ONE VISION Author's Notes Mar 23 1993 0113 hrs (0613 GMT) What you hold in your hands or on your disk space is my spin-off (hopefully not the last) of the great epic Undocumented Features. Truly, a grand epic indeed. There are quite a few reasons why I decided to write a spin-off. One of them is, personally, I wanted to write something in this storyline for a while... even at least give creative consultation to the crew. Alas, my input wasn't used... but at least it was acknowledged. (Read: I didn't get enough action and/or lines to satisfy my ego, so I'm taking over for a while.) Originally, the story was going to last six months, using the eighteen-month break in the story. However, upon further research and decisions, the timeline brings it to the larger break (especially since I become a Detian-Human mix before this story takes place). It would also make the story a bit more believable, in my opinion. Not very much real research went into the creation of this story... merely reskimming UF 1-3 and going over game stats and such and past ideas that I didn't get to use... not a hell of a lot of work. The writing is actually the tough part. And now... some thanks... To mom and dad... without whom this story (nor any of my other works) would exist... come to think of it, neither would I. To WPI... for giving a rather decent setting for the start of UF... and to help my mind expand beyond the limitless bounds I had already set... To David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Nick Mason, Rick Wright, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Frank Beard (the guy without one), Kate Bush, Tommy Shaw, Ted Nugent, the rest of the Damn Yankees (whatever their names are), Freddy Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and the other guy from Queen, and WZLX... for bringing music into my life and showing me that life is not what it appears to be all the time... and for inspiring me in many ways... To Jen Sheehy... the young woman I lusted after in high school... (well it's gone now, anyways) the first person to read my real works... thanks for taking part, Jen... To the Zoo Crew (Larry, John, Dunk, Kat, Iain, Mike and Jai)... even though you guys don't appear in here, you've had an effect on me that will come out here in the story... thanks for being there... To Colleen... my soul sister... who supported me quite often with her words of wisdom in the Alabaman drawl of hers... can't thank her enough for helping me through my early-life crises... To Jackie... the young woman who's been giving me kicks in the pants for the past few months... the one who ordered a tape of my guitar playing... the young woman who got $30 worth of roses for V-Day 93... scadian... babe... a best friend that will be sorely missed when contact is lost... To Lizaroo... another best friend... we helped each other out a while back... To Julia... who never really took me seriously, I don't think... and put up with all of my shit back in the Wedge. And speaking of the Wedge, thanks to the WedgeRats... (Fritz, Kevin, Mark, Xine, you know who all of you are... except Jay... go away...) Thanks to Laura... my first real love... who showed me love has no real bounds... and who loved me as I am... this one's especially for her... And last... thanks to the Crew of UF... Ben 'Gryphon' Hutchins, Brian 'Zoner' Bikowicz, and Rob 'ReRob' Mandeville... who knew that those weird dreams, anime, Gummy Bears and everything else about Worst Place Imaginable would be such a hit? Thanks to the readers who made this worthwhile... if it wasn't for your support, none of this would have gone past the first group of postings... 4/9 0950hrs On 4/7, I was suffering from hyperinsomnia... 1 hour's sleep in a total of about 48... felt good, sharp, and comfortably numb... and I wrote Chapters 3 & 4. Hoorah... Today, I plan on doing Chapter 5, somehow... I'm still not sure what to put in as yet, but maybe something will come up during lunch... hopefully not the fajitas... Personally, I'd like to put this whole thing off until next week, but I want to get this done so I can start my next UF series, The Search Years. Besides, Gryph, Zoner, ReRob and Laura would like to read this... More later... 5/11 I forget when I uploaded everything to the titan mainframe here at UMass... I'm going to download my new work back onto disk so I can work on it over the summer. A couple more thanks I'd like to give... To Sheila over in Scotland... for letting me get my frustrations out... 'nuff said about those... To Paula... my current gf... she's way over there in Waterloo, Ontario... but she's something special... she's cute, funny, intelligent, warm, caring... she loves me... I love her... she's helping me get through life... one day at a time... thanks for being around, minun rakas... minun kukka... mina rakastan sinua aina (sorry, but it's Finnish... she's teaching it to me) more later... prob over the summer 5-13 Well it's done... as of like 30min or so ago... so... now what? A break before the Search Years... got it done before finals too... yippee!!!! so... it felt great writing it... felt better finishing it... thanks to everyone above again for making this possible and for having an effect on my life... CAST OF CHARACTERS Pfloyd/Adam/Me Adam Johnson Gryphon Ben Hutchins Zoner Brian Bikowicz Kei Kei Morgan Yuri Yuri Daniels Mughi Mughi ReRob Rob Mandeville Lord Fahrvernugen Baron Lord Wolfgang Amadeus Fahrvernugen Miko Mariko Harimoto Capt Montroc Torie Montroc Holly Holly Vaughn Vaughn Gross Laura Laura Davis Kim Kimberle Roan GENOM Troops J Random Soldiers Air Force Pilots J Random Pilots General Hildebrandt J Random REMF Air Force CO Biker Gang K Random Biker Gangs (Not J) Paula Paula Kalijarvi, or at least a reasonable facsimile thereof ONE VISION Production Notes Software Notes: The original text of this document was started with Lifetree Software's Volkswriter Deluxe on an ancient (first model) Data General One portable PC. The text was then uploaded to a DECsystem 5500 and DECsystem 500/240 mainframe formatted with ULTRIX (Unix-Lite), where it was completed using Emacs. The output drafts were printed on DEC LPS40 and Xerox 4213 laser printer systems. The LaTeX version (which will be available in the Fall of 1993) will be produced on LaTeX version 3.14t3. The documents were written and printed at KuroTsubasa Publishing, Ltd, at its 604A Cashin Hall, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, and 19 Vassar St, Worcester, MA offices, from October 1992 to May 1993. Visual Effects by Your Brain on Drugs, Inc TC Trip, Ltd Costumes/Wardrobe by The Gap Various Army/Navy surplus stores Why Me, Lord? Ltd I'm God and That's Why, Ltd Hammer Logo by Gerald Scarfe and Roger Waters Vehicles by British-AnimeTech Ltd Vroom Inc Destruction by TC Trip, Ltd Blow Up Real Good Inc Cool Neo-TechTronic Things by British AnimeTech Ltd Matrix Etc Music by The Faith Here Comes Trouble The Troublemakers Cthulhu's Pizza Screenplay by Adam Johnson KuroTsubasa Publishing, Ltd From an Original Story by Benjamin D Hutchins Brian D Bikowicz Rob Mandeville Crazy Diamond created by Adam Johnson, while looking at a small model of a ship from Star Blazers that was never seen in the first two seasons Detians created by Joe Martin Monokatanas created by Adam Johnson, with help from CyberPunk 2020 Holly Shamelessly but oh-so-intentionally Stolen from Red Dwarf Kei and Yuri created by Haruka Takachiho BodySlide concept stolen from Cable of X-Force Publishing by KuroTsubasa Publishing Ltd, with help from University of Massachusetts University Computing Services Additional Editing by Paula Kalijarvi Counselor for Author Paula Kalijarvi Laura Davis Sheila (Goldenwing/Ariana) Tanya Saari Dawna MacIvor Kat Witbek Iain Babeu Larry Joyce Catering by UMass Food Services (users of the now-famous OmniMeat [tm]) Worcester Munchy Store DP Dough (good calzones) Maruchan (ramen cups) Parents (for stocking my larder here) Inspiration from Ben, Zoner, Rob, Laura, Paula, the Zoo Crew, my first year at UMass, CP2020, Time Lords, so much anime... Hassle from a very slow DG One the Ultrix mainframe losing connections to the library terminals final exams stress lack of a real life Special Letter Bombs to The guy who decided to have 8am classes a daily rigueur Nevyn for being a total putz Special 5-Kiloton Bomb to The construction crew outside my dorm for starting work between 6.30 and 7am every day Entertainment Provided by FurryMuck Darkwing Duck Tiny Toons Batman various anime The Zoo Crew My Guild Madeira acoustic guitar Quantum Leap Cheers The Simpsons Seinfeld All of my tapes and CDs Blackadder Red Dwarf Role Model Me... who else? A Bad Dream Production A Virtual Non-Film Copyright 1993, by Adam Johnson and KuroTsubasa Publishing Ltd ONE VISION Official Soundtrack Listing Shine On You Crazy Diamond (I-V) Pink Floyd CHAPTER 1 Running On Faith Eric Clapton (Unplugged) Lenny Stevie Ray Vaughan Welcome to the Machine Pink Floyd CHAPTER 2 House Is Rockin Stevie Ray Vaughan One Vision Queen I Want It All Queen CHAPTER 3 Headlong Queen Childhood's End Pink Floyd Come Again Damn Yankees CHAPTER 4 Home Roger Waters The Bravery of Being Out of Range Roger Waters CHAPTER 5 Wots... uh the Deal Pink Floyd Life Without You Stevie Ray Vaughan Three Wishes Roger Waters CHAPTER 6 In Every Stranger's Eyes Roger Waters Tell It ZZ Top Wham Stevie Ray Vaughan CHAPTER 7 Comfortably Numb Pink Floyd Who Wants to Live Forever Queen Change It Stevie Ray Vaughan CHAPTER 8 Learning to Fly Pink Floyd Scuttle Buttin Stevie Ray Vaughan Silent Lucidity Queensryche CHAPTER 9 Run Like Hell Pink Floyd CHAPTER 10 Little Wing (SRV version) Jimi Hendrix/SRV I'm Bad I'm Nationwide ZZ Top Arrested for Driving While Blind ZZ Top Stages ZZ Top CHAPTER 11 You're My Best Friend Queen CHAPTER 12 All Lovers Are Deranged David Gilmour Doubleback ZZ Top ONE VISION An UNDOCUMENTED FEATURES Spin-off by Adam 'pfloyd' Johnson << Shine On You Crazy Diamond I-V, Pink Floyd >> CHAPTER 1 Pfloyd stared out of the observation deck bay window, looking out amongst the stars that surrounded him. The workings of the Utopia Planitia Naval Shipyard were in the lower field of his vision, but he didn't pay any attention to the ships being constructed in their dry docks. His attention was on a different bearing. He was looking toward home. The Wandering Child SDF-17 was his home for nearly two and a half years now, and he dealt with that reality rather well. He was thinking of Earth. He sat there like he did for an hour every morning, meditating and thinking of Terra, his home, his friends and his life. << Running on Faith, Eric Clapton >> Right now, his life was amongst the stars, his friends the members of the Wedge Defense Force. He was given the rank of major in the WDF, and given leave to take command of a unit of his own design... The Hammers. The Hammers were elite strike team members who would pilot Cyclones, Veritechs and other Mecha specially designed for elite covert activities and operations. He was designing the team to consist of 52 members: himself, an XO at the rank of Captain, and five team of ten, each headed by a lieutenant or senior sergeant. Out of the 52 that he wanted, he only had 17, including himself and his XO. One and a half teams were created, but he had fiddled with placement slots. The qualification training and tests proved to whittle out most of the promising prospects. No matter, it would all be handled sooner or later. He resumed his meditating. Gryphon bounded through the deck on his way nowhere-inparticular-really from his room. He wasn't scheduled for duty for another couple of hours, and he didn't really feel like going out for a joyflight. Kei was busy in the Combat Training Deck, going through the "Hogan's Alley" program the she, Yuri and pfloyd help design. He tried it a few times, but found that he wasn't very good at it just yet. Kei and Yuri blew it away with a nearly perfect score, with the Hammers coming in with above ninety percent, nearly a third better than Gryph. Nevertheless, he bounded through the halls to relieve the boredom. He came upon pfloyd, dressed in the all-black duty uniform that only the Hammers were privileged to wear. "Hey, floyd," he said, plopping himself down onto a comfy deck chair. "Gryph..." Gryph leaned over to look at his friend. Usually it was the opposite, pfloyd being carefree and happy-go-lucky and Gryph being the grump. But now, pfloyd was the depressed one. "You all right?" "Sort of... just feeling down again." "Ah. Hmmmm... " "Gryph, we've been at space for a while now... we've been kicked off of Earth, and told never to return or we'll be destroyed. We've had a major war versus Coyle and Largo. We've met a couple of alien races." "Uh huh... what're you getting at?" "All that aside, I'm homesick." "So aren't we all. But we have nowhere to go but here. So we have to deal." "Trust me, Gryph, I'm dealing as best as I can... but I feel kinda lost out here." Gryph stood up and walked next to pfloyd and looked out. "I know how you feel. I feel like I lost something very precious to me." "Oh yeah?" "My mother was in Worcester when it got nuked." "Doesn't match me." "Hey look, I loved my mother. Sure we had out fights, but she was great!" Gryph started to raise his voice. "You don't know the half of it with me." pfloyd did too. "Oh yeah? And what did you lose in the blast?" Gryph yelled. Kei and Yuri were walking into the lounge when pfloyd let loose with both barrels and full tubes, each Dutch-loaded with shot and slug. "I lost my home, my family, my computer, my comics, my music, and most importantly MY ENTIRE FUCKING LIFE AT HOME!!!!!!!!" Gryph actually jumped back a few steps. He had never known pfloyd to blow up like this unless he was really upset about something. << Lenny, Stevie Ray Vaughan >> Pfloyd turned away from Ben and hung his head against the window. It actually sounded like he was starting to cry. Kei came up behind him. She let out a hand and put it on his shoulder. Pfloyd shrugged it off, then realized who it was. She was more successful this time, as she drew closer to him, putting her other hand on his other shoulder now. She closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder too. Ben didn't know what to think. He had made some very good points as to why he should be upset. Ben had lost his mother... pf lost his entire life back home. He had very little he could actually call his own. Only what he had with him in the portable cargo plane he called a rucksack and what was in the kipple at E7 was brought here. Everything else was synthesized. Pfloyd turned and saw Kei looking back at him. Her eyes were moist, too, since she felt very sorry for him. She didn't know what he was going through, as she didn't have "parents," really. But she knew he was very upset. She drew him into a hug, not a romantic one, but a supportive one. Adam returned it. He needed something to hold onto right now. Kei stroked the back of his head through his longish blond hair. He buried his face into her shoulder. She whispered into his ear, trying to calm him down. Ben watched this, his eyes still wide open from when he was blasted by pfloyd. He understood his point. Hell, he felt it too. He wanted to go back home and see his friends. But he couldn't. Deal. Pf let up and raised his head from Kei's soft shoulder. He looked back into her eyes and saw that she cried too. She considered pfloyd to be a rather good friend. They shared many interests, mainly combat equipment and techniques. He knew enough not to try and initiate anything between them, since she was Gryph's love. Besides, he still had emotional ties to Laura back on Earth, whom he may never see again. It was now that pf knew that he must go for his plan. Or die trying. ONE WEEK LATER Kei and Ben were snoozing together in the darkened area on the SDF-17 known as the Wedge. In fact, it was the actual Wedge from the now-nicely-exploded-and-radiating WPI campus. A shadow moved over them, barely making any sound whatsoever. It clung to the ceiling exactly the same way that DAKA pudding did. It stopped to look at the pair as they dozed. They moved lightly against each other, feeling each other's comfort. The shadow reached out for another support as it hung upside down from the ceiling. It didn't quite make it. Whatever the shadow was, the noise from its impact on a WedgeTable woke both Ben and Kei from their nap. "Huh? Wazzat?" Ben slurred. "Goddamn tactile grips. Gotta talk to ReRob about those." "Pfloyd?" Kei asked? Pf slid the mask away from his face and down his neck. He looked over to the redhead and nervously smiled. "Sorry, guys. I was just testing out this suit's capabilities." "What suit?" "This one." He stood and modelled it. "ReRob and I worked on it. It's called the ShadowSuit. All the specs are in the ship's computer." Ben walked around pf, taking a look and the slightly baggy outfit. It was all black, and it covered pf from toe to neck (his mask was still around his shoulders). "You'll have to brief us on this sometime, pf," Ben said as he sat back down next to Kei. "Could and would, but can't." "Why not?" "Because... I'm taking a leave of absence for a while." "How long?" "About two years or so." Ben stood back up. He looked at pf. "Two years. Where do you plan on going?" "Home." "Why?" "Personal reasons." "Laura, right?" "Part of it, yeah." "You still love her." "Of course I do." "Don't you still spend part of your time with Lt Harimoto?" "Mariko... the lieutenant and I do share personal time together, but there are hardly any real emotional ties between us." "Two ships that keep passing each other every night." "Ben, stay out of my private life. I stay out of yours." "Fair enough. Now the big question is... how?" THE NEXT MORNING Pf, Kei, Yuri, ReRob, Ben and Zoner stood at the open gantry-way in the shipyards. They were about to tour pf's new ship. They hadn't seen any design like it before. It was large enough to be a scout destroyer. Its primary color was navy blue, with white on the bow-mounted pulsar cannon muzzle, bridge and engine sections. "Looks like something out of Star Blazers, almost," Zoner said, looking up and down its lines. "Lord Fahrvernugen's people found it several light years away, adrift and abandoned in orbit around a small moon. It took them three months to rework it to my specifications." "He did all that for you?" "Uh huh... I just owe him a big personal favor later. Doesn't matter, I have the rest of my life to grant it to him, and being a Detian now, that's a bloody long time." The group waited by the bay for the shuttle to take them over. It was now nearly half an hour late. "Let's get this going here," Yuri said, "I'm very anxious." Pf flipped open a small communicator unit and set the mini headset on his head. He adjusted the microphone so it was near his mouth. He keyed a few buttons and then spoke. "Holly, bodyslide, six to board, bridge." "Right, floyd... sliding," he heard in the earpiece. The static hum of the transporter field activating around them filled their ears as they were beamed onto pf's bridge. "Welcome to the Crazy Diamond, ladies and gentlemen," pf announced as he removed the headset. << Welcome to the Machine, Pink Floyd >> Ben turned to pf and uttered only one word, somewhat sarcastically, but definitely as a question. "Holly?" "Yes, Gryphon?" said a somewhat disembodied voice. "Oh god..." Gryph said almost to himself, choking back a laugh. "You didn't." "I did. You didn't get Holly for the Child, so now he's on the Diamond." "You get Lister and Rimmer as crewmembers too?" "No. The only crew member is going to be me. Everything is under Holly's control." "So long, Adam, it's been nice sharing space with you." "I'm serious. This Holly is a lot better than the Red Dwarf one." "Thanks heaps, floyd," Holly said, his middle-aged face appearing on a viewscreen. "You told them to make me exactly like the one on the show." "Whatever, it's nice to have you here, Hol," pf responded. "Tell me again, floyd," Zoner asked, "why are you leaving?" "Well, I want to pick a few things up, see a few people, and get away for a while. I need some space." Zoner raised his eyebrows. "Good points." "Right... now can I show you this ship before lunch?" They took the turboshaft down to pf's quarters level. "The Barrett class of scout destroyers is going to be rather successful, I think," pf said. "Class?" Gryphon asked. "Oh yes. Lord Fahrvergnugen said that it would make a great class. We've already planned the first six ships after this one." "What are they called?" Yuri asked, out of sheer curiosity. "The Eric Fletcher Waters, the Darkside, the Ummagumma, Childhood's End, Palladium and Guinness. It's all started and their keels have already been laid." "Um, Floyd, do you really think this is such a great idea? Going back home, I mean?" Gryphon asked again. Pf sighed and looked down at his feet. "I really need to do this. I have to talk to her, let her know I still love her. Plus there are some things I want to pick up." The turboshaft doors opened at Deck 7. Pf led everyone to his quarters, which were spacious indeed. From his personal terminal, he printed the specifics on the Barrett class and the Diamond. "BodySlide unit? What's that?" Zoner asked. "It's a form of transporter." "We don't have them... how did you get one?" "It was built into the ship itself. All we know is how to activate and use it, to an extent. We don't know how to build it." "Good weaponry... cloaking device?" "Again, built into the ship. Different than our own prototypes." "HoloDecks?" "Built in," they both said, simultaneously. "Nice ship... why are you taking all these vehicles?" "Why not? Most of them were just lying around, so I'm going to put them to some use." "When are you planning on leaving?" Kei asked with a sigh. She was a bit sad to see such a valued member of the WDF (ego again, dear readers) leave. "In a week. I've already moved my stuff onboard, so I'll be living here, just so I can get the feel of it. It'll take me 36 days to reach Earth." "We can't let it go like this... " Gryphon added. "We gotta throw a party." "Oh joy," pf said, "like don't celebrate my leaving too much." "It's not for your leaving... it's a bon voyage party... to wish you luck," Kei returned. "We're going to miss you? How long are you going to be gone?" "Two years. Captain Montroc can handle the Hammers for that long. He's handling everything right now as it is..." Zoner looked at his watch. "We have to go back. Thanks for the tour." "Anytime," pf answered as everyone left. He sat back in his desk chair and turned down the lights and cued up some music. CHAPTER 2 It was 1700hrs, less than 18 hours until launch-time. The entire Wedge Defense Force had assembled in a vastly huge room, for the send-off. << The House Is Rockin', Stevie Ray Vaughan >> Pf himself was dressed in casual clothing. He left all of his uniforms on the Diamond, and was enjoying the drinking, singing, dancing and pure jocular revelry of the whole party. He also had a wee bit too much to drink. After downing several largish Gummy Bears, two shots of straight SoCo, half a bottle of vodka and several glasses of spiked punch, he was only suffering from a mild buzz. He had another Gummy Bear in his hand and was rapidly polishing it off when he glanced over at a drunk Kei, who was hanging off of the shoulder of an equally drunk Gryphon, who was talking to an even drunker Zoner, who was the only thing holding up a totally wasted Yuri, who had ingested nearly five times the alcohol pf had. He had survived the numerous rounds of toasts (at current count, 194) and jokes made at his expense (too many to count). Right now, he wished he was back in his cabin, resting up for the next morning's ceremony and launch. He glanced over at Vaughn, who hadn't touched a drop at all. The only sober guy here, he though. Even Lord Wolfie (for that was what pf had been calling him in his mind since the drinking began some four hours ago after a light lunch) was blotto. The last few rounds of drinks (served at about 2200 hours, after the rest of the bar had closed, due to a combination of orders and a complete lack of alcohol on supply anymore) was champagne, good stuff at 55 years old, followed by 300-year-old brandy and cigars, for those who wanted them. Pf declined the smokes, preferring to munch on a few sausages instead. Mariko had been at his side most of the night, only lightly tipsy, not bombed like everyone else. She had whispered into his ear, and he smiled. He wasn't sure what she said, but he agreed to whatever it was. THE NEXT MORNING... THE HANGOVER AND WELCOME TO IT... Actually, he didn't have a hangover when he woke up. In fact, he had an arm draped over him. He was still wearing his jeans, Reeboks and his favorite Roger Waters T-shirt (the white KAOS one with the hammers on the back)... but there was this arm on his chest. He looked at it and followed it up to the shoulder of one Mariko Harimoto. She was still clothed, much to his relief, but she was still asleep. He looked at the clock and saw that it read 0642. He quickly yet delicately placed the arm at her side and got up and headed for the shower, with the thought "Three hours until launch..." running through his mind. He stood in front of the mirror, dressed in his full dress uniform that he had designed for the Hammers (with Trish's help, thanks to her). The black beret with the crossed hammers pin was perched on his head at the correct angle. His black tunic, with its hammers logo shoulder patch and rank insignia, was spotless. He looked at himself. It had been two years since he was thrown into space. He looked good. He had lost a lot of weight, dropping over 50 pounds, putting him at an even 210, with a lot of muscle behind it. The hell with genetics, he thought. The Detian modification helped him lose it all. Mariko had already gone when he got out of the shower, so he was alone. Alone and ready. He picked up his sheathed monokatana and slid it into his belt at his left hip, edgeside up. He marched dutifully out of his quarters. 0930 was the time set for the launch ceremony. Lord Fahrvernugen made a brilliant speech, despite his large hangover. His words filled the WDF with pride, especially pf, since it was his day. Ten minutes until launch, most of the major crew lined up at the gangway to the Diamond. Pf looked at them all and smiled at them. He said his farewells to the 'Rats and the technical crew before stopping at Wolfgang's feet. "Major, make us proud," was all he said to pf. Pf thanked him and bowed, as a samurai would do to a lord. He then walked to the main five. "ReRob, thanks again for helping me with the Diamond." ReRob gave his usual curly-q salute, replying "No problemo. I loved working on it all." He stopped at Zoner. "Sorry I'm leaving you with all this. It's something I gotta do." "It's nothing, floyd. Just get me the stuff on the list." "It's a deal." He shook Zoner's hand and saluted him as well. He came to Gryphon, who was dressed in his Eight-Ball uniform. "Good luck with the squadron and all. I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to dogfight." "We will. I know you'll be back, floyd. You always do show up." He gave Gryph a handshake and a salute as well as a thumb's up. Next was Yuri, who showed sadness in her eyes. He hugged her and gave her a peck on the cheek. He whispered his good-byes into her ear and then went to Kei. Mughi had given him five and smiled. Pf scritched him behind the ears before turning to Kei. "Kei, I wanted to thank you for what you did back at the observation booth. It meant a lot to me." "I would have done it to anyone. You just seemed to have needed it." They hugged each other, and Kei also got a peck on the cheek. Kei went to a small platform and retrieved a wrapped box and gave it to pf. "A going away present. Open it when you're underway." He stood at the edge of the gangway, pausing for a moment. He then turned, snapped to attention. Someone called everyone to attention, and pf saluted them all. They all returned the gesture likewise. He then turned and marched down the walkway. Five minutes later, pf was on the bridge looking out of the main viewport at the stars. Thirty-six days, he thought to himself, thirty-six days of absolute isolation. I asked for this, I got it. Holly was already priming the maneuvering thrusters and counting down. In four minutes thirty two seconds, the docking latches will disengage and they will be off. Pf decided to open the package Kei had given him. He opened the box and lifted out a small crystal. It was flat on the top and bottom, the top also having a circular indentation. The sides were cut and carved. The bottom read, To Adam... Best journeys and luck ahead... You will not be forgotten K,Y,G,Z,R A note inside the box told him to press the WDF symbol etched into the side. He did so, and a two-foot-high hologram of Kei, Yuri, Gryphon, Zoner and ReRob (with Mughi in the background, of course) emanated from the indentation. He smiled and deactivated the hologram and set it at his captain's station. Two minutes eleven... ten... nine read the countdown. Holly was ready. Pf was ready... everything was ready. He had wondered why Mariko had not been at the ceremony. She was probably too upset to see me leave, he thought. One minute... fifty-nine seconds... fifty-eight... pf stood firm at his post, ready to give the order... << One Vision, Queen >> Ten seconds... the docking latches released the ship and pulled away, leaving the Diamond floating in space... Five... four... three... two... one... zero... << first guitar chord in One Vision >> Holly fired the thrusters and the Diamond began to move. Pf stood firm and saluted the station as it passed by. A tear formed in his eye as he saw the group standing at the observation lounge on the station. When they were clear of the station, pf ordered half sub-light speed until they were out of the system. Pf was settling into the captain's chair and getting used to flying out into space on his own. After all, it's not every day you get to do this. "What's happening, dude?" Holly asked, his face appearing on the bridge terminal screen. "Nice launch, Holly... I couldn't have done it better myself." "Thanks. It was nothing. I just thought you might like to know we have a stowaway on board." "What?" "I told you it was nothing." "Holly, why didn't you tell me before we launched?" "You didn't ask." "Holly..." "She just made herself noticeable." "She? Where is she?" "Hanger deck. You can't miss her." "Thanks Holly, I'll deal with it." Pf removed his outer jacket and beret and ran out of the bridge. He caught a turboshaft down to the hanger. On the way down, he drew his Glock 2000 and chambered a round. He didn't know if the person would be armed and/or dangerous, so he took the best option. The doors opened and he threw himself out, landing in a tight shoulder roll the brought him behind one of the shuttles. Keeping the gun raised and level, he cautiously circled the shuttle and looked around the hanger. He heard a noise over by one of the Veritechs, so he walked over there, cautiously. "Okay, the game's over. Come out of there with your hands up and you won't get hurt." The stowaway did exactly as he said. "Miko?" "I couldn't stand losing you... not after what we've been through." Pf reholstered his gun and she put her hands down. "You know this could be considered desertion." "I didn't want you to go." "Miko... we had this talk before. I have to go." "Why? Because of another woman?" "Exactly. Back home, there's a woman that I love. And I want to go back to see how she's doing. Can't you understand that?" "You're leaving me." "Yes and no. I'm only going to be gone two years. You can wait, can't you?" "I don't know." She started to cry. "If you end up seeing someone else, I understand. Please, take a shuttle and go back. I can't take you." She cried some more, holding her arms against herself. "Please?" She looked up and nodded, still letting tears stream down her face. He led her to Syd, the number four shuttle and watched her go. He felt bad about not bringing her, but this was not for her. It was for him and him alone. "What now, floyd?" "Holly, set course for home... standby for warpspeed." "Aye aye... ahead groove factor five!" << I Want It All, Queen >> CHAPTER 3 NOTE: From now on, the story will be written from first person. I write better this way, as I can get my thoughts down in a better manner. If I use someone else's thoughts, I'll mark it somehow... you'll know when. DAY 14 Two weeks out into space, and I'm feeling okay. I've been using the HoloDecks as a training hall, bringing my combat skills to sharp relief. I thought I was good before, but now I'm better. I've picked up Aikido at a tremendous rate, and my swordsmanship's improved dramatically. I've also been running joyflights out into space just to work the kinks out. Simulators can only go so far, you know? Anyways, I'm out flying my jet black Veritech (you know, the one with the Hammers logo painted onto the wings and tail vanes) through this asteroid field at full throttle. Holly's cruising at sublight while I take my flight. I'm jinking around this huge rock when all of a sudden, I get pounced on by six radically-painted fighters. They attack me with everything they've got... which isn't really saying anything, mind you. Mostly laser pistons and missiles they're still carrying on their racks. I pull up and perform a nasty little Immelman maneuver out of the belt. The jokers follow me, still firing. Their choice... their funeral... << Headlong, Queen >> I pull a split-S combined with a modified yoyo and come up behind one of them. At this range, I don't even waste a missile... I open up with my nose lasers with a couple of short bursts from the GU-11 gunpod. making short work of him. His fireball travels right into the tail section of the guy in front of him, and causes some nasty damage. I finish it off with some more 30mm HEI (High Explosive Incendiary) from the pod before dipping back into the belt. Ten seconds into combat and I've taken two of them out without getting hit or using a missile. I fly through the bottom of the belt and come up again, this time further back... like about ten kilometers. I get the lock-on before they even know where I am, and fire a missile, taking another one down. I decide to fire three more missiles at another target, as it's a difficult shot. Boom. Boom. Boom. Another one bites the dust. Guess it wasn't so difficult. I dip back down into the belt and wait. The two that are left circle back and skim the belt looking for me. I launch and take one more out. And another one gone... The last guy circles back just as slip above the rocks. He's coming straight at me. I'm going straight at him. We both open up with all of our guns... I barely made it back. I caught a lot of damage in the starboard engine, port wing, most of the tail is gone, missile racks were ejected... I made a nice landing though... almost crashed into one of the Pig shuttles. I climbed out of the cockpit and looked at my Veritech. Carbon scoring everywhere, the flat black finish marred into charcoal by laser fire. Fuck, I said... they put up a good fight though... when I didn't catch them off guard. "Holly... get the skutters working on this... I'm going to take a shower..." The next morning, I put six crossed hammer marks under the canopy of my newly-repaired Veritech. DAY 26 By now my new schedule had been followed... here it is... 0630 Get up; 30min meditation 0700 Morning workout 0800 Shower; dress; breakfast 0900 Morning workout 2: physical fitness, light combat 1200 Lunch 1300 HTH training: sword, unarmed, various weapons 1700 Flight 1800 Shower; dinner 1930 Leisure time 2400 Bed Sometimes I take another flight during my evening leisure time... other times I program the HoloDeck to punch up what I call a "recreational combat" program... usually something in the Sprawl setting from CyberPunk... or some jungle combat... whatever I want... Tonight, I'm thinking of home... and why I'm doing this... am I just following a crazy dream, or will there be a pot of gold at the end of my rainbow? << Childhood's End, Pink Floyd >> I think about Laura and how she'll react. I'm expected some bad craziness from her... she worries too much, but I can see why she'd worry on this. But I've been away for two and a half years... I'll be arriving in time for her summer break. We'll have the entire summer... Maybe... I'm putting a very large 'if' into this... Maybe I'll just stay on Earth if things work out... maybe I'll ask her to come with me... Maybe I should just shut up and go to bed. Life... it's not that simple... if it's an equation, how come it can't be derived simply? DAY 34 Two more days and we'll be in Earth's orbit. Holly just told me that we're passing Neptune. Oh yay. I'm already prepping everything... And I'm finding myself standing in front of a hologram of Laura, plucked right from my mind. << Come Again, Damn Yankees >> God... I've missed her... I keep wondering what I'm going to do when I see her again... and what she'll do... Will she embrace me and cry into my shoulder? Will she deck me? Will she go catatonic? What? I'm betting on two extremes... She'll either throw caution to the wind and be happy... or she'll angst the hell out of everything... My money's on the angst... By day's end, we've made it to Jupiter orbit at sub-light. I keep looking out the bridge viewports at the bright point in the stars that marks home... Earth... Like it or not... floyd's back... CHAPTER 4 We've put ourselves into Earth orbit nearly two hours ago. We've been cloaked since Mars orbit arc. After all, we don't want these guys to know we're here. I've programmed about twenty locations into the BodySlide unit, enabling me to beam down to anyplace I want. The cargo BS unit had one of my Cyclones, 'Shinobi-1,' a VR-041 Saber Cyclone, on the pad. I was wearing a sterile (no unit insignia or other ID) flight jacket, Hammers combat uniform pants, boots and the CVR-3D helmet. The rest of the CVR-3D suit would be placed on another pad, ready to be sent down should I need it. My ALICE pack was also stocked and ready with food, clothing, spare ID (my current one, fake, but should be able to pass any inspection) claimed my name was David Bowker, an unemployed stuntman. Concealed in my flight jacket was one of my Glock 2000 handguns, and secured to the Cyclone (hidden, too) was an MP50 submachinegun. Both weapons would come in handy, just in case. I got on the bike after priming the BS unit, closed the visor, and set myself. "Holly, bodyslide one by alpha." The feeling of being BodySlided is like having all of your molecules separate from each other and go down a drain. Being put back together feels much better... your entire mass just reforms itself at the landing point some 3.2 seconds later. Not the best way to travel, mind you, but... hey, it works... Alpha landing point was at the northern border of Holden, Massachusetts, the town north of Worcester. When I made sure everything was set, I started the Cyclone and drove off. When I hit the Worcester line on Salisbury Street, I activated the ShadowSuit beyond its StandBy mode into full activation... I was now powered up for anything... but I didn't cloak. I made sure that there were no markings to identify myself as a member of the WDF on my bike... as far as anyone was concerned, I was just a biker. I exited Salisbury Street and hung a right onto Flagg, and went past the site of my old elementary school... at least, what was left of it, which wasn't much. I didn't have far to go... only another half of a mile, a couple of turns, and I was there... Home... << Home, Roger Waters >> I knew where the site was, even if there was not building there at all... it felt right... the aura was there... I was standing where my living room should have been... where mom would have been watching her soaps about now... the cat would have been lying in the open window, unconscious... Now... nothing... just rust, wreckage and ruin... "It wasn't my fault," I whispered. "I fought to keep this place... you guys safe... we didn't know what would happen... we had no idea... I'm sorry I wasn't here... I'm here now... but it doesn't matter..." I kicked a piece of wood, realizing it was probably the remnants of the mantelpiece. "I'm surviving... I'm probably going to live forever... at least I'm with people who care about me... people who've given me responsibility... I've seen combat, carnage, destruction... it's awakened me... I've been enlightened... it's not going to end, I know... and I shouldn't have a part in it, but... it's all for defense.. I'll keep on doing the job handed to me... without fail... with honor... as every samurai should do..." I bent down and scooped a load of blackened ash into a plastic bag. I took a little more and mixed it with some of the water from my canteen and made a paste from it. I dipped two fingers from each hand into it and smeared it onto my face, making a battle mask similar to Jon Sable's. "I vow to follow my Baron Lord Wolfgang Fahrvergnugen, until death, without question or betrayal, and with honor and loyalty. So swear I..." With that, I stood up, unsheathed my monotanto and pricked a finger, adding a few drops of blood into the ash paste. I sealed the paste into a container after bandaging my finger and climbed aboard my Cyclone to see what damage GENOM had done in their new rebuilding... I couldn't miss downtown Worcester... they were already rebuilding after our last assault! I was observing this through a nice pair of image intensifiers from Bancroft Tower. Problem was in getting here. They decided to use this nice hill as an air defense post. However, a couple of stun gas missiles later, all twenty troopers were dozing away. I've been here for two hours now... safely out of range of them... just like they were from the WDF right now... << The Bravery of Being Out of Range, Roger Waters >> I had had enough of this... they take over my city... my home... they destroy everything I had... they destroyed my life... It was payback time... But not here... Not now... A better place would be the battlefield... A better time would be at hand... I realized that I was sounding rather stupid... I knew I couldn't bring GENOM down with a mere Cyclone... and I couldn't have Holly fire the Nova Cannon into Worcester... So I did the only thing I could think of doing... I left... By evening, I was at the campus of the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. Quaint little town, I have to say... almost not affected by the attacks on Worcester... I felt weird trying to look up an old friend, as he would think I was dead... I decided not to and I pressed on... I was tired at nightfall, so I checked into a motel to help calm my nerves. I did still have some real money, about $300 worth. However, in my bag were gold bars, weighing about 2 oz apiece. I had enough to net me, oh... say, fifteen grand at least... with another two million worth back on the Diamond... (Hey, there's a lot of gold at Utopia Planitia... they gave it to me... so long as I'd lick up a few things for them...) I was set, and currently falling asleep while watching some stupid rerun... CHAPTER 5 I awoke the next morning and stepped outside of my motel room, looking at the dawn sky. The mountains were lit by the sun rising behind me, and they looked beautiful. I thought about chucking the whole idea of seeing Laura and staying here, just to live on those hills for a while. God, what was I doing? I came hundreds of light years to see a woman who believes I'm dead and has probably gotten on with her life now... probably has a new boyfriend... probably married to him... and where was I? Miko probably wouldn't want me after two years... I'd be alone again... Right back where I started... I wasted no time. I took a quick shower and packed up my Cyclone. I asked the clerk where a good place to eat was and he gave me direction to the place. Granted, the Dove's Nest looks like a hole in the wall. But for under six bucks, I got eggs, pancakes, hash browns and roast beef hash with three glasses of orange juice. I wanted something that would last me a while on the road, and I got it. When I was done, I walked to the 7-11 next door and picked up some refreshments for my trip and packed them onto the Cyclone. A little over an hour after I arrived, nearly two after waking up, I was gone... I sold off my gold in three different cities... Springfield, Albany and Buffalo. Each time was a different story on how I came across $5000 in gold... like it had belonged to my great-great-grandfather who emigrated from Germany and made his fortune by inventing mattress ticking... the buried treasure in a cave near my house... and how I had found it in my dad's flight vest from Vietnam. All of these, of course, were false. It also took anywhere from one to four days in each city... but I had enough money to cover myself now. Also, I needed new clothing. Fatigues from the WDF can only go so far. So I took about two grand and bought some new clothes... I also stopped into a surplus store and bought a black canvas German engineer's bag and a nylon backpack, as well as some fatigue pants, hiking boots, survival gear I thought I had but didn't... Nice shopping spree. Most of it's stored on the Diamond right now... My trip to the Illinois border took two weeks. I wanted to take my time, not look suspicious, just blend in... plus take in the sights. I stopped in this small town about an hour's drive from Urbana-Champaign and stopped in at a small bed-&-breakfast place. I walked in and this charming older woman greeted me. "Hello there, how can I help you." "Charming place you have here, ma'am. My aunt used to run one of these in upstate Vermont. This looks just about exactly like hers..." She smiled and let out a little laugh. "I assure you, this is just about exactly like hers. Now then, a room, my dear, one that has a nice comfy bed so I can have a nap before I go out tonight." "You look like you've had a long ride." "Very long. Been travelling for two weeks." "Anywhere in particular?" "Started from nowhere... ending up who knows where... I'm just taking in the sights... and loving what I see." I filled out the guest register under the name Roy Kendall (with matching ID), and told her that I'd be staying for a week at most. My room was quaint. A king-sized bed sat across from the door and near a nice huge fireplace, which had a couch opposite it. A phone and clock-radio were included, and I was shown where the shower was. I thanked her and she left. I flopped onto the bed and decided to have a quick snooze... That night, I left the B&B to find myself some dinner. There was a tavern called "Ray's," which I saw coming in, so I drove over to get something to eat and maybe have a drink or two. Ray's was not the hole in the wall I expected. There was no loud music, no rough-and-tumble bikers who would spit in your eye so much as look at you... it was actually charming. The atmosphere of an actual British pub, in rural Illinois. I walked up to the bar and sat down. The bartender, whose T-shirt bore the legend "Ray's," walked up to me and asked what I wanted. This gentleman was about 6'8", and built like a brick shithouse. His hair was in a crewcut, but his big beefy moustache fit the bill with the stereotypical image. "Ummm... I'll have a chiliburger, extra Cajun fries and a Miller Lite." "ID?" I showed him. It was acceptable, even if it was out of state. He brought my beer over first and I took a healthy sip. I was not a big fan of domestic beer, but Lite was okay. I would have rather had a Killian's, but that has to be savored. I was halfway through my burger, which was right tasty, mind you, when about half a dozen or so biker punks walked in. I had heard them pull into the lot on their Harley hogs, so I knew they were coming in. They bellowed out an order for four pitchers of beer. One of them came up to get them and saw me... after he nudged my arm, spilling some of my own beer onto my dinner. "Hey, sorry man, didn't see." He saw my helmet on the bar next to me. "That you bike out there? The black one?" "Yup." I took a swig, pushing my plate away. "Nice one. What kind is it?" I had to make up a name... and quick. "It's a VR-041 Cyclone, made by WedgeTech. Limited edition." "Wow... can I take a ride on it?" "You wouldn't like it... custom made for each rider. That one's built for me. Otherwise, it's off-balance and shitty handling." "Nonononononono... you don't understand. I wanna ride your bike." "Nonononononono... you don't understand... you can't ride it..." He put his face closer to mine. I could smell the cheap whiskey and cigarettes on his breath. "Let me ride it punk, or you won't ever ride again." "You're threatening me, aren't you?" "Damn straight." "Still no..." He made a grab for my lapel. Now, in Aikido, when someone attacks you, you let the attack follow through its natural course... of course, we wouldn't want to impede the attack by being in its way, now, do we? I shifted off of my stool and onto my feet as he grabbed air. I snagged his wrist with my right hand and spun to my left, pulling him. I sank down, forcing him down. He hit the floor with all of his weight and momentum behind him with a nice THUD! I let him go and stepped back a little. He got up and shook his head while his buddies laughed at him. He growled at me and stepped forward for a round punch to my head. Aikido only goes so far with me. If it doesn't work the first time, I switch... if at first you don't succeed, use Hwarang-Do. I blocked his punch and stepped under it, slamming a hammer fist into his ribs as I went. I spun around, keeping his wrist locked and me in the prime position to do whatever I wanted. I kicked his knee out and he half fell to the floor. His arm was in a very precarious position... one wrong move and it's going to snap. I twisted it a little just to let him know who's boss. He whimpered in pain and I approached the breaking point. I gave him a nice shuto (knife-hand) stroke to the side of his neck and Ko'd him. I let go of his wrist as he sagged to the floor. Now his buddies were hopping mad. I nearly killed their friend and I was still here, uninjured. They all got up and started heading for me, getting whatever weapons the had on them out. My hand flashed into my flight jacket and pulled out the Glock. "That's far enough. I didn't want any trouble, he started it. He's all right, just unconscious. His arm will be all right in the morning. Now just let me pay my bill and leave." I kept the gun trained on the group (who did stop, by the way) as I threw a tenner onto the bar, picked up my helmet and left. I was gone by the time they got out of the bar and started up their bikes... actually, I hid around the back of the place as they went screaming into the night... I woke up the next morning and hit the shower before padding downstairs into the dining room for breakfast. "Good morning, Mr Kendall," my hostess said to me. "Did you sleep well?" "Very well, thank you Mrs Whitmore. You have a very comfortable place here." "Why thank you. Coffee?" "No thanks, but I would love a tall glass of orange juice." "Well help yourself to the buffet," she said to me as she went into the kitchen. The food was excellent. I had a meager breakfast of a couple of scrambled eggs, a corn muffin, juice and sausage while reading the morning paper and planning my day. I was heading down the stairs from my room when Mrs Whitmore saw me again. "Planning a busy day?" "Just going into Chambana for a while. I may not be back tonight." "Business?" "Yes... personal business. If I plan to check out, I will let you know." She smiled and thanked me as she went about her business. I walked outside and climbed onto my Cyclone and sped off to Champaign-Urbana. I did a bit of scouting around for what I wanted to do tonight. I checked the phone book for her number, in case it changed. It had, so I found her new place. Fortunately, I kept my helmet visor down, because I saw her heading to her car. I wanted to stop her and tell her I was here, but I controlled it. Stick to the plan, I told myself. << Wot's... uh the Deal, Pink Floyd >> I climbed out of the window of the B&B that night, wearing my ShadowSuit and slinging my shoulder bag/backpack contraption over my shoulder. I activated the suit and flew the distance to her house at 120mph, at an altitude of 10ft above the ground (thanks, Rob, for helping put that NOE flight system in this). I made it to her house in under 30 minutes. I climbed in through the open window and walked into her living room. Just as I was getting my bearings, a door behind me opened up. I whirled, and there she was. Her eyes were wide with fright. She reached behind the door and grabbed her boffo-sword and lunged at me with a swing. Now, I had forgotten to turn my NOE system off, so the close-proximity radar (CPRS) was still on, and linked to my defense system. I involuntarily dodged her attack. She kept pressing her attacks, and I was literally bouncing and flipping around her living room. Her roommate, Kim, was in the doorway to her own bedroom, on the phone, trying to call the police. I had managed to deactivate the suit. Just as I did, she let me have it in the back of the head. I feel too my knees, stunned. She hit me again in the same place, driving me to the floor. She then knelt on my shoulders, sitting her rump on my back. I was pinned. I totally deactivated the suit and tried to reason with her. "This is all one very large misunderstanding... I wasn't here to rob you..." "Dressed in black? That's funny... why were you here?" "Let me up and I'll show you." "No." "All right... then I won't say... by the way, could you ease up a little? My shoulder just dislocated itself and hurting like a banshee." She eased up a little and I flipped her off of my back and pinned her. Kim was already dropping the phone and running over. I slipped my headpiece off and said, "This is why I'm here." << Life Without You, Stevie Ray Vaughan >> Kim stopped, dead in her tracks. Laura looked at me with wide eyes and a dropped jaw. "It can't be..." "It is, love... it's really me..." I let her up from the floor and she sat on the couch, just staring at me. "You died." "Nope. Narrow escape." "You're dead." "Laura, I'm perfectly alive... more than perfectly alive..." She got up and walked toward her room. "Laura, I have so much to tell you, so much to explain." She slammed the door in my face. Kim looked at me with a cross face. "Where the fuck were you?" "It's a long story," I answered, putting my head against her door. I could hear her crying in there, and I wanted to help. "She thought you were dead... she believed it..." "I know and I'm sorry..." "Bull-fucking-shit, if you cared, you would have told her you were alive." "I couldn't!" I yelled as I turned to her. Kim's quite a bit shorter than me, quite cute, and right now, mad as hell. I could understand. "Why not?" "I will tell you when I tell her. Hopefully soon." "Why not now? How do we know that you were in the blast? That you weren't playing dead?" "I'll give both of you proof when you're ready to know. Right now, I just want this to work out." "What?" "Our reunion." "There isn't going to be a fucking reunion. She went to Massachusetts when she heard Worcester got nuked. She cried for weeks. She flunked out of school. She's been working two jobs to help pay rent and for her therapy. She's gotten over you. And then you come waltzing back in here and expect her to fall into your arms? Fuck you, Adam... fuck you... you don't deserve her anymore... " "Hey, don't lay it all on me.. it's not my fault..." "Then whose fault is it?" There was a heavy silence for a few minutes. "I can't say... not yet... " Kim sighed and shook her head. "I don't know who to feel sorry for... you, for being such an asshole right now, or her, because of what you did." "I'm very sorry about all this..." "Look, if it will help, you can crash here... just be gone in the morning, okay?" "Thanks, Kim... " "Don't think I'm not angry at you... I still think you're a bastard..." With that, she left into her own room. I changed out of my ShadowSuit and into something comfortable. I tried to sleep, but all I could think about was Laura. << Three Wishes, Roger Waters >> CHAPTER 6 I awoke rather late the next morning. Kim was in the kitchen making some food. I went in and asked for some juice. She told me to help myself. "I didn't mean to hurt her." "I know. You thought you were doing what was best. Turns out, it may not have been your best." "I wanted to see her again. I still love her." "You've been gone for over two years." "I know... it's been hard on me too..." "You think you can just come back and find her waiting for you?" "Are we going to go through this again?" "I'm just asking..." "No I don't... in fact, she's taking this as well as I expected her to." "Then why did you come back?" "Because I want to take her away with me." "Not going to happen." "You never know... besides, she'll love it out there." "Out where?" "Tell you later." "You're incorrigible." "Thank you." We both had our first laugh together since I came back. "Where's Laura?" "She went off to do some things... she won't be back for a while, I suggest you get the hell out before she comes back." "I'm staying... I want to find out from her." I went and retrieved my gear and Cyclone from the B&B. I paid double what the bill totalled, and rode into town. After dumping my gear at the apartment, I rode into the city to check things out. I sat on a grassy hill a couple miles outside of town, watching people mill about a few miles away. I had to get out of the city... I kept seeing couples walking hand in hand and being ODC (Openly Disgustingly Cute)... so I drove out of town... I found that this place was great... quiet, isolated... I lost myself in the silence... That is, until a soft voice asked me, "Hello... cup of coffee?" << In Every Stranger's Eyes, Roger Waters >> I turned to see a young woman, a couple years younger than I was by looks, even though she had this classic beauty about her. She had strawberry blonde hair that was cut to just above her chin, and killer sapphire blue eyes. She was shorter than me by about a half foot. She apologized for disturbing me and asked me again. I declined and she went away (maybe about five feet or so) and sat down, drinking some coffee. I fiddled with my helmet and kept glancing over to her. She smiled at me when she saw me looking, perhaps out of nerves or embarrassment, but she did smile. Her smile made her look even prettier. I smiled back, then talked to her about what was going on. I didn't tell her the whole story, mind you... just my current dilemma. << Tell It, ZZ Top >> Honestly, I have no idea why I was talking to her... something inside me told me that it would probably be a good idea to get someone else's opinion and advice. Besides, she looked cute and I needed to talk to someone. I might've talked to anyone who came by, but... something just clicked with her. She listened to me, and offered some advice... telling me I should go back to her and tell her the truth. I wasn't very sure about this, but she reassured me everything was going to work out. I asked her name, to which she replied "Paula." I gave her my real name. I did that purely out of habit. Plus, I felt like I knew her a bit better. I trusted her. We knew each other for only a short time, but... as I said, something just clicked with her... something a little ethereal, extraplanar, call it what you want... I'm not arguing about it at all... I looked at my watch and saw that we had been talking for over four hours. I excused myself, saying it was time for me to go, and she stood up and gave me a hug. I returned it and then went on my way. That night I stopped at a bar on the edge of town. I needed a drink or two to relax after my day of looking for Laura. I did see her a few times, but I know she didn't see me. I entered the bar and looked around. Over in the corner sat Paula, just settling into a chair at an empty table. I walked over to her. "Hi there," I said, nonchalantly. "Hi," was her response. "Nice night to be out and about, wouldn't you say?" "I guess. Please, have a seat." I sat across from her and she smiled at me. "You're not following me, are you?" "Who, me?" I answered. "I was going to ask you the same question." "Coincidence?" "Maybe." "Did you talk to her yet?" I sighed. "No I haven't. I thought I'd come in and relax for a bit before I did that." "Well... I may seem a little forward in saying this, but... if it doesn't work out with her... would you like to get some dinner sometime? Together?" I smiled at her. Her smile was a little nervous, and she seemed a bit embarrassed about what she just asked. "Sure. But for right now, how about a drink?" "Okay... Zinfandel with a twist." I strode up to the bar and put her order in. After asking if the bar had seven imported beers (with "no" as each answer), I settled on a Miller Genuine Draft and paid for the drinks before walking back to Paula with them. I got nudged by some drunk biker backing into me. He turned to say, "Sorry about that," when his eyes showed a flash of recognition. So did mine. "You're dead meat, asshole..." Now usually, I'm packing my Glock. Tonight I wasn't. I didn't have anything, not even the monotanto. The drinks got knocked out of my hands and my lapels were grabbed. I was thrown through the door outside and my attacker followed me. He, in turn, was followed by eleven more bikers. I had just hit the dirt and flipped myself over in a fast backwards roll, coming up in a casual fighting stance. Here's where it gets interesting... << Wham, Stevie Ray Vaughan >> I'm not going to go into details about what techniques I used. Let's just leave it at this: Aikido and Hwarang Do work very well with each other. In fact, I had seven of them down in under three minutes (effectively the length of the song). That's when the pain in the back started. Two pains, in fact, for starters... Someone came up behind me and jabbed two knives into my back, around my kidneys. I screamed in pain as I turned. He got in one more in my ribs as I tried to lay him low with a round punch. He ducked and put one more knife into my solar plexus. It's very unnerving to look down your body and see a knife sticking out of it. Personally, I was pissed... I was right fucking pissed. He grabbed my lapels before I sagged. He put his face into mine and started screaming at me. I jabbed two tiger paw fists into his ribs, making him let go and back off a little, then I got him in the stomach with a brachial stun attack. It didn't stop him, and he rushed at me. My right arm came up and across my body, then followed the same path down, only much faster and with greater force. This was a technique perfected by the Lovely Angels and me. We call it the Ramirez Stroke. The guy staggered back, clutching at his throat. Blood seeped from a very fine line. He tried to utter various words, but he could only get out grunts and groans. I fell to my knees, saying, "My cut has improved your voice," before sagging to the ground, landing on the side that didn't have a knife stuck in it. CHAPTER 7 << Comfortably Numb, Pink Floyd >> I faded in and out of consciousness throughout my ambulance ride. They pulled the knives out of my back so they could get my sorry butt onto a stretcher. I don't even know what happened to me................ I woke up later in a hospital bed. I still felt weak, but alive. My chest and back were covered with bandages. I looked at the time. Two-thirty-seven in the afternoon. I've been out for over twelve hours. I still felt like shit. Doctors came in and poked, prodded, jabbed, stabbed, exposed and examined me to death. By the time they were done, I was exhausted. In fact, I just remained half-awake throughout the day. I received a visitor just once... only one person came to see me... It was Laura. She stood by my bedside as I slipped back and forth over the line. "Adam, Kim told me why you came back... I'm flattered and all, but I just don't know if it will work... I have a lot of things to sort out... I'm sorry, but right now, it doesn't look good... I'm sorry..." She left, leaving me empty inside. I started crying... wishing I was caught in the blast and not flung into space... << Who Wants to Live Forever, Queen >> Paula came to see me for a few minutes. She was very nice to me, and just sat there and talked to me like we grew up together. I didn't expect her to show up at all. God, she was so nice... she brought me flowers and a box of light chocolates. She cared that much for someone she just met by chance in a park the previous day. Someone who opened up to her, told her what was bothering him... I did feel closer to Paula after her visit. Something told me that it was going to be hard to leave her when I had to. The hospital staff was very interested in how I healed so quickly. I told them it was some military experiment that hadn't worked quite right and that I would like to be released. Personally, I'd rather not fill out, sign, notarize, fold, spindle, mutilate and justify all the processing papers in order to check myself out. Especially when I have fifteen or so doctors interrupting me every two minutes, begging me to stay so they can poke, prod, jab, stab, inject, infect, reject and test me as to why I healed so quickly while they were trying to sew up my insides in an operating room. But I got them all done. All sixty-seven in-triplicate forms. Hospital red tape... you can have it. That evening, I was gone. I went back to the apartment. Laura was watching TV. I thought that this would be the moment to tell her everything... I came up behind her and just said, "Hi." She turned to face me. She had a blank look on her face when her eyes met mine, then she partly turned away. "So they just let you out?" I sat down on a chair near her. "I checked myself out. I didn't need their help." "You were stabbed three times. You should have been dead." "I know... that's part of what I want to talk to you about." "You killed three people... with your bare hands..." I knew that... the docs told me. It was actually four. One got a spinning hook kick... my heel shattered half of his skull. Another took a hefty punch on the chest... I caved in his rib cage. The third was pushed away by a kick into a low brick wall... breaking his back and severing his spine completely just under the neck. The fourth was the Ramirez Stroke. I slashed him with my fingertips and crushed his windpipe with a glancing blow. Through sheer force of ki, I also cut his skin. "I know. I'm not proud of it. But I want to talk to you, seriously." "What about?" "What happened to me... and why I came back..." Two hours later I finished... her mouth was wide open, her eyes wide. It was if she couldn't believe it. "I can't believe it." (I told you.) "It's the truth, Laura. I've been in space for a little over two years now... and... I'm not totally human anymore." "I don't understand." I sighed. This was going to be the kicker. "Those knife wounds healed up because I underwent a genetic conversion, to become a Human-Detian mix. I have this natural resistance to death. I get hurt, I heal really quick. I've gotten stronger, smarter and faster by undergoing the conversion and a lot of training. Effectively... I'm immortal." Somehow I didn't think the line "There can be only one" wouldn't fit here. "If you can't die, then why did you go into that coma?" "My brain hasn't fully gotten used to being a Detian yet. It registered that I was stabbed and it took the most logical natural response it could have... I wasn't in any danger of dying, Laura..." She looked away for a moment. "When you said what you said in the hospital, I wanted to die. I... I didn't want to lose you... not after all I've been through. I've lost everything I know here... I don't have much that's my own out there. I wanted to come back to you... see if you still loved me." "I thought you were dead," she whispered. "I thought you'd gone up in the blast. I even drove out there, but I was told to go away. I... I... I haven't been to well ever since... but I'm getting much better..." "Laura... if you want me to go, I will... I will go back out there and live my life... but I want you to be a part of my life again..." << Change It, Stevie Ray Vaughan >> "I just don't know... I need more time..." She got up and walked to her room. I could tell she was crying... she started before she even reached the door. I sat on the couch, wondering how this was going to turn out... right now, even I needed to get away... and I knew just how to do it... CHAPTER 8 It was a beautiful morning... the sky was blue... few puffy clouds... light wind... temperature in the low 80's... And Hammer 1, one of two Veritechs on the Diamond, was sitting on the empty road in front of me... I had just completed my walk-around, checking to see if the plane was ready to fly. The skutters on board had removed all obvious weaponry, leaving me only with the nose lasers and the head's lasers, before Holly BodySlided it down to me. Me, I was dressed in an all-black flight suit with no markings. I was ready to fly... << Learning to Fly, Pink Floyd >> I was having a blast, cruising over the midwest at about Mach 1.3... playing with clouds, performing nap-of-earth flying that would curl a bald man's hair... high altitude maneuvering... air combat maneuvering versus imaginary targets... I checked my moving map display and found that I was over the Grand Canyon. That's also when I noticed two blips on my radar. They were at eighty miles and closing at a speed of nearly Mach 2. That's when I heard them on the radio. "Attention unknown aircraft. You are violating United States airspace. Reduce your velocity and climb to an altitude of 25,000ft, now, or you will be fired upon." He repeated the commands. I did as he said. That's when I saw them. Two F-16's, each loaded with about six Sidewinders. Everything about the Sidewinder flashed through my head. Infra-red homing. Eleven mile range. Speed around Mach 3. Must be all-angle locking. The dimensions even went through my head. I decided to have a little fun with these guys. I pulled up and hit the afterburners, hitting Mach 3 in less than a minute. << Scuttle Buttin, Stevie Ray Vaughan >> They chased me all over. In the sky, it was great. I even led them through parts of the canyon. They were too chicken in various places. Tiny rocks made tiny dings on my fuselage, but I made it through. Unfortunately, by the time the song on my Veritech's audio system ended, I was surrounded by six more F-16's. I had to give up. They forced me to land at Nellis AFB in Nevada, home to Red Flag, the advanced air combat training program for the Air Force. My Veritech was impounded and wheeled into a hanger and I was placed into custody and brought to the commanding officer's office. The name on the desk plaque read "General J R Hildebrandt." The general dismissed the security and stood looking out the window, puffing on his cigar. The general looked to be about fifty. His hair was thinning and a small paunch could be seen around his middle. Still, he looked very fit. "What's your name, son?" "Not allowed to say." "I asked your name. You're not with the Air Force, or even the DoD. We ran a check on your plane." I hmmmm'ed. "It doesn't match with any design... except for ones that were involved in destroying a major city in Massachusetts. What do you say to that one?" He spun in place to face me. "Coincidence, General. Sheer coincidence." "What would happen if we tried to run an ID check on you?" "Depends on which one you checked, sir. I have about four right now." "Uh huh... on your real name?" I shrugged. "You'd get either dead or missing in a nuclear blast. Take your pick, my real identity won't work." "You taking me for the biggest idiot?" "No, just a man who's doing his job to protect his country. Believe me, I tried to protect it too." "From what?" "GENOM." He seemed shocked at that word. "Guard... " Some random security person entered the room. "Lock him up until further notice." The guard looked at me with some expression of recognition. I had no clue who he was, but I went with him. If you ever get arrested by the Air Force for whatever, I recommend the cells away from the windows. Oh, and you must try their beef stew en croute, it's marvelous. Actually, the cells were reasonably comfortable as far as cells go, and the food was on average for your typical high school cafeteria. However, I spent most of my time meditating. I kept thinking about Laura that night. She was probably wondering where I was... I could see her in my mind's eye... as I faded to sleep... she was crystal clear... << Silent Lucidity, Queensryche >> CHAPTER 9 It was sometime around o'dark-early when I was woken up by someone unlocking my cell. I had assumed that it was Air Force officials coming to take me away for court martial and other fun stuff. A lone guard entered the cell. "Hey," he whispered, "WedgeRat." I looked up into the darkness. "Come here... I'll get you out." I wasted no time. I didn't care if it turned out to be a trap, I wanted out. He led me down some passages and tunnels, taking me to my hanger by stealth. "I got some buddies to prep everything for you. You have a twenty minute window to get out of here." "Why are you doing this?" He looked at me. "Because I owe you guys." "Huh?" "I was a WPI AFROTC student. I was in the Wedge when it went into space. You guys brought me back to Earth safe and sound. I had nowhere to go, so I rejoined the Air Force, saying I was home. I owe you guys for a lot. This is only a small repayment. Now go." I smiled and saluted him as I ran stealthily to my plane and fired her up. The hanger doors opened and I wheeled the Veritech out of the hanger. Needless to say, a dozen security personnel tried to gun my plane down, but their bullets and buckshot just bounced off the fuselage. I gunned the throttle as soon as I was clear of the hanger and sped toward the runway. << Run Like Hell, Pink Floyd >> Yeah, I evaded their planes... I had Holly BodySlide me into the hangar... That's the last time I do anything like that... ever... CHAPTER 10 I had beamed back down to the apartment... right in front of Laura. She stood there, with her mouth open, as if she'd seen a ghost. "So that's what it really looks like when you transport," she said to me. "BodySlide units are better than transporters. Much quicker." "I'd like to try sometime." "Maybe sooner than you think..." She paced about for a bit... "Can I see the ship?" I smiled... she seemed enthusiastic about it. "Sure." "Right now?" "Why not?" Holly was great at BodySliding by now. He brought us to the bridge without any difficulty. Laura looked out of the viewport, her eyes wide and her jaw dropped. "It's beautiful from up here." "It sure is... you probably never thought you'd see the Earth from this perspective." "No I haven't... how come we haven't been detected by anything?" "The Diamond's got a cloaking device. We're invisible to anything they can throw at us." She still looked out into space, shaking her head in mild disbelief. "This is amazing." "Hey... let me show you the rest of the place." I gave her the grand tour of the Diamond. I showed her Engineering, Weapons & Defense, Sciences, Sick Bay... everything. We came to the HoloDeck. She chuckled a bit. "What sort of place would you like to see?" "Ummm... something quiet... relaxing... in a forest or something..." I keyed the parameters into a keypad and within a mere fifteen seconds, the program was ready. The hatch doors opened, revealing a small clearing in a thick forest. Birds were singing, the sun peeked through some openings in the leaves... it was beautiful. The doors closed and disappeared after we walked through and we just walked around the clearing. We didn't notice it before, but we were holdings hands. She looked at me with those green eyes of hers and took my other hand in hers. I looked back into her eyes. "I thought long and hard about this... about why you came back..." I nodded. "I have an answer..." I looked at her, as if prompting her question. She leaned forward and kissed me. This was not a friendly kiss... this was passionate and warm. << Little Wing, Stevie Ray Vaughan >> I found myself returning it with equal passion. We collapsed to the floor of the clearing, embracing each other strongly, our hands roaming over each other's bodies, slowly removing clothing, touching, feeling, loving... TWO MONTHS LATER Laura and I stood by a clearing outside of Chambana. Well outside. We didn't want anybody to see this. The shimmering effect of a BodySlide appeared before us, leaving two Cyclones in its place. Shinobi-1, a Sabre Cyclone, had my personal CVR-3 armor next to it. Laura had chosen to ride Shinobi-3, a VR-052 Battler Cyclone, with a set of armor for her. We attached the saddlebags to the sides of the bikes, donned out armor, and we were off on our cross-country trip. << I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide, ZZ Top >> It was somewhere along Rt 66 when we ran into a little bit of trouble. We were cruising along at about 100mph when a Nevada state trooper pulled up behind us, his lights flaring and the siren on. Over the loudspeaker, he ordered us to pull over. << Arrested for Driving While Blind, ZZ Top >> I keyed the com-unit in my helmet. "What do you think, Laura... wanna have some fun with this guy?" I heard her laugh and say, "Sure!" "Follow my lead." I gunned my engine, taking the bike up to 140. Laura followed suit. The cop had no clue what was going on at all. When we were about, oh, three hundred yards ahead of him, we noticed he was speeding up. Simultaneously -- as planned -- we transformed the Cyclones into battloid mode and shot straight up into the air before peeling back and flew straight toward him at about 120mph. We blew past the sides of his cruiser, nearly taking the doors off. He skidded the car to a stop and watched us fly away. We laughed as we landed ten miles behind him, transformed the Cyclones back into bike mode, and went off-road until nightfall. That night, we camped out under the stars. I looked over at Laura, my lover, friend and travelling companion. She looked back at me. I didn't know what changed her mind, but I was glad she did... << Stages, ZZ Top >> CHAPTER 11 Within three months, we completed our cross-country tour of this country and a little bit of Canada. We spent our time cruising at high speeds, evading state and highway patrols, sleeping under the stars, buying little trinkets that were beamed up to the Diamond for safe keeping, eating local cuisines, making love in wondrous places, and just generally having a great time. However, things changed when we returned to her apartment. We found the apartment empty of people. A note was on the couch, left by Kim. It said that she had gone to Finland for a month to see her fiance before school started up again. It also left something that scared the hell out of Laura. Her parents were very worried about her. They wanted her to call them right away. I decided to leave her alone for this call, and, as she picked up the receiver, went into her room to get out of my clothes and take a long hot shower. The scalding spray felt good, rinsing away the dirt and seeping into my sore and tired muscles. I stayed under there for about an hour, enjoying the relaxing heat. I walked into the living room, wearing only a towel around my middle, and saw that Laura wasn't happy. "What's wrong?" I asked her. "I have to go home for a while... it might be forever." "Because you took this trip?" She nodded. "That's stupid. You're old enough to make your own decisions." "Still, they want me home." "I'm coming with you." "No you're not. Bad idea." "Laura, I want to help you through this. Maybe I can talk to them, let them see what's going on." "They didn't know about you at all until you were 'dead'... what are they going to think when you show up alive?" "I'll take my chances." "I don't know what I'd do if I had to stay there..." "Don't..." She looked back up at me. "Don't what?" "Don't stay there. Come back with me." She kept looking at me. "Come back to the WDF with me. We can always use more people." "That sounds great.. but... " "Laura... it will get you away from here. It's only five weeks away." She thought for a moment... another moment... She thought for three hours' worth of moments before giving me her answer... "Yes." << You're My Best Friend, Queen >> Actually, her parents were not that angry... And they didn't totally mind the idea of her going into space... even though her family didn't understand it too much... And they even accepted me... They were very nice to me and all, even after her father gave me the third degree four or five times... They allowed her to go, only if she promised to come back every now and then to see them... I told them it was no problem at all... I even convinced Laura to undergo the Detian conversion... because I didn't want to outlive her... CHAPTER 12 Okay... in the two years that I've been on Earth, here's what happened, apart from me getting Laura back... == I got some money back from all this by starting a small mountain bike company. The brand name was Cyclone, and we had three different designs. The Battler was a pure mountain bike, created, designed and built for the ruggedest terrain imaginable. The Sabre was more of a hybrid, leaning towards an all-terrain bike. It had speed and strength. The Wind was a pure racing bike, built more for paved surfaces than anything. == I got a band together. We were called The Faith, playing a mixture that we called Floydian-blues-rock. We were a rather good bar band, and we even had a minor tour. Our last show was spectacular (read about it in the story The Stage), with holographic effects that couldn't be beat at all. == Started a small dojo, teaching people a mixture of Kempo, Aikido, Hwarang Do and kenjutsu. However, when I left, I didn't have any particular students who were high enough rank to take over, so I had it converted into a pure Aikido dojo. == I talked with Paula some more, and told her the whole story. She sounded like she was interested in coming with us, but she had to decline, as she didn't want to leave just yet. I would have liked for her to come along, but... it might have made Laura feel uncomfortable. == I picked up more languages... Japanese (which I am now fluent in), Dutch, and Finnish (thanks to both Kim and Paula). When it was time to go, we said our good-byes to all of our friends, comrades, band members, and the like. It took a long time. Even our send-off party was cool. Naturally, not very many people knew where we were going, but... hey... enough knew and cared. Laura and I spent the night on the ship, embraced in each other's love, waiting for the morning launch... << All Lovers Are Deranged, David Gilmour >> The morning came, and we were ready. I stood on the bridge, Laura by my side, smiling. We looked at each other. "You sure you're ready for this?" "More than ready." "It's the adventure of a lifetime you know..." "It's more than I ever dreamed of... being among the stars..." "It's better with someone you love." "I love you, Adam." "I love you too, Laura..." Holly cleared his throat. "Attention, dudes... launch in less than one minute... everybody ready?" "Ready, willing, able and anxious, Hol... lets' get going..." "Right... here we go... out into the great black yonder..." << Doubleback, ZZ Top >> THE END Actually, it's to be continued... part of the story is in the short work, "The Stage," to be written soon... The story continues in Undocumented Features 3... pfloyd's stories will continue if UF: The Search Years, to be written very soon indeed... watch for them...