The Sabers: Knights vs Marionettes

by Black Robed One

Bubblegum Crisis - Saber Marionette J crossover. Rejected by Mesopotamia, Lime, Cherry and Bloodberry were sent back to humanity's homeworld. Will they find a reason to live on so far from home, or will they be able to somehow return to the man they love?

2. The Encounter in the Depth

Author's Notes:

First of all, before starting the second chapter of this story of mine, I would like to thank all those people who have read and reviewed the previous chapter of this story of mine, i.e. Agent Regina, animewatcher and luvweaver. Thank you very much, you wonderful people, for reading and reviewing this humble story of mine!

My beloved Regina, you cannot imagine how happy I am to know that you enjoy reading this story of mine. As about previews of the next chapters, after watching Saber Marionette J animated series I thought them to be a lovely addition to a story, even though they take away some of the surprise. But I am going to try to write the previews of the next chapters so that they would give only general idea of what will be going to happen next, spoiling as little of the next chapter as possible. Also, while I the original Saber Marionette J animated series most of previews of the next episodes were done by Lime, with only a few exceptions, in this story of mine the reviews will be done by the different characters, both marionettes and various characters from Bubblegum Crisis MegaTokyo 2032-2033 OVA series.

Luvweaver, it is actually a great honour for me to get a review from you, especially such a positive one! Truth to tell, I wasn't sure whether you would notice this story of mine or not (although I really hoped that you would), but either way I didn't really expect you to especially like this story of mine, since it is nothing in comparison with your own fanfictional stories, especially Saber Marionette 90210. Sorry about my grammar, especially about this stupid mistake of mine; this mistake was rather frequent for me less then a year ago, and even though by now I've learned that this is wrong, from time to time I still accidentally make this mistake. I do plan to provide some insights to the marionettes' as well as to some of the other characters' emotions, mostly through their thoughts but occasionally also in form of flashbacks. But as about marionettes' emotions, the insights to them will be provided only later, when marionettes will be reawakened. However, as about marionettes getting a friend… I won't reveal everything right now, but I'll just say that Earth is going to be far less accepting of thinking and more importantly independent machines then Terra II was. Other then that, you'll have to wait and see!

By the way, a lot of knowledge, including the knowledge about Bubblegum Crisis MegaTokyo 2032-2033 reality (for example, who are so-called Boomers or Cyberdroids, or what is the story behind GENOM and SDPC, or what is so special about so-called A.D. Police), will be revealed slowly and step by step, and so, don't be too alarmed when you don't understand something, for everything will be revealed in time. Also, by the way, all the flashbacks will be written in the italic type, although they also will be specifically marked as flashback.

And also, all those who have actually seen Bubblegum Crisis MegaTokyo 2032-2033 OVA series possibly noticed, that some of the characters behave quite OOC (out of character). Indeed, Largo (the gray-haired man, who was attached to a very advanced computer terminal in the previous chapter) isn't as overconfident as he used to be in Bubblegum Crisis MegaTokyo 2032-2033 OVA series, which is really quite logical after his staggering defeat; Fargo is more carefree but also better informed, the last is due to his somewhat greater role in this story of mine, as well as due to the fact that I felt the necessity to outline the connections between two realities in the previous chapter; and finally, Sylia is more emotional then she used to be in Bubblegum Crisis MegaTokyo 2032-2033 OVA series. Some of the other characters, especially Mackie in this chapter of this story of mine, also will behave OOC to a smaller or greater degree. I hope, that you won't mind it much, especially since people tend to change under the influence of the certain circumstances.

By the way, this chapter will contain some more or less detailed information about Knight Sabers, as well as a few peeks into some of the past events. While I won't reveal everything about Knight Sabers immediately, I would like all the readers to have at least some ideas about who Knight Sabers are. However, Knight Sabers' physical appearance will be described only when they will actually (but not in other people's thoughts or flashbacks) make in appearance in this story of mine. But if you already know everything there is to know about Knight Sabers, please bear with my descriptions, for they are mostly meant for those who haven't seen Bubblegum Crisis MegaTokyo 2032-2033 OVA series.

And also for those who haven't seen Bubblegum Crisis MegaTokyo 2032-2033 OVA series I would like to note, that despite its name Tinsel City (that will be mentioned in this chapter of this story of mine) isn't a city but rather a district of MegaTokyo.

However, I would like to warn those who haven't seen Bubblegum Crisis MegaTokyo 2032-2033 OVA series that a lot of background information presented in this chapter of this story of mine is somewhat subjective, as most of it is presented from Sylia's point of view. But on the other hand, Sylia is a very objectively-minded person, and so, what she is thinking is a very trustworthy information, of course excluding the cases when Sylia is poorly informed or misinformed.

And also this chapter of this story of mine includes a vehicle combat, and so I would like to clear up a few terms and abbreviations, so that I wouldn't have to disturb the flow of the story by inserting additional Author's Notes into it. And so, here they are:

AP – in reference to ammunition, "AP" means "armor piercing". In the particular case of this chapter of this story of mine, "APs" is a reference to armor piercing torpedoes.

ECM System – Electronic Counter Measure System; the exact range of its capabilities may vary from version to version, but it usually includes radar, scanner and/or electronic communication jamming, and some versions are also capable of preventing guiding weapons from locking on the target or even capable of redirecting such weapons at the new target.

HE – in reference to ammunition, "HE" means "high-explosive". In the particular case of this chapter of this story of mine, "HEs" is a reference to high-explosive torpedoes.

U-turn – a 180 degree turn.

And finally, just as it was in the previous chapter, in some parts of this chapter I will be using certain Japanese words, phrases and honorificators (i.e. a name suffixes), as I believe that it will help to depict the atmosphere and characters' reactions better. Here is more or less correct (I am not studying Japanese myself, at least not yet) translation of Japanese words, phrases and honorificators (i.e. a name suffixes), which I will be using:

-sama – referring to someone adding "-sama" suffix to his or her name is the most respectful way to refer to someone. Suffix "-sama" is usually used to refer to someone of great social status or someone whom you deeply respect, or as a way to flatter someone. Name remains unchanged by adding "-sama" suffix, for example Otaru = Otaru-sama, Faust = Faust-sama. In translation, suffix "-sama" may either be omitted, or be translated as "Lord", "Lady" or some similar appropriate highly respectful title. In case with Cherry referring to Otaru as "Otaru-sama", the most appropriate translation seems to be "Master Otaru".

-san – very much like suffix "-sama", suffix "-san" symbolizes respect, however, not such a great respect as suffix "-sama" symbolizes. Also suffix "-san" is commonly added to names of people you meet for the first time or do not know well. Name remains unchanged by adding "-san" suffix, for example Gennai = Gennai-san. In translation, suffix "-san" may be omitted, but more commonly it is translated by adding "Mister", "Missis" or "Miss" before person's name.

Ano – sound of hesitation, which is usually translated as "Ummm…" or something similar.

Gomen nasai – "Please, forgive me".

Hai – the expression of agreement, usually translated as "Yes", "Okay", "Alright" or "That's right".

Kurae! – "Take this!"

Minna – "Everybody" or "Everyone"; but as an address it can possibly also be translated as "People". Honorificators (i.e. a name suffixes), can be added to "Minna" normally as if it was a name; for example, "Minna-san" is the proper way to address to people you don't know well, while "Minna-sama" is the way to address to people whom you are holding in highest regard (or if you wish to sound as if you are holding them in highest regard).

Ne – the word that seems to be primary used in some questioning sentences. In this chapter it is used mostly in the beginnings of the sentences, where it is either omitted during the translation, or translated as "Hay". Near the end of the sentence, however, it can be translated in a few different ways, but it is usually translated as something like "Eh?", "Right?" "Isn't it?" or "Isn't that right?" near to the end of the sentence.

Ohayo! – "Morning!" or "Good morning!"

Ryokai – a more militaristic form of agreement comparing to "hai", usually used to acknowledge receiving an order or information, and can be translated as either "roger" or "aye-aye".

Shimatta! – "Shit!"

Soka – "Is that so?" or "I see…"

Unagi – translated as "eel", however, in this chapter of this story of mine, "Unagi" is a name of a submarine-like underwater vehicle, which is equipped with a rather advanced computer, which gives it (or to speak more precisely, him, as Unagi doesn't really have a gender, his voice sounds as a male voice) a certain degree of artificial intelligence.

Note: as some of the readers have definitely noticed, I will be writing the translation of even those words and phrases that I have used in the previous chapters of this story of mine. This way, if some of the readers won't remember some particular word or a phrase that I have used in one or a few of the previous chapters of this story of mine, he or she will only have to scroll up to the beginning of the current chapter rather then having to search for the translation of this word or a phrase through all the chapters of this story of mine.

All right, and now without further ado, let this story continue!

The Encounter in the Depth

Sylia turned the computer off and stood up, letting out another sigh…

…And it was only then when Sylia suddenly noticed an eye of a seemingly activated security camera, which seemed to be centered exactly on Sylia, although Sylia was quite sure that she turned all the security cameras in this room off as soon as she came in. Sylia mentally let out another sigh, for she was sure that nobody, not even somebody with hacking skills that would match Nene's, could penetrate the Lady633 building's virtual security so quickly and without raising the alarm. And so, only somebody inside the Lady633 building, and somebody who knew the security system as well as she did, could override her commands to turn this room's security cameras off. And Sylia knew exactly who this somebody was.

"Mackie…" Sylia muttered under her breath.

Then, trying her best to act normal, Sylia walked out of the room, picking up a small pocket PC from the table, as she walked past it. Sylia knew with absolute sureness, that Mackie was too occupied with other things, which he was seeing, to notice this. Afterwards, Sylia proceeded to walk out of the room and headed towards the hangar. As she walked, Sylia quickly typed a few commands on her pocket PC and quickly ensured that the signal from the security camera indeed went into the main monitoring room. Ensuring this, Sylia sighed once again, visibly this time. While her younger brother displayed great talent when it came to engineering and piloting, and also displayed no small skills when it came to electronic and computer operation, in many other ways he was such a child.

"Was I ever like this?" Sylia mused, as she continued to walk, heading towards the hangar. "No… No, the father ensured that. Still, it was necessary for me to become what I am now. Some things should not be left unpunished… And some other things should not be allowed to happen at all. That's why I am doing this."

In most time Sylia would definitely pay Mackie a visit and read him a short moral lecture about spying on his older sister, but now she didn't have time for such rather unimportant things, as certain far more important thing couldn't wait. And so, Sylia made a quick decision to let Mackie think that his little espionage went unnoticed this time, even though Sylia had a nasty feeling that this could serve only to make Mackie bolder, and thus, to increase the frequency of Mackie's attempts to spy on her as well as on her fellow Knight Sabers. But still, Sylia had a more important thing to think about right now. And so, Sylia kept going towards the hangar, putting all her thoughts about her younger brother aside for now.

Soon after Sylia entered the hangar, however, she was surprised to see a young man - Mackie, who was busying himself with Silky Doll delivery track's engines, making an imitation of an active work.

Just as his sister - Sylia, Mackie had short black hair and brown eyes; although he looked significantly younger the she, no older then sixteen or seventeen years old. Despite the apparent lateness of hour, however, Mackie was already dressed in a light green shirt with unbuttoned collar, which partially revealed a red t-shirt underneath. He also wore pants of same red color that were supported by suspenders. On his feet he wore a pair of black sneakers. And among the more minor details, he wore a wristwatch on his left wrist. In short, he was dressed practically rather then to make a good effect, but he still looked attractive enough, even if in slightly boyish way.

It also will be important to mention, that Silky Doll was a lingerie shop owned and ran by Sylia with occasional help from Mackie. This honest business, however, masked a far less legal activity – a work of a mercenary team, although a highly unusual one. There were many rumors regarding a powerful and enigmatic mercenary team – so-called Knight Sabers, against whom even GENOM and A.D. Police seemed to be unable to do anything. And these rumors vary greatly too, for while some people viewed Knight Sabers as secret but righteous heroes, fighting for the cause of good and justice, other more skeptical people viewed them as just one of the many mercenary teams, although a highly powerful one, who cared about nothing but money as well as their own power and influence. The truth, however, was far more complicated, and was somewhere in between and far more complicated then most people would ever imagine. Indeed, Knight Sabers often worked for money, and very large sums of money at that, but on many occasions Knight Sabers would go to deal with rogue Boomers without even as much as a request, let alone any payment. As about rightfulness… While Sylia indeed viewed her mercenary team's actions that effectively counterweighted GENOM's growth and expansion as a right thing to do, there were occasions when Sylia couldn't help wondering, where rightfulness ended and vengefulness began.

And as about Sylia's teammates, their views on this matter as well as their motives for working for her differed greatly. Initially, Sylia didn't really care much about what her teammates were feeling and thinking, as she thought that their thoughts and feeling w thought were more or less unimportant for her cause, at least it was so for as long as she could motivate her teammates to do what was required from them. But as the time passed, Sylia was beginning to treat her teammates less as hired fighting force and more as her friends. Sylia herself didn't notice, when exactly Asagiri-san, Yamazaki-san and Romanova-san turned into Priss, Linna and Nene. Although it has never been Sylia's intention to lead the people she cared for into battles, each of which could turn to be their last one, it has happened nevertheless, against Sylia's wishes. Even though Sylia still didn't like the idea of leading her friends into battles, each of which could turn to be their last one, she was forced to admit that now, when her teammates became friends, they were even more effective as the fighting force, for they were always ready to come to each other's aid, and even to sacrifice themselves for their teammates if such need would ever arise. This, in addition to very high-tech equipment and weaponry of course, ensured her team's survival for more then three years by now. And by now, Sylia knew her little team very well, including her teammate's reasons for doing this job.

Priss, a biker and Rock 'n' Roll singer, was giving Sylia most of the troubles at times from time to time, because of her unpredictability and short temper. Yet as soon as Priss would decide a course for herself, she seemed to become nearly unstoppable as even the occasion defeats and beatings wouldn't stop her from trying again. Just like Sylia, Priss had a personal account to settle with GENOM, and in some way Sylia felt that Priss was closest to her then any of her other teammates. Priss didn't seem to care much about money or the sense of righteousness, yet her hatred for GENOM as was deep as Sylia's, perhaps even greater, for unlike Sylia, Priss didn't seem to understand that despite the fact that it was rotten at the core, GENOM wasn't evil through and through. And in almost most cases, Priss hatred for GENOM was more then enough of motivator for her. Her hot temper made Priss perfect for her position of a team's heavy assault specialist, as well as her significant combat skills. She was quite good at melee combat, for surviving a several years in the streets taught Priss to defend herself even without any weapons very well. Yet ranged combat always seemed to be her area of expertise, and indeed, Priss was better at shooting then any other of Knight Sabers. Coupled with heavily armored and even more heavily armed hardsuit, Priss' combat prowess made her the most dangerous Knight Saber in combat under the most circumstances.

Linna, who failed in the career of the professional dancer and was currently working as aerobic instructor for her ordinary job, was quite different from Priss, however. Initially it was only money as well as possibility to find a use for her talent that made Linna interested in the job of a mercenary. And even now, when Linna became a close friend of Priss, and when another friend of hers died at the hands of GENOM's assassins, Linna's first question about almost any job remained to be a question about payment. While Linna's parents died in one of the first rogue Boomer incidents, Linna seemed to bear no visible hatred for GENOM, although Linna still destroyed Boomers, both rogue and controlled, with the same ruthless effectiveness as Priss. If Priss was quite good in melee combat, however, Linna was simply excellent in this area, and Linna's natural speed and agility made her perfect for her position of a melee combat specialist. And in real combat she seemed to be Priss polar opposite, for when Priss would just charge forward, Linna would move with calculated grace of a dancer. Each of Linna's moves was swift, well-calculated and deadly. And while Linna wasn't especially good in ranged combat, her natural speed, unburdened and even enhanced by her lightly armored hardsuit, would always allow her to quickly close up to her opponent, forcing him, her or it into a melee combat, where Linna's combat prowess was truly unmatched.

And only Nene, a data analyst and general office worker for A.D. Police, as well as a self-taught hacker extraordinaire, worked for Sylia mostly because of her desire to help people and to do what she thought to be right things. Being the youngest and in many ways the least mature of Knight Sabers, Nene viewed helping others through working with Knight Sabers in a very romantic way, and this sometimes caused Sylia's silent admiration. Sylia always viewed it as her personal responsibility to watch after her youngest teammate, and she had a good reason for that indeed. While both Priss and Linna very extremely skilled in their areas of combat, Nene always was an intermediate fighter in every way, and on many occasions her other teammates, mostly Sylia, were forced to come to Nene's aid. When it was coming to hacking, however, Nene's skills seemed to be second to none. Sylia wasn't without a certain hacking skills herself, yet on many an occasion Sylia was simply amazed by her youngest teammate hacking skills. And practicing hacking as actively as Nene did required no small courage, for hacking officially was a crime that was punished with immediate death, and the only way to avoid such a fate should you be caught at hacking was to submit yourself to an effective slavery of working under government or whatever corporation was lucky enough to caught you. Because of the great variety of things that hackers could do nowadays, they were both valued and feared, for even assassination was possible to archive through the Net.

But no matter how good Knight Sabers' intentions occasionally were, officially they were mercenaries, and thus, outlaws. For despite many conflicts and wars that were fought on Earth between various countries and megacorporations almost constantly, a job of a mercenary was still officially outlawed, even though mercenaries were widely employed not only by megacorporations but also by governments of most of the countries. And so, Knight Sabers were forced to operate in secrecy, and Sylia's Silky Doll business was an excellent cover-up for Knight Sabers' activity. In many cases when discretion was necessary, Knight Sabers used Silky Doll delivery truck, also known as Silky Wagon, for transport; although on rare occasions when Knight Sabers dared to move out openly, they had other, more advanced vehicles in their disposal.

"Mackie!" Sylia said strictly, attracting her younger brother's attention.

"Oh, ohayo, sis!" Mackie said, as he turned to his older sister with a smile, apparently trying to feign ignorance. "For some reason I couldn't sleep well tonight, and I though that Silky Wagon's engines can use another check-out, just in case."

"And what were you doing in the main monitoring room?" Sylia asked, and while she sounded to calm, Mackie who knew his older sister for his whole life could notice a slight hint of disapproval in her voice.

Mackie himself was in the middle of trying to think of some way to get to the topic he wanted to discuss, but somehow managing to avoid the issue of how he learned about this topic in the first place to come up for discussion; but Sylia's question forced Mackie to say good-bye to all his hopes, faint though they were, to avoid the subject of the main monitoring room.

"Ano…" Mackie said somewhat unsurely. "…I've decided to check out the virtual securities just in case, and…"

"…And decided to check out how well security cameras worked too, ne?" Sylia asked, finishing Mackie's sentence for him.

"Ano… I…" Mackie said, still trying to come up with some kind of an excuse.

But then Mackie finally realized the futility of his attempts, sighed and said. "Alright, I admit it. It's not like you don't know it already. But you would eventually tell me already, after all, you wouldn't leave me out of this, would you, sis?"

"Mackie!" Sylia said, this time without bothering to hide her disapproval.

"I kinda made a through check-out…" Mackie said, smiling weakly as he answered the question that hasn't been asked. "And I couldn't help overhearing…"

Sylia let out a sigh of defeat. Just a few months ago, all Mackie really cared about was a chance to spy on his older sister, or occasionally her teammates, whenever they were without decent clothes on. But while this was bad enough, it was nothing in comparison with what Mackie was doing recently. It seemed, that after certain recent events Mackie made it his goal to get involved in his sister's affairs as much as he could, and to Sylia's great shame, so far he was having a smashing success in this. Indeed, Sylia's arguments that she didn't wish for Mackie to get involved in her affairs grew weaker with each time Mackie actually helped her and her teammates. In fact, in the duration of the last year Mackie grew from just fixing and upgrading their equipment and vehicles as well as occasionally driving the very vehicles he helped to design to actually saving her and her teammates' lives on one occasion and on the other occasion even joining them in action on his own battlesuit, although in the last case he didn't get involved in the real fighting, and this was something that Sylia was thankful for.

Speaking of Mackie's battlesuit, there it stood right now, fully refitted and ready for action; Mackie made a few upgrades in his battlesuit after the first and only time he used it. The thing was large and bulky, and even though it was heavily armored and armed, Sylia didn't have any illusions about its combat performance; for Mackie's battlesuit wasn't even half as effective as the hardsuits that she created for herself and her Knight Sabers. But then again, the hardsuit required a great deal more skill and combat practice to use it in battle and live to tell the tale then battlesuit did, so perhaps Mackie was safer with his battlesuit. Not that Sylia planned to let Mackie to use his battlesuit again anytime soon anyway.

Technically, despite the name, battlesuits are more like a vehicles then an actual suits of armor. Battlesuits are designed to be humanoid in appearance and usually not much larger then an average human, and this makes an impression that battlesuits are worn rather then piloted; in reality, however, battlesuits are piloted in the same way as any other vehicles are. By the most standards battlesuits present the golden mean between size and combat capabilities. While battlesuits don't have same amount of armor and firepower as tanks and other larger vehicles do, they still have far more armor and firepower then any human can normally carry, and their relatively small size, in comparison with tanks and other similar vehicles, that's it, made them useable for any sorts of combat operation. Battlesuits have one big disadvantage, however, that is their slow speed. But nevertheless, battlesuits are widely used as many people believe that their strong points overweight their only disadvantage.

However, although battlesuits are an excellent design, the so-called hardsuits that Sylia personally designed and constructed exclusively for her Knights are a true technological wonder. While most battlesuits aren't much larger then average human, hardsuits are actually designed to fit their wearer perfectly. And even though they are still too heavy to be worn as an ordinary suits of armor, they are designed to follow their wearers' intended movements, receiving the orders through neuro-connection because of the specially designed interface suits – so-called softsuits. Unlike battlesuits, hardsuits' physical capabilities doesn't depend on their mass, rather they are designed to enhance their wearer's strength greatly; and moreover, while battlesuits are quite slow and clumsy, hardsuits not only allow their wearers to retain their speed and agility, but also enhance it to a smaller or greater degree, depending upon the particular hardsuit. And finally, in addition to all this, hardsuits were better armed and armored then many of the most advanced battlesuits. In short, the hardsuit technology is definitely superior to battlesuit technology, and hardsuits would have completely replaced battlesuits, if only Sylia shared it with anybody. But Sylia wisely chose not to share hardsuit technology with anybody and used it only for her own purposes.

"…And anyway, assuming that you will be able to use your hardsuits underwater normally… And you will, won't you?.. Somebody will have to look after the vehicle while you will be down there." Mackie continued meanwhile. "And who's better then me? In fact, I think I'll easily be able to keep Sky Carrier on water's level, for I've done far more difficult tricks and also…"

"We are not going to use Sky Carrier." Sylia said, interrupting Mackie. "And it is not "we", for I am going there alone."

"What? No way!" Mackie said in surprise. "What about Nene, Piss and Linna? Surely you…"

"Our hardsuits aren't of much use underwater anyway, they weren't designed for this." Sylia replied gloomy. "While they will hold against water just perfectly, I've never tested how well our thrusters will work underwater, and if our thrusters won't work underwater we will have troubles moving around. And even and if our thrusters will work underwater, their operating time is still too short. No, our hardsuits won't be of much use in this task."

"But then how?.." Mackie asked. "Wait, you mean it's already finished? My design, I mean?"

Sylia sighed once again. Now, when Mackie rightly guessed this, there was no way to deny this. Despite his apparent immaturity, Mackie fully inherited their father's intelligence, even though he grew into it much later then Sylia did…

"No." Sylia corrected herself mentally. "I haven't grown into it myself, rather I was forced to grow into it… Well, I guess it doesn't really matter now. Either way, Mackie is growing up now too, and despite some of his childish habits, he is of more help then a nuisance nowadays."

Sylia looked into Mackie's eyes, and sighed for the third time.

"Yes." She said. "While I have never given this design the first priority, a few days ago I received a report that it was completed."

"You could have told me earlier, sis." Mackie said somewhat resentfully.

"Oh, gomen nasai, Mackie, but this week was somewhat busy, you know." Sylia said.

Mackie nodded, for indeed, this week was somewhat busy for Knight Sabers. Just a few days ago, Knight Sabers received a contract to secure some unknown and very likely illegal cargo during the transportation, which eventually leaded to their running into another heavily armed mercenary band, and even though Knight Sabers walked victorious out of this encounter this still left Mackie and Sylia with quite a lot of work of repairing the damages that were done to their hardsuit, and Priss, who as always got into where the battle was the hottest, even got some minor injuries, although as always she didn't seem to really care about them. And so, Mackie perfectly understood why Sylia hasn't got around to tell her that his design was finally finished until now. But still…

"But still, it would be polite to let me do the test operation." Mackie said, still somewhat resentful.

"Ano… It hasn't been conducted yet." Sylia said.

"Hmmm…" Mackie said somewhat thoughtfully.

In the next moment, however, Mackie's face brightened and he continued. "Well then, I guess I can still be the first who will try it in action!"

"Mackie!" Sylia said, once again not hiding her disapproval. "I told you thousands times that I don't want you to get involved in this sort of things."

"Oh, soka…" Mackie said. "But what about my driving you to the combat zone?"

"This was completely different!" Sylia replied hastily. "You were in no danger and we couldn't afford to leave our vehicles unattended."

Indeed, in most cases fighting required the presence of all her Knight Sabers, and leaving their vehicles unattended was about as bad as leaving one of her Knight Sabers to watch after them, for with all high-tech equipment packed into Knight Sabers' vehicles they were just begging to steal them when they were left unattended. And strange though it might be, Sylia never trusted artificial intelligence enough to equip her vehicles with a significant amount of it, for she has seen one to many boomers who went out of control, went "rogue" as most people called it. And so, Sylia preferred not to rely on automatic defense systems, as she knew that if she would choose to reply on them one day she would possibly find her own defenses turned against her.

"Okay, but what about actually saving you along with Linna and Nene from those Hyper Boomers?" Mackie asked.

Sylia just looked at Mackie, not knowing what to say, for he struck her weakest point. No matter how much time has passed since then, Sylia still viewed that day as her greatest failure as the team's leader…

[Flashback – Sylia's point of view]

…I knew that I was making a grave mistake even as I leaded Knight Sabers to that operation. Even a child could see that it was a trap, made with intention to ensure the end of Knight Sabers in mind. But what choice did I have?

Some unknown enemies, who looked exactly like we in our hardsuits began to bring chaos and destruction upon MegaTokyo. Robbing and then blowing up one of GENOM's production facilities, along with slaughtering of all its security and personal, was only beginning, for then the false Knight Sabers put a poorly enciphered message into the newspaper about their inevitable appearance in Tinsel City's bank; and after all the previous robbery and destruction they caused, the reason for their appearance in Tinsel City's bank was too obvious to mention it.

And to make matters worse, Priss, who under the most circumstances was the most effective us, has left us during that period of time, as she was still shocked and upset over the death of her new friend, who in the end turned out to be illegal and moreover rogue BU-33S Sexaroid Boomer, a boomer that was almost indistinguishable from a human being both physically and in character. I knew that Linna, Nene and myself will be hard pressed to deal with this new threat, but nevertheless I've decided for us to try to beat our new enemies.

For more then our reputation or pride was put on stake in here, but also lives of many innocent people. For thanks to Nene, I was perfectly aware that A.D. Police was able to decipher the false Knight Sabers' message as well, and that they were preparing a massive combat operation against them; as if we Knight Sabers were some kinds of rogue boomers, for officially A.D. Police was in charge only of the crimes committed by boomers, even though they also were called into action many times when "normal" police was having troubles. And while A.D. Police managed to deal with most of the boomers who went rogue, even though they paid a bloody price for each rogue boomer they destroyed, I knew that it is going to be completely different this time. If these false Knight Sabers were boomers, and I suspected them to be, and eventually I turned out to be right, and quite advanced at that, I knew that it will likely be of no troubles for them to slaughter A.D. Police's main force.

…And now there we were, pressed to the far edge of the roof of the Tinsel City's bank, while the remnants of the A.D. Police's main force bellow also made a hasty retreat. Of three of us, only Linna was actually fighting on the equal terms with the these Hyper Boomers, and it seemed that she could have actually be able to beat the boomer who made her its target, if only she wouldn't have to aid Nene from time to time with her, which always ended in Linna's taking a hit from either her or Nene's opponent. Linna was very good in combat, but not against two of them. I also did quite well, though not well enough, for while I was somewhat faster then my heavier opponent, it still was stronger, better armed and more heavily armored. And its combat skill was fully matched for that of me. In the very beginning of our battle, it forced me to take a defensive style, and each of my attempts to press my attack on him or to aid Nene resulted in my taking yet another hit. Poor Nene was faring worst of us. Necessity pushed her to fight better then she ever did before or after, but still she was definitely no match for her opponent. If not for Linna's and my helping her from time to time, I doubt that Nene would survive to until the end of this battle.

And still, no matter how hard we fought, step by step our enemies pushed us to the end of the roof, where we were no longer able to dodge their powerful blows and energy beams. And despite all our efforts, our opponents displayed only slight surface damages. In short, it was perfectly clear that this battle was coming to an end, and by no means could this battle end in our favour. The only way seemed to be an immediate retreat, but… Even the retreat seemed to be impossible…

"What are we going to do, Sylia?" Nene asked, and her voice betrayed just how scared she was. "There is no more room to back down."

"Linna, Nene." I said. "While I will distract them, get away from here."

In heart I knew that this wasn't going to work, that I won't be able to distract three of them, but nevertheless, I had to try. I pulled them into this trap, and now it was my duty to ensure that they will escape out of it alive… Or at least I will die trying…

"But, Sylia…" Linna started.

But I didn't give her a chance to continue. The Hyper Boomers were getting closer. There was almost no time left.

"That's an order." I interrupted her. "Understood?"

"Sylia…" They both began.

"And now the final blow!" Roared one of our opponents as it got ready to fire its deadly gravity cannon at us.

"Now!" I shouted.

But before either side could do anything, a huge silhouette appeared seemingly out of thin air behind us (in fact, as I've learned later, Mackie somehow managed to fly Sky Carrier through the streets of MegaTokyo, a feat that I don't think I would be able to perform, and then brought it up just next to Tinsel City's bank in order to take our enemies by surprise). Dust that was raised by a pair of large propellers clouded battlefield, and in the next moment a pair of bright searchlight blinded everybody, even though only for a brief moment before we could adjust to them.

"Minna, crouch!" A familiar voice said through speakers.

We didn't, but it hardly mattered, for in the next moment a volley of missiles flashed past us just above our heads, hitting our would-be executioners, and for a brief moment engulfing the most of the roof in a huge explosion.

"Aboard, quickly!" Mackie shouted to us.

We didn't hesitate, and immediately walked up the ladder that he lowered for us. Engines roared, once again raising the clouds of dust as they took Sky Carrier away from the seriously damaged, but still deadly dangerous Hyper Boomers. By the time when Hyper Boomers recovered and could see anything, Sky Carrier was just a distant silhouette against a background of a full moon, well beyond the range of their deadly weapons. Knight Sabers were saved… Though not by the same person who pulled them into an obvious trap…

[/Flashback]

"…Or about the time when you, personally I must add, admitted that you needed my battlesuit to break into the A.D. Police tower and to deliver Nene's hardsuit to her?" Mackie continued.

That time situation didn't look as serious and dangerous as it was when Mackie helped them to withdraw from their fight with Hyper Boomers, but eventually Mackie's support turned out to be nearly as vital as before. It happened less then a month ago, when Dr. Miriam Yoshida, a scientist with specialization for boomer engineering, for some reason went insane and used his specifically developed Hyper Boomers to capture A.D. Police Tower with intention to blow it up in mind. A.D. Police forces laid a siege to their own tower, having it surrounded, but were unable to reclaim it from advanced Hyper Boomers. And to make matters worse, Nene who was on evening's duty when this incident occurred, got trapped in A.D. Police Tower, needless to say without her hardsuit. But fortunately, Mackie designed his battlesuit to be not as much as a combat-orientated unit but more as a support unit, and as such, among its other equipment Mackie's battlesuit was equipped with a backpack-like storage unit, which was large enough to carry a hardsuit. And considering that their enemies during that time were once again unknown and that Sylia presumed them to be rather dangerous, and as usually Sylia turned out to be right in the end, Sylia chose to ask Mackie to join them in his battlesuit so that he could deliver to Nene her hardsuit over going through this battle without Nene's assistance. And also, a very powerful bazooka that Mackie's battlesuit was armed with, was one of the few weapons in Knights Sabers' disposal that was capable of creating holes in A.D. Police Tower's heavily reinforced walls, floors and ceilings, and so Mackie's assistance also proved to be vital in helping Nene to get into the nearest room with computer terminal. After that, Mackie in the theory supposed to withdraw, but instead he chose to remain with Nene and helped her in defeating the Computer Boomer who took over the control of A.D. Police Tower. Of how much help Mackie was to an experienced hacker like Nene, Sylia didn't know; but she had a feeling that Nene's victory over the Computer Boomer was a very narrow one indeed, and so Mackie's help probably indeed was what turned the situation in Nene's favour, even though Mackie's skills in hacking were nothing comparing to that of Nene.

"All right, enough already." Sylia said tiredly, admitting her defeat to herself.

"So, does it mean that I can be the first to pilot our new vehicle – Depth Carrier as I've called this design?" Asked Mackie hopefully, unable to hide his excitement.

"All right." Sylia said. "After all, as you rightly noted, this design is rightfully yours, and in this situation it turned out to be vital. All your designs seem to have a trait of being vital on the specific occasions."

"I'm just always trying to think of something which you haven't created already, sis." Mackie said, blushing slightly, but smiling widely nevertheless.

"All right, we must be off immediately then…" Sylia said.

Then Sylia caught Mackie staring at her outfit and hastily added. "I will put on my hardsuit, of course!.. Ano… Is Silky Wagon ready? Depth Carrier is in the private dock I own, and we will need to get there inconspicuously."

"A lingerie delivery to the dock, and in the middle of the night at that?" Mackie asked. "Is that your idea of being inconspicuous?"

"Of course not." Sylia replied. "The delivery will be to one of the nearby houses. The owner is one of my men, and he will then drive Silky Wagon to Dr. Raven's, supposedly for a repair, while we will take a secret passage to the dock. Now that is my idea of being inconspicuous. And now… why don't you occupy yourself with something for a minute or so?"

"Right you are, sis!" Mackie said. "I'll go to get Silky Wagon's engines started."

After saying so, Mackie hurried to get into Silky Wagon's cab. It took Mackie just a second to get Silky Wagon's engines started; and after that Mackie adjusted one of Silky Wagon's rear-view mirrors to get a better view of his sister undressing and changing into her softsuit. While his sister had a knack of noticing whenever Mackie used cameras to spy on her, she seemed to be completely unaware that there were others, more mundane means for him to do that. And so, Mackie comfortably settled back in driver's chair, enjoying a short but spectacular show…

Meanwhile…

A dark greenish-blue silhouette swiftly moved through an underwater area. Deep underwater it would be almost impossible to noticed visually, while special equipment made it completely invisible for all but most advanced radars. And even in this area, which wasn't especially deep one, it will actually be hard to notice this vehicle visually.

Inside the vehicle, the gray-haired man, still dressed in gray shirt, and black jacket, pants and boots, looked at the radar's monitor.

"Almost there, and still no signs of GENOM." He thought. "That either means that insect was too frightened of me or that Quincy was foolish enough to hesitate. Either way, I should have more then enough time to find out what is this all about, and either destroy the contents if they will be of not use to me, or take them with me. A shuttle form one of the long-lost colony ships… perhaps it will provide me with what I've been waiting for all this time – a weapon to strike back against those who wronged me – Knight Sabers, GENOM, the humanity… Yes, those few who know that I sill exist are still scared of me, but only because they do not know that my greatest weapon of the past is no longer with me. All the time since my recovery I was forced to hide in the shadow of the humanity, but someday my time of hiding and waiting will come to an end… Yes, why not today?!"

And some while later…

Mackie and Sylia stood in the rather small underground dock, only large enough for a single submarine-like vehicle. But while Mackie looked the same, Sylia was beyond the recognition right now, as her whole body was hidden within the metal suit, which was one of the nearly legendary hardsuits, whose combat performance was nearly unmatched. Sylia's hardsuit was mostly steely-white in color. While it didn't have any visible weapons, in reality Sylia's hardsuit was packed with a wide variety of powerful weapons; and while it was the most heavily armored among the hardsuits, it still not only didn't limit Sylia's speed and agility, but even enhanced it to the good degree, especially since it was equipped with the more advanced jumping thrusters then any other hardsuit that were even capable of true flight, although for the very limited amount of time.

Speaking about the submarine-like vehicles, the vehicle that partially peaked out of water in front of them wasn't much different from many other submarines, except for a pair of short "wings" near the front of it, and there also were a trio of even smaller "wings" at its rear, which made this vehicle's tail to somewhat resemble a tail of some of the older airplane models' tails. The vehicle was dark blue, nearly black, in color.

"Here it is." Came Sylia's voice from behind her helmet that completely covered her face. "But I still think that it might not be a good idea for you to pilot it, Mackie. This operation isn't a game."

"One more reason for me to do it, sis." Mackie replied. "I know, I don't have much combat experience, but let's face it, sis, I am better pilot then you are. So, why don't you want me to do what I am good at, sis? After all, I don't ask you to allow me to join you and the others in fighting… Ano… Not often, that's it."

Sylia sighed one more time, although this time her sigh was barely audible from behind her helmet.

"Alright, let's go then." Sylia said. "We don't have much time to waste."

And then, Mackie and Sylia walked up the already lowered ladder into the submarine-like vehicle that was the Depth Carrier.

And, once again, some while later…

"Even if the shuttle's computer is still functioning, it definitely isn't connected with the Net, and thus cannot be reached from outside." The gray-haired man in the dark greenish-blue submarine-like vehicle said. "Just cut a way for me, Unagi, I don't care whether anything inside will be damaged."

"Yes, Master." Came the reply from the submarine-like vehicle's computer.

Immediately the arm-like manipulator, which however ended in something like buzz-saw rather then hand, extended from submarine-like vehicle's bottom near the front, and within less then a minute it cut a hole in the shuttle, large enough for any human to get through it. The water freely flowed into the shuttle, yet the possible damages that it could do didn't seem to bother the submarine-like vehicle's master. Fulfilling his orders, the submarine-like vehicle – Unagi, retracted his manipulator.

"Done, Master." Unagi said.

"Very well." The gray-haired man said.

Then he quickly thrown his clothes off and changed into a black diving suit. Over it he put a life jacket, although it looked like it was currently without air, and a pair of air containers attached to it suggested that it was probably designed to fill with air and thus to help wearer to float up to the surface only upon wearer's activation. Then without bothering to put on neither diving mask or goggles, nor aqualung, as if he needed neither of them in underwater environment, he walked to Unagi's airlock module. Understanding his master's wishes without being told, Unagi lowered to the rocky seabed, before allowing his master to pass airlock module. Once outside Unagi, the gray-haired man simply walked along the rocky seabed rather then swam, as apparently his weight was more then enough to keep him down in underwater environment. He also wasn't breathing, and in fact didn't look like it was hard for him to hold his breath.

"Don't forget to warn me should anyone approach." The gray-haired man sent an electronic command to Unagi, for he was still connected with Unagi through the Net.

"This goes without order, Master." Came Unagi's reply.

Shortly afterwards, the gray-haired man reached the hole in the shuttle. Before going inside, he casted a look at the shuttle itself, and was stratified as he saw letters that said, "SDPC – MV – LRS".

"So this is indeed one of the long-range shuttles from the original colony ships." The gray-haired man thought, as he got inside the shuttle.

Inside the shuttle it was the total darkness, and the water level has already reached just above the hole, where it stopped. Yet the gray-haired man seemed to have no problems with orientating himself in the total darkness, just as he had no problems with simply walking in underwater environment. He instantly saw the three bodies of whom he thought to be shuttle's pilots, probably killed during the shuttle's crush landing. Paying no attention either to the fact that all the shuttle's pilot were women, or to the fact that what they were wearing was as far from what one would expect shuttle's pilots to wear as it was possible, the gray-haired man kept looking around the room instead. In no time he noticed the only computer terminal in the shuttle, alas it was totally smashed. The gray-haired man couldn't hide his disappointment, he expected something, anything, but instead all he got was a few dead bodies and a piece of broken machinery. Perhaps, somebody with a lot of time and right equipment would be able to get some information out of the shuttle's computer, but he had neither time nor right equipment… Nor the means of taking the whole shuttle with him.

The gray-haired man was about to leave, when he noticed something strange. What could have damaged the shuttle's computer terminal so severely? It was unlikely that it has happened during the crash-landing, no matter how terrible it was. The gray-haired man cast another look at the smashed computer terminal and nodded to himself, indeed, the damaged looked more as if they were caused by the… blow? The gray-haired man looked around the room to make sure that there were no weapons or even tools around the room. Once again the gray-haired man looked at the pilots' bodies… The bodies… why didn't they float? The gray-haired man walked towards the one of them and picked it up. The body was light, as far as he could judge it wasn't heavier then the human's body would be. The skin was cold to the touch, but he knew that they were dead for quite some time now. However… He pressed his hand against the body's skin harder, and felt something hard just underneath it. A built-in or implanted armor? He thought it to be likely. And likely quite good muscles enhancements as well. This explained how one of them could strike the shuttle's computer terminal with her bare hand and not only keep her hand unscratched but also to damage the shuttle's computer terminal so severely. Was she an android or just a human with cybernetic implants? The gray-haired man believed, correction, wanted to believe, that it was more likely that they were androids rather then humans with cybernetic implants. Then it was also likely that they weren't truly dead, but rather…

"Master." An electronic message from Unagi interrupted the gray-haired man's thoughts. "An unidentified underwater object is approaching us on high speed. It will reach us shortly."

"I'm going back immediately, get ready to open the airlock module." The gray-haired man replied to Unagi.

Afterwards the gray-haired man looked at two other bodies. Despite his superhuman strength, there was no way for him carry more then one of them, they just won't fit in his arms. And dragging them would slow him down greatly underwater, probably enough for whoever or whatever was approaching Unagi to reach him. Seeing no other way of getting them to Unagi then one by one, the gray-haired man lose no more time thinking, and began to hastily walk back towards Unagi, moving as fast as the body he carried and underwater environment allowed him.

"After all, if Unagi and I will be able to deal with whoever or whatever is approaching us, I will always be able to return back for the other two." The gray-haired man thought as he walked towards Unagi. "And even if we won't be able to deal with this potential enemy, I will still be able to find out what this android girl is capable of, and whether the other two will worth the possible troubles or not. Though considering what one of them did to the computer terminal, I believe they might be."

As soon as he got into Unagi, the gray-haired man not-too-gently shoved the body he carried to the wall as he quickly walked to the pilot's chair, Whether its possessor was dead or merely out of power, the man was sure that she won't likely feel anything, if she was capable of feelings at all, of course.

…After what seemed to be eternity of nothingness, Lime could feel as her back struck something hard. Lime tried to open her eyes to find out what's going on, but couldn't do even this much. Lime had this unpleasant feeling, a feeling that her energy was running low, a couple of time before, yet never could she remember feeling so exhausted that he couldn't move a single muscle, not even as much as to open her eyes. Not for the first time she wondered, if perhaps this was what death was like…

Meanwhile, the gray-haired man watched the red dot on the radar's screen, which almost reached their position. And soon some kind of a dark silhouette finally came into view on a long-ranged visual display unit, and kept approaching on quite a high speed.

"What is it?" The gray-haired man asked.

"An object is still unidentified." Unagi replied. "Which mark it as either unique, or completely new design. It seems to be heavily armored, and appears to have moderately high speed and maneuverability, although not as good as that of mine. Weapon systems are unknown, but I believe that they present. Other then that, I have no more information."

"Will you be able to defeat it?" The gray-haired man asked.

"In honest combat, unlikely." Unagi answered. "But if I will take it by surprise… It is hard for me to judge, since I have no significant information about this enemy, but still, I judge my victory to be quite likely."

The point is that Unagi was designed more for stealth rather then for actual combat, and while it was armed and armored moderately well in addition to having quite a good speed and maneuverability, in open combat it was likely to lose to most of the more combat-orientated underwater vehicles.

"Alright, let it closer before attacking it then." The gray-haired man said. "But, Unagi, if you will feel like you aren't up to this combat, I want you to retreat at once, understood?"
"Your wish is my command, Master." Unagi replied.

The gray-haired man watched as an enemy vehicle moved closer and closer, and eventually began to slow down. There could be no doubt, that the crashed shuttle was its target as well. However, whoever piloted it apparently failed to notice Unagi that lay on the seabed, nearly blending with his surroundings. And neither their radar seemed to be powerful enough to detect Unagi in his inactive mode.

"But whose vehicle is that." The gray-haired man mused. "GENOM? No, I would expect GENOM to get the site of interstellar shuttle's crash-landing surrounded by their cyberdroids before trying to investigate the crashed shuttle. That's GENOM standard procedure for an underwater recovery mission. Must be government or some smaller corporation… No matter, either way they would never know who struck them."

"Unagi, shift all the primary functions to the manual control." The gray-haired man ordered. "And concentrate your attention on enemy's movements and attacks, you know the procedure."

"Yes, Master." Unagi said.

Even though it was their first actual combat together, two of them prepared the combat procedure for themselves against the time when they will finally be involved in underwater combat. While the gray-haired man was to assume the role of a pilot, taking over Unagi's movement functions and weapons, Unagi himself was to watch enemy's movements and attacks carefully, as well as to keep his condition in check, effectively filling the role of navigator.

Watching their unsuspicious enemy moving into Unagi's arc of fire, the gray-haired man couldn't help smirking as he took fire control level and prepared to fire…

Meanwhile, in the Depth Carrier…

"Here it is!" Mackie said victoriously, pointing at the image of the crashed shuttle at one of the visual display units. "And on the radar all's clear too!"

"This doesn't mean we are safe though." Sylia commented dryly. "When GENOM will arrive, I don't doubt they will just dispatch their boomers from the water's surface, and they are going to sink down here in no time. We must act… What's that?!"

The reason for Sylia's question was all too obvious – a sudden sound of alarm and words "TORPEDO ALERT!!!" on one of the information display units.

Not bothering to answer Sylia's question, Mackie hastily jerked Depth Carrier sideways, but too late to avoid the hit fully. The only thing that Mackie archived was that the pair of torpedoes apparently aimed at Depth Carrier's cockpit hit Depth Carrier in the right side, penetrating the outer layer of armor before exploding.

"We've been hit!" Mackie shouted. "Damn, these were APs!"

Now both Mackie and Sylia could very well see the red dot that appeared on the radar's screen in the close approximate to them. And on one of the visual display units they could also see a dark and previously indistinctive silhouette from which these two torpedoes were fired. As Mackie and Sylia watched, two more torpedoes got separated form the silhouette and rushed into Depth Carrier's direction.

"Not so fast." Mackie muttered, as he completed the turn and switched Depth Carrier's jet engines to full power. The torpedoes looked like they were guided, but in the next moment Depth Carrier shot forward and at the same time Depth Carrier's jet engines shot a stream of heat backwards, which caused the water to boil for a short time. The torpedoes that were hard on Depth Carrier's heels couldn't withstand the heat and went off, exploding just behind Depth Carrier but leaving it untouched. And so, Depth Carrier hurried away from the unknown enemy.

"Are we retreating as soon as we've met the opposition?!" Sylia asked a little bit angrily, for even though Sylia was worried about Mackie, the thought of retreating after taking the first hit still didn't appeal to her.

"No, I just need some distance between us before turning to face him, otherwise he'd hit us while we'll be turning." Mackie replied. "And also…" Mackie quickly checked out one of the information display units. "Just as I thought! We are gaining water! But it can be taken care of…"

Mackie quickly typed an appropriate command, and an emergency layer of armor closed the hole in Depth Carrier hull.

"Done, water is of no danger to us anymore." Mackie commented. "We still have a weak spot in our armor though, not that it matters much taking our enemy's using of armor piercing torpedoes into account. Anyway, it's our turn now!"

With one swift motion Mackie performed a U-turn on the top speed. And Mackie and Sylia immediately saw, that their enemy didn't waste the time either – it has already rose from the seabed, gained the speed, and was now ready to fire more torpedoes at them. And in the next moment it did just it.

"Okay, I've got a present for you too!" Mackie said, as he aimed guided torpedoes of his own at still approaching enemy vehicle…

…But for some reason, they refused to lock.

"What the?.." Mackie said in disbelief. "But why?!"

"Mackie!" Sylia shouted.

And Mackie instantly remembered that the torpedoes fired at them locked just fine. In the last moment Mackie jerked Depth Carrier rightwards, and the torpedoes aimed at it couldn't turn as the same speed, and so they flashed past Depth Carrier, where they were incinerated by the heat from Depth Carrier jet engines. Then Mackie completed the turn, once again taking Depth Carrier away from the enemy to think of some other tactics against it.

"What's wrong with our torpedoes?" Mackie muttered, not really expecting an answer, but…

"It's ECM System, I believe." Sylia commented. "This also explains how it could escape our noticing it in the first place. It's almost like…"

"Sylia, we have problems!" Mackie shouted. "Looks like he's right on our tail!"

"Dammit!" Sylia swore. "But then why doesn't he shot?"
"Our engines are powerful enough to blow his torpedoes up with us being out of their explosion range." Mackie explained. "And looks like he packs nothing but APs, usually the best choice, but not that case. If he'd any HEs, he'd get us by now."

"Can you shake him off?" Sylia asked.

"I'm trying!" Mackie replied, and then added. "Hay, Sylia, can you take control over our 360 degree camera? It would help to know where he is, for I cannot see him on frontal and side visual display units."

"Okay." Sylia replied, quickly activating their 360 degree camera and aiming it backwards…

…However, the dark silhouette of the enemy vehicle wasn't there.

"Huh?" Mackie said in surprise. "Where is…"

Before Mackie could finish his sentence, however, Sylia turned their 360 degree camera upward, and indeed, just as Sylia suspected, there was a dark silhouette of the enemy vehicle, looming slightly above and behind Depth Carrier, and apparently ready to open fire at any moment.

"Dammit!" This time Mackie also couldn't help swearing. "He got us! And I cannot shake him off, he is faster! What are we going to do, Sylia?!"

"Listen, Mackie." Sylia started to speak, regaining her famous coolness by now. "As soon as he fires, take Depth Carrier straight upwards. If we are lucky, you will be able to incinerate the torpedoes with our jet engine blast, just as you used to. And even if you won't be able to do it, the torpedoes that most likely will be aimed at our cockpit won't likely hit their intended target anyway, most likely that worse that we will suffer will be some more hull damage, which is bad, but… NOW!"

Mackie didn't hesitate, as he immediately brought Depth Carrier straight upwards. In the next moment, however, the Depth Carrier shook slightly.

"Another hit." Mackie commented, as he hurryingly typed a command for an emergency layer of armor to close another hole, this time in their roof. "But it's nothing critical. Okay, and now it's my turn!"

Suddenly Mackie broke Depth Carrier's rise off, and sent it into turnover, intending to get onto the enemy's tail in turn.

Meanwhile, in Unagi…

"Shimatta!" swore the gray-haired man, for the enemy performed his defensive maneuver too fast for him to react.

Unagi rushed past the spot where enemy went straight upwards, leaving him out of the gray-haired man's view. But the gray-haired man had no need to see the enemy to realize that what the gray-haired man intended to be a killing blow will result only in another not especially serious hull damage. Also the gray-haired man realized what the enemy pilot intended to do next, but it was already too late for him to keep on the enemy's tail, now it was time to worry about his own tail.

"Master!" Unagi suddenly said. "More hostile underwater objects are sighted. They are identified as…"

"Dobermans, mark two." The gray-haired man finished for Unagi, as he looked at the frontal visual display unit.

There, a pair of large, at least twice as large as the tallest man alive, humanoid figures was coming into view. Their mechanical nature was obvious, showing in undisguised metallic armor that covered their bodies and a pair of cannons that were built-in into their arms, as the gray-haired man knew, these were Light Gauss Rifles. Their heads were more beast-like then human-like in shape, with a plate of metal armor covering the most of it, leaving only a mouth filled with beast-like fangs and a pair of angry red eyes unprotected. And on each of the side visual display units, the gray-haired man could see two more large humanoid robots, or "boomers", as they were called in slang. These ones were indeed Dobermans II, the obvious combat boomers especially designed for underwater action, extremely stupid even comparing to other combat boomers, but also extremely heavily armored and armed with very dangerous weapons. On the radar's screen, the gray-haired man could see totally twelve red dots that symbolized Dobermans II, and he could also see that they were slowly but surely surrounding him in a circle…

"Not me." The gray-haired man suddenly realized. "But rather the crashed shuttle. There is no doubt that they are following the plan that was given to them to the letter, these poor brethren of mine don't really have an initiative of their own… What a pity! I would like to count at least a few of them as my allies! But this time, it give me a perfect opportunity to escape from GENOM's grasp; I am not ready to face them, at least not yet."

Indeed, as the gray-haired man rightly noted, their short but fierce combat brought both Unagi and Depth Carrier back to the area where everything began – to the site of interstellar shuttle's crash-landing.

The gray-haired man no longer worried about his previous opponent, for the gray-haired man was sure that he or she wasn't from GENOM, and thus he or she was surely having troubles of his or her own right now. Instead, the gray-haired man sent Unagi straight towards pair of Dobermans in front of him. Yet shortly before entering the range of fire for Dobermans' Light Gauss Rifles, the gray-haired man landed Unagi to the seabed, and turned Unagi's engines off, transferring him into the stealth mode. And soon, just as the gray-haired man had expected them to, Dobermans simply walked past the unmoving Unagi, paying him as little attention as to any rock in their wake. For stupid Dobermans, anything that wasn't classified as an obvious enemy and thus wasn't the target for destruction, wasn't worthy of any attention whatsoever. And soon after the Dobermans walked past Unagi, the gray-haired man turned Unagi's engines on once again, quickly taking him away from the site of interstellar shuttle's crash-landing. The gray-haired man wasn't pleased with today's operation, for he gained much less from the crushed interstellar shuttle then he hoped to. But at least it was something, and as for GENOM… Their time will come yet… Though not today…

A short while earlier, in the Depth Carrier…

"He is fast!" Mackie muttered, as the enemy vehicle swiftly rushed away from them even before Mackie was able to complete his maneuver.

Mackie expected to get an upper hand in combat because of his maneuver, but it looked like all that he was going to archive was make odds even… If you would close your eyes to that fact that Depth Carrier was hit twice, while Mackie was yet to score a single hit, that's it. Before the enemy vehicle was only keeping up with Depth Carrier's speed, and only now, when the enemy pilot choose to get away from Depth Carrier, Mackie finally realize how much faster the enemy vehicle really was. Taking this as well as enemy's ECM System into account, scoring victory against this enemy will be very hard, truth to tell, nearly impossible…

"Mackie!" Sylia's shout interrupted Mackie's thoughts. "It looks like we have even more enemies."

Mackie casted a quick look at the radar's screen, and then to one of the visual display units, where a pair of large humanoid figures was coming into view.

"These are…" Mackie started to speak…

"DM Zero Two, Dobermans, especially designed for underwater action." Sylia finished for him. "I don't know who our previous enemy was, but now it's GENOM for sure."

"Speaking of our previous enemy, I wonder what he's doing." Mackie said, as he looked at the radar's screen once again, and then looked through various visual display units.

But their previous enemy was nowhere to be seen…

"He probably has already fled." Sylia commented dryly. "With his ECM System and high speed engines it was probably not a difficult thing for him to avoid stupid boomers like DM Zero Two. This means that whoever he was, our previous enemy wasn't from GENOM, otherwise he would definitely choose to assist DM Zero Two in our capture or extermination."

"Sis, I am sorry to say so, but I guess that we better get outta here and soon." Mackie said. "They are tightening the circle, and we happened to be near the center of it."

Sylia nodded gloomy, for even though she didn't know this design as well as Mackie did, she nevertheless knew it well enough to understand that Depth Carrier wouldn't do against twelve DM-02's; Depth Carrier would do well enough against one or possibly even two DM-02's, but against twelve of them, even if they were currently separated into smaller groups, it will be absolutely hopeless.

"Very well." Sylia finally said. "We must strike right now, and into one of the corners of their formation, where we will encounter only one of DM Zero Two. There we have the best chances to break through their formation."

"Ano… Sis." Mackie said. "Wouldn't it be much easier to just rise upwards and pass over their heads?"

"No, we will be spotted from their ships." Sylia said.
"Their ships?" Mackie asked.

"DM Zero Two are very stupid." Sylia explained with a sigh. "And so, GENOM wouldn't send them here without some more intelligent support. And after all, DM Zero Two are here only to secure the site of interstellar shuttle's crash-landing, after which GENOM will have to send somebody to investigate and then retrieve the crashed shuttle. And so, there are some ships above us. And while DM Zero Two won't be able to report anything useful, except for their encounter with unknown enemy, their ships will possibly be able to track us. In short…"

"I understand, sis." Mackie said, interrupting Sylia. "Anyway, one of them shouldn't provide much of a trouble."

Despite his words, Sylia couldn't help noticing that Mackie sounded unconvinced in his own words. It was only then when Sylia remembered, that despite his skill in piloting, Mackie was still new to the actual combat, in fact, this was only second time he participated in the actual combat. Mackie hid whatever fear he might be feeling very well, which was rather logical since he had an excellent role model in this regard, but from her own experience Sylia knew that Mackie was likely far more afraid then he let it show. And Sylia couldn't help feeling guilty for letting Mackie to talk her into allowing him to pilot Depth Carrier in this operation. But then again, Sylia wasn't sure that she would hold her ground in underwater vehicle combat as well as Mackie did, so who knows, maybe if it wasn't for Mackie, she would be feeding the fishes by now.

While Sylia was lost in thoughts, Mackie surely leaded Depth Carrier towards the solitary DM-02 at the corner of their formation. But watching both visual display units and radar's screen, Sylia could see that two more DM-02's, one from each of nearby pairs, started to move to intercept Depth Carrier. Moving on their built-in thrusters, that worked perfectly underwater, DM-02's were still nowhere near as fast as Depth Carrier was, but still Sylia couldn't help wondering if…

"We are going to make it." Mackie muttered, keeping Depth Carrier on its course. "They are too slow to be able to intercept us."

And indeed, Depth Carrier passed the spot where two DM-02's intended to intercept it long before DM-02's. However, as if not understanding that they would never catch up with Depth Carrier, two DM-02's turned after it and began the pursuit. In their pursuit that even aimed and fired their Light Gauss Rifles at Depth Carrier, but at such a distance Mackie had no troubles with dodging four full-metal projectiles that were fired at Depth Carrier. In theory, the projectiles fired from Gauss Rifles were supposed to be as swift as lightning, and on the surface it was just so; but the pressure of water slowed them down to some degree, and thus for somebody with skill it was possible to dodge them, at least at moderately long distance.

"I did it!" Mackie exclaimed, for indeed his dodging maneuver was a narrow thing.

"Don't relax, Mackie." Sylia shouted in return. "The third one is dead ahead of us!"

"Ryokai." Mackie said.

Just then, DM-02 that was ahead of Depth Carrier fired at them from his Light Gauss Rifles. But Mackie skillfully leaded Depth Carrier to the right, and as result, one of the projectiles missed them completely, while the other just scratched Depth Carrier's left side, but was unable to fully penetrate its armor due to this being a non-direct hit.

"Kurae!" Mackie shouted, as he fired a pair of torpedoes at DM-02.

DM-02 didn't have time to move out of the harm's way, for the torpedoes hit it the very next moment – one into upper torso and the other into head. DM-02 stumbled a step back before partially recovering from the hit, but by that time Mackie has already turned Depth Carrier against DM-02 at the full speed, and was ready to press his attack.

"And this too!" Mackie shouted, as he fired an array of short range torpedoes at DM-02, this time completely engulfing it in the series of explosions.

"Watch out, Mackie!" Sylia shouted "At this rate we are going to…"

But Sylia didn't finish her sentence, for in the next moment she had to hold onto her chair to avoid falling out of it, as Depth Carrier was shaken violently. Mackie himself let the controls of Depth Carrier go, for he likewise had to hold onto his chair to avoid falling out of it.

"…Crash into it." Sylia finished, despite the fact that there was no use in doing so anymore.

"We could survive this." Mackie pointed out, as he took over the controls of Depth Carrier once again. "It couldn't."

Then Mackie checked out information display and said. "Just minor armor damages, nothing serious. And two of our late friend's colleagues are far behind us. What are your future orders, sis?"

"Return Depth Carrier back to dock." Sylia said, and mentally added. "Operation failed."

Later, at the very top of GENOM Tower…

A man sat in the large chair at his table, in a large although nearly undecorated room. He didn't look young, although his precise age would be somewhat difficult to guess, but nevertheless he was broad-shouldered and looked rather fit physically. His hair still retained its light brown color, without any touches of white or gray, and his complexion was somewhat tanned, although the later could look so due to the poor lighting conditions of the room he was in. He wore dark green business suit, which as well as the shirt he wore underneath was offhandedly unbuttoned at the top.

Before the table stood a woman, who looked to be somewhere in her middle or late twenties, or possibly as much as early or middle thirties, it was very hard to determine her exact age for certain. She had rather unusual purple hair that fell freely just a little bellow her shoulders and very light blue eyes. She wore a strict black and red business suit, without allowing herself informalities as the man before her did, a white shirt bellow it, a short white skirt and high-heeled black shoes. She would be very attractive, if not for a cold and nearly uncaring expression upon her face.

And finally, along the walls of the room, stood six men. They looked almost alike, in fact, they could even pass as twins if there wouldn't be six of them in there; each was dressed in fully black business suit, each had ink-black hair, and each wore black shades that covered his eyes. As much as could be seen of their faces, they looked somewhat unremarkable, neither attractive nor ugly, the sort of faces that most people don't bother to notice, let alone remember. Although these men clearly looked like some sort of bodyguards, neither of them had any visible weapons with him, although it was likely that they were hiding some under their business suits.

"Chairman Quincy." The purple-haired woman began to speak in even tone. "The target has been acquired and transported into our main lab underneath the tower. As the destruction of its only computer terminal made hacking into the system and downloading information from it impossible, I've made an arrangements to dismantle the target and connect its system to our computers. Before long you will have information you needed, Chairman Quincy. Also, a pair of…" The woman made a short pause, that didn't escape the man's – Chairman Quincy's notice, and then continued. "…A pair of boomers of unknown design has been discovered in the target. As such occurrence has been unexpected, I didn't made any arrangement regarding them. What are your orders, Chairman Quincy?"

"Were there any troubles, Madigan?" Chairman Quincy asked.

"Yes, Chairman Quincy." The purple-haired woman – Madigan replied. "During the first stage of recovering operation, our Dobermans were attacked by some unknown underwater object, most likely a submarine-like vehicle. One of our Dobermans was destroyed, and then the enemy fled away."

"Was the attack made from inside or outside of the circled area?" Chairman Quincy asked.

"It is not certain, but apparently the attack was made from inside of the circled area." Madigan replied.

"Did they had any chance of accessing the shuttle's computer?!" Chairman Quincy asked, visibly getting angry.

"Chairman Quincy." Madigan spoke as evenly as ever. "The hole that was large enough for any men to enter through it has been discovered in the shuttle, and considering that somebody destroyed the shuttle's only computer terminal, it is logical to assume that he or she…"

"Enough!" Chairman Quincy shouted, finally losing his temper. "I want our best researchers to take care about the shuttle as soon as possible, in fact, I want ALL the information by the morning! And while they are doing this, get me somebody from SDPC representation office, and NO, I don't care if the fat bastards are asleep or no, it is MY money they are getting! Execute!"

"Hai, Chairman Quincy." Madigan said, turning to the door and walking to it in swift footsteps. However, before she reached the door, Chairman Quincy's voice stopped her once again.

"Oh, and Madigan, one more thing." Chairman Quincy said, partially regaining his former calmness. "About these new boomers…" Chairman Quincy made a short pause before continuing. "…Sent them to the analysis labs for expertise. I want to know whether they might be of any use to us, and if yes, whether they can be adjusted for OMS to control them or not. Give me any data as soon as you will have it. Now go."

"Hai, Chairman Quincy." Madigan said, as she once again turned to the door and walked to it.

The door automatically opened before Madigan, letting out of the room, and then likewise automatically closed after her…

…A short while later, and much bellow the room where she had a meeting with Chairman Quincy, Madigan walked out of the elevator, only to find a younger man leaning to the wall not far from it, apparently waiting for her.

He looked to be no more then twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, and looked quite attractive. He had dark brown hair, green eyes and light complexion. As many of GENOM office workers and executors, he was dressed in strict black business suit, unbuttoned at the collar to reveal a white shirt and black necktie. His pants and boots were likewise black in color.

Madigan gave the brown-haired man no more then a mere glance, as she proceeded along the corridor. The brown-haired man hastily followed her, and after catching up with her began to walk slightly to the left and behind Madigan.

"So, Kate…" The brown-haired man began to speak. "…The Chairman was pleased, wasn't he? After all, you did quite a good job in acquiring…"

"It is Madigan-sama, thank you very much." Madigan cut him off. "And I am not entitled to talk with you about my meeting with Chairman Quincy."

"Aw, that was cold!" The brown-haired man commented. "You know, after the Catastrophe you became even colder then before it…" Madigan visibly winced when the brown-haired man said that, but said nothing; and so, the brown-haired man, apparently without noticing anything, went on. "…But I kinda don't mind it either way…"

"What you do or don't mind is of no importance to me." Madigan cut him off once again. "However, it is good that you are still here, for I am still in need of your delivery service."

"I thought as much." The brown-haired man said. "This is about these new boomers, isn't it?"

"Yes." Madigan said. "This is about these new…" As before, Madigan made a short pause, which seemed to escape from the brown-haired man's noticing, and then continued. "…These new cyberdroids. They are to be delivered to analysis labs one and two."

"No problem." The brown-haired man said. "Which of them goes to which lab?"

Madigan thought for a few seconds, and then said. "The red-haired one goes to analysis lab number one, as her appearance and outfit suggest that she has far higher fighting prowess then the other one has, and analysis lab one is better equipped for dealing with various incidents. The purple-haired one goes to analysis lab number two. But remember, Hiroyuki-san, until cyberdroids are safely delivered into appropriate analysis labs, they are under your full responsibility. You are answerable with your head, if something happens to them."

The brown-haired man – Hiroyuki stopped and gulped, for he had known Madigan for years, and thus knew that she wasn't the one to throw empty threats. Madigan also stopped and turned to face Hiroyuki.

She studied his face for a few seconds, and then said. "I'll give your men four newest BU Thirteen B Cyberdroids as an escort. Chairman Quincy isn't in mood for any more failures, and neither I am. Follow me, I'll make all the necessary arrangement. And don't bother me further, or I may change my mind."

Without saying anything more, Madigan turned around can continued walking along the corridor. Hiroyuki sighed and resumed walking after Madigan, from now on silence.

Preview of the Third Chapter

Yahoo, I'm Lime! And guess what? I am going to wake up once again! This is almost like… Wait, you aren't Otaru! Who are you? What?! The creator of the new world? Just for those like you and me? Ano… I don't understand any of this… But anyway, I'd like to see this Mega Thingy we are in. Coming next "Enter Lime: Reawakened Innocence"! Otaru, I am going to be all right… I guess…