The Writers' Circle

Chapter Six
						
						Creating a powerful
						force...

	Over the next seventy-two hours, Jasper and Kenneth frantically worked to repair the malfunctioning targeting system.  Patrol members had begun arriving in force only six hours after the meeting with Aelfric.  They were both relieved to learn that the only ones arriving were recruits.  Apparently the officers seemed to have opted to take their unexpected vacation time elsewhere.  That left the Guild with raw recruits, who were more interested in celebrating their new found freedom, rather than the Guild's nocturnal activities.

	Finally, as night fell, Jasper found the last hole in his firing circuit and patched it. Dusting off his hands, he watched as his son did a quick test run.  Then, deciding it would be best to wait til morning before venturing over to Bandit's hanger, he bid his son good night, stowed his gear, and went to bed.

	Dawn found Jasper slowly approaching hanger fifty-eight.  A few minutes of walking brought him to the massive doors, where he stood for a moment trying to control his faltering nerves.  Finally, taking a deep breath, he knocked loudly on the gray doors.

	Inside, the high pitched voice of Atlantis' computer read out Jasper's file into the echoing hanger. "Jasper Reilly, 48, gray eyes, short, black beard, dirty, blond hair, 4 foot, eight inches, one son: 22. Nine counts robbery, eight counts assault with a deadly weapon, two counts murder....."

	Ty shut off the alarm as he went by and opened the right side door so Jasper could come in.  Once Jasper had cleared the doorway Ty slammed it shut and reset the alarm.  Then directing Jasper toward the forward wheel housing, he said, "Nam Bandit i eys."

	Jasper breathed a sigh of relief as he slowly made his way around the huge craft.  Thanks to a simple gesture, and Bandit's name, he wouldn't have to make heads or tails of Ty's strange speech; he knew exactly where to go.  Ducking under Atlantis' belly, Jasper wished that he could somehow get inside the legendary craft and explore all her secrets.  Atlantis' exterior showed no hint of any of her amazing capabilities.  In fact, from what Jasper could see, she looked more like a mismatched piece of junk than the lightening-fast, weapon-wielding machine he knew her to be.

	Running a critical eye over her rusted body, Jasper found himself wondering how this battered, worn-out old clunker maintained her Quadlight speed without falling apart.  As he paused below what appeared to be a very small weapons' compartment, he realized that one could easily believe that this ship carried nothing more than a small, light training gun.  Unless that someone had happened to have witnessed the awesome firing power that this ship was capable of.

	It was obviously no use trying to get a rough picture of the inside from what the outside looked like.  From what Jasper could see three different pieces of old ships had been welded together in a haphazard fashion with other odds and ends.  The front of Atlantis seemed to be a catman's Zeath Stomber, or, as most now called them, the family 'Rabbit.'  This was welded to what looked like an old Patrol Warship called TX-20.

	The TX-20 Warship was small, but could actually hold two forward cannons and one rear sniper gun comfortably.  The fact that Atlantis had the fire power of at least three forward cannons, and six repeating missiles ringing her topside made Jasper remember Locklear's words of wisdom to all the newer Guild members.

	"In the world of thievery your eyes can play tricks on you.  Never trust anything that you can't touch, repeat, or repair yourself, and even then question its reality."

	Bandit, himself, had once let it slip that all his fire power was rigged into the ship's main controls, with infra-red and night vision added as extra insurance.  Because of this unique wiring Atlantis also had the unusual ability of using her weapons while she accelerated into Quadlight, something even those with short jump speeds were unable to accomplish.  In fact it wouldn't surprise Jasper in the least to learn that Bandit had rigged his ship so he would have the capability of firing its weapons while in Quadlight.

	Moving over to the right wheel, Jasper took a quick glance at the rear of the ship.  In the shadows of the hanger he could just make out the rough outline of an old Adrian IV lifeboat.  A craft that had been out of service since the end of the Bry III-Adrian IV war, some nineteen years ago. How, or when, Bandit had managed to lay his hands on one was a question Jasper hoped Locklear would be able to answer when he arrived.

	Shrugging aside his curiosity, Jasper looked inside the left wheel housing and saw a thin, dark haired youth tucked tightly inside fast asleep.  Silently laughing to himself, Jasper reached out and cautiously shook Bandit's shoulder to wake him up.  Instantly Bandit jerked awake, threw his wrench toward the movement with his right hand, and pulled his modified ray gun out from under his dirt encrusted shirt with his left.

	As the heavy wrench went flying by, mere inches from his head, Jasper quickly hugged the floor while a beam of death passed through the space he had just been occupying.  Lying sill for five, or ten minutes, Jasper barely dared to breathe as he waited silently for the shot that would end his life.  Finally a roaring voice penetrated his fear.  "Liut lemal tecca?"

	Jasper tried frantically to quiet Ty down with small hand waves.  Only Ty ignored him, striding over to stand next to the wheel housing just as a figure suddenly shot out of it.  Ty's huge hairy arms abruptly materialized in the space between the ship and the concrete floor to catch the wiry form.  Smiling, Bandit swung his feet down and stood up.

	Giving Ty a playful punch, he said, "Leave Jasper alone, you big brute.  I was sleeping when he came over, and you know how crazy my reflexes have been these past few cycles."  Shrugging, he turned to Jasper.  "Sorry about that, old man.  I've developed a slightly more cautious nature than I had when we last saw each other.  Someone, or something, almost got me on our stopover at Zylog 3.  Ty here is almost sure it was one of our guys and now I can't trust anyone but him."  He smiled sadly.  Then seemingly dismissed his sadness with a casual wave of his hand, as he asked, "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

	Shocked, and still a little nervous, Jasper took his time standing up before answering.  "We need you out there.  The Guild is having a serious problem settling down and working as a team.  I'd appreciate it if you could at least try to keep them from running wild.  The Guild members are more intent on killing off their competitors, or trashing up the bars, instead of preparing themselves for the upcoming battle.  With the Patrol starting to arrive, I could use all the help you can give me.  Otherwise I'm afraid the Guild will lose face."

	Bandit rolled his eyes and heaved an exasperated sigh as Ty let him have it with both barrels.  "Zot im nisa ramaie nadam acom geh rye.  Sido hi'a ge tay, cisey cieg luno."

	Bandit craned his neck around and scowled up at his big friend.  "I told you that we couldn't take charge of those misfits while the Atlantis needed repairs.  But now we're done, we can take care of those idiots without constantly worrying about our own ship."  He sighed as he started out of the hanger.  "Come on, let's get the Guild together before the Patrol sends in someone who'll realize just how easy it would be to turn us against one another and get rid of the Guild forever."

	Ty and Jasper followed the slight figure over to the bay doors.  They waited patiently while he reset the security system.  Jasper used the time to take one last look at the legendary Atlantis, the outline of the huge ship seemed to simmer in the heat of the hanger, and, for a moment, Jasper thought he saw it change.  For just a split second in time the ship looked the most advanced piece of machinery in this sector of the galaxy, a Lipricoonian Magicship.  A ship once rumored to have been built around pockets of space, and processing the ability to transform itself into anything.  A ship believed to have been destroyed when the Libricoons disappeared, over fifty years ago.  Then, in a blink of an eye, it turned back into the Atlantis he knew.  Shaking his head at his overactive imagination, Jasper turned to follow Ty outside.

	Little did the three know that they were being observed as they exited the hanger.  In the shadows of a nearby street, Aelfric's eye zeroed in on the third figure who stepped out into the alley.  This was the youngster he had so many questions about, but had yet to see clearly.  His quick inquires to the doctors and nurses had given him a crazy picture of the youth.  For a start, not one of their descriptions matched those of the rescue workers, or the description that the Patrol gave out of the fugitive.  Looking the kid over for himself gave Aelfric an idea why.

	Bandit was a lean, wily looking youngster and seemed to carry a silent strength about him.  He had short, midnight black hair that was almost completely hidden from sight by an old black cap.  A black leather jacket hung open, allowing a brief glimpse of the loose, black T-shirt that Bandit wore underneath.  Faded black jeans tapered into a pair of old, worn-out black high tops, and, as Bandit turned sideways, Aelfric whistled softly in shock.  For there, running down the length of the kid's left pant leg, was the famous 'White Stripes of KLUR,' two inch-wide strips of white which symbolized the highest award in the galaxy for a person's voluntary risk of life and unusual courage during a time of great danger.

	No where in any in any of the stories or reports on this youngster did it mention anything about this amazing fact.  The 'White Stripes of KLUR' were rumored to have been given only once, posthumously, over a hundred years ago.  The fact that this renegade wore them and no one had even remarked upon it was a little strange in and of itself.  That observation combined with the simple fact that the race of Libricoons, whose award it was, had disappeared over fifty years ago brought Aelfric back to the realization that only a very few individuals knew Bandit's true character and background.

	Adrift in this maze of thought Aelfric moved off, only vaguely aware of the sound of a ship as it passed overhead.  Ty, however, quickly looked up and tracked the Patrol warship as it circled the landing field.  There was something all too familiar about the flight pattern of the ship, which could mean trouble in the cycles ahead.