Dark Fire

                            By:

                         Fox Cutter

12/17/97:

    Chapter 1

"Fox, we don't have time for this," Rachel said from behind
me. I grunted in response, working on reconnecting a pair of
cables I had worked loose a few minutes before.

She sighed. "At least get dressed, we're supposed to be in
the banquet hall in twenty minutes."

With a final snap I managed to get everything connected like
it was supposed to be. Pulling myself out of the access
hatch I gave her a slight smile. "Don't worry, I'll be ready
on time."

She crossed her arms, an annoyed look crossing her face. "On
time was an hour ago," she protested. "Our escort has been
waiting for at least ten minutes. Now clean up and get
dressed."

I closed and locked the access hatch. Standing, I cleaned my
hands off on a towel I had brought with me for just that
reason. "Right, on my way."

She rolled her eyes and stepped out of my way. She was
already dressed for the opening banquet for ORADS (the
'Off-world Research And Development Station' for long),
wearing a black evening gown that just barely reached past
her ankles and swished softly with each step she made.

Locking the door behind me as I left, I started towards my
cabin. We were all jammed into the _Falcon_, which we had
used as a transport down from the _Golden Phoenix_. Well,
Rachel hadn't, but she had come to check on me to see what
was taking me so long to get out of the docking bay and into
the base proper.

We had been on the Krein moon base (where ORADS was located)
for close to half an hour. I had spent most of it trying to
fix the forward landing gear on the _Falcon_. Somehow one of
the cables had come loose, keeping the gear from retracting
on the trip down. I didn't want to leave the ship without
trying to fix it.

I was relatively sure I had, too, but just to be sure I was
going to tell Milgrove to have Zen run a full diagnostic
once sie got back to the _Phoenix_.

Slipping inside my cabin I removed my normal clothing (which
even I knew wasn't going to cut it for something as formal
as this banquet) and put on a tuxedo. It actually was an
Earth tux; I had dug up the patterns from my net connection
back home and given them to a tailor who works on short
notice.

To be honest, I actually did look pretty good in it. It's
amazing, but true. I did not look, for what was possibly the
first time in my life, scruffy.

Adjusting the bow tie (it was a clip-on, I could never learn
to tie them) I ran my hands through my hair and stepped out
of the cabin.

Oriana was waiting for me in the hallway. She was dressed in
the Lidr'ran version of formal wear. It wasn't a dress, it
was actually a pair of pants and a long shirt. They were
made of a light blue-grey fabric with a silky sheen to it.
The pants were loose on her body, billowing out a bit as she
moved. The shirt came half way down to her knees and was
slightly open at the collar. There was a belt, which looked
more like a scarf, around her waist holding her shirt down
tight against her body, from the way it vanished in the
fabric I gathered it was holding up her pants as well.

It looked very good on her; the color highlighted her fur.
Her hair was worn loose, with some of it hanging over her
shoulders. She had on the hair clips I had given her almost
a year ago as well. The whole thing only served to
high-light her best features, while not over-emphasizing the
bits that made her sexy. Altogether, she looked just
beautiful.

She smiled as I came out of the room. "You look handsome,"
she murmured to me, walking over and straightening my tie.

"And you are very lovely," I responded.

Setting her arm over my shoulder, she smiled and sighed
softly. "I'm not sure I can do this, Fox."

I patted her paw. "I know, Oria." She had told me everything
after she had taken the contract. "Maybe you'll get lucky
and this guy didn't do anything."

She gave me a sharp look. "I wouldn't have been asked if it
wasn't almost a sure thing."

I nodded grimly. "You ready for this?"

"I'm armed... but ready to kill again?" she looked down at
her feet. "I don't know."

I squeezed her paw gently, not sure what else to say, or
even if there was anything else *to* say.

She took a deep breath. "We don't want to be late for the
banquet."

I nodded again, and we started out of the ship. Rachel was
waiting for us just around the corner. She raised her
eyebrows at Oria's clothing, then smiled. "Looks
comfortable," she commented.

Oria smiled, "That is intended. Formal clothing doesn't have
to be stuffy."

I nodded my head, understanding the reasons behind that
idea. "Just a second," I commented and stepped away from
them. Opening a close-by door, I stuck my head in.

Inside was the flight cockpit of the _Falcon_, and Milgrove.
Sie was lounging back in the chair and reading a book. The
light behind hir was causing the pair of small horns on hir
head to sparkle just slightly.

"Hey Mil, can you do me a favor?"

Sie looked up over the edge of hir book, "Maybe."

"I don't suppose you can keep the _Falcon_ here for a few
hours? Tell them you're working on getting the gear fixed so
it will be safe."

Setting hir book down, sie gave me a slightly perplexed
look. "Why?"

I smiled a bit. "Just to be safe... and keep a watch on the
local radio bands. If anything strange happens... use your
best judgment." With that I ducked back out and closed the
door.

"What was that about?" Oriana asked as I rejoined the group.

"Burke," I said with a frown. "I just realized that if he
knew we were to be here, it's probably because something is
going to happen. So I told Milgrove to hang around for a
bit."

Oria nodded. Rachel gave me a stern look. "Who is Burke?"

I shook my head, "I'll tell you later." We started out of
the ship and into the base's docking bay. It was separated
from the base proper by about a mile of tunnel. It made
sense, I expected; in case something happened in the dock
the base could be protected and vice-a-versa.

Our guide was waiting for us just outside of the ship. She
sighed slightly when we finally stepped out. "Come on," she
said and started towards the exit to the bay.

She didn't take the main exit; instead she went into a small
side room. Hitting a few buttons on the wall she opened a
fold in the side of the wall. With a glance back at us she
went through. We all followed as a matter of course.

The far side was another small room off of a hallway. This
one was carpeted though, with fancy looking lights along the
walls. She typed something else into the control panel and
closed the fold.

I smiled. I had been told that there was a shortcut from the
bay into the base, but I had assumed it used a teleport
curtain, not a pair of folds. I filed away how both folds
felt so I could use them if I ever needed to come back to
the base. If some of what the scientists were working on
panned out, I figured it probably would be just as well.

We were ushered into a large reception hall just as the
speakers were starting to enter and move to the large raised
platform at the front of the room. Rachel smiled at me and
moved off to her own table with the other two First Level
Members, as well as another person whom I had never seen
before, and whose species I could not place.

Oria and I were taken to a small table halfway up the room.
Sitting down, we both made a quick order for drinks (wine
for both of us-- I thought I could stomach it for the night)
and relaxed as the first speaker began to speak.

* * *

The most annoying thing about this kind of banquet was
having to sit through it. Most of it was concerned with
introducing ORADS' board of directors and the department
heads, as well as explaining what the major projects were.

We had already been there a hour, and the third speaker of a
dozen was just sitting down so the next one in line could
start. Fox was watching it all with a glazed look in his
eyes. He was thinking of something else and not what was
going on.

Gently I reached over the table and tapped his hand. He
tipped his head slightly to look at me.

I adjusted my shirt. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

He chewed his lip slightly, but nodded. I slowly stood up
and walked to the exit of the room, my pants swishing softly
with each step. The waiter standing at the door pointed me
towards the ladies room and I went down the hall.

Going the way he directed, I walked right past the bathroom
and turned a corner that was only a bit farther down the
hallway. Walking down the new corridor I checked each door
as I went past, gently rattling the handles until I found
one that was unlocked.

Inside was an empty office. It just contained a desk and
some filing cabinets. The only light in the room came from a
single side window that faced out into a large open air
garden, or small park.

It wasn't much light, but it was enough for my night vision
to work. Slipping down behind the desk I started to remove
my garlat, the dress clothing I was wearing. It was quick to
remove and hide; I folded it up and set it under the desk
where it couldn't be seen from the door.

Underneath the garlat I was dressed in something a lot less
formal. At Fox's suggestion I had come dressed for my job in
a pair of black pants, a black shirt and with a mask that
covered my face. The idea was to hide my identity from
anyone who was watching.

Quickly, and uncomfortably, I hid my tail in the pants, then
tucked my hair under my shirt. I wasn't going to put the
mask on just yet.

Standing up, I casually left the office, made a note of the
room's location, and started after my target.

    Chapter 2

One thing I had excelled at during my training was how to
move with stealth. I was using all of my skill now, moving
quickly and quietly through the halls of the base. The only
noise came from my breathing and the pads of my feet as they
brushed over the cold stone floor.

I was out of the visitors' section of the base now, moving
back into the labs. It wasn't as fancy as the public parts
of the base; the walls still showed the marks from where
they had been carved out of the stone. It was empty of all
but a few people, and cold as well.

My destination was just a bit farther on, a small,
unremarkable lab that no one was supposed to be using for
lack of an experiment small enough. According to the file
the Guild Elders had given me, Dr. Grafrin stored his
sensitive files there, not trusting the computer systems to
keep them intact.

After only two more turns I came to my destination; a small
door in a hallway. Just one of many, the only markings to
differentiate it from the rest were a set of numbers on the
door.

I casually walked towards it, twisting the knob just
slightly. I was in luck; the door had been left unlocked.
Very slowly I opened it, slipping inside as soon as I had it
opened wide enough. I closed the door just as slowly.

Crouching down in front of the door I finally pulled my mask
over my face. The fabric was thick and pressed hard against
my nose, but it served a purpose. From one of my smaller
pockets I removed a small pen light. The light it cast was
extremely weak, but enough for me to see by.

The lab was small, maybe fifteen feet square. The only other
exit was a door on the far wall, and it was closed. I
wouldn't worry about it yet; first there was a set of file
cabinets in one corner that looked promising.

I slowly started going through them, one at time. Most of
the files were pretty much what I would have expected to
find in a lab: records on the testing of different equipment
and notes on other researchers' experiments. Two of the
files caught my attention. One was labeled as a file on
computers built with DNA; but inside it was a set of
documents discussing the makeup of the Plague.

The second file was easy to find after the first, it was
labeled 'Testing of Genetic Computers'. I had overlooked it
before, but when I came back to it I found it was exactly
what I had feared. A detailed report on the infection of the
Third Plague World: from the vectors of the virus to the
progress of the population's death.

It was a record of genocide.

Taking a few deep breaths to calm the sudden rage I was
feeling, I took both files; closing and tying them together,
then hiding them under my shirt.

I was reaching for the door to let myself out when the room
grew suddenly brighter. It was still too dark for the lights
in the lab to be on. A quick glance over my shoulder proved
that it was coming from the crack under the other door in
the room.

My reaction was automatic; I jumped away from the door and
scrambled under the workbench that was on one side of the
lab. The idea was to stay out of sight if anyone came into
the room, then get out before they could notice me.

Holding my breath I starting counting my heartbeat. By the
time I reached two hundred, I was starting to get curious. I
could hear voices from where I was hiding, but couldn't
understand anything.

Showing more daring than judgment, I slipped out of my
hiding place and walked on my toes to the door. Most of the
conversation was one-sided, with whomever it was with making
only a few passing comments.

Bending down, I placed my ear next to the crack under the
door. The conversation was still muffled but I found that I
was starting to recognize one of the voices.

I found it too overwhelming to believe, but it was confirmed
when the person doing the talking yelled the other's name.

Grasion.

Fox's arch-enemy... the one person I think he may really be
scared of on a person-to-person level. Fox never talked
about him, or how they ever got tangled with each other, but
I still remember his smile... his touch... I suddenly found
that I was shaking.

In the other room the conversation seemed to have come to an
end. Then a door slammed, one of the pair of them having
left. I could still hear the other one in the room,
muttering to himself. It was the second person, who had done
most of the talking.

And who had just started to open the door I was behind.

I didn't have time to retreat under the desk again. All I
could do was stand and hide behind the door as he opened it.
I just made it as he opened the door. Turning the lights in
the room on, he went right to the file cabinets I had been
at just minutes before.

His face was one I knew... it had been engraved on my memory
from days of staring at his picture as we came ever closer
to this moment.

Dr. Verden Grafrin, my target; the man I had been asked to
kill. Whose assassination I had accepted when it was
offered. I felt my needler in my paw; I wasn't sure when I
had taken it out, but I had it now. I adjusted the setting
quickly, my eyes never leaving my target. I only glanced
down one time to make sure I was right, then I used my foot
to slam the door between us closed.

He jumped, turning in mid-air, his long ferret body made for
the task. He registered surprise when he saw me, his muzzle
set in a grim line. "Why are you here?" he asked, his eyes
locked on the needler as he held up his paws.

I felt myself smile through my mask, my whole body was
suddenly on autopilot, I was now just an observer through my
own eyes.

"Dr. Grafrin," I said, my voice having become very cold. "I
have been sent to talk to you about the Plague."

He frowned, "I don't know what you mean."

I shook my head, "Yes you do... I already have your files."

He gulped again, his eyes looking back over his shoulder at
the file cabinets.

"What do you want? I can provide money, technology that you
can sell, anything you want."

I shook my head again.

"Who are you?" he asked, now starting to sound frightened.

I reached up and pulled off the mask, smiling at him. He
started to shake.

I stood there, watching him, my thumb barely resting against
the firing stud of the needler, when I remembered something.
It was a passage from the book of Thryn. It was said to have
been spoken by one of the first high priests, just before he
ended the life of one of my history's most evil persons.

"I am the dark angel of Thryn," I whispered, "I have been
sent by my Lord and Master to seek all who take life in
vain. I seek those who have been deemed unworthy to breathe,
to remove their souls from the universe. I am Darkness... I
am Death... I will devour your soul."

And as he stared at me in fear, a tear running down the side
of his face, his mouth moving in a silent prayer. I shot one
needle into his body. It struck in his neck, the poison it
contained spreading into his system. He was dead before he
even fell to the floor.

My training left me there and I was once again in control of
myself. I had to use all of that control not to become ill
right there. I slowly put my needler away and removed one of
the small photo disks that I had brought with me. Turning it
on it took a three-hundred-sixty degree picture of the room,
providing the proof that I had done my job.

It came back to my hand like it was supposed to and I put it
back into my pocket. Then putting my mask back on, I left
the room, leaving by the same door I had entered. Heading
back to Fox to tell him that I had done what I had been
asked to do.

And to warn him about Grasion.

    Chapter 3

I've been told to start at the beginning, so I think I
shall. My name is Jadith, I'm an elf. Sixth daughter of the
King of Calidan, Twelfth Kingdom of the Galike Empire. I am
a Princess in title only. Being sixth daughter meant I
received nothing for my name. No land, no money, just my
title. My father always believed that the only way I would
ever marry would be for political reasons.

I believed that, too. I was raised in the castle and taught
how to be a proper Princess. One of the things I learned was
that I would not be courted, nor would anyone come seeking
my hand; I would only be wed if it was arranged. Living in
the castle, I was never in a position to meet anyone that I
could love. Being sixth daughter meant none of the Princes
talked to me as anything other than the sister of the one
they wanted to be with.

I couldn't find love outside of the castle walls. I was a
Princess; I did not mingle with the commoners, I did not
talk with them, I was above them. It would never do to make
friends with them, or even be seen with them. To marry one,
just the thought would make me laugh, I could never wed so
far below my station in life.

I always found living at the castle rather boring. The only
people to talk to were my three brothers and five sisters.
The help avoided me, with good reason. I was rude to them,
expecting them to bend to my every whim.

That lasted until I was sixteen years old. It began with two
of my brothers fighting; nothing new, they had fought many
times. It wasn't even a real fight, they were practicing
their sword work.

I was never quite sure exactly how it happened, but my older
brother, Haldith, was stabbed in the chest. My other brother
panicked, running to get help. I went to Haldith's side,
holding his hand as his blood pooled under him. I prayed
help would arrive in time, and I wished I could help him
somehow.

I did. When help finally arrived they found Haldith healed,
in perfect health. I, on the other hand, was lying in the
grass, my face covered in blood. I was unconscious, having
slipped into a state of sleeping death.

I stayed like that for three years. I was just barely alive,
my face pale, my skin cold, almost icy. My father, bless
him, brought in every healer in the Kingdom and many from
other Kingdoms. They all tried to help, and some did, but it
never lasted, and I never awoke.

All the while my mother keep a vigil by my bedside, feeding
me and cleaning me.

The day came, just over three years from when I had first
entered this deathly sleep, that someone finally understood
what had happened. Lady Shaledin, when she came to try and
heal me, watched Haldith fall off his horse when he was
going at full gallop. He hit the ground hard, rolling in his
chain mail for a dozen yards. He was not even bruised by the
experience.

Shaledin started to understand what had happened. I had not
just healed my brother, I had done much more. I had created
a healing link between us; all my life force was being used
to make sure my brother was always in perfect health. The
worse his emergencies, the more I would give and the weaker
I would become.

It was only the parade of healers that had prevented me from
dying.

It look Lady Shaledin a month to prepare to sever the link.
The healing she performed on me lasted two full days, but
once it was finished I fell into a real sleep, my body and
skin returning to their normal feel and color.

Three more days passed before I finally awoke. My mother
burst into tears and held me for hours as the news spread.
During that time she explained to me what had happened. That
I had lost three years of my life, and what my father had
done to try and heal me. Then she told me that I was to go
with Lady Shaledin, to learn how to control my healing power
so nothing like this would ever happened again.

I had three years before I was an adult, and could strike
out on life alone, so I would be learning under Shaledin for
those three years. After that I could do whatever I would
wish. So I went with her, to her home nearly a month's ride
from the castle. It was in a muddy little village miles from
anyplace suited for a Princess of my standing.

I did learn though, not just about healing, but about life
in general. It didn't take long to understand that I was not
going to get the treatment I had expected from everyone
there. I had to pull my own weight and do my own work,
cooking and cleaning just like everyone else. I started to
see people as people; they were not lower than me, nor was I
better than them. Without even knowing it I stopped being a
Princess and started being a person.

The world does look a lot different when you look at it, and
not your nose.

When I turned twenty-two I decided I would rather stay at
the village than return to the castle. I apprenticed under
Shaledin and spent two more years learning to be a true
healer. During those same two years I also married the man I
had come to love, and who was sadly taken from me after only
three years together.

After that I decided to move on, so I returned home. In the
seven years I had been gone nothing much had changed. All my
sisters had been married off, as were all my brothers but
Haldith. My family never knew that I had been married, or
was a widow until I told them the day I came home.

They were all aghast. I was a Princess! I had no right to be
acting like a commoner, or marrying one. It was a gulf
between us that would never be filled. I moved into the
village around the castle and started being a healer. My
family just treated me as I wanted to be treated, never even
talking to me, though Haldith would stop by occasionally.

As for the villagers, they knew me as Jadith the healer, not
their long forgotten Princess. I preferred it that way. I
was happy with my life, and at times I would find quiet
places to just reflect on it. Once such place was up the
side of a mountain. The events following which have been
documented enough, even if poorly, that I need not go over
them once more.

Ah, but to get to the point of why I am writing this at all.
I had come along with Fox on this trip for quite selfish
reasons. I wanted to see space, to be in a place that was so
far from anywhere that the distance was measured in time,
not miles. Just the thought that even the longest distance
I'd ever known was, as Fox said 'peanuts to space' was some
how amazing, and humbling. This seemed to me proof that the
universes, how ever many they are, could not be something to
happen in any form of accident.

More proof of this simple truth was facing me as well. I was
situated on the roof of the _Falcon_, sitting next to the
round door leading inside. Above me was a wall of glass as
large as a lake, being held by a form of metal I had never
seen before. On the far side of it, a great distance away
from me, hung a world. It shone as a quarter crescent, the
greater portion in shadow. It was lit by thousands of lights
that covered the land like rivers moving from one vast city
to another. It was a form of beauty unto itself.

I wondered how many of the people that lived on that world
knew what was above it. How many had ever left it, to step
foot on not just another Kingdom, or even land, but a whole
different world.

Smiling at the thought, I lay back and pulled an apple from
my always present bag (a gift from Lady Shaledin when I left
her company). I started to eat, watching the world spin
above me.

I was not allotted much time for reflection, though. The
pilot of the craft, a young squirrel lady named Milgrove,
climbed up next to me. She looked down at me and I looked
back with a smile.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, seeming slightly
concerned. The large flaps of loose skin under her arms
rippled slightly in the air rising up from inside the craft
(I've been told they are wings, but they look nothing like
Sora's).

I finished a bite of my apple. "I'm sorry. I was talking to
Fox, and came along by accident. He said he was going to
tell you."

She sighed slightly, sitting down on the edge of the door.
"He didn't bother with it."

I took another bite of the apple and sat up.

"Where did you get that?" she asked, pointing at the apple.

I swallowed the last bite, "From the garden inside the other
ship."

She smiled, "I didn't know there was fruit there."

"Would you like one?"

She twitched her ears, "If you have anymore."

Taking the last bite from the fleshy part of the apple, I
reached behind my back and into my bag. Digging around, I
found another fruit and pulled it out. It was some round
orange ball, called just that, an orange. I gave it to the
pilot.

She took it from me, then leaned over just enough to look
behind me. "Where did you pull this from?"

"My bag," I said, trying to hide my smile by biting the core
of the apple in half.

She looked again, then looked back at me. "What bag?"

"It's magic," I explained with a smile.

The confusion fell from her face. "Ah, a bag of many
things."

That shook me, that was not the way the conversation was
meant to go. People were normally amazed, or asked for me to
show them. Normally they did not understand what I was
talking about.

"I've never seen one invisible like that before," she
continued, peeling the orange.

I finished the last bit of the apple, not sure what response
she was expecting.

"How much can you put in it?"

A question that I was expecting. "A fair amount of food, my
staff, and a supply of the herbs I need for my healing."

She nodded, "Is it only keyed to you?"

It took a moment for me to understand that this was another
question I had been asked before, though not in quite this
way. "Yes, I'm the only one who can use it."

She began to speak again, but stopped when a new voice
filtered up from under her. I couldn't understand what was
said, and from the look on the squirrel's face she did not
either. Moving backwards she looked down the door she was
still half out of. She hopped out of the hatch and stood up,
a look of panic crossing her face.

Someone new came out of the door after her. He was dressed
in some strange form of armor and was holding some kind of
thick cannon-like thing. From the way he was holding it, and
from Milgrove's reaction, I realized that it must be some
kind of weapon.

The man smiled, stepping up from the door and pointing his
device at the pair of us, "Both of you are to come with us.
Stand up." The last part was directed at me. I carefully
stood so as not to fall against the slickness of the ship's
hull. Once standing I could see others like this man
standing around the ship.

"We have permission to be here, and how did you get on board
the ship?" Milgrove demanded.

He started to move, slowly and carefully so that his weapon
never wavered from us. "You didn't close the door."

Her face fell as he said this, knowing that it was something
she should have done, but had not.

The man had moved, Milgrove and I moving to face him, so
that we both stood with out backs to the door into the ship.
He gave us a coldly satisfied smile. "Go down, you'll be met
inside the ship."

Reluctantly we both did as we were instructed.

    Chapter 4

Oriana had been gone for close to half an hour and it was
starting to worry me. The whole of her little trip was not
supposed to take more than twenty minutes. Killing that
doctor, if that needed to be done, was to come later.

I shook my head, not liking that thought. The idea of
killing someone shouldn't come so easy to me, no matter who
they were. It was just that some part in the back of my mind
was letting me know I'd done it before. But the image I kept
seeing was of choking someone to death, not shooting them
from across the room, which is how I have killed before.

The strange part was, it seemed to tie in with the one dream
I kept having every few days when I slept the little sleep I
did. Still, it's just a series of disjointed images of a
fight. I'm starting to remember choking someone in there, as
well.

Dangerous dreams... very dangerous...

Up at the front of the room a waiter slipped behind the
seated speakers, moving to a human who had just spoken. The
waiter gave the man a note and left. The human read the note
then let it drop to the floor.

This was perfectly normal, and had happened once before with
another speaker. No one seemed to have even noticed it. I
did notice though that whatever the note had said, it made
the man nervous. He keep tugging on the cuffs of his jacket,
his eyes bouncing from one door to another.

I drew in a slow breath. I was willing to bet that the note
said that Oriana had done her job a bit early, and Dr.
Grafrin's body had been found. He was now watching for
people to slip back into the room, betting one was the
killer.

He would be right too, unless I could head Oriana off and
come back in with her. I could provide some kind of cover.
Standing up I headed towards the exit at the back of the
room. The waiter manning the exit stepped in front of me.
"Sorry sir, we are not letting anyone out of the room right
now."

I frowned, looking this man over. He didn't look like the
normal waiters that had been moving in and out of the
banquet hall throughout the evening. His uniform seemed
about a size too small on his frame. I could also see the
bulge of a weapon inside of his jacket.

"Why not?" I asked, taking a couple steps back.

The man looked down at me. "There is a surprise coming soon,
we want everyone here for it."

I nodded, and walked a few feet away, standing just out of
his sight in a corner of the room. I had misjudged what was
going on. This didn't seem like it had anything to do with
Oria or her target. This was something else entirely.

I looked around the room, summing up the people who were
there. From what the speakers had said, most of them were
business heads, or generally high up in the government of
the Krein home world. As well as the three highest ranking
people on the Council...

My mouth was suddenly dry, and I reflexively gulped. I
Looked back over my shoulder at the guard on the door, then
back at the human speaker, who was getting more nervous as
time went by. This was a lot bigger than just the
assassination of a doctor. I started to walk towards Rachel
when the human speaker stood up.

"Sorry to interrupt you," he said to the person currently
speaking, "but we have a surprise speaker."

The other speakers all gave each other looks that said 'Did
you know about this?' while the current speaker shot daggers
with his eyes at the human. "Who is it?" someone asked.

The human just made a motion to the side door, and sat back
down. Through the door walked the new speaker. A human, just
a hair under seven feet tall, totally bald and with the pure
white skin and pink eyes of an albino. Grasion-- the one
person I had hoped never to have to see again.

He walked to the speaking podium, smiling as he looked over
the population of the room. He didn't seem to notice me, but
I suspected that might change in a few seconds. He smiled at
all of us. "Greetings, my guests."

There was a series of thumps as the guards closed all the
doors out of the room, and placed their large masses between
the room and the doors.

"What is going on here?!" a wolf demanded, standing up at
her table. A few others joined in.

Grasion smiled wider. "Look around. In this room is enough
power, controlled or created, to destroy a world."

"Or rule one," someone else said, their voice nearly a
whisper.

He didn't respond, I'm not even sure if he heard the
comment. Right then his eyes finally found me standing at
the back of the room. He stared at me, his eyes narrowing,
his smile becoming even wider, if that was possible.

I didn't look back, I grabbed an empty chair that was next
to me and swung it at the guard by the door. The guard
ducked the chair and swung one of his massive fists at me,
hitting my chest and sending me to the floor.

Grasion laughed. "Well done, Fox," he spoke the words as a
complement, "I see you've grown more of a backbone since
last we met."

My response was to gasp for air as I tried to pull myself up
onto my feet. I was only able to get to my hands and knees
before I felt a foot sitting heavily on my back.

I looked up and across the room; Grasion still stood behind
the podium, leaning forward a bit. "So, Fox, what brings you
to this side of the universe?" He glanced at Rachel. "Let me
guess... you're still being used by the Council."

"At times," I coughed.

He smiled at me, and walked out from behind the podium, then
over towards where I lay. He nodded to the guard, and the
foot was removed from my backside.

I took in a deep breath, and stood up, watching Grasion as
he calmly walked through the tables to stand a few feet from
me.

"Do you know that I've not been able to do anything without
you interfering since we first met?" he asked, crossing his
arms.

I smiled, adjusting my shirt. "I try to please."

"It isn't going to be easy this time, Fox. Right now, I
control this base and everyone inside of it. All I have to
decide is that I don't like how I'm being dealt with and
people will see the far side of an airlock."

I shrugged. "So you have hostages, what does that give you?
How many people will hate you for it? How many will just
work around it? How effective do you think it could actually
be to hold any of these people for any length of time?"

He laughed, "But you see, I want more than them. I want more
than just the power they hold. My plan is more than just a
simple hostage situation, it's about control."

"Of what?"

He spread his hands apart. "Oh, Fox, do you think I'm just
going to stand here and tell you what I'm planing?" He
sounded like he was disappointed in me.

I gave him my best winning smile as I said, "It would help."

He laughed again, then thrust one of his arms forward,
pulling his hand back, exposing his wrist, and something
strapped to it. As he did there came the sound of a muffled
gunshot, and a sudden pain in my lower chest.

I started to buckle over, reaching up to grab my belly. I
could already feel the blood seeping into my shirt as I
realized that I had been shot.

Grasion smiled, showing some kind of tube-like gun strapped
to the inside of his wrist.

"Nice toy," I whispered, falling to my knees. "I'll take
five."

The sound of his laughter was the last thing I heard before
darkness took me.

    Chapter 5

The sight of Fox falling to the ground was enough to shake
most of us from our stunned silence. Some people started to
yell while one lady in the back started screaming at the top
of her voice.

My reaction was a little more effective for what had
happened. I got out of my seat instantly, and ran to Fox's
side. He was still alive, but his breathing was shallow.
Slicing his shirt open with a claw, I saw how bad it was.
There was a hole in his chest, right over his navel, and it
was bleeding strongly.

Above me Grasion laughed again. "You are under my control
now. Each of you will do as I say if you have any desire to
continue living. Now, all communications inside this
building have been terminated, so don't get any ideas about
calling for help. It's not going to come."

He then smiled down at me. "Feel free to try and save him
Ms. Council Head, but I doubt you will." Then he turned on
his heel and walked out the main door of the hall. The guard
stepped through after him, to guard the other side of the
door, I would presume.

I wasn't a doctor; I had no idea what needed to be done to
save Fox's life. All I could think of was to stop the
bleeding. Quickly I pulled his jacket, and then his shirt
from his body. His shirt I bundled up and pressed against
the wound, then using his belt I strapped it down as tightly
as I could.

It really wasn't good enough to do anything for him. I
didn't know how much longer he would have to live, but I
knew it would be measured in only hours.

"Rachel?" Theo said, setting his paw on my shoulder.

I looked up at him, not saying anything to him. Not sure if
I could say anything at all.

He sighed, looking down at Fox. "At least he's still alive."

"I don't know for how long though... he needs to get to a
hospital, or at least a medical bay."

"The pair of them are old enemies, aren't they?" I was
relived that someone had shut the screaming lady up just
after Theo asked his question.

I nodded, still leaning on Fox. "He's talked about Grasion
before. Mostly it was hoping that he would never have to
encounter him again." I wasn't sure when I started it, but I
was whispering.

"Then why is he still alive?"

I cast him a glance. "Fox is not a killer; you should know
that."

Theo shook his head. "Wrong him. Why didn't Grasion just
kill Fox? He had the perfect opportunity."

I sighed, "I don't know. Maybe he wants it to be a slow
death."

"I'm quite sure that he could come up with a few thousand
more painful ways to kill him than just a shot in the gut."
He shook his head, "This is something else completely."

"What, though?"

He shook his head, handing me a towel he had brought with
him. "Clean your paws off and go talk to Laina."

I started to protest, but he shook his head. "She's trying
to come up with some means of communication. If she does
you're the one who's going to have to do the talking."

He was right. Sadly, I took the towel from him and wiped the
blood from my paws. Then standing, I walked back over to our
table. Laina was still there, hunched over and tapping on
her console. One of her ears had dipped down over her face
and she keep pushing it away.

"Anything so far?" I asked the bunny as I sat down next to
her.

She looked up at me, and shook her head. "The radio spectrum
is jammed and it feels like there's a field over the base to
block the folds."

I sighed. "So it's useless, then."

She shook her head. "No, not entirely. If I'm reading this
right, it's not a complete block. I think some of the lower
bands maybe open enough to send a simple message through."

There came a thump from the main doors into the banquet
hall. Everyone in the room stopped what they had been doing
to see who was coming into the room.

A pair of guards pushed two people inside, resealing the
door behind them. One I recognized almost immediately as
Milgrove, the other I wasn't quite sure about, she was one
of Fox's friends.

As the doors shut behind them, they looked around. Milgrove
found me quickly, looking me right in the eyes. The second
one was now staring at Fox, after a few seconds Mil looked
down at him as well.

Before I knew that I had done anything, I was standing next
to them. "What happened?" Milgrove asked.

"He was shot."

The second lady, an elf I now saw, pulled off the light vest
she had been wearing and sat down right next to Fox. She
reached first for his neck, pressing gently, then placed her
hand over his heart and frowned.

Mil bent down next to her. "What are you doing?"

The elf reached behind her back and came back holding a
small leaf of some kind which she folded in half and put
into her mouth, swallowing it whole. "I'm going to try and
heal him," she explained, panting softly.

"Can you?" I asked leaning down myself.

She didn't answer; instead she grabbed my arm. The spot
where her fingers touched me stung for a second, then she
let go. She did this to Theo, then finally Milgrove. She
paused for a few seconds longer. "I'm going to need some of
your blood," she said.

Mil frowned, "I'm not sure--"

The elf cut her off, "Your blood is an almost perfect match
for his. It will save a lot of time and effort to use yours
instead of someone else's." Her blue eyes started to glow
like fire.

Milgrove closed her eyes and slowly nodded.

"Good," the elf said, and turned back to Fox. With one hand
still holding Mil's wrist she removed my make-do bandage.
The once white shirt was already red from Fox's blood.

Placing her free hand on the wound she closed her eyes.
Slowly she started to chant, the words spoken so low that I
could not make sense of what they meant. Still though, they
hung in the air, the magic of them filling the room.

Her fingers started to glow as well, wrapping her hand and
the wound in their magic. Her face was contorted, pain
showing through every inch of her skin. Soon blood started
to trickle from around her eyes and from the sides of her
mouth. Drops formed on her ears as well.

Milgrove suddenly gasped as the grip on her wrist tightened,
the elf's knuckles white from the pressure. Around her
fingers and through Mil's fur blood started to rise, flowing
over her fingers.

Improbably, it moved like it had a life of its own over her
hand and down her arm. As it reached her elbow it flowed
under her shirt, fluttering it as if it was in a light wind,
though none of the blood showed through the fabric.

From under her shirt it moved across the front of her body
then down her other arm into the light around Fox's wound.
She stayed that way for a few seconds, until she let go of
Mil's wrist. She placed that hand as well inside the glow of
her healing.

It seemed like nothing was happening for a few seconds as
the blood flowed down her arms. Quickly though, her skin was
showing again as the blood finished seeping into Fox. After
a few more seconds she finally broke away, falling back
against Theo's legs. He bent down to hold her and to clean
her bloodied face.

Fox's wound was gone now, not even a scar remained, just
skin. His breathing was stronger as well, and not as ragged
as it had been when she had begun.

"He isn't healed yet," the elf said as she cleaned her face
off with a towel. "He will live for a few days, but he needs
more than I know how to do."

I nodded, "We need to get him out of here."

"How, though?" Theo asked.

Milgrove looked up, scanning around the room. One paw held
her wrist where the elf had drawn her blood. Finally she
looked back at me. "Where's Oriana?"

    Chapter 6

The vixen looked around the room, scanning everyone with her
eyes. "I... don't know," was her final response to
Milgrove's question.

"She left about forty minutes ago," the man behind me, I
believe he was some type of cat, responded.

The vixen looked towards the door that was behind me. "So
she's still out there, then."

Milgrove looked up at the vixen, "That does not help us. If
she can get us out, it's all fine and good, but we can't
exactly work together on this."

She nodded imperceptibly, then turned around. "Laina, have
you contacted anybody?"

A female rabbit, who was sitting at a table a dozen feet
away, looked up from whatever it was she had in her paws. "I
still haven't found a clear area of the spectrum," she
answered with some annoyance.

She nodded, then turned back around, looking down at me.
"I'm sorry, we haven't met before. I'm Rachel."

"I am Jadith," I responded, reaching down to touch Fox's
shoulder.

She smiled slightly, "The cougar behind you is Theo."

He patted my shoulder. "Hello."

"Excuse me," a new person, a female wolf dressed in a long
gown, said, walking up to Rachel. "Since you have become our
de-facto leader, I do have an important question."

"I'm listening."

"Even if we do get past the guards and out of this room, how
exactly do we get off the base?" she asked, placing her paws
on her hips. "All the transport shuttles were sent back to
their respective ships."

Milgrove smiled up at her, "Fox told me to keep the _Falcon_
here, just in case anything happened. It can hold all of us,
but it'll be tight."

She huffed slightly, "That will have to do then."

"Rachel," Laina said, from across the room, "I've found an
area of the spectrum that's clear of all interference."

Rachel reached the table in three strides. "Can you send a
message?"

She shook her head. "No, it's barely in the range that my
console can hear. Anything I sent would be to weak to hear
through the background noise."

Letting out a small sigh, she sat down at the table. "Just
listen, then. Maybe someone will try and send a message to
us."

It was then that Fox twitched slightly under my hand. I
looked down at him, I was going to see if there was any more
I could do to heal him. He was looking back at me with his
eyes half open.

I placed my other hand lightly against his mouth. "Relax.
You've been injured, but you're going to be all right."

He groaned softly and I took my hand away. "What was she
saying?" he whispered, his voice was rough and tripping over
the words.

"That we couldn't send a message," Theo said, leaning closer
to Fox. Both he and Milgrove had seen that Fox had come
awake just after I did.

Fox nodded his head, just by a fraction of an inch. "Bring
Laina here please," he requested, again in a whisper.

Theo stood and casually walked over to her, tapping her
gently on the shoulder. They whispered for a few seconds
then came back. Laina bringing the device she was working on
with her. Rachel followed a few seconds later.

"Welcome back," Rachel said to Fox, placing one of her paws
against his cheek.

He smiled weakly. "Yes... first though. Laina," he turned
his head to look at you, "you said you have your console,
right?"

She nodded, setting the device she had with her, the console
I assumed, on the floor next to him. It was a foot square,
and folded in half. The top half of the instrument was the
screen, the bottom half was an array of different buttons
and controls. It would be nearly an inch thick when folded
up.

"Does it have a Deep Sink on it?" his voice was starting to
sound better. Milgrove handed him a small glass of water, he
took it and sipped from it slowly as she propped up his
head.

"Yes," Laina responded, "but it's being jammed. I can't use
it to get a message out of the base."

Fox smiled. "No need to go that far... set it for com
channel forty-two."

She nodded, punching a few buttons on the console. "It's as
dead as the rest."

He nodded at this, "Transmit this, text only, Prid standard,
spell it as it sounds. 'Open the pod bay doors Hal'. Spell
Hal, H-A-L."

As she punched in the last letter, she jumped. "It says I
have full access to the ship's systems. This is your ship,
isn't it?"

He nodded again, this time a full nod of his head, too.
"Send your communications through the _Falcon_."

As Laina did as instructed, Rachel leaned closer to Fox.
"Where did Oriana go?"

He shook his head. "Can't tell you, later maybe, but not
now."

She sighed. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been shot," he said with a slightly frown, then
he paused to look at me. "Jadith, did you save my life
again?"

I smiled. "Do you normally go around near death?"

He shrugged. "It's a bad habit of mine." his voice was
starting to waver again.

"Ok," Laina said, "I've got some news from the Council
ship."

"What?" Rachel asked.

"The base's defense system is up and running; it will keep
any ship from getting too close to us. We'll be able to get
the _Falcon_ safely out, but we'll need the codes to get
back in."

"They've already been changed, then," Theo said.

Laina nodded. "Yes, and another thing. There is a system set
up to block the folds, but only those produced by a control;
a natural could open one up, though only within a limited
range."

"That is a bit too convenient," Rachel said with a frown.

The female wolf was suddenly back with us. "No, it isn't. No
natural has ever been allowed through those folds. No one
can open them up."

With a slight smile, Rachel looked down at Fox. "Did you
pick up either fold?"

He smiled back. "The one in the docking bay."

The wolf looked slightly shocked. "He's a natural?"

He nodded, "And so is Jadith."

"Whatever folds there are," I said, "they didn't use them to
bring Milgrove and myself here."

Rachel nodded again, "Fox can get us back in, once he's
patched up."

The wolf nodded slowly, her ears laid halfway back against
her head. "I would prefer to shut down the defense system,
but it's in another building, and we won't be able to get to
it. Still, though, it does keep our time down. We can go
through the fold instead of the tunnel to the bay. Less time
for us to be captured."

Theo stood, looking over the room. "Think we can get them
organized enough to get out?"

She nodded, "Yes, I know these people, they can pull
together enough to play a game of follow-the-leader."

He smiled. "All we need to do now is get out the door."

She laughed, and walked over to the closest table, resting
her paws lightly on the back of a chair. "Open the door,
quickly if you please."

Theo looked to Rachel, and she gave a slight nod of her
head. He walked back to stand next to the door. Carefully he
tried the handle; it moved easily for him. Then, raising
himself up to his full height, he flung the door open and
stepped away.

The guard on the far side of the door turned as it was
opened, looking into the room. He was greeted with a chair
landing on the top of his skull. He fell to the floor with a
soft crunch. The wolf looked down at him with a smile. "I
really do prefer a traditional approach."

Theo laughed, with a fierce grin. Rachel looked down at me.
"You and Milgrove get him up, we're going to need him to
open the fold." She looked back over the room.

"Everyone!" she called; most of the light chatter silenced.
"We're going to get out, so we need you to get in a single
file and follow us. We're going to the fold that's just down
the hallway. So be quick and quiet!"

The crowd seemed to stand in unison, all moving towards the
now open doorway. Milgrove and I had Fox up now, hanging
between our shoulders. He looked paler than before, but was
still conscious.

Suddenly Oriana was standing in front of us, "what
happened?" she asked, her voice wavering.

Fox smiled at her. "Grasion shot me. Where have you been?"

"Trying to figure out how to get back in without setting any
alarms off. But since you seem to have solved that problem I
decided to see if I could help."

Rachel moved next to us. "Hello, Oriana."

Oriana nodded.

"Theo, take the guard's gun. I want you in the lead. I don't
want us to get interrupted."

He nodded, bending down and swiping the guard's gun from his
hand.

"Oriana," Rachel continued, "are you armed?"

She nodded.

"Right then, hang back, it's going to take some time to get
all of us out of here and to the ship. I want to keep the
path clear."

Oriana nodded again, and stepped out next to the door.

Rachel looked around at everyone. "Ok, we're as ready as we
can be. Let's go."

Theo moved through the door at a smart-stepping jog.
Milgrove and I took off right after, Fox still between us.
All of us struggling to keep up. We didn't get very far
before there was a loud thump and the lights in the hallway
turned red.

"Damn!" Rachel yelled. I took a quick glance behind us. The
doorway we had just came out of was now blocked by a large
steel door. Only Rachel, Laina, Oriana and the female wolf
had made it out after us.

Theo stopped next to an alcove in the wall, about a dozen
yards from the banquet room. We stopped next to him, the
rest catching up after a few more seconds.

"Change of plan," Fox said, trying to speak as loud as he
could, his voice rasping. "If we do this, Grasion will
expect us to come back. He's a natural; he'll run, killing
the rest first."

Rachel frowned, "Can you open the fold someplace else, so we
can get help through first?"

"No," Laina said, "The farthest he could reach would be
in-system."

She sighed, "And you don't know any other folds."

Fox nodded, "That's right, and there's no way we can get
someone else through before Grasion has fled."

"You have a plan though, right?" it was Oriana asking now.

He nodded again. "Get to the _Falcon_, get two of the
charges for the landing gear. We'll blow the area around the
folds, bring a few tons of rocks down on top of them. He
won't be able to use them to run."

"And we won't be able to come back," the wolf protested.

"Exactly," Fox said, taking a deep breath. "He'll keep
whatever he has planned going as planned. All we have to do
is get past the defense system."

Rachel looked back and forth between Fox and the wolf;
finally she sighed, "Right, then, Fox opens the fold, we all
go through. Oriana, do you know where the charges are?"

"Yes, I can get them almost immediately," she responded.

Fox moved, leaning against me. He motioned his hand at the
alcove and the fold opened, a portal springing to life in
front of us. Theo went first, a second later his arm came
back through the fold, and motioned us to follow.

After Oriana and Rachel ran through the fold, Milgrove and I
lifted Fox through to the other side. Oriana was already to
the _Falcon_ and getting inside. Theo was standing in the
middle of the bay, looking around.

"Stop here," Fox said, his voice a whisper again.

"Why?" Milgrove asked.

Fox coughed, "Because I can't put enough into the fold to
make it stay open for any length of time. I need to keep
shoving it in so it will stay open."

"Jadith can do that, can't she?" Milgrove said.

I shook my head. "No," I explained, "I can't. I don't have
control of my power yet."

Milgrove started to say something, but was stopped short by
Rachel. "Damn it, if he says to wait, wait."

She finally consented, leaning up against the wall. Oriana
was back with us after another thirty seconds. She reached
through the fold and dropped one of the large round charges
on the far side, then set a companion to it on our side,
next to us.

Fox slumped into our arms as the fold closed. Oriana let out
an audible gasp, and pulled us forward. "Come on, we don't
have much time."

We started running, getting halfway across the bay when a
voice rang throughout the room. "It's not going to be that
easy, Fox."

"Grasion," Fox whispered, trying to look around the room.

Fox moved his arm off my shoulder, touching Oriana's. "You
two--" he started to say, but stopped, his head falling back
as he started to fall.

At the same time, Oriana's eyes rolled up into the back of
her head, and she began to fall as well. I dove forward
under Fox to catch her. Milgrove managed to take the force
of Fox's fall, but was barely standing.

Theo and Rachel were suddenly at our sides. Rachel was
helping Milgrove with Fox and Theo was helping with Oriana.
We all ran to the _Falcon_, moving as fast as we could so
encumbered.

Once inside we took Fox and Oriana into one of the larger
rooms, laying them both on the floor. Fox, I felt, had just
passed out from exhaustion. Oriana, though... I didn't know
why she had fainted; nothing was wrong with her, at least
that I could find.

Before we lifted off, an explosion rocked the ship. I was
told that it wasn't an attack, it was our bombs going off to
block the folds.

After ten minutes, which felt like ten hours, we docked with
the _Golden Phoenix_. Both of them were still unconscious,
and I didn't know what to do about it.

Nothing had happened to us on the way up, no attacks, not
even a warning. Rachel was going to have us all given a fast
once over to make sure nothing came onboard with us, either
mechanical or viral.

A doctor was coming, too, one who could do more to help Fox,
and maybe Oriana as well.

   To Be Continued...

-----

This story is (c) 1999 by Fox Cutter, hardcopy reprints
limited to one a person, all other rights reserved. This
story may not be distributed for a fee except by permission
of the author, and this copyright notice may not be removed.
'Milgrove' is (C) 1999 by J. 'Packrat' McCoy, and is used
with permission.