 -+------------------------------------------------------------------------+-
 )| The LoOnS: Python  PoB  Wizz  The Guardian  Chuck  Action Man  T-LeAF  |.
 -+------------------------------------------------------------------------+-

                                 08/10/93
        /--------------------------*----------------------------------\
       ;|                   PrOuDlY PrEsEnTs                          |,
        |                                                             |
       /                FULL ENGLISH VERSION OF :                      \
      :\                                                               /:
      . |                ->    HIRED GUNS    <-                       | .
        |                                                             |
        \--------------------------*----------------------------------/
        ; 							      :

 CONTENTS:
 =========
         STORY OUTLINE.
         MAIN MENU.
         START NEW GAME MENU : Training,
                               Full Campaign Game,
                               Short Action Game.
         DISK ACCESSING.
         NEW GAME PROCEDURES : Number of Players,
                               Control Option Screen,(see also 'AMIGA
                               INSTRUCTIONS'),
                               Character Selection.
         HIRED GUNS-THE GAME,THE CAMPAIGN : Mission Progress Map.

         APPENDIX #1: Equiptment/Use of/Descriptions of :
                    Firing/Using Equipment,
                    Re-loading,
                    Guns/Rifles/Machine Guns/Flamers,
                    Disruptor Charge,
                    Anti-A.P.C. Rocket,
                    Disruptor Cannon,
                    Rifles/Ammunition,
                    Grenades/Grenade Launcher,
                    Sonic Stunner/1,3,6,
                    Kilojoule Cells,
                    Medi/Droid repair Kits,
                    Fusion Power Core Ring,
                    Auto Sentry Kit,
                    Proximity Mine,
                    Food/Rations,
                    Syringe Anti-toxin,
                    Keys/Access Wafers,
                    Psionic Amplifiers,
                    D.T.S.

         IN-GAME OBSTACLES : Entrances,
                             Force Fields,
                             Push Panels,
                             Lifts.

                   ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::*


                                 GUNS FOR HIRE
                                 =============

 Numerous events have led upto this point.From the time he was released from
 military service-five years and an entire star system away-Rorian Deevergh has
 amassed a group of people,some of whom he can even call friends,who are
 collectivly hunted by the authorities.  And in a world where all transactions
 are relayed to a central authority which automatically logs and ID's everthing
 from the purchase of a fuel stick to the destruction of a planetary system,
 that can create problems.
   As for Rorian's gang of fugitives, they found just one way around the problem.
 Killing for a price and without recourse was a job in which they all excelled
 and one that allowed them to retain at least a comfortable style of living.
 Payment in rare metals, No questions.  If you live, that's your business.
   On the surface, this was just a normal job.  The patron funding the current
 operation will probably remain un-known, but the mission brief suggested that
 this particular mission would be a piece of cake.  The political implications
 of the mission were glossed over-they were motivated by money, not politics.
 The payment, half up front, half on completion, was regular.  Nothing seemed
 out of the ordinary.
   The only thing that aroused curiosity was the destination.  A back water
 planet called Graveyard.  The name aroused some faint disturbance in Rorian's
 memory.  But what the hell,so did most names he heard nowadays.


                   :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

                                  MAIN MENU
                                 ===========

   Allows the crew the option to enter a new scenario, to commence a
 previously saved scenario or exit to the workbench/D.O.S. screen.  press the
 appropriate function key for your selection.  Ctrl-Q will return you to the
 main menu screen at any time.

    F1 - START NEW GAME : Begin an entire new campaign mission or individual
                          missions.

    F2 - CONTINUE A SAVED GAME : Load a previously saved mission from either a
                                 RAM disk, hard disk or floppy disk.  Follow on
                                 screen messages to load game from disk or to
                                 abort the procedure.

    F3 - RETURN TO WORKBENCH/D.O.S : Quit Hired guns.

   START NEW GAME MENU :
   ---------------------
    F1 - TRAINING :All crew members should enter training section for weaponry
                   familiarisation and utility training. Training mission
                   profiles range through....

    'EXPLORATION'  A simple building-no enemies-no danger.  Get used to the
                   controls.  Find the exit to complete the level.

    'OBSTACLES'    Minimal danger-no enemies.  Practise using lifts.  Find the
                   exit to complete the level.
    'FIRE FIGHT'   Your first taste of combat.  Find the exit to complete the
                   level.
    'THROWING RANGE' An ideal opportunity to practice using grenades.Find the
                   exit to complete the level.
    'SENTRY DUTY'  Find out how useful the Anti-sentries can be.Find the exit
                   to complete the level.


    F2 - FULL CAMPAIGN : Game (see section Hired Guns,The game,The campaign,
                   for detailed analysis)
                   Enter your main mission on Graveyard.  ready yourweapons and
                   remember the saying : a slow trigger finger leads to a fast
                   death!!!
    F3 - SHORT ACTION GAME : Once training has been undertaken,skills need to
                   be fine tuned. this option will offer a mercenary crew
                   access to a hostile enviroment in which to do this.All
                   creatures are active and depending upon scenario,liable to
                   attack immediately upon contact with crew.
                   Tesseract Battle Systems excel in simulating lethal close
                   combat theatres.  We are fortunate to have a varied
                   selection to sample.  Each theatre is designed for a
                   specific number of players.
                   Single player scenario's generally require the four
                   characters to work together.
                   Two player scenario's are designed for two opposing teams of
                   two.
                   Three and Four player scenario's are designed for free for
                   all missions.Although any scenario can be played with any
                   number of players !

    MISSION PROFILES :
        Single player: Animal Enclosure,
                       Reactor,
                       Penitentiary,
                       Staying alive.
           Two player: Garden of Jarrys,
                       Lemming Wars #1,
                       Power genarator,
                       The asylum.
         Three player: Big cheese,
                       Escape to death,
                       Bat mobile,
                       Buckminster park.
          Four player: Leisure centre,
                       Skeletal hall,
                       Urban develpoment,
                       Shopping mall,
                       Lemming Wars #2

                   :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

                            NEW GAMES PROCEDURES
                           ======================

   NUMBER OF PLAYERS :
   -------------------
   Hired Guns has been painstakingly developed to allow four players to enter
 Graveyard simultaneously using the same machine.  A number of player interfaces
 are available to facillitate this and are listed in the Character Control
 manual.  Select by pressing the appropriate  F  key.

   CHARACTER SELECTION :
   ---------------------
   The character selection screen allows you to select four characters from the
 existing database of 12.  At the top of the screen is a visual impression of
 the character.  To the bottom left is a character description and to the bottom
 right are four character selection boxes.
   Choose your character by using the cursor keys.  Use the left/right keys to
 scroll the character's across the screen.  To view a character's credentials,
 move a character to the left of the screen where it will become highlighted.
 Once a character is highlighted, his/her credentials will be displayed
 beneath.  Further character details are to be found in the section 'countdown
 to Graveyard'.
   To select a character, first highlight the required character and press
 RETURN to enter the character into the character selection box.  Repeat the
 procedure three futher times to create the full mercenary crew.
   NOTE : You must use the full complement of four characters each time Hirefd
 Guns is played ( unless a character has been killed in combat ).
   You may use the DEL key at any time to de-select the last character.  Once
 the full complement has been selected, press RETURN to view the mission
 progress map.

                   ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

                      HIRED GUNS,THE GAME, THE CAMPAIGN.
                      ==================================


   MISSION OBJECTIVE :
   -------------------
   Mission dossier to be presented to mercenary team during planetfall, 15
 minutes before dropship touchdown.

   PRIMARY OBJECTIVE :
   -------------------
   TERMINATE PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF illegally bio-engineered ORGANISIMS
 ON SURFACE OF luyten L-7896 3.1( Graveyard ).
   Terminate existence of distribution point ( and it's surrounding enclave ).
   Target : Graveyard Central Spaceport.( lat 3.99 ign 43.22 ) this point and
 it's surrounding installations are fortified and heavily guarded.
   Method of termination :FUSION INDUCED THERMONUCLEAR EXPLOSION.
   Locate and recover four fusion power core rings from shielded storage at....

   1).  Fusion reactor plant. ( lat 2.45  ign 39.19 )
   2).  Satelite uplink tower.( lat 5.00  ign 40.73 )
   3).  Laboratory. ( lat-1.21  ign 42.61 )
   4).  Operations centre. ( lat -0.82  ign 43.47 ).

   Insert these devices into corresponding field coil generator at target site,
 detonation will be automatic after evacuating the site.
   Mission duration : 13 LOCAL days + 4 Hrs.
   Team extraction impossible after mission time expires.
   Ground Support : NONE !
   Air Support : NONE !
   Orbital Support : NONE !

   SECONDARY OBJECTIVE :
   ---------------------
   Reconnnoitre ground installationsindicated on D.T.S.  This information will
 be used for future ground based clean-up operations.
 WARNING.  The majority of ground installations are overrun with mutated
 bio-engineered organisims, proceed with extreme caution.  Note estimated threat
 level provided by master Digital Terrain Scanner.  Terminate hostiles with
 extreme predudice.  All available fire-power WILL be required.
 The following section provides all the necessary gameplay information to
 successfully complete the Graveyard mission.  Training missions and single
 action missions are covered in more depth to the end of this document.  The
 only thing which cannot be provided is the ingenuity and re-flexes of the
 participants.

   MISSION PROGRESS MAP :
   ----------------------
   Guild VII - lo den. 459vfn
   I.R. Penetration 7.
   The progress of your mission can be monitored on this screen.  View the
 extent of the terrain by using the cursor keys to move the cross vector point
 around the map.  Doing so will allow you to see the area surrounding all
 mission complexes.
 On the map you will see a number of circled area's linked by lines.  The
 circles surround identified complexes - any of which may house the hostages.
 The lines indicate route's of (relative) safe passage between them.  From this
 map, you may see your possible routes from each complex and will be able to
 determine exploration strategies.  You will also be given specific information
 about each complex as the vector point passes over it.
  This information panel offers vital information as to the current mission
 status of the area :
		Lat. Lgn. Alt - Displays Latitude, Longitude and Altitude of area.
		Area has not been comprimised - Uninvestigated area.
		Area compromised - Investigated and cleansed.
		Log entry - Guild VII ref, No.

   Estimated threat - From initial Guild VII electronic scanning, the threat to
 rescue forces has now been estimated.  Scale 1 is a low threat, with minimal
 enemy activity.  Scale 9 is a large threat with a high level of enemy activity.
 Your initial position will be indicated by a large flashing icon labelled DROP
 ZONE.  This position was chosen as the most suitable landing area for the drop
 ship and is the point from which your mission will begin.
   Your initial action is therefore to choose your course - not much of a
 selection at first.  Move the vector point accross to the complex to the North
 East of the drop zone using the cursor keys.  Press RETURN to order forces to
 enter that level.
   NOTE : You can only travel to zones linked to your present position with an
 isoterra clearance line for pedestrian movement.  If your party moves to an
 area that has already been compromised ( searched and explored ) you will be
 given the opportunity to futher explore it or pass through the area to a
 non-compromised zone.
   Note the red circles highlighting 6 of the zones.  As well as the dropzone,
 these mark Graveyard Central Spaceport (primary objective) and the locations
 of 4 fusion power core rings.

		   :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

                                  APPENDIX 1
                                  ==========

                     EQUIPTMENT (use of / descriptions of)
                     -------------------------------------

   FIRING / USING EQUIPMENT.
   -------------------------
   The following section outlines exactly how some pieces of in-game equipment
 can be used.  The descriptions used on the following pages refer to the MOUSE 1
 method of control.  If JOYSTICK, JOYPAD or KEYBOARD controls are used, refer to
 the Control Options Screen for the equivalent use commands.
   Hired Guns contains over 110 different items, what follows is a brief
 overview of the main categories of item you may find.

   GUNS/RIFLES/MACHINE GUNS/
   FLAMERS/ROCKET LAUNCHERS.
   -------------------------
   Providing a character is currently carrying a weapon with ammunition, centre
 the cursor and press the left mouse to fire ( or equivalent fire option ).  If
 firing only results in a single click, the weapon is out of ammunition.
 Pressing the right mouse button will re-load the weapon providing spare
 ammunition is being carried by the character.

   RE-LOADING :
   ------------
   Each magazine loaded into a weapon will eventually run out.  When this
 happens you will normally hear a click and the weapon will not fire.  To
 Re-load, simply press the right mouse button ( or equiualent ) and the weapon
 will once again be ready for action ( provided spare ammo is available in the
 character's inventory ).  Look at the information screen available on the store
 panel for compatible types ammunitions types for a gun.
   See also relevant instruction in Character Control Manual.

   RE-FILLS/AMMUNITION :
   ---------------------
  These essential items are to be found throughout Graveyard.  Once a
 mercenary has an item of ammunition in his possetion it is ready to be loaded
 into the appropriate weapon.

  GRENADES/GRENADE LAUNCHER :
  ---------------------------
   Grenades are used to obliterate enemies when the odds faced by a character
 are great.  Grenades must be used with extreme care because they have a
 substantial spread of destruction.  If they are used in an enclosed space, the
 grenade-throwing character has a considerable chance of destroying himself, not
 just the enemy target.  Therefore, a grenade launcher, which can propel the
 grenade away from the character provides a better method of delivering the
 charge.  However, even at long-range, the blast will most likely hit the
 player.
   To use a grenade, select a cluster of grenades and fire in the same way all
 other objects are used.  The fire cursor allows a character to hurl a grenade
 one of four distances.  These distances are illustrated below.
   The top cursor form allows a character to throw a grenade a short distance.
 to attain this, move the cursor towards the bottom of the screen.
   The bottom filled cursor instructs the mercenary to hurl the grenade a long
 distance and can be attained by moving the cursor towards the top of the
 screen.
   Using mouse 1, centre the pointer and press fire.  To use a grenade
 launcher, hold the launcher and fire.

   SONIC STUNNER/1,3,6
   KILOJOULE CELLS :
   -------------------
   The stunner provides an effective close range clean method of destruction.
 It is less potent than many weapons and a character may need to be a little
 more active on the trigger.  The stunner uses electric cells as a power
 source.  A 1 kilojoule unicell will provide enough power for around 50 stuns.
 A 6 K.joule cell will provide 6 times the number of stuns rather than a stun of
 6 times the power.

   MEDI/DROID REPAIR KITS :
   ------------------------
   Carry the object and use the kit to repair damage to either humans or droids
 by pressing the left mouse button in the same manner as firing a weapon.  Each
 kit will repair a substantial amount of damage to any appropriate character and
 may only be used once.

   AUTO SENTRY KIT :
   -----------------
   The auto sentry kit can be placed by a character where it will self assemble
 and provide a sentry facility for friendly forces.  Thus, it will fire upon any
 enemy but will allow friendly forces to pass unhindered.  Two models of sentry
 kit exist-unidirectional and multidirectional.  The operational difference of
 these units is crucial in order to provide effective cover for a party :
 multidirectional units are fully articulated and can face a target in any
 direction, unidirectional units cannot.
   To use the sentry kit, place it in a clear area in front of a player.

   PROXIMITY MINE :
   ----------------
   When primed and placed, a proximity mine will detonate if any character,
 friendly or unfriendly, enters the area.  The mine will usually wipe out the
 character entirely.
   To prime the mine, the mercenary must be holding it.  Change to the character
 view screen and use the mine in the same way you would with any weapon.  This
 will prime the mine, ready for action.  Next, place the mine in a clear area
 and do not re-enter the area under any circumstances.
   Intense heat will trigger an armed mine.  With this in mind,a player can use
 a flamer to clear a path through a minefield.

   FOOD/RATIONS :
   --------------
   Food can be found in many forms throughout Hired Guns.  Consuming food will
 restore a small amount of energy in humanoid characters.
   To use food, ensure a character is holding the piece of food, return to the
 character view screen and use in a similar manner to any other piece of
 equipment.

   SYRINGE ANTI-TOXIN :
   --------------------
   Cures poison wounds on humanoid characters.  Standard use method.

   KEYS/ACCESS WAFERS :
   --------------------
   Allow access to indestructable entrance panels.  If a panel is impassable or
 locked, the appropriate key or wafer must be found before it may be passed
 through.
   To use, a character will simply need to have the appropriate item in his/her
 possession.  The card/key will be automatically used when the character
 approaches the entrance panel.

   PSIONIC AMPLIFIERS :
   --------------------
   A psi-amp offers the user a variety of effects depending upon the individual
 psi-amp.  Each psi-amp may be used a number of times and a description of each
 can be found in the section 'psionic amplifier glossary'.
   To activate a psi-amp, the character must be holding the item and used in
 the usual manner described at the beginning of this section.  The effect may
 last up to 4 minutes, depending upon the psi-amp used.

   D.T.S. :
   --------
   The Digital Terrain Scanner allows the D.T.S. screen to be activated.  To
 use the D.T.S., View the section 'Amiga instructions'.


                   :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

                               IN-GAME OBSTACLES
                               =================

   ENTRANCES :
   -----------
   Entrances are often covered by sliding panels which automatically slide open
 when approached using movement sensors.  However, security requirements on
 Graveyard means that a large number of doors require security access wafers
 (or in some circumstances, keys) to gain access.
   The character will usually find the required wafer somewhere in the current
 location.  To use the wafer, the character who requires access simply needs the
 wafer in their inventory panel where it will be recognised and allow access.

   FORCE FIELDS :
   --------------
   Force fields are usefull devices for a) containing something behind
                                        b) temporarily denying access to an
                                           area where a permanent wall is not
                                           desirable.
   Force fields are used throughout Graveyard and are impassible.  They may
 however, in some instances, be de-activated.  How this can be achieved is
 dependant upon each situation.

   TELEPORT FIELDS :
   -----------------
   These look simalar to force fields.  They provide instantaneous travel to a
 fixed destination.  If the destination is blocked, the would-be traveller will
 be notified.

   PUSHABLE BLOCKS :
   -----------------
   These large metal cubes are prefabricated building blocks.  They can be used
 to build walls,block passages or fill in large gaps.  Note that they have
 frictionless traction field which allows that to be manoeuvred with only a
 light push or pull.  Also note that they still have their original mass and
 momentum, thus being extremely hazardous to all if they fall from above.

   PUSH PANELS :
   -------------
   These are usually found on a wall and can have several uses, apart from
 operating lifts.  Pushing a push panel will usually have an effect,
 somewhere !!!.
   This could be moving a hidden panel, de-activating a force field, to name
 but two although the effect may not be immediatly obvious.

   LIFTS :
   -------
   Underground locations throughout Graveyard may be accessed using lifts.  The
 lift is unlike more conventional lifts as they are purely functional - allowing
 access from any direction (unless walled-in) and alighting whenever the person
 using the lift decides.  It is thus possible to alight a lift 15 floors up and
 without a floor between them and the ground floor.
   THIS IS NOT HOWEVER RECCOMENDED !!! , but it is worth bearing in mind.
   Lifts are usually operated by using a push panel.
=======================================================================================
 
-+------------------------------------------------------------------------+-
 | The LoOnS: Python   Wizz  The Guardian  PoB  Action Man  Chuck  T-Leaf |
-+------------------------------------------------------------------------+-
                                                          02/10/93
                              PROUDLY PRESENT                                 
                                 HIRED GUNS 

                         COUNTDOWN TO GRAVEYARD MANUAL
                   TYPED BY : CHUCK    SUPPLIED BY : PYTHON
                                  CONTENTS:
                                  ---------
                       TWO STAR SYSTEMS, ONE BLOODY WAR
                         HOW TO WAGE INTERSTELLAR WAR
                           HIRED GUNS - THE STORY   
                             MERCENARY DATAFILE:
                               RORIAN DEEVERGH
                                  DESVERGER
                                   JENILEE
                                 MC 128-7 CIM
                                CHEULE SIYGESS
                                   CLAVIUS
                                KATRINA HOMEZ
                                ADELE REANNON
                                MIYRIEL TORRE
                                 BONDEN SPEY
                                   KIURCHER
                          CIM - LITE (PIRATE COPY ) 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------	
                        ESCAPE FROM A DOOMED PLANET
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------                        ---------------------------
  
                      TWO STAR SYSTEMS,ONE BLOODY WAR...
                      ----------------------------------

 The seeds of the war can be found in one of the first exploratory missions
to the Lacaille star system. Luyten had supplied the starship, D1aedalus, and
its associated system ships. A tentative colony had already been established
on the planet Jeuvo Cassandra. The crew of the system ship Canberra comprised
both Luyten personnel and a science team from Cassandra.

 History, unfortunately , did not record who was manning the high sensitivity
infra red lines when the planet that was to be called Tharagrene was revealed.
Had it been a barren rock - much as Cassandra was - then it would simply have
been logged and forgotten about, save for the obligatory surface mining teams
many years later.

 Tharagrene proved to be both earthlike and habitable, but without indigenous
life.  It was a valuable find.  the laws of extra - system exploration
inherited from earth meant that the young colony had a legitimate claim on the
entire system. Inevitably, both sides claimed the discovery as their own.

 Luyten couldn't  act immediately with no faster-than-light travel even
possible, the most rapid response possible would take a minimum of ten years.
Daedalus remained in the system and was eventually converted to a space
station in orbit around Tharagrene.  In the time that followed, Lacaille
expanded to settle on Tharagrene itself. The surface conditions made it ideal
to develop and grow.

 And so, 20 years after the discovery of Tharagrene, another starship arrived
in the system.

 It was called the Nubian.

 It was state of the art technology.

 It was a warship.


            HOW TO WAGE INTERSTELLAR WAR:
            -----------------------------  

 Earth would certainly have gone to war with luyten in the past, had it not
been for the dozen light years that separated the two sides. It is however
possible for a spacecraft to take on entire planets merely because gravity is
on their sides.  Lasers and particle weapons aside, an attacking craft will
find the most potent force for destruction is the redirection of asteroids so
that they collide with the target planet; a simple an inexpensive tactic.

 War was imminent and so reinforcements began to arrive from Luyten in a rota
system.  A tour of duty for a spacecraft was typically ten years real time.
Upon return to Luyten, the warships were upgraded with the results of a
further decade of research and development.

 It was  the Maxellemar ring of Luyten that declared a state of war.
Predictably,  there was hardly any audible reaction from the civilian
population - the policy of forcible draft for the war effort saw to that.

 Two  draftees were Rorian Deevergh & Desverger. The warship that took them 
to Tharagrene was part of a stellar booster - a drive system that took the
craft to near light speed. Smaller craft detached from the command vessel At
the journey's end where other craft were then attached for the return trip.
The forces of which Rorian & Desverger were a part were therefore effectively
stranded until the arrival of the next stellar booster which, at that stage in
the war, happened around every six months.  By 2697, the war had gained
momentum.

 Rorian & Desverger were ground troops for the federal forces of Maxellemar.
they had served for a number of years in Five Division as punishment for past
offences and had, after a while, developed a grudging respect for each other.
When it was decided that more forces should be mobilised, Five Division was
designated to begin the five year journey to Lacaille. Very few people would
have been willing to face the prospect but troops, of course, had no choice,
especially if they were members of Five Division.

 Time  dilation from speeds close to light made the trip seem shorter for the
passengers on this trip and thus more bearable and once the tortuous journey
had been made, the decision came to push Five Division into the heart of enemy
held territory - the capital city of Sahvoar.

 Midway  into the mission and suddenly caught in savage crossfire from
opposing troops, Rorian & Desverger made for the nearest cover. they found an
unmarked truck, supposedly civilian that was cut off from the rest of the
ground forces.  The crew were dead, but were wearing the military uniform of
their own side.  The truck proved to be a disguised missile carrier - such
things were unusual but not unheard of. What made this particular situation
disturbing was the nature of the weapon in the cargo hold. It was a planetary
denial weapon, a biological/chemical hybrid warhead of the sort banned for the
past 200 years. It was obvious that it was on a timed delay. Desverger, who
had considerable missile experience, believed it could not be stopped.


                 CHOICE:
                 -------

 They faced a difficult choice. should they inform their superiors? Rorian
believed that some general had his own covert plans for the weapon and that to
report the current status of the warhead was no less than a duty. Desverger
argued that this was a naive approach and that their own side meant to kill
everybody, friendly and enemy forces alike.

 The  alternative was simply to flee. This proved the more viable option.
Beating their own miniature retreat, they enlisted the help of a medic,
Jenillee Freymon and a combat robot, Cim. with this additional assistance
they stole a shuttle and headed for high orbit. The escape was just in
time....

 The  biological component of the weapon - spread widely by the initial blast
- became effective after a day. Tharagrene was condemned as a plague planet.
Any craft climbing up from the surface was ruthlessly destroyed by an orbiting
particle cannon that, coincidentally, just happened to be in range for such a
purpose. There were few survivors.


                           HIRED GUNS
                          -----------

 Foolishly, when investigating the weapon truck, they had taken no account of
built - in surveillance systems. Only they know the truth about the massacre.
The authorities, in turn, now know of their existence. That knowledge made
the team led by Rorian and Desverger possibly the most wanted people in the
system.

 The first difficulty they faced after witnessing the massacre, was to
return to Luyten. This took many different turns and, in the course of that
journey, they were joined by a further eight people- some they can even call
friends - some don't even live up to that. Nevertheless, all of them have
useful skills.  The war effectively ended with detonation of the warhead
though pockets of resistance continued to fight well into the next decade.
But the October 14th incident, as it became known, was accepted as the
official end of the war.  Lacaille was very much the loser, and as news
filtered its slow way across the light years, the war became little more than
a collection of facts in history books, even before Rorian arrived home.

                               NOW IT IS 2712
                         
    
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

                          COUNTDOWN TO GRAVEYARD:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                         
                             
 Six  hundred and thirty thousand million kilograms of metal, plastic and
ceramics hung like a baleful star in the greying skies over new europe. There
were several of these objects in orbit around the capital planet, but Freewill
was the first, built in an age when the frontier meant something. Now the
scant resources went elsewhere and the orbital stagnated as living on
planetary surfaces became fasionable once again. As with every property left
to itself for a time, settlers moved in. Freewill became self-governing in
all but name.

 
 Cheule  stared for a long time through a viewport down at the planet and saw
the same land mass that she had seen yesterday and the day before and the day
before that. It was a single star hotel sort of view; all that starscape and
there was a planet in the way. The Anysije might not have been the greatest
place in the system, she thought, but at least wasn't a synchronous orbit.
You could watch the planet spin beneath you. The drink was cheaper too.
perhaps she could persuade Rorian to buy her one.


 He  was sitting with his terminal working, as ever, across in the lounge,
with Clavius watching the screen and nodding from time to time. He obviously
wished he was somewhere else. She knew how he felt Freewill was a strange
choice for R & R, but given their wanted status, it was a sensible one.

 The  lounge was nearly deserted apart from themselves. Desverger provided
the main source of noise with an arcade machine and neglected airscrubbers
gave the room a characteristic dank smell. It was late in the artificial
night and the lounge had been switched to automatic. Above the entrance hung
a large, jaunty sign which flickered:" YOUR FUN IS ABOUT TO GO NOVA!" not for
her. She waved her hand in a certain way and a few seconds later a dispensing
robot wheeled across. She slotted in a coin and was handed a cola.

 Rorian...she said softly

 Come on then, he replied without looking up. He pulled out a chair and she
accepted it.

 What's the situation?

 See for yourself, he sighed, Dark Matter's going to be in dock for a month.
She groaned.  Dark Matter was the current fake identity of their spacecraft
and the illicit modifications could only be done here on Freewill without
attracting too much of the wrong sort of attention. Here! why here? she
knew it was probably inevitable.

 This was Kiurcher's idea wasn't it? she said levelly.

 I  will be several moments said Clavius in his gravelly voice and left
diplomatically.  Rorian shifted uncomfortably, but didn't answer. Cheule
returned her attention to the screen, aware of his gaze. Shifting lines of
green and blue formed a schematic of the ageing vector class cruiser called
Dark Matter.  Statistics scrolled by at the touch of a screen. She watched
this for a minute until she couldn't feign interest any longer. He looked at
her seriously then a thought seemed to brighten his face.
 Any suggestions for the new name?

 Something  fitting...  she took a long swig of cola and sighed. O.k,
originally it was Gravitational Constant which then became Summer Storm and
then Serendip Eclipse. right? she said. did you choose all these??

 Rorian  shook his head. Then my favourite, Midnight Sun he continued, and
finally Dark Matter.

 Cheule  thought for a while. Seems to be a prediliction for profile names.
She paused. Rorian I know why we're here. The other reason I mean, there's a
mission coming isn't there?

 I'd  make you my second in command if there was such a thing. He was no
longer smiling. I need to work. just go and relax.

  Knowing we'll probably be fighting for our lives in a weeks time?

  The  Flumpey cannon costs more than we can afford. This mission will pay
 for it. I hope so.

  Typical useless growled Desverger, easy to find a space station but easier
 to let a computer guide you.


  So they've been delayed. we can manage without them, countered Rorian. He
 tried to follow the game that Desverger was playing and pretended not to
 notice the games coinbox which had been split open.

  No excuse. They gave word. Be here. Be here now. 

  Crashing noises erupted from the machine. A voice clearly said Game Over,
 he picked a coin from the box and pressed it into the slot, the game started
 again. Rorian stared. Desverger glanced momentarily and caught the look.

  Credit card trouble to fake.

  We'll just have to catch them at the second rendezvous point in the inner
belt.

  Unlikely to be the case, said Desverger not looking up from his game. One:
 Pilot, Morton, his own ship. No loyalty to group. No kindred sense.

  What do you mean? asked Rorian.

  First better prospect, takes it. Not see him again.

  He  got a few long standing things to sort out, that's all, Desverger
 ignored the comment.

  Two : Wife. Ah curse it! The arcade ship exploded in a fireball. He used
 another coin.

  Surprised , Rorian? he continued. Jenelle, Morton very close. Intent was
 marriage. She'll support any decision he make.

  This is pointless Rorian said and made to return to the bar area.

  Three :  Desverger said raising his rasping voice. The twins. Emotionally
 bonded like all twins.  One dead.  Other emotionally crippled as result.
 neither any more use.

  Despite himself , Rorian continued to listen thoughhe didn't face Desverger
 directly.

  In effect, lost quarter of team. Good thing.

  Good?! Rorian shouted,they're valuable members!

  Team too large. Too unweildy. Graveyard mission: real reason to get new
 hardware. They're gone, taking ship with them. That's so.

  No .  That's not it at all.  Something delayed them and this is just a
 normal mission.

  You  speak from knowledge? No. Voice betrays you. Always your trouble.
 Can't read the signs. Graveyard bad news.

  Money  is never bad news - you see signs where there aren't any. If we
 live I'll look you in the eye. See who really is correct. You'll avert
 first.  But you'll stick with me because really, you need all pf us. Am I
 right in trhat at least? he said sarcastically.

  Desverger didn't care to answer.

  Cheule  felt a tap on the shoulder and spun around violently, grasping for
 the pistol that wasn't there. Habit.

  Sorry , she said relaxing when she saw Rorian. That led up to something
 nasty once. He handed her a glass of something.

  Thanks. Two down. Aren't you having one?

  No. I've got to keep my head clear.

  Freewill  spirits aren't that dangerous she said, I know they have a
 reputation but...  she tailed off, realising.  He saw the change in her
 expression.

  Yes, It's a meeting.

  Why here? she said simply.

  Because right now we can't be anywhere else.

  It's too much of a risk.

  I'm  not as foolhardy as you sometimes make out. The camera will provide a
 measure of insurance.

  I don't care if you do have an embedded micro-camera or whatever you call
 it.  If we get footage of you being blown away. It doesn't help us a bit!
 shouted Cheule.

  She span around and  strode away from him. Rorian looked as if he was
 considering what to say to her when an insistent bleeper sounded on his belt.
 He detached a square device and noted a red indicator.

 Kiurcher's signal he yelled.

  Right on!  whooped  Desverger from across the lounge. He drove his fist
 into his palm then pulled out a pistol and flicked at the safety.
 
  Cheule  noticed with regret that the regular crowd had slowly ebbed away.
 There was only her and the rest of the Hired Guns. She tried to fit distaste,
 incredulity and displeasure into her voice. She was good at it.

  You were deliberately looking for a job here? she said.

  The fact was worse than the suspicion. Rorian was just standing there as
 if everything he did was either so obvious it was beyond questioning or didn't
 need explaining at all. He obviously hadn't planned on justifying himself.

  So who's the patron? she continued.

  He shrugged.

  Where's the meeing then. Where do we go?
  
  Sorry Cheule, it's a one on one meeting.

  I can't, we can't just let you go by yourself.

  She tried to pretend that it was only a legitimate concern for the leader.
 Even pretending that it was simply because only he had clearance for the ship
 and they would be stuck otherwise seemed false. A terrible image of holding
 his severed eye up to the retinal scanner to gain access to the ship sprang
 into her mind.

  Just a single person, Cheule.

  If anything happens... She remained emphatic.

  Stay  here.  That's the plan.  That's always been the plan. Anything
 happens and I walk straight ioto it. Only me. Get it?

  Boss  man's a right lover chipped in Desverger, twirling his pistol. She
 ignored him as best she could,

  Freewill's dangerous. we've never been hired from-

  Stay  here!  he shouted. She held eye contact for as many seconds as she
 could before he finally snorted in disbelief and stormed through the door.
 
  The  quality of the image from Rorian's subcutaneously implanted camera was
 shaky and monochrome but it worked fairly well. The pictures were relayed to
 the terminal that he left with them. In the left of the screen, Desverger
 could be seen clambering into a ventilation duct. A large door occupied the
 middle of the screen with Cheule's concerned face reflected on it. Adele and
 Bonden entered from outside the lounge. Bonden bounded over to watch with
 them. Adele looked serious and flicked back her wet hair.

  Good swim I trust said Clavius with a trace of a smile.

  Good enough. Never realised a zero-g swim could be so hazardous said Adele
 deadpan.

  Yeah , nearly had every medidroid on the level called out! added Bonden.
 Clavius laughed.  In the empty room it echoed. Cheule frowned at them both
 but never said anything.

  I believe it's a local sport Adele continued. Attrition rate would seem to
 be high.

  So what's happening Clavie? said Bonden.

  We  bumped into the big cheese and he never even stopped to say high - he
 off someplace? Hey that's Dessie on the screen.

  Desverger had popped his head out of the duct and was indicating something.
 He paused and then nodded a few times before disappearing again. The doors on
 the screen began to slide open.

  The  room beyond was dark.  The small audience around the screen kept
 silent. It resembled a photorealistic arcade game.

  Cheule  imagined any umber of surprises contained in there and was indeed
 surprised when the lights sensing Rorian's body heat flickered into life to
 reveal a perfectly bare room.  Bare, except for a single videophone. The
 image of the phone in the screen got larger and a hand extended semingly from
 behind the screen and tapped a few buttons on the phone's keypad. A message,
 too small to read from the screen, appeared and tyhe screen shook vertically a
 few times.  She wondered what had happened. Then she realised that Rorian
 must be nodding in response to something. It was irritating that there was no
 sound.

  Where's Dessie? asked Bonden.

  Desverger is acting as a form of insurance said Clavius.

  There is only supposed to be one person in this meeting, if it turns out to
 be a set up then Desverger is his best chance of getting out alive.

  Ah.

  Cheule  couldn't stand to watch anymore and sought out a chair. She closed
 her eyes and was lost with her thoughts. Eventually Rorian returned. His
 entire stance, solid, aware and alert indicated to Cheule that the relaxation
 was over. She put down her unfinished drink.

  Get  the rest up here, now, he said, then it's Bay Twelve in fifteen
 minutes.

  He went as abruptly as he entered.

  The  Bay Twelve door opened to reveal what at first appeared to be a thin
 corridor, circular in cross section.  As they entered, it revealed a vast
 cavern seen through the transparent walls of the corridor which formed a tube
 connecting to a shape that was partially concealed. Only half a dozen or so
 spotlights highlighted a warning symbol, a giant exhaust, a registry number
 and finally a name. The Platinum Heart. To either side was what appeared to
 be a metal valley, the basis of docking and construction bay in which floated
 the massive spacecraft.  Desverger barged his way past everybody in the
 confines of the boarding tube, got to the top first and bowed mockingly,
 swirling his cloak simultaneously. He entered the craft and was swallowed up
 by the darkness.

  The  interior was a dull grey; a characteristic of all ex-military vessels.
 A stocky man waited inside the entrance way and greeted them each by name,
 which Cheule found disconcerting. He in turn introduced himself as Moeller.
 Once for each of them.

  Friends , said Moeller when they were all gathered. Though I regret I
 cannot tell you the nature of this - er - job I wish performed, you will be
 given full details closer to the time. Naturally the payment will not be
 processed through any banking system and will be delivered in Rare Earth
 Elements, or should you wish, Platinum. A poetic touch, no? A percentage
 will be distributed in a moment, more upon leaving for Graveyard and, of
 course, the bulk of it upon your return. We will be leaving orbit in a little
 over six hours.  Please feel free to make yourselves comfortable. He bowed
 rather unconvincingly and left.

  The  assembled team began to talk amongst themselves but Cheule decided to
 follow Moellers example and leave to find more of the ship. Rorian caught her
 before she made it to the door.

  What's bothering you? he asked.

  You  promised!  she said bitterly. It seemed to take a while for him to
 realise what she was referring to. Just this one more job, Cheule. This'll
 net enough to head for any system you like. You will get your share. Cheule?
 he hesitated. I'll be sorry to lose you.

  She  turned from the same, constant view of New Europe. Her eyes reflected
 in the glass. She felt like Jennilee with all this wistful gazing.

  I have to go back.

  He  frowned, unable to read her expression. Catching this, a forced smile
 broke across Cheule's face.

  And  I have to get that other drink you owe me. She said. With those
 words, a lurching and faint trembling was felt. A muted roar became apparent,
 then silence, followed by another burst of noise then silence once more.

  We're  leaving Freewill, said Rorian. I would've at least thought there'd
 be some warning.  C'mon.  We've a few minutes before the main drive is
 activated. Let's find an acceleration couch.

  So this was it, Cheule thought.

  They were underway.

  Bonden , alert though he was, sat up with a start and stared in awe at the
 shape that Moeller was holding. He began to raise his hand to attract his
 attention, but faltered as if he really couldn't believe what he was seeing.
 The patron stopped.

  You're familiar with these? he asked.

  Bonden looked round him. Yes I, I think so.

  Good. You can give the briefing. Save some time.

  Moeller  nodded to Rorian, tossed the device to Bonden who caught it
 awkwardly, and left to occupy himself with the drop ship preparation.


  I , uh, this is a psionic amplifier. It's used to create a variety of
 effects - it's very rare. Effector I mean, I saw one on Graveyard. It uses
 force fields to manipulate matter and lasers. Uses lasers I mean. As well as
 force fields. These are controlled by a computer, here, to create the effect
 you desire.  Oh, yes.  The type of effects are very complex and the
 information needed to create one is stored on a datacard - have we got one?
 yes.  Here. Only one can be used at a time and... I'll show you. Farsight.
 Yes.


  He  pulled out the card that was already installed to show everybody and
 then placed it back. Activating the amp started a glow of light in front of
 him. There were a few gasps from those who were less familiar with holograms.
 A pattern began to form in the centre of the glow.

  As  you can see, a picture is being created of the location about - 100?
 150?  - about 100 metres in front of me even with walls in the way. Is that
 the storage bay?  Yes. I believe it is. Different cards produce different
 effects.

  The group were looking at him in amazement. No one spoke. Cheule smiled
 warmly at him. So encouraged, he continued.

  Radioisotope  power source so it won't run out.  Some effects give
 information, some cause destruction. And so on. I have no idea how they get
 hold of so many.  Oh yes.  No user serviceable parts inside so don't try
 opening them. He grinned.

  The  forward observation lounge was in darkness, save for a smattering of
 glowing green indicators, the red of a scrolling message screen and of course
 the faint light from the stars themselves. The soft glow of the edge of the
 Galaxy was visible as a band of diffuse light across the view. One of the
 points of light was brighter than the rest. Schematics unfolded and folded
 across the window, superimposed on the scene. Cheule sat quietly in one of
 the lounge seats, contemplating the view.  She knew she would have been
 pleased to discover - through deduction - that the bright star was in fact
 Yalhoth and the smaller point of light just next to it was Graveyard - their
 destination. The schematics robbed her even of this pleasure. Letters on the
 window flashed and indicated Yalhoth with a green box, a catalogue number and
 the name itself. She hated it for that.

  Behind  her the lounge doors opened with the soft hiss of pneumatics.
 Yellow light streamed in, taking on a red hue through her night vision. The
 metal-on-plastic clump of a robot echoed a few times and then stopped. The
 whine of motors was too pronounced and deep for it to be Miyriel. The crew
 was too scared of Cim-Lite for it to be allowed to wander the ship unchecked.
 There was only one droid one it could be.

  Miss  Siygess it said.  Hello Cim she said in return. Why could no-one
 pronounce her name correctly? Why else? they were Luytanians.

  Mr. Desvergh wants to see you.

  I'm  staying here.  She turned around. Cim was silhouetted against the
 doorway, a mobile mountain of metal. Red and green points of light from the
 panels reflected off its polished surface. It waited patiently.

  Tell Rorian I am not available she said.

  Mr.  Desvergh was most insistent.  Shall I replay the message? Cheule
 shrugged.  Of course. Cim had a large audio buffer. It only had to play the
 appropriate section.

  ....especially get Cheule.  I want her to be here when we discuss
 contingencies.  If anything went wrong I want her to be the first out of
 here.....

  She  considered the fragment of conversation, aware that her response would
 be recorded just as unobtrusively..

  Rorian , that's very kind of you. I'll be there later. Cim, you can play
 that back to him. now go.

  As you wish. The robot backed away and the doors slid closed once more.

  It  was a further two days before the Platinum Heart performed a slingshot
 manoevre around Yalhoth, gaining speed from the planet's gravitational field.
 It was common enough practice. At a key point in the trajectory mhowever, a
 small shape detached itself and carried on - undetected - towards Graveyard
 and into the atmosphere itself. The Dropship began its flight profile.

  Cheule grinned inwardly, inspired by the noise.

  Rorian!  she yelled over the roar of the ramjets. The antinoise systems
 were overwhelmed by the rush of air.

  What!

  The new name: how about Slipstream?

  I'll think about it. I prefer Solar Maximum. The reply was cut off by the
 sound of the drop ship shifting to conventional turbojet cruise.

  The  automatic pilot indicated its willingness to be taken over. Clavius
 now took control and the noise subsided slightly.

  Timed  message release active, intoned Cim. The robot waited patiently for
 instructions.

  Scan and give us the highlights. Said Rorian.

  Accepted .  Target elimination. Details follow. 10 Megs of off line data.
 Editing.  Illegal government weapons research. Bio-engineering sites. Key
 installations.  Retrieve backpack nukes from marked sites.  Detonate at
 designated points.  Digital terrain mao suspplied - Guild VII compatible.
 Estimated  mission time 13 days plus 4 hours.  Secondary objective -
 reconnaissance.  Rendezvous Platinum Heart, co-ordinates given. Compositing
 mission profile from drop zone onwards.

  Is that it? shouted Bonden sarcastically. Merely waste half the planet?

  Too intense for you, youngster? said Desverger.

  What the hell have you got us into this time?

  Enough  of that.  Take the cash and don't ask questions. That's how it's
 done. Replied Rorian.

  Yeah,  easy...  said Cheule quietly, her mood becoming sombre.  the
 vibration of the flight making her armour plate rub uncomfortably against her
 neck. What made the flight worse was the absence of any form of window in the
 hold.  She couldn't see anything unless she turned her head to the extreme
 left where a small patch of the windshield was visible between Clavius and
 Rorian. And that held only the grey of the sky.

  Five minutes to zone.

  Nothing on passives. We're in the radar shadow of the mountain. We'll
 emerge into the main beam in half a minute.

  O.k. Clavius. Contour following within the next thirty seconds.

  Confirmed .  The ship fell to within twenty metres of the ground and kept
 that distance.  Speed was still greater than Mach 1. What's local speed of
 sound?

  Low. 550 metres per second.

  We're making too much noise then. Drop to 350. the audio sensors over the
 next ridge can detect our supersonic track easily.

  Revised time to zone, 4 minutes 20 seconds.

  Reckon we can risk the active sensors?

  Make it a quick one.

  Two second burst on the Doppler radar. 360 degrees. Full spectrum.
 Anything?

  Radar has a 10 degree blind spot at 180.

  That doesn't matter.

  Nothing on screen. Wait, several ground targets.

  Type?

  Nothing important.

  Airborne targets?

  None.

  We're in!

  A  smoothly-shaped object sailed over the ridge to the sound of muted
 thunder, keeping a precise height from thr ground and slowing down constantly.
 Its appearance frightened creatures hiding in the undergrowth and startled
 birds who took to the air, offended at the objects intrusion. A blast of air
 swept the ground underneath the object which wobbled uncertainly at the top of
 this column of fast moving air and, slowly, its height above the bushes and
 trees diminished in a flurry of vegetation and dust stirred up by the
 unnatural squall.  With a final rush of sound, the drop ship placed itself
 deep within the covering layers of forest.

  Broken  branches spilled onto the ground. The residual whine of motors
 slowed to be replaced by the higher pitched note of the landing ramp servos.
 Rorian emerged first, then Desverger then Cim.

  Camouflage details, go, ordered Rorian.

  Within  ten minutes, the dropship had been covered in camouflage netting,
 surprisingly crude considering the levels of technology they had at their
 disposal.  The most effective anti-radar coating was at the same time the
 least smooth and of course the least effective for aerodynamics.

  At last they were ready.

  Eleven of them stood in front of Rorian. Four to go for the nukes, four to
 stand by in case of trouble and the remainder to stay with the dropship. They
 formed a loose line and looked at him expectantly. The two robots stood
 motionless, as always.  Bonden next to them, restless, not willing to wait
 even this much. Kiurcher hung at the back not wanting to be seen. Desverger
 daring anyone not to pick him for the worst of the fighting. Clavius ready to
 do whatever was asked.  Jennilee shying away behinf him. Adele looking
 slightly bemused by the whole situation. Miyriel was just, well, Miyriel.
 Katrina was expressionless, having slipped back into her cold ruthlessness and
 of course Cheule, who was looking at him intently as if she should be in
 charge and leading them to another planet entirely.

  Just  four should be necessary, said Rorian. He rubbed his hands together
 and unshouldered his rifle.

  So, he continued, who's it gonna be?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

               MERCENARY DATAFILE:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------



 RORIAN DEEVERGH.
 Born:2670, New Europe.

  There is a saying in the poorer areas of New Europe that can be paraphrased
 as One only needs a plastic spoon to eat and live; one needs a silver spoon in
 the south for the same reason. To be born on Luyten's capital world is to
 automatically gain a lofty superiority over the other inhabitants of the
 system and to know that one is better in every way.

  Rorian  was born in the Southern Sectors of New Europe to parents who were
 particularly wealthy, even among their contemporaries. Because he was an only
 child, as was the custom, he found little time of his own, owing to social
 pressures that were entirely an invention of the rich. Like many of his
 generation, he rebelled and turned to a life bordering on the petty criminal,
 seeking thrills that everyday life seemed unable to provide. By age 16, he
 was organising elaborate stunts and commanded a small gang of disaffected
 teenagers.  One of those stunts went badly wrong and and three people were
 killed as a result. Not being old enough to execute he was drafted into the
 Maxellamar Ring of Luyten Army where he became part of Five Division.

  Despite  his profound dislike of authority, Rorian has made a name for
 himself as a skilled combatant. It is unwise to insult him as he is short on
 temper and has an almost superhuman dislike of fools.He places nobody above
 himself but will honour any promises he makes - but only to those he deems
 worthy.  Faults in others are tolerated, but only if they make an effort to
 put them right, even if that effort never quite succeeds. To those outside he
 seems utterly ruthless when a situation like a firefight occurs, then he will
 apparently ignore the fact that it ever happened. In reality it bothers him
 greatly; he will brood about it for days afterward but never giving a hint of
 this to others. They need to be able to see only his strong side.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 DESVERGER.
 Born 2670, New Europe.
 

  Desverger is similar  to Rorian in many ways. He was also born on New
 Europe and rebelled against authority until being drafted into the army.
 Desverger was a product of the seedier, more disturbing elements of New Europe
 that no-one wished to speak of. He slept rough and got involved in serious
 crime, not caring how it reflected on the gang, not caring about anything.
 Eventually the crimes were serious enough to make front page news. He hated
 having to be second in command for everything, but tolerrated it simply for
 what he could gain. Ironically, when he was eventually caught by the police,
 the result of his short trial put him in the same army division as Rorian.

  He suffers from rapid mood swings. Usually he is very cold and doesn't get
 on with anybody else. Officially he is a member of the team for his skill as
 a marksman and weaponsmith. In actual fact, despite the rivalry, Rorian is
 probably the closest thing to a friend he has and the bond goes deeper than
 they both realise.  He has, during his life, probably killed more than
 everybody else in the team combined. A fact which, to their disgust, he often
 boasts of.  After the escape from Tharagrene, Desverger seperated from the
 rest in order to pursue his own life free from the interference of anybody
 else.  He embarked on an ill-prepared career as a professional assassin, but
 his style was anything but professional. The result of his endeavours is that
 a number of real assassins have him as a permanent target should he ever be
 encountered. Once again (to his displeasure) he found that he had to make his
 way back to Rorian to seek protection.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 JENILEE
 Born 2685. Tesseract.

  
  Jenilee  had a love affair early on in her life. Jase was the classic
 example of a childhood sweetheart that lasted into teenage years. Perhaps it
 was too early in her life. Never having known anything other then happiness
 with Jase, nothing could have prepared her for his disappearance. He was
 suspected of being abducted for forcible drafting into the military; a process
 on Tesseract that was by no means unheard of. It left a gaping hole in her
 life and, naively, she joined the army herself in a hope of finding him.
 Somehow.

  Needless  to say, there were no quick results. Her job in the medical team
 in Five Division seemed easy enough. She enjoyed caring for the few injured
 and working with people. Since she cami into contact with people from all the
 divisions and all ranks and she was able to befriend some who could help her.
 Computer serarches and lookouts took place. There were still no results but
 she never gave up on her dream.

  Never  gave up, that is, until the start of hostilities on Tharagrene where
 Five Division were relocated. The horrors she saw there aged her more than
 any space travel and she became bitterly cynical. But the worst was yet to
 happen.  Jase was brought in with a batch of wounded under a different name.
 She was unable to do anything for him, his wounds were so severe. He died by
 her side without ever saying a word and seemingly unaware of who he was; still
 less who she was.  The escape from Tharagrene happened that night with her
 among them, helping to steal a shuttle. Before this, she would never have
 contemplated what amounted to treachery. Now it seemed there was no other
 choice.

  These  days Jenillee can often be found staring out of a viewport or
 watching the horizon.  On duty, she reverts to the dedicated professional
 person she used to be. But when her task is done she returns to stare out of
 her viewport - alone. What she thinks about, no one can say.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 MC 128-7 CIM
 Built 2706, Tesseract.

  MC 128-7 CIM is a robot designed to fight. The number stands for Military
 Construct type 128 revision 7 Combat Infantry Model. He is simply known as
 CIM, pronouned Sim.  The original team's escape from Tharagrene was largely
 due to Cim, not so much by his own initiative, but stemming from a quick
 reprogramming which enabled them to overcome enough security to escape in a
 shuttle. Nothing subtle, he ripped the doors off their supports.

  Cim is a highly complex piece of battlefield machinery but is posessed of
 what might be called a very limited intelligenge by human standards. He has
 almost no reasoning capacity and is undoubtedly not self-aware, at least by
 any conventional test. The military has no need of such esoteric functions.
 What they do need however, is as little maintenance as possible. Cim - like
 most military robots can take human food and chemically extract from it. The
 type  128  robots  are  the  bipedal equivalent of tanks, sacrificing
 manoevrability for armour, autonomy for firepower.  Because a robot is
 essentially a highly mobile computer, Cim comes in handy for calculating
 orbits and storing data for which he has been unkindly called the world's
 greatest filofax, an insult which he is incapable of registering.

  Although  he will accept reasonable orders from any member of the team, it
 is not generally realised that everybody's instructions carry a certain
 weight.  Rorian, of course, has top priority in this regard and can override
 anyone else.  The MC series are modular in construction, enabling limbs and
 major components to be replaced without fuss. Thus was how the reprogramming
 was accomplished initially. The mission parameter datacard was swapped with a
 new one. This, of course, directed loyalties to Rorian.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 CHEULE SIYGESS
 Born 2685, Earth.

  Cheule  is unique amongst the team members in that she comes from Earth in
 the home system.  She often claims that she really means Little Earth, an
 asteroidal colony in the Inner Belt, but her argument is unconvincing. She
 doesn't talk about her past much and any mention of Earth causes her to change
 the subject, often forcibly. Her real life story is shrouded in mystery. All
 that is known is that when she was 18 when she left Earth for reasons that are
 unknown to anyone within a dozen light years - literally. She arrived in the
 Luyten sytem after an entire ten years, Having boarded a Stellar Shuttle, the
 Dragonwick, by adopting the identity of her twin sister. The effects of time
 dilation at speeds close to, but not exceeding light, mean that only 4 years
 passed for her. Physically she is now aged 22 but in real time she is 28. In
 all that time she was not discovered a fact that testifies to her talents.

  The  Dragonwick was one of the last Stellar Shuttles to leave the Solar
 System before all communication with Earth abruptly ceased in 2708. The
 Dragonwick was itself destroyed in mysterios circumstances shortly after
 entering the Luyten System. Cheule was long gone before that. The team, such
 as it was back then, found her on the Fuysije Orbital where she tried to con
 Rorian out of his shuttlecraft and nearly succeeded. He admired the gall of
 someone who had heard of him and still wasn't afraid.

  Yet , it wasn't so much the team adopting her as the other way aroud.
 Rorian accepts that she is with them only because they will further her cause,
 whatever that might be. He knows also that her smile conceals a lot of hurt -
 of what, he is at a loss to say. The team mostly regards her with awe. Earth
 to them is an almost mythical place. Strange tales, often contradictory, get
 told about Earth, often about terrifying things, and someone from there could
 clear up a lot of fables. Anybody could claim to be from Earth of course, but
 no -one doubts that in her case it's true - if only for that terrible haunted
 look in her eyes when the subject arises.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 CLAVIUS
 Created 2536, Monyluth

 Clavius  is a product of technology, being a primitive gene-engineereed
 creature in the days before such things were illegal. He is basically human
 but with a resistance to radiation that in theory would enable him to command
 unshielded spacecraft for long periods. The performance improvement of the
 craft  resulting from the reduced mass of the shields would increase
 dramatically.  To further reduce spacecraft mass, living space was reduced to
 a minimum and Clavius was given a psychological profile to deal with this. As
 a result he is a borderline agoraphobic.  The project to create such a
 creature began during the period before colonisation when the need for
 efficiency was at its height. In a patriotic fervour, his incept date was on
 the hundredth anniversary of the discovery of New Europe.

  Clavius is not proud of his heritage and has no family to speak of save for
 the overseers at the lab where he was born. Although they are now long dead,
 he still hates them and all they stood for.

  With his creators now a memory, he found no purpose in life. Being in sole
 command of a craft made it absurdly easy to steal and the lighter weight
 enabled him to outrun anything in the system. He went everywhere he possibly
 could in search of a new purpose which he has never found.

  Those  days are long in the past now and he has had many adventures in his
 time. With his incorporation into the team, he has at least gained a pretence
 of purpose. From some difficult conversations with Cheule, he now harbours a
 wish to learn more about Earth and intends visiting there someday. This will
 take many years of his life but he suspects that his creators did not set a
 limit to cell replication; in effect he will not age. He often relates some
 tales of his own to the rest of the group when there is time to be spent and
 has proved to be an enthralling and captivating narrator.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 KATRINA HOMEZ
 Born 2685, Tesseract

  Katrina  was unlucky enough to be intelligent, shrew, attractive and
 physically very strong. Unlucky? It made her a perfect target for recruiting
 by the Secret Services (UPBI). When first approached, she naturally refused.
 She already had a worthwhile job as field reporter for a news network. The
 UPBI staged her death and abducted her. She underwent intensive brainwashing
 and reprogramming and emerged with most of her mind intact but with a
 fanatical devotion to the UPBI.  Katrina subsequently went on undercover
 missions and had an excellent track record - from the services point of view -
 until she was ordered to investigate a mercenary team by infiltration. This
 she did by an elaboratly set up scenario where she pretended to be rescued by
 them and subsequently joined them. Her deception was uncovered when a head
 wound from a combat mission left her delirious. She talked about the UPBI.
 Desverger wanted to kill her outright. However, the UPBI had underestimated
 her underlying willpower.  Given a focus and with support, katrina overcame
 her conditioning and now she is a valued member of the team. She views her
 service in the UPBI with horror and deliberately goes out of her way to prove
 that she's changed.  This can lead to her being overzealous at times. When
 under stress, or in combat, some of the programmed ruthlessness can still show
 through.  Rorian is perfectly satisfied that she is loyal and is willing to
 take her at face value. Desverger, however, still has doubts and airs them
 openly.  She despises him as he reminds her so much of what she used to be.
 Her memory of life before the service is almost non-existent and she isn't
 even sure whether Katrina is her real name. No documents can be found which
 can tell her for sure and of course all computer records show a blank.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 ADELE REANNON
 Born 2681, Jeuvo Cassandra

  Adele is from the Lacaille system. This alone makes her a target for UPBI
 interest.  What's more she was one of the foremost security experts in that
 system until the Lacaillian sponsors went back on the deal they had with
 her.The new security equipment she had designed was simply taken, along with
 all the blueprint disks. She had enough presence of mind to suspect that she
 would also be the subject of an assassination attempt, in order to prevent her
 knowledge being of use to anyone else.  In this, she proved right. She
 narrowly escaped and was then audacious enough to actually advertise her
 sevices to any mercenary team willing to take her on board. Rorian, fleeing
 from Tharagrene at that time, was only too happy to make her a full member.

  Her  home was Jeuvo Cassandra, a small rocky planet, halfway between a real
 planet and an asteroid. It had no atmosphere and all life there was contained
 in vast complexes - the only viable solution, Jeuvo cassandra did not have
 enough surface gravity to sustain a useful atmosphere even if one was
 introduced.  Because of the cost of maintaining the complexes, they mainly
 housed professional people engaged on research in various forms. Thus Adele
 has no real family, only a lot of friends who now think she is dead.

  She  is realistic enough to realise that revenge is a futile pursuit. She
 has no idea who could have ordered her assassination and the assassin himself
 is dead by her own hand. The security equipment was the culmination of her
 life's work so she has resigned herself to seeking out all the pleasures that
 life has to offer - anything else would be a waste of time and effort and
 would only bring hurt.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 MIYRIEL TORRE
 Born 2612, New Europe.

  Miyriel  led a very sheltered and otherwise uninteresting life for a long
 time.  When she was informed that she was wasting slowly away from a rare
 disease for which there was no cure, she immediately squandered the entire
 family fortune on getting a complete body replacement. Essentially she is now
 a cyborg.  Her brain is all that's left of the original but it remains as
 sharp as ever. Of course it was impossible to undergo such a change and keep
 a normal lifestyle.  Miyriel ran off with what remained of the money and
 invested it until she simply outlived everyone else she knew - a fact that
 pleased her greatly.  They never showed any support during her illness and
 seemed resigned to the fact that she was going to die.

  She  has an interest in interfacing with any new equipment she can find.
 Some would say she was a bit unstable. She is decidedly eccentric and often
 given to playing childish practical jokes. Now that Miyriel is agile and
 active once more she pretends to be a teenager. The new life she has been
 given her by the mechanical body is too precious to waste. She feels she has
 to be on the move and gets increasingly quirky when forced to remain still or
 when bored.  The robot chassis that comprises her body is designed for
 aesthetics rather than mechanical efficiency.  Even so it is considerably
 stronger than the human body. It has several smartgun adaptors so that in
 theory Miyriel could interface with any weapon that Cim could. In reality she
 would not touch anything so crude. To her mind a weapon should be stylish and
 compact - as should all machinery.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 BONDEN SPEY
 Born 2690, Starscape.

  Bonden  was born and brought up on one of the asteroidal colonies in the
 Inner Belt called, rather whimsically, Starscape.  Because it was such a
 closed society, mystical and religious thinking formed a large part of his
 childhood and shaped his attitude.  He takes things less than seriously,
 searching for adventure and high times without reckoning on the gritty nature
 of reality. He is often unable to appreciate the consequences of his actions
 and has the old fashioned belief that there is glory to be had in a noble
 cause. Noble causes are difficult to find.

  Bonden  is the only person in the team to have actually been on Graveyard
 before.  He essentially did this as a bet. His friends said he couldn't
 manage  without  equipment  or  resources  in addition to his natural
 resourcefulness.  He tried it because it was great fun to outwit the
 authorities.  It was an interesting experience and not at all what he
 expected.  He got caught up in the subtleties of the Duone religion. He
 retains sympathy for the Duone's willingness to pursue their own beliefs in
 the face of technology and is fascinated bythe fact that technology is an
 almost integral part of their religion. Out of all the group, he retains the
 most hope and optimism for the future.

 His home colony is preparing to turn the asteroid into an arkship to go in
 search of new systems. It is not quite ready and he is torn between returning
 for the journey or staying in the system. Either decision is irreversible. The
 colony will nwver be returning. The trip was made possible because the
 asteroid was granted independant status - chiefly because it was seen to be of
 no material value. Desverger has often unkindly suggested that Bonden be the
 front man because he is A). Naive and B).Expendable.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 KIURCHER
 Born 2663, Tesseract

 Kiurcher  was born in a miltary base on Tesseract where such a thing was
 frowned upon.  Since shipping him and his parents out of the bas would cost
 money and compromised security it was determined that he be raised to be
 uniquely skilled in a particular military trade. He wasn't much good at those
 trades but was gifted in mathematics and coupled with a business sense he was
 placed in charge of funding at the age of 16. By 18 he had embezzled huge
 amounts of cash and began his flight from job to job until his past caught up
 with him. Eventually he turned to full time crime.

  Kiurcher doesn't display any emotions and any that he does have are limited
 in intensity and restricted to the entire negative range. He does this
 intentionally in order to play his cards as close to his chest as he can
 manage.  Little is known of his past and he gives nothing away. This is
 perhaps fortunate, because if he told everything he knew, then a lot of people
 would find themselves in serious trouble of the kind that usually ends in a
 verdict of death by misadventure.

  He  has no regrets about his life and tries to indulge in excesses whenever
 possible. Since joining the team he has become more pensive and paranoid. He
 tries to find out as much about the next job as possible in order to assure
 himself that he won't be in any danger. Kiurcher is egocentric and wishes to
 follow up any possibility of extending his natural lifespan.

  The group are tolerant of him because he has an extensive working knowledge
 of business practices and an unrivalled number of contacts within numerous
 industries. He is financing some of the modifications of Dark Matter. No one
 has cared to ask where the funds are coming from.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 CIM-LITE (PIRATE COPY)
 Built 2710, Freewill

  CIM-Lite  comes under the designation Enhanced Survivability Unit. The
 CIM-Lite robots are more intelligent than the usual combat oriented military
 types.  This design is dictated by the primary and to the lesser extent,
 secondary mission profiles. The primary mission type is essentially the same
 as all other combat robots which is troop support. The main difference is
 that a CIM-Lite model may take command of up to 16 other robot types. This is
 not merely giving orders to the other robots which are then carried out. It
 connects to them via radio link so closely that they become extensions of the
 CIM-Lite; effectively they become extra limbs. 16 robots acting in unison are
 vastly more effective than 16 independent units. To exercise this direct
 control, it needs greater than normal intelligence. CIM-Lite posesses a
 personality as a consequence of the needs of a greater intelligence. Even so,
 it is a cold and calculating one with distinctly polarised morality.
 CIM-Lite's world has no shades of grey but only the black and white of the bad
 guys and the good guys.  Problems used to occur with this model where
 civilians were concerned.  The chassis is a lightweight one designed for
 agility and speed, sacrificing armour and firepower. Aesthetically, the model
 is designed on psychological principles to induce a degree of fear in the
 enemy.  Tactical ability is far higher and CIM-Lites have a high degree of
 autonomy in the absence of superior officers or orders.

  CIM-Lite  is the newest member of the team and is often called Newboy as a
 sort of a joke. Battle robots tend to be male because the brain is programmed
 to act male, ie with violence and aggression. He does not have an illustrious
 history with regard to the team. They simply saved up the money and bought
 him. The chassis is a copy, but the behavioural Roms are from an original.
=====================================================================================
-+------------------------------------------------------------------------+-
 | The LoOnS: Python   Wizz  The Guardian  PoB  Action Man  Chuck  T-Leaf |
-+------------------------------------------------------------------------+-
                                                          22/09/93
                              PROUDLY PRESENT
                                HIRED GUNS
                          THE LUYTEN SYSTEM MANUAL                               
                                  CONTENTS
                                  --------
                              THE LUYTEN SYSTEM

                                  GRAVEYARD
                                  TESSERACT
                             INNER ASTEROID BELT
                                  NEW EUROPE
                                   ORBITALS
                                   ANYSIJE
                                   FUYSIJE
                                   FREEWILL
                                   YALHOTH
                             OUTER ASTEROID BELT
                                     ZEUS
                                   TARANUS

                                 ENEMY FORCES

                                   LEAHDILE
                                     RAHL
                                   AHL-CIM
                                    HADRAL
                              TYPE 3 - SKELETON
                                   AMREK 5
                                ROBODYNE 7000

                               WEAPONS GLOSSARY

                              VEHICLES GLOSSARY

                              PSIONIC AMPLIFIERS

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

                       THE LUYTEN SYSTEM - A BACKGROUND
                       --------------------------------

  Luyten is an M7 class star unlike the Sun. It is 10.8 light years
 distant and only in the last few centuries did it become known as Luyten
 possessed a system of planets.  Stars that are not in binary pairs are
 comparitively rare.  Ones that possess planetary systems are rarer still.
 It was therefore inevitable that mankind spread out to encompass Luyten.
 Despite this achievement, only a few star systems have been colonised and
 all of them attempted (and succeeded) in becoming independent from Earth.
 This makes further colonisation from Earth very unlikely.
 
  The Luyten System is divided roughly into two sections; the inner planets
 and the outer planets, the boundary of which is between the orbit of New
 Europe and that of Yalhoth.  These are known as the Maxellamar Ring of
 Luyten for the inner section, and the Minellamar Ring of Luyten for all the
 rest.  It is possible that there are small undiscovered planets in far
 orbits.  The problem of what to name these, should they exist, has not been
 addressed.  The entire system was named largely on the whim of various
 captains whose exploration craft discovered these worlds in the first place.
 Rumour has it that Yalhoth was a transmission error for 'All hot here~! For
 comparison, the planetary system of the star Lacaille is known as the United
 System of Lacaille. The sun doesn't get a mention. It is simply called the
 Earth System or more frequently, the Home System.

  The Luyten system was colonised during a  revolution in mankind's
 thinking. There are only a dozen extra-solar colonies in existence. After
 centuries of effort , Earth could not see any benefit to itself and ceased
 its expansionist policies.

  Trade between systems was prohibitively expensive for raw materials that
 could be found elsewhere. The only profitable trade concerned goods such as
 food and wine that couldn'd possibly be manufactured locally. Even this was
 limited to specialities or delicacies that the rich were prepared to pay for
 and marketing disasters were frequent. Interplanetary trade is feasible
 only in special cases.
  
  Recently knowledge became an export by broadcasting  encrypted and
 protected information across interstellar distances in return for other
 knowledge.  So far, the scheme seems to be working. Other than this, Star
 Systems have become very isolated.


                 GRAVEYARD:
                 ----------

  Because of the highly inclined orbit and great distance from the sun,
 Graveyard has exceptionally complex weather systems. Initially it was just
 a moon of Yalhoth, but surface conditions were deemed right to begin a
 limited terraforming programme which went according to plan until the money
 ran out. This unfinished state contributes to the unstable atmosphere. The
 plan lasted long enough for the already largely oxygenated atmosphere to be
 boosted with the introduction of liquid water. This was done by slammingg
 asteroids into the surface which provided enough heat to melt the ice that
 was already present and it was kept up long enough to get the atmosphere to
 trap enough heat to keep things stable.  Animal and plant life was
 introduced prematurely and plans were aired to turn the planet into an
 agricultural world. These plans failed through lack of funding.

  Despite being so far from the  sun, a reasonable range of temperatures
 exist.  These are extremely varied over the entire planet and are rarely
 constant. However they do fall within a relatively small band of temperatures
 and allow the planet to be officially classified as temperate. This is due in
 part to the exceptional heat radiated by Yalhoth, a process which occurs
 because of a gradual shrinkage in diameter amounting to less than 5m a year.
 Because of its great mass, this alone provides the heat energy. The reason
 for the shrinkage has not been determined.

  While Yalhoth forms a beautiful and impressive sight in visible light, it
 is a brilliant object when seen in infra-red.  It occupies most of the
 observable sky when favourably positioned.  This alone would make it a
 wonderful tourist trap except for the grim fact that since the terraforming
 was never completed, there is limited radiation protection. The sun at that
 distance is no problem, but Graveyard orbits directly in the centre of
 Yalhoth's most powerful Van Allen radiation belt.

  The major export, in terms of size, is terraforming equipment in which
 Graveyard is something of an expert. Unfortunately the market is almost nil,
 it being cheaper to manufacture equipment on the planets of a target star
 rather than face the enormous cost of transporting it. Thesedays it is more
 common to rely on the selling of expertise. Graveyard maintains a small
 establishment for research into improving the terraforming technique which is
 ideal since Graveyard is essentially half complete and any way of completing
 the task at minimal cost would be greatly desired.

  The economy is bolstered by the selling of water. At first a strange
 notion, water in its pure form (hydrogen and oxygen) has an unpleasant taste.
 Water as we are used to from Earth and New Europe is "contaminated" with a
 great deal of minerals which gives water a taste - although we are so used to
 it that we call it tasteless. Water on Graveyard is "contaminated" with a
 very different set of minerals. Water from here actually has a very pleasant
 taste and people from all over the system are willing to buy it. Hence it
 forms the main export in terms of quantity.


                TESSERACT:  
                ----------

  Physically, Tesseract is the same size as Mercury in the home system. It
 is a rocky planet with a ring system that is only visible from Tesseract
 itself but is nevertheless a spectacular sight in the night sky. Tesseract is
 essentially Luyten's centre of industry and, by extension, the basis of
 Luyten's previous war effort. Since the economy would collapse if military
 construction was ceased. Tesseract still produces nearly 100% of the military
 space vessels in the system as well as transport vehicles. It is the most
 heavily defended place known to humanity.  Raw material is close by, as
 planetary distances go, in the form of the Inner Asteroid Belt. For this it
 has an extensive network of mass drivers and mining installations. It is
 probably fair to say that the Luyten System could not have been viably
 colonised without Tesseract and the Inner Belt. This fact is less impressive
 though after a thorough geological survey was carried out and Tesseract found
 to have extensive deposits of Rare Earth Elements. The colonisation would
 have been far quicker had this been known originally. It is a sobering
 thought to realise that Tesseract contains less than a half of one percent of
 the mass of the system, but almost 80% of the wealth.


               INNER ASTEROID BELT:
               --------------------

  The Inner Asteroid Belt was not formed in the same way as "normal" asteroid
 belts which are generally the remnants of an accretion disc that formed the
 entire system in the first place. The Belt is in fact the remains of a planet
 which exploded in that orbit some millions of years ago, possibly from a comet
 collision.  The result is that rare elements which tend to be in the core of
 planets are spread about the Belt and are easily accessed. Hence it is a very
 rich source of mining.

  Because an entire planet went into making the Belt, and the fact that it
 has a small orbit, it is comparatively densly packed with asteroids. Indeed,
 much of these asteroidal fragments are large enough to house colonies which
 tend to be mining support and mining colonies themselves.  One or two
 independent states exist, bringing the total colonies in the Inner Belt to the
 region of 34. The most notable of these are Little Earth, Starscape, Starmind
 and Progenitor.  The last is of especial interest as it is from Earth and is
 the original colony craft built from a hollowed-out asteroid some centuries
 ago.


                 NEW EUROPE:
                 -----------

  New Europe was the only planet in orbit around Luyten that had a breathable
 oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere and a liquid water ocean. It was slightly larger
 than Earth and in a closer orbit. When discovered, it did indeed have a
 carbon-based life form on it.  Unfortunately it was in the form of single
 celled creatures which were the largest living things in the system. A few
 voices were raised about the rights of this indigenous life but the need for
 real estate overrode any other considerations.  New Europe, originally
 catalogue number La64-2404 before the reformation, was ruthlessly sterilised
 before the introduction of Earth species. In effect the arrival of humans
 meant genocide.

  New Europe has been called a water world. Oceans cover 90% of the surface.
 Remarkably the other water worlds known, Bessel, Tharagrene and Earth point
 out the fact that for a water world, Earth is unusually dry. New Europe has
 two major landmasses, one in the Northern hemisphere and one in the South. It
 is the closest planet to ideal conditions and thus supports the largest
 population, even though this is increasing every year and fears of an Earth
 style overcrowding are being voiced, this is unlikely to become a problem for
 another fifty years. A secret plan was put forward to eliminate overcrowding
 by creating a nuclear "accident" when necessary, but fortunately this doesn't
 appear to be in favour at the current time.

  The Capital city of New Europe is Coriandis and is essentially the seat of
 Government for the whole star system.  Tesseract is making noises about
 independence which is causing some tension. It is expected that Tesseract
 will declare itself the new capital planet. While an interstellar war such as
 the previous one is difficult but not impossible to wage, an interplanetary
 one is all too easy.


                 ORBITALS:
                 ---------

 New Europe is famous for its Orbitals - gigantic  space station type
 structures whose purpose is simply for public residence - a comparative
 rarity.  New Europe has little land area and being so overcrowded, the
 orbitals were a good idea.  Strict population controls made the cocept
 workable.  Of the three largest, only Fuysije exists in a state close to the
 ideal.  Anysije has deteriorated to the status of a slum and Freewill - in an
 effort to avoid the same fate by reverting to a space station role sevicing
 spacecraft - has turned into a hotbed of organised crime. It is interesting
 to contrast the fates of the three orbitals. All other orbiting habitats are
 mere space stations by comparison.


                  ANYSIJE:
                  --------

  The  fate of Anysije was effectively sealed when  large numbers of
 undesireables were transferred from New Europe.  This was an attempt to
 relocate bad tenants to a place where they could be more effectively
 controlled.  At first it seemed like a good idea and the concept was extended
 to  include  potential subversives, then petty criminals.  UPBI agents
 frequently used Anysije as a real-life training ground where the potential
 consequences of mistakes are not as important as elsewhere.


                  FUYSIJE:
                  --------

  This was the last Orbital to be started. It was scaled down by around 50%
 to conserve raw materials which were beginning to rise in price rather
 severely due to the war effort in progress at the time. Because of the delay,
 Fuysije was able to incorporate newer technologies made possible by the
 accelerated research that a war always provokes. A late development was the
 use of designer styling in the interior and on some of the external features.
 As a result, the rich have taken over Fuysije.


                 FREEWILL:
                 ---------

  The model Orbital that all others were to be based on was Freewill as it
 was the first to be constructed. The others were started when Freewill was
 only halfway through the construction phase. This proved to be the first of
 many mistakes as the lessons learnt from Freewill during this time were not
 applied to the others. All were placed in a synchronous orbit which proved to
 be too far for an effective shuttle service. When Freewill became effectively
 self governing, plans were made to equip it with Fusion Drives to move it into
 a new orbit around Luyten itself.

  All planets up to this point form the Maxellamar Ring of Luyten, equivalent
 to the Inner Solar System or to a hemisphere on a planet. The rest of the
 planets outward of this point form the Minellamar Ring of Luyten.


                  YALHOTH:
                  --------

 Yalhoth is the major Jovian type planet in the sytem. It has an abundance
 of moons and moonlets, one of which is large enough to sustain an atmosphere.
 Yalhoth is unremarkable in most respects except to note that its Van Allen
 radiation belts are some of the most intense known. Graveyard orbits inside
 one of these belts. The temperature, despite being so far from the sun, is
 enough to sustain life, primarily from the heat radiated from Yalhoth itself
 in conjunction with the belts.  Graveyard is classed as a moon along with
 another half dozen or so which have robotic probes continually buzzing around
 since the early days of the system colonisation.


               OUTER ASTEROID BELT:
               --------------------

  The Outer Belt of asteroids was formed in what is believed to be a "normal"
 manner.  It is an extensive but thinly spread system of asteroids in a more
 highly inclined orbit than the rest of the system. Being further from the
 sun, solar energy is more of a problem and the asteroids are not as rich in
 elements as the Inner Belt. There are therefore considerably less colonies
 and outposts stationed in the belt - 5 at the last count - and most of the
 human population of the Outer Belt are to be found in System Ships stationed
 there. One interesting note is the spectacular conjunction of Yalhoth's moons
 which occurs every few years and brings man fee paying visitors to the belt.
 The best vantage point is in the Outer Belt. Burnham~s World, which forms
 part of the Outer Belt, has made a complete tourist industry from this simple
 astronomical fact.


                  ZEUS:
                  -----

  Zeus is a very large gas giant planet indeed. It is a brilliant green
 colour that is visible across most of the system and is often seen as New
 Europe's equivalent of the "Evening Star". It is so bright in the sky because
 it is highly reflective and because of its considerable size - which is
 greater even than Jupiter! From Graveyard, when in the right position, Zeus
 looks like a second sun, although greener.  Zeus' atmosphere is rich in
 Tritium, compared with the only other gas giant in the system, Yalhoth.
 Tritium is the basic ingredient for Fusion Drives and this makes the most
 worthwhile extraction site. The place is essentially public property but at
 least one company has tried to enforce mining rights. Few people would pay
 for something that can be had for nothing, but processed fuel is of higher
 quality.  Those who insist on this higher quality keep the processing
 companies in operation.

  Zeus marks the limit of the Luyten System as far as politics are concerned.
 Further out yet is the Oort cloud of comets but they are at such range they
 are effectively unexplored and largely ignored. One further planet is known
 to exist, although it is difficult to find even in the extensive New Europe
 databanks. It is called Taranus.


                  TARANUS:
                  --------

  Very few references exist. Why this should be so, it is not known. There
 are no chartered ships making regular voyages there. It is ignored by the
 military and almost no member of the public will list it along with the other
 planets of the system. What information can be gleaned from careful scrutiny
 of data reveals that Taranus is in a highly inclined orbit around Luyten,
 orbiting nearly over the poles of the star. This suggests that it is not
 native to the system but was captured by the star a long time in the past.
 Its orbit is not stable, although it won't decay for several million years.
 Taranus is Earth sized but no surface or atmospheric characteristics are
 known.  Amateur astronomers are unlikely to detect it, since they would
 naturally expect a new planet to lie on the same plane as the others. Of
 those who do know of Taranus, even less ascribe any significance to it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------


                 ENEMY FORCES
                 ------------

  THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION RELATES TO THE TIGERLIGHT RESEARCH FACILITY AND
 IS HIGHLY CLASSIFIED.  ONLY PERSONNEL WHO PSSESS aLPHA lEVEL CLEARANCE MAY
 STUDY THE CONTENTS OF THIS DOCUMENT. SHOULD YOU SEE THIS UNATTENDED, NOTIFY A
 SUPERIOR OFFICER IMMEDIATELY.  DATA HAS BEEN ABSTRACTED TO A DEGREE TO
 MINIMISE POTENTIAL SECURITY BREACHES.



                 LEAHDILE:
                 ---------

  The Leahdile is one of the later generations of genetically engineered
 creatures.  It directly benefited from the experience gained on the earlier
 works.  Initial work was performed on the Tigerlight IV orbiting facility.
 After a successful first prototype was demonstrated, the research was
 transferred to (Location Classified) for field testing.

  Base source for the genetic material is from a DNA structure constructed
 from supercomputer simulations as opposed to the modifications of the existing
 material.  While the capabilities of the Leahdile are far in advance of the
 others in its class, the development cost is an order of greater magnitude.
 Duplication, however, is of normal cost. Current recommendations are to use
 the Leahdile where quality and effectiveness are of the utmost importance.
 The computer software for simulation is still in the early stages,


                  RAHL:
                  -----

  The Rahl was a departure from normal development goals. All creatures up
 to this point were sterile and each individual had to be grown seperately.
 The cost problems are obvious. Allowing a creature to reproduce at will was
 deemed to be unacceptably risky, considering their purpose.

  A solution was found that allowed reproduction for 4 generations before
 sterile offspring were produced.  In this way, deployment of a pair of
 creatures would enable the growth of a population of approx. 1,100 before
 extinction occured.  This provides sufficient time for them to eliminate
 hostile forces.

  No rigid skeletal structure was employed in order to leave no trace after
 the creature's death where it decays quickly into its unremarkable organic
 components.


                  AHL-CIM:
                  --------

  The Ahl-Cim is a hybrid of some of the DNA rresearches, combined with a
 robotic frame to facilitate deployment in diverse environments. These include
 ocean to a depth of 3Km and Low orbit. Whilst it is understood that specific
 designs for each of these environments would be more efficient, projected
 reports suggested that it would not be cost effective. The Ahl-Cim was an
 attempt to address this issue by providing a multipurpose creature with more
 flexibility than a robot. Typical applications envisaged are security patrols
 of sensitive sites and light escort duties.

  The Ahl-Cim can fold up into a compact shape and can be equipped with (Item
 Classified) or equivalent for missions. A major advantage that an Ahl-Cim has
 over a completely organic creature is its ability to be stored until needed.
 Others must be grown when the need arises and this can slow response time for
 deployment.


                  HADRAL:
                  -------

  The basis for the Hadral is human sourced  genetic material that is
 modified, but not grown. Tailor made adaptable genetic material is introduced
 into a human subject who then mutates according to the design parameters of
 the material. When the change is complete, the subject may be introduced into
 a hostile environment.

  The advantage of creatures generated in this  way is that they are
 untraceable.  That is to say that in isolation such a case may simply look
 like a normal mutation.  No suspicion will then follow. Initial genetic
 sources have been taken from (Location Classified) which is sufficiently
 isolated for the purposes of Project Tigerlight.  The above sources are
 diverse enough to allow for previously unsuspected discoveries. Progress has
 increased markedly since this policy was adopted.



               TYPE 3 - SKELETON:
               ------------------

  The type 3 is not intended for mass production. Psychological studies have
 indicated the effectiveness of weapons of terror when used on the battlefield,
 Robots have already been designed to exploit this fact but nothing has so far
 been attempted which has terror-inducement as its primary goal. The type 3 is
 not as highly classified as other projects and similar work is known to be in
 progress on Tesseract.

  The current version is essentially a technology demonstrator (Type 3-100)
 but if funding is approved and the additional improvements anticipated from
 mainstream robotics development become available, then type 3-200 will be
 ordered for entry into service early in 2717. Field trials of the type 3-100
 and the resulting type 3-101 began in 2709 and have continued to the present
 date.


                  AMREK-5:
                  --------

  One of the support items in securing a hostile area or defending an already
 secure area is the Amrek 5 Gunpost. Essentially this is a proven gun platform
 married to a specially developed sensor and hardwired artificial intelligence
 system.  (For low cost.) Some models can discriminate between hostile and
 friendly forces.

 Installation has been made as simple as possible. From taking the Amrek out
 of the case to initial firing tests is 42 seconds in typical cases. No
 external connections are required excepting a possible belt ammo feed.
 Digital radio links are available to interface with CR404 equipped controlling
 robots or command teams.  The classified part of the Amrek 5 is the sensor
 system which detects and reacts to pheremone and gas traces. In effect it has
 a sense of smell on the order of 2,000 time better than human.


                ROBODYNE 7000:
                --------------

  The Robodyne 7000 is an effective  guard system for use in dangerous
 environments where more intelligent robots are too valuable to risk. The
 brain is simplified to a great extent but no compromise has been made on the
 weapons systems.

  The design of the 7000 series has deliberately been moved away from the
 humanoid shape.  This is a consequence of the larger size and thus more
 efficient use of materials, where superfluous components such as arms are not
 required.  Particularly valuable capabilities include the fastest land speed
 over rough terrain of any non wheeled robot in the past 50 years. Fatigue
 life of the robotic chassis is excellent, adding to the anticipated long
 service of the 7000 series.  A commercial variant is to be made available
 shortly as the Robodyne 6800.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                WEAPONS GLOSSARY
                ----------------

   A SHORT BRIEFING ON SOME WEAPONS KNOWN TO BE IN USE ON GRAVEYARD.
 


                ROCKET LAUNCHER:
               Ammunition; Rocket.

  North-European Inc.  have a vast range of rocket launchers based around the
 proven Litefire system.  With the end of the war, most systems have become
 available on the black market.  Litefire systems have become the default
 standard chiefly because of the wide range of compatible rounds available. In
 a famous incident of the war, a Litefire 2300 actually brought down a Medium
 Troopship on its final approach to a battleground. The launcher itself is
 re-useable  and is shoulder mounted. Badly made rounds, however, can damage
 the launcher beyond repair and sometimes the user as well.



               MOUNTED MACHINE GUN:
              Ammunition, .44 Calibre.

  This was the favoured weapon of the so called Last Liners, referring to a
 riot squad who were the Last Line of defence. Their appearance in a trouble
 spot meant things were very bad indeed.These guns are durable, all-weather,
 and can be mounted on any of the major 70mm hardpoint standards found on a
 range of vehicles. The design is licensed to sa number of manufacturers and
 can therefore be found in almost any civilised location. Increasingly these
 days, they are appearing as a man-portable weapon.



               NEUTRON FLUX CANNON:
           Ammunition, 1 Kjoule charge or more.

  The Neutron Flux Cannon, to give it its full title, has no model number.
 It is the only type commercially available and only to organisations who can
 prove a real need for one. It is therefore only known as the Neutron Cannon
 which is a misnomer.  Other Neutron Flux weapons exist, but only on large
 vehicles where the greater size enables a correspondingly greater efficiency.
 Radiation protection should be worn by the user, especially when heavy combat
 is anticipated.  The built in shielding becomes radiation saturated after a
 while and should be replaced at two yearly intervals. The advantage of
 accelerating neutral particles to high velocity means that magnetic shielding
 is ineffective against it.



            HYDROGEN FLUORINE HAND LASER:
           Ammunition, 1 Kjoule charge or more.

  Hand lasers do not get the respect  they sometimes deserve. They are
 usually underpowered and their capabilities misunderstood.  There are a
 substantial number of substances that a laser is not effective against. This
 has often led to the death of a combatant who thought he was in control of a
 situation.  Used properly, however, such a weapon can be very effective, for
 example against soft targets such as unprotected people (or the Killer
 Marshmallows from the planet Apyhoors Mahey ? sorry I got bored!) Such cases
 are always fatal. Lasers are always the favourite weapon of assassins since
 there is no equivalent of a ballistic matching of bullet and no chemical
 residue that can give them away afterward. Balancing the advantages, of
 course, is the extremely high price tag.



               PARTICLE BEAM RIFLE:
             Ammunition, 1Kjoule or more.

  Whilst a charged stream of particles can be effective in killing people,
 they cause comparatively little damage to surrounding material. Their main
 effect is to disrupt the electrical functioning of the body. Only at power
 levels found in spacecraft will a particle beam cause physical damage.
 Because of the nature of the beam - electrons - it is particularly effective
 against robots, computers and certain types of machinery. The downside is
 that a magnetic field will distort the beam drastically and a shaped magnetic
 field will shield the target completely. The effective range is comparatively
 short compared with hand guns of a similar mass.



                 OXY6 FLAMER:
         Ammunition, 100cc or more of Oxy6 refill.

  For massive ground clearances, there is nothing quite like a flamethrower,
 more commonly known as a flamer. Oxy6 is a registered trademark and refers to
 the fuel that the flamer is designed to use. The fuel is more advanced than
 the gun that uses it and is under constant enhancement. A refill, thrown into
 a fire makes a good explosive. Flamers are, however, risky in their use. An
 incorrectly adjusted nozzle could lead the flame back into the chamber,
 causing the weapon to explode. Range is very limited. Some models have a
 destruct timer that ignites the fuel after a delay. Others can make use of
 almost any liquid fuel.  The flamer is also available in a smaller Junior
 version, favoured by street gangs.



                IMPERIAL AUTO:
              Ammunition, 9mm Calibre.

  The word Imperial refers to the manufacturer based on New Europe and not to
 the so called Imperial Army who were created as a public relations exercise
 and since disbanded. Imperial Arms Ltd. were created simply to design a gun
 and this was their sole result. No expense was spared in the design phase and
 this has resulted in reputedly the best sidearm ever conceived. They are
 available so cheaply from licensed manufacturers as well as Imperial Arms Ltd.
 that it's never been copied or improved. Production is so vast that the
 expense of retooling the entire production line for another weapon effectively
 precludes the appearance of any other model.



                SUPER COVERT:
              Ammunition, 9mm Calibre.

  Chiefly used in covert operations, hence the  name, the model 4 has a
 silencer built in as standard with reduced muzzle flash, digital targeting
 system  and  laser target designator.  Other standard features include
 exceptional durability and reliability.  A low muzzle velocity reduces the
 potential damage but keeps the sound and light emissions down. The designator
 can be keyed into external equipment via its control data bus. This means
 that it can be fired from a command from another piece of equipment.
 Anti-terrorist operationw can use numerous guns, up to a maximum of 16. The
 controlling equipment waits for each of them to signal that a target has been
 acquired.  When all of them have target aquisition simultaneously the
 controller fires them, resulting in up to 16 terrorists being hit within a 15
 millisecond period, giving them no chance to react. (17 terrorists? Kaboom!)



                 SILENT AUTO:
              Ammunition, 9mm Calibre.

  The Small arms 6 Silent Auto has an unenviable reputation of being a
 disposable gun.  This myth arose when the initial batch proved so unreliable
 that they were useless after a single magazine had been fired. The fault was
 corrected in quick measure but the myth persisted.  An insult gained
 popularity at the time where someone useless at a task was called Small Armed.
 The gun itself is mass produced and is a solid and genuinely reliable product
 if not a very exciting one. It is available in a variety of designer colours
 as part of a promotion.


                M73 AUTO GUN:
              Ammunition, .44 Calibre.

  The M73 is widely known for its man-portable firepower. With a single pull
 of the trigger, an entire ten rounds leave the barrel (under some settings)
 before the recoil of the first has been felt. Even this is gyroscopically
 damped down.  This makes it very accurate with an exceptionally high hit
 probability. The downside is that it is all too easy to waste ammo if the aim
 is less than perfect. A typical setting is therefore the three round burst
 and of course as large a clip as possible.



               MOUNTED MINI GUN:
              Ammunition, .44 Calibre.

  Mini-Guns are almost never found outside of vehicle manufacturing planets
 except in the field.  The general exception to this rule is when Mini-Guns
 have been mounted on a combat robot. This practice has been frowned upon
 since the wargame exercise went wrong after the central controlling computer
 was hit by lightning and the robot squad wiped out an entire city before they
 were stopped.  Mini-Guns are almost never used against soft targets, being
 most useful against light-armoured vehicles.



                SNIPER RIFLE:
              Ammunition, 9mm Calibre.

  This is more a class of weapon than a single model. Sniper Rifles tend to
 be custom made to individual specifications and very few are mass produced.
 Why this is so, no-one can say, but the result is that there are almost as
 many designs of rifle as the rifles themselves. The only common element is
 that of the ammunition type used, although variations are even found with
 this.  A typical custom job will take three weeks from ordering to delivery.
 The rifles are exceptionally long ranged and have found favour with sportsmen.



               TUNGSTEN BORE RIFLE:
            Ammunition, 18 bore cartridge.

  This was the original product that established the Tungsten Bore Company as
 a major player in the arms supply business. It seemed that the company was
 more famous for illegally supplying arms to rebels - in order to gain money to
 establish itself more properly - than for the products themselves. That is
 why anyone carrying a rifle such as the one above will be met with sideways
 glances and strange stares. The gun itself is above average, but their PR was
 always awful.



                  SHOTGUN:
            Ammunition, 18 bore cartridge.

  Also known as the Scattergun, the Shotgun is a weapon used for a variety of
 blood sports as well as riot control.  It is short ranged, though very
 effective.  An increasing number of shotguns are available in modular form;
 the prospective customer simply decides what barrel ( and how many) to attach
 to the other components. In this way a sort of custom weapon can be had for
 less money than a fully customised one.



               SMITH & WESSON 29:
              Ammunition, 9mm Calibre.

  Smith and Wesson replicas are very common. A genuine S&W imported from
 Earth is very expensive and is used mainly as a status symbol. The 29,
 however is certainly a weapon to be proud of. Its performance is flawless and
 it is this that distinguishes it from lackluster copies. To say that it is
 hand crafted would not be entirely correct, but a greater care goes into
 individual guns than is possible with automated milling processes. Since the
 loss of contact with Earth, trade has also ceased, making the 29 rarer still.



                UPBI ISSUE 38:
              Ammunition, .38 Calibre.

  The 38 is standard issue for UPBI agents, sourced  from an unnamed
 manufacturer that is rumoured to be on Tesseract.  Many a high powered
 criminal has found his or her career ended staring down the barrel of a 38.
 Covert operations reputedly have a memory-effect polymer version of the 38
 which enables it to change to another shape when immersed in boiling water.
 These are immune from standard spaceport detectors that operate on density
 rather than metal content will register the presence of the 38. As yet they
 are still rare.



                BLASTER 52-C:
           Ammunition, 1 Kjoule charge or more.

  The model number refers to the wavelength of light that the human body
 readily absorbs.  Delivered in extremely short burstss, the effect is to
 explode organic tissue, making the Blaster an efective, although disgusting
 weapon.  Ironically most people claim this is an uncivilised and barbaric
 weapon, yet the reputation it has gained serves almost as a deterrent. It is
 the preferred weapon on spacecraft because the beam won't puncture hulls or
 damage important machinery. It has featured in contemporary pulp fiction to
 the point of being a cliche, especially the scenes where the antagonist fires
 into a glass of water that the hero is holding , causing it to vapourise and
 explode, thus making a point.


                SONIC STUNNER:
           Ammunition. 1 Kjoule charge or more.

  The stunner range of handheld weapons are the ultimate peaceful sidearms.
 The simpler models disrupt neurological functioning to render a target
 unconscious, whilst more advanced models have variable settings. Some are
 pocket sized, others are shoulder mounted. The greatest of these can pacify
 an  entire crowd.  Stunners are freely available and without license,
 contributing to their enormous presence in some cities.


                 DATABANK:

  Data Banks are fully self-contained information stores, cross referenced
 with hypermedia links.  The data is updated by subscription wideband radio
 broadcasts  where available.  Total storage is around 1,024 GBytes of
 holographic non-volatile memory containing text, pictures, audio and other
 data.  Pirate versions are available (Hurrah!) These bypass the encryption
 necessary to receive free updates. The subscription update is charged yearly
 to specified accounts.


             DTS - DIGITAL TERRAIN SCAN:

  The Guild VII is the latest in the line of navigation aids for travellers.
 Several methods of locating position are available. Stored map, satellite
 positioning and - on the Guild VII Plus inertial location. Because of the
 complexity of some of the more advanced systems, each model is tailored for a
 specific planet and is useless anywhere else in the system. The proposed
 Guild Ultra will be able to locate positions anywhere within 100 light years
 by recording stars spectral data and comparing with known stars! Of course
 since the volume of explored space is nowhere near this amount, the feature is
 merely an expensive gimmick.


                 MEDISTAT:

  Medical status is a very important factor when adventuring. Medistats are
 full health indicators - heart/lung - with a limited diagnosis capability
 depending on the model. They are deliberately made as simple to operate as
 possible, considering that untrained personnel may have to use them at a
 moment's notice.  It's worth remembering that while they can tell you what's
 wrong, they can't do anything about it. Attachments can be purchased to
 filter air samples for pollutants and contaminants to avoid medical problems
 in the first place.


                  PSI-AMP:
  Unknown item ID.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

               VEHICLES' GLOSSARY.
               -------------------


        CORPORATE III CLASS SYSTEM SHIP (HEAVY CRUISER):

  The System Ship Platinum Heart is an ex-military vessel of the Corporate
 III class as used in the war, when most vessels of that type were constructed.
 It is essentially a military upgrade of a civilian vessel, the dies and
 presses being shifted over from commercial production in 2664, the early days
 of the War. The large canopy was intended to make the ship appear visually to
 be a single or two-seater and thus less deadly than it really was. Modern
 sensors of course, have made this notion less than ideal, although the
 strategy paid off on at least two occasions. In both cases the enemy craft
 had sensors jammed and had to rely on visual information. The exposed fuel
 tanks on the dorsal and ventral fins were originally intended to facilitate
 fast turnaround at cargo cetres but proved to be especially vulnerable in the
 military version.  Too few funds were available to rectify the problem. The
 type was withdrawn from active service in 2672 and replaced by the Corporate
 IV Class, a completely new design rather than an upgrade. Remaining vessels
 were either decomissioned for commercial use or picked up cheaply by other
 organisations.

  The Platinum Heart is not one of the original conversions, but a full
 specified military vessel.  When it was withdrawn, it disappeared from
 official records and reappeared two years later in the hands of a commercial
 organisation, presumably with the weapons layout still intact. Performance is
 marginally better than most vessels of this size. It has two docking bays,
 extensive cargo decks and the potential to connect to a Stellar Booster.
 These devices are essentially Bussard Ramjets and the System Ship acts as a
 command module, although it is dwarfed by the size of the Booster itself.
 When connected, it can make interstellar journeys at great expense.


             DAL-ROGRA 323-400 DROPSHIP:


  The vessel category of Dropship is a very loose one in that there is
 nothing particular that makes a vessel a Dropship.  Cruisers and Heavy
 Cruisers, for example, are defined by tonnage but the various types of vessel
 that have been called Dropship is truly astounding. Almost anything that can
 make a hot re-entry can lay claim to the title and few, if any, are designed
 specially for the role. There are subtle differences between this category
 and OSV's (Orbit to Surface Vehicles) that even experts disagree on. There is
 a growing tide of opinion that a Dropship is anything that can be used in a
 covert operation.

  The Dal-Rogra 323-400 would seem to support the above assertion. In the
 military category - if the manufacturer's specifications are to be taken
 literally - it would seem that the overriding criteria is to have an extensive
 avionic suite and the latest in sensors. This is to provide deep, undetected
 penetration into hostile airspace, making it a Dropship. However, the tonnage
 and engine rating would suggest that the 323-400 be called an OSV, intended
 for limited heavy cargo to and from close orbit. Without the added burden of
 a large cargo, performance increases dramatically. To further illustrate the
 confusion surrounding the categories, other high volume, low mass cargos such
 as tritium fuel are typically transported to and from orbit by OSVs.
 Dal-Rogra themselves are reticent about the matter, preferring to state that
 their products are better specified than those of their rivals. certainly the
 323-300 saw extensive use over the closing years of the War and the 323-400 is
 a logical next step.  Improvements include the incorporation of passive
 stealth ERADAS (Emitted Radiation Absorption, Deflection and Scattering),
 Jamming Pods and active stealth EREP (Expected Return Elimination Processor).
 This relies on a secondary effect of some radar installations that allows the
 Dropship to substitute its own radar return echoes for the original ones,
 editing out the Dropship in the process. The technology is still experimental
 and this is the first use on a production vessel.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

               PSIONIC AMPLIFIERS
               ------------------


  My name is Jared Rhine.  I have been attempting to examine the devices
 known as Psi-Amps, one of which I have in my possession. The term Psionic
 Amplifier is not strictly correct. They may operate on such a principle as
 described by the term but this is by no means proven and there are numerous
 compelling theories.

  Psi-Amps, or my preferred term 'Invokers', require information to tell the
 device how to produce the desired affect. This leads to a third term for
 them, 'Effectors'.  The information is stored on what seems to be a type of
 Datacard, although the exact method of storage remains unknown.

  The origin of the devices is  shrouded in mystery and all attempts to
 examine the workings of an actual device have only succeeded in making the
 Psi-Amp self-destruct - even, remarkably, by using passive scanners. The
 rarity of the devices has ensured that examination attempts have simply
 stopped.

  One Psi-Amp was reportedly found buried in a hillside on Graveyard. The
 implications are disturbing.  If true, this means that the devices pre-date
 humanity in this Star System.

  I have not attempted to use any form of scanning device whatsoever, except
 my own natural senses and recording techniques using visible light, which the
 device seems not to object to. That in itself was a calculated risk. Other
 scanning methods such as NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) and PET (Positron
 Emission Tomography) are too dangerous to be used.

  It is extremely fortunate that the datacards themselves are amenable to
 scanning and although this provides no real insights, it does mean that it is
 possible to produce more of them. Occasionally, however, the Psi-Amp is a
 complete unit with built-in cards.

 The information is contained in a recogniseable binary array but the actual
 contents of the memory, though known, are beyond analysis. It would seem that
 this is deliberately encrypted.  I am certain that I have only begun to
 scratch the surface of its potential uses.



                  FLOAT:

  The caster will float slowly downwards. This seems to work by increasing
 the caster's drag coefficient to a high degree and not by the anti-gravity
 method that I expected. Air resistance, then, becomes so great that it acts
 in the same way as a parachute, although vastly more advanced.

  This method allows it to operate in the artificial gravity generated by the
 rotation of a Space Station. (A genuine method of reacting against a gravity
 field would have nothing to react against in a Space Station, whose gravity is
 nothing more than centrifugal force.) Although I have not tested this in
 depth, the implication is that this would not work in a vacuum.



                 STRENGTH:

  This has the incredible property of doubling or even tripling the caster's
 physique.  How this is accomplished I have no idea. When I first researched
 this I felt no effect until I tried to open the door and ripped it off its
 support. The effect lasted a full 4 minutes.

  At the time, the Invoked Natural Power theory was uppermost in my mind.
 Heedful of this, I surmised that my adrenaline flow had been greatly increased
 along with metabolic functions, reinforced in some way by the device. Panic
 set in when I realised that permanent genetic damage may have resulted.
 Subsequent medical diagnosis revealed nothing out of the ordinary. It is as
 if the device is built to resist attempts to discern the methods of its
 working.  (Does it somehow select a minute as being a convenient human time
 interval?) It is most perplexing.



                 FARSIGHT:

  The device creates a hologram when used by itself. Interpreting this is
 tricky at first.  When invoked in close proximity to a DTS system, a
 remarkable thing happens.  The device seems to interface with the DTS and
 supplies it with data beyond its normal range. My guess is that it does this
 because a user will be more familiar with a DTS display than an alien format.

  The practical upshot of this is that the DTS will show features in the
 landscape that are not visible from the user's location. It seems to work
 despite prevailing atmospheric conditions such as fog or rain. This rules out
 some infra-red methods.  Again I find out how something is achieved but not
 why it is possible.


                 FIREBALL:

  I quickly learnt to test this Invoker outdoors after discovering the
 Datacard.  A fireball was created and thrown forward, doing incredible damage
 to my workshop. Apparently this is just one of a number of variations of the
 fireball effect. The fireball itself was a sphere of ionised gas. In essence
 it was a ball of fire as opposed to an actual plasma such as a more
 conventional weapon might fire. The temperature fell within normal ranges for
 a fire but there were no indications as to how the fireball was generated.
 Again I can only speculate.


                  GILLS:

  Sometimes the Datacards contain mathematical symbols. At first I had hoped
 they contained some hint as to the functioning of the device. Alas it was
 merely a language form - deliberately easy to translate - that told what the
 card made the device do. Perhaps these types of cards have a different origin
 than others found? This one, if it was to be believed, allowed one to breathe
 underwater a span equalling four minutes. It does this by surrounding the
 Caster's head with a forcefield that keeps water out and air inside - but only
 enough, as I said, for four minutes.

  It would seem reasonable to assume that a larger force field would hold
 more air but there is no means I have been able to find to accomplish this.
 Any larger of course and movement becomes unweildy. It is truly a strange
 sensation.


                 TELEPORT:

  I have not been able to discover a way to control the destination location.
 The devices manipulates matter in such a way as to swap volumes of space. The
 space originally occupied by my body was replaced by the volume of matter from
 my destination.  This avoids the potential problem of materialising inside a
 solid object.  The destination is random but always within a certain radius.
 In a way this shows that the power of the device is not unlimited. A truly
 unlimited device would place a person exactly where they wished.


                  MIRACLE:

  After much deliberation, I have decided to name this effect Miracle. There
 is no objective basis for this but one thing is certain - a random casting is
 made, completely without control of the user. It does not seem to be a flaw
 in the design but an intentional function. In this way I have discovered many
 previously unknown Psi effects.  The end result often does seem truly
 miraculous.


                  SHIFT:
  The Shift effect had me fooled as to its function initially. When
 activated, nothing seemed to happen aside from a brief burst of light. In
 fact the unit was attempting to move me forward. The path in front of me was
 blocked so the attempt failed. When I used the device with a clear space I
 was shifted forward until my path eventually became blocked. During this time
 I even negotiated gaps.  It works on line of sight and does not follow the
 contours of the land.

  The effect is similar to the teleport. The difference is that it is a
 number of discrete ports which require less energy.  I assume with a
 completely clear path it would go on indefinitely. Does it take into account
 the curve of the horizon, I wonder? On open sea, for example, would I find
 myself heading out of the atmosphere?  Someone else can try that in a
 spacesuit. An experiment for the future perhaps.


                 PART WAVES:

  The symbol for water molecule is unmistakeable, so it was obvious that this
 effect had something to do with water.  The assumption was borne out by
 testing it on a low scale in my back yard. It had an immediate effect on my
 pond.  A straight-edged section had been bodily removed from the water,
 allowing safe passage through the gap. This seems to have been achieved by a
 wedge-shaped force field being lowered over the body of water, parting it. It
 only works however to a limited depth.


                 TRANSMUTE:

  This is without a doubt the most impressive of the functions I have
 discovered so far. When activated, any object immediately to the left of it
 is transmuted into something at random.  Most often the result will be
 foodstuff of some description.  I have performed extensive tests on the
 created items and they seem to be normal in every respect. The effort needed
 to create this effect, or to duplicate it by conventional means, defies
 belief.  All factors, the energy, the molecular desription of the object, the
 tailoring of the resultant object to something suited for human use all point
 to the fact that humans did in fact create Psi-Amps originally. But no-one
 human could have access to this level of technology.


                  REPAIR:

  Useful.  Very useful. This function alone would be worth billions in the
 commercial sectors.  Although many of the functions of the Psi-Amp are
 esoteric and applicable only in a few specialised cases, a generic repair
 facility has implications for almost every aspect of life. Every piece of
 equipment I owned was in perfect operating condition after I used the repair
 function.  In order to do this, it would have to have detailed knowledge of
 the equipment under repair.  How it manages to affect the repair, I do not
 know.  Neither have I determined the radius beyond which it is no longer
 effective.


             CREATE WALL & BANISH WALL:

  These are two complementary functions. The first, as may be expected from
 the name I have given it, creates a wall directly in front of the Caster. The
 creative possibilities would be endless if this could be more finely
 controlled.  It would seem, however, that the only walls that can be removed
 are the same walls that were created in the first place. I have not been able
 to get it to remove (and thus demolish) anything else. I suppose a fireball
 would be more effective for that.

  There are numerous effects that I have not yet got around to investigating.
 It may take me the rest of my life and I am unlikely to find the answers I am
 seeking. In the meantime, however, the Psi-Amp is a practical fact. It would
 be foolish to have such abilities and not make use of them. Perhaps there are
 more such effects waiting to be found. I can only hope.