Chapter Six
"Detective Kiyone."
Kiyone stood before her supervisor's very new blue desk, folding her hands absently behind her back as she awaited his orders. Ten minutes earlier, an alert had been sent through the Galaxy Police accomodation complex and, her conscience pricking her over her frequent visits to Level 9, she eyed his expression with trepidation.
"Yes, sir?" She managed, keeping her tones pleasant and interested. "Do you have an assignment for me?"
"I fear so."
The man gestured to an empty chair, and, relief flooding through her, Kiyone sank into it. "You are aware, of course, that yourself and Detective Mihoshi are among some of the most experienced Galaxy Police Officers we still have serving in the Force."
"Yes, sir. How may I be of service this time?"
The chief looked grave.
"Tell me, Kiyone, did you ever encounter a man named Haki in all your travels and endeavours around Deep Space?"
"Haki?" Kiyone stared, then shook her head. "I'm afraid I don't know his name at all, sir. Should I?"
"Ah well. It was a long shot." Her companion pursed his lips. "It has been many years, after all."
He folded his arms across his desk, tapping idly on the immaculately clean surface.
"Haki was a space pirate and a vicious one." He said quietly. "One that the Galaxy Police hunted down and - it was believed - killed in combat. Certainly no body was found, but his ship Karasu was burnt to a shell and no trace was found. Since then, there has been no indication of any activity on his part - so in their wisdom, Central Command saw fit to retire his file to Archive. He was dead, after all. No point in taking up a slot in the Most Wanted column if he was already taken care of."
"I see." Kiyone's mind whirled. "But if he was killed...where does that bring me in?"
"Late last night, the Emperor of Jurai received a video message." Her supervisor said simply. "From a man calling himself Haki. He claims to have taken the Princess Ayeka a captive, and is demanding a hefty ransom for her safe return. We have no images of Haki on file, Detective...you have to understand that nobody ever saw his face, he always kept it covered to shield himself from capture. But we ran his voice print over the few surviving files we had of Haki's voice waves - snippets reported at outposts across the universe during the campaign to hunt him down."
He hesitated, then,
"It was a clear match."
"What?" Kiyone's eyes became big with shock. "And he's kidnapped Princess Ayeka? But why? What does he want? Money?"
"No. Something else...something infinitely more alarming." The supervisor shook his head, reaching across to press a button. "Here. See his message for yourself, Detective. I know you are known to the Princess Ayeka. That is another reason why I want to bring you in on this case...I hope that you might be able to use that insider knowledge to your advantage."
Kiyone nodded her head, glancing up at the big overhead screen that had dropped down from it's storage place, flashing into life. A grainy image of a man materialised on the screen, his dark hair tied back from his face and a pair of mesmerising blue eyes staring out coldly from above a rough black kerchief. Despite herself, she shivered at the look in their icy depths. Here was a man like few men she'd ever encountered - a man with no compunction about committing the gravest of crimes.
"It's been a long time, Azusa-heika." The man's voice was mocking, almost playful. "I've some news for you about your precious Crown Princess. Are you wondering where she is right now? I bet you are. Well, you can call off the search party - you'll never find her. She's here with me...and I'm not in the mood to return her any time soon. Listen to me, Azusa, and listen good. My name is Haki - you can't tell me you've forgotten that name so easily? Call me a ghost, call me back from the dead...call me what you like - but it's me and I'm in deadly earnest. I want the gems you stole from me and the Dark Heart of Jurai to complete the set. I want them and I want them soon - nothing less will buy back your precious princess's life."
There was a pause, then he leant closer to the screen.
"And in case you think this is a hoax..." He said slowly, "Don't. If you fail to cooperate, I will kill the Lady Ayeka and scatter her remains around Deep Space for all eternity. Don't believe me? Take a look for yourself."
An image of a bound Ayeka flickered onto the screen, then was gone.
"I don't bluff." The man's voice held an ominous note. "Return to me what's mine and I'll return to you what's yours."
The message cut off abruptly at that moment, and Kiyone raised troubled eyes to her companion.
"Poor Ayeka." She said softly. "She looked so afraid."
"Yes, and I fear she has good reason to be." The chief rubbed his temples. "I've been browsing Haki's file and it doesn't make pleasant reading. Multiple, multiple counts of murder and mutilation have been levelled at his door. If he can kill, he will - whether it's necessary or not."
"And these gems?"
"I've spoken to a contact on Jurai. They contain a form of the Juraian magic - powerful enough to cause a schism in the universal axis if given into the wrong hands." The chief bit his lip. "So our brief is clear. We must find the Princess and rescue her from this Haki's custody...before he harms her and without relinquishing to him any of the gemstones."
"A tall order, sir."
"Yes, Kiyone, I know." The man sighed heavily. "And I'm loath to send out my best officers, knowing as I do how much we rely on you to train and educate the new recruits. This is a very dangerous mission, and I fear very much that we will take losses. But...I think I have no choice. You and Mihoshi have both served the Galaxy Police well over the years. I have faith in you both and I will be including you in this mission. I suggest you read through Haki's file and discover what you can about him. However he survived our onslaught, I believe he really does have the Princess Ayeka prisoner, and we would be foolish not to take him at his word."
"Yes, sir." Kiyone got to her feet, proffering a smart salute. "I'll do so right away."
"Good girl." The chief managed a slight smile. "I have great hopes of you, Detective Kiyone. One day, you will no doubt find yourself in my position, and then I hope you'll have someone as dedicated and diligent to fall back on as I do you when this kind of situation arises."
Kiyone flushed red at the praise.
"Thank you, sir." She said softly. "And Mihoshi and I - we'll do our best to do whatever we can to recover the Princess. You know we will."
"I do." The man nodded. "Oh, Kiyone?"
"Yes, sir?"
"There is one other thing I failed to mention." The chief looked troubled. "The Princess Sasami is also missing, along with the royal bodyguards Azaka and Kamadake. Nobody seems to know their whereabouts...and since Haki has not claimed them among his captives, I fear they may have come to some harm. If you happen to discover anything..."
"I understand." Kiyone's expression softened. "And I'll do my best."
"Princess Sasami?"
Sasami's eyes flickered open, and for a moment her surroundings blurred and swayed around her. She quickly closed them again, struggling to find her bearings. Everything around her seemed too bright, and as she tried to bring her world into focus, she raised a hand to her head, attempting to sit up.
"Princess, are you all right?"
That was Azaka, she realised, opening her eyes and meeting the concerned gaze of the elder knight of Jurai. She nodded her head gingerly, wincing as the pain ricocheted around her bruised skull.
"I think so." She said softly. "What happened, Azaka? Where are we? Why aren't I at home?"
"We came to find the Princess Ayeka." Azaka reminded her. "And we did, but then an alien ship fired on us and I feared you'd been hit. You certainly fell to the deck as though you had been - I'm relieved you're all right."
Sasami hugged the knight clumsily, allowing him to help her to her feet.
"I think I'm all right." She agreed. "I must have just fallen down. But is the ship damaged?"
"No significant damage, my lady." Kamadake shook his head. "In fact, it seems to have sustained less shock than you from the impact. I think that the tree prevented you from being more seriously hurt...there is a scorch mark across the branches, but nothing more severe."
"And Ayeka?"
"We've been unable to re-open communications with Princess Ayeka's ship." Kamadake became grave. "While Azaka attended to you,Princess Sasami, I transferred to her vessel, but there was no sign of her. There were signs of a struggle...but Ayeka-dono was nowhere to be found."
"A struggle?" Sasami opened her eyes wide. "That other ship! I knew it was a bad one, Kamadake - but where did it go? Is it still in our line of sight? Or...oww..."
She put a hand to her head, stumbling slightly, and gently Azaka coaxed her back down onto the bed.
"Rest, Princess." He said softly. "The other ship is long gone...we can't trace it. And our ship's communications are completely dead - there's no way of raising contact with Jurai to let them know what's happened. The best thing we can do is return there and tell them what we know. Someone can tend to your poor head and then we can organise a proper search for Ayeka."
"But..."
"Princess Sasami, you're hurt and we don't have any way of locking onto Ayeka's position." Kamadake pointed out. "Our safest bet is to return to Jurai and speak to your Father. He will have some suggestion, surely, as to our next plan of action."
"Meanwhile whoever took Ayeka is getting away." Sasami looked stubborn. "No. I am Princess of Jurai and I'm going to decide. We're not going back to Jurai right now. We're going to find Ayeka somehow - I don't know how, but we are."
"But my lady..."
"No, Azaka." Sasami shook her head, sending her blue bunches swinging. "You said this ship was built from the Tree of Life - from Tsunami. Right?"
"Yes, but..."
"So it can repair itself, and we don't need to return to Jurai for that?"
"True, however...
"And it is the fastest ship in my father's fleet...yes?"
"It is..."
"So none of the others will be able to catch up to whoever took her as easily as we will."
Sasami folded her arms. "Tsunami will repair her own communications...and in the meantime, we're going to try and help Ayeka."
"You called the ship Tsunami." Kamadake looked confused. "My lady, Tsunami is the tree, not the ship. You're confused...maybe the blow to the head..."
"I'm not confused." Sasami said frankly. "I'm fine. Just a little achey. And Tsunami is the ship's name..she told me so herself."
She turned a smile on him, taking in his bemused grin.
"I'm not concussed." She assured him. "And I don't want to fight whoever took Ayeka on my own, Kamadake. But I do know someone who can help us."
"Who's that, Princess?" Azaka asked softly. Sasami spread her hands.
"Lord Tenchi." She said simply. "We're already heading towards the Earth - and if anyone can help Ayeka, it's him!"
"So run this by me again, Kiyone?"
Mihoshi squinted at the picture on the screen, her brows knitting in confusion as she struggled to take in her companion's words. "This guy was killed by the Galaxy Police, only now he's alive again and he's kidnapped Ayeka?"
"Yeah, something like that." Kiyone shot her colleague a weary look, then nodded her head. "Either way, he's got her and it's our job to go and find her."
"Well, then what are we waiting for?" Mihoshi wondered. "We have to help Ayeka, don't we?"
"Yes." Kiyone agreed. "But he's dangerous, Mihoshi. Really dangerous. He's got a rap sheet as long as my arm and longer for past violent crimes. I'm telling you, this is a serious class A criminal and a half we're dealing with here. I've been going over this record of his on Yagami's computer for the past hour and I've still not waded through everything. We need to know everything we can about him before we wade right in."
"Dangerous?" Mihoshi whitened. "Kiyone, are you sure we want to do this mission? I mean, it sounds awfully, well...scary."
"But we're Galaxy Police, Mihoshi, and the chief is counting on us. So is Ayeka, wherever she is." Kiyone bit her lip. "We may be all she has to rely on, so we can't let her down. All right? Ayeka is your friend as well as mine...don't you want to help her out?"
"Yes." Mihoshi nodded her head. "But I don't want to get killed, Kiyone. Especially not by a dead guy who's not dead any more."
"Well, I don't really like it either." Kiyone owned. "But with any luck we won't have to go that far. We'll find a way to capture him and release the princess. Knowledge is power, after all."
She sighed.
"I wish I could remember who said that."
"You did." Mihoshi looked bewildered. "Just now. Geez, Kiyone, are you sure you're feeling all right?"
Kiyone groaned, rubbing her temples.
"Sometimes I seriously wonder about that." She muttered, turning her gaze back to the screen. "God help Ayeka if we're the best hope she has."
"Hey, this guy is a friend of Ryoko's?"
Mihoshi's words jerked her back to herself and she stared at her friend.
"What do you mean, Ryoko's friend? Mihoshi, just because he's a space pirate...what makes you think he's anything to do with Ryoko?"
"Because it says so." Mihoshi pointed to the screen. "Right there. Look. See? Ryoko knows him. Maybe she can help us find him."
"Ryoko is a confined prisoner, Mihoshi. Do you think they're going to let her out to roam the galaxy looking for other wanted criminals?" Kiyone raised an eyebrow.
Mihoshi shrugged her shoulders.
"We could ask her." She suggested, in her usual happy-go-lucky way. "She might help."
"Mihoshi..." Kiyone began, then she hesitated, reading over the passage that her friend had indicated. "You know, that might not be as crazy as I first thought. I mean, sometimes they do parole prisoners early, don't they? If they have information. And this is a high profile case...why not? What could it hurt to ask? I mean, if Ryoko really does know this Haki guy...perhaps you're not mad after all, Mihoshi. Maybe you've had a good idea for once."
"Wow, really?" Mihoshi looked surprised. Kiyone nodded.
"Stay here." She instructed. "I'm going to speak to the chief."