Patlabor Fan Fiction ❯ Personal Files ❯ Episode 20 ( Chapter 7 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Patlabor: Personal Files

An Episodic Patlabor Fanfic by David A. Tatum

Disclaimer: Insert legal junk here...



Episode 20: Running Rampant

April 1, 2000



Shinshi walked into Kanuka's dorm room, watching her as she finished
packing. She looked over at him, surprised- he wasn't usually one to
come by unexpected.



"Can I help you?" she asked.



"There's no chance I can convince you to stay here and command Ohta, is
there?" he asked wearily.



Kanuka smirked. "You're on your own for that one from now on. Sorry."



Shinshi sighed. "I sometimes wonder if I'm really cut out for this job.
But if I quit, I'm sure Tamiko would be annoyed."



"You've dealt with Ohta before, you can do it again. But I get the
feeling you're not down here just to ask me to stay." Kanuka asked.



Shinshi nodded. "Yeah- actually, I'm acting as Gotoh's messenger boy.
He wanted me to let you know Unit 2 is going to accompany you down to
the Academy. He said something about wanting to give the new recruits a
demonstration of 'professional Patlabor skills,' but I got the feeling
there was more to it than that."



Kanuka raised an eyebrow. "Hmm. Well, I'll figure it out when I get
down there... is he offering a ride?"



Shinshi laughed. "Actually, they want you to help drive. They're
taking all three Ingrams with them, and were hoping you'd take the third
command car. Gotoh agreed to loan the Academy Labor 3 for the coming
semester, with the provision that Fuji use its budget to pay for it's
restoration to servicable condition and maintenence during that period.
Anyway, that's all I came down to say, except for Unit 3's farewell
party is commencing in about 20 minutes. I know you hate these things,
but at least we didn't break into your apartment to host it, this time."



Kanuka turned a dark look on him. "Yes, I still remember that time.
And I am still not very happy about it...."



Shinshi swallowed. "Uh, yeah. See ya soon, ma'am," he said quickly,
darting out of the room as fast as his feet allowed.



"Curiouser and curiouser," Kanuka said to herself in English. "Why does
Gotoh want me to have a patlabor at Fuji?"



* * * * *



"Hmm. This is a lot more comfortable than the last time I rode with you
in the command car," Noa commented, stretching her legs in the
relatively roomy seats of the car's cabin.



"There aren't any insane mechanics trying to kill me for percieved
slights to their idols, this time around," Asuma noted dryly. "Did you
come up with an official excuse for joining me here as opposed to Hiromi
in the labor transport?"



Noa nodded. "Yeah. Hiromi said he'd help us out by taking some spare
seeds from our vegetable gardens as a gift for one of the instructors in
Fuji which would take up my seat in the transport." She paused. "I
dunno if anyone will even ask, though. Hiromi and Takeo knew just from
watching us that we were going out, and you say that Gotoh's been giving
us strange looks now and then. Joudo suspects something, I think, and
even Natsume seems to understand about us. And, well, I wouldn't put
anything past Kanuka...."



"I suppose we really only need to worry about our 'public displays of
affection' when we're with the gang," Asuma agreed. "I still worry,
though. Even if our friends are willing to ignore it, if they
accidentally let something slip I'm pretty sure Internal Affairs would
have our hides tied up in an investigation faster than we could blink.
And you'll never believe who just got put on the Internal Affairs review
board."



"Who?" Noa asked, curious.



"Captain Takada Toshinori."



Noa frowned. "Who's he?"



Asuma grimmaced. "I think you'd remember, since it was under his orders
that one of the members of the riot squad sent you to the hospital...."



"Him?" Noa said, shifting uncomfortably on her seat. "Well, that was
just a silly softball game, and it happened months ago. Surely he's
forgotten about it by now... and even if he hasn't, why would he hold a
grudge against us?"



Asuma shrugged. "I met him when he came by to deliver an 'official
apology' to you at the hospital- you were in surgery at the time,
though. He never returned, either... and I'm glad. I never met someone
so... vindictively cold in my entire career in the SV2. I'm afraid that
he WOULD hold a grudge against Captain Gotoh, at least, and the scandal
that he could raise over any investigation into our relationship would
be a perfect weapon for him. He wouldn't care what other damage he
caused, as long as he got the Captain."



"Oh," Noa replied quietly. She contemplated what that might mean to
them, and found herself vaguely disappointed. "I suppose we need to be
especially careful while we're at the Academy, huh?"



Asuma smiled bitterly. "Pretty much. We need to be more careful,
period- we don't want any rumors getting into the wrong hands. I guess
we need to cool things down for a while when we're on the job. Our next
vacation time doesn't come until May, unfortunately, so it looks like we
may have to wait a while before we can 'indulge' in each other, again."



Noa huffed. "I don't like it- things were just getting interesting!"



Asuma coughed, straining against his surprise at her bluntness to hold
onto control of the car. 'interesting' was a very unusual way of
putting it. Things had been getting a bit steamy between them- their
make-out sessions had started including a little more risque carressing-
at first, some clumsy gropes through their clothing, but now sometimes
hands were slipping under that clothing. The way things were moving
they'd have started removing a few pieces of that clothing pretty soon.
Unfortunately, this seemed to shove a monkey wrench into things.



"Uh, yeah, they were," he admitted, clearing his throat. "I hate it,
too, but what are our options? Are you willing to risk losing your job-
and Alphonse- just for more necking sessions?"



"No," Noa replied, defeated. "But in May, you and I are going somewhere
fun, just the two of us, alone. And we'll see if we can't make up for
the time we'll have lost, okay?"



"Deal," Asuma agreed.



* * * * *



Chief Sakuma, Commandant of Fuji's Special Vehicles Academy, stepped up
to the small convoy after the contingent of police officers had finished
parking. The incoming freshmen for the semester that was about to begin
had assembled in formation behind him, standing at attention. When
Gotoh left his car, he stepped up to him.



By the time Sakuma reached Gotoh, much of the rest of the second unit
had managed to park and swarm over to their Captain. Sakuma, however,
ignored them. Saluting Gotoh, he said, "Hello, Captain. Welcome back
to Fuji."



Gotoh returned the salute lazily. "Chief Sakuma. Any promising
students trying out for Section 2 this year?"



"Yes, yes. Of course. There's one incoming freshman, though, who might
be a bit of a troublemaker. I think I'd better call your attention to
her, right away."



"Oh?" Gotoh said, not sounding the least bit surprised. "Is that so?
Well, let's see this troublemaker!"



"Of course," Sakuma said. "Cadet Mahoko! Front and center!"



A young girl, her long hair tied up in a bun, darted forward, a huge
grin on her face. "Cadet Mahoko GOTOH, reporting for duty, SIR!" she
said, saluting.



Gotoh, his face expressionless, saluted his niece back... this time with
a lot more conviction. He turned to the chief. "So, this is your
troublemaker?"



Sakuma stifled his laughter to reply. "Yes, that she is. Her uncle was
a pupil of mine, once, and she's bound to give me at least as many
ulcers as he did." He grinned at Mahoko. "At ease."



Laughing herself, Mahoko launched herself at her uncle, circling her
arms around his neck in a big hug. "Hi, Uncle Gotoh!"



Curling his lip up affectionately, Gotoh gave her a one-armed hug back.
"Hi, Mahoko. How's the first day coming?"



Around them, the entire unit he commanded gaped. "So, THIS is why he
insisted on coming along," Kanuka muttered.



"And here I was, afraid he was bringing us with him because he suspected
something dangerous was going on," Asuma added, grinning slightly at the
scene before him.



Noa, who was still upset at having lost three weeks of being able to
make out with Asuma (for, while they had just agreed to cool things off
a bit, they were still going to be able to kiss when they got back),
frowned. "Why'd he have to bring us with him, then?"



Asuma just placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed reassuringly- a
comforting gesture to let her know he regretted the lost time, too, but
also reminding her not to get upset over it.



"Heh," Joudo snorted to himself- out of Noa and Asuma's hearing- with a
half-smirk. "Well, I've seen drunken officers on duty in our unit, I've
seen procedural violations that would send the police commissioner into
a heart attack, I've seen our captain hitting on another captain, I've
seen two member of Labor 1's team participate in a forbidden
relationship, and I've seen mechanics sabatoging the crew's vehicles...
I'm honestly surprised it took this long for me to see my first case of
nepotism."



Takeo, Natsume, and Hiromi remained quiet, although Natsume kept looking
between her captain and Mahoko in confusion.



"What's the matter," Joudo finally asked.



Natsume blinked up at him owlishly. "I don't recall ever seeing Captain
Gotoh look at anyone like that before."



Joudo shrugged. "Well, we've never seen him around family before,
either, have we?"



Natsume tapped her chin cutely, squinting her eyes as she thought hard.
"No, I guess we haven't."



Joudo looked to where Asuma was holding Noa's shoulder in such a
familiar matter, then back to Natsume's cute 'thinking' pose. 'Hmm,' he
thought to himself. 'If they don't mind ONE couple in this unit, why
would they mind two? And it's not like Captain Gotoh can complain, as
much as he pursues one of HIS fellow officers....'



That train of thought was abruptly ended when Gotoh snapped an order at
Kanuka. "Luitenant Clancy, front and center."



With the ever-present disciplined fierceness she always exuded, Kanuka
strode forced and faced the captain with hardly a glint of unusual
emotions in her eyes. "Yes, sir!"



"This is my niece, Mahoko. Though you will know her as Cadet Gotoh," he
noted, gesturing to the young girl who was smiling up at him.



Kanuka patiently kept herself from rolling her eyes or commenting on how
she had already heard that part- after all, she knew Gotoh was much
brighter then he often let on. "I see, sir."



"Now, I'm not going to ask you to show her any favoritism. Not only is
it against the rules, but I'm pretty sure I'd just get her angry if I
did," he explained. "However, she's like a daughter to me, and I hope
you'll keep track of her progress and let me know how she's doing from
time to time."



Kanuka nodded. "Very well, sir, I think a limited degree of feedback
would be acceptable."



Gotoh smiled happily- a very strange expression on his face. "Good.
We'll be on hand until the Twentieth, however, to provide experienced
guidance in these first few weeks. Now, how about we unload those
Ingrams and show these cadets what REAL Patlabors handle like?"



* * * * *



April 11, 2000



Gotoh checked over the papers he had assigned to the cadets he had been
mentoring. Few of them took him seriously, it appeared... though he was
pleased to see his niece was not one of those people. Gotoh sighed-
well, that was to be expected. Most people desperately tried to avoid
service in Section 2 with the Patlabors- their reputation was... not the
best. Most people at Fuji were in training to join Special Vehicles
Section 1- Fire and Rescue. Section 3, the military, had a seperate
training facility, but a few reserve units also trained alongside the
other Special Vehicles teams. Patlabor candidates were few and far
between, it seemed, despite the increasing demand for new officers as
new units were established.



Asuma, Noa in tow, had taken a few select cadets and was attempting to
provide them with additional instruction. Hiromi had apparently
sequestered himself in with the groundskeepers at Fuji, however, as he
didn't really have much to teach. Joudo and Natsume, both being recent
graduates themselves, were merely catching up with old friends who had
been underclassmen when they were still in the Academy.



As had happened once before, Takeo and Kanuka had been developing
something of a rivalry in their instruction. Takeo had volunteered to
be a guest lecturer on standard operating procedures for policework and
similar subjects, and was attempting to show more progress with HER
students than Kanuka's own assigned classes. All in all, Gotoh was
viewing this whole thing as a favorable venture.



"Captain Gotoh?" a voice belonging to one of the administrative staff of
the facility beckoned from the door.



"Yeah?" he replied, not looking up.



"Telephone for you, line 3. It's from a Captain Nagumo."



"Shinobu?" he replied, perking up. "Thank you! I'll take it here.
Dismissed."



"Yes, sir." The man nodded from the doorway before leaving.



He picked up the phone, pressing the button to connect him to the proper
line. "Hi, Shinobu! I've been trying to get in touch with you for days
and haven't been able to get through- what's going on?"



"Gotoh," her tired-sounding voice replied. "We've been up to our necks
in action since you've left. All sorts of problems are creeping up,
both with calls and with the third unit- we need you back here, now."



"What's going on?" Gotoh replied, concerned. Shinobu never sounded this
worn out, as far as he could remember.



"It's a long story... all I can say is we need you back here as soon as
possible. Any chance you could get back here a little early?"



Gotoh frowned. This could be any number of things, but if his suspicion
was correct... "All right, we'll pack up and head on back tomorrow.
See you soon."



"Thanks, Gotoh," she replied, the relief evident in her voice.
Suddenly, in the background, he could hear an alarm going off. "Oh,
shit- Gotta go. Hurry back soon." With that, the phone disconnected.



Gotoh blinked at the phone. That didn't sound like Shinobu at all...
whatever it was must REALLY be distressing her.



He pressed a button on the intercom. "Yes, sir?" came a new voice from
the other end.



"Please inform the commandant that my unit will unexpectedly have to
leave tomorrow, and then see to it that my niece comes to my office
pronto. I want to discuss a few things with her before I go."



* * * * *



April 12, 2000



Noa slipped opposite Asuma into the command car, puffing slightly as she
recovered from the rush to finish packing and loading that Gotoh's
surprisingly frenzied orders to return to their headquarters that
morning demanded.



"I think that's the fastest I've ever packed in my life," she sighed,
buckling her seatbelt.



Asuma chuckled, doing a last minute check of the instrumentation of the
vehicle. "I warned you that you shouldn't pack too much when we came
down here."



"I was expecting to be gone for three weeks!" Noa fussed. "And you
could have helped me, you know."



"I had my own packing to do," Asuma answered, starting the car and
driving it out slowly to follow Hiromi and their labor transport.. "And
I had to let our 'students' know we were leaving, and give them some
last minute pieces of advice."



Noa shook her head. "What was it this time? How to hide beer in a
police station's refrigerator?"



Asuma shook his head. "Nah, told them about that a couple days ago."



Noa laughed. "I still can't believe you started their 'lessons' with
that same lecture you gave me about how daily life is a 'struggle for
survival' when I first came to SV2. MOST of these people aren't going
to be sent to our station, you know- why do you think THEY would need to
learn how to farm their own food?"



Asuma sighed. "I know they might go to some other SV2 building, but...
well, I've seen the one at Kanazawa. That one is in an even WORSE
position than we are- they don't even have a restaurant that delivers
lunch, OR someone with as green a thumb as Hiromi. They're located so
far away from the city, in fact, they can't even make use of a nearby
convenience store. I have NO idea how they keep themselves fed... so I
figure it couldn't hurt if they knew to expect that kind of thing."



Noa frowned. "When did you ever go to Kanazawa?"



"My first assignment was at the Kanazawa station. They hadn't completed
the labor facility, and we didn't even HAVE a Patlabor at the time.
That's where I first met Ohta. Then, funding was cut and they decided,
instead of opening stations in Osaka, Kanazawa, and Tokyo, they'd just
move us all to the place we were most needed, and see if we worked out.
Funding came back for those other cities' stations, though, after that
whole incident with Kai. I remember hearing they were re-opening that
old Kanazawa station, and fearing what that would mean for our fellow
labor teams."



"Huh, I didn't know that," Noa said. "One of these days, you and I are
going to have to sit down and talk a bit about our pasts. I got you
really mad, once, because I didn't understand the past between you and
your father, I just knew you were estranged. And I... got SO scared
that whatever we might have had when I accidentally blurted that whole
secret I've kept out at you about, uh, losing my virginity." Asuma
flinched slightly, but didn't say anything, so she continued. "I just
think it would be better if we let each other know of anything like that
might come up like that."



Asuma shrugged. "Maybe. I really don't know what else you might want
to hear about me, though- you already know pretty much everything."



"Oh, really? I haven't heard much about any past girlfriends of yours
from you, though I've heard from certain sources that you've been a bit
of a ladies man...." Noa teased.



"Well, before you, there was only one serious girl in my life. But she
was way back in high school, and I lost contact with her for so long I
hadn't known she'd... uh, passed away from heart failure... until over a
year after she'd died."



Noa frowned thoughtfully. "Was she named 'Kashima' by any chance?"



Asuma blinked. "Uh, yeah- how did you know?"



"I think I heard you say her name, once," Noa replied, offhandedly.
"Still, even if there weren't any other 'serious' girls in your life,
surely there are other 'less' serious ones?"



"Well-"



The radio crackled suddenly. "This is Gotoh. Be advised, we will be
exceeding speed limits on this trip. There will be no breaks. If you
feel it necessary, go ahead and sound the siren."



"Acknowledged," Asuma said into the radio. He shook his head.
"Something's gotta be bugging him- Gotoh's been acting funny all day. I
wish he'd tell us what's going on."



"Maybe he doesn't know," Noa suggested cautiously.



Asuma nodded. "Yeah, that makes a little sense. He usually at least
gives us a hint of what's going on if he knows. And he's telling us to
go HOME on sirens. Something must be upsetting him."



"It couldn't be something to do with Captain Shinobu, could it?" Noa
asked, concerned.



"Well, if it was just HER, I'm pretty sure he would have gone back
himself as fast as he could, and not worried about keeping us in a
convoy. It has to be something where he wants the whole unit together,"
Asuma supplied. "Come to think of it, this whole trip seems wierd.
When I found out that his niece was attending the Academy, I thought I
found the answer, but there still seemed to be something fishy with his
decision to loan out our third labor for a whole semester."



"A labor at the Academy... heh. Remember when Ohta, Shinshi, and Kanuka
stole that 'original patlabor' to fight off the military during Kai's
incident?" Noa laughed, but then frowned. "Come to think of it, they
wrecked that labor! I forgot about that!"



However, Noa's memory triggered another thought process entirely in
Asuma's mind. "Hey, Noa... when Gotoh saw Kai's men watching our
station, he made sure Alphonse was somewhere the bad guys wouldn't think
to look, right?"



Noa nodded. "Yeah... and I never DID thank him for that."



"What if he's doing the same thing again? Maybe he suspect something
serious is about to happen, and is trying to make sure we've got an
emergency labor available, if we need it?"



Noa thought for a moment. "I dunno... but why isn't he saving Alphonse,
if so?"



"Maybe he needs Alphonse somewhere else," Asuma answered. "Or maybe he
just doesn't know of a convincing reason to send him out somewhere,
alone. But if we're rushing home... what if he thinks the danger is
INSIDE of SV2?"



Noa blinked. "Asuma, that's ridiculous. Why would he be afraid of US?"



Asuma shook his head. "Not us. At least, not you or me... but one of
the new recruits. And not someone in our unit, or he'd just have taken
our team up with him to the Academy since he wouldn't want whoever it is
to know where we 'hid' our 3rd labor. No... he thinks there's someone
dangerous in either Unit 1 or Unit 3. And I have no clue what, but he
thinks that they might be doing something involving our labors!"



Noa frowned. "I hope you're wrong, Asuma- I like everyone in the
station! But... I think to be on the safe side, I'm going to start
sleeping with Alphonse."



Asuma kept himself from wincing by mentally repeating the mantra,
'Alphonse is JUST a labor- he is not a human being, and Noa sleeping
with him is NOT tantamount to her cheating on me,' a few times in his
head. Finally, he answered, "I'm not sure that's a good idea- it's more
important that you're unhurt than Alphonse, and if someone is determined
to sabatoge our labors, he'd probably be willing to do anything to the
person guarding it. And... I couldn't stand it if you hurt yourself
like that...."



Noa nodded. "I'll be careful. But I AM a police officer, and I won't
be in any more danger than I would be trying to stop any other criminal
out there."



Asuma sighed. "Well... maybe I'll join you some nights. Just to make
sure you're safe, of course."



Noa smiled. Maybe they wouldn't be holding back their relationship TOO
much if he was talking about joining her when she was sleeping.
"Maybe...."



* * * * *



Gotoh, seeing nothing that required his immediate attention upon
returning to their station, made his was at his usual leisurely pace up
to his office. He was rather surprised not to see Shinobu waiting for
him as his car pulled up, given how distressed she had appeared over the
phone. When he got to the office, however, he found out why. She was
asleep at her desk.



'Asleep at your post, eh, Shinobu? What's been happening here, anyway?'
he thought. He shook her gently.



"Eh? What- did we get another call?" she asked, starled awake.



"No," Gotoh said, smiling at her wistfully. He always felt she looked
cute when she had that sleepy look on her face. "But I figured you
might want to use my bunk instead of your desk for your nap. And, oh
yeah, we're back."



Shinobu, already exhausted, almost collapsed with relief. "Thank god...
things have be utterly insane around here. We've had a record number of
calls the past week, and while my unit is holding its own the third unit
has fouled up half of its assignments. Ohta and Gomioka are at each
other's throats, and I'm barely able to keep them apart. There've been
an awful lot of wierd 'malfunctions' in all the vehicles that seem
similar to those pranks the mechanics squad played on Asuma, and just
this morning Gomioka chewed out Shige about it all. Now, Shige's
rattled, Ohta's upset, we've got some kind of labor crime spree going
on, and everyone's utterly exhausted. Gomioka and Unit 3 are out on a
call right now, and we're stuck on standby."



The alarm went off just as she finished, and the phone started ringing
on her desk. Automatically, she picked it up. "Shinobu... yes... yes.
We'll go out right away. Yes, sir." She hung up and sighed. "Damn...
another call. We've missed several calls because we were down a team,
too."



Gotoh put a hand on her shoulders, keeping her seated. "You don't have
to go on this one- we'll take it."



She shook her head. "No... relieve Unit 3 when they get back. They've
had it worse than we have, and... to be blunt, Gomioka's not handling it
very well. I managed to get a few hours of naptime- I'll be fine,
except for the crick in my neck."



Gotoh nodded. "Understood," he said formally. He didn't quite approve
of her decision, but she seemed to be more-or-less alright now that she
was more fully awake. "In the meantime, I think I'll look at your
reports..."



Heading out the door, she nodded. "I knew you would. I've put copies
of the past week's reports in your chair."



Gotoh went over to his desk, and saw a pile of papers and manila folders
almost two feet high. Frowning, he took the stack and set in on his
desk, then picked up the first folder and started reading....



* * * * *



"Damn, Shige, you look like hell," Asuma said, eyeing the mechanic
critically. "What's been going on around here?"



Shige grinned weakly at his favorite couple- Asuma and Noa. "Quite a
bit, actually. More calls then in ages, Captain Gomioka's been on my
case about lots of wierd malfunctions, a few cars have been in accidents
thanks to the weather... lots of things."



Asuma frowned. "What's this about 'wierd malfunctions?'"



Shige sighed. "Remember all of those pranks our mechanics were playing
on you back in January?"



Asuma laughed bitterly. "Considering I almost got killed by them, it'd
be kinda hard for me to forget."



Shige nodded. "Yeah. Well, things like that are happening, only worse
and with more frequency. And there don't appear to be any specific
targets... although Mr. Seiroku seems to be getting the worst of it."



Asuma frowned. "Seiroku? Hmm... didn't he get into a fight at that
softball game?"



Shige nodded. "Yeah- with Ueki Mashimo from Unit 1. They've apparently
had a rivalry since their Academy days."



Asuma smirked. "Is that so...."



* * * * *



Gotoh frowned at the records he was reading. Well, skimming- he didn't
have time to make a detailed reading. However, what he saw was pretty
intriguing. The crime spree seemed technologically oriented, that was
certain. Specifically, labor oriented.



Amoung a very few warehouses holding things like computers, televisions,
and similar electronics, Hishii Industries, a few Shinohara plants, some
import labor repair shops, and a variety of similar locations had been
attacked, and robbed, and all of these crimes were protected by the
presense of a heavy combat labor- mostly security labors like Saturns,
but occasionally military grade labors like Brochens or even the heavily
armored Doshka's. Only one of these labors had been captured, and that
one had been traced to the warehouse raid towards the end of march that
had Units 1, 3, and Military Labor Team Raven fighting for their lives.



On the surface, it looked like someone was selling these military labors
off to criminal organizations so they could have heavier firepower
during their armed robberies. However, the merchandise stolen by these
'criminal organizations' was quite unusual, taken as a whole...



Gotoh selected several of the reports, and made a few photocopies of
them. Finding a box, he tossed them in their, putting a newspaper over
it and a greasy labor replacement part (belonging to a type-97 labor) as
a paperwieght.



He heard a labor convoy pulling in. Hoping it was Shinobu, he left the
office area and stepped into the catwalk overseeing the vehicle bay.
Unfortunately (in Gotoh's opinion), it was just Gomioka returning from
whatever assignment he had been involved with.



Gomioka did NOT look happy when he got out. The first person he saw was
Shige, and he snapped at the man. Gotoh didn't hear what was said, but
it was obviously something the man was very passionate about.
Meanwhile, Ohta was glaring at Gomioka's back before storming off
himself. Gotoh just sighed and shook his head- tempers were obviously
flaring. Perhaps with some rest, though, things would calm down.
Gomioka was obviously not good at handling the stress command provided,
it seemed, but he'd had a rough time of it. With luck, something would
come along to help him out. Then again, the SV2 was notorious for
having bad luck.



Shige looked downright crushed at Gomioka's words. The enraged captain
of unit three, apparently finished with his tirade, stormed off in the
general direction that Ohta had been moving. Shige had obviously had a
difficult time since Sakaki retired. Perhaps he needed some words of
encouragement. Or at least a break in the action. Well, he needed
someone to run that box over to Sakaki, anyway....



* * * * *



The rumble of more vehicles coming into the station attracted Ohta to
the window. He saw Shinobu's unit, as battle-weary as they had ever
been, driving into the lot. He also saw Hiromi, heading out to his
garden, while Asuma and Noa took grass cutters to trim the grounds. He
knew that meant Unit 2 was back... which meant they would be resuming
normal rotations, soon. In fact, there was probably already a notice
posted.



Deciding to risk venturing into the break room to see when he could
finally take a real break, he left his hiding place (while Ohta was
anything BUT a coward, and while he usually respected his officers, he
was not willing to stand still and just LET an officer stand there and
yell at him for no reason. Gomioka was going crazy, and he was
obviously taking everyone else with him. Even the seemingly indomitable
Seiroku, who had been a favorite of the captain and who felt an
apparently unquestioning loyalty to the man, had felt his wrath.
Though, usually, the mistakes he made were attributed to technical
malfunctions, which quickly caused Gomioka to turn his ire onto the
mechanics division.



The stress of the whole situation was getting to everyone, it seemed.
Even Shinobu's team was feeling the effect- he'd heard something about
someone in division one named Ueki Mashimo (who Ohta hadn't come into
contact with very often) had gotten into several fights with his
teammates. True, Unit 2 had been gone for a couple of weeks, but even
if they hadn't been there would still have been an insurmountable number
of calls for several days straight. Ohta was starting to think a fourth
unit might be useful... even though his unit was now understaffed,
itself.



"YOU!" Ohta heard bellowed at him from behind. He spin around to see
his enraged captain, bearing down at him. "Officer Ohta, WHERE the HELL
have you been?! We need to talk about your recent performance!"



Ohta froze like a deer in the headlights. "Uh, well...."



"WHY are you CONSTANTLY disobeying my orders? Dammit, I thought you
might actually LISTEN to me if I took the command car in officer
Clancy's absense, but NO! You-"



"Now wait just one damn minute!" Ohta snapped back, finally too tired at
the constant abuse to stand it any more. "You may have been a decent
labor pilot, but you've done the worst job of being a command car
officer of anyone I've ever met. I'd RATHER I had Shinshi in command-
he was starting to catch on to what he was supposed to be doing before
Takeo joined our unit. YOU, on the other hand, are constantly giving me
IMPOSSIBLE orders, giving them either too fast or too slow, and you're
either giving me so little instruction I have no idea what you're trying
to tell me to do or so much instruction that I can't follow it all!
I've been lucky to SURVIVE with you as my command car officer, dammit!"



"Oh, like anyone ELSE has been able to do anything with you," Gomioka
sneered. "Shinohara was your command, and you wrecked your labor a
record number of times for a type 96. Kanuka and Takeo tried to deal
with you, but you've ruined a number of labors under their charge, too.
Of all labor pilots, you have the WORST record of success. So, maybe
you just aren't a good pilot no matter the commander, huh?"



Ohta stiffened. "Sir, I-"



"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT! You have been the worst influence on my unit
since your arrival. You may be a DECENT shot on a stationary target,
but you've got NOTHING else. I don't see why I keep you as a pilot...
in fact, I think I'll just relieve you! I've got an adequate substitute
pilot waiting in the wings for a shot, and I think I'll just give it to
him. You're not doing a good enough job to bother with, any more.
Hell, you aren't even a good cop- maybe I should-"



"Captain Gomioka, stand down," a calm, carefully controlled voice broke
in from behind him.



Gomioka stopped mid-rant, spinning around to see a frazzled-looking
Captain Shinobu, clenching her fists to control her own temper. "Uh,
ma'am?" he said cautiously.



"I've heard most of your little lecture, Captain, and I should warn you
that you don't have a leg to stand on for his removal. As I understand
it, this latest assignment was blown not by Officer Ohta, but by a
mechanical defect in a labor. If you were to relieve him for his
performance, especially after a lecture like THAT, he would have just
cause to appeal and to file a formal grievance against you, which would
place a black mark on your record which could never be removed." Kanuka
puffed. "I'm sorry, but your whole unit has been messing up lately, and
it is NOT all Officer Ohta's fault."



Gomioka was surprisingly humbled. "Uh, yes, Ma'am."



"Now, we're all tired. Thankfully, Gotoh is here, and will be handling
my calls until further notice. I am on standby, and YOU, Captain
Gomioka, are hereby relieved. So, as senior captain of the SV2, I am
ordering you to get at least 8 hours sleep. You have been making
everyone's life a living hell, and whatever issues you have are
affecting your job performance. You have damn near crushed the
maintenence squad's spirit, and that's hurting MY unit. If you are NOT
able to calm down by your next shift, let me know and I will have YOU
relieved."



Gomioka swallowed. He felt like he'd just been scolded by his mother.
"Uh, yes, ma'am."



Shinobu sighed. "Good. Now go. The sooner you get some sleep, the
sooner I get some sleep."



* * * * *



"Curious," Asuma said, going through some files that had just been faxed
over to him.



Noa, finishing up some back paperwork, looked over at him. "What?"



"I've been using my connections from all over to track down any
information I can on that Ueki Mashimo guy Shige was telling us about,
and to see if he's got anything of a record," he explained. "He's
gotten into petty fights and things, but outside of that... well, HE'S
not got much of a record. His father, however, was arrested once for
streetfighting. His brother's work, however, is what I thought was so
interesting- his brother has a mechanic's background."



"So?"



Asuma sighed. Sometimes, he wished Noa was a little less dependant on
him for the detective work. Still, she was good enough to help him out
from time to time, and that was all that mattered. She certainly had
adequate skills in enough other areas to make them equal partners in the
relationship.



"Well, if someone's sabatoging all of our equipment, it's either a
mechanic, or someone with mechanical skills. If his brother is a
mechanic, isn't it possible that Ueki might have picked up some of the
training he would need for this kind of thing?"



Noa nodded. "Oh, I see now. Still... what's the point? Do you think
Captains Gotoh or Shinobu don't already know that?"



Asuma frowned. "No... I'm pretty sure they do. Maybe, though, they
just haven't tried to look at that information... well, still, you're
right. There's not enough info here to do anything. We'll have to
continue looking into things. In the meantime...."



"Yes?"



Asuma grinned. "Well, from now until we've found the saboteur, we're
going to have just one meeting point for all of our 'encounters.' Ever
wonder what it would be like to make out in Alphonse's cabin?"



Noa laughed, a twinkle in her eye. "Why, Asuma... I've never even
thought about it. Interesting idea, though-" The siren sounded. "That
we're not going to have time to do right now. Let's get suited up."



Asuma ran out of the room, following her. After they left, someone else
came in and started glancing through the papers he had just been
reading.



"Hmm," the person said. "This could be... useful."



-------------------------

Next Episode: An intruder is caught at SV2 Headquarters. Takeo meets
up with an old aquaintence- Mr. Richard Wong. And he's no longer with
Schaft enterprises... but is that a good thing?