After a few days of rain, the sky had finally cleared. The sun, while not very warm, was at least uplifting to see. Its effectiveness on a certain pair of sentries, however, was negligable.
This pair -- Yamataians named Jan and Ken -- had nothing to be unhappy about. The Star Army cared for them at its old base in Natalia, which they were not even stationed at right then. They had a small amount of money between them, with a bit more gained by trading down sidearms from Type 28Cs to 28As. They had an easy assignment, guarding a weather station from curious onlookers and the occasional seagull with megaphones and little air guns that fired plastic pellets.
They'd been given the assignment as a reward for six months of loyal service to the Empire ... as sentries at the old base's southern gate. Also a cush job, but it did require a lot of standing in horribly cold weather. They'd learned first hand how effective the all-weather coats of the Star Army were.
The weather station was on the beach, east of Karen's Lookout. A terribly convenient place for a weather station, as the beach was pretty open and exposed, with only a small grassy incline away from it. It left the station able to collect data uninhibited by poor geography. The station itself wasn't very big -- a four-meter tall cube paneled a dull grey color best described it. It had various instruments on its sides and on its top, with some computer equipment inside to run everything smoothly.
There was a fridge stocked with decent food, so they could eat when they got hungry. Occasionally, a fellow red-paneled technician would come by, check on the station, then leave. All they had to do was check the inside every half-hour, then take their positions -- one guarding the "front," looking toward the road, and one guarding the back, looking toward the Sea of Loriolis. They had headsets under their tri-corner hats so they could talk to each other.
So, when the sun reached its zenith at 09:00, amid the tide coming slowly back in, the two switched positions. This was fine with Ken, who was annoyed by the grass anyway. But as he looked out over the lovely bluish waves, he noticed something odd. A white streak was topping the water.
"Jan," he said through the headset.
"Ken?"
"You see this out here?"
Jan left his post by stepping a couple of paces and looking around the corner. "Yeah, I see it. Looks like a personal watercraft."
"Like one of those ... what are they called, 'TideJumpers®'?"
"Yeah, that's them." Jan narrowed his eyes. "I'll get the binoculars."
Ken nodded and hefted his little pellet gun onto his shoulder. He was glad they were given slings for the weapons. He clicked the safety off his NSP and kept looking at the craft. It was probably a kilometer away or so. No real threat.
Jan returned with the binoculars, which he handed up to Ken. The black-haired Yamataian peered through them.
"Shit," he said. "Get a load of this."
"Eh?" Jan reached around and took the binoculars, not leaving the corner of the building. "Whoa! Is she -- a blonde?"
"Yeah," Ken said, grinning. "And what a fine blonde she is. Haven't seen a athletic girl like her in a long time."
Jan nodded. The girl's hair was flying behind her, flaxen and shining in the sun. She was in a Star Army bathing suit, he was pretty sure, and had on a blue/grey lifejacket. She had on some gloves and a survival knife strapped to her somewhat muscular leg, or so it looked. And ... another on her arm? She was standing on the craft; it was one of those where the handles come up to a person via a long attachment. She was bouncing off waves and spinning and doing all kinds of crazy stuff.
"Huh ... I'll be. Wish my parents would hook me up with a girl like her," Jan said, handing the binoculars back.
"You said it." Ken hefted the binoculars back at the streak. He sighed, leaning against the weather station. This assignment wasn't so bad after all, he thought. Sure, this wasn't likely to happen again, not this time of year, but what the hell. Take what you can get.
The watercraft suddenly threw up a big spray of water and angled itself at the beach. He couldn't get a good look at the girl's face, but he could've sworn he saw very, very white teeth. Another spray of water ... and the craft was getting bigger. Very quickly.
"Um -- Jan?"
"Ken?"
"Get the loudspeaker ... shout at this chick. She's getting too close."
"Huh?" Jan looked around the corner and noticed she was indeed careening straight toward them. He took the small handset from his uniform and pushed the button on it.
"Hey! Miss! You need to turn around; you cannot approach!"
She kept coming.
"Hey, lady! This is a restricted area; turn back!"
She kept coming.
"Boost the volume!" Ken drew his NSP.
Jan fiddled with the volume. She wasn't more than 500 meters away now.
"Hey! Turn back; this is a restricted area! Stop or we'll shoot!"
She kept coming.
"Woman's got a death wish." Ken flicked his NSP to normal and fired a warning shot into the air. She was at 400 meters and -- two panels popped open beside her feet on the vehicle. The pair could hear a small explosion from the direction of the craft, and suddenly she was coming in much faster and holding on for dear life.
"Shit!" Ken pointed his NSP at the water.
"Last warning!"
She kept coming; she was only 100 meters away! Ken fired; she dodged. He fired again, holding the trigger down, but the blasts hit the water below her -- she had left the water!
"Shit DUCK!" Ken dove for the ground as the craft came hurtling off the water straight toward him. Jan dove too --
ShhhuuSCREEEEK!huuuuuuuuuTHUD! Thud! thudthudududud ...
Ken looked up from the sand, spitting some out. "Ugh ... " He brought his NSP up in front of him and did his best to jump to his feet. Jan was still on the ground. The sounds -- he turned to the weather station behind him and saw the chief transmitter was ripped from the roof of the station. She went right over us, he thought. He carefully plastered himself to the wall of the station, then dashed from it and toward the grass behind the station.
The craft had skipped along until it had piled itself a small dune. The small explosion before the speed boost made sense now -- the thing had rockets on it. Ken was about to stand there for a moment in utter confusion, but was interrupted by a knife suddenly at his throat.
"You crazy asshole!" the woman shouted in English. "You nearly shot me!"
"A-ah?" Ken replied. She smelled like sea water.
The Neko didn't have a chance to explain further. Jan put two stun bolts in her back. Ken was frozen until Jan shouted at him.
" ... Jan."
"Ken?" his fellow sentry replied, breathing heavily.
"Next time, let's ask for money."
SET: Kyoto Base
Taii Kyle Flynn looked at the dejected Neko across the table. He sighed.
"What did I say before this shoreleave began?"
The Neko looked down at her feet.
"What did I say, Asagiri-Hei?"
The Neko didn't look up. "Don't get into trouble," she said.
"And what did you do?" Flynn snarled.
"They didn't tell me it had rockets on it! I panicked!"
Flynn stood up from his chair and went over to the Neko. She didn't flinch, but she didn't look up, either. "You severely damaged a civilian vehicle, which the Star Army had to replace. You destroyed SA property, which had to be replaced. And you added a week of extra pay to two soldiers. That's about 12,000 KS you owe the Empire, Asagiri-Hei."
Her ears wilted.
"Don't give me that," Flynn snapped. "You're going to pay every bit of it. But not on my goddamn time."
"What?"
Flynn brought up a holowindow beside him inside the little interrogation room. It was Yatsumi's orders. "I'm giving you over to SAINT. You're promoted to Jôtô Hei as of now. Every KS you make is going straight to the Empire, is that clear?"
Yastumi was a little lost. "W-what? For hitting a weather pole you're throwing me off to SAINT?! I'm not qualified!"
"You're not qualified to be a member of my crew either, but look where you've served for the past month or so?" Flynn shut the window and looked back at Yatsumi. "You're a born stealth operative -- works well alone, excellent combatant, well versed in all forms of weaponry. You'll do fine, and you'll be out of my goddamn hair."
Flynn opened another window and instructed the base's KAMI to switch Yatsumi's rank pin. "Now get to it. You'll wait here on base until SAINT comes and gets you. Good luck." Flynn shut the window and walked out, leaving Yatsumi by herself.
" ... Shit," Yatsumi said. "This isn't cool."
This pair -- Yamataians named Jan and Ken -- had nothing to be unhappy about. The Star Army cared for them at its old base in Natalia, which they were not even stationed at right then. They had a small amount of money between them, with a bit more gained by trading down sidearms from Type 28Cs to 28As. They had an easy assignment, guarding a weather station from curious onlookers and the occasional seagull with megaphones and little air guns that fired plastic pellets.
They'd been given the assignment as a reward for six months of loyal service to the Empire ... as sentries at the old base's southern gate. Also a cush job, but it did require a lot of standing in horribly cold weather. They'd learned first hand how effective the all-weather coats of the Star Army were.
The weather station was on the beach, east of Karen's Lookout. A terribly convenient place for a weather station, as the beach was pretty open and exposed, with only a small grassy incline away from it. It left the station able to collect data uninhibited by poor geography. The station itself wasn't very big -- a four-meter tall cube paneled a dull grey color best described it. It had various instruments on its sides and on its top, with some computer equipment inside to run everything smoothly.
There was a fridge stocked with decent food, so they could eat when they got hungry. Occasionally, a fellow red-paneled technician would come by, check on the station, then leave. All they had to do was check the inside every half-hour, then take their positions -- one guarding the "front," looking toward the road, and one guarding the back, looking toward the Sea of Loriolis. They had headsets under their tri-corner hats so they could talk to each other.
So, when the sun reached its zenith at 09:00, amid the tide coming slowly back in, the two switched positions. This was fine with Ken, who was annoyed by the grass anyway. But as he looked out over the lovely bluish waves, he noticed something odd. A white streak was topping the water.
"Jan," he said through the headset.
"Ken?"
"You see this out here?"
Jan left his post by stepping a couple of paces and looking around the corner. "Yeah, I see it. Looks like a personal watercraft."
"Like one of those ... what are they called, 'TideJumpers®'?"
"Yeah, that's them." Jan narrowed his eyes. "I'll get the binoculars."
Ken nodded and hefted his little pellet gun onto his shoulder. He was glad they were given slings for the weapons. He clicked the safety off his NSP and kept looking at the craft. It was probably a kilometer away or so. No real threat.
Jan returned with the binoculars, which he handed up to Ken. The black-haired Yamataian peered through them.
"Shit," he said. "Get a load of this."
"Eh?" Jan reached around and took the binoculars, not leaving the corner of the building. "Whoa! Is she -- a blonde?"
"Yeah," Ken said, grinning. "And what a fine blonde she is. Haven't seen a athletic girl like her in a long time."
Jan nodded. The girl's hair was flying behind her, flaxen and shining in the sun. She was in a Star Army bathing suit, he was pretty sure, and had on a blue/grey lifejacket. She had on some gloves and a survival knife strapped to her somewhat muscular leg, or so it looked. And ... another on her arm? She was standing on the craft; it was one of those where the handles come up to a person via a long attachment. She was bouncing off waves and spinning and doing all kinds of crazy stuff.
"Huh ... I'll be. Wish my parents would hook me up with a girl like her," Jan said, handing the binoculars back.
"You said it." Ken hefted the binoculars back at the streak. He sighed, leaning against the weather station. This assignment wasn't so bad after all, he thought. Sure, this wasn't likely to happen again, not this time of year, but what the hell. Take what you can get.
The watercraft suddenly threw up a big spray of water and angled itself at the beach. He couldn't get a good look at the girl's face, but he could've sworn he saw very, very white teeth. Another spray of water ... and the craft was getting bigger. Very quickly.
"Um -- Jan?"
"Ken?"
"Get the loudspeaker ... shout at this chick. She's getting too close."
"Huh?" Jan looked around the corner and noticed she was indeed careening straight toward them. He took the small handset from his uniform and pushed the button on it.
"Hey! Miss! You need to turn around; you cannot approach!"
She kept coming.
"Hey, lady! This is a restricted area; turn back!"
She kept coming.
"Boost the volume!" Ken drew his NSP.
Jan fiddled with the volume. She wasn't more than 500 meters away now.
"Hey! Turn back; this is a restricted area! Stop or we'll shoot!"
She kept coming.
"Woman's got a death wish." Ken flicked his NSP to normal and fired a warning shot into the air. She was at 400 meters and -- two panels popped open beside her feet on the vehicle. The pair could hear a small explosion from the direction of the craft, and suddenly she was coming in much faster and holding on for dear life.
"Shit!" Ken pointed his NSP at the water.
"Last warning!"
She kept coming; she was only 100 meters away! Ken fired; she dodged. He fired again, holding the trigger down, but the blasts hit the water below her -- she had left the water!
"Shit DUCK!" Ken dove for the ground as the craft came hurtling off the water straight toward him. Jan dove too --
ShhhuuSCREEEEK!huuuuuuuuuTHUD! Thud! thudthudududud ...
Ken looked up from the sand, spitting some out. "Ugh ... " He brought his NSP up in front of him and did his best to jump to his feet. Jan was still on the ground. The sounds -- he turned to the weather station behind him and saw the chief transmitter was ripped from the roof of the station. She went right over us, he thought. He carefully plastered himself to the wall of the station, then dashed from it and toward the grass behind the station.
The craft had skipped along until it had piled itself a small dune. The small explosion before the speed boost made sense now -- the thing had rockets on it. Ken was about to stand there for a moment in utter confusion, but was interrupted by a knife suddenly at his throat.
"You crazy asshole!" the woman shouted in English. "You nearly shot me!"
"A-ah?" Ken replied. She smelled like sea water.
The Neko didn't have a chance to explain further. Jan put two stun bolts in her back. Ken was frozen until Jan shouted at him.
" ... Jan."
"Ken?" his fellow sentry replied, breathing heavily.
"Next time, let's ask for money."
SET: Kyoto Base
Taii Kyle Flynn looked at the dejected Neko across the table. He sighed.
"What did I say before this shoreleave began?"
The Neko looked down at her feet.
"What did I say, Asagiri-Hei?"
The Neko didn't look up. "Don't get into trouble," she said.
"And what did you do?" Flynn snarled.
"They didn't tell me it had rockets on it! I panicked!"
Flynn stood up from his chair and went over to the Neko. She didn't flinch, but she didn't look up, either. "You severely damaged a civilian vehicle, which the Star Army had to replace. You destroyed SA property, which had to be replaced. And you added a week of extra pay to two soldiers. That's about 12,000 KS you owe the Empire, Asagiri-Hei."
Her ears wilted.
"Don't give me that," Flynn snapped. "You're going to pay every bit of it. But not on my goddamn time."
"What?"
Flynn brought up a holowindow beside him inside the little interrogation room. It was Yatsumi's orders. "I'm giving you over to SAINT. You're promoted to Jôtô Hei as of now. Every KS you make is going straight to the Empire, is that clear?"
Yastumi was a little lost. "W-what? For hitting a weather pole you're throwing me off to SAINT?! I'm not qualified!"
"You're not qualified to be a member of my crew either, but look where you've served for the past month or so?" Flynn shut the window and looked back at Yatsumi. "You're a born stealth operative -- works well alone, excellent combatant, well versed in all forms of weaponry. You'll do fine, and you'll be out of my goddamn hair."
Flynn opened another window and instructed the base's KAMI to switch Yatsumi's rank pin. "Now get to it. You'll wait here on base until SAINT comes and gets you. Good luck." Flynn shut the window and walked out, leaving Yatsumi by herself.
" ... Shit," Yatsumi said. "This isn't cool."
