Beyond The Edge of Darkness
   By: Tim "Chaing-Ku" Morisson

Part Three

  The diffuse light began to condense and quickly formed a figure floating in the air, in a lotus position. It quickly solidified into the very familiar form of Darkstar, before her transformation, complete with half-mask and black bodysuit.

  Walsh looked at N'Gata in shock, the hoverbed continued to monitor the room, but the artificial voice made the unspoken word audible.

  "That is not one of your abilities, Darkstar. That ability was unique to Quantum."

  "I was feeling odd, and began to think of the others, then I felt myself ... spreading out, and my awareness stretched to find them. I recovered when you both came in." She said, somewhat confused, then shook herself and looked squarely at Walsh.

  "I can sense a problem, Commander Walsh. Don't ask me how, but it concerns my brothers and sisters. Why did you move them from their cryocrypts?"

  Walsh masked his surprise. "We had to, There was an attack which directly concerned them, and we felt the safest thing to do was to move them off-planet until it was over."

  Darkstar stared into nothingness for a second, then turned her vacant eyes back to Walsh. "The danger you sought to protect them from has found them, Commander. My brothers and sisters are awake, angry, and ... and ... Killbane!"

  "Killbane!" Walsh growled. "He was involved in the attack, Darkstar. What about him?"

  "He's found them, Commander. We must help them. I know where they are, in general, but this information will fade soon. Can you show me a star chart?"

  Walsh looked at N'Gata. The hoverbed floated silently, then `Go! I'll cover for you. Joseph, we can't allow them to be forcibly returned to Earth, or used by Killbane for his own purposes. It is time for the Supertroopers to make their own life-decision. We made a mistake once before, let's not do it again."

  "I agree, Owen. Aurora, let's go."

  The two rushed out of the ward and began to walk back to the main staging area within BETA, N'Gata's biobed floating to a console where he linked in and began to issue instructions.

********

  Delphi woke first, and sat up, pushing the glass cover off him as he looked around. This wasn't the cryocrypt. The other supertroopers were here, but they were not on Earth - the gravity felt lighter. Delphi stood up and walked to the next chamber, it was cycling to an awake state as well. He glanced around, all the forty-six crypts were sequencing out of suspended sleep.

  Another chamber popped open, and it's occupant sat up. "Hey, Red! Good to see you up and alert again." Delphi said as he walked over to help the other trooper out of the coffin-like chamber.

  "What happened? Last thing I recall there was some kind of gas in the dorms." Johnny Red said as he wavered unsteadily.

  "We got canned, literally, Red." Delphi snarled. "I warned them I told them I could see us being captured, but they wouldn't listen; Brainchild ignored me, Killbane sneered, and the others just didn't care. I got nabbed, and slammed into frozen sleep. Some of the others got caught after me, some before. And now, we're all waking up again."

  "Yeah, but where? It ain't Earth. I'm too light." Johnny said, standing on his own now that the dizziness had passed. "And, I'm starving!"

  "Me too." Delphi added. They heard the sound of another crypt and walked over to help the occupant back to the world of the living.

********

  The huge blood-red ship settled to a landing two kilometers from the downed transport. A hatch opened, And Killbane stepped out then walked down to the hard tundra. "Wait here, I will return with my people, but only I can approach them without attack." He turned to face his 2IC. "Make sure no ships land before I return with my people, do whatever you have to."

  The Dathon nodded and spun, growling orders to the other crewmembers.

  Killbane began to walk towards the transport, noting the surroundings as he walked. Within ten minutes he'd covered half the distance, and topping a low rise, saw the transport properly. The ship looked intact, except for two of it's engine pods lying shattered and crumpled beside it, and an oily sheen all over the top half that could only be evaporated fuel.

  `They did a good job of scuttling it.' He thought as he began to walk down towards the transport. Salvage was virtually useless on the ship. Hyperdrive is shot without the league's special fuel, and with those two engine pods gone, there was no way the ship would survive a tow, it would shatter under the hyperspace stresses.

  He climbed over the last rise and walked to the hatchway on the belly of the ship. Pulling his gun, Killbane took aim and fired, blowing a hole in the control panel. Stepping up to the door, he put his hands on it and heaved, the door slid open easily. Laughing softly to himself, Killbane stepped into the ship and walked towards the central corridor. He heard the voices long before he saw them, and moved with caution.

  Rounding a corner, he stopped, as did the eight supertroopers who were walking towards him.

  "Killbane?" One of them asked, incredulous.

  "Yes, my brothers, it is I, here to rescue you from exile!"

********

  "Commander, I can't allow you to take this patient out of BETA, Board orders, sir!" The adjutant said, clearly torn between loyalty towards his commanding officer and orders from the Board of World Leaders.

  "Let me make the decision for you, little man." Darkstar said, and touched the officer on the shoulder. He gasped, and crumpled, his lips turning a deathly blue. As Walsh watched, the color returned to him, but he remained out cold.

  "That's Grimlok's ability." Walsh said.

  "I know. I can access more and more of the other abilities. I'm of sure if I like it or not." She said.

  "I think I do, come on, I'll explain once we're out of here." He indicated the open door. Darkstar stepped through the hatchway and onto the flight deck of BETA, where a Ranger Interceptor stood ready for launch, courtesy of N'Gata.

  Climbing aboard, they both strapped in, and Walsh looked at the controls a bit warily. "It's been a long time, but ..." He pushed the correct sequence of buttons, and the ship smoothly powered up into it's pre-flight check.

  "This is commander Walsh aboard Ranger Interceptor-07, flight plan from BETA to ..." He looked at Darkstar.

  "A map, please." She asked him.

  "Of course." He tapped a few buttons, and a map appeared on the small screen. Darkstar looked at it, then indicated a star, which expanded to show it's details.

  "Flight plan from BETA Mountain to Ophiuchus Epsilon. I need immediate clearance to launch, Priority Omega."

  "This is BETA Mountain Command, you are cleared for immediate launch, Commander. Good luck, sir."

  Walsh hit the flashing button, and pushed the throttle forward; the ship glided smoothly out of the launch cradle and screamed down the corridor, into clear air outside the mountain.

  As the ship accelerated out of the atmosphere, Walsh turned to Aurora. "I hope you have some idea of what we'll do when we get there, Darkstar. This stunt could cost me a lot more than my command."

  "You worry too much, Joseph - everything will be fine, we just have to find my brothers and sisters, and make sure Killbane doesn't find them first."

  Walsh looked at Darkstar. "You seem very sure of yourself, almost like Delphi - what's happening to you, Aurora?"

  She smiled serenely, saying nothing and gazed into the void outside the windows.

  The control panel beeped, indicating that the course had been locked in and was ready to engage. Joseph reached for then hyperdrive sequencer as another panel lit up, indicating a ship exiting hyperdrive. He took the controls and swung the interceptor out of the way as two smaller ranger ships dropped out of the hyperdrive corona on a course for Earth.

  "Ranger interceptors, this is Commander Walsh aboard Interceptor 7 - Identify yourselves."

  "Commander?" Came the voice from one of the other ships. "It's Captain Foxx and Ranger Hartford. What on earth are you doing up here?"

  Walsh smiled grimly. "Turn your ships around, and lock in a course for Ophiucus Epsilon, we've got to rescue the Supertroopers from Killbane."

  "We just came from there, there was no evidence of another ship, sir." Doc said into the silence as the two smaller ships swung around to match course and speed with the larger two-man ship.

  "Believe me, he's there. And while we're en-route, you can tell me why you abandoned the supertroopers."

  The three ships flashed back into hyperdrive, on a direct heading for the system that was becoming very popular all of a sudden.

*********

  "Ranger-4 calling BETA command, are you receiving?"

  Goose looked at Niko, who looked back at him. "Try again, Goose. Somebody has to be there."

  Goose flipped on the transmitter again, but a crackling voice came through the speakers.

  "Ranger-4, this is Commander Walsh. Gooseman, Niko, plot a course for Ophiucus Epsilon, and get over here fast - Killbane's loose, with a Crown Destroyer. He's already attacked Earth, and now he's after all the Supertroopers."

  Goose jerked at the news, and was already powering up the cruiser's engines even as Niko picked up the comm. to reply.

  "Understood, Commander. ETA three hours." She said as Goose fired the engines. "Alma, chart a course, fastest route."

  "Right away, Goose." Came the reply as the computer scanned the charts and plotted the most direct course to the targeted system.

  The Cruiser accelerated out of the debris field rapidly, soon in clear space, and with a flare of it's engines, flicked into hyperspace.

********

  "Killbane - we aren't leaving!" Scarab growled, his tail lashing angrily.

  The huge supertrooper mutant looked at the small, wiry trooper. "What do you mean, you aren't leaving? Of course you are, this makes perfect sense."

  Scarab shook his head, his wiry hair flying around. "Like I said, Killbane. We ain't leaving. We're free, and we don't want to fight no more. Let us alone, man."

  "You are Supertroopers! You are designed to fight - the people of Earth had you imprisoned because all you know is fighting. I want them to pay for putting all of you away - don't you want revenge?"

  Delphi looked up at Killbane. "No."

  "I don't believe what I am hearing. You have all gone soft! You're weak, like that runt Gooseman. And to think I was thinking of having you as allies in my fight against Earth. I can see that there is only one solution."

  Johnny Red stood up and walked over to Killbane, then levitated until he was squarely eye-level.

  "We" He said, "Are tired of fighting somebody else's wars, of being controlled by other people, Killbane. And not you, nor Walsh, nor some godless empire is going to tell us what to do, or who to do it to!"

  Killbane batted Johnny aside with a lazy wave of his hand, the floating supertrooper slammed into the bulkhead hard enough to leave a dent, and slumped to the ground, dazed.

  Scarab leapt, faster than Killbane could react, and his six inch talons sunk into Killbane's neck. Killbane roared, and grabbing the wiry trooper, pulled him off and flung him across the wardroom.

  He spun for the next attack, and suddenly found himself floating, in a bubble of null-g. Growling in frustration, he extruded spikes and lashed out, but his blow was deflected by the very flexible bubble wall.

  "You can't break free, Killbane." Andromeda said, still concentrating to keep the bubble intact. "As long as I'm conscious, my null-g bubble will remain solid against any form of attack you can generate. Remember, I was designed as a control against all of you, until the incident."

  Killbane floated, silently fuming as he watched the supertroopers, HIS supertroopers discuss what to do amongst themselves.

  "We've been asleep, what, four years?"

  "More like ten, from the changes I've seen."

  "Look at Killbane, he's gigantic - the genetic enhancer couldn't have done that."

  "I agree, somebody's been continuing the supertrooper program, without us."

  "Good, somebody else can be the guinea pigs, I'm tired of it!"

  "Look that's beside the point, the main point is ... what are we going to do?"

  "Red's right. We're free, but can't leave this planet on our own power. What do we want to do, Killbane will get us off, but we have to let him lead us."

  "I don't want to be lead by anybody else. I want to live my own life, and that doesn't include fighting. Walsh and N'Gata gave us extensive survival training - let's use it."

  "A good suggestion, any opposition?"

  There were no opposing comments, and four of the supertroopers, including Andromeda turned to Killbane.

  "We've discussed it, Killbane. And we have decided - we don't want you here." The bubble popped, and Killbane landed on his feet. "Get out, leave this planet, and don't return."

  Killbane laughed. "You're just going to let me go?"

  "Why not?" Johnny Red asked him, beginning to smolder a bit around the edges.

  "You've forgotten everything N'Gata taught you about tactics - your most dangerous enemy is the one you leave standing!"

  "I don't think so." Came a very deep voice from behind him. Killbane spun, and gasped as a hand shot out and hit him in the chest. He triggered his defenses, but they were to no avail as he felt his blood churning as it's motion was frozen, all brownian motion drained away by Grimlok's power.

  He lost consciousness, and collapsed, blue with cold as his body core temperature dropped to near-freezing in a few seconds.

  "What do we do with him?"

  "He must have come in some sort of ship, let's find it, and drop him beside it."

********

  Deep within the mathematical improbability that was hyperspace, three high probability nodes journeyed towards their destination. While a fourth rapidly approached, then joined the other three in their zone of moderate probability.

  "Commander, I still feel that my decision was appropriate. Rather than attempt to bring them back to Earth, and have them wake up on the way, it seemed better to drop them on a habitable planet and exile them there. We would know where they are, and by disabling the ship, they would be contained to that planet."

  "I agree, Commander." Goose piped in, "The supertroopers will feel much more secure if they aren't contained within a gray metal prison cell - on a planet, even an uninhabited one, they are free, sir. And they don't have to obey anybody except themselves."

  "Except now, Killbane has found them." Aurora said into the silence.

  "How do you know" Niko asked.

  "I'm not sure." Darkstar replied, "I can ... sense it somehow. But I'm not sure how."

  "That's intriguing." Niko said, thinking rapidly. "Whatever happened to you must have opened up more than just your abilities to control light and darkness - your entire power structure must be psychically based."

  "Kestrel had the ability to sense what the other supertroopers were thinking; she was in synch with all of them. She was killed in the Wolf Den incident, though." Walsh commented.

  "I remember." Shane said solemnly.

  "That doesn't explain what happened to Darkstar. Even if her powers were blown wide open by whatever she went through, she should not gain the abilities of the other Supertroopers .. should she?" Niko asked.

  "Actually, Niko. She is quite capable of gaining all the abilities. You see, we used one single artificial genome to generate all the powers. Each Supertrooper has the same `power' gene, but each trooper has a different sequence of active and inactive chromosomes within that gene. Whatever happened to Aurora appears to have activated all the chromosomes in the gene - so she's developing every power that we designed into the supertroopers." Walsh explained.

  "What is going to happen to me?" Darkstar said, sounding very worried for once.

  "At first, I felt great, having all this energy, feeling free and finally being able to control my own life, but now it's beginning to spiral out of control."

  "We'll take care of this once we deal with Killbane. Aurora. Don't worry. You won't have to face this alone. You will have all the help I personally can offer, and all the medical faculties from BETA." He then looked up at the monitors, "By the way, what are we going to do when we get to the planet?"

  "Sir, you're the senior officer, you tell us." Doc replied.

  Walsh shook his head. "I haven't commanded a field mission in eight years, people. Zachary, you take command, I'll follow your lead in this."

  "If that's the way you want it, Commander." Zach replied.

  "Commander, there is one more thing ..." Niko said, somewhat at a loss for words ... "We have Stingray on board."

  "That's good. We might be able to persuade him to help us." Walsh replied, while Darkstar looked shocked and more than a bit worried.

  "Not likely, Commander. He's dying." Goose said. "Alma, transfer the medical readouts to Commander Walsh's ship."

  Walsh took a long time to read the information. "That tears it, then." He said.

  "What do you mean, Sir." Niko asked into the strained silence.

  "I knew the genetic enhancer was dangerous, and this proves it, Stingray's condition is a direct result of the missing enzyme. It's too far advanced in him for us to repair." Walsh sighed. "The other troopers are in the same danger, Killbane is probably safe, if Slade did the job properly, but the ones from the cryochambers will have at most four years before they begin to show advanced enzyme degradation."

  "What about Darkstar?" Shane asked.

  Walsh looked at Aurora. "She's different, Gooseman. She's been changed beyond genetic recognition, I don't think this will effect her."

  "But, " Darkstar said, "My other siblings in exile, Chimera, Gravestone, Brainchild ... this will happen to them?"

  Walsh nodded sadly. "Probably."

  "We have to find them. If I have all the powers, then I should be able to access Rocheford's healing. I can heal them! I might be able to heal ... him." She said, hope beginning to build within her.

  We've got a bigger problem to deal with first, Aurora." Walsh said.

  "Right, of course. You're right. What's our next move, Commander."

  "Zachary, you and Doc have been there, what's your plan?"

*******

  "There it is." Johnny Red said, hovering above a ridge northwest of the transport. "A big, ugly, red ship - brutal-looking, very simplistic."

  "Knightmare grunted, and shifted Killbane's bulk onto his other shoulder. "How far, Red?" He asked in his metallic voice.

  "Sixty meters, due east. You're parallel to it, just climb that ridge and you'll see the ugly thing."

  "Right." The armored dwarf said as he turned and rapidly climbed the rocky ridge. "You right, Red. Ugly piece of metal it is."

  Striding down towards the ship, Knightmare was joined by Red as Andromeda appeared from one of her bubbles beside them. They stopped in front of the ship, and Red called out..."Ho, in the ship!"

  The hatchway opened, and ten soldiers marched down the hatch, guns at the ready. The troopers didn't filch, and Knightmare dropped Killbane's unconscious body in front of them.

  "This is yours. Take it, and leave our planet." Andromeda said.

  The 2IC took in the scene, realized that something odd had happened, and decided to play along. He signaled to four of the soldiers, and they struggled with Killbane's massive bulk as they carried him back into the ship. He followed with the other soldiers, and they retreated into the destroyer. He closed the hatch, then said "Somebody get Killbane awake, then prepare for combat. He's going to be rather annoyed when he wakes up."

********

  "Exiting hyperdrive, now." Alma reported, and the four ships dropped out of hyperspace, warp coronas expanding behind them as they dropped towards the planet below.

  "Scanning... two ships located. League Transport, and Crown Destroyer of unknown configuration." Came the report from the cruiser as they rapidly approached the cold planet.

  "Ok, people, let's take up our positions." Zach said. The two small interceptors closed with the Cruiser, and one by one, they docked. Zach and Doc climbed aboard and took up positions on the flight deck. Goose quickly climbed down into one of the interceptors, and downloaded Alma. Niko climbed into the other fighter and separated.

  Separating from the cruiser, Goose and Niko swooped into the atmosphere ahead of the larger Cruiser. They were closely followed by the corsair, and the large cruiser took up the rear, it's bristling weapons array beginning to come to life.

  "Commander, where did you get this ship? Cueball's Lab?" Doc asked as he accessed the munitions systems.

  "We decided that the larger ships could do with some more firepower. This is an experimental model, Doc. It looks like we're going to get a live test of her firepower sooner than we expected."

  "The Crown ship has detected us, Captain. It's taking off." Niko reported.

  "Goose, Niko, it's all yours. Keep it distracted until we're close enough." Zach ordered.

  The two interceptors leapt forward, accelerating into the thickening atmosphere, their shields easily compensating for the friction as they dove towards the lumbering destroyer.

  On the destroyer, Killbane; pissed beyond belief, growled incoherently as he saw the ships approaching. "All weapon systems, lock on and fire. I want those League ships vaporized!"

  Batteries of turbolasers spun in there turrets, targeted, and began to fire on the ships as they swooped towards the destroyer. Goose took full control and dodged the barrage, firing back as he rapidly closed the gap. But, he had overestimated the maneuvering power of his small ship, this deep in the atmosphere, at his speed, he was unable to dodge properly, and the interceptor barreled into the Destroyer, blowing a section of the larger ship clean off as it plummeted through.

  "I'm out of control!" Goose said, "Ejecting!" He hit the button, and yanked the emergency lever. The interceptor fired all it's engines in reverse to slow it's hypersonic dive, then the cockpit visor blew off, and Goose's seat was launched skywards, along with the cybersteed in the cargo compartment.

  The interceptor continued to maneuver, trying to clear the ground, but didn't succeed - it plowed into the hard earth at almost twice the speed of sound, leaving a long furrow and a large fireball.

  "He's all right, his signal's still strong." Doc told Niko, who was stricken as she heard Goose's last message.

  "We're in the thick of it, now!" Zach said as the cruiser came under heavy fire from the destroyer.

  "I'm on it!" Niko replied, setting her own attack run on the Crown ship, she triggered her own guns. The Cruiser and corsair swung into combat range and opened up, three ships fired at the same time, drilling into the already damaged section of the destroyer.

  Explosions rippled across the huge ship's hull, but it still managed to fire back, cutting into the underbelly of the Cruiser, causing damage across the boards.

  "Good shot!" Walsh said. "It's going down."

  "So are we, Commander." Zach replied, fighting with the controls to keep the damaged cruiser level. They watched as the destroyer slammed into a mountain, then slid to a halt, fires and explosions ripping it's hull apart.

  "GV, where do we land?"

  "Six kilometers directly ahead, a large flat plain, Sir-captain." came the reply.

  Zach coaxed the distance out of the ship, and with it's landing gear extended, the cruiser slammed, hard, into the ground, sending up furrows of dirt and hardy grass as it slid almost another kilometer before coming to a stop.

  "We're down, GV What's the status?"

  "Engines failed, power systems intermittent, weapons and defenses failed. Sensors intermittent, life support failed. Medical support system failing." Came the damage report.

  "Doc, check on Stingray, GV says the medical systems are shot!" Zach said as he untapped.

  Climbing back, he came to the medical bay, sparks flew from some panels, and the lighting was flickering on and off, illuminating the bay in an eerie machiavellian scene. Doc was already there, hovering around the single cryocrypt, which was misted over as GV frantically tried to revive Stingray before the power completely failed.

  Doc watched the monitors anxiously. "I'm getting slow heartbeat, virtually no respiration, and no brain wave pattern at all - he's flat lined."

  The door to the bay slid open with a protesting groan of metal, and Darkstar hurried in. "Out of my way!" She cried. She took Stingray's hands in her own, and closed her eyes. The rangers, joined by Commander Walsh stood back as energy began to flow around her and into Stingray's injured body.

  "What's she doing?" Zach asked.

  "She's using the ability of Supertrooper Rocheford. He had the ability to alter and enhance the healing agents of any of the supertroopers far beyond their normal rapid healing."

  "Will it work?" Doc asked.

  "It's the only chance Stingray's got left. We can't save him here." Walsh finished.

  Darkstar ignored the commentary and focused all her energy, drawing the very essence of Stingray into herself so her healing force could focus on repairing his enzyme-depleted body.

  She sent tendrils of energy through him, repairing the damage to his optic nerves, stopping the damage in his brain, repairing his liver and kidneys. After what seemed like hours, she began to withdraw, replacing her essence with his own, but she did one final alteration as she left, a parting gift. She let go of him and stood up, stretching.

  She looked around, Everyone else was there. Goose having come in sometime during the operation. "He'll sleep for a while, yet. At least eight hours."

  "GV, shut down all power systems and send out a distress beacon. There's nothing else we can do." Zach ordered.

  "Careful, Captain - the power's still fluxing." Doc warned as the winches whined in an attempt to lower the cargo carriers to the ground. One of the containers was already down, and Niko was powering up the Cybersteed Mel. The container being moved was Doc's horse, Voyager, and it was giving them trouble. The wind had picked up, and the winches were straining to keep the cables taut as the container was lowered the twelve meters to the hard ground.

  A sudden ripping sound alerted Doc, and he backed out of the way as one of the two winches gave way, loosing a long length of thin cable. Zach tapped his badge and grabbed the careening cable with his bionic hand; sparks flew, but the cable stopped. Zach carefully lowered the other cable and the container hit the ground with a loud thump.

  "You all right?" He called down. Doc nodded and opened the container, preparing to power up the rather wacky cybersteed.

  "The winches are shot, Doc. I'm going to power Brutus up and get him to jump down." Zach said.

  "Sounds good to me, Captain." Doc called back.

  Zach nodded and walked to the last cargo carrier. Slapping the button, the container opened up, releasing the large, golden steed within. It's systems went through their internal checks, and the horse stood up.

  "Brutus, we got a problem. We can't lower you down, so you're going to have to jump about twelve meters. Can you do it?"

  The cybersteed snorted, then spoke in one of it's few lucid moments. "Watch my dust."

  Zach watched as his horse, the strongest of the four, walked to the edge of the open drop-bay, then snorted and leapt into the void. Walking to the edge, Zach saw Brutus standing on the ground, looking up at him as if to say `That was easy, your turn.'

  `Why did I even bother to ask.' Zach thought to himself as he climbed down the ladder and joined the other two.

  "You see anybody yet?" Goose asked.

  "We had a long-distance visitor, I think it was Red." Darkstar replied. "He did a rapid flyby, then vanished back towards the transport. Nothing from the destroyer, though."

  "Is it even remotely possible that the crash got rid of Killbane?" Doc asked.

  Both Goose and Darkstar shook their heads. "Not a chance. He survived a direct impact with the Kirwin defense shield, remember?" Goose said.

  Darkstar looked towards the setting sun. "We'd better make a move soon, the sun's going down."

  Zach nodded. "We'd better head for the Transport. If Killbane survived, he'll head there."

  All agreed, they loaded the horses with what they could carry from the interceptor, then rode off towards the downed Transport, Brutus carrying Zach and Commander Walsh, with Niko and Darkstar on Mel.

  The motley crew arrived at sundown, and crested the ridge, then pulled to a halt. Goose dismounted, and stepped forward.

  "Killbane!" He yelled.

  A laser blast answered him, coming from behind one of the engine pods, Goose dodged as a small chunk of dirt near him exploded.

  Zach, Doc and Niko pulled their guns as Goose rapidly scanned the area. "Engine pod; at least four, possibly more around the main body of the transport."

  Zach and Doc took aim, while Niko moved to get a clear shot with her carbine. Goose pulled both his guns and moved behind a largish boulder.

  "Killbane, this ends here!" Walsh bellowed into the growing darkness.

  "How nice to hear your voice, Commander. Too bad you won't survive to give another order." Came the mocking reply.

  "You have no claim on the supertroopers, Riker!" Walsh yelled.

  "I am a Supertrooper, Commander! Unlike you and the runt! They are my people, my kind - I decide what happens. I am the strongest!"

  "Get knotted, Killbane." Came another very deep and powerful voice. Both sides turned to look at the transport. The door had opened and the other Supertroopers were all calmly walking into the twilight.

  "Doc looked at Niko "Get knotted?" She raised an eyebrow and shrugged in response.

  "Killbane, we already told you to get off this planet - now it looks like we're going to have to make you." Scarab said, stepping into the circle of light cast by the open transport door.

  They all heard Killbane's deep laugh. "You still forgot all the rules of the game, Scarab." A single shot from Killbane's blaster struck Scarab, lifting him off the ground and throwing him back into the growing crowd of Supertroopers.

  Johnny Red ignited, throwing the entire area into brightness as he lifted into the air, glowing with an incandescent glow. He pointed, and a bolt of plasma energy leapt from his outstretched hand to explode behind Killbane, throwing the mutant Supertrooper over the engine pod, into the foreground.

  "He's mine." Growled Scarab, getting up and shaking off the effects of the blast.

  Goose stood up. "Scarab, back off."

  "Gooseman? Shane Gooseman?" The wiry trooper was incredulous. "You survived!"

  "Not for much longer." Killbane growled.

  "Shut yer trap, Killbane." Scarab snarled. Back at Wolf Den he'd been a close associate of Gooseman's. He admired the way Gooseman's powers had worked, and Gooseman had always liked the way Scarab could maneuver the way he was able to. The two had been close, before the incident.

  "Scarab, you always liked the runt." Killbane said, ignoring the small Trooper's growing anger. "How'd you like to see me finally wipe the floor with him?"

  "He told you to shut it, Killbane." Johnny Red said, his hand glowing with a new plasma build-up.

  "Or what, Red? You can't hurt me again, you hit me once, and now you know I'll defend against it, stupid!"

  "Oh, I wouldn't hit you, Killbane. I'll just turn the ground you're standing on to lava. You might be able to directly stop my plasma fire, but I don't think even your bio-defenses can stop molten rock!"

  Walsh stood up. "Stop this senseless bickering!"

  "Walsh, we aren't listening to you, either!" Scarab yelled.

  "Maybe not to him, but you will listen to me." Darkstar said, walking down the ridge to face the other supertroopers, she triggered her energy field, and a glowing aura flared into life around her, looking like the aurora borealis.

  "Darkstar..." The voices settled down, even Killbane looked a bit awestruck and quieted.

  "We can't live like this, always fighting. It's what they wanted, not what we want."

  "It's all we know." Scarab said.

  Darkstar shook her head. "No, it isn't. You are human - and humans have something within them that makes them different from the dogs and bears that have to fight to survive. We can reason, and we can learn."

  "What's your point, Darkstar?" Killbane grumbled.

  "We don't need you, Killbane, or BETA. We can survive on our own, and make our own decisions. I believe I speak for al of the supertroopers when I say we will follow nobody again, except ourselves. Go blow your own horn, Killbane, we don't play in your band any longer."

  Killbane growled, and suddenly leapt at Darkstar, rage and anger clouding his vision. Gooseman saw the tension, and made his own move, leaping to intercept the huge trooper before he could connect.

  The two became embroiled in combat, punches and blows landing, but neither feeling them, until Goose was thrown bodily into the shattered metal of the engine pod. He cried in pain as a shard pierced him, and tapped his badge. A surge of energy swirled through him, healing the wound, and turning him into a metallic form. He smashed into Killbane, who withstood the impact, and shifted into a demonic form. He breathed on Goose, spraying a poison cloud into the younger man's face. Goose backed away coughing, and again, was forced to tap his badge. He changed as his biodefenses reacted to the new threat, and made him impervious to the poison gas, but Killbane was already changing again, becoming something with large spikes, and scales.

  "They'll kill each other!" Niko cried, rushing forward, but Walsh grabbed her arm, stopping her. "This is between Goose and Killbane, Niko. You'll only get hurt if you try to stop them."

  Killbane was thrown into the engine pod, his bulk shearing a section of it off, exposing it's radioactive core, glowing with contained heat and energy. He cried in pain, then adapted, and pulling a chunk of glowing core material, flung it towards Goose.

  Gooseman dodged, and tapping his badge once again, picked up the chunk and threw it back. He became leaden, his bio-defenses striving to protect his internal systems from the hellish radiation.

  "Guys, His implant's almost depleted." Doc said, watching the combat and his CDU.

  "Then I have to end this, now." Zachary said, and aimed his arm while tapping his own badge. The thunderbolt fired, screaming across the distance to slam into the ground beside the two fighters. A huge gout of dirt and frozen ground was blown into the air by the impact, obscuring the fight, and causing a very unexpected result.

  A sudden flare brought everyone's attention towards the engine pod, the frozen dirt had landed on the core, and while melting, then turning molten, the exposed radioactive core went critical. As it flared again, it silhouetted Killbane and Gooseman still locked in battle, then a blinding explosion filled the air, causing everybody to look away.

  "Goose!" Niko cried.

  Scarab leapt forward, but the intense heat drove him back, Red swooped over, but another explosion sent shards of metal flying upwards, and he came down bleeding profusely from half a dozen puncture wounds.

  "Oh my god." Zach muttered, realizing that he'd been the cause of the explosion, while Doc checked the CDU - "His signal's fading - the radiation's too strong, Captain. We've got to get him out!"

  "Joseph!" Darkstar said, "If I have all the powers of the supertroopers, then I have Shane's Bio-Defenses, don't I?"

  "Even Goose's bio-defenses can't stop that sort of radiation, Aurora." Walsh snapped.

  "Perhaps not. But Killbane and Shane's combined might be able to. I have to try." She said, and leapt forward, flying with the speed of Red, her body turning insubstantial as it began to adapt to the massive outpouring of radiation and contained plasma heat.

  "Aurora, No!" Walsh yelled, but it was too late, she vanished into the smoldering ruins, and seconds later, another explosion rocked the engine pod, sending everyone ducking for cover.

  `I will not die, I cannot let you die.' She thought as the radiation and fire sleeted through her. Her bio-defenses had changed her beyond recognition, into something that could not be effected by the radiation. An insubstantial ghost. She saw the two, both burning with radioactive fire, one holding the other as they both struggled to escape the destruction.

  The larger of the two let go and fell backwards, into the blazing inferno and was gone. The smaller, staggered another step and collapsed, the damage too great. Aurora moved towards and into the figure. She knew she couldn't drop her defenses, but she knew that she had to protect what remained of Shane Gooseman and get him out of the radioactive fire. She scanned through the powers available, and settled on the only real option. Focusing all of her remaining energy, she blinked.

  The fire burned down to a dull glowing ember. The two groups moved forward, cautious, afraid of what they might see. In the crater, a single body lay, charred beyond recognition, but it's size told them who it must have been. "Killbane - but where's Goose?"

  "Right here."

  "Goose!" Niko gasped, running forward, but stopping just short of hugging him in public.

  "I'm all right, babe." he replied, then turned to face the other supertroopers.

  Darkstar shimmered as she took on form and substance beside him. Once she had solidified, she collapsed, gasping.

  Delphi stepped forward. "I seem to be the spokesman for our group, Gooseman."

  The other rangers and Commander Walsh walked into the circle of light.

  "Commander? Why are you here?" asked one of the other supertroopers.

  "Because I heard that you were in trouble, and I decided it was time to help all of you." Walsh replied.

  "You put us away." Grimlok said.

  Walsh nodded. "I know, and I regretted it. But at the time, it was too dangerous to keep you awake."

  Scarab walked over and brutally kicked Killbane's corpse, the body broke into pieces, large chunks burnt to ash by the plasma fire. "He's gone. The universe can rest easy now."

  "That is what we want to avoid, Commander." Delphi said, breaking the silence.

  The team turned to face the supertroopers once again.

  "We want to be alone, Commander Walsh." Knightmare said, stepping forward. "We tired of fighting somebody else's war, dying for other people. Killbane dies for his side - we don't want to die - we want life."  

  "It's not that easy." Walsh began.

  "It is that easy, Commander." Darkstar said, getting back to her feet. "Give us a chance. Leave us here, let us survive outside of the range of influence of the League. Let us Live!"

  Delphi stepped forward. "I have been given the ability to see a limited range into the future. Your scientists gave me that power. I see no major threats against Earth in the next twelve months. Give us those twelve months alone."

  "And then what?" Zachary asked.

  "Then you can come back, and if the need is there, ask us to help." Andromeda replied.

  "Yes, ask. ... indeed, ask us, not order, ask..." The other supertroopers nodded and agreed with each other.

  "BETA created you to fight for Earth - you don't have the choice!" Walsh growled.

  Scarab stepped forward. "Shane Gooseman - you know how fast I can kill you, especially as your defenses are now drained. Why do I not proceed to do this thing?"

  "Because you aren't a bloody-minded killer, Scarab. You don't kill for pleasure."

  "Exactly. I think, and prefer to pick my targets. Commander, we don't want to fight for anybody else except ourselves. Rest assured, we will fight to protect Earth, but on our own terms."

  "What terms?" Walsh growled.

  "The right to choose, first off, Commander." Delphi replied calmly.

  "We want the right to choose who to fight, and when to fight. You may pick the location, but we pick the targets."

  "That's absurd!" Walsh growled, but he knew he had already lost.

  "Commander, we have nothing left to lose." Darkstar added.

  "Commander Walsh, it's time to let them go. Let them be free." Goose said.

  Walsh looked at Goose for a long time, then looked at the Supertroopers.

  "You know, aside from all my gruffness, and my tough-as-nails exterior, this is exactly what I've always wanted out of all of you. To work as a team for a common goal."

  He looked at each of the Supertroopers, making eye contact with all of them in turn, leaving each with a sense of strength and pride.

  "One year." He continued. "Then we'll be back. You all need medical attention or the final dose of genetic enhancer will probably kill you."

  "Goodbye, Commander Walsh, we'll talk to you again in a year." Delphi said, and the supertroopers all filed back into the transport, the door sliding shut with a solid thunk, leaving the Rangers and Walsh standing in the light cast by the cybersteeds on the ridge.

  "Come on, Commander. We'd better get going soon." Doc said.

********

  Later, as they flew back towards Earth in the cramped confines of the three surviving ships, Zachary interrupted the Commander's silent thoughts.

  "Commander, what are you going to tell BETA?"

  Walsh shook his head. "I'm not sure I'll tell them anything, Zachary. Owen and I have already cooked up a cover story for my absence - and I'm sure you four can come up with a good reason why we lost two ships fighting a Crown Destroyer hell-bent on blowing us out of the sky."

  "I'm sure we can think of something, Commander." Doc's voice echoed from the other ship.

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