ONE

CONFRONTING RAIDERS


Island of Columbia, artificial-quasinatural construct of the Century of Technological Miracles, a great floating super island where Washington DC had been rebuilt after the old Washington DC was destroyed during the short lived insanity of World War Three. But to look at it was just a great big sweeping island from the mountainous Jagged Highlands of the north to the marshlands of the south, Point Lookout, from the forest clad western coast to the grasslands of the eastern coast. In the centre was the great low tabletop mountain and on that was the new Washington DC with the transparent dome that rose over it.

Bobby stood half hidden close to the huge base of the Weeping Woman, the mighty self repairing smart-concrete statue known also as the Statue or Lady of Remorse. Carefully marked into the surface of her were the three and a half billion plus names of the people who had perished during World War Three and symbols for the many unnamed ones who had perished.

If THEY had not come from space, then it could have been worse. THEY demanded a price but THEY saved the world, at least at first.

Bobby was dressed in a set of typical DC/Highlander gear being metal armour, a backpack of strong canvas, boots, a good webbelt, with a powerful semiautomatic .308 calibre rifle over one shoulder. It was a Gerand, a World War Two vintage type weapon found now quite commonly in the Highlands though they were outnumbered by bolt-action and lever-action rifles of the same calibre. But Bobby-Bob was no typical DC Highlander. He was a Clanhunter disguised and he was out hunter-seeking prey. Raiders had been stupid enough to come northwards from the ruins of a city and they would pay the price. No, not WDC itself inside its dome but what had been a smaller, though still big, undomed city called New Richmond. The original Richmond was destroyed during World War Three.

There! He saw the movement of three men and a woman in bizarre raider armour moving clumsily through the semiwilderness. They were trying to be stealthy but they were noisy, smelly and otherwise drawing attention to themselves. They wore dulled patterns of ganger colours and carried an odd assortment of guns. The woman exposed one briast. It was her left briast to show she was bonded to just one raider man, at least for now. Bizarre really how even raiders tended to be attractive and youthful thanks to the transmutated 'nature' of all humans. A few non raider men had fantasies about 'doing it' to raider women but Bobby knew the truth and could not be bothered.

He moved with a flicker of motion and was soon slipping through the greenery. Then he did something that seemed foolhardy. He stepped out into the open in front of the three fools coming up a wide dirt track made by large moving herbivores. The way he just seemed to appear out of nowhere caused them to halt abruptly. The three of them were wise enough to do nothing. Bobby spoke then in heavily accented English of the DC Highlands. "Gangers of New Richmond should not be stupid enough to trespass into the Highlands. We have enough trouble up here with our own bandits, not to mention those damned ravers and reavers. I say turn back."

To his surprise the woman spoke because normally raider women were not in a gang to speak out but to be used. "We would love to but a much larger raider force is chasing us up here. We hate it up here. We want back to New Richmond down in the hilly lands. We give you useful info on them raiders and you help us circle back around them to start fleeing home. Sound good to you?"

But Bobby just grinned. "Very good story but DC/Highlanders are no fools. Your colours are of the FayBlades and so are those of the big raider party down there. There are only the four of you but still, there is only one of me. You could simply kill me, it seems, and that would be that."

The woman looked suspicious and went to speak but then a big man stepped forward. "Enough of your words, Nance; it is time for action, to put a bullet in this Highlander fool." Then the raider raised his gun but even before he could aim it properly Nance raised her .32 revolver-pistol and shot the raider man. The man folded up and hit the ground with a look of surprise on his face.

Then Nance spoke. "I didn't mean that group, damned you, which has raider families in it but the one behind it, a much bigger one with only male mercenaries. They aren't gangers but are raider mercs who follow Warlord HanLo. We wish an agreement!"

Bobby smiled. "Turn east and keep going towards the big grey jagged mound which is the remains of a once great tower. Then head north-east until you come to what looks like a ruined castle. You may halt there. People will be watching, my people, the Clanhunters. The Elders will discuss matters with you but Clanhunters will track your every move. Supplies will be traded or gifted as the Elders see fit. Be thankful that the Highlands needs people and we can use you raiders to help us against the ravers and the reavers. You may be sorry that you fled north. Do you always go around shooting your men?"

Nance shrugged. "He was a traitor. He was being paid off by HanLo to spy on us. We will return to our people."

The three surviving raiders looted the body and heaved what was left down a gully where nature would take care of it. Then they hurried off with Bobby watching them do so. Then he vanished with a flicker of motion. In moments he was with other Clanhunters, also disguised as normal Highlanders, and two big mountain hounds running quietly and smoothly through the wilderness. They slowed then and split into two teams to follow the raiders. Nance kept to the plan and she, along with her people, ended up in the big old ruined castle. It really was a castle of sorts for a wealthy family once had it built for them as a kind of fortified castle mansion which was far more hitech than its medieval looks would suggest. Its smart-materials and microbots had kept it largely in repair.

TO BE CONTINUED

TWO

THE PUZZLE OF WARLORD HANLO

The Warlord HanLo was an arrogant menace who would pay for his stupidity or so many said. His army was made up of brutal, experienced raider mercenaries who had come to the Island of Columbia across the waters from the mainland of the old United States of America.

A pair of big old tramp-freighters had brought them from the Citystate of Costina on the eastern coast and had dropped the army off on the beaches close to the fortified settlement of Happenstal. After promising only fair trading, the army had treacherously invaded and levelled the settlement, killing all but young women taken as slaves for obvious reasons. Since then the army had been attacked in hit and run style by a whole range of factions be they raiders, settlers, nomads, beastfolk or ghouls or zhouls or others. Nobody trusted them and everybody wanted them gone from their area. HanLo could have passed peacefully through most of the island to get to his target but his early treachery had meant a long and difficult journey.

What did HanLo want? He wanted information and where did he expect to get that information? From a list of individuals living on the great floating island of Columbia. It made no sense to the various powers of Columbia be it the Justice Network or the Union of Columbia or the Semiautonomous Alliance of Settlements or DCTek or the Crosswayne Commonwealth or the DC/Highland Clansfolk or any others. Messages went back and forth even between enemies who normally only spoke to each other with bullets. From Megaton built in a crater above an ICBM silo-bunker to Rivet City the floating settlement to DCTektown to the Deep Subways to Paradise Falls and others, data was traded.

Genetics was the trick, was the answer! Buried into the very genetics of certain people were bits of hidden data that they would inherit from their parents. The data was secrets, was ultratech, was priceless to some, was dangerous and Nance had the data genes along with others in her raider gang. Now they were prizes and they knew it, were on the run.

From the castle battlements Bobby watched the distant army of war-machines moving along winding dirt tracks slowly and carefully. Mines and booby-traps, ambushes and sniping had slowed down the enemy to a crawl. There were Juggernaut atomic motorised multiple turreted battletanks of two sizes, big and powerful but clumsy in such terrain. There were battlebuggies with light armour and rollcages like monstrous dunebuggies. There were battletrucks and armacars. There were sentrybots moving ahead of the convoy along with explosives and mine detecting robots. There were eyebots moving all around the convoy.

Bobby was wearing proper Clanhunter stealth power armour now with the stealth field deactivated and the visor open. He was holding a big 12.7mm semiautomatic snipergun loaded with old fashion cased half inch bullets.

Cased bullets were more easily made than caseless slimshot ones but CSS bullets were more effective for their size. CSS bullets also worked better with special high-tech guns. The Clansfolk manufactured ammunition as did others. Also like others they kept their manufacturing capacities a secret.

Clanguards in power armour were moving around the castle battlements, were putting into place weapons like Heavy Browning Machineguns, ADAT missile launchers, 40mm autoguns, 20mm autoguns, howitzer rocket launchers and three 105mm howitzers recovered from a private collection of working historical weapons. The idea was not to destroy the enemy but to slow them to a halt, to bog them down in the area until reinforcements could arrive. The walls of the hitech castle were immensely thick and strong plus were self-repairing.

Clanhunters knew that Warlord HanLo was far from being a fool. He must have had a plan in place to come so close to the Highlands in such a way that could easily lead him into be bogged down and cut off.

Intelligence agents had gone seeking answers, informants had been contacted and also loyalists to the Clanking found scattered through out the Highland Clans. Answers had come in terms of suspected planned treason by various fringe clans, late comers to the DC/Highlands who had never quite fit in. But Bobby was convinced that there was more to the story.

Guns fired from hidden emplacements. Shells soared through the air and exploded amongst the approaching army like blasts of brown smoke. An armatruck exploded violently.

Only problem was the attackers outnumbered the defenders by more than ten to one. This was a seeming mystery in its own right because many of the soldiers had been killed as the army made its way from the coast and roughly north/north/east towards the DC/Highlands. Yet the general numbers had not diminished according to those who constantly followed and spied on the slowly, steadily moving army.

Answers had to be found and as soon as possible.

TO BE CONTINUED

THREE

WARLORD HANLO'S SURPRISE

Warlord HanLo revealed one of his secret weapon when the back of an armatruck opened up and the big energy weapon unleashed a pulsebeam at the castle battlements. The energy spat out in one blazing flicker and a large section of very thick castle wall, along with five Clanguards and some heavy weapons all vapourised. They were gone in a moment. It was a disintegrator cannon.

Realising too late that they had done just what the warlord had expected they would do, the Clanfolk began firing at the super weapon only to find that it was protected by some kind of portable force field. The metallic projectile they hurled at the force field sometimes got through but many deflected away and others exploded away from the target.

Again and again the disintegrator cannon fired, vaporising holes in the great wall and killing Clanguards. Then it lowered and blew three great holes at the base of the hitech castle, wiping out the heavily armoured main gates in one go.

Bobby aimed his 12.7mm snipergun and focused his hidden side, his powers, as secretly as he could. Was it instinct that guided him or something else? He did not know and at that moment he did not care. He aimed at one particular odd spot of the exotic looking disintegrator cannon and he fired just one large calibre bullet. The bullet glowed oddly as it streaked out of the gun.

The disintegrator cannon exploded dramatically. Raider mercs were hurled in all directions and another armatruck, probably the power source for the disintegrator cannon, also erupted.

But now the enemy revealed a second weapon and this was a stranger device with three great glowing lens-barrels focusing inwards together onto one distant point. It fired a big pulse of energy through the hole where the main gate had once been and where the pulse flashed there appeared four soldiers just inside the castle main courtyard. Again and again the strange device beamed more soldiers into the castle and the Clanguards were in confusion.

Bobby went to aim his heavy snipergun at the new device but then somebody, a traitor in his own ranks, shot him from behind. He died! An hour later and Warlord HanLo had taken complete control of the castle mansion and the resources left behind by retreating Clanfolk. He did not capture Nance or her people.

TO BE CONTINUED

FOUR

FIGHTING MORLOKS AND SAVING CLANSFOLK

Three days later Bobby awoke to the sound of echoing thunder, the thunder of guns firing inside the cave system. He found himself naked and with out weapons or other equipment but even as he stood his old fail/safe, the one he did not truly understand, came to his rescue. With a soft sparkling shimmer he became dressed in Clansfolk gear of metal armour and was armed now with big revolver-pistols holstered at his side plus a lever-action rifle of the common .308 calibre of the DC Highlands. He also had other knives plus other weapons.

He ran through the bare barren caves, they were oddly regular as many Columbian Islands caves were, and then he saw them. Four Clansfolk warriors cornered but fighting well in a cul-de-sac where they were behind boulders. The area was dimly lit by the quasiliving glowcrystal that lit and warmed much of the so called Columbian Underworld.

Pale white haired ape things, morloks, attacked with berserker rage and speed, hating the light but quite able to use other senses, such as enhanced hearing, to compensate. Morloks were equipped with a mixture of basic guns and shortswords, battlehammers and compact but powerful crossbows. Morloks made their own stuff and when they could they stole better stuff. They were naked except for webbing of leather belts dotted with pouches and other items.

Morloks turned and charged in battle frenzy at Bobby. He raised his rifle with amazing speed and efficiency, pumped the lever and fired. The first of the powerful, long fang equipped creatures fell, already dead, and it hit the rock hard ground with a crash. Soon other the other did the same.

But then the Morloks froze and all turned to look at Bobby almost as one. Then they turned and fled, taking up with them the two dead morloks. Bobby let them go because this was the edge of Morlok Territories. He knew where he was because he always knew where he was.

The Clansfolk came out from behind the boulders and they looked upon Bobby warily. They were young advlts, strangers of the big Way'Clan O'Haradasa and had in them both Scottish and Irish bloodlines. In leather armour and carrying .308 bolt-actions rifles, they came forth towards him.

Bobby smiled. "Please relax. It is only me, Bobby!"

They stared at him in wonder and then all four bowed quickly in respect. A young man stepped forward. "You were killed at the false castle, were you not, Lord Bobby, Walker of Destinies?"

"Just 'Bobby' will do!" Bobby smiled. "Yes, I was by a traitor in the ranks but I know his identity now and he will have to answer to me. You have others hidden there back behind the boulders. Children and some dogs."

So it was that the others were brought out being five children and four big packdogs bred and trained to carry packs but in other ways. Bobby was soon taking foodbars out of a pouch that seemed far too small to hold so many of them, and handing them out to both children and warriors. To each warrior he gave a dozen spare foodbars and a dozen stripper/clips of .308 bullets to be used with their Clansway manufactured bolt-action rifles.

Warlord HanLo had taken the hitech false castle and as Bobby had feared Clansfolk had risen treacherously against their own but it had been no fringe folk. Three fairly powerful Traderclans had done so, hiring armies of renegade Clansfolk as mercenaries but with them had appeared another Outlander army led by the Warlord Faylar, a very cunning and tough woman. Taken by surprise, the Clanguard garrisons and other forces had been driven back and the still loyal Clans were divided from each other. But not all had gone well for the traitors or invaders. Many Clansfolk of the traitor Traderclans had not known of the planned treason against the Clanlords, against the Clansway Government and the Clansking and Clansqueen; most of these had turned against their own treacherous leaderships and were waging guerrilla warfare against their mercenary armies.

Bobby doubted that this was an actual invasion. The Clansfolk greatly outnumbered the attackers and traitors combined. No, he suspected that they were after something and knowing that there were too many powerful and dark secrets hidden inside the vast floating island, he was troubled.

Carrying both a sleepy girl and boy infant who rested their heads on his shoulders, he followed two warriors while the other two warriors came at the tail of the group. The packdogs came up to him now and then to give him an adoring look and to lick him, their tails wagging crazily.

TO BE CONTINUED

FIVE

WELCOME TO GOLD RIGHT RA'DI

The underground Clanlot settlement of Gold Right Ra'Di was typical of such places. It fronted as buildings and other structures carved from a rocky cavern wall onto a great big glowcrystal cavern or suncavern. The high cavern ceiling was partly covered with the suncrystal like flat tentacles and beneath it floated a filtering mist. It was Omninetwork created, as was the whole floating island. Omninetwork was of the Age of Technological Miracles and was gone and largely forgotten or so it was believed by most.

The wall of carved out structures was quite wide with many platforms, balconies, rampways, walkways, statues, roadways, columns and other features. Homes, workshops, workshoptories, shops, a temple and other places had battlement balconies. The settlement had over two hundred thousand people, which was a fairly small one by Clanlot standards. It had a garrison of one thousand plus Clanguards but they were mostly local irregulars.

As for the great glowcavern it was a patchwork of farm crops, orchards, workyards, cattle pens often with two headed brahmins, garage-workshops, depots, some houses, entrance ways down to underground levels, areas of semiwilderness greenery and other features. It was well organised and most of it was given over to farming or semiwilderness for air quality. Underground chambers, and even glowcaverns of glowcrystal, were the place of more settlement places be they shops, homes, workshops, factories, depots or other.

Bobby was made most welcome by these people who were fearful of what was happening with the invaders and traitors. They also spoke of sudden increased difficulties with savage beastfolk like morloks and goblins. They had found that so many of their warriors were tied up in dealing with the beastfolk threat that they could not send any reinforcements against the main enemy. Bobby doubted that this was an accident but he suspected that the Warlords were not in control of the over all situation.

That Bobby had saved the group of warrior guarded children fleeing from a trouble spot, had people cheering him and clapping him on the back. He ended up sitting on a very large tavern balcony, sitting at a big table with the Clanlot Lord and Lady along with the elected Mayor and the Clanguard Garrison Captain.

Bobby was pointing to a large map spread out on the table as he finished eating a small buttered spicebread roll. Then he spoke. "I will need to get to here, at Grash'Ka'Gorga of the Morloka. There I will speak with the Morlok High King and the High Priestess and show them how sensible it would be for them to both stop attacking the Clansfolk and to give some compensation. I will go alone. At least I will take no Clansfolk."

A big ginger cat leapt onto his lap and purring madly, she rubbed her head against his chin. He hugged the feline to himself. Normally the cat would have been unceremoniously kicked out of the area but nobody tried such with Bobby there.

Bobby went on talking. "From then on I will need to go north-upwards to Clancastle McBlooddane. Clanlords will be gathering there to coordinate the war to be waged against the enemy."

Lady Darisha spoke then. "We have a riverboat that can take you as far as New/Edinburgh but the trip will be a long one."

Bobby bowed his head briefly. "I thank you lady but I have in mind to travel by the Waygates."

The response was grave for all knew that the Waygates could be dangerous to use. Each one was carefully guarded and many were kept secret. Wayguardians and Wayguards protected them. The Wayguardians were specialists and the Wayguards were elite soldiers equal to the very best of the Clanguard elite forces or even the Clanhunters. Travel was dangerous mostly to living travellers but could be dangerous also to the world if other things came through the Waygate. There was always the danger, also, of going to the wrong destination Waygate.

Lady Darisha nodded. "There is a Waygate just a kilometre from here, as you most likely know. When would you like to set out?"

Bobby sighed. "I need sleep, more food, a bath and to carry out the Pledge of Continuation with three willing, fertile, healthy and fit women. When this is done I will be able to then carry out the other side of the Pledge."

The Lord and Lady both bowed their heads in acceptance. Their settlement had never had such an honour given to them before. Relatively few settlements did. Volunteers amongst the young women would be many though not all would do so, of course. The Clansfolk were gaining the genetically inherited powers of Bobby, reduced but still potent, and Bobby was continuing his people, the fate of which he would not speak of.

Bobby did his best to be an attentive and responsive lover, was famed for it simply because he was amazingly well experienced in such matters, but in truth did not need such things in his life. The Need of Continuation was what drove him.

They talked on and he learned about local affairs of the settlement and areas attached to the Clanlot as its dependent territories and smaller 'outpost' settlements. He would made plans to go to one of the outpost settlements to visit some of his progeny there. He knew all of his children, grandchildren and so on, by name and knew of them, visiting them as often as he could. But he also had other kinds of special links with them.

TO BE CONTINUED

SIX

DOING THE NECESSARY AND MINDEYE SEEKING

Bobby staid in a warm brown rock chamber dug out of rock and furnished in a Clansfolk style with furs and heavy wooden pieces. He made love to three young women after having a bigger meal by himself and reading various government and other intelligence briefings and reports. He drank plenty of water. The three women left pleased to know he would keep in contact with them and carry baskets of small, valuable gifts including leather purses of Clanpay gold and silver coins. Then he had shower bath in which he bathed while two shower-heads rained on him before sleeping many hours in the large comfortable bed. He was in a well protected chamber with twelve Clanguards on sentry duty but he put into place his own protection and detection tricks anyway.

As he slept he dreamed normally both REM and non-REM dreams but then he had a mindeye experience in which his awareness moved out from himself and flowed through out the settlement of Gold Right Ra'Di. The settlement had been founded because of the discovery of a big node of golden biometal but mining was suspended for a few years while the node regenerated with some Clansfolk assistance.

He kept out of private places, tried to honour people's personal space, but was driven by the need for survival. So it was that in a small farm on the other side of the great big suncavern from the settlement proper, he found two prime enemies. These were highly trained, much experienced members of the Shadowclan. They were well disguised as a nice young farming couple who had moved into the farm a couple of years ago after the previous owner, an old man, had suddenly died of a heart attack. The small house was semi-underground being one level above and two below but the secondary basemant chamber was new since the new couple had arrived.

In the big chamber was a small armoury in lockers, a workbench, some basic furniture and fittings along with a small Shadowclan alter against one wall. Symbols written in dried blood, sprayed with a coating of preservative substance, were all over the wall up behind the alter. It was the usual Shadowclan pseudo/scientific, distorted reality of Shadowclan teachings and rhetoric promising immortality, power, wealth and special mystical abilities plus other perks. The two humans were no longer truly human but were heavily possessed, were demon/seeded.

A small nasty machine sat on a crude metal pedestal in one corner. It was demonic, a blood/twister, with a quasiliving demonic creature hidden in its metal guts. Blood was fed into it and the creature fed on half of it but processed the rest into various serums of twisted nature, hence the name of the machine.

In two crude but sturdy steel reinforced wood cages were captive a girl and a furry womble, both being about a metre tall but the womble being full grown with its now messed up fur and its long nose. The two were weakened by blood loss and sat back to back in mutual misery. Once upon a time wombles had only existed as characters in fiction but like others, such as the morloks, had been made real in the Age of Technological Madness. Wombles were generally peaceful just as morloks were generally savage but both could be terrible fighters with retractable claws, fangs, various weapons and powerful muscular bodies hidden by fur. Wombles were part of the Clansway with their own clans but morloks were Outsiders because of past consistent inability to be good citizens.

The girl was not Clansfolk, was from the south, from the settlement of Twinhigh named after the two big squat towers that centred it. These smart-materials built structures had been the saving of the town which was on the western shoreline of the great flowing river that flowed off the great flat tabletop DC Mountain. It used to be called BigTown but another settlement close to Lamplight Mountain now had that name. Lamplight Mountain was topped by the massive, still intact Lamplight Tower. The little brown girl was the young sister of a woman called Lanena, a community nurse in Twinhigh.

Bobby picked up enough to know this and more. He reached out gently to touch the minds of both the girl and the womble advlt male. He alerted them that help was coming and gave them comfort but warned them to act miserable.

Then he acted.

TO BE CONTINUED

SEVEN

KILLING CULTISTS AND SAVING FOLK

Bobby darted across the front garden before the small farm house and noted that while from a distance it looked fairly well tended, that closer up one could see neglect. One gained the impression that what had once been a well tended garden was dealt with only enough to not draw too much attention. A garden gnome had been smashed off its small pedestal with ugly force and thrown into a small ditch along with cracked clay flowerpots. The neighbours did not like the new couple but did not see much evil in them either except for one local wise woman, a hedge witch of sorts, who proclaimed them to be of truly dark nature. Except that nobody had listened to her.

It was she who told Bobby that a local Lawkeeper constable had been seen sneakily visiting the farm house at night and that two nights ago two strangers had appeared pushing a two wheeled cart. Locals had begun to become more interested in what was happening at the house and a meeting was being held that very night.

Bobby sensed danger! He halted before the door and was still paused there when a killclaw leapt at him from the roof of the building. Killclaws were smaller cousins to the mighty deathclaws but what they lacked in bulk and strength they made up with in speed and agility. The creature was trained and it was savagely fast.

Bobby dropped and the killclaw shot through the air, turned with amazing speed and agility, took one look at Bobby and dropped down to the ground and flattened in a position of passive acceptance of his authority.

Bobby removed the control/collar from the creature while talking to her quietly in an odd language and then she was standing while he scratched her behind the ear.

He punched his way through the front door so that it flew into splinters and leapt straight into the main room. One man leapt up from where he was sitting in a basic wooden chair, cursed in Shadowclan fashion and when to fire a shotgun at Bobby. The killclaw, now on Bobby's side, leapt through the air and sliced open the man's throat.

A second man raised a 9mm submachinegun and let rip with a volley of bullets. Bobby dived to one side and the killclaw to the other. A throwing blade thunked into the Shadowclanman's throat and he died, dropping backwards.

A hatch crashed open, a mistake, as a woman came rushing up a wooden ladder. Bobby dropped a stunflash grenade down the hole and there was short sharp blast. Two thumping noises followed as two bodies hit the basemant chamber floor.

When they were awoke they were firmly tied to chairs and Bobby was feeding the killclaw a can of SPAM. The big female creature happily gobbled up the meat and then a second can of SPAM. Specially Processed American Meat was found as millions of boxcans in great big preservation field chambers or PFCs. Many people were not sure if this was riches or a curse that was left over from the past. Along with MREs, C/rations and other such items they had been made for rations during the times leading up to the War of the Worlds. The killclaw loved the taste of it but killclaws did seem to have iron cast stomachs.

Bobby had freed the womble and the girl who sat on chairs at a small table, having washed at a tapsink, eating foodbars and drinking canned fruit juice from recently cleaned glasses.

The Shadowclanners scowled hatred at him but could not disguise their fear for they knew who he was thanks to their quasidemonic nature.

Bobby spoke. "The Shadow cast on this universe of the Multiverse stains and degrades life, threatens the basic natural balance of existence and causes much evil. Yet you worship it for the darkest of reasons, for desire for falsehoods such as immortality and so called great mystical powers. The Shadow is not spiritual, as you claim, but a natural force of the Counter/Multiverse of a very different nature from our own Multiverse. As antimatter is to matter, the Shadow of the antilife is to life. Why did this happen? Not because of some spiritual awakening but because of the use of dangerous ultratechnologies that smashed a rift in the barriers between the two Multiverses. The Shadow simply took advantage of that rift to come to a place it did not belong but it was driven back again except for some cut off fragments."

The woman scowled at him. "The ultratechnologies were but the tools of the fools that the Shadow manipulated to bring forth the new way of wonderment. We are his servants and he will bless us. We will tell you nothing except that the Shadow has a bridgehead here now and it will return."

Demons were natural creatures that actually existed physically on other planes but some had invaded through to the world through the rift. They were drawn to and fed on high levels intense emotions, especially negative ones such as rage or agony or terror. They were linked somehow to the creation of the mutagens and of FEV, or Forced Evolutionary Virus. They could only last in that universe by seeding themselves into willing human hosts or by a few other means. Such demons had been on the world since the rift had closed, trapped there.

In other words demons were quite natural entities but were feral in that universe; they didn't belong. Demon-seeded humans were harder to kill than normal humans by normal means but had some exotic weaknesses; they also lived longer than normal humans. Some had come to worship the Shadow, to follow its very alien and very exotic intelligence. Others hated the Shadow and its followers.

Bobby sighed. "This world has enough troubles to deal with without the Shadow showing up again. I know you will tell me nothing but the balance must be kept."

Then he thrust his hands at the two demon-seeded humans and burned away with brief cut off screams as if by very fast spontaneous combustion. He had already burned away the other two dead demon-seeded men.

Bobby turned to the womble and the girl who were staring at him in awe. "So I take Wo'Wallace the womble home soon and then, you, Sandy all the way home to Twinhigh."

Sandy shook her head. "People in Twinhigh say I am a witch/child. They say I have the Third Eye, the Invisible Hand, the Healing Touch and the Way of Glows. My sister used to be nice to me but she got married to a stupid man and he made sure I could not live with them. I had to live in the common house but women there were kind to me though they were supposed to be low life nobodies. Then my sister's husband and some other men kidnapped me in the middle of the night. They had guns and the women of the common house could do nothing to help me. They sold me to the Shadowclan."

Bobby nodded. "Well, I will find a place for you to stay while I go and visit Twinhigh. Maybe your sister couldn't help you. Twinhigh has a rough reputation. I have to do some thinking. Do you both want me to chill another can of fruit juice for you to drink?"

The girl frowned softly in thought about her sister but then she and the womble nodded eagerly at the suggestion of the drink.

TO BE CONTINUED

EIGHT

SOME DEATHS, SOME LOOT AND SOME INFORMATION

Bobby left the womble and the Wastelander girl upstairs now guarded by a tamed killclaw who was now friendly with both the others. There was also a pair of wary Clanguards who knew too well the fighting ability of both wombles and killclaws. Wombles were smaller than killclaws but they also had claws and fangs plus they could and would use bladed weapons in melee action in a deadly fashion; a battle between an experienced womble warrior and a blooded killclaw advlt was normally a close bet. It was a good thing for both that they normally avoided each other.

Wombles made real were not quite like the wombles of ancient fiction except they still collected stuff and they made often amazing things out of it. They were a tad larger than their fictional ancestors.

Down in the bottom basemant level Bobby investigated the blood-twister machine and then he freed thee demonic creature inside. Since it was trapped against its will in that dimensional plane, it vanished but first it gave to Bobby a burst of knowledge in crude telepathic form. Demonic pride and a twisted code of honour would not allow it to leave with out making some kind of genuine payment.

Bobby found hidden inside a wall cavity something that his mindeye had failed to detect because it was well shielded. It was a communications device of perverse design and make, a baseline telepathic sender/receiver that would give a normal human user at least a huge migraine headache or even kill him or her. Again he freed a trapped and enslaved demonic creature and again he was rewarded with valuable data before the creature vanished.

The Shadowclanners had been in contact with Warlord HanLo's people, passing on coded messages from the Lawkeeper constable that in turn came from an unnamed but high ranking traitor in the settlement of Gold Right Ra'Di. Examining coded messaged once stored by the once trapped communicator demon and data passed on by the other once demonic creature, he soon suspected who it was. Others by have been shocked but not Bobby. For the couple of traitors had taken in exchange for their treason serums made by the blood-twister machine. As yet he had no idea why they would take these particular serums as payment which all had to do with health regeneration and longevity.

Bobby destroyed the bizarre demonic machines and other things he found in that second basemant level. Yet he also found loot that he kept including a holotape projector, holotapes, valuable Prewar books, Emergency Issue Coins or EICs, stimpaks, MREs, boxcans of SPAM, automatic weapons, ammo and more. He made them vanish into what he called his Inventory.

Then he returned to the upper chamber to find that the two Clanguards were dead. Between them the womble and the killclaw had done them in when the two Clanguards had suddenly tried to kill the two creatures and the little girl. The womble had expertly used the .32 revolver-pistol that Bobby had given him and the killclaw had ripped into the other man with amazing speed and power. For the womble and killclaw, along with the fast hiding girl, had been prewarned.


Now that the two assassins, the two false Clanguards were dead, the real Clanguards entered with their commander. She stood there listening quietly to what Bobby had to say and then she spoke."We questioned the Lawkeeper constable who, unfortunately, died during the process." The Clanguard Captain sighed. "What we learned from the fool confirms your own information. Bobby, I would like you to accompany us but what of your companions?"

The false Clanguards had been sent by the corrupted pair who had paid them.

He smiled. "Send them to the outpost settlement of Danny'Dia and to the Clamer Family there and tell them that Bobby sent them. Make sure that they know the killclaw is safely tame now but a can of SPAM now and then might help. I will send some SPAM with them. She (the killclaw) loves SPAM."

The Clanguard Captain sighed. "Well they do say that killclaws can eat anything."

Bobby nodded. "I found loot here in the building. Your garrison can have some."

She shook her head. "Unless its very special indeed, you can have it because I think you will need it. If somebody can corrupt two such fine people then we face a terrible dark force and we need you."

Bobby nodded. "The lord and lady are waiting. Let us go to them."

So Bobby departed with a group of soldiers in military vehicle, a small six wheeled troop-carrier truck of a kind called a 'beep' that was based on a WW2 vintage vehicle. The womble, girl and killclaw went in another direction with two not so pleased Clanguards. The killclaw lay with her head on the girl's lap while the girl told her all about plans to sow new dollies for the killclaw and the womble.

TO BE CONTINUED

NINE

KILLING AND BURNING IN GOLD RIGHT RA'DI

Bobby aimed his autorifle along the hallway and unleashed a volley of bullets. A false Clanguard fell, dropping her own weapon as her combat armour was punctured by the special projectiles. The chambers and hallways of the Leadership Chambers were surprisingly intact but the bullet holes in some walls, the dead bodies and pools of blood along with many spent bullet casings, were a good hint of trouble.

Lord Bruce was dead, was draqed over the platform of the official chairs of state. He had died fighting but he had also died as a traitor. The dead mayor had shot him and even as the other man had fallen but it had been the loyal bodyguards to the real Lord Bruce who had killed him when realising fully this was no longer their real lord.

Scattered muffled sounds of shooting came to the big room as the last of the Shadowclanners were killed off. There would be no surrendering and no mercy shown.

Bobby cursed softly and draqed his gun over a shoulder. Then he wiped clean the blade of his big combat knife after pulling it out of another corpse. He slipped it away even as he saw the drink. He took a couple of gulps from a bottle of wine even as more soldiers came into the area.

The secret threat to the settlement of Gold Right Ra'Di was gone. Real Clanguards, many secretly alerted by Bobby himself, had destroyed the enemy. Womble warriors had literally sniffed out hidden enemies and caches.

He looked out a big open window and the big cavern was in darkness except for a scattering of lights, the suncrystal being in its night stage, and burning fires. The bodies of the foe were being burned as bagpipes played a traditional lament. A big military vehicle, armoured and heavy, was still burning as it lay on its side.

Gold Right Ra'Di was safe once more but the price had been a great one. Yet Bobby had a strong but unexplained impression that the enemy had suffered a terrible blow and now he was keen to learn more.

TO BE CONTINUED

TEN

TALKING AND WALKING IN A BUNKERPLEX

They found the big bunker complex, or bunkerplex, hidden not far from the settlement's outer most western-upper outpost. The smart-materials built bunkerplex was built in 2056 and had an odd mixture of technologies in it from the World War Three vehicles and weapons carefully stored in one chamber to the Age of Technological Miracles ultratechnologies.

There were AbramX1X main battletanks or MBTs, early style field exosuits, FESTs, equipped with both tools and weapons, Bradley armoured fighting vehicles, big eight wheeled amphibious Land Armoured Vehicles and many other machines including battlebuggies and experimental hoverbuggies. Big long heavy tonnage eight wheeler haulers stood each packed with equipment and supplies.

But there were also protectrons, MrGutsys, sentrybots, gunbots and other robots with positronic brains and some cyborg brainbots with cloned human brains.

Standard Combat Power Armour Suits, or SCPASTS, were encased carefully be they standard trooper, support gunner, tech, medic, radio, ADAT, flamer, minigun or others.

Bobby strode through bleak metallic hallways lit by flurotubes that came on when needed and switched off otherwise to conserve electricity. He was not focused on the huge treasure of valuable goodies but something was leading him past huge storeroom after huge storeroom. Yet he and those with him did read the basic and efficiently written information on the doors.

Clanguard Captain Elsie Flanagan, ancestors from Ireland, spoke as she went past a door. "An interesting mixture of stored items; antiques, toilet paper, butchers paper, basic field sowing kits, tires, toolkits of many kinds, DADs, DVDs, holotapes, books, laundry liquid, army issue women's special needs kits, combat fatigues, coveralls, motor oil?. A true treasure."

Bobby nodded. "Fine goods for a renegade army that could supply tradegoods as well as more immediate needed resources. Fine wines, ceramic figurines, chess sets, oil paintings in wooden frames, deskcomputers, portable computers, electric wheelchairs, electric golfcars, MREs, boxcans of SPAM, more books, CVDs, 3DTV sets, 3Dradio sets, survival weapon kits, lightly armoured hazmat suits, office furniture, socks, shoes, boots, gloves, nutritional supplement drink powder."

Flanagan snorted. "Perhaps also stuff to set up some kind of base but why so much World War Three stuff?"

Bobby sighed. "The world had gone through massive death and destruction. I remember walking through the ruins of Old Washington DC about a month after it was destroyed. Yet the secret underground manufactories were untouched as were great big vaults of equipment and supplies. Those N/bombs disintegrated people, made them literally vanish except for the finest of ash. OWDC had only an indirect hit by conventional fusion warheads but a small N/warhead struck closer. Most of the leadership had been taken by surprise, had died, but one man rose out of the rubble of that city. Or at least he arose in a great big network of bunkers, subways and other structures deep beneath Old Washington DC. It would have been better if he had died."

Flanagan nodded. "President James Patriot Johnston!"

Bobby snorted. "His real name was Harold Johnston and he was the Vice/President because it was the easiest way to deal with him with out giving him too much notice. He changed his name, he gathered a whole lot of confused and frightened people around himself, and he gained control of terrible secrets that somebody like him should never have even known of."

Flanagan shrugged. "Save the world with JPJ! Matter duplication, regeneration-rejuvenation, cyberlinkage, positronic brains, cloning, androids, true robots, antigravity drives, orbital habitats at L5, advanced medicants, laser weapons, power armour for workers and soldiers. Oh, this great floating island of Columbia complete with the New Washington DC on its tabletop mountain and inside its great big dome."

"Bubble actually because it goes underground also, which is why nobody has been able to enter or leave it since Doomsday!" Bobby shrugged. "My point was that President JPJ did not only let power go to his head, it changed him utterly and left him open to the dark influences of certain shadowy figures. They played on his ego, on his paranoia and his various fetishes. Columbia Island was to be his personal paradise where only his devoted followers and various forms of slaves could live. The island was to be mostly populated by carefully programmed clone-slaves, cyborgs, androids and robots but mostly with roboremotes controlled by AI/supercomputer network-systems. But before that there was a massive drive to produce goods, a vast network of great industrial and special processing bunkerplexes began to pump out a mass of processed goods. The production process started about the decade after WW3 and began with WW3 vintage stuff. Much was used but much was also stored away in places like this."

Flanagan nodded. "The stories say he was a noble man who was betrayed."

"The stories are false." Bobby shrugged. "He was a monster, a dreaded dictator, a cult of personality who lived in a bizarre amusemant park like estate. He took control of much of the world through the New World Patriot Party, the new World Protection Progress Network, the WorldTek Corporation and the Enclaves. Except he didn't really control WorldTek. The Eagle Enclave was given North America to rule as part of the WPPN. All citizens belonged to the NWPP. In the Age of Technological Miracles many crazy events took place. WorldTek, with its many daughter corporations and other agencies, openly split away and took over its own territories around the world. Rebel movements arose. Then somebody killed President JPJ, shot him many times with special projectiles because the president was now a monstrous cyborg. I killed him!"

She looked at him briefly. "Most people I wouldn't believe but you I do believe. The transdimensional rifts were opened and the Great Madness broke out. Stories say it was because President James Patriot Johnston was killed."

"No, it would have been worse if he had lived." Bobby stopped suddenly at a big armoured power door. "He was planning to do something almost unimaginably insane but only he was aware of all of the details of the plan. Killing him stopped the project dead in its tracks. We are here."

Flanagan spoke. "What was the plan?"

He shook his head. "It was so terrible that even I locked away the truth from myself."

Bobby walked to the control panel next to the huge armoured door and began to examine it.

TO BE CONTINUED

ELEVEN

DISCOVERING WONDER MACHINES

The machine was more like a great weird alien art work, a sculpture verging both on the rational and the insane. Many parts of it were false, were there to change the appearance and to reflect the designer's own preoccupations. The central tower looked like a tall red brick lighthouse complete with revolvable spotlight at the top but going down around the outside from the top was a great big slippery dip, helter skelter fashion such as in the old amusemant slide towers. But as if to add to the insanity the tower was also a windmill and four great big sail type rotors slowly turned clockwise. On the very opposite side of the tower from the windmill rotors was a big old fashioned clock complete with metal figures that came out and did various things. The whole tower was slowly turning on its base, clockwise. At the base were eight evenly spaced doors that, if any one of them had faced north, would have corresponded to the eight compass directions.

The strangeness was made more so by its sheer size for it reared upwards in the great chamber a full thirty metres in height.

Flanagan smiled. "Looks almost pleasurable."

Bobby shook his head. "Looks, in this case, are definitely deceiving. This is one of President JPJ's Randomised Transformational Exchangers or RTEs. Somebody walks through one of those doors and, about an hour later, slides out of the machine but is changed somehow."

The Clanguard Captain shook her head in puzzlement. "Why do this?"

"Insanity!" Bobby indicated the doors of the great slowly turning tower. "Because the President used to enjoy sending prisoners into the towers to see what would come out. Prisoners were often just people snatched off the streets of the Enclaves. In the end nobody mourned his passing. Despite appearances it is not truly active but is locked down; best that it is left that way."

Then he turned and pointed to a second great machine in that vast metallic chamber. "If the Shadowclanners and the invading Warlords want anything it is more likely to be something like that. A Regenerative/Replicator with a random element to it."

The machine was an metallic octopus with tentacles snaking out either side to support two great disk shaped platforms and between them a smaller control platform.

He pointed to the big platform to their left. "Put a damaged car there and in theory it will vanish; one, two or even three fully repaired duplicates will appear on the other platform but there is always a chance of disaster, of a mangled wreck appearing or even worse. Still, there might also be less dangerous changes. In this case the World President did not want this but control factors were never quite ironed out fully though they were much improved."

There was one more great machine in that vast chamber. It was shaped like a very thick metallic castle wall curving inwards half around a great big disk shaped platform. On the inside of the wall were nine big double doors and on the wall three big towers shaped like guard towers except each was topped by a metallic dome of translucent material.

Bobby cursed softly and looked grieved.

Captain Flanagan spoke to him after a moment. "What is it?"

Bobby sighed deeply as if with both sadness and regret. "It is known as a Reclaimer of Lost Souls. All three of these so called wonder machines will remain locked down. Of the three, this is the most dangerous. Now to do some more exploring of this place."

TO BE CONTINUED

TWELVE

THE HELPFUL VALUE OF WAYGATES

The Chamber of no less than eight Waygates was soon being operated. First to come through from other parts of the Clansway were Wayguardians with their Wayguard soldiers to start supervision of these teleportation gates as was their right and responsibility. Then envoys, couriers and others came through. Thankfully only two people failed to come through of the hundreds that used it.

Bobby went through a Waygate and eighteen seconds later came back with the two missing people. The two people could not remember what had happened including the fact that Bobby had removed their memories of their real experiences.

Other folks ended up at the wrong Waygate Point or at the big Central Safety Zone where people sometimes went. This seemed to be a safety system of the whole Waygate Network operating through out the Jagged Highlands and was close to the great Clanways City of Clanburgh of over five million people.

Heavily coded messages and packages were thrust through in various ways.

It was just the start of instigating the use of the huge bunkerplex and its many resources. Already it was starting to become a major base for the military forces of the Clansway.

At first there was no pressure for Bobby to activate the three wonder machines but he suspected that too. He wished he could destroy them but he knew of no safe way to do so. What he did do was to heavily lock and otherwise secure all the ways into the vast metallic chamber. Then, avoiding a delegation of Clansfolk scientists who wanted badly to examine the wonder machines, he returned to the settlement of Gold Right Ra'Di.

TO BE CONTINUED

PERHAPS I SHOULD HAVE MADE IT CLEAR EARLIER BUT THIS IS NOT MY MAIN BIG STORY TO COME BUT SIMPLY AN INTRIM STORY (DONE ON THE RUN) ABOUT ONE CHARACTER (BOBBY) AND HIS ATTEMPTS TO LEARN THE TRUTH ABOUT HIMSELF. IT BECOME MORE 'FALLOUT 3' AS HE GOES SOUTH INTO THE MAIN PARTS OF COLUMBIA ISLAND AND THEN TO THE RUINS OF OLD WASHINGTON DC WHERE HE MEETS THE BROTHERHOOD OF STEEL, THE (EAGLE) ENCLAVE, SUPER MUTANTS AND OTHERS. THESE AND OTHERS ALSO POP UP ON THE GREAT FLOATING ISLAND OF COLUMBIA.

FEEDBACK WOULD BE GOOD!

Well I have been reading this, just never commented! But Dragonpen, you are doing amazing! Keep up the good work!

Thanks, Josh gro-Grahz, the story continues!

:gun:

:toughninja:

:violin:

:nuke:

:chaos:

:cryvaultboy:

No problem, looking forward to more!

THIRTEEN

BOBBY NEGOTIATES WITH A PHANTASM MERCHANT

Learning that a large force of invaders and traitors was moving towards the settlement of Gold Right Ra'Di and the newly uncovered bunkerplex, Bobby helped coordinate the military forces setting up to defend both. Much of the new equipment was being taken out of storage and put into use as soon as possible.

Bobby also carried out a bargain and he called forth an entity of a kind that had only appeared on the world since Doomsday had taken place. The young man sat on a low big balcony of settlement and there floating what looked like a three metre tall woman of copper skin and hair plus a dark purple tunic. She looked upon Bobby with purple eyes with black irises.

Bobby was comfortable with such transdimensional entities but others were understandably nervous. The new temporary leadership of the settlement were there along with Clanguard officers and others including a Clansway Government Envoy from Clanburgh itself. This was a tall elegantly beautiful woman with hard eyes but a well earned reputation for strict fairness.

The entity spoke in an oddly muffled voice with an odd echo to it that managed to be heard by everybody anyway. "Given events and our desire for the wonder machines to be left strictly alone, my people offer 100,000 in tradecredit for the baseline tradegoods listing."

A small butterflybird landed on Bobby's shoulder and was rewarded with a cube of sugar. The birds with butterfly wings were, like wombles and morloks, creations of the Age of Technological Madness.

Professor McDoogle was a big man with a heavy presence both sturdy physical and in arrogant confidence. He spoke then. "Is it not better that we study the wonder machines and learn how they function? This way we could better deal with the threats against the Clansfolk."

Bobby responded. "No!" Then he turned to the alien entity. "Can you give all here knowledge of the items on the listing including its content items, the cost of each and how the listing might be expanded. That is adjusted to each mind so that it can best deal with the given data."

There was a flash of pale light that covered the balcony. The butterflybird made a sudden chirping noise, all eager for some reason.

Bobby laughed. "The butterfly bird would like to order a thousand sacks of butterflybird food, thank you. At least that is how it translates." He stroked the small creature's colourful feathered head and it settled down to sleeping on his shoulder. "I removed the listing from its mind before she got too excited about ordering blankets."

The phantasm merchant bowed her head and smiled. "Yes, perhaps the butterflybird, the two cats and the dog did not need to know of the listing."

There was another soft flash of light. A large hunting hound stopped looking so puzzled and went back to chewing on his meaty bone.

Bobby reached over and scratched to dog on the head. The hound went to growl, thought better on it, and focused on wagging his tail while eating. "20,000 tradecredit on food rations which comes in the form of basic Clansfolk food and drink be it wheat, dried fruit, fresh cubed fruit, fresh cubed tofu, foodbars, special drinking water, vitamineral powders, tea leaves, coffee powder, milk powder and other. That comes to 20,000 standard units of rations, each equal what one standard human would need on average per day."

The Clansway Envoy spoke then. "I disagree. We should focus on the healing serums considering their amazing capacities."

Bobby turned to the dusky white woman. "The tradecredit system we are using is not so straight forward as it seems on the surface. Please leave this to me. As it is only I have authority amongst us to actually negotiate." He turned back to the phantasm merchant. "Now we turn to backpacks at one tradecredit each and I order 10,000 of such with bonuses set."

The Envoy frowned hard and went to say something but an aide, who looked suspiciously like a younger version of herself, gripped her hand and silenced her.

The alien spoke again. "Bonuses mean in each backpack a medical kit, a litrejon of water, a hand/axe, ten flares, ten metres of finger/rope, a box of longburn survival matches and a survival longknife. 1,000 metric tonnes of cavern glowmoss to bring the current balance of 70,000 tradecredit back up to 100,000."

Bobby nodded. "If taken ecosystem care wise from the Greater Moss Caverns of Taraza'Taya."

The phantasm merchant nodded. "Agreed! Five greater isolated caverns are now chosen and harvesting has begun. No Clansfolk will be effected by this and the cavern ecosystems will remain healthy. First boon offered: 100 new condition ALAV vehicles being 30 AFVs, 30 APCs, 20 ALVs, 10 ARVs and 10 AAVs ."

Bobby nodded. "Might I suggest a boon redirection? Give over such equipment and supplies to a new unit to be called the Clanforcers who would follow the Ajanajan Guidelines."

The other nodded. "Very well, 1,000 fully equipped and double supplied Clanforcer soldiers being 300 light power infantry, 200 medium power infantry, 100 heavy power infantry, 100 power gunners, 100 power sappers, 100 assorted specialists and 100 assorted officers. You will command!"

"I will command!" He nodded. "5,000 survival habitation toolkits at 5,000 tradecredit. 5,000 100 metre coil/packs of survival rope and 5,000 tradecredit. 5,000 special survival torch kits at 5,000 tradecredit. 5,000 portable water treatment devices at 5,000 tradecredit."

She nodded. "Leaving you 80,000 in tradecredit to spend."

Then he began the negotiations hidden inside the negotiations. "I offer 40,000 tradecredit for vital data pertaining to the treacherous rebellion of Warlord invasion of the Jagged Highlands."

The phantasm responded. "Twenty questions are allowed. You now have 40,000 tradecredit remaining."

Bobby nodded. "Question one: how many invading Warlords are there?"

The phantasm responded. "A baker's dozen."

Bobby was thoughtful. "Question Two: Krakataza has returned?"

The phantasm responded. "Yes and no!"

Bobby spoke again. "Question Three: the traitors are the Shadowclan?"

The phantasm responded. "Yes and no!"

Bobby frowned softly. "Question Four: are the traitors and invaders seeking the Vault of Miracles?"

The phantasm responded. "Yes!"

Bobby went on after a brief pause. "Question Five: what else do they (the Warlords and traitors) seek?"

The phantasm responded. "You, others like you, access to the Jagged Deepways, the destruction of the Clanways and other goals."

Bobby frowned. Question Six: why me?"

The phantasm responded. "They seek knowledge from you and for you to do various tasks. I can speak no further on this particular issue for now."

Bobby nodded acceptance. "Question Seven: how many large concentrated forces traitors are there?"

The phantasm responded. "Sensing intended definition parameters. Eight but of these only three are of major size. One of the smaller five is approaching this position. Adjudicator has indicated I have given you too much data. You have now used up Question Eight as well."

Bobby again nodded. "Straight on to Question Nine; is there a core leader of the forces attacking the Clansway?"

The phantasm responded. "They call themselves the Council of Thirteen or the Shadowlords. I can speak no further on this particular issue for now."

Bobby spoke. "Question Ten; where did Warlord HanLo gain his ultratechnologies?"

The phantasm responded. "From the Council of Thirteen?"

Bobby nodded. "Question Eleven: where did the Council of Thirteen get such ultratechnologies?"

The phantasm responded. "As previously stated I can speak no further on this particular issue for now. You forfeit? No, the Adjudicators have ruled that you may regain use of Question Eleven."

Bobby sighed. "Question Eleven. Do all of the Warlords have access to such ultratechnologies?"

The phantasm responded. "Yes, all have limited access."

Bobby changed tracks. "Question Twelve: apart from the Shadowclan, what other forces are supporting the treachery against the Clansway?"

The phantasm responded. "Five Shadowcults, the Crimson Blood Crimeclans, the McDraken Clan Cluster and the Claimant Clanking Estoria along with the Pro/Traditionalist Anti/Constitutionalist Factions. Small factions and cells, along with informants, make up a large network through out the Jagged Highlands. The Adjudicator states you have used up also Question Thirteen."

Bobby nodded acceptance. "On to Question Fourteen: Krakataza has returned, yes and no, please clarify?"

The phantasm responded. "Krakataza is trapped in a phase dimensional pocket having attempted but failed to return to this dimensional zone entirely. I can speak no further on this particular issue for now."

Bobby nodded. "Question Fifteen; what are the locations of three major important and hidden sites for the enemy?"

The phantasm responded. "The Adjudicator has indicated I can only give you clues but I will do so for nine locations. Firstly 'where there is only dry water in abundance', secondly 'where the Clanking dallied fatefully too long in June', thirdly 'her nose smelt only the rose', fourthly 'two steps forward, one step back to victory', fifthly 'where the wild children hunt for the horned one', sixthly 'they invented the square wheeled wagon', seventhly 'the promise of queens to come' and ninthly 'the shadow inside the shadow is darker than darkness'."

Bobby sighed after a brief pause, nodded as in response to a question and then spoke again. "I would like to trade my last five questions and a further 10,000 tradecredit for a minimi 100 page Book of Strong Possibilities and Probabilities as related to the Ajanajan Guidelines and to current events in the Jagged Highlands."

The phantasm responded. "Such will cost you all your remaining questions and tradecredit but will be 1,000 pages thick with 100 subvariables."

Bobby nodded. "As agreed."

There was a flash, a sparkling shimmer and the phantasm merchant vanished even as a metallic golden covered and silver paged book appeared in Bobby's hand but it vanished again seconds later.

The Clansway Government Envoy frowned. "That could have gone better."

Bobby turned and frowned softly. "It went very well and I was able to bend the rules to allow for a wonderful few bonuses. The Clanforcers and their stuff will appear soon in the Greybariee Caverns. The book will remain with me for the moment. The clues you have heard and will remember. The other items will appear soon in the Gilded Golden Cavern below the settlement. I must go now to consider matters. What I have learned is most surprising and disturbing."

Then he vanished with a sparkling shimmer.

The Envoy looked annoyed and the famous scientist scowled but the others seemed to accept the situation well enough.

TO BE CONTINUED

FOURTEEN

BOBBY REMEMBERS:
OLD WASHINGTON DC JUST AFTER WORLD WAR THREE

Bobby ran and dived behind a block of broken concrete as the hunter-killer fired off 20mm autocannon shells at him. The shells exploded against rubble and blew a human skull apart. He was at the right distance from the lumbering tracked roboremote vehicle that was armoured and had four weapon turrets. It was so big that it could carry smaller units in the back. Bobby sensed, somehow, that all of its carried secondary units had been sent out already.

These hunter-killers and the smaller types of the same, the hunter-seekers, had been designed to protect people but now they were killing survivors. Who was commanding this to happen; the new but not elected President was doing so. Why? Because of the unfounded fear of biological contamination.

Bobby moved with amazing speed. He jumped up and aimed his special launchergun, fired a beacon-dart and dived again behind more protective rubble as this time a heavy machine also tried to shoot him. The beacon-dart thudded heavily into the armoured front plate and then the small light on its butt flashed green. A special homing antitank missile was on its way.

Bobby turned and ran, darting into the crumbling but still standing structure of a building but moving to get out again. There was too much chance the explosion would make the unstable building collapse.

With a burst of speed he came out into the open again just as the building collapsed, as the hunter-killer machine exploded violently. The booming shook the ground. Bobby kept on running and scooped up the surprised black rat as he kept on moving. The rat sensed it was not good smarts to bite or claw at Bobby so it just relaxed and tried to enjoy the ride.

Bobby slowed and kept on the move past broken vehicles, dead people and shops with smashed fronts. Looters had already taken anything of immediate value and easy access but he entered the first of the shops knowing he could get to and use things that the looters could not. Soon he was finding cans of food and drink, bottles of drink, cans of cooking oil and many other useful or just wanted items. He touched them and they vanished with a sparkling shimmer.

With a sparkling shimmer the rat changed to become lightly brown with yellow brown patches, yellow teeth becoming white and eyes becoming warm brown. It rode inside his shirt and fed on a bit of foodbar. Then it licked Bobby happily before going to sleep. Soon Bobby would send it to NexiSanctuary where it was needed as all life was needed there but for now he was enjoying its company as it was enjoying his.

He sent people, animals, plants, resources and other things to NexiSanctuary as often as he could.

At the back of the shop he found a hidden wall safe stuffed with gold ingots but more importantly, also Emergency Issue Coins and Cards made to be strongly enduring to harsh conditions. The EI/coins and EI/cards added up to over a $1,000 in cash. He slipped it away.

He stacked the gold ingots neatly, lifting them as if they were made of lightest of materials instead of 24 caret gold, on the floor, put Ratty/32 on top along with his new toy and some food for him, then made all of it vanish with a sparkling shimmer. NexiSanctuary lacked enough of the true metals and gold was highly valued at the settlements there. Like all life, Ratty/32 would be made welcome. The rodent would find Bobby waiting there to welcome him.

Again he was on the move as he checked the memorised maps and other data in his mind against what he could see around himself. The destruction of the hunter-killer would bring other horror machines into the area but thanks to Bobby and the newly created Free Resistance Army, or FRA, others had been dealt with harshly. The FRA was fighting a guerrilla war against the enemy who so far had not sent out any human soldiers except for some scouts in exokevlar hazmat armour or EKHAs. Bobby had dealt with the four scouts with deadly quickness when he found them going to do something very sinister to a woman captive. The woman was now in NexiSanctuary where her skills as a nurse would be most welcome.

He dropped out into the open into a rampway pit and raced up the rampway to a big wide laneway sided by surprisingly intact buildings. Looking roughly westward along the laneway he noted only fine dust swirling through the air that had once been animals, plants but mainly humans. In the distance from the west-east-east, roughly, drifted the sounds of battle muffled by buildings.

Then he saw them, a bunch of FRA soldiers who were mostly civilians with civilian guns, coming along the laneway towards him. Some carried litters with wounded people. He flickered and then he was walking in amongst the group. They saw him come seemingly out of nowhere but but the leader quickly recognised him.

Naomi Walters, formerly receptionist at a fancy legal corporation, was in grey survival fatigues and carried a pump-action shotgun. Her brown hair was done up into a practical bun and she had a backpack stuffed with hopefully useful items. The black skinned woman looked exhausted. She was leading the group moving towards a reported private basemant bunker.

Naomi spoke to Bobby whom she had met briefly two days before when he had given her a shopping trolley full of canned food, medical supplies, blankets and boxes of ammo he had found in a partly smashed in shop. "That shopping trolley of stuff helped save a few lives. When you spoke to me of this sanctuary of yours I was inclined to not believe you but considering the bizarre things I saw just a few hours ago, I think I now do. Can you send these wounded and anybody else who wants to go, to your sanctuary?"

He nodded. "Yes but there is a limit to how much I can send at one time, especially when it comes to the living. I sent gold ingots, a friendly rat and some items for him the last time. I simply need to calculate how much I can send this time."

They kept moving along the laneway.

She looked at him steadily. "Why do I get the impression that while you look like a young man of indeterminate age, you are much older."

Bobby shrugged. "A few thousand years old, I suppose, but I do not know for sure. Could be much older than that. I have not always appeared like this and will most likely change appearance again. Tell me of these strange things that have happened but after I see if I have some good news for you. Do you know a black teenage boy of the name of Sammy Benjamin Walters who was attending a music specialised school known as Tamberline Senior High School? He is 17 years old and has his birthday on the 15th of January."

She stopped in shock and stared at him. "He is my son, my older son."

Bobby sighed. "He is at the sanctuary that I dare not name. He is being healed in a kind of regenerative status pod. People at the sanctuary have some special resources they can use and your son was badly injured but in about a month they will awaken a fully healed teenager. Do you wish to go to him? We need to stop the group and I will work out who I can send and if I can get anything of use in response."

Naomi nodded. "I do not want to abandon these people but also I want to go to my son. We need to rest anyway so we may as well stop as soon as we find some place good enough to rest at.."

They found a sheltered area inside a large partly looted shop. The group spread out to find places to rest. Naomi sat with her back against a column. Bobby went and checked on the injured, two who were walking wounded. He did some healing, regenerative and rejuvenating, which helped but he was aware that these people needed to be sent to NexiSanctuary.

He sat cross legged close to Naomi and then he spoke. "The fine dust caused by the N/bombs is toxic to life, especially life of reptilian or mammalian kinds. Over half of the people here are sick of the N/toxins. Some people are more immune to the effects than others, will get over it. You are one of the lucky ones but it will make you sick for some days. If I make you pregnant you will become stronger and more able in various ways."

She frowned at him. "How wonderfully subtle you are, Bobby Bobalong."

He gave her an odd look. "I wasn't being subtle." Then he sighed. "Oh, sarcasm! Recently I spent time on another world, a long time there but a short time away, where such as untruth and sarcasm are unknown. Nice little transdimensional habitat world in orbit around the Vexus/Norazi Triple Sun. I suppose in human astrological terms you might call it Vexus/Norazi II. Nice people there, much nicer than humans in general, though perhaps a little more boring."

Naomi gave him an odd look. "If it was almost anybody else doing the talking, I would consider you to be quite insane but something about you tells me it's true. Anyway so many others speak of the amazing things you can do and your amazing knowledge. They were ghostly and they looked sleepy, most of them, drifting through things and through us. When they drifted through us they caused us some discomfort."

He nodded. "Victims of the N/bombs died but their spirits are trapped in a kind of limbo. The majority are sleepy N/phantoms who will automatically but not intentionally absorb a minor amount of life energies from any lifeform they come very close to."

Naomi shuddered. "But some moved separate from those clumped together sleeping N/phantoms, as you call them. Their faces were twisted in rage, in grief, and they shimmered all horrible. They came racing at us as if trying to absorb our life energies and they somehow picked up small objects and hurled them at us but only with weak effect. But then came other N/phantoms with peaceful, blissful expressions and the nasty ones fled from them. The newcomers went after them."

Bobby frowned. "Not good! Lucky you were saved but we have the worst situation caused by those damned experimental N/bombs that should never have been constructed let alone used. Sleepy, devouring and ecstasy N/phantoms and probably others, all insane, all harmful in various way to the natural spiritual cycle of life and death, to the natural balance of forces."

The black woman scowled. "I didn't think the Soviets had such advanced technologies."

Bobby turned to her with a look of irony on his face. "It was not the Soviets who N/bombed the USA, the Soviet Union and other areas of the world. Great Britain was spared as was part of the USA, much of South East Asia, Australasia and other places. Some cities were clean nuked but most of the missiles, the ICBMs and SLBMs, were destroyed by pulselaser batteries and anti-ballistic-missile missile batteries on Skynet Orbital Platforms. It was Skynet that dropped the N/bombs from special satellites, they being orbital glider-bombs."

Naomi frowned. "Skynet was not completed because of concerns over its reliability and safety."

Bobby responded. "Skynet was completed enough for it to devastate much of the world. Soviet H/bomb satellites destroyed over half of the Skynet orbital platforms but many not in time to stop the harm being done. Much more of Skynet was completed than most people knew, even the Soviet and US Governments. Just how big and sophisticated Skynet got or how much of it survived World War Three and remains unknown to most. The AI/supercomputer network of network-systems that lay at the core of Skynet were attacked but how much of the AIS/NNS survived is also unknown."

A terrible shudder went through the ground. Flecks of concrete fell from the ceiling overhead.

He managed to send four wounded to NexiSanctuary and to get a plastic shopping bag full of healing moss back from that same place. The bag of moss sparkle shimmered into existence. The exotic but amazing moss was eaten and rubbed into or against wounds or otherwise used as medicine. Luckily it was strongly concentrated because only one and a half kilograms had been sent across. Naomi and others were soon feeling much better.

Soon the group set out again.

TO BE CONTINUED

Chapter Fourteen Above has been altered and enlarged

FIFTEEN

BATTLE AT THE SUNCAVERN OF GRAND PYRAMIDS

Enemy fighters moved in platoon based formations across the big open suncavern of NeoNile where flowed a great blue river past great big pyramids, copies of ancient Egyptian pyramids in appearance but these were actual fortified buildings. Clanguards occupied the three Grand Pyramids and from them fired a wide variety of weapons. The great structures were built of self repairing smart materials with nanobots and microbots assisting.

President James Patriot Johnston had the fake Great Pyramids built and around it a landscape of palm trees and green grasses lining a big strong flowing river. While people suffered around the world because of a lack of resources, he squandered them on such projects. He ordered that nobody to live in his great floating island but they came there anyway, many times assisted to do so by rebels inside the mad president's own government. The great suncavern was an area of farmlands but the approaching enemy was destroying abandoned farms as it came on. Thankfully everything that could be moved, was, including livestock and even as many transplanted trees as possible.

Artillery blasts were like brown puffs of smoke. Along with the enemy traitors and mercenaries in power armour were robotanks, tracked robotic tanks of a type known as huge Juggernauts and smaller MiniJuggernauts. Some had many turrets, bristled with energy weapons, while others carried each a big single assault gun or long range gun or a big howitzer. The huge lumbering machines moved with surprisingly quick speed for their size.

Bobby crouched behind sandbags close to the base of a Grand Pyramid with its white slopping sides and its great golden tip which was actually a very hard gold alloy. In truth the real Great Pyramids once had this appearance and even gold tips. He was in power armour that made him look as beautiful and elegant as a chunky hairless metallic gorilla.

In the distance a Juggernaut exploded savagely.

Radio communications pvssyred close at hand as Clanguard units communicated with each other and the new Clanforcers.

"Howitzer missiles have impacted direct on target."

"Tango Squirrel Red to Home Base, we need fresh ammo up this way. We are taking heavy casualties. Medics also to assist."

"Home Base to Tango Squirrel Red; we will do what we can."

"Blue Betty Alpha to Home Base, the enemy is attempting to push between the pyramids to split our forces. Send that confirmation to FMIO (field military intelligence operations)."

A pair of modified M10AXA Warthogs flew through the air overhead towards the enemy, now firing not only its traditional antitank gun but new laser/cannons. New deflector screens helped to keep them safe as did new style armour patches. Big and impressive, the two aircraft flashed searing laser beams, GAU/8 30mm antitank/guns thundered and unleashed air/to/surface missiles. The machines scored a hit and two MiniJuggernauts exploded while a dozen power armoured mercs fell wounded or dead, the GAU/8 shells punching right through them.

The wing of an M10AXA exploded, the machine began to go out of control, the pilot jettisoned with both new style pilot power armour and an antigrav/pack. The big aircraft smashed straight into a Juggernaut and both exploded impressively, hurling enemy power armour infantry in all directions.

The other M101AXA turned gracefully and headed back the way it had come. It dropped antimissile drones as it went for it was being chased by surface/to/air missiles. The pilot from the downed machine drifted down towards clear ground. It looked like the enemy would get him but then a hole opened in the earth. Friendly wombles pulled him quickly down into the hole and under. Then he was gone! The little hairy dudes had done it again!

The enemy had shot at wombles from the start and had quickly, stupidly, earned them as enemies. Often power armoured fighters or even various machines would fall into pit traps lined with deadly explosives. More than one Juggernaut had become tilted down helplessly into the ground.

Only the vanguard enemy forces had power armour. Behind came fighters in metallic or kevlar combat body-armour and with less powerful weapons. They came in battlebuggies, battletrucks and tracked fighting vehicles of various kinds but they were smaller and less powerful, though less clumsy, than the Juggernauts and MiniJuggernauts.

Bobby raised and aimed his 20mm specialised snipergun, projected energies through the weapon and fired a shimmering 20mm shell. It struck a MiniJuggernaut and the whole machine disintegrated, blasting apart in flames, shrapnel and smoke.

Smartly enough he moved along the ditch before he raised the weapon again and fired. This time a Juggernaut exploded at the front.

Then he was making his way forward to go to the rescue of the unit that was rapidly running out of ammo and which, he sensed, was going to be over run. The unit was at an important strategic position and its loss would cause the defenders big problems. He also simply wanted to save the Clanguards there. As he ran he was joined by a fast running, quietly efficient platoon of Clanforcers in their power armour. Together they thudded across the muddy torn up, once grassy green ground.

TO BE CONTINUED

Hmm, I've only read ONE but it's pretty sweet, I'll get back to ya once I read the next ones.

Alrighty, I read four and I found this mistake:

long fang equipped creatures was fell, already dead, - not really sure how you want to go about fixing that exactly but it stood out to me.

Goood story so far! I'll keep reading and editing this post as I get furthur in.

Thanks RobCo Employee

SIXTEEN

BOBBY RELAXES WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY

Spammy, the SPAM loving killclaw, was sleeping with her head on Bobby's lap while he gently rubbed it. A large black cat was stretched out comfortably sleeping on the back of the killclaw, a smaller cousin of a deathclaw. They were all on a big old double couch against a cut stone wall.

The girl was playing 'Fishy Flip', a children's card game, with the womble on the floor which was covered with woven grass matting. Other children were with them and some had Bobby's genetic inheritance in them; they had special abilities. The chamber was partly underground being part of a semi/underground structure of a large house with many extensions and two big basemant chambers.

An elderly but youthful looking woman was busy doing some calculations with a pencil and a thick notepad. She looked up and spoke to Bobby. "We can take the whole settlement if you can open a proper gateway between us and NexiSanctuary."

He sighed. "Not a direct gateway. All sent go to the Quarantine/Hub first and so will you for safety/security checking and adaptation processing. Until recently I considered you, my great plus daughter, and others with the genetic inheritance to be safe here. But now the opposite is proven to be true. We only just managed to destroy the enemy forces in the folly of the Grand Pyramids Suncavern. The enemy is still after the wonder machines in that bunkerplex we found and perhaps also after something that I have failed to discover. I Bobby am here but I am also in the NexiSanctuary so you will see far more of me there."

Salatae smiled. "That would be good. Old Joe Carpenter needs to go, especially if he will be rejuvenated by the experience, because he is a master class carpenter and is also trained and experienced in plumbing, electrical work and brick laying. So far that makes 56 humans, 29 dogs, 12 cats, eight pet geepigs, four molerats, 18 brahmins of which two are bulls, eight goats, 24 chickens, 29 ducks, five geese and a pet parrot with a bad attitude."

Then she changed subjects with a frown. "It is said a traitor killed you with a single shot. How is that possible with you being so powerful?"

He lifted his hand up, opened it with the palm upwards. There was a sparkling shimmer and there was a large half inch calibre (12.7mm) bullet but it was no normal bullet; it was made of a dark purple black glistening crystal like material except with a greasy organic aspect to it. There was something repulsive about it. The woman shuddered.

Bobby nodded. "Extremely evil and dangerous demonic technologies made this in another dimensional realm where such things can be made. They can not be made here thanks to our natural laws but they can exist here, these things." With a sparkling shimmer it vanished. "The enemy made a mistake in using it against me because I captured the bullet even as I died and now I am able to trace the maker to some extent. The maker is here in the Jagged Highlands."

Then he changed subjects. "You can take all that and more on your first trip, much more. Take all your horses and wagons along with that big old steamtruck. Stuff them to the gills. Stuff your pockets full. Take everything you can and I mean also luxuries, photo albums, toys and such like. You will know why I do not want you just to take necessities with you when you get to the other side. Do not worry about taking anything with you like vermin or bacteria because they will be welcomed and processed to be part of your new home. All life is welcome."

She sighed. "Is there danger there in the NexiSanctuary?"

He shook his head. "No direct threats such as here but there are problems to be dealt with and some involve military style actions, are dangerous. It is not wise for me to say too much but NexiSanctuary itself is vast but only a relatively tiny part of a much vaster domain. NexiSanctuary is safe but volunteers go elsewhere to carry out dangerous duties. They also come to places like this."

Salatae nodded. "The other small settlements around us will wonder where we are gone. We small fringe settlements depend on each other and they will suffer because we have gone."

Bobby nodded. "Which is why I am sending them along with Wo'Wallace the womble and his people. I hopefully can get Sandy's sister, Lanena, from the settlement of Twinhigh to the south."

His great plus daughter frowned softly at him. "We can take many barrels, sacks, boxes and chests of goods. We can take coils of rope, skins, furs, preserved foods in bottles, clothes, tools, weapons and ammunition."

He nodded. "Excellent but best of all you can send yourselves and your animals. Take as many seeds and seedlings as you can. I will send the bigger plants, the trees and bushes, in a special safe fashion. Please call a meeting of all local settlement leaders to be held as soon as possible. I will be at the meeting."

With a sparkling shimmer the golden metallic covered and silver paged book appeared in his hands, glittering softly in an exotic fashion. Yet he did not open it but instead sat thoughtfully silent for a moment. The woman went back to her calculations. Then a telephone rang that was next to her. She picked up the handset and spoke to it.

"Yes, this is Salatae. Hello Tom. Please calm down. I can not hear you properly? that is better. They can threaten all they like to do that. I am calling a meeting of settlement leaders. Bobby Bobalong is here and he has good news for us all. Yes. Well we will have to bring people, livestock, pets, working animals, property all to this place as soon as possible. Bring everything you can including toys, books, photo albums? Because we are all leaving to go to a better place."

The talking went on but Bobby got the gist very quickly. The big settlement people were using the threat of the Warlords and traitors to make a land grab for the territories of the fringer satellite settlements. They were demanding not just the lands but such as farming tools, livestock and horses. The new temporary leadership of Gold Right Ra'Di were supporting what was officially sanctioned theft.

She put down the telephone and looked at him. "You know already, I can sense it. They have given the fringe settlements a nasty deadline of just twenty/four hours to get out of the settlements and to move to Gold Right Ra'Di proper. They want us to go basically nothing because they consider we will not need our farming related items and they intend to pay us compensation. Except that they intend to do so in worthless promissory notes and empty promises as they have done with others in the past."

Bobby sighed. "Sounds like the Farmerclans at work again trying to stretch their insane monopoly across the Clansway Territories."

The woman nodded. "Sometimes I think that, in their own way, they are as bad as the Shadowclan."

"That is because they are corrupted and led secretly by the Shadowclan though there is gathering resistance to their rule. Do not worry too much for I have already made steps to protect the fringe settlements." He gently pushed the grumbly killclaw to one side and stood up. The killclaw settled back to sleep, the cat never woke up, and Bobby smiled. "I want you to take Spammy with you. Bobby will be there to welcome her."

She shook her head in wonder. "I wish I knew how you do half the things you do."

He smiled. "When you are in NexiSanctuary you will learn much, perhaps far more than you will be comfortable with. A baker's dozen! Why a baker's dozen? When I asked how many Warlords there were invading the Jagged Highlands and the Clanways, the phantasm said 'a baker's dozen' when she could easily and more logically have said thirteen."

Salatae shrugged. "A baker's dozen means 'thirteen' by much older traditions but amongst us fringers it can also mean a deceptive trick such as when a baker pretends to sell one thirteen rock cakes but only sells twelve rock cakes and a small rock. It comes from a children's story heard only in a few more isolated parts of the Clanways. I assumed you had heard of it."

Bobby gave her a mild grin. "Believe it or not but I do not know everything about everything and I am glad of it for how tedious would that be but greatly?" Then he paused before speaking again. "So the Thirteenth Warlord is in truth not a Warlord at all but something else. What is that something else? Could he be hidden in the open? What powerful people in the Clansway could be the Thirteenth Warlord hidden in the open?"

The woman shrugged. "Somebody prominent but with out any real power such as the Clansking or Clansqueen."

The short lived autocratic monarchy of the McGrahams had ended with the short lived but bloody Constitutional War. The Clansking and Clansqueen still held figurehead status and a fair amount of power but nothing like they had once had. They had caused the backlash with their own greed for power when the McGraham backed Housebane Dynasty had taken the Clansway Thrones by a mixture of deceit, murder and brute force. The McGrahams dwelt in an isolated region now and were also politically isolated while the Housebane Dynasty was but history.

He nodded. "Yes, perhaps somebody like that. I will return soon. Would you like anything from the Central Markets in Gold Right Ra'Di?"

She smiled and taking a list out of a pocket, she passed it to him. "I was hoping that you might be doing so."

He hugged and kissed her before he departed. Of course he had to promise to get some sweets for the children and intended to get at least one can of SPAM for Spammy.

TO BE CONTINUED

RobCo Employee I responded to your feedback by replacing the badly done sentence with the one below. Thank you for the feedback.

The first of the powerful, long fang equipped creatures fell, already dead, and it hit the rock hard ground with a crash.

SEVENTEEN

BOBBY AND BRIEF BAD TROUBLE

Bobby watched the shimmering gateway of energies and through it went the last of the humans, the rear guard including a confused Spammy the killclaw. Wombles, humans, livestock, working pets, vehicles and lots of other had gone through to the quarantine hub. Even then he knew all would be accepted through but they would arrive changed at least a little in the NexiSanctuary.

Bobby was here and was there. Bobby there was welcoming them even as they came through the gateway into the Quarantine/Hub.

He turned as the gateway vanished and now there was just an open dirt clearing of mostly dirt with some grass. He strode across to his horse and slipped smoothly onto it. Then he trotted the horse to the side of the clearing and both the steed and himself froze into motionlessness.

The lightly armoured electric guncars hummed to a halt and then came four more. Out of the halted machines stepped mercs. They were Talon Mercenaries, a branch of a very brutal mercenary corporation based to the far south away from the Jagged Highlands. But they bore Clansfolk style body-armour and were pretending to be something called the Jagged Dagger Mercenaries. Perhaps the merc who came up with the name thought it would impress the Jagged Highlanders; he had been very wrong because generally they thought it was a stupid title.

A Farmerclan woman and then a man stepped out, both in proper Farmerclan robesuits of their rank and official position. Yet they were slimly muscular and moved like well trained and experienced killers of more than normal human deadliness. The man held a strange metallic box instrument with a small metallic trident sticking out the front; the device beeped softly as the man pointed it at the position where the gateway had been positioned.

The tall, burly man cursed softly and then spoke in a strange, disturbing sounding language that the mercenaries did not even hear. Bobby both heard and understood. "I did not think that the ploy would work. Bobby Bobalong is no fool to think that this was really a Farmerclan attempt to gain second rate property and other lesser valuables. He is long gone from here as are those he sent to that damned sanctuary of his."

But the beautiful woman frowned softly. "No, he is here watching us. He is very close to us, close enough to take us by surprise and kill us all if he so wished. No, he wants something of value, he wants information."

Bobby spoke then but it seemed that his voice came from many directions at once. Both the two Farmerclan officials and the mercenaries turned around in all directions seeking him but none could quite see him, could quite focus on him though they caught brief impressions of him sitting on a horse.

"You really did get in over your head, didn't you?

The woman scowled. "If you mean that damned alliance with the Shadowclan, I was opposed to it. Chaotic evil and dark freedom is what the Shadowcults worship not the ordered evil of the damned all crushing Shadowclan. Why bother to create new evil when we just have to feed off the evil of normal stupid humanity? We know you can create gateways to other dimensional realms. We were hoping to get you to do so for us."

Bobby responded. "Even if I would, and I would not, any realm that I can open a gateway to would reject, punish or even destroy you all together. Take your damned thug mercenaries with you and go to the Vale Darkshire. Sanctuary of sorts will exist there for you as long as you care to co/defend the big valley."

Shadowcults were chaotic evil in basis, were smaller and scattered, were many unlike the one monolithic ordered evil based Shadowclan. That some of them formed an alliance was surprising and not that the Shadowclan now seemed to be betraying them for Shadowcults and Shadowclan hated each other.

The woman nodded. "I will have no charity from you. You should know that since the Shadowclan learned you, Bobby Bobalong, are here in Gold Right Ra'Di that they have sent not only a larger army this way but many assassin creatures of great power and skill."

But no sooner had these words left her mouth than the things came screaming out of the forest. Big savage shapeshifters, weredemons, but now of broken red hard skinned humanoid form powerful and agile. Each distorted being came with fangs and long shimmering claws. Talon Mercenaries were good fighters but even before they could realise what was happening, most of them were dead or dying. The thing smashed through the mercs, hurling their dead bodies through the air. A guncar exploded savagely.

Bobby Bobalong aimed two big revolver pistols and unleashed blasts of fury. Weredemons exploded into flames, burning away as if by super fast spontaneous combustion. One crashed burning into a guncar and set it a fire.

The two Shadowcultists pulled strange looking pistols from their robes, chanting dark words as they did so, but then a mottled red skinned creature was ripping off their heads. They burned away.

Again and again the weredemons turned to attack him and died furious deaths.

Gun fire raked from the edges of the clearing now as Clanhunters in power armour raced into the clearing. They must have been chasing the weredemons who would have been in human form. When the weredemons had changed, they had surprised the Clanhunters and had raced ahead of them.

Weredemons turned to attack the Clanhunters but not only were these newcomers elite fighters of genned inherited special abilities, they had the armour and big powerful guns. 20mm autoguns ripped apart red skinned humanoid after red skinned humanoid.

The last monster exploded.

Bobby Bobalong leapt of the horse, kissed the steed and walked to the centre of the open area. Clanhunters were busy putting out the burning vehicle and looting valuable goods. With all the fighting going on there were growing shortages of ammunition and even of military class weapons.

Bobby told them what had happened and then went on speaking. "The dark conspiracy has run into trouble, is crumbling from the inside. Those assassin weredemons were not after me but those Shadowcultists. It seems that the Shadowclan has decided to start destroying the Shadowcults, which is something they have wanted to do for a long time."

Then he changed subjects. "Yet the real enemy does not care for the real task of the conspiracy was to sow massive confusion and to allow the enemy to more easily hide their real activities."

A Clanhunter leader spoke then. "A large force was coming this way but it has turned abruptly and dispersed just half an hour ago. The death of so many powerful weredemons seems to be a great waste of resources."

Bobby turned to the man. "It was a message for me. It simply meant that they know not only where I am but my true identity, my true nature. It is a mocking challenge of sorts and a harsh reminder of what these same forces did to me once."

Yet he had to admit to himself that he really did not know what the real enemy was up to.

TO BE CONTINUED

I read up to six, then it got weird, and I ran out of time so I stopped reading. I'll let ya know if I keep reading later.

It got 'weird' because I was sleepy one night while writing and started making it into a 'mixed fanfic' story bringing in elements of what one might call 'spiritual science fantasy'. Actually the so called weird has ultimately a scientific basis behind it only it is amazingly advanced alien technologies which come across as magical to us. This includes Bobby's gentic nature and the strange powers that go with his 'seed'. I took the idea of breeding for genetic powers from such stories as the novel DUNE by Frank Herbert in which the Bene Gesserit manipulate bloodlines to bolster special abilities. I also took his activities with young women as a kind of trading of genetic inheritances and the powers that come with them as a political and economic relationship; I am not advocating such things because my characters don't behave always as I would. Mindeye is ultimately a genetically engineered ability as are many others. Wombles and morloks were created to be a part of advanced amusemant parks also with robots, androids and holographic projections but things did not quite work out as they were supposed to; the morloks kept trying to eat the tourists.

Psychic powers were actually part of the early Fallout games as in the 'Master' with his psychic powers of control.

I am moving this story to a mixed fanfic section in another forum and soon will be putting a strictly Fallout 3 based story into the forum which I have already written part of. I never meant this story to be strictly fallout and it was a mistake to start writing it here. It will be in Druid's Garden in Nexus Forums.

THANK YOU!

:brokencomputer: :violin: :wave: