I don't own anything except Victor Corvin and James MacPherson

***

I didn't know what time it had been, according to the Elsa's clocks, when I went to sleep off the after effects of death, but it was nearly lunch when I awoke.

The others were already in the ship's restaurant when I arrived, with the exception of Cherenkov. I hadn't seen him at all since boarding the Elsa, a fact which caused me little concern. His absence didn't necessarily imply that he was a U-TIC agent; it might simply be that he was still in shock from the Woglinde disaster.

"Feeling better, Victor?" chaos greeted me.

"Some." I sat down at one of the tables. "A good amount of rest tends to deal with the fatigue incurred from the regeneration." I noticed the smell of food. "Who's cooking? Not one of your misfit crew, I hope. I remember the last time I was here." I shuddered. "I had indigestion for a week."

"The Chief is," Allen said. "She insisted."

"Better her than Tony or Hammer."

"Lunch is ready, everybody!" Shion walked in, carrying several plates. "Though I suppose you don't even need to eat, Victor."

"Not true," I replied, taking a plate. "Immortals can starve to death, too. We just don't stay dead. Unless, of course," I added, "we lose our heads. A fate which I have managed to avoid for rather longer than most of my fellows."

"So how old is the average Immortal?" Allen asked. "Four thousand years is a long time."

"Yeah, it is," I acknowledged. "In fact, there are very few Immortals remaining who were born on Earth. The only one that I've actually met is that madman MacPherson. All the others perished centuries ago, in various duels." I glanced at Shion. "So how's Jin these days?" I asked, changing the subject. Jin, Shion's brother, was another man with an interest in edged weapons.

Shion sighed. "Still carrying that sword around everywhere. And resurrecting obscure ancient rituals. Some kind of memorial service, this time."

"Sounds Buddhist. Not much like my brother was." My voice was almost inaudible with the last sentence.

Shion glanced at me sharply. "You have a brother? You never mentioned that, Victor."

"Had. Sean was Immortal, too. The only case I know of with two Immortals coming from the same generation of the same family." I gazed unseeing at my food. "He didn't last beyond his first century."

"What happened?"

"Sean was never the most upstanding of people; we'd never gotten along very well. He was two years younger than I when he became Immortal, and his special abilities made him think he was some kind of super human, part of some 'master race'. Sean thought he was above things like morality, and went headhunting right away. He preyed at first on newer Immortals, like himself, and then went on to more experienced targets." I paused. "It was the year 2085 when he came for my head."

"What!? Your own brother!?" Allen sounded like he couldn't believe his ears.

"Like I said, we never got along, and Sean decided that the Game gave him a perfect excuse to kill me. Unfortunately for him, I'd gotten interested in blades before becoming Immortal, and had considerable skill with them by that time, even if I'd taken fewer heads. The duel took most of a night, and when the sun rose, Sean was dead at my feet. Within hours, I'd left town. Sean had challenged me in our hometown, New York, and I wanted to leave the place in a hurry." I took a bite of my lunch. "I haven't been there since."

"I can see why," Shion said. "That's sibling rivalry taken too far."

"Don't I know it. Needless to say, I did my best to forget all about it. By now, I rarely even remember that I ever had a brother. I've buried too many friends over the millennia to worry much over a psychopathic brother who tried to kill me." I paused in my absent-minded eating long enough to notice the taste. "By the way, good food. What is it, curry?"

"Yeah. Family recipe."

I glanced at the captain. "Something tells me Matthews doesn't even notice. As long as I've known this bunch, the captain has pretty much eaten everything edible that came within reach. I guess that's a handy talent when you're likely to be a long way from a decent meal for a while, but it doesn't make for much in the way of table manners."

***

After lunch, I leaned against a wall in the kitchen while Shion and Allen cleaned the used dishes. "More than four thousand years since the Industrial Revolution," I said, shaking my head, "and we still haven't designed a suitable automated replacement for hand washing."

They ignored me, and Allen leaned toward Shion. "By the way, Chief," he whispered, "I got suspicious and checked this ship's registry. Do you know they're with the Kukai Foundation? These people are bad news. I heard a rumor that the Foundation is just crawling with mutants."

"You shouldn't say things like that, Allen. That's kind of a racist comment, you know," Shion replied.

I stood straight myself, angry. "Look, Allen, you're a reasonably bright guy most of the time, but if you say something like that again, I'm afraid I'm going to have to knock your teeth down your throat. It just so happens that I was aware of their connection with the Kukai Foundation. In fact, the director happens to be a good friend of mine. His name's-"

"Gaignun Kukai," chaos said, walking in.

"Oh, chaos," Shion said. "What are you doing here?"

"I just thought I'd see if there was anything I could help out with," he replied.

"Well, we could use some help drying the dishes."

"Sure thing."

chaos, you are probably the only person I have ever met who sounds that enthusiastic about it, I thought. But, I suppose you don't have as much to worry about as most people. Which reminds me, I still don't know what you are. I don't believe that you're a pure human. Ordinary humans can't kill Gnosis just by touching them. Not even Immortals can do that.

"So where'd KOS-MOS go?" chaos asked.

"Oh, she's down in the maintenance bay, getting a tune-up," Shion replied. "Why, did you want to talk to her? I'm sure she'd like that."

"Really? Then I think I will. Thank you." chaos turned toward the door. "So what's that?" he asked, indicating a plate of curry.

"Oh, Commander Cherenkov didn't come to lunch, so I thought I'd heat it up and bring it to him," Shion answered. "In fact, I should do that now." She left.

Once both Shion and Allen had left the room, I turned to chaos. "In case you're wondering, I was having a little disagreement with Allen. He's normally bright enough, but he seems to have some kind of problem with the Foundation. Pretty ungrateful guy, considering that the Elsa is the only reason he's alive."

chaos chuckled. "I think it's more than just suspicion that motivates him in this case."

I glanced at him. "Oh?"

"Tony made a pass at Shion just after they got onboard."

"I see!" I laughed. "Yeah, that would tick Allen off. The only member of the KOS-MOS Project staff that doesn't seem to realize how Allen feels is Shion herself. I don't think anything will ever come of it, though."

"Really? What do you mean?"

I waved a hand. "Shion, so far as I can tell, doesn't reciprocate in any way, and Kevin, the original head of the project who died two years ago, was her boyfriend. She's still grieving, though she tries to hide it. Besides which, Allen tends to act like a complete idiot at such times. Not exactly the most impressive image."

chaos leaned against the counter. "What about you, Victor? You seem to get along well with her."

I glanced at him in surprise, then snorted. "Me? Yeah, right." I shook my head in amusement.

"How did you meet?"

"It was about three and a half years ago," I replied, thinking back. "The KOS-MOS Project was just getting started, and we were both assigned to it. We hit it off fairly well, but we were really nothing more than acquaintances until two years ago, when the incident occurred. I just happened to arrive in time to kill a terrorist who was about to shoot Shion. We got pretty close after that; saving a life tends to be a good way to start a friendship. And I've saved her life a couple of times since then. But it's nothing more than that. Besides, an Immortal has even more problems with that kind of relationship that with friendships. We simply live too long."

"Is there any way for an Immortal to become like any normal person?" chaos asked.

"Well..." I said slowly, "there is one way, theoretically, but it's never been proven. According to legend, if an evil Immortal receives the Prize, mankind will enter an eternal darkness. But if a good Immortal wins, part of his gift is mortality. The ability to grow old, to have children. But, even if it is true, I may never know. It all depends on whether I live to see the Gathering. We all thought that it was in the late 20th century, but we were obviously wrong. But it wouldn't matter anyway. Like I said, Shion's just a good friend of mine. Nothing more, nothing less."

"If you say so." He left, heading for the elevator.

I watched him go. What's with your fascination with KOS-MOS, chaos? I realize she's more than a weapon; her ability to manipulate people proves that. But what possible interest could you have in a battle android? Is there something going on here that even I can't see?

***

I was sharpening my sword when I heard the PA message. "Hey, Ms. Vector. If you're not busy, come on up to the bridge for a minute, will ya?"

"That's just like the captain," I said to myself. "About as subtle as a gunshot. Well, I guess I might as well see what all the fuss is about." I stood and left the cabin.

I got to the Bridge at the same time Shion did. Matthews was speaking with Hammer. "There seems to be a problem with the catapult deck," Hammer said.

"Air pressure?" Matthews asked.

"No leaks at the moment... I wonder if it's a problem with the electrical?"

"Want me to check it out?" Shion asked.

The captain looked up. "Uhh, that'd be great. Let us know if there are any problems."

I joined her on the way to the catapult. "This ship always has had more than its share of mechanical problems. I guess that's what happens when you turn a luxury liner into a cargo ship." I glanced around as we reached the elevator. "So where was the Commander, anyway?"

"In the maintenance lab, standing next to KOS-MOS," Shion replied. "He was carrying a gun."

I glanced at her sharply. "Was he pointing it at anything in particular?"

"He seemed to be aiming at KOS-MOS when I arrived, and then he turned it on me when I came in. A bad habit, he called it."

"Indeed..." Cherenkov has seemed nervous around KOS-MOS from the start. If he is with U-TIC, could he have been at the lab, two years ago? It would explain much. I reflexively checked the USP, now tucked into a shoulder holster.

Shion noticed the movement. "Looks like you've got the 'bad habit', too. Are you always this paranoid?"

"You should know that by now. But in this case, I'm more nervous about a trigger-happy Marine. Training is supposed to teach soldiers when and when not to draw their weapons. If he's acting like this, it sounds like he's on the brink of a total nervous collapse."

"Let me guess: You've got a degree in psychology, too," Shion said, amused.

I grinned. "Actually, I do, though it's about two thousand years out of date. What worries me more are those hypos the Commander carries. He seems to be taking some kind of medication, though I can't tell what."

"Some kind of addictive drug?"

I shook my head. "I don't think so. I suspect it's supposed to control whatever is causing his mental difficulties. But without knowing exactly which medication it is, I can't tell you any more than that." I looked at her seriously. "I don't mean to sound paranoid, but watch your back for a while, all right? Something's going on, and I don't think it's good."

She stopped. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I am." I fingered my pistol. "It's only a hunch, but there's too much going on. The Gnosis going after the object aboard the Woglinde, KOS-MOS trying to leave for Second Miltia on her own, and now Cherenkov's strange behavior. All this is too much to be coincidence." I looked up. "I've buried too many friends over the years to lose another. Just watch yourself, okay?"

"All right, Victor, I'll be careful." Shion smiled. "Though with your habit of showing up in the nick of time, I'm not sure I need to."

"Just remember that even I have to sleep sometime." Despite my caution, however, I was somewhat relieved. Getting Shion to be careful was often akin to trying alter a planet's orbit with one's bare hands, but it could be done.

***

Despite the number of things that had a tendency to be dangerous aboard the Elsa, we reached the catapult without incident. "Hammer must be doing all the maintenance these days," I mused. "He's the only one of them with any real mechanical skill."

"These are linear induction plates," Shion said, glancing at the deck. "Just what do they use the catapult for, anyway?"

I shrugged. "Even I don't know, and I've known this motley crew for years. I suspect that either their salvage ops or their catapult deck involves the black market. Maybe both; the main hanger has them, too." I drew my katana. "In any case, this should be a good place for kata. I haven't been able to properly exercise my blade since we were assigned to the Woglinde." I swung it experimentally. "Lady Vivamus should not be left idle."

Shion frowned. "'Lady Vivamus'?"

"My sword." My expression turned sheepish for a moment. "Before science fiction became science fact, I was quite the fan of an author by the name of Robert Heinlein. In the book 'Glory Road', Lady Vivamus was a sword wielded by the protagonist." I frowned, searching my memory. "If I recall correctly, it comes from the Latin phrase 'Dum vivimus, vivamus'. I don't remember the exact translation, but it had something to do with living life well."

"Sounds like the antithesis of an Immortal's life," she commented.

"Not necessarily; in my view, to live life well is to fight only the battles that are worth fighting. This is why I only battle Immortals who have challenged me or have hurt, or tried to hurt, mortals. Thus I keep to my own honor code, while still keeping my head on my shoulders." By this time we'd reached the catapult diagnostic panel, and I typed out a query. "Everything checks out here. How's it look to you, Shion?"

"There seems to be nothing wrong." She pulled out her terminal and called the Bridge. "Everything seems okay down here."

"All right," Matthews replied, "if there's nothing there we should be fine. Come on back to the bridge."

"I'll be right there." She shut off the terminal and glanced at me. "Coming, Victor?"

I shook my head. "No thanks; for one thing, we're about to gate-jump, which means it's time to make contact with the U.M.N. bureaucracy, which is never pleasant, and I also need to practice. I know I'm not likely to encounter another Immortal for a while, but it never hurts to be ready."

***

I practiced with my blade until the ship starting to shake. When you're dealing with a spacecraft that's one hundred meters long and masses several hundred tons, a perceptible vibration is something to worry about. I hurried for the Bridge.

By the time I arrived, the only person not on the bridge was Commander Cherenkov. A voice was coming in over the comm as I entered. "Attention, civilian ship. A battle has broken out in hyperspace. I recommend you gate-out as soon as possible."

"A battle in hyperspace!? Are they insane!?" Matthews asked rhetorically.

"Shouldn't we help them?" Shion asked.

"Ain't our business. Besides, we got enough trouble just dealing with you guys."

Tony glanced back. "So how about it, Captain? We gonna join the party?"

Matthews glared at him. "What'd I just say to you? We've got enough trouble already!" On the heals of that statement, a blast from one of the fighters chasing the shuttle struck the Elsa's rear area.

"We've taken a hit in the aft quarter!" chaos reported. "Minor damage to the outer hull!"

"They've done it now, those bastards!" the captain exploded. "Tony, take 'em out!"

The pilot grinned. "Aye, sir! That's more like it!"

"We're going to take a ship like this into battle in hyperspace!?" Allen yelped.

"You got it!" Tony pulled some kind control attached to his seat, and the Elsa's guns revealed themselves. With several quick blasts, all three nearby fighters were destroyed.

"They're not going to last much longer," I said. "Even with those flying skills there's way too many for them to dodge."

Still, it was exceptional flying. The shuttle's pilot skimmed close to the column walls, creating a fiery wave that blew several more fighters into space dust.

"Now that's what I call wave riding!" Tony crowed. "Yeah, baby, I can feel it, I can feel it!" He threw the Elsa into a barrel roll, duplicating the shuttle's maneuver.

"Tony, have you lost your mind!?" I demanded. "This is a cargo ship, not a battle cruiser. You wanna turn all of us into roasted turkeys!?"

"He seems to know what he's doing," Shion said. "Maybe he's right."

"Yeah, right. Shion, this crew between them doesn't have the sanity of a tapeworm. They'll try anything-" I broke off, allowing myself a brief smile as Tony's reckless tactic destroyed another pair of fighters. "Two more chalk outlines. Chalk up another for the maniac."

"No!" Shion shouted unexpectedly. "There's no way they can avoid all that!"

Another energy barrage was streaking toward the small shuttle, and Shion was correct: one of the beams blew an engine off, sending the ship streaking toward the column wall.

I clenched a fist. "That's not good. They have no more than thirty seconds before they hit the wall and die. Hammer! Does this bucket of bolts have anything that can catch them!?"

Shion was way ahead of me; she lunged for the controls to the catapult deck, opening it and using the claw to snare the shuttle.

"Nice catch, Shion!" Tony said.

"The catapult deck isn't closing!" Hammer reported a moment later.

I cursed briefly in an ancient, now-dead language. "The electrical! That's bad timing."

chaos was speaking to the shuttle's crew. "Attention, shuttle occupants. Can you make it out on your own? The shield should protect you, so if you put on your spacesuits-"

"Roger," said the voice that had spoken earlier. "Neither of us is human, so I'm sure we can make it."

"Intruder alert!" Hammer said. "They've entered through the catapult!"

"Seal all emergency bulkheads!" Matthews ordered. "Prepare for hand-to-hand combat!"

"I'll take the corridor," chaos volunteered.

"I'll go with you," Shion said, holding her MWS.

chaos started to shake his head. "No, it's too dangerous."

"I can't let you go by yourself, chaos! Don't worry; I've got KOS-MOS with me."

"And me," I said firmly. "I think it's time to show them why you don't mess with an Immortal." I pulled out my H&K, twirled it, and slapped a full magazine into it. "Let's go."

***

We headed quickly for the elevator; under the circumstances, stairs would probably have been faster, but the Elsa didn't have them on that level.

"This is just great," I muttered. "What is going on in this crazy world? First the Gnosis attack on the Woglinde, now the U-TIC."

Shion glanced at me in surprise. "U-TIC?"

It was my turn to be surprised. "You didn't know? Those are U-TIC fighters. No mistaking them. Not after the incident."

"The incident...? What did this U-TIC have to do with it?"

She doesn't remember, does she? Probably blocked the memory after Kevin died. "I'll tell you once we're out of this lunacy. For now..." The elevator reached the lower level. "It's time to short-circuit some Auto-Techs."

They had already reached that level, but Shion, thinking fast, closed the nearby bulkheads and activated the electromagnetic floor plating. "That should hold them for a while."

We took the other way down: an old-fashioned ladder. "I'll take point," I said, and dropped, ignoring the rungs entirely.

Once down, I holstered my USP and drew Lady Vivamus in the same quick motion. After opening the door and surveying the area, I called back up the ladder. "All clear, for now."

chaos was next, followed by KOS-MOS, and then finally Shion. "How clear is clear, Victor?" she asked. "I've known you to take on a dozen targets at once and consider it nothing."

"Clear, in this case, means that there's nothing between us and the catapult, which, I believe, has now closed. Let's go."

Those we were intending to rescue met us halfway. Once was a male cyborg, the other a female Realian, who looked twelve but could have been any age, because of how they're created. "You're the people from the shuttle?" Shion asked.

"Yes," the cyborg replied. "This is MOMO. I'm Ziggurat..." He trailed off and glanced at MOMO. "Call me Ziggy," he finished.

I narrowed my eyes. There was something familiar about his voice; combine that with his features... "You were Jan Sauer, weren't you?"

The cyborg glanced at me, surprise evident on his face. "How did you know that?"

I half-smiled. "We've met before, about a hundred years ago. Think back to an anti-terrorist op on Senir in T.C. 4566. A special forces type, a little over one-eighty centimeters, with black hair, green eyes, and an antique Heckler & Koch USP."

No surprise that he made the connection; that description matched me, after all. "You were Seth Connors? But as you said, that was a hundred years ago. How could you be the same person?"

"I'll explain later. What I can say now is that I haven't aged in four thousand years." With that cryptic statement, I changed the subject. "So we've got Auto-Techs to deal with?"

"Yes. The mothership is aboard this vessel." Ziggy hesitated. "We can't do much, but we'll help out."

"We? As in MOMO too!?" Shion asked.

"Actually, she's more useful than me."

When all eyes turned to the Realian, she looked self-conscious. "Well... I don't know about that, but I'll do my best."

"There's several Auto-Techs between here and the hanger," I noted. "I'll handle them."

Shion grabbed my arm. "Be careful, Victor. If you get shot in the neck..."

"I know, it might take my head clean off." I laid a hand on her shoulder briefly, then shifted Lady Vivamus to my left hand and drew my USP again. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

I lunged from cover, firing precise shots at the malevolent machines, aiming for their AI centers. Once I was out of ammo, rather than reloading, I dropped the weapon and gripped my katana in both hands. "You want some of this!? Then come and get it, rust-buckets!" I spun like a whirling dervish, hacking and slashing the Auto-Techs so fast they had not time to aim. An ordinary katana wouldn't have stood up to it, but I'd long ago had it reinforced with stronger metals. It was no longer worth as much, but it was a far deadlier weapon now.

My luck ran out as I was attacking the last pair: one of them got off a couple of shots, catching me in the right shoulder and left hip. The Lady Vivamus went flying, and I spun around, hitting the deck with bone-jarring force. "Ugh!"

"Victor!" I heard running footsteps, and then a bright beam went over my head. "Take this! Spell Ray!" The last Auto-Tech exploded violently, spraying debris everywhere. Then Shion was kneeling next to me. "Victor, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be all right," I groaned. "But I haven't been hit that hard in fourteen years, aside from when the Woglinde blew. It'll heal in a minute, though. Don't wait for me; I'll be there as soon as I can."

"No, Victor," she said firmly. "You're our best chance of stopping that thing without getting us all killed."

"Not true," I disagreed. "KOS-MOS is." The I sighed. "Alright, you're stubborn enough to do it anyway; I may as well save my breath."

The wait wasn't very long; the familiar electrical effect played over the wounds, and I slowly stood. "Ouch." Ignoring my sore, protesting muscles, I retrieved my pistol and Lady Vivamus.

The AGWS Hanger, which lay between us and the main hanger, also had several Auto-Techs, but they were easily dealt with using Ziggy's internal weaponry and Shion's MWS. I still hadn't figured out just how many different types of weapons were built into Miyuki's Monstrosity, but it did appear to have stun rods, laser weapons, blades, and bombs.

In the hanger beyond stood the Auto-Tech mothership. It had shed its space-flight systems like a cocoon, and was standing in the middle of the deck, looking like it owned the place.

It was time to disabuse it of the notion.

The man I had once known as Jan Sauer fired the first shot, using some kind of spread-beam laser weapon, while the Realian MOMO used a type of skill I had heard of but never seen: Ether. It was similar to the magic of legend, but based on scientific principles, and proved extremely useful in keeping us alive.

KOS-MOS was next, her arm transforming into a deadly weapon. "Charging. R-Cannon!"

The machine retaliated with an attack called Tremor, which left us in fairly dire straights. This was when MOMO demonstrated her Ether abilities. "Mystic powers! Grant me a miracle!"

When the healing effect had put us back on our feet, chaos made the next move. "Ready! Lunar Seal!" It appeared to be based on Ether principles itself; at least, I could think of no other reason for a seal of fire to appear in the air before him. It blew one of the legs off the Auto-Tech.

By this time, I had sheathed my sword and was preparing another weapon. My prosthetic limb was based on the nanotechnology used in KOS-MOS' arm, and, while it lacked many of KOS-MOS' abilities, it was easily capable shifting to a cannon form of its own. "Bloody machine, I've had enough!" Unlike my companions, I didn't bother with voice commands; I simply fired, destroying another chunk of armor.

It took exception to it and knocked me into a wall, where I lay for a moment, gasping. Immortals couldn't die, but we could the wind knocked out of us.

"Take this! Thermal Blast!" Shion's MWS showed another of the hats it wore, this time acting as a flamer. Not the most effective weapon, but overheating is bad for circuitry.

So it has a flamethrower too, I noticed absently. And an electrical discharge. I always wondered how electricity would do, if harnessed as a weapon.

Then I noticed that the Auto-Tech was about to hit Shion with a laser, which would almost certainly be fatal. Moving quickly, I yanked out my HK and pumped the entire magazine into the machine's core. Ordinary bullets would have done little, but, while the weapon itself was antique, my ammunition was not. That last magazine had been loaded with armor-piercing explosive rounds, capable of doing serious damage even to an AGWS. And this was no AGWS.

The resulting explosion blew Shion off her feet; I ran over. "You all right?" I held a hand out to help her up.

"Not quite, but better than I would have been if you hadn't hit it." She took my hand. "Thanks." As I pulled her to her feet, Shion stared at the wreckage. "What's going on, Victor? None of it makes any sense."

"I don't know, Shion. But this goes beyond coincidence." I glanced at Ziggy and MOMO. "Doesn't it strike you as a little odd that we're all heading to Second Miltia? First it was KOS-MOS, acting on her own, in accordance with orders from headquarters that even we don't know about, and now we've picked up two more passengers, also heading for Miltia. And then there's Commander Cherenkov. A nervous wreck with a gun is a very dangerous man."

"Maybe we'll learn more when we can contact HQ."

"I hope so." In the meantime, Shion, I thought, I think I'll stick close. You've had way too many close calls in the last couple of days, and I don't want to lose you.

***

Author's note: Chapter 3 done; I'm beginning to think I'm going to develop writer's cramp from excessive typing. Chapter 1 was longer, but not by much.

As to TRage's speculation, I could say "Well, what do you think?" But I think I'll just say that you should wait and see. Future developments look interesting.

By the way, if anyone could give me the exact translation of "Dum vivimus, vivamus", I would be grateful. There are few things more irritating than knowing only part of a quote. It has a tendency to cause at least temporary insanity, possibly permanent. This leads to difficulty writing.

That should about cover this chapter's notes; read it and let me know what you think. ~Solid Shark