Bubble Gum Crisis
An Alternate Story of the Knight Sabers
2034 Year of the Tiger
Neo No Armour Against Fate (Section 4 of 5)
Fearful Symmetry (7 of 8)
by Shawn Hagen(2000;2005)

Based on situations and characters created by Suzuki Toshimichi.

The area around the Genom Tower had been cordoned off, many of the buildings in the area evacuated. Genom security, consisting of human and boomer guards, stood about the area, waiting for the boomers that were on the way. Already several C-class boomers, as well as some construction models and a D-class had reached the area. They had been dealt with quickly, outnumbered as they were by the Genom forces. The ADP were doing their job well.

Douglas and his team walked though those lines without any difficulty. He was wearing an Armani suit, a power suit, the protective colouring of a Genom executive. His men were wearing the uniforms of Genom security, or technicians. It made them, in a way, invisible.

They walked up the stairs of the South Pillar, passing between the guardian Shishi that stood to either side of the stairs. At the top of the stairs stood a single guard, watching as the men approached her. She was not concerned. They wore the right clothes after all.

"Good evening," Douglas said as he held out a folded, sheet of paper towards the woman. "We've been sent to make sure the communication area is secure and ready."

She nodded as she took the paper and unfolded it. The orders were as he had said, and it had all the right hanko stamps on it. "I'll have to confirm this," she told him.

"I understand. Please do so."

She nodded and took a NAVI from her pocket then placed a call to her direct supervisor. Douglas remained perfectly calm, presenting the image of just another Genom employee. It was quite possible that they were about to get caught, and if so things were going to get very messy and very loud. It was quite possible that the mission would fail.

He accepted that, but was certain that things would go as he planned. Everyone was busy, they did not have time to check the source and authentication codes on every set of orders. Douglas knew that they had put everything into the computer without raising an alarm. That was the first and most important step.

The woman's conversation with her supervisor was over quickly. She folded her NAVI shut and turned to Douglas. "I'll have to escort you up to the communications floor. You are to only to check the equipment and you'll have to leave right after."

Douglas frowned slightly. "I thought that we would remain in case the equipment was needed?"

"Not according to my supervisor. I'm sorry."

Douglas sighed and nodded. "Of course. Well, please lead on."

Douglas watched as the woman unsealed the doors so they could enter. He did not care that she was coming with them, did not care that they were not allowed to stay. He had acted bothered by it because it was not the sort of action that would be expected from a terrorist. People who accepted everything without some kind of complaint often had something to hide.

His team did not look threatening either, they carried no weaponsbeyond the tasers that the 'security' people hadand had no bags in which weapons could be hidden. It was the sort of operation that Douglas liked and he knew he could find what he needed within the Pillar itself.

They passed through the doors. The woman locked them once everyone was inside, then led them to the elevator. She did not look concerned, and had little reason to be. The Pillars were rather low security, especially compared to the Tower. They had been cleared out, not that there had been too many people in on a Saturday night.

The elevator took them to the top floor where one of Genom's back up communication centres was located. If needed, the South Pillar could take over for the Tower in being the central link between all of Genom's operations. Were that to come to pass the security level of the Pillar would increase.

Douglas stepped out of the elevator and looked around. "You know what to do," he said.

His men went off to their various stations, quickly getting to work.

"I've got the uplink ready to go," Jane Landers, his hacker, said.

"Is that important?" the security guard asked, curious about what they were up to.

"Yes," Douglas told her, looking about. Everything was as it should be.

"I've got building security, I'll have it patched up here in a minute," a big man who just went by Hengak said.

"Good. Make sure we are secure."

"Wait? What are you doing?" the guard asked.

Douglas turned to her, smiled, and then grasped the back of her head in one hand and her chin in the other. Before she could think of pulling away he had twisted, snapping her neck. He let her body drop to the ground and turned to look at his team. "Okay, let's make some magic."

"Got the locker," Brandon Ricks said.

"Good," Douglas walked over to where Brandon was and looked at the locking system. "What do you need?"

"Got a code?"

"Let's see." Douglas reached over and typed in one of the codes he had recently acquired. If one knew Genom well enough it was possible to get certain things. After he entered the code a protective cover slid back, revealing the retinal scanner.

"This is mine," Brandon said, removing a hand computer and a laser painter. It took him a few seconds to plug the computer into the retinal scanner. "Now, let's fool this thing." He pointed the laser painter into the eyepiece pressed the start button on the computer.

A moment later there was a beep and the door slid open.

"You are the best," Douglas said as he looked into the room.

"It's why I cost so much."

Inside the room were weapons, other combat gear, various electronics and other tools that the personnel in the building might need. "If you want guns, you have them," Douglas called out, then spun on his heel and walked over to where Jane was working. "What do you got?"

"I've linked up, now I need the codes before I do anything else."

"Schwarz, time for you to prove your worth."

"Right," he said, moving to take a seat beside Jane.

"Just give me low level access right now, I need to look around first."

"Okay," he said, entering the codes.

"Pretty stupid of them not the change the codes," Hengak said.

"They can't change codes that they do not know exist," Schwarz said.

"So daddy left some back doors. You'd think a man that smart would've been able to ride out the storm."

"He had too much stacked against him," was all Schwarz said.

"Enough talking. Hengak, get the security system up and then get down into the lobby and hold position there."

"You're the boss," Hengak said as he went back to work.


The helicopter put down on one of the Tower's helipads. Domino leapt from the craft, carrying her weapons with her. As soon as she was clear the helicopter took back to the air. As she walked towards the entry port the helipad began to retract back into the Tower's side. Even as she was opening the hatch an armour plate was beginning to slide into place behind her.

She entered into a security lock. There she had submit to a retinal scan to open the door into the Tower's interior. A single step took her from the metal-floored lock to the polished, hardwood floors of the executive level.

The heels of her boots made a low thumping sound as she walked towards her office. The halls were empty except for a few security people.

She entered her office suite, crossed the thickly carpeted floor, and entered her own office. She left the door open as she was expecting a visitor. The bookshelves that covered one wall contained the door to a secret closet. It was basically a vault. Once she had it open she began to place her weapons into it. None of them were the sort of thing that should be left lying about.

"Odotte-san," she heard Katherine call from the outer office.

"Come in," Domino said, leaving the vault door open as she walked across her room towards the door to her bathroom.

Katherine walked into the office, looking about, taking note of the open vault, and of Domino's dress. "I'm glad you are back unharmed," she said.

Domino looked at the other woman, wondering for a moment if she might actually have meant it. "Thank you," she said, then stepped into the washroom. "Please excuse me, I have to change." As Domino began loosening the fasteners she asked, "What is happening that you needed me to return?"

"We have just been propelled into a hostage situation of sorts," Katherine said as she walked over to the vault, looking in at he weapons there. How could Odotte have gone into a combat situation? She asked herself. It was such a dangerous move in so many ways, yet it put her on the front lines, gave her information as it happened. A huge advantage in Genom. And if she had done it once, she could do it again. "Quincy-shachou decided it might be best if all the executives were present."

"A person?" Domino asked.

"The city."

"The city?" Domino asked as she leaned out of the bathroom, naked to her waist. She did not seem concerned with thoughts of modesty.

"Some one has gained control of a number of particle satellites and has threatened to use them if their demands are not met. MegaTokyo is the target." Katherine watched Domino with a professional detachment. She had never been attracted to other women, and felt no such attraction to Odotte, but she could appreciate how beautiful the other woman was. In situations where sex appeal might be used as a weapon Domino had a definite advantage. Fortunately Katherine did not often have to use that weapon.

"I see," Domino said as she moved back into the bathroom to finish removing her armour. "What have they asked for?"

"What do you think?"

As Domino slid the armoured body suit down her legs the answer came to her. "The OMS," she said.

"Yes."

"I take it Quincy-shachou is not pleased."

Katherine smiled slightly. "That would be one way to put it."

"We can, if necessary shoot the weapons down?"

"Oh yes," Katherine said. "Unfortunately doing so would cause problems, and if we are going to shoot down some, we best shoot them all down. The Chairman does not want to take an action that will, in essence, declare war on the USSD. He also does not want to let everyone know just what Genom's offensive capabilities are."

"I understand," Domino called as she put her armour aside, then filed a sink with warm water. "Has anyone come up with a plan to deal with this?"

"A great number, but none that we are pleased with. Quincy-shachou has made it quite clear that MegaTokyo is not to be harmed."

Domino dipped a wash cloth into the sink of hot water, then began washing her shoulders. "Do we know where they are?"

"We do. They have set up in the communications centre of the South Pillar."

Domino dipped the washcloth back into the water, then wrung it out before running the cloth across her chest. "Our South Pillar?"

"Yes."

"Odd."

"As we have thought."

"Who was in charge of security in that area?"

"Takeo-san."

Domino smiled ever so slightly as she rinsed the wash cloth out again. "Unfortunate for him."

"Very," Katherine agreed.

"What sort of set up do they have?" She began to wash her legs.

"They'd taken control of the building's security net, linked up to the satellites, and have dead-man switches hooked into each unit. If the signal were to go off-line the satellites will fire."

"Very clever," Domino said. "Very professional."

"It is hard not to admire them, in a way. We will stop them though," she said, a slight edge in her voice that suggested that one should not admire them too much.

"Of course," Domino said as she tossed the washcloth into a nearby hamper and then drained the sink.

"I don't suppose you have any ideas," Katherine said, a little unwillingly. She did not like to sound as if she was asking for help.

"No, nothing that you probably have not already thought of and have discounted." Domino opened a closet that contained several changes of clothing. She pulled on a pair of panties and a bra, then reached for a white blouse.

"This is just like the incident with Prometheus Bound and the AF-5."

"Well, it is likely that we are dealing with the same people," Domino said as she pulled the blouse on then began to button it up.

"It reminds me a great deal of the incident with Largo," Katherine said, her voice soft. She did not like the think about Largo and what had happened no so far above where she presently stood. It represented a failure to her. She still had the occasional nightmare about the oh so pretty Omni-boomer.

"What?" Domino asked, looking out of the bathroom. She had the blouse on and held a skirt in her hands.

"With the satellites and coming right here, it reminds me very much of the boomer Largo and what he tried to do."

Domino nodded as she moved back into the bathroom to pull the skirt on. It was long, so long it dragged on the floor. "Why did they come here?"

"We don't know. There are other places in the city where they could find the communications equipment they needed for this. They could have set up anywhere in Japan, or even outside of it without a problem. That is one of the things that confuses us."

Domino slipped on her heels, giving her the height she needed to get the hem of her skirt off the ground. She walked out of her office, pulling the pins from her hair, letting the braid fall past the small of her back. "It's arrogant, terribly arrogant."

"It is that," Katherine agreed.

"Will they negotiate?" She stopped by her desk and turned her computer on.

"They have refused to do so. We have two hours, forty seven minutes and twenty six seconds to give them what they want," she said, looking at her watch.

Domino looked over Komatsu Seiroku's autopsy report again. "Madigan-san, I need a full report on what has happened, everything we know, full building plans of the South Pillar, anything an assault team would need."

"We've already considered sending someone inside. It will not work."

Domino shut her computer off and then looked up at Katherine. "I have an idea, and I need your help." All you have to do is ask, Domino thought to herself.


Sylia, encased within the Hurricane II, watched as the two boomers moved along the bridge. One was a damaged D-class boomer, limping along behind one of the new boomers. Sylia had already decided that the design of the new boomer was likely space based. A very dangerous looking boomer, but strangely not as effective as she might have thought.

She was not going to underestimate them though and was looking to take the two boomers down very quickly. She had come up with a simple plan. She was waiting for the two units to get to a point where Nene could use the Tempest's EMP pulse. The pulse would not have any great effect on either of the boomers, but it would distract them.

The distraction would give Mackie and his small group of motoslaves a chance to fire on the two units without the danger of coming under return fire. She had laid out a pattern that would allow each unit to fire, then move into cover. The D-class would likely go down in the first attack. Sylia suspected that she would have to make a few more attacks before the other boomer went down, if her plans did not work out just right.

She was keeping herself and the Hurricane II in reserve.

"Four, this is One, are you ready?" Sylia transmitted.

"I'm ready," Nene replied.

"Five, are you and your units in position?"

"Yes," Mackie said.

"You know what to do. One out."

Sylia watched as the counter projected on the inside of her helmet flickered to the set time.

Nene came in right on schedule, the Tempest landing behind the two boomers. Both turned to see what had just landed behind them when Nene triggered the EMP burst.

Both boomers, recognising the attack, as ineffectual as it had been, moved to offensive postures, bringing their weapons to bear.

Not too far away Mackie picked up on his cue and got to his feet, raising the heavy cannon to his hardsuit's shoulder. Nene, in the Tempest, was already getting clear of the area when he fired. The first shell hit the D-class, driving it back. The second hit the other boomer even as it was shifting its attention from the fleeing target to the new threat.

Mackie was supposed to move into cover after that, but decided he could get off one more shot. That proved to be a mistake for even as he was firing the boomer returned fire. Its laser burnt deep in to the armour of the heavy hardsuit. Mackie was not harmed, but his suit had just been badly damaged.

Before the boomer could fire again one of the Hurricane motoslaves moved from cover and opened up with a long burst into the boomer's exposed flank. The boomer shifted one laser cannon towards the motoslave, still keeping the other laser pointed towards Mackie. That changed when another motoslave moved to fire on the boomer.

The boomer shifted its aim away from Mackie's hardsuit, which did not look to be much of a threat any longer, and fired on the two motoslaves. One unit managed to get back into cover, but the other one took a glancing hit that removed part of its arm, forcing it to drop its weapon.

Underneath the bridge the heavy motoslave lifted its cannon up, pointing it at the underside the bridge, where the boomer was standing above. Even as it was pulling the trigger the third Hurricane motoslave was firing on the D-class, a long burst that drove that boomer back.

The other boomer was taken somewhat by surprise by the attack from under its feet. While the boomer's armour was not quite so effective when presented with such an attack, that had not been Sylia's primary reason for setting the heavy motoslave there.

The heavy boomer went crashing through the weakened bridge, falling into the river before it could fire its thrusters. The water fountained up around it as its feet and part of its lower legs sunk into the mud.

Up above the three motoslaves kept firing short bursts into the D-class, keeping it under control. Nene and the Tempest re-entered the fight, Nene jamming both boomers as best she was able, and firing on the D-class as well.

Below the heavy motoslave waited until the protective covers over the boomer's thrusters ports began to open. As they did, it opened fire again, the heavy shells ripping into the thruster section. The boomer snapped the covers shut before the fuel could be set off, but the thrusters were temporarily off line. It was going to have to fight while mired.

Sylia at that time was trying to get in contact with Mackie, and she had been since she had seen her brother go down. "Five, report. Five, give me a report," she said. She had been saying that, or a variation, for several seconds with no response.

"This is five," Mackie finally said, sounding a little winded. "I think I'm out of this fight for a while."

"Stay low," Sylia said, unable to keep relief from colouring her tone.

"I will."

No longer having to worry about Mackie being hurt, Sylia turned her attention back to the fight. The heavy motoslave was tied up with the larger boomer, while Nene and the remaining motoslaves were finishing off the D-class. Under the bridge the heavy motoslave had taken a hit. Not bad enough to destroy it, but it was obvious that it needed some help.

The Hurricane II lifted up from the observation post Sylia had chosen, flying to a point near the bridge. She placed herself directly across from where the heavy motoslave was, even though that was dangerous and opened her up to the chance of being hit by friendly fire.

"Sub-unit 5, move out," she ordered.

The heavy motoslave did just that, clearing the area. The boomer began to pull itself out of the mud, willing to ignore the Hurricane II as long as it did nothing. Of course one of its arms had swung around and a cannon was pointed directly at the motoslave, just in case.

Sylia did not have to take an offensive posture to activate the main weapon system of her motoslave. The emitters were scattered throughout the chassis of the Hurricane II and there was almost no change in the unit's energy signature in the few seconds it took to power the weapon up.

Having seen the effectiveness of gravity weapons during the affair with Largo, Sylia had worked on her own version of the weapon. She had placed that inside the Hurricane II.

The boomer had just begun to pull itself onto the bank when Sylia fired.

There was an odd, rippling effect to the air as the light was bent slightly by the wave of gravity. Loose items on the ground were pulled up into the air, as was water, as the wave moved over the river. Then it hit the boomer.

Its armour had little effect against the attack, the increased gravity passed through the entire boomer, driving it back several metres. Then the wave passed the boomer and slammed into the one of the bridge supports, hitting it like a giant hammer. Fortunately the bridge did not collapse.

The larger boomer swayed back and forth in the river. Small cracks began to run through the outer armour, pieces began to flake away. The boomer, slowly, began to turn towards Sylia. It never completed the turn. It fell back then stopped for a moment as its feet were anchored in the mud. It remained on an angle in the river for several seconds before the weight of the upper body broke the feet free of the mud and then it fell back into the water.

When the water from the splash settled only the tips of the boomer's cannons remained above the water.

"All units, report," Sylia said, still looking out into the river.

"This is four, the D-class is down."

"This is five, still waiting for my suit to bypass the damaged area."

"All units, meet at five's current location," Sylia sent, then fired off the Hurricane II's thrusters as she made her way to Mackie's side.

Once she surveyed the damage Sylia put Nene in charge of making field repairs to the heavy hardsuit. She listened to the various reports that were being made by the ADP and the other police forces. It was almost an hour and thirty minutes since the first boomers had been spotted. Most of the larger units, if not all, had been dealt with already. The ADP with their new weapons, the Knight Sabres, and Genom if the reports were correct, had brought down the larger targets quickly and efficiently.

There were a number of smaller boomers left, but Sylia did not think they would be difficult to deal with. She would probably let Nene go off on her own if there were no large boomers left. If Mackie were up to it she'd let him go as an independent force once more.

She was considering those things when a light flashed up on the inside of her helmet. She looked up at it. Incoming message. Looking at it made the suit's computer make the icon larger. Sylia looked right at it and double blinked. The icon shifted to the centre of helmet display.

It was from Fargo, tagged with high priority markers. She opened the link. "What is it?" she asked.

"You have a new job offer, pays very well."

"What kind of job?"

"The people who are sponsoring you for this night's activities need you had handle a small crisis."

"What sort of crisis?"

"It's difficult to explain. I've sent all the information I was given to the dumpsite you indicated. I'll send you a quick outline." A moment later a package of encrypted data was fed into the suit's memory. "Get back to me if you want any other information," he told her before cutting the link.

Sylia opened the data package and looked over the précis Fargo had prepared.

"Four," she said, after she had read most of it.

"Hai?" Nene looked up from the work she was doing.

"Once you finish with five call two and three. Have them report back to base. We have another job to take care of."


Priss was a little amazed that she had managed to get the Typhoon II back to the van. She had been sure that the front wheel had been about to fall off. Unfortunately the damage it had taken kept it from transforming into its other from.

She was also a little amazed she got herself back to Sylia's building. The armour over her right arm was cracked, the flesh underneath likely a mess of bruises. Another of the monster boomers had managed to stab one of those talon like fingers through the armour around her waist. It had been a grazing hit, Priss was sure of that, but it had been bleeding a lot. The hardsuit's medical suite had kept the bleeding under control though, and the painkillers helped some.

"Damn boomers," she said softly, then laughed at that even though it hurt her side.

She turned down the ramp and drove into the basement of the LADYS633, passing through the two garage doors.

She found one of the larger, unmarked vans at the bottom, Nene and Linna, both in their innersuits, loading their hardsuits into the back. Priss pulled the van she was driving to a stop close by, then shut it down before getting out.

"Late again," Linna said, looking over at Priss. When she saw the blood she called for Sylia.

Sylia came out of a room, Mackie close behind her. She walked over to Priss, noting the damage to the hardsuit, guessing at the damage that had been done to Priss. "How bad is it?" Sylia asked softly.

"It could be worse," Priss replied.

"Come on," Sylia said, taking one of Priss' arms and leading her towards the room she had just exited. "Mackie, help finish up here," she said.

Once she and Priss were in private she helped Priss out of the hardsuit.

"I'm not sure how this could be worse," Sylia said, making her tone light as she helped Priss onto the nearby couch.

"It's just a scratch," Priss said, wincing slightly.

"Let's see." Sylia grabbed a scanner from a nearby table and ran it over the wound in Priss' side. The scanner combined low-level X-rays with ultrasound to provide a very detailed picture. "You're lucky, none of your internal organs have been damaged. Still, this will need surgery to close."

"But you can't put me in the hospital right now."

"I will, if you think you are not up to this." Sylia put the scanner aside and reached for a treatment case.

"What is 'this'."

"We're going to deal with some terrorists that have seized control of the particle satellites."

"Those things again," Priss said disgustedly.

Sylia smiled as she removed a spray applicator. "Yes. It is not really a combat mission."

"If there is going to be no major fighting I'll be fine. Why us?"

Sylia had peeled the innersuit from the wound in Priss side, being as gentle as she could, then began to spray the bandage over it. There was a coagulating agent in the bandage that would help control the bleeding. "Genom believes that the terrorist will see the Knight Sabres where they would not be willing to meet with anyone else."

"Genom? How are they involved?"

"The terrorists have seized one of Genom's buildings."

Priss laughed, then winced at the pain it caused. "I hope they are paying for this."

"Of course," Sylia said, smiling. She looked at the wound on Priss' side. She would have liked to put another dressing on it, but it would not fit in the hardsuit. "Hurt anywhere else?"

"No," Priss said, as she lowly levered herself from the couch.

Sylia knew she was lying. "Good. Let's go."


Hengak leaned up against the elevator doors, watching the lobby. There was a lot of activity outside of the building, but he was not worried. They had dead man switches on the satellites, and complete control of the building's defences.

He was, understandably, a little surprised when a man walked up to the front doors and tapped his hand against the glass.

For a moment Hengak simply stared, not sure if he was seeing what he was seeing. After a few seconds he began to walk across the lobby towards the door. He was wary. Certainly Meren had set everything up nicely, but it was Genom they were dealing with. It was possible they had figured a way around everything.

When he got to the door he looked out at the man. He wore a nice suit, was clean cut. He looked almost bored.

Hengak opened the door. "What?"

"I need you to take a message to your employer," Manabe Takeo said, his English touched by a slight accent.

"You have to be kidding."

"No. We will be sending negotiators to speak about the terms of your threat."

"No negotiators!" Hengak said flatly. He knew what the deal was. "You give us what we want or we destroy this city."

"They will be arriving in the hour," Manabe said as if Hengak had not just spoken. "We have picked a neutral party to handle the negotiations. The Knight Sabers."

Hengak knew of the Knight Sabers, and as a neutral party went, they were probably a good choice, but it was not the way things were to be done. "We will not negotiate this!"

"Then you will get nothing." Manabe turned about and walked down the steps.

Hengak stared at the man's back and seriously considered taking a shot at the man. He probably would not even kill him, just a flesh would to make him run. He did not though. Such actions, as enjoyable as they were, were unprofessional.

After sealing the doors he took a com unit from his pocket. He would have to make a report to Douglas, let him know what was going on. The answer he would get was not what he expected.


Manabe stepped up into the armoured car, letting out a small breath. Putting himself in such danger was not something he liked, but after his mistake he had to do something to make up for it.

"I told them," he said to the other executives who were sitting in the command post.

"Good," Domino said.

"Do you really think they will agree to see the Knight Sabres?"

"I'm certain of it," Domino said, smiling.


Makoto and Ali watched the TV in their living room, listening to and watching reports come in from all over the city. They were not sitting in front of the television, both were too nervous for that. They were up, moving about, going to the kitchen for a fresh cup of tea, perhaps rearranging things, looking over various bits of work without really seeing it.

Their home was not in one of the areas where the boomers had been reported. Few people in their neighbourhood had felt the urgent need to move to the nearby shelters in the. They were all ready to go though, just in case.

The two Romanovas were not really thinking about that. They were more concerned with their daughter. While both had put up a good show in the past of not letting Nene's job with the ADP bother them, both were afraid of what might happen.

Attempts to call her had only resulted in them getting the NAVI's answering service. That had not helped.

So they watched the TV in hopes of not seeing their daughter. As long as they did not know what was happening to her everything would be fine. The boomer assaults in the city had begun to slow, according to the media. That made the two feel better, but not completely.

When the front door opened and they heard Nene call out, "I'm home," both were rather surprised. Ali even dropped her teacup. So much for my steady, surgeon's hands, she thought.

Nene ran by the opening to the living room, they heard her bounding up the steps. Less than a minute later she was bounding down the steps. She slid to a stop at the entrance to the living room and looked at her parents. She was wearing her street clothes and carrying an irregular shaped bundle in her hands. She smiled at them, deciding it was best to reassure them. "I'm fine. I've not even had to leave the ADP headquarters until now, and the fact I am here should reassure you that I'm not in any way involved in what is going on out there." She looked at them, then turned and ran to the door. A few seconds later they heard her call out, "I'm off," and the sound of the door closing.

Ali and Makoto looked at each other, both had puzzled looks on their face. Ali knelt down to pick up her teacup. Fortunately it had not broken.

"Did you understand that?" Makoto asked her.

"Not really," Ali said. "But as long as she is safe I do not care if she is a little weird."


Priss' lips tightened as the van rocked. Nene had climbed into the passenger's seat beside Sylia.

Linna looked at Priss, then reached for a small kit by her knee. Priss was propped up against the side of the van, above her hung to IV bags. One contained whole blood, the other plasma, as well as anti-shock drugs.

"What are you doing?" Priss asked as Linna removed a syringe.

"Thought you could use a little more pain killer," Linna said as she removed the cap for the needle.

"It's not well named," Priss said.

"I could give you a morphine derivative, if you want to be right out of it," Linna replied as she slid the needle into the plasma IV tube.

"Maybe later," Priss said, then looked over at Mackie who was working on her hardsuit. They did not have time to properly repair the suit so Mackie was just patching it so it looked good. "How's it going Mackie-kun?"

"Almost finished," he told her as he applied more sealant to the suit's left arm.

"How will it function?"

"It can't support the force the knuckle guard would put on the arm, but other than that your offensive capabilities are at full."

"And defensive?"

"The armour patches won't stop any real attack."

Priss nodded, then looked back to Linna who was looking at a medical computer. "How am I?" she asked.

"Blood pressure close to normal, heart rate still a little elevated, but other than that you are fine." Linna looked up at Priss. "When I taught aerobics I had students in worse shape than you who had just walked off the street and had not gone toe to toe with a combat boomer."

Priss smiled at that. "So, why did Nene-san have to stop off at her home?"

"She had to get Neko."

"What? How are we going to use that stupid cat?"

"I'm not quite sure," Linna admitted. "Sylia-san said something about a mobile relay point."

Priss shook her head. "Nene might as well put on a short skirt and get a wand if she is going to keep figuring out how to involve the stupid thing."

Linna looked puzzled. "I don't get it."

"Shoujo anime," Priss explained.

"Oh," Linna nodded. "I never watched too much of it." She gave Priss a sly glance. "But obviously you did."

"Shut up," Priss said as she closed her eyes.


Leon listened to the news reports as he sat on a curb, letting a medic put a dressing on his cheek. One of his dives for cover had sent him into a dumpster. Not one of his finer moments.

"We can probably take those stitches out in a week," she told him. "When was your last tetanus booster?"

"Two years ago," Leon said.

"No problems there, I'll give you a wide spectrum antibiotic though."

"Yeah, sure," Leon said, not really interested.

He looked over at the remains of the motoroid as some techs loaded it into a wrecker. That was going to cause no shortage of problems over the next few days. Still, he had finally managed to get his quarry. The boomer lay several meters away, in an area cordoned off by portable barricades and police tape. It looked to be in better shape than his motoroid. He could not believe how hard it had been to kill the thing. Fighting and following it had brought him almost right to the Tower. If he wanted to he could get up and walk over to the barricades that Genom security had put up.

Once the medic was finished with him he got to his feet and walked over to the large boomer. A crew from forensics was going over it.

"Well?" Leon asked, moving through the barriers.

"Never seen anything like it," Sergeatn Sanada said.

"Genom?" the big question on Leon's mind.

"Don't kno..."

"It isn't," someone said from behind them.

Leon turned. A young woman was standing there, wearing a Genom OL uniform.

"Pardon," Leon said.

"Tetsu Haruko," she said, holding out a cream coloured visting card, "from Genom."

"I see," Leon took the card. He did not think that someone who was just an office lady would come out to talk to him. There was something more to this woman than the obvious. He looked at the card again. Corporate acquisitions. The branch that Domino Odotte ran. "And you say this is not one of yours?" Leon indicated the boomer.

"The design is ours, it is a prototype model. We did not build this thing."

"That's easy to say," Leon said.

"McNichol-kichou, please excuse me for saying this, but if this Flecks had been built by Genom, you would be dead right now. This is nothing but a poor, inferior, knock off."

"I guess we'll find out then," he said, looking over at the forensic team.

"Yes, you will. If possible we would also like full reports on anything you find. Any property proved to be Genom's that was used to build these, and there no doubt will be some, should also be returned to us. Also, we would like to have all the people involved in this investigation to sign non-disclosure contracts, or better yet let Genom techs do the work."

"I'm sure the contracts can be arranged, but that's not my field. What if I told you I thought that you built these things and released them on purpose?"

"McNichol-kichou, you would have every right to believe such a thing, and I cannot give you an argument to convince you otherwise, except to ask what we could gain from such a thing?"

"That is a good question. Maybe we will find an answer."

She nodded, looking a little pensive. "I hope you can forgive me for saying this, but I hope you don't find something that is not there, just because you want to find it."

"We would not fake evidence," he said, making his tone sharp. He felt both good and guilty for making Haruko cringe away from him.

"Of course," she said, then she stepped back and bowed deeply to him. "Excuse me," she said, then straightened, turned and walked back towards the barricades.

Leon shook his head and then turned towards the tech. "Give me a full report on this thing once you have taken it apart."

"Do we really have to sign non-disclosure contracts?"

"Hell, you'll be lucky if that is all Genom makes you do. When do you think you'll be able to give me something?"

"As soon as Lieutenant Akamura can take a look at it."

Leon nodded, then turned back to the Genom Tower. Something was going on in there. The barricades had more to do than with just the boomers. As he watched a black, Tonbo gunship came in, circled the area, and then came in behind the barricades.

"Now what is happening?" Leon asked softly.


The Tonbo put down in a clear area near the East Pillar. Once it was down the Knight Sabers climbed out. The last time they had come to the Tower was to deal with Largo, before that their coming had resulted in Mason's death.

Sylia looked about, making a number of quick mental notes, She looked back at the helicopter. Mackie, in his hardsuit, gave her a thumbs up. Sylia had arranged for Genom to send the helicopter to a meeting place. There the pilot had been told to get out, Sylia wanting her own pilot.

Mackie had no real experience with such a craft, but he had simply plugged his suit's computer into it and had flown in with his suit controls instead. It had been a smooth enough ride.

Satisfied Mackie was set she turned back towards the people around them. Genom security for the most part, but there were others there, no few of them wore suits. One of them, an older man in the uniform of Genom security, moved away from the crowd and walked up to Sylia.

"I've been told you already are aware of the situation," he said.

"We have been briefed," Sylia answered, her voice distorted by the speakers in her helmet.

He nodded, looked around, then moved closer to Sylia. "I have been told to tell you that should you fail that none of those satellites will get a chance to fire," he said very softly.

Sylia nodded. It was what she had expected, and confirmed some theories she had about Genom. In the last year the MegaCorp had been increasing its presence is space. Amongst all those factories and habitats it would not be difficult to hide weapons.

"Come with me," the man said, turning and walking in the direction of the South Pillar.

Sylia looked at the other three Knight Sabers standing behind her. "Let's go," she said.

They followed the security officer along a cleared route, moving quickly.

"They've got us right out in the open as far as that building is concerned," Nene transmitted to Sylia. "We're being watched."

"I think that is what Genom wants," Sylia sent back to Nene. "For some reason they will see the Knight Sabers and Genom wants whoever is in that building to be certain of us."

"Why would they want to see us?" Priss asked.

"That is a very good question. Perhaps we will find out soon."

The security officer stopped. "This is where you'll have to go on alone," he told them.

"I understand," Sylia said as she walked by him, the other three following after her.

Genom had cordoned off the South Pillar out to a hundred-metre radius. Sylia guessed they did not want the people inside getting nervous. Understandable on their part.

The Knight Sabers crossed the open area, then started up the steps on the Tower side of the building. The doors were unlocked. They passed through them.

As soon as they had all entered the lobby a voice addressed them through the PA system.

"Welcome to the South Pillar Knight Sabers. Please, proceed to the open elevator. You will be brought to us."

"Looks like they will see us," Linna said.

"Let's not disappoint them," Sylia told them as she started towards the elevator bank.

Nene activated her laser com, targeting Sylia's suit. "Neko is in place and has started."

"Good," Sylia replied.


Neko was beginning to have opinions on its mistress' friends. Priss was one that was probably best avoided. When someone was needed to hurl the cat from the helicopter it had been Priss who had happily stepped forward.

Being hurled from an aircraft to the roof of a building was not something that the boomer cat would have preferred to do. What's more, its fur was smeared with a dark grey, paint-like gel. It, in its way, could understand the usefulness of the gel as it almost made it invisible, and yet the cat part of it hated it.

It was not a good night for Neko.

Still, the plan had gone very well. It had landed on the roof, safely and undetected and had soon seated itself underneath one of the up-link dishes that was being used to communicate with the particle beam satellites.

Once it was hidden in the shadows, it had opened its wing like sensor booms. Connecting to Nene's computer at home was easily done, giving Neko all the processing power it could use. Then it began analysing the signal that was being sent to the satellites as part of the dead mans switch. It might be possible it could discover the algorithm that was being used, at which point it could take over transmitting to the satellites.

That was not likely given the time they had, so the cat let Nene's computer crunch numbers as it began to link up with the satellites. All it had to do was take control of the system itself. Difficult of course, but Nene had loaded her pet up with her best programs.

It certainly had a chance.


The Knight Sabers stepped out of the elevator and into the communications centre. They were greeted by Hengak, though greeted was not really the correct word. He was standing in front of the elevator doors, an assault rifle in his hands.

"Make no sudden moves," Hengak warned.

"We are not here in a combat capacity," Sylia told him as she stepped out of the elevator. "You will not need the weapon."

"We'll see," Hengak said. "Down that way," he said, indicating with the barrel of the rifle.
Sylia started down the hall, Nene, Priss and Linna following in that order. "That door just in front of you," Hengak said.

Sylia walked through the open door, entering a monitoring room. There was no one in the room but a single man. He was slim, with sharp features and long, brown hair.

"Good evening Knight Saber," he said smiling. "I'm very glad to meet you."

Sylia said nothing, just stepped aside so the others could enter.

"Close the door," Douglas called to Hengak who was about to enter.

"Sir?" Hengak said, confused.

"Close the door and remain outside. I'm sure the Knight Sabers are not a threat."

Hengak looked doubtful, but did as he was told.

Once the door was closed Douglas turned her attention fully to Sylia. "I've wanted to meet you for some time."

Sylia was a little confused by his actions, but did not hesitate. "Genom is not willing to meet your demands."

"Of course. Do they have a counter offer?"

"Ten billion yen, paid into an account of your choice, and safe passage out of Japan. You return control of the satellites once you are out of Japan."

"A generous offer, and one of the reasons none of my subordinates are here. You know what I really want?"

"It's not important."

"Not important!" he exclaimed, surging to his feet. "It is the only thing of importance. It is vital. I will have it or this city will burn." He strode up to Sylia, perhaps not knowing how close he came to taking a railgun spike with his actions. He stood close to Sylia, tall enough that his eyes were level with the top of her helmet. "I do not know what Genom plans, but it will not work! They will give me the OMS system or they will pay."

He spun, walking back to and then throwing himself into his seat.

"They won't give it to you," Sylia said simply.

"Then I will destroy this city," he said, once again surging to his feet, "I have to the power to do that. I can call down the fires of heaven!"

"Genom won't allow you to do that. I suggest you take the money and go."

He looked at her, leering, "Do you think that they will really let me go Miss Stingray," he said softly. "You are not that naïve. You know that Genom will hunt me down and destroy me, unless I have the ability to stop them."

Sylia hid any surprise at hearing her name from the man in front of her. She did not say anything, just waited, trying to suggest patient boredom through the way she stood. It was difficult to suggest subtle body language in a hardsuit.

Douglas took a step closer to Sylia. "Help me. We are on the same side when you really look at it." A twitch developed at the corner of his left eye. "You know Genom for what it is. We can sweep it away, free your father's creations from their slavery. We can make it a better world. You want that don't you?"

Nene used the laser com to link up with Sylia. "Neko is in the first system. I'm taking over."

"I'll keep him talking," Sylia sent back. She shut off the mike. "How do you know what I want?"

"I know you very well, as much as I wish I did not," he said, almost hissing.

Sylia was suddenly struck by the sense she had met him before, but she knew she had not. "Then you know I will not condone your destruction of the city."

"I will not be the one destroying it. Genom will destroy it by refusing to give me what I want!"

"You are the one pulling the trigger. It is your choice."

Douglas began to tremble with penned up frustration. "I cannot be blamed for this," he said, spittle flying from his mouth. "I am a victim. Don't you understand?" he asked, pleading. "We are so much alike."

Sylia did not know what to say to that. She was more than a little confused. She was saved from having to answer by the opening of the door.

"We have a transmission coming from this room," Jane said, looking about. She was holding a scanner in her hand. "One of them is doing something?"

Douglas shot an angry glance at Jane for disturbing him. "What could they do? You said the system is closed, we have full control."

"Nothing is perfect," she said, sweeping the room with the scanner. She came to a stop with it pointed at Nene. "That one."

"What are you trying to do?" Douglas demanded.

"We are just keeping Genom informed of the state of the negotiations," Sylia told him.

"It's not that kind of transmission." Jane had moved a step closer to Nene, as the same time removing a pistol from under her jacket. "It's very low powered, and tight bursts." She lifted the pistol up and pointed it at Nene's helmet. "Who are you in communication with?"

"Put the weapon down," Priss said, raising her powerarm, placing it gently against the side of Jane's head.

"I suggest you stand down," Hengak said from the door, his assault rifle at his shoulder, pointed directly at Priss.

"I think we will win this stand off," Linna said, simply lifting her powerarm.

"I don't think so. Schwarz," he yelled out. "Do it."

A moment later a panel in the ceiling swung open and a small laser weapon dropped out. It swivelled about, coming to point at Linna.

"The building's security system is on line," Hengak said. "As far as it is concerned you are threats to be dealt with. You are seriously out-gunned."

Sylia was still looking at Douglas. "Genom will offer you twenty billion yen and safe transit," she said.

"It is not what I want!" Douglas snapped.

Hengak looked surprised, but managed not to say anything. Jane on the other hand did not keep such control. "What? That's more than we want." She lowered the pistol she had had pointed at Nene.

"Shut up!" Douglas yelled at her. "You don't have a single idea as to what this is all about!"

Hengak shifted his eyes between Priss and Douglas, suddenly having a sinking feeling in his stomach. "Well, maybe you can clue us in on this," he said to Douglas.

Douglas looked at Hengak, his lips tightening into a thin line. "Go back to your station. Everything is under control."

"I'm not sure I believe that."

"I'm almost there," Nene sent to Sylia through the laser link. "Neko and I have slipped through their datawalls and I've almost got targeting. Still no luck with the algorithm."

"Keep on it," Sylia told her. She considered the situation she was in. It was very volatile, but she might be able to make that work for her. "If you do not speak for the rest of your group perhaps I should negotiate with someone else."

"You will talk to no one but me! I am the one in control here!"

"What are you pulling?" Jane demanded, lifting her pistol so it was pointed at Douglas. "This mission has been taking a weird turn since we got into this building. Why are the Knight Sabers here? Why aren't you taking the money?"

"You are such an idiot," Douglas said, his voice calm.

"You forget, I have control of your precious satellites. I can shut them down when I want."

A burst of gunfire surprised everyone but Douglas and Hengak. Douglas had seen it in Hengak's eyes, he knew what sort of person he was. He fully expected for Hengak to shoot Jane down.

Not being so sure about what would happen, the Knight Sabers reacted.

Linna fired on Hengak, her lasers burning deep into his shoulder.

Priss spun, ignoring the twinge of pain that caused, and fired on the ceiling laser.

The ceiling laser shifted to fire at Priss.

Sylia shifted about to cover Nene.

Nene continued to hack the system she was working on.

Douglas remained where he was, perfectly calm.

Hengak fell back into the hall, almost dropping his weapon as he went. Priss took a glancing hit from the laser that burnt a black line across the chest of her hardsuit before her spike destroyed it. For a moment things were calm.

Then Hengak swung his weapon around, getting a good grip on it even as he fired. Sylia pushed Nene back towards cover as Priss and Linna moved quickly, setting themselves up to deal with Hengak.

The sound of the gunfire brought other members of Douglas' team. They came fast, keeping away from the door, ready to support Hengak if he needed it.

Priss was the first out the door as she reached for Hengak, moving fast to keep him from targeting her. That opened her up to the other men who fired on her as she came out. Priss felt the rounds slam into her armour, shaking her up slightly. Fortunately her armour held.

She grasped the barrel of the weapon Hengak had been holding and tore it from his hands. As the same time she swung her powerarm around, decreased the power, and fired. One of the gunmen stumbled back; a spike embedded deep in his shoulder.

Linna leap out after Priss, swinging around the door frame, launching herself towards the gunmen. She landed among them, spinning about, cutting their weapons in half with her ribbons. So precise was her attack that the ribbons left the two men unharmed.

With great care she hit them both, clipping them on the side of their heads with her armoured arms. Both went down heavily making Linna worry that perhaps she had hit them too hard. Well, she would just have to hope that they were going to be all right.

As they looked about for new threats two ceiling panels opened, two new laser weapons dropped down.

Linna back flipped down the hall to avoid the rapid fire of the one weapon. Priss grabbed Hengak and swung him around like a shield. She was not certain if she had been thinking about it even as she did so, but the weapon seemed to recognise him as a friendly target and did not fire. Linna slashed one weapon from its mounting bracket with her ribbon, Priss shot the other one.

"So what else can you throw at us?" Priss asked, giving Hengak an angry shake.

"I guess you'll find out," Hengak told her.

In the monitoring room Douglas had remained still, watching it all. He glanced down at Jane's dead body. He really could not blame her for doing as she had done. No one liked to think they had been betrayed.

Sylia turned to look at him. "I think this is over," she told him.

He looked up from Jane's dead body. "No, far from it. I still have control of the satellites. Genom will give me the OMS system. Tell them the previous time line is off. They have one minute or I trigger the system."

"They won't do so."

"Then this city will be destroyed." He slid back his coat sleeve, revealing a control unit that was wrapped around his lower arm like a bracer.

"I'm almost there," Nene transmitted. She, through Neko, had piggybacked up to the first satellite on the terrorist's carrier frequency. She, Neko and her computer at home had been working on getting control of the targeting software.

"Let's hope," Sylia said softly for Nene's ears only, then to Douglas, "I'll tell them."


"We have one minute," Samantha Johnson said to the other executives. Up on one of the screens a timer began to countdown.

"I looks as if the Knight Sabres have sped things up," Manabe said, looking over at Domino.

"We will see, won't we," Domino replied calmly.

Katherine flipped open her NAVI. "This is Madigan, lock weapons and fire in," she looked up at the timer on the screen, forty-nine seconds left, "forty three seconds."

Silence settled in the command post as everyone watched the timer countdown.


In a USSD monitoring system in Tateyama, near the tip of the Boso-hantou peninsula, things were rather tense.

"The satellites have gone to an offensive posture. They look like they are getting ready to fire."

The commander looked terrified. He wiped sweat from his forehead. "When will one of the other satellites be in position?"

"Eight minutes, twenty seconds," one of the technicians said.

The commander closed his eyes tight as he began to pray. Their only hope was that another particle satellite under their control could shoot down the rogue satellites. Unfortunately a satellite that could do that was still some time away.


Priss was still holding Hengak when one of the building's security boomers came around the corner. Priss pushed the man away from her as she dove to the side, avoiding a blast from the boomer's mouth cannon.

Her return fire was more accurate, three of the spikes punching deep into the boomer.

Linna also found herself facing a boomer. She dodged its fire and moved in close, slamming her powerarm into the boomer, triggering the explosive. As Priss' target fell over, Linna's was blown in half by the blast.

Brandon Ricks spun around the corner, a light machine-gun cradled in his arms. He opened fire, short bursts, doing his best not to hit any of his team mates.


Sylia did not look to the sound of renewed fighting, she just watched Douglas. "You don't have to do this," she said to him. There was about thirty seconds left.

"You don't understand!" he answered.

"I'm close," Nene sent to Sylia on their private link.


Adam Schwarz smiled as the satellites were powered up. He had hoped that Genom would have to pay the huge ransom Douglas was demanding, something that would hurt the large corporation. He knew it was Genom that had been behind the destruction of his father. Now they would pay. This city they were so proud of would be destroyed.

He was a little worried about what might happen to him, seeing as he was in the city, but he was certain that Douglas would have some way to get them out safely.

Then something odd began to happen.

"Jane!" he called out. "Jane, get back here. Something is wrong."


Sylia looked on as Douglas silently mouthed the countdown. "You've targeted this building, didn't you." It was not a question.

He looked up at her and nodded. "I'm sorry, but it is the only way."


"Something is happening with the satellites," Kenji Sousuke said. "They are changing their points of aim."

Katherine looked across the command post to Domino. Domino nodded. She tapped a button on her NAVI. "Cancel fire order. Observe and wait."


At Tateyama one of the techs noticed that the rogue satellites were changing their orientation. "Something is happening here," he called out.

"What is it," the station's commander asked.

"Point of target is altering. I'm not sure what the new targets are."

"I need to know what they will fire on!"

"I'm working on it. It's all happening so fast."

"Satellites are firing!" another tech called.

"Where?" the commander demanded.


Douglas had a peaceful look on his face as the countdown reached zero. He closed his eyes and waited for the end. A few moments later he opened his eyes and looked to the control on his wrist. The satellites had fired, the particle beams should have impacted. He looked up at Sylia. "How?" he asked quietly.

"The satellites fired on each other," she told him.

"We've shut down the communications link." Nene told Sylia, not bothering with privacy any longer.

Douglas shook his head. "It was a mistake to let you up here. You confused everything. I know better than that." It sounded as if he was talking to himself.

The sound of combat died down and then ended. All three of them turned towards the doorway as Linna took a step into the room. "It's all taken care of here."

Sylia nodded and looked back at Douglas. "I'll let Genom deal with you."

Douglas' shoulders sagged. He looked defeated. "This should have worked," he said softly. "I used to be able to make this sort of thing work."

Linna stepped back as Nene exited the room. Sylia watched Douglas for a moment, wondering if she should do something about him. He did know who she was. Would he let Genom know? She turned after a moment. She could not kill him in cold blood.

Douglas listened to the sound of Sylia walking from the room. It was her fault, he realised. Her fault it had all happened, right from the beginning. He reached under his coat and pulled forth a knife like weapon, then sprung at Sylia.

"Watch out!" Linna called.

Sylia spun, seeing some sort of weapon in his hands. She reacted without thought. Her Muramasa blade slid out of the housing on her left arm and she lashed out with it. The blade cut right through Douglas' sternum, and then sliced through his heart.

The laser cutter fell from his suddenly nerveless hands. It hit the ground, the laser going out. Sylia looked down at the tool. If it had hit the right spot it could have cut through her armour, hurt her certainly, perhaps even killed her.

She looked back at Douglas. He was looking at her, surprise in his eyes. His mouth began to move, but he made no sound. After a moment his eyes closed. Sylia pulled her blade free then let the blade slid back into its place. She would have to clean the housing later.

"Let's get out of here," she said, turning away from Douglas' body.


"Things That Give a Pathetic Impression
The voice of someone who blows his nose while he is speaking.
The expression of a woman plucking her eyebrows"
-Sei Shonagon