Back Home – The Dual War
by Warringer
Chapter 48 (Party written by Psychosama over at the Maximum Addventure)
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Rei of the Hinoke Clan closed her eyes for a moment, looking for her center and shutting out the mind whispers of the Shin'bi around her. Some times it was hard to ignore the omnipresent whisperings of the minds around her and only her training and her sheer force of will prevented her from loosing herself in those whispers.
Her parents had always told her that she was fortunate that she was the most powerful of the Hinoke born in the long line of careful breeding that was part of her clan as was the mental discipline. She herself was proud to be what she was, but at the same time she felt like being cursed. Very early her parents and the heads of her clan had set her up with an iinazuke and she knew him since that time.
A glance went over to her now husband, Akira. While Rei was maybe the most powerful telepath, Akira was one of the most powerful telekinetics and the clan were hoping to combine the two abilities in their offspring.
But just because their marriage had been set up by the clan and that they had grown up together didn't mean that they didn't love each other as husband and wife. The love between them maybe went even deeper. While the clan wanted an offspring between the two of them, it wasn't forcing anything. In the long history they had learned that they couldn't force anything, not to mention that forcing something like that was going against the cores of Shin'bi believes.
Just like the arrogance of the young generation towards the other Shin'bi. But than again, hadn't she and Akira been like that before learning humility by the hands and minds of their elders?
Rei sighed, thinking of the here and now. She had been ordered to Fukumishisan, one of the hidden stations that had been build during the long time since the first slavers and pirates had began to plague Zaitaku and the rest of the system. Build inside one of the asteroid moons of Zaitaku, Fukumishisan was one of the larger stations, able to service up to thirty ships at the same time, even up the size of the Hikaru Tenno class.
Her presence was needed on Fukumishisan, ever since the pirates had found the station Hiken. Her great mental strength was essential for clouding the minds of any pirate that came into the range of her ability. While she wasn't able to kill them with with a single thought, she could hide Fukumishisan from their perception and confuse them slightly. Three pirate ships had fallen to her ability and than had been destroyed by the ships docked with Fukumishisan.
Now her order was similar, at least to a point. She wasn't going to cloud or confuse minds, she was rather ordered to listen to the minds of these Terrans that had come to Zaitaku, claiming to have rescued several Shin'bi from slavery and now bringing them back. But being Shin'bi, the paranoia towards gaijin ran deep. The Alliance, the loose amalgamation of the nations of Zaitaku, had given her the order to determine if they were telling the truth, while they docked with Fukumishisan. Akira was with her to provide her with strength and stability she would need when she listened to the alien minds.
She breathed in deep as she looked at the airlock. Behind it the Mainz, the Terran ship, being close to the size of a Hikaru Tenno, was docked with the station. She wasn't the only one present. Ten of the best soldiers were facing the airlock, dressed in their normal stealth armor, six of them blending into the surroundings with little more than a slight wavering in the air. And there was Minako of the Yokokaze clan, the commander of the station.
She was different to most Shin'bi. She preferred to directly attack, not waiting for the best time to attack. Her bionic arm was telling that she had payed her cost for it. But loosing her arm was just strengthening her in her ways and she presented the gleaming metallic arm proudly, going as far as cutting of the sleeve that would normally cover the arm. It was an open secret that the arm had a pair of vibro claws and an integrated gauss gun.
Rei head Akira draw in a sharp breath and looked towards the airlock as it cycled open.
Three people were coming through the airlock at the same time. Two of them were humanoids, much like most of the races of the galaxy as the Shin'bi had learned, while the third was a Shin'bi. The two humanoids were dressed in khaki colored uniforms, while the Shin'bi wore what any Shin'bi of her age wore, together with a metal belt that presented the symbol of her clan, the Ichijinnokaze Clan.
They were followed by several other Shin'bi. Like the first one, they were looking normal and wore pieces of clothing with the symbol of the Ichijinnokaze Clan.
The group moved towards the greeting squad and stopped a few meters in front of them. Than they bowed before one of the humanoids spoke.
"I'm Korvettenkapitän Daniel Petersen, commander of the Mainz."
Rei closed her eyes for a moment, concentrating to scan the mind of Petersen. As she opened her eyes again, she was bemused. Petersen wasn't showing any form of negative thoughts or emotions she knew from the pirates, rather he was nervous and in a way awed by them.
She shot a short glance towards Minako, combined with a short mental message.
"Welcome on Fukumishisan, Comander Petersen," Minako answered, returning the respectful bow.
As the pleasantries between Petersen and Minako continued, Rei concentrated on the other humanoid. As she attempted to scan him, she saw herself opposed by a solid mental block. Several times she tried to break through the block or find a way around it, but as the man turned to give her a short glance in wonder, she stopped. Never in her life she had encountered something like this. Maybe she could talk to the man later on.
A few moments later the name of the man was revealed. Joachim Fürst von Bismark, from a short glance into Petersens mind, she knew that man to be aristocraty, but the way he behaved and Petersens thoughts were different to those she knew to be directed towards Shin'bi nobility of some nations. To Petersen von Bismark was more of an equal.
Than she moved towards the first Shin'bi, Haruka of the Ichijinnokaze Clan. The mind of Haruka was clearer to her than those of the humanoids, but that was to be expected. Haruka was aware of being in the presence of two members of the Hinoke Clan and knew that she would be scanned by a telephat. Haruka was actively opening her mind to Rei, fully well knowing that none of the Hinoke Clan would ever go deep enough to get to the private thoughts.
Scanning Harukas thoughts she found several very interesting things. She hadn't been manipulated in any way. No memory looked like it had been changed, no overlaying multiple memories. She and the others of her group had actively, with von Bismarks help taken over a slaver ship, before being rescued by a Terran ship. Than they had lived on the Terran homeworld for several month, visiting the nations of the planet and even finding a nation that called itself Nippon, or Japan.
The most surprising was a personal thing, but it was so intense that Rei couldn't help but notice. Haruka was in love with von Bismark and he was in love with her.
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Ryoko was nervous as she entered the Oval Office. It was almost funny, really. President Ryan was a normal human, totally powerless and utterly defenseless before her yet his presence created such an anxiety in her. She who had dueled with princes, laid waste to palaces, and had devastated dynasties was sweating bullets at the prospect of meeting him. Maybe it was because this man was the leader the nation that had given her a home. The leader of HER country, and by that, her leader.
While she had not voted for him. She paused and smiled in her thoughts. Voted. What a strange, but somehow encouraging concept. The whole liberal democracy thing just blew her mind. Elected leaders, checks and balances, the will of the people. Hell, the human idea that the government should fear its people and not vice versa just made her feel somehow more comfortable. She'd seen countless corrupt regimes in her time, and the idea of a governmental system based around the idea that the government was accountable to the people. It made being accepted by this country so much more... special. They didn't only give her a home, they made her one of their people, and while she knew that in the end, her voice would be only one among a hundred million, it still made her feel like a part of something greater.
"Miss Hakubi?" President Ryan said, breaking her train of thought, "Are you alright?"
Ryoko blinked and flushed as she looked into the expectant and somewhat confused eyes of the President of the United States. "Sorry, Mr. President, I just got a little lost and thought."
Jack Ryan smiled with mirth, and motioned to one of the chairs sitting before his desk. "Please, take a seat, and if you'd like, you can call me Jack."
Ryoko grinned and sat down. She could not believe that she was actually feeling a bit giddy. "Thanks, Jack. Call me Ryoko."
He nodded. "Alright Ryoko, I guess you're wondering why you're here."
She nodded and fought down a ting of fear. A shadowy chill of dread made its way up her spine as a spear of self doubt shot into her heart. Was her going to change his mind? She'd tried to be a good American... Now while she knew on a mental level that they would not do that, on an emotional level, that was something different. Things had been going too well for her. The Pope gave her absolution for her sins, the Dali Lama had actually helped the Federation Ambassador understand that the things she had done under Kagato's control were not really her choice, and she had a home. Something was bound to go wrong, was this it?
Jack frowned slightly, picking up on her discomfort. "Is there something wrong, Ryoko?"
"You're not going to take away my citizenship," she squeaked, "Are you?"
Jack's jaw dropped as a look of utter shock and disbelief overtook his features. "Why the hell would we do a thing like that?"
"I don't know," she muttered, "Its just…"
"Ryoko," Jack stated with an almost paternal tone. " Now, I know your past, I know what the rest of the galaxy is like, but that's not how we do things on Earth and that's not how we do them in this country. You're an American and unless you willingly give that up or commit high treason, you'll be one until the day you die. So just don't go around selling state secrets and we'll be fine."
Ryoko loosed a breath that she didn't even know she'd been holding as one of the last of her aching fears was alleviated.
President Ryan smiled. "Now, what have you been up to since you stopped gallivanting around with world leaders?"
"I've been traveling around the country," she replied.
"How do you like it?" he asked.
"I love it. Its so much more diverse than I thought it would be. So many kinds of people, so many life styles... you could spend a year on just the foods! It's heard to believe that all of this is from just one planet! And the people are nice too. No one looks down on me, no one calls me a monster or a monster..." Ryoko beamed. "I was visiting a Hispanic neighborhood a few weeks ago and they even threw a party in my honor!"
"Been a world renowned heroine has its advantages I guess," Ryan observed.
"Its just so nice!" she paused for a moment and frowned slightly. "The only problem I had were these lunatics in white sheets and pointy hats to called me a devil and talked about 'white power' and ranted on about race..."
The President sighed in exasperation. "The problem with Freedom of Speech is that everyone has it, even the idiots."
"So those people are not normal?"
"They're the Ku Klux Klan, a fringe group of radicals and an unfortunate lasting remnant of a less enlightened period of this nation's history. They're fringe lunatics. Don't let them get to you."
Ryoko grinned. "I didn't. I'd say that I more got to them."
Jack blinked. "You didn't kill anyone, did you?"
Ryoko smirked. "Nope, but I kicked them out of the town they were in. The locals seemed to like that. It was fun."
Jack smiled. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."
Ryoko nodded and took a deep breath. "Jack, can I ask you a question?"
"Go ahead."
Ryoko sighed. "I love exploring the country, but I've been feeling kinda useless lately. I mean, Washu is helping with the war effort, Tenchi is off fighting, and here I am going to parties. It doesn't feel right. I want to be doing something to help..."
"I'm glad you brought that up," Jack responded, "Because that's actually why I asked you here today."
She blinked. "It is?"
"I asked you here to give you this," the President stated as he handed her a document bound in a protective leather envelope.
"What is it?" Ryoko asked.
"It is a 'Letter of Marque and Reprisal'," he replied.
Ryoko blinked. "A what?"
"A Letter of Marque makes you a government authorized agent with the right to seize and destroy assets belonging to belligerent powers. In essence, it makes you a government sponsored pirate, a Privateer."
Ryoko gawked. "You mean you'll let me fight?"
"Actually," Jack replied, "I'd say I'd like to encourage it."
Ryoko threw down the letter and phased through the desk, giving the president a strong hug.
"Thank you! Now I can help Tenchi!"
Jack chuckled lightly, more than a bit embarrassed. "You're welcome!"
Ryoko backed off and returned to the other side of the desk. Floating around anxiously she rambled off. "I have to tell Ryu-oh-ki, I'll have to tell Washu, I need to get a crew..." she smiled and saluted the President. "I'll make you proud sir."
With that said, she grabbed her letter and teleported away.
The president blinked for a moment, then shook his head with a sigh before hitting his intercom. "Tell Mr. Fisher to come in, and send another meeting request to Miss. Hakubi..."
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"A pleasure to meet you, General G'Kot," Tenchi said as the slightly overweight Narn and his companions entered the main briefing room of Dark Knight.
Captain Ramsey and the other commanders of his fleet had come aboard the ship some time earlier, using the Ferron transmitter system that would be set up on all GDI ship, at least until Washuu finally sold the patent rights of her portal transmitter to a company. As far as Tenchi knew, Otis, Kawasaki, General Electrics, Siemens-Nixdorf and Saab were trying to by the rights.
Ramsey had already briefed Tenchi on the Narn situation and every new piece of information that was needed.
"Likewise, Commodore Masaki," G'Kot answered.
Tenchi nodded, being glad that Dark Knight had distracted Seto, her companions and the CNN crew from this meeting.
"I think we should come down to the point, General," Tenchi said." And begin with the planning of the first operation."
G'Kot raised the Narn equivalent to the human eyebrow.
"While I like that you come to the point, I fail to see why we should plan an operation this early. I need to know about the capabilities of your ships first."
"Time is of essence at the moment, General," Tenchi answered." I believe that Captain Ramsey failed to forward our informations to you."
G'Kot looked over to Ramsey, who shrugged with a strange smile on his face.
"It would seem that way."
Tenchi nodded again.
"Okay," Tenchi began," The Doranians have withdrawn about half of their ship from the front lines in Narn space to strengthen one of their main systems against an attack that won't come and try and invade my homeworld a third time."
G'Kot blinked.
"What?" he asked bewildered.
Tenchi grinned.
"We have found a scout ship that was observing our home system and had a little show with them. Our entire fleet left the system for Magna Doran, before returning back to Sol at arriving at the edge of the Corian Expanse. The Doranians have swallowed out little bait and pulled ships from the only source where they can get a larger number of combat ready ships. The Narn front."
Realization dawned in the Narn generals eyes.
"Leaving them overextended at the front lines," he said and Tenchi grinned some more.
"Not only that. They also took most of their ships from the already taken systems. That leaves them open for attacks inside the territory they have taken."
G'Kot nodded.
"I believe you already have a plant how to use that weakness."
Tenchi grinned again, evil this time.
"But of cause. One I am sure you are going to like, General. While its not going to take any planet back, it will make fighting the Doranians more easy and will cut them off from their logistics support."
G'Kot frowned slightly.
"You mean attacking their freighters and support stations? I don't know what to think of that."
Tenchi raised an eyebrow.
"Well, look at it this way, General," he tried." The Doranians are using Kotok as logistics center, filtering all their support good through that system. If we destroy that base, they have to either rebuild the support base on Kotok or look for a new base. Either way, they will be weaker because they are lacking support."
He breathed in.
"We have saying on Earth. 'Amateurs study strategy and tactics. Professionals study logistics.' It always the logistic support that wins a war. If you can cut off the enemy from his logistics, you not only damage his capability to act and force him to wait for ammunition, reaction mass and food, but you also damage his moral. And a weak moral of the enemy is also helping you to win a war."
He grinned again.
"Not to mention that Kotok is an easy target at this moment. But only with the right distraction from the real objective of the operation."
G'Kot closed his eyes for a moment and breathed in deep.
"Okay," he said," tell me of your plan and that we see if we can do something."