Captain Ruri scowled as weapons fire rocked the Nadesico-4, the ship's shields dissipating the energy but not the force of the assaults. "Has the ground team reported in yet?" the small woman asked, her blue hair tied back in twin ponytails. With her large eyes she could almost be called cute, but there was nothing cute about her grim expression. Miyuki checked her ear-piece, listening. "They've made contact with the enemy." The redhead paused a moment, "We have confirmation, the illegal boomeroid plant is here." "Send confirmation back to Crystal Tokyo," Ruri ordered crisply. She smiled as she looked at the monitor and the armed ships that hovered in the debris cloud, "I wonder, do they know how badly they're compromised?" "Probably," Priss Asagiri said grimly, her reddish brown hair in it's usual messy style. Like the other men and women on the bridge she was in the uniform of the Earth Self-Defense forces, though hers carried the Hard-Suit Corps insignia. Quietly she added, "Wish I was down there with the ground team." "One of the disadvantages of gaining rank," Lieutenant Tylor said mildly from the weapon's station, his messy brown hair falling into his eyes, "is having to sit out things like this." "True," Priss sighed. Down below them on the planetoid named Xena a pitched battle was going on, one a bit more evenly matched than the one going on in orbit. Cyber Six smoothly ducked under an attack, her black leather clad body eerily graceful, then she struck smoothly with her energy blade. A product of her Juraian upgrade the ice-blue saber was almost hideously effective, slicing the boomeroid in two with a single strike. Over on the other side of the battlefield a crack Hardsuit team was breaking into the command center, raiding for incriminating data and evidence of the creators of this plant, while Cyber Six fought with a group of more... unusual troops to launch an attack on the plant itself. "Tonight is a good time to kill," Alucard laughed, grinning a fangy smile as he used twin silver pistols to cut a boomeroid down. The red suit and hat the vampire wore suited his savage nature, even more so now that he was destroying non-human foes. "Don't slow down," Major Motoko Kusanagi ordered them, the brown haired officer using her own pistol sparingly, instead relying on her cybernetically enhanced strength, "it looks like they've activated every boomer in the plant to attack us." "They have to know it's a waste of time," Nuku Nuku noted, the redhead cheerfully tossing several sexaroids aside. The catlike girl fought with pure enjoyment, unleashing combat-android abilities that she normally held in check as Lady Venus' secretary. Cyber Six smiled slightly, "They're probably unaware that we're just a distraction for the primary team." She dissipated her sword to create a energy shield, blocking the fire from a combat boomer as their newest arrival raced in to deal with it. Devilman Lady struck ruthlessly, her fur shrouded body dodging energy bolts to close with her foe. Grabbing a arm in each hand she tore the boomer in two, discarding the pieces casually as she raced forward to battle a few more. Howling her fury she lead the charge, yet seemed mildly surprised when the others kept pace. "Major, I think you're up," Alucard said mildly as they hit the main doors, massive sheets of superdense alloy sealed from within. "It won't take long," Motoko Kusanagi smiled faintly as she took a connector cable from her belt, plugging into a port at her neck then into a access hatch by the door. She closed her eyes as she interfaced with computer systems, handling the security protocols with ease as she swiftly opened up the main doors. "Ewww," Nuku Nuku made a face as they saw what awaited within. Suspended in the middle of the chamber was a obscene fusion of the organic and machine, a nano-machine assembler. Resembling a mix of a still beating human heart and an alien womb it took in construction materials at one end, combined and reshaped them with specially produced nanomachines, then spat out completed boomeroids from the other end. "Anyone bring explosives?" Cyber Six concentrated on business, trying to ignore her revulsion, "I don't think conventional forces would work." "No need," Devilman Lady rasped out, her body beginning to swell. First to ten foot, then over twenty feet tall she grew, great leathery wings unfolding from her back as she made a incoherent sound of rage, towering over them all. "As impressive as I remembered," Alucard murmured, smiling faintly. With a single movement Devilman Lady tore the monstrous creation from the roof, then with a groan tore in two. Ripping and tearing she shredded the assembler into so much bloody wreckage, then tilted her head back to roar her victory to the skies. "Check the rest of the factory," Motoko ordered crisply even as she kept a wary eye on the now shrinking Devilman, "we need to make sure there's no more of these things around." She paused as a message was transmitted to her directly through her cybernetics then smiled, "Good news, the other team reports mission accomplished, they've got the data we wanted proving Nergal and Mesa's involvement." The group scattered, cheered by that news as they investigated the mostly deserted factory. Devilman Lady shifted, her fur smoothing away to bare skin as a exhausted Jun Fudoh murmured, "That always takes a lot out of me." Motoko took off her coat to drape it over Jun's shoulder's, covering her nakedness even as she said, "Thank you." "Don't thank me," Jun said as she pulled the coat around her body, her long black hair flowing around her, "I did this for my own reasons." "Oh?" Motoko looked at her curiously. Jun narrowed red eyes, then she hesitated. "The sort of things this place created," she finally conceded, "they remind me too much of what someone like Asuka Ran might have made." The rest of the team returned, with Nuku Nuku cheerfully reporting, "It looks like the place is clear, ma'am." "Captain Ruri reports that the Mesan forces are in full retreat," Motoko noted, "guess we're all done here. She'll be picking us up and taking us back to Earth once relief forces arrive." Meanwhile, back in the city of Crystal Tokyo, Lady Venus listened to the report from the Nadesico, swiftly combining it with data packets she had already gotten from the Hardsuit team and Motoko. Collecting the files Minako left her office, walking down the hall with a grim expression on her lovely face. Exiting from a lift on the throne-level Saionji fell into step beside her. "Is it as bad as we thought?" he asked, long green hair falling in a wave down his back. He was in a simple suit, the military look provided more in the style than in any insignia. "In a way, even worse," Minako admitted, "they were using a nano-assembler, too." Saionji whistled softly, "That's a proscribed technology even on Mesa itself." A frown, "Don't they even care about breaking their own laws?" "As long as it wouldn't blow up in their back yard," Minako said cynically, "probably not." Miki Kaoru announced them as usual as they entered the throne room, then they approached the throne. Queen Serenity's face was grave as Minako gave her report, while King Endymion looked angry, his mouth tightening to a hard line. "And there is proof of these crimes?" Serenity asked needlessly, her while-gold hair gleaming. "Yes ma'am, as witnessed by our own military and field agents," Minako answered, passing the files over. "A nano-assembler, too," Endymion blinked when he got to that bit, "they are notorious for getting out of control. Did they not care about their own people dying?" "Obviously not," Serenity murmured. She looked at her ministers of war and diplomacy and asked, "What do you recommend?" "Formally lay claim to Xena and it's moon Gabrielle for Earth," Minako answered crisply. "We can keep an eye on the lawlessness of the debris cloud from there, as well as protect our own interests." "I tend to agree," Saionji nodded, "we can get a fleet presence out there in a day or so, and have a base established in a few weeks." "So be it," Serenity nodded, then ordered the court to be dismissed. She sighed, rubbing her eyes as she took on a more relaxed posture, "You know, I've been trying to keep us out of that region just because of the problems governing it could cause?" "I know you've tried to keep it a region where those disapproving of our rule could go," Endymion said gently, "without entirely leaving this region. But I think Minako is right, the amount of crime coming out of there is staggering." "And speaking as a military representative," Saionji said mildly, "having that large a portion of local space being unpatrolled by our ships gives me nightmares." "Understood," Serenity nodded, "I may not agree, but I see your points." She smiled a little as she looked at Minako, "And how did the latest addition to your 'irregulars' do?" "Quite well, actually," Minako smiled, thinking about Motoko's report on Jun Fudoh's activities. "I think she may be a asset to our operations." To be continued.... Notes: There really is a recently discovered planetoid named Xena with a moon called Gabrielle, though there is an ongoing debate if Xena is large enough to be called a planet. This chapter continues plot bits from Chapter Twenty-seven, more or less.
Back to Eternal City, Crystal Tokyo Index - Back to Revolutionary Girl Utena Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction