(not quite in the right order these things. This is a pre exercise bit while the Shodahito-Purilun meeting takes place at the end of December so for things to be proper, I should have posted this one first)
Early October...
"I'm home!"
Lying relaxed on his couch, Yukimura yawned. "You sure took your time in Boliv..." he then saw Ryoko and the various injuries she had sustained. "Jeez, Rio-chan! It looks like someone was trying to kill you on an aircraft... again!" Yukimura shook his head. "You really should be careful when boarding some stranger's aircraft. You know that bad things will happen when you do."
"Actually I was on the ground..."
"After you landed or after you crashed?"
"Well... kind of like... both...ish?"
"Does trouble seek you or do you seek trouble?"
"Actually you sent me into trouble. A good thing I am anything but a damsel in distress. I can easily take care of myself."
"Oh? Why is it my fault?"
"Was it not you who sent me to San Fransisco to deal with the naval meeting?"
"Yes..."
"While I was on the plane to San Fransisco... and you know I really hate flying... a bunch of idiots (crew included) with tommyguns tried to send me into the next world. After disposing of them, there was a 'small' fire aboard the now crewless plane, not to mention that the engines seized due to lack of fuel in the fuel tanks."
"So I have heard..."
"And when I finally got to San Fransisco, some sword-wielding lunatic was determined to make me a bit shorter as he was trying to take off my head. Real tough guy. Real hard to kill... similar to what Akaibara-san told me some years ago. She was attacked by some lunatic and thought she had disposed of the guy when she ran him through with her sword... but he kept on coming, no matter how many timed she tried to kill him. She used one of her special attacks to finish him off. Not much left of him to get up after she unleashed that attack."
"Interesting... so you're saying you ran into that guy despite the fact that Yayo-chan wasted him?"
Ryoko shook her head. "No. Akaibara-san stated that the guy who attacked here was a complete whacko. This guy seemed to be quite normal."
"So how did you dispose of him?"
"You know I have my own special methods." Ryoko stated. She held up her right hand and then clenched it.
"Ah... that method..."
"Anyway... when I got home, I had to deal with the Wrath of Nyouh-Fah Shohn because several of my uniforms were at the bottom of the Pacific and the one I wore had received some... ahem... 'minor' damage from the fire and that sword-wielding lunatic."
"Well, you should have been more careful with your clothes. You know extremely well how Nyouh-Fah Shohn tends to freak out whenever you ruin all his hard work. He really pours his heart and soul into your uniforms. It takes him months to make them... yet you ruin them in seconds."
Ryoko ignored Yukimura and went on. "And of course you sent me to Bolivia to take care of some business..."
"Yes, what took you so long? Surely you could have done that in a few days."
"Actually it is a big jungle out there... and don't call me Shirley."
Yukimura frowned. "Shirley?"
"Never mind. Just some joke I picked up from Admiral Frobisher... You know... the Canadian Minister of the Navy."
"Hmmm... An unusual sense of humor he has... what about the big jungle?"
"I don't know what it was... it was like trying to kill a giant cockroach!" Ryoko shook her head. "I don't really want to talk about that."
"But for you, killing a giant cockroach should be easy. A piece of cake."
"No thanks. I just ate."
"Pardon?"
"Never mind. Just another Frobisher joke..."
"Looks to me like he is a bad influence on you, Rio-chan." Yukimura got up and walked into his small office. He came back with a yellow envelope and held it out to Ryoko. "Good thing you could make it back in time. Naval command was getting worried you know. You're expected to participate in the November exercises. Your orders are in this envelope..."
"Great. They never give me a bit of rest," Ryoko grumbled as she sinks down onto the couch. "Sometimes I wonder if they keep in mind that I do all these special side jobs as well and despite the fact that I am what I am, I can't be expected to do everything the Navy wants me to do."
"... and there is a promotion to Fleet Admiral in this envelope as well."
Ryoko's face instantly brightened. She jumped up an hopped over to Yukimura. "Promotion?" she said eagerly. Her eyes then narrowed. "There has got to be a catch. This smells like your doing, Yuki-kun."
Yukimura smiled and shrugged. "I wouldn't know a thing about that, Rio-chan," he replied.
"What's the catch?"
"Lady Maeko made a request... to guard this object." Yukimura held up some sort of golden medalion with a beautiful carving of a bird on it with a red crystal as its eye just above the center of the medalion. On the edge of the medalion were some ancient words carved into it. "She said that it was extremely dangerous... but how can something like this medalion be so dangerous?"
"Interesting..." Ryoko took the artifact from Yukimura's hands. "The headpiece to the Staff of Ra..."
"The Staff of Ra? So... it is more dangerous than it looks?"
"This is not dangerous at all..." Ryoko stated. "... but what it leads to is said to be extremely powerful and extremely dangerous."
"Care to tell me?"
"According to legends, it is said that in a special map room in a lost ancient Egyptian city named Tanis, this on top of the staff will show you the location of the Well of the Souls. The Well of the Souls is a secret chamber inside the ancient city where rumor has it the Ark of the Covenant was kept by Pharaoh Shishaq, about 3000 years ago. The city was lost in a massive sandstorm, said to be the wrath of God."
"I see..."
"I know Maeko-san loves archaeology. No doubt she knows exactly what this could lead to and it would most definitely be the biggest archaeological find ever. To give this to me in order to guard it and not keep it and use it... for an archaeologist like her to do something like that... that's a tough decision."
"If it exists... Maybe she already found it?"
"Maybe... but very unlikely. She would not have bothered to send me the headpiece then."
"If people know about it, then they want it. If people know you have it, then you will get many unwanted visitors trying to take it away from you."
"... which is why Maeko-san sent it to me. To make sure no one will get their hands on this. Without this, the Well of the Souls cannot be found. I'd love to find the Ark and make it part of the collection of the Kyoto National Museum... but that is probably a bad idea. Still it will be a problem to have this piece with me."
"Well, good luck fending off all those treasure hunters. There will be plenty of them where ever you go..."
"I guess I will have to patch myself up, pull on some clean clothes and then report to HQ... let them know I am still alive..."
The doorbell then rang.
"I'm not expecting anyone... so it looks like the first treasure hunters just arrived," Yukimura grinned.
Ryoko groaned. This relic was going to be a real problem...
This post has been edited 1 times, last edit by "Rooijen10" (May 29th 2008, 9:47pm)