It had been a longstanding tradition on Genma's part that he didn't trust anyone, if he could help it. He had long ago learned to include himself on his list of people not to trust. Sure, this caused problems, such as the time he got drunk enough to pay some Yakuza to hunt down -- and kill -- him. But in the end, the reflexes that the yaks had instilled in him thanks to constant threats of death had made him a better martial artist. Right up until they figured it out and decided to just keep his money, at least.
So he had everything planned out. When the sun cleared the horizon, spearing illumination onto the spire, Genma was already packed up and eager to climb. The goat watched him with the same silence it always had, and he was all-to-happy to begin his escape.
An escape which was tiring, and time consuming, but not nearly as brutal as the climb up had been in the first place. So he very shortly reached the shore, and from there it was only an hour's jog to the nearest train station. A train ran beneath the Tsugaru Strait, and he boarded it, planning to ride to Tokyo.
But, as he sat in the car and let his doubts weigh down on him, he decided not to go back to the Tendo dojo. Not just yet, anyway. He shouldn't trust his thoughts on the red star. After all, maybe it wouldn't appear once he left the spire. Right?
So he got off at the first stop he could recall being near an observatory. Tashiro-yama observatory, then. Adjusting his spectacles, he stared into the evening sky, searching for the winking red star.
For a while, he couldn't find it, and began to wonder if he'd gotten it -- thankfully -- wrong. But no, it was still there.
It was a bit of a hike, in the dark, but nothing compared to the difficulty of surmounting the spire. So shortly after midnight, he had reached the door of the building atop the mountain. His skills were enough to easily circumvent the lock, but he decided that it would be better to be polite. His knock was answered by a peevish man in casual clothes.
"What?" he asked in irritation.
Genma frowned. "I wanted to ask a scientist about something I saw in the sky," he began, realizing how lame it sounded as soon as he began. "That is ... there's something I don't recognize up there."
The man rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure," he said flatly. "Report your UFOs somewhere else."
"Wait!" Genma protested, before the man could slam the door shut. "What is exactly opposite the sun?"
The observatory man hesitated, considering. "Nothing of particular interest," he answered. "If you knew anything about astronomy, you'd know that much."
"I do know that much!" Genma complained earnestly. "But, listen. There's something in the sky I've never seen before, and I've traveled across Japan for years. It's not one of the planets, and it's not any star I recognize -- it moves against them."
"So, what, you're saying it's at exactly the midnight position on the sun's ecliptic?"
Genma blinked. "Yes?" he asked cautiously.
"There's nothing there," the man retorted, "and you're keeping me from my research. But if you insist, since that's such an easy position to spot, let's check it out." He spun around, gesturing Genma to follow.
In short order, the man had punched some commands into the console at one edge of the great dome that housed the telescope. Obediently, it begin to whir and slide across its tracks, pointing to the exact position described. "Now," the man said, gesturing at the dark screen. "Nothing. See?"
Genma squinted at the screen, until the telltale wink shone again, startling the observer. "Nothing?" he asked skeptically.
"W...well," the man said, shaken, adjusting some controls. "Something," he admitted. "A fireball."
"A fireball?" Genma gasped, eyes widening.
"Calm down," the observer snapped. "It's just a term that means it's brighter.... Sheesh. It's probably just an asteroid that wandered afield. Let's take a closer look."
"How could you tell?" Genma demanded, glaring at the screen as though he could discern more than a pinprick of red.
"Every celestial object has a unique signature," the observer said patiently, fiddling with his controls. "And most of their orbits are known. I have no idea what this one is ... or how far away it is. I can find out, though."
"Wonderful," the martial artist said uneasily.
"It's an Apollo, or maybe an Aten.... No, it couldn't be. It's got a very precise orbit." The man hesitated, wincing at a flash, then shook his head. "No orbit. It's got a trajectory. Or maybe it's just my equipment.... Let me check something...."
"Well? What is it?"
See other episodes by Sgt. Chibi De`Ohki
(Posted Wed, 18 Apr 2007 04:42)
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