CHAPTER TWO There was a brief silence. Finally, Yuri cleared her throat and said the only thing she could think of. "Uh, okay." She helped the man out of the capsule. What else was there to do? The problem with dealing with the obviously insane is that there isn't any logical course of action. The man got up and stretched. Then he began to examine each limb, as if he were seeing it for the first time. Satisfied that he had the correct number of fingers and joints, he clapped his hands and smiled at the girls. "Well! Shall we begin?" Kei opened her mouth, but Yuri quickly slapped a hand over it. Yuri had no idea what Kei was about to say, but felt it couldn't possibly be anything constructive. Yuri didn't want risk provoking the man. "Um," Yuri started again, "sure! What exactly do you have in mind?" "Why, to confront Nag'sharath, of course. Surely you jest, Efera." thought Yuri. "Right! Right, Nag'sharath! Why don't you lie down for awhile, first, while, uh, while Jiliora and I check you out? You've been in suspended animation for a long time, y'know. Don't want to go rushing things." Yuri smiled the best smile she knew and hoped the man didn't see the drop of sweat trickling down her brow. Kei, her mouth still covered by Yuri's hand, tried to smile as well and didn't quite succeed. "Nag'sharath is not one to wait, Efera. Every second we tarry could spell disaster for the society." The tone the man took was one of a teacher, content to lecture a point that he has made many times in the past and that he will be make many times again. "Now, let us begin." "Well, it's already been seventy-eight years. Surely a couple more minutes won't--OW!" yelled Yuri as Kei bit her finger. "What Efera's trying to say," Kei said with an ingratiating smile, "is that our mediscanner won't take more than a moment to tell if you're okay. It'll take longer than that to reach our destination, right, Efera?" "Thure," said Yuri, sucking on her finger. The man looked impatient for a moment, then sighed. "Oh, very well, if you insist. But I assure you, this body is in perfect health." Kei took the man by the elbow. "Allow me to lead you to the medical chamber." She led the man out of the airlock chamber, pausing only to turn her head and stick her tongue out at Yuri. A few minutes later, Kei joined Yuri on the bridge. "I think I convinced him to stay put for the time being. Or at least until the test is over, which should be awhile. I programed the scanner to give him the works." She sat down next to Yuri. "Well, this little jaunt was certainly successful," Kei said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Let's see, what did we end up with? Antiques? Gold? Nope, just a perfectly preserved loony from the last century. I wonder how much we can get for him?" "Oh, please shut up," said Yuri. She was accessing the files on the _Lovely Angel_'s on-board database. "What are we going to do with him? Will you just answer that?" "If you'll shut up and let me work, I just might have an answer for that. Ah-hah!" Yuri pointed to the screen. "The encyclopedia does have an entry for the _Lewis and Clark_! It was under `DISAPPEARANCES, SHIPS'. Here's our friend." The screen showed an image that looked precisely like the man they had found, save for the lack of a scar on his left cheek. The data next to the picture read: NAME : Scott "Red" Johnson AGE : 27 at estimated time of disappearance * FUNCTION: Junior officer, co-pilot, engineering tech * -- Age given is chronological. Due to extended periods in suspended animation, biological age may have been much less. Kei studied the information. "You think if we confront him with this, he'll regain his senses?" "Geez, no! That's the last thing we want to do. We're not psychiatrists, Kei. We'd probably just confuse him. We don't want to risk making his behavior unpredictable." "More than it is now, you mean." "Yeah. What I was thinking of doing was printing this information out and taking it to a hospital. I'm sure there's a lot a facilities that would love to help, for the publicity if not out of the kindness of their hearts." Kei thought about this. "That sounds okay. But what were you planning to do with him while you shop his picture around?" "Well, I thought we could put him up at our place." Kei's eyes nearly popped out of her skull. "WHAT?!! NO! No WAY!! I'm not living with that nut!" "It'd only be for a few days," said Yuri, patiently. "What else can we do with him? We can't just dump him." "Let the 3WA deal with him!" "We could do that. But..." Yuri paused and let out a breath. "See, Kei, there's this little problem. If the 3WA finds out there was someone alive on that ship, our salvage rights sort of go `poof'." She illustrated with her hands. Kei blinked. "Hey, you're right. But if you're saying if we keep it quiet for awhile, we might still make some money?" She smiled and patted Yuri on the back. "Yuri, that's so sneaky! I'm proud of you!" "Don't compliment me. I'm feeling guilty enough about this already." "Well, when you put it that way, I guess he can stay at our place. But he's not sleeping in my bed." Yuri winked at Kei. "Why not? I thought you said he was cute." Kei opened her mouth to say something particularly caustic and was interrupted. "We're going in the wrong direction." Red had found his way onto the bridge. "Nag'sharath is to be found there," he said, pointing to his right. "Don't confuse him?" Kei asked, out of the side of her mouth. "Don't confuse him," Yuri confirmed. She pasted the smile back onto her face. "Uh...of course! But, um, but--" "We're low on fuel!" Kei volunteered. "Right, right! Low on fuel! Gotta fill up the ol' tank!" Red did not reply. He began to examine the girls with a look on his face that was beginning to resemble suspicion. Yuri began to sweat again. She was certain she had forgotten to do something, but with her mind so preoccupied with humoring their guest, she couldn't think of what. Suddenly Red's eyes focused on the data screen behind Yuri, and the knowledge of what she had forgotten hit her like a hammer. She lunged at the terminal, trying to hit the button that would clear the picture of Red off the screen, missed it, and instead set off a host of error alarms. Yuri cursed to herself. Whatever Red's suspicions were, they would almost certainly be confirmed now. "Could it be," Red started, cautiously. "Could it be that you don't know who I am?" "Uhh..." was all Kei and Yuri could manage. They readied themselves for the possible violent outburst. "No. You don't. As astounding as it may seem, you haven't the slightest idea. You don't even know who *you* really are." Kei and Yuri didn't even bother trying to say anything. How could anyone possibly reply to that statement? Red was silent for a moment, then turned toward them and smiled. "Well! I don't suppose it can be helped, can it? Let us start again. Who do believe yourselves to be?" Kei looked at Yuri, who nodded. She cleared her throat. "I'm Kei. She's Yuri. We're the Lovely Angels." Red bowed. "It is an honor to meet you. Now I shall introduce myself. Contrary to what your library-machine believes, I am not Red Johnson. I am Tarc Meridian, last of the Crystal Knights." "Um, pleased to meet you," said Yuri. She bowed back. It seemed the sensible thing to do. Kei just stood and watched, arms crossed. "Now, I know what you think. You think, `This is actually Red Johnson, stricken with madness and believing himself to be a fanciful do-gooder.' Not so. This is Red's body, I will admit. But Red is dormant within it. I, Meridian, am in control. I was awakened by the rebirth of Nag'sharath, it which it is my only purpose to confront." "So what is Nag'sharath?" asked Kei. She didn't really think it was important, but was curious to see just how nuts this guy really was. "Nag'sharath is Evil. Evil incarnate. A demon that lives only to cause pain. But perhaps you would be more interested in knowing what Nag'sharath looks like." He walked to the library console and hit one button several times, paging through the crew's photos. "Nag'sharath looks like that." The picture was of Nora MacPherson. Meridian noticed the girls reaction to the image. "Ah, so you *do* recognize it." "Um, sort of," said Yuri. "It's a picture of a very famous woman. She escaped--" "She escaped from the vessel out there," Meridian interrupted. "I know. I was next to her when it occurred. But it was not Lady MacPherson who escaped. It was Nag'sharath, having found a new home in the lady's body. Before Red's mind fell completely dormant, he imparted to me the knowledge of how I could wait for my own escape. Thus I waited in the sleep-coffin for your eventual arrival. Now we three are reunited and can send the demon back to the abyss!" Meridian stopped for a moment and examined the girls' faces. "You don't believe me. No, it's worse than that. My words are gibberish to you. My God, what has happened to the universe..." Kei decided to have a go at talking to him. "Listen, mister, uh..." "Meridian." "Meridian, yeah, right. Look, where we're going, there's lots of authorities you can tell your story to. We work for one of them." "Yeah!" Yuri chimed in. "We're cops! Our organization could surely solve any problem you have! Just--" Meridian angrily cut her off. "It is not for some organization to solve this `problem'! It is for *us*! The three of us, souls bound by an ancient pact to an eternal destiny! It is Good versus Evil, the Game Eternal! And it begins now!!" Kei looked away and muttered under her breath. "Hoo, boy, what a prize..." Yuri muttered back. "Please don't say anything stupid, Kei, alright?" She decided the time had come to make things clear to Red Johnson or Tarc Meridian or whoever he thought he was. "Mr. Meridian, I can appreciate that you think you have an enemy to fight--" "*We* do. It is not a delusion." "Well, whatever the case, we can't just turn this ship around and go after your alleged demon. We have responsibilities to the people we work for. Now you were asleep on that ship for seventy-eight years. Whatever this thing is, it waited for you that long, and it can surely wait a few days longer." Meridian glanced toward the controls of the ship. In flash, Kei was in his face. "Don't even think about it, jerk!" "Kei!" Yuri shouted. "Hey, I know that look! He was trying to decide if he could take over the ship!" Meridian looked at Kei, then at Yuri, then smiled. "You may not know who you are, but you haven't changed a bit. Very well, it seems I have no choice. We shall delay the Game, at least until I can convince you that it can no longer be delayed." Kei was still pissed. "Man, you just don't get it, do you? You've been out of it for *seventy-eight years*! Your demon-lady is dead by now!! Whatever it is that's got you so worried, don't you think it would've happened by now?!" Meridian smiled once more, only this time the smile was decidedly grim. "What makes you so certain that it hasn't?" The final approach to Elenore was uneventful, or at least as uneventful as it could possibly be, as the Lovely Angel arrived behind schedule towing an historical ship nearly eight times its size. They paused for a moment to arrange a secure orbit for the _Lewis_and_Clark_. The man who took their call didn't reply to their request right away. Instead, he stared at them for a moment, looked back and forth between the girls and another screen that presumably showed what they were towing. Then he laughed and gave them coordinates. His reaction should've warned the Angels as to what would happen when they landed, but it didn't, and they were quite a bit surprised to find the _Lovely_Angel_'s reserved dock space surrounded by reporters. "Oh shit, Yuri, now what do we do?" Looking at the sea of faces surrounding their ship, Kei could feel their newly-found meal ticket slipping away. If the media was this excited about the _Lewis_ being found, she could just imagine what they'd do if they met the man who had been on board. "Just stay calm and don't talk to them. That won't seem out of the ordinary. The media know we hate them." "Right." Kei rehearsed to herself. "`No comment.' `No comment.'" She got out of the co-pilot's seat. "I'll go get Prince Valiant." Avoiding the media proved not to be as simple as that. The moment Kei, Yuri, and Mughi disembarked, followed by Meridian in a blonde wig that Kei had gotten him to wear by telling him it was the custom, they were cut off from their aircar by a sea of reporters shoving cameras and microphones in their faces. "Is it true that you discovered the _Lewis_and_Clark_?" "No comment," recited Kei. "Have you discovered any clue as to what happened to the ship?" "No comment." "Who's your friend? Did he have anything to do with it?" "No--" To the Angels utter horror, Meridian answered. "I am Tarc Meridian, last of--" Yuri cut in, smiling nervously. "Last of the great singing idols of the Olantrix System! I'm surprised you don't recognize him. His last three albums went gold." The reporters couldn't have cared less. "Are there any records on the _Lewis_ that could solve the mystery?" "No--" started Kei, then bumped into the reporter in front of her. "Hey, move it, jerk!" The reporter didn't move. Neither did any of the others, who continued to hurl questions at them as if they didn't care whether or not they got answers. Yuri whispered to Kei. "They seem to have figured out that we have to get through them to get to the car." She turned to Mughi. "Mughi, look fierce." Mughi cleared his throat and started a menacing growl, which turned into a yawn. He looked at Yuri and grinned sheepishly. Yuri looked disgusted. "Fat lot of good you are." "No problem," Kei whispered back. "I planned for this." Kei went to her belt, which held one cylindrical grenade. She twisted the top until the indicator read "IMPACT" and held it in the air. "Hey, guys! You wanna move it, or you wanna get blown to pieces?" She pressed the arming button so everyone could see it light up. "You wouldn't dare!!" shouted the reporter Kei had bumped into. "Yeah," said Yuri, sweating. "You-- You wouldn't, would you?" "Sure I would! I feel reckless today." She began to toss the grenade from one hand to the other. "'Course, I always feel a little reckless." Kei's reporter, who now seemed to be the leader of the pack, started to sweat himself, but held his ground. "She's-- She's bluffing! Not even she would be that--" "WHEEEEE!" Kei tossed the grenade high into the air. The reporter began to scream at the top of their lungs. So did Yuri. Kei caught the grenade and immediately tossed it again, grinning like a Cheshire cat. "Watch this! Behind the back!" That was all the reporters needed to hear, as they nearly began to kill themselves running away. Kei successfully made the behind-the-back catch and turned triumphantly to Yuri. "TA-DAAA!" Yuri was curled up in a ball on the tarmac. Meridian, on the other hand, just stood there, smiling approvingly. Once the reporters had all cleared out, Yuri uncurled herself and slowly began to try to get to her feet. "Y- you're fuh-fuh, you're NUTS!!!" Kei looked annoyed. "Oh, c'mon, Yuri! Do you really think I'd put you in any danger? This is a dud! Look!" Kei threw the grenade at the area where the reporters had been standing moments ago. The resulting explosion knocked the three of them onto the ground. "Well, it was a dud the last time I tried to use it." At last, the four reached the Angels' apartment in Damocles Tower. Meridian had been curious ever since they had entered the complex. "Do you know that this tower leans?" "Shut up," Kei answered. "I'm sorry, is that a sensitive topic? Would it have something to do with why everyone else in this tower gives you dirty looks as you pass?" Yuri ignored him and keyed in the entry code. She swiped a card through a slot underneath the keypad and the door opened. They walked into the apartment. "Welcome to our humble abode. Kei, why don't you show him where he can sleep." "Oh, this couch will be fine." Meridian patted the furniture in question with his hand. "Yes, quite nice." Kei walked over to a console set in the wall beneath a viewscreen. "Might as well check my mail." She hit some keys, bringing up a screenful of data. "Wow! Yuri, Bobby Huey sent me a copy of his new album. He still remembers me!" "I'm happy for you, Kei," said Yuri sarcastically. "Ooh, that's not the only one who remembers." Kei hit another button and a good-looking man appeared on the screen. "I miss you, Kei," he said. "I can't wait to see you again and stick my tongue between your--BOOP!" Kei quickly cut off the recording. "Uh, heh-heh! I think I'll save that one for later." Meridian examined the console. "What manner of device is this?" Kei's initial impulse was not to answer him; she was still a little annoyed at the prospect of sharing the apartment with a kook. After a second's thought, though, she decided being rude would only make it worse. "Oh, this is sort of our window onto the world," Kei said. "We get our mail here, communicate with other people, even do shopping. It's real convenient." "Yeah," agreed Yuri, "but not as much fun as shopping for real. Wanna hit the mall after we meet with Goulet tomorrow?" "Sure! Heck, after a couple hours with Goulet, I need to go shopping." She yawned and stretched. "I think I'm gonna download Bobby's album and let his sexy voice carry me off to dreamland." "I think I'll turn in too," said Yuri. "Um, Tarc? Will you need anything?" "No. No, I'll be just fine here." He eyed the console again. "Hmm. Interesting." That night, Yuri had a very curious dream. In the morning, she almost told Kei, but thought better of it. Later, she would wish she had told her. It might have saved them a little trouble. * * * Frances Goulet was happy. He practically skipped down the hall toward his office at WWWA headquarters. What a morning, what a day! Why, he hadn't had a day this good since, well, since the Lovely Angels had been placed under him. He had even foregone his usual morning preventative dose of antacid, which was especially incredible, seeing as how he was about to debrief the Angels on their latest mission. He usually took two doses on those days. But this was no ordinary day. Oh, sure, the Angels' mission had ended in typical fashion, with a ninety-eight story skyscraper falling over, causing a domino effect which demolished most of a major city, but then came the news of what the Angels had done on their way back! He felt like breaking into song. What the hell, he decided he *would* break into song! "Oh, I'm sittin' on top of the world, lookin' down on creation..." "Hey, Frances! You look especially chipper this morning!" It was Colberg from down the hall. He stood next to his aide, who was staring bleary-eyed into a cup of coffee, as if he couldn't decide whether to drink or inhale it. "Rick! How are you this fine, fine, morning?" beamed Goulet. "Oh, I'm just peachy and swell, thank you very much. What's gotten into you? Who's the bubbly for? You dating on the job? Breaking in a new secretary?" "What, this?" Goulet pulled out the bottle of Dom Perignon '33 he'd been carrying under his arm. "Oh, this is for two beautiful young ladies who are about to make me very, very, famous. I'm on my way to debrief them right now." Colberg gave him a look. "Uh, pardon me, but did I hear you right? It sounded like you just said you were looking forward to meeting with the Lovely Angels." "I've never looked forward to anything more," said Goulet, and danced toward his office. "It's a beau-ti-ful morning, gonna meet my favorite two girls today, hey, hey!" Colberg shook his head as he watched him go. "It's so sad when they finally crack." "Mmf," agreed the aide into his coffee. "Kei! Yuri! How are you? How was your trip home? Did you sleep well?" Goulet placed the champagne on his desk. Kei and Yuri didn't answer, just stared at their unusually cheerful boss as if he was nuts, which Kei half-suspected he was. Their silence didn't seem to dampen his spirits in the slightest. "I am *so* glad to see you two!" He gave Yuri a big hug, much to the girl's shock. He turned to Kei, beaming. "Don't touch me!" yelled Kei, drawing back. "Who are you and what have you done with Goulet?" "I'm sorry. You must pardon my enthusiasm. Things like this don't happen to me every day." "Like what?" asked Kei. "Did you get laid?" "Ha, ha!" smiled Goulet. "Ordinarily, I'd scream at you for that little crack, but I'm in too good of a mood today." Yuri blinked, trying to get the glazed stare off her face. She still couldn't believe that Goulet had hugged her and was trying to clear the memory from her mind. "This, does this have something to do with us finding the _Lewis and Clark_?" "Indeed it does, indeed it does!" Goulet pulled the cork out of the champagne and produced three glasses from inside his desk. "Join in me in a toast, won't you? To your historic discovery!" He filled the glasses. Kei and Yuri looked at him funny. "Oh, c'mon! It's not every day your boss offers you a drink!" "He's got a point, there." Kei agreed. The girls picked up the glasses. "To fame, fortune, and our names in history!" said Goulet, raising his glass. "`Our'?" asked Yuri. She sniffed the wine and tasted it. Good stuff. "We're the ones who found it," said Kei, knocking her glass back in one gulp. "And for that, I am eternally grateful. Let me show you something." Goulet opened up his briefcase and pulled out a printed sheet. "This is the press release that's going out tomorrow." Yuri took the sheet and read it, her face registering mild surprise. "3WA to reopen investigation of _Lewis_and_ Clark_ disappearance? Why?" "I've got a better question," said Kei. "Who's paying for it?" "No one!" Goulet said. "We're doing it for the publicity!" Goulet's smile grew even wider, and he leaned back in his chair. "Go on, keep reading." Yuri read on. "_Lewis_and_Clark_, blah, blah, blah, discovered by WWWA's Lovely Angels, blah, blah, blah, investigation to be led by Frances Goulet. Ohhhh..." "It was my idea. I figured the 3WA could use a little good publicity. Lord knows you two could." Kei sniffed. "Our publicity's just fine. It's not our problem the idiots out there don't know an accident when they see one. How is this investigation crap going to help me?" "Well for starters, attractive young men from all over the UG are going to want to meet the two ladies that found the legendary lost ship. I understand the standard male reaction to your presence these days is to scream and run away." Kei thought about it. It would be nice to be able to go on dates without having to lie about what she did for a living, she thought. She turned to Yuri. "What do you think? Maybe he's got a point." Yuri took another sip of her champagne and thought for a moment. "What exactly would this investigation entail?" "Ah! I thought you might ask." Goulet pulled a datachip out of his case and inserted it into a slot on the desk. "I spent all night on this." An animated illustration of his plan appeared on a screen behind him as he talked. "First, we land it. Not easy, mind you, but using five tow- ships in tandem, I think we can bring it down in the Elgrave desert. Then we erect a scaffolding and go over every centimeter of the surface, to see if we can find clues as to what it encountered. Then we'll just crack the ship open and search the inside. Here's the best part. When we're all done, we'll turn the whole thing into a 3WA-sponsored museum, right there! Think of the funds we'll bring in! You girls have really done this organization a service. Consider yourselves up for a commendation." The girls looked at each other, then shook their heads. "Sorry", Yuri said, "we're not interested." "Huh? `Not interested'? What do you mean by that?" Goulet felt something in the back of his head, some sort of bad premonition about what the girls were going to say next. He took another sip of wine to make it go away. "Well, if it's all the same to you," said Kei calmly, "we're going to sell the ship." Goulet violently spewed his mouthful of wine all over the girls and had a choking fit. His secretary came running into the room. "Mr. Goulet! Are you okay?!" Goulet tried to answer in the affirmative but all that came out was a raspy hacking noise. He pulled a bottle of antacid from his desk, twisted off the top and took a long swig. He wiped his mouth, made another hacking noise, and waved his secretary away. The secretary glared at the Pair as she left. "One of these days, you're going to kill him, you know! And then I'll be unemployed!" She stormed out of the office. Goulet made another attempt to speak. "Ssssssss. Seh. Sssell the ship? What the HELL do you mean?" Kei had gotten the worst of the champagne spew and was trying to brush it off her uniform, with little success. "Well, it's ours! Salvage laws! We found it, we can do what we want with it!" The veins were standing out on Goulet's neck, veins which the Pair knew like the back of their hands. "Yours?! It's not yours, you stupid ditzes! The ship belongs to the owner of the ship that finds it! We PROVIDE the _Lovely Angel_ to you! You don't OWN it!!" This was news to Yuri. She had thought herself pretty familiar with all UG laws. "You mean, even though we did all the work, it's still belongs to the 3WA? That sucks!" "The moment you locked the _Lovely Angel_'s towing beams on the _Lewis and Clark_, it became our property! It is OUR ship!" Goulet knew he was overheating, but didn't care. He'd be damned if he'd let the Dirty Pair yank away the one chance he had for a little respect in the department. Kei was really pissed now. She decided that if Goulet was going to ruin her chance to get rich, then she'd ruin his fun. She grinned wickedly. "Well, the jokes on you, mister! It isn't your ship because--" "AHEM!" Yuri coughed as loudly as she could. She thought she'd figured a way out of this and didn't want Kei to screw it up. "So you're saying that the ship became the property of the 3WA the minute the _Lovely Angel_ touched it?" "That's right," confirmed Goulet. "Aha! But *we* touched it first! We did an EVA and entered the ship before we started towing it! And we bought the spacesuits ourselves, remember? The propulsion packs on the standard suits kept malfunctioning! Sorry, Frances, it's ours!" Yuri grinned, pleased with herself. "What?" It was more of a whimper than a question. "Yay!" cheered Kei. "We're gonna get rich after all!" Goulet slumped in his chair, stunned. "You... Do you have proof of this?" "Sure!" said Kei. "We have an empty cryo-chamber we took off the ship!" "Why would you take an empty cryo-chamber?" Yuri thought up the best lie she could. "Um, because it was still active and we weren't sure it was empty until we opened it." Goulet stared at the two agents. It couldn't be over that quickly. It just couldn't be. "No. I don't think so. You still found the ship with the _Lovely Angel_." "But we touched it first," Yuri reminded him. "Yeah!" agreed Kei. "Admit it, you lost!" Goulet scowled. More times than he could remember, he had cursed the 3WA's loyalty to that wretched computer. It was that blasted machine's continual forgiveness of the Lovely Angels that prevented him from firing the girls on the spot, much as he wanted to. They were, after all, officially the best agents in the organization. "We'll let a court decide who it belongs to." "No way!" Kei said. "We're not stickin' around that long. Yuri and I think we have a buyer lined up!" An evil smile spread across Goulet's face, and for moment it looked like Meridian might be wrong, that his demon had possessed the Angels' boss. "Heh, heh. Oh, I think you'll stick around. I'm revoking your right to use the _Lovely Angel_." "WHAT?!?" the girls screamed in unison. "B-b-but," Yuri stammered. "That's not fair!" "Welcome to the real world, ladies." Kei glared at him. "Who needs your stupid ship? We'll just rent another one!" "No, you won't," leered Goulet. "I'm also freezing your credit accounts." "You can't do that!" shouted Yuri. "Watch me." For nearly a minute, the two sides glared at each other. Finally, Goulet broke the silence. "Get out. I don't feel like debriefing you now. I'll see you tomorrow at 0900 sharp. Let me know if you change your mind." For a moment, it seemed like Kei wasn't going to leave, but Yuri put a hand on her shoulder. "C'mon, Kei. Let's go." They did. The two girls trudged back to their apartment, Kei still pissed, Yuri still depressed. Yuri sighed. "So much for going shopping, huh, Kei?" "Don't you have a little extra money in another account? I do." "Sure, but that's emergency money!" "So? This is an emergency!" "Kei, let's call this off. I want my money back." "We'll get our money back! We'll sue his pants off if we have to!" Kei pounded her fist into the palm of her hand in illustration. "I hope so. Besides, we sort of committed ourselves when we didn't tell Goulet about Meridian. Lying to superiors is a big no-no." "We've done it before!" "Yeah, but we never got caught." Yuri stopped as they reached the entrance to their apartment. She worked the electronic lock again, and got a beep for her trouble. "Hey! The door's not locked!" "Don't look at me! I know I locked the thing." The Angels hadn't gone to the meeting armed, but their uniforms included tiny backup pistols in a pocket on the insides of their boots. They drew them and took up positions on either side of the door. Yuri pressed a button and the door opened. The girls leapt inside and swept the room. Mughi was on his back, all four legs tied together with one of Kei's bras. Yuri rushed to him. "Mughi, what happened?" She tried to untie him. "Geez, this is hard to get undone! How do your boyfriends manage it?" "Ooooh! Funny, funny!" Kei looked around the apartment. It was obvious what had happened, but she asked anyway. "Mughi, did Meridian do this to you?" Mughi nodded. "Where did he go?" His legs still tied, Mughi pointed at the computer console with his tail. Kei rushed over and activated the console. "Oh, SHIT!!" "What?" "That asshole figured out how to work this thing! He just rented a shuttle with our money!" "Oh, no! He's going back to the _Lewis and Clark_, he has to be!" "Why?" Yuri finally got Mughi untied. The animal gratefully rolled over and stretched. "Why do you think? He's going to restart it and go after Nag'sharath! He could do it, too! Red Johnson was a technician, remember? He knows that ship inside and out!" "Then we gotta go after him!" "No argument there!" Yuri stood up and brushed a few stray Mughi-hairs off her uniform. "Just one thing," said Kei, scratching her head, "how are we gonna go after him?" "We'll figure it out on the way to the spaceport!" Yuri ran out of the room, and Kei and Mughi hurried to catch up. They arrived at the spaceport and were told by a bored, gum-chewing lady receptionist that the shuttle in question had already departed. The girls rushed back to their aircar. "You know what we have to do now, don't you?" said Yuri between breaths. "Yeah," replied Kei. "The question is how? If Goulet was serious, our ship'll be surrounded by guards." She leaned back in the passenger seat and sighed. "Maybe you were right, Yuri. Maybe we should give it up. Seems like we're getting in more trouble every minute." "We'll be in even more trouble if he leaves without us. He wants to assassinate Nora Macpherson, remember? With her being dead, he'll probably target the granddaughter." "Yep. As usual, you've got a point, and as usual it sucks. Let's hear the plan." The _Lovely Angel_ was indeed surrounded by guards, and those closest to the girls as they drove up raised their rifles. The leader of the group, a tall man with the disdainful look of someone very convinced of his own importance, approached. "Well, well. What have we here? Trying to beat us here, were you? Goulet was right." "Oh, puh-leeze," said Yuri, feigning disgust. "We just want our clothes. We may not be allowed to fly the thing, but that doesn't mean you can hold our belongings!" The soldier didn't look convinced. "You look a little out of breath for someone only worried about clothing." Kei stood up in the car. "For your information, we both have very hot dates in a few hours. My sexiest dress is in there!" "You can even accompany us," said Yuri. "Pretty please?" She smiled her most adorable smile. "Oh, what the hell," grunted the soldier. "Lucas, Jones, come with me. Follow me, ladies." The two girls and their pet hopped out of the car. The soldier named Lucas spoke. "Does that thing have to come along?" "Who, Kei?" quipped Yuri. "She has to find her dress." "Oh hardy har har, Yuri. You should be on late-night 3V." Kei couldn't get too mad, because she knew why Yuri had said that. The misdirection worked, and Mughi was allowed on board without further complaint. Once up the steps and on board, the girls began walking toward their rooms. The leader of the security group shouted for them to stop. "Not so fast! You're both going to be escorted." "But a lady's room is her private space!" complained Yuri. "Don't worry ma'am. My men aren't perverts." Kei ran toward one of the soldiers and grabbed him by the arm. "I get Lucas! He's cuter!" Lucas started to sweat. Yuri strolled toward the other soldier. "Fine with me." She stroked his arm. "Jones has such nice muscles." Jones began sweating bullets himself. "Uh, m-ma'am? Don't try seducing us. W-we're trained professionals." "Ooooh!" shouted Kei. "That's even better! I like men with... experience." The leader had heard enough. "Oh, for cryssake, get on with it. And don't try anything! Remember, I'll be staying back here to back my men up!" Kei smiled at him. "You sure? I'll bet I could handle both of you." The leader glared at her. Giggling, the girls led their escorts away. As the leader watched them go, he thought he'd finally hit upon the reason why the ranks of trouble consultants were so full of cute young girls: it was tough to fight with an erection. He looked around and noticed that Mughi had walked off. he thought. Mughi made his way onto the bridge and climbed up onto the pilot seat. He clicked a button with one claw and a steel plate slid across the bridge entrance, sealing it off. He then turned on the engines. Kei was having fun with her escort. She held one of her slinky dresses in front of her. "What do you think? Will this turn my boyfriend on? It really shows off my bust." "Oh, th-that's just f-fine, ma'am," panted Lucas. "Of course, it's cut kinda low. One of my breasts might fall out. That would be sooo embarrassing." Kei saw the soldier sway slightly and decided to cool it. The last thing she wanted him to do was pass out in her room. Then it hit her: the man was swaying because the floor was swaying. "What the hell?" Lucas shouted. The communicator on the soldier's belt blared to life. "Lucas, Jones, get your asses to the bridge! We've got a situation!" "Roger! Come with me, ma'am." The two of them met Yuri and the other two soldiers outside the sealed bridge. The leader was furious. "Why the hell didn't you tell me that thing could operate the ship?" "You didn't ask," said Yuri. "Listen, I'm sure it's all just a misunderstanding. We haven't taken off yet." She banged on the door. "Mughi! You're being a bad boy! Open the door for the nice soldiers!" In response, security lasers set into the wall fired, forcing them all away from the door. "Mughi!" Kei yelled. "Bad boy!" Another set off lasers fired, forcing them back farther. The leader had had enough. "Take out those damned lasers." The instant the soldiers touched their weapons, the lasers opened up with a continuous barrage. It cascaded from one set of emitters to the next, forcing everyone to run down the corridor. They soon arrived back at the entry hatch. "Hold your ground, men!" bellowed the leader. "We are *not* being forced off this ship!" A laser shaved a centimeter of hair from the top of his head. "GEEZUS!!" He pushed past Lucas and Jones and ran off the ship. His subordinates knew a bad sign when they saw one and quickly followed. Yuri started to follow as well but fell on her behind. Jones called back to her. "Ma'am, the two of you have gotta get off! Let a security ship handle this!" "I can't!" Yuri's hands pressed on an invisible wall in front of her. "He's activated the force field! We're trapped!" The soldiers watched helplessly as the steps folded up and the hatch slid closed. The leader shouted something furiously into his communicator. The _Lovely Angel_ took off, the roar of her engines drowning out the shouts of the guards below. Once the hatch had closed, Yuri started to giggle. Kei stared at her. "When did we have a force-field installed? I didn't think we could afford something like that." Yuri stopped giggling and starting laughing hysterically. She tried to get herself under control, failed, tried again and managed a semblance of composure. "L-look at me, Kei," she said. She placed her hands on a "wall" between the two girls. "Help, help, I'm trapped!" She started to giggle again. "Th-they fell for a *mime act*!" She doubled up on the floor in hysterics. Kei rolled her eyes. The two crewmembers of the 3WA ship assigned to guard the _Lewis and Clark_ were bored. The pilot, a blonde-haired lady in her mid-thirties, turned to her copilot, who was half-asleep. "Hey. Wake up, George." "Gimme a good reason and I will." As if to underline his defiance, he leaned back in his chair and pulled his cap over his eyes. "No one's interested in this pile of crap, Eileen." "You don't know that. There might be something really interesting inside it." "Yup. Sure." An alarm went off on the main console. Eileen checked it: a proximity alert. "Time to earn our pay. Someone's getting a little too close." George sat up and activated a sub-screen. It showed a magnified view of their tiny trespasser. "Oooh! An unarmed shuttle! Shall we go to full battle alert?" "I think a good talking-to will be sufficient." She opened a low-power communications channel. "Guardship to shuttle. Guardship to shuttle. The area immediately surrounding the _Lewis and Clark_ is off-limits to unauthorized personnel. Please alter your course." She clicked the channel closed. "That should take care of it. Probably just some reporter." "Well, he must really be interested in getting a story, because he's not stopping." "What?!" Eileen checked the screens. George was right. The shuttle was still approaching at a considerable rate of speed. She turned the communicator on again. "Guardship to shuttle! Alter your course immediately!" George waved her off. "You're wasting your breath. Take a look at this!" He placed the sub-screen at maximum magnification, allowing them to see into the cockpit. The shuttle had no pilot. Eileen did a mental calculation and estimated that the shuttle would pass them in ten seconds and impact with the _Lewis_ in less than twenty. Not enough time to stop it with a towing beam. "Arm a missile!" George did. "Fire!" George did. The missile found its target and obliterated it. Eileen watched the debris spread out. "I sure hope to God that no one was on board." "At the rate it was going the same thing would've happened when it rammed the ship," said George. "We'll never know anyway. No sense in worrying about it." The two of them had nothing to worry about. The shuttle had been empty. The only occupant had left in a spacesuit moments before the second transmission. Having successfully distracted the guards, he now drifted toward an airlock on the _Lewis_. In the _Lovely Angel_, Kei and Yuri saw the explosion and feared the worst. "Well, I guess that's that," said Kei. She suddenly felt this sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. It took her a moment to recognize it as guilt. "It... wasn't supposed to end like this." "I don't think he's dead," said Yuri. "Wha--?" "I know it sounds weird, but it just doesn't feel right. I don't know how to explain it." Kei was silent for a moment. Besides being her partner and best friend, Yuri was also one of the most rational girls Kei had ever met, even if she did get a little nervous around scary things. Belief in "weird feelings" wasn't like her. "So, um, what should we do about it?" "Keep heading for the _Lewis_ I guess. If something's gonna happen, we should be there." Meridian moved quickly. The knowledge he needed was not his, but Red's. He had managed to coax Red's mind back to consciousness, but the effort of keeping it there was tiring. He wouldn't be able to do it for too much longer. He floated down the unlit corridors with a handlight, brushing floating glass shards out of the way, until finally reaching the engineering section. After some work replacing burnt-out chips with chips from less necessary systems, he activated the backup power system. There was a shower of sparks and something behind Meridian exploded. He thought he'd failed for a moment, but then the cabin lit up around him. He raised his fist in victory, then fell painfully to the ground, followed by a shower of glass, as the artificial gravity came back on. Meridian picked himself up and ran to the bridge. "Yuri, look! You were right!" Kei pointed at the _Lewis_, which had suddenly lit up. The guardship that had been slowly circling the ship now pivoted to face it. Kei could imagine the looks on their faces. They probably looked a little like the one she had on hers. "Strap yourself in, guys. We're gonna need a lot of acceleration very soon!" Yuri began to bring the _Lovely Angel_'s main engines up to full power. She looked up briefly to see the guardship flying directly behind the _Lewis_. "Ohmigod! Those *morons*! What are they doing?!" The _Lewis_'s main fusion engines came on, momentarily blinding the pair until the canopy went partially opaque to compensate. The guardship was blown away like a mote of dust. Yuri watched it nervously as it spun out of control toward Elenore's atmosphere. A moment later, the guardship's engines came on and the ship began to stabilize. "Thank God they're okay," said Yuri. "That would have been all we needed, 3WA personnel dead." The _Lewis and Clark_ had already escaped orbit and was getting smaller as they watched. "I thought you said the engines weren't as powerful as they looked," Kei said. "Guess I was wrong. Hold on!" Yuri pulled a lever all the way back, and they were all pressed into their seats. They began to catch up to the _Lewis_, but slowly. A comm signal lit up on Kei's console. She strained against the acceleration to answer it and immediately wished she hadn't, as Goulet's apoplectic face appeared on the screen. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING?!!" "Pursuing a stolen ship, sir," said Yuri, the G-forces squishing her smile into a grimace. "Stolen ship? STOLEN SHIP??!! What the hell are YOU doing in the _Lovely Angel_?" Kei was sick of this. If they were in trouble, they were in trouble. Trying to nice-talk Goulet wasn't going to help, so why bother? "What does it look like we're doing? We're trying to keep the _Lewis_ from being ripped off, which I might add, is a heluva lot more than your stupid guardship could do! If you don't like it, send someone up to shoot us down!" Goulet smiled the wicked smile the girls had seen earlier, in his office. "Oh, that's so tempting. Unfortunately, the _Lovely Angel_ cost us fifty million credits. So I'm afraid I'm just going to have to threaten you with termination." "What's that?" asked Yuri. "There's, um, static from the _Lewis_'s engines. Can't hear you." "DON'T BULLSHIT ME! I've had it up to HERE with--" Goulet's image and voice broke up into buzzing and crackling. The ancient fusion engines were throwing off interference after all. Yuri looked toward the ceiling and mouthed the word "thank you". The _Lovely Angel_ finally managed to pull alongside the still accelerating _Lewis_, and Yuri cut back on the engines. The girls sighed with relief as the G-forces dropped to a more reasonable level, which could be compensated for by the artificial gravity field. "Let's try to get in touch with our friend," Yuri said. "Got it," said Kei. She worked the comm. "_Lovely Angel_ to _Lewis and Clark_! Do you read?" Meridian appeared on the screen. He had removed the helmet to his spacesuit and appeared utterly calm. "Hello, Jiliora. Do I read? That's an odd question." Yuri turned to face the comm screen. "Meridian, this is wrong. You have to bring the ship back." "I'm going to confront Nag'sharath. That is right." Yuri had been building a theory. She decided now was the time to use it. "You're mad at Nora, aren't you?" "Mad?" "You're mad because you feel she deserted you. Now you see her as a demon. This Tarc Meridian persona is just your way of coping with the guilt you feel due to your desire to take revenge. You don't have to take revenge, Red. Nora's dead. She died fifty years ago." Meridian stared at her. Then he threw back his head and laughed until tears ran down his face. "That's the most original theory anyone's ever had about me! I congratulate you! No, I'm afraid I truly am Tarc Meridian, last of the Crystal Knights. And I will go to confront Nag'sharath. It is my purpose." Kei put her face right in the screen. "And how are you gonna do that, huh? Do you have any idea what a primitive piece of shit it is you're driving? It barely has a warp engine! You're gonna have to fly at sub-light for at least six months before you can safely warp! You won't arrive at your destination for two years! You STOLE this thing, you idiot! You stole the biggest news item this sector of the galaxy's had in years! Every security agency in the sector is gonna be looking for you! With two years to get there, do you really think you're gonna make it?" Meridian smiled. "What would suggest I do?" "Turn this thing around!" "I cannot. If I do that, I may never see my foe." Kei stamped her foot in frustration. She looked at Yuri, who shrugged. Suddenly, a light went on in Kei's head. She turned back to the screen. "How 'bout a deal?" Meridian raised an eyebrow. "What kind of deal?" "Yeah, what kind of deal?" asked Yuri. "Simple. We'll help you get to where you're going--" "We will?" said Yuri in disbelief. "Sure! All we ask in return is that you give us the _Lewis and Clark_." Meridian looked honestly surprised. "You desire this craft? Mere seconds ago, you were insulting it." "Yeah, we want it. Waddyasay? Is it a deal?" "Efera, do you desire this deal?" Meridian asked Yuri. "Uh, yeah. It makes sense." Well, it didn't really. But then very little was making sense to Yuri then, so what the hell difference did it make? Meridian smiled again. "Very well! You are welcome on board. I knew you'd come around. It is your destiny." Fifteen light-years away, Nora MacPherson III watched all this on a viewscreen. Any visitor to her office might have been surprised to see that the screen's input cable was not connected to anything, hanging loosely over the side of the desk, if it were not for the fact that the visitor in question would see nothing but a blank screen. Nora brushed her long black hair, now streaked with gray, out of her eyes, and sighed. "What do you think, Therian?" She pronounced the "th" soft, as in "there". Nora's muscular assistant stood in the corner, his dark sunglasses and blonde crew-cut making him the perfect stereotypical bodyguard. He answered in a monotone. "I do not think you should allow them on Platonia. You will not be able to observe them if you let them get that close." "Well, that's not entirely true." Nora took another look at the screen, and smiled. "Mmm. No, I think I'll let them come. I've always wanted to meet the Dirty Pair. Their record of massive destruction has always excited me." She turned off the screen, not by pressing a button, but by waving a hand in front of it. She stood up. "And besides, that's Tarc Meridian on board. Last of the Crystal Morons. He has to `confront' me. It's his adorably chivalrous `destiny'. But if he thinks this confrontation is going to go like all the others, he's got another think coming." She walked toward the door and waved to her assistant. "Come, Therian. I have a board meeting." END CHAPTER TWO