>From: wolfone@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu
Subject: New Story
Date: 13 May 91 06:09:37 GMT


Chiba City, Japan, Terra; 31 March 2404

Light mist hung close to the ground as the two figures strolled through the
confused clutter that were the streets of Chiba City. They elicited no reaction
from others around them save for a cursory inspection as they passed by--to see
if they were a threat. One look at the shorter figure's expression convinced
the more lethal predators on the street that this pair was not worth it.

The taller of the pair was barrel-chested, with a large scar slashing downward
over one eye. That eye, the left one, reflected the neon holography from signs
marking bars, pleasure houses and other places of gray business with a mirrored
sheen. He was clad in surplus BDU's left over from some forgotten brushfire war
A synthleather flightjacket and combat boots completed his outfit along with
any number of weapons that were not immediately visible. He scanned the area,
his two-five meter muscular frame ready for anything as he followed his partner.

The shorter individual was only half a head shorter than his partner, and was
thinner than his hulking companion; but various street people found him more
intimidating. His face was unmarred, and also was calm and placid in expression.
His eyes looked like they could bore into marble, yet there was a haunted look
in each emerald iris. He was clad in a large black trenchcoat which covered
some sort of black BDU's down to the knees. He also wore combat boots. The glow
from the signs gave his hair a strange color, making it impossible to tell its
natural tone. He walked confidently, eyes straight ahead, towards his
destination. The place was a bar whose sign read: "Chatsbuo". In English. In
the middle of Japan. Odd, he thought.

A small group of yakuza wannabes tried to block their way, but were cowed by
a molten stare from the shorter man. They parted like the Red Sea and let the
two enter the bar unmolested. The shorter man's eyes narrowed slightly as he
entered the smoky room and moved towards the bar. The bartender was there,
wiping the counter with a cloth. His mechanical arm's whirring and clicking
were barely audible as the pair approached the bar. The bartender looked up at
the pair as they stopped in front of him, his expression curious.

"We're looking for Mr. Redwing and his companions." the shorter man said to the
bartender. His voice evenly carried over the buzz of the crowd and music.

The bartender looked him over."Would you like something to drink?" he asked
an expectant look on his face.

"Two ice waters."

The bartender pointed. "Over there. Tell 'em Ratz sent you."

"Thank you. We'll get our drinks later." The shorter man bowed his head slightly
and then walked over to a table next to the far wall. His partner followed.

Redwing watched the two approach and hid a grin. These guys were way out of
their territory. He could spot them on the street in a millisecond. Must be
another corp headhunting job. Redwing took a sip of his brandy and nudged his
knee into Tess' thigh. She saw his look and nodded her agreement on his non-
verbal opinion of their two patrons. The two men clad in surplus military
uniforms and street clothing approached and sat at the table in front of
Redwing, Tess, and Slader, the other member of the team present. The shorter
man stared into Redwing's face and spoke.

"The Stocker contacted you about me," He stated. Redwing merely nodded. "Good,"
the shorter man said."You were highly recommended by him for the job I have for
you and your associates. My name is Hawke. My friend here is Stahl." He folded
his hands on the table and gazed at the trio, taking them all in."The job I
wish to hire you for is dangerous, but high paying. The details are classified
until after you sign on. There is a slight chance of repercussions from this
so an identity change might be needed for you after the job is finished."
He looked directly at Redwing. "Are you interested?"

Redwing was amused slightly. This guy is too honest about the job."What's the
job pay, chummer?" Lets see him lay the cards down on the table."Money talks
ya know."

Hawke, the shorter man, steepled his fingers."100,000 nuyen. Each. Cash or
credit. Your preference. If credit it'll be in a numbered L2 bank account, of
course."

Slader nearly choked on his drink. Tess's eyes widened slightly. Redwing looked
slightly irked at his teammates' reactions but was stunned himself. This guy
wants something done! he thought. 100,000 was five times his teams's biggest
take. Still, he decided to haggle."Not enough. 200,000." Hawke's eyes probed
into Redwing, asking an unspoken question. Tess spoke up.

"Look chummer, you said this job's gonna force us to get a face-change. That's
a fraggin' expensive operation. It costs a lotta nuyen to find a good place
that won't geek you to your enemies."

Hawke looked thoughtful for a moment. "One hundred ten k nuyen." He shrugged.
"I have expenses."

Tess gave him an ominous stare."One-ninety K" said Redwing. Slader was yawning.

Hawke returned Tess's withering stare."One-twenty." He looked down at his wrist
computer.

Redwing sat back."One-eighty-five."

Hawke raised an eyebrow."The cost of an untraceable identity change is
approximately 50,000 nuyen. I'll go up to one-fifty and throw in a 10,000 nuyen
extra for your troubles." He looked at them all."That is my final offer."

Redwing looked at Slader and Tess. They both nodded."Deal."

Hawke reached slowly into his coat and pulled out three bearer credcards and
a small letter envelope."Here's the 10,000 each for your trouble. The envelope
shows the meeting place. Do not be late." Hawke held out his hand. Redwing
awkwardly shook Hawke's hand."I seal this bargain." Hawke said in a low voice
that only the three street ronin could hear."Do not break it, please." Hawke
stood up abruptly and walked towards the door, followed by Stahl, who scanned
the area behind him.

Redwing blinked.Then chuckled derisively."Can you believe those guys? They don't
know jack shit about hiring street muscle." He rolled his eyes to heaven."I
don't believe we got 160k nuyen for our job."

Slader grunted."Those guys were virgins, man. The big guy had some chrome, but
that short dude was practically naked. Just off the factory line, no options."
His cybereyes glowed slightly and he removed a small scanner from under the
table."Bet they didn't know about this. I'll let Icer scan the recording and
maybe we'll figure out where this 'Hawke' and 'Stahl' come from."

Tess frowned for a moment."I think we're not givin' them enough credit, Red.
That Hawke dude may've been clueless about the streets, but he didn't look it."

Redwing frowned and glanced at the holovision next to the bar. He pulled out
a portable flatvid and set the channel to the bar's set. The screen showed a
battle in space being fought. He switched on the remote in his audios and
listened to the voice.

   ".....battle between the Allied forces and the Krohn armada dubbed
   Task Force Alpha ended in a stalemate with neither side having a
   clear advantage in the immediate vicinity of Talinn V."the view
   switched to a ground battle with NorthAm Marine Corps hovertanks
   dodging and weaving with the stranger-looking Krohn hovertanks
   "Ground forces on Talinn V held against a major thrust-"

Redwing changed to another newschannel and was rewarded with a view of
a wedge-shaped vessel moving into orbit around Earth with the lights
of another vessel blinking in the distance.

   "....Allied Command announced today that forces from the Oberon
   Empire and the Astran Republic arrived in Earth orbit today
   to begin assimilation into the Alliance forces. They will
   enter a brief training period to familiarize themselves
   with Krohn strategy and tactics and will then be broken
   into squadrons and assigned to one of the Allied Fleets.
   Despite recently ending a three year long war between
   themselves recently, the two nations agreed to unite with
   humanity and fight against the common foe: the Krohn..."

Redwing snapped the flatscreen off. Tess looked at him strangely "What are you
watching the corpdrek for? thinking of enlisting to fight the Cats?"

"No," snapped Redwing irritably."I think our Mr. Hawke is an offworlder. Slader,
when you go see Icer, have him check the lists of recent arrivals from
outsystem. We may be fighting offplanet."

"Yokay, Red," said the techie.


                  *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

"You think they'll take the job?" asked Stahl as they made their way out of
Chiba City and back to their hotel. He scanned the area for tails and found
none.

"Yes. They will take the job. Redwing nearly covered his reaction when I gave
him the pay for the job. He'll take it. Trust me." He looked at his friend.
"Is something wrong?"

Stahl sighed."I hate this covert shit, man. Why don't we just have our forces
nuke that island and be done with it?"

"Watch what you say, Mike."Hawke stared at Stahl for a moment."We can't just go
in and knock out the island because we will be villified by the rest of
Humanity as a bunch of petty fools who can't drop their rivalries while our
race fights for its life against a ruthless foe. We have to get evidence.
Evidence that all of Humanity really faces _two_ threats: the Krohn and the
Oberons."Hawke looked around quickly."Come on. We'd better continue this when
we get back to our room. The street has ears."

"Just wish we could bring my drinking buddies with me,"Stahl muttered under his
breath.

                                TO BE CONTINUED(I hope)
For more data hit space.

A young man wearing a black jacket, blue jeans and a t-shirt walks into the
Chatsbuo. He wanders around until he reaches you and sits down in front of you.
"That was my idea for something to write in the Chatsbuo. Sorry if I screwed up
the timeline by putting it in the 2400s, but I wanted to do it that way since
it tied into an idea I've been toying with for about a year."He smiles slightly,
obviously nervous about his first work."Anyway, as this continues it may not
seem very cyberpunk to you, but hey, this is what I'm writing. If you don't
like it, oh well."He grins and steeples his thin, bony hands on the table."I'm
afraid that this is going to have to be a solo project since I'm not quite sure
what I'm going to do next. But I won't mind constructive criticism--or
compliments if you like this. Anyway, I'm headed home for the summer and won't
be able to access my account until late August (I think) so I won't be able to
respond until then. I leave at 1800 on 13May so that's the latest I can access
my account until August. So see you later." The man gets up and walks to the
door, starting to cough slightly from the smoke."Dammit, should've come in as
Hawke," you hear him mutter as he walks outside the door. "HEY get away from
that powered armor!" you hear him shout, followed by a SMG burst and a scream.
"Damn boosters,"you hear him say as everything goes quiet in the Chats. There's
a clang of something metal closing followed by a whine and then a fadin <kshang>
,<kshang> that is drowned out as things return to normal in the bar.


Patrick Chester
Amatuer Military Genius
Other Fancy-but-stupid Titles


, that is drowned out as things return to normal in the Chats.