It has been scheduled as a one-day since its inception. The main purpose of it was to demonstrate to the IPU that Japan has not backed down from its involvement in the Tibetan war.
When Tatsuya arrived back at Miyakishima, it was still early evening in Japan. First thing he did was to report to Kazama about the attack in Tibet, citing the Knights of Logres as prime suspects and requesting information on the secret magic society.
Next thing after the call was over, he ordered his personal butler, Hyougo, to look into his mercenary network as well to get additional information on the same group
For what it's worth, Tatsuya doesn't perceive the so-called "Knights of the Logres" or "The Knights" as a particularly serious threat to himself. He intends to properly respond to the attack earlier, but does not feel the need to completely erase their existence.
As far as he was concerned, that foreign organization in particular was a mere offshoot, a mere extra. Comparatively, FAIR, and perhaps by extension the Triad, posed a significantly greater threat.
"Tatsuya-sama, you have an incoming call from FEHR in Vancouver."
Just as Tatsuya was considering how to respond to FAIR, Hyougo came in to inform him of the call from the west coast of the USNA. The timing seemed too good to be coincidental.
Tatsuya did a mental calculation of the time difference between time zones on the west coast and Japan then frowned slightly. Wasn't it around midnight on the other end of the line. Was there some kind of emergency?
Tatsuya delayed his return trip to Chofu and set himself in front of the videophone display.
[Mr. Shiba! Thank goodness I finally got through.]
"Ms. Fehr. Is there an emergency"
The caller was Lena herself. From the way and what she was saying, it seemed that she made several attempts to call Tatsuya while he was absent.
[Yes. Rocky Dean of FAIR has obtained a dangerous magic. This must be handled urgently!]
"By dangerous magic, do you mean the same kind as the magic that was used in the last incident on the West Coast?" That question was a blatant feigned ignorance on the part of Tatsuya, but fortunately for him, Lena seemed not to have caught on to it.
[It's a magic that can create an uncontrollable local riot, and could lead to a major incident.]
Lena's response piqued Tatsuya's interest. Lena seemed to suggest that she had information that Tatsuya's side didn't have. "Do you know the details of the magic he obtained?"
[...I don't know the specifics. What I can tell is that the magic seems to be a higher order version of [Dionysus], with the capacity to cause a country-wide disruption.]
"A higher order of [Dionysus], is it...."
Investigations were made on the determination of FAIR as an adversarial organization, including on Rocky Dean's [Dionysus] magic. It's quite an interesting magic, especially for the Yotsuba family, who have their own share of owners of unique mental interference-type magic.
What Lena is saying is based on purely unsubstantiated intuition, even so, Tatsuya did not consider it to be an attempt to swindle him with delusional rhetoric. Based on previous cases, it is highly likely that Lena possesses some kind of prophetic ability that has no rational explanation.
Tatsuya sees Lena as more of a psychic than a magician. He could see in her a special ability that he did not yet understand.
[...Can you believe in me?]
"That's what you felt, right, Ms. Fehr? I have no reason to refute it."
Yet Tatsuya did not have the same level of religious belief in Lena as Ryousuke and the other members of FEHR.
─If the evidence doesn't say otherwise, you can't rule out a hypothesis outright.
Tatsuya was just following his principles as a man of science.
[Thank you very much, Mr. Shiba.] But it seemed to Lena at that moment that he really trusted her. [Actually there has been some disagreement amongst us about asking for your help, Mister.]
So FEHR as a whole is not on the same page about relying on Tatsuya. "That's healthy for the organization," Tatsuya thought.
[But the urgency of the situation didn't allow for a lengthy deliberation. It might be too late when we reach an agreement.]
"So, Ms. Fehr. What can I do for you?" As much as he was curious to see what did Lena see, and how did her visions of the future manifested themselves, Tatsuya agreed there was no time to waste─though his reasons for it were slightly different.
[We need to know where Rocky Dean is hiding. You must have contacts in the States, don't you, Mister? Could you use those to learn where he may be?]
Tatsuya could have located them right then and now if only he had gotten into contact with Dean or Laura. If he had met with either of them, as did Minoru and Mayumi, or if they had attacked him or Miyuki directly, he could have used [Elemental Sight] to find out where they were.
Their connection was too tenuous as of the moment to investigate with [Elemental
Sight].
On another route, if the Stars weren't looking seriously for Laura before, they for sure were now after she escaped right in front of their eyes, leaving one of them injured. He could try getting information from his contacts from the Stars.
"I can't make any promises, but I will try looking into it."
[Please, Mr. Shiba. We'll try to look for them on our end and let you know if we find anything.]
"Understood, appreciated, Ms. FEHR."
That saved him a lot of work, it was his original plan to have FEHR and the Stars deal with the FAIR issue.
◇◇◇
It took a full day to gather sufficient information on the Knights of Logres, i.e., The
Knights. The most substantial contribution came from neither Kazama or Hyougo, but Fujibayashi. Her information-gathering skills were near or on par to the currently unavailable Hliðskjálf.
We live in an era in which information carries more power than any more straightforward weapons. The NDF surely felt a bigger blow from Fujibayashi's departure than the loss of their command over Tatsuya.
The conclusion drawn by Tatsuya about the Knights of the Logres based on the results of his investigation was that "there was no necessity to address their matter personally."
Their connection with the Greater Asia Union came as a surprise. The Hong Kong branch of the Knights of the Logres is a key supply route for high-tech weapons for the Greater Asia Union in the absence of legitimate trade channels with Europe and the States. The stealth bomber used in the surprise attack on the military observer camp in which Kazama and Yanagi were seriously wounded was procured through the mediation of The Knights.
In return, the Greater Asia Union provided them with funding, resources, and access to their foreign Asian networks. It was not just through the presence of old supporters within the country that the Knights of Logres remained very active despite years of efforts by British intelligence agencies to bring them down. This vein of support from the GAU appears to have played a significant role over recent years.
Needless to say, it was hard to imagine that the British government would not know what just a day's research could uncover. London must have had an underlying agenda in letting the Knights of Logres go unnoticed for so long.
Then it would be unwise of Tatsuya to proactively set out to dismantle the Order. For the time being, his decision was limited solely to destroying the bases from where the stealth drones had been launched.
The fallout of the attack on the military observer camp will likely be centered around the nations that dispatched the officers on the mission. The Honk Kong branch of The Knights have a wave of not-so-mildly resentment waiting for them. That was not Tatsuya's place to interfere, though.
That day, the base in Tibet, where the stealth drone and stealth missiles depot were housed, ─quietly, without loud blasts or bright explosions─mysteriously vanished from the earth as a result of an unidentified magical attack.
◇◇◇
Complications have arisen with Laura's unearthing of the Kla-Klo ruins and with Dean's acquisition of the magic of said ruins, but Tatsuyas's current priority remains: to properly manage Shamballa's legacy. Until signs emerge that the magic Dean has acquired poses a real threat, that priority will not change.
So far, the highest hazard, the ruins on Mt. Shasta has been sealed. Next on the list is to ensure the continued secrecy of the Lhasa ruins.
Tatsuya's blunder drew the interest of the IPU in the subject and the associated area. He needs to find a compromise that will satisfy the IPU. To do this, he first has to get in touch with the custodian of the Potala Palace's ruins.
And in order to achieve this, Tatsuya, with the advice of Hyougo and Fujibayashi, has come up with a plan.
[...A declaration of Lhasa as an 'Open City'?] Schmidt repeated the suggestion with a skeptical tone.
She and McLeod stared back at Tatsuya through the screen in the three-person conference call.
"I'm sure neither the current puppet government, nor the government-in-exile, wants to bring the war to the Potala Palace," Tatsuya divulges his reasoning in his response to the professor.
Whatever the ultimate result of this conflict; IPU's victory and instauration of the government-in-exile or the victory of the GAU and the persistence of the actual government, both sides would find the postwar process to be less difficult with the center of government still intact.
"Also, besides being the center of government, Lhasa does not hold expressly military significance."
Lhasa has been developed to be portrayed as a tourist city, in that regard it is a major transportation hub. One that is not very defensible.
The geographical aspect is another factor, it is too far from the Greater Asia Union's borders, and comparatively much closer to those of India's, that is, the IPU. The GAU should be considering a settlement whereby it withdraws from the region surrounding Lhasa in southwestern Tibet and reinforce their next strategic position in the Qīnghǎi region and adjoining areas.
[I see. Depending on how the negotiations are handled, it may be feasible to have Lhasa become an open city.]
McLeod in particular expressed a positive reaction to Tatsuya's idea. There might be a suggestion based on the name, but the concept of an "open city" is not the same as a declaration of surrender. It is a measure for the protection of civilians, based on the international agreement on the distinction between military and civilians; combatants and non-combatants. By declaring one as such, does not imply that it can't be defended or the opposite. Simply that combat cannot take part inside the declared open city territory, not extending to the surrounding area.
In McLeod's opinion, arranging for Lhasa to become an open city would also be a major accomplishment for this civilian observer group, as it is the purpose of their mission to promote the protection of non-combatants from war crimes. If they could ensure the safety of the public through an "open city" proclamation, that would be remembered as a milestone in international politics. By their strategic-class magician proxies, the UK and the Western EU would also be doing themselves a great service.
[We'll consult with the other members of the group. When will be your next visit to the camp, Mr. Shiba?] McLeod asked.
"I can make it tomorrow," Tatsuya answered without a moment's pause.
[...Are you sure, sir?]
[...You surprise us, Herr Shiba, we expected your schedule to be quite busy.]
McLeod and Schmidt respectively found this answer to be quite unexpected.
"I see a precious cultural patrimony that could be lost to war any day now. I believe we ought to hurry wherever possible." Although, needless to say, the reason Tatsuya gave was not his main motive, he also didn't want to see the Potala Palace itself being burned down.
[I see your point... In that case, I'll also adjust my schedule accordingly.]
[If the Professor is so inclined, then so am I.]
With Schmidt and McLeod concurring agreement, they set their next meeting in Tibet for the next day.
◇◇◇
It was 9:00 a.m. on September 22, or 1:00 a.m. on September 23 (JST), when the FEHR office received an unexpected call from an officer of the federal army.
[Here is Second Lieutenant Sophia Spica of the Special Operations Magician Unit Stars. Let me start by apologizing for the trouble that Ensign Taylor of our unit caused you the other day.]
Lena was initially taken aback by hearing an apology as soon as she answered the call. "No, no need. It doesn't bother me anymore."
[Thank you very much, you are very kind.] Brushing off Lena's formal, noncommittal response, Spica cut to the chase, [We are contacting you today because we heard your organization was interested in learning more about Rocky Dean and Laura Simone's hideout.] She didn't wait for Lena's confirmation or denial of the fact before continuing, [Those two are hiding out in the city of Richmond, California.]
Immediately after she said so, the monitor of the videophone switched from Spica's face to a map of Richmond City. A red highlighted area must be the location of Dean and Laura's hideout.
"...Excuse me, but why are you providing us with this information?"
[Because we are not law enforcement,] that was Spica's answer.
"You say... because you don't want to step in the jurisdiction of the police?"
[That being or not the case, we don't intend to let those two loose. The risk is too great to ignore.] So the Stars consider the FAIR leader and sub-leader as just as dangerous as she does.
The thought of having her instincts validated brought no joy to Lena. "What exactly are you hoping for from us?"
[Apologies, I might have unintentionally put you on guard. In fact, it's the other way around. We would like to offer assistance.]
The individual on the monitor, Ensign Spica, appears to be the same age as Ensign Taylor, who dragged her through another country last month. They also hold the same rank of second lieutenant. But Spica struck Lena as being a much better negotiator; leagues apart from the treacherous feeling she got from Taylor.
Spica naturally noticed Lena's elevated skepticism. But that didn't change her attitude. Instead of appealing to Lena's emotions, she just smiled demurely.
[If you intend to do an in-situ search in Richmond, we can arrange for as many tickets as you need.]
"So... You'd like for us to go after Dean and Simons?"
[We'll do everything in our power to assist if you agree to bring them into custody. The Stars will guarantee that you'll not face any charges.] Spica didn't conceal their intentions.
Among the Stars duties is the disposal of dangerous combat magicians. However in this case, where the criminals are ostensibly civilian, the jurisdiction falls to the Military Police. Even though they are magicians, the Stars don't have the legal grounds to handle this domestic affair.
But that does not deter the Stars, to whom sectionalism holds no weight against national security. It has become a custom for them to take extrajudicial action when they deem circumstances pose a threat to the nation.
It goes without saying that it would be a disqualification of civilian control of the military. If not downright criminal. However, as a practical matter, it is proved time and time again that sometimes taking the correct legal actions ends up being too late.
Although they're a unit of the federal military, the Stars members are accustomed to performing this kind of dirty work.
Lena's mind was already resolute on not letting Dean and Laura's situation to fate before even she answered this call. They would go through with it, even without Spica's offer for practical and legal backup.
"I'll be personally going to Richmond. Can I count on you to provide local back-up?"
[Whatever it's necessary, just say the word.]
Spica ended the call by giving Lena a number she vehemently assured it would lead her.
Lena boarded a flight to Oakland International Airport in the morning.
Accompanying her was the same group as before, namely Ryousuke, Arya and Louis Roux.
◇◇◇
Among the group of civilian observers, there was no objection to the proposal to recommend to the Tibetan government that Lhasa be declared an "open city". The means of presenting the recommendation, however, was the main point of contention.
The form would be to send a letter of recommendation. But it was almost also the form for those to end up being ignored. Attempts of direct communication would also be unsuccessful, likely it would snag with a low-ranking officer with the usual empty promises of transmission up in the hierarchy ladder.
Besides, despite the war, the civilian government is still in full operation in Lhasa, where the expectation would be for martial law to be applied. It is unclear with whom the precedence in decision making would fall to, the military or civilian government, but if the central government decides to declare Lhasa an open city, the Tibetan military would likely not oppose the decision.
There wasn't a concern that the proposal to make Lhasa an open city would be in any way opposed by the IPU military and theTibetan government-in-exile. It allies with the original purpose of the IPU in the formation of this civilian observer mission: to prevent a scorched-earth campaign by the Greater Asia Union forces and, for the Western EU to regain influence in the international political arena.
Discussions soon came to the conclusion that it would be more effective to personally present the suggestion and negotiate in Lhasa. Now the question was, who would go to Lhasa? Raising a white flag was no guarantee the delegation wouldn't be targeted. But bringing an army as an escort was out of the question. They needed to walk through the battlefield by themselves and come out unscathed.
Consequently, Tatsuya was elected as their representative.
With that, he already arranged for his second objective, to make contact with the Potala Palace's ruins keeper.
Driving himself a small open-top vehicle, exposed his unprotected figure, in nothing more than a summer suit, to both sides of the conflict, until eventually he arrived in Lhasa, alone.
Tatsuya attracted countless hostile stares wherever he passed. Hidden in those eyes was an undeniable fear. The soldiers of the Greater Asia Union were still haunted by the nightmare inflicted on them called "Scorched Halloween."
Every checkpoint he obediently submitted to the inspections. He didn't consent to the "laid it all bare" order, but did as much as he could to prove he was not carrying any weapons, allowing his vehicle to be searched as much as they pleased. The decomposed Freed Suit lay unsuspected, scattered on the floor of the vehicle as mere sand.
Tatsuya entered the Potala Palace without incident, escorted by soldiers of the Greater Asia Union.
To his surprise, the representatives of the Tibetan puppet government treated Tatsuya in a friendly manner. Perhaps it was part of instructions from the GAU to "not offend" him.
As for the "open city" proposal, as one would expect, they held back from giving an immediate answer. However, given it wasn't an outright refusal, it was fair to assume the proposal will be considered by the Tibetan government.
With that apparent purpose, Tatsuya was asked to remain at the Potala Palace for about two hours as they would like to have a short discussion. In the meantime, he was encouraged to visit the Red Palace, a world-class cultural monument.
This was quite the convenient idea for Tatsuya, enough for him to suspect a trap.
The Potala Palace is divided into the White Palace, the political center, and the Red Palace, the religious center. On reflection, it seemed reasonable to use the Red Palace to keep Tatsuya, an outsider, away from critical government offices.
But having the Lama, the caretaker of the ruins, be his guide was too convenient a twist to not suspect a hand behind it.
"...Why risk your life to come to this palace?" The lama asked in fluent Japanese halfway through the tour. His fluency might have been the reason why the government and military officials had singled him.
"I wish to protect the historical and cultural patrimony here." To any side listener to this conversation, this would be an acceptable diplomatic answer. But to the man who before guided Tatsuya to the ruins of Shambhala, the meaning was different.
"I share your concerns, young man. Best if the treasures of this world are kept out of sight of those unworthy." In the same vein, the lama's answer was not that far from a generic religious statement. But Tatsuya was aware of the hidden meaning behind his words.
"I don't think that, this time, whoever looks will be satisfied walking out 'with empty hands'."
"Rest assured, young man. The appropriate treasure will fall in the hands of whoever looks for it." That is to say, the Shambhala ruins keeper has prepared dummy treasures for such an occasion.
"I think anyone would feel relieved to hear that."
He just confirmed that there are measures in place to prevent the worst even if he doesn't do anything. At least this trip wasn't a complete waste of time, Tatsuya reflected.
Two hours after the agreed time, Tatsuya received an affirmative answer to his open city proposal. That came as a surprise to him, Tatsuya expected no response by the end of the day. The most likely in his mind was that the negotiation would be protracted, if not immediately terminated.
This could suggest signs of a worse state of affairs within the Greater Asia Union than he surmised. It is impossible to tell from the outside, but one of the plausible explanations would be that the repeated losses may have aggravated the power struggles in the country.
No surprise attacks on the way back either. Tatsuya was ready for any attempts by the remaining members of the Bāxiān, but it seems he was overthinking things.
Upon arriving back at the camp, he met up with McLeod and handed the Tibetan government's written response to the Tibetan government-in-exile ─whom they refer to as the "rebels". After being briefed on the contents of the reply on the spot, Tatsuya finally realized the agenda of the Tibetan government and the Greater Asia Union.
Within the response were their established prerequisites for the declaration of "open city".
There were only two:
First, a cease-fire lasting for the implementation of the open-city measures. A ten-day cease-fire period was to be imposed after acceptance of the conditions of the written reply, during which time the withdrawal of the troops stationed in Lhasa would be effected.
And the second was the deportation of Shiba Tatsuya. The rest of the civilian observers were welcome to remain in Tibet, but Shiba Tatsuya was to leave the country and not return to Tibet, or any IPU territory, until the conclusion of the conflict. That was the demanded assurance from the Tibetan government and the Greater Asia Union military.
Tatsuya was at first taken aback by what he heard. He thought it seemed like a gross overreaction.
However, he was the only individual to see as such. Both the Tibetan government-in-exile and the IPU Federal Military Command found the conditions as perfectly reasonable.
Truly, Tatsuya still did not properly understand the significance of an individual having the power to challenge a nation.
For those whose authority is dependent on having others faithfully following their orders for their power to function, an individual, a demon, who holds comparable power in his very hands on his own, is something with which they cannot coexist, whose very existence is inexcusable. Made cognizant of the brittleness of their own power by his presence, Tatsuya's name is seen as a taunt and a fundamental denial of their authority.
If they could, they would wish he vanished from the world immediately.
As long as they can't, at the very least, they would wish to keep him far away from their sight.
The difference between foreign authorities and Japanese authorities, such as Toudou and the rest of the Senate, is that they recognize that Tatsuya is not a self-sufficient individual, that he, like the others, is a cog in the huge system; he still requires of the goods and services provided by being a member of the Japanese society. Therefore, all the while knowing of the fragility of their power over him, they do not shrink away at the existence of the devil they house.
The insecurities of the authorities aside, Tatsuya had no further need to stay in Tibet. The transition of Lhasa into an open city should be enough for Kazama and Akiyama to save face. As such, in only two trips, he has completed his work as a civilian observer, serving as a model for a new international agency of magicians.
There was an almost immediate conference call between the two governments of Tibet, the puppet and the in-exile, followed by the international public announcement of Lhasa as an "open city". Tatsuya's name sat alongside McLeod and Schmidt's in the limelight as the key figures in this effort.
It happened about an hour after Tatsuya took off from Kathmandu for Japan.
◇◇◇
Upon his return to Miyakishima, Tatsuya took a breather at his home at last. "Finally, my work is done," he thought to himself.
Then came the bad news.
A massive riot broke out in San Francisco.
Seemingly sparked by the magic of Kla-Klo, the Shambhala opponents, discovered by Laura in the northwestern foothills of Mount Shasta and acquired by Dean, the riot continued to escalate with no sign of abating.
To deal with this unknown magic, Lena of FEHR and Canopus of Stars turned to Tatsuya for aid.
Tatsuya was not allowed to rest yet.
He raised himself up and went to the communications room for his call with Canopus.
〈To be continued〉
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login