Nippara…
"There you are, Ryofu-sama. All nice and comfortable."
A faint cough escaped the oxygen mask that now covered Hôsen's face. "D-dômo…" she weakly rasped as she felt her body, now wracked with cramps all over. While it wasn't too distracting, the fact that her feeling in the arms and legs had considerably faded out when that last bloody cough drove her to her knees told her that the progression of her disease had come to a very acute point. "D-dômo…"
Hearing that, Julie Nike smiled as she shifted a very thick quilt-like cover over the tôshi's body, making sure all but her head and upper shoulders were covered. "Now, this device will make sure that electronic pulses will be sent into your nervous system to keep your body alive for the hour it'll take the new body to clone itself off your DNA," the raven-haired Niphentaxian-born Terran/Avalonian calmly stated. "Once its ready, I'll place it on the diagnostic bed there and then we'll help you do the soul-transfer," she then added as she pointed to an empty diagnostic bed nearby.
Hôsen blinked. "D-does it h-hurt…wh-when you d-do it…?"
Julie giggled, remembering the event not hours before when she — as Juhzi — undergone her own transformation. "Oh, not at all, Ryofu-sama!" she assured the aqua-haired tôshi. "You'll feel like you're in a raft riding down a very swift river full of rapids. That lasts for about a half-minute and then you'll wake up. There'll be a bit of disorientation, but don't worry about it. The gestation machine will make sure all the knowledge you need to use your new psionic powers will be programmed into your body's autonomic nervous system for insertion into your subconscious mind."
"Wow!" Shimei breathed out as she and Kôdai leaned against the bed Julie would soon use for Hôsen's new body. "It's like being subconsciously trained to use a new skill."
"Exactly," Julie affirmed with a nod.
"It's how they were able to program us all with all the martial arts knowledge they were able to get from Ranma Saotome when they created his sister," Yukari Asaoka then stated. A member of Butsumetsu Girl's High School class 2-3, the raven-haired, blue-eyed native of Ôdate in Akita prefecture at the north end of Honshû was the captain of the school's equestrian club. "They did that to ensure that if someone tried to eliminate us, we could defend ourselves until we could be rescued."
"IF they were going to rescue us, Yukari-chan," Jun Mikoshiba warned. "Remember: as Avalonians, we're slaves to the Niphentaxians. And since they have the factory our production line came from…" — She indicated the row of incomplete bioroids in their gestation units standing nearby. — "…they could easily turn around and whip up even more bioroids to replace us if needed."
"You people sure aren't bugged by this," Shimei commented.
All the Butsumetsu Girl's students standing near Hôsen's diagnostic bed shrugged as Julie headed to a nearby work cabinet to draw out a first aid kit. "That's what Ryofu-sama did for us when she allowed us to fully remember what happened to us, Ryomô-sama," Hiromi Ayukawa explained. "And it's a good thing, too." A scowl then twisted her lips down. "There're a few of those creeps we'd love to have words with!"
"What did they do to you?!" Kôdai demanded.
All of the girls looked upset on hearing the question from the freshman of Rakuyô. "They did everything but rape us, Kôdai-sama. And they got pretty close with that, too," Eri Kishimoto replied as she crossed her arms. "After all, the bioroid factory can only create females. And very beautiful ones at that! The perfect sex-slaves."
"Damn straight about that," Eri's peer from Ayabe near Kyôto, Taeko Katagiri, then stated as she crossed her arms, and then a smile crossed her face. "Still…"
"Still what, Taeko-chan?" Mami Fujieda, another first year girl who hailed from Ôsaka itself, asked as she gazed on the blue-eyed brunette fashion model.
"There was Heather-chan."
The girls all blinked, and then they nodded. "Yeah, she was nice to us. And so were Alice and Terri," Yukari mused as she remembered the times they had been "put under the spell" and made to do strip-teases and allowed themselves to be fondled by their "masters." "All three of them were so lonely even while living here on Earth."
"Heather Mitchell, Alice Morrow and Terri Hines?"
Eyes locked on Julie. "Julie-chan, do you know them?" Jun asked.
"Hai," the transformed Niphentaxian replied with a nod as she moved to take a blood sample from Hôsen's body. "All of them are judicial orphans. Their parents were charged with heresy when they wouldn't convert from their old faith during the Great Awakening and the rise of the faith in Lum-sama, then made to starve to death. Even if they are loyal to Lum-sama, they were raised in an orphanage in Lumukyô." She gazed on the Butsumetsu Girl's students. "I guess while the others would have treated you as glorified comfort women, they saw you as would-be big sisters."
Hearing that, all the Avalonians tensed. "Um, K'ekhech-dono, can I…?" Yukari began as she stated at the red-haired Noukiite free warrior, who still had Sekitoma perched on her shoulder as she enjoyed a nice cup of tea she had been given by Kotatsuneko while she waited for Hôsen to get her new body.
"Kyech."
Yukari blinked. "Eh?"
"My name is Kyech, Yukari."
Hearing that, the raven-haired girl relaxed. "Hai, Kyech-san. What will happen to Heather-chan, Alice-chan and Terri-chan after this is done?"
"They'll all be transported to Tengsei to face trial before the Court of Star Chamber," Kyech replied. "They'll be found guilty of their crimes and then sentenced to a very long stay at the prison on Hichkyech'eng."
A gasp turned everyone's attention back to Julie. "What is that place?" Kôdai asked.
The raven-haired woman shuddered as she disposed of the needle she used to get the blood from Hôsen (who had drifted off into sleep as people talked), and then she moved to remove the blood sample for loading into the gestation unit's DNA scanner for analysis and initial sequence coding. "It's their maximum security facility, Kôdai-sama," she responded. "One prison on an ice planet in a remote star system; very few people outside the Imperial Dominion know where it is. From what I've heard of it, it's a cryogenetic facility, where you're literally put on ice while they mentally reprogram you to make sure you don't break the laws in the future."
Hearing that, all the Avalonians tensed, instantly recalling their own experiences at being mentally "programmed" to accept their new "destiny" as servants of Lum and guarantors of the Church's future. "Damn…!" Eri breathed out.
"Kyech-san! You can't put those girls through that!" Yukari cried out as she ran over to gaze intently into the Dragonspeaker's eyes. "They're nice girls! Please…!"
"Would you want them to live full-time with you?" Kyech wondered.
Yukari blinked, and then she nodded. "Hai. We can take care of them."
"Alright then. Wait here."
And in a flash of light, she was gone. Sekitoma squawked on seeing his new friend vanish like that, and then he fluttered over to place himself on Julie's shoulder as she finished programming the DNA scanner to begin its work. Tensing on sensing his weight on her body, the raven-haired girl gazed on him for a moment, and then she blinked. "Eh?!" she breathed out. "You want to do THAT for Ryofu-sama?!"
Sekitoma chirruped as everyone stared wide-eyed at them…
Tomobiki High School…
"How are you feeling, Kaname-chan?"
Hearing Shinobu's worried question, Kaname Tsujimuro blinked before she wiped her eyes. She had been comforted by Unchô Kan'u after her particular group of Terran/Avalonians had their mental programming shut down and overridden thanks to the lovely tôshi of Seito. "How should I feel right now, Shinobu-chan?" she wondered as she gazed on her hands, her eyes tearing. "I just snapped the neck of the bastard that turned me into this, then raped me three times because I was nothing but a toy to him!" she then spat out as she glared over her shoulder at the unmoving body of Hoss bedai-Diyasbugh, still hanging from the prison bar that he had been strapped to when he had been captured. The Niphentaxians to either side of the dead agent were still doing their best to keep as far away from their friend's corpse as possible. "I should feel something…"
"It's the shock of the moment, Kaname-chan," Unchô stated as she playfully ruffled the other girl's hair. "Once it wears off, it'll hit you like a ton of bricks."
Kaname took that in, and then she nodded as she reached over to hold the tôshi closer to her. Standing nearby, Ni (who was beside Shiryû) then smiled. "Lady Haneko, would you be willing to remain with the Lady Kaname as she is taken up to the ship to be examined by the healers and faith-healers Seup'it' brought with her?"
Unchô nodded. "Sure thing…eh?!" she then gasped, tensing.
Shiryû also tensed, and then she turned as a flash of light heralded Kyech's arrival near the front gate. Walking over to place the cup down on Kotatsuneko's coffee table, she nodded her thanks as he moved to refill it. Ni stared at her, and then she walked over. "Where've you been, Kyech?" the marine general asked.
"With Julie as she prepares a new body for Shikuko," the Dragonspeaker answered as she nodded thanks when Kotatsuneko handed her the cup. "Shikuko suffers from a soul-wasting disease and she suffered a bad attack when she freed a group of our sisters who attend the Butsumetsu Ladies' Academy here in town."
Ni nodded. "Ah. I hope she's alright."
"She will be fine. Sekitoma wishes to give her some of his power."
The marine general blinked. "Really?! Will the Fire Lady bond with the Lady Shikuko as all the Sky Ladies we've encountered here have done to their friends?!"
A nod. "Probably. Oh, I need three of the prisoners released and put on parole."
"Who?"
Kyech reached into Ni's web belt to draw out an electronic notepad and a stylus, and then she jotted down names on the pad. Ni took it, and then she nodded. "Colonel?!"
The lieutenant-colonel commanding the battalion which was now deployed in and around Tomobiki High perked, and then he came over. "My General?" he called out, saluting.
Ni handed the pad over. "Fine these three, place them on parole."
He took the pad, nodding. "At once, My General."
He then turned to call out to his battalion sergeant-major. Kyech nodded as she turned back to her tea. "Why these three?" Ni wondered as she crossed her arms.
"Judicial orphans," the Dragonspeaker calmly replied. "You might wish to have the interrogators look for other ones while they undergo questioning."
Ni blinked, and then she nodded. "Alright, then."
Within minutes, three girls appearing to be in their late teens were walked over to join Kyech. One was a mature girl with dark brown eyes and caramel hair cut shaggy-short at mid-neck. The second was a redhead with green eyes under glasses, who reminded those tôshi around her of a thinner Gentoku Ryûbi. The last was a raven-haired tomboy with spiky-short hair, dark eyes peaking out of a young and boyish face. All three were dressed rather plainly, though their clothes were dishevelled now thanks to the treatment the Noukiites had given them when they were captured with their friends. All of them had confused looks on their faces as they found themselves seated beside the famous warrior known even on their homeworld as "She Who Speaks to Dragons," the woman who could face any of They-Who-Must-Never-Be-Named and fight them to a total standstill. "Please serve them tea," Kyech asked Kotatsuneko as she stood up. "Wait here, you three. I'll be right back."
She vanished in a flash of light. "Wow!" the tomboy — her real name was Saari dai-Toksh, though she had lived her life over the last year under the alias "Terri Hines," pretending to be a secretary from Canada working for Molsons' Japanese operations — breathed out as she hugged herself. "She IS as powerful as the Unspeakable Ones!"
"Where did she go?" the girl with the glasses — Mikosh dai-Nostram, also known as "Alice Morrow," believed by neighbours to be an exchange student from Cambridge now attending Tôkyô University — then asked as she stared up at Ni.
"You've been spared because those you would see as slaves considered you worthy of parole," Ni responded. "You are all judicial orphans, correct?"
All three observers nodded, wary looks crossing their faces. "So what?" Toran dai-Murigsh, who had lived the last year of her life on Earth as "Heather Mitchell," a teacher in English as a foreign language from England who worked at a local night school — asked. "We're loyal to Lum-sama. What our parents did…"
"Should not have seen them die from starvation because they chose to adhere to their beliefs," Ni cut her off. "How funny that you chose to emulate the Urusians and the Japanese here on Earth with your current faith, yet you don't accept some of their basic principles. Including freedom of religion." Her eyes then narrowed. "Is it any wonder that your 'goddess' desires to have nothing to do with you?"
All three observers jolted, and then tears welled in their eyes as shame crossed their faces. Before they could break down and cry, a flash of light behind them make three of their former "slaves" — Yukari Asaoka, Eri Kishimoto and Jun Mikoshiba appear. Instantly, the weeping girls were drawn into their friends' arms, the comfort the three Terran-born Avalonians immediately gave them enough to allow Saari, Mikosh and Toran to break down and cry. Watching this, Ni gazed on Kyech. The latter then moved to raise the Cleaver of the Heavens as she moved to teleport them all back to Nippara…
Nippara, a half-hour later…
"So Sekitoma was always trying to persuade Shikuko's past incarnations to change their path and break free of the destiny forced on them by what happened in Bù Lyû's life?"
"Hai, Ryomô-sama," Julie said as she allowed the small sample of phoenix tears and blood to be injected into the gestation unit now busy transforming an incomplete Avalonian body into a near-perfect DNA replica of one Hôsen Ryofu. "Since she never thought to touch minds with your cousin's past-selves, they had no choice but to believe that every time Sekitoma-sama appeared, they were destined to die."
Hearing that, the blue-haired tôshi from Nan'yô could only nod as her eyes remained fixed on the body within that gestation unit. Already, changes were underway: the breasts had expanded to Hôsen's 40D size, the rest of the body was shaping out the same way and the hair growing out of its head was turning to the nice shade of aqua blue-green her cousin had been born with. Noting that, Shimei sighed as she turned to Julie. "Will she have the same potential to get ALS as she did before?"
Julie shook her head. "The DNA scanner would have taken out whatever defects in Ryofu-sama's DNA structure that would have made her vulnerable to the disease before the templation was allowed to begin, Ryomô-sama. Atop that, the regenerative enzymes in an Avalonian's body will deal with any factors such as pesticides, the BMAA neurotoxin and all the damage your nervous systems take because of all the fighting you do." She sighed. "It is a good thing. To become the greatest of all tôshi only to be felled by the disease that struck down the great Iron Horse, Louis Gehrig-sama Himself…"
Shimei blinked, and then she hummed as she reached over to peek down Julie's sweater. Spotting something there, she then laughed as she moved to pull the sweater off the other girl, which made Julie gasp. "Ryomô-sama! Please…!"
And sure enough (much to Shimei's and Kôdai's mirth), Julie was wearing the same type of T-shirt Hiromi Ayukawa had on underneath her school uniform, with the same logo and pictures on both front and back. Julie felt her cheeks flame in embarrassment as Shimei then helped her look more decent before embracing her. "Damn! How many fans do we have, anyway?!" she said before tenderly kissing the other girl's cheek.
"Quite a few, Ryomô-sama."
Shimei and Kôdai then perked on hearing that familiar voice. "Ah! Shasta!" Julie called out as she turned to run into Shasta Ianson's arms. "You're here!"
"Hai, hai, K'ekhech-dono brought us here after she brought Heather and her friends here," the former Shaskaar bedai-Iyake said as she pulled her friend and co-worker closer to her. She then nodded towards the assembled group of Butsumetsu Girl's students, all of whom were now comforting three weeping girls.
Julie looked over, and then she nodded. "I'll go start making new bodies for them."
"Don't worry about that, Julie," a new voice then hailed as Mackenzie Shatner and Connie Sanders came up to join them. Like Shasta, the former Makasai dai-Shishya and Koeko dai-Saihyos were now in their new bodies, which were shaped as pure Terrans (as noticed by their round ears) in lieu of Niphentaxians. "I got blood samples from all three of them. We got the new bodies growing right now," Mackenzie announced as she indicated three nearby gestation units, all of them showing active as the bodies within began to transform into Terran-form replicas of the women known to friends as Heather Mitchell, Alice Morrow and Terri Hines. "They'll be ready soon enough."
"That's weird."
Eyes locked on Shimei. "What's weird, Ryomô-sama?" Connie asked.
"Why have your souls put into the bodies of people you look on as slaves?"
The four former Niphentaxians paused to consider that, and then they sighed. "I guess it was because we couldn't see them as slaves, especially with our experience with Motoko and Semina," Shasta then answered. "And it really hit home with us when we found out that Motoko was pregnant with Fungi's baby and we had to hide them both to prevent anyone else from finding out what happened to her." She then scowled. "I've heard rumours about what happened to people who've been discovered to have taken their Avalonian servants in as mates and helped father part-Avalonian children."
"They're killed?!" Kôdai gasped.
"No, they're returned to the factory and put into storage," Shasta replied.
The two tôshi winced. "Damn! We're gonna have to find that factory!" Shimei snarled.
"Where is it, anyway?" Kôdai asked.
"Phentax Twelve, outside a village called Gekido," Julie answered.
Shimei and Kôdai exchanged looks. "So we can go get it, then," the former then said.
"I'll be hard," Shasta warned. "The planet is totally closed off to outside visitors and it's constantly guarded by four battleship squadrons, plus is in close range of reinforcements from all over the system and elsewhere. Atop that, the factory itself is buried in the ground of the planet right to the bedrock. How are you going to lift it off the planet and transport it here or into Noukiite space?"
"How big is it?" Kôdai asked.
"Twenty kilometres long by ten kilometres wide by three kilometres high."
Both tôshi gaped at Julie's words. "That's as big as Tôkyô itself!" Kôdai gasped.
"You can say that again," Mackenzie said with a nod.
"Did you people build it?" Shimei asked.
The Niphentaxians shook their heads. "When it was discovered seventy years ago, it was deactivated and had been sitting there for over fifteen thousand years," Connie explained. "We don't know who built it but obviously, they built big!." She then waved around them. "This was just one production line of 10,000 bioroids. That factory can hold a million times that at full capacity."
Silence.
"A damned instant army," Shimei breathed out.
"It's been by luck that the factory's full potential has never been really tapped into," Shasta then mused as she relaxed herself against the empty diagnostic bed that would soon be holding Hôsen's new body once it was ready. "If it did, we could create armies that could conquer the whole galaxy."
"Or they could turn around and wipe us out of Existence," Julie noted.
Mackenzie and Connie nodded in turn as Shimei and Kôdai exchanged worried looks…
Sometime later…
"Hey, Shikuko! Wake up!"
A tired moan escaped Hôsen as her eyes fluttered open, and then she blinked on sensing — or rather not sensing — the cramps and other discomforts that had driven her to her knees not an hour beforehand. She then felt her hands clench into fists as she moved to sit herself up, staring down at herself to see that she was in her school uniform, complete with knee-high white socks and shoes. A moment later, she then squinted as she felt a strange light fill the periphery of her vision. "What the hell…?" she gasped as she squeezed her eyes shut, and then moaned on noting that the darkness that should be before her eyes was now a smoky orange light.
"It's alright, Shikuko."
Warm fingertips touched the side of her head as Hôsen felt something pour into her mind. As that strange something became titbits of knowledge sprinkled with images of alien vistas, she locked in on something. Some sort of energy field… she thought. Like the Force in Star Wars, but you can see it…
<<Don't be afraid of it, Shikuko.>>
Hôsen's eyes snapped open. Kyech?!
<<Sensing the Te'a is normal for those such as we.>>
A blink. "'Te'a?'"
<<It is what our Zephyrite cousins call this field that permeates all that is,>> Kyech responded as Hôsen felt warm arms embrace her from behind, her mind registering the ki presence of Kôdai, who was now weeping at the thought of her beloved not only alive and well, but forever safe from the ravages of Lou Gehrig's disease. <<In their language, it means 'That Which Is Above mortal understanding.' What you see now, dear sister, is the True Divinity in all things. This inner eye will be with you for the rest of your life. Never fear, though. I will show you how you can use it to better prepare yourself for the long future ahead of you.>>
Hôsen blinked, and then she smiled. "Arigatô."
"Dô itashimashite," Kyech returned as she leaned over to kiss the other woman's cheek.
Hôsen's cheeks reddened at that soft touch, and then she reached up to gently grasp Kôdai's hands as she relaxed herself in the other woman's embrace. As soon as their skin touched, Hôsen then tensed on hearing babbling words thunder through her mind: …alive! Alive! She's alive! I won't lose her this time! We've beaten it! We've beaten our destiny! We're gonna live through this! Oh, Shikuko…
With a quick thought, Hôsen slammed down a mental shield between herself and her lover. Damn! Got to learn a whole new route of meditation now! she mused to herself before sensing Shimei's stare fall on her. Gazing on her cousin, Hôsen tried not to react too much on seeing tears flow down Shimei's face, a relieved look on her face. Reaching over to gently grasp her cousin's hand, Hôsen shuddered on sensing a storm of thoughts thunder through her from Shimei's mind, and then she quickly slammed down on that before breathing out. "Can't knock an old girl like me down," she mused.
Shimei shuddered. "Baka…"
Laughter filled the cavern as Hôsen turned to draw her cousin into her arms, the dam holding back Shimei's emotions shattering as she began to weep. As Kôdai shifted herself to draw Shimei into her embrace, Julie then came up with an injector to stab into the younger tôshi's neck. "Hey…OW!" Kôdai yelped as the needle plunged into her to get the blood sample, and then she reached for her neck. "What was that for?!"
"So I can create a new body for you," Julie stated as she gave the other woman a What are you asking a dumb question like THAT for? look. "It wouldn't be fair to Shikuko-sama if she was to live an Avalonian's lifespan and be forced to watch you grow old and die before she hasn't even reached the equivalent of her late twenties."
Kôdai's jaw dropped. Shimei looked surprised. "Um, how long…?" Hôsen asked.
"Eight hundred years approximately."
Eyes locked on Mackenzie, who also had a syringe injector at the ready, having moved herself in a position to get a blood sample from Hôsen's cousin.
Shimei blinked, and then she breathed out. "Damn…!"
As she held out her arm for Mackenzie, we then…
(Posted Sat, 24 Oct 2009 20:15)
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