R
Rizzo
Ship: Candon's Na-T4B
Cargo Container Home
3日 8月 YE 39
0800 Hours
Masumi lay asleep in a bed she had only just gotten to know. The bed's sheets hung limply over her dark form which was all but uncovered as she twisted around to face away from the rest of the cabin. This ship didn't have the same amenities as the Plumeria, but it was still comfortable to the military-grade Neko, enough so that she was overdo for another sort of wake up call from the SAINT operative she was following to new and strange places.
It was shore leave for the Eucharis a half month before Candy Festival in Yamatai and that meant Candon was anxious to get back to his business and out of the Empire, while still managing to work for it.
Setting his toothbrush back into its place, Candon took a deep breath as he stared into the mirror. Still unsure of whether bringing Masumi along would be safe. It had been years now since he'd needed to be concerned for another's safety and now after asking her to come with he had his doubts as to whether he was thinking clearly. He knew he wasn't thinking clearly, how could he be?
It was too late to turn back, he would have to be smarter now. At least he knew Howard Station would be secure when they arrived, beyond that he didn't know what to expect. The details of the memory he had of 188604 we're blurry, removed by himself to protect the operation on the frontier. It was time to fill those gaps. Leaving the safety of the bathroom Candon headed through the kitchen to the door of the manufactured home.
The front door of the CCH slid open with a hiss as the pressure had equalized. Two days into the trip and the cargo container was holding pressure better than the spacecraft. How reassuring.
"Mr. Williams, I'm ready," he called into an empty room.
From the passage leading to the cockpit came the pilot clad in the usual spacer pants and jacket.
"Then answer the question," he teased, as if the answer was simple, "What is the greatest weapon in all the universe?"
This was not the first try. He'd ruled out Yamatai, space, shock arrays and himself. Apparently none were the weapon in question.
"Think about it, we're almost there," the android teased, "and if you say 'time' I'll lock you out... come on, man, you made it up! It's so easy, your just thinking about this way too poetically! Your trying too hard to think large scale. Forget the big picture, think about what's relevant to the situation. You know who said that right?"
"I know, I know I did!" He yelled, kicking the plated wall, and then the idea came to him. She was in his bed.
"It's Masumi..."
Javier's face twisted in disgust, "Yeah, Candon, like you want to be called a weapon. You're really talking like a proprietary super soldier now. Hey, why not talk about how I'm property too while your at it? You know, I really thought you were smart when you picked such an easy answer, but this is just sad."
"Screw you, clanker," Candon insulted as he headed back inside. "If I could remember the salesman I'd..." Candon stopped dead in his tracks as he finally put it together.
"Memory," he called back, "that's it, isn't it?"
"About time," Javier exclaimed, "I wasn't sure it was the best password but the relevance factor really appealed to you. Look up!" He pointed at a light in the ceiling.
A bright flash blinded the spy. With hands over his eyes he slouched against the door frame. "What was I thinking with this stupid process," he muttered as he tried rubbing the flash out of his eyes. The answer began returning a little at a time. He realized the importance as the gaps in his memory began to return. He'd compressed and encrypted the data to near oblivion and the flash contained the key. At least it would only work for himself.
Opening the door he passed back into the tiny home.
Masumi's pink brows nearly met in the center as she heard the door open and her body swayed slightly in the bed while she turned around, away from the wall. She pulled the sheet off of the small portion of dark brown skin it had been covering. The scientist tilted her head as she sat on the edge of the bed, looking at Candon with questions he both could and would not answer. Her face then turned softer as her lips parted and she inhaled, recognizing the emotions welling up inside of her she sat up.
Without looking away from him, she floated off the bed and moved gently through the room, towards him, sleepy and wordless.
Taking slow calculated steps to avoid a tumble the memories began restoring his confidence. With the details of his trip restored his fears of danger dissipated. They would have to be careful but he knew as a fact that they would be on the top of the food chain after he'd personally changed it on his last trip. Now his more pressing concern was whether he could start repaying Jax.
The blur of chocolate flesh and pink hair was a beacon home. His course ended as he met her at the steps leading into the kitchen. Taking her into a loving embrace from his lower altitude was advantageous, even for a man with blurred vision.
"I remember the details now," he stated telepathically as he simply held Masumi, "we're going to be fine. The threat I remembered was an Elysian cell. They have since departed from our space."
Masumi's hands found themselves moving around his torso and she burrowed her cheek close to his shoulder. Her pink head nodded after he had spoken to her telepathically. She replied in a groggy voice.
"We'll find them," Masumi murmured into his mind. She straightened in his arms and turned her head towards his neck, kissing her lips to his neck while she gained futher purchase with her hands on his back.
"I doubt it, but I think they'll come to us for help now," he chuckled aloud, far too distracted to continue his line of telepathic communication as he ran his fingers through her hair. It was by far the best day of the operation since he started the company. "They're holding off a bigger threat. Mish remnants, they're trying to expand. I think they'll be my next target."
Her lips tenderly pressed into him as many times as she could until she had to ask, "Will we work alone?"
It was a truly strange love affair, talking militant domination while intoxicated by his lover. It was oddly fetching of her to appreciate the hunt. His hands snaked their way through her hair as they followed the curve of her back to shapely hips.
"We might not get much work done if we're working alone."
Masumi, with wide eyes at first that were then hooded by her furrowing brow, "You don't think we make a good team on our own?"
She was unaware of what he meant, though if given the right initiatives, Masumi could revel in the more passionate aspects of their relationship, some things were often lost on her. She seemed to pull away from Candon just a quarter of an inch as she asked him what he meant.
A smug grin took Candon's face. "I just think we'll be busy with different activities."
Masumi's eyes became lidded while a smile showed itself on her face. She moved her hands down and towards herself, away from his back where she had been hugging him. Her loose, long hair that Candon had only just been moving his hands through touched the hand on her lower back as she looked up to the ceiling of the little home with a smile on her sienna cheeks.
"So you think that we make better partners than I thought." She held his pants in her hands and began to move them off of his hips gently and with a slowness to the movements.
As she did Canon responded similarly with his loose shirt. The scientist was glad for Candon's near nudity and responded with her own in quick succession. A few hours left to their destination and they were glad for every delay the unfavorable planetary position had caused their flight plan.
1000 Hours
Those few hours were nearly passed in a passionate experience and before long they found themselves re-dressing.
Masumi put on a pair of tight, leather-like pants and a white tank top underneath a double holster and a jacket that matched the leathery pants, though this was a reinforced garment picked up at a specialty store. It was reinforced with Yama-Dura and bulletproof to many simple kinetic weapons, though its list of atributes didn't ended there. She pulled her hair into a high ponytail soon thereafter.
She looked up to Candon as she zipped up the last segment of her outfit, moving from a bent down position, then popped up to have her hands on either side of her overzealous chest, which pushed against the stretchy lycra-like fabric with an abundance Candon knew all too well.
Masumi grabbed her boots, pulled them on, then watched Candon, seeing his readiness position, already in a mission-ready mood, exemplified by her tense body posture and clenched hands.
Candon, dressed in rugged gray tactical pants and his dark blue FSCorp T-shirt that hugged his solid musculature, he could have been dressed out sooner had he not been peeking the whole time, wishing for yet another delay. With time short before landing he buried his passion under the need to make the most of the trip to Howard Station and strapped his boots on. Lives depended on the decisions he made this month.
"This is Javier in the cockpit," the pilot chimed over the intercoms, "we are on final approach, ETA five minutes or so."
"You'd think a robot could be a little more precise with the timing," Candon commented, "let's arm up, security is never guaranteed out here." His voice trailing as he headed through the passage into the kitchen. "Don't get me wrong, we're the big fish out here," he continued as he opened the front door to the cargo bay, "we just need to be able to prove it to certain people."
"May I suggest an less armed loadout, sir," Javier suggested as he gestured toward the wall paneling of the cargo bay which flipped upwards to reveal the hidden armory.
"Never," Candon replied tersly.
A Lorath Hand-cannon with a 6X IR Scope, A pair of HHG revolvers with volumetric reflex sights, a suppressed RPK-10/45, several of Zen Armaments' 'Little Killer', Two FMS-2 Plasma Throwers, and a Type 30 NSP.
"There are no real gun laws on the station so take what you like," Candon offered, "plenty of ammo, magazines, holsters, I get it all free. Later we can get you powered armor."
When Candon mentioned the lack of gun laws Masumi's eyes brightened and she nodded absentmindedly as her eyes shone, looking over Candon's personal weaponry.
"Spectacular," she said as her hand moved forward to clutch the grip of one of the revolvers, weighing it in her hand before setting it into her drop holster and buckling it in. "I'll probably take two of the Little Killers for my chest holsters," she added, revealing the double holster as she placed the Zen Arms guns into each slot on the outside of each breast before she closed up her jacket with a zip!
Candon blushed a bit feeling like the luckiest man alive. Feeling alive in general had been the trick.
"Your turn?' Masumi asked, somewhat eager to see what he chose from the assortment, though that slight eagerness was dimmed in the shadow of her contained excitement of what was to come.
He gripped the Type 30 NSP first, it's home was always under his left shoulder. "The Type 30 has never let me down, this one went missing years ago. Untraceable and illegal in most territories."
Next he claimed the Lorath hand-cannon to hang off the back side of his belt. "The Lorath Hand-Cannon makes a statement anywhere it goes. It's still the most powerful chemically driven 6-gun ever made, or at least mine is a six shooter."
Finally a Little Killer took shelter in the right inner pocket of the leather jacket he generally wore when in the frontier world's of '604.
"And I never leave my sword alone," he claimed as his sheathed armor killing sword flew into his waiting hand. Adjusting the Saya across his back he looked over his Masumi, a feeling overwhelming him from the deepest part of his heart. Different from the passion they'd just experienced, greater than the ever present fear inherent in his mind. His smile was one of contentment on a higher level than self gratification.
This was more than Masumi could have ever wanted and something inside of her felt as if radiating happiness. The mere sight of his sword going onto his back brought back countless memories of training and a handful of battles with him. It was a beautiful flying sword that he used like an extension of his own body. The well worn tsuka where he placed his hands and the shine of the saya were all things freshly filling up all of the memories she had.
What they were about to do, though, was something unknown to her in multiple ways. The unknown of the future coupled with the memories that flooded back to her as her eyes swept over Kōku Ken, then over Candon's eyes, where her own similarly blue ones halted to look into his.
A wider smile flickered on her face and then it was replaced by a more somber look, "Do they have soul transfers where we're going?"
"We do, it's not the most current technology, but it works," he answered, taking a pace closer to the beautiful commando, "I doubt we'll need it... but in the off chance that we do-"
"Right here," Javier directed as another wall panel flipped downward to reveal the salvaged Type 30 MTBU, "many others are entrusting their souls to Elysian technology or other less advanced technology. It would seem like most of them become become either androids or birds when they die. I can't imagine the shock of such a transfer... anyway, my device is Yamataian, so no need to worry about growing random wings after a firefight... but you might be like him for a while," Candon explained, pointing to the MimicCom, "let's backup."
Masumi blinked once with round eyes as she looked at the device and her lips were pursed in thought.
The apparatus looked unfinished but was in fact rebuilt to be contained in a headpiece and footlocker that truly blended into the rest of the equipment packed into the walls.
Candon would go first to show how it worked. Doing the steps he described.
"Just put it on and hit the button."
The machine whined as its cooling fan shot up to speed, the recording unit buzzing like a hoard of floppy disks for the three seconds it took.
"It might take a minute for you, the first copy takes a little more time," he explained.
When the apparatus was hers to use, she placed it from one hand to another and said, "It's a miracle you have this, Candon. This is amazing." She utilized it for its function with the press of a button after another few moments moving it in her hands and then a little less than fifty-five seconds later and Masumi's ST on the shuttle was complete. She placed the device back where it had come from in the wall panel.
"Thanks, but I didn't make it. For that I had to borrow someone's skill set," he explained, almost shamefully, "Hanako would have a fit so this is one of those details were going to have to remove before going home."
Masumi looked from Candon's eyes as she listened and then back to the panel in the wall, then at him again. She was making the connections now that what she had come to barely understand about the way his memories worked when he was on the frontier was going to be something she underwent as well.
Her hand moved to hold Candon's, "We'll have to make memories we can take back with us and make the most out of the ones we can't."
Taking hold of her hand he laid his head on her's, placing a kiss in her hair, "Don't worry. We won't be removing much of this trip. The bad part is already over, but my contact says we may have to organize another raid this month. Maybe two."
"We're a minute out," Javier announced as he packed the ST equipment back into the hidden compartment, "can you believe we have space traffic controllers now? Makes things so much safer. Landing was dangerous last time I came through."
Stifling a small giggle behind closed lips, Masumi told Candon telepathically, "I hope the landing isn't the most dangerous part of our day.." She made sure her equipment was stowed and secured and looked back to Candon, "But if the bad part is already over, where's the danger in that?"
A soft chuckle from Candon, "I meant illegal. Everything from this point on is up to us, just don't talk about our SAoY affiliation. There are a few people back home that won't like that."
Memories of her first experience in combat and its bloody end flashed in Masumi's mind's eye and she smiled at how far she had come since then. Ready to take on anything with Candon, she took a deep breath and the smile widened.
"What is the story everyone here knows from you? Who are you to them?" Masumi asked as her mind wrapped around an identity not tied to SAoY that she would have to absorb.
"Right, it's complicated but really simple. The people that know who I am and know my function also know that I'm SAINT. Never wanted that to be a secret someone could blackmail me with. We never really talk about it unless it's necessary," he explained as he scooped a fistfull of bullets into his left cargo pocket, "most people here simply don't know me and just know that I have access to all areas. As far as leadership goes I have Mr. Donovan as the highest authority in the corporation, he's the president and operates the business and management so I can use the corporation as needed. So the short answer is that I'm nobody."
Masumi had been intently listening and had her questions but bit her tongue until Candon told her that he was "nobody" and a sly smile gripped her face as she said, "You are nothing but 'nobody' to me, so it seems like they're missing out."
Watching as he finished dumping bullets into his pocket she slid her hand against his hip bones, landing her hand on his belt and tugged on it. "Next time we're alone, Candon..." He knew her well enough to know what she wanted, she hoped.
"You are going to make this trip very interesting," he stated as he pulled her by the waist, intimate thoughts forming until the cabin rocked... literally, the vessel rocked about as its gear made contact with the hangar deck. Masumi floated a bit off of where she had been, instinctually moving against the rocking. Despite it, her eyes moved to Candon's to make sure everything was okay.
"We're here," the pilot announced over the intercoms, "I'm opening the cargo ramp, so get your clothes back on!"
"I don't know what's wrong with that android," Candon grumbled, "you should take some ammo too, there are rumors of thugs hiding on the station." Taking two reloads for the NSP for the pouch under his right shoulder.
1020 Hours
The cargo bay door split open and lowered slowly, it's hydraulic rams moaning the whole way down. Mr. Donovan stood but a new opening, awaiting the arrival of the corporation's founder. The tie wearing combat android's black and white color scheme perfectly resembled a business suit. Though many found it difficult to accept him as the president of the corporation his intimidating size paired with the vocabulary of a professor was generally enough to command respect.
"Welcome Mr. Suites," the steel plated president spoke mildly in a deep voice, "I did not realize you would be accompanied, sir." The android paused for a moment as if frozen before speaking to Masumi. He was, in fact, Consulting the ST data Candon had programmed into him.
"Ms. Oshiro, I presume," he stated after an odd moment of silence, "I am Mr. Donovan, president of the Frontier Service Corporation. Welcome to Howard Station. If you would like I can have rooming arrangements prepared for you in a Penthouse near Candon's."
Masumi’s mouth opened while her eyes closed, and her digital brain was working overtime as she tried to think of how to explain the nature of her relationship with Candon to someone close to the dual agent. She waited a fraction of a moment before a smile was back on her face and her eyes were on Mr. Donovan.
"I think will be fine, Mr. Donovan," the pastel pink haired Neko said. "I have accommodations of my own." She looked to Candon with a furtive glance and then told Mr. Donovan, "It is all too kind of you to give me such a warm welcome. I'm sure there are more important matters for the two of you to get to, though." She looked between the two of them with a face that already looked quiet and intent on letting Candon and the upgraded Raleigh combat android pursue the technicalities and othere elements of the operations going on.
"Very well," the android consented, "we must talk as we walk, there is much to discuss." The Android began heading for the door that would lead to the halls and corridors that connected the hangars together. The area was surprisingly empty, an occasional worker bot would appear now and then to disrupt the feeling of complete emptiness. The station was in fact almost completely empty. Despite its early phase of construction there should have been more people, or people in general, near the hangars.
"Mr. Donovan, where is everyone?" Candon asked, his voice echoing across the glossy white walls spanning the empty hallway.
"I understand your concern, sir. Please know that we have over two hundred fifty thousand employed as of now. It is just that this station is projected to have capacity for five million. This is the first time anyone has stepped foot in this corridor since it was built, these hangars are kept totally unlit and locked I chose this location for the shuttle for privacy."
Talk of branches and legal arrangements would follow as the three beings made their way through the vacant starport facility until a wide transparent sliding door lay before them with what would one day be a starport passenger pickup area, a white Big Cat hovercar with a glossy blue stripe across the bottom waited just outside.
"Wait," Mr. Donovan commanded, "beyond this door is something of a large freeway, like you would see for mass transit, but construction is not completed yet. The air is thin and extremely cold... perhaps too cold for biological beings."
Candon shook his head, "you really thought this one through, didn't you? Did you know the decompression can kill us too?"
"I apologize, this is not something I generally have to navigate around," Mr. Donovan excused, "perhaps we can get there hovering, or take a shuttle-"
"Donovan, you blew it. Just close the bulkhead to the hangars and order a new door," Candon interrupted as his left hand snaked behind his back and returned with his Lorath hand cannon. Walking behind the receptionist desk he motioned to Masumi, "can you keep me from flying out, babe?"
The tall Neko was close behind Candon and she ducked her head when she walked past Mr. Donovan. She gripped onto a railing inlaid in the wall near Candon with one hand and gripped Candon's ankle with the other.
Canon braced the mighty hand gun on the long desk as he took aim at the top left corner of the door. "Make sure you exhale before I fire, alright?"
"On it!" Masumi said as she breathed out once and then further secured her hold on his ankle.
Bang! and the corner of the transparent durandium cracked.
Bang! and the corner shattered across the body of the door.
Bang! and the corner blew out. Loose papers and dust took to the sky as the air rushed through the gaping hole in the door.
The pistol dropped from Candon's hands as the air tried escaping with him, his whole body lurching forward onto the counter, Masumi's hand keeping him on the safe side and pulling him back down. Frost began to fill the door as freezing outside air contested for entry through the relatively small opening. As the the forces of displaced air balanced the shattered door was caught in the middle. Far too cold for the transparent metal to flex under the stress the door burst inwards and outwards simultaneously.
The freezing cold bit at the leathery material of Masumi's jacket and pants as frost formed across every surface. The freezing outside air rushed into the compartment, leaving a thin layer of frost over all it touched as the pressure stabilized.
Masumi spoke out telepathically, saying to Candon, "Shoot first, ask questions later... Well I think it's time I ask a question; where to now?"
"The truck," he pointed as he grabbed his woman and pistol off the floor. Already by the truck Mr. Donovan held open the door to the back seats. As the couple rushed to the hovering SUV they would notice that it was not an OEM Big Cat. With a slightly taller roof and wider, longer body the vehicle had more in common with a conversion van.
The two soldiers dove into the vehicle through the offered door, allowing Mr. Donovan the chance to follow suit. Taking a seat in the passenger side front seat he immediately flipped a switch on the dashboard labeled 'pressurize' the moment his door closed. A high pitched squeak came from the doors as they sealed themselves in place while the sound of compressed air hissed through the air conditioning vents in the ceiling. In only a moment the pressure within the cab was normal and the AC heater began warming the chilled interior.
In the rear of the cab were four luxurious soft leather captain's chairs in rows of two with space between the center row to allow access to the rear most seats.
The autopilot began plotting a course to bring the group to the meetings mentioned. The empty driver seat would generally be a concern to passengers but to Yamataians it was simply a normal means of transit. As the truck hovered onto the high speed airlane it smoothly accelerated, not the fastest vehicle but certainly not slow at 185 MPH.
"Allow me to introduce the company's VIP limo. It's a converted Big Cat from the Origin dealer," Mr. Donovan introduced to the two frazzled Yamataians still laying comfortably close on the floor between the front and center rows, "It meets all your requirements and then some, Mr. Suites. Armored hull, bullet and laser proof windows with armored shutters, conformal shielding, FTL communications with VCE support in each seat for virtual meetings and..." the front seat Mr. Donovan occupied began to rotate to face the rear seats, "rotating seats for those mobile meetings we'll be having."
"This is all the best and more, Mr. Donovan..." Masumi said from her place on the floor after the vehicular tour. "You seem to have a way of impressing a girl." Though she had been looking at the combat android while she began to say it, her head swung to look at Candon as she finished the statement.
"Don't let my money impress you," Candon warned SC stood up, offering a hand to Masumi, "University students would choke if they saw how far in debt I am."
Taking the center row driver's side seat Candon began inspecting the armrests for any controls other than the seat adjustments. Sliding an inset switch on the right armrest activated a volumetric display that lacked an interface.
"Behind the headrest," Mr. Donovan pointed out, "there is a VCE HALO. That is used to control the display."
Masumi half smirked as Mr. Donovan explained the headset and she looked back on the long hours spent wearing one of these. She never knew during that period of her life that she would be happy to have left it at some point. She put on the one in her head rest with ease and a comfortable smile had settled on her warm brown cheeks.
Donning the HALO device Candon began interacting with the volumetric display. Financial reports begin filling the space around him. "Where do we stand financially?"
"I am pleased to report that by the wise investing of the Banking Service we currently control over seven hundred million KS across the sector," Mr. Donovan explained, "unfortunately we will not begin to see returns on these Investments until next year, leaving us about twenty million until we begin seeing returns."
"I'm sorry, how can we control this money if we can't even use it?" Candon asked, starting to seriously doubt weather his Android was operating correctly.
"You see, by offering to manage investments for certain parties in foreign markets we stand to benefit tremendously over time and in the meantime influence these large Investments to ensure that these Markets stay favorable for ourselves as well. We all benefit."
Candon leaned further back in his chair, impressed with the concept. "What about our selection of products," he inquired, "what are we filling our stores with?"
The volumetric displays began sharing an abundance of product listings, "we have a full selection of rugged appliances, chemicals, basic clothing, and most necessities for life. We have recently released our first spacecraft, it's a real winner. Legal in both Nepleslia and Yamatai, the YV1 'Wahoo' Interceptor is theoretically the fastest, most agile starfighter in history, but the engineer made a lot of claims about his design so time will tell. Beyond that we are primarily building ships and hardware for the USO. Unfortunately I have recently had to consider whether we will continue association with Section 6."
"What happened?"
"You see how empty our station is?" Mr. Donovan built up to his point, "We have entire factories and laboratories that are completely unused. When invited to use some of this space they declined. That normally would mean nothing, however, we are now finding that the company they're keeping is extremely questionable. Iemochi Innovations & Sales is apparently looking to profit from 188604 and is using S6 as their foot In the door."I
Masumi wrinkled her nose. She had been for the most part using the gaming system attached to VCE headwear and listening to the conversation happening while she did.
"Iemochi Innovation and Sales?" Masumi took off the VCE Halo and set it down. "Are you seriously saying a porn company is working with those you do business with?" The question was; how much did Candon already know about Masumi's light porn habit? As she realized the information she had given up, her brows went up in the middles and she explained, "I only know about them because— Er,... Uh. I know they are a porno company but what can you do about them getting their foor into this planet's projects?"
"Sweet, innocent Masumi..." Candon mused sweetly, yet completely sarcastically, "you wouldn't even know what a chrome egg is, would you?" his reference being to those occasions where he would feign sleep to respect privacy.
Mr. Donovan would focus the conversation to its purpose.
"If only pornography was the worse of our concerns with Iemochi, they also produce electronic hardware for the Star Army of Yamatai. Though have no fear, sir. I am arranging a meeting with Mr. Jack Pine of Section 6 for you. Would you like me to arrange a meeting with an IIS representative?"
"Don't bother, they would only send me a puppet," Candon stated darkly, "I'm sure they have their own transportation. The next time they return to the planet I want our security force to ground them on the station. Have our space traffic controllers inform them that their registry is invalid and to land on Howard Station for inspection and decontamination, that should give us time for a meeting. I also want to see an FSS registry number on their hull before they leave."
While Candon told the combatant and head of the business about how to arrange a meeting with the representive, a sly grin spread beneath Masumi's sparkling blue eyes and she said nothing, simply grasped Candon's hand in hers while she looked at him. She was proud of what he was able to accomplish and how he looked at the world and wasn't willing to let up on her admiration for him in more ways than one.
Cargo Container Home
3日 8月 YE 39
0800 Hours
Masumi lay asleep in a bed she had only just gotten to know. The bed's sheets hung limply over her dark form which was all but uncovered as she twisted around to face away from the rest of the cabin. This ship didn't have the same amenities as the Plumeria, but it was still comfortable to the military-grade Neko, enough so that she was overdo for another sort of wake up call from the SAINT operative she was following to new and strange places.
It was shore leave for the Eucharis a half month before Candy Festival in Yamatai and that meant Candon was anxious to get back to his business and out of the Empire, while still managing to work for it.
Setting his toothbrush back into its place, Candon took a deep breath as he stared into the mirror. Still unsure of whether bringing Masumi along would be safe. It had been years now since he'd needed to be concerned for another's safety and now after asking her to come with he had his doubts as to whether he was thinking clearly. He knew he wasn't thinking clearly, how could he be?
It was too late to turn back, he would have to be smarter now. At least he knew Howard Station would be secure when they arrived, beyond that he didn't know what to expect. The details of the memory he had of 188604 we're blurry, removed by himself to protect the operation on the frontier. It was time to fill those gaps. Leaving the safety of the bathroom Candon headed through the kitchen to the door of the manufactured home.
The front door of the CCH slid open with a hiss as the pressure had equalized. Two days into the trip and the cargo container was holding pressure better than the spacecraft. How reassuring.
"Mr. Williams, I'm ready," he called into an empty room.
From the passage leading to the cockpit came the pilot clad in the usual spacer pants and jacket.
"Then answer the question," he teased, as if the answer was simple, "What is the greatest weapon in all the universe?"
This was not the first try. He'd ruled out Yamatai, space, shock arrays and himself. Apparently none were the weapon in question.
"Think about it, we're almost there," the android teased, "and if you say 'time' I'll lock you out... come on, man, you made it up! It's so easy, your just thinking about this way too poetically! Your trying too hard to think large scale. Forget the big picture, think about what's relevant to the situation. You know who said that right?"
"I know, I know I did!" He yelled, kicking the plated wall, and then the idea came to him. She was in his bed.
"It's Masumi..."
Javier's face twisted in disgust, "Yeah, Candon, like you want to be called a weapon. You're really talking like a proprietary super soldier now. Hey, why not talk about how I'm property too while your at it? You know, I really thought you were smart when you picked such an easy answer, but this is just sad."
"Screw you, clanker," Candon insulted as he headed back inside. "If I could remember the salesman I'd..." Candon stopped dead in his tracks as he finally put it together.
"Memory," he called back, "that's it, isn't it?"
"About time," Javier exclaimed, "I wasn't sure it was the best password but the relevance factor really appealed to you. Look up!" He pointed at a light in the ceiling.
A bright flash blinded the spy. With hands over his eyes he slouched against the door frame. "What was I thinking with this stupid process," he muttered as he tried rubbing the flash out of his eyes. The answer began returning a little at a time. He realized the importance as the gaps in his memory began to return. He'd compressed and encrypted the data to near oblivion and the flash contained the key. At least it would only work for himself.
Opening the door he passed back into the tiny home.
Masumi's pink brows nearly met in the center as she heard the door open and her body swayed slightly in the bed while she turned around, away from the wall. She pulled the sheet off of the small portion of dark brown skin it had been covering. The scientist tilted her head as she sat on the edge of the bed, looking at Candon with questions he both could and would not answer. Her face then turned softer as her lips parted and she inhaled, recognizing the emotions welling up inside of her she sat up.
Without looking away from him, she floated off the bed and moved gently through the room, towards him, sleepy and wordless.
Taking slow calculated steps to avoid a tumble the memories began restoring his confidence. With the details of his trip restored his fears of danger dissipated. They would have to be careful but he knew as a fact that they would be on the top of the food chain after he'd personally changed it on his last trip. Now his more pressing concern was whether he could start repaying Jax.
The blur of chocolate flesh and pink hair was a beacon home. His course ended as he met her at the steps leading into the kitchen. Taking her into a loving embrace from his lower altitude was advantageous, even for a man with blurred vision.
"I remember the details now," he stated telepathically as he simply held Masumi, "we're going to be fine. The threat I remembered was an Elysian cell. They have since departed from our space."
Masumi's hands found themselves moving around his torso and she burrowed her cheek close to his shoulder. Her pink head nodded after he had spoken to her telepathically. She replied in a groggy voice.
"We'll find them," Masumi murmured into his mind. She straightened in his arms and turned her head towards his neck, kissing her lips to his neck while she gained futher purchase with her hands on his back.
"I doubt it, but I think they'll come to us for help now," he chuckled aloud, far too distracted to continue his line of telepathic communication as he ran his fingers through her hair. It was by far the best day of the operation since he started the company. "They're holding off a bigger threat. Mish remnants, they're trying to expand. I think they'll be my next target."
Her lips tenderly pressed into him as many times as she could until she had to ask, "Will we work alone?"
It was a truly strange love affair, talking militant domination while intoxicated by his lover. It was oddly fetching of her to appreciate the hunt. His hands snaked their way through her hair as they followed the curve of her back to shapely hips.
"We might not get much work done if we're working alone."
Masumi, with wide eyes at first that were then hooded by her furrowing brow, "You don't think we make a good team on our own?"
She was unaware of what he meant, though if given the right initiatives, Masumi could revel in the more passionate aspects of their relationship, some things were often lost on her. She seemed to pull away from Candon just a quarter of an inch as she asked him what he meant.
A smug grin took Candon's face. "I just think we'll be busy with different activities."
Masumi's eyes became lidded while a smile showed itself on her face. She moved her hands down and towards herself, away from his back where she had been hugging him. Her loose, long hair that Candon had only just been moving his hands through touched the hand on her lower back as she looked up to the ceiling of the little home with a smile on her sienna cheeks.
"So you think that we make better partners than I thought." She held his pants in her hands and began to move them off of his hips gently and with a slowness to the movements.
As she did Canon responded similarly with his loose shirt. The scientist was glad for Candon's near nudity and responded with her own in quick succession. A few hours left to their destination and they were glad for every delay the unfavorable planetary position had caused their flight plan.
1000 Hours
Those few hours were nearly passed in a passionate experience and before long they found themselves re-dressing.
Masumi put on a pair of tight, leather-like pants and a white tank top underneath a double holster and a jacket that matched the leathery pants, though this was a reinforced garment picked up at a specialty store. It was reinforced with Yama-Dura and bulletproof to many simple kinetic weapons, though its list of atributes didn't ended there. She pulled her hair into a high ponytail soon thereafter.
She looked up to Candon as she zipped up the last segment of her outfit, moving from a bent down position, then popped up to have her hands on either side of her overzealous chest, which pushed against the stretchy lycra-like fabric with an abundance Candon knew all too well.
Masumi grabbed her boots, pulled them on, then watched Candon, seeing his readiness position, already in a mission-ready mood, exemplified by her tense body posture and clenched hands.
Candon, dressed in rugged gray tactical pants and his dark blue FSCorp T-shirt that hugged his solid musculature, he could have been dressed out sooner had he not been peeking the whole time, wishing for yet another delay. With time short before landing he buried his passion under the need to make the most of the trip to Howard Station and strapped his boots on. Lives depended on the decisions he made this month.
"This is Javier in the cockpit," the pilot chimed over the intercoms, "we are on final approach, ETA five minutes or so."
"You'd think a robot could be a little more precise with the timing," Candon commented, "let's arm up, security is never guaranteed out here." His voice trailing as he headed through the passage into the kitchen. "Don't get me wrong, we're the big fish out here," he continued as he opened the front door to the cargo bay, "we just need to be able to prove it to certain people."
"May I suggest an less armed loadout, sir," Javier suggested as he gestured toward the wall paneling of the cargo bay which flipped upwards to reveal the hidden armory.
"Never," Candon replied tersly.
A Lorath Hand-cannon with a 6X IR Scope, A pair of HHG revolvers with volumetric reflex sights, a suppressed RPK-10/45, several of Zen Armaments' 'Little Killer', Two FMS-2 Plasma Throwers, and a Type 30 NSP.
"There are no real gun laws on the station so take what you like," Candon offered, "plenty of ammo, magazines, holsters, I get it all free. Later we can get you powered armor."
When Candon mentioned the lack of gun laws Masumi's eyes brightened and she nodded absentmindedly as her eyes shone, looking over Candon's personal weaponry.
"Spectacular," she said as her hand moved forward to clutch the grip of one of the revolvers, weighing it in her hand before setting it into her drop holster and buckling it in. "I'll probably take two of the Little Killers for my chest holsters," she added, revealing the double holster as she placed the Zen Arms guns into each slot on the outside of each breast before she closed up her jacket with a zip!
Candon blushed a bit feeling like the luckiest man alive. Feeling alive in general had been the trick.
"Your turn?' Masumi asked, somewhat eager to see what he chose from the assortment, though that slight eagerness was dimmed in the shadow of her contained excitement of what was to come.
He gripped the Type 30 NSP first, it's home was always under his left shoulder. "The Type 30 has never let me down, this one went missing years ago. Untraceable and illegal in most territories."
Next he claimed the Lorath hand-cannon to hang off the back side of his belt. "The Lorath Hand-Cannon makes a statement anywhere it goes. It's still the most powerful chemically driven 6-gun ever made, or at least mine is a six shooter."
Finally a Little Killer took shelter in the right inner pocket of the leather jacket he generally wore when in the frontier world's of '604.
"And I never leave my sword alone," he claimed as his sheathed armor killing sword flew into his waiting hand. Adjusting the Saya across his back he looked over his Masumi, a feeling overwhelming him from the deepest part of his heart. Different from the passion they'd just experienced, greater than the ever present fear inherent in his mind. His smile was one of contentment on a higher level than self gratification.
This was more than Masumi could have ever wanted and something inside of her felt as if radiating happiness. The mere sight of his sword going onto his back brought back countless memories of training and a handful of battles with him. It was a beautiful flying sword that he used like an extension of his own body. The well worn tsuka where he placed his hands and the shine of the saya were all things freshly filling up all of the memories she had.
What they were about to do, though, was something unknown to her in multiple ways. The unknown of the future coupled with the memories that flooded back to her as her eyes swept over Kōku Ken, then over Candon's eyes, where her own similarly blue ones halted to look into his.
A wider smile flickered on her face and then it was replaced by a more somber look, "Do they have soul transfers where we're going?"
"We do, it's not the most current technology, but it works," he answered, taking a pace closer to the beautiful commando, "I doubt we'll need it... but in the off chance that we do-"
"Right here," Javier directed as another wall panel flipped downward to reveal the salvaged Type 30 MTBU, "many others are entrusting their souls to Elysian technology or other less advanced technology. It would seem like most of them become become either androids or birds when they die. I can't imagine the shock of such a transfer... anyway, my device is Yamataian, so no need to worry about growing random wings after a firefight... but you might be like him for a while," Candon explained, pointing to the MimicCom, "let's backup."
Masumi blinked once with round eyes as she looked at the device and her lips were pursed in thought.
The apparatus looked unfinished but was in fact rebuilt to be contained in a headpiece and footlocker that truly blended into the rest of the equipment packed into the walls.
Candon would go first to show how it worked. Doing the steps he described.
"Just put it on and hit the button."
The machine whined as its cooling fan shot up to speed, the recording unit buzzing like a hoard of floppy disks for the three seconds it took.
"It might take a minute for you, the first copy takes a little more time," he explained.
When the apparatus was hers to use, she placed it from one hand to another and said, "It's a miracle you have this, Candon. This is amazing." She utilized it for its function with the press of a button after another few moments moving it in her hands and then a little less than fifty-five seconds later and Masumi's ST on the shuttle was complete. She placed the device back where it had come from in the wall panel.
"Thanks, but I didn't make it. For that I had to borrow someone's skill set," he explained, almost shamefully, "Hanako would have a fit so this is one of those details were going to have to remove before going home."
Masumi looked from Candon's eyes as she listened and then back to the panel in the wall, then at him again. She was making the connections now that what she had come to barely understand about the way his memories worked when he was on the frontier was going to be something she underwent as well.
Her hand moved to hold Candon's, "We'll have to make memories we can take back with us and make the most out of the ones we can't."
Taking hold of her hand he laid his head on her's, placing a kiss in her hair, "Don't worry. We won't be removing much of this trip. The bad part is already over, but my contact says we may have to organize another raid this month. Maybe two."
"We're a minute out," Javier announced as he packed the ST equipment back into the hidden compartment, "can you believe we have space traffic controllers now? Makes things so much safer. Landing was dangerous last time I came through."
Stifling a small giggle behind closed lips, Masumi told Candon telepathically, "I hope the landing isn't the most dangerous part of our day.." She made sure her equipment was stowed and secured and looked back to Candon, "But if the bad part is already over, where's the danger in that?"
A soft chuckle from Candon, "I meant illegal. Everything from this point on is up to us, just don't talk about our SAoY affiliation. There are a few people back home that won't like that."
Memories of her first experience in combat and its bloody end flashed in Masumi's mind's eye and she smiled at how far she had come since then. Ready to take on anything with Candon, she took a deep breath and the smile widened.
"What is the story everyone here knows from you? Who are you to them?" Masumi asked as her mind wrapped around an identity not tied to SAoY that she would have to absorb.
"Right, it's complicated but really simple. The people that know who I am and know my function also know that I'm SAINT. Never wanted that to be a secret someone could blackmail me with. We never really talk about it unless it's necessary," he explained as he scooped a fistfull of bullets into his left cargo pocket, "most people here simply don't know me and just know that I have access to all areas. As far as leadership goes I have Mr. Donovan as the highest authority in the corporation, he's the president and operates the business and management so I can use the corporation as needed. So the short answer is that I'm nobody."
Masumi had been intently listening and had her questions but bit her tongue until Candon told her that he was "nobody" and a sly smile gripped her face as she said, "You are nothing but 'nobody' to me, so it seems like they're missing out."
Watching as he finished dumping bullets into his pocket she slid her hand against his hip bones, landing her hand on his belt and tugged on it. "Next time we're alone, Candon..." He knew her well enough to know what she wanted, she hoped.
"You are going to make this trip very interesting," he stated as he pulled her by the waist, intimate thoughts forming until the cabin rocked... literally, the vessel rocked about as its gear made contact with the hangar deck. Masumi floated a bit off of where she had been, instinctually moving against the rocking. Despite it, her eyes moved to Candon's to make sure everything was okay.
"We're here," the pilot announced over the intercoms, "I'm opening the cargo ramp, so get your clothes back on!"
"I don't know what's wrong with that android," Candon grumbled, "you should take some ammo too, there are rumors of thugs hiding on the station." Taking two reloads for the NSP for the pouch under his right shoulder.
1020 Hours
The cargo bay door split open and lowered slowly, it's hydraulic rams moaning the whole way down. Mr. Donovan stood but a new opening, awaiting the arrival of the corporation's founder. The tie wearing combat android's black and white color scheme perfectly resembled a business suit. Though many found it difficult to accept him as the president of the corporation his intimidating size paired with the vocabulary of a professor was generally enough to command respect.
"Welcome Mr. Suites," the steel plated president spoke mildly in a deep voice, "I did not realize you would be accompanied, sir." The android paused for a moment as if frozen before speaking to Masumi. He was, in fact, Consulting the ST data Candon had programmed into him.
"Ms. Oshiro, I presume," he stated after an odd moment of silence, "I am Mr. Donovan, president of the Frontier Service Corporation. Welcome to Howard Station. If you would like I can have rooming arrangements prepared for you in a Penthouse near Candon's."
Masumi’s mouth opened while her eyes closed, and her digital brain was working overtime as she tried to think of how to explain the nature of her relationship with Candon to someone close to the dual agent. She waited a fraction of a moment before a smile was back on her face and her eyes were on Mr. Donovan.
"I think will be fine, Mr. Donovan," the pastel pink haired Neko said. "I have accommodations of my own." She looked to Candon with a furtive glance and then told Mr. Donovan, "It is all too kind of you to give me such a warm welcome. I'm sure there are more important matters for the two of you to get to, though." She looked between the two of them with a face that already looked quiet and intent on letting Candon and the upgraded Raleigh combat android pursue the technicalities and othere elements of the operations going on.
"Very well," the android consented, "we must talk as we walk, there is much to discuss." The Android began heading for the door that would lead to the halls and corridors that connected the hangars together. The area was surprisingly empty, an occasional worker bot would appear now and then to disrupt the feeling of complete emptiness. The station was in fact almost completely empty. Despite its early phase of construction there should have been more people, or people in general, near the hangars.
"Mr. Donovan, where is everyone?" Candon asked, his voice echoing across the glossy white walls spanning the empty hallway.
"I understand your concern, sir. Please know that we have over two hundred fifty thousand employed as of now. It is just that this station is projected to have capacity for five million. This is the first time anyone has stepped foot in this corridor since it was built, these hangars are kept totally unlit and locked I chose this location for the shuttle for privacy."
Talk of branches and legal arrangements would follow as the three beings made their way through the vacant starport facility until a wide transparent sliding door lay before them with what would one day be a starport passenger pickup area, a white Big Cat hovercar with a glossy blue stripe across the bottom waited just outside.
"Wait," Mr. Donovan commanded, "beyond this door is something of a large freeway, like you would see for mass transit, but construction is not completed yet. The air is thin and extremely cold... perhaps too cold for biological beings."
Candon shook his head, "you really thought this one through, didn't you? Did you know the decompression can kill us too?"
"I apologize, this is not something I generally have to navigate around," Mr. Donovan excused, "perhaps we can get there hovering, or take a shuttle-"
"Donovan, you blew it. Just close the bulkhead to the hangars and order a new door," Candon interrupted as his left hand snaked behind his back and returned with his Lorath hand cannon. Walking behind the receptionist desk he motioned to Masumi, "can you keep me from flying out, babe?"
The tall Neko was close behind Candon and she ducked her head when she walked past Mr. Donovan. She gripped onto a railing inlaid in the wall near Candon with one hand and gripped Candon's ankle with the other.
Canon braced the mighty hand gun on the long desk as he took aim at the top left corner of the door. "Make sure you exhale before I fire, alright?"
"On it!" Masumi said as she breathed out once and then further secured her hold on his ankle.
Bang! and the corner of the transparent durandium cracked.
Bang! and the corner shattered across the body of the door.
Bang! and the corner blew out. Loose papers and dust took to the sky as the air rushed through the gaping hole in the door.
The pistol dropped from Candon's hands as the air tried escaping with him, his whole body lurching forward onto the counter, Masumi's hand keeping him on the safe side and pulling him back down. Frost began to fill the door as freezing outside air contested for entry through the relatively small opening. As the the forces of displaced air balanced the shattered door was caught in the middle. Far too cold for the transparent metal to flex under the stress the door burst inwards and outwards simultaneously.
The freezing cold bit at the leathery material of Masumi's jacket and pants as frost formed across every surface. The freezing outside air rushed into the compartment, leaving a thin layer of frost over all it touched as the pressure stabilized.
Masumi spoke out telepathically, saying to Candon, "Shoot first, ask questions later... Well I think it's time I ask a question; where to now?"
"The truck," he pointed as he grabbed his woman and pistol off the floor. Already by the truck Mr. Donovan held open the door to the back seats. As the couple rushed to the hovering SUV they would notice that it was not an OEM Big Cat. With a slightly taller roof and wider, longer body the vehicle had more in common with a conversion van.
The two soldiers dove into the vehicle through the offered door, allowing Mr. Donovan the chance to follow suit. Taking a seat in the passenger side front seat he immediately flipped a switch on the dashboard labeled 'pressurize' the moment his door closed. A high pitched squeak came from the doors as they sealed themselves in place while the sound of compressed air hissed through the air conditioning vents in the ceiling. In only a moment the pressure within the cab was normal and the AC heater began warming the chilled interior.
In the rear of the cab were four luxurious soft leather captain's chairs in rows of two with space between the center row to allow access to the rear most seats.
The autopilot began plotting a course to bring the group to the meetings mentioned. The empty driver seat would generally be a concern to passengers but to Yamataians it was simply a normal means of transit. As the truck hovered onto the high speed airlane it smoothly accelerated, not the fastest vehicle but certainly not slow at 185 MPH.
"Allow me to introduce the company's VIP limo. It's a converted Big Cat from the Origin dealer," Mr. Donovan introduced to the two frazzled Yamataians still laying comfortably close on the floor between the front and center rows, "It meets all your requirements and then some, Mr. Suites. Armored hull, bullet and laser proof windows with armored shutters, conformal shielding, FTL communications with VCE support in each seat for virtual meetings and..." the front seat Mr. Donovan occupied began to rotate to face the rear seats, "rotating seats for those mobile meetings we'll be having."
"This is all the best and more, Mr. Donovan..." Masumi said from her place on the floor after the vehicular tour. "You seem to have a way of impressing a girl." Though she had been looking at the combat android while she began to say it, her head swung to look at Candon as she finished the statement.
"Don't let my money impress you," Candon warned SC stood up, offering a hand to Masumi, "University students would choke if they saw how far in debt I am."
Taking the center row driver's side seat Candon began inspecting the armrests for any controls other than the seat adjustments. Sliding an inset switch on the right armrest activated a volumetric display that lacked an interface.
"Behind the headrest," Mr. Donovan pointed out, "there is a VCE HALO. That is used to control the display."
Masumi half smirked as Mr. Donovan explained the headset and she looked back on the long hours spent wearing one of these. She never knew during that period of her life that she would be happy to have left it at some point. She put on the one in her head rest with ease and a comfortable smile had settled on her warm brown cheeks.
Donning the HALO device Candon began interacting with the volumetric display. Financial reports begin filling the space around him. "Where do we stand financially?"
"I am pleased to report that by the wise investing of the Banking Service we currently control over seven hundred million KS across the sector," Mr. Donovan explained, "unfortunately we will not begin to see returns on these Investments until next year, leaving us about twenty million until we begin seeing returns."
"I'm sorry, how can we control this money if we can't even use it?" Candon asked, starting to seriously doubt weather his Android was operating correctly.
"You see, by offering to manage investments for certain parties in foreign markets we stand to benefit tremendously over time and in the meantime influence these large Investments to ensure that these Markets stay favorable for ourselves as well. We all benefit."
Candon leaned further back in his chair, impressed with the concept. "What about our selection of products," he inquired, "what are we filling our stores with?"
The volumetric displays began sharing an abundance of product listings, "we have a full selection of rugged appliances, chemicals, basic clothing, and most necessities for life. We have recently released our first spacecraft, it's a real winner. Legal in both Nepleslia and Yamatai, the YV1 'Wahoo' Interceptor is theoretically the fastest, most agile starfighter in history, but the engineer made a lot of claims about his design so time will tell. Beyond that we are primarily building ships and hardware for the USO. Unfortunately I have recently had to consider whether we will continue association with Section 6."
"What happened?"
"You see how empty our station is?" Mr. Donovan built up to his point, "We have entire factories and laboratories that are completely unused. When invited to use some of this space they declined. That normally would mean nothing, however, we are now finding that the company they're keeping is extremely questionable. Iemochi Innovations & Sales is apparently looking to profit from 188604 and is using S6 as their foot In the door."I
Masumi wrinkled her nose. She had been for the most part using the gaming system attached to VCE headwear and listening to the conversation happening while she did.
"Iemochi Innovation and Sales?" Masumi took off the VCE Halo and set it down. "Are you seriously saying a porn company is working with those you do business with?" The question was; how much did Candon already know about Masumi's light porn habit? As she realized the information she had given up, her brows went up in the middles and she explained, "I only know about them because— Er,... Uh. I know they are a porno company but what can you do about them getting their foor into this planet's projects?"
"Sweet, innocent Masumi..." Candon mused sweetly, yet completely sarcastically, "you wouldn't even know what a chrome egg is, would you?" his reference being to those occasions where he would feign sleep to respect privacy.
Mr. Donovan would focus the conversation to its purpose.
"If only pornography was the worse of our concerns with Iemochi, they also produce electronic hardware for the Star Army of Yamatai. Though have no fear, sir. I am arranging a meeting with Mr. Jack Pine of Section 6 for you. Would you like me to arrange a meeting with an IIS representative?"
"Don't bother, they would only send me a puppet," Candon stated darkly, "I'm sure they have their own transportation. The next time they return to the planet I want our security force to ground them on the station. Have our space traffic controllers inform them that their registry is invalid and to land on Howard Station for inspection and decontamination, that should give us time for a meeting. I also want to see an FSS registry number on their hull before they leave."
While Candon told the combatant and head of the business about how to arrange a meeting with the representive, a sly grin spread beneath Masumi's sparkling blue eyes and she said nothing, simply grasped Candon's hand in hers while she looked at him. She was proud of what he was able to accomplish and how he looked at the world and wasn't willing to let up on her admiration for him in more ways than one.
