Chapter 17
The next week was almost like a dream for the members of the Science Ninja Team. Apparently the destruction of their Malaysian base had caused Galactor a serious setback, and the UN had been able to rout their forces from the country. Sultan Ahmad's identity had been confirmed through DNA testing, and he had re-taken control of his troops, his resources, and his people. Gel Sadra was reportedly on the run from the Sultan's wrath.
Agent Murfitt's identity had also been confirmed, and he had been able to provide the ISO with details about Galactor's various installations around the world. With his help, another three bases necessary to the Solar Shift Plan had been located, and destroyed through UN troop action. Gel Sadra's soldiers had not put up much resistance, presumably because they knew that if the UN failed, the Science Ninja Team would be sent to take care of things.
And so, thanks to the success of their last mission, the Science Ninja Team was enjoying a well-deserved break. Jun was opening the Snack J most nights, and the Team was using it as their regular gathering spot, as they had in the past. Every night Jinpei and Jun served an ever-increasing number of customers, many of whom were regulars used to an on-again off-again operating schedule for the bar.
There was only one thing missing.
Ken.
Jun had not seen Ken since his appearance on her doorstep the day of the Malaysian mission. He had not been to the Snack, which in itself was very unusual. Jun had been too embarrassed to contact the Eagle, but Jinpei had been concerned enough to visit him at his airfield. The Swallow had waited two hours for Ken to return from an air courier job, only to be told by the Eagle that everything was fine, and that he should get back to the Joint before Jun got worried.
Since Jinpei and Ryu tended to band together in their mischief-making, Joe and Jun were often thrown together, and it seemed only natural to the Swallow and the Owl that the pair should spend a lot of time in deep conversation. They also knew that Joe had always been the one who had been there for Jun when things were bad between the Swan and the Eagle, and they were grateful that Joe was able to keep Jun's spirits up.
As the daily interaction between team members became more relaxed, so did the Condor's reactions to his teammates. He had been more interested and engaged in what everyone else was doing, and had resumed his usual attitude of dry humor when it came to Jinpei and Ryu's antics.
It was almost like old times, save for the absence of the Eagle.
Some nights, Jinpei would head off to Ryu's marina, and Joe would spend the night at the Snack. The Condor and the Swan were still not comfortable revealing their relationship to the others, particularly given Ken's disappearance.
On nights where Jinpei slept at the Snack, Jun would go out with her 'girlfriends' after the Snack closed, often returning home with the dawn. If Jinpei thought she was partying a little too much, he kept his mouth shut for a change. If anyone deserved to let loose, it was Jun, who had always spent her life taking care of everyone else.
Besides, Jinpei had never seen his Onechan look happier.
One morning the Swallow was returning home, after having spent the night at Ryu's, and he saw the Condor's legs sticking out from behind the bar.
"What's he doing here?" Jinpei asked Jun.
"He's fixing the sink for us." Jun explained. "One of the pipes started leaking last night, and Joe offered to take a look at it."
"But, doesn't Aniki usually do that kind of thing for us?" Jinpei asked.
Jun arched her eyebrow at the Swallow. It was as good as giving him a smack on the head. Jinpei flushed, and lowered his gaze to the floor.
"Hey, want to see what I caught at Ryu's?" he said hopefully, attempting to change the topic of conversation.
"What?" Jun asked suspiciously.
"A cricket! Three inches long!" the Swallow crowed.
"Jinpei, you know what I told you about bringing bugs into the house!" Jun sighed.
"Just come up and see it, Onechan, it's really neat!" Jinpei begged, running up the stairs.
"Don't your dare take it out of your bag!" Jun cried, following the Swallow to his room.
Joe chuckled softly to himself as he worked on the pipes. Jun never realized that no matter what she did, Jinpei would always want a menagerie of insects as pets, while the Swallow never understood the Swan's objection to his creatures in the first place. Personally, Joe sided with Jun. If you let one bug in, others were bound to follow, and he had cleaned enough infestations out of his trailer to know what a bad idea that was.
The bell over the door rang, and Joe heard someone enter the bar.
"Jun?" asked a familiar voice. "Are you here?"
"She's upstairs." said the Condor, rising from behind the bar to come face to face with a surprised Eagle. "Although, I'm not sure how thrilled she'll be to see you."
"You don't know anything, Joe." Ken replied angrily, moving to go upstairs.
Joe quickly came out from behind the bar, barring the Eagle's path.
"I know that the last time you saw her, she was very upset." the Condor said, choosing his words carefully.
"So, she's been crying on your shoulder again, has she?" Ken asked frustratedly. The Eagle had spent the past week trying to purge the Swan from his mind, only to realize that it was an impossible task. To admit defeat in this matter, only to be impeded now by his second, merely increased Ken's irritation. He had to see Jun. He had to explain that he had never intended to hurt her. The Eagle wasn't sure what he could offer her, but this sense of alienation that had sprung up between them was gnawing at his soul.
And it wasn't any of the Condor's business.
"At least someone has been there for her, when she needed it." Joe growled. "You barely acknowledge her existence, then see fit to tramp all over her emotions when it suits you."
"Look, it's not your decision whether or not I get to talk to Jun." Ken said in a loud voice. "Now get out of my way before I…"
"Before you what, Ken?" Joe smirked, crossing his arms and leaning across the entrance to the stairwell in his usual arrogant posture.
The Eagle drew his fist back, determined to smash the smug expression from the Condor's face, but was stopped by a slim hand grabbing at his arm.
"Ken!" cried Jun, rushing between the two men. "What do you think you're doing?"
"I came to see you." Ken explained, his anger deflating at the sight of the beautiful Swan. "I think we need to talk…"
But the Eagle's words were interrupted by the chiming of all three of their bracelets.
"I'm sorry, Team," came Dr. Nambu's voice in triplicate, "but I'm afraid your break is over. I need to see you back at G-Town immediately."
The Eagle and the Condor glared at each other, ignoring the Doctor's call. The Swan slowly raised her arm to her mouth.
"Everyone but Ryu is here, Doctor." she said. "We're on our way." Jun looked pointedly at Ken and Joe, who looked down at the floor in defeat.
"We'd better get going." Ken mumbled. This wasn't over. He would talk to Jun, as soon as this mission was over.
88888
It turned out that Dr. Nambu required the assistance of the Science Ninja Team in capturing and destroying one of the Solar Shift Plan bases that Agent Murfitt had identified. The UN forces had been easily repelled, and it appeared that Galactor was choosing this place to make a stand.
The base was located inside of Humphrey's Peak, the highest mountain in Arizona. What made it difficult to access was that there was only one major pass through which the UN forces could attack, and this avenue was heavily defended by Galactor troops.
However, Agent Murfitt had informed Dr. Nambu of two other entrances. The ISO agent felt reasonably confident that Gel Sadra was unaware that he had any knowledge of these access passages.
Both passages were relatively small, allowing only one person at a time to enter, which made them ideal for a stealth infiltration by the Science Ninja Team. They were both located in the mountainside, although on opposite sides of the peak.
The entire mountain range was made up of formerly extinct volcanoes, however whatever activities Galactor had engaged in at this location had caused a number of lava spills, and the area was now considered to be extremely dangerous.
As a precaution, Dr. Nambu had made enhancements to the uniforms of the Science Ninja Team, giving each member a special cartridge to place inside of their helmets. When activated, the cartridge would give them two hundred seconds of pure oxygen for breathing. Given Gel Sadra's frequent use of sleeping gas in the past few weeks, this seemed like a well-advised precaution.
As the team approached in the New God Phoenix, Ken gave instructions as to how the team should proceed.
"We don't want to get too close in the New God Phoenix," he said, "because we don't want Galactor to be aware that we have been summoned. Let Gel Sadra think that the UN is the only group of forces she has on her hands."
Everyone nodded at this. It made sense. Ken continued with his plan.
"That being said, Pimer will drop off Joe, Jinpei and Ryu about a mile from the first entrance. Then Jun and I will be left on the other side of the mountain, to find the second entrance."
The Condor glared at the Eagle. It was incredibly convenient that Ken had chosen to team up with Jun, but Joe wasn't in a position to argue. This particular split of the team was a standard one used by the Eagle, and it was the best at balancing out their individual strengths and weaknesses.
"Any questions?"
"Yeah, what do we do once we're in there?" Jinpei asked.
"Find a good place to set charges and blow the whole thing up." Ken shrugged. "The state of Arizona has already given us permission to destroy a national landmark, given the circumstances."
"Sounds like fun!" Jinpei smirked. "I can hardly wait to see the fireworks!"
"Let's just hope it goes as smoothly as you're expecting, Jinpei." Ken warned him.
Pimer arrived at the first dropoff point, and the Condor, the Swallow and the Owl left the New God Phoenix, gliding to the ground some 3,000 feet below the ship.
When they landed, Ryu looked around. "There sure are a lot of mountains around here." he observed.
"That's why it's called a 'mountain range'!" Jinpei berated the Owl.
Ryu ignored him.
"Which one is it?" he asked the Condor.
"It's that big one, in the center." Joe replied, gesturing to his right. He began to walk away, not even looking back to see if the other two were following.
"All the way over there?" Ryu moaned. "I didn't know we were going to have to walk that far!"
"Makes you kind of wish for the days when you had to stay behind with the ship, doesn't it?" Jinpei elbowed the Owl.
"Shut up, Jinpei." Ryu grumbled.