The Bubble Gum Crisis OVA's (which this story is based on) are copyrighted 
	by Artmic Inc. and Youmex, Inc. I am just borrowing the characters for a little 
	while for non-monetary reasons. Serious CandC will be accepted, out-and-out 
	flames will result in a Boomer or two being sent after you, once they get around
	to building them.


	Please, enjoy my take on the Bubble Gum Crisis universe . . . 




Chapter 16



Gulf and Bradley - Japan Headquarters
MegaTokyo, Japan
December 22, 2035
3:24am 

     "Status!" snapped Cora, her eyes flashing in anger. Her plan was beginning to fall apart. 
She hadn't counted on both the Black Knights and the Knight Sabers arriving at the same time in 
the target area, and the lethal gunships the Black Knights were using in their assault.

     One of the techs looked up at her, his face taking on an eerie look from the light on his 
screen. "The Decoy team has lost two Boomers so far. Response team Able is down to three 
Boomers, Team Baker is down to four."

     "Damn!" We're losing too many Boomers too quickly! She whirled toward another tech. 
"How much time left until the satellite is in position?"

     "Four minutes. We can start override procedures in three minutes, fifteen seconds."

     "Can you still pull this off?" asked Carlton quietly.

     Cora glanced at her brother. He watched her reaction silently, his face showing no 
emotion. Ozu was taking a polite interest in the ceiling overhead. 

     She nodded and looked away. She wouldn't get any help there. She would have to commit the 
reserves. She had wanted to keep them ready to mop up any survivors after the orbital attack, 
but there was no choice now.

     "Right." She turned to the first tech. "Activate Charlie Team, and send them in. Tell 
Teams Able and Baker that they are to hold both The Black Knights and the Knight Sabers in 
their current location at all costs. As soon as Charlie moves in, they are to pull back and 
contain the perimeter." 

     "Yes Mam."

     Without looking at the second tech, she said, "As soon as the satellite is in range, begin 
override procedures."

     "Understood."

     She looked at her brother again. "This will work."

     Carlton folded his arms, and stared at the screen in front of him. "We shall see, sister. 
We shall see."



Highway 17
District 6
December 22, 2035
3:25am

     Sylia landed gracefully on the roadway half a second before Linna and Nene. Behind the 
three Sabers, four large Motoslaves landed with less grace, but with more authority.

     Sylia opened her commline. "Anyone see Priss?"

     "Over there!" shouted Nene, pointing off to the left. 

     Sylia heard the bike before she saw it. The well-known red and white bike roared out of 
the smoke and sped toward them. The rider waved at them, then veered off to head toward the 
Knight Wing.

     "Nene, cover our rear with Priss's and your Motorslaves. Linna and I are going to go link 
up with Knight One and his people."

     "Right!"

     Sylia ran easily toward the battle around the cars, followed by Linna and their Moto-
slaves. As they reached the halfway point, her channel with the Knight Wing came to life. 
"Priss is aboard, Sis," said Mackie. "I'm going to move the Knight Wing to a higher altitude, 
then come back in once Priss is ready."

     "Sounds good," replied Sylia. "After you do that, stay clear of the combat area until I 
call you."

     "Understood. Mackie out."

     Combat area? Try a war zone. The area was alive with explosions, smoke, fire, 
lasers and tracers. The sounds matched the sight around them, violent and continual. How many 
Boomers are there out here? she thought. And how many Knights?

     She opened the comm channel she and Knight One had agreed on. "White Saber to Knight One. 
We are down and approaching your position."

     There was silence for a second, then Knight One replied. "Understood, White Saber. Be 
advised that two of the Boomers have broken off their attacks against us, and are heading your 
way on thrusters. You should see them in about five seconds." 

     As if on cue, two BU-55s Boomers, their bluish metallic skin glittering in the uneven 
light, shot out of the smoke toward Sylia, closing rapidly. "I see them. White Saber out." She 
switched back over to the team comm channel, and said, "I've got the one on the right."

     "I've got the one on the left," replied Linna, moving away from Sylia at an angle, pulling 
her target away from the other Boomer. Her Motoslaves followed behind her, firing its machine 
cannon at the charging Boomer in an attempt to weaken it.

     Sylia ran toward her target, focusing all the Boomer's attention on her. Thirty meters 
from the quickly closing Boomer, She deployed her wings and leapt into the air. The Boomer 
lunging at her slowed to track her, its arm mounted laser ready to fire. As Sylia reached the 
top of her leap, her Motoslaves opened fire on the distracted Boomer with its massive MG-442 
machine cannon. A blast of 35mm rounds passed under the airborne Saber, and ripped into the 
Cyberdroid, shattering armor, and shredding the Boomer's right arm. 

     Staggered by the unexpected attack, the Boomer was slow to respond to Sylia's next move-
ment. She flipped forward, and both of the hardsuit's laserswords snapped into place. The  
Boomer recover just in time to receive a hard sidekick in the face that broke the Cyberdroid's 
jaw, and smashed the mouth laser's mirrors.

     Using the kick to propel her, Sylia did a tight backflip, and landed right in front of the 
damaged Boomer. As her feet touched the roadway, she crossed her arms in front of her, then 
snapped them out in a short tight motion, the twin laserswords disemboweling the Boomer. As the 
Boomer dropped to one knee, Sylia fired both arm lasers into its head, destroying it.

     As the Boomer dropped to the ground, Sylia turned to see Linna's progress with her target. 
She was in time to see Linna and her Motoslave team up to finish off their badly battered 
Boomer. 

     Unlike Sylia's Typhoon, Linna's Motoslaves carried a smaller, pistol-like hand-cannon, 
which it could fire one handed. The green Motoslave's free hand shot out and punched the Boomer 
in the head. The Boomer's head snapped back, small pieces of metal and other materials flying 
off it into the night. The Cyberdroid snarled and counterattacked, its fists' twin pistons that 
hammered hard at its opponent.

     Just then, Linna, lurking behind her Typhoon, jumped up and over the struggling pair of 
mecha, snapping her head forward and releasing the helmet's cutting ribbons as she did so. The 
monoribbons removed both the Boomer's arms cleanly at the shoulders, sending fluids and both 
arms to fall onto the much abused roadway. 

     As Linna landed behind the Cyberdroid, her Motoslave brought its free hand down hard onto 
the armless Boomer's head, crushing it like an eggshell. Several minor explosions followed as 
the Boomer collapsed into a pile of junk. Linna flashed Sylia the `thumbs up' sign before 
running toward her.

     Sylia returned the signal, then opened the comm channel with Knight One. "White Saber to 
Knight One. The two Boomers have been disposed of. What is your situation?"

     "Tense," came the reply. "We've still got four active Boomers here, plus a possible
hostage."

     "Janie VanDell?"

     "Could be, thought I doubt it. Either way, we're at a standoff here."

     "Myself, Green Saber, and our two Motoslaves can hit them from the rear. At the least, it 
should divide up their fire."

     "Sounds like a plan. Let us know when you're ready, and we'll keep them occupied."

     "Give us fifteen seconds."

	"You got it." There was silence for three seconds. "White Saber?"

     "Yes?"

     "I'm glad you and your friends could make this party. I just hope our hosts don't mind you 
crashing."

     Inside her helmet, Sylia smiled. "I hope so too." 



Highway 17 - 1.5 kilometers northwest of the battle
District 6
December 22, 2035
3:23am

     Daley jerked the car to a stop, and climbed out. I should have stayed in bed.

     Around him, ADP troopers, vehicles, and other police equipment were moving into place, 
forming a line of vehicles and personnel that stretched across the width of the highway. A 
small group of ADP troopers was placing arc lights into place to light up the entire roadway. 
He watched another group of flack vested troopers dash by him toward the defensive line, their 
faces grim. In the background, he heard explosions, gunfire, and other sounds of a firefight.

     Somebody up there hates me, he thought, patting his pockets for a loose cigarette, and 
finding none. He settled for a couple of antacid tablets, and grimaced at the chalky taste. 
Just the thing to make my day complete.

     Daley spotted the mobile command center near the center of the swirling chaos, and stalked 
over. He was dead tired, out of cigarettes, and a splitting headache. Hurry up and get your 
ass back here, Leon, he thought sourly. I can't take another day of this shit.

     Outside the mobile command post, several ADP officers were clustered around a map laying 
on a folding table. They looked up as Daley approached. 

     "What have you got?"

     Commander Mandy Thesan, 1st Detachment's CO, scowled at Daley. "A figging war!" she 
snapped.

     Daley glared at her. "Details, please," he said coldly, his usual carefree manner long 
one.

     "We have a battle between an unknown number of BU-55C and BU-12B Boomers," replied Com-
mander Julian Weiss, 3th Detachment's CO. "And an unknown number of people wearing hardsuits, 
supported by at least three combat helicopters."

     "The Knight Sabers involved?"

     "Yes, but they arrived after the battle had started."

     Daley rubbed his forehead. "What's the status of our forces?"

     Weiss pointed to the map. "Second and Fourth Detachments have secured the highway here. 
We're right here, and Fifth and Sixth detachments are waiting in reserve. We've given them a 
kilometer buffer zone until we build up enough of a force so we can move in and secure the 
area. Luckily, we're in a business area, so there should be few civvies to get in the way." 

     "What do we have in the air?"

     "Four patrol choppers. They're staying clear of the area."

     Daley nodded. "Has anyone managed to contact the chief?"

     Thesan scowled. "The weasel ain't answering his phone."

     Several more explosions interrupted the conversation. Daley looked in the direction the 
sounds came from, and rubbed at his eyes. No chief, no authorization for heavy firepower. 
Terrific.

     "What do you want us to do?" asked Weiss.

     Daley looked at him. "Order all units to hold position until I give the order to advance."

     "So what are we waiting for?" snapped Thesan.

     "For the battle to die down first. I'm not sending anyone into that without sufficient 
force of arms." Daley looked at each of the troopers standing around the table. "And We sure as 
hell don't have sufficient force of arms right here to take on both Boomers and people in 
hardsuits. In case you're wondering, that's what I'm going to tell the chief when he asks me 
why I didn't move in." 

     The officers looked at him, their expressions a mix of emotions. Thesan looked disap-
pointed, while a couple of others looked confused. But the others, including Weiss, looked 
relieved not to ordered to charge into a war zone. 

     Daley closed his eyes. "Keep the buffer zone, and order the troops to fire on anyone 
straying into the buffer zone. We're not going to go in there after them, but we're sure as 
hell not going to let them expand the battlefield. Any questions?"

     There were none. Daley opened his eyes and said, "Get back to your units, and keep your 
people ready."

     He watched them scatter into the chaos around him before he climbed into the command 
vehicle. He ignored the stares of the troopers on duty, and slid into an empty chair. Twenty 
seconds later, he was asleep.




Chapter 17



Onboard the Knight Wing
Above Highway 17
District 6
December 22, 2035
3:25am

     Priss reached for her helmet with one hand, while lightly striking the intercom button 
with the other. "I'm ready, Mackie."

     The ride to the Knight Wing had been a wild one to put it mildly. She'd seen the familiar 
shape was it came in low and fast before sliding to an almost complete stop so the Sabers and 
their Motoslaves could clear the compartment by way of the ramp. As the rest of the team 
deployed, Priss had gunned her motorcycle's engine and accelerated toward the VTOL. Mackie had 
quickly swung the Knight Wing one eighty, sending dust and smoke in every direction. 

     Priss waved to her team mates and rode the motorcycle hard. At the last second, she saw 
the still open ramp and adjusted her trajectory. She hit the brakes, leaving just enough speed 
to shoot up the ramp and into the Knight Wing. The ramp was still closing when Mackie hit the 
thrusters and sent the Knight Wing screaming into the night sky. After that, it had taken her 
less the two minutes secure the bike and change into her hardsuit. 

     "Understood," replied Mackie, his voice distant as he concentrated on bringing around the 
Knight Wing. "ETA to landing sight, thirty seconds. I'm going to drop you off near Nene - she's 
under some pressure from a pair of BU-12s."

     "Roger that," she replied, slipping her helmet on. As soon as the suit was sealed, she 
continued the conversation. "What about the other aircraft?"

     "They're more intent on supporting their ground units right now, but I'm not going to take 
them for granted. Sis says their allies, but . . . "

     "I know. What's the ADP doing?"

     "Holding a perimeter around the battlefield, and not much else."

     "Typical," growled Priss.

     "I don't blame them. It's nasty down there right now."

     "I know - that's the way I like it." She tested the movement of the handcannon she'd 
equipped herself for this fight. "How long now?"

     "Ten seconds. The ramp at the back of the compartment began to slide open. "Nene and the 
Motoslaves will be on your left, at about fifty meters. Better let her know you're coming in." 

     "Right." Priss switched over to the team's channel. "Nene, I'll be with you in about ten 
seconds. Are you all right?"

     "So far," replied the redhead. "But both Typhoons are getting pounded."

     "How many Boomers?"

     "At least two, maybe three. The Motorslave's machine cannons are almost out of ammo."

     "Start dropping back toward me, I'm joining you now."

     "Understood."

     With that, Priss launched herself out the hatch and into the battle.



Highway 17
District 6
December 22, 2035
3:26am

     Greg dodged to his right to avoid another laser blast and fired his rail gun at the Boomer 
trying to kill him. Two of the needles ripped into the still exposed laser machine gun mounted 
in the arm, wrecking it. At the same time, the third needle from Greg's salvo punched through 
the Boomer's right eye and bit deep.

     The BU-55C, grabbing the metal spike that had damaged its vision, staggered back and away 
from the protection of the car door. Just then, Marcus saw his chance and opened up with his 
hardsuit's rotary cannon. Large craters blossomed across the Boomer's chest and arms as the 
Cyberdroid shuddered under the attack. Finally, the armor gave way and the Boomer exploded in a 
geyser of flame and sound. 

     "Red Team, status," said Greg. He straightened, looking for the other four Boomers and the 
young girl that had suddenly taken off running, leaving one of their number as a rear guard. 
But the smoke, from many sources, shrouded the battlefield, cutting his area of view sharply.

     "Red Two here. I'm running out of ammo for both the cannon and railgun."

     "Red Three. I'm unscathed."

     "Red . . . Three heereeeee Bossssss . . . "

     "Nicky, are you all right?"

     "I'm fine, but that laaast shot clipped my helmet and damaged my comm equipment. Switc-
cching to secondaaaaries." There was silence for two seconds, then Nicky's voice came in 
clear. "Any better Boss?"

     "Much better. Anyone got the location of those last three Boomers?"

     "Negative, Greg," replied Marcus. "Smoke's too thick here. Just like LA."

     "Defensive positions, people, while I contact the other teams." Greg switched over to the 
general channel. "Blue team, White team, status."

     "Blue Leader here." Harland sounded tired and irritated. "We've accounted for four of the 
eight Boomers. But two of them got past us, and I can hear sounds of a firefight behind us. The 
other two are playing hard to get. Three of them tried to take out Rattler Two, but Trask and 
the newbie beat them off. No serious injuries."

     "White Leader here. Six of eight targets down. The other two are doing the same thing as 
Blue team's, trying hit and run tactics. White Two has a possible broken arm, and I'm going to 
need some help in get this suit off at me later, but we are still intact."

     "Understood. Stay in place until I say otherwise. Blue Leader, can you free anyone up to 
see about the two that got past you?"

     "Not right now. Suggest you tell White Saber that her people are under attack."

     "Understood. Knight One out." He switched back to the team channel. "Nicky, are you 
tracking our late hosts?"

     "I got a small group of signals moving away from us at a forty-five degree angle. I've 
also got a small group of signals heading toward us, and we see who they are about . . . now."

     Two hardsuits, one white in color with gray highlights, the other lime green with red 
highlights, emerged from the smoke. They were followed by two tall and sinister looking mecha 
with color schemes that each matched one of the hardsuits. The white hardsuit looked at the 
four of them. "Which one of you is Knight One?" the Saber asked, using her loudspeaker so 
everyone could hear her. The voice was electronically disguised, but Greg could tell the voice 
was female, and held a ring of authority he was very familiar with.

     Greg raised his hand, and turned on his own loudspeaker. "Right here. Glad you could make 
it."

     "Where are the other Boomers?"

     "They must have sensed you coming. They popped a couple of smoke grenades and pulled back 
off in that direction." Greg pointed off to his right."

     White Saber nodded. "What about your other teams?"

     "We're holding our own, but a couple of BU-12's got past Blue team and I think are 
engaging the rest of your team."

     "They are."

     "I suppose it would be a stupid question to ask if they can handle them?"

     "It would be."

     Greg sighed. "I suggest we track down those Boomers and see if they really have Janie 
VanDell, or a replica."

     "Agreed." The Knight Saber looked up at the Rattlesnake hovering overhead. "Can we hitch a 
ride with you?"

     "You and your friend, No problem. But not your Mecha."

     "We can send them after the Boomers via the ground, while we drop on them from the air."

     "Right." How come I feel I just lost control here? "Red Team, Form up." He switched 
over to the team channel. "Rattler one, this is Knight One. Requesting a dust-off for Red Team 
and friends."

     "Roger, Knight One. ETA, Fifteen seconds."



     Trask swung the Rattlesnake hard to the left, avoiding the stream of machine gun bullets, 
all the while cursing in three different languages. Leon ignored him and fired a couple of 60mm 
rounds at the flying BU-12. The Boomer wove out of the way of the shells, and fired its 
railcannon at the helicopter.

     Leon was slammed back into his seat as Trask twisted the chopper away from the shot. The 
pilot spun the chopper back around, and flew directly at the Boomer, closing the distance 
between them quickly. This time, the Cyberdroid stood its ground bringing its gun arm up and 
aiming it at the chopper.

     Leon waited until there were only fifty meters separating them from the battle Boomer 
before he fired the last of the HE rockets. A dozen of the missiles lit up the night sky and 
bore in on the Boomer. 

     At the same instance, the BU-12 cut loose with both its railcannon and machine-gun. 
Several of the rockets exploded short of the mark as they intercepted the Boomer's fire, but 
the rest found their target. The air around the Boomer suddenly lit up in blooms of light and 
sound.

     Trask pulled the chopper hard to the left to avoid the multiple explosions. As he did so, 
Leon saw bits and pieces fall from the center of the blast toward the ground below. "I think we 
got it," he said cautiously.

     "I think so."

     "Attention All Rattlers and Knights," said a voice over Leon's earphones. "This is Nest 
One. We are picking up multiple targets coming out of the southwest. Preliminary ID is a dozen 
Boomer-sized objects. ETA is three minutes forty seconds to White Team's location."

     "Spoke too soon again," muttered Trask.

     "All Knights, this is Knight One." Mallory's voice was whip-like. "Blue Leader, can you 
assist White Team?"

     "Affirmative, Knight One. The last Boomer just went for a short trip straight down."

     "Hustle over to White Team's position and keep them off Red Team and the Knight Sabers 
with us. See if you can hook up with the other Knight Sabers near you position and bring them 
along. They'll be waiting for you."

     "Understood, Knight One. Rattler Two, you get that?"

     "Affirmative, Blue Leader," replied Trask dropping the helicopter toward the roadway 
below. "ETA is ten seconds."

     "No rest for the weary," said Leon, reloading his revolver.

     "It beats working as a wage slave," replied Trask. "Here we go."





Chapter 18



Gulf and Bradley - Japan Headquarters
MegaTokyo, Japan
December 22, 2035
3:26am 

     "How long until Charlie Team arrives?" snapped Cora, her face drawn with anticipation.

     "They are coming into position now."

     "Mam," called out a female tech. "Baker Team has been completely eliminated."

     Damn! "What's the status of Able?"

     "There's two left, neither in good shape."

     "They'll have to hold their ground then. Time to the satellite override?" 

     "Five seconds." replied the senior tech.

     Cora turned to her brother and Ozu, and gave them a cold smile. "We're ready."

     "I should hope so," replied Carlton. "The data you wanted was very expensive to obtain."

     "We have control of the satellite!" shouted another of the techs.

     Cora turned back to the screen. "Send the activation codes!"

     "Codes sent." For fifteen seconds, there was silence in the control room, then the tech 
shouted. "Codes have been accepted!"

     "Upload the vector data now!"

     "Uploading." There was silence for another fifteen seconds, then the tech shouted again. 
"Data uploaded. The satellite is acknowledging new orders."

     "How long until the satellite is ready to fire?"

     "The satellite will fire the first wave in fifteen seconds, second wave ten seconds after 
that."

     "I doubt the Black Knights and Knight Sabers can survive both waves," she murmured.

     "As I said," replied Carlton, "dear sister, we shall see."



Thor Satellite 5
560 kilometers above the Earth's surface
December 22, 2035
3:26am 

     The satellite was one of ten that the United States of America had placed into orbit 
thirty years ago. Designed to drop a large number of solid metal spikes on an enemy if there is 
a war, the satellites were a major secret that had been quietly forgotten by most of the 
government. Even the current President had no knowledge of their existence. Only the military 
cared about them these days, and that was only so they didn't accidentally drop their cargo of 
one-ton spikes on an unsuspecting country.

     During that time, several of the satellites had been destroyed due to collisions with 
other satellites, or told to self destruct because their orbit had decayed to the point where 
they posed a threat. Of the ten that had been in orbit at the beginning of the project, there 
were only five left. And of the five, only Thor Satellite 5's orbit took it over the Pacific 
Ocean, and the countries of Japan, Korea, and the eastern part of the Russian Federation at 
this time.

     The computer, which had been a cutting edge system when it had been launched, was woefully 
out of date. So when the orders for a Thor strike were received by the satellite's onboard 
computer, the computer didn't wonder if the orders were wrong, or immoral. The activation codes 
matched the ones in its memory, and that was good enough for it.

     A short burst from several of its thrusters moved the satellite into a better orbit. 
Inside the satellite, the targeting computer worked out a firing pattern based on the data it 
had received from below, and sent the data to the computer controlling the launch tubes. 

     The launch tube computer received the data, and sent signals to the twenty-five launch 
tubes that encircled the core of the satellite. Three of the tubes failed to acknowledge the 
signals, but the other twenty-two returned a confirmation of readiness. Now that it knew how 
many tubes it could count on, the targeting computer started the count down for the first wave.

     When the internal timer reached 0, the satellite sent the signal to launch to the first 
ten operational tubes. Each fifteen-meter long tube was like a single shot rail gun, powered by 
a series of solar collectors to keep it charged and ready. Designed to accelerate a five-meter 
long spike just enough to allow it to plunge into the atmosphere, the developers decided to go 
with redundancy rather then a single railgun with a rotating magazine. 

     Without a sound, Thor 5 launched ten of the five-meter long solid metal spikes on their 
plotted course. Ten seconds later, nine more one-ton needles left the tubes and started their 
one way trip into the Earth's atmosphere.



Highway 17
District 6
December 22, 2035
3:28am

     It had taken less then a minute for the Rattlesnake to land, pick up the six hardsuited 
figures, and lift into the air. The chopper swung around to the Northeast, lifting high into 
the air to clear the massive amount of smoke covering the highway. 

     Once onboard, the Black Knight team quickly replaced their ammo clips with fresh magazines 
from storage compartments located just above their heads. Sylia watched them with one eye, 
while monitoring her hardsuit's status report with the other. Their hardsuits are definitely 
advanced models. But are they Stingray-based designs, or someone else's independent work? Are 
they as good as our designs? Why this mix of weapons and armor? She closed her eyes. 
There are so many questions I want to ask Knight One about those suits, and I cannot do so. 
But they appear to very good designs.

     Sylia hung onto a reinforced strap, located in the bulkhead of the chopper's passenger 
compartment, with one hand and watched the ground below through the open compartment door. 
Linna was next to her, only she was hanging onto the strap with both hands. Next to her, Knight 
One and the other members of Red Team held on as the chopper rocked from side to side. The 
compartment was crowded with six hardsuits, but they were all professionals, so there were no 
complaints. 

     "Knight Wing to White Saber," said Mackie over the Saber's channel. "Come in Sis."

     "What is it, Mackie?"

     "I'm picking up another set of signals heading in your direction. They're coming out of 
the southwest, and they're closing fast. I think it's more Boomers."

     Damn! She glanced at Linna, who signaled she was listening by a single nod. "What's your 
location?"

     "Northwest of your current location, four klicks out."

     "Hold there until I get back to you."

     "Don't be too long."

     "I try not to be." Sylia switched back over to the channel she was sharing with Knight 
One. "We've got trouble."

     "I know," he replied grimly. "I'm sending Blue Team to assist White Team, seeing as 
they're coming right at White. Can you have the other Knight Sabers hook up with them, while we 
continue to track the Boomers and their prisoner?"

     Sylia nodded. She switched back over to the Saber's channel. Priss, Nene. Status?"

	Nene answered. "We heard Mackie, and we're clear. Priss is just finishing off the last 
Boomer now. But, both Motorslaves are out of ammo."

     I'll have to design a way for the Motorslaves to carry more ammo in the future, Sylia 
thought. But I wasn't expecting a full scale war! "Send your two Typhoons to rendezvous with 
the Knight Wing. Right now, I need you and Priss to team up with one of the Black Knight teams. 
They should be heading toward you anytime now." 

     "We hear them. What are we supposed to be doing with them?"

     "Hold off those new Boomers until we find out what the hell is going on here."

     Priss cut in, her breath raspy from exertion. "So, you want us to team up with people 
we've just met, against Boomers? When did you become so trusting?"

     "Be nice to our guests, Priss," Sylia said mildly. "We're allies for the time being."

     "Yes mommy. I promise to play nice with the new children."

     Sylia watched Linna shake with silent laughter. "Just don't break any of their toys. All 
right?"

     "We promise," replied Nene. "Here comes the chopper in for a landing now . . . and . . . 
Leon!"

     "Where?" asked Sylia surprised.

     "He's on the helicopter that . . . just touched down."

     "I'll kill him," muttered Priss, just loud enough to be heard. "I'll tear him from limb to 
limb! I'll . . . "

     "You can tell him how much you've missed him later," replied Sylia dryly. "Just get 
onboard and get ready to receive the gatecrashers. And don't let on you know Leon, all right?"

     "All right."

     Sylia switched back over to the shared channel and looked at Knight One. "My people are 
getting onboard the chopper now."

     "Good. Our pilot reports we're closing on the Boomers and their possible prisoner."

     "How long?"

     "Fifty seconds. They're staying on the roadway, which tells me there's something going 
on."

     "They're not running?"

     "Only in circles. Like they want to be caught . . . " There was silence for a second, then 
Knight One said, "I suddenly got a horrible thought."

     "We're on open target down here," whispered Sylia, "perfect for a orbital strike . . . "  

     "That's the one."

     Sylia glanced up at the night sky. "Particle Beam Strike?"

     "Or something like that. We've given the other side plenty of time to pinpoint our 
position, and we're in the open here."

     "Do we abort?"

     Knight One shook his head. "Not until we're sure Janie VanDell is not down there." He 
pointed to the small group of Boomers that were now visible in the smoke below. "Better alert 
your people to the new possibility. That new force of Boomers probably has orders to keep us 
occupied until it's too late."

     Sylia quickly informed the others. "Mackie, Can you spot anything in the atmosphere?"

     "I started tracking a group of objects just before you called. Whatever they are, they're 
leaving a hell of an ion trail."

     "Anything else?"

     "Negative."

     "What could they be?" asked Linna.

     "A falling satellite?" replied Priss in irritation. She was still smarting at seeing Leon 
in the last place she'd expected.

     Mackie's reply was uncertain. "I don't think so."

     "Then what?" asked Sylia. "Any ideas, Nene?"

     "Maybe."

     "Maybe what?"

     "There have been rumors on the 'net for years of a space borne defense system that the USA 
put into orbit at the turn of the century." Nene sounded slightly frustrated as she tried to 
recall all the details. "I never heard any real details . . . but it's suppose to be able to 
drop a solid spike of metal from orbit . . . onto its target."

     "Great," muttered Priss. "Big iron spikes from space. Shouldn't be too hard to dodge 
them."

     "You don't understand!" snapped Nene. "If it is this defense system, those spikes are 
becoming red-hot right this second. After that, They'll become white-hot. By the time they hit 
the ground, they're molten. All that built up energy has to go somewhere. When it does hit, the 
spike will turn that energy into an expanding sphere of destruction that will turn the area 
around the impact into a firestorm."

     "In small words, Nene," said Linna.

     "Each spike will explode when it hits the ground. A LARGE explosion. Sort of like one of 
the USSD particle beam weapons was to fire in bursts rather then a continual beam. Understand?"

     "Nene," cut in Sylia quickly. "Switch over to channel Beta three, and don't use any 
personal names."

     "Right!"

     Sylia switched back over to the shared channel, and said, "One of my people has a theory 
about the incoming. Pink Saber, Go ahead and tell Knight One what you just told us."

     Nene briefly outlined the possibility in short, terse sentences. Knight One listened in 
silence, then muttered, "Damn Thor satellites. I'd thought they died long ago."

     "Thor?" asked Sylia

     "Yes, Thor," replied Knight One angrily. "A bright idea thirty years ago, but stupid by 
today's light."

     "What are we going to do about it?"

     "It's possible that what's coming at us is a Thor strike, just like your team mate said. 
Only, it's liable to be worse then she stated."

     "How?"
 
     "Each satellite was armed with twenty-five of these spikes, designed to be fired in two or 
three waves. What we're seeing is the first wave."

     "White Saber to Pink Saber. Can you patch into the Knight Wing's systems and get us an 
estimate on how long we're got before those things hit?"

     "Already on it, White. Knight One was right. We're picking up a second group of objects 
just coming into the atmosphere. ETA on the first wave is six minutes, ETA on the second wave 
is six minutes, thirty seconds. And I've just calculated the trajectory of those objects - and 
we're at ground zero."

     "We've got five minutes to do this," said Knight One swiftly. "That'll give us a minute to 
clear out."

     "What about the ADP?" asked Sylia. "I doubt all of those spikes are going to hit inside 
their containment area."

     "I'll contact one of our gunners - he's ADP."

     "Leon McNichols?"

     "I see you know him."

     "Blue and Pink Sabers IDed him when the helicopter landed. We know each other, mostly by 
reputation."

     "Then you'll agree he's the best man to tell the ADP's on the site commanders to clear 
out."

     "If they listen to him."

     "If my sources are correct, they'll listen to him. I'll pass the word along to him." There 
was silence for several seconds, then Knight One said, "He's contacting them now. Now all we 
have to worry about are our friends below."

     He waved a hand toward the open compartment door. "Ladies first?"

     "After you," said Sylia. "After all, you are a guest in my country."

     "If you insist. Our team frequency is twenty megs down from this current channel." Knight 
One tapped one of the other Knights on the shoulder. "Red Four will give you the frequency 
skipping configuration we use, so you can stay on the same page with the rest of us." With 
that, Knight One moved over to the opening. The Black Knight that Knight One had identified as 
Red Four moved to stand next to Sylia. The Knight held up a small computer pad with a series of 
numbers which Sylia quickly read off into her hardsuit's communication computer. After several 
seconds, the frequency skipping matched up, and Sylia could hear Knight One outline the plan. 

     "Myself and Red Two first," he said, "then the Knight Sabers, then Red Three and Four. 
Five seconds between each pair. We have four minutes before all hell breaks loose."



     Priss dropped to the roadway, followed by Nene, and the members of Blue Team. Before them, 
the scene was straight out of a nightmare. The tractor trailer that had been transporting the 
ambush force of Boomers was a burning twisting wreck that littered the roadway. Scattered 
around the trailer's wreckage were the broken remains of several Boomers.
 
     A shadow stalked out of the haze, and Priss turned and aimed her handcannon at it.

     One of the Knights grabbed her arm and pushed it down. "That's one of ours," growled the 
Knight. Priss recognized the voice that had curtly introduce himself as Blue Leader in the 
chopper on the short trip over to this location.

     Priss pulled away from the Knight. "Don't ever lay a hand on me again!" she snarled. She 
turned and walked toward Nene, who was talking to another Black Knight. 

     Nene looked up at Priss's approach. "Something wrong Pr . . . Blue?" she asked,remem-
bering only at the last moment the two of them were on the same frequency as the other Knights.

     Priss glared at the Black Knight. "I need to talk to my team mate alone."

     "But Blue -" began Nene

     The Knight shrugged. "Don't mind me, Blue," replied a male voice. "I'm going."

     The Knight turned and walked over to the other members of his team. Priss watched him for 
several seconds. "Switch over to our own channel," she growled.

     Once Nene signaled she was ready, Priss said, "Don't get too friendly with these people, 
Nene. I don't trust them."

     "But Sylia said they were OK."

     "And how do we know it isn't a trap to lure us out here so we can be attacked?"

     "Because Leon's in that chopper over there," replied Nene. "He's not going to part of a 
trap to eliminate us."

     "And how do you know he's not being duped also?"

     "Leon's smarter then you think he is."

     "That's not too hard."

     Nene giggled, and Priss gave her a hard look, despite the fact Nene couldn't see the 
glare. "What's so funny?"

     "You. You were out looking for Leon tonight, weren't you?"

     Priss was taken aback by her team mate's question. "I was not!"

     "You happen to be traveling along the highway, kilometers from your trailer, for what 
then?"

     "I was . . . er . . . well . . . "

     "Uh-oh," said Nene quickly, looking over Priss's shoulder in the direction of the 
assembling Knights. "Better switch back to the common frequency."

     Priss did so, catching the last part of the Blue Leader's orders. "...take the left, while 
Blue Three and White Three form a reserve and jamming core with Pink Saber behind the main 
line. Any Questions?"

     Nene waved a hand. "Sir. We missed the first part of your orders because we were discus-
sing something on our own frequency. I know where I'm suppose to be, but where is Blue Saber 
supposed to be?"

     Blue Leader strode over toward them. "Your friend is on the front line, right in the 
middle of the action," he growled. "The Boomers are less then thirty seconds out, and we're 
going to need your friend's handcannon."

     A roar of a helicopter from behind them interrupted the conversation. The chopper that had 
carried Blue Team and the two Knight Sabers was lifting off. As Priss looked at the cockpit, 
she saw Leon, his helmet visor pulled up to expose his face, give them a thumbs-up as the 
helicopter rose into the air. 

     The three of them watched the helicopter fade into the darkness for several seconds, 
before Blue Leader snarled, "Enough of the sightseeing. We've got a battle to fight." 

     "Now you're talking!" cried Priss. "Time to trash some Boomers!"

     With that, the three turned and ran toward the other Knights. 




Chapter 19



Highway 17 - 1.5 kilometers northwest of the battle
District 6
December 22, 2035
3:29am

     "Inspector Wong?"

     Daley mumbled something and opened his eyes slowly. His head throbbed, and his mouth was 
dry. "What?" he mumbled.

     "There's a phone call for you."

     Daley bleary glared at the young ADP officer. "It had better be God or someone at least as 
important."

     "It's Inspector McNichol."

     That cut through the fuzziness in Daley's brain. He stood up. "Give me the receiver," he 
snapped.

     A receiver was quickly thrust into his hands. "Leon?"

     /Daley,/ said the familiar voice. /You sound like Hell./

     "I fell like hell. Where the hell are you?"

     /No time for that,/ replied Leon quickly. /You've got to get the ADP out of the area, and 
now./

     "But Leon -"

     /Shut up, Daley. I don't have the time to explain fully. There are a large number of 
projectiles on the way down from orbit, and ground zero is right where the ADP is standing./

     "But -"

     /You have about three and half minutes before impact. Get everyone out of there, and do it 
now!/

     "Inspector Wong!" shouted one of the techs. "Radar is picking up something dropping from 
orbit!"

     Daley covered the receiver and looked at the tech. "Point of impact?"

     "On its current trajectory . . . " The tech's face went pale.

     Daley didn't wait for the rest, but tuned to the communications techs. "Flash Alert to all 
ADP units. All units are to retreat three kilometers from their current locations. Repeat until 
all units acknowledge."

     He returned to the phone. "We're pulling back. Where the hell are you?" 

     He heard his partner laugh. /Right in the middle of this mess. I've got to go. Things are 
about to get real intense around here. Talk to you soon, Daley./ With that, the line went dead.

     Daley returned the receiver to its cradle, turned and left the command center. He had a 
retreat to supervise.



Highway 17
District 6
December 22, 2035
3:29am

     Sylia landed next to Linna. "Green and White Sabers down," she said over the common 
channel. She turned to make sure their Motorslaves were right there. They were, standing a 
dozen meters away.

     Above them the helicopter pulled up and away, gaining some altitude before swinging around 
and hovering like a lean shark. 

     "Red Three and Four down," said a cool feminine voice.

     "I've got four strong signals," said another voice, this one male. "Fifty meters away and 
holding steady. I think they're waiting for us."

     "Right," said Knight One. "Can your Mecha follow your orders OK?"

     "They can."

     "OK. Here's what we're going to do. Change partners. Red Two and Four, Rattler One, you're 
the backup. Red Three, Green Saber and Mecha, you're our close combat types. White Saber, you 
and your Mecha with me. Backup holds them in place with gunfire, leaders hit them from the 
right flank, close combat slides in from the left once targets are engaged. If you see Janie, 
do not become distracted - at the rate things are falling apart on this one, she could be a 
Boomer. Any objections?"

     "A concise plan," replied Sylia, looking at Knight One.

     "I leave exact tactics to my people," replied Knight One. "Let's move out."

     The three teams scattered, with Sylia, the blue motorslave and Knight One running off to 
the right. Linna, her motorslave, and Knight Three dashed off to the left, and the other two 
Knights and the chopper moving directly toward the Boomers.

     Because of the smoke, Sylia couldn't see much, but the readings in her helmet told her the 
Boomers were holding their ground near the highway's concrete guardrail. She glanced up into 
the night sky to see if she could see anything, but nothing looked out of place.

     "Three minutes, people," said Knight One. "Backup, get the Boomer's attention. Just don't 
hit them - that's our job."

     "You always get to do the fun stuff. We're on it." The sounds of rapid firing cannons 
added their voice to the night sounds.

     "White Saber," said Knight One, "that cannon your Mecha is carrying, has it still got 
ammo?"

     "It does. Enough to cover us going in."

     "Good. Any ideas on how to handle our friends out there?"

     Sylia thought for a second, then said, "You and I shield the Motorslave from the Boomer's 
attention. At the last minute, we jump out of the way and let the Motorslave hammer them while 
we come in at a high angle of attack."

     "Sounds good to me. Ready to attack?"

     Sylia felt herself respond to Knight One's challenge. "Yes."

     "Break to the left in five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . one . . . now!" Both of 
them cut hard to the left, with Sylia's more ponderous motorslave following half a step later. 
According to Sylia's sensors, the Boomers were less then forty meters away, still clustered 
together near the guardrail.

     Sylia glanced over to her right to see where Knight One was. He was alongside her, with 
less then a meter separating them. Behind them by several more meters, the blue Motoslaves 
trailed along like an obedient dog.

     The smoke ahead of them began to thin out, and suddenly she could see the four Boomers.  
The Boomers themselves were standing in a tight half circle near a small pile of rubble and a 
half-destroyed guardrail, defiantly holding their ground. They had all lost all of their human 
disguises during the fight, but none of them showed signs of serious damage.

     The two Boomers on this side of the half circle turned toward Knight One and Sylia as they 
came running out of the smoke. They took several steps forward, and several sections on the 
chest and upper arms opened to reveal the microwave panels that made up the Boomer's heat 
cannon. Both mouths opened to allow the laser mounted there a clear field of fire.

     "I've got the one on the right," said Knight One.

     Sylia felt some sweat form on her forehead. "That leaves its partner for me then."

	"You got it, White Saber. We'll break on your call to clear the way for your mecha."

	"You got it."

     Thirty meters now separated the two hardsuited warriors from the Boomers. Both continued 
to run toward the Boomers at full stride, the Typhoon several short steps behind. Twenty-five 
meters, now, then twenty.

     Sylia read the heat cannon's power buildup on her helmet's readout. Those heat cannon 
should just about be ready to . . . 

     "Break!" she shouted, igniting her thrusters while her hardsuit's wings snapped opened. 
She was several meters in the air before the heat cannon's blast blazed through where she'd 
been standing. She heard her Typhoon opened up with its machine cannon, but she ignored it for 
the time being. 

     Instead of flying straight up, she shot off into the night sky at an angle, to avoid the 
searing beam of the mouth laser. She fired a series of bursts from both her own arm-mounted 
lasers, the bolts either striking the Boomer, of the roadway around it. There were several 
small explosions from  the Boomer as several of the heat cannon panels were shattered by the 
lasers.

     The Boomer staggered, the armored sections sliding back into place over the smoking 
reamains of the heat cannon. Sylia dropped to the roadway a dozen meters away from the wounded 
Cyberdroid, and opened fire again with her lasers. The Boomer slipped to the right and both 
beams slammed into the guardrail, boring two neat holes through the hardened concrete.

     The Boomer responded by firing its mouth laser. Sylia threw herself forward to avoid the 
blast. She rolled to her feet, and charged the Boomer. The BU-55 responded by counter charging 
the white Saber, a thin double edge blade shooting out from its left forearm and locking in 
place.

     Sylia waited until five meters separated the two before she deployed her own laser swords. 
She shifted to her left, then pivoted hard to her right. The mouth laser's discharge burned 
through the space where her head would have been. Sylia snapped fired her lasers, her target 
the Boomer's left knee.

     One beam struck high, burning away most of the Boomer's thigh armor, but the second beam 
struck the knee joint dead on. It ripped through the weak armor, and melted the knee joint. 
Unable to support the weight, the Boomer's leg buckled, and the machine went down. 

     Sylia leaped in to finish the Boomer off, only to jump back to avoid the wild swing of the 
Boomer's blade-tipped arm. She fired her lasers in burst mode again, noting that the tempera-
ture of the laser's housings was beginning to spike into the red zone. A few more shots and 
the lasers will be useless!

     Her shots did affect the wounded Boomer. Most of the short-range burst had struck the 
Boomer in and around the head. Now, the jaw hung in ruins, the mouth laser demolished. One eye 
was dark and dead, the other red eye glaring balefully at her. It struggled to rise, determined 
to complete its programing.

     Sylia darted in, laser swords flashing. The first cut removed the Boomer's left arm at the 
elbow, She spun, and the second cut separated her opponent's head from its neck. As the Boomer's 
head rolled away, she slammed a spinning side kick into the now headless body. The torso crashed 
to the ground, dark fluid spattering around it.

     When the Boomer fell, she snapped her head around, looking for a new threat. She was in 
time to see Knight One deliver a final blow to his Boomer. He stabbed a thin blade through the 
right eye of the Boomer, twisted, and yanked the blade free. The Cyberdroid, its main CPU 
smashed, swayed like a drunk, then collapsed in a heap. Knight One turned, saw Sylia, and 
flashed her a thumbs-up signal. Sylia returned the gesture and pointed in the direction of the 
other two Boomers, who were now fighting Red Three and Linna.

     "Let's give them a hand."

     "Sounds good to me," Knight One replied. He looked around. "Where's you mecha?"

     "It was right behind . . . " Sylia stared to say, but stopped when she saw the Typhoon 
lying near when she had left it. Smoke rose from it, and almost all the blue paint had been 
charred in the heat cannon's blast. The machine cannon laid next to the motorslave, its barrel 
twisted and blackened.

     "Damn," she muttered. Back to the design board.

     "Look at the bright side," said Knight One. "Mecha can be replaced easier then people. 
Believe me, I know."

     "I know, but it doesn't make it any easier when you loose one." She turned and looked at 
him. "Let's get back to the business at hand." 

     They ran toward the other combatants. Both red three and Linna were in close with their 
opponents, making any shooting but point blank risky. The Boomers, for some reason, had forgone 
their ranged weapons, and were using built in blades and brute strength to try to overpower 
their opponent. Both Linna and Red Three were relying on their speed and their hardsuit's 
weapons to stay alive.

     All four of the combatants showed signs of the intense fight. Even at this distance, Sylia 
could see the dents, scrapes, and scars from the blows that had already been traded amongst the 
combatants. The Boomer fighting Linna was missing most of its left arm, while Red Three's Boomer 
was missing most of its jaw.

     "Knight One to all Knights. Two Boomers are down. Status, Backup Team?"

     "Red Two here. Backup OK. We've got a minute, forty seconds to clear this area."

     "Understood. Close combat, we're coming in."

     "No need Knight One," replied the cool voice of Red Three. "We have the situation in hand
. . . Now!"

     Just then, the Boomer threw a hard right at Red Three's head. The Knight stepped inside, 
her arms coming up to trap the Boomer's arm. Or so Sylia thought.

     She saw the vibroblades in each arm of Red Three's hardsuit snap into place. The Knight 
scissored her arms and the Boomer's twice severed arm fell to the ground. Gracefully, Red Three 
spun under what remain of the Boomer's arm and swung both blades into the Cyberdroid's side. A 
small explosion from that area of the Boomer's torso as both swords bit deep before they came 
free. The Knight gracefully spun again, placing herself to the right rear of the Boomer. The 
Boomer began to turn in the Knight's direction in a vain attempt to kill her. But the Black 
Knight had already dropped to one knee, and used the momentum of her spin to sever the Boomer's 
right leg above and below the knee.

     When the Boomer began to fall, Red Three agilely flowed to her feet, crossed her arms so 
the vibroblades were near the sides of her helmet. She suddenly snapped her arms out at the 
Boomer's head. The severed head beat the rest of the Boomer to the ground by a fraction of a 
second.

     Only after did the Boomer collapse did Sylia realize she'd was impressed. Very efficient, 
if a trifle overdramatic for my tastes. 

     She glanced at Linna's continuing battle with the last Boomer. The green Knight Saber was 
just ducking a wild swing from the enraged Cyberdroid. Using the momentum, Linna dove between 
the Boomer's legs, snapping her head to the right as she did so. The ribbon cutters sliced 
through the BU-55's left leg with ease. Robbed of half its mobility, the Boomer fell on its 
face, shattering the night air with a loud crash.

     Linna rolled to her feet, turned, and fired her wire daggers into the back of the Boomer. 
The Boomer exploded as Linna sent a massive charge of electricity though her daggers into its 
damaged body.

     By the time Linna retracted the daggers back into their housings, Sylia and Knight One had 
reach her and Red Three.

     "Very nice," said Red Three to Linna.

     "Thank you," replied Linna. "You're not so bad yourself. You've had some experience with 
the sword?"

     "Yes, some. But I -"

     "You can compare fighting styles later, Red Three," said Knight One, his voice business-
like. "Let's find Janie, then get the hell out of here."

     "We've got a minute twenty-five," said Red Two. "I'm calling in Rattler One for a pickup."


     "Understood, Red Two," replied Knight One. What's the status of White and Blue teams?"

     "Not good. They're out numbered and outgunned."

     "But we're never outclassed," cut in Red Four.

     "Can the chatter, people, and start searching."

     They separated, and started searching the area. Linna found the body first. "Over here," 
she called out.

     By the time the others reached Linna, she had lifted the body of a young girl clear of the 
small amount of rubble that the Boomers had been guarding. The girl's body was limp, her face 
was pale, and she was not breathing. She looked to be in her early teens, with long brown hair 
and pretty. The clothes she wore were torn and stained.

     Sylia looked at her for several seconds before she turned and walked away. Have we, as a 
race, sunk so low as to use children to further our ambitions? 

     She only half listened to the conversations over the communication channel. "Red Four," 
said Knight One in a low growl. "Haul your ass over here now!"

     "On my way!"

     "We've only got a minute to get clear," said Red Two.

     "I know!" snapped Knight One angrily. "But I need Red Four over here right now."

     Sylia turned and looked at Knight One. He was looking down at the body, his fists clenched 
tightly.  Are you angry because quite possibly a life has been ended, or because the plans for a 
new piece of equipment might have been lost?  And what made her worry was the fact she wasn't 
sure of the answer.

     Knight One's next question was like a rifle shot. "Status on White and Blue teams?" 

     "Four of the Boomers are down, but they can't hold them much longer. They're also BU-12s, 
so they've got more fire power then the Bu-55's."

     "Understood. Where the hell's Red Four?"

     "Right here, Boss." Red Four shouldered his way between Red Three and Knight One. He knelt 
next to Linna and the body. "Starting scans now."

     Knight One turned to Red Three. "Go back to the landing site with Red Two. We'll be right 
behind you."

     Red Three nodded and ran off into the night. Knight One turned to look at Red Four. "Well?"

     "Just a minute," replied the kneeling Knight. After several seconds, he stood and looked at 
Linna. "You can put the body down, it's not going anywhere."

     "Well?" asked Knight One.

     "You're right Boss," he said slowly. "It's a Boomer. A BU-33S model, with no built in 
weapons. Looks like they reformed the features to match Janie's."

     Knight One slumped his shoulders in relief. "Thank you Ni . . . Red Four. Hustle back to 
the chopper."

     After Red Four ran off, Knight One turned to Sylia. "I think we'd better get the rest of 
our respective teams the hell out of the area before they end up like this poor creature." He 
looked back at the body of the disguised Boomer.

     Sylia glanced up at the sky. She could see the bright glow from the descending debris 
coming closer. "And I think we'd better hurry."



     Priss snapped off another shot with her handcannon at the diving Boomer. The plasma beam 
struck the BU-12 high in the chest and ripped into the armor. After that, the shaft of energy 
eliminated most of the internal components it struck, then still had enough strength to punch 
through the Boomer's heavy duty spine and the rear armor. 

     The Boomer exploded thirty meters in the air, scattering a large portion of itself over a 
wide area. What was left fell out of the sky and shattered on the roadway fifteen meters from 
where Priss was standing.

     "Yes!" Priss growled in triumph. "Nene, are you all right?"

     "So far," replied the redhead. Once the battle had started, both Knight Sabers had switched 
back to the team frequency. Nene still monitored the shared channel, but both had agreed that 
there was too much risk in using it now. In the heat of combat, a shouted name might give these 
Black Knights a clue to their identity. And giving these people anything was the last thing 
Priss wanted to do.

     "How many are there left?" asked Priss, searching the skies for her neat target.

     "At least seven," replied Nene. "But they're using the surrounding buildings to mask 
themselves until the last minute. I'm having a hard time picking them up until they're in an 
attack run."

     "How are our guests doing?"

     Priss wasn't sure what to expect from these Black Knights when she'd been tagged with 
assisting them. At worse, she expected half-assed amateurs who would buckle under a Boomer on-
slaught. But the Black Knights had proved her wrong. Aided by their gunships, they had managed 
to hold the Boomers on their first attack, nailing at least three Boomers in the process. The 
one Priss just killed made it four.

     "No one's dead yet, but we can't hold them for much longer. Blue Three has a dislocated 
shoulder, and White Two can't move his right arm. They're also running low on ammo. I don't -" 
Nene voice suddenly changed from matter of-factly to edgy. "Priss, Blue Leader is in trouble."

     Priss looked the direction of where Blue Leader and Blue Two had been fighting. Twenty 
meters away, three of the BU-12s had closed in on the two Black Knights. Two of the Boomers were 
on the ground, while the third hovered ten meters in the air. One of the black and gold hard-
suits was lying on the ground, unmoving. The other Black Knight was trying to fend off the two 
grounded BU-12s, and was being pressed hard. The closest hardsuit to the drama unfolding was 
hers.

     Damn! I can't fire at any of them at this range without risk of hitting our `ally'! "Nene," 
Priss said, launching herself into a sprint toward the struggling figures. "Can you target the 
hovering BU-12 from your position?"

     "Yes."

     "Then take it out while I give Blue Leader a hand."

     "Right!"

     As she ran toward the uneven contest, she saw the hovering Boomer turn and point its 
`Bazooka' at her. She flung herself to her right, just as it fired. The 46mm shell shot through 
the space Priss had just vacated and slammed into the ground, exploding ten meters behind her.

     Priss rolled to her feet, and continued to run toward the battle. "Sometime soon would be 
nice, Nene," she growled.

     "You know the Pulse Striker takes time to warm up!" Nine shouted back angrily. "I'm firing 
now." 

     The airborne Boomer suddenly was knocked backwards by an unseen fist. It struggled to 
maintain its position in the air, but it began to shudder. Smoke began to leak out from around 
its joints, followed quickly by sparks as the burst of high frequency electrons began to destroy 
the Boomer's electrical system. A series of explosions ripped through the Boomer, and it dropped 
like a rock. When it struck the roadway, it exploded.

     "About time," Priss muttered. She aimed her handcannon at one of the other BU-12s, but the 
form of Blue Leader stepped in the way. She cursed, and activated her loudspeaker. "Blue Leader, 
drop on the count of three! One . . . two . . . three!" 

     As she fired, the Black Knight dropped into a crouch. The plasma beam struck one of the 
Boomers in the head, swiftly decapitating it. As the dead Cyberdroid fell, Priss switched 
targets.

     However, the third Boomer was quicker then the other two. The plasma bolt missed the now 
moving BU-12. Before she could fire again, the Boomer fired both its bazooka and machine gun at 
her, forcing her to dodge to her left. She felt the shock wave hit her as the bazooka shell 
exploded where she'd been standing.

     She landed hard on her back on the roadway, and its unyielding surface stunned her. Her 
vision became blurry, and she felt the breath forcibly expelled from her lungs. She rolled onto 
her stomach, and force herself to her knees. Get up! her mind screamed. You want that 
homicidal toaster to kill you?

     As she staggered to her feet, she saw the Boomer tracking her, lining up a killing shot. 
She brought up her hand cannon, but the movement seemed too slow, too late. Damn it! Not 
now!

     Suddenly, a missile shot out of the night from over her head and struck the Boomer in the 
right torso. A bright explosion lit up the night, forcing Priss to shield her eyes. The Boomer 
was thrown back, its torso ripped open. Before it could regain its balance, Priss heard a sound 
like a buzzsaw ripping through the air above her. A series of craters opened up in the BU-12's 
skin, and the Boomer's left arm and both legs suddenly fell away from the body.

     A large shadow suddenly flew over Priss, and she sudden realized what had saved her, or 
more accurately, who had saved her. Leon! You showoff! I owe you!

     The helicopter pulled up into the night air, turned hard to the right, and raced back the 
way it came. As it passed her, she was certain that the gunner waved at her, though at that 
speed, she couldn't tell if it was Leon or not.

     "Priss!" called out Nene. "Are you all right?"

     "I am now. How are we doing?"

     "The surviving Boomers have pulled back, for now, but we can't withstand another attack. 
We've got a fifty seconds to -" 

     "White Saber to all Knight Sabers," said Sylia's calm voice. "Our mission is completed. 
Mackie's coming in now. Knight One has already ordered his people out. You two stay together 
until the Knight Wing reaches you."

     "Understood," said Priss. "Nene, active your locator beacon so Mackie can home in on you."

     "Right. But what are you going to do?" 

     "Blue Leader and Blue Two need help."

     "But Sylia said -"  

     "Don't worry. I'll just help them to their chopper and be there in plenty of time."

     "Don't linger," cut in Sylia. "I want us free and clear before those things impact."

     "Yes Mommy," Priss replied, as she ran over to where the two Knights were. 

     Blue Leader was kneeling over his team mate, trying to haul the unconscious Knight to his 
feet. He looked up as she dashed up. "Thanks for the help," he said gruffly.

     "No problem. How is he?"

     "I can't tell. He's still alive, though. I've imoblized the torso and head sections of the 
suit so we can move him without aggravating any spinal injuries."

     "Good. You get the recall signal?"

     "Yep. Rattler Two is setting up for a landing a hundred meters to the rear of this 
position. Blue Three's is already on his way over to the landing site."

     "Fine. I'll take one arm, you take the other. The sooner we get you back into the choppers, 
the sooner we get out of here."

     "No argument. I think we've worn out our welcome here anyway."

     They carried the helpless Knight toward the landing site. It was slow going as they had to 
skit shell craters, pieces of Boomers and small fires. Neither said anything, as both concen-
trated on carrying Blue Two as quickly and gently as they could.

     A dark shape shot over their head, slowed, and made a half turn several dozen meters in 
front of them. Priss recognized it as one of the Black Knight's helicopters. It hovered in the 
air then dropped down and landed in front of them. As they got closer, the helicopter's gunner 
lifted his visor, and Priss saw it was Leon. He gave the three of them a big smile and a thumbs 
up signal.

     Another Knight, his left arm hanging useless by his side, had already climbed onboard. He 
turned to wave the others on, when he tensed and pointed at something behind the trio. Priss saw 
Leon's face suddenly become grim, just before Nene yelled over the radio. "Priss, four Boomers 
coming up behind you!" 

     Several objects shot out of the air behind them and struck the waiting helicopter. Ex-
plosions rocked the aircraft as the tail boom disintegrated, knocking Priss and the others to 
the ground.

     Priss struggled to her feet. This just isn't my night, is it? "Are you all right?" 
she asked Blue Leader.

     "I'm getting too old for this shit," he growled, climbing to his feet. He glanced at the 
wreaked chopper. "Our ride has a small problem."

     Leon! Priss took a couple of steps forward. The tail boom was gone, but the rest of 
the gunship looked intact. As she watched, the cockpit canopy opened, and two figures climbed 
out. One waved in her direction before it and the other figure moved to rescue the injured 
Knight from the passenger compartment.

     "I've called in Rattler One and Three for an emergency pickup," said Blue Leader. "They'll 
be here in fifteen seconds. You better hustle to your pickup point before your ride leaves."

     "Here comes a bigger problem," said Priss, pointing at the four Boomers coming out of the 
night sky at them. "I'd better stick around for a while."

     "I've got two rounds left for my railgun, a laser, and a batch of melee weapons. You?"

     Priss held up her hand cannon. "Unlimited, as long as the power pack holds out. One or two 
surprises if they want to get close and personal."

     "Priss!" shouted Nene over the radio. "You've got twenty-five seconds to get back over 
here!"

     "I'm staying, Nene."

     "WHAT?"

     "No time to talk to talk. We've got company. Tell Sylia the get the Knight Wing clear. I'll 
hitch a ride with the Black Knights."

     "Are you insane?" Nene shouted.    

     "Later, Nene." Priss shut off her radio, and looked at Blue Leader. "You better carry Blue 
Two. I'll handle the rearguard."

     The Black Knight nodded. "We'd better head over to Rattler Two and hook up with those guys 
first."

     "Let's do it."

     The Knight reached down and hauled his team mate to his feet. As fast as he could move with 
his burden, he started toward the wrecked helicopter. Priss fired at the attacking Boomers, 
forcing them to break their tight formation. As they scattered, she lined up on one of them and 
fired again. The Boomer exploded in midair and plummeted to the ground, and exploded again.

     The other Boomers started a series of erratic maneuvers designed to rob Priss of another 
easy shot. She took the opportunity to back up. She glanced in the Blue Leader's direction to 
make sure they were all right, then refocused her attention on the Boomers.

     One suddenly broke off and fired at her. A dozen bullets and several bazooka shells ex-
ploded in front of Priss, sending pieces of concrete and shrapnel flying through the air. She 
stepped back to avoid the explosion and fired her handcannon again. This time, her shot missed 
the twisting figure of the BU-12.

     Priss risked a quick look behind her to check on the progress of the others. Blue Leader 
and his cargo were twenty meters behind her now, moving as rapidly as they could toward the 
downed helicopter. The helicopter's crew had managed to haul out the third Knight from the 
wreckage and were carrying him clear. She saw the dark shapes of two more gunships coming out of 
the night sky. One was descending for a landing, while the other held its altitude to cover the 
first.

     The scream of thrusters alerted her to a new danger. Her head snapped around just in time 
to catch the sight of two of the Boomers descending toward her, their guns blazing.

     The concrete around her was racked with explosions, bits and pieces of debris slamming into 
her. Her hardsuit was the only thing that shielded her from the deadly hail, but it didn't 
completely protect her from the multiple shock waves that accompanied the hail.

     Buffeted on all sides by the sledgehammer like blows, Priss wasn't aware that she'd been 
knocked off her feet until she hit the roadway hard, face first. Her vision went dark as the HUD 
in her helmet died. She felt blood trickling down the right side of her face, mixing with her 
sweat. Her entire body was screaming in pain, and she felt numb.

     I have to get up. Priss tried to push herself up, but pain shot through her right 
arm, and it buckled, dropping her onto the roadway again. The sudden fall almost caused her to 
lose consciousness, but she managed to hang on. 

     I'm not going to be beaten by a bucket of bolts. I'm going to live, Damn it! She 
managed to push herself onto her back, and push the now useless visor up so she could see what 
was going on around her.

     The area around her was pockmarked with craters and shattered concrete. Smoke and dust 
floated in the air, blanking the area with white tendrils. She herself was lying at the bottom 
of a large shallow shell crater, buried from the thighs down in concrete chunks. Around her, she 
could hear the muffled sounds of battle.

     She propped herself onto her left arm, and took a moment to look herself over. The right 
arm was throbbing fiercely, and a look at the handcannon told her it was done for. Her legs, 
while as battered as the rest of her, seemed to be intact. She moved them to dislodge some of 
the concrete, and they responded with only the mild pain of bruises. 

     The hardsuit was going to need a lot of work, though. It looked like someone had taken a 
sledgehammer and pounded her hardsuit. The HUD and most of the suit's power was off line, as was 
the power source for the handcannon. Pop's going to kill me, she thought. 

     Suddenly, She felt and heard something heavy land near her, off to her left. She turned her 
head in the direction, and gritted her teeth at the sight she saw. Boomer! 

     The BU-12 had landed several meters away, smoke from its thrusters swirling around it like 
a cape. It took several steps toward her, looking like a metal demon from a nightmare. Frozen at 
the sight of the Cyberdroid, part of Priss's mind noted that there seemed to be an expression of 
anticipation on its cold features, despite the fact this model was only remotely human.

     Priss's self preservation over rode her momentary surprise. She started to push herself up 
with her left arm, the right arm being useless. By using her legs, she managed to push herself 
out of the crater. The Boomer just stood and watched her attempt to escape in silence.

     As Priss tried to climb to her feet, the Boomer raised its weapon arm and pointed it at 
her. At this range, it couldn't miss, and with the condition her hardsuit was in, Priss knew the 
Boomer's fire would cut through her with ease.

     She made it to one knee, and the Boomer didn't fire. She looked at it, her anger rising. 
It's playing with me! 

     "Get on with it!" she shouted at the Boomer, despite the fact it couldn't hear her. "Give 
it your best shot, you metallic moron!"

     A large hole suddenly appeared on the right side of the Boomer's small head, just above the 
insect-like eye. The left side of the Boomer's insect like head exploded, spraying pieces of 
microcircuits, armor, and less identifiable items across the BU-12's left shoulder, arm, and the 
nearby roadway. A sharp thud followed the bullet by less then a heartbeat.

     The morally wounded BU-12 turned in the direction the shot had come from, its mangled brain 
deciding the shooter was more of an immediate threat. Before it completed its turn, three more 
shots punched deep holes in its head, and finishing the job the first had started.

     Priss could only stare as the Boomer toppled over and crashed to the ground, sending up a 
small cloud of dust and smoke into the already hazy air. Twin explosions in the air then 
attracted her attention. She looked up just in time to see the last two BU-12s fall out of the 
sky and crashed into the pavement.

     She continued to stare at the fallen bodies until she felt someone beside her. The calvary 
has arrived, she thought.

     She turned her head slowly and saw Leon kneeling beside her. Oh great, Now I'm never 
going to hear the end of it. I think I preferred the Boomer - at least they don't try to hit on 
me! He'd removed the crash helmet, and she noticed in passing that his hair was slick with 
sweat. He spoke at her, but she could barely hear him. "Are you all right?" he asked.

     She nodded slowly, feeling her head throb as she moved it. Leon slowly assisted her to her 
feet. She swayed and leaned drunkenly against him, her strength flowing out of her like a broken 
vessel. Unconsciousness threatened to claim her again, and she rallied her remaining strength to 
fight off the growing darkness.

     Priss felt someone trying to pull her helmet off, and she weekly swatted away the attempt 
with her left arm. There was a roaring in her ears, growing in sound and intensity. She looked 
at Leon again, but her vision began to blur into vague shapes of light and color. She felt her 
legs give way, and only Leon kept her from falling. A yawing pit of blackness opened at her 
feet, and she dropped into it gratefully.



     Leon felt Priss suddenly go limp in his arms. The sudden dead weight caught him somewhat by 
surprise, but he had enough of a hold on her so she didn't fall. Damm it! he thought 
savagely. You would choose the wrong time to faint!

     He heard someone behind them, and he turned to face the possible threat. He snapped the 
Redhawk up to point at the approaching figure, then dropped his arm as he recognized the figure 
as Knight One. Several other Knights were right behind him, and Leon could see the large 
silhouette of a hovering Rattlesnake three dozen meter behind them.

     "What are you doing?" asked Knight One angrily.

     Leon waved toward the limp form of Priss. "She needed help."

     "We'll take care of her." Knight One looked at one of the other Knights. "How long?"

     "Twenty seconds to get clear of the blast zone."

     Knight One strode over to Leon. "I'll take her. Go with the other Knights, and get the hell 
onboard the chopper."

     "Not without her."

     "You can't carry her fast enough to make it in time." Knight One reached out and pulled the 
limp form out of Leon's arms. "Get on that chopper now," he said in a low, flat voice, "or I'll 
have Red Two and Three drag you onto it."

     Leon nodded grimly, and started running for the Rattlesnake. The other three Knights 
followed. Knight One looked down at the face of the women in his arms. So young, He 
thought, Too young to be fighting Boomers. With that thought, he turned and starting 
running for the helicopter.



     "Priss? Come in Priss!"

     Nene looked up from her communications panel at Sylia. "She's not responding."

     "What about her location beacon?"

     Nene shook her head. "I can't locate it. There's too much interference out there for me to 
lock on it."

     Linna looked pale. "You don't think that maybe she's -"

     "Dead?" said Sylia woodenly.

     "She could be just injured," said Nene, a hint of desperation in her voice. "She might not 
be able to respond."

     "We have to go look for her!" exclaimed Linna.

     "How much time do we have left?" Sylia asked Nene.

     "Fifty-five seconds before impact."

     Sylia took a deep breath, and pushed the intercom button next to her. "Mackie, Get us out 
of here."

     Nene went pale. "Sylia!"

     "But Sylia...."

     Sylia looked at the other two members. "We can't afford to look for her," she said slowly. 
"If we don't get clear now, we won't be far enough away to ride out the shock waves."

     They felt the Knight Wing pick up speed as Mackie opened the throttles of the aircraft. 
Nene suddenly straightened and said, "Sylia, Knight One is trying to contact us," she said 
quickly. "There's a lot of interference from the spikes ion trails, and I'm having a hard time 
hearing him."

	"Put him on, and try to strengthen that signal."

     "Right!"

     There were several seconds of silence as Nene tried to counter the large amount of 
interference, then a voice came over the air. //Kn . . . abers,// it said, the scratching and 
hissing drowning out many of words. //Thi . . . Knight One.//

     "Can you do any better?" asked Linna, her voice weak and on the edge.

     "I'm sorry," said Nene. "There's too much interference for me to compensate for!"

     "Do the best you can, Nene," said Sylia coolly, straining to hear the words through the 
static.

     //We . . . ve your t..m mate,// the voice continued. //She' . . . l aliv . . .  in . . . 
ious co. ition . . . t.... her with . . .  to  . . . immedia . . . edical att . . .  We will 
.ontact you  . . . he can be. oved. Goo . . . k, Knight .abers, Knig.. On. out.//

     "No good," said Nene angrily. "The interference is getting worse. I've now lost all contact 
with the Black Knights."

     "Time to impact?" asked Sylia.

     "Forty seconds."

     "We're five kilometers from ground zero," said Mackie.

     "Don't spare the horses, Mackie," said Sylia, part of her mind trying to work out the gaps 
in Knight One's message.



     "Thirty-five seconds to impact," said Red Four.

     The Rattlesnake's compartment was crowded. Besides Red Team, there was Leon, Trask, an 
unconscious Priss, and the injured Blue Two. Most of them were sitting in reinforced jumpseats 
built into the craft's bulkheads, strapped in tightly in preparation to ride out the upcoming 
shock wave. Priss and Blue Two were strapped into collapsible stretchers built into the rear 
bulkhead of the compartment. Knight One and Red Two were standing in the middle of the cabin, 
holding on to the thick steel pipe above their heads. There wasn't much conversation - the 
battle and the upcoming disaster robbing them of most of their energy. 

     Leon sat next to Priss. Her helmet had been removed, and she looked peaceful with her hair 
splayed around her head. She'd been covered by a blanket, hiding most of her battered armor from 
sight. He reached over and touched her cheek with the back of his hand. She moaned softly, and 
turned her head toward the touch.

     Leon kept his hand there, feeling the warmth of her cheek. I think it's time we stopped 
acting like children, he thought sadly, and started acting like adults.

     He looked up to see Knight One looking at them. Mallory still had his visor down, and his 
hardsuit hid most of his body language. "How is she?" he asked.

     Leon shrugged. "I can't tell. She seems to be breathing all right, and her pulse is 
strong."

     "I've already radioed ahead for a trauma team to stand by," said the Knight. "She'll get 
the best care in the city, that I'll promise you."

     "Twenty-five seconds to impact," said Red Four woodenly.

     "Did you manage to get through to the Knight Sabers?" asked Leon.

     "I think so, but with the ion interference those spikes are giving off, I don't know if 
they heard me."

     "Can you track them?"

     Knight One shook his head. "Those spikes are going off too much interference." He turned 
toward the cockpit. "Distance from ground zero?"

     "Nine kilometers, and increasing," said a voice.

     The Black Knight's leader turned to face the rest of the compartment. "All Knights, double 
check your belts now. Everyone sound off on my call."

     Through a small porthole, Leon noticed the night sky behind them brightening. Here it 
comes . . . 

     "Nicky," said Knight One. "The countdown from ten seconds."

     "Right." Red Four's voice was steady, despite the air of tension in the compartment. 
"Fifteen seconds . . . Ten . . . nine . . . eight . . . seven . . . six . . . five . . . four . 
. . three . . . "



     The first of the Thor spikes hit the roadway not far from the lead tractor trailer. Its 
speed at the time it struck the roadway was at least three times that of sound. It was also now 
in a state of plasma, white hot from its passage through the Earth's atmosphere. It screamed out 
of the sky and hit the roadway.

     The blast ripped through the hardened concrete of the roadway as if it was wet paper. Most 
of the area surrounding the impact ceased to exist, the power of the energy released shattering 
the man-made substances with ease. Farther out from the blast crater, chunks of roadway the size 
of a man was hurled in all directions. Other, smaller, masses were sent far off into the night 
sky, to land several kilometers away.

     The explosion lit up the night sky with a pillar of light and flame that dominated the 
horizon. An eye blink later, three more columns of light and flame, accompanied by the sound of 
a rolling thunderclap that broke windows several kilometers away, joined the first, dying pillar 
of destruction. More pillars of flame and fury followed, all in the small area where the battle 
had been fought. All vehicles, Boomers, and other signs of combat were washed away in a 
cleansing fire.

     By the time the second wave of Thor spikes hit, the fires from the first wave were reaching 
into the sky, as if to welcome the second wave. More pillars of fire appeared as the second wave 
hit, adding to the conflagration.

     In less then two minutes, a four-kilometer stretch of the Coastal Highway ceased to exist 
in any form. In its place, nearly two dozen craters laid there like open sores. Every building 
within one and a half kilometer's radius of the highway had been leveled with brutal efficiency. 
A kilometer beyond that, a large number of buildings were burning, adding to the eerie light 
that hung over the city.



Chapter 20



Gulf and Bradley - Japan Headquarters
MegaTokyo, Japan
December 22, 2035
3:34am 

     Cora gritted her teeth and clenched her fists in anger. "It cannot be!" she shouted at the 
screen. "They escaped!"

     "They did, Sister," replied Carlton slowly and soothingly. He walked up behind her, and put 
his hands on her shoulders. "They were more prepared then we thought. We will not make that 
mistake next time."

     "NEXT TIME?" she shouted, spinning to face her brother. Her face was a mask of rage. "I 
WANT THEM DEAD NOW!"

     Carlton felt his own anger rising, and smothered it quickly. He couldn't afford to lose his 
temper now. "We have nothing in position to track them," he said calmly, increasing his hold on 
Cora, "and they will be gone before we can send anyone."

     "I WANT THEM DEAD NOW!" she screamed again. "DEAD DEAD DEAD DEAD!"

     Carlton stepped back and slapped her hard. The crack silenced all sound and movement in the 
room. Cora staggered back, clutching her cheek, the rage that had been on her face now replaced 
by shock and hurt. "You hit me," she said in a childish voice.

     "Only because you were acting like a spoiled brat," Carlton replied evenly. 

     "I'm sorry, Carlton," she replied, her voice stronger and more controlled. "I guess I lost 
my reason when my plan didn't work."

     Carlton nodded. "Your plan had merit, or I would not have allowed you to put into oper-
ation. We did not take into account several factors that we should have."

     She returned his nod. "Yes, the gunships were an unforeseen component. And it appeared that 
the ambush was spotted before it could be sprung."

     "Enough analysis for now," said Carlton. He turned to take in the rest of the room. "I 
suggest that everyone go get eight hours of sleep. We will meet at noon, to review this 
morning's operation."

     The other people in the control room nodded and shut down their consoles. They filed out of 
the room, leaving just Cora, Carlton, and the silent Hachio Ozu. The moon-faced security man 
stood in a corner of the room, and watched the siblings.

     Carlton ignored Ozu, and said to his sister, "You also need to get some sleep."

     Cora nodded. "I think I should. You too, dear brother."

     "I will. We'll talk about this tomorrow."

     Ozu watched Cora Bradley walk out of the control room, waited until the door closed, the 
asked his boss, "What's our next move?"

     Carlton didn't look at his security chief. "The first move is to make sure this incident is 
never traced to us."

     "Yes sir. Is the hardware end of the matter taken care of?"

     "Already done. We used several neutral satellites to link up with the Thor satellite, so 
tracing directly to us will be an impossible task. The other hardware will be removed from here 
and sent to several other GandB locations before the start of today's business. That leaves only 
the human end of the matter."

     "Do you want me to eliminate the techs that were in here tonight?"

     "No. The people tonight were chosen because of their skills and experience, and I refuse to 
throw away useful resources unless I have to. Besides, they know what would happen to them and 
their families if any of them speak out about this. But just in case, make sure they're watched 
for the next couple of weeks."

     Ozu nodded. "What about the person who supplied the information for the Thor satellite's 
codes?"

     "They can be eliminated, and at once. I suggest that is your first priority."

     "I'll send the message out tonight."

     "Good." Carlton turned to Ozu. "I want to see that weasel Mclaren first thing tomorrow. 
He's going to equip a strike force of Boomers with shield technology, and we're going after 
MALCORP holdings, here in the city."

     The security man looked unconvinced. "Is that wise?"

     "Are you questioning me?"

     "Yes, sir. In this case I am."

     Carlton bottled his anger before it could escape. "And I suppose you want a reason for this 
escalation?"

     Ozu shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably. "If I'm to prepare our defenses against a 
possible reprisal, I should know why I'm preparing."

     Carlton turned away. "The Black Knights and the Knight Sabers seem to have formed an 
alliance," he said. "It can't be that strong yet. By attacking MALCORP holdings here, I pull the 
Black Knights away from offensive action, and put them on the defensive. I force MALCORP and 
Greg Mallory to worry about everything else but the VanDell girl." 

     He spun slowly to look at Ozu. "Speaking of her, I also want to see Doctor Zin-Choon first 
thing tomorrow morning. We may have to force the issue with the girl quicker then the good 
Doctor wanted to."

     "The Doctor won't like it."

     "Maybe not, but we may not have the time to be gracious with our guest."

     "Understood, Sir. I'll tell the Doctor myself."

     Carlton nodded. "Then it's time we got some sleep. Today will be an important day, and it 
is best we are aware when it comes upon us."



Highway 17 - 4.5 kilometers northwest of the battle
District 6
December 22, 2035
3:45am

     Daley watched the raging firestorm with the other commanders from a safe distance. None of 
them spoke for several minutes, the sight before them an effective blanket on all conversation. 
In the distance, the wail of sirens became louder and louder, as emergency vehicles converged on 
the disaster area.

     "We lose anyone?" Daley asked quietly.

     Weiss replied. "No sir, our people got clear before the strike."

     "Good." He turned to the others. "Since we couldn't stop this, we're going to contain it. 
Weiss!"

     "Yes Sir?"

     "I want all the detachments to seal all roads leading into the area. Emergency vehicles 
ONLY are to be allowed into that area. Coordinate with the fire department, N-Police, and 
emergency services. Thesan, what the make up of building in the strike area?"

     "Warehouses, light industry, some research facilities," the woman replied. "Not much else."

     "Fine. Get a list of all the businesses in that area, and get hold of someone from each one 
of them. I want to find out if they've got any surprises we should be aware of."

     "Right!"

     The ADP officer strode away, shouting orders in a loud voice. Daley ignored her, and 
continued to watch the raging fire in the distance.



Sylia's Apartment
December 22, 2035
4:14am 

     Sylia stood at the window and stared at the other three. Mackie and Nene were sitting close 
together on the couch. Nene's head was lying on Mackie's shoulder. Her eyes were closed, and her 
breathing deep and regular. There were undried tears on her face, and she didn't look peaceful. 

     Mackie had a protective arm around the Nene's shoulders. He alternated looks between his 
sister and the sleeping Nene.

     Linna was curled up in a chair, both hands around a lukewarm cup of coffee. She was staring 
off into space, an expression of grief on her face. No one had spoken for several minutes. 

     Finally, Mackie spoke. "We don't know she's dead. Maybe that what Knight One was telling us 
before communications got too bad."

     "And maybe Knight One was telling us she was dead," said Linna in a whisper.

     "We don't know that, Linna. We saw the Black Knights land near where Priss was. It's quite-"

     "Mackie," said Sylia softly. "Why don't you carry Nene into the spare bedroom? She's in no 
condition to drive home tonight."

     Mackie nodded, and disentangled himself from Nene's grip. He reached down and gently picked 
her up. She snuggled against his chest, and murmured something under her breath. Slowly and 
carefully, he carried Nene out of the living room.

     With two problems taken care of, Sylia looked at Linna. "Mackie's right. It's probable 
she's with the Black Knights right now."

     "Assuming you trust these Black Knights," replied Linna quietly.

     "At this time, I do." Sylia turned and looked out into the night. She could see the glow 
from the Thor strike in the distance.

     Linna put her coffee cup down on the table next to the chair, and stood. "I'm going to go 
home. I'm going to have to work a half day tomorrow. I'll call you when I get off work." She 
turned and left the room. A minute later, Sylia heard the front door close.

     Mackie came back into the living room. "I've got Nene tucked into the spare bed," he said. 
"And you look like you need some sleep yourself, Sis." 

     She shook her head. "I'm fine."

     "Don't give me that," said Mackie. "You look like hell. You can't do anything until the 
morning anyway."

     "I know."

     "Then don't beat yourself over things you can't do anything about."

     Sylia gave him a weak smile. "One of the burdens of leadership, brother. You should get 
some sleep."

     "Not until you do."

     "And I suppose you stay there until I do go to bed, right?"

     "You got it. I'm not a kid anymore."

     "You're not, are you?" she murmured softly. She turned and looked at her brother. "All 
right, you win. I'll go get some sleep."

     Sylia walked out of the room, leaving Mackie alone. He went over to the window at stared 
out into the darkness. "I hope you are all right, Priss," he said quietly.



	

	
Chapters 11 - 15
	
Chapters 21 - 25
	
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