by Jessie Wolf
“Excuse me, Mr. S’chn T’gai, but why would the Head of House for the Nakatoma Family care what happens with our school. Our sponsor is House Moore.” The real Johnny Recco asked.
“Not anymore, Mr. Recco. As of two days ago that is no longer the case. Because of recent events your and our schools have the same sponsor, along with several others, and that is House Nakatoma. It is because of this fact that we are now able to offer your students a new and exciting option for their futures. One that will not only get them away from the situation they’re in, but give them a whole new way in being productive members of the Empire.” When Lenard finishes talking the looks on both men’s faces become ones of hope.
“Well, just don’t stand there man! Tell us, already!” snaps Jack.
“The Lady Maiha Nakatoma is reviving two Temple orders to act as Peacekeepers for the Empire.” That is all Lenard can get out before both men are asking questions.
“Will she be placing them on your school grounds?”
“Will she be bringing in trainers?”
“Will our boys be allowed to join?”
“Will they be able to finish their educations?”
Quietly taking control Wilf calls for their attention. “Gentlemen, please allow us to lay out for you Lady Maiha’s plan.” Once the two excited men calmed down Wilf and Lenard spent the next twenty minutes going over the plan for the new Temple. They explained how Maiha wanted to bring back two or more of the old Military Temple Orders and use them as Imperial Peacekeepers. As they listened to Wilf both men came to the same realization at the same time.
If they told their students about these new orders and the chance it would give them for better lives they would be going over the walls to join. They both knew that with the back grounds of most of their students, most of them will never be able to be more than just cannon fodder for most military units. The young men who attended their school were threats to the legitimate heirs of their respective families. Families that would be more than happy to see them abandoned to some penal colony or dead on some forgotten battle field.
Before Wilf could even finish with his presentation Jack turned to Johnny. “Call for an assembly first thing tomorrow morning, no scratch that. I’ll give out the information at breakfast before it’s served. Tell all dorm parents that all students will be there or they can turn in their letters of resignation.” Looking back at the two men from JES, one of which is an old friend and brother in arms. “Gentlemen, please convey my regards to her Ladyship, and tell her that I will do everything in my power to help her in this prospect.”
“We’ll be more than happy to pass along your acceptance. Now one of the things she wants to do is to combine both of our school grounds by placing the new Temple Headquarters for these orders between them. She has stated that her own House engineers will build the new Temple structure for them. Do you see or have any problems with these?” Lenard said.
It was Johnny Recco who answered for them. “Lenard, if she wants she can tear this pile of crap down and build right here. We have been doing everything we can just to keep the heat running in our main building. The dorm buildings are in marginally better condition. Trust me when I say that our school buildings are just shy of being condemned.”
At hearing this news Wilf pulled out his personal com and placed a call to the Nakatoma compound. The call was answered on the second ring by a young private first class. “Nakatoma compound, P.F.C. Ronald McDonald speaking. How may I direct your call?”
“Yes, I need to speak with her Ladyship Maiha Nakatoma, please.” Wilf tells the young man.
“May I know who is calling sir?”
“Tell her it is Doctor Brim, her Headmaster calling.”
“Just a moment sir. I’ll see if I can contact her over at the Temple.”
After ten minutes on hold Maiha answers the call. “Headmaster Brim, I hope you’re calling with good news.”
“That is a yes and no, Lady Maiha. I have good, bad, and indifferent news.”
“Ok, give the bad first.”
“Well, it seems that the buildings here at JS are in dire need of repair. It seems that their old sponsor was neglecting their responsibilities here. If from what I have heard from their Headmasters is true, and I have no reason to doubt them, we may be better off bringing the boys over to our school and placing them in the two empty dorms on our campus. Now, the indifferent news is that we have found the real Johnny Recco. He is the Vice Headmaster here at JS.”
He was interrupted by Maiha when she heard this. “Are you positive that he is the real Johnny Recco?”
“Yes my Lady, I am positive. Plus, he is being vouched for by an old time friend of mine.”
“I’ll trust you on this Headmaster. Just don’t disappoint me, understand?”
“Of course my dear Lady. Now for the good news. If what we have been told you will have more than enough volunteers for the new orders. Also we might have to take a look at two other schools. If what I have seen and been told here they may be in bad shape as well.”
“May I know why I might want to take a look at these other two schools sir?”
“Lady Maiha, my name is Jack Chalkier and I’m the Headmaster here at Jacob Salomon. The reason why we have brought the other two schools up is the fact that they were sponsored by House’s Moore and Daniels. Both of these schools are the university level schools to our schools. I believe that the Anita Blake Women’s University and the Abraham Van Helsing School of Science can be folded into your plans for the new Temple Orders.”
“Thank you Headmaster Chalkier, I’ll definitely have to look into that. One of the things I want for these orders is more than just a standard education. The main reason for this is that I have always believed that the best Peacekeepers were also the best educated.”
“Well, if you fold in those other two schools they will most definitely have some of the finest educations available to anyone in the Empire. There may be a few bad apples among the teachers, but if we have the ability to fire certain teachers we can turn these schools around.”
“Thank you Mr. Chalkier, as I said I’ll have to look into it before I make a decision on the matter. For now though, do you see any problems with your students’ parents and their joining the new orders?”
“Are you joking Lady Maiha? If one of my students hears from their parents it’s a red letter day and marks the calendar. The majority of the boys here at my school are the unwanted or illegitimate sons of the High Families. I have or I should say the school has complete custody of our students until they turn twenty-one or join one of the House Militaries when they come of age. Hell, if you wanted to turn them into cyborgs and no one would give a damn, all I have to do is sign the paperwork.”
“From the sounds of it, their parents don’t care about them, but would gladly sign their death warrants.”
“As much as I hate to say this, but you’re probably right my Lady. I know for a fact that over half of my students would be sent to a penal colony if they were to set foot on their home planet. As for the other half all I can say is their only hope for a normal life will be somewhere other than at home.”
“Why are your students so hated Mr. Chalkier?”
“As I said earlier my students are threats to the rightful heirs in their families. These young men would upset the balance of power among certain High Families. They are willing to split the Family fortunes two ways, but never more than that. Then there is the fact that some of them are from a first marriage or out of marriage twist. These are usually the illegitimate or displaced sons of the current Heads of House.”
“I see. Well this puts a whole new perspective on things. Seeing as how you have been so forth coming with me about the situation there I’ll tell you what is going on here. As of right now all the girls that left JES with us have begun the process of becoming second generation Death Dealers along with the former members of the Silent Sisterhood at my Family Temple. Within the next few hours they will emerge
from their cocoons as full-fledged members of the Daughters of the Dragon. If your students join with the new Temple they will become the Black Swords of Saint George.”
“MY GOD! You’re resurrecting the Knights of the Republic. Are you bringing back the Nightingale Sisters or the Brothers of Balance?”
“Who?” asked Wilf.
Jack looked over at Wilf before answering and smiled. “Wilf as a student of history you should know the four orders of the old Republic Knights.” At the looks of confusion on all their faces and the Lady Maiha’s Professor Jack Chalkier just shook his head and went into lecture mode. “When the Empire was first formed the Imperial Temples were commissioned to form six military orders for keeping the peace. Of those six four have faded into history while only two remained.” He then went on to tell the story of those four long forgotten orders, and how they operated.
Everyone listened with great interest to the tale of the four Swords of the Empire as they were called. Unlike the Black Rose or Crimson Shield these four orders work outside of the Temples as peacekeepers, law enforcement, negotiators, and criminal investigators. Where the Black Rose and Crimson Shield were often refused the right to land on a planet the Four Swords were actually invited in to solve long standing blood feuds. There is more than one story were the Nightingale Sisterhood was asked for with planet wide sicknesses, the Brothers of Balance were sought out for their negotiation skills to settle trade disputes, the Daughters of the Dragons were sought after for their investigation skills, and the Black Swords of Saint George were the ones to bring justice to the lawless. All four orders were more than just defenders of the Temples; they were the true long arm the Emperor.
“So you can see why I am so excited by what you’re proposing my Lady. If you truly are planning on bringing back the Temple of Ida-ten and the Orders that called it home. I will tell you here and now. For me to see the return of the Temple of Ida-ten will be the fulfillment of a long time family wish.”
“And how is that sir?” everyone could hear the curiosity in the Lady Maiha’s voice.
“My family was the last ones to attend the Ida-ten Temple on Sirius Nine over four hundred years ago before it was outlawed and declared a heresy by the Imperial Temples. We never gave up our faith we went underground and continued to follow the ways of Ida-ten.”
“By chance sir would you or any of your family be Teachers of the Way?”
“While I may not be, my father, and his brothers are. Why?”
“Can you get ahold of them sir?”
“With ease, I take it you’re in need of someone to teach your new orders the Ways of Ida-ten?”
“Very much so sir. Would they be willing to travel here and become the Heads of the new Temple?”
“Are you willing to go to war with the Imperial Temples, to be more precise the Black Rose and Crimson Shield orders?”
“Sir, I am already at war with those zealots. They dared to attack my Family Temple and my House. They made the mistake of declaring war on my House and Temple. I have between six and eight months to train these new orders as second gen Death Dealers and in the ways of Ida-ten. I have more than enough men and women to teach them everything they need to know to be Death Dealers, APS pilots, plus Peacekeepers, what I lack is someone to teach them the ways of Ida-ten and the ancient masters.”
“I can have my family here in two days’ time my Lady. If I know my father and uncles, and I should think that I do, they’ll be packing up their gear and heading here before the suns rise on the eastern sea board.”
“Remind them that they will be roughing it until I can get the new Temple and housing built for them.”
“Do not worry about that my Lady. I have a feeling that you will have more help than you would expect in the building of your new Temple here on the school grounds. There are more than a few who have found their faiths chafed by the Imperial Temple and a certain Cardinal to the point they are more than willing to help anyone standing up to the man. Trust me when I say that the ‘good Cardinal’ has worn out his welcome on Hades.”
“Well, they will definitely get their chance to piss the old man off. Because I plan on making life for him and his pet orders very uncomfortable.”
“Sounds good to me my Lady. Now, I know you have work to get done not to mention needing to get some rest, my Lady. So I will bid you a good night.”
“The same to you and everyone else there with you sir.” With that Maiha cut the transmission.
Looking over at the other three men in the room Jack smiled at them all. “Wow! Talk about your forces of nature.”
Chuckling Wilf looked over at his old friend. “Jack my good man, you have no idea. None what so ever. I have come to believe that if that young lady ever decided to walk on water she wouldn’t even get her feet wet. I swear to you I saw hardened battle tested veterans showing her the level of respect normally reserved for vets with years of combat time. I have seen her be a giddy school girl one minute and the next a battle hardened warrior. The girl is a complete mystery wrapped in a conundrum, surrounded by a cover-up, that’s been deep fired in a conspiracy.”
“I quite agree old man; the Lady Maiha is without a doubt a force to be reckoned with. Why the wonders she has worked with her fellow class mates is nothing short of spectacular. If I could get half of our staff to perform the way she does we could correct ninety percent of our educational problems.” Lenard put in with a smirk.
“As much as I would love to sit here and continue this little gathering I must call it to an end. All four of us have a great deal to get done in the morning and I am afraid that her Ladyship will have even more for us to do.” Jack said.
“Yes, you’re right about that Jack. So we’ll bid you good night and head back over to the Nakatoma compound. I believe that Lady Maiha and her family will need us in the morning.” Standing and shaking hands with the two men Wilf and Lenard took their leave and headed back to the Nakatoma compound. Once the two men had left his office Headmaster Jack Chalkier turned to his Vice Head.
“Well, Johnny you can voice your opinion now that we’re alone.”
The young man looked at his superior and smiled. “At least I can still count on you to be a mind reader, Jack. While I can see a need for change amongst the Temple and the Empire at large, but do you really believe that this Lady Maiha Nakatoma can pull it off? I mean really what would you say our chances for success are? I would say that tissue paper dog has a better chance at catching the asbestos cat on their way through Hell.”
Laughing at his young companion Jack leaned back in his chair and lit up his pipe. After taking a pull off the pipe and blowing out the smoke. “Johnny, if anyone else were to put this crazy ass idea before me, I would agree with you on our chances. However there are a few things that you should know about the young Lady Nakatoma. The first of which is the fact that she has more right to sit on the Imperial Throne that the Emperor has. You see she is the granddaughter of Matsu Nakatoma nee Owens and James J. Owens Sr. both of whom had claims on the Imperial Throne. Then there is the fact that she is the daughter of Ohmei Owens nee Steel Heart and Richard Steel Heart the third. Those three bloodlines alone give her a greater claim then the current Emperor and his family. Anyone of which would place her in line for the Imperial Throne, but it is the Owens and Nakatoma bloodlines that hold the strongest claims.”
“Wait a minute, why would the Owens bloodline have any claim to the Throne? Everyone knows that James Owens was born of a commoner with no royal ties what so ever.” Johnny was really interested about this little known fact of there being a possible blood tie to the Throne in the Owens family. Every military man and woman knew of the man called Death and his rise to one of the most powerful positions in the Empire’s military.
“What I am about to tell you does not leave this room, Johnny. I need your word of honor on this.”
Johnny could tell that his boss was deadly serious about whatever he was about to say. The fact that he had asked for his wo
rd of honor was enough for him to give it. “I swear to you on my honor as a gentleman, an officer, and a veteran. Whatever you tell me shall never be repeated to anyone else without your permission.”
“Four hundred and fifty-six years ago before the Temple of Ida-ten was outlawed by the rest of the Imperial Temples they were the family Temple for the Owens clan on Earth Prime. One night a woman by the name of Martha Steward came to the Temple in labor. Later that night she gave birth to a son. She named him Markus James. When she was asked who the boy’s father was she demanded the seal of confession before answering. When it was given, the Martha Steward told the Reverend Father about her illicit affair with the then Emperor Fredrick the third, and that he was the boy’s father. The fact that Emperor Fredrick had yet to take a wife made this child the rightful heir to the Imperial Throne. When the Reverend Father heard this he talked Miss. Steward into allowing him to tell the Emperor. When Fredrick found out about his son he knew that the child would be a threat to his families reign. So in order to keep the news of his affair a secret he paid for the mother and child to disappear.”
“Why didn’t he just marry the woman?”
“Because she was not of the High Families or one of the Great House’s. She had been one of the chamber maids for the Royal Palace. If word had gotten out about his dalliances for the Household staff it would have ruined his chances for a more acceptable marriage to one of those said High Families or Great Houses. He knew he couldn’t just kill them as there were too many witnesses, most of which were members of the Ida-ten Temple and Knights of the Empire. So, he ordered the Knights to hide his child and his mother.”
“Where did the sir name of Owens come from?”
“To insure that they would not be found by the Emperors enemies both the mother and child were given new names and ids'. To help with this they took the last name of one of the bravest Knights of the old Republic. Sir Walter Owens, of the Saint George Black Swords order. They say he feared only one thing in his life and that was the love of an honest woman. Anyway the only ones to know of the Owens family true place within the Empire were the Temple Heads for Ida-ten. What no one saw was that instead of just fading away over time the family line grew stronger and stronger by marring the lesser noble Houses and High Families that fell out of power or were outlawed. Then some seventy years ago a young man married the First Daughter and future Head of House of the Nakatoma Family. A family that has the blessing of succession by the Imperial Temples second to only to the current Imperial Family.”
