Chapter 12
The following morning Joe and Jun awoke next to each other and spent the next few hours talking and making love. The intimacy that had been missing from their lives was both physical and emotional, and they reveled in the rare opportunity to simply enjoy each other's company, without fear of the consequences.
However, their closeness did have consequences, and both the Condor and the Swan understood what could happen should others be aware of their newfound intimacy. For the moment, they had decided not to reveal the change in the nature of their relationship, and to that end they arranged things to make it appear that nothing had changed. Joe continued to act cold and distant whenever anyone else was around, and Jun maintained her public attitude of quiet despair over Joe's 'isolation' from the team.
There were a couple of close calls; most notably one morning when Ryu nearly caught Joe exiting Jun's room, but for two weeks the rest of the team remained ignorant of the true relationship that had grown between the Condor and the Swan.
Unfortunately, they hadn't been able to spend as much time together as they would have liked. Galactor appeared to be on the warpath, and the Science Ninja Team was sent around the globe to deal with stolen resources, hidden bases, and strange geological phenomena apparently related to the Solar Shift Plan. More often than not, the entire team dropped exhausted into bed each night, falling asleep before their heads hit their pillows.
The war with Galactor was draining on all of them, but even more so for the Condor and the Swan, who longed for the freedom they had once enjoyed. Of course, they hadn't thought of it that way at the time, but when Katse had been in charge of Galactor, they had had days, sometimes even weeks at a time, off duty. With every defeat, Katse spent time regrouping and planning his next attack, and the Science Ninja Team was able to use that time to recuperate.
But now, it seemed as if the Science Ninja Team was being called up every day, and everyone's nerves were beginning to fray. Galactor was raising the stakes, and the Science Ninja Team was no longer certain how long they could play this dangerous game.
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"You will execute my wishes, as I have instructed." Leader X commanded Gel Sadra.
The Galactor Leader snarled underneath her mask. It was bad enough that her plans for the Condor had been disrupted, but since that day Leader X had kept her running from morning until night, working on the Solar Shift Plan. She longed for even a few hours to herself, to plan the Condor's capture again. She had seen him numerous times since the day the Swan had so rudely interrupted them, but the glimpses of him in combat were nothing like the encounters she longed for.
If anything, her few stolen moments with the Condor had heightened Gel Sadra's obsession with the man. When she wasn't working, she thought of nothing else, and alone in her bed at night the images that ran through her mind tortured her already tormented soul.
The Condor would be hers. Perhaps if she could capture the entire team, she could have the Condor to herself, and prevent the others from aiding him.
The sleeping gas and the 'truth' serum had worked very well. Perhaps she should try them again.
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"So what is it this time?" grumbled Jinpei as the team was summoned to Dr. Nambu's office for the fourth time in three days. "Is Gel Sadra sending a Godzilla mecha to run amok in Tokyo because she ran out of hairspray?"
"It's not a joke, Jinpei!" Ken scowled. "I'm exhausted too, but this level of Galactor activity is serious!"
"Ken is right." said Dr. Nambu calmly. "We believe that these incidents of late have all been leading up to something."
"What's that, Doctor?" Jun asked, stifling a yawn behind her hand.
In answer to the Swan's question, Dr. Nambu turned down the lights and displayed a video of a Galactor transmission.
"This communication was received by the ISO twenty minutes ago." Nambu informed them. "There is no doubt as to its authenticity. Of course, what we see in the transmission may, or may not, be real."
The message began with an image of Gel Sadra, introducing herself and stating that the message was for Dr. Nambu personally. Then she moved aside, showing the image of a man in chains. He appeared to have been suffering harsh conditions under Galactor's 'care'.
"That's Simon Murfitt!" Jun exclaimed in shock.
"It certainly appears to be," the Doctor agreed, "however we have not been able to confirm that fact."
"But, didn't Jun and Joe see his dead body in that other base?" Ryu asked, confused.
"We don't actually know if it was his body or not." Joe pointed out. "We weren't able to bring it back for DNA analysis, since it had been rigged to explode the moment we touched it."
"What do you want us to do, Doctor?" Ken asked.
"Our analysts suspect that this is a trap." Dr. Nambu replied, sighing heavily. "Galactor has been running the five of you ragged for weeks, and now they are taunting us with a prisoner who appears to be Agent Murfitt. They will be aware that you are coming, but I still must order you to investigate this matter immediately."
"If that is Simon Murfitt, we will bring him home, alive." Ken promised.
"I pray for your success."
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"Jun, do you have a location yet?" Ken asked, shortly after the New God Phoenix had been launched.
"Yes." the Swan replied. "Gel Sadra's transmission was sent from the Isle of Tonga, in the South Pacific."
"Oh, no…" groaned Ryu. "Not another island full of killer bananas!"
"Just stay away from the local produce this time." Joe drawled, as he leaned back in his chair.
"We're not going to have any time for sightseeing." stated the Eagle. "We're going to get in and out as quickly as possible."
"And here I was looking forward to a nice beach vacation." grinned Jinpei. "I sure could use the rest!"
"We could all use the rest." Jun pointed out. "But maybe if we get this done quickly, we can get back and finally manage to get more than three hours of sleep in a row."
"I'm setting a course for Tonga." Ryu announced, after receiving co-ordinates from the Swan's station.
When the New God Phoenix arrived, the area from which the signal had been sent seemed to be deserted. But after careful analysis, Jinpei located what appeared to be a small, metallic object in the middle of the jungle.
"Jun and I will check it out." Ken ordered. "The rest of you stay alert in case of trouble."
"Man, I never get to have any fun!" Jinpei moaned.
"Look at the bright side, Jinpei," Ryu grinned, "we can take a nap!"
"So much for keeping alert." Joe grumbled. The Condor rolled his eyes at Ken as he passed, but the Eagle's face remained impassive.
Jun looked back, just in time to see the flash of an eye under Joe's helmet. He had winked at her. She smiled surreptitiously underneath her helmet, hoping that no one else had noticed. There was more than one reason she wanted to catch up on her sleep. The Swan and the Condor had been so exhausted of late that it had been a number of days since their last intimate encounter.
With thoughts of Joe on her mind, Jun left the New God Phoenix with Ken. The two of them moved down to the island on their individual mechas. The Auto Swan landed next to the Eagle Sharp, not far from the spot Jinpei had indicated.
It didn't take too long to find the object, which turned out to be a transmission repeater. Such devices were usually employed to enhance the strength of communications, but in this case it was obvious that the repeater had been used in an attempt to disguise the origin of the message.
"So it's a dead end?" Ken asked in frustration.
"Not quite…" Jun murmured as she analyzed the device from close range. "I think I can extract the location from which this device received the signal."
"You mean, you can track it back?" Ken asked.
"If I can find the co-ordinates…. yes! Got them!" Jun grinned. "It looks like this device received the signal from Guam, and re-broadcast it to the ISO."
"Guam?"
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But as it turned out, the signal hadn't originated from Guam. Another repeater was found there, which lead them to another device in the Australian Outback, and then another was located north of Nha Trang, Vietnam. A fourth connection was discovered outside of Ghaba, Oman. All of the devices had been found in remote areas, far from human habitation.
"This is getting old, fast." Joe grumbled.
"What do you mean getting?" Jinpei yelled angrily. "This is our fourth wild goose chase! So much for getting this done quickly!" The Swallow slumped in his chair, crossing his arms and pouting.
"We're all frustrated," Ken lectured, "but your bad attitudes aren't going to help anything! Let's just focus on our goal!"
"Well, Galactor's goal seems to be sending us around the planet." Ryu remarked gloomily.
"Okay, the next one is in the town of Pekan in Pahang, Malaysia." Jun reported. "Or rather… on the outskirts… let me see what I can find…" The Swan was lost in her analysis. At least having had so much practice was enabling her to pinpoint locations with more accuracy.
"At least someone is enjoying themselves." Jinpei sulked.
"Shut up, Jinpei!" Ken snapped.
"I think this is it, guys!" Jun said excitedly.
"What makes you say that?" Joe asked curiously.
"Because," Jun replied triumphantly, "this one is coming from the Pahang Sultan's Palace."