Just then Green Scream spoke from behind Bark. “Yeah, not everyone comes like a dog with his tail tucked. Students arriving at the UCH are new to their powers and feel a real ego boost for having them. These instructors need to deal with that kind of ego. Unfortunately, not everyone has built-in confidence like me, without the brash ego, like your girlfriend there.”
Bark stood up and gave Green Scream a threatening growl. “Watch it, spinach head, or I’ll rip that confidence right out from between your legs.”
Green Scream returned the glare with an overly confident, arrogant gaze. “You wouldn’t last five seconds against my sound waves. Those mutt ears would be busted before you even knew what you were hearing.” Suddenly he shivered from a small – but potent – cold blast.
Snow stood next to her man and smiled at Green Scream. “Try anything and you will be an icicle.”
Green Scream shook off the cold and stared at Snow. “Watch it girl, we'll be inspecting your quarter level tonight. I would hate to find something.”
Bark showed fangs and growled harder. Fortunate for everyone, Red Fury yelled, “GREEN SCREAM, GET UP HERE, YOU’RE THE ESCORT!!”
Green Scream shot Snow and Bark a last smug glance and then left to take up his place as part of the escort team for the students.
Bark snarled, “If that big-mouth is a hero, then I'm a kitten.”
Snow laughed. “Well, you do have a tail.”
Bark didn’t find that funny. “I don’t like him. I don’t trust him. And I simply cannot stand the thought of him being in your quarters. It makes me…makes me….” He let out a bark and growl in Green Scream’s direction.
Snow reached over and took one of his hands. “Calm down. Trust me. He won’t find anything, and if he tries anything he shouldn’t, I will teach him a cold, cold lesson. He may be a big mouth, but he can be frozen just like everyone else.”
Bark cooled off and smiled at her. He took up her hand and kissed the back of it with a little passion. Then he looked up into her eyes with those puppy-dog eyes of his. “Until tomorrow, my sweet.” He loved to turn on the charm.
Unfortunately, Red Fury came up at that moment. He snarled at the sight of the hand kissing. “Gah, you two make me sick sometimes. Get in line, you’re holding up the class.”
***
Ladybug watched her screen in the operations center. The screen displayed the same readings she looked at every single day. On the screen was the normal satellite traffic around earth which the station had to avoid, the satellites that they used and monitored, and of course the stationary defense platforms that maintained a security perimeter of the base. Only once in a great while did something come up that lit up her screen. Usually it would be a piece of space junk that was big enough that it might require one of the platforms to destroy it before it crashed into part of the station. Those exciting days came about once every three months, if she was lucky.
She was not prepared for what showed up at that moment. A red dot appeared on the screen and there was a flashing icon near it. She tapped the icon and one of the sensors on the station scanned the object that had just triggered the alert, expecting to find yet another piece of space junk. But it wasn’t junk.
“A SHIP,” she burst out, then tried to calm down.
The general had been watching the reports from all over the station from the different investigatory teams. Her outburst caught his attention and he turned around and looked up to the station where she sat. “Ladybug, report?”
The small girl cleared her throat and answered, “There appears to be a….uh…ship, I think, on my sensors.”
He frowned and walked up to her station. “A ship…you think?”
“There's a large object that's not showing a natural orbital pattern. It's too large to be a satellite. It isn’t in range yet to be fully scanned. Should I send a standard hail?”
The general frowned and looked at her screen. “A ship? What kind of ship,” he said to himself. He was about to order her to send the hail when Dr. Stone came in.
“General, I've finished all my check-ups and taken care of the medical needs of the five people who are ill. What do you need me to do for the investigation?”
The general let go of the anomalous sensor reading for a second and walked Dr. Stone down to the front of the room. He picked up a computer tablet and handed it to Josiah. “Check through these reports and get back to me as soon as you can. We really need to get this resolved quickly. I'm going to have half a dozen officials jumping down my throat if I don’t hand them a suspect, or at least a positive progress report.”
Josiah smiled and took the tablet. “Don’t worry, I'll do my best.”
“I just hope we can find whoever has done this and get him locked up. Getting back what was stolen would be nice as well. It makes me sick to think that one of our students could be behind this.” The general was fuming.
Josiah shook his head. “I'm still not certain that it was a student. I can't think of anyone who would pull such a job. Besides, they’re such valuable assets that it would be a shame to lose any of them.”
The general huffed and shook his head again. “Asset or not, if the culprit is a student, they’re getting their butt thrown into the highest security prison known to mankind.”
“I guess we should just wait to see what the facts produce.” Josiah logged into the tablet and called up the first report.
The general realized Ladybug was waiting on him. “Oh, right, the ship.”
“What ship?” Josiah was confused.
“She found what may be a ship on the sensors, but we aren’t certain. Ladybug, hail it and see if it replies.”
She looked down at her screen and the blip was gone. “Uh, I can’t hail it, sir. I can’t find it.”
The general frowned and Josiah smiled, patted the general on the shoulder, and said, “Just one less thing to worry about right now.”
“Sure.” The general rolled his eyes and then returned to his place at the front of the room. Dr. Stone left for his office and Ladybug returned to looking for space junk to shoot.
“General, message from team zeta-3,” the computer announced.
He turned to one of the small inset screens on the large viewer. Two students stood in front of the camera. One restrained the arm of a student while Green Scream reported. “We found some of the stolen items. There was one in her room.”
The general realized who they had detained and his mouth slowly hung open. It simply wasn't possible.
***
Bark calmly held a pair of nunchaku at the ready. He was in the middle of the dojo with holographic enemies all around him and all the lights turned off. The holograms were odorless, so his nose didn’t help him and, being programmed with the extensive martial knowledge of Toshi, they moved in near perfect silence. But, they weren’t perfect, and there was enough of a slight noise behind him that he ducked just as a Bo stick missed his head by about half an inch. With a twist of his body, he flung the end of the nunchaku at one of the attackers and hit the hologram right in the gut. With another sweeping motion, he caught the guy at the knees and sent him down. The computer registered a total knockout and deleted the hologram from the simulation.
Just as Bark was repositioning himself into a defensive posture, a Bo stick hit him right in the side. He fell onto the ground and, hearing the sound of the stick slicing through the air, he dodged two swift blows by rolling side to side, and caught a third blow in the chain between the nunchaku. Bark twisted the chain around to grasp the Bo stick and pulled it from the attacker’s hands. He tossed it into the air and, while he was still lying on his back, he kicked the Bo stick and hit the attacker in the head. After the stick made contact, Bark jumped up and punched the hologram right in the face. The computer registered another knockout and another hologram was taken down.
Just as he was about to pronounce himself victor, there was a blinding flash in his eyes when a third Bo stick hit him right in the
side of the head. He jumped back and shook his head to clear the little flashes of light still dancing in his vision. He regained his defensive posture.
“Wait, I counted ten knockouts. Where did this one come from?”
“Computer, lights,” Toshi commanded, and the room slowly lit back up. After he noticed her clever smile and a Bo stick in her hand, Bark became aware of the fact that the last attacker was Toshi herself.
Bark frowned. “Not fair.”
Toshi calmly put the staff aside and walked over to a small table where a hot pot of tea was waiting. “Inu-chan, no enemy fights fair. That lesson you must learn quickly. When you are faced with villains trying to destroy a government, or take over the world, they’re not going to fight fairly; they’re going to fight dirty. They'll position themselves to have the upper hand before the battle begins. It's up to you to be ready to remove their advantage with swift skill and cunning. Next time, do not lower your guard until you are certain the enemies have been vanquished.”
Bark could never argue with her logic; she was always right. But, she was also humble. He bowed to her wisdom and then set aside his weapons so he could join her for tea. Looking up at the Bo staff leaning against the wall, Bark stated, “I think I like the staff better than the nunchaku. Though, the nunchaku are certainly a good weapon.”
Toshi felt the tea pot to see if it was cool enough to pour. “It's wise to be accustomed to many different weapons. Not only for when they are to be used, but also to know how to fight against them. Your training with the Bo staff aided you greatly when you fought against enemies who utilized it against you.”
Bark rubbed the side of his head. “Yeah, sure, when I knew it was coming.”
Toshi grinned at him. “Some lessons take a blow to the head to learn. You won’t make that mistake again.”
“No kidding.” Bark changed the subject. “Sensei?"
She poured a small cup of hot green tea for him. “Yes, Inu-chan?”
“With all of your wisdom and logic, have you any idea who might have broken into the museum?” He sat down on the floor and took the cup of tea from her.
She poured herself a cup and answered. “I don't worry myself with trivial matters such as this.”
Bark frowned. “Trivial? What was stolen could be very dangerous in the wrong hands.”
Toshi smiled and gently blew over the top of her tea. “Inu-chan, when will you be fighting a true villain again?”
Bark shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess when the next villain does something.”
“Then, why don’t you spend your days and nights worrying about that battle? Crafting strategies and planning the attacks and counter attacks?”
Bark began to see her wisdom. “Because, Sensei, I don’t know when that battle will be.”
“Precisely. Inu-chan, if you spend all your time worrying about what might be, you will forget to recognize what is. Tomorrow will be tomorrow; there is enough worry in today. No amount of worry has added a day to the life of any man. In fact it takes much away from him. Now, how are you doing?”
He shrugged. “Okay, I guess.”
She sipped her very strong tea. “How are you and your lovely girl getting along?”
Bark smiled. “Snow and I are getting along nicely.” He paused. “Why do you ask?"
Toshi grinned. “Simply an old Bachan hoping you're finding happiness. You've faced so much turmoil in the short time you've been here. It is only fair to hope that some good has come of it.”
Bark’s tail began to wag. “Bachan” is Japanese for grandmother. It was odd, but this little old lady, and monumentally talented fighter, was like a grandmother to him. He nodded to her. “Thank you, Sensei, perhaps I need a Bachan in my life.”
Just then, they heard a loud pounding at the door. “Toshi, Bark!” It was the general’s voice. This was, perhaps, the only room in the entire UCH station that the General did not feel justified in entering whenever he needed. Partly it was from his respect for Toshi, and partly he knew that if she was not willing to let him come in, and he did, he would face the wrath of Toshi Sensei – and that is not something that anyone should desire.
Toshi got up and calmly answered the door. “General, what is wrong?” Though her pleasant demeanor was not broken, there was a bit of concern in her eyes.
The general stepped in and looked at Bark. “It’s Snow.”
Bark stood up and retrieved his Bo staff. His heart was racing, but he attempted to conceal that with an ounce of calm, just like his Sensei. “What is it?”
The general shook his head. “She and twelve other students were found to have shock collars in their possession. Shock collars that were part of what was stolen from the museum.”
“IT’S A SET UP!!”
The general gave Bark a commanding glare. “Cool it! Get back to quarters. We're doing a complete station sweep tonight.”
Bark knew he had better show restraint right now. The last thing he wanted anyone to think was that he was defending the criminal. The general was notoriously thorough and he would not imprison anyone unjustly. Snow was safe so long as he was in charge and little could be done to change that around here. So, Bark nodded. “I'll return to my quarters as soon as the escort arrives.”
The general cleared his throat. “I'm your escort. Now let’s move.”
Toshi took Bark’s arm before he left. “Listen, Inu-chan. Stay calm and clear-headed. Focus on the now and do not let worry cloud your judgment.”
Bark bowed to her. “Yes, Sensei.” With that, he and the general left for the student quarters of the station.
***
Bark and several other students were led back to their quarters by the general. Bark was the last one, since the first year student quarters were the furthest away from the rest of the station.
From the moment he left the Dojo, Bark was as quiet as possible. He kept his ears and eyes open to see if he could learn anything about what was going on. He was certain that as a new student the critical information would not be easily doled out to him.
Bark pressed the open code to his room and looked in to find that Rich was in there already. His roommate was usually away, save sleeping time, but right now they spent a lot of time together waiting to be escorted to class.
“Wait.” Bark stopped at the door and looked back at the general.
The general answered. “What?”
Bark looked the general in the eyes without a flicker of guilt in his own. “Dr. Stone can provide an alibi for Snow and myself at the time of the theft. Beyond that, I know that Snow is innocent.”
The general nodded to Bark and quietly stated. “Snow is a stellar student who has proven herself mission after mission. I will not believe she's guilty until it is the only truth available. Many explanations are possible and we'll explore them all. Trust me, I have Snow’s best interests at heart. For now, the best thing you can do is stay put and wait while we conduct our investigation.”
Bark smiled while taking comfort in the general’s words. “Thank you.”
***
“HA! I have a two pair. That beats your pair of fives. Pay up.” X-Eyes, a second year student, slapped his cards down on the floor of his quarters as he beat his roommate again in a round of poker.
Thunderquake, a younger man, frowned while shaking his head. “No way! You cheated.” He threw his cards down.
X-Eyes scoffed. “I told you, I can see through the cards, not what is on the other side. I can see your boney hands holding them, but not what you actually held. I didn’t cheat. I just won. Now pay up.”
Thunderquake picked up a computer tablet and typed in something. “There, the physics homework I did was copied to your computer. You don’t have to do it now.”
Both of these guys were second year students and part of Green Scream’s entourage. They, like the other students, were confined to quarters while not actually going to class or training. To pass the time, they played
a little poker. Thunderquake was smarter than X-Eyes and he would always bet with offers to do homework. X-Eyes offered up his credits he earned from volunteering for field work, which was a cop-out from having to do classwork.
“Students in quarters seventeen beta, prepare for inspection in ten minutes,” the computer announced, which caused the boys to scramble to put away the cards.
“Another one? I thought we were investigated already.” Thunderquake stuffed the cards into a small holder.
X-Eyes hid the booze he wasn’t supposed to have. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s just the random room inspection by Thrasher. You know that jerk likes to pick on us because we’re friends with Green.”
Thunderquake quickly made his bed. “Oh crap, you think so? Thrasher nearly ripped my head off for having a messy bed last time. You’d better get the desk cleared off.”
“Oh cool it, they’re too busy with this investigation to worry with punishing us for having a messy room. Besides, we're spending way too much time in here right now to have to care about cleanliness.”
“But, if –” The door opened as the investigation team arrived.
Thunderquake and X-Eyes booth stood at attention immediately. Then they relaxed when they saw Green Scream coming in. Behind him was Red Fury.
X-Eyes asked, “What is going on? We've already had a team of people combing through the room. They almost found…” He was speaking to his buddy Green Scream, but realized he could give away his hiding spot full of liquor if Red Fury heard him.
Green Scream gave them a friendly smile. “Just a double check. We've begun to find some of the stuff in other students’ rooms.”
Thunderquake was surprised. “Who?”
Red Fury growled. “That's none of your business.”
Green Scream whispered, “Snow.”
Both boys gasped. X-Eyes snickered, then asked, “What about the mutt?”
Green Scream gave off a disappointed shake of his head, but didn’t say anything with Red Fury hanging over his shoulder.
The instructor snarled and stated, “Let’s just get this over with. Check all the normal spots. I'll run the scanner.” He held up a special device that was designed to pick up the unique metals used in some of the lost objects.
Enemies and Allies Page 6