by Jessie Wolf
“Once you smirked at me, Hound, it was all over with. I first remember the first time I saw that smirk of yours. It was a few hours after I had climbed out of my cocoon back at the Space port, in that God forsaken HS Hanger. Still got that pack of smokes stuffed in your inside left pocket?”
To answer my question he reached inside his jacket and pulled out a pack of Imperial Blacks and his lucky lighter. He quickly put them back before anyone say something about him having cigarettes on a school campus. I know that I wasn’t going to say anything as I had slipped the Empire Golds into my robes before leaving my room. Looking at the five of them I smiled. Here were five of the most experienced APS and Halo pilots on all of Hades. Granted the Wild Hunt who were in charge of the Black Swords were better, if not the best in the Empire, but they had their hands full with their own order. No, between what papa, Colonel Fujiyama, and Major Howard, to teach with the APS units and the two ladies for the Halo pilots the Children of Mars shall be more than prepared for their roles as the enforcement arm of Ida-ten.
“Is this why you weren’t there to see us off this morning, papa? You were going through the change as it were?”
“Exactly, pussycat, when your mother told me of how you’re rebuilding the Knights of the Republic I just couldn’t sit back and not help. Besides I figured that you three little sisters would pull something to force your hand. So I went to the four individuals who I know that a second chance in life like this would inspire the most. Our equipment will be here within the hour to include your six pains in the ass along with that infernal Chief to take care of them. I swear Vicky has been absolutely sulking since you enrolled here.”
When I heard that my AP Suit was pouting I almost started to giggle, but I knew better. Papa was the one who had to deal with the Techs that took care of her and the other family suits. Then when you add in Nia riding their ass’s, well let’s just say someone isn’t happy. As I thought about this fact I realized that the Order of Mars was going to need a whole slew of support tech’s and transport techs. As if reading my mind papa smiled at me then said.
“Don’t worry I have already arranged for all the support personal and necessary equipment to be sent here for Temple, Maiha. I figured that you might not have realized just how big of an endeavor this was, so had already started to make preparations for this. Before you ask none of those personal are coming out of our House Troops. Most of those that are coming to take care of the new Temple and its equipment are well past the age of serving. They are all close to retirement age or already retired looking for something to do with themselves.”
“But, if they are retired or close to retiring they should be allowed that chance. I don’t want our most experienced people spending the rest of their lives working. They have earned the right to sit back and do nothing.” When I finished papa, and the others started to laugh at what I had said. When I thought about it, it did sound kind of hypocritical of me. I mean I spent forty years as a Death Dealer then went on to found and run one of the most profitable R and D companies for military development there is to date. Ok, strike that grandpa wasn’t one to sit back and relax. I remember him saying he had about gone crazy from boredom before founding Lucky Strike Industry.”
Mama put her hand on my shoulder before saying. “There was one thing though your grandmother always worried about when it came to your grandfather, it was that he would die of boredom before his time. Idleness is the greatest killer of the elderly, daughter.”
“Yeah, while I would have loved to try being idle for a while.” I whispered quietly to myself. Mama, must have heard me. As she gave me a strange look of concern. “I’m fine mama, I wouldn’t trade what I have now for anything in the world.”
Looking over at the Headmasters I smile and then bow. “Honored guests and Headmasters, it would appear that the Temple of Ida-ten has truly come back from the dead. Allow me to introduce the Heads for the Children of Mars.” When I finished I turned around and addressed the gathered students with a lot more confidence now than when I first started this whole mess. “Temple Orders of Ida-ten. On this night I welcome you all, Brothers of Balance, Nightingale Sisters, Black Swords, Dragons Daughters, and our newest of Orders the Children of Mars. Four hundred and fifty years ago our Temple was declared Outlaw by the very Imperial Temples that would use our status as illegitimate children against us. No more I say. No more! No longer are we the cast offs of uncaring parents. No longer the pawns of political lackeys, looking to gain more power. No longer will we be the blood that protects, the so called privileged ones on the battlefield. We shall become the Sword of Justice, the Balancers of Liberty, the Healing Hand in the night, and when all else fails the Wrath of the Gods. On this night we take up the sacred duty of our forbearers, and add to it one more. We shall no longer standby as those who are oppressed suffer at the hands of those that believe themselves the masters. From this day forth the Temple of Ida-ten shall be their liberators!”
I had no sooner finished my impromptu speech than the entire hall came to life with the roar of those gathered there. I know I had just pushed my original goals beyond what I had planned, but as I looked out across this hall I found something staring back at me. It was something I had not seen before at this school. The first time I saw it was with the girls that I had taken on that field trip. Those girls had embraced what I was seeing here now among this gathering of the young and old. When I left here just a few days ago I had a pack of spoiled, but hateful young girls. I had returned with one hundred and thirty five untrained warriors for freedom. In the few hours since they had awakened they had done something no Death Dealer had ever been able to do in so short of time. Before me was an army, small to be sure, but one none the less.
“In the morning we shall begin the process of giving you the Second Generation Death Dealer up grades. We can handle three hundred at a time so we shall start with an equal percentage from all five orders, until everyone has received the upgrades. To decide who shall receive the upgrades there will be a randomly generated list. You will all receive an e-mail detailing where and when you will receive your upgrades. Please be patient as you all will receive the upgrades. You are all equal within the Temple. There are no Princes or Princesses, no High Families, nothing other than your Brothers and Sisters. Now, let us eat and be merry tonight. For tomorrow the real work begins.” The applause for mama was just as loud as it was for me.
Headmaster Quintin Andrews of Abraham Van Helsing School of Science stood up and asked for us to join them at the head table. “Please, Reverend Mother Dai Etsu and Father James, would you and your family and friends join us at table for this joyous occasion?”
“We will be more than happy to join you, however I do believe that our daughters should join their classmates for dinner.” I almost groaned hearing this, Fuyuko and the twins did, Alice merely winced, but I understood what mama was doing.
“Storm Dancers, spread out and collect Intel. Mingle with the other students. Show them what it means to be Daughters of the Dragon. If you see more than two of our Sisters together tell them to spread out. This our chance to educate our New Brothers and Sisters.” Once I finished giving them their instructions all four bowed to and did as they were told. Turning to the four pilots that had joined the Temple as instructors and Order Heads. “Colonel, Major, and Captains, I know that this is not what would be in in your duties, but can you be so kind as to track down the Children of Mars and get a feel for your new troops?”
To help them out in this I sent them the file that Dee De had compiled for me, along with the program for the chevron tagging system. The four new staff Heads for the Children of Mars all bowed as one then headed out to do as I had asked. For some reason I cannot find it in me to just order these men and women around as if they were common Troopers. They had more than earned my respect, and I would always show them that respect. Before I took off to do my own mingling papa stopped me.
“Maiha, I know that you’re doing this on a wing and a pra
yer, but please do me a favor.”
I could tell he was in full First Sergeant mode. “Sure, Top. What is it you wanted me to do?”
“Pull your head out of your ass, and start thinking like the tactical genius you are, not some addle minded teenage girl.”
Chapter 12
Meanwhile on another part of the campus……
The office of Mr. B. Arnold was rather crowded. Besides himself there were nine others. All were teachers of Modern Ethics, Cultural History, and Political Science and devout followers of the Temple of Holy Light. While this would normally be of no concern, it was their unknown memberships with the Black Rose and Crimson Shield that could very well get them thrown out of the schools. The fact that they actively spied on the students and teachers could get them hanged. The laws that guarded personal privacy were not to be taken lightly. Even the commoner students who make up the majority of the student bodies were protected. A fact that for these ten people found distasteful. Most of all to Catherine Shuellar, Department Head of Political Science at ABWC. As far as she was concerned only the High Families should be allowed an advanced education.
“We have to tell the Cardinal that Prefect Slade failed to stop the Nakatoma bitch at her home. Then and only then can we make plans to put a stop to this abortion that she and the Witch Dai Etsu have dug up from the past.” Rebecca Read put forth. Of all those gathered in Arnold’s office she was the most passive.
“No! We must take action now! If we let them start converting the students in the morning, by the time the Cardinal can get us reinforcements here our brothers and sisters will be facing an army. I say we kill the Nakatoma whore tonight and put an end to this travesty now!” of course Robert Holcombe would demand action now over waiting. All those gathered here know of the fanatical devotion of the Lost Soul brotherhood. Of all the Black Rose members, it is the Lost Soul brother hood most feared, as they are the deadliest of followers. It is not the fact they will die for their order, but will gladly take you with them.
“No! Think for a moment, Brother Robert if we fail to kill the whore as Maxwell did there will be no one to report what is going on here. We must not let our passions for revenge cloud our judgment. Our duty is to the Temple first, our brothers second. If we attack now as you would have us do, and fail; all we have worked for, over the past fifteen years will be lost.” Thankfully it was David Telemann who argued against Holcombe. If any of the others had tried Holcombe would have accused them of being a traitor. Telemann, was a known member of the Seven Kings. One of the few brotherhoods within the Black Rose that were more fanatical than the Lost Souls.
However the next person to speak destroyed all that with one sentence. “They’re Outlaws. The Temple of Ida-ten was declared heresy four hundred and fifty years ago. To let this continue is to be accomplices in their heresy, we will be held accountable for our inaction and made to face the Temple Elders and its judges. We can regain control of our schools and the secrets of the new Death Dealers. All we have to do is kill the Nakatoma bitches tonight before they can begin.”
“Tell me, Sister Angela, how do you figure this?” Telemann really wanted to know what she was thinking.
Angela Walters was a teacher of Cultural History, she had studied the ways of power throughout history. “It is simple, Brother David. What happens when there is no heir to a house?”
“All of its assets are seized be the Imperial Treasury. Everyone knows this.”
“That is not quite true, my Brother. I can see where the good Sister is going with this. If a House is in dispute with the Imperial Temples, and they have laid claim to that House’s Temple, the Imperial Temple has first claim to all assets if there is no heir.” This was the first time Arnold had said anything other than greeting them.
“What are you blabbering about Benedict? House Nakatoma is not in dispute with the Imperial Temples. Even if they were, it will not get us the Death Dealer technology. Besides what would we do with another empty Temple?” once again Holcombe and few of the others were missing the point. Then again most people didn’t know that the Nakatoma Family Temple grounds encompassed all of the Nakatoma estate.
“It is not the Temple we want, but everything on it grounds. Think, Brother’s and Sister’s, the Imperial Temple can claim all of that acreage and equipment within the wall of the Nakatoma estates. Don’t you see? All of the Nakatoma estates is part of their Family Temple. With no heir all of that will come to the Imperial Temple. We would be able to claim all of their military equipment for our orders. Their financial resources will go to the other Temples, and all that land can be used to setup a larger and more befitting Temple headquarters for our two orders, with everything we would ever need.” The more Sister Angela talked the more the dissenters saw this as a golden opportunity.
What none of them knew was that she had her own reasons for seizing the Nakatoma property. If she could show her Grand High Priestesses that it was her idea to kill off the heir to the Nakatoma family, she would be raised to a position second only to her within the Crimson Shield order. She just had to make sure they succeeded. There were ten of them in total. Four Shields and six Roses, not the best mix of abilities, but one she could work with.
“How do you propose we go about this, Sister Angela? They are spread all over the campus dorms. We cannot make a direct strike on all of them at once.” Telemann got straight to the heart of the matter. Then again that was what his brotherhood was known for, tactics.
“We do it in groups of five. Hear me out before you object Brother David. There is reason behind splitting our forces in half. If we hit the whores with less than half we stand the chance of losing. No we must send no less than five of our members at each room if we are to succeed.”
“Wait did you say each room? We’re not going after them out in the open?” Telemann was truly perplexed at this.
“No, we go after them in their dorm rooms. The small spaces, and close proximity of innocent bystanders will limit them to having to use their choice of weapons. They won’t be able to use any hand blasters, lasers, or projectile weapons. Even if they get to those arcane swords they won’t have the room to swing them properly. We will have the advantage as our weapons are meant to be used in close quarters. We kill the head and the body will die. If we split the sisters of the Crimson Shield evenly with you Brothers of the Black Rose we can kill the ones in the dorm rooms first. We send one team after the pretender and her slut wife, while the other team kills the twins and the middle child in their dorm. With the five of them dead we can take our time with that whore Dai Etsu.” Angela had it all planned out in her head.
“Can we get in without those damnable Death Dealers getting in the way?” asked one of the five who had yet to speak. Then again Brother Hubert was known for keeping his peace, but he was more than willing to slit a person’s throat while they were sleeping. He was one of the very few Black Roses that belong to the Night Shadows. The elite team of assassins in the Black Rose Order. The men had no moral restraint when it came to killing. It was said that more than one of them had killed a babe in the cradle while the mother slept just a few feet away.
“With ease, the security system may have been upgraded, but Brother Charles has made sure that there is a backdoor into it that our orders can have access to it. All we have to do is shut it down and it’ll be blamed on a glitch in the system. They have had nowhere near the time to fully test it. I figure we can shut the system down for a full ten minutes before they get suspicious. Do you think that will be enough time to kill the ones in the dorms?” Angela told the man.
“More than enough for them, but what about the bitch whore Dai Etsu?”
“She has quarters over in the visiting teachers quarters. We can remove her at our leisure. They don’t worry about adults getting in to trouble and sneaking out after hours. That will be to our advantage. So we are in agreement? The Nakatoma clan dies tonight.” Angela really needed for her fellow conspirators to agree to do this tonight.
“If we fail, disappointing the Elders will be the least of our problems. If the Death Dealers capture us we will be facing their Justice system, which is a military one. As far as they are concerned we are nothing more than religious fanatics and deserve only the hangman’s rope. So I will ask you all one more time. Do we kill the Nakatoma’s tonight?” Arnold asked them all, if just one dissented then he would call it off. Of course his brothers in the Black Rose would all agree, but it was the three women from the Crimson Shield that were the wild cards.
He knew that Sister Angela was more than willing to strike tonight. That woman was as blood thirsty as any of the Night Shadows. No it would be one of the other three, but which one. Catherine Shuellar had made her views of the Nakatoma clan well known. There was no love lost there. Next was Marsha Bradynow here was a riddle in more ways than one. The woman stayed to herself, never once voicing her opinion on any topic unless it was in her field of study. No one knew anything about her. Lastly there was the greatest mystery, Sister Gale Farnsworth. She had just arrived this semester, straight from Vega Prime. No one knew where her loyalty lay or with whom.
The three Sisters looked at each other, then as one turned to Benedict. “We’ll go along with our Sister’s plan on one condition. The Sisters of the Crimson are the ones to kill Dai Etsu Nakatoma, her bitch granddaughter, and that slag whore she calls her wife. We will deal with them, the Black Rose can have the rest. That includes the Princess Daniela, Susan Whitehorse, and Lisa Van Perce, those three must also be removed if we are to be successful in this. Sister Angela failed to take them into her analysis. If we truly wish to decapitate the snake, they must die as well.” Gale’s very cold and calculating analysis shocked all those gathered in the small office. “There are six of them, which is one for each Black Rose, more than enough to handle the problem. It will be the abomination and her whore that will be the challenge, one is a fully trained Death Dealer thanks to her bastard grandfather, James Owens. While her whore is a fully trained APS pilot and scout, well served in hand to hand combat, plus she now has the power of a Death Dealer as well. It will take two of us per person to kill them.”