I was shocked WOB was able to get off the planet
Four Warships, even heavily damaged, on one is still terrible odds even with Nukes. Anyhow that was the end of the Tharkad Arc so now onto a short to the Combine before returning to the past with Peter and Yvonne.
12/20/3067 21:47 Location – Franklin Sakamoto’s Private Residence, Imperial City, Luthien, Draconis CombineSho-Sho (General) Franklin Sakamoto was walking through the Imperial Gardens after relaxing in the Palace’s spa following a particularly rigorous day on the training field. The night breeze was cool as he walked back but not cold enough for him to put his shirt back on. Instead he proudly walked to the small home nestled in a quiet patch of bamboo just outside the Imperial Barracks wearing only his pants and sandals whistling an old spacer tune he learned in his travels. His shirt was slung over the well-muscled torso he had earned during a lifetime of training for the perfect moment when he would require all of his strength to prevail.
While walking through the winding gardens he calmly wondering how his once rival, now friend Adam Steiner was doing. The man had sent the invitation to rejoin the reformed 1st Somerset Strikers but Franklin enjoyed his home realm far too much now and no longer felt compelled to once more venture out and fight the Clans. There was a powerful Clan far closer to home or he could fight the vassal Nova Cats that had adopted his half-brother as their Loremaster. His duty and heart remained with the Dragon though he would welcome an opportunity to catch up at a later date even on Somerset to share war stories as both had more than a few and gained some since they had last fought alongside one another.
As he stood outside the sliding door he faintly smelled something flowery. Lilac? An odd smell for winter. Did he leave a candle or incense burning after he stopped by in the afternoon? He sniffed again particularly on his armpits, too much soap? He looked around his environs there were only bamboo plants still green in the mild winters of Luthien no flowers of any kind were currently in bloom. Adrenaline coursed through him but doubt was stronger. No assassin would wear perfume while performing their duties. He must be imagining things, perhaps that last hit on the yard was a little more than he could take.
Franklin opened the door a saw a soft light on in his sleeping room with a figure, when he quietly opened the screen he saw it was a woman whose back was to him. Her shoulders were exposed, crane-like neck gracefully poised in contemplation, her kimono loose in a seductive tease. Upon hearing the rustle of his pants she turned but her silky raven black hair remained pinned in place by elegant ivory sticks, her lips just the right shade of red, and blue eyes bright in the half-light.
“Mara?”“I had hoped I wouldn’t have to wait much longer Franklin.”He stepped forward and she turned around but remained down, her kimono was just loose enough to ignite imagination but not enough to be vulgar. The barest bit of her white silk sarashi was visible in the gap between the two portions of her outfit. She looked refined and eager, the barest pout of her lips and her current state of undress were more than enough hint at her intentions, though her motivations were unknown to him.
Mara Selenica was an unknown quantity, he inferred that she was an pillar agent but could never pin down her exact responsibilities not that it mattered. He was smitten with her and she found reasons to get close to him as well. Regularly he was certain to find her in the audience when he was bare-chested on the parade field during hot days training the Sun Zhang students or sparring. They had spoken a few times but the Kurita court was home to rampant rumor-mongering that made even the Triad on Tharkad look tame as many more arguments ended with a sword fight (and the Tharkad dueling circuit was quite extensive, ancient black powder pistols were now back in vogue). Yet here she was in his home with him tonight.
“You shouldn't be here Mara.”Her voice grew soft almost whispered he swore a tear was forming,
“Do you want me to go?”“No, but you still shouldn't be here.”She rose and pulled him he didn't fight it as she drew him to his knees to look into her blue eyes.
“I had to come. I've tried to make my feelings known but you always avoid me.” She turned away slightly and there was definitely a tear,
“Am I not acceptable to you?”Franklin's heart burned and tore at the mere thought of a such a thing, he gently moved her head back towards him and wiped the tear away,
“That's not it at all. My duty is everything to me, I just don't know what I can offer you in return.”
“I was raised in a Pillarine Convent, I knew nothing other than duty until now. I just don't know how to describe it other than Love and I need to know whether you feel it too.”
He had never felt that way before either but hesitated before responding,
“I feel it too.”“I don't know if I believe you are sincere, I want to know that I am not just another Oiran to you, that there is something truly special.” She pulled the kimono back over her shoulders which in the moment felt like the cruelest thing a woman had ever done to a man. Another sting hit his heart at her unkind words,
“How may I prove it Mara?”“What do you love about me? Your answers will prove it to be true.”Franklin put his hands on her shoulders pushing the kimono back off them once more gently caressing her,
“Your skin is like moonlight on a still pond,” he leaned closer and removed the exquisite ivory hair sticks from the hair bun and grasped their smooth forms in his right hand, her hair cascading down to just below her shoulders,
“your eyes are bright and clear like winter sky,” he neared closer almost touching her lips to his,
“your lips the color of spring wildflowers.”With their first kiss followed many others and the pair were wrapped in the folds of the kimono before moving to the bed. It was a passion that he had never felt before and the evening passed by quickly.
Franklin woke to the sound of combat, fierce, large scale combat, the 'whoosh of missiles, electric crack of PPC capacitors, and the distinctive sound of an LB10X. Immediately taking in his surroundings he realized that he was no longer in his house or anywhere familiar in fact. The air smelled like ozone and a hospital, bright lights shone in his face and he felt motion underneath him, heard the sound of tires on concrete and the discordant blare of sirens.
He attempted to get up but was unable to fighting against straps that bound him to a gurney, both of wrists and ankles were handcuffed to the frame. He blinked to clear his unfocused vision, it must have been drugs. Soon everything came back into focus; he saw Mara still beautiful but now fully clothed in a Luthien City EMS uniform, her hair in a tight ponytail threaded through the cap, and a large Afro-Arabic man with tightly cropped hair, the same uniform, bright Yakuza style tattoos, and a cybernetic arm, sitting to either side of him,
“You lied to me Mara! What is the meaning of this?”She looked his way tilting her head and giving him a kiss before speaking,
“I didn't lie I meant everything that I said last night. I just didn't tell you about the morning. The Abbess has taken a special interest in you and I volunteered to ensure you were spared the fate of so many other Otomo and Izanagi Warriors. We are going to change things back to the way they were.”“Who is we?”“The Kokuryu-kai are going to bring back the glory of the Draconis Combine. We will no longer be ashamed of who we are, the Combine has a long glorious history we are no worse than any others. Nor shall we allow the Coordinator to change us into something that we can never be and you are going to help us." The cyborg looked his way and showed the needler concealed in his jacket,
“Or else.”
