"Wish You Were Here..."
by Cyberwulfe

*Another dedication to my good friend and dedicated fan, Nordog. Thanks for the story idea, as well as the title!*

Jared sighed and dropped the paintbrush into his water jar. He had been working on his latest masterpiece for over a week now and it was finally done. He slumped down in his chair and grabbed his coffee mug. After taking a few sips he got up, stretched, and went into the bedroom where his wife waited. They had only been married a few months but already they were experiencing problems. Jared now worked for a major art company in the Lylat System and was constantly working on his paintings, leaving little time for Mina.

He had known Mina since they were both kids and still living on Titania. They now made their home on Fortuna; their dream home. After living on a desert planet that was nothing but heat and sand, living on an arctic planet was a welcome change. At least once a year it warmed up a bit and they would be able to walk about without coats on. Mina was stretched out on the bed, reading one of her favorite novels. Jared chuckled to himself. In all the years he had known her he knew she must have read that book at least a dozen times. Now she was working on number thirteen.

He lay down and snuggled next to her," I'm finally done that painting."

"Good. Maybe now you can pick up your paycheck and take me out to dinner somewhere?" replied Mina. He rarely had time for her, even for dinner. Jared just smiled and kissed her.

"I hope we'll have time for dinner this week. They already have some big assignment for me to do. Nothing too big I hope," said Jared. He put his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling. Painted there was a mural that portrayed the entire Lylat System, from Corneria to Venom. It was an exact replica of the one on his bedroom ceiling on Titania, but it had been destroyed by slave traders several months ago during a raid.

Mina leaned closer and put her arms around his neck," I think you'd better find some time for me," she said teasingly, letting her deep brown eyes seduce him," Or I'll have to dump some of your paints out the window."

"You wouldn't," smiled Jared.

Mina only grinned back and got out of bed," Honey!" said Jared.

Mina laughed and ran into his studio. Jared jumped out of bed and chased after her. She already had several tubes of paint in her hands and was tying to get away from him. He was laughing now too and chased her around the studio. She was soon tackled and the two of them fell to the floor. Mina landed on one of the paint tubes and it squirted blue paint all over the both of them.

Jared looked himself over and then started laughing. Mina was laughing too. She had blue paint all over her face and night gown. The two broke into histerical laughter and hugged each other. Mina smeared paint on Jared's nose and Jared smothered her face with the paint. Finally they fell backwards onto the floor and giggled.

Then Jared sat up and tried to rub some of the paint from his nose. He chuckled once more and then took Mina's hand and helped her to her feet.

"Now we're all blue," he said, trying best to show a pouty face.

"We'll have to take a shower now, won't we?" said Mina. She grinned at him and slowly started walking towards the bathroom. Jared came up behind her and put his arms around her and the two of them walked into the bathroom.

Mina opened her eyes and instinctively looked to her right towards the bedside clock. It read eleven thirty. She looked to her left. Jared was gone... again. She sighed and got out of bed. After going to the kitchen and putting the coffee on she sat down at the table and put her head in her hands. She thought of how they had first fallen in love, then their wedding, the month-long honeymoon on Katina and Corneria, and then buying their small house on Fortuna just over a month ago.

As soon as Jared was accepted for his new job she noticed how little she saw of him. Every weekend he was off on a trip somewhere to collect sketches, or colour samples for new paints; or he was inside his studio for hours at a time painting. His job was all-consuming and he rarely had time to kiss her good night, and every morning it was the same thing. She would wake up alone. She began to wonder if she had made the right decision by marrying an artist. A darn good artist, but still, she wondered what life would have been like if he was around more often.

The coffee pot began to screech and Mina stood to get it when the door burst open. It was Jared. Mina was surprised to see him at all, let along during the day.

"I just got another big assignment!" he exclaimed.

"Oh. What a big surprise," said Mina sarcastically. She took the pot and poured herself some coffee.

"Yeah, but this one is the biggest, and afterwards I can take two months off," Jared explained.

He ran into the bedroom and Mina could hear shuffling sounds. She mixed some cream and sugar into her coffee and walked into the bedroom. Jared was packing a suitcase. When he was half done, with clothes hanging out at odd angles, he ran into his studio. He came out a few seconds later carrying his easel and travel case of paint supplies. He set them down and finished packing his suitcase.

"Oh really?" asked Mina," Maybe then we can spend some time together, huh?"

"Yeah. I hope so," then Jared stopped and looked at Mina. She had a frightened expression on her face. He walked over and hugged her tightly. Mina sobbed and held him close.

"I promise to come back as soon as possible and then we can spend some time together, okay?"

Mina nodded," Where are you going anyway?"

"Well, I'm going to the spaceport right now to take a shuttle to Crescent City on MacBeth."

"But isn't that a really tough neighborhood?" asked Mina. She took a quick sip of her coffee.

"Yeah. They want me to do some sketches of the city and also any crime scenes that I happen to come across. After that I just hand in the sketches and let someone else take care of them. They promised me a paycheck as soon as I come back as well as two month's vacation time."

"Great!" exclaimed Mina. She hugged him again," But I think there's something you should bring."

"What's that?" asked Jared, puzzled.

Mina walked into the walk-in closet to the very back where she knew a secret compartment existed. She returned with a large suitcase that she lugged onto the bed. Jared knew what it was right away. His suit of battle armour.

Jared had once been part of the Titania Special Forces, but after quelling a small rebellion he returned home, still wearing his crimson armour," It's such a tough neighborhood," repeated Mina," I'd feel safer if you brought this with you."

"Alright, fine. If it'll make you feel better. Of course I'd hate to miss out on spending all that time with you."

Mina smiled and snuggled close to him. He kissed her and then left for the spaceport.

The spaceport was milling with people. It seemed that everyone on Fortuna had someplace to go that afternoon. Jared, loaded down with his two suitcases and his easel, made his way through the crowd towards the "Departures" gates. He soon found his shuttle flight and began to walk through the metal scanner when the alarm went off. The scanner had detected his blaster and armour in his suitcase as it went through the luggage checker.

"Excuse me sir, could you please step this way?" said a big security guard.

"Of course," said Jared.

He was taken to a room where his bags were searched and it didn't take long to find his blaster as well as the military-grade armour.

"Mind telling me what you're doing with this?" asked the guard.

"Of course not," replied Jared. He stood up from the chair he had been waiting in," I am Captain Jared of the Titania Special Forces. I have a license for both the gun and armour and I don't believe you're in any position to confiscate them."

"Uh huh," scoffed the guard," Well I'd really like to see some credentials first there `Captain'."

"Of course. Just let me get them from my bag," Jared said. He moved slowly, not making any quick moves, and reached into his clothing suitcase. He showed the guard his Special Forces application, his medals, rank, and also his name on the armour. Then after a quick bio scan to verify that he was indeed who he said he was Jared was on his way.

"Buncha overprotective losers," grumbled Jared. He had almost missed his flight. Having to wait around while security searched his things was not something he had though of, but he still made it to the shuttle a good eight minutes before it took off towards MacBeth. He sighed and sat back. It would be a four hour hyperspace jump followed by more walking and possibly more harassment by the MacBeth airport security. It was going to be a long trip!

Jared sat on the edge of his bed. The hotel's suite was very spacious, and he now wished that he had taken Mina with him. She would have loved it here, and also enjoyed the time with him. It had only been a few months since they had been married, and already he knew they were having problems. Maybe it was all his fault for spending too much time on his work, or for taking such a time-consuming job. But if he had left the Titania Special Forces and there was nothing left for him on his home planet, then he had decided to live off his hobby: painting.

His biggest dream, as he grew up, was to have Mina pose for him and let him paint her picture, but she had never let him. After he had rescued her from slave traders and brought her home the two had gone into his house and his dream finally came true. They married a few weeks later. On Titania they don't waste time making a lot of big, unnecessary plans. It was a simple wedding, then the honeymoon, and now they lived on Fortuna. The frozen planet was a welcome change from their sandy desert homeworld.

Jared looked down at his suitcase, the one that contained his armoured suit. The crimson red armour transformed him into a one-man army. It had a personal deflector shield that protected him from limited laser blasts, strength enhancing gauntlets, and his boots were equipped with grav-units for high jumps and faster running abilities. He felt like a different person in his suit. He felt like he could just go out and forget his old life and live as a hero, a soldier in a suit of armour. To Mina he was her "knight in shining armour," which was an overstatement after the damage his armour had taken while rescuing her. Now it was repaired and shone with a luster that suggested it was brand new.

Jared stood up and began unpacking his things. He set up his easel in one room near the balcony and laid his painting supplies on a small table. He also left his sketch pad and pencil case on the floor. There was a large closet and dresser in the bedroom and he unpacked his clothes and left his armour in the closet. He stuffed his shirts and pants into the drawers of the dresser and then walked into the kitchen. He hadn't brought any food, except for some of Mina's chocolate cake; boy could she bake! He sat at the counter and munched while he read a newspaper he had picked up in the hotel's lobby.

There was indeed a rise in crime. People being robbed, raped, killed... not the best place to be alone on assignment, but if it meant three whole months of nothing but waking up late in the morning with Mina then he could handle it. And with the size of the gun that came along with his armoured suit, Jared was sure to send any punk running for his life! Jared chuckled as he began reading the comics. The crazy things cartoonists do to get laughs... and money!

Jared adjusted the bag that hung over his shoulder. In it was his sketch pad and a few selected pencils. He was out looking for action, and after reading the paper he knew exactly where to find it. He found the scene of a recent murder and set to work sketching the scene. There was a overturned dumpster, papers everywhere, some lingering blood stains, and a few other things just laying about. The wind blew through the alleyway and disturbed some of the papers, but any good artist is able to compensate for sudden changes in scenery.

After a half hour he decided that his sketch was of grade-A quality and signed and dated the sketch. He packed it away in his bag and continued along the street. There were very few people in this part of town. They were either very brave or very stupid. Jared was the former, and also knowing that he was carrying a Titanic Special Forces Issue Blaster on his belt gave him an extra sense of security. He checked the next address on a piece of paper where he had written down information from the paper. It was, apparently, according to the town map, just a few blocks away. It must have been gang related, since the attacks or muggings were relatively close together. There must have been some kind of organization.

Jared kept his wits about him. When someone approached him he tensed up and got ready to draw his blaster at any moment. He never had any trouble, but he did pass by a pair of prostitutes, and after flashing his wedding ring they backed off and strolled down the street in the opposite direction. Jared breathed a sigh of relief and continued on his own way.

He reached the building where the crime had occurred. It had been an arson fire, and there wasn't much left of the building than a hollow, blackened wreck. Jared pulled out his sketch pad and began to draw. Then he was approached by a young fox. He peered over Jared's shoulder and smacked his lips.

"Whatcha doin'?" asked the fox. He seemed, Jared could tell by his voice, only a teenager.

"Just sketching this old building," replied Jared. He added a few detailed lines to the door frame, which was now nothing but a few pieces of charred wood.

"Why? Are you some kinda artist or something?"

"Yes, actually. I'm out on assignment from Fortuna," Jared thought he had given out enough information and kept sketching.

"Must be nice. Being able to draw, I mean. I can't draw worth crap!" said the fox.

Right then Jared agreed that the fox was intoxicated, or on some type of drug. The fox just coughed and spat on the sidewalk, and then walked down the street. Jared sighed. He could feel his back hairs once again drop down onto his back. He wasn't sure whether the fox was going to pull out a knife or a gun or something. Jared quickly finished his sketch and packed his book away in his bag.

Once inside his suite he sat down in the plush couch in the living room and took a look at his sketches. There was the murder scene, the arson, and another regarding the docks, which wasn't really crime related, but it reminded him of a gangster movie he had once seen where the gangsters made a pair of cement shoes for a guy who owed them money and sent him over the edge. Jared laughed to himself as he imagined the actor falling to his "death."

After supper, Jared refined the sketches with some lighter and darker pencils, as well as conte crayons and then turned in for bed. He made sure the balcony doors were closed and locked tightly. He didn't want to take any chances. As a precaution, he set up three motion sensors around the suite. One in the living room, one in the hall, and one in the bedroom. They would detect anyone coming in the door, over the balcony, or creeping through the hall.

He wrapped himself in the blankets, missing Mina's warm body next to his own. He would have to get used to it for the next three weeks. He'd be doing a lot of sleeping alone.

Jared awoke instinctively at seven AM. He moaned and rolled out of bed. After a long shower, which he thought he deserved, he sat at the kitchen counter again, deciding what to do about breakfast. He fell asleep.

He awoke an hour later after his stool collapsed from underneath him and he fell to the floor. Feeling sore, but a bit more rested, he finally made some bacon and eggs. He made some coffee and sat down in the living room to admire the view out the balcony window. The sun was out and shining, and a few small birds flew by. Jared had never seen birds before moving off Titania, and every time her saw them he hoped they would stay still long enough for him to draw them. He loved the way they moved and how they were able to fly. He envied them and their ability to just spread their wings and fly away.

Once the dishes were done he sat at his easel and painted a few squiggly lines and filled in the organic shapes and spaces made by the lines. It was a silly little painting with the quality of a kindergarten student, but Jared had always loved doing that just to pass the time. It was also good practice for lines and filling small and large spaces. Jared didn't bother to sign it. Anyone who thought of stealing it could have it.

He felt like taking the day off and just relaxing. He was still very stressed from his constant working working working, and thought that at least one day would be nice. He'd sit in the living room, watch television, drink soda, and dream of Mina. Mina. He wished he had brought her. He staggered into the living room and slumped onto the couch. It was very soft and reminded him of a couch he had as a kid in his home back on Titania. He had spent hours sleeping on that couch. It was his couch!

Jared lay down on the couch now and turned on the television. As the screen flickered to life he began to drowse and eventually fell asleep again.

When he woke up it was dusk. He shook his head. He ran into the kitchen and checked the clock. It read six fifteen PM. His mouth hung open. How could he have just slept the whole day away? There was no chance of him sleeping now. It was almost night, and Jared knew it would be an all-nighter for sure. He needed something to do to pass the time. Paint? Television, which was still on. Maybe he could go out at night and try to sketch. No, it was out of the question. Unless...

He ran to his bedroom and opened the closet door. There sat his suitcase with his armour. What if he went out as a soldier and looked for crimes? He got a sudden rush of excitement. He would be like Avenger Man from his childhood comic books! Jared laughed to himself as he pulled the suitcase out of the closet.

He was suited up in less than ten minutes, a trick learned in the Special Forces in case of an emergency. All soldiers were required to be able to don their armour in less than ten minutes Jared wasn't in a total rush right now, but in the military his best time was just under five minutes. He clipped his blaster to his belt and adjusted the separate parts of the armour. His arms, legs, and chest plates. They were all secure, but loose enough to allow free movement of all body parts. He could even, with the aid of his grav-boots, jump into the air and do a midair somersault.

He crouched on the edge of the railing on his balcony, surveying the city as Avenger Man had done in several issues. He remembered his favorite phrase, from issue #26," This is my city. A city full of filth and crime that needs to be cleaned away. I'm the only hope for this city!" And with that Jared leapt from the balcony.

Mina sat on the edge of the couch, looking out the window at the star-filled sky. She remembered the many clear nights she had seen on her home planet of Titania. When the dust clouds cleared away and the stars came out. The other people in the colony often gathered a small crowd, and Jared was always there watching. He would also paint the stars in the dark, with only his keen nocturnal vision to help him see what he was doing, and they often turned out beautiful. It was what helped him paint a mural of the Lylat System on his bedroom ceiling.

Mina looked at the picture of Jared that lay on the end table next to the couch. She picked it up and looked at it. What had happened to them? They were so happy at first. Then Jared got his job and was rarely, if ever, at home. Mina sighed. At least he was home at night and they slept together. He still loved her, this she believed, and she knew how much it hurt him not being able to see her often, but there was nothing they could do. Jared's job allowed them to live in their house, and also allowed such luxuries as television, the Galactic Net computer system, and several other fancy items. But none of it helped the way Mina felt. She missed Jared, and was very worried about him.

With one last look at Jared's picture and a final glance outside, Mina walked to the bedroom and prepared herself for another sleepless night.

Jared felt a great rush of excitement as he leapt from roof top to roof top. He was free as a bird, and nothing could hold him back. He stopped as he reached the edge of a building. The next roof was over forty feet away, but Jared was feeling cocky in his new superhero dream. He backed up a few feet and then soared over empty space and managed to catch the edge of the building with his left hand. He gasped as the air was knocked out of him when he slammed into the side of the building. He reached up with his right hand and pulled himself into a sitting position on the edge of the roof. Slowly he looked down; it was about thirty stories up. Jared gulped.

After several more miraculous leaps he decided to take his patrol to the ground. He landed in an alley way and looked around while in a crouch. There was nothing except steam rising out of a storm drain. Jared stood up and turned one-hundred and eighty degrees and began running in the opposite direction. He crossed a street and ran into another alley. He came across another street which had a car moving along it, but Jared didn't see it in time. He slammed into the side of the hood and rolled over it. Luckily his armour protected him, and he only had a slight headache later. He approached the car as the driver tried to hide behind the steering wheel, frightened by the strange figure covered in ruby red armour. Jared just paused, allowing his image to burn itself into the driver's mind, and then dashed away into the darkness of the alley.

Jared stopped at the next street and rubbed his arm. He had landed on his right elbow and it was now throbbing. He flexed his arm several times and the pain went away. Just as Jared was about to run across the street into the next alley he heard a scream. A horrible scream. The cry of someone about to die. Jared dashed down the street in the direction of the cries, hoping that he would arrive in time. He ducked back and hid in the shadows as the he came across the scene.

There were three figures dressed in dark body suits surrounding a small pedestrian who was on his knees. The thugs were taunting him with knifes and Jared could see that at least one of them carried a blaster. One of the dark figures made a lunge at the pedestrian, so Jared decided to make his presence known.

"Stop!" he shouted.

The four others in the street stopped and stared at him.

"Who the heck are you?" asked the thug with the gun.

"That's none of your business. Why are you attacking this guy?"

"That's none of your business either," said a second thug. He revealed that he too was carrying a gun. Jared tensed. It was going to be an interesting fight.

"I think you'd better let this guy go before I have to come in there and stop you," said Jared.

"I'd like to see you try!" shouted the third thug.

Jared simply shrugged his shoulders and started walking towards the thugs.

"Stop, or I'll shoot!" ordered the first thug, pulling his blaster level to Jared's chest.

"Go for it," challenged Jared.

Infuriated the thug pressed the trigger. The laser bolt shot out, hit Jared square in the chest, and then deflected off his personal shield and back into the thug's face. His smoking corpse fell to the ground. His fellow thugs gasped and drew their guns. Jared, with his military training, was much quicker. He had drawn his blaster and shot both thugs before the second one could even draw.

The pedestrian gasped as the other two thugs groaned and fell on their faces in the street. Jared switched off his shield to save battery power and approached the pedestrian. He was a young eagle around the age of eighteen.

"Hey thanks," he said, rubbing a bruise on his face," You sure showed up in time."

"I just happened to be in the neighborhood," replied Jared through his helmet vocoder, which gave his voice a static, robotic tone to it.

"Well, I guess I owe you one then, huh?"

"I don't see how you could help me, unless you know what's been going on in the neighborhood lately?"

"Who are you, some sort of mercenary?" asked the eagle.

"No, actually I'm a retired soldier-turned-artist. I'm here on vacation. I guess I picked the wrong time to travel."

"You picked the best time to travel, dude! You could really help us out here! With a guy like you protecting us we could beat them and finally free the town!" the eagle was really getting excited and flapped his arms.

"Woah there! Who are you talking about?"

"There's this gang that call themselves the Steel Dogs. They drive around on speeders and do whatever they want. Even the cops are afraid to try to arrest them. They've blown up two police stations and killed dozens of cops already!"

"Sounds like they mean business," puzzled Jared, trying to digest every scrap of information," So where did you come in? Just a random attack?"

"Naw. Lately they've been planning some big thing, and they've been going around making offers to guys my age to join their gang. I'm totally against them and think they should be run outta town! They found me tonight, and as you can see I obviously said no."

Jared frowned, which was hidden by his helmet, but the eagle seemed to know what he was thinking," Are you gonna help us?"

"I'll see what I can do from my end. But you've got to help me in return."

"Sure! Anything!"

"I want you to tell me everything you have on these guys. Who runs the gang, possible hide-outs, you know."

"Yeah. Okay, let me see what I can tell you..."

Jared took off his armour, stored it in his suitcase, and dropped into bed. He was tired and just wanted to sleep. He didn't bother setting up his defense system, but just locked his doors and windows. Sleep came quickly, and his dreams were filled with images of himself in a bright red suit and a cape and flying around the city fighting bad guys and stopping whole criminal organizations...

Jared awoke as a loud noise crashed through his apartment. He rolled out of bed and grabbed his blaster from its holster. He crept slowly to the edge of his door, which opened right in his face. He moved quickly and slipped behind the door as it opened. A black shape came into the room, aimed a large square weapon at his bed, and fired. The rapid bursts of energy tore through the sheets and set the bed on fire. The figure then ran out of the bedroom.

Jared ran out from behind the door and pointed his gun at the figure's back," Freeze!"

The figure turned, saw Jared, and opened fire with his gun. Jared jumped out of the way and rolled several times before landing behind a chair. Jared cursed as the tiny balls of energy exploded around him. He hated Repeater Guns with a passion, and he would be sure to finish this guy off. The firing stopped. Jared popped up, scanned the room for the figure but saw nothing. The dark figure had slipped out the window and into the night. Jared cursed and took a fire extinguisher from the kitchen to put his bed out.

After spending the next half hour setting up his alarm system, Jared fell asleep in the living room's couch. A large pile of boxes prevented anyone from seeing him through the window. Jared could only wonder how he had been followed. It must have been the Steel Dogs, for Jared had just killed three of their members. He sighed and promised himself to call Mina in the morning.

Mina smiled as she saw where the flashing message was from: MacBeth. She immediately pressed the Receive button and waited for Jared's face to appear. When it did she wished it hadn't. He was dirty and sweating and looked like something the cat had dragged in.

"Hi honey. How are things?" he asked.

"Uh, fine. What happened to you?" asked Mina, going straight to the point.

"Well, there've been some complications..."

"I knew it was dangerous! I want you to come home as soon as you're finished!"

Jared frowned," No. It's not that. Everything's fine. Just that I think it may take me a bit more time to finish up here. There are some things I have to do first."

"Really? How long is it going to take? Another month?!" Mina snapped, angered at another delay in their relationship.

"No no no! Not at all! Maybe a week or two, but I'll be home soon, " replied Jared. Mina could see him squirming, and she knew that all of his topnotch military training couldn't protect him from her wrath.

"Alright. I'll wait a while longer. Please hurry! I miss you!"

"I miss you too! And I'll be sure to pick you up something nice before I come home!"

"Love you!"

"Love you too," replied Jared. He cut the transmission short and slumped back in his chair. The apartment still smelled like burning sheets and Jared had all of the windows open. He would have to crack down hard on this gang in order to be home in time, but would he be able to?

Mina sighed as Jared's face disappeared and was replaced with static. She placed her fingers on the screen and ran them from top to bottom.

"I wish you were here..."

That afternoon, Jared went back to his job as an artist. He carried his blaster along with him in case he ran into trouble. If the gang was resourceful enough to be able to follow him to his apartment, they could certainly follow him around town. He kept his wits about him and his ears erect, ready to pick up any sign of danger.

He stopped in a small commons that bustled with people. Jared decided that this would be a good picture to draw, to prove that even amidst the fighting and crime there was still peace and serenity. He sat down on a fire hydrant and pulled out his sketch pad and sharpened a pencil. He just let the shavings drop to the sidewalk and began to draw. It was difficult at first, for the people were constantly moving around, but Jared soon improvised for where the people had stood and drew their arms and legs as if they were still walking or buying goods at a booth.

Jared smiled as the drawing finally came to completion. He signed it and tucked his pad back into his bag. Just as he was about to get up, four figures dressed in black outfits walked into the commons and started causing trouble. They flipped over tables covered with goods and pushed people out of their way.

"Have they come for me?" Jared asked himself.

The answer came when the four gang members walked past him, ignoring him. Then one of them turned and whispered something into another's ear. The four of them then turned and surrounded Jared.

"Hey you! What are you doing?" asked one of them.

"Drawing, actually. But I just finished," replied Jared.

"Oh really? Let's take a look!" one of the thugs reached for Jared's bag.

"Sorry, but I don't think they'd interest you," replied Jared, snatching up his bag before the thug could grab it.

"Oh, well that's too bad," said a third thug. He pulled out a gun, but before he could aim it anywhere he had his teeth knocked in, and a second of his companions was reeling on the ground, holding his broken nose. The other two thugs tried to grab Jared, but he jumped straight into the air and landed several feet away.

"Get him!" shouted one of the two remaining thugs.

The two thugs ran at Jared, who started to run in the opposite direction. He was very swift, and managed to outpace the thugs. But unfortunately for him he didn't know the city as well as the thugs, and before he knew it he was in a dead-end alley. The thugs slowed down and laughed out loud as they realized where Jared had gone. They sauntered into the alley and cracked their knuckles. They could already hear Jared's screams, begging them to stop.

But what they didn't know was that Jared was kneeling behind a barrel with the wide bore of his blaster's muzzle sticking over the edge. As soon as Jared saw the first thug he would fire without warning.

Just then a speeder bike screamed into the small alley and stopped next to Jared. It was being driven by the eagle from the previous night.

"Get on!" he shouted.

Jared needed no further words to convince him. He leapt onto the bike and held on tight as it soared into the air and over a building. The thugs just rubbed their foreheads in disbelief and walked back to terrorize the populace.

When the bike landed and the whirring of its engine had calmed down, Jared faced the eagle.

"Well, I guess I owe you one," he said.

"Naw! We're even, remember," the eagle smiled and winked. He was wearing a tank top with a red bandanna around his neck and a white sweat band around his head. It was dark and obviously stained with sweat.

"How did you know it was me from last night?"

"Aw, come on! Nobody around here can fight like you just did. And also that huge blaster you're packing kind of gave it away too."

Jared smiled and tucked his gun back under his shirt," So, you do a lot of riding?" asked Jared, admiring the souped-up bike.

"Yeah. It comes in handy, especially when outrunning those guys. They have such sloppy patch-up jobs on their bikes it's a wonder they even get around at all!" the eagle chuckled to himself and leaned on the handlebars.

Jared sighed and let his shoulders sink a little. He was getting tense. This scenario was nothing compared to the battlefields of Titania where he had served for two years fighting a rebellion. The war had changed him from a carefree teenager to an adult who realized that life wasn't all fun and games.

"Do they do that very often?" asked Jared, nodding in the direction of smoke rising up from the commons. The thugs were burning the tables and booths.

"Only when they're really mad at something. I guess we can owe our thanks to you, huh?"

"Yeah. I'll try to make up for it. I still have to find out where their base is. After that I'm pretty sure I can break in and destroy it."

"Woah there! You're jumping the gun a little don't you think? I mean, they've got everything from knives, blasters, missile launchers, gun turrets. Man, I'll bet their hide-out is that old derelict ship that crashed a few years ago. It's got more guns on it than you could shake a stick at. And even after that you'd be a smoking pile of ashes."

"Derelict?" asked Jared, puzzled," What derelict?"

"Naw, don't worry! It's just an old junk ship that crashed. Nobody's even bothered to salvage it, that's how crappy the thing is! I don't even fly around that place."

"That may be the perfect place though. Think about it; everyone thinks it's just a big junker so they avoid it. What better place to have a hide-out in?"

The eagle rubbed his chin," I don't know. You may be right on there. but if you're not you'll be putting yourself out an awful lot tonight when you go running around in your red suit."

"Who said I was gonna be running tonight."

The eagle's eyes widened and he looked down at his bike. He knew exactly what Jared was thinking.

"I still think this is a bad idea!" shouted the eagle of the roar of his bike's engine. He had introduced himself to Jared as Jet, and Jared though the name was quite fitting for the young bird.

"Just get me in close enough for me to jump, then come back in about ten minutes. I'll meet you over there," said Jared, pointing to a pile of old scrap that lay several yards from the derelict.

"Your funeral!" replied Jet.

The bike soared on a direct course for the derelict, and then, when it was merely twenty feet from the ground, Jared jumped. He landed and rolled several times before coming to a stop. He looked up and activated his night vision. The bike was already a good distance away.

He stepped over some wreckage and ducked behind a large gun turret that was burned out and would never fire again. He could see two guards posted near a large black opening. Jared smiled.

"The bird was right on! This is their stronghold alright," Jared said to himself.

He looked around for the best way to get inside. There was a small exhaust port that, Jared assumed, would lead inside the ship. He climbed up the side of the rusted hull and slid inside the large pipe. It was stuffy, and smelled of garbage and rotting metal. Not a pleasant smell, but Jared had smelled worse in his life. Like flesh and bone burning as a field doctor amputated a fellow soldier's leg right in front of him. Jared would remember that for the rest of his life.

Voices below made Jared stop. He pressed his ear against the bottom of the pipe and listened to the conversation.

"When is that shipment coming in?" asked a deep, gravely voice.
"I dunno. When it gets here, stupid," Jared could hear a slap, followed by a grunt.

"Hey! I'm just gettin' paid for my muscles, not my brain. So lay off the slapping or I'll break you in half!"

"And I am getting paid for exactly the opposite. So unless you want to screw up this whole thing you'll keep your hands off me, understand?"

Jared could only hear a rough grunt from the gravely voice. Jared continued on, moving quieter now. There was a grate in the pipe, and Jared carefully peered over the edge and looked down. He judged himself to be in the center of the ship by now, and right below him was a room full of weapons. Jared smiled. Here was a weapon's cache.

He continued along until he came to another grate about thirty feet down the pipe. Another room full of weapons. Jared was puzzled. He kept following the pipe and found yet another room full of weapons. Jared came to the conclusion that the ship was nothing but a weapon's bunker for the gang. That would certainly explain the conversation. They must have been expecting a new shipment of weapons. And there weren't many people moving around. Jared could hardly hear any footsteps or anything.

He found the end of the pipe, which ended with a large hatch. He carefully opened it and slid out into a tight hallway. He felt a strange wave of fear wash over him. It was mixed feelings between being in such a small space, as well as knowing that the enemy had Repeater Guns. The last time he was in such a position he was running down a hall away from a person shooting at him, and Jared had almost died there. He had never felt so helpless.

Jared opened an armoured door and looked inside. Stacked up to the ceiling were crates full of ammo and explosives. Several crates were open on the floor and Jared stared down at military grade assault rifles, grenade launchers... even Repeater Guns. Jared picked one up and snapped in two with his bare hands. He then threw the pieces aside and reached into a crate. He produced a cluster of grenades that were attacked in a plastic web like a six-pack of soda cans. He glanced out into the hallway to check for guards. He saw none. The grenades had a digital clock which would allow them to explode only after a set period of time. Jared checked his watch. Jet would be back to meet him in less than four minutes. Jared programmed one of the grenades to explode after three minutes and then pulled the pin. He tossed it back into the crate and hurriedly left the room.

He ran down the hall and smacked right into a pair of guards who were playing cards.

"Hey! You!" shouted one of them. Jared punched the guard in the head and kicked the other guard in the teeth. With the two of them dispatched, Jared continued on unhindered. Then he ran into three more guards. They also shouted a warning, and Jared soon found himself facing five opponents. Three in front of him and two behind. He rushed at the first guard in front of him as the rest ran at him. He kicked the guard in the stomach and the guard fell over. Jared grabbed the guard by the belt and threw him over his back, sending him crashing into the two rear attackers.

Jared quickly leapt at the two remaining guards and knocked their heads together, which produced a loud cracking sound. All five of the guards now lay on the floor, groaning.

"Sorry fellas, but you'll have an even worse headache in about two minutes," said Jared. He made a quick mock-salute and ran out of the ship through the main entrance. The two guards looked dumfounded as he ran right past them. They aimed their guns and were about to fire when a massive explosion from inside the ship made them turn around. A wall of flame was barreling its way towards them. They screamed and jumped out of the way as it rushed out into the open air.

A second explosion blew a large hole in the side of the ship, and a third, the largest of the three, ripped the ship to pieces. Fire belched from the ship and debris flew in all directions. Jared had taken refuge behind a large piece of metal when the blast hit and now stood up to watch his handiwork. A buzzing sound attracted his attention and he turned to see the speeder bike returning. He climbed to the top of the scrap heap and waved to Jet. The bike stopped and hovered next to him as the young bird sat gawking at the flaming wreckage, his eyes the size of saucers.

"Would you look at that!" he gasped, then smiled and punched Jared's armoured shoulder," Ya took 'em out!"

"No. It was just their weapons supply bunker. Rest assured this will definitely start an investigation by the local police. But one of two things will happen..." replied Jared.

"What?" asked Jet.

"Well, either the gang will manage to get everything cleaned up in the hour it'll take the police to get here, or they'll bribe the police into ignoring the event by sparing two or more of their police stations. You said they have already bombed several of them, right?"

Jet was still staring at the exploding ship," Uh, yeah! That's right. I guess you're right, but at least we hit 'em hard!"

"Yeah. This time I got lucky. We'll see what happens. Let's get out of here."

Jet nodded and waited for Jared to climb onto the bike before revving it to full throttle. The bike soared away from the red and orange lit sky. Black smoke rose into the air and the old derelict slowly screeched and collapsed as its last remaining supports were blown away.

Jet took Jared to his home on the far side of town. Jared explained how he couldn't go back to his apartment now that the gang knew where he lived, so Jet was more than happy to open his home for his new friend. Jared made a quick trip to his apartment just to check out and gather up his belongings. Making sure he wasn't being followed, Jared climbed aboard Jet's bike and soared back to the small house.

Jet's house was indeed small, but large enough to be comfortable. It had three bedrooms, a washroom, and a kitchen, which was basically all Jet needed to get by. The extra rooms were used as rec rooms and one of them had a small television set and a pair of worn out couches. Jared sat in one of the couches and watched the news, which was the only station Jet managed to get on the old set. It told all about the explosion, and amazingly they were able to make up a false story. Apparently the old ship's power cells, which had lain dormant since it had crashed, had finally exploded, causing the rest of the ship to go down.

Jared chuckled. If only they knew, he thought to himself. Jet joined him, carrying a tray with a bowl of popcorn and two sodas.

"Hungry?" asked Jet.

"Very," replied Jared. He took a soda as Jet placed the bowl on a nearby table," I haven't eaten food like this in a long time."

"What do you mean? You mean like a poor man's food?" asked Jet, trying to be polite with his wealthy friend.

"No, not that. I mean just hanging out with the guys. Laying back, eating some junk food, drinking sodas, watching the tube. You know..."

"Yeah. So, you married?" asked Jet. He had seen Jared's ring but wanted to hear about it from Jared.

The white wolf leaned his head back and closed his eyes," Yeah. To the most beautiful canine in the galaxy. Her name's Mina. I've known her since we were kids," Jared seemed to come out of his trance and looked at Jet," You got a girl, Jet?"

"Several, actually. But none that I really feel like getting serious with, you know what I mean?"

"Yeah. But I've only loved Mina. I guess sometimes when you see someone you want to spend your whole life with and never look at anyone else you don't really get a chance to see who else is around."

"Yeah," replied Jet," Well it's partly the money thing too. All the girls around here dream of marrying some handsome rich guy. Until then, they've always got me," Jet sat back and sighed. Jared looked back at the television, imagining Jet's freedom. Jared felt as if he had lost his old lifestyle of being footloose and fancy free. He hadn't sat around and eaten popcorn and soda since before he joined the army, which was a long time ago. He stretched out on the couch and enjoyed the moment. Just him, his friend, the TV, and junk food.

"I think I could get used to this, ya know?" smiled Jared.

"Yeah. You sure you gotta leave as soon as you're done here?" asked Jet.

"Yeah. My wife is expecting me. I finally get some time off work and I promised to take her someplace nice."

"Must be nice. What have you got planned? Canis? Man I'd love to travel! If I had a ship I'd be everywhere. Picking up chicks at every space station. It'd be Jet's Flying Herom! Heh! But who am I kiddin'? It'll never happen. I'll prolly be shot some time next month by some street punk. You've got the perfect life, Jared."

Jared sighed and looked down at his feet. If only he could tell Jet what it was like living where he lived. It wasn't all fun and games, comfort and convenience. Life was tough for him too, just not as tough as fighting to stay alive every day of his life.

"Here," said Jared. He reached into a bag that was sitting close to the couch and pulled out his traveler's credit card," You can have this."

"What? But..." began Jet.

"No, I want you to have it! There's nothing I can buy anyway, now that I'm living with you. And besides, I think you could use the money."

Jet nodded. It was a very thoughtful gesture, and Jet really appreciated it, but he also felt badly about taking Jared's card," You're sure it's okay? I don't want to take this from you."

"You need it more than me."

Jet smiled and shook Jared's paw. He was a real pal.

For three weeks the two of them lived in the small house. At night Jared would go out in his armour and wreak havoc on the Steel Dogs. Soon they were desperate to kill him. They had assassins and bounty hunters searching the city for any trace of him. Jared spent most of his time inside while Jet went out with his card and bought food for them both. They ate like kings, thanks to Jared's wealth, and Jet was actually building up some bulk. He was no longer a skinny little bird that Jared needed to protect. He and Jet would often arm wrestle, and once or twice Jet actually managed to beat him.

One evening while Jared was out on patrol, he ran into a tall, lanky figure that was dressed in gray armour. The armour of the stranger was modified and had all sorts of weapons hanging off of it.

"I have been hired to being you in," he said in a monologuous voice.

"Really? Well you've gotta catch me first," and with that Jared slipped off the edge of the roof and landed on the sidewalk below. Jared turned to run but the gray stranger was right in front of him.

"You've got to do better than that," he said.

Jared looked around. Seeing no escape he knew that the only way out was to fight. He guessed that the stranger was either an ex-Titania Special Forces soldier, or he had found or bought the armour somewhere. Either way he knew the weaknesses of the armour as well as how the Special Forces soldiers were trained to fight.

He and the stranger began to circle one another. Before Jared could make a move the stranger pressed a button on his arm and a net shot out at Jared. He was too close to see it in time and soon found himself tangled up in it. The bounty hunter laughed," That was easier than I thought. My employer said you might be some trouble."

"Well... he obviously knows me better than you do!" Jared shot back. He flicked a concealed blade out of his fist and cut through the net with one slice. Then he tackled the bounty hunter and slammed him into a building. The one main weak point on the armour was the open space where the helmet met the back of the neck. Here there was a small space, just barely big enough for a small hand to get through. With the hunter's head pointed down, the space was increased enough for Jared to deliver a quick blow to the back of the neck. The hunter collapsed.

Jared took his own helmet off to get a better look at the hunter. He had all sorts of weapons strapped to his armour. Blasters, stun guns, glop grenades. This hunter must have been hired to capture Jared, otherwise he'd be loaded with blasters and explosives. Jared decided to leave the hunter with the reminder of what would happen if their paths ever crossed again, and ran down the street into the darkness.

He returned home to find Jet sitting on the couch with another bird. Judging by the tone of voice it was female. Jared smiled. He hoped she was going home later, but knowing what the teenage mind was like he was sure to be kept awake half the night. He took a soda from the fridge and walked into the rec room.

"Hey Jet. Who's your friend?" he asked.

"Oh, this is Phoenix. Phoenix, meet my pal, Jared," said Jet.

Phoenix turned to say hi but gasped," It's you!"

"Who?" asked Jared.

"Come on, settle down," said Jet, trying to calm Phoenix.

"You're the guy the Dogs are looking for! Jet, do you know how much they're asking for him?"

"I wouldn't turn him in! He's gonna get rid of the dogs from the town. We can live free again!

"But they're offering twenty-thousand credits from him! It's worth the money!"

"No! I'm not ratting on my friend! He saved my life and I owe it to him!"

Phoenix crossed her arms and then got up," I'm leaving now!"

"You'd better not tell anyone, or I'll set your sister up with my friend Knuckles. And you know what happened to the last girl he took home with him," said Jet.

Phoenix only nodded and then ran out.

"Skank!" said Jet, shaking his head," I don't even know why I got interested in her."

Jared just shook his head and sat down next to his friend," I fear your life may be in danger now," he said. Jared took a quick sip of soda," I should leave before they come for me."

"Naw. I'm serious about Knuckles. Phoenix'll keep her mouth shut."

Jared yawned and finished off the soda," Well... I'm gonna hit the sack. See you in the morning."

"Yeah. And don't worry about anything."

Jared groaned and waved his hand at Jet. He entered his own room and picked up one of his sketchbooks. It was half-filled with sketches, more than enough, he was sure, to impress his boss and earn him the two months off work. Then he picked up another sketch pad. It was older and worn around the edges. He flipped past several pages of war sketches until he came to a sketch of a gray wolf in chains and a skimpy slave outfit. It was Mina. The first time Jared had seen her after returning from the war she had been kidnapped and taken to a slave auction. Jared had bought her and taken her home. He looked at the sketch, wishing she was with him. He hated being away from her so often, but it was necessary in order to keep them going.

He slipped the sketch pads back into his bag and took all of his armour off. He then stretched out on the bed and sighed deeply. He instinctively looked to his right, where Mina would have laid if he was home. How he missed her, looking into her deep brown eyes every night was like heaven to him. He didn't care if he lost everything in the world, as long as he still had Mina.

Jared rolled onto his stomach and eventually fell asleep.

The next day, Jet was cruising down the street on his bike when all of a sudden three other bikes swooped in behind him. One of them came up behind him and crashed into his rear stabilizer. Jet turned to see the rider holding a blaster at him. He dived towards the ground, closely followed by the three bikes. He then turned to the left and into a narrow street.

One of the bikes fired off a modified afterburner and zoomed past Jet. The rider then shot a net that spread across the entire width of the street. All of Jet's bragging about his bike being the fastest was coming back at him now. He was moving too quickly to avoid the net and soon clothes-lined himself on it. He groaned weakly and dropped twelve feet to the street below. His bike, however, kept going and soon crashed into the side of a building and exploded.

The three bikes turned and stopped beside him. He lay on the ground, holding his head. Two of the riders picked him while the third stood in front of Jet. He managed to look up at who it was and gasped. It was Phoenix.

"You sure picked the wrong girl to bring home last week, Jet honey," she cracked a wicked grin at him," Your friend will soon be captured as well. But until then you are to be a guest of the Steel Dogs."

Jet tried to struggle, but the other two riders held him tightly. He was bound with strong tape and strapped to the back of one of the bikes. The riders steered past the burning wreckage of Jet's crashed bike and soared away. The only person watching was a young red fox.

Jared heard pounding on the front door. He carried his blaster with him and cautiously peered out the front window. All he could see was a pair of red ears sticking up over the windowsill. Jared opened the door and immediately recognized the young red for from his first day on MacBeth. The one who had watched him sketch.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"The Dogs took your friend!" shouted the fox.

"What friend? What are you talking about?" asked Jared.

"I saw it. They chased him, he crashed, and then they took him away! I know Jet, he's the fastest biker around here! You gotta go save him!"

Jared tried hard to understand exactly what had just happened. Jet had been captured by the Dogs? But how did they know that Jet was friends with him? Phoenix!

"That sneaky little..." began Jared, but he stopped himself.

"Oh wait!" shouted the fox again.

"What?" asked Jared, flames beginning to burn inside him.

"They said you were in trouble. They're coming for you!"

"Great!" cursed Jared," You'd better get out of here! Thanks kid!"

The fox just smiled and ran away. Jared watched him and then ran to his bedroom. He pulled out his suitcase and began putting on his armour. He had just finished with his torso piece when there was a loud shout from outside.

"You, in the house..." cried the voice.

Jared waited for more, but there was none. The next thing Jared knew laser blasts were exploding through the front of the house. Jared also recognized the rapid popping sounds made by a Repeater Gun.

"I hate Repeater Guns!!!" shouted Jared. He dived to the floor and crawled around until he found his helmet and leg pieces. He quickly strapped them into place and holstered his gun. He then slipped his helmet over his head to complete the ensemble. He grabbed the bag containing his sketches and slipped it over his shoulder.

The firing ceased about thirty seconds later. During that time, Jared had been busy setting standard combat charges around the house. It was quite a chore crawling military style around the house, but Jared managed to get the job done quickly. His superiors on Titania would have been proud of him. Jared took the charge remote in his hand and began to crawl to the back door. He only hoped that the Dogs weren't smart enough to check for a rear exit.

He glanced out the window and saw nobody. Jared carefully and quietly opened the door and snuck into the alley. When he was thirty feet away he leaned against the wall and waited. He pressed the activate button on his remote and hoped that the thugs were insured. The last charge he had planted in the house had a proximity sensor that was linked to the rest of the explosives. As soon as something came within five feet of it it would explode, causing the rest of the charges to go off as well.

Jared managed to crack a quick smile as he heard the loud, high-pitched beep of the proxy's sensor activating, then the house disappeared in a gigantic ball of flame. The shock wave knocked Jared down, but his armour protected him from the rain of falling debris.

"That was for Jet," he said out loud.

Then Jared heard a clapping sound from behind him. He turned to see the bounty hunter standing twenty feet away. He stopped clapping his hands and stared at Jared.

"Very impressive. Now you'll have to defeat me again. I promise not to be as easy as those thugs were," the hunter said.

"Perhaps not, but you still won't capture me," replied Jared. He pivoted on his left foot and rolled into an alley. He then began to run full-out, hoping to put some distance between him and the hunter. With a quick glance backwards he could see the gray figure coming after him. A bright blue bolt of energy seared past him and Jared covered his head with one arm as he ran. The blue stun blast exploded harmlessly against a building.

"This guy doesn't give up!" Jared said as he ran.

He ducked into another alley and waited for the hunter to come. He never did. Jared was about to peek out into the street when there was a small clanging sound at his feet. He looked down to see a small, round, metallic device. It was a grenade! Jared leapt into the street and scrambled towards the other side.

The grenade exploded, sending streams of adhesive foam everywhere. A small spurt landed on Jared, sticking him to the ground. The hunter jumped down from the roof where he had dropped the grenade and stood a few feet away from Jared.

"These glop grenades work great, don't they?" said the hunter. Jared could almost see the evil grin on his face.

"Not good enough," replied Jared. With his strength-enhancing armour he flexed his arms and ripped through the thin layer of adhesive. He then reached for his gun, but the hunter was quicker. He fired a stun blast directly at Jared's abdomen. As with the thugs in the alley several weeks ago, the blast was deflected right back at the hunter, who, without a similar shield device, collapsed. Jared laughed to himself and stood over the unconscious bounty hunter. He reached down and stole all of the hunter's weapons and then ran down the street.

Jared sat against the side of a building, pondering the situation. He had lost his friend, his hide-out, as well as everything else. At least he had remembered to save his sketches. Four weeks of work down the tubes if he hadn't. There goes his two month vacation. He sighed and dropped the bag to the ground. There was nothing he could do. He had no idea where the thugs had taken Jet, he had no place to live, and the longer his mad adventure took the longer Mina would be waiting at home. He felt like his world was turning upside-down.

Just then, four speeder bikes drove down the street. Jared ducked into the shadows as they passed. He suddenly got an idea, and ran after them. When they stopped, he remained in the shadows and watched as they went inside a building, carrying Repeater Guns as well as small pistols strapped to their belts. It was obviously a raid of some sort. Jared quickly ran up to the bikes and attached a small tracking device to one of them. He then looked up at the three storey building.

Suddenly, one of the windows smashed and a chair flew out. Jared jumped out of the way just in time. He could hear voices coming from the open window.

"We told you to pay us, old man! Now we've come to collect," Jared could hear a gruff voice shouting.

"I can't! I have nothing!" cried a weaker voice.

"Well that's too darn bad!" shouted another voice.

Jared growled. So this was what they did in their spare time? He pulled out one of the hunter's glop grenades and clicked the activation trigger. He then calculated the distance and tossed the grenade into the window. There was a faint popping sound, and then an explosion of foam shot out the window. Jared once again dived to safety, barely missing the sticky stream of adhesive.

Jared laughed to himself as he heard the confused shouts of the thugs. He ran up the stairs and into the room to see everything plastered with adhesive. Even the old man who lived there was stuck to the wall. The thugs immediately recognized him.

"Hey you! Just you wait until we escape..." shouted one of them.

"What then? That foam won't dissolve for another six hours. By then I'll be long gone with your friend over there," Jared said, pointing at the old man. He walked up to him and pulled out his blade," Don't worry. Everything's going to be okay."

The old man nodded and watched as Jared cut him loose," Thank you for saving me," he said.

"Don't mention it," he turned towards the thugs," Now. You can either cooperate or I'll leave you here with one of my stink bombs," said Jared, holding up a puke-green coloured grenade.

The thugs just looked at each other and then turned their heads to the floor.

"Alright. have it your way," Jared was about to toss the grenade when he recognized one of the thugs. It was Phoenix," You! You were the one who told the Dogs how to get Jet! You worthless piece of trash!" He pulled out his blaster and pointed it right at Phoenix," I should kill you right now, but that won't help anything! Just keep in mind that if I ever see you again you are dead! Understand; DEAD!"

Jared left the room, and the frightened Phoenix, and met the old man outside," Are you going to destroy their bikes?" he asked.

"No," replied Jared," I want them to return to their base with a reminder of what happens when they cross me. With that Jared tossed the grenade into the window and laughed out loud as a puff of vile-smelling green gas floated out the window, accompanied by several groans and cries from the glued thugs inside the room.

Eight hours later, Jared was running along the roof tops of the city once more. Only this time he wasn't on patrol. He was following the tracking device, which, he hoped, was leading him straight towards the Steel Dogs' base. The beeping was getting louder and more rapid. Jared could feel his heart pounding and a rush of excitement ran over him. Sure, the odds were ten to one, but Jared had several advantages. Not only a fresh supply of glop grenades, stun pistols, and his heavy blaster pistol, but also the element of surprise. He planned to jump into the middle of the base with guns blazing and grenades flying everywhere.

He leapt over a street and landed on the other side. Just then his tracking device went crazy. It began to beep and scream, so loud in fact that Jared had to smash it to shut it off. He was now standing on the roof of the base. It was a fancy hotel.

"Heh! No wonder the cops never found the place," said Jared," It's right here in this hotel."

Jared peered down through a skylight and looked into a grand ballroom. There he saw ladies and gentlemen sitting at tables eating fine foods and listening to classical music. Jared took a thin climbing cable from his belt pouch and secured it to a pipe on the roof. He tossed the rest of the cable down the side of the building and he began to climb down. He carefully peeked into each window, but all he ever saw were rooms full of rich people. No guns or thugs or anything.

Jared reached the ground and flicked the cable in a way that dislodged it, and then wrapped it up and returned it to his pouch. He then ducked into a street that ran alongside the hotel and stood silent in the shadows.

"Where are they," he asked himself," My tracer led me here. This is where the bikers went."

Jared began to pace back and forth. As he walked back towards the hotel, the gentle thump of his boots on the ground made a sudden clang of metal on metal. He looked down to see a large door set into the sidewalk. Jared snickered and pried the door open. There was very little light inside, so Jared activated his infrared visor. Every detail of the tunnel now showed itself.

He carefully climbed down into the tunnel, remembering his plan to rush in, but all of his military training came back to him and he remembered that stealth beat out a quick attack every time. He ended up in a larger tunnel that led towards a bright light. Jared could only assume it was one of the main entrances to the base. Just as he rounded the corner he picked up a large heat signature. It was a pair of guards. Jared decided not to waste a glop grenade on only two guards, and set one of the small pistols to silent mode. He then aimed at the guards and fired. The first one dropped like a stone, and before the second could utter a word he too was on the floor.

Jared took their weapons from them. Of course they'd only be armed with Repeater Guns! Jared took the straps for the guns and slipped them both over his back. He'd save them for later. He also stole the guards' power cells, which gave Jared some extra ammo. He continued to move stealthily down the tunnel until he came to a larger room. Inside were about three dozed thugs along with Jet, who was chained to the wall. The thugs would occasionally laugh and throw food at Jet, who was unable to reach it. A burning flame roared inside Jared. He couldn't bear to watch his friend being tortured in such a way. He pulled out two grenades and armed them.

He ducked behind a stack of crates, which were full of weapons, and sat with his back to the stack. He then kissed each of the grenades and tossed them over his shoulder and up over the stack. He could hear the familiar popping and hissing as the grenades exploded. Then came the shouting, confusion, and yelling. Jared waited a few seconds before looking over the crates. He had trapped at least a third of the thugs, but there were still many to deal with.

They had now caught on to what had happened, and each were running in his direction. Jared popped up over the crates and screamed," Eeeyyyaaaaahhhh!!!" then he opened fire with both of the Repeater Guns. The thugs were very slow to figure out what was happening, and most of them had been shot before they could get out of the way. A dozen managed to escape, but the rest were killed by Jared's barrage of tiny energy projectiles.

The remaining thugs took cover behind crates and tables and whatever else they could find. Laser blasts and Repeater shots flew in all directions. Jared's crates were taking a beating. Jared's eyes widened as he realized what was contained inside the crates. He got up to run, but a lucky shot hit the weapons' crates and caused them to explode. Jared's shield protected him from being killed, but he was lifted into the air and tossed back into the tunnel.

After rolling several times he managed to sit up. He found himself looking at a pair of gray armoured legs. He slowly looked up and met the armoured face of the hunter.

"So, we meet again?" said the hunter.

Jared slumped his shoulders. His shield was gone and his armour scorched," Why don't you just finish me off?"

"Because I'm going to help you finish those guys off," said the hunter, nodding towards the confused group of thugs who were still recovering from the explosion.

"Why would you help me? You're out to get me. Besides, I thought you were working for them in the first place?" asked Jared.

"Heck no! I come from off the planet. Someone else wants your hide more than they do. But to answer your first question; I can't really collect my bounty if I bring you in dead!"

Jared nodded. It was crazy, but he was willing to accept the help," Alright. Here, you might want these back," Jared handed the hunter his grenades and stun pistols.

"What are you planning on using?" asked the hunter.

Jared held up his military heavy blaster pistol," Do you have to ask?"

He and the hunter rushed into the large room and began firing once more. The hunter was quite a good marksman as well, and he and Jared had the thugs on the run from the moment they re-entered. It was all over in ten minutes. The thugs were either dead or wounded. Sixteen of them were still stuck in the adhesive foam. Jared smiled. It was finally over. He found the thug's communications terminal and called the police, giving them the exact location of the base.

After that, Jared released Jet from the chains," It's about time you showed up," said the bird. He rubbed his wrists and then cracked his back," They sure don't know how to treat a guy!"

"I wouldn't expect a bunch of thugs to have any scruples either," laughed Jared.

"Neither do bounty hunters," said the hunter.

Jared turned, but the hunter fired his stun gun before he could do anything. With his shield dead from the explosion, the blue bolt of energy ran through Jared's body, knocking him unconscious. Jet was furious," What are you doing?!"

"Easy, kid. Let me explain the whole thing..."

Jared awoke, feeling a little sore. He groggily sat up, but his arms and legs were bound with rope and he couldn't move. The hunter came up and stood right in front of him. He was talking to someone Jared couldn't see.

"As you can see, according to our deal, he's still alive. A little damaged perhaps, but he was up to his neck in trouble right before I captured him," the hunter walked around in a small circle as he told his tale to the unseen person.

"Hmm," said a deep voice," I suppose you have earned what I promised to pay. However, I want to take care of the prisoner myself."

"As you wish," replied the hunter.

Jared could hear footsteps coming towards him. Into the light stepped a figure who was dressed in a black robe. The figure stood in front of Jared for several seconds before pulling the hood back slowly to reveal the face. It was Mina! Jared gasped.

"Mina! You did this? Why?" cried Jared.

"It was the only way I could get you home. You promised me three weeks, but you took over a month! I missed you. So I hired this guy to bring you home," replied Mina. She kissed him and the untied the ropes.

"Yeah. No hard feelings I hope," said the hunter.

"Not at all. You were a worthy opponent," replied Jared," Just one question: where did you get that armour?"

"I was once a Special Forces officer like you. But, after the war I took my armour and military training and became a bounty hunter. What do you do now that you don't fight in the military?"

"I'm an artist."

"Really? Well I guess I'm glad I found this then," said the hunter. He held up Jared's bag. It still had his sketchbooks inside it.

"Okay. The joke's over now. Computer, lights," said Mina. The lights came on and Jared found himself standing in his own studio back on Fortuna. He looked around, awe-struck.

"Amazing. You'd think I would have smelled my own studio?" he blurted out loud.

"Well we synthesized the smell to confuse you. We didn't want to give away the surprise," said Mina.

"I'd better be going. Call me if you need my services again. Your wife has my number," said the hunter. Without waiting for a reply he walked out the front door of the apartment and disappeared.

"So, where did you pick up that guy?" asked Jared, taking Mina in his arms.

"I called a 1-900 number. Bounty Hunters R Us," Mina laughed.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

Mina didn't answer. She just leaned forward and kissed him. Jared smiled again and held Mina at arms length," Ready for our two month second honeymoon?"

"Is Titania a desert wasteland?" parried Mina.

Jared laughed and hugged her. His adventure was over. He had saved a town from a ruthless gang, and also helped out a friend. Now he and Mina had two whole months to get back together, as close as they had been before the hectic assignments and late nights. The two wolves just looked into each others eyes and smiled.

"I love you," said Mina.

"I love you too," replied Jared.

THE END

Jared, Mina, Jet
Copyrighted to Cyberwulfe
©1999 Cyberwulfe

Godsend
by dc Talk

Hoping praying, I've been waiting
Everybody needs somebody to love
There's no question, straight from heaven
You're my angel, I'm so crazy for you

CHORUS
You're a Godsend
A blessing from above
You've been God-sent to me
You're the Godsend
I've been dreaming of
You're a Godsend

Holding your hand, touching your face
I will love you now and always I swear
I will never forget that first moment we met
When two worlds collided and I found my best friend.

CHORUS

BRIDGE
I was made for you, you were made for me
In this lonely world, we were meant to be in love

I will never forget that first moment we met
When two worlds they crashed in
And I found my best friend

CHORUS

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