Ryo Gunn thought how nice it would be to have a pack of cold
ice.  His face throbbed with pain.  So did his ribs.  Where did
Taeon learn to kick like that, he wondered.  He must have been
taking some classes in martial arts he had been previously
unaware of.
     The first thing Ryo noticed when his eyes opened was the
total darkness. Even in the darkness of night he should still
have been able see.  After all, his eyes were genetically
enhanced and capable of thermal and starlight amplification.
Since he could not see at all, he assumed he was in total
darkness, which meant he was no longer outdoors.
     The second thing he noticed was the restrains that held him
to a cold metal chair.  His wrists and ankles were hopelessly
locked metal cuffs.  This was not a good sign, being a strong
indication he had been captured.  Either Taeon had taken him back
to Falmore-Glave or the Durshaanian army had picked him up after
Taeon's escape.  That is, assuming Taeon had managed to escape.
     Suddenly, a dazzling white light flared to life.  The
brilliant flash nearly blinded Ryo, whose eyes had been
reflexively straining to see in the darkness.
     "Good morning, Nothing," came a cold voice with a twisted
edge of mockery.  "I am so glad to see you have finally come out
of your slumber."
     "Who are you?" Ryo tried to open his eyes, but in the
brilliant light he could only manage a narrow squint.
     The voice did not answer his question.  "Your friend, Taeon
Toshio, was quite effective in knocking you out.  However, we
chose to sedate you anyway, just in case you managed to come
around before we were ready."
     "Ready for what?" asked Ryo.  He finally got his eyes open,
and tried to looked around for his interrogator.
     "Why, to torture you, of course."
     "Who are you?"
     "You can call me Ryo Gunn," replied the voice.
     Ryo finally focused on the man.  He was tall, rather gangly,
and wore a business suit of some sort.  Not the type of clothes
one would wear to an interrogation. "But my name is Ryo Gunn..."
     "Your name is Nothing.  My name is Ryo Gunn.  You may call
me Ryo, if you wish."
     "My name isn't Nothing!" insisted Ryo.  "That is a stupid
name!  Where the hell did you morons come up with that?"
     The man stepped up to Ryo and placed a spider-shaped device
on his leg.  "Arrogance will get you nothing but pain, Nothing."
     Burning pain stabbed into Ryo's leg, lashing up his chest
until it cut its way to the base of his brain.  It felt as if a
million electrically charged needles were ripping through his
body.  He tried not to scream, but his vocal cords seemed to have
an agenda all their own.
     A second later the pain abruptly stopped.
     "For now, we shall call that item Spider.  Now, tell me your
name."
     "You know my name," replied Ryo wearily.  "You stole it."
     "What is you name?"
     "Ryo Gunn!"
     Pain ripped its way mercilessly through his body.  Waves of
agony throbbed from Ryo's leg all the way to his head, each
passing surge increasing in magnitude.  A second before Ryo
fainted from shock, it stopped.  His throat was numb, as if worn
raw, but he had no recollection of screaming.
     The man removed the spider device from Ryo's leg and placed
it on his arm.  "My name is Ryo Gunn," explained the man.  "Your
name is Nothing."
     "Okay, okay," panted Ryo.  "If you're me, then I'm you.  So
before you captured me, I was me and you were you.  So back then
I was Ryo and you were Nothing.  When I die you'll be you once
more, which is really Nothing.  But its better to have been
someone and lose it all than to have been nobody and still be
Nothing at all."
     "It appears Spider has scrabbled a few of your neurons.
That, or you are still trying to be smart with me.  If it is the
former, I do pity you.  If it is the latter, your future will be
nothing but pain."
     "What do you want?"
     "I want to know your name."
     "My name is Ryo Gunn."
     "You are a very stubborn man, Mr. Nothing.  What we appear
to have is a case of identity displacement.  You are the captive
and I am free.  You therefore wish to be in my place, thereby
assuming my name.  Your name is Nothing.  My name is Ryo Gunn.
Tell me, what is your name?"
     Ryo gritted his teeth.  He could see it was going to be a
long, painful day.
                           *    *    *
     It would have been naive to think he could have escaped the
Durshaanian troops.  Taeon's hands were still tied when he made
his escape from Ryo.  Unable to drive the nearby tank because of
his restrains, he fled on foot.  Shortly thereafter, a couple
APCs and a squad of troops surrounded him and forced him to
surrender.  They put him in one of the APCs and took him away.
In all likelihood, they had captured Ryo as well.
     Now he was in some kind of holding cell.  He was otherwise
unrestrained, but the cell was restraining enough.  His prison
was small, barely larger than a closet, and metal all around.
There was one steel door without a window.  A single low power
light dimly luminated the cramped quarters and emitted an
irritating buzz.  To top it off, the room was hot, damp, and
smelled of urine.  Needless to say, his cell broke every Imperial
prisoner of war regulation in existence.  Taeon made a mental
note to protest against House Ammar's inhuman treatment of
prisoners.  That is, assuming he would have a chance to file such
a complaint.
     A lock clicked on the door and it swung open.  Two
Durshaanian guards stepped in, followed by a tall, lanky man in a
business suit.  "Taeon Toshio," stated the businessman.  "Son of
Baron Toshio, but nothing more than a lowly sergeant in the
Imperial Space Force."
     "Who are you?" asked Taeon.
     "As your friend pointed out, I'm nobody.  I am merely a
means to an end.  In the grand scale of things, my name doesn't
really matter, now does it?"
     "Ryo?" asked Taeon.  "What have you done with him?"
     "Oh, I've quite enjoyed a little conversation with him.
Didn't gain much ground though.  He blacked out from pain a
little while back.  I must admit, he has a great deal of will
power.  He will be quite entertaining."
     "You son of a...!"
     "Silence!" barked the man.  "I would have thought that you'd
be glad to know of his fate.  After all, according to our
reports, he was trying to kill you."
     "Maybe so, but he was just following orders, as was I.  They
just conflicted a little bit, that's all."
     "Tell me, what business does the Empire have in this feudal
dispute?"
     "The Empire has no jurisdiction in this war," replied Taeon.
"I went rogue and joined my family to fight the Durshaanian
army."
     "Ah, I see," said the man.  "And your friend?"
     "He was sent to stop me.  I guess the Empire didn't like me
stealing their mecha."
     "So this is not a covert operation to turn the tide of war
in favor of House Toshio?"
     "I wish it was.  Hell, with the backing of the Empire, your
house would be history by now."
     The Interrogator smiled.  "Who do you think we are?"
     "House Ammar," replied Taeon.  "Aren't you?"
     "You will be happy to know that we have no intention of
killing you.  You may prove to be a valuable wildcard which we
can use against House Toshio."
     "And Ryo?"
     "We have no need for him.  But before we execute him, I
would like to see how long it takes to break him.  Just as an
exercise to hone my interrogation skills, mind you."
     "You're finished!" stated Taeon.  "When the Empire finds out
about your inhuman treatment of..."
     "Silence!" barked the Interrogator.  "You have no idea
what's going on, do you?"  He motioned to the guards. "Soon the
screams of your friend shall echo through the halls of this
base!"
     As the three men turned to leave, Taeon darted for one of
the guards.  He slammed him into the wall and grabbed for his
rifle.  The struggle lasted only a few seconds as Taeon snapped
the weapon away and blasted a round of laser energy into the
guard's face.
     He spun around to kill the Interrogator, but the man dodged
and slapped a small spider-like device on his leg.  The world
around him went white as a blinding surge of pain exploded
through his body.  He collapsed to the floor screaming in agony.
     It was impossible to judge how long he was unconscious, but
it felt as if he had been out for hours.  Taeon was still in the
cramped sewer of a cell, only now with a killer headache.  If
that was the device they were using to torture Ryo, thought
Taeon, then House Ammar had crossed well beyond the line of
inhumane abuse...
                           *    *    *
     Taeon found himself in a pleasant green field of flower-
covered hills and misty-green groves.  The sky was almost pure
white, and purple clouds hung in the air.  It was like no planet
he had heard of, so surely he must be dreaming.
     "Little Brother," came a distant almost disembodied voice.
     It sounded like his young sister.  "Xandra?"
     "Where are you, Little Brother?  You must defend my
Kingdom..."
     Taeon slide down the hill, smearing flower peddles over his
uniform clothes.  He quickly made his way through the tall,
waving grass in the direction of her voice.  In the distance was
a grove of enchanting trees.  He some how knew he would find
Xandra in that mystical place.
     "Why is Little Brother in the Other Place?"
     "Other Place?" asked Taeon.  Other Place was Xandra's term
for the astral plane, that mysterious dreamlike world that exists
in diverspace.  Only divers could enter the astral plane, and
Taeon knew he was no diver.  After all, he had failed the Diver
Aptitude test.  "You mean I'm in the astral plane?"
     "I must find you, Little Brother," called Xandra, her voice
growing louder as Taeon approached the trees.  "Father's spies
reported your capture, but know not where you are."
     Taeon entered the grove and looked around.  The trees were
strong, lush, and in perfect health.  The air was warm, yet cool.
The colors of light that flooded down from the treetops seemed to
have a sweet taste.  It was an odd place, yet wondrous, and Taeon
wished he could stay for all eternity.
     "Little Brother," came the voice of Xandra right beside him.
     Taeon looked down beside him and saw his little sister in a
flowing white gown.  "Xandra?  What's going on?"
     Xandra reached out and touched Taeon's leg.  "Now I see
where you are!  I must tell Little Sister so she can rescue you."
     "Sara?" asked Taeon.  Sara was his older sister, but Xandra
referred to nearly everyone with the prefix 'little', except for
their father and other divers.
     Xandra began to fade out.  "Little Sister will come.  Good-
bye, my Brother."
     Taeon woke and found himself in the darkness of his holding
cell.  He sat still for a moment, staring at the cold steel wall.
Only one though rested on his mind -- at the very last, Xandra
had not called him 'Little' any more.
                           *    *    *
     "Good morning, Nothing," stated the Interrogator.  "I am
glad to see you have finally come out of your slumber."
     It was the exact same way he had introduced himself
yesterday, recalled Ryo.  It looked like another long day was
ahead of him.  "What's on the menu for today?" he asked
sarcastically, but this remark only remind him of the fact that
his captors had neglected to feed him, though they had given him
some foul water to drink.
     "I would like to know your name."
     "I forgot what it was.  Can we move on now?"
     "What is your name?"
     "Don't you have better things to ask?  Don't you want to
know about top secret information and stuff?"
     "This is my job.  I don't really consider it work, though,
because I enjoy it so much.  It's my way of relaxing, so we can
do this all day if you like, and tomorrow as well.  And for weeks
on end.  Now tell me your name."
     "My name..." Ryo gritted his teeth and narrowed his eye,
"...is Ryo Gunn."
     A frowned slipped through the tall man's otherwise
emotionless face.  At that point Ryo knew which of them would be
the first to break. That fact gave him the strength to fight on.
He was determined never break, so long as he lived.
                           *    *    *
     Taeon paced back and forth in his cell like a caged animal.
How could he escape?  He cursed himself for not taking those
courses on escape tactics back at basic training.
     "Brother," came the voice of Xandra in his mind.
     "Xandra?" asked Taeon out loud.  She called him 'Brother'
again, not 'Little Brother'.  It was quite obvious now she had
not made a verbal slip earlier.  "Where are you?"
     "I am... in my room.  And I am here with you.  Little Sister
leads our army to your rescue."
     Xandra was obviously projecting her astral body back into
realspace.  Her consciousness was somewhere in the cell with him.
"Can you get me out of this cell?"
     "So frail and delicate are the bonds of this world..."
     He had learned to shrug off the weird ramblings of his
eleven year old sister. "Can you just get me out?"
     "It is a simple game," replied his sister.
     From the other side of the door he heard a muffled voice
which quickly went silent.  Then he heard the beeping tones of a
code being entered on his cell door's lock panel.  The door slide
open.
     Taeon stepped back, preparing to pounce on the guard, but
the man just stood there like a zombie, his eyes staring blankly
away.  Taeon walked past the vacant man and left his cell.  The
guard handed Taeon a 7mm machine pistol, walked into the empty
cell, and closed the door behind him.
     Taeon pressed the lock button on the door panel, sealing the
guard in the holding cell.  "Xandra?"
     There was no reply.
     "Xandra?" he called again, to no avail. She must have been
awakened back at the castle, he concluded.  From what he knew, it
was difficult for her to maintain her astral body due to the wild
and unpredictable nature of her diver powers.
     Taeon found himself in a long hallway lined with dozens of
locked, steel doors.  Obviously, he was in a prison wing of some
large building.
     The man in the business suit had indicated that Ryo was
being interrogated, or more precisely tortured, somewhere nearby.
Taeon wanted to believe that it served Ryo right, but no matter
how hard he tried, he couldn't convince himself of it.  No one
deserved to die like that.  Especially not Ryo.
     A bead of sweet ran down Taeon's cheek as he quietly made
his way down the hall.  "Maybe Ryo could betray his friends, but
I'll be damned before I will," he mumbled to himself.  "I'm not
about to leave without him."  Taeon poked his head around a
corner and saw another corridor of holding cells.  He chose to
search in that direction.
     Sneaking down the drab corridor, he continued his train of
thought.  "That is, unless he's already dead.  Yeah... Maybe I
should just try to get away while I have the chance..."
     Taeon froze as the tall man stepped out of a nearby room.
It was the Interrogator!  Taeon aimed his gun and fired, charging
down the hall toward the twisted sadist.
     The man spun around and was caught completely off guard by
Taeon's attack.  He died a second later as a dozen bullets ripped
through his body.
     Taeon came to a stop near the room that the Interrogator had
come out of.  The door was still open.  Taeon rushed in.
     "Gunn!" exclaimed Taeon, upon seeing his friend in the room.
     Ryo wearily looked up and saw Taeon.  He was holding a
smoking machine pistol in his right hand.  "Yes, it is.  And a
nice one, too."
     "I killed that creepy guy in the suit!  C'mon, we've got to
get out of here!  I'm sure someone heard that gunfire."
     "You killed him?  Dammit!  I was that close to breaking
him."
     "Sure, whatever," said Taeon as he unlocked the straps that
held Ryo to the metal chair.
     Moments later an alarm went off, sounding an announcement
over the intercom.  "Attention:  Prisoner escape in progress.
Apprehend with deadly force.  Attention:  House Toshio forces in
area, approaching base perimeter.  All teams scramble.  All
personnel to your posts.  Guards to your station."
     "Whoa," said Ryo.  "Did I miss something?"
     "Yeah.  My little sister, Xandra, she found me in the astral
plane or something and traced me to this base.  She told Sara
about it, and she apparently decided to make a rescue attempt."
     "Huh?  How'd you get out of your cell?"
     "Xandra...  Well, never mind.  It would take too long to
explain."  Taeon walked back into the hall and knelt down next to
the very dead man in the bloody business suit.  He pulled an ID
card out of the man's pocket.  "Hey, Ryo, check this out!"
     "What?  We need to get out of here."
     "This is a GSC Intelligence Corp badge."
     "What?"
     Taeon stood up and studied the ID badge.  "So the GSC is
supporting House Ammar's assault on my family..."
     "I guess that classifies as a threat to the Empire."
     "No kidding," replied Taeon, slipping the GSC badge into his
pocket.  He smiled.  "We've got to get word of this to Major
Katana and Admiral Steele."
     "Halt!" yelled a voice from down the hall.
     Taeon and Ryo dove for cover next to the corridor wall.
Seconds later, the guards opened fire with their autorifles.
Without caring about aim, Taeon hosed his machine pistol back and
forth across the corridor.  The clip emptied, but not before
clearing the hall of Durshaanian guards.  Or GSC guards.  Or
whoever it was they were fighting.
     Taeon tossed the empty machine pistol and took an autorifle
from one of the dead guards, a 7mm Granda by the looks of it.
Ryo grabbed a rifle as well and they headed down the hall in
search of an exit.
     A chain of explosions trembled through the walls of the
building.  More guards charged down a nearby corridor, but they
took no notice of Ryo or Taeon.  They had more urgent matters to
attend to.
     "Something big's going down," stated Ryo.
     "My sister's special ops team," stated Taeon.  "My older
sister that is.  God knows my little sister is a special op."
     "Interesting," observed Ryo as the two of them ducked into
an unguarded ready room.
     "What is?" asked Taeon.
     "Well, your older brother is the general of your house's
army.  Your older sister is the commander of your family's
special ops forces.  Your little sister has major diver
powers..."
     "Chaotic diver powers."
     "Right.  Major chaotic diver powers.  And what are you?"
     "I'm ah..."
     "Exactly.  Not to be rude or anything, but you're just a
sergeant in the ITR Space Force.  Hell, after this fiasco you
probably won't be anything at all."
     "Watch it, buddy!" exclaimed Taeon.  "I saved your ass back
there.  I could have just let you rot in that cell."
     "Hey, hey!" protested Ryo.  "I was just making an honest
observation.  I just wanted to know why you're a sergeant in the
Space Force.  You probably could have come in as a Major or
Captain."
     Taeon walked across the ready room, checking it out.  "If
you must know, a Barondom can only be split up so many ways."
There were only two doors in the room.  One to the hall and one
to a vehicle bay.  "My brother is heir designate for Falmore-
Glave, so he gets to be general of our army.  My older sister,
well, she could have taken all our house's holdings instead of my
brother, but she chose to settle down with the special ops corps.
Then there's my little sister who's a diver. And me... we'll, as
you said, I'm nothing."
     "But you said you met your sister in the astral plane.
That's diverspace, right?"
     Taeon thought.  "Maybe she was just in my dreams.  I don't
know.  The point is, I could have been a blue-blood brat and
lived a life of royalty under my brother's rule.  But my father's
not at all content with giving Kanis the Barondom.  You have to
understand Kanis is a sort of...  Well, as Sara said, he'd make a
good dictator."
     "So that's why you joined the Space Force?"
     "Not exactly.  My father told me that if I could prove my
worth over my brother he could enact the Power of Divergence,
making me heir designate.  That can only be done if the current
designate yields his rights, which Kanis certainly won't do, or
if it's deemed meritable by the Imperial Feudal Court.  The IFC
will only do that if I'm some sort of military hero.  The only
way to prove I'm a hero is to start at the bottom and work my way
to the top.  So here I am, trying to be a hero.  Look's like I've
got a long way to go."
     "Okay, hero," stated Ryo.  "Let's get the hell out of here."
     "Fine with me.  All things forgiven and forgotten?"
     Ryo paused and raised his eyebrows in surprise.  "What do
you mean?  I still have my orders, you know?"
     "What's with you!  The Coalies are behind this whole thing!
They're supporting House Ammar!  This could disrupt the entire
political stability of Eridani.  If that happens, this entire
system will fall into GSC hands."
     "Look, I'm not going to have a Failed Mission notice stamped
on my permanent record.  Let's just get out of here and worry
about the rest later."
     "Fine."  Taeon spun around opened the door to the vehicle
bay.  He stormed into the room and glanced around for possible
threats.
     "Good night!" exclaimed Taeon, staring at the monstrous leg.
     Ryo followed Taeon into the bay, and quickly dove for cover
upon seeing the forty ton metal soldier blocking the bay door.
"Taeon, get down!"
     Taeon's mind came out of shock, and he found himself in the
middle of the vehicle bay staring wide eyed at a Raptor class
mecha.  "It's not facing us," stated Taeon.  "He's blasting away
at something outside."
     "Oh, lucky for us."
     Taeon's eyes narrowed.  "That something else is my sister
and her special ops team."  He raised his autorifle and opened
fire, pelting the giant mecha with insignificant bullets.  "Die
you rusting chunk of tin!"
     A moment later, Taeon let up on his gun's trigger.  The
mecha didn't seem to have even noticed the attack.  "This gun is
useless!"
     Ryo looked around the vehicle bay hoping to spot a tank or
armored car.  Unfortunately, all the vehicles had scrambled.  But
next to the wall was a rack of anti-armor, man-portable weapons.
He ran over to the rack and pulled off a rocket launcher and a
SLAMM missile.  "I found a shoulder-launched anti-mecha missile!"
Exclaimed Ryo as he loaded the rocket.
     "That'll work," answered Taeon.  He followed Ryo over to the
weapons rack.
     Ryo took the loaded launcher, a couple extra SLAMMs, and ran
back to the middle of the bay. "I love big guns!" he said,
gleefully.
     Taeon surveyed the weapons rack himself and quickly found a
weapon of his liking.  An auto-pulse x-laser cannon.  The weapon
was broken down into three components, the cannon, the capacitor,
and the tripod.   Taeon got to work assembling the weapon.
     "Ready?" called Ryo, aiming his launcher at the unsuspecting
mecha's back.
     "Wait.  Don't get its attention until I have this cannon
hooked..."
     The bay echoed with thunder as Ryo launched the SLAMM.  The
missile blasted out of the launcher and drilled into the back of
the enemy mecha.  The metal warrior staggered out of the main
vehicle bay as fire exploded around it, ripping its backpack
mounted thruster system to shreds.
     "Sorry," apologized Ryo as he loaded in the next SLAMM.  "I
just couldn't wait."
     The mecha spun around and aimed its king-sized machinegun
rifle back into the vehicle bay.
     "Uh, oh," grumbled Ryo, frantically trying to disable the
"SAFETY: Non-Reusable Launcher" warning circuits.  "I think I got
its attention."
     Taeon managed to plug the power cord into the capacitor and
finish tightening the cannon's fittings on the tripod.  Energy
guzzled into the cannon's power supply, and Taeon triggered the
weapon.  The weapon screamed as the stream of pulsating x-ray
lasers cracked through the oxygen rich atmosphere.  Each pulse
left a wave of exploding plasma in its wake.  The energy pulses
dug a deep gorge from the Raptor's lower right leg, all the way
up to its left shoulder.
     Ryo finished readying his launcher and leveled the weapon at
the mecha's wounded right leg.  He triggered the missile and
staggered back as the SLAMM departed at well beyond Mach speed.
The Raptor's leg exploded and shattered like a dynamited tree as
the rocket drilled home.
     Wounded, the mecha collapsed to the ground.  The pilot fired
his mecha's rifle and waved it frantically through the vehicle
bay, hoping to take out its assailants.
     While bullets the size of his arm whizzed by, Taeon opened
up with the pulse laser cannon again.  Blinding bolts of super-
charged light stabbed into the retaliating mecha.  As its armor
boiled away, wild arcs of electricity danced out of the chest
plating which covered the piloting compartment.  The Raptor's gun
ceased and the mechasuit collapsed limply to the ground.  A sick,
black smoke rose solemnly from the fallen giant, and Taeon knew
the lasers had slipped through the cockpit, turning the pilot to
little more than vaporous gas.
     But their victory was short lived as a squad of Durshaanian
troops rushed into the vehicle bay from the corridor behind them.
Ryo spun around with the last missile loaded into his launcher.
The soldier's hesitated for one fatal second upon seeing the
SLAMM aimed directly at them.
     "No wait!" protested Taeon, seeing what Ryo was about to do.
"We're in too close of quarters!"
     But Ryo didn't hesitate.  The rocket shot past the troops,
missing them all.  A split second later, the rocket hit the rear
wall and detonated.  The fiery wave of destruction washed back
over the troops, blasting them into charcoal ashes.
     The shock wave knocked both Taeon and Ryo off their feet.
Taeon quickly recovered as more troops came bursting in through a
side door.  He jumped to the laser cannon and swept it around to
meet the attacking squad.  Pulses of x-ray energy surged out of
the cannon's barrel.  Each laser pulse was powerful enough to
turn a hundred kilos of steel into vapor.  It wasn't very pretty
what it could do to flesh.
     When the weapon's capacitor went dry, the troops were
nothing more than clouds of steam.  "I guess the mortician won't
have to go to the trouble of cremating those guys now," stated
Ryo.  He had a nasty bruise on the side of this head, the
knockback had given him a mild concussion.  His head throbbed
with pain, but the adrenaline pumping through his veins wouldn't
let him slip away so easily.  At least, not for now.
     Taeon staggered away from the cannon.  "Did you really have
to fire that missile in here?" he asked.
     "Did you have to fire that cannon?" replied Ryo, looking at
the smoldering ruin that used to be men. "Talk about overkill."
     "Me?  You're the one who fired a SLAMM at foot soldiers."
     "Forget about it!  I'm out of missiles and you're out of
power.  Let's get the hell out of here."
     Taeon couldn't have agreed more, and followed Ryo past the
lifeless remains of the Raptor and out the mecha bay.
     "Taeon!" called a voice from behind a half crushed APC.
     "Sara?" asked Taeon. He paused and looked around.
     Taeon's battle-clad sister came out from behind the wreckage
along with several of her crack operatives.  "We came here to
rescue you, but here you are bailing us out.  This would have
been our last stand if you hadn't taken that mecha down."
     "Hey!" said Ryo as his eyes caught sight of Sara Toshio.
"I'm Ryo Gunn.  I helped your brother escape..."
     "Can it, metal knight," replied Sara.  "Intell's reported
that your mission was to bring my brother back to the Space Force
on account for six regulation violations."
     "You can forget that now," assured Ryo.  "We have evidence
that the GSC is supporting House Ammar."
     "What?" asked Sara.
     "See, we got this ID card..." started Ryo, but was cut off
by a chain of explosions.
     "Get down!" ordered Sara.  "Fighters, incoming!"
     They dove to the ground and rolled under the APC as the
fighters strafed the battlefield.
     "We can talk about this later," stated Sara.  "Right now, my
mission to rescue Taeon appears to be accomplished."  She pulled
out a comm and switched it on.  "All teams, pull out.  Little Bro
is in the clear.  I repeat, Little Bro is in the clear."
     "You call this clear?!" exclaimed Ryo, looking at the
underside of the smashed APC.
     "Little Bro?" asked Taeon.  "That's my code name now?"
     "It's what Xandra calls you right?  Little Brother?"
     "Yeah, right, Little Sis," replied Taeon jokingly.  But it
wasn't a joke any more.  Xandra had stopped calling him 'Little',
and it bothered Taeon that he didn't know why.
     Sara's smile went away as thoughts of the battle snapped
back to her mind.  "We've got a transport craft in position
nearby.  It'll get us out of here.  Now move it!"
     "Right," said Ryo.
     Taeon, Ryo, and Sara rolled out from under the ruined APC
and fell back with the rest of the special ops team.  Several
enemy gun emplacements were laying down heavy fire, but the
Toshio strike team managed to get back to the transport despite
them all.
     "Get in," barked Sara as she fired a few rounds back at the
enemy gun emplacements.
     Taeon and Ryo followed the ops team into the aero-transport.
Moments later, Sara rushed in and slammed the hatch behind her.
"Anderson, get us airborne, fast!"
     "Yes, ma'am," came a reply from up front.  The transport
trembled, then rose off the ground and ascended into the sky.
     "Better buckle in," stated Sara taking a seat next to Ryo.
"This ship can reach Mach two in sixty seconds, and I don't think
the pilot's going to be wasting much time."
     Ryo quickly snapped on his restraining belts, as did Taeon,
Sara, and the remaining operatives.  Moments later, the hovering
transport craft's massive thrusters kicked in, blasting it well
beyond the feeble sound barrier.
     When the turbulent acceleration finally died away, Sara
casually brushed some rogue strands of hair out of her face, then
turned to her brother.  "So, you have evidence that the GSC is
assisting House Ammar?"
     "That's right," replied Taeon, struggling in his straps to
get the GSC agent's badge out of his pocket.  "Here," he stated
as he pulled it out and handed it to Sara.
     "Well, this might help.  You know, the ITR's first response
will be to claim that this badge was forged in order for us to
get them on our side."
     "I don't know," said Ryo.  "Most official GSC ID badges have
an encrypted magnetic signature written into their molecular
structure.  That can't be forged.  If it's there, the ITR will
know the GSC is supporting House Ammar."
     "Then they'll step in and we'll finally start winning for
once," continued Sara.  "Good work Taeon."
     "What about me?" asked Ryo.
     "What about you?" asked Sara.  "You're lucky I don't shoot
you for trying to kill my brother."
     "I wasn't trying to kill him!" exclaimed Ryo.  "I was trying
my best not to kill him!"
     "Then I'll try my best not to kill you."
     Ryo squirmed in his seat, unsettled a bit by Sara's not-so-
assuring statement.  "What do you mean by that?"
     Sara grinned devilishly.  "Don't worry.  If we're going to
get the ITR to help us out, the last thing we need is to mess
with one of their little insignificant non-coms."
     "Hey, I'm a non-com, too," stated Taeon.
     "Not after this fiasco," stated Ryo.  "I think you're career
as an ITR soldier is over."
                           *    *    *
     "You're enlistment as a non-commissioned soldier in the
Imperial Terran Republican Space Force is over, Taeon Toshio,"
stated Major Katana Falcon, bluntly.
     Just yesterday he and Ryo were escorted back to Avia Base.
Only the evidence he had collected that the GSC was involved,
along with some heavy string pulling on the part of his father,
had kept him out of being thrown in the brig.  Ryo Gunn was
standing next to him in the Major's office, obviously trying not
to break into an evil laugh.
     His career was over...
     "Taeon Toshio," continued Katana.  "The Space Force Council
has seen fit to grant you eligibility for advancement to full
commission as a second lieutenant."
     Taeon's mouth nearly dropped open in shock.  Ryo's, in fact,
did.  "Thank you... ma'am," stammered Taeon.  "But I don't
see..."
     "Your actions prevented a conspiracy which could have
escalated to the point of a planet-wide war.  If that had
happened, we could easily have lost Eridani to the GSC."
     "Oh, yeah?" asked Taeon.
     "Epsilon Eridani is an extremely strategic system.  If the
GSC had control of this system, they could get a straight shot to
Earth," said Katana. "The fighting still continues to some
extent, but you can consider it over.  House Toshio, and all of
Eridani, has been saved, thanks to your valiant efforts."
     "Good for Eridani," stated Ryo glumly.
     "Sargent Gunn, I nearly forgot!" said Katana, faking a
surprised expression.  "The Council has seen fit to grant you
eligibility for advancement to second lieutenant as well."
     "Glad to know you remembered me," replied Ryo.  "And thank
you, ma'am."  Ryo saluted her.
     "You will both have to attend the Officers' Academy at
Anchorage, on Earth, for a one month officer training program.
I'm sure you'll both do well.  You're both officer material.  But
regulations are regulations."
     "My father didn't have anything to do with this did he,
ma'am?" asked Taeon.
     Katana just smiled.  "Speaking of which, he sent an
invitation to all members of the Guardian Squadron to have a
celebration banquet at Castle Toshio tomorrow night."
     "The entire squadron?" asked Taeon.
     "Just the pilots, myself, and senior engineers."
     "Who'd have thought that by going rogue you'd be the hero of
the week!" said Ryo. "Well, I've never been in a castle before.
It should prove to be an interesting experience."
                           *    *    *
     Baron Balmor Toshio walked into the dining hall followed by
several servants.  The Toshio family and the guests from the
Guardian Squadron were standing at their places around the long,
ornate table.
     The dining hall itself looked spectacular.  Large tapestries
draped the wall and a multitude of flags and banners hung from
the ceiling high above.  At the south end of the room a high
definition hologram was displaying a Shakespearean play.  Someone
switched off the hologram as the Baron took his place at the head
of the table.
     General Kanis's place had been switched to the left side of
the Baron, and now Taeon stood at his father's right.  Beside
Taeon was his sister, Sara, and beside her was Xandra.  The place
directly to Kanis's left was empty.
     This arrangement seemed to have Kanis upset, though he was
doing an excellent job in hiding his feelings.  However, Taeon
was under the impression that this set up was, unfortunately,
only temporary.
     "I have good news," started Baron Balmor.  "I just received
a report that the ITR forces have finished rounding up the last
of the GSC agents and House Ammar has finally surrendered.  But
they have surrendered to the ITR, and not to me, so we do not get
their lands.  It is only fair I suppose.  Without the assistance
of the Space Force, we would have lost all our holdings."
     Ryo was getting a bit impatient.  The food that the servants
were bringing out look incredibly good and he feared the Baron
was about to start making some long speech to honor Taeon.
     Balmor Toshio lifted his wine glass to propose a toast.  "To
my son, and his valiant friend, Ryo Gunn, and all the brave
members of the Guardian Squadron.  And to our great Empire which
the treasonous Coalition hasn't a prayer against!"  Glass clanked
together as the toast was made.
     The Baron signaled for everyone to take their seats and
begin the meal.
     "So, Major Falcon," said Balmor.  "I hear your wing is
earning a great deal of recognition in the Empire."
     "Yes, sir," replied Katana.  "The Third Wing is among the
elite."
     "Hey, Taeon," called Michael from the far end of the table,
"should I start calling you 'sire' or 'sir'?"
     The question was a joke, but General Kanis was obviously
unamused.  "I am the heir designate for Falmore-Glave," assured
Kanis coldly. "If you are implying..."
     "Hey, sorry!" protested Michael.  "I was only making a
joke."
     Michael, like most of the guests from the Guardian Squadron,
were not well versed in courtly etiquette.  Balmor knew this and
took it with a smile.  But Kanis was a different story.
     "Now, son," said Balmor.  "I am sure Sergeant Avenger was
merely jesting..."
     "This insolent fool has insulted me!" replied Kanis standing
up.  He threw his napkin on his plate and turned away. "I am
growing weary, father, and wish to retire for the evening."
     Kanis stormed out of the room.  Michael glanced around the
dinning hall, looking rather nervous.
     "Don't worry about him, Sergeant," said Sara.  "Kanis is
just upset about all the attention Taeon is getting."
     "I see..." said Michael softly.  "I'm not much for dinner
parties.  I must be too used to good old party parties."
     As numerous other conversations began across the table, JT
tapped Ryo on the shoulder.  "Who is that little girl next to
Taeon's sister?" she asked.
     "That's Xandra.  She is Taeon's younger sister," replied
Ryo.  Xandra was sitting very politely at her place, slowly
eating her food, but otherwise oblivious to the conversations
around her.  "Excuse me, Xandra?  Taeon tells me you're a diver."
     Xandra slowly turned her head and looked at Ryo.  Their eyes
met, and for an instant, Ryo could almost see the reflection of
his very soul in her deep, lucid green eyes.
     "You are the Sword of the Empire," spoke Xandra.  She turned
back to her meal and continued eating.
     "Strange girl," observed JT.
     The room fell silent.
     "Sword of the Empire?  That's a constellation seen from
Eridani, isn't it?" asked Kay Sabre.
     "I think it's in the south-eastern sky," replied Lynn
Firewolf.
     But Ryo heard none of these comments, oblivious to all but
those words echoing through his head, "You are  the Sword of the
Empire".  He recalled a portion of that last, cryptic message his
father had sent him shortly before both he and his mother were
killed in the frontier system of Arcturus.  "Never forget the
Sword of the Empire is a double-edged blade," his father had told
him.
     "Ryo, you've hardly even touched your food," stated Taeon.
"Is something the matter?"
     "No..." replied Ryo.  "I was just thinking about
something..."
     "Just ignore Xandra," said Taeon.  "She acts funny
sometimes."
     "Maybe you should listen to her more often," replied Ryo.
"It might surprise you the things she has to say."


Written and Directed By
Mark Chase

http://www.meta-earth.com

Copyright 1998.  All rights reserved.

Casting By
Mark Chase

Starring
Ryo Gunn      -  Mathias Russ
Taeon Toshio  -  Jonathan Fuller

Other Characters  - Mark Chase
The Interrogator
Xandra Toshio
Sara Toshio
Balmor Toshio
Kanis Toshio
Katana Falcon
And Everyone Else

Mecha Designs
Raptor        - Mark Chase

Special Thanks To
Everyone at R. Talsorian Games.
The Metal Storm saga is played out
on the Mekton Z role playing game
system.

(all mecha were constructed under
the Mekton Zeta© RPG system,
by R. Talsorian Games, Inc)