Atria’s new uniform was finally ready, but that was a small comfort.

    She sat in the conference room, getting used to the fit.  The tailors had done a good job of recreating her tunic, although the fabric had a different weave, and the green was a bit darker.  They had also added thicker shoulder pads.

    Cap sat in the chair beside her.  “You okay?” he asked her.

    Atria nodded to him and looked around the table.  Everybody was here – at least everybody who could be here.  Kaguyama, Mitsubi, Alice Matson, Mark Gable, and Colonel Sato had all taken their seats.  Sitting beside Mitsubi was Akari Soto, Daiki Yamato’s creator, a tall and statuesque young woman with her long hair tied back in a ponytail.  Besides Colonel Sato sat a young lieutenant with a laptop, keeping the meeting minutes, and a couple of file folders.  There were still two people missing, but Atria couldn’t do anything about that.

    “I guess we’ll begin,” Atria said in Japanese, Cap translating it into English.  “This meeting is called to order.  The primary language of this meeting will be Japanese, and Captain Infinite will handle translations into English and back.  I’d like to start by welcoming Akari Soto to our ranks.  She created Daiki Yamato, who we failed to recruit three days ago.  Just in case you haven’t all met her in the last couple of days, I’d like to ask everybody to please introduce yourselves.”

    After the introductions had gone around the table, Atria added, “Not present are Princes Stellaria and her fiancé Adam Jacobs, for reasons we all know.  Ms. Soto, before we continue any further, do you have any questions at this time?”

    “I’m still getting used to this,” Soto said.  “You’re really Atria Silversword?”

    Atria nodded.

    “I love your anime.  The scene with Abel in the season premiere was just heartbreaking, and–”

    Atria held up her hand.  “I appreciate your enthusiasm, but please understand that your entertainment is my life, and it hasn’t been a very good one in the last couple of weeks.  Perhaps when this is all over and some time has passed, I’ll be more receptive to a discussion like this, but for the time being, please just focus on the business at hand.”

    “How are Stella and Adam?” Mitsubi asked.

    “Stella hasn’t left the hospital,” Atria said.  “Last I heard, she was finally getting some sleep in the room we reserved for her.  Adam is still in a post-operative coma, but based on his clinical history the doctors don’t expect that to last much longer.  They’re saying that his recovery will take months, and possibly even a year or two, due to the damage to his heart.  At this point in time, I think we should consider Stella and Adam out of the picture, at least for the next few days.  If we need any information from Stella, I’ll take the request to her when I visit the hospital.”

    “Kaguyama and I will be going there later today,” Mitsubi said.  “If there’s anything anybody wants us to bring Stella, just let me know.”

    Atria took a deep breath.  “Moving on, we have CCTV footage of the recent altercation.  The good news is that the power orb was not showing any indications of moving into critical containment failure, so it is probably still just a radiation leak.  And, we have a new unidentified character on their side.”  She looked at the lieutenant with the laptop.  “Please hand out the pictures.”

    The lieutenant passed out photos of the man in the dark suit.

    “This is the man we need to identify,” Atria stated.  “Based on his ethnicity and features, we’re guessing that he’s from Western media, and based on Cap’s read of him we think he’s an assassin of some sort.  But that’s all we’ve got.”

    “He’s Jack Death,” Mark Gable said.

    Everybody looked at him.

    “What kind of name is ‘Jack Death’?” Alice demanded.

    Mark shrugged.  “I didn’t come up with it.  I did some moonlighting as a script doctor for Jack Death 2 a couple of years ago, and it was all pretty ridiculous.”

    “So who is Jack Death?” Atria asked.

    “He’s a rip-off of a better character,” Mark replied.  “A few years back, this fairly big franchise started about a super assassin played by Keanu Reeves – I’m not a fan, and I don’t remember the name of the movies.  Ultimate Impact Pictures decided that they wanted in on that action, and they figured that what audiences really wanted to see were gunfights.  So, that’s all the Jack Death movies are – extended gunfights, without any character motivation whatsoever.  I think they’re pretty terrible, but they made enough money to get to a third movie, so I guess some people like them.  But, the studio paid me on time, so what do I care?”

    Alice shook her head.  “You really are a piece of work sometimes, you know that?”

    “Says the diversity hire,” Mark retorted.  Alice recoiled, a stunned and hurt crossing her face.

    “Should I translate that last bit?” Cap whispered to Atria.  Atria looked at him and shook her head.

    “What are his combat capabilities?” Colonel Sato asked.

    “He’s a super-assassin,” Mark stated.  “He never misses a shot, can sneak into any location regardless of the security, and he somehow never gets blood on his suit, which is bulletproof.  He’s also ruthless, and kills without hesitation.”

    “Well, at least now we know who he is,” Atria said.  “Which just leaves the man with the horns as our last unknown.  And then there’s the problem of locating him and his group.”

    “We are attempting to coordinate with local police across Japan,” Colonel Sato said.  “This will take some time, however.  Since we aren’t a high-level cabinet committee, we have a significant amount of bureaucracy to deal with.  We should begin receiving information on potential incidents within the next two or three days, however.”

    “What about radiation from the orb?” Kaguyama asked.  “Can we track that?”

    “We’ve attempted to detect it at the location of both the Tokyo and Osaka engagements,” Sato replied.  “No success.  It doesn’t show up on any of our instruments.”

    “In my story it’s called Ultratonium,” Cap said.  “It doesn’t seem to have any effect on humans, but it does weaken me.”

    “So we have to wait for this horned man and his followers to show up somewhere and be noticed,” Atria said.  “Let’s move on then to Daiki Yamato.  Akari Soto, what can you tell us about him?”

    “He’s very reserved,” Soto replied.  “He didn’t start out that way, but after he was transported to another world, he was accused of theft and had to spend three volumes as a fugitive.  So, he’s the sort of person who will very slow to trust anybody, will not reveal what he is thinking, and if he comes across a problem or challenge, his first move will always be to withdraw and carefully evaluate it before taking any action.  His sword is very powerful and is always attached to him in some fashion – it gives him his special abilities, and it can communicate with him through a neural interface.”

    “So he’s ‘in the wind’, as Cap would say,” Atria said.

    “If he wants to speak to us, he’ll find a way to make contact,” Soto stated.  “But, otherwise, he’ll find us, not the other way around.  And if we did track him down and force him to come in, he wouldn’t trust us.”

    “So, we’re stuck waiting for information,” Atria said.  “Let’s move onto our last piece of business, then.  Stella said that this horned man and his followers are planning to meet their creators.  I’m going to recommend that everybody stay in the barracks for the time being, as that makes it easier to protect you.  That said, we don’t have any evidence of hostile intent towards their creators yet, and we can’t force anybody to stay.  If you do leave for any reason, however, I must insist on assigning a protective detail – they probably won’t be able to do much more than buy a couple of minutes if you’re attacked, but that’s at least something.  And, if nobody has anything else, this meeting is closed.”

    As the others stood and left, Atria took a deep breath.  Cap remained seated beside her.

    “There is something we need to do,” he said once they were alone in the room.  “Golf.  Tomorrow morning.”

    Atria shook her head.  “Not the time.”

    “It is exactly the right time, and you need it.  I can tell.”

    “How?”

    “Well, there’s that thousand-yard stare you just did, for one thing.”

    “There’s too much to do here.”

    “‘Captain’ isn’t a superhero name, you know,” Cap stated.  “It was my rank in the American Army back in the Second World War.  I led men into combat in the largest war my country ever fought, and I was on the front lines of the Battle of the Bulge, which was our most desperate moment of that war.  And a week into that battle, my men looked better than you do right now.”

    “I’m managing,” Atria said.

    “No you’re not,” Cap retorted.  “When was the last time you got a full night’s sleep?  When was the last time you cracked a joke, or laughed, or even smiled?”

    Atria looked down at the table and didn’t reply.

    “That’s what I thought,” Cap said.  “You don’t need to talk to me about what’s troubling you if you don’t want to – in my army, gripes went up, not down – but you do need to get out and do something that isn’t,” Cap gestured around the room, “this.  Or sitting at Adam’s bedside with Stella waiting for him to wake up.  Or guilt tripping yourself for not accounting for things that you had no way of knowing existed in the first place.”

    “You’re not going to let me pull rank to get out of this, are you?” Atria asked.

    Cap shook his head and smiled.  “It’s for the good of the unit, Major Silversword.  Get a good night’s sleep tonight, and I’ll take care of the rest of the arrangements.  We’re golfing tomorrow morning, rain or shine.”

    Atria sighed and nodded.  Then she stood and left the room.  Whether she wanted to admit it or not, Cap was right.  She headed back to the barracks to pick up a couple of things before going to her office.  At the barracks door, she stopped cold.  Kaguyama sat in the corner, his laptop open, weeping.

    Atria sat down beside him.  “What’s wrong?”

    “I can’t do it,” Kaguyama said, wiping his eyes.  “I’m trying to write the reconciliation scene between you and Prometheus, and I can’t write the dialogue.  I don’t remember how!”

    Atria put a hand on his shoulder.  “It’s okay, Kaguyama.  I know you’re trying.”

    “I can’t remember how any of the characters speak,” Kaguyama said, hanging his head.  “How can I not remember how you speak?  You’re here in the real world with me!”

    “I remember how everybody speaks,” Atria said.  “Can I help?  Will you let me help?”

    Kaguyama nodded.

    “This is the reconciliation scene, right?”

    “Yes,” Kaguyama said.

    “So, who speaks first?”

    “I...don’t know,” Kaguyama said.  “I don’t remember who would.”

    “I’m still pretty upset at him, so it would have to be Prometheus,” Atria said.  “And he wouldn’t broach it directly – he’d talk around it a bit.  So I think he’d say something like...”

    As Atria talked, Kaguyama began to write.

“So, Alice is definitely in, and so is Atria,” Cap told Mitsubi as they walked into the barracks.  “And if you come, we’ll have a proper threesome.  I booked a later tee-off time and an hour with the local golf pro, so anybody who doesn’t know how to play can learn the basics.”

    “But why just caddy?” Mitsubi asked.  “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather play?”

    “Golf balls in orbit, remember?” Cap said.  “If I played, we’d never finish the first hole.”  He stopped short, looking at where Atria had just sat down with Kaguyama.

    “I can’t do it,” he heard Kaguyama say.  “I’m trying to write the reconciliation scene between you and Prometheus, and I can’t write the dialogue.  I don’t remember how!”

    “What’s that about?” Cap asked Mitsubi.

    Mitsubi sighed.  “He doesn’t want anybody else to know.  But ever since he told us, I’ve needed to talk to somebody about it.  Kaguyama’s got Early-Onset Alzheimer’s.”

    Cap blinked.  “I don’t understand.  What is that?”

    “It means his mind is going,” Mitsubi said.  “He’s forgetting how to do basic things, like how to write.  It’s as though he’s going old and senile, but he’s still young.  And there’s nothing anybody can do about it.”

    “That’s a thing that can happen here?” Cap said.  “That’s horrifying.”

    Mitsubi nodded.  “I guess old age and death is rather simple in the story you’re from.”

    “No,” Cap said, shaking his head.  “Not really.  People get old, and their hair goes white.  They get weaker, and can’t do as much as they once could.  Then, one day, they’re just gone.”  His voice broke.  “And all you’ve got left of them is your memories and a few keepsakes.  So, it might be simple for the ones who pass, but it’s anything but that for those of us left behind.”

    Mitsubi frowned.  “I’m sorry.  I keep forgetting how old you really are.”

    Cap gave her a sad smile.  “I’m going to be a hundred and three in March.”

    “Well, I’m glad you’ve never had to see somebody fade away like this,” Mitsubi said.  “I envy you that.”

    Cap nodded and turned back to look at Atria and Kaguyama.  By the look of it, they had finished writing the scene.  Kaguyama bowed his head and said, “Thank you for your help.”

    “Any time,” Atria replied.

    “You keep getting hurt in these fights,” Kaguyama stated.

    “I’ve had worse.”

    “I...I don’t think I could bear to watch you die,” Kaguyama stated, his voice almost a whisper.

    As Cap watched, Atria put her hand on his shoulder.  “I won’t die,” she said.  “I promise.”

NEXT: “Encounter”