Author's note: It is recommended that you read the dark branch first.  Since it was written first, there are descriptions of many of the characters and fancharacters that will be found there that I will not reproduce here for the sake of avoiding repetitiveness. I also wish to thank my readers for their patience in waiting for me to restart the Light Branch.  It took a while, but I finally came up with a basic plot that is different enough from the Dark branch that would be plausible, interesting, but not too repetitive. New fancharacters will be credited as they are mentioned in the story.   I hope you enjoy reading this.
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The young man walked down the street, his thin-boned hands in his pockets.  His clothes were a bit baggy, his black hair pushed up into a faint imitation of a pompadour, and he wore large, black rimmed glasses.  He  occasionally stopped to check the street addresses against the address he had written on a scrap of college spaced, blue-lined paper.

He finally came to a huge, wrought iron gate set into a tall wall that stretched for half the block.  He looked through the gate at the long driveway that went into a forest-like park.  The black roof and white walls of a large mansion rose from the middle of the forest like a castle.  The young man checked the number on the large iron plate set in the wall against the paper, glanced back at the forest, and made a face.  He pressed the button on the call box set into the post of the gate and said a few words in response to the polite, but cautious, query from the guard on duty.  There was a loud click, followed by a long buzz.  The young man pushed the gate open enough to get inside.  Closing it, he turned and walked down the long, curving driveway to the mansion.

However, his footsteps slowed as he got within sight of the front door.  He looked about, then turned off the driveway and walked into the forest.  The leaves crackled and crunched as he made his way around the house to the back.  He walked along the back, looking up at the second story windows.

"HOLD IT BUDDY!"

The speaker, a slim woman of oriental descent, dropped out of a tree not two feet in front of the young man.  Quick as lightning, she had Magnumr out and had it pointed at the bridge of his nose, right between the eyes.

The young man calmly regarded the woman, eyes tracing the zig-zaggy, barely perceptible veins that were not veins under the skin of her forehead, "Umm, that's a rather big gun you've got there, young lady." he said, regarding the gun with black eyes.

"Yeah," The woman replied, "It's got rather big bullets too.  What are you doing here?"

"I was invited to a dinner party here."

Her eyes narrowed, "Did you come in through the front gate?"

"Yes."

"Didja see the driveway?"

"Well, yes."

"In the national parks, the ranger advise you to stay on the path so you won't get lost.  This may look like a park, but t's kinda hard to wander off a path that wide.  I have pals that are big an' dumb, but not THAT dumb!"

The man sighed, "Erin*, just put the gun away, okay?"

Erin cocked the Magnum, "So HOW did you know my name, buddy?" she asked, eyes narrowing.

Sighing again, the man took his glasses off and put them in a coat pocket.  He then reached up, pulled at his hair, and it fell down in long straight locks over the left side of his face.  He then rubbed hard at his lips.  When his hand came away, his pale lips had suddenly turned a deep, coral red.

Erin looked the man over, lifted the gun, carefully uncocked it, and began to visibly struggle to suppress the urge to laugh out loud.

"Verrrry funny, Erin!"

"I'm sorry, Cybersix!" Erin got out just before she lost control.

Cybersix made a face at her, then glanced up at the mansion, "Which room is Bethany's?*"

Erin put her gun away, bent down, and put one hand on her knee to support herself while the other pointed at a window.

"I see," Cybersix remarked, noting the location.  She glanced at Erin, sighed again, and waited patiently until she was able to stand straight again, "Now that I know that, can we go inside now?" she finally asked

Erin nodded and fell in step beside Cybersix, a huge grin on her face, "So what are you doing here?"

"Didn't you get a mission briefing?"

"No."

"Didn't Cyprus or Serena* tell you?" Cybersix asked, frowning.

"No.  Were they supposed to know?"

"Not absolutely.  Dr. Zacharias* is my contact."

Erin glanced at her, surprised, "Dr. Zack?  Why him and not Cyprus?"

"Hmmm, I'll explain it when we're all together." Cybersix said, "And what are YOU doing here in Meridiana?"

"Installing new business software on 53's company computers, along with an encrypting scrambling code in case they get raided."

Cybersix smiled, "Uh huh.  And what were you doing in that tree a minute ago?"

"Scoping out the security holes.  That is one big fat tunnel from the wall, through the trees, to Bethany's window."

"And that's the only one, Erin.  Only a family member can take that route to the window."

"Well, *I* could do it."

"Like I said, a family member."

Erin just harrmphed.  They got to the door, and Erin gave a rather elaborate and rhythmical series of knocks on the door.  The Trodden butler, Harold, opened the door, "Ah, I thought it was you, Miss Cheng."  He looked at Cybersix, blinked, and pointedly looked her over from head to toe and back before asking, "And who are you, er, Miss?" he hazarded.

"I'm Cybersix, Harold.  At the gate, I gave the name of Adrian Seidelman."

"Ah!  I beg your pardon!  Come inside!  I presume you abandoned your disguise once you got inside?"

"Had me fooled." Erin confirmed as they both entered, "She had to ditch it or she'd have developed a third nostril thanks to Big Bertha here." She patted the six shooter on her hip affectionately.

"That is a relief.  I had feared, for a moment, that an incompetent had been sent on this mission."

Cybersix rolled her eyes while Erin chuckled.  Both turned as they heard Serena Trodden, Techno 54, walk in to the foyer, "Cybersix?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Welcome to our house!" Serena greeted her with a warm smile, "The other guests will be arriving soon, so-" she looked at Cybersix's clothes, "-I suppose you'd like to get out of those and into something more comfortable."

"Really, I can man-" Cybersix started.

"You're close to my size." she continued, not paying any heed to Cybersix's protests as she reached out, snaked an arm around the Cyber's arm and tugged her toward the staircase, "I think I can dig something up that would look nice on you."

Erin's grin got bigger as she watched the two go upstairs to the master bedroom, Serena totally ignoring the protests of her guest.  "Perhaps," she thought,  "Cybersix will be able to answer the burning question of Technos everywhere: Does  Serena Trodden actually own enough dresses to fully clothe and accessorize all 249 of her sisters in her batch?"

"Aren't you going to get ready, Miss Cheng?" Harold asked her solicitously.

"Uhh, I dunno, Harold." Erin stammered,  "I-I was going to go back to the office and work on the system.  After all, this IS just a family dinner."

"What?" Harold frowned, "Didn't the maid tell you about it this morning?"

"Well yeah, but-"

"Good.  I do hate to think that discipline is slipping.  You DO have time for a bath before-"

Erin sighed and headed for the staircase.

Feeling quite pleased with himself, Harold headed for the kitchens.
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The child hurried across the playground, muttering to herself as she dodged the other children trying to catch a few more minutes of play before being called to dinner.

"Hey!  Wanna play some soccer?  We need two more people for the game!" A boy called out to her.

She shook her head, "I'm going to a party!"

"All Right!  Can we come?" the other teammates called out as they started running to her.

"I didn't say it was a BIRTHDAY party, you knuckleheads!  Gee!"

She got to the sidewalk, turned, and headed up the street.  She had just taken only a few steps, passing the rear of a van parked at the curb, when the van doors swung open and two men in ski masks jumped out.  The girl tried to cry out when one looped his elbow around her upper arm.  The other hand held a thick, dirty white towel, which he shoved over her face.  The other grabbed her legs, wrapped them in the long black cloak she was wearing, and lifted her up.  With the ease of long practice, the two men bundled the child into the back of the van in less than five seconds.  A third member of their group pulled the van doors shut while the fourth member started the van up and pulled out into the street.  It happened so quickly that the children in the playground didn't notice anything amiss.

The van went down the street about 20 meters before it began rocking violently from side to side, the shocks and springs creaking noisily.  The loud thumps of heavy objects being thrown violently against the walls emanated from within the van.  It began to weave unsteadily, even though the driver was stone cold sober.

The van veered sharply to the left and cut across the oncoming lane of traffic.  A half second before the front fender and engine compartment struck a lightpole, the windshield burst in a shower of glass as the head and shoulders of the driver, along with the upper part of the bucket seat he was sitting in, went through it.  Steam hissed out of the ruined radiator as people gathered around to stare at the accident.

The van's rear doors flew open.  The girl-child looked around, made a face, dropped down to the street, and headed back the way the van had come.  She pulled a cell phone out of her cloak pocket, punched a speed dial digit into it, and waited for someone to answer, "Finally!  I waited long enough!" she spoke into the phone as she weaved between two  cars and got back onto the sidewalk, "I want to report an attempted kidnapping.  White van, four thugs, at the corner of Inca and 45th, wrapped around the second lightpole from the-" she glanced at the sun, "-southeast corner.  Send an ambulance.  What?  No, the kid was so shook up, she took off, so I guess she's okay.  What?  I dunno.  Maybe the steering wheel came loose or something like that.  Just get some cops down there pronto before they wake up, or I'll tell Ryan!  YOU guess WHOSE balls he's going to have for breakfast tomorrow!!"

Dr. Reba Pearce*, M. D. and growth retarded Cyber, scowled as she put the phone away,"Damn bastards!" she muttered angrily,  "Took me AWAY from the mansion!  I'm going to be late!"
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"You are looking quite pretty tonight, Bethany!" Erin stood in the hallway and admired Bethany's pink and white dinner dress.

"You do too, Auntie Erin." Bethany replied, "You look really nice in that."

Erin had given up correcting Bethany months ago.  She glanced down at her black pants suit and coat, "Thanks.  The maids did a bang up job getting the wrinkles out in such short notice.  I pull this thing out only for power lunches and dinners."

Bethany giggled at the joke.  They both walked down the stairs to the rapidly filling entrance hall.  All the guests were Von Richter family members living in or near Meridiana.  Most were employees of Cyprus Trodden's thriving inport/export business/supply front for Von Richter's operations.  She recognized a few familiar faces and nodded when they saw her.  She noticed Cyprus, dressed in suit and dinner jacket, talking with Type 37 and a woman beside him.

Cyprus had been glancing at the staircase, apparently impatient for his wife to appear, so he spotted her and waved her over, "Erin, you look great tonight!"

"Thanks Cyprus."

"I know you know Type 37, but have you met his wife, Type 138?" he asked, turning to the woman beside him.

"Not yet.  Pleased to meet you, maam."

"I've heard a lot about you, Erin." She replied, eyes twinkling.

"From who?  Your dad or, heaven forbid, your husband?" Erin grimaced.

"Oh, from all over." she replied cryptically.

"Oh gawd, not Interpol!"

Type 37 and Cyprus chuckled.  At that moment, Harold came out from the dining room and went straight for  the door,  No sooner did he get to it when it shook visibly with several loud thumps.  He rolled his eyes, opened it, and bent downwards, "Good Evening, Dr. Pearce!" he said as Cyber 5000 entered the mansion.

"Good Evening Harold!" She replied, fishing her cellphone out of the cloak before letting Harold take it off to hang up, "Hi everybody.  Sorry I'm late, but I got jumped by some kiddie nappers." she explained, hooking it to the belt of the "little black dress".she wore.

"WHAT?" Ryan looked shocked and concerned, "Where?"

"I had just cut through the Inca street playground when two guys hopped out of a van, grabbed me, and hauled me inside.  I don't know the poor guy who's on ER duty tonight, but he's going to have a nice mess to deal with, especially the driver."

"What happened to him?" Erin asked.

"Went out the front windshield, along with my Hippocratic oath to do no harm.  Don't bother-" She said to Type 37, who was reaching for his cellphone, "I reported it."

He looked at her, then at his wife, who was giving him a look of, "Let someone ELSE handle it!"  Sighing, he reluctantly pulled his hand away from his back pocket, but he couldn't hide the look of concern on his face.

"Oh Look!" Bethany gasped.

Serena and Cybersix were coming down the long, curving staircase.  Serena  wore a pink designer dress, while Cybersix wore a long, white, strapless satin gown..  She also wore bracelets and a choker, each of which had five strands of white pearls.  Serena's selection for Cybersix was indeed inspired: It was only slightly tight in "the right places", the fabric sliding sensuously over her body as she moved, delicately hinting at the strength and grace it concealed.

"Auntie Six!  You are sooo beautiful!" Bethany exclaimed.

"Thank you, Bethany!" Cybersix said gratefully, "Hi Reba!"

"Cyber 5000, Auntie Six!" Bethany corrected her.

Reba just grinned and beckoned with her fingers, so Cybersix went to her and got down so they could  kiss each other's cheek, as was the custom among Cybers who meet each other away from the barracks..

For her part, Serena made a beeline to Type 37, "Well, its soo good to see you alive and well, 37!" Serena greeted the police chief, "And you look like you've lost weight!"

"30 pounds, some of it being scraps of skin left on those torture tracks the Cyber DIs call training courses!" he complained cheerfully, "However, it did give me a few ideas to try out at the police acad-"

He stopped when his wife cut between them, a strange look on her face.

Cybersix had just stood up after greeting Cyber 5000 and was moving through the crowd of guests when she caught sight of Type 138 bearing down on her and froze.  Erin noticed the sudden, strained silence, glanced over, and half wondered if 138 was going to attack Cybersix.

Type 138 reached out, grabbed Cybersix, and gave her a strong hug, pressing her cheek against Cybersix's, "Thank you!" She said  into her ear, voice shaking with emotion, her tears moistening both their cheeks, "Thank you, thank you so much!"

Cybersix swallowed, "H-He was family," She murmured back, feeling her own tears joining the Type's, "And the others-"

But 138 then twisted her head and kissed Cybersix's right cheek fiercely, her right hand pressing against the left side of the Cyber's head so she couldn't excape.  Erin wished for a camera, for nobody was ever going to believe that a Type could ever pin down and hold a Cyber as helplessly as 138 held this one.

After a few long moments, 138 reluctantly released Cybersix, smiled self-depreciatingly, and stepped back.  She then began to clap her hands.

Serena and Reba immediately joined her, and soon everyone in the room was applauding their Cyber sister, who just looked around and smiled wanly, wiping at her cheeks and eyes.

"You know, there were others." Cybersix said to 138 loud enough for everyone to hear, "Kayla, Cyberdragon, Grizelda, Terra, and Jose.  Each did their part."

"I know!" 138 said equally loudly, "And they'll get my thanks the next time we're at the Compound.  But YOU were the leader, and you are HERE, so I wasn't going to let this opportunity pass."

"It appears that everyone is here who is coming." Harold announced, "I regret that Dr. Zacharias* was unable to make it tonight due to a previous engagement."

Erin felt a pang of regret, mixed with surprise that he had even been invited.  Dr. Zack's security system and well-stocked munchie bar held a special place in her heart.

"Dinner is ready," Harold announced, "The guest of honor enters first, of course."

Cybersix glanced at 37, but he, and everyone else, was looking at HER.  She pointed at herself, wordlessly asking, "ME?"

At the slight nod of Techno 53's head and smile, she smiled back a little lopsidedly and glided fluidly into the dining hall through the path that opened up before her.
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Erin Cheng (C) Syberkat
Dr. Reba Pearce (C) Queen of Mars
Bethany, Cyprus, and Serena Trodden, (C) Bethany Trodden
Dr. Anthony Zacharias, (C) Ptah Aegyptus
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Chapter 4
Chapter 6