“Can you see anything?”
“No,” Eve told him. “According to the sensors, it is below and slightly in front of me, but I can’t see anything. There is some heavy cloud cover in places, and it is using it to hide. We are over Northern China, in the vicinity of where you told me the Japanese had the biological warfare facility.”
“Do the best you can, but don’t lose it.”
“On it. I think they spotted me. The signal just shot deeper into the clouds and turned back.”
“Be careful, Eve,” Yuko called. “We don’t know what kind of weapons they might have.”
Eve pulled the Black Eagle up as the signal came closer to her location. The sensors still showed that something was there, but the signal was more erratic than before. A shadow loomed in front of the Black Eagle, and if it were not for her enhanced reflexes, they would have collided. She darted up and away, and the other craft vanished into the clouds once again.
She spun her ship in pursuit, and the signal abruptly died. She cautiously allowed the Black Eagle to continue in the last direction of the mystery craft as she cycled through multiple frequencies at a blistering pace. There was a brief signal on a high spectrum. She vectored in on that location, continuing to scan as she lost the signal again. She tracked the craft for another five minutes before all traces were gone.
“Akio, I lost them. The bastards almost rammed me!” she reported, frustration coming through in her speech. “I have recorded the coordinates of the last reading I had on them. It was in the mountains about fifty kilometers from the nearest town of any size.”
“Understood. We will focus our search based on the information you obtained. It gives us an area to start searching from,” Akio encouraged.
“I am moving space-based surveillance assets toward the area now. I also launched several drones from the Black Eagle as soon as I realized the signal was lost, but they were unable to find anything. When we return to base, I will work up some surveillance drones set to detect the frequencies the craft emitted. The ones that I was able to read, anyway. I will spread the drones in the area and set them to notify me if they detect anything. Hopefully, they will find it when it flies again. I will join you on Kume in a short time.”
Akio looked at Yuko with raised eyebrows. “She is acting more alive each day.”
Yuko smiled. “She has passed the point of EI on many levels if not all. I think she is analyzing the data and searching for errors that she will not find. It is only a matter of time until she becomes fully aware of what she is.”
“I agree. I hope she doesn’t stay mad at me much longer,” Akio told her as the Pod descended on the outskirts of the town. “Although it doesn’t hurt me, I fear that it might cause problems down the line if she can’t logic it out before full awareness occurs.”
Kume Island, Okinawa, Japan
The military had come and gone. Before they left, they had helped the townspeople repair some of the less-damaged homes and had installed a solar-powered radio for easier communication with the outside world. It was not an ideal situation, but it was better than nothing.
A group led by Mayor Yagi stood in the center of town as Akio and Yuko approached.
“Welcome, Akio-sama, Yuko-sama. We are honored by your presence,” Yagi greeted them as he bowed low to both.
“Yagi-san, we thank you for the honor and hope all is well with you and your people,” Yuko responded as she bowed less deeply.
“We have our lives back and no longer fear the night, thanks to you. We could not ask for more.”
The sound of rapidly approaching feet caught their attention, and they all turned to see Koda approaching at a full run. She stopped just short of both groups and bowed at ninety degrees to Akio and Yuko as she stood gasping for breath. “Akio-sensei, Yuko-sama, you came back!” she gushed.
“Koda, please calm yourself. I’m sure they will not disappear as soon as they say hello,” Yagi admonished her with a smile to let her know he wasn’t angry at her enthusiastic outburst. All the young woman had talked about since she was rescued was how fierce a warrior Yuko was and that Akio, Yuko’s sensei, had said that he was willing to teach her as well. She had watched the sky every day since, waiting for them to return.
“My apologies, Oji. I should not have interrupted.” She blushed, embarrassed that her excitement at seeing her two real-life superheroes had caused her to act like an unruly child. “Please forgive me.”
Yagi chuckled when he noticed Akio’s lips twitch as he tried to control his mirth at her youthful exuberance.
Yuko walked to the young woman and wrapped her in a hug. “It’s so good to see you well, Koda-san. We will talk to you after we finish asking Yagi-san and the elders a few questions.” She smiled as Koda’s face lit up in a huge smile before she bowed to both groups and stepped back a respectful distance to wait her turn.
Yuko went to Yagi and took both of his hands in hers. “It brings me joy to see that you are well and that Koda is acting as a young woman should, especially after what all of you endured. I told you we would be back. I didn’t expect it to be for the reasons we are here, though. We need some information,” she finished solemnly.
“What’s wrong? What can we do to help? The whole village owes the two of you our lives, and will do whatever we can that you need,” he hastily assured her as his expression changed to one of earnest concern.
“Have any strangers visited, or have you seen anything unusual in the past few days?” Yuko asked. “We detected some abnormal energy readings coming from here, and believe you were visited by some of Isamu’s allies.”
Yagi paled at this and shook his head emphatically. “I haven’t seen anything, and I know if any of my people had, they would have sounded an alarm.” He turned to the group of elders. “Is everyone accounted for today?”
Since their experience with Isamu, Yagi and the council had established a daily check-in for all the villagers. With fewer than a hundred people, it only took a short time each morning to verify that everyone was present and well. It was primarily to ensure that no one was lost to despair and interacted with others for a time each day, but also served to make sure that no one had been taken in the night.
The elder responsible for the daily check-in assured him that all were present and as well as could be expected for the morning assembly.
Yagi visibly relaxed and turned back to Yuko. “What should we look for? Are there others like Sho— I mean, Isamu, coming?”
“We aren’t certain,” she replied. “But we did detect a flying machine similar to ours in the area. We tracked it as best we could but lost it over Northern China. We will continue looking for it, and I assure you, if we detect a problem here, we will deal with it.”
“I’m certain that if any of my people had seen such a thing, they would have reported it,” Yagi insisted. “Since the government people and the Navy left, we haven’t had anyone new show up.
“In addition to the morning wellness checks, I have also quietly put a watch in place.” He smiled as he looked at Koda. “Koda suggested it, so I put her in charge of organizing the whole thing. She and a few others of her age group have maintained a discreet around-the-clock watch since then. I don’t want to call attention to it. It’s not a secret, but I would prefer not to further traumatize my people. The psychiatrist the government sent told me that one of the best ways to heal from such trauma is to return as closely as possible to the life you led before. The morning check-in is a compromise. I wanted to require that no one work or travel without a partner, but the doctor convinced me that doing so could negatively affect some recoveries.”
Akio spoke up. “That is a good plan, Yagi-san. It also gives the young ones who want to help protect everyone something positive to do. I imagine it has helped them immensely to know that they’re working to ensure the people here do not have to go through that type of horror again.”
Yagi nodded. “Thank you, Akio-sama. That doesn’t solve the problem that broug
ht you here, though. I will be sure that Koda and her watchers know to alert me to any unusual things they see, no matter how small. I suppose we can contact you through the government on the radio?”
“I can do better than that,” Akio replied as he pulled a small black device from his pocket. He punched a code into it before handing it to Yagi. “Press this button and speak. One of us will answer as soon as possible,” he instructed as he demonstrated the indicated button.
“Hai, Akio-sama, I will contact you if anyone sees the ship or anything out of the ordinary. Not that there is anything ordinary about the times we are living in,” Yagi went on solemnly with a lost look in his eyes.
Akio placed his hand on the other man’s shoulder comfortingly. “We do what we must to survive. You are an honorable man who cares deeply for his people. Continue to work toward making it better day by day, and if more of Isamu’s ilk show up, call. We will arrive in a short time, and they will follow Isamu and Ogawa to a well-deserved demise.”
Yagi’s eyes glistened with unshed tears, and his voice cracked with emotion. “Thank you again, Akio-sama. Please forgive an old man’s wallowing in self-pity. I will make it better for my people; it is what they trust and depend on me to do.”
Akio nodded to the man as he and Yuko stepped over to Koda Rii, the young woman practically bouncing up and down in barely restrained excitement.
“Konichiwa, Koda-san. I understand from Yagi-san that you have become the leader of the local watch. Well done,” Yuko commended.
Koda smiled at the praise. “I do not intend for us to be taken so easily again. We may not be able to stop it, but we will not be taken unaware a second time.”
“That is good. No, you wouldn’t stand a chance against another like Isamu, but we will come as soon as you notify us. All you have to do is avoid or stall them for a short time. We will take care of the rest,” Yuko assured her.
“Hai. I will do my best, but how will you know?”
“Yagi-san has a device to contact us. Get word to him, and he will be able to reach us immediately,” Yuko advised. “Now, is there anything else you need? I told you I wasn’t going to forget you and wanted to help.”
“Yuko-sama, you saved my life and those of everyone in that cave. There is nothing else I could possibly ask of you,” Koda stammered.
Yuko held up her hand to stop the young woman. “It is what I want. Consider it my way of atoning for not realizing what was happening here sooner. Let me have this.”
Koda looked at her, unsure of how to respond for a few beats, then squared her shoulders and nodded decisively. “Just know that no one here blames you, and blaming yourself is not healthy.”
Akio snorted. “Out of the mouths of babes,” he murmured so softly that only Yuko could hear.
Yuko cut her eyes to him as she continued talking to Koda. “Be that as it may, I still plan to do what I can for the people here. I have been working with Eve on some ideas but do not have anything solid yet.”
Koda looked around. “Where is Eve, by the way? I never got to thank her for her kindness to Ono. She is still haunted, but with the physical scars removed, she seems to be getting a little better each day. I owe Eve for whatever sorcery she did to make that happen.”
“Not sorcery, just science. Granted, very advanced science, but still science.” Yuko laughed. “Eve will be along. Here she is now.”
Yuko nodded as the sleek and deadly Black Eagle silently landed beside the Pod.
Chapter Fifteen
Kume Island, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan
Eve climbed out of the cockpit and stalked over to Akio. “I don’t know how they managed to evade me, but I have some ideas for some sensor upgrades that might help with that next time. I do not like to lose,” she stated firmly.
Akio raised an eyebrow as he watched Eve’s reaction. He chose to remain silent.
Eve continued, “Akio-san, I owe you an apology. I have behaved in a rude and disrespectful manner for the past few days. It was not fair for me to blame you for what happened. Yuko told me she was to blame, and I chose to ignore that. It was illogical for me to even consider blaming you. I have completed my diagnostics but can’t find any irregularities. The only way I can describe what happened is I ‘felt’ angry. I will continue to search for errors in my code but am certain to .00001 percent that there are none.”
Akio bowed slightly. “That is fine, my friend. I missed you.”
Eve sighed. “I do not understand what is going on. I am not designed to function in such a manner. It is,” she paused, “illogical. I will find the error before it has a negative effect.”
“I’m certain you will figure it out,” Akio assured her. “Perhaps further analysis will advance your quest for an answer.”
Yuko watched the exchange without comment, wondering how much longer it would be before her friend stopped pushing and accepted that she was now more than when she started.
“In any event, when we get back to base, I will get the sensor upgrades done and blanket the area I last detected that mystery craft with the upgraded drones. I will not rest until I can find whoever is behind that device,” Eve stated with finality.
Before anyone could respond, Asai came around the corner of the mayor’s home.
“Akio-sama, Yuko-sama, you’re back,” she called as she approached them at a run. “It is so good to see you. You too, Eve. I never properly thanked you for what you did for my mother and me.”
She held her arms up and turned around, the sleeveless shirt she wore showing the healthy glow of her unblemished arms and neck. “It is like magic. I have not felt this good in years, and my body shows no signs of any injury, even the ones I got as a child. I vaguely remember noticing it the night you saved us, but now that my mind is recovering, I realize you healed far more than that. You not only healed me, but you also have healed my mother’s body and soul. She’s becoming more like I remember her when I was a child. I see that she is still troubled at times, but there have been good times as well. It’s like a weight has lifted from her, and she is remembering how to live instead of just survive, as we have done for years.”
Yuko smiled as the young woman wound down. “It was our pleasure to help you, and hearing that your mother is doing better gives me great joy.”
Asai nodded. “Just know that if there is ever anything I can do for you, I owe you a great debt. To see my mother happy, truly happy, even for short periods, for the first time in many years is something that I can never repay.”
Akio placed a hand on the young woman’s shoulder and spoke softly to her, “Asai-san, you’re welcome, and you owe us nothing. As we told your father, we were given a mission by our Queen, and protecting you from the evil that was here is a major part of that duty. I am glad your mother is well. She is a strong woman and deserves happiness, as do you.
“Now, I need to speak with your father before we go.” He bowed slightly and headed toward Yagi and the elders, who were finishing their conversation.
“Asai and Koda, I would like to ask both of you something.” Yuko motioned for both women to come closer. “I was telling Koda that I wanted to do more for your people here. Are the two of you interested in helping?”
“Hai. I will do anything I can for you, Yuko-sama,” Koda answered quickly.
“As will I,” Asai affirmed.
Yuko smiled. “Before you agree, I have an idea to generate revenue that can be used to improve the facilities and living conditions for your people here. It would require both of you to undergo some training that Eve can set up. It would also mean you would need to come to Tokyo in the future to work. I don’t want you to answer now. Think about it and determine if that is something you would be willing to do, as long as you are not needed here. Talk to your parents as well. I will return in a couple of weeks for your answers.”
Both young women were shocked as what Yuko said sank in. Both had dreamed of leaving Kume since they were children but had never thought it was possible, with
the world in its current state. Tokyo might as well be the other side of the world from them, given the difficulty posed by traveling even a short distance. That Yuko would make such an offer after everything she’d already done was more than they could dream.
Asai spoke for both. “Yuko-sama, we will have an answer for you when you return, but I can tell you now that you should plan on starting that training soon after.”
Koda’s grin stretched from ear to ear as she nodded.
“Be sure that it is okay with the people here. I will see you both in two weeks,” Yuko told the excited women. She motioned to Eve, and they went back to the Pod to wait for Akio to finish his business with the elders.
Chapter Sixteen
Acheng, China, Research Laboratory
“What do you mean, you were seen? I was very explicit in my instructions that you were not to allow that,” Chang bellowed at the hapless crewman who made the report.
The man stammered, the stench of fear rolling off him in waves as he faced the angry Forsaken. “Dr. Chang, we followed all the established protocols. If we hadn’t seen the craft with our eyes, we would not have known it was there. I don’t know how they found us, but the craft appeared to be one like the Dark One is reported to have. We almost collided with it once but were able to evade them in the clouds. When it became obvious we couldn’t outrun them, we went low into the mountains, dropped into a deep valley, and cut the power. Our sensors couldn’t get a lock, but we didn’t see it again after that and believed we’d lost them.”
Chang grimaced. “You should not have come to this region until you were sure they hadn’t found you. You two idiots could have jeopardized our entire operation. The last thing we need is Akio poking his nose around here. Heinz will feed you to his pets one piece at a time if anything you did risks revealing our location. I should give both of you to him now and avoid any future complications from your incompetence,” he railed.
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