An hour after the meeting aboard Arizona…
"So why is it you chose Haida as your flagship? Why not Yamato?"
Hiromi smiled. She was currently entertaining the contingent from the Specialised Warfare Regiment of Canada in the just-commissioned HMCS Haida's main lounge. The members of SG-1 had been invited aboard the K'ekseuk so they could have an informal meeting with Kaep' and Sheko before the Noukiite imperial chancellor and the prince of Kyotos would be transported via shipboard stargate to Stargate Command's headquarters in Colorado the following day for a meeting with the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the President of the United States. Kashin had been sent back to Uru after depositing King Fuyu on Triton; Invader, the Neptunian monarch and Yethis had been made to go home by their wives/sister to ensure no intergalactic incident would arise from the revelation to the states of the Galactic Federation that Earth possessed a stargate of all things. The mothers/guardian of Ataru's lovers had stayed with their daughters as they transferred to Haida; she and Arizona had returned to orbit over Earth alongside the Noukiite and Yehisrite ships while the North Atlantic Division of the VDEF remained on patrol.
"Because I wished to show that despite my being Japanese (in body) and Chinese (in spirit), I was able to look beyond mere nationalities and see a larger picture, Commander Kennison," she replied. Maria Kennison — now dressed in an Arctic-pattern CADPAT uniform with her rank displayed on her front; her companions were dressed the same way — had been invited aboard the Canadian warship by Jun'iku Bunjaku so she could join her sister and co-workers in taking official possession of Haida. Already, the Maple Leaf Flag, the Canadian Forces tri-service ensign, the Canadian Navy jack, the ensign of Canada Command and the red-and-sky blue (divided by a gold bend sinister) flag of the Specialised Warfare Regiment were displayed in twin rows of colours to both sides of the lounge's entrance. "Countries like America, Russia and China all possess bad reputations in certain parts of the world. Japan still has the dark shadows of World War Two haunting its relations with its neighbours to this very day. Unlike those nations, the Dominion and her citizens hardly raise any negative thoughts anywhere on Earth." A sigh. "For all our sakes, I needed to project as welcoming and as friendly an image of the EDF as I could to those who would be asked to help support them in their future efforts. In that, I believe I succeeded."
"I think you have," the commander of the boarding team from the Regiment, Major Chris Lightholler of the 9th Defence Squadron, stated. "We've been contacted by many groups across the planet asking how soon they could send people up to take control of their ships. A lot of positive words have been said about the wide assortment of nations you have represented in your force. Of course, to make sure it all runs smoothly — especially given the situation with the Avalonians being all women — we'll dispatch telepathic teams out to monitor the behaviour of those who will be allowed to go aboard these ships. We don't want a war to start over how this fleet's going to be used."
"I appreciate that," Hiromi stated.
"There is one question I have, though."
Eyes locked on Lieutenant (Navy) Stephen Caldwell. Given the call-sign "Warlock" in the 33rd Operations Squadron, he was the team's resident genius and gadget-maker. In fact, his IQ was considered so abnormally high, he was considered to be a metahuman (the Regiment utterly REFUSED to use the emotionally-charged term "mutant" when it came to those who were born with paranormal or metahuman abilities, as many in the 33rd Squadron had been), thus was made a navy officer even if he was technically part of the Communications and Electronics Branch of the Canadian Forces in lieu of being a "line grunt" and being given the right to wear the Regiment's phoenix-and-crossed lightning bolts hat badge and other insignia.
"What question is that, Lieutenant?" Hiromi asked.
"Didn't you think it would have been wise to build support mechanisms for these ships?" Stephen asked. "Spacedocks and the like. These ships are just too massive to be allowed to float on the ocean and even if we poured all our efforts into it, it'll be some years before we could create the necessary spacedocks to help with maintenance, refit and new construction." He then blinked. "Or did you feel…"
"Our actions were a little rushed, but we did plan for it, sir," Bunjaku advised him. "We were hoping for a quiet time so that we could help Onē-san…" — as the members of the Regiment were all polyglots, Japanese was being spoken here — "…and start the movement of the fleet to Earth. The whole matter with Prince Rupa and Hensō-san's effectively holding the Earth hostage to make Ataru-oniisan submit to her will forced our hand. But Tsukihana-kun and I planned for that contingency."
"How so?" Captain Lorrie Melanko, the second-in-command of the 33rd Squadron, asked.
"We'll steal them."
Silence.
"You'll STEAL them?!" Lynn Kennison gasped.
"From the Niphentaxians, of course."
More silence.
"How are you going to do that?" Maria asked.
Hiromi smirked. "What was the failure of Operation Z?"
The Canadians blinked. "The attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941?" Chief Petty Officer 1st Class Ursula Patton — the 33rd's squadron sergeant-major even if her magical powers made her Navy and not Army; she preferred to be known as the "squadron coxswain" — then asked before shrugging. "Too easy. Yamamoto and Nagumo never pressed the attack on the support installations after the American fleet was taken out. Admiral Kimmel — and after he was relieved, Fleet Admiral Nimitz — were able to sortie with carriers and submarines right after the smoke cleared. The docking facilities were almost all untouched and back in full operation in hours."
"That's right," Ataru cut in. "Regardless of the technological differences between our ships and the Niphentaxians, they still outnumber us sixty-to-one. We need to stop Ōgi from being able to press any attack in our direction. How? Well, part of that relates to what Hiromi-chan did early this morning with those destroyers near Neptune." He then indicated the six ex-slave engineers that had been assigned to Haida; they had been invited along with the original "plank owners" to the lounge so they could be interviewed and examined by the Canadians. "Most of the artisans and engineers in the Niphentaxian Navy these days are Avalonians. Your squadron medic's already found the means to detect the cellular differences between Avalonians and other peoples. Take them away and Ōgi's ships won't be able to operate for quite a while." He then smirked as he gazed on Lum. "And Lum here was able to extract information about where their mobile spacedock force — which is almost ALL Avalonians! — is located."
"Right over Phentax Twelve, where the bioroid factory is," Benten added.
The Canadians all shook their heads. "You would believe these people would be smarter than that!" Chris noted. "Depending so much on a slave race…"
"I've scanned the minds of the observers that were based in and around Tomobiki on previous visits here, Chris," Maria stated. "Their belief in their invincibility has made them blind to a lot of things around them. And they're scared, too."
"Of what?" Ran asked.
"Of a prophecy, believe it or not."
Silence.
"What prophecy?" Benten asked. "I never heard anything about that."
"You won't," Maria stated. "It was known to all the observers that were in Tomobiki; that's why they were so willing to do anything to twist the diary copies they obtain around to fit the 'party line' with the Church." A sigh. "It has been believed in recent centuries on Phentax Two that if ever there came a 'one true faith' that would take the hearts of ALL — or almost all — of the population, a danger would arise." She shrugged. "Given how fast they're willing to discard and adopt new ways of thinking, new social customs, new attitudes…"
"My dear God!" Stephen breathed out. "That would be something."
"What do you mean, Lieutenant?" Lum asked.
"Heresy and apostasy are considered capital crimes on that world," the lieutenant said. "If suddenly something came along that caused the faithful to question what their leaders were doing — and given that in this case, the 'faithful' include almost ALL the native population — could you IMAGINE what could happen next?"
"It would make what's happening on Vos now look like a garden tea party!" Ursula said as many people tensed on realizing what Stephen's words ultimately meant.
"A worldwide civil war," Oyuki mused.
"Agreed," Maria noted. "And somehow, I suspect that the leaders of the other Federation worlds either know of this or have taken the time to sit back and figure it out," she said as she gazed on the others in the room. "Fear makes people do all sorts of stupid things. Including pretending there's no problem at all."
Ataru, his lovers, Hiromi and her friends all exchanged looks. "The total lack of response from all the planets after Lecashuto got bombed," Benten said.
"Their willingness to support a 'shoot-to-kill-on-sight' order for Ganzo dai-Louc when all he was doing was trying to spread the word about the Avalonians," Oyuki added.
"Not to mention their willingness to ignore any requests from the SCAA to openly declare their presence in and around Tomobiki," Ataru added with a growl.
"AND their willingness to just stand by and allow them to strut around the galaxy like they were the lords of everything!" Lum spat out. "Tcha…"
Silence fell as they considered that…
"I want to be an Avalonian."
Hearing Miyake Shinobu's comment, Fujinami Ryūnosuke grinned as she reached over to squeeze her friend's shoulder. "Can't blame you a bit, Shinobu," she said as they watched the six bodies in their gestation tanks transform from white-skinned mannequin-like constructs into living, breathing people. "Something like what happened to Hiromi would make anyone want it." She then gazed on the two other guests Bunjaku had brought aboard Haida when Maria Kennison came up to meet her sister and teammates. "You two sure you wouldn't mind this?" she asked Ryomō Shimei and Ryofu Hōsen.
The Sebone cousins exchanged looks, and then shrugged. "Ataru-kun and Hiromi-chan made oaths to Nozomi-chan when it came to both of us, Ryūnosuke-kun," Hōsen said as she turned back to watch her facial and other features form on her replacement body. "If this is the way they feel they can fulfil that oath, I'll go for it."
"Yeah," Shimei mused as she gave her cousin a knowing look.
"Anyone want something to eat?"
Eyes turned as Moroboshi Tariko came up to join them, a mug of juice in hand. Everyone was now in Haida's main sick bay. The unconscious bodies of Redet Hensō, Aruka Damasu, Shigaten Kamen and Mienai were laid out on side-by-side beds as the Old Lady of the Oak Forest and Moroboshi Negako deeply examined them. Also watching them were their worried mothers (or in Damasu's case, her legal guardian and would-be mother-in-law; Yedris was Rei's mother), all of whom had worried looks on their faces. Given the intensive look on Negako's face, it didn't look good. "Not hungry," Shinobu admitted as she and her classmates gazed on her. "How are you doing?"
A shrug. "I dunno. I mean, I've had a week since I got this body to adjust to being a girl full-time, not to mention reflect on what's happened to me over the last year since Hensō came. 'And sanity left,'" she added with a wink to her ex-girlfriend (Tariko was just as comfortable thinking that way of Shinobu as her twin). As the others laughed, she sipped her juice. "I won't be like I was before we met Elle. And I sure as hell hope I won't be the ogre I became after the Marchenland opened."
"Well, you did have more than enough reasons to be upset at being separated from Lum and the others like you were, not to mention being forced to endure Hensō's behaviour all the time," Marubeya Momoe noted as she came up to stand close to Ataru's twin. "And admittedly, we were kind of rough on you because of Mendō-san."
Tariko smirked. "Let's just put the past where it belongs and don't harp on it anymore, Momoe-chan. The part of me that's loved Lum, Benten, Oyuki and Ran is with them now. The part of me that's always just wanted to live my life as free as possible is me now. Onē-san's free. Hiromi's free. Everyone came out winners in all this." She then gazed on the unconscious alien girls nearby. "Well, hopefully everyone will be winners in this pretty soon," she said as she sipped her juice.
"What problems could there be?" Tsuruya Rumiko asked. "It's a straight soul-transfer. Just like what Hiromi-chan and Negako-san needed to get into their new bodies."
"Not so simple," Tariko warned. "As far as Obā-chan could learn, the controlling orb disappeared from Yūbinsei about six years ago, the year prior to this whole mess staring for Lum and the others. She's convinced now it's in the Phentax system." A sigh. "Wouldn't it just be our luck if the damned thing was on Phentax Twelve?"
"The bioroid factory, you mean?" Ryūnosuke asked.
A nod. "From what Tsukihana-kun and Ayami-chan found out from that bastard that created all the first group of girls Hiromi got her hands on, the factory could fully prepare an un-templated bioroid in hours." Tariko then indicated the six templating bodies in their gestation tanks located against one bulkhead. "We want to make sure nothing goes wrong, so we're taking our time with these."
"Excuse me?"
"What is it?" Tariko asked as Mrs. Invader came up.
The older Oni gazed on this female version of her soon-to-be son-in-law, and then she deeply bowed to her. "Moroboshi-hime, on behalf of my family, I must apologise to you for my younger daughter's shocking behaviour over the last year when it came to you and your family." She straightened herself. "I didn't realise how bad it had really been for Ataru and yourself when Hensō and Ten were living with you." She took a deep breath. "Kyech-san was quite thorough in explaining THAT to me, recalling exactly what Ataru had told her when he was with her on Okusei." She shook her head. "Like every mother in the universe — pardon me, like ALMOST every mother in the universe…" — an incensed look briefly flashed in her green eyes as she recalled the few times she had met Moroboshi Kinshō — "…I just wanted the best for my child. But I didn't realise how much Hensō was willing to hem Ataru and yourself in like she did." She shrugged. "I really have no excuse…"
"Ma'am, don't apologise for something that really wasn't your fault," Tariko gently cut her off. "In truth, everyone shares the blame in this whole mess. Some more than others, but now's not the time to point fingers and say 'It's your fault' that such-and-such happened." She finished the rest of her juice. "I don't want to dwell on the past anymore. It's never been my style. Even with an Avalonian lifespan, life's too damned short to spend time regretting things that could have happened but didn't."
"What happens to you now?" Shigaten Miroku asked as she, Samui and Yedris came up to join them. "I know of the split between yourself and your siblings and your parents. Where will you live? Who will help take care of you?"
"Now that she's back on Earth, Onē-san will become our legal guardians; our friend Kamekichi Tampopo has been legally serving as that since right after Ataru, Hiromi and I came back from Okusei." Tariko then smirked. "That was quite the shock for Tō-san and Kā-san when we dropped that on that on them last week, learning how Ataru had tricked him into signing away the transfer of guardianship papers while he was busy reading the evening news a couple days after we got back and everything went back to 'normal,' so to speak."
"How was Tampopo-san able to get away with it?" Shinobu asked.
"Thank Kā-san for not delving too deep into what was going on with the family she married into," Tariko said. "She never cared one bit for Obā-san or what she wanted; that was quite mutual. So she never knew that when she died, Obā-san left a trust fund for Ataru and I we could tap into when we turned twenty." A roll of the eyes. "Only thing positive she ever really did for both of us!" A sigh. "None of Oji-san's workers never told either of them a thing about it; the less he had to do with Tō-san and Kā-san, the better he liked it, so we were pretty much safe there." A sigh. "Tampopo-chan's arranging to get hold of a nice property close to where Damasu had her ship so we could move in; our trust fund will pay for it and keep a tidy sum in reserve to pay for university and all that so we can finally get jobs. And we can always work part-time jobs at Tampopo-chan's place; Hiromi does that now and Tampopo-chan knows both Ataru and I will pitch in when we have to."
"What about Negako-san?" Shimei asked. "Is she going to take on students? She IS the grandmaster of your family school of ninjutsu, remember?"
"That'll be decided way in the future, Mimōko-chan. Right now, we've got some more important things to worry about," Tariko warned her, and then she sighed as she moved to stretch herself. "Well, I don't know about all of you, but I'm tired and I want to get some shut-eye before going to class tomorrow morning. Anyone want to stay up here for the night? We've got room for loads of people up here."
"Will the Canucks mind?" Ryūnosuke asked.
"They're okay about it."
Everyone laughed. "We'll stay here," Shinobu said as she smiled fondly at Tariko. "Before we came here, we told our families we'd be having a pyjama party with Hiromi-chan." As the others from Tomobiki High School laughed, she then gazed on Ryūnosuke. "You should have seen how much Ryūnosuke-kun's father freaked when he heard that."
"I'll bet he did," Tariko mused, and then she gazed on the tomboy. "Is it true?"
"What?!"
"That Hiromi did a soulsword exorcism on Nagisa?!"
Ryūnosuke blanched as others laughed while we…
(Posted Sat, 29 May 2010 03:22)
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