Setting
Kendra however looked to the ground, or rather, her tea as she offered a deep frown. “That is my fault, I didn’t raise him right, I didn’t teach him any values, as soon as he was old enough to speak, Nobuo wanted him whisked off to schools so he could learn to rule, and live a just, and noble reign.” Kendra began to shed a single tear, heaving a sigh.
“I don’t know where he went wrong, he was such a sweet boy growing up, but after Nobuo passed he became twisted, and evil.”
At that remark, Gouda turned to look at the screen, but otherwise said nothing.
“I’d put a bullet in him myself if I thought i could get away with it.” Yukiko remarked. The kill had to be a clean one.
“Several shoguns have stopped fighting amongst eachother a few days ago.” Yukiko added, before Gouda spoke up.
“Intelligence has them meeting in some kind of convention, which cannot bode well for us, or young Shimizu.”
“He could bring the Soja here, he could bring it to Niihama.”
Yukiko shook her head. “Shimizu is not that foolish, but we have to catch him off the Soja, off balance, if he is aboard the Soja, he is invincible.”
“We suspected that Tatsu died from some artificial means, but we had no way to prove it to the Shogunate Committee, and the International Courts, our courts lack jurisdiction to do anything to a member of the Royal Family, it is up to the shogunate, or the Imperial Diet to investigate such matters.” Gouda explained.
Kendra frowned, and kept her gaze fixed on the screen.
“How can we overthrow him? I’m afraid finding Yosho is only part of the equation.” Kendra asked, while Gouda paused a moment. “He’s on Langara, I believe getting knee surgery.”
“The only scenario where we can take him into any kind of custody is to involve the Galaxy Police.” Aramaki commented, turning to Drulovic.
“We can’t rely on the Shogunate, many of the shoguns have their own ambitions, and would take advantage of the situation, and there are some who are far more brutal than Shimizu.” Yukiko said, peaking up. “Any claims of what he’s done can be denied, so we need to find evidence, catch him.” She turned to the screen, and Kendra frowned, bringing up a finger to touch her eye, she remembered the screaming, the yelling, and eventually, the strike, he punched her square in the eye, and threatened to have her shot.
Yukiko briefly cast a glance to Andrijana, and frowned, and then Yukiko turned her gaze back to Drulovic.
“He was here, wasn’t he?” She asked.
"He knew his sister had come to visit, about his mother," Andrijana replied, a bit bewildered, but with growing anxiety knotting in her stomach. "He knew one of the ... Mazoku? Mr. Hokushin. He knew that Hokushin was here, posing as an inmate."
"He does not yet know the precise wheels turning against him," Drulović said then, "but he will soon. Mr. Gouda, I'd suggest that you and Mr. Miyagi go and find your evidence, and quickly." Something indecipherable flickered in her eyes. "I don't imagine Shimizu will take kindly to the prospect of such an ignominious fate as arrest by the Galactic Police. Besides, he fancies himself rather irreplaceable. Fortunately, in my line of work, I've not harbored such illusions." She looked at Aramaki. "He's much more vulnerable while on Langara for medical treatment, than ensconced in his haven aboard the Soja."
Gouda slowly stood up from his seat, and nodded to the rest of the group. “Time will be working against us, once we’re finished here, we should go to Shintenchi so we can find Yosho, ideally we should get the process of getting him installed before Shimizu finishes his treatments, we can seize the Soja in that time as well.”
The rest of the group nodded in agreement, while Kendra frowned, and looked to Andrijana on the screen, and then back to Drulovic. “One last thing before I fade into obscurity, I was hoping to clear my name, but I don’t think your justice ministry would allow it.” Kendra said with a hint of sadness.
“They don’t understand the position you and I have been in, where we must do, or die. They sit in their lofty halls and debate the strictures of law ad nauseum.” Kendra added.
“Do you know what happened aboard that Reverence, that day, Arianne?” Shaw asked in Common.
The old woman watched Kendra with little expression when the younger woman spoke, first in Taiyou then Terran common. "I've suspected, certainly, but I don't suppose it matters much now," she replied. "Legality be damned - morality too, along with it. Terra has never recognized following orders as a defense to crimes against humanity or crimes against sentience." She pressed her thumb against a smudge on the table's surface, rubbing at it until it began to fade. The most serious charges laid against her had been dismissed, not because of any defense she'd raised, but because the judge had decided that acts taken before the TNG's formation could not be prosecuted on Terra. It had been almost comical, except to the families of the dead, and the survivors still living. "Make no mistake, Ms. Shaw, I know well what I have done in my life and why - and I've paid a terrible price for it. I can't remember when last I slept well at night. They haunt me, as well they should." Drulović ceased moving her thumb, sighing heavily, and blinked up at Kendra's image on the screen. "But tell me, if you'd like, of what happened to you - of what you did."
Yukiko paused, and looked to the table, before she heaved a sigh.
“If not, I will challenge him, his tainted blood will be to his disadvantage, but you raise a valid concern.” Yukiko said to Drulovic in Taiyou, while Shaw worked up the courage to speak.
“Our tactical officer refused the order, you know.” Shaw said, taking a sip of her tea. “So Cain asked him for his sidearm, and shot him in the head in front of the entire crew.” The Aschen Empress Dowager explained, settling her gaze on Andrijana for a moment, and then back to Drulovic.
“She then turned to me, and asked if I would carry out her order.”
Shaw heaved a deep sigh, and continued. “Your government doesn’t understand the intricacies of how some of these other societies function, to refuse an order in the Aschen military, is to invite an immediate death, I know you understand the position I was in, otherwise I wouldn’t be here.”
Kendra frowned, and shook her head. “I don’t justify what I did, nothing ever can, I just wish they would understand, we do what we have to do, to survive.”
The old woman nodded toward one of the paper cups half-filled with tea, now room temperature and thoroughly unappetizing. "Dr. Krstevska, if you wouldn't mind too much, I think I'd like something to drink."
Andrijana started, as if surprised that she'd been addressed. She'd been staring at Kendra's image on screen, her face taut, her gaze hard. But she glanced now at Drulović, then reached for one of the cups, placing it in front of the old woman so she could bring it, slowly, cautiously, to her lips. The old woman had been thin when she'd arrived, thinner than most of her earlier images in the press - even more striking in person than in the photos from the trial. She'd never complained. But she hadn't seemed to recover much from whatever had happened to her that past year. That year had not been kind.
Kendra heaved a slight sigh, and then she nodded in agreement.
“Even so, it seems it won’t stop them from trying.” Kendra said, while Taro shook his head.
“The Terrans wouldn’t risk an international incident, not over you.” He added, before he cast his gaze over to Andrijana first, and then Drulovic.
“They are not that foolish.”
The woman nodded for a moment, and tried to force a smile. “Perhaps, you are right, there is no sense in it, I am not who I was those years ago, hopefully soon I can find peace.”
“The fact that somebody prosecuted Her Majesty.” Kano said, referring to Keiko. “To the extent that they did is a travesty in of itself.” His eyes turned to the screen. “Why did you not reveal your status? We could have intervened on your behalf, spared you imprisonment.”
Keiko shook her head from the spot which she sat.
“I was not confident that Nobuo had succeeded, and that any revelation would put my life, and the lives of my captors in danger.” Keiko replied, in Taiyou. After Aeka quietly translated his Terran common words for her.
“She was the reason His Majesty was so focused on this world, why he expended so many resources here, I think were it not for Coalition, and Aschen meddling, we would have found her.” Kanou added.
"I'd wondered before about his interest," Drulović remarked. "I suppose now I know." The old woman tilted her head a bit to the side. To Kano and Shuichi, she said, "I no longer speak for this government, you understand. Ms. Khayyam demanded my resignation, after all." Nonetheless, there was some undercurrent in her voice - one that seemed almost dangerous - that suggested otherwise. In Taiyou, for Keiko's benefit, she added, "I'm glad to know you've returned safely home, though of course it's been far too long coming for you. I hope the journey was an easy one."
After a moment, Gouda noticed that something seemed to trouble Andrijana. “Don’t trouble yourself over Drulovic’s hand in freeing Her Majesty. This was the best possible outcome for all parties.” The Cabinet Intelligence Director explained. “We would have had to demand her immediate release, and depending on how your government processed that request, resorted to military action, we have the capacity to conduct raids from Shintenchi anywhere on this planet within a twelve hour period.” Gouda said, casting a brief glance to Drulovic.
“This way, avoided unnecessary bloodshed, and unnecessary hard feelings. Your jane doe is dead, our Majesty is returned to us.” Gouda said as Yukiko nodded with a smile.
“All is in balance, and everyone gets what they want.” Yukiko said, while Keiko smiled through the screen.
“All things considered.” She said, looking to Kendra. “I will be eager to return to Niihama.” Keiko remarked in Taiyou.
"A wise response to be sure," Drulović nodded to Andrijana, her tone reassuring, in an odd way. "Besides, you hadn't known that Keiko Takayama had even been here in the first place. That she's now left had nothing to do with your capabilities - or lack thereof." Something soured a bit in her voice but her face remained neutral, impassive. Her gaze drifted back toward Yukiko. "Perhaps you may see it as a turning," she said. "Certainly, you wouldn't be the only one to hold that impression of things. I see this, too, as a service. My government now asks of me that I serve by remaining here for a time. Of course, some would like for me to die here. I'm old enough. But I mean to outlive such trifling grudges against me. This ought to be my last service now."
But the old woman had acted to ensure Keiko's freedom, and even now, Andrijana seemed to defer to her despite their positions. This could not be her last means of serving Terra.
"Again, I owe you my life, Director." Kendra said over the feed, before she offered a smile, while one of the Shogunate officers came into view, and whispered something into the Shogun's ear.
"I wish you well." Kendra said with a soft smile, before she turned, and nodded to Gouda. "We're going to find Yosho." Kendra said, in Taiyou this time, as Sato stepped up beside her, with Keiko, and the three of them offered Drulovic a bow.
Gouda nodded, and reached for the laptop, pausing for just a moment to see if Drulovic had anything else to add.
She was surrounded by people - but so rarely had friends come to visit. Everyone else had their own needs - emotional, political, it all became the same thing in the end. Hers were so easily forgotten.
“Minister Minamino has some business to attend to in Wing City, and then we will all be off to Shintenchi to reunite with my brother, hopefully afterwards, we can head to Niihama and see if we can deal with our Shimizu problem.” Yukiko said with an audible sigh, the demands of her station never giving her even the slightest break.
“I don’t want to keep you guys much longer, we have so much to do, what is the quickest, easiest way out of here?” Yukiko asked.
The old woman watched the others carefully, her eyes tracking each of them as they stood from the table too. Until she could convince someone in medical to finally approve the request for a cane, she'd need help. She could stand on her own, but she needed her hands free, unencumbered of the handcuffs, to do that. And she'd need her knees to stop screaming internally at her, which was the bigger problem most days since Andrade had unleashed his fury on her. She'd made the mistake of trying to escape that basement with its mildew and blood from women who had been like daughters. They were all her daughters, really, her daughters, her sons, her children, every one of the Terrans she'd sacrificed a lifetime to protect and defend. And as with her own children, the children of her blood, they'd now abandoned her.
"Have you finished gawking yet?" The old woman's tone was biting. "It's rather rude, you know. You'd think you were but a child at the fairground gaping at seeing a costumed bear or half-drunken rodeo performance for the first time."
Andrijana shook her head. "I wasn't trying to stare."
"But you were, in fact, staring, Dr. Krstevska," said Drulović, one eyebrow slightly raised. "You've been doing so for the past two minutes, which is a surprisingly long time by most people's reckoning - and staring is rather impolite. What now, were you raised in a barn?"
"Look. I'll call down to have someone take you back to the unit," Andrijana said, trying to ignore the old woman's comment, though her cheeks flushed. "You've had your meeting. I hope it was what you wanted. And no, I'd really rather not know. You're not - we're not supposed to be allowing this kind of thing."
"Yet here we find ourselves," Drulović said, half-shrugging, her tired eyes bemused. "I imagine a great deal of things happen here that officially ought not to be possible or permitted. It's simply the way of things." She nodded toward the door. "Please."
Andrijana gave the old woman a sidelong glance, but dialed down from the phone by the door to the conference room. "... So you want to be a kingmaker, then. Decide who should sit on the Taiyou throne next. Is that it for you now?" Damn.
"All I'd like right now is a good cup of tea - something better than whatever that poor excuse for tea might be," Drulović indicated the now-cold cups of tea on the table that no one else had touched, "and a good book, in front of the hearth at home. I don't suppose you could arrange that."
Andrijana sighed. She leaned forward against the closest chair, then abruptly let go, pacing the length of the conference room. The old woman scoffed, quietly, but made no further comment until two officers appeared in the doorway to return her to her cell. Nearly all kings and emperors could die. But for a twist of fate, one could so easily end up in the same predicament in which she now found herself. How little did Andrijana know.