(A/N: Though I usually abhor writing Japanese words into translated conversations that are supposed to be taking place entirely in Japanese, some Osakan slang seems to have crept through—oh, was that a spoiler?)


19: City in the Clouds

Professor Kurosawa walked steadily, head high and eyes focused, her every movement certain and clear. She just hoped that nobody would try to start a conversation with her or notice the slight redness of her nose. A pounding headache was already starting to take shape; if luck held, she'd make it to her rooms before it blossomed.

Pausing to take a rest at the entrance to the Academy grounds, she happened to glance over at Yukari's statue. The inscription read:

EMPRESS YUKARI THE PRETTY SPIFFY
456 IE - ?

Well, there were worse things to be remembered for, though Kurosawa was pretty sure the inscription would touch off a round of firings. The Empress took herself a little too seriously sometimes.

The Professor sat heavily on a bench and massaged her temples. "Damn Empress of the Known Universe and she makes me buy the drinks." There had to be a better way to gather intelligence than this! Still, the method had a certain poetry to it…

Where would the Rebellion be, she silently asked the great statue, If you didn't like to bitch about your work so much?


The Silver Rose, formerly known as Red Spirit, tore through hyperspace with engines far more powerful than it had ever enjoyed before. Embarrassing pink paint and layers of corrosion had been scoured away, lending to the hull a new luster that led to its rechristening.

"This isn't my ship," Yomi sighed, drumming her fingers on the instrument panel. The stupid thing practically ran itself; on the old Spirit, there would have been at least four minor emergencies by now. Not that she was complaining, but she was getting a little bored.

"You all right, Kagura?" she heard Tomo ask behind her.

"Huh? Oh, fine." The soldier leaned back and rested her head in her hands. "Just thinking…"

"What about?" Tomo straddled one of the new chairs and leaned on its back facing her.

Kagura usually brushed off such questions. She couldn't say why she decided to answer this time. "It was kinda hard hanging around the Academy; it made me think back to my graduation from Delnor, y'know? I joined already knowing that I was going to disappear after graduating and join the Rebellion…"

Yomi winced in anticipation, waiting for her partner to pop up with a dumb comment. But when she turned around, Tomo was just watching the soldier with as much gravity as the Valerian had ever seen on her young face.

"So I was goin' around, sayin' goodbye to everyone, and every time I would, this little voice in my head would add, I hope I won't have to kill you. 'See ya, Dokgo, I'll miss kicking your ass I hope I won't have to kill you,' 'Bye Garus, thanks for showing me how to hold that DL-47 I hope I won't have to kill you.'" She shook her head. "I mean, the Empire's the enemy, but after learning alongside them for so long, it was hard to convince myself that they were… heh, nobody could figure out why I was getting so teary-eyed."

"Mm…" was Tomo's only reply. No joke? No insensitive comment? Yomi wanted to run back, grab the sides of her head and shriek, "WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY PARTNER?"

Not out of any particular distress, mind. She was just a bit surprised.

But at that moment, Kaori entered with a book under her arm and sat on the couch. Tomo's expression brightened suddenly and she leapt to the Princess's side. "C'mon, pleeease?" she wheedled.

"No!" Kaori shook her off, "For the last time, no!"

"Just a hint! A little, tiny hint, c'mon!"

By then Yomi had reached her side and given her a good thump on the head. "Leave her be! Why do you have to know who this Professor is anyway, you idiot?"

"'Cause Her Worship said it was a secret!" Tomo replied earnestly. "Doesn't that make you want to know?"

Yomi rubbed her forehead. "Honestly…" Though thoroughly aggravated, she felt oddly more comfortable. "Shut up, you!" she snapped at a laughing Kagura.


"…and that's the job. In summary, 15 million credits for the successful capture and return of Princess Kaori Aida," Matsuyama said, holding in both his fear and disgust, "Your guides will give you a disk with the particulars and all of the intel we have on her whereabouts. Remember, though, the reward's only good if she's alive. No disintegrations."

A general "aww…" rose from the rank of Bounty Hunters arrayed before him. They stood in a line along the bridge's promenade, drawing more than a few strange and fearful looks from the crew below. The Intelligence Chief faced them from the wide floorspace before the doors to the concourse. It was not lost on him that if any of the Hunters decided to blast their way out, he'd be the first to go.

What a miserable crowd of degenerates it was! The emotionless Dengar, the strange alien Bossk, the malevolent J.J. "Blackheart" Binks, lethal martial artist Dokgo Hyun, the hulking rogue assassin droid known only as "The Sombra," and a few less famous… but one of their number was the most terrible by far.

He stood insolently at ease, arms crossed over his chest. A dark brown jacket, tattered and burned at the ends by blasterfire concealed his partial suit of stormtrooper armor—telltale scorch marks at the edges of some of its plates left little question as to how he came by them. Perched on his sharp nose was a pair of glasses for which he was famous and on his lips was a cold smirk that showed why he was feared. It was the one, the only, the revered and reviled… Ohyama-sama!

Hidden in his shadow was a cringing Greedo. How he got an invitation was anybody's guess.

"Are they the ones?" Grand Moff Kimura asked, suddenly standing behind him.

Matsuyama jumped. He still hadn't gotten used to his superior's habit of popping up like a bad penny. "Yeah, they, uh, they're the ones we hired to recapture Princess Kaori… would you like to say something to them before I turn them loose?"

"Yes, actually…" Grand Moff Kimura walked forward and cleared his throat demurely. "Er-hem."

There was an expectant pause.

"FIRST PLACE!" Kimura bellowed, making just about everybody in the bridge, even Darth Nochichi brooding alone on the far side, all but leap out of their skins. "And another four million credits from my own fortune to the one who brings my Kaorin back!"

Why is this so special to him? Matsuyama wondered. Why are we even trying to recapture her, anyway? Surely she's palmed off the Plans by now. The only thing I can think of is...

No, not even Kimura was that sick! He was married, and twenty years older than her besides! Perhaps it was one of Nochichi's projects, trying to get at that mysterious pigtailed girl…? Damn! I'm the bloody Intelligence Chief and I have no clue what's going on! Odds were, now that Kaori wasn't useful to them anymore, it was simply a matter of pride.

"Well," his mouth said without input from his busily working mind, "That's all. Happy hunting, gentlemen." As they filtered out in different directions, each with a guide and a cluster of stormtroopers, Greedo turned to Ohyama and fearfully said, "You know, I hear she's traveling with a Sith!"

Ohyama pushed his glasses up on his nose. "Sith aren't invincible."

Before leaving, the Sombra stomped over to Darth Nochichi and addressed him in a buzzing voice. "A pleasure working with you again, Lord Nochichi." The Sith Lord's only reply was to glow briefly purple, the gesture once again mysteriously showing through his armor. Giving a jerky nod, the mighty robot made its exit.

"Since when did we ever need bounty hunters to do our work?" Matsuyama asked sourly as the last of them left.

"We all saw how well you managed," Kimura replied absently.

The Intelligence Chief ground his teeth, but he had his consolation planned. Once dismissed, he returned to the Intelligence office and made his first official move as Defector. He had a few contacts in the Bounty Hunting world of his own, you see, and with a brief, coded message on a prearranged channel, one of them came into play.

Not far away, hidden from the Imperials' prying sensors, a vessel received it.

It was an older ship; like its owner, it had been rudely pulled out of retirement very recently. In its shadowed interior, cold, dark blue eyes roved over the list of Bounty Hunters and frequencies for the tracking devices Matsuyama had ordered planted on their vessels.

At the bottom, there was a simple message. You know the rest.

The man smiled mirthlessly as a large calico cat hopped up on his shoulder. "Let's go, Marco," he said, roughly stroking the feline, "We have work to do."

The Dark Charger leapt into hyperspace.


It was hard not to feel one's breath catch upon first seeing the floating city of Osaka. It was a titanic, crystalline flower bulb hanging impossibly amid butterscotch and lavender clouds, the setting sun throwing a strident crimson light down one side. There was not a sharp edge on the whole fantastic construct, even among the buildings that covered its crown.

The Silver Rose sliced through Bespin's thick atmosphere, warded by a pair of "cloud cars" as it made its final approach. "See how easy it was to get clearance?" Tomo crowed, "I knew she'd be happy to see me!"

"Maybe she just wants her ship back," Yomi suggested.

"Well, let's find out!" The Honorable Captain's enthusiasm was undiminished.

Waiting for them as they disembarked was this mysterious "she": Ayumu Kasuga, the Baroness Administrator of Osaka. This young woman gave off two very separate impressions at once.

On the one hand, she showed the weight of her position. Her clothes, consisting of tan trousers, a light blue dress-shirt, yellow half-cape and even a (surely fake) ceremonial saber, lent her an aspect one could only describe as "dashing." On the other hand, her wispy build and enormous, soulful eyes gave her a more delicate, ethereal aspect that made it seem as though a strong breeze would send her drifting away over the parapets.

Ayumu stood with a duo of guards, watching their approach with an unreadable expression. Tomo immediately rushed out ahead and threw her arms open. "Ayumu! Hey, how's it goin' gir-?"

Even Yomi winced at the ringing slap that followed. Her partner skidded to a shocked halt in front of the Baroness, who had raised her hand again. "N-na ahona!" she cried, "You bothered t'come back here, you back-stabbin' adder?"

Tomo cocked her head to one side, disbelieving. "Adder?" she asked slowly.

"Adder," the other replied, crossing her arms.

"Ouch! That's harsh…"

"Should we get back on the ship?" Kagura asked softly. Yomi nodded and started to step back.

"Well, y'earned it…" Ayumu's voice stayed cold, though anybody watching her could tell she was trying her hardest to keep a straight face. "You cold-hearted, lyin', swindlin' pile o' dog poop! I oughta…" Finally, she couldn't hold it anymore and broke into a wide grin. "C'mere, you!"

The old friends hugged mightily, then performed what seemed to be some kind of secret handshake, though both were pretty out of practice. "I told you it'd be fine!" Tomo called back to her companions.

"Who are your friends?" Ayumu asked, as if noticing them for the first time.

"Oh, this is Yomi, you've met her, and this here's Kagura. She's just a meat-headed soldier, though, so be sure to use small words when you're talking to her."

"Hey!"

"Maido," Ayumu greeted casually, waving. She looked past them. "An' who's… oh! Y-you're…"

Kagura tensed. Their host had recognized Princess Kaori- would there be trouble? Before anybody else had fully registered Ayumu's reaction, the soldier had already sized up both guards and taken hold of her blaster.

The Baroness dropped to one knee before Kaori and bowed her head. "Princess Kaori! I—I heard… p-please accept…" she sputtered out and took an annoyed moment to collect herself. "My, my condolences. And… you can stay as long as you like, Princess."

Kaori, for her part, seemed a little embarrassed. It had been a very long time since she'd been treated as a Princess rather than an executive. "Stand. Thank you for your kind offer, Lady Kasuga. You understand that I'm not exactly safe to harbor? The Empire…"

Ayumu had stood, but her eyes were still on the ground, long hair forming a curtain to partially hide her face. She chuckled. "I am the Empire here. There won't be any trouble. Come, I'll show you to some rooms; we just built them, so…"

There was an awkward pause. "Er… Baroness?" One of the guards asked.

"Shh… sh…" she waved her hand in the air and whispered, "Listen."

They all fell silent. Sure enough, there was a faint rushing sound, a light, faintly flowery wind and the indefinable feeling of something huge hanging over their heads. After a long moment, Ayumu pointed slowly, wide eyes reflecting the setting sun's light eerily.

Kagura turned, but for the life of her, couldn't see anything out of the ordinary where the Baroness had pointed. "What is it?" Tomo asked loudly, shattering the spell for a moment. "Is this like those magic eye things?"

But then a massive shape broke through the clouds and slid overhead, silent except for a distant fluting sound that might have been their imagination. A monumental turquoise body, some bizarre creature, rolled through the air above them before vanishing into the butterscotch mist once more. For just a moment, Kagura saw what she thought might have been an eye. Its gaze was so alien, so primordial that it made her skin crawl. She was convinced that whatever mind existed behind that eye was beyond human comprehension.

Ayumu giggled. "Did ya see that? His eyes seemed t'say, 'don't you know it's not polite to point?'" Well… there went that.

Tomo stared after the leviathan, eyes and mouth gaping. "Did—I can't—that was, I mean, so… so… awe--!"

"Don't say it," Kagura interjected. "We know."

"C'mon," Ayumu said, "Let's—." It was then that she finally noticed the radical makeover the Silver Rose had undergone. "Oh my God! What did you do to my ship?"


An hour or so later, Ayumu came by to see how they liked their rooms. Kagura was just getting around to wondering what the Baroness was on and whether she could find any for herself; save for her display right after their arrival, Ayumu seemed to be unfailingly mellow and just a tiny bit… disconnected?

Standing at her side was the assistant administrator, Lobot. He was entirely too connected; a cyborg, his gaze was as absent as Ayumu's but for an entirely different reason. Even though he towered over her by a good ten centimeters, he still faded into the background.

"I hope y'like it," she said modestly.

"Like it? Holy cow!" Kagura replied, "It's so bourgeois! I've never had a room like this!"

"That's a good thing, I think," Kaori reassured at Ayumu's concerned glance. "She's just not used to such luxury. So, Tomo and Yomi are across the hall there?"

"Captain Tomo and First Mate Yomi, thank you very much!" Tomo corrected dramatically, striking a pose in her doorway to show off the ridiculous outfit she had assembled. Basically, she'd raided the room's closet, gathered a mess of its shiniest items and tried to see how much of it she could pile onto her slender form. "How do I look?"

"Like a damn lunatic," Yomi said irritably, pushing past her.

"I wondered if y'all were up for a tour," Ayumu suggested, "But you look pretty beat."

"It was a long flight," Yomi agreed.

"You could've gotten some sleep if you'd let me man the cockpit some of the time!" Tomo challenged. "It's your own fault you're so bushed, stupid!"

"You think I'd be stupid enough to trust you with the whole ship?"

"Sure! You're pretty stupid anyway! Stupid! Stupid!"

"I oughta…" Yomi growled, clutching her hands in the smaller woman's direction. Tomo hopped forward and put her face in the Valerian's hands, merrily daring her to do her worst. "Stupid! Stuuu-pid!"

The others stared at this display dumbfounded for a few seconds until Kagura finally said, "I know how to clear this up…" and, with a move doubtless learned while on some wrestling team, knocked both of them sprawling.

"I've trusted my life to these maniacs?" Kaori asked, horrified.

"You couldn't ask for a better lot," Ayumu happily confirmed, then sobered. "With your leave, I should be going." She seemed to speak much more formally to Kaori. The Princess understood, but regretted the wall it put between them.

"See you tomorrow, then. And thank you."

Yomi went back into her room huffily. "Oh, come on, be a sport!" Kagura called after her. This surprised Kaori; the soldier wasn't usually so… playful? "You probably shouldn't go back in there for a while."

"Wanna go get hammered?" Tomo asked hopefully.

"I don't think hammered… but a drink would be nice. Wanna come, Princess?"

This was even odder! It wasn't long ago that Kagura stumbled and stuttered and could barely say five words to her. And now here she was, inviting her along for a drink, just like when they were young. "No, thanks."

And so, Kaori found herself standing alone with Lobot. "Don't you have to be somewhere too?" she asked.

"I can do my job from anywhere," the cyborg replied. "It's like breathing."

"I see…" Kaori leaned against the doorway and looked the way Ayumu had gone. "You know, she really doesn't seem like the administrator-type."

"Well, I do most of the administrating, to be honest."

"So she's like a figurehead?"

"Of course not!" Lobot paused to consider. "We have a left-brain, right-brain kind of working relationship. It might not seem like it sometimes, but she's as sharp as a tack. It's just in a different way than most people. And the citizens love her, too. When she says we're doing our best to help them, they believe it."

"Hm. She said that she was the Empire here… so this is Imperial territory?"

"Of a sort. She's a minor noble of some kind; that makes us count as being under their thumb. No… she's far more than a figurehead. Without her, what would I be administering for? Leaders should have a dream of the future, right?"

"Sure."

Lobot nodded, looking almost sad. "I miss having dreams."


It was much later when Ayumu finally returned to her rooms, tired but gratified at the day's work, and still buoyed by seeing Tomo again. It brought her back to her Livingston Space Academy days again, that august institution where they'd met and happily flunked out together. When she'd said that Tomo's return made her feel like a space-cadet again, Lobot had commented that he wasn't surprised. Now, what did he mean by that?

Ayumu was in such a good mood, in fact, that when she entered humming a merry tune, she totally missed the ominous shadow hovering in the back of her suite. The Baroness took up a glass from the counter and filled it with a nice burgundy drink that was illegal on most worlds, planning to enjoy it at great length and hopefully survive the next morning.

It was then that the ominous shadow decided to be less discrete.

"Ahem."

Her glass shattered on the floor.