Bacon?

Xionide had done his job well. The hyper-drills had impacted
the planet’s surface at half the speed of light. The resulting explosions
created a tidal wave of earth and rock that buried everything around Zanna in
more than a hundred foot of dirt. The force of the explosions was so great that
Jason was knocked unconscious; Zanna covered his machine with hers and
activated a force field that protected them. Xionide had done his job and she
had done hers by making an artificial cave.

Zanna’s Motokin did not use an internal combustion engine
nor did it utilize a reactor which could have dangerous side effects. Long ago her
people had learned to use magnetic forces to produce energy and that is what
powered their Motokin. The magnetic engines were small, lightweight and
produced tremendous amounts of electrical energy, enough so that they could utilize
plasma weapon systems.

She had her Motokin power up its lights and heating system
to make the environment comfortable for when Jason woke up. Thankfully she had
brought along a book that she had wanted to read because Jason had slept so
long that she had already read half of it.

An irritating beeping noise woke him. One of his sensors was
trying to tell him it was damaged. Without thinking he reached over and flipped
it off. Reality smacked him in the forehead when he realized he was alive and
he hit the front of the cockpit. The Haffaman had powered down and he could no
longer see outside. Pulling himself upright he realized that his VT was facing
downward. He bent his neck to the left trying to work out a kink in it while he
started to get his bearings as to where the down ladder was placed.

Pushing a button the ladder made a zipping sound as it
extended to the ground. Slowly he had begun to descend wondering what was going
on. Was he dead? Was he alone? Why did he smell bacon?

Jason still had on his street clothes, he had not had the
time or care to put on a flight suit. His body ached as he climbed down. He
found he could see and it was warm. Again he smelled bacon cooking and eggs.

“Bacon?”

“Yes, bacon, eggs and toast and I even poured you a glass of
orange juice.” The voice was the same as the woman who had talked to him just
before everything went dark.

Jason looked up and found that the giant machine he had seen
was hovered over his in a protective fashion. It was also producing light and
heat. He was amazed.

Looking around Jason saw Zanna. She was relaxing in a lawn
chair reading a book and glancing over to a portable grill. The light green of
her skin did not distract from her raw beauty and her hair seemed to glisten in
the artificial light. She wore a 2 piece bathing suit that showed her form, it
excited him. She also had on a pair of flip flops and sunglasses.

He noted that there was an extra chair, a small table set
with a plate and silverware and a small cooler.

“That smells like bacon but how can you have bacon?” Jason
inquired.

“You’ll find that many worlds share a great many things.
Only arrogance will make you believe that everything on your world is unique.”
Zanna explained never looking up. “Sit, relax and have some breakfast.”

“How long was I out?”

“About ten of your hours or five galactic standard hours.”

“Wow” Jason responded. “So that is really Bacon?”

“Yes silly it is really bacon.”

Zanna could tell that he was hesitant primarily because he
had not come any closer. She reached over to the grill and picked up a piece of
bacon with her fork and begun eating. Between bites she said “Yup, it’s really
bacon.”

Jason’s stomach rumbled as he watched her eat. He could not
contain his hunger and quickly made his way to the grill. He found it full of
food, just as she had said.

“Eat your fill.”

Those words were music to his ears as he begun to eat and
eat. He ate for a solid twenty five minutes before he slowed down. It was
bacon, it tasted like bacon, smelled like bacon, had bacon’s texture. The same
was true for the eggs and toast, they tasted like the tastes he had known all
of his life. The orange juice was the best he had ever tasted.

“So, like breakfast foods are the same all over the
universe?”

“I don’t know about the universe but I know in the twelve
galaxies that make up our galactic cluster they are pretty much the same. There
a few differences here and there but not enough to make you think about them.”
Zanna replied.

“That just blows my mind.” Jason said.

“You’ll really freak when you find out that McDonald has a
space station in the center of the galactic cluster and a sign that reads ‘Over
7 Googolplex Served’ or that on most starships you can instant order from Burger
King. Pizza Hut guarantees delivery in 3 nanoseconds or less.”

“You’re pulling my leg right?”

“If I am you can buy me a Big Mac.” Zanna said with a grin.

“Obviously there is a lot that I don’t know and obviously
you are from a different planet. What is going on?”

“Obviously your right, Jason” Zanna smirked.

“Hey…How’d you know my name.”

“Don’t worry I am not a telepath. I’m more of a stalker. I
have been watching you from deep orbit for a while now.” She could see the
worry crossing his face.

“Don’t worry. I am not here to probe you or remove your brain
or any of the other things your silly world has concocted about alien life
forms.” Zanna said as she stood and stretched. After she was sure he had enough
of an eyeful she put on a robe and sat down normal. Placing a bookmark in her
book she closed and placed it by the grill.

“The Vampire’s Vampire” Jason said aloud as he read the
title of the book.

“It’s actually not about vampires. The title let me down. It’s
about how big corporations take over little ones and so forth.” Zanna replied
before she understood that he had read the title.

“You can read our words?” She asked.

“I guess like bacon the universe shares a lot.”

“Hmpf!” She replied and turned her back to him.

“Why me?” Jason resumed his questions.

She turned back to him and removed her sunglasses. Her face
became stern and her voice held a commanding undertone. “I’ll tell you why
Jason. It was no accident that my scanners selected you. It was no coincidence
that Clan Mersious wanted your planet. Your sun is going to super nova next
week and when it does it will create gold and lots of it. Clan Mersious needs
the gold in order to improve their Motokin. Motokin are a cool name for what
you call a Vertical Tank or a mecha or a battlemech or an astromech. Motokin is
more universal and easier for most races to say and remember.”

Jason’s eyes widen and he seemed to hang on every word she
said. She positioned her body directly across from him and looked him square in
the eyes.

Jason had no reason to doubt her words.

“I am going to tell you a story. This story has a very tragic
end and it has an offer which you can take or leave.” Zanna began. She knew it
would be a while.

“To begin with my name is Zanna. I have no last name.
Selaxions only have first names, no middle name no last name. Also we have all
been dead for the last twenty thousand years.”

“Dead…what do you mean dead?” Jason interrupted her.

“Stop interrupting and you’ll find out. When I say dead I
mean dead as in non-existent and alive no more as in dead. My world was once arrogant
like yours except we had the technology to back it up. Before I get into that
there is something you need to know first. The galactic cluster Seka is made up
of seven galaxies. Your world and mine are inside of that cluster. The Seka
cluster is controlled by Motokin Clans. The weakest of these clans is the one
that attacked your planet. There are only five clans left all of which are
battling for control of the galactic cluster.” Zanna let out a long sigh. Jason’s
eyes were full of wonder and the one thing she sought above all else: Hope.

“Twenty thousand years ago my home worlds, yes it is plural because
Selaxia is a binary system. There are two life bearing planets in the same
orbit. They are half an orbit away from each other. One planet is dedicated to
science and technology while the other planet was dedicated to war.”

“Was?” Jason interrupted again.

“Yes it was. There is no life on that planet now. Mostly
thanks to me. It was my arrogance that was our downfall as I had gotten so
dependent on our technology to save us I ignored everything else. Selaxia Prime
was impregnated with a plague that killed every life form on it. Selaxia minor
developed a resurrection technique but had made the mistake of trying it their home
world. They resurrected the plague and that world also became void of life.” A
small tear formed at the corners of her eyes.

“So how are you here then?” Jason questioned
sympathetically.

“We are here because of our technology. It took our computers
twenty thousand years to be able to resurrect some of us. Between the two
worlds it could only revive less than one thousand. Again we are infected with the
plague. It was my arrogance that caused it and because of that we have no cure
because we do not know where the genocide plague originated from. It is one
thing to die it is a whole another thing to die more than once.”

Zwealler

“C’mon, give it us Jason. They are never going let you in.
They want big jocks and overcharged testosterone powered beef cakes piloting
those things.” Her voice was like music to his ears. Always comforting even
when she was nagging.

Jason turned to look at her. She was cute, a bit smaller
than him with a round face and comforting eyes. She always wore the lasts
fashionable dresses and shoes and yet she clung to their friendship like a
monkey to a banana.

“I know Amy, but maybe one day. You never know.”

“Yes you do. They have turned you down twelve times now. How
much more begging are you going to do? It is plain and simple. The military doesn’t
want you.”

Jason sighed. She was right.

Amy was always right and he knew it. Though she was a year
younger than him she was far more intelligent than he and he had to give way to
her logic.

“I can’t give up though Amy. Something draws me to the Vertical
Tanks. I don’t know what and I don’t know why. 
I am just drawn to them.” Jason explained.

“I know. It is what is called the “Riddle of Steel” ancient
swordsmen couldn’t explain why they were drawn to certain weapons. It is the
same with you. I don’t know why I am drawn to you.” She explained while trying
to hide her feelings.

“Move it you two!” a soldier barked as confronted the two at
the fence. “This is restricted for military only.”

“Hey I was just watching. No harm in that.” Jason protested.

“Your right son. No harm in that. The harm is in my rifle
and if you don’t hurry the hell outta here your gonna feel it.”

“There is no reason to threaten us like that. We are going
okay.” Jason huffed as he grasped Amy’s right arm.

Violent explosion suddenly rocked the ground and the soldier
was thrown to the ground. It seemed like an earthquake until another one
happened just moments after the first one.

Jason held Amy close to him and was doing his level best to
keep his footing. Half the Vertical Tanks were destroyed in an instant. The
army had no warning and no chance. The military personnel barracks were
annihilated. Only soldiers left alive after the fatal barrage were inside what
was left of the Vertical Tanks and they seemed half confused.

They were training machines with no defense or offensive
systems built in yet. Most of the begun to fumble around adding to the chaos as
enemy Vertical Tanks suddenly appeared and began to blast things into oblivion.

Amy shed a soft tear as she held he
left side. “Jason. You have to help them.” Her whisper was like thunder in his
ears.

“But…” he begun to protest.

“Go take the Haffaman Vertical Tank
and help them.” Amy said stopping his protest. She knew he had the heart of
hero. “You know where they keep.”

“They will probably get mad if I do.”
Jason said as he stared at the invasion force coming in. “First I have to get
you to safety.”

“No. Jason you may be the only help
some of the others have. Look around everything is gone. I’m fine, go help
them.”

He pulled her face to his and gave her
a soft kiss on the lips. “I’ll be back for you.” He said as he ran toward the
battle bunkers.

“No. No you won’t.” Amy said as her
knees buckled and she fell to them. Her right hand was covered in blood and the
piece of shrapnel had dug in deep. The explosions had muffled her screams and
the sharp metal had penetrated almost all the way through her. She had
protected him and she hoped with her dying breath that by not letting him know
that she had protected the rest of her world.

“Keep them safe Jason…” Amy’s words
trailed off as her body crashed to the ground.

He huffed as he ran. His legs ached.
His lungs burned. His heart raced.

He dodged laser blasts, falling
buildings, being stepped on by the vertical tanks. Jason hoped he could remain
luckily enough to reach the bunker house. He knew where they kept an
experimental tank and if he could reach he hoped his research would be enough
to allow him to pilot it.

Normal VT’s were easy. You just
basically watched the Gyros and kept them level. The Haffaman VT was a military
special with huge upgrades and experimental technologies and computers.

The only reason he knew it existed is
because He and Amy would break in at night and sneak around. They had signal
jammers so they never detected. They had always only come to watch and never
touched anything so the other sensors had no reason to be alarmed.

He ran through the bunker as it began
to fall on top of him. He knew the location and he knew is the building
completely collapsed that he would be safe. Where they kept the Haffaman VT was
in a reinforced bunker under the one he was running through.

As he begun to descend a flight of
stairs most of the ceiling caved in. In a desperate attempt he leapt forward
down the stairs and into a corridor. Escaping with just a few scratched he
dusted himself and begun to run down the corridor. A right and two lefts later
he was at the bunker door.

To his surprise he found it open. It
seemed as though a trained pilot had begun to walk through when a piece of
shrapnel penetrated his back leaving his limp body to hold the bunker door wide
open.

He saw the Haffaman VT and his eyes
opened wide. It was beautiful, even more so as he approached then it had been
from when he snuck into see it.

“Hey…get away from that…” An engineer
from across the room painfully shouted.

“I can’t…we need this on the surface.”
Jason calmly replied as he kept walking towards it.

“You’re not military…you can’t access
it.” The pain in the engineer’s voice was unmistakable.

“No but you can.”

“You ever piloted a VT?” the engineer
asked.

“No but I have done a great deal of
research on them and their controls.” Jason responded.

“Forget all of that, boy, and climb
in. Strap down and let the Haffaman guide you. The machine knows what to do and
it will teach you what you need to know.”

“How long will that take…we don’t have
time for learning.” Jason questioned.

“Oh…” the engineer smiled wickedly
“about one millionth of one second.”

Jason begun to climb the ladder to the
cockpit. “How do I activate it?”

“Don’t worry about that…just get in
and I will activate it for you. Once activated the roof will blow.”

“You’ll be killed.” Jason responded
with worry.

“I’m already dead boy. Only got a
couple minute of life left anyway.”

The engineer wiped dust off some
control panels and sighed out loud “Wonder if I forgot to tell the boy to take
an aspirin or three?”

“Huh? What was that?” Jason yelled as
he entered the cockpit.

“Nothin’” the engineer spoke into a
microphone.” Just sit back and relax”

Jason was amazed at the controls
inside. Nothing like he’d had ever read about. It was not set up the way a VT
should have been. Experimental was not the correct phrase to use, this
technology was way beyond anything he had even hear of before. The controls
looked as if the mounted right to the body of the pilot. Jason was hesitant.

“Strap in.” came the engineers voice
inside the cockpit.

“Then what?”

“Hold on and enjoy the ride.”

Jason slowly sat and leaned back into
the pilot’s seat. Instantly the controls surrounded him and a heads up display
appeared before his eyes. The enclosed cockpit seemed to turn translucent and
he could see outside.

“That’s amazing.” Jason said as he
looked. He had wondered how the pilot navigated as he had seen no way to look
out. It was as if he was floating in mid-air.

Explosions began to happen above him
as he felt a slight pinch in his neck. For a nanosecond time stood still as the
Haffaman VT implanted its instructions into his brain. A millionth of a second
and a flash of searing pain and he knew everything about the machine.

It felt natural as he commanded the
machine to rise. It obeyed him and he felt powerful.

The sudden reality of the roof
crashing down snapped him back.

“Alright…lets go.” He said with
excitement. Servos whined and jump jets thundered as he rose from the ground
and jumped upwards through the hole.

 Enemy machines swarmed the complex destroying
everything in their path. Their machines were bulky and reminded him of stocky
football players. His machine was sleek and trimmed. His weapon systems were
hidden but he could see theirs.

“Haffaman, identify enemy weapon sys.”
Jason commanded out loud hoping it was a correct statement.

The bipedal machine turned slightly
and emitted a short squawking sound.

“Air to air missile systems. High
intensity laser blasters. Particle acceleration blasters. Ion cannon.” Haffaman
anwered.

“Counter measures?” Jason inquired.

“Impact ferrous armor.”

“Offensive measures?”

“Better than them.” Haffaman answered
with what seemed to be a grin in its vocal patterns.

Jason looked around. Three of the
enemy machines were approaching him.

“Let’s rock Haffaman.” Jason said as
he pointed his right arm at the incoming enemy. He made a fist with his right
hand and turned it to its side. He noticed the Haffaman had imitated him
exactly. “Bam!” he barked as he let loose a barrage of rail cannons that
instantly destroyed the incoming machines.

“I like.” Jason sighed.

He stood alone against the incoming
invasion force. More than a hundred of those machines were now headed towards
him.

“Haffaman…What is our chance of
survival?”

“Little to none, the invasion force
has disabled all communications planet wide. The assumption is that we are
alone.”

“Well if we are going to be wiped out
let’s take a few of them with us. Scan for Amy Amigatchi, I must get her to a
safe place.

“Scan negative.”

“What?”

“There is no living life form in close
proximity with that nomenclature.”

That could only mean one thing. The
girl who loved him was dead. That also meant that everything that he knew or
loved was dead. His world was gone. They had been taken by surprise and
everything wiped out. Jason knew there was no other way. All he could do was
take on and destroy as many as he could before their numbers overwhelmed him
and he perished with the rest of his world.

“If nothing else Haffaman, they are
going to remember the repair bill.”

He took a deep breath. Snapped his
arms next to his side revealing the Ion and rail cannons attached to the
Haffaman. He rolled each shoulder enabling the Haffaman to present the attached
missile systems.

The Haffaman’s feet thundered as Jason
raced into battle with a kamikaze style charge. Weapons ready and directed in
front of him. No thought to what was behind and no concern as to what would
happen.

Explosions erupted on the enemy VT’s
and he allowed himself a moment of glory but that was all the enemy would give
him. As quickly as it had begun hi moment was over. Explosions blinded him as
plasma burst impacted on his VT.

His sight was limited and he was
having difficulty with the sensors. He was unsure of what they meant. Jason had
never seen battle before. He didn’t watch action or war movies. He didn’t play
video games. He didn’t know what it was.

Jason wasn’t alone. The Haffaman,
though technologically superior to any machine on the planet, had never seen
war and did not know what it was. Even though its computers could handle almost
any situation live fire was much different than simulations. The computers were
confusing themselves.

The longer Jason fought the more
difficult it was to control the Haffaman. He thought it was his inexperience
and to some degree it was for he didn’t realize that the machine was being
damaged. The more he fought the more the machine was damaged. Somehow, some
force of will, he moved the machine and time and time again avoided fatal
battles.

After about ten minutes into the fire
fight by all rights the Haffaman and Jason should have been torn to pieces.
Even with an experienced combat veteran the staggering numbers should have
ripped them to shreds and back again. As if a magical force guided him Jason
maneuvered the Haffaman in ways that not even the designers knew it could do.
He was a very difficult target to hit. The enemy tried to swarm and flank him
on all side but somehow he managed to sense where they were and dodged all
incoming missile attacks.

His vision blurred and the Hoffaman
burning from the intense heat of the fires that surrounded him Jason was sure
he was about to die.

Like an angel of mercy the voice came
out of nowhere.

“Hey Cowboy…Suicide is not an option.”

“Who?? What??”

“If you’ll look straight ahead I’m
that big thing that is stepping on those itty bitty attackers.”

Her voice was like a gift from god and
when he looked up he thought that maybe she was God.

Her mech stood five times higher than
the largest VT on the field and it was two and a half times wider. Huge guns
littered the arms of the giant biped. Missile packs and grenade launchers ran
up and down its legs. The chest of the huge machine also held cannons and
missile packs, more weapons on one machine than he had ever seen before. She
had been correct, the giant machine was stepping on and crushing the lesser
machines as if they were ants. Its balance never wavered and the lesser
machines became as thin as tin foil when she crushed them.

“What it the hell is that???” He
questioned loudly as he examined the cockpit of the giant machine that also
held weapons. Two machine guns on both sides and a missile pack on top of its
head. The cockpit looked like a giant skull.

“That, my dear, is called an
Executioner.”

“No shit.” Jason replied after hearing
her response. On further examination he saw the insignia. It was a huge leaping
cat with its claws extended and black in color with white stripes. The insignia
was on the chest, the outside of both legs as well as on the barrels of the
mighty guns.

“What’s with the black cat?”

“It’s a tiger…a black tiger” Zanna
replied, “It’s a rare beast on my home world and very dangerous, in fact it is
the most dangerous of all land predators.”

“That’s cool” Jason replied as he
continued to fire at the enemy that was now trying to swarm her. “Who are you
and why are you helping me?”

“Zanna, I am Zanna of Clan Black
Tiger.”

“So why are you helping me and who are
these guys?”

“They are Clan Mersious and
they are destroying your world.”

“Destroyed.” Jason corrected her.

“Mostly yes.” Zanna replied.

“Could have used you like 30 minutes ago.”

“You didn’t ask.”

“What?”

“You didn’t ask.”

Zanna’s reply lit his ears on fire and sent his rage on a
wild rampage. He didn’t know that she couldn’t hear is raving, curses and
anger. He screamed wildly and angrily until he couldn’t scream anymore. Her
giant machine slowly kept crushing the enemy.

In anticipation she had cut the communications to him off
and enabled the communications to her starship.

“Xionide, come in.”

“Go ahead Z”

“Clan Mersious sent in its beta team to take over this
world. That leads me to believe that they are after something else in this
system and don’t want the Zweallers to know what it is. Run a survey check on
the star and then launch four hyper-drills sixty meters off my position. I want
you to bury him and I and then I want you in the ExeOut getting rid of these
little insults.”

Genocide is not for everyone!

 “Are you sure?” The rough voice from her right questioned with sarcasm. “This kid doesn’t have what it takes.”

“Sure? No. Absolutely positive? Yes.” Her reply was soothing and in an instant Xionide knew that she had made up her mind. Once Zanna had made up her mind it was set and he knew it.

“C’mon Z , you know this kid doesn’t know squat. Heck he ain’t even out of school yet on his world.”

“If I recall correctly, you weren’t either the first time you crawled into a Motokin. In fact you were a failure at school.” She replied never loosing the natural sweetness in her voice as she stared at the view screen.

“Actually it wasn’t a Motokin it was a Btank with almost nothing to it. A stripped down, getting ready to recycle, machine with a pea shooter for a gun.” Xionide replied with a relaxed smile as he placed his hands behind his head and leaned back into his seat. “Those were the good days when all a man needed was a gun, a woman, and a good beer.”

He remembered the Btank. An ugly hunk of scrap no bigger than a compact car with a single machine gun attached to its hood. It was rusted badly with pieces of the body falling off and no glass to separate the outside winds. You had to turn the car to aim the gun. They were cheap battle vehicles that had been cheaply made with a very high rate of fatalities tied to them.

“Too bad all you had was a good beer” piped a smaller male from across the bridge.

“ ‘Twas all I needed lad. ‘Twas all I needed.” Xionide smiled ear to ear.

His face showed layers of scares from a great many battles even through his scruffy beard. His eyes were tight and focused and his lips taut. Xionide had one of those looks where he always looked like he was going to rip someone’s face off when the truth was he was a nice guy. The years that had rolled by him had also been kind as he still appeared to be the youthful boy who took control of a junk Btank to change the tide of a battle. He was just past his 40’s and looked no more than 18.

He was a man harden by many years of war and more battles than he dared to count. Only when he looked at Zanna did his face soften. He made no attempts to hide the fact that he had a crush on her and he didn’t lie about it. He hoped that now that they had a short time that she would notice him.

“Z, we have seen these types of kids before. What makes this one different?”

“I don’t know, I guess it is just a feeling. I have a feeling that this is the one to lead us into a glorious future and restore our home worlds.” Zanna replied with a half whisper.

Her pale blue hair trimmed her youthful and vibrant face as it laid its curls upon the tops of her shoulders. Her big, round eyes seemed to illuminate the emerald green color and reflect off her gentle face. Her eyes always seemed as if a great sadness rested upon her shoulders.  Her nose was small and her lips were thin while her high cheeks seemed a bit out of place. She was a little taller than the normal Selaxion female, which stood five foot four inches, and she was a bit thinner than normal but not so much to look anorexic. She wore a sleeveless top with a short “V” at the neck and a short skirt that only hung to just above her knees, both pale blue in color to match her hair. On her feet, she wore a moccasin like shoe, also colored to match her hair and offset the greenish hue of her skin. With the exception of differently colored hair and skin tone Selaxion’s were exactly like Earth humans of the Sol system in the Milky Way Galaxy, a mere two thousand year trip at one thousand times the speed of light.

“Those feeling of yours are what I am afraid of.” Xionide said as he sat forward. He was broad and stout for a Selaxion and he was fit. “He’s kind of wimpy looking.”

“Maybe but I think he can handle a Motokin.”

“It’s your call, Z, you are the commander but I’ll tell ya one thing right off the bat. If he can’t handle a Motokin I’m gonna shot him.”

Zanna turned her head slightly to look at him, her solemn protector, and with a smile replied “Deal.”

A long silence followed as Xionide contemplated things in his head. He knew Zanna, he knew her better than anyone else in the universe. He knew her past, all of it. He knew what drove her and he knew what ate at her soul.

“Genocide. The systematic and widespread extermination or attempted extermination of an entire national, racial, religious, or ethnic group.”

That one definition defined her and made her whole. It was her driving force and the only thing that she lived for, to make sure it never it was never to happen again to any race on any world.

 It was the entirety of her being and it drove her wholly.

She could not and would not let it happen again. Xionide knew it so completely that he alone knew what had caused both of the Selaxion home worlds to be destroyed and he knew why it would never happen again.

“You realize, Z, that we are one tiny system against those galactic clans right?”

“Once we stood tall and proud. Once we were the pinnacle of our galaxy and once we were alive.” Zanna replied never looking up from the screen. “And soon we shall stand again.”

“As you wish…” Xionide let the conversation tail off as he studied the object of her obsession.

The view screen showed a young man in his late teens. His face was vibrant though not as youthful in looks as the DNA scans suggested. Somehow the young man lacked any particular feature that could be captured by another mind and remembered.  His sandy hair was short and ruffled and again nothing special about it. His clothes seemed to be of a latent style with nothing special about them either; it was as if the young man had no identity of his own. No special marks, no scars, no tattoos, no insignias, he didn’t wear any brand names. Xionide was about to argue the point with Zanna again until he noticed the gleam in the young man’s eyes as he watched intently as bipedal war machines practiced nearby.

It was not just any gleam. It was something Xionide had seen hundreds of times over; it was something he knew very well. The gleam in the young man’s eyes was the reason Xionide had lived through many hundreds of battles. It was the one thing, the only thing he respected above all else.

Slowly Xionide stood, straiten his body and cleaned his appearance. The other fifteen members of the bridge crew watched with awe as Xionide sharply saluted the image on the screen.

“Z…Lets go get our general.”

“I take it you finally saw what I did?” Zanna asked with a smirk.

“What are we gonna call our outfit?”

“It already has a name, one it has always had.”

“You can’t be serious?” Xionide retorted.

“Oh I am…We started this and we are going to finish this. The galactic clans are about to realize that we are back. I don’t know why the core computer resurrected our squad but since it did it, we will make them all cower with fear. They will learn the true nature of mechanized battle. They will learn it from the best. They will learn it from us.” Zanna’s words were cold and harsh as she kept looking forward. “Once we pick up this boy then they will learn to hate us because we are not going to make the same mistake twice.”

“You mean?” The smaller male on her left had begun to question.

“Yup lad, it’s time to be tigers.” Xionide answered.

“Not just any tigers.” Zanna added.

In unison the bridge crew shouted as they crashed their knuckle together in front of their chests.

“Clan Black Tiger!!!!”

Zanna waved her left hand in front of her and a small view screen seemed to appear out of nowhere. “Connect: home world 2. Connect: Harkasious Labs.”

A moment later a man’s face came on the screen. He was average looking with large eyebrows and a small nose.

“Good morning commander Zanna, how may we help you?”

“We have located the world were our new general lives. Both home worlds are to imprint the insignia of “Clan Black Tiger” on everything.” Zanna answered with a smile.

“Good, good.” The man replied. “Hyper-Missile system is ready. We can now transport at eighty times the speed of light.”

“Good. Load and send our Motokin. I want an ExeBug added to the standard issue. I also want them with fresh paint and a bucket of apples.”

“Sorry Zanna, the ExeBug has a faulty Fire control system. I would really like to have the time to fix that.”

Zanna looked over at Xionide, gave a half smile and wink with her left eye.

“Okay. Fix the ExeBug problem and send it when it is ready. Add and ExeOut to the list and have them transported to our new cords.”

“An ExeOut!!!!”

“Yes an ExOut. Xionide is going to be using it.”

“Whew…” the man sighed. “As long as it’s for Xionide.”

“You didn’t think I am crazy enough to drive one of those things did you?”

“I was hoping not.” The man replied his voice relieved.

The ExeOut was a dangerous Motokin. Extremely effective in battle, very dangerous to drive. The system sometimes tried to take over the pilot and it could reconfigure the machine as needed. Normally a biped it could became a quad if the situation arisen. It took a certain amount of psychosis to even be able to link with the machine. Once the link was established and the driver survived then the machine was quick, hit hard and difficult to kill.

“Make sure you send my Executioner.” Zanna said with a sigh as she waved her hand and the screen disappeared.

“Really Z?” Xionide questioned. “I get an ExeOut while you are taking your Executioner?”

“No…You get to stay here. I only ordered the ExeOut to get my Motokin. You know as well as I do if I said I was going to go alone they would have found a million reasons to delay the transport.” Zanna said with confidence and strength that Xionide had heard in her voice many times before.

“You can’t go alone.” Xionide replied with some concern in his voice.

“I have to. I have to do this.” Zanna said as her head hung low.

“Commander…” a female voice from behind her said with some excitement “That world you were just looking at has seventeen hours before Clan Mersious invades.”

“Clan Mersious…hmm.” Zanna’s words trailed for a few moments.

“You have an idea don’t you?”

“Yes I do. Set course for the Zwealler System and set it so that we get there thirty minutes after Clan Mersious.” Zanna said.

“Thirty minutes late ma’am?” the female questioned.

“Yes, Gallia, I want to be thirty minutes late.”

“Why?” Xionide asked impatiently “When we can just intercept and wipe out the invasion force.”

“Because, love, the Zwealler system is arrogant like all smaller system and has yet to understand that they are not alone in the universe. They do not as of yet realize that in the scheme of galaxies that their little planet and solar system are just a speck of dust. That and Clan Mersious doesn’t employ great intelligence for their invasion force. The Zwealler’s should be able to hold them off for a little bit and it will give us a chance to evaluate our new general.” Zanna explained sweetly while forming the plot in her head.

“So we let him sweat a little bit and then come save his young butt.”

“That sounds like my plan. Now let’s make it happen.”

“One of the many reasons I love you.” Xionide said with a smile as he turned and punched some numbers into his computer.

“I know.” Zanna said with a slight blush.

“Gallia…let’s get outta here.” Xionide barked.

“Yes Sir.” She responded with a smile.