http://www.mrdouble.com



FIREFLY: THE LEGACY 01 -- THE JOURNEY

by Bill Smith

Note: You'll probably notice that the character list at the end is rather
extended. This is mainly for reference. Some of the characters listed may
never be used. Naturally, email me with comments. :) -BS

******

FireFly ceased to be just a corporation when my Tarot cards scattered across
the floor. Fate or destiny is not something I strongly believe in, but in this
case, I'd make an exception. Some things in the universe are bound to happen,
and sometimes there is only one way they can be accomplished.

FireFly was that way.

-Biography of a Generation

by Amber Jenkins

"LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, WE HAVE CLEARED THE EXOSPHERE."

Chani looked at Julie when they heard distant cheering. "What?" Julie finally
said.

"I'm not sure," replied Chani. "I think that means-"

A huge jolt interrupted her as the craft fired its thrusters again.

"For those of you that started taking off your straps, I apologize," Amber
said over the intercom. "I hope you didn't break anything. Right now, all the
colony ships are proceeding to the jump point. You'd all be advised to stay in
your seats until we reach the Last Hope."

The intercom cut off with a spray of static, and was silent.

"How long do you think we'll be?" Julie asked.

Chani shrugged, and tried to smile. In her mind, the situation between her and
Julie was becoming increasingly awkward. It seemed evident that Chani and
Julie couldn't start over again. With the obvious age gap, things would be
just too uncomfortable for Chani to proceed forward. If Julie hadn't noticed
it yet, then she would soon.

***

"Five second burst on right lateral," Captain Bart Cunningham ordered.

The helm responded, and they could feel a slight vibration and distant
rumbling as the 311 slowly came angled itself into the Last Hope's landing
dock. The Last Hope was huge. It was a 1-mile ring, rotating around the
nuclear reactor. It had living facilities for up to 50 people, plus a separate
garden pod and escape pods that could survive a trip through Earth's
atmosphere. It was a real piece of work, as Bart put it.

"How much longer?" Amber asked, glancing at her watch for the seventh time in
the past five minutes.

"Another couple minutes, why?" Bart asked. Her nagging had already started to
annoy him. 40 years of this would drive him crazy.

"I'll show you if I get the chance."

"Yes ma'am," Bart replied.

The pilot compensated for the overthrust without waiting for Bart's orders,
but the captain didn't even notice. "Reverse thrusters," he replied when they
were in range. "Stop us."

The pilot complied, and the 311 halted.

"What now?" Amber asked.

"The Last Hope's grappling arms will grab hold of us and-" he was interrupted
by a distant clanging. The ship shifted slightly. "There. A boarding tube will
be attached to the underside of the hull, and that other engineer can come
aboard."

"Wait," Amber said. "Hey Bart, Aranor, come with me." She let go of her chair,
which was bolted to the floor, and started floating up. The 311 hadn't begun
rotating yet, since it was only in transitional flight yet. But even so, the
bridge would be zero-gravity, due to its location. It was at the center of the
rotation, at the nose of the ship, which meant that it would just turn like a
merry-go-round. Late in the design stages, someone pointed out that a
constantly spinning bridge could get nauseous. The ceiling of the bridge was
ultra-dense shielded glass, which would mean the stars would always be turning
in a circle. So the floor, ceiling, lower, and upper walls were all static.
That is, while the rest of the 311 rotated, for gravity, the bridge sat still
by turning the opposite direction at the same speed. Several possible plans
for the bridge exits were looked over and rejected.

The main problem with a bridge that moved differently from the rest of the
ship was that there were only two exits from the bridge. They were large
flexi-steel tubes that went through the cryo-containment chamber. If they
constructed a hole matching the corridor's diameter, then that would be fine,
unless someone was caught between the bridge and the tube. They would be
chopped in half. Therefore, Amber actually came up with the idea to have the
majority of the wall rotate with the rest of the ship. So from about 6 inches
above the ground, to about a foot below the ceiling, the wall rotated with the
rest of the 311. When someone wanted to leave, they'd just grab a handhold as
the exit passed them.

Amber waited until her feet were at the top of the chair, and she pushed off
the arm, attempting to float toward the wall. Her foot just spun the chair
around in circles, and she floated up, slowly twirling head over heels. Amber
squawked helplessly, waving her arms around.

Everybody laughed.

Aranor pushed away from his chair and latched his feet to her chair, then
grabbed her flailing legs. "Calm down!" he laughed. Aranor spun her right-side
up, and shoved her at the exit. As she flew at the exit, everyone was still
laughing. She grabbed a handhold next to the circular door and turned around.

"I write your paychecks!" she said, shooting the bridge a bird.

Aranor positioned his feet on her chair and made sure his weight was evenly
balanced as he pushed after her. Bart followed right after, and they moved to
the proper exit hatch. It was closed now, but they could hear an electric
drill on the other side.

"Here," Bart said, passing a pill to each of them. "Eat this."

Amber snatched hers out of the air as it floated away from her. "What is it?"

"It'll help your body adjust to the difference in the air pressure."

Bart swallowed his, and the other two followed suit.

A moment later, they heard hissing, and the hatch opened outwards. On the
other side was a man in a space suit. He pulled his helmet off and grinned.
"Hi!" he said. "I'm Nigel!" He stuck his hand out and shook each of their
hands as they introduced themselves. "I'm Ben's brother."

Amber put on a puzzled expression, but Bart said, "Ah! The engineer! I'm sure
he'll be pleased to see you. He's on the bridge now, just go up there and turn
right. It'll take you straight there."

Nigel grinned boyishly again, but said, "I'd love to, but I've got some
equipment and some samples on board that Loreena Darvill requested."

Bart looked at Amber, who shrugged. "So long as we've got room."

"Ask Jesse," Amber said. "He's on the bridge too."

Nigel nodded and pushed up through them, expertly pulling his way toward the
bridge.

"What are we doing?" Bart asked.

"Oh, I want to show you something!" Amber cried. She grabbed a handhold on the
outside of the tube and threw herself down the flexi-steel connector. The two
men could hear her squawking as she hurtled faster than she anticipated,
crashing into the other end of the tube. "Come on!" she called.

Bart and Aranor followed her through the outer ring of the Last Hope, looking
out every window she passed. When she was satisfied with the position, Amber
stopped and pointed down at Earth. "See that?" she asked.

Bart stopped next to her, and Aranor moved to the other side. "What?" he
asked.

"Right there."

"Where?" Nearly the entire earth was covered in a swirling mass of gray or
boiling red clouds. It didn't look a thing like the photographs of Earth. None
of the land features or oceans could be seen.

"There. That's Watermark."

"Yeah, and what's that supposed to-" Bart stopped.

From the small spot in the South Pacific, a white dot appeared. Then, without
warning, it expanded to more than 200 miles radius. White radiance shone up at
them from the planet, reflecting for thousands of miles around the atmosphere.
A moment later, the white energy faded out of existence, disappearing into
little sparkles. As water and clouds rushed to fill in the 200 mile crater,
the entire area ignited. Fire seemed to suddenly fill the gap, straining
against the roof of the atmosphere. A huge wall of burning hydrogen swept a
few more miles out into the clouds, and then died out as quickly as it had
begun.

Amber started laughing hysterically, clutching her sides and giggling like a
schoolgirl. "What was that?" Bart asked.

"You know all those demons attacking Watermark before we left?" Aranor asked.

Bart nodded.

"They're dead now."

Bart cocked an eyebrow.

Amber wiped her eyes and looked back down. They could see water and clouds
rushing in to fill the crater. "You know that big building that nobody ever
used? In the middle of the island?"

Bart shook his head.

"Well, that's where that was."

"Nuclear bomb?"

"Uh-uh. Daniel explained it to me. It's a meson neutralization bomb. That
means it takes all the atoms around it and neutralizes the mesons in the
atoms. The atoms themselves fall apart at the seams-"

"Mesons control gravity in the atoms," said Aranor.

"Yeah, and the atoms fall apart, and reform into hydrogen a couple seconds
later. That's what that fire was. The hydrogen igniting."

Bart let out a breath of amazement as he watched a few more pockets of
hydrogen burn up.

They stared at it for a few more moments, and then Amber said, "Okay, we'd
better go now before they leave us behind."

***

"I got it, John," Toby said into his headset.

"Okay," John's voice came into the earphones. "It's time to take this baby
home."

Toby stared at the screen intently as he slowly pulled the Dead Man into X2's
main bay. He worked both retracting arms simultaneously, while John manually
worked the grappling ropes. It took about thirty minutes of cursing and
swearing at each other before they finished, but they finally did, and closed
the main bay doors.

Jill tapped Toby on the shoulder and he looked up. "How long's it gonna take
you to compact that thing?"

"John? How long you think it's gonna be before we can retract the arms on this
baby?"

"Ptuh..." John muttered. "Hour? Half hour? Beats me. Gimme some air in here so
I can start."

"No prob," Toby replied. He punched a series of buttons, and the X2's main bay
began filling with air. "I'll go help him."

"What're they doing?" Brad asked, floating up behind Jill and putting his
hands on her shoulders. She shook them off absently.

"Before we can get outta here, we have to return the Dead Man back into its
traveling state. We have to compact it back the way it was when they brought
it up. Otherwise we'll have broken antenna's and satellite dishes everywhere.
You should know that. Didn't you read the briefing?"

"What?" Brad asked innocently. "Me?"

***

"All right, ladies and gentleman," Amber said. "Our time has begun. The voyage
will commence in T-minus..." someone said something to her. "Now."

Chani furrowed her brow and then swore as the ship vibrated. Engines roared,
and she could hear the ship creaking as it built up to its top speed. The
sense of speed was lost after about fifteen minutes, even though they were
still accelerating. The engines were still roaring when Amber said, "Okay,
people, sorry about the delay, you may use the bathroom now. However, I
suggest you wait for another couple minutes as we slowly achieve our
artificial gravity. Let loose your straps, but stay where you are. In a few
minutes, the ship rotation will be at maximum, and you can all walk around and
unpack. Thank you."

There was another click of static, and silence.

Chani shrugged and unbuckled her straps. She floated freely, her earrings
dangling out to the sides, and her hair floating around like she was in water.

Julie giggled, and undid her own straps. She pushed away from the wall too
hard, and went tumbling through the air like a doll. Julie landed next to the
closet, neatly catching the door with her hand. She squatted on the wall like
Spider-Man and looked around. "Weird," she said. "They should leave it like
this."

Chani grinned at the sensation and floated with her arms and legs out.

After a few minutes, the gravity had grown to a point where they couldn't stay
in the air for extended periods of time, even though it was still far less
than normal.

Amber came on a few moments later, and said, "Since nobody has any room
assignments, save the senior officers, I suppose you could just use the one
you're in now, or find one you like. I know I have."

Chani scowled at the speaker. "Is she gonna be over our shoulder every
minute?"

"What do you mean?"

"Never mind. See if one of the rooms next to this one is open."

Julie nodded and dropped out of the door. She grabbed the floor as her hand
passed it, then swung out to a nearby door.

The entrances themselves were square, about three feet by three feet, and
located in the corner of the floor. People could drop down and land in the
hallway. Gravity was about 30% in the residential section, about twice as much
as Loreena predicted. There was a ladder, but it would be used rarely. Most
people would just jump up through the hole and push themselves up by the
floor.

Throughout the entire ship, the uniform ladder configuration was just niches
in the wall, instead of metal rungs. It prevented injury and conserved space,
explained Daniel.

***

"We are now, officially, in flight," Amber called, her arms spread out.

The bridge cheered, and started throwing each other into the air, to float
around helplessly for a few minutes before they eventually found a wall to
grab onto and pull themselves back down.

Amber was standing on top of the captain's chair, her feet pressing hard on
either side of the back. She had changed into her FireFly Inc. uniform, black
slacks, with black shoes, a black vest, and a black T-shirt. Since the waste
heat produced by the fusion reactor was enormous, the whole ship was warm, so
the uniforms had short sleeves. Both vest and T-shirt had names and rank
ironed into them.

On her sleeve she had seven gold stars, denoting her rank as a general. Aranor
and Matt held the rank of admiral. The Council and the Inner Circle held ranks
of captain. Although Bart was the captain, his rank was senior captain, with a
white star next to the five gold stars. Below him was Brian Ewing, first
officer and commander. Three stars was lieutenant-commander, two was
lieutenant, one was private/ensign, and no stars meant cadet.

"I'm a fucking cadet?" Chani shoved her sleeve at Amber, who began laughing.

"I think I'm a commander," Julie observed, feeling her sleeve.

"Let me see that," Chani growled. "I think you gave us the wrong uniforms,
General Jenkins."

"Jenkins? I don't think you've ever said my last name in your life."

"I will until you get me a new uniform."

Amber chuckled again and looked at the two. "You know, I think you've both got
the same size shirts, why don't you just go switch?"

"They have our names ironed into them."

Amber paused. "Well, wear the vest over them, and I'll get them switched
within the week. It's just the shirts that're messed up. I've got a lot going
on right now."

Chani sighed and pushed herself at the wall. She stopped herself a few inches
from the moving wall and grabbed on as the entrance moved past. Julie climbed
in behind her. "It's no big deal," Julie said. "It's not like anybody's gonna
order anybody else around or anything."

With a sigh, Chani nodded agreement. Julie was right, of course, and Chani
knew it. Why had she flown off the handle like that? It was totally unlike...
well, it wasn't totally unlike her, but usually it required a bit more
provoking.

***

"Backup thrusters."

"Check."

"Life support."

"Check."

"Backup."

"Check."

"AFS."

"Check."

"PDS; backup."

"Check check. That's it," Brad said. "Let's move."

"Engaging main thrusters," John Wu said. He pushed a lever up, and the X2
engines fired, propelling them away from the Earth. "Main hold is secure..."
he murmured after a few moments. "Dead Man looks fine..." As their speed
increased, he grinned. "Routing 45% to 67% PDS to I-PPS." His fingers danced
over the keyboard in front of him, and the ship vibrated as the engines maxed
out their power. "God I love this ship!" he cried.

The X2's dark hull vanished into the stars, disappearing from Earth's skies
forever. Below, turmoil reigned.

***

There was only one place where it could reasonably fit, and that was around
the power reactor. The zero-gravity recreation area was divided into seven
parts. Two of the parts were public gyms, with zero-grav equipment, and five
of them were private recreational areas. They had padded walls, similar to
those that gymnasts used, and different connectors, for ropes, bars, or
whatever equipment that could be used. Three of the five were spherical,
completely round, for jogging or whatever the occupant desired.

The double-gravity recreation area was much larger, but often less populated.
It had a small garden, but the rest was devoted to weight-training equipment,
and a workout area. A track ran around the inside of the ship. Four laps was
considered a mile, even though it was more.

Shonan and Lina were spending more time together, and were becoming great
friends. That was fortunate, since Chani was spending less and less time with
him. Carol was more his mother now.

Chani began spending more and more time down in the double-gravity workout
area, and she would jog more than five miles a day on the track. After the
first month, her body developed from athletic to nearly muscular. If she
tensed her body, she could become hard as a brick. There was no one on board,
even Ben the engineer, who could beat her at arm wrestling. She would always
win the ship races and other competitions, usually by a large margin.

Julie worked out with Chani as much as she could, but it was tiring. Chani's
intense physical perfecting was exhausting for anyone. Most of Julie's time
was spent watching Chani, or talking to her, or reading. Julie had a knack for
grammar, and she would help with the stories people on board turned out week
after week. She planned on writing something of her own, but it was difficult
coming up with any ideas.

Since paper was in short supply, all writing was done on the 311's computer,
dubiously known as Hal. Hal was some kind of supercomputer, and most people
suspected it was a Cray. It turned out there was a computer terminal in each
room, that folded out of the wall, at the bottom of the bed. Everyone had
direct access to Hal's database, and the other colony ships' computers.

The food on board was disgusting, and no one denied it. It was a kind of a
nutritional paste, drawn from the WRS (Waste Recycling System), that was
blended together to form a certain taste. "Pizza" tasted nothing like pizza,
"beef stew" tasted nothing like beef stew, and so on. Those with the most time
on their hands added new assembly subroutines to the food program every few
days, and posted up their recipes above the food dispenser in the cafeteria.
They came to be known as the Cooks. Most of their recipes sucked, and nobody,
including the Cooks, denied it, but they would receive compliments
nonetheless. Some suspected the only reason for the compliments was the hope
that maybe they would keep up the Cooks' drive to continue inventing. Maybe
then something decent would come of it.

On one of Amber's weekly speeches, she openly apologized for not spending more
capital on the food dispenser program. This message was relayed to the other
ships, who sent back their (lies) "forgiven and forgotten" messages. It soon
became no secret that Chani wasn't eating the paste; after the first sniff,
she gagged and vowed to never eat that stuff while she was in her right mind.

And, a month later, she still hadn't eaten any of it. That was what made it
more amazing. She was surviving completely on the metallic-tasting water of
the WRS. Although physiologically possible to sustain oneself on water for a
month, it was most definitely not possible to survive on just water while
still running five miles a day, working out for two hours, and staying at peak
physical performance. Yet Chani was doing it, somehow. This had Julie and
Amber worried crazy, and Chani liked it that way.

It took longer for Amber to notice it, but she became aware that Chani had
begun to slip into her pattern of depression. If there had been beer on board,
Chani would have drunk it all. As it was, the only way she could take her mind
off things was to work out.

***

"You know Chani, you really should eat," Julie said for the 10,000th time.
"You can't survive like you are."

"Paradox," Chani grunted. "31."

"Huh?"

"It's a paradox. 32. You can't do what you are doing, you just said." Chani
lowered her nose to the floor mat, where a bead of sweat trickled onto the
beige surface. "33. That's not possible, to be unable to do something while
still doing it."

"But-" Julie stopped. "I'm worried about you. You're not...you don't eat at-"

"34. I told you. That stuff tastes like shit. I'm not going to eat it. 35."
Chani bounced to her feet and pushed her hair back away from her face. She
needed another haircut.

"Can we go back to your quarters now? It's getting pretty hot in here."

Chani rubbed her hands on her jogging shorts. "Whatever. I'm done for today."

Julie hopped off the balance beam and followed Chani to the corridor. Chani
stopped at the edge of the circle and stepped on the red ring. She waited for
a few moments, until it turned green. That meant the corridor was empty, and
she could proceed. Daniel had accounted for the fact that many people would be
moving fast through the flexi-steel tubes, and put this system in. It was
similar to an elevator, but you had to climb the shaft yourself.

A handle, attached by string to a pulley, which was in turn attached to
weights, allowed people to slide down from the residential section, the axis,
to the recreational section. It provided a softer landing than if one just
jumped down the tube.

Chani jumped.

But since they were heading from the double-gravity area to the recreational
area, the pulley wasn't available. Chani grabbed the handholds and climbed up
with just her arms, moving rapidly. Julie followed close behind, using her
arms and legs.

Chani rolled into the residential hallway, and walked the few yards to her
room. She punched her PIN number into the door, and it slid open. Chani jumped
in, and Julie jumped after.

Chani tapped a button with her foot, and the door slid closed. She turned
around and went to her closet, stripping off her top.

"You know, Chani," Julie said, twiddling her thumbs together and watching the
woman undress. "I was wondering..."

"Yeah?" she asked, without turning. Chani pushed her sports bra into the
laundry chute, next to the closet door, where it would sit with her other
laundry until 10:03 PM. Then they would be whisked off to a harsh cleansing
process, and returned, clean and dry, before morning.

"Is everything okay?"

Chani paused momentarily, with her hands on the waistband of her jogging
shorts. "Uh-huh," she pulled them off and pushed them into the chute. "Why?"

Julie looked in her lap. "It's just that...well, I dunno. You've been acting a
little strange lately."

Chani laughed. She pulled her panties off and put them with her other clothes.
"How do you know what my acting strange is?" Chani asked. "You haven't known
me for the past ten years, remember?"

Julie nodded. "I know, it's just that...you seem a little drawn back."

Chani's sweat turned cold. "From what?" she asked, walking to the hole she
called the shower.

Julie shrugged and looked at the woman. Chani's sleek, sweating body was
beautiful. It seemed to reach out to Julie, but she was far too nervous to say
anything. Unless that was what she was doing now.

Chani turned on the shower water, testing the temperature with her finger.

"You're just not talking that much, that's all."

Chani closed her eyes and sighed. God, if only she had enough courage to ask
her. Tell her. With a shrug she hoped was nonchalant, Chani said, "Things have
changed."

"Like what?" Julie said.

Chani stepped into the shower and slid the door partially closed, so they
could still talk. "Anea." Chani hoped she could pull that off.

Julie scowled. Chani couldn't pull that off. "That was years ago, Chani. If
you haven't gotten over Anea's change yet, you need to talk to someone."

Okay, that wouldn't work. "I've got a lot on my mind, Julie. It's more than
that..." she trailed off.

After a minute, Julie said, "What? Tell me what it is?"

Chani sighed. "It's not easy to talk about."

"What is?" challenged Julie. "Please tell me."

Chani stopped scrubbing herself. "I...listen, Julie, I'm sorry. I really can't
talk about this."

Julie remained silent until Chani was out of the shower. "Can you hand me a
towel?" Chani asked, feeling along the door.

Julie walked over and picked it up off the floor where it had fallen. As Chani
opened the door to take the towel, Julie caught a glimpse of Chani's eyes. For
the first time in a long time.

As Chani took the towel and smothered her face in it, Julie walked slowly back
to the mattress, thinking. Chani's expression had been a mixture of regret,
love, and fear. Not fear, just...well, maybe it was fear. If it was fear, what
was she afraid of? Was Chani afraid of herself? Or Julie?

The girl thought back to what had been just more than a month ago, to herself.
Chani had been so willing, then. She'd been the instigator, but why was she
holding back now?

Julie leaned against the wall, laughing at herself for her stupidity. Julie
was ten years younger than Chani, how could she expect her to just fall right
into bed with her? That would be counted as statutory rape. Of course, by
who's rules, now? But then there's the moral dilemma. Chani wouldn't want to
feel like she was forcing Julie. At least, not with such an age difference.
All Julie had to do was remove Chani's constraints...

Chani came out of the shower and went to the closet, not looking at Julie. She
pulled on some cutoff sweat pants and a halter top.

What was going through her mind right now? Julie groaned inwardly. I must be
torturing her, damn me. Following her around like this. She knows she can't do
anything without my go, so she's just waiting on me. Or is she?

Julie battled with herself, then stood up and walked next to Chani, who was
combing her hair in the full-length mirror. "Chani?" she asked softly.

"Mm-hm?"

"Do you remember what happened between us that night in Antarctica?"

Chani's comb stopped. "What?"

"Do you remember? After the demon attacked us?"

"Yes," she said slowly.

Julie turned Chani so she was looking at the girl. "Do you regret what
happened?"

"No! I mean, not if - what about-"

Julie put her finger on Chani's lips. "I don't regret anything. I just hope
you feel the same way." Chani wasn't much taller than Julie, so Julie didn't
have to bend the woman's neck down. Her hands circled Chani's waist, running
along her bare skin.

Chani's breathing was light as their noses moved next to each other. Julie's
hot breath mingled with Chani's, and she whispered, "Julie, don't..." The very
edge of Julie's lips touched the Chani's, and Chani gasped. She pulled away.
"No! I can't, Julie, this is-"

Chani muttered something and swept past the startled girl. She kicked her bare
foot against the door panel, and the door slid open with a hiss. Chani dropped
through, and Julie could hear her feet padding off down the corridor.

Julie fell to her knees and bent her head forward. Damn.

***

Chani's open hand hit Amber's hatch, hard. She waited a few moments before
pounding again. "Amber!" she cried. "Get out-"

The door slid open.

Amber poked her head out the door. "Chani! What the hell is your problem?
Can't this wait? I'm a little busy-"

"No," Chani said. "I need to be frozen."

"What?"

"I can't stand life on board this ship. You have to freeze me."

Amber gaped at her. "Hold on."

A few minutes later, Amber dropped down to the floor wearing her uniform. Her
hair was tied back in an untidy ponytail. "Come here."

Amber led Chani through the corridors and to a small room. It had a few beds,
and had several metal cabinets and shelves lining the walls.

"Where are we?" Chani asked.

"Sick bay. Here sit on the bed."

Chani hopped onto the bed.

Amber put her weight on one foot and folded her arms. "What the hell are you
talking about?"

"I..." Chani sighed. "Listen, this ship is driving me crazy. I'm about the
only non-essential crew member you've got, and all I do is use up resources
that could help other crew members."

"This ship can easily provide power, food, and water to over a hundred
people."

"And I hate it! I have nothing productive to do with my time, and Julie haunts
me like-" Chani stopped.

Amber raised an eyebrow. "So that's what you're worried about? Julie's
following you around? What's the problem? She doesn't have any friends, and
you're the only person she knows from-"

Chani waved her hand. "Listen. While we were out in Antarctica...Julie and
I...we had sex."

Amber's eyebrows raised. "You...did." She said it as a statement, just making
sure she heard right.

"Yeah. I was so afraid she'd regret it, and hate me for it, that I-"

"Wait wait wait," Amber put her hand up. "Why would she regret it if you both
agreed to it?"

"We didn't really, I kind of forced her to."

"How?"

"I have the ability to destroy resistance people have to having sex with a
particular person. That's why you and J-" Chani stopped. Oh fuck. Why the hell
had that come out?

Amber's face slowly changed. Puzzlement passed over her features for a moment,
then her eyes widened.

Chani had never judged Amber to be a very strong person. After all, how strong
could you get working in an office day after day? And she didn't look that
strong.

Chani judged wrong.

Amber's fist smashed Chani's left cheekbone, and Chani sprawled backwards, her
back hitting the floor. The breath exploded out of her lungs, and her vision
swam for a few moments. When Chani struggled to her feet, she saw Amber
clutching her hand between her knees and mouthing cuss words.

Chani climbed back onto the bed and returned to her original position. Amber's
hand finally stopped throbbing, and she swore right in Chani's face. "What the
hell do you think you were doing!?" she screamed. "You think you can just-"

"Amber!" Chani yelled. "We came here to solve my problem, not both of ours."

To her surprise, Amber stopped. "Yeah, you're right. You were in the middle of
a story."

Chani was rubbing her cheek. "Was I?"

"Yes."

"Oh, right. Well, I came out of the shower, and she asked me if I regretted
it. I stammered out something, I don't even remember, and she tried to kiss
me. God, she's so young. I'd feel like I'm molesting her!"

Amber pushed her lower lip out with her tongue. "I...see. I can see how you
wouldn't like that."

Chani wasn't sure, but she never remembered revealing her bisexuality to
Amber. If so, it didn't seem to phase her at all. Actually, Chani couldn't
remember revealing even heterosexuality to Amber. She'd dated a few times over
the years, guys and girls, but nothing had come from them.

"Well, knowing you, you won't give up," Amber said. "So I'll get Brad down
here." She went to the wall communicator and dialed in Brad's extension. "Hey,
Brad," she said when it clicked on. "Why don't you come to sick bay? We've got
a new patient."

"Sure thing, ma'am."

When Brad arrived, he was wearing his uniform as well. Probably trying to
impress Amber. "What's the trouble?" he asked.

"She needs to be put into hibernation," Amber said.

Brad raised his eyebrows. "Now?"

Chani nodded.

Brad leaned over to the communicator and dialed in engineering. Ben answered.
"The Jerky Boys," he replied.

"Ben? Brad here."

"Brad!" Ben cried. "Howya been? I hear you lost again last night."

"Uh-huh. Will you bring the nitrogen vacuum down to the A1300 sector?"

"Sure thing. Nitro-Wet-'N-Vac coming right up."

"Follow me," Brad said.

Chani went after the man, following at a distance.

"Aren't you going to say good-bye first?" Amber asked. "It takes a few minutes
to get ready."

Chani sucked in her breath and nodded, letting it out. "Yeah."

She returned to her room, and found Julie curled up on the bed, facing the
wall. Chani kneeled next to Julie and put her mouth next to the girl's ear.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, a tear sliding down her cheek. Chani kissed
Julie's cheek and stood up. The tear fell as she stood, and landed on the side
of Julie's nose. "Good bye," Chani said, climbing down out of her room.

Julie sat up and turned around, wiping her own face. "Wait!" she called.

Chani didn't come back up.

Damn. She'd pushed too hard.

Too damn hard.

******

About one fourth of the way through the voyage, I realized this wouldn't be as
placid and calm a trip as I'd originally thought. Initial problems with
cryo-stasis put me and the bridge staff under a lot of stress for a while. The
main concern of mine was that we'd be dealing with a race of barbarians or
drooling babies when we got to Alpha Prime.

CHANI'S BODY ARCHED.

Air flooded her lungs, and she lay gasping on the table, clutching it with her
finger. Her eyes were wild, flitting from one confused image to another.
Sounds came in a jumbled discord, making absolutely no sense at all. The only
thing she knew for sure, was that she had escaped.

"Stay back," Loreena said. "This is normal."

After a few seconds of confusion, Chani's eyes returned to normal, and she
looked around her. Several people surrounded the table, but she only
recognized one of them. Amber.

"Amber?" Chani asked, a note of fear in her voice. "What happened?"

Amber smiled reassuringly. "We brought you back out of stasis."

"Stasis? What are you talking about?"

The woman who had spoken before leaned next to Amber and whispered, not
quietly enough, "It's normal for them to forget the procedure, at least for a
little while. Hibernation damages the brain's memory functions."

"Hibernation?" Chani demanded. She jerked up, inadvertently pulling off
electrodes that had been stuck to her forehead and temples. "What are you
talking about?"

"Ten years ago, you ch-"

"Ten years!" Chani blurted. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

Amber's face betrayed her concern. "Just listen. About a month after we
boarded the 311, you-"

"The what?"

"How far back does the memory loss go?" Amber asked the woman.

"In our tests, no more than a couple days, but-"

"What's going on?" Chani demanded.

Amber paused. "You remember Project: Exodus, don't you?"

Chani shook her head.

Amber's eyes closed. She mouthed, "Shit."

"Amber," Chani said slowly. "What's going on?"

Wordlessly, Amber drew a small symbol in the air before her. Chani slumped
back against her pillow and began breathing deeply.

Amber spun on Loreena angrily. "I told her about Exodus more than a year
before we launched. You mean to say she can't remember a whole year?"

Loreena had placed the electrodes back on Chani's head. "I don't understand.
According to the calculations, st shouldn't extend beyond the thermal-"

"Shut up," Amber said. "Don't talk technical to me. I want to know what
happened. I was told that you guys had a workable cryo-stasis system."

Loreena moved to a wall monitor and began typing. She shook her head. "Just a
minute..."

After about five minutes, she turned to the group and said, "They
miscalculated."

"How is that possible? 'They miscalculated,' what's that mean?"

"According to the original experiments, rate of memory degeneration was at
.001% plus st multiplied by the thaw time. Those subjects regained their
memory within a week. You gave us very little time to accurately project the
memory loss possibility, with only a few years."

"What's st?" Aranor asked.

Loreena pursed her lips. "It's...too complicated. But their calculations were
correct. Since we were dealing with a variable, and since no human is exactly
the same, this equation fell within acceptable parameters. In essence, they
were right."

"But they weren't."

"They aren't. The equation is something different now."

"What is it?"

"I don't know. Brad and I will get right on it, but the problem is, the memory
loss increases exponentially with time spent in cryo."

"Can you get her memory back?" Amber asked.

Loreena nodded. "Yeah. But that's not the main concern."

"What is?"

"Oh my God," Julie whispered.

"What?" Aranor said.

Julie's eyes were wide. "When we get to Alpha Prime, we'll be dealing with
people who have potentially forgotten their whole lives."

The room was silent.

***

Chani's eyes opened slowly this time, and she blinked the eye moistener away.
The room slowly swam into focus, and she found herself staring at the same
ceiling as before. But now she knew where she was.

Sick bay. The 311.

Chani groaned and sat up. She pushed her palm against her forehead, and waited
until her head stopped throbbing. All she could hear now was the low buzz of
the ceiling lights.

She looked down at herself. She was wearing loose blue pants and shirt, like a
hospital uniform. Her hair and skin was clean, and she felt fresh. Chani
wiggled her toes to make sure they were working. Yep. Chani swung her feet out
over the side of the bed and looked up. Julie was standing, hands folded
passively. The young woman smiled tentatively.

For a long minute, Chani just stared. Julie's hair was longer, it seemed. Her
brown hair fell down to her waist, tied at several places with hair bands. Her
skin wasn't as light as before (Probably spent time in the sunroom, Chani
thought absently). Julie's eyes were leaf green, and crystal clear. Her body
had matured over the past ten years, and now looked very similar to Chani's.
She was wearing a variation on the regular uniform. The vest and pants were
still black, but her T-shirt was now white. Julie had achieved the rank of
lieutenant.

Chani fully intended to make conversation. Hi, howya doing? What's your
position on the ship? Lieutenant, eh? Miss me? Any of those would have done.
Instead, it came out as a choked, "Jesus, Julie, I'm so sorry."

She broke down there, and wept into Julie's suddenly convenient shoulder for
God knows how long. When she finally wiped her eyes and looked up, she
sniffled, "Hey, sorry 'bout that. Are we there yet?"

Julie shook her head. "No." Her voice didn't sound much different. It was
soft, still slightly timid.

"How much longer?"

Julie sat next to Chani on the bed. "Listen, I was the only reason they
brought you out. That, and Amber wants you here for her wedding."

"How long has it been?"

"Ten years. We still have thirty to go."

It sank in painfully.

"Listen, if you want to go back under, then do it. But I asked them to bring
you out of hibernation. It took me a while to convince them."

Chani's head listed a little. "Why?"

"I wanted to start over."

Chani's brow furrowed slightly. Then she smiled. Julie started again, more
confidently. The kiss was slow, but still passionate. When Chani pulled her
tongue out of Julie's mouth, she leaned her forehead against Julie's. "So
you're 26, now, huh?"

"Yeah," Julie whispered. They were both staring down at the bed between them.
"Still think I'm too young?"

"Amber tell you?"

"Wasn't that hard to figure out."

Chani smiled, blinking the wet tears from her eyes. "What now?"

"You wouldn't believe what I'd like to do to you right now, but we'll have to
wait. Amber's wedding is in a couple hours, and we have to go get ready. After
all, you're the maid of honor."

***

The wedding was short, and neat. It took place on the bridge, with everybody
attending. Reverend Web, the chaplain of the 311, performed the ceremony. It
was unusual, to say the least.

The wedding party, men and maids of honor, Amber, Aranor, and Chaplain Web
stood on the captain's platform (which actually contained the captain's chair,
plus room enough for about five other people to sit). Due to the lack of
gravity, some footholds had been placed for people's toes to lodge under. The
rest of the audience sat in the bridge crew's chairs, and stood around them.
Only a few people started floating away during the ceremony, and they were
pulled down before general snickers could erupt.

After the vows had been completed, and the couple kissed, everybody cheered,
and started tossing one another around. Someone routed some 90's dance music
through the intercom system, and the reception was transformed into a
laughingstock of a dance party. A few people produced bottles of wine or
champagne, most of which were given to the newlyweds, who then distributed the
drinks to everyone else. Mostly.

They had champagne catching contests; somebody would pop a bottle in the
center of the room, and all the guests tried to catch the floating globules of
drink. Most people ended up with soaked faces.

Before the couple retired to their quarters, Amber tossed her bouquet up at
the transparent ceiling, and all the women launched up after it in a
squabbling flock.

Chani just watched with a grin on her face.

After one of the ensigns had grabbed the flowers, the rest of the bride's
maids floated around for a while, trying to figure a way to get down. Julie
pushed her way from one end of the domed ceiling to the other, then shoved
down at Chani. Julie rotated 180 degrees in the air and landed on her feet,
grabbing the desk next to Chani.

As everyone around them danced and continued with the party, Chani said,
"What'd you say we get outta here?"

"Good idea," Julie called over the music.

They moved to the corridor, and made their way back to their rooms. Chani
crawled back up to her room, and sat down on the bed.

Julie crawled in after and closed the door. "You've been staring at me all
night, is something wrong?" she asked.

Chani opened her mouth, then broke into a grin. "Come on. You know what it is.
You did the same to me when you first saw me. You're ten freaking years older,
and you just look different. That's all."

Julie sat on the floor and pulled off her shoes. She nodded.

"How come you look so different, and Amber hasn't changed at all?"

"Loreena said it's because I was growing, and they were aging. But even so
they haven't aged but a few months. That's what's going to be so weird. When
we reach Alpha Prime, everybody will have lived forty years, but aged less
than two."

Chani nodded. She pulled her shoes and vest off. "What's with the different
color T-shirts?"

"Oh, that. Black means command, red means military or security, dark gray is
business, blue is medical or science, red is military, light green is cadet,
and white is anything else."

"You're white."

"I help Richard Fenton write FF Ink, weekly newspaper that's distributed among
the colony ships. And I'm the editor for WhiteFly Publishing Inc."

"Which is?"

Julie pulled off her vest and crawled over to Chani. She sat next to her on
the bed. "It's my new publishing corporation. People send me novels or short
stories they've written, I read them, and if they're good, I publish them
electronically. Red programmed a novel reader for me, and it helps to
prepackage all the edited stories. I'll get...here, let me show you." Julie
moved to Chani's terminal and logged in. "Here's one I'm going to mail out
tomorrow." Julie opened up the file and sat back. The screen went black, then
faded to a wonderfully done painting of a riding horseman. The words "Fallen
Heroes" appeared above the picture, and then the words were imposed on top of
the painting, which shrunk down to the size of a paperback book. A little
WhiteFly Publishing logo appeared in the bottom right corner of the book, and
the book opened up. The camera zoomed into the first page until it occupied
the whole screen. "And here," Julie said, "you just hit page up and down to
move through, or you can type in a page or chapter to go to, etc. There's
bookmarks and stuff like that. It's pretty neat."

"Can't people publish their stuff on bulletin boards and stuff?"

Julie nodded. "Yeah, but this way they receive a recognition. It says that
somebody thinks it's worth something. That's all."

Chani smiled. "Yeah. Who's the-"

"Chani?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think we could talk later?" Julie's slim fingers locked behind Chani's
neck, and their mouths met in a deep kiss.

Chani heard herself moan. God, it was no different from...twenty years ago?
Jesus, that's how long it had been since she'd been with Julie? It seemed like
yesterday. Chani stopped thinking when she felt Julie's hand move beneath her
shirt aggressively. As usual, it had been too long.

Chani's tongue plundered Julie's mouth with a strength she hadn't felt in
twenty years. Moaning as Julie's fingers slipped beneath the elastic rim of
her underwear, Chani pushed her own hand into Julie's panties. When her hand
moved over Julie's mound, Chani felt the girl shiver.

Girl. Was she still a girl to Chani?

That thought fled as cool air and then Julie's mouth covered her breasts. They
kissed on the bed for several minutes, alternating dominant positions, until
Julie yanked Chani's panties from around her ankles. She bent between Chani's
legs and buried her face in the woman's pussy.

Chani lurched when she felt the girl...girl. Hell, it was already a habit.
Chani lurched when she felt Julie's tongue plunging into her lower lips. Her
fingers gently caressed Chani's clit, causing her legs to spasm wetly.

After Chani's orgasm stormed through her body, Julie sucked up the juices and
kissed her. Chani could taste her own juice in the other girl's mouth.

"When get your breath back," Julie said, "maybe you can-"

"Who needs breath?" Chani asked, kissing Julie again.

Chani pulled Julie's bra off, and she nipped at the girl's breasts, taking
them into her mouth and sucking her nipples harshly. Julie's moans turned
Chani on more, and Chani pushed her hand between her legs.

With a light intake of breath, Julie froze, on her hands and knees above
Chani, her eyes closed, and mouth open. She whimpered as Chani began pumping
her fingers in and out of her dripping cunt. Julie stayed in that position as
Chani brought her off by hand, her whimpers slowly growing louder. When she
orgasmed, her position didn't change much. She just screamed out, and Chani
smiled, pushing her tongue into Julie's screaming mouth. They kissed as
Julie's vagina contracted and spasmed around Chani's fingers.

Chani giggled into Julie's mouth as she continued to scream and shudder. Hot
fluids poured over Chani's hand, and she brought it up between their frenching
mouths, pushing a couple fingers into Julie's mouth. Julie sucked on her own
juice, her moans lengthening as the orgasm passed.

A few moments later, Julie collapsed on top of Chani. "God, Chani. Where'd you
learn to do that?" she panted.

Chani grinned. "Am I that good? I've only done it a couple times. Don't you
remember?"

Julie's brow furrowed, as she tried to think through the sexual haze. "Was it
that good back then?"

"I doubt it, but we can compare later."

Julie's eyes widened. "Wait a second! Already? Don't you get tired?"

"Already?"

"I mean, shouldn't we rest for a minute?" she was still breathing hard.

"Do what you like," Chani grinned flipping over so Julie was beneath her. "But
I don't think resting will be one of them." She crawled backwards, and lifted
Julie's legs so the back of her knees were on Chani's shoulders.

"Wait, Chani, I-unh!" her face contorted as Chani's mouth began working her
womanhood again. Julie's left hand pushed against the wall, and her right hand
grabbed a fistful of Chani's hair.

Not unexpectedly, their night was more passionate than the newly married
couple's. But not much.

***

Amber screamed her orgasm at the same time as Julie, but in a different part
of the ship. Her fingers were jacking in and out of her pussy as Aranor's cock
pumped in and out of her anus. By the time Aranor came, the bed sheets were
wet with Amber's fluids.

She was still moaning when Aranor's cock tensed and began jetting out his hot
seed. Her muscle quivered around his penis as he unloaded shot after shot of
seed into her body. When he stopped, they both stayed in that position for a
few moments, and then Amber whispered, "Now how come it took us so long to
figure this out?"

"Huh?" Aranor blinked, his haze slowly lifting.

Amber pulled off and wiped herself with the bed sheets. She tossed it to the
corner and lay back on the mattress. "Where's that bottle of champagne?"

"Why?"

"I need to get drunk."

"You think one bottle of champagne is going to do that?"

"That and a couple other things," Amber cooed, leaning forward and letting her
wander down Aranor's chest.

***

Amber held up the pill.

"What's that?" Chani asked.

"My science staff agrees that it's impossible for you to survive that much
longer without some kind of nutrient intake."

"Huh?"

Amber put the pill in Chani's hand. "This is a calorie-nutrient pill. It's
developed from the same paste stuff we all eat, but compressed so that you can
just swallow it in a pill form. You won't have to taste a thing."

Chani shrugged. "Cool." She tossed the horse pill down her throat and had to
swallow several times to get it down. "To tell the truth, it was beginning to
get irritating, not eating for that long."

"Irritating?" Nigel said from the next table. "You haven't eaten for a
collective period of..."

"Two months," Julie supplied.

"That's impossible!" Ben said, "pizza" paste on the corner of his mouth. "You
can't survive one month, let alone two and stay in that kind of shape!"

"Sorry, but I'm not dead yet," Chani said.

"Well, each pill contains about 1000 calories. Take three or four a day. It
has plenty of vitamins and crap, so don't worry about that."

Chani nodded and drank some of her water. "Thanks, Amber."

Amber nodded. "No problem. Now I have a morale speech to make, if you'll
excuse me."

With that, Amber walked off and got on the speakers a few minutes later. She
addressed the problems that some crew members were having, and told everybody
to hang in there. Only another thirty years to go!

***

Three months later, Julie was looking for Ben, the engineer, down in the
zero-grav engine section when she found the bloody remains of ensign Williams.
Her scream could be heard all the way up in Chani's room. Naturally, Chani was
the first to arrive, and the first to pull Julie away from the decapitated
body.

After a couple choking sobs, Julie ran back to her room and vomited into the
toilet for a couple minutes. Chani stayed behind and called Amber down. She
arrived about a minute later, and turned her head in disgust.

"God," she gagged. "What happened?"

"Suicide, I think," Chani replied. "She positioned her head inside that little
hatch, knowing that it closes every time a plasma pulse passes into the
engines."

"What's it even have a doorway to there for?"

"The heat paneling inside the conductor needs maintenance every so often," Ben
answered, appearing below them in the tube. "It gives off ample warning before
the plasma pulse runs through the conductor, so this probably wasn't an
accident. Especially since she was decapitated. Nobody ever sticks their head
in there. All you do is reach in, pull the paneling out, and close it. Ten
seconds, max. She did it on purpose."

"You think there's a possibility of homicide?" Amber asked.

"Murder?" Ben looked doubtful. "If you wanted to disguise it, yeah. But I
think she did it to herself."

"Why do you say that?" Chani asked.

"Decapitation. Stick your head in and wait for the hatch to chop your head
off. What quicker way to go? Plus I'm not surprised she did it. She was always
a little strange."

"You could've told us something like this might've happened," Amber said,
pulling back into the main corridor.

"No," Ben replied, "I couldn't have. I thought she was weird, but not
disturbed enough to kill herself."

"Get somebody to clean that up," Amber's voice rang through the tube.

"Yes ma'am."

Chani looked at the body, so easily abandoned, and crawled up to Julie. It was
just a passing thought, but still disturbed her. If she hadn't gone into
hibernation, would she have done the same thing? Sure, it was irrelevant now,
and an entirely different situation, but, would she?

***

Shonan sighed as his cock slowly penetrated Lina's anus.

"Slower," she said. "Please. You're big for your age."

"I know," Shonan grinned. Fifteen. He was fifteen, and she was nineteen. God,
that sounded so old. Three years ago, he was fourteen, she was seventeen.
Didn't sound so different then.

He'd be sixteen in a month, and they'd return to their typical three year age
difference. When Lina started having her periods, they resorted to protected
sex, oral, or just anal. After all Lina's stolen condoms had been used, that
was it. Since condoms were impossible to get ahold of on the 311, they had to
do this instead. It was hard. And it would be hard for a few more years,
unless they decided to have kids, or unless Shonan figured out how to
neutralize his sperm magically.

Unfortunately, his spell library was minuscule. That was his mother's fault.
She was never there to teach him, nobody was. And Lina, nobody raised her
either, except that Carol bitch. She was still on board, but Lina and Shonan
pretty much looked out for themselves now. Not that they needed looking out
for. The two of them usually managed to behave, and they stayed out of
everyone's way.

When Shonan was buried to the hilt, he began thrusting in and out of Lina's
tight butt rhythmically. They'd done this a thousand times before, but, to
Shonan's delight, Lina's asshole hadn't seemed to expand. Either that, or he
got larger with it.

Lina's hands gripped his buttocks as he thrust in, keeping him from getting
too far out of sync. Not that that would happen, of course. It had been the
same for...who knew how long? Lina dropped the thought and concentrated on the
sensation of Shonan's long cock plunging in and out of her body. His fingers
teased her sensitive clit, wet with saliva and her vaginal juices.

As the rhythm increased, Shonan's hands moved to her firm breasts, and he
began squeezing them each time his penis thrust into her bowels. The fucking
soon brought on his climax, and he orgasmed. His back jerked, and his hands
grabbed her waist. Shonan grunted as his hips slammed into Lina's ass, and his
hot cum poured into her anus.

Lina felt it filling her up, and she gasped, clenching her legs together. Her
hands held him against her as his cock just spewed out its load, and she
convulsed, her body bucking and jolting in pleasure. As Lina's orgasm died
down, she pulled her nails out of Shonan's buttocks and let him slide out.

"I swear, Lee, you're gonna tear holes in my butt someday."

She took the already wet bed sheet and mopped herself up with it. "I'll make
it up to you," she sighed, flopping back onto the bed.

They had discovered the joys of sex at an obscenely early age, while Shonan
was only nine, and Lina was twelve. Lina found herself with certain urges, and
since the ship's computer Hal was uncensored, she delved into the Earth
databases and discovered for herself what sex was. She kept the secret to
herself for a while, just roaming around in old internet newsgroup archives,
and the current Exodus newsgroups. But Shonan started getting suspicious of
all the time she started spending alone, so he eavesdropped, and walked in
unannounced one day, to find Lina on the bed, legs spread wide, thrusting her
fingers in and out of her pussy. Naturally, she had explained things to him
there, and their relationship had proceeded in that respect rather rapidly.

Her periods started late, so they were safe for more than a year, but when
they did come, things changed slightly. Lina had found a bag of condoms in
another woman's locker, in the double-grav workout room, and, knowing what
they were, stolen them. Shonan and Lina used those up rather quickly, and
tried to think of a solution. None forthcoming, and deciding the withdrawal
method was too dangerous, they just abandoned normal sex for as long as they
could. There were a few times, when, at the appropriate time during Lina's
cycle, they had let lust get the better of them, but nothing was forthcoming
from that.

Although they both enjoyed all types of sex, its unavailability was slowly
starting to drive them both crazy.

***

"And so, we commend her body to the emptiness of space, with the blessing of
God."

Reverend Web bowed his head, and Amber pushed the release button. Through the
door, those gathered saw the coffin (which was actually an altered, empty
cryo-container) tilt back and fall out into space as the vacuum sucked it out.
A few moments later, the air lock doors closed, and the funeral was completed.

Some flowers and bouquets from the garden had been left with the coffin, and
they had been sucked out as well. Only a couple people cried, since no one
knew her well. The rest just remained morbid in the news that one of the crew
had found life so unappealing that she decided to destroy herself.

The 311, along with the other ships, was a community. Generally everyone on
board knew everyone else, and were all friends. The suicide of ensign Janice
Williams didn't change the way people thought of it. It just ruined the mood.

No one really admitted it so blatantly. They told each other that the news was
devastating, and that the 311 would never be the same, but nobody fooled
anybody else. Ensign Williams wasn't a big enough a part of the community to
matter. So, for a brief period in time, the mood on the 311 was somber, but it
returned to normal shortly.

For most people.

"God," Amber muttered. She was seated in the conference corner of the bridge,
with Bart, Aranor, and Matt. "How do I know the ship isn't falling apart out
from under me? What the hell do I do about this?"

"What?" Larry asked. "I don't get it. One person kills herself, and you think
the ship is under attack or something. Just because she hated life, that
doesn't mean anybody else does."

"The point she's making," Aranor replied, "is that nobody saw it coming. If
there are any others on board with the same problem as Williams, we have to
find out about it before it happens again. Things like this can break down
people's sanity."

"What!?" Larry retorted. "What are you talking about?"

"If people onboard start killing themselves-"

"Whoa!" Jesse held up his hands. "One person committed suicide. Don't jump to
conclusions."

"Let's look at why she did it," Matt said. He held up his fingers. "One, she
has no friends. Two she has to live in a place, for forty years, without any
friends; that's so constrictive, she might as well be living in a box. Three,
her mentality may not have been so stable. We couldn't detect that, so how
many others on board have the same problem? What we're looking for is somebody
that has few friends, and spends most of their time alone, secluded."

"Not necessarily those specific signs," Amber added. "Others may be
significant."

"How come this one girl's death has started all this fuss?" asked Red.

"Because, this is a potential problem that could happen elsewhere. For those
people not included in the 311 community, life is cold, harsh, and lonely.
People can't live like that," Amber hit the table a little too hard. "Every
one of us has people they can hang out with, right? Right. Williams didn't.
One of the fundamental parts of human life is socialization, friendship, and
love." No one made fun of her for adding "love" because she was CEO.
"Understand? If a kid grows up without companionship, or love, they die, or go
insane, or something like that. We have to prevent that from happening to
anyone else on board."

The Council sat silently, brooding on this.

"Now," Amber sat back. "I've already run this by the Inner Circle that are on
the 311, and have sent messages to the other ships for suggestions. Of course,
I'm open to any, so just let me know."

***

Chani struggled hopelessly against the tentacles extending from Anea's back.
The other woman's eyes were like ice. "You can't escape, Chani. I thought that
would be obvious by now."

Chani's eyes were hot as she snapped, "You lost all control over me when I
left Earth."

Anea's laugh was full of contempt, and almost pity. "My control has never been
more sure. You couldn't escape by leaving Earth, you couldn't escape by
entering hibernation, and you surely can't escape now."

The tentacles around Chani's limbs tightened, and she screamed as her bones
were twisted and splintered inside her body.

A moment later, the dream dissolved, and Anea's face was replaced with
Julie's. "Chani! Wake up!" she cried, shaking Chani's shoulders.

Chani blinked the tears and sweat from her eyes. She sat up on her hands for a
moment, oblivious of Julie's questions. God. It was over now.

As Chani lay back on the mattress, the truth dawned on her. It wasn't over. It
would never be over. Anea would be after her for all of eternity, and there
was nothing she could do to stop it.

***

Shonan looked a lot like his mother. His hair was jet black, but contrasted
with his fair skin. His eyes were clear blue, and he was well-muscled. One
feature that many found disturbing but couldn't identify was his constantly
emotionless state. It seemed as though he never really displayed emotions; his
face was always a flat mask, unreadable and blank.

Lina was the only one who professed that he had any emotions, but even so, she
rarely found them to be positive. She rarely found him smiling, laughing, or
talking when he wasn't in her presence. They spent a lot of time together, but
over the past ten years, she'd begun to notice how he acted in front of the
rest of the crew. She could only describe it as cold. Most of his responses
were emotionless statements. It always sounded as if he had better things to
do than talk to them.

The only person he was really nice around was her. Lina. He always showed a
side to her that no others were allowed to see. If it weren't for that, Lina
would have no trouble imagining him as a cruel, hateful boy.

God, she hated thoughts like that. It made her sick to admit it, but Shonan
wasn't exactly a normal kid. Throughout their childhood, he had never really
been...innocent was the word. She never really noticed that childhood
innocence that could always be found in young kids. Shonan always seemed to be
hiding something. No, that wasn't it. He was resigned to something.

Lina moaned and sat up in bed. She couldn't think straight.

Looking down at him, she searched her feelings. Shonan's face was calm as he
slept, not a peaceful calm, but the calm of a killer.

Shit.

Where the hell was this coming from? The calm of a killer? Jesus, he wasn't
some kind of psychopath. Shonan was a normal, sixteen year old boy. That was
all. Right?

Lina felt compassion and sympathy for him, but that was all. No, she loved
him, but not as a lover. Yet. Shonan didn't love her, she knew, and she
accepted it. Her love for him was just one of compassion. She felt sorry for
him. His mother had been nonexistent in Shonan's life, no one had raised him.
His father...who was his father? Lina searched her memory, but couldn't find
an answer.

No parents had been there for Lina's life either, but she didn't have to face
the fact that her parents didn't love her and ignored her. They were killed by
demons (she'd been told). Jay and Melanie had taken her in, and they had cared
for her, but weren't exactly suited to be parents. Before the launch day, Lina
and Shonan had been fully entrusted to Carol's care, and they were just left
that way, with the maid raising both of them.

Carol hadn't been any kind of parent. She just fed and clothed them. Now that
Lina thought about it, no one had really loved them both. Where were they to
learn about it from? Shonan's mysterious lack of happiness must derive from
that. Somehow.

Shonan stirred next to her, and he looked up at her. For a brief moment, she
felt as though she were looking into an abyss. His eyes were blue pools of
emptiness.

Lina's breath caught as she saw the nothingness there, and Shonan blinked.
When his eyelids opened again, he looked concerned. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Lina nodded numbly, finally sensing emotions in Shonan's eyes.

"You sure?" he sat up next to her, staring straight into her soul.

Again, she nodded, not even sure who she was looking at.

Shonan stared at her for a few seconds, searching her eyes. "Good," he kissed
her still lips. "You looked a little scared."

"Uh-uh," she managed at last. "Just thinking."

Shonan grinned. "About what?"

"You. Me. Us."

"Really? What were you thinking?"

"What's going to happen to us. That's all."

Shonan kissed her again, this time using his tongue. "I'm thinking about that
right now," he whispered.

Lina closed her eyes as he kissed her again, and felt herself responding to
his touch. As far as she could tell, some of the only times she could illicit
any true responses from him was from sex.

***

"I have it!" cried Brad.

"What?" Loreena asked from the other side of sick bay, bandaging a crew
member's arm.

"The solution. Hibernation memory repair."

"Is it electro-stimulation? Like I suggested?"

"No. Well, yes. I mean, kind of. After the thaw-out period, we introduce 10
milligrams times st of ROT into the bloodstream, then provide
electro-stimulation to the cerebral cortex for about an hour. Then we wake
them up, and see what happens."

"Want to try it?" Loreena asked, after she finished the bandage.

"We'll have to ask Amber," Brad said.

"Let's do it."

The patient walked out, and the two scientists followed him. After they left,
sick bay was empty. Not for long, though.

The door slid open and Shonan crept in. He scanned the shelves and grimaced.
Quickly, he started rifling through the shelves and cabinets, searching for
some kind of spermicide. It had advanced enough over the past twenty years to
be 100% effective. Now, they were able to be taken internally, and they pretty
much destroyed all sperm in the body. Most freeing.

Unfortunately, as far as Shonan knew, it was only on board as a sample. For
those that wanted it on Alpha Prime. Anybody else on the ship was probably
using a spell, or were resorting to his and Lina's methods. Nobody had
obtained a better solution to this problem, that he was aware of. That was the
key. His rank of ensign didn't entitle him to shit, so he couldn't find out
much. His access into Hal was extremely limited, and he wasn't about to go
around asking people for some spermicide.

Shonan grinned. He found it. Just as he was pulling the bottle from the
drawer, the door started to slide open. His grin dropped away, and he swore.
In a swift motion, he slammed shut the drawer and darted across the room. He
dove over a bed and rolled into a squatting position beneath a table. Shonan
drew the table drapes in front of him and he listened, peeking out from the
side.

Several people entered the room and stopped at the first bed. Aranor set a
limp form on the bed and they crowded around it.

"Okay," Amber said. "Is this sure to work?"

"Let's hope so," Brad replied, filling a syringe with some liquid. "The ROT
has already been administered from the containment unit. I'm going to do the
electro-stimulation from here so I can monitor brain activity. This way it can
be adjusted properly, and we can determine correct voltage for actual
subjects."

"I thought you said the cryo-containers could administer the stimulation."

"They can, I just wanted to monitor activity from here. While that's
happening, there's something else I want to show you."

"How long are we going to be here?" Amber asked.

"Well, I wanted to go over the possible illness prevention plans and bacteria
introduction plans for when we reach Alpha Prime."

"How long are we going to be here?" Amber repeated.

"This might take up your afternoon."

Shonan groaned.

***

"I can't talk about it," Chani replied. "I'm sorry."

"Listen," Julie said, "this is going to haunt you forever, unless you tell
someone." She paused. "Preferably me."

Chani sighed. The conflict lasted for a few seconds, and her reasoning finally
won over. "While I was in hibernation, I met Anea. She's figured away to
contact me while I'm asleep."

Julie's eyes bulged. "What? How?"

Chani shook her head. "I don't know."

"What did she want?"

"Me. For some reason, she's trying to dominate me, break my will. I can't
figure what purpose it serves. I can be of very little use this far away from
her, unless she intends to bring me back."

Julie was silent.

"But doing that would be so difficult that it would probably expend as much
energy to teleport me as what she'd gain."

"What?"

"Before, Anea tried to use me to open the gate, my life energy. But I stopped
it in time, and all I can figure is that she'd try to use me again. Unless she
wants to break my will and turn me into a slave. Then she could use my energy
whenever she needed."

"Do you think Mannan's presenting a problem for her?"

Chani pursed her lips. "Maybe. He is a god, after all. I hope he is, and I
almost hope he wins. If so, maybe she'll stop tormenting me."

"So she was there for all ten years you were in hibernation?"

Chani nodded. "It didn't seem like ten years, but it was plenty long enough."

***

"Well, it worked," she sighed, sitting on the bed and taking off her shoes.

Aranor mumbled something unintelligible into the pillow.

"Huh?"

"I said, 'What worked?'" Aranor said, still half-asleep.

"The memory eraser. The psychiatrist's memory returned within an hour of
waking. It went without a hitch."

"Great."

Amber pulled off the uniform T-shirt and pants, and stripped until she was
naked. She walked over to the laundry chute and put them all in. At 1:23 am,
they'd be washed.

Sliding back into bed with Aranor, she snuggled against his chest as he lay on
his back and put his arm around her shoulders. "You think you can wait thirty
years?" he asked, more awake this time.

"I'll have to. I just don't want to. I wish we could all go into stasis."

"Why can't we?"

"Running the ship takes a lot of work. Besides, we have to plan for what's
going to happen when we reach Alpha Prime."

***

Jill Warner, captain of the X2, grunted as she yanked the lever into place.
"Got it!" she exclaimed.

"Okay," said John, "be careful. This may spark."

Jill stepped away from the closed control panel and waited.

A few moments later, the ship lights flickered on, and she heard Neil cheering
somewhere else in the ship. "Okay folks, that's a wrap."

As Jill returned to the front of the ship, Brad followed her, and sat in the
co-pilot's chair. "We're in range for direct communications now," Brad said.

"Good," said Jill. "Start sending them the Dead Man data, and I want to access
the Earth database on board their ships. Can we set up our terminals to
interface with theirs?"

"I'll ask Wu," said Brad, punching some buttons on the console in front of
him. He picked up a handset and spoke into it. "311, this is the X2, please
respond, over."

They waited a few moments.

Brad repeated the message, and someone came on.

"X2? You guys finally caught up to us, eh?" came the reply.

"Yes, we did. I have the satellite info if you're ready to receive it. Over."

"Um, hold on that X2. We have to get our computer guy in here for that."

"Copy. Call us when you're ready. Over."

"Sure thing."

Brad hung up the handset. "Okay," he said. "What do you want to access the
Earth database for?"

"Books. I need more books."

"To read?"

Jill nodded. "Of course. I've read about everything we have on our computer,
and since John won't hook up those mainframes we have stored in the back, my
reading selection's been a little limited."

Brad grinned. "You know, there are a lot more constructive things we could be
doing with our time than reading."

"Constructive?"

"Enjoyable at least."

Jill snorted.

"X2, this is the 311. There is a go for transmit data."

"Copy 311. Commencing transfer. Over"

Brad punched a button, and they began shooting out the decryption and
capability info on the Dead Man. "We have a request to access your database,
311, is there a possibility for an interface? Over."

After a pause, the man came back on. "That's a poz, X2. Just open up your
network, and transmit to frequency 3411. We still use the same OS as ever."

"Thank you, 311. Over and out."

"Whatever."

Brad turned toward Jill, but she was already working on the terminal behind
him, starting her search.

***

Shonan's eyes remained flat as he injected the spermicide into his arm. He
pulled the needle out and stuck it back in the sheath. "How long do we wait?"
he asked.

"48 hours," answered Lina. "It'll have taken effect by then."

Shonan nodded and put the bottle in the night-stand. He stretched out on the
bed and stared up at the ceiling.

"Shonan?" she asked, her voice somewhat timid.

"Yes?"

"Do you ever think about your mother?"

"Chani?" Shonan grimaced. "What's the point? She ignores me, and I ignore her.
Hate/neglect relationship going here. It's fine."

"But doesn't it bother you that-"

"Bother me? I don't even think about it, or talk about it."

Lina nodded and stood up. "I'm taking a shower," she said.

Shonan put his hands behind his head and looked at her. Lina wasn't very tall,
a little over five feet. Her hair was very blonde. Almost white. It was like
an albino's, but not so bleached. Her skin was just as normal as his, though.
And her eyes were hazel. She had a nice figure. Not a super model, but she was
nice. She drew some second glances.

Lina pulled off her uniform and lingerie, and set them outside the shower as
she stepped in.

The very back of his mind felt sad for the way that he treated her, and he
hated himself for pulling her down with him, but the other part of him just
denied it. Hell, if she wanted to follow him around like a dog, who was he to
stop her? Whether he cared about her or not, which he did, wasn't the issue.
It was just that...

Oh fuck it. Who gives a shit? She was there, and that's all that mattered.

***

Ben sat down at the table. "Hi," he said. "You're Joseph, right?"

The ensign nodded uncertainly. Why was he getting the sudden attention? He'd
been on the ship ten years, just like everybody else. Nobody had noticed him
before. Nobody had even said "hi" before now.

"I'm Ben. But you know me. I introduced myself to you when you came on board,
didn't I?"

Pleased that he remembered, Joseph nodded. "Yeah."

"So tell me Joe, what do you like about the 311?"

"Like?"

"Yeah? What's so great about being on board?"

The ensign shrugged. "I dunno. The people are all nice, and it's got some fun
recreational areas."

Ben spooned some of the nutrition paste into his mouth. "Yeah. Best part about
it is the food, I think. Where can you get something with the consistency of
mustard and the nutrition of a Big Mac?"

The ensign chuckled and shrugged.

"I mean, sure it looks like snot, but it's got great value. Lunch hour has a
whole new meaning now. See, now I've just finished my pizza paste, and I'm
ready to go do other things for the 55 minutes I've got left. Howabout you?"

"Uh, I don't want to burden you or anything. I mean-"

Ben waved it away. "Burden schmurden. Let's go life weights in the zero-grav
weight room."

***

Shonan's arms wrapped around Lina's waist. He pushed his face into her breasts
and smelled her fresh skin. Three days later, they finally had a chance to
have some normal sex.

"God, you're so beautiful," Shonan whispered.

Lina was grinning down at him. "You're uh, not going to just sit like that
forever, are you?"

Shonan took in another deep breath and sat back. "I'm ready now."

Lina bent over and kissed him as he slowly began rocking his cock into her
womanhood. It was about time. They should have done this earlier.

Shonan set up a rhythm immediately, and he began siphoning his cock up into
her pussy slowly. It had been a long time, so he wanted to go slow.

Lina had other plans, he realized, when she grabbed his shoulders and started
grinding her hips into his rapidly. She came quickly, and screamed as she
exploded wetly. Heat washed up from her genitals, and her body shuddered with
the powerful orgasm.

Shonan continued moving up and down at the slow rate, sucking on her breasts
and holding her hips. They fucked like that for a few minutes, Shonan sitting
and rocking his shaft up into her womanhood, Lina bobbing up and down, keeping
in time with his movements.

She came again, the sensation of finally having a cock up her cunt was too
delightful. More of her juices soaked the bed as Lina screamed a second
orgasm.

Shonan's rhythm stayed the same for a few more minutes, until his balls were
burning for release. He increased, and could feel the orgasm coming. He began
grunting with each of his thrusts. When he came, he shouted out, clutching
Lina tightly as he rammed his member up into her and rocketed his cum up her
canal.

The hot fluid pouring into Lina's body was too much, and she screamed. White
lights danced in front of her eyes as the shattering climax overwhelmed her
senses. Lina's thrashing body slowed to a stop after Shonan had finished, and
she lay down on top of him.

"I think I lost count, that time," Lina whispered.

******

We discovered that a number of the crew members (that will go nameless) were
fraternizing amongst each other frequently, which could lead to problems if
they started multiplying. So the Inner Circle and the Council made the
decision to sterilize the entire ship, with my permission of course. This
carried over to the other colony ships as well, and proved my sociologist's
theory that once dangers were removed, people fucked like rabbits.

A year after the memory loss scare with Chani, she proved once again that
demons, in any form, would never truly be gone. I tried to be nice to her
about it.

ANEA TIPPED CHANI'S CHIN UP AND LOOKED INTO THE DEFIANT WOMAN'S EYES. "Come
on," Anea said quietly. "I've broken you before. Don't you think I can do it
again?"

"What's the point?" Chani spat. "You rule Earth. What else do you want?"

Anea smiled. "You." Her lips covered Chani's, and Chani grunted, trying to
resist the woman's advances. But there was nothing she could do. Her nude body
was held vertically by a collection of tentacles. She was unable to move.

Anea's mouth tasted like blood. Fresh blood. It wasn't a strong taste, just...
tainted. But it was there. Chani remembered the night when she'd met Anea
after those six years. It had been briefly exhilarating, relieving, and
heavenly. And then, when Chani realized what had happened, that was all over.
And after Chani had defied Anea, she thought that part was over. But it
wasn't.

Chani yelled into Anea's mouth, but Anea kept her probing tongue past Chani's
lips. The captive woman struggled uselessly, and this seemed to excite the
demon queen. She finally pulled her mouth away from Chani's but for some
reason, Chani was panting too hard to scream.

The tentacles raised Chani up and spread her legs, presenting her womanhood to
Anea, who gently caressed her cunt lips. Chani trembled and managed to groan
hoarsely.

"Remember this?" Anea asked, caressing Chani's clit with her tongue.

Chani's back arched, and she moaned. "No," her hoarse voice pleaded.

Anea licked again, and pushed her fingers into Chani's lower lips. "You'll
never escape me. I'm part of you..."

Chani screamed.

And then Julie was shaking her awake, again. For the fourth night in a row.

"I think it's time, Chani," Julie said when Chani was sitting up. "I've been
patient, but it's been almost a year. You have to trust me."

Chani nodded slowly.

Later that morning, they both reported in sick.

All of Chani's self-explorations had turned up fruitless, but the mind wasn't
her specialty. Hopefully Julie could turn up something she hadn't.

They were both dressed in sweat pants and halter tops. Julie had a wet towel
and a bowl of ice water set aside, for some purpose Chani couldn't determine.
Chani was seated cross-legged in the middle of the floor, and Julie sat across
from her. "I'm going to induce you using my own method, okay? It's not that I
don't trust you, but there could be small differences between them that I need
to know about."

"I know," said Chani.

Julie lightly placed her fingers on Chani's closed eyelids and closed her own
eyes. After mentally inducing Chani into a trance, she took a small bottle of
red paint and traced one of the Ariel Runes on Chani's forehead. She traced
the same on her own forehead, and untangled her legs.

"Spread your legs," she ordered the induced Chani, and the other woman
complied. Julie moved until her breasts were almost touching Chani's, her legs
over the other woman's. With her hands, she guided Chani's forehead to her
own, until the runes were touching. For a moment, nothing happened, but Julie
invoked the correct elemental, and the world vanished immediately.

When Julie looked around, she found herself standing on a flat gray plane,
that stretched out all the way to the horizon. The sky was pitch black, and no
other features stood out. Good. The trance induction had worked properly.

"Chani," Julie said into the darkness. "I want you to go to sleep. You're
going to go into a perfectly normal slumber, like when you go to bed. And
remember, you can't see me."

In the physical world, Julie felt Chani slump forward a little.

In Chani's mind, the gray plane faded into grassy hills. It was night, and the
stars were sparkling above. In front of Julie, Chani was standing on the
grass. Beyond Chani was a glowing casting circle, and a boulder.

Chani studied the landscape for a moment, dread showing on her face. Anea
appeared then, sitting on the boulder. "Hi Chani. Come back again?"

Chani spun around, glaring at the other woman. "What in Hell do you want from
me? You can't get anything from me, don't you understand that? I'm useless to
you! I'm trillions of miles away from you, what good am I?"

Right to the point, mused Julie. She watched with some fascination.

Anea turned and saw Julie. "What's your friend doing here, Chani?" Anea asked.
"Decided to help me out, I see?"

Chani turned and looked where Anea's gaze was directed. She looked straight
through Julie, and turned back to Anea. "What are you talking about?"

"Come off it," Anea said. "I can see everything you can. This is your dream as
well as mine. Don't try to put anything past me."

Chani folded her arms. "Nobody's there, and you can't make me believe there
is, either."

Anea frowned, but chose to ignore Julie for the moment. "All right, Chani. I'm
assuming you remember my old stomping grounds?" She gestured at the casting
circle. "And Zaroth? Father of your child?"

Chani gasped when she saw tentacles writhing out from beneath the rock.
"B-B-But that's impossible! He's dead!"

"Of course he is, silly. But so were those demons you killed at the farmhouse.
I'm sure you remember their vengeance?"

Chani paled, and took a step back.

Naturally, the tentacles were faster. About five of them exploded from beneath
the rock and wrapped around Chani's body. She was pulled forward into the
circle and held in front of Chani.

"Same story," Anea said, "night after night. How long will you hold out?"

"Until you decide to quit," Chani growled.

Anea shrugged, hopping off the rock. "I won't quit. Simple as that."

Rape is not about sex.

Anea flicked a finger, and the tentacles began pulling off Chani's clothes,
their hungry ends feeling her flesh.

Rape is about power.

Julie stepped forward. "Anea! Stop it, now!"

Anea raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Ah, so you speak?"

"Stop, now."

Anea raised a hand, and Zaroth froze, holding the panting Chani a little
lower. Chani's tears had already begun to flow, but she still wore a defiant
face.

Julie teleported herself next to Anea. "What's the purpose of this? You're
sickeningly evil, that's obvious, but why her?"

"I need her body," Anea shrugged. "She'd be very useful. Don't you know that?"

Julie looked at Anea contemptuously. "God, you make me sick."

Anea's anger flashed to the surface, but subsided. She smiled. "I wonder what
you're doing here."

"Warning you off, before I get pissed."

"Well, whatever you're here for, you'll suit my purposes. One way to break a
person's will is by showing that her girlfriend can't stand up against me
either."

"Bad idea," Julie said. "If you try to hurt me, Chani might come back and turn
you to dust. A cornered animal is the most dangerous."

Chani was thoroughly confused by now, since Anea appeared to be talking to
thin air.

"But there's nothing she can do against me," Anea said. "I'm God in here." Her
hand raised, and four shadowy tentacles burst from the ground around Julie.
They latched on to her limbs, but Julie turned her wrists slightly, and they
disintegrated. Anea gasped. "How did you do that?"

"Easy," Julie said. "I'm protected from Chani's mind. There's nothing she can
do to me in here. Obviously, you're creating dream constructs in Chani's mind
and using them against her; maybe you're not as powerful as I thought."

Anea's eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"

"Julie. I thought you knew."

"You mean..."

"I'm a real person, not one of Chani's constructs."

Anea looked back up at Chani, and Zaroth's tentacles resumed their actions.
"You can't stop this," Anea said. "The-"

"Chani!" Julie yelled. "Wake up!"

Anea's confidence faltered as the world shimmered.

"I'm ordering you to wake up!"

Then the world crumbled around them, and Julie was alone in the gray
landscape. She spent about thirty minutes casting a shield to prevent Anea
from accessing Chani's dreams, and then returned to the physical world. She
woke up Chani and smiled. "I think it worked," she said.

"What happened?" Chani asked.

"You remember the dream, I'm sure."

Chani nodded. "Yes."

"Well, after you woke up, I altered it so no one outside your mind can offer
suggestions to your own dreams. In fact, if any outside influence tries to
change your dreams, you'll be in complete control, with them trapped inside."

"Ooh," Chani grinned.

Julie kissed her lightly. "Good. That took only about an hour, I-"

"An hour? The dream wasn't an hour long."

"Time's distorted in dreams," Julie answered. "Come on. I want to go work out
in one of the zero-grav rooms. Unless you feel tired."

"No. I don't want to sleep just yet."

***

Shonan grunted as he slammed the handball into the opposite wall of the
zero-grav workout room. His mid-air flip continued, and he reached the
ceiling, his feet absorbing most of the shock. He reached down and grabbed one
of the niches in the wall.

Lina pushed off from her position, and intercepted the ball before it hit the
rear wall. She smashed it with her hand, sending it shooting into the corner.

Shonan launched out with his feet, and swatted its rebound. The ball bounced
off one of the side walls too early, and it was Lina's score. Shonan swore as
he landed on the floor, grabbing another handhold.

"I win!" declared Lina.

"Quit bragging," Shonan said.

"Hey, you let me win, so don't accuse me of bragging," Lina laughed, drifting
down to him.

Shonan pulled her down next to him. "You think I'd let you win? I'd never let
anybody win if I had the choice."

Lina giggled. "Come on. We'd better go. My shift's about to start."

Shonan agreed and snatched the ball as it floated by. He opened the door, and
came face to face with Chani. His eyes went flat instantly. "Excuse me," he
said.

Chani's eyes also turned emotionless, and she let him pass. Lina pulled
herself out after him, noticing that Julie was also in the hall. Lina had to
hurry to catch up to Shonan. She finally did, when he was just entering his
room.

"Hey," Lina said. "You okay?"

Shonan nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Don't worry about it."

"I've got to take a shower before I start, I'm too sweaty now."

"You look fine," Shonan said.

Lina stopped and looked at him. His face had returned to the flat calm that
the rest of the crew saw most of the time. This brought on an anger toward
Chani. Why the hell did she have to do that? It wasn't often that she and
Shonan were able to share moments like those, and she had to come in and ruin
it. The timing wasn't Chani's fault, of course, and she probably would've
avoided it. But that didn't change the fact that Chani was probably the sole
source of disturbance for Shonan.

"No, I need to shower," said Lina. "I'm all sweaty."

"Can I join you?" Shonan asked, a little of his former humor returning.

"No," Lina said regretfully. "It would take too long, and I'd be late."

Shonan shrugged, his face turning blank again. "Okay."

As Lina stripped, she mentally cursed Chani.

***

"You okay?" Julie asked.

Chani nodded. "Yeah. Let's play."

***

Twenty hours later, her scream tore through the room, jolting Julie from her
sleep. Her first thought was Damn, and the realization that she had done
something wrong.

Chani was sitting up, hands supporting. Sweat rolled down her naked body.
"It...It didn't work," she swallowed. "I almost broke this time."

Julie put her arm around Chani's shoulders. "Come on. Go take a cold shower,
and I'll get Amber."

Chani nodded.

***

The room wasn't overly large, but not too small either. It was maybe twenty by
twenty. The floor had been cleared, and the lighting was dim. Only a few
candles provided luminance. In the center was a large casting circle. Around
the pentegram was Julie, Amy, Tyllendal, Amber, and Aranor. In the middle of
the circle was Chani. She was lying down, wearing some jogging shorts and a
tank top.

The primary chant had just been finished, and Amy guiding the group into
Chani's dream. Amber had determined that Julie's shield was still intact, and
hadn't been touched or tampered with. The first solution was for those
gathered to enter Chani's dream as Julie had done, and to see what they could
do about Anea. This time, Chani would be able to see them all. They'd be there
to support her.

When the same grassy hills appeared, Chani was standing outside the circle
again. As soon as she saw her surroundings, she dropped to her knees and
covered her face with her hands. Julie ran over to her and kneeled.

"Chani," Julie said. "We're here, don't-"

Chani gasped and jumped back when she saw Julie. "Wh-What are you doing here?"
She saw the others.

"We're here to help," Julie answered. "We're here to stop Anea."

Chani scrambled to her feet. "No, you can't! Nobody can, she's-"

"That's right," answered Anea, suddenly standing in the circle. "You really
shouldn't have come. I can easily defeat you all, you know. The only one that
could ever really defeat me was Chani, but now that I'm in control of all
Hell, even she can't do anything to me. My power has increased exponentially,
and-"

"Shut up," Amber said. "Since you won't leave her alone, we're going to make
you."

Anea raised an eyebrow, but looked slightly nervous. "Is that so?"

Julie pulled Chani next to her and started backing toward the group.

"You can't get her away from me," Anea said, her voice coming from next to
Julie. Julie gasped, and saw that Anea had switched places with Chani. Anea
grinned.

"Move, Julie!" shouted Aranor.

Julie backpedaled away from Anea, and a bright flash of light shot from
Aranor's palm. It struck Anea in the face, and she fell back, hitting the
ground with a thud.

There was a momentary silence, and Anea chuckled, this time from the casting
circle. Julie looked over, and saw that Anea was standing next to the boulder.
She looked down at the body on the ground.

It was Chani.

***

The door slid open, and Shonan looked, expecting to see Lina. Instead, Matt
jumped in.

"Hey," Shonan scowled. "Wh-"

"We need your help," Matt said.

"Huh?"

"Unfortunately, I believe you're the only one on board who can save Chani."

Shonan's face went flat. "No." He turned back to the screen. Whatever was her
problem, let her deal with it.

Matt said, "Listen, Shonan. I know a lot more about you and your mother than
you think I do. I also know that almost nothing would convince you to come to
her aid. Therefore, I'm going to threaten you."

Shonan turned his head slowly. "What?"

"Time is of the essence, and if you don't come right now, I will kill Lina."

Shonan was standing in an instant. "You're going to what?" His face was a mask
of controlled rage.

"I play dirty, sorry about that. She's going to be dead if you don't come."

"Where is she?"

"Shonan, you know that I can do what I say I can. And if you don't come now,
she will die. That is not an idle threat. Lina is far more expendable than
your mother. There are lives at stake here."

Shonan studied Matt's eyes for a moment. He was staring into eyes just as cold
as his own. That was scary. "Okay."

They came outside the room, and Matt opened the door with a combination.
"You'll know what to do," Matt said.

The door slid open, and Shonan stepped inside. He saw his mother sitting in
the middle of the floor, staring at him calmly. Several high-ranking officers
were sitting at the five points of the casting circle, their heads slumped
forward.

"Shonan," Chani said. "Nice to see you."

He immediately recognized that this was not his mother. "Who are you?" Shonan
asked.

Chani stood up smoothly and stretched. "I'm Anea. Ever heard of me?"

Shonan's eyes narrowed and he shook his head.

"I'm the queen of the demons. I'm the one that opened the gate to Hell. I'm
Satan and God now."

"What are you doing to them?" Shonan gestured at the others.

"The same thing I did to Chani. They'll be much easier to break, thank
goodness. Your mother is a very durable woman. Too bad she's dead now."

Shonan's face remained blank. "You wish."

Chani stepped out of the casting circle. "I'm sorry I don't have time to
dawdle, I have more important things to do." Her arm started to raise, but
Shonan was quicker. His hand lanced out, and his palm clapped against her
forehead.

Chani's eyes widened, and the world melted around them.

They stood in that position, on a flat gray surface, in the middle of black
space. Shonan yanked his arm back. "What are you, really?" he asked.

Now, he was looking at Anea, instead of Chani. He was staring at her true
form, not her physical form. "I told you," she answered calmly.

"No, that's a lie," Shonan answered. "Tell me the truth."

Anea smiled. "You're perceptive." She began pacing as she spoke. "I'm Chani.
In a sense. I've lived here ever since Chani met the real Anea, in the real
world."

"My mother met you?"

Anea looked at him. "Hasn't anyone told you the history?"

Shonan shook his head.

Anea raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Huh." As she spoke, the surroundings
transformed into a highway, surrounded by grassy hills. It was, of course,
night. "Your mother and I go way back, thirty or so years, I believe. You see,
we met when we were just teenagers. We were friends for a while, battling
demons and the like. When I was 17, your mother and I shared a night of
passion together." She grinned at him, but his face showed nothing. "Anyway,
after that, a demon fused with my - the real Anea's - spirit, and together we
became the demon queen that opened the gate to Hell. Six years later, when
your mother was 22, I revealed myself to her. I used a demon, Zaroth, to try
and turn her to my side. It didn't work, so I tried using her life energy to
open a gate to Hell. Somehow, she stopped just in time. But that's when I came
to be."

"So you're a fragment of Anea's spirit, manifesting itself?"

"No. Good guess, though. See, I'm an entirely separate personality than Chani,
I've just been trying to come out ever since then. The past...seventeen years.
That's how old you are, isn't it?"

"Sixteen."

"I guess you know about your father, right?"

Shonan shook his head.

Anea raised an eyebrow. "You don't know much, do you? Your father is Zaroth."

Shonan's face remained passive as he said, "The demon?"

"Yes. Surprised? He was able to conceive in your mother and not me because
your mother is not entirely human. Her soul is part...something else. I'm not
even sure. Well, now that you know all this, I have to ask you, feel like
joining me?"

Shonan almost laughed. "Joining you?" he asked.

"Yes. I'm going to control everyone on board the 311. It's a simple process
really. Not long from now, the people you saw will be completely broken, and
you can absorb them as you like. Your demon heritage allows that."

Shonan sighed. "Sorry, but I have to kill you."

"You'll be killing your mother."

"It doesn't matter. They're threatening to kill the girl I love."

Anea stepped close and wrapped her arms around his neck. "She's probably
human. She'll die, you know. Humans all do. You're immortal. I'm immortal.
We'll live forever." Her lips touched Shonan's, and her tongue pushed past his
unresisting lips. His eyes closed as they kissed, and she drew back a moment
later. "What do you say?" she asked.

"Sorry, but I'm in love, and there's not much you can do about that."

Anea stepped back, and her eyes turned fearful. "Shonan-"

"I don't like it either," Shonan said, his hand raising. "But those humans are
dirty and underhanded. If there was a way to save you, then I would."

"Wait!" Anea cried.

"What?"

"There is a way."

***

Chani blinked at the bright lights. As she slowly came into focus, she looked
around. Julie was sitting on the floor next to the bed. "You finally up,
sleepy head?"

Chani sat up and leaned against the wall. "What happened?" she asked.

"I suppose you want the entire story?"

Chani nodded.

Julie began. "It turns out that Anea is actually part of you."

"Come again?"

"She's not the same one back on Earth. This Anea was a completely separate
entity, living inside you. According to Shonan."

Chani's voice was low. "Shonan?"

"He's the one that saved you. Among all of us, he was the only one with enough
willpower to suppress and kill the Anea Personality. The Anea Personality was
just that, one of your personalities. She had all of us pinned, and was slowly
breaking us down as she did you."

Chani gaped. "Are you saying that this 'Anea Personality' was part of my mind?
I dreamed her up? I'm schizophrenic?"

"That might be right. The Anea Personality, as Aranor dubbed her, is either
part of your mind that developed after you killed Zaroth, or is a completely
different entity that just grew up in your psyche."

Chani's mouth was wide open.

"I know. Weird, huh?"

"But...Shonan?"

Julie drew in a breath. "Listen, I might be stepping over my bounds, but I
think you should at least thank him. He saved you, us, and probably the whole
ship."

"'At least'?"

Julie squirmed slightly. "I don't...I don't really understand why you ignore
him so much. He is Zaroth's son, technically, but he's also human. You've
ignored him his entire life, and that's not really...a good thing. Don't hate
him because of his father. He's not evil."

Chani looked down. After a long silence, she said, "I will."

***

Shonan climbed into the room.

"Well?" Lina said anxiously.

Shonan looked at Lina. For the first time in a long time, she saw humanity
behind his blue eyes. "She thanked me for saving her, and she apologized for
ignoring me."

"But-"

"I know," Shonan held up a hand. "Nothing can make up for what she did, but
she's got the grace enough to hate herself for it."

"How do you know she hates herself over it?"

"She said so. And I think that's one reason for the development of the Anea
Personality."

"It is?"

"I think so. Don't ask me why, I just...I think that the Anea Personality is
the part of Chani that won't forgive her."

"'Was'."

"What?"

"'Was' and 'wouldn't forgive her'. The Anea Personality is dead now."

"Oh. Right."

Lina hugged Shonan suddenly. "I'm so glad you guys have finally put this
behind you." I'm so glad you're human.

Shonan smiled. "Me too."

They kissed then, and it turned passionate faster than they'd intended. The
two of them lost their clothes within a minute, and Shonan had entered her a
minute after that. He set the back of her knees on his shoulders and began
thrusting in quickly.

Lina moaned in pleasure, and grabbed his waist. Shonan's hands held her knees
into place, even when he felt his orgasm approaching. He grunted, and shouted
out as his hot fluid exploded into Lina's canal. She squealed her orgasm and
her vaginal muscles contracted around his cock, squeezing with each
convulsion.

Later, Shonan lay with Lina in his arms, and thought about his decision.
Hopefully it was the right one. The Anea Personality was definitely not a good
entity, but then, neither was he.

His last thought before drifting into his dream was Aw, fuck it. Who cares?

***

Shonan looked around. He was standing in a grassy plain, wearing baggy pants
and a T-shirt. It was night, as always. Shonan looked up at the stars, for
once seeing them through an atmosphere. It was different than looking out the
bridge ceiling.

An arm slipped around his shoulders, and Shonan kissed her before he even saw
her. When she lifted her face back, Shonan smiled. "I hope you don't get any
ideas about trying to take over my mind," he said.

"Where would I get an idea like that?" Anea asked innocently.

It never really occurred to me how large of a job terraforming Alpha Prime
would be. Well, terraform is probably the wrong word. Alpha Prime's atmosphere
and living conditions were livable, but not quite...prime. The real let down
for everyone on board the colony ships was that we would be staying on board
for more than originally planned.

-Biography of a Generation

by Amber Jenkins

"Damn!" Neil swore.

"What?" Brad asked.

"Look, no heavy cloud cover. That means the atmosphere might be lighter than
Earth's."

"Not necessarily," Brad said. "Once we get the readings from the Dead Man, we
can see for sure."

"Yeah," Neil agreed. "Whenever it gets finished!" he yelled.

"Shaddup!" Toby shouted from the main bay. "We're working here!"

Jill came into the observation deck. "They'll be done in a few hours guys,
don't pester them about it."

"Sorry, madam," Neil said. "Just a little impatient to get down there."

"I told you before," Jill said. "We're-"

"Not going down until we get some readings," Brad said. "We know we know."

Neil sat at the computer terminal and looked at the X2's preliminary readings.
He pulled at his goatee thoughtfully. "Look at that," he said.

They stood behind him. "What?" Jill asked.

"These storms right here, they all appear along the equator. There are some
elswhere, but...whoa! Three hurricanes, all on the equator!"

Brad whistled. "That's some pretty serious weather."

"And this is just on what we can see from our position," Jill added.

"Hey," Neil said. "Let's go around to the backside of the planet."

"Why?"

"We can look for lights. If there is life on this planet, intelligent life,
they'll at least have fires burning, or electricity or something."

Jill shrugged and jerked her thumb at the cockpit.

Brad went up front, grumbling. The intercom came on a few moments later, with
Brad's voice. "Hey Toby, John, you guys might want to keep off the delicate
work for a minute, we're going to be moving around to the back of the planet
soon."

A few minutes later, the flight warning light came on. The engines rumbled,
and the X2 slowly came about, heading to the dark side of the planet.

"The moons," Neil was saying, "look like they're pretty normal. This one here
has a very thin atmosphere, while the other one looks like a big chunk of ice.
Their orbits look to cross paths, but I can't tell if they'll ever collide or
not."

"Let's just wait until the Dead Man is up. I don't want to be guessing at all
this until we have to."

Neil shrugged. "Whatever. We can see how many other planets are in this solar
system, as well. I counted five when we came in."

"Five besides?"

"Yeah. None of them look habitable, though."

"We should've brought Wayne along; he probably knows more about this system
than we do."

"Within a week, we'll know more about it than anybody."

"True."

***

"Message incoming from the X2," said Mike West, comm officer.

Amber looked away from her terminal. "What kind?"

"UR13 package," Mike answered.

"Patch it into the main viewer," Amber said.

"Lemme figure out how..." Mike mumbled. He punched a couple keys, and Bart's
screen started spouting garbled noises at him. "Sorry, sir." Mike punched
another button and the main viewer came on. A slightly discolored view of Jill
Warner came on the screen, interrupted by occasional bursts of static.

"Hi out there!" Jill grinned. "We're here at Alpha Prime, at last! The Dead
Man was just deployed yesterday, and I'm very optimistic."

Some of the other crew members in the video background started shouting
joyfully.

"Two months early," Bart noted to Amber.

Brad Billings, first officer, put his head behind Jill's. "Dammit Amber, I
like this planet better than Earth! You wouldn't believe the resources here,
everything is just bursting at the seams with-"

Jill pushed him off the screen. "What he's trying to say, is that...don't get
too excited, this is kind of like a second Eden. I mean, the available
resources meet every need we could ever have. The whole planet is about twice
as big as Earth, and-"

Someone else said something in the background.

"Oh yeah. All that's attached to the end of this message. Anyway," she said,
twisting the camera to look out the cockpit. "Here's a view of our future
home." The planet they saw looked different than Earth in some ways, but
similar in others. The clouds appeared to cover the same area as on Earth, and
the land didn't look drastically different. The odd thing about the clouds was
the color. Many were white, but some were tan or brownish. "There are two
moons," Jill said. "I've got pictures of those at the end, too."

She twisted the camera to look back at her, "That's about all I've got to say,
so here's Neil, with some other questions."

Neil Weaver turned the camera to him, and he looked at it seriously. "Whoever
wrote the 'Bacteria Introduction' essay...no offense, but it's a piece of
shit." Brad Bendeth, who was on the bridge then, blushed. "You need to get
some help rewriting the part about the 'Native Plant and Vegetation Protection
and Immunization' chapter. I'd appreciate it. And, our PDS has occasional
power surges that these incompetant engineers can't seem to figure out."

"Shut up," someone told him.

"Any ideas, please send. Thanks!" Neil saluted, and the screen flickered off.
Over ten megs of pictures and statistics of Alpha Prime flitted across the
viewer.

When it stopped, Amber said, "Mike, relay that message to the other ships, and
send me those stats. Also, make sure everybody on board gets a copy. Brad, go
talk to Julie or Richard about that essay."

***

The Dead Man finished mapping the surface of Alpha Prime, and Toby set it to
the task of geographing the tectonic plates. He came back out of the cockpit a
few minutes later. "Are we ready to go?" he asked. "Dead Man is up and
operating. After it finishes the tectonics, it'll move down through the fossil
fuel deposits and geologic structure of the planet."

Everyone was dressed in their environmental suits, except the helmet. "Get
dressed," Jill said. "We're about to go through the atmosphere."

Toby scowled. "Don't wait for me or anything." He went into the air lock and
pulled on his suit. When he came back out, everyone was prepared for entry. He
strapped himself in, and the X2 angled straight at the surface.

They would come in at the Northern Tropic, and land on the northern continent,
just north of the desert. There was a forest there, and they would take a
first look at things from there.

The X2 flew through the atmosphere quickly and easily, then moved above the
desert. Everyone stared out at the sand below, completely enraptured with the
sight of land. It had been so long since they'd seen land, much less been in
gravity, all of them welcomed the sensation.

The flight lasted for a few minutes, then Jill found a clearing in the forest.
She dropped the shuttle down there, and everyone unstrapped themselves.

"Jill," Brad said as they were preparing to open the hatch. "We have come to
the decision that you should be the first to step on Alpha Prime."

She looked at them, and they nodded vigorously. "I'll...think about it."

They stepped into the air lock and the air was sucked out of the room. A
moment later, the hatch clicked, and the air of Alpha Prime flooded in. The
hatch tilted out, and rested its end on the field. They were all wearing their
suits now, to protect from any biological or meteorological threat.

As they stared at the strange landscape, Brad urged, "Go on."

"No," Jill said. "I can't do that."

"Jill-"

"Here," she said, walking down until she was on the edge of the platform.
"Everybody stand next to me, and we'll all jump down at the same time. I don't
like the idea of being the first one."

"It'd be better if one person got the glory," Neil said. "That way people can
all look up to you as the-"

"No!" Jill said. "We'll all do it together, and we can-" Brad put both his
hands on her back and shoved her forward. She tumbled out with a squawk, and
tried to keep her balance, waving her arms wildly. She spun around, and landed
on her butt with a thud.

Everybody doubled over in laughter, and Jill stood up, fuming. "You-why you
stupid! I was-" she stopped, and stared at them. Jill spun around, and
couldn't help but grin to herself. "Dumbass," she said, trying to sound angry.
"Next time you do that, I'll have you cleaning WRS for a year."

"One small butt for man, one big butt for mankind," said Neil, hopping onto
the grass. Or whatever it was.

Everybody followed, and they just looked around for a few minutes. The field
was huge, and was covered by a grass-like plant, with occasional flowers
popping up. The distant trees looked normal enough, except for their pink
leaves. Unless they were just huge flowers.

"Look like dogwoods," Jill commented.

"Okay everybody," Brad said, holding up his hands. "Here, we go for the
samples, got it? Jill and I will take the field, you guys spread out into the
forest. We'll hit the mountains next, and see how much we can cover today."

"Somebody close the hatch," John said. "We don't want anything crawling in
there."

"There's been no evidence of animal life so far," Neil said, pushing the hatch
closed.

"You never know."

***

Lina hadn't changed much in the past 27 years, but neither had Shonan. He was
a little short, but other than that, he looked completely normal. His
physique, like his mother's, was althletic. He had broad shoulders, and almost
no fat over his muscles.

Lina had cut her hair shorter, up to her shoulder blades, and she had gotten a
little taller, but that was it. Everything else about her was the same.

Shonan had borrowed Chani's copy of The Sentinel for about ten years, before
she remembered he had it. During that time, his powers had sharpened and his
understanding of the universe increased dramatically. He'd memorized most of
the declensions and redactions in the appendices, but they were rarely needed.
His powers came naturally, and his mind wove the fabric of the spells without
even having to recite the words.

Lina had read The Sentinel once, but most of it bored her. Now that demons
were gone, what use would it be? Most of her time was taken up with ninjitsu.
One of the crew members turned out to be a ninja, instructor level, and she
had become his apprentice for a number of years. Almost as soon as she learned
everything he knew, he decided to go into hibernation. Life on board the ship
finally got to be too much, and Lina took over his position.

Shonan had used up all the spermicide, but he finally figured out a
sterilization spell, and cast it on himself. So far, it was working.

***

Chani and Julie had pretty much maintained a stable relationship throughout
the whole voyage. If they ever fought, Chani always came out on top, then
hated herself afterwards, and had to seek forgiveness from Julie.

They both attended Lina's ninja classes, and also became instructor level
ninjas. Of course, living on the ship made it hard, since many of the weapons
were unavailable, and practicing stealth in the garden was practically
impossible.

***

The overall attitude toward sex became liberated, for most people. Of course,
Chani and Julie, Shonan and Lina kept their sex lives private, but for the
most part, people treated sex like candy. Amber and Aranor kept their sex with
each other private as well, except for a few times when sex magic was called
for in some of the Inner Circle's spells.

***

"Where do you put your boogers?"

"What?" Chani gaped.

"Your boogers, where do you put them?" Ben asked.

Julie burst out laughing.

"I don't pick my nose, if that's what you mean," Chani scowled.

"Oh come on," Ben chided. "Everybody picks there nose, at least every once in
a while. Where do you put your boogers?"

"Why do you want to know?" Nigel asked curiously. He was slightly younger, and
much handsomer, than his brother Ben. He had neatly cut blond hair and narrow
eyes.

"Because," Ben answered. "I want to find the most popular places where people
put their boogers. It's important."

Julie was giggling hysterically, leaning sideways on the bench and trying to
keep her food in her mouth.

"Ben!" Amber called from across the room. "Are you causing trouble again?"

"No ma'am," Ben replied. "I was just asking where people kept their boogers.
On a ship so small, it's hard to find a convenient place when you're out of
tissues."

Several other tables laughed.

"Find the nearest handhold," Amber said. "They're a good niche, and nobody
uses them any more."

Julie fell out of her chair, clutching her sides.

"What's so funny?" Chani demanded.

"Just use your dirty laundry," Aranor called. "Get's clean in the morning."

"That's a good idea," Ben noted thoughtfully.

Chani rolled her eyes and finished her water. "You guys are so lame."

Ben shrugged. "I'm just practical. Now, what about when you take a-"

"Shut up," Chani said. "I don't want to hear it."

Ben raised his hands defensively. "Okay, okay."

A few minutes later, Julie finished laughing, and pulled herself up to the
table. "Listen guys, I'm gonna go work on that essay with Brad. I'll see you
later." Julie stood up and left.

Chani looked at Ben and Nigel. "Great. I'm left with you two."

They both grinned mercilessly.

***

Julie climbed up into her and Chani's quarters. With some help of a couple of
the crew, they had knocked out the wall that separated their rooms, and just
doubled the size of the room. One half acted as the bedroom, and the other
half became an expanded bathroom and work area.

Julie called Brad on the intercom, and told him she'd be over to sick bay in a
few minutes. As she was unzipping her vest, someone knocked on the door. "Come
in," she said.

The door opened, and Shonan jumped up, pulling himself to his feet. He shut
the door.

"Hey Shonan," Julie said. "What's up?"

"I need you to help me," he said. His voice sounded strained.

"With what?" Julie asked, stuffing her vest into the laundry chute.

Shonan went up to her. His eyes, instead of being the clear blue they normally
were, were dark. His irises were as black as his pupils, which made him look
very strange.

"What happened to you?" Julie asked, concerned. Her hand drifted up toward his
eyes, to lift the lid and get a better look, but his hand grasped her wrist.
"Ow! Jesus, Shonan, I was just trying to-mph!" Julie's eyes went wide as his
mouth covered hers and he pushed her against the wall.

Although at 53 Julie was ten years older than him, neither looked more than
their early twenties. They had come on board as kids, and had matured at the
normal speed, but after puberty, they practically stopped aging altogether.

The air pressure on board the colony ships was about twice that of Earth's,
increasing metabolic rate and the speed with which the body handled its body
material. Life in the colony ships was also healthier, according to Loreena. A
lot of the crew spent time in the zero- or double-grav gyms, keeping their
health up. Plus, the food suppliment, dished out by the WRS, was healthier
than most diets.

Julie cried out as his tongue pushed into her mouth, and his hand ran down her
side. His erection was pressing firmly against her stomach, but she was too
startled to feel anything. This was the second time she'd ever been kissed by
anyone other than Chani, and the sensation scared the shit out of her.

With a grunt, Julie bit down on his tongue, and rammed her knee into his
crotch, as she had done to Keith so many years ago. He stumbled back, and
Julie's knuckles shot out, driving at his eyes.

But Shonan was quicker than Azathoth had been. His left arm came up and
grabbed her wrist. He twisted the arm, dropping Julie to her knees. Tears
stung her eyes as the pain ripped through her arm. "Shonan, what are you-" she
screamed as he twisted her arm behind her back, bringing her up to her feet
and then to her toes. "Shonan! What are you-" Julie gasped when she felt his
hand groping for her pants' waistband.

Julie was almost off her feet now, Shonan was twisting her arm up so high. In
desperation, she lifted her right foot up and pushed off the wall, doing a
backward sumersault over Shonan's head. Thank God the gravity here was only
30%.

Her arm came free, and she backpedaled away from him. "Shonan, what the hell
are you doing? Please, don't do this."

Shonan ignored Julie, and he lunged forward, grabbing for her neck. Julie
deflected his hand, and his second strike, before smashing her elbow up into
his chin. He grunted and stumbled back, but wasn't even affected.

"Shit," Julie whispered. She kicked out again, smashing his balls with her
foot. He went white this time, and Julie struck his face with her heel. He
sprawled across the door, and it slid open. Shonan pulled away from the
opening and stood back up. He was dripping blood, but still wasn't phased.

Julie swore and brought her right hand in front of her face. Her mind calmed
instantly, and a white light formed at the tip of her fingers. Shonan stepped
forward, and a blinding shaft of light struck him in the chest. He hurtled
into the wall, and slid straight down, out the door.

For a few seconds, Julie panted, confused, then she ran over to the opening
and looked down. Shonan was gone. But, it wasn't Shonan, was it? Those eyes...

Julie closed the door and leaned against the wall, shaking.

***

"Okay," Neil said. "The bacteria samples out at the pond, the log, and in the
fungus bush will be ready for withdrawel tomorrow." He was reading off a
notepad. "I've set up the tethered weather balloon down at the south end of
the field. I'm still collecting air samples through the filters, and I'll test
those in a few minutes. The viral lab needs checking...that's about it, for
now."

"Good work," Jill said. "I'll handle the viral lab."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I got it."

"Thanks."

Jill found John swearing at a piece of motherfucking shit that was a pathetic
excuse for a goddam optic ampli-fucking-fier. When he saw her, he tossed it
aside and dusted off his hands. "This new dome should be livable inable by
tomorrow's tomorrow? Kay? Kay. Cool. I'll set up the spotlights and the fence
after I get this amp in place."

Jill nodded. "Yeah. I'll be glad when we quit sleeping on the floor." From
there, she moved on to Toby, who was working on his sattelite uplink. "Hey
Toby, what's the status report?"

Toby peered at her through his safety goggles. "Uh? Oh. Once I get this fixed,
I'll start a thermal check of the oceans, and map the bottoms. While Dead Man
does that, I'll help set up the circuit breakers for the dome. And I'm going
to link the Dead Man to the communications with the fleet. That okay? That all
peachy with you?"

Jill nodded. "Yes. Where's Brad?"

"Pissing," Toby stuck his head back under the computer.

Jill returned to the main dome and found Brad putting on his helmet. "What are
you doing?" she asked.

"I'm going to find more samples, duh," Brad said. "What about you?"

"That's what I was gonna do."

Brad shook his head. "No no no. Can't have the dear old captain endangering
her life on our account. You just stay here and analyze those latest samples I
brought in."

"Brad-"

Brad flashed her a grin and stepped into the airlock.

Jill grabbed her communicator and snapped, "I'm gonna tear you apart when you
get back! This-"

"I look forward to it," Brad grinned. He snapped his teeth at her, grinning.
"Rowr," he said.

Jill rolled her eyes and threw down the communicator, walking away.

***

"Captain," the pilot said slowly. "I think one of the other ships is coming
toward us."

Captain Tom Howard of the Crazy Horse walked over to the console and looked at
the sensor screen. He blinked. "I think you're right. Why?" Howard mumbled to
himself. He turned toward the communications officer. "Did anybody contact us
today about linking ships?"

The comm officer shook his head.

Howard looked back at the screen. "Well, I don't like their direction, or
speed..." his eyes widened. The pilot realized it at the same time the captain
did.

"Fuck!" the pilot swore, his hands moving rapidly over the controls.

Howard grabbed a handrail and swung himself over to the intercom. He set it to
ship-wide, and said, "All crewmembers, get to your quarters and get in your
safety straps! Anybody too far away, brace yourself." He repeated the message
and kicked to his chair.

"What's happening?" asked one of the bridge crew.

"Hang on!" the pilot said, slamming a lever into its top position. The power
reactor surged, and the afterburners flamed brightly.

The ship slowly changed pitch, and the gravity outside the bridge dropped
away. Although the main ship's rotation changed, the main bridge's did not,
and the stars outside started spinning like bowl of sparkling water. A couple
people could be heard gagging.

The thrusters fired continuously, shafts of white plasma pouring from the
burners. The zero-gravity that possessed the ship a moment earlier left, as
the crew was thrust toward the back of the ship. The sudden change in
direction, rotation, and pitch caused a few people on board to vomit.

***

"Captain!" Lieutenant Hartley called. "Get over here!"

Bart pushed away from his conversation with Amber, and he floated behind the
pilot. "What is it?"

"Two of the ships are about to collide."

Bart looked, and swore. "Who are they?"

The pilot reviewed the ships' formation. "One of them looks like the Crazy
Horse, and the other one..." he paused. His voice cracked. "That's not a
ship."

"A comet," Bart breathed. "Do they see it?"

"Yes, they're trying to get out of the way, but I don't think they're gonna
make it."

Amber was next to Bart. "Can we get a visual?" she asked.

"With what?" Bart said. "They're thousands of miles away, and the only windows
we've got on the 311 don't even point toward the Crazy Horse. Can you guys do
anything?"

"How long till it hits?" Amber asked.

"About...two minutes."

Amber shook her head. "Not long enough."

"I want to see it, dammit," Amber said. "One of the ships has a probe. Which
one?"

Bart shrugged.

"Mike!" she barked. "Find out which of the ships has a probe in it!"

He nodded. A few moments later, he said, "The Kleenex has it."

"Tell them to get it out there and point it at the Crazy Horse," she said.
"Now."

***

"Move it!" bellowed Jimmy, the Kleenex's huge engineer. He was shoving people
out of the way as he held one end of the probe and his assistant held the
other. "I'm comin' down the tube!" he shouted as they neared the drop tube. It
led straight from the residential section to the hull. "Let go," he said, and
the assistent did.

Ignoring the red floor light, Jimmy jumped out into the tube and grabbed the
pulley. He flew down the drop tube amazingly fast, before the pulley's
emergency brakes kicked in, slowing him before he reached the bottom.

The huge engineer dropped the probe from his aching hand, and flipped several
switches, turning it on. "Okay," he said into his headset. "She's on. You got
picture?"

"That's a poz," said C&C.

"I'm pushing her out now." Jimmy opened the air lock and dumped the heavy
probe out. Its metal guarding hit the doors loudly, and Jimmy closed the
hatch. The outer doors opened a few moments later, and the probe was sucked
out.

Jimmy clambered up the tube and ran to the bridge, bowling past two surprised
ensigns. He leaped out of the tube and grabbed the probe's controls. "All
systems, check," he said.

Mike West's voice came over his headset. "We're ready to interface, you set
up?"

"Set up here," Jimmy rumbled. He flipped a switch. "Got picture?"

"Yessir we do," West said.

"I'll angle 'er to look at the Crazy Horse."

The viewscreen in front of him showed a four-part view of what the probe's
four camera's saw. Forward, back, then the other two could be rotated in just
about any direction. He jetted the probe around the side of the Kleenex, until
it was within sight of the Crazy Horse. He zoomed in to the max, and goggled.

"Oh shit..." West said on the other end.

"Mother of God," Jimmy answered.

The Crazy Horse was a small dot, and the comet a huge wall of ice, next to it.
Since they were in the dead of space, nowhere near a star, there was no
illumination for the comet's true mass to be seen. All they could see of it
was the reflection of the Crazy Horse's engines on the surface.

"I'm turning on the laser," Jimmy said. He touched the button, and about ten
people watching swore.

The laser scanner projected a rapid-moving blue laser in the direction of the
camera, allowing them to see anything the laser reflected back. It was similar
to sonar, but sound didn't travel in space.

Whereas they had only seen a huge wall bearing down on the Crazy Horse before,
now they saw the comet itself. The Crazy Horse was dwarfed in comparison. The
comet was at least ten thousand times larger than the little colony ship. It
was coming at a downward angle to the ship, and the ship was trying to shoot
upwards in an effort to avoid the comet, but it looked hopeless.

"They're gonna be steamrolled!" someone behind Jimmy cried.

***

"No," Amber breathed.

Somehow, Wayne and Daniel had arrived. "What's going on?" Wayne asked
casually.

"Look, you dumbass!" Amber said.

Daniel and Wayne exchanged glances, but said nothing.

"If they just had another few minutes," Jack Hartley muttered, "maybe they
could've survived."

"Two million people," Julie choked.

Chani put her arm around Julie and stared at the screen.

Brian Ewing made the sign of the cross.

***

"Come on you motherfucker!" the pilot screamed.

Several people on the ship had pissed themselves, and more had thrown up. Tom
Howard ignored it. The ship was creaking under the strain, and the reactor was
reverberating throughout the ship.

"Point the engines at the comet!" Howard yelled.

Our Father, who art in Heaven...

"Fuck you!" returned the pilot. "There's nothing else I can do, we're caught
like a leaf."

The engineer, in the power reactor, had already bypassed the safety measures
in order to give the ship as much power as possible. It wasn't enough,
obviously. He sat down and began contemplating his navel.

Hallowed be thy name...

The rest of the crew had no idea what was going on, and most were crying
fearfully. Those that had guessed what was happening were in no better a
situation, since they realized that there was no hope.

The waste heat being produced by the reactor had quintupled, and the ship's
temperature had risen ten degrees within the last few minutes. People were
drenched in sweat, and other body fluids.

"If we can get caught in the comet's backdraft, we might get blown past!"
cried Howard desperately, his face streaming tears. "There's an atmosphere
around each comet, that can-"

Thy kingdom come...

The Crazy Horse's thrusters struck a hill on the comet's surface, and the ship
tilted. The whole ship rolled on its side, creating a splintering crack in the
titanium-silicon hull. The bridge swung down and was smashed into a ridge on
the comet's surface. The transparent ceiling shattered. Instantly the bridge
was transformed into a vacuum. Because of the comet's freezing temperatures,
most of these people were frozen in the middle of decompressurization. Those
in the rest of the ship were less lucky. The Crazy Horse bounced off the
surface of the comet like a basketball, and was caught in the comet's
backdraft. It swung out and came free of the comet.

Thy will be done.

And there was silence.

***

As the Crazy Horse wreckage drifted away from the comet, most people turned
away, sickened. Daniel stepped forward, staring at the main viewer, his eyes
wide. "No. Nonononono, dammit!" he cried.

Nobody paid him any attention until he grabbed Amber and swung her around.

At that time, Wayne's face went white.

"Amber, listen, we've got to get everyone on the ship to the other side of the
hull."

Wayne ran over to Bart.

"What? Why? We-"

"Listen! The Crazy Horse's reactor is going to go, any second now, and we're
going to be pummeled with enough rads to kill us all. Radiation! We're going
to be standing in the middle of a nuclear reactor! This is like a solar flare
going off right under our noses!"

Bart shouted the orders, and Amber ran to the intercom. "Okay, everybody on
the ship, I want you to get to the double-grav workout room immediately. There
are no exceptions. This is life or death."

"Move it people!" Bart yelled.

Mike finished broadcasting the information to the rest of the ships, and ran
with the rest of the bridge crew as they filed out of the exits. The pilot
slowed the ship rotation until it stopped completely. Gravity was nil, all
across the ship. Daniel helped adjust the angle so that the radiation would
pass across the axis of the ship, where the WRS was located.

As Amber was leaving, she saw the Crazy Horse turn into a white flower.

"What about the people in hibernation?" Amber asked, following on Daniel's
heels.

"They'll be fine. They've got shielding. Let's just hope the ship's circuits
aren't fused after this. We've got the most to worry about."

"Worry? How much?"

"If we get on the other side of the WRS, we'll be fine."

"Does shit stop radiation?"

"Water does. It's one of the best shields against radiation."

***

The first thing in the Crazy Horse to go was the engine, and the burners. As
the ship floated away from the comet, the power reactor cannoned its 10,000
gigawatt plasma ball down the SPPC, where it literally tore apart the engines.
The PDS was caught in a feedback loop, and all over the ship, lights exploded
and electrical outlets showered a mass of sparks. Of course, the bloated
corpses didn't mind.

The PDS burned out, and the power grid crumbled. With the next 10,000 gigawatt
burst, the back of the ship fountained enourmous waves of white plasma,
sprinkled with pieces of the engines.

The already overworking reactor tried to send its next burst down the
unpressurized SPPC, and as the plasma began to release from the loop, its
controlled form disrupted and the white energy crawled along the inside walls
of the SPPC. Within one millisecond, the electrically conductive plasma had
made its way back into the power reactor. The fusion loop was disrupted,
triggering a nuclear release, and the detonation of the hydrogen mush tank.

From the incinerated Crazy Horse, a radiation shockwave rolled outwards, like
an expanding bubble. The bubble hit all the other ships, quickly, and then it
was over.

******

It never ceases to amaze me. I mourned the loss of the Crazy Horse and the 2
million sleepers more than I mourned the loss of the six billion people that
had been living on Earth when it was destroyed. As always, Aranor helped to
straighten things out. Psychoanalysis was one of his strong points.

Amber's cheeks were dry now, after almost an hour. Her head lay against
Aranor's chest; his arms were crossed protectively around her. The lights were
off, and it was so silent it seemed to press down on them.

After a few minutes, Aranor's voice came from the darkness, "Are you okay?"

Amber shook her head. "No. I'm not okay. I'll never be okay. This wasn't
supposed to happen. People weren't supposed to die."

Aranor sighed. "Amber, this was bound to happen. Daniel knew it. He said he
was surprised nobody was killed before now."

"But that's not how it has to be. We-"

"Amber...people die. That's the way things go. People on Earth died, right?"

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you mourn them like you did now?"

"That was bound to happen. There was nothing we could have done about it. I
checked, remember? The road was straight, and all I could do was save a few
people. And some of those people died."

"Answer me this: could you have done anything at all to save those other six
billion on Earth?"

"I already told you, no."

"Could you have done something to save those on the Crazy Horse?"

"Yes, I could've - if I'd known in time."

"But how could you know?"

"I could have looked. Into the future, I mean."

Aranor scooted down the bed an pressed his cheek into her hair. "No, you
couldn't have. The Inner Circle always looks. If it's meant to be known, then
they know. It was meant for you to know about Project: Exodus. That was
something bound to happen. This wasn't so clear."

"See? I could've done something-"

"No. You couldn't have. It was too clouded. Nobody saw it coming. Nobody could
prevent it. Even you."

"But they were my responsibility. And I let them die."

"Amber," Aranor sighed. "You're talking irrationally, and you know it. You
gave them hope, if nothing else. The people on that ship were a product of
your generosity. Your kind spirit."

"But..." Amber struggled for another pointless argument. Not finding one, she
drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I guess. So, what do I tell the
others?"

"You tell them to go on. It's not like it's the end of the world or anything.
That's already happened."

Amber smiled in the darkness. "I guess it has, hasn't it. Not much else worse
can come along, can it?"

"Not much."

They lay in silence for a few more minutes, then drifted off to sleep
together.

***

The fleet of colony ships came like a school of blinking fish, ion-plasma
pulses illuminating the hulls. The honeycomb formation broke as they neared
Alpha Prime. The Red Lobster, one of the outermost ships, led the pack in a
circle around Alpha Prime, until they sustained a static orbit over the
equator. Everyone on board would crowd around the observation room or in the
bridge to stare at the planet. Eventually the captains had to order them back
to work.

***

"Ladies and gentlemen," Amber began. Her voice was being relayed from one ship
to another, and was coming from every speaker in every ship. "The beginning is
at hand. Within a few years, we'll stand on that soil, and call it home. We've
spent forty years travelling from the desecrated Earth to Alpha Prime, and
we've worked for this. We'll work even harder in the coming years, to prepare
it for the Saved. It's our job to build a new society, a new culture, a new
beginning, a new life. It will be our new home.

"Evil has fought humankind, but not won. The remains of Earth are a testament
to the battle. But the War will never be over, until we prove, once and for
all, that Evil has no place in our hearts." She looked from her note cards to
Matt incredulously. What the hell is this? she mouthed at him. He shrugged and
pointed to Julie, who blushed. Amber rolled her eyes and continued reading.
"The destruction of Earth was a harsh blow. But the Evil that destroyed our
home came not only from Hell itself, but from us. So again, my friends, I urge
you to live your life to its fullest, resting in the knowledge that we have a
second chance; a chance to start over."

Amber stuffed the cards into her pocket. "Live happy!" she said, then
disconnected the mike. She stepped down from the captain's platform and walked
up to Julie. "What the hell kinda crap was that?" she asked.

Julie shrugged and blushed again. "Sorry."

Chani scowled. "It's hard to come up with something decent if you just tell
her to say a quick inspirational morale speech."

"That's why you learn to bullshit," Amber said. "Politicians did it all the
time."

"Yeah, and didn't we love 'em," Aranor chuckled.

"You shouldn't have asked her to do the speech if you wanted bullshit," Chani
said.

"I thought it was pretty good, for what you gave her," Matt added.

Amber stared disbelievingly at all of them, then threw up her arms. "I give
up. Now come on you guys, we've got a planet to settle."

***

Amber, Aranor, Matt, Julie, Chani, the crew of the X2, Brad, Daniel, and a few
other scientists sat around the main bay of the X2.

Julie kept glancing up at the ceiling, as if it would open up and suck them
all out. Everyone else listened intently to Jill as she presented the
information on Alpha Prime.

"AP has roughly twice the mass, circumfrence, mass, size, and atmospheric
pressure as Earth." Several of the people sighed and relaxed visibly. "It's a
pretty simple planet, really. The weather in the northern hemisphere runs
pretty west-east, and south of the equator, it's the opposite. That causes a
ton of storms along the equator, and a few degrees to the north and south.
This is what we've taken to calling the 'no-go-zone.' Weather is never stable
there, and it's very dangerous."

"What about the seasons?" asked someone.

"Excuse me?"

"Do the yearly seasons affect the no-zone?"

Jill shook her head. "The axial tilt is close to 80o. The seasons are
noticeable but aren't drastic. The general temperature range across the globe
is similar to Earth's. All in all, it's not much different from home.

"The revolution around the sun takes 620.5 Earth days. That's 1.7 Earth years.
Each AP day is exactly 72 hours. So, you get to sleep every three days. Now,
the sun is 99 million miles away, almost the same as one AU. Two moons: the
first one, Delta, has a facing orbit of 17 AP days; the second one, Gamma, has
zero rotation with a 10 AP day orbit. Delta moves east-west, Gamma moves
west-east."

"What about the planet," Amber asked. "Where's the sun rise?"

"Same as home," Jill answered. "Rises in the east, sets in the west. There's
detailed info on thermal variations, jetstream, atmosphere stats, et cetera in
the email you all received. Read that for more info.

"Now, as for our progress on the planet, we've got a few years before we can
enter the atmosphere. We've still got a lot to do to the ecology, and a lot of
studying to do. Our main base is in central Europa."

"What did you call it?" Matt asked.

"I said that they could name the planet regions," Amber said. "Since these
guys have worked so hard over the past three years, it's the least I could
do."

"What kind of names?"

"I made sure they weren't too disgusting or awful," Jill said. "But I don't
guarantee you'll like them either. The three main continents are Europa,
Brazilia, and Tuna."

"Tuna?" Chani blurted.

Julie burst out laughing.

"My idea," John raised his hand. "Be glad she wouldn't take my first choice."

Jill said, "Brad has the worst taste in names, I let him name Tuna. He named
them simple things like The Foothills, and Western Grasslands. Tuna is the
worst name, don't worry.

"Any way," she pressed on, before anyone else could interrupt, "we're based in
central Europa. Everything's doing fine there, and I don't anticipate anything
being wrong with the Bacteria Introduction plan. We have an excellent island
set up for Rifa," she said to Amber. "And for several of the major cities. As
we told you guys earlier, the resources are abundant, and we shouldn't run out
if we work them right."

"Any questions?" Amber asked. "Okay, your field is big enough for The Ark,
right? Okay, good. Relay your position to The Ark, and have them start
unloading all their stuff. We'll jump right to work, and I'll be joining you
on the surface soon."

***

As Julie and Chani lay together in bed that night, Julie whispered, "Chani,
you've looked distracted lately."

"Huh? Oh, I just started thinking. What's the point behind Amber's keeping
me?"

Julie sat up. "What do you mean?"

Chani shrugged. "I mean, she gives me rank of admiral, or whatever the hell I
am, and lets me attend all her important meetings, and lets me experience all
these things that no one else does. Why?"

"What do you mean, 'why'? She's your friend, and she likes you."

Chani shrugged again. "I guess so, but think about it. I serve no purpose at
the meetings, I do nothing. I'm baggage to her. She's like dragging me along
for some reason."

"Chani, don't think like that, it's not healthy."

"Not healthy?" Chani snorted. "Jeez. You sound like a shrink."

"I mean, it's not something to worry about. Who cares why she does it? She's
your friend, she likes you. That's all."

Chani nodded. "I guess so. Let's go to sleep now," she rolled over.

Julie lay back down and pulled the cover up over her breasts. She cut out the
light, and lay still. But she couldn't keep still for long, and began turning.
After about ten minutes of Julie's tossing and turning, Chani sat up. "What
are you doing?" she asked.

"Huh?" Julie looked toward her in the darkness. "Where are you?"

"I'm sitting up," Chani said. "Leaning against the wall."

"Oh." Julie moved and sat between Chani's legs, her head resting on Chani's
hard stomach.

"What is it?" Chani asked.

"I've...started thinking. You see..." she broke off.

Chani rolled her eyes impatiently. "Julie, we've been together for thirty
years. Please tell me what it is."

"I...You..." Julie sighed and started over. "I've talked to Amber and Aranor,
and I've looked at you and...and Shonan." She seemed to have difficulty saying
his name. Chani had noticed a small difference between them, and meant to ask
about it, but later. "What I'm saying is that you're...not entirely human.
Right?"

"Right."

"And...you really haven't changed over the past forty years."

"Nobody has. We've only aged a few years."

"But...you haven't changed at all. And Amber said that when she took you to
Watermark after not seeing you for four years, she said you looked exactly the
same. I mean, people change, even slightly, over a few years, and you haven't
changed at all. You don't really look too much different than you did when we
first made love."

"I hope I do!"

"I mean, you do, but your face. It hasn't changed much at all." Julie's
fingers were tracing Chani's features slowly. "And, I know it's too early to
make any assumption, but what I want...what I don't want, is to go down there,
to Alpha Prime, and grow old, while you stay the same age."

Chani coughed in surprise. "You think I'm not going to age?"

"Well, you're 66, and you don't look a day over 20."

"Neither do you."

"I do. Not much, I know, but I...can tell. There is a difference between me
and you. You're like, an angel or something."

"Angel?" Chani retorted. "I don't think so, I-"

"Just listen," Julie said irritably. "You're part of that...thing, you told me
about. When you were in the hospital, you know. It's like some kind of..."
Julie let out a cry of frustration. "The point I'm trying to make is that I
don't want you to have to watch me grow old and withered while you stay young
and beautiful."

Chani turned on the light. "Sit up."

Julie did, and turned around, sitting on her heels between Chani's legs. Chani
put a hand on each of Julie's cheeks; she stared into Julie's crystal green
eyes. "You are, and always will be, the most beautiful person in the universe.
Understand, Jul? I don't care if you're a hundred. The face I see now is the
one I'll always see."

Julie smiled, blushing and looking down.

"Ah ah," Chani said. "Don't look down. I never want you to do that while we're
both alive. I always want to see your eyes, okay?"

Julie nodded, a tear spilling down her cheek.

Chani kissed Julie and then hugged her tightly. "Now let's get some sleep."

***

Shower watching had become a popular hobby of all couples on board the colony
ships. It gave one time to contemplate their feelings, relationship, and
thoughts. It also gave one time to admire the body of their partner.

As Aranor watched Amber shower, he wondered how she would be thought of in the
future. A century, two, three, a millenium from now. No doubt she would be
more popular than George Washington, Shakespeare, or any other mortal. All
those of FireFly already loved her. What would her position be after she died?

Well, that was obvious, but Aranor's main concern was their relationship.
Before the voyage, her life's definition was stress. After the voyage, for a
while at least, her life definition would still be stress. But he was afraid
she wouldn't be able to let go. Years of Amber's life had been devoted to
Exodus, and probably more would be, after Genisis.

Amber's entire life was FireFly, either as, or not as, a corporation. That was
all she lived for. But during the past forty years, there was nothing they
could do but wait. Now that Amber had things to do again, she'd be taken away
from him.

Aranor rolled his eyes, laughing to himself that he was being jealous of a
corporation. But then, it wasn't a corporation any more, was it? What was it
now? That was a tough one. FireFly the civilization? FireFly the country?
Empire?

Amber cut off the water and stepped onto the carpet, dripping water
everywhere. She grabbed a towel and started drying herself. After drying,
Amber flopped onto the bed next to him and crawled under the covers. "Cut out
the light. We've got a big day tomorrow."

Aranor sighed. He reached for the light, but paused. This would be the last
time in a long time they'd be together for any real period of time.

He turned back to Amber and brushed her hair behind her ear. "What?" she
mumbled. "What are you doing?"

Aranor pulled the covers from her slightly damp body, and she turned toward
him. "What are you doing?" she asked.

Aranor just sat back on his heels and admired her naked body. "Just looking,"
he said.

Amber looked at him for a few moments, her expression unreadable. She then
crawled over and spread her legs, sinking onto his member with a sigh. They
kissed, and immediately set up a rhythm.

Amber bobbed up and down on Aranor's cock for a few minutes, her arms wrapped
around his chest, silently feeling the pleasure concentrated between her legs.
It soon became too much for her to keep silent, and she began moaning softly
as her orgasm approached.

Aranor came first, and grunted as his hot semen flooded her wet canal. As soon
as Amber felt his seed filling her up, she screamed, squeezing her legs around
his waist and clenching her arms together behind him. Amber gasped and moaned
as the orgasm passed, her breath eventually returning to normal.

Amber pulled off of him a few moments later, and she leaned against the wall.
Her eyes drifted down to his crotch. "You know," she said. "We really
shouldn't stay up too late tonight."

"It's up to you how late we stay up," Aranor shrugged. "I'll follow your
lead."

Amber groaned. "Well, I've lost sleep before. Can't hurt that much."

Aranor lifted her head up with his hands, and just looked into her eyes for a
few moments, memorizing her features. "What?" she asked.

"I'm ready now," he answered.

***

The center continent, Europa, was primarily in the northern hemisphere. The
western continent, Tuna, was both in the northern and southern hemisphere. The
eastern continent, Brazilia, was the largest, and rested in both hemispheres.
All the continents had all types of terrain: deserts, grasslands, tundra,
mountains, forests, swamps.

The ocean was huge, and had few islands, save three, the size of Madagascar, a
couple thousand miles north of the south pole. South of those islands, was the
small island Rifa, where Amber would build her new headquarters. It would be
the new Watermark.

In central Europa was the X2's base of operations; the bio-dome had been built
there, and almost a dozen labs were set up. With the arrival of the fleet, the
laboratories went into full operation, day and night. Any kind of progress
would be restricted until Alpha Prime was deemed safe for humans.

Air was being let into one laboratory, and the filters were cleaning out any
and all microbe life. The filters would take any new microbes and culture them
automatically. Scientists analyzed the new bacteria, virus, or whatever it
was, and made judgement as to its safety to humans. If it was declared safe,
the sample proceeded to a second laboratory, where animals were exposed to the
life form. So far, none had died, or produced any harmful infection from the
microbe life. Any microbes that infected the animals, whether or not they were
harmful, were sent to another lab for more study. Those that didn't infect or
couldn't survive in the animals were sent to another laboratory, where they
were tested with plants. Those that infected plants were sent to another lab
for more study. Those that didn't were sent to yet another laboratory, for
test on volunteer human subjects. These subjects would, of course, be given
high status in Alpha Prime society. And one by one, the microbes were released
into a completely separate bio-dome. This bio-dome had another group of
subjects, that lived in complete isolation, until the atmosphere was ready for
humans.

Another set of laboratories devoted its time to introducing Earth life into
Alpha Prime's environment. Genetic engineers, microbiologists, zoologists, and
all kinds of other scientists worked overtime, trying to figure the effect any
given Earth organism would have on Alpha Prime's ecology. If a wrong bacteria
was introduced into the atmosphere, it could wipe out an entire species of
tree, or plant. Worst-case scenario was that all life on Alpha Prime was
destroyed, but that was unlikely.

Over the next few years, the bio-dome expanded, faster than Watermark had. By
the time Alpha Prime was ready for humans, the original bio-dome complex had
expanded to three miles in diameter. And several more compounds had been set
up across the planet, at more convenient locations to observe weather,
tectonic activity, and nearby astronomical patterns.

Finally, 44 years after leaving Earth, the atmosphere of Alpha Prime was ready
for humans. Several test subjects had spent over a year outside the bio-domes,
and none had returned with any infection, harmful, or dormant.

******

We began the new calendar on this date. It was January 1, 0000 AA. After
Apocalypse. This day was historic, and will be remembered for years to come,
I'm sure. That night, we had a huge celebration, and partied all night long.
(Since the day we landed, I had several of the guys working to make beer and
wine for everybody.) But, of course, this only lasted for a short period of
time.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN," AMBER SAID FROM THE PODIUM. "TODAY, WE are going to
say 'hi' to Alpha Prime. We're going to breathe the air, and we're going to
drink the water, and we're gonna call it home!" Just about everyone was
gathered in the largest dome for her speech, and the big entrance they were
going to make.

A thousand feet away, the X2's vertical thrusters fired, and it lifted up into
the sky. A long cable was attached to its underside.

"I want everyone here to realize that this day is only possible because of
you. Without your help, none of this would be possible. After today, we can
truly make Alpha Prime our home. We'll prepare it for the Saved." Amber
reached into the back of the podium and pulled out a glass of wine. "Now," she
said. "I'm sure you all want me to shut up, so we can get to partying. So,
without much further ado, I'd like to introduce...Alpha Prime."

At the back of the room, Mike West spoke into a walkie talkie. "Now," he said.

The X2, which was high above the dome, pulled the cable taut, elevating the
dome. The dome creaked, and it lifted off the ground. Slowly, the dome was
carried high into the air, and flown away by the X2. Everybody burst into
deafening cheers, and Amber sighed, glad the dome hadn't fallen on top of
them.

The largest field of the complex was turned into a practical carnival in less
than an hour. Real drinks and real food were being offered. That in itself was
enough to impress everyone, since neither had been seen in over 40 years.
Music was blasted through several huge speakers that sat around the field, and
a dance floor had been built at the north end of the field. A few booths stood
around, where Amber's top people showed off their ideas for Alpha Prime.
Karaoke, bands, comedy acts, poetry reading, sports competitions (Chani had
been kindly asked by Amber not to participate), fortune telling, dancing,
singing, martial arts demonstrations, and just about everything anyone could
think of had been packed into the party.

"So," Ben said to a small circular audience, a glass of wine in his right
hand. "I get this offer, before we're leaving. 'Hey Ben,' says my friend. 'You
gotta help me! Kill this demon that lives in my yard.'" Ben made an
incredulous face. "Yeah right! So this dude's loaded, and he offers me a
hundred million dollars. Sheah, like that changes things! I'll suck the
demon's dick in front of the Pope for a hundred million!" Everybody laughed.
"I mean, what's he gonna say? 'It's wrong to give oral sex to a demon.' 'But I
was gonna donate the money to the church!'...'Well hold his balls while you're
doing it.'" More laughter.

As Chani departed the circle, she couldn't help but think she'd heard that
joke somewhere before. Oh well. Now, she had to find Julie.

***

Amy, from the Inner Circle, sat on the roof of the residential dome.

She had never really been considered normal, by any standards, and she knew
it. No matter how anyone had tried to hide it from her, they couldn't, she
knew she was different. It was evident just by looking at her. Amy's hair was
cut short, flaring out as it rose, except for two thin braids just in front of
her ears. Her eyes were large, grey. Contrasting with her eyes, Amy's hair was
deep black. She tried dying it, occasionally, but it didn't look natural. The
same thing happened when she tried color contacts. Amy had pale skin, and
tanning did little good; she sunburned easily. Her clothes were generally
loose and baggy, in earth tones.

Amy was beautiful, and her body was sensuous, in many ways, but it was her
stare that turned off most men. Every time she looked at someone, they felt as
though she was looking into them instead of at them. It always seemed as
though she knew what their deepest, darkest secrets were. And usually, she
did. Like Melanie, Amy was psychic. She was as talented as Melanie, but the
flaw was her inability to contain what she knew.

The uneasiness most people felt when she looked at them was the subconscious
knowledge that she knew something about them. Her eyes would always convey
this, unintentionally. Amy didn't know this, she never really thought about
it, and probably wouldn't care if she knew. Her most common expression could
be classified as regret. That was what the rest of the Inner Circle thought.
But they never said anything.

With a sigh, Amy leaned back and stared at the stars. Which one was Earth?

Who knew.

***

Chani moved through the field, searching faces and stopping occasionally at
groups to talk. She found Julie watching a band playing some intense African
drum rhythms. Chani put her arm on Julie's shoulders, and Julie looked up,
smiling. "Hey."

"Hey," Chani said. "You been here the whole time? I've been looking everywhere
for you."

Julie nodded. "Just listening." She looked at Chani's hands, and asked,
"Haven't you got any drinks? I'm surprised you're not drinking."

Chani shrugged. "I decided to refrain from alcohol this fine evening."

"Why?"

"I don't want to be blasted by the time we get back to our room. You wouldn't
have any fun that way."

Julie smiled, and looked back at the drummers.

A few yards away, unnoticed by the couple, Shonan and Lina watched the same
drummers. "Wow," Lina said. "They're really good. I wonder where they got the
drums."

Shonan nodded, not even listening. His clear blue eyes had darkened somewhat,
but in the dim lighting, it was hard to notice. Lina was paying the most
attention to the band, anyway.

Jill and Brad were seated at the other end of the field, watching an improv
play. "Jill," Brad said into her ear. "You know, I really think we should go
off into the woods together before I get too wasted."

Jill raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What would we do while we're out there?"

Brad shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe we could learn a little more about
each other. Play some games..."

"Like what?"

"Doctor?"

"Brad, Brad, Brad," she sighed. "I don't know what we'll ever do with you.
Don't you ever learn? It's not proper to talk to a lady like that."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Amber said, in the main pavilion.

Joe Blackburn, head of finances, shook his head. "No, he had to run all five
miles, naked as the day he was born."

The table laughed, and Amber shook her head. "Well, no wonder he lived in a
mental hospital."

Amy stood up, "Excuse me," she said. "I'll be back in a minute."

The Council and the Inner Circle waved their drinks at Amy as she left.

"I'll be back in a little bit," Shonan told Lina, his eyes dark and blank.

Amy made her way across the field, toward the residential dome. At the
entrance, Shonan was standing, arms folded.

"Hello, Shonan," Amy said, her gray eyes scanning his face. It was the only
way she could read other spellweavers, since they could block their thoughts
from her. His face was blank.

She didn't know him well, she'd talked to him a few times, and seen him
around, but they could only be considered acquaintences.

"Hi Amy, you not enjoying the party?"

"I'm not very good at parties," she answered.

Shonan nodded. "Can I show you something?"

Slight suspicion. "What?"

"Follow me," he said, waving her after him.

Amy was led to the atrium, a huge garden beneath a transparent dome. Inside,
Shonan stopped just outside an invisible casting circle. They were in the
center of the dome, a large clearing.

"What is it?" Amy asked.

Shonan smiled and looked at her. To Amy's surprise, Shonan's eyes were
completely black, save the whites of his eyes.

***

Chani looked away from the drummers. "Hey..." she said. "Did you hear
something?"

"Hear or feel?" Julie asked, looking in the direction of the atrium.

***

They were on the ground.

Amy's scream echoed inside the atrium as Shonan tore open the front of her
shirt. It came open, falling aside and revealing her firm breasts. Shonan's
mouth covered Amy's, his tongue plunging in.

What are you doing? her mind screamed at him.

Just be silent, it will all be over soon. The mind that responded was not
Shonan's. It was old, very old. It stank of an incredible evil, like something
long dead. It was also very powerful.

Amy felt Shonan's hand push between her legs. She grabbed his wrist, but
Shonan twisted, and his fingers locked around her own wrist. He pulled away
from her mouth, and grabbed both her wrists, forcing them above her head. He
took off his belt and tied her hands together.

Amy screamed again, and Shonan's hand closed over her face. Power issued from
his fingertips, and she fell asleep. He stood up and went to a nearby bush.
From the bush he produced a couple wooden stakes, a strip of cloth, and some
rope. Shonan went back to Amy and used the rope to tie her feet apart, and he
staked the rope into the ground. He did the same with her hands, so she
couldn't move. Then he gagged her.

Shonan pulled a knife from his belt and cut away Amy's clothing. When she was
naked, he knelt between her legs, and woke her.

As if she had never fallen asleep, Amy's eyes jerked open, panicked. She
looked around her wildly, and gasped when Shonan undid his pants. Her eyes
looked away as he positioned himself.

Amy shivered when his fingers opened her nether lips, and she cried out into
the gag when he entered her. The initial pain wore off as he began rocking his
hips out into hers.

To her horror, Amy found herself being aroused.

Around them, the casting circle was beginning to glow.

Amy whimpered, struggling uselessly as Shonan forced himself on her. His hands
massaged her breasts, and his tongue flicked out over her hard nipples. Oh, it
felt so good.

Shonan's hips moved in a slow circle, as he performed the ritual. It had to be
done correctly, but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy himself... again. He
laughed at Amy's terror, and fucked her harder.

Amy's arousal became more profound as Shonan's pumping cock brought her
pleasure to its peak. The last thing she wanted was to come, it could only
help Shonan's purpose, but she was unable to help it. As her orgasm neared,
the sexual haze in the background overtook her, and she lost her ability to
think. All there was was the pleasure, and she could do nothing but succumb.

When Shonan felt Amy orgasming beneath him, convulsing and jerking in her
bonds, he laughed. Her scream of pleasure tore from her lungs, exciting Shonan
to his own climax.

The casting circle shone brightly, filling the garden with a demonic red
light. Shonan's hips jerked forward, his head snapped back, and his cock began
emptying Zaroth's seed.

The casting circle exploded in red luminance, turning the atrium into an ocean
of hellish light.

***

A few minutes later, Chani and Julie had untied Amy, and she was wearing
Chani's leather jacket, huddled at the edge of the circle.

They looked back down at Shonan, and Chani said, "Wonder what we should do
with him while he's out."

"Let him sleep."

"Come on, let's beat it. I'll have a talk with him later about proper conduct
toward ladies."

"Chani, I don't think-"

"I don't pay you to think," Chani said loftily, smiling, and Julie raised her
eyebrows.

***

"Jill," Brad said, his hand closing around her wrist. "This isn't right." God,
that was the last thing he ever expected he'd say. For forty years he'd been
trying to get her into this position, and now that he had her...what the hell
was wrong with him? Why didn't he just go for it? "No no," Brad said as her
free hand pulled on his belt.

"Come on," she said, her voice heavy with lust and alcohol. "Brad, you know
you want it. I do too, what's the problem?" She kissed him teasingly, trying
to get her hand free, as well as his belt.

"Jill, listen," Brad said thickly. "I can't do this. Not while you're so
drunk."

"But-"

Brad shoved off the moist grass, startling Jill. She gasped, and he lifted her
up. "What are you doing?" she hiccuped.

"Preserving our friendship."

"Brad," her arms wrapped around his neck as he carried her. "Where are we
going?"

"Your room."

She grinned mischeviously. "I like that."

Brad sighed. What a dilemma.

When they arrived at her room, Brad set Jill on the bed. "Good night, Jill,"
he said.

"Where are you going?" she pouted as he opened the door to leave.

"I'm going back to the party. You're too drunk to function. Good night."

"Oh no you're not," Jill said.

That stopped him. It wasn't the statement, but the tone. All former signs of
her drunkeness were gone. She sounded sober, and awake. He turned around to
look at her. Jill was standing behind him, arms folded, staring at him and
smiling. "J-Jill?" he asked.

Jill pressed up against him, "Glad you're decent," she mumbled into his mouth.

"Wait, wait," Brad said, holding her at arm's length. "You mean all that being
drunk was just a ruse? You were just testing me?"

Jill nodded. "You passed."

Brad glowered. "You had to fucking test me to see if I was a decent guy? What
would you have done if I had tried to fuck you?"

"I would've, but then it would have been over." Jill looked into his eyes.
"But you didn't, and we can start now."

Brad stepped back. "No ma'am. I'm not going to fuck you after you treat me
like some kind of toy, pulling my strings at your whim. Good-bye." He went out
the door and slammed it behind him. Two steps away from the door, he stopped.

Dumb fuck. Could you be any fucking dumber?

Brad ran back into Jill's room and wrapped his arms around her chest, and
kissed her. Her startled eyes quickly drooped, and they made their way to
Jill's bed.

***

Chani and Julie escorted Amy back to the residential dome, where she thanked
them and returned Chani's jacket. Amy said she'd just sleep for the rest of
the night.

They were walking in the forest now, to be alone.

"I don't understand," Julie said. "What would Zaroth want with Amy? You're
obviously more powerful than her. Why didn't he go after you?"

"Because, Zaroth already fought with me, and he lost. But what I don't
understand why he didn't fight you, first."

Avoiding it, Julie asked, "When did he lose?"

"When Shonan was conceived," Chani answered sadly. Her eyes were distant, but
she wasn't thinking about the past. She was thinking about the future. "We
battled. He lost. I thought I killed him, but I didn't. He...continued."

Julie looked at Chani, and saw her expression. "It will never end, will it?"

Chani sighed. "I don't know. I honestly don't know."

The celebration ended at the next sunrise, and we all got back to work, some
without even sleeping. Now, the true work began. It took almost another year
to build the food factories, but once they were in place, things started
speeding up. By resurrecting almost a million people for construction work, I
had the re-animation date set for 0010.

I couldn't wait.

-Biography of a Generation

by Amber Jenkins

George had always been insane.

CHANI, AMY, AND JULIE WERE SEATED AROUND AMY'S LIVING ROOM, drinking wine. The
fireplace was crackling softly, casting an orange glow around the room. Rain
pattered against the window and skylights, and thunder rumbled in the
distance. Chani's old CD from Earth, The Mask and Mirror, Loreena McKennitt,
replayed its first track.

"I don't understand," Amy said. "Why can't he die?"

Chani sighed. "He can, but the host would have to die."

"But when you beat Zaroth, his host, the blob of tentacles, didn't die," Julie
said.

Chani shrugged. "It's the way Zaroth's life cycle works. It's different with
each demon. Zaroth started with me, and moved down to Shonan, and now lives in
Tristan. When he gains enough power, he'll return. He'll mate with another
human, and if that human is too weak to defeat Zaroth, they'll become Zaroth,
the way Anea became...whatever she is."

"How come Anea couldn't beat Zaroth, and you could?" Julie asked.

"Because, she let him."

"She did what?" Amy gaped.

Chani looked out the window sadly. "She said that if Zaroth didn't take her,
he would've taken me. And then, everything would have gone straight to Hell. .
.just more quickly."

"So she sacrificed herself to save you."

"And the world," Chani added. "She..." Chani shook her head. "I don't know if
I could've done that."

"Wait," Amy said. "She put herself in your place, mating with Zaroth before he
got to you."

"Sort of."

"When you did battle Zaroth later, you killed him. Why didn't she let you
fight when you were younger?"

"Because I would have lost. I wasn't as powerful when I was sixteen. Besides,
because of that...being that infused me when I was born, I gained a lot of
powers. When I was younger, if Zaroth had done that ritual with me instead of
Anea, my power, the demon's power, and the being's power would have been
combined. I don't know what would've happened then."

"So Shonan's free now?" Julie asked. "He's not going to be under Zaroth's
influence any more?"

"He's been free for nearly ten years. Ever since he and Amy..." Chani trailed
off.

"What about the Anea Personality?" Amy mused aloud.

"What did you say?"

Amy shook her head slightly and turned to Chani, curling her legs beneath her.
"I was just wondering if he would develop a separate personality from his own,
like you did. Wouldn't that be interesting?"

The grim silence said that it wouldn't.

Eventually, Julie said, "Do you think it could happen?"

"I don't know," Chani finally said. "It's...possible. I mean, schizophrenia
might run in the family, for all I know."

Amy looked towards Tristan's old room. "Ironic, isn't it? I'm the mother of
your granddaughter, and I'm only a couple years older than you."

Chani and Julie exchanged glances.

"I couldn't keep him, you know," Amy said. "I'm no mother."

"Who is?" Chani asked.

Amy shrugged.

Chani chuckled.

"What?"

"I'm thinking that when the frozen are animated, we'll have a population
explosion bigger than anything the world has ever seen."

***

"I'm what?" Jill blurted.

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do. Usually it's assumed the man is
sterile, but many times-"

"I know that! I just-" Jill cut off and choked, tears coming to her eyes.

Brad put his arm around Jill's shoulder. Loreena, filling in as doctor on the
Rifa compound, looked down sadly. Then she said slowly, "There is another
option..."

And Amy had readily handed Tristan over to Jill and Brad. They wanted a child
more than anything, but Jill couldn't have one, so Amy had obliged. Her
position in the Inner Circle was shaky so long as she had a child, and she
couldn't bear to leave the Inner Circle.

So, for the past nine years, Jill and Brad had raised Tristan as their own,
putting his heritage in the farthest corner of their minds.

***

Shonan stared out of his window, over Rifa. It was a beautiful place. Unlike
Watermark, which was an industrial complex, Rifa was built for comfort. The
architecture was awesome, developed by a re-animated, little-known designer
that had worked as a stock boy on Earth.

Amber firmly believed that there was genius hidden in everyone, and somehow,
she had come upon this kid's designs. She got Red to build a 3D model of one
of the blueprints, and she loved what she saw. He was found and brought out of
hibernation immediately, and was set to work. After nearly a month, this kid
finished designing the new Jewel Tower, which looked nothing like the
original.

The Jewel Tower appeared half gothic, with huge stone archways and stone
sculptures scattered everywhere on the outside walls. Inside, there were
plants, skylights, and sometimes even animals. Water was ever-present. There
was a huge network of aquariums that ran through the building, lush with sea
life. Fish could swim from one floor to the next; it wouldn't be surprising to
find the same fish going to three different floors. There was absolutely no
plaster in the building, which was generally true of all other buildings on
Rifa. It was all metal, glass, stone, or polished wood.

That was what Shonan liked about Amber; she knew what she wanted, and she
wanted a lot. Her tastes rivalled the ancient kings of Babylon, and she
planned to prove that, with her own hanging gardens. They were on the drawing
boards now.

A lot of people on Rifa lived in the Jewel Tower, but most lived in the
residential complex. It was called the Crash, and had a little blurb "Crash
here any time!" under the sign. The Crash was a large group of houses, inside
an assortment of gardens, aqueducts, and odd sculptures. Most of it came out
of the mind of that kid...

"Lina?" Shonan asked. "What's that kid's name, the one who designed all these
buildings?"

Lina looked up at him from the bed. She was in her pajamas, sitting up and
reading a book. It was the first one to come out of the official WhiteFly
Press. "Flynn Blackman."

"Oh."

Yeah, Flynn Blackman. He was constantly designing buildings and compounds for
Amber; he was probably getting paid in diamonds, too. Of course, Amber herself
had a hand in it too. She always did. Her newfound love for water and plants
spawned their constant presence in Rifa. Amber had said that after forty years
of not seeing water, or plants, she wanted to see them all the time now.

Shonan didn't mind, he thought it added a nice atmosphere.

"Shonan?" Lina said.

"Yes?" he replied.

"Why don't you come in now? It's getting cold."

Shonan came in from the balcony and shut the doors. He doffed his robe and
slipped under the covers with Lina. She put away her book and cut off the
light.

A few moments later, Shonan felt her thin arm slide across his chest.
"Shonan," she whispered. "You feeling tired?"

"Yes."

"Mind if I wake you up?" Lina asked.

Her hot lips pressed against his, and her tongue slipped in his mouth. Her
hand slid down his torso, and he resisted the natural response. Gently, Shonan
pushed her away. "Not tonight, Lina. I'm too tired."

"Shonan, what's wrong with you? Ever since that night with Amy, we've hardly
had any sex. And even then you don't really want to."

Shonan turned away from her moonlit body and pulled the cover around him
tightly. "I'm just feeling too tired tonight."

Lina snorted derisively. "Yeah right. That's what you've said for the past
seven years."

"It's true."

"No, it's not," Lina said earnestly. "Tell me what it is! I-"

"I don't want to talk about it," Shonan said flatly.

Lina swallowed. It was returning. Shonan, the way he was before he reconciled
with his mother. He was becoming emotionless and cruel, again. She fought back
tears as she pulled the covers up.

***

A few hours later, when Amber returned to her room, the light was on.
"Aranor?" she called.

He came in from the balcony, hands behind his back. "Yeah?"

"What are you still doing up?"

"I wanted to talk to you."

Amber pulled off her jacket and tossed it on a chair. "About what?"

"You. Us."

"Huh?"

"I want you to hand over more of your responsibilities to other people."
Aranor doubted this would work, but there was always a chance.

"Like what?" Amber demanded. "I'm taking on as little as I can, but there's so
much to be done."

"There always is, isn't there?" Aranor said.

Amber looked like she was about to shout at him, but she stopped and covered
her face with a hand. She pulled her hand away and walked over to the
nightstand. "I'm sorry, Aranor. But you knew what it was going to be like when
we first got together. We've talked about this before. FireFly is not just a
company any more, it's like a whole new civilization. We have to start over
from scratch, and that takes a lot of time and effort. I'm trying to build an
entire planet out of nothing!" She let out a shaky sigh. "You can leave me, if
you want, I won't think less of you for it." Her tone betrayed her. She opened
the nightstand, her hand trembling slightly. "It's your option." Amber pulled
out a pill and popped it into her mouth.

Aranor watched her. He sighed. Now she was having to take sedatives to get to
sleep, stims to stay awake and alert, and she smoked pot. Or ate happy
brownies for lunch. Amber was slowly destroying herself, and Aranor could only
sit back and watch.

Amber continued speaking, pulling off her clothes. "We've still got to finish
Rifa, and build the other two cities. The satellite network is incomplete, the
computers are having problems, we're having contamination problems at the
sewage plant, the power is blacking out occasionally, and we can't figure out
why. Regular AM radio reception is hampered during the daytime due to active
sun...Jesus!" she cried, half weeping and half laughing. Then she looked sadly
at Aranor. "If you can't handle the pressure, then leave. There's the door."

Aranor walked over to her and kissed her. She tasted like coffee. "No, I'll
never leave you."

Amber nodded, stripping her panties and bra off. "Good. I'm taking a shower."

She closed the bathroom door and turned the water on hot. As soon as she was
under it, she curled up on the floor and began crying. Her frail body was
wracked with sobs for almost a half hour as she buckled under the stress.
Finally, Amber's resolve returned, and stood up and started scrubbing herself
vigorously.

Aranor's existence made it so much harder on her, now. She hated to come home
and have him up waiting for her, looking at her like this was all her fault.
He was the one causing her all the stress. She could handle any kind of
pressure that FireFly threw at her, but when it came to Aranor, Amber was
weak. She couldn't handle thinking of both of them; she loved them both, but
could only handle one at a time. And now, it was FireFly she was devoting
herself to. It would be almost six months before everything was ready for
inhabitation. Until then, and probably after, she and Aranor would see very
little of each other.

Then Amber stopped, her mouth open. Yes! If she told Aranor to go somewhere
else, just for a while, then she'd have time to herself. At last. She loved
him, but every time she saw him, he reminded her that she wasn't only
sacrificing herself, but him as well.

Amber turned off the water. Yes, tomorrow, she would ask Aranor to leave,
until things got straightened out. He would understand.

***

The next morning, Matt's eyes scoured the two papers, a red pen in his hand.
He was almost finished.

Larry Harrison poked his head in the door. "You rang?"

"Here, I'm almost done with these resource papers."

Larry walked over to Matt's desk, just as Matt circled another number and
wrote alternate figures out to the sides. "There," Matt said, handing him the
papers. "That's my two cents. Wait on the irrigation at Farm W4, until the
23rd. We need pipes for the New Toho city center. By the 23rd, the new mine in
the Andes should be operational."

"I thought that was scheduled for the 30th?"

"I called them and told 'em to finish it by the 20th. They'll probably be
three days late, anyway."

Larry walked away with the paper.

"Hey Lar, bring the rest of the Council in here," Matt said. "Amber should be
here soon."

Larry looked at his watch. "She should've been here an hour ago."

"Aranor's leaving for a while, and she's seeing him out."

"Oh."

***

Sexual perverts, Lina figured, were stuck in one state. That was what she'd
read. Peeping Toms, for instance. They were stuck looking under women's
dresses, peeking at them through windows, taking pictures, et cetera. It was
as if they got stuck in their sexual development. As a child, sexual desires
revolved around watching other people. Peeking through doors and keyholes when
you were a kid. Or something like that. Anyway, the peeping Tom was relatively
harmless, since they would just watch, and go jerk off some place. The actual
act of performing sex themselves wasn't a turn on. Just watching other people
do it.

So Lina wasn't worried when she saw Jonathan watching her through the small
shower windows. He was in her ninjitsu class, and she could easily take him if
worse came to worst. But, it wouldn't. He was just a watcher.

"I see you, Jerry, back to the start!" Lina called. She was sitting in a tree,
watching the forest around her as her students attempted to move from one end
of the trees to the other. It was pretty difficult, since this forest was
regulated. Weeds and undergrowth were cleared out weekly. This little wooded
area was at the north end of Crash, where Lina trained her lower level
students in stealth and traps.

"Mark, back to start," Lina said.

The man struggled to his feet, grumbling, and went back to the start line.
Once he lost some weight, things would be a little easier for him. If he
lasted that long.

Lina looked at the finish line, where another student was darting across.
"Good job Pablo," she called, counting the completed students. Ten were
standing on the finish line. That meant four more were somewhere below her.
Jonathan was down there, too, she noted.

About ten minutes later, the rest of the students had made it across,
including Mark, and Lina congratulated them. "Okay," she said. "Monday, we'll
start working on under-water stealth. See you guys then."

Lina avoided Jonathan's gaze as she made her way back to her house. Luckily,
she hadn't caught him watching her in her own house. If Shonan saw Jonathan,
Jonathan would be dead before he could move. He'd only spied on her at the
public showers, which had small ventilation windows near the ceiling.

Lina walked to the house, making sure Jonathan didn't follow her, and opened
the door. Shonan was laying on the couch, staring at the ceiling. "Hey honey,"
Lina said.

"Hi," Shonan mumbled absently.

Lina walked over to him and looked down. "You okay?"

Shonan nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Didn't you work today?"

Shonan shook his head. He was helping out with construction, part of his time.
He helped teach Lina's more advanced classes, and was a law enforcement
officer for Rifa the rest of the time. "They didn't need me downtown, and the
new C&C building is being wired with optic cable today."

"Oh." Lina looked at her watch. "You want to go to the Jewel Tower to eat or
something?"

Shonan shrugged. "If you want."

Lina looked at him a moment longer then stormed up to their room, slamming the
door. What the hell was wrong with him? She forgave him for having sex with
Amy, why couldn't he forgive himself? It wasn't his fault! Lina sat down on
the bed, and leaned against the headboard.

In the floor below, Shonan's eyes closed.

He found Anea sitting on her customary boulder. "Hello," she said.

Shonan nodded curtly, and climbed up next to her. "Well?" he asked.

Anea sighed. "It's gotten worse. The Protector is still standing strong, but
more human refuges have fallen. Ever since the Demon Queen" - that was what
the Anea Personality called the real Anea; she thought of herself as Anea, and
the other one just the Demon Queen - "defeated Mannan, her forces have grown.
I thought that Hell was just the size of Earth, but...demons are coming out of
Hell like nothing I've ever seen. Earth has practically turned into Hell.
Look."

The scene shifted around them, and they were staring at a blasted terrain. It
looked like a nuclear wasteland. Hot winds blew from the west, carrying ashes
and the stench of burnt flesh. The wind was coming from the mouth of Hell,
which was now beneath Jerusalem. The original gate, above the plains of
Amaria, still remained, and was about ten times larger. More had formed, and
in some places, Earth had vanished altogether, leaving patches of boiling fire
and tormented souls. There was almost no visibility, and a constant black fog
hung over the landscape.

"Here," Anea said. "I'll take you to one of the refuges." Their surroundings
shifted again, and they were standing outside a Holiday Inn.

"What's this?" Shonan said, looking at the fearsome appearance.

Anea chuckled wryly. "Doesn't look too much different from one of the demon
fortresses, does it?"

The Holiday Inn had been completely transformed. Instead of a slowly rotating
"Holiday Inn" sign, there was a slowly rotating impaled demon. The parking lot
was littered with demon skeletons and dead bodies. Dozens of casting circles
and hundreds of runes decorated the cracked pavement. Three APCs and a tank
sat in front of the inn, toting several mounted miniguns, plus various other
weapons. More protective runes had been scrawled on the vehicles, and the
sides were bristling with spikes and demon skulls.

The inn itself was monstrous. Above the front doors was a kanji drawn in
blood, and more symbols had been etched all over this side of the building. A
blackened demon skull hung next to the kanji, and above that, easily visible,
was yet another demon skeleton, dismembered so that each bone could be seen.
More firearms were positioned around the hotel, on the roof, poking out of
windows, and some were sitting next to the vehicles.

"They call this place Sanctuary," Anea said. "Next to the Jewel Tower, it's
the strongest fortress to exist. Except for maybe the Refuge."

"How do you know all this?" Shonan asked.

"I spend a lot of time here while you're awake. Remember?" She gazed back out
at the destroyed planet. "This... is... awful."

Shonan shot her a sidelong glance.

She had changed, that was for sure. When she had first entered Shonan's mind,
she was pretty...well, evil. Or she thought she was. After travelling all the
way back to the true Earth, Anea looked at the horrors her mirror self had
created, and was revolted. Shonan guessed that was what changed her. Now,
every time he saw her, this was what she showed him. And the situation didn't
appear to be getting any better.

"It is getting worse, Shonan. The Demon Queen is directly assaulting the
Refuge, and if...when she defeats them, she'll move on to Sanctuary. After
that, it's just a matter of time before all humans on Earth are eradicated."

"What about the Jewel Tower?"

Anea shook her head sadly. "I don't know. I've spent a lot of time analyzing
The Protector, and as far as I can tell, it's impenetrable. Any demon that's
stupid enough to wander near it is destroyed. Vaporized, instantly. Any that
are stupid enough to attack it openly...same thing. The Protector just eats
them alive. So they might survive."

Shonan gazed into the windows of Sanctuary, looking at some of the last
defenders of mankind. "Looking at this hotel makes me wonder who the evil ones
are."

"No it doesn't. This is human nature. Barbarianism. That's what they've
resorted to. It's survival, Shonan. Nothing more."

"How long do you think the Refuge will hold out?" Shonan asked.

Anea shrugged, but looked pessimistic. "A few years. A decade maybe? At the
most. The Demon Queen's forces are powerful, but so is Refuge's. They're
inflicting heavy losses on her armies, and she'll probably wait a while before
hitting Sanctuary. After all, she has all the time in the world."

***

"Frankly, I'm starting to get a little worried," Matt said. "It's been a month
since we last had contact with them. The Dead Man shows no thermal activity in
that area, and I'm not very optimistic."

"This has happened in the past, hasn't it?" asked Joe. "I mean, what if
they're just not talking to us?"

"They always talk to us," Amber said. "They give weekly status reports, and we
call them occasionally. More than two weeks is when we should get worried.
Now, it's becoming a real problem."

"What if their antenna's just broken?"

"Like I said," Matt said, "there's no thermal activity in that area, and there
usually is. If their antenna was broken, they'd send someone down to Panville,
and call us from there. I talked to the farmers in Panville, and they haven't
heard anything either."

"Well," Joe scowled, "radio reception along the equator isn't exceptionally
great. And especially up in the Andes, how could you-"

"We have to send someone up there," Gumpy said. "That facility is important,
and if we don't figure out what went wrong, the situation might escalate."

"Gumpy," Joe said, "I know what-"

"Shut up," Amber groaned, putting her face in her hands. "I need to think. All
the special forces are used up, and getting some demon hunters out of
hibernation would take two or three days, including the pickup flight."

"If the ship landed..." Jesse said.

"I don't want to bring any of them out of orbit until it's absolutely
necessary," Amber said. "They're really old, and right now, they're the major
part of our satellite network."

"I can go," Matt said.

"Alone?"

"No," Larry said. "We need you here."

"Cause he does all your work," Amber snorted. "Okay Matt, you can go, but
you'll need a team. I can't risk losing you."

"How hard is it to kill me?" Matt grinned, showing his fangs.

"Yeah, but if you get frozen hiking up there, it'll be millenia before you
come out. I don't want that either."

"Hey!" Red exclaimed. "What about those friends of yours?"

***

Chani gaped. "You want us to what?"

Shonan actually smiled.

Julie squirmed, "I don't know, Amber, it's been a while since-"

"You can stay," Chani said. "I'm going."

"Me too," Julie agreed with a sigh.

Shonan looked at Lina. "You coming, dearest?"

Lina shrugged. "Sure. I'll get TJ to teach while I'm gone."

Amber raised her eyebrows. She hadn't expected it to be this easy. "Ah, you
guys know there'll be danger, right?"

Chani picked another piece of pizza from the table. "Like what kind?"

"I'm not sure. The research facility was gathering new microbe life from the
mountains, but that was only their side concern. Their main objective was
sub-wave communication and matter-energy conversion."

"Whatever," Shonan said. "And what do you think is going to present this
danger?"

"The most probable is bacterial. That's why I want you guys to wear the Frog
Suits for the trip up there."

"Aren't those space suits?" Lina asked.

"Sort of. They're omni-environmental suits. Frog Suits can be used practically
anywhere on Alpha, even a volcano for short periods of time."

"How short?"

"Ten seconds."

"Ooh, great," Chani said.

Amber decided to eat her pizza, and nothing was said for a few minutes. When
she finished, she set the food aside and leaned back. "I'll pay you guys, of
course. And Matt will be going with you."

All except Chani glanced around nervously. "The vampire?" Lina asked.

"Uh-huh. Try not to judge him, he's a great guy."

"He makes me nervous," Julie admitted. "I don't know if-"

"Stay," Chani said through her pizza.

Julie rolled her eyes. "I'm going, I'm going."

Chani grinned and whispered something in Julie's ear. Julie blushed furiously
and tried to cover it by wiping her face with a napkin.

"I'd be really appreciative. I'll have the Moby Dick drop you guys off as
close as possible to the site. The weather up there is horrendous, so it can't
go too far into the mountains. In about ten years, the American Eagle I will
be built, and that should be able to fly just about anywhere."

"Ten years?" Shonan said. "You sure plan ahead."

"Planning is what it's all about," Amber shrugged.

***

The Moby Dick was a huge craft. It was a plane, with wings, huge propellers,
and massive thrusters. The hull was a dull brown, and unattractive. Unlike
most everything else on Rifa, the Moby Dick was built for utilitarian purposes
as opposed to comfort. The storage bay could probably hold tons of material,
and it had enough space to carry a house.

They were all seated in the storage bay, since there was no passenger seating.
Around them were massive boxes and crates that reached up to the ceiling. When
the engine started, their idle conversation ceased, since the noise was
deafening. Julie covered her ears, and stayed that way.

As soon as the Moby Dick lifted off, one of the officers walked across the
storage bay to where they were seated. He wordlessly handed them each a Frog
Suit, and gestured for them to put it on. After they had done so, the sound
was blocked out, and the man put on a pair of earphones with a mike.

"Can you guys hear me?" he asked.

"Yeah," Chani said. "Why are we putting these on now?"

"Because, as you may have noticed, the excess noise from the engines makes
normal conversation impossible. Besides, the flight from here to the Andes
will only be a few hours."

"A few hours?" Chani retorted. "We're travelling over 5000 miles, that's not a
short time, buddy."

"True. Since this thing goes slower than normal planes, because of its bulk,
it'll take us...maybe 25 hours to reach our destination."

"25 hours?"

"We'll feed you every six hours. If you have to go to the bathroom, there's a
toilet through that door."

"Life of luxury," Matt grinned.

***

About nine hours after that, they were drifting out of the sky in parachutes,
all for the first time.

"Help!" Julie cried. "I'm in circles!"

Chani's voice came into the helmet. "You know that rope you're holding on to?"

"Uh-huh?"

"Let go."

Julie released the cord, and her circles stopped, then reversed. But by then,
she was hitting the snow with a thump. "Ow," she groaned as she stood up.

The other four landed a few moments later, and they all gathered together.

"Now," Chani said, looking at a little monitor on the inside of her helmet. "I
think it's that way," she pointed to the southeast.

"No," Matt answered, "it's that way."

"Who cares? Let's just get moving."

Matt strode ahead of them, leading them in single file to the research
facility.

As they walked, Chani looked at the Andes. She'd never seen the originals on
Earth, but she guessed they couldn't be prettier than this. Jagged,
snow-covered peaks rose above and into cotton-like clouds. Freezing winds blew
snow off cliffs, in powdery white sheets. Visibility was excellent until
stormclouds crept over their mountain and began dumping layers of snow on top
of them.

"How much longer do we hike?" Lina asked.

"Not much," Matt answered. "Maybe another two hours. It's on that ridge over
there." He pointed to something across the valley.

"Wahoo," Chani said.

***

Tristan had just turned nine, and was, for the first time, attending the
public school just south of Crash. He was a little nervous, afraid that
everyone else would be smarter than him, but that turned out to be the
opposite. As soon as this was apparent, most of the other kids shunned him.

So he was eating lunch alone when Trina sat down across from him. She was his
age, with long brown hair, and brown eyes. "Hi," she smiled, her cheeks
dimpling. She stuck out her hand. "My name's Trina."

Tristan smiled and shook her hand. "I'm Tristan."

***

"Here it is," Matt said, standing in front of the building.

It was three stories high, and made out of some material Chani couldn't
identify. Probably made to resist the cold. On top of the building was a huge
satellite dish, along with a few other antennas. There were no lights on.

"Shall we enter?" Chani said, walking up to the door and banging on it with
her fist.

No answer.

"Okay guys," Chani said. "I'm gonna try and break it down."

"Chani..." Matt warned. "That door is reinforced with steel crossbeams and
flex-webbing. I don't think even I could break it down."

Chani paused. "Anybody bring any explosives?"

"I did," Matt said, unslinging his backpack.

"Hey hey," Shonan said, holding up his hands. "Just a minute."

"Uh-oh," Lina groaned.

"That door can't be too hard to break down. We're pretty strong, you and I,
aren't we?" He asked Chani.

"Yeah," Chani said slowly.

"Well we'll both ram into it and see what happens?"

"Besides breaking your shoulders?" Lina said dryly.

"Chani, don't," Julie said. "You'll hurt yourself."

"I don't think that'd be a good idea," Matt said.

"Wait," Julie asked. "Don't you have a key or anything?"

Matt shook his head. "Did you look at the lock? Completely electronic, and the
power's off. Besides, the only people with a key are the scientists here."

"Isn't there a manual open?"

"On the inside."

"That's it," Shonan said. "We're breaking it down."

Chani walked next to him, and they prepared to run at the door.

"Chani, don't-" Julie broke off as they ran forward, smashing the door with
their shoulders.

There was a metallic screech as the door was shoved inwards. The crossbeams
bent sharply, but barely held. Shonan and Chani dropped away from the door,
swearing and cursing, clutching their shoulders.

Everyone else was gaping, astonished that the door could be so easily crushed.

Matt's mouth clicked shut, then he said, "Maybe now I should use explosives."

"Uh-uh," Chani said, staggering to her feet.

"No," Shonan shook his head, moving next to her. "We'll get it this time."

When they hit the door, it exploded inwards, the metal screaming in protest
and tossing screws everywhere. Chani and Shonan fell on top of it and fumbled
around like beached whales until the others arrived.

"There?" Shonan said. "Told ya we'd do it."

Matt stared at them thoughtfully. They weren't vampires, were they? No,
probably not. But definitely not human, either.

Inside, the hallway was small, and the first floor was just the residential
floor. It had the rooms and a public shower.

"Just spread out, search for what you can find."

Julie opened the first door, and turned away in disgust.

"Don't puke," Chani said. "Inside that suit it'll be messy."

Julie nodded, pressing her hand against the front of her helmet, like she was
holding it in. Chani looked past her, and said, "Ew."

Inside the small room, practically bare of furnishings, was a dead man. His
skull was cracked open, and brains were spread out in a pile behind him. Blood
was everywhere.

"What is it?" Matt asked.

"Dead guy," Chani said. "Messy."

"'Nother one here too," Shonan said from across the hall. "Stabbed."

They searched through the rest of that floor, and found one other corpse.
Upstairs, Matt was already looking, and had found more bodies.

This floor was the lab, with the usual sanitary look and feel. None of them
had the slightest idea what any of the equipment here was, but most of it was
smashed and broken. The people had all been murdered violently. Some of them
had killed each other, from the looks of it.

"Okay," Matt said. "This doesn't look good. I don't want any of you to remove
your suits. This could be viral contamination."

"What kind of virus?" Chani asked.

"We don't know. Despite our microbe introduction and protection program, there
are bacteria and viruses that we don't know about. These were researching the
bacteria that lived up here in the frozen climates. In case the bacteria
mutated and could survive in warmer temperatures."

Chani looked around. "And so you think one of these viruses got free, and
infected everyone here?"

Matt shrugged. "It's possible. And that would be my first guess."

"I'll search upstairs," Shonan said. "You guys look around here some more."

Chani slowly looked around the room. The Frog Suit separated her from this
horror, and almost made it seem like a dream. Or some kind of movie. Her
breath echoing in the hollow helmet, the way everything seemed to move slowly,
the deathly silence. It reminded her of an old Earth show, The X-Files.

Matt went to a section of the wall, and ripped it off. Behind the panel was a
large box.

"What's that?" Julie asked.

"Computer," Matt said. "Where they kept all their data. I'm going to try and
find out what they kept up there." He hooked up his own laptop to the big
thing and started up. The hard drive inside the box began humming, but all the
lights stayed off. Matt's screen showed that he was accessing the files with
no problem.

"Hey guys," Shonan's voice said. "I'd like to show you something."

They turned around, and someone came stumbling down the steps. He was short,
and skinny. His face was blue, and his lips were purple from the cold. The man
stared at them stupidly as Shonan gently pushed him forward.

"Jesus!" Julie cried. "We have to warm him up!"

"With what?" Chani asked.

"A fire, at least. Food, or something." Julie pulled some food from her
backpack and handed it to the man, who stared at it blankly. As Julie set up
her little port-a-fire (something invented by FireFly), the man finally
started chewing on her beef jerky. "My God, how long has he been here?"

"A day, at least," Chani said. "But why's he so cold? My temperature guage
only says forty degrees inside the building."

"Upstairs the roof door was cracked, and he was sitting right next to it."

"Why didn't he move?" Lina asked.

"Hey Chani, go back down to the first floor, and look for a big grey panel on
the wall. Open it up and look inside. Tell me what you see."

Chani nodded and went down. She found the panel, and opened it up. Inside was
a mass of wires and switches.

"It's a bunch of wires and switches," she stated.

"Okay," Matt said. "I think that one of the switches is turned off. Tell me
which one."

Chani scanned up and down the rows as she heard Shonan say, "I think he's
scared shitless. He probably doesn't even have a mind left."

"We could talk to Amy," Julie said. "I wouldn't risk going in there alone. He
doesn't look safe."

"That's for sure."

"No," Chani said. "None of them are off."

"You positive?" Matt asked.

"Yep. They're all on."

"Any wires broken?"

"Uh. . .yeah. One."

"Tie it together."

"I'd have to take off my gloves."

"Don't. Come up and get some needle-nose pliers from me."

Chani did, then returned and tied the wires together.

"Okay," Matt said. "Turn the fifth switch on the third row, off."

Chani did. Nothing happened. She told him so.

"Okay, now turn it back on."

The lights flickered, and a distant rumbling accompanied the switch.

"Great, Chani," Matt said. "Now the power's on again."

Chani hopped back up the steps to find the strange man huddled over Julie's
gas-powered portable fire. "You think he killed them?" Chani asked.

"All of them?" Shonan looked skeptical.

"It's possible," Matt said. "He might have become infected and done it."

"They all might have been infected," Lina said.

"True."

"Well, what do we do with him?"

"See if he can talk," Shonan said.

Julie changed her helmet so it projected voice outside of her suit. "Hello?"
she said. "Mister?"

The man ignored her and warmed his hands over the fire.

"Mister? Guy? Can you hear me?"

The man looked up at her, baffled. He tried to say something, but his voice
was so scratchy it didn't come out. After a few more attempts, Julie gave up
and switched off her outside speaker. "I can't understand a word he said, any
of you?"

"No," Chani said. "But what do we do with him?"

Matt was still looking through the files. "Last entry in the computer is two
days ago," he said. "That's when the power outage occurred."

"Wait a second," Chani said. "That wire was cut. With scissors."

"That means somebody in here did it," Lina said.

"Right," Matt nodded. "My guess is the virus just drove them insane. Maybe an
early alzheimers or something."

"Alzheimers doesn't make people murder each other."

Matt shrugged. "I don't know anything about diseases." He punched in a few
keys on the computer and waited. After nothing happened, he tried again. "This
is Matt Jakowski," Matt said. "I'm calling from Operation Germ Munch. Do you
copy?"

"Who are you talking to?" Chani said.

"Who are you talking to?" said an unfamiliar voice, blanketed in static.

"Who the hell is this?" Chani demanded.

"Be quiet, Chani," Matt said. "Mike, this is Matt. We're at the research
facility."

"Ah," said the voice. "That makes some sense. I guess you want to talk to
Amber."

"Uh-huh," Matt answered.

"Hold on," Mike said.

After a brief burst of static, Chani said, "What's going on?"

"I think he's phoning home," Lina answered.

"Right," Matt said. "I've hooked up to this computer here, and I'm using the
satellite dish to talk to the 311, which is right above us. It's relaying the
message from one ship to another until it reaches Rifa-"

"Hello, this is Amber Jenkins," Amber said.

"Amber, Matt here."

"Matt?" Amber said, disbelieving. "Where are you?"

"We're in the research facility."

"How long have you been there?"

"Fifteen, twenty minutes."

"How'd you get on my phone line?"

"We're all here, Amber," Chani said.

"Chani? How'd you get on? Where's Matt?"

"I'm here," Matt said. "I just patched the Frog Suits into the computer
reception frequency, then relayed that to Rifa Comm. I guess Mike West patched
us into your phone line."

"Oh. Well, what did you find out?"

"Everybody's dead," Shonan said.

"What?"

"They killed each other," Chani said. "Matt thinks it's a virus."

"What do you think?"

"Beats me. Looks as good an explanation as any."

"We've got one guy alive, Amber," Julie said.

"Julie?"

"Uh-huh?"

"Wait. What does that guy say?"

"Nothing," Julie answered. "He's...completely blank. His voice is so scratchy
we can't understand anything he says."

"Amber," Matt said. "We'll do a little more investigating here, then head down
to Panville for pickup."

"I didn't think you guys would be ready so soon," Amber said. "There's not
anything heading that way for another two days. You'll have to stay in
Panville until then, okay?"

"No problem," Matt said. "Just seein' how you were doing."

"Uh, thanks. I'll talk to you later, Matt. I've got work to do."

"Sure."

There was a click, and Matt closed up his laptop. He shut off his computer and
unhooked it. Then he reached behind the big box and flipped a switch.

All the computer monitors in the room flickered to life, and the computer
booted up.

"All right," Matt said. "Shonan, close that door upstairs."

"I did."

"Then close the one downstairs."

"The one we broke?"

"Yeah."

"I'll try," Shonan said as he went down the steps.

"Everybody, look around and see what you can find. Does anybody know anything
about microbiology? I should've brought Loreena or Brad, but didn't even think
about it."

"I read a little bit about it on the 311," Julie said.

"Well, go over to that computer and see what you can find out about what they
were doing."

Julie went to a computer terminal and sat down.

Matt glanced at the strange man, hesitating. "I guess he'll be fine by this
fire, he looks oblivious to everything."

There was a loud banging from downstairs.

"I'll go upstairs and look," Lina said.

"Chani, you want to help me look at the bodies?"

"I'd love to!" she lied.

"Great, come with me."

On the way down, they passed Shonan, and stopped at the bottom of the steps.
The warped door had just been shoved back into place, and there were several
holes, with snow and wind blowing in.

"Good job, Shonan," Chani said sarcastically.

"Thanks," he replied from the lab.

They went into the first corpse, that Julie had discovered.

"Victim number 1. Caucasian male. Early forties, unknown name. Cause of
death?" Matt asked.

"Look," Chani said. "The top of his head is missing. Take a wild guess."

"I'm taking notes on a tape, for future referance."

"Sorry."

Matt walked around the body, speaking as he went. "Since I'm no expert, I'm
not going to speculate on what weapon was used, but it wasn't done with
surgical precision."

"I'll say," Chani said. "It looks like somebody got a knife and just sawed the
top of his head off."

"You'd have to be pretty strong to do that," Matt said. He knelt and looked at
the blood. "From the looks of it, this guy was killed when the power went out.
Most of this is dried out."

"Look," Chani pointed to the floor. "A flashlight."

"Think he got it after the power cut out?" Matt asked.

"Probably," Chani answered. "Do you have any fingerprinting powder?"

"No. Want to test fingerprints in here?"

"Crossed my mind."

Matt stood up. "Not much we can determine from this guy, let's go to the next
one."

In the next room, the man had four stab wounds in his chest. He was leaning
against the side of his bed, head drooped down.

"Victim 2, black male, late fifties, name unknown. Cause of death, four stab
wounds to torso."

***

"Look at that," Tristan pointed to a shooting star.

"What?" Trina said.

"Oh. Gone now. They only last a second."

"Yeah," Trina nodded.

They were seated on the roof of Crash's main building. It was taller than the
other buildings, and had a flat roof, with a dome in the center. Many modern
buildings did. From here, they could see all of Rifa, and it was a great
sight. The lighted domes and buildings stretched out for miles, until it
reached the coast. And the Jewel Tower rose high, a shining spire over the
small city.

"Do you think your parents will get worried you're not home yet?" Trina asked.

Tristan gasped. He looked at his watch. 8:21. Oh no. "Oh no!" he cried. "I'm
gonna be in big trouble." He jumped to his feet and helped Trina up. "I
haven't talked to them at all today, and if...oh noohnohno..." They ran down
to the edge of the building, and Tristan slid down the drain pipe.

Trina followed suit, and they ran through back woods of Crash, and stopped in
the Japanese garden. "Sorry to make you late," Trina said. "My parents usually
don't care when I come home."

Tristan smiled and shook his head. "It's okay. I'm glad to have met you. I'll
see you tomorrow at school?"

Trina nodded and they went back to their own respective houses. When Tristan
finally reached his house, he looked himself over and went in as quietly as he
could.

When the door clicked closed, his father was suddenly standing over him.
"Tristan," his voice boomed, resonating through every inch of the house.
"Where have you been?"

Tristan looked up, up, and up. His father had never seemed so tall. "I was
looking at the stars."

***

They ended up staying at the lab for three more days.

"There aren't any viruses," Julie said. "None of them are free. And even more,
none of them are dangerous."

"What?" Matt scowled, looking at the screen. It made no sense.

"I looked through all their records, and none of the microbe they've found are
dangerous. And not in this way, definitely."

"Well how do you know?"

"Because, after I called Brad, I performed the blood tests exactly like he
said, and none of the microbes are dangerous. That's not the reason this
happened."

"Wait," Chani said.

Julie jumped. She couldn't get used to their transmitters working in every
room of the building.

"Can we take our suits off now?" Chani asked.

"Yeah," Julie said.

"And we can use the toilets in here instead of freezing our asses off
outside?"

"Uh-huh."

"And we can eat real food again?"

"Uh-huh."

"Yes!" Chani cried.

Julie could hear her pulling off her Frog Suit helmet.

"I don't get it," Matt sighed. "What's going on here?"

The strange man suddenly leaped to his feet from his corner and yelled, "There
are twelve left!"

Everybody jumped and turned to him.

The man blinked and looked at them as if he had just woken up. "W-What's going
on?" he asked.

Julie pulled off her helmet and shook her hair. "I was hoping you could tell
us."

The man looked around fearfully, and backed into the wall. "Who are you?"

Julie's nose then caught a whiff of the dead bodies, which had been
decomposing for five days, and she gagged. "Turn on the fans," she said
through her hand.

Chani's helmet was already back on, having smelled the dead bodies first. She
turned on her outside speaker. "I'm Chani, and these are my agents. We've come
to find out what's happened to this facility."

"Your agents," snorted Shonan.

The man looked around, as if for the first time, and his lips quivered at the
sight. He dropped to his knees and dry heaved. "I'll take him," Lina said.

Chani nodded, slightly disgusted.

Julie turned away, trying not to vomit. She slammed her helmet back into place
and held her breath until the Frog Suit had filtered out all the filthy air.

***

Once inside an empty room, away from the smell of the dead, Lina closed the
door and took off her helmet.

"What happened?" the man asked, staring off into space. "Everybody's...dead."

Lina sighed. "We don't know. It's like a mass murder." She looked at the man
for a few moments, then said, "What's your name?"

"George," he smiled. "Nice to meet you."

As they shook hands, Lina wondered how he could smile after just learning all
his friends were dead. Maybe the shock hadn't completely worn off.

"Lina," she said slowly. "Do you have any clue as to what might've happened
here?"

"Gee," George said, looking concerned. If Lina didn't know any better, she'd
say he was acting. "I don't know. I'd say it was that new virus that came in."

That distracted Lina from his attitude. "What?"

"There was a new virus," George said innocently. "The AAL 12. It affects the
mind," he tapped his temple dramatically. "People go crazy. They started
acting weird, and then..." he furrowed his brow and bowed his head. "I can't
remember."

Trying to sound like she believed him, Lina said, "Maybe it's the shock still
affecting you."

"That must be it!" George cried. "Thanks for figuring that out, I was getting
scared for a second."

"Uh-huh," Lina said, studying his face. Dammit. If what he said was right,
then he was infected. That would explain why he was acting so strangely. But
that would mean, she was also infected. And so was Julie, and Chani...and
whoever else took off their helmet. Shit.

Lina twisted the wire communicator from the bottom of the helmet. "Guys?" she
said. "Do you still have your helmets on?"

"I do," Chani said. "Stinks too bad."

"Anybody else?"

"No."

Lina closed her eyes.

"Why?" Matt asked.

Lina set the helmet aside and looked at George, who was staring curiously at a
hangnail. "George, do you think you might be infected with this virus?"

George looked up at her and laughed. "Oh no Lina, I'm not infected. I saw how
the others were beginning to act, and I took the antidote."

"There's an antidote?"

"Oh, sure."

"How does it work?"

"The virus infects your cerebrum, and lies dormant for about a week, unless
you kill it in time. The antidote cleans out the infection from your cerebrum
and kills off the virus."

He's got to be bullshitting me. "So, can you get infected again?"

George leaned against the wall casually. "Aw, no, honey. I'm immune to it,
now."

Lina nodded. "So, should we take the antidote?"

George shook his head. "Naw. I let them kill each other, and when they were
done, the virus died with 'em."

"So we're not infected?"

"Only if you think you are."

Damn, this guy was insane. "I...see. Well what do you think we should do now?"

"Leave."

"We'll go back to Rifa, how's that sound?"

"Yeah. Give them my regards."

Lina stopped. "You aren't coming?"

"No. I like it here."

"But George, what about the dead people?"

George shrugged. "Let 'em stay. They don't bother me, and I don't bother
them."

Lina took a step to the door, and George grabbed her arm. His face was deadly
serious. "Lina, I've found that my delusions often affect those around me."

"What?"

George grinned, an evil gleam in his eye. Out of nowhere, in his left hand,
was a combat knife.

***

"Where's Lina?" Shonan asked when George came back up. Then Shonan stopped.
George's was covered in blood, and his nose was broken.

"Resting," George grinned.

"What?"

"She's sleeping. She got tired all of the sudden."

Shonan started towards the stairs, but George got in front of him. "She
doesn't want to be disturbed," George said evenly.

Shonan shoved the man aside and jumped down all ten stairs. He landed right in
front of the empty room. But it wasn't empty any more.

In the middle of the floor was Lina, lying in a pool of blood. Her suit had
several long gashes down the front, and the front of her neck was slit wide
open. Her eyes were glazed, staring at the ceiling.

"NO!" Shonan screamed, scrambling over to Lina. In slow motion, he dropped to
his knees next to her. The crimson blood splashed over his Frog Suit as he
knelt, his face a mask of horror.

He screamed again, a sound of pure anguish. Shonan ripped his gloves off and
took her face into his hands, searching for any sign of life. "No,
Nononogodno..." he choked. "Lina!!" he howled, bending over her as the tears
flowed into her blood.

And, for a moment, he was lost, like a child. Then the rage fell upon him like
a storm. His mind turned into cold hate, and his only purpose in life was
death.

Shonan leaped up the steps in two bounds, and saw the others in a semi-circle
around the man.

"Don't kill him..." Chani was saying as he brandished his knife at them.

Then the man saw Shonan, and Julie screamed, "Shonan, no!"

The man's face turned sad. "I told you not to disturb her. She was sleeping."

Shonan took a step forward, but the man lunged with the knife. Julie screamed.

Shonan extended his open left hand. The blade plunged into his palm, up to the
hilt, and came out the other side. His eyes burning with cold rage, Shonan
closed his left hand around the man's knife hand, despite the blade sticking
through. He snaked his right hand to the man's neck. His fingers closed around
the man's throat, fingertips almost touching.

The killer's eyes popped wide, and Shonan tightened the fingers of his left
hand. The man screamed as his hand was crushed into the hilt of the knife.
Shonan spun around, throwing the man into the wall.

As the killer slumped to the ground, Shonan approached him, pulling the knife
out of his left hand. "No!" cried the man, struggling to his feet. As he
reached to block his face, the knife swept out in one clean motion, opening
George's stomach.

George blinked, and looked down, his mouth hanging open. His mouth moved, but
blood was the only thing that came out.

Shonan watched George try to hold his guts in. After a few moments, Shonan's
fist arched out, and he smashed George's head, crushing it against the wall.

Blood gushed from George's caved-in skull as he sank to the ground.

Shonan turned around and dropped the knife. He walked a few steps, then
staggered, and fell to his knees. Tears spilled down his cheeks and he curled
up into a ball, wracked with sobs.

******

Lina's death devastated Shonan, and it took him years to return to normal. I
don't think he ever completely recovered. I don't know if I did.

After an extensive investigation by professionals, it was determined that
George was the one who killed them all. He snipped a wire in the breaker room,
and murdered them all in a span of five minutes. According to Matt's account,
all I can determine from this is that he was totally and completely insane.
And that's the sickening thing. Somehow this homocidal maniac was able to make
it into FireFly, and murder twelve of our scientists. After the incident, I
ordered psychological evaluations of everyone in the Jewel Tower, including
myself.

Of course, I don't think any of us were prepared for what happened next.

"Okay okay!" Shonan said, holding up his hands.

"Yes!" Julie grinned.

"What?" Chani asked, coming into the room.

"I convinced him to stay at least until my birthday party."

Chani sat down in the chair and turned on the TV. "Technical Problems, Please
Stand By" showed up. Chani rolled her eyes and shut it off. "They're always
having problems with these new satellites."

"Come on," Julie said, "give Amber a break, she's done more for us - for
anybody that anyone has ever done before."

Chani shrugged and passed Shonan a can of soda as he sat next to her. "So when
are you leaving?"

"October 1st."

"The day after Julie's party?"

Julie waved her finger. "Uh-uh. It's going to be for both of us. For him it's
going to be a going away party."

"So Amber gave you the X2?" Chani asked.

Shonan nodded. "Yeah. They'll set it to autopilot and I'll go into hibernation
for most of the trip. When I get there, I'll bring in a couple of those
tele-disks and send the X2 back here."

"And it'll get back here in...how long?" Chani asked.

"Thirty years there, forty back. Seventy years."

Chani laughed. "By then she'll have built enough satellites to cover the
galaxy."

"Probably," Shonan sighed.

Julie sat on the other side of Shonan and looked at him peculiarly. "Why did
you decide to do it?"

Shonan shrugged. "I have to know. I have to see if there's something I can
do."

"I don't think you'd be going back there on a hunch," Chani said. "You sound
like you know something's up."

(Rico, one of the Inner Circle, appeared in front of the fireplace. He was
sitting inside a casting circle, watching the proceedings. Next to him, Amy
appeared. But nobody paid any attention to either of them.)

Shonan shrugged. "Perhaps. But even so, you don't need to worry about it.
That's in the past." He stood up and started toward the door. "I'm going back
to the-" Shonan halted, and stared.

("He's hiding something," Rico said.

Amy's mouth dropped open. "Look at that!"

"What?" Rico said. "I don't see anything.")

In front of him was a young woman, in her early twenties. She had dark hair,
braided down her back. Her eyes were dark blue.

For a moment, Shonan had trouble focusing on her, then a slight shimmer passed
in front of her body, and his vision cleared. Then, another shimmer passed,
next to her, and another woman appeared. When she came into view, Shonan was
gaping.

"Shonan?" Chani asked. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

Shonan motioned for her to be quiet. "Anea?" he said doubtfully.

She nodded. "It's me, not the Demon Queen."

"Who are-" Shonan cut off as he looked at the dark-haired woman. Like a bubble
rising to the surface of his memory, he recognized her from his childhood.
"Melanie?"

Behind him, Chani slowly stood up. "Shonan, who are you talking to?"

Melanie smiled. "So you do remember me?" Her eyes flickered over the pair
sitting next to the fireplace, and she winked.

"Wh-Anea? What's going on?"

("She can see us," Amy said.

"What? That's impossible!" Rico scoffed. "I-"

"Sh!" Amy said.)

Melanie answered, "We kind of...met. And she brought me here."

"But that's light-years away! And I thought you were dead!"

Chani said something, but Shonan ignored her.

Melanie shrugged. "It doesn't take long for one to realize that barriers, no
matter what kind, are illusions. Distance, life, death, all are merely
illusions."

"But - what are you doing here?"

Melanie furrowed her brow, then smiled. "You could say I just dropped in to
say hi. That, and to urge you to leave as soon as possible."

"Why?"

"Because the situation on Earth grows more desperate. You need to get there as
soon as possible."

"It'll take me thirty years, you know."

Anea shook her head. "Distance is an illusion, Shonan. All you have to do is
realize that."

"What's not an illusion?"

"The Demon Queen. Her forces. Her evil."

Shonan looked at Melanie. "How do I get there?"

Melanie extended her hand. "Just believe."

For a brief moment, everything froze. Shonan stared at her outstretched hand,
his mind empty of thoughts. Then his doubt rose, trying to force disbelief.
"Why me?" he asked, still looking at her hand.

"The only other who is strong enough is needed here."

"Who? Chani?"

Melanie nodded.

"What about Tristan?"

"His purpose lies elsewhere."

Shonan lifted his hand, and hesitated. What if it didn't work? "How come they
can't see you?" Shonan asked.

"Shonan," Anea said gently. "Take her fucking hand."

Shonan grinned and grabbed Melanie's upturned palm. She smiled. "Thank you,"
she said.

***

After two hours of investigation, the Inner Circle filtered into Chani's
kitchen. "Tell us what happened again," Jaron said.

Chani groaned. "I told you ten times. Shonan talked to thin air for a few
minutes, then stuck his hand out and disappeared. Poof. The end."

The Inner Circle looked at each other uneasily.

Rico sat across from Chani and leaned forward. "Um..." he said. "If I didn't
know any better, I'd say you were lying. There is no trace of any spellcasting
near the front door."

"That's what Julie said," Chani scowled. "Can't you do anything else?"

Rico nodded. "There's one more option, but it's risky if you don't know how to
do it. Inside the safety of a casting circle, you can travel back in time, to
watch events as they occur."

"Jay mentioned that in The Sentinel," Julie offered.

"Yeah," Rico said. "Anyway, Amy and I can go back and watch what happens.
We'll tell you what we see."

"Well hurry up," Chani said.

Rico nodded. He and Amy went back into the living room and sat down in front
of the fireplace. After a few minutes of preparation, the circles glowed, and
they vanished. They reappeared a few seconds later, and Amy's face was
astonished.

"Well?" Chani said when they returned.

"It is Melanie."

"Who Melanie?" Julie asked.

"Melanie, Jay's girlfriend Melanie," Chani said. "How did she get here? She's
dead."

Amy pursed her lips then began, "According to some philosopher's theories,
everything physical is an illusion. We all exist on some immaterial plane,
where we can do whatever we want; it's just that we're bound by the physical
world, because we think we're bound by it. Theoretically, everything is an
illusion, even life and death. And I'm willing to believe that theory now."

"So Melanie just took him back to Earth?"

Amy shook her head. "No. The only reason we're bound by the physical universe
is because we believe we are. Once we stop believing, that's it. We're no
longer bound by anything."

"So Shonan's no longer bound by this universe?" Julie asked.

"As far as I know, no, he's not. And those boundaries obviously include time,
since Melanie could see us."

"So there was no spellcasting involved," said Rico. "That's why we couldn't
detect anything."

"Where did he go?" Chani asked.

"Earth, I think."

"So he's there now."

"Yeah."

Chani stared at the table.

Amy looked at the others and said, "Okay, we can leave now." The rest of the
Inner Circle said their unheard good-byes and left. Amy sat with Julie and
Chani. "You need anything?"

Chani shook her head. "Thanks. We'll be fine."

"Okay, you know where I am."

Amy closed the door quietly when she left.

***

Tristan was sixteen now, and had grown into a likeness of his parents. His
eyes were clear blue, and his hair was black. His build was closer to Amy's
than Shonan's. He was a little short, with large eyes. And he had inherited
Amy's unnerving stare, which always melted in Trina's presence.

"GOD TRISTAN!" Trina screamed as her hips bucked beneath his, and his member
began spewing hot seed into her soaking cunt.

Tristan thrust into her a few more times, and then came to a stop, panting.
Trina moaned.

"You okay?" he asked.

Trina nodded. "Yeah." She smiled and kissed him. "Thanks."

"No, thank you."

Tristan pulled out of her and sat back in the grass. He lay back and stared at
the stars. "I wonder what Earth was like," he mused aloud.

Trina laid her head on his stomach and looked up at the stars. "I don't know,"
she said. "My parents said it was a lot worse than Alpha."

Tristan caressed her hair absently. "Perhaps it was."

"I wonder how many people lived there."

"I think it was like five billion."

"What? Five billion? We only have like fifty million on Alpha."

"Course, that's growing."

Trina grinned. "Yeah. They say it'll be a hundred million in twenty years."

"Wow."

They lay in silence for a minute, then Trina turned over and took his limp
penis into her mouth, sucking on it slowly. Tristan sighed, continuing to
caress her hair. God she was good at this.

It wasn't long before Tristan's hands were around her head, holding her down
as he shouted out and emptied his seed down her throat. Tristan lay back
again, and Trina sat on his chest, her feet on either side of his head.

"Feeling hungry?" Trina asked.

Tristan smiled, and then his face took on a slightly puzzled expression. He
looked up at her, and his eyes darkened. His irises seemed to change from blue
to black, matching his pupils.

"Tristan?" Trina said, a little nervous.

Tristan blinked, and it was gone. "Yes?"

Trina sighed. "Nothing."

After a moment, Tristan grinned. "Now that you mention it..." Tristan drawled.
"I'm starving."

About seven years later, after the work responsibilities died down enough so
that I didn't have to think about FireFly constantly, I started thinking about
Aranor. And, as things tend to do, something went wrong. When I sent Matt to
fetch Aranor from the town where he was staying, Matt informed me that Aranor
was no longer living there. Aranor had skipped town a year earlier.

So I went into a panic, and sent agents all over Alpha to search for him.

-Biography of a Generation

by Amber Jenkins

IT WAS AMAZING.

In barely seventeen years, Alpha Prime had been transformed from a practically
empty planet, to a fully functioning civilization. There were five major
cities, plus thousands of towns. And it was growing. 50 million was the last
estimate I heard.

Amber was the one who started it all. She had done it all. But now, she had
let things go. FireFly was now separate from the 50 million people living on
Alpha. She had set them free, but before that, had established an
organization.

A hierarchy. Governments, economies, stock markets, businesses, employees,
citizens, cities, towns, states, provinces, et cetera. And she had put all 50
million people into a complete environment. Ten years after we landed, and a
few months after she sent me away, she re-animated the entire population all
over Alpha.

So, before 0010 AA, the active population of Alpha had been one million; after
re-animation it rose to 50 million. As everyone suspected, the facilities and
housing had come up a little short. But the one thing that everyone had was a
job. Amber made sure of that.

Now, seven years after the animation, everyone was awake, and had begun to
form their own lives. FireFly wasn't Big Brother, as I had sometimes imagined,
but it was just like an overseer, watching from the background. FireFly was
there, ready to step in if anything went wrong. Everyone at Rifa worked for
FireFly Incorporated. Amber still called it a corporation.

Rifa was a place of...not exactly legend, but it was close enough. Almost
nobody was allowed there except those that worked for FireFly, and even fewer
people actually lived there.

Amber had made her original wake-up speech to everyone from Rifa, telecast
through massive speakers next to each colony ship. As many people as Amber
could get were used to help the Saved adjust to Alpha and their new jobs.

Most people respected and even loved Amber, for obvious reasons. There were a
few, however, that disliked her. These people were the bitter types that hated
anyone successful, anyone with money or power. The same type that hated
Microsoft and Bill Gates. If I ever got my hands on them, they generally ended
up with broken bones.

"Aranor!" barked Captain Wilhelm.

"Yeah?" I said.

"Go double-check the cargo, we're going in for a landing."

"Aye," I replied, walking back to the cargo hold.

Air transports had become a huge thing in Alpha, using a new kind of airplane
I called "the boat". It was a huge body, attached to huge wings, with jets,
propellers, the whole deal. If hollowed out, the main body could fit a large
house into it. The cargo hold had enough room for a small house.

And air transports took a long time. I noticed that after the first flight,
which lasted for a hundred hours. That was about one and a half Alpha days,
but over four Earth days.

After securing the cargo hold, I clambered up the ladder and strolled back
onto the bridge. "Done," I said.

"Okay," Wilhelm answered, chewing on the end of his cigar. "We're going in."

I sighed and sat in a secure seat, strapping the harness. Whenever he said
"We're going in" that meant a steep landing. He'd go toward the airport at
what seems like a 90 degree angle, and pull up just before turning us into
hamburger. The first ten times he did this, I nearly wet my pants, but so far
we'd survived. Luckily, he knew better than to try anything crazy while he was
drunk.

The Bertha tilted forward and started a nose dive at the brown clouds beneath
us. That was something I loved about Alpha. The clouds on this world were
huge, and beautiful. Their formations were totally different from Earth's.
From what I saw, they stayed in big clumps, rarely spreading into mist, even
in higher altitudes. Most of the clouds existed along the bottom of the jet
stream, so we always flew right above them.

And, fortunately, the equatorial storms also stayed below the jet stream,
which allowed easy travel through the no-zone.

The stall light blinked red and started buzzing.

"Should it be stalling this early?" I asked.

"Just means the cloud is probably a rain cloud," said Erickson, sitting next
to me. He was also strapped in. "Affects the way we go down."

"How much?"

"Don't worry about it," Wilhelm said, lowering the flaps a notch. "We'll be
fine."

Whenever he said that, we were usually in trouble.

In the next moment, we plunged out of the cloud, and Wilhelm yanked back on
the joystick. Another light on the controls came on, and another buzz blared
from the speakers.

This was normal. By the time we landed, we had about four or five warnings
going off at once.

I saw the landing strip up ahead, and Wilhelm grunted as he strained to keep
the controls in place. That was something odd about these planes. Instead of
being like the X2, 311, or some scifi movie, these planes looked like they
were out of the 1940s. None of the instruments were digital; most were gauges.

The Bertha struck the runway hard, nearly tossing Wilhelm to the floor. The
wheels screeched, and the brakes kicked in. We jerked forward as Wilhelm threw
down the flaps.

After the plane stopped, I unstrapped myself and stood up, trying to shake off
the adrenaline rush. "Well, who's unloading?"

"They are," Wilhelm said. "We can go grab a drink, after I sign."

"Good," Erickson said. "About time somebody unloaded for us."

"They'll all be doing it, soon," Wilhelm said, grabbing a clipboard from his
chair. We followed him out the side door. "The shipment size and dropoffs are
increasing so much that we can't afford to unload it ourselves."

Outside the plane, the receiver met us, waving a clipboard. "How are you guys
doing today?" he asked when Wilhelm hopped off the ladder.

"Fine," Wilhelm answered. "You?"

"Excellent," answered the man. And then he proceeded to talk about the
weather, the point when I usually fell asleep. They went around to the rear of
Bertha, and waited while Erickson and I opened the cargo door.

I saw the rest of the crew, about ten or eleven other guys, head into the
airport.

Inside the hold, Wilhelm and the receiver checked off and marked cargo for
unloading. After that was done, Wilhelm came over to me and Erickson. "Where's
the crew?" he asked.

"There in the port," Erickson answered, "drinking."

"At an airport?" Wilhelm cried. "That's expensiver than hell! Come on you two,
we have to drag them to a real bar before they do themselves harm."

We followed the captain inside, and found the rest of the crew watching sports
and guzzling beer. "Guys!" distressed Wilhelm. "What are you doing in such a
low-down and blatantly exorbitant joint?"

"Waiting on you," grunted one of them.

"Why?" asked another.

"Because," Wilhelm scowled. "We can't have the crew of the Bertha drinking in
an airport bar! Come on, we're going to a real bar."

***

"And then," Wilhelm said, more than a little drunk. "She said, 'What cherry? I
ate them all!'" Everyone at the table laughed.

I sighed.

"Aw c'mon, Aranor! Ain't you havin' any fun?" he elbowed me.

Though it may not be true, I figured now was as good a time as any to tell
him. "Listen, captain, I'm gonna be getting off here."

"Huh?"

"I'm not going to be traveling with you guys any more."

Brief silence. "Aranor," he said, sounding more sober. "What are you talking
about? You've been with us for four months!"

"I know," I said. "And it's been great, but I'm still traveling. I need to go
by foot. I want to see as much as Alpha as possible in my life. Flying cargo
lets you go from city to city, but it's too fast. We rarely stay in one city
for more than a couple days, and we still visit the same cities as always.
Never any new places."

"We can't, Aranor. There are less than ten airports on the entire planet."

"I know," I said. "I know. But that's not just it. I have to get away, that's
my only explanation."

Wilhelm sighed. He stuck his hand out. "Well, Aranor, it's been nice having
you aboard." From his pocket he withdrew a wad of cash. "Here, have a nice
life." He stuffed it into my shirt pocket.

I thanked him and shook his hand, and said good-bye to the other crew members.
Outside, it was just beginning to get dark. It was dark for about 30 to 36
hours out of the 72. Humans were still on Earth's clock. Maybe someday we'd
all be sleeping every 36 hours.

I shrugged my cloak over my shoulders and pulled up the hood. Where was I now?
Jerusalem. We were at the southern end of Palestine, in Europa. It was hot and
dry here, and only rained occasionally. It was raining now.

This section of the city was pretty empty at this time of night.

See, that's what I liked about being a wanderer. Do whatever the hell you
want, whenever the hell you want, and ignore the consequences. Before I met
Amber, I used to do this. Every year or so, I'd just drop everything, take
some cash, and travel over Europe. Now, 17 light years away, and 60 years
later, I was doing it all over again.

As I headed toward the nearest inn, I looked at my hands and felt my face.
"God," I chuckled softly. It was amazing. I was 84 years old, and looked no
older than 40. Here on Alpha, we aged one year for every two. Earth years,
that is. We still measured everything by Earth standards. Made it easier.

I stopped in front of an inn and looked up at the sign. The sign said "The
Weary Traveler."

That's me.

One thing about the new Alpha Prime was that the whole culture had changed. In
just a few short years, it had turned into a mish-mash of all Earth's present
and past societies. The technology was...probably something one would find in
a Middle-Eastern country. Why do I say that? Well, two of the cities that I've
been to (and I've been to all of them) are taken from Middle-Eastern names.
Jerusalem and Cairo. They have good reason to be named such; in both cities,
the air was dry and hot. Both cities were at some end of a desert.

I couldn't figure why Amber had put them there. I guessed they were on an
oasis or river, or some kind of mineral deposits. Anyway, the technology
was...hard to explain. The airplanes looked as if they came out of the
mid-1900s. I thought. They weren't at all attractive; most were composed of
big brown plates of metal that looked like it came straight from a junkyard.
But they handled fine, for being airboats.

And airboats. They were something new as well. Huge dirigibles, with the body
of a boat on the bottom. Passenger transports were their main function, but
some were used as couriers or private yachts for the already wealthy citizens
of Alpha Prime.

I pushed into The Weary Traveler and scanned the room. Not very many people in
the common room. As I walked over to the bar, the innkeeper said, "One room,
single?"

I nodded. "What happened to your customers?" I waved at the common room then
pointed to a Pyramid Ale on the wall.

The innkeeper shrugged and handed me the bottle in exchange for a 20. "Don't
know," he said, ringing up the register. "Gets this way some nights. Tomorrow
it'll be bustling." He handed me my change. "Where you headed?"

I shrugged. "Just heading. Anywhere good?"

He pulled up a stool across from me and sat down. "Like where? You looking for
a job?"

"Naw. Just looking for a place to go. Nice scenery, pretty ladies, you name
it."

"Aren't they the same?" laughed the innkeeper. "I hear their building a nice
resort over in Tibet."

"On Brazilia?"

He nodded. "Sittin' on one edge of the lake. If I was smart, I'd just
liquidate everything I've got, and invest over there."

"Why don't you?"

"Too risky."

"Maybe." I finished off the ale and set it on the counter.

"Well, if you're looking for a job," he handed me the key, "come here. I'm
always looking for fresh meat."

"Thanks."

I plodded up to my room, thinking about that resort on Tibet. Might be a nice
place to work. Get a nice place to stay. They'd probably give discounts to
construction workers. And there was probably an airship heading that way soon
enough. Rio was the closest city to Tibet...probably a week-long hike up
there. Of course, if they were building something, there would be caravans
heading up there regularly.

I opened my room and checked my watch. 10:20. Probably enough time to get out
and have some fun tonight.

As I was taking my cloak and pack off, the door slammed open, and a woman ran
in, panting. She closed the door and locked it.

"Hey," I said. "Who are-"

Something threw its weight against the door, which turned out to be pretty
cheap. The door fell inwards, almost squashing the woman. She scrambled over
to the other side of the bed, pulling out a dagger.

A burly man came in, snarling. "Get over here, bitch," he said.

"Leave me alone!" she cried, holding the dagger out.

The man advanced on her. "You've been-"

"Hey!" I shouted. "Whatever your problem is, take it outside, okay?" I'd
turned a bit mellow since I began travelling. Meddling in other people's
affairs could turn out deadly.

The woman glanced at me, and the burly man spun on me. "Who the hell are you?"

"This is my room," I said.

Without warning the man yanked me off my feet and held me a few inches in
front of his face. "How many more are there?" he growled.

"Huh?"

Luckily for me, the woman tried to escape, and the muscle man just threw me
across the room. I bounced off the wall and landed on the bed, almost hitting
her. As she dodged me, the man grabbed her up, pulling a pistol from beneath
his cloak.

Okay. Now things were going too far.

I calmly said a few words in Gaelic, and the man screamed, dropping the
pistol. His fist clenched tightly together, and he dropped the woman next.
After a moment, the man fell to his knees, groaning in pain.

I picked up my back pack, and said, "We'd better leave."

The woman looked at me, then turned and bolted.

I ran after, and caught up with her on the street. "Hey," I grabbed her
shoulder. "You wanna tell me what's going on?"

She shook her head. "I can't get you involved. It's too dangerous."

I grabbed her shoulder again as she tried to run. "I already am involved."

"No," she said. "You're not. All you did was..." she looked at me fearfully.
"What did you do?"

"That's not the point. I am involved. Because you ran into my room, that guy
thinks I'm part of whatever you're part of. He asked me how many more are
there. And now I'm asking you. How many more are there?"

She took a step back. "I'm the only one."

I followed her down an alley and through several streets, until she was too
tired to go any further. She must have been running a while before she found
me.

She stopped outside a warehouse, and sat down next to a crate.

"What's your name?" I panted, sitting on the ground next to her. I leaned
against the crate and unslung my backpack.

She looked at me for a moment, and said, "Stephanie. Who're you?"

"Aranor," I stuck out my hand. She shook it, with a puzzled frown.

"You seem familiar. Have we met?"

"No. Probably not. Why was he chasing you?"

Stephanie stared at me another moment, then sighed. "I...before we came to
Alpha, I used to work as a reporter. For a newspaper. I didn't even know we
had been bought by FireFly, so it was a total shock when that guy came and
hauled us off to that island. Of course...I guess everyone was pretty shocked.
Well, when I came here, they assigned me as a reporter for the Tokyo Times..."

"What are you doing in Jerusalem?" I asked.

"I'll tell you in a second," she said irritably.

"Sorry."

"I was doing a ten-part article on the effort all the people at FireFly went
to to make this possible. Building the cities, organizing the jobs, coming up
with the funds, creating the technology, and so on. It was really interesting,
until I came upon a murder."

"Huh?"

"I witnessed a murder."

I nodded. "The same old story, huh?"

"What?"

"Nothing. It's just that you're running from the murderers, right?"

"Uh-huh. But that's not the weird thing."

"I know it's not weird," I said. "What is?"

"The man murdered was FireFly."

"So?"

"So was the murderer."

That stopped me. "Wait. One government official killed another one?"

"Well, I don't know if they were government, but yeah. One killed the other.
It was in an alley, and they didn't expect anyone to be there. I was going to
rifle the garbage, see. As I turned into the alley, I saw the two guys
arguing, and snuck closer. I couldn't hear what they were saying, 'cause they
were talking quiet, but I could tell they were mad at each other. One of the
guys turned to leave, and the other one shot him in the back, twice. I
screamed, and he saw me."

"And you've been running ever since."

"Uh-huh. The next day, the papers said that he died from heart attack. Heart
attack! Imagine that. So anyway, I went to the police station and asked them
about that, and they told me that's what the coroner's report said. But one of
the FireFlies was snooping around the cop station, so I had to beat it. And I
left, heading for another city."

"And you've been running ever since," I repeated.

"Yeah. They've been on my trail for almost two weeks. If I ever shake them,
I'm going to try and uncover what's going on."

"Do you have any ideas about what's going on?"

Stephanie shook her head. "No, they've been too close for me to ever search
for anything. And I can't figure it out!" she cried desperately. "I leave
twisted trails, no trails, and they'll follow me despite everything I throw in
their path. It's impossible for them to continue following me, but...they
have. Somehow." She looked at me. "Listen, Aranor. You'd better beat it,
before you get involved. This is life and death-"

"Sounds like death to me," I mused aloud. "But, no. I will not beat it. I'm
already involved. He thinks I'm with you, which means they'll be looking for
both of us."

"Well, we should split up, to give them-"

"Demon hunters," I said.

"What?"

"Demon hunters. That's how they're following you."

"Wait. How do you know?"

"It's the only reason. Since you're a reporter, you'd probably know how to
cover your tracks pretty well. But the Hunters can follow you wherever you
go."

"Great!"

I waved my hand. "Leave it to me to get rid of them," I said. "Now, the first
thing we need to do-"

"Whoa whoa whoa," she said. "What are you talking about?"

I grinned. "I know a few tricks to get them off our trail."

Her eyes widened. "Are you a demon hunter?" She started to get up, and I
pulled her back down. "No, I'm not. And even if I was, that doesn't mean I'm
one of the bad Hunters. There's obviously a conspiracy going on inside
FireFly. And we have to figure out what it is."

"Wait," she said, unwilling to shift from her subject. "How can you get rid of
them?"

I sighed impatiently. "I'm not a Hunter, but I'm like one. I have the same
powers."

"You mean like that Jay guy?"

"Jay Savena?" I raised my eyebrows. "You heard of him?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I have a book he wrote, The Sentinel. Pretty wild stuff."

"Yeah," I said. "That's the handbook for the Hunters."

"So they can do everything he talks about in there?"

"Pretty much."

"Great."

"Don't worry about it," I said. "I'm pretty confident I can handle the
Hunters. What we need to worry about is what's going on inside FireFly. The
first thing we need to do is find out the name of the man killed..."

Stephanie pulled a clipping of newspaper from her pocket and handed it to me.
It showed a picture of the man murdered, and had a small article. The article
said that his name was Judd Watley, a FireFly zoning supervisor for Neo-Tokyo.
Might be true, might not be true, I thought.

"Okay," I said. "We need to see the coroner's report."

"Why?"

"To find out if that's what it really said."

"For proof."

I nodded.

"So we're going back to Neo-Tokyo?"

I nodded again. "They might expect you to return, but they won't expect me to
be with you. Not so soon, anyway."

"How are we going to get there?"

"Transport."

"You know when the next one leaves?"

***

"Last boarding call for flight 29 to Neo-Tokyo," called the man.

We were sitting in the airport, at the same cheesy bar Wilhelm had passed over
yesterday. "Okay," I whispered. "Let's go."

We stood up and walked across the terminal and handed the man our tickets.
"Have a nice flight," he said, ripping off the stubs and handing them to us.

"Thanks," I replied.

Both our cloaks were drawn up over our faces, but I didn't know how much good
it did. We walked down the mobile bridge, toward the airship.

"We being followed?" I asked.

Stephanie looked back. "Not by a suit," she said.

"Okay."

Inside the boat, we found a seat in the middle, in the midst of a bunch of
passengers. That would hopefully make it safer.

A few minutes later, a stewardess came on the intercom. "I'm sorry, our flight
will be delayed a few minutes; we're awaiting the last of the luggage."

At that, a nervous beat ran down my spine.

We waited for a few minutes, and a pair of Hunters came down the isles,
inspecting faces. As they passed us, one said, "Please remove your hood."

Using a technique Chani taught me, I mentally formed the threads of a spell,
and released it over myself and Stephanie. I pulled my hood back, and
Stephanie did the same, nervously.

They continued, after just a glance.

At the rear of the isles, one of them stopped next to a passenger and spoke
into his ear.

"One of them," I said.

"Uh-huh."

Brief pause, and the airship took off. Conversation picked up, and we were
soon speeding along through the clouds.

Occasionally we would look back down the isle to find the Hunter in disguise
watching us. So my spell hadn't worked, I guess.

"So they know where we are," Stephanie said.

"And where we're going. They'll try to pick us up at the airport, I bet."

"In front of people?"

"It'll just be considered an arrest," I said. "FireFly has legal jurisdiction
all over Alpha."

"I know."

Although every city and town had its own government, they were loosely bound
by FireFly, and more tightly bound by the Constitution of Nations. CON. It was
basically Amber's morals, values, and beliefs, compounded into a. . .big set
of laws.

"Why didn't they arrest us earlier?" she asked.

Good question. "I don't know," I puzzled. "Maybe they're following us to see
who else we have involved."

"So they might not pick us up at the airport either."

"Right. But once we head toward the police station, they'll have to pick us
up. So I'm going to try to lose them before we arrive."

"How?"

"You'll see."

After an agonizing ten hours, the captain announced that we were approaching
Neo-Tokyo and would begin descent in ten minutes.

"Okay," I said. "Follow me."

"Where are we going?" she asked. I led her down the isle, past our disguised
friend.

"We're leaving." The stewardesses were gathering up drinks and garbage now, so
none were in the rear of the plane. There was a small ladder that led to the
lower deck, where all the luggage was kept. I opened the door and climbed
down. Stephanie followed. "What are we doing?" she asked.

"We need some place where we won't be bothered," I said.

"What are you doing?"

I pushed through all the luggage to an open space. Probably where they would
unload. "Just stay back for a minute. I have to think. It's been a while since
I did this."

I sat down, trying to remember the exacts of the teleportation spell. It would
be helpful if I had a library nearby...but, oh well. If I screwed up, the
worst that could happen was that we were stuck between dimensions for all
eternity.

Not too bad.

I pulled out a piece of charcoal (always carry one) and sketched the casting
circle.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm getting us out of here."

I began drawing the runes around the circle, hoping they would do. If I had
time, I'd summon some elementals for protection, but there wasn't any time. As
it was, I'd probably waited too long.

Stephanie waited anxiously for me to finish, and just as I was drawing the
last Ariel Rune, I heard a footstep.

Stephanie gasped, and I spun around, reaching for my dagger.

"Ah ah," said the disguised Hunter. "Not so fast."

I opened my mouth, and he jerked his arm out straight. "One sound," he said.
"And I blow your head off. Vlad told me about what you did to his hand. Didn't
sound too pleasant." He waved his gun at the pile of luggage behind us. "Over
there."

We moved up against the wall of suitcases, and the Hunter walked to the door.

"What's going on?" I said. "What the hell are all you Hunters doing?"

He grinned. "We're doing the sensible thing, that's what." The Hunter kept the
gun pointed at us and pulled on the door latch. It slowly opened, and he let
go. The wind thrust the sliding door back with a bang.

"Okay!" he shouted over the blasting air. "Next to the door!"

Outside, we were just beginning to descend into the clouds over Neo-Tokyo.

I took a step toward the Hunter, and he aimed the gun at my chest. "Before you
shoot me, I want you to answer me this question. Do you recognize me?" I
asked.

The Hunter started to shake his head, and then he stopped. His eyes widened,
and his gun started to lower. "Hey, Amber's l-"

Of course I took my advantage then. I deflected his gun, which went off, and
kicked him in the groin. The man's eyes bulged, and he expelled a lungful of
air. I came forward and broke his nose with my knee.

"Okay," I said over the wind. "Get in the circle."

"What?" Stephanie tore her eyes away from the bleeding Hunter. "What's going
on?"

I picked up the gun and pulled her into the circle.

"What are we doing?" she asked. "You just-"

I interrupted her with the fifth redaction of the Book of Ashes. Her mouth
opened, and I grabbed her neck, placing a thumb behind each side of her jaw.

Nothing came out of her mouth, except a howling wind that overrode the wind
outside the airship. We were sucked into a black void, and then thrust out
into the real world.

"What are you do-" Stephanie stopped when she realized we were no longer in
the ship. "What happened?"

"We're in Neo-Tokyo," I answered, looking around.

"Where?"

"Looks like we're in a men's bathroom."

"Hadn't we better leave?"

"You can, I need to piss first."

***

"I'm a friend of the coroner's," I said slowly and clearly, making sure he
understood.

"You're a friend of the coroner's," the cop said to me in a slow monotone.
"I'll go get him."

He walked off slowly.

"Okay," I said to Stephanie. "Let's sit down."

We sat in one of the waiting couches. I picked up a magazine and pretended to
read.

"You think it'll work?" Stephanie asked.

"What?"

"That thing you did to the cop."

"Oh, I'm sure it will. It's a fairly easy trick against the weak-minded."

"The weak-minded?"

"Everyone but you and me."

She grinned. "Right." Her grin fell away. "Aranor, I think there's a lot more
to you than you're telling me."

I smiled mysteriously. "My dear, there will always be more to me."

"Why would he recognize you?"

"Mm," I said carefully. "I'll tell you later."

"Tell me now."

"Why? You'll find out soon enough."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh. Here comes the coroner, let's talk to him."

"How come the coroner is in the police station?" she asked. "Aren't they
usually in different buildings?"

I shrugged. "Beats me. Maybe they're downsizing."

The coroner stopped in front of us. "Are we supposed to know each other?" he
asked.

I stood up and looked him up and down. He was short, with straight white hair.
His whole body was thin, and he almost looked like a corpse himself. "We're
about to. This is Stephanie..." I then realized I didn't know her last name
"...and I'm Aranor. We're here to talk to you about a murder that happened a
couple of weeks ago."

"Murder? What murder?" The coroner looked around. "Let's go back into my
office."

He led us through the station into a small hole he excused as his office. "My
name's Gary Hansen. What do you want?"

Stephanie glanced at me, then said, "Judd Watley was killed in Tokyo a few
weeks ago. We want to see your report on his death."

"But you're mistaken, ma'am, Judd Watley died of a heart attack."

I cast a short truth detection spell. "Say that again?" I said.

"Judd Watley died of a heart attack," he said.

I could easily tell he was lying. "Can we see the report?" I asked.

"No," Hansen replied. "It's confidential."

I raised an eyebrow. "I'm not exactly sure-"

"I'm sorry sir, ma'am, but you're wasting my time. I'm going to have to ask
you to leave."

"Mr. Hansen-"

"Now," Hansen glared, pointing at the door. "I'll show you out." He came
around his side of the desk and actually pushed us toward the door.

"Mr. Hansen," I said as he escorted us down the hall. "Could we-"

"You can come to the morgue at six pm," he said softly. When we were back out
in the lobby, Hansen pointed at the door. "I'd appreciate it if you never come
back here again."

I scowled and took Stephanie's arm. "Come on, he's been no help to us."

"You can let go of my arm," she said as we walked out. "I know where I'm
going."

"Sorry."

Outside, I looked at her. "Why did he put all that show on?"

"Agents in the station maybe."

"Or bugs," I offered.

"Possibly. Until six, we'd better stay low."

"Excellent idea."

***

As I was about to knock on the door, it opened.

"Come in," Hansen said.

We went into the morgue, and Hansen closed the door. "Who knows what they did
to my office," he said hurredly. "Now, how did you know he was murdered?" he
pushed past us and went to a filing cabinet. "Were you followed?"

"No we weren't followed," I answered.

"I saw it," Stephanie said.

Hansen stopped. "You saw the murder?"

She nodded.

"And who did it?"

She nodded. "It was one of them."

"One of who?"

"An employee of FireFly."

Hansen's jaw fell open.

"That's what I said," I grinned. "Now, we need to see your report."

"The report is falsified," Hansen said, digging through a drawer. "They told
me to. The recording is falsified. Everything's falsified. No real documents
anywhere, except this." He held up a notepad.

I walked over to him and took it.

"It's notes on Watley's real condition that I scribbled just after the
autopsy. Tell me what's going on, and I might let you have them."

I shot a glance at Stephanie, then said. "There's some kind of conspiracy
going on in FireFly. That's our best guess. Agents have been following her for
two weeks, trying to kill her for what she saw."

"Why do you need my notes if you saw the murder?"

"For proof that he was murdered. Your report says he died of a heart attack."

Hansen nodded. "They took the body and probably fixed it up. I don't know
where they put it."

After scanning the notes, I set the pad on his desk. "Okay Mr. Hansen. Sign
the bottom of this page, please."

"Why?" he asked as he autographed the paper.

"Some authentication." I picked up the pad again and narrowed my eyes. "Do you
have any pictures of the body?"

"What?"

"How did Watley get here? They should have found him in a pool of blood, with
two bulletholes in his back. Why wasn't there even an investigation?"

"Those FireFlies brought him straight here. He was cleaned up and everything,
so just on a glance you couldn't tell he was shot."

"What about the hospital?" I asked.

"What about it?"

"Did they take him there first?" asked Stephanie.

"No. Their record is that he was already dead. And he was taken straight
here."

Stephanie put on a puzzled expression. "Why did he come to you? Don't you
usually do criminal autopsies?"

Hansen shrugged. "Generally. If the hospital's overloaded I'll do cases
sometimes."

"Why you and not the hospital?"

"Fewer channels. They don't have to deal with as much information this way. My
records are just duplicated and sent to the hospital."

I nodded. That sounded reasonable. "And you didn't take any pictures?"

"Yeah, I did, but they don't reveal anything."

I looked at Stephanie, who shrugged. "Anything else you can give us?" I asked.

"No. Where are you guys headed now?"

"We need to find out what Watley's position was inside FireFly," I said. "And
why he was killed."

***

"We're staying at the Imperial?" Stephanie goggled.

"Uh-huh. They'll be expecting us to go low profile, and try for the cheapest
inns. I doubt they expect I've got much money, either."

"How much do you have?"

I dug in my pocket and pulled out my cash. "Here," I said, handing the wad to
her. "Count it."

We were just walking in the Imperial Hotel when Stephanie finished. "2451."

"Nice sum. How much do you have?"

"A couple hundred. Plus what I've got in my accounts."

"We shouldn't use your bank accounts."

"I know, I know."

"They'll trace."

"Yeah I know."

"Konban wa," said the clerk as we approached.

"English," I replied.

"Good evening," she said in thickly accented English. "How may I be of
service?"

"One room," I answered. "Cheapest thing you got."

She nodded and checked her computer. Computer. Yeah, that was the weird thing.
It was almost as if Amber had designed this world to be home for capitalists.
Some places were high-tech, and exceedingly lavish, where others were just
crap. All airplanes I had seen reminded me of the early designs, but
everything else varied.

Some inns ran low class operations, like The Weary Traveler, and some were
extravagant, like the Imperial Hotel. Here, I was reminded of Rifa. The Weary
Traveler was almost medieval.

"Names?" she asked.

"Aaron and Lisa Wilson."

"Okay, your room is 402. The total comes to $328.44."

Stephanie paid the cash.

"Here you are sir," the clerk said, handing me the room key.

We walked up to our room. It was actually three rooms, not including the
bathroom. A kitchen area, the bedroom, and a dining/living area.

"How often do you plan on living so high class?" Stephanie asked.

"Just tonight," I said. "By tomorrow evening, I plan to have all this stuff on
Watley figured out."

"Okay," Stephanie said, sitting at the table. "Where should we go first?"

I sighed. "Tough decision. Since finding out who Watley was would require
records from FireFly, we'd have to go into FireFly."

"Down to Rifa?"

"Not necessarily. Just find someone here who knew who he was."

Stephanie chewed on her lip thoughtfully. "That could be dangerous. We've
finally managed to get two steps ahead of them. I don't want to lose that by
giving ourselves up."

"I know," tugged on my stubbly chin. Needed to shave. "Maybe if we somehow
managed to get access to just their records..."

"Wait," Stephanie said. "If this is a conspiracy, then not everybody in
FireFly is behind it."

"So?"

"So if we show up where there are dozens of FireFly agents, we don't have to
worry about them doing anything to us."

"Why not?"

"Because, they couldn't risk giving themselves away."

I shook my head. "No, they'd take us down on the excuse that we assaulted
their other two agents. Which is kinda true. And the first chance we were
alone, they'd chop our heads off. We tried to escape, they'd say."

"We'd tell everybody what happened before they could do that."

"Way too risky," I said. "They wouldn't let that happen."

"Yeah," Stephanie sighed. "I guess you're right. So what do we do?"

"We're going to have to go to FireFly Courthouse and Government Building."

Stephanie gaped. "Are you kidding? That's where every FireFly agent in
Neo-Tokyo is!"

"It's also the only way to find out about Watley."

"Okay," she said.

I stood up and walked over to the couch. "We can figure it out tomorrow."

"I can sleep on the couch, you take the bed."

"No," I replied. "I'm used to it."

"If you want."

***

I had dyed my hair black, and Stephanie had dyed her's from light brown to
black. We both put in color-changing contacts.

"Okay," I said. "I've been in the Cairo courthouse, and if I'm right, they use
a pretty standard design in all the cities. And be careful, okay? I'll meet
you in a little while."

Stephanie nodded, and walked across the street, looking for a job.

For almost an hour, I sipped at my coffee, and then stood up. As I was walking
across the street, I saw a Hunter lounging near the entrance. His gaze passed
over me without pause.

I walked in.

The building was air conditioned, and had aquariums in the lobby. Yeah, this
reminded me of Rifa. Now, I needed to find personel records for Judd Watley.

The entire building was infested with FireFlies. I rolled my eyes. Now I was
starting to call them FireFlies. Great.

None of them even gave me a second glance, and I proceeded smoothly to the
second floor. As I was moving down the hall, Stephanie yanked me into an open
door and closed it.

"Stephanie, wh-"

"Change of plans," she said. "The girl who works in this office is on lunch.
Her terminal's open, and I know a good login and password."

I raised my eyebrows. "Cool."

Stephanie nodded and sat down behind the desk. She logged in and did a search
for Judd Watley. His name came up after a moment.

I looked over her shoulder. "Personell manager."

"Which means what?" I said.

"That's what it means. Personell manager, Judd Watley. That's all I know."

"Okay, now why would anyone want to kill him?" I asked.

Stephanie leaned back in the chair. "It'd be hard to find out now."

I nodded. "They've probably deleted his computer account, and cleaned out his
office. Who's the new personell manager?"

Stephanie glanced at the screen. "Some guy Milo Takahashi."

"Maybe we should talk with him," I said.

"What good would that do us? He probably has no idea."

"Probably...hey, would you recognize the guy that killed Watley if you saw
him? Like a photo?"

"Yeah. He was bald, and tall. Had a birthmark over his left ear."

"Excellent. FireFly keeps a photo archive of all their employees...if we could
access that, we could do a comprehensive search of all the employees to find
out who he is."

"If he works here, we could ask around and find him."

"Excellent idea. Unless we talk to one of the conspirators."

Stephanie agreed. "Okay. How do we access the photo archive?"

"Move aside, please," I said.

Stephanie got up and I sat in her place. "What are you doing?"

"I'm connecting to the Rifa mainframe."

"Rifa! Why?"

"That's where the archive is."

"And how do you propose to get in there?"

I logged in as myself, and tried my password. It still worked. Thankfully,
nobody had deleted my account over the past seven years.

Stephanie's reflection gaped. "How the-"

"Here," I pointed, clicking on the photo archive. A set of parameters came up.
"Did you see his eyes?"

"Too dark."

"Great. Um. Hair?"

"Well, he had a little bit, and that was brown or black."

"How tall? Over six feet?"

"Easily."

"Good." I typed in that information. "Anything else?"

"Um...that's all."

"Caucasian?"

"Yeah."

After typing that in the requested box, the search began. A few moments later,
thumbnails of four guys appeared. "Any of them?" I asked.

Stephanie scanned them. "No."

I scrolled down to a bald guy.

"No."

So I continued scrolling, until Stephanie said, "Stop! That's him!"

I double clicked the picture, and his file came up. Jeremiah Lewis. He was the
legal representative for Rifa, here in Tokyo. "Okay, so he's tied in with
Rifa," I said.

"And Tokyo."

"So it's not just a local conspiracy."

"They followed you all the way to Jerusalem, I don't think it would be local."

"You never know."

"How true," I said. "Okay, so we need to find this Lewis guy."

"He might be here now," Stephanie said. "We can see if he has an office here,
and check there."

I picked up the telephone and dialed to the switchboard. "FireFly Courthouse
and Government Building, where can I direct your call?"

"I'm looking for Jeremiah Lewis," I said. "Is he in town?"

"Just a moment please."

I was put on hold, and then someone answered. "This is Jeremiah Lewis."

I hung up. "He's here."

"What do we do about it? Kill him?"

I grinned. "Now comes the fun part."

Twenty minutes later, I had a small, invisible hole just above Lewis's
computer monitor. One end of the hole was in his office, the other was in
ours. Sounds of typing could be heard from the hole in front of us.

"Is it working?" Stephanie whispered.

"Yep," I said. "Now, do it."

Stephanie picked up the phone and called into Lewis's office.

We could hear the phone ringing through the hole. He picked it up. "Jeremiah
Lewis speaking."

"Mr. Lewis?" Stephanie said.

"Yes?" came through the hole and the telephone.

"I'd like you to tell me why you killed him."

Brief pause. "Who is this?"

"Not important," Stephanie said. "I just want to know why you killed him."

There was a little pause and some sounds of scuffling.

"What's he doing?" mouthed Stephanie.

"Probably getting a telephone trace," I whispered.

"Ma'am, I'd like to know with whom I'm speaking."

Stephanie looked at me. I shrugged.

"This is Josephine Hall; I was the one who saw you murder Judd Watley."

There was a brief pause. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do," Stephanie said. "I know how you covered it up. I have proof. I
just want to know why."

"Judd Watley died from cardiac arrest," Lewis said.

"No, you shot him, and covered it up."

"Ma'am-"

"Shut up with the lies. I want you to tell me the truth, why did you kill Judd
Watley?"

There was another silence. "I know you're not Josephine whatever-the-hell you
said. You're real name is Stephanie Conner, and you're a reporter for the
Tokyo Times."

"If you don't answer my question, I'm going to hang up, and you'll never get
that trace on me."

"Ms. Conner, if you don't-"

Stephanie hung up. "Not much," she said.

I nodded, continuing to listen through the hole.

"Did you get it?" Lewis asked someone else in the room.

"She's somewhere in the building," answered another voice.

"What? What's she doing here?"

"Don't know."

"Get Hunters at all exits, and watch for them. Comb the building. I want her
found."

"Yes sir."

A door closed, and Lewis let out a string of cusswords. We heard him pick up
his phone and begin dialing. A moment later, he said, "Mr. Blackburn? This is
Jeremiah. I've got some bad news...uh-huh. They've found out about it."

A slight suspicion surfaced in my mind.

"It's a girl. A reporter from the Tokyo Times. Her name is Stephanie
Conner...about two weeks...no, I didn't tell you because I didn't think you'd
need to be bothered...she saw it happen."

We heard someone yelling over the phone.

"She says she can prove it, but I find that hard to believe. The body has been
made over as...no, the bullets are still in. There wasn't enough time to
extract them..."

I grinned and gave Stephanie a thumbs-up sign. This was definitely good.

"Yes sir - yes I know sir...no." There was an extended pause. "I understand.
No sir, I would never tell them...okay, sir."

"Must be taking some heat," I murmured. "Sure is saying 'sir' a lot."

"Mr. Bl...well, she's in the building now. We have agents looking for
her...one other. He's a white male, looks to be in his mid-thirties to early
forties. Blond hair...well, we almost had them on their flight from Jerusalem
to Neo-Tokyo, but they slipped out of the airship before it landed...I don't
know how...yes, sir. Right away, sir. Thankyou..."

Lewis slammed down the phone and spat out some more cusswords.

I turned off the tape recorder and moved it from beneath the hole. "Cool," I
grinned.

"Who do you think Mr. Blackburn is?"

I looked back at the computer and typed in "Blackburn" in the last name
category. There were thirteen Blackburns in all of FireFly.

Three of them were ranked higher than Jeremiah Lewis.

"Which one do you think it is?" Stephanie asked.

I opened my mouth, but someone turned the doorknob. It was locked, and they
inserted a key.

"Log me out," I said, jumping over the desk and standing in front of the door.
I pulled out my gun, and pointed it at the door. The door came open, and a
Hunter stepped in. He stopped when he saw me.

I smiled. "Freeze," I said. He did, and I eased behind him, closing the door.
"On the ground, hands on head," I said.

As he knelt, I pulled his gun from its holster, and handed it to Stephanie. I
saw the Hunter's mouth moving, and could feel the threads of a spell being
woven.

I gently nudged his ribs with my toe, so the air exploded from his lungs.
"Don't try it," I said. "In fact..." I grabbed some Kleenex from the desk and
stuffed them into his mouth. "Shut up."

"What do we do with him?" Stephanie asked.

"I'm inclined to interrogate him," I said. "But that would take to long. We
need to skip town while we can."

"Where are we going?" Stephanie asked.

"We'll take a flight back to Jerusalem," I whispered, making sure it was just
loud enough for the Hunter to hear us. "They won't expect us to go back
there."

Stephanie nodded. "How do we get out of the building?"

I glanced out the window. "Fire escape."

***

"How far south does this go?" Stephanie asked.

I shrugged. "Miles. Once we come to a decent looking town, we can look for
passage back north."

Contrary to what I had said, we were heading south, along a half-completed
monorail. Right now, it just consisted of two raised cement tracks, each one
more than ten feet wide. The monorail would head south along the east coast of
Tuna, from Neo-Tokyo to Byzantium. Now, it was only being used by construction
workers, but they were at the south end, which was over a thousand miles away.

"How far are we going to hike tonight?" asked Stephanie.

I checked my watch and looked up at the stars. "It's 1:00 now, and we've been
walking for about three hours...not that far. But we have all day tomorrow."

"In the sun?"

"I tested the weather. It's going to rain tomorrow."

"What do you mean, you tested the weather?"

"It's going to rain tomorrow," I said. "But I have rain coats, so don't worry
about it. Here," I stopped. "We can sleep here. As good a place as any."

Stephanie pulled off her backpack and unraveled her sleeping bag.

We'd stopped at an REI on our way out of Tokyo, and picked up a few supplies.
I slipped in my bag a few moments later, and started to regulate my breathing.

"Aranor?" Stephanie said.

"Huh?" I delayed my nightly meditation.

"What were you before you met me?"

"What do you mean?"

Stephanie rolled her bag next to mine and looked at me. "I mean, I just fell
into your room one day, and would've died if you hadn't been there."

"That about sums it up."

"But what were you doing there?"

"Sleeping."

Stephanie hit my shoulder. "I mean, don't you have a job or anything?"

I shrugged. "My most regular job was on a freight plane. But usually I just
wander around."

"How'd you get all that money from just wandering around?"

I chuckled. "I'm guessing that Wilhelm was drunker than I thought when he gave
me that money."

"Huh?"

"Nothing. My last employer was drunk when he paid me. But before working under
him, I just wandered around. I like to travel."

"So after you were re-animated, you just decided to travel?"

"Uh...yeah."

"You were re-animated, right?"

"Uh-huh," I lied, not wanting to talk about the voyage over.

Stephanie's hazel eyes went soft. "So who did you leave behind?"

"What?"

"On Earth. Your family, friends, wife?"

"Nobody. Have no family, all my friends were brought over."

"Lucky," she murmured. "Where did you work before?"

"Ah...I did clerical work under FireFly."

"The main company."

"Uh-huh."

"And all your friends were employees of FireFly?"

I nodded.

"You have any friends here?"

I shook my head.

"Girlfriends? Love interests?"

My thoughts went immediately to Amber, and my face must've turned sad.

"What is it?" Stephanie asked.

"I...nothing. I used to have a love interest."

"But what?"

"She...kind of sent me away."

"Sent you away?"

"She got too busy with work for me."

"When was this?"

Now this was unusual. At least, I thought it was unusual. Typically I was the
one asking probing questions, and opening up the other's mind. But she was a
reporter, so I guessed it came naturally to her. "Seven years ago."

"Seven ye...wait, that was when we were brought out of hibernation!"

"I, uh, was animated earlier for construction work in the cities."

"Oh. And you're still ill over that?"

I laughed inwardly. She was right. I shouldn't be mourning over Amber after
seven years. It took me six years to break ties with those farmers, and come
to terms with my solitutde, but I still couldn't break ties with Amber.

"Yeah," I whispered.

"Aranor," Stephanie said, her hand sliding across my bare chest. "How long has
it been since you've been with a woman?"

My hands clenched involuntarily. No, this was not a good thing. "More than
seven years," I said quietly.

Stephanie's mouth was close to mine when she said, "Really? I've had to wait a
much longer time. 58 years."

I closed my eyes, trying to resist the natural impulse. I responded when she
kissed me, it was impossible not to. The sleeping bag was soon missing, and we
were making out on top of them.

Stephanie was aggressive, which was good. I couldn't help but feel the guilt
holding me back.

"Jesus," she whispered when my boxers came off. She positioned herself to
enter me, and time seemed to freeze in that instant. I was on my back, and my
wedding band was sitting on my chest, tied around my neck with a leather cord.
It seemed to grow increasingly heavy as she lowered herself, but when I
entered her, the weight vanished.

And then, all that existed was the pleasure. Until now, I had almost forgotten
my policy of "sex on a regular basis." At this point, I decided to pay more
attention to my policies.

Stephanie came within a minute, and exploded wetly. She must've been pretty
horny. It took longer for me to come, but when I came, she did as well. Our
mixed orgasms carried far up into the night.

***

We reached a reasonable port town two days later.

"Excuse me sir," I said, waving down the first mate of a nearby ship. "I was
wondering if my sister and I could receive passage to Neo-Tokyo."

"How did you know where we were headed?"

"I heard one of your sailors talking about it."

The man scratched at his beard as we approached. "I don't know. We're getting
a little crowded as it is, and-"

I handed him $200.

"Hop on board."

***

"See any suits?" I asked as the boat sailed into Neo-Tokyo.

"No, but that doesn't mean much," Stephanie replied. "They could be crawling
all over the docks, for all we know."

"Yeah," I said. "Captain," I strolled over to the man. "May I borrow your
telescope?"

He handed it to me and directed the helmsman toward the nearest docker.

The telescope eliminated any suits, but there could have easily been disguised
Hunters. There were dock workers everywhere on the piers, and any one of them
could be waiting for us. But then, they probably wouldn't expect us to return
here.

I'd died my hair and beard red, and Stephanie had bleached hers. Neither of us
had bathed since we'd left that port town, three days ago. We'd made a couple
stops on the way, and more than pulled our weight with the crew. I had,
anyway. Stephanie spent her time flirting with the sailors and first mate. The
captain was, unfortunately, he told me, married.

But, so was I.

"See anybody?" Stephanie asked, next to me.

I shook my head and handed the telescope back to the captain. "No."

"We can probably risk walking out now, then."

I nodded.

When the docker boat had pulled us into a pier, we bid good-bye to the
sailors, and walked onto the pier. It was crowded, as the dockworkers began to
unload our boat. We were dressed in sailor's clothes now, and blended in with
the others on the dock.

At least, that's what I thought.

"Excuse me," said an unloader, when we were passing another boat. "Is your
name Aranor?"

I looked at him, and felt him probing me. My right fist swung out in a tight
arch, aimed for his jaw. The Hunter ducked and slammed his fist into my
stomach.

Air burst from my lungs, and he brought his knee into my chest, leaving me
gasping. Stephanie screamed, and people were about to grab him, but he pulled
out a gun. That backed everyone off.

The Hunter pulled out a badge. "DHC," he said, pointing the gun at me. "You're
under arrest."

A glance to the mouth of the pier showed three more Hunters heading our way.

I pulled Stephanie next to me, and concentrated. Mind over matter wasn't one
of my strong points, but this shouldn't be too difficult.

"Into the water," I whispered.

"Get on your knees," the Hunter said, keeping the gun on us and concealing his
badge.

My mind felt the gun, and I grabbed the safety, switching it on.

"Now!" I cried, and we spun around, jumping over the edge of the pier.

The water came at us fast, and hit like a wall. I swore inwardly, and came
sputtering up a moment later. The Hunter leaned out over the edge and started
shooting.

"Get under here!" cried Stephanie, beneath the dock.

I swam next to her, feeling a bullet graze my shoulder.

"How do we get out of here?" she asked.

"We're going to swim to the mouth of the dock, and run into town."

"Subtle."

"I know."

One of the Hunters dropped off the edge and splashed into the water a few feet
from us. Shit.

I pulled out the gun I'd lifted from the other Hunter, and aimed it at him
when he resurfaced. "You're coming with us," I said. "Dumbass. Drop the
fucking gun."

The Hunter let it fall from his hand and into the water.

"Stay ahead of us," I said. "We both have guns. We'll both shoot you. Swim to
the mouth of the docks, and we'll let you live."

He swam ahead of us, not saying a word.

Stephanie tried to make him talk. "Are you in on this too?" she asked. "You
know about the murder of Judd Watley?"

He didn't talk.

"Why did they do it?" she asked. "What the hell do you guys have to gain by
killing a personell manager?"

The Hunter shot her a dark look, but said nothing.

When we reached the mouth of the pier, I got on the steep bank and pulled him
next to me. "If you try anything, you're dead," I said, jamming the gun into
his back and moving up the bank. "If your friends try anything, you're dead."

We came up to a lot of empty pavement. The other three Hunters all had their
guns trained on us when we stood in the empty space. Behind the semicircle of
Hunters was a wary crowd.

"He dies," I said. "If you don't drop your guns right now."

They glanced at each other, and Stephanie fired into the air.

The Hunters dropped their guns, and told the crowd to stay away from us.

"Come on," I told Stephanie, holding the gun into the man's back. She held her
gun at the crowd as we edged toward them, watching everyone.

A couple of them tried casting something, but I disabled the spells before
they could even be formed.

It took us almost ten minutes to reach the gate to the city, since the crowd
was so thick. No one got within ten feet of the guns, though, which made
things easier.

As soon as we reached the gate, the Hunter I was dragging along spun around,
knocking the gun away. Fortunately, I'd never disengaged the safety.
Otherwise, someone in the crowd would be dying now.

His elbow smashed into my face, and I lost it for a moment. When I could blink
again, we had reversed positions, and Stephanie was alone. She was constantly
moving, aiming the gun at anyone who dared look at her, but making sure she
watched me. "Let him go," she said to the Hunter. "Or I shoot one of these
spectators."

"You wouldn't do it," sneered the Hunter. "You're a freaking-"

Stephanie fired her gun to the air, and people screamed. The Hunter jerked,
and I slipped out of his headlock. I swung around and kicked the side of his
knee; there was a snap as the Hunter dropped.

"Everybody back!" I yelled, grabbing my gun. "Move, Stephanie!"

We sprinted into the city, then, running from the other three Hunters. "Where
are we going?" Stephanie said, following me into an alley.

"The airport."

"Why?"

"We're going to Rifa."

"What!?"

We emerged in another public street, and the guns had their typical effect on
people. Actually, these people were smarter. Most of them dropped to the
ground or cowered away instead of standing a few feet from us. It made it
easier to get through.

"It'll take us three hours to make it by foot," Stephanie panted. "And I can't
run like this forever."

"Me neither," I agreed. "Let's find a TV station."

"A what?"

"TV. Where's a TV station?"

"KORR is just a block from here."

"They have a helicoptor?"

"Yeah, wh - a what!?"

I saw the KORR building just ahead, and saw the helicoptor coming in for a
landing. Perfect timing.

"You're going to fly the helicoptor to the airport?"

"No, they are."

We ran across the street, ignoring the Hunters behind us. "Haven't we had
enough hostages for one day?" Stephanie demanded.

"No," I said. "We need more."

We plunged into the main lobby of the KORR building, scaring the shit out of a
hundred more people. We ran to one elevator and headed up. "Don't punch any
floors," I said to the other passengers, holstering my gun.

"W-What's going on?" whimpered one lady.

"Don't worry about it," I said, hitting the top floor. "How do you get to the
roof from floor 12?"

"End of the hall on your right," supplied another passenger cheerfully. "Are
you guys cops?"

"No, terrorists."

He laughed, letting it fly right over his head. "You know, I've been a hostage
before. It was back on Earth, you know. They had about twenty people in the
bank, and it took them four hours just to talk the the cops. I was the first
hostage they released."

"Wonder why," muttered another man.

When the elevator stopped, I got out and saw a camera man and reporter waiting
to get in. "Back," I said, aiming my gun at them. "Back, back, back. We're
going back to the helicopter."

"W-Whoa," said the reporter. "What's going on?"

"You're hostages. Plain and simple. And don't talk."

"Back to the roof," Stephanie ordered, waving her gun.

They led us out to the helicopter pad, where the blades were just now slowing
down. The pilot saw us coming out, and unstrapped himself, getting ready to
run.

"Watch 'em," I said, darting to the other side of the helicopter. "Back in!" I
shouted at the pilot. "You're taking us outta here!"

We all piled into the vehicle and lifted off a few minutes later.

"What are you guys doing?" the reporter asked.

"Hey," whispered Stephanie. "This could be our chance to expose them. We have
the camera man here."

I shook my head. "Uh-uh. Not enough information. We'd only get Jeremiah and
maybe a couple others. I need to find out who's at the top. And I have an
idea."

"What are you guys doing?" the reporter repeated.

"Taking you hostage," I said. I grabbed the headset and said into the
microphone, "Take us to the airport, now."

"Look," pointed the camera man.

I glanced out the window and saw another helicopter following us. "FireFly?"

"No," spat the reporter. "That's KAHC, those bastards. Won't even let us get
our own coverage on this story."

"How'd they find out about it so fast?" I asked.

"You'd be surprised," Stephanie said.

"Hey!" the reporter brightened. "You wanna be on TV? This'd be great for our
ratings, if you could-"

"No," I said. "No TV."

"But could we-"

"Shut up. How long till we get to the airport?" I asked the pilot through the
headset.

"Five minutes."

"Can you radio ahead and let them know we're coming?"

"Of course."

"Do it," I said. "I need an airplane, or you guys all die."

The pilot swallowed and talked to the control tower. He looked at me and shook
his head. I put the barrel of the gun against his neck. "Try again," I
suggested calmly.

He swallowed and blinked the sweat out of his eyes. When we were going in
above the airport, he breathed a huge sigh of relief, and said, "There's a
plane waiting for you at the..."

"Jesus!" cried Stephanie.

"What?"

"That plane's gonna crash!" she pointed.

I looked at where she was pointing, and gaped. Then I grinned. "I want that
boat."

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Don't land yet."

The pilot swore and pulled the helicopter up off the ground.

When the Bertha screeched to a stop, I said, "Fly over to that plane."

"But they have a p-"

I cocked the gun.

We were hovering in front of the Bertha in less than thirty seconds.

I could hear the pilot making excuses for us and swearing at the control
tower.

"Okay," I turned around in the seat. "You, and you, are coming with us."

The camera man and reporter looked at each other, grinning. "What's so great
about being hostages?" I asked.

Stephanie opened her door and jumped out. "Coverage," she called over the
helicopter blades, and urging them out. "They know that statistically, less
than 10% of hostages die, and their ratings will soar after this."

"Great," I replied, running over to the entrance ladder. Wilhelm stuck an
enraged face out.

"What the hell is going on?" he roared at me.

"Shut up and get back in there!" I said, waving the gun in his direction.

His eyebrows rose, and he pulled back in.

Stephanie came last, after the reporter and camera man. I pulled the door shut
and locked the hatch. "Okay, Wilhelm," I said. "Take us out of here."

"Uh-uh, pretty boy, we just-"

"Wilhelm," I said, walking up to him. "You're dealing with two, mad
terrorists. It is not wise to set them off, or they will murder someone. I-" I
held the gun up in front of his face "-have a gun. I can shoot people with it.
And I'm telling you to fly us out of here."

Wilhelm chewed once on his cigar, looking at me with an unreadable expression.
Then he turned to Erickson and bellowed out his orders. The Bertha began
rolling down the runway as we readied for take off.

"You wanna tell me what's going on?" Wilhelm said.

"Glad to," I said, holstering the gun. "Come with me?"

Inside his private room, I explained the highlights of the situation, and he
nodded gravely when I was done. "Interesting story, Aranor. If I had something
wise to say, I would, but I don't, so go away while I think."

I went back out to the passenger section, which was pretty small. Stephanie
was lounging at one end of the table, keeping the gun pointed at our two
hostages.

"Will you consent to an interview?" asked the reporter. "We'll just record it
on tape, and use it after this whole thing is over."

I scratched my ear. "Lady, it won't be over in less than a year, I'll tell you
that much."

"What?"

"Nothing. I'm going to grab a shower, shave, and change clothes, when I get
back, I'll talk to you."

***

"What's your name?"

"Aranor," I said, leaning back in the seat. After the shower and shave, I felt
much better. My beard was gone, and I'd washed out the hair coloring. Finally
I looked like my normal self.

Stephanie was clean, too, but her hair remained bleached.

"Aranor," the reporter said intensely, "tell us your story."

I checked my watch. We still had another fifteen hours until Rifa. This would
be a long interview.

***

"What are you doing?" Stephanie asked, jogging to keep up with me.

"Wow," I said, looking up at the Jewel Tower. "Still as big as I remember it."

"Tell me what we're doing?"

"Amber and the Council have a meeting at 8:00," I said. "We're going to bust
it."

Stephanie's eyes went wide. "What are you talking about? We can't do that!
The-"

I stopped in front of the elevator. "She'll forgive us, you know that. There's
something rotten going on in FireFly, and the only way to get to the bottom of
it is by finding who's at the top of it."

"And you think she's at the top?"

I laughed. "Hell no. Or, I don't think so, anyway. She wouldn't be hiding
anything from anybody if she was. She can do whatever the hell she wants. I
suspect it's one of the Council."

"Why them?"

The elevator door opened and we stepped in. I set it for the 70th floor.

"Most of this is speculation," I said. "But I can't think of any other reason.
Somebody in FireFly doesn't like what FireFly is doing. Or they're trying to
take it over, or something. Whatever. But anyway, this somebody has to be
pretty powerful, otherwise they wouldn't be able to do anything without being
discovered. Most conspiracies start near the top."

"I know."

"Well, I'm not much of a detective, and I don't know who to trust, so the
first thing I'm going to do is find out who recognizes the name Judd Watley
and Jeremiah Lewis."

"How are you-"

"Mindreader."

On the 70th floor, the elevator stopped. We got out, and I headed to the Inner
Circle's meeting room. "Hopefully somebody's here," I said, pounding on the
door.

"Come in," someone called.

I opened the door and found a few of the Inner Circle sprawled across the
rune-covered room. Rico was the first one to recognize me. "Aranor!" he
exclaimed.

I saw Amy sitting in a pile of cushions, reading a book. Her mouth was hanging
open. "Amy, I need your help," I said.

She set the book aside. "What-"

"Now, please, this is urgent. They might've seen us come in."

"Hey wait," Tyllendal said. "Where are you-"

"Later guys," I said. "This is an emergency."

Stephanie was white when Amy followed me out into the hall. "What are - who
are - Aranor?" she asked.

I winked at her. "I have contacts."

Amy looked at Stephanie and frowned. Bastard, she thought at me.

What? I asked.

Couldn't you have resisted her?

"Damn," I swore softly as we got in the elevator. Not easily.

Well, we all make mistakes. You'd just better hope Amber doesn't find out.

Amy, it's been seven years since Amber last spoke to me. She doesn't want me
any more, isn't that-

Dumbass, Amy's brow drew together. Yes she does. Matt went to that town to
pick you up a month ago, and Amber's agents have been looking for you ever
since.

That hit me like a brick, and I staggered into the wall. Ever since I'd left,
I assumed Amber had forgotten about me. And now-

"What do you need me for?" Amy asked.

"We're going to bust Amber's meeting," I said, shaking my head.

"Oh?"

Stephanie explained. "There's someone in the Council that's behind a
conspiracy."

"To what end?"

"Don't know," I said. "We want you to help find out. I'm going to go in there
and tell them the names of two conspirators, and I want you to tell me who
reacts to it."

"How do you know I'm not in on it?" Amy asked calmly.

I turned toward her, horrified.

"I'm not," she shrugged. "But you should've thought of that before coming to
me."

I swallowed and nodded.

"Good job Aranor," Stephanie said.

"Shut up."

The doors opened at the 80th floor, and I stepped out. The conference room was
a few yards to the right. I walked up to the door, and stopped. "You guys
ready?" I said.

"True," I nodded. "Amy?"

Should've resisted, Aranor.

Shut the fuck up!

Yes sir.

I opened the double doors, and we strode into the room like three angels of
death. Well, not really, but that's what it seemed like to me.

The whole conference table looked up, including Amber. Her eyes caught mine
for a brief second, then they widened. A cascade of emotions showed in them,
but I had to ignore her for the moment.

Everyone on the Council was here. Thankfully. If someone in the conspiracy had
seen us come in, they might have warned the heads.

"Hello, people," I said. "How are you doing on this fine morning?"

"Aranor?" said Joe Blackburn.

"Hi, Blackburn," I smiled. "How are you doing? I'm here to see if any of you
recognize the name Judd Watley-"

It's Joe Blackburn.

"-and Jeremiah Lewis."

And Jesse Heckle.

Two of them? I raised an eyebrow.

Yep.

The Council shook their heads.

"Jesse Heckle, and Joe Blackburn," I said. "Get over here."

Joe stood slowly, and then broke into a run, heading for the door.

Stephanie jumped in front of the door, gun out and aimed. "Down on the
ground," she ordered. "Hands on your head."

"Jesse," I pointed to the ground next to Blackburn. "You two are under arrest
on the charge of, uh..."

Conspiring to usurp control of the Council and FireFly, supplied Amy.

"Thanks. Conspiring to usurp control of the Council and FireFly Incorporated,"
I said authoritatively. "You have the right to remain-"

Don't read them the Miranda rights, Amy told me. That's not law on Rifa.

Sorry.

"Aranor?" I heard Amber say.

I turned back to her, and almost broke down. But I'd do that later. Now it was
her turn. She fell into my arms, sobbing into my neck and clutching me
tightly.

From my pocket I pulled my wedding band and slipped it around my finger.

Stephanie's eyes slowly got bigger and she looked at me. A moment later, she
tore her eyes from mine, and pointed the gun back at our charges.

Four Hunters came into the room, probably at Amy's summons.

"Take them to Dis," Amy said. "We'll begin interrogation in a few minutes."
Amy followed the Hunters as they dragged Heckle and Blackburn from the room.

I looked back at Stephanie.

Damn.

***

Less than a month after Aranor's return, I resigned my position, and handed it
over to Matt for a few years. At this point, all I was really hoping for was
the ability to not work. I'd done it for all my life, and stopping working was
really difficult.

Jesse Heckle and Joe Blackburn were interrogated by the Inner Circle, and the
Outer Circle, and polygraphs. Amy helped wring them dry, and she discovered
just about everything in the conspiracy. Everyone involved was rooted out and
sent to a mining facility, in the New Sahara.

"IT WAS REALLY A COMPLEX PLAN THEY HAD WORKED OUT," AMBER SAID. "But
fortunately, it was pretty localized, so far. Most of the agents were in
Neo-Tokyo. I've had to restaff a lot of that city."

"And why did they want to do it?" I asked.

"Oh, that. They were going to take control of FireFly. It wouldn't have
happened for another ten years, at least, but it probably would've gone
through. They had plans on how to get rid of me, Matt, the Inner Circle, the
Outer Circle, and the rest of the Council. When I first envisioned Alpha
Prime, I wanted to make FireFly just like it was before. You know, a
corporation-like thing. But after I thought about it, I realized that wouldn't
be good. You know, like-"

"Yeah, I know. We both talked about it for two weeks straight, remember?"

"Oh yeah," Amber smiled, twirling my hair in her fingers and staring at my
face.

"And you didn't think it would be right to turn man's second chance into a
for-profit organization."

"Besides, who would we compete against?"

I shrugged. Amber put her hands on either side of my face and ran her
fingertips around my cheekbones. "God, I never thought I'd see you again."

"I never thought you wanted to see me again."

"Aranor!" Amber cried. "That's not true!"

"I know," I shrugged. "But...well, it was a long six years."

Amber kissed me. "I'm so sorry, honey."

I wrapped my arms around her waist and grinned. "I forgive you."

"Good. Now," she sat up and ran her finger down my chest. "What should we do
now?"

"I say, we try to make a baby."

She caught my expression. "What, you mean literally?"

I sat up cross-legged and held her in front of my ready member. "Yeah,
literally. Haven't you ever wanted a child?"

Amber's mouth fell open and she stared right through me. "I've...
never...thought about it..."

I kissed her mouth and murmured, "This way, we'll be able to hand over the
family business to our children."

"Mmm," moaned Amber, grinding her hips against mine.

"What do you say?"

In response, Amber crumbled the sterilization spell she'd had in place ever
since she was 18.

"Excellent," I said, sucking on her hard nipples.

Amber grabbed my cock and slid it into her depths, moaning diliriously. "God,
it's been so long."

I almost agreed, but stopped short. Instead, I just began rocking my hips into
hers, dissolving my own sterilization spell.

And after today, we would go out to see the rest of the world. We'd travel
Alpha Prime, meet people, see the planet, and begin again.

And of course something just had to happen before Aranor and I embarked on our
journey. And again, Chani was involved. As far as I know, this is the last
time it ever happened.

-Biography of a Generation

by Amber Jenkins

"Are you okay?" Chani put her arm around Julie's shoulders. "What did they do?
I'll kill 'em if-"

"No, no," Julie said. "Come on, let's get outta here."

"But what were you guys doing?"

Julie led Chani out of the restaraunt and into the Jewel Tower 5th Fifth Floor
Mall. "Let's go back up to the apartment," Julie said.

They walked over to the elevator, and Chani repeated her question.

"Oh," Julie giggled, wiping the tears from her eyes. "We were having a
pork-eating contest."

"A pork-eating contest."

"Uh-huh. You know that Chinese pork, with the red edges? Well the dip is a
really hot mustard. And we were seeing who could dip the most without drinking
any water."

"Who won?"

"One of them," Julie shrugged. "It was my first time."

"You should've invited me," Chani cracked her knuckles. "I would've shown them
who had the strongest taste buds."

"Chani, you couldn't even eat that paste back on the 311."

"Oh. Well, maybe you're right."

Julie nodded. The elevator opened and they got inside. It rode up to the 45th
floor, and they walked to their apartment.

"I was thinking," Chani said. "Maybe we should move to Tibet or the Andes or
something."

"Why?"

Chani shrugged and flopped onto the couch. "I don't know. It's just that
there's so many people here. I just want to get away for a while."

"We could build a house up there and live both here and there."

"We could have someone build us a house up there."

"That's what I meant." Julie sat next to Chani's feet and took off her shoes.
She began massaging Chani's toes gently.

"You know," Chani said thoughtfully, "We could go to that new resort at Lake
Tanganyika."

"In Tibet?"

"Mm-hm."

"Sounds good to me."

"And then we could build a house in the Andes."

"We should just build it somewhere in Tibet. The weather's great, view's nice,
and you can walk around in nature."

"Excellent," Chani sighed, closing her eyes.

Julie pulled Chani's sweat pants and panties off, and sat between her
partner's legs. "Chani?"

"Hm?" Chani said, eyes still closed.

Julie ran her fingers over Chani's stomach for a minute, then said, "Never
mind." She pulled Chani's T-shirt up over her head and kissed her.

Chani responded, and moved her hands to Julie's waist, feeling for her zipper.
She found it and undid it, then unbuttoned her shorts. "Here," Julie said.
"Lay back."

Chani did, laying her head on a couch cushion.

Julie trailed kisses between each of Chani's breasts, then moved between her
legs, teasing Chani's clit. Her tongue moved down the edges of Chani's swollen
nether lips, pushing slightly in.

"If you do this again," Chani growled, half dazed, "I'll kill you."

Julie giggled. Once she'd teased Chani for nearly 40 minutes, not letting her
achieve orgasm until Chani almost cried. "Don't worry," she said. Julie probed
farther into Chani's cleft, her saliva mixing with Chani's hot juices. Julie
moved up and began licking Chani's clitoris again, more forcefully this time.
She pushed two fingers into Chani's hot pussy, thrusting them in and out
rhythmically.

Chani's hips jerked, and she tensed her legs. She grabbed Julie's head, and
held her down. The sensations brought on a shattering climax, as the bliss
enfolded her in its embrace. Her body thrashed and bucked beneath Julie, sweat
rolling down her skin. The orgasm roared through her body, waves of pleasure
crashing into her brain. Before she knew it, Julie was laying next to her on
the couch, her arm around her shoulders.

Chani looked at Julie, unfocused, then stared back at the ceiling. "You know,"
Chani said. "It's so strange. The first time you did that to me was...Jesus.
When was it?"

Julie counted back mentally. "69 years ago."

"Whew," Chani said. "Long time ago."

"You did it first, though."

"Huh?"

"You did it first. I was just crying and you took over my mind."

"What! I did not, I-"

"I know, I know, calm down," Julie giggled. "You're so easy to tease."

Chani rolled her eyes. "Maybe I should tease you for 40 minutes."

"Uh-uh. I'd cry long before then."

"I know," Chani said, kissing Julie. "I'd like to hear you cry."

***

Amber checked the clock. "This quarter, I'm going to teach you how to play
dirty. Use your business as a weapon. How to stay just inside the letter of
the law, how to use the law against your competitors, and so on. That's it
class, you're outta here."

The students gathered their books and filtered out of the classroom.

Amber flopped into her chair and sighed.

"What's wrong?" Aranor asked, coming in the door.

"Teaching is harder than I expected."

"You're used to pressure, though."

"Uh-huh. I just thought this would be a side job, though."

Aranor sat on her desk. "Well, I've cleared the 40th floor garden this
evening. Feel like dinner?"

"Where's Will?"

"I left him with Lia."

"Sure she doesn't mind?"

Aranor shrugged. "When she complains, we'll start dumping him on Amy."

Amber stood up and walked around the desk. "Well, I'm ready."

They proceeded down the hall toward the parking lot.

"I was thinking," Aranor said. "Why should we wait until Will is five before
leaving Rifa?"

Amber shrugged. "I don't know. I just don't want to wait until he can handle
it."

"Well, we wouldn't be traveling all the time," Aranor said. "We'd have to come
back here every once in a while. Otherwise he wouldn't have any friends, or a
place to call home."

Amber took his arm. "Let's think about that later."

***

It was a culmination of several things that brought about Tristan's defeat.

Over the past 19 years, Zaroth had grown smarter. With each of the demon's
defeats, it grew a little weaker. In a few generations, Zaroth wouldn't be
strong enough to even stay awake.

Though pride runs strong in demons, intelligence runs stronger. Zaroth had
gone into the first two battles completely confident of his victory. That had
ended up in disaster. Now, it wasn't even going to fight any battle. That was
too dangerous.

When Tristan was at his weakest, Zaroth would cut his legs out from under him,
then take over the body. Quite simple. It was the same thing the Anea
Personality had done to Chani fifty years ago.

So today was the proper day.

Through careful engineering, Zaroth had managed to hide Tristan's true
parentage from him until now. Whenever Tristan noticed that his nose was a
little thinner than his father's, or whenever he noticed his deep black hair,
clear blue eyes...Zaroth would steer his thoughts away from these matters. So
two days earlier, when he had noticed it, and gone to his parents, demanding
an answer, Zaroth encouraged it. Because Zaroth knew now was the right time.

Jill and Brad weren't very good at lying, but they wouldn't answer truthfully
either. Tristan had stormed out of the house, swearing at both of them. He
drove up to the Blue Ridge Parkway, and sat there for a few hours, staring at
the ocean. Tristan had never expected to learn who his true parents were, but
Zaroth fed him images of Chani and Shonan and Amy. It took a while, but
Tristan eventually recognized the similarities between himself and his
parents.

After learning this, he went to talk to Trina. Zaroth had planned on this. It
knew she would break up with him the next time she saw him; Zaroth's limited
psychic abilities were able to perceive some things Tristan couldn't.

And Trina had tried to break it gently to him, before he could even speak
about his parents. Tristan stared in shock for nearly a minute, and then
screeched away from her house in his convertible. Only with Zaroth's help did
he keep the car under control.

Tristan bought enough liquor to keep him drunk for a year. He drove back out
to Blue Ridge and was preparing to get wasted when Zaroth hit him. The blow
wasn't very strong, compared to what the demon could do, but it was enough.

All resistance lost, Tristan's mind slumped back and fell into catatonia.

His eyes clouded up and Zaroth smiled.

***

"Hi!" Amber hugged Chani and Julie as they walked into her door. "I'm so glad
you guys could make it. Come on in, we're just now setting the table."

Chani hung her coat on the stand and walked into the living room. Most of the
Inner Circle was scattered about the room, playing Pictionary. Amy and Aranor
were in the kitchen, cooking dinner.

"Smells good," Julie said. "What is it?"

"Stir fry," Aranor replied, putting a piece of chicken in his mouth. "Rice,
chow mein, sweet and sour, egg drop soup."

"And egg rolls," Amy added, peeking in the oven.

"Have a seat," Amber gestured to the living room. "You can each take a team."

"This'll be an adventure," Jaron was saying as they sat down. "Neither Amy nor
Aranor can cook."

***

Tristan's convertible skidded to a stop in the Jewel Tower parking lot.
Tristan backed the car into an empty space, and hopped out. He went to the
trunk and gathered his various weapons.

Though Zaroth's power had magnified a hundred fold ever since it had become
its new self, a few conventional weapons never hurt.

Naturally, the weapons weren't allowed within the Jewel Tower, but Tristan was
able to hide them from the scanners. He walked up to the front desk and smiled
at the desk clerk. "Hi," he said.

"Good evening," she replied. "May I he-"

"I'm looking for the night security manager."

"Certainly," she said. The secretary called the man through her headset. About
a minute later, the security manager walked next to the secretary. He was
pretty big, and pretty muscular, but wouldn't pose a problem.

"Yes?" asked the burly man. His name tag said, "Norm".

Tristan said, "I was wondering if I could speak to you privately. I have an
urgent matter I need to discuss."

Norm hesitated, but when he saw Tristan's false look of sincerity, he waved
him back. "What is it you want to talk about?" Norm asked as they walked
through the back halls to his office.

"Well," Tristan sighed. "I'm having this problem, see. I don't live here, but
my mother does, and she-" they stepped into Norm's office, and Tristan
promptly smashed the man's skull with a fist.

Tristan shook out his hand afterwards, and walked behind the desk, stepping
over the limp body. He looked in the middle drawer, and found exactly what he
was looking for: Norm's keycard.

After a few moments of struggling, Tristan pulled Norm out into the hall and
up to his feet. He shut the door and snapped his fingers in front of Norm's
nose.

Tristan stepped back and said, "Gee, I'm sorry you're not feeling well, maybe
we can have this talk some other time."

Norm fell right into place. "Yeah," he coughed hoarsely. The man stuck out his
hand and Tristan shook it. "Maybe some other time. You're right though, I'll
just get somebody to fill in for me."

Tristan waved and they walked separate ways. Norm would eventually end up in a
janitorial closet somewhere on the fourth floor, but Tristan didn't know that.
All he knew was that the guard wouldn't be coming back. It was easier than
he'd expected, what with Norm being an ex-Hunter and all.

Oh well.

Tristan went to the 10th floor secretary, and she directed him to the night
computer systems manager, two floors up.

Tristan jogged up the stairs and walked down to the man's office.

The office door was open, so Tristan walked right in. Whoever the man was, he
was out now, so Tristan would just have to wait.

Just as Tristan was about to sit down, a woman walked in the door. "Who are
you?" her brow furrowed.

Tristan hesitated and stood up, sticking his hand out. "My name's Tristan
Billings, I'm looking for the systems admin. for the Jewel Tower."

"Oh," she walked around her desk, not even noticing his outstretched hand.
"Well, that's me right now, but you're looking for Red...Christopher Glawson;
he's the real honcho around here."

Tristan smiled. With an absent wave of his hand, the door swung shut. Another
flick of his fingers knocked out the woman, and she slumped back in her chair.

Tristan walked around the side of the desk and placed his hands on either side
of her head. In one quick action, he completely drained her memories. It was
like a vacuum, siphoning everything she knew into his consciousness. When he
was finished, nothing remained of her mind except gray matter.

A chuckle escaped his lips as Tristan accessed her account. He grinned and
browsed through the files, searching for the colony ship satellite network.
Then, one of the woman's memories floated to the surface of Tristan's mind.

She didn't have access.

Tristan's jaw dropped open. God, why hadn't he considered that?

The only people that had access to the satellite network were those of the
Inner Circle and the Council. And, of course, Amber.

Tristan sat back in the chair. Damn.

Damn.

How could he do this, now? Well, the easiest way would probably be to suck one
of the Council's minds...but they were probably guarded. Yes... the Outer
Circle controlled much of the security in the upper floors, and the Inner
Circle had personal security over the Council and Amber.

Great. Just fucking great.

So now, if he wanted one of those damn satellites down here, he'd have to
bring it down himself. But in this body that was impossible.

***

It came naturally to Tristan now. With Tristan's power, Zaroth's power, and
Zaroth's knowledge, the possibilities were enormous. Not endless yet, but they
were getting there.

With another thought, Tristan's body faded out of existence, melting into the
air. Tristan smiled and walked through the corridoors of the tower, completely
invisible.

He'd learned from the secretary (against her will) that the Council lived on
floor 75. It was just a couple floors below Amber's apartment, and five floors
above the Inner Circle's. A little too close for comfort, but that couldn't be
helped now.

Tristan stepped out of the elevator and walked towards Aaron Reid's apartment.

He knocked on the door.

"Hang on..." came from the other side of the door.

The short man opened his door and said, "He...llo?" He stuck his head out in
the hall and looked around.

Tristan punched the man's nose.

Reid staggered back, spouting blood and squawking.

Tristan stepped in and closed the door.

***

"Where's Tyllendal?" Lia asked.

"Probably down their playing with that inflatable-"

"Shut up Rico," Lia scowled.

"I'll get him," Julie stood up.

"No!" Chani said suddenly, a little too harshly. "I mean, no, I'll get him."

Julie shrugged and sat down.

As Chani walked out into the hall, she wondered why that had come out so fast.
What did she care?

Oh well.

Chani pushed the down arrow on the elevator and waited until it arrived.
Inside, she pushed 70 and leaned against the wall, listening to the godawful
elevator music, probably brought from Earth.

It stopped on 75, and Chani looked at the doors.

They slid open, and revealed Tristan. He looked up from the floor, and their
eyes met. Chani meant to say something, but she saw the color of his eyes.
They were black.

Oh shit.

Tristan's hand flew to his holster, and the gun was in his hand before Chani
could say anything. She jumped forward and grabbed his hand as the gun swung
in her direction. A shot fired, and opened a hole in the wall.

Chani's other hand blocked his when he tried to punch her. For a few seconds,
they struggled wordlessly, grunting with effort. Then Tristan shoved forward,
smashing Chani into the back of the elevator.

A dull thud accompanied her impact, denting the back of the elevator. She had
to duck to avoid his next punch; it drove the elevator wall against the side
of the shaft.

Chani's knee came up into his groin, and Tristan's knees buckled. Chani
smashed his groin again, and Tristan staggered against the closing doors. They
clicked shut, and the car began descending down the shaft.

Chani watched him anxiously, looking for any sign that Zaroth had departed.
Tristan's eyes snapped open and he aimed the gun at her head.

"Shit," Chani swore. She dove aside, and wrapped her fingers around his wrist
as the gun followed. With one quick yank, Tristan was jerked to his feet.

Chani tangled Tristan's arm up, remembering a ninjitsu throw that Lina had
taught her. Her left shoulder dug into Tristan's armpit, and she hurled him
forcefully into the floor of the elevator over her right shoulder. The whole
car groaned when Tristan hit, and the floor cracked.

Chani held onto his arm and slammed her foot into his armpit. She twisted
sharply, snapping his arm in four places.

Tristan screamed, and the gun fell from his limp fingers.

"Bitch," Zaroth's ancient voice snapped. Suddenly his arm was covered in an
oily substance, and the bones jolted back into place. Tristan's feet came up
and struck her face.

Chani staggered into the wall, his slippery arm sliding from her grasp.
Tristan stepped to the opposite end of the elevator and grinned. Chani wiped
the blood from her mouth and waited for his next move, watching astral space.

Tristan's arm extended out, palm facing the floor. "It would've been easier if
we'd never met," Tristan said. "Too late now, I guess." A flash of red energy
leaped from his palm and hit the floor; hundreds of glowing lines spread
across the floor, and then erupted. The entire floor of the elevator exploded
into fragments, flying up around them.

Chani suddenly found she was supported by just air. Her left hand grabbed the
railing of the elevator, and her legs dangled down into the empty shaft below.

The elevator stopped just above floor 71, then began returning to 80.

Just as Chani was reaching for the railing with her right hand, Tristan fired
two shots from his automatic. One bullet smacked into the wall, and the other
tore into the middle of her wrist. Blood and bone splashed over the wall, and
Chani screamed.

The muscles in her hand gave out, and Chani fell.

Tristan watched her go, then holstered his pistol. He shifted around the car
so he was opposite the doors. When they opened, about ten people were looking
at him in shock.

With his inhuman strength, Tristan launched from the wall and bowled into
them, injuring at least one of them. As soon as he landed, Tristan's head
dropped against his chest as he willed himself into a Delta level trance.

A wall of pure energy blew out from Tristan's body, pulverizing their hastily
erected shields. Before the solid wash of energy disintigrated the entire
group, someone hit him with enough force to wake him up and stop the attack.
When Tristan could see again, suddenly weak from the energy loss, he saw that
most of them were unconscious or just as weak as himself. The only one
standing was Julie.

Chani's girlfriend.

Tristan sneered. "So you're that lesbian bitch Chani-"

"Tristan!"

Tristan spun around, to find Chani hovering in the elevator shaft. A wave of
dizziness hit him, and Tristan dropped to his knees. He forced aside the
nausea, and managed to stand again.

Chani floated forward and landed lightly in the blackened hall. "I thought
your M.O. was to fuck somebody, and then posses their body," Chani said,
stepping over Amy's still form.

Tristan shrugged, hoping they would continue talking for as long as it took to
gain back his power. "Things change, even you know that."

Chani stopped next to Julie. "Even you? I thought demons stayed that way
forever."

Tristan shook his head. "Everything changes."

How are we supposed to banish Zaroth without killing Tristan? Julie asked.

I don't know, Chani said. It might be the only way is to get into his-

-mind? Julie finished.

Exactly.

"So what did you do?" Chani asked.

"What do you mean?" Tristan stalled, fighting off more nausea.

"How did you possess him this time?"

Tristan smiled. "Quite simple. This boy was so overwhelmed with despair, I
just kicked him out."

"Impossible," Chani said. "You can't remove his soul if you're a guest in his
body."

Tristan cocked an eyebrow and grinnned. "You think?"

"How then?"

"He killed himself."

"You would have gone with him," Julie replied.

"No," Tristan said. "It was an act of willpower. Suicide is not a physical
act, it is a decision. If one chooses death, then it comes. He chose death,
and left his body for me."

"That's a lie," Chani said. "No one..." she stopped.

"No one what? No one in your family? You just about committed suicide when
that little Anea Personality sprung up."

Chani squinted.

"Oh yes, I know about a lot more than you think," Tristan said casually. "I
know far more than just my hosts."

"So you're all that's left in Tristan's body?" Chani said, preparing to
attack.

"No," Tristan said.

Chani hesitated, and Tristan's arms shot forward. Red electricity jumped down
his arms and shot at Chani in a solid bolt.

Julie's hand flung out, and a blue web grabbed the bolt, stopping it like a
brick wall.

Out of nowhere, a submachine gun was in Tristan's hand, aiming at the women.
Chani pushed Julie aside, as the barrel spurted flame. They both toppled
through an open door onto the 80th floor's balcony. Chani tipped over a table
in front of them, and checked Julie for any hits.

A bullet had passed through Julie's neck.

Chani blinked, not believing what she was seeing. And for a moment, it seemed
as though she were outside her body, watching the blood pool behind Julie.

Chani, Julie thought, her voice weak and distant.

"Julie?" Chani said, panicked. "Where are you? What's h-"

Kiss me.

If Chani wasn't so overwhelmed with shock, she might've been struck by the
strangeness of Julie's request, but she just said, "What?"

Please Chani. I'll be dead in a few seconds. Before I die...

A small hesitation followed, but Chani bent down, placing her lips over
Julie's. They were wet, and tasted like blood. As their lips came in contact,
Chani's split lip, from when Tristan had kicked her, reopened.

Chani's blood mingled with Julie's.

Tears stung Chani's eyes as she pulled away from the body. Julie's eyes were
already glazing over.

After barely a moment, Chani stood up, and stepped past the table, walking
towards Tristan. "Why?" she said. "What the hell do you want?" Chani demanded.
"What would you do if you got what you wanted?"

Tristan pointed the gun at her, but didn't shoot.

"Would you just kill more people Zaroth? Murder? Is that your goal in life?"

Tristan pulled the trigger, and the rest of the clip roared out of the barrel.
Chani effortlessly directed them all into the floor, and continued walking
forward. "Don't you get it Zaroth?" she said. "Everything you knew no longer
exists. Go back to Earth if that's what you want."

Tristan dropped the gun and reached for another.

Chani leapt into his mind before his fingers touched the handle.

***

"You don't get it do you?" Zaroth asked.

They were once again in the grassy fields, north of Toho.

"Obviously not," Chani said. She was dressed in a white T-shirt, leather
jacket, and black jeans. "Tell me."

"The universe is a perfect balance between chaos and order," Zaroth explained.
"Everywhere you look, you see things dying, and you see things being born. I
am the Angel of Death."

Chani followed Zaroth when he began walking out into the grass. "You are not
the Angel of Death."

"Oh no? Prove it. Since the beginning of time, Good and Evil have existed.
Chaos and Order, Light and Dark, whatever you wish to call them. Chani, I am a
representative of Evil. That's Evil's purpose, to kill. Death."

"You are pure evil. You can't change that. Just-"

"Exactly," Zaroth said. "I can't reject what I am. Not that I'd want to. Our
whole purpose in the universe is to destroy each other. The Evil fights the
Good, until one is destroyed. But there will be no victor, there never is.
It's the perfect balance."

Chani sighed and she began speaking, without even knowing where the words came
from. "There is no balance, Zaroth. The universe just is. There is no good or
evil, chaos or order, yin or yang, light or dark. Things just exist. They
don't stop existing. They continue to exist, forever. I am no more Evil than
you are."

"Wrong," Zaroth shook his head. "Humans come into existence, and then they
die. They transfer into Heaven or Hell. Demons and angels, just exist. They
came into existence when God created them, and when they die, they cease to
exist. There is no future life for demons or angels; we are cast into
oblivion. The Void."

"No, you are wrong, Zaroth. We are all pieces of existence. I am not a
representative of Good, and you are not a representative of Evil. I am not a
piece of Good, and you are not a piece of evil. We are a piece of existence."

"What are you talking about?" Zaroth scowled. "We-"

"Existence exists. Everything is. That's about as simple as I can make it.
Since you are convinced of Good versus Evil, I can't put it in better terms."

Zaroth shook his head again. "If we were just pieces of some all-existing
existence-"

"Stop," Chani said. "What's happened is that all of existence has confused
itself, and convinced itself that things live and die, while things just
continue to exist, forever and ever."

"Prove it."

"When you look at an atom, and the life of an atom, what happens to it?
Nothing. It just gets rearranged, into different molecules and particle
structures. Even when you split an atom for energy, it continues to exist, in
the form of energy. The energy continues to exist, even after it dissipates.
Nothing is ever obliterated. There is no true oblivion."

Zaroth stopped as they reached the highway, and then walked onto the empty
pavement. "If what you say is true, then absolutely nothing in the universe
matters, since we all continue to exist no matter what."

"Mmmm," Chani's voice said, seeming to debate, "kind of. Though that's true,
and whatever we do makes no difference in the whole scheme of things,
existence has now become aware of itself. This means that one piece of
existence cares whether you've killed her girlfriend, even though her
girlfriend will continue to exist for all eternity. They'll both continue to
exist for all eternity."

Zaroth laughed. "So since one piece of the universe despises me, that makes a
difference?"

Chani nodded. "To that piece of the universe."

Zaroth turned to Chani. "So you..." his jaw slowly fell when he saw Chani's
irises. They were burning with a soft white light. "You..."

"I'm a piece of existence, too," Chani's voice said. Then she sighed sadly and
looked at Zaroth, penetrating deeply. "Sorry Zaroth, I tried.

"But..."

Then it was gone. Chani's control was restored.

***

Suddenly, they were back in the physical plane. The whole conversation passed
and melted into the back of Chani's brain, vanishing like a forgotten dream.

Tristan blinked, and looked up.

"I'll kill you!" Chani snarled, her arm lancing out.

Tristan gagged when her hand clamped around his throat. She spun around, and
threw him through one of the glass doors, onto the balcony.

In mid-air, Tristan flipped and landed on his feet. He snapped a combat knife
from his belt, and held it out. When he'd landed in the middle of the Inner
Circle earlier, that energy blast had taken everything out of him. His
spiritual strength wouldn't return for a while yet. Conventional weapons were
his only hope, now.

Glass crunched as Chani stepped through the shattered door.

Tristan glanced over the edge of the building, and saw that the nearest
platform was a glass-covered garden, 20 floors below. "Chani, listen," he
said. "It's not the-"

Chani lunged forward, and Tristan stabbed. She avoided the knife and grabbed
his wrist, crushing. Her grandson screamed as his bone splintered, and
crumbled into powder. Chani brought her palm heel against Tristan's face, and
threw him against the side of the building.

Tristan bounced off the wall, then staggered to his feet, ignoring the intense
pain. He pulled his arm back and threw the knife at Chani.

With a flick of her fingers, the knife was deflected and sent spinning over
the edge. Tristan panted heavily, and stared at Chani. It was the end now, he
knew that.

It began to rain.

Chani walked forward, backing Tristan into the building again. He pulled out
his pistol again, aiming it at Chani. But the hemorrhaging in his brain was
starting to affect him. The first bullet hit the floor, and the second one
exploded through her right wrist.

Chani ignored it and continued walking forward.

Tristan fired off two more shots, and then fell against the wall. He slid down
the wall, and blinked blood from his eyes. His peripheral vision was closing
in, and the darkness was growing. Every step Chani took increased his fear. In
a last, desperate effort to stop her progress, Tristan shot at her feet. One
bullet ripped open each ankle, splattering blood over the floor behind Chani's
sneakers.

She continued coming.

And the darkness overtook Tristan.

Chani reached down with a bloody hand and picked up Tristan by his shirt
collar. Using sheer willpower, she fully restored his senses.

Tristan's eyes fluttered open, and he croaked, "What are you doing? You can't
keep me in this body forever."

Chani carried him over to the elevator shaft and shook her head. "No, I just
want you to see yourself die."

With his last ounce of strength, Tristan pulled a switchblade from his pocket,
and snapped it open. He plunged it into the side of Chani's rib cage.

Chani lost her grip and Tristan fell. The elevator shaft turned into a blur,
as each floor passed with increasing speed. As he neared the bottom, a red
light filled the passage. The last thing Tristan's physical body saw was
flames crawling up the walls.

80 floors above, Chani's knees grew weak, and she started to fall forward,
down into the shaft. Her strength was completely gone; nothing was left for
her in this world.

As her body tipped forward, someone's hand clamped around her ankle.

***

Chani's vision slowly swam into focus. She was flat on her back, staring up at
the stars. Moist grass prickled her neck and arms.

After a few minutes, Chani sat up and looked around. Yes, she was back in
Amaria. As always. Chani struggled to her feet and looked for the casting
circle. Yep. There it was. With a sigh, Chani walked down the hill and stood
in the casting circle. It was the same as ever, including the boulder.

Chani walked over to the huge rock and laid her hand on its rough surface,
feeling the moss and jagged edges. It was so real, the whole experience. Ever
since she'd entered hibernation, dreams and trances had escalated-

"You don't look too happy," said a voice.

Chani turned around slowly, and saw Julie standing at the edge of the circle.
"J-J-" Chani choked. Her mouth fell open, and her expression must have been
comical, because Julie laughed.

"W-How did you get here?" Chani said.

Julie walked up to her. "'For the life of the flesh is in the blood...'" she
quoted.

"What?"

Julie touched Chani's lips, and smiled. "I think you were right. We always
exist, in some form or another."

"But...you..."

Julie rolled her eyes and grinned. "Come on, you. I've been gone for just a
few minutes and you've already put me behind?"

"No!" Chani cried. "I-"

Julie cut her off with a laugh. "You're still too easy to tease."

***

Three days later, Chani woke up in the Rifa hospital, wearing about ten
different bandages and more than one IV. She moaned and sat up. A dull ache
throbbed in the side of her chest.

Amber was sitting in a chair next to the bed. "Glad you're up," Amber said.

Chani grunted.

"I'll tell the others you're up, so they-"

"No," Chani shook her head and threw the covers aside. "I'm leaving now."

"But you-"

"Don't say it," Chani said. "I'm not gonna sit around in a hospital, for any
period of time."

"But you've already been here three days."

"I couldn't help it."

Amber shrugged and pulled Chani's clothes off the dresser. "That's what I
figured. Here you go."

Chani took her clothes and began dressing.

"You know," Amber said, "you still haven't aged a day since your 20s."

Chani shot her a sidelong glance.

"It's the truth."

"I'm ready, let's beat it."

They walked out into the hall and headed toward the parking lot.

"I, uh, have another apartment available for you if..." Amber trailed off.

"If what?"

"Well, I just figured with Julie..."

Chani practically burst out laughing, but just managed to smile.

"What? What is it?"

"Julie's not dead, Amber."

"I...know, but..."

Chani shook her head. "I'll tell you later. Right now, I'm starving. Let's go
get something to eat."

As of this writing, that is the last we ever heard of Zaroth. And as far as I
know, Tristan, Julie, and Amy are dead. But then, existence is great. Who
knows where they may be?

-Biography of a Generation

by Amber Jenkins

THE END

**********

(c) 1996 by Bill Smith (micro@oz.net)