"All right! Now we're cooking with steam!" Kohran marched the battlemover she was wearing out of the weapons cache, providing cover for the rest of her team.
Then a siren sounded behind them. "You! In the mecha! Pull over!"
"What's a police officer doing here?" wondered Kohran.
Jake shrugged. "Better not to piss her off." They stepped to the side of the corridor and waited.
A tall, slim, attractive woman walked up to the party. "Do you have an operator's licence for that power suit?"
"I didn't know she needed one," Jake commented. "And it's a battlemover, not a power suit."
The officer glared at him. "This is Mars. All operators of mecha, battlemovers, or other power suits must pass the basic competency test administered at Cydonia Marsbase Sara. The licence they issue is the only proof of completion we recognize. So..." she turned back to Kohran. "Do you have that licence?"
"How do we know you're actually a police officer?" asked Kagome.
"Here's my badge." She flipped open her wallet. "Chief Inspector Natsuko Aki, Helium Police Department."
"'Helium'?" Jake asked. "Doesn't that mean you don't have any authority here?"
Inspector Aki turned quickly, shot three times, and grinned. Suction-cup darts stuck to Kagome, Jake, and Leda's foreheads. "You're right. But you're also out of the game. Suckers."
Kohran put one hand on Natsume's shoulder and squeezed - not enough to injure the policewoman, but it was obvious that the young Mad could have crippled her opponent. The suit hummed for a moment, then she asked, "Now, do I put my other hand around your neck and pretend to squeeze, or do you admit you're out too... big sister?"
Aki looked shocked. "What?"
"Noah told Yoriko and me about you and Agatha, the day we woke up. The day after the two of you woke up. I always wanted to meet both of you, but whenever I had free time, you were nowhere to be found."
"I'm the chief inspector of a big-city police department. I'm a busy woman."
"And I'm a senior member of an important faction; you could have justified taking the time to meet me."
Natsuko glared at Kohran. "Fine. I was avoiding you."
"Why?"
"That should be obvious. And every minute you spend talking to me is a minute the other teams have to bring heavy weapons up against you. Didn't Scott-san teach you better tactics than that?"
Kohran thought for a moment. "All right... but I do want to get to know you. As a person, not a name out of our father's past."
"You're calling him 'father'?" Natsuko shook her head in disbelief. "Go on, get out of my sight already..."
After Kohran left, Jake turned to Natsuko. "What was all that about?"
"Ask Scott-san, or Hasegawa." They couldn't miss the scorn she put into saying Sora's name. "I have nothing more to say about this." And she walked off towards the entertainment district.
"Why did she attack us?" Kagome wondered. "It made no tactical sense at all."
Leda frowned. "Because we're Noah's friends. I think she's jealous of us... C'mon, let's go back to the Stallion; Noah's going to want to know about Ms. Aki, and it would be rude to tell him over a commwatch."
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."
- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
Then a siren sounded behind them. "You! In the mecha! Pull over!"
"What's a police officer doing here?" wondered Kohran.
Jake shrugged. "Better not to piss her off." They stepped to the side of the corridor and waited.
A tall, slim, attractive woman walked up to the party. "Do you have an operator's licence for that power suit?"
"I didn't know she needed one," Jake commented. "And it's a battlemover, not a power suit."
The officer glared at him. "This is Mars. All operators of mecha, battlemovers, or other power suits must pass the basic competency test administered at Cydonia Marsbase Sara. The licence they issue is the only proof of completion we recognize. So..." she turned back to Kohran. "Do you have that licence?"
"How do we know you're actually a police officer?" asked Kagome.
"Here's my badge." She flipped open her wallet. "Chief Inspector Natsuko Aki, Helium Police Department."
"'Helium'?" Jake asked. "Doesn't that mean you don't have any authority here?"
Inspector Aki turned quickly, shot three times, and grinned. Suction-cup darts stuck to Kagome, Jake, and Leda's foreheads. "You're right. But you're also out of the game. Suckers."
Kohran put one hand on Natsume's shoulder and squeezed - not enough to injure the policewoman, but it was obvious that the young Mad could have crippled her opponent. The suit hummed for a moment, then she asked, "Now, do I put my other hand around your neck and pretend to squeeze, or do you admit you're out too... big sister?"
Aki looked shocked. "What?"
"Noah told Yoriko and me about you and Agatha, the day we woke up. The day after the two of you woke up. I always wanted to meet both of you, but whenever I had free time, you were nowhere to be found."
"I'm the chief inspector of a big-city police department. I'm a busy woman."
"And I'm a senior member of an important faction; you could have justified taking the time to meet me."
Natsuko glared at Kohran. "Fine. I was avoiding you."
"Why?"
"That should be obvious. And every minute you spend talking to me is a minute the other teams have to bring heavy weapons up against you. Didn't Scott-san teach you better tactics than that?"
Kohran thought for a moment. "All right... but I do want to get to know you. As a person, not a name out of our father's past."
"You're calling him 'father'?" Natsuko shook her head in disbelief. "Go on, get out of my sight already..."
After Kohran left, Jake turned to Natsuko. "What was all that about?"
"Ask Scott-san, or Hasegawa." They couldn't miss the scorn she put into saying Sora's name. "I have nothing more to say about this." And she walked off towards the entertainment district.
"Why did she attack us?" Kagome wondered. "It made no tactical sense at all."
Leda frowned. "Because we're Noah's friends. I think she's jealous of us... C'mon, let's go back to the Stallion; Noah's going to want to know about Ms. Aki, and it would be rude to tell him over a commwatch."
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."
- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012