Description: The Blackjack Journey: 00. On a long voyage to the grave of a great dream stands the woman in red. Gripping the railing she stares out, but not ahead to the future, she looks back into the past. Prologue to the Blackjack Journey, Naerose over the Suiryuu. In Medias Res.
Latitude, unknown. Longitude, unknown.
The circumstances under which the privately-registered vessel Suiryuu went down are not a matter of record, much to the annoyance of international maritime authorities. But these are open waters, and the law of the sea has never been an easy thing for anyone to enforce in any way, shape, or form...and the reclusive organisers of the Jinchuu tournament are effectively beyond the reach of any legal organisation.
Still...there are those who know the final resting place of the tournament ship. There were more than a few witnesses to the affair, after all...the crew of the submarines, for example, that evacuated all the fighters and passengers as the ship began to descend. Then there's the Black Noah, the war vessel responsible for inflicting that mortal damage on the Suiryuu in the first place. And any individual fighters who were paranoid enough to bring satellite navigation gear in their luggage when they embarked at the start of the tournament.
So yes. There are those in the know.
Not in the least, the masters of the Suiryuu themselves.
Weak rays of morning sun stream through a cloudy sky. It's a cold and chill morning, the wind strong out over the open sea. Damp and wet, too. Visibility's poor, out on deck, but it doesn't stop a particular slim female figure from leaning against the railing, studying the scene.
Choppy waves lap against the broad hull of the contract salvage vessel Torvestad, a Norwegian-registered ship out of Oslo. Securely anchored for station-keeping, the poor weather doesn't stop the vessel from going about its business, judging from the activity going on amidst the stern, where the divers are having a loud and vocal argument with the winch operation crew.
Most passengers on board would probably prefer to stay below decks, though. But Riko Koganei isn't. She stands on the fore deck, observing both the crew and the ocean in turn. She's dressed in her usual yellow raincoat, the long weatherproof garment fluttering in the breeze - supplimented by a thick navy-blue sweater and woolen cap, pulled low over her ears.
Her breath mists the air as she exhales, condensing in the day's early chill.
Without turning, she speaks, quietly:
"Good morning, Ms. Delphine."
"How did you - Oh Riko. . Hah, I totally should of known," Says a cheerful Red Witch who has recently emerged on deck. In contrast to the yellow rain coat, Naerose seems to have somehow managed to acquire a red one - infact might of refused to come out here had she not. What was originally an orangeish red color, this coat, used as fishing gear, was brightly colored to attract attention to drowning fishermen. Naerose only needed to make a small change of her own in order to make this thing work for her own designs - style.
Having come out on deck just in time to reach the otherwise non-descript stretch of ocean, Naerose wasn't expecting Riko, this is apparent by a look of surprise before she tries to wipe some of the spray off her shades, closing her eyes as she takes them off. The surprise wears off quickly however.
"SO what brings you out here, didn't know you were into the whole salvage business.." Naerose says cheerfully enough. Though with the limited gear she has brought herself - some scuba equipment and cell phone equipment. Anyone who bothered to look might come to the conclusion that Naerose was on more of a historic research project than an actual salvage mission.
"You know it's kind of pretty here. I would go as far to say pretty like a grave." The witch fixes her shades and adjusts her hood over her hat which flops in protest underneath.
"One might argue that here lies two bodies whom were wrapped together in an embrace in death."
And there she refers to her reason for coming. It was a nostalgic.
". . . Pilgrimage of the past.." Naerose murmurs, to herself but maybe others might hear if they were in Riko range.
Riko continues leaning against the deck railing, her elbows propped against the tubular steel. She shifts her head, the wind picking up strands of hair from her short bob cut, sending them into disarray.
She could explain why and how she senses the older woman. Indeed, she almost does, her lips parting, moistening slightly, to speak. But when she does, what she instead says is:-
"In traditional political theory, there are two kinds of historical legacy. There is mere nostalgia, reflections and attitudes from a bygone era that may have little actual bearing on the realities of today."
Riko still doesn't turn to look at Naerose, but she nods once, in polite acknowledgement of the witch's presence.
"Then there are immutable historical realities, things of the past that still have a very real and concrete impact, events of the past that /cannot be separated from the present/. These too exist."
It was deep, but somehow not entirely lost on the typically aloof Naerose. She listens while checking a small device that seems to be a tracking signal locator. They're getting very close. One might recall that among the first things Naerose did on reaching the ship was to place devices through out it to act as repeaters, allowing the Blackjack group to have their own infrastructure. An act many stated was meaningless until Elle herself found a use for the devices. She along with Aislinn who seemed very much in control were able to put to use many factors to create something. Some called it criminal acts, but perhaps others had an appreciation. Perhaps that alone brought Naerose all the way out here.
The Red witch puts her hand on the railing, her fingers looking a little cold from having little protection when outside of her sleeves.
"Does it exist? A legacy that has no impact at all? Even knowing the legacy allows someone to gain some lessons from it. I think instead there are two extremes and most things fall someplace in the middle. Can you truly say that it is gone if people know of and learn from it? If it still affeects people? I mean I totally have no idea, but I mean like if it still is in the minds.." Naerose says and looks over the ocean where the waves crest.
Riko laughs, lightly. No mockingly, not at Naerose, but rather in genuine bemusement at what the witch said.
"Oh," the ninja girl responds, "historical legacies always affect the thought and mind. People always view the present though the lens of the past. We are shaped by our experiences. We compare what we see to what has gone before. We look for lessons and answers in examples of history..."
The kunoichi grins lopsidedly, the corner of one cheek shifting. As the wind picks up a little, she pulls her own woolen cap down more securely over her hair and the tops of her ears, tugging it with one hand.
"...but Naerose-senpai, that is intepretive and intuitive history, ne? The realm of cognition and psychology, different again from the objective and scientific study of past events."
She seems quite amused, now, choosing a deliberately respectful - yet familiar - form of address for the red-clad witch.
"Oh I dunno.." Naerose begins with a casual shrug to denote the biggest sort of disinterest matched with an overall lack of understanding to the subject. As if she just turned on the facet of ignorance. Luckily for the sake of this conversation, it doesn't last. Instead the witch changes a little in her tactic and shrugs, going back to a serious convesation.
"If I were gonna look into some boring history though, I'd have an interest in it at least or maybe like some sort of attatchment. Seems to me that history isn't objective ever, so maybe by the sheer study of it you have a certain type of legacy." Then the witch changes direction again,
"I think you know why I'm here, but why are you here? Wait I already asked. I'm asking again it turns out, hah." The witch grins considerable at Riko and then continues.
"I woudln't think you'd be here for the same reasons I am.."
"Mmm? Oh," Riko murmurs, "you'd be surprised."
She lifts an arm, her fingers slipping out from other the sleeve of her coat and sweater. The fabric covers most of her hand, leaving little exposed to the cold. But at least the tips of her fingers are visible as she indicates the activity going own further down the ship's deck...where the salvage ship's divers now seem to be descending down the side of the vessel's hull, lowered along with a frame from one of the ship's crane arms.
"I admit Seishirou-sama had me hire this crew for a specific purpose..."
Riko taps the deck with one foot, the sole of her shoe rapping against the ribbed metal plating.
"...but what we do is, of course, never the same as -why- we do it."
She regards Naerose.
"What do you think, Naerose-senpai? At a guess?"
"At a guess.." Naerose states, looking kind of thoughtful and adjusting her shades before looking back at Riko.
"I don't this crew was assembled just becuase I started like looking for a ship headed out this way, but maybe a little added bonus, I would guess though that I dunno, maybe that ship, Seiruyu? Say Ruu? Yeah, that one, has significance yet. That maybe there is something you wanted with it or want that you didn't want to draw attention to and the best way to do that was let it get sunk and then leave it until later, maybe much later. I bet even now you're not 'ere for whatever is in that boat or might be, but maybe just to make sure it stays intact, or something to that effect. I dunno. It doesn't really have anything to do with me. I'm not really here for your ship. I'm here for that pilgrimage thing. " She probably say it on a tv show.
"Maybe a proper send off.. Or maybe I'm also trying to wrap something up, something old, so that it can be around again for a later time." The witch looks thoughtful again and leans over the side of the boat.
"In a lot of ways this represented the crowning achievement, climax.. and end of Blackjack. So.. I'm starting at the end and moving toward the beginning."
There, she said it.
"Ahhhh," Riko murmurs, "you really -are- smarter than you appear, Naerose-senpai. I'm sorry I ever doubted you. Or should I be happy that I did? That I was deceived...this must be a complement to your abilities."
She turns away from the railing, her raincoat fanning out in her wake, the garment's tails snapping around her legs. Riko faces Naerose, spreading her arms to the side, palms turned, and bows her head and body in vague approximation of a curtsey.
Of course, in doing so, Riko neither confirms nor denies the witch's speculation.
Which, in some ways, speaks more than any words would do.
"The end, then," Riko murmurs, with a smile.
"And," she asks, placing a hand, fingers splayed, on her chest, "what do you want from me?"
"Well, since you ask.." Naerose begins and then adjusts her shades on her nose, the lenses covered in droplets of water from sea spray. The cold was a lot to get used to at first, but as the trip went on the witch had gotten accustomed to having chilled skin and the sea sickness.. Oh the sea sickness. Amazing how that actually goes away after a little bit of vomitting. Or a lot of vomitting and a lot of pills.
"I wonder if you could tell me about Blackjack's role in that tournement, well from your eyes. I'd like to compare things." The red clad woman turns to give Riko a smile and changes her posture to lean on the railing facing the deck rather than the sea. Less spray on the face might mean she would be warmer, or a more relaxed posture. The ship was big enough luckily not to roll too much.
Riko pauses long enough to quite deliberately tuck her hands into the pockets of her coat, shielding them from the chill and damp wind. Her smile, visible amidst the fluttering edge of her upturned collar, remains distinctly bemused. She returns Naerose's look, then exhales, making a small sound that might be a muted laugh.
"Ah," Riko says, wryly, with a rueful edge, "one of the -hard- questions."
The girl closes her eyes, lips moving slightly as she thinks about this. It's a good few seconds before she continues - nearly an eternity, given the usual swiftness of her speech.
"Saaaa," Riko murmurs, finally, "where do we begin? With the first betrayal, or the last one?"
That is actually kind of funny, but not necessarily apparently to everyone. When Naerose woke up one morning and decided to take this 'pilgrimage' she decided to take things backward, she would end where it all began.. but start where it ended. Riko asking where to begin draws a giggle from the red painted lips, surrounded by pale skin on the tan witch. The cold draw the color and made a greater contrast with the red she usually wore.
"Well it's already confusing enough, how about the first and end at the last? I think that would totally be easier than going last to first." - Again, another giggle -
"Besides, we're just out here having a fun talk right? I mean none of this is exactly relevant anymore" (except to her) "So no need to hold back." There was no sign of being threatened by the blatant accusation of betrayal by Blackjack. This wasn't politics, everyone knew of their reputation and while Naerose was very much one of the gogs, no one would of likely argued her to be one of the principal planners. She wasn't a schemer, she was a chaos agent, or maybe some had different views of the witch in red.
Riko returns the laugh with a genuine, guileless snicker. Or at least, so it appears.
"Mmm, yes, yes, I'm sorry."
She mirrors Naerose's pose, turning to face away from the open sea. Riko leans against the ship's railing, the small of her back resting against the tubular steel. She gives a little shrug, an odd gesture indeed with both of her hands still securely in her coat pockets...but she manages all the same.
"It is difficult, though, isn't it? I mean, I suppose from one point of view, the story of Jinchuu was this:"
As she speaks, Riko's voice shifts, taking on a storyteller's mein.
"A mysterious ninja had a plan, so he and his lovely assistant made a ship. A very strange ship, with a very strange purpose. And he invited warriors to that ship, to have a grand tournament, as men with plans are wont to do."
Riko inclines her head.
"But among those warriors were those...who came not for the tournament, but because they coveted the ship itself, and what it /could/ do - or seeked to find what it was /meant/ to do. So it was...that a great battle came to pass. And so the ship was destroyed, lost to all, given to the sea."
The girl stops, letting the last word linger, a solemn expression on her face.
Then she grins, once more.
"At least, from one point of view."
It was the start to the story, Naerose hoped - and remained silent, for the begining while hanging on every word. The water helped her shades slip down her nose a bit, providing a slick surface and some view of her brown eyes over the black rims. Thoughtful, distant, as if remembering something. The words Riko says jar her memory a little and before long she has something to add. It comes from a memory:
~Elle turns to Naerose and taps her on the shoulder, "You got your camera? I want pictures of that ship,"~ Indeed, the memory resonates, some people did indeed come for the ship. She was one of them. ~She says under her breath, "I want to know what all those symboles mean, so make sure the shots are clear, capisch?"~
It was a flashback in Naerose's head. The witch opens her mouth, but then closes it again. It wasn't necessary to interrupt Riko just now, she was more content to just listen.
A red painted nail scratches the witches nose as the droplets of water cause a small tickle and an itch, then she moves her finger to push the shades back up over her eyes. Constant sea spray was no good anyawy.
Riko looks at Naerose carefully, having paused after her last statement. The witch seems lost in recollection...but on that, Riko doesn't press. Instead, the ninja girl remains leaning against the railing, scrunching her coat up and hunching a little against the rush of the ocean wind.
"From one point of view," Riko repeats, "Blackjack came aboard the tournament ship to investigate its secrets. In part because your leader had an agreement with the Russian crime boss...whose finances we used as seed funding for the tournament. And in part, I suppose, because your organisation believed there was something hidden that they could copy, sell, or steal."
She speaks in plainer words, now, her voice losing the narrative singsong. Riko's gaze fixes firmly on Naerose, making eye contact.
"And so you investigated the ship. Investigated us. And did a good job of gathering information, too. Except that all changed when another group took an interest in the Jinchuu tournament..."R", and its master, Rugal Bernstein."
Riko smiles thinly.
"Given the obvious threat that Rugal and his /aircraft carrier/ posed to everyone aboard the tournament ship Suiryuu, it's unsurprising that our leaders reached a truce. Blackjack and the crew of the Suiryuu, cooperating against a common enemy. Which was a good idea, except, of course, it turned out that your Elle...or was it Marise? No matter...whoever it was, it seemed your people had made a deal with Rugal as well. Work together, take the tournament ship from us, and divide the spoils. Classic piracy on the high seas, ne?"
Riko shakes her head, ruefully. "And of course, everything blew up, Rugal's warship had to slink off, the Suiryuu sunk, nobody profited..."
She trails off.
"At least," Riko says again, "from one point of view."
"In the end, " Naerose begins with an interjection, "Blackjack did not want the ship, or found the cost of obtaining it far beyond the value of the actual prize. They pulled out before it sunk, before the final act had occurred. Everyone who hired them paid in advance, Blackjack members split, some working for the party betraying and some for the party betrayed.." The witch lets the last part sort of drift off.
The red witch remembered well, dispatching two invaders and helping rescue Arika before turning her attention on the Jinchuu organizers, having joined up with Birdie and went after Riko, though a momentary pause, her own motives a bit farther off from the standard Blackjack motives - whatever they were - in the end. Perhaps the witch only wanted to be chaotic.
"Likely R wished to possess the secrets of the boat, but I figer they came to a similar conclusion, the cost was higher than the worth and maybe they helped influence Blackjack's pullout, after all, how would Blackjack possess the ship with someone like Rugal all big and mean .. Maybe the two forces cancelled each other out, Rugal would likely find Blackjack turn on him before he could actually possess the ship and decided if he couldn't have it no one could - But even then he could at least control the sea."
"Saaa, perhaps," Riko answers, with a grin, dipping her head in acknowledgement, "but then it all comes down to points of view. Who knows what Rugal's motive really was? Certainly not us humble mortals, beneath such a man. We could ask Adelheid-dono, perhaps, but I wonder if even he has full insight into his father's mind..."
Riko's face brightens a notch, as her shoulders shake with some private joke.
"Well, no matter. That is my point, though. History always varies, depending on who's doing the telling."
The ninja girl lifts a hand, raising a finger.
"Consider this, then, Naerose-senpai. While we could not, of course, really determine why your Blackjack organisation was involved, or precisely what you would do...we could at least predict the semblance, if not the full form. In some way, then, it is us that betrayed you...for we /wanted/ your group to act against us. Indeed, that was critical to the scenario."
"Huh, I guess," Naerose shrugs and then continues, "But it seems to me that its all about a bunch of people pulling for what's best for them. I mean I figured the entire tournement, why should the fighters of ever thought the organizers had their best interests at heart. Seemed to me everyone was pawns in everyone else's game. So the winners were Pas and Marisol," Naerose chuckles a little but then quickly shakes her head,
"But free vacations aside, er, which sounds awesome by the way, I don't wannaa get off topic. Please go on." Naerose folds her arms and falls silent, hoping that Riko won't stop just yet, after all it was very interesting but most important it was Nistolgic.
It was almost like the pair were in their own world just now, the conversation, at least to the witch. She didn't pay mind to the crew scurring about doing their various job, or the gulls that followed the ship all the way out here. She didn't seem to notice the sea, or the cold as it invaded her slowly but relentlessly despite her rain gear. She looked into the past through the best scope she could find.
"It's said there's no such thing as a free lunch," Riko replies.
Spots of sea spray soak through her woolen cap, and the sweater she wears under her raincoat - but she too pays the discomfort no need.
"Of course, people who say that probably haven't encountered one of those Hare Krishna meal carts...that lunch -is- free, if you care for vegetarian Indian food, and don't mind taking one of their pamflet at the very least."
Riko looks at Naerose straight on as she says this, with a remarkably serious face.
"Well," Riko says, smoothly, going back to the original topic as if she'd never digressed, "obviously we - that is, Seishirou-sama and my humble self - had an agenda. But we needed someone to actively oppose us, someone to unearth our secrets and spread that information. To be fair, it need not have been your group. But Blackjack...was a worthy opponent, in that regard."
Riko grins, ruefully.
"'R', on the other hand, was probably just a touch more than we could handle."
The witch shrugs a little and doesn't match the gaze, at least not on the issue of blackjack. Surely the meal cart managed to get her to lift both brows more than a little, the thought of food is buried quickly with more talking, though not forgotten, just saved for later.
"Oh I never really did feel a lot of pride over what I was doing, I don't care if Blackjack was used or what you have, I think Elle would be the one to care about that, or more likely not. " There isn't anything in the way the witch looks that suggests anything even remotely different at this time.
"But theese meal carts? Where can I find them?" She asks before shaking her head quickly and fighting to get back on subject,
"Actually, tell me later."
Riko snorts slightly, tickled by the witch's sense of priorities. She doesn't try to hide the fact she finds it funny. But then, that's why she brought up the free food in the first place.
A time and place for everything.
Riko lifts a hand from her pocket, flexing her fingers.
"Certainly. But...don't misunderstand. You're correct, I don't mean to insult you...nor do I mean to insult any group you belonged to, whether you care or not. Blackjack...was an opponent, and we /required/ an opponent."
The ninja girl makes a little wave of the hand. "I'm sure you're aware that the ship itself was a massive chi seal array, designed for a purpose. We wanted that to be known, you see, for that purpose is not yet complete."
She indicates, with her fingertips, the crew working on the lower deck of the salvage ship, operating equipment in support of the divers now descending towards the wreckage beneath.
"And you are aware, also, that the Russian criminal who initially hired your group, he had certain history with Seishirou-sama. He too had to be on board. But more generally..."
Riko pauses, moistening her lips.
"You must understand that Seishirou," Riko speaks the name plainly, with no grandoise title, "does not care for riches or power. He has ambition, yes, and he seeks a certain fame and status. But this is not for himself. It is for his family, and the ideal they represent. And so, to demonstrate what he truly is, a peaceful tournament would not have been desirable."
"And yet people took it all so personally, the truck in the side of the ship.. The betrayals. . Many people never forgave Blackjack and yet very few were actually affected. I don't think I'll ever understand those setiments, I can't stay mad at anyone," the witch replies and then scratches her chin, which is damp to the touch of her also damp and proony fingers before she murmurs, as an asside,
"But I guess that's the entire point of this pilgrimage..." There was a lot of content there.
A lot of things for Naerose to be 'aware' of.
The blank stare on her face indicates that no, she was not aware of it.
"I guess I understand goals. I even guess I understand single minded goals." Hers weren't that far off afterall, even if she could be distracted, if there were aspects of the Jinchuu tournement that didn't affect Naerose, perhaps she ignored them completely.
"Everyone has goals," Riko says, quietly, "but it all depends...what your goals are...and how you pursue them. What you are willing to do, what you are willing to risk, and what you are willing to sacrifice."
Her voice is soft, difficult to hear over the sound of the sea.
"I have told you what my master wants, and have shown you what he is willing to do. I do not make any claim that his way is right, or better. Indeed, it may destroy him, for even the best make mistakes - and for someone like him, a misstep would be fatal. Almost assuredly so."
Riko smiles, a strange little smile with the blackest of humour.
"I can only hope...that I don't get destroyed with him. But I am only an apprentice, ne?"
She peers at Naerose, closely.
"But as for you, Naerose-senpai...if you are on this pilgrimage to find what Blackjack was, you must ask what Blackjack wanted, and what it was willing to do. And why, in the end, that led to destruction."
Riko winks.
"Perhaps you can find what it is -you- want, why you followed them, and why is it -you- have survived."
Naerose shrugs again and looks back toward the water, "Maaybe." she shrugs a little more then stretches her arms over her head,
"I wasn't really here to ask about Jinchuu really or that Sei fella, just wanted to remember some things. I wouldn't mind going with their salvage team to see the ruins either though. I wonder how much of it is intact. How many pieces. " Then the witch adjusts her hat and really lowers her voice, it's almost a whisper, but more like a mutter or murmur,
"And if my cell repeaters are still there."
Not that they'd work. They stated pretty clearly not to get wet.
"Thanks err Riko." Naerose says then quickly,
"So umm, what about that free lunch?"
Log created on 11:41:44 10/04/2008 by Naerose, and last modified on 12:57:01 11/18/2008.