It was a rainy night in Arcturus. Of course almost every night was a rainy night in Arcturus. The 25,000 foot Alzure mountains and the prevailing westerly winds off the Cerulian ocean made sure of that.

Arcturus was the name of a city on planet Dolphus. Situated at the edge of mankind's sphere of colonization, Arcturus was a boom town on a boom planet. Arcturus was my town.

They call me Mallet - Mike Mallet. I know what your thinking, but my family name really is Mallet. It was pronounced Mallay, like the French until I started knocking out thugs with the butt of my gun. That's how I got tagged with Mallet. It's a good name for a guy in my line of work. I hadn't always worked this side of the law...

I grew up fast and tough in Dysontown, a back wash suburb of Arcturus. When I was 16, I had a brush with the law. Captain Donaldson (now chief of police Donaldson,) saw something in me no one else had noticed, and plea bargained me into the local Constabulary Training Corps. Upon graduation my journey began.

Years on the street had made me good with pistols, and given me an uncanny ability to read people (I think that was the part that Donaldson saw.) Being a Constable gave me another advantage -- Runabouts. Runabouts were only available to Constables and those rich enough to afford one. Unlike the surface transportation used by the masses, runabouts sailed through the sky using gravitational propulsion. My first collar involved a foot chase and a runabout free-for-all that criss-crossed the skies of three counties. The adrenaline was incredible -- I was hooked.

Five years later I joined the interstellar Marines after Alteran Raiders wiped out my family. I killed a lot of Alterans, but I didn't like the restrictions. I retired after six years to become a private eye and be my own boss. It's been a high speed adrenaline ride ever since.

Tonight I was working a jealous husband caper for one of the local magistrates hoping that the caper would lead to something bigger. I'd been tailing Lady Fleming and her after hours consort through the rain for the last four hours. I was hoping this would be the last club for the night.

As I entered the club, 5 Alterans, weapons drawn, blood in their eyes, escorted the floating lady Fleming out the door just like the ancient alien abduction movies. Several brave citizens tried to save her, but they were burned down for their efforts, so I let it ride. Years in the Interstellar Marines taught me to only fight the battles I could win. I knew that when I caught up with them they would not die well.

As she glided by, I nailed her in the ass with a tracking dart from my wrist gun. If I could get within 50 thousand miles, I could use the sub-space signal to find her again. Since Altera had only a few major cities, I figured I had this one nailed.

Their getaway vehicle was an interstellar cruiser that swooped down out of orbit to snatch up their hapless victim. Whoever they were, they had dough. As the Alterans streaked skyward, I got on my wrist phone to my secretary, Ella.

"High doll, how'd you like some overtime?"

"Paid?"

"Yeah doll, double time. Listen Ella, the Alterans just grabbed the Prime minister's wife. Looks like we've got a real campaign on our hands."

"I assume you want the privateers?"

"Yeah doll, get Otter first. It's Friday so it'll take a day to sober him up. Call a meeting for 800 hours."

"I'm on it Mike"

I got in my I runabout and headed for the desert to pick up new weapons for the mission. I called my armorer on the way.

"...Klyth?"

"...Damn it Mike..., it's 1:00 a.m."

"The Alterans just grabbed the prime minister's wife."

"I'll put up some Java. Klyth out."

Once I got over the mountains that defined the desert and kept the rain in Arcturus, I got to thinking about how I got into this business.

Like most private eyes, I struggled to eke out a living. Ten years ago however, I did a job for an old prospector. He died a year after I nailed the thugs that were trying to jump his claim. As payment, he had willed the property to me. There was enough Boron ore on his claim to run a fusion reactor for ten thousand years.

I thought of retirement, tried it for a month, then gave it up. The adrenaline just wasn't there. In my business, you get hooked on the adrenaline.

With my newly found riches, I decided to become a privateer. Privateers were self sufficient, self directed mercenary units 'sanctioned' by the Arcturan government. Privateers were often all that stood between the good people of Arcturus and the roving bands of interstellar thugs and Alteran mercenaries that infested our sector of the galaxy. The 'real' law was a week's trip through hyper space away. I got my old platoon of interstellar Marines back together. Most of them were as bored with civilian life as I was. As you might have guessed, I married my secretary Ella. We still kid one another about how she never got paid. With my dough and their skill as ex-marines, we were a force to be reconed with.

Coming up on the horizon, Klyth's mega-farm complex filled the front view port. I should tell you about Klyth.

I met Klyth at boot camp. We hit it off right away -- kind of a complementary pair. He was deep and thoughtful like most Rigalians. I was quick and impulsive. Only my good instincts kept me in one piece.

Klyth joined the marines to kill Alterans but was sent on a mission to a distant unknown alien culture. The ship and crew never returned. Five years later Klyth returned in an alien life pod. It took 8 hours to revive him. Under hypnosis he revealed fuzzy recollections of an alien abduction. What he didn't tell them was that he was completely changed. There was no abduction. The alien world was so beautiful and perfect that Klyth was the only crewman with the strength of will to return. Klyth had a purpose -- to come back and make things better. Someone else came in the pod - an explorer named Marta. Fifty years ago, she came upon one of their exploration vessels. It snatched her ship and took her to their world.

There, she learned their wisdom but did not age. By the time Klyth got there, she was 25 with the wisdom of a 75 year old -- a perfect match for a Rigalian. The two soul bonded the second they saw one another. Klyth came back changed, but we remained very close friends. Marta and Ella became even closer. Klyth would never again be a soldier - the hate was gone. Moreover, he and Marta had committed their souls to a higher purpose. Except for yours truly, the knowledge he gained from that distant alien race was used for peace. Since I was his closest friend and one of the cadre of privateers that protected Arcturus, Klyth agreed to become my armorer.

There was a reason why the Regalians hated Alterans, just as there was a reason Altera had only a few cities. A hundred years ago, Alteran terrorists blew up Rigel's planetary capital, killing millions.

Now the Regalians were a very logical and humane people. But to them, at that moment, a measured response just didn't seem logical. Except for a handful of cities to preserve the Alteran species, the rest of Altera was 'planed down.' Two hundred meters of its surface was planed off by huge machines that seemed to make matter cease to exist.

Since that time, life has been hard on Altera. They dredged up land from under the ocean, but that only created small settlements since most of the land had to be used for farming. Alteran extremists still manage a hostile act now and then, but never against the Rigalians. With the exception of Altera-Prime, a city on Altera's largest continent, the cities on Altera became slum holes, good only for breeding the wrong kind of Alterans.

As I approached Klyth and Marta's residence, situated at center of their ninety thousand acre mega farm, I could see Marta running toward the runabout pad to greet me. As I got out of my runabout, she threw her arms around me, holding me tight in her embrace as if it would keep me from going on this mission.

"Don't go Mike, I've got a bad feeling about this mission."

Knowing Marta as I had over the last sixteen years, I trusted her judgment. I trusted her premonitions even more. A sane man would have called it quits, but the adrenaline of an interstellar mission had already blunted my reason.

As I went inside, I got a hug from Klyth.

"Watch your ass on this one Mike, or your dead meat." He whispered low so Marta wouldn't hear.

"After all this good news, I hope you've got some really good toys for me Klyth."

"Let's have some coffee then I'll show you your next generation of weapons."

We sat down in their huge living room. On the walls were treasures from all over the known Galaxy. When Klyth was not busy saving the world, he was out making new friends.

Marta came back from the kitchen and brought over her delicious instant brownies and a cup of their custom grown coffee. While I was tired and eager to get to the range, the coffee and brownies were really good.

When the brownies were gone, we headed for the door. Marta made one last try.

"Please don't go Mike. If these people have an interstellar space ship, then this kidnapping was funded by someone who has a lot of money. And let's face it Mike, you're not as good as you used to be. Can't you let the authorities handle this one."

"I'm sorry Marta. All my instincts tell me there may be an old enemy behind this. If there is, he's not going to stop until I'm dead. I'm afraid I'm going to have to finish this one."

We went out the back door to Kyth's, ahh ... I don't quite know what to call it. To strangers, it was a runabout. To his friends, it was -- what did they used to say "not of this Earth." Kayleen, as he called her, was not of this galaxy. Kayleen was grown from a seed he was given by that distant alien culture. Kayleen was alive. Kayleen was capable of inter dimensional travel. She also had a wicked sense of humor. As I approached, a WWII nose art pinup appeared just in front of her cockpit and said "Hi big boy, wanna come in to me?"

"Hi Kayleen, how's tricks?" I shot back, enjoying her form of sultry banter.

"You know Mike, I've a feeling that the Fish is behind this kidnapping. I can get him here you know. I can rip him right through the fabric of space. Yeah, lets do him! Right here, right now!"

"Kayleen! Someday, Mike's gonna call your bluff." Klyth chided.

"No way Klyth, Mike and me are two of kind. Sit back Mike. A little harder ... That's it ... Ahhhh"

"She always like this?" I asked, knowing full well she was.

"No Mike, only when you're around."

I was looking forward to a leisurely flight over Klyth's mega farm but Kayleen's instantaneous translation through space got us there in an instant.

As we left Kayleen, Klyth gave me a warning: "Make this your last mission Mike, your not as quick as you used to be. As an inducement to retire, I've created farms for you and Ella, Sarah and Harry"

"Sarah and Harry?"

"You didn't know?"

"I wondered why they always showed up at our parties together"

"This privateer stuff is sucking you dry Mike. If I didn't think the Fish would come after you, I'd force you to bail right now! I don't want to puncture your dreams Mike, but this will be their last mission."

Those words cut deep and I began to doubt myself -- a dangerous thing to do in this business. Sensing this, Klyth broke out the toys to break the gloom.

As we stepped up to the firing line, Klyth hefted two large cases onto the table. Opening the first, he said: "Hold out your hands."

As I held out my hands, Klyth slid what looked like guns with built-in, woven metal gloves onto my hands. As soon as my fingers were into the sleeves, the gloves sucked my hands into the gloves. The sleeves reached halfway up to my elbow and locked around my forearms.

"These are for Sarah. They're 60 caliber and completely recoilless. Go ahead Mike, squeeze off a few rounds. That car out at a hundred yards should do."

I sighted in the car and squeezed the triggers. The pistols roared to life, cutting the car in half.

"Damn, Klyth, these things are awesome. I see they use caseless ammo."

"Yeah Mike, brass would weigh them down and limit the rate of fire. As you can see, the drum surrounds the rear of the pistol and hold 50 rounds. If you touch the front of the trigger guard, the arms braces will release their grip. There's a cloak with special holsters at the bottom of the case."

I put the pistols back into the case and locked them down. Klyth closed up the case, put it under the shooting bench, and slid the large six foot long case over to my side of the bench.

"Otters gonna flip when he sees this." Klyth said as he opened the case.

"Go ahead Mike, take it."

Klyth was right. This was the most impressive piece of ordinance I'd seen since I left the Interstellar Marines.

"It fires 50 caliber rounds -- nothing special about that. But it's progressive burning caseless ammo and four foot long barrel scoot the round out at ten thousand feet per second. Here, try this clip on what's left of the car. Don't worry Mike, it's recoilless, just like the pistols."

It's a good thing Otter was built like a guerrilla. The rifle was so heavy that only he could carry it for any distance. I touched off two rounds and the rear end of the car disappeared. That's when I noticed that the sights could see through solid matter.

Kayleen wasn't entirely kidding was she?"

"About what?" Klyth said, trying to evade my question.

"About the shape of my ass. She could pull the Fish through the fabric of the space couldn't she?"

"Mike, we've been friends for a long time and I love you. But if you ever go down that line of thought again, I'll wipe your memory. Clear?"

"Crystal Klyth. I'm sorry"

It was obvious that Klyth was walking a technological tight rope. Too much, and he would be besieged by those wanting his advanced technology. Too little and he would lose his friends.

"Sorry pal, I understand your dilemma."

Embarrassed by his outburst, Klyth quietly put the weapons away and began carrying them to Kayleen. As we approached her, she put my mind at ease: "You lay one hand on my Mikey and I'll do more than wipe your mind. You got that!"

"Yes dear" was all Klyth could manage.

"I know you don't understand me Mike, but I am very fond of you. We'll talk when you get back from Altera."

"Can you at least tell me who you really are. I can't believe an intelligence such as yours could exist in a runabout without going completely mad."

In an instant I was transported to a sumptuous living room of what I assumed was her pad. Before me, stood an exquisitely beautiful but alien woman. She had long straight shimmering white hair that went to her shoulders. Her large blue eyes were set above prominent cheek bones that gave her a regal appearance. She had the large pouting lips of a seductress, and the pointed ears of an elfin princess.

"Is this you, or what you think I want you to look like?"

"It's me Mike. I am Klyth and Marta's protector. The alien race that gave Klyth his knowledge, love him and Marta deeply. They would be heartbroken if any harm came to them. I'm here to see that it doesn't"

"Well Kayleen, while we've got a moment, I gotta ask -- why do you have the hots for me? You don't even know me."

"That's just it Mike. I do know you. A protector must know the mind of everyone who interacts with those in their care. You are rash, bold, impulsive, and at times, ruthless. You are also kind, caring, and have extraordinary courage. I also know your heart is, and always will be with Ella - which is why I haven't jumped you."

"Jumped me?"

"You know exactly what I mean. Listen Mike, it's been nice having you here alone, but it's breaking my heart."

I've broken many hearts in my time, but this was the first one since I met Ella. If I were young and single, she wouldn't have had time to say the words 'jumped me.' For some reason, I found her almost irresistible. She had oversized deep blue eyes you could get lost in, and her mouth pouted seductively as she spoke and ... OOPS!

"Yeah, you'd better get me out of here before I do something I'll regret."

One more enticing full face glance, a touch of her cheek and the brush of her perfumed hair and we were back.

"Is that that what they really look like?" I asked Klyth, trying to cover my embarrassment.

"She made a move on you didn't she?"

"Yes she did. She was very seductive in a strange alien way. Another minute or two in there and you'd have to send someone in after me. Anyway, is that what they look like?"

"Sorry to disappoint you Mike, that was only a manifestation of what she thought you'd like to see. In reality, they're acoreporeal, manifesting themselves whenever they like, with whatever they want, at the blink of an eye. She probably pulled her appearance from your memories."

"That's why she seemed almost irresistible." I said, feeling a little better about those physical urges that almost got the best of me.

Kayleen then offered her apology as she blipped us back to Klyth's place.

"I'm sorry Mike. It's just that I'm so lonely. Ella's one luck lady."

"It's OK Kayleen. Actually I'm kinda flattered."

As we walked back to the main house of his estate, I brought up Kayleen's situation: "Kayleen's very lonely Klyth. I'm surprise you haven't noticed."

"Of course I've noticed Mike. There were two seeds in that pod that carried me back home. One was discovered by the medics that took it out of the Transport. They didn't know what it was, and without energy, it died when it was accidentally activated. Unfortunately, we are out of communications range with her home world. Marta and I tried to get her to return, but she won't leave us. It breaks our hearts too. So far, Marta and I have not found a way to help her.

One last thing Mike. Since everybody has a bad feeling about this mission, I'm letting you have these stasis bags. Once activated they can keep living tissue alive for 20 days or more. So if you lose any more parts, get them into the stasis bags as quickly as you can.

We said our good byes and I got one last tearful hug from Marta. By the time I got home, it was 4:00 a.m. Ella opened the door and gently put her arms around me. There was no trembling but a silent tear brushed my cheek so I knew she was worried.

We went to bed and she's cried herself to sleep in my arms. There were times when I hated this job. Not many, but this was one of them. The phone woke us up at 8:00 a.m. It was chief of police Donaldson: "Mike, the Alterans went public with the kidnapping. They're demanding the release of all the Alterans arrested in the bombing last year. I know you're on this one Mike. Radar spotted you going to Klyth's last night. How much time do you need?"

"I should be back in 10 days at the outside. If you can keep the Alterans distracted for a few days it would help. Keep them worried, but not too worried."

"O.K. Mike, I know the drill. Oh, by the way, we think the Fish is behind this one."

In a sick and twisted way, the words pleased me. The Fish killed two of my closest friends. The Fish got part of my left foot. This was going to be his last caper. My day dream of vivisecting the Fish was interrupted by a knock at the front door.

To my great surprise, it was the entire crew -- including Otter, who stopped drinking as soon as he heard that the Fish was involved.

Since Otter was our advanced weapons man, he was likely to be the one to bag the Fish. That was OK by me. The Fish had killed his wife Janna two years ago and Otter started drinking as soon as we got back. He was using booze to end his life and get back to her. I'd seen it before and I understood.

The two new members of the crew showed up in their podmen uniforms -- always worn with considerable pride. Shark and Barry (AKA Barracuda) were ex-Interstellar Marine podmen. They were today's equivalent of twentieth century paratroopers. Pods were ultra stealth one man reentry vehicles that were dropped from orbit and soft impacted behind enemy lines at night during an artillery barrage to cover the sound of their landing. Podman had to be very quiet and very good with a knife. Standard equipment for podmen included a 14 inch titanium and steel battle blade, ten throwing knives, blowgun, and wide field false color night vision glasses. This was in addition to their silenced sniping rifle and side arm. Not someone you would want to meet on the battlefield, especially at night. Otter brought them in after our last caper to bring us up to operational strength.

Shark and Barry came from a planet named Los Indios, colonized by an Indian tribe that had made billions of dollars in their casinos. They purchased Los Indios from the Regalians for nine hundred billion dollars, and started a civilization based on Indian laws and culture. By all measures, Los Indios was a paradise. There was abundant game in the woods, and uncounted fish in the streams. More importantly, the white man would never come. Even Earth had heard about what the Regalians had done to Altera.

Unfortunately, Shark and Barry didn't fit in that paradise. When River Mountain (AKA Shark) was 6, he stumbled onto a communicator left behind by the Regalians. When they finally found the right buttons to push, they would wait until everyone was asleep and listen to the adventures of traders, renegades, and troop ships moving across the space lanes.

By the time they were in their late teens, the paradise of Los Indios held nothing for them but boredom. They used the communicator to contact the first troop ship that came near their system and signed on with the interstellar Marines - which is where they met Otter. When everyone was seated, I handed out some more of Klyth's toys.

"Here's your camouflage nets, please put them on as I hand them out. Your Alteran identity cards are on top of the nets."

Camouflage nets were worn like jump suits and projected an external image of any number of randomly generated aliens, complete with matching identity cards. When everyone had their suits on and activated, the dining room was transformed into a pit of vipers.

"My God we're a motley crew." I exclaimed looking as mean as I was able to without cracking up. The suits had changed us into Alteran mercenaries -- the worst kind of scum, but held in high regard on Altera. This would allow us to get into Fish's headquarters without being noticed.

Ella made her traditional huge breakfast. It was her last chance to do something nice for us in case we didn't make it back. When we finished breakfast, everyone packed their gear and said a fond good-bye to Ella. I stayed behind for my good-bye hug.

"You know Mike, I'm hoping this is a close one. I hope it's so close that you never go on a mission again."

Ella had crossed the line. She had been silent and suffering for my sake for the last 10 years. This mission was just one mission too many. I guess I finally burned her out.

"You know doll, I've been thinking the same thing myself."

"Take care darling. I'll be waiting for you."

We hugged... For a very long time. A brush of a tear against my cheek and I was off.

It was a tight fit, but I managed to pack everyone into my runabout.We lifted off slowly and headed for the Arcturus Spaceport. I put down in the woods near the spaceport where Klyth had hidden the migrant's mini truck. We set our camouflage nets to Alteran migrants and drove the mini truck to the tarmac next to one of Klyth's huge grain freighters. Inside the freighter was a secret room for us to make the voyage to Altera.

The "room," as Klyth called it was a bit cramped for a one week trip in hyper space. But it did have a recycling shower, sink, and a toilet, as well as food for seven days and beer for three. Otter brought his stack of cards and poker chips. Last crossing I dropped two million credits, but these were a great bunch of guys and I was loaded. Besides, they would donate their winnings to the scholarship fund we started for Otter's daughter Marlita. Three days into the crossing the beer ran out and we got down to it.

I briefed the guys about the warning given me by Marta on the day we left. No one blinked. Like I said, this was a great bunch of guys. It did mean that we would really have to watch each other's backs on this one. Sarah and Otter read the manuals and practiced handling their new weapons, while Harry double checked his crypto gear and monitored the radio. Shark and Barry sharpened their knives, cleaned their weapons, and checked their communications gear.

Altera Prime, 100 hours universal standard time: The freighter arrived in the middle of one of the worst storms the city had ever seen. We put our camouflage nets on as the freighter made its way to the grain unloading area. As the first grain truck pulled in, an Alteran specific anesthetic gas filled the cargo area. We gave the truckers a shot that would keep them in a state of suspended animation for the next five days, put them in a storage room, and drove the truck off the freighter. Driving through the storm, we were blinded by the almost horizontal rain, and had to rely on the instruments to stay on the road.

After an hour of driving and listening to the drone of the motor, we arrived at the grain storage warehouse. As was custom, we took our duffel bags and punched out using our ID cards as we left the truck. The money would be credited to our false accounts with Klyth's company. Grain drivers were a kind of migrant work force, much like the migrants back on Earth.

Fortunately, the subways ran from the grain warehouse back to Altera Prime, and we were in the wrong side of town in no time at all. We checked into a roach palace named Kach Etach. The Kach Etach was the kind of place where people didn't eavesdrop, and those that did didn't live long enough to tell what they heard.

We settled into our sleaze box just as the pale orange sun of Altera was setting over the harbor. Our room, located on the west side of the fifteenth floor, afforded an excellent view of Fish's headquarters. As soon as everyone was in the room, I drew the blinds, locked the door and removed my camouflage net. Ten minutes later I held my tracking box up to the window. It pointed right at Fish's headquarters in the penthouse of the Sarth-Galard Hotel in the middle of Altera Prime.

"She's sleeping with the Fish" I said, pleased with the opportunity for some corny humor.

"Ten thousand credits says she's not there!" Otter hooted.

"Yeah. As I already said Mike, I've got a bad feeling about this one!" Sarah piped.

"OK, OK. Twenty-four hours of surveillance before we move. Otter. Break out the hover bugs, it'll be dark in 15 minutes"

Hover bugs were one of the other gifts from Klyth that we used in our last caper. Almost invisible at night, and completely silent, hover bugs had infrared reflection sensors that could read sounds in a room by sensing the vibrations in the Windows.

We spent the next 15 minutes unpacking the point to point Infrared receivers and connecting the translators. Hover bugs relayed the data back in bursts every 15 minutes by point to point infrared so there were no signals to intercept. As we powered up the receivers, I noticed Otter unpacking his ammo.

"How many clips you got Otter?" I asked.

"30, taped triples."

"Jeez Otter, that must weigh a 50 pounds. I hope you don't have to run very far."

But the Otter didn't have to run. Otter was our cover man. For this mission, we would put him up high, and let him and his Semi-auto recoilless 50 caliber sniping rifle do the work. At fifteen hundred yards, the first five dead men would hit the ground before the first shot was heard. That gave Otter time to get to his next firing station. It was a very effective system -- especially since its sights could see through solid matter, and its hyper kinetic rounds could turn a solid concrete wall into a sea of shrapnel.

Penthouse of doctor Shoof NaDyre, AKA the Fish, 400 hours universal standard time: The Fish is patting himself on the back: "I'll bet that Arcturan bastard's gonna send his hover bugs out right about now. Everyone got their parts?"

As everyone gave their AOKs, Geko, the fish's right hand man, spotted the hover bug and gave the go sign..."

"Your husband had better transmit your ransom or we're gonna start sending pieces of you back to Arcturus!" The Fish roared "You bastard! You do that and my husband will kill you! It might take years, but he will kill you."

Fifteen minutes later, the hover bug made its first laser transmission. Otter brought the surveillance images up on video.

"She's there all right and she looks really scared" I said, feeling a little less paranoid.

"If this is a trap, then the Fish just made his first mistake." Said Otter.

"The dame" I said, knowing where he was going.

"Yeah, the Dame. Voice stress analyzers don't work on Alterans, but they've got a human with them ... Shit! She's lying Mike. They staged this for our sake. They know we're here!"

Sarah, send out a hover bug and check the wall of this building."

A minute letter later the bad news came up on a monitor. There were sensors on every floor waiting to catch a piece of the hover bug's laser beam.

"They know where we are!" I said. "We're moving out!"

Searching desperately out the window facing away from Fish's headquarters, I Spotted an abandoned three story building three blocks away. Surrounded by parking lots and a few single story buildings, it would make a perfect location for an ambush. I pointed it out to Otter who already had the harpoon gun pointed out the window. He fired it into the wall of the three story building, just below the third story window.

"All right everyone, move out"

Our supplies were the first over the wire followed quickly by my team. Otter was first over the wire, securing the self adhering cushion with the impact of his own body as he and the cushion hit the wall at 20 miles an hour. I could hear fish's vehicles roaring towards our hotel.

Before I hit the wire, I locked a maddog into the window frame. A maddog is an automatic self-targeting 20 mm short cannon. It would shoot back at the muzzle flashes of anything it saw. Unless they got it on the first shot, it would give them some nasty surprises and keep them off our backs. I snapped my safety ring on to the cable and pushed off.

It was definitely an adrenaline rush as the buildings whizzed by. My safety ring whined as it slid over the carbon fiber cable. The cushion that Otter had secured looked entirely too small as it came up on me at 20 miles an hour.

Considering its size, the cushion worked well -- but it still hurt like hell. Otter, whose strength was legendary, pulled me in the window with one hand. Otter had no sooner blown the cable at the other end and reeled in the line when two squads of Fish's finks opened fire. The maddog got two of them before a shoulder launched missile blew out half the fifteenth floor sending showers of concrete and reinforcing bars on to the Alterans below.

Looking out the window of our new refuge, I began to see a way out.

"See all those vehicles" I said.

"Got it Mike" Said Otter as he took his mining rifle, 50 caliber sniping rifle, two hundred rounds of ammo, and 60 rifle propelled mines up to the roof. A rifle propelled mine is fired vertically, and a smart projectile fitted with air brakes, guides itself down via video telemetry to the target. Each mine had its own detonating code and frequency, and each mine found a strategically located car.

After putting all 60 rounds in a deadly ring around a parking lot, Otter came downstairs to review the battle plan.

Sarah glanced up, the pain visible on her face. She knew what was about to happen.

We were trapped on an alien planet, one hundred light years from home. From now on, every part of the operation would be black flag -- no wounded, no prisoners.

"I want to make sure no one in those squads makes it back alive. It'll drive the Fish to his lair, and that's just where we want him. If his finks are Alteran trained, as I think they are, they will come at us from all sides."

Fortunately for us, the parking lot will be the only cover they've got. Only the outer parts of the parking lot were mined, and we would be in the middle at the bottom of a 5 foot fox hole shielded by a magnetic field. As soon as they moved inside the mine field, we would open fire from the center while Otter opened up from the roof of this building. When they fell back into the mine field, Otter would detonate the mines and pick off anything that moved after the explosions.

After we loaded up our battle suits and weapons, we paused to say a silent prayer. Then Sarah and Harry headed for the street to start the fire fight, while Otter, Shark, and Barry headed to the roof. I went to the parking lot to blow the fox hole and get our shields running.

According to Otter, the fire fight started with a single shot when Sarah got the team leader of one of Fish's squads square in the forehead. The Alterans, already pissed off at the two that got blown apart by the Maddog, went ballistic and started firing indiscriminately in our direction, which did nothing but kill some civilians five blocks away.

As Harry and Sarah jumped into the fox hole, I handed out the sonic dampers and turned the force field to full. We hunkered down and waited.

But the Alterans were too cautious. In typical Alteran fashion, they surrounded the parking lot and closed in on all sides. High above the parking lot, Otter watched in disbelief as the two squads came into the center of the mine field at the same time. Closer ... closer. Otter switched the safety on his 50 caliber to fire and turned on the night scope. One more yard.... An instant later, the night sky turned into a boiling white and orange back drop for dozens of bodies hurled five stories into the air. Five of Fish's finks at the edge of the parking lot tried to escape but Otter quickly gunned them down. I turned off the force field and we slowly got out of our fox hole.

An eerie silence fell over the whole neighborhood as we gathered at the lobby of the building and waited for Otter. The sirens in the distance reminded us that it was time to activate the mission abort plan -- the sewers of the city.

So there we were, one hundred light years from home, nowhere to go, in the stench of an alien sewer.

"I hate to sound like a pessimist Mike, but this mission isn't going the way you planned is it?" Said Sarah, trying to lighten the mood. Everyone knew we were damn lucky to be alive.

"Thanks for the understatement Sarah. No pun intended, and the smell notwithstanding, we're in the shitter. If anyone has any ideas, now is the time."

"Well, what would the Fish expect us to do?" Otter asked.

"Make a run for the spaceport" said Sarah.

"I agree." I said "It seems were between rock and a hard place. The way I see it we have two choices. We can make a run for the suburbs, find some woods, and lay low until next week when the next grain ship arrives. Then wait till the Fish tries something else. If he was pissed at us before, he's twice as pissed now. Or, we can invade the Fish's penthouse, kill him and his crew, steal his ship, and fly it home."

"Finish it!" Otter hissed through clenched teeth, remembering our dead comrades and his dead wife.

"I don't want to run and fight him another day." Said Sarah. "Yeah, let's get it done."

"I must be honest with you guys." I said. "I'd say we have a one in three chance of making it out alive"

"That good?" Otter piped "I thought it was more like one in five"

"I was a just trying to cheer everyone up. Listen, we need to hack -- fast. Harry, Those are telecommunications fiber-optic cables over there are they not?

"Yes indeed." Said Harry as he got out his hack kit.

The hack kit is fastened onto the outer cable cladding. It then sends down sensing tendrils that seek out binary transmissions and fuse with the optical fibers carrying the signals. Five minutes later we were into the architecture database of Altera Prime.

Now the Fish was evil, and we had no intention of leaving him alive, but he did have one saving grace. He loved women. He recruited them from all over the galaxy, kept them, then let them retire at 35 with a million credits. This complicated everything because rumor had it that he had floors 12 through 14 stocked with his "ladies," and each had her own suite of rooms. We would have to nail him in the audition chamber.

Harry, our cryptographer stared at the screen as images flew across the display, stopping on a dime when he found what we were hoping to see -- The hotel had a multistory heating and cooling system that was connected by two meter ducts.

"Your feminine charms will have to work overtime to get us into the audition room" I told Sarah. Camouflage nets could make us all 'Tens', but we weren't women and the Fish would know the difference.

From a copy of the penthouse blueprints we learned that interviews were done in a very large hall on the 14th floor. I would be an Orion slaver and Sarah would be my most expensive prize -- a Parisian model snatched from the French fashion scene. Harry, Otter, Shark and Barry would proceed through the air ducts and secure Fish's ship. Word on the interstellar web indicated that this auction would be held on the first Friday after the full moon -- tomorrow.

Sarah auditioned several girls to give us 'something to dream about' as she put it. She was definitely going to curl the Fish's scales!

Otter went street side to collect as many flattened foam storage boxes he could find. When he returned, we divvied up the boxes and bedded down for the 10 hour Alteran night.

Nine hours later, I was awakened by Otter's firm hand on my shoulder.

"Listen Mike, today's gonna be pretty grim. If I don't make it, you gotta promise me something."

"Sure Otter, if I can."

Since his wife's death, Otter's moods went from serious to very serious. Standing before me, his hawk like eyes burning into me, he was on the other side of both.

"If I die, promise me you'll gut the Fish!"

"Damn Otter, that's some serious shit." I said, lowering my head to escape his piercing glance. A strong hand gently but firmly grabbed my chin and lifted my face back into his gaze.

"I mean it Mike. You owe me. She died doing a mission for you."

"You're serious."

"As a gut wound. Will you do it?"

Looking into his sad, serious eyes, I said "Sure pal, give me your backup blade." He reached down and took off his ankle knife -- a laminated blade of the high carbon steel and titanium that was sharp as a razor and tough as a pry bar. The Alteran that killed his wife was gutted with this very blade.

By now, Sarah was up and cleaning her twin recoilless 60 caliber machine pistols. Youthful and demure, Sarah at forty could still pass for someone's kid sister. A fatal mistake. By everyone's account, Sarah was the deadliest shooter anyone could remember, particularly in close quarters. With auto-targeting rounds in her pistols, I almost felt sorry for the Fish.

We removed our camouflage nets from their protective plastic bags, put them on, and assumed our various persona. As we came up in an alley a block away from fish's headquarters, the sun was just coming up over the ocean, and the cool breeze that came off the water blew the stink of the sewers out of our hair. We stopped in an early morning eatery to load up on food. It was going to be a very long day.

Checking myself out in my pocket mirror, I was impressed by the Orion slaver the camouflage net had generated. Sarah, now dressed in a string bikini is so beautiful she is distracting. Noticing my befuddlement, Sarah grins at me, then gives me a good hard punch in the arm.

"Focused?"

"I am now... Damn that hurt."

Harry, Shark, Barry, and Otter went back to the sewers. They would come up behind the hotel where they could get into the air conditioning ducts. Using Klyth's special climbing gear, they would make their way up to the penthouse hangar and secure the Fish's ship. On their way to the hangar, they would release hover mines on the 13th floor that would take out the stairs and elevators to seal off any escape route just in case things went wrong.

Sarah and I went to the lobby where I presented my slaver's license. It validated of course because Klyth had generated my virtual slaver persona and inserted into the interstellar database and the memory of my camouflage net, as part of our abort strategy. As the clerk was explaining the audition process, Sarah removed her cloak. He stopped in mid sentence as his eyes glazed over. After he composed himself and got his tongue back in his mouth, he buzzed the Fish. His description of Sarah bordered on poetry.

Orion slavers 'goods' where desired all over the galaxy. They kidnapped only the most beautiful girls, and developed drugs to turn their slaves into perfect concubines.

As the doors to the elevator opened, Sarah's eyes pleaded for mercy. But we both knew in our hearts that as long as the Fish lived, our lives, and the lives of our friends and families would be at risk.

We took the elevator to the fourteenth floor -- it was the longest elevator ride of my life. The door opened.

There, before us, was what was left of the Fish's crew. As per tradition, I started the music projector carried on my belt, and my slave threw down her cloak and began to dance.

The fish's eyes and the eyes of all of his men were fixed on Sarah. For the next two minutes, she owned the room. Then she danced back to me.

Just then, taking advantage of their distracted state, Otter kicked out the air conditioning grate and blew away five of the fish's men sitting on the opposite end of the room. Geko got off a lucky burst from his automatic cannon, blowing Otter out of the duct and ending his life! Sarah sprang into action: "The Fish is mine" I screamed as Sarah dove for her cloak where her 60 caliber recoilless pistols were concealed. She bounced off the floor with both guns and wrist braces now in place in each hand. As she rolled back on her feet, guns blazing, Geko's cannon blasts shattered the wall behind her until he dissolved in a red and purple mist. The Fish was now alone.

"I hate this macho shit" Sarah screamed. "Go ahead Mike, finish him!"

By now, the Fish knew he was a dead Fish if he made the slightest move toward Sarah -- but he was pretty sure he could get me. The Fish slowly got up, waiting for me to make my move.

I couldn't kill the Fish, and that put me at a disadvantage. I was about to wound him when he, Lady Fleming, and the throne there were sitting on dropped through the floor. Now I began to realize what Sarah meant when she said "macho bullshit." The Fish was mine, and I had to gut him for Otter. But Sarah had both pistols trained on him and could have reduced him and his throne to pieces of fabric, wood, blood, and bone in an instant. I had endangered all our lives for Otter's revenge.

I blew the hover mines on the thirteenth floor to take out the stairs and elevators, and shouted into my communicator: "Shark, Barry, get down to the thirteenth floor, the Fish just swam into his harem right below the audition room."

I threw a concussion grenade into the hole where the throne had been. Before the grenade went off, Sarah looked at me: "This is my last mission Mike!" She said as she walked over to get her robe.

As the grenade went off, Sarah got a stasis bag out of her robe and pulled it over Otter's shattered body.

I jumped down through the hole and checked the room. The doors and windows were blown out, and smoke was pouring from the bed. Unfortunately, the Fish had already fled. Since the hover mines had taken out both stairways and elevators, he had to be somewhere on the thirteenth floor. This was bad. The Fish was always most dangerous when he was cornered, and this time we had him boxed in. I could hear Shark and Barry working their rooms: "Barry, you in position?"

"Roger that Shark, beginning North to South sweep, West side."

"Copy that Barry, keep this channel open."

By now, Sarah had Otter bagged and was using his sniping rifle, sights on, to work the central hallway in parallel with Barry and Shark.

"Barry, Shark, stayed focused, the Fish is really dangerous when cornered." Sarah barked.

Sarah wanted to make sure that the sweep team was in sync. Then she shouted orders to all the ladies on the thirteenth floor in Arcturan accented Alteran: "Attention everyone! We're going to start throwing concussion grenades into your rooms. You can walk out, or be carried out. You have ten seconds! "

All the doors, except 5 at the end of the corridor, opened, filling the hall with screaming, hysterical women, babbling in a dozen different languages. Sarah continued to close in on the Fish: "All stations, we've got the Fish confined to the hallway and a suite of rooms on the east end of the 13th floor."

By this time, I was in the corridor. I made my way past Sarah to secure the rooms on our side of the building. Shark and Barry went into the rooms on opposite sides of the hallway and started shooting holes in the walls and dropping concussion grenades through the holes. Once the grenades blew down the wall, they would proceed to the next suite. This was the kind of situation that got my people killed on the last mission.

Sarah put a couple of rounds into the top wall at the other end of the hallway to quiet everyone down.

"Cover my back, I'm gonna get these ladies behind us." Moving close to the wall, Sarah called out in Alteran: "Everyone! Gather at this end of the Hallway!"

As they filed by us, Sarah noticed one of the "ladies" at the end of the hall. She was reaching into her purse and her lips were just all little too large. When Sarah raised the rifle, the "lady" ducked into suite 513. Sarah got on the command channel: Harry! Get your butt down here. We need tactical on suite 513 ASAP. Shark, you're in 511, Barry, 515."

The noose was tightening. I had never seen Sarah like this -- it was a pleasure to see her work. When the girls were behind us, Sarah turned to me.

"You want him?"

"I know you think this is macho bullshit, but Otter and I go way back. He would do the same for me. Yes Sarah, I want him!"

I knew I had a great team behind me, but the walk down that hallway really got my adrenaline up. Halfway down, I kicked off my shoes -- the Fish was very good at shooting through walls. Slowly, quietly, I approached the door. As I stuck a concussion grenade to the door, I heard the faint 'click' of an automatic's hammer being cocked. As I dove down the hallway, a 60 caliber round hit the grenade dead center, setting it off and imbedding pieces of plaster in my legs.

"Very good you Fish eyed bastard, but your ass is still mine." I said as I picked myself up and lobbed a short fused grenade through the hole in the door. I heard two footsteps before the detonation. It probably bounced him off the wall. He wouldn't hear me coming next time.

I ducked through what was left of the door guns blazing, but the room was empty. Sarah followed me in. She no sooner got into the room when we heard Fish's 60 caliber pistol go full auto. He had just gunned down Shark through the wall.

"Shark's down Mike. I've had enough of this shit!" Sarah shouted as she raised the rifle. Still saving the Fish for me, she fired a single round that took off two fingers of his gun hand using the rifles x-ray scope.

"I'm gonna bag the Shark Mike. Your on your own."

I ran to the door that connected the suites and kicked it down. I guess lady Fleming's fling on the wild side ended upstairs. Her eyes stared at me, but there was no one home.

The Fish was wrapping his hand with a handkerchief.

"Well Mike, do I get a break, or are you gonna gun me down?"

As he turned to get a piece of cloth for his wounded hand, a single shot, 60 caliber sleeve gun got me in the outer thigh. As I went down, I got him in the knee and both shoulders. Using all my hate to get through the pain, I crawled to him, took out Otter's knife and cut him from groin to rib cage. Lady Fleming, who was already in shock, went catatonic as the fish's guts spilled out onto the floor. He didn't cry out. In fact, he looked relieved.

The last thing I remember was Sarah saying: "My God Mike! What have we become?"

Klyth and Marta's ranch, 5 days later: Sarah had saved me and the Shark, and tried to save Otter by putting his broken, shattered body into a stasis bag. As we unloaded Otter's body from Fish's ship, Klyth gave us a gut wrenching decision to make: "Except for his five year old daughter, Marlita, Otter had no family, so you will have to speak for him. Sarah got his brain into the stasis bag just in time to save his consciousness. Unfortunately, the rest of his body is useless and there's only one being that can regenerate his body."

"What does Kayleen think about that?" I said.

"Very good Mike." said Klyth. "I have a suggestion -- Since Kayleen scanned Janna two and a half years ago, she can be Janna. With proper conditioning, Otter could be made to believe that Kayleen's Janna was real."

"Kayleen. Are you OK with this?" Sarah asked.

Speaking in the form of the elfin princess I had seen earlier, Kayleen said: "Yes Sarah. Otter and I have both lost loved ones. Unfortunately, Otter cannot speak for himself so you will have to speak for him."

"Why not tell the truth?" Harry asked.

"His heart belongs to Janna. If he had to face the truth, his mind might shut down." Said Klyth. "Kayleen, why don't you show them what we mean?"

There were gasps, and Sarah, who was like a sister to Janna, was in tears. It was as if Janna had come back from the grave. Kayleen, now as Janna continued: "Let me explain my situation and how Otter and I can help one another. As you know, the seed of my companion was destroyed by the medical team that checked Klyth's life pod. It has left me alone and terribly unhappy. I know that Otter is also alone and suffering the loss of the center of his life."

I listened as everyone headed down the road of deceit. Finally, I could listen no longer: "If I speak for Otter, I must speak the truth." I said. "I know this may shock everyone, but I think Otter would rather take his chances with the truth than live with a lie. Anyone disagree? "

The room went quiet. Everybody knew I was right.

"I don't think you are giving Otter enough credit. Kayleen, why don't you show yourself to Otter. Let him see you and your loneliness and see what he says."

"Doesn't sound like a sure thing Mike." Said Kayleen.

"Life's not a sure thing." I said. "Are you okay with that Kayleen? "

"Sure Mike, what do I have to lose?"

"Amen to that." I said. "Everyone else OK with that?"

There were no objections. Otter was the most honest person any of us had ever met. For Otter, this was the only way it could go down.

"OK Kayleen, how long to put Otter back together?"

"Not long Mike." Said Otter as he popped into the room.

"Otter?" Sarah gasped as she threw her arms around him.

"Yeah Sarah, it's me. I'd like to thank you for saving my life. Now If you will excuse us, Kayleen and I have to talk. By the way, thanks for playing it my way Mike, I owe you one."

In an instant, Otter was transported to Kayleens 'room'. Sitting before him, was the sweetest, kindest, woman he had ever seen. Her eyes overflowed with compassion, and her face reflected the years of loneliness. Despite his love for Janna, there was something compelling about her -- a long lost longing, and a strange comfortable familiarity. Then she spoke: "That longing you feel is your first love -- you were 14 and her name was Mary. I have taken her form at age forty. The part of me that was Kayleen has been suspended, to be activated only if Klyth and Marta are in danger. I've put these things in motion and they cannot be changed. I am, and always be, in love with you. I will grow old with you ... if you will have me."

Her words moved Otter to tears. In his heart he felt a warmth he had not known since he lost Janna. He also realized Kayleen had given up immortality for him. As he stood before her, he held her hand gently, and caressed it with his tears.

"You have given me back my life and my soul. A part of me I didn't know I had, is alive again. Yes, I'll have you. Let's grow old together."

It was wonderful to see something good come out of this mission. In the years to come, this is the part I will remember.

Your probably wondering about Lady Fleming. Well, she recovered in a sanitarium run by the Sisters of Mercy, and became one of them. She sends flowers once a year to a grave on Altera.

That fall, we celebrated two weddings. We had the reception in the largest hall in Arcturus.

It was a rainy night in Arcturus. As the wedding party climbed the stairs that led up to the hall, seven Alterans put the habeas grabus on the wife of one of the local Boron Barons. Without breaking step, we smiled at each other and said -- "Chief Donaldson." It felt good.