[center][color=yellow][h3]Strange Times[/h3][/color][/center]




    Strange indeed, At least that was what Morinth thought when the priority message symbol appeared on her communicator device. She stared at it with a piqued brow before slipping into the shadows. Confident that there was no one around, She pressed a few buttons and finally a voice verification. The Device, appeased with her entries, shown a simple message that left her breathless. "Trinity is in play." Her breathing was slightly heavy with anticipation as she crouched down and activated a map display of the galaxy. Faust had his generals uploading the plan in real time.

To make matters worse, an appended message had a report of the Executus dead aboard a derelict Dominion cruiser, well within Imperium space. There was no body recovered but merely a few personal affects and the ships partially destroyed logs showing that he was infact on the bridge at one point. Morinth knew a formal declaration of war may or may not be announced, as she knew that Uther would try his hardest to dispute Faust's assumptions, He would want an investigation. Faust would want blood.

"Rong, I need your help." Morinth said after locating Rong in her room.

Kau Rong was sitting seiza style in the middle of her room, her eyes closed. She gave no indication of recognizing Morinth's presence. For a full minute the room remained in silence before Rong gave a long sigh and opened one eye to regard Morinth.

"I'm afraid you'll have to seek aid elsewhere" Rong said before closing her eye again.

"Why?" Morinth replied, in the most innocent tone she could muster.

"I still recognize Yuki-hime as my master" Rong said without opening her eyes. "This leaves me in something of an awkward position. I have a choice to make; neither option I can see before me now would allow me to be of help to you."

Morinth folded her arms, "Rong, how do you know that?" She said simply.

Rong let out a long sigh before answering. "I will either be here, doing what I can to see her will be done even after she is gone, or I will attempt to rescue her from her fate. Neither choice leaves me any wiggle room. Of course" Rong let herself smile "You could just tell someone in the Imperial Court about this conversation and have me arrested for treason."

"Is blackmailing you the only way I can get you to come along?" She said with a faint smile. "Your imperal court could have you carry out Yuki's wishes... Or.." She lowered her arms and knelt in front of Rong, placing a small silver disk on the ground. From it two very clear images appeared, one was from a Dominion probe taking clear images of Yuki's Fleet arriving at earth and the other, taken directly from one of the an orbiting cruiser, showed an extremely clear image of Yuki inside a fighter.

"Or you could save her."

Rong opened her eyes as Morinth placed the silver disk on the ground, raising an eyebrow as it began to show images of Yuki and her fleet. "It almost sounds like you would be willing to lend me a hand in doing just that. You realize that should your involvement in any such rescue attempt be discovered that it would become an international incident, right?"

Morinth smiled from ear to ear and with a genuine laugh, "Shit, I'm an walking international incident." Her smile gradually faded, "So what do you say? Shall we get outta here and save your princess?" 

Rong let a wide grin spread across her face as she said "Alright. If you help me save Yuki-hime I'll pull you out of whatever fire you've managed to get your ass into. Just give me a moment to grab my things." She slowly rose to her feet, walking over to a corner of her room where a pair of bags had been discretely placed behind a table. She tossed one to Morinth before grabbing the other and walking to the other side of the room. "I was pretty much already ready to head out anyways." She commented as she walked over to an armoire, opening it to reveal a large number of weapons, many of them of the melee variety. She stuffed as many of them as she could into the other bag before turning to Morinth and asking "Shall we head out?"

Leaving Musashi wasn't easy for even Morinth's prized stealth ship, the Avalon, as military presence around the region were active. once done though, the southern core imperium was rather sparse save the massive out facing sensor arrays, which were easily passed by her ship.

After a mere three days of travel, the two were once more awoken from their slumber, something detected on the long range scanners. Rather than an SOS this time, it was an imperial signal beacon. One of the missing black boxes from the battle that ended the executus' life. 

Morinth once more rolled out of her pod onto the floor. 

She felt a chill across here near naked body. It didn't deter her from cursing at the ship's AI for ruining a nice dream. "I seriously need to adjust the priority settings on this system." She said casually before taking a seat and with a few simple console commands, Rong pod was set to open.

As Rong began to thaw out it became clear that something was wrong. She immediately began to hyperventilate. A sheen of sweat quickly covered her body and she began to toss and turn. Underneath her closed eyelids her eyes were rapidly moving.

At first, Morinth didn't notice the alert but after a long awaited yawn, a red blinking light caught her eye. Morinth shot up and started to run, getting her tank top caught on the one of her chair's bolts, pulling her back a few steps. Without any regard to the chair or her attire, she quickly rose, leaving the chair, and her top behind. Perhaps more awkward was her arrival at the pod, nearly plastering herself against the glss for a moment as she stretced for the manual release.

A cloud of white vapor rushed out as the door opened. She then pulled Rong out by her ankles, dropping her on the floor with a rather loud thud. The impact woke her up, her eyelids moving to reveal eyes that seemed unable to focus on anything. She seemed to stare at nothing before forcing her eyes closed, her hands reaching out towards Morinth. She opened and closed her mouth a few times as if to speak, but seemed unable to get a word out between rapid gasps for air. Instead she contented herself to grabbing onto Morinth as if she was holding on to save her life.

Morinth did not refuse but rather embraced Ring, her face showing nothing but concern for her comrade. "It's ok." She whispered, trying to get a grasp on what was happening. After a few moments of nothing short of cradling, Morinth gazed upon Rongs face, looking for any sign of calm.

Rong took a few deep breaths before forcing herself to at least assume a facade of calmness. "How..." She took another deep breath before asking "How long was I asleep?" She almost sounded scared to ask the question, her voice quivering.

"Its been maybe three or four days.." She said while still gently yet awkwardly petting Rong's head.

"Ok...ok" By now Rong seemed to be genuinely calming down. "I'm okay." She took another deep breath, a shiver shaking her entire body as she let the breath out. "I... thank you Morinth-dono. I apologize for showing you such an unbecoming display." A slight blush tinted her cheeks. She tilted her head as if to look at Morinth's face, despite not opening her eyes, as she asked "What happened? Four days isn't enough time to travel to Earth."

There was a moment of silence while Morinth contemplated what to say,

especially after considering the fact Rong was still laying against her bare chest. "I.." She paused and took a deep breath, "Four days with that distance? We'd have to be travelling a thousand times the speed of light!" She said as a  vain attempt to lighten the mood. 

"Mmmm.... Yea." Rong paused for a moment before asking "Why don't you have a shirt on?"

Morinth blushed that she had indeed been caught. "When you didn't wake up, I rushed down here. I may or may not have gotten... Stuck... On something."

Rong let out a soft chuckle. "Or you could be a nudist..." She grinned for a moment before asking "Seriously though, what are we doing out here in the middle of Remnant space?"

"Well, we were travelling slower anyway due to it being imperium space, and then.. Just like old times, the computer detected a black box and pulled us from light speed. Seeing as it is imperial, I'm considering just saying fuck it." She sighed as she looked down upon her, "But this is where the Executus was killed."

"Hmmm... Oh. James Conrad-dono, correct? A pity, he seemed like such a pleasant person." Kau Rong contemplated the situation for a moment. "Honestly I'd prefer if we just keep going. Every second that we are delayed increases the odds that Yuki-hime will be on her way back to Musashi in chains. But if you feel it necessary to obtain that block box..."

"Yeah, I'm sorry for that.  we have  far more important matters than investigating the dead. If you do not mind though, can we at least pick it up?" Morinth replied.

"Yes. Yes of course." Rong pulled away from Morinth. "Why don't you go on ahead. I'll join you at the... uh bridge in a bit. Ok?"

Morinth stood up and nodded before looking around for a top. After finding one and sitting back at the bridge, she maneuvered the Avalon over the box and retrieved it with outboard clamps. Satisfied, she started plotting a course for earth. "What a day." She said while propping her feet up on a console.

"You sure its okay to put your feet on that?" Rong asked as she stepped onto the bridge. She stood near the entrance, resting her wait on the sheathed katana she was using as a cane of sorts. Even though her eyes remained closed there was a sense about Rong that she was still somehow perfectly aware of her surroundings. "It wouldn't be funny if the ship's reactor was purged because you accidently pressed a button with your foot."

Morinth did a double take after noticing Rong calling her out with closed eyes, "What how.. nevermind.. Crazy psionic." She said while lowering her feet. "Alright. Well we have passed Vern's Expanse so I'm confident we can make good time now." 

With a few simple key presses, the aft of the ship began to glow a bright white before disappearing into light speed.

Rong chuckled as she made her way to a seat. "Back in ancient Japan ninja where believed to possess actual magic" She commented as she sat down. "I suppose psionics are a product of science, but you know that saying: something something indistinguishable from magic." She shrugged. "Hmm.... If it makes you feel better you can think of me having a bat's echolocation or an eel's electrolocation. Its not quite right... but they are close enough I suppose."

Morinth chuckled, "There were stories of heroes using nothing but sound to find and kill their foes. Guess that's one more thing for our enemies to worry about." She went to a straight face and turned to Rong, staring her deep in the eyes. "Don't lie to me. Are you ok?"

"It's nothing to be concerned about" Rong said. "I always pull through." She had yet to open her eyes, but she still turned her head towards Morinth and gave her a small smile. "Because there is no alternative."

"Its nothing to be concerned about my ass.." Her look of disappointment would be obvious to the truly blind. "You were laying in my arms, pale as snow like you were going to die. That's not a 'I always pull through' situation." 

Morinth just shook her head. "I said not to lie to me."

"It was just a nightmare. A moment of weakness." Rong said with a shake of her head. "I've... dealt with it before and I'll deal with it now. I just have to keep moving." She huffed before adding "So I didn't lie."

"I suppose you didn't." Morintb said with a fake chuckle. "So when my kid.." She paused, "so what nightmare could possibly send one to near death?"

Rong turned away from Morinth, letting silence fill the room. Finally she answered "Have you ever woken up, only to find that Everyone you knew was gone? That the world you lived in had changed to something so... alien that you felt out of place? It was that kind of dream."

Morinths cheeks grew red and the early signs of tears were showing. Luckily for her, Rong couldn't see her insecurity. After a couple seconds to regain composure, she presented a calm answer, "I can understand how that would shake someone. But even emotional weakness from things like Cryogenic sickness doesn't give people reactions like that."

"Its called stasis sickness in Musashi" Rong stated, "And its been known to cause panic attacks, temporary blindness, and worse." She opened her eyes and blinked a few times. "It's... nothing to be concerned about." She squinted at Morinth for a moment before letting out a soft sigh and closing her eyes again. "They gave me what is basically magical powers, yet they didn't bother to make me immune to stasis sickness." She gave her head a small shake at that thought. "Ridiculous."

A wide smile stretched across Morinths lips, "Fucking space ninja wizards." She huffed, "And then what do I get? Nothin'." Her attention turned back to the console and pressed a button bringing up a holographic display. "We have long range sensors locked on Sol. Still about a days flight out, I'd offer another round in the sleeper pod but I doubt you'd be up for that."

"Hmm... yea. I think I'll pass" Rong said. "And what do you mean you got nothing? That armor of your's puts main battle tanks to shame!" She flashed Morinth a smile. That smile quickly faded away as she commented "I doubt my psionics were worth the price anyways."

Morinth shrugged, "Thanks, though I don't need armor to put a battle tank to shame!" she said with a smirk. "But that leaves me with one worry, are you sure you'll be up to what ever is about to happen? I seriously cannot have you dying or some shit on me again." She pat the console a few times, "This baby is better than any fighter out there but there are fleets blocking us, we can't rely on technology alone."

"I haven't failed before" Rong stated, "and I don't intend to start failing now. When it is time I'll be ready to go. I promise." She paused for a moment before asking "So just how many fleets are blocking us by the way?"




"Enough to warrant caution." Morinth said, "Hey, so it's rather obvious that you have this psionic stuff as did the Executus, and he was fuckin' crazy. His dreams were probably of taking foreign women hostage and ruling the galaxy with an ignorant fist. What sort of dreams could possibly send you down a road like that?" She gazed back at Rong, "It's been well documented in the Dominion that Psionic folks had higher potential of madness, a reason that Faust never really trusted them."




"Is it terribly surprising that an individual who can alter the physical world with her mind and peer into the minds of others is liable to lose touch with reality?" Rong asked. She shrugged. "I can't say whether your Executus was insane or not; you clearly knew him better than me. What I can say, however, is that the type of insanity you described, kidnapping women and conquering the galaxy, is one that stems from an evil mind not one possessing psionic abilities. Also... thanks for implying I'm crazy."




Morinth frowned, "I never meant to imply that but after thinking about it, I sure did. I'm sorry." A deep sigh followed, "I've had to deal with Psionic users before and more often than not it didn't turn out pretty. But I'm not persecuting you or your abilities, I am more so worried about what I saw. About how a waking dream could prompt such fears." 




"A dream about something so dangerous as being truly alone. I hate to constantly relfect upon my own life but it's the only real experience I have, and I can honestly say I woke up and my world was different. It's something I really haven't shared with anyone except Faust, who was there when it happened." Morinth said grimly. 

"Do you still feel alone?" Rong asked.

She looked about and then glanced at her rusted pendant. "I do."

Silence filled the room for a minute before Rong spoke up. "Let me tell you a story... to pass the time. So a long time ago there was a young girl, born and raised by an aristocratic family in Musashi. But this was no normal girl. Back then, as is still the case today, many in the aristocracy would genetically engineer their kids to have powerful psionic abilities. That way they could have the pretiege of having a child who was in the special forces."

"This girl, like so many others, never truly had a choice in the matter. It was determined before she was born that she would become a kunoichi. Her childhood was one of almost nonstop training. Her parents were determined that she would be the best. And they succeeded. By the time she was old enough to enlist she already a skilled warrior. She was so skilled in fact that it was determined that it would be a waste to utilize her talents in an era such as she was raised in."

A humorless smile spread across Rong's face before she asked "So do you want to know what they did?"

As Rong spoke, Morinth leaned towards her, clearly interested. "So, genetially engineered for military purposes? That's rather harsh to me. Did the children ever have a choice?"

"You bombard someone with a certain message enough and they'll eventually buy into it. And the younger they are the easier it is to get them to buy into it. 'It is your destiny to serve your country.' 'You exist to become a kunoichi.' 'This is the only existence worth living.'" Rong shrugged. "Were there some that resisted what their parents wanted? Probably. I suspect they had a harsh life ahead of them. It was better to serve in the military for a few [i]short[/i] years and become a full member of the aristocracy. At least that's what many of them told themselves."

"Wow." Morinth said plainly, "That's incredible, fanciful.. I never thought something like that to actually exist." She shook her head, "So that [i]skilled warrior[/i], what did they do to her?"

"Hmm... Well not all eras are the same." Rong continued. "Some are peaceful. Others are marked with wars. And on top of all this the number of aristocrats who wanted to create [i]superior[/i] children differed from era to era. This could all result in surpluses and shortages of shinobi and kunoichi. So what does a country do when it finds itself with a surplus of warriors? It takes the best and preserves them for the next shortage. Unsurprisingly the girl found herself to be among those who were to be preserved."

Morinth piqued a brow. "And when the next shortage happened, obviously they would be woken up. That does not apply solely to this girl though, What makes this one so different from the others?"

"Poor luck and circumstance." Rong answered. "You see there's something of an unofficial rule that once a person has been thawed out from a long period in stasis that that person is not put into stasis again. Its... partly [i]ethical[/i]" She spoke the word ironically, "and partly in an attempt to prevent especially bad cases of stasis sickness. Unfortunately for the girl this 'rule' was conveniently forgotten. And she was put into stasis again." Rong paused for a moment before continuing. "Twice. Twice the girl woke up to find herself in an alien world."

There was another moment of silence as Morinth leaned forward to peer down the main hallway of the ship, one that ran right through the sleeper pods. "So I suspect this girl waking up in an [i]alien world[/i] would be truly unsettling." She gazed towards Rong, "Though from how this girl's story sounds, the second time this girl awoke, things weren't quite as different?"

"You would think" Rong answered. "But they were quite different. The first time she awoke, the girl was one of many. Many of those who awoke with her were from the same era and those from other eras at least shared the experience with her. This was not the case the second time around. When she awoke that time she knew no one. And there was no one who had experienced what she had. No, she alone had had to go through that twice. But that isn't even where the story ends. Because once again a combination of luck and circumstance would have the girl put into stasis for a third time."

Morinth clasped her hands, "So what kept her from being put into stasis a fourth time? A military conflict? It'd be a true asset if this warrior was as grand as you stated."

"Maybe the girl is doomed to be put into stasis again." Rong said with a shrug. "Perhaps that's just her fate. Or perhaps she'll be determined to be too broken, too spent, to bother using again."

"Using again.." Morinth said, "I must ask again then, what truly made this girl so important as to be reused and then declared broken. It's quite difficult to break someone, especially if their life made them tough."

"It was just a single decision made by a man long dead." Rong said. "And the rest was an unintentional series of connected events." Rong opened her eyes and looked at Morinth. This time they focused on the other woman. "There was no real intent or malice behind these events." She shrugged. "No focus even. Just a ripple effect that continues to haunt that girl."

Morinth smiled at Rong, "So, What would it take for that girl to be relieved of this burden?"

Rong shrugged. "Perhaps I'll tell you the rest of the story another time. So what can you tell me about the situation around Earth? Anything new?"

There seemed to be a generally feeling of unease in the small bridge, at least to Morinth. "Well, Hmm." she said, pondering if she should learn more about the story but it was clear that time would force delay. "Earth seems to be in distress, imperial ships and Dominion ships are flooding the system. Something is strange here." She said while adjusting their trajectory on a holographic display. "We will be exiting near Mars. And we have been pinged by quite a few sensors."

"Doesn't sound odd to me." Rong stated. "Isn't Earth a war-torn world? What do you find strange?"

"Earth itself is war-torn, but space has been calm for at least a century. This is an actual military build up. We have to get to Yuki fast if we are to figure this out before.. well, shit hits the fan." Morinth replied, easing back on the throttle. The display showed a rapid decrease in speed before planets began to appear and one by one they passed beyond the speed of light until finally reaching the red planet. 

But time was running out for the princess as Rong and Morinth were still so far, while the forces of the Dominion and Imperium were destined to clash over the blue planet.