The Ghosts of Eden

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Session 24 - Morning of Monday March 7th

Komiko retreated to her room after the arrival of Ichiro and the abortive terrorist attack; Sangeev and Antonio have been sharing guard duty outside ever since. While on guard and waiting to be relieved, Antonio observes Sam Houston drop by to enquire after Komiko and deliver a message from Ichiro requesting a chat.

Ichiro himself later turns up outside her door, watched leaving the breakfast hall by Miho, Andi and Sangeev. Ichiro also gets no answer to his knock but suggests to Antonio that someone take her in some food.

At his own breakfast, Antonio receives a note from Ichiro requesting a meeting on the beach. Sam Houston is busily passing on a similar message to Miho, Andi and Robert.

At the beach our heroes find Ichiro in holiday mood with a table full of drinks. He is interested to know why Komiko is so reluctant to talk to him, and what can be done to speed a meeting up.

He refers to Bernard Singh, and wonders if Komiko blames him for Bernard's madness and eventual demise; he reminisces about meeting Bernard as an employee of Virgin Offworld just before Bernard's breakdown.

He repeats his offer of jobs and then enquires after Robert's DNA collection. Robert grabs the opportunity to ask for a DNA sample and gives Ichiro the assurances he asks for that it won't somehow be used against him.

As if having prepared for just such an eventuality, Ichiro reaches into a pocket and hands Robert a small vial. As Robert touches the vial, or possibly the hand holding it, he suddenly screams, falls to his knees and starts gibbering aggressively in a language unknown to any listening, whilst making a chopping gesture. He then collapses to the ground, gasping, to the consternation of all. Andi gets the impression that Ichiro is annoyed at the course of events.

Later in the infirmary, Robert relates the vision he had on the beach Ð he saw a chap staked to the sand and Robert was chopping off bits of his anatomy with an ornate knife. The victim was naked, muscular and tanned. Robert was dressed in some form of skirt. Robert remembers feeling the desire to kill this person once and for all, as if previous attempts had not been successful.

Miho and Robert remain in the infirmary whilst Andi and Antonio head off to Komiko's room to inform her of developments. Komiko lets them in as if aware that something had happened. At the news, she becomes extremely anxious, pacing, almost distraught and says this is how things started with Bernard: a fit, then he started having dreams, and was later diagnosed with epilepsy. Antonio and Andi take a message back to the others that Komiko wants a meeting somewhere quiet - she knows she'll have to talk to Ichiro before the party will be allowed to leave, but wants to talk to everyone before seeing him.

At the meeting, again on a beach, Komiko looks careworn and tense; she explains that she knew Bernard as a promising high-flyer before he first met Ichiro. Robert describes his vision again. Komiko asks him if he remembered anything cultural, about the skirt or the knife for example, and pulls out a picture that Bernard had shown her similar to his own vision but Robert doesn't recognise it. Komiko explains that she spoke to Bernard before he was taken to Earth to recuperate, that he'd said that Ichiro was 'the devil'.

Komiko is worried for her own safety after talking to Ichiro and gives instructions about continuing the mission to Trixie in her absence. She goes on to say that she believes Ichiro to be truly evil, and claims that other people have been affected by him. She says that experiments have been done in 'out of the way' places that would be illegal/extremely questionable on more civilised planets.

Antonio hears a splash. Komiko, alerted, starts to walk towards the water, flanked by Antonio. Robert sees something breaking the surface of the water, the basketwork of a rising Pentapod. He recognises it as the older Pentapod from the ambush on the boat. The Pentapod is standing on three tentacles and holding up a further two. On pads at the ends of the tentacles the team make out fast-changing patterns and symbols. Komiko and the Pentapod seem obsessed with each other to the exclusion of all else; Robert draws a symbol in the sand but is completely ignored by the Pentapod.

Ichiro then comes down the path to the beach and calls to Komiko ÒI see you have a petÓ. At the interruption, the Pentapod abruptly slips into the water. Komiko and Ichiro head back to the settlement and the rest of the team head off to pack, ready to leave. After an hour, they grow concerned about Komiko and set off to look for her. After another hour, Komiko returns and tells the team that Ichiro has given her a job to do that will require her to travel separately but that the team is to continue with the mission under Andi's command. Before leaving, the team give footage of the Pentapod encounter to Dr Moon, and Andi sets up a backdoor in the computer system for potential later access.

All leave in the helijet and the team return to Ocean OTC where Robert gets a medical check-up. A brain scan shows signs of heightened activity in some areas leading the doctor to ask if he's been under any particular stress. Blood test results are inconclusive but a subtle shift in hormone levels suggest a possible exposure to some sort of poison?

All return thankfully to the Joyous Venture before midnight 8th March, ready for jump out at 8:30 tomorrow morning.

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