Orbit of New Berlin
New Berlin System

To say that that things could only get more interesting from here on out was an understatement in Aela's eyes. For one thing, she had been approached by elements of the Rhineland rebels and told one version of events, and she also managed to get another version from the Chancellor himself.

The rebels say they want change. They want the promises made by their government to be acted on, not blatantly thrown away. They want Rhineland to be a strong nation once more. They wanted to be treated in a way appropriate to sentients. Something they feel the government failed them on.

The Chancellor on the other hand, wants the same thing, a strong nation. He just did whatever he thought was necessary to prevent the nation from falling into a crippling debt. As it was, the nation was barely kept afloat. Aela shuddered at imagining what the original loan terms were.

Both sides had their points. It was a complicated situation, and one that she didn't have the experience to properly gauge for the Matriarchs. So she could only take note of it in her report on Rhineland, as they prepared to leave for Kusari space.

Still, there was one thing she noticed, as they prepared to dock with the Trade Lane. Bonn station, according to the system map Perkins gave her, was a station that wasn't owned by a Rhineland company. In fact… it was owned by a Liberty company, Interspace Commerce.

Liberty seemed to have some presence in many systems. First the obvious SynthPaste presence on Stuttgart, then Bonn station, then the passed-by Waterloo station back in Bretonia.

"Perkins," Aela asked. "Just how powerful is Liberty? I mean, I've seen some of their presence in Bretonia, and here in Rhineland. I imagine they'll also have stations in Kusari. Just…" here she waved her hands a bit, grasping for the appropriate word in this situation, "how influential are they?"

Perkin was silent for awhile as he steadily docked with the Trade Lane towards the Frankfurt jump gate. "Liberty's been the most powerful House in Sirius for the past 700 years, Aela." Perkins said, his voice still in what Aela was starting to think of his trademark 'cool pilot' voice. "They've always had the best guns, ships, and tech. They've had the biggest and most powerful corporations too. Only Rhineland at it's peak ever came close to taking Liberty's top spot. They hold the company that has the secrets to building a Jump Gate, and the guns to make sure it stays there. Their companies insure our cargo, and finance nearly all our major projects. They even have a partial say in our crime enforcement, what with the Bounty Hunter's Guild being a institution from Liberty."

"In summary, the Liberty Yanks have a great deal of influence of what happens in the colonies. When they really want to push for something, they'll let you know. They are the biggest fish in the pond, and they are always around to remind us of it." he finished matter-of-factly as they exited the Trade Lane.

"Though," he continued casually, as they lined up for the Jump Gate, "I get the feeling that won't really be true for long. Chancellor Reinhardt was right. You Asari are going to change things up wildly here in the Sirius sector, not to mention the other aliens. You're basically making the playing field even. I don't think they can muscle in many of their… traditional advantages for long."

Aela thought that worked both ways. Asari traditionally culturally dominated the Galaxy, now… now who knew what the future would hold? Would Liberty take over what the Asari had for millennia? Or would her people manage to find a way around the inevitable change? Whatever happened, she hoped that things could be solved with but a few words.

Juneau Shipyards
Zone 21 (Alaska System)

Everyone who lived in the Sirius sector knew that among the Houses, it was Liberty that was at the very top of the food chain. They had the best planets, tech, ships, and guns. Oh they were very friendly guys, always willing to party with you, but they were also very willing to fleece you where possible. People tended to let it slide though, because where there were Liberty tourists and companies, credits could be made. Why, even their "civilian" line of ships for export were welcomed by every house company due to their reliability and effectiveness. Hawks and Falcons, with their distinctively avian frame and extreme customizability, could be seen in nearly every corner of the Sirius sector.

It was here though, in the heart of Zone 21, that Liberty kept nearly all of its secrets to success. Few knew what happened behind the minefield and the permanent battleship blockade of that system, and nearly every person in the Sirius Sector had at least wondered what was in there. Dangerously advanced technology? A massive fleet? A prison? No one really knew, and everyone who had tried to enter, never came back. Hence, it's… special place in the minds of Sirius.

For President Richard Wallace though, the secrets of Zone 21 were an open book. In the deepest corners of Zone 21, was a top secret, off Aegira's books Jump Gate that led to a system few knew about, the Alaska system. Here lay the facilities that Liberty used to ensure that they remain the most powerful House in Sirius, the finest Shipyard in the Sirius sector bar none, and a prison that none could escape, Prison station Mitchell

Right now, President Wallace was looking out of his private lounge of the Juneau Shipyards, and he was looking at what he personally hoped would be the weapon of last resort of Liberty. A battleship that could theoretically take on just about any other ship of equal tonnage in its initial volley.

"She's beautiful isn't she Mr. President?" asked Dr. Robin Vickers, project manager for the Ra program, formerly one of the top scientists of Aegeria in the Valhalla Project's archive.

"That she is Dr. Vickers," President Wallace replied.

She had yet to be named, but this battleship's construction was being sped up significantly. Theoretically, this battleship could cloak completely, defeating any known sensor array within Sirius. She could also easily power three other ships her size.

"I'm a little worried though, M. President," Robin replied. "It's just that, while the cloaking devices are a great tactical advantage, and have been tested on smaller freighters, we've never tested it on something as large as the prototype, sir."

"I know, Dr. Vickers," President Wallace replied. "But while the CEOs of The Big Three assure me that they can readily adapt to anything the aliens bring, I'd like a little… insurance."

"I understand sir," she replied, her voice in a tone she reserved for politicians. "But at the speed you're making us go… I fear we may have ourselves an accident that could cost us the prototype."

"Then slow down a

bit." Wallace replied, as he watched the ship under construction. "After all, it wouldn't do to lose the prototype. I still want you to advance construction at fast as possible. Tell me who and what you need, and we'll get it for you."

"Thank you, Mr. President," Vickers replied, gratefully. For a moment, the both of them watched silently, seeing workers crawl over the prototype like tiny ants over a great whale.

"I've also been thinking…" Wallace said after a while, breaking the silence.

"Sir?" Vickers replied, her voice now tinged with worry.

"I want Project Starjumper started again, and I want you to head it." Wallace replied, his voice full of confidence.

"Sir!" Vickers replied shocked. "But… that project caused the great Dark Matter storms of 521! The entire Texas system was devastated, and has in fact yet to recover from it!"

"I know, and I frankly don't care Miss Vickers. The Big Three may say one thing, but the reality may be another. The LSF thinks it's an all new ballgame, with the aliens bringing in who knows what to Sirius. Some think that we can't feasibly maintain our position as top dog of Sirius. I'd like to prove them wrong. Fortune favours the bold Dr Vickers, and no one is bolder than us. Project Starjumper, if I've read what President Lee left right, could allow us to jump from one end of the galaxy to the other." he said, his voice rising, trying to sway Vickers to his side. "We do this right, then we cement Liberty's position in the open Galaxy. We can make Liberty the center of the galaxy!"

Dr. Vickers could only concede that to the President. It wasn't as if she had much of a choice in the matter. The Valhalla Project archives certainly spoke of Hypergates that could do huge jumps, but still… It wasn't something that was going to be finished anytime soon.

President Wallace meanwhile, could only smile at the thought of making Liberty the literal hub of the galaxy, where everyone would go to trade, and do business.

Business on Liberty's terms. If all went to plan, Liberty could buy the rest of the Galaxy.

Outside the Frankfurt Jump Gate
Sigma 13 system

When Aela and Perkins entered the Sigma 13 system, she was welcomed by the great blue expanse of the Crow Nebula. She and Perkins were deep in a great azure cloud. If she didn't know better, she would've thought that she and Perkins had somehow fallen beneath the seas of Thessia. Occasionally, a brief flash of lightning could be seen, illuminating the entire nebula and allowing her to make out the trade lane clearly. Light seemed to dance and flow around the nebula, as Perkins started to move the ship.

"It's beautiful," Aela sighed breathily. It was indeed, one of the things she would imagine tourists visiting the Sirius systems for, simply for some of the views she had encountered here.

"The Crow Nebula, richest source of H-Fuel in Sirius," Perkins pointed out casually, the smirk in his face practically being voiced out, as he nursed the Crusader towards the Trade Lane. "She's a right beaut, but she holds lots of danger too. I hear that there are huge pockets of oxygen within the cloud, if you aren't careful you could detonate them and promptly blow yourself up."

Aela could only nod in affirmation, and watch the great blue expanse. It really felt as if she was underwater. Really the nebula was as blue as her own skin. She had never even heard of anything like it back in Citadel Space, let alone actually seen it. She idly wondered how much a tourist would pay to visit this place when she suddenly caught a glimpse of a massive shadow briefly revealed by some lightning in the distance.

"What was-" and she gasped as the nebula cleared up a bit to give her a glimpse of what she was looking at.

"These are some of the remnants of Imperial Rhineland's Navy," Perkins calmly explained, as they exited the Trade Lane, and Aela got a clearer view of the debris field. Massive ships, similar to the Westfalen, lay broken apart, strewn over many thousands of kilometres. She could count at the very least four distinct hulls, scattered around, surrounded by smaller, but equally impressive wrecks. What she imagined to be cruiser and frigate wrecks, much smaller than the battleships, surrounded them, and occasionally she could catch a speck of what she imagined to be an ancestor of the Valkyrie Heavy Fighters. Another flash of lightning, and she could see that in the distance, were even more massive shadows, likely the rest of the fleet.

"This was where the GMG crippled Rhineland, at what they call the Battle of the Yanagi Nebula. The GMG managed to destroy a fleet several times their size, using both their knowledge of the territory and techniques that they pioneered here in the fields. All using only at best some civilian market ships sold by Liberty to all." Perkins finished, admiration clear in his voice.

Aela could only stare in both horror and awe at the wrecks of the Rhineland Imperial Navy. Such a great loss of life in mere hours, what she imagined to be the product of dozens of years of hard work in simply assembling the fleet, the very latest in technology, destroyed in mere hours. One could only be amazed by the skill and tenacity demonstrated by these GMG pilots, but a part of her was also very scared now for the Citadel should war break out.

These people had managed to take down a presumably numerically superior force. If the Citadel was to engage in hostilities against these humans, she imagined that numbers wouldn't be of much help in a fight. It would be like the Krogan Rebellions in reverse.

She'd rather not imagine who would be the winner in that war. If there were to be any that is.

"ALG and the Junkers have only recently started to clear the ruins though." Perkins explained as they exited the Trade Lane at Helgoland station. "It used to be too dangerous, what with the oxygen pocket that it was deep in. With the pocket having recently drifted away, salvagers just need to be careful not to drift near the more irradiated areas. I hear it'll cook you alive if you stay too long there."

"Radiation pockets?" Aela asked, a little shock in her voice. "Did the GMG manage to get some nuclear weapons?" If miners could get nuclear weapons easily, then who could say what the effects would be like?

"While nukes are a devastating terrorist's weapon, they simply don't have the punch to deal with proper ship armor," Perkins said as he nudged the ship towards the Trade Lane to the Gas Miner Naha."More like a side effect of leaving those ship reactors leak for near on a century now." he replied merrily, clearly trying to assuage her fears. "Really, nuclear weapons these days are a terrorist's weapon. They leave area uninhabitable and unusable, so why use them?"

That helped her calm down a bit. Humans had the good sense to limit their nuclear weapon usage. Soon enough, the remains of the Imperial Rhineland Navy disappeared once more into the Crow Nebula, as she edged ever closer towards Kusari space. She couldn't silence the small part of her that held all her doubts ever since she was a young Maiden. It was convinced that the ship graveyard was a sign of troubling times ahead.

In Orbit of New Tokyo
New Tokyo system

After their flyby through the Sigma 13 system, Aela couldn't help but start to think of the many possible… problems that could come up soon.

She was still very early in her Matron stage at 320. She would almost certainly live long enough to see the effects of the Humans on the galaxy. They were bringing in new technology and were going to open up greater parts of the galaxy to exploration. With their Jump Gate technology, they could help set up entire hubs from which exploration ships could make port and explore. It was entirely possible that she would live to see a good 10% of the galaxy explored!

"That is, if I did live through it," she spoke out loud as she stared into the great blue marble that was New Tokyo.

"What was that?" Perkins asked, as he surprisingly directed the ship not toward a docking ring, but one of the larger stations orbiting New Tokyo.

"Nothing," Aela said as she waved him off. "Just thinking out loud. Though, why are we headed towards that station and not New Tokyo?" she asked.

"That's because we're foreigners, that is," Perkins replied. "While the most polite bunch of people I know of in the Sirius sector, their government really has a thing against foreigners. Dunno why, " he said, finishing the last response with a shrug.

"That's why we've gotta head to Roppongi station first. That's where nearly all the expats still live, despite them being allowed to live on New Tokyo now. Gotta stay there while they process the necessary procedure for us to see their Shogun. " he said as he made his approach.

That brought up some interesting implications to what sort of people she would be meeting. Could she be meeting a people very much like the Batarians? She rather hoped that wouldn't be the case. One rather paranoid totalitarian government gave enough headaches to the Citadel as is. Another would be… bad.

"This is Hotel four dash zero. Requesting permission to dock." Perkins said calmly and professionally into his comms.

"Roger that. Your request to dock has been granted. Please proceed to Dock One." the dock manager replied, "Please honor us with a visit to the bar. Much of the station wishes to meet you and Miss D'Avo."

"We would be honored to," replied Perkin, and then switched off his comms. "Looks like the expats are eager to meet you. How do you feel about another bar?" Perkins jibed lightly.

Honestly, it shouldn't be bad at all. She just needed to remember to control herself.

Little Liberty Bar
Roppongi Station

Aela arrived to a little slice of the Citadel. While certainly no Eternity, this bar would not have looked out of place in the Citadel, with a comparatively calm and relaxed attitude. A brilliant neon sign illuminated the entrance to the bar, and once she was inside, it gave off a more relaxed, 'I'm just here to drink' feel.

In other words, something she really was looking forward to. She did not want a repeat of New Berlin so soon after her visit there.

"I see you've arrived Miss D'Avo." said the bartender as she and Perkins made their way to the bar. "Courtesy of some of the expats here, drink are free for you two. Would you like something to eat as well?"

"I'll have some chips please, and do you have some of those onion rings?" Perkins eagerly inquired.

"We do." the bartender replied.

"Great, we'll take two, and two pints of beer." Perkins responded.

"Okay then." the bartender said, as he typed something into his console. "You two can take that corner booth there. Enjoy your stay here in Roppongi."

"Will do mate." Perkins said as he brought Aela to said corner.

As they both sat down, Aela couldn't help but comment, "This is nice."

"How so?" Perkin said as he raised his eyebrow.

"Well… it's not like New Berlin," Aela said a little hesitantly, and she could feel the slight blush on her face as well.

Perkins gave a light laugh at that. "Don't worry too much about it. While you're likely to see plenty of those in New Berlin, New London and Liberty, here in Kusari, they're pretty big on keeping things… down. Being loud and boisterous and energetic in public isn't doesn't exactly make the oldies. Makes you look uncultured, according to their traditions, at least if I got them right." he said neutrally. "Main reason why this station gets so much traffic in fact, is that the few clubs here, which are jam packed right now, are real popular with the Kusari kids."

A culture that seemed to place emphasis on keeping themselves calm and collected? So much so that the youth have to go outside their homelands to… let go? That was starting to sound a little too much like the Batarians for comfort.

She was about to comment on this when she noticed Perkins go from his calm and relaxed look to what she had dubbed the 'I'm piloting this ship right now' alert look.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Some shifty looking Kusari blokes with some ink on them just walked in." Perkins quietly replied. "I think they might be Hogosha. Stay calm, and move beside me. I've got my service pistol handy right now."

Aela simply nodded at his order, and slowly moved beside him, and readied herself for a fight. As an archaeologist, she had often had to work in the Terminus systems, and had fended off more than one Pirate or animal attack. She may not have a weapon handy, but she could defend herself just as well with her biotics. When he turned she got a good look at them. They were all wearing black leather jackets and pants, giving them a rather shady look. The fact that a few of them had tattoos of some reptile on their faces as well, only helped give the image that these men were trouble.

"Just pretend like you don't notice them, and act casual." Perkins whispered.

Aela just smiled and nodded as the serving lady came and brought her drink and food. Whoever these… Hogosha are, they were likely trouble.

Still, the beer was good, and the… chips and onion rings quite pleasant, especially with the beer they were served with. She and Perkins chatted a bit, gradually finding out more about Kusari. Two major corporations were it's lifeblood, Kishiro Technologies and Samura Heavy Industries. Both of these… keiretsu corporations handle everything, from minerals extraction and farming, to construction and even delivery. Nearly everyone in Kusari worked for them in some manner, and in sheer weight of employees and operations, were the largest corporations in the Sirius sector, though perhaps not the most influential. A Shogun ruled over all of Kusari too, an analogue to a King according to Perkins.

Still, even with the small chat with Perkins, about Kusari, she couldn't help but notice the… Hogosha giving her dark looks. They were muttering a lot, while they nursed their own drinks, and some looked like they were fingering something under their jackets.

Suddenly, one of them stood up and rapidly approached them.

Aela cursed silently, and readied herself to launch a biotic attack if necessary.

"You!" shouted the Hogosha, in a rather thick accent. "It was enough that we had to deal with Liberty and all the other Houses, but now you gaijin," he said as he pointed at Aela, "you'll only bring more trouble to us!"

Aela wasn't really sure how to respond to that. Fact was, chances are the Citadel's arrival will likely disrupt whatever status quo was here in Kusari.

"We don't want no trouble now." said Perkins calmly and cooly. "We just want to finish our drinks here while we wait for clearance to land on New Tokyo."

"Why should we let you dogs" he said the last bit as he spat on the floor, "Set foot on the homeland?"

"Because we will meet your Shogun," Aela replied.

The man's eyes widened, "You dare!" he spat, and quickly grabbed a gun from his jacket and pointed it at her.

"I should shoot you now gaijin! To have you in the august presence of our Shogun… I may be Hogosha, but I am Kusari first and foremost!" he roared.

Aela had silently put up a barrier around her, and she didn't think anyone noticed. She really really hoped that gun wasn't like their ships and used bullets.

"Please si-sirs nnnot here..." begged the bartender.

"Silence!" shouted the other Hogosha at him. "Shoot her now Hiroshi! The woman not only breaks her place, but will only corrupt our nation further. Just end it!"

The Hogosha with the gun, Hiroshi, simply narrowed his eyes, and fired.

Everyone was quite surprised to see her very much alive and well after the gun roared. Aela used that distraction to toss a table at them with her biotics, and quickly grabbed Perkins and ran while the Hogosha were still freeing themselves from the table.

"What the bloody hell was that!?" shouted Perkins as they ran towards the dock.

"Biotics!" she shouted as they turned a corner "Ability to create minor gravitational anomalies basically! Can stop projectiles moving at certain speeds. Really really glad they didn't have energy weapons!"

"Jaysus Christ! Be glad they were punks!" he said as the Hogosha started to catch up and started shooting. "If they had one of the newer guns from Liberty, we'd be dead! As is, they're using them old hand cannons, still use bullets!" he shouted as they turned a corner into a pet shop.

They were surrounded by dozens of fish of all sorts of colours in different tanks. Aela could definitely see them in the future on board the Citadel, some of them were quite interesting shades of colours. As for why this was running through her head as they were looking for refuge, she honestly had no idea.

"What's going on?!" shouted the clerk at the counter as they rushed in.

"Hogosha! Call the bobbies and is there a backdoor?" Perkins asked the clerk a little desperately.

The clerks eyes widened and quickly pressed a button by his console. "They'll be here soon, but I'm sorry, this is a dead end. Now I've got go!" he said as he ran past them. "Good luck!" they could hear faintly as the door closed.

Perkins quickly went towards the counter, the only viable source of cover in the entire shop.

"We've just got to hold out here till the Police come," he said, trying to reassure her. "Do you have any other tricks that could come in handy?"

Aela simply nodded. "I think I have something for them." While he was certainly capable of doing a warp, that would only get rid of one person. She had something special for these thugs.

Soon they could hear the sounds of boots running, and shouting in an another language. Then, Hiroshi shouted again, " Come out gaijin," he said, voice full of venom. "And we'll make your deaths quick!"

"Does that mean that you're afraid of us, sirs?" retorted Perkins.

"We outnumber you five to one now, fool!" roared Hiroshi.

"Ah, it's a fair fight then for you twats," Perkins somehow replied mirthfully, a little grin on his face.

"Die then!" Hiroshi replied as he tossed something through the door.

"Grenade!" shouted Perkin, and Aela quickly used her biotics to toss back out.

Shouts of surprise came from the corridor as the grenade exploded, causing even Aela and Perkin's ears to ring.

After a few moments of ringing in her ears, she could hear streams of what were presumably curses coming from the corridor.

"Your… sorceries won't keep us out forever gaijin!" roared Hiroshi. "For the Homeland and the Shogun brothers! BANZAI!" he shouted as the Hogosha rushed through the door.

Aela saw her opening, and using every ounce of skill, she put a singularity into where the door was, dragging all the Hogosha there as they all flailed and attempted to get a footing as they floated helplessly.

It was easy for Perkins to methodically kill each of them with a few clean shot to their chests.

Panting as he holstered his pistol, Perkins could only idly comment "That was easier than I thought."

Honestly, Aela wasn't sure whether she should thank him for getting rid of the thugs, or slap him for his comment, as she faintly heard the faint sounds of sirens in the distance.

Roppongi Station, Police station 3
New Tokyo System

It was comforting for Aela to know that Humans had a Police force, and that they took shootouts very seriously.

What wasn't comforting was the fact that she and Perkins were now detained ' for her own safety' while the Kusari Police force prepared to take their statements as to what happened.

It looked like they really took the for her own security bit seriously too, though not without comforts. This particular waiting area had a comfortable bed, a servant to bring her meals, and an excellent vid screen with access to a wide variety of shows. It even had it's own separate bathroom. In fact, if it weren't for the eight guards armed with some menacing looking rifles outside her door, she would've been convinced that she was in a luxurious hotel.

Fact of the matter though was that as the first alien visitor to Sirius space, and therefore de-facto emissary of the Citadel, Aela knew being attacked on their territory severely embarrassed the Kusari. She may not be an actual diplomat, but it didn't take much for one to put those pieces together.

Culturally though… if these Hogosha felt that she was… whatever a gaijin was, then how would the average citizen react to others? It was fortunate that Asari looked nominally like Humans, but what of the Turians and Salarians? Or even the more exotic aliens like the Hanar and Elcor? Would they react even more violently to these people? She didn't know, and she dearly hoped that they would take it a lot better. Her main hope came in the form of the youth of Kusari. From what she heard, the young men and women of Kusari loved foreign products and culture. Maybe they would be more amicable to her people?

Still, right now all she was waiting for was her meal. She had asked for something definitively Kusari, but light. She did not want to feel full after what she presumed would be a meal with their Shogun, if her meeting with King Alexander was anything to go by.

At the knock on the door, Aela figured that was her own food, and loudly said "Please do come in."

In entered her servant. Unlike the Bretonnians and Rhinelanders she met, she noticed the Kusari all tended to be of a more… yellowish complexion than the pale or pink ones of the Bretonnians and Rhinelanders. They also tended to have slanted eyes and dark hair and eye colours. Perhaps some sort of evolution with dealing with their original climates on the homeworld?

"Greetings honored D'Avo-san," said the servant, a young woman dressed in elaborate robes. "I bring you your meal as requested. This does not remove the stain of dishonor those thugs brought unto Kusari, but I hope that it will at least begin the healing process."

"It is no problem," Aela replied. "I understand that they were some known criminals, and since no harm was done, it is easily forgiven."

"You may have forgiven us, D'Avo-san, but their actions have stained the honor of all Kusari. And we never forget these things." she said gravely.

Clearly she would make no progress on getting her to beg forgiveness, so she instead turned to the topic of food. Taking a good look at the tray placed on the table in front of her, Aela noted that it was a very clean, simple looking array of foods. Somehow though, each of the dishes that were arrayed before her seemed to have a feeling of being crafted, carefully and skillfully made before being put to use. Brightly coloured pieces of meat on top of what looked like lumps of a grain of some sort, held together by some green thing, all laid down under on one porcelain plate. There were also some pieces of meat artistically laid another plate, with no grains under it this time. A small porcelain saucer was filled with some sort of black liquid, and beside it was a small lump of some sort of green paste. Yet here she saw no familiar utensils. She saw only two elegant looking sticks of what looked like ivory.

"What is this?" she asked, careful to sound curious and not offended.

"Sushi D'Avo-san." the servant replied, clearly still trying her best to get her somehow remove the dishonor" Fresh fish, gathered from the waters of New Tokyo, from the Shogun's own fisheries. Together with the fine seaweed and the best rice Samura has to offer the Sirius sector, that is sushi. Sashimi as well, for a purer, fresher taste of the sea. To eat it, take a piece with the chopsticks," and here she pointed at the ivory sticks, "and dip it lightly, meat side down into the soy sauce. Apply some Wasabi, the green paste to it, then eat. The same applies to the sashimi."

Aela stared at the two sticks. She… wasn't quite sure how those to eat with those two sticks. Was she supposed to spear the Sushi? But the sticks were blunt…

"Forgive me D'Avo-san," the servant said, her voice filled with sadness of sorts. " I have forgotten that you would not know how to make use of the chopsticks. Please, allow me to demonstrate"

She then deftly grabbed the pair of sticks, and slowly and carefully in one hand, demonstrated the motions to use said sticks. Ingenious really, as the sticks essentially acted as a pair of tweezers.

Having seen the motions, Aela thanked the servant and then tried copying them. After a few, initial clumsy tries, she managed to get one piece of sushi into her chopstick. Proudly, she showed the servant, who simply smiled. She then thanked her, after which the servant simply continued to smile, bowed deeply, then left the room.

Now alone in the room once more, she took her first 'conquest' with chopsticks, and carefully followed the instructions of the servant, lightly adding some wasabi onto the piece, then dipping it into the sauce. Careful to keep it in the grip of her chopsticks, she slowly brought the piece into her mouth, determined to get this right. She was surprised to find this particular piece delicious, a slightly slick, but not unpleasant feeling as the slight saltiness hit her palette. A strong wave of heat soon hit her, but it wasn't altogether unpleasant. It somehow brought together all the flavours and sensations she was feeling much better.

She was about to get another piece when she noticed something sticking out underneath the plate. It looked like a little corner of paper. She carefully lifted up the plate to find a small envelope. Flipping it over, and finding no markings, she carefully opened it to find a letter.

Honored Aela D'Avo

Know that the Hogosha have shamed all of Kusari, both the Shogun and his enemies.
We welcome you as an honored guest into Kusari, and we hope that your own people can help us. Know that Kyoto and Ainu is watching and waiting.

She honestly wasn't sure what to make of the letter. Probably a discrete message from one of the factions within Kusari she guessed, though it looked like it was reflecting the feeling of all of Kusari. Whoever these… Kyoto and Ainu were, they are likely to be very mad at the Hogosha now.

"Well good riddance to trash," she thought out loud as she began to start finishing her meal. The galaxy could always do with less criminals. These Kyoto and Ainu, obviously citizens who wish to remain anonymous, are likely going to implement their own brand of justice.

Normally, she would be against that, but for all the trouble the Hogosha put her through, she was willing let this happen. Good to know that some Kusari had a very clear idea on what's right and wrong.