Senshi (Guardians)

They talked for another hour or so. Kyoko yawned, “Sorry, guys, but I have to get some sleep. I had a short night last night and tomorrow I have a lot to do.”

Thael looked at his watch. “Aigoo! I’m late for patrol. I have to go. How about lunch, Kyoko sama? Unless you’re too busy…?”

I’ll be finishing up one of my paintings for the exhibit next week. I’ll be at my special place. I’ll draw you a map. You’ll know it’s me because I’ll be the one with the big smile on my face when I see you.”

“It’s a date. Gotta run… Shinto, why don’t you come on patrol with me? There’s no telling what I’ll run into out there tonight and a second sword is always welcome. Besides, it will give us in-laws a chance to know each other better. Change into your Captain’s outfit. You might as well start today as any.”

“Yes, Your Highness. I was hoping you’d ask.” He immediately changed into his wings and uniform.

His wings were brown, mostly. When he opened them you could see teal, black and red on the tips of the feathers. His uniform was dark blue. The jacket was blue with silver designs. His coattails went to the back of his knees. The collar flared out to a point on either side. His shirt collar was like a Nehru or Cleric’s. He wore high back black boots.

Kyoko looked at him proudly, “Shinto! You look so handsome in your uniform.” She hugged him, “I have missed you so much.” She quickly walked over and hugged him.

Thael changed too. His wings were white. When he opened them there were gold tips on his feathers. His uniform was all white with gold trim. His Jacket also had tails which went to the back of his knee and a pointed collar. His white shirt had a Nehru collar as well. His boots were white and high backed. Only the Commander in Chief had these colorings (The gold indicating his royalty status.) They started for the balcony.

“Chotto Matte, Ku-da-sai!” Kyoko said forcefully. Thael turned back with a questioning look on his face. She grabbed him in both arms. “Kissu, you can’t leave without kissing me goodbye. I won’t have that.”

He complied.

When their lips parted: “You come home to me when you’re done, Okay? Wake me up.”

“Your wishes are always my command, my Princess; Especially since I was hoping you would say that. Itekimasu”

“Itterashai, my Prince. Shinto? You bring him back to me safe, Okay?”

He bowed, “Yes, my Princess. Itekimasu, Oneesan.”

She chuckled and went to bed. They stepped out on the balcony, shutting the glass door behind them.

“Don’t worry about Kyoko, Shinto,” he made a low whistle and immediately three Imperial Guardians flew up to the balcony. The Imperial Guardians have black wings with red stripes (like a Baltimore Oriole) you can see when they spread them. Imperial Guardians are the elite of the elite and are always women.

They were wearing red pleated skirts. The bottom hem was at a thirty degree angle so one side was a little higher than the other. On their feet were black sandals with two inch heels. These laced up their calves and ended in a strap just below the knee. Their dresses had black piping on the hem.

Their blouses were red, short sleeved, and had an exaggerated collar that flared out to the sides. The neck was a kind of V neck that tapered from the collar. The top button was six inches below the neck line. Over the blouse was a black vest that came down and almost covered the two inch red suede belt around their waists. They wore two and a half inch gold metal cuffs around their wrists. Two Guardians had short page girl haircuts and one had her long hair in a ponytail.

“Your Highness,” they bowed their heads.

“This is Captain Shinto. He is the Princess’ brother. He may come and go as he pleases. Remember him and tell your relief Guardians.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“We’re going on patrol, so please keep guard here as you always have. Oh… and Azura…?”

The one with the pony tail answered, “Yes, Your Highness?”

“Thank you for being here. Thank you all for being here. There’s nothing more important to me than Kyoko sama. I know you’ll take good care of her. We should be back by five am. Itekimasu.”

Azura bowed, “Itterashai, my Prince.”

He saluted them, lifting his sword in front of his nose for a moment, then pointing down and to the right. The sword disappeared as fast as it had materialized. They saluted back by doing the same. The three Imperial Guardians cloaked making them invisible.

“Let’s go, Captain.”

They gently kicked off the balcony and flew into the night.

After flying around the city, they ended up at Tokyo Tower. The lights had just turned off. Thael landed on a comfortable spot and sat down. Shinto sat beside him. Thael touched his com device and a three dimensional hologram of a winged Guardian appeared on his wrist. It was about six inches tall.

The tiny hologram Guardian bowed with his right arm in front of his chest, “Your Highness.”

“I’m glad I didn’t have to take your head, sergeant. Our battle fleet arrived in time to save most of the Bagneroth. They drove the Shnark back to their own planet. We’ve set up a Guardian contingent to make sure they can’t leave again. That stupid council cost many lives yesterday, but your swift dispatch of the fleet saved many others.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

“Next time I give you an order, Guardian; don’t argue with me, wasting valuable time. Just do it or you’ll find yourself guarding the outer rim on a remote asteroid by yourself.”

He suddenly looked stressed, “Yes, Your Highness.”

“You need to remember who is in charge of the Guardian force and ignore what that impotent council says. Understand?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Pass that along to the others. I won’t tolerate insubordination.”

“Yes, Your Highness. It will be done.”

“This Guardian here is Captain Watanabe Shinto. You’ll be seeing him around. He’s my brother-in-law and my second in command. If he gives you an order, you follow it. Understand?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Hajimemashite, Sergeant,” Shinto said affably.

“My pleasure meeting you too, Captain.”

Thael spoke up: “Now that, that is all straightened out, report.”

“Yes, Your Highness…”

The sergeant relayed everything which, in addition to the boring details of where all the Guardians were, also included where the Shnark activity was. Tonight there were no sightings as yet.

Thael shut off the image. “There will be a sighting soon,” he spoke with certainty, “In fact I can even tell you where.”

“Honto? Where?”

“Near the Tokyo tower.”

Shinto looked at Thael with new found respect.

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m not clairvoyant. It’s just that wherever I am, they attack. If one of them killed me they would have a lot to brag about – if they lived; Automatic hero status back on home world.

“I invited you tonight because I know you can handle yourself in a fight. If more than one Shnark shows up – and that is usually the case – I know you will do what must be done. Personally, I hate killing, but these people just won’t listen to reason. They refuse peace. Their motto is, ‘Victory at all cost’, and they mean it. Life means little to them - probably because they are not great thinkers. Their fighting style is stupid, one on one. That’s why they prefer to hunt in packs. Six against one may insure a victory even if they all die winning it.

“It’s all due to their new leader. He’s an ugly Tyrant – the worst of all the Shnark. He seems to have come out of nowhere, dethroned the Queen, and turned that peaceful planet into one of hate and war.”

“You sound like you feel sorry for them.”

“I do. I hate it when someone takes advantage of people with little intellect.”

They sat in silence for a while watching the skies.

The communicator buzzed. Thael put his arm out and touched a button. A hologram appeared with the image of the sergeant from before.

“Your Highness?”

“Speak.”

“Two Shnark are coming your way.”

“Thanks.” Thael turned off the communicator. They looked around. There in the full moon they saw them.

“They’ll be here soon. Go over to that other building. I want them to think I’m alone. When the fight starts, pick the one I’m not fighting, and take care of it. These guys don’t fight fair. They have one attack your front, while the other sneaks up to your back for the kill. That one’s yours. I think your sister would be very grateful if you get him before he gets me.” He smiled.

“Not a problem. You know I’d do anything for her.”

Thael smiled, “Thought that would be the case… It’s time to fly.”

Shinto flew to the next building. He only had to wait three minutes before the Shnark spotted Thael. They both put on speed and came at him with their front razor sharp claws first, like eagles after their prey.

Thael moved with great speed. The first Shnark missed him completely. Its momentum sent it into one of the steel braces on the tower. Its head hit another brace, dazing it. The resulting metal clang could be heard for blocks.

The second Shnark collided with Thael’s shield. When it hit the shield, it was deflected and its velocity slowed. Thael struck its sword with his. Sparks flew from it. Thael flew off the tower, hovered over the street, and faced his foe. Even though the second one also hit the tower braces, it recovered faster. It launched itself into the air at Thael, sword first.

While Thael matched swords with that Shnark, the other recovered its senses and got into launch position. It waited until Thael’s back was to it to act. Just as it left the tower, it was hit in the side by Shinto, who used his shield as a battering ram. He now had that Shnark’s full attention.

The other Shnark was unable to best Thael’s swordsmanship so it flew away. It made a long U turn in the sky picking up speed. It started its second run at Thael. Thael quickly turned to the side and the Shnark, which was going too fast to control its flight, flew past him. Thael put his sword out and the thing gutted itself as his sword slid neatly through its armor and flesh. It spiraled to the street below smashing what was left of its bones on the cement.

“Speed isn’t everything,” Thael said under his breath.

Shinto’s sword clanged on the first Shnark’s shield, sparks lit up the night. The Shnark’s sword bounced off of Shinto’s shield. More sparks. What the Shnark failed to realize was that the sparks coming from Shinto’s shield were actually bits of its own sword destroying itself on the golden shield, which was unharmed.

The other thing it failed to realize was that the sparks coming off Shinto’s sword were bits of metal from its own shield. Shinto’s sword was intact. All it took was one double handed strike from Shinto’s sword to split the Shnark’s shield in two. Unfortunately for the Shnark, it also cut through its forearm and chest. The sword came down at an angle so it continued through the torso, exiting above the left hip. The two parts of the Shnark went their separate ways.

Shinto was tired, but satisfied. He had proven to his Prince he was capable. He also had kept his promise to his sister to watch Thael’s back.

The sergeant’s voice filled the air, “Yes, Your Highness.”

Shinto saw the hologram on Thael’s wrist.

“Clean-up crew.”

“Already on the way, Your Highness. We saw the whole thing on Vid. Your Bagneroth friends are helping with it.”

“Thanks, out.” The image vanished.

“Ever met a Bagneroth, Shinto?”

“No, Highness.”

“Come on down and I’ll introduce you.”

They landed on the street. Shinto saw a giant man over twenty feet tall helping the Guardians.

“Lord Rocknash…?” Thael called. The big man came over, his footsteps surprisingly agile and silent. He got down on all fours to talk.

Thael spoke first, “How are you doing? This isn’t really a job for a warrior like yourself.”

“That’s all right, Thael, we don’t mind.”

“This is Captain Shinto, Lord Rocknash. He’s my new right hand man and my brother-in-law. Watch his back, Okay?

Rocknash chuckled in a low bass key. “No problem. Welcome to the war, Shinto.”

“My Lord,” he bowed with his empty sword arm across his chest in a Roman-like salute. Shinto held out his arm and fully realized just how large these Bagneroth were when his whole forearm disappeared in the giant’s hand. “I’m glad you’re on our side, Lord Rocknash.”

The giant laughed. The windows in the buildings rumbled from the vibration, “Me too.”

Thael looked up at Lord Rocknash, “How goes the war? Have you discovered how many Shnark are here?”

“Not as yet, Your Highness, but so far, with the nineteen You killed last week, the two you both killed tonight, and the two you got the other night, that makes…” He was counting on his huge fingers, “…twenty-three. Plus the four your Imperial guard took out, and the five we killed, that comes to thirty-two kills. Unfortunately, according to past experience, there are usually a minimum of two-thousand per nest. However if they have established a brooding chamber there will be many more. According to my Captain, who has been studying them the longest, they never establish just one brooding chamber; it’s always three, minimum.

“So, Depending on how long they have been here, they could be as little as five-thousand and as many as twelve-thousand strong. There will be thousands more if we don’t destroy their brooding chambers.”

“You’re just full of good news tonight, my Lord,” Thael replied.

“Sorry, Thael, but, like you, I believe in truth. You have been straightforward with us and we will always be straightforward with you.”

“I’m very grateful for that, Sire,” Thael bowed his head and saluted across his chest.

Lord Rocknash continued, “It would be better if we could hunt in the daylight. Shnark always sleep then. They are active only at night. We have cloaking devices, but it’s hard to hide our footprints on anything other than these roads, and you know how crowded they are in daylight.”

“Yes. That would cause us even more problems. It’s kind of hard to step between rush hour traffic without being noticed.”

“We’re working on a plan to have cloaked Guardians follow them. Hopefully they will lead us to their den.”

“Good idea, Sire. Let’s hope we get good results. Nice thinking.”

“But that was your idea, Thael.”

“Honto? I thought you had that one. No matter, we need some luck if we’re going to get these things off of this planet permanently.”

Shinto chuckled under his breath.

Thael continued, “At any rate, even though we will remain hidden, we’re going public soon. When the next natural disaster occurs we’ll send in our Saucers and Interplanetary Rescue Guardians.”

Shinto looked at Thael, “Interplanetary Rescue?”

“Hobby of mine, I’m tired of having to see natural disasters take so many lives. In the event of another tsunami, we’ll put up force fields to prevent the waves from coming in. We’ll drench the forest fires and help find survivors from earthquakes. We have a special fleet lettered with the name in English, since it’s the world language.”

“Whose idea was that, again?” Shinto asked slyly.

Thael frowned, “Not important. What is important is that we have managed to get signed agreements from the major powers of Earth, so they don’t shoot us down by mistake. However, we can’t tell anyone about the Shnark because it’s our fault they came here in the first place.”

“What?” Shinto seemed surprised.

“…and the worst part is that if they do discover them, we might be evicted from the planet for bringing them here.”

“That kind of stinks…”

“My sentiments, exactly… Fortunately, the Shnark are more intent on destroying us than harming the locals. For now, as long as it’s just us, we can maintain the status quo.”

He turned to Lord Rocknash, “Thanks for the report, my Lord,” he bowed politely to the Giant. “We should go back on patrol. Thirty-two out of five-thousand isn’t a very good percentage. We need less Shnark and more soldiers, I think. Ja, na.”

The Giant stood up, saluted by tapping his huge axe head across his chest, and said, “Just let me know when and where, Highness, and we’ll have your backs.” With that, Lord Rocknash turned and went back to work with the cleanup crew. Thael and Shinto gently kicked off and flew into the sky.