Innes Evans was in a small Gaian group consisting of two civilian class ships. The original idea was to launch an attack on trade lanes in Leeds system. Innes arrived in the smog cloud ready to disrupt lane, but a Molly fighter jumped in right in front of her through the Dublin jump hole. Right then a Bretonia Armed Forces patrol would be disrupted by failed sequence of the lane and scatter the two fighters.
An Armed Forces patrol lured Innes Evans away from the intentional zone of piracy. She did not want to pick a fight with the Armed Forces, it would be too much for her, but little did she know that she was closing to the ever moving frontline of Bretonia-Kusari war.
The second Gaian ship would arrive then. Soon Innes would realise the risk she has taken of fleeding the smog cloud. The Gaian group would end up not too far from Stokes surrounded by full Armed Forces wing squadron.
There would be little hope for the Gaians. They couldn't flee, they couldn't give up. The second Gaian support Innes wing appeared to be a fanatic of some sort. They felt to be positioned in the corner and provoked. A fight would soon take place over Leeds.
Kusari Naval Forces used the chance to move in closer with a Destroyer class vessel. It would launch a few fighters and provide covering fire from a distance. However a lot of the shots would reach both the BAF and the Gaians.
It was looking grim. Naval Forces took BAF by surprise attacking from flank, dispatching a few fighters along the way but it was only 'charge' effect. It wasn't too far from Leeds and BAF would outnumber the enemy here.
Innes wingman was shot down then. She saw the whole thing. Armed Forces have taken out most of them by then. Innes morale broke down as she started waving white flag. An Armed Forces pilot, a lieutenaunt, appearantly would then order to catapult from her seat.
Thats what Innes did, she surrendered and submitted to his will.
----------
2 hours later
Innes opened her eyes as the light flash blinded her. She did expect to see what she did. A man in Kusarian uniform would stand in front of her. He seemed all bruised, but his character remained strong, though you could see he'd be handling some pain.
Innes looked around again. She has just climbed out of Chimeras cockpit, that was for sure, but the dock she was in reminded her of home - a mining station in Dublin. Innes expected to be met by Bretonian officers. She feared them too, but this was something different.
"Where am I?" - she asked the strangely silent man - "What happened?..who..who are you?"
Innes had so many questions she completely lost sense of time and place. All the Kusarian man would say was
"Oh Im sorry, didnt realized you probably dont speak Kusarish, my name is Arimatsu Yoritoro and I am comander in navy of his majesty heavenly emperor."
Arimatshu pushed small black button above his head which caused hissing sound when pressured oxigen from cockpit started leaving ship. After while was whole cockpit opened and Arimatsu removed his seat belt. He waited for a while until personnel of hangar camed closer and told them something in kusarish language. In that moment one of employees left hangar and rest started preparing chimaera for next launch into space.
"Man which left was ordered to prepare my personal quarter for you. I am sory for that but most of rooms are ocupied by soldiers. Dont worry about my own confort, I am almost never here, most of my time is spendt in space in this small shrimp hehe"
"Now you have two options, first is ask commander of station for permision to use our crypted transmitter and call your people or wait few weaks until our higher command detach special ship for you, which you can use for your return... it wil be probably slightly damaged chimaera which repair is more expensive than new ship buuut better than nothing."
"Oh or ehm... I think this option is ridiculous but from time to time visit our forces flying buddhist monastery, maybe monks can take you back to your base. They are kind people helping even to Bretonians by delivery of medicaments but I think spend few hours with chanting monks talking whole time about peace and love sounds like worst idea than fly back in detached piece of rusty scrap."
As the man started speaking to Innes she realised what happened. She looked around the interior of the station. Her eyes stumbled accross a note painted out on the wall. It read "Daisin Station". The paint was fairly new. You could see that it was done in a hurry.
This was Stokes. Or so it has been called before Kusari occupation. Then it came to her. A miracle has happened. One that she would have never expected. This Kusarian man saved her from the Bretonians by tractoring her escape pod in. Innes intentionally wanted to hug the Kusarian, but he gently pushed away. Yes, she was a gaijin to them and a woman at that.
Innes Evans felt cautious about what Arimatsu had to say. She was alone here, her ship was drifting in space as she was speaking with the stranger. No other Gaian survivor was around to see her survive. Naval Forces could have done anything to her, but yet this man claims that he's giving her free will. Something wasnt right here and she could feel it.
Innes destiny was at the hands of Arimatsu, that Kusari pilot who presumable "saved" her from another usurpators. Instead she could end up in a mining colony on Miura or be taken away by the Hogosha who knows where. On board casino Liner to Kusari to "serve" as a geisha for customers who have a thing for gaijin women? Male dominant perhaps. No! She could not stand that, she'd rather die instead.
But..blast it! She checked her belt. Her Newgate Laser Pistol wasn't there. It must have drifted along with the ship. The Freelancer who shot her Eagle to condition of a Gaian Silverwinged-flyer in winter season, must have taken it from the wreck.
Innes wasn't so quick to decide. She knew she had to get out of Stokes, but it wasn't the right time. Why would Naval Forces lend her, a Bretonian citizen, a Chimeara to just fly back home to Edinburgh. There might be a tracking device set on said ship. Innes couldn't take the risk. She had to contact the Freelancer who shot her ship down. Innes spoke up:
"I am sorry" - she said - "I guess I should thank you. You are very kind as to offer me your quarters, however humble they may look to you, but I need to speak with the commanding officer on station. Can you take me to him?"
One of the flight crew working feverishly amongst the many smaller ships landing on Daisin Station spotted the Gaijin woman leave the small craft with a KNF pilot. This was odd, as she was not wearing any BAF or BPA uniform that he recognized. He knew this kind of information was good, even profitable, and subtly he made his way to a secluded part of the hanger deck. There he reaches into his pocket and reaches for a personal communicator, designed to only broadcast on an encrypted channel. His communicator connected to the only other working on the same encrypted frequency.
What is it? Says a voice over the communicator
Elder, there is a woman here. She was taken in en board one of the KNF fighter craft. This gaijin is not wearing any Bretonian uniforms I recognize. I thought you should know.
There is silence for a minute before a response comes; You will keep an eye on this one, Kobun. Let me know where they are storing this gaijin.
With that, the mechanic walks over to the officer's vessel and beings minor repairs. Making sure not to be suspicious as he attempts to overhear the two speak.
Duty and honour
Elder Ruuku Ochi, So-Honbucho of The Black Dragon Society
"Hai, of course you must speak with comader of station, let me take you to him"
Arimatsu jumped down from chimaera and signed some papers. Than he walked few steps away and said
"comon, I dont have whole day to being an tourist guy".
Lucky for her, she is on right side... I've heard many things about our secret intelligence... ouch damn heh better die in space than questioning by KIS.
"HEY HIADAICHI! MY NAVCOM NEED SOME FIXES! IT ALMOST LED ME INTO SUN GOD DAMN IT!" yelled Arimatsu when he was leaving hangar.
"This station is comanded from Nagasaki, you will speak personally with admiral Kunio.. of course via comm from bridge on this station, gaijins are not allowed on our battleships. It is old honorable warior, show respect gaian and I am sure you'll be soon at home. This man was comanding battleship in combad sooner than our fathers were borned, you must have still on your mind that his word is almost holly, only admiral Sulu and his majesty heavenly emperor can cancel decision of this man and I doubt they will loosing time with that."
When was Arimatsu talking about admiral Kunio, there was something strange in his voice... it was like he was speaking about god himself.
It was a weak since Innes had a word with the admiral. Well, not admiral really. The admiral sent a representative... he was a... a...an officer within the fleet... actually Innes did not know who the man was exactly... Unlike Arimatsu he was speaking Bretonian fluently, at least. The man only said that the admiral couldn't meet her personally. For that matter, the officer couldnt either. The matter was held on Arimatsu's communicator.
Innes wouldn't give up that she's but a simple pilot (and a begginer at that). Instead she was claiming various titles. Senior pilot of Nature's Last Hope, a honour member of Gaia's research group, MBE, rich Dublin's industrialist's daughter... though, the latter was the truth... The man seem to have believed her as he was nodding after each and every word Innes had to say, but appearantly did not take much interest. He kept switching between the channels making Innes wait after her another ridiculious demand. Finally the man told her that she would be contacted in a few days. Then a shuttle would pick her up from Daisin and transport all the way to Edinburgh system, where Gaians would pick her up in Islay Ice Field.
A week has passed since then and no news were to be had. Innes Evans haven't seen Arimatsu for a long time either. He would occasionally leave her a tray with Kyushu's greens in the morning, but he would be already gone by the time Innes wakes up. However, there was no sign of Arimatsu for two days now. Innes was too scared to go pass the hallway. It was not safe here and she would get spotted instantly. She did not look like a Kusarian at all. Her eyes were ocean blue and she was a whole inch taller than the most of Kusarian males on the station. Innes did not know a single word in Kusarian either. Fortunately, her cleptomanic days back in Graves reminded her she could steal some food from the room besides.
However, with each day the risk of...something happening... would increase. Innes had to find away to escape the station quickly.
Some voices could be heard from outside of the room. Two people appeared to be talking to each other in Kusarian. One of them sounded like a young Kusari woman, the other had a bretonian accent, oddly enough. Suddenly the door burst open, and a tall Bretonian entered the room, followed by a Kusarian woman carrying some food.
The woman places the food on the table, next to Innes. It was a large bowl of Miso soup and a plate of rice crackers. The woman tells Innes to eat up, while the bretonian man introduces himself as Sebastian Heap of the Kempetei.
Sebastian pulls up a chair uncomfortably close to Innes. "You want off this station? We can release you, if you agree to work for us. You see, we are always looking for new agents. Right now we don't really know enough about the Corsairs and the Junkers. Of course, a girl as pretty as you should be able to give us more information about them easily. You will be doing the same things you were doing before you got here, only will be working for us on the side."
Sebastian grabs Innes' hand. "Do we have a deal or not?
Sebastian, the Kusari double agent, had Innes by the throat. Not literally, of course, but she felt as she has been pushed into a corner. Suddenly all of Inne's fairytales were gone. She was far away from home, in unknown environment, surrounded by unfamiliar people. Innes was truly scared this time. More so than the actual battle took place - she had no means of defending herself now. Sebastian caught her off guard and broke her quickly. He was right between agressive and polite. He knew his job.
"Fine" - she said - "I have no other choice but to do as you say... but I don't know much about the Corsairs! I try to avoid them in general... What do you want from me?"
Innes Evans was worried, but a little relieved as of now. She knew what was coming, at least. Would she become an agent for Kusari...or whatever else that Bretonian agent is working for? She did not like this, but it may have been the best option. Kusari would ensure her safe return. The Hogosha did not come yet, at least. Or have they?
Sebastian places an arm around Innes. "If you don't know much about them, then find out what you can about them. We know that the Corsairs launch raids into Bretonia, but we don't know for what purpose. But we got agents everywhere. We want you to finding out what goes on around Bretonia, not elsewhere."
The arm squeezes tighter. "There is a Anki freighter in the hangar, available to use. You can use it, sell it, or whatever you would like." With a big grin he added: "Would you like me to escort you to the...Oww!"
Sebastian dodges the second chair swung at him by the Kusarian woman. The woman yelled: "You are shameless! Do you have to hit on every single girl you see?"
Sebastian rubbed his head. "Now, Akane, I can't just leave such a vision of loveliness to...Oww! That hurt!"
The woman throws the stool at Sebastian and storms off.
So the manipulative Bretonian agent did have a weakness afterall. And one that is very easy to see. Innes Evans asked Sebastian to escort her to the docking bay. She winked at him with fake innocense before boarding the shuttle.
"I take it, you will contact me?" - she asked smilling. Innes was hoping the man would never reach her, though.
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