And on to this:
Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot
Chapter 3
$Ah, fun. Let's destroy something.
Always with the DP involved.
Used most of your grammar recommendations.
An ocean of brightly dressed people seemingly stretched from one side of
the
downtown street to the other as the mass of commuters hurried across the
road, emerged or entered buildings, accosted street vendors, darted in
between cars and massive transport trucks, or moved quickly in what
appeared
to be giant circles.
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
$population?
Same idea. I thought in that case either word could be used. Will look it up
and see if it is actually correct.
"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.
$Well, it's wrong, but I say stuff like that all the time, so... Your
call.
should actually be just 'there'. Will change.
"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
$Small herd? I thought it was big?
It was a small group that broke off from the main herd to go in a different
direction. Might reword it to make that more clear.
getting to work at the last minute was a habit indigenous to the
population
of Zanibat, if not the entire planet.
<snip>
take out before dinnertime. But she had wanted him dead this instant.
Every
minute of the trip to Delabar, which had only taken a day, made her hatred
of Zeiram increase. Upon seeing the static-filled image from the station's
camera of Zeiram, Iria had picked up the same impression Kei had: this was
the exact same monster that she had killed before. Working from Kei's
assumption had been a driving force before viewing the tape, but now that
feeling had tripled as Iria felt the suspicions satisfied within herself.
$That last sentance is a bit odd, there.
Will rewrite. It is bad.
'
Too much was unknown. They needed to find Zeiram and the mystery behind
his
resurrection. "What's the nearest public access building?" she asked Bob.
Power ran through a neural net, accessing systems that Bob thought of in
terms of actual memory rather than electronically stored pieces of data.
"The Benjamin Dover Library is located only a couple of blocks southeast
of
here.
$Ben Dover Library?
Intentional.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"How could it possibly take over half an hour to walk lousy two blocks?"
Iria grumbled.
$Kei: You're the one that wanted to window shop on the way!
Heh.
Kei shrugged. "I think it was because we were fighting the flow of traffic
instead of going with it. It would have taken us even longer if things
hadn't died off at the end."
$I guess if everything died off, they've already found Zeiram.
Heh, again.
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
$You went from one believe... to if they... I'm not sure, not being
familiar with that style of writing, but is that a plurality error?
Perhaps. Will look it over.
a white fruit would be found underneath.
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.'
$Saving them the effort of saying it themselves, naturally. Methinks
these
be efficient people.
Yep. Very busy. Wanted to catch the flavor of the place and the 'hurry,
efficiency' mentality of it. That's why that 'Places to go' phrase keeps
popping up.
There was but one person manning the massive front desk. A single, blonde
woman that was young and wore a business suit that looked more suited for
a
$Hmm, maybe: A young blonde woman in a business suit that looked more
suited for a boardroom than a receptionist sat by herself, doing her
nails.
Yep. Better.
boardroom than a receptionist. 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.
$She'd understand later in life, when her tenure with the 3WA was up and
she was forced to find other employment to support herself. Sadly, she'd
never been able to find a husband to do it for her.
Hehehehehehe. Oh how evil. :)
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. She bore a distinctive mole on her left
cheek
and wore a worn-looking brown cloak that hid her torso from sight, but
allowed the white and black body armor that covered her legs to show
clearly. She even had a pair of high-tech goggles resting on the top of
her
head, completing the macho, ready for action look. Janet hated women like
this; they reminded her of her old job.
$What, annoyingly cute sidekick?
Nah. Having to deal with DP fallout. Ironically, Janet is right on the nose
with her bad feeling.
"Most people don't come here armed if they're looking for information." As
Janet watched the trio carefully, a vague sense of unease began to take
root. There was something about the two bimbos that seemed familiar to
her.
Time was wasting. Yuri said, "We need access to your computers."
$Awkward. Redo.
Oh? Sounded okay to me. What do you recommend?
"I doubt if they'll do you any good. There's no voice activation system so
you need to be able to spell to use them."
Kei suppressed the urge to pistol whip the girl, no matter how badly she
deserved it. "Look, we're troubleshooters with the 3WA."
"And I used to be an accountant with them before coming to my senses and
quitting," Janet retorted. "That doesn't give you the right to come
barging
in here arm..." her voice trailed off as her eyes widened and she gasped.
"Oh, crap! You're the Lovely Angels, I mean Dirty Pair, aren't you?"
$Interesting correction.
Only the 3WA actually refers to them as the LA. It was a reflex on Janet's
part, which she then decided to change to a deliberate insult since she
can't stand either of them.
"I want to see that authorization in writing." Janet held out her hand.
"It's an emergency situation and lives are at stake so we don't have to,"
Yuri said, crossing her arms, content that she had the upper hand.
$Yuri: So there. Nya!
Pretty much.
Toby looked the women over, assessed the situation, and reacted
accordingly.
"They don't look armed to me." He sat back in the chair and closed his
eyes
again.
$Bright boy. Far too intelligent for his current job.
Heh. True. His self-preservation instincts actually work pretty well.
Regardless, Janet crossed her arms defiantly. "No. I know you two. You're
going to blow the place up and leave me without a job, and maybe without a
life too."
$K&Y: That can be arranged.
Well, Janet was half right.
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!"
$But they're not guys.
Heh.
"Those were based on my recommendations."
It was Yuri's turn to suppress pistol whipping the woman, no matter how
much
better it would have made her feel.
$Geez, all that training and experience and they still don't know how to
use a pistol properly. It's for shooting things, not clubbing!
Not if you just want to rough them up without killing them.
As a final gesture of contempt, she stuck her tongue out at Kei.
$Kei: Oh, I see now, I should have guessed. He'd been looking for a girl
that didn't mind buggery, and I guess he finally found one. Slut.
Hehehehehehe. Such a dirty mind you have.
It took all of Iria and Yuri's strength to restrain the redhead from
storming back and twisting Janet into a human pretzel. Unsalted, of
course.
$But the salt makes it hurt more.
Ah, true. Hadn't thought of that.
Once Kei was calmed down enough for the other women to escort her further
into the library and out of sight, Janet slammed the ruined piece of metal
into the desktop. She turned to relieve her irritation at the nearest
available target.
Taped to the chair, written in a barely legible scrawl was a note. It
said:
"Emergency root canal. Won't be back for a few days. Places to go. Toby."
$And thus, he lives.
Yep. Good call.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"I wish I had your people skills."
"Oh, be quiet," Kei snapped back at Iria.
$Actually, I thought she rather did.
Did what?
The trio moved to an open area in what they assumed was the center of the
building. Looking up they could see the sunlight pouring through the
skylight ten floors up. Open stairways led upward to each level that was
surrounded by what appeared to be blackened wrought iron railings that
would
have been more appropriate for an outdoor balcony than the interior of a
modern building.
$I'll lay odds that someone will end up impaled on those a la a John Woo
film.
Nope. Didn't notice that as being in a lot of JW films. Lots of blood
bursting out of chest's from guns with infinite rounds 'a la 'Hard Boiled.'
A voice drifted from behind a section of shelves. "That is because of
specific instructions left by the founder of the library, Mr. Benjamin
Dover."
$Not a guy you'd want to meet in jail.
Nope. No sir. Not at all.
The speaker wheeled into view from the set of library shelves it had been
returning books to. All three of the women recognized the model of robot
by
sight: an AR-10 Manservant Droid. Built low to the ground and having the
general shape of a garbage can, the robots only came as high as Iria's
chest, the smallest of the women present. There were movable plates on the
outside that opened to allow a multitude of slender utility arms to emerge
from the main body of the robot. Each limb possessed a different tool that
had a specific function. They were a versatile item that had a limited
amount of popularity on the open market about five years ago due to their
low cost. But since then they had lost what favor they had to newer, more
efficient, and less twitchy models that were being manufactured.
$Not to mention that no one really wanted to be reminded of R2D2
everywhere
they went.
Yeah. That is their basic design.
"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 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.
$Clearly, she's never had to deal with my computer.
Heh. Nor mine, for that matter.
"There are a handful of security guards, maintenance personal, and human
librarians to deal with certain tasks," the robot explained. "But the
majority of work is handled by myself and fellow siblings of the AR
series.
There are over a hundred of us to deal with the maintenance of books and
other materials in the library, as per Mr. Benjamin Dover instructions. He
felt we would be more efficient in upkeeping the physical written material
within the building than humans would. I am proud to say that during the
five year tenure here not one page has even been accidentally creased by
myself or any other siblings of my series."
$According to instructions, however... Add to that that the library
appears to see about one person per year, and I doubt the robots run
around
randomly picking up books.
Heh. True.
"What was that you were saying about Mr. Dover wanting so many real books
here?" Yuri asked. She could not recall the last time she had seen such in
incredible sum of written material in one place, except for the forms'
center in 3WA headquarters. That building was at least three times as
large
and packed to the top. Nowadays only collectors, primitive cultures, or
traditionalists tended to use or even want written books. Most people
found
electronic information more convenient. Yuri admitted that was the way
things had to be, but she still had a weakness for paying the extra money
for a real book now and then, especially for her favorites: harlequin
romance novels. Kei had always criticized them as 'corny smut that was
better used to wipe your ass with than read,' but Kei was tasteless, so
Yuri
understood and accepted the completely invalid criticism.
$As opposed to Yuri's bad taste. Always considered myself tasteless as
well.
I defintely have bad taste myself. I think it shows quite well in my
writing. :)
The robot 'cleared' his throat, similar to how Bob usually did to gain the
others' attention. "Mr. Benjamin Dover was one of the wealthiest men on
the
planet, making his fortune from brokering information. When he was towards
the end of his life, he decided he wanted a suppository of information
that -"
$Ah, I see you did it on purpose.
Oh yes. That was no accident.
"Wait a minute!" Iria interrupted. "What was that again?"
The robot began repeating what it had previously said. "I said that when
he
was towards the end of his life, he decided he wanted a suppository of-"
"Hold on," Iria interrupted again. "Do you mean 'repository'?"
The robot processed the information. "Yes. That was it. Sorry about that.
Programming glitch."
$Un hunh.
Of course it was. Microsquash product, don't you know.
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."
$Some things you don't want your friends running around telling others.
Oh yes. You got that right. None of them know I'm on this list for that very
reason.
"Did I say something humorous?" the robot asked.
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."
$Oooh, ahhh...
Heh
"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!"
$Heh heh.
Pretty much the punchline there.
Yuri's face turned red in fury at the childish behavior. Before she could
say a word, Iria gave a curt, "Knock it off." Much to Yuri's surprise, Kei
did so instantly, even going so far as to say she was sorry and placed her
hands behind her back in shame. A sincerely contrite Kei was not something
Yuri had seen all that often even after a decade of being partners. In a
way, it was disturbing to see her acting so docile. But not so much that
Yuri failed to wonder if she could do the same thing. She'd have to get
Iria
to give her some pointers.
$Iria: Well, first you have to turn her into your willing but still feisty
slave for a few years, then...
Iria: Nah. It just involved lots of beatings and the 'Room of Fire'
"Then how would you know if they're enjoyable or not?"
The robot was silent for a moment. Then it began to utter a continuous
string of, "I... I... I..." By the time it had hit the twentieth one in
rapid succession, it began jiggling and smoke poured out of its top.
$Execute operator now error.
Hehehehe.
There was a loud squawk by the robot as flames shot out of the round
groove
the swiveling top was attached to. Like a rocket at blast off, the head
suddenly shot up and into the air and going almost as high as the sixth
level before losing its velocity and falling back down, nearly landing on
Iria in the process. It bounced once before coming to a stop on the floor.
"It's not my fault," Kei said.
$I've heard that one before.
Ditto. It's like painting 'I'm responsible' on your forehead.
"Yes, it is," Iria and Yuri said simultaneously.
Bob suddenly came to life on Iria's wrist. "Are you going to stick around
and explain things?"
$No, she just doesn't like to go up like normal people.
Yep. :)
Bingo
"Allow me," Iria said. Yuri deferred to her and got up so that Iria could
sit next to the keyboard, despite the fact she was not going to be the
using
it. Yuri pulled up a third chair while Iria plugged Bob into the system.
"Now we wait." Iria kicked back in her chair, Kei and Yuri following suit.
$The lazy woman's way of hacking.
Yep. Smart cookie. I'd do it that way too if I could.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Alan Wierzbaski hurried past the seemingly endless series of identical
$Interesting name. I'm probably missing something there.
Nope. Just randomly made up.
cubicles until he arrived at the one designated as his, differentiated
from
its fellow cubicles only by the number engraved on the slot next to the
opening to it. Megashorne and Valoxy would not even allow their workers'
names to be assigned to their workspace. 'Individuality negatively affects
work performance', or so it was stated in one of the endless sea of memos
that were circulated to the workers every day.
$Ah, but sunlight is proven to help effeciency. And it's cheap, too.
But hard to pump in to a windowless 60 story megastructure. Besides, it
would make the worker ants long for freedom.
Alan tossed his trenchcoat, then his briefcase on one of the few open
spaces
on his desk and plopped himself down in his chair with an audible thump.
The
cubical was cramped with barely enough room for him to work, but at least
he
could partially stretch out his legs if he pushed the back of the wheeled
chair flush with the desktop next to his computer. And he could
definitely,
one hundred percent plop. He had enough room for that, and when all was
said
and done, wasn't that all a working man needed to make him happy?
$Well, that and beer.
True.
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."
$<skip ahead, then return> He's a secret agent, of course he gets laid
often. It's in the contract.
Right up to the point he gets his head lopped off his shoulders.
"System on," Alan said as sound bafflers activated to deaden the noise
coming from his cubical, (a possible distraction to other workers, as was
stated in a memo...) and his computer turned on. He picked up a wire that
was connected to the back of the computer and inserted the plug on the end
of it into the headjack implanted in the back of his neck. With a direct
hookup from his technologically altered brain to the computer, work would
be
more efficient.
$If that's the case, why don't they just grow vat brains and use them?
Not that sophisticated yet. Also vat brains would be wasted in those sorts
of jobs. :)
That he had a headjack was one of the primary reasons he had been hired at
Megashorne and Valoxy in the first place.
The letter was simple, containing only one sentence.
"It's time for the chimney sweep to dust."
$Only if the groundhog sees his shadow.
Hehehe. Nice one.
There was no one in the halls as Alan made his way to the elevator. Within
moments a car came up, devoid of any occupants. That was good. He had no
desire to explain to anyone else why he was leaving work early.
$Although he wouldn't mind whacking some of the other cubical drones he
was
forced to spend time with.
True.
During the time spent plummeting groundward, Alan began mentally planning
the stages of his impromptu assignment, going over all of the information
that had been dumped into his mind. Schematics of the library and its
defenses were provided. Intelligence on the targets was sorted through.
Two
3WA agents and an outer rim bounty hunter; difficult prey under the best
of
conditions and these were some of the worst. The only thing Alan had going
for him was perhaps the most critical factor of all: surprise. That would
have to be enough.
$Although I doubt it.
Good call.
As the car came to rest at the bottom he emerged quickly, moving as fast
as
he could without attracting undue attention. Once outside, he flagged down
a
taxi, making certain it was driven by a robot instead of a human. Alan was
going to have to prepare himself in the cab, and a person would ask too
many
questions.
$Nice weather we're having, isn't it? How about them Yankees? Blah blah
meaningless drivel blah?
"Why are you armed?' in there as well.
By the time the cab pulled up to the library another three and a half
minutes had passed. Alan emerged dressed in his trenchcoat. It was pulled
tight across his frame and stopped short of his ankles. As tight as it was
it would
$Why so tight?
To keep his weapons and body suit hidden from view.
Alan entered the building. According to the library's database there would
be a receptionist and security guard in the entryway. A laser pass system
would allow access to the library proper. Alan already had an automatic
pass
under an assumed name from visiting the library on a couple of occasions
when he was first assigned to the local branch of Megashorne and Valoxy.
It
hadn't been the only one. He had visited every building in a three block
radius in order to get a layout of the area and formulate possible avenues
of escape. It was what he had been trained to do.
$Hmm, your sentances are getting a little choppy.
Really? Odd I hadn't noticed.
Instead he found a note where the security guard should have been, the
pass
system damaged, and the receptionist with her head lying on top of the
desk.
She didn't even look at him as she simply ushered him forward with a wave.
A
bizarre situation that put him on edge, but things were going his way. He
had been prepared to kill the receptionist and guard, then seal the front
doors to the building should the need arise. This made things easier. He
prayed it would remain that way.
$Bah, kill her anyway. It'd be a favor.
Well, she does sort of have a legitamate complaint.
Quickly, Alan spoke before the guard could start babbling or try to take
control of the situation. Alan needed to keep him quiet and off-guard.
$Heh, keep the guard off-guard.
Hadn't thought of that. By accident, I admit.
tone to ease the guard's nerves somewhat. Once the guard seemed to relax
slightly, Alan placed the gun in his pocket, obviously keeping it trained
on
the guard. "Next you will lead me to the control center located on the
ground floor. I know where it is so do not try to take anything other than
a
direct course to there. Once we arrive you will gain me entry and enter
the
room ahead of me. If someone asks who I am, tell them I am your cousin
from
Latiyon and you are showing me where you work. Any attempts to betray or
delay me in any way and I'll kill you and everyone in this building. Now
we
go."
$Well, he'll at least _try_ to kill everyone in the building.
Good point. :)
A half dozen responses formed in Alan's mind to Eb'an's statement. Rather
than saying any of them, he fired. The shot caught Eb'an squarely in the
temple, sending his body falling backward. His instructors had been quite
thorough in their training about that. If you intend to kill a man, kill
him
quickly. There was nothing to be gained in toying or speaking to them
unnecessarily.
$Well, you look cooler.
But bad guys always get whacked when they shoot off their mouth like that.
Only good guys get away with it, and Alan's trainers knew that. :)
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"This is completely ridiculous!" The stress in Bob's usually sedate voice
was clear to anyone within ten meters.
"I can't believe how long it's taking either," Yuri muttered under her
breath.
$28k modem, eh? I can dig it.
Hehehehe.
Kei no longer felt like complaining, instead her eyes become half-lidded
as
she considered trying to catch a nap while Bob continued trying to
download
information. The same information he had tried to get at for the last
twenty-five minutes or so. Iria just sat there, irritated and wanting to
kick the screen in.
It had started out easily enough. Bob immediately logged onto the computer
and accessed planetary sources to discover any information on the registry
of Zeiram's transport spaceship, as well as any updates on Zeiram, the
space
station, or anything else that seemed peculiar or unusual in this section
of
space. For the first several minutes, things had gone well with Bob
getting
no useful information from the planetary resources. It was when he had
tried
to communicate off-planet that things had slowed to a standstill. At
first,
it was nearly impossible to get an off-planet link. When they eventually
got
one, it had given information at an incredibly slow rate. And just as it
seemed they might get some possible news on the ship's registry, they had
lost their link. It had taken over ten minutes to reestablish it.
$Heh, only this time, there really is a sadistic bastard on the other end
doing it.
Hehehehe. I hadn't thought of that, but you're right.
"What's keeping it this time?" Iria muttered to Bob.
"Now they're saying sunspot activity is preventing a decent off-planet
transmission," Bob said.
$Hah! That's one my ISP has never used...
Trust me. It's only a matter of time.
"Now what's the problem?" Iria asked.
"Lost the link again. And not just the off-planet one, but the link to the
planetary network as well. I've never had anything like this happen
before.
Maybe a system crashed somewhere or they're suffering from some sort of
virus," he explained, as much anger evident in his voice as the others.
$Reboot. That is, kick it again.
An old joke, but a good one.
for breath. Without a moment to catch it, let alone try to resist, Kei
found
Iria's arms go from merely tackling her to wrapping themselves around her
waist. Iria forced the two of them to spin across the hard floor,
'steamrollering' as several more laser blasts impacted with the floor
where
they had just been. The black and white tiles buckled from the blasts,
giving off a shattering echo as small pieces flew all around. One hurled
sliver of metal caught Kei across the cheek, the nick drawing a tiny
trickle
of blood as the sliver continued through and lodged in the spine of one of
the nearby books.
$Better a book spine than a people spine.
Depends on the person...
In less than a heartbeat Iria drew a pistol from her belt holster, opting
to
leave her other hand free rather than drawing a second weapon. There were
no
immediate following shots, so Iria spared a glance at where she had felt
the
her armor heat up. There was the telltale scoring of where a laser blast
had
hit it. Judging by the mark, the armor had partially deflected and
absorbed
the shot that would otherwise have made a deep, painful gash in her left
arm, probably knocking it out of action. She'd need to repair the damage
later.
$Armor bondo, for the hunter on the go.
Iria: Yep. Skin will heal and blood can be replaced. But armor's got to be
fixed.
Shouting out loudly so Yuri could hear, Iria said, "Gunner in our six!
Laser
pistol and I couldn't tell its make. Don't know if he has anything else!"
>From behind the shelves, Alan mentally threw in a curse as he tried to
come
$Don't need the >
That is a programming glitch with MS mailing software. Any line that starts
with a 'From' automatically gets one, just like when it receives mail. I
haven't made that mistake in a while. I'll try to rephrase it.
up with a new plan of attack. The bounty hunter had not only somehow
perceived his attack from behind, but had managed to shove both of the
other
targets to safety. The sneak attack had yielded him nothing, save perhaps
one of the shots hitting the rolling women. And even then he doubted it
was
debilitating. Even worse, the targets were now separated, making it that
much easier to flank him. His situation had gone from ideal to horrendous
within less than five seconds. Outmaneuvering them for the kill was going
to
be difficult.
Iria whispered back, "I present a smaller profile and my armor will
protect
me from any glancing shots."
$Direct shots, too, apparently.
Not reliably.
"I still think I should go," Kei insisted.
"You're also a better shot than me. I trust you to keep his head down
while
I'm out in the open."
"Well, there is that," Kei reluctantly admitted. Not that Iria was a bad
shot, unless her marksmanship had slipped over the last few years, but Kei
was still one of the most accurate shooters the 3WA had.
$Is Yuri better?
I don't know. Never had sex with either of them. Oh, wait You mean is she a
better shot. Don't know that either. Neither of them has tried to shoot me.
The robot remained where it was and stated in clipped tones. "You have a
book that is three years overdue. The late fee for that is death."
$Nah, a robot wouldn't have the sense of humor.
It's a coincidence that the program the robot is using to execute Alan's
commands runs through it's late fee=penalty thiung , with death now the
penality. That's why it's able to try to kill them
The words registered with Yuri just in time as she saw a blur come from
out
of the corner of her vision. She ducked and the robot's shock arm, a
device
used to eliminate rodents and other vermin,
$loiterers and such,
Heh. True.
struck the back of the desk right where Yuri's head had been. Judging by
the small shower of sparks kicked up by the contact and the sharp smell of
ozone, the dark-haired woman judged the shock arm to be somewhere near its
maximum power, perfectly able to crispy fry her. Ordinarily, civilian
production models of robots were programmed to be incapable of harming a
human being, even a glitchy AR-10.
$Rewrite that sentance.
Not sure how. Any recommendations?
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.
$I'd imagine Iria would be holding a grudge as well.
Nah. Dead people don't really seem to do that too often. :)
Slowly, Iria began to creep closer to where she thought the man had
disappeared. She was no more than a couple of meters to the adjacent aisle
when she detected the scent of ozone in the air. There was a soft whirring
noise that sounded familiar, but that Iria was unable to identify. It was
right on the tip of her tongue, but still it wouldn't come to her. That
was
annoying, she hated it when a memory was tantalizingly out of reach. The
noise did have the effect of causing her adrenaline to rush.
Instinctively,
she ducked just as a white blur surrounded by a luminescent azure glow
whipped over her head and through the shelves she was behind as easily as
cutting through water. Six centimeters lower and it would have done the
same
to the top of her head. And then it came to her.
"I've got it: a necro-lash."
$Been watching Johnny Mnemonic?
Hardly the first time such a device has been used.
Iria was greatly relieved that she had finally managed to remember what
the
weapon accompanying the sound was.
$She'd been afraid she was going senile.
Yep. Getting on in years, you know.
A tactical error, he realized. Luckily, by hitting the extension on the
necro-lash he had the slack to disentangle his weapon. Still laying on her
back, Iria reacted by grabbing a tiny rod, barely twice the size of a
coffee
stirrer, attached to her shoulder armor and throwing it at her opponent.
Just as it left her hand two smaller pieces sprung out from the top and
formed a tiny propeller, spinning around and stabilizing its flight as it
headed toward its intended target.
$Gotta get me some of those for Christmas.
Actually was used several times in 'Iria', as I redcall. Neat little
trinket.
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
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.
$Pretty incomplete dossier.
Yep. The people Alan works for are not ominpotent. This was a limitaiton in
their information base that the files on the trio were not ultra-extensive.
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.
$Sometimes the simplest is the best.
True. The simpler it is, the harder it is for things to go wrong.
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.
$That's a bit awkward. Reword to avoid the second 'all'.
Okay
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 to still be operational.
$device
I knew I would miss that one somewhere along the line. Good thing that seems
to be the only time.
It took Alan a moment to come to the realization that all of his fears
were
pointless. Either the device would work or it wouldn't. Hesitation
forgotten, he retrieved the circular object from its pouch on his belt and
placed it on the ground. Satisfied it was stable, he activated it.
Complete darkness sprang into being in a thirty foot radius.
$Much like the AD&D spell.
Heh. Forgot about that. Was it a 30' radius spell?
Alan dropped his multi-optics headband over his eyes. Instead of being
rewarded with a view of a red tinted world, there was nothing but
blackness.
This time a curse did escape his lips. How stupid he was to not have
checked
the optics headband out before activating the unit. It had probably been
damaged in the explosion as well. Now he was blind. He was as helpless as
his opponents.
At least until he remembered to switch the headband on.
$Heh, cute.
Shows how frazzled he is now.
Silently, he pulled his stiletto from his boot and crept forward, fighting
back the hiss of pain his ribs urged him to make. He saw Iria instantly.
She
was just turning away as she gave her back to him, then remained
motionless
in the dark, the long whip with the sharp metal pieces along its length
still in her hand. Alan thought perhaps she was trying to locate him by
sound, but it wouldn't work. There was the crackling of fires from all
around, debris still raining down from the earlier explosion, and even the
sounds of lasers being shot and robots exploding coming from where Kei and
Yuri were. Iria had no hope of hearing him until the stiletto buried
itself
in her.
$Or glanced off her armor.
Nah. He's being sure to get her in the exact right spot, which is one reason
he draws closer.
He approached within an arm's length of the target and drew back his arm.
He
was surprised that he felt a pang of remorse about killing Iria from
behind
instead of in a frontal assault. His training was supposed to have driven
such useless concepts as honor from his conscience. Dreams of his bonus
and
a promotion quickly dispelled the remorse, and he would kill her quick.
That
would assuage his conscience. It would all be over in one strike
$strike. And that's true.
yep.
Iria looked down contemptuously at the body. Her voice was as cold as a
vacuum as she spat, "That's for trying to kill Kei, you bastard."
$Technically, a vacuum isn't cold. Maybe ice would be better?
I don't know. 'cold as ice' is so cliche. Wanted to do something space
oriented. Maybe 'deep space'
They were the first words spoken since the fight began and the last. Iria
turned from the blood pooling beneath the corpse and ran back to where she
heard her comrades continued fire. Through her own infra-red vision she
saw
Kei and Yuri had maneuvered back to back and were blasting away at the
remaining robots. Actually, it appeared to be more of a moping up
operation
as there were only three left. The poor rolling hunks of metal couldn't
even
get close to their targets due to the number of their fellow robots that
were already piled up in front of the Dirty Pair.
$Taking out the trashcans.
Heh.
"Nothing," Iria quickly said as she moved closer to Kei. Masking it as
best
she could, looked Kei over for any injuries, knowing well enough that
showing too much concern about her health would only serve to embarrass
the
redhead.
$Which would be fun in its own right.
True, but there's no time for it here.
"That's just great!," Kei snapped as she gazed upon her handiwork with
less
admiration that before. Their extensive firefight with the robots had
ended
up setting everything behind them on fire as well. "I think we've learned
all we can from here." Kei quickly mentioned
$Indeed, I doubt anything else will ever be learned from there.
Indeed.
"We're five floors up!" Yuri protested. "What are we going to use to break
our fall, your boobs?"
"Don't get snappy at me just because I have the nicer chest," Kei shot
back.
"And anyway, it's Iria that's going to save us."
Yuri looked at Iria. "I don't see how. Her chest is smaller than mine."
$Can't seem to get breasts off her mind.
Nope. Me either, for that matter. :)
"Just trying to get my arm back in its socket." Iria grimaced as the duo
shot her a pair of dirty looks. "Relax. It's a joke." Not much of one
though. Kei and Yuri were definitely heavier than they looked, not that
Iria
would breathe a word of that with the evil stares she was getting. As
skilled as she was, there was such a thing as tempting fate.
$She'd wait until later to get her revenge.
Heh
xxxxxxxxxxxx
"I don't think they're going to give us a library card now no matter how
nice we ask."
$What library?
She's just making a joke. :p
"Shut up, Kei," Yuri said, fretting over yet another mark that would be
set
against them as she stood outside and watched the fire consume the
remnants
of the Benjamin Dover Library, which would only be a modern wonder of
Delabar if they had a fascination with overly large piles of kindling.
$It's a cultural thing.
heh
"We'd better leave before the authorities get here and start asking
questions we don't want to answer," Iria said. After fighting off another
wave of robots (and incidentally making certain the building was history
by
starting a huge fire on the first floor) they had searched until they were
sure no one else was left in the building. It hadn't taken long as it
might
have, considering everyone had cleared out when the first firefight broke
out. Imagine that.
$Scaredy cats.
Yeah. Now if it had been a Crusher team, that would be different.
Fire fighting units had been the first ones on the scene and made certain
the fire didn't spread to any other buildings. Or to be more specific any
buildings other than the two next to the library that were now also
burning.
Apparently Zanibat needed to improve their building codes if that was all
it
took to set their downtown district ablaze, Yuri noted.
$They'd probably be blamed for that, too.
Hehehehe. Yep.
A pallor cast over Yuri's features. "That isn't good. That means not only
was this guy not working alone, but something big is maneuvering things.
That was a public facility. The ability to interfere with its access as
quickly as they did is next to impossible."
$Unless Ben Dover is the one behind it! I see! He built the library so
that the remains of this decandent civilization can rebuild even better
after Zeiram has destroyed it and moved on!
Ah, no. Nice guess, though.
"Don't forget, there's also how they were able to locate and sic that thug
on us so quickly," Iria pointed out.
"I may have been partially to blame for that." Bob admitted reluctantly.
"I
did a widespread search for anything relating to Zeiram, the DX-11000
space
station, attacks on any local planets, and that mysterious ship's
registry.
Anyone monitoring for any of those keywords would have located our
position
in a heartbeat. I should have been more cautious."
$Bad Bob.
Nobody's perfect.
"Or it might them to get real desperate," Iria added. "They had one guy
willing to destroy a building to get to us and kill whoever else got in
his
way.
$Well, I think that while he was willing to kill whoever, destroying the
building had been their idea.
Heheheh. Not like they would admit that to themselves, though.
"Damn it, Kei!" Yuri hissed. "I told you to clean out his litter box
before
we left. If he crapped on my bed again, I'm going to kill you myself and
save our friends some trouble."
$Cute.
Thanks.
"But I did," Kei insisted. She turned and addressed the viewscreen. "This
isn't about your litter box, is it, Muhgi?"
Muhgi shook his head and pushed several buttons on the communications
console. A moment later, an audio signal was sent to the communicators as
a
light, female voice began singing:
%~ Fly me to the moon ~%
%~ and let me play among the stars ~%
%~ Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars ~%
Kei and Yuri looked at each other, then back at the tiny screen. Yuri
said,
"Well, the song is nice, Muhgi, but I really don't think we have time to
listen to something as overplayed as that."
"Besides, I have at least eight different versions of it on 'The Best of
Ayanami' soundtrack I own.
$All of them in a perfect deadpan, if light and musical, voice.
If you had the Evangelion 1-3 soundtracks, you'd really get this joke.
"But, sir. We can handle a group of penny-ante smugglers-" came a protest
that went unfinished as Muhgi turned the tape he had recorded off.
"You've been monitoring the inter-planetary police bands. Good boy, Muhgi.
Extra chow for you when we get back to the ship," Kei promised. She'd even
make certain to clean his litter box out this time, which she would have
done in the first place if they had had more time.
$Hmm, who's bed got used instead? Muhgi is smart enough to know who was
responsible for it.
Luckily, he didn't have to go.
Besides, everyone knows Muhgi is the real brains behind the team.
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.
$She beat her to the ship last time.
But this time the planet isn't about ti explode. Less motivation for Yuri.
:)
$Well, the casualty count continues to rise. Nice work, although there
seemed to be a little more awkwardness than usual. Looking forward to the
next chapter.
Hopefully will start on it soon. Been busy trying to cut through backlog and
helping someone with a special project. Sigh. I just wish I had more time.
Thanks a lot for the help. Afraid C+C on this has been sparing, so extensive
comments like this are even more greatly appreciated than usual.
D.B. Sommer