Shogo: Hidden Life By Graham L. Wilson http://www.blood-wiki.org/Shogo/Expanded-Canon/ Thanks to Monolith Productions for the Shogo game and characters. Commander Kura Akkaraju walked down the streets of Maritropa. She was not in the uniform of the U.C.A.S.F but in civilian clothes, trying her best to blend in. Secrecy was of the greatest importance in her current mission: she was to find out everything possible about “Gabriel”, the Fallen's new leader. Currently she had completed all she could for the day, and was trying to get out of the city to head for Hank's research station, which was not easy with the C.M.C.'s marital order. Kura had reached the main gate out into the Cronus dessert without hassle, but getting out was another thing. The guard stared at the woman, what was a civilian wanting to do at the gates. “Excuse me miss, are you lost?” the guard asked. Kura looked at him, he was a young C.M.C. guard and Kura's main adversary to getting out. Kura tried to look as cute as possible and said in a voice much higher pitched then her own: “I wish to get out of the city, I have a friend out there.” “Not likely” the guard responded, though Kura did note his reaction to her charms. “Please mister, I'm just a poor girl who wants to meet her friend” she said, continuing to heighten her voice's pitch. The guard considered this for a little, but eventually returned the obvious. “Civilians aren't aloud outside” he stated again. Kura placed her hand on his cheek. “Please!” she pleaded, raising her face to meet his. The guard's will was weakening. “All right, but do it quickly” he declared finally, acquiescing under her deepening stare. “Much obliged” Kura acknowledged, before nonchalantly walking out through the gate. Cronus's surface was a dry wasteland, travel on it was difficult due to the lack of any real identifiable land marks, other then the large homogeneous peaks and dunes. Kura had already gotten to know the road to the research station well enough by now though, as had by this point wandered down it more times then she could remember. Which was for the better, as the less time one spent in the harsh air of outdoor Cronus, the better. When Kura arrived, she knocked on the research station's door, and was soon greeted by a middle aged woman with short blue hair. “Hello Mrs. Johnson” Kura greeted casually. Hank had heard her voice. “Kura, come in” he said, looking up from his station. He was reading the seismic activity from a recent earthquake (or more accurately cronusquake). Kura made herself at home on one of the chairs, this was a common place of residence for her by now. “Eventful day?” Hank asked, always interested. “Not really, there is not much to be learned in the C.M.C. dominated parts. I need to get into Avernus” Kura replied, and Hank scratched his blond beard thoughtfully. “I've been thinking about that. All we need is a Fallen uniform for you, and with any luck you should be able to get into Avernus easily, frankly you seem rough enough to be one of their kind. No offense...” he said, though Kura did not mind the comparison at all. “But where would we get a female Fallen uniform from?” Hank's wife asked, “They do not exactly sell them through mail-order.” Personally, she was always reluctant about Hank's desire to serve a military role, and would have much preferred he stuck to his work as a geologist. “I think that is a job for the U.C.A.” Hank said, brandishing a little smirk. It was not the first time he had talked to the U.C.A., through Kathryn, Kura's sister who, for reasons of protecting her cover, thought that she was dead. As far as she knew, Hank was just a researcher aiding an unnamed U.C.A.S.F spy deep in enemy territory. Though Kura, aware of the bind that he might have felt if he knew of her connection to Kathryn, left him equally in the dark about that as well. “Lieutenant Commander?” Hank requested into the radio, hoping that Kathryn would respond from the orbiting command ship, the Leviathan. After a while, her voice did come through the comm. “Who is this?” Kathryn asked, and Kura shifted suddenly upon hearing her sister's voice. “It is Mr. Johnson, the researcher” Hank stated, “Your spy is in need of a female Fallen uniform, pass that on to the Admiral.” Kathryn was only just starting to get used to these curt espionage requests. “I'll see what I can do, no promises” Kathryn acknowledged, terminating the transmission as per regulation – one did not want to leave a signal open long enough to be traced. Kathryn thought that this Hank man was most odd, what does a researcher have to do with spies? “Oh, well it had been a long day, Time to get back to Sanjuro” she thought. Meanwhile, down on Cronus, Kura was thinking of Sanjuro as well. She missed him terribly, and had never wanted to end up like this, a faceless spy separated from her friends and family, who all thought that she was dead. Only her father knew the truth, but he was not the sort of father you could have a heart to heart chat with. All she had left was Hank and his wife, and the countless nameless strangers she saw in Maritropa, people she could never even reveal her name to. Sanjuro had a rather odd mission attachment this time. “A female uniform? Why do they need that? Oh well, it was not that hard of a burden” Sanjuro thought, as he loaded his MCA's pulse rifle and continued through the streets of Avernus. There was a lot of Fallen around who needed to be killed, his mind always thinking back to what they had done to Kura... and to his brother. “It's here” Mrs. Johnson announced, as Kura returned to the research institute. It was all that Kura needed to know. Tomorrow she would be in Avernus. Upon putting on the uniform, Kura gained some small sympathy for the Fallen, it was hardly the most comfortable garment, but then, one would hardly have expected a group of die-hard fanatics to value personal comfort. She then noticed some tiny writing on the collar, presumably the name of the unit that used it: “Samantha Sternberg”. “Greetings fellow believer!” Kura exclaimed as she passed the gates into Avernus. The Fallen guard saluted back at her. Perfect, the ruse was working. Kura then heard a familiar voice. Kura gasped: it was Sanjuro! She jumped behind a pillar as she saw him approach in full U.C.A.S.F armour, armed with an assault rifle. Kura knew that she had to stay there, but she felt an urge to jump up and embrace him, even with the risk of being shot by him, it had simply been so long! Sanjuro then noticed movement, as he was well used to these ground missions by now. He would not have lasted otherwise. “Come on out Fallen!” he ordered, not wanting to allow him to struck from behind. Kura gulped, aware that she had now found herself in a particularly tough predicament. She raised her hood to cover her face and approached, arms over her head. “Don't hurt me soldier! I am of no military concern” Kura said, faking a foreign accent. Sanjuro stared at her - he could swear that she was someone he knew. Eventually, he turned and started to walk away, dismissing her as someone who had hidden in the city after the disasters that had led to its evacuation and abandonment, Kura then lost self control, her emotions griping her like a vise. “Sanjuro!” she exclaimed, failing to hide her voice adequately. Sanjuro turned, now she really did remind him of Kura. The strangest feeling of déjà vu trickled up his spine. “How do you know my name?” he asked. Kura trembled. “Umm, err...” she uttered, then a thought occurred to Sanjuro. “You're that spy Kathryn talked about aren't you” Sanjuro said, before realizing how stupid it was to talk about spies to someone in Fallen uniform, and to mention another U.C.A.S.F unit. Her likeness to the one that he had held dear was affecting his soldier's sense. Though to be honest, Kathryn should probably never have confided to him about the whole thing hte first place. “Yes, I am. Now comrade, best not blow my cover” Kura said, trying as quickly as possible, meaning what she said more than Sanjuro ever could have guessed, well, hopefully. She then flashed him a typical U.C.A. salute, one no Fallen would know. Sanjuro also saluted before leaving, with Kura still shaken by her encounter with her dearest one, feeling more alone than ever. Kura's boots clacked as she walked down the deserted Madison Tunnel, she was to head for the old C.M.C. headquarters where the Fallen had set up a kind of military installation nearby their main headquarters. From there, she could crack into one of their terminals with a pass-code supplied by technicians on the Leviathan. The ruse continued to work as intended, though some did suspect something strange about her, her manner suggesting more self-possession than your typical acolyte. Soon she reached the old Avernus C.M.C.. headquarters through the Fallen's secret entrance. She passed a few guards, trying to avoid their stares, and made her way to a terminal. She then preceded to work at it, somewhat relived to have something more concrete to focus on. “Access Fallen hierarchy database” she typed, it was time to get the answers once and for all. “Insert password for clearance” the terminal responded. Kura grimaced. Now or never... “Rudsceleratus_vilomaxus_gero_durbentia” she typed, aware that these systems were rigged to call in a security patrol for every wrong pass-code. The Fallen were not very forgiving for absentmindedness. The screen loaded up and she saw it all. There was strange dialog about a mysterious entity labeled Cothineal. Her mind was a maelstrom taking it all in. She then read more and looked through the “Gabriel” file, bristling towards the target of her entire mission undercover. She read for a little, excitement coursing through her, before her eyes then widened. She could never have expected this turn of events, though suddenly the timing of it all seemed to fit together like clockwork. “Toshiro!” she gasped... Exclaimers: 1. I started this story in April 2008, finished the first draft on May 20, 2008, and then put releasing it somewhere on my work list until June 8, 2009. It is just not my favorite Shogo story and Hamish has written many good ones, but, well, here you go. 2. The Fallen password is cultist for “Believer's order shall get wisdom”. It is from Blood, but I have translated words of the Fallen into its dictionary. 3. I wrote this tale to make one from Kura's perspective before MAD, as Hamish wrote quite a bit about Kathryn and Sanjuro. 4. As part of my preparation for releasing The Expanded Canon onto FanFiction.Net and Archive of Our Own, I read through and made tweaks to this story on February 13, 2014. June 8, 2009