Katsuo no Seibyou

[DeathsOverture]

Zensou navigated his Karasu through the cold atmosphere of Planet Miura on an approach vector to the latitude and longitude designated in the transmission. When he reached the coordinates, he set his Karasu down a small landing pad with a single other occupant, another Karasu. The installation looked rather unimpressive, but Zensou trusted in his sensei. He reached into the ventral storage compartments and pulled out the thick arctic gear. The Karasu's instruments indicated that the air temperature was -30C. The oxygen concentration on the surface was barely sufficient to be considered 'inhabitable,' comparable to the thin atmosphere of large mountain ranges on other planets in Sirius... good enough to make it from the landing pad to the sliding doors.

Zensou opened his Karasu's cockpit and threw the carbon-tubule ladder over the side. He was immediately blasted with a wave of frigid air. Zensou cursed the winds as he climbed down from his fighter. The ladder retracted automatically as the cockpit sealed. Zensou trudged through the thick snow on the frozen tundra over to the sliding doors. He brushed off a layer of snow from the access panel and punched in the correct key sequence, causing the doors to slowly and quite audibly slide open.

The installation looked completely abandoned save for the few flickering lights hanging from the ceiling. Zensou located the single elevator, which took him hundreds of feet below the surface of Miura. The elevator opened up into a long corridor with a pair of blast doors at the end with the words “Shuri Base” painted on it. Zensou punched in the access codes to open the blast doors, revealing a checkpoint. Before he could proceed, security guards removed Zensou's arctic gear and verified his identification. He patiently waited for clearance from the guards.

When he was approved for entrance, a second door slid open revealing the inner base. Zensou walked over to the central area where his sensei was standing with Kenshin. "Taro-sama," he said as he bowed in respect, "it is an honor to be summoned here by you."

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