A War to End All Wars
Description: Set in a futuristic Japan, Haruka Maki, an Inspector for the MWPSB, lives in a time where actions of individuals are judged by a system which determines how a person lives their life.
Chapter 1: Rookie Mistake
Exiting the vehicle, Inspectors Maki and Ginoza's eyes swept the crime scene: an abandoned district with drones surrounding the district preventing civilians entering the area with a rogue latent criminal. The tedious voice of the drones rang through the ears of Haruka.
"Your attention, please. This is the Criminal Investigation Department of the Public Safety Bureau. For your protection, access to this block is currently restricted. Neighbouring residents are required to immediately evacuate this area. This message will now repeat."
"Your attention, please! Ah shit.", Haruka mocked as the rain poured down her face and drenched her figure. Her hair damped to her face caused irritation as she swung her head back slightly to remove it from her face. As she pulled her leather jacket closer to herself -slightly shivering- she followed Ginoza closer to the scene. Haruka's mind focussed on the rhythmic drone's voice, surveying the area with tired eyes. Being called in, despite requesting a day off, aggravated Haruka immensely. At least she didn't expect to get paid for her 'day off' regardless that she's working the case.
"Language, Ruka." Looking up to see Ginoza stand beside her, glance down at her through his glasses and used his slender fingers to perch them higher on his nose, Haruka responded with a closed eye smile.
"Sorry, Noka-chan. I was wanting a day off, yanno." Shrugging her shoulders, looking solemnly at the ground and slightly leaning on Ginoza's right arm. "Swig a drink or five! I certainly deserve that. This job becomes stressful at points"
"While we are investigating a case, refer to me as Inspector Ginoza, we are in a professional environment. Anyway, your drinking habits are not good for retaining a healthy Psycho-Pass."
Haruka pulled away from her partner to skip ahead, closer to the crime scene. "Obsessing over your Psycho-Pass ain't a good way for retaining a healthy Psycho-Pass." The brunette retorted.
"Get your head in the case, Inspector Maki." The conversation ended abruptly. The obvious reason being that Haruka was correct and had tossed his argument like a piece of trash.
Ginoza- with his back turned to the drones- didn't spot the newly assigned Inspector race towards the crime scene. Haruka observed what she presumed was the rookie joining Division 1- a small mousy woman with short brown hair who looked no older than 20. Barely an adult; barely capable of holding her own. Guess it looked like Haruka was going to have to mentor the rookie.
"Excuse me. Do you know where I can find Inspector Ginoza?" The newcomer announced her presence to the Inspectors.
Glancing over his shoulder, Ginoza replied, "Right here." The megane man turned fully to better examine the rookie "Well, you've got some awful luck to get this assignment your first night on the job."
"Poor thing's drenched, she ain't prepared. Reminds me of me." Haruka mumbled to herself while lowering her head ever so slightly, leaning casually against the table set up for the inspectors. Her partners disregarded her statement and continued with the conversation at hand.
The rookie saluted her superiors eagerly, "Inspector Akane Tsunemori, reporting for duty, sir and ma'am. Pleased to meet you, sir and ma'am. This is my first day." It was evident she had run to the scene with her panting as she spoke.
"I know. I'm sorry, but the CID's short on manpower tonight. We don't have time to give you the rookie treatment." Ginoza stated.
Haruka gives Tsunemori the brief of their case while Ginoza presented to her the suspect on his watch, "Our target's name is Nobuo Okura. A street scanner flagged him during a Hue Check. He was ordered by a security drone to receive therapy but he panicked and ran. His recorded Psycho-Pass was forest green so we can expect his aggression and compulsion to be high."
"Why would somebody choose to let their hue get so cloudy over receiving treatment?" Tsunemori's curiosity and naivety made Haruka chuckle. For this, she received a glare for Ginoza.
Ginoza carried on with the brief, "There's a strong chance he's using incompatible narcotics. Regardless, he's far enough gone that we don't need to wait for Sybil's judgement. Of course he had to pick an abolition block to hide out in. So that's the challenge. The block's not wired with a relay device so we can't send any drones. On top of that, we've got multiple eyewitness accounts stating Okura took someone captive while fleeing."
"He's got a hostage?" Tsunemori's shock was written over her face.
"According to the witness reports, it looked to be a woman in her early twenties. We still haven't confirmed her identity yet." Haruka continued from Ginoza.
"The block's been fully evacuated?" Tsunemori asked.
"The city records list it as uninhabited, but it's become a den for the homeless."
"So be prepared, rookie!", Haruka exclaimed as Ginoza tossed an MWPSB jacket towards Tsunemori unexpectedly, surprising the woman but she caught it anyhow.
The talking among the Inspectors ceased as the paddy wagon containing Division 1's Enforcers approached. The sound of the vehicle approaching alerted Tsunemori and she turned towards the vehicle as it screeched to a halt.
"A paddy wagon?" Tsunemori questioned.
"Those peo- "
Ginoza disrespectfully interrupted Haruka, not caring about the shocking and ghastly words he was about to preach to Tsunemori.
"The guys you're about to meet, don't think of them as human beings."
A frowned was now etched on Haruka's face.
"Their Psycho-Pass Crime Coefficients are above regulation value. They're all deeply disturbed. They would normally be completely isolated as Latent Criminals. But we allow them into the outside world for a single purpose. To flush out and hunt down criminals just like themselves. They're nothing more than hunting dogs. The best way to track a beast is with a beast. We call them Enforcers. Each one of them is your subordinate."
In a single file line, the Enforcers exited from the back of the paddy wagon and made their way towards their 'owners', as Ginoza would say. Haruka, as always, greeted each Enforcer with a smile. Masaoka, being the only one returning her a smile and a pat on the back.
"You said we were getting a rookie, but you didn't say she would be so cute!", Kagari exclaimed. Expressing his excitement towards Tsunemori with a slight blush.
"This is Inspector Akane Tsunemori. Go easy on her!" Haruka informed the Enforcers.
Ginoza continued, "From today on, you'll know her as your third owner."
Once again, Ginoza's harsh words caused Haruka to frown.
"Uh, it's a pleasure to meet you!" Nervously, Tsunemori bowed at the Enforcers
Ginoza sighed and turned to the enforcers, "I'm assuming you've already been briefed on the target's data, right? He's backed himself into a corner and we're gonna tighten the noose. We'll split into two groups and zero in." Kagari continued to blush and wave at Tsunemori as Ginoza spoke "Alright, Kunizuka and Kagari, you two are with me. The other two are with Inspector Tsunemori. Inspector Maki will join Inspector Tsunemori's group to accompany the rookie on her first assignment."
"Roger that, sir", Kunizuka replied.
"Right, Gino!", Haruka saluted.
Kagari grunted, displeased with the groups, "Why do they get the babe and I get stuck with your ugly mug?!"
Ginoza gave Kagari a glare for speaking out of line.
"Man, that guy has no sense of humour." Kagari grumped.
Kunizuka spoke, "Cause he knows you weren't joking"
Ginoza's team proceed to grab their dominators and enter the district in search of the latent criminal and the hostage. "Have fun out there!" Kagari winked and waved off Tsunemori and Haruka. Haruka returned his gesture, "Don't worry, Shusei, I always do. Keep yourself and Gino out of harm's way". With Haruka's statement, Ginoza grunted and ushered Kagari away from Haruka.
Tsunemori looked towards Masaoka, "So, uh, what should I do now?". Unsure what she should do. Evidence of her rookie status. Haruka stood back to watch Tsunemori converse with the Enforcers, smiling. At least she treats enforcers with respect.
Masaoka grinned, "You could order us to take a coffee break and sit on our asses, I don't think we'd argue with that."
Just then, Kogami entered the conversation as he walked to retrieve his dominator.
"Why don't you try earning your paycheck. How's that sound?" Kogami mockingly asked the old man.
"Seems like I am the only hard worker here that earns their paycheck", Haruka imputed into the conversation.
"No reason for ya to look so nervous, little lady. You've used a Dominator before, haven't you?" Masaoka questioned the new Inspector about her knowledge and experience with the dominator.
"Well, I've received basic training." Tsunemori informed Masaoka.
Haruka stepped in, "Well you know it's a gun that read the psycho-pass of the target you're aiming at. The safety is only released when it registers the target as a latent criminal. All you've gotta do is follow the Dominators commands. If it says shoot, then shoot."
"That simple, huh?" Tsunemori calmly said.
Haruka looked at her with a large smile and proceed to get her dominator along with Masaoka, "The basic mode is set to paralyzer. As the name implies, it'll only temporarily paralyze the target so we can take them into custody." Haruka reassured Tsunemori. Haruka's smile and words soothed Tsunemori, making her more comfortable on her first assignment.
"Go on. It's nothin' to be scared of.", Haruka encouraged Tsunemori.
Tsunemori carefully picked up the dominator which activated as she held it. She looked surprised as when the dominator activated the directional voice began to speak to her.
"You'll get used to that. It's a directional voice. Only you can hear it since you're holding it. Before long it'll blend right in with your own thoughts." Masaoka told her.
"What about briefing? Shouldn't we have a meeting, come up with some kind of plan of how we're gonna catch this guy?", Tsunemori wished to know protocol.
"The two of us will hunt the prey and you'll observe our every move alongside Ruka. That's all there is to it." Kogami answered.
Tsunemori was stunned, "I was thinking something a little more strategic."
Masaoka butted in, "All he's saying is leave it to us. We may not look it, but I promise you, we know what we're doing."
Kogami continued, "Our methods work just fine. But since you're the Inspector, you're responsible for us. If you decide that you don't like the way I'm doing things, shoot me with your dominator."
"What?" It was evident the rookie did not understand the role of the Enforcers. The training all Inspectors receive before they are assigned to a division was futile. It never prepared rookies for the real field work.
Kogami glanced at Tsunemori from the side, "We're latent criminals too, no different than the target. So paralyze us if you have to." Kogami walked away and entered the abolition block, leaving Masaoka and Haruka to aid Tsunemori on her first assignment.
Haruka gained Tsunemori's attention, "The Dominators aren't only used to paralyze or eliminate to criminal we are pursuing on a case. They are also used to keep Enforcers in line. The Dominator works the same with Enforcers. If their Crime Coefficient is between 100 and 299 then the Dominator is in the Non-Lethal Paralyzer mode. If it's over 300…the Dominator switches to Lethal Eliminator mode and murders the criminal. But I don't recommend using the dominator unless it is absolutely necessary. Negotiating with the person can be beneficial to both you and the criminal. They don't have to be paralysed or killed and you don't have to have that on your conscience."
The old man sighed, scratched the back of his head and turned to look away from Haruka to speak to Tsunemori, "I guess it might help to know our names. That stubborn bastard is Shinya Kogami, and this old bastard is Tomomi Masaoka."
Realisation dawned upon Tsunemori as she abruptly turned to Haruka, "I'm sorry, I didn't get your name. I'm a bit overwhelmed, seeing as this is my first case."
"It's fine. I remember my first case and I was also a nervous wreck!" Ruka laughed. "Haruka Maki, most call me 'Ruka'. Pleased to meet you, Akane!" As she spoke, Haruka walked forward and offered her hand out. Tsunemori gladly took it and shook it as she became quickly comfortable with her fellow inspector.
"Little sweetheart, so she is. A great Inspector too. You can learn a lot from Ruka." Masaoka proudly stated while smiling, knowing both Inspectors shared a few qualities and would become great friends. Masaoka always treated her like a daughter and took pride in her accomplishments. "Don't piss her off though, she's a little spitfire". Haruka respected the old man and appreciated his guidance when she joined the MWPSB. The old man reminded Ruka of her own father, Hiroki, who is an Inspector in Division 3 alongside 1 of her oldest brother: Hiro who is 32. Masaoka and Hiroki have a great sense of humour and cared for all the people they met. These qualities made them great men and excellent fathers.
"I'm lookin' forward to workin' with ya. I'm sure you'll do fine." Masaoka eased Tsunemori's tensions.
"Oh, thank you.", she looked at him with large eyes.
Haruka walked towards the abolition block, "Well then, should we head out?"
Masaoka and Tsunemori followed the eager Inspector.
Haruka, Masaoka and Tsunemori headed down a dark, damp alleyway while on their search, Kogami had ventured off on his own.
Tsunemori inquired to Haruka, 'What about Kogami? I didn't see which way he- "
Masaoka silenced her by signalling to be quiet and directed her to turn left.
Haruka reassured Tsunemori that Kogami would be fine.
'The bastard's intelligent enough to hold his own', Haruka muttered.
While both inspectors followed Masaoka, Haruka observed her new colleague in action. It was evident of her lack of familiarity with the dominator; gripping it tightly as if it was about to be taken from her in a blink of an eye. Ruka's face turned into a slight glare when Tsunemori raised the dominator to take Masaoka's crime coefficient. Yet, Ruka allowed her to raise the gun. Tsunemori's face portrayed as shock as she took the crime coefficient. Haruka calmly place her left hand on top of the rookie's dominator, lowering it. Ruka voiced her partner's thoughts, "A person, just like us." She said all that was needed to be said.
Masaoka had struck a conversation with the rookie inspector, unknown to him that a dominator was trained on him moments ago.
"I've heard some rumours floating around about you. Is it true you were top of the class in your training?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
Masaoka began to give Tsunemori some advice; the same advice he gave Haruka on her first assignment, "Here's a piece of friendly advice. Wipe each and everything you learned out of your head as quickly as you can. None of that crap's gonna help you on a real case. Ya probably think that sounds unreasonable, huh? Well lemme tell ya, all the time I've spent on this job, I have yet to encounter a single reasonable thing. Everything a person thinks and wished for, we live in a time when a man's own mind is wide open to anyone with the right machine. Despite this universally known fact, there's still plenty of people wanting to deceive or hurt other humans. Now does that sound reasonable to you? All the theories and logic they filled your head with don't mean squat out here in the field. I doubt it'll take you too long to realize just how pointless your training was. So be prepared to be unprepared."
"Do you think…", Tsunemori started but was interrupted by Kagari and Ginoza talking over the intercom. Kagari had found the criminal and hostage. Haruka smirked. Finally, this case would be wrapped up and she could relax for the night. She earned some 'alone' time.
'Come in, this is Hound 4, I've found the target on the fourth floor of the KT building. What are your orders?"
"Okay. Hold your position and keep an eye on him. Hound 2 and I will box him in."
"Sure, although…considering how worked up he is right now, I don't know if the hostage is gonna make it that long. You sure you don't want me to go ahead and capture him?"
"Fine. Don't mess it up."
"Of course not."
Ruka spoke, "Finally we can get this case wrapped up. Ya ready for this, rookie? Gonna see some action no- "
Masaoka interrupted, great!"
Tsunemori spoke, 'Is..is this..."
"It's an Oracle from the Sibyl System. New judgement on Okura. Seems he's overextended his welcome in this world.", Masaoka explained.
"Elimination? Just because he got flagged by a routine street scan?"
Haruka took over from Masaoka, "He probably drove himself into a corner and it just got worse. Nothing'll work on him anymore…not even therapy. She led her companions to the nearest elevator "The judgement states he's way outside the realm of rehabilitation. It's a damned shame your first case has turned out to be such a nasty one."
As the elevator descended, adrenaline was about to fill Haruka. She always enjoyed the thrill of a good chase.
Masaoka spoke to Ruka, "We better wrap this thing up before the hostage passes the point of no return." Haruka nodded firmly, "That won't be the case."
"You don't mean Psycho-Hazard, do you?", Tsunemori quizzed.
Masaoka nodded and spoke with the rookie, "I do. It's a sad fact Crime Coefficients can be contagious. Young people these days are rarely exposed to severe stress so they're likely to break down when confronted with violent actions."
"Yeah, I actually wrote a thesis paper on the subject."
"Well let me be the first to tell you it could happen to any one of us. Enforcers for example. You wanna know the reason we became Enforcers in the fi- "
The doors opened. Criminal insight. Carrying the hostage.
Ruka was the first to sprint into action, gripping her dominator which chasing the target. Hoping the victim was alright.
Okura feebly carried the victim towards the staircase in front of him. The dominator was raised and prepared to act. Unknown to Okura, Ruka will not use her dominator on him. It's against her morals. However, she would stop him without a dominator if necessary.
Tsunemori and Masaoka caught up with Ruka and stood on either side of her, aiming their dominators in the direction of the stairs.
"Freeze."
Okura was frantic and out of options, "Stay back! Drop your guns or she dies!"
Following the man's orders, the inspectors and enforcer lowered their weapons to the ground. One dominator was slid to raised the dominator to kill the inspectors and enforcer.
"Step back! "Die!"
Of course, it didn't work for him.
"Why!?"
"You have my deepest sympathies. " Kogami eliminated the threat.
One more live lost
"This is Hound 3. Enforcement complete."
"Using an old man, a rookie and a young woman as a decoy. You've got a pair of cold stainless steel balls. Don't you, Ko?"
"Whatever it takes to earn the paycheck, pops."
Tsunemori headed to the victim to comfort her, "It's okay, we're with the Public Safety Bureau. I promise, you're safe now. Just calm down. Ma'am, we're here to rescue you, that's all!"
The poor woman would be scarred for life from being taken hostage, "No. You can't do this to me. Please don't."
Masaoka aimed his weapon at the woman.
"Mr. Masaoka?"
"Listen to me now. You need to check her stats on your gun. Well, nothin' we can do about it."
"Leave her alone!" Tsunemori pounced at Masaoka and clutched him to prevent him from striking the hostage with the Dominator.
"What're you doing?", the old man attempted to shake her off.
We're supposed to be protecting her!", Tsunemori screamed.
"What the hell do you think the Paralyzer is for? We'll knock her out and take her to get help!"
"She's frightened and confused, you don't have to use the Dominator on her!" Tsunemori was adamant about keeping the victim out of harm's way of the dominator
"You know the Dominators are connected straight to Sybil. The city's system itself has determined this woman is a threat to society! Think about what that means!"
"And you're just perfectly fine with shooting an innocent woman?! I refuse to accept that's right!"
While the argument was taking place, Kogami managed to sneak away unnoticed by all except Haruka. Knowing Kogami was heading towards the hostage, she alerts her partner and Masaoka to follow him.
"Move your asses!"
-Once they reach the warehouse- weaving in and out of the shipping containers- where the hostage had escaped to, Akane races forward to catch Kogami. Masaoka and Haruka held back to watch the rookie in action. Haruka was wanting to test her skills and prepare Tsunemori. Allowing Tsunemori to handle Kogami would help the new Inspector gain some experience. However, making the wrong move would place Akane under the watchful eye of Chief Kasei, which would bring trouble for both female inspectors.
The hostage had been backed into a corner, had surrounded herself in fuel and held a lighter. She held it high in the air, showing Kogami she was willing to let it go. It was obvious that she was frightened as she squealed as Kogami aimed the gun at her as he prepared to take enforcement action. It could also be seen on her face. However, he was interrupted by Akane.
"Kogami, wait! Please, you can't do this! Please stop. She's the victim here and we can't..."
As Kogami still aimed the gun, he rotated slightly to have Tsunemori in his eyesight. Masaoka stepped forward to intervene. Haruka quickly place her arm in front of the old man, preventing him from helping Tsunemori. She wanted Tsunemori to handle. "Don't intervene, Masa. She needs to make her own decisions." the young inspector spoke in a whispered voice as to not draw attention to herself and Masaoka.
"Please stop. " Tsunemori begged.
Kogami turned around to eliminate the hostage. Tsunemori took action.
"I SAID STOP!"
She aimed the Dominator at Kogami and pulled the trigger. Tsunemori has managed to hit Kogami in the back, causing Kogami to collapse to the ground, paralyzing the enforcer.
The inspector collapsed to the floor from the realisation of her actions. The hostage was still frantically waving her lighter around. She spoke in a light tone to the victim. "That's enough now. You've gotta put the lighter down. Cause if you don't…then I can't stop this gun from killing you. Please, I only want help you. Throw the lighter down and everything will be fine."
The words of Tsunemori cause the victim to drop the lighter down as she proceeds to calm her nerves. A dominator had been activated, paralysing the young woman as she gracefully fell. The source of the dominator was Inspector Ginoza, of course, as he acted to apprehend the victim. Ginoza and his team could be seen on top of the containers, pointing their dominators in the direction of the hostage.
Ginoza made his anger clear in the words he spoke. "Inspector Tsunemori. I want a through explanation of your actions. I expect a detailed report first thing in the morning."
Masaoka sighed, "Good grief. Where the hell do they find these rookies? Talk about a piece of work."
Ruka's face fell solemnly. "Rookie mistake"