PLANET: EARTH
TIME: 0900 
DATE: 2142.06.23

	The sun was still struggling to rise in the Cabo San Lucas sky. The early
morning light glinted off the Plas-Steel and glass skyscrapers as people on
the ground went about their daily rounds. Hovercars flew at all altitudes,
shuttling people to and from offices and other such places. Atop one
skyscraper was a penthouse, inhabited by two girls and a cat...

	Yuri glared at the small vid-phone screen for several seconds after the
transmission ended. She couldn't BELIEVE the nerve of that son of a bitch!
They'd worked so hard, and...and... Yuri shook herself, and with a growl
left the couch. Mughi looked up at her, growling his apologies. Yuri stomped
to Kei's door, ready to deliver the bad news. She pressed the signal button
beside her door and got no response. A few seconds later, she signalled
again, still with no response. Feeling her ire rise a few notches, she took
a few deep, calming breaths, and opened the door.

	Yuri was hit with what seemed to be a solid wall of noise. Her hands shot
to her ears, futiley trying to protect them from the cacophony of sound.
Clothes of all styles and functions were strewn all across the floor and
furniture. The early morning sunlight spilled in through the large picture
window overlooking the city. In the center of the room, in a pool of
sunlight, danced Kei. She was wearing a string bikini that was...racy...to
say the least. The red material, or lack thereof, clung to her curves in a
manner that would reduce most males of the species to gibbering idiots. Her
firey red hair was in its usual style, bandanna firmly in place.

	"KEI!" screamed Yuri. Kei didn't turn, only kept swaying her body to the
music. "KEI!" Groggy, irritable, and with a headache on the way, Yuri tried
a different tack. She walked to the wall, and pressed a few buttons. Out
popped a translucent, thin octagon roughly twice the size of a 50-cent piece
and the music stopped. Kei spun and glared at Yuri.

	"What do you think you're doing?" she asked.

	"WHAT?" Yuri's ears were still ringing from the blaring rock music. Kei
repeated the question as Yuri's ears stopped ringing.

	"We've gotta go, Kei." said Yuri.

	"Go? It's still too early to go to the beach." Kei's face took on a puzzled
look as she took in Yuri's outfit. She was still in her light blue chemise
and fuzzy pink bunny slippers. Her hair was still toussled from hours spent
on the pillow. "Don't you think it's a little late in the morning to be
wearing that?"

	"I don't mean the beach. We have to go to the office."

	"WHAT!!!" Kei shouted. "We're on vacation! It's gotta be a mistake!"

	"No mistake, Kei. The Central Computer put us back on active duty. Gooley
wants us in his office yesterday."

	"DAMNIT!" Kei stomped around her room, gathering some clothes. After all,
showing up to work dressed as she was would give Gooley a heart attack as
well as aggravate his ulcer. Yuri turned to leave and remembered she still
held Kei's music disc. She looked at the title and snorted derisively. The
two hardly ever agreed on music, but THIS! Who the hell was Lynyrd Skynyrd,
anyway?

============================================================================

3WA HEADQUARTERS--OFFICE OF CHIEF INSPECTOR WILLIAM GOOLEY
TIME: 0946
DATE: 2142.06.23

	Gooley sat behind his synthetic mahogany desk with a few holopads in his
hands. He just couldn't believe his rotten luck. He had finally gotten a
two-week reprieve from Kei and Yuri, and the Central Computer just HAD to go
and put them back on active duty. He glanced to the top left drawer, and
thought of his old friend that he kept in there. 

	//I'm gonna need you, friend,\\ he thought.

	"Well, chief? What's so important that you have to take us off vacation?"
Kei asked, with a hint of accusation in her voice. Gooley was agitated
enough, and Kei's tone drove him closer to the edge. With a considerable
effort of will, he choked back his anger, and began the briefing. He pressed
a button on his desk, and an image of Corix IX appeared on the viewscreen
behind him. The planet looked somewhat like Earth, a small blue marble
floating in an endless sea of black.

	"This is the planet Corix IX. It's an industrial planet, with several
mining, refinery, and shipping corporations claiming shares of the planet's
resources. One exception is a Bio-tech company called ViralTech. ViralTech
set up a small research lab on Corix IX, probably drawn there by the low
residential population and cheaper manual labor, among other things." The
image on the screen shifted to a cylindrical object, with several biohazard
symbols emlazoned on it, and a small holopad on the front.

	"This Bio-container contains a sample of Rigellian Red Fever."

	"And what does this have to do with us?" asked Yuri. Gooley once again had
to restrain himself from causing them serious bodily harm.

	"R.R.F. isn't exactly a serious disease, so what's the deal?" asked Kei.

	"A Bio-container full of it has been stolen from a ViralTech lab. Lethal or
not, it was a stolen Bioagent, and you know the protocols concerning that,"
Gooley replied.  Kei and Yuri nodded. "We tracked the Bio-container to one
of the slums on the Northeast Continent, in the area owned by StarCom
Shipping. The Trouble Consultant team 'Stalkers' was sent in to aid local
law enforcement in retrieving the Bioagent."

	"What went wrong?" asked Kei.

	"Details are sketchy at present, but we do know that the people suspected
of having the Bioagent were found dead. As were the 'Stalkers.'" Kei and
Yuri gasped in shock at the news. Sure, agents of the 3WA sometimes met with
death, those were the risks that went with the territory. Still, that didn't
make losing a fellow agent any easier. "We suspect they were all killed by
one person."

	"ONE?" the two choroused. 
	
	"Yes. I know it's hard to believe, but that's what the evidence points to.
An any event, you are to fly to Corix IX immediately. Your mission is to
first retreive the Bioagent, then find who stole it. That should lead us to
our hitman. Remember, the Bioagent is your top priority. Finally, ladies,
DON'T SCREW THIS UP!"

	"Sure thing chief. Catch ya later!" said Kei.

	"Yeah, just leave it to us!" sang Yuri. 
        Heaving a put-upon sigh, he reached for the drawer. His ulcer had
been KILLING him the whole time.

	Out in the hall, Kei turned and looked back in Gooley's office. 

	"Eeeewwwww..."

	"What, Kei?"

	"It's disgusting how he swigs antacid straight out of the bottle like that."

============================================================================

UNITED GALACTICA SPACEPORT--HANGAR #354-A
TIME: 1055
DATE: 2142.06.23

	The sun was little more than an hour away from reaching its zenith in the
deep blue sky, and it was already a scorcher. The heat rose in quicksilver
waves from the tarmac as the Lovely Angel taxied into position. The
afterburners glowed as they prepared to blast the ship out of Earth's
gravitational field. The ship rolled down the tarmac, slowly at first, then
it gradually picked up speed. The afterburners glowed brighter and brighter
unti, in a great flash and a resounding BOOM!, the Lovely Angel left the
ground and rocketed off to the endless void of space.

	The Earth shrank beneath them as the Lovely Angel prepared for warp. Kei
and Yuri inputted the conditions as the computer calculated the variables
and determined the best possible route to Corix IX. Within seconds, the warp
engines engaged, and the Lovely Angel disppeared in a flash of light,
leaving behind an after image.

	Inside, the pair brooded over the datafiles. 3WA's first priority may have
been the Bio-container, but theirs was finding whoever killed the Stalkers.
Yuri looked at the picture of Michael Corven. 

	The picture was little more than a shoulders-up thumbnail, but she easily
made out the details. His blond hair was in a crew cut. His face looked like
it was chisled from a slab of granite. Steely blue eyes stared out from a
rugged face that wore what looked like a permanent scowl. According to his
file he was in his early forties, a bit old for a Trouble Consultant. His
wife had divorced him five years previous, and won sole custody of their now
twelve-year-old daughter. Yuri looked once more at the image of the elder
Stalker and found it hard to believe that he was a father. She couldn't see
him playing horsey with a kid. Oh, well, you can't judge a holodisc by its
title.

	Kei looked over the datafile of Danny Shackleford. His young, handsome face
peered at her from the thin pad. He had unruly brown hair with eyes to
match. His face and eyes had roguish qualities about them. The 24-year-old
reminded her a little of Carson D. Carson. Kei pushed all thoughts of him
out of her mind. She still felt a little guilty about putting him away. Kei
read further down the file and discovered that Danny was a rookie who had
been paired with the 20-year-vet Corven. He had been a Trouble Consultant
for all of five months prior to his death on Corix IX. That really gave her
the red ass. He had just joined, and just like that, he was dead. 

	"Whoever took these two out had to be one tough hombre, know what I mean,
Yuri?" 

        Yuri looked up from the pad.

	"Yeah. The Stalkers had  a decent record for successfully solved cases."
Kei and Yuri both looked down at the holopads each held. "We don't have any
details now, so it's best not to think about it. We still have a few hours
before we get to Corix IX. We'd best just relax till then."

	"Yeah, I guess you're right." Kei reclined back in her seat and propped her
feet up on the navigational console. "Besides, Corix IX does have a decent
club scene..." Yuri glared at her partner. No matter what, she was a
dedicated clubber.

============================================================================

PLANET: CORIX IX NORTHEAST CONTINENT--STARCOM SECTOR.
TIME: 1533
DATE: 2142.06.23

	The limo ride offered a view of StarCom's city complex. It mainly served as
housing for its employees. Currently, they were dodging traffic in the
lower-income district. Those who worked in StarCom's ship building
enterprises were the main bulk of residents in this area. Men who looked
like mountains of muscle walked the streets, some staring daggers at the
limo that seemed so out of place in the area. Soon, they entered the
higher-income areas. Those who held the high-paying jobs resided here. The
buildings and cars were in much better states of repair, and the streets
weren't littered with garbage. The limo, in fact, looked like it belonged here. 

	They came to a stop in front of StarCom's Corix IX Headquarters. Their
driver exited the limo, and opened the door for Kei and Yuri. They, too,
exited the limo. The air outside the air conditioned limo was hot and humid.
The air felt as though it were sticking to their skin as they walked toward
the revolving doors. 

	The Lovely Angels and their chauffeur found themselves in a lavishly
decorated lobby. The carpet was the color of fine wine, and was at least an
inch and a half thick. The ceiling looked as though it stretched up at least
two floors. A chandelier hung down from that dizzying height, the light in
the room reflecting off the gold-colored metal. Upon closer inspection, Yuri
found that it was indeed real gold. Such extravagance was almost unheard of
inthis day and age, since gold was on of the rarest metals one could find.
The threesome walked past the reception desk and into a nearby turbolift.

	On their way to the top floor of the complex, Kei took a good look at their
bald escort. He was at least two heads taller than her, with a barrel chest
and thick arms. His face was an espressionless mask. His green eyes were
emotionless as he stared straight ahead at nothing. Yuri looked at him, too
and said to Kei,

	"Biodroid." Kei nodded in agreement. After a few moments, the lift stopped.
The door hissed open, and they stepped out into a thick-carpeted hallway.
Kei and Yuri followed him to a large set of double doors with a panel on the
right side. He placed his meaty hand on the panel, and the doors opened. 

	The office beyond the door was enormous. In fact, it put most penthouses to
shame. Like the lobby and hallway, it was done in plush burgundy carpet. A
high backed chair sat behind what looked like an oak desk. With the way the
whole building was furnished, it was probably genuine. The light from the
setting sun spilled thorugh the huge picture window that gave a great view
of the StarCom Sector's skyline. The chair turned to reveal a slender
brunette with distinctively elven features.

	"Excellent. Bruno, you may leave now." The giant turned and marched out of
the office. "So, you are the Lovely Angels. Please, have a seat." Two plush
chairs rose from the floor, which the Angels accepted. "First, allow me to
offer my condolences for your fallen comrades..."

	Kei cut her off in mid-snetence, "Save it. What do you have for us?" The
woman seemed unaffected by Kei's curtness.

	"Well. The reason you're here is that ViralTech is, as usual, extremely
tight-lipped about this affair. Also, their missing Bio-container was
suspected to be in OUR territory, so we want to do everything we can to see
this matter resolved. Do you understand?"

	"Yeah. Perfectly." spat Yuri.

	"You want to do everything you can to protect your bottom line." said Kei.
The woman in the chair seemed unfazed by Kei's verbal barb.

	"If that's the way you want to think of it, that's fine with me. I have
better things to do than debate company policy with two scantily-clad
bimbos." The two were angered by her retort. "Anyway, I want to also make
clear that we are fully aware of your reputation. StarCom will hold 3WA
responsible for ANY damages to our operations during your stay on Corix IX."

	"If that's all, we'd like to be on our way now." Yuri said as the two rose
from their chairs.

	"Just one more thing. I also have read your driving records, so Bruno will
be your escort while you are on Corix IX."

	"That's ok, we can drive ourselves." Kei said in a falsely sweet voice.

	"Oh, but I insist. After all, I don't want to endanger the lives of the
people who live in our sector. Good day, ladies." She turned in her chair to
stare at the sunset. Kei and Yuri turned and left the posh office, their
faces hot with anger. 

	"Can you BELIEVE her?" Yuri asked.

	"Yeah. She thinks she can just boss us around like some of her employees."

	The turbolift stopped on the ground floor and opened to let them out. On
their way to the main doors, they continued talking. Bruno was on them the
second they stepped into the muggy air outside the building. The sun was
still a few hours from setting completely, so the Angels decided to take
advantage of the time they had left and investigate the crime scene.

============================================================================

UNDISCLOSED LOCATION
TIME: 1600
DATE: 2142.06.23

	The figure in the chair cut off the connection and sat brooding. 

	//This is not good. Not good at all.\\ A Bio-container full of R.R.F. had
been stolen right out from under the company's nose, and it was loose on the
planet somewhere. Even worse, 3WA had sent another TC team. To make matters
still worse, it was none other than the Dirty Pair. In the course of a few
days, the whole operation had been placed in jeopardy. Taking deep breaths,
he tried to calm himself. He eventually succeeded, though it had taken
considerably longer than normal. This was just a temporary setback. He would
get things back on track, no matter what it took.

============================================================================

UNDISCLOSED LOCATION
TIME: 1600
DATE: 2142.06.23

	The patterns of red moved against the blue and black background of the city
far below. The hunter waited patiently for the darkness to fall. The best
prey came out in the dark on this world. The sounds of the city reached its
sensitive ears, sorting out the noises of potential prey from the rest of
the city. So many trophies, so little time. Still, only some would do. The
children and the elderly of this species were too feeble to bother with, and
most of the females lacked the necessary aggression and violence for a good
hunt. Even among this narrow selection, a paltry few were really worthy.
Mainly law enforcement, military, or criminals. Even though the most worthy
prey of this species were few and far between, the ones really worth hunting
had a certain savage cunning to them. While they weren't as large as the
creatures it and its fellow Yautja hunted, and were nowhere NEAR as
ferocious as the Hard Meat, they could still provide an excellent hunt, when
conditions were right.

	It gazed up into the setting sun. Soon, the hunt would begin anew.

============================================================================

Author's Ramblings:

        Well, there's chapter two. So far, this little effort is coming
along nicely, and Chapter 3 will be released as soon as I get the fight
scene between the 'Pair and the Predator right. Send any C&C, flames, death
threats, etc. either privately or publicly, whichever you prefer. =)

        Thanks for reading...

Jed