Bubblegum Crisis Fan Fiction / Urusei Yatsura Fan Fiction / To Heart Fan Fiction / Sentimental Journey Fan Fiction / Tokimeki Memorial Fan Fiction ❯ Illusions - Fragments ❯ Forever Free ( Chapter 6 )

Chilliwack, the Vancouver Toratotaka Tower, 10 February 2031...

"This plan is spirited."

It is early in the morning. Ayaka Kurusugawa rolls her eyes, then stares across the table at Sheila Hinayama (nee Serio, nee HMX-13 Unit One). Both women and Wakana Ayasaki sit in the office Serio now possessed as House Matriarch of the Western North American Division. That was the operational part of Toratotaka which covered all of western Canada, the western United States, northwest Mexico, Alaska and Hawaii.

"Yes, it's risky, especially to the people who'll be involved in this (not that they're already taking enough risks by coming across from China THAT way), but it's realistic given what we want to do in the end, Serio," Ayaka, younger child and heir of the last owner of Kurusugawa Industries, sighs. Though now assigned as SPD-EHW (SPD for Education, Health and Welfare) in Vancouver, Ayaka possessed both the drive and determination -- not to mention a ruthless streak which made Quincy Rosenkrantz seem the warmest of people -- to earn her an SFIO's billet anywhere.

"Wakana?" Serio gazes on her fiancee.

"Much that I personally would prefer to do this in a peaceful, less life-threatening way, I have to confess that Ayaka's 'shock' approach to the idea is..." a pause, then she sighs. "Quite prudent," the Kyoto native nods reluctantly. "Misa and Izumi are already putting both their teams through the holo-simulators to prepare them for the mission."

"What of government efforts?" Serio sits back in her chair.

"Once a distress call goes out, the SAR (search and rescue) squadron based at Comox will automatically deploy. Since we'll be much closer to the scene -- I imagine it'll happen here..." Ayaka points to the map of Vancouver Island, indicating a point near Cape Beale, right at the entrance of the Strait of Juan de Fuca opposite the northwest corner of Washington state, "...we could be on the scene in ten minutes. Both helos have video cameras on them and it's an easy trip to drop tapes off at the CBC station in Victoria. Doing it live-time will make it too much like a set-up."

"True. And since the CBC is still a public news organization, censorship due to corporate pressure will not be a problem," Serio nods. "Does Aoi understand what she has to do?"

"She's already scouting the terrain to pick her place. Since the area's part of the Pacific Rim National Park, there'll be little chance of someone stumbling onto her," Ayaka notes.

"Alright. But no matter what, we will be extremely cautious in the execution," the House Matriarch nods. "I want an up-to-date account of the target's progress across the Pacific, Wakana."

"I understand," Wakana nods. "We'll be ready..."

* * *

PART SIX - FOREVER FREE

Megatokyo, Genom Tower, 11 February 2031, morning...

"Nine people dead..."

Brian Mason fumes, sitting in his high-backed chair as he gazes on Megatokyo. Amazing it took him THIS long to understand what was happening. Nine people, loyal to him, all now dead or missing. It went way past coincidence when Carl Ash died and Shuuichi Nanami disappeared (they had STILL yet to find a body, much less any living trace of the man).

But as for the others...

A knock at his door. "Sir?"

"Haite (Come in), Odotte-san," Mason beckons a waifish woman with long black hair styled in a high ponytail and deep green eyes into the room. "What have you to report about what's going on?"

"We located Nanami-hakase," Domino Odotte reports.

Mason jolts, then sensing Domino's mood, sighs. "And?"

"Dead since the fifth according to the coroner," Domino sits down across from her superior (she normally worked in GSS as a "communications auditing director;" a polite term for "censor"). "Nothing could be recovered from his mind; it was too far gone."

"Cause of death?"

"Unknown, sir. No marks on the body to indicate any sort of lethal trauma. Toxicology reports are inconclusive, so they're being retested now here in the Tower. He showed signs of intense sexual arousal in or around the time of death," Domino muses.

Mason blinks. "Did he now. Where was he found?"

"All the way in Chiba, sir, tied underwater to one of our deep sea docks there. A security diver found him."

"One of our docks, you said?"

"Hai."

Silence falls as the special assistant takes that in, then his eyes narrow. "Someone within the company..." he whispers.

"Sir?" Domino blinks.

"Never mind," Mason waves her off. "Very well. I may have need of you concerning other matters, especially if this continues. You may go."

"Hai, wakarimasu (I understand). Shitsurei shimasu (Please excuse me), Mason-sama," she rises, then departs.

Mason ignores her as she leaves, then his eyes narrow. Who would do THIS to him? He had, much to his annoyance, made his share of personal and corporate enemies since he began his rise inside Genom, but something as brutal as THIS was going far to strike back. Who would have the ability, the cunning and the sheer patience to pull it off?

Hilde Wilhelmsbach and Phylis Derrick never interfered in Genom's affairs outside prescribed limits (Europe and North America respectively). Ramad El Sayid had the cunning but none of the patience; that and he was busy with Zion in the Middle East. Certainly not Konstantine Mikhailov; despite the man's burning ambition, he was (in Mason's eyes) too new and too soft for this kind of brutality as of yet. That left a select few. Who was it? Kabbah? Kataki? Sousuke? Perhaps the Chairman himself?

Mason shudders, then sighs. No, if Quincy really wanted him gone, he would be dead and wouldn't know what was happening until it was too late. It couldn't be him. Further, Quincy had to keep a weather eye on Mason's own godmother living in Oshika...

Wait...

Was this actually an outside attack disguised as an internal feud? If so, where was it coming from? What was its purpose? Was it Toratotaka? Saotome, maybe...? or someone else?

Who...?

* * *

Osaka, the Genom Tower, minutes later...

"Report, Odotte-kun."

"I just reported to Mason concerning Nanami-hakase."

"Soo desu ka. His reaction?"

"He's thinking about it. I overheard him mutter that it might be an inside job, but I suspect he'll consider an outside attack."

"Ensure he has no ability to piece together evidence towards an outside party coming after him, Odotte-kun."

"Wakarimasu."

The link is cut, then Karen Kasumi sits back in her chair, swinging it to gaze on the city. She didn't like it here, but here she would stay until the situation concerning Quincy's inner circle became better (read: when Brian Mason was no more). Relocating to Osaka to become chief of operations, soon to be promoted as divisional vice-president, had been hard, especially considering her marriage to a Megatokyo AD Police officer, Kaoru Wada. But it was necessary if she was to advance her own position in Quincy's eyes. If she remained with the Megatokyo Division, her work would always be overshadowed by whatever Mason did.

That would not do.

It came as a relief to Karen when Megumi Mikihara informed her that Quincy HAD taken notice of all her work and was willing to see her advance, but to do so in a way that didn't disrupt Genom's core operations. Mason was on his way out, but it would be done quietly, without making waves. Fine and fair, Karen had nodded. She could wait. While she was waiting, she was firming alliances with some of the others Quincy had his eye on.

But to believe Quincy was willing to allow Yoshio Saotome to go THAT far concerning Mason's allies in Genom! When it was all said and done over the next few months, Mason's circle of "allies," a group he had taken over three years to build up, would be more than halved. The remainder would no doubt sense that staying with the special assistant wasn't a good idea and seek new allies elsewhere, as Domino Odotte had done with Karen Kasumi.

So what was Yoshio Saotome getting out of this? Karen knew that the man loathed Mason like nothing else in the world. As House Patriarch of Toratotaka's largest operational division, he was in the perfect place to turn his loathing into something concrete. Why was he holding back? With what he just created, he could do something and get away with it totally. Karen knew about the Kuromoroboshi and the upcoming Guardsmen series of 33-S's, even the Child Companions Rei Ijuuin was creating in Kyoto. With what Mason did to the Genom Sexaroid projects (both the 33-S's and 34-S's), Saotome had more than enough cause to see the bastard gone.

Why was he holding back...?

Karen hums, then taps controls on her desk. "Sonia?"

"Hai, Kasumi-sama?" her secretary replies.

"Put a call to the Kyoto Annex, please," Karen orders. "Ask Ijuuin-kachou's (Matriarch Ijuuin's) secretary to arrange a private appointment so I can speak to her. Keep it very quiet."

"Hai, Kasumi-sama, wakarimashita (I understand)..."

* * *

Saint Catharines, south of Toronto, the Toratotaka Tower...

"So what is the vote concerning FABS?"

"As it stands now, Matriarch Hinayama, we're looking at a majority in the House of Commons when the amendment comes up for passage. Out of 501 votes, we're looking at about 380 'yeas.' Way too short for an amendment to clear interference from the provinces, though," the field intelligence officer sighs, sitting before the House Matriarch of the Eastern North American Division, Muriel Hinayama (nee Multi, nee HMX-12 Unit One).

Multi closes her eyes as she gazes out the windows of her office at the expanse of Lake Ontario, her mind rolling over what the intelligence officer reported. That Canada was willing to put the concept of giving inducted sentient beings full civil rights to a CONSTITUTIONAL amendment in lieu of a series of strong laws (laws that could be revoked if the political climate shifted the other way) spoke of how much the "Great White North" had re-evolved into a tolerant, free and just society since 2020.

Making amendments to a nation's very constitution, the bedrock legislation which all else was constructed, was a tough task at the best of times. In Canada, it was especially difficult because of the fractious regionalism that had haunted the Dominion since its conception in 1867. Fortunately, after the 2020 Incident laid bare the many problems crippling Canadian society as a whole, reform-minded Parliaments and provincial legislatures began repairs. It wasn't perfect, perhaps never would be perfect, but it reflected the multicultural, bilingual, multiethnic dream that had first seen expression in the days of Pierre Trudeau.

Amendments to the Constitution now worked this way:

The draft amendment went to the House of Commons, the lower house of Parliament, for passage. A majority vote (251 of 501 MPs [Members of Parliament]) would move it next to the Senate. In that case, the upper house of Parliament could make changes to the amendment before returning it to the Commons for a re-vote. Once that process began to play out, a two-thirds vote (334 of 501) in the Commons would "lock it down," guaranteeing that the Senate could not make additional changes to the amendment, thus forcing the upper house to put the amendment to final vote.

Once in the Senate chambers, the amendment faced the "gauntlet of the provinces." The Senate, reflecting the EEE (Elected, Equal, Effective) movement that finally caught on in 2020, was composed of 66 Senators (six from each province, two from each territory). For an amendment locked down in the Commons to pass the Senate, a majority vote of each PROVINCIAL delegation and the joint-territorial delegation was needed. If even ONE of those delegations struck it down, the amendment died on the Senate floor.

Once it passed the Senate and went to the Governor-General for Royal approval, it had to be accepted by a two-thirds majority of the combined provincial and territorial legislatures (9 of 13) to become Constitutional law. Even then, if a provincial or territorial legislature disapproved of elements of the amendment, a "notwithstanding clause" could be invoked for a maximum period of five years, to be renewed at the legislature's discretion or ended when the amendment was amended by Parliament.

To avoid all the potential problems that route could produce, there was a "magic" amendment approval formula: a "near-unanimous vote" clause. IF the House passed an amendment with only ONE "nay" vote (500 of 501) and IF the Senate passed it with only ONE "nay" vote (65 of 66), ALL the provincial and territorial governments were then incumbent to approve that amendment and COULD NOT invoke a notwithstanding clause. The principle behind that was this: if almost ALL 567 MPs and Senators, who were the PEOPLE's representatives, wanted the amendment to be law, then subordinate legislatures had no moral right to go against the people's wishes.

Multi sighs. "What's the projected vote now in the Senate?"

"Of the provinces, none seem ready to strike the Amendment down in the Senate chambers, but as far as our POLIANAL (political analysis) people believe, there's no way it'll get near-unanimous approval, Matriarch," the FIO shakes his head. If the Senate voted a 65-1 approval to the Amendment despite a possible 380-121 Commons vote, it could then request the Commons hold a re-vote on the amendment to alter their approval count to 500-1 to eliminate the notwithstanding clause question in provincial legislatures.

"I do NOT want to see notwithstanding clauses invoked anywhere in the country after it's passed," Multi scowls. "That sort of act is a cop-out to me. Quebec used that sort of escape to avoid the problems their language laws provoked the previous century."

"Ma'am, the problem's in Ontario," the FIO warns. "They have the largest vote block in the Commons and the whole gang is heavily divided on this issue. IF we could get the Ontario MPs to go to a unanimous vote, I'm sure the rest will fall into line."

Multi nods. Ontario was Canada's most populous province. In the Commons, 211 MPs represented Ontario electoral districts. Unfortunately, Ontario was also the only province where Genom, Imperoma and Zion garnished much political sway, especially if the MPs hailed from Toronto or Erinsville. The Erinsville block ALONE numbered 88 MPs, with Toronto and its suburbs drawing in another sixty-one. You could then chop those 149 MPs into voting blocks speaking for Genom, Imperoma, Zion, Megacorp (who often was of an opposite political party than the Genom/Imperoma/Zion group), Bombardier (a very small group, though they were aligned with what party carried the majority of Quebec's Commons votes) and Samguk (slightly larger than Bombardier's and often normally aligned with the majority of Prairie, British Columbia and territorial MPs).

"So that's the key," Multi sighs, then nods. "Thank you very much. I'll have to think hard about this."

"Ma'am," he rises, bowing, before stepping out.

Multi watches him go, then sighs before tapping controls on her desk to open a link to Vancouver. As soon as the other end answers, Multi sighs. "Ayaka-san, it's me..."

* * *

Kyoto, the Toratotaka Annex, later that afternoon...

"Whatever do you mean, Kasumi-juuyaku (Director Kasumi)?"

Rei Ijuuin traces fingers through her long blonde hair as she gazes on Karen Kasumi. It surprised the Bekkankachou (Annex Matriarch) in charge of Toratotaka's South Japan sub-district (covering Kinki, Chuugoku, Shikoku and Kyushu) when Genom Osaka's director of operations asked to see her. "What I mean, Ijuuin-kachou, is this: what's your boyfriend in Megatokyo going to get from this?" Karen sips her tea. She was meeting Rei in the Annex cafeteria. The former was grateful for that; the one time she met the Annex Matriarch in her office had completely intimidated her. Clearly, Karen had mused afterward, Rei Ijuuin and Chairman Quincy had very similar tastes in office decoration. "I'm sure Saotome-otokokachou (Patriarch Saotome) is angry at Mason because of what happened in the 33-S project. I also know your boyfriend blames Mason for Stingray-hakase's death in '22; I don't know the details about that, anyway. So what's going on?"

Rei sips her tea, then sighs. She didn't like being caught out of the loop like this, but Yoshio was discretely handling the "Mason problem" in-house to give the Kuromoroboshi the chance to get their feet wet before allowing the teams to become "floating" special combat units, responding to calls from the various Towers and Annexes when needed. She would have to talk to Megumi about getting up-to-date information about what was going on. Still, it didn't mean that she was totally in the dark about this.

"You know of the FABS debate in Canada?" she wonders.

"Hai. I know it'll pass in Parliament, but not enough to prevent the provinces from kibitzing with it," Karen nods, then snorts. "I know Mason can't get it derailed, but he's already altered the course enough to ensure that it wouldn't have much teeth where it matters the most: Ontario."

"Hai, true. It's also true that Mason will continue to stab and pick at it to destroy it before it can be passed in Parliament," Rei nods. "We planned against that, of course. If what we plan plays out, then the Amendment WILL pass Parliament with near-unanimous majority in both houses, which eliminates a potential legislative threat from the provinces."

"From what I've heard, that can't happen," Karen muses.

"A lot can change in two weeks."

The Genom executive blinks, then nods. "Yes, that's true. So you're eliminating these people now to distract Mason from what's going on in Canada. You know that's a small market."

"True. Only forty-two million people on a planet of nearly eight billion. But as Mason sees it, Canada is a big stepping stone into the whole New World market. Three hundred million in the United States, two hundred million in Mexico, then work your way down the range to Central and South America. Both those countries tied to Canada in NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement) have vibrant democracies. They'll see what goes on in Ottawa and probably say 'Hey, why don't we try that, too.'"

"Even I wouldn't approve of that," Karen scowls. "Yes, FABS limits it only to 'sentient' boomers and androids, but there're a lot of people who won't approve of even granting them some rights. It'll only give the far-left whackos like the Paellas Athena Society an excuse to press for rights for ALL boomers. If that happens, Genom'll go out of business."

"I doubt it'll go that far," Rei shakes her head.

"So why Canada?"

"Ever heard of the Underground Railroad?"

Karen looks nonplussed, then her eyes widen. "Oh."

"For African-American slaves before the Civil War, Canada was the destination of choice on their road to freedom," Rei sips her tea. "The symbolism will strike hard when this gets out. What happened back in the 1960s and 1970s, not to mention last decade, still festers among certain segments of American society, especially with minority groups. If they see that in Canada, sentient man-made MACHINES are given the same fundamental rights as organics, then they'll look at their own situation and say, 'I don't want this.' Freedom for one sector of society will eventually blossom into freedom for ALL sectors of society. Peace and prosperity will follow as markets adjust to that reality. Isn't that a fundamental truth when Genom does ANYTHING to expand markets into new areas?"

"Yes, but..." Karen stops herself, then sighs. "People don't like being hoist on their own petard, Ijuuin-kachou."

"I know. I also know this is going to take a long time to work itself out. But I believe, Yoshio believes, we ALL believe in Toratotaka, that a step like this HAS to be taken, Kasumi-juuyaku. Canada offers us an opportunity to take that step. Like you said, it's a small market compared to worldwide. If it goes radically against Genom, it's no big loss (though I don't believe it'll ever go THAT far). Canadians want to put the bitterness of the I-Corp period behind them. They want to feel as if they still have a grip on their country's destiny. They don't want to feel intimidated by Genom. But at the same time, they don't want to slam Genom out of Canada. There's no need for such acts. We're not trying to upset the apple cart here, Kasumi-juuyaku. We're trying to create an equilibrium which'll allow everyone to share the wealth."

"Even boomers?"

"Even boomers. Once they're full citizens, then they'll have to work to stay alive and healthy. They'll become consumers, not so different from organic consumers. Some might want to come work for Genom, help Genom improve boomer design and sales. There are models whose popularity in Canada have increased because they have the tendency to evolve into full sentience, to stop being mere servants and become family. I know I'm quoting from the basic FABS League bible, but it's true. Toratotaka has NOT had a single damned problem with any boomer or android who's been brought into the company. Why? Because we take care of them, we're willing to respect them AND trust them to make the right choices."

"It's not a perfect solution," Karen shakes her head, trying not to be too overawed. Shit, she's got me convinced!

"Nothing is perfect in this world," Rei agrees. "But this is a good way to try to work the kinks out of the system before any problems become worldwide disasters. Do you want that? No, of course not. I don't even think Mason'd want that, but he hasn't sat down and thought it over like we have. You know what he's like, Karen-san? He's like a fixed fortification that protects a city from outside attack. You want to know what a great general of the previous century said about those things?"

"Useless in the end," Karen muses.

"Exactly," Rei nods. "A fixed, inflexible opinion on anything serves no one in the end. You notice how flexible Quincy-shachou (Chairman Quincy) is concerning many things. A lot of executives working in Genom are the same way. That's a good thing; it allows people to be creative. And that will ensure Genom's survival."

"Things can still go wrong."

Rei blinks, then nods. "True..."

* * *

Megatokyo, Genom Tower, 16 February, late afternoon...

"Two more?!"

Mason shudders, gazing at one of his protegees, Manabe Takeo. The younger man, proving to be one of the more attentive of those the special assistant had taken under his wing, bows his head. "Hai. Merril-hakase from Special Project Development and Boucher-san from our Osaka offices."

"Confirmed?"

"I'm having that investigated now, sir. With Wallace-san now working in Miami, I can't depend on any GSS people to perform a thorough investigation AND avoid Kataki-sama's interference."

Mason's eyes narrow. Tsuyoshi Kataki was one of the people in the company who had proven too hard to browbeat into his place. "How soon will you get a report on this matter, Takeo-kun?"

"Forty-eight hours."

"Fair enough. Speculation as to why this is happening?"

Manabe blinks, then his shoulders roll. "The possibilities stretch across the board, Mason-sama. If this is an internal movement against you, it's VERY well-coordinated. As to who's doing it? You could surmise that better than I can, Mason-sama. As for potential external threats, the choices are next to endless. I know Saotome-otokokachou has no love for you whatsoever, but would McTavish-jousama allow it to happen? I say no; we're Toratotaka's biggest corporate customer and I'm sure your godmother wants to keep the peace with Quincy-shachou. Perhaps another megacorp? I could see that happening, but it would have to be a percussor to something far more drastic. An attempt on the Chairman or the Genro, perhaps? A different type of outside group? Again, this could be the first step to something big, but in that case, we'll have much better forewarning." A deep breath, then he nods. "My best guess would be an internal threat."

Mason considers that, then nods. "Yes, I can support that, but we have the resources to counter all possibilities. Let's keep any noise about this VERY quiet, Takeo-kun."

"Hai, wakarimasu (I understand)."

"Iko (Go)."

Manabe departs just as Yoshiro Andrews walks inside. "Are you busy right now, Mason-san?" the scientist wonders.

"Haite (Come in), Andrews-hakase. Is there a problem?"

"Hai...! Well, actually, more of a concern than a problem," he sits down. "Did Suzuoka-san ever tell you about the new series of 33-S's Saotome is now making for Toratotaka?"

Mason jolts, then stares intently at Yoshiro. "New series? WHAT new series?! I was never told a thing!"

"I see..." the scientist sighs, then begins.

Mason sits back to listen, then his eyes narrow. "Wait a minute. When exactly did you speak to Suzuoka-kun about this?"

"On the thirteenth of January," Yoshiro nods.

"And there was a boomer attack on the Toratotaka Tower that very night," Mason closes his eyes, then he nods. "And Suzuoka-kun died the next day when we were having a meeting."

"Do you know much about this Saikoo Jinseijitsu-ryuu these boomers're supposed to be trained in?"

"Not, not really. You probably know as much as I do. So..." the special assistant sits back in his chair, then his eyes widen. "Wait a minute! That was shortly before the time Alcazar was kidnapped from Argentina to be sent to the World Court..."

"I heard about that," Yoshiro nods. "If the KMs were behind that, not to mention the deaths of your friends..."

"Soo ka..." Mason nods. "It does make sense, doesn't it? Have you been able to speculate about a possible counter?"

"Not really. As you know, we're not required to download ALL the relevant design specs on boomer models with the government. If we tried to force Toratotaka into doing that, we'll have to do the same to ensure everything remains 'fair;' I can only guess at how much they could pressure us into playing along," Yoshiro shrugs. "As for getting them banished like we did the firsts and seconds, as I told Suzuoka-san, it'll be hard..."

"We'll work on that part," Mason nods...

* * *

Off Vancouver Island, that moment...

<<Do you see the ship, Aoi?>>

The dark waters of the Pacific near Barkley Sound part to reveal a head of shaggy black hair, a re-breather masking a kawaii face frozen at eighteen years of age. <<Hai, Ayaka-san,>> Aoi Matsubara nods, her blue eyes picking out the dark shape of a tramp steamer making her way towards the Strait of Juan de Fuca and possible landfall near Port Renfrew.

Toratotaka had long known about operations like this, as did other groups and government agencies; this sort of thing had been happening for decades. Ships like the one now just a kilometre away from Aoi were used to smuggle both mainland Chinese illegals and Tibetan civil war refugees from Asia to North America, where they could flood the growing ranks of the underground economy managed by the various Triads, the Mafia and the Yakuza. Despite the efforts of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Coast Guard to stem the tide, they just kept on coming; the open border between the Dominion and the United States guaranteed that the portals to the land of opportunity would keep on beckoning.

Well, if people wanted to risk their necks this way, that was their choice in the end. Wishing it to go away was fruitless, so something more drastic had to be applied to force people into seeking more legal ways of migrating to Canada and the United States. And if doing that would help force the passage of the FABS Amendment in Ottawa, so much the better.

Aoi Matsubara, SPD-SLA (SPD for Sports and Leisure Affairs) at the Vancouver Tower, wished the Canadian government would stop putting such unrealistic restrictions on immigration. Yes, keep the criminals and other malcontents out, but not those who truly wanted a chance to make a better life for themselves and their prodigy. It was such a cynical age now. Each person who came to the Dominion, Aoi believed, was by choosing Canada, a benefit to Canadian society. Though she was Japanese, Aoi had adopted Canada as her homeland. Doing that, she vowed she would do her best to make her homeland a better place. To do that required sacrifices.

This was going to be one of them.

<<Okay, the target's in range,>> Ayaka sends over the special communications link Yoshio had prepared for upgraded 33-S's, even boomeroid XH series like Ayaka Kurusugawa and Aoi Matsubara. <<No one's on the upper decks to see it. Do it now, Aoi!>>

<<Hai, wakata (gotcha)!>> Aoi tenses as she channels her body's chi reserves into her meson crystals, then focuses it into a bubble of highly condensed air she draws below the waves before focusing on the stern end of the steamer, spitting out the re-breather pipe so she could shout...

"HAKKEN!!!!"

The bolt of chi-compressed air lashes out, streaking at the steamer at a speed equal to the most advanced submarine-launched torpedo. What was the good part of an attack like this was that the bubble was so small -- about the size of a basketball -- that it wouldn't leave a big wake that someone could spot even in the waning darkness of nautical twilight.

Now, aimed at the rudder and propeller, it should hit...

A low ccrang!! of metal being smashed in echoes over the waves as a geyser of water shoots up from just aft of the steamer's bridge. The whole ship staggers for a moment, then it lists to starboard as the now-twisted rudder, jammed into a shallow port turn, sends the steamer careening towards some VERY shallow water at the entrance to Barkley Sound.

<<Yoshi!! Bull's eye!!!>> Aoi whoops, trying not to laugh.

<<Nice shot, Aoi! Now get outta there!!>> Ayaka orders.

<<Wakata! Coming back!!>> Aoi slips the re-breather into her mouth, then dives to get to the ocean floor before coming back to shore. Teams of FIOs had already scoured the shoreline to ensure privacy for the SPD-SLA, but it was always smart to be cautious...

* * *

"What the hell happened?!!"

"Rudder's jammed ten degrees to port!!" the helmsman gasps as he tries to right the wheel and put the ship back on its proper course. "I think we just ran into something...!"

"Stop all engines!!" the master barks. "Put us in reverse!"

One of the officers runs to the engine telegraph, ringing for STOP, then FULL REVERSE. The steamer lurches as down in the engine space, just forward of where Aoi's chi strike hit, technicians try to get back on their feet. One of the engineers sees the call from the bridge, then lunges to the vent controls to alter the turbine pitch from forward to aft...

...just as the steamer's port bow ploughs into an underwater outcropping of rock that didn't appear on any nautical charts. The hard stone shears a jagged hole through the first three of ten compartments before it bounces clear of the protrusion.

Instantly, the Pacific surges through the hole, steadying the ship for a moment before she takes on a light port list. Emergency alarms sound off as the engineers gets the ship to stop, then noting the damage alarms from forward, hits controls to seal the watertight compartments. One of them immediately calls the bridge to report the situation from below.

"We're taking water!!" the navigator calls out. "The first three compartments are gone! She's going down!!"

"Damn!!!" the master snaps. "Send out an SOS! Abandon ship!"

"Right away!!" one of the officers picks up a radio mike...

* * *

"Putting out the call now," the FIO reports.

"Good!" Ayaka smirks, watching the scene from kilometres away, using a pair of special binoculars to see the crew moving to cast off the lifeboats. "What's the crew compliment?!"

"Twenty-two. Passenger estimate is one hundred and twelve."

"Fair enough," the SPD-EHW grins...

* * *

"...is the Guangzhong calling any vessel in the vicinity of Cape Beale. We struck an underwater rock and are sinking. The crew is taking to the boats. I say again, this is the Guangzhong out of Shanghai..."

"Guangzhong, this is RESCORCEN (Rescue Coordination Centre) Victoria," a man's voice calls back from the British Columbia provincial capital. "Please state your exact position."

The master blinks, then glances at the GPS above the navigational plot before relaying the coordinates to the Canadian Coast Guard officer. A moment later, a new voice, female, breaks in. "RESCORCEN Victoria, this is Tango-Alpha-Six-Nine-Hotel from Toratotaka Tower Vancouver. Given the Guangzhong's position, we are close enough to effect rescue operations."

"Tango-Six-Nine-Hotel, RESCORCEN Victoria, I acknowledge you to be an Airwolf 69 transport helicopter, correct?"

"Affirmative, RESCORCEN. There are two Alpha 69s, currently on a FTX (field training exercise) for our security personnel in Pacific Rim National Park. We are now heading for the 'Guangzhong.'"

"Roger that, Tango-Six-Nine-Hotel. Two Airwolf 69s now heading for the Guangzhong. Say ETA, over?"

"ETA zero-eight minutes."

"Acknowledged, Tango-Six-Nine-Hotel. Guangzhong, RESCORCEN Victoria, two Airwolf 69 transport helicopters now inbound your position for crew rescue. Souls aboard?"

The master blinks, then sighs. "Twenty-two, RESCORCEN."

"Acknowledged, Guangzhong. Do you acknowledge, Six-Nine?"

"We acknowledge. ETA zero-seven minutes."

The master breathes out, then relaxes before he picks up the thunder of helicopters approaching. Glancing out his forward windows, he sees two beacons of light approaching his foundering vessel from the starboard. Fortunately for him and his crew, the Guangzhong hadn't taken so much of a list that the boats couldn't be cast off safely, but the ship's bow was already dipping below the calm waves. A grating sound echoes from midships on the port side. Had she impaled herself on the rock that had sealed the Guangzhong's fate? Shaking his head, he glances to the aft cargo bay. It would no doubt be flooding now as the pressure from forward compartments begin to press in on the bulkheads, sea water feeding through the various pipes that connected both ends of the ship. Too bad for them...

The thunder increases as the lights morph into the shape of large transport helicopters. Blinking surprisedly, the master then breathes out. The Airwolf 69 was a twin-rotor machine about the size of the average Lear executive jet. Enough and more to get his crew to safety.

Damn, what had hit the ship, anyway? Oh, well...

"Guangzhong, this is Tango-Alpha-Six-Nine-Hotel. Do you see us, over?" the woman's voice announces over the speaker.

"Six-Nine, this is Guangzhong, we see you."

"Alright, get your people onto the cargo deck forward of the bridge. We have rope ladders to let them board. There's more than enough room for you all aboard our machine, then we'll get you to Port Renfrew for a medical check-up. Acknowledge?"

"We acknowledge."

With that, the master runs off the bridge...

* * *

"Hotel, Baker Street, this is Kilo. We've spotted the log; it's in a perfect spot. Amazing Grace and Love Ribbon are heading for shore to join Extreme Dream. No sign of tango observers."

"Acknowledge. Contact RCC to inform them."

"Hai, wakarimasu (I understand)," the pilot of the second Airwolf 69 nods, then switches to the public channel. "RESCORCEN Victoria, this is Tango-Alpha-Six-Nine-Kilo. I am the companion helicopter to Tango-Alpha-Six-Nine-Hotel. Be advised, we just spotted a large log, approximately one-five metres long by one metre wide, south-west of the Guangzhong. It appears to be suspended a half-metre below the ocean surface at the present time; it just bobs up and down through the waves."

"Tango-Six-Nine-Kilo, RESCORCEN Victoria, acknowledged. By the looks of it, that might've been a log an American lumber transport lost last week on a trip to Japan. Sir, it looks like that might've been what rammed the Guangzhong. We'll inform FDU (Fleet Diving Unit) Esquimalt to have the damned thing salvaged. Can you put a marker on it?"

"RESCORCEN Victoria, Tango-Six-Nine-Kilo, I think we've got something to mark it. Stand by," the pilot clicks off the transmitter, then looks aft. "Okay, drop it down, Shinohara-shirei (Commander Shinohara)!"

"It's gone!!" Izumi yells back as she tosses a sonobuoy out the door, aimed perfectly to sink it right beside the log in question. The buoy has a guideline tagged to it, now leading up to the Airwolf. Once it is in the water, Izumi takes the guideline, then strings it through an arrow with a pulley attached to the shaft. Notching that into her combat bow, she secures the end of the guideline to one end of her bow, then aims.

The arrow streaks out to slam into the log near the end. "Yoshi!" Izumi nods as she starts to draw in the guideline. At the other end of the rope, the sonobuoy is pulled fast against the log, a hook digging into the soaked wood to ensure it remained there. Once that is done, Izumi parts the line from her bow, then drops it overboard.

"Okay, it's latched on!" she then calls forward to the pilot.

"Right!" he nods, then flips on the public channel, blinking on hearing the irate voice of his wingman relaying some surprising news to the people in Victoria. Laughing, he looks back at Izumi. "Tanaka-shirei's team just found the refugees!" he grins.

"Get us over there!!" Izumi orders.

"Hai!"

* * *

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!?!?!"

The master winces under Misa's intense gaze. The aft cargo hatch is now pried open thanks to Kozue, she leaning into the space to assure the shivering refugees that would be alright. "We...! I...! We were just..."

"Going to abandon a hundred innocent people to the sea because you couldn't be bothered to rescue them?! And you call yourself a sailor?!" Misa shrills. "Izumi, Minato, escort these people to the boats! They'll get off that way!! We'll take the folks below on the choppers!!"

"Hai!!!" Izumi Maki and Minato Haruka, the SDCIs assigned to Team Nine, nod as they move in on the crew.

"You can't...!" the master sputters.

"Watch us!!" Misa snarls. "I hope you got a lawyer, pal! You'll need it when you get to shore!!" She taps her headset. "Storm Arrow, this is Cheetah! Inform RCC-V that we've got approximately one hundred illegals in one of the holds. We'll need more people out here to get 'em off!!"

"Acknowledged, Cheetah!" Izumi Shinohara replies. "Get your machine loaded up, then we'll sweep in for the rest!!"

"Okay!" Misa clicks off, then makes a waving motion with her hand to get rope ladders lowered from the helicopter...

* * *

"So far, so good..."

Ayaka Kurusugawa chuckles as she watches the rescue through her binoculars. Kozue was now diving off the Guangzhong's port side to stir up the underwater soil and make a temporary brace for the foundering freighter to sit on while people trapped in the cargo bays were being lifted aboard the helicopters. Already, a call was going out to the search-and-rescue squadron in Comox to get some more helicopters out here to get everyone to safety. A large former fishing boat from Port Renfrew, manned by Canadian Coast Guard reservists, was now also deploying to help out. Angry words had now melted into the steely talk of people determined to save lives, unconcerned about all the extraneous issues until the last soul was accounted for and on his/her way to safety.

"Ayaka-san?"

Ayaka blinks, then looks over as Aoi Matsubara, Tomomi Mizuno and Yui Narusawa step out of the forest. All three were relatively dry, their diving suits now covered with baggy clothing to ensure a further measure of secrecy. "Nice work, everyone!" the SPD-EHW nods.

"Great to get a little break from university, ne?" Tomomi hums, stretching herself as she glances at Yui.

"Hai, you can say that again!" her teammate nods.

A low rumble echoes over the waters. Everyone sees the Guangzhong peel apart midships, the stern end settling in to give everyone on the weather deck a more even keel to work on. It wouldn't last long unless Kozue used her powers to shatter the keel and allow the bow to founder, thus giving the stern some needed buoyancy. "Oh, nice..." Ayaka chuckles.

"Pity it has to happen this way," Tomomi muses.

"Don't worry about it, Tomomi-chan," Aoi pats the younger woman's shoulder, then gazes at the sinking freighter. "It'll teach them and their relatives back in China a needed lesson about making a break for Canada. AND a lot of people'll benefit from it here and elsewhere."

"You hope," Yui sighs...

* * *

Megatokyo, Lady's 663 Building, 17 February, morning...

"...is CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) International's Newsworld, with the headlines..."

Sylia yawns as she gazes intently at the television. The news reports from whatever was now going on off the coast of Vancouver Island had been sporadic since after supper last night. "...from Victoria concerning the sinking of the Guangzhong, reported to have been carrying over a hundred illegal Chinese migrants from Shanghai," the reporter stares at her notes. "We have confirmed that special security personnel from the Toratotaka Vancouver Tower were involved in the rescue of the ship's crew and passengers after a drifting log struck the Guangzhong in the rudder, forcing the ship aground near Port Renfrew west of Victoria. We now turn to Desiree Mansbridge in Port Renfrew for the latest. Desiree?"

"Yes, Barbara," the scene switches to a dock in a small town on the Canadian Pacific coast. "A spokesperson for Toratotaka's Western North American Division headquarters in Chilliwack just revealed to CBC that four of the people directly involved in the rescue of the Guangzhong's crew and passengers last night were in fact boomers based on the BuTT-33M Cyber-Nurse design, assisted by four de-militarized Bu-48 special operations boomers built by Genom on special order for Toratotaka. The eight people, all female, were busy conducting a survival exercise in Pacific Rim National Park when the distress call went out from the Guangzhong."

"Did you say ALL of them were boomers, Desiree?"

"Yes, Barbara. With me now is Akari Kamigishi, the Special Project Director for Personnel Affairs at the Vancouver Tower," Desiree indicates a crimson-haired woman with chestnut eyes dressed in a grey field parka, the Toratotaka obelisk-and-sun sigil on her left breast. "Director Kamigishi, what can you tell us about the people involved in last night's rescue?"

"Well, Miss Mansbridge, four of the group involved were Bu-48 boomers we use as roving field security personnel for our affiliates," Akari then smiles. "The other four aren't Cyber-Nurses, but a series of BuTT-33S cyber-bioroids; 'Sexaroids' as they're more popularly known."

Desiree blinks. "But aren't the Sexaroids supposed to be outlawed because of problems with their internal parts?"

"Not this series, Miss Mansbridge. The BuTT-33S fourth generation cyber-bioroids are not built with the heart fitted into the Bu-33C or Bu-48 models; that was the problem with those constructed by Genom. There is nothing at all threatening to society as a whole by these people."

"So what happened last night?"

"Well, two of our roving operations teams were conducting a field survival exercise in Pacific Rim when they overheard a call from the Rescue Coordination Centre in Victoria about the Guangzhong," Akari explains. "Naturally, our people were eager to help out, so the team commanders ordered their helicopters out to investigate. When they boarded the ship prior to its sinking, they discovered the illegals stuffed in one of the cargo holds, so they moved to save them all before the ship foundered."

"I understand that the four 33-S's nearly drowned last night when they were rescuing people," Desiree hums.

"Yes, they did. You wouldn't hear any complaints from them now, of course, with everyone safe in hospital," Akari chuckles. "The ship broke up while they were busy getting people off and many of the young and very old refugees nearly drowned when the ship's stern went down, but our people were able to get them to safety."

"Thank you, Director Kamigishi," Desiree nods, then turns back to the camera to finish her report. "That was..."

Sylia clicks the MUTE button, then rises to sit before her computer. Calling up her personal diary, she moves to make a new entry: "17 February 2031. Today, Tou-san's dream became real..."

* * *

Genom Tower, late morning...

"It's getting out over here?"

Brian Mason shudders as he gazes out the window. Standing across the desk from him is Manabe Takeo, the younger executive trembling. "Hai, Mason-sama, it is. If people don't get CBCI, they DO get BBC World and CNN Headline News. Both of those stations are reporting the incident off Vancouver Island as their first stories. What's worse, we can't do a thing to stop it since BBC and CBC are both public broadcasters..."

"And CNN is a Newscorp subsidiary," Mason finishes, then he sighs. "How is it being reported here?"

"It's only showing up in the news briefs NHK runs at ten minutes to the hour, plus the morning shows. The print papers are downplaying it, but the Net papers are going to town."

"Soo ka. News of how this is playing out in Canada?"

"The FABS League's released an 'I told you so' statement to the public at large, urging voters to contact their MPs to make sure the Commons vote goes to near-unanimous. The pollsters haven't put out any opinions yet, but they'll come soon. From what we've heard, the Commons'll hold a final vote on FABS on the twentieth this month. As to when it goes to the Senate, it's anyone's guess in the long term, Mason-sama."

"We can't allow it to come close to near-unanimous, Takeo-kun. If it goes that way, everything we've tried to do in the New World will be threatened. Make sure it stops in Canada."

Manabe jolts. "Ah...! H-hai!" he bows.

"Iko (Go)."

"Hai. Shitsurei shimasu (Excuse me, please)."

With that, the junior research and development executive steps out of the special assistant's office, shaking his head as he heads for the Sky Elevators and his own office floors below. Damn, this whole thing about the Free Artificial-Born Sentient Amendment had Mason twisted up in a ball! Why was he panicking? Canada was a small market and whatever social trends that arose in that country weren't guaranteed to spill over into the United States; it was usually the other-way around. Let Canada go to the dogs for all Manabe Takeo cared. Genom had much bigger fish to fry...

The doors open, revealing Samantha Johnson, having come down from the Chairman's office. "Ohayou, Takeo-san."

"Oh...? Oh, ohayou, Johnson-san," Manabe nods, moving to stand beside the other executive. "Nice day, isn't it?"

"Very nice," Samantha presses controls to send the elevator down, then sighs, gazing at the city around them. "I hear Mason's freaking out over what happened off Vancouver Island."

"Yeah, he's really upset about it. What brings you up here?"

"The Chairman needed to see me."

"Does Quincy-shachou (Chairman Quincy) know about what happened last night in Canada?" Manabe hums.

"Hai. He wasn't bothered by it."

Manabe blinks. "He WASN'T?!!"

"Of course not. Any fool knows that what the Canadians've got in mind only really affects maybe five percent of the boomers and androids now living there. Besides, from what I heard from Kataki-san, sales of certain 'sentient-prone' models are going up in Canada. The Chairman's pleased about that. In fact, the Chairman just got off the phone with Jenkins-fukugichou (Vice-President Jenkins) when I arrived. Seems Quincy-shachou doesn't care which way the MPs in Ottawa vote on FABS. Anyhow, I've got to get back to work. I'll see you later, Takeo-san."

The Sky Elevator stops at Samantha's floor, she stepping off to head to her office. Manabe remains in place as the doors close, the car descending further. "Oh, shit..." he whispers.

Philip Jenkins was the senior executive in charge of all of Genom's Canadian operations. Despite the size and importance of his place (Genom Canada, including all subsidiaries, only employed a million people all-told) in comparison to other Genom divisions worldwide, Jenkins stubbornly fought for and got what was needed to keep his group viable. Worse, Philip Jenkins was a man who loudly asserted that he answered to Quincy and Phylis Derrick (the shareholder in charge of all of Genom's New World operations), NOT anyone else. Mason complained about the man all the time.

And if Quincy had said THAT to Jenkins about FABS...?!

"Shit!" Manabe hisses...

* * *

Ottawa, near Parliament Hill, 18 February, morning...

"Geez, it was THAT bad?!"

"Sir, it was worse than bad," Izumi Shinohara sighs, sitting before the Justice Minister, John Kipling. As well as being the man in overall administrative charge of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (as well as being the national police force, the RCMP served as British Columbia's provincial law enforcement agency), he was the senior Member of Parliament representing an Ontario riding (Erinsville Nordkaiserstrasse).

Sitting beside John in the Justice Minister's main meeting room was Lily Blake, the Minister of Transportation (and thus in charge of the Canadian Coast Guard) and the MP for Spadina Centre, a downtown Toronto riding. Both John and Lily were elected with considerable financial help from Genom. Watching the two MPs, Ayaka Kurusugawa, who had come with Izumi and Misa Tanaka to make the final report concerning the Guangzhong affair to government authorities, could sense their immediate unease.

Both believed that if they voted for FABS in two days time, they could kiss their future careers as members of Canada's parliament good-bye. The situation for Ontario MPs and Senators was worlds different than for someone out in the Prairies or British Columbia. For MPs representing places like Vancouver, Calgary or Edmonton, they were rarely hassled by corporate big-wigs (then again, Toratotaka and Samguk never like doing business THAT way). Not so in Ontario. For the past three months, a week hadn't passed when John and Lily, not to mention their fellow Ontario MPs, didn't get a call from someone in Genom, Imperoma or Zion wondering if their 'nay' vote for FABS was still a solid 'nay.' Those calls hadn't tilted into threats, but neither needed much imagination to understand what might happen if they did suddenly decide to change their minds.

"To believe that it took a big log to sink that ship," Lily shakes her head, crossing her arms.

"The log itself didn't sink the ship, ma'am," Misa speaks up, her English bearing the slightest hint of a charming countryside accent. "All that happened was that the rudder was jammed enough into a port turn that the ship veered into those underwater rocks. That's what sank the ship."

"Then again, it's only just a ship," Izumi muses. "The lives on that ship matter a heck of a lot more."

"Always."

John and Lily gaze on the Kuromoroboshi, then exchange a look. This is the first time either had met a Toratotaka-built boomer. The Canadian government was still negotiating with the company to obtain the use of 33-M Cyber-Nurses as first aid specialists to MPs and Senators. The look in both minister's eyes speaks volumes to Ayaka: So human, both of them...!

"You two nearly got killed or so the captain in charge at Port Renfrew reported. Not to mention your friends," Lily hums.

Misa and Izumi blink, then smirk. "Oh, shit, ma'am, that was nothing compared to what Sensei put us through in training!" the former laughs, scratching the back of her head.

"Sensei trains us the way the Americans train their military personnel," the latter augments. "Make the training WORSE than actual field operations. It's worked out for us."

"Not to mention those refugees," Misa nods. "Um, what's going to happen to them anyway, sir?" she then stares at John. "I mean, given the risk they took coming over here from China..."

"People from both the RCMP and CSIS (the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service) are interviewing them now to ascertain the legitimacy of their claim as refugees," John assures them. "If they check out alright, they'll be allowed to stay."

"That's good. No sense for them going to all that trouble to get here, then they gotta go back," Izumi crosses her arms.

"I'm sure they'll all be fine," Lily nods, then gazes at Ayaka. "In the meantime, I think we can fully take over from your people concerning this affair, Director Kurusugawa."

"We're always glad to lend our support," Ayaka nods, then turns to the two younger women. "Why don't you girls go outside and wait for me there? I need to speak to our hosts for a moment."

"Hai!" Izumi and Misa nod, then after smiling pleasantly to John and Lily, head out of the room.

The ministers watch them go, then turns to gaze at Ayaka. The look on the latter's face melts from calm cordiality to an icy neutrality. This was her "business" face, something few in the Canadian government could look at and not be scared of. Not even executives in Genom and elsewhere looked like THIS when they wanted to get down to the unspoken codicils of business relations between the megacorps and national politicians.

"So, tell me. If you didn't know from the start, how would you've reacted to Commanders Shinohara and Tanaka?" Ayaka hums.

"I..." Lily blinks, then sighs. "I wouldn't've been able to tell the difference, Director Kurusugawa. Your friend in Tokyo really knows how to build those types of boomers."

"I'd have to agree with my friend here," John nods, then sighs. "So what exactly do you want? If we switch our votes..."

"You're both afraid of losing Genom support for the next general election in two years," Ayaka finishes, sighing. "Mister Kipling, Ms. Blake, I'm not in the business of threatening people unless they damn hell deserve it. I'm pleased to say that neither of you do from what our people in Saint Catharines report. I realize voting for something as far-reaching as this would scare even the most brazen of politicians. But I'd like to dare you if I may," she leans her chin on clasped hands. "How'd you like to go down in history as being two MPs who helped made history?"

"It won't help us here and now..." Lily objects.

"Don't bet on that," Ayaka sighs. "I take it neither of you read a letter Mister Jenkins wrote to the Globe and Mail which appeared in yesterday's edition," she reaches over to draw up a folded newspaper, then slides it across the table.

John takes up the paper, then scans the words before his eyes widen. He shows it Lily. Her jaw drops in surprise before they both face Ayaka. "Quincy supports this?" the former wonders, his voice suddenly hushed.

"Yes," Ayaka nods. "And so do Chairman Monduzzi and President Sharon, by the way. Whoever's been calling you up about your 'nay' vote on FABS is NOT acting with any sort of support from the people who REALLY matter in Genom, Imperoma and Zion. As we now speak, my co-workers are passing this on to your fellow MPs concerning their vote on this. Our market analysis teams are reporting now from various precincts across the country about what happened and why. Most people on the street say that they'll support FABS as it is now without provincial or territorial interference. And there's only one way to ensure that happens."

Silence. "You ask a lot," Lily then concedes.

"I know," Ayaka smiles. "But let me tell you one more thing, Ms. Blake. Sooner or later, somewhere down the pike, someone's going to invent something that's much better than the models of cyberdroids, androids or cyber-bioroids now available. If Genom, Imperoma and Zion don't catch onto it quick, then they'll go out of business. As my friend's predecessor in Tokyo once said, 'Genom is a mortal thing. Mortals die.' People tend to forget that in business these days. They need a reminder of it every once in a while. FABS could be that sort of reminder." A pause. "Besides, I know what you must think about this whole process. Both of you are staunch federalists when it comes to affairs between Parliament and the provinces. You can't stand the idea of making big changes in the Constitution without the provinces somewhere down the pike watering them down. Here's your chance to make a change in the Constitution without their butting in."

"There're a lot of votes that can go either way," John warns.

"That's why we're talking to everyone," Ayaka reports. "And we're keeping you all under surveillance until you walk into the House chambers the day after tomorrow. What's to stop some idiot who's disobeying the ultimate orders of his company's chairman from hurting you? My company's intelligence forces are already tracking two such people. We're passing that information onto FSDC for them to deal with. You've nothing to fear."

The two MPs consider that, then John clears his throat. "What about the Senate when this gets to them?"

"Same thing."

Silence falls as the justice minister considers that, then he looks at his counterpart in Transportation. Both nod, then John breathes out.

"We'll see what happens in two days..."

* * *

Ottawa, Parliament Hill, 20 February, early morning...

"I saw that letter in the Globe," William Sullivan, the Minister of National Defence (the person in charge of the Canadian Armed Forces) and MP for Erinsville East River Docklands, nods as he and John stand in the cloak room outside the House chambers. The MPs were waiting for the last of them to arrive before the Sergeant-At-Arms saw them in.

For Constitutional amendments, MANDATORY attendance was a must; if someone was absent, the Speaker had the right to vote in his place. That was something NO Member of Parliament, especially if he wasn't of the same party as the Speaker, ever wanted. "What do you think?" John asks.

William hums, then smirks. "I actually called Anton Barucci and asked his opinion of it." Antonio Barucci was the chief of Imperoma's operations in Canada. "He got it straight from old man Monduzzi himself. No interference with FABS' passage."

"No shit?" the Justice Minister hums, then sighs. "What about the opinion from below decks?"

"Most are for it since it is limited to sentient boomers and androids," the MND shrugs. "Besides, once they get legal jobs, they'll be paying taxes, remember? What's wrong with that?"

"True," John chuckles, then sighs. "Besides, I kinda like the idea about sticking it to the provinces."

"Tell me about it," William sneers. The last amendment they voted on two years ago, concerning the level of influence provincial legislatures could exert on the Senate's power to amend legislation, fell far short of near-unanimous, then was watered down to nothing by a notwithstanding clause thrown up by Ontario. "Those idiots in Queen's Park..." by this, the MND speaks of the Ontario provincial legislature, located in downtown Toronto, "...don't care too much about what happens outside the province. We have to look at it in a whole different light, John."

"Yeah," John nods. "So, 'yea' or 'nay?'"

The bell announcing the time to enter the House chambers rings before William could answer. The doors open, revealing the Sergeant-At-Arms, the mace he normally carried poised on his shoulder. "Ladies and gentlemen, the Speaker requests your presence in the House," he stoically announces.

People begin filing in. The Sergeant-At-Arms and an assistant counts them off as they turn, heading to their assigned seats on either side of the floor. The ruling Liberals held a razor-thin majority in the House (255 seats), though on important legislation, they normally leaned on the New Democrats, who had 65 seats, for wider-ranging support. The position of the Leader of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition was decided by the Canadian Reform Alliance, who now held 125 seats. Forty-one seats were taken by the Progressive Conservatives, with the last fifteen held by MPs of the Natural Law Party. There were no independents at this time, though three of the left-leaning Liberals were considering bolting from the party.

Concerning FABS, the majority of Liberal, Alliance and Conservative MPs in the House supported it, though nowhere near enough for unanimous consent. The NDP and NLP MPs were solidly in the "yes" column, but that was, according to commentators, to be expected of left-wing parties. Thanks to a previous vote in a House debate three days ago, the caucuses had turned away from a "all-for-the-party" vote mechanism concerning this; MPs could in the final vote speak and vote their conscience.

As the last step in, the Sergeant-At-Arms looks at his hand counter, then smiles before taking a quick glance at his assistant's. Making the confirmation, the Sergeant-At-Arms proceeds to the head of the chamber, where the Speaker was reviewing notes. "They're all here, Madame Speaker."

Annette Owens (MP for Winnipeg Centre), looks up, then confirming that people were taking their seats and preparing themselves, nods before rising. "Order!" she calls, the acoustics of the chamber relaying her voice loud and clear to the back benches. "Order in the House!"

The general murmur dies down as people take their seats, eyes locked on her. "Very well, then," Annette smiles. "The honourable Sergeant-At-Arms having now confirmed that all members of the House are in attendance, we will begin. I draw the honourable members' attention to Bill C-710, an Amendment to the Dominion Constitution in concerns to the civil rights of inducted sentient residents of Canada and working for Canadian companies beyond the national boundaries of the Dominion of Canada, to be heretofore addressed as the 'Free Artificial-Born Sentient Amendment'..."

* * *

Megatokyo, Lady's 663 Building, that moment...

"Nee-san, it's starting!!" Mackie calls out.

Sylia jogs into the room, then sits down beside her brother as she takes in the view from C-PAC (the Canadian Parliamentary Access Channel), showing a view of the House floor in Ottawa. The legend on the screen tells her the FABS Amendment bill was on the floor for final vote.

The count: YES - 0/NAY - 0/UNDECIDED - 501...

* * *

"Recognize the honourable member from Trois-Rivieres-Nord."

"Merci, Madame Speaker," Prime Minister Claudia Lafontaine rises, taking a moment to stare intently at the others in the chambers before starting. "Madame Speaker, we have sat in debate over this particular bill for the last six months, contemplating perhaps the greatest step this House has taken since the Official Languages Act became law six decades ago. We now are attempting to make a fundamental change in the way we not only look at ourselves as a people, but at those we, even now, most often view merely as machines, as tools and servants to our desires and needs.

"Madame Speaker, when boomers and androids first came to this country in 2025, we, as did so many across the world, accepted them as the perfect servants to progress our society and nation. But as time passed, many of these servants became something more. They in fact evolved to the state their late creator, Doctor Katsuhito Stingray, always envisioned them as. Not as servants, but as partners to humanity, helping us evolve into better beings, our society evolving into a better society as a whole.

"During our debates on FABS, Madame Speaker, we were reminded of the words the honourable member from the Yukon," she nods to the leader of the New Democrats, sitting across the floor off to her right, "...quoted from the American abolitionist, William Lloyd Garrison. In the first issue of Mister Garrison's magazine, Liberator, published in 1831, he wrote: On this subject, I do not wish to think, or speak, or write with moderation. No! No! Tell a man whose house is on fire, to give a moderatealarm; tell him to moderatelyrescue his wife from the hands of the ravisher; tell the mother to graduallyextricate her babe from the fire into which it has fallen; but urge me not to use moderation in a case like the present. I am in earnest. I will not equivocate. I will not excuse. I will not retreat a single inch AND I WILL BE HEARD."

Claudia pauses for a dramatic second. "Madame Speaker, all of North America has been haunted by the aftermath of that editorial and what inspired that ever since. Our southern neighbours, not thirty years after Garrison wrote those words, found themselves in a war that tore their country apart, killing SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND people and deepening a social divide in their nation which took DECADES to heal, which still, some say, has yet to be fully healed. Our own Dominion, Madame Speaker, was founded in part because of the brutal lessons the Civil War forced on all of mankind. And because our predecessors decided that we would not use the language of the gun to seek out our nation's destiny, Madame Speaker, our evolution from colony to nation, was, in the most part, peaceful.

"Yes, there've been many times, Madame Speaker, when this government was forced by circumstance to turn to violent means to see our society remains safe. The most recent example of such tragic circumstances like that concerned our fight against I-Corp and the Church of the Movement for the Purification of Humanity not eleven years ago. Look how much that cost us in terms of our sense of self, our sense of nationhood, our national identity. We decided at that time, Madame Speaker, that we wouldn't let such happen again. This Amendment before us now is a result of that.

"Madame Speaker, honourable friends, I ask upon you all to take a dare. To cast aside your doubts at this time. To shear away the feelings of simophobia that might claw at your hearts and souls. To think of what all the experts this House have called on about this Amendment have told us about inducted sentients. That in most of the cases when an inducted sentient, regardless of where in the world he might be, has gone insane, it was not because of faulty designs but because of ORGANIC ABUSE and MISUSE!!

"In the antebellum United States two centuries ago, African-American slaves were abused physically and psychologically by their masters. Slave families were torn apart whenever one master bought the husband and another the wife, separating them without ANY concern for their own wishes. Any time slaves rose up for their freedom, they were smashed down ruthlessly. But the problem never went away. It grew worse and worse until it came to the point where the right spark was needed to set a nation afire.

"Madame Speaker, honourable friends, I do not wish to see something like that come to Canada. Regardless of how each and every one of you personally feels about inducted sentients and their place in our society, I ask you only to think of this: we as a nation were bled heavily -- in our bodies, our hearts and in our souls -- eleven years ago, by those who believed they had the right to decide our destinies. Madame Speaker, honourable friends, is it not the basic commandment, the basic testament, of Canadian law that the PEOPLE ultimately decide this nation's destiny through us and our counterparts elsewhere? Their chosen representatives?

"Are we going to forget our responsibility to the people?

"For I say this, Madame Speaker. If we do NOT pass this Amendment, give it the justice it deserves, then we take the first step to a civil war we can't for a moment begin to imagine.

"I KNOW, Madame Speaker, that Canadians do not want THAT.

"Merci beaucoup (Thank you very much)."

Applause fills the House chambers as Claudia sits...

* * *

"Man, Claudia-obasan (Auntie Claudia) really knows how to give a good speech, eh, Nee-san?" Mackie sighs.

"You can say that again, Mackie," Sylia nods...

* * *

Genom Tower...

"Can we even think of touching her?!"

"Not without having the company be declared a terrorist organization under their War Measures Act, Mason-sama, then the FSDC (Force Special Defence Command) Act comes into play," Manabe Takeo shakes his head. "We know how easy it was for FSDC to destroy I-Corp. And with their commander being McTavish-ojousama's cousin, Toratotaka'll be on their side. Besides, if she's for it, killing her'll make her a potential martyr."

Mason sighs. "True..."

* * *

"Recognize the honourable member from Edmonton North."

"Thank you, Madame Speaker," the Leader of the Opposition, Armand Hunter, rises. "First, I'd like to pay my compliments to the Prime Minister for her excellent speech..."

Scattered applause. Claudia nods pleasantly to Armand as some on the Liberal side of the House rise to acknowledge his gesture of respect to their leader. Though she was Liberal and he Canadian Alliance, they were friends. Or as much as one could be in the grand game of politics.

Once people have quieted down, Armand clears his throat. "Madame Speaker, honourable friends, as the Prime Minister has so noted, we have debated this for the last six months. It is time to end the debate and decide what the fate of our nation shall be. And I, for one, speaking for ALL in my caucus, would like to be on hand to make history. Madame Speaker, speaking on behalf of the honourable members of my party caucus, I motion that Bill C-710 be put to final vote for passage to the Senate."

"So noted," the Speaker nods. "Recognize the honourable member from the Yukon," she motions to Armand's left.

"Thank you, Madame Speaker," the leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada nods, rising. "In respect to the honourable member from Edmonton North's motion, I, speaking for all members of my party caucus, second the motion to put C-710 to final vote."

"So noted. Recognize the honourable member from Algoma."

"Thank you, Madame Speaker. Speaking on behalf of all members of my party caucus, I third the motion to put C-710 to final vote," the leader of the Progressive Conservatives rises.

"So noted. Recognize the honourable member from Summerside."

"Thank you, Madame Speaker. Speaking on behalf of all members of my party caucus, I fourth the motion to put C-710 to final vote and request the Prime Minister's support as well," the leader of the Natural Law Party of Canada rises, nodding to Claudia.

"So noted," the Speaker turns back to the Prime Minister. "Recognize the honourable member from Trois-Rivieres-Nord."

"Merci, Madame Speaker," Claudia rises. "In respect to the notion the honourable members have just made, I, speaking on behalf of ALL members of my party caucus, request that Bill C-710 be put to final vote as per the stipulations made three days ago in these chambers. I..." she pauses, then closes her eyes as she concentrates, then she relaxes. "I request, Madame Speaker, that Bill C-710 be subject to near-unanimous consent rules."

"So noted. Objections from the House?"

Silence.

Annette blinks surprisedly, then turns her eyes to the front row of Liberal MPs, where Cabinet ministers sat. Her eyes fall on John Kipling. He nods. To Lily Blake. A nod. To William Sullivan. A nod. Noting this from the others the Speaker knew had strongly hinted would vote "nay" on the Amendment before today, she then takes a deep breath, calming herself.

Oh, my dear God...!

"Ma'am?"

Annette stares at the Sergeant-At-Arms. He has a concerned look on his face. She shakes her head, then sighs. "I apologize to the members of the House. Excuse me," she flusters. "So noted that no objections towards final vote of Bill C-710, subject to near-unanimous consent rules, have been made. Sergeant-At-Arms, call the roll for the vote."

He rises to attention. "Yes, Madame Speaker," he nods, then draws out his book and a pen. "Ladies and gentlemen, the Speaker requests your final vote concerning Bill C-710, an Amendment to the Dominion Constitution in concerns to the civil rights of inducted sentient residents of Canada and working for Canadian companies beyond the national boundaries of the Dominion of Canada. As per near-unanimous consent rules concerning votes on amendments to the Constitution, there will be no re-count. All rise!"

Everyone stands. The Speaker turns to his right to gaze on the first row of Liberal back-benchers. "Mister Mabbet..."

"Yes."

"Mister Barr..."

"Yes..."

* * *

"Here it goes," Mackie tenses.

Sylia's eyes are locked on the readout of her screen:

YES - 3/NAY - 0/UNDECIDED - 498...

YES - 4/NAY - 0/UNDECIDED - 497...

YES - 5/NAY - 0/UNDECIDED - 496...

* * *

AD Police headquarters...

"What are you looking at, Romanova-junsa (Officer Romanova)?"

"Oh!!" Nene jolts, then looks over her shoulders at Daley Wong. "Sumimasen, Wong-buchou (Sergeant Wong). They're having the FABS vote in Ottawa right now," she indicates her computer screen.

Daley looks. The count read YES - 21/NAY - 0/UNDECIDED - 480, the former value steadily rising. "Well, it's about time. Keep a watch on that, Junsa-san. I want to know what the vote'll be."

"They say it'll pass," Nene warns.

"Yeah, but I want to know how much it'll pass by."

"Doshite (Why)?"

"If only one votes 'no,' then the chances are there their Senate'll pass it the same way. Once that happens, the provinces and territories can't bitch about it," Daley smirks.

"I think the Canadians are crazy to do this!" Nene objects.

"It's their country, Romanova-junsa."

Nene blinks, then nods. "True..."

* * *

"Kipling votes 'yes!'"

"What?!" Mason snaps.

"John Kipling, the Justice Minister," Manabe sighs, then points accusingly at the screen. "He just voted 'yes' for this thing!"

The special assistant's eyes narrow. "He's one of ours?!"

"He should be," the younger executive sighs.

"We'll have to remind him of that," Mason then muses...

* * *

Nerima, the Tower...

"I see Ayaka-chan got through to them," Yoshio slips the briar pipe into his mouth, striking a match to light it.

The vote now read YES - 42/NAY - 0/UNDECIDED - 459...

* * *

"Ms. Blake...?"

"Yes."

"Mister Sullivan...?"

"Yes..."

* * *

"Count now?" Sylia wonders.

"All the one side of the House, the side Claudia-obasan sits on, just voted 'yes,'" Mackie reports. Sylia is in the kitchen. "The Amendment's passed, but it says it has to get 500 votes for near-unanimous consent."

Hearing that, Sylia sighs. The reference to "Auntie Claudia" Mackie just made was common among many Japanese, especially the young, when it came to the Canadian Prime Minister; when Second Kantou struck in 2025, Claudia Lafontaine had (while Canada was still rebuilding from the downfall of I-Corp) ordered a massive disaster-relief effort for the stricken Japanese city. In a way, setting the groundwork for Tokyo's rebirth as Megatokyo had helped Canada's own struggling economy to get back on track.

"It won't get near-unanimous, I think," Sylia hums.

"I dunno about that, Nee-san..."

* * *

"This isn't what I expected, Takeo-san."

Manabe flusters, then sighs. "Sir, all it needs is two 'nay' votes in both the House and the Senate, then the provinces can kibitz with it to their hearts' content," he assures his superior.

"The trend seems against that," Mason icily warns.

The younger man tries not to gulp too much as his eyes fall on the screen. The count: YES - 294/NAY - 0/UNDECIDED - 207...

* * *

"Masaka..."

"What is it, Nene-chan?"

Nene looks at one of her co-workers, Emily Barret. "The vote for the FABS thing. It's already past 350 'yes' votes and not a single 'no' vote."

Emily blinks, then stares at Nene's computer screen. "You're kidding me?! They're actually going to pass this thing?!"

"It was passed long ago," Nene shakes her head...

* * *

"Count now?"

"Three-eighty-two 'yes,'" Mackie reports. "No one against."

"Yet..."

* * *

Claudia watches as the Sergeant-At-Arms works his way through the ranks of Conservative MPs. The vote stood at YES - 461/NAY - 0/UNDECIDED - 40. Since the NDP and NLP members all stated they would vote "yes," once the last of the Conservative MPs had his say (that was the 486th person on the Sergeant-At-Arms' list), this Amendment was going to the Senate.

Now, would it be...?

* * *

"Damn it all, someone say 'NO!!!'" Mason shrills.

Manabe sighs, shaking his head. This was unreal...!

* * *

"Count now?"

"Four-seventy-six 'yes,' no against."

Sylia blinks. "What...?!"

"Four-seventy-six...! Whoops, four-seventy-nine 'yes!' No one's said no, Nee-san...! Oh, it's four-eighty-one now..."

The Sabres' leader jolts, then her eyes widen.

Was it possible...?!

* * *

"Miss Rizzo...?"

"Yes."

"Mister Connor...?"

"Yes."

"Mister Jefferson...?"

The last of the Progressive Conservative MPs was Darnell Jefferson, representative of Halifax North. He jolts, stunned that EVERYONE before him had said "yes" to this thing. Blinking, he tries to look at his vote readout board, then his eyes widen. YES - 485/NAY - 0/UNDECIDED - 16.

"Mister Jefferson, are you alright, sir?"

Darnell jolts, then stares at the Sergeant-At-Arms before coughing suddenly, his throat constricting up. "I..."

Annette Owens sighs. She couldn't blame Darnell for what he no doubt felt now; she was as stunned as the poor man about the way this was turning out. Exchanging a knowing look with Claudia Lafontaine, she then calls out, "Sergeant-At-Arms, give the honourable member time to compose himself before requesting his vote. Carry on the vote count, then return to him."

"Yes, Madame Speaker," the Sergeant-At-Arms nods, then turns to his list. "Ms. Traynor?" he looks at the Natural Law leader.

"Yes..."

* * *

"It's passed. Near-unanimous consent."

"What?!" Mason growls.

"It's only those Natural Law freaks that have to vote now," Manabe shakes his head. "And they'll all say 'yes.' I'd say it'll be five hundred-to-one when it's all said and done."

Mason shudders, then sinks into his chair...

* * *

"Count now?"

"Four-ninety-five, Nee-san! Get in here!!"

Sylia walks in, then glances at the television readout before dropping into her seat. YES - 497/NAY - 0/UNDECIDED - 4...

* * *

"Miss Tomtree?"

"Yes."

"Mister Quinn?"

"Yes."

Silence. On everyone's vote readout board, the count now read YES - 500/NAY - 0/UNDECIDED - 1. The Sergeant-At-Arms turns back to stand before Darnell Jefferson's seat. By then, the MP from Halifax had managed to wipe his face with a handkerchief given to him by a Natural Law parliamentarian seated beside him. He takes a deep breath, then when the Sergeant-At-Arms calls out his name, rises. "I apologize to the members of the House for holding this up," he nods appreciatively, then sighs. "Yes."

YES - 501/NAY - 0/UNDECIDED - 0.

The Sergeant-At-Arms checks off the right column, then turns towards the Speaker's chair. The silence could be cut with a knife as he stops before Annette Owens. "Madame Speaker, in concerns with Bill C-710, an Amendment to the Dominion Constitution in concerns to the civil rights of inducted sentient residents of Canada and working for Canadian companies beyond the national boundaries of the Dominion of Canada, the vote is:

"'Yes': five-hundred and one."

"'Nay': zero."

Silence.

"So noted," Annette smiles. "Bill C-710 is passed."

A whoop explodes as people rise, shaking hands and embracing each other, the tension of the moment fading as a moment in history passes...

* * *

"YES!!!!"

Sylia leaps to her feet as she sweeps Mackie into her arms, both dancing with delight as unashamed tears fall down their cheeks, then gaze on the screen, the C-PAC commentator coming on line to report what just happened. "Oh, Tou-san, if you only could see this," Sylia sighs, leaning her head against Mackie's. "If only..." The videophone rings. Sylia walks over to answer, "Moshi-moshi, Stingray desu...! Jii-chan?!!"

"Break out the champagne, grab Mackie-chan and get your buns over here, Muffin!!" Yoshio grins as the shouts of his delighted co-workers echo in the background. "We're partying all night long for this one, kiddo!!!"

Sylia jolts, then laughs. OF COURSE Yoshio would know that she'd be watching; Karen Maijima warned him ahead of time. "We'll be right over, Jii-chan...!" she sobs, then cuts the link...

* * *

"We have lost Canada."

"Not exactly so, Mason-sama..."

"Baka!!!" Mason thunders, glaring at Manabe. "With THAT vote going to the Senate, their passing it will be just a formality!!"

Manabe jolts, then flusters before the videophone on his superior's desk rings. "Hai, Mason desu," the special assistant jabs controls, then jolts on seeing who is calling. "Saotome...?!"

"How do you like THEM apples, Brian?!!" Yoshio whoops, then cuts the link before Mason could try to reply.

An inhuman scream escapes his throat. "DAMN YOU!!!!"

* * *

Upstairs...

"A sweet little victory."

"A new beginning," Quincy clicks his snifter to Megumi's before gazing on the holo-image of Katsuhito Stingray billowing from his desk. "And a final apology to you, my young friend," he toasts the image before drinking it, then he and Megumi laugh as they toss the glasses over their shoulders in respect to a Russian tradition concerning such matters.

"Well, shall we get back to the game?" Megumi hums.

"Let's," Quincy beckons her to the chess table...

* * *

Ottawa, Parliament Hill, 21 February, early morning...

"Madame Speaker, welcome to the Senate."

This was a formality, Annette Owens sighs as she holds up the felt-lined folder before her opposite number in Parliament's upper house, the President of the Senate (these days also serving as Canada's Deputy Prime Minister), Senator Siobhan Hawke of Alberta. But a necessary formality, Annette muses as she senses the C-PAC cameras locked on her. Already, commentators were making their remarks to the international media, who had flooded into Ottawa when yesterday's bombshell hit the networks.

The leadership of the Senate always rotated per annum on Dominion Day (July 1) in order of when provinces and territories joined Confederation. As for the Senate President's role as Deputy Prime Minister, that sometimes restricted the choice of candidate so the DPM could normally be of the same party as the largest block of MPs in the House. This was done to prevent filibusters over controversial bills. The "normal" case didn't apply this time; Siobhan was New Democratic and the Alberta Senate caucus was split between the Alliance, Conservatives and NDP (in order of 1-3-2). Since the NDP was often the Liberals' allies in passing sensitive bills, the Alberta caucus chose Siobhan over the Alliance or the three Conservative Senators.

"Madame President, Senators, thank you for your hospitality," Annette nods as Siobhan and the Senate Master-At-Arms escorts her inside. Glancing around, she is quick to see that all sixty-six members of the upper house were present. No doubt, the few that had been back in their provincial and territorial capitals got the word about yesterday's bill as soon as it passed, then got to town as soon as they could to be in on the debate.

As soon as Siobhan takes her chair, Annette places herself at the lectern reserved for her in these cases. As soon as everyone settles down, Siobhan nods. "The Senate recognizes the Honourable Annette Owens of Manitoba, Speaker of the House of Commons."

"Thank you, Madame President," Annette nods, then turns to gaze on the sixty-five other men and women in the chambers. "Honoured Senators, I come from the House bringing to your attention Bill C-710, an Amendment to the Dominion Constitution in concerns to the civil rights of inducted sentient residents of Canada and working for Canadian companies beyond the national boundaries of the Dominion of Canada. I hereby report that the final vote on Bill C-710, carried out yesterday, was an unprecedented UNANIMOUS vote of all members of the House FOR the Amendment. I hereby place this Bill before the Senate for your debate and passage."

Applause responds as the Speaker steps away from the podium, then places herself in a guest chair provided by one of the Manitoba caucus. Once the noise dies down, Siobhan calls out, indicating to her left, "The Senate recognizes the honourable Senator from Prince Edward Island."

Rae Appelton was an ex-MLA (Member of the Legislative Assembly) from Charlottetown who had been voted into the national Senate four years ago by the P.E.I. legislature, replacing someone who died in office. He had been the Amendment's chief supporter in the upper chamber since it first came here for debate. "Madame President, given what just happened yesterday in the House as the honourable member from Manitoba just reported to us, I, in respect of my colleagues' desire to end this debate as judiciously as possible, request that Bill C-710 be placed to final vote."

"So noted. The Senate recognizes the honourable Senator from Quebec," Siobhan indicates someone on her left.

And so it began again...

* * *

Megatokyo, Lady's 663 Building, 22 February, evening...

"They passed it?!"

Priss Asagiri looks aghast at Sylia Stingray as the Sabres assemble in one of the basement workout rooms to continue advanced testing of their new hardsuits. "Yes, they passed it unanimously, as was done in the House two days ago," Sylia nods, trying not to grin too much at this development.

"Fuck, the Canucks are outta their damned heads!!" Priss sneers, then sits back in her chair. "Stupid or what...?!"

"So when does it all go into effect?" Linna Yamazaki asks.

"The Amendment will go into practical effect when the first of the supporting laws is passed by their Parliament. First up will be changes to the Immigration Act, to open doors to boomer refugees who, while fleeing whatever constitutes 'persecution' in Canadian law, make it to Canadian soil when they desire sanctuary. That includes all Canadian embassies and consulates, including the ones here in Japan, by the way. By the way, minna-san, this applies to SENTIENT boomers only, not all of them."

"There's no fuckin' difference!" Priss snorts.

Sylia hums. "You'd be very surprised, Priss..."

* * *

Megatokyo, the Fault, 6 March, evening...

"Ohayo, Raven-hakase. How are you tonight?"

James Raven jolts on hearing the voice, then sees a black-haired, blue-eyed woman dressed casually at the door to his office. The rakishly-combed bangs covering her right eye are instantly recognizable to the older scientist. "Why, Himoo-san...! Oh, no, it's Himoo-hakase now, isn't it?"

"Hai," Yuina Himoo steps in, closing the door behind her. "Finished my doctoral thesis in December, was hooded after the turn of the year."

"You had to catch up on a lot after spending three years in a damned freezer in the Tower," Raven clicks his tongue.

"Fortunately, once people in Oshika were able to persuade the folks in Toodai (Tokyo University) to see their way, it was quite easy to polish off what I started at Ryerson," Yuina sits beside the older scientist, then draws out a set of CD-ROMs from her jacket. "Present for your friends."

Raven blinks, then picks the case up. "You know?"

"Sylia has to have a strong talk with her ECM expert about leaving calling cards like THAT for others to pick up on," Yuina snorts. "At least she was smart to not do the team's first job on the anniversary of her father's murder. Those CDs have special design improvements for the suits; we had a dozen observers watch them in action. The designs in the CDs should make things a lot easier for Sylia and her friends."

"Stuff you did in high school?"

"Updated, of course, even though what I designed nine years ago could still stand the test of time now," Yuina smiles.

Raven nods. "He's allowing this?"

"None of his business. It doesn't violate Directive Seven since no 5-S materials are included. Besides, you never know when we'll have need of her group anytime in the future. We're just hedging out bets."

"Or does it have something to do with a new OPLAN Jericho aimed against Genom. Should it ever be seen as necessary?"

The SPD-S&T's eyes narrow. "Careful, Raven-hakase..."

"I'm not that foolish when it comes to how Toratotaka does business these days, Himoo-hakase," the older man sighs. "Don't forget, I WAS involved in the original Operation: Jericho against I-Corp. The tactics and equipment that'd be used in such a plan would change according to the mission requirements and the target in question, but the basic idea remains the same. I know that as much as anyone else. Hell, I even suspect Quincy himself would believe that Nicole-jousan has something like that planned."

"True," Yuina's tongue clicks. "Don't worry; we're NOT going to do what we did years ago. The world has no need to experience that level of social and economic trauma twice in the same generation. OPLAN (Operation Plan) Jericho will only be used in the most dire of circumstances. And yes, Sylia's team will be given the chance to spearhead such an operation. But at the same time, we're going to try to encourage Genom to become much better when it deals with society as a whole."

"It'll take a lot to change them, you know."

"Yes, that's true..."

* * *

Later...

"Yuina-neesan came to visit?"

Sylia stares at Raven as the latter pours over the CDs Yuina brought on his computer. "Yes, she did. Brought some goodies with her."

The Sabres' leader gapes. "She did?! But Directive Seven..."

"Allows this sort of 'seeding' as long as the technology is seen as not TOO disruptive," he finishes. "Relax, Sylia. This gives your team a chance to get back into the field a lot sooner than what we originally estimated. AND it will make things a lot tougher in the future for boomers you end up fighting. We even got some hard intelligence data as a bonus."

"You're kidding?!!"

"Nope," Raven chuckles. "Give me a day or two to work these new schematics out -- Himoo-hakase never was subjected to Yoshio's datadisk like Rei Ijuuin was -- but I think they'll be alright in the long term. You should be back on the streets in two weeks."

"I see..." Sylia breathes out, then hums. "Well, this won't be your typical gift horse, I suspect. I know I can't gain much from Toratotaka unless we join forces. But if we do that..."

"It might work out. Then again, it might not. Don't worry about it, Sylia. Personally, I think Yoshio understands why you're doing this. He can't do something like it from where he's at now. Besides, if he didn't like it, he'd have the means to stop you right in your tracks."

"True," Sylia nods.

It heartened her when Fargo met her yesterday delivering a message from Yoshio, congratulating the Sabres on their first operation, dealing with a pack of boomers that had torn up a district near the Convention Centre. It hadn't been a perfect mission (seven people had died before the Sabres arrived), but it had been enough to make people take notice.

Well, the next two weeks would give Sylia a chance to better gauge what would be her next move...

* * *

Saint Catharines, the Tower, 15 March, morning...

"I...! State your name, please?"

"I, Tomomi Mizuno..."

"Do solemnly affirm that you will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty, King William the Fifth, King of the Dominion of Canada, His Heirs and Successors..."

"Do solemnly affirm that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty, King William the Fifth, King of the Dominion of Canada, His Heirs and Successors, and that I will to the best of my abilities, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the Dominion of Canada, and fulfil my duties as a citizen of this great northern land," Tomomi smiles, standing in the House Matriarch's office, now dressed in a stylish pantsuit and sweater as her teammates and a group of boomers employed by Toratotaka waiting to take their citizenship oaths stand nearby.

The justice of the peace nods, lowering the velvet-lined copy of the Constitution as he extends his hand. "Miss Mizuno, it is my honour and pleasure to welcome you to the Dominion of Canada."

"Thank you, Your Honour," Tomomi shakes his hand, then steps back as the justice's assistant hands her a citizenship scroll.

Applause fills the office as the justice turns to his list of new citizens. "Now, Miss Yui Narusawa...?"

"Hai!" Yui steps up to take her oath.

Tomomi falls back as she watches her sister take the oath, to be then followed by Yui's mother and Mirei before the group of Saint Catharines Tower office and field people to her left would be filed through. Scenes like this were playing themselves out at the Vancouver Tower, the Trois-Rivieres and Regina Annexes, all the various district headquarters across the country, not to mention in Canadian embassies and consulates worldwide.

Today was the day the amendments to the Canada Citizenship Act concerning sentient boomers and androids went into effect, thus ensuring that under no circumstances could companies employing such people harm them. Much to the surprise of Toratotaka and FSDC (Force Special Defence Command) intelligence operators, no company in the Dominion, not even the Canadian affiliates of Genom, Imperoma and Zion, made moves to stop boomers and androids certified as worthy of protection under the FABS Amendment from going forth to properly assert their new civil rights.

Things were going much better than expected, the commander of KMT-6 muses as she applauds Yui's oath, then falls silent as Yui makes way for Misako. While it would seem prudent that changes to the Citizenship Act should have been the first thing Parliament dealt with after FABS' passage, three crucial laws had to be passed before such could happen.

First, changes to the Immigration Act had to be put into place to open the doors for sentient boomers and androids to come into Canada in the first place. This also necessitated some changes to Canada's refugee regulations, which now made it alright for boomers and androids fleeing persecution to seek refuge on Canadian soil. Defining what constituted "persecution" to boomers had been a very contentious issue in the Amendment debates. To ensure fairness for all the parties concerned, the Immigration Act now stipulated that FSDC would be the lead agency in determining if a boomer or android entering Canadian territory was "persecuted" by outside forces, thus determining his/her worthiness to be granted refugee status.

After the Immigration Act was amended, next came changes to the CCC (Criminal Code of Canada). A whole new series of criminal regulations came into effect. The death of a sentient boomer was now to be treated with the same gravity as a pure-organic's. If a sentient boomer was murdered, that would be the charge a suspect would face. Other acts would be treated in the same manner. Further, sentient boomers were now shielded under "hate crime," "labour crime" and "family crime" regulations in the CCC, making them equal to abused spouses, ethnic minorities and other "distinct" social groups. In one swoop, anti-boomer (who were usually anti-megacorp) protest groups across the country were now seen as suspect CRIMINAL gangs!

Finally came the ISPPA (Inducted Sentient Privacy Protection Act). Canada, like other nations, had comprehensive boomer/android registry lists that police forces accessed whenever boomer crime reared its ugly head. If a boomer became sentient and sought to exercise his/her legal rights under FABS, the ISPPA tasked the RCMP and FSDC (in "sensitive" cases; the definition of THAT being left for administrative definition by the Command and the Mounties) to ensure that said inducted sentient would be able to enjoy a life free of potential hassles of any sort from former owners.

So far, Tomomi muses as Misako finishes with her oath, then steps aside for Mirei, the public response in Canada was positive. Laws still had to be passed which ensured that inducted sentient citizens of Canada would be fully protected beyond the national borders, not to mention laws that would ensure that inducted sentient criminals and other malcontents wouldn't get a fair shake if they tried to seek refuge in Canada. They would be dealt with over the next month. Once they were all in place, the FABS Amendment would "officially" become law on Beltaine (1 May).

"Public" international response to FABS was subdued as could be expected; Canada was a "middle" power in the grand scheme of things. If this had happened in the United States, it would've garnished headlines all over the world! But even though Canada's southern neighbour had yet to decide which course it would take on this subject, other nations weren't sitting on their hands. From what Toratotaka had detected, government delegations from Ireland, France, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea -- even Italy and Israel-Palestine, home nations of Imperoma and Zion! -- were making tracks for Ottawa to see exactly what the Canadians were up to.

Well, it didn't matter now, Tomomi sighs...

* * *

Nerima, the Tower, that moment...

"S-saotome-hakase...! You...! I...!"

Yoshio chuckles, standing before the gestation chamber and its cargo, then he gently grasps Mint's hand. "Don't complain about a thing, Mint-chan. This is something you deserve. Granted, there are probably others like you out there and we might not get to them all. But saving at least ONE is a victory in my eyes. Besides, you once wished that you could be an escort like Brian-kun here, so why are you getting cold feet now?!"

Mint jolts, then stares at the unmoving 33-S double of her now about to emerge from gestation. Unit BuTT-33S0XX00AM, the "double-oh" unit of the second series of prototype Sexaroids Yoshio devised before heading to Genom, now meant for one Minuet Galatea Armstrong, "Mint" to friends and family. Once the reserve memory unit from Mint's old body was switched over to her new one, she would be as free as any boomer could ever be.

"Sumimasen," she reaches over to grasp Brian Armstrong's hand. They had come to the Tower after taking their citizenship oaths at the Canadian embassy in Shinjuku. "I...! I just never expected that you'd do something like THIS even after the company fitted me with a Mark 97 system."

Yoshio nods; Mint had received her new brain two weeks after Brian, the operation done by Satoko Fusehime at her clinic. "Understandable, but you've got loads of references from all the Kuromoroboshi considering how much you've matured since Brian-kun rescued you from that warehouse before Christmas. Besides, XX00 was just floating around doing nothing, just like most of the other 'double-oh' bodies I made for the series I worked on here, so what the heck? Why should I let the damned gestation unit gather dust in one of the storage labs on Floor Two-oh-Two?!"

The Armstrong siblings (Brian and Mint had decided that after this, both would no longer see the other as a potential life-mate) chuckle, then turn as the lab door opens, revealing Yuina Himoo. "Ah, there you are, Minuet-chan. Ready for your big moment?"

"Hai, Himoo-hakase!!" Mint nods.

The nanny is guided to a nearby diagnostic bed. Yoshio beckons Brian out of the lab, both proceeding to the executive elevator for a ride to the House Patriarch's office. Staring at the city, the boomer messiah-turned-escort hums. "So different staring at it from here. Almost tranquil."

"Yeah, it can deceive you," Yoshio nods as both step into his office. "Still, staying out here gives me the chance to put all the garbage that haunts this city in its place, see the whole picture instead of disjointed bits," he waves Brian to the coffee table. "So how are things with you?"

"In what way do you want me to answer that question?"

"How are you adjusting to what Alexa, Miranda and Shelley did to you? Granted, it was the smart thing to do, but you weren't given much of a choice about getting that body."

"I...! I have made peace with myself concerning how I came to this point in my life, Saotome-hakase," Brian smiles. "Though I am curious as to how is it you were able to mask my escape from that warehouse. I asked Okaa-sama and she didn't tell me much..."

Yoshio laughs. "There are things my company possesses that no other company has, Brian-kun. One of them, if you're familiar with the Star Trek series, is a matter-quantum transporter system. We -- actually, Alexa and her friends -- used that to send a bio-mech replica into the warehouse while it was burning down."

"Transporter system?"

"Yeah. They were in vogue when our race were making detailed contacts with other worlds. I don't think they talk about things like that up on Genaros even though SDPC is filling the vacuum left behind by the UNSCG (United Nations Space Colony Group)."

"I've spent much time surfing the Net about Earth's expansion into space and I've never heard of that group," Brian muses.

"Don't be surprised. I doubt you'll be able to locate any detailed information on the UNEDF (United Nations Earth Defence Force), the SCAA (Special Committee on Alien Activities) and other such groups. That's because of USSD and the xenophobic stance they've forced the rest of the U.N. to take these last few years. How much do you know of I-Corp?"

"The Infinity Corporation?" Brian makes a face. "More that I ever would desire to know, admittedly. How could you pure-organics allow such lunatics to thrive like that for so long in the first place? I must confess, Genom is utterly tame compared to that!"

"True, not to mention quite forward-thinking when it comes to humanity (all parts of it, by the way) getting back INTO space. But like it or not, society these days has too short an attention span when it comes to deep problems like xenophobia. Or simophobia for that matter," Yoshio chuckles. "It's a double-edged sword and there's no way of deciding what is 'right' and what is 'wrong' when it comes to how you play up to that. Genom plays up to it one way. We do it another way. Another group'd do it yet another way. Who's to say what's the proper course to take?"

"So that's why you like to stay neutral. I can surmise that Sylia Stingray is the force behind those 'Knight Sabres' that appeared at the convention centre a couple weeks ago. What will Genom do concerning them?"

"Depends on what your namesake in Chuuou decides," Yoshio grins. "Quincy is going to order Mason to deal with the 'Knight Sabre problem' once said problem becomes a little to big to just ignore. Once they make a BIG impression, I strongly wager that Brian'll be turning as much of his attention to dealing with them. After all, you can't have that happen in the city where Genom's world headquarters is located in, ne? If some vigilante group is making Genom look like fools in their own back yard, it might give some other group, like some anarchist group or a rival megacorp most likely, the urge to do something a lot worse."

"What happens if Mason deduces Sylia-san's connection to the Sabres if (of course) they do make a bigger impact...? Oh, I see now!" Brian nods understandingly. "You're using Sylia-san's team to goad Mason into acting against his better interests. Very nicely done!"

"Don't credit me for thinking up this idea. If Quincy didn't back it up 'silently,' this wouldn't happen. Brian's too full of himself to realize that Quincy's already got him figured out. If Quincy didn't want it to happen, it wouldn't happen. That's all."

"You fear him," Brian's eyebrow arches.

"No. I respect Quincy for what he's trying to do in the long term," Yoshio shakes his head. "I also understand that being where he is, Quincy doesn't have any time to deal with all the mundane little problems that haunt Genom. For some things, he trusts his own people, even Mason. For other things, he trusts us and other forces to deal with it. That's the way it works between Genom and Toratotaka, Brian-kun. 'You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.' Yes, I'd gladly see Brian Mason dead for what he did to Katsuhito and gods only know who else. So will Muffin. And I think I know her enough to realize that if the opportunity to eliminate Mason does comes up, she will take it even if she doesn't justify it as revenge. We'll all betting on that point, by the way."

"And Mason won't have any way to understand who exactly stands against him before it's too late."

"Exactly."

"Well, if he is as blindly ambitious as I sensed he was when I was a 'guest' in Alex's databanks," by this, Brian refers to the time he had been forced to spend within Genom Tower's master computer, "...that doesn't really surprise me in the end," he breathes out...

* * *

Megatokyo, Lady's 663 Building, 21 March, early morning...

"Shit, that was LOADS of fun!!"

"We really did a lot of good last night, didn't we?!"

"Yes, minna-san, we did," Sylia nods as the Knight Sabres relax in her apartment's living room. The group, forewarned by Fargo early yesterday, demolished a dozen construction boomers on the rampage (not to mention two C-55s who no doubt infected the labour units with a virus to prompt them into action) near the Shinjuku international bazaar, saving dozens of restaurant patrons and ensuring that ADP casualties didn't get out of hand. Even better, thanks to the improvements "seeded" to the Sabres by Yuina Himoo (tagged onto ideas Sylia and James Raven came up with), none of her friends had suffered a scratch in return.

"Nene-san, how soon can you get a general idea of the government's response to what we did?" Sylia wonders.

"As soon as I get into work later tonight. Good thing I got the night shift for the next while," Nene nods readily.

"Excellent. I need a report on that as soon as possible."

"Hai."

"Ya know, it's a lucky thing we're living in Japan. If this was Canada, we'd have the fuckin' Mounties on our ass 'cause they'd think that we'd be no better than the ABLS or Prometheus Bound!" Priss sneers.

"True," Sylia tries not to roll her eyes; Priss hadn't ONCE stopped complaining about what was happening in Canada since the news of the FABS Amendment's passage first broke out. "But that's not our concern right now, so let's relax and enjoy ourselves."

"Hai..."

* * *

Genom Tower, before lunch...

"I expected that property to have been transferred to our control today, Mason-kun. What the HELL happened?!"

Brian Mason does not visibly flinch at Kazuma Sasaki's glare. He, not to mention Quincy and several other senior executives, now sat in the new boardroom set aside for the Megatokyo Board of Executives, just put into place at the start of March to serve as Quincy's closest advisors.

Kazuma, the chief of Corporate Acquisitions for Genom in Asia and Australasia, was an "independent" in the special assistant's eyes; there was no alliance between them. When it came to most decisions made by the Board, Kazuma was quick to ally himself with Tsuyoshi Kataki and Kenji Sousuke, now seated to either side of the chairman.

EVERYONE'S eyes are now locked on the special assistant, Mason is quick to note, then he sighs. "It appears the group which fought the boomers near the convention centre has returned."

"Did we get ANYTHING on them?" Conal Altman demands, seated beside Mason. As the newly-promoted chief of Special Corporate Affairs, anything that required any type of extra-legal measure to help Kazuma's people do their jobs was his responsibility. "My people haven't heard a squeak."

"What of GSS?" Mason stares at Tsuyoshi.

The chief of Market Analysis and Research shakes his head. "So far, investigations have turned up nothing. The best theory my people have now is that these Sabres may be a special-action group for the ABLS. Since this is only their second appearance, hard data is quite scarce."

"We better do something about this quick," Mark Kaneda, the Chief of Civil-Corporate Relations, sighs. "Anti-Genom pundits in Japan -- hell, all over east Asia -- are having a damned field day. Editorials on the Net're saying that 'It's about time SOMEONE stood up to Genom and puts them into their place!' Christ, if some wise-ass politico decides to play up on that..." he shakes his head, drawing a pack of cigarettes from his jacket.

Quincy hums, then sighs. "Mason-kun?"

"Shachou-san?"

"I wish you to direct some of your staff into better studying this matter. I do not wish anyone to take any sort of inspiration from this, especially here in Japan. Given the ability of this group to challenge our boomers, even the combat ones, directly, they could prove to be much more annoying to us than the ABLS could ever HOPE to be. Wakaru (Understood)?"

"Hai, Shachou-san, wakarimashita (I understand)..."

* * *

Nerima, the Tower...

"I'll be damned. It's starting."

"Yeah, that it is," Yoshio smirks, now sharing tea with Lucien Fargo in the private office suite the SP-SIFO (Senior Patriarch for Special and Independent Field Operations) used some floors below Yoshio's office. As befitting his role as "fixer" to the Knight Sabres, Fargo is draped in a innocuous salaryman's business suit. Glancing at the former USSD special operations officer, Yoshio sighs. Damn, he looks as much at home wearing that as he did wearing a combat battlesuit, the House Patriarch muses, then turns back to the holoscreen flashing a direct datafeed from one of Megumi's spies now perched inside the Board's meeting room.

"How long do you want to play this?" Fargo asks.

Yoshio hums. "Keep feeding Muffin direct stuff from our intel for the next six months. Don't make it too juicy, but make it constant; you're better at understanding how this'll play out than I could ever hope to be. I want Brian to fixate as much as he can on events here in town. As soon as he starts to openly ignore whatever he's running elsewhere, we'll start throwing monkey wrenches into all his projects, starting with Africa."

"It could make him decide to shift everything back to Japan, Yoshio," Fargo warns, sipping his coffee.

"Yeah. That's how I want to hang him out to dry," Yoshio nods. "If he shifts back to here, a lot of people in Genom're gonna start noticing things. That's something he won't like. But what choice will he have?"

"It'll make him too nervous," Fargo clicks his tongue.

"That's the general idea..."

* * *

AD Police headquarters, that evening...

"Feeling better, Nene-chan?"

"Hai, McNichol-keibuho (Lieutenant McNichol), a lot better," Nene grins at the just-promoted tactical troop commander, then turns back to her computer. "I should be a lot more careful about what I eat before coming in to work," she then mutters under her breath.

"Relax, you'll get used to it," Leon pats the communications technician's shoulder. "You're still a new 'rookie' on the force, Nene-chan. Don't worry; it comes with time, that's all."

"Arigatou, Keibuho-san," Nene beams at his advice, then as he turns away, turns back to her computer. "Okay..."

Glancing around the room, noting that the other technicians sitting across from her were chatting about some movie they'd seen before the shift yesterday, Nene turns to her screen, her fingers flying over the keyboards. A moment later, she breaks into a private video-game chatline. Noting who was there waiting for her, she types: DID YOU GET WHAT I ASKED FOR?

YES, ROSE-SAMA, IT'S ALL HERE, the user she had hooked up with now, using the Net name <<Energizer>>, sends back.

The communications technician grins. <<Velvet Rose>> was Nene's user name on civilian chat lines. SEND IT.

YOU KNOW WHAT I NEED IN RETURN.

HAI, GOT IT HERE WITH ME. USUAL SWAP?

AGREED.

Nene taps controls, sending her packet. <<Energizer>> is quick to reply. Scanning the contents, Nene nods, then types: THANKS. BY THE WAY, DON'T YOU EVER CONSIDER GETTING SOME SLEEP? NO ONE EVER WORKS THIS FAST!

MY TIME IS WELL-REGULATED, ROSE-SAMA.

Seeing that, Nene feels her cheeks blush. Ever since the two hackers (though Nene was now starting to suspect <<Energizer>> was much more than your typical hacker; a cracker perhaps?) met on this net two months ago, he (Nene guessed the other hacker was a man) always treated her with such courtesy. YOU NEED NOT CONCERN YOURSELF ABOUT ME, THOUGH YOUR KIND THOUGHTS ARE MORE THAN APPRECIATED, <<Energizer>> adds.

YOU SHOULD TAKE A BREAK. BY THE WAY, WHY'RE YOU SO INTERESTED IN THE CASE YOU ASKED ME ABOUT? THAT HAPPENED THREE YEARS AGO.

A pause, then: SOME FRIENDS OF MINE ON THE NET HAD RELATIVES WHO WERE VICTIMS OF WHAT HAPPENED BACK THEN, ROSE-SAMA. SINCE NO ONE SEEMED TO WANT TO GIVE A CLEAN ANSWER ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED, WHO ELSE COULD I TURN TO OTHER THAN THE PRETTIEST LADY IN AD POLICE?

FLATTERER! ENERGIZER, WE GOTTA MEET ONE OF THESE DAYS.

IF FATE IS KIND TO US, ROSE-SAMA. THANK YOU AGAIN.

A notation flashes to inform Nene that <<Energizer>> had now signed off that chat line. Staring at the screen, she sighs, then taps controls to transfer the information onto a disk so she could look it over at home before delivering it to Sylia at the next Sabres' meeting. Blinking, she then wistfully smiles. "Yeah, let's hope Fate is kind to us..."

* * *

To be concluded...