Old Rivals, Dark Truths, and a Spark of Hope (Part 3)

Posted on Sat May 18th, 2024 @ 6:21am by Lieutenant JG Takumi Fujiwara 'Tak' & Lieutenant JG Jane Sinclair

1,622 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Junichi Koyama
Timeline: After 'Old Rivals, Dark Truths, and a Spark of Hope (Part 2)'

Previously, on Star Trek: Myogi:

Thanks to a little help from engineering, a new alternator for a late 80s Toyota Corolla had been replicated, and with the new part installed, Shinji's AE86 was running better than it had in years, according to Shinji.

Takumi had pressed the issue of seeing Shinji back to his camp, and Shinji finally agreed, but on the condition that they only take his car back, leaving Takumi and Jane's rental car on the side of the road. Even though Takumi had told Shinji where they had rented it from, it was a risk Shinji didn't want to take, as any potential tracking device placed in the car would give away their location.

And so, the three of them had piled into the AE86, leaving the rental behind as Shinji turned off the main highway and traveled down remote back roads where there were hardly any other motorists around until they reached what appeared to be a checkpoint, though a very crude one; as it only consisted of two people
on either side of the road armed with phaser rifles.

Waved to a stop by one of the guards, Shinji rolled down his driver's window as the guard approached.

"You're late, Shinji:" The guard said. "We were starting to think you'd gotten arrested."

And now, the continuation:

"Nope, it was just the alternator giving me trouble again." Shinji explained.

The guard looked past Shinji at his two passengers:

"Who are these people?" He asked.

"It's okay; they're friends:" Shinji responded. "They might be able to help us:"

The guard hesitated for a moment before waving Shinji through.

Once they were past the checkpoint, it was evident that it had once been the driveway to a farm, as Shinji drove to a gravel lot on which sat a humble farmhouse, bearing the scars of fire, and an equipment shed which still housed a tractor and various attachments, and looked like it hadn't been touched by whatever had set the house ablaze.

Also sitting on the lot was an eclectic collection of various Japanese vehicles encompassing the golden age of the Japanese Domestic Market. Shinji found a place to park amongst these vehicles.

"You can look, but don't touch:" Shinji instructed as they climbed out of the AE86.

"What is this place?" Takumi asked.

"Well, in the age before Junichi Koyama, this would have been the Sakuragi family farm:" Shinji explained. "Not the ones that died in that house fire, but a different branch of the same tree: Ichiro Sakuragi disagreed with his now dead brother, believing that diplomacy wouldn't work against the Hartley administration, and the Japanese populace needed to be prepared via armed insurgency. Well, once the Sakuragi estate burned to the ground, Ichiro was proven right:"

Shinji motioned towards the burned farmhouse.

"That same night, fire was set here to Ichiro's farmhouse; but through sheer luck, we'd recently recruited some volunteer firefighters who took all their equipment with them." Shinji motioned to two fire trucks parked beside the equipment shed in a way so that they would be out of sight from the approaching driveway. "If we hadn't, this place would have burned to the ground too."

"How do you keep this place safe from air or orbital detection?" Jane asked. "It's not exactly the most subtle compound. These vehicles, the guard posts, the destroyed and damaged buildings. Do you have someone on the inside at Space Traffic Control then?" The other possibility was that Gamma Zednor was becoming the backwater it would inevitably become under Hartley, with so little in the way of orbital traffic that you could have a compound like this go undetected.

"From orbit, this place looks like your average farm." Shinji said. "That being said, I'll be sure to mention the possibility of orbital bombardment to Ichiro..."

“That just means Hartley doesn’t have anyone that knows how to read orbital imagery properly,” Jane quipped. Someone with a trained eye could spot the difference.

Shinji led them to the house and opened the front door. What was immediately evident upon stepping inside was the still potent smell of smoke, as the walls and ceilings were still covered in smoke damage. Several conversations were taking place, mainly in Japanese. Despite the conditions of the walls and the presence of work lights being the only sources of illumination, it sounded as if a lively house party were happening.

"He'll be in his office:" Shinji explained, pointing down to Jane and Takumi's footwear. "Make sure you remove your shoes. I know the place looks a little rough, but he still treats it as home."

Takumi nodded for Jane to do as Shinji instructed, as he was familiar with the concept of clean being beautiful that defined Japanese customs.

Jane didn’t have to be told twice. Her shoes came off and were placed next to Takumi’s.

Shinji led Takumi and Jane up the stairs to the second level and an unassuming-looking, if charred, door. Shinji gave a knock on the door's blackened surface.

"Come in." A masculine voice said from the other side.

Shinji opened the door and the three of them stepped inside. It was clear that the room had once been something else, as the charred furniture now sitting in the room didn't match the untouched pieces of carpet on the floor. In fact, Takumi could have sworn by the size of one of these patches that this used to be a bedroom.

Seated at the charred desk was a middle-aged Japanese man with a smoldering cigarette in his hand. There was something about him that reminded Takumi of his own old man:

"Mr. Sakuragi?" Shinji asked. "Sorry, to interrupt, but-!"

"Ah, Shinji: Come in, my boy." Mr. Sakuragi responded before he noticed Takumi and Jane. "And who are the new recruits?"

"Mr. Sakuragi; I'd like you to meet Takumi and Jane:" Shinji said. "They're from Starfleet."

"Starfleet, huh?" Mr. Sakuragi said, putting out his nearly-finished cigarette. "Now that's the first piece of good news I've heard in a long time..."

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir,” Jane said, bowing her head politely. “I wouldn’t call us ‘recruits’, but we’re happy to do what we can to help.”

"E-excactly." Takumi stammered.

“Sir,” Jane continued, “our Captain, Maho Takahashi, is doing her utmost to resolve the Gamma Zednor situation, but it’s obvious to us that she doesn’t have all the information she needs. We’re learning now about lynchings, firebombings…what other atrocities are being committed against your people?”

"What other atrocities?" Mr. Sakuragi responded. "Just about every hate crime under the f*&king sun. My brother was a fool; he thought he could get that criminal to see reason, and he paid for his hubris with his life. Word of advice for you, Starfleet; the only way that criminal is leaving office is in a body bag. He's too dangerous to be left alive."

"I'm starting to see that," Jane agreed. "What can we do for you though? Specifically, Takumi, myself, and our ship?"

"For starters; we need more weapons:" Mr. Sakuragi said. "Especially if we're going to make our move against Hartley later this week:"

"What's happening later this week?" Takumi asked.

"He's going to be holding a huge rally in support of his sham referendum to secede from the Federation:" Mr. Sakuragi explained. "It is perhaps our last best hope for a better Gamma Zednor:"

"Okay..." Takumi said. "Is there anything else you might need?"

"Some food would be nice:" Mr. Sakuragi admitted. "It'd be a huge morale boost to stop living on rations."

"Food we can almost definitely swing," Jane said. "Weapons might be a harder sell, but we'll bring your case to Captain Takahashi. Perhaps she'll authorize some replicators to be sent down. As Federation citizens, you have the right to those. And what you decide to replicate, well, that's hardly our business, is it Takumi?" she added with a wink.

"Right..." Takumi agreed rather uncertainly.

"Well, it's a start..." Mr. Sakuragi muttered, scratching his cheek with one finger before reaching into a drawer in the desk and pulling out an old school communicator that looked to be from Kirk's era. "Here; take this with you to your captain: It's tuned to our comm frequencies and will help you coordinate your supply drops with us. And when you finally realize what I already know, in that there's no bargaining with that criminal, don't hesitate to contact us..."

Jane took the old communicator and nodded. She looked to Takumi. "Why don't I beam up and brief the Captain, and we have your friend give you a ride back to the rental car."

"I don't think it would be a good idea for me to return the rental car by myself." Takumi responded, reminding Jane of the trouble they had to go to the get the car to begin with. "It might be better if I beam up instead..."

Jane nodded and handed Takumi the communicator. "I'd be grateful for a ride back then," she said to Shinji.

"Of course," Shinji nodded, turning to Mr. Sakuragi, who waved his hand dismissively.

As Shinji led Jane out of the room, Takumi tapped his combadge under his jacket:

"Fujiwara to Myogi: One to beam out:" He said.

Within moments, Takumi was consumed by a transporter beam, leaving Mr. Sakuragi alone in the charred office. He sighed once he finally was alone. This could be the breakthrough he desperately needed, especially if he was going to avenge his brother's death...

Posting by

Lieutenant JG Jane Sinclair
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Myogi

Lieutenant JG Takumi Fujiwara
Assistant Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Myogi

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