The Palace
Dieron
Dieron Military District, Draconis Combine
4 March 3053
Gwen quickly and easily bypassed the lock on the door of Joshua’s room. She rapidly darted inside and closed the door behind her, remembering not to lock it. She moved about the dark room, assessing its layout. Granted, she’d already memorized the floor plan of the entire Palace, but the difference between a map on paper and a real room was drastic to her.
“A moment’s courage and this is over and done with.” thought Gwen to herself, trying to shore up her convictions. “You haven’t seen or spoken with him in four years. But this has to be done. We have to make contact sometime.” Gwen glanced upward towards where she knew the cameras were positioned in the room. “Have to make this look real, like I’m really here to kill him.”
She unzipped her jumpsuit all the way down to below her waist and pulled out a bundle. It was a blouse, skirt, and bra that she’d kept there to make them somewhat warm. She dropped the garments, in order from the door, on the floor heading towards the bedroom. After she dropped the bra, she reached down into the crotch of her suit to gather the last article she would need to set things up. Wanting to go for the really authentic, she’d stored the panties within her own, hoping that if nothing else, the warmth and odor of this garment would convince Joshua of the bait. Despite her efforts, Gwen somehow doubted he’d check that closely. Again, she looked up at the camera. “Yes, I’m doing everything according to the plan. But little you know it’s not Joshua I’m trying to fool here.”
She hung the panties on the door knob of the bedroom and walked inside. A tone signaled in her facemask to indicate that the hall guard had seen Joshua making his way towards her. She quickly ran into the bathroom to turn on the faucet of the tub and then darted to take her place in the corner of the bedroom. At that moment, the door opened and Joshua stepped inside. He spotted the blouse on the floor immediately, but his eyes quickly darted upward to see Gwen, dressed as she was in the ninja-uniform of a DEST assassin.
“What the…” said Joshua, drawing Anduril with a flash. He rushed Gwen, as she clumsily drew her own weapon to defend herself. Her vibrokatana came up just in time and the two swords struck together.
Joshua pushed forward against his attacker, pushing the lithe ISF agent back. The tight jumpsuit told him the gender of his assassin and dissolved any further delusions he had as to why his room had been decorated in female apparel.
Joshua lunged in again. The assassin knocked the strike aside with her own sword, but the parry was clumsy and half-hearted. Joshua was confident now that his opponent was not even close to his skill in a blade.
Gwen knew it too. “He’s gotten better. Back home, I was never as skilled as Joshua with my sword and I could never hope to beat him then. Now, with him even better, I know I can’t.” She put up another parry, trying to ward off Joshua’s aggressive and determined assaults. “He’ll kill me unless I press an advantage. Got to go on the offense.” She slashed at him, remembering her training as both a Wolverine and as a DEST ninja.
Joshua easily brought Anduril up to parry the vibrokatana. There was a loud clang as the two swords struck. Joshua leaped back, landing in the center of the room. His eyes adjusted to the darkness as his attacker lunged forward for another strike. Joshua darted to one side and struck with Anduril. His blow glanced off the katana.
Lightning quick, his attacker struck once again. Joshua darted back, the vibrokatana slicing through the cloak to his dress uniform. Joshua, annoyed, swung downward with his sword. He aimed for his opponent’s weapon and struck it hard. The blow knocked the katana downward, too far for his opponent to effectively form a good parry.
Joshua whipped Anduril back up. Gwen saw the blade slashing upward towards her face. Her mind screamed. “I didn’t want to kill you, Joshua. And now I’m going to die!”
Gwen cried out. “No, Joshua!” just as his sword struck her faceplate, cracking it. She fell backwards and landed on her back on top of Joshua’s bed.
“Who sent you?” barked Joshua, bringing Anduril up to poke at her throat.
“Don’t kill me, Joshua. You’ll never live with yourself if you do.” Her voice was unrecognizable behind the muffling of the now broken facemask. But her comment was enough to give Joshua pause. He pulled back, but kept his weapon at the ready.
“Who are you?” he demanded.
Gwen sat up and released her shattered facemask. She bent forward to let it and whatever broken glass it might contain drop onto the floor. She wiped a few pieces of glass off her face and off of the cowl of her jumpsuit. Then she stood up and looked at her old lover eye-to-eye for the first time. Without hesitation, she pulled back the cowl of her jumpsuit, letting her red hair come free.
Joshua staggered back. Anduril clattered to the floor. “It…it can’t be.”
“Yes, Joshua, it’s me.” Said Gwen.
“But you….you died…on New Vision.”
“You survived. Is it so hard to believe that others did?”
Jaime Wolf’s words came back to Joshua’s mind. “Never…never in a million years would I have thought…would I have hoped you were one of them.” He dropped back into a recliner.
Gwen picked up her sword. Had she truly been here to assassinate Joshua, she would not have a more perfect opportunity that this moment, with him unarmed. “I was sent to kill you.” She said. “And still could.”
She returned her blade to its scabbard. The game was now up. Any observer would know she had not carried out her orders. “But that’s not really why I’m here. I’m here to let you know you’re not alone. That there are others; Other Wolverines. But it seems you knew that already.”
“I did.” Said Joshua, regaining his composure. “But not who they were. Why the attack?”
“A bit of theatrics to convince my masters of my true intentions.”
“Those same masters are still watching us.” said Joshua. He pointed upward to the cameras. He knew where they were too.
“It doesn’t matter now. I’ve made my choice. There is more going on here than you know.”
“I’ve already seen a number of suspicious things.” Said Joshua.
“I don’t know a whole lot. Those of us on the operational level haven’t been briefed about the whole plan. But the ISF is determined to disrupt the proceedings. Your assassination was part of a larger plan.”
“And now that’s failed.”
“You should know I could never carry out those orders.” She smiled. “God, I’ve missed you. Four years is too long.”
“How did you survive?”
“Wondered when you’d get around to ask me that.” Gwen took a seat in another recliner. She took his hands into hers and gave them an affectionate squeeze. “When the Falcons firebombed Cumberland, I grabbed Javier and tried to flee the hospital. The two of us managed to get out into the streets as the fighters came overhead. We fled into the sewers and hid out there as the city was destroyed around us.”
“I’m amazed you survived that.”
“We nearly didn’t. But eventually Javier and I got back to the surface. From there, we were found by a Kurita scouting party.” She stood up and moved closer to Joshua. “The next thing I know, I’m on a spaceship bound for Dieron. It seems a Comstar raiding party followed the Falcons down. There was a Draconis contingent aboard that found Javier and I.”
“You were aboard the Comstar ship too? Just like Colonel Wolf said. Javier was the burned man, still injured from the Trial with me, and you were the woman. Against all hope, I never would have guessed that it would be the two of you.”
“Aff. Just as your Lyran rescuers were kept separate from the Kurita soldiers, so too were you as medical patients kept separate from Javier and I. I did not know you had survived as well until the second battle of Twycross. It was inspiring to hear that anyone could beat the Clans, so your Star Swords became an inspiration to us here in the Combine. We followed your story very closely.”
“So how’d you end up in ISF?”
“ISF command was a little confused with what to do with us. They decided after seeing our mechwarrior skills to train us as DEST soldiers. Javier and I were separated after our training. We worked together briefly on Dieron, before parting ways again.”
“So he’s not here?”
“No, he’s here. I was reunited with him for an operation back in October and he’s been with me ever since.”
“Partners in crime…” chuckled Joshua. “In more ways than one?”
“No,” she said. “No, between us and the destruction of our world, I couldn’t go back. Not feeling what I felt and knowing what I knew. Even thought we had only each other, our relationship was over. Javier’s never been happy about that, and he keeps trying each time we meet, but I keep him at arm’s length.”
“I’m sure that doesn’t make him very happy.”
“To his credit, he’s changed a lot. He’s very devout, believing strongly in the Wolverine destiny of saving the galaxy. He’s wanted to make contact with the Star Swords and you for a long time. This conference gave us our opportunity.”
“Can I trust him?”
“You will have to decide that for yourself.”
“And you? What has changed about Gwen in these past four years? You certainly aren’t any better at swordplay.”
Gwen laughed. “Ok, you’ve got me there.” She paused. “God, you have no idea how good it is for me to look in your eyes, to hear your voice, to touch you.” She let her fingers linger over the back of his hand, stopping only when they glanced atop Joshua’s wedding band.
“If you’ve been following my progress, then you no doubt know about that.” said Joshua, referring to it.
“Yeah.”
“I love her, Gwen.” said Joshua defensively.
“Who are you trying to convince?” retorted Gwen. “I know why you did it. I know you didn’t know I still lived. But I’m here. I’m alive and everything we ever wanted could be ours.” She gave the wedding band a tug and it slipped from his finger. Joshua did nothing to stop her.
Gwen leaned forward again and this time planted a kiss on Joshua’s lips. Joshua grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her close. She broke off the kiss and stood up. She took him in hand and brought him to his feet. Without another word, she led him back into the bedroom.
---
Watching through the secret camera in the ceiling fan above the bed, Richard O’Malley smiled in delight. “Seems you are human after all, Joshua. Can’t really blame you. Agent Laidir is young and beautiful…and apparently an old acquaintance.”
“Who’d have thought?” said Yuri Noriko. “This was not part of the plan. She was supposed to kill him, not screw him.”
“The plan will have to adapt.” Said Richard. “But what we are seeing is not without merit. I’ll simply report that your operative failed. Joshua is a resourceful and powerful warrior. No one will doubt that he could overpower any assassin sent by your people.”
Richard watched their lovemaking with voyeuristic interest, pausing his observation only so often to confirm that he was recording this.
“Besides,” continued Richard. “She told him enough to create suspicion, which was the whole point behind this operation anyway. It won’t be long before we have the Davion security forces jumping at shadows and glaring balefully at their Kurita counterparts. That’s a formula for disaster.”
“You had best be right about that.” Yuri stood up. “I’m going to return to the common area. I’ve seen enough.”
“Suit yourself.” He watched her leave the observation booth. “You’ll have your part to play soon enough, Ms. Noriko.” He thought quietly.
“Well, well, Joshua, what have you done?” said Richard aloud to himself. Deciding he had enough evidence, he popped the vidchip out of the recorder and looked at it as if it were solid gold. “I just wonder how well your crazy wife will react to this.”
---
Yuri walked out into the common area, which was filled with delegates, diplomats, and various security forces. It was obvious there was little trust or camaraderie between those who served the Dragon and those from the Davion delegation. But there were a few exceptions. Standing there talking to a Kurita mechwarrior was Logan, leader of the Dark Rangers. The mechwarrior walked away, leaving Logan alone. Logan was holding a glass of orange juice, probably a Screwdriver or some other mixed drink. He chugged the glass and turned to see Yuri standing there. Yuri smiled and tossed her long black hair back. She started walking towards him.
Logan tossed the disposable glass into a trash can and waited for her to get closer. “I must admit these are much better circumstances under which to meet you, Tai-sa Noriko.” said Logan.
“Being at the business end of my gun is never a fun experience.”
“Being at the business end of mine always is.” said Logan with a sly smile.
“Do you always try to charm women with talk like that?”
“Is it working?” It wasn’t so much of a question as a statement of fact. “Tell me something, Yuri. Can I call you Yuri? I’ve been thinking about taking in this beautiful city tonight. All the hustle and bustle out there. Clubs, bars, all-night shows,...cheap hotels. I was wondering if you would be interested in coming along with me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Some other time then?”
“Not likely.” said Yuri flatly.
“I’m not known for taking no for an answer.” responded Logan briskly.
“Then let us see how persistent you are, Logan-san.” Yuri brushed past Logan, grabbing a feel of Logan’s rear as she did so. Logan jerked, surprised. As she walked away, he smiled and snapped his fingers.
“Works every time.” he said and then he too walked off. Neither noticed Karl Rohan glaring at them from the corner of the room.
Dieron City club district
Dieron
Dieron Military District, Draconis Combine
4 March 3053
Logan decided to take in the night life of the city anyway. Yuri had initiated the game, and Logan felt like celebrating. “Soon, that little piece of Kurita ass is going to be mine.” He thought to himself. “I’ve never gotten to screw a woman who tried to kill me. Well, at least not before I got her into bed.”
Logan had been warned by Joshua that the ISF kept an eye on you if you left the Palace compound. Logan had been quick to spot his tail as he moved about Dieron City’s club district. Irritated, he tried to lose the agent in the crowds. That proved a futile effort.
Logan sat down at one bar after deciding to give up on his persistent shadow. He ordered a drink, and then turned to shoot the man a glance. The ISF man did not seem to care that he was discovered. He merely sat at the opposite end of the room and did nothing but watch Logan. Logan turned back as his drink arrived. He chugged the thing down and then turned back to his tail. The ISF agent was gone.
Rather than feel pleased, Logan immediately began to get paranoid. He’d only turned away for less than a minute. He got up and walked over to the place where the agent had been sitting.
“I must be out of my mind. I wanted to get rid of this guy, now I’m wondering where he went.”
The seat was empty and there was no sign of the agent. “Well, maybe he went to the bathroom. Even these ISF robots have to take a whiz sometimes.”
Logan decided to take advantage of it. Seeing the front door crowded by a large band of young men and women (college students, he surmised), Logan cut for the back door. He walked past the restroom, praying that his tail would not walk out right in front of him. No one came in or out of the restrooms as Logan made his way to the backdoor and out into the alley.
He immediately surveyed his surroundings. Looking up, he noticed something hanging from the fire escape. Backing away from the bar to get a better look, he saw the “thing” was a human body. Blood was dripping down the man’s slashed throat to the tips of his fingers, which then dripped off onto the pavement from the corpse’s dangling arms.
It was, as Logan had feared, his ISF tail.
If Logan was only paranoid before, now he was terrified. He drew his flamer pistol and headed for the street. In the open, he figured, he’d be less of a target.
Two shimmering forms appeared from the shadows at the end of the alley. Logan recognized the shimmering as the light distortion given off by a “sneak suit.” He fired the flamer pistol at the left form, and darted to his own left to dodge the tazer darts fired by the right-hand enemy.
The left enemy took the wad of burning plasma in the chest. Howling with pain, he danced about for a few seconds before the plasma seared through the tissue of his chest, frying skin, bone, lung, and heart without discrimination. He dropped over dead.
Undaunted, the right hand man turned off his sneak suit and drew a stun baton. “They want me alive. Why?” thought Logan. His finger twitched on the pistol again, but the enemy agent easily avoided the slow moving plasma burst. His opponent came low, swinging the baton up to catch Logan just under the forearm.
The stun baton was on overcharge, or so it felt. Logan felt every muscle in his body spasm at once, causing him to fire the flamer a third time. He dropped to the ground and writhed in pain, cursing the fact that of all the things that blow had done, it had failed to render him unconscious.
Logan’s attacker smashed the stun baton down on Logan’s head. Between the blow itself and the charge it delivered, Logan passed into oblivion. A van pulled up to the end of the alley and several men got out. The men carried Logan into the van.
“Now for the other one.” said the sneak suited attacker.
The Palace
Dieron
Dieron Military District, Draconis Combine
5 March 3053
Richard left the observation room. The operation was now well underway. The ISF had failed to kill Joshua, but his people had been prepared for that possibility. Richard admitted some disappointment at that, but the recording in his pocket would do far more damage to his enemies than any ISF assassin. Now for the next step in the plan. Time to see if Antoine’s security codes were good.
“Time is short.” said Richard to himself. “Granted, these new drugs work ten times better than any method of brainwashing we had before, but it still takes several hours to program the recipient. If we intend to get Logan and Yuri ready in time, I’d better move.”
Richard stepped into a broom closet and began to undress. Beneath his street clothes, he wore a sneak suit. He turned it on and headed out for one of the service elevators of the Palace.
Getting through the locked doors was easy with Antoine’s codes, as he had hoped. Richard soon found himself on the fifth floor, where Yuri’s and the other ISF operatives were staying. “Hard to imagine that we’re actually working with these people to undermine this alliance. But at least we were wise enough not to trust them to carry out their part, even with the vaunted reputation of the ISF. Now, we let the experts take over.” thought Richard to himself. His sneak suit was able to mask light and infra-red, but it was not a perfect system. Rapid motion would produce a shimmering motion that made him more obvious, not less. He had to be cautious..
Two guards marched up the hall with military precision. Richard fell into step behind them, letting his own footsteps match theirs. It prevented the various sensors in the hallway from picking him up separate from them. When he reached Yuri’s door, he moved to it and left the guards to their circuit.
Again, an Antoine Anderson code got him in the door. Yuri was apparently awake and waiting for a nighttime liaison.
“You’re more clever than I thought, Logan.” she said from the bedroom when she heard the door open. “I knew that when I left an invitation to my room on your bed that you’d find some way to get past my guards. But to get through a locked door.” With that, she came out into the living area and saw no one.
Richard smiled. In the darkness, even the distortion of his sneak suit could not be seen. Yuri was wearing lingerie too revealing for the timid. When she noticed no one there, she became alarmed and moved cautiously towards the door.
“Surely this didn’t come open on its own.” she said to herself out loud.
Without warning, Richard stabbed forward with his stun baton. Yuri yelped once and fell to the ground, a much easier victim than the stubborn Logan.
Richard unpacked a leather harness from his belt pouch and slung it under Yuri’s arms and through her crotch. He then hoisted the limp woman onto his back. He walked over to the patio window, attached his rappelling line, and was over the side. Within five minutes, he was out of the compound and on his way.
The Palace
Dieron
Dieron Military District, Draconis Combine
5 March 3053
A swirl of images, sounds, odors, and sensations roared through Logan’s head like a hurricane. His body spasmed with agony as he opened his eyes. Light flooded in. More pain. He tried to sit up, but only succeeded in rolling onto the floor to vomit.
“What has happened to me? Where am I?” At first, he thought it was a hang-over, but then remembered that even hangovers didn’t usually feel this bad.
He sat there for several seconds. His vision went in and out of focus, but finally cleared to reveal his room. Logan tried to stand again. This time he was successful.
He tried to make sense of the patterns of chaos that ran through his mind. Only two things came into his mind. He remembered seeing a woman tied into a chair. She had an artificial arm. He also remembered hearing a man talking across the room. He spoke German most of the time, a language only slightly known to Logan. Most of what he remembered sounded like gibberish, but he did remember one word that he could understand: Amaris. That was the name of the infamous Usurper, who assassinated the ruling family of the Terran Hegemony and touched off the civil war that destroyed the Star League. His name was synonymous with betrayal, much like Judas or Brutus.
Centuries of historical tradition, the same traditions that Logan ate, drank, and breathed as a child growing up, were the only thing that gave Logan clear enough through to remember the historical reference. His mind was otherwise not functional.
His head cleared further. Logan was afraid for it to get too clear, for fear he might forget something important. Unfortunately, those two clues were all he could get.
He staggered to his door, looking for the other Dark Rangers.
Doc’s room was next door. He sprung out of bed with a delighted look on his face. “Of course! It’s so simple. Why didn’t I think of it before?”
He headed over to his laptop computer. He looked about his desk. “No, I couldn’t have left the disk back at the hanger bay. Damn. Well, all’s not lost. Where’s my notebook?”
Doc scrounged around the floor for a second. “Oh no, don’t tell me I’ve misplaced it too?”
A slow but loud knock came it his door. Doc ignored it, continuing to rummage through his room.
“I can’t find my notes. I need my notes. I can’t find them!” he said frantically.
Logan pushed the door open impatiently. Doc spun, ignoring the intrusion. He looked Logan straight in the eye and said “Have you seen my notes?”
“Shut up, Doc. I’ve had a bad night.”
“Bad night? I just figured out the one last problem on making a working Streak system for the six pack and you’re telling me you’ve had a bad night. I can’t find my notes. I need them.”
Logan sat down and rubbed his eyes. “If you don’t shut up and get the others in here in less than ten seconds, I’m going shoot you somewhere very painful. And then, if you are still capable of finding your notes, I’m going to ram them up your ass. Now move!”
Doc looked at Logan. Concern crossed his face. “What’s wrong?”
“Just get the others.”
Within a minute, Cowboy and Rohan joined Logan in Doc’s room.
“So what’s the problem?” said Cowboy.
Rohan just glared balefully at Logan. Logan was too sick to care. Without a word, he moved on into Logan’s room to look around.
“Where was I last night?” he asked.
“Beats the hell out of me.” said Doc. “I was at the hanger all day. Damnit, I still can’t find my notes.”
“Shut up.” said the other three in unison.
“Spend any time with Yuri?” asked Rohan with a stern tone, returning from Logan’s room.
“No, she turned me down.”
“Then what’s this?”
Logan looked at the folded note Rohan gave him. “I have no idea.” he said after reading it.
Before Rohan conjure up an angry retort, Cowboy spoke up. “Don’t bring some personal squabble into this.”
“I don’t remember a thing, Karl. Honest.” said Logan. “But I do know I have not seen that note before now.”
“So you weren’t with Yuri?”
“No, I was not. No, wait, Yuri has a cyberarm, doesn’t she?”
“Yes.” said Rohan. “Lost her arm on Turtle Bay.”
“But I did see her. I know that was her. I saw her.”
“Saw her? Saw her where? What are you talking about, Logan?” said Cowboy.
“He was probably too drunk to remember he was sleeping with my lover last night.” snapped Rohan.
Logan stood up, anger boiling to the surface. “I’ve just about had enough of you.”
“I saw you with her in the common room. I didn’t need your help making my reunion any harder.”
“I can’t believe the two of you are fighting over a woman who six months ago was trying to kill you both.” said Doc casually. He was universally ignored by the others.
“I didn’t see your name on her, Rohan.” continued Logan hotly. “She’s fair game in my book. Hell, from where I’m standing, it seemed she was far more interested in me than in you.”
“Both of you stop it.” said Doc, refusing to be ignored this time and stepping between them. “Logan, sit down and tell us what’s happened. What do you remember?”
Logan collapsed into his seat, his legs surrendering to fatigue. “All I remember was going down into the city by myself. Then all I remember before waking up this morning is a swirl of images that includes Yuri and a man talking about Amaris in German.”
“A dream?” suggested Doc.
“Possibly.” said Cowboy.
“I’d swear it was real. I was so sick when I woke up I could barely move. There’s a nice pile of puke on the floor of my room if you need any proof.”
“Found it.” said Rohan irritated. “Stepped right in it.”
“Well then what happened to you?” said Doc.
“I don’t know.” said Logan desperately.
“Let’s go find Yuri.” said Rohan. “Maybe she has some answers.”
“That’s not a good idea.” said Cowboy. “We don’t know if she’s the one that did this to him. For all we know, he really did take her up on this invite after he got back from his sojourn in the city and that’s when they jumped him.”
“I refuse to believe Yuri is responsible for this.” Said Rohan.
“She’s ISF, Karl.” said Doc. “Regardless of what feelings she may have had for you once, duty is everything to them. If her orders are to do Logan harm somehow, she’ll do it, and all those good times are not going to get her to tell you why or even if she did do it.”
“We can’t trust her. We go to General Messer.” said Logan.
---
Gwen hurriedly made her way down to her quarters. She was quivering with excitement by what had taken place the night before. All that she had hoped and wanted for four years was coming to pass.
As she walked into her room, Javier looked up from his seat on her sofa. “Good morning.” he said cheerfully. “Seeing as I heard no alarm last night, no commotion, I presume things went well with you and Joshua.”
“They did.”
“Now we have to figure out how to explain why the both of you are still alive. The die is cast.”
“I know.” Said Gwen. “And so do they.”
“So be it. Joshua can provide us the sanctuary we need. But there may be another way…”
“What are you suggesting?”
“Those recordings could be conveniently lost and those observers disposed of. It would buy us time.”
“Yuri was monitoring last night. You aren’t suggesting…”
“I am.” Said Javier. “In some ways, I’m surprised she’s not here to arrest you already. Best take advantage of that.” He drew his sidearm and pulled back the slide to chamber a round. “Let’s go.”
The two made their way over to Yuri’s quarters, prepared for the worst. They did not expect to find the mess they encountered.
Yuri was lying naked in the bathtub, which was filled half-and-half with water and vomit. She had apparently tried to bathe, but the rebellion her body was successfully carrying out prevented that. She was barely awake, and oblivious to the filth she was soaking in.
“This is unexpected.” Said Javier.
“Put your gun away. Something is wrong.” Said Gwen. “Go, see if you can find the recording.”
“Aff.” Said Javier as Gwen moved to nurse Yuri back from semi-consciousness.
“What happened to you?” asked Gwen as Yuri came around.
“I don’t….I don’t know.” She muttered.
“Can you stand?”
“I can try.” Yuri came to her feet with assistance from Gwen. Gwen got a towel and worked to wipe the filth off of Yuri’s body. She then got a robe and put it on her.
“What do you remember, Sho-sa?”
“I remember waiting up for Logan and hearing what I thought was him coming in. Nothing more than that. I woke up in my bed feeling like I had to get better to die.”
“Logan, the mercenary? Why?” asked Javier from the other room.
“Hey, I might be 37 years old, but this body’s still got some life left in it.” She yanked the robe aside to give Jean a view.
“Yes, Sho-sa, I believe you.” said Javier, trying to be polite. Not easy with a woman flashing her chest at you.
“Did he arrive?” asked Gwen.
“Ie. I never saw him.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I do remember voices though. Words in German.”
“Lyrans?” said Javier. “Where did you hear the voices?”
“I don’t know. Not here. Somewhere else. More enclosed, the voices echoed. Metal walls.”
“How could you have been taken somewhere?”
“Unless I am hallucinating,” she said, regaining more of her composure. “and I would not rule that out, then I was indeed removed somehow. Check the security sensor records. Something funny should turn up.”
“And Logan?”
“Find him. I want to know where he is and what he is doing.” said Yuri. “Libereux-san, the tapes. Laidir-san, you get Logan.”
“Hai. And Yuri, you stay here.”
“Yokai.” said Yuri with an exaggerated salute. She sat down on the bed, slumped over onto her back, and lay still.
“Will she be okay?” asked Gwen.
“I’ll get the medics in here to check her out.” said Javier. “There’s no recording in her personal effects. I’ll check for our recording as well as the one of Yuri’s abduction. Something big is up, bigger than the ISF operation against Joshua. We may want to approach Joshua about this.”
“I was already planning on it. Go! Let’s see what we can learn.”
---
Joshua had gone down to the makeshift hanger at the Palace to check up on Galileo III when the Dark Rangers found him. Ryan Smith was there assisting him when Logan, assisted by Doc’s able hand, staggered to the foot of the mech and called for Joshua to come down.
“You keep checking on that power surge, Ryan. The last thing I need is my targeting computer interface to blow because of an overworked surge protector.”
“God, I liked it better when these mechs were brand new and not jury-rigged to death.” complained Ryan.
Joshua climbed a few rungs down the ladder. “Hey, it gives them personalities.”
“Yeah, bad ones.”
Joshua climbed down. “What happened to you?” he said amused to Logan.
“That’s what I came to talk about.” said Logan. He then related his story, as best he knew it, to Joshua.
“Sounds like a bad trip.”
“Last time I go into the city.” said Logan.
“Not the kind of trip he meant, I believe, Logan.” said Cowboy.
“Sniff the bottom of Rohan’s boots if you want proof as to how real it was.”
“Excuse me?”
“Never mind.” Said Logan. “There were some unpleasant physical aftereffects, a pile of which is on my bathroom floor.”
“Not unusual for those sort of symptoms to go along with a hangover, particularly a bad one.”
“This is no hangover. It’s something else.”
“I believe you. I myself had encounters last night that has raised my suspicions. Something is going on. There are means to verify parts of your story. If he came back into the Palace, drunk or no, there will be a recording of it. Let’s find that. If he came back with someone, that gives us a lead.”
“So we do have a mystery on our hands.” said Rohan.
“We do indeed, my mercenary friend.” said Joshua. “And we have two big questions to solve. First and obviously is who did this to Logan? Secondly, is what did they do?”
“Fucked me up pretty hard.” said Logan.
“Yeah, but to what end, Logan? Something’s awry with your body chemistry. That tends to indicate......”
“....drugs. But not the booze we were meant to think.”
“No, I’m thinking truth serums or something else as insidious. And if you’re right about seeing Commander Noriko there too, that means that our culprits are after both the Kurita security force and our own.”
“Assuming she wasn’t supervising?”
“True. But, unlike you guys, I do have someone I can trust on the Kurita team.”
“Would that be her now?” said Cowboy, motioning towards a redheaded female moving across the lawn.
“Aye, that it would.”
Ryan Smith stood up in the cockpit and came down. “Isolated the problem, Joshua. It should be fixed. Now what’s going on?”
“We have a problem, Ryan. A breech in our security. Someone’s done something to Logan.”
“What did they do?” said Ryan, just as Gwen walked up.
“We don’t know.”
“You look as bad as Sho-sa Noriko.” said Gwen to Logan.
Ryan turned, having failed to notice her approach until now. “What the hell?” said Ryan, recognizing her instantly.
“It would seem that Joshua was not alone. Good to see you again, Ryan.”
“Gwen? Gwen Laidir? Is that really you?”
“Explanations for that will come later. Right now, we have a more pressing matter.” Said Joshua to his friend.
“So they got Yuri too, then?” asked Rohan.
“Hai.” said Gwen. “Javier and I found her in the bathtub, covered in her own vomit.”
“Oh, that’s a pleasant image.” said Doc sarcastically.
“Obviously, something big is going on here and we barely know anything at this time. Time for that explanation, Ryan. Gwen came to my room last night. She and Javier have been working for the ISF for years, ever since they were recovered from New Vision like we were. Gwen told me that the ISF is working against the Alliance and that they sent her to assassinate me in order to arouse suspicion and distrust. Of course, they didn’t count on her being an old friend. Now this thing with Yuri and Logan. It may imply another similar operation.”
“This was not us.” said Gwen flatly.
“Can you be sure of that? You said yourself last night that folks like you on the operational level are kept in the dark as to the details of the full operation.” Said Joshua. Gwen shrugged in reply.
“It could be us.” said Ryan. “Someone in the FedCom is working at the same objective.”
“It could also be an outside force.” said Gwen. “Marik is not fond of this treaty. The Free Worlds League stands to gain much by disrupting this conference.”
“Here comes Ugly. Guess they didn’t leave him on Chandler either.” said Logan. Javier walked out of the Palace proper and made his way towards the hanger.
Despite the scars, Joshua instantly recognized his old rival. “I take it you’ve met.”
“Not formally. He was on Chandler. You don’t exactly forget that face.”
“Great,” said Ryan, also recognizing Javier. “Of all those who had to survive.”
“Now we get to see if your claims that he has changed are for real, Gwen.” Said Joshua. He stepped forward to greet Javier. Joshua prepared to salute, but was surprised to see Javier kneel.
“I recognize thee and greet thee, Javier Libereux.” said Joshua, somewhat embarrassed. “Stand up. You needn’t be so damned formal.”
“Sorry, my Khan. It’s been a long time.”
“When last we spoke, you wanted my head on a platter.” said Joshua. “I figured getting anything more than a polite salute was wishful thinking.”
“That was a long time ago and in another world. Those days are long past. And at long last, all the children of the True Kerensky are finally united. Gwen and I, we are yours.”
Logan leaned over to Ryan. “Now I’m the one who’s lost.”
“These two ISF…are not Kurita born. They hail from the same homeworld as Joshua and I. In fact, we know one another quite well.”
Javier turned at hearing Ryan’s explanation. “Ryan? That is your name. You were one of Joshua’s sibkin, were you not?”
“I am.” Said Ryan.
“So there are others. Other survivors besides Joshua. We only knew of him because of the press the Star Swords have received. How many?”
“Initially, there were seven of us who survived and came to the FedCom.” Said Joshua. “Two fell in our battles against the Clans. Five remain: Myself and Ryan of course, but also Daisaku Hayakusora, Erik Iolair, and my sister Marta. And now we find the two of you alive as well.”
“Not to break up this happy reunion…” said Rohan.
“Agreed. There will be time to reminisce later.” Said Joshua. “Right now there are more pressing matters.”
Gwen spoke next. “So what are you proposing we do about this?”
“I think all of us here are agreed in purpose. Whoever this is who is working against this alliance is our enemy and they must be stopped. We should combine our efforts. Work together and try to find out who’s behind this.”
Javier nodded. “Agreed. Where do we start?”
“I think Ryan is right.” Said Joshua. “I think this new development is the work of a FedCom group.”
“And why do you think that?” asked Javier.
“O’Malley is here.”
“What?” said Ryan.
“Who’s O’Malley?” asked Gwen.
“Richard O’Malley is a DMI Intelligence operative and a former mechwarrior of the Star Swords. He deserted us on New Belfast some months ago. I saw him last night. I don’t know why he’s here, but it must be something important for him to risk contact with his former unit. I’m not sure why he’d be involved, but his presence here is suspicious.”
Logan raised his hand like a student in school. “It might be wise to try to backtrack to where I last remember being. We did suggest that a minute ago.”
“Doc, can you and the Rangers take care of that?” said Joshua. “We’ll cover things on this end.”
Logan nodded for Doc. “I am still here, Joshua.” He reminded sternly. “The Dark Rangers are still my command.”
“But you’re sick as a dog and we still need to find out what they did to you.” Joshua turned to Javier. “Can you do a chemical analysis on his blood?”
“Hai. That’s easy. I’ve already ordered one for Yuri.”
“Do Logan too. Once that’s over with, Logan, take your Rangers and see what you can learn.”
Logan nodded. “That’s better. Can do.”
Javier looked at Logan and began to leave. Gwen followed after them, but Joshua chased her down. Ryan remained with the mech and watched from a distance.
“You need something else?” asked Gwen.
“We need to talk.” Said Joshua. “About last night…”
“You said it yourself. Right now there are more pressing matters.”
“You have my ring.”
“It’s safe.” She said. “It’s not like you need it right now.”
“You would dare keep it from me?” said Joshua, getting angry.
“Why not? It’s not like it means anything any more.”
“How dare you say that?”
“Don’t lie to yourself, Joshua. You were just as willing as I was last night. I never stopped loving you, Joshua. And neither did your feelings end for me. Last night proved that.”
Joshua’s face grew flushed with shame, but he said nothing.
“You did what you had to.” Gwen continued. “But none of that matters now. All that we ever wanted, all that you ever wanted, it can happen now. But only if you let it.” She turned and walked away.
Ryan moved up next to Joshua. He had overheard much of the conversation. “Joshua, what have you done?”
Joshua looked at his friend sternly and then walked away without a word.
Next Chapter
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