Saber Dance

by Alaeth

"Honor demands revenge, but on whom?" An original series BGC fic.

Saber Dance

A Bubblegum Crisis Fanfic

By: Brian Greinke

Disclaimer: Bubblegum Crisis and all associated characters are owned by Youmex and Artmic, and no claim, whether express or implied, to ownership of said intellectual property is intended by this work.  Story text and original characters are copyright 2002 by Brian Greinke, and it is requested that they not be used without permission.

Chapter One:  Andante

            Linna's face twisted into a snarl behind her helmet visor as she slammed her fist into the head of the rampaging boomer, triggering her knuckle bomber as she did so.  "This was not," she growled at the now-decapitated boomer, "how I anticipated spending my evening."  A quick check of her suit sensors informed her that no more were lurking nearby, and she was just about to report the all-clear to the rest of the team when a scraping noise from behind her prompted her to turn around just in time to take a plasma beam in her left side.

            Medical and suit damage indicators shrilled in her ears as she frantically dodged another plasma shot.  Fortunately, there was plenty of cover available, and she was able to duck into a nearby building before her assailant could correct his aim.  Gasping with pain, she quickly toggled her suit radio.

            "Sylia, get the rest of the team over here now! Something managed to sneak up on me while I was taking out that last boomer, and now it has me pinned down in some old building. It's not coming in after me, for whatever reason, so you should have enough time."

            Sylia's reply came almost immediately. "We'll be there in less than a minute. Are you injured?"

            Glancing at the suit telltales, Linna was somewhat relieved at what she saw. "The suit reports moderate burns along my left side, and I've lost most of the hardsuit armor there, but apparently nothing critical.  Hurts like anything, though."

            "Understood. Can you-" Sylia's response broke off for a moment, then returned. "Linna, Nene can't pick up any energy signatures near your location. Did you see what attacked you?"

            Linna thought quickly. "No, whatever it was fired from the shadows. It used a boomer-grade plasma cannon, though, like the C-55's mouth gun."

            An indignant squawk came from the comm channel. "Linna, are you sure?" Nene broke in. "There's no way I could miss something putting out that much power."

            "Well, why don't you come down here and get shot by it, then we can compare notes and see who's right," Linna snapped, but then regretted her words a moment later.  "Sorry, Nene, but trust me on this. It was definitely a C-55 or something similar."

            "If you two are finished bickering," Sylia said frostily, "perhaps I can have a turn to speak?" Hearing their muttered assents, she continued. "Priss is bringing the Knight Wing in, so you won't have to make it back to the landing site, Linna. Nene and I will be at your position in twenty seconds, but we'll have to make this quick. I just intercepted an AD Police dispatch ordering a team out to this area. Be ready to move, everyone."

            As the channel closed with an audible snap, Linna leaned back against a support pillar, trying to block out the throbbing sensation coming from her burned side.  Suddenly she heard a high-pitched buzzing noise sound from immediately outside the building, and she threw herself to the ground just as a pair of plasma beams punched through the front wall.  Diving for better cover, she slowly realized that she couldn't have been the target of the beams, based on their angle of entry.

            As if to punctuate this observation, an actinic flare of light burst outside the window, briefly illuminating the building's interior and dazzling Linna's eyes even through the hardsuit visor. Accompanying the light, the strange buzzing whine momentarily lowered in pitch, then stopped altogether. Something crashed heavily to the pavement outside, but Linna, finally succumbing to the steady pain in her side, could do little more than wonder what had just happened.

            The next hour was a blur in her mind, thanks primarily to a large injection of painkillers once Nene and Sylia arrived.  She was vaguely aware of being carried to the Knight Wing, and then of being stripped of her hardsuit and moved to the small infirmary within the Sabers' base.  Shortly thereafter, she fell into a deep and wonderfully painless sleep.

            "Will she be all right?" Nene asked worriedly, as Sylia stepped out of the infirmary.

            Sylia nodded.  "Yes, she'll be fine, now that she's in no danger of going into shock because of the pain. Of course, she needs plenty of rest, and," she added with a small smile, "convincing her to take that rest should be…interesting, once the sedatives wear off."

            Both Priss and Nene laughed a little at this, then sobered quickly as Nene asked, "So what exactly was it that attacked her?"

            "Yeah," Priss added, "even the Knight Wing's sensors couldn't pick anything up. And where was it when you guys showed up?"

            Sylia frowned. "To answer your first question, I don't know. It appeared to be a standard C-55 series, but I'll need to check the hardsuit data recorders to be sure. As for where it was, that's rather simple."

            "Yeah, in pieces," Nene interjected. "Something chopped it in half, right down the middle."

            Priss looked shocked at this news. "Chopped a C-55 in half? But how? Even Linna's ribbons can't do that."

            "Believe me, I'm quite aware of that," Sylia said. "I'm more concerned about the fact that we didn't find even a trace of whatever it was that did it, though. I don't like mysteries," she added, almost to herself. 

Nene tried unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn, causing Priss to laugh. "Keeping you up past your bedtime?" she asked, grinning. Before Nene could do more than glare at Priss, Sylia smoothly cut in.

            "It is getting rather late, and there's not much more we can do without looking at the data recorders, so let's meet here after lunch tomorrow to continue this. Any questions?"

            Priss shook her head, but Nene looked apologetically at Sylia, "I'm really sorry, but I've got day shift for the next few weeks starting tomorrow. Can we do it after dinner instead?"

            "Of course," Sylia nodded. "In fact, let's meet for dinner somewhere first. Linna should be recovered from the medication and fully mobile by then, so I'll call sometime tomorrow to let you know where." Both Priss and Nene brightened at this news, since anywhere Sylia chose for dinner, though usually more than a bit on the expensive side, was always well worth it.

            "See you tomorrow, then," Priss called as she headed for the garage where she had parked her motorcycle. Nene waved to Sylia and followed, hurrying her steps to catch up to the taller woman. Once they were gone, Sylia started for the stairs to her upstairs apartment, then turned and went into the hardsuit storage room instead, pausing at the infirmary door to look in on her patient.

            "Sleep well, Linna," she said softly. "Now to try and figure out what happened to you…"

            Lieutenant Commander Aaron Maedwis was in a foul mood, though he allowed none of his anger to show on his face as he dismissed the group of hardsuit techs from the changing room. "Thank you," he said cordially, "but I can finish storing the suit now." The techs must have picked up on his mood despite his efforts, as they didn't even protest before quietly leaving him alone.

            Once he was alone, Aaron allowed his control to slip, and he grabbed his hardsuit helmet and hurled it across the room, where it clattered against a wall and rolled to a stop near the door, undamaged. Sighing, he crossed over to it and picked it up, racking it in its proper place in the storage bay.

            "Being a bit hard on the equipment, aren't you?" came a mild voice from behind him. He spun fluidly, relaxing his body in preparation for combat. Then he saw who the speaker was, and immediately snapped to attention.

            "Apologies, Colonel. I didn't hear you come in," he said stiffly, embarrassed at his reaction to the other man's presence.

            Colonel Amada simply nodded. "At ease, Commander. This isn't a formal debriefing- that can wait until tomorrow. I just wanted to get your first impressions of the new suit's capabilities. Assuming you're done tossing it around the room, of course," he added dryly.

            Aaron flushed slightly as he shifted to a more relaxed stance. "The suit is fantastic, Colonel," he said, almost forgetting his annoyance as he recalled the sheer adrenaline rush that handling the suit had given him. "While I do miss the flight system from the older model, the extra speed and strength were probably more useful. And the improved vibrosword worked perfectly."

            "Good, Commander. Did the stealth coating appear to have its desired effect?" asked Amada.

Abruptly, Aaron's good mood soured again as he recalled the situation that that particular feature had gotten him into. "You know it did, Colonel," he said through gritted teeth. Then, unable to contain himself, he burst out, "Why? Why did you order me to stop that assassin boomer? Another few seconds and-"

"And the green Knight Saber would be dead, yes," Amada said. "And if you would stop to think for a moment instead of damaging valuable equipment, you would realize that our purpose here is to conduct hardsuit research and, peripherally, observe the Knight Sabers, not kill them."

Aaron started to protest, but was cut off as Amada continued, "Any personal grudge you're carrying against them has absolutely no place in this mission, and if you can't satisfy me as to your ability to control yourself, I won't hesitate to relieve you of your duty. Now, any other questions?" His tone of voice made it clear that none would be welcome.

"None, sir," Aaron said, stung by the older man's words. "Permission to leave, sir?"

Amada sighed. "Granted, Commander Maedwis. Report for a formal debriefing at 0800 hours tomorrow." Aaron saluted and left the changing room, conscious of Amada's eyes following him. Boy, the older man thought, you may have come highly recommended…you might even be almost as good as you think you are. This whole vendetta business is going to ruin you if you can't control it, though. With another sigh, Amada also walked out of the room. It had been a long night for all involved.

            Yawning sleepily, Linna opened her eyes, then yelped and promptly shut them again as the brilliant sunlight sent pain shooting through her head. For a few seconds she wondered how sunlight could possibly have gotten into the infirmary, then decided that she must have been moved to Sylia's guest room at some point during the night. With a happy sigh, she groped blindly for the blanket, intending to pull it over her head and go back to sleep, only to have it rudely snatched away.

            "Syliaaaa," she groaned, "let me sleep. It can't be more than 5 in the morning…"

            "Close," Sylia replied, and Linna could hear the restrained laughter in her voice. "At least numerically, that is. Apparently you've forgotten that this room has a western exposure. Now get up or we'll be late for dinner with Priss and Nene."

            Upon hearing this, Linna's eyes popped open and she bolted upright. "How could you let me sleep that long, Sylia?" she wailed. "There's no way I can get to my apartment and change, and I can't exactly wear my hardsuit to a restaurant." Abruptly remembering the reason why she was staying at Sylia's, she cautiously lifted the sheets and examined her side. Although it was covered by a large swath of gauze, it didn't hurt at all, even when she tentatively prodded it with a finger.

            "Don't worry. The suit must have exaggerated your condition last night," Sylia told her. "Actual tissue damage was minimal, and the bandages can come off tomorrow. However," she cautioned, "you will need to refrain from intense physical activity for the next week or so in order to ensure that the skin regrows properly.  Otherwise there could be some scarring."

            Linna looked both relieved and annoyed at this news. "Well, I suppose it could have been a lot worse. I take it, though, that this means no missions for me for a little while?" Seeing Sylia nod, she grinned crookedly. "Maybe I'll finally be able to make one of my dates with Alen," she said with an air of satisfaction.

            Sylia just smiled and shook her head. "I took the liberty of stopping by your apartment earlier today, so you should find everything you'll need in the bathroom. I've made reservations at the Celestine for 7, so you might want to hurry. And now, if you'll excuse me, I'll leave you to get ready." As Sylia walked out of the room, Linna eagerly climbed out of bed, all tiredness forgotten in her anticipation of the meal to come.

            Aaron waited patiently as Dr. Steinetz scribbled a final note on the pad he was carrying and stood up from his desk. "Well, Commander Maedwis," Steinetz said. "I believe that's all the questions I have for now. I think I speak for my entire staff when I say that we couldn't have asked for a better suit pilot to be assigned to work with us."

            "Thank you, Dr. Steinetz," Aaron said. "And please tell your staff that it's been a pleasure to test such a superbly designed piece of equipment." Smiling beatifically, Steinetz nodded and left the room, already lost in his contemplation of the notes he had taken during the debriefing.

            Seated unobtrusively against the wall across from where the two men had been talking, Colonel Amada cleared his throat. "I believe that will be all for now, Commander," he said as Aaron turned to face him. "Until Dr. Steinetz and his team have completed the next series of modifications to the base hardsuit, you're officially on liberty." When Aaron didn't respond to this, he continued, "What's the matter? Not interested in playing sightseer in the largest city in the world?"

            "To be honest, sir, no," Aaron replied. "I would prefer to remain here and begin familiarizing myself with the new equipment, if that's acceptable."

            "No, Commander, as a matter of fact it isn't. Your performance in the last series of simulator drills was down 15 percent from normal, and both I and the medical officer share the opinion that you've been pushing yourself too hard recently."

Aaron opened his mouth to protest, but Amada silenced him with a slash of his hand. "I don't care what you do while on liberty, but if I catch you in this base before the next test date, I'll put you on medical leave so fast your head will spin. Clear?" Aaron nodded jerkily, and Amada's expression softened. "Good. And remember, Commander, this isn't a punishment. Here," he said, tossing a small package to Aaron. "It's a pass to a health club located not too far from your apartment. I have a feeling you might enjoy that more than barhopping or visiting the tourist sites."

            "Thank you, sir. I appreciate the gift," Aaron said as he stood up and walked out of the office, still somewhat irritated at being restricted from the base but grudgingly admitting that the colonel probably had a point. Maybe I can even find a sparring partner at the club, he thought. It's been far too long since I had someone to practice with.

            Sylia sighed contentedly as she leaned back in her chair. "Well, now that dinner is regretfully over, perhaps we can move on to the meeting portion of the evening," she said. Linna and Priss nodded, looking eager to discuss last night's events. Nene, absorbed in rapt contemplation of the dessert menu, appeared not to have noticed.

            "Nene," Priss said, tapping her on the shoulder, "do you think you could manage to tear yourself away from finding even more things to eat, for once?"

            "Just a second, Priss," Nene said absently, signaling to a passing waiter. "I'd like another slice of the double-chocolate cake with caramel sauce, please," she told the man. "And another cup of coffee too, the hazelnut blend this time, I think." He nodded and moved away from the table. "Now," she said, smiling, "what was that about a meeting?"

            Both Priss and Linna sighed deeply, but Sylia chose to ignore all three of them in the interests of group harmony. "I've had a chance to run some extensive analyses on the data retrieved from the hardsuit recorders," she began, "and quite frankly there's not much there at first glance. None of our sensors ever picked up the boomer that attacked you, Linna, and there wasn't time to do a detailed scan of the remains. However-" she paused as the waiter brought Nene's cake and coffee.

            "However," she continued after he had left, "the damage to Linna's hardsuit is almost consistent with that done by a C-55 plasma bolt, though of somewhat lower intensity than usual. The only reason it did even as much damage as it did was because it hit the side armor. Judging by this, I'd say that someone, likely Genom, has managed to develop a portable sensor-stealthing field, but it appears to take a significant amount of power."

            Linna nodded thoughtfully at this, then frowned. "What about whatever it was that destroyed the boomer? Did you find anything out about it?"

            "No, unfortunately not," Sylia shook her head, looking unhappy. "In fact, if it weren't for those two plasma bolts you recorded, I would be tempted to say that the boomer just self-destructed somehow. As it is, though, it was clearly fighting something."

            "More like trying to fight it," Priss added. "I don't like the idea of something running around that can kill a C-series, however modified, in a few seconds flat. Who knows what else it might try and carve up?" Nene shuddered at the thought, and Sylia glared at Priss.

            "Well, for now it appears to be on our side, or at least not trying to hurt us," she said. "I'll be making inquiries, but we don't have enough information right now for useful speculation. Now, I believe that's everything I wanted to cover." Just then the waiter arrived with their checks, and the four chatted pleasantly as they paid and made their way out of the restaurant.

            "Thanks for the ride, Sylia," Linna said as she slid out of the red Mercedes. "I'll be sure to let you know if I remember anything more about what happened last night, though honestly it all kind of blurs together whenever I think about it."

            "Don't worry about it," Sylia said. "If Genom really was responsible for the stealthed boomer, I'm sure we'll be seeing more of them, unpleasant as that thought may be. Don't forget, no strenuous exercise for the next week," she added mock-severely.

            Linna laughed. "Yes, mother," she said, closing the car door before Sylia could do more than sputter indignantly. As the car pulled away, she walked into the apartment building, humming happily. Despite occasional twinges of discomfort from her side, it had been an enjoyable day. What little of it I was awake for, she thought wryly.

Nodding a greeting to the lobby security guard, she entered the elevator and, after waiting impatiently for it to reach her floor, walked the short distance to her door and keyed the lock, glad to finally be home. She tossed the bag containing the items Sylia had taken for her into the bedroom and sank down on the small couch, not even bothering to turn on the lights. After a moment, though, she noticed that the answering machine was blinking that two messages were waiting, and with a sigh she got up and walked over to it.

"Who would be calling me?" she wondered to herself as she keyed for the first message. The phone screen flashed grey, then black, and then finally the image of Narika, a friend and fellow instructor at the health club, appeared.

"Hi, Linna," she said brightly. "Hope you're feeling better now. Your friend called and said you probably wouldn't be in for work today, so I guess I'll try calling again tomorrow. Bye!" Linna smiled. The one constant in life was that Narika, no matter what happened, always seemed to radiate an air of bouncy cheerfulness. Hope she'll still be so happy when I tell her she'll have to fill in for my classes for the next week, she thought with a little laugh.

Linna's smile grew when she called up the next message and a static-laced image of Alen appeared on the screen.  Sylia must have called him too and told him what happened. I'll need to think of something extra-special to make up for missing our date last night. On the screen, Alen's image finally resolved itself and began to speak.

"Hello, Linna," he said in an uncharacteristically somber tone. "I wish I could say this to you in person, but," he added with a faint tinge of bitterness, "it looks like you're gone again." Linna's smile froze on her lips as a feeling of dread began to fill her heart. The figure on the screen, having paused for a deep breath, resumed speaking.

"Linna, believe me, this isn't easy, but I can't take it any more. You've stood me up for our last six dates, and we've barely seen each other outside of the club during the last month. So I guess this is kind of a goodbye. I hope we can still be friends, but it's time we accepted that our relationship isn't going anywhere."

Linna stared unseeingly at the screen as his image faded from it, part of her unable to believe what she had just heard. "But I loved you," she whispered, her voice sounding loud in the stillness of the apartment. "I thought you loved me too."

Oh, come on, be fair, snapped a voice in her head that sounded uncomfortably like Sylia. With all of these recent jobs for the Knight Sabers keeping you busy, it's a wonder that he even remembered your name. Even love won't wait forever. Besides, it added dryly, surely there are still plenty of men to choose from.

Linna paused to consider this, then felt her mood blacken even further when she realized that, while perhaps once true, this was no longer the case. No, she thought bitterly to herself, they're all just interested in the long-legged oversexed types who like to hang around the weight room making admiring noises. Besides, I already turned most of them down at least once.

Part of her realized that she was on the verge of slipping into melodrama, but she decided she really didn't care. I managed to screw over the closest thing I've had to a permanent relationship- I think I deserve to feel sorry for myself for once. The rational part of her finally admitted defeat, and she sat in front of the phone for the next several hours, chasing her thoughts around and around in a spiral of hurt and confusion before finally resting her head on the desk and falling asleep.

            Finally, Linna thought as she pushed through the glass entrance doors at Phoebe's. She had just come from a very thorough medical examination performed by a friend of Sylia's and had received a perfect bill of health. Spotting Narika, she waved to her and went over to greet the other woman.

            Narika smiled broadly. "Linna, you're back! Maybe now I can finally stop teaching those accursed rhythmic aerobics classes of yours. I swear, I don't know how you manage them. Bet you enjoyed the time off, didn't you?"

            Laughing, Linna held up her hands in mock surrender. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry you got stuck teaching my classes. How about I make it up to you with lunch tomorrow? You can fill me in on everything that's happened while I was gone."

            "Yum, sounds good to me," Narika agreed. "I know this great little Italian place just down the street. Oh," she added, more subdued, "I heard about you and Alen. I'm sorry…"

            Abruptly, Linna's good mood evaporated, and she only managed to keep a smile on her face through an impressive exertion of willpower. She had considered the situation extensively during the previous week, and while she had come to accept it, it still hurt even to think about. "Oh, that's okay," she managed to say with false cheer, hating herself for the lie but not knowing what else to say. "It really wasn't working out, so I'm actually kind of glad he forced the issue."

            Narika looked doubtful for a moment, but then shrugged. If Linna wanted to try and fool herself, that was her problem. "Right. Anyway, I suppose you'll want your usual room for your workout this evening?" Linna nodded, and she continued, "Great, I'll see you in a couple of hours, then. It's good to have you back!" Without waiting for a reply, she hurried over to take charge of another customer entering the club.

            Linna stared at Narika's retreating form for a few seconds, then shook herself. "Thanks," she murmered softly. "It's good to be back. I think." She started for the changing room, absently threading her way around groups of people, when an abrupt collision jolted her back to her senses.

            "Oh, I'm sorry," she said, turning to see who she had run into, her heart sinking when she realized it was Alen. The two stared at each other in an awkward silence for a few seconds, then Alen nervously cleared his throat.

            "Umm, Linna," he began, but she interrupted him.

            "Alen, it's okay," she said quietly. "I did a lot of thinking over the past week, and you were right. Perhaps we should just be content with friendship after all."

            Alen looked relieved. "Thanks, Linna, I really appreciate that. It wasn't any easier for me, I hope you realize." Just then a tall, stunningly beautiful woman walked out of the changing area and waved to Alen.

            "Come on, I'm hungry!" she called. "Let's go get something to eat!"

            Linna stared dumbly back and forth between the two, trying to wrap her mind around the situation. Alen flushed as her gaze finally settled on him and opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off. "Yes," she said, letting all of the bitterness of the past week express itself in her voice. "I can see just how difficult it was for you." Then, desperate to salvage some shred of her dignity, she turned and walked quickly- I will not run, she thought to herself- into the changing room.

            Somehow, she managed to keep herself from breaking down in the middle of the changing room, and she hurried, eyes bright with unshed tears, down the hallway to the darkened dance room she customarily practiced in. Once there, she slumped against the wall, despair evident in her every motion. Oh, God, I didn't think it could possibly hurt this much, she thought miserably. But seeing her, knowing no one will ever look at me like that, I just don't know what to think any more.

            Slowly, still in the dark, she eased herself away from the wall and walked into the center of the room. Raising her arms above her head, she began to dance, hesitantly at first but then with more ease and assurance, tears streaming silently down her face all the while.

            Whistling cheerfully, Aaron walked into the health club just as the setting sun struck brilliant reflections from the mirrored glass around the entrance. I hate to admit it, but Colonel Amada was right, he admitted to himself. He had spent the week working out at the club, reading, and even strolling idly around the nearby marketplace district, and he definitely felt calmer and more relaxed. Yesterday he had been allowed to return to the base to begin simulator training for the next series of tests, and the statistics there had showed a marked increase in performance level as well.

            I suppose I should thank the colonel, he thought. Although, I do wish I had been able to find a sparring partner. You'd think I could have, this being Mega-Tokyo and all.

            A voice broke into his thoughts. "Maedwis-san, back at your usual time, I see!" He turned around to see the receptionist, Narika, smiling at him. He nodded, returning the smile.

            "Absolutely," he said, "even if you never managed to find someone I could do partner katas with. I take it my usual room is available?"

            Narika just laughed at his mock complaint, which he repeated before each of his practice sessions. "Yes," she said, thinking for a moment. "Linna should be out of there by now, so go on back as soon as you're ready. Have a good session!" With that, she left to resume her position near the front doors, ready to assist anyone coming in.

            Still smiling, Aaron headed for the men's changing room, stopping to pick up the black case containing his sword from the locker where he had left it that morning. As he changed into his uniform, fastening the hakama around his waist, he felt his mind settle into the state of relaxed awareness that always accompanied a training session. Walking down the corridor to the practice room, he settled his practice weapon into its accustomed place at his side. Absorbed by the task of securing it, he failed to notice at first that the room was not, in fact, empty.

            Glancing up as he opened the door, he was startled to see the form of a woman dancing gracefully, her figure just another shadow in the darkened room. For several minutes he stood and watched her, captivated by the way she seemed to pour her entire self into her dancing. Then, a turn in the dance brought her around to face him, and he was startled to notice the wet tracks left by tears that streaked her face. She did not appear to notice him, though, and soon the dance turned away from him again.

            I should leave, he thought to himself. Whoever she is, I doubt if she would appreciate my watching this. And yet, he stayed and watched. " 'Dancer in shadows, she weeps as she dances'," he quoted to himself from a book he had read not that long ago, not realizing he had spoken aloud until the woman, startled, overbalanced herself and fell heavily to the floor.

            Shaking her head, Linna slowly tried to climb to her feet, only to nearly collapse again as the motion sent lances of pain shooting through her legs. As she put out a hand to steady herself, she heard a man's voice call from the doorway in oddly accented Japanese, "Are you all right? I'm sorry if I disturbed you- the woman in the lobby said that this room would be empty."

            "Y…yes, I'll be all right. I think I must have just overextended myself," she said, turning shakily to face the figure silhouetted in the open door. "Do you know what time it is?" How long had she danced, allowing her hurt and anger to express itself in the only way she knew?

            The man shifted position, apparently consulting his watch. "It's a little before seven right now," he said, sounding apologetic. "I guess I was a bit early after all. If you'd like, I could come back in another half hour or so. Oh," he added, "would you mind terribly if I turned on the light?"

            "Seven?" Linna asked, not sure she had heard him right. "No, please stay. I should have been finished long ago. And yes, I think I'd like a little light now also." No wonder I'm so tired, she thought to herself. After a week of doing nothing, it's a wonder I'm even able to walk after almost 3 hours of dancing.

            Despite having shaded her eyes with one hand, when the man flipped on the light Linna found herself grimacing at its unaccustomed brilliance. Blinking away fuzzy afterimages, she took a moment to appraise the person who had walked in on her. Tall, with short black hair, greyish-green eyes, and vaguely Asian facial features, he moved with an easy grace and assurance that she had only ever noticed in people with extensive martial arts training. His clothing confirmed this assumption, as he was dressed in a traditional Japanese manner, right down to the- sword?- at his side.

            Apparently he noticed her appraisal, as he stepped forward slightly into the room. "Oh, I'm sorry," he said, sounding a trifle embarrassed. "I guess I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Aaron Maedwis, and if you don't mind my saying so, it's a pleasure to meet you."

            Linna smiled, surprised to discover that she didn't really even need to force it. I guess that dance helped more than I thought. Either that or I'm just too tired to care any more. "I'm Linna Yamazaki. It's nice to meet you as well, Maedwis-san. I'm sorry if I sound rude, but you're not from Japan, are you?" she asked curiously.

            Aaron grinned. "It's the accent, right?" he said, pretending to be hurt. "Mother never would stop teasing me about it, but you're right. Perhaps my introduction should have been a bit more specific." Sweeping a deep bow to her, he continued. "To be precise, I'm Lieutenant Commander Aaron Maedwis of the United States Combined Forces, at your service."

            Linna began to laugh at his pronouncement. At first he looked surprised, but then he began to laugh with her, much to her own pleasure. Again, curiosity won out over courtesy, and she pointed at the sword he was carrying. "Do you practice kendo?" she asked.

            "Kenjutsu, actually," he corrected. "At least, when I can, now. I would have thought it would be easy to find a partner to practice with here, but I haven't managed it yet. I don't suppose you know of anyone like that?" he asked with a crooked smile.

            Linna shook her head. "No, I'm sorry, but I can't think of anyone. Although," she added somewhat hesitantly, "I'm somewhat curious about it myself. Would you mind if I sat here and watched you?"

            "Of course not," Aaron said. "After all, it seems the least I can do to make up for interrupting you. I'm not sure how interesting it will be, though." Linna smiled her thanks at him, then went over and sat next to the door, watching as he worked through a series of warmup exercises before assuming a seiza position.

            At first, she began to wonder if he hadn't been right about the lack of interest, as he just practiced various simple moves over and over. Just as she was getting ready to slip out the door, though, his entire demeanor changed, and he settled into a long stance, hands poised to draw the katana. She watched breathlessly as he began to work through the stylized kata motions, amazed at the speed and elegance of his movement.

            When he finally stopped after an indeterminate amount of time, she was so spellbound that Aaron couldn't keep himself from laughing. "Now I know how I must have looked when I came in and saw you dancing," he said. "I hope you liked it."

            "Umm, yes, it was fascinating," Linna said, shaking herself out of her reverie. "Thank you for letting me watch you."

            "Well," Aaron said as he began to clean his sword, "I could probably start to teach you, if you'd like." At her startled look, he continued. "Don't worry, I'm fully qualified, but I must confess that I've never actually tried teaching anyone before. I wouldn't charge you anything, of course, though you would have to buy equipment."

            Linna simply stood and stared at him. They had just met an hour earlier, and he was offering to teach her? When she didn't respond, Aaron flushed slightly. "I'm sorry," he said, "that was awfully forward of me, I guess. I'll understand if you don't want to, of course."

            I'd love to! Linna thought, but before she could say anything, an insistent beeping began to sound from inside Aaron's sword case. Muttering something under his breath, he ran the polishing cloth over his sword one final time, then slid it into its saya before bending down and picking up the large case.

            Poking around inside of it, he eventually located a tiny black pager. He sighed and toggled it off, then zipped up the case around his sword. Fishing out a pen and paper from another pocket in the case, he scribbled something down and handed the paper to Linna. "Sorry, but duty calls," he said, grinning wryly. "If you should happen to change your mind about lessons, please feel free to call and let me know." Then, with a wave, he headed out the door, already beginning to remove the outer parts of his uniform as he jogged down the hallway.

            Aaron couldn't decide whether to be worried or irritated about the unexpected summons to base, especially since the next test of the new hardsuit systems wasn't scheduled for two more days. I hope nothing serious has happened was quickly followed by But if nothing's wrong at all, I'm going to be awfully annoyed. Just when it looked like she was going to agree, too.

            He flagged down a passing taxi and gave the driver directions to a warehouse district located some distance away. At first the man hesitated, since it wasn't the best part of the city, but a quick display of large-denomination bills silenced his protests, though he still shot sidelong glances at Aaron from time to time.

            "Okay, you can stop here," Aaron said as the cab neared a cluster of particularly run-down buildings. The driver looked at him again, then shrugged and held out his hand. Wincing at the fare displayed on the meter, Aaron paid him and got out of the car, which promptly turned around and sped off again. "I've got to find a place to rent a car," Aaron muttered to himself. "I don't think my wallet can stand too much more of this."

            As he headed towards the nearest building in the complex, he waved to the two men sitting idly next to the grimy, poorly patched concrete stairs leading up to the entrance, drinking and playing an incomprehensible game of cards. Neither appeared to notice him, but Aaron knew that, far from being the homeless vagabonds they seemed, they were in fact part of the outer security perimeter for the base's headquarters.

            The cramped lobby area inside continued the illusion of near-decrepitude, with only one bored-looking receptionist sitting behind a desk that had clearly seen better days.  "Matsushita Construction- For all your building needs," trumpeted a peeling logo plastered on the wall behind her.  Wonder what ever happened to that company, Aaron thought, as he did every time he entered the base.  Ever since boomers had come along, most of the more traditional construction firms had gone out of business.

            "I've got something for the boss," he said to the woman behind the desk.  "Special delivery."  She just nodded apathetically and pointed to the elevator in an alcove to her right.  Aaron entered it, but instead of pushing one of the halfheartedly flickering floor buttons, he pulled a key from his pocket and inserted it in the emergency override slot.  Upon turning it exactly halfway around, the elevator shuddered into motion, dropping one floor down.  The doors opened onto a much different sight than the empty basement that one might have expected given the appearance of the rest of the building.

            Aaron's jaw dropped as he saw the bustle of people in the darkened control center, which was busier than he had ever seen before. Grabbing the arm of a passing communications technician, he asked the woman what was happening.

            "You must be Commander Maedwis, correct?" she asked, instead of answering his question. "Good," she said as he nodded. "Colonel Amada is expecting you down in the hardsuit storage bay. I'm sure he'll answer any questions you might have." She then disengaged herself from his grasp and hurried off across the room again.

            Picking up on the atmosphere of urgency, Aaron quickly located the door leading out of the control room and exited into the rest of the complex, jogging briskly down the corridor that led to the building that housed maintenance and storage facilities for the base's equipment. As he entered the room that had been converted to a hardsuit bay, he saw Colonel Amada glance up from his scrutiny of one of the many monitors scattered around.

            "Excellent, you're here," Amada said briskly. "I'll make this short. A little while ago, a cargo of modified security boomers en route to the docks apparently suffered a spontaneous breakdown of their control programming. They broke out of the transport carrying them and now they've gone on a rampage through the city. Fortunately, damage has been minimal so far due to their surroundings, but they're working their way to more densely populated areas of the city.  AD Police doesn't have the manpower or equipment to stop them before then, so we've been very discreetly asked to provide assistance."

            Aaron looked surprised. "How did they know we're even here? I thought no one outside of the JSDF was aware of our presence."

            "I don't know, Commander. I've been wondering that same thing myself," Amada said. "Right now, though, the more important thing is stopping those boomers and then persuading the ADP to keep this quiet."

            "Understood, sir. Is the doctor's team finished with their changes to the experimental suit?" Aaron asked.

            Amada nodded. "Yes, they finished earlier today. Unfortunately," he frowned, "there hasn't been time to run anything more than the most basic diagnostics , so it's not guaranteed that everything will work properly. Still, it should be far more effective than any of the Reaver-class suits we brought. Just think of this as a slightly more strenuous than usual shakedown exercise," he said with a faint smile. "Now get ready- you'll be briefed further on your way to the target site."

            "Yes sir!" Aaron said, enthusiastic despite the obvious danger of the task at hand. Piloting a hardsuit gave him a thrill like nothing else; he had heard friends who flew fighters speak the same way about their time in the air. Absorbed in trying to remember everything about the suit from his brief simulator experience as he stripped and donned his control skinsuit, he didn't even notice when Amada left the room.

            He glanced over the skinsuit one final time to ensure that it was completely undamaged. Resembling a scuba wetsuit, it covered him from the top of his head all the way down to his feet, with only a small opening left for his face. After satisfying himself that there were no tears or snags disrupting the delicate tracery of wires and cooling lines running through the suit fabric, he keyed open the bay holding the experimental Raven suit, noting the extensive changes made since he had last seen it.

Instead of the faceted dull black shell intended to reduce the suit's sensor profile, it now sported a smooth greyish layer of ablative armor coating that would, assuming it functioned as designed, make the suit far more resistive to laser and other energy weapon fire for a time. The slender bulge running along the right forearm that held the retractable vibrosword was still present, as was the detachable gas laser mounted opposite it. However, it now carried an additional, much larger power cell on its back instead of the sensor pack that had been there previously. It was immediately clear what the extra power was intended for, as a second, more powerful laser and an ultra-high velocity railgun bulked ominously along the left arm.

Satisfied that everything was as he remembered from the simulator, Aaron stepped into the suit and waited as it closed over him and powered up. As its systems came online, he toggled the base comm channel open. "Control, this is Raven X-7b. All systems are functional."

Amada's familiar voice sounded in reply. "Raven, this is Control. We confirm all systems operational. You are clear for combat operations, and your ride to the party is waiting at the north entrance."

Grinning, Aaron ran towards the specified exit as fast as he could safely manage; although incredibly maneuverable for something of its mass and speed, the suit wasn't really designed for indoor operations, and he had to concentrate to avoid running it into corners. Once he cleared the building, he quickly spotted his "ride"- a nondescript grey van that concealed a fully functional mobile hardsuit bay. He had barely climbed aboard and secured himself before the van roared off at a speed that belied its ungainly appearance.

            "Sylia, there's something odd about the way the ADP is deploying," Nene called over the comm channel. "They're not really even trying to stop the boomers, really. It's almost like they're just herding them along, waiting for something to happen."

            Linna could hear Priss snort in reply. "Yeah, right, like what? A platoon of tanks to come rolling down the road? Nah, more like they've finally gone and lost it.  Not that they ever had it in the first place." Before Nene could do more than sputter indignantly at the insult to her organization, Sylia cut in.

            "Nene's right," she said, and if Linna didn't know better, she would have said that she sounded worried. "I just hope they start doing something soon, though, because that's too many boomers even for us to handle by ourselves."

            Sylia, Priss, and Linna were standing on top of a store, listening to the sounds of gunfire and occasional explosions that marked the progress of the seventeen rogue security boomers grow louder and louder. Nene, located several blocks closer, was providing a running commentary on the engagement, and so far the situation did not sound encouraging.

            "What's wrong with them?" muttered Sylia to herself, making sure that the comm channel was closed. "The ADP should be able to take out security boomers without any problem, if only through sheer weight of numbers. So why aren't they doing anything?"

            Suddenly Nene called over the channel again. "I'm reading a new energy source, coming from around halfway between your position and the boomers. It's big, too, and it's not any boomer signature that I recognize. Uh-oh," she broke off for a second, "looks like the boomers have picked it up too. Umm…you might want to get over here. I can see it now, and it looks like some kind of hardsuit."

            "Right, we're on our way," said Sylia. Motioning for the other two to follow, she triggered her suit thrusters and took a soaring jump towards Nene's position. A few short seconds later, all four Sabers were lying prone on the building roof, suit sensors operating at full power.

            "So where's this mysterious suit?" Priss asked, looking around. "I don't see it anywhere."

            Nene pointed to where a streetlight had burned out, creating a patch of shadow that nearly concealed a narrow alleyway. "Right after the boomers picked it up and started running this way, it moved into there, and it hasn't come back out."

            Suddenly, the ADP's strange behavior began to make sense to Linna. Apparently Sylia had reached the same conclusion, as she commented over the suit radio, "So that's why the police weren't engaging the boomers. They must have been trying to contain them so this suit, whatever it is, can take them out."

Linna could hear Priss whistle softly.      "Wow," she said, "I can't wait to see this thing in action, if the police think it can take out seventeen boomers at once."

"Well, you're about to get your chance," Nene called. "The boomers should be coming around the corner right about…now." And, as if summoned, a large group of greenish, vaguely humanoid figures strode into view, their armored skins garish where they reflected the dull yellow streetlights.

            "Raven, this is Mobile One. The targets have entered your fire zone. You may engage when ready," the voice sounded over Aaron's comm link from the transport van.

            "Raven confirms. Engaging now," he replied shortly, leaning around the corner of the alley and letting his targeting systems lock onto the lead boomer.

            "I'm reading movement from the unknown suit," Nene reported. Linna just shrugged, as her sensors weren't sensitive enough to pick up such fine details. "Getting a power spike…I'd say it's preparing to-"

            The final portion of her statement was drowned out by a deafening crack that shattered every window pane in sight. Simultaneously, the left side of the lead boomer's torso blew apart in a spray of vaporized metal and fluids, and it collapsed in a heap as fire began to lick hungrily at the remains.

            A heartbeat later, two brilliant green lasers originating from near the entrance to the darkened alley speared through the head of a second boomer, which also collapsed to the street, sparks flying from its ruined neck.

            "What the hell was that?" came Priss's stunned voice over the channel. Sylia motioned her to silence as the remaining boomers began to run towards the alley. A second crack sounded, but this shot flew wide of its mark, neatly amputating one of the boomers' arms but doing no serious damage.

            Then, as the boomers neared the alley, the mysterious hardsuit stepped out of the shadows and assumed a stance that seemed vaguely familiar to Linna for some reason. A long, almost invisible blade slid out of the suit's forearm, and suddenly a high-pitched drone that she most definitely recognized began to fill the air.

            When the charging boomers were ten feet away, Aaron nodded to himself and stepped forward, angling his vibrosword up and out in a drawing cut. The pitch of the blade's hum changed slightly as it sheared through the front layer of the lead boomer's torso armor, shredding its internal systems. Continuing the cut horizontally, he neatly decapitated another before bringing the weapon down in the final move of the sequence, nearly cutting a third boomer in half.

            A crushing blow to his side jolted him out of his near-meditative state, and he had just enough time to retract the blade before he roughly hit the pavement. Turning the momentum into a sideways roll, he stopped himself against the side of a building, unable to keep himself from gasping at the tearing pain that shot up his chest. That's at least one rib broken, he thought to himself. Better play it safe now.

He quickly glanced backward to ensure that nothing was behind him, then leapt away from the advancing boomers. As he touched down, he felt bones grind together, but was able to force away the sickening pain that threatened to overwhelm him. Bringing his left arm up, he squatted and braced himself in preparation for the railgun's recoil. The crosshairs on his helmet viewscreen centered on the torso of one of the boomers, and he clenched his left hand in the firing command.

Nothing happened. Surprised, he tried again to fire, then tried triggering the lasers instead. A searing flash lanced out from the right laser, staggering the boomer for a moment, but the left one remained ominously silent. Uh-oh, he thought with a sinking feeling. "Raven to Control, I've got a weapons failure," he called. "Can you trace the problem?"

"Affirmative, Raven," came the quick reply. "We're showing a disconnection in the cable from the auxiliary battery. It must have gotten knocked loose when that boomer hit you."

"Well then get the ADP over here now!" snapped Aaron. "Or you're going to be short one test pilot and one very expensive suit! I've still got three shots remaining on the detachable laser, but then I'll be down to the sword, and you saw how well that went last time."

There was a short silence, then the tech's voice returned. "Right, sir. Colonel Amada is trying to reach the ADP's site commander, but it might be a minute or two before they can respond. Can you hold out that long?"

Aaron knew it was a meaningless question. "Guess I'll have to, won't I?" Not bothering to wait for the reply, he toggled the channel closed. For the first time, he missed the jets from the Reaver suit; with them, he could have simply jumped to a rooftop and waited for the ADP to arrive, as according to the tech documents he'd looked through on the way to the target zone, security boomers didn't mount ranged weaponry of any type.

The boomers were now less than fifty feet away, advancing more slowly than before now that they were aware of the suit's vibrosword. Double-checking his aim, Aaron fired all three remaining shots from the right laser in rapid succession, shattering the head of one of the approaching boomers. A warning flare of heat warned him just in time to jettison the laser assembly; even as it landed on the ground beside him, it had begun to spark and catch fire from the excessive strain put on it.

Oh well, didn't have any charge left anyway, Aaron thought as he extended the sword and waited for the boomers to get in range. Cut and run's the order of the day now.

            Sylia calmly watched the battle taking place below. "Offhand, I'd say our mysterious friend is in rather a lot of trouble," she remarked over the Sabers' comm channel.

            "Sylia, I'm picking up an awful lot of communications going on between those boomers," Nene said. "If I didn't know better, I'd say they're coordinating their attack somehow.  It's frequency-hopping, too, so I'm having some trouble jamming it."

            This news genuinely startled Sylia, though she didn't show it. Security boomer AI wasn't supposed to be capable of any more than the most rudimentary of group combat tactics, and they certainly weren't supposed to have military-grade communications systems. Could they have received an upgraded AI? she wondered to herself. If so, that would explain why the ADP didn't want to risk engaging them; after all, what if they've been upgraded in other ways, too?

            Her theory were confirmed a moment later when the boomers split up into three groups, obviously trying to flank the unknown suit. She noticed that they kept a significant distance between themselves so as not to fall prey to the devastating sword strikes that it had used last time. A learning AI, no less…I'm impressed. Then another, darker thought: What if we start seeing combat boomers with the same level of enhancement to their AI? That could be devastating.

            "Aren't we going to do something?" Nene asked. "They'll tear him apart if we don't!" Linna and Priss simply nodded, and all three looked at Sylia. Down on the street, the lead group of boomers had almost reached the suit's position, while the other two hung back slightly.

            Sylia hesitated briefly, considering the odds. "Yes," she said finally. "Priss, you take the left group. Linna, the right. I'll go for the center, and Nene can provide backup. Let's hope that suit's still in condition to help us out, though. Everyone ready?"

            A chorus of "Ready!" greeted her question. Because it was expected, she pointed down at the street and, switching over to external speakers, called out, "Knight Sabers, go!"

            Aaron looked up, startled by the sudden noise, and barely recovered in time to catch a vicious punch from the lead boomer on his sword, shearing off the boomer's arm at the elbow. Suddenly a hissing roar sounded on all sides of him, and he saw three brightly-colored hardsuits drop into the melee, trailing thruster plumes behind them. He felt a flash of near-instinctive hatred as he recognized the Knight Sabers, but then, almost guiltily, realized that he would accept any help right now, even theirs.

            And that help was most effective, he had to admit. To his left, the blue-suited figure was laying about herself with devastating kicks and punches punctuated by the occasional crack of a railgun, shattering limbs and sending chunks of boomer armor flying in all directions. Engaging the rear of the group in front of him, the white Saber was methodically dissecting boomers with laser bursts and stabbing thrusts of her gauntlet blades, while the figure on his right was weaving a deadly dance through her group, sending boomers flying with explosive-augmented punches or cutting their legs out from under them with jerks of her head-mounted monomolecular ribbons.

            At first, the green suit's motions almost seemed to remind him of something, but he quickly dismissed those thoughts and waded into the fray again. Discarding the large, sweeping cuts he had used earlier, he concentrated on disabling the boomers, leaving them for the Sabers to finish off. Once, the blue Saber became surrounded by several boomers, and for a moment he was tempted to let them have her, but again practicality overruled him, and he engaged the boomers long enough to allow her to regain her feet.

            Almost before he realized it, the vicious battle was over, and quiet descended once again on the street, which now resembled a war zone more than a small city side street. For a few seconds the three Sabers stood motionless, staring at him appraisingly. Then, as one, they spun around and jumped, soaring up on their thrusters with the same hissing roar that had signaled their entrance into the battle.

            Aaron staggered in pain as the adrenaline drained out of his system, leaving him weak and hurting significantly more than before, and he noted detachedly that it was getting harder to breathe. The two men who had accompanied him in the van barely reached him before he collapsed into unconsciousness and, clamping him securely into the suit restraints, roared off towards the base. Less than a minute later, the ADP task force arrived, with only smoking piles of destroyed boomers remaining to greet them.

            Right now, Aaron wanted nothing more than to fall back asleep again, but someone was inconsiderately holding a very bright light mere inches from his face. Grudgingly, he opened his eyes and found himself looking up at the ceiling of the base infirmary, with Colonel Amada and the staff surgeon staring down at him, relief evident on their faces.

            "Ah, Commander, good to see you back among the living again," the doctor said. "You're very lucky, you realize. A bit higher up, and those broken ribs would have pierced your heart, not your lung. As it is, you're still in a bit of a mess."

            Perhaps a bit miffed that Aaron showed no overt reaction to this pronouncement, he continued, "We've repaired the damage to your lung and set the broken ribs, but you're going to have to take it easy for a while until everything's had a chance to heal. Ordinarily, I would recommend a period of bed rest, but the colonel assures me that you can be trusted not to overextend yourself." The look on Amada's face informed Aaron that he had better not even think of doing so.

            "I understand, Doctor," Aaron said. Shifting position so he was facing Amada, he asked, "What will this mean for the test schedule? Are you going to be bringing in another suit pilot?"

            The colonel shook his head. "No. First of all, the techs are going to be busy for quite a while just repairing the damage to the suit caused by that battle last night. Also, Dr. Steinetz and his team are working on a way to shield the auxiliary power cable better, so it won't be as easy to knock the connection loose."

            Aaron breathed an audible sigh of relief at that bit of information; he had no particular desire to ever again face down eleven enemies with nothing but a vibrosword. "So, how long until the tests can resume?" he asked.

            "Well," Amada said after thinking for a moment, "the damage to the hardsuit can be repaired in a few days, but it's difficult to say how long it will take Steinetz to design and implement his modifications. Regardless of that, you won't be in any shape to pilot the suit for another two weeks." He glanced briefly at the doctor for confirmation of his last statement.

            "Definitely," the doctor said. "Perhaps even longer, depending on how quickly the lung wound heals." Aaron knew better than to argue with him, so he just nodded resignedly and relaxed against the surprisingly comfortable infirmary bed, letting the painkillers and his own natural exhaustion pull him ever closer to sleep.

            Colonel Amada chuckled. "I think, Doctor Harris," he said, "that we should let your patient rest. I can wait to talk to him until after he's had a chance to recover from…" His voice grew fainter and finally faded away, leaving Aaron to sleep peacefully.

            Linna slumped against the sofa in Sylia's living room, yawning as she sank deeper into the cushions. Why am I so exhausted? she wondered idly. After all, she hadn't taken out more than four of the boomers that night, and she'd even had help from that other suit. Then she remembered her marathon dance session of that afternoon and decided that she had a perfect right to be tired.

            Sylia walked in and sat down in her usual chair, looking at the other three Sabers. "Okay, I'm going to try and keep this short," she said, looking a bit weary, "since I'm sure I'm not the only one who would like to get to bed." Everyone chuckled a little, but Linna thought she could detect something more than mere fatigue underlying Sylia's tone, and that concerned her.

            "I see. Linna, what did you think?" Hearing her name jolted Linna out of her thoughts, and she jumped a little, startled.

            "Huh? Sorry, Sylia, I guess I wasn't paying much attention," she said, flushing a little.

            Sylia merely nodded. "I noticed," she said, with more than a hint of dryness in her voice. "What did you think of that other suit's combat abilities tonight? You're probably best able to judge of any of us, since it seemed to rely on mostly close-in techniques."

            "Well," Linna said, "I don't know about that last part- after all, it was doing pretty well with its lasers and that…other thing, but I can say one thing for sure. Whoever was piloting it was probably the best swordsman I've ever seen, for what that's worth."

            "Actually," Sylia commented absently, "I'm fairly certain that that 'other thing', as you put it, was just a railgun very similar to Priss's, albeit with a much higher muzzle velocity."

            Priss's eyes lit up with joy. "Does that mean you can make me one?" she asked eagerly.

            Sitting across from her, Nene snickered. "You always want a bigger gun, don't you, Priss? Last time it was that boomer autocannon, and- hey!" she yelped as Priss expertly flung a pillow at her head.

            Sylia just sighed. "You can play later, children," she said. "Let's finish this first, okay?" Nene and Priss glared at each other again, then grudgingly nodded and returned their attentions to Sylia.

            "Wonderful. Now, I've looked over the records of the mystery suit's performance, and I'd say it's approximately on a level with our own, for the most part. It's better in some respects, specifically energy efficiency, but I would guess that its control software is rather less sophisticated than ours."

            "That's all well and good," Priss said, leaning forward, "but there's one question you seem to be forgetting. Whose is it?"

            For a moment, Sylia looked frustrated. "I don't know," she said. "I've never heard of a suit that matches what we saw tonight. I'm going to be doing some checking, though, and there's only a few organizations that would have the resources for sophisticated hardsuit research."

            And Genom is right near the top of that list, thought Linna, knowing that her companions were all thinking the exact same thing. She tried unsuccessfully to stifle another yawn, causing Sylia to smile slightly.

            "I believe that's all we needed to discuss for tonight," she said. "I'll call you once I find out more information. Good night, everyone. Oh," she added as they began to stand up, "would you stay behind for a little while, Nene?  Given the behavior of the AD Police tonight, there are a few things that I'd like to have you try and find out while you're at work.  I'd also like to get your opinions on the uprated boomer AI we saw, but I think that can wait until later."

            "Sure, Sylia!" Nene said.  "I'm off of work tomorrow, but if it's in the computers then I'll find it."   Deciding she was more tired than curious about what they were going to talk about, Linna yawned again and started downstairs.

Outside, the cool night air woke her up somewhat, and she was able to slip into her car and drive home before her fatigue caught up with her again. Once at her apartment, she was barely able to get into her bedroom before collapsing soundlessly onto the bed, asleep before her head hit the pillow.

            "Thanks for dropping me off here," Aaron said as the small car pulled into the parking lot of his apartment. "I hate to think how much a taxi would have cost."

            The man driving, a youthful technician on loan from the JSDF, just grinned. "Taxi drivers," he said in virtually unaccented English, "are the greediest people in the city, I sometimes think. And your apartment is right on my way home, sir, so it wasn't a problem at all."

            The car stopped in front of the building's entrance, and Aaron popped his door open and stepped out. After thanking the driver again, he walked into the apartment lobby. A growl from his stomach reminded him that it was almost time for dinner, and despite the fact that he had slept almost until noon that day, he was quite hungry.

            He swiped his keycard through the security reader and walked down the short hallway to his apartment, an occasional twinge in his side the only reminder of the previous evening's festivities. The doctor had done his work well, Aaron had to admit, but he was still rather annoyed about the whole thing.

            Unlocking his door, he swung it open and flipped on the lights. Even after several weeks of living here, he was still surprised by the spaciousness of the place, and he wondered just how the colonel had managed to squeeze the money out of the tightwads in the GAO. Not that I'm complaining, of course, he thought, smiling. Much better than base housing, and a virtual paradise compared to some of the hellholes I've been stuck in before…

            As he rummaged around in the kitchen, looking for something that would be fast to cook, he heard an insistent beeping coming from the other room. It took him a moment to identify it as the vidphone, and he briefly considered just letting it ring, since he never got calls from anyone but telemarketers and people at the base that he would be seeing again the next day anyway. Shrugging, he decided to go answer it; if it really was someone at base, he probably shouldn't ignore it.

            Linna sat in front of the phone, hoping she looked calmer than she felt. After waking up earlier that day, she had remembered her encounter with the American man at the health club last evening and his offer to teach her kenjutsu. Deciding whether or not to accept had been difficult; on the one hand, he had seemed nice, and she was quite eager to learn what he had to teach, but, some part of her mind whispered, do you really want to set yourself up for another fall? Seeing Alen with…well, whoever he had been with yesterday, had hurt far more than she had expected, and she wasn't sure she could handle even a casual relationship at this point.

            Then she told herself she was being silly. The man had offered to teach her, not marry her, and besides, he was foreign- and in the American military- so there wasn't any chance of the relationship she feared. Having made her decision, she went over to her phone and punched in the number that the man had given to her.

            She sat staring at the hold image for an interminable amount of time, and was just about to cancel the call when the screen fuzzed over with static, then resolved into the face of the man she had met yesterday.

            "Whatever it is you're selling, I-" he began, then broke off as he recognized who was calling. "Ah…Yamazaki-san, was it? I'm sorry," he said, looking faintly embarrassed, "but I haven't gotten a call from anyone but telemarketers in all the time I've been here, I don't think. What can I do for you?"

            Linna laughed despite her nervousness. "That's all right, I can't say I blame you.  Anyway," she continued, feeling a bit more sure of herself, "I was wondering if your offer from last night is still available."

            "Offer…" For a moment he looked a bit confused, and Linna wondered if she had somehow misunderstood him last night. Then his face brightened. "Of course!" he said enthusiastically. "When would you like to start?"

            Linna breathed a silent sigh of relief. "Is tomorrow too soon?" she asked. "I don't want to inconvenience you, of course. Thank you so much, Maedwis-san," she said, hoping she was remembering his name correctly.

            "Oh, don't worry about inconveniencing me," he said with a grimace. "I'm on medical leave for the next two weeks, and we should be able to work a schedule out by then." He paused for a moment, then continued. "Actually, if you'd like, we could go and look for equipment for you tonight. I believe I have a practice weapon you can use, but you're going to have to get your own uniform and armor, I'm afraid. Oh, and please call me Aaron."

            "Thank you for the offer, but I think-" she stopped in the middle of her sentence, trying to think of a good excuse, then wondered why she was bothering. She didn't have anything that she needed to do, and she had exhausted her supply of books. And I really don't want to be alone, she realized.

            "But?" Aaron's voice repeated, and Linna shook her head.

            "Sorry, must be more tired than I thought," she said. "If you're sure you don't mind, I'd be happy to go tonight."

            He looked pleased, and the last lingering traces of Linna's uncertainty faded away. "Wonderful," he said. "Umm…have you eaten tonight yet?" This last came out in something of a rush, and Linna had to concentrate to understand him through his odd accent.

            "Why," she said, a humorous glint in her eyes, "I'm shocked! Are you asking me on a date?" Aaron looked surprised, but quickly recovered.

            "Well," he said slowly, "I suppose that's one possibility. Of course, it could also be that I just don't have anything to eat around here and I'm hoping to shamelessly take advantage of your very conveniently timed call."

            He seemed completely serious, and for a moment Linna felt rather indignant. Then he grinned. "Fooled you!" he said, "And don't try and make me feel bad about it either. After all, you started it." She couldn't help but smile.

            "Very well, in that case I'll accept your ever-so-gracious offer to treat me to dinner," she said, still smiling, but triumphantly now.

            Aaron was stuck, and he knew it. "Okay, you win," he said, sighing dramatically. "Do you want to come by and get me now, or wait a little while?"

            "Me pick you up?" asked Linna. "Why can't you come pick me up?"

            Now Aaron definitely looked like he thought this had all been a mistake. "Well, because I don't have a car," he said, "and somehow coming by in a taxi just isn't the same."

            Linna decided to have mercy on him. "Okay, I'm sorry, I'll stop teasing," she said, not looking particularly repentant. "Why don't I come by now, so we'll have plenty of time to look for equipment afterwards? Is there anything I should bring?"

            "No," Aaron shook his head, "what you're wearing now should be fine. I'm staying at the Sentou apartments, number 117."

            Wow, that's nice, Linna thought. The Americans must treat their military officers really well. "Okay," she said, "I'll be there in fifteen minutes or so. And I should warn you, I'm really hungry."

            Aaron winced. "Right, see you then." The phone screen went black, and Linna leaned back in her chair, quite pleased with herself.

            Glancing at his watch again as he sat impatiently on the lobby couch, Aaron sighed. "I should have guessed she'd change her mind," he muttered to himself. "Though I wish she had at least called to let me know." Linna was over twenty minutes late, and even though he tried to convince himself that it was only the traffic, or any of a hundred other plausible reasons, he couldn't escape the feeling that she had decided at the last moment that she wasn't especially interested in his company after all.

            A familiar voice coming from the opposite end of the lobby caught his attention. "Excuse me, sir, but could you please open the gate for me? I'm meeting someone, but I don't have a key."

            Jerking up from his contemplation of the floor tiles, Aaron looked in the direction that the voice had come from, and saw, to his delight, Linna standing at the security desk. He stood up and quickly crossed the lobby, wincing when he saw that the guard on duty had apparently decided to be as unhelpful as possible. As he came closer, his suspicions were confirmed by Linna's next words.

            "Look, you puffed-up shirt that someone apparently decided to gift with a toy badge, do I look like I'm going to go on a killing spree through the complex? All I want to do is meet someone at his apartment. Even if you can't open the gate, at least put a call through to number 117."

            Although Linna's back was turned, judging by the expression on the guard's face, Aaron could tell that a killing spree was exactly what he was afraid of right now- one starting with himself. Fighting down the urge to just hang back and listen to the richly deserved abuse she was heaping on the guard, whom everyone in the complex disliked, he stepped forward and cleared his throat.

            "Linna, I came out here to wait after a while. And," he said, glancing at the guard, "it looks like it's a good thing I did, too."

            She turned around to face him, the annoyance fading from her features as she did so. "Oh, Aaron. I'm really sorry I'm late, but I had a bit of car trouble," she said, gesturing to several stains on the front of her shirt. "I didn't want to keep you waiting any longer, so I'm afraid I didn't bother changing."

            "Don't worry about it," Aaron said. "I'm really hungry now, though, so shall we go?" Linna nodded enthusiastically, and the two walked out of the lobby.

            "Sorry about the guard," Linna said as they got into her car. "I really wasn't in a good mood right then, and I guess I took it out on him."

            Aaron just laughed and shook his head. "Don't worry, he's a jerk. He's just as bad about not letting people in if they've forgotten their keys or something. Everyone complains about him, but it doesn't seem to do any good."

            "Oh well." Linna dismissed the incident with a shrug.  "So, where did you want to go to eat?"

            "Well, there's a pretty nice Chinese place that's not too far from here, if that's okay with you," Aaron said.  Not to mention that tonight happens to be the all-you-can-eat buffet special.  He grinned to himself, feeling quite pleased with his solution to Linna's implied threat to eat him out of his next paycheck.

            "Sounds good to me," Linna said.  "I think I passed it on the way over here…Lee-chan's House of Noodles?"  Aaron nodded, and shortly thereafter they were thoroughly embroiled in the heavy rush-hour traffic.

            "So,"  Linna said to Aaron as the two of them sat down at a table next to the door, "assuming it's not classified or anything, what brings you to Mega-Tokyo?"

            Aaron looked thoughtful for a moment, then shrugged.  "Well, I can't tell you everything, of course, mostly because in true military fashion I don't even know about half of it."  He smiled for a moment, then continued.  "I'm in the research division, but what we're doing right now isn't exactly pure R&D.  More like unit coordination and tactical exercises that take advantage of some systems we have under development currently."

            "Must be rough exercises if you got hurt badly enough to be out for two weeks," Linna said.  "What do they have you doing, running through live fire?"  Fortunately for Aaron, she was looking through the menu when she said this, and thus missed the startled look that flashed across his face.

            "Uhh…not quite," he said, trying to recover his composure.  This conversation was quickly moving into areas that he shouldn't be talking about.  "I got hurt because of an equipment malfunction.  Just bad luck, really."  It wasn't even a lie; if the power lead to his main weapons hadn't been knocked loose, he would've been able to finish off the boomers  without having to go hand-to-hand with them.

           Luckily for him, the arrival of a waiter and their subsequent visit to the buffet distracted Linna from her line of thought.  "I know you teach classes at Phoebe's," Aaron said after they sat down again, "but what else do you like to do?  I have to admit, I don't know much about what there is to do around here."

            "Oh, not much," Linna said.  "Hang out, go to clubs, that sort of stuff.  There's a friend of mine you've got to meet if you're into music.  She plays at some of the local clubs, but she's usually at this one called Hot Legs."

            Aaron nodded.  He didn't really know much about the kinds of music that were popular around here, but he liked just about anything.  "Good, it doesn't sound like you'll have a problem keeping a regular practice schedule, then."  He, on the other hand…well, he could worry about that if it ever became a problem.

            He couldn't be sure, but he thought she looked worried for a moment.  "No, probably not," she said.  "Sometimes I help one of my other friends out with her business, though, and that can be pretty odd hours at times.  It's not really all that often, though," she finished, sounding apologetic and not a little defensive.

            "Okay, don't worry about it," he said, wondering at her tone.  Guess I managed to push one of her buttons, but why?  "As long as you can let me know a little ahead of time, I don't mind."

            "That shouldn't be a problem," Linna said, and he noticed that she seemed to relax when he didn't raise any further questions.  "I'm thinking about taking some business classes at night, maybe trying for a job change, but that wouldn't be for a few months at least."

            "Really?" Aaron asked.  "What are you thinking about going into?"  He was intrigued; clearly there was more to her than he had assumed.

            "I'm not really sure yet," she admitted.  "I like teaching aerobics, but it's not exactly something that I can see myself doing for the rest of my life.  Maybe try for a management position at the club, or…" she trailed off, shaking her head.

            Aaron nodded.  "I know what you mean.  I've still got a few years left until my enlistment is up, and I'm not sure what I'll do then.  I'm sure I could get a job with one of the megacorps if I wanted to, but that doesn't really appeal to me for some reason."  He took advantage of the momentary lull in the conversation to make another trip to the buffet.

            "It's kind of funny," he said, sitting down again and handing Linna the plate of food he had picked up for her as well.  "I assumed I'd get out of West Point and then spend the next seven years being shuttled around between various infantry units, maybe picking up a promotion or two along the way.  Boy was I wrong, though."

             "How so?" Linna asked, curious.  She didn't know much about how even the JSDF operated, let alone the vastly larger American military.  "What sorts of things have you been doing?"

            "Regular infantry for a year, but then I got recommended for transfer into special ops training.  I spent a year and a half there, then TDY- sorry, temporary assignment- to one of the research teams."  He paused for a moment to take a drink.  "I have absolutely no idea what I'll be doing after this is over.  Probably back to spec ops."  To Linna, he looked as if he couldn't decide whether that was a good thing or not.

            "Anyways, shall we go and look for armor?" he asked.  It was getting dark out, and he had learned the hard way that even in such a big city as this, many of the smaller stores didn't stay open all that late.

            Linna nodded.  "Sure, I'm ready to go.  I know this one store that's close enough that we could probably walk to if you'd like."  They got up and paid, much to Aaron's chagrin as he learned that the buffet wasn't all you can eat as he had thought, and walked out of the restaurant.

            The shopkeeper looked apologetically at Aaron.  "I'm sorry, sir," he said, "but these are the only stock sizes of iaido armor we carry. If you need something else, I can give you the name of our manufacturer. I know he does custom work also."

            Aaron sighed and looked at one set of armor again.  Picking the various pieces up, he handed them to Linna. "Here, try these on.  I doubt that they'll fit right, but I'd like to make sure."

            "Right," she nodded, and stepped into the small changing area.  While she was occupied, Aaron turned back to the shop manager.

            "I don't suppose you know of any other stores around here that might carry a different selection of armor?" he asked.  "I'd like to avoid custom work if I can- it's just too expensive to be worthwhile for a beginner."

            The other man considered the question for a moment, then shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not.  There just aren't many manufacturers of the heavier types of armor, not like there are for standard kendo armor."

            "That's pretty much what I expected," Aaron nodded, then noticed that Linna had reappeared. "Here, let me see how the different pieces match up."  She obediently turned and stretched in the directions he indicated.

            "No, that definitely won't do. See," he said, pointing to the gap between the mempo and the throat guard, "that's a big problem right there." He stopped and considered for a moment. "Want to discuss it over dessert? Getting a custom-sized set of armor made would be quite expensive, so you might want to think it over some more."

            Linna nodded.  "Sure, I think I saw a bakery not far from here.  I'll get this armor off, and we can walk on over."  She disappeared into the dressing room again, reappearing shortly with the bundle of practice armor

Aaron took it from her and racked it on the shelf, then turned to the shop owner.  "Thank you for your assistance," he said, "and if I ever need any supplies, I'll definitely come back here." He scribbled his phone number down on a scrap of paper, then handed it to the man. "And if you wouldn't mind, could you please give me a call some time regarding your custom armor prices?  I've been intending to replace my own armor for a while, but I haven't really had the chance to until now."  Nodding a farewell, he and Linna left, debating amiably about the relative merits of various pastries.

            Linna looked at Aaron as she took bites out of an oversized cinnamon roll. "I take it that getting a custom-sized set of armor would be somewhat expensive?" she asked.

            Aaron winced.  "Quite," he said, setting down his coffee.  "Generally, you wouldn't want to spend the extra money on custom fitting until you've advanced to the more rigorous levels of training.  Unfortunately, it looks like all of the stock sizes are too large for you."

            "Can't we just go to another store?" Linna asked.  "I know of a couple of other martial arts supply places around here. Wouldn't one of them be likely to have smaller sizes?"

            "We can try," Aaron said, "but I asked the store manager about that, and he said that there isn't much demand for women's sizes in the heavier armors, so most places don't stock them." Pausing to finish off his coffee, he sighed.  "Sorry about this. I didn't realize it would be so tough to get you equipment.  Mother had hers custom made, of course, and…" he trailed off as an idea occurred to him.

            "And?" Linna prompted, not quite sure what to make of the look on his face.  He obviously had an idea, but it didn't seem like one he was entirely comfortable with.

            "Well," Aaron said, somewhat reluctantly, "I have my sister's armor with me, and you look to be about the same height and build as her, so I guess you could try that." 

            "Are you sure she won't mind?" she asked.  "I mean, if she's going to be using it, I don't want to be any inconvenience."

            Now he just looked sad.  "No, that won't be a problem.  Cai won't need it again, though," and he smiled briefly, "truthfully, she wasn't ever quite as serious about training as I was."  For a moment, his face acquired a distant expression, but he shook his head and smiled, hoping that it didn't appear to Linna as forced as it felt to him.

            "I'm…sorry," Linna said, looking down at the table.  "I didn't mean to bring up bad memories.  Maybe we should just call it a night."

            Aaron was almost ready to agree; thinking of Cai still hurt, and he wasn't sure what to make of Linna yet.  I can't avoid it forever, though, he thought.  And I know she wouldn't want me to just keep drowning in memory.

            "No, it's okay," he said, surprising himself a little.  "Though I do think we might want to go before the manager does more than just glare at us."  Linna laughed, relieved that she hadn't upset him too much, apparently.

            "It's kind of late to do that tonight," he said after a moment, "but I should be free most of tomorrow if you want to come by and take a look at it.  I imagine it's with all of the rest of her things that were still in storage…"

            As he trailed off, Linna realized that the hurt ran deeper in him than she had thought at first.  What happened to his sister? she wondered.  Not now, better think of something to try and cheer him up.  "Well, okay," she said, putting on an air of exaggerated hesitance.  "But I don't know…I mean, the two of us, all alone in your apartment…" She trailed off suggestively, trying to keep from grinning.

            It worked, or at least it appeared to.  Aaron laughed, his expression becoming one of offended innocence.  "Young lady," he said, artificially deepening his voice, "I'll have you know that I am an officer of the United States military, and I'm deeply hurt that you could even think me capable of such a thing."

            "Well then, sir officer, perhaps the time has come for you to escort me back to my car," Linna said, trying desperately to keep some semblance of a straight face.  "After all, don't you have a curfew or something?"

            For a moment, Aaron felt indignant, until he realized she was still teasing him.  "Okay, okay, you win," he said, throwing his hands in the air in defeat, then rising and bowing in an exaggerated fashion.  "After you, my lady," he said with a perfectly straight face.  Linna just snickered and swept past him.

            The drive back to Aaron's apartment complex was short, and neither of them said much on the way there.  Aaron's temporary amusement had faded somewhat, and sensing this, Linna decided not to bother him.  He'll say something eventually, she thought, if it ever becomes important.  That thought spurred another one, though.  And when did this become anything more than a chance-met friendship, if it is? she wondered.  Sometime during the course of the evening, her intention to keep their relationship strictly casual had changed, and she wasn't entirely sure what to think right now.

            "Thank you again for dinner," she said as they pulled into the apartment building's parking lot.  "I had a good time, even if we didn't manage to find what we were looking for."

            Aaron smiled, looking genuinely happy.  "Believe me, the pleasure was all mine," he said.  "When would you like to come by tomorrow?  I have a medical checkup scheduled for ten in the morning, but any time after lunch should be fine with me."

           "Umm…" Linna thought for a moment.  "I have a couple of classes to teach tomorrow, but I'll be done by four or so.  How does five sound?"  With any luck at all, Sylia won't decide to have another Sabers meeting tomorrow, unless Nene finds out something really big.  Just to make sure, though, she decided to call Nene once she got home.

            "Sure, that sounds fine to me," Aaron said.  "It'll give me time to recover from the morning."  He grimaced, a gesture which Linna fully sympathized with; thorough medical checkups were about as far from enjoyable as it was possible to get.  "Well, good night."  He got out of the car and started towards the tall apartment complex.

            "See you tomorrow!" Linna called out her open window.  Aaron turned and waved at her as she drove away, and she drove back to her own apartment with a smile on her lips, feeling better than she had in quite a while.  It feels nice to have another friend outside of the Sabers, she thought.  And if turns into something more…well, I'll worry about that if it ever happens.

----

Author's Notes:  Well, part one is down, out of a projected four or so parts.  C&C of any kind is more than welcome (yes, that even includes out-and-out flames...though if you do go in for the more incendiary type of message, don't expect a reply).  Also, if anyone would be interested in pre-reading either for this story or an original work that I'm also in the middle of, please let me know.

Please note that this is (obviously, I should hope) an original series BGC fic; I haven't seen any of the 2040 series, and questions relating to it will be politely ignored.

I suppose I should point out a few things about the way I'm presenting the US military organization.  At some point the USSD (United States Space Defense) was formed, incorporating both the Air Force and certain NASA groups.  Around that time, the Army, Navy, and Marines were also grouped together under the aegis of the USCF (United States Combined Forces).  That should explain the odd system I'm using for military ranks in the story, as it's a combination of the Army and Navy systems.  Any further questions are welcome.