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Imperials Wars: Part 13

Deception! - Jiro strikes!

written by Ian Kim (aka Emiko's Agent)



 "Jiro.."
 The man in question sat up quietly.  This was the third time he senced
a presence in the room, and his katana was at his side.  Glancing to his
left, he saw the naked body of a young woman, who the night before was
screaming in the exstacy and passion he gave to her.  It was an Imperial
comm officer that happily lost her virginity a few hours ago.  He had
his sights set on a young virgin pilot today...he could smell the
innocence with his eyes, waiting to seduce them with his elegant charm
and lean frame.  But right now, he would deal with this voice once and
for all.  "What is it formless voice?  Are you not man enough to face
me?  Speak your mind or let me sleep!"  The woman, too exhausted and
happy, didn't stir beside him.  
 "Jiro..." it boomed again.  Jiro had concluded some time ago that only
he could hear this phantom.  "You...will go and kill the 3 senshi for
me."
 "Hmph, so the phantom wishes something of the great Jiro.  But I have
other ambitions.  The senshi are none of my concern."
 "You will go and kill the 3 senshi...I will give you the power to do
so..."
 The word 'power' sparked a little interest in the samurai's eyes.  He
looked like a samurai, but he acted like a corrupt ninja.  Power was
everything.  The Imperials had it.  The ACD had it...which was why he
worked for both.  But ACD's notions of justice and goodness were
aggrevating...soon the commisioner will have to die.  "What is this
power you speak of..?" he asked.
 "Pure power...my power..."
 "You bore me with your vague words phantom!  Go now and leave me be!" 
Suddenly, the cloth covering him felt heavier.  He looked to see that
the girl was gone.  "What have you done?" Jiro demanded. 
 "The girl is dead.  Do not speak against your master again.."  The
voice had no anger, nor concern in the words.  It was just fact. 
Killing sleeping women was not Jiro's idea of honourable.  Though he
craved power with his soul, he still valued the concept of an honourable
death.  "You fiend!  If you have any decency upon you, face me like a
man!" 
 The bass voice didn't care.  "You're concepts of honour will be dealt
with.  All that matters now is loyalty to me.  This I will teach you." 
A black shadow penetrated through the hull of the ship.  Jiro drew his
blade and slashed the shadow, only to see it cling to the edge.  
 Slowly, quietly, the shadow consumed him.  A muffled scream was all
that remained in the room.

-------------------------------------------

 Mika landed with a ca-plop, her face hitting the floor and with butt in
the air. Mai came down next and landed on her tail.  "MEOW!!" Mika
yelped, shoving Mai off and tending to her bruised extension.  
 "Gomen nasai!!" Mai cried with concern, giving an apology hug.   Above
them, the dimensional portal closed.  " Where are we now?"
wondered Mai. 
 "Vu are at my labreetory at New Osaka!"
 "New Osaka?!" both of them replied in unison.  Mika sat up, so see Dr.
Feelgood entering through a door.  
 "Meow!  How you get here?"
 "Oops, I guess I forgot to mention zee portal door vee ad.  I vound dat
zee portal you used caused too much bruising!"  The doctor mumbled
incoherantly past the two on the floor.   Mika tried to make take a
swipe a his heels with her claws.  "Mrow. Pfft, pfft!  Dr. Feelgood
lucky Mika need him or Mika tear him to pieces!"
 "That's not very nice Mika-san!" Mai retorted.  "Feelgood-san is just
different, dat's all. ^_^"   Mika got up on all fours and padded over to
the doctor.  "Are you done?!"
 "Ovv course!" The Doctor put a device in Mika's paw, and at the same
time, with a pair of tweezers, yanked a piece of fur out of her skin. 
"May I borrow ziece?"
 "OW!" Mika cried.  "Okay, Mika had up to Mika's ear with you!"  she was
ready to strike, but Mai kept her back with a hug around the waist.  
 "A-HA HA HA HA!!!" Mai laughed over the cat-girls growling noises.  "I
think we'll be going now!"
 "Yes yes, let us go!" "Us?!" cried Mika, before trying to attack
again.  "What mean, us?"
 "Vhat?  Of course I ave to go, only I know how to install ziece ting!"
 Two sweat drops formed over the girls heads.  Mika grabbed her sweat
drop and wacked Feelgood over the head.  "Okay, but you make Mika angry
again, Mika kick you bum into space!"

--------------------------------------

 Eva arrived back on board the Detrimental.  With Mika and Mai
comfortably able to handle the Doctor, there were more pressing matters
to attend to on the ship.  Coming out of the hanger door, she was
greeted with a pleasant surprise:  her body.  An interdimensional
transport had arrived, and since Eva had managed to make it aboard the
ship anyways, they might as well give her her body as well, which was
more durable and could sustain more damage than the remote unit. 
"Arigato." she managed to say, before her holographic figure descended
into the body.  A moment later, her  eyes opened.  She was glad to feel
more human.   She was naked though, except for a thin layer of
tranlucent wrapping material, so she quickly scooted over to Emiko's
room and picked out some clothes.  She remembered Emiko saying that she
could borrow some if this ever happened.  They were a bit big for
someone slender as her, especially around the breasts and hips, but Eva
didn't mind.  They reminded her of her friend.  
 "Hello Eva." called a voice behind her.  Eva knew it was Nana from her
voice, but she reminded herself that in was polite to face the person
you were talking to.  
 "Konnichi wa." she bowed.  
 "Goodness, no need to bow for me!" Nana laughed sweetly.  "We should
get going, ne?"
 "Hai."  Eva frowned slightly at the prospect ahead of her, but slowly
she left the chamber.

-------------------

 "I have to go with HER?!" 
 Meiko remembered screaming those words at Nana, while pointing a finger
that could kill at the android.  Now the three of them were standing
before an airlock.  Nana had changed into something more practical than
her usual attire.  A modestly short blue skirt, white legging, plain
grey shirt and a light blue jacket.  Her wings had also disappeared into
what Meiko could only assume to be a subspace compartment of some sort. 
Despite this more modern, more human look, there was still this aura of
purity around her that Meiko felt was slowly consuming her.  She wasn't
sure if this was a good or bad thing.  She only needed to look at the
lifeless puppet of a girl beside her to refill her head with hatred. 
That bitch, Meiko thought.  When the airlock opened to the pressureized
ship, Meiko slipped pasted Eva, whispering "You're body will be dead
before we're back.  I guarantee it."   Eva merely nodded and apolozied
with her faint words, making Meiko all the more upset.  Did that robot
even care? Meiko bit her lip and entered the small shuttle. 

 The shuttle was designed to accomodate about 8 people, so there was
plenty of space for the three of them.  Nana sat at the front, leaving
Eva and Meiko dangerously close to each other.  No one had spoken once
during this excursion to the Imperial fleet, except for the angel who
was quietly humming a tune with her beautiful voice.  After about half
an hour of Nana's humming, Meiko felt really relaxed and was almost
enjoying the trip....until she glanced at the robot girl.  Eva had not
moved once during the entire trip.  Not one single movement.  So she was
quite surprised when Eva spoke.
 "Why do you hate me?"
 Meiko almost exploded into laughter.  "Why do I hate you?!"  Then the
humour turned to venom.  "Why do I hate you?  Are you such an ignorant
little robot that you do not know?"
 Eva cast her eyes down.  "I was helping my friend--"
 "--So is that your excuse for wiping out my Empire?!"  
 "Gomennasai-"
 "--Stop saying that!  You're not sorry, you're just a stupid robot! 
You're incapable of feeling!"
 "Gome--" Eva stopped herself and remained silent. The senshi crossed
her arms and looked out the window.  Up in front, Nana cast a worried
expression at both of them and sighed.  After a moment of contemplation,
Nana smiled.  They will learn how to get along.  I only hope I survive
to see it.  The Imperial flagship was just ahead, orbiting a nearby
desert planet.   "We're here!" called Nana to the two behind her.  Meiko
got stood up and looked at the vessel in front of her.  
 "My sister is there," Meiko said.  "I can sence her spirit."  A
frightened look dawned upon her face. "Wait...I sence something else
too..."

----------------------

 Jiro had never felt better in his life.  He stood up at the bridge,
watching with eyes that seemed to see more than they used to.  His
nerves twitched with power he could barely contain.  Before Jay could
sence the unusual aura, Jiro supressed it inside him.
 "A small shuttle is skimming the outer perimeter of our fleet sir." a
young officer saluted to Jay.  "It bears ACD markings."
 "Good." Jay smiled.  Even a slight reaction from Jinx was all he
needed, and looking at the girl, he got it.   "Jiro, I want that ship
alive.  Kenshin is in there.  Go."
 "Hai."  Jiro smiled wickedly as he left.

-------------------------------
  
 "A ship is approaching." Eva said.  
 "Hai." Nana nodded.  "Don't worry, it's just Jiro-san.  He will let us
get away."  A hint of fear betrayed her voice. 
 Meiko looked up.  Jay was aboard the capital ship.  So was Makendo.  If
they escaped, there may be no chance to see them again.  Never before
was her desire to be with her past so present as it was now. 
Makendo...and soon Anne...  The time to act was now!  Grabbing the comm,
she went for it.
 "Shuttle to Imperial ship, this is Meiko.  I wish to come aboard!  Hold
your fire!"
 Eva grabbed Meiko's shoulder.  This wasn't right, Nana could get into
danger.  But Meiko was too fast.  Whipping out a short blade from her
pocket, she  jammed it into Eva's arm.

 For the first time ever, Eva screamed.  

 Her sensory input was overloading.  Eva had never known what it was
like to be damaged, or that the nerve bundles in her arm would react
this way.  She clutched her left arm, watching as electrolyte fluid wet
Emiko's clothes.  Her metallic teeth grinded together, and her eyes
shut.  It was a very curious sensation, but it was not one she wished to
feel again.  Warning lights seemed to trigger into her brain, and she
merely sat there, frozen with the pain.
 Meiko was taken a bit off guard with Eva's cry of pain, but then she
saw Jay's face.  "Jay!"
 "I am calling Jiro off.  Please enter through entryway 3."   There was
some commotion going on in the background, and Meiko watched while Jay
eye's grew wide.  "Jiro, what the fuck are you doing?" he yelled into
another channel.

 Jiro switched on the visual comm, and Jay saw that the controls were
not in his control.  "I don't know sir!  Someone else is controling the
fighter!"
 "Shit!" Jay turned and yelled at some of his subordinates.  They
returned with same message, that they had no idea what was going on." 
Jiro turned the comm off and smiled, moving the controls with his mind,
a power that was unlike psychic powers..unlike magic..unlike anything he
had ever felt before.  The shuttle was in range.  "Die."

 Nana knew what was going to happen, and now was the time to react.  She
clutched her hands together.  "With the heart that beats within me, help
us to deceive this demon!"
 Jiro fired, but for some reason, his plasma burst hit the rear exhaust
and did not destroy the ship.  "Shit!" he screamed.  There was no time
to try another run.  Any more fly-bys and the Imperials would get
suspicious.  He looked at their projected decent.  "Ha, they're as good
as dead anyways."  
 Nana was unconsious, perhaps even dead.  Eva wasn't sure what Nana did,
but they still had what Emiko called hope.  Meiko was also unconscious,
a exploding panel knocking her to the floor.  Eva couldn't move, her
sensors still flaring from the pain in her arm.  Slowly, the shuttle
fell into the planet.

--------------------------------------------------

Meiko opened her eyes.  She couldn't breath.  Everywhere was sand.  She
coughed severely, but could get no air into her lungs.  Frantically, she
reached out for something, anything.. liquid.  The sand storm was
filling up her lung with sand, and even if she tried to breath, all she
received was sand.  Barely, she made out a black shadow approaching in
front of her.  Then she felt it, some type of tubing being shoved down
her throat, like she were some kind of science experiment.  Meiko
resisted the best a semi conscious being could...that was until the
oxygen filled up her lungs.  Her eyes were starting to clear.  Something
lay beside her, the shadow that she has seen before.  Meiko reached out
and felt the surface of the being.  She made out smooth features, and a
head of hair.  "E-eva?" Meiko rasped.  
 "Hai."  The voice was distant, and sounded weak.  
 "W-w-what have you done to me, you..you...!"  Meiko weakly touched some
wires that extended out of her throat.  
 "I...using...tools...on body..make....oxygen filter...you..."  her
voice was breaking up.  
Meiko felt lower down Eva's body, feeling something liquid on her arm. 
"Eva, you're losing blood."
 "I..know.  I...die...papa...must rebuild...AI core....."
 Meiko couldn't understand it.  Eva should have let her die like the
rest of the empire she destroyed.  Eva was heartless.  Eva destroyed
anyone who hurt her friends, and in this case, Nana was hurt because she
tried to contact Jay.  "Why?  Why are you helping me?  Let me die like
you should!"
 "Gom..sai..." she hammered.  "I...not know...how...pay..for my
wrongd...ing....you right...my...doing...wrong.....you...right..." 
Meiko had tears coming from her eyes.   A change like this had
completely caught her off guard.  How could a robot have so much heart? 
"Stupid..." she cursed, at Eva and at herself.
 "Right...one...should....live....Imper...pick you up...soon..."  
 Meiko grabbed onto Eva's hand and clutched it tightly.  What was the
big deal anyways?  Eva's core wasn't here, she wouldn't really
die...would she?!  "Aren't you at Genesis really?"
 "Functions....processes....on
Genesis.....emotions....heart....life..."  Eva finished the sentence by
tapping her head.  "Inefficent....yes...?"
 Meiko made out a laugh that choked on the tubes and mixed with the
tears.  That almost sounded like a joke.  "I'm sorry..." Meiko started.
 "No..." Eva stressed.  "No reason...you...apologize....no reason..." 
Eva's hand was beginning to weaken it's grip to Meiko's hand.  The
amount of resourses had to be used to keep the oxygen filter on Eva's
body working.  That would mean that the AI would soon disappear.   Eva
felt very strange.  There were so many new sensations being felt.   She
felt the pain in her arms, the world dimming.  A cascade of coloured
light was seeping in around her eyes.  "beautiful..."
 Meiko tried to move, but her limbs were apparently in no position to
move.  She needed to be healed, but her mind was too weak to use her
powers now.  Then it struck her.  "Nana!   Where is Nana?!"

 Eva turned her head in the fast sandy wind, until they were finally eye
to eye.  There was only enough power to say two words...she could only
think of one thing.  "Gomen...nasai..."
The life in her face seemed to fade away.
 "What's that supposed to mean?!" Meiko cried.  There was no response. 
The wind howled.

 "Eva!   Nana!!!"


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