Nadesico Fan Fiction ❯ Chasing the Darkness ❯ [11] Doomsday: The Beginning of the End ( Chapter 11 )

PART ELEVEN

Doomsday: The Beginning of the End

******

Jun glanced at his watch for the millionth time, tapping his knife against the table impatiently. It was just like Yukina to arrange a date and then forget to show up.

"Are you sure this is the right restaurant this time?" a tired voice asked from behind him.

"Gomen, gomen," a more familiar voice answered, "I'm very bad at directions, but I'm sure this time."

He turned to see Harry talking to a man around Jun's own age who looked a little worse for wear, as if he'd just been on a ten-mile hike. He carried a bouquet of roses as if it were the most precious thing in the world; in fact the flowers were pretty much the only thing about him that wasn't bedraggled.

"Sorry," Harry continued with the wide eyes that meant he was acting innocent. The other man handed the bouquet to Harry and took off his suit jacket. Glaring at the wrinkled fabric, which looked as if part of it was covered in ash, he quickly tossed it in the trash can being pushed by a passing janitor. Then he pulled himself up to his full height, smoothed back his hair and straightened his shirt and vest, which improved his appearance remarkably. Harry hid a wicked smirk behind the roses as the man reached out for them.

"These roses aren't for the Captain, are they?"

"Yes, who else would they be for?"

Well," Harry blinked, "The Captain is allergic to flowers."

The man looked horrified; Jun frowned. Ruri isn't allergic to anything, is she?

"But I'm sure she'll accept them anyway, even if her face swells up as big as a balloon!" Harry exclaimed, handing them back. Then he turned and pointed to the door. "Look, here she comes now!"

A panicky look came into the young man's eyes. He searched around for the trash can, but the janitor was no where to be seen. Frantically, he searched for another method of disposal. Finally, his eyes found their way to Jun.

"Here, hold these!" he said sharply, practically throwing the bouquet at Jun, who had to stand to catch them. "Ms. Hoshino, you look lovely!"

Ruri blushed as he offered her an arm, his sudden elegance a complete contrast with the near-hysterical man Jun had just been observing. Harry slipped away, clutching Araragi's wallet tightly to his chest and chuckling evilly. Jun decided the whole scene wasn't worth trying to figure out.

"Oh, Jun, those are lovely! Are they for me?"

"H-Hey, Yukina!" Jun looked down at the bouquet and then at Araragi's retreating back. "Um... yes, they're for you."

"Thank you so much!" Yukina smiled brilliantly, taking a seat at the table. His seat, to be exact. It didn't escape Jun's notice that she had settled where she could keep an eye on Ruri and her tall, flustered date. Jun sighed, but by now he had learned that a date with Yukina usually involved an ulterior motive.

******

"You know, I just wish it were a little more homey in here," Yurika commented as she hung up one of Lapis's dresses. Lapis has long since stopped trying to insist that she could unpack herself. Yurika didn't even seem to notice that she was doing it. "And who's going to read to you now?"

Lapis flushed at Akito's inquisitive look. "I think I'll be all right."

"But it's so bare," Yurika insisted. "There isn't even any decoration except for this military issue paneling. There's still some time before take-off. Why don't I run back to the Nadesico and grab some...."

"Yurika!" Akito silenced her as Lapis opened her mouth to protest. Sighing, he reached into one of his pockets and drew out a small, brightly colored object. "Here, put this on a shelf or something."

"It's-- a Gekigangar figurine." Lapis announced in surprise. "I... thank you."

Akito turned on Yurika with a "Happy now?" expression fixed on his face. Yurika just stared at him, eyes shining with elated tears. Akito took a step backwards nervously.

"That's the Geki from our wedding cake, isn't it, Akito? You kept it all these years!" Choking back a sob, she flung her arms around his waist happily. "I knew you still cared about me!"

"I only kept it because it was Gekigangar," Akito replied uncomfortably, trying to pry her away. "Sheesh, Yurika, let go!"

Yurika only hugged him closer. Akito stopped struggling for a moment, a small smile touching his face, before he realized what he was doing and gently pushed her back. "So don't get all sentimental. I only kept it because I like Gekigangar."

It wasn't any use; Yurika wasn't even listening.

"I hate to interrupt," Admiral Jackht coughed, "But our lift-off is in 15 minutes. If you will all accompany me to the hangar, you can say your good-byes there."

******

"So where's what's his name?" Harry snickered as Ruri entered the hotel lobby with Jun and Yukina hurrying after her.

"Back at the restaurant," Ruri answered. Harry grinned; she hadn't even let him accompany her home. There went the loser.

"He's washing dishes because he lost his wallet sometime this afternoon while you and he were trying to find the restaurant!" Yukina announced dramatically. "Of all the luck!"

"Your favorite restaurant." Ruri remarked in the infinitely disinterested tone that had become her trademark. But her tone didn't fool him for a minute--Harry's smile fell off his face as quickly as it had appeared.

Busted... He glanced nervously behind the plant on the coffee table where he had, in his glee, stupidly left Araragi's wallet sitting in the open.

"So I came back here, because he obviously lost his wallet in our hotel lobby."

"O-Obviously?" Harry stuttered, a nervous grimace twitching at the corner of his mouth. Ruri didn't even blink. Staring at him until he was forced to lower his gaze, she reached out slowly and slid the wallet off the table to hang limply at her side. The only signs of her fury were her unusually stiff posture and the white line around her mouth where her lips were pressed together savagely.

"Captain, wait... I..." he tried to dig around for an excuse, could think of none, and hung his head in shame. It had been an extremely juvenile stunt for him to pull, one not befitting an officer on a battleship.

Ruri turned and left the lobby just as Yukina realized what was going on. "Makibi Harry, you awful, nasty little boy!" she shrieked. "How could you do something that terrible to Ruri? It's worse than wrong! You're cruel and malicious and you ruined a perfectly good date!"

Jun came back from the vending machines at that moment, a half eaten candy bar in his mouth. His dinner had been interrupted by Yukina's meddling, and he was still starving. "Yukina," he said around the chocolate, "Don't be so harsh with him. It's hard having a competitor for someone's affections, especially if you're losing. Then all you can do is accept it and move on to something better," he smiled at Harry in understanding, then turned back to Yukina and took another bite of his candy bar.

There was a moment of silence while Yukina interpreted that statement. Then, grinning from ear to ear, she pounced.

"Jun!" she cried happily, oblivious to the fact that she had retwisted his ankle in her eagerness to hug him, "Marry me!"

Jun choked on his chocolate.

******

By the time Ruri had retrieved Araragi from the restaurant kitchen, apologized for Harry's behavior, and returned with him to the loading docks to board the Lilac, most of the crew was already there and waiting. Yurika and Akito were also there, standing on either side of Lapis, each holding one of her hands and smiling reassuringly. Akatsuki and Erina were talking to Admiral Jackht, or grilling him, maybe. The Aestivallis pilots were standing around the vending machines off to one side. In fact, most of the Nadesico's crew had come to see the Lilac off, probably because the Nadesico was scheduled to leave shortly after. Ruri scanned the crowd quickly as she accompanied Araragi to the boarding ramp. Harry, Yukina and Jun were missing-- no surprise there-- as was Seiya, who was undoubtedly hiding out from his wife on the Nadesico. Ines was also gone. Ruri frowned, but there wasn't any time to try to find her. Harry's little stunt had made Araragi quite late and everyone who knew of Lapis's mission was anxious for the ship to get under way.

Yurika knelt to give Lapis a hug and Ruri realized it was time to say their good-byes. She glanced up at Araragi, startled to find him staring back down at her. He smiled, clearing his throat.

"Well..." he began as she blushed. "It's been an interesting evening."

"Yes, it has," she murmured, still pink.

"You lead an exciting life," he commented. "But let's go somewhere quiet next time. How about a picnic?"

"That sounds nice." Ruri found herself staring at the floor. What was she so embarrassed about? She hadn't done anything humiliating, but here she couldn't even bring herself to meet his eyes. How stupid.

"Great!" Araragi beamed, "Then it's a date!"

Ruri's eyes went wide, and got even bigger when he took her hand and kissed it. Then he was gone, whistling cheerfully until he got on board where the rest of his crew was waiting. Then he was tackled by most of his officers, all wanting to know what the fairy was like. Ruri blinked at them. They were acting incredibly immature for grown adults. Then again, considering the "adult" behavior on the original Nadesico, she shouldn't really have been surprised.

Lapis looked over at her, and their golden eyes locked in identical pained expressions.

******

Much to Akatsuki's chagrin, the Lilac departed without its crew leaking any information. Only the Commander of the ship and the Admiral knew exactly why Lapis was going, and neither of them were talking. He would have liked to detain the little girl and ask her what this was all about, but Tenkawa and Yurika had refused to leave her alone for even a few minutes, especially not to talk to him. And much as he hated to admit it, there wasn't much he could have done to make Lapis stay without using her very creation to claim her as Nergal property. The press would have a field day with that little secret, if it ever got out.

Shaking his head, he turned and left the hangar. Erina left off glowering at Tenkawa to follow. They passed Ines in the hall, the blonde giving Erina a dirty look that said, "I know you sent Yoshio to me out of pure malice." Not that she was entirely sorry that she had the chance to clear up her past with the man, but it was the principle that counted.

Erina just smiled smugly.

******

An empty patch was all that met Ines's eyes when she burst hurriedly into the hangar. Suddenly, she felt quite sick.

"This ship's already gone?" she asked the nearest attendant.

"I'm afraid so," the attendant answered apologetically, writing a few things down on his notepad. "You just missed it." Ines looked around for a way to call the dispersing crew's attention.

"Mr. Yamasaki, if you would?" she said absently, still searching. Yoshio rolled his eyes.

"You can call me Yoshio, you know," he muttered, but turned to do as she had implied. Ines didn't hear. Eyeing the attendant's megaphone, she snatched it right out from under his arm and climbed onto the launch pad.

"Attention!" she called. Almost everyone stopped and turned around. Akito, Yurika, and Ruri, who were still on the pad, looked towards the blonde in shock. Akito got a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, and Ruri kept glancing furtively at him, but Yurika just looked thoughtful. Ines paused for a few seconds, until Yoshio succeeded in linking her to every relevant screen he could think of, then began to talk rapidly again.

"Everyone, this is an emergency session of the How and Why of Nadesico." she announced loudly. "It has come to my attention that the life of every person hearing this is in danger from a Martian Successor plot to destroy this solar system. Until recently, only one person knew about their plans: Tenkawa Akito, who withheld his knowledge in an attempt to save the rest of us."

Akito fell his stomach drop and he developed a harsh pounding in his temple even as Yurika looked at him sharply and took his hand. He couldn't believe it. Lapis had said they'd discovered his boson jump schematics, but... How in the world had Ines been able to piece together the entire story-- piece it together correctly-- with practically nothing to go on? Even for her, it was an incredible intuitive feat.

The answer, of course, was that Ines had found some other modes of getting information that Lapis wasn't aware of. Though there really wasn't a point in trying to figure out how Ines had discovered his plans, because she was already sharing them with the rest of the crew. And Akito couldn't for the life of him think of a way to discredit her story, other than to simply deny it. But he had a feeling a plain denial would only cement Ines's arguments. What could he do? For all he had done to protect them, his friends seemed determined to get themselves killed. It was almost more than he could take.

Still, she had the moral decency-- or perhaps malice-- to stop speaking and let him explain himself. Akito would have given anything to be gone from there at that moment, but he knew that it was no use fighting. Ines was giving him a chance to make amends for his behavior, but if he didn't tell the rest of the story, then she would do it herself. Either way, the crew was going to know of its danger.

His voice was flat and harsh as he quickly outlined the situation: the Successors were planning a new attack, one more devastating in a single week than the Jovian War had been in its entirety. In 11 days the solar system would be plunged into a massive civil battle, with the Successors at a major advantage. During his time as the Human Imaging System, he had discovered how to travel backwards and forwards in time. However, during his first, accidental jump to the future, he saw this Doomsday operation go into effect and watched as the Nadesico was completely destroyed. After that, he became useless as the Imaging System, because he could not visualize any scenes except that of the end of everything that mattered to him. The futures were not always the same, but inevitably, someone he loved dearly died in each one.

Wanting to believe that there was some other destiny ahead of the Nadesico, he had gone systematically through the timeline to find out if he could do something to change it. Since time has no meaning to the Artifact, he had spent what might have been an infinity doggedly changing even the smallest details in his behavior in hopes of defeating Doomsday before it happened. Even when he escaped the Successors with Lapis, he had continued to try to see a more positive future. In the end, he had come to a shattering conclusion: someone was going to die, no matter what he did. So he had chosen the path he thought was best; it had taken a lot of manipulation on his part, but he had fixed it so that he would have been the only one to be killed. Even after he had failed the first time-- here he paused and glanced up from the floor, but could not bring himself to meet Yurika's gaze-- there had still been a chance to make himself the only casualty.

"But it all depended on everyone's ignorance," he finished bitterly. "Now that you all know the story, I can't promise anything."

"You mean you wanted us to be ignorant so that no one would know to stop you when you went off to your death!" Ines said, her forehead creasing with worry.

"Well, I'm glad I've found out," Yurika declared. "I'm not going to let you die!"

Akito winced and turned away. "I know," he said, looking up at the deceptively cheerful morning sky through the open roof. "That's why my plan would only work if none of you knew."

"Don't try to make me feel guilty that you can't kill yourself!" Yurika cried, reaching out and taking his arm. "Akito, turn around."

He obeyed, too tired to fight anymore. "I know you were just trying to protect us," her face softened gently, "You love us and you want to keep us safe."

"Look at them," Ines motioned to the captivated audience below. "This isn't the Jovian War. They aren't soldiers. Every one of them has separate lives now, different places they call home. They all put aside the things that are important to them for something that is more important. The safety of their loved ones."

Akito looked Yurika quietly. "I thought you were dead once before," he said simply. Then he looked out at his friends, acquaintances, even the perfect strangers who happened to be caught up in the scene. "I won't let you die. I'll kill myself before I let anyone close to me get killed."

"No one's going to die." Ruri assured him with her infallible calm.

"You've got that damn right!" a voice shouted. Ryoko shoved her way forward until she was standing directly in front of Akito.

"The Artifact really showed you the future?"

"It showed me all the possible futures. No matter what happens, people here will die."

"So it lied. It's a stupid box, anyway. If it trapped each missing ship from the Jovian War because it wasn't allowed to kill, there has to be a glitch in the plan somewhere."

"And even if it's true, so what? Akito, we care about you-- you're not helping anyone by trying to make us hate you." Yurika paused to look out over the crew, assembled solemnly in front of her. "Each moment of our lives has to be cherished for itself. The future is what it is; if it can be changed, then good, but if it can't, then we have to be able to live as happily as we can until that future comes."

"You have to remember the good parts; just like Gekigangar." Tsukai called.

Akito stared at him for a moment, then smiled.

******

"Well how was I supposed to know you didn't have any food stuck in your throat?" she asked indignantly as they trudged towards the hangar.

"Yukina, you do the Heimlich Maneuver when someone is choking, not artificial respiration!" Jun sighed a mushroom cloud, giving her suitcase a particularly hard jerk.

Yukina slowed to a stop, lip jutting out in a definite pout though her eyes reeked of mischief. Her grip on Harry's shoulder slackened minutely, and the boy sank to the ground, rubbing his permanently bruised flesh. If there was one thing he had learned above all during this escapade, it was never but never to make Yukina mad. At this moment, thankfully, her attention was focused on her hapless boyfriend. "I didn't see you protesting that much."

Jun sped up to reach the open hangar doors. "I wasn't breathing." he said it without looking back, but he had turned so red that even the tips of his ears were pink. Harry jumped up and ran after him before Yukina could grab him again. Yukina shook her head and smiled slightly. Men were such silly creatures.

******

As Jun and Yukina soon learned, after the day's unexpected events there had been some shuffling in the crew roster on the Nadesico C. Ines would be remaining in Osaka with Yoshio to continue her work with boson jumping, and Howmei was returning to her restaurant, for good this time. Luckily, Eri and Mikako were more than willing to rejoin their friends in the kitchen. Akito, of course, was not letting Yurika out of his sight, Tsukai was following his new idol to the death, and Megumi changed her mind and joined them all "for one last mission." Akatsuki insisted he had more pressing matters and couldn't waste his time adding another pilot to an already overloaded Aestivallis team. He did, however, insist that Erina remain on the ship. He also wanted to fire Mayumi, but Ruri convinced him to let the woman stay on. They would be short one hand until she decided to forgive Harry and let him back on the bridge, and Mayumi already knew her way around Omoikane's operating system, so in the end she stayed. The new budget he had to draw up nearly drove Prospector mad, which was a pity considering they never used it.

******

"Nadesico is cleared for launch." the impassive overhead voice announced, echoing through the hangar. There was a sense of fear and excitement lingering in the air-- the coming battle had everyone on their toes.

Ruri slumped slightly in her chair when they cleared Earth's orbit. It had been several years since the Nadesico's first flight, but she always still expected the Big Barrier to pop up and try to fry the distortion field. They had ten hours to wait until they rendezvoused with the chulip that would take them to Mars. From there, using what little information Ines had provided them with and Akito's knowledge, they were going to try to find and destroy the Successor base of operations.

Ruri turned her face towards the ceiling, closing her eyes. It's true, she thought, Everything begins and ends on Mars.

Suddenly, the fact that she had not slept in two days began to sink in. Quietly, she slipped off her chair and headed for her quarters to get some rest.

******

Ines couldn't concentrate on her work. She knew it was imperative that she stay and try to find a way around Successor control of the Artifact, but doubts still plagued her mind. Had the real reason she stayed behind been that she was trying to save her own neck? In the future she had seen, the Nadesico would not stand supreme much longer. Was she merely afraid that the next mission would be her last?

Yoshio was no help. He was like a child on Christmas morning, pouring over her reports like they were sacred text, sometimes stopping only to write up his own theorems and equations and saving them on several discs to make sure none of the ideas were lost.

Staring at the growing stack of chips on her desk, she was reminded of the disc she had given herself during the Jovian War.

They asked me to give you this! she heard her own small, squeaky voice cry out before she vanished. Over the years she had spent her free time pouring over the contents of the chip. They were small programs, relatively normal and almost totally useless. However, the memory capacity for such a disc was spectacular. She had often wondered why she had been given such and odd gift. Or what hidden information it held.

She hadn't tried to run the program using the new 256-bit system. Swearing to return to boson jumping at some point, she jammed the disc into the little slot at her terminal and watched with bright, glowing eyes as numbers and words began to fill up the screen. It was a boson jump, like all the rest, but there were glowing sentences strewn throughout it, like someone had gone through with a highlighter and explained all the functions in the margins. Reading over some of the notes, she discovered that by following the glowing instructions, she could perfectly replicate the jump, even though she couldn't visualize the destination.

Out of curiosity, she scrolled to the bottom of the program, down where Akito's strange listing of the deceased had been. Another glowing sentence met her eager, searching gaze; one that filled her with the unexpected thrill of making a major scientific breakthrough: Help us.

******

Ruri was shaken awake by Harry.

"What do you want?" she asked, eyebrows dipping ever-so-slightly in the anger she refused to let go of.

"Akatsuki's ordered us to turn around." he said, trying to sound apologetic and not succeeding too well. "Something's happened."

******

Akatsuki didn't even bother to say something by way of greeting when Ruri stepped on the bridge. Everyone who could be spared from their duties was already gathered there. Akatsuki's face, magnified several times by the main screen, looked particularly tired and tense. "The Successors have sent us a threat, which we've proved to be valid. Our conditions are to keep the Nadesico in dry-dock," he said grimly. "And to send Tenkawa Akito, Misumaru Yurika, and Ines Fresange to the Lunar Base immediately. There they will be met and accompanied by the Sixsome to ensure their safety."

"Ensure their deaths, more likely," Tsukai growled. "What kind of stunt have they pulled to think we'll bend to such an arrogant demand?"

"A pretty successful one," Gort said ominously. "They've captured the Lilac."

"That's the threat." Akatsuki continued. "If we refuse to follow these instructions within 72 hours, Lapis Lazuli and the crew of the Lilac will be executed."

******

Aritomo looked down on the bustling Lunar Base grimly, both arms behind his back. Right now, demands of surrender were being received by the JF Council, the Jovian hierarchy and the Nergal UE joint chiefs. Within three days, all of them would be under siege. In one year, all of them would be utterly destroyed.

"How long did you give them?" a deep voice asked from behind him.

Aritomo glanced back at the shadowed figure briefly. "72 hours."

Fingers tapped on the tabletop impatiently. "That only gives us twelve hours to finish the job."

"We can finish in twelve hours. But a rescue can't be put together in that time."

"We'll see."

******

The stir that statement caused was so great that Yurika's shocked cry almost went unnoticed. Akito had to hold her up by the elbows to keep her on her feet. Ruri opened her mouth and closed it again, eyes wide. There was a hollow spot forming in her chest, and suddenly she felt it become harder to breathe. If all this pain was what growing up was about, she wanted no part of it.

Akito also had an awful sensation in the pit of his stomach, but this time it was from the realization that his worst fears were coming true and crushing the seeds of hope he'd allowed to grow up in his delusion.

"They didn't mention Doomsday at all," Erina, the ever-practical one, muttered to no one in particular. "It's a ridiculous demand by itself, to exchange one almost useless A-class jumper and a crew of soldiers who don't matter either way for three A-class jumpers and the keys to the Artifact." Everyone stared at her, open-mouthed. A few shot worried glances towards Ruri, but the young Captain didn't seem to be taking in what was being said at all. Erina looked over at Akito. "They know that you know the future. They're going to put Doomsday into effect early to keep you from acting to stop them."

"Or they're expecting us to refuse the conditions and have something else planned for Lapis and the crew of the Lilac." Minato returned coldly.

"This is not the place to discuss this," Akito cut everyone off. "No matter what we agree or disagree to, the Successors will not release their hostages. In all the futures I saw, the Successors did not keep prisoners. They don't plan to negotiate, they plan to destroy the rest of us."

"Minato, turn us around." Ruri said, so quietly that only the helmswoman should have heard it. And yet, it sliced through the rising storm of voices more effectively than a full-blown yell would have. It was Ruri's meaning more than her volume that demanded silence. Submission. Retreat. They had bowed under the threat-- how much farther they still had to bend was uncertain.

Deadline: 72 hours

******

Akatsuki ran his hands through his hair in a helpless rage. He hadn't planned for this-- he had no clue how to deal with it. Erina had been right, of course. To exchange Lapis and a bystander crew for three of the six A-class jumpers was an insane demand taken by itself. The girl's access to Akito's knowledge of the outcome of Doomsday was a more even trade. But the underlying, unspoken threat wasn't just geared towards Tenkawa. Oh, of course not, that would have been convenient.

"Dammit!" he shouted to no one, staring at the empty space in the air that had moments before held a screen showing the distraught crew of the Nadesico. He should have seen it coming. He should have known that Lapis Lazuli was too tempting a prize for the Successors, but instead he'd gone and upped the stakes considerably. He had practically handed the entire JF armed forces over to the Successors.

"Why the hell did I do something so stupid?" he said out loud, pausing for the sarcastic answer that never came. Erina was still on the Nadesico. It figured-- the time when he most could have used her manipulative skills, she was out of reach. Sighing, he began to doggedly put his thoughts in order and make some sense of the situation. He'd been head of Nergal before Erina came along, and he'd been a damn good one at that. He shouldn't need her support to make a decision.

Situation status: very, very bad. He'd been in the habit of sending his classified documents to his agents in the JF hierarchy through trade lines, planting the files in places the crews would never think to look even if they somehow found out the documents were on board. That roundabout way was, ironically, the most secure method to use. Sending the files over cyberspace had always proved unwise in the past. As a method of insurance against the Jovians, he periodically sent the coordinates, strengths, weaknesses, and manpower available in the Nergal UE fleet to his spies in the JF Council. This allowed them to gauge what tactics to use in negotiations, and also to determine the probable outcome of another all-out war at any given time.

It was a process he'd used for years now, and he'd never had a problem with it.

But for the sake of time and convenience on his part, this time he'd chosen to plant his documents on the Lilac, because it would cost him less money to do so than it would to find an excuse to charter a trading vessel all the way out to the moon. He hadn't worried about it because he hadn't thought anyone would choose to hijack the ship. Because no one outside of his inner circle knew Lapis would be onboard until the launch time. Besides, the Lilac had set off from one of the highest-security hangars on Earth. Each attendant on duty had a high-level security pass. In short, the Successors should have had no way to know Lapis had left Nergal's care. There were several possible explanations for this situation, but the only one Akatsuki had time to worry about right now was the possibility that there was a spy in the inner circle. Immediately, he upgraded the first class security alert to an emergency security status. The Emergency Status was something he'd tailored back in his more paranoid days but never needed to use until now. Besides the most basic and minor of procedures done completely by the network of computer personalities, Nergal had in effect completely shut down. This allowed Akatsuki to keep an even closer eye on his "friends" and stockholders, but also had another purpose. If Nergal was on lockdown, the Nadesico would be quarantined to the Earth's atmosphere but would not be able to land. And so without putting the ship out of commission entirely he had fulfilled one part of the Successor's terms. In theory. He sincerely hoped Erina would understand his message and set a new plan in motion. Otherwise, in 12 hours he and a team of security officials would be going to take Tenkawa, Yurika and Ines to the Lunar Base.

Actually, now that he thought of it-- if he planned it right and got some especially inept security officers, he could be on the Nadesico when the war started. He wondered if Seiya had kept his Aestivallis up to par. Knowing the man's obsession for the mechanical, though, it was probably a useless question to be asking.

Sighing, he pulled his laptop towards him and cleared his mind. He had a lot to do and couldn't waste his time on mundane sentimentality.

******

Ruri had said little while on the bridge with the others. She had spoken even less during the trip home, remaining in her quarters and speaking to no one else. Most accepted it as her own peculiar method of grieving; in truth her exceptionally organized mind had already made a schedule for the stages of grief and was busy treating her for shock. Ruri was furious. Even as a grown up, she couldn't seem to be "normal" in any definition of the word. She couldn't even bring herself out of her ingrained passive state for long enough to shed a single tear.

She was also furious because there was nothing she could do. The Nadesico, Omoikane had informed her, was in quarantine in Earth's atmosphere while Nergal security swept the surface in search of a spy. In 12 hours Akatsuki would be coming to the Nadesico with Ines Fressange, to take Yurika and Akito away. Of course, they wouldn't end up being taken. Akatsuki was counting on an escape. Ruri knew that much. But the spy... if there was one, most likely it would be a crewman on her own ship. It was more than she wanted to think about.

Suddenly, she was hit with the overwhelming desire to get drunk. She had never had anything heavier than the champagne at Akito and Yurika's wedding, but she figured that with the abysmally low alcohol tolerance she was likely to have, one or two glasses would send her just far enough that she could be sobered up in 12 hours. Hangovers be damned; at this point she could care less. Of course, by Nergal's regulations she was still too young to drink, which meant she'd have to go use someone's private stash. And she knew just who kept a hefty supply in their room.

Feeling remarkably, deliciously immature, Ruri pulled her key out of her uniform pocket and slipped quietly out the door.

******

She had only just reached Minato's room when she happened to trip over someone else, sneaking in the other way.

"Makibi Harry, what are you doing?" she demanded sharply, her anger only heightened by pain. She had no patience for the one standing between her and an alcohol-induced bliss.

Harry lifted a tearstained face to meet her gaze. "I-I...." he stuttered, then promptly started sobbing. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean for this to happen, Captain! Now you're going to hate me forever and if I hadn't stolen his wallet you would have left on time and the spy would never have gotten them and Lapis wouldn't be with them again and now they're going to kill her and it's all my fault!"

He stopped, remembering to breathe, and Ruri felt her anger melt.

"Baka," she whispered, kneeling beside him. "You little idiot."

He hiccoughed when she wrapped him in a tight hug, leaning into her shoulder to dry his face. And then, finally, she burst into desperate tears.

******

"Akito," Yurika said kindly, pushing him gently, "The Sixsome can't get anywhere near me without both of us knowing it. You need some rest."

"I'm not leaving you alone," he said stubbornly.

"I won't be alone!" she laughed, but even she could tell it was a tense, near-hysterical giggle. "I'll have Admiral Fukube and Mr. Holy and all the Nergal officers and Erina there, too! And anyone stupid enough to cross Erina won't live to get to me!" she chirped, trying to lighten the mood again. "You know that. And if I'm in trouble, I can jump to you in an instant!"

Akito tried to convince himself that he was too drained to do anyone any good unless he slept some, but the truth was that Yurika never lost a fight when she was in "mother" mode. After she had shown him the TC she wore around her neck and assured him twice again that she would be with him instantly if there were any threats, he allowed her to bundle him into bed and kiss him good-night. Then he was asleep; the deep, dreamless sleep of the exhausted. Yurika gave him a worried glance, but had to hurry to the council room to meet with the others. She already knew what they were going to say, but she looked forward to the next hour to put her own thoughts and plans in order. She had no intention of waiting for Akatsuki to show up to tell them what to do. Actually, if it came to that, she had no intention of waiting for anyone else decide what she was going to do, either.

******

"I'm coming too!" Yoshio insisted quite stubbornly as Ines was escorted from the premises.

"You are not either!" Ines shouted over her shoulder. "You're staying right here, and you're going to work on that Artifact until there isn't one single jump code you can't decipher! Is that clear?"

"I'm not letting them had you over to the Successors without me there to make sure nothing happens to you."

Ines whirled around, eyes blazing. "I'm not going to be handed over anywhere." she snapped. "And you must stay here. It's imperative that you learn those jump codes. Learn every command. Learn them in your sleep! If we're going to win this battle, we need to be able to use the Artifact so quickly they can't trace the jumps to stop us."

It took several more exchanges between them before Yoshio finally agreed to let her be taken. Then Ines turned the focus of her attentions to Akatsuki, who was walking a few steps ahead of her and her "escorts," two teenage boys fresh out of high school who did nothing but snicker at any statement that could possibly be twisted into an obscene suggestion-- which was about every other sentence (You know guys like that, I know you do).

"Nagare Akatsuki, you listen very carefully," she called. "Put Yoshio under house arrest if you want, but leave him in that lab and leave him all the resources he would have had if I were there. I don't care whether or not you think he's a spy, if I can't be here then he's the next best thing."

Akatsuki turned around in obvious annoyance, and for the first time Ines realized that his lips were drawn into a thin, tight line and he had dark rings under his eyes. He had had a rough couple of days as well. "I know he's not a spy," he said, deliberately articulating each syllable in an attempt to be coherent. "I'd kill his daughter in an instant."

Ines chose to drop the conversation. She really didn't want to piss off Akatsuki any more by telling him what she thought of his humanity.

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