The evil men pounded down the door. Somebody screamed, and the four ment brought up their

	The evil men pounded down the door.  Somebody screamed, 
and the four ment brought up their standard issue laser rifles, 
switched them to stun, and mowed down the entire family...sixteen 
brothers and sisters, my mom and dad, and our two guards.  Ten or 
eleven kids went down on the first pass, along with both of our 
guards.  Jennifer, one of our sisters, let out a horrible shreik as one 
of the men smashed my mom and dads heads together.  
	Our guards were killed.  Everybody else was taken away that 
day.  I, Jupiter Reahynaldo, can still exactly how everything 
happened, as I watched through the my hiding place in the attic.  
The single most detail I remember however, was, just as the dead 
boys were leaving, one of them looked straight at me, and winked.  I 
shall never forget that face, and sometimes I feel like Ill never find 
out what that gesture meant.  Had he not really seen me at all?  Just 
sort of looked in my direction and saw something else?  No.  He had 
seen me, and he knew I lived here.  Maybe there was something 
different about this man.  Maybe he really wasnt cut out to be a 
killer.  For some reason, the Coalition never came back to claim the 
house.  Maybe it had something to do with the mysterious dead boy.  
I really felt guilty for letting the Coalition take my family away, but 
what could I do?
	The Coalition guards are called dead boys, a slang term used in 
the slums.  A skull was painted on the helmet of each soldier.  Of 
course, the men werent really dead.  That was just the name given 
to them by the common people.  A dead boy is the lowly grunt that 
was the main force of the Coalition.  The Coalition is the tyrannical 
government that is slowly absorbong other countries until it rules 
the world.  You see, after the first neuclear war, millions of people 
were killed, and all of the magic and physic energy bottled up inside 
each one of them let loose.  The combined power was nothing that 
this world had ever seen.  Huge lines of pure magic ripped across 
the Earth.  Where they met were nexus points, and at these nexus 
points, rifts--tears in the fabric of space and time itself opend up.  
These were portals that led to other dimensions.  Hundreds of D-
Bees, or  Dimensional Beings, came through, trying to take over the 
new planet they had found.  New wars started up again, and three 
more neuclear wars erupted.  This, as you can imagine, let even 
more magic into the air, making the ley lines and rifts florish as 
never before.  
	Out of all this chaos, the Coalition was formed.  At first it was 
designed to help the people, but soon power got into the wrong 
hands, and more and more people every day find out what the 
Coalition really is.  Rebel groups were formed immediatly, and from 
the very start, the Coalition was riddled with attacks and things like 
that.  Now there are few people who dont know the Coalition for 
what it really is.  
	Most of the world as we know it is gone, and what is left has 
been changed forever.  The entire west coast is gone, under water.  
What was once fertile land is now choking desert, unlivable because 
of radition.  Huge uncharted jungles cover a lot of the land, and 
many D-Bees and other foul creatures live there.  The Coalition also 
suspects that there is an operating plant making robots for use 
against them around Nevada. 
	This is one secnario for the future that may come true.  
Unluckly people, like Jupiter Reahynaldo live their now.  Jupiter was 
a young teenage girl whos family had been abducted by the 
Coalition years ago.  She does the best she can to keep herself alive 
and well.  She hadnt even done such a good job at that either.  
	Once, in a fight, her left eye had been shot out by a laser.  It 
was a wonder she didnt die.  Her friends took her to a cyber-
doctor, and he surgacly implanted a mechanical eye.  But it wasnt 
ordinary.  As a gift to the rebels, the cyber-doc put a new twist to it.  
A small slit in her skull enabled her to put in a mini-video disc, and 
Jupiter could record anything she saw on to it.  The disc lasted two 
hours, and another can be put in at any time.  Jupiter was very 
grateful for this gizmo, and worked hard to repay the doctor.  But, 
now, even with her new eye, Jupiter will never see the same as her 
real eye saw.  

	About a year after Jupiters family was taken away, she was 
still living in the same house.  One day, there was a knock at her 
door.  Jupiter opened the door and freaked out.  There, two feet 
away, was the same man that haunted her dreams for a year.  It was 
the dead boy that had helped abduct her family a year ago.
	Hide me, he said.
	Sh-sure. Jupiter answered, half in a state of shock.  
	The man looked at Jupiter with a funny look, then ran past her 
into the house.  He ran through the living room, hall, den, and up 
the stairs to the attic. Jupiter could see him looking down from her 
old hiding place.  There was no doubt that this was the same man 
who had helped take her family away.  What did he want?  What had 
he done to be in such a state of nervousnes?
	Pardon me maam, but have you seen this man?
	Jupiter came back to reality with a jolt.
	Maam? came the voice.
	Standing on Jupiters doorstep was another dead boy.  He was 
holding up a picture of the man that had hid in her house.
	N-no Jupiter answered with a quiver.
	Well, please be careful if you do.  He is considered armed and 
dangerous,
	Thanks
	Jupiter closed the door and leaned against it and shut her 
eyes.  What was happening?  Was some god mad at her for some past 
crime?  I just have to take it one step at a time, she thought
	Sorry for giving you such a scare the man interruped.
	Shouldnt you be hiding? Jupiter  asked.
	Naw, the danger is passed, the man said.  My name is Jeff.  
Please, dont be afraid of me.  My past actions have not been of my 
own free will.  I have just ran away form my home.  My father is the 
head operator of the East section of Chi-Town for the Coalition.  All 
of those years as I grew up, I thought the Coalition was the greatest 
thing in the world.  When I was seventeen, my dad took me to his 
office and before my eyes, he ordered the deaths of three hundred 
people in what was later known as the Bakersfield Butcher.  When 
that day ended, I was all for running away from home.  But for some 
reason I stayed, and it was a good thing too.  I spent some years 
building up my strength and finding things that exploited the 
Coalitions weaknesses.  I snuck away yesterday, and I stole five 
hundred credits (1 credit = 1 dollar)  from my dads house.  Then I 
left as fast as I could and-  Whats wrong?
	Noth-Nothing Jupiter replied, only to realize that she had 
been spaced out for the last few minutes, reliving that one night of 
horror.  What were you saying?
	Jeff repeated the story again for Jupiter.  They talked for a 
while more, with Jupiter becoming more and more at ease with 
Jeffs presence.  They became pretty good friends after the months 
that that followed, but Jupiter could still never let her guard down 
when around Jeff.  

	Around that same moment, there was a young man...a master 
thief sneaking around the same building that Jeffs dad commanded.  
He was trying to locate the armory in the center of level three.  He 
was out for a glitter boy power suit.  The glitter boy got its name 
from its shiny, laser resistant armor.  A pilot gets inside a padded 
compartment where he controls the armor.  It fits like a huge 
exoskeleton--every move of the piolts is carried out by the glitter 
boy.  He stands ten feet in the air, and a seven foot rail gun is 
mounted on its left shoulder.  The gun, one of the most powerful of 
its kind, is nicknamed the famous Boom Gun.  
	This man, his name was Kraum was not evil.  He just hated the 
Coalition with a passion so deep, he would give his life to get his 
revenge on the Coalition.  He has no friends, and nobody knows his 
life story, which must be an interesting one.  
	If he didnt use the power armor himself, (which was 
doubtful), he could sell it for a pretty fifty million credits--more 
money than some countries had.  
	He was on the first story of the building, and he sort of had 
the map of the place memorized.  He walked down one corridor, 
and turned to the left.  He knew that there was a secret door here, 
on the blank wall he faced.  He went to work, his hands probing 
away at the wall, feeling every part of it, as quickly as he could.  He 
searched every possible place for a secret door, and finally his 
fingers closed on a carefully hidden button that held it closed.  He 
pressed down, and a section of the wall slid open with a hum.  
Unfortunitly, a small trap was placed there, which shot a small dart 
out at Kraum.  It popped through his tough plastic armor and into 
his neck.  Kraum felt the needle prick him, and he immediatly knew 
what had happened.  Poison was a favorite weapon of the Coalition, 
and he cursed himself for being so careless.  He pulled the needle 
out and sniffed it.  Diluted knock out poison.  Not too bad, but he 
would feel the effects in a little while.  But he thought Why come 
this far and stop just because of a little needle?  Who knows, maybe 
Ill get lucky somehow,  
	He stepped through the secret door and into the new room.  
Immediatly, a guard shot a laser beam a Kraum, but it missed, 
because of the sucky aim of the dead boy.  In one movement, Kraum 
whipped out his force sword, and flicked it on.  But this gave the 
dead boy more than enough time to aim and shoot again, this time 
hitting Kraum squarely in the chest.  His armor took most of the 
blow, but the raw force of it knocked him back against a wall.  The 
arm holding his force sword shot out, expertly slashing and faking, 
first disarming, then cutting the straps of the standard dead boy 
armor.  He then stuck the sword between the legs of the dead boy 
and tripped him.  Kraums sword shot out once again, ant the dead 
boy had no head, it being gruesomely cut off at the neck, with blood 
squirting out everywhere.  
	He took the body and head, and dragged them into a corner, 
and covered the bloodstain with a rug.  
	With some help from his map, Kraum walked down a new 
hallway, leading (he hoped) to the weapons room.
	Seemingly by coincidence, Jupiter and Jeff were heading 
toward the same building.  They were both heavily loaded down by 
backpacks full of explosives!
	Jeff knew the building pretty well since he had helped his 
father there for a few years.  
	The two entered through a back door Jeff knew about.  It was 
rarely used, if at all, and only a few people knew about it. 
	Jeff and Jupiter were going to take a tour of the building.  
Every important room would have a small amount of potent 
explosive called Nitrate four.  Once it went off, all traces of the 
building would be gone.  It and everything inside would be 
completely vaporized.  But they werent going to blow it all up at 
once.  Jupiter had thought of a plan to get more weapons than ever 
for the cause against the coalition.  Each story of the building would 
be detonated at a different time.  The first to go would be the 5th 
floor.  All of the high-ranking officials lived there, and their 
destruction would be a big step against the coalition.  Next would be 
the 4th floor, the barracks of all the off-duty dead boys.  At that 
time, some of the third, second, and first stories would be blown up, 
but not all of them.  The remainder of the building would then be 
stormed by rebel fighters.  Three groups would go in, one to free all 
prisoners and slaves in the dungeons, one to recover all weapons, 
ammo, money, armor, and anything else of value, and the last group 
would either kill off all survivors, or take prisoners, who would be 
very useful as hostages or as informers.  All of the groups were 
equally important and none of them was riskier than another.  
Perhaps the most important part of the plan was going on right now, 
the planting of nitrate four around the building.
	Right inside the door was a hallway with two doors about 
twenty feet down.
	You go right, Ill go left.  Meet back here in five minutes, Jeff 
instructed Jupiter.
	Inside the left door was a room full of computers.  Jeff made a 
mental note of this and walked over to a corner.  Computers were a 
hobby of his, and he knew a little bit about using them.  He expertly 
opened one and placed a high-density plastic block, holding a 
modest amount of nitrate four, into the main cpu.
	Jeff carefully put the computer back together and stuck a 
radio-detonator on the computer.  He then calmly walked out of the 
room and into the door where Jupiter had gone.

	Kraum came to a flight of stairs and climbed up, hugging the 
wall, with his laser pistol out.  He came to the landing and looked 
through a window in the door going to this floor.  He saw a robot 
head see him and ducked aside just in time.  The doors burst open, 
followed by about fifty rounds of automatic fire.  The robot walked 
in, its gears whining with the sudden flurry of activity.
	There was little room in the stairwell, about five square feet, 
and stairs going up and down.
	You an intruder! No one is allowed on the weapons floor! the 
robots mechanical voice droned.
	The weapons floor.  Kraum had to go up one more floor to get 
to the armor room.  He grabbed a small glass vial and hurled it on 
the floor, it broke, a horrible smelling cloud of smoke rose up, and 
Kraum ran up the stairs, throwing caution to the wind.  He came to 
the top, pushed open the door, ran by the robot, into two more 
doors and he was in the armor room.
	Boy, that robot was nicer than the other one, Kraum was 
thinking.  Wait a second, a ROBOT!?!?
	Kraum looked back in the door he came from.  He could hear 
tromping and stomping footsteps coming towards him. 

	Jeff met Jupiter after she had planted the bomb in the meeting 
room.  Together they planted nitrate four in the rest of the first 
floor and started up the second floor stairs.  They got to the top, 
and it looked like a bomb had gone off.  The walls were black and 
charred.  Robot parts were strewn all around.  The ground was slick 
with oil and grease.  An awful stench filled the air.
	It looks great in here, Jeff remarked, and they went inside 
the floor.  There were aisles of guns, ammo and other weapons.  The 
two planted enough explosives to take care of the floor.  Afterwards, 
they climbed the stairs again to the armor floor.
	Once again they climbed the stairs up to the next floor.  At the 
top there was no guard, which made them cautious.  They walked 
through all of the security gates.  
	The armor floor was much more important because power 
suits like the glitter boys were stored here.  There are other power 
suits also, like the SAMASs, which were a cut above a normal dead 
boy grunt.
	Because of the expensive equipment, this building was very 
vital to the coalition.
	
	The robot stomped down to the armor room, mad that a 
human could outsmart him.  A HUMAN!  This human would suffer 
for his crime.  To think that a lowly piece of meat could just run 
past him like that.
	Only twenty yards away, Kraum fretted over how to escape the 
wrath of the guard, who must be steaming by now.  He knew a few 
things about robots, and how they worked, and a plan was forming 
in his head.
	Kraum ran around a shelf a few times, then hopped up onto 
another shelf.  He climbed over it, and kept up his misleading steps.  
Robots are not perfect, and sometimes can be tricked if you know 
what to do.  Kraum hoped that this particular robot didnt know this 
trick.
	The guard burst into the room, his miniture rail gun pumped 
up and ready.  He carefully scanned the room, looking, hearing and 
smelling for anything out of the ordinary.  The smell of meat was 
fresh, that was for sure, and the robot could follow the trail.  It 
walked along, down one aisle, around the corner, back down, 
around another corner, back down again, around the same corner, 
back down the same aisle, around the corner, then back around 
etc., etc., etc.
	Meanwhile, Kraum was hurredly disassembling a glitter boy, so 
he could get inside it.  He could hear the robot guard walking 
around in circles.  Pretty soon his logic would figure out the trick, 
and a robot never falls for the same trick again as long as it exists.
	Kraum pulled off the helmet from the rest of the robot and 
tried it on.  Perfect fit!
	Right at that moment the guard whipped around a row of 
Power Suits and fired directly at Kraums head.  The shot would have 
disintegrated Kraums head, but he had the helmet on.  The helmet 
deflected the projectiles, but the force threw him back on the floor.
	The guard advanced, firing more shots.  Bullet holes and 
streams of blood appeared along Kraums right arm as it was 
pumped full of lead and the side of his body twitched and quivered, 
spazzing.  With his remaining strength, Kraum pulled out four 
remaining stink/corrosion bombs and threw them all at the robot, 
at the same time ducking behind a power suit.
	The combined explosion from the four bombs was brilliant.  
The guard robot was blown to kingdom come.
	Right at that moment, the poison kicked in and Kraum passed 
out, both from the pain of his injuries, and from the poison.
	Jupiter and Jeff walked in right after that.  Their guns were 
out, but they were taken by surprise when they saw what happened.
	A corner of the room was black with ash.  Once again, robot 
parts were strewn about, mixed with armor that was blown up.  
Laying behind a power suit was a young man, his hair singed, his 
clothes torn and falling apart.  His dura-plastic body armor was 
shattered in many places.  His whole right arm was gone.  The 
bloddy stump lay a few feet away, riddled with bullets.  His shoulder 
was slowly leaking out blood into a big puddle on the floor.
	Hes a mess, Jupiters said.  Weve got to get him some help.  
Obvisouly he was left for dead here for something he did.  
	Good idea, Jeff replied, But what about our mission?.
	Ill take him to a hospital, you keep going with the planting of 
the explosives.  The next two floors are filled with people.  It will be 
easier for only one of us to sneak around than for both of us.
	Sure, but how will you get out of here? Jeff asked.
	Oh, Ill use a hanger like the one there, she replied, pointing 
at a row of top quality hang gliders.  I can use it to sneak away and 
get to a doctor.
	Okay, Ill see you later--I hope. Jeff said as he walked out of 
the room.  Behind him he heard a boom, as Jupiter blew a hole in 
the wall so she could get out.  So much for sneaking away.  He 
started to run when the thought him that pretty soon somebody 
would come, wanting to know what the boom was all about.  
	Jupiter flew down into the lower levels of Chi-Town, where the 
young man could be healed.  She was very concerned about him.  
His life was slowly drying up, and she was the only one who could 
stop it.  Maybe he could get a cybernetic arm to replace his.
	Back in the building of the Coalition, Jeff was hurrying along 
his job.  Hed better be gone when the hole in the wall was 
discovered or he would be in deep trouble.
	On one side of the room, he put a black box in the corner of a 
cabinet.  On the other side of the room, he concealed one on the 
ceiling.  He then went up to the nex floor, which held about forty or 
fifty off duty dead boys.  This would be the forth floor--only this and 
one more to go.  All of these bombs had to be strgically placed to 
ensure the maximam potential of the Nitrate four was used.  
	Jeff stepped out of the stairwell and walked down a hallway, 
which wnt the length of the building.  When it curved, he hid a black 
box on the floor.  He snuck down a few more hallways, the walked 
into one of the barraks.  It was a regular room, whit bunkas, a 
wardrobe, a desk and two dead boys on the bunks.  One was 
reading, and the other was asleep.  Jeff quietly pulled out a silenced 
laser pistol, and fired at the dead boy who was reading.  There was a 
soft whine from the weapon, and a beam shot out.  It hit the dead 
boy on the forehead, where sparks flew and a hole was burnt 
through the poor man.  The sleeping man jerked up, then started  to 
mumble.  Naw, just a dream.  A dream.  He then jerked his head 
up in suprise just in time to meet another laser from Jeffs pistol.  
He fell back on the bed and didnt move.
	Right away Jeff went to work setting a black box .  He 
continued on to the shower room where he set a black box in the 
corner.  Then it was one more in an unoccupied room, and he was 
done with the floor.  
	Back into the stairwell he went and up the last flight of stairs.  
He came out and ran straight into an old man walking along, with a 
twinkie in his mouth.  Jeff recovered first, and gave him a swift sock 
to his gut.  He was coated with whip cream and cake in return.  The 
man started to choke, and was put out of his misery with another 
whine of Jeffs laser pistol.  Jeff dragged him back into the stairwell, 
and threw him down the center.  
	Jeff walked out of the staiwell, only to see two more guards 
coming.  He rushed back in the stairwell and up the stairs to the 
very top.  He opened the trap door, and hopped out onto the roof.  
He ran to a far corner, taking care not to step in the puddles of tar.  
	Jeff dumped out the contents of his backpack onto the 
ground.  Four black boxes,two smoke grenades, an extra E-clip for 
his pistol, two S/C grenades (stink/corrision), and a portabel laser 
torch.  
	He hurredly got to work setting the four black boxes, and 
getting ready to meet the guards.  
	He hid behind a big metal box and the trap door opened.  A 
string was tied to the trap door which pulled the needle to a smoke 
grenade, which went off.  Jeff kicked the smoke grenade down the 
trap door, and clouds of smoke billowed up.  A guard came out of 
the door with a gas mask on, but as soon as he did, Jeff shot him.  
He fell back down the door, dead.  A grenade flew out of the trap 
door, and Jeff jumped behind the box.  The grenade blew up with 
enough force to move the heavy box back, and squish Jeff.  He pried 
himself out of his hiding place and started for the trap door.  
	As he crawled to the trap door, he started moang, like he had 
been hit by the explosion.  When he got close, he crouched down.
	All of a sudden, something heavy flew out and hit Jeff on the 
head, and everything went black.  
	Jeffs father came out of the door and stared at his 
unconsious, runaway son.

	Jeff woke up with a start.  A fist came at him and he felt a 
stinging pain in his jaw.  He couldnt feel his arms or legs, and one 
eye was swollen shut.
	He could see his father staring at him.
	So, the little boy comes home to his daddy.  What have you 
been doing here?  When I found you, you looked like you had been 
busy, but I couldnt figure out what you were doing. Two robots are 
dead, and 5 dead boys are missing. Theres also a pretty hole in the 
armor room.
	Let me go, you tyrant.  Youre so crooked, you sit on the front 
porch and can count weapons in the backyard. Jeff spat.
	Ha, ha. Very funny, said Kyle Wilport (Jeffs dad).  Youre so 
stupid you need crib notes to breathe.
	Yeah? Well is that your face or did your neck throw up? Jeff 
shot back.
	I wouldnt talk, you little...
	Oh shut up, stupid
	Dont call me stupid! he yelled.  Kyles fist shot out and hit 
Jeff in the nose. Blood gushed out and made a puddle on the floor.
	Youre a rotten human! yelled Jeff as he thrashed against his 
chains. Let me fight you, you coward! Bully! Wimp! Dork! Geek! 
Dweeb! Youre just afraid of me! STUPID!!!
	Dont call me stupid!
	Then fight me!
	Fine. Kyle unhooked his sons chains. Then Jeff pulled out a 
laser pistol.
	No, drop it, Kyle said. This is my strength against yours.
	Okay, but Ill have you know I was the college boxing 
champion. I could knock out anybody, Jeff replied.
	Well I used to kill for the Death Squad! said Kyle, as he 
circled around Jeff, picked up the laser pistol and aimed it at Jeff.
	So much for your plan, Kyle said.
	All of a sudden a wall caved in, and a ten-foot robot pounded 
in, almost scraping its head on the ceiling.
	Hey, what the... both men said.
	The robot, which was moving towards them, could now be 
clearly seen as a glitter boy with his shining crimson and black 
armor.
	I-I-Bu-But-B-I-I-U-I-But-- stammered Kyle as the glitter boy 
towered above him.  The Glitter Boy reached down and picked up 
Kyle with two hands. He slammed Kyles head through the roof and 
let him go.
	Kyle hung there, yelling and shouting, waving his legs, helpless. 
Then the glitter boy pulled his helmet off and Jeff saw that it was the 
same man that he and Jupiter found a little while ago.
	The two stared at each other, interrupted only by the sound of 
Jupiter picking her way through the rubble.
	Jeff, this is Kraum. Kraum, this is Jeff, Jupiter said.  Kraum 
stole this glitter boy with the help of me, and when we found your 
stuff on the roof, we figured you had been captured. So then we 
came down here to the dungeon and found you.
	So thats where I am, Jeff said, I was just starting to worry 
about what I would do.
	Yeah, right, Jupiter said with a smile.
	What about my dad? Jeff asked, pointing to the man hanging.
	Your dad?!?!
	Yup, and he didnt seem too happy to see me, Jeff replied.
	I say we just leave him where he is. Hell get down soon 
enough. Jupiter suggested.
	Yeah. Whatever, Jeff replied.
	Lets get out of here, Kraum said.
	Good idea, Jupiter and Jeff said at the same time.
	The three rebels left the room this time through the door.
	Hey wait! Come back!  They could still hear Kyle Wilports 
screams.
	
	Half an hour later, with minimal trouble, Jupiter, Kraum and 
Jeff were back at Jeffs hideout, resting and cleaning up. After a 
little while, they would go to rebel headquarters, and start the 
bombing.
	No matter how their mission went, these three people would 
always remember how skill, quick thinking, coincidence, and sheer 
luck saved their lives.



The End