Megane watched the shining orrery on the table spin idly. It was a gift from a certain dignitary that he couldn't remember the name of. He was sure that he was a Yehisrite, though. One from the faction that didn't hate Tomobiki, he remembered that for sure. But he never felt it was his place to remember names with faces. That was more Lum's job. He had his people to consider, she had hers.
It was a beautiful thing, however: delicately made of the finest metals, organised and conducted in such a way that each and every ring that represented orbit of each of the Federation homeworlds hovered freely in the air without the need for support. Lum told him that it was supposed to represent the unity of the Federation and the importance of such.
The room was one of the Mendou mansions conference areas, designed for keeping in contact with the newly made Mendou-Mizunokoji-Toranoseishin conglomerate's international business partners and subsidiaries. It was a spacious room with large glass windows draped with thick curtains, sparsely furnished but for a long oval table, a small holoprojector mounted in the center to display to the people seated around it. Currently around the oval table was him, Lum, his fellow bodyguards Perm, Chibi and Kakugari, and some of the people around from Engineering and Medical Operations.
With some minor working from Lum and her family, the room was connected to the communications hub for their own ramshackle group to be able to keep tabs on the world outside of Nerima, reaching out across the galaxy thanks to the Mendou satellite network and various alien jiggery-pokery. However, the person they were currently speaking wasn't aligned with any of the many nation-states of the galaxy. In fact, most of the people on the other end of the conversation Megane knew very well.
“I hear news isn't good down on Earth..." Amora de Rosenbach, former empress of the Kingdom of Elle said. “If the Saotomes and Tendos have been converted, then that means that all of Nerima Ward has been converted. It won't be long before they'll be able to spread the virus across Tokyo.”
Lum nodded towards the screen. "We all prayed that Darling's last encounter with the Prime would have left the Converters crippled enough for us to hunt the remnants down without further incident. But it seems that we're finding more and more gynoids with each operation. The most we can do is track down and destroy the various operations and rescue the newly converted."
Amora's eyes turned away from the camera. “Much is the same up here. With Phentax all but cut off, the Federation has finally lost it's grip on a powerful ally. It won't be long before we will have to reveal ourselves for their sake. It seems we have all underestimated the Converters, in tenacity and intelligence as well as in ruthlessness, and we have paid a heavy cost for it. All of us have."
Megane looked over at Lum's face, and noticed the same expression of pain and fear he saw earlier in the day. It was an expression that expressed a pain that he had grown accustomed to.
He turned his gaze back to Amora on the screen. "We at least have one advantage over them, in the form of Saotome and the Tendous we managed to rescue. They have leads into possible bases for the Converter cells, more advanced bodies, plus more than enough combat experience to be able to put into service against them. The only question is giving them the incentive to fight."
“Don't worry, Satoshi-kun." Lum replied. "If I know these people like Darling did, they won't need any great encouragement to fight the Converters. Thank you, Elle. That will be all.”
“We'll come home soon, Lum. I know that it has been hard for you recently. And Honey has been yearning for you for far too long.”
Lum nodded. “Please, don't worry about me. Help the Phentaxians first. Home Base out.”
Amora's face faded into darkness, and the screen flicked over to a litany 24-hour news networks. The room quickly illuminated again, the curtains automatically sliding open to let in the moonlight again.
Lum turned in her seat, her eyes scanning across the other people present. In response was a general aura of discomfort and sympathy. She took in a deep breath, steeling herself for the inevitable difficulties that were about to descend on her shoulders. “So... What now?”
Well...
(Posted Fri, 16 Jan 2015 00:54)
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