Homecoming

[Zoombie]

A free...er...

Thumbs up!

[Guessmyname]

Yay.

[Zoombie]

Waiting...waiting...

[Zoombie]

A close call with some Sanders. Some funny dilouge with a computer (thats always fun), some more background information a few hints here and there, some more stuff in general. Also some more explinations on the intricasies of the Kliner engines, if you all really cared about that...




Miles looked at Chess. ├óÔé¼┼ôDon't suppose you know where we are├óÔé¼┬Ø

Chess shrugged, walking to him as she did so. She knelt by the command console and looked over the Stellar maps that Miles had. The problem with Stellar maps is they are mapped from the point of view of the mapper. So you have to find where you are...in relation to that point. 'That point', in this case, being New Terra was an unknown distance away from them.

Chess looked at the readouts, a polite look of interest on her face. One thing Miles noticed about her was that she threw herself into everything with complete enthusiasm. It was hard to tear her away from the chess board, once she got started.

Teresa distracted Miles, walking into the room with a towel about her waist and her hair dripping. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhere are my clothes?├óÔé¼┬Ø She asked, holding the towel to her bosom as if it were a shield. Miles noticed that her tattooed Latin scrawls extended below her neckline, and way up her legs. A momentary question of how far up and down they went flashed into his mind. Miles coughed and asked, ├óÔé¼┼ôBeing washed. Blood stains need to be removed├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWhat am I to wear till then!├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa asked, ├óÔé¼┼ôI can't walk around stark nude like...Eve!├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWho?├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles asked, ├óÔé¼┼ôno...never mind. One of your Religious fussy wussyies, I'd guess├óÔé¼┬Ø

Teresa managed to look indignant and furious at the same time. ├óÔé¼┼ôThere's a blanket in my room. Make a toga├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, turning back to the print outs.

├óÔé¼┼ôI don't mean to alarm anyone├óÔé¼┬Ø the computer said, its voice soft in the way that always alarmed Miles, ├óÔé¼┼ôBut...something is coming out of that nebula├óÔé¼┬Ø

Miles looked up. The Kitty Hawk was facing the nebula, letting the glorious purplish light shine into the ship.

Chess looked up, frowning lightly. ├óÔé¼┼ôThink its dangerous?├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles asked.

Chess nodded.

├óÔé¼┼ôNot you├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles snapped, ├óÔé¼┼ôThe computer!├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôYes, master. Its very dangerous. But there is nothing we can do├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWhy not move out of the way├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa snapped, her wet skin starting to freeze in the chilly ship's room.

├óÔé¼┼ôBecause that wouldn't do any good├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, looking at the print out. The computer, knowing that he was not one to panic, didn't blurt out what it had detected. But it didn't have psychiatric reports, painstakingly collected over ten years, on the others. So it gave Miles the report quietly. Chess was staring at the nebula, her frown getting deeper. Teresa looked at her Messiah and saw a line of tension on her neck. What could make the Daughte of God nervous was something that should make Teresa panic.

├óÔé¼┼ôMiles├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, walking behind him, ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat is it├óÔé¼┬Ø

Normally a half naked, attractive young woman walking behind him would get Miles attention. But instead he continued to stair at the print out, thinking furiously. He banished it with a wave of his hand and spun his chair around.

├óÔé¼┼ôI'm...not sure. But it could be some Sanders├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said.

Teresa gulped, ├óÔé¼┼ôThat...would be bad├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôYes├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles stood, ├óÔé¼┼ôComputer activate the MNF├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThe MNF is broken├óÔé¼┬Ø The computer said flatly.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhy didn't you tell me?├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôI did├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWhy didn't you remind me then!├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles snapped, looking at his console.

├óÔé¼┼ôI did!├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThen why didn't you remind me a-├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles started, but Chess's hand clamped on his shoulder. He looked around and saw that something was coming out of the nebula.

Teresa placed her hand on Miles shoulder, each of them drawing comfort from the contact. Sanders were no joke, no matter how many people tried to make light of them. Stupid. Slow. Low technology, no space ships per-say and completely unable to Kliner Jump. But they had still almost destroyed mankind in the End Times, without any more help then surprise.

The tip of the Sanders 'ship' nosed through the nebula. It was jagged and rocky, literally so. It was an asteroid. Sanders were too unintelligent to build even a simple club. They traveled through sheer chance, latching onto asteroids and riding them through space.

Miles watched as the asteroid slowly moved out of the nebula, massive and rocky. Black splotches, Sanders, covered it. Miles chewed his lip, biting down till it bled. The asteroid was over them. It filled the view screen.

Chess's lips were moving, but no sounds were coming out.

Teresa was thinking prayer as fast as she could.

Miles tasted blood and stopped biting his lip. ├óÔé¼┼ôThey are moving past├óÔé¼┬Ø The computer said, making them all jump from the tension.

The asteroid emptied from the view port, heading to the side. ├óÔé¼┼ôIts passing us├óÔé¼┬Ø the computer said, ├óÔé¼┼ôNo surface activity├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThey didn't catch anything. No atmosphere leakage, no radiation from the engine and no stutters from the Kliners├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, ├óÔé¼┼ôWe can stop tensing up├óÔé¼┬Ø

Teresa's hand moved from his shoulder and Miles felt faintly disappointed. Chess, however, kept holding on. The asteroid continued to move away. Chess waited, still mouthing words without sound. The asteroid slowly vanished in the distance, only visible by the stars it blotted out behind it. Then it was gone.

Chess took the hand of Miles shoulder, who massaged it, wincing at the bruise her fingertips left. Then Chess pointed. Miles took a moment to realize what she was pointing at. Then he blinked, leaning forward. She was pointing at the...Crab Nebula.

├óÔé¼┼ôThe Crab Nebula├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles muttered, ├óÔé¼┼ôThats...6.3 kly. Computer, check the composition on the nebula, see if it matches probes├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôYes master├óÔé¼┬Ø The computer said. A probe zipped out of the ship, the small robotic frame slamming out as fast as it could go. The engine burned brightly until it vanished into the nebula. Ten seconds later the computer said, ├óÔé¼┼ôIts a match, as best as I can tell. The gas matches...kind of. The information we already have on the Crab Nebula are over five decades out of date├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWhy!├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles snapped.

├óÔé¼┼ôBecause its a very low priority on your lists├óÔé¼┬Ø The computer explained patiently, ├óÔé¼┼ôWe've never expected to be propped over six...thousand seven hundred light years!├óÔé¼┬Ø

He stood up, ├óÔé¼┼ôHow the hell did that happen!├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI...don't know├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa's brow furrowed, ├óÔé¼┼ôMy drive was only spun up to one hundred light years, how much was your's?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôFive hundred, but...yeah...we shouldn't be out here├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said.

├óÔé¼┼ôI believe I have an explanation├óÔé¼┬Ø the computer said.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhat?├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôIt is theorized that if you warp along the gravitational incline of a solar system it could exponentially increase your warp dista-├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôMagic├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles cut his computer off, ├óÔé¼┼ôThats it. Magic. Lets spin up our Kliner drives please. Give us an ETA on that├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThree days to get them up to power├óÔé¼┬Ø The computer said.

├óÔé¼┼ôI count three weeks├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa cut in, ├óÔé¼┼ôIf I remember high school physics├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWell├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, turning around before his computer could explain, ├óÔé¼┼ôMost Kliner drives have a spin up reducer. This is so that your Kliners don't overheat and explode when you're going long distance. Only problem is it makes you go...well slower on the start up. Thats why ships going long distance flights spin up their Kliners on the way out of the system. It takes far more power and fuel, but its better then having your passengers sit around for a day├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôYes yes├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, as bored with this as Miles had been with her holy stories.

├óÔé¼┼ôBut my Kliners...don't have the reducer. So there is a chance they will explode. But we will get there faster├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôAnd...you...Miles can I talk to you?├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa jerked her head back to his room. Miles frowned, ├óÔé¼┼ôWhy can't we talk in front of Chess?├óÔé¼┬Ø

Chess was watching the Kliner read outs with interest, reading the power gages as if they were adventure novels.

├óÔé¼┼ôReasons├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, ├óÔé¼┼ôReasons I would explain if you came with me├óÔé¼┬Ø

Miles, grumbling, did so. They both walked into his room. ├óÔé¼┼ôFirst├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, ├óÔé¼┼ôCan I use some of these?├óÔé¼┬Ø She kicked the hamper that contined his clothes.

├óÔé¼┼ôSure├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, nodding.

├óÔé¼┼ôGood├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, ├óÔé¼┼ôNow get the hell out!├óÔé¼┬Ø

Miles, later, sat back down in his room. Teresa wore a baggy shirt that was too big for her, and too tight across the chest. Not that Miles thought that was a bad thing, from a purely aesthetic standpoint. Her pants were some baggy jeans that Miles had, and, for some reason, suited her quite well.

├óÔé¼┼ôNow that I feel halfway human├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, ├óÔé¼┼ôI would like to discuss a few things. First...why is your ship such a death trap?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôDeath trap?├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles asked, ├óÔé¼┼ôIts a great ship!├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôA ship that could explode anytime we make a Kliner jump├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa muttered, ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd├óÔé¼┬Ø she continued before Miles could cut in, ├óÔé¼┼ôWe can't tell Chess she is the Messiah...because she might not know it├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWhat? That doesn't make any sense!├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôOn the contrary. Did you know you were going to turn the tide in the Battle for New Jerusalem?├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa pointed out, calmly.

├óÔé¼┼ôWell...no├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, ├óÔé¼┼ôBut...I'm not the Son of God├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôSame principle├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd the next thing I wanted to talk to you about...can I contract you?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI'm retired├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, softly.

├óÔé¼┼ôThen make this...one last mission. One last job├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa took his hand in hers, ├óÔé¼┼ôBe as of the Knights of old, protect and save this woman from harm. There is a galaxy of enemies out there. We have to get her to New Terra, where she can fulfill the ancient words the Savior spoke. She said she would come again, and lead us to heaven├óÔé¼┬Ø

Miles saw a complete and unwavering believe in Teresa's eyes, one that unnerved him, down to the very core of his being. That kind of believe is the kind that changes the universe. It was the believe that he saw demonstrated in the Battle of New Jerusalem, the kind that made him swear...swear to never read from Qur'an again.

├óÔé¼┼ôFine├óÔé¼┬Ø he said, jerking his hand out of Teresa's grasp, ├óÔé¼┼ôI'll see Chess arrives at New Terra. Not that hard, once we get back home├óÔé¼┬Ø

Teresa bowed his head, ├óÔé¼┼ôYou will be Knighted for this├óÔé¼┬Ø she said, softly, ├óÔé¼┼ôAn honor I would never achieve├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôOh come on├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, helping her to her feet, ├óÔé¼┼ôYou got all this other...stuff├óÔé¼┬Ø he gestured to the tattoos.

├óÔé¼┼ôOnly men can be Knighted├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said. Miles blanched, not sure if he could say anything about that.


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


The General woke form his dream, and at first he did not know what was real. The dream, or the reality.

The dream had been blurred, happy. He had been holding his wife, her breath hot in her ear, her body naked to his. He had woken as the light turned on in his room and for a moment he saw his wife surrounded by the light, touchable.

Then Weathers intruded, her plain face shattering the illusion of the dream. Weathers looked down at the General, smiling faintly.

├óÔé¼┼ôSir├óÔé¼┬Ø she said, ├óÔé¼┼ôSorry to wake you...but the Weapon Pod has been retched├óÔé¼┬Ø

The General nodded, blinking the dream from his eyes, ├óÔé¼┼ôTh...Thank you├óÔé¼┬Ø he said, ├óÔé¼┼ôCan we jump to Outreach?├óÔé¼┬Ø

Weathers paused, confused. ├óÔé¼┼ôSure...I mean yes sir├óÔé¼┬Ø She said, nodding, ├óÔé¼┼ôBut...may I ask why?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôIts the Rome for the Tattooed, ever sense they lost New Jerusalem. So we go there and see if we can go through official channels. Get me the President, see if we can disclose the attack on us by her sister├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôSister?├óÔé¼┬Ø Weathers asked, looking surprised.

├óÔé¼┼ôSorry, sorry├óÔé¼┬Ø The General said, ├óÔé¼┼ôThat will just make your carriers even more uncomfortable. The...madam President likes to keep her ties to her sister...secret. But if we get that permission, its just one more club we can use against the Tatts and I intended to use it├óÔé¼┬Ø

Weathers nodded, ├óÔé¼┼ôIt shall be so├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôAnd Weathers├óÔé¼┬Ø The General said.

├óÔé¼┼ôSir?├óÔé¼┬Ø Weathers stopped as she walked out of his quarters, turning to face him.

├óÔé¼┼ôIf...Outreach has excellent shore leave positions, just round the bend from the Tattooed city. They probably think its a sinful place, and want to get rid of it...but they moved there second, and buggers can't be choosers...and I'm rambling, but...├óÔé¼┬Ø he stopped, and smiled, seeming more grounded then he had been the past few days, ├óÔé¼┼ôYou and the other bridge crew can take some shore leave. Make sure to stay away from the Tatt cities...they're not much fun unless your into rituals, chanting and other such nonsense├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôUnderstood├óÔé¼┬Ø Weathers said, smiling as she walked out.


Lowman drank down his cup and set it on the table. Weathers had joined him, but Grimm said that he preferred to spend his rec time in his quarters. Whatever that meant.

├óÔé¼┼ôI think├óÔé¼┬Ø Weathers said, grinning slightly, ├óÔé¼┼ôThat Grimm managed to catch the eye of De-Vree├óÔé¼┬Ø

Lowman smiled, ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd have you caught any eyes?├óÔé¼┬Ø he asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôA few├óÔé¼┬Ø Weathers said, ├óÔé¼┼ôBut I just don't think bridge crew relationships work in the long run. Its fine for a quick fu-├óÔé¼┬Ø

The crowd around them started to hush everyone. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat's going on?├óÔé¼┬Ø Lowman asked, ├óÔé¼┼ôIs there a show going on or something?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI don't know├óÔé¼┬Ø Weathers said. She tapped a man on the shoulder, ├óÔé¼┼ôHey, buddy...whats going on?├óÔé¼┬Ø she asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôIts Hawk's show├óÔé¼┬Ø The man said, grinning, ├óÔé¼┼ôShe dose this once every few nights as an extra money getter. Never gets above some skin, no 'real' nudity or sex...this is a family bar. But this show pisses the Tatts off royal...which is why I think the owner does it├óÔé¼┬Ø

Weathers looked at Lowman, shrugging. The show was about to begin and a few tables were pushed together to make a long platform. A woman stepped up there, a cloak draped about her shoulders. Her face was strange, swept back and light. Her bones were narrow and thin, the cloak hanging about her like a bag.

A song started to play. ├óÔé¼┼ôI'm just a little angle, who's fallen from heaven├óÔé¼┬Ø the woman sang, unbuttoning the first two buttons on her cloak.

├óÔé¼┼ôAre you sure this is a family pu-├óÔé¼┬Ø Lowman started.

Then the cloak fell from the woman's shoulders and two wings snapped out, glimmering under the light. Lowman and Weathers were speechless. The song continued, but the words went straight through one ear and out the other. The woman was a genehack. ├óÔé¼┼ôHow...did...How did...where did she come from?├óÔé¼┬Ø Weathers said. Lowman grunted, mouth hanging open at the motions of the wings...and the secondary vibrations those set off.


In the back of the pub Jeremy sipped his tea. ├óÔé¼┼ôHawk is a very special case├óÔé¼┬Ø the owner of the pub said, ├óÔé¼┼ôHer family kept this skeleton in the closet, one that appears once every few generations. The gene keeps popping up...Hawk got 'lucky' and managed to have the wings grew with her, as she grew up├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThat must have made life easy for her├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy muttered.

├óÔé¼┼ôYeah├óÔé¼┬Ø The pub owner said, sighing, ├óÔé¼┼ôAlso...this 'revolution'...I don't think I want to have any part of it├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI understand├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy said, ├óÔé¼┼ôBut...take this├óÔé¼┬Ø he tossed a coin in the air, ├óÔé¼┼ôFor my appreciation of the show├óÔé¼┬Ø He glanced Hawk, visible through a window in the pub owners office. She finished her dance, wearing a lot less clothes then she had when she started, but still wearing enough to keep the 'naughty' bits covered. She walked out, money being thrown on the table, applause sounding.

She managed to get her cloak on before the door burst open. A police man walked in, a Latin tattoo scrawled over his left eye. ├óÔé¼┼ôI see that there is quite a gathering going on tonight├óÔé¼┬Ø He said, voice loud in the sudden silence.

Hawk looked away from the man, not wanting to draw his attention. ├óÔé¼┼ôNow I hear that there is a genehack hiding around here. This might not be a tattooed City...but we have the purity laws none the less├óÔé¼┬Ø

Lowman looked at Weathers. ├óÔé¼┼ôNo one enforces the Purity laws anymore├óÔé¼┬Ø Weathers muttered.

├óÔé¼┼ôThese people might├óÔé¼┬Ø Lowman said, loosening his holster slightly, ready to pull his gun.

├óÔé¼┼ôLittle lady├óÔé¼┬Ø The police man stopped by Hawk, ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat are you?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI'm...Angelica├óÔé¼┬Ø Hawk said, her voice meek, ├óÔé¼┼ôJust a customer├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôRight...a bit hot in here, is it not?├óÔé¼┬Ø The police man said, looking Hawk over, ├óÔé¼┼ôTake of the jacket├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôNo├óÔé¼┬Ø Hawk said, ├óÔé¼┼ôIts...its my body...I can't be forced to-├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôTake it off├óÔé¼┬Ø the police man said.

├óÔé¼┼ôThis isn't right├óÔé¼┬Ø Lowman muttered.

├óÔé¼┼ôLowman...it's the law├óÔé¼┬Ø Weathers said, ├óÔé¼┼ôWe don't like it, but it is the law├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôTake it off├óÔé¼┬Ø The police man said again, his voice louder this time.

├óÔé¼┼ôNo├óÔé¼┬Ø Hawk said, her chin jutting out in defiance.

├óÔé¼┼ôHey├óÔé¼┬Ø Lowman ran forward, pushing through the crowd, ├óÔé¼┼ôShe doesn't want to take it off. Its not the place of a constable to strip down innocent patrons├óÔé¼┬Ø

The police man looked at him, coldly, ├óÔé¼┼ôThis could be construed as interfering with a criminal case. genehacks, as defined under The Purity Laws, are not legal├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôBut...├óÔé¼┬Ø Lowman's mind was racing through what he knew of the Purity Laws. He had learned it in school, back on Gynetroa, but it had faded from time.

├óÔé¼┼ôBut doesn't it say├óÔé¼┬Ø Weathers started up, walking to them, ├óÔé¼┼ôThat only people who have had their gene's altered artificially fall under the definition of genehack├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôBut├óÔé¼┬Ø The police man said.

├óÔé¼┼ôA simple genetic test├óÔé¼┬Ø Weathers said, ├óÔé¼┼ôWill find out whether or not this woman here has had altered genes...or simply different genes. Its as simple as finding the trademark├óÔé¼┬Ø

The police man frowned. Then he nodded, ├óÔé¼┼ôFine├óÔé¼┬Ø he said, ├óÔé¼┼ôI'll...I'll be back. I'll be back with a genetic scanner and a squad of police men. If she is a genehack...punishment will fall on everyone in the pub!├óÔé¼┬Ø

The pub owner cupped his head in his hands, hearing that. ├óÔé¼┼ôI'm ruined├óÔé¼┬Ø he moaned.

├óÔé¼┼ôNot yet├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy said, ├óÔé¼┼ôNot yet├óÔé¼┬Ø



Hawk walked out, careful to keep her head down, her...curse hidden. She walked down the streets of Outreach, underneath one of the dark splotches that blocked the already dim starlight. The entire city was nearly completely dark. Then a darker shadow fell, even darker. Hawk looked up and saw that a ship was darting over head. It was a massive USHS cruiser. The USHS...Hawk knew that if she could just gather enough money...she could get out of this Fringe, into the USHS proper. Where the Purity Law wouldn't hang over her head, day in day out.

A man walked behind her, causing her to jump. Hawk spun and saw an unassuming man behind her. ├óÔé¼┼ôMam├óÔé¼┬Ø he said, ├óÔé¼┼ôMy name is Jeremy William...and how would you like to see the Purity Laws abolished...forever?├óÔé¼┬Ø

[Zoombie]

This is a new record! Its the first time I've used the word sadomasochists in any of my stories. I'm not sure whether to applaud or to break down and cry

Don't worry, Its not that bad...




Hawk opened the door to her apartment, letting Jeremy in as she did so. The older man walked in, looking around. Hawk, thought she was almost giddy with the notion of banning the Purity Laws, kept her hand in her pocket. Jeremy found a chair in the cramped, jumbled apartment, and sat down. ├óÔé¼┼ôNow├óÔé¼┬Ø Hawk said, ├óÔé¼┼ôStand up again and take off your clothes├óÔé¼┬Ø

Jeremy blinked. Then he saw her hand was in her pocket...and he could faintly make out the form of a weapon. He had the sinking feeling that it was a gun. He stood and took of his over jacket. Then he turned around and slipped his pants off. ├óÔé¼┼ôCan I stop here?├óÔé¼┬Ø he asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôTake off the under shirt├óÔé¼┬Ø Hawk said, ├óÔé¼┼ôI need to be sure├óÔé¼┬Ø

Jeremy sighed and pulled his shirt off. Then he turned around. Hawk's appraising eye darted over his body, checking for weapons. ├óÔé¼┼ôIf you try to attack me├óÔé¼┬Ø Hawk said, ├óÔé¼┼ôI will shoot you. I really hope it never comes down to that because the police are not exactly on my side. You can get dressed├óÔé¼┬Ø

Jeremy pulled his clothes back on, saying ├óÔé¼┼ôIf I was interested in murder or...other things, then I would have not waited to get to your apartment. This city has more then enough dark alleyways├óÔé¼┬Ø

Hawk nodded, ├óÔé¼┼ôI...I have to be thorough. If I hadn't been thorough for my entire life then I would have died years ago├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI can understand that. Now├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy said, ├óÔé¼┼ôhave you heard of my movement?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôNo├óÔé¼┬Ø Hawk said, ├óÔé¼┼ôAre you...are you part of some new church or something?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôQuite the opposite├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy said, smiling faintly, ├óÔé¼┼ôI am trying to bring about a new communist revolution. We can make it work├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThats all well and good├óÔé¼┬Ø Hawk sat down, her hand still in her pocket, ├óÔé¼┼ôBut...what can it do for me?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWe believe in equality. It doesn't matter if your DNA has a cooperate trademark on it or not. If this revolution is successful we can finally do away with all the nonsense left over from the Dark Ages and finally move into a new golden age├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôMy mother├óÔé¼┬Ø Hawk said, smiling faintly, ├óÔé¼┼ôused to tell me that entering a new golden age would just bring about another End Times├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThats exactly what we need to move past├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy said, getting exited, ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd I think...I need figureheads. I can reach out to intellectuals...but we've been having problems getting to the Proletariat-- the working class-- the slaves and the rest of the lower class. We need a figure head. Someone like you├óÔé¼┬Ø

Hawk looked incredulous, ├óÔé¼┼ôUh...someone like me├óÔé¼┬Ø she repeated, ├óÔé¼┼ôMost of the slaves and other 'Proletariats' would burn me at the stake├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôMaybe├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy said, ├óÔé¼┼ôBut...you pulled in quite a show├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThats a freak show├óÔé¼┬Ø Hawk said, glancing at her feet, then back to Jeremy, ├óÔé¼┼ôWhere all the weirdo's come out and watch├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI don't believe that├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy said, ├óÔé¼┼ôYou're not a freak...you're exotic and interesting. And if I...we can pull this off, then it would not only pave the way for the Revolution...but for the few remaining genehack to be highly placed in the Revolution├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThere are about two, maybe three thousand of us left├óÔé¼┬Ø Hawk said, ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd those are not allowed to breed. After this century there might five hundred of us left. If you...If you can do what you say, then...well...it would be a miracle├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôNot a miracle├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy said, ├óÔé¼┼ôJust...a righting of a wrong long left forgotten├óÔé¼┬Ø

Hawk mulled this over, looking around the apartment.

├óÔé¼┼ôWe'd have to get you to my ship, and from there we can get to Golgotha and start├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy started to talk, but Hawk shifted, looking at him. Her wings pulled against the cloak, jerking in excitement. ├óÔé¼┼ôYou could take me to the inner planets!├óÔé¼┬Ø She said, ├óÔé¼┼ôWhy didn't you say so!├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôUh...well yes. Can't be much of a figure head out here on the fringe, now could you├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy said.

Hawk took his hand in her own, walking forward as she did so. ├óÔé¼┼ôThank you├óÔé¼┬Ø she said, ├óÔé¼┼ôthank you├óÔé¼┬Ø.

Jeremy walked her onto the October, his ship. Hawk looked around, gaping. ├óÔé¼┼ôThis is my ship├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy said, quite unnecessarily, ├óÔé¼┼ôIts not the biggest around. But it'll get us there. In the back, over there, are some showers. To the left are rooms, to the right are more rooms. There's a bar in the middle, if you need food and drink├óÔé¼┬Ø

Hawk walked to the middle of the October. Then she looked over her shoulder at Jeremy. ├óÔé¼┼ôUh├óÔé¼┬Ø She said, blushing, ├óÔé¼┼ôDo you mind if...├óÔé¼┬Ø

Jeremy, catching her drift, nodded. Hawk shucked her cloak and let her wings open to their full extension. Even in the middle of the ship they brushed the corners of the walls. Jeremy smiled. She would make a perfect figure head. The Cardinal was asleep, in his quarters. It had been a shock to Jeremy, to think that a man like that could actually need to sleep. Jeremy had...misgivings about the Cardinal. But without him...he was nothing.

The October lifted off, let through the dome's shield after a few moments of hovering. Then it burned its way out of the atmosphere, its Kliner drives spinning up.

Hawk was sitting in the lounge of the October, feeling giddy. She was actually getting off Outreach. That much was incredible enough for her. Add to that the fact that she was joining a revolution that could change everything. Hawk giggled. It was a most unnatural sound for her throat, normally used to more serious things. She hadn't actually giggled...in about ten, maybe fifteen years.

The ship rumbled slightly, the engines changing course. Hawk looked at the bar, hearing the plates and bottles rattle with the ship. Jeremy walked into the main lounge from his chambers, hair neatly combed and recently cleaned. ├óÔé¼┼ôI need to brief you some more├óÔé¼┬Ø he said, ├óÔé¼┼ôThere is another ringleader in this little revolution. His name is Cardinal, or...at leas that's what I call him. He is the Cardinal for the Golgotha system, Tattooed├óÔé¼┬Ø

Hawk stood, ├óÔé¼┼ôThen...he'll want to kill me├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôNo!├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy stood, ├óÔé¼┼ôHe's working with us to change his church for the better as well├óÔé¼┬Ø

Hawk licked her lips, still nervous, ├óÔé¼┼ôWell fine├óÔé¼┬Ø she seemed out of things to say, ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd...can I get some warmer clothes?├óÔé¼┬Ø she gestured at the custom made clothes she wore. They were little better then straps and a skirt.

├óÔé¼┼ôYes├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy nodded, slightly distracted as he looked down. He forced his eyes up, ├óÔé¼┼ôYes, as soon as we arrive I can get you some custom tailors├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThanks├óÔé¼┬Ø Hawk said, ├óÔé¼┼ôBut...I have no idea how to be a figure head├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôNeither do I├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy said, smiling for the first time in a while. Not just a slight smile or a grin, but an actual smile. Hawk laughed, ├óÔé¼┼ôSome revolution├óÔé¼┬Ø she said, ├óÔé¼┼ôJust three people in it?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThree people actually in it...but we have more supporters...supposedly├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy reached up and grabbed a bottle off the bar, ├óÔé¼┼ôNow to a successful jump├óÔé¼┬Ø.

Hawk grabbed her cup and they clinked them together. ├óÔé¼┼ôTo a successful jump├óÔé¼┬Ø she said softly. The October warped out of existence.

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

Miles sat down in the chair and put his feet up. ├óÔé¼┼ôI├óÔé¼┬Ø He said, ├óÔé¼┼ôCould get really really sick of this├óÔé¼┬Ø

Teresa grunted. She was sitting in the command chair, which was slightly more plush then the other chairs on the Kitty Hawk.

Chess lay on the bed. Miles had offered it to Teresa. Teresa had then offered it to Chess. But something was missing. Chess stood up and looked around. She figured out what was wrong with the bed. She lay down on the floor, slid under the bed. In the darkness she felt secure again. Chess lay her head back and fell asleep.

Miles grumbled. ├óÔé¼┼ôHow many more days until the damn engines start up?├óÔé¼┬Ø he asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôOne├óÔé¼┬Ø the computer said.

Miles nodded. Teresa fell asleep, nodding off with the ease of long practice. Miles watched her. When he was sure she was completely asleep he opened the secret compartment behind him. He reached in and pulled out one of his ten Popers left. He slipped it into his mouth and sighed, feeling it fizz and pop in his mouth. Miles sighed, feeling a faint euphoria spread through his body. He pushed the Poper to the left, spreading the flavor. After a few minuets of sucking he was asleep.


In the morning Teresa was the first to wake. She stood, looking around. The ship was quiet in the morning and the power gages for the Kliner engines showed that it had powered up completely. Miles was snoring, loudly. Teresa walked to him and found a small compartment that he had left open. It hadn't been there last night. Teresa reached in and pulled out a baggy filled with nine of so small red things. She looked at them and read a logo off the side. Popers.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhats a Poper?├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa murmured. Miles stirred in his sleep. Teresa quickly placed the bag back inside the compartment. She found the panel that had covered it and replaced that. Miles woke with a start, hearing a click.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhatareyoudoinghere├óÔé¼┬Ø He muttered, his words slurring together as he woke.

├óÔé¼┼ôI came to wake you├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, looking at him, ├óÔé¼┼ôThe ship is ready for a Kliner jump...assuming we don't explode├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôRight├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles got to his feet, gingerly feeling the burn the Poper had left in his lower lip. Hurt, it always hurt afterwards. He also always forgot that when the craving hit him. Miles sighed, blinking away his fatigue.

├óÔé¼┼ôDo we need to wake Chess?├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôNah├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, ├óÔé¼┼ôShe can sleep in├óÔé¼┬Ø

He triggered the Kliner jump without warning. Teresa looked at him, annoyed. ├óÔé¼┼ôWell it worked├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, looking out the window. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhere are we?├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôThe stars are familer├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, pointing out he window. Then a ship darted overhead, a massive titanic thing. A message blared over the Kitty Hawk's speakers, ├óÔé¼┼ôGet the hell out of our way!├óÔé¼┬Ø a man shouted.

Miles engaged the upwards thrusters on the Kitty Hawk, getting out of their way. ├óÔé¼┼ôWere are we?├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôWe are...in...the├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles looked at the star maps, comparing the constellations as he could, ├óÔé¼┼ôThe...Golgathan system. Well its on the wrong side of the USHS, but at least its IN the USHS├óÔé¼┬Ø

Teresa smiled, ├óÔé¼┼ôGolgotha...I hear its the place you can only see here├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôYeah...but it depends on how much of a sadomasochists you are├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles muttered.

Teresa grumbled something as he engaged the engines, the Kitty Hawk starting to accelerate towards the blood red planet.

Chess woke up and banged her head in the bunk she was sleeping under. She rolled out and jumped to her feet. They were heading somewhere. She assumed they had made the Kliner jump, and after finding the window in Miles quarters, she confirmed that suspicion. The stars had changed. After she had memorized the star maps, it was easy enough to deduce where they were.

Oh dear.

She walked out, running down the hall till she reached the front. There she looked out of the window, at Golgotha. ├óÔé¼┼ôYeah├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, reading her expression, ├óÔé¼┼ôI'm as thrilled as you are├óÔé¼┬Ø

[Zoombie]

So...er...is anyone going to post in responce to this? Cuase its not going to stop me from writing...

[Zoombie]

As I've said...YOU CAN'T STOP THE SIGNAL!


Wait...thats Jhoss Wheden, never mind...



Lowman walked to the spaceport, Weathers in tow. Weathers kept looking over her shoulder, as if some thing was going to attack them. ├óÔé¼┼ôSo├óÔé¼┬Ø Lowman said, ├óÔé¼┼ôHave you given thought to what we talked about?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôYes├óÔé¼┬Ø Weathers said, ├óÔé¼┼ôI tried to set up a camera in the General's quarters...couldn't manage it├óÔé¼┬Ø Then her face brightened, ├óÔé¼┼ôBut I did manage to put a slipper of audiopaper in there├óÔé¼┬Ø

Lowman smiled, ├óÔé¼┼ôGood job├óÔé¼┬Ø he said, pushing past the crowds around the spaceport. He found the door in and walked through. He soon found a terminal and punched in the name for their shuttle, getting priority because of his military statues. The search came up blank.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhat the├óÔé¼┬Ø Lowman muttered, checking his spelling. Yes...there is only one way you could spell Shuttle craft #992.

├óÔé¼┼ôSomething wrong?├óÔé¼┬Ø Weathers asked.

Lowman began to feel a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He searched for the frigate, their mother ship. It was gone. It wasn't in the star system.

Then everything clicked into place. ├óÔé¼┼ôWell├óÔé¼┬Ø Lowman turned around, ├óÔé¼┼ôWe've been abandoned├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWe...what!├óÔé¼┬Ø Weathers snapped, looking around.

├óÔé¼┼ôThe shuttle, according to this, took off an hour ago. Our mother ship left a half hour after that...heading classified├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThen...what do we do?├óÔé¼┬Ø Weathers asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôSend a message back to HQ and get a retrieval vessel out here...but its going to take a while├óÔé¼┬Ø Lowman felt crushed. His plans, his plots had all been torn apart. The General...The General was too smart for them. ├óÔé¼┼ôWell├óÔé¼┬Ø Lowman said, ├óÔé¼┼ôAny idea...any idea at all?├óÔé¼┬Ø

Weathers shook her head.

├óÔé¼┼ôAt least we have money├óÔé¼┬Ø Lowman said, ├óÔé¼┼ôWe can live here for however long it takes├óÔé¼┬Ø

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


├óÔé¼┼ôI know it must have been hard to leave your friends behind...but we have had an urgent need, Mr. Grimm├óÔé¼┬Ø The General said, ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd I'll be giving you a combat promotion up to...commander├óÔé¼┬Ø.

Grimm couldn't help smiling, ├óÔé¼┼ôThank you...sir├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôAnd Grimm├óÔé¼┬Ø The General said, slowly turning his chair around, ├óÔé¼┼ôI like how you know where you're loyalties lie├óÔé¼┬Ø

Grimm nodded, still smiling. ├óÔé¼┼ôBut remember├óÔé¼┬Ø The General said, ├óÔé¼┼ôWe have some dark days ahead of us. Dark and dangerous days. Be ready├óÔé¼┬Ø

Grimm tapped his forehead in an informal salute, walking out of the Generals office. The General sighed, slowly, and risked pulling out the photograph. He stroked the photograph, slowly, and thought about where to go next.

Then a message blipped on his desk. ├óÔé¼┼ôYes?├óÔé¼┬Ø The General slipped the photograph under his desk.

├óÔé¼┼ôSir├óÔé¼┬Ø A voice was coming through, ├óÔé¼┼ôThis is the Customs officer at Golgotha. We received an order to report on this frequency if we pick up the silhouette of the starship...Kitty Hawk?├óÔé¼┬Ø

The General grinned, ├óÔé¼┼ôThank you sir...if you can keep track of them, but do not interfere with them├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôYes sir├óÔé¼┬Ø The connection broke.

The General stood and walked to the bridge. ├óÔé¼┼ôMr. Grimm, please plot a course for the Golgotha system├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôYes sir├óÔé¼┬Ø Grimm saluted again, turning back to his console.


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


The Kitty Hawk fell towards Golgotha. The red planet shone, the cities that covered its surface unhidden by a shield. ├óÔé¼┼ôI thought├óÔé¼┬Ø he said, ├óÔé¼┼ôThey had a shield├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThis entire sector has been declared...safe├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, her face showing what she thought of that, ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd so they think they are safe enough to not take sensible precautions├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôLike sex without condom├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles muttered.

Chess was staring fixedly as the planet. Then she looked at Miles and grabbed his arm. She shook her head, pointing at the planet. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat is it?├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles asked.

Chess pointed to her lips, still unwilling to break her vow of silence.

├óÔé¼┼ôFine├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, ├óÔé¼┼ôWill someone on the planet...want to hurt you?├óÔé¼┬Ø

Chess shook her head, no.

├óÔé¼┼ôThis is a waste of time├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, ├óÔé¼┼ôThere are Tattooed strongholds on this place. They can protect her just fine├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôHave you been to Golgotha...Golgotha proper, not just the system around it?├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôWell...no, not really├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, ├óÔé¼┼ôMostly in the satilites and space around it├óÔé¼┬Ø

Miles sighed, ├óÔé¼┼ôGreat├óÔé¼┬Ø he said, ├óÔé¼┼ôJust...be ready for anything. The surface is controlled more by the Barons then anyone else├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôBut...this is a Tatt world├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said.

├óÔé¼┼ôTechnically...yes├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, ├óÔé¼┼ôUnofficially...not so much├óÔé¼┬Ø


The Kitty Hawk dropped into a holding pattern above the planet, moving into formation with the other ships that were also visiting the planet. ├óÔé¼┼ôSo├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, ├óÔé¼┼ôI am going down with Teresa. Chess, you stay up here. If something...bad happens too us, you can talk to the computer with the touch pad├óÔé¼┬Ø

Teresa slipped on her monofilament glove, flexing her fingers as she did so.

├óÔé¼┼ôIs that okay with you?├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles asked, looking at Chess. Chess, very hesitantly, nodded.

├óÔé¼┼ôGood├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, loading the Vindicator with more rubber bullets and strapping it to her chest, ├óÔé¼┼ôI don't want Chess to get too far away from the Kitty Hawk. And keep the Kliners spun up. At the first sign of trouble, jump to the Outreach system. They can help you there├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôYou know I can't put the reducers back in with the engines running hot├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles pointed out as they walked to the shuttle.

├óÔé¼┼ôWell...lets just hope they don't explode then├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, Miles opening the door to the shuttle bay. . .

├óÔé¼┼ôSounds like a plan├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles sighed, offering Teresa the right of way. She nodded, walking into the shuttle and sitting in the back.

Golgotha was a central planet, unlike Lucifer's Grave, and so they actually had a space port, and designated launching and pick up times. So Miles and Teresa sat in the shuttle, waiting for the launch codes to be given.

├óÔé¼┼ôSo├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, ├óÔé¼┼ôWhere were you born?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWhat!├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa jumped, snapped out of the revere that she had slipped into.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhere were you born?├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôUh├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, ├óÔé¼┼ôUh...New Terra, actually. You├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôNew Jerusalem├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said.

├óÔé¼┼ôOh├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, quite dully. It had never occurred to her that he could have had other reasons then just money to fight in that war.

├óÔé¼┼ôYes├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, ├óÔé¼┼ôBut...don't worry about it...I don't hold a grudge that long├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôGood├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, ├óÔé¼┼ôBecause...I don't really want to kill you├óÔé¼┬Ø

Miles smiled, ├óÔé¼┼ôThanks├óÔé¼┬Ø he said. The launch signal arrived and Miles flipped the switch, engaging the shuttles engines. They darted out of orbit, along with the fifty or so other shuttles, and started to enter the atmosphere of Golgotha. The shuttle started to rumble. Then everything was slammed to the left. ├óÔé¼┼ôShit├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles gritted his teeth as the shuttle spun, wildly out of control. There was an explosion ringing against the side of the ship, but it had been transmitted by the atmosphere outside, not by an actual contact with the hull.

Then the shuttle hit something and everything jerked forward. Then a sickening lurching period of free fall, the artificial gravity generator off line. The shuttle hit something again and they stopped. Miles strained against his restraints. He relaxed, finally, the lighter gravity of Golgotha holding him down. He winced, unlatching the restraints. He fell forward, realizing the shuttle was tilted several degree's forward.

Miles pushed himself to his feet, and then looked around, ignoring the faint trickles of blood from a collection of nasty welts up and down his front, from where the restraints had pressed into him. Teresa was laying against her restraints, head lolled forward. Miles feet slipped on something and he fell on his face. He looked down and saw a screw, slick with blood, had tripped him up. He picked the screw up, feeling the red liquid on it.

Then he looked up to Teresa and saw a dribble of blood running down her shirt. ├óÔé¼┼ôNo├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles moaned, running up the side of the shuttle. He got to Teresa and pushed her back in her chair, causing her head to loll backwards. Her eyes were closed, blood trickled from a bloody wound on her forehead. Miles whipped the blood away, knowing that head wounds always looked worse then they were. Or sometimes as exactly as bad as they are, he thought.

Then Teresa stirred as he cleaned the wound. ├óÔé¼┼ôM...Miles?├óÔé¼┬Ø she asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôTeresa!├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, looking at her, ├óÔé¼┼ôOpen your eyes!├óÔé¼┬Ø

Teresa managed to get her eyes open and saw Mile' face in front of her.

├óÔé¼┼ôMiles├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa gasped, ├óÔé¼┼ôI...I think...├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI think you have a nasty concussion├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, ├óÔé¼┼ôSo we need to get you stabilized├óÔé¼┬Ø He looked around and found the medical kit. All he had was an old trauma kit, but it would work for now. He took out the large band and wrapped it about Teresa's forehead. The kit's little computer brain worked out the injury and started applying some general chemicals to bolster Teresa's healing rates.

├óÔé¼┼ôKeep talking├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, ├óÔé¼┼ôKeep awake├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWh...What should I talk about?├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa asked, woozily.

Miles ran to the console and started to play back what had happened to them. ├óÔé¼┼ôTell me about your childhood├óÔé¼┬Ø he said.

├óÔé¼┼ôBorn on New Terra├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa mumbled, head lolling forward, ├óÔé¼┼ôWent to...Constantine Middle school├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôYeah├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, ├óÔé¼┼ôWere you picked on? The bastards back at my middle school...well lets say they could have made life easier for me├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôBullies├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, head lolling back again, ├óÔé¼┼ôI...got in fights. Sister said I was crazy, never be good...never be good├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôTell me about it├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, ├óÔé¼┼ôDid you know there was this kid Mohamed, said I could never be a good Muslim cause my parents are Caucasian...├óÔé¼┬Ø

He trailed off, looking back at Teresa. She was out again.

Miles ran back up, forgetting the simulation of what had happened to the shuttle.

├óÔé¼┼ôTeresa...come on! Wake up├óÔé¼┬Ø he moved her head up, trying to shake her to consciousness. He knew only a little bit about head injuries, but he knew it wasn't a good idea too let her lose consciousness again.

Teresa breathed something incoherent.

├óÔé¼┼ôTeresa!├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles shouted.

Teresa faded into consciousness, barely. She felt something on her face. Then she was out again.

├óÔé¼┼ôCome on├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles shook her again, ├óÔé¼┼ôCome on!├óÔé¼┬Ø

Then the airlock on the side of the shuttle was cut open, the outside mechanizaim crushed to sunders. The rescue worker walked in, shining a light around the innards of the place.

├óÔé¼┼ôGet her out of here!├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, feeling the air whip about him. Golgotha had a semi-hospitable atmosphere, enough to keep him alive for a while. But it wouldn't be conductive to a long living. But sense when did Miles care about that.

The rescue worker took Teresa, checking her over.

├óÔé¼┼ôThats nothing more then a concussion├óÔé¼┬Ø He said, ├óÔé¼┼ôWe can heal that up as quick as a bug bite├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôGood├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, ├óÔé¼┼ôGet her back, then come back for me├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThe air pressure up here is too low. You have to at least take an air mask├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI have one...in here├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles felt dizzy, the thin air getting to him, ├óÔé¼┼ôJust...get her out of here├óÔé¼┬Ø

The rescue worker, finally, nodded and carried Teresa out. Miles fell against the far side of the wall, reaching for the chamber with the masks. He opened it and plastered a mask to his face. Then a shadow fell over the door. ├óÔé¼┼ôI told you to-├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, turning around. The click of a gun cocking was tinny in the thin atmosphere. Slowly, reluctantly, Miles raised his hands.



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

The October warped into Golgotha on time, with no mix ups.

Hawk sipped her drink, barely even noticing the Kliner jump. She had expected something more then what had happened. Though what had happened had been...strange, to say the least. The room had compacted, everything getting closer together. Jeremy had loomed large in her eyes. Then everything was smashed together, for less time then she could tell. Then things were normal. It had taken less then a second and the memory of it faded quickly from her mind.

├óÔé¼┼ôThats it?├óÔé¼┬Ø she asked, setting her drink down.

├óÔé¼┼ôThats it├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy said, ├óÔé¼┼ôBut...every once and a while the ship doesn't uncompress. It just vanishes, lost in tachyonic form for the rest of eternity, frozen in time├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôBut I thought Tachyon's go faster then light├óÔé¼┬Ø Hawk said, ├óÔé¼┼ôI...I never heard about them freezing time├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôSubjective time. If your going faster then the speed of light, then relativity squishes things, makes it seem even shorter then it would under other circumstances├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy said.

├óÔé¼┼ôAh├óÔé¼┬Ø Hawk picked her cup up again and drank it down. The Cardinal walked into the room, frowning as he did so. ├óÔé¼┼ôWe've arrive├óÔé¼┬Ø He said, unnecessarily.

He looked at Hawk and a half sneer plastered itself on his face.

├óÔé¼┼ôLike your new toy, Williams?├óÔé¼┬Ø he asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôThis woman is a new member of our Party├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy said, ├óÔé¼┼ôShe will be our spokesman...woman for the slaves and genehacks├óÔé¼┬Ø

The sneer flip flopped into a smile, ├óÔé¼┼ôAha├óÔé¼┬Ø He said, ├óÔé¼┼ôThat is...good thinking on your part Jeremy. Just...make sure we keep her on the ship during our time in Golgotha├óÔé¼┬Ø

Jeremy was about to object, but Hawk placed her hand on his. ├óÔé¼┼ôIts a wise move├óÔé¼┬Ø she said, ├óÔé¼┼ôI don't think the Tatts, no matter how...revolutionary they are are quite willing to look eye to eye with genehacks├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôSharp one├óÔé¼┬Ø the Cardinal said, walking to the bridge of the October, ├óÔé¼┼ôI'll be setting us down soon. From there we can...├óÔé¼┬Ø he trailed off, seeing a message for him blip on the main console.

'What?├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôNothing├óÔé¼┬Ø The Cardinal said, closing the door behind him.


Once he was sure that the others wouldn't hear, he answered the message. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat is it?├óÔé¼┬Ø he asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôThe Kitty Hawk is in this system├óÔé¼┬Ø The man on the other end said without preamble.

├óÔé¼┼ôAh├óÔé¼┬Ø The Cardinal said, grinning, ├óÔé¼┼ôYou know what to do. Call me when your finished├óÔé¼┬Ø


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


Teresa woke up slowly, memories fading into and out of focus. Then a memory that she didn't know she had slipped in. She had been siting in the chair, Miles trying to wake her. He had said ├óÔé¼┼ôTeresa!├óÔé¼┬Ø.

Then she had felt something on her face...on her mouth. Teresa felt her lips, siting up in bed and feeling her lips with her fingers. Miles had...

She looked around, trying to get her bearings. She was in a Tattooed chamber, obvious from the Crucifix and the Transcendence both on the wall. Just the sight of the two miraculous events made Teresa feel more at ease. No matter what had happened...the Savior had returned.

Teresa saw that the bed she was in was the only one in the room, surrounded by softly bleeping machinery. The door to the room bore the Tattooed motto, in scrawling Latin. ├óÔé¼┼ôAd eundum quo nemo ante iit├óÔé¼┬Ø

A doctor walked into the room, disturbing her sight of the motto. He was wearing a robe, surprisingly similar to Julian's.

├óÔé¼┼ôHello├óÔé¼┬Ø he said.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhere is Miles?├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa asked. She blinked, not realizing that would be the first thing that would pop out of her mouth.

├óÔé¼┼ôFirst things first├óÔé¼┬Ø The doctor said, raising his hands and closing the door, ├óÔé¼┼ôPlease translate that├óÔé¼┬Ø

Teresa looked at it. After a few moments the English crept into her mind. ├óÔé¼┼ôTo...To boldly go where no man has gone before├óÔé¼┬Ø she said, ├óÔé¼┼ôthats what it means├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôMemory checks├óÔé¼┬Ø The doctor pulled out a clipboard and started to write this down, but Teresa stopped him, reaching out and putting her hand on his.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhere...is Miles├óÔé¼┬Ø she said.

The doctor sighed, ├óÔé¼┼ôI'm not suppose to tell you this...but first, let me make sure, is the man who was next to you in the shuttle named Miles?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôYes├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, wondering why they hadn't identified him.

├óÔé¼┼ôHe must have not managed to get an air mask on├óÔé¼┬Ø The doctor said, ├óÔé¼┼ôHe was in an unpressurized chamber and soon ran low of oxygen. He started to hallucinate, get disoriented, and left the shuttle. The rescue workers who came back found him three miles away...dead├óÔé¼┬Ø

Teresa lay back down, slowly.

├óÔé¼┼ôHe...a Golgotha bug-bear had been at him, so...theres not much left of his...face├óÔé¼┬Ø The doctor said .

├óÔé¼┼ôLeave├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, softly.

The doctor nodded, but first her checked a few medical read outs and felt her pulse. Teresa waited, as patiently as she could, for him to finish. Then he left. She lay down and stared at the celling, not sure why she was crying.

[Archangel of Death]

Lies... LIES... I know its true. You know its true. Chess knows its true.

Speaking of Chess, I just can't help but keep equating Chess with Eve and Sanders with Soots.

[Guessmyname]

I got that too. There are some clear references to Darkside throughout this

[Zoombie]

There will not be an episode of Homecoming tonight, for one really good reason. Its that magical time of year...Battlestar Galactica...day!

And so I have prepared a short mission statement that I realized today:

I've found that writing Homecoming is a very fun thing to do and, due to the sheer scale of what I'm trying to do, I have written a 'character' sheet. Now...normally I have character paragraphs, filled with one liners liked: Gamma, cyborg with amnesia, or Joana, girl disguised as boy Knight type thing, and so on and so forth.

However I found, after a half hour of writing, that Homecoming had character pages. Two, to be exactly. I even marked off ├óÔé¼┼ôUSHS Loyalists, Outrunners, Tattooed, and so on and so forth. I looked this over and realized that in the entire bunch I had next to no bad guys. But, I thought, a story needs a bad guy. And yet I have quite a bit worked out and worked up to without more then one or two semi-bad guys, and even they are more of a gray color (The General has a really really good reason, believe me).

So I sat there, thinking of who was the 'bad guy' and which side was the 'evil side'? Then I shrugged and decided that there would be no evil side. Some sides might be slightly more 'good' then the other, but who's to say in this crazy ass universe. But it was only tonight, half deprived of sleep, that I realize that this only makes this book better. Nothing encapsulates the horror of war then caring about both sides, and having both sides care about each other. That is what makes Civil Wars, of any nation, so darned interesting. And so, I will sleep...but fear not, because on the morrow a new episode will come forth. Whether you like it or not...is up to debate. Just please, refrain from tomatoes as they stain my shirt...


Addendum: Also it dosn't really matter, from the Tatt's perspective, whether Chess is Eve or not. If other people belive you're something, even when you're not, then you are going to be that thing. Its not about you. Its about what they need, to quote Firefly...


Now, I promise, I will go to bed...

[Guessmyname]

Dammit, having no defined bad-guys is the way Insurgency Devision and Soelis are meant to work!

[Zoombie]

And volia, I have a new episode!

Behold!



├óÔé¼┼ôShit...├óÔé¼┬Ø the knocker sighed. His position in the boarding shuttle was enviable, as he got to stay in the back for the entire mission. The only way he could be killed was if the shuttle was destroyed, or if the enemy got into the shuttle. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat is it?├óÔé¼┬Ø The boarding leader asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôThey have...shit they have some good encryption on this├óÔé¼┬Ø The knocker started typing faster, ├óÔé¼┼ôNot...not good enough!├óÔé¼┬Ø He said.

The airlock chimed and the marines were allowed onto the ship, slowly moving in with guns ready. The sensors said there was no one on the ship, but they had to be sure. After a thorough search the boarding party leader took his helmet off, looking around the ship with his own eyes.

He slipped out his comlink and spoke into it, ├óÔé¼┼ôGeneral, we finished sweeping the search├óÔé¼┬Ø

The General grunted.

├óÔé¼┼ôAnd there's no one on board├óÔé¼┬Ø He said.

The line was silent. ├óÔé¼┼ôThe rescue workers said they only pulled one person from the shuttle, and one deader. There were three people on the ship. She is still on board├óÔé¼┬Ø

The marine sighed, nodding, ├óÔé¼┼ôFine├óÔé¼┬Ø he said, ├óÔé¼┼ôSir...we'll keep searching then├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI want that ship stripped until we find the woman├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôVery well├óÔé¼┬Ø the marine closed the comlink and turned around. ├óÔé¼┼ôSearch again├óÔé¼┬Ø he said. The other marines nodded, starting their search procedure again. The marine leader walked to his shuttle and dragged the knocker to the computer console of the Kitty Hawk.

├óÔé¼┼ôTap into the security systems├óÔé¼┬Ø he said, ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd find us the woman├óÔé¼┬Ø

The knocker nodded, despite his misgivings in leaving the shuttle.


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


Miles had stared down the barrel of a gun one too many times in his life.

├óÔé¼┼ôCome with me if you want to live├óÔé¼┬Ø The man on the other end of the gun said.

├óÔé¼┼ôNo thanks...I think I'm allergic to lead├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said.

├óÔé¼┼ôThis is for your safety. Come before I shoot you├óÔé¼┬Ø

Miles, grumbling, walked out onto the surface of Golgotha. The first thing that struck him was the wind. He had spent his time on Golgotha in the cities, which were walled and had next to no wind whatsoever. The plains surrounding the cities, or the mountain that they had crashed on in this case, did not have tree's or forests to stop the wind. Dust, picked up by the wind, bit into Miles face, causing him to bring his arm up to protect his face.

The man was wearing long robes and a complete face mask. He gestured with his pistol. ├óÔé¼┼ôCome on├óÔé¼┬Ø He said. Miles followed, stumbling down the rocky incline. ├óÔé¼┼ôFaster!├óÔé¼┬Ø The man urged and Miles started to bound down under Golgotha's far lighter gravity. He jumped, landed down the area, grunting. He'd have to jump slightly less far next time. ├óÔé¼┼ôOver here├óÔé¼┬Ø the man pointed to a rock.

├óÔé¼┼ôIt's a rock├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, clambering to him. The man put his arm through it, then all his body. Miles blinked, staring at it, trying to see the hologram for what it was. But he was baffled at how they could make it look so realistic, so he stopped worrying and tensed up, trying to convince himself that it was not real. Then he stepped forward and came through the other side.

├óÔé¼┼ôYou can take off the mask├óÔé¼┬Ø The man said, pulling his mask off, turning away from Miles. Miles slipped his mask of and breathed. The air pressure in here was perceptibly higher, but it still tasted like god damned Golgothan air. He coughed, trying to clear his lungs of dust. The man turned around and Miles visibly flinched.

He was a Tatt, that much was sure. But he was a damned odd one, as he didn't have a thousand tattoos scrawled over his body. Instead he had one, branded over his forehead. It said, in English, ├óÔé¼┼ôRepent├óÔé¼┬Ø.

The man smiled wryly at Miles expression, ├óÔé¼┼ôMakes a great ice breaker, no?├óÔé¼┬Ø

He turned around and walked down the hall. After a moment Miles followed him. After a few yards the hallway curved sharply and arrived in a circular room.

├óÔé¼┼ôWho are you?├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôMy name is George├óÔé¼┬Ø the man said, ├óÔé¼┼ôSpecial operative for The High Illustrator Vindict├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôSo you work for the church?├óÔé¼┬Ø

George stopped, turning around and smiling wryly again, ├óÔé¼┼ôThis├óÔé¼┬Ø he pointed at his tattoo, ├óÔé¼┼ôMeans I committed a heinous sin. In my case...well...it was pretty bad. But Vindict kept me around to do special jobs for him. The Cardinal of this planet has turned against us, though neither side has declared it, you are in the middle of a war├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôYou can tell how much better that makes me feel├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, ├óÔé¼┼ôNow...what I am doing here?├óÔé¼┬Ø

George flipped a switch hidden in the wall and floor of the room opened up, revealing a circular stairwell.

├óÔé¼┼ôYour shuttle was brought down in an arranged accident├óÔé¼┬Ø George said, ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd because you both survived the Cardinal has sent assassins. I was sent as a...counter assassin of sorts. Come on├óÔé¼┬Ø He started to walk down the stairs.

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


Teresa stood, stiffly, in the Cardinal's office. The Cardinal looked at her as if she were a bit of dung that he had scraped off his boot, and made no efforts to hide it.

├óÔé¼┼ôMiss Voorman...are you telling me that you allowed a Miles Benedict, a heathen...a Muslim of the worst order, within the same solar system as the Messiah?├óÔé¼┬Ø

Teresa was about to respond, but the Cardinal didn't even let her start.

├óÔé¼┼ôAnd then, to make matters worse, you actually let him...touch the Messiah, and keep her on his ship. A ship which could have held the Qur'an . Imagine if she had read the book, and thought that we agreed with it. A disaster of the worst order├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôSir, with respect, Miles is no longer a practicing Muslim├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, ├óÔé¼┼ôAny my ship was damaged, I was wounded and I took actions that seemed the most reasonable course at the time├óÔé¼┬Ø

The Cardinal sighed, looking at his desk. ├óÔé¼┼ôI'll have to think on this, Voorman├óÔé¼┬Ø he said, ├óÔé¼┼ôPlease...enjoy your stay in our city. You'll find it quite accommodating├óÔé¼┬Ø

Teresa bowed slightly, then pivoted on her heel and walked out of the office. The Cardinal pushed a button on his desk, bringing up the communications window.

After a few more key pushes, the Cardinal found his way to command menu that connected him to the information web.

He scanned some reports, and frowned. The marines had searched the Kitty Hawk and found nothing. ├óÔé¼┼ôMost...interesting├óÔé¼┬Ø he murmured, leaning back in his chair.


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

Jeremy looked around the main chamber of the church. The Church in the capital city of Golgotha was, by far, the most impressive building in the entire colony. Its massive, sweeping celling was almost lost in shadows. The entire structure stretched forward and backwards, pews almost lost in the distance. It made Jeremy feel very small and very...melancholy. It must have taken years to build this place, as long as the ancient pyramids and probably with the same labor force of slaves and misfits. It was such a waste of resources, manpower and time.

Did a church support the community? Did it store food, process minerals, or give back to the community in any way? It did nothing more then tie up people's time every Sunday. The Cardinal walked out of his office, looking very small compared to the massive stained glass window that lay next to his office. Jeremy looked more closely at the stained glass then he would have normally, because it held a different picture then every other Tattooed church he had been in.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhat is that?├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy asked, pointing at the stained glass, ├óÔé¼┼ôIt is a different picture then on other worlds├óÔé¼┬Ø

The Cardinal looked over his shoulder. ├óÔé¼┼ôAh├óÔé¼┬Ø he said, ├óÔé¼┼ôIt is from the chapter of the bible where the Saviour escapes from the evil men who held her and tried to use her for their own ends├óÔé¼┬Ø

Jeremy looked closer and distinguished five figures running from another figure. The figure in the middle was a young looking girl, black hair drawn down over her face. One of the running men was falling forward, head tumbling from his shoulders. Jeremy felt uncomfortable about the message held in the glass, and looked away.

├óÔé¼┼ôIt is a good message├óÔé¼┬Ø The Cardinal said, not noticing his friends discomfort, ├óÔé¼┼ôAlways be watchful of something stronger then you├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWell├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy siad, ├óÔé¼┼ôShall we start our work?├óÔé¼┬Ø

The Cardinal nodded and walked Jeremy down the endless aisles of pews. He gestured to the left, suddenly, and walked between two pews. He came to a wall and walked through it. Jeremy stared, momentarily. Then he put his hand forward and touched the wall, expecting it to be solid despite what he had seen. It was not, and his hand went straight through. Jeremy swallowed and walked forward. He found himself in a hallway.

├óÔé¼┼ôCome├óÔé¼┬Ø The Cardinal said, gesturing. Jeremy followed him, looking around. The stone walls of the church gave way to slightly more modern metallic walls. Jeremy felt himself going downhill, as if the hallway was sloping. Finally they came to a domed room with a long, winding stairwell that came from the celling. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhere dose that lead?├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôTo an escape window├óÔé¼┬Ø The Cardinal said, ├óÔé¼┼ôif the town were ever to come under siege, we could escape out of here easily├óÔé¼┬Ø

There was a sound of footsteps, someone coming down the stairs.

├óÔé¼┼ôAh├óÔé¼┬Ø The Cardinal said, ├óÔé¼┼ôOur guests have arrived├óÔé¼┬Ø

A man wearing a robe, holding a gun, followed another man down the stairs. He was not forcing him with the gun. The man got to the bottom of the stairs and saw the other men waiting around here.

├óÔé¼┼ôGeorge├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, ├óÔé¼┼ôWho are these people?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôAh...Miles Benedict├óÔé¼┬Ø the Cardinal said, looking at the man in the robes, ├óÔé¼┼ôGeorge you are no longer needed. Please, retire├óÔé¼┬Ø

The man in the robes nodded, holstering his gun and heading up the stairs.

Miles looked at the Cardinal, wondering what was going on.

├óÔé¼┼ôSorry about the ruse├óÔé¼┬Ø The Cardinal said, ├óÔé¼┼ôBut I think you might be interested what we have to say├óÔé¼┬Ø

Miles looked at the two men, then over his shoulder at the stairwell that George had vanished over. ├óÔé¼┼ôWho are you and what is going on?├óÔé¼┬Ø he asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôI am the Cardinal Amadeus, of Golgotha├óÔé¼┬Ø The Cardinal said, ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd this is Jeremy William, leader of the Party├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWhat party?├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles asked, ├óÔé¼┼ôDid you bring down my shuttle├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôYes actually├óÔé¼┬Ø The Cardinal said, smiling kindly.

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


Teresa looked over the massive sweep of the Golgothan city and felt depressed. The sky was red, the ground was red and the buildings were each blacker then the night sky, which Teresa assumed was some kind of red as well. The building were all blocky, no smooth architecture. Even the massive church that Teresa stood in was more pyramidal then sloped. Each corner of each building held a single gargoyle, leaning over the edge and leering at the too narrow streets. Each citizen that Teresa could see was hunched, sallow and pale, none of them looking up.

Teresa turned away from the site, feeling the hard pit in her stomach swell slightly at the sight of it. She walked back into the Church, down the hallway and into the main body of the church, a truly massive room. The main room of the church made the pit in Teresa's stomach fade slightly, the tension fall from her shoulders. The Church was a testament to how mankind persevered. Even on a planet like Golgotha, they could build something like this

She saw a man standing in the middle of the room. He waited, not knowing that Teresa was watching him. Then he met another person, a man in black robes. Then they both walked down the hall. Teresa watched them walk to a wall. Then she saw them walk through the wall. Teresa gaped. Had she just seen that, or was she going crazy. She ran down the edge of the balcony above the stained glass window till she reached a stair way. Then she ran down it, ignoring the pain in her stomach that flared up every once and a while.

She got to the ground floor and realized she had no idea which pew they had been next to. Teresa experimentally placed her hand on the wall and felt it. ├óÔé¼┼ôNo├óÔé¼┬Ø she murmured, feeling solid rock beneath her fingertips. She then began to walk down the wall, her fingers brushing the wall every step she took. After a few minutes her fingers...didn't feel a wall. Teresa turned and walked down the hallway she found behind the fake wall.

She stopped, hearing a conversation.

├óÔé¼┼ô-come under siege, we could escape out of here easily├óÔé¼┬Ø floated into hearing. Teresa ducked against the wall, breathing as shallowly as possible.

├óÔé¼┼ôAh...Our guests have arrived├óÔé¼┬Ø

Then Teresa heard a voice say, ├óÔé¼┼ôGeorge, who are these people?├óÔé¼┬Ø

Teresa gasped, loudly. Miles! She missed some of the conversation, but her heart was thudding in her chest, loudly. Someone was lying here. She also recognized the Cardinal's voice and a third, unrecognized one. But Miles was alive. Teresa felt the pit in her stomach dissolve...and something else form there as well.

[Zoombie]

I am sleep good now...it only thre Am...what you say, rewrites...


Me sleep...



├óÔé¼┼ôThats completely impossible├óÔé¼┬Ø The General said, looking over the reports handed to him.

├óÔé¼┼ôSir├óÔé¼┬Ø Grimm said, rubbing his eyes and trying not to look too tired, ├óÔé¼┼ôWe've searched the ship ten times. If there were anyone on board...we'd find them by now├óÔé¼┬Ø

The General stood, slowly, pushing his chair back from his desk. ├óÔé¼┼ôI'm going to find out for myself├óÔé¼┬Ø The General said, picking up his cane and hobbling around Grimm.

├óÔé¼┼ôSir, its already been├óÔé¼┬Ø Grimm started.

├óÔé¼┼ôI know├óÔé¼┬Ø The General snapped, opening the door to his office, ├óÔé¼┼ôI've just got to see it for my own eyes├óÔé¼┬Ø. He walked into the hallway, then was gone from sight. Grimm sighed, slowly, and followed him. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to keep him in command.


The airlock door opened, momentarily spilling light into the Kitty Hawk. The General walked in, leaving the empty shuttle behind him, and let the air lock door shut, cutting off the light. The ship was on shut down power, set that way once the marines had finished searching. The only lights came from the sun lamps, keeping the hydroponic planets alive. The General let his eyes adjust to the gloom, everything cast in a grayish light. He smelled, the air smelling of life, plants and growing things. It covered the smell of three people who had been jammed in here quite well.

He walked to the main console of the ship, noting that it was powered down. He looked it over. It was a custom model, very...old looking. Toggles, switches and a dizzying array of buttons, with an old style yoke. The General ran his fingers over the yoke, remembering when he had used ones like it. The General turned around and walked down to a collection of chairs, arranged for sleeping in. He noticed a secret chamber was covered, improperly, by a small panel. He tore it off, throwing it away in his haste. It clattered away, echoing oddly in the empty ship.

The General's hand reached forward, feeling around in the space.

He pulled out a bag of Poppers. He glared at the drugs, as if they were responsible for the missing woman. He tossed them back into the chamber. Then, on second thought, he reached in and felt around the edges of the chamber, feeling that it was only the size of a human head. No way the woman was hiding in there. The General sighed, frowning. He walked along the wall, carefully in the low light levels, cane clicking once every other step. He came to a hallway that lead to the back of the ship, and walked in.

Down the hall he found a room, Miles room. He walked in, looking around. The bed was made, and had no signs that anyone had slept in it for a while. A chess game stood on a table, unfinished, the holographic pieces unmoving. The General remembered, vaguely, that the woman was being called Chess. Or at least that was what their spies told them. He turned, walking to the shower room. He glanced in there, sneered at the cheap porn wall paper, and turned around.

He stopped by the bed and ducked, slowly to prevent himself from damaging his knees. He looked under the bed and found nothing but a pillow and a blanket. He frowned, standing up slowly, supporting himself with the cane. Everything was harder when you got older...

His eyes fell on the chess game. The General peered at the pieces, sitting down in the second chair. He felt as if he were filling a position left empty by an expectant player, one who had waited a great deal of time for him to sit down. Then he moved a single piece.

├óÔé¼┼ôCheck├óÔé¼┬Ø he rasped, ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd, I believe...mate├óÔé¼┬Ø

Chess was sitting across from him. The General looked at her. She smiled, faintly, and pressed the reset key on the chess board. The pieces rearranged themselves, flickering in and out of existence.

├óÔé¼┼ôSo├óÔé¼┬Ø The General said, ├óÔé¼┼ôI trust you know what you are├óÔé¼┬Ø

Chess nodded, her smile faltering visibly.

├óÔé¼┼ôAnd...do you know who I am?├óÔé¼┬Ø The General asked, eyes narrowing.

Chess, after some hesitation, shook her head. The General had not been expecting that. He opened his over shirt slightly, reaching in to pull a pistol from a chest holster. It was an MNG, capable of turning a sphere of matter, a meter by a meter into plasma, suppressing the strong/weak atomic forces. He aimed it at Chess.


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


├óÔé¼┼ôYou...you brought the shuttle down? How did you do it!├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles reached for the Cardinal, but the Cardinal stepped back, something flashing in his hands.

├óÔé¼┼ôDon't be so hasty├óÔé¼┬Ø The Cardinal said, a cutthroat razer in his hands, dancing in an eerie pattern, blade flashing, ├óÔé¼┼ôWe don't want something unfortunate happening to you. It was a simple matter of tricking the planetary navigation computers into giving two shuttles the same course. They collided, glancingly, with you and limped out of orbit while you smashed into the planet's surface├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôYou have access to the PNC?├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles asked, incredulous, ├óÔé¼┼ôBut thats operated by the federal government├óÔé¼┬Ø

The Cardinal smiled, the razor disappearing in the volumes of his robe, ├óÔé¼┼ôOf course they do├óÔé¼┬Ø

Jeremy watched this all with a sense of disquiet. Something about the Cardinal's casual way of risking life and limbs of people, even Muslims and Tattooed, rubbed against him the wrong way.

├óÔé¼┼ôNow├óÔé¼┬Ø The Cardinal said, ├óÔé¼┼ôWe are gathering allies for our grand revolution. We have Jeremy, the intellectual, me the planner, Hawk the symbol...and now we need you, the General├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWhat revolution?├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles asked, glancing at the hallway behind the Cardinal. He thought...

├óÔé¼┼ôThe Communist Revolution...the freeing of the proles and the oppressed. The emplacement of a new economic system that will enable humanity, for once, to be equal and free├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy said, glad to pipe up.

├óÔé¼┼ôFirst├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat happened to Teresa?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôAh├óÔé¼┬Ø The Cardinal's face fell, ├óÔé¼┼ôShe...unfortunately had more sever brain injury then we thought. She died a few hours ago├óÔé¼┬Ø


Teresa heard this. ├óÔé¼┼ôYou lying sack of crap!├óÔé¼┬Ø burst from her lips before she could stop it. Then she was running at the Cardinal. Then a razer pressed into her throat, stilling her motions.

Miles was shocked, but not so much that he couldn't be angry. He had already taken a step and a half, ready to strangle the rail thin Cardinal, but then he saw the razer pressed into Teresa's neck. A spasm of fear went through Miles gut and he backed down.

├óÔé¼┼ôThis is such a waste├óÔé¼┬Ø The Cardinal said, ├óÔé¼┼ôSuch a tremendous waste. Kept apart, you two could have made excellent tools├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôKept apart...what does that have to do with anything!├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles snapped.

The Cardinal just laughed, pressing the razor slightly harder. A thin river of blood began to dribble down Teresa's throat. She winced, involuntarily, but the razer cut no father then that.

├óÔé¼┼ôGeorge!├óÔé¼┬Ø The Cardinal shouted. George ran down the stairs, gun at the ready.

├óÔé¼┼ôTake these two heretics outside and shoot them├óÔé¼┬Ø The Cardinal said, ├óÔé¼┼ôMake it look like a natural death├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôDon't!├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy shouted, before he knew he was about to, leaping to his feet. The Cardinal, George, Teresa and Miles stared, as if a bit of the furniture had started talking. ├óÔé¼┼ôWe can't just summarily execute people who disagree with us├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy said, quaking under the Cardinal's gaze, ├óÔé¼┼ôIts...its not in keeping with the teachings of the founding fathers├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôBut...they are a threat to the party, and must be dealt with├óÔé¼┬Ø The Cardinal said. George moved to obey.

├óÔé¼┼ôI am still head of the party, small though it may be├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy said, projecting a mask of courage, knowing that it would crack at any moment. He'd have to end this quickly, ├óÔé¼┼ôTake these two back to their ship and exile them. Don't allow them on Golgotha again, and we shall deal with them on the field of battle, if they choose a different side. But we are not about to repeat the same mistakes as the past...no more Stalins├óÔé¼┬Ø

The Cardinal stared at Jeremy, eyes filled with hate. Then he let Teresa go, his razer still reddened slightly. ├óÔé¼┼ôVery well├óÔé¼┬Ø He said, ├óÔé¼┼ôBut if you two even step on Golgotha, or any planet or satellite in the star system...I will consider you fair game├óÔé¼┬Ø

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


Hawk sat in the front pew, her wings covered by a long cloak. She had been snuck in, rather sucsessfully, and had been sitting here for the past few hours. Then Jeremy walked out of a wall, sighing as he did so.

├óÔé¼┼ôHow did it go?├óÔé¼┬Ø Hawk asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôWell├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy said, ├óÔé¼┼ôWe've convinced the Barons to throw their support behind us...but whether they just want to try something new, or actually bring about change is...debatable├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôAnd the Tatts...what do they think about me?├óÔé¼┬Ø Hawk asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôActually├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy said, feeling rather proud of himself, ├óÔé¼┼ôThey think you're the best idea I had ever had├óÔé¼┬Ø

[Zoombie]

Vampires, mutants, freaks! Nut cases, zealots and communists! Revolution, civil war and insurrection! Its all coming up over the next few weeks, so stay tuned!


├óÔé¼┼ôYou're ship has been impounded!├óÔé¼┬Ø the computerized voice sounded insufferably chirpy. Miles stared at the computer, not quite able to believe that.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhy?├óÔé¼┬Ø he asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôBecause you're carrying contraband!├óÔé¼┬Ø the computer said, still overly happy.

├óÔé¼┼ôCon..contraband?├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles stuttered, face reddening. He wasn't carrying contraband.

├óÔé¼┼ôUnder Golgothan law, Popper or other euphoric drugs are considered illegal!├óÔé¼┬Ø

A twitch started going in Miles eye. ├óÔé¼┼ôHow much to get the ship out of the impound lot?├óÔé¼┬Ø

The computer paused, calculating. ├óÔé¼┼ôFifty three thousand credits!├óÔé¼┬Ø it said, every chirpy.

The twitch was joined by another. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat about our passenger├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, trying to keep his voice calm, ├óÔé¼┼ôWhere is she?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThere is...one recorded arrest├óÔé¼┬Ø The computer said.

Teresa was waiting outside the spaceport, frowning. The Golgothans trudged past, shoulders hunched and black clothes drawn tight about them, a stinging wind rushing through their city, howling loudly. A single automobiled drove past, its engine wheezing and coughing. Automobiles were coming back into style after a few centuries of hiatus. Less bicyclers were appearing, more cars. Teresa sighed, then coughed as more dust flew into her mouth. Now she understood what Miles had against this planet.

Her left hand was jammed in her pocket, covering the monofilament glove she had hidden there. She knew the Cardinal wouldn't let them leave the planet, not after they learned what they now knew. Communists. Teresa spat, partly to get the dust out of her mouth and partly to express the disgust she felt for someone who could turn against the church and embrace something like Communism. Didn't work the first three times, damn it.

Miles interrupted her train of thought, replacing it with another. Teresa watched him exit, trying to figure out what she was feeling. Anger, yes, a simmering anger for what he had done a half century ago and something else she didn't want to identify. He was walking out of the star port, looking madder then she had ever seen him.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhats up?├óÔé¼┬Ø she asked, having to step closer to him then she would have liked to to be heard over the howling wind.

├óÔé¼┼ôThe ship's been impounded, Chess arrested├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, ├óÔé¼┼ôLets get to some shelter and discuss there├óÔé¼┬Ø

Teresa, barely able to hear that sentence, nodded, trying to quell her sudden fear. She walked beside Miles. Then she caught something out of the corner of her eye. A flash, as of something metallic. She looked and saw a man, hunched against the side of a alleyway, black cloak drawn over his body, a mirror in his hands. He flashed her again, making damn sure that he had gotten her attention. Then he was gone, walking down the ally.

├óÔé¼┼ôMiles├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, ├óÔé¼┼ôFollow├óÔé¼┬Ø

Miles objected, but had to follow as Teresa grabbed his wrist and rotated it viciously. He followed, keeping his mouth shut for fear of the dust. They entered the alleyway, suddenly able to hear one another.

The man was walking down the ally, his hands deep in his pockets. Teresa slipped her left hand out of her pocket, ready for any hostile move. The man turned, hearing the footsteps behind him. He was standing over a manhole covering an entrance to the swear systems. He tapped it and the manhole slid open. ├óÔé¼┼ôCome├óÔé¼┬Ø he said, his voice raspy. He stepped forward and fell into the manhole, perfectly nailing the bottom with a faint splash. Miles ran to the manhole and peered down. The man stood in a circle of light, looking up at him. Miles looked at Teresa. Teresa nodded.

Miles splashed into the water, wincing at the liquid soaking his pant legs. Teresa followed him.

├óÔé¼┼ôI see the Cardinal has men after you├óÔé¼┬Ø The man said, red eyes glimmering faintly in the darkness, reflecting what little light was there, ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd that means you're and enemy of my enemy. Baron Marcus, at your service├óÔé¼┬Ø. He offered a hand, and Miles took it, shaking.

├óÔé¼┼ôYou're a baron?├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôYes├óÔé¼┬Ø Marcus said, ├óÔé¼┼ôOne of the ten. And the only one of the ten who realizes that the Cardinal doesn't care about communist ideals. We've been campaigning for communism on this planet for a decade. The Cardinal just realized that it would make him very powerful if he was our Stalin this time around├óÔé¼┬Ø

Teresa rubbed her temples, ├óÔé¼┼ôCould someone please tell me who the Barons are?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThe Tatts don't like to talk about us├óÔé¼┬Ø Marcus said, smiling lopsidedly as he stepped forward into the circle of light under the open manhole. His teeth flashed in the light, two fangs where canines should be.

Teresa took a half step back.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhen the Tatts decided to purify humanity they were rather annoyed to find the Vampires had already gotten ready to defend themselves. After one engagement, they went to torch sex toys and elves├óÔé¼┬Ø Marcus said, ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd so we have prospered, quite well, underneath Tattooed society. The Cardinal keeps us around because we actually get things done. We keep him around because he covers for us├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôYou're a monster├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said.

├óÔé¼┼ôWe're all monsters├óÔé¼┬Ø Marcus said, still grinning, ├óÔé¼┼ôI just don't hide it as well as you├óÔé¼┬Ø

Miles heard footsteps. Marcus held a finger up to his mouth, melting back into the shadows. Then only his eyes gleamed in the darkness, then those faded away. Miles and Teresa stepped back, making slightly more noise then Marcus. Two men were walking to the manhole cover. One of them said something in Latin. The other responded in turn, the Latin incomprehensible to Miles.

One of the men climbed down into the swears, looking around and waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. The other climbed down as well. Then there was a swish and a splatter. The second man jerked back, his friends corpse falling out of the circle of light, vanishing. Blood dribbled down the wall, rendered completely black by the contrast of light and shadow. ├óÔé¼┼ôGod!├óÔé¼┬Ø the man gasped, backing up. Then Teresa lopped his head off, cleanly and efficiently, the monofilament barely catching the light from the manhole, glinting in the air.

Marcus stepped forward, his hands dripping. His thumbs had strange rings on them. Miles looked closer and saw they were bloody hooks, sharp enough to tear. Marcus grinned, ├óÔé¼┼ôThe Cardinal will never hear of these men. They have simply disspaered. Now...I want to bring about Communism. Its a worthy goal, trying to make a paradise. But there is a snake in our garden and I want to kill it. You two can help├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôFirst├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, retracting her monofilaments, ├óÔé¼┼ôWe need Chess back├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôAnd the Kitty Hawk├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles pointed out.

├óÔé¼┼ôI have connections, like all the Barons, but...the others might balk me if I try to counter the orders of the Cardinal├óÔé¼┬Ø Marcus paused, thinking as he did.

├óÔé¼┼ôWe have to hurry├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa murmured to Miles, ├óÔé¼┼ôWho knows what is happening to Chess?├óÔé¼┬Ø

Marcus snapped his fingers. ├óÔé¼┼ôI know├óÔé¼┬Ø He said, ├óÔé¼┼ôThe easiest, most simple way to get your ship is too simply buy it back├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThats...fifty three thousand credits├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, dredging up the number from his memory.

├óÔé¼┼ôSo?├óÔé¼┬Ø Marcus asked, ├óÔé¼┼ôStealing it back would be more expensive, in the long run. And if I simply buy it back, there is nothing the other Barons can do about it. So, there we are├óÔé¼┬Ø

He pulled out his wallet. Miles, after a moment, pulled his out as well and they transferred credits.

├óÔé¼┼ôNow├óÔé¼┬Ø Marcus said, ├óÔé¼┼ôThe one stipulation is that one day I might need your aid. Be alert for that day, for it would indeed be a dangerous one├óÔé¼┬Ø

Teresa nodded, ├óÔé¼┼ôThats fair├óÔé¼┬Ø she said, ├óÔé¼┼ôNow lets go├óÔé¼┬Ø


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


The Cardinal looked at Jeremy. Jeremy looked at the Cardinal, frowned.

├óÔé¼┼ôSo├óÔé¼┬Ø The Cardinal picked a pen off his desk, starting to spin it in his fingers, ├óÔé¼┼ôWe have everything in place├óÔé¼┬Ø

Jeremy continued to frown.

The Cardinal sighed, ├óÔé¼┼ôYou know you are incredibly naive. Some day we are going to have to kill people for this revolution├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôYes, we are├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy said, ├óÔé¼┼ôBut its going to be in open battle. With space ships, and guns and armies and fleets. Not in back alleyways, tourcher chambers and gulags├óÔé¼┬Ø

The Cardinal shook his head, ├óÔé¼┼ôWe're going to die├óÔé¼┬Ø he said, ├óÔé¼┼ôWith that attitude at least├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôIts final├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy said, ├óÔé¼┼ôIf we operate on that level...then the entire thing is corrupted from beginning and the revolution becomes pointless├óÔé¼┬Ø

There was a knock on the door, interrupting their conversation. ├óÔé¼┼ôcome in├óÔé¼┬Ø The Cardinal said, before Jeremy could say anything otherwise. Hawk opened the door, walking into the office. ├óÔé¼┼ôUh├óÔé¼┬Ø she said, ├óÔé¼┼ôMy ship is about ready to leave├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI'll walk you to the door├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy stood, ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd we'll finish this discussion when I get back├óÔé¼┬Ø

He walked out, the door closing behind him. The Cardinal steepled his fingers, thinking. Jeremy was starting to be a...liability.


Jeremy and Hawk walked down the center isles of Pews. ├óÔé¼┼ôWell├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy said, ├óÔé¼┼ôI wish you luck in your journey├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI'm afraid├óÔé¼┬Ø Hawk said, ├óÔé¼┼ôI'm...very new at this├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWell├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy said, ├óÔé¼┼ôYou'll have helpers. They should be able to coach you on speech making before you arrive at your first performance. Its like stripping, but without taking off your clothes and talking a lot more├óÔé¼┬Ø

Hawk blushed, covering her mouth to hide a smile. Jeremy smiled as well.

├óÔé¼┼ôSo...you can't come with me, right?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôNo├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy stopped at the door, ├óÔé¼┼ôI've got to stay here and keep both eyes on the Cardinal├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI know what you mean├óÔé¼┬Ø Hawk looked over her shoulder at the office they had left, ├óÔé¼┼ôHe creeps me out├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWe need his resources├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy sighed, rubbing his eyes. Then something struck him. Who would have thought he would have ever gotten this far? The early speeches had gone so poorly, the early battles for the revolution seemed so pointless. Now he had an entire planet that could be used to work for him.

├óÔé¼┼ôHe still creeps me out├óÔé¼┬Ø Hawk murmured.

Jeremy nodded. He reached to open the door.

├óÔé¼┼ôJeremy├óÔé¼┬Ø Hawk looked at the ground, ├óÔé¼┼ôDo you think we can pull this off?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI have no idea├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy said, his hand stopping, ├óÔé¼┼ôbut together we can-├óÔé¼┬Ø

Hawk kissed him. Jeremy froze, his instinctive reaction when something unexpected happened. Then he kissed her back, pushing her against the door frame. Her wings stirred under her cloak, straining against the restraints she had placed on them.

Then he drew back. Hawk, face red, opened the door. ├óÔé¼┼ôGood luck├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy said, wondering what had come over him. The doors closed.

Jeremy looked at the doors. What had just happened? Had he kissed her, or she him? Did it matter? Why did he feel so incredibly nervous, as if he had done something horrible? Jeremy ran his fingers through his hair, trying to calm down. He had to calm down. He turned around and saw he was being watched. The Cardinal stood outside his office, staring at him.

├óÔé¼┼ôHawk was right├óÔé¼┬Ø Jeremy murmured, lower then the Cardinal could hear at this distance, ├óÔé¼┼ôYou are creepy├óÔé¼┬Ø


Miles steeped onto the Kitty Hawk, eyes closed. God he needed to unwind. Teresa followed him, also looking tense. The DSV was always hell, but on Golgotha it took on a new depth of pain. ├óÔé¼┼ôGod damns bureaucracy├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles muttered, sitting down in the command chair.

├óÔé¼┼ôNow we have to get Chess back├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said.

├óÔé¼┼ôCan we hold on one damn second├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles snapped, the tension making him irritable, ├óÔé¼┼ôI don't even know where she is, who arrested her, or anything...I'm going to have a shower first├óÔé¼┬Ø

He walked down the hallway to his room. He stepped in, then stopped. His table, with the chess set on it...it looked as if a half circle had been cut out of it, leaving a perfect edge. The support column to the table had also been sheered, nearly in half. Amazingly the table stood, unharmed. The chair was half destroyed as well, cut in twain by the same sphere that had destroyed the table. The chess set was unharmed, the circle of destructive force ending right before its edge.

├óÔé¼┼ôChess├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, softly. He knew what this was. It was the effect of an MNG being discharged, instantly turning everything in its sphere of influence into plasma.

├óÔé¼┼ôOh Allah├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, heart constricting. He looked around, breath catching in his throat. ├óÔé¼┼ôPlease, Allah, let her be safe├óÔé¼┬Ø he gasped, walking in circles, unable to decide what to do next.

Chess rolled out from under the bed. Miles stared at her, blinking. Then he hauled her to her feet and hugged her tight. ├óÔé¼┼ôNever do that, ever again!├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles gasped.

Chess nodded, her chin bumping into Miles' shoulder.

├óÔé¼┼ôHow...how did you survive? How did you escape! What happened!├óÔé¼┬Ø The questions poured from Miles. Teresa heard the commotion and stared to walk down the hall.

Chess simply smiled.

Teresa walked into the room and gaped. ├óÔé¼┼ôYou found her!├óÔé¼┬Ø she said.

├óÔé¼┼ôI think├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles stepped away from Chess, ├óÔé¼┼ôShe found herself├óÔé¼┬Ø

Chess nodded, not wanting to elaborate on that. Miles noticed the tattoo on her back. He had forgotten about that for a while. ├óÔé¼┼ôUh...Chess├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat is this? Never mind, you can't talk├óÔé¼┬Ø

Chess rolled her eyes.

├óÔé¼┼ôLet me see it├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa walked to her. Chess obligingly raised her shirt, turning around so the two others could see the tattoo.

├óÔé¼┼ôIts a family tree├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, ├óÔé¼┼ôBut...whats this language?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôIts...English!├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, shocked, ├óÔé¼┼ôThats a dead language├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôCan the computer figure it out?├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôYes I can├óÔé¼┬Ø The computer said, ├óÔé¼┼ôbut it'll take a while├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôMake it so├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, looking at Chess. Chess was beaming, and...he felt better for it. The tension in his shoulders slowly faded, and his desire to pop a Popper in his mouth faded. Slightly. ├óÔé¼┼ôWell├óÔé¼┬Ø he said, ├óÔé¼┼ôWe need to get going to Outreach before the Cardinal tries to kill us some other way├óÔé¼┬Ø

The computer sighed, ├óÔé¼┼ôThat might be happening sooner then you want, Miles├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôOh hell├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles muttered, ├óÔé¼┼ôCan't have a moment of peace around here, can I?├óÔé¼┬Ø

He, Teresa and Chess ran to the bridge. Miles sat down in his chair and throttled the Kitty Hawk up, ignoring the warnings and bleeps from the PNC uplink. He dodged two slower ships and darted out of the holding cluster. Five other ships blasted out of the atmosphere, following him. They were each deadly looking fighters of the same class as the Michaelangelo

Teresa turned, ├óÔé¼┼ôI'll take the Michaelangelo against them. Warp out of here as soon as possible├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôIts going to take an hour or two to get up the energy needed to get to Outreach├óÔé¼┬Ø The computer pointed out. Miles jerked the yoke in his hands, narrowly avoiding a spray of bullets.

├óÔé¼┼ôThen we warp somewhere closer!├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa snapped.

├óÔé¼┼ôClosest system is DS-992├óÔé¼┬Ø The computer said, ├óÔé¼┼ôCharge up time...five minutes├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI'll hold them├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said.

Miles looked at her, throttling up the acceleration and spinning the ship. The grav gen made the innards of the ship fell as if it were only going through minor turbulence, rather then bone crushing spins and turns.

├óÔé¼┼ôW...Watch yourself├óÔé¼┬Ø he said, ├óÔé¼┼ôTake care├óÔé¼┬Ø

Teresa nodded, ├óÔé¼┼ôThanks├óÔé¼┬Ø she said. Then she was gone.

[Zoombie]

Is anyone reading this? Seems to be a general lack of response...but thats just my parinoia in effect agin...

[Snipawolf]

OMFG, NoBODY IS READING< PARANIOA! KILLIN ME! AHHG!

Ignore the above..

[Zoombie]

Okay good, I was getting nervious...

[CalledGothic]

People read it, I read most of your stuff but I never post about it, im sure there must be others....

[Zoombie]

I like to see responses and stuff, as its A) Reassuring and B) Entertaining.

[Zoombie]

Its short, but I think I'm coming down with some kind of sickness, making life hard for me in general.



The General felt odd. Something was wrong. Yes he was sitting in his room, in his house, under the glimmer purple Shield that protected New Terra...but something was wrong. His eyes slowly scanned the fake pictures he put up to give him the appearance to have had a family. Children that never existed played with a wife he had never had.

The General suddenly felt a swelling of self disgust. He stood a bit to fast, his knee's complaining violently. He hobbled onwards anyway, using his cane. He got to the pictures and, fury suddenly swelling, he brought his cane smashing around, sending the pictures flying. Glass shattered, frames splitting as it did so.

The General was panting, this simple action causing his age deteriorated muscles to complain. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat has happened?├óÔé¼┬Ø He asked the air, ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat has happened to me!├óÔé¼┬Ø

He turned around, the accusing eyes of his false family, the pictures hung on every wall. It was such a perfect illusion that the General was confused momentarily, his mind stuttering.

He had shot a teenager with a MNG, slicing her into half a person. She wasn't human a voice in the back of his mind told him. It was true that her lower half had dissolved into nothingness, not kept in form by her mind anymore.

The General stepped backwards, falling into a chair. He wheezed, his body complaining in multiple places. The General, once again, felt the intoxicating call of the noose. He could just end it...stop his pitiful life. He'd be with his wife again...with her. His eyes fogged up, looking into the past. His wife looked back at him, her green eyes kind. The General blinked away the fog, getting to his feet.

He walked to the middle of his house, thinking of how easy it would be.... The phone rang, interrupting his train of thought.

├óÔé¼┼ôGeneral Dobson├óÔé¼┬Ø he said automatically, picking the phone up.

├óÔé¼┼ôHello Dobson. Voorman here├óÔé¼┬Ø Janet said.

├óÔé¼┼ôHello, Madam President├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI would like to schedule a debriefing in as soon as possible├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôVery well. I can be here in five minutes├óÔé¼┬Ø


Five minutes later The General sat in a office, a board of the five other generals for the five 'theaters' of the USHS, with the President sitting in the middle.

├óÔé¼┼ôNow├óÔé¼┬Ø Janet said, her frown making her look even more tired then she had been for the past several days, ├óÔé¼┼ôI hear that you not only abandoned two of your officers on the planet Outreach...but you also seized a civilian ship because of a scanner reading you got off a religious icon, borrowed from a Free clinic run by the Tattooed. Then, once you searched the ship, you impounded it over a bag of Poppers!├óÔé¼┬Ø Poppers, on most planets, were considered as legal as beer. But Golgotha was not like most planets...

├óÔé¼┼ôMadam President├óÔé¼┬Ø The General had been expecting this, ├óÔé¼┼ôI have evidence that not only was the starship, the Kitty Hawk, transporting a dangerous and illegal alien from one system to another, but the Tattooed Church is responsible for aiding and abetting the enemy, the enemy which we have been at war with for the past six centuries├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI speak of none other then Sanders...the first alien species that we made contact with. If you can call almost complete extinction a fist contact. Though most records from the End Time were lost, we know of Sanders that had mutated into forms resembling ours, with extraordinary powers. The 'Savior' the Tattooed revere so much is nothing more then one of these...entities. And I have proof!├óÔé¼┬Ø

One of the Generals looked uncomfortable, the others looking completely neutral, not wanting to give themselves away.

The General reached into his breast pocket.

├óÔé¼┼ôI took samples from the individual before executing her on the spot for being an enemy of the USHS. It reverted to the base Sander material, as is the mode of such creatures. I kept it in this vacuumed container. I'm sorry I had to smuggle it in, but-├óÔé¼┬Ø

He pulled out the vial and...

It was empty. The General stared at it. This had to be a trick of the light, some kind of nightmare. The Generals started murmuring to one another. But the thing that hurt the General the most was that President Voorman was smirking.

├óÔé¼┼ôIt is the decision├óÔé¼┬Ø One of the General's said after a lengthy conversation, ├óÔé¼┼ôThat General Dobson be removed from duty and placed on psychiatric probation├óÔé¼┬Ø


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

The Michaelangelo dropped out of the Kitty Hawk, engines gunning up. Teresa darted towards the enemy, guns blasting. Bullets slammed into space, scattering the enemy formation. Teresa darted through the scattered formation, finger hovering over the missile battery.

├óÔé¼┼ôIs the shield still broken?├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôYes├óÔé¼┬Ø The computer said.

├óÔé¼┼ôBring up targeting retical├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles took hold of his yoke and drove straight up. The lock on alarm started to blare.

├óÔé¼┼ômissile incoming...its nuclear!├óÔé¼┬Ø The computer said.

Miles spun the Kitty Hawk around and sprayed a hail of bullets. Two enemy craft dodged, but the missile wasn't smart enough for that. Conventional explosions tore the missile apart, spreading uranium over a expanding sphere of space, the explosions not proper for actual fission.

├óÔé¼┼ôMistake├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa muttered, letting loose with five of her missiles. The missiles arched out, but three darted away, drawn off by drones dropped by the enemy fighters. The other two impacted on the enemy fighter, blowing it apart in a hail of blood and metal. Teresa darted forward, frowning at a splatter of blood that blotted her windshield. Then the Michaelangelo bucked, something hitting it. Teresa spun, G-forces tearing at her. She almost blacked out...

Then she let loose a hail of bullets, her machine guns causing the entire ship to shake. An enemy ship was torn almost in half, then its fuel detonated.

The Kitty Hawk took a round in the right nacelle. ├óÔé¼┼ôShit!├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles muttered as the Kliner engine started to go out of control. ├óÔé¼┼ôWe're going to have to either shut it down, or warp very soon├óÔé¼┬Ø The computer said, sounding harried by having to coordinate so many programs at once.

├óÔé¼┼ôI know!├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles snapped, switching on the intercom.

├óÔé¼┼ôTeresa├óÔé¼┬Ø he said, ├óÔé¼┼ôMy right nacelle is on an overdrive. We've either got to shut it down or warp in a minute!├óÔé¼┬Ø

Teresa didn't respond, instead just driving straight forward, ramming to the Kitty Hawk. The Kitty Hawk's doors opened, ready to take the Michaelangelo. Teresa spun her ship around and engaged her engines, burning hard. G-forces slammed down on her. She slammed forward, the Kitty Hawk's wall stopping her suddenly. Teresa saw the doors starting to close. Then an enemy fighter flew straight at them, guns blaring. A single bullet snuck through the half closed shuttle bay doors and slammed into the side of the Michaelangelo.

Then the Kitty Hawk warped out of the system.

It rematerialized and Miles immediately jettisoned the nacelle. Warping had relieved the 'pressure' slightly, but the Kliner was still stick on an overload, the bullet jammed in it seriously messing up the innards. Miles gunned the engine, wanting to put as many kilometers from him and the nacelle as possible.

The Kliner Engine, stressed beyond its capacity, exploded, a weird blue fireball ripping into space. It dissipated harmlessly.

├óÔé¼┼ôWell├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said to Chess, who had managed to play an entire chess game during the battle, ├óÔé¼┼ôWe live to fight another day├óÔé¼┬Ø


Teresa opened her eyes. Smoke was filling the room, making it hard for her to breath. She unlatched her restrained, knowing she had to get out before she suffocated. Something was on fire. She coughed, lungs unable to find air. Then she found a pocket of clean air and breathed deep. She reached for the door. It was jammed shut, twisted and out of shape. ├óÔé¼┼ôOh god├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa murmured, panic starting to rise in her.

├óÔé¼┼ôMILES!├óÔé¼┬Ø she shouted, ├óÔé¼┼ôHELP!├óÔé¼┬Ø Her eyes fell on the computer console and saw that it was dead. Shit. Shit. Teresa looked at the windshield. She had to get air. She pressed her fingers into it, testing it. Then she punched it. She felt something shift in her knuckles, something painful. The stuff was hardened diamonds. A punch was not going to...

Miles' face appeared on the windshield, looking in. He shouted something. Teresa pointed to the door, smoke filling the room even faster.

Miles ran to the door and found it almost completely crumpled, the bullet having bounced off it and ruining its ability to open. ├óÔé¼┼ôChess! Get a drill, or something!├óÔé¼┬Ø he shouted.

Chess ran off and Miles knew he had to buy some time. He grabbed the edge of the warped door, working his fingers into the side. Then he hauled on it. Pain spiked and a wetness spread down his palms. The door didn't budge. Miles' teeth gritted and he hauled even harder. The door gave slightly and smoke started to pour from the corner, the airtight seal broken. Miles jerked back, blood streaming down his hands. He couldn't do any more.

Chess came back with a very old pickax. She, not waiting for Miles, lodged the pointy end in the slight opening that Miles had made. She hauled back and the door slid halfway open. Teresa came out, coughing. Miles helped her out. Then he hugged her, smearing blood onto her shirt.

├óÔé¼┼ôClose one, no?├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, still a bit dizzy from the smoke. Chess, being the practical one, put the pick ax down and grabbed a fire extinguisher. She sprayed and the smoke stopped, the fire put out easily.

├óÔé¼┼ôUh...Miles├óÔé¼┬Ø the computer said, ├óÔé¼┼ôI think you might want to know this├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWhat?├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles stepped away from Teresa, who was leaning against the Michaelangelo, her knee's shaking madly.

├óÔé¼┼ôThe Kliner engine is down...fused. I think it was the overload, it must have created a feedback of sorts and broken both of them├óÔé¼┬Ø

Miles ran his blood fingers through his hair, trying to figure out what that meant. ├óÔé¼┼ôCan we repair it?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôYes├óÔé¼┬Ø The computer said, ├óÔé¼┼ôits just replacing circuitry, nothing mechanical really. It'll take about a week with two people on EVA duty. Three days with three, but Chess is not...doesn't have a license. But...well...I suppose we can over look that├óÔé¼┬Ø

Teresa only half listened to this. She was instead thinking of what Miles had done. He had hugged her. He was a born Muslim, current agnostic by her guess. But she had allowed him to hug her. Then she saw his hands. ├óÔé¼┼ôHow did you do that?├óÔé¼┬Ø She asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôWell├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles looked at his palms, annoyed that they only started to hurt when he noticed them, ├óÔé¼┼ôI...well...someone had to try and get the door open├óÔé¼┬Ø

Teresa's head swam. ├óÔé¼┼ôI'm...tired├óÔé¼┬Ø she said, concocting that excuse.

├óÔé¼┼ôChess won't mind if you use the bed├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, looking at Ches, who was watching them, ├óÔé¼┼ôWon't you, Chess?├óÔé¼┬Ø

Chess nodded, smiling.

├óÔé¼┼ôCome on, I'll help you there├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said.

├óÔé¼┼ôI can get there myself├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, drawing away from him. Miles blinked, wondering if he had done something. Teresa walked down the shuttle bay, got to the door, then staggered. Miles was at her side. Then her elbow smashed into his stomach, causing him to double over.

├óÔé¼┼ôI said I can do it myself!├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa snapped, continuing her unbalanced walk.