This story is written in conjunction with the Living Starship guidelines I put together for adventuring in Phase World or Aliens Unlimited, or where ever your super powered space campaign takes you.

For more details on Port Eclipse, try: http/ LIVING STARSHIP by Gadrin

11 AM
ECLIPSE STATION
PORT ECLIPSE
OROPAN ASTEROID BELT

The Frosted Rings Donut shop was where the Arerri scientist Dr. Vulane found Corvus Auctor. The young spatial mage was sitting, feet up, in a booth, fingertip in his cup of coffee, testing its temperature. As he mulled over casting a spell to heat it up, the young mage caught sight of the Arerri and his Cyber-knight companion.

"Corvus Auctor?"

"Yes?" The young spatial mage wiped his finger off and stood. He'd seen the Arerri around the Inner City but never had occasion to speak with the man. "What can I do for you?"

"I need a few moments of your time."

Corvus motioned for the man to sit, but the Arerri balked.

"Perhaps we could find a more suitable place..."

"Sorry," Corvus cut him off, "I'm expecting someone. We're getting ready to leave Eclipse Station."

So the Arerri sat. "That's what I'm here to talk to you about. I understand you're assisting the port Technology Team in making trips to the United Worlds of Warlock planets linked by wormholes to Port Eclipse."

Corvus nodded, since the missions had been publicized.

"Well, we have a proposal for you, something I think you'll find very interesting. You plan to make commercial flights to each of these worlds?"

"Yes, probably shuttles, depending on schedules and logistics."

"Exactly. I can offer you your own transportation with which you can make your trips."

"A seat on your starship?"

The Arerri shook his head, "The whole ship."

Corvus sat back a bit stunned. His friend Parlan, a computer analyst with Port Technologies arrived, briefcase in his hand, another under his arm and large wheeled suitcase in tow.

"What's going on?"

"Blazes!" was Corvus Auctor's reaction.

The four men had taken a displacement booth which teleported them inside an arcology on a remote asteroid, miles away from Eclipse Station. The round, castle-like steel tower contained a dozen rooms, one of which was the 20x20x75 foot space docking chamber they were standing in.

In front of them was a forty five foot spacecraft, shaped like a throwing dart, complete with pointed proboscis, stylized fins and stubby landing gear. It was covered from tip to tail in shiny, chrome scales. Parlan and Corvus took a walk around, inspecting the craft up close. Neither had seen anything like it. It turned out Dr. Vulane was with NovaTech, a techno-wizard company based in Port Eclipse. Vulane's team had built the ship. However the craft wasn't technological -- or even magical -- in nature. Dr. Vulane was an Arerri specialist in super power induction. The scientist explained that the ship was comprised of living beings, capable of merging and forming a physical body, much like the Phantoms of Phase World. Once merged, Vulane had induced several super powers into the ship. The Arerri race had been doing so to their own and other living beings for centuries. Vulane felt it was a viable project and it worked. The two young men were awestruck by Vulane's explanation. The ship could live in space, fly at both sublight and superluminal speeds, grow and regrow it's chrome bio-armor. Best of all it wasn't magical and had no technological components, which meant it had no engines and was unlikely to break down.

"And you're going to give this to me?" Corvus asked to make sure.

"Yes." The Arerri waited a moment, "But there are a few conditions."

Corvus and Parlan approached the Arerri, "Such as?"

"You make the trip to the Grennock system first and allow us to accompany you."

Silence. Corvus replayed Vulane's proposal over a few times in his mind. It didn't sound bad.

"And for that you'll give me this ship?"

Suddenly a booming voice, not unlike a peal of thunder, enveloped the landing bay.

"HE WANTS TO EXPLOIT THE AUCTOR NAME."

Everyone looked apprehensively skyward. The rolling basso seemed to come from the ceiling, as though an angry god was looking down on this little get-together. The voice was so loud that it rattled tools on the workbench nearby. Corvus was the only one who recognized the voice. It was that of his great-grandfather, Cephus Auctor, a powerful a spatial mage.

"HE WISHES TO PUBLICIZE THE EVENT AND USE YOU TO GAIN INTRODUCTIONS TO STELLAR TRADERS WITHIN THE UNITED WORLDS OF WARLOCK. ISN'T THAT SO DOCTOR?"

Vulane swallowed nervously. NovaTech had done a meticulous job of security, and kept the entire project under wraps until they were ready to go public. How someone -- anyone -- had penetrated their system was unfathomable. It had a chilling effect on the scientist.

"Well, yes..." the Arerri's voice trailed off as he engaged his own super abilities, bending the bay's interior lighting into first the infrared and then ultraviolet spectrums, and scouring the ceiling. He found nothing. Next he Mechano-Linked with the arcology's security sensors, but couldn't find a thing.

"What should I do?" Corvus Auctor appealed to the voice.

"Take the deal. An opportunity like this doesn't happen very often." This time the words were in a normal speaking voice, coming from behind the men. Startled they turned to find that an elderly, bearded, gray-haired man, wearing a dark jumpsuit and dark-blue cloak had appeared from nowhere.

Corvus' heart picked up a beat. It was his great-grandfather, whom he hadn't seen in almost a year. Cephus had been a recluse and no one outside the family had seen him in quite a while, not even Corvus' best friend Parlan, who knew the face from pictures at the Auctor home. Unlike the bitter old man the young mage had last seen, who'd been unkempt and wearing old clothes, this man was dressed properly and his beard and hair were neatly trimmed and combed.

"S-s-sir Cephus!" stuttered the shocked Dr. Vulane as it dawned on the scientist who this was. After all, the mage had an enormous marble statue of him on display inside Port Eclipse's Inner City Center. "What an honor..."

"You do plan on training the young man," Cephus paused as he hugged Corvus, "On the use of his ship?"

"Of course!"

"Good. Let's get underway. There's no time like the present. And by the way, I'll be accompanying you."

Vulane's mouth opened to speak, but no words came out.

The landing bay's outer door opened and the spacecraft silently lifted off and eased out into the asteroid belt. There were no windows or portals on the inside, rather it was comprised of the same chrome-like material, but smooth. The craft could project holograms which provided an interface between it and the passengers. The interior was formed into three compartments, a small cockpit/bridge, an airlock and an aft passenger/cargo bay, which held eight people or cargo.

"How fast is she?"

"The DART is capable of mach four speed, in sublight mode. That should allow it to take off and land on most habitable planets."

"DART?"

The Arerri nodded, "Yes..." but was interrupted by Cephus Auctor.

"That's the vessel's name, the name his company used during its construction and testing over the past year."

"I must compliment you on your information," said the Arerri nervously. Vulane had planned to use this project to exert control over the entire situation, but now was unsure of his position.

"You'll find there's very little I don't know about concerning my home doctor," was Cephus' reply. Of course by home, he meant the entire Oropan solar system, where Port Eclipse was located.

"DART's not a very good name," commented Corvus. He thought for a moment, "I prefer QUICKSILVER."

Vulane nodded, then continued the tour, "The ship can utilize Superluminal Flight for up to 1.7 light years per hour for forty eight hours, giving you an operational range of 81.6 light years."

"Why only forty eight hours?"

"Well, the ship is a living creature. As you log more flight time in it, it's abilities will increase up to point. After forty eight hours the ship will need to rest and recharge, usually about eight hours. Then you may travel faster than lightspeed again."

Parlan moved up from his seat, "What about sensors and communications?"

A holographic window appeared before Vulane and displayed radar and communications. "Both are limited to a few thousand miles in space, so you'll need to equip it as you see fit." Currently NovaTech had placed a traditional faster than lightspeed commset, a techno-wizard power generator and techno-wizard gravity net inside the craft, to keep the ship's passengers comfortable. Life support was also extra.

"Weaponry?" asked Corvus.

"A variable-power laser cannon only. The DART-er-QUICKSILVER wasn't intended to be a combat craft."

The holographic display flashed as the QUICKSILVER approached the wormhole beacon. Parlan brought out one of the encoder units that he and Corvus were taking to each planet. Normally it would be affixed to a ship's transponder unit, but Parlan had no idea where it might go on this particular ship...

Vulane sat back and a pair of cables grew from the ship's interior wall and Machine-Merged with the encoder. The holographic panel display flashed "SENDING ENCRYPTED MESSAGE" and the ship transmitted a radio pulse.

The other holowindow which served as a view screen showed the wormhole blossom in a blue-white flash a kilometer distant.

"Grennock awaits!" said Cephus Auctor, eyeing his family's handiwork. He and his family had built the wormholes.

The QUICKSILVER oriented itself then zipped through the wormhole and into United Worlds of Warlock space.

Looking through his view screen of Grennock, Cephus Auctor turned to his great-grandson. "There's a ley line near the starport." The display was nowhere near as detailed and Vulane understood the mage was using his impressive magical abilities.

The younger Auctor focused his thoughts and spoke a few words. Within seconds he had dislocated his perceptions to the surface of planet along with Cephus. From his position, he could feel the energy of the ley line, as if he were standing by it. "Yes, great-grandfather!" The youngster had never felt one since Port Eclipse had no ley lines. The spatial realms his family had infused with magical energy weren't open to him. It was a wondrous feeling. The starport was a huge circle of rock surrounded by a flat grassy plain, picture perfect and no doubt the result of magical terraforming. The pad wasn't very big, maybe large enough to handle a dozen medium sized starships, but there was plenty of room for the QUICKSILVER.

The living starship opened a comm-channel with the starport.

"This is the starship QUICKSILVER, ground control, we need clearance to land," said Dr. Vulane.

"Roger QUICKSILVER, you'll need to hold. What's your cargo and crew?"

Cephus Auctor harrumphed, "Ship, open a channel." A display flashed before the spatial mage. "Grennock ground control, this is Sir Cephus Auctor, knight of the High King's court and peer to the realm. Clear the QUICKSILVER for landing immediately!"

Cephus thought briefly about using the same spatial magic spell he'd used on Vulane's hanger earlier, but felt it was too melodramatic. Bureaucrats only required a normal amount of yelling.

There was a few moments of silence before the nervous voice of the ground controller came on, "Uh, OK, QUICKSILVER. You're clear to land."

The living starship knifed through the atmosphere and dropped down towards the planet, descending carefully on the starport. It landed quietly and gracefully on the edge of the circular pad. A portion of the ship's hull, inside the airlock section melted away, allowing the Auctor's a way out.

"Hey!" growled Parlan, fighting with his gear, "Corvus, I could use a hand."

Vulane intervened, "I saved a surprise for last."

Part of the wall near Parlan bubbled. A humanoid shape grew until it stepped away from the wall, immediately growing a skin of chrome scales like the exterior of the ship.

"The ship can summon a single crewman, just in case there's trouble. He has a subset of features of the craft and can assist you in certain matters. However it must remain in the same solar system as the ship, or it will vanish."

Parlan handed up his gear and the creature, it features identical with the exterior of the QUICKSILVER, took them all without saying a word.

Outside, Sir Cephus and Corvus were received by an impromptu gathering of port officials. The knight shook their hands then dismissed them. Arriving moments later was a representative of the ITRAGON, a prominent United Worlds of Warlock trading concern. The merchants used Grennock as a base of operations along the Warlock frontier. Phasing in via the ley line was a Star Elf, who held the title of Administrator for the trading concern.

"Is this an official visit?" the elf introduced himself as Obner Leylight.

"No," replied Cephus in Dragonese. "However I would like to introduce you to Dr. Vulane, an Arerri scientist with one of our techno-wizard firms." The pair shook hands. "This is my great-grandson and his friend Parlan. We'd like to take a few minutes of your time and speak to you about trade and Port Eclipse."

"Of course. And your golem?" asked the elf about the chrome, scaled figure.

"Yes, he's just carrying the bags." Cephus turned to the east. "The ITRAGON's trading complex is a few miles down the line. My grandson and I would like to use the ley line, but I'm afraid these men will require other transportation."

"Certainly. I'll see to it immediately. Just wait here gentlemen and I'll have someone pick you up."

The elf, and both the Auctors phased off, leaving Parlan and Dr. Vulane to wait on the grass near the edge of the landing area with the chrome-plated crewman.

"Mages," groaned Parlan. "Always whisking off in a puff of smoke."

SIX HOURS LATER
ADMINISTRATOR'S OFFICE
ITRAGON COMPLEX
GRENNOCK

"In my capacity as Administrator for the ITRAGON, I can say with certainty Dr. Vulane that your ship interests us." The elf and Arerri had spent the previous few hours undergoing an introduction and short flight aboard the craft. "As there are places where magic is inert and technology can fail, this craft seemingly has the wherewithal to bridge those shortcomings."

Inside the office were Cephus, Dr. Vulane, Obner and the Star Elf's right hand man, an Earth Warlock named Grudney. Next to him stood a large iron golem, but it was difficult to judge the golem's height, since the massive stone building's ceiling was well over twenty feet tall.

Vulane had been worried, since his original plan had gone awry. He'd planned to announce via a press release the existence of the QUICKSILVER and its trip to Grennock. NovaTech had wanted to gain some publicity and momentum as it began looking for prospective buyers for future craft. Now he'd have to publicize it all after the fact, which still might be good, especially if he worked in some of Obner's observations.

"Tell me Sir Cephus, what's your concern in this? Are you partners with Dr. Vulane?"

"What? No. I have a personal interest in this visit. Tell me, how does one become a member in your organization?"

"Well," began Obner, having his orderly offer cigars to the others. "Membership is gained via sponsorship by an existing member. Those of United Worlds of Warlock citizenship may immediately join, while those who are not, may carry on as associates until a suitable period has elapsed."

"I see. I'd like you to sponsor my great-grandson and his friend for membership."

Obner was silent for a moment. He hadn't quite expected this. "I-I-I'd be honored," he said quickly.

"Good!" Cephus' face broke into a smile for the first time since he'd seen his great-grandson. "He's an experienced mage and his friend is quite the computer genius. For doing this favor, I'll see that all of the ITRAGON ships have wormhole access to Port Eclipse. There will be other benefits as well."

Obner strode around the table and shook Cephus' hand vigorously. The Star Elf conjured a magical flame in his hand and held it for Cephus.

Vulane now understood why Cephus ran a solar system. Not only were his magic abilities monumental, but his head for canny maneuvering matched them. This whole trip was a testament to that. Vulane drank, but it wasn't because he was happy, rather he needed a good strong belt.

As he watched Cephus Auctor light his cigar, the Arerri thought about what Parlan had said to him out on the landing pad and how, despite all his careful planning his ideas had all gone up in a puff of smoke.

"But I've already got a job!" protested Parlan when the news reached the two young men.

Corvus wanted to protest but couldn't. Being a member of a prestigious United Worlds of Warlock trading firm wasn't such bad news, even if the idea wasn't his own.

"I've already got a career!" Parlan cried.

"Bah! When I was your ages I was already taken with adventuring. Traveling among the planets, like Alexandria and Omtermond. Do you want to spend the rest of your life on that station going to class or punching a clock?"

"So you think I'm ready?" asked Corvus. He'd helped the elves on Varo dismantle a ring of lumber thieves, but adventurers in the United Worlds of Warlock often had to continually prove themselves.

"Almost. You need to learn a few more spells, which I'll tutor you in."

"What about father and grandpa and grandma? They'll be upset with..."

"Leave them to me," explained Cephus, "I'll persuade them that this is an opportunity to be taken advantage of."

Parlan balled his fists several times.

Mages! He thought. One moment I'm working for the port, then boom, a puff of smoke, a flash of light and everything changes!

So by the next day, Corvus and Parlan were both members of the ITRAGON, and Obner and Cephus Auctor had come to an understanding concerning the ITRAGON's use of Port Eclipse; and Dr. Vulane, the brilliant scientist who'd developed the living starship and had made all this possible, felt like he'd merely been along for the ride. However it wasn't a total loss. During the four-hour trip back, he composed a preliminary draft of the press release that NovaTech would make public.

THREE WEEKS LATER
MERCENARY GUILDHALL
HIDEGAR
TRADE WORLDS

Hidegar was a little over 480 light years to the galactic north of Port Eclipse, nestled among the twenty-odd planets that comprised the Trade Worlds. Another 200 light years farther north was the territory of the Consortium of Civilized Worlds, and to its east lay the Kronos League, a violent offshoot of the Altess. Hidegar was one of the more technologically advanced worlds located in the sector of space known as the Hourglass Nebula.

Tri-galactic Military Services ran the guild. The restaurant on the guildhall's fifth floor was exclusively for its higher echelon members. Kruff the Felias Information Broker was one of those. Not only was he a master at finding and selling information, he made sure that those around him never had to wait in line for their starship to take off or land on Hidegar. His Mechano-Link ability took care of that, letting him hack into virtually any computer system, including the starport traffic computer. Kruff, seated alone near the window, was enjoying his breakfast when he received a visitor.

Aldo Hetter, a Super-Spy and operative of Kruff's, normally wasn't privy to dining at the restaurant. Today he'd been summoned to breakfast with the Felias.

"Good morning," Aldo was seated by the private waiter assigned to Kruff's table. "I take it the information I passed to you about the Living Starship caught your fancy." The Super-spy scoured his e-menu.

"Hmmm, yes," said Kruff after swallowing. "Try the poached eggs and toast. The chef is quite good."

Aldo ordered, then sat there, smirk on his face, watching the leonid eat,

"Who, uh, gave you the information?" asked the Felias.

"An Atlantean, a trader on a merchant ship that calls at Port Eclipse. He found it while reading their local rag."

"And you trust him?" The Atlantean had provided some extra details he knew about the owner and the maker of the craft.

"Yes, I've worked with him on a few occasions. I expect he'll want something in return."

Aldo continued to watch the Felias eat. After a short silence he asked, "When do I leave?"

"Not so fast. How do you plan on approaching this?" asked the Felias. Details on a living starship would be of vast interest on the interstellar information market. Naruni and several mega-corps would pay nice money for a behind the scenes look at such a craft.

"Well, naturally I'm going to need your help."

"Naturally," replied Kruff as Hetter launched into his plan. It was simple and yet ingenious and had a good chance of succeeding.

The waiter came with Aldo's breakfast and the two continued talking.

4 PM
LEVEL TWO
CENTER
PHASE WORLD

Harmony Frost left her Phase World apartment in a rush. The Pleasurer had taken the form of a tall, raven-haired human female, adorned in her skintight, silver jacket and matching pants, shiny enough to reflect laser blasts. She paused at the bottom of the stairs to light a cigarette with her last match, then continued on her way. As she neared the corner, her empathic sense felt a strong, disciplined mind. None of the people she passed seemed to be paying her any undue attention. Perhaps it was an alien or an item someone was carrying. She jogged across the street, just in time to snag a hover taxi.

"Phase Gardens, please," her alluring contralto was lost on the robo-pilot and off they went. The psychic feeling vanished and she concentrated on business. She was to meet a contact at an open-air restaurant in Spacetown, on Center's second level. Selling stolen Kittani equipment was dangerous, especially if you offed a Splugorth minion in the process and even more so if you planned on selling it to Naruni. But it was profitable. This would keep her rolling in it for the next year or two at least.

As the taxi weaved through Center's buildings and towers she envisioned herself attending the best parties and meeting some real people. Not these adventurers she kept running into. Well, that would come. The robo-pilot's synthesized voice announced Phase Gardens and he found a place to land. She slid her credcard through the reader and stepped out. The escalator ramp led her to the mag-lev train which ran into Spacetown.

She felt the odd stray feeling of those around her, but nothing like back by her place.

Now, she thought, if Cormen shows, things will be fine.

Cormen Ganter was the chief engineer on the starship SAME OLD SAME OLD. The ship's captain was once a runner, taking any kind of well-paying cargo in and out of the Paradise Federation. Harmony had to leave Federation space when the guy she was dating had a fatal accident. It wasn't her fault that his contra-grav suit failed, but his attorney didn't see it that way. The guy was R-I-C-H and his mouthpiece pressed for a full investigation. OK, she'd gotten him to use a little "pickup powder" before takeoff, to heighten the experience for the both of them. Anyway, just before the district attorney's office decided to indict her, she slipped out of the Federation on the SAME OLD with the idea to check out the experience that was Phase World.

She wasn't disappointed.

Within two weeks she'd learned to imitate a few of the Splugorth humanoids at Klynncryth's Trading Post on the third level. She kept her head down and found she could do a brisk business in harmless microbes she picked up at the markets there. Ever been scuba diving with someone who can't breath water, but now could? It was exhilarating -- for both of them. The money was good too. Then her contact, an Atlantean techno-wizard offered her something special: a Kittani Plasma Harness, half-price, pay the money upfront. Level Four of Center was crawling with Uteni, another humanoid she could easily impersonate, and she had no trouble lining up a buyer with the cash. Naruni would make a fortune on knockoffs and get to thumb their noses...er, flat faces at the Sploogs in process. So she went and got the harness... only the Atlantean had a different idea. He hadn't counted on her empathic ability. She sensed his deception and used a well-placed snap kick to incapacitate him. Then he tried to activate one of his tattoos.

Harmony kept a techno-wizard Thundergun in the back of her belt. It was chrome-plated with a pearl handle. It was either him or her, so she let him have it once -- between the eyes.

Now she had the harness and the money, so she left Sploogsville after a quick-change.

Harmony sensed something familiar. She turned and spotted Cormen, hands in pockets, coming towards her table.

"Hey gorgeous!" the Psi-Tech gave her a peck on the cheek. "What's good at this dump?"

The Planetoid was a run of the mill bistro, but they had the best pastrami on the levels. She could eat and feed her empathic sense both at the same time.

"Get the pastrami with the Bounce Sauce."

They punched up their orders on the e-menu and sat back.

"So," Cormen lowered his voice, "What have you got for me?"

Harmony had decided not to give the harness to Naruni. She wanted it herself. It might come in handy in case she needed to impersonate another Sploog. It would also be a rush to use! Her psionics made her impervious to fire and cold, so she was in no danger there. Instead she'd get the Psi-Tech to make her a nice schematic and she'd sell the plans to Naruni. Cormen would charge her but she could afford it and Naruni would still get what they want.

"I need you to make me some schematics, but it's gotta be hush-hush, honey."

"No problem, but I need to see it before I can give you my price."

"Sounds fine," Harmony glided over to an empty table a few feet away and borrowed a candle to light her smoke.

Then she felt it again: that strong, disciplined mind.

She puffed her cigarette to life. There was no doubt, it was the same as before.

"Uh, OK," she said as she sat back down across from Cormen, slouching so her face was hidden by the planter on her left. Peering through the greenery she caught sight of a Noro, wearing the lavender robes of a Phase Mystic.

Damn! She clenched her fists. Her mind raced, then took another couple of laps.

"Honey, I'll have to get back to ya," she whispered to Cormen and grabbed the pitcher of ice water on the table. "Sweetheart, don't take this personally."

She stood, slapped him hard, then dumped the pitcher's contents on his head.

"PIG! DON'T EVER CALL ME AGAIN!" she shrieked before jogging off.

Cormen shook like a collie, unaware of the Noro in the lavender robe following behind his lunch date.

Well, she couldn't go home.

Obviously the Noro knew where that was. Luckily the plasma harness wasn't there. A Super-Spy she'd met and done business with had tutored her in how to move: deliberately and cautiously. As a shapeshifter she could impersonate a variety of humanoids, but she had four, documented identities she could slip in and out of at a moment's notice, providing she had some different wardrobe to change into. She'd left the harness at Beverly Blaine's, a fire-red, redhead who was into plasma weapons, expensive artwork and the people they attracted. Next to Harmony Frost, it was the Pleasurer's favorite role.

The trouble was getting away from her tail and getting the harness to Cormen, who'd probably tack on a few extra credits for the scene she'd just acted out. Mind block firmly in place, Harmony walked down to the landing where the mag-lev train was. She might lose him in the crowd and go back to Beverly's.

The doors to the train slid shut and from her seat in the coach she saw the lavender robed Noro reach the platform too late. The train slid off silently, accelerating to 90 k.p.h. in a few seconds.

Thank pleasure!

Now she could relax. Mind blocks made her uncomfortable, but were necessary unless she wanted him to nose into her own thoughts and feelings. She relaxed and tapped into the surrounding passengers. Their warmth and contentment soothed her psyche.

Then she felt it again.

She caught a glimpse of lavender as she glanced back through the seats.

Damn! She thought. How'd he do it? Must be a teleporter.

The train raced over and down a steep grade, stopping a few seconds later with only the tiniest hint of deceleration. No fun here, the other passengers weren't like the roller-coaster riders she sometimes touched. But the thoughts of the tourists in front of her did give her an idea. They were awed by the sight outside. She glanced out the window at the old starport annex. Built centuries ago and now mostly unused since the Prometheans upgraded to mobile teleportals for incoming and outgoing travelers. Nobody walked long distances anymore, not when you could slip from one place to another for 10 credits. The train paused next to the six story monolith as it waited for another coach to leave the tunnel.

She stood, kicked the emergency door release and hustled out.

The landing was completely empty and poorly lit. That meant the place still had power.

After a moment the doors shut and the train took off.

She ducked into the first hallway, slammed the elevator button with her elbow, then ran down the huge, twisting stone stairway across from it. As her head disappeared below ground level she heard the bell, then the elevator doors open.

And the sound of someone running.

Harmony's silver boots had spike heels but she still went down the stairs as fast as her feet would go, using sidesteps. Here she found the semi-darkness comforting and she used her left hand to follow the twisting wall as she went further down.

She felt a break in the wall. It was for planters. The annex stairways had circular shafts on their inside walls that had once been filled with automated hydroponics equipment, all for the tourists. The opening wasn't large and she shrunk herself a tad, to get through quickly, since she'd heard footsteps at the top of the stairs. The young woman dropped through the opening and into the empty planter. Luckily its lights were out. She put up her mind block, held her breath and waited.

Footsteps echoed, growing louder and louder. Heavy, thumping footsteps almost as loud as the thumping in her own chest.

A shadow moved past her and she caught a glimpse of a someone, their form stretching bizarrely as they took twenty steps a stride. It was past her and down the stairs in seconds.

This guy is good. Hopefully he was using up his inner strength.

Harmony relaxed, slipped back out and retreated up the stairs, then took the elevator up to the starport landing pens.

"You lost her?"

The Promethean Phase Adept Gallas showed no reaction. Before him a hologram of one of his Phase Mystics, a Noro, was projected. The Initiate looked tired and worn, and his forehead was damp with perspiration.

"Return immediately."

Gallas turned to his assistant, a human Phase Mystic named Barlow.

"Well your Object Read of the silver bullet was accurate my friend," he said dissolving the holo-link. "This woman seems to be involved in this murder at the Splugorth Trading Post."

"I certainly feel so."

As a follow-up to the autopsy, Barlow had done a psychic probe on the items found on the dead man, including the silver bullet that killed him. Harmony Frost had loaded the gun.

The Promethean Phase Adepts were a large and powerful force on Center. Their brothers in arms, the Phase Mystics, worked closely with them. They were part police-force, part-troopers, part-spies, in whichever order was required. The Splugorth were powerful as well. While they perpetrated horrors thousands of times worse than this incident, they had to be coddled, otherwise they might send strike teams out to even the score and injure innocents in the process. As long as the Phase Adepts kept current on the attack and kept them informed they went along with them. Besides, the Prometheans wanted to remove this killer for the same reason: she might be a threat to others.

"I'll post a pair of men outside her apartment," said Barlow. "It's doubtful she'll go back, but for the moment it's all we have."

Gallas grunted. Suddenly another Promethean materialized a few feet away.

"Adept Gallas," the messenger bowed ever so slightly, "A report from the computer tracking system. The woman Harmony Frost just used her credit card on the first floor of the starport area." He bowed slightly and vanished as quickly as he'd come.

Gallas looked at Barlow, it was too late to re-contact the Noro.

"Don't worry," said Barlow. "There's teleportals all over the starport. I'll send someone else."

Harmony found the SAME OLD SAME OLD after consulting one of the computerized information booths on the level. Landing pad 13C. The ship was closed up and no one was around. In fact, the whole level was quiet. The crews of these ships were out enjoying themselves somewhere.

She went back to the computer, swiped her credcard and composed an e-mail, letting Cormen know she was sorry about what happened and that she'd get back to him.

Suddenly the silence on the level was interrupted by the sound of an elevator. She double checked her e-mail, hit SEND then signed off. She quietly slid around the comm-booth and watched the entranceway.

Nothing.

The elevator door was open, but no sign of anyone. She reached out with her empathic sense and still found nothing. Her Mind Block saved her. As soon as she put it up, a Draconid, dressed in the lavender robes of a Phase Mystic suddenly materialized against the far wall, skulking slowly, carefully, while peeking in each pen. His Psi-Invisibility was unable to penetrate her mental shield.

These guys just don't give up, she thought.

She waited for him to distance himself from the entranceway, then slipped out, keeping a wall between the reptilian and her. She quietly snuck over to the elevator and jumped in, unaware of the disembodied eye floating nearby.

She was going down. The eye watched the elevator's readout. It completely left the second level, stopping down on level four.

The Draconid was over at the elevator in a flash. He reclaimed his missing eye and summoned another elevator down.

Level Four on Center was one of Harmony's favorites. In the past she'd impersonated a Uteni to get good deals on the latest Naruni gear. It was also home of the Perpetual Party. There were apartment buildings near where she lived as Beverly Blaine, that had parties every night, rotating from building to building, floor to floor and room to room.

She saw a pair of partygoers on the street and talked with them briefly. The couple was heading out for dinner, but there was a rager going on upstairs.

Minutes later Harmony was sipping champagne, and talking about skiing over the loud music with a Zebuloid. They danced, they drank, they munched and she eventually moved out onto the terrace with the multi-limbed alien. The level was in simulated night: dark sky, holographic starlight, soft red-green crescent moon. There were four or five couples making time out here, but no one noticed them.

She lit a cigarette and caught a glimpse of someone in a lavender robe moving through the throng inside.

Damn!

Harmony noticed the patio door on the apartment across the way. The lights were out and the drapes had been left open. It was a good twenty feet across to the opposite patio.

She quickly explained she had to leave and had the Zebuloid turn around and block the doorway, then stepped over the rail, balanced herself, then engaged her Telekinetic Leap, acrobatically landing by rolling into the big, padded lawn chair nearby. The noise was barely audible over the party's music. She repositioned the chair and remained crouched down behind it.

The Draconid was out on the terrace at the party, maneuvering through the necking lovers and glanced over the edge. Six stories up and the woman he was after couldn't have climbed down that fast. He must have missed her inside. The Zebuloid she'd been with was still here, scratching its head with a few of its tentacles.

The Phase Mystic finally left.

Harmony conjured an ectoplasmic vapor, slipped it through the sliding door's flimsy weather seal, flipped the lock on the handle and went inside.

As she closed the door, she noticed the Draconid, back on the opposite terrace, staring at her.

She blew him a kiss, drew the curtains and left. Beverly's apartment was only a few buildings away. She walked down to the end of the hall, opened the window and jumped across to the neighboring building, repeating the process four times until she was finally home.

Just in time. Her own inner strength was almost gone.

TWO HOURS LATER
BEVERLY BLAINE'S APARTMENT
LEVEL FOUR
CENTER
PHASE WORLD

Harmony meditated over a cigarette, sipping wine, wondering how the Phase Mystics had gotten to her.

Well, at any rate she needed to get the Kittani Plasma Harness over to Cormen. She hit the commset, invoking privacy mode so her holographic image wouldn't be shown, audio only.

"Robot Parcel Service," a synthesized voice answered. "How may I direct your call?"

"Parcel pick up."

The young woman ordered a transport for the harness. It currently was inside a thick carrybox, like musicians use. She lugged it out to the front room and lit another smoke. She packed her things, then drew a hot bath to soak. She needed to meditate...preferably with as few clothes as possible.

After thirty minutes there was a knock at the door. The Pleasurer grabbed a robe and wrapped it around her. Her form and features shifted into that of a tall, sultry redhead. She palmed her Naruni plasma derringer and walked up to the door.

"Who is it?"

"Robot Parcel Service," came the synthesized voice reply.

She opened the door a crack, "Are you alone?"

The robot's head did a three-sixty. "Yes ma'am."

She opened the door and let him in, pausing to check the hallway herself. All clear.

Inside, the robot responded to her weapon, "I'm sorry, I have no cash or valuables."

She put the derringer inside a pocket, "Sorry, I'm a bit nervous." She pointed to the carrybox. "That's it."

The robot hefted it, "Twenty six point six pounds."

Harmony/Beverly retrieved her handcomp and gave the robot the number of the docking pen where the SAME OLD SAME OLD sat. The robot's remote positioning link instantly computed the distance and he presented the bill.

"One hundred thirty six credits. Your charge card please."

As she picked up the card with Harmony's name on it, it finally dawned on her how they'd found her. She should have never used the info-booth at the starport.

"Uh, I'll pay in cash." She retrieved a stack of bills from a drawer and sent the robot on his way.

Damn! she thought. All the money she'd gotten for the plasma harness she'd put under Harmony Frost's account. It was her favorite role. She had some mad money here, but it wasn't what she was used to or what she'd require.

She finished dressing, grabbed the last of her gear and got ready to leave. Her commset buzzed. She let it ring, and ring, the recorder clicked on.

"Harmony, this is Aldo Hetter. I've got a little job you might be interested in. Harmony, if you're there pick up."

Her features reverted back to those of Harmony Frost. She hit the recorder and answered. The face of the human Super-Spy popped up before her.

"Aldo, what a surprise!" She'd done business with Aldo a few times before. It was small stuff, keeping men busy while he rifled their belongings, that sort of thing. He was very careful and meticulous.

"How would you like to take a trip?" he asked. "I need your charm and wit for a little something I've got brewing."

"What does it pay?"

"Oh, you'll be very happy with the money."

"I'd better be," this had promise. Aldo was rich and had rich friends. She could ingratiate herself with him and then borrow nicely against her own account, until Cormen finished the schematics and she cashed in with Naruni. Hopefully this business with the Phase Mystics would all blow over by that time.

"So it's a deal? Good. Get yourself down to the Warlock Market. There's a system in the Anvil Galaxy called Port Eclipse. Its a protectorate of the United Worlds of Warlock and you should have no trouble finding a Shifter to get you there."

"I'm a little low on scratch," she rubbed her fingers together. Shifters were expensive.

The Super-Spy gave her a credcard number for expenses. "I'll see you there in forty eight hours," he said before signing off. Forty eight hours seemed a bit rushed, Aldo must be up to something big.

She collected a few of Harmony's things, including the huge, white fur coat she often wore. She also packed another identity just in case something unexpected came up. As long as she was away from Center, she could resume the identity of Harmony Frost. She shifted her form and went downstairs and waited in the foyer after hitting the summons button for the hover taxi.

As she walked out she nearly collided with two men in lavender robes. There were a half-dozen Phase Mystics patrolling this side of the street.

The two men gawked, but she couldn't blame them.

It's the natural reaction to seeing a short Psi-Goblin wearing a large, white fur.

FROSTED RINGS DONUT SHOP
FORTY EIGHT HOURS LATER
ECLIPSE STATION
PORT ECLIPSE

"You must be Corvus Auctor."

The voice issued from a middle aged man, slightly balding and wearing a sleek business suit popular in the Consortium of Civilized Worlds.

"You're just the person I was looking for," he continued, hand out.

Corvus put down his coffee and shook the man's hand.

"And you are?"

"Aldo Frost, Treaty Violation Investigation Agency," he flashed his holo-credentials. "I'm here to take a look at your starship."

"Aren't you a little far from your jurisdiction?" the young spatial mage sipped his coffee. "And besides," began Corvus. "I don't give tours."

Aldo nodded, "I see. Well, I understand that you're part of an intergalactic trading company. I must stress to you that if indeed your starship is living, you'll have to clear it with the TVIA before it may enter Consortium space. The TVIA is concerned with the rights of sophonts in all of the Three Galaxies. We certainly can't allow an enslaved entity to be brought inside our borders just because it's a convenient form of transportation, or a novel idea."

The donut Corvus had bitten into hung on his lips momentarily.

"I...I...never thought about it," he mumbled through the devil's food.

"Ah, yes, well, this sort of thing isn't uncommon in my line of work. People can come up with some amazing things, but sometimes they are blind to the consequences."

"Well, I'm right in the middle of something..."

"Ah, well there's no hurry. This is an unofficial visit. I was a few light years away tending to something else when I caught the news-feed on your remarkable ship. I spoke with my boss and he gave me the go-ahead. At any rate, I plan on staying at Port Eclipse for a few days anyway. I'm meeting my daughter here. Perhaps we can get together later?"

Corvus wiped his mouth and shook Aldo's hand.

"Absolutely! How about meeting me in my office on the fourth floor in say, two hours?"

"Splendid," and Aldo Frost left.

Corvus grabbed his work, and hightailed it back to the office to inform Parlan.

Corvus and Parlan had been showing the office and explaining their setup to the TVIA man when The door to the ITRAGON's satellite office opened and the chime went off. In strode a beautiful, dark-haired woman in a stunning, skin tight silver jacket, with matching pants and boots. Her eyes were covered by mirrorshades.

"Hi pop!" The alluring contralto voice only magnified her beauty.

"Ah, gentlemen, this is my daughter Harmony." He kissed her on the forehead. She nodded then slapped a cigarette into her mouth.

"Nicetameetcha." She glanced around. "Mind if I smoke?" She didn't wait for an answer and lit her cigarette with a chrome-plated lighter.

Parlan and Corvus exchanged glances.

"This is a real kick-ass place you got here." The carpet was from Robo-Mart, the paint was an awful dark green and the two pictures of sailboats on the walls were mass-produced, common prints.

"Well," Corvus smiled at her sarcasm, "You should see my starship."

The young woman stopped, pulled her mirrorshades down to the end of her nose and locked eyes with Corvus Auctor.

"You've got a starship?"

Corvus winked, the woman's voice possessed a misty, soothing quality that evaporated when she finished speaking, making him want to hear it again.

"Oh, yeah."

THAT EVENING
ITRAGON TRADING ARCOLOGY
PORT ECLIPSE

The feelings that Harmony Frost received from Corvus Auctor's starship almost overwhelmed the empath. Her entire body flushed as she was engulfed by the rush of super power and majesty the craft exuded, plus the damn thing was covered from end to end in chrome!

She took a deep breath. It was like the first time you touched someone romantically: the surge of emotions, the release of inhibitions, the sharing of everything you had bottled up inside. She couldn't help herself. She walked right up and caressed it, running her hand along the entire length of the ship as she walked.

"It is magnificent," said Aldo. Harmony's reaction confirmed the ship was indeed alive. Now he just had to uncover the details of its construction.

As Harmony walked past them, Parlan and Corvus exchanged glances.

Neither of them heard a word the TVIA man said. Corvus gave Parlan, normally the indomitable lady-killer of the pair, his own made in the shade smile, one he'd seen on several occasions.

Harmony had made a complete circuit and was back, her breathing labored, her psyche invigorated. She sidled right up to Corvus.

"Pleeeeeeease tell me you'll take me for a ride!" the urgency of her request, combined with the soft swish of her voice struck a chord in the young mage, just as it had done in others, in the past.

Corvus activated his wrist-comm and sent a message to the ship. The aft portal opened and Corvus helped them both aboard.

The spatial mage turned to his friend, "You coming?"

"Uh. No." Parlan was almost speechless. "I've got work to finish."

An energy field activated which protected Parlan from space as the hangar's exterior door opened. The QUICKSILVER lifted off silently and it disappeared in a flash of silver.

Parlan shook his head. Puff of smoke, flash of light, what was the difference?

Sometimes he really hated mages.

The QUICKSILVER made the trip to Grennock and back in just under eight hours. Aldo had grown disinterested, not so much in the ship, but in the fact that Corvus Auctor had precious little knowledge of its construction. While he picked up insights on its operation, it still left many questions unanswered -- questions the buyers that Kruff would line up, would need answered.

Harmony, on the other hand was nearly ecstatic. To her, the ship was like being in a crowd of extremely powerful beings. When it sliced through space, she could feel the enjoyment, the calmness of hovering in orbit and the power of descending through the atmosphere to land. Couple that with the effect she felt from Corvus, especially when he visited the ley line next to the landing pad on Grennock. She'd never been with such a mage before and never had felt the rush he received from being near a potent source of magic.

The trio visited the ITRAGON complex. Corvus met with Obner who gave him his first assignment: travel to the Warlock frontier, visit the Pagoda system and assist the ITRAGON negotiator there.

So they returned to Port Eclipse the next morning, or what passed for morning on an asteroid space station. Corvus led Aldo and Harmony into the spatial realm known as the Inner City, where the TVIA Inspector could interview Dr. Vulane and NovaTech concerning details of how the living starship had been made, its energy harnessed and its soul preserved.

However, Harmony didn't stay with her father, instead she came back to Eclipse Station with Corvus, where they slept a few hours while Parlan arranged for their techno-wizard contact to join them, for the trip to Pagoda.

"Who's she?" asked Gindle. The robed techno-wizard stared at the pretty girl on Corvus' arm as the pair entered the ITRAGON office, back from brunch.

"That's Corvus' Siamese twin. They're joined at the hip."

"Could be worse, I suppose," Gindle admired the woman's looks. "I take it she's coming with us?"

Gindle was along to construct a few special techno-wizard items for them. With the help of Corvus and his spatial magic, the ship would have a wireless data network with a range of 10,000 miles, providing the techno-wizardry enchantments went as planned. With it, they could send the QUICKSILVER back into orbit from the planet's surface and interact with it via the onboard computer system, since the ship could Machine Merge with it.

Parlan sat back in his seat enough to get a glimpse of the pair kissing, "I'd say there's a very good chance of that happening."

Corvus brought Harmony back and introduced her to Gindle. Eventually he got Parlan alone while the other two talked.

"So what's this assignment?" The radio message the young computerman had gotten when the QUICKSILVER reentered the asteroid system had been brief.

"Courier mission. We're to travel to Pagoda," Corvus unfastened his cloak, "And deliver these to the ITRAGON's contact there." Parlan's eyes went wide as his friend pulled six, thick bars of solid platinum from several Dimensional Pockets inside the garment.

Parlan hefted one of the bars, "Whoa! That's got to be what...twenty pounds?"

Corvus nodded, "Yes, all told, roughly 350,000 credits each, or a little over 2 million." The spatial mage replaced the bars into his cloak.

"Does Hotty know?"

"You mean Harmony? No. Great-grandfather Cephus impressed upon me the importance of discretion in business dealings. I told her we're delivering a message."

"So she's coming?"

Corvus gave Parlan his made in the shade smile and walked out, leaving the computer man to shake his head.

Parlan thought about the exotic, oriental port of Pagoda, maybe there was a women there for him.

There wasn't.

Pagoda was an odd place. The starport was very similar to most stellar-age planets, but once you left it, the streets narrowed, and the architecture changed radically. There was also a lot of, well...demons. Apparently on Pagoda, demons could be reformed, as witnessed by the one washing dishes at the starport restaurant, and the other that hauled their rickshaw to the Trading Tower. They didn't seem to be a threat to anyone, as the crowds went about their business oblivious to their presence.

The group found the Trading Tower, located their contact and traveled to the local bank to convert the specie into credits. After enjoying a nice night on the town, care of their contact, they left in the morning. The plan had been to report back to Grennock within twenty four hours but they took their time, using the QUICKSILVER to travel to the very edge of the Warlock frontier to witness a region of space known as the Hollow Reach, where the 600 light year gap between spiral arms began.

It was there they picked up a distress call.

"Thank the Forge!" screamed the overeager voice on the other end of the commset"This is the merchant ship ATTEKA, we've gone aground in a repression field inside the Dengar system. Do not approach! REPEAT, DO NOT APPROACH."

"Roger that ATTEKA," was Parlan's cool response. He requested the QUICKSILVER's starmaps for Dengar, but it had none. "It doesn't matter, we have no starmaps for Dengar over."

"Well, that's OK," the voice on the other end was breathing easier. "Can you contact someone, anyone, nearby? They'll need a ship with non-gravitonic drives to get us. We've been stuck for six weeks and we're here to deliver supplies to a research base on Dengar IV."

Corvus opened his own comm-channel.

"ATTEKA this is the Warlock vessel, QUICKSILVER. Our equipment isn't gravitonic. We can come get you, over."

"Absolutely!" the voice seemed extremely relieved. "We'll, uh, transmit navigation details in a moment."

"Six weeks in a starship," whistled Parlan. Harmony and Gindle nodded. The commset beeped as the data came through.

According to the information, Dengar was only three light years away.

NEXT DAY
OUTER SYSTEM
DENGAR PLANETARY SYSTEM

The repression field was several AU long and thick, engulfing most of the outer portions of the Dengar system. The ATTEKA had gotten bogged down on approach and the effects of the field had not only crippled their engines, it had destroyed the freighter's gravity net and wreaked havoc with the ship's faster than lightspeed comm-system. You were out of luck inside a repression field, you can't calibrate your gravity drives and it destroys the contra-gravity fields used to make most faster than lightspeed commsets work. Luckily the ATTEKA carried a small, backup commset which used Phase Technology. What was even more incredible was that the QUICKSILVER happened to be inside it's measly three light year range. It took almost two hours to reach Dengar and sixteen hours to find the ATTEKA, but they did.

The already anxious crew was spooked further when Corvus opened a Mystic Portal and teleported himself, Gindle and a crewman they summoned over to the ship. The trio found themselves floating in micro-gravity until Gindle setup an Area Gravity Field spell and things returned to normal.

"It's so good to see you!" groaned the captain, a Noro named Fullak. With him was a Trimadore engineer and human first officer. Hugs and handshakes went all around, except for their chrome-scaled crewman. Corvus introduced him as a golem. They took a brief tour of the ship, where they met several passengers, all "scientists" and part of the relief crew for the research station. They looked more like mercenaries than scholars. The rescuers were also taken to the cargo hold where they met the expedition's leader an Alutan. Apparently Alutans found frigid weather comforting, since the tall human with elf-like ears was housed in a chilly, sealed habitat, separate from the others. His name was Tromek.

"The good news gentlemen," explained Corvus, "Is that I can get you all to safety." The spatial mage described the Dimensional Portal he was able to conjure.

"Well, the ship will be left behind," the captain announced. "But there's still the group of scientists on Dengar IV. They must be looked in on."

"The QUICKSILVER can make the rest of the journey to Dengar IV, but we can only take a few of you, and virtually no cargo. I can tell you that I'll be able to open another Dimensional Portal sometime tomorrow. I can evacuate the base as well."

More pats on the back for the young spatial mage. The group talked and it was determined that Captain Fullak, the Trimadore and the Alutan scientist Tromek, head of the relief team, would accompany the QUICKSILVER to Dengar IV.

After collecting their belongings, Corvus conjured a Dimensional Portal and the stranded passengers and crew led by the techno-wizard Gindle, stepped from the stalled starship into the uppermost level of Eclipse Station and to safety.

That done, the others returned to the QUICKSILVER by another Mystic Portal and the living starship raced off towards Dengar IV, arriving there in only sixteen minutes.

EIGHT HOURS LATER
ABOARD THE QUICKSILVER
IN CLOSE ORBIT OF DENGAR IV

No one had been able to sleep. The newcomers had dozens of questions about the QUICKSILVER and Parlan fielded them while Corvus meditated. Once he was able to cast his Sustain spell, the mage slept for two hours then spent the next six hours meditating, so he could regain valuable potential psychic energy. At this point the spatial mage was able to view the planet via the Quicksilver's ultraviolet optics, find the land mass where the base was placed, then dislocate his perceptions and view the base from ground level.

The biggest problem was that Dengar IV was in the grips of an ice age.

There was an incredible snowstorm going on down below. His Celestial Cloak took care of the freezing weather his senses experienced, but he could only see a few feet in the blizzard. It took two additional spellcasting attempts before he found the base, a huge, dark, prefab building, half-buried in snow.

"There was no Weather Shield?" Tromek asked incredulously, after hearing Corvus' description of the base. "The camp has a low energy, force field to prevent it from being inundated by snow."

He indicated the building should be covered by an reddish half dome of energy, but Corvus had seen none. The Alutan sat back hard, as though he'd been punched. Furthermore, the complex had been built on eight foot stilts. It was now half buried in snow.

"Then we must land immediately!" Tromek growled. "If the Weather Shield is out, the entire research team is at great risk!"

"And so are we," explained Corvus, who'd witnessed the weather firsthand. While the QUICKSILVER was an impressive starcraft, it wasn't invulnerable to the weather conditions of the planet. But Tromek continued to argue.

So three times the QUICKSILVER dropped through the atmosphere and tried to land, but the ship couldn't handle the 300 k.p.h. winds of the storm, and three times it returned to close orbit above Dengar IV. Each time, Harmony felt the ship's internal conflict at navigating the extreme conditions.

Tromek, after realizing landing was impossible, became very subdued.

While Corvus returned to his meditation, Parlan, Fullak and the Trimadore used the Quicksilver's energy matrix to contact the satellite the base had over it, in geo-synchronous orbit.

TWELVE HOURS LATER
ABOARD THE QUICKSILVER
IN CLOSE ORBIT OF DENGAR IV

It took twelve hours for Corvus to regain his mage energy.

During that time Tromek had been blessed with even more bad news. The satellite had been placed in orbit so as to send and receive faster than lightspeed comm-traffic to and from the base. Naturally the repression field had smothered any contra-gravity enhanced signal, but it had also been given a neutrino commset to communicate with the planet. Neutrinos could penetrate just about anything, whereas a laser commset was limited by smoke, fog, rain and snow. The base could simply upload their daily data feeds concerning the base regardless of planetary weather conditions. Radio was impractical due to bandwidth limitations. Unfortunately this had stopped weeks ago, according to the timestamps on the data. The neutrino commset on the base's side must have been damaged since nothing had been sent in the time the ATTEKA had been lost. Either that or something had happened to the base personnel. Radio contact with the base revealed nothing. Things weren't looking good.

However, Corvus was now able to open another portal, since he'd visited the base with his spells yesterday. Corvus, Harmony, Fullak and Tromek got their cold weather gear together and the spatial mage opened the portal, and the four trudged into the raging blizzard on the face of the planet.

"It's freezing in here," said Harmony as the group entered the main building. The Pleasurer wasn't cold, her psionics took care of that, but all of them could see their breath in front of their face, once they'd entered. The interior was also a mess and a few dark scars were slashed across the walls, leftovers of energy weapon discharges.

Fullak turned on the radio and base computer, both of which had been shut off.

"There's a set of cryostatic stasis chambers in the back," explained Tromek. "If the researchers ran out of food or if something similar happened, they could ride out the problem in those."

Corvus nodded as Tromek trudged down the hall. He and Harmony watched as Fullak tested the electronics.

"Radio is dead. Both the neutrino comm and the standard set," he informed them. "But the computer seems to be OK We'll need to get Tromek's password."

Suddenly, Harmony's head shot up, as she sensed anguish. She turned around and grabbed Corvus, nodding down the hallway that Tromek had taken. The young spatial mage had come to understand she was psi-sensitive but hadn't seen anything quite like this since she'd first seen the QUICKSILVER.

She and Corvus followed after the Alutan and found him standing in the doorway, staring at six dead bodies laying on the floor.

Corvus returned to the front room after they'd buried the men.

The question was: who had done this? Outsiders seemed the logical choice.

Each had been killed by some sort of energy discharge, and none of the men were missing, which meant someone else had come to Dengar IV to kill them. After a short while Tromek had gotten together with Fullak and examined the computer.

"Everything for the past nine months has been deleted," groaned the Alutan.

Fullak looked at him strangely, "What does the satellite show?" since it held backups of the data.

Corvus raised Parlan on the techno-wizard link, one of three that Gindle had been able to complete. The satellite's logs showed the last upload was a little over six weeks ago.

"So," theorized Fullak, "Whoever did this, didn't know about the satellite," which confirmed the theory about outsiders. But where were they and where did they come from? The repression field in the outer system effectively sealed off the planet, unless they had other means to access Dengar IV.

Corvus requested a copy of all the satellite data from the techno-wizard link, which they then loaded into the base computer to study.

Six hours later they made a startling discovery.

USING THE GRAVITY SCANNER WE FOUND SOMETHING ODD IN THE SNOW BANKS TODAY. WE WERE LOOKING FOR MINERALS AND THE SCANNER SHOWED SOME PROMISING DENSITIES WHEN WE DISCOVERED A LARGE OBJECT MADE OF FABRICATED ALLOYS BURIED NEARBY. WE ALTERED THE TUNNELER TOWARDS IT AND WITHIN THREE HOURS HAD UNEARTHED IT. IT'S OBVIOUSLY A WEAPON, WHICH WE STUDIED, PHOTOGRAPHED AND PLACED IN LOCKER 3. WE CONTINUED SCANNING AND FOUND TWO MORE ITEMS OF SIMILAR COMPOSITION, THOUGH MUCH LARGER. MORE TUNNELING UNCOVERED THE ROBOT. IT WAS MISSING IT'S LEFT LEG AND ARM, BUT IT WAS HUGE, ALMOST 13 FEET TALL AND HIDEOUSLY CONFIGURED TO LOOK LIKE A GIANT, BLACK SKELETON. IT WAS DAMAGED BADLY ON IT'S LEFT SIDE, AS THOUGH SOMETHING HEAVY, LIKE A LARGE BLOCK OF ICE HAD SMASHED IT. WE FOUND ITS LEG BUT COULDN'T FIND ITS ARM. WE ALSO FOUND ANOTHER WEAPON, THOUGH NOT AS BIG AS THE FIRST.

"I'm afraid you cannot read anymore of this gentlemen," snapped Tromek, shutting off the display and ignoring Harmony. They'd been reading the private journal of the base's chief researcher.

"By the Cosmic Forge man!" growled Fullak, "This is no time to stop." The Noro pointed toward the graves outside, where the dead men lay. "What beset them could very well happen to us!"

"I understand that, but I'm afraid the information in this datastore is confidential."

The others sat there in shock, except Harmony, who calmly took out a cigarette.

"He's known all along about this," she said after lighting her smoke. The young woman had sensed deception in the Alutan since he'd come aboard the QUICKSILVER, just as she'd sensed it in the Atlantean on Phase World.

The Tromek shot her a fiery look, which was unable to penetrate the woman's frozen stare. The Alutan was psychic too, but hadn't the ability to block his psychic emanations.

The Noro focused his concentration on the Alutan as well.

"Yes, he claims to be part of a relief crew, but he's been tasked to oversee these new developments," he said. "There's no Alutan Mining Research Organization, he's a treasure hunter. No wonder he spent all that time locked in his freeze chamber away from us on the ATTEKA. His isolated habitat was also a way to keep his secret."

"STOP IT!" growled Tromek. A shovel that had been laying nearby, suddenly floated up in the air threateningly towards Fullak, who backed off. The Noro fumbled for his crystal stunner.

"THAT'S ENOUGH DOCTOR!" Corvus Auctor jumped up and grabbed the Alutan roughly. The shovel flipped over and slammed down on the mage. Harmony had drawn her Thundergun but she sensed the complete aura of calm that emanated from Corvus, and refrained from firing. For some unfathomable reason the mage wanted to be struck.

Just as the shovel reached Corvus the magic of his Celestial Cloak took over, warping his form so the weapon struck the Alutan instead. The blow to his head took him by surprise and he collapsed on the floor.

An hour later Tromek was awake and drinking some soup Harmony had prepared for him from the base's meager stores.

"We aren't going to have anymore problems with you are we?" she asked.

According to her Psychic Diagnosis the Alutan had suffered a concussion, and could barely speak. He finally shook his head.

"Good." Harmony's voice was even-toned. "We need your password."

Tromek lay quietly, but Harmony could sense the upheaval as his psyche battled itself. Despite his actions, he still felt something for his rescuers.

Fullak, standing nearby trod over, concentrated on the Alutan then nodded to Harmony.

"206714AWICY" he said, after taking a seat at the computer console.

The Alutan groaned and tried to get up, but Harmony restrained him. She had wanted to inject him with a sleep agent, but concussion victims had to be kept awake until sufficient time has passed. Fullak's fingers raced over the keyboard and he retrieved the base's journal again.

Apparently the team had discovered relics leftover from two different sources. The machines of one and another, highly unusual artifact they called BLINKER. The entry was even more mysterious than the first.

THE WEATHER COOPERATED TODAY. WE EXPANDED THE SCANS TO THE WEST OF WHERE WE FOUND THE ROBOT. BY LUNCH WE'D DISCOVERED A PAIR OF CAVERNS ABOUT 30 FEET BELOW THE PERMAFROST. WE RAN THE SCANNER OVER THE AREA TWICE AND FOUND STANDARD ROCK BUT FORMED INTO A SMOOTH CHAMBER, AS IF IT HAD BEEN LAID BY A STONEMASON. HOW SOMEONE COULD HAVE WORKED STONE INTO SUCH A PRECISE PATTERN IN THIS HELLHOLE IS UNFATHOMABLE. WE MOVED THE SCANNER DIRECTLY OVER THE AREA VIA HOVERDISC AND RAN ADDITIONAL SCANS. BY DARK WE'D FOUND THAT THE CAVERNS WERE LAID OUT LIKE AN UNDERGROUND BUILDING COMPLETE WITH ARCHES AND WHAT RESEMBLED A SMALL ALTAR. INSIDE THE SCANNER FOUND A SWORD-SHAPED METALLIC OBJECT AND ANOTHER ROUND ONE COMPOSED OF ORGANIC COMPOUNDS, SITTING ATOP THE STRANGE ALTAR.

Fullak skipped past the entries of conjecture and theories until he found further detail.

OUR MINING PLASMA GUN BURROWED INTO THE PERMAFROST FOR FOUR HOURS TODAY BEFORE FINALLY BREAKING THROUGH TO THE MAIN CHAMBER OF STONE. HALKO AND VARANA DROPPED INTO THE SHAFT ON CG PACKS AND RECONNOITERED THE AREA. THE SWORD WAS MADE OF METAL AND HAD AN ENERGY ROD THAT WAS BURNED OUT. THE ROUND OBJECT WAS COVERED IN FROST BUT SEEMED TO BE CLEAR LIKE GLASS. INSIDE THEY DISCOVERED AN EYE THAT BLINKED AT THEM. THE MEN WERE SO SPOOKED THEY LEFT IMMEDIATELY, CALLING TO US OVER THE RADIO THAT WHATEVER IT WAS, WAS ALIVE. WHAT WILL WE DO ABOUT BLINKER? IT SEEMS THE ROBOT IN THE COMPLEX HAS SUDDENLY BECOME ACTIVE AND I'VE BEEN RECALLED TO BASE.

Embedded in the text were two pictures, one of the sword and the eye that the recon team took.

"That's the last log entry period," Fullak's voice dropped off.

Corvus and Harmony exchanged nervous stares. The young woman strode away, thinking about the dead bodies Tromek had found. It took a few minutes but the Pleasurer finally spoke up.

"I know what both those things are," she said quietly. "The sword is a Kittani Plasma Sword, a weapon of the minions of the Splugorth. I saw one when I was on Phase World."

Now it was Corvus and Fullak's turn for nervous stares. Harmony's deep voice only added to the suspense.

"The eye is an Eye of Eylor. A Splugorth bio-magic item. And yes those damn things are alive."

Corvus was still many hours away from regaining his magical energy, otherwise he'd have opened a Dimensional Portal back to Eclipse Station and gotten them all out of there. Parlan and the Trimadore were probably safe in orbit, but the base had now become a very dangerous place to be. There was no telling what the Eye might be capable of. His heart wanted to find these hidden treasures, after all the opportunity had presented itself to him, and he remembered what his great-grandfather said about opportunity.

After studying the directions in the journal, an attempt to reconnoiter the caves via Astral Projection by Harmony and Corvus was made, but the lack of light underground made it impossible to see. So Corvus returned to meditation, while Harmony and Fullak looked after the drowsy Alutan.

THE NEXT MORNING
RESEARCH BASE

The weather broke.

There was still an impressive buildup of clouds, but they weren't nearly as dark as yesterday. Dengar IV's main star wasn't visible and the wind rushed through at 75 k.p.h. bursts, but one could go outside. Corvus contacted Parlan who brought the QUICKSILVER down.

"There it is!" Harmony pointed to a black spot that broke through the clouds. Descending slowly, the craft enlarged until its outline could be clearly seen. The Pleasurer enjoyed the rush she felt from the starship's proximity.

Corvus had kept Parlan updated on their findings via their techno-wizard network. Parlan and the Trimadorean exited the starship.

Corvus nodded towards the underside of the building, now enveloped in snow since the weather shield was down.

"There's a flying disc under all that with a grav-scanner."

"It'd take us days to dig it out. Why don't we use the QUICKSILVER?" Parlan offered. Corvus was persuasive and the young computer whiz saw this as an opportunity too. "You can continue meditating and Fullak, the Trimadorean and I will follow the directions in the journal and clear the ground with the laser cannon. As soon as we find something, we'll call you."

It was agreed and after a short break, the QUICKSILVER took off, leaving Corvus, Harmony and the wounded Tromek behind.

Corvus and the Pleasurer sat back-to-back on a pad on the floor inside the "warm room" which had its own thermostatic settings for the non-Alutans on the research team. The pair sat quietly for several minutes.

Harmony sensed a tenseness in the mage. She understood he would use this situation to prove himself.

"I wanted to tell you I'm really enjoying this," Harmony's voice was soft and nebulous. She meant it, and the words came easily when she didn't have to look him in the eye.

"Oh?"

"Your starship, the trip to Pagoda. This little jaunt out to the edge of space and now this, saving these people. All of them were so relieved to see you, well except maybe Tromek after we found out his little secret."

"Well I planned everything -- except for this part of it. I mean, it's something we all did together, not just for business. I've spoken with spacers at Eclipse Station and heard them talk about distress calls. I felt I was under the same obligation, even though I'm sure they'd be loathe to count me as one of them."

Harmony turned around and kissed Corvus on the neck. She was having second thoughts about her motives for being here. She took comfort in the fact that she hadn't really betrayed the young mage's trust...

"It's just...that...well, I've never done anything like this." Her words came out in the husky whisper which the spatial mage found mesmerizing. "I've always looked out for myself. I've...had some trouble...and usually I just walked away from it, no second thoughts. It's always been easy for me to forget."

Corvus turned around to face her, pulling her close to him. She felt the tenseness in him vanish.

"Well," he said, pressing his forehead against hers, "There's no walking away now. Let's see if we can do something to make you remember this time."

The young mage had never found meditation to be so...rewarding.

Five hours later Corvus' wrist-comm beeped. It was Parlan. With the aid of the ship, they'd located the mining tunnels. Harmony gave the mage back his magic cloak and the pair got dressed. Tromek was still about the same.

The QUICKSILVER returned and picked the pair up, leaving the Trimadore, who had paramedic training to stay with the injured Alutan.

The QUICKSILVER zipped over the frozen landscape and located the golem the craft had left near the spot. The holo-viewscreen showed him standing about 200 feet from an area half melted and caved-in. The tunnel mouth was huge, a twenty foot circle, with everything that had been atop it caved into the huge hole.

The wraithlike astral forms of Corvus and Harmony flew out of the QUICKSILVER and down into the chute. The lighting levels were much better now and they could clearly see the worked stone passage of the underground. They entered and found the Eye sitting atop the stone pedestal, the sword laying nearby. It didn't seem to notice or mind them. Otherwise the place looked empty. Corvus' astral form touched Harmony's and the pair retreated. There was only one way to retrieve the item.

The QUICKSILVER dropped Harmony and Corvus near the golem. The snow was almost waist high in places, which meant it was going to be a short and exhausting march to the tunnel mouth.

A Mystic Portal put them inside the chamber, next to the Eye.

Harmony reached for the Eye, but Corvus stopped her. Once again she sensed the mage's complete calm, as he plucked the orb off the pedestal, brushing away the light layer of frost covering it. The eye popped open, gave him and then Harmony the once over but otherwise did nothing. She sensed something from it, a slight nervousness and regret, before she scooped up the sword at her feet.

A second Mystic Portal returned them to the surface, next to the golem.

Corvus raised the Eye over his head, as Harmony did with the sword, to show the QUICKSILVER which was hovering nearby. Sensing his elation, Harmony smiled at him for a moment, before suddenly turning to look at the QUICKSILVER, then in the opposite direction. The starship had detected something.

Two small, dark outlines silhouetted against the clouds were flying towards them.

"What the devil?" said Corvus after following Harmony's line of sight.

The two Mechanoid Skimmers dropped down, close to the deck for their approach.

"GET DOWN!" Harmony's voice lost its nebulous quality and she barked out the words like a loudspeaker. She tackled the spatial mage as the two flying craft roared a few feet above them. Corvus ate snow.

The QUICKSILVER was moving, angling itself sideways and down towards the three figures on the snowy surface of Dengar IV.

The two Mechanoid Skimmers split and circled back. Their AI's were comparing their scans to the data compiled by the Mechanoid Brain some two centuries previous. The micro-sensors in the stone room weren't sensitive enough to tell what kind of life forms they were, but their own could. These weren't Kittani lifeforms, nor was it a Kittani vehicle. The Skimmers were all that was left of a Mechanoid hunting cadre, left behind to exterminate Kittani explorers who once roamed this portion of space. No action for two centuries and now this had been the second time they'd been called upon in two months. The last Thinman robot had gone down in eliminating the researchers, and the Skimmers had removed all traces of it.

The Skimmer readings registered as human, nearly identical to the last group they'd eliminated. One of the lifeforms was biological but very strange. It matched the larger flying object. No matter, their objective was still the same. The Mechanoids had left them behind to eliminate anyone who took the bait.

"GET TO THE SHIP!" now it was Corvus' turn to yell. He thrust the Eye into Harmony's hands. "NOW!"

She hesitated, watching as the golem let go a few shots with his Energy Expulsion: Light super power. She sensed genuine concern for her well-being from the mage.

"I'll BE FINE! GO!"

Harmony trod off through the thick snow. For once leaving was hard, even with Corvus wanting it so. The golem moved with her, positioning himself between her and the flying attackers.

One of the Skimmers began firing its ion cannons on the QUICKSILVER, which took the hits on its armor. Harmony sensed the ship's discomfort and growing rage. The other attacker concentrated on Corvus.

Before boarding, Harmony watched as the spatial mage stood, arms up, gesturing defiantly towards the airborne attacker.

The Skimmer confirmed its target lock and emptied a full burst at the stationary target, then exploded when its own energy blasts were redirected back upon itself by the mage's magic cloak.

The other Skimmer was no match for the QUICKSILVER. Though more maneuverable, its limited IQ forced it to fight the intruders. The QUICKSILVER took heed that the smaller ship was no match for it. After a short dogfight, the QUICKSILVER cut loose a powerful, well-timed, single blast from its cannon and blew the smaller Mechanoid ship to pieces. Harmony felt the ship's satisfaction as remnants of the Skimmer fell towards the frozen ground.

The ship returned to where Corvus stood. The base was their next stop.

The group had warily approached the base after the attack. While Corvus and Harmony had been underground, the QUICKSILVER had detected several short bursts of radio traffic, undoubtedly what had summoned the Skimmers. There was no telling if others had been dispatched to the base, which meant the Trimadore engineer and the wounded Alutan could be in grave danger. More than likely these attackers had their own, hidden base nearby, and whoever it was didn't want people interfering with their affairs. The QUICKSILVER landed and Corvus, Fullak and the golem, jumped out and quickly went inside. There was no sign of any other attackers.

"Tromek's dead," explained the Trimadore. "He'd been so tired since the accident, that he dozed off and never regained consciousness. I did everything I could."

Corvus detailed the golem to take the Alutan outside and bury him near the others. Once that was done the mage conjured a Dimensional Portal, so they all could immediately return to the safety of Eclipse Station. For once Parlan would be vanishing in a flash of light too.

The only exception was the QUICKSILVER which couldn't fit through the magical gate. Corvus ordered it to return to space and retrace its steps back to Port Eclipse.

"I'll expect you back in forty eight hours," said the spatial mage. The ship acknowledged his request and took off. The mage watched it disappear into the clouds before stepping through the portal to rejoin the others.

Standing by her lonesome on the pseudo-marble, fourth floor of Eclipse Station was Harmony Frost. She wore an almost invisible smile on her face. She'd been listening to what Corvus had told the living starship.

"Forty eight hours?" her voice had regained its ethereal charm. "That means without a starship, you're technically out of business flyboy. What...uh...shall we do in the meantime?"

The Pleasurer then held up the Eye, which was empathic as well. It sensed the young woman's mood and winked at the spatial mage.

Corvus took Harmony by the arm.

"I don't know, perhaps we should meditate on it."

THE END
DESCRIPTION AND DETAILS of the LIVING STARSHIP

The QUICKSILVER is a small starship built from a Gestalt of energy creatures that formed a physical body. From this, they were subjected to superpower induction and gained the abilities described below, creating a living starship that functions without technology or magic, making it an excellent craft to explore the Three Galaxies.

Physically, the ship resembles a throwing dart, with a sharp point and a long, body that tapers into a tri-fin configuration. The entire ship is covered in large chrome scales. The hull (fuselage) is 45 feet long, 9 feet tall and 8 feet wide and can hold approximately 8 people, or reconfigure itself to hold a pair of humanoids and 8.5 tons of cargo. The outer hull can also reconfigure itself and extrude 3 landing struts (also chrome): 1 in the front and two on either side near the middle of ship. The ship has no viewports, windshields or portals and it's ability to project holograms means that everyone in any position can have a clear view of the exterior. In this case the ship has a pair of seats forward, which gives way to an airlock section, then either the passenger cabin or cargo area. The hull can create hatches (similar to iris valves) or large cargo doors to accommodate either people or cargo. The ship can also extrude a single crewman described below. Life support is maintained by the ship, which operates the TW Life Support system to recycle the air to keep things fresh for the crew and passengers.

Travel speed is 1.7 light years per hour for 48 hours, giving it an operational range of 81.6 light years, after which time the ship must recharge (usually for 8 hours) before resuming its flight. This will increase as it gains flight time.

The ship has minimal weaponry (single laser cannon) and a simple area of effect ground defense against intruders when it is on the ground. It is also impervious to laser energy and can channel, store and fire other types of energy, thanks to its Super Energy Expulsion power.

The ship is intelligent enough to fly itself, communicate and utilize it's own navigation and sensor systems to function, enabling the crew to land on a planet then have the ship return to orbit and wait until summoned. FTL sensors are not provided. As a Creature of Magic: Minor the ship can utilize TW devices aboard it.

TW ITEMS ABOARD

The ship cannot generate it's own gravity which means any crew or passengers would be in free-fall during any trips, so a TW Gravity Net (using Area Gravity spell from AU) was fitted to the ship, along with a TW Generator to power it. The ship can control all through Machine Merge and its Creature of Magic: Minor powers or it can be controlled by passengers able to use TW devices. The gravity net also allows the craft to screen itself from gravity, enabling passengers not to feel the forces due to acceleration, and to escape the gravity of a planet or moon. Currently 2G can be screened in this way. The ship also has a TW Life Support system to create and recycle the interior atmosphere.

The new owners plan on adding a pair of TW items: the GALACTIC COMMUNICATOR and a MYSTIC SENSOR UNIT to effect FTL comm and sensors.

Note: all of the TW items can be replaced with their technological equivalents. The ship also has a "porta-potty" ;)

Galactic Communicator -- is a TW item created by Cephus Auctor and NovaTech. This item used the spatial magic spell Dislocated Perceptions and allows the QUICKSILVER to contact Cephus from anywhere. Aboard the ship is also a less powerful unit that allows the ship and crew to communicate via a wireless network with a range of 10,000 miles (again a TW device using Dislocated Perceptions 3rd level).

The Mystic Sensor Unit has not been installed.

CONSUMABLES AND SUNDRIES

Food and water must be brought on aboard and stored for extended trips. In space, typically 2 meals are eaten per person, per day.

HOLOGRAPHIC INTERFACE

The holographic interface allows those onboard to interact with the ship in a "normal" fashion. The interface can create any type of person(s) or alien(s) described to it, and use this as the ship's personality. The ship's Machine Merge capabilities allows it to interface with computers and comm gear so as to be conversant in many areas and to perform some fairly complex tasks. Passengers must provide the data with which to store aboard. In general the ship holds skills equal to 65 in most areas (limited Lore, Medical, Military knowledge) and 98 in both Basic and Advanced Mathematics.

Communicating with the ship while aboard can be done via voice or computer. Check the databanks for any translation programs/translators hooked up to it. Same with the crewman. Remotely, the craft can be communicated with via radio or the TW Wireless link.

BRIEF HISTORY

The Arerri Dr. Vulane, an ex-CAF scientist with experience in inducing superpowers in living creatures, after witnessing an energy creature that could form itself into solid shapes aboard a U.W.W. vessel, took a proposal to the heads of NovaTech (a TW firm in Port Eclipse) for funding and support. Using the principles of a Gestalt (Rifter #10) as the basis, he drew upon the vast knowledge he'd amassed from the Arerri scientific community and the CAF; and was able to build a living starship. The benefits of this were abundantly clear to NovaTech, as regions of space are anti-magical in nature, and at the same time a living creature with a minimum of technology aboard, would be superior to a ship that must be maintained by a staff of engineers and supported by a costly budget.

After creating the hull he induced several powers to make the new creature space worthy (see the craft's Major and Minor abilities) and then suitable to be used by others for transport. After 2 years of secrecy, training and testing, NovaTech took the project public, giving the starship to the youngest member of the Auctor family, in an effort to use the publicity to attract prospects in the U.W.W. (since Corvus Auctor's great-grandfather is a knight of the High King's court) and eventually Arerri licensing interests (since they have the means but not the idea).

Both NovaTech and the Arerri scientific community feel they can produce larger ships with different powers.

MAJOR ABILITIES

Superluminal Flight (FTL) -- impervious to cold, radiation and depressurization. +3 to dodge+3 roll with impact/punch or fall. Ship can fly at 1.2 light years per hour, plus 1D6x0.1 per level after the 1st. Keen sense of direction, Navigate in space at 60. Can find any planet or space coordinate it has ever visited. Can sense when approaching destination.

Machine Merge -- allows the ship to interface with mechanical/electrical equipment, such as a computer or radio.

Bio-Armor -- provides the craft with 200 MDC +20 per level. Chrome Scales over its exterior and smooth metal interior.

Multiple Beings/Selves -- allows the craft to create a single crewman, with a subset of the craft's abilities. This also allows the craft to "create" hatches and cargo doors, for entrance and exit and to shift the interior configuration between cargo and passengers. Crew must remain in the same solar system as the craft. Considered same level as ship.

Holographic Memory Projection -- allows ship to provide holographic interface with crew/passengers.

Super Energy Expulsion -- laser beam, 6000 feet +200 feet per level in space; 3d6 MDC or 1D6x10 +1d6 MDC per level. Absorb energy and shoot it (can take attacks by others and channel it back or at another target, including heat from suns, etc.); Aura Effect can unleash an area effect within 100 feet, 1d6 +1 MDC per level; Impervious to laser beams; Can radiate light like a beacon.

MINOR ABILITIES

Space Native -- allows the craft to survive the space environment for up to 3 days per level. Additionally the ship can survive for up to PEx2 days. The ship absorbs solar energy and radiation. Grants zero-g combat: elite+1 attack+2 initiative+1 to strike parry, disarm, pull punch+3 to dodge.

Flight: Space -- allows speeds up to Mach 4 in normal space. +1 attack+1 on initiative+1 to strike, parry and disarm. +6 on dodge. +1 to roll with impact or fall. Amplified keen vision: can see up to 5 miles in space.

Bend Light -- create a bubble to cause light and lasers to bend around it. Infrared and Ultraviolet vision. Separate the colors of light and Blank Spot.

Extraordinary PE -- fatigues at .1 the normal rate. Adds 80 MDC and 2d4 MDC per level. PE is 30.

Flight: Wingless -- taken x3 (stackable), allows the craft to fly at 600 mph + 60 mph per level in the atmosphere.

Radar -- provides the craft with the ability to detect objects both in space and within the atmosphere. Range is 100/10 miles + 50/5 miles per level in space/atmosphere. FTL tracking is not possible.

Energy Expulsion: Light -- radiate light; Laser beam 2d6 +1d6 MDC per level, range 600 feet. Can attack enemies internally.

Creature of Magic: Minor -- ship has 66 P.P.E.+1 to save Vs magic.

GESTALT STATS

A gestalt of 3 creatures is used to make the QUICKSILVER. Where applicable the ship has the following attributes:

IQ: 12, ME: 12, MA: 12, PS: 20, PP: 12, PE: 30, PB: 20, SPD: N/A (see superpowers)

QUICKSILVER

Current Level 2

MDC 240+80+4 324

Laser Cannon 6400 feet (in space) 640 feet in atmosphere, 3d6 or 1D6x12 MDC damage.

Laser Beam 600 feet, 4d6 MDC. Can split attack.

FTL flight 1.7 light years per hour.

Sublight flight 2800 mph in space, 720 mph in atmosphere. The ship can screen itself from 1G per level to escape into space.

Can survive for 66 consecutive days in space.

IQ 20, PE 30, P.P.E. 66 and no I.S.P.

Crewman or "Golem" -- PS 20 IQ 12, PE 10; Bio-Armor, Bend Light, Energy Expulsion: Light, Machine Merge, Space Native. 324 MDC, 4d6 laser beam, 8 feet tall, no ASP, 3d6 P.P.E. Treated as the same level as the ship.

Passengers & Cargo -- can accommodate 8 people (crowded) or 2 people and 8 tons of cargo. Food and supplies must be provided by passengers.

Maximum level: 6

Months between levels: 6

Approximate Value: 100-200 million credits