Built approximately three hundred years ago, the Kinryuu, or "Gold Dragon" compound is situated on the uppermost levels of Kyoto, built-in to the cliff face of the hollowed out planetoid.
Overlooking most of Kyoto's cityscape, the Compoud is widely known as the ancestral home of the Watanabe Kazoku, their heart and soul, and those who wished to become close to or join the clan, quickly moved their homes and shops to the high promenade intersecting the Kazoku's landing pad in front of the compound's main entrance.
The easiest way to access the small district that sprung up around the compound would be to take a relatively long, but rather smooth elevator ride from the lower levels of Kyoto. The Compound is reasonably open to visitors, and its famous bar is frequented by regulars ranging from naturally Dragons and Golden Chrysanthemums to even some odd Freelancers that gained their hosts' trust.
The Library and the Public Hall are also frequented by guests to one extent or the other, but aside from that, some visitors are invited deeper into the more private areas of the compound at the behest of the Compound's fairly reclusive owner, Shogun Hirotada Watanabe...
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
Descending down to the Public Hall via an elevator from his private area, Hirotada tapped his foot idly, savoring the last moments of privacy. He let out a deep sigh and forced a state of equanimity only a few moments before the elevator doors opened to reveal the always crowded hall.
"Honor and Glory! Ten Thousand Years to the Shogun!" - The two guards clad in red standard issued power armor exclaimed in unison, as he set foot onto the marble floor of the hall.
"Honor and Glory..." - he replied as he looked and nodded at both of them, before proceeding down the hall in a confident manner. He stopped at the middle of the chamber to observe the passerby as they stopped to look at him. He hesitated for a moment, but then decided to smile and nod, hoping that they would take the hint and carry on with their business. Fortunately they did, and he sighed a barely noticeable sigh of relief before looking around, contemplating where to go next...
//List of allowed parties: Blood Dragons, Golden Chrysanthemums, VWA, Commonwealth, Order, VR.
Everything was ready, so Tony decided it was time to depart already. He prep'd one of his medicinal cigarettes for the trip to Kyoto, and climbed into the Dromedary's cockpit.
Kyoto. The legendary Blood Dragons home base. He, along with some of his Commonwealth friends, were amongst the selected few to know its location, and between the fewer who actualy went inside the big asteroid city. It was extraordinary! A gigantic engineering work, and a well done one too.
Quickly he was cleared by docking control and launched. The Nagano jumphole was conveniently located just a few klicks away from Ten. He imediately jumped and emerged in the Midori nebula, a dense hydrogen cloud. Tony engaged the cruise engines and headed to the Chugoku jumphole, adding manually the coordinates as the nav computer didn't had them originaly. When he was satisfied with his flight path, he lighted the cigarette. Took a deep smoke, holding it in his lungs for a little while, then releasing a dense cloud of smoke into the small cockpit of his freighter. "Just like this nebula!" He said seconds before the exaust system he had installed in his ship for those occasions activated and sucked the little nebula in the direction of the CO2 filters.
He soon emerged from the nebula, but just then his ship started to bump and jump and the cruise engines started making a strange noise. "Those damn engines again! Can't pass by a nebula anymore! Just like in the Omicrons a week ago..." He had planned to avoyd any planets and stations on the system, Tony always liked to avoid the authorities whenever possible, but he changed course to pass by planet Tomioka, in case the engines decided to quit and he became adrift...
When closer to the planet, a loud 'Bang!' could be heard. "What was that?!" A small asteroid had just hit the port engine. "Yeah! That surely will help! #%$&#%!!" But in fact, the impact must have released something that was blocking the engine intake or cooling exaust, because after that the engines started to behave almost normaly again. Tony decided to continue towards Chugoku, as no ship of any kind was in scanner range.
At the programmed coordinates was the jumphole. As he approached he turned off the cruise engines and started the jump sequence. "Luckly the Chugoku nebula is not as dense. The engines should be fine. I hope."
At the other side of the wormhole, the dark Chugoku system. Tony punched in the coords to Kyoto and started the cruise engines again. "Lets hope they hold!" As he approached the station, he realised that in the pathway from the jumphole to the base there was actualy a small corridor clear of asteroids, large enough for a small battleship to pass. "Clever... That must have been a huge job!" He was realising more and more how much effort Kyoto had demanded. No wonder why the Dragons valued it so much. Suddenly, the nebula cleared and Kyoto was right in front of him, occupying all the front window of his freighter. Even this being his second time at Kyoto, the sheer size of the station still impressed him.
The radio suddenly cracked out of silence.
"Unknown vessel, this is Kyoto. Identify yourself!" said a kinda angry voice, although totaly formal.
"Kyoto, this is Tony Doria, of the Commonwealth. This is my personal Dromedary freighter. I bring another cargo of refined Niobium from Freeport Ten."
A few seconds passed.
"Commonwealth freighter, Kyoto Control. You are cleared for Docking Bay Three. Welcome to Kyoto."
"Well, thank you very much, Kyoto Control. Commonwealth freighter cleared for Docking Bay Three, starting auto-docking sequence now."
The base computer guided the ship through a rock corridor until it emerged into the main chamber, a huge cave big enough to hold a city of thousands. The ship landed in a vacant pad, and as soon as Tony opened the cargo bay doors the dock crew were unloading the cargo. He stoped one of them.
"Excuse me. I'm having problems with my engines, can I ask your repair crews to take a look on it?"
The kusarian looked intrigued at first, then answered. "Of course, sir. It is over there."
"Thank you, kind sir." Tony answered, going in the direction the man pointed him. No use of getting a cargo if the ship needs repairs and might have to be moved somewhere for that. He quickly arranged the service with the chief mechanic and decided to walk around in the Public Hall.
First, Tony went back to his ship. The dock workers had already finished unloading the small freighter. So he closed the cargo bay, picked up his documents and account card, and closed the ship. He took a last look at the view of the big cave that was Kyoto. "Really amazing... One can almost forget he is inside a station..." He then remembered the words of the Shogun himself when he made that same comment over the radio the first time he came to the station: 'Almost. But not quite.'
He walked up to an elevator at the right side of the landing pad, and went up to the Public Hall. "I have to wait anyway, so I might as well taste the fine Dragon's sake while I'm at it." The elevator doors opened to a busy hall, full of stores, bars and people all around. For a moment, a sudden silence took place, as everybody looked to the foreigner in strange clothes. Then they all shrugged and went along with their bussiness. Tony looked around, located what appeared to be a bar, as he couldn't understand the strange kusarian simbols, and made his way there through the crowd.
Making his way to western part of the hall, Hirotada stopped only a few steps shy of the bar enterance. A few people brushed against his sides as he looked up at the neon sign saying "The Wyrm's Lair".
"A leader should sometimes share his moments with the men he leads..." - Hirotada silently remembered and repeated the words he once heard from his father. Though they were not meant for him at the time, they suddenly became relevant now...
He entered carefully, attempting to avoid being immediately recognized by the patrons, a hard task to accomplish, but he managed to slide around the tables and get to the back area unnoticed.
Promptly taking a seat he brought up the holographic menu interface on his table, hoping that this mostly transparent interface would somehow conceal his face.
He proceeded to stare intently for a few moments, before being interrupted by the serving girl. - "What will it be toda-.." - she paused for a few seconds - "Watanabe-dono! What a wonderful surprise!" - She exclaimed loudly, prompting pretty much everyone to turn their head towards him.
"What can I get you?" - she asked with a wide grin on her face.
"Seishu..." - He said as he rubbed the left side of his face with his palm, knowing that his cover was now completely blown. The serving girl quickly ran to the bar stand and brought a bottle of sake, a cup placed over its top.
She started pouring the white liquid slowly, almost too slowly. Hirotada ocassionaly glanced to the cup and to the girl, offering a sheepish smile and nod to the bar's patrons every now and again.
"Arigato" - he uttered when she finally managed to fill his cup and retreat backwards to the bar stand. He grabed the cup quickly and brought it to his mouth as he looked around for someone at least remotely familiar.
Tony found an empty table near the bar balcony, the way he liked: near the beverage. He found the small chair strange at first. Very low, close to the ground. After a few moments he found a confortable position. A waitress approached the table.
"Greetings, traveller. Welcome to Kyoto. May I bring you something?"
"Thank you, miss... I shall taste you fine Sake, please."
"One moment, sir." The girl said, going to the balcony to get the drink.
'Pretty girl' Tony was thinking while he watched the waitress going to the bar and walking back with his drink. She brought a small ceramic cup, and a small ceramic bottle with the sake in it.
"It is a little warm, sir, as is the tradition. Some foreigners prefer it at ambient temperature. I can get another bottle for you if you wish, sir."
"No need, my dear. While in Kyoto, do as the Dragons, no?" He smiled.
The girl bowed, the typical kusarian respect signal, and went to anothe table to attend to another customer.
"Well, lets prove it..." Tony said. He took a small sip, he knew that the beverage was strong. The warm liquid was strange to drink, but very good. "Hmmm... Good indeed. One shall take care to not drink too much of this stuff!" He continued drinking, when suddenly a loud voice could be heard: it was the waitress.
"Watanabe-dono! What a wonderful surprise!" She was saying. Watanabe-dono? That was the Shogun himself, sitting there as any other normal person would do. Tony couldn't actually recognize the man, they have only talked via direct ship-to-ship comm link, and both were using pilot helmets. He had barely seen more than the Shogun's eyes.
The girl quickly passed in the direction of the bar, and came back at the same accelerated speed with what appeared to be another bottle of sake, he couldn't be sure. When she returned he signaled to her.
She approached: "Yes, sir? Need anything else?"
"Actualy..." Tony started "... I accidentaly heard your surprise expression when you realised who your last customer is. Can you please ask the Shogun if he would give me the honor of meeting him in person? Tell him I am the Zoner pilot that was flying escort the day the Shogun showed us the way to Kyoto last week. And also tell him I ask his forgiveness in advance for interrupting his drink."
The girl was in doubt at first, but when Tony mentioned that the Shogun himself had showed him the location of Kyoto she said: "Of course, sir... Just a moment." She then went in the direction of the Shogun's table.
Hideo came running into the Compound, slightly stressed, yet tried to hide it behind a mask of authority.
Where has he gone? he thought. He scanned the room for any other Hatamoto or even the Daimyo. Despite this, no one of recognition could be found. He took a seat at a somewhat vacant table, only occupied by a mysteriously dressed man.
Wow, he looks a lot like...
"Hirotada!" he said, falling off of his seat and onto his knees "We - I mean I- have been looking for you! You've caused a bit of stress within the manor."
Hideo looks at his Shogun with panicked expression.
"Did you not... tell anyone?" His face lifted slightly as he realized his situation.
"I cannot believe myself...'Hideo took a moment to regain himself before speaking again.
"I must excuse my behavior, Shogun. The recent promotion to Hatamoto has caused an unusual amount of stress and sleep deprivation." he rose to his feet again "I'll leave you to your business, if you need me, I'll be by the door."
With that, Hideo made his way to the door to return a vigilant guard, despite his sudden stress outburst.
Tony set there, sipping his sake, and watched while the pretty waitress walked to Hirotada's table to pass along his message. She then walked away. The Shogun drank a little more of sake, and stood up and started walking in Tony's direction.
'The guy is really very polite indeed. Even being the big boss of all this, he still gets up and comes to greet me. I expected him to send her with a message for me to aproach his table, not the contrary.' Tony was thinking. 'Maybe he is one of those rare honest characters, who is not a power hungry. We shall see...'
Tony started raising up, to greet the Shogun. Out of nowhere another Dragon came running and suddenly dropped on his knees at the Shogun's feet.
"Hirotada! We - I mean I- have been looking for you! You've caused a bit of stress within the manor."
The matter looked really serious. The poor guy was really nervous. Tony sat again and decided to wait for them to resolve their issue. After a few quick words where exchanged, the kusarian tried to calm down and rose up. He quickly bowed and left as suddenly as he had entered.
Still not completely certain about what trouble he caused within the manor, Hirotada shrugged and turned to face Tony. The man was already standing, and Hirotada quickly perked up and put on a small smile as he extended his hand for a handshake.
"You're with the Commonwealth, correct? I hope your stay here has been comfortable."
Tony was starting to bow like the kusarians do, when Hirotada surprised him extending his open right hand. He then shaked hands with the leader of the Watanabe Kazoku.
"Oh, yes, yes, I'm here for less than one hour, but I like the place very much. I'm just waiting for your mechanics to fix one of my engines and I will head back to Ten, Mr. Shogun."
Tony then realised how awkward was to call the man 'Mr. Shogun'. Both were like titles.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I dont know how to properly address you, sir. Shogun? Mr. Watanabe. I'm lost... Oh! And were are my manners?! You want to take a seat, sir? If you have a little time I wanted to talk bussiness..."
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