2025-06-11: Where No Light May Shine
- Log: 2025-06-11: Where No Light May Shine
- Cast: Shinji Kaminaga
- Where: An Underpass In Nouvelle Tokyo
- Date: U.C. 00100 06 11
- Summary: Shinji meets with a contact to get the dirt on what's happened since Zarab met with the leaders of the OCU. Things are moving fast, but GGG can still get ahead of them.
...he thinks.
"It's just like you thought," the informant said. She was in the passenger seat in Shinji Kaminaga's car. Blonde. Attractive, by the standards of many humans; though Shinji Kaminaga's memories told him this mostly meant to be wary of honeypot tactics. That would not be a concern on this outing. He'd called Mayer Edward himself for this contact.
Mayer handed him a sheet of images. In this day and age of mass surveillance, the analogue was king; the photographs were from an old film camera, with signs they'd been developed by hand. Plus, just a few from yet-unpublished publicity photos of OCU leaders shaking hands with the strange creature named Zarab. It was wearing a human glove in this photo. 3G's reports said its true appendages ended in a claw arrangement. He understood such guile, Shinji thought.
The photographed document, though, was as much an abdication as a treaty. "Deeply one-sided," Mayer said as she watched him review it. "Damn near just makes him the head of the whole union."
Shinji flicked his eyes over the document, swiftly spotting details. "In exchange for alien technology and alien genetic information," he said. "These would completely change Earth's technological and evolutionary trajectory. It might just be enough to disrupt the balance of power...yet, they would throw away their identity for an unknown's passing amusement. Merely because it would spite their foes..."
Mayer huffed, failing to notice Shinji's intense stare that could all but pierce through stone. "The only reason it isn't signed already was Taiga and Munakata slapping heads. You've got some decent leaders in this new unit of yours, huh?"
Shinji said nothing. He had absorbed the document the second he'd laid eyes on it, but with someone as perceptive as Mayer here he could not afford to flick through it at his actual reading speed. He could not afford those questions, for now. "Appear to the branch that deals with alien aggression as an 'ally'," Shinji says, tracing through the events in his head. "Thereby, all but forcing them to treat him as a friendly, even if they suspect his motives."
"OCU intelligence is leaking like a sieve. More than usual, even. It's like before Durandal went and exposed all those agents. Zarab's selling secrets."
Shinji stared down at the pages, flicking through several more. "It is a declaration of ability. And, an advertisement."
"So rather than kick him out, they'll just ask him to sell them someone else's secrets? Hah. Fun. Might finally put me out of work," Mayer scoffed.
"If Zarab has his way, the amount of work you have to do will not be the concern," Shinji said, flipping the dossier closed.
Mayer let the chilling implications of that one sit, then tilted her head back and huffed a breath. "Probably," she muttered. "The motivations at the top never really change, do they? NUNE would get tangled up by the same trick. Might already have been."
With only that, Mayer opened the door and slid out. A brief glance around for witnesses, and then she started to walk away, back to her own vehicle.
One minute and thirty seconds later, Shinji placed his hand on the gear shift to drive away.
Zarab placed his hand on Shinji's to stop him, appearing in the passenger seat from thin air with not even an electrical flicker.
"Curiosity killed the cat, Shinji Kaminaga."
"No. Ultraman."