Mirror Cycle

                            By:

                         Fox Cutter

    Chapter 9

I tried to feign sleep, but was only mildly successful at
it. I was nervous, my paw was fiddling with the gun in my
pocket, and my feet were starting to itch.

Curling up in a ball, I scratched at them, digging out rocks
from between the folds in my pads. I grimaced, working with
one claw to get a particularly deep piece out. I was
surprised that I hadn't cut my feet open on my run back.

There was also a layer of dirt in my fur. I would have to
try and not let Cain see it, lest he guess what I had just
been up to.

Stretching back out, I curled my toes up, slipping my claws
out as I did so. Pulling the sheets tighter to me, I let out
a soft sigh. It was then that I finally heard the door to
the room slide open.

I tried to force myself to relax, but my tail flicked gently
against my legs, flipping the covers. I needed to work on my
control of that-- it gave too much away in this form.

The door cycled open, then closed, and soon after I felt a
weight settle onto the bed next to me. Nothing was said for
a moment, then Cain let out a long sigh, as he placed his
hand gently on my hip.

"So sweet," he said in a soft voice, shifting his weight
against me. "Sometimes I hate this job." He patted my hip
lightly, before sliding back from me. There was a shift of
the sheets, and I felt a hand reach in to tug on my tail
tip.

"Time to wake up Ms. Cutter. Your husband has arrived to
rescue you." He pulled on my tail gently.

I shifted slightly, tugging my tail away from him as I
pulled the covers back a bit. I didn't give any more signs
that I was awake yet.

He tugged at my tail again, a hand rocking my hip at the
same time. "Come now, Oriana, it's time to greet your
husband."

I let out a soft 'mew' as I pulled the covers back far
enough so I could peek over the edge. "It's you," I said
with a weak sigh, faking a yawn.

For just a moments, there was a look of worry on his face,
mixed with a look of great despair. It was almost enough to
stir pity in me. A few seconds later it was gone, as was any
emotion for him other than anger.

"I apologize for waking you," he said, slipping back away
from me. "Your rescue has arrived. It is imperative for you
to be there when we start negotiations. I feel it will get
your husband's attention."

I pulled the covers down over my head, and gave him a sharp
look. "And if I don't cooperate with you?" I asked.

He shook his head. "I would not like to force your paw, my
dear. I do hope you're clothed under those sheets, because I
have no intention of turning my back on you as you dress.
Your modesty is not worth my safety."

With a yank, I pulled the covers down over my legs. Pushing
myself into a sitting position, I brushed some hair from my
eyes. "You've forced my hand as it is. I can't believe that
you wouldn't continue to do so."

He laughed, standing up and walking a few paces away from
me. "I don't much care, right now. I have other things to
deal with, such as bringing your husband here so I can deal
with him."

I swung my legs off of the bed, letting the sheets hang over
them and pool at my feet, hiding them for the moment. "Why?"

He laughed, "Always with the questions. Why do you feel that
you deserve an explanation? I'm quite content to keep things
to myself."

"Because I know Fox," I countered, "and therefore I know
you. We have time; I'm sure you want to tell me what you
think is going on."

He laughed again, harder this time. "I am not Fox! Once you
understand that, things will go along much better than they
already are. Do you understand?"

I pulled myself to my feet, adjusting my top slightly. "I do
understand. I just don't like you."

He shrugged, "That's no concern of mine. Come with me to the
Command Center, I'd rather keep you under security than
worry about you making a dumb move."

"No dumb moves until we get to the Command Center, got it!"
I snapped.

He shook his head. Motioning me to walk ahead of him. "So
flippant, I had expected more of you than cheap jokes."

I chuckled as I walked to the door, coming to a stop once I
was there, my back to him. He came up behind me, placing one
hand on my shoulder as he punched in the code to the door.
"Don't bother memorizing it," he said with a slight smirk in
his voice, "It will only work for me."

"I wouldn't dream of it," I answered as the door slid open.
"How is that done anyway? Fingerprint comparison on the
control pad, or is it a DNA sample?"

He chuckled, pressing me forward. "Imaging of the subject's
body heat and blood flow. Not as accurate as a DNA scan, but
much faster."

I smiled as we walked, his hand was not going to leave my
shoulder. "See, I told you that you could boast."

He snorted, but I could tell that he did appreciate the
comment. His grip on my shoulder relaxed slightly as we
turned a corner, passing a few more raccoon morphs, and one
human. Only the human seemed to notice me, the rest kept
their eyes forward.

"You said that you put the proper information into your
men's mind' Also, the lady assassin that you sent after me
had her ability to talk removed from her mind. Do you remake
your people?"

He chuckled, pressing my to walk a bit faster. "I do not
wish my agents to talk, or to ever know or tell more than
they should. I have a mind ripper on staff, as well as an
expert in mind reconstruction. I don't hire my field agents,
I create them."

I huffed, "Out of your enemies I suppose? Or those that
betray you?"

"Hardly anything so retaliatory," he told me, once more
guiding me around a corner. "They are already dead, or
seconds from it. I just... borrow the bodies." The way he
said 'borrow' made me think there was a bit of distaste
there as well.

"You're not exactly what I expected for my husband's
double," I told him as we came to a stop in front of a steel
door.

He reached past me and punched a button on the control
panel. The door hissed open, splitting into six sections
that slid back into the wall. "I am hardly his double," he
told me, pushing me into the room.

It was busier than it had been on camera. Two dozen people
were running around, huddled over computer terminals and
display screens.

"As you can see," Cain said as he led me into the center of
the room, turning me to face a large screen carved into the
rock wall, "We are well prepared for your husband's
arrival."

"So I see," I answered as dryly as I could.

A small raccoon stepped forward. "Sir," she said, slipping
into the language everyone had been using, "We have a
matched carrier signal with the lead ship. We're ready to
talk to them any time you are."

Cain turned to face me. "It's time to make your
presentation," he said to me, speaking in Prid Standard.
Flicking his head back around he addressed the lady in front
of him. "Open the channel, video on Oriana only."

The command was relayed, down to three others, who went to
work. In a few seconds, there was a hum, and the screen went
live. I saw my face staring back at me. It was Ravindar in
the Matrix unit, of course. This part of my plan was working
perfectly.

"We have your wife, and have foiled your attempt to trap
me." Cain spoke, giving my false self no time to react. "If
you wish to retrieve her you shall do exactly as I say."

Ravindar feigned a good look of shock, but didn't say
anything.

"Perhaps you should say something, Oriana," Cain told me,
squeezing my shoulder tightly. "Convince them that we know
about this little trap you tried to arrange."

I turned my head back to look at him, smiling slightly, then
turned back to the screen. There was no way I was going to
tell them to attack or stay still... at least not like that.
We had come up with a quick arrangement of words to keep
things between us.

I knew Ravindar, even if wearing my face, was not in my
place. He was most likely sitting in the mess hall of _The
Falcon_, and I also suspected that, against my wishes,
Oriana was sitting just out of view.

Turning back to the screen, I smiled wider and slipped into
English. "Set course," I said my ears twitching in a laugh,
"Red route one."

The screen went blank, and the control room erupted with
conversation. It was moving fast enough that my translator
couldn't make it out, until one human came up to us.
"They've armed their weapons, and have moved into a wider
formation. They show no signs of immediate attack."

Cain gripped my shoulder hard enough that it made me yelp.
Twisting me back around he glared at me. "What the hell did
you say to them?" he barked out.

I was surprised, he should have not only understood what I
had said, but the reference as well. I was feeling slightly
disappointed here.

He pulled me closer, glaring at me. "Well?" he ordered.

"To arm weapons and hold position," I answered, omitting the
'and wait for a sign to attack' part. I felt he didn't need
to know that, since the signal was already set up. "I think
that was obvious?"

He shook his head and grabbedme even harder, pulling me
along as he went to another door. He jabbed the open button
hard, and shoved me through.

I found myself in a small office, a desk, two chairs, a
bookshelf and a computer. I smashed against the desk, and
slid to the floor.

He followed me in, shutting the door behind himself. "I
wanted you to be nice about this! I don't wish to hurt you."

I snorted. "You underestimate me," I told him as I stood up.

He walked forward, grabbing my shoulder and punching me as
in the side as hard as he could. I felt a snap and a jolt of
pain. A cracked rib for sure.

"That is just a start," he told me, stepping back, his hand
still in a fist. "You will get back on the line, and tell
your husband that if he doesn't surrender himself to me, I
will kill you."

I let out a short laugh as I slipped my paw inside my shirt.
Wrapping my fingers around the gem, I pulled it back out,
resting my paw against my chest. "Then you will kill him?"

He chuckled. "Killing him is not the intent of my plans. Now
will you tell him this, or do I have to hurt you more, Ms.
Cutter?"

I smiled at him, widening my eyes a bit. "There's just one
problem."

He looked surprised, blinking slightly and tilting his head.
"What's that?"

I leaned forward, looking him right in his eye as best that
I could. "You're talking to the wrong Cutter."

He tilted his head the other direction, his eyes getting
wider as he looked into mine, perhaps the color of my eyes
finally registering with him. "Fox!" he hissed, in both
surprise and anger.

I gave him a wide smile, then jumped at him, at the same
time sending my command to the gem. I crashed into him as a
full lioness, forcing him to the floor under me.

He retaliated instantly, hitting me in the windpipe with the
side of his hand, then kicking his feet up under my belly,
plowing them into my lungs. As I tried to recover, he hit my
neck again, snapping my jaw shut. Throwing his other arm
back he yanked my paw away and was suddenly all over me,
rolling me over so he was on top of me.

I roared at him, and he smacked me in the face. Somehow he
had me pinned down in such a way that I couldn't do more
than thrash my tail at his back.

He laughed, grabbed the gem from around my neck, and yanking
it away. "I knew about this body of yours, Fox," he snapped.
"Do you think I wasn't prepared for it?" He laughed,
smacking my face again. "This jewel must be the key to your
shifting. Now that I have it you're in my possession, so I
suggest you do exactly as I say."

I snapped at him with my jaws, roaring again, shifting
around under him. I tried to work a paw loose, or to do
something other than be pinned there.

Cain smirked, leaning down close to my face. "This makes my
plan much easier, I can now deal with you just as I please,
without worrying about having to fetch you. Now, you need to
shift back, and order your ships to stand down. I don't need
them getting in my way when I leave. Are we clear on that?"

I snarled at him, snapping my jaws at his face.

He shook his head. "Wrong answer!" Pulling his fist back, he
smashed it down against my face. Following that everything
went black.

* * *

When I came to, I found myself on a very hard, and very cold
floor. Slitting open one eye, I looked to see what I could
see. Grey stone made up all of the floor and the wall that I
could see.

Opening both eyes fully, I raised my head. I was facing a
blank stone wall. There was a soft tapping, coming from my
left. It grew stronger with each passing moment.

Lifting myself up onto all fours, I turned to look for the
source of the tapping. I found it on the next wall. A large
white door was carved into it, with a small window in the
center, a set of brightly light controls were placed just to
one side of the doorway.

Craning my head, I looked towards the far wall, to find an
identical door, with blackness outside the window. I was in
an airlock.

Returning my attention back to the tapping, I saw a hand in
the window. Tilting my head, and flicking my ears, I took a
few steps forward.

"Your stone is on the ground in front of the door," Cain
said, his voice muffled as it came through the intercom
system. "Return to your morphic form."

I did as ordered, walking forward I scooped the gem up in my
paws, then shifted myself back to morphic. Adjusting my
clothing, I stood up and returned the gem to my pocket.
Stepping forward, I looked through the window in the door.

Cain was staring back at me, an ugly look on his face.

"Well you have me now, so what the hell do you want?" I
demanded.

He laughed, "What I've always wanted," he answered. I was
glad to see that the intercom was still active. I didn't
want to be talking to inch thick glass.

"I suppose you wanted me awake before you killed me, right?"
I asked him, my arms folded over my chest as I glared back
through the glass.

He chuckled, tapping his fingers against the glass. "Not
yet, there are other things to do before your death. I have
my plans. No, no, no-- you see, you have four ships out
there, waiting to attack, which puts a crimp in my plans. I
want you to order them to stand down, or I will kill you."

I shook my head. "What would killing me gain you, if you
wish to do that already? I can just refuse to help. If you
have other things for me, I would have called your bluff.
You can't kill me."

"You're correct," he said with a nod of his head. "But try
to call this bluff-- fourteen dash one twenty seven, g."

I took in a long breath-- that was Oria's world! That fold
was right next to Rose's House! Damn it to all hell! This
was not good, not at all good.

He smiled. "So you see, your death may be inevitable, but
you can save the others you care about. Will you call off
your ships?"

I turned my back to him, walking to the other door. I stood,
looking out the glass and into space. We were facing away
from the planet, and the only things I could see were
unfamiliar stars.

Shaking my head, I placed my paw on the door, looking at the
controls closely. This was not an emergency airlock, it was
the standard system. Well, it was time to pull out my secret
weapon.

Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the remote detonator.
I quickly armed each of the circuits. Even if only two were
used, I wasn't sure which ones they were. Then I adjusted it
in my paw, hiding it from plain sight.

I spun back around on my heel, smiling to Cain as I took a
step closer to the door. "Just one question," I asked,
holding my paw out to one side.

He tilted his head again, the smile on his face fading just
a bit.

I decided to go for cliche; it felt appropriate. "Is it cold
in here?" I asked, opening the kill switch on the detonator,
in the process showing it to Cain. His jaw dropped, his eyes
opening up wide. "Or is it just me?" As I finished the line,
I hit the switch.

The explosion echoed throughout the whole base, throwing me
to the side as everything shifted. For a moment the gravity
system twisted around, and the wall became the floor before
the gravity gave out entirely. It left about a third of
normal gravity pulling me back towards the floor. The lights
flashed out for a few moments, being replaced by softer,
blue lights.

I threw the detonator away, and walked towards the door,
though it felt more like I was swimming rather than walking.
Cain was gone, and I could see smoke drifting along the
hallway, billowing and twisting along the ceiling in
strange, almost supernatural ways.

The controls for the door were dark. With the power and
computer down, only the emergency airlocks would be working.
Which saved me for the moment, but left me trapped.

"There's your sign," I muttered to myself, falling to my
knees, wincing as I twisted my hurt ribs in the process. I
removed my pocket knife, opening it and using the edge to
dig into a panel near the floor.

All airlocks have a manual control; no one ever builds any
without them. The standard place is down low, under the
automatic controls. I was hoping the access panel that was
there would be covering them. If I was wrong, there were a
few other panels I could try. It had to be under one of
them.

With a snap, the panel came free, floating down to the floor
in the low gravity. I was right. inside were the manual
controls including a hand crank, and some pressure sensors.
What struck me as strange was a thick round housing placed
near the crank point. There was a single switch on the side,
in a bright yellow color, that stood out against the gray of
the rest of the controls.

There were no instructions on the inside of the panel, so I
had to take a guess as to how things worked. The round
housing looked like it was connected to the crank point,
Perhaps it was something to give you more power as you
opened the door.

The yellow switch had two positions. I assumed one was for
opening the door, and one for closing it. Taking a guess
(these thing were always made so they couldn't be
accidentally broken, so I had no fear about what I was
doing), I flipped the switch into the other position.

With a whoosh and a spinning sound, the door slammed into
the wall, opening hard enough to cause it to bounce as it
came to a stop. I laughed-- a spring release, so you could
open it fast. An interesting design.

I stepped into the hallway, pulling the gun from my pocket,
and insuring it was ready for use. I didn't want to be
surprised just yet.

Pushing through the smoke, I headed up the hallway, moving
as carefully as I could. That only lasted a minute before
the base started shaking again, accompanied by the tell-tale
signs of weapons fire outside. My ships were attacking.

I continued around a corner, running into a small group of
men hunkered down over an access in the hallway. I didn't
have much of a choice in going around them, so I slipped
behind them, moving as quietly as possible them, while they
focused on their work. None of them noticed me as I moved
past and turned down the next corridor I found.

It wasn't a corridor, though-- it was a set of steps. They
looked like they went up and down the length of the base. I
only got down one flight before my passage was stopped by a
massive door that blocked my way. Blowing the airlock had
put a large part of the base in a vacuum.

I moved back up the steps, going up one flight, then a
second, then a third, which was four times as long as the
others, before I finally could go no higher. Up here I could
hear the sounds of weapons being fired. The gunnery deck, I
presumed.

I quickly glanced into the hallway, finding it empty. I
stepped inside of the hall, walking down its short length.
There were a dozen guns, all automated, each one shooting
like crazy.

It appeared that all the controls ran to a single box at the
end of the hallway. Prying it open, I found myself faced
with a dozen circuit boards, and a mound of wiring that went
down into the floor. Quickly I cut everything I could,
shutting down one gun at a time, until the only sound I
heard was the impact of my ship's weapons on the base.

I went back down the flight of steps, to the level below.
This time I found myself in a longer hall that stretched in
a curve. One side was lined with doors every fifty feet, the
other was blank.

Checking from one to another, I found escape pods behind
each. All had been disabled. "There goes an easy escape," I
muttered to myself.

I went back to the stairs, going down one more flight, to
the level above the one where I started. This had a short
hallway, with a few doors in it. All were open, with the
exception of one at the end of the hall. It was closed and
sealed.

I walked down the hallway, checking each room. I found a
medical bay, recently used, a weapons locker, empty, a
meeting room, and a single large room with a large chamber,
locked behind a set of air lock style double steel doors,
there was nothing I could see inside. I suspected it might
be the fold, but I couldn't feel anything inside it.

Then I was at the closed door. Tapping the control panel a
bit, I tried to get it to open, but with no luck. I had no
idea what was behind it, but I was starting to worry.

It was then I heard someone coming back up the steps. I
dashed into the conference room as fast as I could in the
low gravity, ducking behind the door just as I heard voices
behind me.

"We should have the guns back in ten minutes," a voice said
as they moved down the hallway.

"We'll be boarded in seven," Cain answered, his voice moving
closer. "Order an evacuation; everyone who survived should
get out while they can. If you see the lioness, shoot to
kill. I'm tired of playing with her."

There was a pause as they passed the doorway. "What will you
be doing, sir?" a second voice asked.

"I plan to blow the base up in five minutes. Activate the
escape pods, keep a double armed guard on all accesses, we
don't need her going out that way."

"Understood sir, good luck," there was a moment as the door
hissed opened, then closed again.

I shook my head, holding the gun tighter in my paws, my
finger resting on the trigger, and pulling it back slightly.
I waited there for a few moments, listening as a warning
sounded throughout the base to report to the evacuation
level.

After a minute had passed, I stepped back out into the
hallway, unsure of what to do. I had to get out of this base
before I got blown up with it, and there was not a lot of
time to do it in.

"So what are you going to do?" I heard Cain ask from behind
me.

I spun around, gun aimed at him, the trigger half down. If I
flinched the wrong way I was going to fire at him.

He just smiled at me, leaning against the large steel door.
"In a few more moments the base will be evacuated. Only and
I will be left."

"So you're going to die with me?" I asked with a snort.

He laughed, "I have no intention of dying today." As he
spoke the words, he walked forward, keeping his hands up,
and moving along the wall.

"I can kill you right now," I told him.

He smirked. "What, and risk blowing yourself up? I don't
think so." He kept moving and I kept tracking him, but did
not fire. Finally he slipped into the room with the set of
double doors.

"What do you think you're doing?" I asked, following close
behind him.

He glanced over his shoulder at me, smirking. There was a
ding, and the lights grew brighter. "There we go, all pods
launched. Now it's now just the two of us in here." He
started to type at the console in front of him.

I stepped around to the side, my gun still at his head.
"What are you doing?"

He shook his head. "I'm not going to tell you. You're just
going to have to shoot me!" He said the last part with a
smirk

So I shot him.

   To Be Continued...

-----

This story is copyright 2000 by Fox Cutter, hardcopy
reprints limited to one per person, all other rights
reserved. This story may not be distributed for a fee except
by permission of the author, and this copyright notice may
not be removed.