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"Yes, Julius."

"I need you to do me a favor. Go to that ship, take the merciless's avatar with you."

"Which ship?"

"The Konoe. We need to talk to them, yet I don't knwo who's in command.
And you need a fighter with you."

The merciless interrrupted
"I am sure she could do that on her own"

"Yes, but better safe than sorry."

The crimson entered the room

"Lt.Rogan is already on her way, so there's no need for me."

"On the contrary, I could use you. Meet Cheller in the shuttle bay. I am coming soon. We're going to the mindanao"

"Why not to the konoe?"

"Becasue the younger one seems to be more reasonable, so Agricola will talk to him...and It will allow us to have two sides of a point of view."

They all left, except for the Crimson, then Tetzner turned and faced an apparently empty wall.

"You are there, cethegus?"

"Yes, Praefect." a portion of the wall dissolved, as it reformed into a figure of a man clad in black uniform. this was the shadowy Tribune Cethegus, leader of the Praetorians intelligence.

"I trust that the cloaking device works?"

"Yes. We have amanged to adapt the tesseract technology to cloaking. I have esuccesfully evaded detection in the highest security facility for over 34 hours."

"Good. I need you to follow me. Protect me from any capture attempt. Try to find out more about those mercenaries. If necessary, use the cloak"

"As ordered, praefect."

***********

Some minutes later, two shuttles left for the
two ships.

Two raiders, armed with ceremonial Pilum type spears approached the shuttle once the cargo doors had closed, and Rizal left the balcony to meet Tetzner in the Observation deck at the ship's stern.

------------------

"Praefect Tetzner," one of the Raiders, an officer, announced, "I am Tobias Payne, commander of El Nino. Welcome aboard."

The officer turned on his heel and headed for the exit at a distant bulkhead. The second raider stood where he was, and gestured for Tetzner's entourage to follow the officer.

FMD looked up as the two devices were delivered. "Perfect."

He'd only seen them a couple of times before, but he knew what they did. Brutus noticed something odd about one of the timers. "That one's not a typical timer."

FMD nodded. "Nope, it's an impact trigger. If I fail...well, someone'll need to fire that thing into the Omni."

They set the amplification lenses into place, right beneath the focusing lens, and began to install the timer. FMD checked the time, did some calculations, and set it.

At that time, Juliet walked in. "Good. Jules...I...I, uh...I need to talk to you a moment."

He bowed to Brutus and Tienna, then led Juliet Rogan off for a private conversation. He knew, as was often the case with politics, that the first words he said were the most important. "I just wanted to let you know that you've come to mean a great deal to me, beyond just typical friendship."

[This message has been edited by FMD (edited April 30, 2002).]

"What the smeg was that? Where are we? This isn't where we were a moment ago."

Whitewater Storm, the little Than pilot, was first to acknowledge.

"Star charts are consistent with the Galactic Layline. We're back where we started, before the wormhole got us in the first place."

Rimmer's face went white, "And just how the smeg did that happen? Did anyone get any readings?"

Stalin was next to speak up, "I've scanned the outer hulls on our ships Commander. They are consistent with the type of radiation that the wormholes produced."

Rimmer shook his head, "But why, why would the Colonel do this? Why wouldn't he just simply order us home?"

Chisolm stated plainly, "Because he knew we would have said no."

Rimmer just sat there, and knew that had to be the reason, "Scan for Roman signatures. Let's get this squadron home."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rommie sat at the controls, and couldn't keep his head on the space in front of him. He kept thinking back to Victoria, who he knew had a lot on her mind. He sat the ship on autopilot, and shifted around to face her.

"I can't imagine what could possibly be going through your mind right now. I woke up, and I was already an Avatar, so it wasn't that hard for me. But this has hit you all at once. If you are an Avatar though, it means we're avatars together. Our plan of cheating death, so our love would last forever."

He shrugged his shoulders, "That's a good thing, right?"

"You're right. I guess it isn't so bad. It doesn't make much sense, but it isn't bad."

Suddenly she laughed.

"I guess we won't be having those ten children now."

He shifted himself back into the seat, and resumed control of the fighter. They made their way back to Moiya, and landed in the hangar. They exited the cockpit, and Rommie looked around, only to find that they were the only ships there, besides the breachship.

"I hope nothing happened while we were away. We'd better head to the command center. Karen should know what's going on."

"There is no sign of them. Its like they just disappeared."

Rommie folded his arms, "Where is Zeta Squadron Karen? And don't you lie to me. My memory may be foggy, but I can still remember how to tell when you're lying to me."

His brow furled, and his icy stare would have burned a hole right between Karen's eyes.

"I wouldn't lie to you. They wanted to go home. I sent them there. Vicky, you're hurt!"

Victoria looked at her with astonishment.

"Yes, I broke my leg. And, um, when did I become an avatar? If, indeed that is what I am."

He dropped his arms at his sides, "What have you been doing behind our backs?"

"Vicky, I made you an avatar the same time I made Rommie one. Rommie, your people finished the fight and said they wanted to go home. They asked me to give this to you."

quote:

---

Colonel Romulus,

The fight here is done. With our help, you'll be able to handle the Nietzscheans here for quite some time. There is still a battle to be won back home, and Zeta Squadron can do a lot to help the situation.

You have found your life again, and we don't want to be a burden on you any longer. Be happy with your wife, and don't worry about us. We know how to take care of ourselves. It's been an honor, and a privelege to serve under you this past year. May the Goddess smile upon you two for many years to come.

Regards,
Jonas Rimmer
XO Zeta Squadron

---

Rommie looked up from the message and handed it to Victoria, "Why didn't they just say so? I would have let them go. They should have said something."

"I wish I knew. Perhaps their leaving is a good thing, at least for now. It gives us the time to figure things out. We can always rejoin them later."

The Crimson stayed behind, waiting for the other escort to walk before her.

"Go ahead."she notified the guard, scannign the area. Propably hidden defenses, traps and other pleasant surprises ahead. Well, they'd see.

"I said go ahead."

"I am sorry, but I am used to walk at the end of a group"

Tetzner sent a message through the always opened link to her.

"If they want to capture me, that won't make any difference. I believe, that Cethegus and you are far more than capable of killing any opponent. And my life.....they would gain nothing, except for a bounty, which they can't collect when they're dead"

After a moment, the Crimson walked behind him, never keeping her sensors of the second guard. Tetzner himself had in his fist his command stick, and his sword at his belt.
Luckily, their"hosts" didn't knew about their secrets.

"Um ... Ship? Merciless?" She asked the air then stepped back as a hologram materialized in front of her. "Hi."

"May I help you?"

"I was looking for Tetzner, Could you tell me where he is?"

The hologram eyed her then shook her head. "The Praefect is not on board at the moment. Will there be anything else?"

"He's out there!" Colleen gasped. "Is he nuts? Does he have security? Is Crimson with him?"

The hologram blinked at her then shock her head. "The Praefect knows what he is doing."

Colleen fought a blush and nodded. "Sorry I yelled at you. Thank you."

The hologram nodded and winked out leaving Colleen alone.

"So what do I do now?" She rubbed her stomach and decided that she'd over eaten then remembered that her charges on the planet hadn't eaten at all.

"Merciless!" She called again. "The Praefect made a promise of materials, I am taking this to mean food and medical stuffs. I want to speak to your supply personnel about an emergency relief drop, where can I find your chief?"

The screen of the wall illuminated an image of the ship's corridors and highlighted a route.

Colleen starred at the map then nodded, "Thank you." And walked out the door and turned left.

"Before we even think about rejoining them, we're going to work on getting our lives back together again. A lot has happened in these last couple days, and it's hit us hard. But now that we're together again, nothing will stop us in anything we wish to accomplish. It's just going to take time."

His smile lessened, and he looked up at Karen, "As for you though. Why didn't you tell her she was an Avatar? You're one yourself, what's so hard about letting her know?"

"To protect her, of course. She was so sad while you were gone, that if she really knew the amount of time you were missing, it would have caused her even more pain. I put her to sleep until you were located and we could work on getting you back."

Victoria's eye's grew huge.

"Karen! How could you do that to me?"

Rommie shook his head slightly, "I can't believe you'd do something so cold Karen. After I trusted you with her safety on so many occasions. To just shut her off and put her to sleep."

He stepped off and leaned up against a wall with both his hands.

"If we couldn't find you, then I would just have built a replacement. I would rather have had the original though."

"I could never falter your logic Karen."

He looked over towards Victoria, "Now that I have my memory back, I don't know what I'd ever do without Victoria. I probably would have gone mad myself."

He looked back up at Karen, "You did the right thing. I'm sorry I went off like that."

"I gave you both all the emotions and feelings you had as humans. It is understandable that you "go off" when something upsets you. I am not upset. Now, is there anything else you need of me?"

Karen smiled and disappeared towards the back of the command center. Rommie walked over to Victoria.

"Where do we go from here? It seems we have our whole life, and much more ahead of us now."

"We can do anything. I think we should start with filling in the blanks. Tell me about this Roman Empire you belonged to. Will anyone there miss you?"

His face went blank and he took Victoria by the shoulders and sat her down. "This is going to hurt hon. There was another Avatar back there. Her name was Charli. She and I got close at first, when I joined the Romans. But after a while, we grew apart. She's the Avatar on the flagship, and I'm like THE leading fighter pilot. We never had time for each other, and we never touched base again. There's nothing there anymore."

He looked up at Victoria, and saw that she was trembling, "It was when I didn't have my memory. I didn't even know. But now that I do have my memory, I know who it is I love, and who I've always loved. It's you Victoria."

"Are you sure she has no lingering feelings for you? If you are sure, then there is nothing for us to worry about."

He smiled and looked straight into her eyes, "There is nothing for us to worry about. There is only you and I. And that's just how it should be."

"Ok, so we are not committed to anyone but each other. What do we do now? Do we find a new cause? Do we take some time away from everyone else? I really didn't think about this time."

His eyebrow raised slightly, and he chuckled slightly, "Hell, we could go to the Romans. They treat me like I was some sort of Greek God or something there. We could take Karen with us. Help irradiate that area of space from the Praetorian onslaught. They're almost as bad as the Nietzscheans were here. But I think with that little fireworks display you put on, they'll be crippled for a long time here."

He rested his head on top of hers, "The decision is yours hon. So long as we are together, that's what matters to me."

"Let me think about it. I'm not sure if I want to be working under someone else."

She turned to face him.

"Lets leave here. Leave everyone for a few weeks. You remember that place we used to go to when we met. Let's go back there."

He turned to his side, and then looked back with a smirk, "Pack your bags Mrs. Lowry. I think it's time you and I had a second honeymoon."

"This is going to be wonderful!"

How am I supposed to fulfill my job when I have only half the personal, adn a quarter of the androids?"

"Centurion Friedrich."

The Nietzchean turned aroudn,and faced the Merciless

"Correct name is Friedrich, out of Isabel by Roger"

"Doesn't matter. Salute me first"

he mockingly hit his chest with his hand, then drew up a salute, that belonged to the tiem of Augustus and Ceasar. After that he bowed.

"Much better. Now listen. There will be a female coming ot you soon"

"Company? Thank you soo much.."

"Not what you think, pervert. She is going to need your help, and you are going to offer every assistance. She's a half-bread, so don't make any mess"

"A half-bred?"

"Yes. Your orders are coming directly from Praefect Tetzner. Do as you're ordered, or face death."

he bowed

"Yes, glorious warship."

the hologram faded out

"Get moving people. We have a guest, and I want this mess cleaned up"

The place was huge and noisy. Chaos seemed the order of the day as people moved about in all direction.

"Move it or lose it!" Someone yelled.

Colleen didn't wait to find out if it was directed at her, she moved to the wall and starred as a group of supply ladened workers moved passed her at top speed.

She saw a Nietzschean walking toward her so she move for the exit. She didn't want to fight but if she had to she'd rather it be in less crowded and noisy conditions. She waited until the Niet closed the door before speaking.

"Merciless directed me here. I would like relief supplies prepared."

He eyed her slowly then nodded. "Just prepare supplies?" He grinned and shook his head. "What kind of supplies?"

"Food and medical supplies for my people, down on the planet."

"Ah, and how many people would that be?"

"About 2000."

"For how many days?"

Colleen frowned, annoyed. "Three days or a week. Pick one."

He nodded. "Three days it is." He walked down the hall then open another door and entered.

[This message has been edited by luvreading (edited May 01, 2002).]

[This message has been edited by luvreading (edited May 01, 2002).]

He indicated one tank.

"That one holds 20000 liters of water, or 5000 gallons, if you go by the old system. That would be enough for your people, I assume"

without waiting for an answer, he picked up one of the boxes.

"This bocks holds 100000 blocks. Dissolve one of them in one liter of water, you get a soup that is enough for one day. The taste is a little.....innovative, though"

he paused, then walked to another shelve.

"As for medical supplies...I am not authorized to give any. Maybe you should talk to Centurion Pale Moonlight about that. She has the command codes for that."

She grunted when one of the twins kicked again, but she wanted to know.

Meds? He was brushing her off.

"Stop!" She growled before remembering that females didn't growl at males. "Look, these people need real food, mobile food. Soup isn't it." Then thought about the cooking and eating and sighed.

"Merciless?" She called at the air.

Merciless appeared. "Yes?"

"I do apologize but it appears that I haven't thought this out. I'll also need a field kitchen to feed everyone and dishes and utensils and a ship to get it all to the surface."

"Yes, you will." She stated then nodded to the Nietzschean and blinked out.

"So, ... was are the conditions of the surface?" He asked cheerfully.

"It's toward the end of spring where my people are."

He growled and Colleen glared, she was in no mood for Uber flexing. "What is the condition of housing? Is there enough heating fuel?"

Colleen groaned. "There is no housing." There was so much to think about.

"Are you just telling me this because you're going on this suicide mission?" she asked, a bit of heat in her voice. "You mean a lot to me too, but I won't have any part of you killing yourself, even if it is for the good of the Empire."

She turned away from him, not wanting him to see how angered and upset he'd made her.

But well, field kitchen.......I remember we have some antiques back there. And of course, there are always the food reserves for the officers....you knwo Agricola is going ot behead me for this?"

he called out into the air

"Tribune Cheller"

"Yes, Brother?"

"Brother?"Collen asked, taken aback

"My brother hides his spurs. Show her, Cheller"

Cheller grunted, then entered the room and stripped his armour of. Yes, there they were, the spurs.

"Listen Brother, I need the field kitchens and food for some refugees."
"Food? There is the soup. We have nothing better for ourselves."

"Your forgetting the officer's reserves."

"Our own food? You're crazy."

"Unless you want to deal with an angry merciless, you better do it fast."

"It's better to deal with her than with Agricola. I don't want to stay in the chamber of pain forever."

signalising there weren't any ways of findign a compromise, they told the carreir bot to bring the water tank to the [b]OWl[b] and to follwothen with two packages of soup boxes.

"That is supposed to be enough for 5000 people"

"Now for medical supplies......I have jsut contacted Centurion Pale Moonlight for her help. Her medical staff will await us at the owl. Tents will eb provided too. Would you go ahead?"

Eventually they reached the door to the observation lounge. Payne stopped just before he entered, and removed one of the spears that was mounted on the wall. He turned to face the Praefect.

"I'm afraid your avatar will have to remain here, Praefect. Security, you understand. I doubt our Roman hostages will prove much of a deterrent."

He tossed the weapon to the guard; compared with the Pilum it was of far better craftsmanship. Crimson analyzed the weapon and found it to be a variant of a force lance, permanently extended and tipped with an alloy spearhead, and equipped with some sort of AG technology that made it handle far lighter than it actually was.

"Praefect, Tribune: follow me please," Payne continued as the obs doors opened. He stood on the other side of the door, wondering if the Praetorian might object to the compromise.

He had to admit. "But there is a risk. There is always a risk with these kinds of missions. I've found, though, that if there's something to look forward to, coming back, people usually find a way."

He went on, going into his schpeil mode again. "That's one reason we're looking for this place, this Elysia. One reason we're fighting the Praetorians. We need a place we can call home, and, with that, we'll find a way to survive."

He sighed, the talk ending. "But, to ensure there is something for me to get back to, I wanted to know if I could cook dinner for you when I get back."
--------------------------------------------
Brutus shrugged at her fellow Trancer. "FMD wanted us both, and..."

She looked at him, counting down how much time it had been between injections. Not much left. Then she looked at the two devices they'd just built. Suddenly, it made sense. "...I think I know why. If that is the case, he's crazier than I thought for trying this."

"Well I can see you're excited about this trip. I think you did everything but pack Karen in a steamer trunk."

He raised his eyebrow slightly, "You didn't pack Karen in a steamer trunk, did you?"

"No, I left her in charge while we are gone. I am all ready if you are."

He brought the fighter up off the ground and through the atmosphere into space. After a couple minutes, he shifted around to face Victoria, "Uh, honey. I remember the falls, and I remember the beach. There's just one problem."

He scratched his head, and began to blush, "Do you remember how to get there?"

"Its clear I am the improved avatar model and this is why I am flying."

She leaned over and kissed him and then set the course.

"We should be there in about an hour."

"Sentinel Tower, this is Zeta One. Request permission for landing clearance."

"Confirmed Zeta One. You are cleared for landing in zone Baker-3. May I ask the purpose of your stay?"

Rommie grinned, "Second Honeymoon."

"Confirmed Zeta One. Welcome to Sentinel IV, and enjoy your stay."

"Zeta One acknowledges."

Victoria brought the fighter down and landed it in the designated area. They climbed out of the cockpit, and stood staring at the falls in the distance.

"You know, you handled the ship quite well. Could have used you in the squadron." He winked at her, "So what do you want to do first?"

"I think your ship is jealous of me. We have to do something about that."

She walked in the open sun and smiled.

"What to do? Hit the beach?"

He put his arm around her, as they stepped onto the beach, "But we warmed you right up, didn't we?"

Rommie

"This is going to be nice."

She looked back at the ship.

"Is it going to be okay here alone?"

His link started speaking at him, "Sure, someone messes with me, and all I do is blow them away. The aggressive one I am. Not diplomatic in any sense."

Rommie shook his head, "You astound me. Just watch your six, huh?"

They started to walk farther along the beach, "I really don't know what's wrong with her. She's been real moody lately. We'll have to give her an overhaul when we get home."

"I know what is wrong with her. You have another woman in your life now."

He shook his head, "It would explain why she's so protective. I just thought it was a sign of loyalty."

He put his arm back around Victoria, "Let's not dwell on it. We're here to have a good time. Now what say we hit the Misato Hotel, and check in. Then we can go and have a nice dinner on the boardwalk. Sound like a plan?"

"That sounds like a wonderful plan."

They walked in silence for a few moments.

"You're ship can have a crush on you as long as she knows you are mine."

He leaned in and kissed Victoria on the sandy beach, as the water rushed upon their feet. They stood there for what seemed like ages, before they broke the kiss.

"If she's protecting me, then I'll be around a lot longer. Just think of it that way." He winked, and hand in hand, they headed towards the Misato Hotel.

[This message has been edited by Rommie69 (edited May 02, 2002).]

"Lets go see our room and not worry about Lexa or anyone else."

Brutus realized something then. "It's the only way to get these things delivered."

she glared at the pirate, as furious as never before.

"Either you talk to all of us, or to none. I carry the rank of a praefect, so I am obliged to talk to your commanding officer. Have as many guards as you'd like, but if you do even think of separating us, you are going to pay"

Tetzner glanced at Cethegus, then at her. Their links were exchanging data at a rapid speed. He nodded.

"You are not going to separate us, except for one condition. You are allowing 1000 elite troops to enter this vessel as our backup plan."

Cethgegus readied his device, and although none of his muscles changed, he was ready for a fight.

"Second honeymoon. Have to do it right." He grinned, and then looked at the view of the ocean through their spacious window.

"What a beautiful veiw."

She giggled again.

"I think you can put me down now sir."

He sat her back on her feet, and pocketed the keycard. "Well, it's getting around that time. Why don't you freshen up, and we'll go to dinner. There's this place called The Evangelion. I hear it's a pretty classy place."

He held Victoria close and kissed her, "What do you think?"

"I'm ready when you are."

"Holy Smeg! This place sure is classy." His eyes were bugging out at the prices, "No matter. Nothing but the best for my love. What would you like to drink? I'll go and get it from the lounge."

"Classy is another way of saying expensive. I would like the usual please."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
George and James Sohryu walked in the door, and immediately spotted someone that they remembered sitting towards the back of the restaurant. All alone.

"Well, if it isn't Victoria Lowry. It's been a long time since you've been on this planet. What say you let me buy you a drink."

George came up behind her, "And then you can let me buy you one."

James scoffed, "You really shouldn't have come to Sentinel alone you know. Why it isn't safe around here."

"Payne!" Rizal silenced his officer. He was standing in the room behind. Payne took a deep breath and stood to one side.

"I apologise for my officer's behaviour, Praefect. Come in, sit down. And bring your android." He turned back to his officer. "Shut the door behind you."

"I already have a drink coming. My husband is getting it now. You remember my husband don't you?"

George looked up at James, "Yeah, isn't this where we finalized the deal on those weapons? Something I think you still owe us on."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rommie still stood at the bar, waiting for the bartender to make the drinks. "Come on, I could have gotten a coconut from the beach and made one of those by now!"

"You got all the money we owed you. Sorry if I didn't find your other demands as part of the payment plan. Now if you will excuse me, I am trying to have dinner."

A waitress walked by with an empty tray, and he sat the drinks down on it, "You're too kind ma'am." Stealthily he approached the table, with his forcelance drawn.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You're right. Let's have dinner. Waiter!"

A man came up, behind the two brothers, "Can I help you gentlemen?"

James arrogantly said, "Yeah, we want the best bottle of champagne you got."

The waiter chuckled, "Oh, I don't think so. How about effector bullets?"

Just then a forcelance charged up, and the Sohryu brothers both gulped in unison.

"Sorry I'm late hon. Damned incompetent bartender."

"Rommie love, these gentlemen were just keeping me company while you were gone. Thank you sirs, now you can go. I suggest you go quickly."

Rommie grinned, "Dead? Well, time heals all wounds they say. I'd believe it boys. Now if I see you anywhere near her again, no amount of time is going to heal your wounds. Now listen to the lady, and get going."

The brothers stumbled over each others feet, and then hastily made their way out of the restaurant. Rommie resumed his seat.

"What in the blue hell were the Sohryu brothers doing here? I thought we took care of them twenty years ago."

"I guess we didn't. Oh well, lets not worry about them."

The waiter came around to take their order. "Yeah, I'll have the Tepanyaki Chicken, and oh yeah we need drinks. I had to dump them when I took care of them. Um, take her order, and then I'll have you get em this time. Bartender needs a screwdriver to the head if you ask me."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Romulus is alive. How can that be. We saw him blown away. Far far away."

James elbowed his brother hard. "It's no matter. He's here now. But he doesn't have to be for long. Go to Port Authority, and find out what ship he came in on. If I'm guessing right, they came in on their own ship. Well if that's so, then we'll just make sure it happens for real this time."

"What are we going to do about those two? You know they won't just give up easily."

He winked, and raised his glass to his love, "Here's to our second time around. May this time last forever, and never pull us apart."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I've checked the registration. It's a Type-II Arclight Slipfighter designated 'Zeta One'. It's in the Baker section."

James laughed, "They came in an old antiquated ship like that? It's going to be too easy to get rid of them now. They should have never crossed the Sohryu brothers. We never forget things like that."

He looked around to make sure they weren't overheard, "We go in tonight. Plant a program in the navigation, and then they'll be so far off course, nobody will ever find the wreckage."

"You're right. Our food is here, lets just enjoy each other."

Enjae, please lock this.

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