DCA Yukikaze

Benjamin, Benjamin District

October 20th, 3056

Gionshōja no kane no koe, Shogyōmujō no hibiki ari. Sarasōju no hana no iro, Jōshahissui no kotowari wo arawasu. Ogoreru mono mo hisashikarazu, tada haru no yo no yume no gotoshi. Takeki mono mo tsui ni wa horobin(u), hitoeni kaze no mae no chiri ni onaji.

The sound of the Gion Shōja bells echoes the impermanence of all things; the color of the sāla flowers reveals the truth that the prosperous must decline. The proud do not endure, they are like a dream on a spring night; the mighty fall at last, they are as dust before the wind. (translation)

Heike Monogatari (written sometime 1200-1330) Chapter 1.1

The crew member who had let Omi and Shin on board the Buccaneer-class cargo-hauler was still pale faced and shooting glances at them as he escorted them to the VIP cabins reserved for an ivory merchant and her aide. He could hardly be blamed, since Shin presented quite a piratical appearance with two pistols and a dagger stuffed through his belt sash along with a very bloody radio headset that was squawking commands periodically. The reason for the small arsenal was that he needed his hands free to help support Omi, who was being half-carried and half supported by him, with her one good hand still holding a bloody katana.

"Ahh, honored guests, here are your cabins. I shall notify the ship's doctor-"

"Iie." The whiplash command cut through the babble of the crewmember like a knife as Omi turned her head to face him, with a furious stare. "Notify the captain that we depart immediately for Proserpina. A bonus of triple the normal hiring costs for arrival ahead of schedule. Patch us in to news from the station, and once we are undocked and maneuvering for the Jumpship, then the doctor can see myinjuries. Yodama-san?"

"Hai." The ex-Yakuza reached into his belt pouch and withdrew a stack of 50 C-Bill notes. "A downpayment. Our business is quite urgent."

Shaken, the crew member took the bills, bowed, and departed at a run for the bridge. As the door slammed closed, Omi shook in the grasp of some strong emotion, then placed the blade of her katana on her left shoulder, drawing a hiss of pain as it rested on the bloodstained cloth over her injuries. "I need a clean cloth, Yodama-san."

Shin nodded and pulled out a traveling towel from the footlocker in the cabin which he carefully laid on her shoulder so that she could perform the chiburui maneuver to ritually clean her katana before resheathing it. She wiped the sword twice on her shoulder in slow, formal motions, then breathed in sharply suddenly slashing in arc across her body from left shoulder to right hip before reversing and resheathing her blade with a huff of exhaled air. That seemed to deflate her and she visibly returned to herself from whatever place her spirit had been in during the attack.

"Minoru... Minoru must be warned." Omi dug one-handed in her belt pouch for her phone then frowned at the lack of signal. "Shimatta, we will have to use the ship's communications to contact Minoru."

Shin nodded and began to punch commands into the terminal of the passenger cabin as the maneuvering engine began to growl in the background. A minute later, he nodded in satisfaction at the menu presented as the holoscreen flickered to life. "Now to punch in your brother's num-"

The screen suddenly displayed a red priority override command in katakana along with a rotating Combine seal, then sharpened into a image of carnage. The station traffic control center in the broadcast had a dozen clearly wounded men in it, along with a row of bodies in the corner. One, in a Tech's coveralls, gave a thumbs up sign to someone offscreen with his arm that was not in an improvised, blood-soaked sling that had started life as a DCMS dress uniform jacket. The Tech then bowed and headed to where other survivors were barricading a fire-scorched and damaged hatch with furniture as some stood guard with small arms and one lifted a missile launcher.

Minoru stepped into view of the camera slowly. Bloody bandages covered his chest and abdomen in the absence of his uniform jacket, and one eye was covered by a blood-soaked hachimaki headband that was leaking crimson tears. Behind him, Isoroku limped with the aid of another of the walking wounded, who helped seat him in one of the chairs that were not being cannibalized to barricade the hatch. Gunfire sounded behind them as Minoru stared into the screen with his one good eye, pinning the viewers like a snake would pin a field mouse.

"People of the Combine! Dark days are upon us! Luthien has fallen to the Smoke Jaguars with the aid of traitors among us. Not content with aiding the barbarian degenerate remnants of Kerensky's army, the Black Dragon Society has dishonorably struck our samurai in the back as they rallied to get vengeance for our dead! My children..." Minoru's voice softened as he touched the blood streaming down his cheek. "The Dragon weeps for your pain and counsels you to faith. While I, my uncle Tai-shu Kurita Isoroku, and my remaining loyal samurai must make the same choice that our ancestors did at Shiroyama under the guidance of Saigō Takamori, you have your own duty!"

The firing behind him intensified as Minoru leaned forward to speak intently. "Keep the Dragon in your hearts. The Black Dragons will try to use the example of the Von Rohrs." Minoru's voice was full of hatred for the notorious bastard usurpers who had nearly ended the Kurita line in the twenty-fourth century as he spoke their reviled name. "They will lie and flatter you for their own dishonorable ends. Do not let them! Even now, my sister Keeper of House Honor Kurita Omiko-sama goes to bring us aid, and my cousin Kurita Miyoko-sama, daughter of my loyal Tai-shu is outside their grasp. Aid them! I repudiate them and show my defiance in the moment of the illusion of their victory! Hear now my final words, my children."

Minoru's face became calm as he unsheathed his wakazashi. "My whole life long, I've sharpened my sword./And now, face to face with death/I unsheathe it, and lo-/The blade is broken-/Alas!" With that Minoru grasped his wakazashi and plunged it into his belly, serenely smiling throughout his defiant seppuku and Omi's flowing tears.

Behind Minoru, Isoroku lifted Shiro Kurita's sword in both hands with a strength at odds with his visible wounds and pain. At Minoru's nod, the ancient steel flashed once. Isoroku then turned to one of his few remaining guards who was leveling a SRM launcher with the red bands of an Inferno missile at him as the first Black Dragon troops clambered over the barricade and Minoru's headless corpse slumped.

"Perform your duty, Kashira"

Fire and screams filled the screen then thetransmission faded to black.

Omi collapsed into Shin's arms, her tears flowing like a waterfall of pain and loss.