Inescapable Destiny

 

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Prologue

Four Years After Wandering Sorrows


A pair of Kitsune looked at the screen of a radar, neither of them found anything about it particularly interesting, but this was their job since they had joined the military. The male looked at the female, "There's nothing that comes in and out of here except for the allied ships, Akane, why are we here day in and day out watching the radar for anything different." Akane looked at him, "Hisoka, stop complaining, this is our assigned job and we need to stick to it. No telling when the Menschilche are going to arrive, plus with knowledge of races beyond the galaxy itself, we might need some advance warning to prepare for combat or for a delegation." Hisoka sighed slightly, when a blip arrived on the radar, which he went to scan as per usual, but the computer returned something to him that was odd, the blip was unknown in origin.

Akane looked at him, "See, this is what we've been waiting for." Hisoka nodded, "Let's start trying frequencies." Hisoka started to cycle through frequencies that weren't the usual frequency and repeating, "Unidentified ship, Identify yourself." Most frequencies didn't get any response, however several minutes later they got one, ".........ship....... atta...... shil...... rep....... ip..... ack..... che....." Akane boosted the signal and spoke into the communicator, "Calm down and tell us your identification." The same voice spoke up, "Neanderthal ship, Gloxinia. We were attacked by the Menschilche on our way through this galaxy." Akane nodded, "We're going to mobilize our forces to protect you from any further attack form the Menschilche, is this acceptable?"

The voice didn't speak up for a second, but did give an affirmative, "Yes." Hisoka nodded, "Alright, I'll use the other communicator to contact the military. Akane, you guide them to the planet." Akane nodded as Hisoka moved towards the other communicator. As Hisoka sat down, he pressed a button, "Attention, all available ships, there is a ship out there called the Gloxinia, it's damaged from a Menschilche attack, we need to escort it away from any possible Menschilche forces. I repeat, a ship known as the Gloxinia is out there and needs our assistance to get to Verbana, escort it home safely." Akane nodded, "Gloxinia, Verbanan ships are going to arrive at any moment, several are going to stay where you're at, but you're going to have an escort to Verbana, is this acceptable?"

The voice spoke up again, "Yes. However, it might be difficult to get there as our engines are damaged severely and our life support is running on minimal power." Akane nodded, "Alright, can you change your heading from two eight zero to one five two?" The voice spoke up, "I can." Hisoka noticed something new on the radar and scanned them quickly, "Menschilche contacts! Verbanan ships, engage!" He watched as the blips of the Menschilche ships quickly vanished off his screen, "Stay alert, more may be out there." The voice spoke up loudly, "What the hell was that!?" Akane watched as the ship changed heading, "It was our ships attacking the Menschilche." The voice spoke up, slightly relieved, "That's good to hear. Alright, I believe our heading is now one five two."

Akane nodded, "Affirmative, start accelerating in that direction." The voice didn't speak, but she watched as the blip started to accelerate towards the middle of her radar screen, "You're doing good." Hisoka called out, "Six more Menschilche contacts, they're coming in small and fast!" A voice spoke over his communicator, "Roger that, control!" He watched as blips vanished from his radar screen again, this time he heard the screams of a Verbanan crew, "Shit! We took a massive hit there." Hisoka nodded, "Fall back to the shipyards, you can't do anything more!" The voice spoke up to Akane, "I see it on my viewport, it's a planet that reminds me of the stories my parents would tell me of our home world, but bigger." Akane nodded, "That's Verbana, reverse your engines and start slowing down and reorient yourself for entry into our atmosphere."

The voice spoke up, "The engines just gave out, we can't." Akane sighed, "Your vessel is small, can you make minor course corrections?" The voice spoke up, "Yes." Akane nodded, and looked at a map of Verbana, "Alter your heading by three degrees west and raise the nose of your craft by two degrees." Akane watched as the ship did so, "Alright, what next." Akane sighed, "It's going to be a rough landing, but you will be in an abandoned city with Kitsune territory, a rescue team will be able to find you once it's put together." The voice spoke up, "What do we do until then?" Akane spoke solemnly, "Don't move from your position, it'll only make it harder to find you." The voice spoke up, "Alright, thank you for your help." Akane nodded, "Just doing my job." Hisoka spoke up, "No more Menschilche contacts! Good job everyone!"

Akane watched from her window as the small ship entered the atmosphere of Verbana, she watched as it became a flaming streak that moved quickly, "We need to go see the king about this." Hisoka nodded, "But we also need to remain here." Akane sighed, "Fine then, I'll just go see the king." Before Hisoka could protest, Akane stood up and walked out of the room. Her superior officer looked up at her from his work, "Yes?" Akane saluted him, "Colonel, with all due respect. I request permission to go down to the planet and inform the king." The Colonel nodded slightly, "I heard what was going on in there, Captain, permission granted." Akane nodded and walked down to the shuttle bay where a pilot was waiting, "Captain, where do you wish to go?" Akane looked at him, "To Honoo, I need to talk to the king about something important." The pilot nodded, "As you wish."

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Chapter 1

Akane walked through the gate to the castle of the forest Kitsune, she had arrived on official business and was allowed through. She sighed as she walked into the castle itself and looked around, everything looked extravagant and this annoyed her slightly. She walked up the stairs to the throne room and looked at the double doors. She frowned slightly as she stood in front of them, but she knocked on the door regardless. The doors were opened by a maidservant and Akane saw the king sitting on his throne. The King looked at her, "Hey. Come in, Captain, you said that you had a report for me." Akane nodded and walked into the throne room, "Your highness, hopefully you'll forgive me if I do not kneel before you, but this is of critical importance."

The King nodded, "Continue, Captain." Akane nodded slightly, "Sir, a Neanderthal ship has crash landed within our territory." The King nodded, "Understood. Do you have anything else you wish to report to me?" Akane nodded, "The Menschilche were invading our space to attack this vessel, I know that they are technically our allies, but we responded to the attack with an attack of our own after analyzing their vessels, the Pisces Menschilche ships were behind it. According to reports, over five hundred years ago, they were able to land on the planet and cause a bunch of trouble." The king nodded, "Father, do you have any more information about that incident?" Masaru spoke up, "Goro, your grandmother was abducted by a clone of my half-brother-in-law."

Goro nodded, "Anything else to note?" Masaru looked up and put a hand to his chin, "The Grim Reaper himself was nearly killed during those events and the Dragon that he rides nearly destroyed a large section of the abandoned city." Goro nodded, "So the Pisces Menschilche are dangerous?" Masaru sighed, "Unbelievably so, son." Goro looked back to Akane, "Do you know when we had First Contact with the Neanderthals?" Akane nodded. "Two hundred years before I was born, sire." Goro blinked, "My goodness, you are quite young. Are you sure that you're a captain and didn't just take the rank of someone close to you." Akane was annoyed at the statement, but it wasn't anything new to her, "Sire, I earned my rank through military merit. However, with all due respect, I believe that we need to focus on the matter at hand."

Goro nodded, "Grandfather." Akira walked over to him slowly, using a cane for support, "Yes, Goro?" Goro looked at Akira, "What can you tell me about First Contact." Akira sighed, "My memory isn't as good as it used to be, you know, but I'll try." Akira looked down at the floor, "Walthari died during that battle." Goro shook his head, "Anything else?" Akira nodded, "There were two military officials on the ship, well, three if you count myself. Though two of us were ex-military." Goro nodded, "Names?" Akira sighed, "Kazuki was one of them, never got his last name, but he and Yoshiko are currently not on the continent, they recently got married and are expecting their first child. I was there, and well, you know your uncle."

Goro sighed and looked straight up, "Ah yes, Uncle Yoshiro. Founder of the Raptors and the leader of the expeditionary force." Akira shook his head, "He's retired now." Goro sighed, "I don't think that we have a choice in this matter. You're too elderly for this and the only other person with military training is on another continent. This is just a search and rescue operation, so there really shouldn't be much danger to him. However, danger is still present and I would rather have someone with military training be the one to go out there and lead this operation." Masaru nodded, "That's a good decision, son, but don't you think that sending someone that is heavily armed and as famous as your uncle might illicit a hostile response?"

Goro nodded, "This is true, but what other choice do you see in this matter, Father?" An old Lupine walked into the room with a cane, "You could send Tsuyoshi, he was the one to be connected to the Neanderthals and learned all about their history." Goro nodded, "Uncle Killian, Tsuyoshi is a diplomat, he's not the kind of person to have any sort of military background." Killian sighed, "Goro, the thing is that we need some sort of tact in this situation, rather than someone carrying a big stick. Tsuyoshi is the greatest ambassador that I've ever met and will no doubt be able to de-escalate the situation that's going on. If these people really have crashed on Verbana, there's no doubt in my mind that they are in a panicked state and seeing my older brother might scare them further."

Goro sighed, "How about a compromise, we send both your brother and your nephew there. That way Tsuyoshi will calm things down, and Uncle Yoshiro can take care of any threat in case things go belly up, that sound good?" Killian sighed, "Alright." Goro looked at Akane, "I'll send a messenger to Tsuyoshi, he'll not be that difficult to convince to come here. However, Uncle Yoshiro and my father have some bad blood between them, so convincing my uncle to come here might be an issue. Thing is, he might be more readily willing to listen to someone that is from the military. Will you bring him here for me?" Akane nodded slightly, "Of course, milord. By your leave?" Goro nodded, "You may go." Akane nodded, turned around, and left the throne room to go to Yoshiro's house.

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Chapter 2

Akane arrived in front of a mansion, and looked at the gates, she was rather surprised that the person she was looking for was in this particular building. But at the same time, she knew that the man she was looking for was running an orphanage. She opened up the gate and before she knew it, felt a knife at her throat, a voice speaking, "Who are you?" Akane spoke calmly, "I'm Captain Akane Sato, I'm here on behalf of King Goro to speak with General Yoshiro Miyamae." The knife was withdrawn from her throat, "You may go forward, but leave your weapons here." Akane turned to see the person, but could find nothing but the shadow she was standing in, "Why should I?" The voice spoke again, "If you don't, I'll kill you before you enter that gate. Am I clear?"

Akane looked around and started to disarm, "Why are you threatening a military officer?" The voice spoke up, "I don't have to give you this warning. I could've killed you, and they'd find only your body and never who did it." Akane scoffed and continued walking to the mansion itself, she found that she wasn't followed. She reached the front door without any sort of fuss and knocked on it, she was surprised when she saw a woman in a kimono open the door, "Hello, you must be the Captain that was being sent over." Akane blinked, "What, how do you know that I'm coming?" The Kitsune smiled, "Lilah is very good at gathering information, Captain. Please come on in." Akane recognized the name Lilah and suddenly her blood ran cold. The voice that was speaking to her earlier wasn't bluffing, she could've been killed and all anyone would find was the body.

She walked into the house, "Where is your master?" The Kitsune woman frowned, "No one is master nor servant here, we are all equals. I only work around the house to help out because Yoshiro is my friend." Akane sighed, "Where is he, this is important." The Kitsune pointed down the hallway, "he's in the basement." Akane nodded, "Thank you." She walked down the hallway without allowing anyone to interfere with her, she noticed several kids looking at her however and not all of them were Kitsune. She grabbed the knob of the door to the basement and found that it was surprisingly unlocked. She opened the door and walked into the stairwell that led to the basement, a voice speaking up with an elvish accent sounded out, "You're not Takeshi, Lilah would've assassinated you. State your name and your business."

Akane didn't speak and continued down the stairwell, the voice spoke up again, this time more forcefully, "I said state your name and your business! Why are you looking for me!?" Akane looked down at the figure, he was wearing a hooded cloak, she could see the white fur around the figure's mouth, but not any other features except for the tail which was a reddish-brown, except for some gray spots. She realized that she had found a Kitsune that could help her, "I'm looking for Yoshiro Miyamae." The Male Kitsune spoke up, "You found him." Yoshiro looked at her and suddenly he became far colder, "You're Kitsune Military, you better have a damned good reason for being in my house..."

Akane sighed, "His highness sent me." Yoshiro scoffed, "That much is certain, otherwise Lilah would've stopped you. You still haven't gotten to the whole point of why you're here..." Akane became angry, "If you would shut up for a moment, I'd get to it!" Yoshiro let out a laugh, "My my, you're disarmed and in a place where I hold all of the advantages. Look around you, Captain Sato." Akane looked around, she noticed that Yoshiro's weapons were all close to him, "You could kill me at any time." Yoshiro removed his hood, revealing an aged face with graying fur and gray hair on top of his head, "Only if you make the first aggressive move, so long as you don't try to attack me, my wife or any of the people living here, all will be golden." His voice became even colder, "However, if you do not tell me why you're here, I will have you forcefully thrown from the premises."

Akane forced her anger back, "I was told to get you because you had experience dealing with the Neanderthals." Yoshiro grabbed his sniper rifle and went to check it, "That was four hundred and fifty years ago, child. Probably when your father was still in diapers." Akane looked at him, "Anyway, a Neanderthal ship was shot down by the Menschilche, are you familiar with the Pisces Menschilche?" Yoshiro nodded, "That was five hundred and sixty-five years ago, back when your grandfather was in diapers." Akane sighed, "Are you going to be this difficult for the rest of my visit?" Yoshiro continued checking the sniper rifle out, "I don't know, at what point do you get to the damned point of all of this or just leave my damn house." Akane growled and Yoshiro pointed the barrel in her face, "A Kitsune growling is usually a threat. Though I'm checking this rifle, I know for a fact it works."

Akane pushed the barrel out of her face, "The point is, you old shit, is that the King wants you to investigate the crash site and rescue any survivors!" Yoshiro looked at her, "Send this message to his highness. If this job is that important, he'll get his ass off his throne and come see his own uncle about it. I won't go out for a messenger unless I'm getting paid for this. I'm a mercenary, not a member of his army." Akane became angry, "Time is being wasted and you're willing to play games." Yoshiro pointed at the door, "You're welcome to leave, but as for me, I'm far too old to be running around and saving everyone's asses. So unless he shows up or a large sum of gems appears on my desk, I'm not moving." Akane turned around and started walking up the stairs, "Fine, I'll go tell him, but any blood that is shed, is on your hands now." Yoshiro merely responded coldly, "Wouldn't be any different from the hundreds I've killed so far."

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