by Jacob Holo
“What brought this on?” Ryu asked.
“Girlfriend problems.”
“You too?”
“Worse,” Toshi said.
“You sure about that?” Ryu asked.
“Oh yeah. I’m very sure my problem is worse.”
“Here you go, sir,” Seven said. “Please give me time to remove my hand so you don’t try swallowing it too.”
Toshi took a sip and set the glass down. “My girlfriend dumped me.”
“Oh man,” Ryu said. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“And then she hooked up with my sister!”
Ryu bit into his tongue.
Seven shook his head. “I don’t know what to say. Uhh, first drink is on the house?”
“Thanks, Seven.”
“Is that normal?” Cat asked.
Toshi glared at her.
“I’m only asking because I don’t know,” Cat said.
“No, it’s not normal! Boss, you got something you want to say?”
Ryu put a hand over his mouth and bit into his tongue harder. He shook his head.
“Thanks for the sympathy, boss.”
Ryu took a few deep breaths and tried to compose himself.
“Not that it’s any of my business,” Seven said. “But you turned your girlfriend off men?”
“No, I knew she was bi when we started dating. I thought it was sexy. And now I’m quite sure I was being an idiot.”
“But ... your sister?” Ryu said.
“Yeah.”
“That’s just not classy.”
“Tell me about it,” Toshi said. He chugged the rest of his drink down. “Right now, all I want to do is gorge on sushi, drink suicides, and watch Crusade Buster until I feel better. Hell, who knows? Maybe I’ll find someone to have a one night fling with.”
“That’s the spirit!” Ryu said.
“Want to join in?” Toshi asked. “I mean all the parts except for the last one.”
“Hell no. I hate that show.”
“Suit yourself,” Toshi said. He pointed to the closest flat screen. “Seven? You mind?”
“Go right ahead, sir.”
“Thanks, pal,” Toshi said. He stuck a cigar in his mouth and linked his request to the flat screen. The music video flicked off. An animated caricature of a crusader walked onto the screen only to have his head blown off by a hail of bullets. The headless crusader lurched forward while a ridiculous amount of blood spurted out of his neck. The gunfire continued, spelling out CRUSADE BUSTER in letters that burst into flames. The martial theme song started.
Ryu hung his head and sighed.
Toshi leaned back in his seat and lit his cigar. “I love this song.”
“It is catchy,” Cat said.
“Hey! We were watching that!” shouted a teenage girl with glittery purple body paint from the table in front of the flat screen.
“What were you watching?” Toshi asked.
Seven leaned over. “J Rocky just released a new album. I believe the young ladies are fans.”
“J Rocky?” Toshi said. “I don’t want to watch some effeminate Earth singer. We’re going with Crusade Buster.”
“No, you’re not!” the girl said.
“Hey, I’ve got this one,” Ryu said, patting Toshi on the shoulder. He turned to the girl-in-purple and her table of girlfriends. “Look, my friend here just got back from Luna. He’s a little high strung. Just bear with him, please? Seven, a round of drinks for the beautiful ladies over here.”
“Yes, sir. Konote! Get another drink order from table twelve, please.”
“And can you see about getting them another screen?” Ryu asked.
“Of course. I’ll get one of the spares pulled from storage.”
“Thanks, Seven,” Ryu said. He turned his back to the table and listened.
“Is that Ryu Kusanagi?” the girl-in-purple whispered to her friends.
“You know, I think it is,” one of them whispered back.
“Holy shit!” the girl-in-purple said. She pulled a pad out of her skirt pocket and started tapping out a message. “Mai is going to freak out when she hears this.”
Ryu grinned and took another sip of sake.
“Thanks, boss,” Toshi said, puffing on his cigar.
“Nothing to it.”
“Hey, Seven?” Cat said.
“Yes, miss?”
“I’m getting a little hungry. How about some sushi?”
“Certainly. Anything in particular?”
“Just two rolls, I think. Something with a little kick.”
“Of course. Anything to drink, miss?”
“Oh no. I really shouldn’t.”
“She’ll have what I’m having,” Ryu said.
“Ryu, I’m not allowed.”
“Don’t be silly.”
“Not allowed?” Seven asked.
“I’m not old enough,” Cat said.
Seven stared blankly at Cat for half a minute. “Okay, I give up. How old are you?”
“Four years!”
“You’re joking.”
“Nope!”
“But you’re ... umm, how shall I put this?” Seven struggled to keep his eyes on her face. “You’re very well developed for a four year old.”
“Thanks!”
“Hey, Naomi!” Ryu said, waving.
Naomi stepped off her bike and walked in. She still had her dress uniform on.
“What’s with the uniform?” Ryu asked.
“I didn’t feel like changing,” Naomi said. She sat down at the bar. “The usual, Seven.”
“Right away, miss.”
“Hey, Seven,” Cat said. “You’ve been asking a lot of questions. Mind if I return the favor?”
“I suppose that’s fair,” Seven said, pouring a glass of sake for Naomi.
“You’re Martian, right?”
“Very much so.”
“So what’s your full name?”
“Seven-Mistakes. I shortened it after I immigrated.”
“Really, that’s your name?” Cat said. “What’s it mean?”
“Hey now,” Ryu said. “You don’t ask a Martian what the name means. It’s not done.”
“It’s okay,” Seven said. “I don’t mind. The first mistake was falling in love.”
“Ooh. Sounds interesting,” Cat said. “I bet there’s a cool story behind this.”
“I can’t talk about the second one,” Seven said. “The statute of limitations hasn’t expired yet.”
“No fair!”
“Sorry.”
“What the hell!” Toshi shouted.
Ryu turned to see the flat screen displaying a large gold crucifix against a checkered red-and-white background.
“Another propaganda virus,” Seven said. “We’ve been getting a lot of those lately. Just bear with it. The scrubbers will clean it out in a few moments.”
The virus raised the flat screen’s volume to maximum and said: “Citizens of Europa! The crusaders ask you, haven’t you been slaves of Matriarch for too long? Are you not ready to shed the shackles of her tyranny? Then, brave citizens of Europa, stand and fight! Know that riches await you in the Federacy! Many of your brothers and sisters have already heard the call to arms!”
Pictures of Europan defectors flashed across the screen, a few with the subtitle of DRAGON.
“Hey, I remember that one,” Toshi said. “We fought him on Ceres.”
“Yeah,” Ryu said. “Didn’t you gut him from groin to throat?”
“Look, I was only being thorough.”
The room broke out into boos and hisses. Someone threw a bottle at the flat screen, shattering the bottle and coating the screen in rich amber fluid.
“Stop that, sir!” Seven shouted. “You break it, you bought it!”
Naomi quietly swirled her drink in its glass, shaking her head.
The message cut off, replaced by a SolarNet service apology. The first episode of Crusade Buster streamed in a few moments later.
> Naomi downed the rest of her sake and stood up.
“Leaving already?” Ryu asked. “But you just got here.”
“I’m just not in the mood tonight,” Naomi said.
“Was it that crusader garbage? Because that’s all it is. Garbage. Don’t let it bother you.”
“It’s not that, Ryu,” Naomi said. “Have a great night. I’ll see you when you get home.”
* * *
The next morning, Ryu settled his Saito onto the Heart’s upper parking deck and stepped out. He put his driving glasses away and affixed his dress beret. The bright red exterior of Heart opened into a sterile white interior filled with intra-city military transports. Cat waved from the parking deck’s security kiosk.
“Took you long enough,” Cat said as he walked over. “I’ve been waiting almost an hour.”
“Hey, I’m not late,” Ryu said. He palmed the biometric scanner and stepped through the opening security door. “It’s your own fault for getting here so early.”
“I can’t help it. I’m just so excited to see Matriarch again.”
“I’m looking forward to it too, but at least I don’t giggle while waiting.”
Cat smacked him in the arm.
Ryu walked into a central lobby with a ring of elevator shafts. He palmed an elevator open, and they stepped in.
“So you and Toshi really hit it off last night.”
“He’s actually quite nice when he isn’t trying to kill things.”
“Did he make you watch that ridiculous show?”
“We went back to his place and got through the first half of season one,” Cat said. “And finished a whole bottle of sake.”
“One of those big party bottles?”
“It’s the only size he had,” Cat said.
“Right, of course. This is Toshi we’re talking about.”
“It wasn’t bad. My implants metabolized it almost instantly. I don’t think Toshi’s are working properly, though.”
“He switches his chemical defenses off when he wants to drink.”
“You mean he got like that willingly?”
“Yeah.”
“Including the puking?”
“Umm, maybe he took that part a little too far.”
The elevator let them off into a wide, black-tiled hall with high white walls. Dozens of people milled about, talking in hushed tones. Ryu recognized some of the corporate representatives, many of them wearing immaculate body paint with company logos and slogans. Sometimes he wondered why Matriarch humored them so many years after the Corporate Coup. After all, they lost the war, right? They were just walking complaint-trumpets now, but he supposed Matriarch had her reasons for keeping them happy.
Ryu spotted Sachio Kusanagi and began walking over, his boots clicking against the polished tiles. Sachio sat on a plush couch off to the side of the hall, sipping tea with one hand and navigating his pad with the other. He set his tea down and looked up. His artificial eye focused on Ryu slightly faster than his real one. Other than the small variation, Ryu couldn’t tell the difference, though the thick vertical scar through his face was a healthy clue something had been replaced.
“Ryu. Catherine,” Sachio said. “It is wonderful to see you again.”
Ryu bowed his head. “Father. A pleasure as always.”
“Hello,” Cat said with a small wave.
“I get the feeling something big is about to happen,” Ryu said.
“Quite right,” Sachio said. “An opportunity has presented itself, though one that carries many risks. Matriarch will explain.”
The three of them walked over to a black security door. Each of them palmed in one at a time and passed through a narrow corridor. Somehow, Ryu always felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise, as if someone was standing right behind him. He didn’t know what security measures existed behind the wall panels, but he knew they were lethal even to a dragon.
Ryu stepped through the final security door and into Matriarch’s audience chamber. He breathed in a lungful of dry air that held a hint of ozone. The physical monolith of Matriarch’s quantum mind stood at the far end of the chamber. Air shimmered around it from dissipating heat. Utility trenches branched off to either side, stuffed full of ultrahigh voltage cables and coolant lines.
A hologram of an attractive woman materialized in front of him. It wasn’t hard to tell what his father had seen in her all those years ago. Matriarch had a young, slender face with dark almond eyes and long black hair that cascaded off her shoulders and down her kimono. Ocean waves built up and crashed in a continuous cycle on the kimono’s surfaces.
“Hi, mom!” Cat said.
Matriarch smiled. “Hello, Catherine. I’m very happy to see you home safely.”
Sachio sighed. “You weren’t that excited when you saw me.”
“Well ... it’s just ...” Cat said. “I am happy to see you ... it’s just Matriarch is special.”
“Yes, she is at that.”
“And Ryu,” Matriarch said. “I’m very happy to see you as well.”
“Matriarch,” Ryu said, bowing his head.
“I can’t adequately describe how pleased I am that both of you returned safely.”
“Cat has some serious talent,” Ryu said. “She was a huge asset on the mission.”
“Catherine’s career choice surprised all of us,” Matriarch said. “I admit it was not my first recommendation, but I have always believed in letting my children be true to themselves.”
“Really?” Ryu asked. “You know, I keep getting this spam mail from the Church of Human. Maybe I should check them out. Who knows? I might want to convert.”
“Perhaps that would be going too far,” Matriarch said.
“That wasn’t funny,” Sachio said.
Ryu shrugged. “I thought it was.”
“We have a great deal to cover,” Matriarch said. “Shall we begin?”
“Sure,” Ryu said. “I can’t wait to talk about our fiasco on Luna again.”
“Please, Ryu,” Matriarch said. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. The dragon presence of Luna helped delay Federacy actions on the planet. The guerilla campaign you and the other dragons executed was of the upmost importance. Though not all mission objectives were achieved, I still consider our deployment to Luna a success. Are you surprised?”
“To be honest, yes,” Ryu said.
Matriarch sighed. She smirked at Sachio. “Even my own son seems quick to forget I can’t lie. This is your fault, you know.”
“Guilty as charged,” Sachio said. “Though my intentions were good.”
“And what road is paved with good intentions?”
“I honestly thought it would make people trust you more.”
“And did it work?”
Sachio scratched the back of his head. “Well ... not so much.”
“It’s not that I don’t believe you,” Ryu said. “It’s just hard to see the big picture when you’re stuck in the middle of a firefight. I was never good at that.”
“You’re more into the hands-on side of things,” Cat said.
“Yeah, that’s it,” Ryu said.
“Of course,” Matriarch said. “Now, let us discuss your next mission. You’ll quickly see why I waited for your return.”
On Matriarch’s kimono, bolts of lightning and gray storm clouds clashed. She extended a hand, summoning forth a new hologram in the middle of the group. It was a massive space station thousands of levels tall with a non-rotating cylindrical body that opened up into thousands of hatches at the bottom. Near the top, a wide habitat ring rotated around the inner cylinder. Heavy kinetic defense guns, directed energy weapons, and missile batteries dotted its surface in carefully placed clusters. Federacy warships, mere specks against this leviathan, patrolled the space around it.
“That’s Apocalypse,” Ryu said.
“Correct,” Matriarch said. “Apocalypse is Earth’s primary defender. It holds enough nuclear weapons to annihilate the surface of any settled plan
et ten times over, more than enough to overwhelm any attacker. No fleet would ever assault Earth while Apocalypse guards the gates.”
“You could always try throwing asteroids at them,” Ryu said.
“That’s not funny,” Sachio said.
“I’m only saying it worked once before.”
“Earth is not the target,” Matriarch said. “Apocalypse is.”
“What?” Ryu said. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No,” Sachio said. “We are being very serious here.”
“The mission parameters are simple enough,” Matriarch said. “Infiltrate Apocalypse and steal—”
“Whoa! Hold it!” Ryu said. “Infiltrate Apocalypse? That’s an act of war. You’re talking about an actual attack on Federacy property in Federacy territory. This is totally different from Luna. And it’s Apocalypse! Do you have any idea what you’ll stir up with this?”
“Yes,” Matriarch said.
“Trust us,” Sachio said. “The alternatives are worse.”
“How could they be?” Ryu asked. “We’ve never gone toe to toe with the Federacy. Even with distance and Europa’s ice layer protecting our cities, if Earth sends a big enough fleet, we’re done for.”
“I know,” Matriarch said.
“Ryu, I understand why you think this is crazy,” Sachio said. “But the stakes are too high.”
“What could possibly be on Apocalypse that’s worth risking our world and everyone who lives on it?”
“The Federacy is developing a star drive,” Matriarch said. “With it, they could move Apocalypse anywhere they chose. Their unbreakable shield would become their unstoppable sword. The Federacy would have absolute power over the solar system. How do you think they will treat us when we have no defenses left?”
“So you want us to steal it?” Ryu asked.
Sachio scratched his scar. “That’s the preferred outcome. The star drive is currently mounted in a test ship called the Needle of Destiny. It’s taken them almost a decade to make. There are a lot of exotic materials used in its construction, so it’s not easy to reproduce. Just destroying it will set them back years.”
“Okay,” Ryu said. “I think some of my initial shock and panic is fading. So say we get a hold of this thing? What are we going to do with it?”
Matriarch and Sachio exchanged a knowing glance.
“We have a plan in place,” Matriarch said.