Part 5: Jiyuu no Yamatai, Session 1
Authors: Andrew & Toshiro
Gemini Star Fortress, 1XF Headquarters
Enroute to Jiyuu
It was a majestic process, the Zodiacs were rarely moved in the recent history of the Star Army. It was quite the feeling, the low range vibrations that traveled through the decks as Gemini moved through hyperspace towards Jiyuu. The view of the trailing spectrum of colors that blurred the vision through transparent panes that usually looked towards the fixated points of twilight around them was brilliant. Katsuko sat at her desk, fixated on the projected screens of reports and updates as she waited for Miho and Blues to arrive. In the past twenty-four hours, she had spent time invested in research, deep in the files of Star Army Command and the UOCPF that had been turned over to Yamatai when they reassumed control of the colonies. Between the accounts of Blues, Miho and now the recordings sent by SAINT, she had a new understanding of the two children that had risked everything to claim their independence from both her and the Empire.
Katsuko had summoned for both Blues and Miho again, now that they were en route for Jiyuu, it was time to put a plan in motion.
Blues arrived as ordered, wearing a Star Army uniform once more. The Chui was in grey panels, NSP on one hip and his katana on the other. His hair was even a tad less unruly compared to his identity as Catharsis Black. He stood near Katsuko, his hair ever so slightly shorter than before and better maintained.
"Reporting as ordered, Taisho." He said, not with coldness as much as professionality.
The projected screens around Katsuko's desk disappeared, "In close quarters you don't need to be so professional Blues, but I appreciate it. Please come in," she said and motioned to one of the chairs in front of her desk. Katsuko had used the transit time to Jiyuu to her advantage, two days to overhaul Gemini's staffing and protocols to her way of doing things. Katsuko had always been a woman of efficiency and frequently deployed unorthodox techniques to accomplished what she wanted to get done. She acknowledged an update from Gemini, Miho was still consumed with assigned duties on the command deck and would not arrive as soon as she had originally planned.
"Your brother has made leaps and bounds in his project to restore Tokyo, truly something to be proud of," she commented, "I hope that the presence of the Motoyoshi will bring about a time of reunification for the colonies, my clan, and the Empire." She walked around to the side of the desk where she had invited him to sit, then sat on the edge of the desk in front of his intended seat. "I didn't bring you here to talk about your brother's accomplishments though, I was hoping to show you a few pictures and you could tell me if you saw these people when you were imprisoned on the Akuro III. That is if you're okay with doing that, Chui?" she asked him, a gentle smile on her face as her blue fuzzy ears twitched slowly back and forth.
"Of course. I'll do my best to recall with clarity. As for formality, I was still feeling that out with you." In compliance, Blues had a seat.
Katsuko reached back and picked up one of the datapads from her desk, after a moment she turned it in the direction of Blues. "Alright, be sure, don't guess. We need to be precise and I will explain when you're done," she explained and then put the first picture up on the screen. It was a picture of her son, Motoyoshi Tio that had been taken before his disappearance when the colonies fell.
"That's the guy five cells down the hall and across from me." Blues said without hesitation. "One of the guys upwards of a hundred deaths that I mentioned. Rumor is that Kiyoko has something personal with him, but no one knows what it is. He wears a shock collar that goes off if he tries to speak."
Katsuko nodded slowly and then switched to the next picture, it was a female with short blue hair and green eyes, Motoyoshi Kahori. It was taken before the Fifth Expeditionary Fleet had been disbanded, but her NH-29 body had never been returned with the others to Yamatai. "What about this one?" she asked and tapped her finger on the picture which enlarged to show more of the woman's face.
"Kahori-Shosho. She is seven cells down the hall and I know more about her. Turns out she wanted to leave for Yamatai and stay with the Empire rather than join the UOC. Since she may well have taken a good-sized force with her out of loyalty though, Kiyoko decided to make her disappear instead. She never betrayed her uniform, and I don't know her to have ever acted in a manner unbefitting one of our own." Blues was clear on this point, and well aware of who this was.
"I see, you are doing well. Just a few more pictures..." Katsuko said as she adjusted her position on the edge of her desk. She swiped the screen again, the next picture was of a pink-haired Jiyuuian female with light blue eyes. It was a picture of Hayami Kurosawa, the daughter of one of Katsuko's closest cohorts, Hiroshi, that had also never returned from the Fifth Expeditionary Fleet or had been accounted for after the fall of the colonies.
"...Permanently executed and ST data deleted in March of YE 34. The method of execution was one of the more severe punishments. I've undergone it a number of times. They lay you on a platform, they usually make you connect to an ST device but didn't do so in her case, and they inject you with a paralysis agent. They restrain your head, open your eyes, and make you look at a mirror over your stomach....and then they begin the autopsy without painkillers. The last thing she saw was her own still-beating heart being removed from her chest. We were made to watch." Blues clenched his teeth a bit at the memory...
"She was an 'example' made for us of how things worked on the Akuro III when we arrived."
The Taisho turned off the screen of the datapad, she sat exactly where she had been during their whole conversation and didn't say a word for several minutes. Hiroshi was a dear friend and an important member of her clan, she was going to be devastated by the news of her daughter's death under such terrible circumstances. "I think we can stop, for now. It is best to take these things slowly," she said, the break was more for her than it was for him. "Thank you for your help, Chui. I could never express just how sorry I am that you had to go through all of that." Nothing that Katsuko could say would make it better either, it didn't for her. There were just some things that had happened that no one would ever be able to justify.
She stood up and then walked back around to her chair, she set the datapad down on her desk, "SAINT has found a group of Tange in Tokyo, that are working under the misguided orders of my daughter," she said. "This is one of many recordings they were able to get during their surveillance." Katsuko had Gemini play back the recording from the Fuji Hotel room for Blues, she played the entire thing, and then said, "Before I tell you what I think, I'd like you to tell me what you think about what you just heard."
Blues' eyes widened slightly, then narrowed. "Kiyoko's enforcers. They're some of the sadists responsible for enacting the torture. Ceiko's wanted to add a sexual flair to it for a while but hasn't been allowed. It...the first one you showed me. It was Tio, wasn't it? And they mentioned Eisuke. There was never a child in the prisoner group though..." Blues started to piece together things but didn't want to guess without confirmation.
"...Are they after your grandson?"
Katsuko could not quell her emotions, although she had listened to the recording many times it did not soften what it contained. She closed her eyes and leaned into the back of her padded chair, then reopened them. "Yes, the first picture was of Tio. Obviously what we believed about the UOC and its fall was not accurate. It appears Tio didn't agree with Kiyoko's methods after all," she said in a reluctant tone. "We figure Kiyoko released him, with hopes that he will lead her to Eidan, who is my grandson. My son had a child with the former UOC Prime Minister, we knew that much, I just had always believed that they escaped with Tio and Kiyoko," she explained the inaccuracies of her previous beliefs.
The former Empress sighed, "It makes me regret not dealing with this for as long as I have. If Tio has become a victim of Kiyoko's cruelty then perhaps he is salvageable and worth saving after all...The child though, I doubt has had a role in any of this and is likely innocent and undeserving of our wrath or Kiyoko's." The entire situation seemed to agonize her, almost as if it caused physical pain in its manifestation. "We are en route to Jiyuu, so once Gemini is in position in its a new home, we should take action. We cannot allow the Tange or Kiyoko to kill either Tio or Eidan."
"I recall that my brother always held back on his judgment on Tio. Where Kiyoko allied herself with the Mishhu, Tio actively antagonized them at the Conference of YE 30. Their actions seemed contradictory if they were allied. Yaichiro never said it to you, since there was nothing that could be done and it was purely speculation, but he considered Tio to either be either of limited competence or ignorant of the plot around him. It seems that the latter has been proven true..." The young man looked to Katsuko, his expression focused.
"The child can be removed from all of this and placed in Tsubomi if you desire, a school city with tight security that is rather close to Kyoto and explicitly intended for children with deployed parents or complex circumstances. That is if you don't want him here with you. In the present though, tell me what you want to be done, how you want it done...and how slowly."
The frustrated expression held on Katsuko's face, she tapped her fingers idly on the armrest of her chair for a moment as she considered Blues' suggestion. "I agree, the child would be safer in Tsubomi, at least until this is over and we can bring Kiyoko and the elements sympathetic to her cause can be brought to justice," she paused briefly, "But, we have to do it with Tio's cooperation. If he thinks Eidan is being captured or headed for some kind of prison run by Yamatai, he will go sour on us quickly. We have to remember, he's going to a great deal of trouble to protect this child." She looked directly at Blues as she spoke.
"When we arrive at Jiyuu, I will be busy dealing with the Fleet. I will be sending you and Miho and a small security team to the surface. Miho can see if she can help our SAINT agents track down more of Kiyoko's people and you can go find Tio. You will need to convince him that I am here to help and that we want to protect Eidan. That we can guarantee both of their security, and that In exchange for his cooperation, I can convince Himiko to grant him mercy with some reasonable conditions," she explained her plan to him and his role in it. "Of course there is also another consideration we have to take into account, Tio has reached out to Misato likely expecting help because she remained behind with me. It is highly probable she's closely connected to her former Clan and Kiyoko. In recent months, I have discovered that much of her...is beyond what we merely see."
"Sleeper traitor?" Blues inquired, a bit bluntly. "My presence may help with Tio. He knows that I was a prisoner that never...assisted in any of the torture going around. It means I can tell him that you know he was a prisoner as well. I can also explain to him exactly what Tsubomi is, and that universal rights have been expanded a bit."
Katsuko nodded in reply to Blues' question, and for the first time, she openly said it, "Yes, my wife Motoyoshi Misato is a traitor. A true Tange if I ever saw one." It had taken years for Katusko to finally admit this and see the truth. Miho had yet to tell her everything but it was enough to know that Misato was as involved in all of this as anyone was.
"You are very brave Blues, just like your brother. We are all a little better off because we have people like you on our side. If anyone can convince Tio, it is you," she said in affirmation to what he said. She glanced down for a moment, "I think Miho is a bit tied up, if you could go and get us a pot of tea, I would appreciate it." Her suggestion was nothing to do with her desire for tea, she just needed him to step out, just for a minute.
"Thanks, Katsuko. I'll do my best to see this mission through and help end this. Also, I understand. I'll be back shortly with your tea. I'll knock first, of course..." Blues rose and gave a bow to his superior, before going to comply. He suspected that she needed to cry after confessing openly the crime of her wife. He shut the door behind himself, wondering if making her admit it openly was for the best...but like with admitting that Kiyoko was unsalvagable, it was important to ensure that her heart knew what her head did. Sometimes being blunt and up-front was the best option.
No feelings of mercy could be concealed, no quarter could be given.
Katsuko sat in silence as Blues left when the door clicked shut the invincible emotionless face of the Taisho faded into sadness, her lip quivered and the tears began to flow down the curvature of her cheeks. She clutched her trembling hands into fists which just seemed to send the tremble of quake through her entire form. She closed her eyes tightly to try and stop the tears but they just poured from the corners of her eyes instead. "I...I can't hold this back anymore..." she whispered in a sobbed gasp. "It has to end...It has to stop...has to stop," she whimpered. She had carried it all for so long, carried this burden alone and had no idea where to even begin fixing it. All she knew is that she had to do this, had to finally bring the traitors of her own clan to justice...
