The Upper City

Right on cue, Shion heard the springy and energetic steps of her subordinate, 2nd Lieutenant Chizuru Yamamoto. In her mid 20's, by age the 2nd Lt. was about 6 years senior to Shion, but there was an air of youth and exuberance that flowed through her which made her seem much younger. Lt. Chizuru had long strawberry blonde hair with a natural wave that set her apart from any other current members of the SS.

The best way that Shion knew how to describe her 2nd Lt. was like an overexcited puppy, wagging her tail so hard that her whole body would shake, all while leaving drops of pee on the floor.

Before the Chizuru could knock on the door, Shion flung the door open.

"Good morning, Lt. Yamamoto. I would say it is a pleasure to see you here at this hour, but that would be stretching the truth at best" Shion said behind a stiff and stoic expression.

Lt. Chizuru just squealed, "OMG it's been such a long time since I've seen you in your dress uniform. You look SO good! I know you love me, how about you put a smile on that pretty little face of yours. You look so much more gorgeous when you smile. Anyways boss, why did we have to get ready SO early? The ceremony won't start until noon".

It was true, the freshly pressed black jacket and trousers, with silver tassels on the shoulder and some strung across were very flattering to both girls, accentuating their slim waists and broad muscles. This was especially difficult for Shion to accept because the person that she saw in the mirror still felt like a total stranger to her, so seeing that person as beautiful was nearly impossible. What she saw instead was a monster of the same variety that killed her parents. However, by everyone else's standards, Shion was drop dead gorgeous. In fact, many of the other SS officers ranked Shion as their number one most beautiful girl and a top candidate for engagement. If not for Shion's cold demeanor she would have been more popular among her peers.

Shion was not amused by this outburst and gave Chizuru a death stare, " Lt. are you forgetting your code of conduct while in uniform? Salute me soldier!"

Chizuru stood at attention in a salute, "Forgive me 1st Lt. I just got so excited since I hardly get to see you anymore, and no one is around to see at this hour anyways. Plus, I came all the way across the base to come and get you, a little excitement would be nice."

Shion pushed her fingers into her eyes again, this whole encounter was making her headache much worse. With an exasperated sign Shion released Chizuru from attention. "Lt. Yamamoto, you decided, without my permission or agreement I might add, that you would escort me to the military ceremony as my plus one. I would appreciate it if you kept your bitching to a minimum since you chose this for yourself. To answer your question, I didn't plan to do much more than walk around the capital and explore all the festival had to offer. I haven't had a vacation in the last two years."

Of course, this was a lie, Shion did in fact have things to do. She was running out of her pills and injections, so she had to rendezvous with her source to get more. Shion also wanted to explore the upper city since most of her life was spent in the lower slums or the tunnels.

There were two other places she desperately wanted to visit: a small bookstore her father frequented when he used to sell antiques on the black market and a small bread and tea shop that her parents first met at.

Shion tapped her wrist to the lock securing her apartment. She reached out her gloved hand to Chizuru, "Let's go shall we go?".

Chizuru then wrapped both her arms around Shion's arm and clung on tightly "Is this ok now, just for a little bit?"

Chizuru was pressed so hard against Shion's arm that she could feel the beating of Chizuru's heart. The fast and rhythmic pattern along with the feeling of warmth from another human made the heat start to rush to Shion's face. It had been so long since Shion had let anyone else become close enough to touch her so casually.

As the two strolled Shion found herself looking up at the air taxis weaving up and down in the sky, somehow managing to avoid colliding into each other by mere inches at times. Their lights blaring at all times of the day. Even at night, there was little darkness in the sky, driven out by the artificial brightness of all the buildings and traffic.

"Lt. Chizuru, have you wondered what the stars look like?

Chizuru furrowed her brow, puzzled by the sudden informal question.

"Hmm, I wonder. I don't think I have ever really thought about it. I think I saw some constellations in a text book once. It would be cool to be able to see those in real life I guess".

Shion looked at Chizuru and gave a breath-taking, genuine smile. "The stars are definitely worth seeing. It's like millions of fireflies shining brightly welcoming us to stare into the abyss of space."

"Shion, have you seen the stars before? But where is that even possible?!"

"Shh. It’s a secret. Maybe I will tell you some other time."

"But..."

"Oh look Lt., a taxi is already waiting for us. Let's get in."

The two squeezed into the back seat of the air taxi and a generic voice spoke from the car speakers "where may I transport you to"

"Take us to the Capitol ."

"Access code needed for this destination. Requesting access code now."

" Access code 97875341"

"Access code accepted, please relax and enjoy your ride First Lt. Shion Tanaka."

With that the 15 minute vertical accent began from the base to the highest levels of the Upper City. The city was located at the top of a tall mountain, and while walking was possible it usually took hours rather than minutes.The city spiraled upwards with houses of Upperclassmen at the bottom rung, the shops and eatery district on the next rung, the federal buildings and the town square, the next was government official housing, and the last was an extravagant palace coated in gold, for Prime Minister Tojo and his family. Each rung was more spacious than the last, but all the air was fresh and clean thanks to an intricate sewer system that ran under both the upper and lower cities connecting them in an intricate network.

Chizuru started yapping about something, but Shion wasn't listening as the low ringing that accompanied her headache swelled into a sharp and unrelenting buzz.

"EARTH, TO SHION! Are you ok? You look pale. Have you been listening to anything I've been saying?"

"Yeah I'm fine. Just a little tired."

"Okay then, so yes, you'll do it?"

"Sure..."

"Yay, I'll call and confirm my reservation. A date with Shion! Yipee!"

That caught Shion off-guard. She thought to herself, "Oh, no. What the hell did I just agree to? A date? I hope it doesn't interfere with my mission."

The electronic voice interrupted Shion's thoughts, "You have arrived at your destination, please exit the vehicle. Enjoy your visit to the Capitol".

As the two exited the air taxi, a notification popped up, or more of a thought inside Shion's mind. "Meet at the corner of Victory and Adulf Memorial Rd. In approximately 15 minutes. Accept or decline?"

All Shion had to do was think of her answer to reply, "accept".

This thought based communication was called Neurolink. It was essentially an implant directly into the brain which served a sort of super computer. Standard issue in the SS, Shion's chip was highly modified with rebel tech. Most military issued neurolinks had a limiter on them that would not allow them to listen in on conversations of those above rank from them without authorization. Shion's chip was able to bypass this and she could essentially listen in on even the Fuhrer.

The experiments used to create this technology were especially cruel. Awake brain surgery, brain resection, electrocution and vessel clipping until tissue necrosis were just some of the atrocities that took place to create the Neurolink.

Shion started walking in the direction of her rendezvous.

Chizuru was close behind, "Shion, where are we headed?"

Normally Shion would have found a way to lose Chizuru, but today she didn't mind having someone around that actually cared about her.

"We...we are headed to the bookstore. The one on the corner of Victory. There is a rare copy of a book I would like to buy."

In silence, the two headed past hundreds of Upperclass citizens, past a dozen shops which all looked the same until they reached the bookstore called "Lavender Books". The smell of coffee and baking bread wafted through the air as the two entered the shop. The Uppercity was alive and busy preparing for the crowds that would no doubt fill the streets even at this early hour.

Shion made several equipment drops from this store. It was only a bookstore for cover, it actually served as a house of debauchery. Several high ranking nobles, doctors, and scientists frequented here to participate in all kinds of illegal activities, most of them involving a fettish of some kind. At the rear of the store was a small shop where all kinds of contraband could be purchased.

This was the perfect place for this kind of drop because no one would ever admit to being there, and the place was crawling with Rebellion spies. The problem today was Chizuru. Shion wondered if she would be able to handle it, but also secretly hoped it would end her crush.