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                           Bubblegum Crisis
                                 ****
                      The Tempest Chronicles II
                                 ****
                        (c) Robin Smith 1995/6

                 Bubblegum Crisis is copyright Armtic,
                     Youmex and Toshimichi Suzuki.
          Other copyrights belong to their respective holders.
                              =========

Chapter 2.2
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[thwup] I was back in my lair in the blink of an eye.
Running back to my room I rinsed my mouth out several times to remove 
the remaining taste of the bile. Rapidly I discarded the rest of my 
black attire and donned my kimono.

Barely three minutes elapsed before the comms channel burst into life 
again.

"Saber Prime to Storm Bringer."

By the gods Sylia was awake !

"Storm Bringer here,
You sound a little rough Saber Prime, everything all right ?"

"Yes, we're all safe; just a little shaken that's all.
Ready to accept mother bird ?"

I marvelled that Sylia was up after what she'd just been through.

"Nest is clear of obstructions.
What is your ETA ?"

Well one thing was for certain, even if anyone could intercept these 
transmissions they would have fun trying to work out what just what was 
going on.

"Two minutes Storm Bringer.
Saber Prime out."

Whilst awaiting the Sabers return, I busied myself by washing some of 
the dishes that we'd emptied earlier and rinsed my mouth several times 
more. My thoughts were interrupted as Priss poked her head round the 
door, looked at me washing the dishes, grinned and said.
"Well well, a Tempest with a teacup."

"Argh, now that's bad even by my standards.
Welcome back; I'll be with you in a minute or two."

I returned to the room carrying fresh pots of tea and coffee and noted 
that they were still wearing their hardsuits.
"Blimey looks like it got a bit rough out there.
What's the matter expecting more problems ?"

"Well I did get beaten up a bit."
She turned round so I could see all the scrapes and dents across her 
back.
Turning back to face me she fixed me with a steely gaze and said
"But I'm sure you're already well aware of that aren't you ?"

Hmm that's interesting, Sylia sounded confident she knew I was there; 
just how confident is she ?
"Now that's an odd thing to say.
Would you care to expand on that remark ?"

"As you know, one of Nene's prime task is to run interference on 
hostiles such as bumas. Also she has to keep a good watch for secondary 
threats. One such 'threat' was tagged on top the building that had the 
ADP Helo embedded in it's frontage.
Following analysis of the readouts of Nene's scan, and I'm sure this is 
purely a random chance that your physical makeup matches almost 
precisely.
Your turn Tempest."

There was no way I was going to conceal the truth from her.
"Yes, that was me. It looked pretty bad when that buma hit you the 
first time. Then it bounced you across the tarmac into the building and 
you didn't get up; well I was very concerned. I was certainly glad when 
I saw Nene attending to you after the buma got wasted."

"Now I'm glad you bought that subject up.
Nene said Linna and Priss were still finishing off the other two down 
the side street; Leon's shots were bouncing off and didn't do anything 
to it. Nene had managed to temporarily confuse it for a second or two, 
but then it recovered.
I don't suppose you happen to know what happened to it after that ?"
The tone in Sylia's voice indicated she was seemed sure I had something 
to do with the bumas timely demise.

"Err, an act of god ?"
I suggested.

"So should we address you as Kamisama now ?"
Sylia's voice had a hint of sarcasm present.

"Ahh, no Tempest is fine thank you."
I grinned.

Sylia had that steely look in her eye.
"All right I'll come clean.
Well, you didn't respond to my thoughts so you were obviously out for 
the count and the buma was about to cream you.
I suspected it was probably Nene's doing that made it hesitate.
After that though, it had you dead to rights and was about to blast you 
while you were still down, so I took the liberty of saving your life."

"Yes, well I think that bit is obvious; the question is how ?
You're not trying to tell me you can turn a C55 buma to molten slag by 
thinking about it are you ?"

Modesty was failing me at this point.
"Well in this case, yes."

Sylia arched an eyebrow in surprise.
"Remind me not to get on your bad side then."

"I think perhaps should make the point clear then.
You're aware of the 'killer' satellite ?"

"Are you trying to be funny Tempest ?"

"No, far from it.
I thought it was a perfectly simple question Priss."

"Let me explain Priss's outburst Tempest.
We had an operation about a year ago that involved the 'killer' 
satellite that almost got us all killed at one point. Priss had rather 
a bad time leading up to that, so it's a rather touchy subject."

"Sorry Linna, I wasn't aware of that. In the light of that information, 
it makes what I'm about to say all the more ironic really. I had the 
'killer' satellite target and destroy that C55 buma that was about to 
blow Sylia to the four winds."

"You can control that satellite by *thinking* about it ?"
Priss sounded incredulous at first then her tone changed.
"Largo could do that and he was a buma.
Are you a buma Tempest ?"
She levelled her right arm at me.

"No, I'm not a buma Priss.
Marvin does most of the work, I provide the aiming point and then give 
the firing confirmation."

"When did the USSD give you the access codes ?"

"They didn't, but I did hint earlier that Marvin is one powerful
AI/computer. USSD probably don't know it was triggered if Marvin did it 
right, which he has done so far.
I don't have cause to use that facility very often."

"I'm glad you did in this instance.
For that I thank you.
I do have a question or two though."

"Go ahead Sylia, ask away."

"Since you went to the incident, why didn't you ask to come along with 
us ?"

"Three reasons.
One. I don't wear an armoured hardsuit.
Two. You did say and I quote
'You haven't fought our battles, and although you are evidently a close 
friend of my father and grandfather you're not part of this team just 
yet.'
Three. Well this one will become clearer later on."

"I can't argue with point one, for the second; all you had to do was 
ask and your third point; you always add one of those, don't you ?
However since you were on site, that now poses another question.
Having heard the surprises you've sprung on us so far I fully expect 
you to drop another small bombshell with your answer.
How did you get to and from the location ?"

"Remember when Nene asked how I was suddenly standing next to her in 
KnightWing and I answered
'A holographic projection, I never left this room.'
That was perfectly true, however I could equally have achieved the same 
effect by doing this ... [thwup]"

"Oh Sylia."
I was now standing directly behind her; she whirled round, just in time 
to see me disappear from view and come back into the room from the lift 
doors.
"Easy when you know how.
Priss hold out your arms as if you're about catch someone falling from 
above please. Oh, and brace yourself.
On three, ready ?"

Priss nodded, wondering what was coming next.

"One, two, here I come. Three! [thwup]"

I must give credit to Priss; she didn't drop me.
She was more than a little surprised though; I would have been too if I 
didn't know what was coming.

"Thank you, that was a good catch."
I said jumping down out of her arms.
"Oh and that was reason three by the way."

"Well I saw it, but what on earth did you just do Tempest ?"
Linna enquired looking as though she had seen a ghost.

"An exceptionally handy method of travel called "

"Teleportation", finished Sylia and Mackie in unison.

"Tele-what ?" asked Priss

"Teleportation: the ability to transfer an object from place to place 
by thinking about it.
In basic terms, visualise, concentrate and bingo you're there.
However it does require the services of"

"Marvin ?" Prompted Sylia.

"Yes, I've only ever done it once without Marvin's assistance and it 
was induced by a panic attack as a missile came straight at the vehicle 
I was travelling in. I recall thinking about how I'd much rather be on 
the overlooking bank clear of the impending disaster.
My last recollection before I woke up on the slope above the now 
blazing wreck was of the missile's nose cone twenty centimetres from my 
face. It was the day I almost died, Friday, March 3rd 2023.
Despite many attempts since then I've never been able to do it without 
Marvin's help."

"Can you carry things and teleport ?"

"Yes and no Nene.
Small things that fit into pockets, yes.
Larger items, for example a rucksack or suitcase, no they just get left 
behind."

"So is that why you called on the satellite to scrap the buma, rather 
than teleport Sylia out of there ?"

"Yes I knew she was way beyond my carrying capacity and I'm not making 
any implications about weight or other suggestions, Sylia.
The radius of influence seems to be fairly tight around my being."

Sylia was silent for a while and I was sure she was weighing up the 
possibilities before she spoke.
"Do you think Mackie or I could have teleport ability ?"

"I don't know, do you want to try it ?"

"Well it would be an exceedingly useful ability don't you think ?"

"I can't argue with that logic.
Marvin, let Sylia and Mackie access the teleport program please."

<Confirmed, access granted>

"Right how do I go about this ?"

"Visualise to where you want to go and concentrate on that location, 
that's how I do it.
Though to be safe, I'd suggest trying for the far side of the room as a 
first attempt.
Oh by the way, I hope you've got something on inside that hardsuit 
because I don't think the hardsuit will transport with you."

"All right the far of the room it is."

Sylia closed her eyes and went quiet, breathing slowly and steadily in 
a gentle rhythmic pattern; she continued like this for about two 
minutes. Then I heard her breathing return to a more normal pattern, 
and she blinked a couple of times as she reopened her eyes.
"Hmm, I suppose this means I failed the test and it's unique to you 
Tempest."

"Marvin can you provide us with an answer why Sylia could not teleport 
please ?"

<No attempt to access the teleport facility was detected.
Sylia's brain wave patterns are considerably different from your own. 
The most likely explanation is your secondary enhancement changed not 
only your body and cell structure but also modified your brain as well. 
I have no concrete evidence to support this theory as your initial 
enhancement was also different to Sylia's.>

"Do Mackie's brain wave patterns suggest he would be able to access the 
teleport facility ?"

<Negative, they are similar to Sylia's pattern.>

"Looks like your supposition was accurate Sylia. Question is, would the 
second stage enhancement give you the ability or is it due to my 
different primary enhancement ?"

"There's only one way that we will know the answer to that conundrum
Tempest and that would be to access the data left by my father."

"The outcome regarding that was pending a discussion you all held in 
KnightWing, I take it you've come to a decision on that topic ?"

"Yes we did Tempest, but you also have a vote as well.
What did you decide ?"

"Ladies first Sylia."

"Always the gentleman Tempest, but on this occasion though, age before 
beauty."

She's catching on fast I thought,
"I'm not ready for a pension yet Sylia.
My vote is to open Pandora's box."

"Whose box ?" Linna queried.

"Ah, you're obviously not a student of Greek mythology.
The expression refers to the box in which Hope alone remained and by 
Pandora's rash opening of the box; all objects of desire were dispersed 
to play havoc amongst humanity.
In simple terms, the unleashing of some unknown factor that could be 
your downfall.
Moral : Beware of the unknown."
I turned to face Sylia.
"So, was the consensus to unlock the data disc, or am I in minority of 
one ?"

"We came to the same decision as you, to unlock the data disc, but we 
have concerns about the use of the last drug you were given.
Namely the anti-ageing process and it's consequences for the starving 
people of the world and the population explosion that could result.
As you said, a veritable Pandora's box.
If it is possible for Marvin, could he investigate the separation of 
the various factors into separate treatments ?"

"That's fine by me, I certainly have no objections to that proposal.
It would have been interesting to hear what Katsuhiro would have said 
on that subject.
Back in a minute, I'll just go fetch the case with it in."

All was quiet, save for the sounds of my footsteps as I walked over to 
the closet, opened the bottom drawer and extracted a small black 
anodised case about 15cm square in plan view and 6cm deep. Returning to 
the table I placed the case in the centre, flipped the catches open and 
lifted the lid off the quick release hinges.

Covering the main compartment of the case was a transparent cover with 
two metal straps securing it. Where the straps crossed in the middle 
there was a large seal of resin or wax with an unmistakable set of 
markings embossed in it, Katsuhiro's personal seal.

"Do you recognise the seal Sylia ?"

"Let me take a closer look please."

Sylia studied the seal for a short while before asking Nene to don her 
helmet and to scan it. Nene did as Sylia requested and all was silent 
until Nene's modulated tones came from her helmet's sound system.
"No signs of disturbance and it appears to be genuine based on the data 
you provided."

Sylia looked at me apologetically,
"Sorry about that, I wanted to make sure the unit hadn't been tampered 
with."

"No problem; I would have done the same had the positions been 
reversed. This is exactly as I was given it thirteen years ago.
Oh, no-one here holds to triskaidekaphobia do they ?" {14}

"That's mainly a western problem I think Tempest."

"Oh yes so it is, not that I subscribe to such thinking."
With that I cut the seal across its centre line and cautiously lifted 
away the pieces with a scalpel.

"Cut the drama out will you and just open it."
Hmm, I guess patience was not one of Priss's virtues.

"There's a very good reason for proceeding with care here.
The case is booby trapped, so that anyone who is unaware of the correct 
opening procedure not only destroys the contents but also blows 
themselves to bits."

"Then why are we all sitting so close to it then ?"
Nene said as she got up.

Halting my work for a moment, I looked up and noted every one had sat 
up straight instead of leaning forward as they were previously.
"You may as well all sit down.
There is sufficient destructive energy stored in this case to 
comfortably blow this entire building to bits and your hardsuits won't 
provide much protection either."

"Truly a Pandora's box for the unwary then."
Sylia remarked.

Picking up a small pair of cutters I cut diagonally across the
meeting point and then cut the straps individually in the sequence
North, West, East, South.
I let out a small sigh.

"Safe ?"

"No there's one more trick in it.
First I have to remove the cover and then replace the case's lid within 
ten seconds.
It must remain on for another ten to fifteen seconds and then be 
removed again, after that it will be safe."

"Which madman thought up this scheme ?"
Priss enquired.

"At Katsuhiro's request, I did."

Priss looked at me apologetically,
"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend."

"None taken, it was instigated as a safety feature.
Katsuhiro wanted to be sure that if ever the case fell into the wrong 
hands the data would be utterly destroyed.
Please have the case lid lined up with the hinge points for me.
Nene could you monitor the timing please."

"Oh-Kay."
Nene's chirpy response was just what was needed to take away some of 
the tension.

Priss pushed the lid in-line with the hinges and moved her hands clear 
so I had room to manoeuvre. I lifted the cover off and tossed it over 
my shoulder, lifting the lid into position and closed the latches 
within seven seconds.

Then we waited for seemed an eternity until Nene called
"Your ten seconds are up Tempest."

I flipped the catches open for the second time that evening and opened 
the lid; breathing a sigh of relief as I laid the case lid on the 
floor.

Wiping the sweat from my brow I remarked,
"Well that concludes 'Booby Traps 101', so now we and the data are 
safe."

"Yeah, well next time you decide to defuse a bomb, could you give us 
advance notice so we can be out huh ?"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence there Priss.
>From what I've heard about your escapades with bumas, I didn't think 
you loved life so hard."

Priss was just about to counter that last remark when she noticed the 
sizeable smile across my face.
"Don't you ever give up ?"

"Frequently, but only with lost causes which is something you're not."

"Well now you've finished defusing bombs, what happens next ?"
Nene asked.

"I'd take that helmet off for a start, I'm not sure what the sound 
quality will be like from the unit.
Right let's see what we have here."

The case was divided into three compartments; the left and right had 
lift up covers secured by a small latch. The centre compartment was 
open topped; with a small black box approximately 20cm by 10cm 
connected into the main body of the case by a coiled lead that was 
clearly not designed for disconnection. The one corner of the unit had 
a series of small holes arranged as concentric circles, however on 
closer inspection some of the holes were larger than the others.

"There's something odd about these holes Sylia, take a look."

Sylia examined the holes for a moment, then smiled.
"Yes there's two inter-linked letters a 'K' and an 'S'."

"Gahh I must be getting stupid, Katsuhiro Stingray of course.
Oh well before I lift out let's see if he left any notes on how to 
proceed next, just in case some 'extras' were added to my booby traps."

"Tempest you really know how to make people feel safe."

"Hmm, about five millimetres thick I'd say Linna."

"What are you talking about Tempest ?"

"The depth of sarcasm in your previous remark."

Linna raised her eyes to roof and intoned,
"Oh god please help me, before I thump him into the middle of next 
week."

"Which do you fancy, the left compartment or the right ?"

"The right compartment please."
Sylia replied.

"Do I hear any votes for the left ?"
Silence, I looked up.
"Okay, okay the right it is."

Swivelling the small catch open, I carefully raised the cover revealing 
some papers on which more seals could be seen.

"How did you know Sylia ?"
I queried.

"I didn't know."

"A lucky guess then."
I prompted.

Sylia smiled slightly,
"You're not Japanese."

"Well I can't fault your observation there.
So are you saying this is some spiritual thing ?"

"No, books are read back to front from your point of view.
There was a very strong possibility the right hand compartment would 
contain the documentation if any were present."

"Right, that concludes 'Gambling 101' Lesson 1
Don't play cards with Sylia, unless of course you like losing."

"Can we concentrate on the job in hand please."

"All right, there are three letters here.
One marked 'For Sylia only', fairly bulky too.
Second is for you Mackie and the third is for me."
The three of us opened our respective letters and read them in silence.

I finished the reading first page, which was basically an apology for 
all the things I'd been put through over the years I'd known Yasha and 
Katsuhiro. The second page contained his notes in coded form, on how to 
use the data unit. Having to mentally decode the notes meant it wasn't 
a speedy reading.

I looked up to see if Sylia and Mackie had read their letters, both had 
finished and were waiting for me.
"Katsuhiro has changed the operation of the unit; it requires his blood 
sample and a genetic sample from the three of us; such as a hair or 
two."

"Well that's no problem then if just a little awkward to do in a 
hardsuit. Would you oblige please Tempest ?"

"Likewise for me please."

I rose from my chair, walked round behind Sylia and asked
"A strawberry rinse for Madame ?"
as I plucked a hair from her, went over to Mackie
"And a light trim for sir ?"

There were several groans.
"Don't call us we'll call you."

Returning to my seat I opened up the left-hand compartment.
Under the padding was another black box with four orifices each 
labelled with a letter 'K' 'M' 'S' 'T'. Dropping the hairs from Sylia 
and Mackie into the relevant holes I then plucked one from my scalp and 
placed that in the hole marked 'T'.

Finally I removed a cylinder from my pocket, unscrewed the lid and 
extracted the small vial from within the padding. Breaking the seal on 
the top I poured the contents into the final hole marked 'K' and 
depressed the single button on the sample unit.

<End of Part 2.2>

TO BE CONTINUED ....
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Footnotes :
{14} Triskaidekaphobia - The fear of the number 13.
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(c) Robin Smith 1995/96                    Tempest@ktsabers.demon.co.uk
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-- Mink/Tempest   aka Robin Smith        Author: "BGC : The Tempest Chronicles"
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/2302    Lichfield, Staffordshire, United Kingdom
"I was committed once, but the fools let me out for good behaviour !"
IRC :  Mink  or  Tempest-    [ but "Mink" most of the time ^_^ ]