Part 1: Ghosts of the Past The silence of the night was broken by the sound of heavy footsteps and labored breaths. If you were human, Io base was the safest location in the solar system. Unless you happened to be Private Niles Warner. Then Io can be a dangerous place, especially at night. Warner ran at full speed, a standard issue sidearm clutched in one hand. He wound his way through one of the base's hanger bays. The various supply crates and vehicles provided ample cover. A beam of crimson energy streaked toward him. It plunged into his lower right leg and blew out his kneecap. Warner collapsed face first on the deck plates as his dropped weapon skittered away from him. He clutched his ruined leg. "Oh dear God it hurts!!" Warner's eyes darted about the hanger, but he could see nothing. "Show yourself, you coward!" When his taunt received no response, he yelled even louder. "If I have to die, I want to see the face of my killer!!!" "And when you look into the abyss, the abyss also looks into you." Warner stared into the blackness of the night and found a pair of crystal blue eyes staring back. There was no body attached to them. They just seemed to float there, passing judgment on Warner with their icy gaze. "I remember you." said Warner. The eyes drew closer as the body they were attached to remained unseen. "Why?" pleaded Warner. "Why are you doing this?! Why me?!" Warner felt the barrel of an unseen weapon placed against his forehead. "Because someone had to be first." With a single burst of energy, one man's life ended. * * * Lieutenant Amy Hiatt crawled through a narrow access tube. Her shoulder length brown hair kept falling across her face, making it difficult to see where she was going. "Should have put it in a pony tail." she muttered to herself. Hiatt stopped at the appropriate access panel and turned onto her side. She gave a tug on the tool bag she was dragging behind her and it slid forward into her hands. After popping the panel off, she removed a small pen-sized light and looked within. "Ah the life of a chief engineer." mused Amy. "What's wrong with you today, huh?" She carefully looked over the internal components. "This looks interesting." She pulled out a small circuitry board, noted its charred portions, and dumped it in her tool bag. "Well, at least this one's easy to fix." From the same tool bag she produced a brand new board and installed it. "And now the hard part." Hiatt began the slow, backwards trek to her point of entry. "Well, hel-lo there." cooed Dirk Dagger. Hiatt inched her way out of the access tube and into the dropship hanger. "Private. You can tell Captain Jose that his ventilation problem has been fixed." Dagger offered his hand. Hiatt stared at it dubiously for half a second and took it. "What was the problem?" asked Dagger as he helped her up. "Burned out circuit board, that's way the ventilation fans were kaput." "I love when you talk technical to me, baby." "Are you always this charming?" asked Amy. "Usually." replied Dagger. "No wonder you're so lonely then." Hiatt slung her tool bag over her shoulder and headed for the exit. Behind her she heard some of the other jumptroops laughing at Dagger. Near the exit, atop a small cargo crate, sat Corporal Robert Preston. He was quietly field-stripping one of his rifles. Hiatt paused to watch him for a bit. "Something I can help you with, Lieutenant?" "No, just watching. Haven't seen anyone do that since back in basic." Preston gently placed the trigger module back into the rifle's main housing and locked it into place. "Not a big need for one of these down in engineering, huh?" Amy smiled shyly, "Oh, I don't know. I can think of a few people that would benefit from some 'extra' motivation." Preston had still not looked her in the face. He had moved on to reconnecting the weapon's barrel. "If you say so, Lieutenant." Hiatt shrugged and began to walk away. She stole a glance over her shoulder and noted Preston was still busy with his rifle. Perplexed at his indifference, she headed back over to him. "Anybody home?" She waved a hand in front of his face, causing him to look up. She waved playfully at him, "Hi there, remember me? The really cute engineer?" Preston locked the barrel in position as stared back. "I never said you were cute." "No, but you were thinking it." answered Hiatt. "And since when can you read minds?" asked Preston. "Don't take much where the Jumpcorps is involved." Preston put his rifle down and folded his hands over one knee. "You have an odd way of flirting with people." "I never said I was flirting with you." countered Hiatt. "Uh-huh. Just like I never thought you were cute." answered Preston. "So you were thinking it." Amy smiled with satisfaction. "And you were flirting, your point?" "I was not flirting." "Yes you were." "I was not." "You were flirting just as surely as you'll peak over your shoulder at me as you leave this hanger." Hiatt made a dismissive gesture with her hand. "Someone is full of them self." Preston smiled. "Yes, you are. But its sort of charming in its own way." "Oh please." Amy turned on her heel and headed for the exit. She caught just a glimpse of Preston smiling broadly at her as she walked out. Then it dawned on her that she had caught that glimpse from over her shoulder. "Damn him." * * * Lieutenant Sonya Jarvis stood in the middle of a crime scene. A murder had been committed on Io, one that no one could explain. A junior officer by the name of Marks strode up to her, datapad in hand. "We have an I.D. on that John Doe, Lieutenant. His name was..." "Niles Warner, a private attached to Baker company." finished Jarvis. "Yes, that's right. Surveillance cameras didn't catch a thing. One minute he was running, the next minute something killed him." Jarvis took the datapad from him and began entering three names into it. "I know. I saw the tapes. I need you to find these three men. Immediately." Marks took the pad from her. "Who are they?" "Our murderer's most likely targets." "You think he'll strike again then?" Jarvis stroked her chin. "In all likelihood he already has. We just don't know about it yet." * * * "And so we meet again." Amy Hiatt recognized the voice from earlier. She took a few steps down the ladder she was standing on to have a look a Preston. "Are you following me?" she asked. Preston carefully made his way around her ladder. Hiatt was working on some of the power lines that were housed above the ceiling in the corridor. "More like you're following me." A lopsided grin found its way onto Amy's face. "How, pray tell, did you come to that conclusion?" Preston tapped a keypad along the wall and a door swooshed open. "I live here." "What a startling coincidence." said Amy. She hopped down the ladder. "Mind if I have look?" "Never seen enlisted quarters?" queried Preston. "Never seen your quarters." replied Amy. She stepped by him and into the room beyond. "So you got a name other than just Preston?" "Yup." He dropped most of his equipment at the foot of his bed and sat down at his desk. Undaunted, Amy continued. "And that name would be?" Preston turned on his desk lamp and began fiddling with something. "Are you flirting with me?" Amy crossed her arms. "Don't start that again." Preston continued to work with his back to her. "Sure seems to be the case." "Fine. Whatever. Nice talking to you." She turned to leave. "Robert." "Excuse me?" asked Amy. "My name is Robert." Amy turned back toward him. He was facing her. "Can I call you Robby?" "Not if you expect me to answer. Can I call you Amy?" She raised an eyebrow. "Are you flirting with me?" Robert crossed his arms. "Lets say I am, what then?" Amy pretended to roll the thought around in her head for a bit. "Then I'd say, 'Hey Robert, wanna hold this ladder so I don't fall on my face?'" * * * "Private Angelo Bennet, assigned to Defender Platoon." The second victim had been found just as the first, in an out-of-the-way section of Io base. "Is there something you're not telling me, Lieutenant?" asked Marks. "I knew them and the man we're looking for." answered Jarvis. Marks seemed taken aback. Though, the statement finally explained why Jarvis had been two steps ahead in the investigation. "Why didn't you tell me this before?" Jarvis met his gaze with an icy stare. "Because it wouldn't have helped. He can only be found when he wants to be found. The only way to trap him is to beat him to his next target. Now did you find the other two names on the list?" "I found one. His ship is docked here at the base. The other I still can't find." Marks stared at her, waiting for some type of explanation. When none came, he asked, "How do you know so much about this case, Lieutenant?" "That's classified Marks." Frustrated, he blurted out, "Well at least tell me how you're so sure this is the handiwork of your guy!" "Because of when they were killed. Now let's go, we only have a few hours before someone else dies." Jarvis broke into a swift walking pace with Marks trailing after her. "Why only a few hours?" "Because by then, it will be night on Io." * * * Dr. Rhodes removed Amy Hiatt's right glove. There was a tear in the area covering the webbing between her thumb and forefinger. Once removed, Rhodes was relieved to discover only a small wound underneath. "How did this happen again?" "She was flirting with me." answered Preston. Amy shot him a scathing look. "NO. I was repairing some power lines when I cut my hand open with one of my tools." "So you just randomly cut yourself open?" asked Dr. Rhodes. "I was preoccupied." replied Amy. "Because she was flirting with me." added Preston. "I am not that big a flirt." "Yes you are." mumbled Dr. Rhodes. "What!?" Dr. Rhodes looked up from her hand. "Nothing. Anything else happen that I should be aware of?" "I kind of...fell off the ladder." answered Amy. "Do you hurt anywhere else?" "Robert caught me, so I'm okay." "Robert?" asked Rhodes. Amy suddenly realized her mistake. "I mean Corporal Preston caught me." Dr. Rhodes finished cleaning the wound and began to seal it with her medical glove. "You know Preston, I've been meaning to give you a thorough physical. If I were paranoid, I'd swear you were avoiding me." "I'm not avoiding you, Doctor." answered Preston. "Great. If you've got a minute, we can get started right after I'm done here." "Uh..." The ship's auditory system suddenly became active. "Corporal Preston, report to Captain Jose's office immediately. Corporal Preston, report to Captain Jose's office immediately." "Saved by the bell." said Dr. Rhodes. Preston smiled sheepishly and excused himself. Amy stared down at her hand, watching with a certain fascination as Dr. Rhodes closed the wound. Rhodes glanced up from Hiatt's hand, shook her head, then glanced back down again. "What?" asked Amy. "Robert." she said with a chuckle. "Shut up and fix my hand." * * * As Preston entered Jose's office, he came upon a face he had not seen in years. She stood about five foot ten with long blond hair and big blue eyes. Her sleeve marked her as an officer and she carried herself accordingly. Jose began the introductions. "Corporal Preston this is Lieutenant Jarvis and Second Lieutenant Marks. They'd like to have a word with you." Jarvis extended a hand toward Preston. "Robert." "Nice to see you again, Sonya." "You two know each other?" asked Jose. Preston nodded. "From what seems like a lifetime ago." He looked to Jarvis. "Can I safely assume that this is not a social visit?" "Slade is missing, people are dead, and we need your help."