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Sakamoto Ryoma - Yaoquizque - 08-19-2012
![[Image: hYFrdUQ.png]](http://i.imgur.com/hYFrdUQ.png)
Sakamoto Ryoma is remarkably secretive about himself.
One could even wonder if anyone ever came to know him intimately.
As a matter of fact, the Tokketai could gather very little Intel about that man's past when they investigated, following his promotion in the admiralty.
One rumor stated he came from a miserable family of fishers living on Junyo, another was depicting him as an orphan raised in the imperial college on New Tokyo.
At very least, all of them were portraying him as coming from the very low castes of Kusari Empire.
It seemed however certain his real name wasn't Sakamoto Ryoma.
The Tokketai learnt he once said to a wingman during a patrol he chose that name for its symbolic power; The dragon horse, taking a difficult path against the current, in order to lead his country to prosperity and modernity.
![[Image: RBSyTA3.png]](http://i.imgur.com/RBSyTA3.png)
Sakamoto's views were indeed different from others ones, which caused him quite some troubles during his career in the Naval Forces.
He always followed the ancient code. He wasn't serving his Emperor, he was serving Kusari people.
All of them, without distinction. That included the criminals he had to protect from themselves.
Ryoma didn't believe violence was the best solution to deal with anything. It was a necessity , but only when everything else failed.
Furthermore, he was disapproving some decisions made by the council, and didn't hesitate to express it, in a system that didn't allow subordinates to question the Emperor's will.
He was lucky Naval Forces were deeply in need of experienced pilots during the Bretonian war to not be demoted or even sent back to civilian life.
This however, slowed his advancement significantly.
It was only thanks to a Shosho he could be promoted.
Takahashi Mikako verily soon came to appreciate his frankness, his reason and his views regarding the strategy Kusari should follow.
She called him back to Kusari, along with others loyal officers, and opened herself to him about her fears.
Back in time, the Emperor was sending more and more men and material to Seto, leaving core space almost completly devoid of defenses.
Takahashi was disagreeing with that strategy, that wouldn't seem to change anything in Bretonia while endangering severely core space. Yet, she was divided between following orders and doing what her conscience dictated.
For Ryoma, their duty was clear enough.
The Emperor decided to open another front in Sigmas and core space was suffering an increase of criminals activity, which crippled the house's economy.
And enough reports were coming about the gathering of dreadful forces in the Taus.
It was their responsibility to ensure the security of their people, even if it meant to go against the Emperor's will.
Soon after Kusari Republic was proclaimed, and partly because of the the lack of senior management personnel, Sakamoto was promoted from the rank of Kaigun Shosa to the one of Kaigun Shosho, an advancement unprecedented in Kusari history.
Yet, Ryoma wasn't quite comfortable with such a position.
To him, titles and ranks mattered little. The personal value of individuals did.
His life was about flying his fighter; Being in the field with his brothers. Things were 'true' there, compared to the political manoeuvres that were a reality in the highest echelons.
The charges coming with his position were also a burden to him, and it took him several months to get used to those duties new to him.
Yet, as soon as he could, he was requisitioning a fighter to perform a patrol, sometimes alone.
Since he still had the feeling it was where he really belonged; Not on New Tokyo or on the bridge of an heavy unit.
Sakamoto was rarely agreeing with his peers within the Admiralty.
He had tense relations with Gitsune Hagoromo, a woman whose views on life were the opposite of his.
Generally, he was disapproving her ability to take advantage of others for her own benefit, nor did he appreciate her apparent unprofessional behavior she was showing to tease him.
While he was respecting Nagata Yuri for his straightforwardness, he however often came to disagree with him as Nagata approach was to simplify problems to their mere roots, which, according to Sakamoto was making him miss the big picture. A couple of times, the two admirals even came close to fight themselves as Sakamoto was fond of telling people what he was thinking to be the plain, unvarnished truth, regardless of hierarchy.
He was keeping a prudent, neutral stance with Hijikata, whose allegiance was uncertain since a while.
Sakamoto was suspecting Takahashi to use his voice as a counterbalance in the Admirals circle, allowing her to sometimes chose a reasonable path when others wanted the opposite.
Despite being well aware of her character flaws, he was respecting her for her will to do what was right.
One could even wonder if anyone ever came to know him intimately.
As a matter of fact, the Tokketai could gather very little Intel about that man's past when they investigated, following his promotion in the admiralty.
One rumor stated he came from a miserable family of fishers living on Junyo, another was depicting him as an orphan raised in the imperial college on New Tokyo.
At very least, all of them were portraying him as coming from the very low castes of Kusari Empire.
It seemed however certain his real name wasn't Sakamoto Ryoma.
The Tokketai learnt he once said to a wingman during a patrol he chose that name for its symbolic power; The dragon horse, taking a difficult path against the current, in order to lead his country to prosperity and modernity.
Sakamoto's views were indeed different from others ones, which caused him quite some troubles during his career in the Naval Forces.
He always followed the ancient code. He wasn't serving his Emperor, he was serving Kusari people.
All of them, without distinction. That included the criminals he had to protect from themselves.
Ryoma didn't believe violence was the best solution to deal with anything. It was a necessity , but only when everything else failed.
Furthermore, he was disapproving some decisions made by the council, and didn't hesitate to express it, in a system that didn't allow subordinates to question the Emperor's will.
He was lucky Naval Forces were deeply in need of experienced pilots during the Bretonian war to not be demoted or even sent back to civilian life.
This however, slowed his advancement significantly.
It was only thanks to a Shosho he could be promoted.
Takahashi Mikako verily soon came to appreciate his frankness, his reason and his views regarding the strategy Kusari should follow.
She called him back to Kusari, along with others loyal officers, and opened herself to him about her fears.
Back in time, the Emperor was sending more and more men and material to Seto, leaving core space almost completly devoid of defenses.
Takahashi was disagreeing with that strategy, that wouldn't seem to change anything in Bretonia while endangering severely core space. Yet, she was divided between following orders and doing what her conscience dictated.
For Ryoma, their duty was clear enough.
The Emperor decided to open another front in Sigmas and core space was suffering an increase of criminals activity, which crippled the house's economy.
And enough reports were coming about the gathering of dreadful forces in the Taus.
It was their responsibility to ensure the security of their people, even if it meant to go against the Emperor's will.
Soon after Kusari Republic was proclaimed, and partly because of the the lack of senior management personnel, Sakamoto was promoted from the rank of Kaigun Shosa to the one of Kaigun Shosho, an advancement unprecedented in Kusari history.
Yet, Ryoma wasn't quite comfortable with such a position.
To him, titles and ranks mattered little. The personal value of individuals did.
His life was about flying his fighter; Being in the field with his brothers. Things were 'true' there, compared to the political manoeuvres that were a reality in the highest echelons.
The charges coming with his position were also a burden to him, and it took him several months to get used to those duties new to him.
Yet, as soon as he could, he was requisitioning a fighter to perform a patrol, sometimes alone.
Since he still had the feeling it was where he really belonged; Not on New Tokyo or on the bridge of an heavy unit.
Sakamoto was rarely agreeing with his peers within the Admiralty.
He had tense relations with Gitsune Hagoromo, a woman whose views on life were the opposite of his.
Generally, he was disapproving her ability to take advantage of others for her own benefit, nor did he appreciate her apparent unprofessional behavior she was showing to tease him.
While he was respecting Nagata Yuri for his straightforwardness, he however often came to disagree with him as Nagata approach was to simplify problems to their mere roots, which, according to Sakamoto was making him miss the big picture. A couple of times, the two admirals even came close to fight themselves as Sakamoto was fond of telling people what he was thinking to be the plain, unvarnished truth, regardless of hierarchy.
He was keeping a prudent, neutral stance with Hijikata, whose allegiance was uncertain since a while.
Sakamoto was suspecting Takahashi to use his voice as a counterbalance in the Admirals circle, allowing her to sometimes chose a reasonable path when others wanted the opposite.
Despite being well aware of her character flaws, he was respecting her for her will to do what was right.
RE: Sakamoto Ryoma - Yaoquizque - 01-30-2013
Sakamoto took a suspicious look at the deserted street.
He was in a desolated industrial district. The night was clear enough for him to observe the neighbourhood, despite the lack of street lighting.
He wasn't appreciating much this situation. All this secrecy was uncomfortable to him. Besides, the way it all started now just sounded to him like a part of a B-movie synopsis.
This word, telling him to come to some remote place, in the middle of the night, for some obscure reason about which Kusari's fate depended.
Right.
He would have shrugged and thrown away the word, if whoever wrote it hadn't used his -name-. He thought nobody knew about it any more.
Well. Among the living, at least.
He ensured once again he still had his side-arm within reach.
Finally, sighing, he entered in the street. He didn't made ten steps that he heard someone coughing discretely.
The noise was coming from a dead-end that wasn't quite appealing, to say the least. People were obviously using the impasse as an improvized dump and he could smell the filth from here.
Cautiously, he walked towards the dead-end, asking in a peremptory manner :
"I heard you. Identify yourself."
"Not so loud admiral..." replied someone in a whisper.
Sakamoto peered into the obscurity the dead-end seemed to be made of. He could only make out a vague silhouette in the dark.
"Who are you? Why did you ask me to come here and how do you..."
There was a movement in the dark, followed by another whisper that simply cut him in half
"Such knowledge isn't important, Sakamoto Ryoma. How is the Admiral Nagata doing?"
"Hm. He is fine." answered prudently Sakamoto, disconcerted by the way this conversation started.
"How is his appetite? I'm sure you did notice some changes in his personality lately."
The admiral didn't say a word, reflecting on the motivations of his interlocutor.
"And his behaviour, Sakamoto-dono. What about his behaviour?"
"I do not know where you intend to go with that, but move to the conclusion already."
"Hm..." Whispered the mysterious silhouette "Would you be surprised if i told you the Nagata Yuri and Takahashi Mikako were... Let's say... Very close? And what would you say if you learned the admiral used his power to limit the means and the extend of the search area when Takahashi-dono went missing?"
"I would say you should stop reading spaceport literature."
"Is that so?" asked in a low tone the stranger "Well... Don't you have the means to verify, Sakamoto-dono? Didn't he ordered you and tried to stop you from continuing the search?"
"Nagata was saddened by the loss of our leader. I saw him."
"He certainly was. Before he changed."
Sakamoto frowned "Look... It is perhaps time to stop talking by riddles, sir. At least before i start to arrest you."
"Listen to me very carefully, admiral, as it is a grave situation. The admiral Nagata isn't any more himself. He is controlled by something alien, and is currently busy infiltrating all the divisions of our armed forces. You are one of the very few senior officers who didn't end being controlled closely by him and his followers. Most certainly because of your open disinterest about politics."
He didn't say a word for a few, thinking about the implication if that shadowed man was indeed telling the truth. He finally nodded in denial.
"No. We would have found out if such a thing indeed happened. The 66th would have found out."
"But maybe they did..." answered mysteriously the stranger "When was the last time you saw a 66th operative in Kusari, Sakamoto-dono."
As Sakamoto wasn't saying a word, seemingly lost in his thoughts, the stranger kept talking
"It is actually most probable -he- prepared a trap for Takahashi-dono. He was well aware of her flight plan and the little escort that was escorting her. If you want to find the admiral back -and i know you do-, you will have to act against her usurper first... But... maybe what you really need today is a proof. And i shall give it to you. I will tell you where to look at..."
RE: Sakamoto Ryoma - Yaoquizque - 02-04-2013
They walked towards the old prefab block, the two men surrounding them.
Ishikawa gave a side look at one of them, definitely feeling uncomfortable about this whole affair.
"Afraid already?" ironically asked the woman walking near him. She was seemingly enjoying an ice-cream as she was walking, untroubled. Yet he could see it was more an attitude used as a shield than anything else.
"hmph. Afraid..", he simply replied, as one of the officer opened the door, gesturing them to come in.
A crowd was waiting inside the large room. He could notice several medics attached to the Naval Forces divisions, the one of the admiral who ordered them to come, in this case.
"Hello. I guess we've been expected." Said Ishikawa more calmly than he was, while taking a look around.
A group composed of high ranked officers broke up, and the man responsible of this all appeared.
" Hai. Thanks for coming"
He observed intensely the woman who was standing apart, closely watched by several guards, and ordered :
"So. Sanada-san, please follow those medics"
Swiftly gazing back at him, the woman smiled without humour and asked in an innocent tone :
"Can i finish my ice cream?"
"Why certainly...." replied coldly the man after having noticed the short smile appearing on Ishikawa's face.
Ishikawa gave a side look at one of them, definitely feeling uncomfortable about this whole affair.
"Afraid already?" ironically asked the woman walking near him. She was seemingly enjoying an ice-cream as she was walking, untroubled. Yet he could see it was more an attitude used as a shield than anything else.
"hmph. Afraid..", he simply replied, as one of the officer opened the door, gesturing them to come in.
A crowd was waiting inside the large room. He could notice several medics attached to the Naval Forces divisions, the one of the admiral who ordered them to come, in this case.
"Hello. I guess we've been expected." Said Ishikawa more calmly than he was, while taking a look around.
A group composed of high ranked officers broke up, and the man responsible of this all appeared.
" Hai. Thanks for coming"
He observed intensely the woman who was standing apart, closely watched by several guards, and ordered :
"So. Sanada-san, please follow those medics"
Swiftly gazing back at him, the woman smiled without humour and asked in an innocent tone :
"Can i finish my ice cream?"
"Why certainly...." replied coldly the man after having noticed the short smile appearing on Ishikawa's face.
RE: Sakamoto Ryoma - Stuffz - 02-04-2013
Ishikawa's face turned serious again, remembering why they even were in this desolate place. He turned to face the admiral.
"How long will it take until we've verified that she's fine?"
"It shouldn't be long. Meanwhile, please remember, if you try anything strange, you might get shot.
So. Please throw away that icecream and let us finish so that we can all relax."
She finally sighed and left the ice cream on a table. She then followed the medics to another room separated by a large plexibay. Sakamoto walked near it and watched while the medics asked her to lie on a table.
Ishikawa walked over to the admiral and watched the procedure.
"How can they even test if she's herself? And what exactly are those things anyway?"
The admiral's face darkened as he talked about that subject.
"According to the intel I was able to gather, a large specter scanning technology is enough to detect it.
The people infected become puppets.
They host an alien form inside their body that slowly takes over their own body.
A terrible fate.
A fate that may have happened to our new Head of the Navy.
Or to your wingmate."
"How long will it take until we've verified that she's fine?"
"It shouldn't be long. Meanwhile, please remember, if you try anything strange, you might get shot.
So. Please throw away that icecream and let us finish so that we can all relax."
She finally sighed and left the ice cream on a table. She then followed the medics to another room separated by a large plexibay. Sakamoto walked near it and watched while the medics asked her to lie on a table.
Ishikawa walked over to the admiral and watched the procedure.
"How can they even test if she's herself? And what exactly are those things anyway?"
The admiral's face darkened as he talked about that subject.
"According to the intel I was able to gather, a large specter scanning technology is enough to detect it.
The people infected become puppets.
They host an alien form inside their body that slowly takes over their own body.
A terrible fate.
A fate that may have happened to our new Head of the Navy.
Or to your wingmate."
RE: Sakamoto Ryoma - Yaoquizque - 02-04-2013
Ishikawa observed for a short while the medical team operate on the woman.
They were currently busy scanning her entire body slowly.
"I for one am sure that she is still herself. I can't speak for the admiral Nagata though. I have a question, however. Why is this discovered now? The mission happened long ago."
"Nothing made us suspect it.
Nagata-san, as the commanding officer of this operation, was the one responsible to ensure this could never happen."
The man sighed and then kept talking as if he was doing so to himself.
"His behavior has been strange lately... Yet i couldn't say if he 'changed' or not."
Turning around to look at the Captain, he then said :
"Ishikawa-san...
You may have heard of the 66th. They are an exploration division whose duty was to protect Kusari from the alien threat.
That division was in charge of the checks supposed to be done to the remains of the Arch assault force.
Then... Our new head of the armies obviously assigned them some very specific tasks, as I haven't seen any of its personnel in core space since months."
The man returned to the observation of the events happening in the examination room. The woman was obviously asked to undress.
"Note that it doesn't prove anything... Yet... All this is quite suspicious."
RE: Sakamoto Ryoma - Stuffz - 02-04-2013
Ishikawa stayed silent for a while. The implications of this information were not pleasant at all.
"Hmph. This is bad news. Provided that this is all true.
The question is though, if he really is infected, what will you do?"
Sakamoto nodded in agreement, the situation was indeed quite hairy.
"For now, i must make sure of his nature. And this is why I will need you.
You do understand we cannot let Nagata see we might know his secret.
If he finds out we will be deemed criminals and we will see our own brothers rise against us.
Nagata placed men he can trust in many key positions
And... I am already looked upon unkindly for my refusal to give up on the search for our former admiral."
Ishikawa crossed his arms as he watched the woman in the room protest, but she was eventually convinced and the medics continued.
"So it's not looking good for us. Which brings me to my next question.
You chose to trust me with this whole thing. You think I'm somehow well suited for this task?
Really, why me?"
He turned his head to look at Sakamoto questioningly.
"My apologies, but you were scanned during your last patrol.
And i know you aren't serving for money or for fame.
I believe you do care about Kusari, at least enough to do what is right."
The admiral had turned to Ishikawa as well and faced him while saying these words.
Ishikawa frowned and kept his arms crossed.
"Maybe you have a too high opinion of me."
RE: Sakamoto Ryoma - Yaoquizque - 02-04-2013
"Well tell me then... Am i mistaken?"
Ishikawa turned his gaze from the contemplation of the woman who was struggling to take off the suit she was wearing, vaguely feeling Sakamoto was staring at him.
Giving him a quick look, he finally answered.
"hm. I will help you. But I hardly have a choice other than picking a side now that I know about all this."
"I'm afraid you're right. There is no turning back. At this point, we can only move forward."
The two men ended watching at the wounds that were covering the woman's body, one of them neutrally, the other with surprise.
"I really hope i was deceived and Nagata is fine. While i had 'disputes' with him in the past, he's honest and always did his duty with honor.
If i am wrong about this, we will only have wasted a few weeks of preparations and... Well. If I am indeed wrong, i will admit my turmoil and see what the admirals circle thinks about it"
It took a while before Ishikawa replied. Finally, he sighed.
"And if you're right we're in a lot of trouble. The coming weeks will be exciting in any case.."
One of the medic got out after he was slapped a couple of times by the woman for some reason.
"Admiral. While that officer has a terrible character, we couldn't detect anything strange about her vital signs... If you exclude the numerous injuries she seems to be suffering. "
The admiral nodded.
"This is a good news. Do me a favor and see what your team can do to help the Commander to get better."
"Hai."
The man walked away from the plexibay once the medic left them, soon followed by Ishikawa.
"If he indeed is infected, then yes. It will be difficult. I'm unsure of how we could act in order to fix this grave event. As soon as we will make an open move, we will take the risk to be slaughtered"
How would you neutralize him anyway? Kill him?
"I'm afraid it is the only way." The man replied before sighing silently.
"It is apparently impossible to extract those parasites and keeping him alive would be too dangerous."
RE: Sakamoto Ryoma - Stuffz - 02-04-2013
"I guess it can't be helped. We'll see how it goes.
And something you should know.. I will tell Commander Sanada about all this. She's part of it already anyway."
The admiral raised an eyebrow. Seemingly not too excited about that.
"You think she can be trusted? She looks frivolous and oblivious."
Ishikawa nodded and spoke quietly.
"She's a soldier at heart. More than me."
"I trust your judgment.
An advice however. Do not let your emotions dictate your actions.
This is something we cannot afford."
Sakamoto still didn't seem too happy about it, whereas Ishikawa frowned.
"I know what I'm doing. What will the next steps be then?"
The admiral started walking up and down in the small room.
"You will be moving to Java station, Tau 23.
Using a civilian transportation line from Kyushu to Freeport 6, and then to Java.
A ship will be waiting you there, with the equipment needed.
What we need is a proof. A proof that Nagata is infected or isn't, i don't care which.
In order to get that proof, you will need to drop his ship's shields. I know he enjoys commanding his gunboat, nowadays."
Ishikawa listened silently.
"Great.. a gunboat. That will be hard to do alone."
The two men were standing there alone, the other personal was either with the Commander in the other room or had left already to give them privacy.
"A tokkeitai agent may help you. I do not know the details yet as the members of that organization always love to stay in the shadows
Ishikawa-san... This is a classified mission. Nobody must know you participated to it.
And another thing...
Getting captured isn't an option.
I'm sorry to have to put you in this situation, but in the event that ship will be destroyed, explosives will destroy its lifepod.
You still have the liberty to refuse that mission."
RE: Sakamoto Ryoma - Yaoquizque - 02-04-2013
Ishikawa remained silent for a while, apparently thinking intensely. Finally, he nodded.
"When is it supposed to start? How much time do I have?"
"Time is the essence. There is no guarantee things won't escalate, in the event we are indeed facing an infiltration.
We need that proof as soon as possible so that i can convince my fellow officers with something concrete.
On the other hand, getting the evidence Nagata isn't infected at all would allow my forces to concentrates on others threats. The Dragons activity is increasing significantly. I'm afraid the relative peace we had with them will soon be over"
"Fine. I'll do it. I wouldn't want to let anybody else take such a mission anyway.." simply said Ishikawa.
The admiral nodded in approbation.
"Very well. I'm proud to have men like you under my command. The details concerning the target will be sent to you using a secured neural node. That said, please remember you will be facing the men you're fighting with. Do not endanger their lives - Or civilians ones - unless your own life is in danger."
"I will try not to hurt anybody. I just hope I can get away after I scanned the admiral."
"Hai..."
"What are you two talking about?" asked a voice coming from the back.
"Sanada-san." said the admiral after having looked back "I'm glad to see you're fine and... Being yourself."
She gazed at him defiantly, and, getting Akimbo, said :
"I hope you are satisfied. I saw you two getting an eyeful."
"Hm." simply replied the man.
"As about your question, we were having a discussion concerning the current situation."
RE: Sakamoto Ryoma - Stuffz - 02-05-2013
Ishikawa turned around and frowned. "You."
She stared at him. "What do you mean?"
He sighed.
"And I let you fly like this..
Why don't you get some rest while we finish our conversation? This testing must have been exhausting."
She continued staring at him angrily.
"Very funny. I'm fine. And now tell me what you talked about."
Sakamoto stayed silent in the meantime, watching them with a curious look on his face.
Ishikawa finally gave in.
"It was about the possible infection of the admiral Nagata. I'm going to find out if it's true."
"And?"
"And nothing. I'll tell you more about it when it's done."
"I didn't plan your participation in this, Commander Sanada, I'm sorry."
Sakamoto added.