Questions & Answers

By

Scott Harders

Prologue

Tir Na Nog; Dublin Safe House, 21:30 243-2048

It was a quiet night. The safe house was a two story job, nestled in with a row of other houses of similar construction and design. A design that was simple, and screamed normal to anyone who looked at it. Hence the reason it was a safe house. No one would have suspected it, except the Sader-Krupp extraction team that was closing silently on it.

"This is Razor Ten. In position. Count three targets in the living room, one in the entry way."

Inside sat the quarry, code named Mr. H. A human male, six foot two, blue eyes, brown hair. He was a victim of an accident involving cryogenic sleep experiments. As the owner of the company making the product, he decided to try it out. Little did he know, after he went under, an earthquake leveled the research facility and completely blocked off the entrance to the underground lab with over one hundred feet of concrete and earth. The company feared their CEO dead, but continued on. Mr. H was awakened by a construction crew that was building a subway line. His pod found; and still powered by a bank of batteries that would have provided power for a few more years at least, he was revived by medical personnel at a near-by hospital. During that time, they noticed him cast healing spells on himself and a few other patients. This caused quite a stir. It’s not everyday a someone sleeps through the awakening, comes to and automatically casts spells. He instantly became a hot commodity and everybody wanted him for study. Tir Na Nog grabbed him first.

"Roger that Razor Ten, moving in."

Mr. H was sitting in one of the bedrooms on the second floor. One guard was with him at all times since he had already tried to escape once, and almost succeeded. Mr. H lay there in the bed, reading the various digital books his captors had been kind enough to get for him. He had over a half-century to catch up on, and things had changed so much since he was last awake.

"Razor Ten? This is Razor One. Take out the three in the living room as soon as we hit the foyer."

Magic was the biggest change. He had practiced it before the turn of the century, and he heard the rumors and read the articles about the Mayan calendar predicting magic as a sine wave. He never expected to have the power that was now available at his fingertips. The speed at which he could make something happen was light years ahead of what he had done before the awakening.

"Roger that Razor One. Lining ‘em up."

He sat there, going through a history book, when there was a loud POP, from downstairs followed by breaking glass. "Is that a firecracker," Mr. H thought as he lay there. The guard perked up from the datafax he was reading at the desk. He drew his AET NN11 from the shoulder rig and looked Mr. H’s direction.

"Stay put," he said gruffly as he went to the door and opened it.

The guard opened the door just in time to hear gunfire from downstairs. Something was definitely up and the safe house was no longer quite so safe. Just as he turned to get Mr. H, his gun-hand was twisted in a direction that it was not meant to go in. Mr. H pressed the guard to the floor with the wrist lock and the guard screamed and dropped his gun. Mr. H picked up the gun and pistol whipped the guard into unconsciousness.

"Razor ten? Razor One. First floor clear. Moving upstairs."

Mr. H searched the guard for any money and identification and moved into the hallway, pistol in hand as he scanned for possible targets. As he began moving down the stairs, the strike team began moving up. Razor One and Mr. H both screamed ‘FREEZE’ at the same time as they pointed their weapons, putting themselves into a standoff. Razor One made the first move by slowly putting his SMG to the side.

"Sir. Were here to get you out."

Mr. H was skeptical. "Who are you?"

"Razor Team 2. We work for a corporation who is doing a service for your corporation. We’re here to take you home"

Mr. H put the pistol into his belt. "Then lets get the hell outta here."

"Razor Ten? Razor One. Package secure. Moving out."

Book One

Tir Tairngire; Royal Hill, 9:40 003-2060

The aide moved across the grounds towards the prince's private audience chamber. A light fog still hung in the early morning air, caressing the ground softly. The chamber, a beautiful marble rotunda, sat in the middle of a well kept lawn of emerald green grass. Sandril's foot steps rapped softly on the stone walkway as he approached the doors that barred entrance to the chamber. The doors were made of two slabs of solid granite, with intricate patterns on them. Two paladins stood guard outside the door. At his approach they came to attention and opened the doors. Sandril walked into the breathtaking chamber. The room was floored with smooth black marble, laced with slight veins of gold and had golden pillars near the walls. In the middle of the room, on a dais of marble, sat the High Prince. His chair was elaborate, with a personal computer built into it.

Upon hearing someone enter, the High Prince looked up. "Yes Sandril? What brings you here this early?"

Sandril bowed and said, "My lord. The investigation you ordered on the Elf known as Reaver has garnered enough information for a preliminary report."

The prince thought for a moment, then pressed a button on his console and said, "Proceed."

The prince gestured for Sandril to sit at a data console that was rising up from the smooth stone floor. Sandril sat down at the console, activated it, and then logged into the database.

Once the information was on the screen, Sandril began his briefing. "The subject, Marhault Elsdragon, also known as Reaver. History on this subject is relatively sparse. We have not been able to find any reliable information about him before his appearance in Tarislar. We have speculations though. Mr. Elsdragon's appearance was not too long after the death of the runner known as Paladin." Sandril stopped to let the sentence sink in. He knew all to well that the runner known as Paladin was the one responsible for the death of Melkin Greenbough, a paladin that the prince loved like a son.

The prince looked on with his data display, "Paladin again," he said, his voice sounding like a man who has been constantly haunted by a ghost. "Continue," he said after a pause.

Sandril looked back at his screen. "His actions and motivations are similar to that of Paladin. Our only problem has been with his aura."

"How so," the Prince asked.

"We have had various operatives has kept close tabs on him as much as possible. His aura originally showed essence loss from cyberware. About two years later, his essence showed no loss at all. A few months ago, a new operative who was in the area reports that his aura does show essence loss. Granted, the Taigan Rangers use a lot of static to provide additional security in astral space, but both operatives are initiate mages and adept at seeing through masking and the like."

He stopped and looked up at the prince for possible questions. The prince looked perplexed. He knew his paladins well, and he would be hard pressed to question their judgment and abilities. "Any speculations?"

"None my lord." Sandril replied. "We still are investigating that, along with his past as we speak, but some additional manpower would be appreciated in expediting this issue. Also my lord, it should be noted that we have reason to believe that the Rangers are using blood magic rituals to create their technomagic wonders."

The prince looked slightly shocked. "How did they discover the rites," he asked.

"All we know is that Reaver taught them. Where he found the information is unknown."

The prince sat back and let out a deep breath, then spoke again. "Fine Sandril, I will see to it you get the manpower you need. Use our best operatives. If the Rangers are using blood magic, this makes the situation that much worse. I need to know who this person is and what his true motives are."

Sandril made a quick nod, "Yes my lord, will there be anything else?"

The prince sat in contemplation, then said, "No, that is all for now. A test of Mr. Marhaults abilities, and that of his Rangers may be in order though. Make sure our best operatives are informed to try to gather more information."

Sandril stood up and bowed. "Yes my lord." Sandril turned and walked out of the chamber.

Unknown; Unknown, 14:11 007-2060

Sayla and Owen were relaxing on the couch of Owens simple apartment. Sayla was curled up in Owen’s arms and they kissed lightly as they snuggled together. Sayla had just settled her head onto his chest when both of their phones rang simultaneously. They both gave out a disgusted sigh and untangled from each other and went to answer them. Sayla reached hers first.

"Hello," She said, with a slight tone of annoyance.

"Sayla," Galron said with enthusiasm, "We have yet another mission. Plane leaves in nintey-three minutes. We will meet you at the airport, terminal C."

"Alright. Heading out the door now. See you in about forty-five minutes." Sayla hung up the phone and began packing the things she needed.

As Sayla packed, Owen was talking to Felix. "Felix. You know I don’t want to work for anyone?"

"I know," Felix said with exasperation, "But this is important. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t. I already know your stance on working for anyone, but I do keep you in mind for delicate and special emergencies. This definitely qualifies. Will you please do it?"

Owen sighed. Felix didn’t say please often. He had to admit, this was a situation that did need someone of Owens particular talents if the mission was to go off with minimal casualties. "Alright Felix. I’ll do it. I need everything you have on the place and any other information of importance before I leave."

"You’ll have it. Thanks Owen," Felix said with a smile and then hung up.

Owen felt Sayla coming out of the bedroom and turned around. She had a suitcase and carry-on bag and did not look happy. He smiled. "Well, it looks like we both have work to do."

Sayla looked at him confused. "How do you mean?"

"Felix has a very delicate assignment that needs my particular abilities."

Sayla smiled. "So do I," She said with a mischievous smile, "But country calls and I have to go. Hopefully I won’t be gone long."

Owen walked up and held her tight as he looked into her eyes. "Just take care of yourself. I love you."

Sayla melted into his arms. "You say things like that and make me not want to leave. You are so cruel."

Owen laughed. "I need to go as well, so it would be useless trying to convince you to stay."

Sayla smiled. "I’d better be going. Galron and Barnaby are waiting for me. You had better be careful as well."

Owen smiled and kissed her lightly. "I will."

Sayla smiled and sighed, then slowly walked out the door, leaving Owen alone in the apartment. He watched as the door closed then turned to gather his equipment and clothing for his flight.

Unknown Airport; Terminal C, 007-2060

Galron and Barnaby waited patiently at the terminal. They both took in everything about the terminal with a patient calm. Most of the passengers were families on their way home from the holiday. It was the kids playing throughout the terminal; keeping their parents busy trying to catch them, that made the most noise and commotion. Galron saw Sayla through the crowd of people and nudged Barnaby. They both got up and met her.

"Nice to see you could make it," Galron said with a slight tone of sarcasm. "I hope we didn’t pull you away from anything important?" Barnaby snickered.

Sayla looked at them both darkly. "Yes you did, and if you continue to poke fun at my relationship with Owen, I’ll hellblast the both of you."

Galron put up his hands. "No reason to get hostile. Here is your ticket," he said and handed her a ticket. "We will be taking a conventional flight since some of us are magically sensitive."

Sayla smiled, picked up her bags and followed them onto the plane. Their destination: Seattle.

At a different terminal, Owen was boarding a semi-ballistic. Little did he know that just a few terminals away; through the throng of busy travelers, was Sayla. His destination: Seattle.

Seattle; Sea-Tac Mall, 12:30 009-2060

Sayla had been in town for almost two days. Their orders were to gather information on a subject known as ‘Reaver’ who ran a district in Puyallup called Tarislar. Her team had already done some preliminary scouting and information gathering to see just how tight security might be. The gang that helped Reaver run the place; the Taigan Rangers, were very active within the district but did not keep overly tight security. Galron found out from the matrix that the nightclub Reaver owned was having a grand re-opening. They decided that would be the best time to get a look at Reaver and maybe find out more about him. Not to mention getting a better look at the club and the places around it without looking suspicious.

Sayla decided she needed a much better dress for the occasion and left the embassy for the mall. She decided to ignore the glib remarks from Galron and Barnaby about using the function as an excuse to shop. It was actually nice to get out and have some free time to herself. She went from store to store. Looking for the perfect dress. She was admiring one in the window of a store and walking away in the process when she ran into someone. Completely embarrassed, she looked at the person to apologize.

"I’m terribly sorry. I should….," her voice trailed off as she looked at the person. She stared at Owen who was staring back at her. He was obviously in shock as well. Finally they came to and hugged each other.

"What are you doing here," She asked excitedly.

"I’m working. Remember? I assume you ended up here on your assignment as well?"

"Yes. Are you working right now?"

Owen smiled. "No. I just needed to do some shopping. You?"

"Just needed to do shopping as well. Could we shop together then," Sayla asked with a bright smile.

"I’d love to," Owen said with a smile and offered her his arm.

Sayla gladly took his arm and they walked off into the multitude of people milling about. They shopped and ate lunch. They both gave each other a local number they could be reached at and enjoyed the little time that they had before departing to take care of their various duties.

Seattle; Tir Tairngire Embassy, 17:00 009-2060

Sayla walked into the meeting room to discuss the plan for the nights operation. She was already wearing the dress she found at the Sea-Tac mall while she was with Owen. It was a pearl white silk with just a hint of blue to it. It was low cut in front to show off her cleavage quite nicely. Sayla was still giddy over the reaction Owen got when he saw her try it on in the store. Needless to say, when she walked in, she still had quite a smile on her face. Galron and Barnaby were already there waiting for her. They wore simple black suits from Armante. Both of them looked at her when she came in, and she could swear even Galron was taken aback for a second.

"Well," Galron said, "I was hoping to remain inconspicuous, but I see all eyes will be locked on you. Perhaps you should go in ahead of us."

Sayla looked at him with a curt smile. "Funny. Owen loved the dress when I tried it on at the store."

Galron looked confused. "Owen is here?"

"Yes. Seems he has a job to do here as well. Bumped into him at the mall….. litterally. By the way. If anything goes badly, here’s his local number." Sayla was smiling from ear to ear as she handed them a card with the LTG number on it..

They took the number and entered it into their wrist phones, then Barnaby rolled his eyes and smiled. "Galron. We’ll never get anything done with her swooning all over the place. Not only that, she’ll probably be talking to him all night on the phone like some love struck tenn-ager."

Sayla looked at him darkly. "You’re just jealous because Owen found a real woman that was right under your nose."

Barnaby clutched at his chest like he had just been mortally wounded. The whole group laughed and began discussing their plans for what they would do when the got to the Underdark.

Tarislar; The Underdark, 22:03 009-2060

Talon stood guard near the gate that let people into the dance club. Talon was taller than most of the people who came into the club, but not overly so. Talon was tall to a human, but small for a minotaur. Standing just a tad over seven feet, he could still see over most of the crowd, giving him a good view of possible trouble. Trouble was the reason he was there. He loved being the bouncer for the Underdark; and more importantly, loved working for Marhault. Talon had never met anyone who cared more for others. And Marhault wasn't like those liberal rights activists. He worked hard to make the people of Tarislar work hard for themselves. He got money into the community and got the people to start their own businesses. He also got better medical care into the area. A fact that saved the life of Talon's baby sister when she was shot in an Ancient’s drive by.

The club was busy tonight. The Underdark's rennovation was finally complete and tonight was the grand re-opening. The club had been expanded, with a second level built over the first, as well as adding on to the back of the building. All of the Rangers; who were magically active, helped to quicken spells for various functions around the club, like floating low light globes and levitating discs to allow access to upper balconies. The whole atmosphere was created to look like the inside of a cave. Tables, platforms and balconies were all sculpted to look like real stone. The only light was from low light globes on every table, a few mounted into stalactites and a few globes that have been set to float about the club. A waterfall fed a pool of water that ran into streams that flowed across the club floor. The people of Tarislar worked hard to make the new changes happen. Some of the residents of Tarislar, being shadow runners, even donated part of their takes on runs to also help.

Well, Talon was nicely dressed for the occasion. He got a hold of an Armante Tux that was actually made for his size. His white mohawk was slicked down, so as not to be quite so noticeable. He scrubbed his evenly grown horns so that they didn’t have that grime covered bone appearance. He looked good. His Whitelaw electric glasses had been fitted for low light vision, allowing him to see in the dimly lit environment. He was scanning the club, looking for trouble when this hot blonde elf walked past. She was quite the specimen and as he watched her mingle he saw two men walk in as well. That’s when something didn’t feel right. In keeping an eye on them, he noticed that they seemed to be operating as a team. They always stayed within sight of each other while mingling with the crowd. They were very good he thought. He changed his perception to look upon the astral. The males were mundane, and very cybered. The female was active. She was masking, but he barely saw past it. She was also astrally perceiving now and then. He kept on eye on them as much as possible until Spector showed up.

"Hey buddy," the Dwarf said as he smacked Talons leg lightly.

"Hey gnome," he said as he continued to watch the three..... well, ok, mostly the female elf. Spector noticed that his friend was obviously preoccupied with something else, and started jumping up and down trying to see over the crowd. Talon put his hand on Spector's shoulder to hold him down.

"Chill chummer. I've got three people who are acting suspicious."

Spector perked up and got serious. "How so," he asked.

"I've got three people who seem to be acting like a team. My instincts kicked in and I get the feeling something is up."

Spector thought for a moment, then said, "Have they done anything wrong?"

Talon kept scanning the floor as he talked. "No, but it looks like they are definitely keeping an eye on the boss man."

"Aww drek! That’s not good," Spector said, "You want me to get on top of them?"

Talon looked down at him, "No, bad idea. If they are hostile, you might spook them. Get to the boss and let him know…. calmly."

Spector smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up, "Calm is my middle name." With that the Dwarf waded into the crowd.

Reaver and Andromache moved through the crowd, mingling with the various clientele that showed up for the event. Andromache was wearing a long evening dress, low cut in front and backless. The fabric of the dress was woven with ruthenium polymer, allowing the dress to be programmed to look like a black star field. As she moved, the star field moved as well. Reaver, on the other hand, was wearing a pair of black silk pants with a flowing white silk shirt. A black cloak with gold trim flowed behind him, while an elegant katana hung off his left hip. Andromache kept a hand curled around his left arm as they walked. Reaver was about ready to sweep her into an embrace when Spector came up and interrupted. "

Well, one things for sure, his timing still stinks," Reaver thought before talking to Spector. "What do you need my friend?"

Spector looked up at him, "Talon say’s there’s a problem with the hot wings and needs you to see him," and winked as he said it.

Reaver thought for a minute, realizing there was something wrong and played up the part. "Damnit, what now?" Reaver took Andromache in hand and moved through the crowd towards Talon.

Talon watched carefully, ready to go for his gun at a moments notice. He saw Reaver talk to Spector then begin moving his direction. The three kept watching the boss, but didn’t do anything hostile. As Reaver came closer, Talon put on a concerned face.

"What’s wrong Talon? Spector just gave me a bogus story about something being wrong with the hot wings."

Talon chuckled. "Leave it to the Dwarf to think of food for a distraction." He regained his composure and replied. "Well boss, just thought you should know that I’ve got three people who appear to be working in concert, and they are keeping a definite eye on you."

Reaver’s expression changed to one of annoyance. "Are you sure?"

"You know me boss. I wouldn’t alert you if it didn’t warrant it. They haven’t done anything hostile, but they are definitely keeping an eye on you. They are always staying within LOS of each other as they mingle. I’d say something is up."

Reaver thought for a moment. "What do they look like," Reaver said as he pulled Andromache closer, wrapping his left arm around her shoulders. Talon gave a description of the three, and a very overly detailed description of the elf woman, Reaver thought. After Talon gave the briefing, Reaver and Andromache digested the information. Reaver looked at Talon and said, "Alright, continue keeping an eye on them. If things get hostile, we’ll deal with it as needed."

Talon smiled darkly, "Got it boss."

As Reaver and Andromache walked away, Andromache looked up at Reaver, "You think that there’s anything to worry about?"

He smiled and looked back. "I can’t say for sure, but Talon has good instincts."

She smiled back, "Yes, and after his well done description of the woman, I’ve realized that we really must find him a girl friend." Reaver laughed and pulled her closer. As they walked back into the crowd, Reaver’s cybereye took still images of the three Talon described.

Tarislar; The Underdark, 23:15 009-2060

Reaver and Andromache continued to mingle, then retired to a secluded balcony. At that point, Sayla, Galron and Barnaby met at the bar to discuss what they had seen. Galron looked at his team mates after making sure no one was paying attention.

"Well, anything interesting to report?"

Barnaby smiled an said, "The lady he has with him is really attractive. Only visible weapon is the katana on his hip. I didn’t want to ask many questions for fear of tipping our hand."

Sayla smiled, "That lady is his girlfriend."

Galron and Barnaby looked at each other. "How do you know," they asked almost in unison.

She laughed, "Because of the way they act together. You can tell they love each other."

Both of the men rolled their eyes back. "Only you would know Sayla, with the way you chase Owen."

Sayla glared at Barnaby and Galron interrupted. "Ok. So they’re an item. Information that may be good to know. Anything else?" The other two shook their heads that they didn’t have anything else. "Ok then. What we will need to do is dig a little deeper then." He smiled and then they got up at different times and left the club, all the while being under the watchful eyes of Talon.

Tir Tairngire; Central DataCore Operations, 08:00 010-2060

Merlin walked into the main room for DataCore operations. The room was huge, and dimly lit. Each cubicle was completely enclosed for privacy and security. This was the kind of operation he had worked hard for. Every assignment he did, he performed with the utmost zeal and perfection. His decking skills became legendary during his military career. Now, he had a chance to really show his stuff. He had been hand picked by the prince himself for this post, and he was not about to stop being perfect now. A few people who came in had to walk around him, and he realized he was starring too long. "Look at me. Acting like a cadet at the academy. Pull yourself together. You’ve got the best assignment in the Tir and it’s time to party." Merlin strutted across the room until he found his pod. He keyed in the password sequence given to him by Sandril and the pod door quietly opened. He stepped inside and sealed the door. The pod was roomy. About six feet square, give or take, with good desk space. The pod even had it’s own air circulation system and a fridge. Definitely luxury. He sat down in the plush, padded leather chair. On the desk, near a cradle for a cyberdeck, was a sealed manila envelope with top secret markings on it. "My first assignment," he thought. "Well, time to go to work." He put his personal cyberdeck onto the cradle, dropped his bag next to the chair, then picked up the envelope and opened it’s contents. Aside for a few data chips, there was a picture of a black elf, a letter with a list of contents (which he checked off to ensure security), and a letter from Sandril.

To: Palith "Merlin" Tamar

From: Counselor Sandril

Sub:

Welcome to the DataCore. You have been hand chosen to fulfill our

Information gathering needs. We have an enigma that we need solved.

The subject in the picture is one Marhault Elsdragon, a.k.a. Reaver. He

presents a possible threat to the security of the Tir and so far, our teams

have not been able to gather any information on his past. We feel that

his past may give us greater insight as to his true motivations and plans.

This is your assignment, and currently, your ONLY assignment. You

have full priority access and if there is anything you need, call upon me

for it directly. Do not fail us in our decision to chose you.

May the passions guide your way,

Sandril

Merlin put down the letter, let out a deep breath and sat back in his chair. "I have full access and anything I want I ask for it directly from Counselor Sandril himself? This person must be very important or very dangerous. Well, time to see what they have on him already. Marhault Elsdragon. Why does that name sound familiar?" Merlin took a data cable from his bag and plugged one end to his deck, the other end he plugged directly into the data jack built into his skull. Then his body went limp as he dove into the matrix, looking for information on his prey.

Tarislar; The Spire, 07:30 010-2060

Reaver, Andromache, Talon, Spector and several other Rangers sat before an oval table in the mansion that was built on the top of a tower of granite. The place was referred to by the Rangers as The Spire. Even though the building was a mansion, no one there lived like a king, even Reaver. Most of the mansion was a base of ops from which to coordinate Tarislar’s resources and defenses. The council gathered to discuss various plans of action and recent events. Reaver was about to conclude the meeting, never once mentioning the people who seemed to take great interest in him last night at the opening.

Talon, being the ever efficient aide, decided he should point this out, beating Andromache to the punch. "Excuse me boss, but I’m afraid last nights episode of the three individuals watching you has slipped your mind and I felt it my duty to remind you." Reaver looked at him darkly.

"He’s right," Andromache quipped, "You had forgotten." She smiled at him, knowing she diffused the situation and won the argument.

Reaver, back to the wall, reciprocated. "Well, as Andi and Talon have been kind enough to point out, it appears that three people were keeping tabs on me last night. We don’t know who they are, but I got images of them last night and our good friend Spock is hunting down information on them as we speak."

Spector finished a cube of cheese and washed it down with beer, then cleared his throat before speaking. "What should we do about them?"

Reaver smiled. "For now, nothing. Lets see what Spock comes up with, and if need be, I’ll do a little decking myself. If you see these people, keep close tabs on them, but don’t let them know that we are on to them. If they are up to something, tipping our hand does us no good. I will have pictures of them sent to you so that you can distribute them to your teams. If there’s nothing else?" Reaver paused, letting the silence sink in. No one said anything. "Good, lets go to work people." The group broke from the table and headed out of the room. Only Andromache remained behind. He looked at her lovingly. "Yes love?"

She looked at him disapprovingly. "You are down playing this situation. They could be a kick squad sent to kill you."

He smiled and held her close, "Love, don’t worry…. too much. We are gathering information. If they show up again, we will be keeping an eye on them. They may be innocent, they may not. One way or another, we will see soon. Now, give me a kiss and lets get to work." She smiled and they kissed deeply before heading out to their duties.

Africa; Wenchi, 10:00 013-2060

Two C-5A Galaxy transport planes dropped down from the clouds and made an approach towards a landing strip located somewhere on the African plains. The transports were escorted by four Mig-29’s. Once the transports were down, they rolled towards the hanger area as flight crews came out to meet them. The loading doors for the C-5’s opened as the fighters began landing. The flight crews carefully unloaded the Ares Citymasters. As soon as the vehicles were unloaded, a troop of soldiers disembarked from the transport and climbed into the Citymaster’s. The large vehicles then rolled out of the hanger. They were joined by six FAV’s and two APC’s. They drove off into the plains, leaving the airstrip far behind.

Africa; Somewhere in Asamando, 03:00 014-2060

In the middle of the African plains, amidst rolling hills sat a village. The village was completely peaceful as it stood in the darkness. The village was inhabited entirely by Ghouls, which was common in this section of Africa. The Ghouls moved around the village, repairing and maintaining their simple buildings, and doing their simple duties. One of these villagers, Muwabe, hated being a ghoul and was just recently infected. He still had his normal vision and had yet to show the symptoms that come later. As Muwabe was gathering water from the local well, he thought he saw a flash of light on top of a distant hill. He looked carefully trying to see if he could make out anything when something landed just a few meters from him, before exploding with a loud report and bright flash of light. The blast sent him flying back-wards a few meters before he hit the dusty ground. People started screaming and running when more mortar rounds dropped in. Muwabe felt his body and didn’t find any puncture wounds, although he felt bruised and disoriented. He groggily tried to get to his feet. People were lying all about. It seemed as if they were unconscious. That’s when he saw the soldiers. Many of them were coming in out of the darkness, shooting those who were still up and moving. He turned and tried to run as fast as he could. One of the soldiers spotted him, raised an Ares Alpha Combat gun and fired a burst of gel rounds. All three rounds caught Muwabe in the back, and the force of the bullets hitting him drove him into unconsciousness.

The troops in black security armor moved in and knocked out any ghouls who were not already unconscious from the concussion rounds from the mortar attack. After the village was completely secure, a Citymaster rolled in, and all the villagers were loaded into the vehicle. The soldiers also found a small satchel of uncut diamonds that the ghouls smuggled out from the local mine. The commander smiled at them and tossed them into his personal bag. Then, the entire unit packed up their equipment, loaded into their vehicles and moved on to the next designated village. The commander of the team smiled at their progress. "Two villages down and two to go. The other three teams should be doing as well as we are. Soon we will have the ghouls that the council requested. What does the council need with a thousand ghouls?" The unit rolled off into the night with its accuired cargo as the commander pondered his mission.

Seattle; Tir Tairngire Embassy, 09:14 016-2060

Galron, Barnaby and Sayla met to go over the information they had gathered over the past few days. It was rather sparse, but they had gained a good amount of information on the club itself and various entry points. The Spire would be much harder to gain access to. The only way up was either the carved stairs that wound around the tower of granite, or the elevator that rode along the side.

Barnaby looked at it all and said, "We could gain access by air, as some of the Rangers do."

Galron thought about it. "Maybe, but they would probably be prepared for that. We need a silent and efficient way in and out. We don’t need a shoot out, we just need information." They all sat in silence, mulling over possibilities.

Barnaby pursed his lips. "How about scaling the face? It would be a pain, but if we do it at night we would have a good chance of getting in without anybody spotting us."

Galron mulled it over. "Maybe. Probably better to use that as a contingency though."

Sayla looked at the makeshift layout of the club. "Well," she said, "We know there is more to the club than meets the eye. There is more room near the back of the building than the main club floor shows. It’s possible that we may be able to find information at the club itself. I heard rumors the business is run in a back office, as well as rooms being used for runners and Johnson’s. Should be easier to gain access to as well."

Galron and Barnaby looked at each other and Barnaby smiled as he said, "Hard to argue with a woman, especially when she’s right." The group laughed and prepared for their excursion.

Tarislar; 02:19 017-2060

Talon was riding down the main drag in his Blitzen, testing the rebuilt engine. When the club closed, he went down with Spector to get his bike from Spector’s shop, ‘The Ghost Rider’. Spector had just redone the engine and got it completely tuned up. The bike growled down the main stretch as he drove along. He was getting close to the border of Tarislar when a Ford Americar drove by. The windows were down and that gorgeous elf was in the passenger seat. Then he realized the car was heading into Tarislar. He slowed the bike down and called Reaver on his wrist phone. The phone rang sixteen times, and when Reaver finally picked up, he did not look happy, so Talon started speaking immediately.

"Sorry to wake you boss, but I knew you would want to know. I just saw that gorgeous babe driving into the area. I can follow far behind if you want?"

Reaver sighed. "Follow, but remain cautious. I don’t need you shot up and bleeding."

Talon smiled, "Hey boss, I don’t want to be shot up and bleeding." Reaver smiled and they disconnected. Talon dropped the throttle, applied to brakes and spun the Blitzen around to follow behind.

Galron, Barnaby and Sayla drove near the club, to get a quick view of it, then drove down about a block and parked in the alley way of a ruined building. They got out of the Americar and slipped on black masks that blended with their special operations suits. Then, they blended into the darkness, heading towards the nightclub after checking their equipment and nodding that they were ready. As they did, Talon drove past slowly. The aural masking Spector added to the bike worked very well. He saw three figures slinking off into the darkness, heading towards the clubs direction. Then, he throttled up and headed the same direction.

Tir Tairngire, Central DataCore Operations, 02:45 017-2060

Merlin was sitting in his plush chair, although it didn’t feel all that plush at the moment. He had come to the DataCore looking to make an even bigger name for himself. He was picked by the prince himself for this assignment. His first assignment was one of great importance……. and what had he found? Nothing, squat, nadda! It’s as if this person never existed before his appearance in Tarislar. He followed up rumors that Reaver was once an operative of Tir Na Nog. It was tough getting in to Na Nog’s database, but he found nothing that traced Reaver to working for them. Merlin reached into the mini-fridge for another soda. He had been working on this enigma for seven days, and the last thirty-six hours he had not gotten any sleep. The puzzle just didn’t want to unravel. The funny thing, is that he knew he’d heard the name Marhault Elsdragon before, but he just couldn’t think of where. Merlin sighed. "Maybe a game of cards will help you to relax. You’ve been attacking this problem for a whole week and your wound up tighter than a fully loaded magazine spring on an Ares Super Mach." Merlin took the gold-plated data plug and jacked into his deck.

The matrix of the data core itself flooded to life around him. His icon, that of a gray beard wizard with blue robes levitated to a door. The door lead to his personal space on the data core itself. Inside, aside from his data on the subject at hand, were a few programs. One of them was for a popular game from the last century. The card game was fun and he had gotten hooked on it after he found some actual cards in an old book shop. Gathering enough of them together, he wrote a program that let him play in the matrix. The program started and he chose one of his favorite decks and began playing.

Tarislar; The Underdark, 03:10 017-2060

Galron, Barnaby and Sayla moved quietly to the loading dock at the back of the night club. The dock was a long concrete loading bay with two garage style loading doors and a smaller door for personnel access. The team moved up to the door and Barnaby looked at the old style key lock.

"A key lock. Didn’t think anyone used these anymore," he whispered over the radio.

"Just get us past it," Galron whispered back.

Barnaby smiled at him, pulled out a lockpick set and promptly picked the lock in thirty-six seconds. All the time, Sayla scanned astral space. He then quietly opened the door and they slipped in. The hallway inside was dark and Galron took out his low light flashlight and then team began searching from door to door. First room they checked was the office. Galron carefully searched the desk while Barnaby looked for anything out of the ordinary. Sayla continued looking for anything astrally that could cause a problem. Galron found some computer records that detailed transactions for the business. He quickly copied them onto blank data chips. Barnaby found a safe behind a picture and inside it were just a few credsticks a small leather bag with fifty different gemstones and papers detailing an arrangement between Tarislar and Gaeatronics for electricity services. Barnaby took pictures of the papers, but left everything as he found it. Sayla continued watching astral space and found nothing out of the ordinary. Once done, the group left for the next room.

Moving silently, the next room they came upon (which was locked, until Barnaby defeated the maglock) was a large computer room. It held a complete programming suite with a holographic data display chair. Galron was tempted to interface with the system, but realized it could raise an alarm. The next room they moved to was a meeting room, as were the two after that. The last room however was a large addition that seemed to be possibly a private party room with the way it was laid out. They were about to leave when Sayla noticed the very powerful magic items hanging on the wall. On the wall were various swords and suits of armor, mounted high enough to make it difficult to reach. Three of the swords glowed with great magical power, and Sayla suspected that they were artifacts from the power they displayed. Galron broke her from her near trance and gestured that they needed to move on. She took one last look; especially at the gold-hilted scimitar and then the blank sword cradle with a gold name plate underneath with the word ‘Paladin’ on it, then followed the rest of her team back out the door.

After they finished searching, and not having found much, Galron decided it was time to leave with what little information they did have. They headed to the back door, silently moved back to the loading dock, and when it looked like the coast was clear, began making for the ruins beyond and back to their car. The three figures blended in with the darkness as they moved silently across the open lot. Just as Galron and Barnaby were about to reach the ruined building not far from the club, the spell hit. Sayla was caught completely unprepared as a powerful sleep spell ground through her power focus. The spell exploded out from her in a wave of rippling soft yellow light, driving her into unconsciousness and her body hit the ground with a soft thump as the wave caught Galron and Barnaby from behind. Both of them fell onto their knees as they fought back the darkness. Galron gathered his wits quickly and pushed Barnaby into the wreckage of the building before turning around. When he did, he saw a sight he was not quite prepared for. His plan was to reach for Sayla and make a run for their vehicle, but between them stood what could only be described as a demon. It towered at least two meters above his own height. It’s muscles rippled and bulged under it’s transparent, slime coated skin. The fingers ended in long, bony talons and black wings unfolded behind it. It looked down at Galron and sneered at him with rows of razor sharp teeth. Galron thought for sure it would attack and prepared himself, only to see it spin around, bend down and cover Sayla with it’s wings and body. That’s when he saw the other Rangers on the top of the clubs roof. One of them held an MGL-12 which had just produced a puff of smoke. When Galron realized what was happening, it was already too late. The concussion grenade detonated right in front of him, and his body flew into the rubble like a child throwing around a rag doll. The explosion washed over the demons body, protecting Sayla from the blast. The blast caught Barnaby from behind and drove him into unconsciousness. Galron picked himself up and saw Barnaby lying beside him, out cold. He turned around just in time to see the demon pick up Sayla and fly off, heading towards the Spire. Galron was tempted to fire on the demon when he saw two dozen Rangers pile out from the loading dock of the club. "Damn," he thought, "A trap. I knew it seemed too easy. Now Sayla is captured, Barnaby is down and I’ve got two dozen people coming down my throat." He picked up Barnaby and moved back to the car, using the escape and evasion tactics to blend into the darkness and avoid the Rangers from capturing the both of them. The game of cat and mouse went on until well after dawn, when the Rangers finally gave up their search.

Tarislar; The Spire, 05:03 017-2060

Sayla roused slowly. Her head hurt from that powerful sleep spell. She realized how the spell had hit her and reached for her focus. She felt that it was still intact, and breathed a sigh of relief. That’s when she realized she was still in her sneak suit and had most of her gear. She opened her eyes and took stock of her situation. She was in a bedroom with two doors, lying on a comfortable bed. The window had a steel bars over it. No one was in the room, either physically or astrally, although the high level wards were obvious. One door was open and lead to a bathroom. She decided not to try the other door as it was either locked, guarded or both. Lying on a chair next to the bed was a simple selection of ordinary clothes that were about her size. On top of the clothes was a note. Please, feel free to freshen up. The Council will require your presence today. She decided to take a shower and get dressed in something more comfortable since her captors were being hospitable. Besides, it would give her a chance to find an escape.

Tir Tairngire; Central DataCore Operations, 06:43 017-2060

Merlin was not doing well, the stress and lack of sleep was getting to him, and his losses while playing cards was reflected in that. He’d been playing Magic for almost four hours now, and he still had not relaxed. He was getting pissed. The program had him up against the ropes yet again. Being his turn after taking a big pummeling from the program, he drew his card, hoping to get a creature for badly needed defense. He drew a gold bordered card and read the title of it. Merlin stared at it in shock. He finally came out of his stupor and immediately jacked out and left his pod, leaving the game still running in the matrix.

Puyallup; Tarislar, 06:55 017-2060

Galron and Barnaby remained quiet as the Rangers left, heading back in the direction of the club. Barnaby then had time to talk.

"Where is Sayla?"

Galron looked at him, anger etched in his face. "She was captured. Before I even had a chance to grab her, the concussion grenade blew me into the rubble I pushed you into."

"What now?"

Galron snorted. "Right now we need to let things die down. We have no back-up and one captured."

"We have back-up," Barnaby said.

Galron looked at him quizzically. "Who?"

"Owen," Barnaby replied.

Galron smiled and pulled out his wrist phone.

Tarislar; The Spire, 07:00 017-2060

Sayla had a long relaxing, hot shower. It did her good. Her headache was gone and she felt revitalized from it. She had just finished finding clothes she liked and put them on when there was a knock at the outer door.

"Come in."

The door opened and a Troll cautiously looked in. His facial features where very clean for a Troll and she thought he might actually be a minotaur. "Good morning. The Council would like to talk to you now if you are ready?"

She looked at him in confusion. "Like I have a choice?"

He smiled. "Yeah actually. If you say you is still feeling ill and don’t wish ta talk, you is more than welcome ta stay here in this comfortable room until such time as you is ready."

She read between the lines on that statement and realized he was saying she could stay here and rot if she didn’t wish to talk. "Fine, I’m ready."

The Troll opened the door and waved her out, then guided her down the hall to another door. Six guards were stationed in the hall, quelling the temptation to escape. He opened the door to a sunlit room. He bid her inside, then stepped in and closed the door behind him. Within the room was an oval table with fifteen chairs. Sunlight streamed in through the large windows that overlooked much of Tarislar. Seated in all the chairs, but one, were elves, save one Dwarf who had a plate of cheese slices and a bottle of beer in front of him. Seated at the head of the table was the subject she was ordered to gather information on. Reaver looked at her, then at the Troll.

"Thank you Talon for bringing the lady to the Council. Please be seated."

Talon bowed and then sat down in the remaining chair.

Reaver then looked at Sayla. "Well young lady, it appears you have some explaining to do. The residents of Tarislar do not take kindly to theft…."

"Nothing was stolen," Sayla interjected immediately.

Reaver smiled. "Or breaking and entering." She stared back darkly, but said nothing. "Do you wish to explain yourself, or shall I have the council make a vote now as to your fate?"

Sayla realized she was on trial, and they could very well decide to kill or imprison her. "I will speak, but only to you Mr. Elsdragon. The information I would give would be highly confidential and I do not wish to compromise my honor."

Reaver sat back, propped his right hand under his chin and thought, as he tried to hide a wry smile. The rest of the room looked back and forth waiting for an answer as the silence grew more and more deafening. "Fine. All the council members will leave, save one," and he put his hand lightly on Andi’s arm. "You may feel less inclined to try anything unwise if there are two of us in the room." He smiled at Sayla and then looked at Talon. "Talon, please make sure two Rangers in full dress with grav belts are outside the council windows."

Talon looked at Reaver and bowed slightly. "Yes sir." Then the council left the room.

As soon as the last member left and the door closed behind them, Reaver bid Sayla to sit down. Sayla took a seat on the other end, then began. "I am Sayla Starseeker, a paladin of Tir Tairngire. I was placed with the responsibility of finding more information about you."

Reaver sat quietly then smiled. "Why does the great and powerful Tir council," he asked with sarcasm dripping from his voice, "wish to have information on me?"

Sayla thought for a moment. "I do not know. I am merely an agent with a mission."

Reaver laughed heartily. "Nice try paladin. I know they give you at least some motivational speech to go by. What did they tell you?"

She was vexed at this person’s knowledge. "How does he know," she thought. "They told me that you may be a threat to the council and to Tir itself. Other than that, I do not know."

"Thank you. Now I believe you. So, tell us about yourself paladin Starseeker."

Now she was definitely confused. "Why does he want to know about me? What does he care about who I am?" "How do you mean," she asked.

Reaver smiled, "Who is Sayla Starseeker, Paladin of Tir Tairngire and what made her who she is today? Tell us about you." He sat back and waited as Sayla began telling all about herself.

Tir Tairngire, Central DataCore Operations, 07:26 017-2060

Sandril had just gotten into his office and was getting settled to read the reports compiled from the group of deckers working the night shift, when Merlin burst into his office. Merlin looked like he hadn’t slept, or bathed, in days and before he could speak, Sandril cut him short.

"Why exactly are you barging into my office without following proper protocols and why have you not bathed?"

Merlin stopped. He looked almost stunned, glanced down at himself, raised his arm and smelled his arm pit, then spoke. "My apologies Counselor Sandril, but I came across something that you must know." He rushed over to Sandril’s desk and put a playing card in front of him. The card had a black and gold border and a name was printed on the top of it. Marhault Elsdragon. The copyright on the card was 1994. He looked up at Merlin.

"Where did you get this?"

"A book store. It was a card game made last century. I knew his name sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it until I was playing last night and drew the card. I rushed home, found the card and a few other things. His skin, eye and hair color is adopted from an old role-playing game. They had evil elves in it who had black skin, red eyes and silver hair. This person is a fake. He’s not real and that is why we can’t find any information on him. He has no past because he’s not real." Merlin hadn’t realized it, but his voice had gotten higher. His excitement was showing from the fact that he had finally started to unravel the puzzle.

Sandril looked at the card in amazement. The answers were finally coming together. He looked up at Merlin. "Let me get this straight. You were playing a card game…… here, on government time. Then, rushed home, found this card and some other games and then came back here to show me?"

Merlin realized that Sandril thought he could be making this up. "But sir, I swear, I…."

Sandril interrupted by putting his hand up. "I believe you Merlin. You have given me proof that this person is probably Paladin. Do you have any data on chip for the game you spoke of?" Merlin breathed a sigh of relief and pulled an optical chip from his pocket and put it on the desk. Sandril smiled. "When did you sleep last?"

Merlin looked down as if in shame. "About thirty-six hours ago."

"Go home and get some sleep, and sleep knowing that you have probably just solved something forty other deckers could not." Sandril took the information, shook Merlin’s hand then left the office. Merlin stood there in shock, before going home and falling asleep immediately upon his head hitting the pillow.

Puyallup; Tarislar, 07:35 017-2060

Galron and Barnaby were still hiding in the rubble of a building near where they parked their car. Four Rangers stood guard near it. Galron was trying to get a hold of Owen for the seventh time when the phone actually answered. Owen looked at Galron on the vidscreen with a puzzled look.

"Owen, where have you been? I’ve been trying to reach you for almost an hour."

Owen began to become worried. "I’m sorry Galron, but I’ve been working on my assignment. What’s wrong?"

Galron took in a deep breath, then began explaining the entire situation and that Sayla had been captured and Galron and Barnaby were trapped near their car. "Owen, we are in deep and could really use your help."

"Where are you now," Owen asked.

Galron replied, "Seattle," and Owen interrupted. "Where exactly in Seattle?" Galron gave him the address and was about to tell him about the guards near the car when Owen disconnected. Owen gathered his gear bag and slipped into suit and utility vest Goren had given him. Once everything was in place, he left his doss and ran out to the bike. He started it and roared off in the direction of Puyallup and his ultimate destination….. Tarislar.

Africa; Wenchi, 08:02 017-2060

The Ares CityMasters and entourage returned to the air base. Their cargo holds were filled with ghouls taken from neighboring villages. The commander of the collection team stepped off the CityMaster before they drove into the C-5A transport planes. The commander’s aide came up to him and handed him the official head count, not only for this team, but for all the teams in total.

"What does the council possibly need with them sir" the aide asked the paladin of Tir.

The paladin looked at him. "I’ve thought the same thing myself, Andri, and I have absolutely no idea, but I see we meet far above our goal. We got a total of 1,173 of them. Good. Lets board the transports and head home." They both boarded the transport, and as they did Paladin Greenbough had the same question rolling over and over again in his mind, "Why?"

Puyallup; Tarislar, 08:15 017-2060

Jason had been tasked with taking Evans, Tollson and Mathews and guarding the car that Talon had discovered. They knew it belonged to the shadow team that hit the club. All four of them knew that this assignment was important. Reaver told them that capturing the team was important in finding out why they broke into the club. Reaver also told them not to use lethal force unless absolutely necessary for their protection. Jason’s team carried their standard issue gauss pistols in their holsters, but held Yamaha Pulsars in the open. Jason was walking patrol on the sidewalk with Evans. A single person was walking down the street, which was not an uncommon sight. The person was wearing a ragged cloak and ordinary clothes. As the pedestrian came closer, Jason was going to wave him to move on when the figure darted toward him and flung the cloak into him. Owen moved past Jason, as he struggled with the cloak, to strike Evans across the side of the head with a side kick. The kick knocked Evans to ground and into blissful unconsciousness. Owen performed an elbow strike backward into the back of Jason’s head, knocking him out as well. Tollson and Mathews both turned and fired their Pulsar’s, but Owen was faster. Owen moved left and both darts sailed past him as he drew his Goren Bee and placed a forehead shot to both attackers. The powerful tranquilizer knocked them both out. Owen picked up their weapons as Galron and Barnaby came out from their location.

Galron walked up and shook Owen’s hand. "Thank you. Now that you’ve pulled our hoops from the fire, what do you plan to do about Sayla? I’m pretty sure they took her there," and pointed at the Spire. Owen looked up at the spire. "It won’t be easy getting in. The stairs are guarded and the elevator is only accessed from the top. Do you want us to help you?"

Owen smiled and looked at Galron. "No, it will be easier if I do it alone. Go ahead and get out of here, I’ll make sure Sayla makes it out." Galron and Barnaby both shook Owen’s hand and wished him luck, then got into the Americar and drove off as Owen stared at the Spire.

Tarislar; The Spire, 08:30 017-2060

Along the backside of the spire, a lone figure climbed up the craggy granite face. His climbing claws helped him keep his grip and he made his climb. No patrols saw him as he made the climb. Little did he know, an invisible skimmer drone detected him and the rigger running the building security watched him intently. When he reached the stairway that wrapped around the rocky tower, he waited carefully until the coast was clear, then moved across the stairs and began climbing again, until finally reaching the top.

Talon, Spector and the rest of the council members were waiting outside patiently when one of the Rangers came up and handed Talon a video display pad. On the display was a video image of a single figure climbing the rock face of the spire.

"This person has titanium laced balls," he exclaimed. Everyone took notice. "All right," he said, "Spector, take the council, and hold up on the lower floor. Wait for my signal before you come out and make sure everyone is armed, because you may need to come out with guns blazing. I’ll stay nearby here and undercover to make sure the boss is ok. I really don’t want to disturb him if I can help it." Everyone nodded and moved out as Talon stood near the door to the council room and activated his spell lock. The spell cloaked him from visible sight and he faded out, pulling out his gauss pistol in the process.

Owen quietly pulled himself up to the plateau of the Spire that the mansion sat on. He moved up to the mansion quickly and found a door that was guarded. Moving quickly, he rolled over the small stone bench near a pond and shot the guard with his Goren Bee before the guard could make a sound. The guard slumped to the ground; unconscious, as Owen slipped quietly through the door and down the hallway. He could hear Sayla’s voice coming from a door about six feet away, but he also felt the presence of someone else nearby. Owen remained ready and moved cautiously up to the door, keeping the invisible presence in mind. Checking the door, he found it was not locked. He could still hear Sayla’s voice as well as the voice of someone else, definitely male. With his Goren Bee at the ready, he opened the door quickly.

Sayla, in the meantime, had finished giving Reaver her life’s history. She included her most recent events, but omitted things that could be considered classified.

Reaver sat back in contemplation. "Well, paladin Starseeker. You have lead a rich life and done well it seems. This Mr. Glendower you speak of seems very talented as well. I like his last name." He smiled darkly at his last statement, as if he was in on a joke that no one else was.

"So, what is my fate to be," she asked, breaking him from his musings.

Reaver laughed and was about to speak when a figure burst through the door and put his back to the wall, a gun raised and at the ready. All three looked at Owen. What Owen saw he wasn’t quite prepared for. Sayla was sitting, about six feet from him, having what appeared to be a normal conversation with two other elves. Sayla’s eyes lit up when he came in and she got up and ran into his arms, making it difficult to keep his gun trained on the elves.

"Sugarbear," she yelled as she wrapped her arms around him, "How did you find me?"

Reaver and Andromache looked at each other and whispered, "Sugarbear?" Andi snickered softly.

Owen was worried about losing his tactical advantage, but neither elves moved from the table as Sayla continued to smother him. "Love, ummmm, if you don’t mind, I’m trying to perform a rescue here and I need to keep them covered."

Reaver smiled. "There is no reason to, Mr. Glendower. I was about to let paladin Starseeker leave. Now that she has an escort, I feel much better about her safety."

Owen was confused. The situation was not shaping up as he had first thought. "What’s going on," he asked to pretty much the whole room.

Reaver chuckled and Sayla smiled and kissed Owen’s cheek before whispering, "It’s just a slight misunderstanding which we were able to fix."

Reaver got up and walked over, extending his hand to Owen. Owen put his Goren Bee away, then shook his hand. "It is a pleasure to meet you. Why don’t we take a walk and talk while the ladies see to it that paladin Starseeker is attired in something more befitting her stature." Sayla nodded to Owen and he looked back at Reaver.

"Why not," he sighed, knowing he was definitely lost on what was happening. Reaver and Owen walked out of the room and Andromache came up to Sayla.

"Looks like you found yourself quite a man." Andi said with a smile.

Sayla looked at her and smiled back. "Yes, so did you it seems."

Andi laughed lightly. "Let me tell you a few things about Reaver," she said as she lead Sayla out of the council room and down the hallway.

Reaver and Owen walked down the hallway heading towards the balcony that overlooked much of Tarislar to the north, while Andi and Sayla headed for the master bedroom to find Sayla much better clothing. As Owen passed Talon, he stopped long enough to smile and wave at his invisible form, then continued on. Once on the balcony, Reaver leaned up against the railing and looked at Owen, who was still trying to piece things together.

Reaver smiled, "Not what you were expecting?"

Owen smiled back. "No, not at all. I figured Sayla’s life was in danger and came to rescue her."

"Noble qualities from a noble name. You do it justice."

Owen looked at Reaver, puzzled by the remark. "How do you mean?"

"The name Glendower. As in the Duchess Glendower? Have you not heard of her?"

Owen shook his head that he had not. "I’m afraid I was much detached from the world and not up to speed on such."

"I know the feeling far too well," Reaver said and smiled. "May I see that," Reaver asked, pointing at Owen’s Goren Bee.

"I don’t see why not," Owen said. He pulled it from it’s holster and ejected the clip before handing it over.

Reaver looked at it carefully. Inspecting every detail of it. "Is it all composites," He asked.

"Yes. Great for getting past metal detectors."

Reaver smiled. "You wouldn’t know where I could buy these, would you?"

Owen laughed. "I think I could put you in touch with the right person. He may still be making them if the price is right."

"Good," Reaver said with a smile as he handed the weapon back to Owen. "So, Mr. Glendower, tell me about yourself. Who are you and what made you who you are today."

Owen looked at him suspiciously. "A rather personal question, don’t you think?"

"And one you do not have to answer if you wish not to," Reaver replied with a smile. "I just wish to know more about you and who you are. I give you my word of honor that what you tell me will not leave my lips."

Owen thought about it. "I cannot tell you. Not only to protect my own vows of honor, but because I don’t know you."

"I would not expect you to do otherwise," Reaver replied. "So. What should we talk about while we wait?"

"How about what happened," Owen replied. "I’d like to know how this all came about."

Reaver smiled. "Very well." He began telling Owen about what came about and how Syala was captured.

While Reaver and Owen talked, Andi and Sayla talked about the men in their life. Andi sat down on the bed after offering Sayla to a selection of clothes.

"So," Andi said, "How long have you known Owen?"

"About two years now."

Andi looked at her sharply. "He hasn’t asked you to marry yet?"

Sayla laughed. "With the way our lives are, that would not be easy."

"Some things never are, but as Reaver is fond of saying, ‘The only two things in life that matter are love and happiness. Everything else is either gravy or bull drek.’"

Sayla thought on that one. "My only problem is keeping Owen from killing himself half the time. I swear he has no sense of self-preservation."

Andi smiled, "Yours too? Must be a guy thing."

Sayla laughed. "Must be at that."

Andi smiled, "Reaver follows the Goddess of love and war. I swear half the time he thinks he’s invincible because of some religious fervor or something, but it’s probably just a case of testosterone poisoning."

Sayla laughed as she made a mental note of that remark then looked at Andi’s fingers and noticed that she did not wear a ring. She pointed it out while saying, "And what is your excuse."

Andi smiled. "I haven’t asked him yet." Sayla looked puzzled. "Reaver told me that he loves me and would happily marry me, but he wanted me to be sure, so he left the question to my responsibility. I’m sure I’ll be asking soon, especially since he’s such a wonderful man. That and the fact is that he’s the most loving man I’ve ever met." Andi said with a mischievous wink and a smile.

Sayla tried to hold back a laugh. "I realize that I was supposed to get information on him, but that was not something I needed to know." Both women laughed as Sayla finished dressing and then sat down next to Andi. "So, what is it with Reaver? He is very compassionate for someone in his position. Not your atypical politician or power monger."

Andi thought of the question carefully. "He is genuinely concerned for the people here. He is also worried about something in the near future. He hasn’t told me, but he knows that something bad is coming. When he talks about it, he usually refers to it as a storm," Andi said softly, "Your council could learn much from him. In spite of the flippant comment a moment ago, I meant what I said. He is the most loving man I have ever met. He treats his people the way they deserve to be treated and makes them look out for themselves and each other. He has much honor and wisdom, make sure you give that to your council. He is no threat to them unless they are more concerned with the possibility of losing political power because he is a better person and leader than they are." Andi let her words sink in. Her tone carried definite venom, and Sayla knew it.

Sayla sat there in silence. "I apologize. I shouldn’t have asked."

"Yes, you should have," Andi said, and smiled softly. "It is your job. It was that sort of information you were sent to gather. By the way, do you know why he reefers to you as ‘paladin Starseeker’?"

Sayla looked at her. "No. I assumed it was in respect to my position."

Andi laughed. "Yes and no. He could care less about a noble title. It’s the noble heart that he respects. That’s why he gives you that respect. He sees that you have true nobility. Don’t loose sight of that, paladin Starseeker." With that said, Andi stood up and walked out to find Reaver and Owen, leaving Sayla to absorb what was said.

All four came back together again, and Sayla still had much on her mind, as well as the information she had uncovered.

Reaver looked at both Owen and Sayla. "You share a deep love between you. Don’t let go of it if you can help it. You both are very noble, and that nobility deserves the love you have." Owen and Sayla looked at each other and smiled. "Paladin Starseeker, inform your superiors if they have wish to know about me, tell them to try asking directly. They may find it easier to do, and it will prevent any unfortunate incidents in the future."

"I will," Sayla replied, making note of the ‘or else’ tone it carried with it.

"Mr. Glendower. I hope that you will live long and prosper."

Owen smiled, and replied, "Star Trek."

Reaver smiled in return, "Ah, I see we have a movie buff. Very good. If either of you need help and are near here, call me and it shall be done." Reaver bowed and they bowed in return. Reaver then showed them to the elevator which opened onto the street level. There, Talon waited with a Nightsky to drive them to where ever they wished to go.

Seattle; Tir Tairngire Embassy, 10:00 017-2060

Galron and Barnaby waited impatiently for any news about Sayla and Owen. Just when they both were about ready to storm the Spire itself, they showed up. Both were happy to see them and wanted to know just what had happened. Sayla gave them a quick briefing and let them now that she had gathered more information than before, so being captured actually worked to their advantage. She also told them of the fact that they had no wish to harm her and were about to let her go when Owen showed up, unannounced of course. The group laughed and while Galron prepared a report to the council over all that they had uncovered, Sayla and Owen went to his hotel room to relax and share in the love that Reaver had been kind enough to point out.

Tir Tairngire; Central DataCore Operations, 08:00 020-2060

Merlin walked into the DataCore ops room with his head held up high. He had been given a few days off after cracking an enigma that no one else had. Word had gotten around the floor and now Merlin knew his reputation here was secure. He stepped into his pod, secured it, and jacked in to the matrix. His current assignment was just simple mundane data sorting issues as well as a security shift. After his simple duties were complete he had some down time and decided to look up on something that Sandril said before he left the office that day. Pulling up a query request, Merlin inputted the name, ‘Paladin.’ The query came back with mostly what he expected, but there was one file he didn’t expect. Pulling up that file, he found some interesting information.

Council of Princes: Data File X319JA5536-1DB

Last File Edit: 19 Nov 2055

Last Edited By: Agent L-190/TT81/RH43

Sub: Paladin (Shadow Runner)

Text:

Paladin, original name <file delete> was originally born in the late 19^th century. An

accident allowed him to survive until he was discovered in 2048. He showed magical

ability as soon as he had been revived, and many groups wanted to know how this was

possible. Paladin was kidnapped by Tir Na Nog assets and shipped there for study,

before he was liberated by Sader-Krupp assets. He was shipped from Tir Na Nog to units

in England, then to Seattle where he was given a chance to start with a fresh life. The

culture shock was evidently not to Paladin’s liking and he was soon running the shadows

in hopes of making a difference. His reputation became quite legendary, as did the group

he ran with, which included <file delete>. His chivalry and honor was something rare on

the streets and made a distinct impression on others. Paladin came to the attention of the

council when he was forced to fight against the paladin, Melkin Greenbough. Melkin

was killed in the fight. He had begun to build an order and was on the verge of retiring

when he disappeared during a run. His teammates searched for him, and it was a gang

leader known as "Reaver" who showed them the grave. They took DNA samples for

Paladin’s ally to have checked, and she told them later that the samples were a match

and that Paladin was dead. This was something the ally had already assumed given her

recent state of becoming a free spirit. The ally, known as <file delete> has gone on to

run the magical group <file delete> as she felt Paladin would have wanted it. It has been

concluded that the runner known as Paladin is dead and no further assets need to be ex-

pended at this time.

End Transmission.

Merlin sent this to the printer. Then closed the file and jacked out, although he failed to notice the chrome velociraptor lurking behind him.

Tir Tairngire; Central DataCore Operations, 10:00 020-2060

Sandril sat at the desk in his office. The lights were down low so he could easily see the holograms of the three Paladins who were making their report.

"What do you have to report," he asked.

Galron stepped forward and began, telling about the details of the security that the Rangers used and the layout of the night club and information gathered on the Spire. Barnaby stood by and made few comments as he felt were necessary. Sayla was last to report, and hers was the most interesting. The last things she reported was that Reaver had mentioned that if the council wished to have information, perhaps next time they should ask, lest some thing unfortunate happen. "That was a veiled threat," Sandril thought. "Can’t say that I blame him though. I wouldn’t like others snooping into my life either." The report concluded, Sandril thanked all three of them for their diligent work and efforts. They bowed and the hologram shut down, returning the lights to their normal setting.

Merlin knocked politely as Sandril began his report. Sandril looked up. "Ah, Merlin. What can I do for you?"

Merlin walked in a presented him with a print-out. "I thought you might find this interesting. I found this while doing a search after I heard you mention the name ‘Paladin’. This is what I found."

Sandril picked up the sheet and read it. He became concerned by the time he was done. "Where did you get this," he asked.

"I did a query and found it."

Sandril read the edit date and the designation of the agent who last edited it. The "L" designation told him that a decker under Lofwyr’s staff did the editing. "Why is Lofwyr so concerned with Paladin?" He logged on and did the same request, and found that the file was not there. System reports showed the file had just been deleted. "Someone is covering their tracks. This changes things. Something else is definitely going on." "Merlin, once again you bring me another puzzle piece. I thank you, but I must ask you not to delve any further. In the time you found this file and brought it to my attention, it has been deleted. I can only assume that we have a conflict of interests, and I have no wish for you to get caught up in this kind of conflict. Now, I believe you are supposed to be performing a guard shift soon?"

Merlin bowed and said, "Yes sir."

"Then go. And once again, thank you." Merlin left and a smile beamed even brighter on his face than before.

Tir Tairngire; Prince Lugh Surehand’s Private Audience Chamber, 12:15 020-2060

Torsan Greenbough stood before the prince in his dress uniform. He stood there proudly, waiting for his chance to report his success in Africa. The prince turned to him after talking to an aide.

"Speak, paladin Greenbough."

The paladin stepped forward and bowed. "My lord. The individuals requested have been gathered and are in confinement and ready."

The prince smiled. "Good work. Did you get the requested number?"

"Yes my lord, and a little over."

"In that case, you are ready for phase two. These ghouls are to be transported to Seattle along with a few assistants. You will meet up with an Ancient cell who will gladly help you with your task."

The paladin looked up. "And what is my task, my lord?"

The prince smiled. "You are to use the ghouls as disposable troops. Point them in the direction of the enemy you will be attacking. The goal is to test the resolve of a group know as the Taigan Rangers. I wish to especially know how their leader reacts to the ghouls attacking. This information is important. You are not to expend yourself or your assistants in this fight. The Ancients are of little concern. Promise them whatever you wish and let the Rangers grind them down."

Torsan bowed. "Yes my lord, it will be done."

The prince was about to say something else, when Sandril walked in. The prince looked at Sandril. "What brings you here so unexpectedly?"

Sandril bowed and said, "I have a 99.5% probability that Reaver and Paladin are one in the same." Bile bubbled up in Torsan’s gut at the news that the one responsible for his brother’s death was still alive. Sandril continued. "It also came to my attention that assets belonging to Lofwyr are protecting this data for some reason." The prince sat back and thought carefully, knowing full well that it would have been better had this information not been presented in front of Torsan, but he could not blame Sandril as he did not recognize him from behind. The involvement of Lofwyr also changed things. Dragons always thought two centuries ahead and Reaver may somehow fit into a plan of his.

"Fine. Torsan, plans have changed. The ghouls will not be going to Seattle after all and the attack is off."

Torsan’s face was etched in anger and he stood up quickly. "My lord, if this is true, then he deserves to die. Please let me…."

Sandril stepped back in shock while the prince held up his hand, cutting him off. "No. If this person somehow has Lofwyr’s protection, then I need to know for sure. Return to base and have the ghouls shipped back."

Torsan stood motionless, then bowed and stormed out. Once he was gone, Sandril came forward. "I’m sorry my lord. I did not know he was here."

"I know Sandril, it’s all right. Lets go over the data you have obtained and see what you have." Sandril bowed then began his briefing.

Tir Tairngire; Portland, Peace Force Base, 12:50 020-2060

The flat black GMC MPUV drove onto the base, after passing through the security check point. Driving to the airfield, the jeep came to a stop in front of a large hanger. Torsan Greenbough got out and stormed into the hanger, not bothering to salute any of the enlisted men as he passed by. Inside the hanger, multiple cargo containers were arrayed in neat rows. Each had an air conditioning unit built onto it, and all of the units hummed in unison as they operated. Torsan reached his office and opened the door violently, then slammed it closed with as much force as he could muster. Amazingly, the door didn’t break, but it did rattle his aides attention.

"What is wrong my lord," the aide asked as he rose from his desk.

"The prince has called off our operation and the ghouls are supposed to be shipped back. I also found out that the attack was supposed to be directed at the person who was responsible for my brothers death," Torsan spat out venomously. The aide stood there stunned. He had never seen his commander this angered before.

"My lord, I already received the orders you speak of and was just getting ready to ship the ghouls out. If you wish, they could have been shipped out before you got here to tell me. In which case, you should personally leave and retrieve them before the Ancients use them as the plan called for."

The aide stood there in silence as a wicked smile came to Torsan’s face. "This would put your career in peril. Are you sure?"

The aide smiled in return, "Gladly my lord. You deserve no less."

"Then see it is done. You have my eternal thanks," Torsan said as he shook his aides hand. Torsan then headed into his office to gather his equipment while savoring thoughts of revenge.

Puyallup; Hell’s Kitchen, 09:00 020-2060

Brent Jameson had been an Ancient since he was nine. Growing up alone after his parents were killed in a humanis car bombing, the Ancients took him in and gave him a home and a family. He worked hard and diligently, making his way up through the ranks until he commanded his own cell. He had some respect from the people in Tarislar and worked hard to keep his cell looking good. Then that bastard Reaver came and destroyed his plans. He was a powerful mage and hit them hard. Brent had only five members left to build with after escaping the carnage Reaver and his Rangers brought down on them. Brent wanted to take revenge upon them so badly he could taste it. The secret support from Tir Tairngire was the first step. He now had the backing he needed and the firepower. His numbers were up from recruiting and even though a hit and run raid did not go quite as planned (that damned Reaver showed up again), he would soon be ready for a much larger hit. He just received a report from his Tir contact that more supplies would be in soon and that he was to be ready for a major operation. He smiled. "Yes, a nice operation to get the blood flowing in my troops and more equipment as well. Then, when this operation is done, I’ll finally have my revenge. I’m coming for you Reaver and this time, you’re gonna die."

Tir Tairngire; Astoria, 00:30 021-2060

The stealth cruiser lied moored in the docks of the Tir naval facility. It’s sleek, angled lines gave it the impression of a sharp dagger floating on the dark water. It’s dark hull blended perfectly against the dark-ness as six City Masters were loaded onto the pontoon attachment that connected between the two legs of the hull that extended down into the water. Torsan oversaw the operation, and once the loading was complete, he walked up the gangway. On his way through the hatch, he read the name of the ship, "Silent Vengeance." Torsan smiled, "How appropriate," he thought, "A good omen as well." The hatch closed behind him after he stepped through and the ship silently glided out into the open sea.

Pacific Ocean; 48 Latitude, 112 Longitude, 03:00 023-2060

The Silent Vengeance moved alongside the Sader-Krupp cargo vessel. It’s sleek, dark hull in stark contrast to that of the rust brown of the cargo ship. A loading crane from the cargo vessel lifted the City Masters from the Silent Vengeance one at a time. As the loading process took place, Torsan and his commando team went on board the vessel from a gangway that was let down. Once the seven person team and the City Masters were on board, the Silent Vengeance headed back towards Astoria while the cargo ship headed for its final destination…… Seattle.

Tarislar; The Spire, 00:18 024-2060

Reaver and Andi lay in bed after a few hours of passionate love making. Andi lay in Reaver’s arms, her head resting gently on the nook of his shoulder. She softly plays with the silver-gray hairs an his dark chest as he runs his fingers through her hair.

She looked up at him and smiled. "I could really use a glass of cold water."

He smiled back at her. "I’ll get it," he says as he slides out of bed.

She watches his naked body as he heads for the door to their room. "Oh, I forgot to tell you that something came up today that needs your personal attention," she said as he took his robe from off the hook on the door.

"What is that?"

"I need you to marry me," she replied, making him stop his action of putting the robe on.

He looked at her with a shocked, yet happy look on his face. "Say that again," he asked.

She rolled over on to her side and looked at him seductively. "I said, I need you to marry me."

He let the words sink in and smiled, then rushed over, plucked her off of the bed and into his arms. While holding off the ground he said, "Yes," and kissed her deeply.

Puyallup; Hell’s Kitchen, 18:23 025-2060

The compound for the Ancient cell Brent ran used to be a police building that was abandoned when the district fell apart. The building still showed black marks from where a fire raged through it, although all the windows were barred to prevent easy access. Brent was happy with the building and at least his forced relocation happened him upon a much better building. Brent was drilling the latest recruits when he heard the commotion outside the compound. He barked orders to the recruits, telling them to remain in formation until he returned. He walked out into the parking lot, which was walled off from the outside for additional defense. Six CityMasters had just come to a halt as he strode out. He was wondering what was going on when the door to the first one opened and a Tir paladin stepped out. Brent immediately dropped to his knee and bowed.

The paladin came up to him. "Rise," the paladin commanded in a deep tone.

Brent stood up with military precision and saluted. "My lord. Had I been informed I could have had a reception prepared."

Torsan smiled. "You were informed. You received a communicae that a major operation would be conducted soon. Well, that is what we are here for."

Brent couldn’t believe it. His cell chosen to work with a Tir paladin. His chest swelled with pride. "What do you need from us my lord?"

Torsan looked at his group. "First, let us go inside. Our plans are best discussed where prying ears are less apt to hear. Have your people help my commando’s unload the equipment, but tell them to leave the special payload alone." Brent nodded and barked orders to his people before walking in with Torsan to find out what his orders were.

Seattle; Bellevue, 19:15 025-2060

Owen was relaxing in a lotus position and playing his flute softly. Sayla was in the kitchenette of the expensive hotel room preparing dinner for the two of them and listening to the soft music when the phone rang.

"I’ll get it, don’t you dare stop playing," Sayla said and walked over to the phone. Owen heard Sayla answer it and begin talking over the flute music. "What," he heard Sayla exclaim loudly.

He quit playing and looked at Sayla. She had just hung up. "What’s wrong," he asked.

"A problem has come up, a big one, and I need to inform Reaver."

Owen was confused. "Why?"

She walked over to him and pulled him up from the floor. "Because something is heading his way that shouldn’t be, and it’s going to be the Tir’s fault if it isn’t stopped. I may need your help."

Owen looked at her and smiled. "Gladly, what do you need me to do?"

She smiled back at him. "I love you, and right now I just need you to back me up. What’s going down may happen while we are warning him." Owen nodded and they both got dressed into something more appropriate.

Puyallup; Hell’s Kitchen, 19:30 025-2060

The Ancients geared up for their assault. Soon their moment of triumph would be at hand. The Tir itself sent them the weapons and supplies needed to mount their vengeance. "Soon," Brent thought, "Very soon, the Rangers will be no more. I wish I could have Reaver’s head, but the paladin is claiming that for himself. I can’t refuse him, especially if it’s getting me a shot at being a paladin myself. So be it. I’ll take my vengeance out on every other Ranger instead, and I’ll make Reaver’s bitch my personal slave." Brent smiled as he ordered his troops into their vehicles. The Citymasters, with their cargo of ghouls had already left. Torsan wanted to have them in place before the assault. When Brent got the word, his troops would move in and compound the assault, grinding the Rangers under their boots. The cars, bikes and trucks headed out of the compound and into the night as Brent’s thoughts of lust and revenge danced in his head.

Puyallup; 19:34 025-2060

The sewers were dark and damp. The ghouls had been herded into a cistern that had been scouted out the day before. It was only a block and a half away from the night club owned by the man Torsan wished to kill. The ghouls shifted and moved, but did not seem to want to charge the guns leveled by Torsan’s commandos.

Torsan came forward and addressed the ghouls. "Hello. My apologies for your rough behavior. I am a paladin of Tir Tairngire and someone in my council wished to use you to their own ends. I was able to intercept you before you could be delivered. I can give you your freedom if you wish and get you transport back to Asamondo. Or, I can offer you something else. My government informs me that someone nearby is putting together a group that loves to hunt anything infected with HMHVV, this includes ghouls."

The group shifted and seethed as Muwabe stepped forth. "How do we know you speak the truth?"

Torsan smiled. "You don’t, but my government is close to a cure, and has no wish for hot heads to be going around destroying people who can be cured." Torsan knew that statement would have great impact. Referring to them as people and not ghouls. He continued, "If you wish to help us stamp out these murderers, I can see to it you are delivered to our facilities for treatment."

A multitude of talking broke out amongst the ghouls as they discussed this new option. Torsan waited patiently. After a few minutes of deliberation, Muwabe looked back at Torsan. "Very well, we will help, but if you deceive us, we will feast upon you," he said and pointed a finger at Torsan.

Torsan smiled. "I do not deceive, and I am glad to have your help, and I’ll see to it you are in forty pieces before you even touch me." Torsan then told them the plan and what they needed to do.

Tarislar; The Underdark, 20:00 025-2060

The Underdark had gone thorough an entire day of preparation for the wedding and festival. Reaver and Andi decided to have it done quickly while things were peaceful. The club was closed to anyone who was not invited, and those that were invited all seemed to be within the shadow community. Fixers, runners and Johnsons who knew Reaver well were there, as well as a few representatives from Gaeatronics. The party filled the club to the brim as everyone mingled together. The club had additional lighting added by the use of candles and torches. The atmosphere was very awe inspiring. At the platform, normally used for dancers or bands, stood the priest that would preside over the ceremony. The platform was connected by a long, stone archway that extended to a pool of water on the other side of the club. The pool had small tea lites that floated about. All of the Rangers were dressed in finely tailored, medieval style clothing, complete with swords and daggers. Near the priest stood Reaver, with Spector as his best man and Talon right behind Spector. Next to Talon was a long, black case and no one knew what was within it. Spector and Talon stood there, trying to wait patiently, but obviously looking uncomfortable in their tuxedos. Reaver on the other hand wore a black silk shirt with wide flowing sleeves. Along with this he wore a pair of black silk pants. Over the shirt he wore a polished steel breast plate, complete with engraved markings on the front. At his side he wore his katana, and a wakizashi was strapped to the small of his back.

All three of them were standing there, trying to be patient, but were obviously anxious to start. Reaver was beginning to wonder what was taking so long when the wedding march started playing. Andromache stepped onto the walkway, escorted by a great form spirit. Her gown was white, with a hint of light blue. Set into the gown were small, clear gemstones that sparkled in the firelight, creating a scintillating rainbow of colors about her. A long train flowed behind her, and two air elementals held it up as she walked. Around her neck she wore a gold necklace set with twelve, square-cut emeralds. The entire crowd was awe struck at the sight and watched her as she slowly strode across the walkway. Reaver’s heart felt like it would explode from his chest as he watched this beauty whom he dearly loved. She walked up to her arranged place and the spirit took up a place behind her.

The priest took a step forward, then addressed the ensemble. "I bid you all pay witness to these two as they enter into the bonds of holy matrimony. If anyone who believes these two should not come together, speak now or forever hold their peace." The silence in the club was even more deafening than the sounds of the waterfall. No one said a word. The near eternity of silence was finally broken by the priest who continued. "Very well. Who gives away this woman?"

The spirit replied, "I do, in the name of Lofwyr."

The priest gave a respectful bow to the spirit and then said, "Very well." The spirit bowed in return, then disappeared, it’s service complete. "Now, the bride and groom would like to exchange their own vows." The priest then gave Reaver a sign to begin. Reaver dropped down onto his right knee as he motioned for Talon to give him something. Talon reached down and opened the case, pulling a sword from it. He handed the sword itself to Reaver, while giving the scabbard and belt to the brides maid. Reaver took the sword and held the blade in his hands. He looked up into her eyes and spoke. "With this sword, I pledge you my love. May it’s strength be our strength. May it’s edge protect us. May it always be a symbol of our eternal love. I promise to care for you and protect you. With this sword I give you my service, my love, my heart and my soul. My love will never falter or fail, and I will love you…. Always."

Andromache looked down at the man kneeling before her, offering a sword to her within his outstretched hands. No, not just a sword. This one was beautiful. Literally a work of art. The blade was easily the blade of a standard long sword, but it’s shape was not standard. Instead of just tapering to a point, it flared out near the end and looked almost like a spear point. The double edge flowed smoothly across the blade, only stopping a few inches from the crosspiece, where the tang began to start. Set into the tang, above the crosspiece, was a large emerald. The setting was made so that the emerald sat in the middle of the tang and could be seen on both sides. The swept back hilt was like that for a rapier, with gold and wire wrapped. She knew she was to take the sword from his hands, as they rehearsed earlier, but she never expected it to be a sword such as this. Tears welled up in her eyes as she took the blade from his hands. She broke from the rehearsed plan by kneeling down in front of Reaver to see him eye to eye. "I take this blade and accept it as a symbol of our love. I pledge to you, my love in return. I give you my love, my heart and my soul. I promise to always care for you and protect you. My love will never fail or falter and I will love you…. Always."

Reaver and Andromache then stood up and faced the priest while the bridesmaid strapped the belt and scabbard on Andromache. She then slid the sword into the scabbard. "And now, the rings," the priest said. He then handed a ring to both of them, then looked at Reaver. "Reaver, take the ring and slip it upon her finger, saying; with this ring, I thee wed." Reaver did so, repeating the words. "Andromache, take the ring and put it upon his finger, saying; with this ring, I thee wed." Andromache did so. "With that done, I now pronounce you husband and wife." The crowd cheered and applauded as Reaver turned to Andi, lifted her veil and kissed her passionately. No one seemed to notice Talon and Spector each wipe back a tear.

The party began shortly thereafter, with Reaver and Andromache meeting and thanking those who had been invited. Sayla and Owen had shown up just as the ceremony started and she really didn’t want interrupt it. They would not have even been allowed in as it was, had it not been for one of the council members being near the front door, recognizing them and giving permission. They both worked their way to the newlywed couple, pressing through the throng of bodies before them. Both Reaver and Andromache were surprised to see Owen and Sayla.

"My love," Reaver asked, "Do you remember inviting these two? I don’t seem to recall doing so."

She elbowed him in the side. "Hush. Sometimes you are way too much of a pain in the hoop." He laughed. Andi looked at Sayla. "What are you two doing here?"

Sayla looked at her and tried to smile. "Congratulations," she said, "But I’m afraid I bring bad news. You see…." Her warning was cut short by an explosion from outside.

Tarislar; 21:13, 025-2060

The Rangers began to assemble near the front as most of the guests were moved to the back. Reaver was about to head out to the door and see what was happening when one of his Rangers manifested in front of him. "Sir. The Ancients are mounting an attack and there appear to be fifty to sixty of them. They hit a car outside with an anti-tank rocket, I think to flush us out and fight. The biggest complication is that there are ghouls rising up from the sewers and appear to be assisting the Ancients. The ghouls only appear to be armed with melee weapons."

Reaver looked at his Ranger. The thought of undead attacking almost threw him into a blind rage, but he bit it back. "Fine," he said to the Ranger, "Good work. Now get back to your body." The Ranger bowed and disappeared. Reaver could feel the panic from the guests. "Ladies and gentlemen. I have just been informed that the Ancients are attacking. Evidently they have absolutely no sense of honor or timing what-so-ever and my people will have to be tasked with putting them down. I will have a few of my people make sure you get out safely, so please remain calm." Reaver then motioned Talon over as the crowd murmured softly.

"Yeah boss?"

"Talon, take Matthews and Jackson and see these people to safety. The rest of us will move across the street and provide both a distraction and cover fire. Once that is done, join us." Talon didn’t like the order, but he obeyed and started herding the people out the back way. Reaver turned to Andi. "You should go as well, my love. I have no wish to see my bride dead this night."

She stared back at him darkly. "No. I have no wish to see you dead either. We fight together."

Reaver knew that was the end of the argument. Everyone had cleared out, with the exception of Sayla and Owen. "What are you two still doing here, you need to leave," Reaver said. They both looked at him.

"No," Sayla said, "This is partly due a fault of the Tir and I will help to rectify it." Owen shook his head, telling Reaver it would be foolish to argue.

Reaver rolled his eyes up. "Fine, just keep your heads down and don’t get killed." "As if I don’t have enough to worry about," he thought as he watched Andi disappear into the back to change into some armored clothes.

"Warlord," Reaver called out. A man in an expensive Amante tuxedo came over.

"Yes," He asked. His visage was dark and foreboding, giving most people a sense of evil about him. Reaver didn’t seem to care.

"We will be needing your magical firepower on this one. Do you have your sword as well?"

"I always have my sword," Warlord said with an evil smile.

"Good. Be ready."

Warlord bowed and waited for the command to move out with the rest of the group.

Andi quickly changed into her spare set of armored clothes while the few weapons stored in the club were broken out. Reaver got his spare plasma revolver from the office and strapped the holster on. The revolver laid diagonally across the front of his hip, allowing for a right handed draw. Then, when all were ready, the Rangers dashed across the street while the guests moved into the ruined building behind the club. Tracers and bullets flew between both sides as the Rangers dove for the cover of the concrete barricades that were setup around the Spire. Meanwhile, the Ancients took cover on the grounds of Greenhome and the nearby buildings. Then the fire-fight ensued. People popped up and down from cover on both sides, firing wildly in hopes of hitting someone. Muwabe made sure his people stayed down as much as possible until both sides exhausted their ammunition. Then they would be ready and do their part. Torsan watched from a distance, waiting for both sides to grind each other down, before he and his team came in to destroy Reaver.

The fire-fight lasted almost twenty minutes as a few people on both sides went down. Most were wounded, while some were killed. Silence finally descended upon the T-intersection where they fought, with the exception of the occasional shot. Talon had already arrived back on the scene and slowly worked his way over to Reaver from his group.

"Boss, we’re out of ammo, and I think they may be too. We all have swords, but I’m not sure what the Ancients have planned."

Reaver looked slowly over the wall, it looked like the Ancients were bolstering to charge, as a huge number of ghouls arrayed with them. All of them held melee weapons at the ready.

"Frag boss. It don’t know how we are going to get through this. There must be a thousand ghouls easy," Talon said as he looked on.

Reaver looked at him as he put his empty gauss pistol on the ground. "Easily my friend. We ante up and kick in." Reaver drew his katana and stood up. No shots were fired and the Ancients knew their opponents were getting ready to fight hand-to-hand. As the Ancients and ghouls arrayed across the street, Reaver stood before his Rangers, who only numbered a little over a hundred. He knew they were tired and some wounded. He knew they were afraid of fighting the massive numbers in front of them. "I know you are tired, hurt and afraid, but we are the only ones to stand against the darkness my friends. Not for me, and not for any of the council standing with you. We stand for each other and we defend each other. We fight as one, and we fight for the safety of our loved ones and friends. Join me. Stand against this darkness, and if we die, we die showing our honor and our valor, for all of Tarislar." He closed his speech by activating the flame blade anchor on his katana, and flame leapt across the blade, lighting him in an orange-red glow and raising it above his head. Andi, Talon and Spector stood up immediately and drew their swords. The Rangers looked at each other and then their leader again and all stood up in unison. The sound of over a hundred blades being drawn in unison echoed across the street, issuing their defiance to surrender or give in. Both groups looked at each other, waiting for the first move. Reaver made it by raising his sword high and screaming, "Tarislar!" The other Rangers repeated the call and they all charged at once.

Brent saw the defiant Rangers that stood before him. He wanted this to be an honorable fight, and now he wasn’t sure the ghouls may make it so. The valor of the Rangers charging before him was indeed a sight of awe. Just before he would have issued his battle cry, a large blast of mana erupted within the front lines, thinning out the numbers somewhat, followed by similar bolts of energy released by the Rangers who were magically active. Brent cursed and the Ancients and ghouls charged as well. Both groups clashed in the middle with Reaver leading the Ranger’s as the carnage began, Torsan moved towards the fight. Reaver literally scythed his way through the ghouls in front of him as his hatred for what he considered undead fueled his fury. The flaming katana flayed through anyone in it’s way. Brent saw him cut a line through the ranks as the rest of the Rangers fought hard to advance with him. The ghouls were poorly skilled opponents, but their numbers made up for it. Andromache lost sight of her husband as the fighting grew thick in front of her and wanted desperately to know he was still alive. Bolts of mana shot out from Sayla as she sought to thin the tide of ghouls and Ancients. Owen saw Reaver forge his way through the opposing forces and waded in to help him, swinging his short staff at blinding speed as he did. Warlord launched spears of ice and bolts of mana at the opposing ghouls. A battle line formed between the two groups, while Reaver’s attack finally stalled and was stuck defending himself in the midst of a pack of ghouls. Owen moved in just in time to prevent a ghoul from stabbing Reaver in the back by stabbing the ghoul in the back of the head with the blade on his short staff. Reaver saw it and gave him a quick nod before drawing his wakizashi with his open hand and performing a backhand stab into the opponent on his left while blocking an axe aimed at his head with the katana. Owen and Reaver fought back to back against the surrounding group of mostly ghouls as Owen had a feeling of déjà vu wash over him. The fight was vicious. No quarter was offered and none was given. The Rangers fought for their homes and family. The ghouls fought for a non-existent cure. The Ancients fought for glory and paladin-ship. While the orchestrator of it all moved closer and closer to his revenge.

Reaver and Owen fought back to back, their arms beginning to tire as what seemed like a horde of ghouls kept coming at them. They were far from the fighting line that had formed between the opposing forces. Reaver was working hard to block and parry has he searched for weaknesses in his opponents, but he was not as deft as Owen. He also couldn’t risk the fatigue of casting spells. He continued swinging and blocking, but finally an attack got through. One of the ghouls swung a hand axe, getting past Reaver’s defenses and biting into his left thigh. He growled in pain and before he could retaliate, he heard a shout from behind the ghoul followed by a bastard sword cleaving through it. "Away from this one, he is mine," the elf shouted. The ghouls retreated and moved towards the front lines. Reaver and Owen had a chance to rest as the elf and his six guards came forward. He looked at Reaver with eyes burning in hatred.

"Hello Paladin," he spat, "You killed my brother and now it’s time to pay the price. I, Torsan Greenbough am here to kill you, Paladin."

Reaver stood up straight, still trying to catch his breath, but too angered to worry about it now. "This is your doing," he asked Torsan as he gestured towards the fight behind them.

"Yes. I planned everything perfectly, and now," he raised his sword up to the front of his face in a classic fencing move, "It’s time to die."

Reaver switched the katana and to his off hand and waved Owen to stand aside before drawing the slim bladed scimitar on his back, smiling wickedly as he did so. "If you are the cause of all this, then it is you who will be dying, and I will be glad to send you to hell with your brother, who was no more a true paladin than you are. You have no honor and you will die without honor. And don’t call me Paladin, you treacherous swine . The name is Reaver, you pathetic worm." Reaver spat his sentence out with all the venom he could muster and Torsan turned red with rage and charged, entering the two into a deadly duel.

As the two entered into their duel, the battle on the front line continued to press on. The ghouls and Ancients were beginning to become a more manageable number between the melee and spells. Sweat broke out on Sayla’s forehead and she struggled to throw manabolt after manabolt. Warlord backed up Sayla’s spell-casting with his own, the fatigue beginning to weigh heavily on him as well. Talon, Andi and Spector fought next to each other; with Andi in the middle, and all three were bleeding from minor cuts. Andi’s wedding blade swung smoothly and almost effortlessly in her grasp. It’s balance was perfect and it’s grip molded perfectly to her hand. Talon stood on her left, swinging his bat’leth with deadly grace. Few attackers got through the veritable blade barrier that Talon created. Spector in the meantime wielded a hand axe and short sword, using a school similar to that used by the American Indians. The rest of the Rangers fought hard and some fell from the massive numbers of ghouls. Most struggled against fear and despair, spurred by the desire to wade though and find their leader who disappeared deep within the massive force. Andi was frantic with fear. She could not see Reaver and did not know whether he was still alive or not. She cursed him for doing something so stupid again, but she knew why he did it. He has added temper to the Rangers steel. They are fighting to save him as well as Tarislar. Fight they did, and fought hard. Fatigue began to weigh heavily on all of them, but it was the same for both sides. The fight began to slow and the opposing ranks thinned enough that Andi finally saw Reaver and her heart soared. He was in a duel with another elf, and he fought with both his katana and Dawnslayer. The rest of the Rangers could see their leader was still alive and hope surged into them, giving them added vigor and they pressed forward as the opposing ranks sought to prevent it.

Brent was seeing that the attack was beginning to go against them, but he was determined to be done with this, one way or another. Then he saw her. She was wielding a blade as beautiful as herself. He quickly thrust his dikoted sword into the gut of the Ranger in front of him then moved away from the line and towards Andi, positioning himself right behind the one in front of her. Andi parried the blow of the attacker directly in front of her, the thrust the of the blade going through his neck. He went down gurgling, pulling her sword down as he dropped. Her opened guard made it easy for Brent to leap forward and knock Andi out of the front line. Both of them tumbled about three meters away and Talon cursed at what had happened, but had no choice but to help hold the line. Andi kicked Brent off of her and stood up.

Brent got up at the same time, sneering at her all the while. "Bitch, I’ll be taking you for my personal play-thing when this is over."

Andi looked at him darkly and held up her bloodied sword up to her face. "I am no one’s plaything, and this blade, forged by my husband, is your death."

Brent’s resolve was shaken by her cold, hard statement, but he pressed forward anyway, swinging his sword. Andi blocked the blow and delivered a snap kick as hard as she could to his groin. Brent doubled over and groaned as the pain flooded through him, clouding his vision. His vision cleared just in time to see Andi rear back to shove her blade through his head. The spear point of the sword transfixed itself into Brent’s brain, and his body twitched before going limp. Andi kicked Brent off her sword then rushed back into the fight to get to her husband.

She got back in time to see Reaver and Torsan still dancing about as they swung at each other. Reaver’s two swords helped his defense, but fatigue was showing heavily by his slowed movements. Torsan was fresh into the fight, but Reaver’s constant taunts on his honor and skill made him red with rage. Torsan swung in total fury as Reaver was knocked back by the powerful blows. Reaver’s swings were weak and most failed to get past Torsan’s guard. Reaver was finally able to get a blow in with Dawnslayer, ducking under Torsan’s swing. The blade failed to penetrate the armor, but it was close enough for Dawnslayer to detect the Elf and a red flare flashed from the blade as a slay Elf spell went off. The spell damaged Torsan; and he staggered back, but he did not fall. He looked at Reaver in shock then raged in, knocking the sword from his hand with a powerful blow, then bringing the blade back around and running Reaver through the left side of his abdomen. Andi saw the blade punch out the back of Reaver’s breastplate, gore dripping from it’s tip.

"NO," Andi screamed, and every other Ranger who saw it silently joined her.

Torsan ripped his blade out and Reaver dropped to his knees, bent over and clutching the wound with his right hand. Torsan stood over him, gloating in his victory. "Justice shall be done this day. Did you really think you would stop me? My brother shall now rest peacefully," Torsan said haughtily.

He could not see Reaver’s face, but heard him when he said, "Can I say one thing first?"

"What fool?"

Reaver looked up at him, his chin masking the revolver held close to his chest. "Fuck off, and say hello to your bro when you see him." Reaver then lifted his head and Torsan saw the 15mm barrel right before a reddish-orange bolt of plasma burst out of it. Everyone saw the blossoming bolt punch right through Torsan’s armor and blast out his back. His body fell to the ground as smoke rose from the blackened hole in his chest. Reaver looked at Torsan’s body and smiled weakly, saying, "Good. Bad. I’m the guy with the gun." Torsan’s guards did nothing but stepped back, which Reaver and Owen took to mean that they were not going to fight. With Torsan and Brent dead, the remaining ghouls and Ancients broke from the battle and ran. Owen lifted Reaver up off the ground, supporting him under one shoulder. Reaver winced from the pain of the sword wound and the burns from the revolver going off so close.

"You think maybe it was foolish to anger him when you were almost exhausted," Owen asked, smiling at him.

Reaver laughed painfully as he clutched his side, "Yeah, but I had to try to get him to lower his guard somehow." They both laughed, until it was cut short by Torsan’s cranial bomb detonating.

Both Andi and Sayla’s hearts sank when they saw their lovers caught in the blast. Both men flew apart from each other, landing a few meters away from the blast point. Their bodies hit the blood soaked asphalt with a resounding thud and lay there unmoving amidst the littered bodies. Andi and the Rangers rushed over the Reaver while Sayla rushed over to Owen. Both men were unconscious and Reaver was bleeding badly. The Doc Wagon response team was there in under two minutes. Fortunately, the hospital was just up the street. Both men were wheeled into the ER, but Sayla made sure that Owen was not seen by any doctors. The doctors began to protest, but Talon stepped in and told them to do as she asked. She had them wheel Owen into a private room where she stayed with him, told him he would be fine and she would help heal him. She then used her healing magics on him, before finally passing out from the drain of the fight, her head resting gently on his chest.

Meanwhile, the doctors had a difficult time with Reaver. Torsan’s sword was a weapon focus and Reaver’s regeneration spell would not work on the wound made by it. They did not want to operate for fear of causing damage to his magical abilities. So the medical team stopped the flow of blood as much as possible, while one by one, the Rangers came in and did their best to heal their fallen leader. Many of them passed out from the fatigue, but gladly did what they could. Finally, Reaver was stabilized and placed in a private room. The doctors told Andi that it looked as if he was in a coma and only time will tell when he would awaken. She stayed with him, running her fingers through his hair and telling him of what they would do when he was finally better. She cried softly as she buried her face into his chest, before finally passing out from the strain of the day’s events.

Tir Tairngire; Royal Hill, 09:43 026-2060

Sandril walked quickly through the Royal Palace. News of what had happened need to be given to the prince immediately. If Reaver was under Lofwyr’s protection and dies because of a plan that was designed by Prince Surehand, things could get nasty. Walking through the residential wing, one of the servants informed Sandril that the prince was out in the courtyard. Sandril walked into the courtyard, almost running at the sense of urgency. See the prince standing near the corner of the museum wing as he came around the courtyard, he began talking immediately.

"My lord. I bring grave news. Torsan went through with the attack against your orders and now we don’t know if Reaver will yet….." Sandril’s speech was cut short when the view of Lofwyr himself became noticeable from around the corner of the building. The princes looked at him and Lofwyr cocked his head.

"Continue please," the dragon said in a low tone.

Sandril swallowed hard and found his voice again. "We do not know yet if Reaver will survive. He defeated Torsan in single combat, but was gravely wounded. He was also nearby when Torsan’s cranial bomb detonated. He is at the local hospital lying in a coma." The prince’s looked at each other. Then Lofwyr let out a deep breath, and both could feel the heat from it.

"I will take care of things from here on out. Reaver is my responsibility and I will see to it he is brought before the council to give his story on the accounts of what transpired."

Prince Surehand bowed and Lofwyr lifted up into the air, heading back to his palace. Sandril stammered. "I’m sorry my lord, I did not see him due to the…."

The prince held up his hand to stop him. "It’s all right Sandril. I know the building was blocking your sight of him. Granted, Torsan becoming a loose cannon was not planned, but it did provide me with the information we wanted. Lofwyr did confirm that Reaver and Paladin are one in the same. He is under Lofwyr’s employ though, so we will leave him be from here on out. As Lofwyr said, Reaver will stand before the council soon." Both of them walked back to the residential building as Sandril formulated his new report for the database, happy in the thought he finally had the pieces to the puzzle that had eluded him for so long.

Tarislar; 12:10 026-2060

Talon and Spector were supervising the clean-up operations from the bodies that littered the streets from the battle the night before. Both were still sore, but the work needed to be done. It also helped them to keep their mind off the thought of Reaver lying in a coma. A CityMaster equipped with a water cannon helped scrub the streets free of the blood and gore. Water, tainted red with the blood of the fallen, flowed into the storm drains. The Rangers picked up the bodies of their honored dead first, and gently placed them next to the large oak tree within the park called Greenhome. The bodies of the ghouls were then placed into a vehicle that belonged to the UCAS government. An official counted the exact number of bodies placed in, and once that was done, he handed Talon a certified credstick for two hundred, forty three thousand and fifty nuyen. The bounty paid, the official climbed into the vehicle and it drove off. Talon hated taking bounty on the ghouls, but it would help to pay for the damages that were caused. The bodies of the Ancients were the last to be taken care of and were stacked like cord wood, along with what little was left of Torsan’s body. None of the Rangers gave a damn about them and their bodies would be burned during the ceremony to honor their fallen dead. All of the weapons were gathered up and sent to the armory for inspection and cataloging. Talon knew Reaver would want Torsan’s sword as a victory right, "Provided the boss lives," he thought bitterly. He walked over to the spot where Reaver’s blood had been spilt. A single tear fell from his cheek and splattered on the stain as he looked at it. The Rangers had tried, but no amount of washing ever got rid of the blood stains that marked where their fellow Rangers had fallen.

Tarislar; Deireadh An Tuarthell Hospital, 15:20 044-2060

Andi sat next to the hospital bed that held Reaver’s body. He was still in a coma and there were no signs of him coming out of it. She was near sick with worry. It had been almost three weeks since he was rushed into the ER, severely wounded and near death. At no time had she ever left his side and the other Rangers were beginning to worry about her as well. After two weeks Andi had the medical staff cut all support and IV feedings. It was what Reaver wished. She remembered him telling her that he did not wish to be on any kind of life support for more than two weeks. As much as she did not want to, she followed his wishes anyway. Now, it had been almost a week without his body having any nourishment. His heart rate was steadily getting worse. Talon and Spector showed up to visit. Worry not only for Reaver, but also for Andi showed on their faces. They walked over and quietly said hello. Both asked if there had been any change, hoping that there was. Andi’s sad expression destroyed their hopes. Owen and Sayla showed up shortly after that. Owen had been released the day after being wheeled in, and was much better. They both wanted to stop by before their flight out and had hoped Reaver had gotten better. They were heartbroken to find out he had not. Sayla did hand Andi a small satchel of uncut diamonds that was found with Torsan’s equipment. She thought it only fair that it be given to Tarislar to help repay any damages his thirst for revenge had caused. They were all talking softly in the room about what was happening and how everyone was when a weak voice interrupted their conversation.

"Hey?" Andi face changed to one of sheer joy when she heard her husband’s voice and rushed over to his side, smiling from ear to ear. He looked up at her weakly. "What’s it take to get some food around here?"

She tried to suppress a laugh as well as her tears of joy as everyone else quietly stepped out to leave them alone, and Talon hunted down someone to bring his boss some food, and lots of it. Andi smiled at her husband as she ran her fingers through his hair. She could tell he was tired. She cradled him softly in her arms and whispered to him,

"Sleep my love. Oh, and by the way, you’re going to be a father." Reaver smiled brightly as he slipped into blissful sleep.

The End…….

for now.

Author’s Notes:

Well, this story has been quite a ride for me. Reaver, originally Paladin, has been a character I’ve had for quite along time. He originally started out in a game where we created alter egos of ourselves. If you wish to read about Reaver and the team he originally ran with, you can find them in Edge Runner’s, written by my friend Eric Jameson (why does that last name sound familiar? >grin<).

I’d like to thank my parents. Even though they never approved of me gaming, were it not for their love and support, I’d probably be some stuffy, rich lawyer or doctor with no real life (instead of a poor computer tech with no real life. Wait a minute, that doesn’t sound good. >wink< ).

I definitely have to thank Shapcano for not only providing me with the inspiration for writing these stories, but also for a little collaboration and ego boosting (even if he didn't want to share the location his characters operate out of >grin<).

I also need to thank my wonderful girlfriend, Pamela, whose web page you may be reading this from. Were it not for her wonderful editing skills, the stry migt lok at lott wrse. =)

Oh yeah. One more thing. There will be more stories, don’t worry. Until then, visit Shapcano’s site and definitely Shadorat’s site. Both have excellent stories. Besides, if you don’t do it, I’ll make sure Talon comes over and has a little talk with you. =)