Chapter 18

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="95" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 46 WIDTH="91"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="46" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="91" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#003333" FACE="Arial" ><B>Ultra Symphony</B></FONT>   </div> <bR> <div> Chapter 18: The early morning</div> <div> *** </div> <bR> <div> Ikeda suddenly realized she was opening her eyes with a start and found herself momentarily confused as to her whereabouts. Her tired body was rigidly seated in a stiff metal chair, and the bright, surgical lights blinded her, and it was a moment before she realized she was in the MEU medical bay, next to a large metal table. On the table was the man who had appeared as Jack. Kakei and Ikeda had long been at work repairing his body with the Ultra Chalice. </div> <bR> <div> "Ikeda-san?" Kakei asked, sounding as if it was not the first time he had tried to get her attention. </div> <bR> <div> She met his eyes, blinking. She was rather disoriented, and the sound of what she believed to be some sort of commotion echoed in her head. </div> <bR> <div> "I'm...I'm sorry..I thought I heard something. Did you hear something outside?", she asked.</div> <bR> <div> Kakei shook his head, and got up from his seat across from her. "If I'm not mistaken, you've been awake for almost 36 hours straight, Ikeda. You must be feeling fatigued." He smiled gently, not a hint of exhaustion on his face.</div> <bR> <div> Ikeda laughed lazily. "What gave it away?", she drawled. </div> <bR> <div> Kakei shook his head. "I'm sure there won't be much progress for several more hours, why don't you go get some rest? There is no reason for you to be sitting idly by while nothing is happening."</div> <bR> <div> Ikeda frowned. Ordinarily, she would most likely protest. She was a senior MEU officer and had been trained with the best to withstand extreme rigors, including extreme fatigue, this should have been nothing. </div> <bR> <div> However, in the amount of time it took her to form those thoughts, her eyes closed and snapped open again.</div> <bR> <div> She looked at Kakei, bleary-eyed. "Let me know if there's any progress.. any progress." </div> <bR> <div> He nodded, and walked her to the door. She suddenly turned around, and looked around the room suspiciously. "I really could have sworn I heard something." She turned back around and disappeared down the hall. </div> <bR> <div> Kakei sighed as the doors whispered shut and returned to his seat next to the medical bed. It had only been about a day since Mikono Hayagane lay on the same bed in the same state, and as far as he could tell, her status as an Ultra was a failure. </div> <bR> <div> He had had his doubts from the beginning about Hayagane, but never had he expected her to literally disappear.. And without the proper coaching as an Ultra civilian, there was no telling how she could blow their cover if motivated to do so.</div> <bR> <div> He sighed, folding his hands and resting his chin on them as he stared into space. He silently thanked his highly disciplined mind for not allowing him to lose confidence regarding these matters. </div> <bR> <div> ***</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="id59.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 19"><U>Chapter 19</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ultra Symphony"><U>Back</U></A></div> </td> </tr></table></body>