The War Ep1

by PaladinVII

Rebecca Watermason left the Empire of Bygeniou to join the rebel faction, Arlington, and now must face the trials of war. Based loosely on Masangsoft's Ace Online / Air Rivals / Space Cowboy

The War : Episode 1

By Ian "PaladinVII" Crick

Part 1 : Rebecca

The door to the stadium closed after the last person left, leaving me alone in the briefing room; listening to the footsteps softly echo down the hall. A part of me wanted to look around, at the metallic gray walls and black leather chairs, just to see why it was so quiet. But I could not tear my attention away from the large shimmering monitor that faced the stadium shaped room.

Brushing my long blond hair out of my eyes, I looked at it again - hoping it would change; but the readout remained the same, no matter how much I wished otherwise. I broke my long stare to look up at the ceiling, the dull lights mirrored a distorted image back at me from the dull metal. My blue eyes looked sadly back at me, creating a mournful counterpart of myself. Looking at the melancholy reflection, I let a controlled breath escape.

A few minutes ago, Commander Gregton debriefed all the pilots of ANI on the day's missions. My mission was uneventful, the wing of fighters I command was assigned a patrol of the Ardor desert, to sweep for any abnormalities or forces from the Empire of Bygeniou. When we landed our ships, our Gears, Arlington City; we found that the other pilots had already finished their patrols and were excitedly talking among themselves in the briefing room, while the commander gleefully spoke from his pedestal.

I sat down with the other members of my wing, and as I took in my surroundings, it became clearer to me what had happened. Our forces launched a sneak attack on the small Bygeniou outpost in Blackburn, completely destroying it. As the news sunk in, I reminded myself I had chosen to join ANI on my own; rather than remain with the empire of Bygeniou. The Elite Three, the emperors of Bygeniou, held all the power in the empire, caring little about the plight of it's populace. They were the ones who organized the colonization of the Phillion planet and were in charge of us, before half the population rebelled to form the Anti Nationalism Influence United, or ANI. I told myself it wouldn't be right to feel any regret about my decision; they were wrong, we were right.

But still, now that I was alone, I didn't know what I should feel. I stared up at the soft lights above me, my throat beginning to climb into my mouth. My eyes watered, and I tried to tell myself it was just from staring at the light, but I couldn't hold it in any longer. I collapsed on the desk in front of me, sobbing as quietly as I could.

My family, everyone I knew, my life; all of it began in that outpost. My childhood there, the reasons why I left, the fight with my parents when I told them I was joining ANI; it all came back like a flood. I tried to stop the tears, but they poured down my face even more in defiance. My family was dead, even though I had turned from them long ago - seeing that they were now dead was too much to keep inside.

I sat for a while, overwhelmed with grief, until I finally collected myself. I looked around, half wanting someone to be there, to say something. Even if just to lecture me on crying for the enemy; but there was no one in the stadium. I closed my eyes, and reminded myself that I had chosen this, and turned from my old life willingly. Rising, I reached over to the handrail and placed my hand on it, feeling the cold metal against my palm. I walked down the stairs in the center of the room, slowly bringing one foot down before raising the other.

I wanted to stop at the bar for a drink, and see if there was anyone there I could talk to. It would be nice to actually talk to Borin, if he was still drinking and not reserved as usual. But likely I would have to confide in Jalis, if he was out of his quarters. When I reached the door, I looked back at the room, and at the readout on the display one last time. I had made the choice, but that didn't make it less painful.

Part 2 : Jalis

I stormed down the metal corridor, my boots clanging on the hard floor, resonating off the walls. I looked up at the hanging lights as they passed above me; watching as light and darkness passed, one after the other. My right hand struck the wall as I turned the corner, and I felt the shock of the impact vibrate up to my elbow, but nothing else. Frowning at the lack of sensation, I pulled my hand up, examining it as I walked. The prosthetic metal hand gave no feeling of pain or showed any damage, it's use was limited to the commands the built in-computer recognized from my flesh. I clenched it into a fist, then dropped my arm back to my side.

Two hours ago, I heard the news of the attack on Degalis, a Bygeniou outpost. After hearing the news, I contacted my superiors in Bygeniou City with a hidden transmitter in my quarters - asking for instructions. Ten minutes later the only reply I got back was "Do nothing." I'd be damned if I let this pass unanswered.

Reaching the end of the corridor, I walked through a large metal archway. Immediately my eyes were met by the flashing red and green lights of the local bar; the favorite gathering place of off duty ANI pilots. The heavy smell of smoke and liquor invaded my nose, requiring me to take a moment to adjust to my new surroundings. I looked around, for someone, anyone relishing the victory ANI had over Bygeniou; someone for me to take my anger out on.

A group gathered at the bar caught my eye as they laughed among themselves. They appeared to be new pilots from their jumpsuits and and youthful features. I glared at them, and reached into my left pocket to clutch my silenced blaster. I felt the warm metal as I wrapped my hand around it, caressing my finger on the smooth trigger. Nothing would make me happier than drawing my gun and killing all of these traitors in their moment of triumph.

But, I knew the moment I fired, my cover would be blown. I would quickly be overpowered and killed, or tortured to death by ANI scum. No, as much as it burned, now was not the time; but the time would come. I would serve my empire, even if it cost me my life. Looking around, I saw someone else that caught my eye.

Rebecca Watermason was sitting alone, her face downcast and unreadable under her long blond hair. She was wearing her usual formfitting light gray jumpsuit, which made her slim, attractive body distracting to look at. Even more distracting about her wear, was the half unzipped top - displaying a fair amount of chest. She would often flaunt herself around other men, to try and bring them under her spell, I imagined. It irritated me to have to tolerate her feminine manipulations, and watch her constantly flirting with other pilots.

I smiled to myself, she would be an excellent victim to try and dispose of; and I could only imagine the grief many young pilots would suffer from her passing. I walked over to her, keeping my expressions calm and collected, as was expected of the identity I had assumed. While the empire might have commanded me to do nothing, quietly disposing of an insignificant ANI pilot would probably go unnoticed by both sides, and serve well to quench my anger.

Rebecca looked up at me solemnly, not looking surprised or alarmed to see me. Her blue eyes caught mine as I approached, and a surprisingly sad look was cast on her face. "Hi, Jalis." She said quietly as I pulled back the chair and sat down. I looked her in the eye, as I had trained myself to do - as the real Jalis would of done, and watched her eyes squirm away from me to her empty glass.

"What's wrong, Rebecca?" I asked with the most reassuring smile I could muster. She looked off to her left, over at the young pilots at the bar, and internally I grumbled. "Let me guess," I started, predicting her will. "You want one of the men over there to come here, sweep you off your feet, and confess his undying love to you. But, that man doesn't have the courage to ask you."

"No...that's not it." She said quietly, still staring away from me. My interest perked then, this was not her normal behavior. Rebecca was usually very lively, eager to flirt and try her best at drawing attention from men, but today she was acting differently. Instead of seeing her at the bar with other pilots, she was sitting here alone looking depressed.

"Well then, what?" I asked, now curious to find out what could bring on this change. She brushed her hair aside as she turned back to look at me, but only briefly. Her eyes again darted away from mine when they made contact, falling back to the metal table in between us.

"Did you hear about the recent attack?" She asked quietly, her tone even through the whole sentence. "The destruction of the Degalis colony settled in Blackburn?" She added when I chose not to respond immediately.

Shifting in my chair, I quickly debated how to answer her. Rebecca was not a person I would think capable of suspecting my true identity, so the question was likely not an attempt to judge my reaction to the news. And, I had not done anything yet to endanger my disguise, making it unlikely her superiors ordered her to question my loyalty. Which left just the question as it was, however I decided to err on the side of caution.

"No, I haven't heard anything about it. Were you in the strike force?" I casually brought my left hand to my pocket, to caress my waiting weapon. If she had been a member of the attacking force, I would kill her - and I hoped for enough restraint to perform the act discreetly.

"No, I wasn't." I had to strain to hear her quiet voice over the other sounds in the bar. "I heard about it in the debriefing after I landed." She paused, and I was again intrigued by her show of emotion.

"Something about it is bothering you. Our forces were victorious, what's wrong then?" I smiled as measuredly as I could to hide my true feelings on the matter; it sickened me to even admit that ANI had bested my people. She paused for a while, closing her eyes, taking a moment to briefly bite her lower lip.

"Do you have family and friends still on the BCU side?" She asked, breaking her pause and changing the topic. I did not respond, this was a question that was too dangerous to answer without knowing where it was leading. She waited a moment, before continuing on her own.

"I did, I had family in the Degalis colony. You'll probably yell at me for for this, but I miss them...now that I know they're dead." Some of my alarm at the conversation was quieted, but I still felt unease and uncertainty about her motives. And, even more alarming, I felt a growing sense of sympathy for this young woman.

"I'm sorry." I said, looking honestly worried, not having to fake my emotions as I usually did. It was strange to see an ANI pilot feeling regret over the death of my people. 'Perhaps I wouldn't kill her right now,' I thought to myself.

Shaking her head, she looked up at me; and I saw that her eyes were watering - close to tears. No longer did I doubt her motives, or suspect her of trying to uncover my identity or true allegiances. Rebecca was a simple woman, unable to restrain her feelings; the emotions she was displaying now could not be false.

"Thanks. It's just...hard. Leaving the empire to come here, telling my family I wasn't coming back - I didn't leave on good terms. The last time we talked, it was a huge fight." She chuckled nervously. "My father was so angry, he shouted about how I had dishonored him and everyone he knew. I was surprised he didn't disown me on the spot; I'd never seen him so mad. I even asked him why he didn't if he hated me so much. You know what he said?" Her eyes were watering even more now, and her soft cheeks and smooth forehead were turning red. I could see her throat moving up and down as the emotions poured out of her. I shook my head no, and watched the last of her will dissolve.

"He said I was still a part of the family, even if I was a traitor." A tear finally escaped from her eye, beginning the long slide down her face. Her hand came up to brush it aside, and I looked away for a moment; allowing her some privacy to collect herself. I pulled my left hand up from its resting place on my weapon to my forehead, pretending to look lost in thought. In truth I was, and did not have to mask my mood, but I was finding it increasingly difficult to tell the difference between emotions I was feeling and ones I had to feign. The time I had spent here made me yearn to return to my empire, and be rid of these rebellious pilots that had turned against my people.

"Do you regret leaving the empire?" I asked, after I felt she had enough time to regain control of herself. "Do you regret what you did?"

She looked up at me just long enough to catch a glimpse of her reddened and tear-streaked face. "Yes... Sometimes." She added quickly, and I smiled.

"We all do, it was a big decision. We left our families, friends, we left everything behind. But ANI..." I stopped, surprised at what I was about to say. I was about to admit that the rebel force here had a valid point about the direction my empire was taking. I felt my anger rise realizing that I was slowly being converted to ANI's insane logic and belief. "We did what had to be done, it was necessary." Rebecca looked at me curiously for a moment from behind her hands.

"Do you regret what you've had to do as well?" She said, drying her eyes with her delicate fingers. I took in a deep breath, and thought back to when I agreed to be placed in Jalis Wentworth's crashed ground Assault Gear, to spy on ANI and report back what I found. And I thought back further, to when I had joined the Bygeniou military shortly after the colonization of the Phillion planet, to the days marching in formation, longing to have a Gear of my own.

"Yes." I answered. "Sometimes." I smiled at her, and she returned the smile, some of the life returning to her face. "I am sorry for your loss, Rebecca. Things will look up soon, I'm sure."

"Thanks, Jalis." She said, still collecting herself. I smiled at her, then got up and walked to the exit of the bar. A part of me felt a wrongness about leaving without accomplishing anything, but after talking to Rebecca, I no longer felt angry. I wasn't sure what I felt, but I did know I was doing what I swore I wouldn't do. The colony of Degalis was destroyed, and I was doing exactly as my superiors had ordered - nothing.

Part 3 : Rebecca

"Down with the Empire!" A lively, brown haired young woman shouted from her seat as I walked into the briefing room. I grinned as my eyes caught Victoria's, the other female pilot in my wing. She was wearing our wing's usual gray jumpsuit that blended well with her dark skin and brown hair. She was the youngest of us all, just turning twenty this year, nearly ten years younger then the rest of us. She was our eyes in the air, her large circle winged Support Gear was outfitted with a full sensor suit - which let her keep us updated on our tactical situation. Her huge craft was not suited for combat, armed only with hydrogen cannons that drew power from the engines, but her ship served well as our own miniature mother ship. And, it's unique design allowed our Gears to remain docked with her in flight to conserve fuel; and even attack from our attached state if need be.

"Good morning to you too, Victoria." I said, walking through the door into the briefing room. I took in my surroundings and saw that only my wing and the commander were in the stadium shaped briefing room, making it unusually vacant. Jerry Zetswendler was sitting in the front row, changing rapidly between a wild grin and a twitch. I felt a shiver shoot through my body as his piercing clear blue eyes caught hold of mine, until I quickly looked away from him.

Commander Gregton was waiting patiently at his pedestal, stroking his goatee. He was dressed in his blue and white officer's uniform, decorated with the bars and medals he had been awarded back when he commanded the Bygeniou forces. I asked him once why he still wore the uniform of our foes. He replied saying that he had not abandoned the empire, but understood that drastic measures were needed to reform it. He stood at his pedestal, quietly going over his notes on the screen in front of him, and I could not help but notice the few gray hairs that had begun to grow over his light brown hair. Musing, I wondered how many of those hairs were from leading the revolt against the Bygeniou Empire.

Looking back at my wingmates I saw that Richard and Borin Daranov, the two brothers, were sitting next to each other; talking. I used to get the two of them confused, they were so similar. They both had blond hair and blue eyes, wore the same gray jumpsuit while on duty, even their faces were nearly identical. There was only a small difference in their personalities as well. Richard usually kept to himself, talking only at length to his brother. He preferred to end most questions posed to him with a one or two word response that ended most chances at conversation. His brother, Borin, was not much different, but was willing to converse - unlike his brother. His strong sense of honor and duty was attractive, but he was so focused on being a model soldier that he ignored any attention I paid him.

I watched Borin talk with his brother for a moment, then I noticed they were sitting next to Jalis, wearing one of our gray jumpsuits. I looked at him in surprise, as my eyes tried to confirm that it was him. His heavyset and muscular body was augmented with a metal right arm, a prosthetic replacement for the real one he lost during his last mission. His cold, serious looking face was frowning as he looked around the room. It was hard for me to tell what he was thinking, most of the time. We had talked a few times before the tragedy he suffered, but he was always serious and to the point. He was a little like Borin, determined to be a good soldier. And, while it was not a requirement, he was the only one in the room who had opted for a close shaven, military style haircut. His dark brown eyes caught hold of mine, and alighted in recognition.

I looked over at the commander questioningly, and it took him a moment to turn from his notes to notice me looking at him. His eyebrows went up for a moment in confusion, then realization showed on his face as he nodded. "Ah, yes. Rebecca, Jalis will be assigned to your wing. As you know, he was the only surviving member of his wing, and no longer has a home. He requested to be assigned to your outfit with his replacement hover tank. As your team has no Assault class Gears in it's arsenal, and since he was a friend of yours before the tragedy, I thought it was an ideal solution. Unless you have an objection?"

"No, sir! I'm happy to have him with us!" I said quickly, smiling for the first time in days. I hadn't seen Jalis much since his wing was destroyed while on patrol in the Herremeze Relic area, which lay right along our border with Bygeniou. The psychiatrists had confirmed that Jalis was indeed fit for duty, after a few days leave; but he wasn't the same after the incident. He was distant, and even more serious than usual. Even when I spoke to him at the bar a few days ago, he had a more serious edge to him. It wasn't surprising or unusual - I had seen it happen to other pilots who suffered the loss of a wingman, and to myself with the recent loss of my family.

I walked over to the seats, and sat down in the chair next to Jalis, smiling at him as I made myself comfortable in the soft seat. "Welcome to the twenty-fourth!" I said, grinning at him. He returned a brief smile and and inclined his head in acknowledgment.

"Thank you. It will be good to be back in action. I've spent enough time being analyzed by shrinks." His tone was even, hard to read, but I could tell that he was still troubled by the death of his wingmates. However, I was glad to have him with us, and it was comforting to know he would be flying with me from now on. The commander cleared his throat and tapped on his pedestal, drawing our attention away from any further conversation.

"There's a situation in the mountain range north of the Ardor desert. We've picked up some unusual readings from that area. Intelligence believes it's either the Phillons scouting in that area or, more likely, the Shrines. Either way, we want your wing to investigate the situation.

"Victoria will keep your Gears in attached formation, you will wait for her scan of the area. If it is deemed necessary, Jerry and Borin will detach and perform an additional sensor sweep in their Interceptors. Rebecca and Richard will be on call in their bombers, docked with Victoria, in case of a target of opportunity; while Jalis will remain attached to Victoria the whole time - providing her defensive fire if attacked.

"This is a simple reconnaissance mission, so I want no complications. Get in, get the scan, then get out. If you find a vulnerable target, you may use your discretion - I trust your judgment Rebecca. However, your primary mission goal is the scan. We want to know what faction is there and what their goals are.

"Do you understand your mission, soldiers?"

"Sir, yes sir!" We all said as one. Greton nodded at us, clearing the screen he was using back to the standby logo of ANI. I looked briefly at the large asterisk between two rising wings, and smiled as my nation's symbol filled me with a sense of pride.

"Good. You take off in fifteen. Company, dismissed!"

A half hour later, our wing was still in the air, attached to Victoria's Support Gear. My thrusters fired and I tightened my grip on the side of my cockpit instinctively. I looked up at Victoria's Support Gear, and the half-moon shaped wing that the nose of my Bomber was attached to. My ship's controls were surrendered to her ship's computer, firing in perfect timing with hers to provide additional thrust when needed. My Bomber was a sleek craft, ideal for attacking ground targets from the air. However, it featured enough maneuverability to make it ideal in a dogfight and even in space, but not with the same effectiveness of Jerry and Borin's Interceptors.

We began to climb, and I felt myself pressed against the seat. Instinctively I began the breathing exercises I was taught for high gravity turns - although it was an unnecessary reflex. Looking out of my cockpit, I watched the horizon fall below me as Victoria began our climb that would take us up the mountains that faced the north side of the Ardor desert. We climbed at a reasonable angle, Victoria's path had begun long before we reached the beginnings of the rocky mountain. But the g-forces from the climb still made it uncomfortable, and I shifted in my seat as my mind stopped wandering.

Five minutes later, I saw the first snowflake fall onto my windshield. It was nothing more than a drop of water after it impacted; and, in boredom, I focused my attention on it. It quickly streaked off to the right side, leaving a small trail across the armored plastic. A moment later, all I could see was snowflakes screaming past me. I checked my instruments quickly, to see the terrain around me, and saw that we were still a safe distance above the ground and anything we could collide with. Still, I wanted to check in with Victoria, trying to convince myself that I was not unnerved by the loss of visibility.

"Victoria," I said over the physical link my Gear had with hers, and her lively dark skinned face appeared on my communication screen. I felt a smile escape seeing her energetic nature unchanged by the storm outside, and some reassurance from her cheerful demeanor.

"Yea, boss? What's up?" She chirped over the link. I blinked to bring myself back to the moment.

"Can your instruments get a clear reading through this storm?"

"Probably not, but I'll try any ways! We're almost to the waypoint, gimmie a minute - gonna start the scan." She cut the connection abruptly. I looked out at the storm again for a moment, but my attention flashed back to my communication screen as Jerry's crazed face jumped onto it.

"They're here! I can feel them! They're here, they're here, they're here...got to kill them, got to kill them!"

"Jerry, that'll be enough! Maintain radio silence, and stay in formation!" I shouted at him. He stuck his tongue out, then stopped transmitting. Rolling my eyes, I looked over at him, trying to make out his Gear through the snow. Even though he was just a few feet away, it was hard to see that he was still attached to Victoria. I looked over his Gear, going from the swept back wings to the long nose of the craft, waiting with baited breath to see if he was going to follow orders. I let a sigh of relief escape a moment later when nothing changed, Jerry was unpredictable, but rarely dangerous. I hoped that his open broadcast was not detected by any nearby enemy craft.

A private communication request appeared on my screen, sent by Jalis; being relayed through his connection with Victoria to me. Grateful that Jalis was smart enough to not broadcast on an open channel that might be detected, unlike Jerry, I accepted his transmission and was greeted by his surprised face.

"Yes Jalis, what is it?" I asked, bewildered by his look.

"What's with him?"

I rolled my eyes again. "He's insane. Sorry, I should of warned you. The Shrines captured him and did...something to him. The shrinks have yet to get him to make sense long enough to figure out what happened."

"Ah, and we let him fly an Interceptor?"

I laughed. "You'd have to be crazy to fly one in the first place, you've seen how fast those things go. Besides, he follows orders and flies amazingly well. The only thing the psychiatrists could think to do was put him back on active duty." Jalis did not look relieved or reassured, but he shrugged and signed off. A moment later, Victoria appeared on my screen, looking very put out.

"Well darn it! I can't get a clear scan! Best I can tell is that there's nothing moving or hot in the area, although I'm not sure about that heat scan with all this ice messing up my instruments. Wanna break off the two dogs, Rebecca?"

"I suppose so. Jerry, Borin. You two break formation and do a sweep, I'm relaying your flight plan and waypoint information. If you don't find anything after your sweep, Borin - I want you to break radio silence and inform us of anything you find."

Jerry appeared just long enough on my communication screen to bark at me, before he broke formation. My ship shook alarmingly as his craft violently disengaged from Victoria and shot off out of sight, his burning thrusters the only thing visible until the snow enveloped him. Half of me hoped that he would crash into a mountain, and the other half felt guilty the moment after I thought it. Borin's irritated face appeared on my screen.

"Why am I always stuck with him?" He said in his thick accent, I smiled sheepishly. "I will contact you in two minutes."

I felt another lurch as Borin disconnected. He dropped low enough that I couldn't see when he fired his afterburners. Looking down at my instruments, I watched Borin and Jerry as they darted off in separate directions, feeling a little nervous seeing their lives represented as lights on a screen. Sending my wingmates out was nothing new, but I always felt tense each time I did. They trusted me and my decisions without question, as they were trained to do, as any good soldier does. But I still felt discomfort each time I saw them only on a readout, as nothing more than a unit in position.

I waited for a minute, watching their Gears on my radar. Nothing was happening, and it was making me stir crazy with anticipation. Then, abruptly, Jerry veered off his flight path; diving wildly into a canyon. I watched in horror as his craft flipped upside down, heading straight at the canyon floor. I screamed, fumbling for the radio switch when suddenly he pulled up, just before he hit the ground. I watched my radar intently, my pounding heart the only sound I could hear, aside from the snow beating against my windshield. He circled around the canyon, occasionally turning upside down and straightening out a moment later.

This was not like Jerry at all; he was crazy, but he usually did not pull stunts like this. Borin's Gear lurched forward on my screen, I watched as he finished the rest of his patrol with his afterburners. No doubt he had noticed Jerry's strange flight pattern and wanted to see if anything was wrong. But, also knowing Borin, he wanted to complete his orders to the letter first.

His Gear darted across the virtual terrain my radar screen displayed, shooting right at Jerry like a bullet. A second later he slowed as he entered the canyon. He circled the canyon, flying counter to Jerry's turn, then flew out of the canyon.

"Ma'am," Borin said, his serious looking face appearing on my screen. "Sector is clear, nothing detected on scan. But you'd best bring Victoria here. We need a closer scan of this, Jerry has found...something."

"I see you..." Jerry's face appeared next to Borin's. My temper got the better of me and I snapped at him.

"Blast it all Jerry, what were you doing?" But then I had a better look at his face and stopped before my tirade even began. He was grinning, and crying at the same time, looking completely crazed and insane. I had seen Jerry in wild moods before, but this was new.

"I see you...I can see you again! I've found you! And I'm going to keep finding you...you can't hide from me...I'm watching you. I see you!" I watched as he flipped his Gear upside down, his greasy long black hair went straight up, and the snow in the background fell upwards. He looked straight up, out his cockpit, as tears of demented joy flew upwards from his eyes. "Can you see me?" A mad chuckle escaped his lips, frightened and joyful. I broke the connection to Jerry and sat back in my seat, shivering.

"Want me to take us in, boss lady?" Victoria said, appearing on my screen. She smiled briefly, probably as reassurance, but she looked as unnerved as me. "Yes..." I said with an unexpected raspy voice. I cleared my throat and tried to regain my composure. "Yes, take us in." Victoria nodded, then vanished.

We began a gradual dive, heading for Borin and Jerry. A tense moment later, we reached the lip of the canyon. I looked on my scanner, trying to get a reading, and then I saw it. A large, two part structure, was showing on my screen. Supports ran out from several sides, connecting to arcing towers built into the canyon. Between the bottom and middle sections was a smaller, two part structure that almost came together; it looked like it should be holding something. I looked at it, trying to make sense of it, what purpose it served, but it was not like anything I had seen before.

Victoria circled us around it once, but that provided my sensors with no new information; and I doubted that Victoria was picking up anything different. The only thing our approach gained us was the sight of the structure with my own eyes. Through the snow I could barely make out the purple metal, and the strange architecture. There was no doubt, the Shrines were here, and not long ago from what my scans were telling me.

All I knew about the Shrines was that they were a mysterious race that lived on the Phillion planet long before the Bygeniou Empire came to settle it; their relationship with the other natives, the Phillions, was a mystery. Few had ever seen a Shrine pilot outside of their ships, and I had only heard rumors of what they actually looked like; each description was different from the others. Their ships also varied, with few similarities between them. Most of their ships that were downed by Bygeniou or Arlington forces were unsalvageable, although there was a rumor that our forces had rebuilt one from salvage when they liberated Jerry.

Jerry's wing was destroyed by Shrine forces, with his craft missing among the wreckage. A week later, a patrol encountered his craft leading a Shrine attack force. After a brief fight, the patrol had destroyed all hostile craft, and crippled Jerry's Gear enough to force him to land. He was truly insane from the reports I had read, trying to bite and claw at everyone near him. It took a month for the psychiatrists to get him to the state he was now, but he was unwilling to explain what the Shrines had done to him.

"So..." Victoria began as she appeared on my screen again, looking side to side. "What are we supposed to do now?"

It took a moment for me to decide, part of me wanted to have Jalis land in his Assault Gear and examine the structure - to find out what it was doing there. But the commander's instructions were clear, and reporting back seemed like the best choice. "Victoria, have you finished scanning that...thing?"

"Yes'um." She said in a quick slur. I added Borin and Jerry to the communication channel.

"Borin, Jerry." I said with emphasis, hoping to snap him back to reality. "Dock with Victoria, we've got the scan, we're leaving. We'll let the brains back at headquarters decide what's going on." Borin nodded, but Jerry laughed. I looked calmly at him and then glanced over to my radar to watch his movements. I closed my eyes, and sighed in relief, when he approached to dock with Victoria.

"They're not here anymore...they left! We'll follow them later! I found them again...I'll find them again too...they're up to something." I shuttered as his craft and Borin's attached on to Victoria. As soon as were secured we began a fairly steep climb; I assumed that Victoria was anxious to leave this place, and I did not blame her. There was something about that structure that made me uneasy, but I didn't know why.

Part 4 : Jalis

"Rebecca, what am I looking at?" Commander Gregton asked, turning to look at the front row where she was sitting. It was an hour after we completed the scan; we had landed in Arlington City and were in the process of being debriefed. I looked at Rebecca, then at the screen. We were looking at a scan of the Shrine facility we found, displayed on the main monitor in the briefing room. Absentmindedly, I rapped my metal fingers on the armrest, trying to analyze the structure we found.

"I don't know, sir." She replied. The commander looked at her, then back at the screen.

"This structure is very unusual. It looks like it was holding something massive in the center, right there." He pointed at the section just below the center, where all the architecture pointed towards. "But the question is, what was there, and where did it go?"

"It's gone now, they hid it!" Jerry interjected. Rebecca turned on him immediately.

"Jerry!" She said warningly, but Gregton waved her silent. I watched the commander, trying to determine why he thought the madman had something worth listening to. From what I had seen of him during the mission, he was unpredictable - a loose cannon that did as he pleased. The commander stepped down from the stage and walked over to Jerry, who looked up at him with a disturbingly large grin.

"Do you, Jerry, have any idea what this is? Do you know where they took whatever was at the center of that thing?" He waited patiently as Jerry smiled at him.

Jerry leaned in, after a long silence, and spoke quietly. "They were making something they wanted cold. Why else would they build a castle of ice? They like ice cream and candy, especially when it's handed to them." He snickered and sat back in his seat, looking very pleased, the commander smiled at him.

"Thank you, Jerry, I do believe that answered the question for me. I appreciate your insight." He turned and walked back towards his stage.

"I'm sorry, commander. I try and tell him not to talk, unless spoken to, but he just doesn't listen." Rebecca said, looking frustrated at Jerry - who grinned at her. She rolled her eyes and looked back to the commander. "He never makes any sense, he just talks in nonsense - sometimes riddles that don't mean anything! Why do I have this madman in my wing?"

"Because, Rebecca." The commander said, turning around quickly with a stern look. Rebecca sat back abruptly, looking surprised. "Sometimes madmen see things clearer then those deemed sane and normal." He paused, and his features lightened a little. "In order to break away from the BCU Empire, we had to do something that was considered mad - insanity. Yet, if we had not, things would have continued as they were. The empire would claim absolute dominion over us, and our daily lives. Correction, our lives would be run by a select few; people like you and me, but no one could stop them if they went too far. We would still be slaves to a greater empire, run by an elite few doing as they wish. In a way, we're all insane because of what we're doing here.

"No, Rebecca, I believe that he understands this situation better than any of us; and you are not listening to what he has to say. He said the first thing that came to his mind, without any fear or hesitation, that's something we rarely do if we want to call ourselves sane and normal. Instead we discount the obvious as unlikely, expecting things to be more complicated than they really are. We analyze the situation until we convince ourselves of something other than the truth, and our pride keeps us from admitting otherwise.

"Now, as Jerry pointed out, they were building something that needed to be kept cold - that part makes sense. Whatever was in the center of that structure was constantly ventilated by the winds flowing through the canyon, a temperature below freezing. Now, what could the Shrines be building there that they would want kept cool and hidden from us?" He laughed. "The answer is right in front of us, and it's so simple it's ironic. It's right there, at the center of this building, even though it's gone now." He pointed at the center of the structure. "It's at the...'Core' of this building."

Rebecca looked lost in thought for a moment, perplexed, and I understood her confusion. Whatever the commander's joke, if it was one, was lost on all of us. The commander waited patiently, with a smile of satisfaction, while the rest of us sat in uncomfortable silence.

"The core...as in..." Rebecca began, an idea alighting on her face. The commander interjected, raising her hand to stop her.

"A power core." Rebecca's eyes widened, and the commander nodded. "A power core the size of which could power a mother ship. They needed it kept cool, and in a location that was hidden and outside our ability to detect it or any tests they ran. Remember, we picked up a strange reading a few days ago in that area, that's why we wanted you to check it out. At first we thought it was the weather, a lightning storm that was confusing our scanners. But I'd bet a hundred SPI that we picked up their test...or their activation of that power core.

"I've seen a similar structure like this before, only on a much smaller scale. The center of that building looks exactly like the casing that holds the power crystals in place on the Shrine's ships - we reconstructed one from parts we found and salvaged." He added, seeing confused looks. "And, from these readings, there was a low level of background radiation in the area - the same kind of radiation that the Shrine's power supplies produce.

"They were creating a core for a ship we have not yet seen...and I intend to find it before they finish it. It's possible that radiation can be tracked, followed, to wherever they took it."

"But, sir." Victoria chirped, looking happy to to have something to add. "I scanned that area thoroughly, and found no trails of that radiation."

"No, I imagine you didn't. The storm was interfering with your scanners Victoria, and you were not looking for a trail. Your scan was inconclusive thanks to the unusual weather of the Phillion planet. However, I think it is still possible to track it.

"A power core that big will have to be transported quickly, and it will leave a path for us to follow. I'll have the patrols scan tomorrow for that radiation signature you found. With luck, they'll pick it up and we can find where it was heading. Until we pick up that trail, your wing is dismissed for regular duties. Dismissed."

We stood up as one and saluted the commander, who in turn casually saluted us. As we left, I watched Victoria and Rebecca talk casually with Borin; Richard walked behind his brother in silence. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but from their expressions, it seemed trivial and unimportant, and I had no desire to listen to the musings of asinine ANI pilots. I left with Jerry following behind me, snickering as we exited the briefing room into the hallway outside.

"Yes, Jerry?" I said cooly, hoping to be rid of him. He grinned for a moment, watching Rebecca and the others walk down the hall. When they were out of earshot his grin faded, and he looked seriously at me, without any trace of madness.

"You're not one of us, even though you're one of us now. You won't stop me from killing them. Not you, not Rebecca, not anyone! We're going to find them again...and when we do, you're not going to get in my way. Don't try and stop me, or the little bird will sing before it's wings are clipped."

"I don't know what you're talk..."

"Yes, you do!" He screamed, throwing his hands behind his back as his face burned red with anger. Rebecca and the others looked down the hallway at us with curious and concerned looks on their faces. He looked at them, and then back at me. "Don't get in my way puppy," He said, waving a finger in my face. "Your bark is better than your whimper."

"Fine. I will not get in your way." I said in an even tone, trying to stare him down. He grinned at me again, his wild look returning to his eyes.

"See you later, metal man!" He put his hands behind his back and ran down the hallway, making a sound reminiscent of a engine. He stopped when he reached Rebecca and the others. She was waiting there, her hands resting on her hips, looking very irritated. He spun around and looked at me from down the hall. In a quick motion he snapped to attention and saluted me, mouthing a quick 'woof' as his hand snapped into position. Then he skipped around the corridor, out of sight.

Rebecca looked down the opposite corridor, then back at me with raised eyebrows. I shrugged, then turned to walk the other way. I had no desire to talk to her at the moment, or the others. I would have to report what transpired in the meeting with 'my' commander. My people would be very interested in this bit of intelligence I had uncovered.

That thought raised a note of warning, thinking back to what Jerry said. "You are not one of us..." I muttered under my breath, repeating it back to myself. For a moment, I wondered if he could tell I was not the real Jalis. As quickly as I thought it, I dismissed the suspicion. He was mad, even if somehow he knew, no one here would believe him.

Besides, I had to report to my superiors rather than worry about the ravings of a lunatic. Commander Gregton had let something slip during his thought process, ANI had reassembled a Shrine craft. And, from what he had said, discovered how their ships functioned. This would certainly prove useful to my superiors, along with the information about the Shrine's activities on ANI's side of the border. With luck, our forces could cross the border and intercept a few of their patrols out looking for this radiation signature. And, with more luck, kill some of them. I thought the last with a grin on my face that matched Jerry's.

Part 5 : Rebecca

I took a moment to brush my hair out of my eyes, then looked out the cockpit as we flew over the mountain range below. This was the slowest way to the remains of Bark City, which lay between the ANI and BCU border, but flying through the access tunnels that were built underneath the mountains was hazardous. We were in formation, locked onto Victoria, ready to break off at a moment's notice. The commander had dispatched us to the remains of the destroyed city, following the trail of radiation a patrol picked up yesterday. I yawned to adjust my ears to the high altitude before looking at the city remnants.

Nothing remained of the city but ruins, the center of a huge blast expanded from the center of the city. The orange-yellow light of near sunset revealed scorched buildings, remnants of homes - nothing was left of the scientific outpost. Vegetation had regrown on the outskirts, and had overtaken some parts of the city. Trees had begun to form in some parts, some growing right out of buildings. I knew little about the city beyond rumors, it was a scientific community that separated itself from the conflict between Bygeniou and Arlington; wishing to be left to study the Phillion planet in peace. An experiment they were working on went out of control, and leveled the city. What the experiment was remained a mystery, even to this day.

I looked around, trying to find something out of place, but I couldn't see anything. Looking on my scanner revealed nothing either, and I wondered what Victoria's scanners had discovered. I contacted her, and her image appeared immediately. She was switching between consoles, her attention focused on her machines.

"What, boss?" She snapped, her eyes darting over her readouts. I smiled, she never did like to be interrupted when in the middle of something; and from how she was acting, I guessed that she was in the middle of her scan.

"Is your scan done?"

"Not yet, hang on..." She trailed off for a moment. "Got it! There's a strange entrance on the southeast side of the city, the radiation trail goes right into it!" I looked at the information she was relaying to me, a large entrance my scanners had missed - likely due to the residual radiation left from the experiment that destroyed the city. It looked big enough for our Gears to maneuver inside it, although it would probably be a lot safer if Victoria stayed outside.

"Can you get a reading on what's inside? That tunnel doesn't end suddenly, or get crowded if we fly down it?"

"I don't know, hang on, I need a better angle to scan down that thing." She dived towards the entrance, then brought us to a midair stop, hovering in front of the entrance. The entrance was simple, a large metal passageway leading downwards, slightly hidden under a building. Victoria chimed in over the radio a moment later.

"Got the scan, it's safe as far as my scanner goes. There's enough room in there for about two of you maneuver. So, who's the unlucky sap going with you?" She said with a grin.

I rolled my eyes at her, thinking for a moment. "Jalis." His calm face appeared on my screen a moment later. "Can I ask you to come along?"

"Of course." He replied. I smiled. Jalis would be able to travel on the ground in his Assault Gear, giving me more room to maneuver should the tunnel become narrow further in.

"I'm going too!" Jerry screamed over the channel. I glared at him, looking right into his crazed eyes.

"No! I want you out here, not in there! There's not enough room in there for you to fly safely! I won't have you crashing into a wall just because you want to get back at the Shrines!"

"Don't make me stay out here! You won't get in my way!" Jerry was hysterical, and I knew he wouldn't listen to me. He might not even follow my orders, and thinking that, I switched my communication screen back to Victoria.

"Victoria, kill Jerry's Gear." Her eyes widened, then she vanished to work on a console. A moment later Jerry's Gear went dead, a powerless craft attached to her left wing.

"I'm sorry, Jerry." I said under my breath. "Victoria, cut Jalis and me loose, we're going in. Let us know if anything happens out here."

"Roger, boss." Jalis' Gear detached from under Victoria's craft and my own Gear disconnected with a lurch a moment later. I looked over to Jerry's craft, and for a brief second, I saw him against his windshield; pounding on it wildly. I looked away, set my Gear for slow flight, and entered the tunnel.

The passage was fairly wide, with a good amount of room to maneuver, and turn around if need be. My engines were struggling to keep me aloft; my Gear could handle slow speeds and still remain airborne, but I was pushing my craft close to the designed minimum speed. I was constantly feeling like my stomach was dropping below me, and I had to fight the urge to increase my speed so the frightening sensation would stop. I was glad I made Jerry stay outside, his craft was built for speed and would not be able to stay airborne in here, although I wondered how I was going to deal with him when I saw him next.

Jalis was just below me, hovering a meter off the ground with his antigravity unit. His floodlights and mine showed nothing but a long tunnel in front of us, my scanners showed the same, except for turn eight-thousand meters ahead. My scanners weren't picking up anything beyond the turn, my limited sensors were having trouble with the strange metals used in the tunnel.

"Rebecca." Jalis said as his face appeared on my communication screen, looking as calm and controlled in this strange tunnel as when we were safely attached to Victoria. "What do you plan to do with Jerry when we get back?"

I sighed; feeling a little guilty for leaving him trapped in his own Gear. "I'll have Victoria restore power to his Gear if we don't find anything. I don't want to risk him taking off against my orders before then. He'll probably give me hell after we land." I chuckled at the thought of how I would explain my decision. "The commander will probably have a word or two with me as well. But I can't risk him screaming down this tunnel only to crash into a wall."

"I agree. You made the right decision."

"Thanks. I just hope he understands that." We approached the turn, and I checked my scanners to see if I could get a better reading, but there was still nothing new on my readout. "I don't suppose your sensors are having any better luck?" I asked him.

"No. My sensors can only read what is ahead, I have no idea what's around that corner."

"Well, let's find out." I turned around the corner, glancing between outside my cockpit and down at my instruments. Immediately my scanners went wild with readings. "What?" I exclaimed in surprised.

A large energy signature was directly in front of us, it's readings beyond anything my scanners could measure. I tried to focus my scanners to read anything else, but the energy signature was so powerful it was interfering with all types of scans. I couldn't even tell if there was another turn ahead of me, or even the layout of the tunnel directly ahead.

Looking up away from my scanners, I saw no turns ahead. As far as the floodlights went, I saw only tunnel. Looking back at my sensors I saw nothing useful either. Whatever was the source of this energy reading, it would have to be identified visually. Switching to my my onboard camera, I tried zooming in as far as it would allow, to try and see what was down the tunnel.

The camera adjusted, the image fading in and out of clarity. It finally settled on a unfocused view of the end of the tunnel. At the end was a metal...something. I couldn't make out what it was, or determine if it was a cover protecting the end of the passage. All I could tell was that it was a dark gray metal.

"Jalis, bring up your camera, see if you can zoom down the passageway. Tell me if you..."

"Boss! Get up here now!" Rebecca's panicked voice interrupted over the radio.

"What is it?" I asked, trying to get a visual through to her, but the interference from the walls was making it impossible.

"BCU! Lots of them! Way more than we can hold out against! At least six full formations just popped over their side of the mountain!"

"Damn! Hang on, we'll burn our way back to you, then head for the old access tunnels! Jalis, let's go!" Jalis turned his Gear around and took off immediately, the light from his afterburners blazing down the passage. I dived, then pulled up, performing a quick half loop; then realigned myself after I faced the other direction. Rounding the corner I wondered just what I was leaving behind, but now that BCU was here, I'd probably never find out. I fired my afterburners and sat straight up, the inertia forcing me against my seat. We would have to retreat; there were too many from what Victoria said. Our best bet would be to fall back to the old access tunnels that were built into the mountain, and hole up in there until we could get orders from Arlington City; the commander was going to love this.

I burst out of the tunnel a moment later to see Victoria already heading for the access tunnel, Jalis a moment behind her. Sunset was beginning, casting my cockpit in an orange glow. Looking at my scanner, I saw what had Victoria so panicked. I read at least five Support craft with a full formation in tow heading for our position. I kept the afterburners on, hoping they wouldn't overheat before we reached the tunnel.

Four craft broke formation from their Support Gears, and began to dive at me. I felt my heart lurch inside my chest as I watched the dots get closer. Their Interceptors would have to break away before we entered the tunnel, or risk crashing into the mountain, but was there enough distance between us to keep them out of firing range? I felt a drop of sweat roll down my face as the seconds dragged on for eternity, the enemy getting closer and closer.

Five hundred meters from the entrance, I heard my missile alarm whine angrily. I looked at my screen and saw it, a purple dot approaching fast. It was above me, diving directly for me, a straight line rocket with limited homing ability. My afterburners were already near overheating, but I pushed them further. If I didn't outrun this missile, I'd be dead any ways.

My craft shook as I tore into the tunnel, and I waited with baited breath as my sensors went dark from the interference. Another moment later my scanner reported an explosion, and I breathed a sigh of relief, sitting back in my seat while dropping my speed. The missile was high enough above me that it had impacted on the mountain, after I had entered the tunnel below. Bygeniou would send in ground Assault Gears to keep us from reentering the city, but for now, we were safe.

Part 6 : Jalis

I watched my screens, waiting for my people to make a move. I was on the ground, my large Gear parked and settled in for a siege. My people had sent other Assault Gears to keep us bottled inside the tunnels, likely to ensure we did not harass them while they secured whatever prize was waiting in Bark City. I grinned to myself, things were going well. The message I had sent to my superiors before leaving on this mission must of arrived late, but with enough time to ensure BCU got whatever the Shrines were working on. A power core of that size could let us build another mother ship if we could secure it, or at least give our technicians something to study.

"Jalis! One's moving up!" Victoria shouted alarmingly over the radio. I launched a rocket down the tunnel, it exploded harmlessly at the end where it curved. I looked down at my glowing screen and watched as the red dot came to a stop. It then backed up to the waiting line of five Assault gears. I smirked, the other pilots were probably taking bets. The one with the stones to actually get within view of us, and get back alive, would win whatever SPI they had wagered. Of course, anyone dense enough to try it would be blown apart the moment they got into view. There would be no time to retreat, all the Gears attached to Victoria would fire; incinerating the first thing to round the corner.

Of course, once they did that, I would turn my cannon on them and blow them apart. It was very convient for me that Support Gears hold the whole formation on their wings; I thought to myself with an evil grin. And even more convient, was that my Assault Gear did not need to be attached when there was ground beneath that my siege spikes could affix to.

I had to resist the urge to turn my cannon on Victoria, and reduce her and everyone attached to her into a flaming pile of metal and debris. My metal hand twitched on the control stick, echoing the will of my mind. I pushed aside the thought, remembering my orders. I was to stay and gather information and pass it along to my side, to my people, not assassinate and sabotage. Besides, there was no guarantee the forces waiting around the corner would listen to me, or even believe that I was a spy for Bygeniou. And, the reinforcements Rebecca had called in would wipe through me and my people's Assault Gears on their way to Bark City, if they found me with Bygeniou forces.

No, for now, the best thing to do was to wait. Neither Rebecca or my people wanted to fight, both were content with a standoff. Us around our corner, them around theirs. I still would annihilate Victoria if they killed one of my people though, I thought to myself with another grin.

"What are they doing?" Victoria said over the secured radio channel, and I looked at my screen with a questioning look. They were retreating, their Gears turning around to take off and afterburn down the tunnel. "That doesn't make any sense, our support's another fifteen minutes away!" I agreed with her silently, something was strange.

"Let them go, it could be a trap." Rebecca said, sounding worried. "But keep monitoring them, Victoria. Let me know if they're really leaving."

"Roger, boss."

Something was wrong. I knew they would not fall back without a fight, there was no reason, they had us pinned. They probably could have even held against the incoming reinforcements Arlington was sending, if they called in a wing or two; something must've happened in the city.

"Boss, they're really leaving leaving, and in a hurry too! They just boosted all the way out of the tunnel. They're gone!"

There was a moment's pause before Rebecca replied. "I don't like this, something isn't right. Do you think they could've gotten whatever was waiting in the city already?"

"Not likely." Victoria replied. "I'd take them at least several hours to move anything big out of those tunnels, which is what I'd bet was waiting for them - from what I've pieced together from our scans. Unless they called in all of Bygeniou, they couldn't do it that fast." Victoria paused for a moment, probally waiting for Rebecca to reply. When none was forthcoming, she chimed in again, but with a note of nervousness. "So...what do we do, boss lady?"

"We go after them. Jalis, form up." I retracted my siege spikes and returned my Gear to it's normal mode, then took off. I reconnected to Victoria's underside with a satisfying click. My moment of opportunity passed, but I was more worried what my people were doing. As soon as I was secured, and my Gear was linked up to Victoria, we went around the corner.

The long passage ahead of us gave me a moment to wonder, as Victoria lead us down the corridor. I had run it through my head twice now, and still no answer was coming. My people had no reason to fall back because of Rebecca's wing, and there was nothing in the city that my scanners read as a threat. It drove me mad with anticipation, trying to figure out the problem.

We rounded the last corner, and Victoria hit our afterburners to close the distance. "I'm getting some readings..." She said a moment later. "I'm picking up weapons fire, everything else is too fuzzy. Blast it all, why did they have to make these hallways out of this metal?"

'Weapons fire?' I thought to myself, now worried. There were rumors of ANI spies looking to create another distention within the BCU ranks before I left. They were tying to find people sympathetic to ANI's cause and then defect; and whatever prize was waiting in Bark City would be the perfect welcome offering.

The night sky at the end of the passageway flashed with green and blue light. We exited the tunnel to a grim sight. A huge, dark, cylindrical craft was hovering over the city. A green beam swept out of an invisible port, trying to hit Gears flying on attack vectors. One beam hit, and a fireball erupted where a pilot used to be. I felt my anger rise as the situation became clear to me, they hadn't retreated for any reason other than to try and destroy this beast.

"By the maker..." Rebecca whispered over the radio. "What is that...thing?"

"I don't know!" Victoria replied in a panicked voice, her cheerful demeanor abandoned. "It's almost the size of our mother ship, and definitely a match for it in firepower. Rebecca, we've got no chance against that thing...and neither do they."

A beam of light shot across the sky and I tracked where it went. A Support Gear crumpled under the beam, a brief flash of blue the only sign of resistance by it's shields. It spun down towards the ground, out of control, where it impacted in an orange fireball.

A second beam fired at a nearby craft, cutting through it and colliding fifty meters away from Victoria. "Break all Gears, Victoria! Now!" Rebecca shrieked over the radio.

"Right! Right!" She replied quickly. I felt my Gear disengage, and I scrambled over the controls to adjust for a landing.

"We'll hold back, wait for our reinforcements...oh no..." Rebecca's voice dropped as Jerry's Gear rocketed towards Shrine craft. "Jerry get back here!" She screamed, and his wild face appeared on my communication screen.

"I'm free, I'm free! Hee hee, I'm free!" His Gear was out of our range in an instant, his burning afterburners the only thing we could see as he shot towards the distant ship.

"Jerry, return to formation! That's an order!" Rebecca shouted at him through the communication channel. His only reply was a grin.

"I'm not going to do that, boss lady!" He cackled maniacally for a moment. "I'm going to show you how to fight them! I'm the only one who knows how! It's my destiny! I was picked for this! This is my higher calling! This is my revenge!" He screamed the last an inch away from his screen, before he stopped broadcasting.

I watched on my scanner as he pulled upwards, I could only imagine the g-forces he must of endured for such a turn. His Gear rolled and a beam narrowly missed his craft. I looked at my screen again unbelievingly, it was as if he had known that ray would be there. He went into an inverted loop, diving right at the machine, dodging another attack. It was not a coincidence, he knew where the ship was firing somehow.

Jerry's Gear shot directly for the rear of the ship, at a red honeycombed power structure. Another beam fired as he rolled, avoiding certain death. Then, Jerry's Gear erupted, all missiles firing at once, streaking for the ship.

"I GOT YOU!" He screamed over the communication channel, his face wild and insane. I watched on my radar as his missiles collided, and then an instant later, his Gear collided with the ship. His Gear bounced off at an impossible angle, his shields deflecting the impact. The communication channel became snow for a moment, then it cleared.

A blood red color appeared appeared on the screen through the static, and I smirked at the image. His ship had survived the impact thanks to it's undamaged shields, but the pilot had been crushed by the force of the collision. The technology we had discovered and developed was so advanced, it surpassed the limits of the human body. I turned back to my scanner when I heard more static just in time to see a beam travel right through Jerry's Gear. I looked out my cockpit to where I thought he would be, and saw a fireball heading towards the ground.

Then, I knew, this thing had to be destroyed. It threatened not only ANI, but my people as well. Whatever this thing was, it had to die.

Part 7 : Rebecca

I felt the hot tears escape from my eyes, running down my face. Jerry was dead, and nothing would bring him back. I didn't like Jerry, but I didn't hate him either, and I certainly didn't want to see him die. My communication channel blinked, and I reached over to activate the screen. An unfamiliar face appeared on my monitor, a clean, well kept young man with greased back black hair was sneering at me through his haunted dark brown eyes.

"I was wondering when the traitors would get here. This is lieutenant William Elion, fifty-third Bygeniou attack wing. I've been assigned command of this mission. Are you in charge of your wing, miss?"

"What do you want, BCU dog?" I shot back, my temper getting the better of me. I was in no mood to be taunted by BCU hotshots at the moment.

His brown eyes narrowed at me, but only for a moment. He regained his composure quickly and spoke in a icy tone. "As you can see, we have a situation here. We were in the process of securing that ship when it went active, launching out of a secret hanger concealed in the city. It released a swarm of fighters that were no match for us, but we are having a hard time even getting close to the ship.

"You might be interested to know that your maniac pilot caused a five percent drop in that...thing's power readings, something we've been unable to do up until now. That ship is a threat to both BCU and ANI. My orders from Bygeniou are to abandon capturing it and to destroy it by any means necessary."

"Fine. But why tell us?" I said sharply. "It's your problem now, not ours."

"If you wish to be that way, then so be it. But the only way to destroy that monster is to combine our firepower. I like the idea of allying with traitors less than you do, but I see no alternative. I assume you have reinforcements coming?"

I paused for a moment, to consider. He must have known we would call for reinforcements the moment we saw we were outmatched and pinned down. I saw no harm in confirming what he already knew. "Yes." I replied at last, straightening up in my seat.

"Good. Can we count on your forces to assist us in a coordinated assault, without shooting us in the back?" His face was completely serious, no hint of a joke. I frowned at him, insulted by his insinuation.

"Only if we can ask the same of you and your forces." I said in the coldest tone I could muster. His only reaction was a slight grin.

"Of course. When are you expecting your forces to arrive? Our numbers are decreasing by the minute."

"That's not such a bad thing." I snapped back. "We had the situation under control before you butted in. Hold on, I'll check." I placed him on mute and brought Victoria up on my screen.

"What's the estimated time of arrival for our forces?"

"Boss, you're not thinking of actually trusting what that hound says...are you?" Victoria said with a look of disbelief. "I've been monitoring your conversation with him; you do know what happened the last time they waved the white flag!"

"I remember the footage, but what choice do we have. At least we'll outnumber them when our forces arrive. The ETA please, Victoria."

She pouted, looking very disapprovingly at me. "Ten minutes. I hope you know what you're doing boss." She cut the connection.

"Me too." I muttered under my breath. I took Matthew off mute, to find him patiently waiting. "They'll be here in ten minutes. Can your forces hold out that long?"

"No. That thing's cut our numbers in half. Unless you care to share how that pilot of yours knew how to predict it's attacks?"

"No, he was insane. I don't know how he did that." An idea popped into my head. "When Jerry attacked, it focused it's fire on him. Perhaps we can draw it's attention, keep it distracted."

"Good idea." Matthew agreed. He made a few quick motions on his panels, and I watched on my scanner as his forces pulled back. One of the surviving BCU Support gears fired it's Hydrogen cannons, and a huge burst erupted on the shields of the machine; a white light deflecting the blast about a meter from the craft. Immediately the Support Gear reversed as an intercepter moved forward firing a missile at a separate section of the Shrine's craft. A beam fired where the Support Gear was, but diverted immediately to the incoming missile.

"That's it! All Gears, launch missiles in intervals! We'll keep it distracted until reinforcements arrive! ANI, can we count on support from your ordinance?"

"Just tell us when to fire." I replied cooly. Matthew did not seem to notice or care about my tone; his attention was focused on the battle in front of him.

As the battle raged on, I felt a bit of admiration for Matthew. He was taking pains not to put our forces in danger, placing most of the risk on his forces. I suspected he did not want to give our reinforcements reason to engage him when they arrived, and then have a battle on two fronts; but still I felt a bit of trust for this man. He was still a dog of the BCU empire, and would turn on me the moment this threat was eliminated, but I still felt appreciation for his efforts.

"How much longer until your forces arrive, ANI?" Matthew barked in an irritated tone. "We're running out of missiles." A brief thought crossed my mind to let him and his forces run out of missiles, then destroy the Shrine's machine, and then Matthew and his forces. I quickly tossed that idea aside, reminding myself I would not stoop to the tactics of BCU and the empire.

"Victoria, how much longer?" I asked again, hoping she would have at least a signal from our forces by now. Victoria's face appeared on my monitor, full of light and joy.

"They're here, boss!" I looked on my scanner, and saw our forces appear a moment later. Five Support Gears with a full formation of various Gears attached to each came screaming over the mountain. I felt pride and elation seeing our forces, and looked out my cockpit squinting; trying to see them against the moon lit sky. We now had the advantage over BCU, should they turn on us. A communication request appeared on my screen, originating from the lead Support Gear.

"This is Ghram Thonin, Twenty-seventh airborne unit reporting." A stern faced, blond haired man said as he appeared on my screen. "Are you Rebecca Watermason of the Twenty-fourth?" I nodded. "Our orders are to report to you and follow your instructions. You understand the situation here better than the commander, so he has ordered us to follow your decisions without question. What are your orders Ma'am?"

"Hold one moment." I said to Ghram. I switched communication to Matthew, who was waiting patiently. "My forces are here." I paused, knowing I had the better of him now. "I'm going to order our forces to attack the Shrine's ship, and not to fire upon your ships unless fired upon first. Understood?" He nodded. "After that, however, we will have to discuss what to do next."

"I will relay your instructions to my forces, we also will not fire unless fired upon." He said with narrowed eyes, looking irritated. I nodded at him, satisfied with his response. I switched back to Ghram, who was patiently waiting.

"Here are your orders. Do not fire upon the BCU forces unless fired upon first. You will cooperate with them and attack the Shrine vessel in one joint operation. After that you are to wait for my instructions before taking any further actions. Are my orders clear?" I said sternly, seeing a look of confusion and surprise appear on his face.

"No Ma'am, they are not! You want us to join forces with the BCU dogs?" I leaned in close to the monitor. I could feel the static from the screen play across my face at this distance, and I put on the sternest voice I could muster.

"Yes, those are your orders soldier. And, you will keep your eyes on me and not my chest when we speak!" He jumped in his seat and quickly locked eyes with me. "For the moment our objective is the destruction of that Shrine vessel, not the Bygeniou forces. Now, are my orders clear?" He looked surprised for a moment longer, then his face snapped back to looking stern and at attention.

"Yes, Ma'am!" His face disappeared from my communication screen, a moment later the Support Gears flew towards the BCU forces. I thought quickly, trying to come up with a battle plan that would destroy that thing the Shrines had made. From what I had seen of it, it was only capable of firing one long concentrated beam at a time. Then I remembered what Jerry did, how he had dived at it from above at what seemed to be a weak point on the craft.

I thought for a moment, and an idea lighted in my head. A picture of ANI and BCU forces diving at the Shrine's craft from two separate directions, both aiming at the spot Jerry had targeted. It was the best idea I could come up with, as crazy as Jerry was, he had the most luck in damaging that craft; and my best bet was to hope his last action had some shred of sanity.

"Ghram, Matthew!" Both men appeared on my screen waiting. "We'll attack it from two sides! Matthew, have your forces climb to five-thousand meters, then dive and attack the spot I'm relaying. Ghram, at the exact same time," I stressed, in case there were still any lingering doubts in his mind, "I want our forces to dive and attack as well. If we're lucky, we'll confuse it long enough for our missiles to connect."

"Roger." The two men said at the same time. I blinked in surprised; I had just successfully ordered both ANI and BCU forces to work in tandem to destroy a mutual foe. For a moment, I felt overwhelmed by the magnitude of what was being done here, and what was being asked of my leadership. I fought quickly to push those feelings aside, right now we needed to act. I would worry about how I felt about it later.

"All units," I said on the open channel, and I smiled. I knew this peace wouldn't last, but for the moment, it was comforting. "Attack!"

Our Gears dived as one on the shrine's craft. The Support Gears fired their hydrogen cannons, erupting the Shrine's craft in fire and white light. Our missiles launched a moment later, filling the sky with trails. I grinned, my plan was working.

Then, a green beam shot out of the ship and collided with a Support Gear behind me. I felt my stomach fall a hundred meters behind me as it swept through our forces, turning several pilots and their Gears into flaming wrecks. It must of seen our superior numbers and decided we were the greater threat. I quickly reached over to the communication screen, to order our forces to pull back, but I stopped. Matthew and his forces had risked and sacrificed their lives for us up until now, and while I did not doubt that if we returned the gesture, it would be wasted when they turned on us - it was still the right thing to do. I hit the communication channel, and shouted on the open channel.

"Stay on attack vector, keep firing!" I hit my afterburners, rocketing my bomber ahead of our forces. If I was going to ask them to die, then I was going to show them that I was willing to do the same. I rolled instinctively, and a green beam shot where I once was. 'Instinct,' I thought to myself, and quietly I thanked Jerry. I released all the bombs I was still carrying, and my Gear lurched with sudden loss of weight. The ordinance rocketed at the Shrine's craft, towards an eruption of fire and explosion that was threatening to engulf the entirety of the ship.

A second volley of missiles shot past me, and I felt my courage rise, sending goose bumps along my body. My insane charge had motivated our forces to redouble their assault. The Shrine's craft rocked violently from the detonation of our missiles and bombs, then fire erupted out of the front of the craft. The blaze streaked along it's side, engulfing the full length of it. I shouted with triumph, and quickly brought up my communication channel.

"All units, fall back, it's going down! Repeat, all units, cease fire and fall back!" Quickly, both sides turned out of their dives to retreat. I pulled my Gear into a quick inverted half-loop, swooping down through a wrecked street in the city. I cringed as the g-forces pressed down on me, and I fought against the dizzy feeling threatening to overtake me. If I blacked out from this maneuver, I would crash into the city below. Quickly, I straightened out my Gear, pulling up to give myself some distance from the ground below me. When my head and vision cleared, I looked down at my monitor. The Shrine's craft was still on my scanner, floating where I had last seen it. I turned around in my seat, to look at it, and as I did a flash of green light detonated, overwhelming my eyes.

I turned away, sitting back in my seat to shield my eyes. Not a second later, my craft shook violently, and I fought my controls to keep my Gear level. The light died down and I looked back again, quickly. The Shrine's ship had exploded, the front section of it was flying out of control, with the rear section falling straight for the ground. I watched with satisfaction as the front crashed through the forest outskirts, then the body of the ship collided with the ground. We did it, it was dead.

"One problem down, one left." I said to myself. I looked on my radar to check the tactical situation. Our forces were regrouping to the south, near our side of the border, while the BCU forces were retreating to the north, near their side. I changed my course, bringing myself on a heading for our forces. There was no communication from Matthew, and I was not looking forward to hearing what he had to say. No doubt he would turn on us, now that the conflict at hand was over, and our forces now matched his in numbers after the assault on the Shrine's ship. Any moment now his forces would attack; I watched my radar intently, waiting for BCU's next move.

A tense minute passed, and I watched impatiently as the enemy force sat there. Their Interceptors and bombers were circling around their remaining two Support craft, with a few Assault Gears taking up defensive positions on the ground. I brought up Victoria on the secure channel, to see if her sensors had picked up any information that mine had missed.

"Victoria," I said as her face appeared on my screen. She looked calm, rocking back and forth in her chair. "Any idea what the BCU are up to?"

"Nope, not a clue. I've got my computer running, trying to crack the encryption on their communication channel. But other than that, there's nothin' I can do to get a hint on what's going through their doggie heads. Wait a moment..."

Looking at my radar, I saw what diverted her attention. Several of the BCU gears were forming up on one of their two remaining Support Gears. I blinked in disbelief, watching my screen. It was unthinkable, but it looked like the BCU forces were grouping up to retreat. "Victoria, am I seeing things? Is this a trick?"

"No boss, it's not! They're forming up! I don't see how this could be a trick. Hold on...they're formed but they're not moving. You've got a message, boss." I looked down at my screen and saw she was right, Matthew was trying to contact me.

"So you're leaving?" I said as he appeared on my screen. "We were having such a wonderful time, and you leave an attractive young lady without so much as a goodbye? You empire dogs have no manners, you didn't even buy me a drink." I grinned at him slyly, watching for his reaction. His response was a irritated smirk.

"We will withdraw, for now, if you do the same. That is the order my empire has passed down to me regarding this situation. Please contact your superiors to see if this arrangement is satisfactory."

"I've been given full authority over the situation here. I speak for ANI, thank you very much." I defiantly said, narrowing my eyes. He looked almost taken aback for a moment, but only for a moment.

"Very well, then what is your decision?" His look was neutral, his features masking his thoughts, his demeanor impossible for me to read. I went over his face, looking for some hint as to his motives for retreating, but all that reflected back at me was the image of a stoic soldier. I decided to take a chance again, it had worked last time, and from what I had seen of Matthew he had a sense of honor and duty.

"We will retreat as your forces do...for now, as you say." I said with a knowing smile. He returned the smile with a nod of his head.

"You have three Support craft, if you don't mind, could you have two retreat in tandem with our one?"

"Sure." I muted his channel and reached across my controls to bring up Ghram. To my surprise, I noticed then that his channel was no longer available, and looking on my scanner, I saw that his craft was no longer among our forces. I paused for a moment as I realized that he must've died in the attack. For a moment, I wondered what I should do. Then I remembered that I had been given full authority, and I again felt the weight of the situation upon me. I reached for the communication button that would send my signal to all remaining ANI units.

"Reinforcement units, form up and fall back to the tunnel. Wait there for further orders."

"Roger." Came the reply from one Support Gear.

"Will do." The other said, but in a begrudging voice. I watched on my radar as they formed up, then turned and left. As they turned, BCU's formed Support Gear turned and left as well.

'Ok, now we're on even footing. So what's your next move Matthew?' I thought to myself. My communication channel beeped at me, with a message from Matthew, as if to answer my question.

"Now that the pawns have left, I would like to propose a deal." He said calmly. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow, interested in what he had to say. "We both know our respective superiors have a vested interest in that craft the Shrines were working on. And, both our sides will send forces in secret to try and collect whatever remains of that craft."

"It's likely." I admitted, watching him with a sly grin. "So, where are you going with this proposal?" I asked, leaning in to try and draw a reaction out of him.

His eyes darted down for a moment, then back to my face. "I propose we duel over who has salvage rights on the Shrine's craft. One on one, leader to leader. Our remaining units will remain as insurance that neither side breaks our agreement. Does this deal strike you as suitable?"

I sat back slowly, surprised by his offer. It was tempting, we could possibly gain uncontested access to new technology. However, it was likely he was buying time for reinforcements or would not hold his end of the bargain. "What assurance do I have that you'll keep your word?"

"You have my word. I do not speak for all of Bygeniou, of course, just as you do not speak for all of Arlington I would imagine. However, I believe I can placate my superiors with the benefits of this arrangement." He paused, waiting for a response from me. However I had nothing to say in response yet, there were too many things to consider before deciding.

"Or, if you would prefer, we could retreat. We could both pull back and pretend there is a truce between our two nations. At least, until my reinforcements arrive from Bygeniou; then this battle can start over again - as it has countless times before."

I bit my lower lip, thinking it over. "Give me a minute to think about it." He replied with a nod of his head, before closing the connection. I threw my head back into my seat, feeling the soft fabric behind me cushion the impact. With no ideas coming to mind, I decided the best thing to do would be to see what my wingmates thought of it.

"Alright, here's the deal." I said over the secure channel for my wing. "The BCU in charge has offered to duel me for salvage rights on that Shrine craft. He claims he can convince his superiors to let us salvage it if I win, but I don't trust him. What do you all think?"

"I was monitoring all that; I say kick his butt, boss!" Victoria chimed in, and I couldn't help but laugh at her energy. "He's no match for you, and he can't try anything; we outnumber him!"

"I agree with Victoria." Borin said in a calm voice. "Even if it is a trap, it is one we are able to overcome. And, he is no match for your piloting skills."

"What my brother said." Richard added.

"I also agree with his proposal." Jalis said. "However, I recommend you do not finish him off, if the opportunity presents it's self. He may be able to convince his superiors to leave us unmolested during a salvage operation - but only if he is alive."

"Thanks Jalis, I just hope he shows me the same courtesy." I thought it over one last time, then decided. He wasn't a match for me, and we outnumbered him at the moment with our reserve forces in the tunnel; it was worth the chance. "I'm going to duel him then. In case I lose, which I won't," I said with a grin. "My final orders are to fall back and let them salvage. Those are my orders though, if Arlington chooses differently...well, the BCU dog said it himself - I don't speak for all of ANI."

"Hey boss, it's good to see you back to your old self again." Victoria said on a secure channel after I cut the connection to everyone else. I blinked, and looked at her in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, for the past week you've been acting pretty down. And just a few minutes ago, you started acting like the good old teasing Rebecca we all know and love. It's nice to see you back in good spirits, that's all."

I stared at her blankly, stunned at the realization. She was right, up until just now I had been depressed by the death of my parents. But with my attention turned back to my life as an ANI soldier; I had forgotten about the tragedy.

"Life goes on..." I said quietly under my breath. Victoria looked at me strangely.

"What, boss?" I shook my head, and smiled at her pleasantly.

"Nothing. make sure your cameras are recording. I want to show the commander how I beat this BCU dog when we get back." Victoria grinned.

"Roger, boss!" I reached over my console, and sent a communication request to Matthew. He appeared immediately on my screen.

"Alright, it's a deal. But are you sure we should be fighting already? We just met, we haven't even had our first date!"

"Amusing." He said in an icy tone. "Before we begin, what is your name?"

"Rebecca."

"Well, Rebecca." His face lowered slightly, and his eyes gleamed evilly. "May I have this dance?" He killed the communication abruptly. My instruments reported he was targeting me, and my scanner showed the activation of his afterburners. His Intercepter Gear came screaming at me, and I sat back with a confident grin on my face.

"Why Matthew, I thought you'd never ask." I said under my breath with a grin. I turned on my own afterburners and rocketed towards him.

End

Writer's closing notes : This short story started about three months ago to the date, as an experiment. My intention was to write a three part short story, releasing each in episodes. With each release I would take the feedback and use it to improve my writing style so my lifelong goal of writing a perfect novel would be fully realized.

I would like to thank the people of Gala-Net/Masang Soft for bringing Space Cowboy to the USA, and maintaining the game that I spend WAY too much time on. My gratitude to the SCO community on the ANI Trimus server, and the players there. And, I would like to personally thank my father for helping me with revising this story, and my thanks to those who tried to make time in their lives to also aid in the revising process. Episode 2 will be on the way, but it will probally take several months. Until then, see you online! ;D

Ian PaladinVII Crick

5/16/07

Many of the ideas and names presented here are property of Gala-Net Inc / Masang Soft. All characters portrayed are fictitious. Similarities to persons real or fictional is coincidental. All rights reserved by their respective owners.