Smugglers – Book 12 Chapters 338-xxx
Wednesday 14/09/61, Location: 22.30336, 114.19264, Time 19:00
"We are closing on Hong Kong. Where are we heading, Kai?"
"Just checking, Marius.." Kai turned to face Spook, and gently shook her shoulder, rousing her from her doze. "Hey Spook – we're nearly back to Hong Kong. Where are we dropping you off?"
"Oh, sorry… I thought I said. Guess I was distracted. I messaged Grandfather Fan, and he said we were ok to land on his helipad – he wants to check on me and Li, and will get us home."
"Ok, that's great. Marius – to the helipad at the casino again, we're going to drop Spook and Li off there, and Grandfather Fan is going to get them home. And then I think to the South Island, and we'll go back to Chun's."
"Roger that."
Landing at the helipad was smooth and without incident, Marius swinging the aircraft around to ensure that the port side steps were closest to the entrance, shielding Spook and Li from the weather as much as possible. Aswon held the sleeping child carefully while Spook descended the steps, then passed him down carefully, the boy so tired he didn't even rouse as the gusts of wind tugged at his clothing. One smooth leap later, he too, was down on the decking, and walking Spook over to the doorway, ensuring she reached the security detail there without incident. A brief smile and a squeeze of the shoulder, and he left to jog back to the steps, climbing up and pulling the door shut even as Marius fed power to the engines and they started to lift off.
The journey down to the martial arts academy was a little over ten kilometres, though Marius flew around the island rather than over it to keep away from the drone traffic and high-rise apartments on the northern side of the island, extending their journey by another few minutes – but they were soon hovering over the clifftop area looking down on the ancient wooden structure. With deft mental impulses Marius lined them up on the rocky pad that Tads had created last time they were here and gently lowered the aircraft down into position, landing smoothly and then powering down his systems. Descending down the steep mountain path in the darkness wasn't a challenge for them – the entire team could see as well in starlight now as they could in the middle of the day, and soon they were tucked up inside the dining room with Chun, Vivian, his wife, and a whole mass of students and instructors, settling down for some food.
"Everyone – these are some very good friends of mine. Kai, Marius, Hunter, Tads, Aswon and Shimazu. Some of you may remember their visit from before, where they er… helped with the situation with Harley, and our little competition. For anyone new though, please treat them with the same respect you'd show me – all except this guy." He clapped his hands on Hunter's shoulder, who froze in position, his eyes swivelling to look at the man with confusion, his fork full of noodles halfway to his mouth. "This guy has signed up for a couple of weeks of REALLY intensive training, so this guy here you need to beat the shit out of until he can give it back as good as he takes it!"
A gust of laughter spread round the room, triggered by Chun's enormous grin, and several students cracked their knuckles of made mock threats in his direction – but even a casual look at their faces revealed that they weren't exactly serious.
"Thanks Chun – I only have one request though." Hunter swallowed his half-chewed mouthful of beef noodles, and then tilted his head one way, then the other. "Not the face, ok – I also moonlight as a fashion model, so I can't have bruises or ruin…" he made a gesture around his ugly, misshapen, uneven and slightly scary-looking visage, "all of this. So be careful, yeah?" Another wave of laughter spread out in response to his statement, along with some shouted threats that it would be cock-punching all the way at his request.
"So – what's your plan, then, guys?" Chun sat down at the table with them and lowered his voice to a much quieter level.
"Well, Hunter really would like to train with you, and learn some more advanced stuff. Otherwise, we'll be around the area, but we don't want to bother you or interfere with anything going on here." Kai gave Chun a smile, then gestured around the team. "Perhaps if Tads is willing, she can help out with the food situation again, and certainly make sure we're not a drain on your resources – and if you let me know when you have a price for Hunter's training course, I have a credstick waiting. Otherwise, we're just going to get some rooms nearby. Myself, Aswon, Shimazu and Tads are probably going to spend a couple of weeks doing some meditation, training and have some quiet time to contemplate on our own journeys through life. And Marius is flying his wife and kid out from back home to come over for a holiday, and he needs to get some work done on the aircraft. Not like last time – this is just routine maintenance."
"Oh – well, no problem. I mean, Hunter's training is on me – there's no charge for that, not after what you did for us. And we have rooms for you to stay in here – they might not be the nicest, but it's the least we can do." He turned his gaze towards Marius, before Kai could argue with him. "And just to let you know – Giovani's do some aircraft work now. I've seen people land their choppers there for maintenance and things now. I guess one top-end luxury engine looks just like another, or something."
"Oh? That is interesting. I will check them out in the morning."
"And you must bring your wife and kid over to meet us – we'd love to entertain them. If you're going shopping and sightseeing, Viv can give you some great places to look for."
"Thank you – I am sure Nadia would appreciate that."
"Right, I'll let the wife know you're staying and we'll sort some rooms out."
With that settled, the team relaxed a little, enjoying their meal and listening to the flow of conversation around them. The academy had a very multi-national clientele, with students coming from all over the world to train here and learn, and the variety of accents and styles gave them some clues as to their origins, but also kept the flow of conversation interesting and somewhat challenging at times.
After a good night's sleep in the hastily made-up rooms, Aswon spoke to them at breakfast – informing them that Spook had been back in touch late the previous night.
"She's moving house – wants to get away from the apartment that she was in when they were both taken. Understandable, really – bad memory to be sure, but also indicates that too many people knew her address as well. So Fan is sorting her out a new place, here on the South Island. On the northern strip, high up on the slopes. She's asked if we can help ward the place like we offered, before she fills it with her stuff."
"Of course. I think Hunter and Marius both have stuff to do today, but we can all head over?" Kai looked at the other two and got nods. "Yeah, we can spend the day sorting that out, help her move or whatever, then come back here to start our own training. A day or even two isn't going to matter to us much, is it?"
"Thanks, will let her know." Aswon was already tapping away at the tiny keypad, messaging his friend.
Shortly afterwards, Hunter headed off into the academy along with one of the instructors, Nicole, to begin his first training session, while the other five grabbed their kit and headed out along the beach, wandering along the yellow sand that was empty apart from a few dog walkers, ignoring the chill wind blowing in from the north. Heading into town, they split up at the bus-stop, letting Marius continue on to the Giovani workshops, while they settled down for the bus that would take them around to the north side of the island.
Making their way inland after the bus dropped them off an hour later, they started to climb the steep slopes of the island, coming across the Braema Hill Mansion complex nearly a kilometre inland – and already over a hundred and fifty metres above the coastal area. The huge complex of thirty-story condos was in a gated enclave – but Spook had left word for them to be allowed entry, and they soon made their way up to the new apartment. Spook and Li had not long arrived, and were exploring the new accommodation, planning where they would be putting things – though Li seemed more entranced with running from one side of the apartment to stare down at the pool there, and then to the other side to check on the sculpted parkland at the base of the terrace, trying to work out which was more exciting. The team found the view equally impressive – looking up at the five hundred metre high peak on the inland side, or out over the vast conurbation of Hong Kong on the northern side, and clear across the bay to the rest of the city. They could just about make out Grandfather Fan's casino, a little over two kilometres away on the other side of the bay – presumably still close enough for Spook to be in his area of influence.
The team got to work, pulling out their warding materials and the four of them worked around the perimeter of the condo, building up a powerful magical ward to keep astral intruders out. They'd done this enough times now that they settled into a groove quickly and could chatter away amongst themselves and with Spook as they worked, inscribing the marks, sigils and incantations that would form the magical barrier around the walls, doors and windows. Over the next few hours, the barrier coalesced in response to their efforts, building up a defensive barrier that would be hard to breach for any casual intruders – and would have proven difficult for even someone like Tads to overcome on her own.
Back in Shek O, Marius returned to Giovani's, spotting the new area that they had acquired next to their workshop. From a quick examination, it certainly looked big enough for him to land the Broadsword in, and the high fence and screen they'd erected around it would keep it out of view to everyone on the ground. The staff remembered him – unsurprising really given that he'd turned up previously with two large jet engines clogged with volcanic ash, carried on the sweating backs of twenty students – that kind of event tended to stick in the memory. He'd further solidified that by demonstrating his prowess with mechanical and electrical systems, and his knowledge about the engines themselves while the technicians had been stripping and cleaning them.
After a quick chat with the management, he arranged to bring the aircraft over and land it in the fortunately-empty service area, reassuring them that it was in much better condition that the last time they'd visited, and was just needing a regular maintenance overhaul. In chatting with the workers, he found that it was his previous visit that had opened them up to the concept of aviation engineering. They'd realised that though there were some key differences between a hyper-car engine and the power plants for executive choppers and tilt-wing aircraft, there was a very large degree of overlap between the technologies, techniques and skillsets used to service them – and the discretion and quality of service that Giovani prided themselves on were equally applicable to both. Moreover, the kind of people that could afford to drop two or three million on a car were also likely to be busy people that owned their own chopper or jet, giving them access to a ready-made market.
It was a small market to be sure – so they weren't always busy, and that thankfully meant that there was room for Marius to bring the Broadsword over, and get the maintenance performed. The price wasn't going to be low, of course – but based on his previous experience, if ever there was a company he was happy to trust to do the work on his aircraft, it was here.
Making the arrangements, he was offered a tour of the new aircraft maintenance side of things, and spent some time checking out the facilities, which were just as good as the automotive side of things. As he was checking out the tooling, Giovani had to take a phone call, leaving him alone for a few minutes. Marius was examining one of the computer controlled lathes used to manufacture fittings and replacement parts when he felt a strange sensation of scrutiny. Turning to look over his shoulder, he saw an older man in one of the pristine jumpsuits for the company, sweeping the immaculate floor with an old straw broom. The man looked up, and with a start Marius recognised him – the enigmatic being that they'd met on the mountain road early in their travels.
"Oh – it is you."
"Hello there. It's good to see you again. I have news, for you and your friends."
"You do?"
"Yes. You had agreed to do a task for me, if you recall."
"I do." Marius remembered it clearly – though he wished he didn't. He still didn't have much accord with the mythic arts, which seemed to ignore so many of the 'natural laws' of the world that they made him intensely distrustful. The team also seemed to attract far too many weird situations with mythical foes or magical enemies, strange creatures and eldritch horrors – though much of that might have been because of their line of work. Still – he managed to keep from sounding innately hostile to the old man – who he was pretty sure was not an old man at all, but some kind of trickster spirit, that had managed to charm the magical members of the team into doing his bidding.
"The time is closer now, the signs and portents easier to see. You and your team will be needed when the Teapot sinks to the top of the Summer Triangle, and the Southern Cross matches the False Cross in orientation. You must go to a point where a southern line from Singapore would meet a western line from Melbourne, and wait. You will know what to do, when it happens..."
"What?"
"All will become clear. But I thought you would appreciate having a clearer understanding of where, and when you needed to be available."
"Thank you – I guess. I will speak to the rest of the team."
"Good. That machine is nice. I'm sure it will help you in your preparations."
"Yes, it is state of the art. Very impressive." Marius turned to look longingly at the device for a moment, wondering if they could get one for his workshop back at the ranch. When he turned back around though, the Sweeper was gone – and a moment later Giovani returned to collect him, apologising for having to take his call. Marius nodded, smiled and didn't mention the old man at all – sure that Giovani would have no idea what he was talking about.
Once he'd finished making arrangements, he headed back to the academy, making the climb up the cliffs to the aircraft and started to tidy things up, getting ready to relocate back to Giovani's the following day.
He was done and back to the academy as the day's training finished, meeting up with a badly-bruised and exhausted-looking Hunter in the common room.
"Good day of training?"
"Yeah. Hard. Nicole… she's a beast. Great trainer. But hard…" Hunter looked tired – possibly more tired than Marius had seen him since he'd known him, which given some of the circumstances they'd been through was a little surprising. He also knew that Hunter along with Shimazu and Aswon were the crazy ones who ran a few kilometres each morning and generally maintained their fitness to a much greater degree than he did – so he had to wonder just what had been going on.
"Well, I have a challenge for you – but it is a mental one, not physical."
"Good. Not doing any more exercises today." Hunter stretched a little, giving a sudden wince as some part of his body complained. "And don't underestimate the girls here. Some of them punch like the kick of a mule." He twisted his head a little, getting a few cracking noises from his spine, and gently probed the side of his jaw, revealing a small swollen and tender spot over the base of his tusks.
"I met that strange magical old man today, and he told me something, to do with the timing and location of where we need to be. Before disappearing equally quickly." They shared a look and both sighed, as unimpressed with such mythic nonsense as each other. "But this is what he said to me: 'The time is closer now, the signs and portents easier to see. You and your team will be needed when the Teapot sinks to the top of the Summer Triangle, and the Southern Cross matches the False Cross in orientation. You must go to a point where a southern line from Singapore would meet a western line from Melbourne, and wait. You will know what to do, when it happens...' before he disappeared." Marius blessed his excellent memory, sure that he was getting the phrase exactly right.
"Teapot? What the frak…?"
"Well, the other things – I think they are constellations, visible from the southern hemisphere. So I was wondering if the 'Teapot' is one of those stupid astronomy or astrology terms like the 'Big Dipper'? And if so, could we map out those constellations, to determine anything?"
"Sounds like it's possible. Ok, do me a favour. I'll grab my deck. Can you get me some ice and a cloth, and a glass of water…" They split up, meeting back a few minutes later. Marius prepared the cold compress for Hunter, while the ork set up his deck and laid out the external screen so Marius could see the results too, starting his search.
"Crux is the smallest constellation but one of the most famous in the Southern Hemisphere. It's easily recognisable due to its cross shape and is a crucial navigational feature. Crux contains the bright stars Acrux and Mimosa. Ok, so that's one. And Triangulum Australe, the southern triangle, is a small but bright constellation. It was introduced by Dutch navigators and is easily recognisable due to its triangular shape. The constellation contains several bright stars, including Alpha Trianguli Australis. So that's two matches… let's see…" He paused, staring blankly into space, apparently not doing anything. Marius waited patiently, knowing full well that Hunter was plunging through the matrix doing his searches, his brain equally busy as if Marius was plugged into his rigger deck. Just because the meat-body was still didn't constrain the mind from doing a great deal of work…
"Here we go. The bright stars of Sagittarius create a common image known among most of the public who have been stargazing before. This is called an asterism. Sagittarius's bright stars create a shape that looks like a teapot. The fuck it does… look at this. You ever seen a teapot like that?" Hunter's eyes wobbled and then focussed as he transferred more of his thought process out of the deck and back to the 'real' world, then pointed down at the screen. They both squinted at the picture, turning their heads back and forth to try different angles. "Yeah – no. Sorry. Not unless you're eating mushrooms does that look like a teapot. But it is supposed to be – so your theory holds hope."
"And the other part? The timing?"
"I'm going to need a few minutes. There's some places that discuss stellar progression, but a lot of them are links to corporate sites or hosting, and I need to sort out some access." Marius nodded and went to get himself a drink, leaving Hunter to work, scouting around the matrix to try and find the information he was looking for somewhere accessible – and not protected by a corporate firewall or access-restricted database. Marius had heard that the 'internet' of pre-crash society had been a chaotic jumble of information that was broadly available, with minimal corporate controls. It sounded awful – and liberating – all at the same time, but was a massive difference to the tightly controlled corporate matrix that existed now. The mega-corporations and other trans-nationals had their own areas sown up tightly, and nearly all the information was now walled off into tightly controlled silos or data havens that needed your SIN and corporate approval to access. There was, of course, still a seedy underbelly to the matrix, the darker regions outside corporate control – or run by the corporations' shadow sides for their own purposes, and he was pretty sure that Hunter was searching around on the Shadowland data havens now, looking for someone who was willing to share some knowledge – and wasn't an absolute crackpot. Or teapot.
"Got something. Ok, based on what you said, and cross-referencing that to these progression charts, we can work out a date. December 20th, plus or minus 7 days, depending on the accuracy of the positions and potentially the observer's viewpoint."
"That is later than we had anticipated. Or certainly further away." Marius thought for a moment. "That does at least remove some time pressure – we have more than the two weeks we had initially planned, if required. That is good."
"Yeah. More time to get bruised." Hunter gave a lopsided grin. "Now, about the other bit – that should be easier. Let's get a map, and if I overlay a line south from Singapore, down this way… and a line from Melbourne and extend that westward, and we see where they cross that gives us… oh."
The location on the map flashed, and the screen zoomed in a little, then a little more as Hunter expanded the scale to see if there was perhaps an island or volcanic cone that breached the water. It didn't appear that way though, as the map went so far before just breaking up into a mass of pixels.
"Well, that sucks… Ok, that's a big old patch of water, let me see – about thirteen hundred kilometres south-east-east of Perth. And at least eleven hundred kilometres from the absolute closest bit of land. We can fly there and back, but we're going to be limited on loiter time. Even if we refuelled on that bit of land, just before we flew out, we're going to have eight hundred kilometres of range left. How long can we stretch that out?"
"That would be maybe three, four hours at the most, assuming that we can find decent weather conditions and do a slow circle at our most efficient speed. Not long."
"So we're gonna need a boat, probably. One big enough to land on, and willing to hang around for a week." Hunter made a face. "That's going to be an arse. I vote we make that Kai's problem…"
"I can agree with that. What are the coordinates for that location?"
" -38.74559, 102.98735," Hunter read out, adding a map pin to the location and saving it with the caption 'mythic sweeper job'.
"Right, thank you. Well, I guess we can brief the rest of the team when they get back from Spooks. Have you heard from them?"
"No. But I've had my commlink off all day. Lemme check… nah. Nothing. But if they're drawing on the walls with chalk and stuff, they could be hours and hours."
"True enough."
"When's Nadia coming?"
"Her plane lands at the international airport tomorrow afternoon – so I will go to collect them. I have arranged for maintenance on the Broadsword at the same place as before, so I can head over from there. I suspect that I will do a few hours work with them each morning, and spend the afternoons and evenings with Nadia and Marius Junior."
"Cool. Right – I need some more ice, this lot is melting…"
They split up, heading off to attend to things and in Hunter's case to find somewhere to get some more ice from and then go for a lie down and contemplate the difference between being 'fit' from his perspective and 'fit' from the perspective of a martial arts trainer who apparently had boundless enthusiasm and was in league with the devil – because there was no way otherwise that a lady should be able to have that much energy in such a slender body…
It turned out that Kai, Aswon, Tads and Shimazu didn't make it back until the following morning – having worked late into the night to finish the wards, they'd slept over in the empty apartment after having sampled the half-dozen closest takeaway providers to determine which was the best. The team caught up with each other at the midmorning break, and Marius told them all about the Sweeper and his message, and what Hunter had discovered that meant.
"Well, that's good right – means we have more time to go to get there? Though we need to find a big boat?"
"I can place a call with my shipping contact, see if I can find something that we can catch a lift with?"
"I think we'll be lucky, Kai… it's unlikely a freighter would be travelling there I think – it's not on the way to anywhere? Though maybe something sailing from Perth to South Africa, might not be too far. But I doubt a commercial boat would want to hang around for long."
"Worth a try though."
"Oh yes, worth asking. But I don't think we can count on it."
"Guys – break is over, I got to get back to training. See you at food tonight." Hunter disappeared back into the dojo, and Marius checked the time on his commlink.
"I should get going as well. I need to drop the Broadsword off and get things started, then go to meet Nadia."
"Ok, cool. Well, we'll see you tonight, then, I guess. We're all good?" Kai looked around at the other three. "I'm going onto the beach to practice my archery and do some thinking and stuff. You two ok finding yourself somewhere quiet to work out?" Tads and Shimazu nodded, and they each headed off to attend to their own business.
A few minutes later, they heard the jet engines fire up on the Broadsword, then swiftly travel overhead as Marius lifted off for the kilometre long journey to the workshop. He landed neatly in the compound, and headed over to meet Giovani and his manager, and started to show them around the aircraft, agreeing a checklist of items that needed to be worked upon. Once they had the details clarified, he headed for the bus stop himself, catching the same service as the others had used the day before, but taking this all the way around the island and over to the international airport. Arriving in plenty of time, he grabbed a meal in the terminal, then composed himself and waited for his family to arrive.
The team settled down into their routines… Marius worked on the Broadsword for a few hours each day, then met back up with Nadia and Marius Junior. As predicted by Aswon, Vivian – Chun's wife – enjoyed having them around, and it turned out that she managed the logistics and finances for their operations much as Nadia did with the ranch, and the two of them got on very well indeed, swapping all kinds of information, tips and tricks – and it looked like Nadia was more than happy to gang up on Chun with her new friend, to make some 'recommendations' for his business.
Kai did indeed set up a couple of targets on the end of the beach, taking out his bows and a quiver full of arrows, and started to practice. He was approached fairly swiftly by the local policeman, who watched for a while before he came over to speak to him. Kai must have worked his usual magic, because shortly afterwards the policeman just put a line of tape along a strip of sand at the end of the beach, segregating out an area a hundred metres long and ten wide, giving Kai room to practice. Kai shot batches of arrows at the target, sometimes going slowly and placing each shot with great precision, other times practicing reloading and loosing as quickly as he could, just aiming to hit the target with as many arrows as possible in a short a time as he could manage.
Shimazu wandered around the academy, finding quiet little spots to meditate in for a while, before then doing bouts of sword drill and katas, working on his own techniques, then stopping to think about his skills and reflect upon his own growth, trying to calm himself and centre his thoughts, seeking to unlock deeper parts of his own subconscious mind and improve his understanding of magic.
Aswon headed up to the top of the cliff, well away from everyone else and sat with his spear – mirroring Shimazu's meditation, but approached from his own unique angle. Once he felt centred and calm, he experimented with the spear, activating the runes that had most recently become available. Now that he knew what to expect, the magical effect seemed to be somewhat controllable – rather than the spear flying up into the air, it seemed to include him in the magical levitation, preventing him from having to cling on for dear life.
After some considerable investigation, he found that it would carry him and his gear quite happily – including a rucksack with some supplies in, letting him fly through the air with a fair turn of speed. But, if he loaded the rucksack down with as much as he could carry, the spell seemed to just not work at all. Not slowly, not sluggishly, not with some lag or delay… just not at all. A bit of trial and error seemed to give it an upper limit of two hundred kilos for him and anything he was carrying, after which the spell just ceased. Most of the time that should be fine – though it did mean that if he was lugging the monstrously heavy Anzio rifle around with a bunch of ammo he might have to be careful. The main thing he noted, though, was that the spear would let him fly – but not do any crazy stunts such as trying to carry Shimazu in or out of a situation. If he was carrying his normal weapons and armour, he wouldn't even be able to carry someone as slender and light as Tads. Perhaps he could manage Li or another child his size – but even that might be touch and go.
Tads took herself into the woodland and undeveloped land further along the cliffs behind the dojo and spent the day alone up there – or at least physically alone, though there were always a couple of her spirits on watch over her as she meditated and communed with nature, trying to work out what was going on with the strange vision she'd received. She knew it was something important – just not what it was.
They met up again for the evening meal, catching up with each other on the day's events and checking in with each other, before heading their own ways to spend the evening.
That set the tone for the next two weeks – the team meeting at breakfast and their evening meals, but otherwise concentrating on their magical studies, skills, repairs to the Broadsword and some extensive shopping and tourist activities around Hong Kong. Hunter's collection of bruises grew impressively as the days proceeded, yet despite that he seemed to be in a remarkably good mood as he worked through the various classes, learning bits of Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Jujitsu, Hapkido, Muay Tai, Kung Fu, Savate and a number of other esoteric fighting styles.
He wasn't trying to learn all of the art, but was learning about the various different styles, collecting techniques that would work for him, and facing off against experts in them to work out counters and responses for the individual strengths they each had. It probably helped that Chun's dojo had more of a focus on perfecting techniques from a fighting perspective than a 'purist' centre of excellence. People came to study with him to improve their ability to win in tournaments, rather than be the epitome of skill from a tradition and historical sense, and the blended curriculum focussed on the application of technique, speed and power, rather than the history and origins of the various moves, katas or symbolism.
Nadia headed back after two weeks – carrying considerably more baggage and requiring a special upgrade on her ticket to allow the two extra suitcases of clothes, toys, devices and tourist tat that she'd purchased – but she was happy to have spent time on a holiday, and with Marius, and nobody was going to even hint that wasn't an important factor for her. Besides which – though she wasn't travelling with the team any more, they all knew how much of a difference she'd been making to the ranch and their lives there, as well as making sure their base of operations was suitable for their use.
On the day they took her back to the airport, Aswon went with them, and once they were safely through security and heading for the plane, he got Marius to detour the hire car on the way back, picking up Spook and Li from their new flat, to bring them back to Shek O and the academy. They were both introduced to Chun and his family, and the dojo. Aswon had arranged for Li to get a little 'lesson' from some of the instructors, and he and Spook stood watch as Li discovered the practical side of martial arts, while Aswon checked in with his friend, making sure she was ok after their tour of the mountains and her relocation.
Another week of work saw the Broadsword fully overhauled and repaired, and Marius returned the aircraft to the top of the cliff, landing on the area that Tads had prepared. With the aircraft in perfect condition, Marius changed focus, splitting his time now between studying the advanced materials provided by Ares on emerging technologies and brushing up on his understanding of electronic security. The previous test had been a rude awakening for him, and one of the downsides of his perfect memory was that details of what to him had been a shocking failure to succeed still burned brightly and vividly in his mind. He was determined not to be caught short again, and had the sneaking suspicion that further examinations were likely in his future. Balanced against that, though, was his recent experience with having to overcome various electronic locks and security systems to get the rest of the team into some restricted areas – and equally he didn't want to be found wanting there either…
He also made an executive decision and spoke to Giovani about an issue that had been bugging him for some time now. It was all well and good carrying the fuel barrels in the cargo hold and using them to refuel from – the flexibility of being able to offload the barrels or carry them empty when they needed the weight capacity elsewhere was useful in its own right. But what bothered him was that there was no way to refuel in flight – they had to find a safe area to land, and it took precious time to move the barrels out next to the fuel intake and to refill the tanks by hand. In theory it was possible to set up a fuel manifold and connect up a rig to transfer the fuel from the barrels internally, and while in flight – but it wasn't a simple operation to do. Without care to fill the tanks in each wing equally they could seriously unbalance the aircraft, and dealing with air bubbles and the dangers of fuel spillages and fire made it a problem he wasn't willing to risk just jury rigging a solution himself.
However, Giovani had access to some state-of-the-art lathes and fabrication facilities, and could do it correctly, and using top-quality parts, integrating the fuel handling pumps and management system into the aircraft avionics. All he had to do was ask for and authorise the work… and find out if he needed to ask forgiveness rather than permission from Kai when the bill came through. Balancing against that though was the sudden increase in range from three thousand kilometres to over six thousand – making a journey like New York to London, or Tokyo to Anchorage possible, meaning that they could cross two of the largest ocean gaps without having to detour from fuel stop to fuel stop. In the end, he decided it was worthwhile – and the cost wasn't really that much, compared to how much they'd spent on fuel in the last three months anyway, which from his calculations was getting close to a hundred and fifty thousand Nuyen...
The rest of the team were still happily engaged in their training – despite working out for multiple hours per day, Hunter had managed to keep the number of bruises he was collecting to a more manageable number now – some indication that he was actually improving, as he learnt more blocks and counters for the various new styles of fighting he encountered. Aswon and Shimazu had gotten together and were training each other – Aswon sharing his knowledge and experience with using his breath-control to centre and ground himself, becoming at one with his magical core and shutting out the outside world, while Shimazu in turn was showing Aswon how to feel the essence of his sword – or, in Aswon's case, his spear – and adapt his own body to use it as a natural extension of himself. Kai was still blasting targets with his arrows, and had been forced to purchase a new stock of arrows and some repair equipment to maintain them, as well as replace one target entirely after it disintegrated from heavy use.
And Tads? Tads had been remarkably quiet, assuming almost Shimazu-like levels of contemplation and inscrutability. Day after day had been spent in the woodlands, cliff paths, beaches and rocky coves of the area, moving from domain to domain, studying the creatures and their habitats as she wrestled with her thoughts and dreams, trying to discern what was going on in her life. One full day had been spent on the roof of the dojo, watching the seagulls wheel and fly above her, another spent staring into a bonfire constructed of fallen boughs and driftwood, watching the sparks and flames for anything that might resemble a Phoenix.
After five weeks, the team were refreshed and ready to go, and Kai passed word out to a few of their contacts that they were available once more for work, especially around the south-east Asia area for people who needed things moving discretely and securely.
It didn't take long for someone to come back to them – though it wasn't one of the people Kai had contacted, which did make him wonder a little. But he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth, and as they were just finishing up with their breakfast on the twenty-first of October, he flicked his wrist over in response to his commlink starting to buzz.
"Good morning, Sultan!"
"Hello, Kai. Are you in a position to talk?"
"Yes, no problem at all. Just going to put you on speaker so the rest of the team can hear… there, still with me? Good. Ok, go ahead."
"Hi, everyone. I have a contact, someone that needs some people moving. General area of the Philippines. Are you available?"
"Yes, we are." Kai looked around quickly, getting a nod of assent from the rest of the team.
"Good. They would like to have a meeting with you, to establish the details. It'll be a secure chat room on the matrix. Are you available to take that in the next few minutes, if I can get it set up?"
Hunter nodded, then leant in towards the commlink, making sure his voice could be heard clearly.
"Hey. Send us the details for the login and the address, and I can get that set up."
"Right – I'll get on that straight away, then send you an update. Expect to hear from me soon." Sultan disconnected, and the team got themselves up from their seats, tidying away their breakfast dishes.
"We might want to head back to the Broadsword for this – will be a lot easier and more comfortable to take the call up there, and we can get some 'trode nets set up for you folks." Hunter suggested, and a few minutes later they were heading up towards the cliff at the back of the dojo, climbing the stone steps that Tads had created in the edge of the ridgeline.
Sultan was true to his word, sending over a matrix address and passcode details just a few minutes later, saying that he'd set up the meeting for 10:30. Hunter checked over the information, preparing to navigate deep into the matrix to reach the specified location. He was going to be 'piloting' the journey there, with the rest of the team effectively riding his electronic coat-tails, water-skiers towed behind his speedboat. With everyone sat comfortably in their respective seats and trode-nets fixed in place, he fired up his deck and they sank into the neon infinity of the matrix, watching as the landscape blurred past them as he expertly guided them deep into the virtual realm. They were 'off-grid', well away from the major hosts and grids of the corporations, the brightly glowing sculpted worlds of the larger sites far behind them, heading into a sparse and dimly-lit area, following a series of connections that were dim and narrow, giving them the impression of heading out into the virtual wilderness. Coming at last to a small grid that was itself only barely visible they found a small wooden structure, the door of which opened as Hunter fed in his codes and keys.
Inside the 'building' was very different to the outside appearance of a primitive wooden hut. The interior was a teeming jungle, reminding them of the orangery that they'd had a meeting in during the stay in Macau. Plants were everywhere, growing up from the ground in dense groves, while indistinct sunlight filtered through the leaves. At the centre of the space was a very rough table made of broad timbers resting on rough cut trestle legs, while a number of sturdy tree stumps were set out as seats. Opposite them was a smartly-dressed young man, a Filipino by his appearance, who looked up and smiled at them as they arrived. He stood and extended a virtual hand over the table to Hunter, doing one final check of his credentials as they 'handshook'.
"Please, do come in, I've been expecting you. And I've heard good things about you – I hope they are all true."
"Hey there. This is Kai, our negotiator." Hunter gestured towards Kai's avatar, then moved to the side, checking the status of the meeting room as Kai moved forward to greet the stranger. He watched as the room's virtual door locked, and his readings of the external matrix faded away as the anti-snooping measures and virtual security ratcheted up several levels. "Impressive security you have here. Ok, we're pretty secure." It seemed easier to just speak plainly to the team at this point, rather than trying to communicate privately – given the level of resources he must have to set up a virtual room this secure, he probably could detect and intercept any encoded message Hunter was going to send, and he didn't see any point in trying to be subtle.
"That's good to know, thanks. Hunter. And a pleasure to meet you – I hope you've only heard good things about us! Our friend Sultan said that you were looking for some help?"
"Yes indeed. I'm looking for a team to carry a number of…. Let's call them 'highly motivated individuals' from one location where they'll all assemble, to a second location that is somewhat isolated – but heavily defended and secured. They must reach that location in secret, so they may approach that facility quietly and in their own time. As a result, once they are dropped off, you also need to withdraw from that area without being detected, to a safe place where you will wait. They will require perhaps one or maybe two days to confirm their location, intelligence and plans, and then they will carry out their mission. As they do, they will signal you, and you will again travel to the isolated location and stand ready to collect them, and then withdraw them once they have secured their objective. Is this something you feel you can achieve?"
Kai looked around at the others, letting his eyes linger on Marius for a few seconds to see him give a tiny nod.
"Well, I think we can certainly look at doing this – it's exactly the kind of thing we specialise in, actually. Obviously we need to discuss some of the finer details, but in principle yes, we can do this."
"Well, first I believe that your fuel costs are often a major issue for you, from what I hear." Marius and Hunter focussed their attention on the man, wondering who he'd heard that from, and what had been said – but the man maintained eye contact with Kai as he continued speaking. "So, first of all I can make arrangements to have your tanks topped off with fuel at the collection and drop-off point, and ensure that you end our engagement with a full load of fuel, to make things easier. I also have…considerable resources available to me, though I must say that Nuyen is not one that I have in abundance. However there are other things that I feel we can discuss. I have heard that you are after some very particular types of cyberware?"
"Well, the fuel discussion does make things easier, and stops us having to look after the logistics side of things, for certain. And yes, there are some items that are on our shopping list, that we could negotiate on I'm sure."
"Very good. I have access to a Kadron 200 series cranial BattleTac unit with full IVIS integrations - that I could provide for you on completion of the task. It is my understanding that this would be of significant interest to you." Kai blinked, wondering if this was true, then glanced over to Marius first, then Hunter – who gave a very emphatic nod.
"Ahh, it seems that this would be of interest to us, yes. You're very well-informed – which makes negotiations easy!" Kai tried to grin, but the link-up between the 'trode net and his avatar wasn't that great, it seemed, and it came over as more of a grimace."
"Excellent. As I understand things, you're currently in the correct general area of the world?"
"Yes, we're in China at the moment." Kai said smoothly, hoping that it conveyed a general sense of location without being too specific.
"Well – would it be feasible for you to meet with me face-to-face to finalise this negotiation. As secure as this meeting space is, I would still prefer not to reveal operational details or requirements here if possible, both for my sake, and yours. Would you be able to make it to the city of Tuguegarao by dusk this evening?"
"Give me a moment." Hunter quickly bought up his maps and did a search, then thought for a moment as he looked at the location. He cast a quick glance at Marius, then looked back to the Johnson. "Yeah, we can be there by dusk. Not a problem."
"Very good. Assuming you can reach the general area without issue, I can ensure that there are operators and controllers on duty who are sympathetic to my cause, that will not require any landing permits or flight plans, and who will ensure that your aircraft is not logged or recorded. I can meet you at the airport, at nineteen hundred hours?"
"Yeah, that works for us." Hunter looked over at Kai and gave a nod, hoping that they trusted him on this one without needing an explanation. Kai didn't even pause, though, just nodding along and then adding his assent.
"Yes, we can be there. We look forward to meeting you in person. Until tonight then?"
"Yes, until tonight." The man stood, then his avatar split into a million pixels, fading away into the background. The privacy shields dropped, and Hunter could 'feel' the outside world once more.
"Come on, let's get back to the real world…" Hunter grabbed their icons and dragged them out with him, speeding back down the narrow matrix connections and back to the major grids, filtering through them and 'back' to the Broadsword through their satellite link. He dropped the shared carrier, knowing that it would take a few seconds for them to unfasten themselves from the 'trode-nets and adjust back to the real world, while he dived back into the matrix and did a quick search to gather some data.
A few seconds later, he fired up the screens in the back and displayed a map of the Philippines, with a city in the northern part highlighted. A second map appeared, focussing on a city and showing a small airport nestled in the centre.
"Right, this is Tuguegarao - city of a hundred and fifty thousand people or so according to published government data. It's got a local airport, as you can see, single runway of two thousand metres. No taxiway, no hangers, no maintenance facilities to speak of. Classified as a spoke airport, most of the services connect to Manilla, or run out using very small aircraft to towns around the area. Um… they had about two hundred thousand users of the airport last year I have figures for it, so that's about five hundred and fifty per day. So not that busy overall. The city itself is a major urban centre and primary growth centre in the Northeastern Luzon area, it's the regional centre of Cagayan Valley and also its regional institutional and administrative centre. The city is a convergence area for the provinces of Cagayan, Kalinga, Apayao and northern Isabela. And of course, it's also controlled by the Japanese occupation force at the moment, along with all the other major population centres."
"Getting into the area might be tricky. You have seen that they have naval blockades and a comprehensive sensor network. Though now that we are aware of the submarine trick, we can be ready for it."
"Can we get in there safely?" Kai asked.
"Yes, with care. I mean, if we cannot, then we cannot take the job. No matter what it is, if we are being asked to carry some people around, then they almost certainly want to avoid Imperial attention. So if we cannot get to the meeting undetected, we have little chance of carrying out the actual task."
"Huh. Sounds like this is a test then, as part of the interview. Ok. And we can actually get there ok?" Kai grinned, liking the challenge implicit in the invitation.
"Sure, it's a thousand kilometres from here, so about two or three hours' flight time, depending on how subtle Marius wants to be, or if we're flying direct or not. But even if we have to fly low and slow, and take a roundabout route, we've got loads of time."
"Who was it that got us in touch with this guy?" Aswon queried.
"Sultan, from the oil rig down in Indonesia."
"I'm uneasy about this one – we don't know anything about this guy. It feels a bit like a trap… he seems to know a lot about us, and what we want. What if it's that shapeshifter trying to lure us in?"
"I'm ok with that." Shimazu dropped his hand to the pommel of his sword. "I owe her, so even if it is a trap, we can deal with that. And that means she's somewhere nearby." The grim look on his normally-inscrutable face made it abundantly clear that he figured that payback of this debt was going to involve his sword and a certain amount of beheading in her future.
"Alright… I guess. We go in with eyes open. And loaded for trouble."
"That's the spirit, Aswon! It's an adventure!" Kai grinned, feeling a little surge of joy as he got to spread a little chaos once more – he'd been entirely too focussed on sensible plans and training for too long. "Ok, so when we do need to go?"
"Plan to get airborne at 16:30. That gives us a relaxed flight and time for some evasive manoeuvres if required, to get there by dusk." Marius announced, examining the proposed flight plan that Hunter had plotted.
"Great. Ok then, we've got a couple of hours to kill, then. Let's go grab lunch, say our goodbyes and do a sweep of the area to make sure we've not left anything behind!"
The team did so, taking a last few hours to relax and enjoy some quiet time, before they reconvened at the aircraft, lifting off and turning south to fly south-east over the South China Sea. Marius dodged the maritime traffic as they flew low over the water, keeping their speed down and concentrating on evasion and stealth rather than speed.
In the back, Tads took a deep breath, and calmed herself – then concentrated on her link to her magic. She felt the ephemeral bond to her totem, the strands of magic that joined her to Elk and the land, and as she concentrated hard she gave a metaphysical twist.
"I'm going to summon a new spirit – one that will help conceal us better in the air…" she said quietly, and then started to draw in mana and called out to a spirit.
Sitting opposite her, Kai wasn't really paying much attention – until he sensed something different. Looking up he gasped in surprise as he stared at Tads, spotting something odd immediately. His gasp in turn made Aswon and Shimazu look over, both of whom were equally stunned – then made a grab for their weapons. In place of the normal dark and liquid-like eyes and the faint ghostly antlers that they normally saw when she called on the power of Elk, her face was different. Her two normal eyes were dark, but much rounder than normal, and each was surrounded by three smaller eyes, equally round. Her hair seemed to be a fine mass of short tufts, slicked back over her head, while instead of an elongated elk snout she seemed to have grown what undeniably seemed to be fangs.
"What the fuck!" There was the sound of steel rasping on leather as Shimazu's sword appeared in his right hand, while the left hit the seatbelt release, freeing him up for action. Aswon was a split second behind him, grabbing at his spear, though he was content with just laying his hand on it, rather than pointing it straight at her.
"It's ok, guys. Still me. I've… found something new. Not sure if it's Elk or not, but I can draw on some other abilities now, if I concentrate really hard."
"You look like a… spider?" Kai said quietly, studying her carefully. She was tense and worried, and he could see the effort she was making to keep herself calm and to move carefully – unsurprising perhaps seeing as Shimazu had his blade pointing at her. He carefully reached over to the seat next to him and placed a gentle hand over the top of Shimazu's – not trying to push it down or away, but just indicating caution or perhaps even patience.
"I'm not happy about it, either. They're give me the creepy heebies." She shuddered a little. "But, Spider is a master of illusion and hiding, confusing the senses. And also spirits of the land, sky and water – which is exactly what we need here. They just seem better-fitted to what we're going to need to sneak across this border…"
"Next time, perhaps warn us?" Shimazu said, slowly lowering his blade. He reached out with his senses, examining and assensing Tads, and everything he could detect showed it WAS her – not some evil spirit fighting her body for possession or control.
"I didn't know it would be quite so obvious. But I'll try and let you know next time." She finished giving the summoned spirit orders to conceal and hide the aircraft, and then cast a spell on the Broadsword as well, her hand resting on the fuselage as she shaped an illusion over it to further hide them and confuse any onlookers.
"I think I preferred the horns." Shimazu said dryly, finally relaxing enough to return the sword to the scabbard.
"Marius, just so you know, we're concealed as normal, but I also have a spell on the aircraft to try and throw off any observations. Hopefully it will help confuse any sensors looking for us." She didn't know what to say to Shimazu, or how serious he was being – so she opted to say nothing.
"Roger that, Tads." He replied normally, unaware as was Hunter of the little drama that had just unfolded in the cabin behind them. "We have roughly one hour to go until we hit landfall…"
Marius flew towards the northern coast of the main island, turning south as soon as he saw Fuga Island appear on the horizon, aiming towards Pasaleng Bay. It was a quiet area from the limited information they had on their maps, away from the major towns and was less likely to have a serious naval presence – the beach there had been a major tourist spot before the Japanese occupation, so there was no port or fishing traffic that was likely to encourage smugglers, and he hoped less attention from the authorities as a result.
Flying only a few metres above the waves, they slid in under the radar and sensor nets, the Broadsword's electronic deception systems gently corrupting the odd sensor beam sent their way, while the spirit concealing them made them visually just a smudge in the air, shielded from prying eyes. With the spell working to further reduce their visibility, they ghosted across the shoreline, disappearing into the interior and climbing up slightly to remain above the canopy of trees as they headed south, following the growing lines of peaks of the western mountain range, until they reached Mount Sicapoo, sixty kilometres inland. Here Marius banked to port, heading back down into the lowlands, following the valleys and rivers to stay out of sensor range as they headed towards the city.
Closing in on the airport some time later, Marius grabbed the radio frequency listed for the airport, and called ahead.
"Tuguegarao tower, this is KX-120, requesting final." He reeled off a few random letters and numbers for his flight ID, and waited to see what would come back.
"KX-120, I don't see a flight listing for you. Oh – are you here for a meeting?"
"Affirmative."
"KX-120 you're cleared for runway approach – would you prefer a northerly or southerly approach? We… errr… don't have you on radar."
"Northerly approach is fine, thank you."
"KX-120, you are cleared for runway one-seven, winds are three knots at zero-six-zero, localiser beacon on one-twenty-one point seven. You are cleared for taxiway Bravo, no other traffic holding at this time."
"Received, runway one seven, taxi bravo, KX-120." He flicked off the transmitter, set the avionics to pick up the localiser frequency and saw the glide slope and approach beacons lock on nicely and then relaxed a little – the controller had sounded professional and like he knew his job, which was always reassuring, and he had to admit that he genuinely enjoyed making 'proper' approaches once more, letting the procedures and language wash over him. Checking on the map he snorted a little, then pointed out the situation to Hunter. "They want us to use taxi bravo. Look at the airport – there are only two exits from the runway, alpha and bravo. I guess they want to hedge their bets on our competency. Oh well, I guess we can roll out long and use bravo. No sense showing off."
"I've got the airport in sight – I don't think they can see you showing off if you wanted to. Runway is lit, but the apron isn't, and the airport is mostly dark too. Looks like a real small operation, guessing most of it is daytime only."
They monitored their approach, Hunter keeping a good eye on the sensors in case this was an ambush – but he detected nothing out there as Marius gently eased down the glide slope and touched down just past the runway threshold. He eased back the throttles to idle and didn't even have to touch the brakes, just letting the Broadsword roll down the runway and shed speed, passing the first exit from the landing strip, he proceeded another two hundred and twenty metres down before swinging the nose wheel around to take the sharp angle required to head for the apron. Rolling towards the darkened expanse of concrete they saw a single pair of small lights appear, right towards the back corner as someone activated their guide lights, raising both in a gentle 'come here' motion, repeated at regular intervals. He rolled gently over the bumpy surface of the rough finished concrete, gently adjusting course as one of the guide lights was raised out to the side a little, and then applied the brakes as both lights were raised slowly overhead into a cross.
"Still no sign of concern." Hunter was looking relaxed as he sat back in his chair, but that was only because he was jacked in and directly connected to the sensors – there was no need to lean forward and intently stare at the display. "Wait – I got one vehicle approaching, single small car, coming towards the gate in the exterior fence. And I have one moving sensor hit – I see a guard, heading towards the gate. Small sidearm, looks holstered. The ground crew is heading back towards the terminal, too. No sign of trouble."
"We have arrived into the far corner of the apron. We see someone approaching, but no sign of trouble. Powering down the engines." Marius reported to the rest of the team in the back, before he started to unbuckle himself and disconnect from the aircraft rigger system. The team headed down the steps, watching as a dark red BMW pulled up close to the gate, and a single man emerged from the back seat of the car. Marius checked the car out – it was a mid-market saloon, the kind of thing an average wage-slave manager might have purchased, but certainly nothing special. Maybe it was more of a prestige symbol here than elsewhere, but it was certainly no stretched limousine or luxury item.
The security guard finished opening the lock and pulling the gate back, then stepped to one side and started to play with his phone – studiously not looking at the man from the car, or the team.
"Thank you for coming. You shouldn't need your weapons – we're only going to the restaurant here." He gestured just behind him to the house that backed onto the airport fence. "So you may want to leave them on the aircraft."
"Sidearms only, then." Hunter stated, unhooking his assault rifle, but making a show of checking the concealed holster inside his jacket. The man didn't seem bothered, and just waited patiently while they offloaded their more obvious and offensive weaponry and stashed it just inside the Broadsword, before sealing the door behind them.
"The guard here will keep an eye on the plane, and make sure nobody approaches. Come, please… we can get some food and discuss things." He smiled at them, and seemed to radiate sincerity, trust and honesty. Kai grinned at him, crossing the ground between them and then gave a small bow.
"Please, lead on – some dinner would be lovely. I'm Kai, by the way." He inhaled as he approached, wondering if he'd detect any sign of pheromones or pick up some other telltale hints that their host was somehow enhanced. His voice was as buttery-smooth, his body language tightly controlled and he was displaying a masterful approach to their welcome – and Kai recognised many of the cues he was using.
"Pleased to meet you, Kai. I'm Manuel Ortega. This way…" He led the team through the gate and towards the deck that surrounded the house. Marius looked up in alarm at the disappearing host, his mind racing as he heard the name, and he started to rack his brain, wondering where he'd heard that before…
The man led them around the front and into what had once been the living or family room, and was now the dining area for the small restaurant. The smell of freshly-cooked food filled the air, and a young boy showed them to a large table in the corner and got them seated. Now in the light, they could see their host – a classically handsome young man, lean and with neatly-styled hair and a very intense set of dark eyes. A perfect smile dominated his face, while the subtle shadow on his cheeks somehow looked more like a designer stubble than someone too lazy to shave.
"May I order for you – I thought a selection of dishes might be in order so you can pick and choose between them? Good." He spoke rapidly but politely to the young boy who scuttled off to pass the order to the kitchen, and then turned back to the team. "I'm hoping that the deal I proposed was to your liking, and that we are able to come to some agreement. But I very much wanted to meet you face to face to discuss the finer details."
"Yes, the deal you proposed seemed very reasonable."
"Though we would like to find out if you can access additional Battletac-compatible receivers or transmitters?" Aswon added, looking between Ortega and Hunter. "Those would be very valuable to us as well."
"I can probably arrange something. I will make some calls, and pass the word out. Given how important this operation is to me, it can certainly be put on the table." He sat back in his chair for a moment, casting his glance around the team, pausing for a moment at the look of intense concentration on the face of Marius, before he spoke again. "As I said, this is very important to me. A key operation – so I need to make sure that the situation is clear. I need you to collect some friends of mine, and to convey them to the location in absolute secrecy, so they may approach their target without detection. They will carry out the operation, and then signal for collection, and you will return to the drop-off point with them and the target they have recovered. This is understood? And in return, I will take care of all your fuel requirements, provide the cyber-ware discussed, and as I have mentioned, I will work to use my considerable influence for you as a reward."
"Do we need to worry about the cargo space for what your team is going to recover?" Kai asked, and then felt surprise as Ortega's face fell. He examined him carefully, wondering if this was an act, but if it was, he wasn't able to tell – the man seemed to be genuinely upset suddenly.
"Almost certainly not. My friends… well, much as I would like to see them all again, some of them… are probably not coming back. This is a difficult and dangerous operation. One that I am certain will lead to casualties, probably a number of casualties. And much as I would like to ensure we can recover everyone, the nature of the mission precludes this. So you will almost certainly be returning with fewer on board than when you arrived. So there should be space for the target to be carried back." He fell quiet, and for perhaps twenty seconds nobody said anything. Aswon, in particular, was watching the man, trying to get a read on his emotions and intent, probably having significant feelings from having been on the other side of such an equation from his former life as a mercenary operative. "Sorry – I do not wish to lose my friends. I do not wish to ask them to go. But this is, as I said, very important. And despite the risks, despite the danger – they have all volunteered. They are all aware of the nature of this operation, and they have all decided to go anyway. I am lucky to know them, and I am cursed to know that soon I will know less of them. It is very easy to make statements about not being able to make omelettes without breaking eggs, until you discover that you like the eggs…"
There were a few more seconds of quiet, interrupted thankfully by the first of the food arriving. A dozen dishes were laid out on the table for them to sample from, with fried salted fish, some curried dishes, rices flavoured with various meats and vegetables and several types of noodles.
"Do you perhaps have a map we can look at?" Ortega asked, clearing a little space in the centre of the table. Hunter rolled out his screen and pinned the corners down with some of the dishes, then hooked it up to his deck and displayed a map of the area, centred on the current location. "Ahh, thank you. So, from here, if we head down this way, towards the coast – there, just near Dilasag. As you can see there is a harbour, and this little spit of land that forms the eastern side of that harbour – that is our staging area. My friends will assemble there, and that is where you will meet them – and refuel. It is several kilometres away from the nearest village, so there should be nobody to interfere, and my friends will have the area secure.
"So we're picking up the strike team there. Ok, that's only a hundred and fifty klicks or so from here – no bother. But where is the target?" Hunter zoomed the map out a little, watching as Ortega pointed to the ocean east and south of the muster point.
"Here. Roughly speaking."
"That's just open ocean?"
"Alas, your map is incomplete. There is an island there, though it has not existed for long, on the geological scale. But I assure you it is there – about two hundred and thirty kilometres out."
"Ok, so no problem from a fuel and range perspective. We can drop off there and return to the muster point to wait – we're only about thirty minutes of flight time I guess?" Hunter paused for a moment, then nudged Marius who just nodded absently, still staring at Ortega.
"I know where that is." Shimazu said quietly. "That's Yomi Island. Isn't it?" Ortega nodded to him, but stayed silent. Shimazu closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. "It's a penal colony. Run by the Japanese government, and the mega-corps. Or at least a few of them. It's where all the orks and trolls that are born in Japan get shipped to. Dumped, and forgotten.
"Not just those unfortunates. It is also used as a dumping ground for those that oppose Japanese interests from all over the world. And they have also allowed several of the Japanese-based corporations to set up their own prison blocks on the island, for their own use. The docks and the general area are under control of the Imperial Japanese Marines, who provide overall security for the island and control access. But Mitsuhama, Shiawase, Renraku and several smaller corporations also have containment facilities there as well, and they each have a security force that maintains local control."
"And your strike team is poking which hornet's nest?" Kai asked.
"The main barracks. So yes, they're taking on a company of Marines with emplaced sensors and defences, aiming to breach that perimeter and extract some high-value targets. One of the reasons I reached out to you is that I understand that you've had recent experience with such an operation. I'm led to believe that a certain Indian gentleman is now free and at liberty thanks to a daring rescue from a high security prison?"
"Ahh yes, I see." Kai looked around, wondering how widely that tale had spread – presumably from Vikay and his mercenary organisation. "Well, once again you're well-informed – and correct. But this makes more sense now. But a question – are we to take part in the strike as well?"
"No – I want you to be the transport. My friends will handle the assault. Of course, if they are running back to the landing zone and there are enemies in hot pursuit, and you decide to lay down covering fire or engage the enemy – both my friends and I will be very grateful. But the expectation is that your job is to get them in, and get them out. That is the scope of your part. Anything beyond that – is a bonus."
"Understood. And have there been any other attempts to do this?"
"No. We have stayed away, and not given any indication of this attempt, and we have tried to ensure that our security is air-tight on this one too. We've also very carefully been listening for anything else that indicates that other people might be trying such a thing, and worked to prevent it. There is no indication that the target is aware of any impending operations. Surprise should be on your side."
"Good. That makes things easier for us – and your friends of course. On that basis, we have some skilled medics in our team. Can you arrange to get some medical supplies at the muster point? I'm sure some of your friends may turn up at the pickup point wounded or in distress. We'll use whatever we have to treat them – but making sure we have extra supplies to treat gunshots may help us deal with the situation."
"An excellent point. I will make those arrangements. Thank you."
"Ok, that sounds like the important stuff, then. So – when does this all need to happen?"
"I would like to you be at the muster point by this time tomorrow night. The operation launches just before midnight."
"Cutting things close, then…" Hunter snorted. "But also keeping operational security. Yeah, I get it. Can we get there earlier than that? Can we fly down tonight, under cover of darkness and then wait."
"I can contact people and make sure you're expected – and that makes sense. More time to be in position, and to lay low. Very good."
"So, just to recap." Aswon kept his voice low, and gestured to the map to illustrate each step. "We fly from here, down to this spit of land near Dilasag, and land there out of the way. We meet up with your strike team, and refuel. They load onto the aircraft tomorrow night, and we ferry them out to this island, out here. Marius has to evade the sensors and patrols, and get the strike team onto the island without being spotted. They'll then do recon and preparations, for up to twenty-four hours before launching their attack – and we wait back at the Muster point. Once the assault starts, they will call, and we head back to the landing zone and keep that secure, until the strike team return with whichever VIPs they've rescued. We extract, probably under fire, evade any patrols or response force, and return to the muster point to drop them off. And we are likely to really upset a bunch of Imperial Marines and any Naval forces that might be in the area and have to deal with those – but we're probably not going to tangle with corporate forces as they're looking after their own prisons, and not the area that's being attacked?"
"Yes, that is a fair summary. All of our planning scenarios show that the corporate involvement is negligible, and may even distract the Marines from their own response plan, as they are not tightly co-ordinated."
"Ok… that makes sense actually. I expect most of the corps spend more time watching each other, than the prisoners, thinking about it."
"Indeed. I am glad that we had the opportunity to discuss this face to face. And now you understand the risks involved, and the impact this will have on my friends. So, I would like to see your aircraft, if I may. I do not distrust you – but I have a responsibility to my people, and I want to ensure that everything is checked over, and nothing is left to chance."
Kai glanced over at Marius, looking for a sign – but the pilot was still staring intently at Ortega, and didn't give a sign either way.
"That should be fine. Do you want to head over now?"
"Yes, there's no time like the present. I trust you've had enough to eat?"
"Very much so, thank you. Let's go, then." Kai stood and to his surprise found that Ortega was extending his hand to shake. His grasp was firm, and the handshake seemed to seal the deal that had been struck, giving Kai an odd sensation for a moment. He didn't know why though, so he shrugged it off and led the way back to the Broadsword. The security guard was still waiting by the gate, keeping an eye on the opening and the aircraft it seemed, exactly as Ortega had said. As the team approached, Marius hit the remote control and the side door lowered, allowing them to access the passenger cabin – through the unwarded door. Ortega climbed the steps and stood in the centre of the cabin, looking around, then pointed to the door to the rear of the aircraft.
"Cargo hold?" Marius nodded, and led the way through, into the cramped area.
"From the sounds of things, if we get to the muster area early, we have enough time to offload our vehicle there, along with our spare fuel and the supplies, and leave them there?"
"Yes, and you're dropping off there at the end of the operation, so you can reload it all. We'll definitely need all of this space, for sure. My friends will be carrying very heavy weapon loads."
"I'm sure." Aswon said dryly.
Ortega looked around again, then nodded, before gesturing back to the passenger area, following the team back into the cabin and standing once more in the centre and turning slowly in a full circle.
"And are these like standard airline seats? I mean, they're not the standard seats you get in a commercial jet, of course, that much is obvious." Ortega crouched down to check under the seats, seeing the metal guide tracks and fixing points. "Ahh, good. I think we may need to remove these as well, for which I apologise. They are fine-looking seats, but take up a lot of room for minimal seats provided. Very good for a small team, not so much for a strike force. Will that be an issue?"
"No, we can do that." Marius spoke for the first time in a while, giving Ortega a very sharp look, then glancing around the cabin, his mind churning away.
"In that case – can you also get hammocks?" Aswon asked.
"Hammocks?"
"Some of your people may come back wounded – and we'll treat them the best we can. But if there are people with gunshots or trauma, being able to sling some hammocks up near the roof means we can have people sitting or standing below them as well. It might help keep some of the critical cases secure while we're getting away from the strike zone."
"Ahh, I see. Very well. I will arrange for hammocks as well. Very good. This is… sufficient. Tight perhaps, but sufficient. I will leave you now to make your arrangements, and to travel. Thank you again for meeting with me." Ortega smiled, and then headed back out of the aircraft, returning to his car. He gave a small grasp on the shoulder of the security guard as he passed, saying a quiet thank you as he passed, then clambered back into the back seat. A moment later, the BMW started up and backed away quietly, while the security guard started to close and lock the gate again, leaving the team at the bottom of the ramp.
"Well. There is another one for the bingo card."
"What do you mean, Marius?"
"Ortega. I knew I had heard the name somewhere. Manuel Ortega. That man… that is not a man. That is the human form taken by the Great Dragon Masaru. This form is one of his chosen identities when he needs to deal with people."
"Oh… oh, shit."
"Scheiße indeed, Hunter." Marius pinched the bridge of his nose. "I worked it out during the meal – but given the quality of the anti-snooping and matrix security he showed in our earlier meeting, I took it that he was almost certainly going to be able to break the encryption on our communications, too – both radio and commlinks. And I am not sure it would have changed the negotiation position either."
"Ok, so what's this dragon do. Other than whatever the hell he wants."
"Masaru is apparently the youngest or newest of the Great Dragons – or at least so it is widely accepted. It is unclear how he became a Great Dragon, though it is speculated that there is some kind of ritual or ceremony involved. But he is the newest and potentially the least powerful – though that is very relative of, course. Should he have chosen to reveal himself in his natural form, he would probably have been larger than the Broadsword in every dimension." Marius let that sink in for a moment.
"But otherwise, he seems to have a strong interest in helping many downtrodden groups – such as the Huk resistance group here in the Philippines. Along with many other ethnic groups, guerrilla organisations and marginal societies around the world. He also supports the arts and has several philanthropic trusts and organisations, and works with several charities. He seems to have a distinct interest in metahumanity, and unlike others, seems to support them rather than exploit them. So far."
"So a good guy?"
"As these things go, potentially. But still a being of enormous power and a lifespan rumoured to be in millennia. His plans are not likely to be simple."
"Well, this is going to be interesting then. Shimazu – you said you knew about Yomi Island. I've only heard rumours and things, nothing for sure. Why don't we get sat down inside, and while Marius is heading us down to the muster point, you can fill us in on what you know?"
"Sure." Five minutes later, they were in the air while Shimazu filled them in on the island of death – the massive penal colony formed by Emperor Kenichi, Security Advisor Yasunaga, and Saito Mariko of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry to consign all metahumans to this island. Millions of people over the last three and a half decades had been affected by 'The Yomi Island Decree', that all Japanese metahumans were to be shipped to Yomi Island for indefinite detainment. The deported metahumans were damned to a life in poverty, starvation, and squalor simply for daring to exist.
"Gonna enjoy spitting in the eyes of these fuckers." Hunter said, with no sign of his normal humour. "Gonna show them just how wrong they can be…"
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