Mephron <mephron@idt.net>


     "_Fischer_ to _Gunbuster_."
     "_Gunbuster_ here.  Leaving, Max?"
     "Yes, Admiral.  We're the only people with experience with
the effects of the Eye.  Anyone else you send out there will get
wasted."
     Koichi's image nodded.  "Good luck."
     I turned around.  Savashtar was in the navigator's chair,
Taison in the tactical station, Farmel at the XO station.
     "Savashtar, take us out of here.  Full speed for Earth, the
course we plotted."
     Savashtar hit the buttons, and the starfield turned into
streaks of light as we entered warp.
     "Full speed, Max.  I'm not sure about this course - I don't
like going though the Falas system.  It's interdicted... getting
caught in there, we are history."
     "I know.  But any other course, and the fleet will get us.
They have to know we're coming.  That's the only reason that
Aznable sent that message."
     "So we're walking into a trap?"
     "Of course."


Studio Surrealism presents

Chessmen:  Ended Knights

by Geoff Depew and Bill Crawford


     I was lying down when it happened.  The door slid open,
letting Farmel in.  She'd just sat down when the entire ship
shifted.
     In a flash, I was across the room.  "Bridge, report!"
     "Max, it's a trap!  Fleet here!"
     I didn't stop to say any more.  Running to the bridge took
me past sickbay, where I heard the familiar sound of the life-
support equipment coming on-line.  Washu was getting ready for
the worst.  I was hoping to disappoint her.
     I jumped over the command chair and landed my butt in it.
"Report!"
     Savashtar:  "Five Hawk-class destroyers, two Claw-class
carriers, and fighters.  And the Destruction."
     "Oh, my.  They DID set us up."
     The Destruction was the goddamned UFP FLAGSHIP!  How could
they know where we...
     "They KNEW we'd have no choice but to go through Falas!
Only way to avoid.... the fleet.  So they put the fleet here
anyway." I hated Aznable, but I had to admit, it was a good plan.
     Lights lit up on one of the side boards.  "Max, the guns are
manned.  Heavy Metal is also ready for deployment."
     "Understood.  Patch me into intership."
     He nodded a second later.
     "Guys, this is bad.  Aznable himself is probably here for
this - at least his ship is.  Fight or run?"

     To a person, each of them responded, "Fight."  I nodded.
"Daisaku, stand down Heavy Metal.  Robo's more maneuverable, but
I need you stoking the fires.  Push those engines until they
scream for mercy, then push more."
     "Understood, Max."  He didn't like it, I could tell.  He
doesn't get to use Robo nearly enough.  But right now, we just
couldn't chance leaving him behind.
     I could go into the battle, but it wouldn't do it justice.
We had no chance, and we knew it.  I directed, Savashtar flew,
Taison coordinated, people fired the guns.  Morobo sang a Vargr
battle song quietly. Karin kept her usual battle whispers to
herself, her promise that someday she was going to get out of
this, have a sweet home, a handsome husband, and a cute pet.
     They fought like warriors, like poets, like men and women
who knew they weren't going to make it but were going to take as
many of the other side as possible down with them.
     Portside shield went first, then forward. One of the
carriers got taken out in a lucky shot, and it took one of the
destroyers with it when the powerplant blew.  A blast from the
Destruction holed the engine room, but we kept half power through
some miracle of Daisaku.  Then two of the destroyers got behind
us and blew out our rear shields, and it was all over.
     As the _Fischer_ spiraled down into the cloudy atmosphere of
Falas, all I could think of was, "Well, that's one hell of a
bloody nose we gave them."
     Then everything went black.

     I was surprised when I opened my eyes.  First, because I
never expected to do so again.  Secondly, someone was watching me
carefully.
     She was pretty, slender and young-looking.  Her long light-
brown hair flowed around her gently, and around the royal blue
robes she wore.  When I opened my eyes, she smiled, and I was
dazzled.  Then I noticed the elongated blue mark on her forehead.
     "Uu..." I mumbled.
     She blinked, and I noticed the two small triangles high on
each cheekbone.  "No," she said, in a musical voice, "I am not of
the Uu.  We will speak later.  You and your associates are safe.
Rest."
     She made it sound like such a good idea I did it instantly.

     The next time I woke up, I was alone.  I got up, found
myself dressed, and looked around.  The entire place was done in
pale white and cream shades, and the door slid open rather than
swung.  Sliding it open, I found myself stepping into a sizable
room.
     The entire team, minus Daisaku and Savashtar, were sitting
there, but somehow I wasn't worried. The woman I'd seen before
was there, pouring tea and chatting with Farmel.  Another woman,
who looked older and more mature - correction: stacked and
stunning - was talking quite sternly to Karin and Junta.  The
rest of the team was sipping tea.  Except for Washu who was
leaning against the wall, looking very worried.
     The two women - our apparent hosts - looked up as I entered.
The younger-looking smiled.
     "Oh, good, you're awake.  Please, join us for tea."  She
poured me a cup.
     "Thank you for your help, my name is-"
     She interrupted me.  "I know your name, Mr. Bishop, or
should I call you Largo?"
     I froze.
     Washu spoke up.  "Your little game is cute, but we've just
had a lousy day, so if you could skip your little pony show and
let us in on the joke, we'd appreciated it."
    The older woman stood up, glowering at Washu.  "Kid, you
don't know what you're dealing with, so-"
     The other cut her off.  "Urd, please.  They have been
through a great deal.  I will explain."
     She settled quietly, and everyone gave her their attention.
     "I am Belldandy, and this is my sister Urd.  Our younger
sister, Skuld, is out helping your friends fix the ship.  We are
of the race called by some the Eldest Race."
     I blinked.  They were legends, right in front of us.
Everyone else was the same way.  Again, except Washu, who was
white, and looked like she was going to drop to her knees.
     "We remain on this world, apart from the rest of the galaxy,
by choice.  The rest of our race has passed on, but we remain for
a purpose.  And before you ask, we cannot speak of it.  We
arranged so that this world would be ours, without interference.
Only one has come here in the time we have been here."
     We all sat stunned.  Then Daisaku came in, arguing with what
looked to be a 12-year-old.  Savashtar followed, quietly.
     "You can put an AI in that thing easy!  Just replace that
stupid cybercontrol system with a computer, and bang, it's
smart!!"
     "I don't WANT a sixty-meter-tall intelligent war robot!
It's too dangerous.  The way things are...  Oh, hi, guys."
     Ryuquir bounded over and curled up on Daisaku's feet.
     "This is Skuld, she's the youngest here.  You met the
others, looks like."  Then another man, kind of short, with
slightly crazed black hair, wandered in.  He walked over to
Belldandy, kissed her cheek, then walked through to another room.
She smiled.
     "Oh, that is the other person who has come her.  He is
Keiichi, my... friend."
     Urd chortled.  "She means lover.  They make lots of noise!
Anyway, you two," she said, indicating Junta and Karin, "c'mere.
We'll talk outside."  She led them outside.  Daisaku looked at
the rest of us, while Savashtar sat down and sipped some tea.
     "The _Fischer_'s about half-repaired.  Robo and I managed to
get the worst of the large damage fixed, and Skuld and Sav and I
are working on the wiring, along with the Banpei."
     "The who?"
     "The Banpei, Skuld's legion of robots. They're working on it
right now."
     Belldandy spoke up.  "You must leave when your ship is
repaired.  We are glad to assist, but we cannot interfere any
further."
     "Is there anything we can do for you?"  I doubted it,
but....
     "If you would tell us about what is going on in the galaxy,
I would appreciate it a great deal..."

     I talked for a while about what was happening, with a
divergence into why we were in this area, and added in an apology
for interrupting their peace.
     Dinner was served,and Urd came in, smirking a little.  "Your
two friends won't be joining us for dinner.  They're ...busy."
     I realized suddenly I hadn't been outside the place all day.
"Um, allright... is it safe?"
     Belldandy smiled.  "Falas is a very safe planet.  There are
no creatures that are predators in the food chain.  It's
primarily a plant-based ecosystem, so it's quite safe.  Your
friends will not be harmed."
     Dinner was, as you might expect, vegetarian in nature.
Still, it was quite tasty.  Morobo politely refused anything.
Mihoshi and Kiyone, Daisaku and Ryuquir, Youshou, Gally, Washu,
Taison, Farmel and I sat around the table afterwards, talking
with Belldandy, Urd and Skuld.  We got no information out of them
after dinner, either.
     Farmel and I were shown to a room, where we slept quietly.
In the middle of the night, we were woken up by a loud thud.
Looking out the window, we saw Robo getting into his bay.  The
_Fischer_ looked repaired, so we were happy.

     The next day, we gave them some of our supplies, for which
they were happy.  Apparently they hadn't had meat for quite a
while, and this was a treat for them.  After goodbyes to the four
of them and the Banpei (all of whom had the same personality, one
that was very cheerful), we took off.
     "Daisaku, this is great!  Can't even tell that the ship was
damaged."
     "You can't.  WE put it back together."
     "I'm still impressed."
     I turned back to the crew, shutting off the screen.  "Sav, I
think we have the element of surprise."
     Sav smiled toothily at me.  "Coming back from the dead does
that."
     "Titan."
     The thrusters roared, and we headed into hyperspace.

ABOARD THE UFP BATTLESHIP DESTRUCTION

     "And it's ready?"
     "Quite.   The entire structure is complete and the radiator
panels are in place, Char.  It's quite impressive.  And our early
tests from here in Earth orbit managed to affect the planetary
surface, and all the way the moon.  For one-tenth of a second,
there was no power in that area.  A one million kilometer
diameter area utterly blacked out.  Magnificent."
     "Indeed!"
     The two men turned to see a third man walking in. He wore a
white suit, and green hair tumbled across his shoulders.
     "It is magnificent, to see my father's dream of the glorious
Night spread so far!  His great dream will come true.... and the
Night, the beautiful Night, will spread across the universe..."
His eyes glowed with his zeal, his fervor, his utter lunacy.
     "Indeed.  And your assistance in making sure that the
Federation has the ability to see in the dark, as it were, Mr.
Genya, is quite helpful.  I must complement you on your
expertise.  In some ways, it surpasses mine... in this field."
     Genya bowed, grinning.  "From the great Kagato, master of
many sciences, that is a great, great complement."  He turned to
Char.  "Admiral, your weapon awaits you."
     Char bowed back.  "Excellent.  When this, then the next of
our great weapons, is completed, we will smash the United
Galactica... and then I will rule.  Mine will be the hand that
holds the galaxy.  I will be the first Emperor.... and you,
Kagato, will be my minister of science... and we will make me as
immortal as one of the Uu."
     Kagato smiled his thin smile, and bowed.  "Of course...
Emperor."

     In the dark chamber, Tsunami examined the board.  *This is
not good.  Tokimi has the most advantageous placement on the
board, and only have two pieces that I can put into play, one of
which IS in place.*
     *And Mother. Who knows what she would do...*
     Her reverie was disturbed by the entry of another.
     "Are you prepared to concede yet, Tsunami?"
     "No.  I told you before, I play to the endgame.  Things may
not be for the best right now, but perhaps... perhaps."  Tsunami
shrugged, and smiled.
     Tokimi's eyes alone betrayed her anger, glittering in the
half-light of the room.  "Are you prepared for your next move?"
     In response, Tsunami moved a piece.  Tokimi laughed, and
moved another piece into place.
     "I have your people, Tsunami.  Your hope is gone."
     "There are still moves to go, Tokimi.  Still more moves."

     We landed on Titan as planned, using the ID of the Free Ship
Atonal. We'd gone head to head with the Atonal three months
before, and they'd lost.  Robo was QUITE a good balance in a
situation like that.
     A few moments later, I'd managed to clear us for movement
farther insystem.  It took us two hours to refuel and resupply,
then we were off, heading insystem.  We stayed in the proper
lanes, didn't do anything weird, and made it there nice and
quiet.
     Everyone gawked at the massive sphere in orbit.  Easily a
hundred kilometers across, covered in black plates.  And at what
had to be the front, the image we'd smashed before.
     The Eye of Franken von Folger.  That damn thing could shut
down power in everything inside a certain radius.
     Taison spoke up.  "The original had a five hundred kilometer
effective radius, and was about a kilometer across. And this
one's a hundred times bigger across.  It could take out a million
kilometers, probably.  It doesn't look good."
     I nodded, thinking.  "We have to get a landing permit at
Luna.  Think we can do it?"
     "The Atonal stopped at Luna frequently.  Says a lot for
Luna, doesn't it?"
    A few minutes later, I was speaking into a headset
microphone.  "This is the Free Ship Atonal, calling Luna Base.
Request landing clearance."
    "Atonal, back so soon?"  The cheerful voice of one of the
base's clearance officers filtered through the cockpit of the
_Fischer_.  "Quick run from Tigris Station, wasn't it?"
    "Just back to refuel and drop off some supplies, Luna
Control."  I had to grin.  *If they only knew.*  "Then we're
out of here, and off again."
    "All right, Atonal," the clearance officer chuckled.  "I can
understand that.  Transmit your code, and we'll get you down."
    "Stand by..."  I pointed at Taison and mouthed 'Go.'  "All
right, it's coming now."
    Taison tapped a sequence of controls, sending the security
code we'd secured from Admiral Ota before leaving the UG fleet.
There was a pause, before the clearance officer spoke again; I
counted it at seven seconds. "All right, Atonal, you're clear.
Follow your present course down to Bay 74 and set down.  And get
some for me, okay?"
    I laughed at that.  "Already on it, Luna Control," I said,
glancing over at Farmel.  "Atonal out."
    Farmel punched me in the shoulder.  "Hey!"
    I grinned up at her.  "We're surrounded by the Feds here.
I needed a cheap laugh."
    "All right, all right...now what?"
    "We need a UFP transport."  This from Savashtar, sitting
quietly in his chair.  "To get to the Eye."
    Morobo, the resident Federation military expert, piped up
from his spot by the bridge hatchway.  "The best way to get a
Federation ship is to impersonate a Marine elite team.  We
wouldn't be interfered with, or questioned - at least until we
were already on a ship and heading for Earth."
    "We do still have the armor from that raid on New Venice,
right?"
    I nodded.  "I really hate this...but we're going to have to
split up.  Half of us will have to make a run for the Eye, and
half of us will have to stay here in case the first run fails."
    "Which means the infil team goes first." Farmel folded her
arms.  "Me, Ryuquir, Junta, Gally, and Kiyone."
    "And Morobo."  Savashtar looked up.  "Added firepower, and
the fact that he's Vargr.  More likely not to be bothered."  It
was privately known that a standard elite UFP team usually
included at least one Vargr soldier - and the rank and file
didn't screw with elite units, let alone Vargr.
    I nodded.  "All right..."  I looked at Farmel, and she saw my
expression clearly saying 'I hate this.'  Aloud I said, "Let's
get it done."
    Farmel nodded, holding my gaze for a long moment before
turning away.  "All right," she said crisply, catching the light
assault blaster Savashtar tossed at her on her way off the
bridge, "let's go."  And she was gone.
    I turned to the main controls, frowning.

    Six armored figures strode through the gargantuan docking
facilities of Luna Base ten minutes later, hardly drawing a
second glance from the troops they passed.  Four of them were
helmeted, while the two in front held their helmets in hand.  All
of them bore the insignia of the Federation Combat Police on
their armor.
    Farmel briefly muttered to Morobo, "How lucky have we been?"
    "Very," Morobo replied.  "But it isn't surprising.  We Vargr
have never been a race to be trifled with."
    "Thank God," Junta said, sotto voce.  When Morobo turned to
look at him he just grinned.
    "Hey!" a young-looking tech in Marine uniform called out,
jogging over to the group.  "I recognize you...uh...Morobo!
You're Morobo, right?"
    Morobo frowned slightly.  "I think you are mistaken."
    The tech snapped his fingers.  "Oh, come on, Morobo...you
probably don't remember me, anyway.  We used to serve together
under Captain Lisset, on the Resolute--"
    Morobo remembered him quite well, actually.  Even as he
brought his helmet around in a vicious backhanded swing that
knocked the tech off his feet.  "Quiet," he said, adding a low
guttural Vargr exclamation of irritation for effect.  Turning to
Farmel, he said sharply, "Let's go," and set off down a narrow
corridor between rows of storage containers.
    Farmel looked around briefly.  A couple of other techs were
staring after Morobo, faces red.  She gave a passably helpless
shrug and followed Morobo, along with the rest of the team.  As
she caught up with the fast moving Morobo, she muttered
sarcastically, "Subtle."
    "And your point is?" Junta said, grinning.
    Morobo slowed down, turning to look at Farmel.  "The landing
bay we noticed on our way in...we are close to it.  Perhaps
another hundred meters."
    "The one with the FedComPol transport?" Farmel nodded, taking
a tighter hold on her rifle.  "Usual four-person security square,
do you think?"
    "Probably.  The Federation was never one for changing
security protocol on anything less than an act of God."  Morobo
double-checked his own rifle, one of his rare smiles rising on
his face.  "How unfortunate."
    "Not for us, though."  Kiyone slung her assault rifle over
her shoulder and produced two small pistols from hidden pockets
in her armor - Galaxy Police stunners, part of her and Mihoshi's
massive arsenal.  "Four people in the bay, right?"
    "Possibly five, if the pilot is there."
    Kiyone adjusted the stunners' power levels slightly.  "Simple
enough," she said.  "Four unconscious guards, coming up."
    Junta stepped up behind Kiyone, swinging his rifle from his
shoulder.  He said quietly, "Just don't miss."
    Kiyone gave Junta a look of restrained contempt, just before
she walked the last few meters into the landing bay with her
hands behind her back.  A few seconds later the muted whine of
two Galaxy Police stunners reached the ears of the rest of the
infil team, followed by silence.  Junta smirked, an ear-to-ear
grin rising on his face, and said, "Nothing like a tease to make
the best in a--"
    Kiyone's voice filtered back to them.  "We're in."
    The rest of the team quietly hurried into the landing bay,
where Kiyone was using monorestraints to bind the unconscious UFP
guards' limbs.  "There wasn't a pilot," she said, dragging one of
the guards behind a row of storage containers.  "Nobody saw
me--we seem to be clear."
    Farmel nodded, helping Junta with one of the other guards.
"Morobo, get the ship ready for takeoff.  Kiyone, how long will
these guys be out?"
    "Six hours or so, provided they're not found."
    "Time enough."  Farmel glanced at the main bay entrance.
"Let's move it before this whole thing blows up in our face."
    Gally tossed the last of the guards over the containers,
forming a somewhat neat pile of unconscious bodies.  Ryuquir
ducked, glaring at her, then ran up the boarding ramp into the
shuttle.  As the rest of the group boarded the ship, Gally and
Farmel wrestled a container into place to form a more effective
cover for the guards.  "There," Gally said.  "Let's move it."
    "Definitely a plan," Farmel said as she headed for the
boarding ramp.

    Einstein IV was a small planet around a small sun in a small
system.  The only thing that made the system notable was that it
held the best universities and research facilities in the galaxy.
Einstein IV was entirely devoted to the experimental physics
department.  The feeling was, give them their own world to play
with - and they just might not blow it up.
    Of course, that was the feeling when they had Einstein IV
over a century ago.  The current Einstein IV used to be Einstein
V.
    On Einstein IV, in one of the few structures on the surface
designed for habitation by humanoid lifeforms, a young man yelled
bloody murder as two UFP guards practically flung him into a
large room.  The door closed with a hiss, sealing him in - there
was no inner control panel for it.  "Goddamn it, let me out!" he
screamed, his voice echoing hollowly off the metal walls.  "This
is insane--"
    From beyond the door, through a small grating, came a voice.
"Oh, shut UP."  He recognized it as belonging to one of the
guards that had brought him here.  "You'll be out of trouble real
soon."
    The man cursed softly, spinning around to look at his prison.
The room itself was entirely metal, with a single dim light
fixture next to the door - the far end of the room was hidden in
darkness.  *Christ,* he thought, *they are probably going to
interrogate me in a little while...they put me in here to stew.*
    A second voice, this one female, made the hairs on the back
of his neck rise.  "Such a lovely man..."
    The prisoner looked around quickly.  It sounded like it had
come from the darkness at the other end of the room.  "Who's
there?" he asked, cautiously.  "Is anyone there?"
    After a long, nervous silence, a figure stepped out of the
dark.  Below-average height, with dark hair swirling about her
head--a dark cloak of some kind drifted about her as she stood,
half-hidden, not more than a few feet away from him.  "No," she
said softly, "there's no one here but us prisoners."
    The man frowned.  "You got captured too?"
    "Not exactly."  The woman shrugged.  "My...sister...was
captured.  I arrived soon after that."
    "I see."  The man smiled wearily.  "Why were you both
captured?"
    "My father."  The woman stepped forward, stopping at the
boundary of the light--the man now saw that the woman's voice was
coming from a girl who could not have been more than sixteen.
For some reason he drew no comfort from that.  "They needed him
to help build something, I think."
    The newcomer nodded.  "Are you all right?"
    "Couldn't be better, now that you're here."  The young girl
gave him a smile that chilled him to the bone.  "Can you help
me?"
    "Help you escape?"  He grinned.  "I certainly wasn't planning
to stay here."
    The girl shook her head.  "That's not what I meant."
    "No?"
    "Not at all."
    The man smiled.  "Don't worry.  We'll get out of this.  My
name's Ataru Moroboshi--I'm a United Galactica operative."
    The girl smiled back, raising a pistol of some kind.  "And
I...Father calls me Hotaru.  You can call me..."
    Ataru felt the impact in his chest and looked down at the
small dart sticking out of his shirt.  As he reached down and
pulled it out he felt a chill, racing through his chest, his
arms, his legs...and a heartbeat later he fell to the ground.
    "You can call me...Mistress Nine!" the girl crowed.
    Ataru tried to get up, push himself up, but astonishingly he
found that he couldn't control his limbs.  He just lay there,
sprawled out, with a dull throb of pain from his bruised arm
where he had hit the floor.  "What...what..." he croaked, amazed
he could speak.
    "Oh, it's not poison or anything like that," she explained,
walking over to kneel next to him.  "It's just a little medical
anesthetic that simply disconnects the motor control part of the
brain, but leaves everything else intact.  Speech, sight, touch,
and so on."
    "Why did you do this to me?" Ataru said, alarmed.  "To
paralyze me, while you finish me off?"
    Mistress Nine winked at him.  "So to speak," she said,
sliding a glittering length of metal from within her cloak.
Ataru recognized it as a survival knife of UFP design - and then
he drew a breath to scream...
    Outside, the pair of guards winced slightly as the screams
began anew.  "Christ," one of them said, "that's sick."
    "Yeah...goddamned UGI scum," his partner replied.
    "Even so...you think he deserves THAT?"
    "Fuck, yes!" the guard replied without missing a beat.
"'Sides, the bitch needed a snack before we transfer her and her
dad to Juuban.  That'll shut her up."
    The other guard looked through the grating in the door, his
face a little paler than usual.  "That's..." he said uncertainly,
fishing for the words he wanted.  "That...I wouldn't wish that on
my worst enemy."
    "I would," his partner said, "in a minute.  Your enemies
don't deserve any fucking mercy."
    "They deserve to be eaten alive?"
    "Some of them, hell yes."  The taller of the two guards
turned towards an old man, seated in and chained to an old chair.
"What do you think about that, Professor?" he asked, with a grin.
    And Soichiro Tomoe looked up, his one organic eye wet and red
with unshed tears, and started crying all over again.


    "Are we ready to go?"  Farmel sat in the co-pilot's chair in
the shuttle's cockpit, looking at Morobo.
    Morobo nodded, already strapped into the pilot's chair.  "All
set."
    Gally came forward into the tiny cockpit, throwing herself
into the navigator's seat.  "We're closed up--let's move," she
said.
    "Initiating automated launch clearance...as long as the
shuttle isn't redlisted for maintenance, we should be fine."
Morobo eyed a group of displays above his head.  "We've got a
half load of fuel, more than enough to get to the Eye and back."
    Farmel nodded, dropping her helmet on the deck next to her
chair.  "Then let's do it."
    "Automated launch clearance has been accepted...thrusters at
half power..."  A shudder ran through the ship, then a tiny jolt
as it lifted off the ground.  Morobo expertly handled the
controls, nudging the small transport into a high trajectory away
from the landing bay complex.  "We have cleared Luna Base," he
said a few moments later.
    Farmel looked forward, at the starfield dominated by Earth
ahead of them.  Her mind was racing - really, they would have one
good chance at this.  If they didn't manage to take out the Eye,
it would have so much security around it afterwards that a second
attempt would be almost certainly suicidal.
    It occurred to her that this attempt was probably suicidal as
well.
    And at that moment, a high-pitched beeping sounded from the
pilot console.  Morobo glanced down at a display, his lupine
features twisting into a grimace, and cursed loudly in Vargr.
    Gally looked at him, as he began almost frantically hitting
controls, and frowned.  "What's up?"
    "I've lost control of the ship," Morobo growled, even as the
transport arced around and back towards Luna.  "We're heading
back towards Luna--"
    "What?!?" Farmel exploded.  "How did this--"
    "I don't know!"  Morobo jerked the main control yoke back and
forth, the other hand dancing across controls, and finally
slumped back into his chair with a snort of disgust.  "Automated
control has taken over.  I thought it was disabled..."
    "I saw you take it off-line!"  Farmel looked around the
cockpit.  "How in the hell do we take it BACK off-line?"
    "Secondary flight computers, back in the cargo bay!"  Morobo
rose and left the cockpit, with Gally in tow.  "Take over!"
    'Take over what?' Farmel thought sarcastically, even as she
slid over into the pilot's chair.  One of the forward sensors
displayed new data on a monitor screen, and Farmel shouted,
"We've got company!"
    In the cargo bay, Kiyone and Junta looked up in puzzlement as
Morobo and Gally rushed in with weapons drawn.  Morobo pointed at
a massive bank of monitors and controls in one corner.  "There!"
    "Is it connected to anything else?" Gally asked.
    Morobo leveled his rifle at it and opened up, punching
high-velocity slugs through the displays and microcircuitry.
Gally joined in after Morobo stopped firing, springing forward
and ripping the remains of the computer out of the wall.
    Farmel clutched at the controls as the transport suddenly
nosed over.  "I got control!" she shouted, wrenching the ship
back up and around.  "Morobo... how did the autopilot become
enabled?"
    Morobo raced back into the cockpit.  "According to the status
displays we received a short coded message from Luna Control
right before it happened!"
    "But our comm systems were shut down--"  Farmel frowned, an
idea coming to her.  "Dammit," she cursed.  "We've got to get
back to the _Fischer_.  NOW."
    Morobo realized what she meant.  "We've been found out."

    Max quietly sat in the captain's chair on the _Fischer_, his
mind wandering.  Part of it was focused on Farmel and her team,
part of it was considering the options that would be left if her
team was captured or killed, and part of it was thinking about
donuts for some insane reason.
    It was at the moment when he was about to surrender to the
desire for one jelly donut, just one, when an alarm started going
off.  He snapped his head around, looking at one of the
communications monitors, as it abruptly flashed on with an image
of a worried-looking Farmel.  "We've been blown," she said, her
face briefly very anxious.
    Max frowned.  The entire situation had gone from bad to
horrible.  "Damn!  Get out of here!" he shouted at the com
pickup.  "We'll meet up at Minerva!"  Minerva, one of Uranus'
moons, was the closest thing to a hiding place in the Sol system.
    Farmel nodded, and mouthed three words at the monitor before
cutting the transmission.  The three words one of them always
used at this point.  Not a heartfelt 'I love you,' but the even
more heartfelt 'See you soon'--one of a small collection of
private jokes the couple shared.
    Max silently mouthed the same words at the now blank monitor
screen, then slapped at a series of switches on the arm of his
chair.  As the intership intercom system came on, he yelled,
"Sav!  Taison!  We've gotta go!  NOW!"
    In entirely too many seconds Savashtar and Taison dashed onto
the bridge, fairly vaulting into the navigator's and tactical
officer's chairs.  Sav began flipping switches insanely fast,
bringing the _Fischer_'s systems online as Taison reported, "Guns
on standby...what happened?"
    "Infil team's been blown...we're leaving."  Max flipped
another switch.  "Daisaku!  You set?"
    "Let's do it!" came Daisaku's voice a heartbeat later.
"Engines ready!"
    "We're secured and closed up," Taison added.
    "Luna Control wants to know what the hell we're doing,"
Sav said.
    "Tell them we're pursuing the captured shuttle!"
    "Done...all right...cleared to launch...we're gone."  Sav
slapped a switch, the rising hum of the drives shaking the ship,
and yanked the control stick hard.  The _Fischer_ sprang up from
its landing bay... the full-throttle launch pushed us past a pair
of racing pursuit frigates and into a sharp trajectory away from
Luna, and after the dozen or so vessels now chasing the transport
Farmel and company had taken.

     Farmel cursed as the transport rocked with another near
miss, pounding the arm of her chair angrily.  "Dammit," she
snapped, "we could have taken a shuttle with WORKING weapons--"
     Morobo and Gally were an impressive team, pushing the ship
to its design limits to avoid the fire from the pursuing ships.
"As if we would have had the time!" Gally retorted.
     The ship rocked again, and Morobo cursed--again--and
reported, "Aft shields are taking a beating...they won't last
much longer."
     Gally shouted, "I've got the _Fischer_ on sensors!  It's
back behind the rest of these idiots--about two minutes back!"
     Farmel looked at the two.  "You think we can get to it
without getting blown apart?" she asked, knowing they probably
couldn't.
     Gally frowned, just as a blinding light suddenly filled the
viewports.  "Oh, shit!" she burst out, as the light faded--and in
front of them had appeared an armada of ships.  The Federation's
main fleet was staring them in the face--and Farmel knew they
were well and truly screwed.
     Even so, she still managed to order, "Evasive maneuvers.
Get us the hell out of here--"

     Tenzil Kem, standing on the bridge of the flagship of the
UFP fleet, brushed irritably at his slicked-back hair and smiled
evilly.  "All guns...fire."

     In the instant after the _Destruction_'s weapons opened fire
on the transport, Farmel had the impression of the gates of
heaven opening to allow the fury out...


     It had been hopeless.  By the time they got to the area
where the shuttle was, the small transport had already been
disabled and tractored into an assault frigate's bay.  They had
no choice but to vector to Minerva.

     They landed in one of the open bays - Minerva HAD no Flight
Control.  A quick inventory showed that any major assault would
have to be fast.
     "The question, people, is this.  The Eye, or our people?"
Max looked around the table.
     Mihoshi blinked.  "Isn't it more important that we be
together to finish this?"
     Daisaku nodded.  "Together."
     The rest of the team nodded agreement.
     "Together."

     We headed out of the ship onto Minerva's surface.  We,
accurately, were myself, Youshou, Savashtar, Daisaku, and Taison;
we'd left everyone else aboard the _Fischer_ after we had landed.
To be honest, we needed a few more things to break into Luna
Prison, where they almost certainly were.  The best place on
Minerva to find some of the things we needed was Chiba's, a
combat bar.
     Minerva is a Free Port.  No laws, no rules.  That was why
the _Fischer_'s weapons were active - if someone who didn't have
a Chessmen commbadge entered the bay, we'd wash their ashes off
the wall.  Combat Bars are the center of life on Minerva.  It's a
large combat arena with a bar around it.
     Chiba's was one of the best there.  Anyone could buy
anything there, and the best of the arms dealers were there.  As
we entered, the usual was going on.  In the arena, two young men
were fighting.  One had black hair in a pigtail, the other had
black hair tied with a black-and-yellow striped bandanna.  We'd
come here looking for supplies, some heavier weapons...maybe an
antique nuclear missile or two...

     ...and instead we were stopped by two women.  The taller of
the two, a very statuesque dark-haired woman, was clad in
super-retro jeans and an old leather jacket; her cohort had green
hair down to her waist, and was wearing some sort of tiger-
striped jumpsuit.  She also had two tiny little horns poking out
of the hair on top of her head; she had to be an Oni.  That
surprised me--what few Oni remained in the universe were living
out on the edges of explored space, and wanted very little to do
with anybody.  "Excuse me, but we want to ask you something," the
dark-haired woman said to Youshou.
     Youshou was unflustered as always.  "Yes?"
     The Oni woman piped up, "Do you think we're attractive?"
     Youshou nodded and simply said, "Yes."  Of course, that was
the only applicable reply to that question.
     "Then what is it about men that makes them chase other
women?" she asked.
     The dark-haired woman said, "Lum and I have been arguing
about that for..a month, right?  Yeah, a month."

     Taison, who had managed to snatch a drink from a passing
servo-droid, added from beside Youshou, "Maybe they're just
trying to have their cake and eat it too.  Though I can't
understand why any man would want to, with such lovely ladies as
yourselves."
     "He's probably lying, Kaori," the Oni commented.
     "You'll have to forgive Lum," Kaori laughed.  "She's just a
bit bitter."
     "Come on, Kaori...I gave him the best years of his life!
And what does he do?"  Lum spat out a series of Oni epithets.
"He LEFT me for another woman!"
     "You know, you really need to put him behind you..."
     "But I loved Ataru!"
     Kaori shrugged.  "You smothered Ataru, remember?  You
basically pushed him right into Shinobu's bed!"
     Lum began to sob uncontrollably.  "And Lisa's...and
Karla's!"
     Kaori folded her arms and snorted.  "I swear, women'll be
the end of that man...your darling was a real slut--"
     "Oh, shut UP, Kaori!" Lum blurted, wiping her eyes.  "You
don't know what you're talking about!  And whatever happened to
Ryo, huh?"
     "Ryo...oh, that was LOW, Lum!  Dammit, that was only a year
ago!"
     "Who's smothering whose fiancees, hmmm?"
     "Bitch, bitch, bitch!  That's ALL you do these days..."
     Taison, Youshou, and I exchanged glances as the two women
continued to argue, apparently having forgotten about us.  We
took that moment to turn around and head for a corner of the bar.
Taison sat down at a table and started speaking with the men
there.  He knew most of the best arms dealers by name.  The rest
of us stayed together and watched the two men in the middle of
the bar duke it out.
     The fight ended (the pig-tailed man won), and the next
began.  The first of the fighters entered, a huge human.  Then a
deep musical tone played, and a voice started to speak.
     "Two thousand years ago, a man-beast was born on a distant
planet.  They named him GORO.  Eight feet tall, with four arms of
terror!  Half-human, half-dragon, this outworld prince was born
to fight, to conquer, to rule!  GORO!"
     The creature that stepped into the arena was even more
massive than the human.  And as advertised, he did have four
arms.  Bronze skin rippled over muscle as he removed his cloak.
     As he did so, Savashtar let out a gasp.  His face was white
as a sheet--I had never seen him so...so SHOCKED.  He whispered,
in amazement, "Prince Gorozeiar..."
     Daisaku leaned over, fighting off the advances of a short
red-haired woman in what might have passed for dental floss, and
tapped my shoulder.  "Prince who?"
     Even I was a little surprised.  I had thought for the last
century that Sav was the last of his kind.  "Prince Gorozeiar was
the last ruler of the Serpenterans, before their planet got
bombed by GORGE," I explained.

     Daisaku looked in surprise at Savashtar, who was still
staring at the fight with a look of total surprise on his face.
"Damn..."
     The fight was short and brutal, even by Minerva's
standards...  no finesse, the two just beat the hell out of each
other.  Or, more correctly, Gorozeiar beat the hell out of his
opponent.  At the end of the first minute his opponent--some guy
announced as the Chojin--was bleeding profusely from a half-dozen
cuts and wounds across his chest and face.
     And Savashtar watched, horrified as Prince Gorozeiar, Prince
of the Serpenteran race, shattered his opponent's spine over his
knee.  The astonishingly LOUD crunching noise cut across all the
other noises in the bar, followed by the emcee's announcement of
the victor.
     Taison came back when it was over.  "I managed to get us
some more weapons from Ms. Vincent and her partner Ms. Hoskins
over there.  They'll be delivered to the ship soon.  We should
get back."
     I nodded, then looked at Sav.  He seemed to be in shock.  I
guided him towards the door.  Daisaku looked confused.
     I shrugged.  "Hard to watch your idols crumble."

     Farmel tried to focus, but it was so hard... the drugs...
what was it about drugs?  something... couldn't remember...
     The big man... not the grey-haired one... the black-haired
one... he said something...
     The door creaked open.
     Tenzil Kem, head of the United Federation of Planets Combat
Police, stepped in.  Black hair fell over his eyes, as he
grinned.  It wasn't a pretty grin.  He slapped the neuro-whip
into his hand.  "It's playtime again."
     Farmel looked at him, uncomprehending.
     "Oh, I know you can't really respond.  All the drugs we
pumped into you so you can't escape also make it so you can
barely think.  I just like this."
     He thumbed on the neuro-whip, and ran it along her arm.  It
felt like the entire arm was being burned off by inches.  Her
scream echoed in the confines of the room.
     Gally looked up from her cell.  They'd ripped off her legs
and wired a pain generator into the neurocircuits.  Farmel's
scream still managed to cut her worse than that.
     "I'll take you apart, Kem... you'll die if it's the last
thing I ever do."
     She looked over into the other corner of her cell, where
poor Ryuquir lay, unconscious, beaten half to death.  Gally
looked
upwards.
     Kem threw back his head and laughed uproariously.  "Oh, I
love that!  That's SO ironic..."  He grinned at Gally.  "You see,
tomorrow, you're ALL being taken apart.  We just jumped the gun
with you, though--"
     "You're a sick son of a bitch, Kem."  *Max... I don't blame
you for this.  But if you'd show up SOON, I'd really, really
appreciate it!* Gally thought grimly.
     Kem merely waved at the only other conscious person in the
room, a cybertechnician.  "You know, I don't hear her
screaming..."

     The weapons arrived, and so did the armor.  We usually don't
wear body armor, but this was special.
     What surprised us is what came WITH the shipment.  Prince
Gorozeiar.
     Savashtar looked into the face of his prince, and looked
like he was about to spit.  The prince didn't seem to care.
     "You, Savashtar.  Why do you work with these ...puny
humans?"
     "Because, Gorozeiar -"
     "PRINCE Gorozeiar!"
     "Because, GOROZEIAR, I HAVE no home.  It died.  These are my
friends.  And they could destroy you!"
     The prince nodded, his topknot moving slowly.  "You think
what I do betrays what I am, what it means to be the Prince of
Serpentera.  You do not understand why I do it.  I have a
reason."
     "And what reason, Prince of Nothing, do you have that could
be worth that... that BUTCHERY?"
     Gorozeiar reached into a pouch at his waist, and pulled out
an ovoid about fifteen centimeters across.  "This."
     Sav's eyes went wide.  "IT's..."
     "An egg, Savashtar.  A FEMALE egg."
     Silence dropped over the room.  A female egg off the
Serpenteran race...
     Savashtar dropped to one knee.  "I beg forgiveness, my
Prince.  For the survival of such as that, any reason is a proper
one."
     "You are forgiven, Savashtar.  Now, I know of your battle.
And I see it as a proper one.  I would fight with you!  A
GLORIOUS battle!"
     I whistled softly.  TWO Serpenterans.  Plus the rest of us.
I had to admit, the help was needed...
     "All right, you're in.  Pick what you need.  Full assault
mode.  Daisaku, not you."
     Daisaku turned to glare at me.  "What, again, I stay behind
while you go to the rescue?"
     I looked him right in the eye.  "Heavy Metal is go."
     He grinned widely.  "THAT'S more like it!"

     We slammed on a jammer at breakout, making a big mess of
their scans.  Savashtar ran the controls, and we were running
hot.
     "All weapons forward."
     "All forward."
     "Report status, all stations."
     "Ready."  "OK."  "Medlab ready for incoming, full trauma
suite."  "Heavy Metal is go."
     I smiled, and looked up at Youshou, who was standing next to
me.  "Shall we?"
     "Let's knock first.  It's more civilized."
     "Taison, fire!"
     The entire force of all our weapons went forwards, blowing a
chunk of the satellite grid away.  We blew through it before it
could repair itself.  Morobo had given us a briefing on the setup
of the base, and we knew where to go.  Just inside the grid, a
pair of hatches on an oversized cargo bay opened.
     Sixty humanoid-shaped meters of war robot shot out of the
bay.  Giant Robo started laying down suppression fire, taking out
what ground defenses we'd missed, then turned to the incoming
fighters.
     Most fighters are surprised to find out that something as
big as Robo is so agile.  It dodges like a light fighter, and
it's got jammers from HELL.  No way to get a radar lock on it.
     Unless you have a coded and shielded comm frequency.
Daisaku was operating Robo to the Deus Irae.  (He was a
passionate Bach listener.)
     We landed the _Fischer_, the decel burn almost bruising.
The ship straddled an above-ground building, and we dropped a
stretch-tube onto it.  Sealed, and blew a hole, and we were in.

    Two Combat Police troopers in full armor walked through the
empty hallway, chatting animatedly about the previous night and
the romantic conquests thereof.  "Come ON, Dan," one of them was
saying disbelievingly, "an Oni?"
    "Hey," the other trooper said, shrugging, "she was ASKING."
He grinned.  "Oh, I knew she was just playing coy--Oni are good
at that, ya know--but hell, I KNEW she wanted some real action.
And who do you think gave up the action?"
    At that exact moment, alert klaxons began sounding through-
out the corridor.  Barely a second later, part of the ceiling
exploded inwards with a deafening roar, filling the air with a
mixture of smoke and ferrocrete dust.  The concussion knocked
the two men to the floor, coughing and stunned, as dark figures
dropped through the gaping hole in the ceiling to the floor.
    Dan managed to roll to a sitting position, still somewhat
fuzzy, as the sounds of booted feet alerted him to the arrival
of a squad of armed CP soldiers.  The squad leader's amplified
voice boomed around the corridor, recognizable as that of their
squad leader, Lieutenant Francis.  "There they ahhhhh--"
    He was cut off by a noise Dan had never heard before,
something like a heavy particle beam rifle--firing full-auto.
Moments later, something wet and red smacked into the wall over
his head and bounced into his lap--it looked vaguely like Lieu-
tenant Francis' face.  He managed to successfully hold down the
urge to vomit, as the vague forms of the rest of his squad began
firing their weapons past him into the smoke.
    From inside the swirling gray clouds, Dan could make out a
group of dark silhouettes moving quickly.  And then the awful,
violent noises began again--red and silver energy bolts parted
the clouds and began killing the rest of his squad, without mercy
or pause.  And, suddenly, the smoke swirled and he could see the
attackers--great, hulking armored figures with weapons that spat
out fire, blood-red.  Weirdly, they all sported what looked like
a stallion's head on their chests...
    For an instant, he considered fighting...but an impulse deep
in his brain warned against it.  He realized, even as he was
falling across the body of one of his friends, even as he tried
to make it appear that he had been killed, that it was fear.
Plain, simple fear.
    As the armored angels of death swept through the hallway and
out of sight, Dan finally summoned enough courage to look up.  He
glanced around the corridor, seeing the carbon scoring and the
massive blood splashes, the shattered and ripped corpses of the
rest of his squad, and simply blanked out.
    It had been less than thirty seconds since the explosion.

    We were unstoppable as we blasted our way through the
corridors of Luna Prison.  Gorozeiar's friends had supplied us
with UFP guns that we hadn't used since we had parted ways with
them years before--which we now used liberally on their original
owners, taking the time to make sure we killed as many of them as
possible.  We weren't really using any kind of guidance, other
than the tracking beacon inside Gally's body--we basically blew a
path straight at her, and to hell with any walls or doors we came
across.  And, we really weren't much better on the people--I'm
fairly certain Sav and Goro ripped quite a few unlucky ComPol
troops apart on our way.
     The cell block... God.  Our people were the only ones in
there, and you could tell.  It was a place to keep people when
you didn't care about them much.  Goro ripped doors off the
walls, and so did I.  Junta's face and chest was a mass of
bruises, rendering him almost unrecognizable, except for the
hair.  Kiyone was curled up, naked, her gut bruised... I didn't
want to think about any more than that.  Morobo's right eye was
gone, as were half his teeth and a large chunk of flesh from his
right arm.  Ryuquir had been beaten severely.  Gally... god,
they'd ripped off her legs and wired her to a generator.  Taison
worked that free, as I opened the last door.
     Farmel...  She wore barely anything, just some rags.  She
was dangling by her arms from a pole that itself was hung from
the top of the room.  Nothing seemed to be wrong with her, but
she looked at me with eyes that didn't want to focus.  She
started to move away from me, moaning.  I snapped the chains,
and... Youshou picked her up.
     I glared at him.  Unflappable as ever, he said, "Gally's
the heaviest, and you're the best suited to carry her."
Actually, I wasn't, but I knew Youshou, and this was his way of
saying, "I will make sure of her."
     I nodded, and ran into Gally's room.  She looked up.  "Damn
glad to see you, Max."
     I picked her up roughly and swung her into a fireman's
carry.  "Time for party later.  We've got to go now."
     We got into the corridor, and I saw two halves of a
FedComPol trooper.  Youshou's sword was just fading.  Goro had
Kiyone, Taison had Morobo, Karin was helping Junta to stand, and
Sav had slung Ryuquir into his carrybag.
     We ran.  We shot.  We killed.

     I pitched forwards, as something slammed into Gally's back
and pushed me, too.  Taison shot over my shoulder, and I heard
someone fall.
     Gally's voice spoke in my ear.  "Drop me, Max."
     "What?"
     "Drop me.  That last shot... it blew a hole in me.  Circ
pump.  I'm dying.  I'll be dead before we get back."
     "I'm not leaving you here!  THEY might save you, just to use
you!"
     The entire run had stopped.
     "Max, they won't take me.  I swear it.  Now drop me!"
     I looked around helplessly.  IF Farmel had been all right...
she could have gotten Gally back right then.  But.  Dammit,
always "but..."
     Gally let go, falling to the ground.  "Go, Max.  I'll hold
them off."
     "HOW??"
     She raised one hand.  The panel in her bicep opened.  I
could hear the sound of the air intakes, but nothing happened.
     "If I hold it long enough, I turn into a fusion bomb.  Now
go!"
     "Gally..."
     "Max?  Just so you know.  I loved you when I first met you.
I got over it.  But I wanted you to know.  Now get, before I blow
you up too!"
     Goro tilted his head back and roared, shaking us all out of
our sudden blithering.  Gally nodded, and we ran.
     I looked at Goro as we ran.  He had Kiyone in his lower
arms, and a pair of rifles (which were pistols for him) in his
upper ones.
     "What was that roar?"
     "Calling the Judges Of The Dead, telling them that a great
soul is coming to them.  And bringing lesser souls as an escort."
     We kept running.

     *Well, this sucks.*
     Gally waited.  She knew they were coming.  And there they
were.
     *See you soon... man in my dreams. Whoever you are, or
were.*
     Kem rounded the corner with a dozen men in tow.  He stopped,
looking down at Gally.
     "They left the toy behind. Abandoned you?  And I thought you
were so loyal."
     "I am, you pig.  That's why I decided to buy time for them."
     He looked around.  "What's that noi..."  He looked at Gally,
and his eyes widened.
     "Yeah.  I reactivated my combat components, once the current
was gone.  Guess what?"
     She grinned impishly, as half the troops with Kem lifted
weapons to tear her apart, as Kem himself paled and turned to
flee.  "Bye," she shouted, "baby--"


     We were just passing the wounded into the _Fischer_, up to
Washu, when the blast sounded.  We could hear pressure doors
slamming.  We all paused.
     Then we moved faster.  I was last up, leaping into the ship.
The door closed behind me, and we lifted off.  I made it to the
bridge just in time to watch a shot from a turret cleanly hole
the picket ship's engine.  Time from entry to exit: 15 minutes.
     But this was the first time we'd left anyone behind.

     Picking up Robo was easy - slow a bit, he matches velocity,
then moves inside.  We punted right into hyperspace, and did a
bunch of maneuvers to lose anyone that might be behind us.  Then
we made our way to Devaril, the system where we'd found Gally.

     "Her life before she met with us was a mystery, even to her.
But we counter her as a friend, and a colleague.  Words don't
ever mean enough in a situation like this."
     We were in one of our airlocks.  All of us were there except
Daisaku.  Even our wounded were there.  All would recover,
although Washu was being guarded about the entire situation.
     The empty shell there, covered with a sheet, was made from
Gally's spare parts.  It wasn't her, but it was something.
     "We return to where we found her, returning her to the
places that she came from.  Wherever they are."
     Taison, Savashtar, Youshou and I placed the bier into the
airlock.  Then Taison sealed it and I placed my hand on the
external open.
     "Goodbye, Gally.  We'll miss you.  And thank you for what
you did."
     The lock opened, and the escaping air pulled the shell and
bier into space, heading towards the planet's sun.  Then we
turned to the window.
     Robo was there.  The panels on the chest opened, and twenty-
one flares surrounded the falling form, escorting it to the star.

     Savashtar and I saw Goro off.  We dropped him off on
Miyazaki Four.
     "My Prince..."
     "Enough, Savashtar.  I hold no grudge."
     "Actually, Prince Gorozeiar, we have something for you."  I
handed him a credit chip.
     "Gally's will stated that any funds she had be given to what
we believed to be a worthy cause.  We voted, and decided that the
resurrection of the Serpentaran race was worthy.  This is her
legacy."
     His eyes widened.
     "When Serpentera is reborn, the Chessmen will always have a
place there."
     I bowed.  "We ask nothing, but that our lost friend is
remembered."
     He smiled, an odd expression on that face.  "Her visage will
be carved into the walls of the Shokan."  With that, he spun and
took his leave.
     I looked at Sav.  "What is the Shokan?"
     He cleared his throat.  "Um... it's a temple.  The faces of
the gods we worship are carved there."
     I nodded.  "I won't tell the rest of your race if you
don't."

     Then we set course for New Edwards, where we knew Koichi
would be.
     We'd not just failed, we'd lost one of our own.
     Damn it.  We were going to need help.

--------------------------------------------------------

SCIENCE LESSON:  HYPERSPACE TRAVEL

Each race develops hyperspace travel on its own.  This is seen to
be the maturity mark of each race, to the rest of the galaxy.
Despite the fact that most races utilize different technologies
(the Rashani's bioships with their warp organs, the Human's
hypermotivators), Hyperspace has its own set of rules.  The
original records left behind by the Eldest Race indicate that
they, too, had seen the effects.

Hyperspace has currents within it.  The Eldest Race used gates
into hyperspace, which acted like beacons.  Most of those gates,
however are either in places where no one wants to go, or have
been broken.  Since most modern ships have their own way to enter
and exit hyperspace, a curious habit has been formed.  A ship
enters hyperspace, then exits a preset distance from their
entrance to check their position.  Since the currents seem to be
entirely random, this stop is required to determine that one is,
in fact, on course.  There are some places which are classic
stopping points.  These places are usually patrolled, since they
would normally be perfect places for pirates to attach ships.

Another little-known fact contradicts a certain belief:  if the
motivator is destroyed, the ship does NOT immediately transit
back into normal space.  A motivator is needed for BOTH entry and
exit from hyperspace.  An object dropped in hyperspace remains
there.  Records show that a single criminal of cosmic proportions
(his acts were apparently responsible for the Crab Nebula) was
placed into a survival habitat and dropped from a ship in
hyperspace by the Eldest Race one million years ago.  It's quite
probable that he still survives, somewhere in the universe.

The last important fact is that two ships in hyperspace cannot
physically contact each other unless they actively create a joint
hyperfield.  One school of thought believes that each ship
actually creates its own hyperspace, and that the joint
hyperfield simply has them share the same hyperspace.

Of the fifty ships lost in transit in the past hundred years,
forty-eight of them have been noted as the result of pirate
attacks.  The other two are believed to have suffered motivator
malfunction.  As there have been hundreds of thousands of
transits in the past hundred years, it's quite obvious that
hyperspace is an extremely safe travel method.

     -Jeffrey Ayoob, "Yet Another Tell Me Why Book", 2343,
          Randomized House Press.

--------------------------------------------------------
AUTHOR'S NOTES

Geoff:

     This is the first time I've co-wrote with anyone before, and
I think it makes it pretty damn good.  Bill has one heck of a
grasp of military maneuvers, and this made things work out.
     The events of this story will probably annoy some people (to
my fans at the Seraphim of the Scrapyard, sorry, but I hope you
like the way she went out).  But they sort of took over from
themselves.
     Anyway, thanks to the usual people, with one addition:

     To Rebecca, for giving me hope.  Love you.

Bill:

     You know, writing a somewhat-epic series of stories really
is NOT fun.  Don't get me wrong, it's great, but it's hell on
wheels; plot holes (we know, we'll fix them later), continuity,
blah blah blah.
     All things considered, I wouldn't trade it for anything.
I'm dramatic effect and placement, Geoff's action and witty
repartee...  sort of like Mel Gibson and Danny Glover on really
inferior acid.  Anyway, again, my thanks to that core group of
writers that have become all but immortal...we're trying, folks,
we're really REALLY trying!

April 1997

---------------------------------------------------------
Missed the earlier stories?  Don't want to go the archives?
Interested in pictures?  There's now a Chessmen web page, at
http://idt.net/~mephron/chessmen/ for all your information needs.