David McMillan wrote:

         (Sorry it took me so long to get to this -- I've been under heavy
exposure to RL-ite, the mysterious phenomenon that saps my C&C Powers)

Don't worry about it. I don't put a time limit on C+C.

  > Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot
  > Chapter 8

         Yatta!  I'd just started wondering, lately, when the next
chapter of
this would come out.  Your timing is impeccable.

As much as I try to work straight on this, something else seems to come up.
I'll be doing a chapter of something I'll post a teaser for soon (which has
been in my mind for two years and only now wants to see the full light of
day), and then will do either the next chapter of this, or a brief one shot
on something else, then this. But I will be working on this regularly. At
least that's the plan. I'm overhalfway through with the story, I think.

  > xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
  >
  > Kei felt like ramming her face into the flight console as her ship

hung

  > motionless in space, a miniature star to those a hundred kilometers
away,
  > and invisible to any beyond that. It wasn't her fault her ship was so
  > insignificant. The independent, single person spacecraft that had had
  > been

         Sug:  "single seat" is the usual phrase used in aircraft circles,
although I can see why you might not want to use it in this context.
         Two "had" in a row.

Used most of your grammar comments ans suggestions, all of which helped out
a lot.

  > The rounded vehicle resembled a silvery beach ball and had earned the
  > ignominious nickname 'Bouncer' since it looked like it could bounce

off

  > anything it crashed into. Kei could testify firsthand that was not the
  > case,

         Gee, I wonder HOW she knows THAT...

Kei: Umm, a malfunction. Yeah, that's it. A design flaw. Apparently Bouncers
weren't designed to take three hits from a plasma cannon. So that means it's
not my fault, but the fault of the designers.

   > Kei was concerned. So what if the Lovely Angel's bay didn't have

  > enough room
  > to launch one? They could have modified it or something. How much

could

  > retrofitting it really cost?

         I'm having a Dilbert flashback, here.

Bueracracy exists where humanity does. It's an inevitablity.

  > The anger made Kei more irritable. She hated this. Why the hell did

Iria

  > feel compelled to send her to Myce and force her to personally ask

this

  > super hacker (who would be some pimply-faced loser kid, like all
computer
  > geeks were),

         Ask him what?  That sentence lacks a noun.

Will add.

  > when Yuri could have done the job? Or better yet, simply
  > send
  > him the information over sub-space channels, like any normal person
  > would?
  > Iria was just being paranoid about their information being
  > compromised, even
  > if it felt like someone was one step ahead of them in the race to kill
  > Zeiram.

         Nooo, I don't think so.

She's just trying to find excuses for not going. By the end of things,
she'll be trying to find excuses of a different sort.

  > To make things worse, Kei just knew that in her absence Yuri was
going to
  > slut her way into Killgore's bed. It wasn't fair! Kei wanted to do it
  > first.

         Wow, "slut" is a verb.  (:)

And an adjective and a noun, depending on how you use it. It's a versatile
word. :)

And Kei has such high asirations...

Hey, she's Kei. What can you say? ^_^

  > Though with more style than Yuri would, of course. She was a lot
classier
  > than her partner was. Yuri might have put on the airs of a discerning
  > connoisseur, but was in reality little better than a common

streetwalker

  > when it came to men. Kei was much more discerning, though it felt like
  > forever since she had been with a guy, and the whole birthday thing

         Sug:  "though it *did* feel like..."
         Geez, I wonder why they're still partners.  Or is Kei just
having a bad
week?

They're a bit tense lately with Kei feeling old, Zeiram coming back and her
and Yuri disagreeing on how to handle things, and both of them trying to
catch Killgore's interest. But when the chips are down, they'd trust each
other with their lives.

had
  > taken its toll on her feminine pride. Killgore would have been the
  > perfect
  > cure for that, aside from being Iria's ex-husband and everything. But

         Yeah, that little teeny detail...

Kei: Some people dwell on things, is all. He is an 'ex' after all.

  > female gender was through pixels rather than actual flesh. Her life

was

  > really sickening. It was enough to give her a mid-life crisis at the
  > age of
  > thirty-four.

         Well, she always was an early bloomer.  (:)
         She's getting this set of mental images set in concrete, isn't

she?

Heh. Yeah. I did overdo it. Will cut some of them. I'm being way too
blatent.

  > Kei slammed her fists onto the console. Saving money wasn't worth the
  > wait.
  > If those service station idiots didn't call her ship in the next five
  > minutes, she would head toward Myce. Besides, what difference did
  > saving a
  > few credit chips mean when the Lovely Angel was going to need a

complete

  > overhaul anyway?

         Goulet:  AGAIN!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

 In defense of them, it  was worked over long before the fic started. It
was from their last case.

  > that enabled him to cut in front and get refueled before her, she'd
close
  > the whole operation down for illegal business practices. No one line
  > jumped
  > Kei and got away with it. No one.

         Hate to see her running a token booth on the NYC subway...

As long as she gets to shoot people, it's a job, as far as she's concerned.

   > of those beauties permanently assigned to her.

  >
  > It was as she genuflected in the spacecraft's presence that something

         <snicker>

She's that kind of gal. And I like using the word 'genuflect' ^_^

   >

  > Numerous bolts of energy flew past Kei's vehicle, crimson streaks
sailing
  > off into the distance only to disappear into the darkness of space.

Her

  > vehicle was small, made a pitiful target profile, and was as nimble as
  > grasshopper trapped on a hotplate.

         ...okay, is that a *good* thing, or a *bad* thing?

Good. it means it's quick.

  > the
  > enemy pilot had her in open space for more than a minute, she was
  > dead. It
  > was his fault for pulling the trigger. The only thing she was guilty
  > of was
  > trying to survive.

         Can't argue with her, there.

True, but it's still going to hurt the DP's credibility, what little of it
exists. Imagine how much worse the story will get when the survivors start
telling tales of it. :)

  >though
  > every stray shot seemed to hit something in or around the Bouncer.

         "in" the Bouncer?

That will be axed.

     > tried the old but effective trick of speeding up, then slowing down
in

  > the
  > hopes her foe would pass her by and she could find herself dogging him
  > from
  > behind.

         This whole paragraph could go, I think.  The next one can almost
stand
alone.

Okay

  > hit the limit on his engines, perhaps overheating them, or foolishly
  > draining them of too much energy if he had rigged his engine and guns
  > to the
  > same power supply. That was the way most people rewired things in
  > order to
  > increase their firepower.

         But not Kei, apparently.  I wonder how she does it?

Reloads. Lots of reloads. :)

  > for the missiles' independent targeting systems to lock on her before

  > sending them into her oversized ball.

         How... Freudian.  Or Woody Allenian.

Heh

  > This was bad. They had to have been seekers of some kind, and given

the

  > quality of the equipment used against her so far, probably damn good
  > ones.
  > She didn't have any type of countermeasures in the Bouncer, other than
  > 'move
  > quickly back and forth and make them miss'.

         That's not a countermeasuer, that's just more maneuvering.

Yes, which shows she has no countermeasures. :)

  > up in front of her. It was about time she had a bit of good luck. She
had
  > shot away from the station at just the right angle to be heading in

the

  > direction of the fuel reserves.

         This is going to be loud, isn't it?  Well, except for that whole
"in
space, no one can hear you explode" thing...

Yes, it will be loud. If anyone can make a noise in space, it would be the
DP blowing things up.

I still like what one of the Dark Horse books had when someone was
describing them:

Reporter: I can't interview them. They're the galaxy's most notorious serial
killers.

Editor: They aren't serial killers. If anything, they're mass murderers. Now
go interview them.

It's paraphrased, but that was the gist of it.

    > missiles followed, one after another.

         But couldn't quiiiiite match the turn...

Yep

  > There was a tremendous explosion as the contents of the container
  > exploded,
  > taking both missiles with it. Kei gave a cheer at her ingenuity in
losing
  > the persistent buggers. She had escaped death once again with a smile
  > on her
  > face and a cheer on her lips. She was going to get seriously drunk
  > when this
  > was over with.

         Sigh.  Fighter Pilot Rule One:  Always Check Six.
                 Rule Two:  Never Forget Rule One.

Which is about to be jogged in Kei's memory.

  >
  > She spared a glance and noted it was the container next to the one
  > that had
  > already exploded. That was odd, since the distances involved should

have

  > prevented 'birthing', a term used when volley of missiles was fired
at an

         I believe the technical term is actually "fratricide," but I'm
unsure
if it applies in this context.

Probably. Birthing was used in I think the Palladium game books or Robotech
books or something.

  >  impossible
  > considering how shot up the Mustang had left them. And there were all
  > of the
  > ship collisions would only have worsened things.

         And all that high-velocity flying debris.

That too

  > The fourth in the line went up. It was then the plan occurred to Kei.
The
  > containers had proven useful once before. They would do so again in
their
  > death knells. She mentally calculated the timing between explosions,

         Death "throes," maybe?

Oops. Yeah, silence in space and all.

  > returned to
  > the Lovely Angel. And maybe her expertise would catch Killgore's
  > attention
  > and they could go out or something.

         Geez.  In a guy, we'd call this "thinking with the wrong head."
What
do we call the equivalent behavior in women, I wonder?

Ask any woman, and it'll be described as normal behavior in them. Very few
women can admit they are actually as big of pigs as men are. ^_^

  > fly, and looked like it would blow up or disintegrate at any minute.
Only
  > one laser was still functional, but its pilot seemed determined to
  > carry out
  > his assignment and end Kei's life no matter what.

         Hmmm... one laser.  But what about the dual nose-mounted plasma
cannon?

It's out of commision as well. It wasn't used earlier because its range is
limited.

    > chicken with anyone. The opposition always turned away since they
lacked

  > Kei's nerves. She'd stay true and wait for her opponent to turn and
  > reveal
  > some vital part of his ship. She just had to anticipate which way it
  > was and
  > nail him.

         "Well, it... away, since... wait for her opponent to flinch..."
         "...anticipate his turn and nail him..."
         Unfortunately, she didn't realize that her enemy was already
dead, his
fingers holding the throttle wide open and trigger down from one last
muscle spasm...

Heh. That would complicate things.

  > Only he didn't change course, he kept heading straight for her as
well. A
  > small line of sweat decorated Kei's brow. Most pilots would have
  > turned away
  > at this point, both ships speeding toward one another, poised on the
  > brink
  > of mutual annihilation. This guy had nerves, to be sure.

         No, he's just DEAD already.  I'm telling you, never play chicken
with a
corpse.

Devem, of the Top 10 Rejected Gung Ho Guns fame, would agree. If he wasn't
dead and everything. :)

  > That it
  > was in such bad shape and barely hanging on was the only reason her
  > Bouncer
  > wasn't destroyed on contact, and instead only lost 90% of its
maneuvering
  > jets and all of its communications gear.

         She flinched.  Heh.

And survived.

  > she caught sight of the refueling station breaking up from all the
  > damage it
  > had taken. There weren't enough rescue ships in the entire system to
take
  > care of that mess.

         Somewhere, Goulet is getting that "stepped on my grave" feeling.

Don't worry.The computer will clear them, like it always does.

  and

  > said, "Hey, lady, don't even think of hurling on the backseat. Bad
enough
  > you did it all over the outside of the door. I don't need to
  > reupholster the
  > interior as well."

         I suspected as much.

I had two different scenes of her landing planned out. One was a wipe out on
an airstrip, the other a more comedic one in which she destoryed a bunch of
standing sensors that looked like bowling pins. in both cases the size of
the scene wasn't worh the payoff for how long it would have to be, so I
opted for a basic, and short, misdirection thing.

  > the ride started. The urge to vomit passed, though she still felt
queasy.
  > Rolling on the inside of a giant ball, like a redheaded hamster in a
  > plastic
  > bubble,

         Now *there's* an image.  If Kei had seen me rotfl over that, I'd

be

puree'd pasta right now...

Heh. It is quite the image.

  > landscape. As
  > it was, she only left the contents of her stomach, as well as the

broken

  > remnants of the ruined Bouncer, behind. It was turning out to be...
  > well, a
  > normal day for Kei's life as a Lovely Angel. No matter where she went,
  > trouble, and a body count, followed.

         ....  I don't believe it, I can't find any wisecracks to make.

It is horribly accurate.

  > have known her destination. She would have trusted the first three
  > with her
  > life, so that left the last one suspect. But that didn't make sense.

Why

  > would Killgore save Iria and want to join forces, just to kill them?

         He's playing some deeper, multi-layered game, would be my guess.

We'll see before all is over. It won't be a dangling plot thread. :)

  > the
  > prospect of returning to Myce for the first time in over fifteen
  > years. It
  > was the first place in her life she had truly called home, with Iria
  > as her
  > defacto mother and Bob her sage (and bodiless) uncle. Many years were

         So, when people say "Bob's yer Uncle!" to Kei, they mean it
literally?  (:)

Actually, I don't know anyone that's ever said that one.

  > spent
  > learning fun things, like firearms, explosives, unarmed combat, and
  > how to
  > drive at excessive speeds. It was a blissful childhood, and she

couldn't

  > have asked for more, even if she went on to outgrow the place in the
end.

         What, she didn't learn about sex on Myce?
         What?  I'm just asking.  Although I wonder who had "the talk"
with her
-- Bob or Iria?  Probably Fujikuro, given Kei's luck.

She didn't get any practical experience until she was off planet, so she
doesn't count that. And Iria would have informed her of it.

  > awed by the magnificence and splendor of a megalopolis that had
  > exceeded her
  > wildest dreams. Everything had been bright and fantastic, all full of
  > vibrancy and hope. The city had been like a living, thriving organism,
  > and
  > the people residing in it symbiotes that only fed its power.

         Nice turn of phrase.

Thanks. I'm not good with metaphors or similes or their like. Nice to know I
can sometimes use them effectively

  > had
  > been interested in using Myce as their headquarters, Zeiram having
  > made the
  > planet a business pariah. The loss of Tedan Tippedai hadn't been
apparent

         Rather, the *effects* of the loss.

Right

  >   > Kei cut off that line of thought. She was here on business, not
vacation

  > reminiscing about the old homestead. There was a rendezvous to keep

with

  > that hacker Iria wanted her to feel out. It was supposed to be at a

         (after reaching the end):  "Feel out."  Yeeeeah.

Better than 'feeling up' ^_^

bar
  > called the Olgarion, named after some mythical figure from the days

when

  > Myce was a dead hunk of rock being transformed into a proper colony.
  > It had
  > something to do about a man saving a town from a flood by building a

dam

  > with only a sledgehammer or something. Kei had paid little attention
  > to such
  > tall tales, preferring to make people talk about her own actions.

         Words fail me.

Well, she has become infamous, which is a form of notoriety. :)

  > Well, they
  > did, just not in the way she had envisioned growing up.

         I suppose the novelty of being one of the two most feared women

in

Known Space does pale after a while.

They seem to get irritated when refered to as the DP rather than Lovely
Angels.

 >   > against

  > the safety shield. "Gives me the power to shoot trouble. Giving me the
  > runaround is a sure way to cause trouble."

         A nice logical syllogism:  Runaround=trouble=troubleshooting.

I thought so, though I'm sure it's been used before.

  > "Not my fault," Kei muttered from the back seat, deciding tacitly to not

  > look out the rear window. It only proved her theory that on any
  > planet, taxi
  > drivers were all crooked and nuts.

         Well, the Interplanetary Taxicab Drivers' Association *is*
headquartered in NYC...

Heh

literally
  > composed of 'musicians' hammering, ripping apart, and otherwise
  > destroying
  > pieces of metal. To Kei, it was the surest sign there were no more
worthy
  > musical art forms left to be discovered in the universe.

         More proof that you should never let a liberal arts/polisci
major near
a recording booth.

Now that's discrimination. :)

  >
  > As Kei approached, she passed by a couple rows of hovercycles lined up
  > outside of the bar. They were massive vehicles, all customized with
  > additions to promote speed and power. Each bore an identical insignia

on

  > them: a blue star hovering around a brown and white planet. Something

         Don't planets usually hover around stars?  (:)

Yep. They're trying to be unique with the whole reverse idea thing.

  > door. Both had inhumanly built physiques, one sculpted by weight and
  > chemical enhancement, the other by fusion cutters and machined parts.

         Ah, a dirty pair (note the lack of capitalization).

Heh

  > the smile of purely golden teeth. She hated gaudy features like that,
and
  > teeth that really did gleam always made her feel creepy. They were too
  > artificial.

         <hides his box of Crest Whitening Strips>

Nah, artificial like in the sense of someone painting their hair green
rather than changing it to blonde. :)

  > She thanked him politely and made her way to the bar, passing by

several

  > tables full of raucous men clinking bottles filled with some alcoholic
  > beverage together as they toasted to some "bitch named Haruka." As Kei

         Insert obligatory Uranus joke here.  No, not *there*...

Heh

  > strolled past, she noticed the rough-looking men all wore jackets with
  > insignias identical to the ones on the bikes. She also noticed the

dance

  > floor, such as it was, filled with numerous others with similar
decals or
  > tattoos. It appeared it was Biker Night as well as Ladies' Night.

         Which adds up to Brawl Night.

One coming up, as a matter of fact.

  > A curious expression passed over the bartender's face. He turned in

the

  > direction Kei was pointing. "Oops, that really is a bottle of paint
  > thinner." He removed it and placed it out of sight under the bar.

         I saw that coming, then decided it was too obvious.  This is NOT
a good
bar...

Heh

  > "How about some Johnny Walker Fuchsia?" That flavor of whiskey was
one of

         <snort>

I thought it would be a nice touch. And it's that 'hard sci-fi' thing going
with explaining things excessively. :)

  > Kei's favorites. Actually, all three hundred and ten flavors were
  > favorites
  > of hers. It was hard to believe at one time there had only been Red,
  > Black,
  > Gold and Blue labels. Time and technology had come up with other forms
  > of it
  > since then, each more potent than the last. Fuchsia, the latest and
  > strongest one, was the best yet in Kei's estimation.

         Fuchsia?  FUCHSIA?  Great Googly Moogly, man, Real Men don't

drink

booze with names like THAT.

They do if it has a kick to it. :)

  > The bartender considered that. "You might be better off with the paint
  > thinner."

         Flashback:  Old Warner Bros cartoons, where the cowboy asks for
REDEYE
XXXX, and the bartender mixes the drink using long steel tongs, heavy
leather gauntlets, and a welding facemask.

Heh

  > "Hit me," she insisted.
  >
  > A hand fell on her shoulder, spun her around, and a fist connected
  > with her
  > jaw.

         You'd think she'd've learned not to hand out straight lines like
that.

Wouldn't be as much fun if she did.

  > were
  > still strong) or were going to shoot their mouth off and brag (usually
  > about
  > how strong they were).

         I sense a trend.

yeah, sharpened that part up a bit as well.

  >
  > Kei decided to help him along, as well as buy herself time and find
  > out why
  > he had attacked her. The last was mostly just to satisfy her
  > curiosity. The
  > reason didn't matter. She was going to kick his ass no matter what.
"What
  > was that for?"

         "Well, you *asked* for it.  It's a tradition, in this bar."

Heh

  > "Revenge, of course!" the man snarled.

         Okay, I was wrong.  I suppose that was too easy.

Yep. He has a backstory. Not a good one, mind you, but he has one...

   > date my partner, dumped her when you fell for me, and I turned you

down?"
  > she guessed. He was the sort of guy Yuri's taste ran towards: pure
loser.

         The Angels need marriage counseling.  Or whatever passes for
partner
counseling in non-romantic relationships.

Heh

   > cracking the top.

  >
  > "I've arrested a lot of people over the years. It's hard to keep
track of
  > them all," Kei explained as she rose to her feet.

         It's easier to kill them.  The dead ones don't (usually) come

back.

True.

  > The man was in an epilepsy. "You arrested me five years ago outside of
  > Valencia for smuggling!"

         "an epilepsy"?  I suspect you meant he was apoplectic, or
verging on
apoplexy.

Yeah, will change.

  > "I'm the best fighter in this arm of the galaxy. And I've only

  > improved over
  > the years, waiting for my shot at revenge and beating to death the
  > bitch who
  > threw me in prison to rot."

         You know, she's not THAT hard to find.  You weren't looking to
darned hard.

True. She sort of fell into his lap, so he's taking advantage of it.

  > Kei shook her head. "The only thing I remember about your fighting
  > abilities
  > is that you had a hole in your defense, and I took you down like
  > this!" Kei
  > lashed out with her foot, planting it between his legs.

         Too.  Easy.

Yep

  >
  > He bellowed even harder. "Stupid girl. The joke's on you. I had my
gonads
  > removed."

         He's ADMITTING that, in front of his whole gang?  <boggle>

  > "You had your gonads removed and you think the joke's on me?"

         Well, as long as he hit the sperm bank *first*....

Heh

  > Kincaid's laughter died abruptly, as though he suddenly realized
  > something.
  > Something bad, that he couldn't undo. His rage doubled and he took on
  > a far
  > more dangerous stance. "Time to bleed to death, bitch."

         It took him this long to figure it out?  Oy...

He's not a bright one. And this was the Baron/ Rude joke I mentioned at the
start.

  > bikers flanking her lashed out and something blurred in front of Kei.
The
  > front half of the gun inexplicably fell to the floor, leaving her
  > holding a
  > now useless hunk of metal.

         Uh oh.

  > "Laser wire," the man bragged. "It can go through anything."

         Ah.  Not good.

Not really. But it makes things more fun than her gunning down everyone.

  >
  > "I told him he needed more than a couple of weeks practice with that,"
  > Kincaid said tiredly, while the man writhed on the floor in pain,
  > screaming
  > about his leg.

         ROTFL!
         And people say *nunchaka* are dangerous for the inexperienced....

I thought it would be a nice touch, and show these aren't the sharpest
knives in the drawer.

  > Kei frowned. That had been her only weapon. Now she would have to do
  > it the
  > hard way, hand-to-hand. This guy might have thought he was hot stuff,

    Waitwaitwait!  Kei without a backup gun, or a holdout piece?  Okay,
granted that her uniform leaves little... very little... okay, *no*
room, you win, never mind.

Exactly.

  > them on his lackeys, unless the sticks were keyed to his vital signs

or

  > something. Then they'd only be in the way. Too bad she hadn't had that
  > drink. She sure could have used one now. Maybe even a half dozen. It

was

  > looking like it would be a long night.

         In a civilized bar, at this point the barkeep would be standing
up from
behind the bar with a scattergun, yelling "Take it OUTSIDE!"

Not here. Kei's a stranger, and the gang are regular patrons that can give
him crap. He's sitting this one out.

  > of bouncers who had been making certain they saw nothing of the fight
  > about
  > to take place inside the club.

         But, that would have ruined this Dramatic Entrance.

Exactly.

  > either wiped out entering or ran Kei down.
  >
  > The driver held out a hand. "Hop on!" he shouted over the still

running

  > jets.

         Supressing hentai wisecrack AGAIN.  But I bet she's got him in
the sack
before this chapter ends.

And you'll see you're right.

  > since he was sitting astride the hover cycle. What really drew her
  > eyes was
  > his face. He was a very good-looking man, with a sort of roguish charm
  > and a
  > killer smile that reminded her of Killgore's.

         (after reaching end):  Oh.  Well, yes, that makes sense...

Oui. I thought it was vague enough not to give away his origins.

  >Despite the gravity of the
  > situation and the potential injuries he could have suffered had he an
  > ounce
  > less of piloting skill, he appeared he was having fun. In many ways it
  > mirrored how Kei would have been had their positions been reversed. He
  > was
  > her kind of guy, if a bit younger than her.

         Sug:  "...if a bit young."  If she's thinking of 20yos as
"young" she's
already gone into Middle Age Mode without realzing it...

At least ten years younger than her. To a woman of 34, that is young. Just
ask them.

  > Kei accepted the hand and hopped on. It wasn't every day a damsel in
  > distress was rescued by a handsome knight on his faithful mount, even
  > if the
  > knight was dressed in leather and his noble steed was manufactured by

a

  > company whose primary specialty was household appliances. She'd settle
  > for
  > the handsome part, which was the thing that interested her the most.

         Hey, it works for the Four Motorcyclists of the Apocalypse.

Heh

  > as well as born on a bike. That was the only explanation for how he

  > could be
  > so good.

         "That's what my parents tell me.  Want a demonstration?"
         (after end):  Okay, probably not.  But then, Iria wasn't exactly
sedate
even in her 20s, or 30s I bet.

No, she was rambunctious, though not as bad as Kei, obviously.

  >
  > Rather than reacting surprised at her grip, he looked over his

shoulder,

  > smiling at Kei. "It's one of my three passions."

         <sigh>  And we're going to find out ALL of them, aren't we?

Would be quite the red herring if we didn't.

  >

  > "Late arrivals to the party. They were probably radioed by the others
  > back
  > at the bar." He cut down the alleyway and veered to the left.

    As my old Driving Instructor once said:  "You may outrun a cop, but

you

can't outrace his radio."

Yep.

  >

  > "Not on me. I'd blow my own foot off if I tried to use one. Riding
  > bikes I
  > know. Shooting firearms is a good way to get me killed."

    A decided lack of machismo on this guy.  Knows how good he is, and how
good he *isn't,* which is a vital survival skill.

He is a terrible shot, and is not afraid to admit that. He is happy to brag
about the other 3 things he's good at, though. :)

 >
  > finding the handle of the gun. She extracted it from its concealment

and

  > examined it. An L-18. Designed for sleekness and accuracy rather than
  > power
  > or quantity. It was still a reliable piece that did what it was
  > intended to
  > do. It was a dependable, and expensive, choice.

    Now *there's* a sensible holdout gun.

Iria has a fine eye for guns.

  > "You can't use a gun but you have one?" Kei asked.
  >
  > "What can I say? I have an overprotective mother," he quipped,
                                        > despite the situation.

    (after end):  Yyyyyeah, you could *say* that...

I was afraid I might be giving it away with that line. Luckily, no one seems
to have picked up on it.

  > Horrible
  > for accuracy, but they could fire at will without worrying about
steering
  > with only one hand, and they had hellish firing capacities.

    Massive firing rates and little/no ammo concerns.

Yep. Like being in a John Woo film. ^_^

  > With one of their number fallen, the others dodged faster and fired
more.
  > Shots went wild, hitting nearly everything in the street save the

people

  > they were aiming at.
  >
  > Then a stray shot hit the rear of the hovercycle. Immediately smoke
began
  > trailing from the tail and the youth cursed. "That was an engine.

We're

  > going to lose speed."

    *An* engine?  A bike with more than one?

Yep. His is designed for speed, and has more than one. Most of the bikes do.

  > She had so far, after all. She didn't like placing her fate in anyone
  > other
  > than Yuri's hands, but sometimes circumstances left no room for
  > preferences.

    Sug:  "...in anyone else's hands, aside from Yuri, but..."
    Nice to see she still trusts her trampy, slutty partner.  (:)

Yep, as much as they argue, they like one another and trust each other
implicitly.

  >
  > "Now this!" the man made a sharp turn, nearly causing Kei to go flying
  > off
  > the cycle. She watched as the riderless hovercycle continued onward,
  > crashing into some sort of fuel station.

    Of course.  This action sequence hasn't had its obligatory Big
Explosion yet.

Yep.

   > saw the

  > remainder of the bikers, following too closely to adjust their course,
  > consumed in the conflagration.

    The Roadkil Cafe special of the day is Barbecue Biker, with a side of
Felon Fries.

Heh.

  > A hissing sound reached Kei's ears. She looked up the road they were
  > on just
  > in time to see something black and with a vapor trail heading right
  > toward
  > them. "Move!" she shouted, tackling her comrade hard enough to take

them

  > both a good distance from the bike.

    Dang, those Mycean mosquitoes are almost as big as Michigan's.

Heh

 >   > attached to his hovercycle, and there were plenty of missiles left in

its
  > carriage.

    Bikers with missile lanuchers.  What's this world *coming* to?

Kincaid: Gratuitous destruction.

  > scrap,
  > along with the bike. A pity they hadn't leaped into a firearm
  > emporium. Then
  > Ballless Kincaid and his pack of smelly tattooed freaks would be so

much

  > scorched flesh.

    Dangit, never a gun shop around when you need to break into one...

Kei just has bad luck sometimes. But at least she gets to sleep with her
rescuer.

 >

  > "It doesn't seem all that secure if you can just walk in," Kei pointed
  > out.
  >
  > "Every security designer that knows his stuff always puts in a
  > backdoor in
  > case they need to come in unannounced to beef up security."

    Yeah, that's the reason.  It's, um, a professional responsibility.

Yep. Really. Just ask him, and he'll tell you

  >
  > He kept dragging her along. "Actually there's a secret about this
  > place. You
  > see, of all of Artus's holdings, this is the only one that loses

money."

  >
  > "And this has a bearing on our situation how?"

    Well, it's obviously a front for something else...

Yep, but Kei's under pressure and not thinking perfectly.

  > He led Kei to a back office, obviously where the man in charge ran
  > things.
  > The youth went to a back wall and began feeling around a tasteless

light

  > fixture that made even Kei recoil. "The reason he keeps this place is
for
  > one simple reason: location."
  >
  > "Because it's on top of a secret armory?" Kei asked hopefully.

    One can always hope.

Not quite. We've had enough destruction for one chapter, methinks.

   > "Oh." Kei now understood the need for secrecy. Lyrnya was a wealthy

  > planet,
  > and nearly anyone that married off-world came from money. Culturally
they
  > took marriage vows seriously. Infidelity was a capital offense, and

they

  > were quite happy to apply their laws to other planets. Death was

usually

  > preceded by the removal of certain organs that tended to be
  > responsible for
  > getting the marriage-breaker into trouble in the first place. Not many
  > people married Lyrnyans.

    ...I guess NOT.

Thought it would be a nice touch and showing that whole 'not everyone in the
galaxy thinks in the same way' kind of thing.

   >

  > "As an additional security precaution, the passageway leads to the
sewers
  > rather than directly to the bordello. Mr. Millious really didn't want

to

  > take any chances."

    Can you blame him?

No.

fallen

   > into such a disgusting environment?

  >
  > And then she remembered exactly why she was here.
  >
  > "Aw, crap."
  >
  > "Don't worry about it. I waded through some too. It'll wash off,
  > probably,"
  > he reassured her.

    <snerk>

Thanks. Good to know the line worked.

 >   > look over for me and my friends, which is the last thing I want to
do.

  > Believe me, I'd rather spend my time with a stud like you than some

geek

  > who's surgically attached to his keyboard. But business is business,
  > and it
  > has to take precedent. His name is Mikael or something."

    And how much do you want to bet...

No bet. It is obvious. The true deception is at the end.

  > Her companion smiled. "Maybe I could help. It just so happens my

second

  > great passion is computers."

    One left.  Guesses?

  > "Oh, is that so? And what's you third great passion?"
  >
  > "Maybe you'll get the chance to find out."

    Oh, shut up, you biker hacker cassanova, you.

Heh.

  > That forced Kei to smile. After all they'd been through, he could
  > still turn
  > on the charm. Not that she had any intention of giving the
information to
  > him. Handsome he might be; someone that could be trusted with vital
  > information, probably not. "We'll see," Kei said non-committally.

    Of course, jumping in the sack with him is perfectly okay -- that's

not

sharing vital information.

True. Sex and business are two seperate things. Unless you're a prostitute.

  >
  > "I've been here from time to time," he answered as he entered the
  > brightly
  > lit chamber beyond....
  >
  > ....And found a beautiful woman in a business suit pointing a gun at

his

  > face.

    Wife?  Girlfriend?  Tax Auditor?

Acquaintance.

  > "Mikael! You should have let us know you were dropping by." She smiled
  > warmly, and more importantly, holstered the gun. Despite her
affectionate
  > tone she refrained from embracing him.

    A lady both well-armed *and* sensible.

Yep.

  >
  > Mari nodded, though she didn't smile. "Well, Mikael, this is a first.
  > A man
  > who brings a date to a bordello."

    ....no.  Too easy.

^_^

  > He laughed easily. "Could you get Madame Fortuna and let her know I'm
  > here?
  > She always insists I stop by to greet her first thing, otherwise she
gets
  > cross with me, and you know what she's like when she's cross."
  >
  > "That I do. I'll see if I can't get something set up for you. And your
  > friend," she added, giving Kei a frosty look that bordered on a glare.

    Meow!  Hiss!  Obviously, Mikey's popular here.

Very. Kei will find out why by the end of the chapter. He takes after his
father in that regard, and much to Iria's irritation.

  > Kei shot her back in equally disdainful look as the woman exited the
  > room.
  > Once she was gone and she and her companion were alone, Kei turned to
  > him.
  > "Mikael?"
  >
  > "The nerdy geek." He held his hands out helplessly.

    Of course.

I did broadcast it. But hopefully it distracted the reader from what was
really coming up behind them.

  > a whole lot if Iria had shown her a picture of him, or at least
mentioned
  > the guy was a hunk. Kei would have been a whole lot more eager to meet
  > him.
  > Maybe Iria was getting old if she hadn't noticed his looks. Now Kei

    (after end):  Or something.

Heh

  > was left
  > in an awkward position. She tried lightening the mood and hoped he'd
  > forgive
  > her remarks. "I guess it explains your timely arrival."
  >
  > "I like making a good first impression," he said easily, letting her
know
  > everything was all right.

    He did manage that, all right.

Yep.

bad,
  > Bob didn't even give me the benefit of a name. All he told me was the
  > place,
  > the time, and said, 'Look for a hot redhead. Don't worry, she'll be
  > easy to
  > find. She'll be in the middle of trouble.'"

    Well, what *more* could you possibly need?

It's not like Bob wasn't on the ball with the description.

  > Kei frowned, mostly because Bob's less than savory description had
turned
  > out to be accurate. She'd have words for him as well when they she got
  > back.

    Yeah, she'll install Windows ME on his processor...

Heh

   > This time Mikael blushed faintly. "I practically grew up here. The
girls

  > treat me like a favored son, since most of them don't have any of

their

  > own."

    (after end)  Letting her son grow up in a bordello doesn't seem like
Iria.  Of course, this may be a *respectable* bordello...

More on this later as Iria will talk about it, and it is a respectable
establishment. Very high class.

  > "So it's completely innocent?" Kei asked, doubt in her voice.
  >
  > "Well, I'm lots of things, but I don't know as 'innocent' is one of
  > them."

    That's not an answer, that's a pass.

But it is sort of a veiled answer.

  > Kei considered that. It wasn't like she was what would be termed
  > 'innocent'
  > either, and that rakish smile was fit for someone naughty rather than
  > nice.

    Why can't he be both?

It's hard, since they are sort of the opposite of one another.

  > And it wasn't as though Kei was uptight, like Yuri was.

    Wait, I thought Yuri was a slutty tramp?  (:)

She's whatever derisive thing Kei need to think of her in a given situation.
:)

`

  > It was the first time she had ever felt jealous of an older woman.

    Now, think, Kei, if you work at it, in twenty years *you* could look
this good!  Uh, Kei, put the gun down.  Kei...?

Heh.

  >
  > She retaliated by pinching his. "How many times have I told you, it's
  > Nadia,
  > Miki, my sweet?"
  >
  > "Ow, ow, all right, Nadia. Nadia."

`   If she has a sparkly sapphire pendant, I'm running for the hills right
now.

No. She's not that one, thank you. I'm just going for a wide varity of names
is
all.

  >
  >
  > After looking her over with a critical eye, Fortuna smiled. Kei was
  > uncertain if it held approval or something else. In either case, the
  > older
  > woman turned back to Mikael. "So, what brings you here?"

    (after end)  I'm a tad surprised that they don't know each other.  If
Nadia knew Iria well enough for Iria to let her babysit Mike, then it
would seem likely that their acquaintance went back a ways, into Kei's
time on Myce.

Again, this will be explained next chapter.

 >   > nor Iria had hung out in bordellos, so the ignorance could easily be

  > excused. Still, it made her uneasy to realize she had been unaware of
the
  > internal workings of the city's underworld, especially since she was a
  > top
  > of the line troubleshooter and expected to sense such things.

    It does seem anomalous.

One doesn't necessarily know everything that's going on in a city, no matter
how well connected they are. Prostitution wasn't really a place Iria had
many dealings with.

  > find
  > out what it meant to interfere in a 3WA agent's mission. And Mikael
  > was part
  > of the mission now, since he was her contact. That meant he was hers

and

  > hers alone until she was finished with him. And she wasn't in any

hurry.

    So, she's got a legal justification for being posessive.  How

convenient.

Heh. Hadn't thought of it in those terms, but you're right.

   >

  > "Huh." Kei had problems seeing Fujikuro as the type to marry. He was
  > just so
  > ornery and contrary, even if he had helped every now and then when
she or
  > Iria had a problem.

    Nadia must just have a taste for bad boys.

Could be. Or he deals with women he's interested in differently than he does
women that are casual acquaintances. Despite his grumblings, he did help
Iria now and then.

are

  > popular here. It's like everyone knows you." There was more than a
  > hint of
  > acid in her voice.

    Yeah, but is it "little brother" popular, or "ROWR!" popular?  I'm
thinking, both.

It changed over time for many of the girls, once he matured and became a
good looking guy.

  > the girls here. He was charming, and Kei would have bet everything it

was
  > sincere, rather than an act to seduce women. His composure under fire

    Heh.  He probably doesn't *need* to seduce women...

They just fall naturally into his lap. Or he's a charmer, and does it
without any effort. :)

and
  > risking his neck to help a stranger were clear indications of that.

Good

  > looking and suave, but ultimately a nice guy. Obviously he had some
  > brains
  > too if he was a hacker. And that killer smile was something else.

    Careful, Kei, you almost sound like you're falling for him.

More like becoming interested. She's not naive enough to believe in love at
first sight.

  > It was
  > sedate, almost like a honeymoon suite, and there was definitely a
  > romantic
  > air about the place. Nearly everything was fringed in a sky blue, but
  > tasteful. It was certainly a mood setter, and Kei wondered if Fortuna
had
  > set them up by letting them use it.

    No bet.

Tsk, you're suspicious, aren't you? :)

  > Kei became defensive at the idea. She was no hooker. If she slept with

a

  > guy, it was on her terms, and she certainly didn't need approval or
  > encouragement from some aging madam. Just to prove it, she wouldn't
sleep
  > with Mikael.

    <snort> That'd be a change of pace.  C'mon, Kei, who are you trying to

kid?

Actually, she hasn't been sleeping with anyone lately, which is part of the
problem in her mind.

  > trip through several systems in a cramped vessel. It would be best to
  > grab
  > some shut eye when she could. There was no telling what would be

coming

  > after her next.

    That would be the smart thing to do.  Which means it isn't the Kei
thing to do...

Yep. He's not going to make it easy, either.

  >
  > Was that a tattoo she saw decorating the back of his shoulder? She
  > couldn't
  > be certain. And was that his ass? If it was, it was definitely firm.

She

  > could see sinking her fingers into it just to test its firmness.

    ....no.  Too easy.

  > The movement disappeared, and she heard the sound of water running.
  > Kei sat
  > on the bed,

    As dirty as she is now?  Ick.  Poor bed.

They'll need the sheets changed in short order anyway.

  >
  > "It has been way too long since I've had a good man." She unsnapped
  > her top,
  > allowing her breasts to swing free. Her bottoms followed suit. One

thing

    <nosebleed!>

Keeping it simply, though since this isn't a lemon.

  > about her troubleshooter outfit; removing it was easy and quick; a
  > fact she
  > had appreciated on more than one occasion.

    Ack.  Again, too easy.

Nah. it's probably exactly what you're thinking.

   >

  > xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

    That "scene breaker" takes on a whole new meaning, here.  (:)

But it's effective.

  > had ever had. Not only was Mikael handsome, caring, and pretty
  > well-endowed,
  > but he could play a woman's body like a musician with a finely tuned
  > instrument. No doubt it had come from his time spent with the

    Sug:  "like a musician would a finely tuned..."
    And we all know how well-tuned Kei's body is.  Wowza!

Heh.

  > professionals
  > here, but since Kei was benefiting from his training, she had no
  > complaints.
  >
  > And the number of times he could get it up. He was like a horny
  > teenager. He

    Sug:  up!
    Teenager... wait, Kei left Myce fifteen years ago, right?  Just how

old

*is* Mike?  Or rather, how *young* is he?

He looks older than he is. Eighteen or nineteen. Kei overestimated his age,
but most people do.

  > had sunk her hooks into this hunk of man. No, everything had turned
  > out for
  > the best, and Kei was enjoying every second of it.

    Somehow, I don't think so....
    (after end): I think Yuri would have been the better choice.

Yuri: Darn straight. He's hunky, and I have no sort of unofficial family
relationship either.

  > rubbed
  > into her skin making her feel revitalized. It had been an energetic
  > night,
  > followed by an energetic day, followed by one more energetic night.

    ...oy.  Oh, you're including the space battle and biker chase, right?
This wasn't a 36-hr shagfest... was it?

I'm including the chase. There was that night (in which they retired early
since they had been through a lot) then all of the next day, and this is the
start of the third day, early enough for breakfast.

  > to do
  > what she had come to Myce for, and start on compiling the information
  > they
  > needed.

    Conservation of resources.  Greenpeace would be so proud.

Heh

  > There was a knock on the door. It must have been the breakfast. Madame
  > Fortuna had been a wonderful hostess, and ordered the staff to cater
  > to all
  > of their needs. No doubt it was more for Mikael's sake rather than
Kei's,
  > but she could live with that. Anything they needed, they had received.

    <falls over>  Argh... must... supress... hentai... joke reflex...

You do have a dirty mind, don't you?

   > going, and some more... esoteric items. Mikael was certainly

  > inventive, and
  > it had served to inspire Kei toward some more innovative maneuvering

as

  > well.

    Bad imagination!  BAD!  Stop tormenting me!

That's the lovely thing about such vague statements. The reader comes up
with all sorts of images.

  > "Enter," Kei said. Her hunger died when she saw who was at the door.

She

  > quickly covered herself up and tried to act casual. "Oh, hi, Iria.
  > What are
  > you doing here?"

    "This isn't what it looks like!  I'm on the case, really!"

Kei: And sometimes he was on top of me.

    >

  > Kei's hand went reflexively to her earring communicator. "Yeah."
  >
  > "And now I find you in a bordello?" Iria cocked a quizzical eyebrow.

    Wait... wouldn't Iria *know* this bordello?

Yeah, she is familiar with it, but didn't think Kei would actually go this
far this fast.

  > Kei's laugh was even more uneasy. "Well, you see, I sort of got

attacked

  > once I got the city too."

    Big surprise.

It was a busy weekend for her.

  > "Did you manage to find Mikael before you hit town and leveled half of
  > it?"
  >
  > Kei's fear disappeared and she became positively giddy. "Oh, you could
  > say
  > that. And we hit it off really well."

    Cue Something Bad.

Yep. It's a coming.

he

  > asked, "Is breakfast here? I'm starving." He trailed off as he saw who
  > was
  > in the room. He shifted nervously, and immediately went for a robe.

    Yep.  He knows her.

She was the first woman he became acquainted with, though not in an intimate
manner :)

  > Kei wondered curiously at the strange reaction, and turned her

attention

  > back to Iria. The bounty hunter's look of concern that had been
  > directed at
  > Kei had changed to a glare of suspicion and hostility, surprising the
  > troubleshooter.

    Oh, this is TOO perfect!

It's even worse than you think, depending on your POV.

  > Iria crossed her arms under her bosom and said in a warning tone of
  > voice,
  > "Kei, I hope for your sake that your intentions with my son are

strictly

  > honorable."

    "SON!?!?!?!"
    or
    "You mean I just had a 12hr sex marathon with MY LITTLE BROTHER (so to
speak)!?!?!?!?!?"

    Oooooh, this is going to be GOOD.

I would hope so. Of course, he's not really related to Kei, so it's not
incest, but there is going to be conflict over this. I thought it would be a
nice added dimension at this point. Nice to see it seems to have worked.

  > Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
  >
  > [End notes] I think this would be a good place to end it.

    DB, you brainfskcer!  Don't you DARE end-- oh, you just this chapter.
Okay, that's cool.

For now. It'll be a little while longer before I can work on more of this
one, simply because of time constraints (of which I have more than ever) and
that my muse is making me work on something in between. But have no fears,
it will continue.




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