Authors' Note – This story, and the ones that follow, are based upon the TV-series version of the characters, and use events taken from the series as background.

Additional - I've done some 'tweaking' from the original story, which I wrote twenty years ago. I think this version 'works' better, but comments are always welcome.

A Blast from the Past

Prologue

In the years that followed the beginning of the 21st Century, Mankind had begun a steady expansion into space. By the year 2035, orbiting space factories had begun to produce enough goods to provide for all of the fifteen billion inhabitants of the planet Earth. Oceanic Farming projects ensured that all had enough to eat, and global communications networks permitted everyone to obtain a proper education. The destitute masses of the mid to late 20th Century no longer existed, and most people no longer had to resort to deception and treachery to obtain what they wished.

There were, however, still those who sought to deprive others in order to make a profit...

Part One - A.D. 2090

"This is David Jacobs for the World Information Service," The reporters dull monotone filled the meeting room, "with an exclusive from the Moon. Today, July 5, 2090, HyperTech Industries announced that it will begin testing on its latest development; the first working Faster-Than-Light propulsion device; later this week. Doctor William Galet, head of Research and Development for HyperTech and developer of the device, earlier told this reporter that, if successful, the drive would make interplanetary and interstellar journeys virtually instantaneous. No longer would spacecraft require months or even years to reach their destinations, and star probes could be manned, with travel times not exceeding a few years. Rumour has it that there are also plans to test a thruster engine that has no external exhaust ports, but Dr. Galet refused to comment on this, stating security restrictions.

"In other news..."

The vice-president of HyperTech Industries snapped off the power switch, and the image faded from the screen. He turned to his aides. "Gentlemen, this presents us with a dilemma. If Doctor Galet has perfected a reactionless drive, then ships will no longer be required to carry several times their weight in reaction mass."

"ABSURD!" screamed the Assistant R&D Chief. "All present-day physics says that Newtons Laws still apply.. A ship can't move without some kind of reaction to push it!"

"Nevertheless," muttered the Marketing Director, "If such a drive could be produced, HyperTech would surely go bankrupt." The sale of reaction mass, ammonia or methane scooped from Jupiters' atmosphere, amounted to a
significant portion of HyperTechs' business. "We should consider suppressing this technology."

"Dammit, I've tried." The Chief was nearly screaming. "I've done everything but threaten Galet to try to convince him to keep this secret, but he won't budge. Keeps babbling about Mankinds 'Destiny in the Stars'. I don't think there's any way of shutting him up about this; other than killing him."

"There is another way."

That quiet utterance brought silence to the room. All eyes focused on the speaker.

"Friends, I have already considered this, and have set a plan in motion that will not only keep the reactionless drive from being produced, but will give us the opportunity to persuade the good doctor to keep his high-handed ideas to himself." And finally get him out of my hair, was the unspoken comment from the president of HyperTech.


Four hundred thousand kilometres away, aboard the test vehicle Star Seeker in a high Lunar orbit, William Galet (Bill to one and all) stared at one of the control room monitors with a look of sorrow.

Janie Galet, Bill's sister-in-law, had a most unreadable face. He couldn't tell if she was angry or disappointed. Either way, she had a slight advantage. "But Bill, Mike's birthday is in three days. He expects his favourite uncle to be there. He won't like it if you miss his big day because of the test."

"Janie, look. The test is supposed to take place tomorrow. I have to be here to supervise the installation of the last components of the Jump Drive."

"I realize that, but WHY do you insist on testing it yourself? It isn't your job, and you have a whole army of test pilots willing to take this job."

Bill sighed to himself. "Janie, I've said this to you all before. Nobody knows all the devices on the ship as well as I do, and nobody knows about my little toy that'll be tested too. The test crew is competent, yes, but they'd be lost if something went wrong with that."

She gave him a look that faintly resembled disgust. "All right, all right. I can't stop you. But remember this - Mikey is counting on you. If you miss his birthday for the sake of your own ego..."

"Not ego, Janie. I'm doing this so humanity can take its place in the stars."

"..or whatever you think you're doing it for - Well, don't expect much sympathy from a ten-year-old." With that, she broke the connection.

Why can't anyone understand, he mused. The Jump Drive and the Quantum Thruster would open up the stars to Man. We could become a star-spanning species, and realize our true destiny.

He flicked on the commlink to the tech crew. "Al, how are things progressing?"

A hollow-sounding voice came back to him. "Almost done, doctor. All systems will be active for the test tomorrow." Al Davis was outside the hull, fitting the last components of the Quantum Drive into place.

"Good. I've spoken to the orbital monitoring stations. The test will begin at 0900 tomorrow."

"Yessir."


The Star Seeker did not move out of Lunar orbit under its own power. The powers-that-be at HyperTech had decreed that the testing take place far away from inhabited areas, and the Moon was the second most populous world in the entire Solar System. Bill had argued that the drive was perfectly safe, and that it HAD to be tested deep within at least the Moons' gravity, or there would be no way of knowing for sure that it would function properly in higher gravity. He had argued for nothing - their minds were made up. Ignorant office boys, Bill fumed. Couldn't see their way out of a plastic bag, and I have to take orders from them!

At 0855 he opened a channel to the research centre on the Moon. "Al, can you hear me?" That wasn't really necessary, as the hyperchannel commlink he was using had been installed in countless spacecraft since its 'discovery' three years ago. Part of his high school science project, it allowed communication across the system with no noticeable time lag. It had also helped him formulate the equations that made the Jump Drive possible.

"Right here, Bill. We're getting telemetry from your computer, everything looks good from here."

"Okay. First off, we'll run through the Quantum Thruster test series. I'll run through a series of maneuvers to go through all possible motions. I'll run it up to five gees thrust." The internal gravity field could easily handle ten, but let's take no chances yet. Remember, you've got a birthday to attend.

"Roger that, Bill. Anytime you're ready," came the reply.

He punched a series of codes into the computer, and the ship leapt into the darkness. Performing a series of turns, twists and rolls that would give a professional acrobat nausea, the ship finally settled into a straight forward thrust out to the Belt area.

Hardly able to contain his elation, Bill hit the arm of his crash chair with his palm. "Hot Damn, Al. It works! I'm getting normal internal radiation readings, too. No ill effects whatsoever!"

"Congrats, doc." Davis was a bit dejected at the prospect of this, because he didn't like what he'd have to do if the next test was successful - he LIKED doc Galet.

"Okay, Al. Now for the big one. Jump Drive test number one coming up." The first test was a short, in-system jump, to see if it worked within planetary systems. The target was Pluto; now the farthest planet from Earth. "I've entered the coordinates, on my mark. Three.. Two.. One.. JUMP!"

There was a very slight feeling of disorientation, but it passed so quickly that it was hardly noticed. The dark, cold surface of Pluto was before him, a mere five hundred kilometres away.

Bill was in heaven. "Test Number One successful!" He was nearly crying. "The computer will handle the second test - this jump will take me out fifty-one light-years, and I'll be back in time for the news! Computer engaged... Al, what's wrong?"

This because Al Davis had suddenly given him a sorrowful look. "I'm sorry, doc," was all he said as he hit a button at his console.

The ship lurched under a sudden burst of thrust. Bill was slammed face-first into the console in front of him. The computer was still counting down to Jump, but below it was displayed...

MALFUNCTION! Warp Field Error

Dazed and bleeding from his nose, he reached to hit the ABORT switch. He missed, activating the emergency beacon instead. He reached again...

The computer count reached Zero and the universe caved in.


In the months that followed, many changes occurred. Al Davis was charged with sabotage - he surrendered himself in a fit of guilt. Admitting that he had planted a device to melt one of the control connections, he also told Police who had ordered its installation. The President of HyperTech was subsequently charged with murder. However, since an intensive search of the area produced no sign of the ship or the doctor, the charge was changed to voluntary manslaughter and he was sentenced to twenty years. Because Bill Galet did not keep records well, the designs for the Quantum Thruster and the Jump Drive were lost. It took twenty-one years for the warp drive to be re-created. The Quantum Drive was never repeated.

Bill Galet was never seen again...

Part Two - A.D. 2141

Kei and Yuri were on their way to Vanir.

Their latest case complete, they were headed towards their favourite vacation spot. They could really use one, too; in the process of completing the investigation, they had (quite inadvertently) triggered a booby-trapped nuclear device that devastated a nearby city. They caught the guy they were after, but they also caught it from Director Goulet when they returned. "Half a million casualties?!" he had screamed, "I would hardly call that a success! Just because the Central Computer has cleared you every time something like this happens, I expect you to use a little more restraint in your investigations. This continuing slaughter is completely uncalled for!"

"Jeez, why do we always end up like this? It wasn't OUR fault that nuke blew; just bad luck, that's what it was." Kei was relaxing with her feet up on her side of the control console. After all, Yuri was doing the flying. "And besides, didn't we get the jerk? He had no cause to complain!"

Yuri looked up from the scanners long enough to whisper "But Kei, it was partly our fault. After all, it was you that wrecked the detonator with that shot."

"That doesn't matter! How am I supposed to control every single shot I fire? They were shooting at us from all directions - maybe they did it themselves!" Sure, Yuri. Blame me, she fumed. You were there too. Maybe you shot it. "Anyway, we've got two weeks vacation out of it. That isn't too bad."

"Well, maybe it'll go better than the last time." giggled Yuri.

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Kei shouted.

"Don't forget, Kei - you put that guy in the hospital last time."

"Hey, he deserved it. He tried to paw me!" Which resulted in his being thrown into a synthocrete wall. "I want to see if the cracks are still there where he hit."

"Sure, sure. They haven't patched it in the three months we've been away. Kei, could you raise Traffic Control, please. Something seems to be wrong with the scanner."

"Yeah, yeah. You just hit the wrong button, eh?" taunted Kei as she keyed in the sequence to call Vanir Station Control. A moment later the comm screen lit up with a face she hadn't seen before. Must be new to the station, thought Kei as she drank in his features. Cute, too - I'll try my charm on him. Lowering her voice a bit, she whispered, "Hello, there. My girlfriend and I are having a teensy bit of trouble with our sensors. Could you help us?"

The young man flushed a little and, after trying to swallow his tongue, he got out "Um, uh, yes. I have a.. uh.. fix on you. I'll need your ship's name and registry for the report."

"Certainly." she said, pleased that he was so flustered. "Our ship is a WWWA scout vessel, registry Amor, name Lovely Angel..."

"AAAIEEEE!" he screamed. "The Dirty Pair!"

"Don't call us that!" Kei screamed right back at him.

"EEK! Uh, yes, yes. Right. Yes ma'am. Um, we show you inbound in a normal heading. Proceed to..." Suddenly the screen flashed red. The flight controller screamed again, and was cut off.

Huh?

"KEI! Oh no - look!" Yuri was paler than usual as she pointed to the magnified visual image of Vanir Station. The screen showed a ball of purple and orange flame where the station had been a second ago. Not only that, but there was a large dark shape in the middle. It was too big to be a lifeboat; perhaps a ship had survived.

"Kei, something's funny about that ship. It's travelling too fast to have just launched from the station, and it's putting out a really old-fashioned emergency beacon."

"Humn. That IS weird. Let's move to intercept; I'll call HQ."


"WHAT?! You destroyed an entire station WITHOUT EVEN BEING THERE?" Goulet seethed.

"No, no. It wasn't us. It was another ship. Something went wrong with our scanners. We called the station for aid, and BOOM - gone." Kei was almost in tears - that gorgeous guy, dead. "It must have blasted the station to clear its path. It's heading out of the system, and we're on our way to intercept it."

Goulet buried his head in his hands. Why me? "All right. Intercept and board, but do try to keep the losses to a minimum, CLEAR?"

"Y-yes, sir. As always." It did her nerves no end of good, getting yelled at BEFORE a mission. "Yuri, how soon can we dock?"

"We can't." Came the muffled reply.

"WHAT?" That was impossible, all ships had docking equipment.

"That ship is old, Kei, practically an antique. It doesn't have docking devices. We'll have to go through the airlock." Yuri was just finishing putting on the helmet of her pressure suit. "Mugi will be monitoring us, there should be no trouble." She waited while Kei put on her suit, and they both headed for the Angel's airlock.

As they jetted towards the ship, Kei couldn't help but wonder. "What if it's a stolen ship, and someone is using it to get us?"

"Oh, come on, Kei." groaned Yuri. "If anyone wanted us dead, there are easier ways than trapping us in an antique ship. And they'd wind up regretting it if they captured us. Take it easy." With that, they were at the vessel's lock.

Yuri pondered it for a moment. "Wow, is this great. It's better than touring the SpaceFlight Museum. Okay. Hmm, not even a combination lock." She pressed the OPEN button, and the outer door slid into its recess without even the vibration that should be evident in a ship this old.

The ship wasn't dark. In fact, it was quite well-lit. As the outer door closed and the pressurization sequence began, Yuri looked around in amazement. "Immaculate," she muttered under her breath. "Somebody went to a lot of trouble for this, whoever did it." She turned around and spotted something else - a two-piece pressure suit, the kind used in the days before flexible seals were developed. "Either this guy is very rich, or..."

"Or VERY loony." Kei completed the sentence. "In either case, I think the WWWA is going to have some rather harsh words with whomever it is. Come on, tourist. There's more to see." She drew her gun as the inner door slid open, again with no sound or vibration. The corridor led left and right, right being the direction of the control room. With her
cannon/pistol leading the way, and Yuri tagging timidly behind, Kei headed right.

The control room was an array of flashing lights and computer screens. Not tridees, though, there was no way to tell if this was original or a refit. One screen stood out, though. It displayed one rather ominous word - Malfunction.

Someone was sitting in the crash chair.

Slumped was more apt, though Kei as she moved in closer. His straight, light hair covered most of his face where it lay on the control panel, and his left hand was inches away from two switches - one marked ABORT and the other marked .

"So here's our rich kook. Looks like whatever he did took him out, too." A smirk crossed her face as she started to lever him back into the seat.

Yuri moved to the other side of the chair to help her partner. "Well, he isn't dead, just out." With that, their mystery man was upright in the chair, and they got a good look at his face. Strange, thought Yuri, he looks vaguely familiar. As she bent towards him to get a closer look, she caught a glimpse of his nametag. She then did something quite natural - she screamed.

Forgetting she was in a pressure suit, Kei's hands shot to her ears, trying to drown out her partner's cries. When Yuri finally stopped, it was her turn. "So, what was that for, eh?"

Yuri was rooted to the spot, shaking and pointing. Kei followed her finger to the man's nametag.

It read - GALET, B.


"That's right, sir. B. Galet. He looks about the right age, too." Kei had returned to the Angel to report what had happened.

Goulet was in no mood for this. "And you think this man, whom you yourself reported as dead in that affair on Poisonville, is the one responsible for the destruction of the station?"

"It's possible. Although we didn't find any weapons on the ship, he could have dropped an H-E missile before impact." Kei knew she was grasping at straws, but there was no other reasonable explanation. If he had a missile to drop, we would have found the catches, at least! "He's unconscious, possibly injured. We'd like permission to tow his ship to Vanir Spaceport and take him to a hospital."

"Very good." Well, at least they ought to be able to stay out of trouble, looking after him for a while. "I'm dispatching a tech team to go over the ship. When he recovers, I'll want you two there - I want him to know how deep in trouble he is."

After Goulet broke the connection, Kei muttered, "Stay with him, HUH! I won't be able to drag her away." Yuri had practically begged to stay on the ship while they took it in tow.


The counter reached Zero.

The entire universe seemed to tear itself to shreds and collapse on top of him. For what seemed like forever, strangely distorted images of memory flashed before him - friends, enemies, family - all twisted and blended into one seething mass.

Suddenly, everything straightened out, and he had a clear vision of two people, two very close people. Janie, Mikey. The memory quickly faded. Don't go, please! Oh God. I'm sorry, Mikey.

He opened his eyes. Before his eyes could focus, he saw dark hair framing a light face. "Janie, help me." He felt his eyes water as he choked out the words. "I'm sorry, Janie. Help me, please."

"Billy, are you all right?"

Those words brought him out of it. He again opened his eyes.

She couldn't have been more than twenty. Seated in the chair beside his bed, she was holding his hand tightly. What the hell? He looked at her, and said, "Where am I?" as he started to rise.

His head swam with the motion, and that stranger beside him gently pushed his shoulders down. "Take it easy, Billy." she said. "You're at the Vanir Central Hospital. You've been out since we found you two days ago."

Vanir? Two days? "What happened? What's going on?" Something was wrong, but he had no idea what - yet.

"You tell us." Came a strong voice from across the room. Bill shifted his attention from space to fire. "You come tearing in from out of nowhere in an antique ship, you wipe out an orbital relay station and kill over a hundred personnel, all the while transmitting an archaic emergency code. Just what the hell did you have in mind, Mister?"

He could barely keep up with her flurry of accusations, his mind was racing at what she had said. "Antique ship?! Are you joking? That ship just happens to be THE latest in space technology! And while we're at it; who the HELL are you two, anyway?!"

"As if you don't know! I'm Kei. She's Yuri." She was pointing to the one beside him, who now stared at him with a shocked look on her face. "We're WWWA troubleshooters. And boy, are you in trouble."

Now her partner spoke, in a tone that was sad in a way. "Billy, how could you forget me? We've known each other since we were little kids on the planet Yocha."

What the...? "I still don't know what you're talking about. Vanir, Yocha, WWWA? I was born on Earth." Something hit him. "We're not anywhere near Earth, are we?"

Bumbling idiot. Kei cursed. Don't know WHAT she sees in a nutcracker like this. "Of course not! You're on Vanir - fourth planet in the Delanis system. Earth is about fifty or so light-years away."

"Delanis system. Fifty light ... " It finally clicked. "IT WORKS!" He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "It actually works! Yeeeaah-HAAA! Wait til I get home! Not only did it work, but I get to make first contact with an alien race! Oh, man. Nobody is gonna believe this."

Crackers, Kei thought again as Yuri fell backwards onto the floor at his sudden tirade. Absolutely out of it. "Hold on there, boyo. First off, we aren't aliens. Second, what 'works'?"

"My Jump Drive. I was in the middle of testing it when something blew and knocked me cold. Hot Damn, it even works when the field generator screws up! This is incredible, absolutely incredible."

Yuri was just climbing back into her chair. "Billy, what are you talking about? You know as well as either of us that all ships, including ships from Earth, have had warp drives for thirty years now."

"And as for your 'screw up'," Kei put in, "your warp-in cost a hundred people their lives. You've got a lot of explaining to do."

A hundred people, dead? Wait... they know about Earth?! "Just a minute. You still haven't told me how you know me, just some mumbo-jumbo from you," he looked toward Yuri, "about growing up on some planet called 'Yocha'. I was born on Earth; so what..."

Both girls were about to answer when a nurse entered the room. "Um, excuse me." he said, somewhat nervously. "But now that the patient is awake, we need him to answer some questions for our records."

"Sure. No problem," said Yuri as she relinquished her seat.

The nurse sat down and took out a pen. "Now, Mr. Galet. I need your full name, United Galactica Ident number, and date of birth."

Bill laid back, resting his head in his hands. "Hokay. Full name William Daniel Galet..."

Funny, Yuri mused. Billy never told me he had a middle name.

"... I don't know what a United Galactica Ident is; my UN registry is GA2095584 - that'll have to do. I was born March 8th, Twenty Sixty-Five."

The nurse looked at him mockingly. "Well, happy birthday then. I must say, you're looking rather healthy for a seventy-six-year-old."

That was too much for Yuri. She collapsed.


He didn't see the girls again until two days later. And they brought someone else with them - a tall fellow who wore aviator glasses. "Doctor Galet," he said, "my name is Kyarico. I'm the Assistant Director of the Worlds Welfare Work Association."

Worlds..? "Oh, this 'Three-W-A' your friends here kept talking about. I presume you're their boss?"

Kyarico adjusted his collar and coughed. "Ahem. Yes, in a manner of speaking. I've been in charge of the technical team that was inspecting your ship. We've come up with a few details we'd like to ask you about."

"Sure. Fire away."

"Yes. Well. Let me see here." He fiddled with his noteboard for a moment. "Ah, yes. First off, though; You are Doctor William Galet, late of HyperTech Industries?"

"Yup. The one and only. No need to beat around the bush, I know I've been away a long time." Long enough to not worry about formalities, anyway. Yuri had told him how Janie, Mike, and Mike's wife had perished in a shuttle crash two years earlier, and how Mike's son Billy had died in an earlier 'incident'. Like it or not, he was the last surviving member of his family.

"Certainly. Straightforward you want it. We recovered your ship's log some time ago, and have spent up until just a few hours ago decoding the data. It seems that, when your 'Jump Drive' malfunctioned, it projected you here. The instability in the warp field made the journey seem instantaneous, but in fact you were travelling at the speed of light only. When you reached your programmed warp-out point, the distorted field encroached on the traffic station the Lovely Angels were approaching - disintegrating it."

"So you're the 'Lovely Angels', eh?" Bill looked at the two girls and smiled. "How fitting. Angels of mercy, I'd say."

Yuri hid her eyes and blushed. He might not be Billy, but he's sweet anyway. Kei just said "Humph!"

Kyarico ignored the comment. "Also, a great deal of machinery in your ship was unidentifiable. What was its purpose?"

"I call it a Quantum Thruster. It's a kind of reactionless drive."

"REACTIONLESS DRIVE?!" cried the Pair in unison.

"The records of the press report had nothing in them about this." Kyarico responded, astonished but more able to maintain a businesslike demeanour.

"Not surprising. I kept it a secret from the press, for the simple fact that most spaceflight companies in my time would have wanted it suppressed."

"Suppressed? WHY?" Yuri squealed, unaware of the business practices of the late 21st century.

But Kei used to be a history buff. Especially ancient weapons. "Money," she remarked.

Bill finished. "Precisely. The sale of reaction mass was - and still is, I presume - a very lucrative enterprise. A good many companies would go bankrupt without the sale of gasses to make spacecraft go."

"Including HyperTech." Kyarico added. "The police data files show that, shortly before HyperTech went under in 2092, they were charged with industrial sabotage and attempted murder. Your attempted murder."

"My...?" That explained a lot - particularly Als' final words. "Those dirty BASTARDS! They tried to off me just to maintain their stinking profit margin!? They'd better like Hell - I hope they ROT there!" He got out of bed and stormed to the window. "Out!" He screamed. "GET OUT! NOW!"

Kei and Kyarico left right away. Yuri lingered for a moment. "Bill.." she muttered, her voice barely audible.

"Yuri, please." He was no longer shouting, but he felt terrible. "Just leave me be for a while. Those greedy, ignorant morons tore me away from my friends, my family, everything I knew, just for their own personal gain. Just let me be angry, okay?" What am I doing? was the thought that crossed his mind. Nobody deserves this kind of treatment, particularly somebody trying to be nice to me. "I'm sorry, Yuri. Just go, please."

Fighting back tears, Yuri turned and left.


Two days and a completely thorough (and totally uncomfortable) battery of tests later, he was pronounced completely fit, and allowed to leave the hospital. The only problem was, he had nowhere to go.

That problem, he found, had been solved by Mr. Kyarico. Upon leaving the hospital, he was taken by aircar to the OceanView Hotel. Surprisingly, Yuri met him there. More surprisingly, Kei didn't. "Where's your partner?" was the first obvious question that hit him.

"Oh, she's making other arrangements. Come on, I'll take you to your room." She grabbed his hand and swung him towards the elevator.

'Suite' was more appropriate. My God, I've never seen a place this well done up! Then, "Just how am I expected to pay for all of this? I'm broke, out of work, and I don't take charity."

"Well," Yuri giggled, a sly grin crossing her face, "you aren't exactly broke." She started to explain: Since there was no recovered body (or assorted bits of it) when he vanished, he could not be declared legally dead, given the nature of the experiment - he might have shown up a year or so after being declared dead. Besides which, his sister-in-law didn't want to file for the death certificate. Compound interest on his savings and investments resulted in his being rather well off. "Besides, you're a guest of the 3WA, and they certainly aren't a charity."

"Okay! Okay!" He quickly backtracked. "Funny that I'd be considered a guest." Especially since my untimely arrival resulted in the deaths of an entire space station crew! Oh, well. "I don't suppose this place comes equipped with a change of clothes." He was still clad in the flight suit he had donned the other day (Fifty years ago, dammit!) and it was not noted for its comfort.

Yuri beamed. "What a great idea! We can go shopping!" Ignoring his repeated "But..", she grabbed his arm, yanked him around towards the door, and shoved him into the hall again.


The rest of the day passed very quickly, even for the thirty-hour Vanir day. After outfitting him so that he didn't stand out quite so much in a crowd, Yuri took Bill on a tour of the city. After seeing some of the wonders they took for granted in the hospital, he felt that he was ready for anything. Well, can't fault me for being wrong. Floating cars that used anti-gravity instead of hoverjets, single buildings the size of cities (arcologies were not a new idea, but to see one so BIG!). And the SpacePort! Vanir was one of the few planets that sported a SkyStalk for ships not equipped to land. He had asked Yuri to take him to see the Star Seeker (now his personal ship; interstellar salvage laws being what they were), and he had spotted it from several miles away. He was trying to see the roof - he looked up - and up - and UP! until he finally gave up. Then, just to relax, they went to a holographic theatre. The images were so lifelike that he found he had to restrain himself from reaching out and trying to touch the characters to make sure they weren't there.

Totally exhausted and thoroughly impressed, they ended up back at the hotel, Yuri pouring wine while Bill sprawled out on the sofa, half asleep. "Only fifty years. Hard to fathom that mankind has come so far in so short a time. I wish I'd helped make it happen, but I'm glad I got a chance to see it."

Yuri handed him a glass and sat down next to him. "Well, you did have a big part in it. Your communicator system, for instance. And you did prove that warp drives were practical."

"True, but I paid a terrible price." He stood up and started to pace the room. "An eternity of nightmares during the jump, my nephew died without knowing what happened to me, most of my friends and acquaintances gone - I'm all alone." He stopped and stared dejectedly out the window at the skyline. "I had the good fortune to be shown the worlds of the future, but it almost feels like I'm really an alien here - an outsider. I have to learn everything again, and I don't know if I can do it."

Yuri got up and stood behind him. Placing her hand on his shoulder, she said "But you do have friends here, Bill. Kei might not show it, but she does like you. And I..." She paused for a moment, considering her words. "I knew Billy as a child, but not as an adult. I'd like to think he was a lot like you." He turned around to face her. "I care about you, Bill.
It's silly, but maybe you were meant to be here, to give us a chance to comfort each other."

Now it was his turn to blush. "Yuri, I - I don't know what to say. I..."

She moved into his arms and their lips met...


The screen showed two silhouettes by a window.

Parked across the street from the hotel, in an unassuming hoverlimo, he stared intently at the two forms within on his monitor. He knew his job, and now his target was occupied and not paying attention. He spoke into a small microphone. "Gas the room, now. Wait five minutes, then bring him to me." He waited for the reply to come over his earphone, then signalled the driver to leave.


A faint hissing noise caused him to pull away. Glancing around, he saw nothing unusual, until he noticed one of the lamps emitting a faint, smoky trail.

Yuri wanted to pull him closer, but saw his look of concern. "Bill, what's wrong?" She followed his gaze until she saw it too. She also noticed the unmistakable smell. GAS! "We have to get out of here!" she screamed, but it was too late. Whatever it was, it acted incredibly fast; coughing uncontrollably, Bill fell. Yuri had barely enough time to activate her earring-commlink's emergency signal before she, too, passed out.

Moments later, two men wearing gas masks and armed with tranquilizer guns entered the room through the side window. They looked at Yuri on the floor, and Bill doubled over on the table, and quickly advanced on their quarry.

They were out on the street when they signalled their employer. "Mission accomplished, sir. Proceeding to the holding station." They entered a van, and sped off.


Yuri came to with a splitting headache and the sight of Kei staring at her. "Ah, you're awake, eh? Get a little drunk, did we?" Kei jokingly accused.

"Verrry funny, Kei. We were gassed. I.." She stood up and looked around the room. "BILL!" He wasn't there. "KEI! Someone took Bill! We have to find him!"

"Take it easy, we will." She's always flying off the handle. "I'll call Mugi. The Angel will be fired up and ready to go by the time we get there. You DID remember to put that tracer in his wallet, didn't you?"

"Y-yes." Yuri sniffled. It's happening all over again. She thought. First Billy, now Bill... I'll be damned if I lose another good friend!

"Good. You did something right - finally." She shrugged off a murderous glance from Yuri. "Come on, then. Let's get going!" She said as they bolted for the door.


Bill awoke in what looked to be a warehouse. Melodramatic, he thought, but effective. He looked around to see what kind of trouble he was in.

He was strapped to what looked like one of those laboratory pallets – the kind that were popular in old Frankenstein movies. He was facing a grey-haired man wearing what looked to be a military uniform. He was flanked by six men with rifles. The man strode towards him. "Good morning, Doctor Galet. I'm Commander Edward Jackson, Space Special Forces. I hope we haven't caused you too much discomfort."

"No, not at all. I love being gassed and tied up." Bill muttered sarcastically.

"Yes. Well, we had to separate you from your companion. This seemed the most effective way."

YURI! His mind screamed at him. "If you hurt her -"

"You are in no position to threaten, Doctor. Your friend is unharmed. She was not important to our purpose, and you cannot be found anymore. You, however, are very important to us."

I am? "So you were after me, specifically? For what? If you know me, you know I'm the victim of an old warp-drive experiment."

"And that, my good doctor, is why you are important."

"WHAT? How could my accident be important to anyone?"

Jackson turned to his left, grasping his hands behind his back. "Not your accident, but its results, caught my attention. Your 'accident' succeeded in wiping out an orbital station at close range, and the method of attack was undetectable. If that could be harnessed, controlled, its destructive capability would be unparalleled."

Damn, it always comes down to this. "You want me to develop a weapon based on my Jump Drive experiment." He said it very low, hoping it would be ignored.

"Precisely. A weapon that utilizes a starships own warp drive would be easy to conceal and difficult to guard against. I want that weapon, doctor, and I want you to produce it for me."

"Why am I not surprised? You have to have your little toys of destruction. Who gets it - Earth? One of the independent worlds?"

His captor grunted. "Why, whomever can pay my price. Development will take quite a bit of capital, and I need some way to recoup my losses."

"With a tidy profit on the side, no doubt. It always seems to come down to that, doesn't it. Money. I almost get blown out of space for it, and now I'm being held so you can force me to get you more of it. Well, you can just FORGET IT! There's no way I'd give you something that powerful, just for you to go and sell it to the highest bidder. Your dreams of riches and glory end here!" Cripes! He thought. I'm starting to sound like some cheap film actor!

Jackson's eyes narrowed. Oh, shit. I've done it now. "Well, in that case, I see we have no alternative here." He raised his pistol to Bill's forehead. "If you won't develop it for me, I'll just have to make sure that you don't develop it for the WWWA."

He was about to pull the trigger when an explosion rocked the room. The loading doors toppled away, and Bill saw two familiar forms.

"This is the WWWA! We're the Lovely Angels, and you're all under arrest!" Kei's voice rang out like crystal in the smoky haze.

Jackson looked at them with terror. "Oh, NO!" he cried. "It's the Dirty Pair! OPEN FIRE!"

"Yuri! Look out!" Bill managed to shout before a series of laser blasts engulfed the area. Straining to see, he caught a glimpse of two forms diving for cover behind a stack of crates as the space they had occupied moments ago erupted in a blast of killing energy. From behind one of the stacks came a volley of return fire, while something that left a trail of eddies in the smoke came from the other stack. Whatever it was, it seemed to touch three of the soldiers - just before they screamed in agony and fell. Their dead fingers stiffened on the triggers of their guns, letting loose a volley of shots that ignited a nearby set of crates marked 'DANGER: HYPER-EXPLOSIVES'.

Two more fell prey to laser blasts, and Yuri popped up beside him. "BILL!" Her eyes were watering as she made herself heard over the din.

"Yuri! How did you find me?" He was glad to see her, but somewhat startled that she was here.

"I'll explain later! We have to get you out of here!" She cut his bonds, helped him up, and made for the exit.

Jackson stopped them halfway there. "No, dammit! I won't let you have him! I'll kill all of you before that happens!" He half raised his gun before he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He started to turn, and a credit-card-sized streak neatly sliced through his neck. His mouth opened to speak, but nothing but blood came from it. He fell, his head bouncing off towards the back of the building.

Yuri caught her Bloody Card and stuffed it back into her pouch. "Good Grief!" Bill muttered, "What the hell was that?" Yuri just grinned. "I'll tell you later. Right now we have to get out of here." She grabbed his elbow and sprang for the spot where the Lovely Angel hovered just inches above the ground. Kei was already inside, urging them on with words they couldn't hear from where they were. They jumped into the open bay door and the Angel streaked off with a trail of fire.

They were ten kilometres away when the warehouse exploded. The fireball encompassed ten square blocks and rose hundreds of meters into the air. The three humans and Mugi stared silently at the disaster.

"Oh, boy." Yuri groaned. "Here we go again."

"So much for a relaxing vacation." Kei volunteered.

"Now I know..." Bill said quietly.

Both girls looked at him. "Know what?" they both asked.

Bill gave them a wide smile. "Why he called you two the 'Dirty Pair'. I take it this happens often?"

Nobody spoke to him on the way back to the Spaceport.


The next day, Kei, Yuri, and Bill were in Goulet's office. Goulet was yelling again.

"An entire industrial complex ruined, two THOUSAND dead, and three hundred million in damages?! This, from a rescue op you took part in WHILE ON VACATION?"

"But sir, it wasn't our fault. Honest!" came the stereo reply.

Bill tried to stifle a laugh, and failed. They must practice that line. But Goulet wasn't finished.

"It doesn't seem to matter. The Central Computer has cleared you of responsibility - AGAIN! - so it's out of my hands." He turned to Bill. "The computer also cleared you of responsibility in the destruction of the Vanir Station. It also recommends that I hire you as a member of our own research team. After going over your credentials, I concur. Will you take the job?"

Yuri gripped his hand as he pondered the question. "On one condition. I don't want to build any weapons - the ones you have now seem pretty good as they are." He didn't want to be the cause of any more deaths.

"Of course. Your first assignment would be the full development of your Quantum Thruster, installing it in our ships and publishing the theories. After that, you can pick and choose your projects."

That suited him perfectly. "Fine. You've got yourself a new researcher. I'll start work in three weeks."

Three..? "Well, we had hoped that you would start right away."

"Sorry, but a lot has happened since I arrived. I think I need a vacation. Three weeks should just about do the trick." He turned to Kei and Yuri. "Would you two ladies care to escort me around the galaxy?"

Kei grinned at Yuri. Yuri grinned at Kei as she took Bill's proffered elbow. "We'd love to." she purred as they walked towards the door. She turned to Goulet and said, "See you in three weeks, mister Director, sir."

As the door slid shut behind them, Goulet rested his head on the desk and tore at the hair on the back of his head. "Why me, Lord? Why me?"

-FIN-