Katsumoto's comm was full of static and screams. Over that, he heard his wingman's voice flare up "Incoming, On your six!"
He made a sharp turn, hit his afterburner, and quickly killed his engine, sending his fighter rocketing to the side. Spinning around, still drifting away at nearly two-hundred meters per second, he locked onto the Blood Dragon that had thought to sneak up behind him, and let his guns blaze. The ship disintegrated amidst the scream of it's pilot.
Every scream haunted him. He could see the faces of every blood dragon and golden C pilot he had ever killed when he dreamed at night... their faces on fire, bleeding from every orifice as the vacuum of space consumed them. Recently he had started adding bretonian pilots to his nightmares as well; they may be gaijin but they didnt deserve to die for the greed of one man.
That was all this war was about. All the fighting Katsumoto had seen in his years of service to Kusari was for nothing but greed, the greed of one man who was supposed to be leading his people with honor. The Emperor's decisions gnawed at his mind day and night, endlessly.
Why did they go to war with bretonia? Why were the Blood Dragons and GC fighting the empire with such furor when they quite obviously could never hope to overcome such a foe?
The Emperor had gone to war with the former for power and profit, the tau systems could indeed earn Kusari a large sum of resources and new territory for expansion... but was it really worth the hundreds of deaths incurred to both sides every week?
The latter two, the Emperor had cast out for their believes, their ideas. They were considered threats for opposing the current government of the empire, but were they ranting radicals or did they see something that Katsumoto had been blind to all these years?
Every day he questioned himself more and more, especially when he was ordered out on these missions to slaughter those whom he didnt believe deserved such. Katsumoto had met one blood dragon in the past, a stout and intimidating man from a bar months ago... that man had righteousness in his eyes and honor in his heart. From his short conversation with the Dragon, Katsumoto knew that these people would throw themselves on their own swords if they ever had even the slightest thought that what they were doing was dishonorable.
The Golden C. were harder to interpret, cardamine had altered them... but they still spoke and fought with a passion and fire overwhelming to the Kusari pilots.
Katsumoto was awakened from his thought by more comm chatter, "Sir, you daydreaming? All targets are down, we should head back to base."
He responded wearily, "Agreed, setting course, form on my wing."
Back onboard Battleship Nagumo, Katsumoto returned to his brooding, attempting in vain to erase the faces of those he had killed earlier in the day with excessive amounts of Saki. As much as he wanted to find the answers, he could not. There was no true reason for these missions other than to express 'the will of the emperor' and obtain that cursed man as much power and wealth as was possible.
"Kusari truly has fallen far from her former self..." He mumbled to himself, slamming another shot of Saki.
Another crewmember, whom Katsumoto had not seen before - though it was really no surprise with how large the battleship was - had apparently overheard his mumbling, and approached the table. He leaned forward, supporting himself with a firm hand on the table, and spoke quietly, "You and I are of a like mind..."
That was all he said before leaving. Katsumoto went to pour another shot and noticed that a small, folded peice of paper stuck to the table where the man's hand had been. He cautiously picked it up, and unfolded it, reading the note - it was simple and short, with only a few words written:
[Cargo bay 3, 0100 Hours, Alone]
Katsumoto's curiosity had always gotten the better of him... perhaps he would go see what this was all about.
---------------------
Forgoing his sleep for the night, Katsumoto walked down to the indicated Cargo bay, careful to avoid the guard patrols. Conditions were kept strict onboard the Nagumo, there was no telling if or when bretonian spies would sneak onboard, being so close to the tau systems. Anyone who was caught up and about when or where they shouldnt be was taken to the brig.
Katsumoto approached the door to Cargo Bay 3 and hit the 'open' button on the console nearby. The door split and slid into the walls, allowing him access. It was dark inside... with only a single dim beam of light coming from a vent above. That beam illuminated the face of the man who had talked to him in the lounge earlier. Katsumoto approached slowly.
The doors slid closed behind him and two figures stepped up from the shadows, grabbing his arms and forcing his head back. Katsumoto let out a gasp as the man in the light stepped forward and drew a sleek sword; it's metallic ring singing across the cargo bay as it was unsheathed. The sword came to his throat.
"What the hell ar..." Katsumoto was cut off as the sword drew an ever so slight trickle of blood, sending a shock of pain through his neck.
"Do not speak unless spoken to, pilot. I have to ensure that what I heard in the bar today was true and honest, and not the ramblings of a drunken man."
"You're the emperor's dogs, arent you?" Katsumoto growled.
The sword left his throat, and the man's fist came flying out of the shadows, nearly knocking Katsumoto's Jaw loose. "Never relate me to that pig of a man, he has doomed Kusari with his greed!"
The sword came back up, the cold steel resting against Katsumoto's shoulder and across his throat. The man spoke again "Now... as I said, you will speak when spoken to. I want to know how you truly feel about the empire and it's ruler... now speak."
Katsumoto took a moment to regain his breath and straighten himself from the dizzying blow, then replied "I've served the empire for years, and every day the emperor and my superiors throw out orders to kill, murder, pillage, and burn anything that doesnt agree with them. We should never have gone to war with bretonia, and the so called 'criminals' of kusari should be allowed to voice their opinions without fear of retaliation. Kusari is acting more and more like those dogs in Rheinland every day, and I'm SICK of it!"
The man thought a moment, then removed the sword from Katsumoto's neck. "Very good, very good. You have proven yourself I think, but I have one more question... Do you know who I am? Who these men are? Who we work for? You may speak..."
"I havent the faintest idea..." Katsumoto replied.
The man chuckled slightly, "You are a very foolish man to follow my note without knowing what it meant, I would hope you dont make the same mistake again. The galaxy is a dangerous place for those who do not consider the consequences of their actions..."
"So I've seen." Grumbled katsumoto as the two men let his arms go and stepped behind the other into the light.
"I will tell you who we are... we are they who oppose him. We fight for the freedom of the Kusari people and the overthrow of it's corrupted empire. The emperor, whom we once served as the best and brightest of warriors, betrayed us when his own greed and lust for power overtook his sense of honor. We are the Blood Dragons, and we fight so that one day our sons and daughters can have a home free of this oppression and tyranny. We wish you to join us... if you so choose. But I'm afraid there is no alternative, I must work in disguise here, and now that you've seen me I cannot allow you out of here alive should you deny yourself the honor of becoming a Dragon."
Katsumoto stood dumbfounded, and ashamed. Here he was, facing the same people he killed on a daily basis... He spoke, but a lump in his throat audibly restricted his words, "I... I have killed more of your people than I can count... and you invite me to join your ranks?"
The man sighed, "Yes... I realize how this must seem to you, but you are true in your words and I know that you regret what you have done. If you really have killed that many of our pilots, then you are a pilot and warrior of great skill... and having such on our side and no longer that of our enemies is most definitely worth their sacrafice."
Katsumoto couldnt believe what he was hearing. These men... they knew what he had done, the atrocities he had committed in service to the emperor, and here they were asking him to join their cause... to give them his trust, and to gain theirs. How could he ever not feel out of place, living with those whom he had murdered in cold blood? Still... the offer was intriguing and the alternative was death, there wasnt much choice there. Perhaps with them, he could finally serve his true calling in life, maybe by serving their cause he could eventually redeem himself of the horrors of his past.
He kneeled before the man and spoke his resignation, "I am honored to join your ranks, with the hope that someday perhaps my services to you can redeem my soul for the things I've done in the emperor's name."
"You will fit well with the Dragons, we are people of honor and I can see you view that as the highest of all virtues. Now, the next time you are able to break away from here, head to the Hokkaido system and wait at the furthest cloud from the galactic core... there you will be contacted by Dragon pilots who will escort you to our home. Have respect, and you will be welcomed into our ranks."
Katsumoto shifted in the uncomfortable seat of his Chimaera fighter, the pink and yellow clouds of Hokkaido enveloping his ship. Sensors didnt work too well here, but outside the clouds you had to deal with the radiation of the nearby star, and that could melt through a ship's hull in minutes. The only way around the system was by jumping from one cloud to another.
His computer beeped at him and the sensors screen flashed simultaneously. Three dragon-type ships approached with hostile IFF signatures. The comms crackled when they were in range, the leader of the pack speaking in secure communication to Katsumoto's ship.
"So, you're the defector? I hope you're as good a pilot as they said you were, we could certainly use the help. Lock in formation, Kusari Naval patrols are about and we're vulnerable here. Once we get to Kyoto more will be explained, until then maintain radio silence."
Katsumoto moved his ship into formation and the four fighters lurched forward into cruise. Minutes later they were through the jump hole and into a system he had never seen the likes of... A beautiful dark blue nebula clouded the area, and large asteroids cracked and impacted one another as they drifted through it.
The shadow of an unimaginably large asteroid loomed ahead of them in the cloud, growing more clear as they approached it. From most angles, it appeared to be nothing more than a solid chunk of rock, but there were a small number of airlock-like structures on it's surface.
This was it... the legendary home of the Blood Dragons. The 'base', if it could be called such, showed an incredibly faint reading on sensors, making it almost invisible; and it's rock exterior shielded it from the chaos of the asteroid field it sat in.
One of the airlock structures opened as they approached, engulfing them... the entrance was large enough to fit a small cruiser through. It sealed once they were inside, and the interior door of the airlock began to part.
Katsumoto was breathtaken at the sight looming before him. The door split to reveal an entire city built within the interior of the rock... buildings stretched from 'ground' to 'ceiling' - catwalks and landing platforms connecting them. Several small shuttles and dragon fighters flew about the interior of the cavern from place to place, and he could make out some larger ships docked on platforms below.
"This is... amazing..." He whispered over the comm.
The lead pilot looked over to him through the glass and smiled, "Welcome to Kyoto, our home."