be her parents. Kumori looked at the doll again, then placed it in the child's arms. The men watched as she did this and bowed their heads.
"We're too late. Red Beard got her before us." One man said.
"We should get going. There is nothing left for us to do." Another chimmed in.
Kumori stood once again and turned to the boys.
"No. We do have something to do."
She motioned at the people's bodies and then back to them.
"They died a cruel death. Atleast we can do is give them a proper and respected burial."
Miki sighed and moved over to her.
"We don't have time. Red Beard is out there and we've got to get him."
"Then leave. I'll do it myself."
"Kumori..let's not go through this.."
"Go through what?"
"THIS? They are dead..it's a terriable thing, I know...but we have to keep going."
Without even listening, she began to gather up bodies. She would throw them over her shoulder and carry them out of the village.
"Kumori..."
"Did you know that some people believe that if your body is left unburried..that the soul of that person cannot move on. It must stay there close to its body until it has a blessing."
The men behind Miki looked up at him then at Kumori. They knew what it was like to lose someone they loved. They also knew of that myth and shivered. Not being able to handle it, they walked one by one. Each picking up some bodies and carrying them out. Miki stood there in bewilderment as his men mimiked Kumori. Once all the bodies were retrieved, the men started digging holes. Miki threw up his hands in defeat.
"When you are all done, find your way back to the crusiers. I'll wait till then."
Kumori had finished off the burial ritual by placing individual head stones. They were all made out if hay, straw and anything else she could bled together. The last was of the little girl with the doll. Kumori knelt down, then men in the back had their heads bowed, she closed her eyes.
"I promise you, young one...I will avenge you. You were too young to die. A future ahead of you. He took it away. I will avenge."
Kumori kissed her hand and then placed it on the grave. Her sadden expression hardened as she turned around. Then men stood straight up with a new profound respect for the woman. She nodded and stalked off to the crusiers.
Over the past few weeks, the word spread of what Kumori Mika did. She went against Captain Miki's orders and buried the village people. It turned into a routine for the ship crew. Any time they ran across those who were slained, they would take extra time and bury the dead. Miki stayed quieter than usual. He was enraged by the fact that now, everyone looked up to Kumori. They even started taking orders from her. No, correction..not orders..more like request. That made them praise her more. She never raised her voice to them unless she was irritated or had a reason to. She never barked out orders any longer. She felt it unnessary since they did anything she asked. Miki's people had gone from scared to...happy...determined...braver..all because of Kumori. It didn't make sense any more.
Miki passed Kumori's bed chamber and heard whispering. He held his ear to the door. There was three..no four voices. All females. Miki took out his card again and opened up the door. Her room was pitch black. He turned on the lights and saw her standing in front of the mirrors. She turned to him in suprise then started to put her hair up in a pony tail. Miki stared at her and for a moment he could have sworn her saw blonde. Just a strand of blonde locks. When she had it up, he couldn't see it. He blinked and focused on her.
"Who are you talking to?"
"No one."
"I heard voices."
"It was just me."
"You? You were talking to yourself?"
"No of course not..thats absured."
"Then who were you talking to?"
"My reflection..s"
Miki looked at her oddly then at the mirrors. She huffed and placed her hands on her hips.
"What do you want?"
"Um..nothing..just thought I would check on you."
"No leads?"
"No...James and Suki are still gathering more facts. They have been talking to a bunch of other places. Warning them of Red Beard. Some don't consider him a threat. They believe that they have the right stuff to keep him away."
"I would like to show them all the graves. Then they would believe us."
"Ha...good idea...only there is no time."
"There is never enough time."
"It's almost as if he owns it."
"...yeah... we'll if you're okay..then I will leave."
"Okay. I will be down for supper later."
"Okay."
As soon as Miki left, Kumori let out a sigh of relief and turned of the lights.
"We were almost caught...again." A voice came.
Kumori stood in her normal spot. She glanced at all three mirrors around her.
"He's smarter than what he leads on" Another spoke.
"A little TOO smart for his own good. We can't get caught." The last spoke.
Kumori let out a sarcastic laugh.
"Miki...catching us..that won't happen. He may be smart..just not that smart."
"Better watch it, Kumori."
"I am."
Kumori said to the figure staring back at her. The figure was of a lady a tad bit older then the other two. She had long silver hair and crystal blue eyes. Her dress was formal along with a tiara she wore. She reminded Kumori of a noble woman attending a ball. The woman's hair was in a weird hair style, with two buns on the top of her head. On her neck was a golden shaped heart. She remembered when the figure first appeared to her. The lady allowed her to listen to the most beautiful melody.
Kumori glanced at the middle figure. She had the same hair style, only her hair was golden. She had a golden band on her forehead with a crescent moon imprinted on it. She wore a short fuku, gloves, and red boots. In her hand was a pretty stick with a crest moon on it as well. The lady once told her that it was the simplest form she had. Her very first transformation. She appeared after the princess and allowed Kumori to see all the tricks she could do.
The last character was a figure of a teenage girl. Her hair also had the same hair style. the only difference was the fact that it was a dirty blonde color. The girl wore a school uniform and a brief case that had all her work in it. She appeared after the other two. Kumori loved to hear the teenagers stories. Her parents, friends, school, and most of all her boyfriend. That's what first struck Kumori at first. Each told a story about their friends or comrads and of a lover they have. Kumori wished she had something like that. The women all told her she could once she found home. Kumori never knew about her home, so she supposed she could never find it. It was still fabulous to hear of such great stories of princes, heros, and regular old joes. Kumori wanted someone terriably and even shared it with the women. They all smiled at her and would say "soon".
"You better go. It's dinner time and you should be starving." said the teenage girl.
Kumori laughed and nodded. She wrapped her arms around her waist.
"Yeah.. I am a little hungry. Will you all be back tomorrow?"
The nodded and then disappeared. Kumori sighed and walked out of her room. She headed to the cafeteria, not even noticing the silver headed man at her door. Once out of sight, Miki looked at her door.
"I knew something was up. I need to talk to Ajax."
He turned and walked the opposite way that Kumori had.
AN: BIG SIGH! My poor brain. It went into overload. Hehehe. I really hope you guys like this chapter. I've been waiting to start it for a long time. Well...until next time..ADIEU!
