Bubblegum Crash : Knights' End

A Knight Sabers' fanfic in nine parts
by Mark Latus

Bubblegum Crisis, Bubblegum Crash & the Knight Sabers are all the copyrighted
property of Youmex.  Please don't sue me

****************************************************************************
What has gone before
     "Tokyo Babylon"
     September 2033
     Shortly after the events of BGC 8 "Scoop Chase" GENOM acquired a new
Special Projects Director, Daniel C. Dumas.  Dumas (formerly VP of GENOM
France) was the half brother of the not completely late Brian J. Mason.
Additionally he was, along with Mackie and Sylia, the recipient of the
final version of Dr. Stingray's human enhancement treatment.  He had also
been Sylia's lover during their teenage years.  
     Anger at being experimented on and a belief GENOM was the way to unite
the world caused them to break up.  Dumas left Japan shortly before the 
second Kanto Quake and joined GENOM.  His enhanced mind enabled him to rise 
swiftly in the GENOM hierarchy through a combination of brilliance and 
ruthlessness.
     On returning to MegaTokyo he soon met up with Sylia and revealed he knew
she ran the Knight Sabers and the identities of the others.  Additionally a
second Largo was lurking around MegaTokyo.  Thanks to the "Gilgamesh Project"  
he'd directed Mason had been able to transfer human consciousness to machine
storage.  From there it could be uploaded into the Boomer of choice.  As long
as Gilgamesh existed Mason copies would keep emerging.
     If that wasn't enough to deal with Sylia realized Mackie was undergoing 
the final stages of his own enhancement. This was causing him to display some 
dangerous behaviour.
     Anyway Dumas had no intention of destroying the Sabers.  He saw them as
a useful tool for curbing "corporate excess".  The new Mason/Largo was a
problem and he intended to use the Sabers to eliminate that threat.  Teaming
with the "Wolfpac" (a mercenary group Dumas used to deal with people who
wouldn't listen to reason) the Knight Sabers destroyed both the new Mason
and the mind downloading technology he'd created.  Unknown to each other
Sylia and Daniel each carried off data on how Gilgamesh had worked.  Dumas
used this to set up "Osiris", a project to recreate and improve Mason's
efforts.  Chairman Quincy, seeing it as the closest thing to immortality, was 
very interested.
     With their own mutual assured destruction pact in place Sylia and 
Daniel began (tentatively) to resume their former friendship.  Despite being
on different sides both felt isolated by their enhancement.  Daniel began
his efforts for GENOM to take over the world quietly.  
     Mackie recovered from his enhancement's final stage and found himself 
uncertain what to do next.  Sylia revealed he was the heir to their father's
ownership of Phoenix ( A biomechtech company based in Berlin).  Evidently
their father designated her his avenger and his son as the one to complete
his work.  Since he wouldn't own Phoenix until he turned eighteen Mackie had
plenty of time to make a decision.
     Unknown to everyone the original Largo was still alive.  He had been
rescued by the second Mason and was undergoing repairs for the massive damage
he had suffered.  While physically recovering Largo's sanity had taken a
massive blow.
     This lead to the events of Bubblegum Crash.  With those over with Sylia
left on a working vacation for Germany and a reunion with Mackie.
     Which is where this story begins:

Part 1 - Berlin Knightlife

     Monday September 24 2035 
     
     AirGenom flight 463 was halfway to Berlin when Sylia decided to try the    
planes infotainment system.  She was tired of reliving the final confrontation
with Largo over and over again.  At least this time he was gone permanently.
Gilgamesh was destroyed back in '33 and there had been no sign that Largo
had recreated it.  If he had he'd have transferred his consciousness to a
fully functional body.  This thought brought her to thinking about the 
mission that destroyed Gilgamesh which in turn lead to thinking about Daniel. 
So she kept looping her thoughts back to Largo.  That had been a lot simpler
to deal with emotionally.  Daniel ... now that was a problem.  When you're
the first of your kind you have to make it up as you go along.
     For a change she punched up the menu on the screen built into the back
of the chair ahead of hers.  She selected the Euronews Service and scrolled
through until something caught her eye.  The headline leapt out at her.  She 
sighed.  Why couldn't Mackie have been a little more original when it came to
a name?  It was a little too close to Knight Sabers for her comfort.  In any
event time to see what he'd got up to now.  She touched the video icon 
besides the words "KNIGHT SHADOWS"
     The screen began running the video clip.  Two Europlex officers appeared  
on the screen, biographical data running underneath them.  The one identified  
as Lieutenant Eric Rhineheart began.  "We got the call to the AlchemI plant  
at 1:15 am.  Security reported armed terrorists so we went in with the SWAT 
team."  He paused and a computer reconstruction of the Allied Chemical 
Industries plant 37 replaced him on screen.  Rhineheart's voice continued over 
the picture, "We didn't know just how bad it really was ..."
     Crouching behind the wrecked SWAT van Eric heard Marlene calling for 
backup.  Armour piercing shells continued racking the front of the van.  So
far none had penetrated through both sides but there couldn't be much of the  
front left.  Mustaf was sprawled a few metres away in the middle of a pool of
blood.  The body twitched now and again from bullet impacts making him almost
look alive.  Even if he was still alive going out to drag him to cover would 
be suicide.  
    The three attackers continued to pin them down with inhuman precision.
Eric was afraid that was more than a figure of speech.  Whoever they were 
they knew their business, Mustaf had found out the hard way that 'plex 
body armour wasn't worth shit.  All these three had to do was keep them pinned 
until the others had set demolition charges then get the hell out.  Leaving 
the cops sitting on top of a timebomb.  He was about to scream, "Where the 
fuck's our backup?" when the armoured car came through the fence.  The tide 
had just turned, the car's armour could handle the terrorists firepower and 
its onboard weapons could take them down in seconds.
     That's what should have happened.  Instead one of the terrorists threw 
down his gun and dived from the walkway he'd been sniping from.  Before he   
hit the ground his body had swollen making his skin explode outward in all 
directions.  From the brief glimpse Eric got it looked like one of the C-75
urban combat models.  At the speed it was moving positive identification was
hard.  Ever since GENOM licensed their nonsentient Boomers the damn things   
had been popping up like cockroaches.  
     Dodging the fire from the car the Boomer got within three metres.  Its' 
mouth mounted particle cannon opened up on the armoured car's roof.  Five 
seconds later the Boomer was blown apart by the SWAT vehicle's main cannon.
That was five seconds too long.
     The second boomer landed on the car's roof.  "Shit, their air defence
systems are down", Marlene muttered.
     "So's the AP, the first one was on a suicide run."  The second Boomer was
firing everything it had straight down.  The anti personnel system that should
have cleared the roof remained silent.  The roof gave and the Boomer jumped
clear before the car's interior became an inferno.  The screams from within 
were brief.
     Eric grabbed the radio, "We've got rampaging Boomers here, we need heavy
weapons here immediately!"  On the walkway the third attacker gave up the
pretense of being human.  Two Boomers, maybe more. The ones in the plant
might also be biomechs.
     From the radio came the captain's voice, "Marlene already called for 
the heavy unit.  They'll be there in twenty minutes."
     Eric stared at the radio in disbelief.  "Twenty minutes!  I don't know  
if we've got twenty seconds!" 
     "All I can say is good luck.  I'm sorry."  The radio went silent and the
two surviving cops looked at each other.
     "You feeling lucky?"
     "Afraid not.  Shit, I'm picking up particle beam buildup from the guy in
front.  We stay and fry or get out from cover and the other one gets us."
     Burning to death isn't the best way to die.  "I vote for option two."  
Maybe, Eric thought, they'd get real lucky and take out the Boomer before the 
sniper got them.
     They ran from the van's shadow straight into the waiting Boomer.  Both
frantically tried to bring their guns around as they saw its particle cannon 
glow.
     There was a brilliant flash of light and a wave of heat.  Everything
went black.
     Marlene was extremely surprised when her helmet vizor depolarized to
find she was still alive.  The vizor had opaqued to save her vision when
its' light sensor overloaded.  She heard Eric swear in disbelief, how had
they survived?  What had happened to the Boomer?
     The boomer was slumped in front of them, half melted and its organics
incinerated.  She heard particle weapon fire from the other boomer.  Its
flying target was evading the pulses with ease.
     It was clearly power armour of some sort.  A bit over 2.5 metres tall, 
completely black except for red piping down the arms and red eyes in the
otherwise featureless helmet.  Stubby wings projected from the back though
they seemed efficient enough.  The figure landed as the energy pulses ceased,
the Boomer had clearly exhausted its current weapon charge.
     "Your move punk!"  The gravelly voice from the suit was speaking German 
with a definite American accent.  In response the Boomer sprang from the 
catwalk intending to rip its enemy apart at close quarters.  It never made
it.  At the apogee of its leap something launched from the backpack on the
armour.  It crossed the intervening space in a flicker.  There was a 
brilliant flash  and the Boomer's melted remains crashed to the ferrocrete.
     "Nice shot Shadow 1."
     Eric spun in time to see two more power suits touch down.  These were on
a more human scale.  One was clearly a woman, the suit shaped to match her.
Like the first it was almost totally black except for the eyes and a small
red 2 on the left breast. She'd been the one to speak, there was something 
vaguely familiar about the voice.  
     "Shouldn't hog all the fun."  This came from the third suit.  The voice
was male, British accent with a slightly hysterical tinge.  It lacked the
form hugging shape of the other and carried a number 3.  The basic design 
was the same.
     "There's still three left inside.  Move out."
     "Alright."  Number three paused long enough to flash a victory sign at
the watching police.  "Not to worry we're the good guys.  Just remember to
spell the name with a K."
     The three plunged into the main access corridor.  The tanklike first 
suit was moving with the same grace and speed as its small cousins.  Eric 
stared after them.  Beside him Marlene muttered, "They're real.  I thought 
the Knight Shadows were an urban legend."  Her gaze flickered over to
Mustaf's body.  "Make the bastards pay, I hope they're human."
     On the screen the simulation ended and the image of Rhineheart returned.
     "They were out of the plant in ten minutes.  They told us they'd 
neutralized the remaining three, all of whom had been Boomers.  Then after
telling us the charges were disarmed they lifted off.  They were met by some
sort of aircraft, I couldn't get a good look at it, and they were gone.  It
was another ten minutes before our heavy weapons unit arrived.  Sure enough we
found what was left of three combat Boomers inside.  They all checked out as
Mechatronics designs though the company's denying all responsibility 
     The screen changed to a computer generated interviewer (at least Sylia
hoped it was a construct, it was scary to think a real person might look like
that.)  "So do you think you can identify the Knight Shadows?  You mentioned
one of the voices seeming familiar."
     Eric snorted, his partner Lieutenant Marlene Hart answered.  "We got
recordings of all three voices and identified them by vocal analysis.  
Knight Shadow 1 has the voice of Clint Eastwood, number 2 checks out as
Sigourney Weaver, while the last one belonged to John Cleese.  Before you
ask all three were actors popular in the latter twentieth century."  
Biographical data for all three flashed across the screen.  "It's a good
voice generation system, we can't break it down to what they really sound 
like."
     Eric broke in, "Anyway vigilantes or not we'd have been dead without 
their intervention.  Frankly I'm not about to hunt them down."
     "Amen."
     Sylia let the screen run on as it went over past exploits of the Knight
Shadows.  As the program turned to the various conspiracy theories regarding
the organizations funding them she tuned it out.  Well what had she expected?
She'd brought her brother up in a vigilante atmosphere.  Was it really so
surprising that he'd chosen to emulate her?  Besides from what Mackie had 
told her Berlin was a lot like MegaTokyo in the old days.  
     She chided herself. The old days indeed, it was under two years ago.
Daniel had kept his word.  Boomers no longer rampaged through the streets
deliberately.  The berserkers that did occur were the result of genuine
malfunctions.  With the exception of the recent Boomer revolution staged by
Largo.  A fortunate thing for the ADPolice.  Given the death toll they'd
suffered over the early 30's recruitment was zero, morale was rock bottom and 
understaffed was the understatement of the decade.  They weren't capable of 
handling major Boomer incidents these days.
     Most of the trouble in Berlin could be traced back to the President of
GENOM Germany, Johann Staler.  Staler was what Mason would have been like
if he'd been unenhanced and lacked imagination.  An inadequate thug but good 
at covering his tracks.  None of the Boomer related attacks could be linked 
to him.  She'd mentioned the matter to Daniel on several of their dinner 
dates.  He'd simply replied that Mackie seemed to be doing a fine job of 
damage control.  Well, he knew who the Knight Sabers were, the odds of him 
not deducing the identities of the Knight Shadows had been infinitesimal.  
What had he thought about two of them being old friends?  She'd really have 
to ask him.  
     It was 2 pm when Sylia's flight touched down.  Outside the departure
lounge Mackie waited impatiently.  Why couldn't airports ever be on time?
They were running almost ten minutes behind schedule.  There was so much 
to do today, he had to show Sis the ALF lab, bring her up to speed on Dr.
Geary's latest work, teleconference with the doc., service the Shadow Wing,
recheck the suits and review the quarterly reports.  He was starting to feel
nostalgic for bumming around Raven's Garage and being bullied by Priss to 
upgrade her bike again.
     "Not enough hours in the day are there?"  The girl by Mackie's side
broke in on his introspection.  Funny how quickly Sonya had learned to read
his moods.  Of course he could mask his feelings easily enough but he'd never
got into the habit.  Frankly acting like Dumas didn't appeal.  Although his
sister did it to a lesser degree.  Funny, the last few times he'd spoken to
her he'd had the definite impression she was loosening up a bit.
     They each caught the other's pheromones before they saw one another.  A
wave of biochemically programmed desire surged through both and was 
immediately suppressed.  Mackie winced slightly, he'd forgotten how annoying
that was.  Thanks a lot Dad.
     Sylia glanced around and caught sight of Mackie waving.  The girl by 
his side was familiar though she couldn't quite place her.  A little shorter
than Mackie (estimate 3 « cm), bright pink hair, green eyes, about 18 years 
old, reasonably well endowed though not likely to become a pinup anytime 
soon.  It was the face, she thought as she crossed over.  She'd definitely 
seen a version of that face before somewhere before.  
     "Here she comes, formal as ever.",  Mackie commented.  As usual Sylia 
was dressed like a successful businesswoman.  Which, by any standards, 
was true.  He'd thrown on his usual combination of jeans, t-shirt and 
armourflex jacket.  Sonya was wearing a brown leather jacket with a green 
blouse and purple & yellow miniskirt.  Mackie still couldn't decide if she 
liked the clashing effect or just had no sense of colour coordination.  
     "Welcome to Germany.  You remember Sonya Geary?"  A slightly pointless
question as Sylia never forgot anything.  Still that's social conventions for
you.  For Sonya's benefit he greeted Sylia in English.
     Memories clicked for Sylia, "Of course, Dr. Geary's daughter.  Last time
we met you were about ten years old."  With the mental flick of a switch 
Sylia switched to thinking in English.
     "Sounds about right Ms. Stingray.  Nice to see you again."
     "Call me Sylia please, Ms. Stingray makes me sound far too old."
     "OK Sylia it is.  Sorry about making you switch languages but I'm afraid
my Japanese can be charitably described as minimal."
     "It's really no trouble."
     "I suppose not, must run in the family.  I've seen Mackie switch from 
German to English to Japanese to Russian without even pausing."
     Sylia glanced over at Mackie.  He shrugged, "Recent cybernetics video 
conference.  Quicker than waiting for the translation.  Sonya was in on it as 
she's one of our top researchers.  Phoenix's intellectual prodigy."
     "Well I was until your brother showed up.  Now I'm number two."
     "Except that Sonya's a full time researcher.  I've got other things to
worry about.  After all I'm now legally owner of the company which means I
get a lot of business crap to deal with."
     "Not to mention your other hobbies."  Mackie winced slightly as Sonya
said this.  The airport was far too public.
     Well, Sylia thought, that answers my question about how much she knows.
I doubt Mackie's been careless enough to tell her I run the Knight Sabers but
chances are she's figured that out.  Hopefully Mackie's enhanced judgement 
wasn't scrambled because it's fairly obvious they're lovers.  Obvious if you
know how to pickup on the nonverbal cues of body language.  That and the fact
she's hanging all over him.  Sylia almost smiled.  Wonderful thing an enhanced
mind, you can endlessly analyse minutiae and miss the big clues.
     "Well Sis there's a car waiting and Dr. Geary's looking forward to 
seeing again.  It's been years since you saw BioCyb and there's some 
fascinating work going on.  A definite change from what you've been doing in
MegaTokyo but the city's not going anywhere."  Mackie paused, "Well not now
anyway."
     Sonya nodded.  "Yeah that must have been terrifying, the whole place
almost got blasted into orbit.  Glad they don't use fusion power in Berlin."
     "Oh I don't know, it livened the place up.  Things have pretty dull in 
town lately."  Mackie studied his sister with a certain disbelief.  Had Sylia
just tried to make a joke?
     "Frankly I think dull is underrated.  I can live without mass Boomer
rebellion and crazy terrorists.  We've got enough trouble in this town with
rogue Boomers."
     "So I've heard."  And my hardsuit's in MegaTokyo so there's not a lot
I can do about it.  Besides I came here to help complete our father's work.
The dreamer was flawed but the dream's worth striving for.
     They reached the car park, Sylia's case rolling along behind as it 
followed her personal beacon.  As she'd expected Mackie's car was flashy and
built for speed.  He'd probably redesigned it to outperform Gibson's road
racer.  She'd been worried once that enhancement would turn Mackie into a
cold calculating schemer.  A lot like her in other words.  Or a lot like
she'd have been if Mackie hadn't kept doing his best to drive her crazy.
     As he loaded the trunk Mackie asked, "So how's the old gang doing?  And
what's with these rumours about Priss becoming an idol singer?"
     Sylia suddenly laughed.  At Mackie's inquiring look she said, "Sorry I
just had this mental picture of Priss in one of those frilly outfits ..."
     "... trying to sing a mellow version of 'GENOM Sucks'."  Both Stingrays' 
chuckled.  Sis was definitely loosening up.
     "So who is this Priss?"  Sonya decided to try and get in on the joke.
     "Someone I hope Mackie doesn't drive like."
     "I haven't crashed yet."
     "You can believe that.  The speed he drives if he hits anything there 
won't be anything bigger that a hubcap left."  Sonya looked innocent as 
Mackie mock-glared at her.
     "We'll tell you all about the indomitable Priss on the way to the lab.
Better strap in, I've found on the autobahn if you don't drive like a maniac
people figure they can intimidate you."  The car roared out of the parking
lot.
      Mackie Stingray was something of an enigma to the researchers at 
Phoenix Biological & Cybernetics Research Center (more commonly known as
BioCyb, being easier to pronounce than PBCRC).  When word had come down that
Katsuhito Stingray's son would be joining them they had been a definite 
feeling of gloom.  Unlike Sonya Geary, Phoenix's resident prodigy, there was 
no record of the seventeen year old Mackie being an accomplished biomech 
expert.  But he was going to own the company so there was no way to keep
him out.  So the staff awaited the arrival of a dilettante researcher, 
hoping he'd quickly get bored with the slow progress of the Biomech work and
leave.  During this time Dr. Arnold Geary pushed them to give Mackie a 
chance.  Sonya had been through something similar on her entry to the Phoenix
apprenticeship program. There were plenty of staff members who thought she'd 
got in through nepotism.  She'd worked hard to prove her worth and was one of 
the least in favour of the founder's son just pushing his way in.
     Then Stingray actually arrived.  He spoke flawless English and German,
the primary languages used in the lab, and made up for his ignorance with 
incredible intuition.  He also learned at incredible speed and brought with
him a lot of Katshuito's work that was thought lost.  Those who worked with
him started saying he might eclipse his father's efforts.  Sonya took this as
a personal challenge and set out to show up the interloper.  So everyone
figured her father had gone crazy when, as lab director, he partnered the
two of them.  They seemed to be competing rather than cooperating.  Neither
was willing to give any ground and both were practically living in the lab.
During these long hours together something must have clicked.  They began
to cooperate and it soon became obvious that they were doing more than just
working together (though both Mackie and Sonya though they were being very 
discrete).  Still both were over the age of consent and if Dr. Geary didn't 
object why should the rest of the staff?  There was still some debate over if 
he'd been playing matchmaker all along.
     When Mackie turned eighteen and inherited the company several other
things happened.  GENOM sold the licenses for its nonsentient Boomers, 
suddenly everyone was manufacturing them.  Phoenix's ALF project, an
alternative to the Boomers, ceased being potentially profitable.  It would 
have been shut down as economically unviable except for Mackie's intervention.
Still most of the staff were reassigned to more profitable projects and a
skeleton crew kept ALF running as a pure research project.  Mackie had 
managed to keep both Gearys on the project.  However he'd been able to spend
less time on the project.  For one thing he was now on Phoenix's board as
the majority shareholder.  During these meetings he displayed an uncanny 
grasp of finance and the ability to predict the currents of business.  So 
much so that there was a move among some to make him chairman of the board
and keep him out of the lab all together.  For another he secretly began 
construction of the battlesuit that would become known as Knight Shadow.  Why 
he did this he couldn't justify rationally.  But his enhancement heightened 
intuition was screaming at him to get ready.  Subconsciously he was picking 
up clues.
     His instincts proved correct.  With the rapid expansion of Boomer
manufacture came an increase in malfunctions.  Boomer rampages became as 
common in Berlin as they had been in MegaTokyo.  Which didn't make sense 
because a lot of those had been staged.  A closer examination of who was 
buying up damaged property and taking over companies who'd suffered tragic 
losses of executives or shareholders lead back to GENOM Germany.  To be more 
specific to the president Johann Staler.  None of the malfunctioning Boomers 
were of GENOM manufacture (a point GENOM was exploiting in its advertising). 
Staler was ruthless but not a fool.  However he was predictable.  If you 
could predict targets interception of "rogue" boomers became possible.
     Before long the vigilante who called himself Knight Shadow appeared.
Mackie's suit was a lot bulkier than his sister's designs.  Lacking backup
he had crammed it with every weapon he could.  In addition to a limited
flight capability and a few surprises of his own (he couldn't wait to show
off his stealth system to Sylia).  Berlin lacked an equivalent to the
ADPolice, the closest thing they had was the Technological Crime Unit which
was unprepared for frequent Boomer combat.  This meant while vigilantism
was publicly condemned a lot of the TCU were glad someone had the firepower
to take out berserking biomechs.
     Initially things went smoothly.  Staler couldn't request assistance from
GENOM HQ because he was defying the unofficial edicts of the Chairman.  
However despite Dumas's protests Quincy refused to discipline Staler as long
as GENOM wasn't implicated.  Perhaps Quincy wished to demonstrate to Dumas
which of them controlled the company.  Meanwhile Staler had wised up and
realized destroying Knight Shadow would mean he could operate with impunity.
In retrospect Mackie had to admit he got overconfident and walked into a
trap.  Staler had arranged for an attack on Cybertech, a hardware concern
that was resisting a GENOM buy out.  Boomers, built by competitors and
altered to simulate metacancer in the brain (a design flaw that caused
violent behaviour) had been smuggled into the area.  Then it was just a 
matter of setting a rampaging combat unit loose in the area and waiting for
Knight Shadow.  The plus side was Mackie destroyed all the ambushers and got
away alive.  The negative side was he barely made it to cover and had to
combat loss the suit.  It became obvious he needed backup.  With a little
thought he found the ideal candidates.
     The BioCyb building looked smaller than Sylia remembered.  Still after
living in the shadow of the GENOM archology everything looked small.  Off in
the distance she could see the shadow of the Berlin tower.  Mackie noticed
where she was gazing.  "It's still under construction though they're already 
operating out of the Tower.  The official dedication isn't for another month.
There's a rumour this one has a refractive coating to withstand a laser 
satellite strike but I can't confirm that."
     Sylia thought about that.  "That would mean the laser energy gets 
reflected away into the rest of the city.  I can't see anyone being happy
about that."
     "It would explain why GENOM's so closed mouthed about it if does exist.
Frankly I doubt it.  It'd be a lot easier to tackle the problem at the 
source."  Besides, according to Daniel, GENOM already controls the laser 
satellites, both thought.  "Anyway there's a lot of people looking to see if 
you're as brilliant as me.  Just don't mention you spent the past five years 
running a lingerie store."  Mackie ducked just in time.  "What did I say?"
     "You don't mention that, I don't mention the security cameras."  Sonya
frowned as Mackie blanched slightly.
     "Deal."
     "Care to explain that Mackie?"  Sonya was looking thoughtful.
     "Later.  First we introduce Sis to everyone."
     A whirlwind tour of the lab followed with Sylia meeting all the staff
of the ALF project.  They would find that, like her brother, she never forgot 
a name.  There were three exceptions.  Dr. Geary was at a conference in 
Britain and would be joining them later by videolink.  Sylia was about to 
meet one of the remaining two.
     Within the support tubes the ALF floated without any sign of awareness.
The Android Life Form was supposed to have been Phoenix's answer to the 
Boomer.  They'd created the biomech from scratch to avoid getting sued by
GENOM for patent infringement.  They'd succeeded. ALFs were to have been 
Phoenix's ticket massive expansion.  Except GENOM had preempted them by 
ceasing to be the sole manufacturer of Boomers.  Mackie was sure it was good 
old Daniel's doing.  Of course if Mason had still been around he'd probably 
have tried to nuke the lab.  At least Dumas was more civilised in his 
attacks.
     Sylia noticed the toy sitting on top of the tank.  Teddybear like with 
brown hair and a ridiculous snout.  It looked rather old.  "What's that 
thing?"
     "Our mascot."  That was from Sonya.
     Mackie smiled. "Don't ask me where Frank found it.  That is an ALF, from
some old sci-fi sitcom.  Never hire a videojunkie."
     "Taking my name in vain Mackie?"  The speaker had a London accent.  He 
was about 25, brown hair, about 6 foot 2, and obviously worked regularly.  He
also had the controlled walk and movement of someone used to power armour.  
Learning to compensate for servomech amplification becomes second nature after
a time.
     "Sis, this is Frank Chambers, one of my special security aides.  He can
tell you more than you'd ever want to know about twentieth century Sci-fi
and comedy.  Frank, my sister Sylia.  Quote Monty Python at her and you're
fired."
     "Nice to meet you Ms. Stingray."  They shook hands.
     "Call me Sylia.  If you're on a first name basis with your boss no 
reason you shouldn't be with me."  This was actually there second meeting 
though Frank (hopefully) didn't know that.  Two years ago he'd been part of
the Wolfpac mercenary group.  "What does a special security aide do?"
     "Oh bodyguard, guard duty and a few other things." 
     "Where's Ilsa?"  At Sylia's look he explained, "Ilsa is Frank's  
coworker."
     "Babysitting."
     "Sis is cool.  In fact I'm going to show her around downstairs."
     "Want me to join you?"
     "Not right now, just make a vague pretense at pretending you monitor 
the security systems."
     "Fine by me."  Frank wandered off.  
     Sonya, looking a little nervous, said "If it's alright with you I'll get
back to work.  Besides I'm sure you want some time alone with your sister."
     Mackie looked a little disappointed, "Sure.  We'll join you before your
father calls.  Follow me Sis."
     The access doors down had a fairly elaborate locking system.  Compared 
to the DNA scanner on the lower level doors that was nothing.  As he opened
one Mackie said, "This whole floor was Dad's private playground.  In 
accordance with his instructions it was sealed off years ago.  I've upgraded
the security since I arrived.  Not to mention diverted equipment down here.
     "Using company property for private purposes.  I thought I did a better
job of bringing you up than that."  She almost sounded serious.
     "Compared to what's been diverted to keep the Knight Sabers running?
Still just because I'm running the company now doesn't mean we can't maintain
the arrangement.  For a small consideration."
     "I have photos of Priss."
     "Sold."  Mackie chuckled.  "Actually you'd better keep them, I don't
want Sonya trying to kill me.  Seriously you've done a great job of skimming
components out of Phoenix unnoticed.  Especially considering that most of them
were custom designed."
     "It's a knack."
     What both of them knew, and few others did, was that the Knight Sabers
were economically unviable.  Given the number of free jobs, the damage 
sustained by the hardsuits, wear and tear on equipment and the need to pay 
Priss, Linna and Nene the group ran in the red.  Without funds and components
from Phoenix Sylia would have been bankrupting the "Silky Doll" chain to
keep it running.
     They entered the private lab.  Like upstairs ALFs floated in tanks.
Unlike upstairs these were totally illegal.  "Well here they are, the six
MegaALFs."
     Sylia studied them, this was the first time she'd seen them in the flesh.
These infringed a lot of patents, their architecture was a mix of the ALFs
Phoenix had developed and the Superboomer Sylia had recovered during the
Gilgamesh operation.  "Ready and waiting", she whispered.
     "Let's just hope we don't need them."  Mackie's voice was emphatic, Sylia
nodded in agreement.
     "So where's the mysterious Ilsa?"
     "Follow me."  The lab sealed after them.  The corridor ended in a wall.
Mackie slid open a concealed panel revealing a DNA palmreader and a retinal
scanner.  He used both and the wall swung inward.  "Real James Bond stuff
don't you think?"
     "Who?"
     "Old fictional secret agent hero."
     Lights came on along the tunnel.  There was a small electric car to the 
right.  "So do you want to walk or ride?"
     "No hurry so we might as well walk.  As I recall it's not far."
     "Oh, right.  You were here before me."  Mackie felt a little crestfallen.
Years ago Sylia had talked Dr. Geary into letting her tour her father's
sanctum.  Mackie lead the way.  "These tunnels date back to the Soviet era
when this place was part of East Berlin.  Just what it was originally built
for I still don't know.  Dad was a little to thorough on destroying all the 
records that showed they existed.  Anyway Shadowbase is just up ahead."  
     "Shadowbase?"  Sylia looked at him, Mackie suddenly felt a lot younger.
     "Well I had to call it something and the Shadowcave didn't fit.  To
change the subject what do you think of my ah ... hobby."
     "I'd be happier if you didn't do it but with Staler running the local
tower I can understand why.  I get the feeling Sonya's not too happy about
it."
     Mackie sighed, "That is an understatement.  She found out about it after
my solo brush with death.  I barely got Shadow back here undetected.  
Unfortunately the hinges were damaged and I was stuck in it.  Cutting my way
out was a last resort.  I was sure I could trust her.  Runs in the family, 
Dr. Geary must know you run the Sabers but he's never even hinted it to me."
     "So what happened?"
     "Fortunately I'd programmed her data into the security system.  I'd been
planning to bring her down here.  I called her and got her to come down
secretly.  I think she was rather intrigued.  Anyway she got into the base
and saw me in the suit.  After a frank exchange of views ('You're out of your
fucking mind Mackie!') she was able to help me out.  The suit was a writeoff
so I cannibalized it for parts.  Luckily Staler had lost enough Boomers to
keep him quiet for a while.  I had the Mark 2 up and running by that time."
     "What about Sonya?"
     "We agreed to disagree.  I don't bother her about joining the Shadows
and she pretends this place isn't here.  Most of the time.  Sometimes she
helps with the maintenance but that's about it.  No way she's going to become
Shadow 4.  Which is good because I don't have to worry about endangering her."
     "But she has to worry about you."  
     "Yeah well ... I don't like that but I don't feel I have a choice."  He
studied his sister.  "I hope you're not about to lecture me about taking 
unnecessary risks."
     "I'm not that hypocritical.  I regularly endanger my own life and three
others.  Still they choose to follow me.  Though if we became obsolete I 
wouldn't lose any sleep over it."  Sylia smiled mischievously, "By the way
what does Dr. Geary think of you sleeping with his daughter?"
     Mackie stopped in his tracks.  "It's that obvious?!"
     "Well any casual observer would know you had a relationship.  Knowing 
for sure you two are lovers based on nonverbal cues requires an enhanced mind
and a detailed knowledge of one of the two."
     "I see.  Well to answer the question he feels Sonya's old enough to make
her own mistakes.  Though far as I know he doesn't think I'm a mistake."
     "Still can't resist pink hair can you Mackie?"
     Her brother laughed.  "You've really loosened up the past few months.
Actually Sonya was blond when I met her.  But she's picked up Ilsa's habit
of constantly changing her hair.  Weird really, you wouldn't think the two 
of them had anything in common.  But Ilsa seems to have adopted Sonya as her
younger sister."
     "Does Ilsa have an actual younger sister?"
     "She did."  A slightly awkward pause then Mackie asked, "Turnabout's
fair play so I have to ask ... are you and Daniel ...?"
     "Just friends."
     "There was a definite tremor on the 'just'".
     "Things might change.  Frankly I'm still working it out and I'd 
appreciate it if you didn't ask me again."  
     "Sorry."  A pause, "So how is Nene these days?"
     "A lot more confident than she used to be.  Those self assertion courses
were a good investment.  You know there was a time I was sure that the two of 
you ..."  Sylia trailed off.
     Mackie nodded, "Maybe if I'd stayed in MegaTokyo ..."  He glanced at his
sister, "Hey were you trying to ...?"
     "No.  Well not really.  Though I did think you two might make a nice 
couple.  But circumstances changed."
     "Yeah.  An aggressive Nene, Linna's a stockbroker, you say Priss is
mellowing, your icequeen act's melting down ... everything's changing."
     "Thank God you're still an immature jerk or nothing would be certain."
     "I'm beginning to miss the ice queen.  Anyway here we are."  Mackie
punched in the security code and the door slid open.  A somewhat sweaty
woman in a skintight softsuit greeted them.  "Hey Mackie, this the infamous
sister you warned us about?"
     "Afraid so.  Sylia this is Ilsa Guenther."
     "Nice to meet you."  Again it was a second meeting.  Ilsa was about 26
years old, five ten, and had muscle, though not at the expense of her figure.
Like Frank she had been a member of Wolfpac.
     "Likewise.  You do know your brother's crazy."
     "I've always known that."  
     "Good."  To Mackie she asked, "Frank's not with you?"
     "Nope.  Should he be?"
     "Yeah the lazy S.O.B.'s supposed to be joining me for a combat sim.  
Anyway that's twice I've cleared level 7.  It's time for a upgrade."  
     "I'll review the stats first.  By the way I thought the blue hair looked
better."  Ilsa's current style was a green buzzcut with white streaks starting
from the temples.
     She shrugged, "It was time for a change.  Anyway I'm gonna hit the 
showers."  Ilsa headed left towards a doorway. 
     "Is there a camera in there."
     "No.  I'm over that."
     "Things really have changed.  So these are your creations?"  Sylia 
walked over to the suit rack.  She tapped Frank's suit.  "You let him choose
John Cleese as his suit voice?  The other two I can understand but ..."
     Mackie sighed.  "Cleese was a compromise.  His first choice was Spike
Milligan.  He also wanted me to use Harry Seacombe and Ilsa to use Peter
Sellers."
     "Who?  And why?"  It wasn't often Sylia got confused.
     "British comedians from some radio comedy show that's about 100 years
old.  It all goes back to that book by that pop sociologist, Charity Popcorn."
     "You mean 'Bubblegum Crisis, the end of civilization as we know it!'"
     "That's it. 'Civilization is a thin veneer over chaos.  It's inevitable 
that we will either implode under the weight of our technologies or explode
from the social pressures within.'  It's the trendy book to quote."
     "Cynicism is easy.  But what's this got to do with Frank?"
     "It set him off talking about the Bubblegoon Crisis.  How Ilsa puts up
with that guy I'll never know.  Anyway I told him he wasn't going into battle
codenamed Eccles.  Ilsa didn't care much for Minnie, and I definitely wasn't
accepting Seagoon.  Anyway we compromised on Cleese as his suit voice.  Frank 
claims he was raised Pythonist but I don't believe that."
     "There's a church of Elvis so maybe ..."  Sylia broke off with a smile.
"That's what you get for hiring a sci-fi/comedy junkie."
     "I tried to find a boomerphobic singer and a money crazed aerobics
instructor but there seems to be a shortage."
     "Heh.  Still they were mercenaries."
     "Both were looking for something a little more secure.  Along with a
way out from Dumas."
     "Both of which you supplied.  He told me about your call."
     "I know."  A pause.  "You know he's in Berlin right now?"  
     "No.  No I didn't.  I knew he was doing a tour of Europe since he 
cancelled our last dinner date.  Well that can wait until I'm back in Mega
Tokyo.  So there's something you want to show me about your suit."
     Mackie smiled.  "I would like to demonstrate the state of the art in 
stealth technology.  Watch this."  He crossed over to a control panel and
began touching control pads.  "I left the suit in standby for a few new
inputs.  So it's hooked up for remote control.  Here goes."  The bulky
shape of Knight Shadow 1 warped.  Instead a BU-12D Boomer stood there.  Sylia
strode over.  The closer she got the less real it looked, background blurred
between the Boomer's limbs and apparently empty air.  Her brother nodded.
"Visual is the weakest part of the system.  However to a scanner or a Boomer
it's registering as just what it looks like."  
     Sylia crossed over to the panel.  Sure enough sensors indicated a Boomer 
was standing there.  "The whole surface is holographic projection cells?"
     "Yep. It needs visual to match the fake sensor readings.  It can also do
police power armour, minicopter and a few other mechs.  It's also installed
on Shadow Wing which can do a pretty good empty sky impression.  Frankly I
didn't relish getting traced back here.  Which is why I launch a decoy drone
before bringing it home."
     "What's the down side?"
     "The equipment's too bulky to install on anything smaller that Shadow 1. 
So I can't equip Frank or Ilsa's suits with it."  
     "This could be useful.  If you show me the specs maybe ... No.  This 
isn't why I came here."
     "You're right.  Well you've got time for a quick tour before Doc. calls.
So through here is the Shadow Wing hanger ..."
     One of life's real pleasures is a hot shower, Ilsa thought.  Of course
some company would have been nice but it was Frank's loss.  She'd been in the
vigilante business a little over six months now.  It felt a lot better than
the mercenary business.  Maybe she was mellowing as she approached middle 
age.  Hell another three years and she'd hit 30.  Which she was a lot more 
likely to do in her current occupation.  The money was good, it was less 
risky than merc ops because local authorities left you alone and you didn't 
have to keep an eye on your allies.  
      She'd got into the merc. business for the excitement, the money and
because she had a knack for power suits.  While military suit units were 
allegedly integrated there were damn few female armour jockeys.  She'd
started out with "Hellhound".  The equipment was shit but she was good enough
to not only survive but make a name for herself.  From there she got an 
invite into the Illegal Army.  Lucky she'd jumped ship before the Army's 
final mission.  Marie Leveque had been organizing a small elite squad.  The
best equipment, great support, infallible tactical data and more money than 
she'd seen before.  The personal hitsquad of Daniel Dumas, the Wolfpac.  
     For a time everything was smooth as glass.  They took out Dumas's 
enemies, he advanced through GENOM and they were rewarded for it.  Then the
Tokyo mission came.  After that Dumas was part of the GENOM elite.  He kept
the 'Pac on retainer but the missions dried up.  Eventually Marie told Dumas
that the contract was over, none of them were mercenaries just for the money.
Reasons varied but they all liked living on the edge.  At least Ilsa had.
Problem was they'd got too used to everything going smooth.  The Madrid
mission was a fiasco.  They were caught in a crossfire between the target
and their supposed allies.  The transport buggered off and they had to fight
their way out.  Nadia and Helmut didn't make it.  Marie announced her 
retirement and returned to France.  That brought them down to three.  Then
Felipe disappeared and both Frank and Ilsa got paranoid.  What if Dumas
was behind Madrid turning so lethal?  Maybe he was trying to eliminate the
loose ends?  They needed protection from him and that wasn't going to be
easy to find.
     Enter Mackie Stingray.  He was putting together a rapid reaction force
to protect Phoenix Inc. from corporate incursion.  He also claimed to have
a peace treaty with Dumas.  If they passed the tests they got his protection
from Dumas.  Lacking alternatives they'd agreed.
     The tests were more mental than physical.  In fact a lot of the material
covered ethical matters.  Stingray seemed to have an uncanny ability to
detect bullshit.  Luckily they'd passed.  Mackie had told them he was putting  
together a psuedo vigilante group to protect his company.  Something like
Wolfpac except it would function defensively.  The real surprise was that 
Stingray would be leading it.  Both had figured they were dealing with a
glory blinded kid who didn't know what he was getting into.  Their first
mission cleared that impression.  In the field Stingray's whole personality
changed.  He was fast, lethal, cold as ice and hard as diamond.  The new
suits were performed as well in combat as they had in testing.  
     The missions were different from the Wolfpac jobs.  No more sanction and
burn missions.  They were saving lives and getting a public following.  It
felt good.  When Mackie told them that the Knight Shadows were what they 
appeared to be both Frank and Ilsa felt relieved.  Getting to be heroes was
addictive.  The only problem with being the good guys was they couldn't take 
out the bastard who kept turning the city into a warzone.  Berlin would be
a lot better off without Staler.  Unfortunately Mackie wouldn't condone
wet work.  She still wasn't sure if that was a good idea.
     Hell even Dumas hated Staler.  Mackie had called him to introduce Dumas 
to his new employees.  Dumas had greeted them warmly and asked the Knight
Shadows to keep up the pressure on Staler.  He'd made it clear Staler's
death would be welcomed.  So it seemed they'd gained the security they were
looking for.  At least they were as secure as you can get when you regularly
tackled berserking Boomers.
     Ilsa shut off the shower and reached for a towel.  Funny, a year ago 
she'd have thought she was much too cynical to catch idealism.  Maybe no one 
was immune.  A shame Sonya thought Mackie was risking his life for nothing. 
She remembered two kids sitting in a car a Boomer would have zeroed if she 
hadn't blown its' head off.  It wasn't for nothing.
     Still hopefully things would be quiet for the next few days.  Mackie
figured Staler would keep quiet while Dumas was in town.
     
     September 24 2035 1 pm - GENOM Tower, MegaTokyo

     In her office Security Director Kate Madigan reviewed references to 
herself picked up by electronic eavesdropping.  It was something to do while 
she waited for the Chairman to call.  Two days ago Largo had reemerged and
come extremely close to blowing MegaTokyo (and more importantly the GENOM
Tower) off the face of the planet.  Questions were being asked about how she
had failed to make sure he was dead two years ago.  As if anyone else could
have done a better job.  If she'd known at the time he was a Superboomer ...
To make matters worse one of the first things Dumas had done on arrival was
request renewal of the search for Largo's remains.  The Chairman had told
her to make a show of resuming the search but not to worry about it.  He
was bound to forget that part of it.  Shit, her entire career could be about
to come crashing down.  There was no shortage of people waiting to see her
fall.
     Some time ago she'd programmed the security systems to pick up all
references to her.  It worked everywhere except for sealed areas like the 
Chairman's office.  Along with Daniel's. Right now she was listening to a
conversation between Philby and Morrison, both in Boomer Development.  From
the sound of it they both resented not getting places on the evacuation
shuttle.
     Over coffee Philby was saying, "The whole thing was Madigan's fault.  If 
she'd done her job properly she'd have taken out that guy in '33."
     Morrison snorted contemptuously.  "Hell Madigan should have been dumped
years ago.  The only reason she's still around is she's sleeping with Dumas."
     "I don't buy that."
     "Common knowledge man."
     Philby shook his head.  "That's not what I mean.  Everyone knows that.
What I mean is I don't see Dumas cutting anyone a break, lover or not.  Screw
up on him and you can forget the friendship, you're gone."
     "Dumas has friends?"
     "Yeah you're right.  People he hasn't finished using yet is a better 
description."
     Morrison laughed and Madigan shut down the monitor.  Two more people who
were going to eat shit if she hung on.  Where the hell did the rumours start?
She hadn't told anyone and couldn't find any evidence that Daniel had.  Maybe
the Chairman had let it slip.  After all the whole affair was his idea to 
begin with.
     It had all started in April of '34.  She'd been summoned alone to the
Chairman's office.  For a time she'd stood waiting as Quincy looked out over
the city.  After a time he had said, "Madigan do you have any idea how much
I'm relying on Dumas these days?"
     "No sir."
     "Far more than I want.  But I'm doing it because I need him.  Without
his planning I'd be facing a board revolt by now.  Thanks to him I'm secure
for now.  Question is how far can I trust him?"
     She wasn't Dumas's biggest fan but her position was linked to the 
Chairman maintaining control.  "To date there's been no evidence to suggest 
any sort of  conspiracy ..."
     "I read the reports Madigan!".  Quincy looked irritated.
     "Yes sir."
     "Do you know why you're still on my staff despite your failure in the
Largo matter?"
     "Uh ... no Sir."  The change in direction caught her by surprise.  What 
was he leading to?
     "The answer is loyalty.  Throughout everything so far you have been
loyal to me personally rather than the company.  Of course I am the true 
heart of GENOM.  In any event your loyalty makes you perfect for this new 
assignment."
     "I'm ready Sir."
     "Begin an affair with Dumas."
     "Excuse me Mr. Chairman?"  She must have misheard him.
     "Become Dumas's lover.  It'll enable you to keep a closer eye on him.
Then keep watching for any signs he's started to work with any other member
of the board.  As you both have equal positions no one will accuse of trying
to sleep your way up the corporate ladder."
     "Sir we can hire professionals ..."
     "If they're working for money alone and Dumas turns against me he can
subvert them.  That means we get false reports back."  Quincy had leaned back 
in his chair.  "This is also the ideal way to prove that you're still loyal
to me.  I like to test the loyalty of my subordinates under extreme 
circumstances.  This is your test.  If Dumas is loyal then I'll have to
devise a test for him."
     Madigan had fought down the urge to tell Quincy what she thought of the
test.  She considered how much she stood to lose and accepted the assignment.
Seducing Dumas was easier than she'd anticipated.  Later she'd become 
convinced he'd known exactly what she was doing and had decided to go along
with her.  It wasn't the most unpleasant of assignments, like everything else
he did Daniel was an expert.  She'd kept watching, waiting for the real Daniel
Dumas to emerge from the behind the Iceman's mask.
     She'd thought she'd glimpsed the real Daniel, a lonely man who'd
dedicated his life to something greater.  Soon after she realized that this 
was another mask.  Eventually she realized the new glimpse was also a mask.
Kate came to believe that Daniel was like one of those dolls that contains 
another inside itself and another inside that.  Maybe there was no Daniel 
Dumas, just a collection of masks over a void.  With a computer where the
soul should be.  No answers meant continuing the affair.  So she had and 
still did.
     "It could be worse, I could have fallen in love with the bastard."  
She'd said that out loud, she was more nervous than she had thought.
     Philby had been wrong about one thing, Daniel did seem to have at least 
one close friend.  From what she'd pieced together he'd known Sylia Stingray
in his childhood.  Maybe he'd been a more lovable guy back then.  They met
at least once a week for dinner, a concert, the odd nightclub, never anything
more intimate.  While Stingray's father had been a genius he hadn't passed
that to his daughter.  She was a moderately successful businesswoman, nothing
more.  Madigan would have felt a lot better with a complete transcript of
their conversations but that was impossible.  Dumas never went anywhere 
without a scrambler.  His personal unit was beyond state of the art, she'd
had no success in overriding it.  He could also tell when anyone human was
eavesdropping.  After several agents were beaten up by persons (or Boomers) 
unknown she gave up on spying that way.
     On the one hand if she did find Dumas conspiring she'd be the Chairman's
right hand again.  On the other hand Quincy was depending heavily on Dumas.
While he was still the Chairman Dumas was close to being the acting CEO.  He
still had the title of Special Assistant to the Chairman but the whole board
knew just how much power he held.
     The intercom buzzed.  "Madigan, join me in the aerie."  It switched off
before she could acknowledge.
     The aerie was one of Quincy's favourite spots.  A transparent four walled
pyramid at the tower's summit.  The perfect place to look down on his city.
The city he'd nearly lost two days ago.  He silently cursed Mason.  The
miserable grasping worm had almost cost him years of work.  The elevator gave 
a soft chime as Madigan arrived.  She stepped silently from the elevator and
waited for him to turn around and acknowledge her presence.
     Without turning he said, "Your failure to locate Largo caused us a lot
of trouble."
     "Yes Sir."  Excellent, she accepted the blame for his error.  Normally
he'd dump a scapegoat for appearances sake, but Madigan had other uses.
Besides he couldn't afford to lose any loyalists these days.
     "Fortunately our sentient Boomers weren't affected by the recent 
override.  In fact we've managed to bury the ADAMA AI as a menace to public
safety."
     So GENOM wouldn't be undergoing a massive Boomer redesign program.  
"Very good Sir."  It seemed the Chairman wanted her to play yeswoman.  Fine, 
better than getting fired and blacklisted.
     Inorganic AI's would be reinvented someday.  By which time GENOM would
be ready to scrap the first generation design.  That had been the beauty of 
ADAMA.  It was more of a robot than a biomech.  Unlike the existing Boomers
its mind was a sentient computer rather than a biomechanical duplicate of a
human brain.  It was faster, more efficient and meant computer systems
could become intelligent beings.  However GENOM had hundreds of millions 
invested in the old style Boomers.  If Largo hadn't destroyed ADAMA then
GENOM would have.  
     GENOM already had its own version of ADAMA, true AI had been achieved as an 
offshoot of the Osiris project.  This had enabled them to create a virus
that would have wiped out ADAMA while making it appear to be a massive 
system flaw.  But ADAMA was destroyed.  All that effort wasted.  Ah well if 
someone else tried to reinvent ADAMA the virus would be waiting.
     "Any news on 'Turncoat'?"
     "There's no evidence that ADPolice suspects it exists."
     "Good."  Quincy ground his teeth, another error to cover up.  When Dumas
had pushed through his plan to sell certain Boomer designs Quincy had 
the 'Turncoat' program built in.  The supposedly undetectable  program meant
GENOM could gain control of any Boomer built from their specs.  Dumas had
argued against it.  If the program existed someone else might discover it and
use it against them.  Quincy had told him the trigger required one of the new
generation AI's and those remained GENOM's secret.  Unfortunately Largo had
discovered the program and learned of an AI that could trigger the takeover
program.  Lucky they'd managed to blame the whole disaster on the ADAMA
project.  In the stock market chaos that resulted from the mass Boomer
revolt GENOM had managed to absorb all the concerns that constructed ADAMA.
Besides all the designers were dead.  That wasn't a problem anymore.
     No, Quincy had to admit that what was really annoying him was the fact
that this city was celebrating the Knight Sabers as heros.  He was tired of
those clowns.  True, they were just insects against a colossus like GENOM.
But a mosquito continually buzzing around you is a annoyance.  Dumas had a
lot of arguments for letting the vigilantes operate, in fact they had been
useful on occasion.  But he was sick of them. If Dumas wanted them alive then
the perfect test would be ... yes.  Just the thing.
      "Where's Dumas?"
      "Still in Berlin."
      "Did you find Menedez yet."
      "No sir, still no trace."  Madigan paused than added, "I'm ninety five
percent certain he was behind the recent attempt on Daniel's life."  Dumas,
I should have said the attempt on Dumas's life.
      Quincy chuckled.  "Menedez tries to recruit Dumas to topple me.  Dumas 
refuses and is nearly assassinated."  Nearly was an exaggeration, one of
Dumas's bodyguards had broken the gunman's back long before he had a clear
shot.  "Then Menedez disappears.  That should send the right message to the
Board."  Quincy smiled, "I've got a new target for Dumas's ... ruthless 
efficiency.  Bring him to me when he returns."
     "Yes sir."  Now what's he up to?  For that matter what's Daniel up to
in Germany?  He despises Staeler, thinks he's an immature fool with no 
vision.

     September 24 2035 1 pm (local time, 7 hours later)- GENOM Tower, Berlin
     
     The President's office had an excellent view of the city.  Staeler never
got tired of looking at it.  Besides he didn't want to look at Dumas.  The
pup was barely 26 and had risen higher and faster than Staeler ever would.
He was 45 and felt older.  The room was empty except for him, his vice 
president Eva Deitrick (why had Quincy given such a high position to a 
woman?), Dumas and his two Boomer bodyguards.  That meant they could talk 
freely.  "I have the Chairman's assurance that I can continue my policies as
long as they do not impact on GENOM."
     Dumas looked faintly annoyed.  "Blowing up infrastructure prior to a
takeover isn't the best idea I've ever heard."
     "AlchemI would have been financially destabilised and ..."
     "...GENOM would have acquired a chemical company without any means of
production.  Or were you just planning to break it down and strip it?"
     "It was an excellent way of removing competition."
     "Spare me.  I'm just surprised you were smart enough to use Boomers that
weren't GENOM manufactured.  As I've said we prefer a quieter operation these
days."
     "You mean you prefer it that way.  And you've convinced the Chairman to
follow your cowardice."
     Dumas smiled faintly, "Cowardice?"  He sounded polite and enquiring.  
Eva couldn't understand why he wasn't showing more reaction to Staeler's
insults (miserable sexist dinosaur).
     "When I was your age if we wanted a company we took it.  That's how 
GENOM rose, strength and ruthlessness.  Something you,  you children don't
understand."  He gulped his coffee, damn stuff had gone lukewarm while he
was talking.
     "You're wrong, while it's less disruptive to operate quietly GENOM is 
still ruthless when it has to be.  Still if that's your opinion ..."
     "It is and as long as I live ..."  Staeler broke off as he felt a touch
of heartburn.  He was suddenly sweating and the pain wasn't fading.  He 
realized he was standing silently behind his desk.  "Mr Staeler?"  Eva asked
with faint concern.  Staeler felt his legs go, his head cracked against the
desk but he didn't feel it.  He slumped to the carpet and stared helplessly
up.  The pain intensified.  Through his fading vision he saw one of Dumas's
bodyguards kneeling over him.  He heard it saying, "Cardiac arrest, 
initiating CPR procedures."  He barely felt it working on him, he tried to
breathe but nothing happened.  The world faded and slipped away.
     Eva saw the Boomer Dumas called Kevin trying to revive Staeler.  The
other Boomer (which Dumas had named Cynthia 2 for some reason) finished 
calling for an emergency medical team.  Then it joined the its partner as 
they struggled over Staeler.  She took a step toward them.  Dumas (still
sitting in his chair with his coffee) called over," You'd just get in the
way.  Sit down."
     She sat down beside Dumas.  She hadn't liked Staeler still ...  Dumas
glanced at his watch, "Isn't there an emergency medical team on standby
for the ranking executives?"
     "Yes."  He was right "Where are they?"
     "No idea.  This could get tragic if they don't get here in time."
     "Let's hope that ..."  That what?  Staeler recovers?  She couldn't stand 
him.  In fact ...
     As if he'd read her mind Dumas commented, "I hope you're ready to take
over.  In the event that the worst happens."
     "I ... I'm sure I'd be able to guide this branch through its' difficult 
transition."
     Dumas nodded.  "I'm afraid this might be stress induced.  President 
Staeler just didn't understand that times have changed."
     Cautiously Eva said, "I've often felt your policies should be fully 
adopted by this branch."  If Staeler recovered she'd have to edit the  
security video of this conversation.
     Conversationally Dumas added, "With my recommendation Chairman Quincy
would be sure to confirm you as president of the German branch."
     The deal was clear.  She doubted Staeler would be getting up again. 
"I'm sure I can prove worthy of your recommendation."  Staeler had been 
wrong, Dumas was more than sufficiently ruthless.
     The medical team broke in and headed for Staeler.  The Boomers backed
off, Kevin reciting the relevant medical data.  One of the team muttered
"Goddamn elevator got stuck at the worst possible time."  Then he shut up 
and got to work.

     September 23 2035 7 pm - Phoenix Biological & Cybernetics Research Centre
    
     Frank found Mackie, Sylia and Sonya clustered around one of the ALF 
tubes.  They were studied what Frank assumed was a schematic of its brain.
He'd given up trying to understand what they were working on a long time.
There were no other researchers present which was good.
     Without looking around Mackie said, "We're kind of busy Frank."
     "Try reversing the polarity of the neutron flow."
     "Soon as we finish triggering a cascade reaction in the warp nacelles."
     Sylia looked to her brother for an explanation.  Sonya put a hand on 
her arm and muttered, "Don't even ask." 
     "We just might be obsolete."
     "What?"  Now that he had Mackie's attention Frank placed a minivid on
a nearby terminal.  It began replaying a newsclip.  A solemn news anchor 
announced, "Tragedy struck GENOM Germany today with the death of President
Johann Staeler."
     "Sonofa..."
     The report went on to describe the heart attack that had killed Staeler,
a brief biography, a description of his many philanthropic contributions and
described his surviving family as heartbroken.  There was a brief clip of
Dumas expressing condolences and regretting that the pressures of work 
required him to return to MegaTokyo.
     "Well that should quieten things down around here.  Thanks for letting
me know."
     "No problem."  A pause.  "So what happens now?"
     "I don't foresee disbanding anytime soon.  We'll talk later OK.  Besides
I think Ilsa's still waiting for you to run through level 7."
     "He's right."
     Frank turned to see Ilsa closer than she should have been able to get.
"Guess I am slipping."
     "Right, so let's get on with your workout."
     "Great.  Maybe we can run throught the combat simulation afterwards.  
Ow!"
     "Let's go."
     Mackie watched them leave then turned back to the ALF.  Looked like Sis 
was going to get the quiet time she'd hoped for.  Sonya was feeling hopeful,
maybe Mackie would give up the whole insane vigilante thing.  Much as she
liked Ilsa she'd prefer to see the Knight Shadows gone.

     Tuesday September 25 2035 4 pm - The Aerie, GENOM Tower, MegaTokyo 

     The elevator was almost at the summit when Kate asked Daniel, "What's
the autopsy on Staeler going to show?"
     "Heart attack.  Possibly stress related."
     She studied her lover.  "Staeler didn't know what real ruthlessness was."
     "True.  He was just a thug at heart.  You have to be civilized to be 
truly evil."
     "Was that a joke?"
     The doors slid open.  The Chairman was waiting.
     "Daniel, welcome back.  How was Europe?"
     "Nice to be back sir.  I've prepared a detailed report but in brief I'm
happy to say that everything's running smoothly."
     "Yes.  Shame about Staeler."
     "These things happen sir.  Will you be attending the funeral?"
     Quincy sighed.  "I suppose I should.  Madigan make the security 
arrangements.
     "Yes sir."  Kate settled back to watch.  She wasn't sure what was going 
to happen but suspected Quincy was about to drop a bombshell on Daniel.
     "I have a special assignment for you Daniel."
     "Of course sir.  What is it?"
     "Eliminate the Knight Sabers."
     Dumas looked mildly surprised.  Quincy added, "As soon as possible."
     "May I ask why sir?  After all if it wasn't for their recent 
intervention there would be a large crater here instead of a city."
     "Three reasons.  They're a nuisance, they turn people against GENOM
simply by existing and lastly ..."  Quincy smiled.
     He was obviously waiting so Daniel asked, "Lastly?"
     "Lastly you don't want to do it.  Which makes it an excellent test of
your loyalty to me.  I know you can kill your enemies with ease.  How about
people who aren't your enemies?"  Quincy grinned, "I need you too much to fire
you if you refuse.  But I can stop following all the policies you're so set
on implementing."
     Daniel looked uncertain for the first time since she'd met him.  He was
silent for a minute and then his normal mildly amused cynic mask returned.
"An optimal operation will require several weeks to implement.  I'll need to
requisition some special hardware.  Then there the matter of a budget."
     "Fine.  Send me your requirements tomorrow.  Good day Daniel."
     They left the Chairman looking over the city.  As the elevator descended
Daniel turned to Kate.  "Feel like dinner tonight?"
     "Love to.  About eight?"  Things are getting interesting, I'm not 
letting you out of my sight.
     "See you then."  The doors opened and Daniel headed for his office.
He ignored Cynthia2 and Kevin as they fell in step with him and just nodded 
in acknowledgement to his assistants.  Alone in his office he sat down and 
his desk and sighed once.  For five minutes he stared off at nothing.
     Then he switched on his terminal and got to work.

End of part 1     

Next: October and the return to MegaTokyo.

Part 2 : Homecoming.

     
Thanks (and/or blame) to Robin Smith for the inspiration for Bubblegoon Crisis  
I may have a mental breakdown and write that someday.
I know Crash is generally supposed to have happened in 2034 but I haven't seen
anything confirming this so I've bumped it to 2035.

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page