Chapter Four:  If There is Something Strange... 

THREE DAYS LATER... 

	For the life of an ADP officer, everything ran according to a set
routine.  Get up in the morning, get to work, fill out a report, answer a
call, fill out a report, get lunch, fill out a report, etc.  Upstairs was
always wanting report after report after report. 
	Most of which added up to a mound of manure for all the 'help,
resources, and support' that was promised but never given. 
	As Chief Inspector Ichinohei sat at her desk, downing her first
(at least at work) cup of coffee, she went over that paperwork, wishing
there was some way for it to just vanish.  As usual, she was making notes,
comments, and a list of requested material which she knew would never be
looked at, ordered, or filled.  The political machine just refused to
admit what was going on, what had been happening to this city since the
Kanto earthquake.  With the exception of a few individuals, such as the
Emperor, the entire political machine, the machine that had kept Japan
moving and growing for nearly 75 years, had turned a blind eye to the
death and destruction that was happening. 
	Learning back and rubbing her eyes, she noted that she had drained
her coffee again, something that was happening more and more frequently,
to the point where people had given her a 'cup appropriate to last you
five minutes'. Said cup was one of the novelty store types that was as big
as a punch bowl and kept hung up on one wall. 
	*Amaterasu protect me.  I'm getting worse.* she thought to herself
as she reached behind her for the carafe pot that contained her unusually
strong blend of coffee. *It used to be that a cup of coffee would last me
twenty minutes or so.  Now I can't even remember drinking it.*
	Looking at the coffee she just poured herself, she wondered how in
the world she managed to get through each day, each hour without going
crazy.  It wasn't just the paperwork which, goddess above, seemed to
increase with each passing day, but that no one seemed to care that the
Advanced Police were getting the shit kicked out of them. People, PEOPLE
under her command were dying, and they were not a set of damn statistics,
as some of the people referred to them.  Each and everyone of those
officers had a name, a family they were a part of, and she was the one who
had to put on the stern, seemingly uncaring attitude to keep the
department running. 
	Her memories went back to some of the first lessons that she and
Oneiko had been taught, especially the one lesson that had come to define
her life, "The true test of command is being able to track of all the
small details. Despite what they may look like at the time, ignorance of
them will cause your defeat." 
	She brought up a list that no one knew was stored on her computer. 
When she had first started to rise in the ranks, she had bought an old
WORM drive, circa 1998.  It was an oddity and a rarity, since everyone
tended to use either magneto-opticals or data-blocks.  She had installed
the worm on her machine, and added the name, the person's record and
history, and most importantly the age of every person who was in some way
injured under her command.  It was a record of the people who she
considered society's true heroes. 
	People who had given their lives to pursue the course of
protecting innocents without going outside the law. 
	*There are definitely times that I envy the Knight Sabers,* Hitomi
thought to herself.  *Despite the fact that they are mercenaries, they can
at least take their frustrations out on something, somebody.*
	"I think I should have listened to Oneechan and gone into the
family business,"  she muttered to herself. 

***

	Bert sighed as he looked over the list of 'things to do' that Anri
had left on his desk.  When he had hired her on as one of the club's
managers, he hadn't expected her to be so efficient.  At first, it was as
a gesture of friendship, not to mention the fact that if he hadn't offered
the job to Anri, Priss would have rammed her autocannon down his throat. 
Besides, he could keep an eye on her and make sure that she was relatively
safe, as she still had some flashbacks to when she was raped.  Once a
week, he came to regret that impulsive decision, since Anri _always_,
without fail, brought him a list of things that needed to be fixed up,
ordered, replaced, repaired, or what not.  It also seemed like that list
was getting bigger every week. 
	Not for the first time, he wondered if listening to everyone and
starting his own business was the best idea. Oh, it provided an excellent
cover, no doubt about that, especially since they had a custom sports shop
that made equipment to the user's specifications.  No one had yet
questioned how much material entered the building and never left it, at
least not by the usual route.  Also, being situated in one of the more
affluent neighborhoods, no one actually expected his place to be hiding
anything. 
	The one advantage of the place was that he had been able to build
a complex that he had in mind, one that combined elements from the Sabers
base with elements of various anime, manga, and movies.  Below the main
complex, which included a double basement, was his private sanctum, a
place where he could relax and get away from it all while still pursuing
his researches. 
	He leaned back in his chair, smiling as his mind drifted over the
four story lair that he had created.  If Sylia ever saw the full extent of
his 'little' shop, she would probably strangle him at first opportunity. 
Of course, he still had to tell two other people about the complex. 
	Since Nene was at work, he decided to start with Priss, who, of
course, would come with Sylvie.  Well, why not.  The Sabers were the only
family he had in this time period, and he really had nothing to hide from
them, at least not for long.  Of course, seeing the look of surprise on
their faces at some of the things he came up with was fun. 
	Taking a big gulp of his tea, he open a comm channel to Priss's
apartment.  Surprisingly, he got her machine.  Given the fact that she was
never an early riser, as a matter of fact she thought of noon as being
'Still way too early', he was surprised.  In fact, he hadn't seen her
since they ran the tests three days ago.  He decided to try the new
communications system. 
	Touching the Sabers, he said, "Priss." 
	He waited for about thirty seconds before a slightly perspiring
brown-haired face answered his call.  "What is it Bert?" 
	Bert was a bit surprised and did his best to cover it. "I just
wanted to know if you would like a tour of my new lair." 
	"New lair?  You mean you built another lab?" 
	"Yep!  It's situated under the club.  I thought you might like to
see it and give me some input on what it still needs." 
	Priss's image look chagrined for a moment, and she said, "I'm on a
_vacation_ at the moment.  I'll take a look at it when I get back into the
city." 
	"Wait a second, you're not even in the city?" 
	"Nope!  I needed to get away for a while.  I should be back in
about a week or so.  Don't worry, I'll keep in touch." 
	The communications faded as Bert wondered what could get Priss to
take a non- enforced vacation. 

***

	Hollister wondered what Doc wanted. 
	After showing him his discoveries about the Knight Sabers and
SkyKnight, Ikagawashii face had grown thoughtful, and, curiously,
suspicious.  He had then told the blond haired man that he wanted to
examine all possible pictures and files about the Knight Sabers in order
to get a good idea what was going on.  As if it wasn't obvious enough that
the silver garbed Knight Saber was the test subject for all the new
technologies and devices before it was incorporated into the other
hardsuits. 
	Knowing the laser array system was at first part of an X-Wing
fighter, Hollister started to see that most of the items that SkyKnight
first used were from the Star Wars sagas and therefore from Bert.  He was
selling or giving his technology to these people, of which SkyKnight
embodied the ideals the Jedi were supposed to uphold.  It was very
possible that these parts came ready made, to be added to the hardsuits at
a given time.  It would also mean that Bert had access to a laboratory or
shop somewhere that was not noticeable, but near enough for him to get to
when needed. The Club, which had been a probability, was dismissed as
being much too ironic to be possibly used for such a purpose. It gave too
good a cover for whatever meetings he had with his friends.  They needed
to get some scanning devices into that place as soon as possible. 
	Doc chose that moment to walk in, not bothering with knocking, and
closed the door behind him.  "We might have a way of getting hold of
SkyKnight's technology, if you are willing to play a gambit." 
	"What do you mean?"  Hollister asked. 
	"I mean that there have been at least three different SkyKnights,
and I think at least two of the blue Knight Sabers."  The white haired
scientist smiled as Hollister's jaw dropped open.  "First, the person
originally known as SkyKnight was known to assist the police as often as
possible.  He was badly hurt, possibly killed, in a battle with Dobermans
from which his body was dragged away.  The second SkyKnight emulated the
first, but at times acted as if he did not know how to control his suit
properly.  He overcame that and it is suspected that a Leftenant Natasha
Rutherford was responsible for assisting him while losing her own life in
the process.  This was also the first time that those lightsabers were
seen in public, during a battle with a new type of boomer, which also had
such an attachment by all accounts.  SkyKnight then disappeared for a
while, and the first time he reappeared, he attacked members of the ADP,
which his predecessors failed to do." 
	"From this, several conclusions can be reached.  The first
SkyKnight was someone they had just recruited into the ranks of the Knight
Sabers.  A person who was idealistic and naive.  When he died or retired,
they replaced him with a person who had similar ideals, but was more used
to controlling a suit of powered armour.  It is also probable that he was
a member of an armoured battalion, which is why Natasha Rutherford was on
the scene with a new type of battle armour.  The latest SkyKnight appeared
after the attack on our base.  SkyKnight was not seen for a while, so I
would assume that the second one was killed when you blew up the base." 
	Doc smiled as he saw Hollister get the idea. 
	"We see if we can get one of our people recruited as a possible
replacement." 
	Hollister loved the idea. 

***

	Priss wiped the side of her face, tired after several hours of
facing off against the laser drone that she had built under the tutelage
of Master Skywalker.  She grinned. Bert would have been very surprised to
learn that she had spent the last few days repairing and refurbishing his
old place in the suburbs.  He would be even more surprised to learn that
she had accessed his lab and managed to build a drone for her practice
with her lightsaber.  While it didn't use an anti-grav unit, it did use a
series of directional air cylinders to enable it to move. 
	Of course, the reason she was out here was because she needed a
relatively quiet place in which to practice and absorb the lessons that
she would need in order to back up and take care of Bert. 
	Being an extremely stubborn person, a trait she shared with Sylvie
and Bert, it had taken several hours, and a lot of explanations by Master
Skywalker to convince her that she wasn't crazy.  She still was
overwhelmed that she had natural abilities in a subject that she hadn't
believed possible a week ago.  As she had no choice, Priss adjusted to the
concepts fast and was doing her best to learn about how to manipulate the
energy field that surrounded her. 
	Of course, there was some free time, and Master Skywalker, Luke,
had taken the time to explain the true reason why emotions, especially
anger, were the temptation that led to the Dark Side. 
	As Priss understood it, the Dark Side of the Force was not so much
evil in itself as loss of ethics and morality due to the sudden
overwhelming increase in power that anger allowed.  Such an increase in
raw power, if one was unready, caused a high, a feeling of incredible
strength that one would refuse to back away from.  For some, this caused a
type of insanity that led to the person accessing this power all the time
for the sheer joy of feeling the flow.  For others, this caused an
unparalleled feeling of despair at what they had done.  In either case, it
became hard, if not impossible, to bring them back over the edge to
sanity. 
	It was a danger they all faced. 
	Of course, Luke had also explained that she and Bert were supposed
to become the first Jedi of this universe. Unfortunately, that would mean
that some would consider them crazy, as they talked to people who
seemingly were not there. He had also explained that there were four other
people with the potential to become Jedi, but that it would have to wait
to be revealed. 
	It seemed the schedule to which the Jedi Masters had been working
to had to be accelerated due to Bert's unexpected trip to another
universe.  Due to his friend's burst of raw power, combined with
a...being...who had embued him with said power, he had gained an extreme
ability in the Force.  This had necessitated Yoda having to train him in a
special way while trying to reduce the amount of power he had available to
him.  Bert didn't know it yet, but his entire molecular structure had been
slightly altered to accommodate this increase in abilities. 
	Unfortunately, Bert had already touched the Dark Side once, and
had been lucky to be pulled back to the light.  For him, the temptation of
the Dark Side would be greater than for any other potential Jedi.  If he
ever gave into his emotions so much that he wanted, needed, the power,
then he would become one of the greatest of the Dark Jedi. 
	For better or worse, Priss had to become competent in all the
abilities of the Force, learning more than Bert had initially so that she
could be the ultimate safeguard.  She could become angry, have any other
emotion that a ordinary human had, she just had to learn _not_ to pull for
more power than she was ready for. Of course, the brown haired singer had
asked why she had been chosen for this gift. 
	The answers she received both surprised and scared her. 

***

	Madigan looked over the pictures that had been retrieved from the
one operational security camera in that area.  What it showed looked more
like a test for a new type of combat boomer with visual distortion
capabilities. Despite her first assumption, this could not be SkyKnight.
It might, however, belong to the underground organization that was
competing with Genom in advanced weapons. 
	The pictures, taken approximately two seconds apart, showed a
young man and woman being approached by two people. Before they could
properly approach or attack, the male had already sent the female out of
the way.  The next picture showed him avoiding a punch by one of the two
persons.  Up to this point, it seemed like a simple snatch or kidnapping
attempt. 
	It was the pictures that followed that were the most revealing. 
	By the next picture, the male's attire had completely changed, and
the bladed energy weapon was in hand.  The male saluted while activating
it.  The next picture showed an the male high in the air, approximately
four metres above the ground.  The fighting style as nothing like
SkyKnight's. While SkyKnight tended to go in fighting, usually using
western boxing techniques with a little bit of martial arts, this male
used martial arts combined with an odd type of fencing technique. 
	What was most interesting was the laser blast being deflected by
the energy blade.  Until this time, it had only been theoretical that
laser energy could be countered or deflected in this manner, and nothing
that small.  In terms of electromagnetics, only something the size of a
space station should have had the energy to create the necessary
gravimetric field. 
	For a energy sword to do this meant a totally unknown technology. 
	As Madigan leaned back in her chair, she pondered what this could
mean.  A boomer that could do this would make any of Genom's obsolete, and
that would mean a huge reversal of fortune for the company.  Quincy had to
be told of these conclusions immediately, as well as view the photos and
other deduced information. 
	*The chairman is not going to like this.* she thought as she left
her office. 

***

	Although it was still early in the morning, Nene's day had been
very busy.  By this time, everyone in the ADP had heard of her engagement
and was offering congratulations, even the Chief.  It was kind of ironic
about her however, given that she was the dark-armoured police person who
was always trying to bring in the Knight Sabers. 
	If Chief Ichinohei ever knew that she was congratulating two of
the people she was trying to bring to face the law, she would have a fit. 
	So far, all of her friends had given her all sorts of engagement
gifts, and some of them were quite naughty.  Given how Bert reacted to
certain things and how old fashioned he was, she was sure that they would
make him blush more than she did when she had opened them up.  While she
suspected that Bert's proposal had been somewhat of a surprise to him as
well, especially once she had time to think about it, Nene was determined
that she would not let him off the hook. She had been waiting far too long
for this. 
	*It'll be spring in about five months.  A late February marriage
would be good, perhaps even up to mid March.* she thought, contemplating a
possible marriage date.  One of the good things was that she was now of
legal age, both in fact as well as on paper.  *It's a good thing I'm so
good at computers or I would have never have met Bert.*
	Naoko tapped her on the shoulder, "Would you stop looking at your
engagement ring?"  She giggled, "If you're this distracted now, I wonder
what it will be like after your honeymoon?"  Naoko giggled even more at
Nene's bright red blush. 

***

	Quincy was looking over the information which Madigan had put
together.  He was disappointed that this person could not be SkyKnight,
but from the looks of things, some new type of combat boomer.  It was
doubtful that the energy sword could have had the effect it had, so that
meant that the boomer had to have an extremely powerful em field.  How it
had operated without blowing out all the systems in the boomer, and the
electronics in the surrounding area, was well beyond him. 
	"Is there someone who knows boomers that we could get to work on
this little problem?" he said as he poured over the pictures.  "Someone
who could be innovative enough to know how this type of boomer might even
operate?" 
	Madigan had been awaiting this question with some dread.  As it
turned out, she had researched the numerous people who had any connection
to boomers or boomer research and she kept coming back to one person who
might be able to shed some light on this.  Unfortunately, she was unsure
how that person might react to the company asking for help. 
	"There is one person sir," she began, "unfortunately, she might
not be willing to cooperate with us." 
	"Why would that be Madigan?" 
	"Because the person is Sylia Stingray.  The daughter of the man
who created boomer technology.  She might be able to shed light on this
new boomer, but somehow I do not believe she would be willing to
co-operate." 
	Quincy sat back in his seat, "Not surprising really. Come to think
of it, why haven't we heard her name before in connection with boomers?" 
	Madigan looked down at a file she carried, "Well sir, she did
receive a couple of doctorates degrees, but has treated them as though
they were hobbies, which they might well have been.  She owns several
companies outright, through her inheritance, and has bought a couple more. 
While these are technology companies, she does not concern herself with
the day to day running of their operations, only checking in once in a
while.  As for testing the prototypes that these companies came out with,
she has done so only when the company absolutely insisted that she test
them out.  So far, she's been satisfied to run a lingerie shop here in the
city." 
	"Nothing else?"  Somehow this struck Quincy as unusual. In his
day, the Stingrays had never been far from vocal or completely involved in
the sciences.  He supposed that the girl was not as dedicated as her
father had been.  No.  He would not involve her as it sounded as though
she would have no idea what to do in a laboratory. 
	"Nothing else sir," was his purple-haired protege's reply, "her
brother is studying robotics and mechanics in Germany however, and has
been rated as a genius by his professors.  He may not be able to help as
of yet, but we might consider recruiting him for future purposes." 
	The white haired executive grunted.  "Do so.  In the meantime find
somebody who may be able to describe this boomer's operation." 
	Madigan answered in the affirmative as he continued to go over all
the pictures available from that camera.  One picture caught his eye, and
he started to contemplate it. The face of the person that came out of the
alley as the test boomer and the woman left was very familiar. 
	He rang Madigan's secretary to get her back to his office.  As he
did so, he had some unpleasant thoughts about the face he had seen.  "Well
Inspector," the old man said to himself, "besides any information you may
have on the Knight Sabers, what can you tell us about this particular
boomer?" 

FIVE DAYS LATER... 

	SkyKnight hit the pavement hard and struggled to roll over quickly
before one of the two boomers shot at him again.  *Damn it!  Where are the
things coming from?* he thought as he quick-aimed the particle lasers on
his left arm at one of the boomers.  "Sylia, I'm facing off against
another two of the damn things, how are you guys doing?" 
	"Not so well," was her terse reply.  "I'm having trouble hitting
the ones I'm facing.  They're not fighting like normal boomers, but are
keeping under cover.  The others are having the same trouble." 
	"Well, mine are bloody well coming after me.  So far I've
scratched five, but they still keep coming.  Mine are not fighting from
cover however." 
	"Everybody, I've registered three more appearing in the area. 
This thing's obviously a trap." 
	"Acknowledged, Nene."  Sylvie replied, "Who do you think set it?" 
	"Doesn't matter.  We'll figure it out later.  Nene. Anri.  Get as
many sensor readings as you can and if possible scan a few of the disabled
boomers." 
	"Roger, Saber Prime."  the two girls quickly answered. 
	Up to this point, the battle had been fairly uneven, with about a
dozen updated C series combat boomers.  They had managed to responded
quickly the police report of three of the machines on a rampage in the
city's main shopping district, but not in time to stop a lot of death. 
The area had the slightly sickening rust smell that drying blood creates. 
	SkyKnight hardly reached his knees when he was hit from behind by
an energy burst, tossing him forward onto his face.  *Oh shit!"  he
thought as he saw a couple of the C-17D about ready to fire whatever
weapons were in their chest cavities.  The silver garbed Knight Saber
thought he had had it, and was desperately rolling towards his left, when
he saw a metallic gleam streak out and strike one of the machines from
behind.  Without time to worry about that, his multi-launcher locked into
placed and fired four specially designed railgun bolts.  Unlike his
regular explosive ones, these were designed with a sticky surface, much
like super glue.  The C-17 series had a habit of catching the bolts in
mid-air and tossing them back at the gunner, and the one behind him was no
different.  He ended up blowing off the arms of the boomer, and was able
to rush in and finish it off with his lightsaber. 
	SkyKnight turned in time to see a figure in black and silver
armour about to get creamed from behind by a boomer, and shouted, "GET
DOWN CHIEF!" before firing a fusillade from the particle lasers.  It
helped.  Chief Ichinohei, the person inside the suit, was able to turn
around and quickly finish off that boomer. 
	Anri's voice came over the speaker, "The other boomers are
disappearing from the scopes.  I'm going to make a pick-up run.  Stand
by." 
	Grinning for the first time that night, Bert said, "I'll be up in
a little while.  I've got an old friend waiting for me." 
	Sylia's voice was stiff with sudden disapproval, "Bert, leave her
alone." 
	"Awww, and miss all the fun?  Come on, she at least deserves a
chance at me." 
	Obviously frustrated, Sylia replied, "Make it quick? Our energy
reserves are low and, since she just showed up, the Chief Inspector might
end up taking you in." 
	"Don't worry about me, Sylia.  I've got quite a bit of power
left."  he chuckled, "Trust me, I know what I'm doing." 
	The figure in black started towards SkyKnight, "Hold it mercenary. 
You're under arrest." 
	The silver and blue suit bowed to her, "Ah, Chief Inspector.  So
good to see you again.  I trust you have been well?" 
	"Forget the pleasantries bastard.  No more kids gloves. I'm taking
you in tonight, and I'm going to get a hell of a lot of answers out of
you."  Hitomi's voice had an unusually cold tone to it, unlike the other
times that she had confronted him.  "You've got a lot to answer for, and
I'm going to find out what you did to one of my officers!" 
	Before Bert could figure out what she meant, the Chief had quickly
closed the intervening space and, using a power assisted turn, tossed him
over his shoulders and onto his back.  "YOWW!  That hurt!" 
	"It's going to hurt more unless you tell me where you've hidden
McNichol." she said as she grabbed the front of his suit, raising his
helmet up so that the eyeslots on his visor were close to her visored
face, "Where the hell did you stash him after your meeting yesterday." 
	Bert broke her hold.  "What the hell are you talking about?  I
haven't seen McNichol since the last boomer incident we were both at!" 
	For the first time, the black and silver suit hesitated.  Then she
did what she had never done before when facing him.  She pulled her
lightsaber off the belt attachment on her armour and turned it on.  "I
don't believe you.  He got a message with your armoured voice telling him
to meet him at some secret rendezvous he didn't tell me about, and then
disappeared.  I want him back, and I'm not going to stop until I get him." 
	SkyKnight barely had time to activate one of his own lightsabers
to stop her attack and quickly backed away, activating his flight system. 
	As he rose to the roof tops, he heard, "Not this time, you
shitheaded mercenary!" and felt something grab his legs. Looking down, he
was surprised to see that Hitomi had grabbed him, and was somehow managing
to pull him back down.  He grabbed one of her arms and pulled her up,
"Look, I don't know where McNichol is, but I'll try to find him.?" 
	She snarled, "Not this time!" and slapped her free hand against
his chest. 
	Bert screamed suddenly in indescribable agony. 

***

	Priss' head suddenly exploded in agony.  She had been practicing a
balancing and levitation exercise, using a balance beam set three inches
above the ground, when and incredible surge of pain reached her.  Her last
thought before passing out was that something had happened to Bert. 

***

	On the rooftop they had fallen to, the Chief Inspector deactivated
her suit, turning it into ordinary looking street clothes.  "I've finally
got you, you bastard." She muttered as she looked at her prize.  Reaching
down she tried to pry open the visor, but couldn't do so.  "Locked eh? 
Not for long buddy."  Hitomi reached for her radio while she spoke into
her helmet mike.  "Elder sister?  ADP will be shipping you a package to
open.  It turned out he's vulnerable to an EMP." 

***

	"Damn it!  Where is he?" Sylia grated as she paced back and forth
in the small space available in the KnightWing. "He should have been here
by now." 
	Sylvie smiled, "Knowing Bert, he's probably tormenting the Chief
Inspector with his bad jokes and puns." 
	The white armoured leader of the Knight Sabers growled as Linna
started to giggle at that comment.  "He could at least have a little
consideration for her.  It's the first time I've ever seen him go out of
his way to bother a police officer.  I still don't understand why he does
it, or why she hasn't taken sterner measures." 
	Nene was monitoring the police bands, hiding a small smile.  She
knew that to the two of them, this was a competition to see who was the
better warrior, the better protector.  The two of them had never talked
about it much, but she knew that Bert respected...She gasped as she heard
the news coming over the police band, "Sylia, I think you better hear
this." 
	Sylia came over and started to swear loudly when she heard the
various people chattering over the bandwidth.  "I hope the three of you
had a chance to recharge your suits because it looks like we have to
rescue him.  Somehow, the Chief has managed to knock him unconscious." 
	Linna and Sylvie stopped laughing as Sylia took over the controls
to the highly sophisticated stealth jump-jet. Anri went through her suit's
diagnostics and pulled up her onboard copy of Bert's medical profile. 
Given Bert's tendencies to get hurt, she replaced the normal emergency
field pack with the larger and more complete operative procedures field
pack. 

***

	"Do you think he actually knows where Leon is, Chief?" Daley
asked, a little nervous given the anger that Hitomi had been displaying. 
"I mean, it's completely unlike what we know of him." 
	"And what exactly do we know about him?  He's a mercenary, he uses
illegal weapons, he is egotistical, and he loves to fight.  SkyKnight also
breaks a lot of flight laws and regulations.  He's a danger to both our
air support and to the hypersonics arriving everyday, especially with that
damned riding jet he uses." 
	"But Chief, he usually helps us out of trouble with the boomers,
and he's always rushed people to hospital as best he could.  Couldn't we
just wake him up and ask him nicely if he would help find Leon?" 
	The Chief looked at Daley.  Of all the people on the force, she
would have suspected him of being more anxious than her to find the
missing officer.  Given her sister's particular preferences, and the
people she had met in university, Hitomi wasn't blind to the infatuation
that Daley had on Leon.  Usually the department frowned upon this, and
reassigned any officer who had an infatuation with their partner.  In this
case, Inspector Ichinohei had never seen the point in doing so, as the two
were her finest investigative team.  Besides, Leon didn't know about it,
or if he did, he wasn't letting on.  As far as she could tell, Leon only
thought of Daley and himself as good friends. "We'll find McNichol, and
when we do, it will be without the help of this...this...It will be
without his help." 
	Daley shook his head as a specially secured transport truck came
up to take the silver garbed Knight Saber away to some company. 

***

	Sylia was looking down from above, about to order the others into
action, when she noticed the person who had gotten out of the truck and
greeted Inspector Ichinohei. She enhanced her visuals and took a good look
at the person. She was slightly taller than the Chief, with short black
hair and a very cold, calculating demeanor and look.  ", back to the
KnightWing.  We're going back to home." 
	The three women who had been about to leap down on the police
turned to look at their leader.  Nene was the first of them to voice her
concerns, "WHY!  Bert's been captured, and once they get the armour off of
him, they'll be able to find the rest of us." 
	Sylia voice was calm as she replied, "Bert will be fine.  He'll
also be released when he wakes up, without his suit having been examined." 
She walked to the entry ramp of the KnightWing without further comment. 

***

	"It seems that you have finally been successful in capturing him,
Hitomi." the black haired girl stated. 
	Hitomi grinned suddenly, "It seems I have, and without resorting
to illegal tactics either." 
	"True, but illegal means have their places too. Remember,
authority is not always right." 
	"Perhaps, but then again, defiance without just cause is always
hurtful to the innocent." 
	There was a distinct chuckle coming from the woman as the officers
loaded the very still Knight Saber into the back of the van.  "Well,
getting him out of that will be a nice puzzle to solve.  I like the
design." 
	Hitomi sighed.  It was going to be one of those days... 

***

	Priss awoke slowly, not feeling all that good, and wondering what
she was doing sleeping outside.  She suddenly remembered what had happened
and sat up quickly. 
	Big mistake. 
	What had been a small pain exploded behind her eyes and she
collapsed again.  "Goddess' above, what a headache!" She got up more
slowly this time, mindful of her head and went to the kitchen.  If she was
still feeling this amount of pain, then Bert was in BIG trouble.  Whatever
had taken him out had to have hurt him like hell.  She had to find him
quickly. 
	"I would suggest you wait, although I doubt you'll listen to me."
Luke's voice said. 
	Priss turned, "No, I'm not going to wait is right. Besides, I seem
to remember you doing something similar once upon a time." 
	"True.  Before you leave, however, how about the two of us having
some hot chocolate." He said, guiding her towards the table.  "I'll make
some while you take a painkiller. Your head must be flashing more than
mine is." 
	"Wait a second," she looked carefully at the Jedi Master, "you
felt that?" 
	"Of course I felt it Priss.  It was quite a tremour that Bert
caused in the Force.  With the possible exception of one person, and she
was not really a Jedi, he has the strongest force potential ever
recorded." 
	She watched him puttering around the kitchen for a while as he
gathered up the various ingredients to make what was his favourite drink. 
"You know, I just thought of something.  Why is it, if you're an
insubstantial ghost to most people, you can eat, drink, move objects
around, and need to sleep?" 
	Luke looked back at her from where he was slowly melting the
chocolate in the pot, "Because I never really died."  Seeing the look of
confusion on her face, he continued, "Normally, what I'm about to tell you
is kept away from young Jedi.  What people think is that a Jedi surrenders
himself to the force when the inevitable end comes.  The truth both
simpler and more complex than that. You see, what happens is that a Jedi
becomes one with the Force." 
	He poured in the heavy cream and sugar, stirring the liquid with a
practiced hand.  "Before you ask what I mean, let's start with what the
Force is.  The energy fields that we refer to as 'The Force' are not only
psionics, although that is a large part of it, and it isn't magic,
although that is involved as well.  The Force is really an amalgamation of
both of these fundamental energies that form all universes." 
	"You told me this."  Priss stated calmly, "But that still doesn't
explain how you can say that you're not dead when, according to you, you
died several centuries ago." 
	"True."  Luke replied as he poured the steaming brown liquid into
two mugs.  "What I neglected to mention is that it is also the life-force
of an individual that is the unsaid equation in what the Force really is." 
He brought the cups over to the table and gave one to Priss, "The life
force actually passes from one dimension to another, and is bound up with
anti-life, or death.  At some point, these two forces cancel out each
other and that is where I actually am.  In a way I'm both dead and alive,
in another I don't really exist." 
	Priss sipped slowly, "Is that what will happen to me?" 
	Luke smiled in an innocent looking manner, "Someday perhaps." 

***

Hitomi

Ichinohei Hitomi
Hitomi@terminal.autobahn.mb.ca
http://204.112.189.3/~hitomi
"The beginings of wisdom is the ability to always ask questions."