Datafile 0021
Ito stood in the rear of the Sutoraiku assault ship, the chip he had just acquired from Korehammer and Caldera in the palm of his hand. It seemed perfectly ordinary to him, not worth all the hassle his team had gone through to get their hands on it.
It definitely wasn't worth the life of Jenkins. He had been a member of Ito's team for years and was more than a squad mate, he was a good friend. Calling his family and letting them know that he was gone was not something Ito was looking forward to, especially considering there was no body and he couldn't tell them the truth about why and how he had died.
But the families of Sutoraiku knew the deal. They were well aware that their loved ones might not come home and that if they didn't, they would likely never know what really happened. Hachisuka would take care of them, make sure they were compensated well for their loss, but that didn't help Ito feel the pain of losing his friend any less.
As he continued to look down at the datachip he felt a presence coming toward him from his blind side. Despite the loss of his right eye sixteen years ago, he could still sense it when someone was coming toward him from that direction. His superiors often asked why he just didn't get a new cybernetic eye implanted and instead insisted on keeping the chrome eye patch. And he always told them the same thing. That sometimes reminders of errors can help make sure one doesn't make the same mistake again.
“What are you thinking Ito?”
Toyoko came to stand next to him, her arms folded in front of her and her green eyes filled with a mixture of concern and a simmering anger. Ito knew that he owed her an explanation. About his relationship with Caldera and what exactly had happened between them. But now wasn't the time or the place. Right now they were Sutoraiku who were finishing a mission. Any answers would have to wait until they were home and were once again husband and wife.
“Just that it was too easy,” he said in reply. “Korehammer gave up this chip for just a couple million cryptos even though he knew what it meant to Caldera. I knew he was cold but I thought his relationship with her went deeper then that.”
“Be thankful,” Toyoko said. “Imagine if he didn't want to give up the datachip. Things could have gone fucking sideways in a real hurry. We lost one member of the team because of that damned thing. It could have been worse.”
“Very true,” he said, turning his head and giving her a meaningful glance. “What's our ETA to NeoTokyo?”
“Charade says we should touch down in an hour or so.”
“Good,” Ito's posture slumped as if he was exhausted. “The sooner we hand this thing over the better I'll feel.”
***
Once the fighting had stopped and the War was all but over, there were few countries that had suffered more destruction and seen more death than Japan. Due to their leadership in the field of artificial intelligence and weapons development, the governments of both factions decided to take the country out of the equation before they could pick one side over the other. The first nuclear warhead was detonated just six months after the fighting started, with more bombs falling from the sky for weeks on end.
By the time the smoke cleared, the island of Honshu was an uninhabitable wasteland, covered in a think layer of ash and radioactive fallout. Shikoku, the smallest island, simply disappeared under a mushroom cloud of fire and death. What was left of the people of Japan were scattered across the globe, refugees without a home.
That was until the newly formed megacorp Hachisuka came in and purchased what was left of the country. Rumors persisted that the company, which had emerged from the War and made millions selling arms to what was left of the governments of the world as they tried to regain control, was led by one of the oldest of the Yakuza crime syndicates. There was never any proof one way or the other and most Japanese simply didn't care.
It took nearly a decade but when Hachisuka was finished Japan was no more. In its place stood NeoTokyo, a gleaming city-state that rose from the ashes to become one of the leading centers of commerce and scientific development on the planet. And when Hachisuka put the call out that any Japanese citizen would be welcomed back to their homeland, all guaranteed of a job and a home, they came by the thousands.
The gleaming metal towers that covered every inch of land rose so high it was said they touched the clouds. The neon glow could be seen from space and the lights made it difficulty to tell whether it was daytime or evening when you walked down the street.
As the assault ship came in for a final approach, Ito realized it was a view he never became tired of.
The island of Kyushu had become the headquarters for the Sutoraiku army and it was there that the assault ship was currently headed. Ahead of them the main docking tower loomed, with ships and vehicles of all shapes and sizes arriving and departing from bays all up and down the one hundred story facade.
“Everyone strap in,” Ito heard Charade say over the ship intercom. “We're coming in for a landing.”
Ito walked over and sat next to Toyoko, pulling the harness over his shoulders and securing it. He watched out the main viewport as the assault ship slowed and Charade, linked to the main docking computer, took the ship in and landed in their usual berth. They touched down with a slight jolt and Charade, as she did every time they returned from a mission, said “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome home.”
Ito and his team got up and walked down the ramp to where a short, Asian man with a bald head, a round face and a black goatee waited. He was wearing a black suit and tie and holding a datapad in his hand which had a cable running to his left temple.
“Commander Ito,” he said as Ito walked up to him. “Welcome back.”
“Thank you Saito.”
“I understand from the data I received from your Datamurai that Mr. Jenkins didn't make the return trip.”
“Unfortunately no.” Ito said as he shook his head. “We lost him in a firefight with a group of clercs.”
“Clercs,” Saito said with obvious disdain as he looked down at his datapad. “What a crude nickname.”
“What would you have us call them?” Mayuzai said from behind Toyoko, the annoyance in her voice clear.
“What they are. Genetically augmented clone soldiers.”
“So, gacs?” Castiglione could barely keep the smirk out of his voice.
Saito sighed heavily as Ito's entire team started to laugh. “You people are impossible.”
“Saito,” Ito said as he reached out and grasped the shorter man's shoulder. “You've been our handler for how long now?”
“Much too long Commander.”
“You should be used to us by now.”
“You would think that, wouldn't you?” he said as he brought up a holoscreen with his NIIC and began typing in information. “Not to change the subject, but you do have the package, correct?”
Ito reached into his belt and took out the small box that contained the datachip.
“Good,” Saito said as he reached out and took it from Ito. “You're all due for debriefing in one hour. The Council will want to know what happened in regard to Mr. Jenkins and how exactly Corrine Caldera got involved in a Sutoraiku mission.”
“Yes sir.”
“After that you're all free to leave. I'm sure the Council will have another mission for you shortly so enjoy your brief time home.” With that Saito turned on his heel and headed for the elevator that would take him from the docking tower to the main headquarters and a meeting with the technology division that would try to decipher what was on the datachip.
Ito turned and looked at his team. “Nice work over the last few days crew. Go get debriefed and then get some rest.”
As the team began to walk away Toyoko held back, gripping Ito's arm. “We still need to talk.”
“I know,” Ito said. “But it'll have to wait until we get home.” He gently pulled his arm out of her grip. “I need to speak to Charade. Go with the rest of the team to debriefing. I'll be there shortly.”
After years of being married Ito knew when his wife wasn't happy and this was definitely one of those times. But if he was being honest with himself, the times Toyoko was actually truly happy were few and far between.
Ito turned and walked back up the ramp and entered the cockpit of the assault ship. He saw Charade had multiple holoscreens open as she put in requests for repairs and began uploading all the data from the mission to the Hackisuka mainframe.
“What's up boss?” she said without turning around.
Ito hesitated before beginning. “What's your gut telling you about the mission we just returned from?”
Charade had been the Datamurai for his team for the better part of the last decade. While soldiers had come and gone over the years the cyborg netrunner had been the one constant. Even though she was more machine than human Ito trusted her instincts implicitly, even more than his own wife on some matters.
Charade turned around and Ito could see his reflection in the chrome mask that covered her eyes and skull. “Honestly?”
“Of course.”
“Something stinks boss.”
Ito sighed. “I had the same feeling.”
“Who sends an elite Sutoraiku team to retrieve a simple datachip? The Council could have sent a team of grunts to do the same thing. Then we run into Caldera and Trevor Korehammer? And a group of vampires on top of that?”
“Were you able to get data on any of them?”
“Only one,” Charade turned in her chair and brought up a holoscreen that featured a picture of the vampire who had attacked Korehammer and Ito had shot in the head. “According to our records this one's name is Felicia. There's not much on her but she does work with known members of Crimson Light.”
“And if she's part of Crimson Light, odds are the rest of those bloodsuckers are too.” Ito said ruefully.
“Exactly.”
“So the vampires dispatch their kill squad to get a datachip along with a squadron of clercs. Meanwhile Hachisuka sends a Sutoraiku team with the same mission and in the middle of the whole mess is my ex-girlfriend and her partner.”
“Like I said, something about all this stinks boss.”
“That it does,” he said to himself almost under his breath. “Get the ship repaired and resupplied as fast as you can. I want to be ready to leave again at a moments notice.”
“We have another mission already?” Charade asked as she turned to look at him.
“No. But I have a feeling we're not finished with Caldera and Korehammer and I want to be prepared.”
“Consider it done.”
Ito walked down the ramp and headed for the elevator. He couldn't wait to get this debriefing over with so he could go home and think. There was something odd about this whole situation and he wouldn't be able to relax until he figured it out.
***
Several hours later, Ito was standing by the floor to ceiling windows or his apartment. He was naked except for the loose fitting robe he was wearing as he took a sip from the glass in his hand. One of the many perks of being a Sutoraiku commander was that he never had to drink alcohol from a synthstation. The Jack Daniels was as real as the ice he had poured it over.
Outside was an impressive display of Mother Nature's wrath. The storm had come in while he and his team were being debriefed and by the time they had finally been dismissed, the rumble of thunder was almost constant. The rain pounded on the glass windows, the lightning lighting up the night sky every few minutes.
However, Ito hardly noticed the weather outside. His mind was still preoccupied with the mission and what exactly was going on. When Saito gave them the mission and told them that it involved Trevor Korehammer, he should have known something was up. And how did Caldera know so much about the new ammunition that Hachisuka had provided to fight the clercs? And how were the bloodsuckers involved? They didn't use Crimson Light unless it was of the highest importance.
What the hell is on that datachip? Ito thought to himself.
Just then he heard noise coming from the bedroom. He turned to see his wife walking toward him, naked and stretching her arms above her in a yawn.
“What are you doing up?” she said as she came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “It's almost four in the morning.”
“I couldn't sleep.”
“Obviously. Still thinking about that mission and seeing your ex-girlfriend again?”
“More about the mission,” he said as he gave Toyoko a sidelong glance. “But yeah. Something doesn't add up. Too many loose ends.”
“You know how it is in the Sutoraiku. You don't ask questions. Just do as your told, accomplish the objective and live to fight another day.”
“I've been a part of the Sutoraiku for over twenty years. I'm well aware of how it works.”
“So what makes this time so different that you can't stay in bed with your wife?”
Ito knew where this was heading. He had met Toyoko shortly after he returned to duty after the explosion that had “killed” him more than fifteen years ago. She had been one of the first to join his new unit and the two had been in some rough situations. That had led to a mutual respect that became something more over the years. She was tough as nails, held honor above all and didn't tolerate being lied to.
Once he and Toyoko were finished with the debriefing and got home, Ito had tried to explain about Caldera and their relationship, but hadn't gone into any kind of meaningful detail. And if he was being totally honest with himself, that was less about trying to deceive her than he simply didn't remember.
In fact, everything about his life from before the explosion sixteen years ago was in a kind of fog. He knew small details, names and events, but didn't feel any real emotional attachment to them. The doctors always assured him this was due to the trauma of the explosion and what it took for the meditechs to save his life.
It was why he wanted to talk more with Caldera. He knew she was an important part of his past and he wanted to see if she could fill in some of the blanks in his memory. He knew Toyoko wouldn't like it but if their relationship was built on a solid foundation, it really shouldn't matter.
“I don't know. I talked to Charade and she feels the same way. Something about this whole thing is off and I won't be able to...”
Before he could finish a tone came from his NIIC letting him know someone was trying to contact him. He activated a holoscreen and saw Saito, his face filled with concern.
“Mr Saito,” Ito said, a note of surprise in his voice. “This is early for even you. Don't tell me we have another assignment already?”
“I wish it was that simple Commander,” he said and then paused, as if he unsure how to say what was coming. “The Council wants to see you.”
“The Council?” Toyoko said from behind Ito.
“Yes. They have questions about what happened in Philadelphia and the circumstances surrounding your acquisition of the datachip.”
“We've already been debriefed. I don't know what else they could possibly have to ask me.”
“Well regardless they want to see you.”
“Fine,” Ito sighed heavily as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Having to deal with the Council was never a good thing. “What time tomorrow?”
“They want to see you now.”
“Now?” Ito shook his head. “It's the middle of the night.”
“You know better than most that the Council doesn't follow any kind of normal schedule Commander. They have questions and won't rest until they get their answers.”
“Fine,” Ito said with an exasperated sigh. “I'll be there as soon as I can.”
“I'll let them know you are on your way.”
The holoscreen winked out and Ito stared out at the storm for a moment. A flash of lightning illuminated the apartment and he began to feel an ominous sense of dread.
“I'll be ready in five minutes,” Toyoko said as she started to head toward the bedroom.
“No,” he said as he grabbed her hand. “I'll go alone. You know how the Council is. But I need you to get a hold of the rest of the team and tell them to gear up and be prepared to move out.”
“Why?”
“I've got a bad feeling about all this and I want to be ready to move if we have to.”
Toyoko kissed him hard and then looked into his eye. “Be careful.”
“I will.”