(The Last Bit!)

"Yeah... er, sure" the stranger had agreed and posed for the photograph, the big mallet
was held as if he was about to hit a winner again. As Calvin Shaw focused the camera lens to
appreciate the dwindling light, BIAD stepped beside the Biker and slung a friendly-arm over
his shoulder.

"I'm BIAD..." the Man/Girl whispered "they call me BIAD" and smiled towards the camera,
the Biker turned his head and frowned at the odd name. "Freddy, they call me Freddy" he
responded and blinked at the sudden flash of light, a click told him the photo had been
taken.

Jimmy Cohen appeared through the milling crowd and hissed "Yer' stole my property, kid...
ah'm gonna call the cops" the hat was gone and the red-haired man had rolled his sleeves up.
Freddy sighed, scratched his moustache and looked over to where Professor Shaw and BIAD
stood near a Fortune-Teller's kiosk, whorls of colour implied the intricacies of time and destiny.

"Best-be that yer' move along guys... Ginger-here wants a kerfuffle" the Biker sneered and
dropped his jacket to lay infront of his cleated-boots. The girl with the red dress and long
hair made a 'O' mouth and her presumed-Father reached for her red-nailed hand.
"There's always trouble when your sort turn up" the Barker growled and balled his fists, he
stepped close to the easy-standing Biker and pondered the odds on taking him.

The crowd swamped around the two males and Shaw -with the hermaphrodite holding on
tightly, slipped away into the Fairground shadows. The Teddy Bear bounced and banged
under BIAD's arm as passers-by lunged forward to see the fight, but the surprised Being in the
unlikely high-heels clung to his prize with verve.

................................................

"It's been awhile since ah' was here last, but the building up ahead rings a bell" Nenothtu
said around the remains of his cigar, BIAD gasped for air and felt the relief in his arm as he
lowered Tibbs to the mushy ground beneath the high trees.
"Rings a bell" Boy In A Dress whispered to himself and ignored the Vithian monitoring him.

The shadows watched the shuffling-trio as they pressed onwards.

........~~Kidnapping Made Easy~~.............

Ben and Brittle had stood looking at Sslar's healing couch for a moment. It was plugged into the bay's tubes and monitors and electrodes and all sorts of stuff.

Brittle spoke first. "So, just, start unplugging her? We going to take the entire couch? Or what?"

Sslar's ear swiveled toward the sound and she opened one eye, and purred. The tip of her tail twitched. She was in a hurry, Ben could tell. But how would they manage this? Ben looked around the bay, and then spied just the thing. The machine the twins had been working with had a holographic "patient" lying on the table, looked large and real as life. It was programmed to ping them when they made a mistake, and there were various levels of difficulty and emergency that could be set by using the dials and buttons and switches on the console.

"Well," said Ben, "let's have a look at our available tools here."

He stepped over to the training table and looked at the dials. There were several in a row labelled "patients", each with a sticky-tape label below it. They read:
U-mans
Biodroids
Droids
Vithians
Regalians
Xangs
Canyon Types
Boys in Dresses
.............and finally.............
Bransom

The knob that said Bransom was particularly grimy, and Ben smiled to himself imagining what fun Adam must have torturing a hologram of the late old bat. But for now, he turned the dial for U-mans off, and activated the switch for Xangs. A panel lit up to the right, and there appeared a menu of sub-categories:
Females
Males
Cats
Werewolves
Pigeons
Elephants
Dolphins

Ben highlighted Cats, and sure enough, a huge green image of Sslar appeared. He smiled. Then he looked at another panel of knobs that said "environs", and clicked off the knob for "surgery" and activated the one for "recovery couch."

He looked over at the real Sslar and took a deep breath. "Well, let's see if this will work."

He returned to the couch where she lay, her whiskers twitching, and the purring got louder.

"Go grab that gurney, Brittle, we're goin' on a field trip, consequences be damned," Ben said with a wry smile, and pointed to a row of wheeled metal slabs near the door. "And make sure it ain't one o' them gimpy ones..too noisy and unstable."

Brittle chose a smooth-roller, and pulled it over beside the couch, Ben took the head corners of the sheet the huge cat lay on, and Brittle took the foot corners, and they hoisted her over to the gurney. That done, they turned to the couch, and, sure enough, there lay a virtual Sslar.

Brittle looked at it, amazed, and reached to touch it. His hand went right through. "Amazing," he said.

Ben chuckled. "Heh, yeah, they got some right wicked gadgets on these ships these days. Remind me to tell you about the zombies and Bransom one day....but for now, go grab a blanket off that pile, we gotta git."

Brittle did so, and Ben laid it over Sslar. "If'n anyone asks us, we'll say it's Gert, dead. Now c'mon, lets get 'er outta here afore Dag runs short o' stuff to say to the doc."

The doors swished open and out into the hallway they went, with Sslar under the blanket, and headed for the lift to take them to the docking bay and Cecilia. Ben hoped that Mucklebones had received the message. If she hand't, well, they'd figure out another way to get Sslar off board and down to neno.

Dag stepped out of Adam's office just as the lift doors swished shut with Ben and Brittle and the gurney. She saw Sslar still lying there, and looked around. "Hmm," she muttered. Walking over to the Xang cat, she went to pat Sslar and was startled with her hand went right through the image. She glanced over at the training station where she'd seen Adam when she'd first arrived. The virtual patient they'd been treating was gone.

She smiled. "Well done, Ben. Well done indeed."

She left the bay, locking the doors behind her, and headed for Cecilia herself, at a run, trying to ignore the nagging dread of how Adam would respond when he realized the switch. He'll understand eventually, she thought, but still, she felt bad not being able to fill him in.

Silo had asked her to help, keeping it quiet from the crew and Ship, and she had done so. They were on their way now, and she wondered how dangerous neno's planet really was, and if Sslar were really up to it.

~*~ Above and Below ~*~

‘Take your places everybody.’ Commanded the U-Man like pilot droid (DF)P3 standing tall in his spotless black uniform emblazoned with the gold Yydryl insignia.

After securing the hatch he ushered Jeni into the copilot seat and Moriah the third shipman’s seat making sure they were secure before waving the others into rows of jump seats lining the walls to either side to the rear of the fighter. (DF)P3 wanted to the two beautiful pilots-in-training at his side - for their benefit completely he assured his ego.

‘Now, ladies and gentleman if you‘ll turn your attention to the screen...’ P3 bowed distractedly before launching into a detailed narrative of the Deson Fighter using visual aids playing out on a holographic viewing screen set between the rear crew seats and the fore cockpit.

‘You ever been fer a ride like this?’ Adam whispered sotto voice to Silo. They’d chosen places side by side and while allowing the automated seat to conform to his body the first tingle of nerves began to squirm in Adam’s belly.

‘Nope, not on one of these, but I’ve always wanted to.’ Silo yelped when the chair pressed too close into her shoulder.

‘Is there a problem in the back?’ (DF)P3 shrilled but returned to his speech before he got an answer his arms swinging animatedly the hologram giving off a complicated series of pings and blips.

‘Still feeling that wound?’ Adam lowered his voice farther still.

‘Not unless you touch it.‘ She laughed trying at humor.

‘Ya sure yer up fer this lass?’ He almost hoped she said no. His own discomfort was closing in on him right along with the flight chair.

Silo responded without turning her head, ‘ The question is Doc - are you?’ Silo knew his history. He’d been shot down once. She couldn’t fault the hesitation in his voice when he answered.

‘Oh now I’m fine,‘ He lied, ‘Just a wee bit testy strapped like a bladder into this contraption.’ Adam wiggled some more. The chair refused to budge.

‘A what?’ Silo thought wondering where he came up with this stuff and would have asked if Newman hadn’t arrived looking dark and fresh and unnerving.

‘Pip and the girls are ready to fly,’ He spoke cheerfully sliding into the seat to the other side of Silo. ‘How about you two? You all set?‘

‘Yep.’ They both responded at once and snickered.

‘What about you Newman?’ Silo prodded wondering just who and what this guy was all about. ‘You like to fly?’

‘Enough talking back there! Enough talking back there!’ P3 spoke primly into a shipboard speaker while rapping his knuckles on the flight desk like an old earth schoolmarm. The girls lining the right side of the crew station burst into peels of laughter. The instruction phase of the afternoon was clearly over.

The roar of the rear engines was deafening drowning out all talk and any urge to. The raw power was incredible to experience. For the first time the passengers felt their excitement nipped by fear as (DF)P3 set the front engines to life and readied for take off.

(cont)

~*~ Above and Below II ~*~

They held their breath to a one as the huge machine quieted to an almost preternatural still, the Yydryl’s flight doors open slowly - and then - the fighter was free. And she soared! Adam, Silo, Newman and the girls cheered and clapped. It was too thrilling for words.

‘It’s incredible isn’t it!’ Moriah asked later once they’d all been released from their chairs. Almost climbing into her sister’s lap Moriah eyeballed every node, every screen and dial that controlled the fighter. Jeni nodded and grunted something unable to take her eyes from the planet circling below. She was sure she’d seen something. Sure of it.

‘P3,’ She questioned mildly, ‘Can you show us how the monitoring equipment works? The radar or whatever?’ Jeni hadn’t learned the correct terminology, ‘You’ve got to have something her so we can see, errrr, the planet, you know, and behind it and all that?’ Jeni crossed her fingers balling them into fists beside her chair. She’d seen it again. Now a second tiny blip just off to the right.

‘Now there’s no need to worry mam,’ P3 replied smugly, ’The flight plan coordinates from Yydryl’s command disc are engaged with the fighter‘s computer. We’re as safe here as we were on the flight deck.’ P3’s continued placating Jeni while Moriah made a quick escape from the cockpit.

‘I’ll be right back.’ Jeni wrangled herself out of her seat her gut on fire and knowing the reason why. It had been too easy. This whole thing had been too too easy.

‘Mori you better fess up right this minute!’ Jeni snarled into her sisters ear, ‘What in the blue blazes is going on!’

‘I forged the command disc.’ Moriah lisped and Jeni instantly knew why her sister had given in so quickly. She’d seen the ‘blip’ too.

‘So Ship doesn’t know we’re here? She didn’t ok the flight?’ Pulling back to look into her sisters eyes she wasn’t surprised to see the flame of defiance quickly smolder to shame.

‘She knows were gone now,‘ Moriah looked at her sister like she was simple, ‘but when P3 contacted Ship for takeoff he got back the sound bite from training flier Chumley let me try yesterday.’ Obviously this meant the pilot droid had no idea they were out of contact with Ship.

‘But how?‘ Jeni’s voice rose dangerously as Moriah passed her sister a tiny handheld gadget that must have meant something to someone who knew how to hack fighters and spaceships but meant little to her!

‘With this? You did all that with this?’ Jeni shook the item in Moriah’s face before pocketing it.

‘Sure.’ Moriah smiled with pride then cast down her eyes, ‘I use it to get into Ship’s info and your diary all...’ Moriah gasped, ‘...the time.’

Jeni tugged her sister’s hair good and hard, pushed her into her chair and told her to stay put. Dear God they were in trouble she thought. Big trouble. She had to tell Newman.

‘Excuse me,’ Jeni hesitated interrupting the three older crew members, ‘Newman Sir, may I speak to you a moment.’ Jeni didn’t wait to see if he’d follow.

‘What is it?’ Newman’s dark features and steady stare put knots in Jeni’s tongue her throat suddenly gone dry. ‘I, well...it’s just,’ remembering the ‘blips’ on the screen Jeni tried again only to have her sister butt in.

‘What my sister means Sir is...I’m feeling really...sick...sir.’ Moriah chose that moment to go a pukey shade of green - a trick she’d mastered at the age of four.

Newman lay a hand on her shoulder instantly alarmed. ‘Are you alright Mori? Want me to go get the Doc for you?’

‘No!’ Jeni exploded, ‘I mean, no it’s alright, all we need is to get her back to the Yydryl as soon as possible.’ Folding the shaking Moriah inter her arms Jeni tried to convey a sense of urgency to the now troubled Newman.

‘Then we’re on our way home.’ Newman smiled reassuringly even as his instincts told him there was a lot more to what was going on than he could even imagine ‘Get your sister and yourself secured into a flight chair and I’ll talk with P3.’ With a final pat to her shoulder Newman left them for the flight deck.

‘Attention crew. Find your seats and prepare for an emergency return to the flight deck.’ (DF)P3 whined over the loudspeaker clearly disappointed the flight was ending so soon.

……….~~Onward~~………….

Sslar had been successfully smuggled aboard; only one Droid had asked if he could help, thinking they were lost and needed directions back to the Recovery Bay, but being told that the gurney's load was the dead Gert headed for jettisoning, it had waved them onward.

"Jettisoned?" asked Brittle.

"Mm. Cap'n Kirk's Locker, they calls it, heh," said Ben. "If'n Ah's you, Ah'd not think too much on all the, erm, jettisoned space waste floating round the universe." He shuddered a bit himself at the thought, imagining back to the major floods along the Missouri river that had lifted coffins clean outta the ground, and the National Guard having to fish them out, sometimes after having already erped up their remaining contents. Nasty business, that."

"We bury our dead back on… Earth," Brittle said.

"Yeah? You still embalm 'em?" asked Ben. "We useda embalm 'em, now that's a nasty process, let me tell ya, specially if'n they'd been organ donors, like when thur bones is taken…they lay like Gumbies in thur coffins, all drained o' blood and eyelids stapled shut, and jaws wired, full o' antifreeze. Barbaric, if'n y'ask me. Ah always jest buried my dearly departed, plain in the dirt, no fuss, no muss, no several thousand dollars and a pretty bed that just gets buried."

He shuddered again, remembering when he'd been a young man working as a gravedigger, learning how to drive and operate the backhoe to get the dimensions right. "Yup, one time we had to exhume a coffin for some reason 'r another, don't remember why, but it came open, and that corpse came a-spilling out, oozing with the goo. Did you know, they put drainage tubes in the bottom o' them caskets, to let all that poison drain into the ground? Disgusting." He added.

When they'd reached the docking bay, Ben had simply nodded at the droids who had seen him enter Cecilia and turn off the blasting music.

As he secured Sslar to an on-board rescue gurney hanging from the cargo hold ceiling by a mesh hammock, so she would feel little of the turbulence, he said, "You go on up t' the cockpit," said Ben. "I'll stay here with 'er, she knows me." Brittle headed up the ladder as Ben unceremoniously pushed the Recovery Bay gurney back down the ramp and pushed the hydraulic lift to close it. Then he slapped his hand against the ceiling, indicating they could go.
*********
In the cockpit, Dag was using a flash drive to initiate the launch sequence while Mucklebones watched her. "Ye look confident, me girl," she said.

Dag laughed nervously. "Good," she said.

They both turned as Brittle climbed up from the cargo hold, looking blanched again. This was all so new to him, the stuff of legends…it was overwhelming, frightening, and irresistible to the Native Vandal Eunuch. "Are we going to wait for Gert to come back?"

"Nope," said Dag. "She's in good hands now, and her meddling with us is too risky. She'll find us when the time's right, and I don't need an extra hand right now."

"You know how to fly this thing?"

Dag smiled. "I know how to flip the switches so it flies itself," she said, then stopped and looked at him with raised eyebrows. "You know how to ride a horse?"

Brittle noted the tone, cast his eyes downward, and cleared his throat and sat down.

Dag sat in the pilot's chair. "Adam told me it's one heck of a ride when leaving the Ship. Quite different from coming back." She shrugged when Mucklebones looked at her, alarmed.
Within five minutes, all systems were go, the bay doors opened to reveal Khalamzadar-IV some distance away, and Cecilia sprinted for the ramp and jumped off.

Brittle squeezed his eyes shut and tried to focus on calming his breathing. He'd found the ride up to the Yydryl quite unsettling enough. If departing her was going to be even worse he could only hope there were barf bags aboard. He looked around for one in the pouches of the chair's arms and behind the seat. While he even thought about it, Ben's description of the embalming process caused his bile to rise, and his faced drained of color again.

"WHAT IF I—NEED TO---," he started, screaming to be heard over the deafening roar as Cecilia plummeted toward the planet.

Dag turned back to him, straining at her straps. "OH for SPACE'S SAKE, you didn't think to do that before getting on board?!"

"No, well, yes, I did that but I mean -- it's not my bladder!" He pointed at his gut.

Mucklebones sighed. "Airsick, eh?" she hollered, twisting to face him from her co-pilot's chair. Brittle nodded. "Oh, terrific,"muttered the Canyon Crone, but only loud enough that Dag could hear her. Dag smiled, and Mucklebones reached into her dress pocket and withdrew a small vial. "Here, swaller this, sit back, and try to relax," she said as she tossed it to him. "We'll be there in a jif."

She turned back to the windscreen and hoped Tibbs and Nenothtu and BIAD had made a safe landing.

Nenothtu stopped in mid stride, staring into the murk and gloom of the surrounding damp forest. He appeared to try to be looking everywhere at once, watch EVERYTHING at the same time. Someone who didn't know him very well might misjudge his actions as those of a scared man. As a matter of fact, Some in the past HAD misjudged his alertness for fear, much to their disadvantage. Then he started talking. To nothing.

"A what? No, I've not seen anything. Some of these old structures still have power, but nothing like that. I reckon they had some sort of everlastin' generators or something for the critical infrastructure, but nothing that should have registered a spike like that."

BIAD cocked his head to the side and asked "Are you alright, neno? There's no one else here..."

Neno shook his head and pointed to the hearing-aid looking contraption in his right ear. "Well, keep trying to raise Yydryl and see what's going on then. Report back if you hear anything." He turned to his companions and said "Margo, back on the StarWolf, reports that there's been a flurry of activity up there" he emphasized the point by pointing skyward "and somewhere down HERE" he indicated the surrounding forest with a sweep of his had before continuing. "She said there were several launches from Yydryl, and an energy discharge from somewhere on the surface. She couldn't pinpoint where, since we only have one point to measure from and can't triangulate. One of the launched boats is on it's way back to the Yydryl, and two are still coming on down." He looked worried and added "She doesn't know if anyone was hit - no one is responding to hails, including the Yydryl."

"That doesn't sound good" BIAD observed.

"Tibbs chimed in with a hopeful "So we're going back?"

Neno looked at Tibbs for a minute and responded "Going back to what? Is this the same Tibbs we've all come to know and love, suddenly wanting to charge INTO a potential firefight?"

"Well, whe you say it like that..." Tibbs started.

"Margo is going to keep running the freqs until someone answers, and WE are going to keep moving forward to put this marker in yon spires, right up tip-top. The mission always comes first - unless we actually HEAR some intel that changes that. Until then, it's onward and eventually upward."

"Where did you get the cell phone?" BIAD asked.

Neno grinned. "It's not a cell phone, it a tactical earbud. We ain't used cell phones in a couple centuries now. When yer in my line of work... my FORMER line of work, that is, before I became a prosperous man of means who owns entire star systems" he corrected himself "you can't help but pick up a few odds and ends over the years. 'Specially when you're running freelance, what you get stays yours until ye die - no issue items to have to turn back in, just what gets expended goes away. The rest stays in a heap in a closet or attic or the bottom of a footlocker fer yer kids to drag out an' play with when they think you ain't lookin'."

"It must be lucrative, to be able to buy a starship like the StarWolf" Tibbs commented.

Nenothtu snorted. "Yeah, it pays... and you spend every dime like there ain't no tomorrow - 'cause there might not be. Hell, I bought a little equipment, but spent the bulk on strong drink an' wild women. The rest I just wasted, which is why I stay broke. StarWolf was a gift - call her a 'bonus' or a consolation prize. The father of the gal we rescued from Black Rock bought the boat and gifted her to me after I got rescued from bein' stranded on this mossy rock of a planet. I reckon it was his 'gee I'm sorry you got Robinson Crusoe'd after dropping off my little girl and heading home, so here's a boat to exercise that seven year itch in' display of gratitude for getting his little girl back all in one piece. Some kind of dignitary or functionary, the guy had more money than he had good sense, but he sure doted on that gal."

Neno shrugged. "You just pick stuff up as it comes, or as you find a need fer it, an' then hang on to it long as ye can."

Out in the jungle, there was a sudden roar to mix into the milieu of buzzing, chirping, and squawking that was the normal background noise. "Let's git to that tower, and whatever cover it may provide. Sounds like that natives are getting restless, and that one didn't sound like a happy sort of restless."

It may have been the glasses, but Tibbs' eyes appeared to be bigger than normal when he said "Is your gun loaded?"

Is it ever NOT?" neno replied. "An unloaded gun don't do me much good." and he stepped off in the direction of the towers.

.............................................~Chess Pieces...........................................

Khalamzadar IV's weather kept up it's pace as the rainstorm hurled itself one-more time
onto the heavy-foilage and the three humanoids below, the shorter-one in the brown
robes was finding it tougher than his friends.

"How far do we go?" Tibbs muttered as he drew the mud-soaked hem of those robes up
higher, his sandals squelched and his bare-feet ached. Boy In A Dress lifted the Vithian
up onto his shoulders and ignoring the dripping muck in his hair, he tramped on after the
man ahead of him.

Nenothtu scanned the gloom ahead, the only sounds of the rain hitting the tree-canopy
above and BIAD's laboured-breathing, and the only sight was of tree trunk-behind-more
tree trunks.

For whatever reasons, the animal-life here in the jungle -didn't venture close to the area
of the buildings and the Vandal readied himself for any hidden security-devices.
"Ah'll bet that the energy-pulse came from this spire just up ahead" Neno reported over
his shoulder, his two friends nodded absently and shortened the gap between them.

The structures were close, he had glanced the tall spire through a rare-gap in the foilage and
once-or-twice, carved stones had loomed in the shadows around him, but he was seeking
only one in particular... the building that he knew would show him it was active.

Tibbs checked his handset and saw that Tumbler I and it's occupants were about a mile away
to the North and he let a small breath slip between his tight-lined lips, at least someone
else made it -he thought.

With a sigh to himself, Tibbs wondered where all this was going.


.......................................

"Just make it look like yar' diggin'..." Valve said looking up at The rain-spattered Tumbler
and wished he was back in the Foundry. Bernard stood on the otherside of hole that was
quickly filling with water and looked like the loneliest Droid in the universe.
"...I expect Mr. Jordan will be here soon" the clanking robot muttered as he sought shelter
in Akron's cockpit.
The Tumbler looked jammed beneath the heavy foilage, it had been a rough landing to get
to the spot where they had agreed to meet. Bernard pulled his small-feet from the sucking
muck and headed for the dryness of the nearest tree, the deluge of rain hadn't been figured
into the plan.



Akron placed his huge pincer into the muddy pit and began hauling out the yellow-brown
soil. He had no idea who they were trying to convince, but 'a-plan-is-a-plan' he'd been told,
so excavation commenced.

"On Earth, they would use an umbrella..." Mr. Jordan said softly over the brown-metal
shoulder of the small Sewer-pipe Droid beneath the massive boughs of the tree. "...ready for
any eventuality"

The Vithian in the Quaker clothes and big-buckled hat checked his wristband and ignored
the slowly-turning Bernard, information was showing that Carimono was close.

"This End Of Time-guy... he's just one man, just a guy wanting to take a swing at one of the
crew... what's the big deal?" Valve Twenty-Three asked through Akron's microphone-system.
The sound barely carried to where Mr. Jordan stood, the rain clashed a din to drown out the
sucking-sounds of Tumbler I's digging.

"Although things may seem a little different from your dry and lofty location, I can assure you
this isn't just a little squabble" Mr. Jordan called up to Akron's window, the faint-glow of
Valve's single-eye could just be seen at the rain-spattered glass.

"If Ship scans this part of Khalamzadar IV, then it's over... there's no Duranium here" Bernard
commented and shuffled closer to the deep-lined bark, Mr. Jordan nodded at the advice.
"The Yydryl will have problems of her own, we will be uninterrupted" the visitor with the
dripping hat-rim muttered without looking up from the screen on his wristband.

The torrent eased a little and the three artificial-beings and the time-travelling one were
treated to a break in the scudding clouds, sunbeams poked through the tree canopy.
"The Neo and his accomplices are close-by, our clandestine plan is in effect" Mr. Jordan
announced and stroked the little-Droid's metal shell.
.......................................
Carimono stroked the coarse-fur of the Wolf at his side and waited at the door of the
ancient building. "He comes" he said to the burning eyes behind him.

~*~ Fly By ~*~

‘Ohmyjenovahohmyjenovah...we’ve been hit!’ P3 glowing faintly leapt from the pilots seat to begin stumbling round the small cockpit pulling at his U-Man like hair leaving hanks of the stringy stuff floating to the floor.

Skinny and Squibbs the only two of the crew not confined to a flight chair had gone forward to see if they could help. Not realizing the gravity of the situation they felt horrific pity and distaste watching another droid lose his composure, his logic to emotion.

Skinny, as tall as the U-Man droid but not as heavy waited at the door to the cockpit for P3 to make one more revolution, pushed Squibbs stout roundness in the hysterical droids path, waited for the two to collide and leapt, as nimbly as a mechanical droid can, atop the panicked P3.

‘Hit ‘em there ol Skinny! Face ‘im a planter! Plant ‘im a facer!’ Squibbs barked like an overexcited coach at ringside. It didn’t matter his friend had used him as a glorified door-stop, all that mattered was the P3 didn't get back up again. ‘What you waitin’ for mate! Give him a clobbering!’ Squibbs continued to egg the other droid on.

‘Suibb’s - close your knob.‘ Skinny moved away from the fallen pilot shuddering in revulsion. ‘He’s done in mate.’ P3’s eyes blinked out of sync, it’s mouth gaped opened then closed, a dark vicious fluid leaked steadily from it’s ears.

‘You do all that ol’ Bean?’ Squibbs dome light flashed nervously watching the remains of the fallen pilot slowly disintegrate.

‘No.’ Skinny answered. Whatever was effecting P3 had something to do with the odd pulse of energy that hit the fighter. A quick scan of his memory confirmed the ‘force’ was responsible for P3’s meltdown.

‘Wot we gon’do gove’nor?’ Squibbs accent so thick to be nearly indiscernible.

‘Stuff him somewhere out of sight. I have to go get...’ Skinny thought for a moment. Who would he ‘get’? Adam was a Doctor, Silo not a pilot and neither of them would think of pretending to be. The left Newman. Skinny quickly checked the fighters flight path making sure they were heading away from the planet - if not straight for the Yydryl - then exited the cockpit leaving Squibbs to deal with what was left of P3.

The Fighter rocked for the second time it’s metal glowing a myriad of shades based in the spectrum of green. Inside and out the fighter seemed to expand then drop back into it’s original form leaving the crew - pressed into their flight chairs - shaken but not hurt. It was all Skinny could do not to tumble to the floor and when he regained his balance his internal mechanisms clenched in fear. This time the glow remained with him just as it had with P3. Fighting rising panic Skinny continued forward.

Newman’s eyes were open in direct opposite to the others who’d pulled themselves as deep into their chairs as possible, eyes closed. Motioning to Newman Skinny tuned back towards the cockpit afraid to get closer to the others.

‘What th hells going on!’ Newman’s dark brows drew close entering cockpit, ‘Where’s the pilot?’ Taking the empty seat where P3 should have sat Newman tried to orientate himself with the controls quickly frustrated.

Another pulse of energy enveloped the Fighter the preternatural glow expanding and contracting the vessel leaving Skinny and Squibbs glowing even brighter after the effects on the fighter had faded.

‘We’re done for gove’nor’ Squibbs rather against his natural inclination to drama had gone quite still.

‘Squibbs is right. Anything and everything mechanical is done for Captain.’ Skinny’s emphasis on that one tiny word making all the difference in the world. ‘You have to get them back to the Yydryl and leave us behind. The fighter’s...infected Sir.’ Skinny continued explaining the effects of the surge in the only way he could. Infected. ‘You can’t take the fighter back aboard Ship.’ Or us. His slightly glowing eyes told Newman plainly.

‘So we need is to get everyone here off the fighter and onto a transport vehicle?’ Newman paled.

‘Yes Captain.’ Skinny agreed.

Summing up the situation was the easy part. The problem was in the doing.

..............................~The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over~..........................

"Oh I know what you're expecting..." the stranger in the grey coat said softly "... you're
expecting a brawl, a gunfight of some-sort that will leave the victor standing tall and
heroic..." Carimono leaned against the doorframe with his arms folded and his stance
put Nenothtu only slightly -at ease.

Neno stretched his neck until it clicked and sliding the long Duster from his back, he watched
the young-looking fair-haired man for any signs of a weapon. The black hat slowed to halt as
it spun on the low branch that doubled as a coat-hook.

"Quite formulaic -don't you agree my Vithian-friend?" he asked the small shape beside
Boy In A Dress.
Tibbs remained silent as he evaluated the fair-haired humanoid before him, his manner
indicated confidence and yet, he was here and that usually meant he required a goal of
self-benefit. Tibbs squeezed BIAD's hand and watched further.

"Ah yes, little Tibbs... the brains of the outfit" Carimono sneered and bowed slightly, the
Vithian stared back unblinkingly over his small-round spectacles. "It should be you that
I speak to first, afterall... take away the head and the body withers, isn't that what they
say?"

Neno scutinised the immediate surroundings and saw no evidence of the Wolves, yet his
senses screamed that his eyes weren't obtaining the facts. "So yer' come to take ma' crown
and rule ma' Universe, huh?" the GunMan muttered and with faux-focus, plucked a cigar
from the bowels of his dangling coat. "May I?" Carimono asked and slowly reaching into his
own coat, he produced a small pen-like object, a roaring flame appeared as he held it out
towards the tall Vandal.

Neno stepped closer, leaned forward and with hooded-eye,s watched the darkness behind
the stranger. Drawing the embers bright, he made sure that a cloud of tobacco-smoke
engulfed the kindly-smiling humanoid in the doorway.
"Ah thank yer'" came the gravelled-mocking voice.

The jungle continued it's song around the four beings as Neno enjoyed his cigar, Carimono
looked on with eyes that implied he was happy with the taller-man's interest with tobacco.
But the One From The End Of Time knew better than to let his guard down and Neno knew
that too.

"If I may be candid, may we discuss your reluctance to take your position that Mr. Tibbs has
convinced you -is your destiny?" he asked politely, blue eyes sparkled with a hidden mirth
and a even-row of teeth showed that this person still felt relaxed in his out-numbered
surroundings.

"It IS his destiny!" Tibbs snapped and shuffled closer to where the GunMan stood, dark-oily
puddles waited to soak his robe-hem even further, but the little Multi-being steered a
straight course -regardless.

"His nature, his level-headedness and even that reluctance -you mentioned, are the qualities
that needed to take such a mantle..." Tibbs announced proudly "...pompous self-indulgent
interests have no place in the heart of the King Of All"

Carimono straightened his stance and Nenothtu's eyes became slits as the stranger changed
position "I understand, I truly do" he answered with what-seemed genuine concern of
untentionally insulting someone's beliefs, yet the twinkle in Carimono's eye portrayed to
Neno that something else was taking place here.

"Yer' can make a trap outta sticks or metal, son..." Big Jim Carpenter used to say "... but it's
still a trap"

The small clearing under the shadow of the spire-building was quiet again, the gloom of
the half-light and the sound of dripping-water made it feel a lonely place.

(Continued Below)

(Continued From Above)

"I merely offer an alternative, a way that will bring both parties a mutual and encouraging
outcome..." Carimono said "... a road that will serve both masters of their path" Two well-
manicured hands were held palm-outwards to show his supposed-integrity in the matter
and when nobody spoke, Carimono searched the faces of the three wanderers.

"I know so much about you, the hardships that you have endured and the loss that you
carry with you. I know that you hide your feelings under a toughened-skin of indifference
and I believe that this is why you suffer in your sleep... Margot calls -does she not?" the
soothing tones of the stranger told of frankness and concern and yet, Neno's Bullsh*t
-Detector clicked up to ten, he wasn't buying any of it.

"Dance around the subject as much as yer' want, fella... but as Tibbs would say, there's
somethin' brown and squishy oozin' between yer' toes" Neno stated and looked to the small
Time-Wizard for confirmation.

"The game is afoot... Henry IV -Part 1" Tibbs responded -struggling to keep his humour at
bay and when he searched his hard-featured friend's face, he saw a laughing glint in the
GunMan's eye.

Carimono bowed his head slightly and licked his lips, his expression told Neno that he was
searching for the next words. The Vandal showed a lazy stance and to a passer-by, it would
seem the tall crew-cut haired man was bored with the meeting.
To that passer-by any anyone hiding in the dirty-green shrubbery, that would be a fatal
mistake.

"I too, lost a loved-one..." the unsteady-voice said "I saw my world and my heart destroyed
infront of me and like the coward that I am, I ran from my grief" The blue-eyes now showed
jewels of tears around their rims and his lip trembled as he relived that awful day.

"I used the same mode of travel that Tibbs and his nemesis -The Splitter use and sought
escape at the end of time." Carimono blurted "For my time had truly ended" he added
among the sobs.

Nenothtu lifted an highbrow and showed an expression that he wasn't buying whatever
this so-called usurper was selling, back in Vandalia he would have tossed him off the
porch without a thought.
It was Tibbs that spoke next, the dulcet-tones from the old man brought Carimono's
weeping to mere sniffles as he explained the situation as he saw it.

"Nothing can change what you've been through..." the Vithian cooed "...the Time-lines can
never be altered enough to make you forget or repair a personal problem" The small old
sage stepped close to where the drooping-shouldered man waited.
"Becoming the Neo isn't the answer" he whispered and searched the sorrowful face of
Carimono, that's when it all changed.

One moment, the figure near the doorway was wallowing in his own misery, the next
saw Tibbs grabbed and pulled close to a evily-grinning Carimono, the speed was alarming.
So were the six glowing eyes in the bushes.
"Say goodbye to your friend and your ship" the Man who not only held Alleinna -but now
Tibbs, hissed the words and smiled wickedly at the two men before him.

........................................~The Plan... The Damned Plan~..................................

"And what of you, our cross-gendered Devil...? What do you think?" Carimono growled
towards Boy In A Dress, he had never moved and never spoken since they had come across
the solitary individual in the doorway.

Tibbs struggled in the man's hands and his old eyes searched the GunMan's face for
information on why his gun wasn't drawn.
The stone-face told him or his captor nothing.

BIAD's smile was just a thin-red line beneath the curtain of black hair, he didn't want to say
anything, but his mind raced with questions and doubts.
The focus of attention went back to U-man with the low-slung gunbelt and the smoldering
stare.

"I have thought long and hard about how to assist in ridding you of this burden that waits
along your path..." the blue-eyes of Carimono had lost their venom and now concern for
others seemed to twinkle from his steady gaze.

"...Oh, I know that you have somehow become immortal and I know that you are reluctant
to think about the eons and eons stacked high ahead of you. It's not that you're some dumb-
backwoodsman that has been wheeled onto the stage by our little friend -here..." Carimono
tapped his whispy-haired captive with a stroking hand "...You do know your destiny and it
galls you that you had no say in it" he finished.

Nenothtu lifted his eyebrows to show that he had heard the words and turning his head
slightly, he peered at the hermaphrodite that had seemed to have become a statue.
"Yer' wanna chat to this snake-oil saleman, or can we move on?" he asked the unmoving
Boy In A Dress.

"Ah... still unwilling to discuss his dilemma, a true sign of a King" Carimono leaned and
whispered sarcastically into Tibbs' hairy ear "You should have told him" he added with coy-
seriousness.

Neno creaked his focus back to the man in the grey coat and the smaller one in the brown
robes, those last words tickled the GunMan like a fisherman after Steelheads.
"Told me what?" Neno said with an underlying tone that indicated contained anger, the
cat was out of the bag now -as far as his interest in what Carimono had to say.

The grey-coat flapped at the hem as a fresh breeze of air invaded the clearing and as BIAD
and Carimono stared at each other, Neno breathed in the tell-tale scents of the surrounding
forest and urged his hand to leave his sidearm be.

BIAD remained silent and pondered the position he was in, the stranger had visited him in
his dreams and lay temptations at his feet. The bare-thighed Being shuffled and re-shuffled
his thoughts into a coherent order.

The three Wolves stepped forward with cautious feet, as high as mans's waist and coated
with fur that looked like the wire-brushes that lay around Valve's Foundry. Their eyes burned
like blue beryl adorning deep-sea smokers.

"As you can see, my friends are here to assure that my wishes will be accomplished"
Carimono said evenly, Tibbs slowed his strugglings as he watched the huge beasts step into
the clearing.
"Tell me what?" Neno asked again and with slitted-eyes, he watched the terrible animals
walk silently between him, Tibbs and Carimono.

"May I introduce my friends... well, actually they are my saviours really. Amayeta, Marr and
Cocheta" the smiling man announced with light-bouncy words. The standing Wolves showed
indifferent faces and yet, everyone under that jungle canopy saw another underlying facade.
Ice-cold viciousness.

"Ah don't ask again, fella"Neno hissed softly and flicked the remains of the cigar into one
of the many puddles, it's hiss of extinguishment was quieter.
"It's Alleinna...!" Tibbs barked and attempted again to free himself of the strong hands
holding him. "It is said that it can place an entity back or forward in any wished-for time and
that Being would never have any knowledge of any other life"

Carimono's smile shone like the sun that had destroyed his world, even Neno was tempted
to feel the change in the situation because of it.

"Yes, The Tree Of All, the mythical holder of God's secrets... what the Vithian says is true"
Carimono said softly and without any indication, he released Tibbs from his grasp.
Tibbs stumbled and almost fell onto the grizzly-back of the Wolf known as Marr, it was only
his point of low gravity that saved him from doing so.

Nenothtu re-evaluated the situation and now that the old man was clear of his target, he would
take out the Wolves first and then shoot the kid in the grey coat last, Tibbs should be well
out of the way by then.

........................................*That Elusive Stuff Called...*...................................

"Are we still being candid...?" the Man/Girl asked with a softness to rival Carimono's earlier
tones "Are we REALLY speaking of truth?" the ruby-lips whispered. The young man with the
intelligent-blue eyes smiled and nodded "Ahhh... The Devil finally speaks" he said lightly.
Nenothtu slowly turned towards his friend, but his thoughts were on Tibbs, why had he
not told him about the gift of The Tree Of Knowledge.

Boy In A Dress stepped closer, his pace was even -like his voice as he spoke to the invader
of his mind.



"There are rules..." BIAD hissed "there are rules that govern us, ways that that bring out the
best and worst in all of us" Without slowing, BIAD dipped his body and picked up a small
piece of stone that protruded from the well-washed soil and held it out in his hand.

"You see this...? Even this rock is at the mercy of those rules. It is a rock and it can be shaped
to look like these structures around it..." he lifted his head to indicate the forgotten spire that
disappeared through the leaves "...But it is still a rock"

The forest-sounds seemed to flee, as if the animals that made them were listening to BIAD's
words. He stepped closer.

"You are playing with those rules right now" he muttered and the reflection in the puddles as
he passed, showed a determined creature that would not and could not be stopped.

"You pit friend-against-friend with your slippery words, you create doubt and false-hope
in the ones around you..." BIAD's voice grated like a barnacled-crusted sciff taking it's bottom
out on a hidden reef.

"You hurt people because of your own loss, these beasts..." a red-nailed hand swept at
the hulking FourWays Wolves that stared at the oncoming Being. "...are merely a manifestion
of your hatred for those who have what you cannot have!"

The Wolf known as Amayeta peeled back it's lips to show wickedly-sharp teeth and the dull-
sapphire glow of it's eyes intensified, but BIAD stepped closer.

"I will admit that you out-number me and I will admit that your enchantments in my sleep
tempted me, I admit to everything that makes me a human-being" the Man/girl continued.
Tibbs gulped and looked on as his friend seemed to roar with an inner-rage, his little-old
eyes watered with pride at BIAD's dressing-down of Carimono.

"...You're not The Neo... yer' just a kid with his dawgs" he spat at the wide-eyed Carimono.

Boy In A Dress stood with the two wolves at his left and a third at his right, if they decided to
attack now, Neno would struggle to not hit the black-haired oddity between them.
His hand itched even more.

"We finally have it, Death's brother debasing himself as a human-being... A whole universe
at his long-nailed fingertips and you let it slip away in the hopes of belonging, My... your
Father would be proud!" Carimino said with cunning eyes watching the Man/Girl's anger
seep from his body.

The smile that Professor Shaw first saw as he and the odd creature that had spilled out of the
large container in his lab in Corona -so many years ago had cleaned up the room and hoped to
to teach the semi-naked creation things that only a Father can teach a son. The stretched-lips
and shining teeth of a mishapen Daemon throwing snowballs with Jenkins the Janitor looking
on -like an Uncle who knows what the big-world outside can do to an innocent, bloomed in
front of the man in the grey coat.

And Boy In A Dress finally understood why he was here.

"Thank you" was all he said and scraped the pebble in his hand.