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What little shelter the close-spaced shanties offered soon gave way to uneven ground: a small rise where rivulets carved their way around rocks and rushed over sodden grass. Buffeted by chilly blasts, Kei and I picked our way up the slope, dodging ankle-twisting crevasses and sharp pieces of rusted debris. When we'd reached the top of the rise, Kei withdrew a small circular device from his vest. The air shimmered slightly through the downpour, then the cloaking shields disintegrated.
When he'd mentioned a ship, I'd been expecting some kind of camouflaged freighter or similarly unmarked version of a larger zephyr-chaser. Something fast and easily maneuverable, but inconspicuous.
Not this.
Mottled grey panels, many patch-welded or studded with dents, covered the ship's long body from its round-nosed tip to its twin tail fins. Its wings, downfolded to provide extra stability when its ski-like foreskidders were in use, only added to the craft's hunched appearance, making it look like an ancient, one-eyed buzzard. Stunned into silence, I stood in the rain, open-mouthed.
"It's a Silver Serpent. Best Recon vessel ever made!"
Not in this century. The thing had to be older than both our ages combined. So old, no Shinu worth his clan ink would ever think of hijacking it. My heart sank at the thought.
"We can go anywhere in her without detection: air, land, even underwater!"
"I should've shot you when I had the chance."
Laughing, Kei patted one of the wing panels. "Don't let her looks fool you, Renata, she's very sturdy. I should know, I refurbished her myself."
"You?"
"Still think I'm an office jockey?" He ducked beneath one of the wings. "Come on, let's get inside before we drown."
Unwillingly, I followed, taking careful note of his hands when he opened a hidden compartment on the side of the ship and depressed a large switch. Their soft, unblemished skin was hardly reassuring. Refurbished? Who was he trying to kid?
Part of the panel lowered, revealing a ramp. An eye watering pong that reminded me of the vapor from Decon Central in New Edo rushed out to greet us.
We rode the ship's rampway in silence, rising from its dark cargo bay to a large common area where an array of mismatched blue and green sectional pieces crowded around a low table. Beyond them, some of the pinewood paneled cabinet doors that lined the wall had popped open, revealing recessed sinks, smaller sets of stacked drawers, and magnifying lights on telescoping extension arms. Taller numbered cabinets identified each section as a workstation of some kind. I counted four in the immediate area, but then the ship's body stretched into the shadows.
"What kind of 'Recon' will we be doing from there?" I pointed to one of the stations.
"This way." He led me to a set of escalating stairs at the far end of the windowless room. An open mezzanine ringed the ship's main level. Recessed lights set along the mezzanine's overhang cast dim pools on the scuffed tiled floor, lending the ship a cavernous feeling. One only underscored by the rain-streaked blear through the oval skylight.
"Your room's down there on the right. There's a shower, and I've laid out some fresh clothes for you." Kei indicated one of two archways located at opposite ends of the mezzanine. I assumed the other led to the bridge. "While you're doing that, I'm going to get us off this rockpile. I've programmed a course that will take us to an abandoned paralaunch on Lake Motosu's southwestern shore."
"But that's completely opposite of where we need to go! Why not head to the Narusawa Ruins or even Lake Sai? Both of them are closer to Aokigahara." Closer, not to mention, riddled with caves where I could easily disappear.
"Because they're closer." He shot me a knowing look, as he handed over my pack. "Now, off you go. We'll talk more over dinner."
He darted through the other archway before I could argue. Not long after, I heard the engine whine to life and then, a loud groan, as her heavy wings unfurled, preparing for take-off. Slick bastard! He might've won this round but no matter where he landed his stupid ship, at some point we'd have to enter the Jukai. Once we did, the forest's density and magnetic soil deposits would deactivate most of those high-tech gadgets that Kei and his murderous hypocrite boss overly relied upon, effectively leveling the playing field.
Two of us would enter Aokigahara, but only one would venture out.