Shuichi Minamino's Story

About a week and a half later, after Drulovic's people were able to extract Keiko, allowing her to "Quietly pass away" as a jane doe, unidentified within the prison. Five individuals arrived in the main lobby of the prison to meet with the superintendent once more. It was a week of quiet, Hokushin too had gone with Keiko to the Shintenchi Shogunate, and now it was time for the meeting to occur, what everyone had been carefully plotting, planning, and waiting for.

Yukiko came in first, she was wearing a simple black pantsuit, with the Imperial Broach pinned to her lapel. Behind her came the minister of foreign affairs, Shuichi Minamino, the Minister of Defense Kanou, and the directors of both the Cabinet Intelligence Service, and Public Security. In the days that lapsed, Keiko had confided in both the Shogun, and Yukiko, as well as individuals within the Taiyou Government that she knew they could trust, and things on Niihama were slowly beginning to fall into place.

Andrijana's phone rang, the guard at the front lobby informing her that "More Taiyou." were here, and they "Looked important." As each one of them were well dressed, though Director Gouda was carrying a large briefcase that held a large laptop computer, and some receiving equipment. Behind them, a pair of Taiyou bodyguards waited at the door, as to not raise too much of a fuss.

They talked among themselves in Taiyou, discussing recent events, they had come here first, before they would proceed to Shintenchi, to discuss the logistics of unseating the current Emperor, and installing the rightful Heir.

Andrijana had only just finished signing off on a series of incident reports and disciplinary tickets that one of the captains had sent up that morning, when this call came too. "Just send them upstairs, to the conference room please." The conference room up here was used about twice a week, for senior staff meetings and general staff meetings, while most of the officers had their own spaces away from administration - the locker room, the break room, the parking lot. She took the stack of papers to the mailbox hanging on her door and put them in the slot labeled outbox, striding down the hall toward the little staff kitchen area, where she put on a pot of water for tea. Stopping by the bathroom, she adjusted her glasses and smoothed down part of her hair where it'd begun to frizz a little, then returned to her office where she grabbed a notepad, a pen, and a glass of water. She settled into the conference room just as the kettle had heated, and grabbed it too. There were cups in the conference room, and that box of tea bags one of the secretaries had squirreled away. Somehow, Andrijana had the sense that this meeting was anything but routine.

The guards escorted the five individuals up to the conference room as instructed, one by one each of them had entered the room, each of them had a neutral, if not somewhat hushed demeanor and expression about them, there were four men, and one woman, each of them dressed in a simple suit, and tie, or pantsuit where appropriate. Each one of them took a position around the conference room without saying anything.

There was the woman, who definitely was not Aeka, she appeared to be in her early forties, maybe forty one, or forty two, her shoulder length brown hair was left to hang loosely on her shoulders, and back, separated from her bangs with a simple headband that was adorned with subtle precious gems, and appeared to be made from an expensive ebony.

There was a young man, dressed in a nice suit, he seemed analytical, calculating as he entered the room, but he seemed to be the least imposing of the group, there was another man, an older man with balding hair, and a goatee, his suit was tailored, and pressed, like someone who was used to government meetings. Immediately behind him was a tall man who seemed scarred, his face twisted into a sardonic grin by scar tissue, as if he had suffered some kind of burn injury.

The last man was a middle aged man in a suit, hair pulled neatly to the side. All of them took a seat except for the woman, who sat last, and only said a few simple words.

"Where is the Director?" She asked, her Terran English was much better than Aeka's.

Andrijana stopped, halfway to pouring tea into the cups. "The Director?" she said, unsure what - or who - exactly was meant. "I'm sorry; I'm not sure what you mean. Director Boisvert-Panelo doesn't work out of Ĭtpraṽmår; her office is in Wing City." She resumed pouring tea into the cup, and set it aside, grabbing the next one. Then realization hit, and she paused again, swallowing. These people were asking about the old woman. "Ah - you must mean Ms. Drulović. She is an inmate here currently, and not the director of the TIB anymore. She is probably in her unit right now. Were you hoping to ... " With a sinking feeling, Andrijana realized she already knew the answer to that question.

The internal inquiry into the Jane Doe's death had been routine and swift, the papers just signed off the day before, and though Andrijana had her suspicions, she'd kept quiet and hoped that if she were lucky, the entire affair with the Taiyou was soon to be over. Clearly, this was not the case. The old woman was up to something. And Andrijana would have preferred it stay far from her office, so long as it did not involve murder or escapes.

Andrijana smiled thinly and apologetically, though the expression wavered a bit. "Pardon me, I'm sorry I haven't introduced myself properly. I'm Andrijana Krstevska, the superintendent here. Welcome to Ĭtpraṽmår." She was wearing a tweed jacket and black skirt, one of the very few who wore civilian dress on the premises. "Can I get you anything else to drink? We don't often have official delegations to visit." Except when Drulović was there.

The woman frowned, and she cast a weary gaze at the Superintendent, and frowned. "I know who you are." She said, folding her hands in front of her, on the table, lacking the polite, timid tact that Aeka had when she visited, rather, Yukiko commanded a regal presence, even more so than Shimizu when he visited. "I am Yukiko Takayama, Crown Princess, and Heir Presumptive to the Chrysanthemum Throne." She answered, gesturing first towards the scarred man at the table.

"I am Director Kazundo Gouda, I am the Director of His Majestys' Cabinet Intelligence Service." The man replied, his voice holding a tinge of coolness to it, as Yukiko's gaze fell to the older man.

"I am Chief Aramaki, with Public Security Section Nine." He answered, as Yukiko turned her gaze towards the other man seated across from Aramaki.

"Taro Kano, I'm the Minister of Defense, for His Majesty." Kanou answered crisply, as Yukiko's gaze turned to the younger man.

"Shuichi Minamino, I'm the Minister of Foreign Affairs, for His Majesty." The man said politely, inclining his head. "Pleased to make your acquaintance." He said, standing up and offering a bow, before seating himself back at the table, everyone at the table shook their heads, politely refusing the offer of tea, rather, Yukiko cleared her throat.

"We have much to discuss, and I would prefer it if you sent for Miss Drulovic with all haste, unfortunately we are on a very tight schedule, and must move quickly." Yukiko explained.

Andrijana returned a respectful bow, then stood at the head of the table, nodding. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintances, and I'll do my best to help if I can. I'll call down now for Ms. Drulović," she said, trying not to stare agape at the collection of senior Taiyou Empire personnel - and royalty - assembled in her decidedly unimpressive conference room. She lifted the receiver to the room's phone by the door, calling the central hub. "Please send Ms. Drulović from the unit up to administration, second floor." Andrijana lowered her voice, "and without restraints, thank you." She turned back to the Taiyou delegation, ignoring the half-filled cups of tea on the table, and took a seat. "Would I be able to ask what this is about? We're not, ah, usually a prime destination for visiting dignitaries and world leaders."

The room was bare, the table plain and unadorned, the chairs technically cushioned but uncomfortable for anything longer than about an hour or so, with windows that overlooked only the main parking lot, with the chainlink fence and concertina wire visible around it. Today, it was bright and overcast, highlighting the dust on the blinds, the uneven fading on the thin carpet, and the cracks in the tiles visible where the carpet did not stretch. The only decoration on the wall was a framed painting of a world with twin suns that a marooned alien had made when incarcerated years ago, and left as a gift when he was released. He hadn't wanted to take with him any reminders of the place.

Andrijana couldn't think too much on how drab the room was though, how utterly unfit for a princess and her ruling officials. She was waiting to hear whether Shimizu had ordered her execution, and if so, if this meeting was simply a way to offer her a slightly less unpleasant path to death.

Yukiko didn't answer the question, however Shuichi took on the mantle of answering the director's question. "Our business with Drulovic is classified to the highest echelons of our government, we appreciate your cooperation in this matter though, it is of utmost concern to our national security that we have this meeting without delay, or interruption."

Director Gouda offered a brief nod, before he pulled out the briefcase, which of course didn't have any weapons, rather it was a laptop computer, and a powerful long range transmitter. Gouda briefly turned to Yukiko, who offered him a nod, and then he began to search the room for a power outlet, where he plugged in a small adapter, and then the laptop computer before opening it.

Aramaki stayed quiet, along with the other officials as Gouda began to work, powering up the computer, and plugging a thin wire from the back of his neck, into a port on the side of the computer, he took his hands off the keyboard, and the computer began to work, utilizing just a connection to his mind.

Gouda then plugged a small video uplink cable, adapted to the Terran standards into the projector, and he then reached over to power it on, the cable plugged into the back of his neck pulled taught for a moment, as the projector warmed up.

Yukiko finally, firmly and rather calmly broke the silence, and the ice.

"Do you have the documentation for my mother? Who was her prosecutor? Who was the presiding judge?"

Andrijana detected something dangerous flitting in the air at these questions from the presumptive heir to Shimizu's throne. She shook her head, apologetic still. "I don't have any of the paperwork offhand, no, your highness," she said. "The case was prosecuted more than ten years before I was appointed to my position at Ĭtpraṽmår, so I'm not familiar with the parties who were involved. I unfortunately only became aware of her presence here rather recently. I ... " Her voice faltered. "Officially, at least, your mother passed away about a week ago while in custody, but without her name on any of her paperwork quite yet - I had sent word to the Taiyou consulate at her request, and released her remains and personal effects to the senior attaché there just a few days ago." The word 'officially' hung between them, as Andrijana suspected they all knew that Keiko Takayama was likely very much alive, and that she was aware of this. "I'm so sorry for your loss." And she meant it - if Keiko were in fact dead, somehow, and all of this had come about for a dead empress dowager rather than a living one committed to removing the current Taiyou emperor from his throne. "Unless of course..." She watched as Gouda hooked his cybernetics into the projector in the room, wondering what in fact this group had come for.

The officers sent for the old woman couldn't come soon enough, Andrijana decided. Much as she resented Drulović's evident expertise and necessity here, Andrijana knew the old woman would know what to make of this.

Yukiko offered a soft chuckle at the mention, they all knew Keiko wasn't dead, they all knew exactly where Keiko was, and that Takara Sato had been taking good care of her, it made sense what happened to about three people in the room, including Yukiko, and Kanou and Armaki could put two and two together.

"Perhaps it's for the best." Yukiko said with a soft smile. "As you well know with the Kendra Shaw situation, we do not tolerate the imprisonment of one of our family members, and I would have taken action to ensure she was freed at once." Yukiko smiled. "It's better this way, for all parties involved." The Princess said with a smile. Yes, Yukiko knew exactly what was going on, Keiko told her everything.

"Officially, she is still a jane doe, do not put her real identity on any paperwork." Yukiko implored, Tarou, and Minamino nodding. "Our Government believes Keiko died years ago, for the current situation at hand, it is best that it be maintained." The young foreign affairs minister remarked.

"We were able to quickly suppress any news of her yet living, for the time being." Gouda remarked, before he slowly returned to his seat, Taiyou text in green scrolled down the projector in green code, before a loading bar of some kind began to slide across the screen.

Yukiko pursed her lips at the information, they didn't have the files. She cast her gaze to Gouda, and cleared her throat to speak.

"Dare ga sono jiken o shori shita no ka shiritai." "I want to find out who handled that case."

"Well, paperwork can always be lost or delayed, and questions easily deferred to an endless loop of bureaucratic inanity," said Andrijana, hands splayed open on the table. "Your mother's identity is safe here, for however long you need it to be. If there's anything the Terran prison system excels at, it's dragging our heels in response to simple questions." She did not like this, much of the time, but if it would keep them alive, and protect an elderly woman who'd just received devastating news about the state of her family and nation, then Andrijana would be willing to oblige. Eventually, she'd have to answer to her own government, but with luck, that time might be far enough away she would not have to contemplate it for a while. "We can keep prying eyes away from the Jane Doe files. I'm glad to hear that her highness is safe." Of course, it would also serve Andrijana's purposes - the central office would not be pleased with her if they knew she'd all but facilitated an escape.

Andrijana had never planned to go into corrections. Not many people did. She'd started as a teacher, then thought she might try her hand at social work, and somehow that had led to an incredibly - almost insultingly - low-paying job in the prisons department, and all those years later, she'd ended up here. On the other side of things from where she'd once been, advocating against administrators just like herself to try to get inmates' basic needs met. Now she was stuck. Ĭtpraṽmår was a punishment assignment. A punishment assignment that had started ten years ago. And each successive year, central office made it clear Andrijana would not be welcome back in Wing City.

Two guards finally appeared at the door with Drulović, holding her by the elbows. Of course, they'd ignored Andrijana's instructions. "Where did you want the inmate?" The old woman looked tired, her forehead glistening with perspiration from the walk over that the guards had taken a little too briskly, especially with the leg irons, her rather shapeless gray uniform a stark contrast to the carefully tailored rich fabrics that the Taiyou wore, and even to Andrijana's fashionable (if bargain rack) skirt suit. Drulović's gaze quickly marked each of the Taiyou in the room, recognizing nearly all of them at once, but her face betrayed no reaction.

"Just - there, please." Andrijana stood hastily, pulling out a chair from the table, near her own, for Drulović. "Here. Let me help you."

All eyes followed Drulovic as she came into the room, no one betraying anything as Gouda waited for the uplink to finish, the screen flickered, and flashed, static washed over it, and then what looked like the bridge of a starship flickered into view, a woman turning from her station to look at the screen, Drulovic would recognize her as Admiral Katamura, a ranking officer assigned to the Emperor's personal fleet. She looked to Gouda through the small camera on the laptop, as the Director fumbled a webcam out of the briefcase, moving to place it under the screen where the projector was being cast.

"Please encrypt, and retransmit this broadcast to ParaSOL relay three." Gouda asked in Taiyou, and the woman nodded, the screen going staticky for a moment.

Yukiko's eyes followed the guards, and Drulovic as she sat down.

"Director, I wanted to personally thank you for what you've done, you've not only brought joy to me, and my sister, but you have righted a terrible wrong." Yukiko said in Taiyou. "If we had known, my father would have not allowed this travesty to unfold." The Princess added.

"Aeka told me everything, I am repaying my debt to you, for freeing my mother." Yukiko added, gesturing to the screen.

Drulović bowed once seated, taking note of Admiral Katamura's appearance on screen, and Yukiko's presence at head of the party. "It was no trouble at all," she replied in Taiyou, keeping to the formal register though her tone was warm, "and a blessing for me to see her depart from this place. I'm gladdened to know your mother has returned to you; it lightens my heart." Would that her own daughters feel the same way about their mother. The old woman's gaze slid across the others' faces around the table before returning to Yukiko. "And now, no doubt, some measure of justice is soon at hand too."

Having returned to her own seat, one leg crossed over the other, and hands folded under the table, Andrijana looked questioningly at Drulović, but the old woman did not return the look from her fellow Terran. Drulović had received word from Lisbeth only once in the past week, as her younger counterpart had learned well from the old woman how to keep operational security effectively and efficiently. The dead could not speak. Neither could the ignorant. And Andrijana had had to remain ignorant, for despite all of Drulović's frustrations with the superintendent, the old woman had no desire for Andrijana to die at Shimizu's hands.

Exhaustion bore down on Drulović, though, spurred on by difficulties eating and walking, and resurgent pain that advil did nothing to keep at bay. She'd only managed part of the bread and an orange that morning, and now it was lunch. It was no matter though. Lunch rarely offered much anymore - especially the days that Humphries actually tried to make a heartier meal, since heartier meant sinewy meat and fibrous vegetables her wounded jaw could not handle. The old woman glanced at the cooling cups of shitty tea instead.

The communication continued to be routed through various relays, dead ends, encrypted again, and again through the relays as it snaked it's way through to it's final destination. The screen came to life, revealing a humble, well decorated conference room on the other end, low wooden tables, bonsai trees, and five people kneeled around a low table, sharing a hearty meal of grilled squid, sashimi, rice, and exotic teas. Keiko was the first that could be recognized, though rather than a prison jumpsuit, she was wearing a floral kimono, and was seated besides a woman Drulovic would recognize as Takara Sato, the ruling Shogun of Shintenchi. There were a handful of armed guards in samurai-like attire behind them, all around the room.

Aeka was there too, dressed in a similar fashion, she was seated next to her mother, a slightly aged, albeit relatively healthy Kendra Shaw. They all seemed to look well, as the video stabilized.

"Everything is secured on our side." Takara called out, making sure that her people had locked down the transmission, it was difficult to intercept, and even more difficult to decrypt.

Kendra slowly stood up, and approached the screen, offering Drulovic a slight bow, and a smile.

"Prison jumpsuits don't suit you, Arianne." Shaw said in terran english, with a smile.

Drulović returned the bow, her eyes kind, though much of her face kept still. The throbbing ache had started up again in her jaw. Sometimes she wished Andrade had finished it. He'd been too sloppy though and instead of release, the old woman had only come away with more and worse pain. "I look quite terrible now, I know," she replied in Terran common, "and the clothes are like to be the least of it." Over the screen, the old woman's missing ear, replaced by a massive knot of scar tissue extending into her hair, was clearly visible - the scarring uneven and jagged because Andrade hadn't bothered with a clean cut. It was harder to make out her disfigured hands, but obvious enough that she had aged, and that she was in pain. Drulović had suffered some pain or another for most of the past few decades. "I received your letter, and I'm glad to know you are well now. I wish I could say the same for myself." In Taiyou, she offered proper greetings to the elder queen mother, the princess, and the Shintenchi shogun.

Andrijana shifted uncomfortably in her seat, watching without comment. Oh, the Central Office would have her head if they knew what was happening today. It was strange enough to see Kendra Shaw in Taiyou attire. Knowing that the Terran former intelligence director had all but singlehandedly orchestrated the disappearances and repatriation of both Kendra Shaw and Keiko Takayama was something else entirely.

Kendra nodded, and offered a smile. "I wanted to repay my debt to you." She said in Taiyou. "So I reached out to contact you, I understand there are things in place to overthrow Shimizu. Minister Minamino was kind enough to meet with Isambard Prince, and I have been offered amnesty for my part in removing Shimizu from power." Kendra said, she seemed relieved. "If we can pull this off, they'll reinstate my benefits, and I'll get my full retirement package, my house in Gemenon will also be unfrozen." Kendra added.

She looked to the ground briefly, shifting uncomfortably, there was a bruise, covered by makeup. She had a black eye it looked like.

Keiko offered a smile, and a nod from behind Kendra. "We spoke at length, I believe truly that Nobuo exhausted every avenue to find me, Kendra-san has offered me insight into my late Nobuo's last days." Keiko affirmed. "This is what must be done." The elder Empress Dowager offered, while she took a sip of Sake.

Shaw offered a brief glance back towards the Shogun, and then she focused her attention back to the screen.

"How can we repay you?" Shaw asked, in Taiyou this time. She was speaking for herself, and Keiko.

"I ask only that you remember my help, should I come asking for some small favor one day," said Drulović, responding in Taiyou now. "I do what I can to offer succor to those who need it, even now. I always have, you know. When at world's end, I'll move mountains and part oceans if need be." She offered a small smile, wan and exhausted, shot through with pain. "I'll confess I do not look kindly on sons who make mockery of their family ties," she said, her tone darkened, each word in Taiyou enunciated clearly. "That petty little man does not belong on the chrysanthemum throne." She blinked slowly, her face returning to its characteristic impassive expression. "But as for myself, no, I've little need for material things. Friends, perhaps. Some good tea. I do not mean to die here. One day I'll return home. The parole board will call me up in just a few years." Seven. She'd be eligible after eight years, and they'd counted the year before trial as time served. But the house where she'd been living before had been a rental, the lease terminated a month after her arrest, her belongings now in storage. Her daughters had long been lost to her. But she'd find a home and make it. She had to.

At Drulovic’s words, just about everyone in the room craned their necks to look at her, some of them looked at her quizzically, some of them raised an eyebrow, Yukiko however didn’t seem to react at all, she agreed with Drulovic, she knew something was wrong the day he became heir presumptive.

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.”

"His troubles began far earlier than that, you know," Drulović said, her tone calm, her gaze steady. "The Emperor, it seems, did not die a natural death. Of course, your son, would-be despot that he was, must have ensured the destruction of any obvious evidence. It was like to have been some type of poison, carefully chosen to mimic natural illness, but that he had been in good health and far younger than when he ought to have passed." The old woman shook her head, though the movement was lethargic and enervated. "You did no wrong. He was long lost to you. Had he known his half-brother Yosho yet lives, I'm certain he'd have ensured his untimely demise too. Even now, I have no doubt in my mind he plots and schemes still. Enough shoguns must unite to have a chance at ending his reign. Else, he'll make sure of all of our deaths." Drulović brought her hands up to the table, only the one with three fingers moving, the other still and atrophied. There was never much of a point to handcuffs, she'd thought. Not now. "But let him try. I've proven quite difficult to kill."

“If this fails, we could all be put down for treason.” Aramaki remarked. “Or worse, the fate that could befall Terra, I don’t think he would stop at simply killing a few people he doesn’t like.” The Director added, while the Minister of Defense nodded in agreement.

“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.”

"I'm retired - involuntarily, I'll add - and imprisoned," said Drulović, her tone light, even in Taiyou. "It'd be no small matter to prosecute war against Terra over suspicions about what I might have done or whom I've aided. While of course he has the military capabilities to do as he wishes, he'd lack sufficient support amongst his putative allies." She looked about the room, reflecting momentarily on how much of her latter life she'd spent in rooms just like this one - austere, plain rooms where the real work of governance happened. "Shimizu hardly ever departs from the Soja. He's loathe to so much as set foot on Niihama. Of course the Taiyou courts lack sufficient power to pursue him for his crimes, as against his father, his mother, his sister, and his brother. He depends on sovereign immunity. But the court of public opinion has no such limitations, nor is the truth subject to legalistic evidentiary requirements. His family knows what he's done - or ought to. They are the witnesses of his crimes even after usurpation." She nodded toward the screen. "You hardly need imagine how the shogunate would take to the revelation of his perverse and pathological proclivities." The old woman sighed though, fingers curling up. "But Yosho requires protection - and the support of more than a single shogun - if he is to survive long enough to outlast Shimizu." She looked directly at Kendra. "You realize that it is entirely within the realm of possibilities that Shimizu may be so adamant about his tenuous hold on power that, though I do not wish this for you, nothing short of death will sever him from it."

“The Crew of the Soja is hand picked, but a small team could infiltrate the Soja, and take him out, we’ll have to get the sword from him, though.” Aramaki remarked. “I could send in my team, I have the utmost confidence they could get it done.” Both Kanou, and Gouda nodded in agreement.

“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 paid Dr. Krstevska a visit while she was speaking with Mr. Hokushin, about ten days past," said Drulović with a short nod. "I was not there at the time. He traveled from here to Langara. Of course, it was an odd choice for him too to visit a Terran national prison in passing." Drulović looked toward Hokushin on the screen. Andrijana had immediately glanced at Drulović at the sound of her name, raising an eyebrow in question. "Dr. Krstevska, what was it, exactly, that Shimizu wanted of you?"

"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."

Yukiko, and just about everyone else in the conference room whispered among eachother at the news that he had stopped by. Both Aramaki, and Gouda looked at each-other, but said nothing.

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.

"Remember that Yosho Takayama may yet refuse coronation," Drulović cautioned Gouda. "He retreated to a shrine for a reason, you know." She'd long wondered what that luxury might be like, but never had time to wonder long. Terra demanded all of her attention. Terra asked for her life - and now her freedom.

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."

“My father has been grooming Yosho for the throne, for almost his entire adult life, He was the next in line to ascend to the throne, it was a total fluke that our family was uprooted the way it was, I can say with confidence that he will rise to the challenge.”

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.”