Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2005 14:05:41 -0800
From: Dusty <dustytale@gmail.com>
Subject: Fighting Angels 01

This is a work of adult gay fiction. If this offends you in
anyway stop reading now. If you are now allowed to read this
for any reason stop reading.

**Author's Rant**

Well this is the first in a series what will run as long as
I am still interested in writing them. If you like it please
send me feedback. If you don't like it, I like constructive
criticism as well. If any of you have read my other stuff you
know this is a big departure from the norm. I hope you like
it. I can be reached at Dustytale@gmail.com

See you all later,
Dusty

**Shameless Plug**

My two other stories The Ride and Loft Lovers can be found
in the Rural section of Nifty.org.


                        * * * *

Mack was used to this dream, the feel, the scent, the sound.
Thoughts of his lover filled his every sense. He could feel
himself exploring his lover's body, hearing his breathing
quicken with every touch. Mack could feel them together,
one last time. It was always one last time in his dreams.

"Jason!"

Mack shot up in his bed, sweat dripping down his whole
body. It took him a moment to gather his senses. His eyes
adjusted to the darkness, shards of amber light raced across
the walls as transports passed in the dead of night. He was
hard, Mack had dreamt of Jason. His erection screamed to
be dealt with. He ignored it.

"Time!" Mack growled at the console.

"Local or Standard" The walls questioned in its customer
soothing voice.

"Standard you glitched pile of circuits!" Mack was not in
the mood to be soothed.

"The current time is 0323 Standard." The walls responded
in a cheery voice. "Good morning, would you like anything
else? We here at the Majestic Hotel are here to ma.."

"Shut the fuck up. If I wanted anything I would damn well
have asked." Mack
grumbled as he retrieved his last smoke from the package
After he lit it he fumbled around until he found his com on
the nightstand.

"Only two damn hours." He thought to himself.

"Sonja what's status?"

"The Majestic would like to remind you that this is a no
smoking establish..."

"Didn't I tell you to fuck off. Room disconnect voice
controls. Ok Sonja speak to me, and it better be good
news."

"Fully operational in approximately 28 minuets. We are
only waiting on the EM banks to charge." A female voice
replied, only for second could you tell it was synthesized.

"Thanks Sonja I owe you babe. I'll be there in half an
hour." Mack said throwing back the sheets of the bed. He
stubbed the cigarette out on the nightstand.

"Acknowledged, Sonja Maru out." The AI closed the
connection.

Mack got up and wandered to the bathroom stripping off
his underwear as went. They only snagged for a second on
what was left of his erection.

As he walked naked past the full length mirror on the
bathroom door he was startled by his own reflection. The
new scar on his right shoulder was a nasty one. His finger
traced it thoughtlessly. Slowly his hand moved across his
chest and found another scar.

"Flechettes." He thought as he traced the ragged circle. One
by one he inspected his body scar by scar.  I nick here a cut
there, most weren't serious, some like his shoulder almost
took his life. His career replayed in his mind. He had never
had them regenerated, a waste of money he thought.
Besides he carried them as reminders, every scar he had
was a mistake, a failure. His caught a glimpse of his left
shoulder, his tattoo. Wrapped around the curve of his
shoulder was the symbol XI surrounded by a shield. The
11th Squadron Space Corps, the Fighting Angels.  He
covered it with his right hand, as if hiding it from himself.
The skin on his right arm was still pink from the regen
treatments.

Mack turned and stepped into the shower. He placed a hand
lightly of the wall under the shower head keying it on and
setting the temp. Instantly hot water cascaded down his
body. Steam quickly filled the room. Mack rested his head
on the wall in front of him, letting the hot water work its
magic on his muscles.

"Thank god for modern conveniences."  Mack grumbled to
himself.

Mack's mind drifted to happier times. Mack had been
Jason's partner for eight years. They met during the war.
They both fought for the Confederation, in the 11th
Squadron. They were the best of the best, fly boys, born
and bred. At first the war wasn't so bad, they got three
squares a day and a warm bed. All they had to do was learn
to fly the newest most dangerous spacecraft ever developed.

It was an exciting time, the Confederation was winning the
war, the 11th squadron became a household name, they
were true blue war heroes. Mack was on top of the world.
He had met Jason as a recruit, they went through basic
together. They both got accepted into the Space Corps, and
sent to flight school. They bunked together all through out
their training. It was always Jason's sense of adventure that
kept them in trouble most of the time. Mack got into more
trouble that  first year at the academy then he had in his
entire life up to that point.

After the war turned and they started losing, they had been
there for each other. A center, a place to find a moments
peace in the torrent storm of the war. For five long years
they fought the Confederacy's war. By the time the war
ended public opinion had changed. It was no longer a
popular war. Where they had been heroes only years before,
now they returned home to be seen only tools of a corrupt
government. They both left the service as soon as their term
was up.

There weren't many prospects in the Core for them. So
they headed to the Rim, the new frontier. There was  only
so much they could do with their particular talents so they
returned to doing what they did best. Fighting. There was a
real need for law enforcement in the Rim, but Mack and
Jason had enough uniforms and regulations to last them a
lifetime. So they turned to bounty hunting. For eight years
they worked together. It wasn't an easy time but it brought
in cash.

Mack finished his shower, washing methodically under the
hot water. He completed his morning bathroom rituals with
military precision. When he walked back into the bedroom.
His skin glistened in the amber lights as he searched for his
clothing. He was feeling more human as he slowly brought
himself back into the land of the living. Silently he slipped
his clothing on. As Mack pulled his shirt over his head
something tweaked in his right shoulder. His left hand shot
to his  shoulder. Digging in his fingers he pushed past the
muscle to the new socket and its casings. Nothing was out
of place. Streaching his arm out he reluctantly returned to
dressing. When he was done he stood in the darkness of his
room wearing a tight black shirt that clung to his every
muscle and a pair of navy blue utilitarian pants that looked
like they had seen years of use. They laced at the top of his
boots ensuring they wouldn't snag on something. His size
13 boots were scuffed and dirty.

Mack lit up again and he walked to the door. He grabbed
his coat off of a chair. It was a black and maroon trench
coat that buckled in the front. It could stop most grazing
shots but a direct hit would still put him in real danger. He
fished his leather gloves out of the pocket and slipped them
over his big hands. As he walked out into the predawn
darkness he felt he was missing something.  His cigarette
still hanging in his lips he slipped his final piece of his
wardrobe into place. A pair of what appeared to be normal
sunglasses until you looked at the inner left eye piece. A
needle protruded threateningly. Mack tapped his left eye
feeling the lens recede into the mechanical housing. He
eased the glasses on feeling the electric shock of something
connecting to his nervous system. An audible click let him
know it was locked into the socket.

Instantly his world was flooded with information, words of
pale green arranged themselves in his field of vision. His
systems ran through a quick integrity check before giving
him the ok. During the war he directly connected to the
visual interface of his S-377 Lightning. Now a days these
glasses connected him to his implanted wetware as well as
his equipment. He could access his internal systems
without them but this gave him all the information he
would ever need on the job.

"Human again..." He ventured as his world returned to the
digital interface he had spent most of his adult life looking
through. His transport unlocked the doors and deactivated
the security as he approached. He slid into the drivers seat.
Keying open a compartment he retrieved his pistol. He
slipped it into his thigh holster. Guns weren't allowed on
Marquis but that had never stopped him before. With a
brief smile he pulled back on the yolk and watched the
streets fall away beneath him. The Marquis colony was a
small one but in the dark of the night all Mack could see
was its lights stretching to the horizon. The engine hummed
softly as he made his way to the port.

The port is like a supernova is a sea of stars. Its beacons
could be seen from miles away against the wash of lights
from the city. Mack set down next to the Sonja Maru. Her
engines already hot and ready to go.

"Sonja ready to bo..." His words were cut short as he saw
the knife swinging for his back. His reaction was
immediate but not fast enough. He felt the blade bite into
his right forearm as he spun to meet his attacker. He
viciously yanked the blade out and readied himself for
another attack.

"Buddy that was the biggest mistake you ever made."
Mack's words were calm and deliberate as he stuffed nano-
carbon muscle filaments back into his bleeding wound.
Before his attacker could get off another swing Mack
kicked in his reflex enhancers as well as his musculature
augments.  He couldn't last that long like this but he
wouldn't  need all that long. His first shot was a well
placed kick to the stomach doubling over his surprised
opponent. His second tore the attackers knee cap out of
place. He fell, before he hit the ground Mack was behind
him holding the attackers own knife at his throat.

"Ok this is the game, you tell me who you are and who sent
you and I might let you live. And if you tell me you are
some two bit mugger I swear to god I will kill you where
you stand. There are only a handful of people that can
scramble military grade sensors long enough to get that
close. You had backing I want to know who." To let him
know he wasn't kidding drew the knife across his neck
lightly, blood beaded up around the blade.

"I don't know the guy gave me..."

"It's a distraction!" The AI's words slammed into his head
with the force of a sledgehammer. "Get out of there!"

Mack's reflex enhancers kicked in just in time for him to
feel the first round pass his neck by a scant few millimeters.
His attacker fell back a huge wound opened on his chest.
Mack scrambled onto the Sonja Maru shots landing all
around him. They rained down  from an unknown attacker.

"Sonja take us up! NOW!" Mack bellowed as he ran to the
bridge. He jumped into the control couch and took manual
control. After the hail of gauss rounds stopped; the high
pitch pings of them bouncing off the hull still hung in the
air.

"Oh god...they're getting something bigger." Was Mack's
only thought.

"Mack we don't have clearance..." The AI pleaded.

"I don't care get us into the air! These guys are
professionals! Don't make me override!"  Mack felt the jets
ignite as the Sonja Maru took off. "Now get me a full scan,
I want names damn it."  Mack said as he stormed off to the
infirmary he slammed the hatch on his way out.

Moments later Sonja's sweet voice filled the infirmary.
"Mack, I got the scan and you aren't going to be happy."

"What is it Sonja? Tell me or I swear to god I will
disconnect you."

"I couldn't get any names off of them they were most likely
hijackers looking to snatch me...and they weren't carrying
any ECM on them..." Sonja let the words sink in, fully
aware of the implications.

"Bullshit! Check again! You have to be wrong." Mack
snapped.

"Mack..." The digital voice was low and comforting.
"When have you ever known me to make a mistake.
Besides I already rechecked 350 times. Nothing... Mack
you made a mistake he just snuck up on you."

"That doesn't happen... not to me." His words carried a
frightening amount of certainty.

"You are exhausted look at you. You have been a mess
since Jason..." Sonja trailed off  like  a child knowing
when they have said too much. Mack didn't respond his
just scoffed. Trying to ignore the obvious. "Tell me Mack
how did you sleep last night. It was your first night not
sleeping in your quarters since you got out of regen."

"What you are spying on me now? I slept like shit, my eyes
burn, my muscles ache, and my head feels like I am going
to explode. I have been taking so much overburn I can
barely hold my own cock taking a piss without shaking. Is
that what you want to hear. I'm burnt out! There I said it,
happy?" Mack screamed as he patched up the hole in his
arm.

"Jason died six months ago Mack, you spent two months in
a regen center regrowing 35% of your right arm. You went
through thirteen muscle replacement surgeries and had
totally new skin grafted from your shoulder down to your
fingers. You seem to think that you can just come back like
nothing ever happened?"

"It isn't the surgeries..." His words were barely above a
whisper. He got out a needle and thread from the medical
hit.

"You have seen the video feeds so have I. Both you and
Jason had the same training; same equipment; same
augments. You dodged he didn't it wasn't your fault. It
couldn't be, he had just as good of a chance of escaping as
you did. You are lucky that you got out at all. The chances
of escaping that type of explosive are slim to none, I mean
no normal human would ever have survived at all. I know
you and Jason were friends but you have to let this go or it
will kill y..." Sonja never finished her thought.

"He was more than that and you know it!" Mack roared.

"He was the only person I ever loved...or that loved  me. If
I ever hear you talk about him again like he wasn't
important it will be the last thing you ever do."  Mack
finished the last suture pulling his sleeve down. "Now I am
going to bed. Set a course for Io station and let me know
before we enter free fall."

Mack never heard the cascade engine spin up but the
moments before the shift into free fall were unmistakable.
It felt as if everything around you crackled with static. He
only had Sonja notify him as a habit. On military carriers it
was traditional for prayer for the dead to be said before
entering free fall. It was a long held superstition that to
neglect this duty would bring disaster upon your travels.
Not once since leaving the Space Corps had Mack done this.

Mack walked over to a box that contained Jason's
belongings. After a moment he pulled out a smaller drawer
and took out a strand of rosary beads. Mack knelt facing the
bulkhead across from the door.

"You took him from me. For that I will never forgive you.
You took him instead of me. I won't even ask why. All I
ask is that you take care of him. Watch over him, were ever
he is. Love him like I did. Amen."

As Mack stood up he wiped away tears in his eyes. He
carefully placed the rosary back in its drawer and laid down
in the large bed.

"Ok Sonja, ready."  Mack instantly felt his stomach lurch
as they shifted into another reality. Known by most only as
freefall, this alternate reality made faster than light travel
not only feasible but reliable and widely available. Mack
had felt the shift hundreds if not thousands of times but you
never got used to it. Most green recruits threw up their first
four or five times. It felt as if not just you but the whole of
reality had the bottom dropped out from under it. Your
stomach plummeted as light streaked downward and
sounds stretched out into silence. It only took a second or
two but the effect was undeniably nauseating.

* * * *

It was over twelve hours before Sonja came back on the
com.

"We will be dropping out of free fall around Io in about
fifteen minutes."

Mack had slept for over six hours. He had spent the last
two running over his plans over and over in his head. He
would meet with the bounty commission, then go from
there. He would need to buy a bounty at this point any job
was better than none. But first he would have to pick up
another two crew members maybe three. Replacing Jason
wouldn't be easy but he had to. He couldn't do this job
alone anymore. Sonja was right. If he made a mistake like
that one back on Marquis again it might be his last.

Mack got up and showered again, this time he didn't ignore
the erection plaguing him. He stroked himself slowly.
Quickening his pace as he approached climax. The only
sign of pleasure was short grunt as he came. He went
through his morning ritual once more. The only change was
when he reached for his bottle of overburn he dumped it
down the toilet.

The Sonja Maru docked with the Io station a little over an
hour later. Mack was ready and waiting at the airlock. The
pressure seals hissed then clicked into place. The instant the
hatch opened Mack was transported to another world.
Hundreds of sounds and smells attacked his senses. It was
organic, alive, vibrant, just what Mack needed. Io was
known as one of the busiest stations in the Outer Rim.
Mack hadn't been back here since Jason died. Mack
thought that it would have been just like it was the last time
he was here but Io station was never the same. Day to day,
hour to hour, minute to minute, Io station is reborn.

Mack strode down the crowded corridors. Slipping between
the crowds he passed the bazaar that usually occupies the
main concourse. He made his way down to the Drift. The
Drift is the section of the Io that catered to the outriders like
Mack. The term outrider encompasses nearly all spacers for
hire. Mack by far was one of the most noble of these men
and women, working as a bounty hunter. Most of the time
outriders couldn't get legal work. Then again on the Rim
the term "legal" was kind of hazy anyway.  Mack made his
way through the dirty corridors passing bars, opium dens,
pawn shops, tattoo artists. The prostitutes were out in force
tonight. Ever since the Io Port Authority shutdown the
brothels they just took to the corridors.

Out of the corner of his eye Mack saw something familiar.
Wes, his old commander of the eleventh was standing out
in front of the Aurora with some kid. His steel grey hair
and chiseled face were etched into Mack's memory.

"Wait the Aurora, Wes wasn't gay." Mack thought to
himself.

Mack could barely make him out through the thick crowd.
Suddenly Mack saw an arm snake out and connect with
Wes's jaw. He nearly fell to the ground from the force.
Mack pushed his way through until he saw what was going
on. Six men had apparently taken a dislike to Wes and
whoever his young friend was. The kid must have been 19
or 20 at the most but he looked like he carried himself in a
fight like a professional. He had blonde hair cropped short,
looked military. One of the men took a swing at him.
Mack's normal reaction would have been to kick in his
augments and tear the guy apart. This kid fought like it was
a game. He actually smiled as he easily blocked the punch
and proceeded pick the man apart. When he was done, the
man was a pile on the ground with a dislocated elbow, right
knee, and a bleeding face.

Wes was rearranging himself after the shot to his jaw.
Mack saw him slip his hand into his pocket and pull out a
pair of highly illegal black-market sunglasses almost
exactly like his own.

"Well it is over now." Mack thought to himself. Mack
watched as he could see nearly every muscle in Wes's body
tense. Mack knew the feeling, his musculature augments
originally designed to help resist g-forces in dogfights came
in handy in a fist fight. Slowly Wes seemed to relax, he
took a single step forward. Two men fell before Mack
could react. Watching Wes fight with his augs on was
simply a blur. Kicking in his reaction enhancers he enjoyed
the show. In slow motion Mack watched his old
commander pick apart three men at the same time. He
always had been a brutal fighter. Of the two that fell first
Mack was almost positive one would need a stint in the
regen center before he could walk. The only one left
standing backed off and drew a flechette pistol. Neither
Wes or his young friend saw. Mack drew and fired three
taze rounds into his chest. The man dropped to the ground
convulsing uncontrollably.

Wes's eyes shot to Mack who was holstering his pistol.

"Mack?! What in the holy hell are you doing here?" Wes
laughed

"I am saving your ass...as always." Mack said with a smirk.

"Saving me? If you weren't paying attention I took out four
of them in under 15 seconds." Wes said trying to sound
indignant through his laughter.

"14.38 to be exact but it was the fifth that would have been
a problem before you would have noticed he would have
fired from over 20 feet away. And even with our wetware
you know it is impossible to cross that distance before he
filled you with flechettes."

"Details details, so what brings you here? I never thought
you would be this far out in the Rim." Wes said draping his
arm around Mack.

"Are you kidding? I have been out here with Jason for over
eight years." Mack's face suddenly went blank. " I guess
that means you don't know."

"Know what? Last heard you two love birds were headed to
Core for work."

"Well the work never showed up and Jason and I turned to
bounty hunting here on the Rim. Wes...he died...six
months ago. It was a stalker mine. Bastard we were
tracking laid them all over his place. Set to attack body heat.
The explosion engulfed Jason. I barely escaped with most
of my right arm missing."

"Oh my God Mack! Are you ok? You and Jason were
together for almost 13 years. I can't imagine..."

"It is fine Wes. I'm doing better now, for a long time I
wasn't doing so hot. I mean I miss Jason but...is there
some where we can go talk about this. I just shot someone
and don't want the Port Authority asking a lot of
questions."

"Pfft it was just taze shot. Not like you killed him or
anything. He'll just wake up in an hour or two with a
massive headache. That and third degree burns but
definatly not dead." Wes gave the man Mack shot a quick
kick to the ribs as he stepped over him leading Mack away
from the Aurora.