Hitomi, Bert, Twister... Hope this doesn't mess anything up for ya :)


TASB - Allies...


They'd found me.

I'm not sure just how, but thinking about it now wasn't going to help.

As if it wasn't enough that Sylia had stripped my humanity from me and
changed me into a boomer, they'd awakened me abruptly-   again.

The serenity of the night had been broken by the sound of glass shards
crashing to the floor. I awoke instantly, all of my EM and infra-red
scanning systems online and functional. I swept the darkness of my room...
Four human female intruders, all wearing high-tech battle armour, and all
were nano-seconds away from having their weapons online. I would not attack
them. It just wasn't in my programming.

There was only one way out. Plaster and cinder block fragments exploded
into the darkened apartment next door to mine, as I hurtled my cybernetic
body backwards. I didn't stop to apologize to the screaming tenants as I
leapt out and over their third floor balcony. I didn't have time.

So I was on the run once again.

As I ran blindly, weaving in and out of quiet suburban backyards, and empty
parking lots, I realized that there was no place I could hide from my
pursuers. I needed to get off the streets, and out of sight if I was ever
going to have a chance at escaping again.

I didn't think they would keep looking for me for this long, but then again,
they knew what the ending for BG Cross looked like. Soon they would be
fighting for their lives, as I was now.

My legs halted, the hydraulic motors in my thighs whining in protest at the
sudden stop. My left foot stamped down on something metallic. Looking down
through my night vision filters, a manhole cover, bathed in a wash of
shifting green light beckoned to me.

As my flat metal feet struggled to grip the slippery metal rungs of the
ladder that descended into the sewers, the electronic muscle-compensators in
my arms hissed and snapped, while I attempted to shift the heavy cover back
in place. My pursuers were very close now, according to my scans.

A sudden, sharp, painful twinge in my shoulder caused me to cry out, the
sound of my inhuman cry a horrifying electronic string of binaric chatter. I
withdrew the injured limb, and with my my left hand, reached up and heaved
on the circular metal disc. The momentary loss of a hand-hold sent
my hulking metal frame plunging into darkness.

Water. My worst enemy.

Slowly, I lifted myself up and out of the shallow flow of brackish water
that made its way swiftly through the maze of cement tunnels. Above me, the
manhole cover shook, as something slammed into the road, and exploded with a
muffled "whump".

Which way?

No time to think.

I had run maybe 100 feet down the tunnel to my left when I arrived at the
entrance to a junction, much like the one I had just left. Above me, thin
beams of streetlamp light pierced the darkness of the chamber, streaming
through tiny holes in the circular cover overhead. Mixed with the white
lamplight were two thin beams of intense red laser light, that wavered ever
so slightly. Another step forward and this hunt would be over.

The ache in my shoulder suddenly flared again. Turning my head to look at
the source of the pain, my vision was suddenly filled with the chromium
gleam of a long, needle-like projectile, lodged deeply into the outer
metallic shell of my upper arm. Stepping back from the chamber's opening, I
grasped the railgun spike firmly, and pulled it free. I gazed at the tip,
visible just for a moment as it reflected the streams of light from above,
and flashed before my eyes menacingly. There was no blood, just a thin
glazing of red hydraulic fluid.

Suddenly the chamber shook, and the warped manhole cover was at my feet,
smoke filling the cramped chamber. Without looking back, I fled into the
tunnel to my right, the railgun spike held firmly in my grasp.

I didn't stop running until I ran out of tunnel a day later. The only way
out was up. Exhausted, and badly in need of a recharge, I looked up slowly.
The holes of the manhole cover were dark. My clenching fist opened, and
released the railgun spike within to fall and be swept through a grate
to who knows where.

I hesitated for a moment, listening to the sound of the rushing water at my
feet. Comb filter on. Notch out 8khz and above. Scan for EM signatures...

All clear. I hoped.

The maze of subterranean tunnels had deposited me at the edge of a small
park, a wide river rushing past not far away. As I wandered in the darkness
past wooden park benches, the silhouette of a sign came into view.

CREDIT RIVER PARK

Credit River?

Maybe 10 minutes from Oakville.

And possibly a safe place to hide for a while.

Ten minutes later, I watched quietly from behind the wooden fence bordering
a typical suburban backyard, as the Knight Sabers took to the skies, and a
hard-suit clad Bert Van Vliet clambered stiffly to his feet.
The silver armoured figure shuffled up the steps to the side door, and then
disappeared inside.

My hopes grew thin, as I pondered the possibility that the hunters on my
trail had recruited Bert to look for me, and a slightly more worrisome ally-
SkyKnight.

Silently, I made my way to a window that looked into the basement apartment.
Sylvie tied up? And there was a familiar looking girl
talking with Bert...

Next move?

I had to take the chance. It was the only hope I had left.

Forgetting my boomer appearance, I peered into the window on the door, and
knocked. A bright flash of light from the basement filled my vision
momentarily, sending my scanning meters off the map.

The door was unlocked.

Descending the stairs quickly, I saw the faint, lingering outline of Bert
and his female guest fade from sight.

Transporter. Damn...

A murmur to my right brought my weapons on line. Non-human. Sexaroid...
33-S, unit number S6Y7L2V3I9E4. Sylvie...

"Sylvie" I uttered in my broken electronic tongue, as I removed her bonds.
"Where did they go?"

Sylvie looked at me with a look of disdain, and rubbed her wrists. "You're
that one they turned into a boomer right? So how does it feel hm?"

"Feel?" I replied soberly. "I don't feel anything in this "body". Just
regret. I just want to be who I was before."

"I see. Something wrong with being a boomer?"

Silence was my only reply.

Two golden-hued eyes stared at me, the steady gaze revealing a deep
understanding. "Maybe you have learned something from this," she finally said.

We stood there in the darkness for a moment, two of a kind, while the poster
framed figure of Darth Vader looked on. 

"I'm not sure exactly where they went," Sylvie suddenly spoke. "But we can
attempt to track the signature of their transporter's path." 

"Let's do it." 

                                                  *  *  *  *

"Priss!"

Nene waited at the river's edge.

"What is it?" came the brunette's agitated reply.

"Over here! One of your spikes!"

Priss walked quickly through the park towards the river to reach Nene's
side, and examine the 8 inch long needle in her companion's hand.

"Hmm. It's clean. The water probably washed it off. Report back to Sylia. I
think I'd better check on Bert's place one more time."

Nene looked at Priss inquisitively.

"Just a hunch Nene."

Nene nodded, and watched the blue hard-suit disappear into the night.
-------------


Andy Skuse
-----------------------------------
"BG Cross", "Dark Traveler", "The Dragon's Tower"
Raven's Garage: http://execulink.com/~askuse/ravengar.html
*Web Craft* Internet Web Page Design
webcraft@execulink.com