*****Dallas, US-1400hours, March 13, 2047 (Alternate)*****

     "Due to Atlantis being Largo's only main supply for boomers, we will
concentrate our main attacks there. A smaller force will attack Largo's
main headquarters first. Their job will be to simply cause a disturbance.
Once all the boomers head to assist, we will attack Atlantis." Vision
outlined the plan clearly and simply. "Sylia, you will lead the attack on
the headqu-" 
     "The Knight Sabers are my orginization. I will decide who goes
where." Sylia cut her off. 
     "Sis..." Mackie started. This idea of a conspiracy was going to far. 
     "I will lead the attack on Atlantis. Priss will lead the one against
Largo's HQ. Both Linnas and this universe's Mackie will be with her.
Everyone else is with me." She looked around the table. Her Knight Sabers
nodded in aggreement. Leon also seemed to agree. Linna's face wasn't
happy. The rest of the others faces were unreadable. 
     Simply for effect, she said. "Nene, you will stay here and guard the
sect." Nene almost jumped up, but Vision lifted her arm, and Nene sat
down. There was definatly some tension around. 
     "The attack will begin tomorrow." 

*****Dallas, US-1743hours, March 13, 2047 (Alternate)*****

     "Another." Sylia never went to bars much, in fact, except for the
Cest La Vie, she hadn't been into a bar since her freshman college year.
She couldn't remember the last time she had a beer, and today she had
drunk three. 
     "You look like someone who has a lot of problems." The bartender
smiled from below a hat, not a very outgoing person. 
     "Doesn't everybody?" 
     "I suppose. But your problem must be special." 
     "Why do you say that?" 
     "Because you look out of place, like you're not where you belong." 
     "Why do you say that?" Sylia downed part of the beer. 
     "Because the last time I saw you was at your funeral." The bartender
pushed back his hat. Faugo looked out at Sylia. "Hello darling." 
     "Faugo!" Sylia smiled and stood. They hugged over the counter. Sylia
herself found it strange that she was doing such a thing. 
     "You're a lot different from the Sylia I knew." 
     "No, I'm the same, just feeling a little strange." Sylia smiled as
she sat back down. 
     "Well, then maybe I can show you something to make you feel
better..." He turned and lifted up the tapestry behind him. Behind it was
the telltale sign of the Cest La Vie. "I managed to save a part of it,
before the owner had to close. You and I were his most common customers,
you know." 
     Sylia smiled. "So what have you been doing with yourself?" 
     "Keeping busy. After 'Doomsday' the Knight Sabers didn't need me and
I was out of a job. Considering I was barely keeping up with my debts
when you hired me, you can guess I didn't last long." He coughed, rather
roughly. 
     "Are you alright?" Sylia reached over, but Faugo pushed her away,
the first time he had tried to keep them apart. 
     "It's my own fault." 
     "What?" 
     "Smoking." He put his hand over his chest. "Lung Cancer. You ought
to stop while you can..." He smiled. 
      "Hey, bartender. Scotch on the rocks." A man sat down on the other
end of the bar. 
     "Sorry, Sylia. Duty calls." Faugo replaced his hat and went to serve
his new customer. Sylia waited awhile, but when she saw that he wasn't
coming back she put down a twenty and left. She wasn't going to need the
money anyway. 

*****Dallas, US-1300hours, March 14, 2047 (Alternate)*****

     "Sit." Sylia ordered Vision. Perhaps Vision was the one she
understood least now. She had not known her that well when they had first
met when she tried to kill Quincy, and now she seemed to know her even
less. 
     "Sir?" She sat. 
     "Don't call me sir. The Knight Sabers are not a military operation."
Sylia didn't approve of what you have made the Knight Sabers into,
either. 
     "I'm sorry, Sylia. There were so many people who needed to be
helped. There was only one way we could inspire the hope we needed to
keep the few of us left alive. The name 'Knight Sabers' means more now
than it did during your time." 
     "I don't aggree. Anyway," she paused. "I've noticed something quite
interesting. These suits from each of the sects are not the same. Don't
you keep updated files of technology?" 
     "It's too much of a security risk and requires too many resources." 
     "No, I don't think so." She smiled, she would show her superiority
over Vision now and hopefully gain her trust. "The Johannesburg group
have perfected Linna's hardsuit type, and keeping low and out of sight is
sure to help in the jungle areas." 
     "It does." Vision nodded. 
     "Do you know the Berlin sect has created a forcefield around their
hardsuits? Making them nearly impervious to all projectiles while it is
up? I'm sure that helps since they have nothing for cover there." 
     "Well-" 
     Sylia cut her off. "This Dallas sect has developed cloaking devices
to make the suits invisible and nearly undetectable. Considering there's
no cover here that is a good idea." 
     "Yes and-" 
     "The Megatokyo sect has increased effiency and weapon power. The
scematics I have requested from the Miami sect show they have upgraded
the interfacing equipment in Nene's hardsuit. Seattle has made
stop-on-a-dime thrusters..." 
     "What are you saying?" Vision was getting angry. 
     "I'm saying if all the humans took all the improvements they've made
seperately and shared their information, you would have beaten Largo by
now." 
     "No, you're saying I don't know how to do my job as leader of the
Knight Sabers." Vision jumped up. "After the war we had to make a
decision on whether or not to have the sects work together or seperately.
I chose to have the sects work on their own." 
     "Then that was the wrong choice." 
     "The increased traffic would have alerted the boomers and half of
these sects wouldn't be here today." Vision leaned over the desk, staring
Sylia right in the eye. 
     "I don't know who you are, but you are not the Reika Chang I know."
Sylia leaned in, her eyes narrowing. "I don't like you. And I don't like
your friends. I know you have your own motives in all this, and the
second I can prove that I will. I just want to get out of here and go
back home." 
     "Well, I want you out of here too." 
     "Good, we are aggreed." Sylia sat back down. "We leave for Atlantis
in one hour. By that time I want hardsuits with all of the upgrades for
MY four Knight Sabers to be ready. Do we understand each other?" 
     "Yes." Vision turned to leave. 
     "You're dismissed." Sylia smiled as Vision looked back scornfully. 

***Three Miles North of Hawaii, Above Atlantis-1425hours, March 14, 2047 (Alternate)***

     Sylia leaned back. Three cloaked ships had taken them directly above
Atlantis, now three cloaked submarines would plow directly into it, and
the Knight Sabers would invade. Then they had a short amount of time to
get out before the place was flooded by the breach in the hull of
Atlantis. 
     "Priss has started the attack on Largo's HQ." The alternate Nene
reported. 
     "Alright," Sylia said "Let's go." 
     All three ships ran headlong into Atlantis, cracking the hull of the
underwater station. The Knight Sabers poured into the station as the
confused boomers tried to decide whether to try and repair the hull or
try and stop the intruders. They hadn't seen a fight down here since
Atlantis was built. 

*****Atlantis-1441hours, March 14, 2047 (Alternate)*****

     "Let's get out of here!" Sylia screamed. The underwater factory was
nearly flooding. The fight hadn't gone very well. That didn't matter, the
factory was going underwater. Only the Marine Boomers would live through
that. 
     All the remaining fighters piled onto the submarines. "Shields."
Sylia called out as the last one was on board. 
     The other commanders reported from their subs, and they left. The
shields on the submarines had been specifically tuned so that the water
molecules wouldn't be let in. It required a huge amount of energy, but it
was worth it. 

*****Dallas, US-1352hours, March 15, 2047 (Alternate)*****

     "Good job." Vision tossed a pile of papers in front of Sylia. "The
only thing you succeded in was getting some of my men killed." 
     Sylia picked up the report. Intelligence had decoded a part of a
communique. It said that Atlantis had been salvaged. It was under heavy
damage, and it would be a while before it made any more boomers, but it
was still salvagable. 
     "It does not matter." Sylia looked at Vision. "We've stopped their
boomer construction. How many did we lose?" 
     "125 at Atlantis, 27 in Illinois." 
     "Alert the Seatle and Miami sects, we're going to have to get more
people. Tell them they will both combine with this sect here." 
     "What!" Vision jumped straight up. "Sylia, these sects have worked
independantly since they were created. You can't go ordering them around
like that." 
     "I told you, isolating sects was your main mistake. And, as you have
made so painfully clear to me...these people are Knight Sabers. I am
their leader. If they do not wish to be Knight Sabers anymore I will
personally fly over and make sure they are taken care of, according to MY
charter of the orginization, and I think you know what that means?" 
     "You would fight, kill, one of our own when you could be fighting
them?" 
     "That depends on what you consider 'our own'. I consider everyone
who does not help us hinders us, and that makes them our enemy. Give the
order!" 
     Vision stood up to leave. After what had just happened with
Atlantis, people were seeing that Sylia was a leader, like her. No longer
were people thinking Sylia was their all-holy leader sent to save them.
She just needed for Sylia to screw up once, and finally she would be back
in control of what was rightfully hers...