The Arch Storm

[Ayem]

Kenzou Tenma-Daii, 113th Recon and Assault Division, Hanta-Iseijin.

We are a feather caught in the wind,
We do not float, we beat and beat,
We are the wing that raised the storm.

In the cool clouds of Kyushu we find a fat Rheinlander. Fat with vehicles of war. We prod at him, but do not destroy. Too much attention.



We escort him to the Yamaguchi, we log our involvement. We are -useful-.

As we return another contacts us, questions. We weave the lies around us, the mis-truths, the enticements.

113th|Kenzou.Tenma: May I assist you in some fashion?

Ikoma.Toshikage: I was just hoping to join you for a patrol.
Ikoma.Toshikage: The 113th, I have heard of. They are an inspiration to me.

113th|Kenzou.Tenma: You are welcome, of course. However, current reports of your position place you in Leeds. That is beyond my jurisdiction.

Ikoma.Toshikage: I shall be returning to our space momentarily.
Ikoma.Toshikage: I just moved down here to assist another pilot.
Ikoma.Toshikage: I destroyed a Gaijin bomber, and made an Admiral run back to the planet.

113th|Kenzou.Tenma: How is your ship? Relatively undamaged?

Ikoma.Toshikage: It is nothing. Just my duty.
Ikoma.Toshikage: And my ship was just repaired on the Nagasaki.

113th|Kenzou.Tenma: Your response speaks to your honour. I am pleased.
113th|Kenzou.Tenma: I wait in Kyushu, by the Nagumo.

Ikoma.Toshikage: I shall be there soon.

113th|Kenzou.Tenma: Please feel free to ask questions of my division, I will answer to the best of my ability. You must understand of course, that some information is classified, and I will be unable to disclose it.

Ikoma.Toshikage: How many pilots are a part of the 113th?

113th|Kenzou.Tenma: I apologise for the delay.

Ikoma.Toshikage: It is not a problem.

113th|Kenzou.Tenma: We field roughly five officers at any given time, though we have greater numbers to call on in the case of larger projects.
113th|Kenzou.Tenma: Most are involved with our mission in the Tohoku system.

Ikoma.Toshikage: So there are few pilots in the 113th? It must be a real honour to be one of the few,
Ikoma.Toshikage: What is this mission in the Tohoku system, or would this be classified?

113th|Kenzou.Tenma: We are only a division within a larger organisation. The Kusari Naval Forces are a vast and glorious beast.
113th|Kenzou.Tenma: We are but a feather.
113th|Kenzou.Tenma: Are you conversant with information regarding the '€œOrder'€ and their business?

Ikoma.Toshikage: A feather of the bird.
Ikoma.Toshikage: No, I have not kept up-to-date with information about them.
Ikoma.Toshikage: All I know is they are some sort of terrorist cell.

113th|Kenzou.Tenma: Then what I would say would have little meaning, since much of it is classified.
113th|Kenzou.Tenma: Yes, they are terrorists. Of that we are certain.
113th|Kenzou.Tenma: Still, some of their goals match our own.

Ikoma.Toshikage: Which goals are these?

113th|Kenzou.Tenma: The containment or destruction of a threat that comes from the Omicrons. The Tohoku system has become a conduit for them.
113th|Kenzou.Tenma: We are the plug, if you will.

Ikoma.Toshikage: Hai, we have enough problems here. No need for more coming from such a far away place.

113th|Kenzou.Tenma: Such was the thought of our honoured superiors, when they created the 113th Recon and Assault Division.
113th|Kenzou.Tenma: This is why you will not see us on the front line in Seto. We have our own front line to hold.

Ikoma.Toshikage: Hai, of course.

113th|Kenzou.Tenma: From that you might extrapolate the question, '€œwhy are the 113th patrolling the rest of Kusari, if their front line is Tohoku?'€

Ikoma.Toshikage: If the 113th has been kept small, does this mean the threat from the Omicrons is also small?
Ikoma.Toshikage: Hai, that was my next question.

113th|Kenzou.Tenma: I will answer the question I posited first, then I will address yours, if you will forgive me.

Ikoma.Toshikage: Not to intrude in your business, of course. I am just... curious.

113th|Kenzou.Tenma: The threat we face may destroy what it means to be of Kusari.
113th|Kenzou.Tenma: Our traditions, our histories washed away by a new culture, a new faith.
113th|Kenzou.Tenma: It is important that officers of the 113th remember that they are Kusari, by immersing themselves in the work of defending it domestically, as well as on the frontier.

Ikoma.Toshikage: That is horrible! Surely that can not happen?

113th|Kenzou.Tenma: Of course it cannot happen. We are Kusari, we have foreseen this threat and we have placed a force in its path.

Ikoma.Toshikage: I am relieved then.

113th|Kenzou.Tenma: While it will not happen, it is only '€“because- of the actions of the 113th, and our superior'€™s wisdom.
113th|Kenzou.Tenma: Are you satisfied with that response to the question I raised?

Ikoma.Toshikage: Hai, very much so. It just makes me admire the 113th even more.

113th|Kenzou.Tenma: As you said earlier, we do only our duty.

Ikoma.Toshikage: This is where I must depart for now. I must dock to write a report about the events in Leeds.

113th|Kenzou.Tenma: Thank you for the company.

Ikoma.Toshikage: Thank you for allowing me to join you on your patrol, Kenzou-sama. *bows head*

113th|Kenzou.Tenma: Please call on me in the future and I will offer an answer to your question.

Ikoma.Toshikage: I shall then. Thank you.

We wear the clothes with ease, it comes to us and we are it. But we -dim- when we wear the clothes.

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