Greetings,

            Well after surviving the nice little wind and rain storm 
that came through here last night I was able to get this done. Hope 
most enjoy. Like to apologize to anyone if I depicted them wrong in the 
little hunt of ac thingie I did alittle while back, it was spur of the 
moment. Plus that and I needed names ;).
            Also I would like to apologize to Sapphire and WW if I 
depicted them wrong in this little short 5 pager. WW only appears in 
the last page or so. (Yes you can look for yourself now please feel 
free) The word speel checker may have missed a few words in this and 
grammer I tink has gotten better. ;)
            This story takes place before the Beginning, like about 
five thousand years or so. I do plan to do more of these, lill 
Forbidden Ops stuff.
            Forbidden Ops means basicaly forbidden, you do it, you be 
in a heap of trouble. If you do something then some people come, find 
you and take you away to the funny farm where life is always gay.... ;) 
In this universe the Secoian Government has been cracking down on 
people who have been doing "bad" things. Ie asking too many questions 
and looking where they were not supposed to look. When I said this 
universe I mean the time frame as which this story takes place, this is 
not an alternate reality. This is the same universe the Beginning and 
such takes place in just in the past. The Riders (as soon as I type 
more the beginning) will begin to fall under the "bad people" area, 
some people are just too curious for their own damn good. 
            This may seem pretty strange now, I hope to make things a 
little clearer. (He hopes)

    Author's Note: This is still a work in progress, C+C is welcome. If 
said two persons above don't like to be in this story tell me. And I 
will switch names and such. Have a nice day.


                                Forbidden Ops.

                                By. R. Bentley
                                11/12/95-?

                                ALPHA VERSION 0.001A


                                Chapter 1
                    A promise, a package and sacrifice

                    Phantom Riders Epilogue

    Excerpt from Tanya O'Hare's diary circa: unknown

    It started with the big bang.
    Well, actually it started before the big bang.
    It started before the universe began.
    Some people where there when it began, some were there when the 
universe was born. Others watched as the universe formed, star clusters 
and galaxies sparked life. Some of those people who were there in the 
beginning still watch and wait. They wait for the awakening, something 
that will signal the time when the howl in the deepest darkest edge of 
space would return. 



    A small planet named Calisia sat in a popular hub of space. 
Although it was off the beaten path, the place still had style. Space 
port, the only thing on planet side, was a lawless place. With no space 
fleet protected it, pirates, as well as traders came in, fueled their 
own ships and restocked their own supplies. Most of them did not ask 
where all this wealth came from. None of them really cared. None of 
them wanted to know. For all they knew it was free and they took it.
    The one place where things were not free was at the bar. The 
refreshment was pure though and that's all that mattered to some. It 
was split level, the bar resided in the middle of the room. Dimly lit 
tables and booths lined the walls. The waist level smoke in the room 
was not pretty. All different kinds of aliens drank here. Their various 
weapons and devices of chaos rested in the coat room which was guarded 
by a large being with a larger gun. The upper level was where one could 
deal if needed to. A few sets of stairs and lifts led to the upper 
level. That was where she was located.
    She leaned back in her own private booth. The booth was all alone 
at the far end, the one place where no lifts and stairs where built. 
Some regulars said she owned the place, others said she was bounty 
hunter. The newest rumor was that she was the last of her race of 
feline aliens from a world that had died many years ago. She of course 
had no comment on the subject. She was a regular, her own little pet 
ship sat out on Pad 1. No one took her spot or her booth. At least no 
one that was still around to brag about it.
    She didn't even look up at the person climbing the stairs. She 
didn't look up from the wanted signs she had littered out in front of 
her as the person walked towards her. She lifted a glass of frothy 
liquid to her muzzle and took a slug. She licked off the foam and 
placed the glass back down onto the table. A bowl of coffee ice cream 
sat in front of her, a spoon lay next to it. Her right hand rested on 
the her dart gun that lay in front of her, next to the posters. She 
waited until she got at least five feet away and decided to speak.
"That's far enough." She started. Her golden eyes smiled at the 
newcomer. Her hair was pulled back in a braid which rested on her 
shoulder. Her black leather vest and pants couldn't hide her figure 
while it did hide some of the black stripes in her blue fur. Her fuzzy 
thick tail swayed next to her while her boots sat next to the table on 
the floor with the rest of her weapons. "Something I can do for you?" 
She asked.
    The person in front of her hadn't step out of the shadows yet. The 
lighting was far from good. She was about six feet tall, built and 
looked to be very anxious. Her eyes looked down at the gun and then 
back at the owner.
    "Your Sapphire?"
    "What if I am?"
    "The Aloi Jade is your ship?"
    "What do you want?"
    "I need you to run something-"
    Sapphire shaked her head. "I'm not a runner. Go ask one of those 
drunken idiots down there."
    The newcomer laughed. "Yeah right. Your the only person who won't 
ask questions and someone who won't jack up the price." She looked down 
at the drunken idiots, a faint glow in her eyes? Something hidden too, 
why couldn't Sapphire see her in the dark? "Besides, you have the 
fastest ship here, your knowledge of their tactics on par with mine and 
plus," the newcomers eyes swept back to Sapphire and looked straight 
into her eyes. "You owe a friend a favor."
    The hair on the back of Sapphire's neck stood up, actually all the 
hair on her stood on end. She slipped off the safety on her dart gun 
and tensed up. She can't see her, why can't she see her? "Who are you?" 
She breathed.
    The newcomer smiled, eyes sparkled unusually bright. "A friend." 
She replied. "I need you to deliver something for me. Just a little hop 
and drop that's it."
    "Who's your friend?" Sapphire narrowed her eyes. "I don't owe 
anyone a favor. Now either step out where I can see you or get lost. 
I'm busy."
    The newcomer sighed. "Been home lately?"
    Sapphire had cocked the dart gun before the newcomer had gotten 
half the sentence out of her mouth. She centered it on the talking 
shadow and placed her furry finger against the trigger. She was on the 
way to pouncing this idiot before too long. She pushed all my buttons, 
why? Sapphire hesitated at shooting, something in the back of her mind 
burned. The cobwebs burned away and she remembered. A promise made 
years ago to someone who was close to her. A friend. She lowered the 
gun and placed it back onto the table. "Wilson is not one for asking 
for help. Something came up?"
    The newcomer took a step forward. "She needs to you to drop this 
package off on Earth as fast as you can." She placed it on the table.   
"No if and or butts."
    "Not giving too much of a choice is she?" Sapphire ate some of the 
ice cream.
    "The people after us aren't either."
    "Who's after you?"
    "It is forbidden."
    Sapphire stopped in mid-thought at those words. She looked up from 
the package to the newcomer. She gulped at the thought as memories 
surfaced in the back of her mind. She remembered it all now. She knew 
what had to be done. "You have the coordinates?"
    "They're all ready in your ship's nav computer." The newcomer took 
a look at her watch. "I have to go, I'm late."
    "For what?"
    "My funeral."
    Sapphire laughed and looked up once more, but the newcomer was 
gone. She shook her head and listened, where'd she go? She thought. She 
glanced down at the package. A rectangle metal box with a seal on it. A 
royal seal. A seal from the house of Gamma. Sapphire nearly swallowed 
her tongue. Time to go, she thought and packed up. She got her boots on 
when she heard a commotion down stairs. She had one boot on when the 
squad of Secoian Imperial Guards came in the door, all of the armed to 
the teeth. One of them grabbed the bar keeper by the neck and asked 
where she was, the bar keeper pointed up. She hopped over to get her 
other boot as they made their way upstairs. She grabbed the box and 
activated her personal fold gate. The Guards weapons locked onto her as 
they made it to the top of the stairs. "Stay where you are!" One barked 
in Secoian.
    Sapphire got her other boot on and felt the gate open behind her. 
"Sorry boys, got a date with destiny, say hello to the Captain of the 
Guards for me." She took a step back and felt the shots hit the 
protective shielding. Looks like I won't have to field test this thing, 
she thought and stepped onto the bridge of her ship.
    She started to power up her ship. The main core hummed to life 
while the rest of the bridge controls in front of her came to life. She 
settled into the pilot's seat, strapped in and keyed the engines.
    "Main Engine Start Up," beeped the computer.
    "This is the Aloi Jade requesting emergency launch!" Sapphire 
yelled into the net. She pulled a comm set onto her head, the mic 
slipped down into position. The engines roared to life, the ship's 
tanks were full, all her gear was on board and she had enough supplies 
for a month stashed away somewhere in ship's hold.
    "Negative Aloi Jade, stand down and prepare to be boarded!" An 
unfamiliar voice retorted. There was no traffic control planet side, 
other captains always requested emergency launch. Most of if not all 
the ships computers would have locked onto her ship and given her a 
wide berth. The voice on the net was the Secoian Captain of the Guard. 
Sapphire smiled slightly and slipped the engine direction selector from 
horizontal to vertical and punched it. The little ship shot straight up 
for a few hundred feet then the hover jets died. The main engines 
roared sending the ship forward and up.
    "Sorry Secoian Traffic Control, getting a lot of interference," 
Sapphire turned off that channel and switched to another. "Hope 
nobodies on final, cause Aloi Jade is coming through!" She increased 
speed and watched the rear view to her right as her ship acceded 
skyward.
    "Negative Jade, nobodies on finally accept us," a familiar voice 
replied over the channel.
    Sapphire frowned, due to a) a rather large Secoian Troop Ship was 
starting to follow and b) that voice started too damn familiar. "Wolf?" 
She swung herself around, looking out toward the port side. A rather 
large cargo ship was descending towards the Port. White Lighting was 
the name painted on the side of the blue and green ship. Sapphire 
powered up her shields and cold started the weapons systems. "You 
aren't due back for another three days Wolfie boy what's up?"
    "I think you mean what's down, what did you do this time?" White 
Wolf asked. "Some person called you cute?"
    At another time Sapphire would have found this very funny, but the 
Troop Ship behind her had just fired a warning shot across her bow, a 
little too close. Sapphire took the ship off auto-pilot, grabbed the 
yoke on the left arm of the pilot's seat and yanked it right. The Aloi 
Jade banked right, anything not strapped down slid right then left then 
skidded to a stop as the ship became level again. "Computer ETA to 
atmosphere!"
    "One minute current speed," the computer beeped. "Weapon system now 
fifty percent warm and rising. Fold Engines currently on stand-by. 
Activate?"
    "Affirm, compute coordinates to Earth. After engines are on-line 
prep for fold on my mark." 
    The remaining Guards on the ground watched in fury as the little 
ship blazed off into space. Most of them watched the little flight from 
the law through scanner locks or in English a magnifying lens.
    "There goes your rep," Wolf said over the net. "Need any help?"
    "Just need to get into orbit to fold, then I'm outta here."
"Where you off too?"
    "I'll tell you later. When I get back," Sapphire watched as the 
blue sky started to turn darker and darker. The gravity around her 
shifted slightly, she felt herself lift up in the seat and then back 
down as the inertial dampeners came on-line. She turned from her work 
to see the Troop Ship as it dropped further away from her, she frowned. 
"What the hell?"
    "Can't blame me for helping," Wolf's laugh made her smile. She eyed 
the sensor readings from his ship. His ship had suddenly lost all power 
and he had sent out an SOS "You owe me, kiddo."
    "Don't call me kiddo," Sapphire replied. "Thanks for your help."    
    "Any time, no if you will excuse me a rather ticked off Captain of 
the Gaurds wants to talk to me. Have fun!"
    She turned off the channel and looked ahead towards the stars.      
"Computer: on my mark fold."
    "Affirmative."
    She looked at the box that was sitting on the floor next to her 
then back at the planet, somewhere down there White Wolf was being 
"helped" down to the surface and thanking the Troops a lot for their 
remarkable help. She sighed and remember the promise she had made to 
Wilson those many years ago, it almost felt like a life time ago. She 
watched her home disappear from the rear sensor readings and readied 
herself for a fold jump.
    "Computer: Fold!"
    The Aloi Jade folded into nothingness and into time......

    Fin....for now.