This is Dark Alpha posting in place of Captain Exposition, as his trusty
backup poster. :)
Any response or C&C should be sent to LN411@aol.com. If any should be
found in my mailbox by accident, I'll forward them to him.
NOTE: This fic has been split into two sections due to text limit
constraints. Second segment should follow shortly. If you want the uncut
version, contact the original author.
Enjoy.
DA/R
Dark Alpha
AlphSailor@aol.com
-----------------
CONTIUNED FROM SEGMENT A
Yuri wordlessly sat down beside Sakura on the communal bench in the
lobby area and handed the girl a can of cold soda. Sakura took it
gratefully and held it to her neck, rolling it back and forth slowly.
Looking back out the blasted open doors at the burnt remains of one of
this planet's police cruisers, Yuri hoped this wouldn't reflect too
badly on them. Well, she pondered, at least this wasn't our fault. Right
on the tail of this thought she chastised herself for thinking such a
mean thing at a time like this. She looked at Sakura out of the corner
of her eye and asked, "How are you doing?"
Sakura's response was only to laugh, a short, ugly sound. Yuri
shifted uncomfortably and cats about for something else to talk about.
She smiled brightly and asked, "Hey, if it wouldn't bother you, could
you tell me something?"
The pink-haired girl glanced at Yuri, who pressed on. "I've been
wondering, how did you and Natsumi meet? You seem...pretty attached to
her."
Sakura sighed and popped the top of the can of soda. "Well, we have
a while before those doctors get here, so we might as well pass the
time." She reflected for a minute, then went on, "We met at freshman
orientation at Meizuiru University..."
Yuri brightened. "You two went there too?" Sakura nodded. "Wow! Kei
and me roomed together there! Say, did you two ever get shown room 273
in F Dorm? That was our room. Boy, I wonder if they ever got those
plasma burns from senior graduation out of the door. That was right
after we joined the 3WA, and we had borrowed a few things from the base
armory...um, never mind. So, you were saying?"
"We met at the freshman orientation," Sakura continued, "I was
standing by the door, waiting for a couple of friends who were coming
along, for moral support. Then I saw this cute girl with a confused
expression wandering around outside the greeting area. She just looked
so lost, I had to go over and ask her if she needed help. She said, ‘Do
you know where the freshman orientation is? I can't figure out where it
is'. Turns out she had misread the invitation and showed up an hour
early. She had no idea what was going on." Both of them laughed quietly.
"In any case, I explained, we both laughed, and we sort of got to
talking. It turned out we had a lot in common, and we just really hit it
off. Before I realized it, it was time to go in and listen to the Dean
of Students make a speech. We sat together and made fun of his bad
toupee. It was the end of the night before I realized I had completely
blanked on meeting my friends from high school."
"After the orientation, we exchanged phone numbers and agreed to
get together again. We hooked up for shopping the week after and spent
most of the time just talking. We really hit it off. It's kind of funny
actually...We don't have much in common, not beyond the superficial
stuff. You know, like ‘Wow! You like to chill your cereal bowl in the
fridge too?'" Yuri and Sakura shared a quiet laugh. Sakura sighed and
went on, looking at her shoes, "We just sort of...connected. It was like
we each had something the other needed. I don't really know how to
explain it. We just went together well."
Yuri nodded. "I know what you mean. Kei and I were opposites in
school. I was this shy little nerd who hid in the library. Kei was this
lunatic party girl. We were on such completely opposite ends of the
spectrum that we sort of balanced each other out." She smiled and
glanced at Sakura. "At least, that's what we tell people."
Sakura smiled. "It was sort of the same way for us. Natsumi has
always been the most incredibly ditzy person I have ever met. It's
funny, because she's also one of the smartest. I mean, for someone who
looks so vacant, there is one hell of a mind cranking away in that head.
It tends to take people by surprise. There was this one guy we went to
school with, Freddy Dalton...real creep, a total weirdo. But he was,
like, this super-genius. I heard he took all of these mental capacity
tests, and he blew clean off of the charts in every one. And boy, did he
know it. As soon as he met Natsumi, he took her for a total airhead, and
teased her something awful. He totally looked down his nose at her, just
because he didn't think she was as smart as he was. The look on his face
when our first test scores came back was priceless. I know he didn't
expect her to tie with him pretty much all across the board. Mind you, I
was down somewhere around the ninety-first percentile at the time. I had
the study ethic, but I wasn't anywhere close to either of those two."
"In any case, they started a sort of duel after that, always trying
to one-up the other. There was this other girl, Ami something, who got
scores as good as either of them, but nobody really paid her much mind.
She was just the forgettable sort. Anyway, I started studying with
Natsumi, and my test scores started getting better. It really rubbed on
Dalton that now he had three different girls matching his ‘superior
intellect'. Natsumi and I started spending all of our time together. She
helped me with my test scores, and I helped her with her shooting and
whatnot."
"That's something I've been meaning to ask you," Yuri asked, "Where
did you get so good with a gun? I know that isn't something most girls
pick up as a talent."
"It's...sort of a long story." Sakura blushed. She cleared her
throat and leaned back on the chair. "We really had a lot of fun. We
went partying together after big tests, we roomed together all through
college. Then, when we both applied to Takachiho Academy, and got in, we
shared a dorm room there. A couple of other people came to Takachiho
too, most notably Freddy Dalton. He was just as cocky as ever, but now
he found he had to deal with us on another playing field; combat
training."
"He never got very good at physical stuff. He spent most of his
time in front of a computer, or in his room reading a book. So when he
had to go up against me for the first time in hand-to-hand combat
training, it didn't go so well."
Yuri smiled. "Kicked his ass?"
Sakura nodded. "Slaughtered him. The instructor had to call it off
because he wouldn't take a hint and stay down after I dropped him. Even
if he wasn't much good at fighting, he definitely was stubborn. It was
pretty sad though. All of the big dumb jocks in Combat class laughed at
him and asked him why he couldn't land a blow on me. They called him all
sorts of nasty names, until finally, he just ran out of the gym. I
didn't feel too guilty though. After all, it was just a class. Oh well,
enough about him. After about a year at Takachiho, we both noticed
something. Men didn't ask us out. A lot of girls in our dorm had steady
boyfriends, either from the Academy or from outside, but nobody had ever
even asked us out. We couldn't figure it out for the longest time, until
one of the older girls explained it to us. They all thought we were
lesbians."
She hooted with laughter. "I mean, can you imagine it? They thought
we were a couple!"
Looking at the laughing girl from the corner of her eye, Yuri
asked, "So, you two never...I mean, you didn't actually..."
Sakura shook her head and resumed staring off into the middle
distance around her shoes. "Nope. Sure, we joked about being lovers
enough. Hell, we even gave it a shot once, when we were both really
drunk and lonely, but we couldn't get much further than kissing without
laughing our asses off. No, Natsumi and I love men and each other way
too much to ever start having sex. With each other, that is. God knows,
we spent enough time looking for decent men in the Academy."
Yuri nodded. That same search had been a source of much irritation
for her and Kei during their Academy days. Sakura sighed heavily and
continued. "I think the real problem was that our standards were too
high. Natsumi's especially. I swear, sometimes I think she expects any
man she dates to be able to compose spontaneous poetry for her while
driving an ATV-Personnel Carrier down a fifty degree slope and shooting
bottles off of a wall from one hundred paces, all at the same time. She
has the most unrealistic expectations. Not like me, of course."
"Oh?" Asked Yuri, "And what do you want from a man?"
"Well, he'd have to be taller than me." Sakura said. "And handsome.
Handsome is a must. And I like men with dark skin, the less body hair
the better. I hate fuzzy men." She shuddered eloquently. "And I expect
him to like guns too. If we can't go shooting together, there isn't any
point in our dating. It would be nice if he could dance too. And for
that matter, it is absolutely imperative that he be a romantic, the kind
that sends flowers for no particular reason. I always wanted a man to do
that for me..." She pondered a moment. "I guess it would be nice if he
could write me poems now and then. No, better yet, he should write me
songs!" She nodded decisively. "Definitely should be able to write me
songs. And he had better like the color pink..."
Yuri hid her smile behind a hand. Even if just about everything
else about her was extraordinary, her needs in a man were pretty normal.
The only thing she had left out was..."Ice cream." Sakura announced. "If
he won't bring me ice cream in bed, it will never work." Yuri smiled
wider. Yes, definitely normal in that respect.
Kei came bounding out of the hall to the emergency room with a huge
grin on her face. With a cheerful grunt, she hurled herself onto the
bench, nearly knocking Yuri off in the process. She ignored her
partner's squawk of protest and flipped her bright red hair out of her
eyes, grinning like a maniac the whole time. "Guess what?" She burbled.
"Those doctors finally showed up! They're in there with Natsumi right
now. So, having established that she is in good hands, can we get off-
planet before those chumps they call Peacekeepers decide that we're an
invading force and nuke us? Please?"
Sakura stood slowly. After a long moment of silence, she nodded.
"Okay," She said quietly. She looked at Kei and went on, "I want to see
the rest of that security tape when we get back too."
Kei glared and said, "Alright Agent Tenjou, as your senior officer,
I am commanding you to abandon this line of conversation!"
Sakura's green eyes went flat, and she said quietly, "No dice,
Agent Kei."
Kei began eyeing Sakura's holster tensely when Sakura's fingers
twitched towards it. She rested her own hand confidently on the butt of
her own pistol. Sakura's lips twitched in a mirthless smile. "Do you
want to try and quick-draw with me, Agent Kei? You're welcome to try."
When Kei's arm tensed, Sakura went very still, looking for all the
world like a snake about to strike, a coil of deadly muscle ready to
spring. Realizing that a gunfight between agents would look really,
really bad on their next evaluation, Yuri interceded. "Kei, think of how
you would feel if this had happened to me."
Kei spat. "It did happen to you. Remember? Kei n' Yuri ‘Con '41? I
didn't go mental and try to kill anyone then." She paused and amended
that. "Well, nobody that didn't positively need killing."
Yuri reminded her gently. "That's because it was me that tried to
kill me, silly. Well, it was another me, actually. So I guess I tried to
kill myself, but in the end I ended up killing me after I shot myself in
the chest..."
Sakura stared at Yuri while the black-haired Angel tried to puzzle
out her own explanation. Kei sighed and shook her head. "I think I see
your point. Well, what the hell? What more harm can it do to let her see
it?"
*****
Kei stared mournfully at the trio of bullet holes in the vid-
screen. "I suppose I should have known when I asked..." She muttered.
Sakura stood rigid in front of the screen, Electromag still
extended stiffly in front of her, chest heaving. Her chair lay against
the wall, kicked from under her when she stood. Yuri moved slowly into
Sakura's field of vision, hands raised to show that they were empty, and
slowly moved her right hand towards the pistol. Making soft sounds, she
placed her hand gently on the side of the gun. Sakura did not speak. Her
only movement was her nostrils flaring and her knuckles creaking as she
gripped the gun. As Yuri had hoped, she squeezed too hard, and released
the magazine. Yuri kicked it away and firmly gripped the barrel of the
gun. "That's enough of that," She said firmly, and gave the gun a gentle
pull. Sakura released it reluctantly, but made no other move. A muscle
in her jaw shifted slightly. Then she began to cry silently, streams of
tears flowing down her cheeks. Yuri bundled her into her arms and let
her cry.
Sakura had watched the video predominantly in silence, at first
giving small cries when Natsumi screamed. The first time Natsumi had
screamed Sakura's name, she sobbed. Finally, about three quarters
through the nightmarish tape, Sakura had screamed, hers matching one of
Natsumi's last, and had shot the screen out with her Electromag. Now,
she shook in Yuri's arms as the grief drained out of her. "How?" She
whispered, "How can anyone be so cruel? How could she do that to her?"
For several minutes, the only sound was Sakura's labored breathing
and the sound of Kei snapping a piece of chewing gum idly. Finally, the
pink-haired girl straightened and pushed away from Yuri, who smiled at
her kindly. "Better now?"
Sakura nodded firmly, then spun on her heel and strode from the
bridge down a service hall towards the belly of the ship. Kei and Yuri
exchanged a worried look and followed. Kei called, "What the hell are
you going to do now? Shoot up the cargo bay?"
Yuri hushed her. Sakura called back, without turning or slowing, "I
have to make a little visit to the ship's arsenal."
Puzzled, Yuri asked, "Why is that?"
"If I'm going to find that bitch, I'm going to need some
specialized equipment."
Both Lovely Angels stopped stock-still. "What?" They said in
unison.
Sakura turned a corner as her voice floated back. "Yup. I figured,
if she wanted the books, then she must be from the BTR. Natsumi hurt her
a bit, so odds are she headed for the first BTR center she could get to.
The nearest one to the site of the attack is two systems over from us
now. We can be there in thirty hours at pursuit speed, in three at
hyper-travel speed. I figure I'll pack in some heavy artillery, get into
the BTR facility, find the poisonous little bitch, shoot her in the
face, and be out before anyone can figure out what's going on."
The Lovely Angels dashed after her and managed to catch up.
Walking behind the girl as she strode towards the arsenal, Kei said, "So
you'll just waltz in, find her, and shoot her in the face, huh?"
Sakura glanced over her shoulder at her. "Yup. If I thought I could
transport her out, I'd bring her with me so I could take my time, but I
figure a face-shot will do the trick in a pinch."
Kei growled and sped up to walk along side. "And how do you propose
to get in?"
Sakura shrugged. "I'll shoot my way in. You two have enough
artillery on this ship to start a war."
Yuri moved in front of her and shouted in her parade ground voice,
"That is Type A-1 NEGATIVE Agent Tenjou! We are operatives of the Worlds
Welfare Work Association, and we do NOT pursue personal vendettas using
3WA equipment or resources. The 3WA is not a vehicle for exacting
revenge! You will cease and desist immediately!"
Kei murmured, "Umm, Yuri? About that vendetta bit? What about
Shasti?"
While Yuri spluttered and blushed, Sakura glided around her and
continued on. When she reached the door to the armory, she activated it
and stepped inside. Looking back out at her new partners and superiors,
she said, "Look you two. I have to do this. Now, you can help me with
this, or you can shoot me, ‘cause that's the only way you'll stop me.
So, are you in, or are you out?"
They paused and looked at one another. Kei grinned wildly. "Ah,
what the hell," She said, "It could be fun. I've always wanted to try
and blow up the BTR."
Yuri sighed, but nodded. They spoke as one to Sakura. "We're in."
*****
Victor Foley of the 3WA sat drinking foul office coffee and
perusing a patrol report when his secretary called in. "Sir, the Chief
of Security for the Peacekeepers on Orius IV is on the sat-line. He says
it's about the Dirty Pair."
Foley winced as he felt his ulcer spring into action. Forgoing the
coffee for the bottle of industrial-strength antacid in the drawer, he
said, "Patch him in."
Several minutes later, after repeated assurances that disciplinary
action would be taken, repeated requests not to inform the media, and
several reminders that one totaled landing-field and five destroyed
vehicles was a remarkably light toll for a visit by the Dirty Pair.
Finally, the angry Chief of Security hung up, closing with a not-too-
carefully veiled threat of a complaint to the Chief Office of the 3WA.
Foley sighed, lit another cigarette- he had found his last floating in
his coffee- and perused again the thin dossier of information he had on
Project Eden. "Girls," He said to the empty room, "You had better do
what I expect now, or else this all goes to shit faster than any of us
can blink." And as he nursed the bottle of antacid and the cigarette
alternately, he wondered if it wouldn't anyway.
Continued in Cycle Five
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
MechaMorph
MediKitty
All the fans! (all four of you...)