Legend: "(...)" Japanese dialogue. ------ He looked over the side of the ship at the school of dolphins racing along the stern, the northeasterly wind filling his nostrils with the smell of the ship's kitchen and the Pacific. Above him, he heard the seagulls and pelicans calling out to one another, and smiled. Birds meant land. And after all the maritime traveling he'd been through, he was becoming restless to reach his destination. It had taken longer to get this far than he thought it would. First traveling by commercial steamship, he made it as far as Morocco, where a fever had detained him for a few weeks. Next, a fishing barque (sailing vessel with three or more masts) brought him to South Africa, on the way nearly capsizing during a storm. It was on the wailing vessel to India that he met the old toothless mariner with a tattoo of a girl on his forearm that he was able to make dance by flexing his arm. And finally, there was the Genom International supply ship that he was now on, which had a two-day stopover in the Philippines. He'd been sick over the side of each ship more times than he cared to remember. At each port, the prostitutes and pimps seemed to single him out most to try to approach, offering their wares. He now knew what Rum tasted like, what opium smelled like (although he never used it himself, the ports where he landed in India and the Philippines reeked of the stuff), and how to tie a half-dozen sailor's knots. A set of footsteps coming up behind him, along with the odor of pipe tobacco, brought him back to the present. "Having a look at the dolphins, eh lad?" the first mate asked. "Huh? Oh, yes. Magnificent creatures, eh?" "Hmm, I guess. Although once you've sailed the trade routes enough you soon enough become used to the fish." "Actually, they're not fish." "Eh, what's that lad?" "See, they don't have gills. Technically speaking, they're mammals, same as you or Nick there." He said, pointing at the collie the ship had adopted as its mascot. "Well I'll be. Dolphins ain't fish, eh?" He shook his head, then continued, "So, where exactly are you bound to, lad?" "Tokyo. It's a city in Japan." "Japan? Blimy, why the bleedin' hell would you want to go to someplace like that?" "Oh, well you see, my sister lives there." "What? You have a sister in Japan?" He came closer to the youth, squinting at his face, "You don't look like no oriental, lad." "I'm not, and neither is she." "Hmm... Still, Japan of all the bloody places." He said as he walked away. The youth turned back to the ocean, and went back to watching the dolphins. ------ It was a room no one else was allowed to enter. She put the key in the door and immediately displaced a layer of dust upon entering the room. She had to see it again, to know it was safe. To know it hadn't fallen into anyone else's hands. "It will end wars by making them too costly for both sides." she could remember him saying. When Dr. Richard Gatling had patented his gatling gun back in 1861, he'd thought the same thing. A gun that could fire two hundred rounds a minute; who would be willing to put men in harms way against such a monstrosity? "You're mad. This thing, it won't end wars, it will only escalate them." her mother had told him. Her father, however, believed that Gatling's failing lay in not thinking big enough. If one could invent a weapon that went beyond the gatling gun, say one that fired five hundred rounds a minute instead of two hundred, then you would have a weapon capable of making warfare unfeasible. She pulled away the cloth and looked at the monstrosity her father built. Unlike the gatling, it had no hand crank. One simply pulled the trigger, and held it. A large cylinder of water surrounded the barrel to keep it from overheating. The energy of each bullets recoil force would be used to eject the spent cartridge and insert the next one. It would fire and fire until the entire belt of bullets was used up. She would have destroyed it long ago, but it was one of the few things of her father's she had left. Besides, only two other human beings besides herself even knew of the weapon's existence. There was Nigel Kirkland, who'd worked with her father on the invention. And there was Brian J. Mason of Genom Munitions and Trading Company International, who funded the project and who her father began to suspect had less than utopian notions for its use before both he and her mother died under mysterious circumstances. She could still remember the hasty retreat she and Nigel had made after her parents funeral. On the steam ship, during the first part of their journey, she'd vowed to one day avenge her parents death. Her father, being a great inventor with several patents, had left her a small fortune, so money was never an issue for her. And every time she broke up one of Genom International's operations, she felt a tad bit of satisfaction. But he was still out there. And someday, she was determined that he would pay. She put the cloth back over her father's "machine gun" as he called it, locked the door to the room, and went downstairs to the Silky Doll. ------ "Look, you can drop this stupid charade! We know you're yakuza and we know you were paid to stir up trouble. Now if you don't start talking right now, I'm going to give you more trouble than you'll know what to do with!" "Whoa, calm down. You have to forgive my associate Captain McNichol here. Like most of the gaijin around here, he's a bit of a barbarian. If you open up to us, though, I'll see you're treated fairly, I promise. If not... well, it was their fort you and the others attacked, and this is their compound we're in now." The prisoner looked from the tall, massively built Scotsman to the other, slightly thinner man pushing his glasses back, and laughed. "Do you see this pinky?" he asked, holding up his left hand. "No, as a matter of fact I don't see any pinky." Leon answered. "Exactly. The yakuza that fouls up a job cuts a digit off one of his fingers. I'm also missing the tip of my other pinky. Do you really think I'm afraid of anything you might do to me?" Leon and Daley looked at one another in frustration. After over two weeks of questioning, they were no farther along than at the beginning of their examination. A knock at the door interrupted their musings. "Come in." Leon barked, as Commander Roland's secretary Nene came in, carrying a cup and saucer. "(Your tea, Officer Wong.)" She passed over the cup, and then looked over at the Captain. "Hello, Leon poo." she said in English. Leon's face turned beat red. "Wh... what? Nene, what did you just call me?" "Relax, I doubt either of these two chaps can speak English." She said, her Russian accent causing her to slightly curl her r's. She then winked at him before continuing in Japanese, "(So you can just put him back in the dungeon, now that the thin one talked and told us who was behind the whole operation.)" The yakuza looked at her angrily, "Who was it? Kisho? I'll kill him! When Genom finds out that son of a bitch betrayed them, his life won't be worth shit!" "Actually, he didn't betray Genom." Nene said with a huge grin. "You did." The other three occupants in the room were stunned. After holding out under intense questioning by British and Japanese authorities for two weeks, the man in the examination room had been duped by an eighteen year old secretary. "Well, I've got to go now and get the Colonel his coffee. Bye Daley, bye Leon poo." She said, as she shut the door behind her. Daley looked over to Leon and grinned. "Leon poo?" "Shut up, Wong." ---The Next Morning--- Nene, Sylia and Linna were riding by stagecoach to the Kirkland Delivery Stables. Linna watched the scenery outside pass by as Sylia turned to Nene. "Nene, have you talked to Captain McNichol yet?" she asked. Nene looked at her puzzled. "About what?" she asked. "About... about how Priss asked you to tell him to stop coming around the tavern where she works. Don't you remember?" "Oh right. No, I haven't yet. I'm not sure yet how to tell him without giving away the fact that Priss and I know each other. And besides, I'm not so sure the two of them aren't good for each other." "Nene," Linna said, looking away from the window, "You can't be serious. He's in the British military. That could mean big trouble for us. "I thought you geisha were supposed to be into the beautiful and the romantic. Just think about it; star crossed lovers, separated by culture and..." "Nene, what the bloody hell is the matter with you?" Sylia shouted at her, causing both her and Linna to jump. "He's with the bloody British Army regiment outpost, you daft woman. I'm warning you now; there's no room for dead weight in the Knight Sabers!" The rest of the trip to the stables was spent in silence. Linna was shaken. She'd never seen her sensei flair up at someone before. At the stable, as they got out of the coach, Linna noted the stench of manure and the flies swarming around the outside of the stable building. Sylia's bustle swung back and forth with her steps, as Linna looked over at Nene, who was still down about what happened earlier. She gave Nene's hand a squeeze, smiling down at her. Nene looked up at the older woman, and smiled back. Sylia used the handle of her umbrella to knock on the door to the adjacent main house. A man of European descent, in earnest need of a good shave and smoking a cigarette, answered the door. Sylia's face lit up upon seeing him. "Nigel, it's been too long." she said, looking up at him with her blue eyes. He quietly looked at her for a few seconds before turning his attention to Nene and the newcomer. "Who's this?" he asked. Sylia looked over to Linna. "This is Yamazaki Linna-san. She's going to need a suit of armor. Here are her measurements." She said, handing him a slip of paper. He quickly glanced at it, and then put it in his trouser pocket. "Follow me." he said. The three women followed Nigel into the house, where he led them to the door opening to the basement staircase. Lighting a candle, he led the way into the subterranean chamber. Linna's eyes widened as she looked around. On one table were beakers of various chemicals, on another a partially built steam engine of some type. Here, a sketch of some sort of kite-like contraption with a man attached to it, there a blueprint for a hot air balloon. Three large caskets of gunpowder were crowded in one corner, while a half-dozen samurai swords were piled up haphazardly in the other. Looking over to a bookcase, she noticed that all the books had something to do with one scientific discipline or another. She didn't know how Sylia came to know this Nigel chap, but one thing was for certain; he was more than just someone who ran a stable. "Wait here." he said, going into a small walk-in closet. He then came out carrying a tsuru bashiri (samurai chest piece). "Try this on." he told Linna. Linna tried on the green piece of chest protection handed to her. She then held her arms out, turning around for the others. "Hmm... Gonna have to take in the sides a bit. Actually," he said, looking again at the paper Sylia had handed him, "I'm going to have to alter the whole thing, with the possible exception of the Sode (upper arm protectors)." "I see. So how long are we talking about here?" Sylia asked. Nigel scratched at the side of his face a bit. "A few days, maybe a week. I'll get started right away." "I see. Umm, Linna, you and Nene wait here while Nigel and I go upstairs to... discuss arrangements." she said, taking the arm Nigel offered her and allowing him to guide her back upstairs. ------ The countryside flew by her as she pushed her mare faster and faster, the wind blowing through her hair as she gripped the reigns. Her rider's crop urging on the animal, she could feel its muscular frame moving beneath her saddle. It was always easier for her to think out here, by the ocean. She brought her horse to a stop, and looked out at the waves. The wind blew the salty scent of the pacific into her nostrils Will it always be like this between us? She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She'd never shared herself with anyone before. Sylia was the first, and the last. She opened her heart and soul to her. She gave her body to her. She fell in love with her. She would've done anything for her. She would've died for her. She loved Sylia. But, in the end, Sylia didn't love her back. Yes, she knew deep down Sylia never meant to hurt her. She also knew that the leader of the Knight Sabers desperately wanted things to be right between them again. The fact that she knew these things, however, did nothing to alleviate the anger and bitterness eating her apart inside. And now, there was a new factor complicating things. The geisha. She was beautiful, there was no denying that. At first, she had imagined Sylia brought her in to replace her, but soon realized those fears were unfounded. For better or worse, Sylia had given her heart to Nigel just as Priss had previously given her own to her. And she could fight. She'd actually been able to defend herself against her attacks. What complicated matters though, was the fact that Priss was pretty sure the geisha had feelings for her. Every time they were around one another, she could feel Linna's eyes on her. They were each continuously finding themselves looking into each other's eyes from across a room. That, and the geisha was always trying to engage her in conversation, almost verbally dueling with her as she searched for a way past the barriers Priss had set up around herself. She should've been annoyed at such presumption, but actually she wasn't sure how she felt about the situation. And she sure as hell wasn't sure if she was ready to make herself vulnerable enough to enter into another romantic relationship. Not now, not ever. And yet... And yet she found that the idea of having Linna like her in that way didn't repulse her. There was only one thing to do. Tomorrow, Sylia was going to be holding one of her many training sessions for the girls. She would meet up with the geisha afterward, confront the situation head on. She'd done too much thinking. Tomorrow, she would simply go to her, and let the moment dictate her actions. She turned her horse around, and headed back to the tavern for her afternoon show. ------ "Sir, the information you requested is here in this report. Shall I leave it here on your desk?" Mason turned to the member of the Yakuza addressing him. "No, just give me a summary." "Very well. While not yet doubled as you requested, we have managed to sneak in at least eight more of our men into the Imperial Court. Also, the Emperor does keep to a fixed schedule, just as you suspected he would. His comings and goings are recorded in detail within the report." "Excellent. Now, what about the three ronin someone was telling me about? Do we know who these men are?" "Well, sir, you see, that is... They're not exactly men, Mason-sama." Mason glared at the man in front of him. "Are you trying to tell me three members of the fairer sex have been disrupting our plans for the last two years?" "No sir. The third one only started appearing about eight or nine months ago." Mason studied the man to see if he was trying to be cute. "I see. I want them dead, do you understand me? I want them eliminated, the sooner the better." "Of course. Oh, and the preparations for the raid next week are proceeding on schedule." "Good. Make it look convincing; we need the British to be blamed. And make sure at least one of our men is with Emperor Meiji at all times." "Of course, Mason-sama." ------ Linna left Nene inside with Nigel drinking their teas, as she went outside to where Sylia was standing looking out at the countryside. Reaching into the bag she brought with her, she pulled out a rice ball. "Sensei? Are you hungry?" she asked, offering the rice ball to Sylia. Sylia turned to Linna. "You know, you don't have to call me sensei. Sylia will do." "I know, Sylia-san. But it just feels more right to call you sensei." Sylia smiled at that, and accepted the offering Linna gave her. As they ate, Linna brought up a subject she was still curious about. "Sens... Sylia-san, I asked you before why Priss was so disrespectful toward you. You never answered me. What happened between the two of you, and what did that Greek poet have to do with any of it? Is she an enemy of yours, or..." "No, Sappho was a woman who wrote poems of love about other women." "Oh, I see. What does that have to do with you and... Ooh..." Sylia watched Linna's reaction closely. "Does that make you uncomfortable?" "I'm... I'm not sure. I assume the two of you went your separate ways?" "Yes." "And now, she is bitter?" Sylia looked away, "I'm afraid so." Linna thought about that, and began to turn away. Sylia caught her by the shoulder. "Yamazaki-san..." "Hai." "I... I've been watching you and Priss around one another. I don't know if anything's going on, and quite frankly it's none of my business anymore if anything is. But if... if there is something, please don't hurt her. I've already broken her heart enough for the both of us." Linna looked at her sensei, not knowing what to say in reply. Finally, she simply turned and headed back for the house. ------ "Genom International? You're sure about this?" Commander Roland asked. "Yes." Daley said, "Both Leon-kun and myself heard it from one of the prisoners." "I say we storm their headquarters and..." "And what? Accuse one of the globe's most powerful companies of conspiring against the British Empire based solely on the testimony of a lone violent criminal?" "Begging the Colonel's pardon, but surely we..." "We're a long way from Great Britain, McNichol, or any sort of backup should Genom decide to retaliate. Besides which, in case you haven't noticed, almost all of our food, arms, and other essentials in this part of the world are supplied by Genom International." "Are you saying that Genom has somehow bought the British Army off?" Daley asked. "I'm suggesting that, for the moment, we cannot afford to be cut off. We have no other supply contractors to fall back on." "But... But there has to be some option open to us. What about the Dutch East Indian Company?" Leon asked. "What about them?" For the last fifteen years, even before Emperor Meiji rose to power around here, Genom International has had exclusive contracts with the British Military in this part of the world. It would take a bloody act of Parliament to break those now." "So we're no better than economic slaves to them? Damn it! We're helpless, and they know we're helpless!" "Colonel," Daley asked, "Under the circumstances, exactly what are our options?" "We keep an eye on their activities and try to prevent them from causing trouble." "That's it?" "I'm afraid so." "Bloody hell, it's enough to..." "Enough to make someone consider disguising themselves in samurai armor in order to operate outside the law." Daley quipped. He then noticed Captain McNichol and Commander Roland both glaring at him. "What, it's a joke." ---The Next Day--- Linna soaked in the large kettle-shaped bath tub, her muscles sore from the drills Sylia had put her and the others through. She thought back to her conversation with her sensei the previous day. She now at least realized why, in spite if her geisha training, she had yet to get Priss to open up around her, or to relax, or to even smile. She began to wonder if Priss was a lost cause, if she'd made herself just as hard as her fighting style. Why was she having these... feelings, for someone who'd worked so hard at closing herself off emotionally from the rest of the world? She leaned her head back, and closed her eyes. "Mind if I join you?" Linna opened her eyes with a start, to see Priss looking down at her. She noticed she wasn't looking at her face though, but rather a few inches below her face, and blushed. Priss turned away, embarrassed. "No, please." Linna said, "You... you caught me off guard, that's all. There's room enough for two in here." she said as she pulled her legs in to make room for Priss. Her heart raced, and she felt very warm all of a sudden in the younger woman's presence. Priss stood there for a moment or two, studying her. Her skin was so fair and so perfect; she could've been a china doll. Finally, she undid her obi (kimono sash) and disrobed, placing her clothes in a pile by the screen door. Linna gasped when she saw the scars left on her back and torso from past battles. Priss noticed the look in Linna's eyes, looked down at her body, especially at the one long scar that started at her collar bone and stretched across the top of her right breast, and suddenly felt quite ugly. Linna watched as Priss looked down and reached for her clothes. "Priss, wait." Linna said, silently cursing herself for having so little tact. "I'm sorry. This was a stupid idea, I..." Priss dressed hastily, avoiding eye contact with the geisha. "Forgive me; I've never seen a woman with such wounds before. Please..." Priss looked at her again, and Linna could see the pain she had caused. She then turned around, shut the screen door behind her and left. Linna looked down, and noticed how her reflection was disturbed by the tears silently falling into the bath water. From the other side of the screen door, Sylia had watched the whole thing. She let a feeling of melancholy cloud over her for a brief moment. She had already hurt Priss a great deal, and now it seemed Linna had inadvertently done so too. She drank the rest of the sake in her cup and silently made her way to the spiral staircase. Coming out of the secret passage in the library, she looked over to see Henderson standing by the door, a confused expression on his face. "Henderson? Henderson, what's wrong?" "Miss Stingray, there's a young chap standing in the store who wishes to see you. He claims to be your brother." ---To Be Continued---
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