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"Minato." - Regular Speech
'Musubi' - Thoughts
"Kaminari!" - Sekirei Incantation
Beta'd by BigCC
Chapter 15: Target: Sahashi Takami
Yukari, if anyone had ever asked, would be the first to admit that she had a temper. However, she would also be the first to claim that she had said temper under perfect control and rarely showed it unless someone managed to appropriately provoke her.
If asked, anyone else who knew the younger Sahashi with more than a passing familiarity would claim agreement with the first before laughing their asses off at the second. Sahashi Yukari, they would claim, had the a temper that was comparable to volatile chemicals and about as much control over it as most other people had over the tides, particularly when one Sahashi Minato was concerned. Anything ranging from trying to date her brother, flirting with her brother, or even talking to him without her permission set her off.
She had been hit with some shocking and ground-shaking news that day, so entering her brother's house (and what a house it was!) and seeing her brother sitting on a couch surrounded by a bevy of alien beauties, most of them with breasts that made her own look small by comparison, was just another punch to her sense of reality. Finding him actively engaged in French-kissing one of them, a brunette with huge boobs, it was a surprise to everyone, herself most definitely included, that she didn't at once launch into a jump kick at him.
Perhaps the shocks were starting to get to her?
"Nice harem, Onii-chan." she managed to mutter out with a scowl.
"Thank you." Minato answered once his mouth had managed to disengage from his Sekirei. "You have a nice Sekirei too."
"Thank you for the compliment, Minato-san." Oriha curtseyed nervously.
"So…do I want to know how it is you came to have a Sekirei already? Didn't you just get here a few days ago?" the Ashikabi of the North asked after a moment.
"She Winged herself on me after she was chased by a pair of thugs belonging to a guy called Higa Izumi." The new Ashikabi answered her brother. This prompted scowls on the faces of the Sekirei around her.
Minato merely raised an eyebrow. "Why would he send humans to attack a Sekirei? All Sekirei are at least as strong as a martial artist of some skill, even ones that focused on non-combatant role like Matsu-chan."
"It was because my power was severely limited before I was Winged, Minato-san." Oriha answered politely, blushing when the attention the room's attention turned to focus on her. "Before I was Winged, I could only control a single one of my gears, which severely limited my combat abilities when dealing with multiple opponents. Now that I've been Winged, I no longer have an upper limit to how many I can control. The only limit is how many I have in my possession or within range of my abilities. Also, because I am a Ranged-type Sekirei, my physical strength is quite a bit more limited than normal Weapon-type Sekirei. While I can use my chakram in close combat, it is not my forte, and my physical abilities are likely no better than Matsu-san, perhaps even weaker given that she is still a Single Number despite not being a combat type."
Oriha paused for a moment, thinking before she continued. "When those two men attempted to abduct me, I had not realized they were a threat until they were too close for me to deploy my chakram quickly enough before they would have been capable of grabbing me. With even my physical strength limited by the fact that I was Unwinged, I decided that discretion would be the better part of valour and ran. Even Unwinged, my speed and stamina are far better than an average human's and I was sure that I could lose them quickly enough or at least gain enough distance to deploy weapon. In the end, it was merely luck that I ran into Yukari-sama only a few moments later."
"I see." Minato nodded, absently noting everything he heard in the back of his mind, before nodding. "Well, I think introductions are in order here. The twins are, as you know, Hikari and Hibiki, my First Sekirei."
"How does that…?" Yukari blinked in confusion.
"For all intents and purposes, my sister and I are one Sekirei split in half." Hibiki answered absently. "Separately, we are unable to use our powers to their fullest extent and to Wing one of us is useless without the other. By that standard, we twins collectively count as the First Sekirei of Minato-sama's Flock."
Yukari blinked again before nodding slightly. Weird, but she was dealing with Freaking Aliens, so weird was kind of expected.
"Moving on, this is Number 88, Musubi, my second Sekirei." Minato said smoothly, cuddling the busty brunette into his side, making her coo happily. "Yashima here is my Third Sekirei, with Uzume and Matsu being my Fourth and Fifth Sekirei respectively. Over here, we have Number 54, Kuruse as my Sixth Sekirei, with Yahan being my Seventh Sekirei. And the most recent addition is Number 43, Yomi here."
He cuddled the flaxen-haired girl glued to his other side and she, as impossible as it may seem, snuggled into him even more, throwing a smug look at Yukari that made the youngest Sahashi want to drop an axe-kick into the girl, super-powered alien or not.
"Sahashi Yukari. A pleasure." She said shortly, "This is my First, and currently only, Sekirei, Number 101, Oriha."
Another nervous curtsey from Oriha was triggered by her words.
"Have a seat, both of you." Minato waved lazily at the open sofa opposite his own. "Thank god for these MBI VIP Cards. I wouldn't be able to have afforded a quarter of this stuff without them."
As they did so, Matsu crossed her arms under her impressive bust, pushing them up and showing them off.
"I could have hacked some accounts to get the money if we needed it, Mina-tan." The redhead said with a smirk.
"No committing acts of electronic larceny Matsu." Minato deadpanned with a shake of his head. Pausing, he added, "Unless the money's from Higa, then I say we rob the bastard blind."
That made his Sekirei giggle.
'Grrrr.' Yukari, on the other hand, was slowly losing her grip on her temper.
"So, care to tell me the real reason who Okaa-san wants me to live here?" Yukari demanded as she fought her irritation down. "I know she works at MBI, so what gives?"
"Did Oriha-san tell you that?" her brother asked in surprise.
"She did, but I already knew that." the brunette waved a hand dismissively. "I've known she works for MBI since I was little. You were just too much of a space-case to put the pieces together."
Minato twitched at that.
"It's because, at least in part, the other Ashikabi will try to kidnap you because of your relation to Minato-sama." The honey-blond, Kuruse, informed her waspishly. "If your safety was on the line, Minato-sama would have no choice but to bow to your kidnapper's demands."
Yukari scowled. "I am not a damsel in distress! I'm a black belt in martial arts!"
"Which means exactly nothing against a Sekirei." Yahan drawled as she moved behind Minato and hugged him, pressing her assets into the back of his head and smirked as his face exploded into a blush. "Matsu there is the closest to a baseline human among the Sekirei, even though she's a Single Number, and she could match you strike for strike. Musubi there could likely break every bone in your body with a single punch."
Yukari was starting to violently twitch.
"M-More importantly, the two Ashikabi to worry about are the Southern and Eastern Ashikabi." Minato hastily continued as he saw the tell-tale signs of his sister's temper reaching its limits. "Their names are Mikogami Hayato and Higa Izumi respectively. Both of them have multiple Sekirei. Higa even has subordinate Ashikabi and he's ruthless enough to order a kidnapping if he stands to benefit from it."
"Ruthless nothing." Uzume growled. "He tried to kill you, Minato-sama!"
"What?!" Yukari squeaked, rage vanishing like smoke on the wind.
"He's unhappy that I've banned him and his Sekirei from hunting the Unwinged in the northern sector of the city." Minato sighed tiredly, not having wanted to mention that around Yukari. "Seems he takes being told 'no' very poorly, because he sent Yakuza AND some of his Sekirei to try and have me killed after I finished my exams. Fortunately for me, Matsu-chan had assigned Uzume-chan, Musubi-chan, Yahan and Kuruse-chan to protect me, so I was perfectly safe."
The five mentioned Sekirei glowed with happiness at their master's praise.
"Jeez, what a scumbag." Yukari growled. How dare this guy try to have her brother killed?!
"That's why you're here. At least temporarily." Yashima stated, her own expression neutral as she faced her Ashikabi's sister.
"Say what now?" the youngest Sahashi was on guard at the faint hint of smugness that the pale-haired Sekirei had in her voice.
"You were only to stay here until you Winged your first Sekirei." Yomi answered with a smirk. "Now that you have your wife, you can go over to the Izumo Inn. Bye-bye, girlie. Don't let the door spank you on the ass on your way out."
"Wait…wife?" Yukari asked with wide eyes.
"Winging a Sekirei is the equivalent to a marriage ceremony in their culture." Minato informed his shocked sister. "So yes. Oriha is now Sahashi Oriha, my sister-in-law."
The Sekirei of Flying Gears blushed up a storm at that, sneaking a bashful look at her stunned Mistress as she did so.
"Bu-but…!" Yukari babbled. "Same-sex marriage isn't legal in Japan!"
It wasn't illegal either; foreign same-sex couples who were married had those marriages recognised inside of Japan, but the conservative nation had yet to institute its own laws regarding gay and lesbian couples who wished to tie the knot.
"The bond of a Winging only counts among Sekirei and Ashikabi…at the moment." Matsu adjusted her glasses with a smirk. "Once more knowledge of Sekirei gets circulated amongst the government and populace, I highly suspect that some sort of ad-hoc system will be cobbled together to register Sekirei and Ashikabi and treat them as married couples…or rather, a married Flock, as we are."
"So…this whole multiple girls and one guy thing is the norm for you Sekirei?" the martial artist girl asked dubiously.
"The word 'Ashikabi' literally means 'one to whom love and fate bind to for life' in the original Sekirei language." Matsu explained softly. "All Sekirei accept that their Ashikabi may have a strong enough soul to attract multiple Sekirei. Something to note is that the binding lasts the rest of our lives and as such, the human concept of 'divorce' is abhorrent to us. Yes, we are happy -more than happy- with how this has turned out. Mina-tan is a good Ashikabi, a better man and he will be a wonderful father to our children when the time comes."
Dreamy looks came over all of his Sekirei at that happy thought. Having their master's babies would be wonderful…not to mention the numerous carnal acts that would be required in order to create said babies in the first place.
Minato coughed, his face beet red. His mind had been perfectly in synch with his Sekirei (aside from a clueless Musubi) and he hurriedly moved on. "Now that you have a Sekirei, you'll be moved to the Izumo Inn. The landlady there apparently knows about the Sekirei Plan and will be…understanding…regarding any new Sekirei you might Wing."
"She's also a prude." Uzume added. "Only those of her tenants who are married by human customs and law are allowed to have sex in her Inn. Hell, even telling off-colour jokes can earn you a scary reaction from her."
"On the bright side, she has a reputation and agreement with Minaka Hiroto." Matsu interjected. "No member of MBI, other than your mother, will dare go near the Izumo Inn while Asama Miya is there. Not even the Discipline Squad."
Oriha jerked and looked at the Sekirei of Wisdom with wide eyes. "Why would the Black Sekirei keep away from a human?"
"Miya-tan…has history with MBI." The orangette answered uncomfortably. "I can't reveal any more or she'll get angry. Do not make her angry. You won't like it when she's angry." she finished, glancing around nervously and sweating profusely near the end.
"She isn't Bruce Banner!" Yukari snorted.
"On your own head be it, kid." Matsu shrugged nervously and turned away, plainly washing her hands of the issue. "Minato-sama, I'll be investigating Higa's network…at least, the parts of it that his staff have managed to cobble together since I made it crash. That hack Kochō should still be down for the count too, so it'll be a walk in the park."
"OK, Matsu-chan. I'll call you down for dinner." Minato said with a kind smile that made the orangette blush again before she strutted out of the room, her hips swaying enticingly.
"Hentai." Yukari stated flatly as her brother's eyes strayed to Matsu's hips.
"She's my wife." Minato answered simply. "What's wrong with looking at my own wife, for Kami's sake?"
"Nothing, Minato-sama." Yomi assured him. "The brat's just jealous."
"Say what?!" the younger Sahashi demanded.
Minato cradled his head in his hands as the glaring match between his sister and Yomi started. At this rate, Yukari would be knocked out and ready for disciplining in no time. His Sekirei were not willing to put up with someone hurting him, not even his sister.
'Kaa-san, you had better get here soon, otherwise Yukari is going to lose her temper!' he thought with a feeling of impending dread.
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The Next Day
Sahashi Takami's Private Laboratory, Botanic Gardens, The New Capital
The grey-haired woman pursed her lips as she scanned the computer screen in front of her. She had finally managed to pin down what about the Scrapped Number's Crest was causing Unwinged Sekirei to go into mating fever…at least physically mature Unwinged Sekirei. Kusano had been completely unaffected by Akitsu's Twisted Crest, because she was biologically immature.
The idiotic hack of a scientist who was currently languishing in an MBI-sponsored prison had done exactly what she had feared; he had tried to brute force a way to allow Akitsu to be Winged by at least two Ashikabi. He had used chemicals, hypnotism and the injections of DNA of another Sekirei in an attempt to somehow create a partition in her mind to allow for the space for two bonds.
It wouldn't have ever worked, of course. As sad as Akitsu's current state was, it was the best case result of the experiment. The worst case would have been her either developing a split personality or completely losing her grip on reality and falling catatonic or completely insane. In either case, she would have lost her powers completely.
Reversing it would have been…problematic, had the hack managed to destroy his files. Fortunately, Minaka was crafty and had installed auto-backup routines in all of the computers used by scientists and researchers that transferred all data to a hidden backup server every time a new datum point was added or any attempt to delete or clear the servers were made. With those notes, Takami was pretty sure she could engineer a virus to get rid of the foreign Sekirei DNA inside of her crest, which was the main cause of Akitsu's Twisted Crest.
"Can the crest be freed?" a low, calm voice asked from behind her.
"Homura. Nice of you to drop by." Takami said calmly. She turned to see the ash-haired man in black standing with his arms crossed. "Still avoiding Miya's place? My son isn't going anywhere."
Sekirei Number 6, Homura, the Sekirei of Fire, scowled at her. "Why did you have to move him there? I can feel my crest burning by going three streets close to the Izumo Inn!"
"Because I want to protect my son." The Head of the Sekirei Plan snapped back quietly, but with steel in her voice. "I have let Minaka walk over me for years in regards to the Sekirei and I am guilty of enslaving your race because of it, and I will admit my fault in that. But I will be damned to the lowest pits of hell before I let anything happen to my child. He is safe, his sister is safe and Minaka is still raving about the 'age of the gods' and all that crap."
A smile crossed Takami's face as she thought of her son. "He's grown so much in such a short period of time. I have never been prouder of him."
Homura's impatient shifting made her sigh. "Fine. Yes, her crest can be reverted to normal. But I can only do part of it. The rest has to be from her."
"What do you mean?" the Fire Sekirei asked with a frown.
"There were three components to Akagi's botch-job of an experiment; drugs, hypnosis and DNA splicing." Takami explained. "Her own immune system and metabolism were enough to pure out the drugs within a few hours of them being injected with no side effects and I can craft a sort of DNA virus treatment to either remove the foreign Sekirei DNA or transform it into Akitsu's own DNA. What remains to be sorted is the hypnotism part."
"I find it hard to believe that hypnosis could affect a Sekirei."
"I don't know about that." Takami started rubbing her chin in thought. "Hypnosis isn't like a drug or some poison that a Sekirei's superior physiology can overwrite, it is a purely mental manipulation, and the Sekirei mind is quite similar to humanity's in a number of ways.
"Granted, I'm certain that the differences that exist would allow a normal Sekirei to shrug off most attempts at hypnotism." she allowed absently. "But when that Sekirei is practically swimming in drugs specifically designed to leave her in a state of easy suggestibility? Drugs that kept her higher than a human on dozens of different opiates at once? No, then it is all too possible. Sekirei and human physiology are similar enough that our drugs can and do affect you like they do use, though your enhanced metabolisms and immune systems means that it takes a lot more to have any real effect."
Sekirei immune systems were capable of handling any human disease without the slightest ill effects. HIV, cancer, the common cold…you name it and they could shake it off faster than water off a duck's back. This same immune system also applied to their ability to resist drugs. Over the counter medicine didn't affect them at all, with prescription drugs being barely effective. Combined with their metabolisms burning through most normal medication the instant it was injected and you had a group of very difficult patients to treat.
MBI had had to engineer completely new drugs that would give a human an overdose with just one milligram in order to treat any injuries that the Sekirei might incur during the Sekirei Plan. Just how a drug like the one that had been used on Akitsu had been allowed to be created was beyond her at the moment (though she'd be looking into that after Akitsu was treated), but no more of it would ever be made. Takami had used her authority as the Head of the Sekirei Plan to have the formulae and all samples of the drug destroyed.
"Anyway, the hypnosis is problematic, because I bet that louse of a man used it on her one last time before she broke free." Takami scowled. "Before the experiment, she was more talkative than this. Oh, she was never loquacious, but she spoke more than she does now. He did something to her, something that's locking her mind in a spiral of despair and indifference. I can undo the DNA portion of the crest twisting, but as long as she believes without a doubt that she cannot be Winged, she will remain as she is."
"Can't you undo it?" Homura asked.
"Deprogramming hypnosis is a very tricky thing, Homura." She answered. "It's best done over a prolonged period of time, time she will not let me have. She needs, desperately, to be able to Winged. By this point though, the hypnosis will have become a part of her normal way of thinking. My removing the DNA will probably allow her to feel the Call again, albeit faintly, but she has to WANT to be herself again before the Crest will change."
"So…she basically has to choose her Ashikabi?" the Guardian of the Unwinged asked in disbelief after he processed that.
"Essentially, yes." Takami agreed. "I've got the DNA treatment being processed now. It should be ready in a moment. Once that's taken care of, I can get started on Kusano's maturation."
"The Sekirei of Life…" Homura said wistfully. "Where's her counterpart, the Sekirei of Decay?"
"Shiina? Minaka released him a couple of days ago." Takami answered as she turned back to her computer. "He should be wandering this way sometime tomorrow."
Sekirei occasionally had diametric opposites in terms of power. Number 107, Shiina, the Sekirei of Decay, was the opposite number of Number 108, Kusano, the Sekirei of Life. Similarly, Number 7, Akitsu, was the opposite number of Number 6, Homura.
His opposite logically should have been Number 9, but she was, in matter of fact, the opposite of Number 5, Mutsu.
A beep alerted her that the formula was finished. She tapped at her keyboard before walking over to the dispenser, where an injection gun was being loaded with the formula. "How are the Unwinged doing?"
"Thanks to Minato-san and his Sekirei, most Sekirei flee to the North once they are released, so the number of forced Wingings has dropped significantly." The Sekirei of Fire answered. "It's getting close to the cut-off point though."
"The Second Stage…" Takami sighed. "Once all this is over, how will I ever make it up to the Sekirei?"
"Takami-san, all of the Sekirei know and respect you." Homura said softly. "They know you were overworked and that you did your best to protect them. Even Karasuba knows that and grudgingly respects you for it, and you know what she's like. They know you wouldn't have done this to us if it wasn't for…him."
She winced before picking up the injector. Homura's hatred of the Chairman of MBI was very blatant. She worried about what would happen once all of the Sekirei barring himself were Winged. He would likely try to kill that idiot in a cape even at the cost of his own life, which she did not want to happen.
"You'd better not come in with me." She told Homura. "She's very skittish at the moment. The lab environment gets to her and she has had flashbacks to the experiment every now and again. Ku-chan calms her down, which is one reason why I haven't put her through the maturation cycle yet."
The two reached a room and both of them peered in to see Kusano sitting in Akitsu's lap and gabbling at her about her future Ashikabi. The statuesque Scrapped Number was sitting on a bed with a small indulgent smile on her face as she listened to the youngest Sekirei's words.
"Look after her." Homura told Takami firmly.
"Your sister is safe in my hands, Homura." The woman answered with a smile. All linked Sekirei were genetically linked to some degree. With Kusano and Shiina, the genetic link was at the level of cousins, the same as Number 9 and Mutsu. With Homura and Akitsu, however, it was that of brother and sister. What the rogue scientist had done to Akitsu, with or without Minaka Hiroto's knowledge and permission, was just one more reason for the Fire Sekirei to hate the Chairman of MBI.
In a flutter of the black coat that he wore, Homura strode off. Takami sighed and entered the room at a brisk walk.
"Akitsu. Looking after Ku-chan?" she asked with a smirk. The Sekirei of Ice blushed and looked away. Kusano on the other hand leapt to the ground and scampered over to hug Takami with wide eyes.
"Takami-onee-chan!" the adorable little girl squeaked at her. "Are you going to help Aki-onee-chan?"
Takami raised an eyebrow at that. Aki? An obvious way to shorten 'Akitsu' for a little girl, she supposed. "Yes, I have just the thing to help her."
If Akitsu's head had shot up any faster, it would have given her a crick in the neck. "Truly?!"
"Well, part of a solution." Takami amended. "How much do you remember of what Akagi did to you?"
Akitsu flinched. "Some….needles…a swirling screen…more needles…"
"The first was a drug designed to make your mind vulnerable to hypnosis, which is what the swirling screen was to induce." Takami explained softly. "The last set of needles is the greatest cause of your crest being twisted. They injected the DNA of another Sekirei into you, bonding to you in such a way that, when combined with the commands he implanted into you, he hoped to get you to bond with multiple Ashikabi. It didn't work, but this was actually better than the alternative results."
"I'm a Scrapped Number." The Sekirei growled, the temperature dropping in reaction to her anger. "How could it be worse?!"
"Insanity, being turned into a vegetable, or death." Takami stated shortly, causing Akitsu flinch again. "Yes. But I have made a gene treatment that will change or destroy those foreign cells."
"And…I'll be able to be Winged?" the desperate hope in Akitsu was so raw that it was painful to hear.
"It will let you be Winged." Takami confirmed. "There is still the issue of the hypnosis to deal with though. He must have used it on you, or the residual effects of it at least, after his experiment failed to convince you that you aren't ever going to be Winged. As long as that conditioning is in place, no Ashikabi who kisses you will be able to Wing you. What I will do is subvert that programming and add a flaw to it, so you can break it if you want to."
"Why wouldn't I?" Akitsu frowned.
"Think of it like this; any Ashikabi that tries to force you to Emerge will be stopped if you don't want them to be your Ashikabi." The ash-haired woman pointed out calmly. "Alone among the Sekirei, you will be capable of truly having a choice in who your Ashikabi is."
Pulling the injector gun from her pocket, Takami primed it before handing it to the Sekirei of Ice. "Base of the neck, then drop the gun. I'll lock you in. It isn't going to be painless or pleasant."
Leading Kusano out of the room, she keyed in the overrides on the room that slammed the door shut and secured it against most Sekirei who might be inside it. Musubi could break out of it, but she was among the Top 5 amongst the Sekirei when it came to raw brute strength. Most of the Single Numbers, Matsu and Karasuba aside, were not known for raw physical power, but rather the power and control they had over their individual elements. Most could have broken out with little difficulty, if they were compos mentis. Akitsu was going to be in too much pain to think clearly for at least a day.
"So, Ku-chan…ready to become a mature Sekirei?" she asked with a smile.
"Uh-huh!" the cute little girl nodded eagerly. "I wanna see Onii-chan soon!"
"Well then, let's get to it." Takami said. Just by looking at her, you could tell that Kusano would be a knockout in a more mature body. At the same age, Musubi had been just as adorable, although it was doubtful that little Ku-chan would become as well-endowed as the Miko look-alike.
Having practically raised Kusano, along with Shiina when the Sekirei of Life's powers had started to go out of control, Takami knew that she would enjoy having the little girl as her daughter in law. It had been a surprise to her when Matsu told her about Minato's dream about Ku-chan. It wasn't a surprise that he was reaching out for his next Sekirei now that he had nine of them Winged and in his 'Flock' but she had never expected Ku-chan to have reached out for him as well.
'Such a precocious, innocent child.' She thought before she started running through the mental checklist of what she needed to start Kusano's maturation and adjustments.
The Next Day
Safe House, The New Capital
"Alright, sit down and listen up!" Steve barked. The room, full of men and women, settled down as the man at the front tapped his foot impatiently. "Done? Good. You will now be briefed on Operation Trinity."
"This place is the AO, codenamed The Bunker." Kirika, dressed in a suit and looking much healthier than a few days before, said as she started up an overhead projector, the wall displaying a picture of a sizable hillock in the Botanical Gardens. "This hillock is in fact a concealed laboratory. It has one entrance that we are aware of, here, but there are likely alternative exits elsewhere."
She replaced the picture of the hillock with a picture of an ash-haired woman. "This is Target One, with the codename Tango Alpha, Sahashi Takami. She's the Head of the Sekirei Plan, and is, for all purposes and consideration, the Number Two person at MBI. She's a black belt in her family's style of martial arts and is a highly accomplished markswoman with a pistol, as well as submachineguns and rifles. She is to be taken alive and as unharmed as possible."
The next picture to be placed on the projector was that of another pale-haired woman, with an orange crest on her forehead. "This is Target Two, hereby codenamed X-Ray Alpha, Akitsu. She is one of the 108 Sekirei and is referred to as a 'Scrapped Number' due to her inability to be bound to a human. She has cryokinetic abilities that are not charted at this time, but she apparently has a very limited degree of control over them, so approach with extreme caution. She is a Secondary Target, with orders to capture if possible, but terminate if necessary."
The final picture was of a little blond-haired girl. "This is Target Three, hereby codenamed X-Ray Beta, Kusano. She is again one of the 108 Sekirei. To be precise, she is Sekirei Number 108, the youngest Sekirei. She has been presumed to be undergoing the final stage of forced physical and mental maturation in this facility. As such, use this picture as a rough guide only. It is unknown what manner of powers she possesses. She is of equal priority to Sahashi Takami and is to taken alive and intact."
Steve stepped forwards again. "To make this clear, these Sekirei, despite appearing human, are in fact extra-terrestrial in origin. Our country has attempted to gain their technology and Sekirei twice before. We lost a Navy Squadron and Army battlegroup to just five of them the first time and an entire Mercenary battalion to just two of them the second time. This time, we are going in with minimum numbers and the most advanced body armour and weaponry available. We must gain the X-Ray technology and Sekirei for our nation before that caped moron makes Japan strong enough to not require our protection."
Kirika nodded. "In addition to acquiring or neutralizing these three, you must also data drain the computers of any and all pertinent information and data for analysis back home. Any paper files are also to be targeted for acquisition."
"Questions?" Steve asked.
"What kinda security does this place have?" one man questioned.
"It's a civ facility, so big thick doors only." Kirika answered. "No human security guards as best we can tell. It relies on not being found for its primary security, with the strength of the doors being a secondary deterrent."
"Can we hack them open or are we gonna blow them open?" a blond woman queried.
"With the anti-hacking software MBI gained from two of the Sekirei, we would have more chance convincing the current POTUS to stop being a moron than to hack through them." Steve snorted. "No, we'll blow the shit out of the doors. One area that MBI hasn't shown much in the way of advancement is metallurgy, so it's likely that the doors are simple steel or titanium, which we can get through. Once we're in, it should be simple to find our targets. What we have to do shortly afterwards is to neutralise Tango Alpha before she can destroy the computer files and sever the datalink between the lab and the main MBI building, otherwise we fail a third of the mission then and there."
"Roger that." the woman nodded.
"Any more questions? No? Good." Kirika nodded decisively. "We move out at 0900 hours tomorrow. Check your gear, get some grub in you and get some sleep. You'll need it."
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Next Chapter: Rage of the Ashikabi of the North
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