Snippage throughout...
>Whereas the ground was dominated by the living, the
>massive buildings that were built so close together
>commanded the skies by seeming to stretch all the way to
>the heavens. They hemmed the populous in as though the
>streets were nothing more than an enormous maze designed
>for the gods to watch the indigenous population of
>Zanibat, the largest city on Delabar, scurry around like
>giant colony of lab rats.
like *a* giant colony
>"Gee, there's seems to be an awful lot of people still
>alive for a place that Zeiram was supposed to be hanging
>out," Kei said.
place *where* Zeiram
>"This is odd," Yuri admitted to Kei as she narrowly
>avoided being trampled by a small herd of commuters that
>were frantically scurrying about. Apparently
Apparently,
>getting to
>work at the last minute was a habit indigenous to the
>population of Zanibat, if not the entire planet.
>
[snip]
>xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>"How could it possibly take over half an hour to walk
>lousy two blocks?" Iria grumbled.
walk *a* lousy
>"It looks like they don't take their literature as
>seriously as they do their other businesses," Yuri stated
>blandly as she compared it to the other structures. The
>other buildings still had many people going in and out of
>their doors. The library had nary a soul to do either. At
>least it meant they could probably get a computer link right away/
away.
>The trio of women entered and were surprised to see that
>the interior contrasted sharply with the outside. Bland
>and indifferent without, the inside was a menagerie of
>bright colors, from blazing red carpeting to banana
>yellow walls that would make one believe that if they
>peeled the plaster away a white fruit would be found underneath.
>
>"Reminds me of your apartment," Yuri commented to Kei.
>
>Through two sets of transparent doors, the women entered
>the lobby and saw an obese man sleeping upright in a one
>of the comfortable chairs lining the entryway. He was
>dressed in an outfit that identified him as a security
>guard who was currently securing as much sleep as he
>could. Beyond him was a long, semi-circular desk that
>stretched nearly the entire length of the lobby. To the
>right and left were the entrance and exits to the library
>proper. A mechanical laser marker and pass system to
>count the number of people that entered the library was
>next to them. Behind and above the desk, in large red
>lettering, was the word, 'Greetings.'
>
>There was but one person manning the massive front desk.
>A single,
No comma; otherwise, it carries the suggestion that she is
unmarried. :)
>blonde woman that was young and wore a business
>suit that looked more suited for a boardroom than a
>receptionist.
You've got a sentence fragment, now. Suggest:
There was but one person manning the massive
front desk, a young blonde woman wearing a
business suit more suited for a boardroom
than a library reception desk.
>Kei noted the girl was far more attractive
>than the squirrelish types she had become familiar with
>in the few libraries she had been in during her life.
>Curiously, it was almost always older and more shrewish
>women that were the norm at most places; an odd universal
>constant whose reasons escaped Kei.
>
>The librarian, Janet Nagumo, turned her attention from
>her pile of paperwork and looked the three newcomers
>over. The assessment was cursory and concise: two bimbos
>wearing little more than overly large bikinis with
>sidearms strapped to their hips and a third, older woman
>that was shorter than the others and less bimbo looking.
bimbo-looking.
>Janet shot to her feet and began wagging her finger at
>Yuri. "Yes, you do. Part of my job was to help manage all
>of the payments to the grievances that were filed against
>you for the damage you inflicted on the galaxy at large.
>That was one of the reasons I quit. You guys were
>personally responsible for making me work around the clock!"
>
>"Are you sure it wasn't your pitbull like
pitbull-like
>demeanor that
>failed to endear yourself to your coworkers which drove
>you away?" Yuri said with a sly smile as she leaned
>forward and over the desk.
>
[snip]
>Kei answered, "Hell, yeah. We went out for almost six
>months and I really liked hi... hey! How did you know
>about that?!"
>
>Janet shook her head sadly. "I was afraid of that. He
>must have forgot to mention that the sex with me was ten
>times better too."
better, too."
>"I wish I had your people skills."
>
>"Oh, be quiet," Kei snapped back at Iria.
>
>A smile crept across Iria's features despite her fiercest
>attempts at hiding it. Watching Kei in action had been
>amusing. Still, she was uncertain if she would have dealt
>with the situation any better than troubleshooters had.
than *the* troubleshooters
>"Blech. Don't they have real people here to work the
>place?" Kei never cared much for robots doing other
>people's jobs. Part of that was because so many of the
>darn things had tried to kill her in the past, though she
>supposed that was
that *she* was
>a bit biased since far more human
>beings had tried to kill her than robots. And most of the
>time the robots were acting under orders from other
>people. Still, she preferred dealing with human beings
>rather than machines. Flesh and blood were far more
>unpredictable and interesting than a robot that only
>performed whatever functions it was programmed to do.
[snip]
>The robot picked up where it had left off. "As I was
>saying, he decided to create a suppository of information
>that would benefit everyone. However, he was afraid that
>there might be some sort of cataclysm that would wipe our
>ability to employ technology, or somehow eliminate access
>to the information net. For without the ability to build
>upon the knowledge of others, the centuries of
>advancement of civilization could possibly be lost within
>a generation. So he created hard copies of the
>information that would more commonly be stored on
>datadisks. Before you is the greatest suppository of books -"
>
>Kei began giggling. "Hey, Yuri. Why not try their War and
>Peace enema? I hear it's long, but satisfying, just the
>way you like it."
HAHAHAHA!!!
>"Did I say something humorous?" the robot asked.
>
>"Just continue." Yuri shot Kei a warning glare that
>seemed to not affect her partner in the least.
>
>The robot did as it was ordered. "Before you is the
>greatest suppository of books in this section of the
>galaxy. Mr. Benjamin Dover invested the majority of his
>billions into the library. It took over a hundred people
>ten years to track down all of these original books and
>another three years to restore them to their high
>quality. Nowhere is there a collection that is as
>comprehensive or as vast as this. If I was capable of
>pride, I would be proud to announce that the library is
>scheduled to be classified as one of the modern wonders
>of Delabar."
>
>"Ha, ha! I can see it now!" Kei interrupted, barely able
>to speak between laughs. "Come to Delabar and see the Ben
>Dover Book Suppository, where you'll leave sore but
>smarter. WAHAHA!"
:) The same thing could be said of hanging out with the Dirty Pair.
>Shrugging, Alan said, "Couldn't be helped. I managed to
>pick up a, shall we say, companion that elected to spend
>the night with me. She was very reluctant to let me go
>when she awoke this morning." He unleashed a wolfish grin.
>
>Conroy made no effort to hide his jealousy. "I don't know
>how you manage to pick up so many women. Good looking ones too."
ones, too."
Must be that majestic worker-ant personality that lands him all that
female company. :P
>Alan put another shot in each of the guards' heads before
>closing the door behind him and moving to the primary
>computer in the room. His information had been specific
>about the capabilities of the system and the passwords
>involved in accessing it. With time wasting, he simply
>shot off the metal plate to the interior of the machine
>and pulled out several of the circuit boards, replacing
>them with the ones he carried. He turned on the system,
>disabled all of the internal alarms and exterior
>communication, save at the computers that the women were
>using. He then went to the robot command protocols and
>typed in a new set of instruction.
instructions.
>That was where his new
>circuit boards would be most useful, disabling all of the
>fail-safe devices in the robots' design and instantly
>allowing them to operate with the new set of commands
>Alan entered. He slaved the robots to a small keypad he
>carried with him. Typing a brief command in the keypad,
>he found his order accepted. All was in readiness.
>
>He looked at the security cameras on the fifth floor of
>the building. All three of his targets were still present
>and in the exact same position he had expected them to be
>in. Satisfied that the second step of his plan was now in
>place, and that he still had time to get to his targets,
>he exited them
the
?room, closing the door behind him and
>blasting the control pad. It was suspicious, but not as
>condemning as someone finding three dead bodies in the room.
>
>Moving with the fluid grace of an animal stalking its
>prey, Alan went to a back set of stairs that lay well out
>of sight of his targets and rushed up to their floor. The
>entire layout of the level still resided in the datafile
>in his mind and the quickest path that would afford him
>the most concealment was plotted. Pulling out the
>multi-optics band from its pocket, he placed it on the
>top of his head and then removed his trenchcoat and
>proceeded to stuff it in an open place high on one of the
>shelves. Leaving it on would be a risk, the long garment
>possibly catching on something and slowing him down for
>an instant at the worst possible moment. An instants
instant
>was
>the unit of time where life and death resided.
>
>Alan was still in the processes of tucking the garment
>out of sight when an elderly woman
extra space
>rounded the far end
>of the shelves about ten feet away. A soft gasp escaped
>her lips as her eyes fell upon the gun in Alan's holster.
>
>The reaction was instantaneous. Alan brought his arm up
>and hit a button on the side of the housing unit attached
>to his wrist. There was a soft, whirring sound as the
>necro-lash ripped through the air, little more than a
>white blur. It was not energized as it wrapped itself
>around the woman's throat and bit deep, preventing her
>from managing even the soft whisper of a gasp. Had it
>been powered up, it would have lopped the woman's head
>off as easily as a molecular blade, but there would have
>been an accompanying crack and the distinctive odor of
>ozone had Alan employed that function. Instead, with the
>metal cord around the unfortunate stranger's throat, he
>jerked hard, snapping her neck before she could do more
>than bring her hands up in to her throat in a
>half-completed, futile gesture of trying to remove the
>lash from her neck.
>
>Leaving the cord around her neck, he dragged the body
>towards him and as out of sight as possible between the
>rows of shelves. A quick look into the main aisle showed
>no one present to have witnessed the killing.
>
>Now it was more a matter of time than ever. Even as
>deserted as the library was at this time of day and as
>far to the back as Alan was on this floor, someone would
>stumble upon the dead woman soon enough and alert the
>remaining staff. He had to move fast.
>
>Silently, he maneuvered between the long rows of shelves,
>moving as quickly as he dared as he drew nearer the
Remove extra "the".
>to
>the targets. Luck was with him as he encountered no one
>else and drew into position several meters away from the
>women, hidden behind another, smaller row of shelves that
>were common in this section, interlaced between the
>handful of computer banks present. All three had their
>backs to him. He identified each in turn: Iria, the
>bounty hunter was sitting at the computer itself, the
>troubleshooters, Kei and Yuri, standing to the side in
>obvious agitation. Their attention was completely riveted
>to the computer screen, just as Alan had hoped. There had
>been a few distractions along the way, but overall the
>plan had held together. Within minutes his job would be
>completed and he would depart, hopefully without further
>incident. Then he could hear about his handiwork on the
>evening news as he waited to receive his bonus for the
>successful completion of his mission.
[snip]
>"Good idea," Kei agreed, though she would have been happy
>to leave now and never set foot in the stupid building
>ever again. And she sure as hell wasn't going to check
>out any books.
>
>Iria's eyes bored into the screen as she scowled at it in
>anger. This was one of the reasons she preferred allowing
>Bob to deal with computer.
computers.
>Reluctantly, Kei assented. Yuri nodded to let them know
>she was ready. Kei went to the far end of the shelves and
>around them, partially abandoning her cover so that she
>would have a slightly better angle at hitting their
>mysterious assailant. Kei would cover the section closest
>to Iria; the most likely place that the gunman would fire
>from. There was an increased risk involved for Kei to
>even partially reveal herself, but there was no way she
>would allow this creep to come close to injuring mentor.
injuring *her* mentor.
>She'd sooner let herself be shot than allow that to happen.
>
>Yuri popped up from behind her the
Omit "her".
>computer desk and
>pointed her gun at the shelves. Iria had her own pistol
>out and tensed up, ready to run. Taking a deep breath to
>calm herself, Iria nodded once and started to run.
[snip]
>Finding himself unexpectedly under fire, Alan darted back
>under cover rather than risk a shot at Kei. Hoping the
>move would buy him a few moments, he examined the
>condition of his gun. Melted metal and open wiring told
>him all he needed to. With a snarl he tossed the useless
>weapon aside and activated his necro-lash, this time
>charging it up. He considered employing the experimental
>weapon, but quickly pushed it from his mind as he found
>himself reluctant to use
Omit "use".
>'test' it in the field now. It
>would be better to rely upon something he was familiar
>with than to risk it all with something he was uncertain
>would even work.
[snip]
>Another one came at them from the side and forced Kei to
>open fire. She was beginning to get worried. Not so much
>for herself, but for Iria, who was now on her own. True,
>the bounty hunter had done all right operating alone for
>years, but that did nothing to assuage Kei's fears. If
>anything happened to Iria while she was dealing with a
>pack of rolling garbage cans, she was never going to
>forgive herself.
Oh, the indignity of a 'garbage can' taking *you* out. ^_^
>Making herself flat against yet another row of shelves,
>Iria took her eyes off where she thought the gunman had
>darted to see what Kei and Yuri were shooting at. It took
>only a moment to figure out what was going on as she saw
>another robot reduced to expensive debris under the
>women's concentrated fire. Returning her attention to her
>former opponent, Iria made a mental note to shoot any of
>the AR-10's that tried to get close to her.
>
>The gunman was the one behind the robots sudden spree; of
>that Iria was certain. Hopefully, killing him would end
>their rampage. If not, then the repair bill for the
>library was going to be even more substantial than it
>already was. But there were more important thing
things
>to be
>concerned about than money, like her continued health.
[snip]
>Stunned for but a moment, Alan lay on his back, out of
>Iria's sight, and assessed the damage from the blast. He
>had been closer and taken the worst of it, at least
>bruising some ribs if not breaking them outright.
>Moreover
Moreover,
>he lacked the armor Iria wore, meaning she was
>almost certainly in better shape than him, as well as
>obviously being better armed. There had been no mention
>in the woman's dossier of bring a walking arsenal.
>
>The sound of something crackling at his wrist caught his
>attention. His guts knotted deep as he looked down to see
>that the housing unit for the necro-lash had been cracked
>open, either from explosion of landing. A quick check
>showed the weapon useless. Cursing in silence he hit the
>manual release of the weapon and let fall to the ground.
>He was down to only one offensive weapon left; just a
>standard stiletto.
>
>Now he had a choice. There was a chance he could escape.
>Then he could report what had happened and hope to be
>left in the field despite his failure. It was possible;
>his employers despised wasting any resource. And even if
>he was demoted it would only mean a paycut and no chance
>of ever advancing again unless he fell into favor with a
>superior who would elevate him to a field operative once again.
>
>But no. Pride prohibited him from accepting failure as an
>option. Win or lose, he would gamble with his life and
>hope his skills were enough to pull him through. Either
>that or get extremely lucky, though he had always been of
>the opinion luck was one of his many skills. It was time
>to put that theory to the ultimate test.
>
>Smoke filled the air and the room became hotter as the
>incendiary device had done its work too well despite
>being muted. All too combustible books had caught on fire
>all around and it was spreading, becoming a miniature
>inferno.
Suggest: The all-too-combustible books had caught fire, and it was
spreading, becoming a miniature inferno.
>The configuration of the battlefield had
>changed, more in his favor than Iria's. It might be
>enough to allow him to complete his mission. It had to be.
>
>It was time to risk using the prototype. In theory,
>activating it should be no problem for it had worked in
>the testing facilities. But that had been under ideal
>conditions, and one of the suspected drawbacks of the
>device was that it wasn't very durable. After being
>hammered in the explosion and with all of the other
>combat it had seen in the last couple of minutes (an
>eternity, to Alan's perceptions), it would take a minor
>miracle for the devise
device
>to still be operational.
Split infinitive: to be still operational.
[big snip]
>Yuri sighed as Kei shouted "Wait for me," and tried to
>catch up to Iria without giving the raven-haired
>troubleshooter so much as a backward glance. Between what
>had happened with the space station and the library,
>there could no longer be any doubts. It had spelled out
>things beyond a shadow of a doubt.
>
>It had turned into another one of 'those' missions again.
>
>"I'm almost getting too old for this," Yuri sighed as she
>shouted at Kei to wait up because of her bad leg.
Hehehe. The Dirty Pair are holding true to form, all right. ^_^
>Yep, this is turning out to be a little longer than I
>originally thought. Still, hope you stick around for the
>ride. Hopefully next chapter will be out sooner, once I
>get a little more time to write. Things are still moving
>a little slowly, by necessity as the plot thickens, but
>expect things to move along a little faster in a chapter or two.
Very good, DB. The thick plottens, errr, the plot thickens. Look
forward to the next chapter.
Dave
*******************************************
D.F. Roeder
FanFiction - http://www.flash.net/~dfroeder/index.html