The Justice Machine: Challenges

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dans
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The Justice Machine: Challenges Jun 16, 2017 23:23:05 GMT

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Post by dans on Jun 16, 2017 23:23:05 GMT

Act 1

Time: Early 1978

Introduction

Place: Kurnnegut, a planet on the 'Rim' of the Georwellian Imperium.

Setting: For hundreds of years, humans and an alien species known as the Nahman lived peacefully on Kurnnegut under a shared government. A nahman is sort of a 6 limbed centaur it has a horizontal body section with 4 legs and a tail, similar to a large short-haired dog, a vertical body section which is similar to a human adolescent including arms, and a face which reminds most people of a flat-faced rabbit with floppy ears. They normally go on 4 legs, but most can stand on their hind legs for limited lengths of time. Their middle set of limbs has clumsy hands, not nearly as agile as their upper hands. When they stand upright, they average about 5 foot 6 inches tall. Their hair can be almost any color.

The Nahman hail from another interstellar realm, the Nahman Alliance, which has existed peacefully in this area of the galaxy for thousands of years. Though the Nahman are a peaceful race, they are also very secretive, and little is known about the technical capabilities of the Alliance. Only a relative few nahman live on planets outside the borders or the Alliance.

28 years ago, before the Rim Wars, there was a war on Kurnnegut, now called The First Nahman War, and which is described in Act 2 of this story. The First Nahman War established humans as the sole rulers of Kurnnegut, though many nahman elected to remain on Kurnnegut under human rule. The government of Kurnnegut late last year made the extremely unpopular decision to surrender the planet's independence and become a subject planet of the Georwellian Imperium. Thus Kurnnegut is now ruled by an Imperial Governor appointed by Georwellian Council Central. Most humans and nahman alike are unhappy with the new rule. The surrender was not voluntary - even though there were no armed conflicts between Kurnnegut and Georwell, there were certainly enough Georwellian military forces in the system to have easily won any war between the two.

Recent Events: The new Imperial Governor just proclaimed that the nahman population on Kurnnegut are a threat to the security of the Imperium and issued a 'terminate on sight' order for all nahman. To any resident of Kurnnegut over a certain age, going back to war with the nahman was like déjà vu, with the big difference that the earlier war had been fought merely to establish dominance rather than a war to extinction. Most humans on Kurnnegut don't think of nahman as enemies, as they have been associating peacefully with nahman for much of their lives working with them, playing with them, doing business with them, establishing friendships with them. When the exterminate order was given, many humans joined the already established anti-Georwell underground.

Initially, the nahman didn't believe that their human neighbors would harm them. After the first slaughter of their unarmed brothers and sisters by the imported Imperial Baleful Atrocious Subjugation Troops, most nahman found a way to flee Kurnnegut. But some stayed to try and gain revenge, while others stayed to fight for the only homes they had ever known. The nahman who stayed to fight fled into the extensive wilds of Kurnnegut and joined the human underground to stage a guerrilla war against Georwellian forces. Aided by surprise, the rebels have been surprisingly successful in resisting the Imperium. So far…

Chapter 1

Alyza Hobon, a short, compact woman with short brown hair, the leader of the human anti-Georwellian underground on Kurnnegut, thoughtfully examined the 'meeting room' and the beings gathered around the conference table. The four St. Bernard-sized, 6 limbed centaur-like nahman tended to cluster more closely together than the four humans; probably a vestige of their ancient herd instinct.

They were in a small chamber in an extensive system of caverns in an inaccessible area of the Granite Mountains. The walls of this small chamber were covered with draperies but the floor and ceiling were natural stone. The table and chairs had been built only recently; the green wood of their construction still exuded sap from the cut ends. The nahman easily ignored the primitive conditions, while Alyza and the human contingent struggled to do the same. It seemed ironic that the nahman, whose peaceful civilization was many thousands of years older than that of humanity, could adapt more easily to the loss of the many amenities of modern civilization than could humans.

'I guess it confirms what I've always thought that nahman are more practical than humans, much less prone to self-delusions. It's a shame we have been brought to this condition!' Alyza's thoughts strayed from the present meeting, as she recalled how she had come to this point…

Shortly after the First Nahman War, Alyza had awakened in a hospital bed, horribly injured and with no knowledge of her past. She hadn't even known her name; 'Alyza Hobon' was something she had made up to satisfy the medical bureaucracy and she had never felt it was an exact fit. Though her doctors had been sure she would never walk again, after several years of intensive physical therapy she had recovered completely from her injuries, though she had never regained her memories. During therapy she'd realized how much she enjoyed exercise, and she had been an extreme fitness fanatic ever since.

She had effortlessly plunged into the political chaos left over after the war like a fish into water, and worked tirelessly to restore trust between the human and nahman species. From this effort she had quickly graduated into leadership roles in the human government, culminating in being elected Prime Minister of the Independent Republic of Kurnnegut some 10 years ago, a position that she had held until she was ousted by the quisling who had recently surrendered Kurnnegut to the Imperial Governor from Georwell.

'A real comedown in status, isn't it?' she snorted to herself at the direction her thoughts had taken. 'From Prime Minister of the Independent Republic of Kurnnegut living in the Palace of State and leader of the 'Keep Kurnnegut Independent' party, to a traitor to Georwell hiding in a drafty cave, hunted by squads of armored troopers from the Georwellian Elite Occupation Force'. She shook her head in disgust. 'Enough self-pity! I've always followed my principles, and if they've led me here, so be it!' She took a deep breath to compose herself. She was very unhappy with what she was about to say.

"Friends, we MUST get this meeting started. Despite our recent successes, I've just heard the worst possible news for us. We must abandon the rebellion immediately!" That got their attention! "Our spy in the Palace reports that 'Imperial Governor' Santor…" she spat the words with venom and contempt. Santor did no governing, but instead wallowed in decadence all day, every day "has contacted Prosecutor Zarren on Georwell for assistance."

All the small talk had stopped and everyone was focused intently on Alyza. Even outside of the Georwellian Imperium, they knew the reputation of Prosecutor Zarren. She could feel the sudden wave of fear cascading through the room, anticipating her next announcement.

"Yes, you are all correct. The so-called 'Justice Machine' has been dispatched to Kurnnegut." She winced visibly with pain when she named the Imperium's super team.

Kurnnegut had prior experience with the Justice Machine. For a time, before Georwell interfered in a conflict that had nothing to do with it, the First Nahman War had been inconclusive. Military historians were evenly spit about who would actually have won, humans or nahman, until Council Central on Georwell had decided that it would be to the Imperium's advantage to have another human-ruled planet as an ally. They dispatched the Justice Machine, along with a battalion of Imperial Terror Troopers, to aid the human cause. When the Imperium absolutely positively had to have a success, in military or criminal matters, the Justice Machine was unleashed, and the Justice Machine NEVER failed.

Alyza continued. "Given the circumstances, I'm forced to suggest that our nahman allies should strongly consider withdrawing to some other planet in your own realm. And any humans who have any connections at all with the underground, no matter how slight, should start evacuating as well. I don't know where we'll go, though. Perhaps we can also beg asylum from the Nahman Alliance?"

Not a single being in the room protested this sudden urging of surrender by their leader. Though the average citizen of Kurnnegut didn't understand the vindictiveness of the Georwellian Imperium, everyone in the Underground, both human and nahman, was already intimately familiar with the atrocities visited on their enemies by the Imperial Elite Occupation Force already on the planet. And the Terror Troop now on the way were known as the most vicious of all the Imperial forces. When Georwell won this new war and now that the Justice Machine was on the way, no one now doubted that Georwell would win everyone even vaguely connected with the underground would die, but not soon enough to save them from horrendous torture, not before they admitted to crimes against their fellow citizens of Kurnnegut, not before they confessed to terrorist activities from which only Georwell could offer protection in the future. Every one of them would be made to advance Georwell's cause.

"We have about 9 days before the troop carrier with the Justice Machine and the Terror Troopers arrives. I propose that we cancel our current agenda and immediately develop a plan to get all our people of both species off Kurnnegut in that time." Though the motion was unanimously approved without discussion, some members of both species vowed privately to remain and collect what revenge they could. But the rebel council wouldn't even be granted time to discuss withdrawal plans.

Chapter 2

The cave suddenly shook to a tremendous explosion, not far away. Part of the ceiling came down, burying almost half the beings in the room and knocking the rest from their feet. Alyza was thrown against a wall and fell, stunned, dragging some curtains down on top of her.

Someone rushed into the room screaming "A BASTard Assault Carrier just landed. Ground troops are blasting through our defenses!" Before he could say more, an energy beam vaporized his head from behind. His body took two more steps before it crumpled to the ground.

While it had been Alyza Hobon who banged her head and crashed to the stone floor, it was someone else who arose. For over 25 years, Alyza had been nothing but a peaceful politician albeit an honest politician with a fetish for personal fitness but the being who now stood in her shoes, using her mind, was a warrior! Moving almost too fast for the eye to follow, she relieved the dead rebel of his energy pistol and fired a half dozen shots through the door by which the dead man had entered. She followed those shots in a blur, and by the time answering shots crashed into the room, she was long gone.

Her allies were just starting to pull themselves together. The nahman leader, though injured, took command, and the remaining able bodied rebels drew their weapons and began making their way cautiously towards the sounds of battle. They knew they would likely be overwhelmed, but to die fighting was infinitely preferable to being captured. The BASTard forces knew that the Terror Troop were on the way, and they would outdo themselves in evil in an attempt to prove they were as deadly dangerous as their more famous rivals.

The new Alyza had other ideas! In the corridor outside the meeting room, she saw 5 BASTards in standard combat armor. Combat armor provided enhanced strength and limited invulnerability, at the cost of reduced speed and agility. The squad was just recovering from her earlier cover fire and beginning to fire back when she exploded into their midst. She was able to place the firing bell of her pistol flush with the shoulder joint of one BASTard, the weakest point of his armor, and her first shot easily blasted through the joint, killing him instantly. She kicked the falling body into the second armored soldier, and he stumbled backwards. As numbers 3 and 4 swung their guns towards her, she spun towards number 3 and whacked his arm out of line so that he shot number 5. Now behind number 3, she fired her pistol directly into the power pack of his armor, then shoved him into his comrades, using the shove to propel herself into the corridor through which the BASTards had arrived. A count later, she ducked behind an outcropping of rock that jutted into the cave as Number 3's armor exploded.

For just a second, Alyza wondered at her new-found prowess at battle. In the 28 years of her memory, she had never been in a single fight, and had only recently begun training with weapons. But among her new skills she found battle analysis, and she realized she didn't have time to worry about this particular issue right now. She could hear the sounds of battle coming from the entrance to the cave system. She reviewed the rebels' defensive preparations in her mind and realized that they had no chance against the standard tactics and weapons that BASTard forces usually employed vs. enemies entrenched in a warren of caves. Still, though the enemy advance would be inexorable, it would also be slow. If she used some unusual tactics, she might be able to end this attack and save many of her allies.

'For what?' a part of her mind asked. 'With the Justice Machine on the way, even your best efforts will only prolong the inevitable.'

Her thoughts almost stunned her. Where was this defeatist attitude coming from? Not from the politician Alyza who'd fought for truth, justice and independence for Kurnnegut for almost 30 years. Nor from the warrior who'd just emerged from Alyza like a Georwellian mini-dragon from its chrysalis. There must be another, as yet undiscovered side of Alyza still buried in her mind a part of her of which she was already beginning to be ashamed. She would win this battle, or die with honor!

The cavern system was complex and extensive, with many exits to the surface. She visualized the terrain outside, trying to figure out where a BASTard Troop Carrier would likely land to support this assault. There was only one place nearby large enough, a small valley that was overlooked by two different entrances to the caverns. She would take the battle to the Carrier. But first there was something she could do to improve her side's chances of living through the next few minutes.

A BASTard Assault Troop took battle orders from a half dozen Assault Commanders. These Commanders never went into battle, but remained in a mobile Combat Command Center in the Troop Carrier, monitoring the battle through cameras mounted on each soldier's armor. This allowed the Commanders to direct virtually every aspect of a battle. The ability to closely coordinate the BASTards' actions in battle made them incredibly deadly. If she could interfere with the command signals, the BASTards would have to think for themselves and they were not selected or trained for initiative. They would still be dangerous as individuals, but her own troops would have a chance.

She raced to the cave's radio room and gave the technician detailed instructions for jamming the encoded command signals on the secret frequencies used by the Imperial BAST forces, never wondering how she knew that information. A few minutes later, she had reached the sentry post in one of the cave entrances overlooking the valley and the Troop Carrier ship grounded there. As she had hoped, the two sentries, one human and one nahman, were still at their post. There were a few BASTard guards on the ground around the ship, to prevent someone from sneaking aboard the ship.

"Report!" she commanded.

"They blasted open the concealed entrance from the air, then landed and sent in a squadron, ma'am" the human sentry responded. "Can we be relieved? We'd like to join the battle."

"Negative!" she was emphatic. "I need you here." Three more warriors wouldn't turn the tide of the battle in the caverns. But two energy weapons, with an assist from the terrain, might just be enough to create a distraction that would allow her to gain entry to the ship below. "Let me have your binoculars." She carefully scanned the surrounding mountains and quickly settled on a likely spot.

"I want you to wait…" she paused, and examined the mountainside below the sentry post "7 minutes, exactly, from when I give you the time mark, then begin firing at the base of that outcropping…" she pointed out the rock formation she had in mind "and keep firing as long as possible. I need you to start an avalanche to distract the troops on the ground, so I can get onto that ship." She looked at her watch. "Seven minutes, mark!" and she was gone, disappearing into the brush on the mountainside like a gentle breeze.

*****

Exactly 7 minutes later, two beams of destructive energy blasted the mountainside, undercutting the massive outcropping of granite Alyza had selected. The guards on the ground turned and started shooting at the no-longer-hidden entrance to the cave where the energy bolts were coming from, but the sentries were protected by the bulk of the mountain. It took a few seconds for the BASTards to shift their aim to the mountainside above the cave entrance, bringing down a small avalanche. But it was too late; there was a much larger avalanche roaring down the opposite mountainside towards the grounded ship in the valley below.

The ship's crew, alerted by the gunfire outside the ship, was already scrambling frantically to get it off the ground. The troops on the ground were running for their lives, as twin avalanches thundered into the small valley. The ship managed to lift, but it was still low enough that it was battered by the debris thundering down the mountainsides.

Meanwhile, a whirlwind was moving through the interior of the Carrier, taking advantage of the chaos caused by the forced takeoff and the violent shaking of the ship. None of the support personnel in the Carrier had a chance against Alyza as she made her way inexorably to the Control Room. She moved so quickly and attacked so efficiently they didn't even have time to sound an alarm. Within minutes she was on the bridge. With her energy pistol in hand, she was in control in seconds.

One of the Georwellian Imperium's worst fears was neither outside enemies or insurrection by the populace, but a revolt by the Georwellian militia. No force would be able to resist millions of Georwellian troops in Assault Armor. So they had a secret weapon, known to only a very few. There was a political officer on every Carrier who knew a secret code that could be used to immobilize Assault Armor when sent from a certain authorized control panel on the bridge - and somehow, Alyza knew that code.

She burst into the Command Center like a bomb, kicking the nearest Commander in the head before he even knew someone had entered the room. The rest of the room was already in quiet chaos because there was no way to send commands to the Troopers, so no one moved immediately to stop her. She entered the code and was back in the corridor in an instant, slamming the bulkhead door behind her and dogging it shut.

With Alyza in control of the ship, and the BASTards' armor immobilized, the battle was over in minutes, with minimal loss of life on either side, other than those unfortunate soldiers who had been unable to escape the avalanches. It was the single biggest victory in the short war. And now the rebellion had over a hundred suits of armor and an Armored Troop Carrier/Mobile Command Center for their own use.

And still Alyza knew it wasn't going to be enough.

Chapter 3

The day after 'The Battle of the Caves', Alyza was meeting with 'Notch', the leader of the nahman remaining on the planet. Notch was not his real name, which was unpronounceable by humans, but a nickname because of a nick in one of his ears. Notch was a couple of centuries old, and would probably live for another century unless he died of an accident or in combat. There were gray spots in his otherwise deep dark red coat, and he was no longer able to stand upright on his two hind legs, but his age didn't seem to have otherwise affected him. He was among the sharpest, most intelligent, and most stubborn! beings Alyza had ever known. Still, she had to convince him.

"I now think we should stay and fight!" Alyza stated, emphatically. "Throw the bastards off Kurnnegut, and take it back for the rightful owners!"

Even a nahman could see that this was not the same Alyza who had yesterday suggested withdrawal. Her physical appearance hadn't changed: about 5 foot 5, about 160 pounds, heavily muscled, no curves to speak of, just a solid wedge, widest at the shoulders and narrowing to her feet. She had always been charismatic, and that much hadn't changed, but now she carried an aura of.. dangerousness, perhaps, would be the best description. The set of her face, the cast of her eyes, the flat, implacable tone of her voice, all showed that this was a woman not to be crossed. Yet, Notch might have no choice. His goals might be at cross purposes with hers. He hoped this new Alyza still remembered how to compromise.

"These real owners, who now be they?" Notch asked gently, curiously. "Not so many years ago, humans slaughtered nahman for ownership of this planet, not? Should now nahman trust you?" His expressive pointed ears twitched as he spoke; Alyza knew this was a sign of nervousness.

"You know I don't personally remember anything before the War, Notch. But I've studied pre-war history closely." In fact, her studies had been obsessive, as she sought clues to her identity. "We were all set up. The original atrocities, allegedly by nahman, and the subsequent bombing of nahman nurseries, allegedly in retaliation by humans you know that these allegations were never proved. And the reason is simple, they were acts of outside agitators whose sole purpose was to start the War. And you and I both know who sponsored those agitators, know who stood to gain the most by the War."

"Georwell, not?" Notch replied, his voice as soft as a sigh. "Of this, the nahman have known long, yet, little good has knowing done. Human believed this not, never." His ears twitched violently. "You, Alyza, before today, believed it never."

"I know, Notch, and I apologize. I can't tell you how sorry I am." Nahman are very sensitive to emotions, even human emotions, and Notch could feel her genuine anguish. "That knock on the head yesterday did something to me. It certainly opened my eyes to everything I ignored when I studied history, things I never wanted to believe before. But now it's obvious that I was blind, all these years. But even so, you know I have always treated the nahman fairly, even when I believed you were the aggressors in the War."

"In truth, honorable you have been, always. In you now, the same honor I sense. The truth is yours, now. But other humans, you speak not for all. How can we know, fair to us they will be?" Notch was still not satisfied.

"I'm sorry, but I can't make promise for other humans. But I CAN promise that I will continue to work for the good of the nahman once Kurnnegut is again independent."

"Of more worry, to me" Notch continued. "Yesterday, withdrawal you urged, fight not. Today, fight you insist. Changed, what?"

"I have! I don't know what happened, but yesterday, I stopped an entire squad of BASTard soldiers, and captured them, their armor, and the command ship, virtually single-handed. I knew their tactics, their strengths, and most of all, their weaknesses! With that kind of knowledge, we have a chance against even the Justice Machine." She paused, gauging her ally's reaction. His ears were twitching wildly. He even might have missed the painful wince that crossed Hobon’s face at the mention of the Justice Machine.

"Yes, I know, even that's not enough. But I think you nahman have more to contribute that just warriors. Your civilization is tens of thousands of years older than human civilization, and the Nahman Alliance co-exists peacefully while surrounded by several interstellar empires of highly aggressive species, all bent on expansion. Yet no one attacks the Nahman Alliance. I don't believe this is just because you nahman are so lovable!"

"Ancient we are, yes. Secrets we do not reveal, yes, those have we. The value of secrets, in secrecy lies."

"Is keeping these secrets worth your lives and the lives of all the nahman on this planet?" she asked. The outcome of the war depended on his answer!

"Unaware you are of other options." She sensed he was stalling. She had him, now!

"I don't want other options. I want to win this war!"

"My trust, you have won. The Alliance, I must convince. From my success, assistance will arrive. Return tomorrow; leave now."

Alyza was bitterly disappointed at the abrupt dismissal, and dismayed at having to wait for the Alliance to send them assistance. The fastest ships of the Nahman Alliance would take almost 2 weeks to reach Kurnnegut, and the Justice Machine would be here in just over 1 week. No matter how powerful were the Alliance 'secrets', they would be of no value to dead rebels. Alyza was realist enough to know that even her new-found skills and expertise could only delay the inevitable. Still, she wasn't about to surrender. With over 100 suits of Assault Armor and the Troop Carrier/Mobile Command Post the rebels had 'inherited' yesterday, they could do a great deal of damage before the arrival of the Justice Machine. Perhaps they might even capture the Imperial Governor and take a little revenge out of his hide! At least they could go down fighting.

*****

There was an Imperial spy among the rebel forces, a very clever spy with a painstakingly produced background that was proof against rebel investigations. A fifth columnist who had been planted many years ago, a precaution that was finally starting to pay off. A man who had long hoped the rebellion would hurry up and arrive so he could finally earn the promised reward that would let him retire and never worry about money again. This spy had reported the location of yesterday's meeting, which should have earned him a hefty bonus but instead…

"You set us up!" the spymaster thundered at the terrified pain-wracked spy. "They knew we were coming, and they had plans for the ship! It's the only way that they could have taken her so easily. You sold us out!" He touched a button, and a wheel turned, stretching the unfortunate spy's arm even higher over his head. His feet were chained tightly to the floor. The spymaster chuckled at the spy's scream of agony. "Not a very good idea, Jamry."

"No!" screamed Jamry. "How would I have access to the plans for a Carrier? I've always been loyal!" His voice broke on the last syllable. He'd repeated the same denial for hours, in varying degrees of pain. He was ready to confess to anything, but he knew that what they would do to him if he admitted guilt would be so much worse than this.

"They didn't have the weapons or strength of numbers to stand up to that many armored Troopers, Jam. Say" the torturer chuckled "your shoulder is pretty much jam by now, isn't it? That's irony for you!"

"I've told you… everything. All I did was give you the location of… the meeting. They didn't suspect me. I wasn't there to see what happened. Somehow the Commanders screwed up Aiiieeeee!" as his shoulder was stretched even more. He couldn't stand it any longer. He had one piece of information that might buy his freedom; he decided it was finally time to give it up.

"Let me go and I'll tell you where their headquarters is."

"Why haven't you told me before?" his captor demanded. "I should kill you for holding out on me." But he didn't touch the button again.

"I was… going to hold out… and see if you'd pay… more" Jamry panted.

"An honest answer. Jamry, I think you and I are finally going to be able to do business." The spymaster smiled as he touched another button, and Jamry's arm and feet were released. He fell to the floor, screamed once, and then subsided into pathetic sobbing. "Tell you what, Jam. Tell me, and I'll let you go. I promise!"

Jamry struggled to stop crying. "The Tarbal Ranch they've got a secret hideout underground." He was still snuffling, and cradling his jellied shoulder with his opposite arm. "Right below the main house. Can I go now?"

"Of course, Jam I always keep my word." A door slid open. "That's even worth a few bucks! Don't ever say I don't pay top price!" the laughing man pulled a wad of bills from his pocket and threw them towards the sobbing spy. "There's enough there to get your arm fixed. Don't bother thanking me!"

Jamry didn't even respond. He grabbed the bills and crawled towards the open door, leaving a slimy yellow trail glistening on the floor behind himself. Just outside the door, the floor silently opened up and swallowed him. His scream cut off after less than a second, and the trapdoor slammed shut.

"Maintenance! Get in here and clean up this mess." The spymaster made a mental note to keep his future victims away from water for 24 hours before he 'questioned' them. Then he was on the radio, notifying his own superior of the important information he'd discovered

Chapter 4

The information about the headquarters of the human rebels filtered upwards and late that night reached the attention of the Imperial Secretary for Planetary Security, who added it to information from his other sources and started preparations for an attack by Security forces on the Tarbal Ranch the next morning. Perhaps the Secretary should have passed the information to the Imperial Secretary for the Planetary Militia, but he wasn't going to let that boob and his BASTard forces take credit for this! If he acted immediately to kill or capture the human leaders of the rebellion, his initiative would surely win the attention of Prosecutor Zarren, and he would be reassigned to a much more important position on Georwell and his career would take a quantum leap upward.

A half dozen Security Shuttles landed around the Ranch, easily visible from the main building, and about 30 Security Agents poured out. They immediately came under fire, but the shields on the Shuttles easily protected them. The ranch house, on the other hand, didn't appear to be armored, and the Agents' energy weapons tore it apart. Within a few minutes, all rebel fire had ceased. The Security Agents advanced. Using sensitive instruments, they soon found a secret tunnel leading down from the ruins of the house. They fired poison gas canisters down the tunnel, and continued their advance. Through the swirling mist that now filled the tunnels, their infrared scanners showed that the way in front of them was cluttered with cooling heat sources. Human sized, unmoving, slowly cooling down from around human body temperature.

When they reached the first cooling bundle lying on the floor, the leading Security Agent kicked the bundle disdainfully and was stunned when it clanked! Instantly, the Security team was caught in a crossfire of automatic weapons, and a few seconds later, the corridor was quiet again. And this time, empty of life.

The ambush, and the slaughter of his expendable troops, had been anticipated by the Imperial Secretary of Planetary Security this wasn't his first rebel roundup by a long shot! As soon as he had seen the Tarbal Ranch intel, he had ordered intensive satellite surveillance of the ranch grounds and the area for miles around it with all the highly sensitive instruments available to Security, and this surveillance had discovered a concealed underground complex and a secret back entrance. His men had died for a good cause their slaughter proved just how deadly the rebels really were, and the success of his backup plan would convince the Governor of just how competent and resourceful he really was!

His primary team of 6 agents, the most highly trained, experienced, dangerous agents on the planet (a team of Georwellian James Bonds, as it were), wearing costumes of stealth armor cloth and equipped with special gear, was advancing towards the underground headquarters through the secret back entrance. The stealth armor had two vital characteristics the cloth was as flexible as silk when it was attached to a special power supply, but was stiff and virtually invulnerable when un-powered, and also when impacted, making it a good defense against bullets, knives and fists. And it reacted similarly to the skin of a chameleon to the terrain around it though the effect was modulated by a wearable computer built into the costume, and much more effective than any natural camouflage could be. His agents would be virtually invisible, and almost invulnerable.

Even with their attention intently turned to their surroundings, and their ultra-sensitive detection gear on full, none of the agents in this Security super-team noticed when their first colleague was taken out. The first time they realized they were under attack was when his icon disappeared from the screens of the hand-held life sensors carried by each of his fellows. They instantly clustered together in a circle, facing outward, so that nobody could get behind them. This turned out to be unwise; clustered together they gave their foe a larger target.

"There!" whispered the most junior agent over the highly encrypted, super-low power communication link. He pointed towards a wall, where he had seen a flicker of motion. They could see nothing there now, but a projectile of some kind struck the agent in the face, shattering his enhanced vision goggles. He fell to his knees and tore off the goggles. The projectile had fallen at his feet it was a small ball of shiny metal, like a ball bearing. Another ball hit him a glancing blow in the forehead, knocking him out of the fight.

"Split up!" the senior agent commanded. Almost instantly, the agents appeared to fade away, hidden from view by their stealth armor. "Engage anti-stealth vision". The agents' enhanced vision goggles, which provided them with infrared, ultraviolet and telescopic vision, could also penetrate most stealth measures known to the Imperium, by using computer processing to enhance the tiny visual cues that even the best stealth gear couldn't totally eliminate. Anti-stealth signal processing required virtually all of the processing power of the agents' wearable computers, though, rendering most of their other sensory instruments useless so no agent used this capability unless the enemy was suspected of using stealth as well.

Instantly, all 4 remaining agents were able to see their enemy, a human female, wearing a skin-tight chameleon-skin costume similar to their own, and moving so swiftly that even with anti-stealth vision engaged, it was hard to keep track of her. She pointed her arm at one of the agents, and a device strapped to the top of her arm fired a stream of steel balls at ultra-high velocity. Unlike his fellow, who had not seen these projectiles coming, this agent was able to twist so that the stream of projectiles struck his armor. The cloth stiffened when the first ball struck, and he was battered backwards until he fell out of the projectile stream. His fellow agents were swinging their guns towards their foe, but she dropped and rolled forward and their energy beams shattered the wall. She crashed into the legs of a second agent, and when he hit the floor, she tore off his goggles and touched a finger to his forehead. A powerful capacitor discharged, knocking him out of the fight.

She sprang to her feet, a Security agent in combat stance to either side of her. She feinted right, then launching a stunning kick at the head of the agent to the left. His armor protected him, but he was knocked off his feet. The other agent rushed forward, and stabbed at her with a molecule-edged knife, the blade of which was so sharp it would even penetrate armor cloth. She was unable to block or dodge, but she turned, and the blade sliced through her uniform and into her side. She jerked backwards, then slammed her elbow down on his outstretched arm. His armor stiffened and protected his arm from being shattered, but he was knocked off his feet.

The agent who had been knocked down by the stream of balls was now back on his feet, and he launched himself forward with a flying kick, catching her in the head, knocking her back against the wall. She pushed off the wall and fled, stumbling through a door and slamming it behind her. Three energy weapons flared instantly and the door disintegrated. One of the agents tossed an explosive device through the door, and the three rushed through immediately after the explosion.

Their assailant dropped onto the back of the last agent from her perch above the door. She used a molecular-edged knife to stab into the power pack of his stealth armor. Without power, the armor cloth stiffened and the agent was immobilized.

With their team of 6 suddenly trimmed to 2, the remaining agents were much more cautious. Taking advantage of the momentary lull in their attacks, the rebel pulled something from a pouch on her belt, and slapped it over the slice in her armor. The self-adhesive patch pulled together the edges of the tear, helping to stem the flow of blood underneath.

Thinking to take advantage of her momentary distraction, one of the agents fired his energy pistol, but she was again too fast. She dove under a table, and when she came up, she was wielding a flat round black object like it was a shield, and firing her own projectile weapon. The stream of pellets from her weapon shattered the gun the agent was holding, and it exploded. As an energy beam from the other agent struck, the shield changed from flat black to a highly effective silvery reflector, and his beam bounced back and struck him.

She spun away and launched a kick at the head of the agent who was screaming in agony and trying to stem the bleeding from his hand, knocking him unconscious, then turned back to confront the agent who had just shot himself.

"I've had enough!" he screamed, as she advanced on him. "I surrender!"

*****

Later that day, Alyza met with Notch again. She was stunned when she walked into the meeting room, favoring her side instead of the sparse furnishings from the day before, the room was filled with hand weapons and belts. Notch greeted her before she could recover from her astonishment.

"Alliance, in favor of assistance, not. To start, at least. Resounding victory, yours, today, their minds changed. Good luck, you are wished!" He pointed at the gear around them. "Enough, we hope it is!"

"How did they know about the battle at the Ranch? How did you get this stuff here from the Alliance so fast? It takes over a week for a message from Kurnnegut to reach even the closest outpost of the Nahman Alliance".

His ears waggled; she knew this signaled amusement among the nahman. "Secrets revealed, some. Secrets we do not reveal, yes, still more we have."

She realized the nahman had revealed everything to her that they planned to reveal. Time to get down to business.

"So, tell me what this stuff can do, and let's figure out some surprises for the Justice Machine! We've got just over a week!"

dans
Guardian

Posts: 3,802

The Justice Machine: Challenges Jun 16, 2017 23:32:46 GMT

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Post by dans on Jun 16, 2017 23:32:46 GMT

Act 2

Time: 1955, 23 years before Act 1

Introduction:

Place: A briefing room aboard the Vigilant, a giant Georwellian Troop Transport, in hyperspace, somewhere between Georwell and Kurnnegut.

The political situation: Council Central has been convinced that Georwellian aid to the humans on Kurnnegut in their war against the nahman would be a good way to obtain a new ally in the inevitable upcoming war against the alien Rizzards of the Rim Worlds.

Chapter 5

"OK, Justice Machine, listen up!" Light-Wave, the leader of the Justice Machine, called the briefing to order. He was a tall, well built man, dressed in a mostly black costume. His face was half-concealed by a cowl. His voice was strong and vibrant, and he practically oozed leadership and charisma. "Now that we're in transit, I can reveal our sealed orders."

"I'll bet we're on our way to some backwater planet to kick some alien butt and make the Galaxy safer for humanity or at least for Georwell." A tall, thin woman, somewhat scraggly looking, spoke up sarcastically, her nasal voice grating on everyone's ears.

"Shut up, Descry!" said Challenger, the Machine's second-in-command. She was stocky, in a dun-brown outfit, carrying a bo stick and a war bag in which she kept several other weapons, including nunchakas, a billy club and a kama. Across a chest was a bandoleer, liberally stocked with throwing weapons, such as stars, slivers and darts. No one could figure out where she concealed the knives, strangling wires and other weapons they knew she was carrying.

Jaiime Conrad snickered. This was his first mission, and already Descry was getting on his nerves; he was glad to see someone else was annoyed with her, too. He knew he'd made a mistake when the rest of the Machine turned and stared at him.

"Sumthin' funny, lil man?" Giant asked, a frown creasing her chiseled-stone features. "P'raps ya shod wai'n see iffn ya get ba'alive, for'n you be giggl'n at Descry"

The Flame (Masha Fynn, the most beautiful girl Jaiime had ever imagined, only a few years older than he but already a beloved heroine, famed throughout the Georwellian Imperium) just stared sternly, and then turned her almost-fawning attention back to Light-Wave. Jaiime knew they were lovers, and this knowledge burned within him how could the leader of the Justice Machine get away with this kind of fraternization? It was so against the rules!

Feral grinned at him, but no one would mistake that grin for an expression of amusement. He didn't say anything, but growled quietly. The wolf-like being was the only current non-human member of the Justice Machine. Only the Haunt seemed amused, before he turned back to the briefing.

Jaiime was stung by the various expressions of cool amusement. 'I'm as good as any of them!' he thought. 'I'll make them all regret dissing me! Just wait!'

Light-Wave coughed and all heads turned back to him. "This time, Descry is basically correct. We are headed to the planet Kurnnegut, where we will help the native humans win their freedom from despotic alien rule. Council Central believes this will convince the new human government to form an alliance with Georwell. As you know, Council Central projects a 90% plus probability of war with the Rim Raiders within the next 5 years, and they want to influence as many as possible of the nearby independent human planets to ally with us."

Descry sneered at her teammates and opened her mouth to crow...

"Shut up, Descry" Light-Wave repeated. Descry shut up.

The so-called Rim Raiders were a loosely allied group of worlds inhabited by a species of intelligent, aggressive lizards. They were larger and much stronger individually than humans, and much more ferocious, and they normally wasted most of their time and energy battling each other. Though their technology was not as advanced as that of the Imperium, Council Central projected them as a dangerous threat because of their high breeding rate. If they ever united, they would become an implacable foe.

The briefing continued, covering the history of Kurnnegut, a description of nahman and the Nahman Alliance, history of known interactions between nahman and human, and ended with some discussion of Alliance military capabilities.

"Enough for today. Tomorrow we'll figure out how to fight nahman. But now, we need a good workout!" Light-Wave concluded. "Be in the gym in 5 minutes!"

Light-Wave even orchestrated the training exercises. He and the Flame raced through a difficult, rapidly changing obstacle course. To increase the degree of difficulty, the obstacles carried a painful charge of electricity. He was much faster in a straight line, but she was much more maneuverable, and over a highly twisted, randomly changing closed course such as this, they were relatively well matched.

The Haunt and Feral were playing shock tag, pitting Feral's natural animal-like speed, agility and incredibly acute senses versus the Haunt's uncanny ability to shift out of phase with the world for short periods, allowing him to pass through solid objects. Each player was carrying a short stick, which would deliver a painful energy charge when used to tag the other. The game moved rapidly across the gym, as the two players took advantage of the workout equipment and even the other members of the Justice Machine to foil each other's pursuit. An occasional grunt from the Haunt, or subdued howl from Feral, indicated that both players were being tagged painfully often.

Challenger, probably the team's most skilled combatant, worked with Descry to improve her fighting skills. Descry normally avoided physical combat, counting on a pistol, and used her psychic sensory abilities to spy on the Machine's opponents and warn her teammates about impending dangers. Light-Wave wanted her to be able to defend herself without her pistol if she got separated from the team. They were engaged in full-contact weaponless combat at the moment.

Jaiime took a moment to watch. Challenger was fast, almost as fast as Jaiime himself, he thought, and highly skilled. She struck painful blows but held back from causing permanent injury. Still, Descry was complaining rather than fighting.

"If I could use my powers, you wouldn't be able to touch me."

"Shut up, Descry! Save your breath for fighting!" Challenger said, as she landed yet another painful blow.

"Look our f'r'yr'self, yungkin!" Giant had grown to 15 feet, and she was swinging her massive fist at him. Jaiime easily dodged backward, then sprung forward and delivered a blindingly fast combination of punches to her midriff, almost as high as he could reach, then sprang instantly out of her reach, putting on display the speed and power that had made him the most deadly unarmed fighter at the Military Academy. Giant apparently didn't feel anything.

"Acch! You've spirit, yungkin! Keep't'up!" She reached to an equipment rack and picked up a 16 pound medicine ball the size of a basketball. It looked like a softball in her hands. Moving faster than Jaiime would have thought possible for someone that big, she threw it at him. He ducked, then charged forward and flashed between Giant's legs before she could react. He sprung upwards off a pommel horse, and slammed both arms down on top of her head, then wrapped his arms around her neck and used all his strength in an attempt to cut off her breathing.

She casually grabbed his wrists and effortlessly pulled his arms apart, then tore him off her back and threw him, as easily as she had thrown the medicine ball. "S'sorry, lil man, y'gotta bring mort an'tat!" Jaiime crashed into the obstacle course and apparatus came tumbling down on top of him. Enraged, he kicked aside the apparatus and jumped to his feet, pulling his multi-use utility pistol. Before he could do anything else, a blast of light knocked the pistol from his hand.

"I think that's enough 'exercise' for one day!" Light-Wave's powerful voice boomed out throughout the gym. He didn't sound pleased. "Conrad, my office for my critique of today's performances. Machine, dismissed"

Chapter 6

As soon as the session was over, the female members of the Justice Machine headed for the lockers.

"Me f'r'sum cell regen therapy." Giant said to Challenger. "Can't le'th yungkin know h'bruised me good."

"I hope Light-Wave isn't too hard on him" the martial artist replied. "Looks to me like he might have a future in the Machine."

"I think he's sort of cute - for someone that young" The Flame added. "But I go for older men." A thundercloud passed across Challenger's face, and Masha was lucky that Challenger didn't have any deadly visual powers

"I predict Conrad is going to be real trouble for us" Descry threw in her two cents.

"Shut up, Descry" the three said in unison, as they entered the trainer's room.

*****

"Conrad, that was a pitiful performance" Light-Wave thundered at him.

"Sir," Jaiime didn't understand. He didn't feel he'd done so badly for the first time out.

"You were not ordered here to talk, rookie. You are here to listen. You know I didn't want you in the Machine I preferred Icer or even Fricton but Council Central gave me you instead." Jaiime knew and respected them both, they were mutants with useful powers, but he had stood well above both of them in his Academy class. "You're young and handsome, you look good on recruiting posters, and teenage girls swoon at your smile. But there's more to being in the Justice Machine than that!"

Teenaged girls swooned at his smile? Jaiime hadn't known that. His luck with girls while he was at the Academy had been non-existent. Nary a swoon had he seen! He wondered if Masha might be susceptible to his smile?

"Pay attention, Conrad!" Light-Wave thundered again. Jaiime hoped his office was soundproofed; he didn't want his teammates hearing this reprimand. "Everyone on this team is a veteran, except you, and every one of us depends on each of the others. Our lives are on the line on every mission. Do you think any member of the Machine would want you covering our back, after Giant tossed you away like she was throwing out the trash?"

"With res…" Jaiime tried to interrupt. That wasn't fair! The fight with Giant was far from over when Light-Wave had interrupted.

"I said, you're not here to talk, Conrad. With your physiology, you could be the strongest, the fastest... the best. Every other Machiner has some kind of edge; that's what you lack. Without an edge of your own, you're just another guy. I don't need 'just another guy', I need a hero. Think about it, Conrad. Get better, or you'll be up for an alpha-grade field demotion - before you ever reach the field! Dismissed"

Jaiime was burning up with anger as he left. He thought Light-Wave was out of line with that crack about his physiology. He didn't need that kind of crap; he'd show them all, tomorrow! He intended to spend the evening studying; he expected that tomorrow's workout would be more of the same, and he intended to be prepared. He'd show Light-Wave his edge!

*****

"OK, Conrad. Time to play." Light-Wave had set up some interesting exercises for today. "You and me!"

Jaiime hit the floor and rolled, firing both pistols, before Light-Wave finished talking. The green stun beams from his guns bounced harmlessly from the aura surrounding the long-time hero. Light-Wave flashed to the ceiling, and then dove again, fists in front of him, and two beams of light splashed off of Jaiime. His costume dissolved, revealing a second layer of highly reflective cloth which scattered Light-Wave's attack. Jaiime rolled to his feet, bounced off a springboard, did a flip off the wall, and crashed into the surprised Light-Wave, slamming a punch to his superior's head. He pulled the punch, though, and before Jaiime could grab him, Light-Wave flashed forward and let Jaiime fall. The black-clad flier arced upwards and leaned backward, through a reverse loop and straightened out on a collision course with the falling youngster. Jaiime bit on a concealed switch in one of his teeth, and the rockets built into the soles of his shoes fired a short burst, just enough so that Light-Wave flashed by beneath him. Jaiime landed softly, but Light-Wave did another fast reverse roll, and slammed into Jaiime's back with his shoulder, knocking the novice hero rudely to the ground.

"Flame! You're on!" Masha ignited a wall of fire around Jaiime and immediately started to shrink it. "Better surrender, Jaiime" she said, quietly. "Or you'll be getting pretty warm." Jaiime adjusted knobs on the grips of his pistols and fired at the wall of fire, and twin streams of frosty cold carbon dioxide extinguished the flames. For the barest instant, the Flame hesitated, then gestured, and Jaiime threw his red-hot guns towards her. She rocketed towards the ceiling, and gestured, and this time Jaiime was in the center of a hollow ball of flame.

"Feral!" Light-Wave commanded. "Maneuver FF!" The wolf-man leaped instantly towards the caged rookie, heedless of the searing flames between them. Masha quenched her flame an instant before Feral would have been burned, and Feral slashed his claws across Jaiime's chest, shredding the mirror cloth without touching him. Feral did a flip with a half twist, and was springing back to attack again as soon as he touched down. Jaiime dropped flat on his back and kicked up with both legs, hitting Feral in the chest and driving him towards the ceiling. But Feral's hands slapped down and grabbed Jaiime's ankles, braking his upwards momentum. He converted this momentum into a flip and stomped downwards with both feet towards Jaiime's head. Jaiime rolled aside, and Feral helped him along with a kick to the back of his head. He used the top of his foot rather than his bare claws.

Jaiime rolled to his feet in a fighting stance. He was facing the Haunt. He snarled, a sound his teammates would have expected from Feral. Jaiime charged forward, right through his new foe. Jaiime swung around instantly and launched a powerful kick at the Haunt's head, staggering when the kick touched nothing. What followed was unusual. Jaiime ran through an impressive sequences of blows kicks, punches, chops, elbow strikes, you name it - while the Haunt confined his attacks to standard fisticuffs. Jaiime never touched the out-of-phase Haunt, and managed to dodge every one of his opponent's blows, whether the Haunt was in phase or not. There was no telling how long this might have continued, when Jaiime suddenly appeared to lose his temper and charged like a bull. The Haunt was just coming into phase, and Jaiime slammed into him, and both heroes went sprawling. Jaiime was rolling to his feet when Light-Wave's voice thundered through the gym.

"End of Exercise! I make it Justice Machine 3, Conrad 0, 1 tie."

"I had it 2/2." Jaiime said, his voice showing barely controlled anger. He was barely breathing hard. "I had you, easy, and the Haunt, too. The Flame and Feral had me."

"I'm the umpire, Conrad, nobody else especially a snotty rookie. You'd better impress me tomorrow, or you're sitting out the mission." He didn't mention the alpha-grade field demotion in front of the rest of the team.

"Oh, goody! I get my turn tomorrow!" Descry crowed. "Finally, a chance for me to show off a little, like the rest of you." She paused for just a second, then before anyone else could say anything, she continued. "I know 'Shut up, Descry!' I predict you won't be saying that tomorrow!"

"Shut up, Descry." said Jaiime. For a change, he got the last word.

Chapter 7

That evening after dinner, Jaiime knocked on Challenger's door.

"Light-Wave is trying to run me out of the Justice Machine. He knows I'm better than he is, and he's afraid I'm going to take his job!" Challenger was stunned you didn't expect to hear this kind of talk from a rookie.

"Maybe you remind him of himself, when he first joined the Machine, and that's why he's busting your tail. Or, have you considered that maybe you're not as good as you think you are, and he might be right?" she asked, cautiously. She wasn't totally sure about Light-Wave's actions, herself. This kid was very good. But his behavior since he'd joined the Justice Machine had been incredibly arrogant.

She'd seen his records Jaiime Conrad had been the best fighter in the Academy. After his first year, he'd been even better than his instructors and resourceful enough to find ways to overcome the super powers of fellow cadets who were mutants or aliens. Joining the Machine was really the first time in his life when he'd been surrounded by teammates who were more powerful and more experienced, and he must be feeling a little insecure- and was trying to hide it under a front of arrogance. She'd seen it before an insecure youngster with a chip on his shoulder. She'd seen it all before!

"No way. Light-Wave left himself wide open, twice. I pulled my punch, the first time, and I could have fried him with my boot rockets. He's the one who doesn't deserve to be on the team!"

"You're an arrogant jerk, Conrad." She smiled at the stunned look on his face. "You think 'taking it easy' on the boss is the way to win his confidence? Or to make yourself look good to the rest of the team? I think the boss would have surprised you even if you'd been going full out. But you wanted to show off. I promise you, everyone on the team knows it, and none of us are impressed."

"If I'd gone full out, he'd be in the regen tank in sick bay." Jaiime insisted.

"How did someone so young come to be so full of himself? We like cocky, here, youngster. If you aren't cocky, you'll be dead in the first firefight. But arrogance and recklessness will get you killed even faster." She realized she'd had enough of him for one day. "Anything else on your mind, youngster?" She hoped he'd take the hint and recognize the dismissal, but he was too angry.

"Yes. Light-Wave is clearly breaking Military rules against fraternization with the Flame, and besides he's old enough to be her father!"

"As opposed to you, who are old enough to be her younger brother?" she smiled in amusement. "It's all spin, Conrad. Yes, it's against the rules, but it is so romantic… the brave, sweet, beautiful, and very naive youngster and the dashing heroic older man. The spinners love it; the Machine's public approval rating went up 20% when word leaked out unofficially, of course. So officially, nothing's going on, understand?"

Jaiime couldn't believe what he was hearing. "It's all a publicity stunt?"

"I didn't say that. Be careful when you draw conclusions, youngster. Conclusions can get you in big trouble." Jaiime noticed that she didn't deny it. She turned serious.

"Speaking of the Flame you failed against her today because you couldn't bring yourself to shoot her she's young, and beautiful, and you're hot for her, and you let her off the hook. Right after you blew out her flame fence, she hesitated. You had your guns in hand, and your opponent hesitated, and you didn't take advantage of the opening. You took it easy on her because you're hoping to score with her. Don't deny it; it's obvious to everyone except her. There are young, beautiful women working for some of our enemies, too. How do the rest of us know you won't hesitate against them?"

"That's not true!" he denied vehemently, because it was. "I was trying to figure out what setting on my pistol would get through her flame shield to stop her without hurting her."

"Damn it, Conrad I saw in the computer records what you were studying last night. You spent time going over everything in the files about Masha you have to know her weaknesses. Unless you were just looking at her pictures!"

'Damn!' Jaiime thought. 'From now on, I'm going to have to cover my tracks when I use the computers. I didn't realize they would be tracking my access.' Realizing that he'd screwed up again made him even angrier.

"I should have known you're all worried that I'll show you up. Well, tomorrow, you'll all be sorry! When it's you and me tomorrow, I'll show you all who's the best!" He spun around and stomped away, headed for Light-Wave's office. If he'd read his superior's remarks correctly, Light-Wave would be waiting for him and willing to help him find the edge Light-Wave insisted he was missing.

*****

'Something different about Conrad today' Challenger thought, as they sat through the day's briefing '100 Ways to Kill a Nahman'. 'He's still burning up with anger, and it almost looks like he's burning up physically too!' Careful observation of her foes had always been part of her preparation for battle, when possible. 'He's less graceful today, every action is short, fast, choppy. He's less predictable, more dangerous today than yesterday.'

She felt sick inside; she knew instantly what he'd done. 'Light-Wave wasn't trying to bust Conrad out of the Machine' she realized. 'He was looking for a way to control him and now he's got it. Get him hooked on Edge and then you control him by controlling his supply.' She'd been hoping Conrad would be one of the ones who shunned shortcuts. Disappointed again!

Edge would definitely make Conrad more dangerous - faster, stronger, harder to hurt. But if he wasn't familiar with it, Edge would impair his judgment, interfere with his ability to be observant, make him reckless. And she knew from his records that he had never used in the Academy. He might make mistakes that she could take advantage of. He might also kill her without realizing what he was doing.

'Damn that Light-Wave!' A disturbing thought crossed her mind, then. 'Could Light-Wave be after me, as well as Conrad?' But she didn't have time to worry about incidentals now, though, she needed to focus.

When the briefing session broke up, Descry came up to her as they headed for the gym, and whispered. "Conrad's hopped up, Ylvy. You have to get Light-Wave to postpone this."

"Actually, Descry, I knew that already, but thanks. No postponement; I'll deal with it."

Descry began to protest. "Shut up, Descry!" Challenger smiled as she said this. Maybe Descry wasn't so bad after all. "It'll be OK".

Conrad was virtually jittering to get started. He was pacing back and forth, and shaking himself, and muttering, and everyone could feel excess energy radiating from him, almost as intense as Masha's flame. Challenger had barely walked into the gym when Jaiime screamed and launched himself, covering the space between them faster even than Feral had moved yesterday.

Challenger's left hand flashed to her bandolier, and then flashed again in Jaiime's direction, unleashing a storm of deadly, sharp flying objects. They spread in a pattern that was virtually impossible to dodge, but Conrad was prepared one pistol was in his hand and in an incredible display of uncanny marksmanship, he blasted every dart, star and sliver in his path. With his other hand, he grabbed at the whirling kama she had thrown with her right hand, hoping he would be distracted. He plucked it easily from the air, then threw it back at her twice as fast. She barely got her goody bag up in time to block, and the bag was torn from her hands.

A blast of icy cold from his pistol caught her in the left leg, and she fell to the left, managing to push off with her right leg, turning the fall into an awkward roll. She came as upright as she could, bad knee on the ground, good leg partially straightened in front of her, holding her bo staff in both hands. Jaiime was charging his 'disabled' opponent, wanting to finish the fight in a hurry. Challenger's staff flashed through the air, striking Conrad in first the left and then the right wrists, knocking his pistols out of his hands. As she swung the staff around again for a blow to the head, he grasped it with both hands and yanked, and Challenger stumbled forward. She dropped her head to the floor and turned the stumble into a roll, and lashed upwards with her left leg. Jaiime had assumed she was without the use of her left leg, for a while at least, and she managed to catch him in the chest, knocking him backwards.

His back hit the gym wall. Jaiime pushed off, jumped onto a pommel horse, sprang upwards and grabbed a ring and swung past Challenger, dropping behind her before she could turn around. A back-kick hit the back of her right knee and she fell to the ground, twisting as she fell, so she landed on her back, with a vicious knife in either hand. Jaiime reached to a rack of edged weapons and advanced on her with a saber in one hand and a dagger in the other.

Fireballs flashed through the air and melted his sword and dagger, while Feral and Giant leaped between the two combatants.

"Time's up!" Light-Wave shouted. "Nice work, Conrad! I see you've finally found the edge that makes you worthy of membership in the Machine!"

"Yeah he's so much better today than yesterday" Challenger sneered. "Just the kind of guy you want in the Justice Machine." Strong sarcasm on the 'you' clearly she didn't agree.

"That's insubordination, Challenger. My second has to back me up, or I get a new second. Giant, you're it! And, Challenger you'll be doing 2 extra combat sims a day until we land. A performance like that in the face of the enemy will earn you an alpha-grade field demotion." The rest of the team stiffened. An alpha-grade field demotion meant facing a firing squad.

*****

"Conrad, a minute?" It wasn't really a question. And Jaiime wasn't in any condition to argue. He looked terrible, Challenger thought he was sweating and shaking, he stumbled as he walked, and he moved as if his every joint was on fire. Edge could do that to you it let you move faster than the body was designed for, and you paid for that when you came down. And Conrad was clearly coming down.

"I'm sorry about your demotion, Challenger," he mumbled. She snorted at him in wry amusement.

"Giant shoulda had the job all along. I never wanted it. I hope your current condition convinces you to stay away from Edge from now on. You're a mess! What if you had to go into battle like this?"

This made him angry. "I just didn't know what I was doing. Now I know. If I take a smaller dose, every few hours, it never wears off. I just took one. It's OK, I've got a unique physiology, and if I do it right, I'll be immune to the side effects." He was already sounding stronger.

"Who told you that? Look, Jaiime, how old would you say I am?"

Conrad was surprised at the change of subject. He had no idea how to estimate a woman's age all he was sure of was that she was much older than he. "Umm, 30?"

"Hmm, no wonder Masha says you're sweet when you're not being an ass! Thanks, Jaiime, but I've been a member of the Justice Machine longer than that. And I'm telling you nobody's immune to the side effects of Edge! It'll kill you." She knew it would, and she knew he wouldn't believe her.

"You're making that up. You're just bitter because you lost your job and I showed everybody what a looser you are." As the Edge kicked in, Jaiime's arrogance returned, now augmented by the mind-changing effects of the drug.

"OK, if you don't give a damn about yourself, think about your team. What if you have to go into battle and you're out of that crap?"

"Never happen, I've got my supply locked up. I think we're done." He turned and walked away.

Chapter 8

'That's bull$#!*. I know the history of the Justice Machine and she's only been a member for 10 years. She was recruited right after Batterstar died..." Jaiime was trying to cool off as he returned to his quarters. He paused, as a stunning thought crossed his mind. 'Batterstar was a female martial artist who served for 20 years!' He wouldn't believe it why would Council Central fool the public like that? He realized he didn't really feel much like thinking right now; he had a lot of extra energy and felt like a workout. He needed to learn how to best utilize his new-found strength and speed, making the best even better.

*****

The Imperial Planetary Ambassador barely waited until the Vigilant reached orbit before he ordered the Justice Machine into action. Light-Wave would have refused he didn't work for the Ambassador! but Imperial Chief Prosecutor Barez, for whom he did work, and who had accompanied the Georwellian troops, suggested that it would be a good idea for Georwell to 'show the flag' as soon as possible. After a totally inadequate briefing, a combat shuttle was dropped over nahman-held territory. Their mission demolish the major spaceport the nahman used to bring in supplies from the Nahman Alliance!

Challenger piloted the shuttle, with Jaiime as the co-pilot. Descry manned the shuttle's defensive weapons her powers gave her a few seconds warning when something was about to strike the shuttle, usually allowing her enough time to blast any incoming projectiles with the shuttle's energy guns. Light-Wave, whose powers allowed him to survive in space, flew alongside the shuttle to intercept any energy beams and clean up any projectiles Descry missed. The Flame would join him at lower altitude, when the air was thick enough for her to breath and user her power. All Giant and Feral had to do during the descent was sit and wait. The worst jobs of all, actually!

Challenger came in fast and they were down before the enemy had time to launch a missile. They piled out and found cover, except Descry who stayed at the communications station. The space field was ringed with tall walls with automatic gun emplacements along the top. Light-Wave and the Flame flew in opposite directions along the wall, blasting the guns, and the rest of the Machine advanced, Jaiime and Feral well ahead of everyone else.

Just as the 2 fastest Machiners reached the wall, a large gate opened and 3 giant machines rumbled out. They all looked similar, long, low and round, with a turret near on top and an open cab in front. Open cab on armored combat vehicles?

"Thisss issn't armor!" Feral shouted in a warning, as the turrets opened up, shooting streams of liquid under very high pressure at the shuttle and the area in front of the wall. Moving quickly, Feral and Jaiime managed to slip inside as the giant doors started to rumble closed again.

"Challenger, Giant back in the shuttle now!" Descry screamed. Her teammates started moving instantly. "It's going to explode!"

She was very busy inside the shuttle, slapping touch panels and switches. She screamed at the Vigilant "Airsweep! Crippled Duck" as she was strapping down. If she managed to get the shuttle into the air, that emergency standing order ought to get them rescued. She had to hope that was enough, she was out of time. Her powers showed her that her two teammates were inside, so she slapped the panel that closed the airlock, still screaming. "Emergency launch!" She flipped open a bright red cover and slapped the switch inside. A siren blared and the shuttle instantly lifted straight up at its highest acceleration. In the airlock, Challenger and Giant were slammed to the floor. "Brace for explosion!" Giant grew as large as possible, to fill the airlock and cushion herself and Challenger as much as possible.

The cloud of fluid sprayed from the war machines, which were actually nahman tank trucks for rocket fuel, ignited with a tremendous 'whoomf' and a tremendous fireball flared up. The trucks almost immediately began to melt and then exploded when the rest of the fuel in the tanks went up. Everything within a quarter mile of the gate was simply vaporized, and vegetation as much as a mile away began burning. The shock wave caught the rapidly rising shuttle and slammed it higher, faster, knocking it away spinning and tumbling. Descry was thrown against her seat restraints and battered into unconsciousness. In the airlock, with Giant as a cushion, Challenger was fairly well protected, but Giant herself was knocked out as she was slammed against the walls of the chamber. Descry had put the autopilot on full combat mode, and the computer automatically began attempts to bring the ship under control.

Inside the compound, Feral and Jaiime were under attack by several other vehicles, seemingly identical to the fuel tankers, which blasted them with some kind of chemical foam. There seemed to be no physical effects from the chemical. At that moment, the 'kabooooooom' of a tremendous explosion, followed by the ground shaking like an earthquake knocked them off their feet. Covered in foam, they found it difficult to breath. "Fire extinguishers!" Jaiime called to his teammate, though both were deafened by the explosion, even inside the walls. They held their breaths and ran towards the fire trucks, but Jaiime was knocked off his feet by streams of high pressure water fired by yet another fire truck.

Feral howled and leaped, and landed on the cab of one of the trucks, and leaped again, landing on the tank. His clawed feet were not much use on the slick metal tank, and he tumbled off the truck in a barely controlled roll, now behind this wave of attackers. He continued moving fast, further away from the gate, looking for the enemy.

Jaiime stopped fighting the water stream, and allowed it to roll him out of the cloud of chemical foam. As the pressure fell, he was able to roll to his feet, and he came up firing. Explosive rounds into the cabs of each of the fire trucks quickly put them out of action. So far, none of the Justice Machine had seen a nahman or any other living being.

Light-Wave and the Flame flashed across the open expanse of the port and joined Feral.

"Bossss it'sss time to go!" the wolf-man hissed. 'I don't sssmelll any enemiessss. It mussst be a trap!"

"I'll get Conrad, you take Feral" Light-Wave instantly commanded the Flame. He switched channels and shouted out another emergency protocol to the spaceship above. "Vigilant, Airsweep!" He flashed towards Jaiime at top speed.

Jaiime was under attack by an army of small robots, and he was wiping them out. They were armed with strange alien hand weapons and pole arms, and to Jaiime, they were slow and awkward. He tumbled among them, faster than they could follow, smashing them when he landed on them, avoiding their attacks, and using his pistol judiciously, taking out at least one and usually several enemy robots with each shot. He saw a group of them in a puddle, and dropped an instant freeze capsule, effectively immobilizing them. A flash capsule took out a half dozen more, and then Light-Wave flashed up to him from behind, wrapped both arms around him, and the two were almost instantly high in the air. Jaiime saw a combat shuttle approaching; almost before he had time to realize what had happened, the pair flew through the open airlock door, where they were joined by the Flame carrying Feral as the airlock closed and the shuttle zoomed for orbit.

They were moving faster than sound, and never heard the explosion that totally demolished the abandoned spaceport below them.

*****

A few days later, A safe house in a quiet residential neighborhood in the capital city of Kurnnegut, so far untouched by the war. Georwell's Chief Prosecutor Barez, recently arrived on the Vigilant, is holding a secret meeting with a group of locals

"I've come from Georwell personally to insure that your group is rewarded for your efforts on behalf of the Imperium. I can safely say that without the successful covert operations your group executed at the beginning of the war, there would have been no war!"

The leader of the local group grinned. "Those nahman robots you ga'e us worked real good, sir! Fooled 'em all, even people who'd growed up around nahman. Even when the robots started killing their kids, they never suspected a thing! That Robot-Master guy is a genius!"

"Yeah, too bad he escaped from prison, eh?" another of the locals spoke up. He didn't notice the murderous scowl on the Prosecutor's face at the reminder of one of his failures, but the saboteur did shut up when one of his teammates kicked him.

The leader continued. "Bout time we got rid of tose arrogant spider-lovers, you ast me!"

The Georwellian advance preparation team hadn't been able to find a lot of anti-nahman sentiment to work with on Kurnnegut, so they had needed to create some instead. In the population of any planet, there were always some people who blamed their own misfortunes on others, and who could be recruited as troublemakers. This loser's business had failed, and the advance preparation team had made use of his thirst for revenge on his 'spider lover' human neighbors for patronizing nahman-owned establishments.

"It felt great to blow up that spider nursery, and make sure ta spider lovers took ta blame! Guess it's a good think nobody knows about this but us, eh, Mr. Barez?" He slapped the Prosecutor on the back in hearty camaraderie. He didn't notice the deadly look that flashed across Barez's face. "Killing 'em young before they grow up and make new spiders, I'll tell you, that's the way to solve the nahman problem!"

"So, Prosecutor Barez, when do we get our reward?" "Yeah, the war's made money tight and I'm lookin' forward to cutting loose a little." There was similar muttering from several members of the group.

"Tomorrow you catch the shuttle to the Vigilant, for the trip back to Georwell, where Council Central will give you your medals, and your full reward." There was more muttering; they didn't want to wait until they reached Georwell for their promised reward. "But here's a little advance I know you boys want to celebrate tonight." An aide to Barez put a cash box down on the table. "Starnil you're the boss, divide it up, will you? Have fun tonight, boys but don't miss the shuttle tomorrow!

As if! Barez turned and left as the locals gathered around the table, which contained more local money than they had actually believed existed. Starnil didn't even bother to count. "And this is just'a start, boys!" he said exultantly as he reached into the box and gave double handfuls to each of his followers. "We done hit us ta jackpot this time!"

Not more than a minute later, a squad of armed and armored nahman leveled the house with energy weapons fire, and brought the war to this formerly peaceful civilian neighborhood as they retreated, shooting anyone they saw and setting random buildings on fire. Just another nahman atrocity, further justifying the Georwellian intervention.

Chapter 9

Jaiime couldn't sleep; he was way too wired up, even days after the battle at the spaceport - though he now hardly considered it a battle. Feral had instantly recognized that Jaiime was being attacked by maintenance and janitorial robots, but under the influence of Edge, he himself hadn't noticed - he'd been too busy destroying them, though he had quickly realized that it was much too easy - just in time to be rescued by Light-Wave.

'Way to look good in front of the chicks, Conrad!' he mocked himself grimly, though he was really only worried about impressing one of the 'chicks'. 'And...' he realized 'I'd better never let her hear me call her a chick, if I ever hope to have a chance with her.' He headed for the gym, daydreaming about that chance when he was abruptly brought back to reality. He thought he'd glimpsed a nahman sneaking furtively through a security door that was supposed to be locked and guarded!

He almost didn't react. For the last couple of days, he'd been seeing odd things from the corners of his eyes, things that weren't there when he turned to look at them, and he was just starting to learn to ignore them. But he looked again, and noted the small red light that indicated that the door was unlocked. He sprang into action!

Jaiime pulled his pistol and slid open a small concealed compartment in the grip. A single pill spilled out into his waiting hand, and he flipped it into his mouth as he sprinted for the open door. He could feel the rush as his speed increased to something superhuman; he slammed his hand at an emergency alarm button as he flew past it and smashed through the door. In his altered state he never noticed that he missed the alarm. In the vehicle landing area beyond, he saw a nahman just closing the door on a large armored flier, which was already rising into the air. He flipped off a couple of shots, but he realized that even his Edge-enhanced marksmanship wasn't enough to hit any vital spots through that vessel's heavy armor.

He sprinted across the field to Prosecutor Barez's own personal flier and entered through the locked door faster than if he'd had a key. On the control console, he entered Barez's personal access code even more quickly (when there was a computer around, nobody could keep secrets from Jaiime Conrad!) and was away in pursuit less than a minute after the nahman flier had lifted. Still, the nahman flier was already out of sight. All Jaiime could do was blast at top speed towards the east and hope to overtake them.

'Damn, if I hadn't shot at them, they wouldn't even know I'm chasing them!' he thought bitterly. He was sure they hadn't seen him before they took off, and the stealth on the Prosecutor's flier was the best the Imperium had to offer. It didn't occur to him that he never would have made that mistake before he started taking Edge. He shifted his visor to infrared vision and extended the special flyer's detection systems to maximum, and the vehicle's speed and his extraordinary piloting skill made the difference - within seconds he was tracking the nahman vessel again.

In another 2 minutes, the vessel was landing almost 30 miles away from the Georwellian base. A section of ground slid back, allowing the armored ship to shoot through, and then closed again before Jaiime could follow. The landing zone looked like a meadow, but in IR Jaiime could see the outline of the sliding door, and several other interesting points that looked like they might be concealed entrances. The flyer's electromagnetic sensors also warned him of a half dozen nearby electro-mechanical devices, probably automated weapons. If so, the flyer's stealth was adequate protection from any rebel sensors or detectors; Jaiime landed without incident. He burst from the flyer at top speed, pulling both pistols as he moved.

Opening the flyer's door broke its stealth, and his guess about automated weapons was confirmed as the small ship was instantly blasted out of existence. 'Damn! I hope that bird was sending out a tracking signal before it got wrecked!' he swore to himself as he easily dodged re-targeted weapons fire. He managed to blast two of the concealed turrets before he was hit himself, a glancing shot that was mostly stopped by his costume. He hardly felt the wound, as he dove, rolled and took out the remaining two concealed weapons, one with each hand. A double blast opened one of the concealed entrances and he was inside.

The nahman must have counted on secrecy to provide their security, as there were no guards at the door. He found a ramp leading down and had descended two levels before the nahman troops mounted a response to his intrusion. His quick reflexes let him blast a squad of 7 who were climbing the ramp from below, and he took the next exit into what turned out to be the floor of the concealed hanger. It was eerily silent - he couldn't believe there weren't more troops looking for him.

He could see glowing footprints on the floor in infrared - the nahman from the armored flyer had gone through _that_ door. At first he moved cautiously, using several different flyers as cover, but there was nobody opposing him. He went through the door in a rush, into a long corridor. The infrared trail led to an opening into a shaft that extended upwards about 20 feet and downwards as far as he could see, with openings every 20 feet or so - like an open elevator shaft, with no elevator.

He decided to descend - he would hang by his hands from this opening and drop, and try to swing into the next lower opening, using his boot jets if necessary to prevent a fall. But this wasn't just an open shaft, there was some sort of force field that slowed his descent - so it worked like an elevator after all. The next level down seemed to be living quarters, with a dozen rooms, all of them empty. Absolutely empty - no furniture, no clothing, not even any litter. Back to the elevator and down another level.

As he exited the shaft, he could hear the noises of beings moving around directly ahead. He burst into a room and surprised 7 more nahman - but these, at least, put up a fight.

Jaiime came in low and rolling, and managed to blast two of them before they could respond. He threw some capsules he'd palmed earlier from his utility belt, and ice instantly formed on the floor beneath two more, and they slipped and fell, crashing together. The fifth managed to kick him in the left wrist, and he dropped his pistol as his hand went numb. He blasted that one with the other pistol, but the two nahman left standing caught him with their own fire.

His remaining pistol was hit by an energy beam and became incredibly hot, and he threw it at the two nahman who were still struggling on the ice. The pistol exploded, cremating those two unfortunates. The other blast glanced off his costume over his ribs, and he spun away, barely noticing the pain. Jaiime flipped his wrist and his knife dropped into his good hand, but the remaining centaurs were already running in panic out the other door. Jaiime raced after them. He was stunned to see a half dozen nahman strapping the bound form of Challenger to what was clearly an operating table - and then he was devastated when his legs suddenly lost all their strength and he fell heavily to the floor, his body limp and unresponsive!

Jaiime felt as if he were nothing more than a pile of meat which had just been pounded into hamburger. The pain was agonizing, and his muscles would barely respond. He desperately needed more Edge, but his stash was in the grip of his pistol - which was on the floor in the other room. He was struggling to crawl in that direction when somewhere behind him there was an explosion.

*****

Back at the base, shortly after the nahman craft slipped through the concealed doors with Jaiime in close pursuit, the agents on night security were astonished when the scenes in their monitors changed - showing them a group a nahman climbing out of an armored flying shuttle, carrying the bound form of Challenger. Where was this broadcast coming from? The view shifted, following the group as they carried her through a corridor. The rebel nahman were deliberately broadcasting these scenes of their hideout and the drama occurring there to the Georwellian occupation forces!

The guards immediately alerted the entire base, and within seconds, the rest of the Justice Machine poured into the room. By that time, the nahman had entered a well lighted room and had dropped Challenger onto a table. The room was filled with devices that looked very much like hand held saws and drills.

Light-Wave roared orders. "Justice Machine, to the hanger! Communication officer, trace this signal. By the time we're in the air, I want to know where this is happening!"

A single nahman, holding a microphone, stepped towards the camera, but before he could say anything, the sounds of a firefight erupted in the background of the on-screen scene. Two nahman rushed through a door in the background, followed by a staggering Jaiime Conrad.

"Just freepin wonderful!" Light-Wave muttered, the look of dismay on his face partially hidden by his cowl. Someone looking closely would have seen him `flicker' his body position changed noticeably without any noticeable motion on his part. "Let's go!"

On the screen, Jaiime stumbled and fell out of the picture. Seconds later, the JM was piling into their armored shuttle, where the scene from the communications room was repeated on the vessel's monitor. As Feral started the engines, there was a tremendous roar from the monitor, and they saw the start of an explosion, and then the screen blinked to a view of the communications room.

"Coordinates of that explosion - now!" Light-Wave thundered into the communicator as the JM roared away, hopefully to the rescue of their teammates!

Chapter 10

Prosecutor Barez hadn't been surprised when an alarm 'awakened' him in the middle of the night; he'd been expecting it. Earlier, Light-Wave had warned him that 'Operation Challenger' was go for tonight. He was, however, extremely surprised and even more displeased when he reviewed the security videos in his office and discovered Conrad's early intrusion on the operation. Light-Wave had assured him that Conrad would be pretty much helpless as he came down from Edge at this time of night.

He used the command console in his office to watch the action, switching cameras as required. He saw Conrad race down the corridor, slap at the alarm (and miss). He switched to the hanger camera and saw with relief that Conrad was too late to stop the kidnappers, then cursed when the boy stole his car - his favorite car! He couldn't believe anyone could have penetrated his security codes - Conrad was proving to be much more dangerous than either he or Light-Wave had believed.

From his desk console, Barez was able to monitor the security camera in the car, and he watched, first in relief as Conrad lost the shuttle carrying Challenger and her kidnappers, and then in concern as the boy had more good luck than he deserved and located it again. When the kidnappers started to broadcast the torture scene, he switched to a split screen with an internal view of the security control room. He noticed Light-Wave's instantaneous flicker and hoped that it meant that the JM's leader has sent the self-destruct signal that would destroy the nahman-form robots and their secret base to self-destruct. He had mixed feelings when Conrad appeared on camera just before the screen went blank.

As he considered Conrad's demise in the explosion designed to take out Challenger, he realized that this wasn't such a bad ending. The Challenger problem was now resolved - she should have known better than to ask questions! And after observing Conrad closely, Barez was certain that he was the same `kind' as Challenger: someday he, too, would have started asking questions. So losing him now was actually a bit of good luck. They would have to do a better job of selecting his replacement. Yes, Operation Challenger had actually turned out even better than planned! His satisfaction was short-lived.

*****

"Stunning is the insidious treachery of Georwell - but sadly, not surprising."

The high-pitched voice stunned the Prosecutor. How could there be a nahman in his office? He spun from the monitor and pulled his sidearm, firing at the beast who was, impossibly, standing in front of his desk. Instead of searing the centauroid to a crisp, the energy beam simply vanished an inch away from the being.

"Fortunate it is for you that my shield absorbs your beam, rather than reflects!" the amazing apparition continued. "Dead you would be of little value to the Imperium - or the Nahman Alliance!"

"Who the kupp are you?" Barez shouted. "How did you get in here? What the kupp do you want?" He fired again, then stopped as it continued to be useless.

"Grandé, I am called, Ambassador Plenipotentiary for the Nahman Alliance am I. Here am I to discuss the terms of surrender."

"SURRENDER?!?!" Barez screeched. "Like vkaw you are!" He reached for a button that would sound an alarm and call security to his quarters. He hit the button but nothing happened - except that a scene from the past started playing on the security monitor on the Prosecutor's desk.

"Broadcast this to the entire Imperium, could we" the nahman stated coldly. "Closely watch, consider well, before you rashly act."

Since he appeared to have little choice, Barez watched. He was shaken to realize he was watching his first appearance as Chief Prosecutor of Georwell in front of Council Central. He was aware that everything that occurred in the Council Chamber was recorded - but those recordings were protected by the Imperium's most advanced technology. What power would be required to obtain these recordings? Suddenly he began fearing the nahman - and what he was about to see.

***** Pieces of the Past: The Beginning *****

Prosecutor Barez was presenting his first proposal to Council Central. "As you are aware, when I recently… assumed… my office, I discovered that the military forces of the Imperium were, in my opinion, woefully unprepared for conflict. And the Council's political analysts unanimously agree that there is a 99 plus percent probability of war with the Rim Worlds within a decade."

"We are aware of your opinion on the state of our forces" Number 4 said coldly. "Fortunately for you, the ease with which you supplanted your predecessor supports your claim that he had become soft and no longer suited for office."

"Just come out and say it, Number 4," interjected Number 7, a tone of amusement in his voice. "Anyone at that level of power who gets assassinated by an underling is incompetent." He chuckled. "Although it _was_ a highly imaginative scheme on your part, Barez. Makes me wonder which members of the Council should be worried, eh?"

Before Barez could respond, Number 9 added: "Don't bother to deny your ambitions, Barez. If you weren't ambitious, you would be of no use to Georwell." His tone, which had been collegial, now turned cold and steely. "Best remember, the membership of Council Central has been stable for the past 50 years. You mortals don't have the patience or the long term viewpoint necessary to penetrate the defenses of a Councilor." The members of Council Central were reputed to be long lived, perhaps immortal. Barez didn't believe that for a minute no Councilor ever showed his face in public, and with undetectable voice and image-altering technology easily available, who could know how often the members of Council Central changed?

"In any case..." Number 6 was running this particular meeting "now that we've delivered the obligatory warning to Chief Prosecutor Barez, let's get back to business." He turned from his fellow Councilors back to Barez. "Chief Prosecutor Barez, having identified this alleged flaw in the Georwellian forces under your command, how do you propose to address this issue?"

This was it, the moment that could make or break Barez's whole career. If Council Central disapproved of his plan or if he failed, he was as good as dead; if they approved and he was successful, his future footing in front of Council Central would be a little more secure.

"It has been almost a generation since most of our troops have faced an actual enemy. What we need is a new enemy of lesser power than the Rim Raiders. Against this lesser opponent, we can evaluate our troops and equipment and test our tactics."

"As you say, Prosecutor, we have been at peace for almost a generation. Where shall we find this lesser opponent?" Number 4's voice was still cold and distant, but having caught the interest of his toughest critic, Barez was suddenly sure that Council Central would approve of today's plan.

"There are a number of independent worlds near the borders of the Imperium against which we might deploy our forces worlds which are too weak to resist our forces even in their current, less-than-optimal condition. Such deployment would be a useful training exercise."

"As you just mentioned, we are currently at peace with all such bordering worlds, are we not?" asked Number 8.

"Peace is always fragile on the borders. It would hardly be surprising if some local disagreement were to escalate to the point of being useful to us." Barez replied.

"Very well, then. With the approval of Council Central, if such a disagreement is to arise, you may proceed with your plan as proposed." stated Number 6. There was no discussion, but there was no dissension. Barez had no idea how Council Central came to unanimous decisions, but he wasn't going to question his good fortune.

"My life at your command." He acknowledged his dismissal, and left to create his future.

*****

That hadn't been as bad as he remembered - he had never mentioned Kurnnegut or the nahman. He could talk his way out of this. But then the scene changed.

***** Pieces of the Past: Recruiting The Robot Master *****

Universal Servants, Robots and Mechanical Men had only opened its doors today, and already inventor Simon Spears realized he was going to be rich! Spears was an entrepreneur with a flair for robotics. Short and bald, not overly handsome, his head seemingly a little too large for his body, he was not an imposing figure, and he had been overlooked most of his life. Not any longer! Not only had he already sold his entire inventory of 50 multi-purpose robots, he had orders for his small factory's entire output for the next 300 days, and several large industrialists had come around to discuss contracts for Spears to design industrial robots for their factories.

Many of his customers were citizens who were tired of the unreliability of sub-citizen workers, but Spears had been stunned at the number of sub-citizens who had somehow managed to save the cost of a robot, and wanted robots to take over for them. Citizenship was denied them, but he heard them talking among themselves and the consensus was that owning a robot and letting it do a sub-citizen's work would be better than becoming a citizen! He had no idea how revolutionary this concept was, but he was about to find out what being a revolutionary on Georwell really meant. Without warning, the door to his office exploded, and Light-Wave, Giant and Rad of the Justice Machine burst in, followed by a handful of Terror Troopers.

"As an authorized agent of Council Central of the Georwellian Imperium" Light-Wave droned in bored tones - this bust was hardly worth his time "...I hereby arrest you, Simon Spears, also known as 'The Robot Master', for sedition and treason!"

Before he could react, Giant flicked his chin with her forefinger, knocking him out. "I dinna understand why't Prosecutor Barez t'ot dis'un was so danj'rous" she commented in a puzzled tone.

"Barez is 'showing the flag'" Light-Wave replied. "The Justice Machine symbolizes Georwell; our people need to know that the Justice Machine is always looking out for the welfare of our citizens."

Giant easily shrugged the unconscious traitor over her shoulder and Rad began going through the day's sales records. Those who had bought robots would soon get visits of their own from a Terror Troop squad. Meanwhile the Troopers started tearing down the store. A demolition squad was even now planting explosives in the nearby US Robotics factory.

The next day, a battered, bound and thoroughly subdued Spears was dragged into the office of Prosecutor Barez and dropped into a chair. The Terror Trooper who had carried him in clipped his leg manacle to the leg of the chair. Not that Spears could have escaped - but the act itself was part of the intimidation process. Barez began speaking without waiting for Spears to even orient himself.

"I have the authority to commute your sentence for treason, from further torture and eventual execution to life imprisonment. Imprisonment without the... refinements that some of the more... enthusiastic, shall we say, government employees find amusing. Perhaps, you might even be supplied some comforts and amenities."

Spears couldn't talk - his mouth and jaws were too battered. And he had learned by now that anything he said would probably cause him more pain. So he said nothing.

"It was unfortunate, for you at least" Barez chuckled "...that you took it upon yourself to change the social order here in the Imperium. Did you think you could get away with trying to liberate the sub-citizens? Do you have any idea the kind of social chaos it would create, if sub-citizens had leisure time?!" Spears didn't even flinch - he'd protested that charge several times before, and each time ended up being hurt more than the previous time. But he knew he had done no such thing!

"But very fortunate for me! I just happen to need a robotics expert - and you just happen to need a sponsor to protect you from the rigors of prison life. If you agree to assist me, I can arrange for your imprisonment to be much more comfortable."

Eventually, Spears had given in.

Over the next few months, Spears had designed robots which were virtually indistinguishable from live nahman, ostensibly as training tools for the Georwellian military. A batch of those robots was secretly shipped to Kurnnegut months before the war began, the batch that had been used to slaughter everyone in a human elementary school, providing the atrocity that began the war. The same robots had captured Challenger this very night, and had just self-destructed due to Light-Wave's surreptitious signal. And, perhaps included by the nahman as a gratuitous insult, these secretly captured videos revealed what his most urgent investigation had been unable to uncover - how the Robot Master had escaped custody!

Spears had built a cavity into the body of one of the nahman robots - barely large enough for his own smallish body. Using spare parts, he had then constructed a robot in his own likeness. When the robots had been shipped to Kurnnegut, the Robot Master had been shipped out as well, with the Spears robot taking his place in prison. A couple of days later, the Spears robot had been disassembled by other partially finished robots on the assembly line, and the parts incorporated into the current production run. To Barez's security, it appeared as if one day, Spears had simply vanished.

*****

'So' Barez mused 'the nahman have proof that I instigated the war on Kurnnegut.' His prospects for striking a deal with the nahman appeared to have strongly diminished. But the nahman videos weren't finished yet. The next video was even more disturbing - it had been assembled from the security cameras on the Vigilant, displaying events that had occurred while the big ship had been in hyperspace. Barez and Light-Wave had separately used their own security scrambling devices to ensure the privacy of the secret meeting he was now watching - and obviously the nahman had technology superior to the best the Imperium could provide.

***** Pieces of the Past - Planning Operation Challenger *****

"As I've reported to you before," Light-Wave was speaking "...Challenger is asking questions about Council Central's decisions, including the morality of our mission to Kurnnegut. She doesn't believe that Georwell should get involved in what is essentially a civil war on an independent planet. Most of the team will just ignore her grumbling, but Conrad doesn't know any better yet."

"I'm tired of this discussion, Commander. I suggest you deal with the situation - permanently."

"My life at your command, Prosecutor." Light-Wave agreed formally.

"What's the progress of Project Super Soldier?" Barez asked his subordinate.

"Conrad has been 'convinced' to being using Edge. Workouts show that his combat prowess has improved, but his judgment appears to be negatively affected. Hopefully he will learn to overcome the judgmental issues as be becomes more familiar with the drug's effects."

"Keep me informed. I don't want to bring our results to Council Central until we have positive results." Meaning, Light-Wave knew, that Barez wouldn't go to Council Central with the results of Project Super Soldier until he could take credit for the project's success.

*****

The monitor went blank. "More, there is" the nahman suggested calmly.

"You can't intimidate me with this," Barez snarled. "It doesn't matter if you show it to every citizen in the Imperium - within minutes, the spinners will convince the public that it's all nahman propaganda. In fact, it might well convince the populace that we need to declare war on the Nahman Alliance!" Barez tried to regain some leverage.

"Naive, you might think us, since the Nahman Alliance co-exists peacefully with our interstellar neighbors. Long ago, through similar stages of barbarism and treachery, we grew, and these we remember well. To the Imperium, to the war effort, these disclosures will have little effect. Of the effects on your own future, however, we are certain. To the knowledge that you were unable to prevent others from divining your schemes, how will Council Central react? Trustworthy, will they deem you?"

Barez realized that this was the real threat. When Council Central saw his every act exposed, they would certainly never trust him again, and he would be stripped of his authority - and probably spend the rest of a short, painful life in agony, as a bored Councilor used him as a test subject to determine the limits of human endurance to torture - or something equally agonizing. He couldn't let these videos be played for the Council! But...

"Regardless of the consequences to me, I do not have the authority to authorize Georwell's surrender." Now that the consequences had been pointed out to him, Barez was ready to bargain - but he didn't have much capital to play with.

"Misunderstand me, you do." The nahman paused, and even Barez recognized the concentration on the being's face. He wanted to be sure his next statement was understood. "Wish we to negotiate the terms of the surrender of the nahman currently on Kurnnegut to the Georwell Imperium."

*****

Barez was stunned. Had he heard correctly? "The nahman wish to surrender? And you think you need to blackmail me to accept your surrender?"

"Requested assistance from the Nahman Alliance, has our herd on Kurnnegut. Slaughter of nahman by Georwell, the Alliance will not allow, yet reluctant to exterminate all humans are we. Perhaps, chance given, evolve and mature, humans will. An alternative we offer: Humans can rule Kurnnegut - what care we? Establish enclaves will our herd - outside those enclaves, human law they will follow. Enter these enclaves, humans will not. No better offer will you get - accept it you should."

Barez laughed heartily. Even with the superior technology the nahman were currently revealing, it would be impossible to destroy the entire human race. But the Ambassador wasn't finished talking.

"Expecting your reaction, prepared one final warning, I did."

Instantly, the office and everything around him vanished, to be replaced by empty space and distant stars. For just an instant, Barez could feel the air around him roaring away as the awful cold of deep space leached the warmth from his exposed body - and then something must have enclosed him, as the air pressure stopped dropping and the temperature stabilized. His immediate environment was uncomfortable but survivable, at least for a short time - a silent reminder of the deadlier environment just a little farther away.

He seemed to be in a transparent bubble, literally floating in space - and suddenly the combination of free fall and disorientation caught up with him and his stomach voided violently. This started him spinning and as spun, he saw a nearby red star, about the size of his thumbnail seen at a foot from his eye. The star suddenly expanded violently, and Barez screamed in fear and agony at the intensity of the light striking him. He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around his head, and still the light got brighter until he passed out from the agony.

When he came to once again, he was lying on the rug in his office, covered in a disgusting combination of bodily wastes. He was unable to see anything except a pink dazzle in front of his eyes, and there was a line of pain between his eyes and his brain that felt like a red hot wire.

"We could use the same weapon against the sun of Georwell - and every other star in the Imperium" the Ambassador Plenipotentiary of the Nahman Alliance said calmly. "Clean yourself well before the delegation from our herd on Kurnnegut arrives for negotiations this afternoon - they will not deal with someone who smells like an unmucked barn." After his final words, the image of the Nahman Ambassador disappeared without a trace from the office of Prosecutor Barez.

Prosecutor Barez was convinced. Later that day, he presented Georwell's surrender terms to the nahman representatives, who quickly accepted, and the Nahman War was ended.

*****

While Prosecutor Barez was 'negotiating' with the Ambassador, the Justice Machine had been involved in a desperate rescue operation. The Haunt had pushed his powers to the limit, probing the destroyed underground complex, and he had been rewarded by finding the body of Jaiime Conrad, remarkably still alive, entombed in a small cavity in a partially demolished room. But he could find no traces of Challenger or any of the nahman kidnappers.

When Descry focused her prescient powers on a limited area in relatively calm conditions, she could discern events as much as a few minutes into the future - so she began directing the digging, enabling her teammates to avoid or shore up dangerous areas before any collapses or slides or other disasters could occur. Her nasal commands were no less annoying than normal, but no one was telling her to shut up as they fought to rescue their teammate! Light-Wave and the Flame were able to blast apart the largest chunks of debris and Feral and Giant used their giant strength to best advantage, tearing away great chunks of rubble.

By the time the medical team arrived, they had recovered Conrad. The medics were baffled by his condition - there was very little damage that could be attributed to the explosion, yet he was close to death; his metabolism was on the verge of total collapse. He was immediately whisked to the intensive care unit on the Vigilant.

The nahman robots had been totally destroyed by explosive devices and capsules of powerful acid built into their bodies. Barez wanted to make very sure that there was nothing left to tie them to him.

The search for Challenger or her remains was called off several days later as no trace of her body was found in the debris, and she was officially declared dead.

Chapter 11

Back on Georwell, Chief Prosecutor Barez's second official appearance in front of Council Central, this time accompanied by Light-Wave, didn't go quite as well as his first.

"Congratulations to both of you on your quick victory on Kurnnegut," Number 7 was presiding. "You two, the Justice Machine and your troops have been declared Heroes of the Realm, and will be honored in a public ceremony as soon as Jaiime Conrad is released from the hospital. Though there are some who disagree." Barez shivered inside at the dark tone - was that a warning to him, or to the Council members who didn't agree with Number 7?

"I suppose our forces are ever so much better trained now, Prosecutor?" Number 9 mocked him with cold sarcasm. "You certainly found an opponent that was weaker than the Rim Worlds!"

Barez couldn't tell them the true story - no one would believe him. At least he knew Number 9's position on the recent debacle. "The plan remains valid. There are other choices more suitable as opponents."

"Who?" asked Number 2. Barez had never heard him speak before. "The Georwell Junior Hedgehogs?" Another dissenter identified. Barez filed this information; any schisms among Councilors could be valuable in his career plans.

"We can't very well disappear a Hero of the Realm, Councilors," Number 4 spoke up, referring to Barez. Barez was surprised, as Number 4 had been openly critical of the his plan at the earlier meeting. "I believe there is a similar opportunity on Raydbury, and I suggest we give Prosecutor Barez an additional chance to prove that his plan can be successful. It is in all our best interests, certainly, that our military forces are well prepared when we inevitably face the Rim Worlds." Now Barez understood - Raydbury was in the same sector as Number 4's home world - he must have some interests that would be furthered by Georwellian troops in that sector.

"My life at your command" Barez acknowledged that Council Central had given him a second chance. He made a note to have his own chief investigator find out how his operation could best support Number 4's interests - always good to have an ace in the hole.

"I'm interested in Commander Light-Wave's report on the progress of Project Super Soldier," Number 4 continued, and Barez knew that somehow Council Central had come to consensus on his fate - and he had another chance. The Council turned its attention away from Barez to the leader of the Justice Machine.

Light-Wave confidently began speaking. "Research Central has developed a new variation on the performance-enhancing drug Edge, and the Justice Machine was asked to field test that variation. Our newest recruit, Jaiime Conrad, volunteered as the test subject. Conrad is a recent graduate from the Academy - with nearly superhuman ratings in hand-to-hand combat and hand-weapon marksmanship. He's not quite in Feral's class, but I've never seen an unenhanced human who is any better."

This actually produced a murmur of interest among the Councilors. Feral was widely acknowledge as the deadliest fighter in the Justice Machine since Lionheart had 'retired' from active duty a few years ago.

"In some sense, I suppose you could say that the experiment was successful. Edge enhances Conrad's natural strength and improves his speed and reaction time, and it also allows him to virtually ignore pain. However, his judgment is affected - he becomes reckless, he ignores orders, he forgets his training, and he loses awareness of his surroundings. A soldier in that condition might decide to attack his commanding officers or even his fellow soldiers. I certainly wouldn't want to be in command of a squadron of troopers using this variant of Edge!"

His distaste was plain in his voice. He didn't seem to care that reporting another failure in the Super Soldier Project might negatively influence some members of Council Central. Very few men of power cared less about Council Central's internal politics than Light-Wave.

"To me, the worst condition of all is the debilitation when the drug's effects expire. While Edge allowed Conrad to infiltrate the enemy base, when it wore off, he collapsed, totally helpless and unable to rescue his teammate. He is still in the hospital recovering from injuries he received in his helpless condition. If our forces were to collapse in a battle as Conrad did, that battle would certainly be lost."

"Thank you, Commander. Based on your recommendations, we will not implement Project Super Soldier at this time." Number 1 clearly spoke for the entire Council, though even Light-Wave's electromagnetic senses couldn't detect any communication among the Councilors.

Number 7 continued. "Prosecutor Barez, at the ceremony next week, you and the Commander will announce 4 new members of the Justice Machine. After review of the available candidates, the Council recommends Fricton, Icer, Farad and Steadfast. Commander, your suggestion that we recall Rad from retirement has been vetoed. In the future, you are reminded that personal preferences are a poor basis for command decisions."

Light-Wave tried to control and hide his trembling. A rebuke this strong from Council Central was only a hair's breadth from a death sentence! If he valued his life, he was stuck with that sickeningly sweet Flame until the public tired of her. He suddenly wondered if his recommendation of Rad might have been accepted if the report on Edge had been more positive. Maybe even the leader of the Justice Machine would be wise to pay attention to politics!

"My life at your command" he responded, and he and Barez hustled out of the Council Central spotlight. It was the first time he'd ever realized exactly what that closing salutation actually meant.

*****

Jaiime was in the varying stages of a coma for almost 3 weeks. Some of the time he almost seemed conscious, if delirious, and he had to be strapped down as he writhed and moaned in agony, while at other times he was absolutely inert, his metabolism barely detectable, his temperature and heart rate slowed, and his pulse practically non-existent. During one of the active periods near the end of his convalescence, he had nightmares in which he repeatedly experienced scenes based on his recent past. First his body totally failed him, and he was blasted by explosions as he tried to save Challenger. The next time he dreamed, the dream changed subtly, and he actually saw Challenger explode, and then the dreams expanded to include his new teammates, and then his classmates at the Academy, and his friends, and then his family.

And in every iteration the end result was the same - people were counting on him, begging him for help, and he blithely promised he would save them all - and in every case, he failed - miserably failed everyone who had ever trusted him, his body slack and impotent. All of his skills and training and desire and force of will were absolutely negated by the effects of Edge.

And the most terribly ironic aspect of the whole thing, the fact that filled him with horror, was that it had been the Edge which had saved his life. His body had collapsed as his muscles had gone slack, and there had been no muscular tension to resist the force of the explosion which had picked him up and thrown him under a sturdy workbench. He'd been as floppy as a rag doll, and like a rag doll can easily survive impacts that would destroy a porcelain figurine, he'd been bruised but not broken. He found it horrific that the abhorrent drug which had destroyed his world had saved his life.

And within him, even in this altered mental state, a new determination began to build, a compulsion and drive that would remain with him throughout his life. He would NEVER fail his teammates again! He would train himself until he was better without Edge than he could ever be with the drug. He had already been one of the best - now, he would be better.

When he finally awakened and heard about the upcoming ceremony, when a new Justice Machine lineup would be presented to the Imperium, he knew exactly how he would inform the universe of his new determination.

*****

During the long ceremony, which was televised to every planet and outpost in the Georwellian Imperium, Prosecutor Barez, the surviving members of the Justice Machine and several battalions of Terror Troopers were publicly acknowledged as the latest Heroes of the Realm. Finally, newly promoted Chief Prosecutor Barez closed the proceedings by introducing several new members of the Justice Machine.

"People of Georwell, the newest members of the Justice Machine: Dash Cobalt, code named Fricton, with the powers of speed, superconduction, and control over ambient friction; Icer, Grag Fynn, cousin to the Flame, whose cold-based powers complement her heat-based abilities; Kipal Spilis, known as Farad for his ability to store and release electricity; and Antol Osk, better known as Steadfast for his great strength, dedication and reliability."

Before the crowds could begin to cheer, he continued. "I'd like to announce one additional lineup change. Jaiime Conrad has requested that he be assigned a code name in honor of his departed comrade, Ylvy Obanon. From this day forward, Jaiime Conrad will also be known as Challenger!"

The celebration throughout the Imperium lasted for days.

dans
Guardian

Posts: 3,802

The Justice Machine: Challenges Jun 16, 2017 23:40:51 GMT

Quote

Post by dans on Jun 16, 2017 23:40:51 GMT

Act 3
Time: 1978, simultaneous with the beginning of Act 1

Introduction:

Place: An office aboard the Vigilant, somewhere between Georwell and Kurnnegut.

Chapter 12

The giant assault troop carrier Vigilant, recently refitted with the latest in spacedrive technology, moved through hyperspace from Georwell to Kurnnegut. Even with the latest, most advanced generation of hyperdrive, it would still take her almost 4 days. During this time, her occupants had little to do other than drill and wait.

'Or, brood on life's ironies!" Jaiime Conrad, code-named Challenger and leader of the Justice Machine thought ruefully as he brooded on the ironies of his life. 'The Justice Machine ordered to Kurnnegut to suppress a rebellion among the nahman… just like my very first mission with the Justice Machine, 30 years ago. Except for a few minor details'.

Such as the makeup of the team. 30 years ago, he had been a rookie, and all of his teammates had been Justice Machine veterans of at least 10 years. Today he was in command, and only he and Dynamor, his second in command, had more than 5 years experience. He had recruited Titan 5 ago at the beginning of the Siembieda Uprising. Demon and Diviner had been members for 2 years, and Talisman had been foisted on him only months ago. Already, Talisman had begun to remind of him of Descry.

'Six good little soldiers,' he thought. `More likely 6 casualties if we face any serious opposition!' Once again, he reviewed his team in his mind as he struggled to develop tactics to maximize the strength of each hero and minimize the effects of their inexperience.

*****

Dynamor Alynya Tangrora currently the most powerful member of the Justice Machine and second-in-command. Most of the team, except for Jaiime, the Flame, and Light-Wave had died during the Rim Wars, and Masha and Light-Wave had retired after the Rim Raiders were finally defeated. Dynamor had been recruited at that time. She can absorb energy from weapon fire and then convert that energy into super strength and enhanced resistance to damage and injury. The initial energy blast is very painful, but she grows more immune to pain as she absorbs more power. She carries a device which can provide her with a jolt of energy in preparation for upcoming battles. Her power is artificial, drawn from a device implanted by Research Central.

Dynamor is extremely competent when carrying out Challenger's commands and orchestrating his strategies, but she is somewhat insecure and by-the-book when she is in charge and making the important decisions. Jaiime would prefer someone more assertive and self-secure as his second-in-command, but Dynamor is a favorite of Council Central and Prosecutor Zarren (who had recently replaced Barez).

Titan Jemin Osk. Titan reminds Jaiime of Jemin's uncle Antol Osk, a.k.a. Steadfast, who died in the Rim Wars. Jemin's ability to increase his size and strength to superhuman levels makes him a formidable warrior. He is normally pleasant and affable, and he learned to think on his feet while he was a cadet, as the super-star keyback on the Academy warball team. His problem is focus he doesn't like being a warrior, and sometimes becomes distracted in a fight and against the caliber of opponents the Justice Machine usually faces, an instant of distraction might prove deadly.

The Justice Machine had gone into the Siembieda Uprising 5 years ago very short-handed, as the members recruited after the Rim Wars were growing old and retiring. Jaiime had personally selected Jemin from that year's Academy graduates, and thinks of him as the first member of the 'New' Justice Machine.

Demon Gabel Nevin. Gabel sometimes reminds Challenger of himself at the same age. Demon is probably the fastest human Jaiime has ever encountered even faster than Jaiime himself. Combined with his superb martial arts abilities and an innate anger against the world, Demon is a deadly fighter. He is obsessed with being 'the best', and Challenger fears that this obsession may lead him into experimentation with Edge, though there is no proof that Demon has ever used performance-enhancing drugs. Perhaps this is just a projection of Jaiime's own experiences on the youngster who reminds him of himself.

4 years ago, Demon was captured by the Justice Machine after slaughtering an entire street gang with his bare hands in revenge for the murder of his adopted father. Council Central had given him an option attend the Academy and join the Justice Machine on graduation, or the death penalty. Challenger is not sure this is a good idea Demon is a jerk. With so much hatred inside, can Demon ever be trusted as a teammate? And can he ever learn to control the recklessness and his propensity for rushing into battle which had almost got him killed on his first two missions last year? Challenger was well aware that he had matured with age and experience. He hoped Nevin might mature similarly before he managed to get himself killed.

Diviner Tessei Molleng a-Conrad. Diviner has (artificial) sensory abilities far beyond those of normal humans. Challenger's wife, and the mother of their three children. Tessei had been born with a 'broken' nervous system signals from her senses never reached her brain. Research Central had quickly developed special wearable sensors which sent artificial sensory information to a receiver surgically implanted into Tessei's brain. No one knows exactly how Tessei senses the world attempts to use the same sensory apparatus by persons born with normal senses had uniformly driven them insane. Tessei began working at Research Central as soon as she was old enough, trying to find cures for genetic defects such as her own.

Near the end of the Rim Wars, Light-Wave had disappeared and the Flame had lost her powers. She had been transferred to Research Central, and assigned to the Tessei's care, supposedly in an attempt to restore her powers. The emerging relationship between Jaiime and Masha ended abruptly when Light-Wave seemingly returned from the dead and he and Masha had retired. Shortly afterward, Jaiime and Tessei had been married.

They have 3 sons together Rhys, the oldest, and the twins Ragna and Ramman. By Georwellian law, all children of military officers must be raised by the government after their third birthdays. Tessei had fought against giving up 3 year old Rhys, and then fallen into deep depression 2 years later when Ragna and Ramman were also removed to the Academy where they would spend their next 15 years.

As the leader and chief strategist of the Justice Machine, Challenger had missed the capabilities Descry had once provided, and sensed an opportunity to enhance his team, along with a chance to make his wife feel useful again. He challenged Research Central to improve Tessei's sensory capability and Research Central had succeeded, far exceeding his original expectations. As soon as Tessei received her new sensory gear, in the form of a special cape, Challenger had recruited her into the Justice Machine. She'd proven her worth on her first mission, not only in detecting a potentially deadly ambush, but also as an unbeatable human lie detector. She was still learning to control her powers, and she occasionally froze up with sensory overload. So far, he'd been able to protect her during these lapses.

Last, and perhaps least, Talisman. Nobody knew his real name. Talisman was a genius with computers, his skills superior even to Jaiime's, but Jaiime had so far seen no evidence of his supposed karmic super power. And he was also a jerk.

Talisman had been a con artist and cat burglar and among the best on Georwell, if his police records were to be believed. He was not above blackmail, extortion or bribery, though he had avoided violence whenever he could. And he was a fop a vain fop, in fact. He always wore a dark blue suit and tie, which he always kept in perfect condition, and his long black hair and Van Dyke beard were always perfectly groomed. He ranted insufferably when an exercise mussed his hair, or, Council forbid, tore his suit.

His power was supposed to be 'good luck'. Bad things supposedly happened to those who wanted to harm him, and in a tough situation, something improbable would occur to let him escape. So far, Challenger had seen no examples of this luck in their training exercises, and it certainly hadn't helped Talisman escape from the police recently. Though perhaps, Council Central giving him the choice of joining the Justice Machine to escape a long prison term might be considered lucky, if you looked at it the right way. Still, Jaiime really didn't want Talisman in the Justice Machine, and Talisman really didn't want to be here either.

An alarm went off; time for a gym session. Jaiime had some maneuvers in mind that he wanted to test with the team. It was the only team he had he would make it work.

Chapter 13

Georwellian Terror Troopers aren't known for their intelligence. They don't have to be smart, as their every action in combat is directed by a Combat Commander in a nearby Mobile Assault Command Center. What they are known for is brutality and belligerence and taking what they want, even when they are not on duty and wearing their powered combat armor. Usually, they were smart enough to confine their depredations to sub-citizens, as attacks on Citizens might be punished severely. But on-board the Vigilant, their opportunities for recreation were limited.

Diviner was punishing herself as she ran through the deserted corridors in the bowels of the Vigilant. Punishing herself because she couldn't punish the government that had stolen her babies, and she couldn't punish the husband who was only following the rules his government set for him. So she ran, harder than she'd ever run, praying that she'd run herself into exhaustion so she could stop remembering her sons.

She had received video mail today from her 10 year old son Rhys. He was so proud of himself he'd been promoted to Jr. Cadet meaning he would be transferred from the Academy's Pre-Adolescent Living Unit to the Military Barracks, where he would live and train until he graduated at 18.

This was a blow to Tessei, practically breaking her heart she had secretly been hoping that he would fail his promotional exams and wash out of the Officer Track, which would mean he would be free to return to his parents to her, his loving mother, and she would have at least one of her sons back. It had never been a realistic hope his genetics were too good for that, but she had cherished the dream and now it was shattered.

She was aware of the presence of two men in the corridor ahead of her, and another in one of the storerooms opening onto the corridor. She could feel the pressure waves they made when they moved, and hear their heart beats and breathing she could even smell them. It was the smell that finally penetrated her mournful thoughts; the biting pheromones of raw lust hit her like a powerful blow. Her attention snapped back to her surroundings, and she immediately realized she'd just run right into a trap, as 2 Terror Troopers blocked the corridor in front of her, and 1 more stepped out of the door behind her.

They'd planned well she couldn't reach an intercom without going through them, and this cargo section of the ship was normally deserted and unmonitored while the ship was in hyperspace. A quick glance at the ceiling showed that they had blocked the security surveillance cameras there as well. She was on her own. On the other hand, so were they and she realized that a fight might be just what she needed right now.

Still, she was one of the good guys and these goons were supposed to be on her side. "I don't believe even Terror Troopers are this stupid!" she snarled at the 2 in front of her. "Give it up while you can still walk." She'd done her part what happened next was up to them. She opened her mind to interpreting the information her sensory gear was sending her: lust, eager anticipation, not a trace of fear. The one behind her was about to attack. This was just a game to them; they weren't even expecting her to fight back! Did they think she would act like a sub-citizen? Too bad for them!

"Who you callin' stoooo… ooof". She spun halfway around and launched a kick to his jaw, knocking him out. A couple of inches higher and he'd have been dead with shards of his nose driven into his brain as it was he'd be in the hospital for months with wires holding together his broken jaw. She sensed a pressure wave approaching her head; the Trooper now behind her had locked his arms together and was swinging them down on her like a club. She dropped to the floor and rolled towards him, spun on her back and launched a two foot kick at his groin, meanwhile concentrating on the location of the other. He dropped to the ground, wrapped around his center and moaning.

After seeing his 2 comrades go down so quickly, this one decided to be more cautious. He unsheathed a combat knife and dropped into a crouch.

She kicked the moaning Trooper in the head to knock him out she needed to concentrate on the remaining attacker. She could feel him tense and hear his heart speed up and then he lunged forward, slashing wildly. Even with a split instant of warning, she couldn't quite dodge the edge slid across her stomach, knocking her backwards, but the tough fabric protected her from being cut.

This man was faster than she was. She knew how to deal with that she trained every day with Challenger and Demon. She concentrated, extending her artificial senses outward, wrapping her perceptions around him and boring in until she could tell what he was going to do before he even knew. She easily sidestepped his next charge and hit him on the side of the neck with a blow she had learned from Demon and he fell to the deck unconscious.

She went on with her run. Her situation hadn't improved, but she had reminded herself that she wasn't helpless. She left the trash for the cleaning robots.

*****

"Challenger! It's you and me!"

He stands there, sneering, just waiting for me to make a move, arrogant in his youth and power. He knows he's faster, and he's got 27 years on me. He's Demon, the Fastest Man Alive, and it's just a game to him.

He may be faster but I've got more experience. I flick a hand at him, tossing a handful of concussion pellets, while I dive and roll and come up shooting, the pistol set on stun. He's nowhere near where I expect him to be how can anyone move that fast? I wasn't that fast, even at 22. His billy club hits me in the hand and I drop the pistol. I kick his club out of range. My hand is numb and I've lost a pistol, but I've got another. If this was a game, round 1 to me. But I'm not playing.

"C'mon, old man. Show me what you got!" We circle, and I fake a stumble. He rushes me, and I dive and roll, directly towards him, hoping to catch him by surprise and maybe knock him off his feet. He reaches down and tears off my bandolier, taking with it most of my gadgets and gimmicks. "The gun, next, old man, and then it's just you and me, man to man!"

With my years of experience, I ought to know better, but he knows how to push my buttons. I toss the gun away. "Bring it on, Demon! Let's see your best shot!"

I see him tense, giving me the barest instant to get ready as he makes a move. I recognize it hell, I taught it to him and still, I barely have time to get out of the way. He dives forward into a handspring, does a half twist, and his leg flashes out at my chin. I spin away, and he barely touches me and my head snaps around, and I see stars and fall to the ground. Barely, hell - that kick damn near broke my neck!

He pounces, sure he's got me and I launch a kick that snaps his head around. I leap to my feet and slam him with punches, again and again, with all I've got, driving him where I want him to go. He swings back, and for a while we stand there like two street brawlers, toe to toe, trading haymakers. I know I shouldn't be doing this, he's younger and has more stamina, but I manage to block or avoid most of his punches like hell! If it weren't for the padding in my costume, I'd have broken ribs, at least.

I catch him a good one to the jaw and he staggers back. I rush in and hook a foot behind his ankle, and as he falls, I drop on him, driving my elbow into his chin. He jerks his head aside, and my elbow bounces off the mat.

I bounce to my feet, hell, it's more like stagger to my feet, his billy club in my hand. It's weighted for throwing, a deadly weapon in expert hands such as his or mine. I throw it, hard, towards his head. He freezes and the club misses his ear by a fraction of an inch. If I'd aimed at his head, this fight would be over, and he knows it.

"Time!" Titan, steps between us, probably as dangerous an act as stepping between two wild cats fighting over food but at 12 feet and almost 1000 pounds, he probably feels pretty safe.

"Not bad, Boss!" Demon says, smiling, as he stands up and sticks out his hand. "Every time we spar, you show me something new. But even you have to run out of new moves someday."

Dumb kid. I don't know how many different ways I can tell him, and show him - until you learn it's not a game, it doesn't matter how many moves you know.

I shake his hand. "Let's go break down the tape." I made some mistakes too, and he'll be happy to point them out. Maybe he'll learn something. "…and then we'll go again."

Chapter 14

Talisman had recently become uncomfortably well known infamous, actually in the underworld of Georwell; not something anyone in his right mind would want, especially someone with Talisman's... abilities. People were annoyed at his consistent success no, make that excess in games of 'chance' and had started the rumor that he cheated, after which he'd been run out of every illegal gaming establishment in the city of Martel. And after these rumors had reached everyone he'd ever done business with, every criminal kingpin, mob, gang, and virtually anyone else in the city who was even a little shady would now rather beat the crap out of him than turn him in for the reward. It wasn't his fault - it was just so easy to scam these suckers that it would be criminal not to.

Most of the time, he didn't even have to depend on his karmic luck when lining his pockets with other people's money. He did have to admit, however, that his luck had gotten him out of some of the tougher situations that his winning ways had gotten him into, thought perhaps not totally unscathed. Most recently, he had found himself in high demand by a rather unpleasant threesome. The KrunK street gang (shortened from KrunchNKrush - how erudite!) had tried to take him away from Dulcachan's goons, who had just cornered him as he was evading security at the Bloody Table. He'd walked away casually through the violent 3-way battle, not even wrinkling his suit as the fight seriously devastated the resources of three of Martel's most influential criminal enterprises. On top of that, he had even managed to retain his earnings from the high-stakes Pyramid game in the back room of the Bloody Table, and many of the combatants had generously donated their own well stocked wallets to his future welfare. Gotta keep the hands nimble with constant practice!

Since it had become impossible for him to find a good dishonest game, he'd tried another anglethe con. He was very good at it; scamming citizens had been even more profitable than hustling rich undesirables in crooked gaming houses, but his success had lead to his downfall. Contrary to popular belief, law enforcement occasionally DID investigate crimes against citizens (and all this time, Talisman had thought that stories about criminal investigations were only urban legends.) He was sure his luck had failed him when he'd been captured and brought before Council Central for judgment. Instead of being sent to Research Central to be experimented on, however, he was remanded to the custody of the Justice Machine. Things definitely could have been worse.

And now, here he was, surrounded by a brigade of marks - er, Terror Troopers. They were as bored as hell with the shipboard routine in hyperspace, and they had no idea who he was or what he could do. Maybe, he grinned to himself, his luck was still with him after all!

*****

'The way to a Terror Trooper's wallet is through his stomach,' Talisman mused as he sat at the table with a half dozen goons, and threw down a handful of bills. It was almost embarrassing the lengths to which a man had to go, just to get invited to a card game on this boat! Why, for a few minutes this morning, he'd actually considered wearing a set of coveralls instead of his suit and pretending to be a Naval Maintenance Engineer, but there are limits demanded by a man's dignity and self respect. Instead…

They'd boarded the Vigilant last night, which had given Talisman (and likely Challenger) abundant time to become familiar with the ship's computer network. As he had expected, it used standard military protocol, overlaid with local 'refinements' added by every computer jockey who'd done duty on the ship since its last refit. There were some mildly amusing enhancements to the standard system, but he'd had much more trouble hacking into the 'lost' hand-held mopec (mobile personal computicator, the Georwellian equivalent of a personal digital assistant/cell phone) of a small-time back-street drug dealer in Martel (hey, he had to find out who it belonged to, and claim a reward directly from the dealer's bank account for returning such a valuable item!). Anyway, all he'd wanted from the network, this time at least, was to secure today's code which unlocked the 'Honored Guest' menu on the ship's food synthesizers. Even Challenger couldn't expect a man of his refined tastes to barely subsist on military fare. It was his duty, surely, to stay fit.

This morning, he'd deliberately gone to the enlisted mess for Terror Troopers. He'd entered the Honored Guest code into the food synthesizer and selected his favorite breakfast - a big steak, medium well, spicy scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, dark toast, hot chocolate, and a big flaky pastry with lots of icing. The Troop's choices were semi-liquid slop in a bowl or solid slop on a plate. At least the bowls and plates were sterile!

The mess hall was cavernous, so that even with hundreds of Troopers eating at once, there were still empty tables. He saw what he was looking for, a table populated by a single miserable-looking soldier. For an instant, he _almost_ felt sorry for the man - he knew what it was like to be an outcast. But, it wasn't his problem; he had work to do. Besides, this guy's popularity was about to go through the roof. Talisman was actually doing him a favor! He headed for that table and sat down on the other side, a couple of seats away.

As the soldier stirred his bowl, Talisman jerked his head back, offended by the smell. "Even the Navy wouldn't feed deckhands that slop!" he observed with contempt. There was a risk that the Trooper would bounce up from his bench and try to kill him for that, but he figured that any soldier's love of complaining about military food and natural hatred for the Navy would override this one's contempt for a fancy-dressed civilian. Plus, this man was an outcast, even among Terror Troopers, and probably pretty lonely.

"Wadcha yakkin aboot?" the Trooper snarled back at him. "We's all get'r grub from da same 'zizers, even da swabbies." His luck was good ('what else would it be?' he smugly thought to himself), the man's accent indicated that he wasn't from Georwell, but one of the other planets in the Imperium. No way he could be familiar with Talisman in his former life. A life he planned to return to as soon as he could figure out how to get away clean from the Justice Machine.

"That's true." he replied, doing his best to sound superior and condescending - not at all a difficult task for him. "But the sailors have an unlocking code that lets them pick from a different menu - which includes real food. Haven't you wondered why they have separate mess halls?"

Actually, the average Navy deckhand ate the same thing as a Terror Trooper. The real reason they didn't mess together was to keep 'friendly fire' injuries to a minimum while aboard the big transport, but this grunt didn't need to know that. Talisman picked up the pastry, took a big bite, and then waved his hands as he continued to speak. The Trooper's eyes were glued to the moving pastry, and Talisman could almost see him drooling.

"Guess you dumb soldiers don't know the Navy meal code, huh? Too bad for you."

His own mopec started buzzing before the Trooper could reply - he checked the message it displayed and stood up in a hurry.

"Damn. Challenger is supposed to be such a glippin' hot shot with computers, but he always calls me, his civilian expert, for every glippin' thing. I ought to make him wait, but I guess that's why they pay me so much. Sorry, Private…"

He paused to read the man's nametag, then continued "Grunk, Could you make sure this stuff gets into the recycler? I'm in a big hurry." He waved at his untouched meal. "Looks like the Justice Machine's civilian computer genius is always on call!"

He hurried out, carrying the pastry in one hand and his hot chocolate in the other. He didn't have to watch to know that Grunk was already digging into the steak.

'I wonder, did I lay it on too thick?" he worried as he hustled out the door. "No, the jerk's a Terror Trooper - he'll never notice." He headed back to his room and took breakfast in private.

*****

When he returned for lunch, he pretended not to notice Grunk standing in the hall instead of joining the synthesizer line. Grunk tried to make it look like it was coincidence that he was taking lunch at the same time as Talisman, but he watched closely as Talisman entered his menu code - and even though Talisman 'concealed' his code, Grunk was able to observe and remember it.

'The boy might actually have potential' Talisman mused. 'He's about to become very popular with his mates; hope he can handle it.' If Grunk played it right, he'd be a lot less lonely in the future. Not that Talisman cared; he was working.

Grunk followed Talisman to an empty table. Talisman pretended to be irritated, but his scheme was actually proceeding nicely. He was his normal insufferable arrogant self throughout the luncheon conversation, but Grunk didn't seem to notice. Was he really that dense? He was a Terror Trooper, after all, so maybe he didn't notice all the small insults or nasty innuendos. Or maybe he was just too entranced by the wonderful food he was eating. On the other hand, it was nice not hearing 'Shut up, Talisman!' after every other sentence he uttered.

Talisman was very satisfied with the number of other Troopers who walked by their table and stared at their meals, and by the time he was finished eating, there were several others sitting at their table. They all greeted Grunk like a long-time friend, but Talisman could tell that Grunk had never thought of them as friends before. He waited until Grunk had finished desert, just to be sure his 'partner' got to eat his full meal, and then left. He glanced back from outside the door of the hall - Grunk was being swarmed by his mates. Perfect!

At dinner, he had to look hard to find Grunk - the Trooper was sitting at a table in the middle of the vast hall, and that table was jammed with others - a 'clan' of the biggest, meanest looking Troopers Talisman had ever seen appeared to have adopted the formerly lonely private. He made sure Grunk noticed him, and the Trooper called him over.

"Be making aspace fer m'friemd, here!" he ordered the men at the table around him. "Boys, ere's ta man 'sponsible fer the great eats!" He paused, then whispered to Talisman '"Quick, what'syer nomiker?"

"I'm Professor Babbage Turing, PhD, civilian Computer Specialist assigned to the Justice Machine," he said, and bowed grandly. Babbage Turing had invented the computer on Georwell, centuries ago, but none of these jerks would know that much about history. "Just call me 'Doc'." No way he was telling _anyone_ his real name, or even his code name.

"Always a pleasure to meet the friends of my good friend Private Grunk, here." He noted that all the Troopers at this table were eating from the 'Honored Guest' menu, as he'd expected. And, the 'mean and nasty' clan was apparently planning to keep the secret from the rest of the Troop. Now that they knew the code, though, these guys would drop Grunk like dirt tomorrow, except…

He whispered in Grunk's ear, but made sure the closest Troopers would overhear. "I'll get you the new code tomorrow just before the mess hall opens." Grunk hadn't known that the code changed every day. The boys hadn't known either. Grunk's face brightened; one thing a Terror Trooper was good at was recognizing something that gave him an advantage - and as long as he was the only Trooper who the guest meal code, he was going to take advantage!

It wasn't difficult for Talisman to turn the dinner conversation to gambling. "As a computer genius, of course I know all the odds. None of the other guys at my office at Martel University would play with me any more," he boasted. "Why, we'd get paid on Weeksend, and that night, I'd own their meal money for the next week! Almost doubled my salary! Of course, I didn't make anywhere near as much working in business as I make now! Never thought I'd get rich workin' for the government." He mumbled that last - but several heads jerked around when he said it.

He could see these guys doing some heavy thinking - for Troopers, at least. The best marks are those who claim confidently to 'know all the odds'. Just how much did a civilian special assistant to the Justice Machine, the most elite outfit in the Imperium, make, anyway? It ought to be worth finding out. Ironic how he was using his own experience as a con man to make himself a more attractive mark for these would-be card sharks!

"We like to get together a friendly game of Pyramid every now and then," one of his new friends finally spoke up. "A little betting to keep it interesting. How'd you like to join us tonight?"

Jackpot!

*****

Doc won several big pots over the first dozen hands. He didn't notice the unusual tactics of several of the other players which helped him win, overcoming his cautious, conservative, and above all, honest play: They blatantly stacked the deck in his favor, made foolish wagers and even more foolish draws, and folded winning hands. Talisman noticed that Grunk was also playing an honest game, and he was slightly ahead. Grunk didn't seem aware of the 'sting' being played out around him, but he was a good enough Pyramid player to take advantage of the stupidest moves his mates were making. Talisman was starting to become aware of the qualities which made Grunk an outcast among his fellow troopers.

Corporal Drekstrom, who was losing heavily, spoke up loudly. "I'm bored with this pissant penny-ante stuff. How about we scrub the limits and play for some real dough?" The two other Troopers besides Grunk who had so far played honestly both looked worried, and left the game.

"Stay out of the kitchen, small-timers!" Doc sniffed at them. None of the observers filled the empty seats, leaving Drekstrom, Private Grotti, Grunk and Doc. Drekstrom dealt the next hand, and Grunk won with 'stones'. Grotti dealt next, and when he finished shuffling, Talisman knew that the deck was as cold as ice. Grotti had good technique and would fool any untrained observer, but Talisman was far from untrained. Drekstrom declined to cut, and Doc sneered "Some day, you're going to get in a game with some real card sharks, and you'll regret not cutting the deck." Drekstrom only laughed. He was having trouble taking this fop seriously.

Grunk picked up his cards to see stones again. Stones win about 60% of the time, and anyone dealt stones would normally draw one card, trying to complete a 'pile'. He opened with a modest bet. Doc picked up a pat hand, a 'wall' which ranked higher than stones and usually about an 80% winner. With a joyous expression on his face, he raised big. Drekstrom had nothing, but played anyway: "I'll come along for the ride I'm the one who wanted bigger pots!" Grotti folded. Grunk made a small raise, and Doc, sensing a big payoff, made a big raise, more than doubling the pot. Drekstrom debated for a long time, reluctantly agreed, and Grunk called, ending this round of betting with more money on the table than had changed hands all game so far.

"I'll take one" and Grunk got his one card. Grotti barely looked at Doc, who was carefully studying his hand, then dealt three cards towards Drekstrom, who had already laid 3 cards on the table. "Hey! I want 3 cards those are mine!" Doc spoke sharply. His hand flashed out and pulled the cards in front of himself before anyone could stop him.

"Those are MY CARDS!" Drekstrom roared, as he pushed his chair backwards and sprang to his feet. Those three cards, plus the two he'd kept, would have given him a 'lesser pyramid', second only to a Perfect Pyramid as the most powerful hand in the game and won him a couple of months worth of salary, even after paying off Grotti. He turned to the Troopers watching the game. "Nobody but a cheater draws 3 to a pat wall!"

"Nobody but a cheater knows when his opponent is dealt a pat wall!" Doc accused right back, apparently suddenly realizing that Drekstrom and Grotti had set him up. "Your commanding officer is going to hear about this!" The other players and the spectators all started laughing - did this overdressed fop really think that a Terror Trooper CO would care that they had tried to cheat a civilian?

Talisman took advantage of their amusement with a quick movement much quicker and more precise than the Troopers would have believed, after watching Doc fumble with his cards all evening. He scooped everything off the table and into a sack he'd just happened to have in his pocket, wincing sadly as half the cash fell to the floor.

Just as Drekstrom roared and charged, a couple of Troopers dove for the loose bills on the floor, catching Drekstrom below the knees. He whacked his head on the table on the way down.

"Oh, my, that must have hurt!" Talisman sympathized with the big man, who was now trying unsteadily to get up. His foot slipped on a bill, and he fell into Grotti's lap. The two of them spilled backwards and knocked down a pair of watching Troopers, who came up swinging.

'"You'd betr b'gitten out'r here!" Grunk grabbed Talisman's arm and pushed him towards the door.

"Don't wrinkle the suit!" Talisman snapped, shaking free. "What's your hurry? Enjoy the show." If he'd been anyone other than Talisman, he might have been a little touched at Grunk's gesture of help. As it was, he knew that empathy of any kind always lead to nothing but ruin. "Hey! What's that on my suit?" he frowned, bent down and brushed something from his leg, just as an energy beam flashed through the space previously occupied by his head.

"Hold on another few seconds now!" he told Grunk. At exactly that instant, the door slid open and several Navy MPs stormed in.

"You're all under arrest!" the lead MP yelled. Instantly, the Terror Troopers switched from battling each other to fighting the Navy.

"OK, stay with me, kid!" Talisman commanded. He walked casually towards the door, ignoring the chaos around him. As an MP aimed his stunner, he was hit in the side of the head by a thrown bottle, and Talisman led Grunk through the opening in the line of MPs caused when he collapsed. They were outside the door an instant later.

"As much as I regret saying it, this is yours for winning the last hand. Close your mouth before the bugs fly in!" Talisman handed the sack to Private Grunk and turned to walk away, his impeccably tailored suit perfect, not a hair out of place, a smug smile on his face. He wasn't being friendly or generous - he was going to be on this boat for another 3 days, and he might need an unwitting accomplice in another scheme. He whistled as he walked. Even though he wasn't carrying away any extra cash, it had been a very enjoyable evening. 'Yes, my man' he thought to himself smugly as he made a minute adjustment to his tie 'you still have it!'

Chapter 15

"Jaiime! There's something big behind that wall, moving towards us!" Diviner whispered. Challenger didn't bother asking for more details; if she knew more, she would have told him more. Even Diviner couldn't see through walls. He used urgent hand signals to order his team to cover and they instantly disappeared, hidden by the various vehicles in the cavernous combat sim stage, which was currently simulating a combat vehicle maintenance bay .

The details of the sim were all wrong for their upcoming mission - the nahman didn't used tracked or wheeled vehicles, for example, like the armored staff car he was using for cover, but Challenger couldn't worry about that now. Combat sims used live, supposedly non-lethal weapons, and you had to take them seriously. Whatever had alerted Diviner would be dangerous, even if they wouldn't see anything remotely like it on Kurnnegut.

For just an instant, his mind flashed to his son Rhys at the Academy. His class would be undertaking their first live ammo training exercise next month, and Tessei was already worried. He hoped it wouldn't interfere with her concentration on the mission, and then an explosion nearby reminded him that he needed to pay attention himself!

A section of the wall in front of them vanished in a flash of energy, and an armored combat machine strode through the opening. It walked on 8 long flexible legs, which supported a spherical body, perhaps 10 feet in diameter. The sphere's equator was ringed by 24 anti-personnel gun emplacements. Atop the spherical body was a short cylindrical turret mounting a powerful laser cannon, which could rotate at ultra-high speed to bring the laser cannon to bear on any target within range. The tank could walk in any direction across virtually any terrain whichever direction the cannon happened to be aimed was nominally the 'front' of the tank at any time.

The war machine took several steps into the hanger, striding effortlessly over several small space fighters, and came to a halt straddling an orbital combat shuttle. The anti-personnel guns opened up momentarily at the positions of the hidden heroes; the tank's sensors had easily located them even through the cover they had chosen and the battle computer had switched to the explosive projectile magazines. Fortunately for the Justice Machine, during the sim all the tank's projectile magazines were loaded with crowd-control stingers pellets that delivered small static electricity shocks, with very little penetrating power.

Challenger thought the walker looked familiar; he'd studied something like it in a History of Armor elective back at the Academy. Encountering mobile armored vehicles could be the foot soldier's worst nightmare, so he'd studied hard but it had been over 30 years ago. Then, he had it!

A century ago, Georwell had conquered the small interstellar kingdom of the alien race, the Zheng. The vehicle confronting them was a Zheng Yavak Scout-Class automated walking tank, designed primarily for use against infantry. Jaiime cursed mentally; this was a job for Terror Troopers in invulnerable combat armor, not the Justice Machine. The only current member of the JM who could withstand the powerful weapons normally employed by such a tank was Dynamor. Challenger made a mental note that the Machine needed a member with a powerful distance attack, with natural protection against bullets - like the Flame, he couldn't help but adding, even though he'd schooled himself never to think about Masha since his marriage to Tessei.

"Dynamor! Power up!" he ordered urgently. No use keeping silence any longer, the tank clearly knew their precise locations. Damn, why was she hesitating? She shouldn't have even needed the order; the threat was obvious.

The loud 'ZRACK" of her energizer was followed instantly by Dynamor screaming in agony. Challenger knew that the initial energy blast was painful, but she'd never showed that level of pain before. She screamed again, and staggered out from behind a heavy tracked tank. The Yavak's turret swiveled faster than the eye could follow and she was targeted by the laser, set to stun during the sim, and half the AP guns. Normally, now that she was powered up, she would easily shrug off much more powerful attacks than this, but something was wrong she was knocked to the floor and she continued to scream in pain.

Demon made a quick preparation (even the fastest man on Georwell needed a little `Edge' when fighting a tank!) and then a red and blue blur flashed from behind an armored staff car closer to the alien war machine. Demon figured that he could get inside the range of the Yavak's guns before it could switch targets and once he got close, he'd find some way to disable it he was Demon, he was the best, after all. But he hadn't taken that elective at the Academy and didn't know that each of the AP guns had an individual targeting computer. 4 of them hit him with half second bursts, and, stunned by thousands of tiny shocks, he fell limply into a maintenance grease pit set into the deck. Fortunately for him, Talisman had chosen this pit as a hiding place, and the gambler pulled his teammate out of the oily waste before he could suffocate.

Titan grew to 20 feet and roared in rage as he watched his teammate and friend Dynamor writhe in agony on the deck. The tank instantly switched targets, and for just an instant, Titan was splashed with a laser beam set to stun and hundreds of tiny stun pellets. He screamed at the pain but otherwise ignored the barrage, then slammed his fists into the deck and tore up a large section of the thick metal, which he held in front of him as he charged. The limited power of the tank's current weapons was extremely painful but didn't even slow him down.

Jaiime was up and running towards the tank, trailing Titan, 'drafting' behind the giant and his 'shield'. "Titan! Maneuver blue 17" he ordered at the top of his lungs.

"Gotcha, boss!" Titan yelled back. He'd barely heard the order over the chaos around him.

When he reached the tank, Titan tore off the turret. Challenger leaped and grabbed one of the tank's legs. The leg whipped and threw him towards Titan. He spun and his legs flexed to absorb his impact with Titan's chest, then exploded to drive him even higher. He flew across the top of the tank and fired both pistols downward into the tank's now-exposed interior as he passed over top of it. Concussion shells from the pistol in his left hand played havoc with the tank's battle computer, and the AP guns stopped firing.

"Cover!" Challenger yelled as he did a perfect flip to land running, then dove and rolled behind another armored personnel carrier. Titan squatted behind his improvised shield. The grenade Challenger had fired from his right-handed pistol exploded, and the Yavak's remaining ammunition went up as well.

When the debris stopped falling, the heroes came out from cover. Challenger, Diviner and Titan ran towards the now-silent Dynamor, while Talisman reached out to help Demon to his feet. When he saw that his teammate's hands were black with grease, he pulled back his hand.

"Love the new look, Gabel," he mocked his groggy teammate instead.

A weak "Shut up, Talisman!" was the only comeback Demon could generate.

At the other end of the sim stage, Diviner was concentrating her enhanced senses on Dynamor, who lay silently on the floor. "There's some kind of microtonic device in her abdomen. It's not working right and if it doesn't come out soon, it'll kill her!"

Challenger was already calling for a medical team.

*****

Alynya Tangrora, also known as Dynamor, snapped instantly from unconscious to fully aware in Vgilant's sickbay. She was initially disoriented, but she soon recognized some of the machinery surrounding her. Research Central had machines that could switch you off and on like a light, which was useful when they were implanting stuff in your body. Once they'd implanted the device which gave her powers, though, she'd hoped she was through with them forever. No such luck, apparently.

"It's been a long time, Alynya" A man's voice, gentle and concerned.

"Maxinor" she recognized the voice, and the bald head looking down on her. "I hear you've moved up in the worldl" she spat. Maxinor had been an assistant researcher on the Energizer Project that had implanted the microtonic Energizer into her body giving her superpowers, now he was one of the highest ranking scientists in Research Central.

"Alynya, I have bad news. To save your life, we had to take the Energizer out." She was Dynamor no more.

"There's more bad news" Maxinor continued mournfully. "When the Energizer failed it destroyed the nerves in your lower body your legs are useless, and you'll never walk again."

"TRIUNE DAMN YOU, Maxinor! You were supposed to make that freepin thing SAFE!" she swore at him, and he backed away as she tried to lunge out of the bed at him. But she was much too weak and she fell back on the bed, panting. "You improved it from a killing machine to a crippling machine no wonder everyone thinks you're such a great scientist!" her voice dripped with sarcasm. "Second Scientist Jurzol himself told me you'd made it safe!"

"Jurzol was lying. He transferred me to the Weapons Division before I finished my modifications. They must have given you my prototype!"

*****

The first Energizer had been built almost 50 years ago by then-current Third Scientist Uneile, of the Super Powers Division of Research Central. It absorbed powerful ambient energy discharges, such as lasers, lightning bolts or energy beams, and converted them into biotonic energy. Uneile implanted a pea-sized prototype into a laboratory spider monkey with astonishing results a spark of static electricity had accidentally 'powered up' the cute little lab animal, who had then proceeded to tear apart the laboratory. Energy blasts from the weapons of the lab's Security team helped the mischievous monkey grow ever stronger, more impervious, and more dangerous. Eventually, Lionheart of the Justice Machine battled the super powered spider monkey one-on-one until its biotonic energy dissipated. (See 'The Rampage of the Tiny Terror'; Original Justice Machine, Issue 7). The Justice Machine had later adopted SpiderMonk as their mascot after removing the prototype energizer!

Third Scientist Uneile had tried the device on himself, with tragic results a stray static spark had powered him up and fried him to a crisp. His replacement, Third Scientist Segora, had quickly determined that the biotonic energy released by the Energizer was incompatible with human genetics, and since the Imperium had no need for super-powered spider monkeys (and because it was someone else's invention), she put the Energizer into the archive along with all of Research Central's other failed inventions.

15 years ago, the Rim Wars were going poorly. Casualties had reduced the Justice Machine from over 2 dozen strong to only 6 living heroes, and Research Central was under pressure to produce something, anything, to aid the war effort, right now! Maxinor, a rising star in the Weapons Division, had been transferred into the Super Powers Division to try and find a quick hit. Rather than inventing something new from scratch, he researched the archives.

*****

"I discovered the Energizer in the archives, and realized that new advances in microtonics could be adapted to make it safe for humans." Maxinor told the sobbing Alynya. "The modified Energizer would be considerably less powerful than the original but it wouldn't be dangerous to the subject to you! There were problems with my prototype using the new technology, but it wasn't instantly fatal, only painful, so I was on the right track. I'd just completed the specifications for the final modifications when Jurzol transferred me back to Weapons. He wanted to take the credit for the Energizer, and I was too junior to do anything about it. When I heard that you were in action, I always assumed he'd finished my work."

"I trusted you you told me it would be safe!" she sobbed. "Because of you, I'm crippled for the rest of my life!"

Was that fair? He wasn't the one who'd betrayed her! But, Research Central had, and he was, still, part of Research Central so didn't he bear some of the responsibility?

"As head of Research Central, I'll do everything I can to help you walk again!" he promised. Some of the technology from Diviner's sensory web might be adapted to restore her control of her legs. He made a private vow not to abandon her again as he'd been forced to before, regardless of whatever else he was ordered to do about her case.

Chapter 16

The ultimate rebel stronghold on Kurnnegut was buried beneath a mountain, about half a continent away from the new Imperial Capital. Today it was under siege.

Over 6000 Terror Troopers from the Vigilant had been dropped in orbital assault shuttles. They had been met by a much smaller army of about 500 each of human and nahman rebels. About half the human rebels were equipped with captured Imperial battle technology, identical to that used by the Terror Troops, and the rest of the humans and the entire nahman force were equipped with nahman battle tech a force field that could resist any beam or projectile weapons the Terror Troopers could bring to bear, and pistols with powerful energy beams that could quickly eat their way through Trooper armor. With the advantage that a defending force always has, plus superior strategy and tactics, the rebels were inflicting severe losses on the Imperial invaders.

Deep inside the mountain there was little evidence of the Armageddon-like battle going on outside, except for some occasional almost imperceptible rumblings. In an armor-glass covered niche in the wall of the last security corridor leading to the Control Center, two soldiers sitting at mounted guns were discussing the battle outside.

"We must be dropping big bombs on them" the human female member of the team commented. "Ever since Commander Hobon's been running things, those Georwellian thugs don't have a chance. Even with those reinforcements that just arrived, the reports from outside are that our guys are handing them their butts!"

"Yes, brilliant she is. New nahman weapons, as well, impact they have," added her nahman partner, proudly and a little contentiously.

"Yes, of course," she replied dismissively. "But Hobon would find a way to win with nothing more than sticks and stones!"

"Still, our comrades, even with weapons and strategies superior, in battle die!" The nahman shuddered; even though they were as brave as humans, they felt death more strongly. "Wishing the war was ended, am I!"

"Me, I'd like to get out there and into the fight!" she declared loudly. "We'll never get any action here! It's a waste setting guards this deep into the place!" They were miles from the nearest entrance.

Their small surveillance room shook to a louder 'Thoom'. "Very powerful nahman bombs, must that be," the nahman said nervously. "As close to them as this, never have I been."

"It sounded more like something inside!" his partner responded, also sounding nervous. "Nah, there's no way anything could be happening inside!" She didn't sound as if she were convinced.

'THOOM!' the room shook more strongly, and this sound clearly came from just beyond the door to the rest of the world. They quickly checked their guns, and exchanged silent signals with the 3 other hidden gun nests on both sides of the corridor.

With the loudest explosion of all, the entire wall at the end of the corridor exploded inwards, filling the corridor with deadly shrapnel. Before they could even pull their triggers, the two marksmen saw a small red missile flying towards the gun niche across the hall, closer to the exploded wall. It passed through the gun slit in the armor, and ricocheted off the heads of the two gunners inside. A red and blue blur, human-sized, moving only slightly less fast than the missile, smashed into the other emplacement on this wall. That was the last thing they saw for a while, as two pellets sneaked through their tiny aiming slits and burst, filling their niche with knockout gas. Their fellows across the corridor received the same treatment - Challenger shot equally well with either hand.

"Next time, you take the close ones, Boss. No challenge, they didn't even have time to blink!" Demon boasted from the shattered gun emplacement that had been his primary target. He walked casually across the now secured corridor, broke through the window that had failed to protect the opposite emplacement, picked up his billy club, and checked the two soldiers he'd knocked out with a single toss. "All 4 of mine are still breathing. Piece of cake!"

"Good job on the locations, Diviner!" Challenger acknowledged to his green-clad newly minted second-in-command. "Did we miss any?"

"I don't sense anyone else in this section. There is a crowd in the Control Center and they're ready for us. I sense a lot of those nahman power belts but the emanations are different than the ones we've faced already. I suggest we do something unexpected."

"What a great idea!" Talisman replied sarcastically. "There's one door between us and them, and they know we're coming through it so let's surprise them! I love it!"

"Shut up, Talisman!" said Diviner, disgustedly.

"No, wait I think he's got something!" Challenger said thoughtfully. "Ok, Justice Machine, maneuver B-13!

"Oh, spit!" Talisman started to say, but before he got halfway through the first syllable, Titan kicked open the next door, and Challenger and Demon had shoved Talisman through into the next room. He tried to pull his pistol while struggling and sliding to a stop, barely able to remain on his feet.

"In…in…in the name of the J…J… Justice Machine, I order you to drop your wa… wa… weapons and surrender." he stuttered, almost inaudibly.

The sight of a single tall, thin man, wearing neither armor or even an heroic costume, but instead an impeccably tailored business suit, this deep in a war zone, waving a single feeble pistol astonished the rebels and for a second there was a stunned stillness… until all hell broke loose!

Several rebels rushed Talisman, trusting to their nahman power belts to protect them from that feeble pistol. In their rush, they collided, and fell, and the mass of them rolled across the ground, smashing into Talisman's legs. As he fell, his pistol went off, and the bullet glanced off the force field protecting one of the rebels and smashed into a large alien machine across the room. Every nahman power belt and pistol instantly lost power.

The rest of the Justice Machine swarmed into the room and made short work of the rebels, normal individuals of both species who had no chance against the JM after their power belts had failed. In minutes, it was all over but the bragging.

"Justice Machine? More like the Justice Munchkins!" Talisman crowed. "It's no wonder Council Central wanted me on the team! I just don't understand why Prosecutor Zarren didn't make me the leader?" He struck an heroic pose. "And now, of course, they all say…" he waited a beat, and then joined the chorus…

"Shut up, Talisman!"

*****

In a staging area even deeper in the mountain, Alyza Hobon reviewed her situation and her new team. A very small fraction of beings who wore the belts were affected spectacularly; due to some as yet unexplained interaction between their genetics and the unique radiation emitted by the belt's power supply, their bodies would mutate and these beings would gain super powers. She'd given belts to about 2000 rebels; only 5 of them had been that lucky.

3 of the new super beings were nahman. The nahman were descended from herd animals, and the new powers of these 3 seemed to be extensions of nahman racial characteristics: a herd consists of many members, and the members of a herd usually react similarly, often seeming to exhibit a telepathic connection between members. Many herding species, such as deer on Earth and the proto-nahman of millions of years ago, rely on speed to escape from predators. Some herding species, such as elephants or dolphins, rely on high or low frequency sounds for communications, and very loud sounds to warn away attackers.

Herd was a one-nahman herd, able to replicate into many identical bodies, all of which seemed telepathic among themselves, Pulse could run at super speed, and Timbre's voice could create a wide variety of sonic effects.

The other two new super beings were human and Alyza didn't quite see the racial sources of their powers: Iceburn had heat and cold powers, and Elevon could fly. But the logic behind their powers wasn't important right now; the powers themselves were.

All together, along with her as the leader, they called themselves Uniforce a united force fighting for the freedom of Kurnnegut. She knew that combined, they were more powerful than the Justice Machine - and at that point, she had to stifle a scream, as a sharp pain stabbed through her mind like a psychic knife!

For some reason, all week she'd been having problems even thinking about fighting against the Justice Machine (pain!). She couldn't figure out why, but part of her mind refused to accept the idea that they could actually be her enemies. This conviction had been growing stronger all week - in spite of all the stories she'd heard recently about the atrocities the terrorist super team regularly inflicted on the enemies of Georwell. She'd had to force herself to train her team, and she knew that even with the best she'd been able to do, they were woefully under-trained and vastly less experienced than their opponents. She could only hope their clear advantage in power and her leadership would make the crucial difference. She could only hope that she'd get over this mental block when she was actually facing… that other group.

Elevon, her second in command, was watching… that other team invade the rebel Control Center on an internal monitor. There was no way they should have been able to get that far, and they shouldn't have stood a chance against the defenders, armed as they were with nahman energy weapons and power belts. The odds against all those belts and weapons failing at the same time were astronomical! Yet Elevon gave the 'Go' signal, and nahman technicians activated a mysterious machine - and Uniforce vanished.

*****

On the Vigilant, Maxinor and an army of technicians, engineers and scientists were intensely concentrating on a vast array of monitors, gauges and readout devices as hundreds of sensitive instruments focused on the rebel headquarters. At the instant Uniforce vanished, a dozen of these instruments registered and recorded signals and phenomena that had never before been witnessed by Georwellian science.

"YES! We've got it!" Maxinor exclaimed enthusiastically, and then went back to work. Barez had claimed in his private journal that the nahman had some kind of teleportation device, and these readings proved it. With the data he was collecting now, Maxinor was sure Georwell would have the same device shortly!

*****

As the Justice Machine was making sure the unconscious rebels were all disarmed, the wounded machine finally died with a loud hiss and then a sudden "SNAP!' Talisman jerked away from the rebel he had been rolling over just in time, as all the deactivated force fields popped suddenly back into existence.

"Damn! I thought I'd shut down their power supply. That broken machine must have been just suppressing them!" he swore.

"Might have chopped your hand off if it caught you." Diviner laughed at him. "Lucky you played fair in that Pyramid game the other night, eh, Talisman?"

He was startled, how'd she know? But then, Diviner already knew almost everything, and anything she didn't know, she could easily find out if she put her mind to it. "Why, Diviner, you wound me!" He truly looked hurt. "Now that I'm on the side of Justice, how could I do otherwise?"

"I don't need enhanced senses to know when you're feeding me a line of crap!" She stopped abruptly, then yelled.

"Challenger! There's something strange happening. We need to move, that way!" She pointed further into the mountain.

Challenger didn't waste time with questions. "Advance!" The entire Justice Machine, with Talisman easily in the lead, rushed deeper into the gigantic Control Center. Once they were moving, he asked "Details?"

"Somehow, something's arriving…” she hesitated for a beat… “Now! Turn and Fight!" she ordered. The Machine did, and in front of them 6 beings simply materialized, silently, from thin air. Titan grew instantly to his 12 foot size.

Even with all the mental preparation she had made, when Alyza finally saw the Justice Machine in person, she was stunned. Pain stabbed through her mind again, and she gasped "Giant! Conrad" as she slumped bonelessly to the floor. She was virtually physically helpless, but she had a team depending on her... With a supreme effort of concentration, she forced out a strangled command "Elevon, take over" and then she fell into a confusing, painful eruption of memories in her mind. To outside appearances, she slumped unconscious to the floor.

"Uniforce, attack! Get them!" Elevon screamed. As they saw their leader collapse, anger overwhelmed them, and Uniforce charged forward, roaring and bellowing their rage, all of Alyza's training in teamwork and tactics forgotten. Each of these beings was now more powerful than any one of them could have imagined just 10 days ago, powerful enough to smash these terrorist invaders!

A lot of things happened almost simultaneously:

* Pulse, a large nahman with orange and light brown markings, charged at the Justice Machine faster even than Demon could move, and before Challenger could give any orders or even fire his pistol, the nahman speedster was carrying him backwards towards a large control station, an small mountain of instruments, monitors and control boards erupting from the polished rock floor, surrounded by now-empty seats for nahman and human technicians - technicians who now lay unconscious on the floor. Challenger touched the switch on his belt that released an electrical charge through his costume, and bit hard on the tooth that triggered the rockets in his boots. Pulse spasmed, and Challenger blasted out of his grasp as Pulse stumbled and fell to the floor, then skidded and rolled to a stop just short of the control island. While he was still rising, Challenger thumbed controls on his pistols and then fired a barrage of pellets which splattered Pulse with quick-setting epoxy, gluing him to the floor. He landed quickly and turned back to the fight, ready to take command or assist as required.

* A tall, very well built brunette in a revealing red, yellow and pale blue costume aimed both arms at Demon. Hot red flame red burst from her left hand and a lance of ice burst from her right. She waved her arms and the dissimilar beams to her left, trying to force Demon away from his teammates. She succeeded, but not as she had expected. Demon instead leaped directly towards his opponent, passed over the paired thermo attacks while doing a flip and aiming a kick at her head. "Sorry, beautiful you've gotta be faster than that to catch Demon off-guard" he quipped.

"My name's Iceburn and I'm as fast as I have to be" she snarled, waving her right hand to create an ice shield in front of her head. Demon's kick glanced off, but he spun his body as he flew by and gracefully smashed the shield with his other foot, spraying her with shattered ice. Iceburn allowed herself to collapse to the floor and twisted as she fell, escaping most of the dangerous hail of icy slivers, then unleashed a heat blast at the floor where Demon was about to land. He wrenched his foot violently to one side and barely missed the small puddle of molten rock she'd created, landing a little off balance. He did a quick roll and half twist, and came up facing her, ready for her next attack, which was already on the way. A fireball and an iceball intersected a foot from his face and hissed into superheated steam.

"You like to play rough? I look for that in all of my playmates" he smirked, as he ducked beneath the cloud, and charged again. He expected her to dodge left and she did, right into the path of his billy club. Instead of merely stepping aside, though, she froze the floor and she slid on the slippery ice, allowing her to move much faster than he had expected. Instead of hitting her squarely, the thrown club hit her in the side and glanced off. She winced - even that glancing blow hurt!

"We _could_ have a hot time together, but I'm not into pain," she agreed, waving her arm and a cage of flames began to form around him. He raced forward before it could close, and slipped on the patch of ice she had just created while he was distracted by the flame. As he fell, she wrapped him in a straitjacket of ice. "And I've heard you're a bit of a cold fish."

* Elevon flashed towards Titan's head, an electric blue missile, hoping to catch the giant by surprise. He figured not many people could take a shot at Titan's chin, more than 10 feet off the ground. But Titan worked out regularly with Demon and Challenger, who had the acrobatic skill to launch themselves high into the air with amazing leaps and rebounds, and he shrunk under the flashing human missile. But his teammates 'flights' were always along ballistic paths and they had to come back down. Titan grew back to 12 feet and turned to face an opponent he expected to find behind him and on the ground. Instead Eleven was hovering at head level. Elevon lashed out with a powerful kick, catching Titan on the side of the jaw and spinning him part way around. He twisted with the spin, and raised an arm and managed to whack Elevon, and the flier spun away through the air. He brought himself to a halt and hung there for a second, planning his next move.

* Talisman was running, chased by a half dozen nahman who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Only one of them wore clothes or had a weapon; though he could replicate his body, Herd didn't appear to be able to replicate the things he was carrying. Talisman dodged towards a control island and one of the replicates chasing him swerved to follow, directly into the path of two of the others, and the three of them tumbled in a heap to the ground, then vanished. Talisman dodged between two seats, and turned with his back to the banks of instruments but now he was trapped, he couldn't go backwards and was now facing a dozen angry nahman.

The only way to go was up! Beings with hooves on their hind legs weren't well evolved for climbing sheer surfaces. He leaped onto a chair, turned and used a keyboard to launch himself up the tall instrument console, then started climbing the tower behind it. A few seconds later he was on the top, 9 feet up. For the moment he was safe. But it was very undignified up here, and he was getting filthy from a thick layer of accumulated dust - and he was sure he had ripped his suit on the way up.

And then it got worse. A herd makes a lot of waste product - and waste product makes good thrown ammunition - and there was no place up here to hide.

* Diviner was bombarded by a high intensity ultra-sonic attack. If she had been a normal human, she would have been knocked painfully unconscious, but her bionic sensors not only enhanced her sensory capabilities, they also protected her from sensory overload. Before Timbre could realize that his attack was totally ineffective, Diviner rushed forward and attacked. Two well placed blows and Timbre fell to the floor.

*****

"Hey, Boss! I could use some help up here!" Talisman whined from his high messy perch, as he tried mostly unsuccessfully to dodge small flying pellets.

Challenger took a look around and sized up the situation. He was tempted to leave Talisman where he was, but that probably wouldn't be an example of good leadership.

"Titan, collect Talisman!" he commanded in a voice easily heard above the battles going on around him. "Machine, form on me!" A couple of mild concussive pellets blasted Demon free, and then he switched both pistols to full automatic and laid down cover fire as Titan ran to the control island and grabbed Talisman, then he and his team retreated deeper into the vast room that housed the rebel command center. At the same time, Iceburn used her powers to free Pulse, Herd collapsed to only two replicates who scooped up Alyza, and Uniforce withdrew hastily in the opposite direction.

Chapter 17

When Uniforce stopped to regroup, Pulse bent over to check on Alyza. Without warning, the human's eyes snapped open and she instantly flashed into violent motion with a savage blow to his windpipe a blow that would have killed anyone who was even slightly slower than he was. He jerked aside and she only hit him in the chin, knocking him out.

The Herd replicate was not so fortunate, and it 'died' and disappeared instantly, and the original collapsed to the floor unconscious. (Nobody really knew yet if a Herd replicate was actually alive. They disappeared instantly if 'killed' and the Herd original could always make more, but the shock always knocked him and any other replicates unconscious). Iceburn witnessed the devastating surprise attack, and she screamed frantically to alert her teammates.

"Alyza's gone mad! Look out!"

Elevon launched himself instantly towards the far distant ceiling. Iceburn blasted a cold beam at her crazed team leader, hoping to immobilize her as she had Demon, but Alyza dodged easily. Without thinking, Iceburn loosed a fireball at her fast moving comrade. Alyza laughed viciously as she dove and rolled under the blazing missile, which struck Timbre on the flank. As she came out of her roll, Alyza pulled two small items from her war bag and stuffed them in her ears. Timber let out a bellow of pain, amplified by his sonic powers, which knocked the startled Iceburn off her feet and sent Pulse and Herd sliding across the floor.

Elevon was almost stunned and fell halfway to the floor before he recovered. He turned the fall into an accelerated dive and sweeping turn, leveling off about 4 feet off the floor and still accelerating, directly at Alyza, from behind. He was moving faster than he had ever moved before. Without even looking at him, Alyza jumped into the air just in time for Elevon to zoom beneath her. She arched her back forwards and grabbed both his shoulders, grunting as she was suddenly accelerated by his motion. She twisted his shoulders, and his flight path twisted, until he was aimed directly at Timbre. They were moving faster than Elevon could react!

Timbre saw them coming and changed his sonic range to ultrasonic, a cry designed to knock any human unconscious. Protected for an instant by her earplugs, Alyza again twisted Elevon's shoulders just enough so he would miss Timbre, then touched a nerve in his neck that rendered him unconscious, and leaped from his back towards Timbre. Elevon did an unconscious belly flop to the floor and rolled and tumbled to a stop. Before she could fly by, Alyza reached out and grabbed Timbre around the torso, which whipped her around and she landed on his back. With her other hand, she twisted his head in Iceburn's direction. and before either of her still-conscious teammates could react, Timbre's ultrasonic cry stunned Iceburn. A quick knife-hand blow to the neck knocked out the nahman.

*****

"Challenger, something's going on back there the rebels are fighting each other!" Challenger halted the group and they turned towards their opponents.

"It's a good time for us to attack, then. Maneuver F-14!" an attack from two sides. Challenger, Talisman and Diviner went left, Demon and Titan went right. Demon moved quickly so that Titan was behind him and between him and the rest of the team. His hand flashed by his face as if he were wiping sweat from his chin. He slowed and waited for Titan, and they silently approached the battle in front of them. Alyza had just finished stunning Timbre; her back was turned to them, and she hadn't noticed their approach so he threw his club with all his enhanced speed and strength, then leaped forward to attack.

Alyza leaped from Timbre's back, rolled, and snatched Demon's Billy club out of the air, whirled around and released it and an instant later it slammed into Titan's chin. The giant fell like a tree, and the solid rock floor shuddered as he landed.

"Not so much like Giant after all, then" she said mournfully. "Too noisy, a tad too slow, and a glass jaw."

"Not too bad" Demon said admiringly. "But Titan's only good I'm the best."

He rushed her, and feinted left, deliberately leaving himself open for a kick to the head. If she attacked, he was ready to block her kick upwards and step in behind the block to deliver deadly body blows, ending the fight instantly.

She responded with just the attack he had anticipated, a spin kick to the head, and yet even though he expected it and was already moving into the block, even though he was riding an edge, he was too slow and too weak, and her kick smashed into the side of his jaw, spinning him around and dropping him instantly.

"The best target?" she snorted sarcastically. "I invented that move, boy, back before your grandparents were born."

She spun to face the remaining members of the Justice Machine Challenger with both pistols drawn, Diviner standing defiantly next to him, and Talisman behind.

"Conrad! You stole my name and even my costume?" she snarled as she threw a double handful of small sharp things at her three opponents. The costumes did look alike they were both dressed in skintight brown bodysuits covered with looser light brown short-sleeved tunics, leather boots with turned down-cuffs on the top, and goggles, with bandoliers crossing their chests, and though Jaiime was several inches taller, they probably weighed about the same.

He fired his pistols; a spray of something filled the air, solidified almost instantly and stopped the deadly hail.

"Challenger?!?!? You died in the explosion!" he said, shaken. Diviner could sense that his heart was racing and his body temperature and blood pressure were extremely elevated. Alyza pulled something from her war bag and lobbed it over Jaime's head. It landed in Talisman's hands.

Talisman turned away from his teammates and then tried to throw the thing away. It stuck to his hands, and he barely had time to mutter "oh, crap!" before it released a non-lethal electric charge, knocking yet one more hero unconscious.

"Jaiime, there's something wrong with her!" Diviner noted urgently to her leader. "Whatever it is, it's acting like a massive Edge overdose!" He started moving to attack. "You're not all that well either, you need to calm down!"

Instead of acknowledging her concern, he gave orders. "See if you can help some of the others." If Challenger was being driven by something like an Edge high, he should be able to deal with her easily when she finally came down - if he managed to survive that long. He hadn't missed the fact that she'd taken out 8 super-beings, most of her team and most of his own, in less than 2 minutes. He had also noted that all of them still lived, though she could have killed several of them as easily as she'd disabled them.

And then he leaped, high and to the side, to escape a thrown kama, rolled and came up firing. Alyza (now revealed as Ylvy, the first Challenger) was an impossible target, but at least Jaiime was able to keep her from closing. Then she darted between him and Diviner, who was dragging Talisman away from the fight, and Jaiime had to stop shooting.

"The nahman pulled me out," she cackled "The real nahman, not the robots. Just in time to spend the next year in the hospital, not knowing who I was." She stopped moving abruptly and threw another handful of small sharp things, followed by two sticks with bladed ends, sort of like hand-thrown arrows. The blades had molecular edges, and they slashed into Jaiime's pistols as if they were soft wood rather than incredibly tough alloy. "You're too good with those pistols - better than you were back then!"

If shorted, the high power circuits inside the pistols could easily set off the many different types of ammunition carried in the guns, so Jaiime instantly threw both guns as far as he could, and just in time one of them exploded, forcing both Challengers to dive to the floor, and the other started spitting sparks and smoke as it skittered away.

"I was too slow, back then," he agreed with her as he rolled, meanwhile pulling a flexible tube from a pocket stitched into his bandolier. In Earth terms, it looked like a bicycle tire inner tube, flattened and folded. He touched a switch, and the tube expanded into a force-field reinforced quarterstaff.

"I've spent the rest of my life making sure I'd never let my teammates down again." He flicked the staff left, and right, knocking two flashing knives from the air, then quickly advanced before she could throw anything else, swinging the staff in both hands in vicious cuts in front of himself. She ducked and rolled backwards, and when she came up she was holding a similar staff.

"You've even stolen my weapons!" hatred blazed in her eyes as she attacked. She jabbed at his left shoulder, right knee, left knee. He barely blocked each of the jabs she was faster but his blocking movements were shorter than her attacks. She used the rebound from his last block to drive a complete spin clockwise, letting the staff slide through her hands until she grabbed it tightly just short of the end, completing her spin by slashing at his knees from behind. He leaped into the air and as her staff slashed under him, he spun his staff backwards, and it slapped her weapon, driving it even faster in the way it was already moving, throwing her momentarily off balance. Not long enough for him to launch his own attack, but just long enough to land safely and prepare for her next attack.

A sweeping two handed overhead strike, straight down at the top of his head. He moved slightly aside, and her staff struck the floor, and rebounded, as she had expected. She used the momentum of the staff to move into a new, more complex mode of attack, spinning the staff in front of her like a propeller, her hands flashing through a complex series of motions, her arms twisting, too fast to follow even though he knew exactly what she was doing. The air actually hummed, her staff was moving so quickly. But he wouldn't fall into the trap of fighting that buzz saw.

"Made some improvements of my own. You'll like this one!" and he pressed another switch. The force field on one end of his staff contracted into a molecular-edged blade, which sliced her whirling propeller of death into useless shreds.

"Edge let me down, like you warned me." He stabbed with his new spear, sliced as she moved aside. The blade caught her across the chest, slicing her tunic and bandoliers. Her costume, made of sturdier stuff, turned the blade. "I thought the explosion caught you! I took your code name to honor you!"

She brought her left elbow down hard on the spear shaft, and the blade sliced into the floor, pulling Jaiime forward and off balance again. Her right fist slammed into the side of his jaw at close range.

"Glad you ditched the Edge you should have listened to me in the first place!" She brought a knee up towards his groin. He twisted and caught it on the outside of the hip. "But you stayed with the Justice Machine - with that slime bucket Light-Wave." She used the momentum of her kick to step by him, grabbing his bandolier from behind and pulling hard as she spun. He was whipped halfway through a circle and the bandolier tore lose, and he stumbled, fell and rolled, twisting as he came to his feet. "And now you're the scummy leader."

"Hey Boss, nice moves!" Demon called weakly, from where he lay sprawled on the floor. "I think she's slowing down!"

"Shut up, Demon!" he commanded. He thought so too.

"Is he the best the Machine has to offer these days?" she snarled. He could hear her panting; whatever had driven her was starting to let her down. Of course, he was pretty much on his last legs now, too. "Reminds me of you, back then, nothing to back up the attitude. So, did you ever nail…" Jaiime snapped a scissors kick at her head, interrupting her; she ducked, and he spun in and landed a two-fisted blow to her side. She rolled away, not quickly enough.

"Bastard - even stole… my moves," she panted. She recovered, but was staggering. Whatever had driven her to the astounding superhuman heights was wearing off.

"I wanted to be the best -so I learned from the best." He sprang forward, feinted, and as she barely dodged, he swung around behind her. "Got that one from Feral, but he woulda ripped out your throat." A quick punch to a nerve center, and she collapsed unconscious. "That last one's… pretty much my... own" he finished, as he collapsed on top of her.

*****

Diviner found enough interesting accessories in Ylvy's war bag to bind the various members of Uniforce, though she wasn't really sure that binding them would hold them after they awakened. She was tending to Jaiime, who hadn't quite passed out from exhaustion after his fight, when Prosecutor Zarren contacted them via communicator with news about the war.

"Challenger, the Justice Machine must withdraw immediately! Maxinor has achieved the minimum mission objective, and I see no further reason to waste Imperium forces under Commander Drang's incompetent leadership. All Imperial personnel and sympathizers will be evacuated from the planet's surface in two hours, and then we will destroy the planet."

"Sir, we've captured the rebel leader; we should be able to negotiate their surrender." Diviner replied.

"Negative, Diviner. The rebels have slaughtered thousands of Georwellian Troops, and they will be punished. The Justice Machine will be on the recall shuttles, and there will be no negotiations. Zarren out!"

"And you still work for that side, Conrad?" Ylvy asked weakly from where she lay on the floor.

"Section 5 of the Emergency Actions Orders allows me, as the leader of the Justice Machine, to override Zarren and negotiate the terms of your surrender," he replied hotly.

"The Nahman Alliance warned me this would happen" she said sadly. "That if you couldn't instantly crush the rebellion, that you'd blow up the planet as a 'lesson' to other potential rebels. But I insisted that we could win." She shook her head. "My fault, you'd think at my age I'd know better…" There was silence for several seconds, then she continued, her voice shaking.

"Don't worry, Conrad - nobody is blowing up Kurnnegut today. Fortunately for you, nahman think differently than humans! The Nahman Alliance doesn't want war with Georwell. They…" she paused, and when she continued her voice was much stronger "No, 'We'… we warned you once before, but you ignored us. Leave Kurnnegut alone."

He opened his mouth to respond defiantly, but she wasn't finished.

"What you, and every Georwellian troop, official and sympathizer on Kurnnegut, are about to experience is the nahman 'miracle machine'. This miracle will require a tremendous amount of power, which we will generate by blowing up a star. Not Georwell's star, not this time. But what about next time?"

With that, the universe changed around him. Without any warning or sense of transition, he and the Justice Machine were somewhere else: outdoors, under blue sky and a pale yellow sun, on a vast plain, surrounded by thousands of bodies.

"Unconscious, they are. Dead, as easily they could be!" they heard a voice, but saw not the speaker. "Kurnnegut alone, you will leave. Last warning, this is!" And then, for a short time, there was silence.

Epilogue 1: Alyza and Uniforce

Like many victims of amnesia, once she had established a new life for herself, Alyza had developed mixed emotions about recovering her lost memories. Years of painstaking research had proved to her satisfaction that she hadn't grown up on Kurnnegut, so she must have come with the invaders from Georwell. What if she found out she'd been an awful, evil person who had committed horrible unspeakable acts in her earlier life? As the years went by and her body stubbornly refused to get any older, her anxiety increased. She was clearly different than the people around her; maybe she had escaped from a Research Central experimental program. She liked herself and the life she had built here, and anything she learned about her past life might mess her up.

The blow to her head had released certain memories and learned skills that would be useful to her during the war. But some hidden part of her mind had carefully controlled the memories she had access to, and kept away any memories that would have revealed her earlier identity to her. The flashes of pain she had felt when she had been forced to think about the Justice Machine over the past week had been warnings from that same mysterious mental monitor, which knew that actual contact with the Justice Machine would shatter all the barriers in her mind. But she couldn't escape the path Fate had selected for her. She was the only hope the rebels had against the Justice Machine, and she couldn't abandon her people, regardless of the potential mental consequences.

And there had been consequences, as was shown in the last chapter. But she had survived, and now she was recovering.

Alyza lay in a hospital bed, experiencing anew as well as recalling of old, just how much a berserkergangr trance took out of her. The gangr, as Diviner had noted, did indeed have effects similar to Edge: for a short period of time, a human warrior became much more than human, incredibly aggressive, far stronger and faster, virtually immune to pain, though not to injury. The negative affects were also similar, though more pronounced: impaired judgment (in the case of the gangr, usually including the inability to distinguish friend from foe) and debilitating weakness afterwards.

Though it was her gift in life, it was not a gift she was totally pleased to accept! The gangr had probably been the single greatest force that had shaped her life. When she had been much younger ('several centuries younger!' the Alyza part of her mind kept thinking in disbelief) she had enjoyed her reputation as a ferocious invincible warrior. It hadn't been very long, though, before the glamour wore off ('many years is not very long?' Alyza mentally shuddered at how long it had taken; 'Fleeting instants. You're just a baby,' Ylvy laughed back).

She'd talked with others who had the same gift (though many called it an affliction!), wise men, wizards and warriors, and she became convinced that the rigid mental disciplines of the martial arts were the solution. Her long life had allowed her to search out many widely varied forms of martial arts, and she had been first a student, and then a master, at each. When her planet was absorbed into the Georwellian Imperium, she continued her obsessive studies on many more planets.

And her centuries of intensive study had paid off. She would never totally master the gangr, but she became able to operate in society without being a danger to her own friends and allies. She now realized that she had just gone almost 50 years without a fugue, and even during the latest, she'd retained enough control to remain true to her ancient self-imposed prime directive: never take life needlessly.

Ylvy was talking to her new team as they visited her in her hospital room. "When I saw Conrad and Titan, something broke, and I was enveloped in a storm of chaos. It was kind of like standing naked in the worst sandstorm of all time. My mind was being sandblasted, and I was in agony as pieces of myself were flayed away and there was no way I could stop it!" She paused for a moment to try to regain her composure. "The pain of that mental flaying was more intense than anything I have ever experienced, except for the hopeless, helpless anger I felt as the essence of 'me' was stolen from me, and there was nothing I could do to hold myself together. I guess I sort of went berserk for a while. I'm sorry."

"You sure did! It's a good thing you weren't trying to kill us all. We didn't have a chance!" Iceburn said admiringly. Alyza suspected that the young heroine had developed a case of hero worship towards her. Coming on top of the berserkergangr, it made her a little uncomfortable. Sort of reminded her of Conrad's attitude when they'd first met, now that she thought about it though he'd hidden it well under his arrogance.

"Surprise you had, advantage it gave you. Never expected to be attacked by our leader, did I." Pulse rumbled. "Try it again, different it would be!" He was very proud of his speed, and his being caught off guard by two different Challengers was still bugging him.

"Sure, Pulse you keep believing that!" Elevon laughed at his nahman teammate. "What do we call you now?" he asked his leader.

"I haven't quite sorted that out yet." She replied, thoughtfully, almost mournfully. "I was Ylvy for a long time, but Alyza for the last almost 30 years. For now, let's go with Alyza… or Challenger!" That last was in a much stronger tone. That code name meant a lot to her.

"What do we do next?" Iceburn's gesture included the whole team. "Without the menace of Georwell, is Uniforce still needed?"

"Alone they will leave us, you think?" Herd snorted. "Drive off predators for a while and be satisfied, might those who guard the herd. Know well that predators always return, and never be satisfied, are those who GUIDE the herd. As well, though most dangerous, not the only nearby predator is Georwell."

"More to learn, more to do, more to give have we," Timbre agreed. "Together to guard our herd, we stay!"

"I find my life has cycles" Alyza said. "I started my life as a warrior, followed by years as a leader, followed again by years as a warrior. Recently I led the people of Kurnnegut, and now the cycle has swung to my being a warrior again. I sense that the people of Georwell will need warriors again soon against their leaders. They will need me again, and I wish to be prepared. Meanwhile, my friends, I would like to stay with you."

That suited her teammates just fine.

Epilogue 2: Duty Ever Calls!

"We're on Georwell and those bodies are all unconscious Terror Troopers," Diviner reported after she'd gotten over her disorientation at being instantly transported across light years. "Whatever brought them here didn't bring their armor, though." Hearing they were on Georwell, Challenger touched a button on his belt.

"Triune, don't they ever bathe?" Talisman was disgusted. "I haven't smelled anything this bad since that time Demon…"

"Shut up, Talisman, or you'll be smelling your large intestine from the inside!" Demon snarled. Further conversation was interrupted by a popping noise, and Maxinor, Zarren, Deathwish Drang, Commander of the Terror Troopers, and Captain Mij Krik, Captain of the Vigilant, appeared out of thin air. Krik was babbling…

"Destroyed… the finest ship in the Fleet, gone,,,"

"She was a garbage scow, Krik,, and you know it," Drang snarled at him. "The real loss is my team's combat armor!" Krik scowled and leaped, and the two men fell to the ground, fighting each other ineffectually.

"Demon, do something about that," Zarren commanded, distaste for such common behavior dripping from his voice. The red-and-blue clad hero touched each of the brawlers on the neck, and they fell as silent as the unconscious Terror Troopers lying around them.

"It smells as bad as that time Demon got sprayed by a Kryptunian Super Stink Beast," Zarren almost choked. Talisman smiled but wisely shut up. "Challenger, get us some transportation out of here, now!"

They were buffeted by a sudden wind, and almost magically a streamlined hypersonic flier appeared in front of them, followed several second later by a sonic boom.

"Challenger to Citadel of Justice: the flier has arrived. Good work." Challenger said into his communicator, seemingly ignoring Zarren. The door slid open and the group entered hastily. Titan stopped to pick up Drang and Krik.

"Leave them!" Zarren snapped. "Maybe their men will kill them and save me the expense of their courts-martial."

An invasion force commander whose Troops lost the war and their armor, and a Ship's Captain who lost his ship would certainly make perfect fall guys for Zarren, Challenger estimated. Still, it was hard to feel sympathy for them, particularly Drang. The Naval personnel on board Krik's ship, the Vigilant, had been barely competent, and Drang had sneeringly ignored Challenger's own assessment of the rebels' improved capabilities. Of course, Zarren had listened to Drang, but his excuse would be that Drang was the 'expert' and the expert had failed miserably.

A few days later, Zarren was briefing the Justice Machine on their next mission.

"We've been losing people at Eagle Base on Zamyatin. For some reason, they just walk off the base."

"Why get the Justice Machine involved?" Talisman wanted to know. "Can't they just lock the gate?"

"Shut up, Talisman!" Zarren and Challenger snarled together.

Zarren continued "Zamyatin is a gas giant planet, average temperature 200 below zero, surface gravity 3Gs, ammonia and methane atmosphere, where the winds are Class 5 Hurricane level on a calm day. Eagle Base is in a dome. Soldiers are walking out the airlock and taking off their environment suits and we want to know why. You're going to find out."

"They're probably looking for some excitement after living in a box for months! Why do we even have a base somewhere nobody's ever heard of, anyway?"

"Shut up, Demon!" Zarren snapped. "Keep these two under control, Challenger, or I'll do it for you!"

"Information about Zamyatin is classified, so you've never heard of it before," Jaiime spoke up. "We maintain energy weapons on gas giants in strategic systems. These secret installations have the power to take out an enemy fleet in a single blast from light-years away. No invaders would ever have a chance to reach Georwell."

"The spinners think it's only a morale issue, so I'm sending the Imperium's most famous heroes..." he stopped and sniffed contemptuously "...the Justice Machine, to show them how important their service is to the Imperium. I trust you won't encounter any thing you can't handle - on an uninhabited planet!" His voice dripped with sarcasm. He waited a few seconds.

"You board the Council Ship Indefeasible in 2 hours."

"$#!*, don't we ever get a vacation?" Talisman groaned.

"Shut up, Talisman! You are soldiers, and this is an order. You have one hour to pack and report to the shuttle. Dismissed"

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The Justice Machine: Challenges

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