The Ramarian Crisis

By DarkHorse

Chapter 3: Secrets and Suspicions

Green Bank, West Virginia, United States

Just like many before her, Joan Rumsen preferred to listen to interstellar radio waves outdoors instead of indoors. And so there she was lying on the grass, her hands behind her head, just outside the SETI Institute with her heavy duty but very comfortable earphones connected to a receiver, which in turn was tuned into the transmitters found inside the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia, home of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute since the late 1960's. To a casual observer, Joan would be dismissed as one of those tree-hugging, hippie wannabes trying to be one with nature, instead of what she really was, which was a reputed astrophysicist by occupation and an exobiologist by vocation.

Joan has always been fascinated by the possibility of extraterrestrial life. She had all the arguments that supported this possibility so that everybody who knew her knew they would never win a debate with her. She was even featured once on the Discovery Channel to give her expert opinion about the subject. Joan smiled at the memory but immediately frowned when she remembered the number of calls she got shortly afterwards from crackpots and the so-called New Age Movement members. What a nuisance they could be! The real good thing about that exposure, she remembered with a smile again, was that SETI did receive a sizable contribution to its research that should keep it alive for the next few years. Because of this, she had an almost "child of god" status that allowed her to do--

With a shriek Joan ripped the headphones off her head and bent over, her hands cupping her ears, her eyes squeezed shut. In spite of the pain, Joan shakily got to her feet and screamed: "Bill!!!"

Inside the building, Bill Winters heard Joan screaming his name. Fearing the worst, he dashed outside to where he knew Joan usually monitored the waves. When he got there he saw Joan holding her head with her left hand, groping her way towards the building with her right hand extended.

"My God, Joan. What happened!?" Bill rushed to Joan's side to support her.

Joan's response was to hold Bill's head on either side to hold it steadily facing her. With eyes still squeezed shut, she uttered the words that everyone at SETI has always wanted to hear: "I got a signal."

* * * * *

Rogo, Grat, Crata and Dasma were seated around the large round table in their rented Tokyo apartment. The table was cluttered with a cornucopia of various electronic equipment, more than half of which would not be recognizable by even the most brilliant of Earth's rocket scientists. However, none of the four were focused on their state-of-the-art computers but at each other. They were heavily into the discussion of what they've discovered about the three girls they've been staking out the past week.

"These girls seem to lead very normal lives," opined Grat after a pause in the discussion.

"Not really that normal," Dasma offered. "These girls seem to have more extracurricular activities of a 'martial' nature than what would be deemed as normal for girls their age. For example, this Hikaru Shidou is a state champion in kendo; Umi Ryuuzaki is captain of her school's fencing team; and finally, Fuu Hououji is on her school's archery team."

"Have they been emitting power?" Rogo directed his question to the team's chief technology expert.

"Not in the same intensity that we saw last week but definitely still higher than normal," Crata replied. There was another pause around the table, each member deep in thought. "Do you really think it was a wormhole these girls created?" Crata finally asked.

"What else could it be?" Rogo answered without looking up. He was about to offer additional comment when the computer on another table came to life. As one, the team turned to look at it, its significance initially failing to register in its collective awareness. Finally, Rogo turned back to the computer in front of him and punched a key. Rogo's eyes, which normally were always expressionless, were now wide with surprise.

"What is it, Rogo?" Grat asked, looking intently at the team's leader. As a reply, the computer each of them had in front of them came to life revealing the same information Rogo had.

"Looks like we're about to receive reinforcements," Rogo announced blandly.

"They're sending Lam," Grat said with dismay. "That could only mean one thing." Grat turned to look at the other three in turn. In a few days, their expeditionary team will turn into an assault team.

* * * * *

At the far end of the dojo, Satoru Shidou breathed heavily, holding his shinai[1] in a two handed grip in front of him. Across the dojo was his baby sister, Hikaru, standing erect, her shinai held by her left hand pointing downward and away from him. Watching them were Masaru and Kakeru, his two other younger brothers.

The sparring match was at Satoru's insistence to prepare Hikaru for the upcoming Kendo state match for her age level. She was currently the reigning champion, as all the Shidous were in their respective age levels. It was a foregone conclusion that each of the siblings would want to keep it that way. So it came as a surprise to the three brothers that it took a whole lot of cajoling and persuasion to convince their only sister to register for the competition. It also took an unusually abundant amount of energy to get her to practice.

The practice itself was a different story. Hikaru seemed to get into it with gusto. Usually, it was the two younger brothers who sparred with their red-haired sister. But after regaling Satoru with the latter's prowess, well, Satoru just had to see for himself. None of them, of course, were able to beat him in the past.

Facing Hikaru now, Satoru was realizing something else. Although her face was covered with the traditional men[2], it was clear that she wasn't breathing heavily the way he was. He even had the sneaky suspicion that Hikaru wasn't even giving him her all. They had been sparring for five minutes already, with neither one scoring any points. I guess the kid gloves come off now, Satoru thought. His eyes narrowed, not with anger or frustration, but with determination he usually reserved for opponents he face in national competitions, he charged.

Masaru and Kakeru were startled by the kiai[3] coming from their elder brother. They quickly turned to Hikaru and noticed that she had not changed from the "resting" position to the "defensive" position. It took all their will power to keep from jumping up and stopping Satoru. He had reached the point of no return, the point where if Hikaru doesn't move to defend, Satoru would not be able to stop the downward strike of his shinai causing serious harm to their sister.

Then all of a sudden, at the last possible second, in a blur of white, moving in speeds none of the three brothers thought possible for a human, Hikaru parried the blow that would have cracked an unprotected skull, and launched herself into the air, twisted then landed behind Satoru, her shinai pointed forward, touching the middle of his back.

"Point," said Hikaru as she lowered her shinai.

For several heartbeats, nothing else was heard until Satoru finally turned to face Hikaru, slowly removing his men as he did so. Hikaru followed suit and likewise removed her mask to reveal her triumphant grin.

Well at least she's her old self again, mused Satoru. As he earlier suspected, Hikaru wasn't even sweating!

"So, little lady, do you mind telling me what that was all about?" Satoru asked.

"Yeah, Hikaru, where did you learn to move so fast?" Masaru interjected.

"I must say though, that was a pretty neat trick," Kakeru chimed.

All three looked at Hikaru waiting for an answer. Hikaru's smile disappeared. "Well, I've practicing on my own," answered Hikaru, giving a nonchalant air that was as fake as the shinai they use.

Satoru gazed into the sienna brown eyes of his sister, testing its depths, trying to extract the mysteries they obviously held. The intense scrutiny made Hikaru uncomfortable, causing her to lower her head. She, therefore, did not catch Satoru give the other brothers a glance, which clearly meant that he wanted to talk to Hikaru alone. Hikaru sensed the departure of her brothers, making her look up at Satoru, apprehension on her face.

"Elder brother?"

"Please," Satoru smiled gently and gestured that they sit down. Hikaru did so, tucking her knees under her and placing both her shinai and men on her right side. Satoru did the same, their knees almost touching.

"Hikaru," Satoru began. "I would just like you to know that I'm extremely glad that you are your old self and not the Hikaru that I found sitting here alone that day after your field trip to Tokyo Tower. Ever since that day though, I, together with your brothers, have noticed…certain changes."

"Elder brother--" Hikaru began but Satoru raised his hand.

"Please, let me finish." Satoru said, lowering his hand. "I'm not angry at all. These changes are all good. Your teachers at school have nothing but praises for you. You were already a good student then but even more so now."

Satoru looked slightly up at the ceiling, as if trying to remember something, before looking down at Hikaru once more. "Aside from these…physical changes, including your prowess in Kendo, there are some very subtle changes in you too. You've…matured. These are all very good things. Masaru, Kakeru and I are extremely proud of you, you know that.

"Hikaru, if you really wanted to keep whatever secret you have, you wouldn't have done what you just did earlier."

Hikaru, who was looking down on her hands, finally looked up and found Satoru patiently waiting for a response. "Elder brother," Hikaru began then looked down at her hands, which were now gripping the white material of the gi on her knees. "I do have something to tell you but…" Hikaru looked up at her eldest brother, the one who practically raised her. "I just don't think now is the right time."

Satoru sighed inaudibly. All Shidous have stubborn streaks in them and Hikaru was certainly no exception. It would only be a waste of energy to try to pry it out of his sister. Satoru reached out and planted a hand on her shoulder. "Hikaru, I have always trusted you. And," Satoru had a conspiratorial gleam in his eye. "Between the two of us, I trust you more than I trust Masaru and Kakeru." That earned him a chuckle from Hikaru, something he was aiming for.

"Anyway, as I was saying," Satoru continued. "I know you will do the right thing."

"Thank you, Elder Brother," Hikaru's eyes became misty.

"One piece of advice though," Satoru leaned forward a bit. "That point you got earlier was no point at all. Don't do that during the tournament."

Hikaru smiled brightly. "Well, I suppose I should leave you to do what it is you usually do in this dojo when you're alone." Satoru winked as he said that, teasing his little sister.

"Whatever do you mean, Elder Brother?" Hikaru said a tad too innocently. Satoru chuckled at that on his way out. Hikaru watched the receding form of her brother and sighed. She will have to tell her brothers soon. There was no way she would be able to hide her secret for long.

After awhile, she stood. Closing her eyes, she scanned her surroundings making sure that there was no one to witness what she was about to do. Satisfied, she allowed her power to come to fore. She stretched her arms outwards, palm forward. Immediately, Hikaru began to glow. Liquid fire began to encompass her whole being. Rays of light began to burn through her gi until in one instant she was a blinding light. Gradually, her glow subsided. Where before she wearing a white gi, now she was in a body suit with patterns of red and white resembling fire all over. On both her wrists and forearms were white bracers. She also had on white calve-high boots. On her head was the Cephirean Crown of the Pillar.

Hikaru opened her eyes, looked down at herself and grinned. "Alright!" She had been experimenting with this for the past few days and she discovered she could change her outfit at a whim. It was, in fact, getting easier and easier. After preening some more, Hikaru was ready for business.

She turned to face the wall farthest from her. After taking a deep breath, she burst into a run heading straight for the wall. She was total blur of red and white, almost like the Flame Arrow spell she casts. At the last possible second before hitting, she planted a foot upwards and began scaling the wall at a run. She did the same when upon reaching the ceiling and exhilarated at the fact that she was now running upside down. She could only do it with a few steps until gravity took hold. She allowed herself to fall straight down, hands to the side, feet pointed upwards. Once again, at the last possible second, she stretched her hands over her head, allowing the fingers of her hands to break her fall. The moment she felt the floor touch her middle fingers, she tucked her head inwards, smoothly rolling on her neck and back until she was back on her feet and breaking into another high speed run towards another wall. When she reached that wall, she twisted a bit, planting a foot on the wall and broke into a run across the length of the wall. Again, she could only do this for a few meters before allowing the forces of gravity to take hold. Back on the floor, she started to cartwheel, then tumble hand over feet until she reached the very center of the dojo. Once there, she executed a somersault and a twist before landing with feline grace on her feet.

The whole exercise took less than a minute. Hikaru smiled. It was indeed getting easier and easier. She was hardly winded at all! Hikaru stretched out her hand, palm up. In another burst of otherworldly fire, her Flame Sword appeared. The broad sword she now held firmly in her hand never ceased to amaze her. As heavy as it looked, it was truly light as a feather. She swung it once forwards and backwards, slicing it through the air. The sound it made was sonorous and musical to Hikaru's ears.

She spent the next several minutes going through Kendo exercises with her sword. At last, satisfied that she has done her part to keep in top form, she dismissed her sword and suit. After putting away her shinai and men, she walked to the center of the dojo and knelt once more.

Closing her eyes, Hikaru thought of the two people she knew who were close by, who could provide her with the comfort and advice she needed. "Umi. Fuu." After a few moments, she smiled seeing with her mind's eye the faces of her best friends responding to her call.

"Hey Hikaru!"

"Hello Miss Hikaru. Is everything alright?"

"Yes," Hikaru said, smiling serenely. "Everything's alright now."

* * * * *

It was the day of Umi's fencing tournament. That fencing tournament she had lamented about that first day she found herself in a strange world. Umi had just finished giving her team the expected pep talk and was pacing back and forth. She was waiting for her best friends to arrive. It wasn't that she was nervous. It was more that she wanted to them to be there with her. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she was not worried about the tournament at all. Her many adventures in Cephiro had equipped her with both the confidence and skill she knew was needed to emerge triumphant in today's match.

She smiled as she thought back to the last seven days since she had come back from Cephiro. It was if time hadn't moved at all and she actually had those seven days to even practice for this very match. Much to the surprise of her teammates, she didn't immerse herself in practicing for her own match. Instead, she used all of those days to help prepare her teammates, coaching them to perfection. The typical Umi would mostly just hone her own skills to ensure her personal victory, not so much caring for the overall performance of the team. That she had deviated from her norm was a totally unexpected if not welcome change for her teammates. Another thing to be thankful about Cephiro I guess, thought Umi.

"Umi!!" cried both Hikaru and Fuu. Umi whipped around and happily ran to her best friends, hugging them tightly.

"Hikaru! Fuu!" cried Umi, tears of happiness threatening to spill. "I'm so happy you made it!"

"Hey we wouldn't miss it for the world!" Hikaru said enthusiastically, stepping back to examine her statuesque friend. "Wow Umi, you look cool in that outfit."

"You think so?" Umi pirouetted for her friends in a exaggerated way making all of them laugh.

"So Miss Umi, are you ready? Nervous?" Fuu asked.

"Not at all Fuu. After battling monsters, not to mention Tarta and Tatra, this should be a piece of cake." Umi declared confidently.

"Don't overdo it though," warned Hikaru. "I mean you wouldn't want anybody asking questions about your extraordinary skill or something."

"Don't worry. I'll remember that."

"Miss Umi, what kind of fencing tournament will this be?" asked Fuu looking around the competition area.

"What do you mean what kind of fencing tournament," Hikaru looked at Fuu puzzled.

It was Umi who supplied the answer. "This will be an épée fencing tournament. There are three kinds but this is the hardest because the entire body is a target."

"As opposed to…" Hikaru looked at Umi, waiting for her to finish her sentence.

"As opposed to, say, foil fencing where only the area between the neck and stomach are targets." Umi positioned one hand palm down under her chin, while the other hand was palm up against her stomach to illustrate the target area.

Fuu began to smile at Umi's explanation. Umi looked at her, puzzled. "Why are you smiling, Fuu?"

"Well, Miss Umi, you think épée fencing is harder because there is more of your body that you will need to defend."

"So?"

Hikaru was grinning by this time, already getting the reason for Fuu's smile. "She means that you've not been very good at defense!"

Umi pouted her cute pout. "Well, I guess we'll just have to see about that." At that moment, a voice on the PA announced that the tournament was about to begin. Umi turned to her friends. "You can seat here beside me."

"Are you sure about that Miss Umi?"

"Yeah, I'm the captain of the team after all." Umi smiled proudly.

Presently, the voice on the PA announced the participants for the first bout. Umi stood to talk to the first member of her team that will compete. Hikaru and Fuu watched her friend proudly. Shortly after, their attention, together with those of others in the stadium, were drawn to the competition area to watch the first bout.

* * * * *

There was another one that watched among the spectators crowding the school stadium. Dasma, who was seated at the very top of the bleachers, did not need binoculars to zoom in onto the competition or onto the three girls she was tasked to watch. Those girls seem to be really close, thought the slender, blonde woman.

To keep herself from being too obvious, she did watch the competition every now and then. It appeared that human beings also engaged in war games. However, this particular type of game seemed utterly puny. What good are those thin swords in actual combat? And why limit the fighting in a tiny strip of floor area? She wondered for the umpteenth time why they didn't just go ahead and invade this planet. Then again, she remembered, for the umpteenth time also, the answer to that particular question: the three girls.

Dasma was herself an accomplished fighter. Able to wield the trama, a double sword connected to a single hilt, with skill very few in the battle group that was left of her civilization could equal. That she was later discovered by the scientist Higon to have the aptitude for higher learning was an unexpected advantage. Here, today, was an opportunity to prove herself; to provide for herself a singular distinction her parents before her were unable to attain for themselves. She would make sure that the opportunity would not go to waste.

Dasma willed herself out of her reverie to pay attention to the tournament. It looked like it was the young Umi Ryuuzaki's turn to compete. She knew that this young girl was the captain of the team. This probably meant that she was the most skilled of the others. This she would have to see. After all, there could very well be an encounter between the two of them. Although, this Ryuuzaki girl would have to find a more suitable weapon than the thin sword she now held.

The two combatants were now on the on-guard position. The opponent was the first the lunged but was easily parried by Ryuuzaki. The opponent lunged again but from a different angle. Ryuuzaki parried and gave a thrust on her own, which resulted in a score as the tip of her sword touched the center of the opponent's chest. Dasma was suitably impressed for the girl Ryuuzaki was fast and light on her toes.

Once again, both combatants took up their on-guard position. The opponent, apparently more determined this time, lunged and thrust with gusto causing Ryuuzaki to fall back. Emboldened, the opponent charged and lunged forward. The Ryuuzaki girl should have easily parried this. Instead, the tip of the opponent's sword succeeded in making contact. The score was now tied. Dasma knew that the first combatant to score five points won.

In the next round, it was Ryuuzaki who scored. The next it was her opponent. On and on it was until the score was tied at four points each. It was clear to Dasma that Ryuuzaki was downplaying her skill. If she were into gambling, she would have bet her entire money down on Ryuuzaki for this final round.

And she would have won.

* * * * *

Umi smiled behind her facemask. This was too easy. To be sure, her opponent, a girl named Masato, was good, the best in their school in fact. But she was not a Tatra. It was, in fact, more difficult to downplay her moves to allow her opponent to score. But now that the score is all tied, it was time to win the bout.

Her opponent, ever the aggressive one, lunged. Another opponent might have paled at the skill and speed by which the attack was executed. To Umi, it all appeared in slow motion. She easily countered it with a stop-thrust counter stroke, which connected right at the center of her opponent's chest. The score indicator buzzed indicating the end of the bout, and the end of the tournament. She won but more importantly, her whole team won!

Umi lifted her facemask and turned to see her jubilant teammates rushing to her for a victory hug.

"Umi you did it!"

"Three cheers for Umi!"

All around, she could see the happy faces of her classmates, friends and even caught a glimpsed of her parents beaming with pride. But the faces she wanted to see, which appeared presently in her scope, were those of Hikaru and Fuu. Hikaru was jumping up and down in her usual exuberance; Fuu, always composed, had her hands clasped together in front of her and smiling brightly.

Umi excused herself from the spontaneous celebration to run to her best friends. Upon reaching them, the Magic Knights clasped arms, basking in victory.

"You were great Umi!" Hikaru exclaimed. "Although it was quite obvious the way you allowed the other girl to score."

"I'm sure you were the only one who noticed, Miss Hikaru," Fuu noted.

"Well, although I'm happy we won, I'm not so sure I should continue competing," Umi said with a twinge of sadness.

"I understand perfectly how you feel," Hikaru said. Both Umi and Fuu knew about their leader's upcoming Kendo match.

"I suggest we just enjoy the moment," offered Fuu. "We will deal with these other issues later."

"Agreed!" Umi announced for both Hikaru and herself.

Hikaru was smiling at her two friends when, for some reason, her attention was drawn to the bleachers where a blonde woman was intently watching them. Other than the hair color, her features were indistinguishable because of the distance. Nevertheless, Hikaru knew who that woman was. As she always suspected, they were being watched.

* * * * *

With a groan, Joan Rumsen threw herself back against the backrest of her swivel chair. She held her head up towards the ceiling and started massaging her temple with one hand. She was exhausted. The longest sleep she had was for three hours and that was two days ago. She thought that if she closed her eyes for just a few seconds, she would be able to continue. It was a mistake of course because closing her eyes for those few seconds made her want to keep them closed for another two hours. With another groan, she straightened herself to face her computer anew.

Joan's ears have long since recovered from her discovery of extraterrestrial intelligence the painful way two days ago. So she didn't have trouble hearing Bill's voice calling to her.

"Joan, are you still in there?" Bill's face finally caught up with his voice as it emerged to peek into the computer lab. "Jesus, Joan," Bill breathed. "There are better and faster ways of killing yourself."

Joan had to laugh at that. "You're a hoot Bill."

"The people at NSA are already analyzing the signal," Bill said as he walked towards her until he was behind her. Without warning he spun her swivel chair to face him, away from the computer.

"Dammit Bill! You know I hate it when someone disturbs my train of thought," Joan moaned in frustration, trying to pry Bill's evil grip from her chair. "Let go!"

"Joan," Bill was now squatting down so that his eyes were at level with hers. "Do you think you can do more here with your puny Pentium 5 computer than the people at NSA can with their Super Cray?"

"Well, they don't know what I know."

"Uh huh, yeah sure," said Bill mockingly. Joan merely glowered at her colleague. "I know what this is all about Joan. You know what your problem is?"

Joan's eyes narrowed. "No, but I'm sure you're going to tell me."

"You've got some kind of star complex."

"Oh, I have star complex!" Joan raised her hands in the air, rolling her eyes. "That's really brilliant Einstein. You think that I'm doing this just for the credit."

"Are you telling me that you're not?"

"Listen Bill, you've got some nerve--" Joan never finished her sentence as her computer began to beep incessantly.

"What the hell is that?"

Joan turned her chair to face the computer. "Oh my God."

"What!?"

"I think I might have decoded the message."

"Oh c'mon, stop pulling my leg."

"No, really! Look!" Joan punched a key. The message that appeared on the screen made the blood on Bill's face drain away.