Ryo listened attentively as Katana briefed both the Guardian
and Viper Squadrons on the outcome of their mission.
     "The craft which you escorted was the Ruben James, the last
remaining ship in the Ozma Freedom Movement.  The sixty refugees
onboard were all anti-Coalition rebels; among them was their
leader, Kyle Suavarre.  The Ruben James is currently docked in
our belly dry dock."
     "We've granted them asylum?" asked Michael.
     "Yes," replied Katana.  "Admiral Steele granted them asylum
in the hopes that they could provide us with some vital
information on the GSC.  They have been quite cooperative in this
regard.  Upon his arrival, Kyle Suavarre immediately demanded a
meeting with Admiral Steele saying that he had military
intelligence of the utmost importance."
     "What sort of intelligence?" asked Lynn.
     "Their meeting has not yet concluded.  Plans are underway to
drop off the OFM rebels on Eridani and grant them Imperial
citizenship.  There is also a possibility of incorporating them
as a mercenary force working for the Empire.  Presently, the bulk
of the OFM refugees are being contained in Rec Halls one and two.
Any further questions?  If you, you're dismissed."
     Ryo filed out of the room with the other pilots.  Most
everyone headed to the pilots' lounge to talk or carry on about
war stories, but Ryo made his way to the recreation decks, where
the OFM guests were being detained.  He was suspicious of the
rebels and the sudden wealth of information they claimed to have.
Perhaps they're intentions were sincere, but with rebels one
could never be too careful.  He had to check them out for
himself.
     Rec Hall One was packed with mercenary type men and women
who looked like they'd gone through hell.  Rough faces, armored
jackets, camo fatigues.  Yet, they all seemed quite taken with
the ship's plush supply of hologames, boardgames, and VR systems,
and were enjoying themselves immensely at the various snack
kiosks and bars.
     Ryo stayed around for awhile, hoping to catch someone in the
act of espionage or sabotage, but soon grew bored and convinced
himself they meant no harm.  As he headed back to the main
entrance, a group of rebels escorted by five security guards
walked into the Rec Hall.  In the center of the group was a tall,
well-built, dark haired man, with the looks of a holovid star.
He laughed and talked with his comrades in a causal tone of
voice.  A leader, Ryo knew, and a good one.
     As Ryo walked past the group, man stopped and patted him on
the shoulder. "Excuse me, sir," he said.  "Perhaps you know of a
member of this ship named Jane Tacwell.  She would be a mechanic
or engineer I believe."
     Ryo now recognizing his as OFM leader. "I'd love to help
you, Mr. Suavarre," he replied. "If I run into her I'll let her
know you're looking for her.  Will you be here?"
     "Certainly," said Kyle.  "At least for the next hour or so."
     Ryo nodded and continued on his way out of the Rec Hall.
So, the OFM leader knew JT.  He wasn't particularly happy that
someone with Kyle's looks and charisma was about to attempt to
reacquaint himself with her.  Perhaps his concern was
unwarranted.  But he had to know for sure.
     There was just one way to find out.  Ryo headed for JT's
room, questions and fears buzzing like wasps in his mind. It was
just past twenty-one hundred, so her shift should be over by now.
When he arrived, he knocked on her door, hopping she was in.
     "Come in," she called from inside.
     The door slid open and Ryo stepped into her room.  "JT," he
said, suddenly wondering how he would asked about Kyle without
tipping her off as to the fact that he was onboard.  The last
thing he wanted was for her to run off to look for him.
     She smiled, happy to see him as always.  She was still in
her oil stained jumpsuit, though it was half-unzipped, showing
off her revealingly thin undershirt.  "I just got in.  Can you
give me a minute to change?"
     "Sure."
     "Thanks." She grabbed her uniform off the bed and stepped
into the bathroom.
     He knew he would have to be subtle about this, somehow
divert the conversation to include Kyle's name, yet not show that
he knew anything about Kyle.
     While he pondered what course of action he would take, JT
returned from the bathroom in her standard uniform.  She ran her
hand though her damp hair and smiled.  "So, how was your little
mission?"
     "Uneventful," stated Ryo.  "Just some transport of refugees
from the GSC.  They were the last of the OFM, I think."
     "The OFM..." said JT slowly.  Her eyes brightened for a
moment.  "You mean the GSC didn't kill them all?"
     "It looks like just sixty or so escaped," said Ryo.
     "Oh," said JT.  She put her hands in her pockets and nodded.
     "I think their leader made it...  What's his name?  Kyle
something..." Ryo said, almost to himself.  He looked at JT's
eyes, hopping to see a reaction.
     "Kyle Suavarre!" she exclaimed.  "He's here!  On this ship!"
She spun around and looked at the wall for no apparent reason,
then bolted out the door and into the hall.
     The door hissed closed and Ryo stood silent for a moment,
pondering the implications of her reaction.  She appeared to be
happy to hear of Kyle, too happy.  It seemed it was time for him
to find out what was really going on -- time for him to put his
newly acquired surveillance and clandestine skills to the test.
     Ryo left JT's room and hurried back to the pilots' deck to
his room.  There he picked up a short-range audio mic, a coin-
sized receiver, and a wireless earpiece which he tuned to the
receiver's frequency.  This equipment wasn't mil-spec and wasn't
even assigned to him.  He owned it, having purchased it back on
Earth for just such an occasion.  Not that he was suspicious of
JT in particular; he was suspicious of everyone, especially after
the recent flood of GSC infiltration on the Vigilant.  Now he
would learn if it was all worth the price he paid.
     He put the earpiece in his right ear and placed the receiver
in his pocket.  The small listening mic clipped to the back of
his collar, but he left it turned off.  Now ready to discretely
investigate Kyle's involvement with JT, Ryo left his quarters and
headed down to Rec Hall One.  It would be necessary for him to
keep his eyes, and his fingernail-size mic, trained on the two of
them without being spotted by either.  His academy classes had
prepared him for just such a situation, and Ryo had no doubt that
he could pull it off.  His only worry was that he might discover
JT truly loved someone more than she loved him...
     Ryo was inside the Rec Hall before he knew it, and he nearly
blew his cover by that carelessness.  He was too caught up in his
own thoughts to be paying attention.  What if he was right?  What
if JT did love Kyle more than she loved him?  What if Kyle was so
charming that she would leave him, forget about him, and push him
aside without a second thought?  Ryo almost wanted to turn back
and flee to the solitude of his quarters, but he had to know.  He
had to know the truth or let those heart-wrenching questions dog
him forever.
Kyle and JT were talking and laughing at the far end of the Rec
Hall.  They walked along the back wall, then ducked into one of
the small lounge/bars.  Ryo gritted his teeth.  They appeared to
be having a good time.  He took a deep breath, plunged though the
crowd of OFM and ITR personnel, and discretely slipped into the
same bar.
     He spotted them in the back corner of the lounge, sitting
down at a small table.  A waiter walked up and apparently took an
order, probably for drinks.  Ryo took a seat at the bar counter
and jiggled the mic on the back of his collar, aiming it in the
general direction of Kyle and JT.  He then pulled the coin-size
receiver out of his pocket and twiddled with the small dial until
all the other conversations and noises were washed out, leaving
only JT and Kyle's conversation audible through his earpiece.
     "Surely the circumstances are no laughing matter," he heard
JT say.
     "No," said Kyle.  "You are correct.  I wish that things
could have been better.  It was my intention to find you one day,
after this bloody war was over.  Find you and take you to a
quiet, peaceful colony world somewhere on the Frontier.  But, I
fear that peace is a dream lost in the maelstrom of war.  With
that madman Briggs in power there's no hope.  I want to tell
you... Tell you of what he..." Kyle paused.  "No.  It would be
too dangerous.  Let us speak of other things.  We should not
waste our precious time fretting over death and destruction.  You
were saying something about your job?"
     JT laughed.  "Yeah, I was just commenting on what a great
team I've been assigned to.  The people of the Guardian Squadron
are the greatest in the fleet.  I couldn't have asked for better,
especially with my good friend Ryo Gunn, always wanting this or
that upgraded or some new piece of tech installed!"
     So that was it, thought Ryo.  I'm just a good friend.  She
sure had been acting like it was much more than just
friendship...
     "And the brave, maybe even arrogant, Taeon Toshio," she
continued, "the witty Michael Avenger, brash Lynn Firewolf, and
finally that enigmatic hero, Destiny Gray." She sighed.  "At one
time there was Kay Sabre...  She turned out to be a GSC spy."
     "Spies," said Kyle.  "They are cunning and deceptive.  You
never know who among you is a spy, until it's too late."
     Ryo became nervous for a second, wondering if he had been
caught, but resisted the temptation to look behind him and see if
Kyle was watching him.
     "It was a spy who brought us down," continued Kyle.  "One of
Briggs' people penetrated our lower ranks a few months ago and
eventually wormed his way up to the top.  He obtained information
on most of our resistance cell locations, secret bases and such,
and reported them all to Briggs once he had taken power.  It was
only a matter of time until Briggs had our forces surgically
exterminated."
      "But that means one of Briggs spies was infiltrating you
months before he actually took power," said JT.  "I guess that's
the same think that happened to us.  We had assumed the first spy
incident we had on this ship was implemented by the GSC, and that
Kay was a replacement who reported to Briggs after he took
power."
     "No," said Kyle.  "Briggs had much more influence than that.
I'll bet both were his agents.  He had many such spies and secret
agents in both the GSC military and government.  He's been
planning this takeover for years.  He's a tactical genius, a
leader so cunning a brutal that...  Well, here we go again, off
to that topic of war."
     "I'm sorry," said JT.  "It's just that it's hard to keep it
off my mind."
     "I understand," said Kyle.  He smiled. "But I think I know
how to remedy that..."
     "Lieutenant, sir," said the bartender in Ryo's face.
     Ryo flinched with a start.  "Huh?  What?"
     "Are you ordering?"
     Ryo swallowed.  "Yeah, you'd better bring me the strongest
drink you've got."
     The bartender smiled.  "Heh.  You're asking for it..."
     "The whole bottle," added Ryo.
     JT laughed again.  "Kyliey..."
     Kyliey? Though Ryo.  That didn't sound good.
     "We may have been close back at Space Force Tech on
Lolamier," she continued, "but I've moved on."
     "Come now, JT," said Kyle.  "We promised each other that one
day we would be reunited and together we would settle down and
forget about wars and rebellions."
     The bartender sat down a glass and a bottle in front of him.
Ryo completely ignored the glass and went straight for the
bottle.
     "Excuse me, Mr. Suavarre," Ryo suddenly heard in his
earpiece.
     "Yes, sergeant?" asked Kyle.
     "Admiral Steele needs to speak with you, immediately."
     "Of course," sighed Kyle.  "Tell her I will be there
shortly."
     "Yes, sir," said the sergeant.
     "I am sorry, Jane," said Kyle.  "This matter is probably of
the highest urgency.  It deals with that business that I was not
at liberty to discuss.  I fear you will know about it soon
enough."
     "I understand," said JT.  She sounded a bit dejected.
     "I may not get a chance to see you tomorrow.  Please
remember, no matter what transpires I still love you.  I will
always love you."
     "Thanks," she said.  "And I..." JT hesitated for a moment.
"I love you too."
     Ryo hunched down as Kyle departed.  He waited and concealed
himself in the crowd until JT had also left the lounge.  He
stayed at the bar, drinking whatever thought-dulling, brain-
banging toxin the bartender had given him, for most of that long
dark night.
                           *    *    *
     Early the next morning, Taeon awoke and prepared himself for
the long day ahead.  In all probabilities, his father would be
dead by the end of the day.  The Baron had been in poor health
even before his sickness, and Death would no doubt come to Castle
Toshio before the noonday meal.
     Taeon left his room and trudged down to the dining hall to
have breakfast.
     "Taeon," said Sara, coming up behind him in a side hall.
     "Yes?" he asked, though he hardly had to ask.  By the soft
tone of her voice he knew it was time...
     "We must go to Father's chamber."
     Taeon nodded.  It was so early in the day...  Yes, it was a
miracle the Baron even survived the night.  His pain would at
last be soothed by the final darkness, but it was that coming
darkness that would extinguish the light that burned so greatly
in Falmore-Glave.  The darkness of Kanis Toshio...
     Baron Kanis, thought Taeon.  It could never be.  The title
didn't fit well with his name.
     Taeon and Sara entered the Baron's room.  A pair of
physicians were present, standing out of the way at the far end
of the room.  Kanis and Xandra had already arrived.  Kanis, in
his dramatic royal "costume", stood above his blind, nearly
motionless father, staring complacently down at his paralyzed
form.  Xandra stood at the foot of the bed, done-up in a lovely
white dress, and humming to herself a tune only known to her.
     Taeon and Sara walked up to the side of the bed, opposite of
Kanis.  "Father," said Taeon.  "Sara and I are here."
     "Good," whispered Baron Balmor Toshio.  His voice was hoarse
and barely audible, as if his vocal cords and tongue were on the
verge of paralysis.
     Kanis shook his head. "Father," he said, trying to add a
tone of grief to his voice. "Father, I will find the assassin who
did this and kill him myself."
     Taeon narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw.  "You won't
have to look far.  Just find a mirror..."
     "Do not fight on the morn of my death," said Balmor.  "I
wish to leave this world in peace."
     Xandra suddenly looked to the ceiling.  Her eyes seemed to
focused on something far beyond.  "They have arrived..." she
said.
     "Kanis, you shall be my successor."  The Baron took two
short breaths.  "But you shall not be my legacy."
     Kanis was taken aback.  "Father, I shall rule Falmore-Glave
with all my heart and soul!  I will be righteous and just, as you
once were.  The name Toshio shall echo through the universe --
billions will cry out our name in joyous praise.  We shall be
great!  Greater than we have ever been before!"
     "Taeon, Sara," said Balmor.  "The Imperial Courts are
foolish, locked in the letter of laws and ignorant to the spirit
of it.  These laws are what have destroyed us.  But perhaps there
is still time... But my time has ended."
     "No, Father..." said Taeon.
     "Good-bye," he whispered.  His lids closed over his blind
eyes for the last time.
     "Father?" questioned Taeon.
     Sara knelt down next to the bed and bowed her head.
     "Father!" yelled Taeon.  Tears welled up in his eyes. "No!"
     Kanis shook his head and turned his back to the bed.  "Oh,
such a terrible day."  He slowly walked away and headed out the
chamber door.
     "Yes," said Xandra, still staring through the ceiling.
"They have come.  And now begins the end of history.  The end of
all!"
     "What?" choked Taeon.
     Xandra lurched back from the bed, screaming, propelled by
some unseen force.  Her scream was not a child's yelp of start or
even a cry of pain.  It was a terrible, heart-rending scream of
absolute terror.  She collapsed to the floor, still screaming and
flailing her arms about. "They have come!  Our kingdom is doomed!
The stars are burning!  The stars are burning!"
     Taeon jumped to his feet and darted over to his hysterical
sister.  The two doctors rushed over as well, but Taeon got to
her first.  He grabbed her by the shoulders and tried to get her
to calm down.  "Xandra," he said softly.  "It's all right.  It's
all..."
     "NO!" she screamed.
     Her eyes opened, and Taeon could see a terrible fire of
destruction burning within those eye.  He saw ships, hundreds of
ship, exploding and flickering out of existence.  Millions of men
and women dying in a single instant.  Thousands of mecha swarming
through space  -- space, littered with twisted metal, burning
wreckage, and countless bloated, floating corpses.  Planets, once
green and lush with life, were lain waste; turned to charred,
desert rocks.  Nothing was left.  Nothing but death and
destruction!  Total destruction!
     "No!" screamed Xandra.  "I can't let it be!" A red haze of
light radiated from her body, illuminating the entire room with
an apocalyptic glare.
     Suddenly, a torrential fire of psychic energy exploded out
of her and rippled into Taeon.  Swords and needles ripped into
his mind as arcs of energy danced about his body.  A telekinetic
shock wave blasted  him clear across the room.
     Xandra yelped with a start as one of the doctors injected a
tranquilizer into her arm.  The terrible light went away, and she
fell back into the arms of the physicians.
     Taeon felt the surge of energy vanish, but a torrential fire
of wild power seethed and twisted within his mind.  A crushing
pain, like a searing hot knife, seemed to cut mercilessly through
his brain.  He tried to cry out, but he was silenced as a blanket
of darkness enveloped him.
     Yet, he was far from unconscious.  He heard a scream.  A
distance scream... It was Michael, he knew, screaming out in
pain...  He felt the cold hand of death; then a cry, a cry of
sorrow... Of loss.  Terrible grief, but he knew it was not his
grief.  Somewhere, someone's heart was torn asunder.  Lynn,
thought Taeon.  It was Lynn's grief he felt.  It was then he
realized the terrible truth.  Michael would soon be dead.
     And he remembered what Xandra had said -- Once seen, the
future was concrete.  It could never be changed.
     "No!" screamed Taeon.  His voice echoed through the room and
down the halls, boosted to awesome decibels by some intangible
force.
     His bodied jolted off the floor, as if a wave of energy had
surged from his body.  The entire room trembled as arcs of
invisible energy pulsated from his hovering form.  The shock wave
slammed against the rear wall of the room, blasting it into frail
shards of plaster and stone.
     A second later, it was over, and Taeon collapsed on the pile
of settling ruble and debris.  Slowly he came to, and with the
help of the doctors, he struggled to his feet.  His head throbbed
with pain, but otherwise he seemed unharmed.
     "Taeon?" asked Sara.
     "I'm okay," he replied breathlessly.  But he knew there was
something different, something new.  He could feel a fire burning
within him, a fire that seemed as though it had always been
there, but always shut away.  Taeon felt as a whole new world
began to open up before him.
                           *    *    *
     Alarms blared through the Vigilant.  Ryo dashed into the
Third Wing hangar bay and joined the circle of pilots.  In the
center of the circle was Katana Falcon.  Surprisingly, Kyle
Suavarre was present as well.
     "This is it," said Katana.  "We've known this was coming
since yesterday.  Mr. Suavarre brought with him vital information
on the GSC fleet movements.  It seems that nearly half their
forces are preparing to converge on this star system."
     "What?" asked Lieutenant Pollux.
     Kyle nodded.  "We kept a lid on it for as long as we could.
We didn't want any possible GSC spies to learn what we knew, lest
we accidentally force the GSC into taking a daring stab at the
Sol system.  Over the last fifteen hours, all ninety-five
warships in this system have moved into strategic position.
Admiral Steele has sensed, and long-range diver sensors have
confirmed, that a massive fleet of one hundred twenty GSC
warships are just three hours away."
     "My God," said Michael.
     "All mecha wings will be launched thirty minutes before the
GSC fleet come out of diverspace," said Katana. "However, a vital
and poorly timed delivery from Eridani is scheduled to arrive at
about the time the GSC ships are expected to attack."
     "The psi-amp components," said Ryo.
     "Correct," replied Katana.  "The Third Wing has been charged
with protecting that freighter.  The Guardian Squadron will be
the primary escort, while the other squadrons will hold the
perimeter.  You must leave immediately as it will take you a
little over an hour to reach the rendezvous point, even with your
mecha equipped with Gladior space boosters.  Your mission in this
battle is to escort the transport back to this ship where it will
dock and unload its cargo.  You must do this before we pull out,
as the transport is not equipped with a diverdrive system."
     "Pull out?" asked Lynn.
     "Yes.  Admiral Steele has foreseen that Eridani will fall
and there is no hope of preventing this future.  If we stay, we
will only be destroyed.  However, we must remain long enough to
evacuate as many people from Eridani as possible and get the psi-
amp components aboard this ship.  Lieutenant Gray, you are in
charge of the mission."
     "Yes, ma'am," replied Destiny.
     "Get to your mecha and launch."
                           *    *    *
     Jason Grivar rushed into the parlor room and ran up to
Taeon.  "Taeon!" he yelled, excitedly.  "We've got big problems."
     Taeon rubbed his forehead and sighed.  "Not now, Jason.  My
father just died.  And I have a really, really bad headache."
     Jason's mouth dropped open.  He moved his weight over to his
left leg and frowned.  "I'm terribly sorry.  But, we just got
orders."
     "Can it wait?" asked Sara, who was seated across the coffee
table from Taeon.  "I think he needs at least a day to get his
emotions in order again."
     "Not really," said Jason.  "I'm terribly sorry, but these
orders come from Admiral Steele herself."
     "What is it?" asked Taeon.
     Jason took a deep breath.  "The Eridani system is about to
be invaded my a rather massive GSC strike force."
     "What?" yelled Taeon and Sara.
     "Furthermore, and I don't know why, Admiral Steele has
ordered the immediate evacuation of as many nobility and citizens
as possible.  We've been charged with overseeing the evacuation
of Falmore-Glave and..."
     "I'm not going to turn tail and run from the GSC!" yelled
Sara.
     "Wait," said Taeon.  "That was Xandra's vision.  Not that
Falmore-Glave would fall because of Kanis's rule, but that we
would be invaded!  We have to escape while we can.  If we stay,
we will surely die."
     "There's five transport ships in the starport," said Jason.
"That can get out fifteen hundred people.  A number of smaller
transports and shuttles will be making a string of runs to pick
up as many other people as possible over the next few hours."
     "All right," said Taeon.  "Sara, scramble the military to
oversee the evacuation of citizens and nobility to the starport.
And set up a garrison around the city, too."
     "Right.  What about Kanis?"
     "I'm going to inform him of these events in person.  Maybe I
can talk him into staying behind to burn with his new found
inheritance."
                           *    *    *
     The Third Wing was only minutes away from the transport ship
when the GSC forces came out of diverspace and attacked.  Floods
of enemy mecha swarmed though space engaging the Imperial forces.
     "Coalition squadrons approaching," stated Gray.  "Break and
attack."
     Ryo checked his sensors.  Three full squadrons, launched by
one of the nearby cruisers, were coming in fast.  The squadrons
were made up of two types of mecha, neither of which registered
on the Dragonfly's database.  The first type look to him like a
modified Moray, the second might have been some kind of modified
Gallant.  Ryo couldn't make out what changes had been made, but
he suspected they were not in his favor.
     "Roger," replied Ryo.  A squadron closest to him consisted
of two modified Morays and three modified Gallants.  "I'm taking
on the group at 103."
     "Are you sure?" ask Gray.  "That's five mecha.  I'll be
taking on the squadron at 132, and it looks like Avenger and
Firewolf have gone after the last squadron.  Our other squadrons
are moving on to secure the transport.  I can offer you no
assistance."
     Ryo looked down at the sensor display screen.  On the 3-D
Cartesian grid he could see the three blips for the other mecha
in his squadron moving out and heading for their respective
targets.  "Understood," said Ryo.  "I can handle it.  My force
shields have been upgraded and my super-beam cannon still kicks
ass."
     "Then take 'em down," said Destiny Gray.  His icon on the
display screen fell into a swarm of six enemy blips.  One enemy
blip vanished almost instantly as Destiny commenced his attack.
     Ryo hit the switch to disengage the space booster and
activated his mecha's thrusters.  The Gladior booster fell away,
and Ryo spun his Dragonfly around to face the incoming Coalition
mecha.
     "Multiple missile locks," stated the computer.
     "Damn," stated Ryo.  He flicked a switch on the control
board, activating the missile jammer, then grabbed the controls
and pivoted his mecha hard to the left.  Two large missiles
snaked past him at ten times the speed of sound.
     "AI tracking system detected," stated the computer.
"Missile lock re-established.  Homing."
     "Damn blasted AI missiles!" said Ryo.
     The enemy squadron was nearly in visual range.  He reached
down with his mecha's arm and took the hilt of the energy scythe
in the giant robot's metal hand.  He grabbed the weapons control
stick and activated the scythe.  The curved blade of gravity
encased plasma-fusion energy erupted from the powerful
accelerator hilt.
     The Dragonfly's super-beam cannon was so powerful it
required an entire fusion energy cell to fire.  Ryo had only a
few cells in the mecha's hip storage compartment and had no
desire to waste them all in this one fight.  Undoubtedly, there
would be many more enemies to fight in this desperate battle.  He
had little choice but to use his close-in attack weapon and try
to steal one of his attacker's rifle weapons.
     One of the enhanced Gallants swooped down toward him.  It
leveled its rifle and fired.  A stream of 35mm bullets rained
out, spotted by the occasional streak of a phosphorus tracer
round.  Ryo fired his mecha's boosters to full burn and blasted
up and away from the line of fire.  The Gallant flew past and
spun around to fire again.  Ryo flipped his Dragonfly over
swinging his energy scythe straight down on the Gallant.  Just as
he had hoped, the fusion-plasma blade carved through the
Gallant's right shoulder, tearing the limb from the mecha's
torso.  The rifle, still held by the severed arm, spiraled away
from the Coalition mecha.
     Ryo deactivated the scythe and clipped it back on his
mecha's waist.  He grabbed the rifle as it floated past and tore
the useless arm away.  He gripped the newly acquired weapon in
his mecha's hands and aimed it toward the deprived foe.
     In retaliation, the Gallant opened its chest missile bays
and unleashed a swarm of fifty saturation rockets.  Ryo blasted
his mecha forward, skillfully dodging in and out of the
zigzagging flood of projectiles, and fired the 35mm rifle.
     The gun unleashed its arsenal, and the track of fire
staggered across the Gallant's torso ripping fist-sized holes
through its light armor.  A searing white flames erupted from the
thrusters on its back and fired out of control.  The Gallant went
tumbling through space, propelled by its damaged boosters.
     Suddenly, Ryo felt his mecha lurch hard to the left.  He
grabbed the control and dove his Dragonfly into a defensive
maneuver.  On his sensor screens he could see two of the modified
Morays closing in on him. One was firing a large rifle-like
weapon that his computer now identified as some sort of rapid-
fire rail gun.  Two projectiles from that gun had struck his
force shields, but they failed to penetrate.  The second Moray
opened its chest missile bays and launched all six of its high-
yield AI homing missiles.
     Ryo jerked his mecha away from the incoming fire.  He thrust
his legs forward and fired the boosters blasting his mecha
backwards.  Tracer rounds from the rail fire rained around him.
Two of the six homing missiles detonated prematurely off to his
left while a third blasted straight into his force shield.  The
other three missiles looped around and headed back at him,
followed soon after by the other two homing missile fired by the
Gallant only seconds before.
     "Shields down fifteen percent," stated the computer.
"Detecting five homing missiles locked-on."
     "You think you can best me?" Ryo asked aloud, though he knew
the enemies could not hear him.  He aimed the rifle at one of the
Morays and fired.  The stream of bullets stabbed into Moray's
chest as he emptied the entire weapon's clip.  Although every
shot peppered against the mecha's body, the Moray shrugged off
the damage like it was nothing more than water droplets.  "Piece
of junk gun!" he screamed.
     Ryo had no time to consider the Moray's heavier than normal
armor.  He knew he had to deal with the homing missiles.  With a
well-calculated maneuver, the Dragonfly made a 180 degree axial
rotation and launched into an S-shaped dive attempting to evade
the ever vigilant missiles.  Four of the rockets zipped past him,
barely missing, but the fifth slammed straight through his force
shields.
     Ryo felt his mecha lurch back and flip head over heels.  An
alarm screamed to life in his helmet.  "Shields penetrated, down
twenty-five percent.  Left leg destroyed.  Left leg thrusters
destroyed.  Compensating.  Speed cut twelve point five percent."
     "Damn!" yelled Ryo.  He tossed the Gallant's Vulcan rifle
aside and reached back with his mecha's right hand, grabbing hold
of the super-beam cannon stored on his back.
     The ten ton cannon locked into place along the actuated
weapons mount on the right arm.  He swung the arm around and
brought the cannon to bear on the first Morays.  Triggering the
weapon, a flood of nuclear energy erupted from the barrel.  A
split second later, the devastating beam washed over the Moray,
blasting it into little more than a charred metal skeleton.
     The spent fusion cell ejected from the super-beam cannon.
With his mecha's left hand, he reached into his hip storage unit
and pulled out a second fusion cell.  As he slapped the cell into
the cannon, he spun around to face the next attacking Moray.
     But the two remaining Gallants fell toward him, opening up
with their gatling Vulcan rifles.  Ryo paid them no heed, as the
explosive bullet's bounced harmless off his mecha's powerful
force shield.  He watched as the targeting cross hairs lined up
with the approaching Moray.
     The Moray's chest missile bay flipped opened up, preparing
to launch a barrage of deadly homing missiles.  Ryo triggered his
weapon, and brought a untimely end to the Moray pilot's plans.
The exploding remains of the enemy mecha tumbled past, and a
brilliantly comet diving into the void.  The empty fusion cell
ejected itself, and Ryo slapped in the next one.  He slung the
massive cannon back over his shoulder and readied his energy
scythe once more.
     Ryo glanced at his sensor screen.  The attackers were down
to two Gallants.  At his current coasting speed, he was about a
minute away from the rendezvous point with the transport.  Viper,
Odin, Dragon, and Banshee Squadrons were already at the transport
and busy fending off half a dozen GSC squadrons.  Destiny,
Michael, and Lynn were slightly ahead of him but were still
occupied fending off other enemy mecha.
     Four homing missiles shot past him, missing as Ryo made a
last second dodge.  One of the rockets died out, having spent the
last of its fuel.  The other three kept the lock, despite Ryo's
jammer, and started to maneuver around for another pass.
     One of the Gallant's opened up with a storm of saturation
rockets, but the Dragonfly's ECM missile jammers subverted the
entire swarm.  Ryo launched toward the Gallant who had just fired
and readied his scythe for the attack.
     On the large visual display screen at the front of the
cockpit, Ryo could see the growing dot of the vital transport.
Almost reflexively, he swooped down on the Gallant and sliced the
energy scythe across its torso.  The Gallant lifted its arms to
block the attack, but it failed miserably and the blade sliced
through the mecha's body bisecting it at the waist.  The piloting
pod was ruptured and decompressed explosively blasting a brief
fireball out the bottom of the upper half its oxygen combusted in
the terrible heat.
     Ryo lifted away from the dead mecha and headed toward his
last target.  The range counter to the transport ticked down from
thousands of kilometers to hundreds.
     Two dozen more red blips appeared at the edge of his sensor
screen.  "Four more enemy squadrons?" asked Ryo.  "They just keep
coming!"
     "Hold tight," called Michael over the comm.  "You're almost
to our position."
     Ryo looked down at the sensors again.  Sure enough, the
transport was seconds away from visual range.  Destiny, Michael,
and Lynn were coming in at top speed to intercept the four new
squadrons.
     The last Gallant fired on him, and Ryo dodged out of the
line of fire with ease.  As he did, two more of the homing
missiles slammed into his mecha's back.  The explosion washed
over the shields and the computerized voice blared a warning in
his ears.  "Shields overloaded and shut down.  Zero percent force
shield protection."
     "Just great," said Ryo.  "And we've got a whole armada left
to go through!"
     The last Gallant suddenly exploded as Destiny Gray came
swooping out of the starry sky, gun's blasting.  Lynn and Michael
followed close behind.
     "Not entirely," said Destiny over the comm.  "The Vigilant
is heading toward our location at top speed.  I just got a
tactical update report.  Eridani is being evacuated and all ships
are preparing to retreat.  All we must do is hold off the GSC
long enough to get the transport to safety."
     "Oh, just the entire GSC fleet," said Ryo.  "Gee, that's
all?"
     But, his train of thought was interrupted as two GSC
squadrons rocketed into firing range.  Dozens of homing missiles
sprung forth and zigzagged though the mecha of Guardian Squadron.
     "Viper Squadron, Odin Squadron," said Destiny. "Take the
squads at 134.  Dragon Squadron, move to our location and take
defensive action.  Banshee Squadron, secure the area around the
transport."
     Ryo heard the replies buzz in over the comm, but was
detracted as a new enemy Moray barreled down toward him.  It's
chest missile bays opened up and six homing missiles rocketed out
of their tubes.  Without his shields just one of those missile
would spell his doom...  He was finished!
     He grabbed the controls and tried desperately to pull way in
time.  But it was too late.  The missile lock was as solid as
steel, and his death was just as sure.
     Then all of a sudden, Michael's Ironclad Raptor Vernier
swooped down in front of him.  The Raptor unleashed a flood of
bullets from its autocannon rifle, and peppered the swarm of
missiles.  Two exploded, and another was knocked off course as
its guidance system was hit.  But the three remaining homer
missiles slammed straight into Michael's mecha and cloaked him in
a torrential ball of fire.
     "What the hell?" yelled Ryo, as he realized Michael had just
saved his ass.
     "Michael!" screamed Lynn.  "Michael!"
     A pulse of energy tore into the attacking Moray, destroying.
"Die, Coalie scum!" yelled Destiny as the blast obliterated the
enemy mecha.
     Ryo checked his sensors and scanned the area where Michael's
Raptor Vernier should have been.  There was nothing but scrap
metal and burning radiation.  "Michael...  Oh, man..."
     "No," cried Lynn over the comm.  "Michael..."
     "Sergeant Firewolf," barked Destiny.  "Link up with your
space booster and take position next to the transport.  And get a
hold of yourself.  Your feelings jeopardize you life, our lives,
and the completion of this mission!  Understood?"
     "Yes... Yes, sir," she choked.
     The mecha of Dragon Squadron rocketed by and engaged the new
enemy squadrons.
     "Lieutenant Gunn," said Destiny.  "Link-up with your space
booster and cover Sergeant Firewolf.  She may need some
assistance."
     "Yes, sir," replied Ryo.
"Dragon, Viper, Odin Squadrons, we will hold the perimeter.
Gunn, Firewolf, and Banshee Squadron will escort the transport
back to the Vigilant."
     As the confirmations flooded in, Ryo looked at the cockpit's
main view screen.  In the abyss of space, a thousand new stars
flared to life and vanished.  A thousand.  It was an unforgiving
war.  Death's hand had swatted the Empire mercilessly, and for
the first time Ryo wondered if this war would ever really end.
                           *    *    *
     "No!" screamed Kanis.  He stood from his throne and waved
the Scepter of the Seven Spheres through the air.  "I will not
leave this throne on the very day of my inauguration as Baron!"
     "Fine by me," said Taeon.  He shrugged and turned around to
leave.
     "My lord," said one of the advisors to Kanis.  "You must
leave immediately!  The last transports are preparing to depart.
Surely the Coalition will execute all remaining nobility once
they take this planet..."
     "If!" corrected Kanis.  "The Coalition has our forces only
marginally outnumbered.  There is a good chance we will win.  I'm
not leaving."
     Taeon shook his head.  He knew the ITR was preparing to pull
out.  Kanis was blind by his greed and now his destiny was set.
It was cruel sometimes how the Fates dish out Justice.
     He departed from Castle Toshio and helped Sara and Xandra
onto Jason's shuttle.  The last few transports took off, leaving
behind two million rioting citizens left in the streets of
Falmore-Glave.  There was nothing that could be done for them.
Nothing but pray the GSC would rule them fairly during their
occupation of the planet.
     The shuttle lifted into the sky and followed close behind
the last departing transport.  In a matter of minutes, they broke
through the atmosphere and blasted out into orbit.
     "I'll miss Eridani," said Sara.  She looked down at Xandra,
who was still asleep, strapped safely in her chair.
     "As will I," said Taeon.  "But one day we shall defeat the
Coalition, and General Briggs, and we shall reclaim Falmore-Glave
for House Toshio."
     As the last evacuation ship fled into the safety of
diverspace, the shuttle Renmer blasted toward the approaching
flagship Vigilant.
                           *    *    *
     An hour later all surviving mecha returned to the Vigilant,
the last ship to leave the Eridani system.  The vital transport
docked, and the shuttle Renmer made it back just in time.  As a
dozen Coalition warships came into firing range, the ITR Vigilant
retreated into diverspace.
     "Good work all," said Major Falcon.
     The survivors from the Third Wing gathered around their
commanding officer.  Taeon and Jason walked into the mecha hangar
bay followed by Sara Toshio.
     Katana saw them enter and nodded her head.  "Lady Toshio,
welcome aboard," she said to Sara.  She turned her attention back
to the team.  "You all performed extremely well, and we
succeeding in saving a great many civilian lives.  Thanks to you,
we now have the final components for the psi-amp.  I know you all
made some terrible sacrifices out there, and we lost a good many
men and women."
     "How bad are our loses?" asked Lieutenant Pollux, the last
surviving member of Banshee Squadron.
     "We lost about half our forces.  Fifty-four warship went
down and two thousand six hundred mecha were destroyed.  Sixteen
thousand people died in our forces alone.  We believe the GSC
took equivalent losses."
     David shook his head.
     "I am combining the Banshee and Odin Squadrons into the
Guardian Squadron, and Dragon Squadron will merge with Viper
Squadron.  That leaves the Third Wing short three full squadrons.
Once we return to the Sol system, we will hopefully take on new
pilots and mecha to replenish our strength."
     "Is there any chance of a counter-strike to retake Eridani?"
asked Taeon.
     "I know you and your family had great holdings here," said
Katana, "but we all lost something dear to us in this sudden
assault.  With the lose of Eridani, we will be concentrating all
our forces to protect Sol.  But perhaps one day we shall retake
Eridani and crush the GSC forever."
     Taeon looked around.  Ryo, Destiny, and Lynn were present,
but Michael was no where to be seen.  By the expression on Lynn's
tear streaked face Taeon knew what his fate had been.  His brief
vision had indeed been that of the unalterable future.  There was
nothing that could have been done...  Nothing at all.
     If the remnants of Banshee and Odin Squadron merged with
Guardian Squadron, thought Taeon, that would add Lieutenant David
Pollux, Lieutenant Vista Juno, and Sergeant Allen Mercer to their
ranks.  Similarly, the reinforced Viper Squadron would have seven
members as well, leaving the Third Wing with a total of fourteen
mecha out of the twenty-five it would normally have had.
     "We all need a long rest, so as of right now, all pilots are
off duty for twenty-four hours," said Katana.  "We will be in the
Sol system in four days.  Admiral Steele has elected to keep the
OFM refugees onboard as mercenaries in light of our recent loss
of personnel.  Dismissed."
     "What did I miss?" Taeon asked Ryo as the pilots broke up
and went their separate ways.
     "Sound's like you might have a story to tell as well," said
Ryo.  "Come on down to the pilots' lounge.  I have a feeling
we're both going to need a whole lot of drinks."


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
Sara Toshio
Kanis Toshio
Balmor Toshio
Xandra Toshio
Michael Avenger
Katana Falcon
Destiny Gray
Lynn Firewolf
Jason Grivar
And Everyone Else

Mecha Designs
Dragonfly      - Mathias Russ
Raptor Vernier - Mark Chase
GS5-90 Gallant - Mark Chase
Neo-Moray      - Mark Chase

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