One week later.

Kei walked through the city in her street clothes. She was later than she expected, and hoped that she could still find Yuri. Yuri had said she was going downtown, but Kei hadn't heard from her since, and her call to Yuri went unanswered.

Kei stopped at a street corner as a column of armored vehicles passed by. The Hujan army, with a little help from the Lovely Angels, had been able to reestablish order fairly quickly, with not much backlash. Of course, there had been a few demonstrations against the occupation, at least one of which had turned into a riot, but generally the populace accepted the situation and went on about their business. A few of the old timer non-comms among the Hujans were worried that things were too quiet, but agreed that the occupation was pretty good duty so far.

By the time Kei reached the downtown checkpoint, night had fallen. She showed her ID and pass to the two soldiers. As they looked over the documents, Kei saw two more in the guard shack. One of them was scanning the crowd with an infrared scope.

"Here you go, ma'am." The taller soldier handed back her documents. "Things are pretty quiet tonight, but watch yourself. A pretty lady like you, walking all alone, might attract the wrong kind of trouble, so stay away from dark places, OK?"

Kei put her papers back in her pocket. "I'm pretty good at handling the wrong kind of trouble, but thanks. Have you seen another girl, about my age, a little shorter than me, with long, dark hair, come this way a little while ago? Her name's Yuri."

"An offworlder? Kind of flirty?"

"That's her."

"Yeah, she was here about half an hour ago, asking if I knew of a happening night spot. I told her the Red Onion. It's a dance club a few blocks down." The soldier pointed to the west. "It's a pretty popular place with the guys."

"Sounds like her kind of hangout. Thanks." Kei went to find her friend.

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Kei entered the club. It was pretty typical with a large dance floor, a DJ and a bar along one wall. Dance music was playing and a good number of people were on the dance floor. She spotted Yuri right away, having a drink at the bar and looking depressed. Kei idled up. She ordered a vodka martini, and then looked at Yuri. "You know, isn't it usually me that's sitting and staring at the rim of a glass?"

Yuri took another sip from her rum and coke. "Yeah, I guess it usually is."

Kei sat down on a barstool as her drink arrived. She handed the bartender her debit card. "So, what gives?" she asked her friend.

"It's just so depressing. OK, we don't exactly have a stellar reputation at 3WA. OK, we usually cause some damage in the pursuit of our missions. OK, maybe in a few cases, planetary scale damage." Yuri looked at Kei. "But no matter what happened, we always got the bad guy in the end. We finished the mission."

Kei nodded in understanding, taking a sip from her own drink. "Until now."

"Exactly! Now, we're being bailed out by a bunch of mud marines. This sucks."

"Oh, c'mon, it wasn't our fault. Intel probably just got it wrong."

"That doesn't help much." Yuri finished her drink and set her glass down. "Where've you been, anyway?"

"I had sort of a working dinner with Sergeant Shriver."

"Really? Isn't he the cute one from the 87th squad? Spill it, Kei!"

"Uh, weren't you in a horribly depressed funk two seconds ago?"

"Well, when you get a new boyfriend, it's a cause for celebration."

"He's not a boyfriend. We're going on patrol with his group tomorrow and he wanted to go over some things."

"Haven't you noticed, though, that he keeps finding excuses to talk to you?"

"Oh, c'mon." Kei took another sip of her martini as she watched the people on the dance floor. "You know, maybe if you got on the dance floor, it might help your mood."

"Way to change the subject. But," Yuri said, looking around at the people, "you're right." Yuri looked at Kei. "I'll dance if you do."

"What?!"

"Oh, don't be so uptight." She grabbed Kei by the hand and pulled her onto the dance floor.

"Uh, Yuri, you know I hate it when you force me to dance."

The song had finished, and now the newest dance mix, heavy on the base, came over the speakers. Yuri started dancing. "I also know you like it once you get started. Just trust me, OK?"

The song was one of Kei's favorites, and she reluctantly started dancing too. After a few minutes, she was loosening up and getting more into it, trying out some sexier moves along with Yuri. Thirty seconds later, the dance floor was crowding with guys, all trying to get as close to the two girls as possible. Yuri nudged Kei. "See?"

Kei looked around at all the young men, and said to her partner, "Well, this should get you out of your gloom."

As the song was ending, Yuri spotted someone and pointed him out to Kei. "Hey, look! It's Shriver." The young sergeant was at the bar in his army greens enjoying a beer.

"Oh, yeah, so it is."

"Well? Go and say hello."

"We just had dinner together."

"Yeah, army chow at the barracks going over plans and schedules. So romantic. Go and buy him a drink."

"Sure you'll be OK without me?"

"Go!"

Yuri watched as Kei walked over to the bar and talked with the handsome sergeant. After making sure Kei wasn't chickening out, she went back to dancing with her new entourage.

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"Really? You made sergeant that fast?" Kei had indeed not chickened out, and wasn't feeling nearly as nervous as she thought she would.

Shriver nodded. "I've been to college, so that helped. I was promoted to sergeant to fill the vacancy when the old one left."

"Was he transferred? Or retired?"

"Retired. Early. Our platoon was in the Kior asteroid belt."

"Oh." Kei had talked to enough veterans to know that they usually preferred not to talk about their combat experiences. "Sorry." She took another sip from her drink.

"Whoa, I didn't mean retired like that. Gunny made it. He's back home. Just with a few more metal parts in him than he used to have. Anyway, after he left, the LT tasked me with the job. Been playing den mother ever since."

"Do you like it?"

"It's a job. Good duty."

"Whoa!" Kei winced as the music suddenly got louder. She looked over at Yuri, who was talking with the DJ. She had obviously worked her charms on him to convince him to pump up the volume. Kei glared at her. Yuri responded with an innocent shrug as she went back to her admirers.

"I'm not a good dancer."

"Huh?" Kei turned back to Shriver.

"I said I'm not a good dancer, in case you were going to ask me."

"No, no, not to this stuff. This techno-beat is Yuri's choice, not mine." The two were practically shouting to make themselves heard. Kei got up and led Shriver to the other end of the bar, where the music wasn't quite as loud.

Shriver leaned in close. "I know a place a few blocks from here that makes a good local equivalent of coffee. I think they're still having their reopen-for-business celebration."

Kei could feel the music pounding on her skull. "Lead the way."

"Just give me a second."

As Shriver walked over to talk to his corporal, a black man who was one of Yuri's admirers, Kei spoke to Yuri on her implanted communicator as the song ended. "Yo, Yuri."

"Hey. So, things seem to be looking up for you."

"And for you as well. Can't you at least narrow it down to half a dozen?"

"Hey, they're just friends."

"Right. Handsome guy friends."

"Speaking of handsome guy friends, where are you going?"

"Just someplace for coffee."

"You'll be back home by midnight?"

"Yes, mother."

"Because you have to get up early for school."

"Knock it off! You're starting to creep me out."

Yuri giggled. "Just remember we have work tomorrow."

"You too. Bye." Kei signed off as Shriver came back. "Everything OK?"

"Fine, I just passed the word for everyone to be back at the barracks by curfew." He opened the exit door for Kei, and they walked out into the cool night. They turned onto the sidewalk and passed a group of off-duty soldiers. They had walked a few feet when the bomb went off.

Kei felt Shriver fall against her as they were thrown by the blast, and closed her eyes instinctively as she felt the wave of heat. She found herself on the ground, with Shriver's body on top of her. She rolled him off and sat up. A car was on fire, and the car just behind it had been blasted into twisted wreckage. People were lying all around, some of them moaning, some of them quiet. The group of soldiers that Kei and Shriver passed had been hit hard, having been closest to the car bomb when it went off. Kei saw three who were obviously dead, and the rest were on the ground and unconscious. She heard a moan as Shriver came to. He rolled a little and Kei saw a large piece of metal in his back on the lower right side. She rolled him to his side, and noticed his arm flopping, mangled from the blast. His hand and face had burns. "Tim, can you hear me?"

He looked at her and muttered something incomprehensible.

"Just hang on! I've got you." Kei ripped the sleeve from her blouse to use as a tourniquet and tied it around his arm.

"Kei!" Kei looked up to see Yuri running toward her. Other soldiers from inside the club had come out too, and the corporal was shooting orders. "Is that…?

"Yeah. He's still alive, but I don't know for how long. We need help, Yuri!"

Yuri was about to respond when she was interrupted by laser fire. "Sniper!" someone shouted, and everyone scrambled for cover. Kei and Yuri hefted Shriver behind a nearby car. The laser fire was coming from a building across the street. Kei looked around and saw the corporal, behind a concrete bench, clutching his arm. Kei drew her pistol and fired at the building as she scrambled over to him. She ripped off the other sleeve of her blouse and used it as a bandage. The wound didn't look bad.

Kei looked at the corporal. "Can you and your men give us some cover fire?" she said over the sound of laser beams.

"With what, spitballs? We didn't bring any weapons!"

"Kei!" Kei looked at Yuri, her own gun drawn, her other hand pointing down the street. Some soldiers had come and were liberally spraying the building with rounds. Even better, an armored personnel carrier was behind them and its gunner was readying his heavy gun for action.

"Take care of Shriver," Kei ordered the corporal. She looked back at Yuri. "Now's our chance, Yuri! Go!" They ran across the street as fast as they could while the sniper was occupied. They burst into the building and found a stairwell. They cleared the room quickly and started running up. Kei was in the lead. "I saw muzzle flashes from the fifth floor, 4th window from the left."

Yuri was right behind her. "Me, too."

"I guess we have our target, then." They reached the fifth floor and stopped. Kei nodded to Yuri, who opened the door quickly. Kei leaped into the hallway and looked all around. No one. "Clear," she whispered to Yuri, who came in and took the lead. They moved quickly, but on the balls of their feet to keep the noise down. The gun on the APC was now firing explosive rounds, helping to cover their approach. Yuri got to the door and placed herself on one side of the doorway, with Kei on the other side. The door was an old-type with knob and hinges, and it opened inward. Yuri counted with her fingers to three, and Kei kicked the door in.

She saw a crouching figure with a laser rifle at the window. He turned at the sound of the door. He was wearing a dark cloak, and his face was covered by a protective mask and vision goggles. Kei took aim and fired, hitting him in the shoulder. Yuri's shot hit him in the other arm, and he dropped the rifle. Still standing, he fumbled one-handed for something on his belt as the Lovely Angels rushed him. They knocked him down, hard, and Kei grabbed the item. Yuri rolled him and pulled his hands behind his back as Kei held it up to look at it. "Check it out, Yuri," Kei said as she showed it to her. "Grenade."

Yuri had secured the prisoner's arms with a snapline. "He was going to blow himself up?"

"Yeah, and us with him."

The prisoner had started squirming. "Ouch! Let me go! That hurts!"

"Huh?" Yuri pulled the mask off. "No way! It's a kid?!"

The boy couldn't have been more than twelve years old, with brown eyes and a thick head of blonde hair. His hatred was obvious as he spat at them. "Stupid Hujers. Get out of here! This is our planet!"

"Son of a – ow!" Kei flinched as a searchlight brightened up the whole room.

A voice came over a loudspeaker. "You in there! Throw down your weapons and surrender!"

Kei went to the window to give the all-clear signal as Yuri sat the boy up. "Why were you shooting at us?"

"You would have to ask, Hujer. Maybe you think the whole galaxy is yours by right, but not here!"

"We're not Hujans. Now tell us—" Yuri was interrupted by the arrival of armed Hujan soldiers, their guns at the ready. They stopped when they saw Kei and Yuri.

"You two OK?" the lead soldier, a Lieutenant, asked. Seeing their nods and the bound boy, he told his radio man, "Tell Command we're all clear here, and that we're bringing in a prisoner." To Kei and Yuri, he said, "We'll take it from here."

Two soldiers moved in to take custody and they pulled the kid to his feet. "Easy! He's wounded," said Kei.

They marched him out into the hall, where a figure pulled him away and slammed him against the wall. He was the wounded corporal. "You bastard! I lost buddies because of you!"

The lieutenant reacted first. "Corporal, stand down!"

The boy was still defiant. "Go ahead and kill me! I'm not afraid to die!"

"Really?" The corporal put one hand on the boy's neck. It was large enough to wrap almost all the way around it, and the corporal began to squeeze. "What say we find out?"

The soldiers grabbed him and managed to pull him off. The boy collapsed to the floor in a fit of coughing. As the corporal struggled, the lieutenant yelled in his face. "Corporal, I said stand the fuck down! Now!"

Ingrained military discipline kicked in, and the corporal stopped. "Yes, sir," he said with a hard edge in his voice. The soldiers looked at their lieutenant, unsure of whether to let the corporal go or not.

The lieutenant talked in a quiet voice. "Now, we're going to take this prisoner to get his wounds treated, and then we're going to take him to a detention area and get him cleaned up. You're going to go back downstairs and see to yourself and your men. Any problem with that?"

The corporal stood at attention. "No, sir."

"Good." The corporal nodded at his men, who released the corporal's arms. "Now go. Take care of your guys."

"Yes, sir." The corporal went off, and Kei intercepted him.

"Sergeant Shriver! How is he?"

The corporal shook his head. "It's not looking good. The ambulance is down there now."

"Yuri?" Kei looked at her partner, silently asking for permission.

Yuri waved her hand. "Go. I'll stay with the kid."

Kei and the corporal headed downstairs to the street. When they got there, they saw Shriver being loaded onto an ambulance. "I'm going with him," Kei said to the corporal, who nodded and headed toward his men.

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Kei dragged herself back to the Lovely Angel as the sun was coming up. She triggered her communicator. "Mughi, let me in."

The hatch opened, and Kei saw Yuri, still wearing her clothes from the previous night. "Hey."

"Hey. Did you just get in?"

"Ten minutes ago. How's Shriver?" Yuri asked as Kei came in.

"Stable." Kei went into the main compartment and flopped onto the couch. "They had to take off his arm."

Yuri sat down on the couch, too. "Oh, Kei. I'm sorry."

Kei was looking at the ceiling. "Yeah." After a short silence, she said, "Chivalry."

"Huh?"

"Shriver put himself between me and the street. His father probably taught him to do that, to show proper respect to a lady, you know, how some cultures do? That way, when the bomb went off, he was between me and the blast."

"Kei…"

"That way, when the bomb went off, all I got were a few scratches and he got a bunch of shrapnel in his side, second degree burns, and an arm that is now in a bio-waste container." Kei shook her head, still staring at the ceiling. 'Stupid."

Yuri didn't know what to say.

Kei finally turned and asked, "Did you get anything from the kid?"

"A lot of threats about how his crew was going kick our asses back to the Hujan homeworld."

"Confident little twerp."

"He may have reason to be. Did you hear about the other attacks?"

Kei sat up. "What other attacks?"

"I guess you didn't. All over the city, and in a few others. All in the past ten hours, all targeting Hujan soldiers. Snipers, bombings, assassinations. The whole military's in an uproar."

"Whoa. Coordinated attacks. Someone's been planning this."

"Looks like the rebuilding of Ikaria is going to be tougher than people thought."

"Wonderful. What the hell have we gotten ourselves into?"

The communications monitor beeped. Yuri went to check it. She came back in a few minutes. "That was the chief. He wants us back at headquarters."

"What, is he afraid for our safety? He knows we can take care of ourselves!"

Yuri shook her head. "It's not that. Apparently, he's found something."