Shogo: Stragglers
By Hamish Paul Wilson.
Edited by Graham L. Wilson (September 15, 2014)
http://www.blood-wiki.org/Shogo/Expanded-Canon/

Thanks to Monolith Productions for the Shogo game and characters.

	“Sanjuro, can you hear me?”

	“I'm waking up...” Sanjuro replied subconsciously.

	“No, don't do that, I need to talk to you!” the same voice spoke again.

	“Okay, who the hell is this?” Sanjuro asked, beginning to get annoyed at his own dreams.

	“Don't you remember?” the voice replied, a certain amount of irritation managing to get through the southern American accent. “Anyway, you need to know that Toshiro could be in danger.” 

	“Hank?” Sanjuro said startled, finally realizing who it might be.

	“Yes, and if you don't do something your brother could be as good as dead!” Hank Johnson's now even more urgent voice replied.

	“What do you mean?” Sanjuro inquired confused.

	“Just remember what I told you” Hank added with finality, right before finally allowing the silence to fall.

	“What's going on?” a bleary female voice interjected eventually, breaking it again. Sanjuro opened his eyes and confirmed that he had in fact been asleep in his bed all this time. A drowsy looking Kura was also awake on the mattress beside him.

	“Just an unusual dream” Sanjuro answered, remembering the question.

	“Well, stop having them” she commanded in a rather rude fashion, “I'm trying to sleep.” She put her head back on her pillow.

	“What do you mean by odd dream?” Kathryn asked from the other side of the bed, having been woken up by the previous conversation.

	“Hank was telling me that Toshiro was in danger” Sanjuro explained, thinking it all to be rather silly in hindsight.

	“Well, you are talking to Toshiro in the morning anyway” Kathryn commented, grabbing hold of one of Sanjuro's hands comfortingly. “I would not worry about it”.

	“I said I was trying to sleep” Kura reminded them annoyed.

	“Goodnight Kura” Kathryn called, rolling her eyes. She then quietly whispered a far more courteous goodnight to Sanjuro before resting her head back down on her own pillow. Sanjuro put his head back down on his own and tried once more to get some sleep, even though thoughts of the dream continued to dance around in his head.


	“You look tired brother” Toshiro observed over the communications screen that morning.

	“I had an unusual dream” Sanjuro replied, the thought of it still weighing on his mind.

	“Pray tell” Toshiro prompted, his intelligent eyes piercing Sanjuro's face.

	“Well, Hank Johnson was there...” Sanjuro started, beginning to elaborate.

	“Your dead comrade?” Toshiro interjected, never having actually been acquainted with the gentlemen in question.

	“Yes, well, he wanted to warn me about...” Sanjuro continued, suddenly finding it all to be rather awkward.

	“About what, brother?” Toshiro pressed, aware of his brothers misgivings.

	“He said that you were in danger” Sanjuro finished soberly. Toshiro looked at his brother thoughtfully through the view screen for several seconds, mulling the proposition over.

	“That is rather unusual” Toshiro commented finally, having failed to come to any definite conclusion. Suddenly klaxons could be heard from behind Toshiro's head. Baku and Samantha Sternberg rushed into the room, looks of worry on their faces.

	“The embassy is under attack!” Baku exclaimed dramatically.

	“What, by whom?” Toshiro asked confused, still not nearly as alarmed by this as his companions were.

	“We don't know...” Samantha exclaimed, eyeing her charge worriedly, “we must get to our safe room!”

	“It cant be that serious, after all we do have a trained army...” Toshiro began, but was silenced by the looks that continued to persist on both Samantha and Baku's faces.

	“Communications are cut, we can't contact the rest of the troops” Baku explained, right before turning to notice the open communications window that was still displaying the image of Sanjuro.

	“Oh, dear” Toshiro commented mildly, having had the same idea as Baku, “brother, please send for help....” Having finally been noticed, the communications window suddenly turned to static as the signal was lost.

	“Kathryn, there is a state of emergency on Cronus. Inform the Commanders that they are to report to the bridge!” Sanjuro ordered through his radio communicator.

	“What?” Kathryn replied confused, somewhat unprofessionally. She was not used to being ordered around so abruptly.

	“I'm serious!” Sanjuro insisted, feeling there to be no time for this.

	“Yes Admiral” she replied, suitably chastened. Sanjuro ran out of the room as fast as he could and headed for the bridge.


	When Sanjuro arrived he saw the various Commanders, including Kura, waiting for him just as instructed, alongside Kathryn and a few other regular soldiers. “Cothineal's embassy is under attack” he explained quickly, “they can not contact their own Fallen troops and have requested U.C.A assistance.”

	“Who's attacking them?” Kura asked, quicker on the uptake than her sister had been.

	“That is unknown Commander” Sanjuro replied, remembering to stay formal, “they need help now, so round up your teams and meet me in the docking bay.”

	“But Sanjuro!” Kathryn blurted out. “I mean Admiral...” she said correcting herself, now more embarrassed than ever, “high command does not allow people of your position to go on missions...”

	“My brother and many other innocent lives are in danger” Sanjuro responded, trying his best to ignore the look of concern and pain on Kathryn's face,  “they need all the help they can get.”

	“Fine...” Kathryn acquiesced reluctantly, “but be careful Sanjuro.” He allowed Kathryn one last serious exchange of looks before hurriedly leaving the room, the Commanders following from behind. Kathryn meanwhile walked back to communications and seated herself back down at her console, frowning at it mournfully. “More bloodshed” she thought unhappily to herself, just as she started tapping the keys again.


	The shuttle LZ Minotaur landed softly on the Cronian soil. As its doors opened various soldiers started to push their way out of the craft, some more eagerly than others. Once out, Sanjuro addressed the Commanders again. “We should spread out when we reach the embassy” he ordered, acutely aware of the fact they had not yet had a chance to properly discuss strategy, “if one squad is in danger it is the job of the nearest other one to offer assistance. Is this understood?” A resounding yes was heard from the troops. “Good, Commander Akkaraju, you're with me” Sanjuro finished right before the teams started to separate. Kura smiled over at him.

	“With pleasure admiral” she agreed, gesturing for the rest of her team to follow. Looking around, the streets of Maritropa were suspiciously quiet, almost unnervingly so.

	“You are nearing the embassy, stay sharp” Kathryn commented over the radio. Sanjuro could hear the sounds of gunfire in the distance, and he loaded a clip into his assault rifle. After clearing a few more streets, Sanjuro finally saw Cothineal's embassy. He took out a pair of combat binoculars and started to search around.

	“Gray uniforms?” he observed confused as he looked over at the troops that were surrounding the building. The Fallen were still managing to hold them back, but it was quite clear that their resources were already strained almost to the breaking point. When Sanjuro put down his binoculars he saw that Kura had grown impatient and had already led her squad to attack. Sanjuro quickly followed and started firing at the nearest soldier in gray.

	Upon doing so Sanjuro suddenly became the main focus of attention; the soldiers must have identified him as an Admiral. Sanjuro ducked as a swarm of bullets rushed to where his face had formally been just moments before. Sanjuro returned their attentions with a burst of fire from his own weapon, knocking down several of the soldiers. Even more came rushing at him, determined to win the greatest prize, the death of an Admiral. Sanjuro fired quickly, but there were too many, and Sanjuro realized in horror that he was about to run out of ammunition. He put his hands in the air, but quickly saw by the looks on his enemies' faces that he would get no mercy. Sanjuro closed his eyes and waited for the incoming bullets.

	When he opened his eyes again however he saw Kura leap in front of him, her shotgun blazing with weapons fire. She quickly chucked a clip to Sanjuro who promptly reloaded and started firing again beside the Commander. More of Kura's squad came and fought alongside them, before long forcing the gray uniformed soldiers into a fast retreat. Sanjuro proceeded to meet the Fallen Commander, who was still at his defensive position near the embassy entrance. “What are they?” he inquired upon successfully reaching his target.

	“I'll tell you what they are!” a voice called out from behind them. Sanjuro turned to see a man dressed in labourer's clothes, like the ones they wore down in the kato mines. His wrists were restrained, and he had the look of an old miner.

	“Who are you?” Sanjuro asked, unsure why anyone would willingly wander into a war-zone.

	“I was a prisoner of theirs', the name's not important” the man explained cryptically. There was something about him that made the hairs raise on the back of Sanjuro's neck.

	“Who are they then?” Sanjuro continued, still wondering about this odd man.

	“Mining kato is a hard business, and even harder on the mind...” he began, preparing to go on a long monologue.

	“You don't mean their...” Sanjuro cut in, already sure of where this was headed.

	“Yes” the man acknowledged in a low voice, “they're stragglers.”

	“But how could they organize?” Kura interjected upon hearing their conversation, having finally caught up to Sanjuro,

	“There is a man called Donovan Disraeli” the man stated, severe bitterness evident in his voice upon the mentioning of the name, “you find him and you end their little movement.”

	“How do we know if you're a man to be trusted?” Sanjuro asked, still more than a little suspicious of their present informant. The man simply glared back at him.

	“To be honest I don't particularly care for either the U.C.A. or the Fallen” he explained darkly. “But believe me when I say I hate Disraeli more.” Sanjuro could see many unpleasant things in the man's expression, but deception did not seem to be one of them. Their discussion was finally terminated by the returning sound of weapons fire, as another U.C.A. squad fought its way towards Kura's. The Fallen and Kura's squad immediately started supplying backup, the new batch of enemies that were engaging this group seeming to be even larger than the last.

	Sanjuro jumped for cover into an alleyway and started firing around the corner. His aim was perfect, downing several of the enemy soldiers. His concentration was eventually disturbed however by a large whack across his back. Sanjuro swiveled quickly around only to have his weapon knocked out of his hands and flung far off into the air. Sanjuro saw his attacker draw a knife and ducked just as the man lunged at him. His present combatant was quick however, and was soon preparing for another attack. Sanjuro saw a gleam of metal that proved to be a stray pistol in a garbage can nearby. Sanjuro leaped for it just as his enemy lunged at him again. Sanjuro quickly aimed and fired, and as luck would have it the weapon somehow managed to go off successfully.

	His attacker staggered for a few moments before dropping to the ground. Sanjuro walked over to examine the corpse, but found very little information of value from it. They were good at hiding their secrets, whoever these men are. Sanjuro suddenly heard the sound of motion from somewhere behind him, but before he could turn he felt a second large whack strike him once again, this time to the back of the head. The world suddenly turned black, and he fell to the ground and lost consciousness. 


	Sanjuro woke up with a splitting headache and no idea where he was. He tried to move, but found that his legs and waist were tied to a chair that was bolted down. His arm's were still free however, and he was not gagged. He started to look around the room slowly. “It is a pleasure to finally meet you Admiral” a dark calm voice uttered, realizing his captive was finally awake. Sanjuro looked over at the source and saw a man sitting comfortably in a large chair very much like his own, the only difference being that he was not bound. He was bald with no facial hair, but was still quite young. His body was covered in a dark leather uniform, with only his head visible. On his face was a warm but still sinister smile.

	“Donovan Disraeli, I presume?” Sanjuro inquired, his eye's transfixed by the large dagger hanging from the man's belt.

	“So you have heard of me Admiral Sanjuro Makabe...” Disraeli stated, fixing Sanjuro with an even more disturbing smile.

	“How do you know my name?” Sanjuro asked, a little unnerved by this stranger's knowledge.

	“I know that you are an Admiral in the U.C.A, and the head person on the U.C.A.S.F Leviathan. You are a veteran of the C.M.C, U.C.A, Fallen conflict. You are the brother of Toshiro 'Gabriel' Makabe, ambassador to Cothineal. You are also a friend of the ex-admiral Nathaniel Akkaraju, and you currently share the affections of both his daughters” Disraeli evidently enjoyed seeing Sanjuro squirm, “intelligence is the secret of power.”

	“Why are you holding me here?” Sanjuro demanded, trying to change the direction of the conversation away from himself.

	“Because I want you to see how your brother will die” Disraeli replied. Sanjuro squirmed in his seat again, but was once again held back by the bindings. “Do you know why we exist? For years kato has been mined and has caused us numerous health hazards. These people get no respect for their services, and are treated as second class citizens. Well, no more! We will destroy the powers that control this world and make it our own!”  

	“But why do you need to kill people?” Sanjuro responded, still trying to fiddle with his bonds. “Surely there's a better way!”

	“We demand complete control of the planet!” Disraeli continued, ignoring Sanjuro's comment. “With the Fallen out of the way, we can simply cut off the supply of kato and the U.C.A. will not have to power to stop us! All your ships will soon be dead in space!”

	“But what about Cothineal?” Sanjuro pointed out, “She will surly not take too well to stragglers ruling over her planet.” Disraeli simply leaned back in his chair, another one of his trademark smiles appearing on his face.

	“We are going to kill Cothineal” he said, calmly stating it like it was an everyday occurrence.

	“With Cothineal gone you're dooming the future of humanity” Sanjuro responded, but saw a look of indifference on Disraeli's face. “No one can practically leave their home solar system without kato. As you said, we would all be dead in space. That includes you!”

	“What do we need that for? It just secures safety for my people!” He got up out of his chair. “Now it is time for you and your brother to die!” he proclaimed, and gestured for his guards to move. They took out a large box from a compartment under Disraeli's chair and started messing with its control panel.	“This kato bomb will destroy everything in the nearby area. We could have done this more civilly if you and your damn troops did not disturb my assassins...” 

	“You have more troops?” Sanjuro interjected concerned.

	“Of course, you did not think that was my entire army did you?” Disraeli replied amused. Sanjuro wondered how he could have gotten such a large army so quickly.

	“The bomb will explode in ten minutes my lord” one of the guards informed him. “In case of emergency the disarming code is 2x4b523p, all in lower case.”

	“You got that Kathryn?” Sanjuro asked into his radio communicator.

	“Loud and clear Admiral” Kathryn replied, happy to be of service. Veins suddenly appeared on Disraeli's forehead.

	“You bastard!” he proclaimed, his sharp temper quickly coming to bear.

	“I managed to turn my radio on while you were monologing” Sanjuro explained, this time a smile appearing on his face instead.

	“You whore loving...” Disraeli exploded, continuing to shout out obscenities.

	“Hey, cut that out!” Kathryn exclaimed over the radio offended.

	“No matter...” Disraeli commented, trying to calm himself down, “there is still no one here to shut down the bomb.” He strolled over to the door. “Goodbye  Admiral!” he called back before walking out of the room, pausing for just a second inside the open doorway. “When the timer reaches five, shoot the prisoner” he instructed, before slamming the door behind him. Sanjuro looked around but saw very little options when it came to escape. He was bound tight to the chair, and had nothing to cut the rope with. Even if he did escape there was still the matter that he was unarmed in a room full of guards. He looked over at the timer and saw that it had already reached six, meaning that there was not much time left. He looked around desperately for a way out; there must be a way.

	Suddenly the door was kicked down and Kura leaped into the room, her shotgun firing several rounds into the unsuspecting guards. Several of her team followed her in, securing the area. “Looks like you got yourself in trouble” Kura tutted, smirking at Sanjuro's predicament.

	“Commander, there is a bomb...” one of her squad mates exclaimed. She turned around and looked over at it, the smirk now wiped of her face. 

	“How do we disarm it?” she asked, a tinge of panic in her voice.

	“Two seconds left commander” the same soldier added nervously.

	“Relax, the code is 2x4b523p” Kathryn stated calmly over their radios. Kura imputed the code into the bomb's control panel and the screen became blank, indicating that it was successfully disarmed. Kura breathed a sigh of relief and tried to regain her usual tenacity.

	“You could have said that sooner Kathryn” Kura commented over her radio. 

	“You never asked” she replied, obviously enjoying this. It was not every day that her skills proved to be so valuable.

	“If you do not mind, I could use a little help here” Sanjuro interjected, breaking in on their conversation. Kura promptly took out her combat knife and swiftly cut away his binds. Sanjuro winced as the knife narrowly missed his flesh.

	“So what happened here exactly?” Kura asked as Sanjuro got to his feet.

	“I met their leader” Sanjuro answered, as Kura chucked him one of her dual pistols, “apparently they intend to to take control of the planet and kill Cothineal. What we saw today was only a small taste of what they have to offer.”

	“And the bomb?” Kura asked, evidently still unnerved by it.

	“That was designed to kill everyone in the area, especially Toshiro” Sanjuro continued, “I just wish I knew where he got his resources from.”

	“I know...” the prisoner from before exclaimed, spontaneously entering the room. “Disraeli was originally a C.M.C soldier. When they collapsed he took many of their resources for his own benefit. Genius really, surrenders and peace treaties do not make the weapons disappear overnight.”

	“The question is...” Kura cut in, about as impressed with the man as Sanjuro had proved to be, “what is he going to do with them now?”

	“Sanjuro, are any of your troops coming back on board?” Kathryn asked over the radio, a tinge of concern in her voice.

	“No, why do you ask?” Sanjuro replied, realizing something from her tone.

	“We have ships docking in our bay, somehow they have the right codes” Kathryn explained warily. Sanjuro looked over at Kura, and could tell that she had had the exact same thought in her head.

	“Disraeli...” they both voiced together.

	“Sanjuro, I am hearing noise from the corridor. Someone is entering the room. Sanjuro....” Kathryn was cut-off by static. 

	“Come on, lets get back to the ship!” Kura exclaimed. Sanjuro could not agree more.


	“What the hell?” Kura exclaimed as they approached the landing site. “What happened to LZ Minotaur?”

	“Disraeli must have stolen it” Sanjuro commented. It did make a certain amount of sense, after all they probably did not have many space-faring craft available. It would also explain how they managed to board the Leviathan without being detected. If only they had not sent so many troops down to Cronus, but then again the call from the Embassy had sounded so urgent. There was no use running through it all now, he needed to figure out what to do next.

	“There is a two-manned Fallen craft available sir!” a soldier commented.

	“Great!” Sanjuro commented sarcastically. “Oh well, Commander Akkaraju is with me. We will try and infiltrate the ship and send down landing craft.” Sanjuro could tell that the soldiers were skeptical, but they had no other option. They would have to trust their Admiral.

	Sanjuro opened the door and pulled himself inside. This craft was old, from the days before kato revolutionized space flight, maybe even from the time of the initial surveying of Cronus. It would however do for their current purpose. Kura crawled in behind Sanjuro, into the cramped compartment. Then they both buckled into their seats and Sanjuro pressed the ignition button. The craft speed up into the sky powered by conventional rocket fuel, and Sanjuro felt a little air sick as the craft's engines rocked the ship. After what felt like an eternity, the craft finally reached the docking bay entrance.

	“If Disraeli has the ship, how are we supposed to get in?” Kura asked. Sanjuro tried the first and obvious step and sent in his Admiral password to the landing bay airlock mechanism. To his surprise, the doors slid open almost as if nothing had happened on board. 

	“Either Disraeli is stupider than we thought...” Sanjuro commented as the craft landed.

	“Or this is a trap” Kura interjected, finishing Sanjuro's sentence for him. The two quickly unbuckled and crawled out, and froze as they saw a group of Disraeli's men guarding the shuttle bay entrance. “Quick, this way!” Kura whispered and she and Sanjuro sneaked behind a large shuttle and into a short corridor that lead out of the bay. The door opened without a problem.

	As soon as the door closed Sanjuro turned to address his Commander. “Your job is to somehow figure out a way to incapacitate the guards and send down landing craft for U.C.A and Fallen reinforcements.”

	“And you are doing what?” Kura asked.

	“I will try and find Kathryn and with her help send a transmission to any nearby U.C.A ships, requesting for aid and assistance” Sanjuro answered. Kura could tell however that Sanjuro had a more personal reason for wanting to find out what happened to Kathryn. Before she turned to leave she leaned over a gave Sanjuro a quick kiss.

	“For luck” she commented, before approaching the door they had used to enter the corridor. Sanjuro on the other hand, headed the other way into the bowels of the ship. Sanjuro tried his best to navigate through the blue corridors, but the presence of armed guards did not make his job easy. After a long while of sneaking he finally came to the blue door encrusted with a red diamond atop of a sign marked “Communications”. It was doubtful that Kathryn was still there, but he might as well try the obvious option first. Sanjuro pressed the door's control panel and entered.


	“Seize him!” an armed guard exclaimed as he and a group of others ambushed Sanjuro. With a quick jerk they flung Sanjuro's weapon in the air, landing in the other side of the room, a tendency of theirs that was quickly getting tiring. Sanjuro was then aggressively handcuffed and restrained by two muscular guards. Sanjuro looked around to see Kathryn with a soldier placing a shotgun to her back as well as the face of Donovan Disraeli smiling at him from the communications view screen,

	“Thought you might come here” he taunted, his smile achieving an even more devilish quality.

	“What is it you want Disraeli?” Sanjuro requested curtly. Disraeli simply continued to smile, and Sanjuro began to wonder what he had in mind.

	“With your ship I have all the power I need to control Cronus, so nice of you to leave it unattended for me” Disraeli commented.

	“You don't mean your going to use the...” Sanjuro replied, realizing what he meant.

	“Yes, yes, the kato cannon. We mined the fuel anyway, why shouldn't we use it?” Disraeli responded, his hands already hovering eagerly over the main firing controls.

	“That is genocide!” Sanjuro replied. Disraeli simply continued to smile.

	“But first we have a little show planed for you Admiral...” Disraeli continued calmly. The guard holding Kathryn raised his weapon.

	“Say goodbye Admiral!” Disraeli taunted.

	“You can't do this...” Sanjuro pleaded, “she is of no military threat to you, a non-combatant, its not fair! She is a pacifist!”

	“All is fair in love and war Admiral, and it looks like you are going to lose both” Disraeli replied, his face still brandishing that ever persistent calm smile. Sanjuro looked over at Kathryn, her face resolute, showing that the blood of a soldier still did flow through her veins. Disraeli began counting down from ten.

	“Goodbye Sanjuro” Kathryn whimpered as the countdown reached five, “I love you!” Sanjuro was transfixed by the sight. “This can't be happening” he thought, as he continued staring at the inevitable. She seemed more beautiful to Sanjuro now than ever before, almost like realizing he was going to lose her made her seem all the more precious. Disraeli's countdown was reaching a close, “Four, three, two, one!”

	A gunshot was fired, and a body fell to the ground dead. Sanjuro looked in shock to see Kathryn still standing and the guard behind her dead. “Stay away from my sister!” Kura taunted as she entered the room, smoke still rising from the barrel of her shotgun. The guards holding Sanjuro immediately got up and took out their weapons. Kura quickly fired a shot into one of them, but the other was in position and ready to fire. However, Sanjuro quickly kicked him and sent him flying across the room, hitting the wall with a loud thud.

	“I will talk with you later!” a displeased Disraeli growled as he closed the communications link. Kura freed Sanjuro from his restraints, and he embraced both Kura and Kathryn in relief.

	“I managed to send down the ships” Kura commented from inside Sanjuro's arms. “I flooded the bay with gas, they should wake up in a couple hours. After that I decided to see what was going on with you, and a good thing I did!”

	“Disraeli wants to use the kato cannon to wipe out the Fallen” Sanjuro interjected.

	“Is it just me or does this sound a little familiar?” Kura replied, pulling herself out of Sanjuro's arms. “We will need to get to the bridge then post haste” she commented, as she picked up Sanjuro's weapon and handed it to him.

	“Let's go, come on clingy!” she said looking over at Kathryn who still was clutched in Sanjuro's arms, the expression on her face having never truly reset from before her would be execution.

	“She did almost die...” Sanjuro reminded Kura, defending Kathryn. 

	“Well, we need to go. Come on!” Kura replied. Sanjuro had the feeling that she was still bitter over Kathryn and the bomb.

	Sanjuro, Kura and Kathryn began the long trip through the winding interior corridors of the Leviathan. This was not assisted by the fact that Disraeli had alerted the guards of their presence. There were several times that it was just the fact that they saw the guards first that they avoided a larger battle. Somehow luck was on their side and they finally reached the door marked “Bridge”. Sanjuro pushed the door's controls and entered.


	“Guards, kill them!” Disraeli exclaimed when he noticed the presence of Sanjuro, Kura and Kathryn on the bridge. Kura and Sanjuro began firing at the defending guards while Kathryn quickly ran to the ship's control panels. She quickly typed on the keyboard as Sanjuro and Kura offered cover. Before long the inexperienced straggler troops where overwhelmed by Sanjuro and Kura and the guns fell silent. Kathryn meanwhile finished her task of sending out a distress beacon and pressed the transmit key.

	“It is over Disraeli” Sanjuro announced as he walked towards him, “Fallen and U.C.A. troops are already coming aboard the vessel. A transmission has been sent that will give us even more reinforcements.”

	A look of absolute insanity fell over Disraeli's face. He suddenly reached out and grabbed Kathryn and brought his dagger to her throat. “If you come another step closer she dies!” Disraeli declared through gritted teeth. Both Sanjuro and Kura froze where they stood. “Victory will still come for me and my people! With the Fallen out of the way we will inherit Cronus!” he proclaimed as he pressed a large red button on the side of his chair and soon alarm klaxons bellowed across the ship. The kato cannon was active.

	Sanjuro out of instinct moved to try and stop Disraeli. Disraeli saw this however, and grabbed his dagger and thrust it into Kathryn's stomach. She reflexively grabbed for the wound, and a hideous gasp shown on her face as she fell to the floor. “I told you not to come closer!” Disraeli exclaimed. Sanjuro filled with dread and anger and not caring about the consequences aimed his weapon and shot Disraeli where he stood. He staggered a few steps before collapsing on the floor himself.

	“There is no time Sanjuro!” Kura called out as he began walking over to where Kathryn lay. “We have to stop the kato cannon or everyone in Maritropa, including Toshiro and Baku, are dead!” As Sanjuro heard the name of his brother and childhood friend his soldier's brain reactivated itself.

	“You turn the upper switch” Sanjuro ordered, “I will take the lower levels.” The two ran towards the override switches as fast as they could. Sanjuro still powered by an intense anger shot the remaining guards before they could even react.

	“The first switch is pressed” Kura informed Sanjuro over the radio as Sanjuro deactivated the second. They were making good time, but that did not mean time was on their side.

	“The cannon will fire in t minus 30 seconds” the computer announced as Sanjuro proceeded down to the final level. To his dismay he saw a large group of guards waiting for him, Disraeli's last revenge it seemed. Sanjuro started firing as fast as he could but more and more guards kept approaching. “The cannon will fire in 20 seconds” the computer reminded Sanjuro as more and more guards were trying their best to fire at him. “The cannon will fire in ten seconds” the computer continued almost glibly as Sanjuro finally gunned down the last guard. Sanjuro ran up to the final switch, pressing it just at the one second mark was announced.

	“You did it Sanjuro!” Kura exclaimed over the radio. Sanjuro was not paying much attention however, as he ran up the stairway and back to the bridge where Kathryn still lay. His heart trembled as he saw her lying on the ground. Sanjuro placed her head in his lap, and she looked up at him weakly.

	“The... cannon?” she asked slowly.

	“Don't worry, it's stopped” Sanjuro said as he looked down at her pale face. Kura entered the room just then and sat herself down beside Sanjuro and Kathryn.

	“If I die...” Kathryn commented.

	“You're not going to die!” Kura screamed.

	“If I die...” Kathryn continued, “you two will take care of each other?”

	“We will Kathryn” Sanjuro replied. Kathryn looked up and him and gave him a weak smile.

	“At least I have something for father to be proud of” she considered. Sanjuro and Kura smiled back down at her. She gave Sanjuro an almost needy look, and Sanjuro leaned over and gave her a kiss. Sanjuro was disturbed by how cold her lips were, like kissing a corpse. She continued to weakly smile  up at him, and Sanjuro stroked her hair reassuringly.

	Sanjuro and Kura looked up as Fallen soldiers and paramedics entered the bridge, looking around for any remaining enemy soldiers. The medical staff immediately ran up to Kathryn and carefully picked her up and took her out of the room.

	“What happened to her?” Baku, dressed in a Fallen uniform, asked as he saw Kathryn getting hauled out of the room.

	“It's a long story” Sanjuro replied. Sanjuro was surprised to see Kura tear up, and he did his best to comfort her. She began to cry into Sanjuro's shoulder, as Sanjuro waited for further developments.


	Sanjuro at the moment was feeling mixed emotions. For one, he was still worried about Kathryn and then there was also the fact he hated status reports just to top it all a off. He took a deep breath and typed a few commands on his keyboard and waited. Before long the face of one of the important people at High Command appeared on his computer screen,

	“Preparing a final report sir!” Sanjuro said, considering whether or not he should do a salute.

	“At ease Admiral” the man on the computer screen replied. Sanjuro leaned in for a closer look, and finally recognized the man's face as being a friend of Nathaniel Akkaraju.

	“I will now transmit my written report” Sanjuro declared as he tapped a few more keys on his keyboard. Sanjuro paused for a few moments while the man read through it.

	“You did well Admiral, Nathaniel was right to hold you in such high esteem” the man commented. Sanjuro was beginning to wonder why they were being so nice to him. He after all was still shaken by how he had let the Leviathan become captured so easily.

	“Thank you sir, were you able to gain anymore information on Disraeli by chance?” Sanjuro asked, still doubtful that he had heard the full story on the matter.

	“Unfortunately no, he seems to have simply been created from obscurity. A truly unseen threat” the man replied, “and with him dead now there is no way of knowing.”

	“He was endangering innocent people, I could not let him continue...” Sanjuro began, but was stopped by a raised hand on his view screen.

	“I am not blaming you Admiral, I have read your report and you gave an adequate explanation” the man explained. Sanjuro was now really wondering why they were being so nice to him.

	“Thank you sir” Sanjuro replied, sitting back down on his seat. 

	“You look tired Admiral, I won't hold you for long then” the man observed, noticing Sanjuro's expression, “by the way, we send our regards to your Lieutenant Commander.” Sanjuro could not help but notice that he seemed to almost cheekily emphasize the word “your”.

	“Thank you sir, I will tell her when I can” Sanjuro replied. The man did a quick military salute and the screen turned blank. Sanjuro rested in his chair and closed his eyes for a few moments. It had certainly been a rough ride. Sanjuro was disturbed however, by a man entering the room. Sanjuro looked up in surprise to see it was the freed prisoner from Cronus.

	“Is it true what I hear about Disraeli then?” the man asked.

	“Yes, he's dead” Sanjuro replied. The man smiled, and Sanjuro could not help but make a quick look to see if there were available exits.

	“I must say I have gained a little more respect for the U.C.A. and the Fallen in the past few days...” the man decided, “after all you did free me.”

	“Thank you” Sanjuro responded, unsure how the answer the compliment. The man shrugged and walked out of the room. Before he passed the door he stopped and turned back for a second.

	“Thank you for killing that lunatic” he stated earnestly before finally walking out of the room. None of this weighed well on Sanjuro's conscience. Sanjuro sighed and leaned back in his chair and finally allowed himself to sleep.


	Kathryn awoke slowly to see four people looking over her. She looked up to see Kura, Sanjuro, Baku, and Toshiro all looking down at her.

	“You gave us all a scare” Toshiro said as Kathryn pulled herself up. Her face still seemed paler than usual but she certainly looked better than she had for the last few days.

	“They send assassin crews after Toshiro and Sanjuro and in the end they get you instead” Baku commented, “funny how things work out.”

	Kathryn smiled dryly, more out of politeness than humour. “Can Sanjuro and I have some time alone please?” she requested. Toshiro and Baku quickly nodded and headed for the waiting room, with a more reluctant Kura following slowly behind them.

	“High Command asked me to send you their regards” Sanjuro commented when the door behind Kura closed. “Apparently you are my Lieutenant Commander.” Kathryn smiled up at him. “Apparently there is very little information on...”

	“Shush!” Kathryn whispered as she put a finger to Sanjuro's mouth. Sanjuro got her meaning and leaned down and kissed her. Sanjuro was relieved to feel that some heat had returned to her lips, remembering how cold they were before. Kathryn grabbed his hand and held it warmly.

	“What happened to Disraeli in the end?” Kathryn asked. Sanjuro thought for a few moments for the right thing to say, surprised and frightened that she was not in a fit state to have noticed.

	“Let's just say that it was a fatal mistake when he stabbed you” Sanjuro answered. Kathryn thought about that for a moment and a frown went over her face.

	“It is a little sad that all this happened, after all it is a little bit of our own fault for making the miners work in those conditions. If that did not happen, Disraeli would not have had a following” she commented.

	“Now you are getting a little philosophical” Sanjuro replied. She shrugged and continued to hold Sanjuro's hand. They continued like this a few minutes.

	“Visiting time is over, the patient is still recovering from a nasty injury and needs rest” the doctor said as he entered to room. Kathryn sighed, and gave Sanjuro a kiss on the hand.

	“Tell the others I will see them some other time” she called out as Sanjuro left the room.

 
	The cold winds of Cronus blew as three figures walked through a graveyard near the outskirts of Maritropa. The figures stopped when they reached the stone marked “Hank Johnson” and looked at it for a few moments.

	“Do you really think he actually knew or was that dream just a coincidence?” Sanjuro asked. Kathryn and Kura just continued to look down at the grave. Kathryn put on her ponderous expression and Sanjuro could tell that she was going to make some kind of deeper comment.

	“How much more bloodshed and death do you think is going to happen on this planet?” she asked. Sanjuro looked around at the various graves and realized that Kathryn had a point. Even Kura seemed to take her words into consideration.

	“At least there is not much more that could happen” Kura remarked looking down at Hank's grave again, “hopefully that should keep him happy”. Sanjuro and Kathryn shrugged and just continued to look around, deep in thought. After a while they decided to finally leave, with the still weak Kathryn leaning on Sanjuro for support. They walked slowly through the streets of Maritropa, none of them saying a word. “At least we are all still here” Sanjuro thought as the three of them headed for Cothineal's embassy for the night.

The End.

June 18-23, 2008