[PSP] Guardian Sentai Roboman #10

[utsukushuu.dreamer]

>From PSP:
http://www.night-jaeger.net

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GUARDIAN SENTAI ROBOMAN #10
"Science Island Revolt"
Component 04.1
March 1st, 2010
by Adrian J. Watts



New Orleans

Sei and Senshi appeared on the moist bank of New Orleans' massive Lake
Pontchartrain at the same time - and neither man needed time to gather
his senses before turning to the other with an angry expression etched
firmly on his face.

Sei was frustrated; the blue raido shard he had been given by Dr.
Brachis just before fleeing Science Island contained barely enough
power to secure his own teleportation - Senshi hanging on had almost
completely exhausted it, and he doubted whether he had even enough
left to return to Science Island to collect more.

Senshi was annoyed; he had just learned that Dr. Brachis, the woman he
trusted and respected above all others, was keeping important
information from him - information that could gravely impact the
security of Science Island and the integrity of the Earth Defence/
Leadership Directorate. He felt betrayed, but also determined to learn
the truth; the whole truth.

"What have you done...?" Sei growled. "You fool! It took extra raido
energy to bring you here, increasing our chances of detection... and
if anyone saw you enter Dr. Brachis' office...!"

"I didn't think..." Senshi replied. "But I don't care. There's
something going on here and if you, or Dr. Brachis, or anyone else is
doing anything to put Science Island or the EDD at risk - "

"Us?" Sei shook his head. "What do you think will happen if Dr.
Brachis is correct about Director Satoshi and his men discover your
sudden disappearance? Do you not think that that will put Science
Island at risk?"

"Don't try - "

Sei threw his hands in the air and turned away from Senshi. He did not
know what to say, and despite Dr. Brachis' attempts to explain
Senshi's significance to her plans, he did not see Senshi as anything
other than a potential liability. He started to walk, but turned back
as he heard a faint click! behind him.

He saw Senshi facing him, his right arm outstretched, with a black
handgun in his hand. The barrel was pointed at the centre of Sei's
forehead and the barrel was cocked. Senshi was calm, and that
disturbed Sei more than anything else possibly could have. Had Senshi
been shaking, or expressing obvious anger, Sei could have doubted
whether he would truly pull the trigger - but his calm, cool
expression told Sei that he was serious.

"Don't walk away from me," Senshi said. "I am deputy head of security
of Alpha 7, and in the interests of maintaining the security - "

"Wait," Sei interrupted. "Do you hear that?"

Senshi slightly tilted his head to the side to listen to the noise of
the environment and, for a moment, allowed his concentration to slip.
Sei lunged forward and wrapped both hands around Senshi's right bicep
and pushed his arm back. He then squeezed Senshi's forearm until the
other man cried out in pain and dropped his gun.

"I didn't expect such an obvious trick from you," Senshi smiled. "You
sure fooled me."

Sei shook his head.

"It was not a trick. I heard something. I can still hear something."

Sei tilted his head to listen but was careful not to take his eyes off
Senshi. Senshi sat on the damp ground and rubbed his sore arm, and
allowed his eyes to pass over the area where his gun had fallen. Sei
followed Senshi's gaze and shook his head again.

"I must investi - "

Sei was interrupted as Yellow Robo's Lightning Jet streaked overhead,
flying low. It kicked up a strong wind in its wake which knocked
Senshi onto his back and almost caused Sei to fall to the ground. He
watched the Lightning Jet as it passed to the other side of the lake
and swooped back around, and saw where it was going - a massive pixie
flapped its wings nearby, causing a wind almost as the one which
followed the Lightning Jet.

Sei walked forward and wrapped his fingers around Senshi's collar. He
lifted him up - easily one foot off the ground - and shook him hard.

"I need to join the fight," Sei said. "You do not follow me. You do
not get in our way. Go back to Science Island. Help Dr. Brachis. Do
you understand?"

Senshi sneered and opened his mouth to speak, but Sei was not prepared
to listen - he threw Senshi backwards and the black-clad guard fell
into the muddy, shallow water at the very edge of the lake. He was
completely submerged as Sei stuck his own arms out to the side, then
above his head, and shouted "Let's go, Robo! Go! Robo Vehicles!"

His body was illuminated by a blue glow as he felt the circuitry
embedded in his skin pulsate and send shards of metal through narrow
openings in the porous fabric of his robosuit. The small metal pieces
fused together and, within only a few seconds, formed a long and
narrow closed-top blue-and-silver speedboat which settled on the
surface of the lake.

Water rippled behind it and Sei saw Senshi's head emerge between the
waves. He ran forward and jumped onto the back of the boat, carefully
crouched low and faced Senshi.

"This is the Water Cutter. I could have made it appear directly above
you and keep you submerged. Are you going to keep out of my way?" he
asked.

Senshi shook his head. His soaking wet hair flailed from side-to-side.

"You wouldn't drown me," he said simply. "I'm not going to be scared
off."

Sei smiled. "You are correct. I would never drown you..."

He reached down and pressed his left palm against Senshi's face. He
increased the pressure until Senshi was again completely underwater,
struggling to return to the surface. Sei smiled more broadly, without
moving his hand away, he caused the Water Cutter to move forward. He
watched for as long as he could and saw Senshi spluttering to the
surface in his wake.

"I would advise against testing me," he called out. "I am not well-
known for my humanity."

Sei climbed forward into the cockpit of the Water Cutter and
considered his options. Unlike Kiko and Ikku, in the Lightning Jet and
Flame Tank, he was confined to the water. The pixie was flying.

["Red Robo! Yellow Robo! Can you hear me?"]

The Lightning Jet passed over the lake again. ["Sei!"] Kiko called
down. ["You're okay!"]

Sei looked back at Senshi and saw the other man pulling himself onto
the bank. He stood, glanced at the Lightning Jet and the Water Cutter,
and quickly backed away from the battle site.

["Where is Red Robo?"] Sei did not need Kiko to answer. He heard the
Flame Tank approaching and, a moment later, saw it moving slowly
toward the water's edge. ["Red Robo! Stop!"]

The Flame Tank stopped moving just inches from the water. The giant
pixie swooped low behind it and landed on its turret, then took to the
sky again and flew in the opposite direction to where the Lightning
Jet moved back and forth over the Water Cutter.

["Should I - "] Kiko began to ask.

["No,"] Sei cut her off. ["What happened?"]

The Flame Tank backed away from the water as Kiko answered.

["We don't know! The pixie just got big, like Shellshock."]

["And the police?"]

["They're still in the city,"] Ikku answered. ["They didn't even try
to follow us."]

["What do we do, Sei?"] Kiko asked. ["I can't freeze it like I did
with Shellshock, and it is too fast for Ikku to hit."]

Sei did not answer immediately. He needed to take some time to think,
to plan, to do something other than rely on the first thing that
popped into his head. ["Yellow Robo! Lure the pixie back here, over
the lake."] The Lightning Jet streaked away. ["Red Robo! Prepare to
use the seventh command in - "]

["A cage?"] Ikku interruped. ["How can a tank create a cage?"]

["Just be prepared,"] Sei said. ["Fire when I give the command."]

Sei looked to the sky and saw the pixie rapidly approaching. The
Lightning Jet buzzed behind it, ramming it from behind every few
paces. Kiko kept pushing, harder and harder, until the pixie passed
the centre of the lake. Sei concentrated, and began pulling levers
that could easily have been mistaken for the regular controls of a
speedboat. Jets of water burst out from the lake around the Water
Cutter, hitting the pixie from all angles, and cutting off any means
of escape.

["Red Robo!"] Sei shouted. ["Now!"]

A beam of red energy shot out of the Flame Tank's turret and passed
directly beneath the pixie. The pixie tried to move up, but another
beam came close from above, almost hitting its head. It moved right
but hit a wall of water, and another red beam; it moved left, and
realised it was surrounded on all sides by water and an impenetrable
red energy barrier.

Slowly, the water fell away as the red beams criss-crossed eachother
and formed a cage and completely trapped the giant pixie.

["Sei...?"] Ikku began. ["I can't move the Flame Tank."]

["Get out!"] Sei called back. ["Let the Flame Tank vanish!"]

["What? Why?"]

["Just do it!"]

Ikku climbed out of the Flame Tank which disappeared the moment he
lost contact with it. The red cage the Flame Tank created remained for
only a few moments longer before fading away, leaving no sign of the
pixie.

"What was that all about?" Ikku asked. "How did you know the Flame
Tank could create a cage?"

["Yeah, Sei..."] Kiko said slowly. ["We really do need some answers
now."] She landed the Lightning Jet at the edge of the lake, climbed
out, and watched it disappear.

You're not the only ones, Sei thought.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Science Island

"I am sorry," Captain Sinclair said as he entered Dr. Brachis' office.
"I have orders from Director Satoshi to bring you in."

"It's okay, Captain," Dr. Brachis replied calmly. "I'll calm quietly.
I am sure the director has a good reason for all this."

Half a dozen guards surrounded Dr. Brachis as Damien Sinclair led the
group through the winding corridors of the Science Island security
complex towards Director Satoshi's office. When they reached the
closed office door the other guards stepped back and allowed Sinclair
and Brachis to approach alone.

Sinclair knocked loudly, and Director Satoshi replied immediately.
"Enter."

Sinclair opened the door and ushered Dr. Brachis in ahead of him. He
followed after her and closed the door behind him, then stood at
attention while Director Satoshi spoke.

"Dr. Brachis," he said calmly. "You must know by now that I am fully
aware of your - "

There was another knock at the door.

"Enter."

The door opened and a short man entered, carrying a note. He
apologised for disturbing the meeting and handed the note to Dr.
Brachis.

"Thank you," she said, and the man left in silence.

"Director Satoshi," Dr. Brachis said. "You know as well as I do that I
know what is going on here, and there is not much I can do to stop it.
But you must also know that the Incident Investigation Team from
Blizzard Base Zero has just returned and are expecting to report to me
right now. If they don't see me - "

"Go," Satoshi interrupted. "Don't try to escape. Sinclair will be
following you."

Dr. Brachis left the office through the opened door and walked quickly
down the corridors leading from Director Satoshi's office back to her
own. She smiled politely to everyone she passed, and did her best to
maintain a facade of normalcy - she did have a plan, but it relied on
Satoshi staying calm and not doing anything stupid.

She reached her office and found two members of the Incident
Investigation Team waiting for her. She entered the room and stood
close to the two men as Sinclair took his post just outside the door.

"I know this is important," Dr. Brachis said, "but I am expected
elsewhere. Keep it brief - I will read your full report later."

"Well," one of the men began to give his report. "We could find no - "

"Keep talking," Dr. Brachis whispered, "and don't react. Captain
Sinclair is watching. He may even be able to hear me now."

" - evidence of - " the man continued.

"Inside 'The Chamber', beneath the main level of the base, you should
have found two removable wall panels. One would have been empty, the
other filled with several different items. Did you find these
openings?"

The man nodded as he spoke. " - eress Miko's pixies were only able to
inflict - "

"I need you to do something, but do not inform anyone else. When I
leave, examine my computer - there will be an archived data log from
'Terminal X'. Trace the location of that terminal, and transport all
of the items recovered from The Chamber to that location. Do you
understand?"

The man nodded again. " - loss of life. Three staff - "

Dr. Brachis spoke loudly. "Yes, yes, it sounds like you've done a very
thorough job. Leave your report on my desk and I will read it as soon
as I am able. Thank you." She turned and walked from the room, and
Sinclair matched her step as she walked down the corridor. "Ah,
Damien," she said. "We can't keep the director waiting, can we? He
certainly didn't wait to twist you to the dark side."

"Doctor Brachis - "

"No, it's fine," she said. "I'm sure whatever he's offering you is
well-and-truly worth betraying the Earth Defence/Leadership
Directorate."

Captain Sinclair did not respond, and they remained silent until they
returned to Satoshi's office. The director was still standing and
waiting for their return.

"I trust there will be no more interruptions?" Satoshi said.

"No, sir," Brachis replied. "My schedule's all clear."

"Good." Satoshi approached his desk and slipped his right hand
underneath it. Suddenly, the walls of the office slid into the floor
and Brachis saw row after row of brown, skeletal, human-shaped robots
in their place. Satoshi raised a hand and they each took a step
forward, away from the walls, towards the center of the room.

"These are my haguruma-tachi," Satoshi explained, "but I like to call
them 'Gears'. They are simplistic, but they get the job done." He took
a deep breath. "By now, Sorceress Miko will have transferred all of
the Operation: Guardian equipment to Blizzard Base Zero, where more of
my Gears will be using Nagura's more advanced robotics technology to
produce more of their brothers."

Dr. Brachis raised a hand.

"Do you have a question?"

"Yes. Were Miko and Dr. Nagura here all along?" Dr. Brachis asked.

Satoshi nodded. "They were in the old stone maintenance tunnels
beneath the island, which are now filled with Gears. Miko's pixies
have also transported Gears to the EDD headquarters in Tokyo."

"Why?"

"To destroy them," Satoshi explained. He raised an eyebrow. "I thought
you knew what my plans were?" He shrugged. "With the EDD and the Black
Battalion out of the way, nothing will be able to stand between me and
my goal."

Except Sei and the others, Brachis thought. "And what is your goal?"

"To dominate the world with technology... technology which I can
control." He gestured again and two of the Gears stepped forward. One
wrapped its thin metal fingers around Brachis' hand while the other
laid one hand on Sinclair's shoulder while holding Satoshi's with the
other. Satoshi nodded, and the three humans, as well as the two Gears,
were briefly surrounded by blue energy before fading out-of-view.

The remaining Gears stepped forward.

The remaining Gears held hands.

The remaining Gears exploded.

Boom.


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Earth Defence/Leadership Directorate Headquarters

The two-story Earth Defence/Leadership Directorate headquarters was
overlooked by almost everyone who passed it. It bore no remarkable
features, no giant signs indicating its importance to the world.
Tourists ignored it and people who lived and worked nearby
acknowledged it only as a landmark for use in giving directions, if
they acknowledged it at all.

When it exploded and became a massive crater - a crater lined by
broken, lifeless bodies and shattered robotics components - people
could not help but notice it.

The Earth Defence/Leadership Directorate, an organisation designed
solely for the betterment and protection of humankind, became more
remarkable in its destruction than for anything it managed to
accomplish during its brief existence.

On the other side of the world, Satoshi Kakeru considered that
something well worth laughing about.


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NEXT: The revolt within the revolt!