220 35611 <435hes$5ok@newsbf02.news.aol.com> article Path: ix.netcom.com!ix.netcom.com!howland.reston.ans.net!news-e1a.megaweb.com!newstf01.news.aol.com!newsbf02.news.aol.com!not-for-mail From: dinoraptor@aol.com (DinoRaptor) Newsgroups: alt.barney.dinosaur.die.die.die Subject: Redemption Date: 12 Sep 1995 22:59:40 -0400 Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364) Lines: 392 Sender: root@newsbf02.news.aol.com Message-ID: <435hes$5ok@newsbf02.news.aol.com> Reply-To: dinoraptor@aol.com (DinoRaptor) NNTP-Posting-Host: newsbf02.mail.aol.com Jihad Tales-Redemption The short blond woman mailed her last probation payment and left. Her sentence was now served, except for administrative formalities. But a black depression still gripped her. She drove away. As she drove she passed a church. Something subtle made her stop and looked. She found herself entering it. The confession booth loomed. She felt strange, as if she was not there, only observing. She'd never been religious, but saw nothing else that might work. Once inside the booth she told of her crimes, tears running down her cheeks. "The Lord has forgiven you." said the priest. "Go in peace." "I feel no peace." she said. "I don't feel forgiven." "The Lord has forgiven you." replied the priest. "Now forgive yourself." She thanked the priest and drove home. She picked up a pair of ice skates and a backpack. Then she drove to a large lake, parked her pickup in a remote lot and walked to the lake's edge. She put on skates and carefully checked the edges and fasteners. As she started across the ice, she noticed a group of men playing hockey. There were also several groups of young girls practicing jumps. Tonya watched with practiced eye as the girl did a double toe loop. She was good, with just a touch of turnout on an otherwise good landing. Her axels were excellent. After a few minutes, she started across the ice. Her destination was a small island. She looked behind, seeing no reporters following. Some were skaters, but she could outskate them. In fact, few could outskate her. Then she saw movement. The girl she'd seen before was struggling. Several men with hockey sticks surrounded her, and another man lay sprawled on the ice. The girl screamed and then the yell cut off. Tonya tossed the backpack on the ice. As she passed by a group of hockey players, she grabbed a stick, shouting that she'd bring it back. The kidnappers had their charge secured when blond fury struck. One went down, struck by a hockey stick. Another man moved to defend his companions. Tonya rammed the hockey stick into his throat and he fell gasping. The third man released the girl and advanced. "Run!" shouted Tonya to the girl. "Run!" The remaining kidnapper swung at Tonya. The skater evaded and jabbed back. The man dodged and cursed. The pair went round and round. The man swore as the short blond evaded his thrusts with quick footwork and edge changes. The girl stood there watching in amazement. Finally Tonya found an opening and stabbed, ramming the hockey stick into the man's groin. He doubled over and she clubbed his head. He went down, out cold. But the last man grabbed her from behind. Tonya struck with both elbows and the man let go, suprised at the strength of this little blond. But he recovered quickly. As she retreated, Tonya tripped over a bump in the ice. The man rushed her. She aimed her right toe pick at the man's inner thigh and thrust. He screamed as the skate tore through tissue. Blood spurted from the femoral artery. "Are you ok?" she asked the girl. The girl stared, looking behind Tonya. Then Tonya turned round and saw a monster, a huge biped with a ceratopsian dinosaur head. A sponge-bop. Tonya three-turned and leapt, landing on the monster's back. She dug her skates in hard, and two long gashes appeared. The other two sponge-bops screeched in panic and ran. Only velociraptors attacked like this. The girl ran too, seeing a childhood monster come alive. Tonya felt a mental tingle. The sponge-bop's panic eased as the B'harne mage clamped down upon the creature's terror. It reached around, wounding Tonya with its clawed hands. She felt an adrenaline rush and pushed harder. The skates tore through the monster's ribs, damaging vital organs. The monster collapsed. The mage lost control of the other two sponge-bops and they ran in terror. Tonya surveyed the carnage. The girl was gone. As the battle rush waned, she panicked. Get to the island, screamed voices inside. She skated off. Some shred of calm made her grab the backpack on the way out. After what seemed an eternity she arrived. She collapsed at the frozen water's edge, her panic dulled by exhaustion. She grabbed at a shiny object for no apparent reason and a bright light enveloped her body. She fell into a trance. In her vision a vast expanse of sapphire appeared with a man walking across the azure plain. As he neared she saw that he wore shining white clothes and a crown of thorns. His hands were wounded. The man came and stood over her. He took a thorn from his crown and rammed it into his finger. A drop of rich red blood appeared, glowing with life. He held his finger over her midsection and the drop of blood fell on her. She felt a tingle. All pain and weariness vanished. "Who are you?" she asked. The man smiled and a shepherd's staff appeared in his right hand. Then he changed into a golden male lion. He resumed human form, only this time he was on a cross. Then the cross vanished and the man reappeared, a horrid red creature cowering before him. Then the monster vanished, leaving only the man. "Forgive yourself as I have forgiven you." he spoke in a voice that penetrated to the depths of the soul. "Let me in." Then he vanished. Then she awoke and looked around. The island was silent save for the wind in the trees. She looked at her arms, seeing that the jacket sleeves were new. Her skate boots were shiny and new, not scuffed as before. The blades were sharp, as if freshly honed. The backpack and its contents were like new. And she felt more alive than before. When she stood up, the world looked like it had dropped a foot. She stood up and skated out onto the frozen ice. The ice was good, so she did a cautious double axel. Then she progressed to a triple toe loop and a triple lutz. On impulse she launched into a triple axel. And landed it perfectly. She stood there savoring the jump and then noticed a reflection. It was a hole in the ice near the shore, cut by an ice fisherman. The water was clear and reflected like a fine mirror. She looked. A being like a Greek warrior goddess looked back. In the center of forehead was a third eye. The woman was six feet tall with long blonde hair and fiery blue eyes. Tonya shrieked, jerking back from the reflection. Am I crazy? she muttered. Her shock was broken by a danger sensation. She turned, seeing four sponge-bops and their handler mage advancing. Righteous anger, a sensation familiar to Jihaddi but not to her, boiled within. She charged to meet the enemy crying, "Die, B'harne scum!" The first sponge-bop went down, its skull shattered by her fist. The second aimed a chain-gun at her. But she grabbed the monster's gun arm and twisted. The arm wrenched loose from the socket and went spinning away on the ice. She swept up the weapon and aimed at the third sponge-bop. Tracers quested and she slewed the gun, walking the white lines into the sponge bop. It fell. The fourth sponge-bop shapechanged into a tentacled horror on ice skates. She emptied the chaingun into the creature, but the wounds healed instantly. Instinct surged and a shaft of white fire struck the Barneyknocker, incinerating it. The controller mage fled. Tonya, dazed and awestruck, went back to the island. ************************************************************************** High in geosynch orbit (GEO), a Solar Ishtari satellite detected a burst of anomalous energy. It interrogated other satellites in low earth orbit (LEO), collected their data, and sent the whole package to Solar Ishtari headquarters. A computer alerted Solar Warrior. He studied the readout. The energy burst came from the Clackmas, Oregon area. He sent messages to Senator Lara Ray, Admiral J-rock and Wendigo the Feral. Then he boarded a supersonic aircar and screamed skyward. His military clearance paved the way and he soon landed at the sheriff's office outside Clackmas. "Glad you came." said the sheriff. "Three men dead and three sponge bops. I'd like to talk to whoever did this." "You're not thinking of prosecuting this person?" asked Solar Warrior. "No way." replied the sheriff. "This guy foiled a kidnapping of the governor's daughter. The guys he killed had rap sheets a mile long. I'd like to pin a medal on him." "How about the sponge-bops?" asked Solar Warrior. "I'm still trying to figure that out." replied the sheriff. "Here's the medical examiner's report. Our regular guy is off, so an ER doc from county general did the exam." Solar Warrior downloaded the report into his personal digital assistant. (PDA). He asked to see the bodies and a deputy lead him there. Solar Warrior ran a scanner over the bodies, his PDA sending the data to a computer in his aircar. After finishing the scan, he downloaded his data into the sheriff's computer's and asked to interview the governor's daughter. He got it and drove to her home. "Hi, I'm Solar." he said to the girl. It took some coaxing, but after he did some telekinesis tricks the girl talked. As she spoke he inserted a gentle mind probe, extracting images from the fight. The face was fuzzy, but the rest of the body clear. A typical situation given the confusion and emotional stress. Solar Warrior then drove to the lake. He put on skates and moved around on the ice, looking for signs. He found green and purple bloodstains, and skate blade marks. He imaged them, sending the data to a satellite. The scanner registered sponge-bop tissue. Then he went to the spot where the satellites had pinpointed the energy discharge. More scanning detected Barneyknocker tissue. He finishing his sweep and headed back to the aircar. He set the autopilot and thought. The face from the girl's mind was too fuzzy to identify. But the body shape was distinct, and so were the movement patterns. The supercomputer could probably identify the person from that, but it would take several hours. But there were other ways. He teleported. ************************************************************************** **** Inside an ice rink in Portland, members of the city's pro hockey team skated inside a holographic simulation. It was holo-Doom and they were playing against two people. A Deathmatch. Butch gritted his teeth as a fireball from an imp struck him. A shotgun blast eliminated it. But behind the imp was a fiery red creature with large teeth and huge claws. Butch grabbed a chainsaw and thrust in into the monster. A figure leapt out from behind the demon. It was a Ukrainian folk hero, wielding a chain gun. It smiled fiercely and pulled the trigger. A stream of holographic bullets struck and he cursed. Then he heard the killed in action tone. But the folk hero had problems of his own, for the demon turned on him. He skated away, evading the monster with graceful footwork and edge changes. He switched to a shotgun and fired. The demon collapsed in a bloody heap. Then four members of the hockey team appeared and chased him. The man deftly evaded them. Then another figure appeared, a Chinese warrior monk. He attacked on a line perpendicular to the Ukrainian's and two hockey players were eliminated. The Chinese and the Ukrainian skated into another room, the hockey animals in hot pursuit. The hockey players moved around the room. Then doors opened and four rippling masses charged the players. Specters. The men whipped out their chain saws and thrust. They moved toward a small alcove, pushed back by the creatures. Two specters had fallen. The men entered the alcove and heard two chainsaws buzz. They turned and saw the Asian and the Ukrainian thrust. "Computer, end program." called a voice with a Slavic accent. The hellish surroundings vanished, replaced by a rather conventional hockey rink. The Ukrainian hero became a blond 17 year old and the Chinese monk a 14-year Asian-American girl. Laughter carried across the ice from a rinkside group of coaches and assistants. The hockey players turned red, their male egos hurt at being creamed by two teen-age females. "You are wussies!" taunted the blond Ukrainian. "Footwork like fish out of water." "Oksana, please." said the 14-year old. "We're trying to train them, not insult them." "You not worry, Michelle." replied Oksana. "Male ego is big joke." "Have you been reading Ms. magazine again?" asked Michelle. "Better than National Enquirer." answered Oksana. The hockey players went to the showers, nursing their tender male egos. Oksana and Michelle conferred with the coaches for awhile. Then Solar Warrior walked in. "Solar, good to see you." said Oksana. "Want me to kill spongies?" "Not this time." said Solar Warrior. "Look at this." He took out his PDA and punched play. A female figure with an indistinct face appeared. The images played for several minutes. "Who is it?" asked Solar Warrior. "Tonya." answered Oksana. "No one else jump like that." "Same here." added Michelle. "Thank you." replied Solar Warrior. ************************************************************************** **** Solar Warrior materialized next to his aircar. He stood there thinking and then cursed himself for a fool. None of the skate blade tracks lead AWAY from the island. Whoever made the tracks was still there. As he turned to leave, his PDA beeped. He looked at it and sighed. B'harne was sending more troops to this area. He sent a message to Senator Lara, J-rock and Wendigo. He doubted they would come, as Operation Terrorsaur was in full swing. He put on skates and went to island. Tonya watched as he neared. From his movements she deduced who his teacher was. Solar Warrior stopped and engaged telepathy. Tonya started when Solar's message came into her mind. -You can help me?- she returned. -I'm a solar mage.- he returned. -With similar powers.- -I see.- she sent. -Been taking lessons in Stoneham?- -Yes.- returned Solar Warrior with a laugh. -It's fun and I never look away.- -She has that effect on men.- sent Tonya. -Some gals have all the luck.- -Uncloak your aura.- returned Solar Warrior. His magical and psionic senses probed it. -I'm coming ashore.- he sent. He met Tonya at the ice's edge. "What's happened to me?" she asked. "You encountered an Elder Gods artifact." he answered. "It changed you." Tonya explained the vision. "That's a miracle." he said. "Elder Gods artifacts kill humans." "You mean the man with the crown of thorns was--" she said. "Look at the data." replied Solar Warrior. "Then decide for yourself." Tonya nodded. "Will I always be like this?" she asked. "You can change back anytime you want." he said. "Good!" she said. "I don't want to be a three-eyed freak." "You're not a freak." replied Solar Warrior. "You're different. And you have impressive powers. I suggest you go to the Solar Ishtari training base at Isla Nubar. You'll need instruction." "Ok." she said. "I've nothing here." Solar Warrior's PDA beeped. He read it. "A B'harne force is on its way. ETA two hours." he said. "We'll fight." she replied. "Follow me." replied Solar Warrior, skating off. When they reached his aircar, he took out two black garments. "This is a soft battlesuit." said Solar Warrior. "Its fabric amplifies your muscles. There are thousands of force-field generators in the fabric. And the best part-antigravs that simulate skating." "Let's go." said Tonya. "We fight them on the ice." said Solar Warrior. "To avoid collateral damage." replied Tonya. "Correct." said Solar. "You're catching on." Tonya smiled, feeling better despite the upcoming battle. She had nothing to lose anyway. A tone sounded, breaking her out of her thoughts. Solar Warrior looked at his PDA. "Good news." he said. "They think I'm the only one here." "I see." replied Tonya. "Correct." replied Solar. "That's why you have the stealth suit." Solar Warrior spent the rest of the time instructing her how to use the battlesuit. ************************************************************************** ** J-rock thrust his chain saw into a sponge-bop. The monster screamed and was still. He wiped off the blood from his face plate. "J-rock, this is Wendigo." came a female voice over the battlesuit speaker. "Area secured." "J-rock, Senator Lara." came another voice. "All clear." "Roger." said J-rock. "Meet at the command truck." The three Jihad leaders conferred. "We must help Solar Warrior." said Lara. "We can't spare anyone." said Wendigo. "Besides, isn't he equivalent to a full Terminator squad?" "B'harne knows that." said Lara. "And probably has sent enough forces." "Agreed." said J-rock. "We'll send the B'horn." ************************************************************************** ** A jet with B'harne markings swooshed overhead. -Recon plane.- sent Solar to Tonya. -Let it go.- Another aircraft screamed overhead, hugging the earth. It discharged black capsules that split open on landing. Sponge-bops, Barneyknockers and a strange creature with a toad head and B'harne markings emerged from the capsules. Solar Warrior fired plasma at the drop craft and it exploded. Then he aura probed the creature with the toad head. It was the second clone of Plush-cutus. Solar Warrior groaned. Was B'harne in love with that beast? -Go after the sponge-bops.- sent Solar Warrior. -Cream a few and then attack the controller. I'll handle the Barneyknockers.- -Roger.- returned Tonya. -To war!- Solar Warrior charged the line of Barneyknockers. He raked them with force packets, making sure some of his fire hit the sponge-bops. Two Barneyknockers shapechanged into dragons and leapt into the air. The other two changed into forms suitable for ice running. Solar Warrior launched ball lighting at the flyers. They crashed to the ice twitching and burning. But the ice damped their fires and they started healing. The ground Barneyknockers leapt to strike. But Solar Warrior evaded and hit one with plasma. It exploded into charred fragments. He then irradiated it with slow neutrons. But the other Barneyknocker pounced on Solar Warrior. A burst of telekinetic energy sent it flying. It slammed into a tree protruding through ice and was impaled. The monster pulled itself off, the wound healing rapidly. Tonya tore off a sponge-bops' arm and punched it in the head. Her hand went through the face and out the back. Two other creatures attacked, pinning her arms. She kicked one in the side and ribs shattered. The monster bellowed and let go. The other monster grabbed her head and started twisting. But Tonya resisted, her neck muscles stopping the monster. She straight-armed the monster off and stood up. "Rage!" she cried, blasting the monster with force packets. The controller mage swore. His sponge-bops reported invisible enemies. Some trick of the Solar Ishtari mage, no doubt. At least none of the their accursed velociraptor squads were around. Then a sponge-bop reported its squadmate slain. The squadmate's aura was fading. The controller ordered the two Barneyknockers to investigate. Solar Warrior saw the flying Barneyknockers flap away. Then a squad of sponge-bops attacked. -Tonya, Barneyknockers coming your way.- sent Solar Warrior. -I'll go after the mage.- The sponge-bops attacked with insane fury. Tonya got the warning and looked up. A Barneyknocker saw her and dived. A energy burst knocked it to the ground. Tonya raked the body with force packets, reducing it to hamburger. The other monster shapechanged into an ice-running form. Tonya skated away. But the monster overhauled her. She three-turned and raked the creature with force-packets. The wounds healed almost instantly. The monster shot out a tentacle, which Tonya evaded. The monster fired another tentacle The deadly dance of Jihaddi and monster continued. The battle moved them closer to shore, and Tonya saw a fallen tree. She blasted the Barneyknocker with telekinetic (TK) energy and force-packets. The creature fell stunned. She picked up the tree and charged. The Barneyknocker had just regained its senses when Tonya rammed the tree through it. She hammered it with TK bolts and force-packets. Solar Warrior struck at the sponge-bops' minds. Their controller mage had whipped them into a near-berserker fury. Now they saw each other as the enemy. They destroyed each other. Solar turned to the controller mage. The man fired a TK burst. Solar Warrior deflected it with ease and fired back. The mage died. -Report.- sent Solar to Tonya. -All clear.- she returned. -Sponge-bops dead, two Barneyknockers dead.- -Same here.- he sent. A alarm sounded. -Wait.- Solar Warrior checked his readouts. Another force of Barneyknockers and sponge-bops loomed. -More bad guys.-he sent to Tonya. -We may not make it.- -Not much I can do about it.- she returned. Solar and Tonya heard aircraft. The B'horn had come. ************************************************************************** ** Tonya and Solar Warrior sat in a military tent. Tonya had shapechanged back to her normal form, a petite blonde. But still looked different. The harsh, harried lines on her face were gone, replaced by softer feminine contours. Her gait was smooth and fluid, exhibiting her years of training. "So B'harne is an ET." said Tonya. "True." replied the mage. "He's a fugitive from his own planet. His race is called the B'horn." He described the expedition to the B'horn homeworld. "I'll be going to Isla Nubar." she said. "I'll be much happier there. Nothing here, really." "You might be able to skate again." said Solar Warrior. "Really?" she asked. "The US figure skating association might reinstate you for valor in battle." he said. "They hate B'harne. I will testify in your behalf." "Go for it." she said. A tear formed in her eye. Solar Warrior put his arm around her for awhile and then released her. "Thank you." she said.