Here's Part One of my latest.  My mailer sucks, so it's posted
in two sections to the FFML.

Thnaks to Zen, Richard, Sebastian, Nick, Greg, Chris, and Ed for
their helpful comments.  I steadfastly refuse to call them a 
cabal, lest I bring the wrath of RpM down upon me.

There are a few cameos by the above in the fic.  Don't worry, 
they're harmless. :-)

C&C appreciated!



Won't Get Fooled Again

by Sean Gaffney

(deep breath) The characters of Kei, Yuri, Mughi and the 3WA itself
are (C) Haruka Takachiho.  Shasti, Deirdre, and Cory Emerson are (C)
Toren Smith and Adam Warren.  Lazarus Long and all his family are
(C) Robert A. and Virginia Heinlein.  Asuka and Rei are (C) Gainax.
Jimmy is mine, although he is based very much on Roger Daltrey.  I
do believe that's it. :-)

This story takes place:  a) some time after the DP manga "Fatal But
Not Serious", b) sometime after the Heinlein novel "To Sail Beyond
the Sunset".  The flashbacks, interspersed throughout, take place:
a) between the DP mangas "A Plague of Angels" and "Sim Hell" and b)
between the Heinlein novels "The Number of the Beast" and "The Cat
Who Walks Through Walls".  Asuka and Rei are from an alternate
universe, and don't impact with the normal Evangelion timeline at
all.  In addition, this takes place after my DP story "I Am One",
and that story should be read first.

Have I bored you to tears yet?  Here we go!


Part One:  Goin' Mobile

     Shasti sat in the darkness, listening to the various sounds coming
from the Lovely Angel.  She could hear the ship's engines as they took
them to an unknown destination.  Unknown to Shasti, at least.  She was
trusting Kei, Yuri and Cory to get help for all of them.  It was
difficult for her.  She wanted to do the job herself.  That way, she
could count on it being done properly, and if she failed, there wouldn't
be any partitioning out of blame.
     Cory had ceased ranting for the moment, and Shasti could hear the
quiet click of a keyboard.  *Don't tell me she's trying to write this
up as a story,* Shasti thought.  *I doubt she'll ever get back to her
magazine now.*  The ruination of Cory's journalistic career was another
thing that weighed on Shasti's mind.
     There was so much blame that could be laid at her doorstep, and
she didn't know what to do with it.  For over five years, she had
killed, robbed, and blasted her way through life.  Now that her mind
was reasonably sane again, she wasn't sure whether she could cope with
that knowledge.
     Cory had tried to give Shasti back her mind, and had succeeded
for the most part.  She still heard voices from her head that sounded
like one of her four personalities, but more and more they all sounded
like _her_.  Different aspects, but still Shasti.
     She turned and looked at Deirdre laying in the next bed, sleeping
soundly.  She too had been manipulated, a clone created by Jimmy to
kill Shasti.  But the clone had been too perfect, and the real Deirdre
was able to break free of her creator's manipulation.
     Seeing Deirdre alive and sleeping next to her disturbed Shasti
more than she would care to admit.  Deirdre's death had always preyed
on her mind, even in her worst moments of insanity.  There was an odd
gap in her consciousness now that she could no longer grieve for her.
Was she that desperate for feelings, _any_ feelings, that she would
rather see her friend dead?
     A stabbing pain seemed to shoot through her heart.  No.  She would
rather die a thousand times than see Deirdre die again.
     Deirdre's face suddenly crumpled, then she cried out.  She sat
bolt upright in bed, still shaking somewhat.
     Shasti looked sympathetic, and also a little wistful.  "Did you
have a nightmare?"
     Deirdre nodded.  "I suppose it's only to be expected.  I mean,
like, after what we had to go through, who wouldn't have nightmares?"
     Shasti turned away slightly.  "Me."
     Deirdre realised her mistake almost at once.  "Oh, Shasti, I'm
sorry.  I forgot."
     Shasti smiled half-heartedly.  "It's all right.  I can imagine
that the nightmares help somewhat?"
     This time it was Deirdre who looked away.  "Dreams and nightmares
do help, yes.  It's part of the human mind's way of sorting through the
day's events."
     Shasti said nothing, merely laying down on her bed to stare at the
ceiling.
     Shortly after they'd been assigned as partners, Deirdre had
discovered that Shasti did not dream.  Shasti seemed surprised to hear
what dreaming was about, and declared that she didn't mind in the
slightest.  As they got closer, however, Shasti started to confess to
Deirdre some of her feelings of inadequacy.  It could only be between
the two of them, for the 3WA would never have tolerated any admission
of weakness.
     Shasti confessed that there were things that she yearned to do that
she never could.  At the top of her list was dreaming.  After they
talked about it, Deirdre made a point of not bringing the subject up.
She always noticed, though, that whenever she woke from a nightmare,
Shasti would be there, staring at her with an odd mixture of compassion
and jealousy.
     Deirdre cursed herself for forgetting about this.  She got up and
went to the bed, taking Shasti's hand.  "I guess it's not going to be
as easy as we thought, huh?"
     Shasti turned towards her, though she remained laying down.
"What do you mean?"
     Deirdre smiled weakly.  "I had thought now that we were all right
again, things would, like, go right back to normal, y'know?  The old
team again, the best of friends, no problems."
     Shasti didn't answer for a long time, thinking over what Deirdre
was saying.  Finally, she spoke up.
     "It's not going to be easy.  It'll take a while for us to get back
to how it used to be, if it ever does.  We're different people now,
Deirdre, with different experiences."  She got up and clasped Deirdre's
hand in her own.  "But don't ever think that it will be difficult for
us to be friends.  You will always be my best friend, Deirdre.  I
forgot that once.  It will never happen again."
     Deirdre was embarrassed to discover that she had tears in her eyes.
She gathered Shasti into a tight hug.  "I forgot too, for a bit.  Let's
make sure that we always remember our friendship."
     Shasti was crying as well.  "I promise."
     Deirdre drew back and looked at Shasti's face.  "You may not be
able to dream, Shasti.  But you can laugh and cry, and those are two of
the most important human qualities there are.  There's no doubt in my
mind as to whether or not you're human."
     Before Shasti could reply the intercom buzzed.  "Cory here, guys.
We've arrived, and Tertius is hailing us.  I'd rather not answer them,
so I'm going to go get Kei and Yuri."
     Shasti and Deirdre looked at each other, puzzled.  "OK, but do you
think they're in any shape to do so?"
     Cory snorted.  "Trust me, they're _bound_ to make a better
impression on this place's resident lord than I will..."

***

     Cory opened to door to Kei and Yuri's quarters silently, in case
the two of them were still asleep.  No such luck.  They were both wide
awake, staring at the ceiling.  Mughi sat between the two beds, wanting
to help them but not knowing what to do.
     However, Cory needed them right now.  "Um, hi?  We're here, and
they're hailing us.  It's not Athene this time, so I think you should
answer so that I don't screw things up.  God only knows what would
happen if a new computer patched me through to _him_ or something...um,
hello?"
     Kei and Yuri hadn't even reacted when she spoke.  Cory sighed.
She had hoped that their little breakdown shortly after getting away
was a sign that they were beginning the healing process.  It seemed
that it was going to take a lot longer than that.
     She spoke up again.  "Guys, come on.  We need to get down there
and see if the 3WA has any more surprises in our heads.  For all we
know, the three of us could be containing bombs or something."
     Kei still didn't move, but she spoke quietly.  "That's true.
Hey, we could even have something in our heads that turns us against
our closest friends, and forces them to kill us."
     "There was nothing you could have done."
     Yuri suddenly leaped out of bed, coming right up to Cory's face.
"Bullshit!  We should have been able to do something!  Clarisse was
our friend!  We owed it to her!"
     "Clarisse was gone!"  Cory was beginning to get mad despite
herself, trying to break through the Angels' self-pity.  "Jimmy
killed her and the rest as soon as he erased their minds.  Deirdre
told me that once he did that, they were _dead_!  There was no getting
them back!"
     Yuri was brought up short by Cory's anger.  Kei sat up too,
looking into her eyes.  "We shouldn't have had to finish the job."
     Cory sighed.  "She was turned into a mindless killer.  She would
have continued until Shasti was dead, and then Jimmy would probably
have gotten rid of her and her fellow agents anyway.  Face it, there
wasn't a lot you could do because it wasn't your fight.  All of this
was between Shasti and Jimmy.  We were merely incidental."
     Yuri spoke up.  "And that's supposed to help?"
     "Well, it's a lot better than blaming yourself for everything that
went wrong!  Look, once we get to Boondock and Ishtar takes a look at
us, you can grieve to your heart's content.  But for now, please try to
cope.  We need to get down to the surface, _I_ can't land this thing,
Deirdre and Shasti aren't familiar with your ship.  Plus you two like
everyone down there.  You can deal with them."
     Cory tried to see if anything she said had gotten through.  The
two women paused for a moment, still lost in thought.  Then Kei said,
"Fine.  Let's get ourselves checked out."
     Yuri grunted as she got up, her shoulder still only rudimentally
fixed.  "Probably a good idea."
     Cory frowned.  Well, they weren't what you'd call back to normal
yet, but it'd do.  Now to go hide...

***

     After saying who it was, and a quick rundown of possible medical
problems, they were allowed to land right next to Dora, so that they
could get to the clinic as soon as possible.  There to greet them were
Ishtar, the head of Boondock's medical department, Maureen and Minerva,
who were acting as her assistants, and Hilda, who was there because
tehy were dealing with an interuniversal meeting.  Also present was
Lazarus Long, the oldest human being alive (though he didn't look it.)
Lazarus didn't really need to be there, but that had never stopped him
before.
     They were rather surprised at the group who emerged from the
Lovely Angel.  Kei and Yuri were a far cry from their usual brash,
confident selves, and also looked to be wounded.  Following them were
two more, trouble consultants by the look of their uniforms.  They
didn't seem to have any physical injuries, but their eyes were just as
haunted as those of the Angels.
     The tall brunette turned around as they left the ship.  "Are you
coming out, Cory?"
     The answer was shouted from within the ship.  "Is _he_ out
there?"
     The brunette looked puzzled.  "He who?"
     Kei and Yuri, despite their injuries, sighed at this.  Some
things never change, they both thought.  "Yes, he's out here."
     "I want him gone!  I'm not leaving the ship until I hear he's
gone!"
     Yuri shouted back.  "Cory, this is childish!"
     "Damn straight!  How does that make me different from him?"
     Ishtar spoke up.  "How bad are your injuries?"
     The blonde was the one who answered.  "Kei and Yuri are badly
hurt, and we have no idea how many dirty tricks have been implanted in
our minds, or when they could be activated."
     That was enough for Ishtar.  "Lazarus, get out."
     Lazarus began to bristle.  "I am not going to be told what to do
by some jumped-up cub reporter who, for some odd reason, has developed
an irrational dislike of me.  I refuse -- "
     Ishtar cut him off coldly.  "She's not telling you what to do.  I
am.  Leave now, for the sake and safety of my patients."
     Lazarus looked around, but saw that Hilda and Maureen wore the
same expressions of stubbornness.  He wouldn't even get help from
Minerva this time.  With an air of great suffering, he left the clinic.
*I'll just have Dora keep an eye on them,* he thought.
     Meanwhile Cory peered her head round the doors of the Angel.
Seeing that Lazarus wasn't around, she sighed in relief and stepped
out.  "Hello, everyone -- " She wasn't allowed to finish the sentence,
as Ishtar gave her a cold look.
     "And as for you, Ms. Emerson, if I find that you have endangered
the lives of anyone here with this childish act of yours, I will make
your life far more difficult than Lazarus ever did.  Is that
understood?  This is a hospital, and therefore we do not put up with
foolishness."
     Cory had turned a bright red.  "I'm...I'm sorry.  He brings out
the worst in me."
     "Now, who can explain for me quickly and simply what happened
and exactly why you are worried."
     Between the five of them, the story of Shasti's recovery and
Jimmy's attempted revenge was told.  Minerva seemed to show a special
interest in what the Central Computer had to say about all of this.
She wanted to ask them a few questions, but Ishtar moved quickly.  She
had been examining the five of them, and quickly whispered in Maureen
and Hilda's ears.  She then gave each of them a small sedative, and
also gave one to Minerva.
     She turned back to the little group.  "First of all, the five of
you are much too tense.  I'm giving each of you a relaxation
injection to calm you down.  Minerva, Kei and Yuri please?"
     Minerva nodded.  However, before she could give the shot to the
two Angels, Ishtar, Hilda and Maureen had each quietly injected the
other three.  Cory, Deirdre, and Shasti dropped like stones to the
ground, unconscious.
     Kei and Yuri reacted quickly, turning on Minerva.  There was a
hurt expression on their faces.  "Hey, what's going on here?" asked
Yuri.
     "I don't want to be _that_ relaxed!" added Kei.
     Ishtar waved Minerva off.  "That was just a pretext.  I had no
idea what to expect, so I scanned for everything I could think of.
The two of you have a nasty cybervirus in your head, but you already
know the details of that one, and it's in no danger of being used
in this universe.  The other three, however, have so many time-delayed
wetware poisons running through them that I'm not even sure if I can
save them.  I didn't know how they would react to this, or more
specifically how the infected part of them would, so I gave them a shot
to knock them out.  They should be out for quite some time, and we'll
see what we can do."  She signalled for three hovercarts, which
magically appeared, and Hilda and Maureen began to put the unconscious
Shasti, Deirdre and Cory on them and lead them into the bowels of the
clinic.
     Ishtar turned to Minerva.  "Minnie, get Kei and Yuri to Room
Four.  Have Galahad give them a once-over," she said, ignoring Yuri's
groan, "and then have him see me for recommendations."
     She came back to the Angels.  "Even though there's no immediate
danger in your cyberviruses, I'd still like to get them out of there
as soon as possible, both for your peace of mind and my own.  The
idea that there is someone out there in the multiverse who would
deliberately engineer something like this is monstrous.  He is dead,
you say?"
     Kei nodded.  "Deirdre killed him."
     Ishtar frowned.  "Killing would have been a mercy to him, and
frankly I'm not inclined to show him any.  But what's done is done.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go look at the others,
especially Shasti."
     "Is there anything you can do?" asked Yuri.
     Ishtar turned back, unsure.  "I don't know.  Shasti is a
bioroid, unlike the rest of you.  Her cyberware and hardware is as
much a part of her as your heart and lungs.  It may be impossible
to separate the two.  I have an idea on how to get around it, but
I'd have to talk to her about it.  Which may be dangerous in and
of itself."
     Ishtar snapped out of her funk.  "Which is all the more reason
why I should get a move on.  I'll see you in a little while, ladies."
     As she left the two of them stopped her once more.  "Ishtar?
Thanks for doing this.  I mean, considering the mess we gave you
last time..."
     Ishtar smiled.  "You were no trouble at all.  In fact, Laz and
Lor will be ecstatic when they find out you're back.  No, the only
one who will be put out by your visit is Lazarus."
     As she walked away, she called behind her.  "And what better
reason is there for a visit than that?"

***

     As Ishtar entered Room 3, where Cory was currently laying on a
bed, still unconscious, she was rather surprised to find Lazarus
standing by the door staring at her.
     Lazarus turned, looking rather sheepish.  "She hasn't woken up,
so I think we're safe."
     Ishtar's eyes narrowed.  "Safe from her, perhaps.  Lazarus, do
you take pleasure in flouting me?"
     Lazarus turned away from her gaze.  "You never said I couldn't
see her here."
     Ishtar sighed.  "Sometimes I find it difficult to believe that
you ever grew up, Lazarus.  She doesn't want to see you."
     Lazarus frowned.  "I know."
     Ishtar began to realise that there might be more to this.  "I
thought that you disliked her as much as she disliked you.  Why the
concern all of a sudden?"
     Lazarus wouldn't answer, instead going back to looking at Cory.
Ishtar decided to try and answer the question herself.
     "You're bothered by the fact that she seems to hate you and it
wasn't your choice.  You have no idea how to convince her that you're
really a charming rogue whom everybody loves.  And because of that,
you get even more defensive around her, am I right?"
     Lazarus looked back at Ishtar sharply.  "Can I keep any of the
thoughts in my head a secret these days?"
     Hilda walked into the room.  "Face it, Lazarus, you're an open
book when it comes to women."  She looked up at Lazarus, thoroughly
unintimidated by the fact that he had over a foot of height on her.
"Here's my recommendation:  shut up around her.  The reason she
dislikes you is that you can't keep your big mouth closed.  Cory is
already very uncomfortable in Boondock.  She told me so last time.
She has a low self-opinion, and hanging around with us gorgeous
gals didn't help."
     Ishtar took over.  "If you are polite to her, rather than
treating her like you treat the rest of us, then perhaps eventually
she may admit there's more to you than meets the eye.  The problem
is that you two are far too similar for your own good, and she can
be incredibly stubborn."
     Lazarus continued to sulk, but it was obvious from his eyes
that he would give Hilda and Ishtar's suggestion some thought.  He
grumbled and left the room, and Ishtar began to see how Cory was
faring.
     Hilda caught up with Lazarus a little ways down the corridor.
"Lazarus, there's something else.  What did you think of their
explanation of that man, Jimmy?"
     Lazarus turned and attempted to put an innocent expression on
his face.  He was totally unsuccessful.  "But Hilda, my dear, you
know that I left the room before I could hear anything -- "
     Hilda ran right over his sentence.  "Lazarus, quit trying to
one-up me.  When you were having Dora spy on us, and listening to
their explanation, what did you think?"
     Lazarus gave up and considered the problem.  "Sounds like a
rather nasty piece of work to me.  But that's all in the past."
     "Is it?"  Hilda was getting a shrewd look on her face.
"Considering what we've been told of Jimmy, I find it impossible
to believe that he would allow himself to be killed like that.
The entire final fight Shasti told us about seems false somehow."
     Now Lazarus was equally serious.  "You want the Time Corps
to scout it out?"
     Hilda nodded.  "And if it's as serious as I think, I want to
call the Circle. This could be a major operation."

***

     Deirdre awoke slowly, attempting to get a sense of her
surroundings.  She was in what looked like a hospital, except that
no hospital room was ever as spacious as this.  Didn't they know
that the room was supposed to be cramped, uncomfortable, and have
the walls painted a rather bilous shade of green?  She attempted
to sit up, but quickly regretted it.  It felt as if her head was
disconnected from the rest of her body.
     Suddenly a voice came from near her ear.  "Ah, are we awake?"
     Deirdre looked up, startled.  There was no one else in the
room.  She looked around to see if there was a doorway behind her
or anything.
     "Don't be alarmed, you can't really see me.  My name's
Persephone, and I'm the main computer around here, or at least I
have been for the past six months."
     Deirdre was curious despite herself.  "Did the previous
computer, like, have a breakdown or something?"
     If Deirdre didn't know better, she could have sworn that
Persephone actually snorted.  "No, she just decided to come out of
her shell and get married."  Deirdre waited for a further
explanation, but none seemed to be forthcoming.
     Deirdre decided to get a few things straight.  "So, like,
why did you all sneak up behind us and knock us out?  Do you treat
all your guests like this?"
     Persephone seemed unfazed by this retort.  "We had no idea
how the infected wetware in your head would react if we took you
to surgery while you were still conscious.  It seemed better to
sneak up on it and try to explain things to you later.  I apologise
if we upset you."
     Deirdre did look annoyed, but nevertheless said, "Well, if it
gets that garbage out of our heads, I guess it's OK."
     Persephone went on.  "Anyway, how do you feel today?"
     Deirdre moaned quietly.  "I feel like someone used my head for
bongos.  Totally."
     The computer seemed puzzled.  "Totally what?"
     Deirdre snickered.  "Y'know, like, totally.  I'm sure, no way."
     Persephone apparently decided to ignore this and move on.
"Anyway, we need a little bit of information, and Ms. Emerson is
being, according to Ishtar, 'her usual uncooperative self'.
Since you came through your surgery with flying colours, I thought
I would ask you for some of the information I need."
     A thought crossed Deirdre's mind.  "So, what exactly did they
find in me, anyway?"
     There was a pause.  "Perhaps I had better wait and let Ishtar
tell you exactly what they did."
     This didn't make Deirdre feel any better.  "What, did
something go wrong?"
     Persephone was quick to respond.  "No, no.  As a matter of fact,
you helped us more than you'd think.  Do you know that you were born
with an organic computer in your brain?"
     Deirdre smiled.  "Why do you think I'm one of the best TC's in
the 3WA?  It was, like, the reason they scouted me."
     "Well anyway, your brain decided to provide signposts of a sort,
dictating to Ish exactly what had to be done.  As a result, there are
almost no complications."
     "Most bodacious."
     Persephone sounded slightly annoyed.  "Are you doing that
deliberately?"
     "Yep."
     "Anyway, I was wondering if you could see your way to answering a
few questions?"
     Deirdre shrugged.  If the questions got too personal or dangerous,
she could refuse to answer, after all.  "Go ahead."
     "Name?"
     "Deirdre Voxx."
     "Date of birth?"
     "December 14, 2114."
     "Place?"
     Deirdre sighed.  This was dull.  "Encino, California, USA, Earth."
     "Universe?"
     "Like, what?"
     "Aren't you familiar with the concept?  Your ship did have a
Burroughs/Libby device..."
     Deirdre continued to look puzzled.  "It's Kei and Yuri's ship.
I've got no idea what you're talking about."
     Persephone attempted to explain.  "There are many, many different
universes out there, all accessible by modes of rotation and translation.
We identify most of them through the first person to walk on the moon.
In the universe you're in now, it was Leslie LaCroix, an employee of
Harriman Enterprises.  Who was it in your universe?"
     "Different people walked on the moon in different universes?"
     "Most of the major nexus universes are similar to each other until
about 1939, but then begin to diverge wildly."
     "Oh.  Well, it was 1975, Colonel Greg Sandborn.  It was a big
military thing, y'know?"
     "Got it.  That places you in Universe 16..."
     The door opened, and Ishtar stepped in, with Cory just behind.  Cory
was on crutches, and looked rather pale, but was still able to move.
That didn't last, however, as Ishtar led her over to the bed next to
Deirdre's.
     "I thought you could use some company.  Being trapped in a small
room with Miss Emerson is an experience I want to share with as many
people as possible."  Ishtar smiled slightly at the annoyed look that
passed over Cory's face.
     Deirdre, however, had other things on her mind.  "When I asked
exactly what was taken out of my head and how it was done, the computer
gave me the run-around and told me to ask you.  Therefore, I ask you.
What did you do to us?"
     Persephone was shocked.  "What happened to the weird speech
patterns?"
     Deirdre would have glared, if she'd known which direction to point
it in.  "This is serious.  When I'm being serious, I talk seriously.
When I relax, I talk in my normal speech patterns."
     Persephone still seemed unconvinced.  "Those were _normal_?"
     "_If_ I could just interrupt for a moment," Ishtar said, breaking
into their conversation neatly, "I can explain everything now.  I wanted
to get you two together so that I wouldn't have to go through this twice."
     Deirdre tensed at that.  "Wait a minute.  Where's Shasti?"
     Ishtar sighed.  "That's part of what I want to talk to you about.
She _should_ be just fine," Ishtar quickly said, noting the look of agony
that passed over Deirdre and Cory's faces, "but her recovery will take
much longer.  A month at least."
     "WHAT?!"  Cory was stunned.
     "Let me take this one at a time.  For one thing, both of you have
been unconscious for nearly a week."  She paused and let that sink in.
"Kei and Yuri were released after only a couple of days.  The device in
their brains was simple and crude.  Since they tell me that it was
implanted in all of their classmates, it was probably put there on their
graduation, which means it was not very state of the art.  They've been
to see you every day, though they're not here at the moment."
     Cory was curious.  "Do you know where they are?"
     Ishtar smiled.  "Kei said something about letting the city know
that the Lovely Angels have arrived and are taking prisoners."
     Now Cory smiled.  "Getting laid, in other words."
     "Probably."  Her look turned serious.  "You two were infected more
recently, so your surgery was harder.  Deirdre, we got a lot of assistance
from your computer brain, which could analyse the devices within it.
Why in God's name didn't you use it before?"
     Deirdre shifted uncomfortably.  "Jim told me not to.  I was confused,
not thinking straight. They kept my mind busy being enraged at Shasti, so
that I couldn't see what they were actually doing."
     Ishtar rested a hand on Deirdre's shoulder.  "It's all right.  From
what we could tell, there are virtually no malevolent impulses in you at
all now, except towards 3WA, understandably, and those are tempered."
She paused, frowning.  "There is one thing you might be able to help me
with.  Your computer mind -- "
     Deirdre stopped her.  "If my computer mind did this, why can't I
remember any of it?  We're not completely separate, you know."
     "You were kept in what we call a Lethe field.  It keeps your mind
from remembering most of the pain.  The next time you access your
computer mind - please don't do it now, it taxes you too much - you
should recall all of this.  What I was saying is that it noticed that
a part of the infected wetware had been removed."
     Deirdre frowned.  "Did it extrapolate?"
     "It guessed that it would correspond to some sort of controlling
device, preventing you from doing what you did, which was accessing your
computer mind."  Ishtar looked at Deirdre closely.  "Someone else has
been messing with your head.  You should thank them, whoever they were.
If that component had been inside your brain, you would have had killed
Shasti with no problems whatsoever."
     Deirdre shuddered.  "I hate the thought of people messing with my
mind so much."
     "There were also a large number of wetware poisons, most of them
meant to ensure that once you had completed your mission, you would never
have survived.  These were considerably more advanced than Kei or Yuri's,
so it took much longer to remove them.  By the way, neither of you have
any implants whatsoever anymore."
     Cory yelped.  "WHAT?  How are we going to survive?"
     Ishtar attempted to soothe.  "Cory, you certainly don't need them
here.  Persephone is large enough to handle any sort of data uplink you
might have needed.  Personally, I recommend reading.  Taking in the
information you want through the eyes is much more satisfying, if a
little slower."  Cory grumbled, but said nothing.
     "All of your wetware was infected.  _All_ of it.  And we don't have
the skills necessary to replace it here.  We've never needed to;
cybertechnology never took hold here as it did in your universe.  We
opted to search for the secret to immortality instead."
     Deirdre was just beginning to realise how advanced these people
really were.  "Immortality?"
     Ishtar smiled.  "That's something that can be saved for another
time.  Cory, they must not have had much time to do anything major to
you in that medical exam you got.  There was just one thing they did.
They planted a fission bomb in your head."
     For once, Cory was speechless.  Ishtar went on.  "It was set to go
off if anyone tried to remove it.  I can't think of any reason why it
would have been implanted in you.  Your death wouldn't have set it off,
only a deliberate attempt to remove it by outside parties.  Jimmy was
apparently a sadist as well."
     Cory was beginning to shake.  Ishtar tried to relax her.  "Don't
worry, Cory.  Remember, we've got a few millennia on your universe.
Your surgery was conducted while you lay in a low-level stasis field.
The bomb was removed without it even realising, and then destroyed."
     While Cory continued to shudder, Deirdre was beginning to put a
few facts together.  "Wait, you said that we had all of our computer
implants removed.  What about Shasti?  She's a bioroid.  She's got so
many implants in her, she can't survive without them."
     Ishtar sighed.  This was the difficult bit.  "No, she could not.
I couldn't figure out a way to remove the infected components without
killing her.  There were many, most of them installed at her creation,
and most of them tied to her nervous system.  Removing them would not
only have meant death, but an agonisingly painful one."
     Cory was pale now.  "What did you decide to do?  You told us she
was fine."
     Ishtar went on.  "Despite Shasti being a bioroid, there are also
several organic components to her, and those were not infected.  We
took a cell sample, and began to construct -- "
     "A clone," Deirdre finished.  "You're making a clone of Shasti,
and will put her mind in that body."
     Ishtar nodded.  "It's been done before.  And I don't just mean
with you.  We've -- "
     "Did Shasti approve this?"  Cory's voice had dropped a few degrees.
     "Of course she did," Ishtar replied.  "She may not have been
completely conscious, but her answer was certain enough."
     "What was her answer?  In exact words," asked Deirdre.
     Ishtar frowned.  "She said that she wanted to be human.  We took
that to mean that she approved of the cloning..." Ishtar trailed off
as she saw both Deirdre and Cory's reactions.
     Cory spoke up first.  "You take a woman who has always been unsure
of her identity, drop her ultimate dream in her lap, and then you wonder
if she'll take it?  God, of _course_ she would have said yes!  Why didn't
you ask any of us to be there when this occurred?"
     Ishtar shrugged.  "It was her body, and therefore her decision."
     Deirdre shook her head.  "She didn't think it through.  All she saw
was that she could finally become a complete human being.  I've told her
that she's human in all the ways that count, but she never really
believed me.  This is going to backfire on you."
     Ishtar thought for a few moments.  "There's nothing we can do in
any case.  This was the only option available if Shasti wanted to live."
     "Oh, I'm not saying it wasn't necessary.  And don't think I'm
ungrateful for saving her life, because I'm not.  I'm just saying that
when she wakes up, Shasti will realise what it _truly_ means to be
completely human.  And I don't think she's ready for it."  Cory was
nodding her agreement.
     Once again, silence pervaded the room for a few moments.  Then
Ishtar said, "In that case, I apologise to you.  Would you mind very
much if we asked you to be there when she wakes up?"
     Cory grinned.  "How were you planning on keeping us away?"
     "Well, I'll leave you two to rest.  You probably won't be sleeping
much just now, as you've just woken up after nearly a week.  But you
are still weak, and you should stay in bed until you feel better."
     Ishtar smiled at the two of them again, and left the room.  Deirdre
sat back.
     "Well, this was certainly surprising.  Cory, what did she mean when
she said that they were a couple of millennia ahead of our universe?"
     Cory coughed.  "Um...well, this is the 47th century.  More or less,
their calendars are so weird that I can't convert it properly."
     Deirdre's eyes widened.  "OK, I want a few answers.  How do the
three of you know these advanced people from another universe?"
     Cory laughed.  "I'm actually an alien, sent by my race on a secret
mission to destroy the Quagaars of Nexus III."
     They both laughed, then Cory went on.  "Seriously, it's a long
story.  Do you feel up to it?"
     "It's not as if we're going anywhere," Deirdre replied.
     "Well, I had been on a mission with the Angels once before, to
Kalevala.  Unfortunately, that one ended in a PR disaster, so my entire
story was censored.  I didn't think I'd hear from the 3WA again,
especially considering the bitching out I gave them the last time.
I dunno, maybe that was what convinced them to call my editors again..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     Cory groaned as she came back into consciousness, hearing her screen
beeping incessantly at her.  *Why can't they ever call me when I'm
conscious?* she thought.  "WHAT?"
     Her editor appeared on the screen, unruffled by her outburst.  "Hi,
Cory.  You're looking radiant today."
     Cory growled.  She got up off the couch where she had apparently
passed out the night before, and tried to block the mess from her boss'
view.  "And what news do you have for me today?  Don't tell me, you've
discovered that I'm actually the missing Princess?"
     He actually had the temerity to laugh.  "No, Cory.  An assignment
for you, one that will hopefully go a little better than your last major
job."
     "If you recall," Cory interrupted, "it was the 3WA who censored that
story.  It was not my fault."
     "Funny you should use that phrase," he replied.  "I've just gotten
another call from the 3WA.  They said that despite your, and I quote,
'major attitude problems', your report was one of the best they'd seen
that tried to capture the Angels in a favourable light.  And after the
PR disaster on Leifker IV, they need more help than ever."
     Cory attempted to twist her mind around what her editor was saying.
"The 3WA wants me to write another story on the Angels?  After all of
the problems I had with the _last_ one?  Are they out of their friggin'
minds?"
     "Actually, Cory, you weren't their first choice.  However, both Kei
and Yuri made it very clear that, and I quote once again, 'if they were
going to drag around some nosy reporter whose job it was to drag their
names through the mud, it might as well be Cory.'  You seem to have made
quite an impression on them, Cory.
     Cory flushed, not sure if the Angels' statement was a compliment or
not.  "What would this story involve?"
     "There's rumours of a financial take-over on a space station in the
Centauri solar system.  The 3WA has been hired to make sure that this
new entry into the business world doesn't have any ulterior motives.  The
Central Computer assigned the Lovely Angels to the task."
     "And I'm supposed to find this fascin--"
     Cory stopped and thought for a long moment.  Then she turned back
to the screen and said, "OK, I'll go.  When do I leave?"
     Her editor seemed surprised.  "Um, I've got your tickets right here.
You'll meet the Angels at Pacifica and go with them to the station."
     "Fine," Cory responded.  She seemed to have her mind on something
else.  "I'll get ready, then."
     Her editor smiled.  "Good luck this time, Cory."
     "Uh-huh."  Cory cut the transmission.
     Her brain was working overtime as she got dressed.  A financial
take-over.  All that was needed was to make sure that the newcomers were
on the up and up.  First of all, why would the 3WA be called in?
     And second, why would the Central Computer pick the Lovely Angels
for such a mission?

***

     Cory stood in the hangar, waiting for the Angels to arrive after
their briefing.  She wasn't sure whether she was looking forward to
this.  She'd had a lot of fun on the last mission, but looking back on
it she realised that it wasn't fun at the time -- only in hindsight.  At
the time she was scared out of her wits, distrustful of the two psychotic
maniacs with her, and generally flailing through the situation out of
control.
     She decided not to worry about it.  If the assignment _does_ turn
out to be as dull as it sounds, then maybe I can even give them a good
write up.
     Kei and Yuri came towards her.  They didn't seem to have changed
one bit, except for the fact that the bikinis have shrunk _once again_.
Cory thanked God that she hadn't accepted their parting gift of a 3WA
trouble consultant's uniform; trying to imagine her body in one of
those things caused great pain.
     "Hey, Cory, ready for more action, excitement and thrills?" Yuri
said, hugging her.
     Kei grinned.  "Then you're not going to find it here.  In order to
protect our miserable reputation, we've been assigned to the dullest
mission ever recorded."  For some reason, Yuri winked at her.
     Cory frowned.  "Yeah, I wanted to ask you guys about that..."
     Kei grabbed her and started dragging her towards the Angel.
"First things first.  It's going to be a two-day journey, so we want to
make sure to start it off right.  We are getting as _drunk_ as we
possibly can.  Then you can interview us.  I think it'll be a hoot, don't
you?"
     Cory looked back at Yuri, who merely grinned and held up a bottle.
"It's OK, Mughi can drive."
     Cory moaned.  To think I was excited about this...

***

     After take-off, they went back to the 'living area' of the Lovely
Angel and cracked open a few beers.  Cory was still attempting to stop
them and try and get down to business.  "I was wondering if we could
talk about this case you're on..."
     Kei looked up at Yuri.  "We're away?"
     "Yup," Yuri replied, laying down on a bed.  "And, as ordered, we're
under radio silence."
     Kei turned to Cory.  "See, this mission is a biiiiiig secret."  Kei
seemed to believe that she was already drunk, though she hadn't even
touched a drop yet.  "We have to sneak in there, find out what we can,
and sneak out again."
     Cory decided to cut to the chase.  "And has it occurred to you that
it's a little odd to assign the two of you to this kind of mission?"
     Kei and Yuri both stopped and looked at her, their eyes wide.  Cory
thought they looked like an anime.  "Cory!  Are you suggesting that this
is a simple mission that could just as easily have been handled by one
of the economic trouble consultants?" Yuri gasped.
     Kei came in, sounding just as amazed.  "And you can't possibly mean
that this is the sort of case that 3WA shouldn't even be getting, and
that sending its top team of trouble consultants in seems like overkill?"
     Yuri looked at Kei.  "You don't think that they're expecting some
major kind of trouble, but they can't tell anyone about it, so they're
sending us in hoping that when things blow up we'll be able to put a lid
on the situation?"
     Kei threw her hands up into the air.  "Of _course_!  It all makes
sense now!  Oh, thank you, Cory, for explaining this all for us!  I'm
afraid we're just bimbos who like to shoot big guns, so this sort of
thing would never have occurred to us."
     The pair looked at Cory, who watched them through narrowed eyes.
She raised her hands and began to clap, slowly and deliberately.  "Bravo.
Now that you've made fun of me, perhaps you can tell me what you really
think about this case."
     Suddenly the girls smirked and dropped all pretence of getting
drunk.  "It's a set-up, obviously," Kei began.  "Cory, we've been in the
3WA for _years_, and these sorts of things happen.  It's probably some
big internal political thing that the 3WA wants to keep hushed up."
     Cory began to get annoyed.  "And you two condone that sort of thing?"
     Yuri shrugged.  "What can we do about it?  It's not as if we'll ever
get promoted, and I doubt we'd accept one if we got it.  We don't run
3WA, Cory, despite what the tabloids say.  We get our orders, and we go
do it."
     Kei frowned.  "Getting back to the case, what's really got me
thinking is not the fact that we were assigned to it, but that they
chose this case as the time to try and do another story on us.  If this
really is a hushed-up political thing, why assign you?  Unless they plan
to censor your story again, and I think you gave them a pretty good idea
last time of what would happen if they tried that."
     Cory smiled; she'd mentioned hot branding irons.  "That occurred to
me too.  Maybe it is all on the up-and-up; after all, if they assign you
to a nice and easy case, then there's a chance that nothing will go
wrong for a change."  Cory noticed the Angels glare at her.  "I mean..."
     Yuri smiled weakly.  "We know what you mean, Cory.  Believe me,
we're not unaware of our reputation.  It's just that most of it is false.
That's the major reason why we insisted on you being the reporter to
interview us."
     Kei nodded.  "We trust you, Cory.  You've seen us at our best and
at our worst, and you know firsthand how things can snowball out of
control on a mission.  _You_ won't be interviewing the Dirty Pair."  Kei
shuddered as she said those two words.  Cory knew how deeply they
despised their nickname.
     Cory smiled.  "That's good to hear.  But from what you've been
telling me, you don't think this is a 'reporter' assignment?"
     Yuri frowned.  "No, I don't.  From the briefing we got, this
assignment sounds dull as dirt.  Nobody wants to read an article about
the Lovely Angels watching over some financiers.  There's something else
behind this, and I'm not sure what it is..."
     As Mughi flew the ship towards its eventual destination, the three
occupants sat quietly, lost in their own thoughts.  Each of them reviewed
what they'd been told about the case, and each of them came to the same
conclusion:  something doesn't add up.

***

     "In and out, no questions asked, and -- "
     " -- no complications.  Right.  This'll be easy -- "
     " -- believe me.  Yeah, right.  You know how much is -- "
     " -- riding on this, yeah.  It's not as if we're -- "
     " -- pirates anymore.  Well, we might as well be, if -- "
     " -- something goes wrong.  But nothing will."

***

     The Lovely Angel came up on the station from around the back side
of the planet, trying to keep a low profile.  Yuri was explaining what
the plan was.
     "The company we're looking at is Lawson Enterprises.  They're a new
business firm, mostly cyberware but they're trying to expand into real
estate.  This space station could be the first step for them.  As for
the company itself, the owner is one of those geek billionaires you hear
so much about.  Rumour is, though, that he isn't the brains behind the
outfit, that there's a team behind his ear telling him what to do.
Unfortunately, that's pretty much all the rumour mill can say.  Their
business deals tend to be kept _very_ secret.  Even 3WA couldn't give
us much help."
     "Since we don't really know anything much, Cory, you're going to be
doing a little more than just tagging along this time.  Your instincts
for smelling out lies are better than ours.  So you will basically be
yourself, arriving on the station to interview the big honchos, and
generally making a big pain of yourself.  Kei will be your photographer,
and also will take over in case anything happens to go wrong.  Meanwhile,
I'll be doing my best to hack into their systems and finding out if they
have any sort of ulterior motive."
     Kei growled.  "Why is it these plans always turn out the same?  I
stand around and look tough while you go hacking."
     Yuri grinned.  "I can't help it, Kei.  I just can't look like an
evil psychotic bitch as much as you."  She then grinned cutely.
     Cory smacked her head.  She'd forgotten about this.  Kei and Yuri
were the best of friends, but for some reason they couldn't relate to
each other except through bickering.  It might have been fun for them,
but it gave Cory a headache.
     "Do we _have_ to do this?  Look, Yuri's plan is fine, and no Kei,
you're not a bitch.  Now let's get out of here!"  Cory was also annoyed
by the fact that, even though she'd come along simply to write a story,
she was once again being dragged into the action.
     Kei grumbled, but subsided.  Yuri kept grinning, feeling she'd won
their little debate.  "Let's go, then.  I'll head out first.  I'll
contact you when I've found something."  Yuri finished putting on her
space suit, and quickly went out to the airlock.  After a few seconds,
Kei and Cory could see her small form jetting towards the station.
     Kei turned to Cory.  "Well, Miss nosy reporter, ready to be at your
most obnoxious?"
     Cory grinned.  Alright, perhaps this assignment wouldn't be so bad
after all.

***

continued in Part B