The Matsumoto Trilogy: Omnibus Edition Read online

  “Denise, will you really be that unhappy?”

  She avoided my gaze. I think it was because she really didn’t know, and if there was one thing that Denise hated it was appearing to lack confidence. She shrugged.

  “I don’t know. Ask me in a month,” she said and then she laughed like it was a big joke.

  She just needed to get her head on straight. We had an obligation and an honor that no one else had. If that didn’t motivate a girl, what would? I finished changing and headed out to the staging arena.

  THE EX-PACIFIST: 5

  Edward was waiting for me in his training gear.

  “You look thoughtful this morning,” he greeted me in a cheerful voice, as he stretched massive muscles in his familiar series of stretches.

  “I guess I am,” I admitted, blushing slightly. Edward could always tell what I was thinking even when he wasn’t hearing my thoughts. In fact, sometimes he seemed to know me better than I knew myself. This morning I couldn’t stop musing about everything.

  Calmly, little robin.

  Edward channeled his thought to me and I blushed again. It was funny that the sound of his voice and his old nick-name for me calmed me down. As I looked at him I felt my breathing slow and my heart start to settle down. At least whatever the future brought I wouldn’t be alone. Edward would be there, too, and he’d help me to face whatever came.

  “Let’s do this,” I said, flashing a smile. His fatherly face creased in harmony and we began our routine.

  We were running a course in the virtual room. The scenario was that Edward and I had been attacked in the middle of an urban area by a relatively large force. He had to bring me safely to the checkpoint where the military could extract us. My role was simple, but not as easy as advertised: Don’t get killed. I didn’t have to make the decisions or attack anyone, but I did have to obey Edward instantly and work with him and not against him.

  These exercises were always disappointing for the Ambassador. The edict against violence was put into practice even in the training simulators. I was a master at running, dodging, leaping and gymnastics of all types, but I’d never so much as thrown a friendly shot towards a punching bag.

  Our Ambassadors, as gentle as doves, are given the chance to enter places where no one else is admitted, because no one fears assassination by a Matsumoto.

  When the McIvers first started the Blackwatch Empire the ruling family did fight, and every one of them was a fearsome warlord. When corruption overtook them and their dynasty had to be destroyed, they killed thousands with their own hands to prevent it. Neil Matsumoto, the leader of the rebels was crowned as the new Emperor and he made a vow to personal pacifism for both himself and his family.

  If in future generations the Matsumotos became corrupt and needed to be destroyed by the people, they would be at the people’s mercy. His decision was hailed as the first great decision of the Matsumoto dynasty and the reason that it has survived for nine generations.

  Most days I was proud of my heritage, but during training I sometimes thought things would be a lot more fun if I used the nettlegun. After all, I could feel the after effects of Edward’s emotions and “fun” was definitely one of the dominant ones.

  “Ready, Vera?” Edward asked, before he authorized the program start.

  I nodded, already tensed for action. The landscape around me changed from a huge arena full of scaffolding and temporary walls to a cityscape that looked as real as it felt. I knew that what we’d really be doing was working up, down, and around those temporary walls and scaffolds. They were the structure that supports the virtual reality. I could see a real city at dusk, though, with all the right sounds and scents. It was awfully hard to think of it as scaffolding, when all my senses were screaming otherwise.

  We were in a room that reeked of the acid scent of urine. A grey rat scurried across the ground in front of my feet, his tail leaving a trail in the dust. I bit back a scream, covering my mouth. Despite the scent, the second floor room looked like part of an office building. There was the usual half-hearted decor and shabby furnishings that speak of low-level office administration. Down the hall I heard a low creak, like a door that needed some lubricant.

  Edward signaled with his hand. My implant translated it immediately.

  Down and to the left.

  I was moving before it fully registered. Behind me was a cubicle with a metal storage cabinet. I settled into a squat beside the cabinet, allowing it to shadow over me. I squinted in the low light coming from the half-shaded windows.

  Without warning the sound of metal squealing pierced the air. My heart pounded louder than the sound of Edward’s nettlegun flicking nettles out of the carbine with the whir-whir of its double action. One swarthy-looking attacker went flying through the doorway and stumbled with a nettle sticking into his neck.

  A second darted his head in the room and had to pull back suddenly as Edward’s nettle struck the wall beside his head. The acrid smell of metal grinding drifted from their direction. What could they be grinding? The crackle of a communicator buzzed from behind the doorway.

  “I have them at West Ninety-Third Street and Arthur Avenue. Repeat, confirmed sighting of the fugitives at West Ninety-Third and Arthur. Requesting back-up.”

  We need to get out! I urged Edward.

  Come on, we’ll-

  Edward’s thought vanished from my mind as the wall behind me smashed violently inward. A man leapt through the gap. Shattered chunks of wood and drywall flew on either side of him as he dragged me backwards. I thrashed in his grip, panicking as a large glove covered my face.

  The whir-whir of the nettlegun and the loud buzzing of sonic darts disoriented me. I was knocked roughly to the side, but my assailant still had a tight lock on my neck and torso and my face was jammed upwards. I saw nothing but the tiled ceiling.

  Edward! Edward!

  THE EX-PACIFIST: 6

  I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. I might have been screaming.

  Vera, duck at my signal!

  It was easy to feel his mental signal when it came. I pulled myself down as hard as I could. Amazingly, I broke my captor’s grip, fell to the ground and gasped for air. I really had been close to fainting.

  My captor crashed to the floor, jerking horrifically as the nettle buried in his chest and shocked him again and again. It would stop when his heart failed.

  I stayed on all fours, gasping for breath, my heart racing. The sound of my heart was so loud that it took a moment for me to realize that the rest of the room was silent. The noises of battle had ended with the lives of my attackers.

  Come to the window. Quickly.

  I dragged myself to my feet. My heart was thudding so hard I could hardly hear my own footsteps, though I stumbled twice on my way. This wasn’t the way these usually went. Usually we maneuvered around the enemy carefully in tight sequences, but never before had I been hurt in the process. Was this some new exercise to see how I handled emotional trauma? If so, they did a great job of generating it.

  My lungs were on fire, my hands were scraped and my clothing was shredded. How was that possible? Could that blast have been real? I stumbled to the window and Edward grabbed me in a bear hug. I clung to him like a child, glad for the comfort of his arms.

  There were footsteps in the hall. Edward shook my arms roughly from around his back and tucked them into his chest instead. I was confused.

  Wha-

  And then we were falling. He had launched us through the window, with his back smashing the glass.

  I screamed as we plummeted towards the ground. A mountain of empty boxes broke our fall to the loading dock. I pushed myself off of Edward, scanning him for injuries. He sucked in a deep breath.

  “Take cover,” he said. “You’re silhouetted by the streetlight. Move to the doorway and hide in the shadow.”

  I struggled towards the doorway, aching all over, and breathing hard.

  Are you ok? I asked.

  Yes.

 
Wait, Edward! You could be hurt. We should stop this now and make sure you’re ok before we finish the exercise.

  Don’t be silly.

  His harsh rebuff stung. After all, it was only his health I was worried about. Couldn’t he be nice about my concern? Humiliated, I stopped communicating, determined to follow his instructions to the letter without adding any input. If he wanted me as a subservient rather than a partner, then that’s what he’d get.

  Follow me, and try to keep up.

  Insult to injury! I could run with the best of them.

  He broke free from cover, rocketing down the alley with me chasing him. We rounded the corner and raced up the city street.

  The map in my implant appeared as an overlay on my vision. We were four blocks from the checkpoint with five minutes to get there. Each pounding step brought a reverberation from the pavement shooting up my legs. I knew I shouldn’t be landing so hard if I didn’t want shin splints, but Edwards legs were longer, and I was forced to take deeper strides to keep up.

  A vehicle accelerated behind us, revving an over-powered engine. Three blocks left. Nettles and sonic darts skittered along the pavement and thwacked into the walls.

  Faster, Edward urged me, and somehow I found more speed.

  Two blocks.

  Dive into the alley on your left.

  I dove, hitting the wall of the nearby building as I tried to stop. Out in the street a vehicle smashed into the brick wall right where I had been. I felt my shoulder gingerly. Shattered brick shards from the smashed wall left painful gashes where my arms had shielded my face.

  Two men leapt out of the vehicle, both in uniform. Edward engaged them before they could get to me, fighting hand to hand. How had he avoided their vehicle?

  Keep going to the checkpoint.

  I rushed back out onto the street, ears ringing and feeling dazed and distant like I was hovering above my body rather than in it. I accelerated towards the goal, sparing a look back for Edward.

  Don’t look back, little robin.

  In the last comment there was a tone of endearment, and as if nothing else had happened that day. I felt my heart reach out to him, even while my feet took me further away. One block.

  There was a sudden orange flash in my vision. A color code. It meant Edward had taken a critical hit.

  I stopped in my tracks. My heart was pounding, my lungs aching, but my only thought was for him.

  Edward!

  Don’t stop for me. Go to the goal!

  He was down and his body was lying on the pavement in a tangle. Torn, I wrenched myself towards the checkpoint. If I got there quickly this would all end and I could call for medical help. Half a block.

  Someone was behind me. I heard the feet slapping pavement behind me. My muscles strained as I pushed forward. He tackled me to the ground.

  The breath flew out of me. Searing pain shot through my torso along with a sickening snap. I screamed. Something was terribly wrong with my ribs.

  Get up quickly. Twist to the side. You have only a few more steps to go.

  He must be insane! I twisted, wailing in pain, and pulled myself forward towards the goal.

  Someone’s hand was gripping my foot. I flipped breaking his grip on my ankle as panic seizing me. I had to reach the goal! It was only twelve meters away.

  I fought for each meter, pulling myself along with hands and feet.

  Ten.

  Eight.

  At six I felt Edward’s consciousness fade.

  Four.

  Two.

  I was there, panting, clutching my side, coughing blood, tears pouring down my face, but I was there. What the hell kind of scenario was this?

  The city streets faded away and the arena came into view just as everything started to swim. Medics rushed towards me, and Edward ran to my side, skidded across the polished floor and seized my hand.

  “What happened?” I gasped out. I could feel him in my implant as if nothing had happened to him.

  “Exactly what was meant to happen.”

  “I have broken a rib! You were unconscious.”

  “That was just part of the scenario. Trust me, I will never let anything like that ever happen to you again.” He stroked my hand, smiling gently.

  I smiled back. “I trust you.”

  “Congratulations on passing your final exam.”

  Exam? I remembered when I asked Edward what the exam was for this class he had neatly avoided answering. I moaned.

  “How did I do?”

  This time Edward did chuckle.

  “You passed with flying colors.”

  * * *

  A tear leaked down my face with the memory. His promise that he would never let anything like that happen again had lingered in my head for days after, making me feel safe. That safety had leaked away with his life, but of the two, the one I wanted back was his life.

  A world without Edward just felt wrong.

  THE EX-PACIFIST: 7

  EVENTUALLY SOMEONE CAME FOR ME. He wore the badge of a member of the Blackwatch Special Forces, and he had a squad of troops at his back. His ship must have been the closest in the area, summoned, no doubt, to deal with the catastrophe. As much as our diplomatic staff clearly knew what should be done with me, none of them knew how to go about it. Finally there was someone here in the right pay grade to deal with this mess.

  He marched into the room with a face like carved ice.

  “Ms. Matsumoto.” It was not a question.

  I just stared at him, not bothering to answer the not-question.

  “I am Captain Avery Rothsam. I will be taking over your custody. Do you understand?”

  I nodded, not trusting my voice.

  “As a member of the Matsumoto royal family you will be escorted directly to the Emperor so that he may pass judgment on your heinous crime.” No question of his opinion of my actions. “You will not leave my presence at any time. Is that understood?” He fingered the nettlegun at his side as if uncertain that I would follow without the threat of force.

  “Of course,” I half whispered my response, still uncertain of my voice.

  “We need to get you out of that dress, and cleaned up and then aboard the Immaculate Pearl for transport to New Greenland. Please follow me.” He motioned for me to follow him, but I didn’t move.

  “Edward…?” I asked.

  I couldn’t tell if I imagined it, but his features seemed to soften slightly, “Guardian Edward Nakamura will be transported for burial on the Immaculate Pearl.”

  I exhaled a breath I didn’t even know I held and nodded. He led me down the hall, past a line of Special Forces troops. They stood neatly to attention, and at the head of the line a knot of them were fussing over something. As Rothsam led me past, they all turned baleful gazes in my direction, and the blood drained from my face. They surrounded Edward’s corpse laid out on an e-stretcher. As I passed the man with the medic’s patch sealed the body bag shut over his grey face.

  I barely noticed the bathroom Captain Rothsam led me to. He went in with me, producing clear plastic bags.

  “Your clothing and shoes are evidence. Please remove them and hand them to me.”

  I stared at him, not believing my ears. I had never been naked in front of anyone since I was too young to remember.

  He leaned in close and said in a quiet, but deadly voice, “Ms. Matsumoto, I don’t give criminals orders more than once. You will remove the evidence so I can bag it and you will do it now.”

  His gaze riveted mine, seeking to intimidate. I stared back defiantly. My still shaky arms crossed in stubborn anger and I clenched my jaw. His backhanded cuff took me by surprise. It was so unexpected I had no time to brace for it. Instead the force knocked me to the floor and my hand rose unconsciously. He’d bloodied my lip!

  I had been in shock before, but now the position I was in took my breath away. In my entire life no one had ever hit me outside a simulation. The idea was unthinkable! It was not the first unthinkable thing to happen ton
ight, but it was almost as jarring as the death of my closest friend. I wasn’t really a Matsumoto anymore.

  I didn’t get to just sit and mull over my new revelation. Captain Rothsam pulled me to my feet and stood back with one questioning eyebrow cocked. I started to undress when I realized there was nothing I could do. He nodded briskly as if he was dealing with an unruly child who had finally seen sense.

  “You are a dead girl already, Ms. Matsumoto. The fact that you are still breathing is only a temporary situation. Don’t think your young age will protect you.”

  I felt a chill of cold run down my spine that had nothing to do with the dress slipping from my shoulders. He watched me without emotion as I removed every shred of clothing, while he bagged and labeled each item. When he was finished he turned on the shower and with a nod of his head indicated that I should go in.

  Grateful for the tiny privacy provided by the shower doors I got in and let the hot water run over my shaking body, carefully cleaning blood and fear sweat from my body. When at last I was done, I turned the shower off, and a rough hand thrust a towel into the shower. I took it without comment, dried off and wound it around me.

  Rothsam was alone in the room, still watching me. He pointed to a stack of grey medical scrubs and a pair of grey slide-on shoes. I dressed quickly, trying to avoid his gaze, and then was led out of the room.

  The squad formed up around us and not a word was spoken to me as we drove to the spaceport, cleared customs, took a shuttle to the ship, and boarded the Immaculate Pearl.

  Usually, having a member of the royal family aboard was such an honor that the Captain would introduce his crew, give a tour and a formal dinner invitation. Today when I boarded no one even looked at me - not in the way that you don’t notice people, but in a very studied, intentional way. One crewman even tripped over a stair in his efforts to avoid looking at me. No one commented or acted like that was anything out of the ordinary.