Time to Walk Through the Fire [Past] {Complete}

Once Yurie was certain she had everything needed, she exhaled sharply before settling the heavily secured and reinforced metal suit case in her hand for it was not to leave her sight until the mission had been completed. It was far too dangerous and deadly in the wrong hands. Even minorly misguided hands could accidentally destroy the entire battle group and every soul within it, as Yurie had learned personally just how nasty it could be if tampered with. So, it would stay at her side until the Empire was finished with the Hast Republic.

One more breath in and out and she finally straightened her uniform out, let her shoulders fall back and stood tall as she confidently walked off the shuttle after giving her personal security time enough to have a look around, but not too long. For she didn't wish to appear insulting of the stormtroopers present.

Finally, she descended the ramp keeping her head high as she walked through the small honor-guard coming to a stop right before Akio and the Captain. "Captain, Commodore." She said crisply, looking all the more serious lacking her usual soft and slightly demeanor that Akio knew being even remotely visible or present.

It seemed she was finally growing into the rank she had been so suddenly thrust into. That and possibly the attempt on her life might just have given her a new perspective on her attitude and the importance of her work. Though that didn't mean that behind closed doors Yurie didn't have that same soft side, just that she had clearly drawn a line in the sand on who she was going to be when working, and who she would be when only those closest to her could see Yurie without the needed masks.

She waited for a moment or two for a reply. "As much as I trust your stormtroopers and crew, because of the nature of the weapon, and this mission with the previous sabotage attempt, the device is not to leave my sight. Also because of that same reason High Command believed it to be necessary for me to have round the clock security wherever I go. I do apologize for the inconvenience, but I'm sure you understand my position." There was a slight twitch across her shoulders, just a small sign of irritation. It certainly hadn't been her choice however it wasn't something she could remotely say no to. And while grateful for it to a degree it was a pain in the ass to have people constantly follow you, close enough to hear every word, and watch every move you make.  

With it being a pair of IIB agents, Yurie knew too well how they worked. And that, well that made even her a tiny bit nervous and antsy. For she knew everything would be written down in reports, read, analyzed and eventually filed away. At least IIB was aware of her relationship with Akio, so that wasn't going to cause much fuss, but still. It was more than a bit maddening. Needed, yep. Annoying, definitely. 

"Beyond that, from this point forward, everything is now in your hands Commodore Kahoshi." It was his battlegroup, his command, and Yurie was more than trusting of him to ensure everything abound her and this particular mission would be handled and taken care of with the delicacy and skill it required. She was just one part, sure a major part of the mission, but without the rest of the battlegroup and crew, she and the weapon would be useless. That and she really didn't like to step on anyone's toes, especially the man she cared rather deeply about, so it was simply time to allow him the room to do his job without an ounce of interference on her end beyond the small security detail she had with her.

Akio Kahoshi

Being IIB Yurie was not used to warm receptions outside of those like Akio that knew her well, and knew just what she had done already for the Empire. So she expected little more than such a reception from the Captain. It was just the nature of her uniform and Yurie knew it, as she reached out and shook the man's hand enthusiastically, after smiling and shaking Akio's too. "Pleasure to see you again, Commodore, and Captian Jarhl it's an absolute delight to meet you. I can see you run a tight ship, and that I can appreciate." She said warming figuring such a compliment to a Captain would go a long way to good relations with the man now and in the future.

Coming to the lift her shoulders twitched ever so slightly, hardly noticeable to anyone but a fellow Atrisian. It was just a small tiny sign that she was a bit weary from the travel, and wanted a moment of rest. "I understand entirely. The briefing must be done as quickly as possible to ensure all questions are answered, and all technical and tactical planning among your battle group can be prepared and ready to go the moment we enter the Hast system. There's no time for rest just yet."

Now as they came to the conference room, Yurie waved off her two lackeys as it were, "You'll both wait here as neither of you have clearance to be present in this meeting." She said quickly, knowing the pair were younger agents, fairly fresh to the Crypt, beyond good at their jobs, but still one was in his first year in the IIB, the other her second, so this was simply part of what the Operations Officer felt necessary.  And so with quick replies to her, they fell into line to wait for her at the doors. 

With the case carrying the weapon still in hand, Yurie followed Akio and the Captain into the room, to take her seat on the Commodore's left-hand side, the case getting a place on the table directly in front of her. While she didn't show it for a second, Yurie found herself a bit surprised at the number of people present. Naturally, she knew they all had their place there, and needs to know what she was to present. It still wasn't something she'd actually done before, addressed so many people, from so many ships, from so many disciplines and service branches.

At least at this point in her career, she was starting to finally get used to her rank, and the need for such things so the anxiety she might have felt even six months ago was not present for a change. And this, this Miss Ishida felt was a good thing, great even. Confidence gained, experiences like this gained, and well, that certainly was helpful for her career going forward, as she expected there would be many more events like this in her future where she had to do these things. For now, this was Akio's meeting to run, and she was merely to wait until he gave her the floor to present all the technical details of their mission to the Hast Republic.

Akio Kahoshi

This part was all on Yurie. Sure she knew Akio handled the tactics, but the majority of the mission and its details had rested in her hands for months while she put together the appropriate response and weapon for such a technologically advanced civilization.

She waited until Akio had finished, and gave her the floor. "The Hast situation is a little complex. While a nation of 8 planets, and one system, they are as technologically advanced as we are. Now, we have left them largely alone as they posed little threat. However, in order to keep advancing their own tech, they have been selling previous versions to anyone with the capital to do so. Which is where we ended up with common pirates having tech that begins to become a threat to the Empire."

She took a breath, "They were warned there would be consequences should they keep doing so. And now that we have confirmed just what they are doing, it's come time to make an example of the Hast Republic, so that no other will follow this path."

The answer to Yurie was simple. "In this case rests an elegant weapon with the ability to send their entire system, every last piece of technology and infrastructure that they have, back to the stone age. It is a piece of malware that IIB has been developing for nearly a year now."

"The way it functions is through communication systems of their own ships it will infiltrate first any Hast ship via communications systems. Any ship that talks to another sends a message to one of the planets will create a domino effect, taking everything out. It is not intended to be a lethal weapon either, though some losses are to be expected." If only she knew how many losses on Has's side there would be before the day was over. 

"The idea is that after communications are gone, it will further work its way through the military ships taking every last system offline, even the doors will be sealed, unable to be opened until I give the command to each Hast ship. The only thing left online will be auxiliary life support. Essentially their own ships and the compartments within become a prison for any Hast Military personnel."

"Great care has been taken to ensure there is no crossover to our systems, our ships because while it may not be intended to be lethal, there is always the chance that auxiliary life support can fail." She let it hang in the air, everyone knew what she meant there. "So for us, there are multiple fail-safes to keep our side perfectly safe from the device."

"When it comes to their military, we do want to see them captured, as many as possible alive to be taken back to the Empire for trial." Trial and likely slavery for the rest of their lives. That way they could ensure that they had cut the head of the snake off and there was no one left to try and quickly rebuild what the Empire had destroyed.

"Naturally once this is deployed there is little to do to stop in on Hast's end. It will take less than 22.6 seconds to disable their largest ships. We also expect their military to contact their respective bases on each world, and with the way this weapon functions that will merely give us access to not just the base, but anything it is connected to, like electricty and other vital utiulies."

"As for the weapon, it's deployment rests on myself and the IIB. Though final go check does rest in the Commodore's hands. And the weapon will be carried on one of our specialized ships, to put one last failsafe in place to keep our battlegroup as safe as possible from this device."  With that, she turned to Akio and relinquished the floor back to him. 

Akio Kahoshi

Yurie had caught on to the expressions of some of the gathered men and women present. That look, she finally completely understood as she had come just a hair's width from dying exactly like she had just described. It actually took her great effort to detail out that part of the mission and what could happen while never letting it show for a second that the security breach that nearly took her life still haunted her. It was extremely likely that those events would remain in her life, in her nightmares for the rest of her days. Something like that one didn't just simply get over.

She listened carefully to Akio, taking in the details and making small mental notes on just how things would work on his end and what the exact plan was. It was things she needed to know to ensure everything on her end went as smoothly as absolutely possible.

When the Captain spoke up, Yurie gave a nod to him. Unfortunately, he wasn't going to like her answer. "I wish I could give you absolute certainty that such a thing will not happen. This just as with life nothing is guaranteed. There is a chance always that this could turn around on us, yes. But it's infinitesimally small, so much so that it's not worth discussing here and now."

"Great pains have been taken and many risks on our part in the last year to place every last possible failsafe we could dream of and then some to prevent crossover into our systems.You truly needn't worry there, for it would have to work through over a thousand different failsafe mechanisms to get within an inch of our ships present, save the Erinyes, the IIB ship that will carry and operate the weapon."

"In addition updates were given and installed on each ship within the battlegroup to add further layers of protection to every last system on every ship. Lastly, the Erinyes, my ship, is the last major cutoff point that can shut down and prevent the virus from moving forward. It's only access point to Imperial ships is through her. And her systems are quick enough to stop the malware in its tracks. Nonetheless, if there is any Imperial ship would be affected today it would be her as she has carries the burden of the weapon handling all its functions."

"So while I can't give you absolute certainty, I can say that every effort has been put into this mission, this weapon to ensure no harm comes to any of you, to any vessel of ours save my ship." There was no sugarcoating this. It was just how Yurie had to put it, bluntly, to the point and sure it might not be comforting to anyone present it was the absolute truth. This was far too serious, far too dangerous to not just simply state the reality.

After that Yurie gestured back to Akio, letting him have the floor once more to continue directing the meeting, and to allow any more questions to be asked if there were. Eight hours and they would be entering the Hast system. From there everything would be up in the air. This was not going to be an average day, that much was certain. As she looked to Akio, Yurie couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy, that something wasn't going to go according to her plans. If only she knew just what was going to happen this day, and how much it would all change her life .... and Akio's before it was over.

Akio Kahoshi

Yurie watched, waited and listened to the rest of the meeting, brief though it was. At least now there would be time for rest and a wee bit of relaxation. That was something she needed for clarity and peace of mind before this operation got started. It would also give her time to go over every last detail just one final time so she could feel completely ready herself.

She turned and gave a knowing nod to Akio, "I honestly expected there to be a bit more fuss over what this virus does and the risks it could possibly present to us all. Not that I haven't ensured every last possible safety measure has been put into place. But yes, I must agree, better than expected."

Yurie gave a soft smile now that it was just the two of them. Her babysitters were still outside as ordered and would remain until otherwise told. For the moment though, that left her and Akio with the conference room to themselves. With the door now closed her shoulders dropped a bit, as she leaned back in her seat.

"The operation aside, it's good to see you. Funny how this whole situation with Hast brought us together." She said with the softest hints of a smile forming on her lips. Even short private moments like this had to be taken advantage of given how their schedules and lives worked. "Hopefully all will go well with this, and maybe we can have a nice real date once we return to our port of call."

Akio Kahoshi

Yurie nodded slowly, "Oh, I imagine so. The usual grumblings about IIB would apply. Toss in the nature of the mission, the rumor mill, something about us taking over the battlegroup..." She said playfully though there was a somewhat serious undertone to it. Yurie knew conversations like that happened far too often, and the IIB was no one's favorite buddy. She had seen the glances, knew the whispers. Still, she at least could be lighthearted about it. One had to have a certain sense of humor to last as long as she had within the Crypt.

Very sweetly she twisted her wrist under Akio's hand and soon entangled her fingers with his. "On one of the planets no, not so much. Don't forget though, it's my job to think about five steps ahead."

Now she was grinning brightly, clearly she had a plan "I had to stop by Atrisia as duty called for me to visit my family before heading this direction. So I did pick a few things up for us, for after. I figured if all goes well, and there is a tiny kitchen like area I can borrow I could make us dinner. If not, well ... It was worth a shot. Just hoping on that end since my team will still have to hang around for a few days if not at least a week to monitor the situation and ensure the virus dies out as its suppose to. Assuming all goes well." Anything could go wrong of course just as Yurie had explained there were no guarantees in life or this mission.

Still, she was likely to get drug to at least one or two dinners with Akio and his staff while in the system, surely she could steal him away for one meal to herself. Or so her thinking went. "That is ... if you think that may be possible. It won't break my heart too much if it's not. I know how tricky our lives both are when it comes to work and duty."

Akio Kahoshi

Now that brought one of the brightest smiles Yurie ever let show. It was a small joy for her to have the simple ability to be able to cook and present a lovely meal with wonderful dishes from their home planet. "Well now, that alone has made this day ten times better. Seeing you was a start to making it better when this whole mission is making me a touch nervous."

"This is the largest operation that I've ever personally run, and well you know me .. I worry. So having something to look forward after.... Something like a real date together with you, even if it is just me cooking you a meal, that makes me think a little less on that worry. It makes me think more about what I must do and what has to be done to succeed so I can reach that light at the end of the tunnel." Happy thoughts, or so the theory went for Yurie, and this plan had been her happy thoughts the whole way to meeting Akio on this day.

The smile then faded away as Akio stood and put his hand on her shoulder. She gave a sigh and nodded, "Yes, I did figure as much. I only wanted to steal a moment or two with you before having to slip away to sleep a little and go over everything in the plans one final time before coming out of hyperspace and the mission starts."

For a moment she bit her lip thinking which ship was more ideal for her to spend the time on. Thinking back to the last security breach, considering it involved her own people, some of those closest to her and they still were not sure they had the right person as a couple still sat in black sites being worked over while the investigation continued ... Her distrust of her own people made the choice for her in that moment.

"I hate to say this but I do not trust my own people right now. The crew has been thoroughly vetted, but I can't help but have that thought in the back of my mind. What happened still gets to me." She said with a most pained expression as her thoughts briefly drifted back to the event that nearly killed her.

It wasn't easy to admit to anyone how much she was bothered by that betrayal and near death experience. About the only person, she would admit it to was the man standing beside her. With a shake of her head, she tore herself from those thoughts as she glanced up to Akio for just a second. 

For a long moment, Yurie grew quiet as her eyes fell on the case still laying on the table in front of her. It wasn't often that someone like her carried a weapon so powerful, so dangerous and yet here she was. One last time she sighed heavily before standing up slowly. "If at all possible I think it would be best for me to stay aboard the Law Bringer. The extra security beyond the guards personally assigned to me would make me feel more comfortable given the nature of the device I'm carrying. And given the last security breach, I believe it may be necessary and needed."

Akio Kahoshi

There was something to be said of Yurie's childhood. It had prepared her for life in the world of spies. It had long given her an innate distrust of other sentients. However, she had gotten a hair complacent in the last couple of years trusting those alongside her a little too much. This was an error that her near-death experience had rapidly corrected. Trusting even her own people was a luxury she could no longer afford, especially after the attempt on her life.

"That should work nicely," The analyst said with a smile, "Thank you for taking the time to do so. It's much appreciated." This way there would be less fuss and she wouldn't have to make yet another shuttle trip between the two ships that were not truly necessary.

With that said she grabbed the case still laying on the table, clutching it tightly as she followed him to the door. "There is my pair of guards that are outside too, in addition to what you choose to assign me." Yurie still didn't trust them, her guards, and a part of her was glad for the protection, there was still another part that wanted them gone. At least being on the same deck there would be a slightly shorter period that she had to have them right beside her when she went to meetings with Akio. She sighed before passing through the door, letting Akio lead the way to the turbolift as that very pair of IIB guards joined them both.


Akio Kahoshi

She sighed, "As much as I don't like the idea, you are right. It's a real risk. Statistically speaking it's also incredibly likely especially when we take into account the number of ships involved on both sides. Collateral damages on one level or another are bound to happen. Unfortunately, there is only so much control that we have on this end." It wasn't things she was truly comfortable with. It was just the unfortunate reality that she was going to have to get used to and fast. "I suppose that is something we both will have to live with."

Once they arrived at her cabin, Yurie stopped outside the door and allowed for her minions to check the room over before stepping inside. While she waited it gave an opportunity to continue talking with Akio for at least a moment more. "Well, I will need my personal bag brought from the shuttle as it contains my clothing. Beyond that, I have all I truly need for the time being. Everything that is mission critical I've been carrying with me."

As her guards returned and gave her a nod of approval Yurie turned to Akio one last time, "I'll do my best once I've looked over a few things one last time." She offered a half-smile to him, "Just alert me to the necessary meetings, and let me know if there is anything that you need from me in the meantime."

Akio Kahoshi

Meetings came and went, each feeling nearly identical to the last. Each time she returned to her quarters and once more tried to rest. However, that wasn't coming easily to her. So in her hands was a datapad and a stylus that she lightly rapped on the edge of the pad reading, and rereading through the official plans for the upcoming battle.

Her eyes kept drifting to the case beside her. That case, that weapon, was such an odd thing to be resting beside her. Something so powerful, yet so tiny in comparison to other weapons of mass destruction. At least it was a nonlethal weapon. She reminded herself. Though non-lethal was debatable. What was, in that case, was meant to send an entire nation back into the stone age. With that came risks, and likely losses too, she knew that better than anyone. 

With two hours left before they were to exit hyperspace, the Atrisian officer finally had fallen asleep on the couch where she had been reading. A shame such rest couldn't last. With thirty minutes left, Yurie's alarm gently woke her from what had been a relatively peaceful dream. The time had come to finally face what was the largest operation that Yurie had ever commanded. Just knowing that she was the most senior officer present was definitely an odd feeling.

With only a few minutes to go, Yurie stood near Akio, while she set the device beside the system map, and started to work through every last security measure just to open the case. Inside was what amounted to an extremely powerful portable console, everything needed to work with the weapon was right at her fingertips.

With no sign on her face of the stresses she was feeling, she folded her hands neatly behind her back as she patiently waited for the battle group to drop out of hyperspace.The moment they did, Hast's early warning beacons sprang to life, as did the rather impressive fleet. She took a breath and exhaled slowly as she glanced at the system map to assess what they would be dealing with.

Now while Akio issued his warning, her eyes were on the small and deceptively powerful console. She was only waiting for word from the Erinyes that all was set in place and they were ready to go. For they held two-thirds of the weapon, and she the other third. The other portion would be useless without the programming that rested alongside Yurie at the console. This had been one of the final security measures put into place after she was nearly killed.

With his last words, she turned back to the console in front of her and began to issue a series of commands from there. "We'll need a single Hast vessel designated as off limits. It needs to remain relatively unharmed, for approximately two minutes. A patient zero, as long as their coms are still active for that duration, that's all that is required." She needed just one to infect, just one com signal to isolate among the others to enter their systems. After that, the virus could run its course through every last Hast ship, and soon enough to military bases below before spreading to the utilities and more general computer systems on the ground. “One of their frigates would be ideal.”

One final keystroke, and her portion of the weapon that programming was sent to the Erinyes, outside of normal com systems. For there was no way she was about to run even a third of the virus through an Imperial ship that hadn’t been completely prepared for such. “Once I have that, we can activate the virus.”


Akio Kahoshi

Yurie’s eyes followed as Akio took a look at the system map. She needed a target, and it was up to him to select one for her. After all his crew and the battlegroup would have to avoid destroying the ship, for a couple of minutes. Her eyes narrowed, as she noticed additional non-military ships attempting to flee the system. That already left a couple of concerns on her mind, increasing the risks involved.

"Thank you, Commodore."She nodded as she turned back to the case, issuing her own series of orders to the Erinyes. And for a moment all that could be done was wait until the rest of the ships had committed to their defense of the Hast Command vessel.

With a deep breath in, she readied herself for the next phase. With her fingers dancing across the console she spoke, “This is going to happen rapidly. Their fleet will only last for a couple of minutes at most once the command is sent. The rest of the system will take a little longer but the fleet will no longer be a threat.”

Word came back to her from the Erinyes that they had isolated the command ship’s comms and were ready to proceed. Without an ounce of hesitation, she sent the final order.

After receiving confirmation she spoke up once more. "The virus is active." With that done, her attention turned to the code on the screen, and the system map watching and waiting. Soon enough ships closest to the frigate stopped firing as the virus took hold leaving the ships virtually dead in the water. Like dominoes, they were rapidly falling.

Akio Kahoshi

Waiting… That always was the hardest part. The orders had been sent, and there was nothing else for her to do, but to watch patiently and wait. The weapon was performing nominally, and the results were soon clear with the first ship exploding as it lost power, and it’s shields failed. A few ships lost, that she expected. One hand curled into a taut fist, as she watched a few more ships destroyed. The hand tightened on her console was the only outward sign that she was not having the easiest time with what she was seeing. It was one thing to be responsible directly for a death or two over the years. However, so many at once knowing it was her virus, her orders had done it, was hard to swallow.

When the Captain spoke up, Yurie looked at him. Her brow knitted together for a moment as she debated what would need to be done with it on her end if they had actually figured out communication was the source of the troubles all other vessels were experiencing. Though before she could get far with that thought, at Akio’s words she cringed internally. In no way could this end well for anyone.

Everything happened so quickly and before any plan could really be formed, it already was too late. The cruiser had no power and was caught within the gravity of the planet. Yurie’s shoulders tightened, but she still managed to keep her emotions under wraps. In this moment, being largely her operation, she couldn’t afford to show a sign of weakness, that any of this bothered her. It fell into the category of acceptable risks. That was the simple reality of her job, and especially this mission. Even if what was considered acceptable, might tear her apart.

Helplessly, she sent a few futile commands from her console. Before even sending them she knew they’d never reach the ship in time. There was little else left to do, but doing nothing at all didn’t feel like an option to the Operations Officer. Sadly it was over before she’d even tried. Sighing quietly, almost unnoticeable, she pulled her hands back from the console and turned to watch the holoview. It took all she had to keep anything from truly showing, internally her heart was sinking into the pit of her stomach, and being so powerless in that moment certainly wasn’t helping.

It first crashing into the skyscraper seemed a relief, as that would limit casualties. However, she’d forgotten one key detail; the ship’s reactor. When that went, Yurie closed her eyes for a second, before turning back to her console. Now the death toll only would skyrocket.

With a few keystrokes and largely ignoring the deaths she knew she caused, she started to cycle through individual planet maps of the system to see how the virus was spreading now. It wasn’t time to mourn for the things that had just happened, the people that were now dead, family members that would never come home again. Yurie simply didn’t have time to even let those thoughts process in her mind. She couldn’t. Behind closed doors, things undoubtedly would be rough. But that was not the person she could present to the crew of the Law Bringer, or anyone else for that matter, save Akio. And that was simply going to have to wait.

Calculations came back from the Erinyes and gave her an estimate until the entire Hast Republic would be consumed by the virus. “Seventeen minutes and all technology in the system should be completely inoperable.” She said flatly, if not coldly. It was the best she could manage under the circumstances.

Of course, there was still the matter of clean up, but that fell to Akio and his crew. For now, though, Yurie couldn’t leave the bridge. Not with the virus still spreading, her duty was there regardless of her urge to leave the area, and hide from reality. No, her place was here, even if she may have been falling apart inside she still had to keep it together for just a little longer.

Akio Kahoshi

Those next seventeen minutes were more than painful. Everything Yurie felt beyond the intial shock, couldn’t be permitted to show. Not only did her job demand that, but more so her culture absolutely expected it and then some.

She breathed a little easier once Akio ordered the start of recovery operations. Her part in the mission was largely over. There would be a few orders that would go to her own crew, but those could be made from her quarters.

When Akio turned to her, she gave a small bow of her head momentarily forgetting proper military etiquette, “Of course, thank you.” She said politely, though that same coldness was still present in her voice. She was, however, extremely grateful for the ability to leave the bridge now and get the hell out of sight. Not that she would say that aloud right then.

She sighed one final time, and quickly closed the case she had brought with her. “I’ll be in my quarters if you need me for anything else, Commodore.” That was the last thing she said before spinning on her heels and calmly, or at least appearing to calmly leave the bridge.

It took her a little while to navigate her way back to her assigned quarters, with her guards still in tow. Once the doors closed behind her, she walked to the couch and set the case down. Yurie then took the time to remove the jacket of her uniform and draped it over a nearby chair. It was only then that she flopped down on the couch, pulled her hair down, shook it out, and then let the tears fall that she’d been holding back since realizing exactly what the virus had done, what she had done. Like it or not, she was directly responsible for those deaths today. It was on her shoulders, her own mess that she’d personally created. And Akio and his crew were cleaning it up.

For a while, she just sat there crying, as guilt consumed her. It was then that her mind wandered to a need for something to ease the pain she was feeling. She had brought with her some wine for their date later on. Admittedly the wine was for her, as she knew Akio rarely ever drank having only seen him do so at the gala when they first met.

Reluctantly she pushed herself from the couch, and wandered to the bag of items she brought with, and removed the bottle of wine from the bag and soon found herself a glass, liberally pouring herself one before she returned to the couch, leaving the bottle close by. Though one thing came to mind as she sat there and once more got up to grab a well worn ancient looking book written in formal Atrisian script. Once more she flopped back onto the couch, trying to do anything at all to distract herself from reality and ease her pains at the same time.

Akio Kahoshi

The buzzer from the door startled Yurie, causing her to spill a little wine on her shirt, and across the couch. A half-empty bottle of wine sat on the table, along with a little food. At least she had eaten all considered. Not much but she had tried. A series of curses followed that spilled wine. Brushing it off herself she slowly rose to her feet, and set aside the book she had been reading, not that she had gotten more than a page or two along from where she had began given how many times she reread each paragraph with her mind so distant and still working through the events of the day.

For just a moment she stood at the door, running her fingers through her hair to attempt to straighten it, and wiped away the tears that were still left on her cheeks. Once certain that she looked at least somewhat presentable, she opened the door but positioned herself out of sight of her guards. Without a word she merely gestured for him to come in and join her, clearly not wanting to wait a second longer than needed at the door she had already turned around and headed directly back for the couch and reached for the remainder of her wine.

“Quite a day.” She said quietly. This time instead of coldness in her voice it was replaced with a sense of remorse and guilt. Truth be told, at that point, she didn't know what else to say. This wasn't exactly the kind of thing that one dealt with every day. And Yurie certainly didn't know how to even begin to handle it, much less accept it. Not yet anyway.

Akio Kahoshi