Chapter 4

For all his seventeen years, Ken was either unseen or treated like a pet by the XHumans. Now, here in front of him lay a man who was genetically closer to his kind, and yet was superior to the XHumans in at least two or three ways.

Which was why Ken had risked his job, and maybe even more, to come here.

Earlier, he had taken his time cleaning the broken glass in the monitoring station, taking advantage of his menial duties to watch as Master Ishihara Ryusuke had overwhelmed two Shocktroopers before finally being subdued by six Peacekeepers. As always, Ken’s cultural invisibility had served him well, because he’d overheard they were bringing him here, of all places, to make sure he survived.

Now, Master Ishihara was here in Kyoto Central, along with the first three Peacekeepers. Rumor had it they were unconscious, but didn’t seem to have been grievously harmed. A Ministry of Defense team had scooped up their own Shocktroopers and taken them to who knew where.

Technically, Ken wasn’t prohibited from entering the medical unit. In fact, it was on his cleaning schedule; just not today. Still, common sense said he shouldn’t be approaching a high profile prisoner, let alone touching him.

Of course, no XHuman would ever accuse a Purebred of having common sense, and that would be his excuse if someone saw him. A big if, because the Peacekeeper standing guard outside the room hadn’t bothered to stop him from going into Master Ishihara’s room.

Every nerve prickled as he approached. The stranger’s lack of clothes revealed a slim body, not unlike the XHumans; yet, he’d overpowered heavily-muscled Shocktroopers in strength and speed enhancing power armor.

Well, in the old movies, the masters all shared a similar build, and always managed to defeat some hulking brute of an enemy. Ken placed a hand on the man’s forehead.

Master Ishihara’s eyes opened.

Ken’s soul just about jumped out of his body. He jerked his hand back.

“You have questions,” Master Ishihara said in a low whisper.

Ken nodded. “I do, Master.”

“I am one rank short of that title, and I’m not your teacher. You may call me Ryu.”

Rank? His clothes hadn’t had insignias like the Peacekeepers and Shocktroopers. Ken tasted the name Ryu on his mouth and decided it was inappropriate address for someone so exalted. “Yes, Master Ishihara. Your humble servant is Tanaka Kensuke. If it is your wish, please call me Ken.”

“Ken.” Master Ishihara harrumphed. “First, I have a question for you: you are not like the others. Your Sei Essence has Foundation. Your Ki Energy flows. Your Kokoro Spirit is firm. Why are you different?”

If not for all the ancient movies Ken had watched, this would all be gibberish. Of course, it’d all been terminology from fantastical legends, and nothing related to his boring existence. And to think at least in this, he was better off than XHumans. “I’m Purebred,” he answered.

“What does that mean?” Master Ishihara turned his head as much as the restraints would allow.

Ken placed a hand over his heart. “My people were never genetically engineered.”

Understanding bloomed in Master Ishihara’s expression. “Ah, that would explain why everyone else is so fragile.”

Fragile? Ken scratched his head. XHumans were the epitome of health and longevity, as perfect as Homo Sapiens could be. And the Shocktroopers, they were giants of men, engineered soon after the Onslaught to fight hand-to-hand against the invading aliens.

“Why weren’t you engineered?” Master Ishihara asked.

“It’s different from case to case, but for me, my ancestors belonged to an Unclean class.”

“Ah, I remember such a concept.” Master Ishihara shook his head. “But that was nearly a thousand years ago. You don’t look that old.”

“We’re told the engineering of the human genome came in stages, and our DNA is too many stages behind current technology.”

“I see.”

“But you!” Enthusiasm bubbled in Ken’s voice. Ken studied the restraints. Made of flexible but near unbreakable Ballistrax, and secured with Durastrium. “You’re like us, aren’t you?”

“Yes. At the most fundamental level.”

Most fundamental? What did that mean? “I overheard them saying you are eight-hundred years old!”

“Give or take.” Master Ishihara shrugged.

“And you defeated two Shocktroopers with your hands.”

“Well, a little more than just hands.”

Hope rose in Ken’s chest. “If I help you escape, can you teach me?” All he had to do was acquire the keychip.

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Ryu grinned. “I can escape by myself.”

Impossible. “Then why are you still here?”

“Whatever they hit me with, drained me. I needed to replenish my Hara with Ki, and wait for my hand to heal.”

Ken’s gaze shifted to Master Ishihara’s hand. Its fingers had been bent at strange angles after its encounter with the minigun, but now it looked normal.

He shook his head. “It’s amazing you’re even conscious after getting hit by six particle beams.”

“Particle beams?” Master Ishihara cocked his head.

“Yes, they disrupt your bioelectrical connections. At low levels, it’ll slow you down; at higher intensity, it can kill you.”

Master Ishihara let out a long sigh. “What has mankind become?”

With genetic engineering, nanobots, and technology… “Perfection.”

“Hardly. But I do need your help for something.”

Yes! Ken nodded enthusiastically.

“The translator on my ear. Remove it.”

“Remove it?” Ken cocked his head. “Why?”

“I don’t want to damage it.”

Damage it? How? Ken removed the dot from Master Ishihara’s ear.

“San Kyu,” he said, sounds now matching the movement of his lips. “Stando backu.”

Bobbing his head, Ken backed to the wall.

With a deep breath, Master Ishihara’s chest, arms, and legs expanded. The holoscreens blinked out. All of the restraints snapped.

Closing his gawking mouth, Ken hurried over to pull the transdermal pads free. Maybe if he showed his enthusiasm and assisted the best he could, Master Ishihara would agree to teach him.

“What the—” a voice cursed from the doorway.

Ken turned.

A Peacekeeper stood there, gawking for a split second before levelling his gun and yelling, “Prisoner has broken out of his restraints, I need backup.”

Ishihara sat up.

The Peacekeeper squeezed the trigger of his weapon. A blue line appeared, passing through where Master Ishihara had been just a split second before and passing through one of the holoscreens. Its projector fizzled and popped.

Ken looked left and right.

Master Ishihara stood over the unconscious Peacekeeper. He turned to Ken and spouted out gibberish.

“I don’t understand. Speak in Earth-tongue!”

Rolling his eyes, Master Ishihara pointed to his ear, then to the translator in Ken’s hands.

Oh. Ken hurried over and affixed it.

“Thank you. Now, where are my things?”

In Ken’s excitement, he hadn’t bothered to find them. However… “They are probably on the third level technology labs for examination.”

“What level are we on now?”

“Sublevel five.”

“How do I get to the third level?” Master Ishihara asked.

Ken shook his head. Besides the fact it might as well be a maze… “It’s heavily guarded. I can get you new clothes.”

“I like mine.” Master Ishihara punched toward the door, hitting a Peacekeeper as he ran in.

How stubborn could the man be? “You’ll look good in today’s clothes. With a good haircut, you’ll blend right in.”

Master Ishihara shuddered. “I must retrieve something that was in my robes.”

“It can’t be more valuable than your life.”

“It’s even more important.”

Excitement stirred in Ken’s chest. “What is it?”

Master Ishihara searched his eyes. “It’s something which will keep my village hidden.”

Ken gawked again. A secret village! Probably with more people like Master Ishihara. Maybe with someone willing to teach a Purebred janitor.

“This place is a maze! You’ll never find it without my help.” Was that true? Ken had clearance for the hallways to the medium security zones, which included the technology lab.

“You should stay here,” Master Ishihara said. “It’s dangerous.”

“Wait.” Ken held up a hand. “Pretend to take me prisoner.”

“I hate to say this, but from what you’ve told me, I don’t think they’ll care.”

No, the Peacekeepers probably wouldn’t. Then again… “They don’t treat us badly. They just sort of ignore us. And they make sure we’re taken care of.”

The master raised an eyebrow. “I guess that is a theory we can test. Let’s go.” He wrapped an arm around Ken’s neck.

His eyes just about bulged, and Ken slapped at Master Ishihara’s forearms. No matter how slim the man’s limbs were, they radiated power.

“Oh, sorry. It doesn’t bother the village children.”

So he was no better than a child where Master Ishihara came from.

The master kicked at a table, sending several bent hypodermic needles into the air. He caught one, then hustled Ken out into the hall.

Several Peacekeepers dashed toward them, particle guns in hand.

The needle pressed against Ken’s neck without penetrating.

“Stop,” Master Ishihara said. “Or I will kill this boy.”

The Peacekeepers froze, but still held up their weapons.

“He’s lying,” a disembodied female voice echoed in the hall. “We heard them plotting it.”

Damn! Of course there’d been visual and audio monitors in the room.

The Peacekeeper sergeant pointed his gun at Ken and shot.

Master Ishihara pushed Ken out of the way. More streams of blue light crisscrossed through the hall. The master zigged and zagged between them, his form little more than a blur. Then he was among the Peacekeepers, sending them flying against the walls and into each other.

A control panel sparked and shot flames. Smoke rose, and the water sprinklers engaged.

By the time Ken staggered to his feet, just in time to see a female nurse in a white, high-collared uniform sneaking up behind Master Ishihara with a hypodermic needle in hand.

Ken lunged toward the back of her legs, but she sidestepped, sending Ken tumbling to the floor, yet again.

“Are you all right?” Master Ishihara asked without turning around.

“Yes!” And at the very least, Ken could protect the master’s back. He climbed back to his feet and threw a punch at the nurse.

Setting the needle between her teeth, she stepped closer, blocking his hand with one arm and attacking with the other. Her fist landed in his chest.

Pain flared, and he coughed as he stumbled back.

How foolish to think he could take out an XHuman with one punch, even if she were a head shorter than him. He charged again, this time swinging with a flurry of punches.

With each one, she responded with a simultaneous attack and defense, battering Ken to the point that he wobbled on his feet and would’ve fallen if not for Master Ishihara’s supportive arm.

“Not bad,” Master Ishihara said/

Ken’s cheeks burned. “But I didn’t land a single hit!”

“Oh, I was talking about her.” Master Ishihara stood Ken up, then sidled past to the woman. “I see Krav Maga is still practiced.”

Whatever Krav Maga was, that’s not the fighting style the Peacekeepers used. Ken was about to clear up the misunderstanding, when the nurse launched a quick punching combination, followed by a low kick. Master Ishihara swam through them all.

“My apologies for my inappropriate behavior,” he said, setting an open palm into her chest. Her knees buckled, and she fell. He swept an arm behind her and lowered her to the floor.

Ken had probably gawked more times today than he had in the last year.

A blue particle beam stabbed through the air, and would’ve hit Master Ishihara had he not spun out of the way.

“Ken, step away from Ishihara.”

He craned past the master to see Captain Keiko. She held a pistol in either hand. Behind her stood at least ten of her elite tactical squad, their weapons levelled.

The master nudged him away, and he stumbled to the wall.

“Surrender, Ishihara,” she said. “We’ve blocked this sector off with force fields.”

Ken swallowed hard. He’d only ever heard of internal force fields on spacecraft, used to reinforce hull breaches. Now, they were trapped behind one.