Haruko Haruhara

[escopton]

A short, dark haired boy, with a band-aid cross on his forehead, slowly turns a closed door with a dim light at the end of an underground metal corridor somewhere near the Honshu Spaceport. Inside the poorly illuminated room there is a round table with nine people sitting around it, some of them Kusarian, some clearly not.

- Welcome, Naota Nandaba. You are late. - says the only person standing. He knows her, it's Haruko Haruhara. A smuggler believed dead by the nations of Sirius. Her body is fit and her clothes are tight. He swallows.

Naota then looks around at the people in the room, until his sight stops at a young woman, with read hair, dressed like a college student. She hides her face as she notices him staring in her direction.

- Mamimi... - whispers Naota. Haruko walks slowly towards him and helps him to his place. Then she goes back to the side of an old e-board hanging on a dirty wall.

- At last - says she - we can call this meeting open. Like you know, I don't like to talk in vein, so we will go straight to the matter which concerns us today. You have been selected among the people I know and trust because of your skills and of your current political objectives. Everyone here shares something in common. To make a long story, short, all of us want the Kusari-Bretonnia war to come to an end. Some of us because of the suffering it has already meant to all the people involved, some others for patriotism, or even for buisness reasons. - as she says these last words she looks at a man who is writing something down in a computer frenetically, and who seems to be Rheinlander judging by the paleness of his skin. Then she continues - But more importantly, we have all tried by different means to help the war come to an end. Some of us in some way, and some in another. And we all saw our efforts were not enough to make a difference, yet, we kept on trying. Today my friends, I invited you to join a more powerful conspiracy, to sum our efforts and direct them in a useful way, so we can achieve our own objectives.

There are plans already marching ahead of us. But before I reveal what I intend to propose, let me introduce you to each other. - she points at Naota - The little boy you see here, is one of the most skillful hackers in all this side of Sirius. He managed to scam Bretonnian banks and has robbed off them a sum of almost one hundred million credits for our cause, though there are sixty millions which seem to be stucked for the moment. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you as I said before, Naota Nandaba.

The boy now also hides his face, pointing only the band-aid to the rest of the people - Hi. - he says.

Next to him we have Johnny Johnson - she now points at a blond middle aged man, dressed in working overalls. - He's been on the transportation buisness more than any of us, and has some good contacts in the Bretonnian criminal underworld. He is here just for the money, though... - she sighs.

Aye! - barks the libertonian as he offers the silliest of the smiles.

Then she moves next to the writer - This is Gypsie Skripto. He is a Zoner and he will be assigned to write down all our activities. Should we succeed, Sirius will know that there where ghost hands like us helping to end the war.

The man says, without taking his sight away from the computer - It will be like a chronicles series or such... Really awesome opportunity I am very glad. And I also want the bloody war to stop and such. You know?

That brings us to this young woman here. - she stares at the redhead - Mamimi Samejima, known photographer and peace activist. She will be the only, I repeat, the only, public face to the lawful parties. Ok? Should she be found with any of us, she is a hostage. I hope that was clear.

She points at some tough Kusarians sitting in the back corner of the room- The four men you see here are the Sojuns. Professional pilots who once belonged to criminal and lawful organizations, seeking only to help the Kusari nation to win the war. They will be in charge of piloting our vessels.

The man with the hood was never introduced.

She then walks next to the e-board. She clicks a button and suddenly images of two ships appear on the screen - I'll make it simple, since you all have been already informed of your part of the buisness. We will flood the Bretonnian market with marijuana products, in that way helping it's economy to collapse. Marijuana products cover a very ample specter of the needs of a nation, and flooding the market with it can slowly start dropping dramatically the prices in some areas of the stock market. We will be smuggling the products, so all the effort will mean twice the results, speaking in economical damage terms. For such a thing we will purchase two vessels, Kusari made, and all crew members will split into two teams, two Sojuns piloting each vessel. One of these is already being purchased, it's a Big Dragon Transport, named Black.Lotus, and it's commisioned to be delivered at Sigma 17, for obvious reasons. The other one will be a Geisha Luxury Yatch, it will be named Lotus.Blossom and Naota and Mamimi will join me and two sojuns on the crew. All said, please return to your hotel rooms and leave to Sigma 17 as soon as you are able.

As they are all leaving, Naota approaches to Haruko - Why Mamimi? Why? - he whispers - you have already got her fiancee killed in one of your "jobs", my brother... - a teardrop falls from his cheek to her left hand, she straightens, but does not look at him - Why Haruko?

She responds calmly - She offered herself... - and leaves the room, leaving a crying teenage boy inside a metal underground womb.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

//FEEL FREE TO PM ME IF YOU HAVE A GOOD IDEA INVOLVING BUMPING INTO MY STORY

---