"Yeah," said Michael Avenger, "like the whole city just blew
up!"
It was the breakfast rush hour and the pilots' mess was
filling up fast. Ryo Gunn placed his tray on the table across
from JT, and took a seat.
"Yo, Ryo," said Michael. "Have you seen that new movie
playing down in the ship's theater?"
"Which one?" asked Ryo.
"Shattered Worlds," Michael replied, ushering out the title
in an overly dramatic drawl. He looked around to see if anyone
was listening to him. No one was, but that fact didn't stop him.
"The hero, I forgot his name, jumps into to this huge dragon-
mecha and..."
"Don't give away the whole movie," said JT. She shook her
head and turned to someone significantly more important. "So,
Ryo, are you ready to head off to Officers' Academy?"
"I think. Taeon and I are supposed to meet with Major
Falcon right after breakfast to get our departure schedule."
JT started to reply, but Kay Sabre sat down next to Ryo,
interrupting her. "Morning, Ryo!" she said, her tone a bit too
friendly.
"Uh... Hi, Kay," said Ryo.
"Key!" said Michael. "Have you seen 'Shattered Worlds'?"
"No. Is it any good?"
"You bet!"
"Don't get him started," stated JT.
Kay turned her attention back to Ryo. "I haven't had a
chance to congratulate you on your promotion."
Ryo took a fork and poked the rather rubbery pile of grits
on his plate. "Well, I'm not a lieutenant yet," he said somewhat
nonchalant. "I still need to make it through the Academy."
"You'll make it," said Kay.
Taeon approached the table and took a seat with the others.
"Good morning everyone."
"Taeon," said Michael. "Did you see that new movie?"
"'Shattered Worlds'? I guess it was okay."
"Okay?" asked Michael. "Hell, it was awesome!"
Lynn Firewolf, sitting next to Michael, stirred her coffee
and took a sip. "It wasn't that great, Mike," she said. "Their
military protocol was all wrong. The writers were obviously
clueless as to how the military really operates."
"That's not what's important," said Michael. "It was
entertaining and fun! The movie was about people, not protocol.
Besides, who the hell cares about protocol anyway!"
Kay smiled at Ryo in a way that made JT somewhat uneasy.
"I'm off duty today from thirteen hundred to sixteen hundred,"
she said. "Maybe we could check out this movie Michael thinks is
so great."
JT narrowed her eyes. "I believe Ryo was going to ask me to
out to see it, right Ryo?"
"Uh..." said Ryo, trying to think fast. "I need to start
packing. I have to go to Earth, you know."
"You said you didn't even have your departure schedule yet,"
pouted Kay. "For all you know, you don't leave until next week."
Ryo's eyes darted back and forth from Kay to JT. He didn't
want to hurt JT, but he knew Kay was just trying to be friendly.
If he told her to get lost, she'd be upset for weeks! Ryo looked
down at his food. He had to find a way to be fair to them both.
"Hey!" he said, suddenly getting an idea. "How about we all
go to see the movie as a group. As a sort of a team get
together..."
"Not if Michael goes," said JT. "He'll be talking through
the whole movie trying to explain it."
"Hey!" said Lynn. "Don't talk about my Mikey like that!"
"It's okay," Michael whispered to Lynn, just loud enough for
the others to hear. "We don't have to go anywhere with them."
JT glanced at Taeon who was trying to mind his own business.
"Taeon!"
Taeon looked up nervously. "Uh? What?"
JT glared at Kay, then Ryo, then turned back to Taeon. "Ask
me out to see the movie."
"It wasn't that good, really," said Taeon, trying to avoid
the subject.
"Doesn't matter," replied JT. "Let's just go."
"No, no!" said Ryo. "I'll go see the movie with you!"
"Hey!" yelled Kay.
Seconds before the situation erupted into total war, an
announcement came over the intercom subverting the impending
disaster. "Attention all personnel, this is Captain Armour."
Everyone pushed aside their personal problems and listened
to the announcement.
"There is an important message from Space Force Command.
Turn all monitors to channel one."
Someone in the room switched on the mess hall monitor
display. For about a minute, the monitors showed only the ITR
national emblem. Then a Colonel appeared on the screen, sitting
calmly behind his desk. "To all ITR Armed Forces and members of
the FNN Press Release Board -- this message is a military update
and an official press release. We have important information
regarding a major incident within the GSC."
The Colonel paused and looked down at some notes. "Reports
from Coalition outposts were sketchy at first, but our sources
have confirmed a coup d'etat within the Coalition government."
Murmurs ran through the room.
"A coup d'etat!" exclaimed Michael.
"Shhh!" hissed Taeon.
"Yesterday, at zero five thirty standard time," continued
the report, "a small fleet of warships lead by the GSC flagship
Victorious, and under the command of Major Alan Briggs, entered
orbit around Ozma. On a wide band channel Major Briggs made one
statement -- 'The Dream of the Stars has dawned. Those who would
follow its light, join with me and forge the New Empire.'"
The Colonel looked up at the camera. "Further reports are
scattered and unconfirmed at this time. However, it appears the
entire GSC military has been fragmented between those loyal to
the GSC government and those following the new leadership of Alan
Briggs. The Coalition Senate has been disbanded but many of its
members who were sympathetic to Briggs have defected to his side.
Those who were against him have been assassinated. President
Richard Anderson is missing and presumably dead. Kyoshima City
is surrounded by Briggs' legion of mecha, tanks, and armored
troopers. Our position is to keep our distance and see what
transpires. It is possible this civil war within the Coalition
will finally bring an end to our half century of conflict."
Someone off the screen handed the Colonel a note. He
studied the note, then looked back at the camera. "We have just
receive word from our informants in Kyoshima City. Alan Briggs
has declared himself High General of the GSC. The military is
fragmented and the public is caught in limbo. Most fighting is
in deep space between Briggs' ships and the Loyalists' ship. The
Altair and Capella systems are also undergoing similar military
revolution between those military forces who follow Briggs and
those who follow the Loyalists."
For several more minutes, the Colonel went on to tell that
little was known about Briggs and his future plans, and described
some of the massive damage which had been caused by civil revolts
in major GSC cities.
"Briggs, eh," said Michael when the announcement was over.
"Wasn't he that guy who escaped our holding cell a month or so
ago?"
"Yes," replied Ryo. "He took control of the GSC Victorious
about the same time, too. Now he's going for the whole
Coalition."
"I hope someone stops that nut," said Michael. "He could
turn out to be a threat to the Empire."
Taeon sighed at Michael's naivete. "He's already a threat
to the Empire! Come on, Ryo. Let's see if Major Falcon has our
departure schedule ready."
Ryo finished his glass of orange juice and followed Taeon
out of the mess hall.
* * *
Major Katana Falcon's office was slightly rearranged. Her
desk now faced away from the space window on the starboard wall
and A large display screen had been hung on the port wall. From
her desk, the Major faced the display screen from across the room
with the window to her back.
Katana looked up from a stack of paper work. "Ah, Sergeant
Gunn and Sergeant Toshio. You have been scheduled to leave for
Earth tomorrow at 1400 hours on the FTL shuttle Renmear.
Anchorage Officers' Academy is expecting you in four days, though
classes do not start until next week. That should give you time
to settle in." She looked down at the clutter on her desk.
"Your shuttle pilot is Ensign Jason Grivar."
"Yes, ma'am," replied Taeon and Ryo.
"Dismissed," said Katana.
Taeon and Ryo left Major Falcon's office without further
ceremony. They still had half an hour before going on their duty
shift, so they headed off to the Pilots' Lounge where they could
kill some time.
But wasting time was the last of their concerns. Lieutenant
Destiny Gray was also in the lounge, sitting in a small chair
facing the panoramic space windows. He stared outward into the
starry abyss, lost in his own enigmatic thoughts.
"It's Lieutenant Gray," whispered Taeon, as they stood at
the threshold to the lounge.
"He used to be a captain, right?" Ryo whispered back. "I'll
bet he can give us some good tips about Officers' Academy."
"I don't think we should bother him," rebuked Taeon. "If
you want someone to get advice from, find someone more
personable."
But it was too late. Ryo was already on his way toward
Destiny. Taeon clenched his jaw and followed after his fool-
hearted friend.
"Lieutenant, sir," said Ryo. "I assume you've been to
Officers' Academy."
Destiny blinked and slowly turned his head away from the
window. He looked at Ryo with a cold, stoic face. "Yes."
"What was it like? Was it tough?" asked Ryo. "Can you give
Taeon and me some advice?"
Destiny looked at Taeon, then back at Ryo. "You will become
be good officers. But officers don't ask fool's questions. Your
excitement regarding the possibility of full commission has
clouded your insight. Of course it will be tough. Officers'
Academy is even tougher than basic training. Indeed, Basic
filters the men from the boys. But in the Academy, they filter
the heroes from the fools."
"Oh, that's really helpful," said Ryo. "Uh, thanks."
"What they do not know is that there can be no heroes
without fools," added Destiny under his breath.
"Right," said Taeon. "So there are no heroes?"
Destiny closed his eyes and sat back in his chair. "Are
there fools? A man is but a fool if he fancies himself a hero."
"Well, that's great, Destiny," said Taeon. "Come on, Ryo. I
think our duty shifts are about to start."
Ryo nodded in agreement, and they began to leave.
"I once thought I was a hero," said Destiny, drawing Taeon
and Ryo to a stop. "But I was the fool. Two dozen men and women
died for my arrogance. I am the fool who can never again call
himself a hero."
"That guy has got to see a shrink," said Ryo as they left
the lounge.
"Maybe not," said Taeon. "He might just be the sanest person
on this ship."
"That's a scary thought," said Ryo.
"The truth is always terrifying," replied Taeon, trying to
imitate Destiny's voice.
Ryo laughed. "I guess 'sanity' is addictive."
Taeon smiled. "I certainly hope not."
* * *
The first duty shift in the ship's computer room was
completely uneventful. That in itself was a strange event, as
something interesting was always happening in the main computer
room, be it a virus attack, a cascade file structure corruption,
or a firefight or two.
Taeon had theorized that the Vigilant's computer room was an
nexus point of events, but to Ryo that theory seemed silly,
although he did agree the computer room always had at least one
eventful moment per day.
But today the morning shift was as dull as it could possibly
have been. Taeon, Ryo, Michael, and Lynn simply sat around and
monitored the network status reports and backed up the main
archive system.
After their first shift, they went to lunch and had a four
hour shift break. Michael and Lynn went to the sim room to
sharpen up on their combat skills. Ryo went to his quarters to
rest and Taeon headed down to the ship's stores to get some
personal effects.
JT jogged up beside Taeon as he walked down the hall.
"Taeon?" she asked.
"Yes?"
"You wouldn't happen to know if there was anything going on
between Ryo and Kay, would you?"
Taeon shook his head. "As far as I know, Ryo has an eye
only for you."
JT looked down at the floor and stuffed her hands in her
pocket. "I don't know. The way she looked at him..."
"Kay? She's just trying to be friendly," assured Taeon.
"A bit too friendly, if you ask me," said JT. "I wish she
would be friendly with someone else, like you maybe."
"Me?"
"Yeah. Why don't you drag her away from Ryo," said JT with
a smile. "You need a girlfriend anyway."
"Sorry," said Taeon. "I'm too busy for romance. I'm a
soldier after all. Love gets in the way of war."
"Maybe," said JT. "But love's what gives men a reason to
come back from battle."
"Life's my reason for coming back from battle," stated
Taeon.
"Heh," laughed JT. "Well, if you still want to go to the
movie with me, my offer stands."
"Really?" asked Taeon. "What about Ryo?"
"Hey, I'm just trying to be friendly."
"But not too friendly, I hope."
JT laughed. "Of course not."
"I really didn't think the movie was all that great."
JT rolled her eyes and sighed. "All right, all right.
Never mind."
"Sorry, but I'm just too busy."
"Well, I'll see you later."
"Later," said Taeon.
She left, and he walked on down the long, lonely corridor.
* * *
There was a knock at Ryo's door.
"Come in," he said.
The door slide open and Kay Sabre walked into his room.
"Hi," she said. "The movie's about to start. Wanna go?"
"Er... Hi, Kay," said Ryo. "I don't know..."
"Come on! It's just for fun," she said.
Ryo put down the book he was reading and stood up. "Well,
let me think about it."
"Think fast. Movie's starting," she insisted.
"I just don't know," said Ryo.
Kay smiled and glanced around his room. "I see you've
cleaned up your quarters a bit." She took a small, black
holodisk off his bookshelf and turned it over in her hand.
"What's this?" she asked. "A movie or a game?"
Ryo jumped up and snatched the holodisk out of her hand.
"Don't mess with that!"
"Hey!" she exclaimed. "That was rude!"
Ryo hesitated. "I'm sorry. It's just that this holodisk is
really personal to me. It's my father's last message... From
just before he died."
"Ah... I see," she replied. "Well, have you made up your
mind to go with me to the movie?"
Ryo set his holodisk on the bookshelf. "Okay. I'll go. I
don't think JT will get too upset about it. After all, we're
teammates. If we're going to be watching each other's tails in
combat, I would be a good idea to get to know you better."
"Great!" said Kay. "Let's go."
* * *
Taeon was right -- the movie it wasn't as good as Michael
had made it out to be. He counted at least ten major plot holes,
a dozen loose ends, and countless dramatic cliches. After the
flick was finally finished, he walked Kay back to her room. She
talked to him the whole way, but Ryo didn't hear a word she said.
He was worrying too much about what would happen if they ran into
JT.
Fortunately, JT wasn't around. At Kay's room they said
their good-byes and Ryo headed for the computer room. He checked
in less than a minute from being officially late for his duty
shift.
"Yo, Ryo," called Michael. "Been out with Kay?"
Ryo sat down at the network terminal. How did Michael know?
"None of your business."
"Sure hope JT doesn't find out," said Michael. He chuckled.
"I can't even begin to image what she might do to you... Or your
mecha."
"Don't bug him," said Lynn. "We're on duty anyway."
Taeon came in a minute later, apparently not worrying about
being a minute or two late. "Back to the old grindstone," he
said.
"If you say so," replied Michael. He leaned back in his
chair and propped his feet up on his console.
"Attention," blared the computer.
"What'd I hit!" exclaimed Michael, jerking his feet off the
boards.
"All memory core archives active," continued the computer.
Taeon landed in his seat and spun around to face the data
systems terminal. He read over the screens and nodded. "It just
says there's a priority datalink to Space Force Command."
Ryo walked over to Taeon's terminal. "That's odd. Are they
updating our archives?"
"You'd think they would have told us ahead of time if that
was the case," said Lynn.
"I hope they're upgrading our OS," said Michael. "I hate
this MacInsoft Portal 80 we've got running. It's so damn slow!"
"Why would they have to access all the archives?" asked Ryo.
"Maybe they're setting up a more space efficient file
segmenting structure," suggested Lynn.
"Wouldn't that be our job?" asked Taeon.
"Call the bridge," said Michael.
Taeon nodded and hit a button on his console. "Bridge, this
is the computer room."
"Bridge here," replied some crewmen.
"Is there a priority datalink to SFC?"
"No," came the reply a couple of second later.
"All our archives have started up and the computer reports a
priority datalink to SFC."
"One moment," said the crewman.
Taeon waited for a few seconds, then Captain Armour came
over the intercom. "Computer room, this is Captain Armour."
"Captain, sir," said Taeon.
"What's going on?"
"Sir, all the memory core archives are active. The computer
reports that there's a priority data link to Space Force
Command."
"There must be an error. Our divercomm is off-line for
maintenance."
"Taeon," said Lynn. "The archives have returned to normal."
"Okay," said Taeon. He turned back to the intercom.
"Captain..."
"Warning!" blared the computer. "System check restarted.
Watchdog daemons are inactive."
"Captain, we have a problem. I think..."
"Watchdogs reinitialized. Warning! Data fortress systems
are inactive. Restarting."
"What is going on down there!" demanded Captain Armour.
"Warning!" continued the computer. "Intruder worm program
detected. Worm is self-destructing. Copy for analysis?"
"Yes!" replied Ryo.
"63% of worm destroyed. 37% secured in file IC-Worm-Zero-
Zero-Zero."
"I'm not sure, Captain," said Taeon. "But something bad,
I'm afraid."
"Warning!" alerted the computer again. "Time-share daemon
reports unauthorized usage of port JIO:8070:1005 in maintenance
corridor 4-R-50 from time 1405 hours to time 1407 hours."
"Captain, I think someone broke into the computer system and
copied some files," said Taeon.
"What?" demanded Captain Armour.
"The computer reports an unauthorized access at port
JIO:870:10... No, ah, JIO:8070:1005, in corridor 4-R-50."
"I'm alerting security," said the Captain. "I want you and
one other to assist security in this matter."
"Yes, sir," replied Taeon.
"I'll go with you," said Ryo.
"Great," said Michael. "Now I'll get to stay here alone
with Lynn!"
"Don't forget you're on duty," reminded Ryo as he and Taeon
walked toward the door.
Michael made a mischievous smile. "Whatever."
Ryo shook his head and left the computer room with Taeon.
* * *
Taeon and Ryo rounded the corner in the maintenance corridor
intersection and spotted a group of security personnel clustered
around the interface terminal. The ship's fist officer,
Commander Kileon was present, as was the Chief of Security, Major
Danon. Most of the security men were taking samples of
everything in sight with a variety of sensor probes.
"Commander, sir," said Ryo. "Sergeant Ryo Gunn and Sergeant
Taeon Toshio reporting."
"Ah, good," said Kileon. "The Captain informed me that you
were on your way. I was just heading back to the bridge. Major
Danon is in charge of this investigation. You may report
directly to him."
"Yes, sir," said Ryo. The Commander nodded and headed down
the corridor.
"Major Danon?" asked Taeon.
"Yes?" asked Major Danon. "Oh, yes. You are the two
computer fellows. Sergeant Toshio and Sergeant Gun."
"Yes, sir," said Ryo. "May I ask if any progress has been
made, sir?".
Major Danon raised his eyebrow. "As a matter of fact no.
We have some DNA samples that the lab needs to analyze. All the
cameras in the area were disconnected by the intruder."
"Manually?" asked Taeon.
"Yes," replied Danon.
Ryo thought for a moment. "Did any of the cameras pick up
who was disconnecting them?"
Danon shook his head. "We think the spy used the crawlways
and disconnected all cameras which were aimed at this terminal,
then came through the ceiling panel right above your head. He
probably left the same way."
Ryo looked up. Above him was a closed ceiling maintenance
hatch. "This ship is full of these crawlways. Don't we have
cameras or sensors in the crawlways?"
"I'm afraid not," said Danon
Ryo nodded. What a stupid oversight... "We should."
"I am going to suggest that we have some installed," said
Danon.
"What about the interface buffer," said Taeon.
"The what?" asked Danon.
"We could scan part of what the spy downloaded by reading
the interface buffer," said Taeon. "Not much, only a couple
megabytes. It's a pretty small buffer."
"That could be helpful," said Danon. "Can you do it?"
Taeon nodded. "We'll need to get a tempest box."
"A what?" asked Danon.
"A tempest box can scan digital information stored in
circuits, sir," said Taeon. "I think tempest was an acronym for
something like transient electro-magnetic pulse something or
another."
"Emanation standard," added Ryo.
"Yeah, that's it," said Taeon.
Major Danon just nodded then looked around the corridor.
"Just get to it."
"I think the tempest box is in the equipment cabinet under
the graphics terminal in the computer room," said Ryo.
"Why are you telling me?" asked Taeon. "Why don't you get
it?"
Major Danon looked away pretending not to hear the argument.
"Look," whispered Ryo. "I want to check on the camera
problem. Just get the tempest box, okay?"
Taeon nodded. "Oh, yes sir, Sergeant Gunn, sir," mumbled
Taeon. He headed back toward the computer room on the other side
of the kilometer long warship.
"And get a datapad to download everything on!" called Ryo.
Taeon waved in acknowledgment and disappeared around the
corner.
"The cameras have been checked, Sergeant Gunn," said Major
Danon. "No footage of the assailant was on record."
"Yes, sir," said Ryo. "I was curious as to how the cameras
were disabled."
"The power cable was ripped out of them."
"Crude," said Ryo. "Why did the security network not catch
that?"
Danon rubbed his eyes. "Apparently that's a flaw in the
security net which the spy knew about. Look, sergeant. We have
already thought of every avenue to pursue. This new idea on
checking what data the spy stole may help us, but for now we're
at a dead end."
"With all due respect, sir," said Ryo, "not all avenues have
been pursued. There is still that one avenue which the spy
took."
"What do you mean?" asked Danon.
"Once we find that path, we will find the spy."
* * *
Taeon returned about ten minutes later and helped Ryo scan
the buffer for data. They managed to grab a small segment of
compressed data from the buffer, and sent to the computer labs
for analysis.
The investigation ran on through the evening. The DNA and
fingerprint analysis turned out to be fruitless as the presence
of the investigators had tainted DNA sensor reading, and no
fingerprints were on the terminal.
Exhausted from a hard day of work, Taeon plodded into his
quarters and crashed on his bed. He fell asleep almost
instantly, still wearing his uniform.
* * *
Taeon opened his eyes and found himself on a black, sun
baked beach. On the horizon, a bright orange sun was hovering
above the tideless ocean. The shimmering reflection of the alien
sun cast patterns of orange and red across the vast sea.
Ryo stood several meters in front of Taeon, just beyond him
at the water's edge was Kay, looking out toward the distant
horizon. Both he and Ryo seemed to be in an ITR uniform. Kay
was in sleek black body armor. He could not move and felt as if
he were a disembodied presence. It must just be a dream...
Ryo turned to Kay. "Why have you done this!" His voice
echoed from all directions, as if the air itself had thundered
the words. A cold wind rushed by them. Ryo's hair danced
around, but Kay's long black hair seemed frozen in time.
A moment passed, seconds, maybe years. Perhaps the huge K-
class sun sank a little more into the sea.
Kay slowly turned around. Instead of a face, the front of
her head was a solid mask of chrome metal. Yet it wasn't a mask,
as there were no seams nor holes for her eyes or mouth. Her
entire head seemed to have been forged from a solid chunk of
steel.
"Where have all the heroes gone?" asked Ryo still facing Kay
Sabre.
Kay pulled out a pistol and aimed it at Ryo. In a cold, icy
tone -- a distorted, almost mechanical perversion of Kay's
beautiful voice, she boomed out, "By the Sword they live. By the
Sword they die."
She fired. The bulled blasted into Ryo's chest and exploded
out his back, ripping an ugly hole where his heart should have
been. He staggered back and collapsed on the ground.
Kay took a few steps forward and aimed her gun at Taeon.
"Thibius demarna uio nishtalla dex en gall na," she chanted. The
gun fired. The alien sun mushroomed across the horizon and the
sky vanished in a brilliant flash of blinding white light.
Everything was consumed in the searing energy. Everything, save
that terrible metal face.
Taeon found himself sitting in his bed screaming.
* * *
The next morning, Taeon found Ryo in the Pilots' Lounge. He
sat down at the bar beside him. "Ready to head for Earth?"
Ryo nodded. "I just don't like leaving this ship knowing
there's a spy lurking about."
"I know what you mean."
Ryo took a sip of his drink. "The results from the analysis
of the data we recovered from the buffer came in this morning."
"Yeah?"
"We found the tail end of the tech spec document on the psi-
amp."
Taeon swore softly at the bar counter, then looked back at
Ryo. "I had a really bad dream last night."
"Humph," laughed Ryo. He took another sip of his drink.
"I'm having a really bad reality."
"Dreams can be reality," stated Taeon.
"You're starting to sound like your little sister."
Taeon nodded. "It might have been a precog."
Ryo raised an eyebrow. "I thought you failed the Diver
Aptitude Assessment test."
"That test sometimes fails to detect latents. I might be a
latent diver."
"What was the dream?"
Taeon recollected his dream to Ryo, in full detail, ending
with the enigmatic string of cryptic words chanted by the chrome
faced Kay.
"You know what 'thibius demarna uio nishtalla dex en gall
na', might mean?" asked Taeon, after he was finished.
Ryo closed his eyes and ran the words through his mind.
They were familiar. So terribly familiar...
"No," he replied, shaking his head. "I really don't know."
* * *
Ryo darted into his quarters and grabbed the holodisk off
his bookshelf. "What the hell did you give me father?" he asked
the disk.
Naturally, the disk could not reply. Ryo pushed the button
on the bottom, hoping to find something he might have missed. He
doubted it, but somehow Taeon knew the chant which were Dr.
Samuel Gunn's last words. How could he have known? How!
The miniature hologram of Ryo's father materialized on the
holodisk. "Son, this may be the last time you hear from me," he
began. "What I have to tell you is the most terrible thing a
father must tell his own son. Ryo, your mother and I may never
see you again. I am sorry it has to be this way. You must keep
this last message secure. Never let it fall into the hands of
those who would do harm to humanity. I know this is all very
shocking, but son, you must believe me when I tell you that
people will be looking for this holodisk. Some will use it for
evil, some will use it for good.
"I don't know who's cause to believe in anymore. The
Empire's or the Coalition. I can't bring myself to tell you who
I really am. I am your father, and that is all that should
matter. I love you son, and my heart is torn asunder as I think
of the damnation I have brought upon you," he closed his eyes.
"And humanity. Your mother is a part of this, just as much as I
am. We both pray that when you are older, and have learned the
truth, you will be able to forgive us. We thought what we were
doing was right. We thought we were doing it for you. I guess
we thought wrong. We were so wrong..."
There was a short three second pause that filled the
projection sphere with static. Ryo had always wondered what
could have caused it.
Then the recording resumed. "You are very special son. As
my last and final wish, I want you to seek out the answers we
could not find. When you have learned the true nature of our
fate, you will know the questions to ask to seek those answers.
Keep this holodisk with you, guard it with your life. My words
cannot express the importance of this message. I love you son.
No matter what happens, remember that. I am sorry it had to be
like this.
"We had hopped this war would be over by now, but our folly
has destroyed that hope. Now civilization will pay dearly for
our error. Damned is the star Arcturus, Ryo. And damned is the
stabbing blade that rests on her hilt. Never forget that the
Sword of the Empire is a double-edged blade. Thibius demarna uio
nishtalla dex en gall na."
The recording ended and Ryo switched off the disk.
He remembered that the star Arcturus was an orange-red sun,
just as the one in Taeon's dream.
* * *
It was 1140 hours when the ship's security alarms went off.
One of the chief MPs investigating the spy incident had been
found dead in his quarters. Murdered. All personnel were
ordered to man their posts until further notice.
Ryo slipped his laser pistol into his belt holsters and
exited his quarters. Taeon was already in the hall.
"Look's like the spy's making his move," said Taeon.
Ryo nodded. "Or she."
Taeon raised his eyebrow. "Of course. I didn't mean to be
sexist in regards to the spy's identity."
Ryo looked up and down the hall. Guards, crewmen, and
pilots were all running around in a disturbingly disorderly
fashion. But none of them were paying attention to Ryo and
Taeon's conversation. "What I mean is that the spy could be any
one. Remember the dream you told me about? Remember Kay?"
Taeon shrugged. "If it was a psychic thing, it's way down
the road. In the dream we were on a beach. I don't see too many
beaches around here."
"Yeah, well... She's nosy enough to be a spy."
Taeon nodded. "Perhaps."
"Assailant apprehended, corridor 87, deck five," blared the
intercom.
"So soon?" asked Ryo. "That's a first."
"All personnel check in at your posts," continued the
announcement. "Stand down alert."
"Guess so," said Taeon. He put away his gun.
Taeon and Ryo quickly made their way through the ship toward
the main computer room to check in. They arrived and reported to
the duty officer who just nodded and dismissed them, as they were
not currently on duty.
"Yo!" called Michael as he entered the computer room. "They
got him."
"What's the news?" asked Ryo.
"They caught the guy running away from the scene of the
crime," said Michael. "Name's Richard Rycce. Crewmen Richard
Rycce."
"They arrested him just for running away from a murder
scene?" asked Ryo. "That's a bit circumstantial, seeings how
most people have a natural tendency to run from danger."
"Maybe. Security caught him and are holding him as a
suspect. I was just told security has finished searching his
room. They found the maintenance hatch on his ceiling lose and
their sensors picked up a heat trail leading from his room to the
murder site, through the maintenance crawlways. They're sweeping
everything for DNA right now."
Taeon nodded. "Sounds like security is on the ball for
once."
"That's stupid!" stated Ryo. "If he went to the murder site
through the crawlways, why didn't he go back the same way? The
real spy set him up! It's so damn obvious!"
Michael shook his head. "I don't know. I know this guy
Rycce, and he's one creepy guy. I pulled a week of mess hall
duty with him last month, and that week was six days too many.
Every day he'd go off on some ranting, egocentric spiel about
himself, most of it complete fantasy. From what little truth I
could make out, his father died some years ago, very mysterious
circumstances, probably foul play. Now that I think about it,
that part might have been exaggerated too. His mother's side of
the family are GSC citizens, living on Altair. On top of that,
he's just not right in the head, you know?"
"That doesn't make him a spy!" exclaimed Ryo. "If anything,
that clears him. A spy should be cautious and secretive, not
babbling on about his shady past."
"Well, that would be perfect cover!" said Michael. "If he
could establish the fact that he was just a loony and not a spy,
no one will suspect him!"
Ryo stared at Michael, considering his twisted logic. "Is
that your idea or security's?"
"Both," said Michael. "I helped bag the guy!"
"I'm sure you did," said Ryo, pushing past Michael to get
out of the computer room.
"Michael," said Taeon, following Ryo into the hall. "Do you
have a terribly empty feeling somewhere?"
"What?"
"Maybe, say, in your head?"
"Huh?" asked Michael.
"Where's Rycce?" asked Ryo. "The brig?"
Michael nodded and scratched his head. "Yeah? Why?"
Before his question had left his lips, Taeon and Ryo were
off down the hall. "You don't think he's the spy?" called
Michael.
No one answered him.
"Why the brig?" asked Taeon. "You want to talk to Rycce?"
Ryo nodded. "Yeah. Maybe by talking to this 'spy' we can
get some information and get to work on clearing his name and
finding the real spy."
"Maybe so. Do you really think Kay's the spy?"
Ryo nodded. "I just remembered something. How many battles
has she been in?"
"One."
"And what happened?"
"Her mecha malfunctioned and she had to head back to the
carrier."
"She's never taken down a signal Coalie."
"I don't know," said Taeon. "A lot of pilots have zero
kills."
"And remember what happened right after she came on-board?
Briggs escape. It was established that Briggs had help from an
outside agent, a member of this ship's crew. Kay has access
codes to the mecha bay and cockpit security locks."
"That's a pretty long shot," said Taeon. "You could say the
same thing for all the other pilots."
"She came on board two weeks after we took out that other
spy. She could be his replacement. It all fits together."
"You really are paranoid," said Taeon. "Are you genetically
wired as a covert intelligence analyst?"
"Beats me," said Ryo. "My parent's had me boosted all to
hell before I was even born. Accelerated reflexes, enhanced
thermo-optical eyes, boosted equilibrium, nanotech augmented
skeletal system, and God knows what else. It sure is great to be
me."
"I don't know how talking to this guy will solve anything,"
said Taeon.
"I just want to meet him in person."
"I guess it won't hurt," said Taeon. "Unless he kills us."
They came to the brig and the double doors slid open. They
entered and signed in at the guard post.
"Here to see that Coalie spy?" asked the guard, his voice
full of contemptment.
Taeon looked around the brig. It was the same as it had
always been. Very large with very few occupied cells.
He looked back at the guard station at the central desk.
"ITPG," spelled out Taeon.
"Eh?" asked the guard.
"Innocent 'til proven guilty," explained Taeon.
"Er, right," said the guard. He pointed to one of the
cells. "Mr. Rycce is in there. I'll open it."
The metal door unlocked and slid open as Taeon and Ryo
approached. Inside was a lanky man with a rather pale
expressionless face. He looked up to see his visitors. He had
tired, blood shot eyes and a nasty bruise on the side of his
face. "What do you want?" he ask. His voice had an accent
neither Ryo nor Taeon could place.
"We're just here to talk," explained Ryo. "Let me start by
telling you that I believe you're not a spy."
Rycce looked away and shrugged. "Unless you're the Captain,
it doesn't matter what you think."
"Has the Captain seen you yet?" asked Taeon.
Rycce shook his head. "No. I was thrown in here ten
minutes ago. Major Danon just ask me a couple questions and
charged me with murder and espionage. My trial is set for
tomorrow." He sounded surprisingly detached.
"Did you kill the MP... what was his name?" asked Taeon.
"Sergeant Jones," said Ryo.
"No," replied Rycce emphatically. "I've never killed
anyone. 'Cept Coalies. And I am not a spy!"
"The whole thing seems like a setup to me," said Ryo.
"I was definitely setup," said Rycce.
The security guard stepped into the room, holding a tray of
food. "Excuse me," he said. "A mess hand has just delivered
this scum's lunch."
"I'm not hungry," stated Rycce.
The guard shrugged. "I've got to leave it here all the
same. Regs, you know. Just in case you change your mind later.
I hope you choke on it."
The guard set the tray down on the cell's small, barren
table. Without another word, he left and returned to his station
at the desk.
"I guess we should go now," said Taeon.
Rycce stood up and walked over to the table. He considered
the food, then looked back at Taeon and Ryo. "Don't leave just
yet. You're the only people who have actually taken a stand in
my defense. Can you speak for me at my trial?"
"Ah... actually we're leaving to go to Officers' Academy
today and won't be back for a month," said Ryo.
"What?" said Rycce.
"Come on, Ryo," said Taeon. "You're right. This man's
innocent. We can spare a day to sit in on his trial and come to
his defense. You have some really good points, too."
"All right," said Ryo. "If it helps to nail the real spy to
the wall."
Rycce sat down at the table and took out the only utensil, a
rather flimsy plastic fork, and began to poke the rather soggy
green beans. "I really appreciate what you're doing. If only I
hadn't been in that hall..."
Ryo nodded. "Someone else would have been framed."
"I don't know," said Taeon. "From what Michael said, Rycce's
profile is pretty shady. It would be fairly incriminating
evidence if presented to a prejudice jury."
"What do you mean?" asked Rycce as he began to eat.
"Well," said Taeon, "what I'm getting at is that the spy,
whoever he or she is, knew about you, thus planning the murder to
coincide with that. He, or she also planted a heat trail in the
ceiling from your room to the murder site and even left the
ceiling panel ajar."
Rycce nodded and smiled. "I do have a rather predictable
pattern. I get stuck in a routine pretty easily."
"You should be more spare-of-the-moment, like me," said Ryo.
"That way you wouldn't be such an easy target for spies."
Rycce glanced down at his food and bobbed his head up and
down. It wasn't really a nod.
"So, Rycce," said Taeon. "How are you holding up?"
Rycce didn't reply. He broke his fork with a crushing grip.
His face contorted and sweat began running down his forehead and
nose.
"That bad, huh?" asked Taeon.
Rycce began hyperventilating and his eyes became even more
blood shot than they already were.
"Uh... Rycce?" asked Taeon.
"Ghaaah!" screamed Rycce. He jumped up and ran toward Taeon
with the broken fork in hand.
"What the...!" exclaimed Taeon.
Rycce shoved Taeon to the floor and grabbed for his side arm
as he went down. He turned and staggered out the still opened
cell door, screaming like a madman.
"Rycce, no!" exclaimed Ryo. "Get back in here!"
Taeon got back on his feet just in time to see the guard
jump over the desk, whipping out his laser pistol as he went.
"Freeze! Put the gun down and lay flat on the floor!"
Rycce screamed again and ran toward the guard. The snapping
sound of two laser blasts crackled through the room and Rycce
staggered to his knees, clutching his chest in pain.
"Dammit!" exclaimed Ryo. He ran out of the cell and grabbed
Rycce as his body went limp. "Don't you have a damn stunner?"
"You think I had time to get it out the locker?" replied the
guard, as if it should have been obvious.
"Rycce?" asked Ryo.
But there was no reply from him. Rycce started convulsing,
let out one last coughing scream, and died in Ryo's arms.
"Rycce!"
The guard shook his head. "Damn. If only I could have left
the cell locked. But regs state that I can't lock a visitor in
the cell with a prisoner. Good thing too. He probably would
have ripped you guys to shreds. Damn Coalie psychopaths."
Ryo looked up at the guard, just to make sure his rank was
lower than his. "Shut-up, corporal! I could get you put on
waste reclamation duty for a month!"
"Sorry," he replied.
Taeon walked out of the cell and looked down at Rycce's
body. "Maybe he was the spy after all."
"No," said Ryo. He looked back into the cell. "The food
must have been poisoned with psychoreactive drugs."
"Hmmm," said Taeon, thinking. "Possibly."
"Guard," barked Ryo, "who brought this man's lunch?"
"I don't know the guy's name."
"A guy? Not a girl?"
"I would know the difference, sergeant," said the guard.
"Maybe it's not Kay," said Taeon.
Ryo stood up and looked around. The guard was already on
the intercom talking to his superior, probably Major Danon. "I
think it's time I went to Major Falcon about this."
Taeon shrugged. "You have evidence?"
"No," said Ryo. "I'm just going to report my suspicion.
After all, we're a team. If I have a problem with a team mate, I
have to report it. It's in the regs, you know."
"Huh? So you have a problem with spies who mercilessly kill
people?" asked Taeon, jokingly.
"Nah," said Ryo. "I just don't like her style."
"Okay. Inform Major Falcon," said Taeon. "But I'd like to
stick around and make sure Rycce's lunch is analyzed for poison."
"Good idea," said Ryo. "Especially since security's
apparently not as finely tuned as I had thought."
The guard looked up for a second, but said nothing. He
turned back to the intercom and continued his report to Major
Danon.
Ryo smiled when he saw the guard's reaction. "Well, I'm
off."
* * *
"Yes, Sergeant?" asked Major Falcon when Ryo popped his head
around her office door.
"Major, may I have a word with you for a moment?"
"Of course," she replied.
"Mr. Rycce has just been killed."
Katana Falcon nodded. "I know. I just got a report in on
my terminal. You and Taeon were visiting the prisoner when it
happened. He attacked Taeon and then the guard. May I ask why
you went to see him?"
"I just wanted to follow up on the investigation."
Katana looked down at a pile of papers on her desk and
narrowed her eyes. "Thank you for reporting in, Sergeant. But
I'm incredibly busy right now. When you get to be a high ranking
officer like me, you'll find out what the 'office' part of
'officer' really means." She looked up and smiled. "Not only am
I'm the Third Wing commander, but the chief logistics officer and
the head of ship protocol. Those last two offices are hell when
it comes to paper work."
"Ma'am, I believe Mr. Rycce was innocent."
"Humph. In light of his recent actions, I'd say he was most
definitely the spy."
"That's what the real spy wants us to believe. I think the
spy set Rycce up by arranging that murder when he was nearby.
It's also very strange that Rycce happened to go berserk just
after he ate some of his lunch. That leads Taeon and myself to
believe that the food was poisoned with psychoreactive drugs.
Taeon is getting that checked out."
"Well, if you're right then an innocent man has just died.
That is going to really increase my work load in the internal
affairs department..."
"Major, I think I know who the spy is," said Ryo.
"What?" asked Katana, cocking her head in curiosity.
"Kay Sabre."
"Kay?" asked Katana doubtfully. "Do you have evidence?"
"No. I just thought I should voice my suspicions."
"I'll keep an eye on her, but unless you have evidence I
can't do anything about it."
"Well, she's a bit too interested in me, you know?"
Katana looked at Ryo and gave him a small, half smile. "I
wouldn't say that her interest in you is an indication of her
being a spy. Maybe it's something else, but it's not espionage."
"No, not like that," said Ryo. "She is interested in...
Well, my past and some... Ah, never mind."
Major Falcon frowned. "Look, Ryo. You're leaving in, what?
About an hour? I'd recommend that you finish packing and get
some rest. By the time you and Taeon get back from Earth, we
will have this whole mess resolved."
"By the way, I was wondering. Is Kay on kitchen duty by any
chance?"
Katana picked up a small computer pad and flipped through
the screens. "No. She's in supplies."
"Oh," said Ryo disappointed. Now even he was starting to
doubt his earlier belief that Kay was the spy. "Is she off duty
right now?"
Katana shook her head. "Her shift just started again. She
was off from eleven hundred to thirteen hundred."
"So she could have gotten into the kitchen and tampered with
Rycce's food."
"I seriously doubt it. As I said, Sergeant, why don't you
get some rest. Let security deal with this."
"Yes, ma'am," replied Ryo. He saluted and started to leave
the room.
"And Sergeant," she added, "if you keep up this persistent
behavior, and continue to balance all possible sides of an issue,
I'm sure you'll make a fine officer one day. Probably one of the
best in the fleet."
"Thank you, ma'am."
"You can tell Sergeant Toshio the same goes for him. The
next time I see you two, there had better be second lieutenant
bar on your collars or there'll be hell to pay. Dismissed."
"Yes, ma'am," answered Ryo. He turned about and left her
office.
* * *
"If there was some sort of drug in the food," began Dr.
Edward Chrome, "it's not there now."
"What?" demanded Taeon. He glanced around wondering if any
of the lab technicians would jump in with some more positive
news, but they just went on with their business walking back and
forth in their white lab coats doing whatever it was they did.
"That's impossible. There must be some mistake."
Dr. Chrome rubbed his white mustache and nodded. "I will
agree that Mr. Rycce's actions were typical of a drug induced
state. If a drug was planted in the food, it might have been
disobercine."
"Disobercine?" asked Taeon, not recognizing the name.
"Yes, disobercine is a smart-drug. It lasts for ten to
thirty minutes, depending on the exact type, and will then
dissolve into water, carbon, and nitrogen. It's completely
undetectable after it breaks down as these compounds are so
common and hard to trace. The drug itself sets the victim into a
blood crazed frenzy."
Taeon nodded, still unable to place the name.
"It's also called Berserker-B."
Taeon snapped his fingers. "Oh, yeah! Berserker-B. The GSC
Intelligence Corp manufactures that drug. That's got to be it!"
"Don't think that because nothing is there that it's proof
that Rycce was not the spy," said Chrome.
Taeon's face winced, as he tried to run Chrome's statement
back through his mind. "What?"
The lab door hissed open and Ryo stepped in. "Dr. Chrome,"
he greeted.
"Sergeant Gunn. I was just telling Sergeant Toshio that no
traces of drugs were found in the food."
"Why am I not surprised," replied Ryo.
"But, it could have been Berserker-B," explained Taeon.
"Hey, yeah!" said Ryo. "That would explain..."
Dr. Chrome cleared his throat. "Excuse me, but I do not
think it's wise to jump to conclusions. We should only work
within the parameters of the present data. As I said, there is
no evidence of a drug. That will be my report."
"Mention something about Berserker-B in the report," said
Ryo. "The absence of drug compounds could be evidence that
Berserker-B was involved."
Dr. Chrome blinked. "That's a very peculiar notion. I fail
to see the logic in your conclusion."
"Almost as messed up as something Michael might say," said
Taeon.
"Well, as every theoretical avenue must be explored, I will
include the Berserker-B theory," assured Chrome.
"Good," said Ryo.
Taeon looked down at his watch. "Well, it's about time for
us get to the shuttle bay."
Ryo glanced at the clock on the wall and sighed. "Let's get
going."
* * *
Taeon and Ryo walked into the shuttle bay and headed toward
the sleek white shuttle Renmear.
"Sergeant Toshio and Sergeant Gunn!" called a young man who
was leaning up against the shuttle's hull. He waved at them.
"I'm Ensign Grivar."
"Nice to meet you," said Ryo as he stepped up to the
shuttle.
"Here, let me help you with your bags."
"No, I can handle them," said Ryo, a bit surprised that an
officer would be offering to help him.
Jason shrugged. "Sure, whatever."
"Ryo!" came a voice from the other end of the room.
Ryo turned around. "JT," he called back.
She ran up to Ryo and embraced him in a hug. "Good luck. I
guess I'll be calling you 'sir' after you get back."
"Nah," said Ryo. "I'll still let you call me Ryo. But just
when we're off duty."
JT laughed. She let go of him and held out her hand to
Taeon. "Good luck, Taeon."
Taeon shook her hand. "Thanks. Oh, keep and eye on Kay,
would you?"
"Kay?" asked JT.
"Right," said Ryo. "You know, look for little things like
her prying into conversations, sneaking around, being a little
too nosy, or just killing people in general."
"You think she's the spy?"
Ryo nodded.
"So you're off," called Kay as she entered the shuttle bay.
"Speaking of the devil..." whispered JT.
"Hi, Kay," replied Ryo. "What brings you down here?"
"I just wanted to see my friends away. It would be rude for
me to just ignore you. After all, this is a big step in your
careers, right?"
"Excuse me," said Jason. "We have a schedule to keep."
"Of course," said Taeon. He stepped through the shuttle's
open airlock door. "C'mon, Ryo."
Ryo waved good-bye to JT. He walked up the ramp and entered
the airlock behind Taeon and Jason. He turned around as the door
slowly closed, and for a second, he saw Kay smile. It was more
of a grin than a smile. A cold, malicious grin. But he didn't
need that to convince him she was the spy. He was already sure
of it.
He followed Taeon into the passenger section and Jason went
up to the cockpit. Ryo sat down in one of the seats and opened
his duffel bag.
"You think the ship will be okay with us gone?" joked Taeon.
Ryo looked into his duffel bag and saw the small black
holodisk he had brought with him. As long as he had it in his
possession... "Yeah. I don't think the spy's going anywhere
while we're away."
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
Kay Sabre
Michael Avenger
Katana Falcon
J.T.
Destiny Gray
Lynn Firewolf
Captain Richard Armour
Commander Kileon
Richard Rycce
Dr. Chrome
Jason Grivar
(all mecha were constructed under
the Mekton Zeta© RPG system,
by R. Talsorian Games, Inc)