<* *> Mihoshi's thoughts Chapter ii Kiyone could not find Mihoshi in the vast ship. In fact, whenever she ran through a hallway, the hallway seemed to stretch, never giving entrance to any of the rooms. Frankly, Kiyone was getting tired. Suddenly, she heard hoarse laughter and screams. She ran toward it, toward some light, but she could not reach it because of those damn hallways. But suddenly, she ran through the flash of light, entered the room, and... ...then everything turned black. Kiyone woke up with a start. She was sweating, everything was so hot. She flung the blankets off and headed toward the kitchen clock. [3:25 AM] it told her. She took a glass, poured cool water in it, and drank gratefully. When she finished, she returned to the couch and sat down. She sighed, then put her head on the pillow, but drew back when she noticed it was slightly damp. she thought. She flipped over the pillow and laid her head down. She brought her feet up and drew herself into the blankets again. ~*~ Kiyone woke up again to someone shaking. At first she thought it was a dream and it was Mihoshi calling her name, but the voice got clearer and clearer as she woke up. Sure enough, Sasami was standing by the couch and shaking her fitfully. "Wha...?" Kiyone said groggily. "Hurry! Washu's found something!" Kiyone forgot her grogginess and flung the covers off again. She raced to Washu's lab and ran in, once again startling the genius. "You've found something?!" she gasped. "Yeah...you're actually very lucky." Washu started to explain. "Please, just tell me already!" "Ok, ok...you're very lucky because Yagami was able to pick up one small, and I mean small signal coming from that ship that was in the exact range of its radar. If the ship was any further, it wouldn't have detected it. It seems to be a faint radio signal...possibly to a leader or something. Like I said, you're very, very lucky." Washu answered finally. "So can you use the computer to find what kind of ship it was?" Kiyone asked almost excitably. Washu frowned slightly, but continued. "It would take at most a day, but you're right about that. The rest of it depends on how good the records are at Galaxy Headquarters." Kiyone nodded her thanks. "Thanks so much Washu. I couldn't have done it without you!" As Kiyone walked out, Washu frowned and thought about how weird it was that Kiyone seemed just like Mihoshi right then. ~*~ Mihoshi felt blindfolds being forced onto her. Her arms and hands were painfully bound behind her back. A gag was forced into her mouth when she gasped for air. Ankles were bound together so tightly that Mihoshi could almost feel the ropes biting into her skin. "This one's a beauty, boss!" Harsh laughter followed. "It certainly is." drawled one single, deep voice. Mihoshi felt as if she was being put on trial, but she couldn't see the jury or the judge. The feeling was actually more of an executioner and an audience <*ewww...bad thought*>. Surprisingly, Mihoshi felt self- controlled. She only allowed herself to be like this when no one was watching. True, she was sometimes a ditz, but she actually was an accomplished first-class detective. Just like the blindfold put on her now, she allowed everyone to see one side of her, but the other side was carefully hidden away. <*Kiyone...I need you...*> ~*~ While Washu worked on the signal, Kiyone desperately checked back into headquarters to ask someone to rummage through files. While they checked her clearance, Kiyone hoped they would find something. But Kiyone shook that thought out. At first, the search turned up empty. But Kiyone asked about the closed files, and was actually able to find something. The report dated back to four years ago. "The controller of the ship ID: Nazumo disappeared suddenly without a trace of a struggle. It has been brought to attention that a certain gang of terrorists called the 'Strikers' has been around near space kidnapping innocent victims from their ships, but no evidence (i.e. ransom note, forensics, clue) had been left at the crime scene. Ships attacked are left alone, but eventually run out of fuel and are unable to contact headquarters. This case has been closed because of lack of evidence. See file: Heero, Ayumi. Kiyone had the operator rummage through to find the file. Name: Heero, Ayumi Kin: Mother: Mayu Nagato Father: Akiro Heero Sister: Megumi Heero Age entered service: 25 Section: First-class detective Etc... Kiyone listened in when her operator read the words, "Missing in Action." "Does it have any information about it?" she asked. "Huh? Oh, no, none...it just says See: 'Strikers' would you like to see that also?" The operator asked. "Yes, please." "Okay...wow, its short. All it says is: under investigation, and then see File 38420, the one we saw first, and then Heero, Ayumi." "Ok, thanks..." Kiyone was about to stop transmission when the operator stopped her. "Wait, I've got something...at the bottom it says, Possible locations: SatelliteRD261, SatFE12 at SatXX34. All in Sector 251. Hope that helps." "That's great! Thanks for your help!" Kiyone sighed gratefully. She decided against reporting it. After all, wasn't she going to find Mihoshi? But the superior would find out soon enough... ~*~ Mihoshi was led out of something into a place with uneven footing. In fact, the new place smelled like damp rocks, and Mihoshi felt a slight drop in temperature. They also took off her red hair band, and threw it on the ground. <*Are we underground somewhere?*> She decided against asking her guards, they probably wouldn't tell her, and she wanted to maintain the image of a blonde bubble-head. Nonetheless, Mihoshi thought fast. <*They couldn't have put me somewhere near Yagami, maybe I could contact...*> But that thought raced out of her mind immediately. They had taken off her ankle ropes so she could walk, and they had taken out her gag, so Mihoshi could hear herself sigh in defeat. But she couldn't give up that easily. She had to have faith in Kiyone...<*because of all the times she had faith in me...hopefully...*> ~*~ "Washu?" Kiyone knocked softly. There was no answer. She nearly jumped when she heard Washu's voice behind her instead. "Yes?" "Oh, did you find anything yet? Washu nodded. "Come on in," and gestured towards her lab. Washu began right away when Kiyone sat down. "First of all, it was a radio signal. To whom, I'm not quite sure, but I am sure that it was to a distant satellite. Now, I can't exactly pinpoint what type of ship it was, since many types support the same technology, but I can tell you it was more advanced than the Yagami. That's why it couldn't detect it on its radar. No heat scanning, nothing. The kidnappers must have just been careless in leaving you with this small clue. Did you notice anything about the ship as it flew away?" "A symbol of a cobra, and on the GP HQ files it said that the group could possibly be the 'Strikers'." Kiyone answered. "Hmmm...the 'Strikers', eh?" Washu thought for a moment. "Nope, never heard of them. Must be new, considering their technology." "Well, the earliest I can date them back to is four years ago, when they kidnapped a first class detective." "Hmmm...another interesting aspect. Well, how are you going to start looking?" "Well, I found some leads. They could be on any of these moons." Kiyone handed her the list. Washu took a look at the list and typed in the names of the planets. "Just so I can remember what they are," and smiled. "I think I'll just check out these locations, ask around, stuff like that." Washu just nodded and continued to work on something. The next day, Kiyone went out to Yagami again. Before going to any of the satellites, Kiyone decided to stop over at the HQ and ask about them, and managed to retrieve some information. "Ok, so basically, the moons are sparsely populated. SatFE12 is mostly all caves, though. Maybe I should check out that place first." Without further ado, she took all her weapons with her and headed towards SatFE12. ~*~ It took her three days to get there. One night, Kiyone sat on her bed. She often found herself thinking about Mihoshi and their relationship. . Her eyes dropped. She sighed, drawing her knees up against her body and slowly putting her head between her knees. End Chapter ii