The Furry Forums
Creative Arts and Media => Roleplay => Serious RP => Topic started by: Asia Kali Yusufzai on July 06, 2010, 05:11:49 PM
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OOC: http://www.thefurryforum.com/forums/index.php?topic=12335.0 (http://www.thefurryforum.com/forums/index.php?topic=12335.0)
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Large paintings of city streets, hung on the wall, looking down at Kateri, who leaned back in her chair behind her desk, and stared at the door and the timer above it, counting down. Twenty five hours, thirty six minutes, fifteen seconds. The desk shimmered in black with three small lights in the bottom right corner, and a framed photo sitting on the top left. The picture was of a Black Dragon, standing beside an old armchair where an old red vixen sat and smiled a pleasant, elderly smile. The windows in Kateri's office pointed to the sky, letting in the light of a blue giant star, which the Capital Sphere had settled by for the past year or so. Now they were ready to move again, to the next solar system that could use some sphere influence. The journey was always equally unnerving and exciting for the populace, but Kateri always made plans, ready and prepared for any eventuality that her security forces might encounter; though that mostly just meant keeping people calm and pleasant.
A holographic screen appeared, floating above her desk, with 'Incoming Message', emblazoned across it. A small blue menu appeared on the desk itself, and she tapped 'Accept'. It was from the Sphere's science division. A red panda male in a sleek mint suit appeared on the screen with a datapad in his hands. His tufty ears were twitching as he looked into the camera.
"Miss Peralta? It's me, Jerime. Our scientists on Serra Draconis have just sent a message back and they think it's finally happened." He looked down at the pad and tapped his fist against his hip. "The Everflame has become completely inert. There is no energy being released at all. They've checked the machinery and they can't find any fault, so they suggest security be increased." He lowered the pad, looked around for a place to put it, then just laid it on his lap, before looking at the camera again. "The gradual decline of Everflame energy means that the madness of twenty five years ago wont repeat." He scratched his head and sighed. His ears twitched. "Back then it was all too sudden, but that doesn't mean you lot shouldn't be on your guard." He paused, then smirked; his tiny eyes lighting up. "Of course you'll be ready. It is you, after all. I'll talk to you later." He reached below the camera, but stopped, then clicked his fingers. "Actually, tell me when you're free. We could meet up, have lunch or something, to talk about all this, yeah? Message me back." He reached again, and the holographic screen closed down. Kateri smiled and shook her head, with soft breaths of a laugh that quickly faded. She pushed the chair back and stood up, walking over to the the back window that overlooked the great shining city as rain fell and slithered down the walls. She frowned and ran a finger down the glass, which deformed, bending to her touch.
She could hear whispers.
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Dank steam filled the cramped steel corridor. And at the very end beside a rusted bulkhead doorway stood two figures, both wreathed in darkness. One knelt beside a flickering console set into the steel wall, while the other stood with their back to the door. Both held flashlights, which sliced through the gloom of the corridor. The one kneeling down muttered a brief curse, as an error message flickered across the screen:
---Security Override Rejected---
"Bugger it... Stupid GX series..."Sighing, Annie re-inserted a thin red wire into the console. The screen flickered again, as she tapped away on the data-pad strapped to her wrist. Numerous wires lead from the device, to several forcefully opened panels below the console, as she activated another CPU spike.
The screen flickered again, as reels of numbers, letters and nonsense scrolled across the console screen. By force-feeding the console huge databases of random gibberish, the security system was more vulnerable to attack. As the console attempted to filter through the spike of information, Annie hurriedly tapped away on her data-pad, fingers moving skilfully.
The figure beside her coughed into his paw, tail flicking anxiously as he sent the flashlight beam strobing through the dim corridor. “How long is this going to take? You said the security in here would be outdated by now...” Annie didn’t reply, focusing instead on the console. Suddenly a brief beeping tone announced success, and the rusted bulkhead door started to open with a groan.
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((Sorry, his speech is in black. It'll change when he moves into the real dimension.))
~WhY ArE WE WaitinG...ItS OurS...TheY ShoulD HavE NeveR HaD IT IN ThE FirsT PlacE~
~be that as it may, we must give the ambassadors more...~
~YoU WerE GoinG TO SaY TimE Weren'T YoU...I SweaR, YoU BecomE MorE LikE TheM WitH EverY VisiT~
~we must be patient, nero.~
~I HavE BeeN MorE ThaN PatienT...ThesE AmbassadorS ArE WorthlesS TrasH, JusT LikE ThE RealM TheY WerE BorN FroM...I WilL NoT StanD IdlE WhilE TheY DillY DallY WitH TheiR KiN WhilsT TheY Should BE LookinG FoR AnD RetrievinG ThE EverflamE~
~silence! we will give them all they need to complete their task.~
~DO AS YoU WilL...I WilL FinD IT MyselF~
~nero, wait! nero! blast it, he's gone.~
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Kitt swore as he moved through the forest of his home. Two days ago he had asked his father to lend him some money so that he could book passage on a line to the sphere, but once again his father had refused! He was 21 now, well over the legal age to be considered an adult! Why wouldn't his family listen to him and let him become a pilot for the military? He was the best flier on Luscious, so why couldn't he join the military?
"Heh. The old geezer even took all of my spending money. Piss! Oh well I know another way off this rock.
A look of fierce determination crossed the young red foxes features as he started moving deeper into the forest. Moving to the branches of the trees, hundreds of feet over head, Kitt started moving as only a person who has lived all of their lives in the dense forest of Luscious can. Flying from branch to branch Kitt was a blur of motion to any one looking upon him. He was moving to a well know pick up point for military personnel going home from their Triffid hunts. It had been three years since The Triffids were introduced to Luscious, some moron thought that it would be fun to hunt them, but didn't want to go to a planet already over run by the damn things. So they brought them here, but when they went to turn them loose the smuggler was killed on the spot by one of their stingers. Now the were trying to populate Luscious as well. Just thinking about them brought a smile to Kitt's face he had already killed three of them with only his Bo Staff. Though he always neglected to let people know that he had only done so by dropping out of a tree, after he had made sure that there were no others around, and he would kill it with one blow.
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"I'm bored!!" Chronin yelled while leaning against the wall, to which his co-worker started to snicker. "I could tell you where the secret firing range is, but I think its much more entertaining to see you fidget... Remember Chronin, being the 'Elite', we'll rarely be called in for anything more the tutoring or coddling the new recruits, which there won't be happening since we're moving to a new system." "Then lets tell those tech geeks in engineering to pick up the pace!!" The other officer raised a brow at him, but without a smirk.
"Hey, wasn't your father an en-" "He was the head engineer of explosives, spending his final ye- " "Yeah yeah, 'spending his final years fine-tuning an efficient and safe way of demolishing structures while having all the shrapnel converge and vanish into the center' you've always said that when we go out to drinks, but not once have I seen you pull i-" an explosion about the size of the criticizing officer occoured three meters away from said officer, and his look of shock was only replied with a smug look on Chronin's face as he put his gloved hand down. "Those 'scotties' in the engine room need their entire team to get one engine system working, my father built this, alone with nothing but the Everflame backing him up." he said as he felt the lack of combat slightly less unbearable...
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As Kitt drew near the landing site he was startled by the sudden sound of a rhythmic knock knock knock and the sound of several fully automatic weapons unloading in the distance.
"Triffids! They're attacking the soldiers!"
Increasing the pace Kitt arrived at the landing site, only to witness the Triffids closing in on the final soldier, His comerads littering the ground four Triffids slowly making their way towards the survivor.
"Air support! Where the hell are you? I'm almost out of ammo, and these things are about to gut me while your whirling around the planet looking for daisies?!? Get to the rendezvous!"
Kitt brought his old 30 ought 6 to bear. He would suffer in hell before he let a soldier die, and he could help him. Lining his sights Kitt popped off three round shredding two of the Triffids, the other two whirled to face him as the retort reached them, only to be cut down by the soldier. After making sure that all the Triffids were dead the lone soldier stood and went to his comrads, kneeling over each one and offering a silent prayer for their souls. As he finished Kitt walked down into the clearing and greeted the soldier.
"Hello, are you alright?"
"Yeah I'm in one piece my commander and the others aren't though.Whats your name son? And what are you doing out here?"
"My name is Kitt Beesley, and I'm out here so I can hitch a ride to the sphere with you on your return trip. I'm trying to get into the military but I can't afford a line to the sphere.
Just after Kitt had finished speaking a large cruiser came into view above the clearing, landed and opened its bay door the soldier smiled as he walked up the ramp turned and waved for Kitt to follow. Kitt practically ran up the steps of the craft before the bay door closed and shuddered off into space. He was finally on his way.
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On the wreckage the Annie and Blaze were in, torchlight flashed through their corridor, and footsteps and mumbling could be heard. As Blaze's light beamed across, the footsteps stopped. The mumbles turned to whispers.
The pilot of the dropship Kitt had boarded set a course for the cruiser that orbited above. He released the controls and looked back down the cramped ship. Seeing Kitt standing there, he raised an eyebrow.
"Who the heck is that?"
On the capital sphere, in the barracks, Chronin's explosion burst out, followed by barking yells as the dark canine commanding officer of the group flung the door open and marched with violent steps to the two Elites.
"What in God's name are you doing!?" He looked at Chronin, staring with fierce golden eyes. "It was you wasn't it?" Spittle flew. "Put that toy away or I'll take it from you and ram it down your throat. You do not use weapons unless authorised to." His breathing was heavy, and he shook his head. "How you became Elite I have no idea." As he spoke, his digital comm sparked into life. A female voice spoke through it.
"Attention all Region officers, Sphere jump security to be increased. Due to recent events, an Elite is advised to join each police squad. The objectives are the same. Nonviolent pacification. Pleasant and Calm. I repeat, Pleasant and Calm. Security Primary, out."
Kateri released her comms, and brushed her hand through her hair, sighing. She held her hand up, and curled her fingers one by one, like a Mexican wave, repeating it at speed. Eventually she stopped, and rubbed her eyes. She looked above the door. Twenty hours left. her desk lit up, as her secretary called her. It was audio only.
"Miss Peralta, there are two ambassadors here to see you. They say it's urgent." Kateri scratched her forehead.
"Who are they?"
"Well, they call themselves Howl and Seeker, and they apparently have to talk to you about the Everflame." Kateri narrowed her eyes.
"Allow them in, but keep an escort with them." There was a pause, and then the door slid open. The two visitors seemed to drift into the room. One was a wolf, leaving wisps of his colour behind him as he moved. The other was almost blinding. Aflame with colour and light. She seemed to glow from inside. While the wolf wore an ill fitting suit, the other wore nothing, seemingly a humanoid made of colour. Dark eyes and a display of teeth were her only facial features, on a head that sprouted antennae. Her hair floated behind her, as though blown softly by her own vibrancy. As they entered the room, two guards with assault rifles walked in behind, and stood at either side.
Kateri stood up, and tried not to stare.
"Sorry about the firepower," she said. The wolf smirked while the other looked her up and down with a passive stare. "My name's Kateri Peralta, I'm the Head of Security here." The wolf looked confused, then turned to the other, who looked back at him.
"Nature of time, remember?" This being had a strong alien accent, and a reassuring smile that eased even Kateri. The wolf nodded.
"So I guess it hasn't been a month."
"Excuse me?" Kateri looked from one visitor to the other, keeping her hands clasped behind her back.
"How long has it been since the Everflame was stolen?" the wolf said. His voice was earnest. Kateri watched him, and creased her brow.
"Twenty five years," She said. The wolf's face drained. He widened his eyes, and darted his gaze from Kateri to his friend, then at the guards, who couldn't have been over thirty.
"Oh," was all he said in reply, leaving a deep silence.
"I'm sorry, but could you tell me why you're here? I'm busy." The other one stepped forward.
"You can call me Seeker, and this man," she looked over at the wolf. "He is Howl. We come here because you are all in danger." Kateri hardened, and stared into Seeker's eyes.
"In danger from what? We're the greatest power in the galaxy." She straightened herself, becoming taller and more impressive. Seeker's feelers twitched in the air, aiming towards Kateri.
"The danger is not from galaxy. It is from true owners of Everflame. They want it back." Kateri chewed it over, glanced up at the clock over the door then back to the visitors.
"Then why are you telling me this? I'm not in charge of the Everflame, I just keep this place safe." Howl stepped forward.
"I know this place," he said, glancing through the wide back window behind Kateri. "And I know that we can't rely on politicians. They won't give it up no matter how much we warn them." Kateri gave a little smile.
"What makes you think I'll just hand it over?"
"Because," Howl replied. "We can show you what they're capable of."
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Annie and Blaze stepped through the doorway, even as it continued to slide open... Raising her flashlight up to shoulder height, Annie reached down to her thigh, and pulled out a bulky pistol... Blaze followed suit, back up against one steel wall... "Alright Kid... I dunno whats going on here... but this aint any normal wreck, stay here alright?" Blaze nodded to Annie, as she started to walk down the steam-filled corridor...
Footsteps clanking softly on the steel grate flooring, Annie sent her beam of light coursing down the corridor... Steel panels where brought into vision, and shadows where cast into further darkness... Suddenly Blaze gave a shout of alarm... "Frack! Annie, the door!"
Turning, it was already too late, as the steel bulkhead doorway closed with a grinding slam... Footsteps grew louder from down the corridor, as did the soft patter of footsteps...
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Chronin's eyes lit up only for a moment as he heard Kateri's voice, but then changed back as he nodded to his friend before walking past the canine with a grin.
"I promise not to be the first to shoot..." was all he said as he made his way through the hall, knowing he could just latch onto any patrol not already taken. He could tell the Commander was still furious with him, but this was the first time he used it outside the practice room he made in... I really need to visit her, shes the only one I personally know beyond Kateri, that was alive after the Everflame incident.
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Down the corridor in front of them, a communicator buzzed with a gruff, deep voice.
"Door's closed. Go for it." Someone stepped closer, to the edge of a turn in the corridor, and flashed their light at Annie and Blaze.
"Hey yo!" This other voice was younger, lighter. "We got you guys trapped, so put your stuff down and call out your names!"
The commander growled as Chronin past, then headed off to his office. As Chronin walked through the barracks, he passed by the regular peacekeepers changing into their nylon, sky-blue uniforms, and taking their white truncheons, ready to set off across the region, keeping people happy.
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A shrouded hunched figure came limping out of a garbage pit, somewhere far from the Capital Sphere. The figure seemed to be tripping over his own two feet as he made his way upwards to where most of the civilization was. As he was about to leave the pit he spotted a hyena, probably in his late twenties, rummaging through the trash. Walking over to to the man, the figure adressed him. "ExcusE ME YounG MaN....I SeeM TO HavE GotteN MyselF RatheR LosT...CoulD YoU TelL ME WherE I AM?...I HavE QuitE A BaD MemorY YoU SeE, AnD I Can'T EveN RemembeR WhicH PlaneT I'M ON..."
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"That my slow flying friend would be Kitt. The only reason why I am not Triffid food."
"Ah you know the generals going to have your tail for breakfast right?"
"Maybe not, John, Kitt's come to join the military. He wants to be a pilot.
As Kitt listened to the exchange between the pilot and the soldier he had helped, he watched the atmosphere fade to a light blue haze then to the black nothingness punctuated by thousands of stars. Ahead of the dropship was a massive command vessel. After docking the ship into one of the port bays, Kitt, Jason, the soldier he had saved, and John, the pilot, walked into the loading bay. Kitt watched the mass of activity and reception for the lone survivor of the Triffid suppression force sent to the surface earlier that day. Suppressing a slight shiver Kitt turned to face Jason who had been calling him for the last minute.
"Kitt, follow me we need to introduce you to the commander and see what he says about you tagging along with us. I also need to debrief with him as to the events on the surface. Don't worry, the commander is a real hard case but he is very honor bound. For saving me he'll let ya tag along. His name is Harold. He's a massive Kodiak Bear so here's your warning you'll look like a pup compared to him in size."
"Um, Jason, the term for foxes is kit. Just so you know. A lot of foxes out in the rim take offense to being implied that they are canine, instead of vulpine. It should allow you to avoid troubles with locals on Luscious. But anyway lets go."
Kitt followed Jason as he lead him to the command deck. all the while marveling at the different fighters docked in the individual bays. As they passed dock number 33047 Kitt found the fighter he had always dreamed of. It was tittled the SRX-397 code neamed the Kitsune faster than any other jet built before it. The Kitsune was built spec. for spec. to rival the shadow built twentyfive years ago run by a merc. that had given the military more greif than one man should have been able to. Taking note of where the fighter was docked Kitt and Jason walked onto the bridge.
"Kitt stay here while I go talk to the commander I'll come get you when he's ready to talk to you."
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Chronin didn't bother to change out his 'uniform' since it set him apart from the others with how worn it was. The only reason he hasn't gotten a repair or re-tailoring done was because the armored parts, the only part he really needs, were far from worn. He kept his rifle in his right talon as his left talon wore the 'insta-bomb' glove. He checked to see if anyone was nearby before finding a spot to hide and turn on the digital comm he 'borrowed' from the same commander that yelled at him, while passing by. He kept fiddling with it until he was able to reach Kateri, but had to wait for her to answer before anything could be spoken. Ironically, sticky fingers and a knack for tinkering is what kept alive long enough to make 'elite' He mused with a rather cheeky grin as he waited for her to answer. 'Gran' was right, even trouble-makers make good heros, just need to have good priorities...
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Annie stopped still, she couldnt see who was holding the flashlight due to its brightness... but she realised they where well and truly trapped.... Kneeling down, she placed the pistol on the steel floor...
"The name is Annie Yantova!.... Explorator Mechanicus, first class!..."
Blaze growled in annoyance, but dropped his pistol as well... "Blaze Yantova!... Explorator Mechanicus Third Class..." They stood nervously, in the stark light, waiting...
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"What you on about?"said the trash rummaging hyena. With drunken sway, he wrenched out half a chicken, half eaten and half rotten. "It's Earth, innit." He turned and jogged to the rim of the garbage pit, sitting at its edge and looking over the field of biodegrading F-plastic from broken computers.
Harold, the bear, sat in his office, eating a piece of meat like it was a cookie. On his table, plans sprawled, mixed with diagrams and thousands of notes. He chewed deep in thought. The door opened and Jason strolled in. Harold glanced up then back to his plans, holding up his hand to stop any speaking before he'd chewed. He swallowed the meat down.
"What happened?" He straightened, and looked down at Jason, who moved to speak. Harold cut him off. "You have tech designed to track Triffids, you have guns designed to kill Triffids, you have armour designed to stop Triffids killing you, and you have tactics that ensure victory. This is not back in the day when we were lambs to the slaughter, so what happened?" Harold stared, fierce and cold, into the eyes of the soldier.
"How?" Kateri asked, looking from one visitor to the other. Howl looked down at her interactive desk, indicating to it with his hands.
"There was an incident, a few days after the everflame was stolen, about two thirds of the way from Raven's Nest to Serra Draconis." Kateri watched him for a moment, then tapped on her desk corner, where the small light glowed. A window popped up, and she flicked through search directories, narrowing the criteria. A list of events appeared, all in the area between the two planets. Howl reached over, the guards pointed their guns, and the wolf froze.
"I was going to point to one," he said. Kateri nodded to the guards who returned to a ready position. Howl leaned further and pointed to a file about a destroyed merchant convoy. Kateri tapped it and it opened up. Images showed the convoy to be completely destroyed. There was just wreckage left. Notes hovered to the side of the images, showing a list of ship designations, cargo (of which nothing was missing,) and at the bottom, was a note typed in red. No evidence of weapons residue or explosive damage. The event was written of as a mystery, leaving scientists baffled. Kateri looked up at the visitors, and clenched her hands behind her back.
"So you think that whatever is coming to take the Everflame is what did this?" Howl nodded, while Seeker almost bowed.
"We are your only warning," she said. Kateri watched, and thought.
"How long does this warning last?" Howl winced and Seeker's smile faltered.
"We don't know," said the wolf. "Time doesn't work for us in the way it works for you. You could have five seconds or five hundred years, so you've got to act as soon as you can. You can't risk it." Kateri ran a hand through her blonde hair, then looked up at the timer above the door. Seeker turned to watch it as well, keeping her feelers in the air towards Kateri, who looked back down to the visitors.
"I'll have all this checked out, and if it turns out that you two are to be trusted, then I have to refer this to the politicians." Howl sighed, and made the smallest shake of his head, while Seeker turned to face her again. Her feelers curled back behind her like a crown, and she smiled, with a pleasant squint of her eyes. "It's my duty." The table lit up again, it was a communication from one of the soldiers, but the identity was scrambled. Kateri looked down at it and grumbled under her breath, before straightening herself and glancing over to the door. "Now unless you have anything else to tell me, I am busy." Seeker's colours dimmed flowing into her hair that danced like a flame as she bowed low, and then turned to leave. Howl looked from her to Kateri, becoming agitated.
"Wait, no we can't leave it like this," he said. Seeker looked back at him with deep soothing darkness in her eyes. She reached out her hand.
"We continue later, we tell others, okay?" she said, as she took his hand, and walked out with him in reluctant tow. He continuously shook his head.
"No, no this is dangerous."
The guards followed on behind, and the door closed, leaving Kateri alone in her office. She grabbed her chair and dropped herself into it, looking up at the ceiling. She closed her eyes and breathed slowly for a moment, before reaching a hand forward and tapping her desk to answer her comms.
"Yes?"
On the ship Annie and Blaze were on, the man with a flashlight stifled a laugh. "Scavengers? Oh wait, nah, you're Explorator Mechanicusses, first class." He stepped out of the shadows, a rabbit in his mid-twenties wearing a slim space suit with an open helmet. He had his own pistol in one hand, aimed and ready, and the torch in the other. "You know, I don't think the people waiting for this ship, would like to know that you're nicking their stuff." He flicked the light to the ground, seeing the guns before lighting Annie and Blaze up again. "Kick them back to the door so my partner can take them off you, then follow me. We are going on a trip to the cargo bay." He wiggled his eyebrows and grinned.
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"Commander, Sir, as you well know, the Triffids are highly intelligent, and they seem to have found a way to elude our sensors. We were waiting for pick up and were ambushed from all sides by the Triffids Sir, and until we started firing they sounded no alarm to bring others that first wave attack was more than enough to decimate half of the unit Sir. Further more they have developed an acid that will eat our armor. Had it not been for a civilian fox named Kitt, none of use would have made it back Sir. He is on deck if you wish to speak with him." Jason fidgeted slightly under the commander's gaze as he waited for a response.
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Blaze raised a paw as the rabbit stifled his laugh... "Actually... Like i said.. I'm still only a third Class Explorator..." Annie rolled her eyes, and elbowed him in the ribs...Blaze, like his father had been, wasn't the best when it came to timing or words... She kicked the pistols back down the corridor towards the door, and zipped one finger across her lips... even Blaze couldn't mistake that message...
"Sure... Scavengers, call us that... we just find what aint being used, and sell it on so it can be used... We didnt know this ship was still needed, just looked like a wreck..." She licked her lips, taking a hesitant step forward... It seemed even as an Explorator Danger followed her everywhere...
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Harold growled under his breath, and leant on the table with his fists.
"They evolved," he said, through the grumbles, "again." He released a mighty punch to the table, making it shudder, and causing a crack to run along the side, causing all the diagrams to tint a little greener. "Get to lab, tell the scientists what you know. Oh and bring that kid to me. I'll decide if he's worth keeping."
The door behind Blaze and Annie rumbled as it opened. The barrel of an assault rifle poked through, followed by a fox in his own space suit. He was carrying a bag, and he picked up the guns to drop them in there. The rabbit tapped his foot against the floor, keeping the attention on him.
"This ship is a wreck, but as long as the stuff inside is still good, then the people who own it will still want it, won't they? As will everybody else." He gestured around with his torch, flashing the light all over the corridor. "So what you're gonna do for me, is go over to that cargo bay, open it up, get the goods, and then follow me to my ship where you will be rewarded with... I dunno." He shrugged and looked over to his vulpine friend. "Yo, what d'you think they should get?"
"A cuddly toy," the fox replied in the deep gruff voice that had spoken through the comms earlier. The rabbit laughed.
"Ha, yeah alright. A cuddly toy. Your little boy there would like that, wouldn't he, hey?" He shined the light into Blaze's eyes. "What do you say to that, little man?" he smirked, then turned away, looking down the corridor. "Come on now, follow me, and don't try anything or my friend will not hesitate." The fox huffed a chuckle and kept his rifle aimed and ready.
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Chronin's hair went from it 'normal' spiky style, and started to hang loosely around his head. "Aunt Kateri, how do we know which groups to join?" he asked with rather astonishing honesty. He didn't want to hear 'your commanding officer is supposed to assign you', because he just snatched the comm from the same officer not too long ago. "Also, when can I visit 'Gran' again?"
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Blaze growled in peeved annoyance, taking a step towards the rabbit, Annie put out an arm and stopped him in his tracks... She was still very strong, despite her age... She hissed under her breath, letting go of his arm with a flick of her wrist... "Just like your Father, quick to anger... Dont let your ego kill us in situations like this... shut it..."
She started to walk after the rabbit, trying her best to ignore the gun aimed squarely at her back... She spoke up as the walked, just to break the silence if nothing else.. "So... I'm guessing you guys are the real scavengers here.... At least, by the sounds of it you 'aint exactly the lawful owners of said ship contents..." Blaze walked beside her, all too aware of the guns pointed at him... he brushed some dust off his dark red Explorator armour, nervously flicking his long tail...
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"EartH..." The figure seemed to barely recoginize the word and was tossing it about in his mind. EartH...EartH...EartH...WherE HavE I HearD ThaT NamE BeforE?... The figure recalled the ambassador, Howl, talking about it in his time in their dimension. Now knowing exactly where he was he needed to find a way of the planet without attracting attention to himself. But first...he'd need a disguise. The hyena hadn't bothered to look closely at the figure...if he had then he would have reacted much differently. There was nothing underneath the rags....
The figure limped up behind the hyena. "ThanK YoU...You'vE BeeN QuitE HelpfuL...YouR SeviceS WilL NoT GO UnrewardeD..." The hyena turned around to the figure, a bit surprised. It wasn't every day that he got a handout. The hyena smiled eagerly, ready for his reward.
"YoU WilL BE AlloweD TO TraveL AnywherE...SeE StrangE AnD ExotiC NeW PlaceS...YoU WilL BE ServeD HanD AnD FooT...DO YoU AccepT?..."
The hyena nodded furiously, ecstatic that things were finally going his way.
"PerfecT..." The rags suddenly flew open and engulfed the hyena. His screams were muffled as the rags constricted and twisted around him like ragged snakes. The squirming cocoon dropped to the ground as the screams got higher and higher pitched until finally they stopped altogether. The cocoon continued to twitch for a moment before finally laying still. The rags loosened and unwound themselves as the figure got back up. On the ground was only a puddle of blood, slowly being soaked up by the trash surrounding it. The figure looked down into the blood and waved a gnarled hand, making it as reflective as glass. He looked at his new face with disdain. "Filthy vermin...you will have to do for now."
The blood returned to its original form and spread out across the ground as normal. "Now...how do I get off of this rock?" Nero walked away from the scene, leaving the trash pit to the rest of the vermin. As he left however, the blood slithered away, leaving a trail of itself behind as it dissapeared into the trash.
-
Jason walked out of the door to Harold's office with a grim look on his face.
"Hey Kitt your up, watch what you say and how you act Harold's in a bad mood because of the Triffids among other things. Just tell him what you want to do, and what you did for me. He should let you come along although he is notorious for sticking wannabe pilots into the cocpit of a junker fighter and telling them to show him what they can do. Although I doubt that he'll do it to you, it is a possibility. If you present yourself corectly. just remember to refer to him as sir and you two should get along fine."
Swallowing hard Kitt walked into the commander's quarters and waited to be adressed.
-
Kateri made a little hum of relief. "Hello Chronin." She smiled as she spoke. "What's with the modified transmission? Have you been fiddling around with communicators again? I hope it's your own one this time." She leaned forward in her chair plucked the framed photo that stood on her desk. Holding it in her hand, she admired the idyllic look. " Sweety, your Regional Officer was supposed to assign you to a group. Go talk to that dog that's in charge. What's his name? Macen? Whatever, talk to him, he'll sort you out." She held the picture close to her, and her smile faded as she thought on the implication of the visitors. The daydream snapped as Chronin asked about his 'gran'. "Huh? Well you can come see her tonight if you want. She's always happy when you come to see her, you know that. She always asks about you." Slowly, Kateri sighed, and then swung her chair around to look to the sky outside. "You know, she's starting to worry me. Lately she's been talking about something about to happen. She thinks she won't be here after its over, and..." She paused, thinking of how to phrase her next words. "I don't think she's far wrong. She is getting rather old, slowing down."
The rabbit in the spacesuit swaggered through the corridors with a smile on his face.
"You've seen through our disguise! No we're not the owners. We're just like you, robbing from the dead to give to the rich; except we've got guns and you don't." The fox behind them all chuckled at his friends joke, while the rabbit himself lit up the walls ahead. There, a large and damaged door sat in front, with the word 'CARGO' written above it in capitals. It was bent and buckled and wedged into the wall at awkward points. "Nuts." The rabbit scanned across the door with his light. One side was bent inwards at the bottom corner, leaving a small gap.
"What's wrong?" said the fox, in his heavy voice. The rabbit waved his paw.
"It's okay, just a little interesting. Nothing we didn't expect. The door's been damaged, and it looks jammed in, but there's a gap. I could probably crawl inside, but then why risk getting trapped in a damaged and probably unstable room," he spun round and aimed his light at Blaze, "when you can get someone else to do it for you." He raised his pistol and aimed it square at Annie's face. "What do you say, champ? Just crawl in there and push whatever you can to the loading airlock. Our pilot will swing round to dock there and you can just get the goods onto our boat." He stepped aside from the door, inviting Blaze to crawl in. "If you do that, we won't hurt your mum, okay?" He looked over to Annie. "You are his mum, right? Not just some really messed up romance." The fox chuckled again.
On Earth, some human kids sat on their bikes on the dirt road to the trash heap. Nero trudged towards them, and the eldest, a tall lanky boy with cropped blond hair, baggy jeans and muddy trainers, called out to him.
"Hey, mate. What happened over there? We heard a scream."
Harold stood staring down the little fox, with a stern and authoritarian stare.
"You're the one who saved my soldier, correct?" He looked up and down Kitt's comparatively meagre body, and licked his teeth. "Now since you live here, my guess is you know a bit about Triffids, but not much else, so in spite of what you may think of your heroics, I have no need of you. Go home." He waved his paw to dismiss Kitt, then turned his back on him, looking to a screen, showing video of the hangar bay.
-
"Ha! I know more than just Triffids, I came here to become one of the military's pilots. the ship your looking at in that hanger is the SRX-397, aka the Kitsune. It can jump to 6.5 parsects past light and has long range as well as close combat capabilities, deep space or atmosphere. It runs a dual energy core with enough power to jump this comand post to the inner sphear. Matter of fact I can already fly, And I am more than willing to prove it."
Kitt stood there defiantly for a second before he remembered that Jason had told him to adress the commander as Sir, so he hastily added the tittle. "Sir."
-
"That was me unfortunately. I fell amongst the trash and got stuck. My leg is...rather badly injured." Nero's leg began 'bleeding' as he spoke, the blood starting to pool on the ground around the 'injured' leg. Please, would you help an old man to someone who might take care of it?"
-
"Well, until immortality is possible, its something everyone faces. But before I go back to Regional Officer Tight-wad, what do you mean when you say 'after its over'?" He checked the halls for anyone that might pick up on the conversation, or wonder why they're hearing someone talk like a child. His hair started to rise up again, knowing he'll have to 'change' if someone gets too close...
-
Blaze took another angered step towards the rabbit, only stopping when the Fox behind him poked the barrel of the rifle between his ribs... Annie looked down the dark barrel of the pistol, before sighing... "Of course he's my son... And enough of the corny jokes, or else that pistol isnt going to be the death of me..." She smirked, despite the situation...
Blaze grimaced, looking from the pistol, to his mother, to the rabbit and back again... "Fine... Just... Just don't shoot..." There was an unmistakeable tremor in his voice, though whether of fear or anger was hard to tell... Dropping down onto both knees Blaze looked in through the hole, he pulled out his flashlight and clicked it on, but the stark beam of light only reach a few metres in... The air inside was thick with swirling dust and steam, the flashlight only illuminating the motes of dust like fireflies...
Shrugging his shoulders, and resigning to the worst, Blaze crawled through... One sleeve caught and tore on the jagged edge of the door, and after a few choice words he was in. The dust swirled in crazed eddies, as he took several careful steps into the bay...
-
"Really now?" said the bear as he turned back around. "You're a hotshot bird shooting ace, are you?" He walked round the table and stepped up to Kitt, staring down at him. "Talk to Derrick, he's the mongoose down in the hangar bay. Tell him I sent you."
The kids scrambled off their bikes, forming a circle around Nero.
"Whoa, we gotta get a doctor." The tallest tapped one of the others, a girl with pale skin, long ginger hair and a teal hoodie. "Call a doctor quick!" The others shuffled around, unsure what to do, while the girl pulled out a phone started dialing.
Kateri looked at the door, then the clock that sat above it, and frowned.
"I don't know, Chronin. You'll have to ask her that. She was never too clear on it.Now go back to being a big soldier-man, okay?" She chuckled down the comms, but didn't smile.
The rabbit watched as Blaze crawled past the door, and once he was in, he looked back towards Annie.
"He's got quite a mouth on him, your son," he said, and then reached to the collar of his space suit, and clicking a button. "Alright David? You hearing this?" There was a pause filled with static.
"Loud and clear, man." The voice on the other side was rough with sleep, yawning through his words. "'sup?" The rabbit rolled his eyes.
"Wake up, you dizzy viper. We're at the cargo bay and we need you to dock to it. We got some kid to shift the stuff, so don't get freaked out when you see him. He's supposed to be a fox but he don't half look mutant."
"He's hybrid," said the fox, grumbling behind Annie. The rabbit looked up at him.
"You what?"
"He's a hybrid. Fox and Cat I think."
"How can you tell?" The fox gestured down to himself and flicked his tail around.
"I'm a flippin' fox! I can tell when someone's only half vulpine." The rabbit put out a paw and gestured for him to calm.
"Alright, Whatever, David, just get down here and dock, okay?" he said into the communicator.
"Roger that," the voice crackled with laughter and static, before being cut off.
Inside the cargo bay, shadows shifted with Blaze's light, shining through the gloom. Something moved with the darkness, slipping through the shadows, among the boxes.
-
Nero allowed himself to collapse at their feet. From the amount of 'blood' on the ground, it wouldn't be foolish to believe that he had passed out from blood loss. ComE ON YoU FilthY LittlE ParasiteS....TakE ThE BaiT...GeT CloseR...ThaT MaN Wasn'T NearlY EnougH SustenencE...YounglingS WilL BE FaR MorE SucculenT And FillinG...
"Please..." Nero reached out towards the girl with the phone, the look of terrified urgency on his face.
-
Chronin's hair finally stood up to its 'normal' spiky state as she finished talking. "Yes Ma'am, commander!" he said before cutting off the comm and heading back...
Upon returning to the bunker, the Regional Officer spotted him and made his way over with a menacing snarl. However, what the Officer expected was no what occoured as Chronin slammed his palm into the officer's chest, letting the rather sturdy and recently untampered comm device drop to the floor in front of him. "Found it in your assistant's locker, you should keep an eye on him. Now can you tell me which squad I'll be babysitting?" He said with the same contempt look that he left the barracks with.
-
Annie looked over her shoulder at the fox behind her... she smirked "At least one of you has brains... Or at least a sense of species...." She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, still staring down the barrel of the pistol...
Blaze walked through the murky hangar, the beam from his flashlight slicing through the swirling clouds of dust... A flicker of movement caught his eye, at the edge of the flaslight beam... He stopped, licking his lips nervously... "Hey! Uhm... Mister Scavenger guy!.... What exactly was supposed to be in the cargo bay?"
He took a step back, trying to keep every shadow within the narrow beam of his torch...
Back outside Annie frowned, looking from the door to the Rabbit....
-
"Thank you Sir!" Kitt walked briskly out of the commander's office and down to the hanger bay. After getting lost a couple times, and having to ask for directions, Kitt finally made it down to 43 stories to the hanger bay that Derrick was in. As he walked through the blast shielded doors Kitt came face to face with his dream fighter, the Kitsune. Unable to resist the urge Kitt walked the perimeter of the fighter checking the hull's integrity, the weapons systems, payload, and paint job of, in his eyes, one of the beautiful craft in existence, with a familiarity born from years of flying around Luscious. After letting lose a resigned sigh, Kitt turned around and barely manage to suppress a startled jump as he came face to face with a muscle bound mongoose, who was looking at Kitt with a smile and a look in his eyes that told volumes of information, namely that he was impressed with the young fox from his apparent joy that the Kitsune seemed to give him. " Hello, uh my name is Kitt, the commander told me to come find a mongoose named Derrick are you, by chance, him?"
-
The humans squawked and yelled in distress.
"Aw what the hell, man!?" said one of the younger ones, as he grabbed for Nero's arm, trying to keep him upright. The girl closed her phone.
"The ambulance is coming, they said not to worry, they'll be here soon." She grabbed Nero's hand, kneeling beside him, while others called out words of encouragement.
Macen, the commanding officer, growled at Chronin.
"You'd best show me respect, or nothing will go your way. You connections higher up can only do so much." He took the communicator and shoved it into his pocket, keeping an eye on the dragon. "You're with squad D. You'll like them, they're as impertinent as you, with the least training and the least regard for the chain of command." He smirked, and clenched his fist. "And don't use that piece of trash, explod-o-glove on anyone, or I'll personally make sure you never see this sphere ever again."
The rabbit sneered at Annie. "Cute," he said. The fox laughed. After Blaze called out, the rabbit turned to the door. "Look for anything with an EMC label on it. They might be heavy so put your back into it. Get some beef on you."
The window of the loading airlock looked out into the starry night of space, and through that darkness, a small freight carrying ship swung into view, and turn its back to Blaze, moving in to dock. Behind the young cat-fox, a box slipped, and tumbled off a pile, thudding into his back. Claws could be heard, scrambling away, around the room.
Derrick, the mongoose, looked Kitt over, then punched him hard in the face. He was smiling afterwards, almost laughing. "Sorry about that, kid. The commander only sends people to me if he thinks they need a good punch in the face. Oh and, don't touch the Kitsune." His smile disappeared, and his eyes lost their light. "If you do touch it, I will punch you just for my sake. If you do anything more than touch it, you may get shot." He stared down at the young fox. "I'm not kidding."
-
Chronin stared at Macen, and then cocked his head. "Sir, if you want me to respect you, perhaps we could have a sparring match when I come back from duty, if you win fairly; I will give you the respect you so deserve. Now, I'll be taking my leave for squad D as the 'chain of command' so told me..." He saluted and adressed his commanding officer in what seemed to be the most respectful attitude that he had ever shown to the one he referred to as 'Officer Tightwad'.
-
GotchA...
Nero's hand gripped the girl's slightly. "So kind...such a shame that it dies with you." Nero's hand clenched like a vice-grip, breaking every bone in the girl's hand. Nero grabbed the child at his side by the head and crushed it like an egg in his claw. A bit of the human's brain matter splattered onto his face and the clothes of the nearby children. A few of the rags flew off of Nero's body and attacked the other children; wrapping around their ankles, wrists, and necks...restraining and silencing them.
Nero looked to the girl in his grasp. "I'll be saving you for later." Before she could respond he stuffed one of the rags in her mouth. He had already learned that a screaming victim simply brought attention...a good tactic for later but not now. The last of the children finally stopped moving, the rags leaving their hosts to rejoin with Nero. Nero looked at the corpses, then at the girl in his hand, then back at the corpses. Finally coming to a decision in his head he stomped on the girls ankles, shattering them, and then broke her other wrist. Throwing her to the ground, he moved over to the others and began his feast.
-
Blaze walked down the rows of crates and boxes, rubbing his now sore shoulder... He muttered under his breath as he walked, torch beam swinging through the darkness... "I'm just being paranoid... just being paranoid... its all fine... just being paranoid..."
He stopped beside a large crate, printed across the side where the letters EMC ... Blaze turned to look back across the cargo bay, breath fast and shallow... The beam from his flashlight slicing through the dark mist... The sound of skittering movement echoed from the rows of crates, and Blaze turned back, closing his eyes and still muttering under his breath... Bracing one shoulder against the crate, he pushed....
Back outside, Annie stood in mild awkwardness... The pistol was still pointed squarely at her face, as was the Fox's rifle at her back... She flicked her tail agitatedly.. This was supposed to be just a routine strip'n'run... Strip the wreckage of all that was usefull, and... run...
She laughed tersely under her breath "This is gunna be great on my record... Twenty eight successful runs without a hitch, and now i get kidnapped by a mad, gun wielding rabbit...."
-
"Ya know," Kitt said as he rubbed his jaw, "I've been trying to get into the military since I became an adult. It's really annoying to be told to 'go home kid' and then to get sent to the hanger captin just to get punched in the jaw? That won't do, now to go as far as the Kitsune is concerned, you need to hide the info on them better for example. System code 90902382 activate voice imprinting: imprint voice pattern for Kitt Beesley sole command of vessel number 309268 dubbed Vixen. Lock all systems against any intrusion without voice code activation number 902425-0683. Kitt smirked at the astonished look on Derrick's face as the Kitsune activated all systems and began preflight warm up. The automated voice system smoothly began to recite verification coding.
"Order codes accepted. All systems now voice locked to pilot 'Kitt Beesley' all systems closed to outside influence pending orders from instated pilot.
Kitt smirked as the fighter tuned to him and imprinted his DNA code into the data banks of the fighters main systems.
"Derrick, Commander I know your watching this as well, I'm sorry that I have made myself the pilot of the fourth and final Kitsune Fighter of this command post. I know that once a pilot is initiated into the controll banks that they can never be removed from them. The fighter in essence becomes the pilot's personal craft, until the fighter is destroyed. The reason why I know the codes that only you and the other three pilots of your Kitsune Team are supposed to know is simple. On Luscious, the Catina owners have found a way to make ale from the Triffids pollen. This ale acts as a very powerful truth serum as well as an alcohol removing any and all inhibitions. I talked to the pilots while they were drinking the stuff. It seems they had been hooked on it for over a month by that time and I have always been interested in fighters. when they landed the Kitsune outside of the Catina I had to ask them about it. After the conversation I memorized the codes to initiate a pilot to control of the ship. Now as to why I'm apologizing it's simple I want to be a pilot in the military. And a back handed insult as well as a threat to my life and my dignity put me out. now commander if you want me to leave still then so be it I'll take the Vixen and go. It won't be of any use to you now. But I would like very much to stay. I'm sure Daniel, Jacob, and Jesse would be pleased to know that they have gotten a new comrad in flight, especially for the runs against the smuggling rats that have been pirating in the range areas of the middle sphere and have been causing trouble for some of our smaller supply ships." Kitt stood and awaited an answer as the Vixen finished the preflight warm up.
-
"A fight? If you want to be torn apart, I will oblige, but that is not how seniority is decided." Macen growled, and puffed out his chest, glaring with amber eyes. "I earned the right to your respect when I got promoted to this position. Now unless your feeble mind cannot grasp rational thought, I suggest you stop thinking altogether and just do as your told." His teeth started to grind, but then, he smiled. "If you don't, you will be punished for insubordination. Personally, I'd love to see a good old fashioned firing squad." He looked over to the door, and nodded to Chronin. "Don't take me lightly, boy. Dismissed."
On the space wreckage, the scavenger ship thudded against the cargo bay airlock. The ship's own lock opened up, and a snake wearing a Hawaiian shirt and shorts, strolled through, heading to a corner to open cargo bay. Before he did so, he shone a light through the window, seeing young Blaze. He looked around, then stopped. Something screeched, high and scraping among the boxes, like squealing brakes on a train. The snake's mouth dropped, and he ran back into his ship. A shimmer of silver slipped through the dark, and lunged at Blaze.
The rabbit's communicator scratched hard as David the snake yelled through it.
"There's something in there! Some kind of cyborg freak!"
Derrick watched in wide eyed horror, before pulling out his pistol, and firing for the head. Kitt dropped as a bloody lump, and the Derrick pulled out his communicator.
"Get the medics down here. Find out what else this kid knows." He moved to the ship and shut it down, while men and women clad in reflective yellow body suits ran across the hangar bay, with boxes labelled EMC.
-
Chronin continued down the hall, not stopping until he had gotten to where Squad D was assigned. He opend the door with a predatory smile as he began to see what his officer was saying, none of them were in uniform, some were lounging, others were exercising and one was cleaning out his gun. "Alright, its come to my attention that you all lack the discipline needed to be a decent squad, I've been sent here to-" none of them seemed to pay attention, which made his predatory grin spread farther as he went to the first guy that was training his upper body, and smacked him so hard that everyone in the room heard it, but only a few actually turned their heads.
The 'soldier' he smacked had gotten up and was about to swing at him, but Chronin grabbed his fist, twisted the arm behind the man's back, then yanked his pants up before throwing him onto another soldier, who was reading a rather raunchy magazine. "s'deal with this 'cat?!" one of the the body-builders said before Chronin whacked him with a fully-powered stun baton. "I'm Elite security Chronin, and I'm here to make decent fighters out of all of you... unless you die trying to go against me." he shouted, finally getting the attention of Squad D...
-
Blaze saw the snake, blinking as the bright torch-light hit him... When the snake turned to look across the cargo hold, Blaze gave him an energetic middle finger.... "Stupid scavengers... Making everything difficult..."
With a frown, Blaze watched as the Snake made a dash for the interior of his ship... "Frackin' idiot... Couldnt've at least given me a hand with these damned crates?" It was then, as somthing made a shrieking lunge at him, that he realised just how screwed he was... Doing the only thing he could, he ducked and met the onrushing monstrosity with one forearm. Both where clad in scavenged metal guantlets, incorporating terminal slicing equipement...
---
Outside the doorway, Annie looked wildly from the rabbit's comms, to the buckled door... She made a move towards it, only stopping when the fox behind her jabbed his rifle barrel into her back... "Well what the hell are you gonna do!? My son is in there... and if you dont try to help him, god help me i'l tear your spine out through your mouth!"
-
Closing a door behind himself a satisfied smile wrapped across his lips, he flicked a switch to engage the magnetic locking mechanism on the door. Cracking his neck slightly, Victor walked out onto a walkway this connected him to all of the various side passages and maintenance shafts in the nuclear plant. Walking through the various corridors and walkways that were shaded brown, either from the general grime of the place or actual paint Victor couldn't tell. Plant workers merely assuming he was one of the officials that visited the plant every now and then as they passed him, sparing no thought as they continued their discussions of current wagers they had over each other, musical debates and on one occasion, a group playing a rather popular word game on the planet. Coming closer to his goal, his eyes lit up with a certain malice that could often be seen when he was younger. Unlocking the desired door with a swift press on the fingerprint recognition terminal via a freshly acquired new digit.
Pushing open the door slowly, he looked across the figures being displayed on a large screen just in the off-centre of the largish room, what lay before him was a series of terminals. By studying the work rota, he knew he had roughly ten minutes before workers started to mill into this room again. The Arctic wolf walked briskly towards the nearest terminal, inserting a small disk in his possession into the desk computer. Waiting a few moments, he tapped the digits of his paw against the cold, coffee stained surface of the desk before the screen blinked on with a series of commands listing down the computer, then a 'downloading' bar appeared, the estimated time would take about 7 minutes, leaving him with just enough time to leave undetected.
Pulling out the compact plasma rifle, he disengaged the safety catch and held it ready in his paws, though if anybody walked in, they wouldn't see it immediately. The thought of locking the doors brushed across his mind, but in doing so he may as well turn on the alarm, these doors were never locked from the inside as the fingerprint recognition seemed to be enough security, he chuckled quietly to himself at that thought. Clicking a suppressor to the end of the rifle, to reduce flare and dampen the sound of the shot as he waited for the Download to finish.
-
Squad D watched the elite, or glanced around at eachother, talking through their looks. One of them, a strong, older crow, stood up.
"Squad D do just fine on our own. Why would we need you now?" The others nodded, snickered, and gave little jeers under their breath.
The rabbit kept his pistol aimed at Annie, but the yells from the cargo bay distracted him. He looked to the hole in the door, and chewed on his cheek.
The creature leapt at Blaze with four listening glistening in the dark with steel and sweat. The blades sliced at the boy's face, missing, cutting his ear, drawing blood.
"Jaack, what's the plan?" asked the fox, as he prodded Annie with his gun, keeping his eyes set on her. The rabbit looked at her and nodded.
"You foxes are too big. Stay here." He dove the ground scrambling through the hole. He flashed his light, seeing the creature, dripping and snarling with an elongated head filled with teeth, and backward knees. Four shot blasted into it. Thudding into the flesh, smashing into the metal. The creature stumbled, falling into boxes that shuddered and fell on top. Jaack, the rabbit, reached out his hand to Blaze. "Hurry up!"
On the nuclear plant, the door beeped, clicked and yawned open. A red panda with a sandwich in his mouth and a datapad in his hand, strolled into the room, entranced by the info in his hands.
Kitt heard beeping, buzzing, and then a voice, muffled and filled with static. Slowly, it sharpened, and was better than it ever had been. Someone in a full face white mask looked down. No eyes, no mouth, just the stretch of a muzzle, and twitching ears covered in green fabric. There were lights all around.
"Can you hear me?" The person said. He looked over to behind Kitt. "Can he respond?" he murmured, with the rough tones of a long time smoker. Another person peered over him, and shone a light in his eyes.
"The instruments should pick it up if he can't physically express what he's thinking." The first one nodded, and asked again.
"Can you hear me?"
-
Chronin cocked his head. "Who said you needed me, I was ordered by my CO to be added to this unit, something about 'increasing security'. Bird-brain, if you think the way you are is 'fine', swing at me right now..." the taunt seemed to work as the crow got over one of the couches and took a swing at Chronin. He swung back with his talons open and grabbed the bicep of the crow, locking his punching arm with his own outstretched arm. He then almost broke the crow's beak with his left fist, then dislocated his arm by twiting it out of the socket. The crow was on his knees without Chronin even resorting to the stun baton or knocking out his knees. "I don't know about Squad A or B, but I learned to counter this in Squad C when I was younger than this worm-eater. But, since you can handle yourself, I'll just put your friends arm back in place and let you get back to your break without causing anymore trouble." He stated before lining up the arm and pushing it back into place with only a squack from the crow.
-
Some of the squad shook their heads, while others put away cards, cigerettes and other contraband. One female cat leaned against the locker, giggling and applauding. She was small, and the assault rifle clutched between her legs looked almost too big for her.
-
Blaze clutched at his ear, as he ducked to the side, dodging a second swipe... He ducked again, as four shots slammed home into the creature... He looked up to see the Rabbit holding out a hand, with a smoking pistol in the other... "Hurry up!" ... he didnt have to be told twice.. grabbing the proffered hand, he stumbled to his feet and ran for the door...
Outside, Annie stood chewing her bottom lip with anxiety... It was true, she couldnt squeeze through the small gap in the door... And so she had to be content with shifting her weight form one foot to the other, occasionally looking back at the fox behind her... "So.... How long you known the Rabbit, and has he always been this crazy?" She smirked, though her tail continued to flick with anxiety...
-
"Ungh, Yeah I can hear you." Kitt's head felt like he had been hit with sledgehammer, and his mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton.
"Where am I?" Kitt tried to look around but the movement made his head hurt worse so he lay still. damn that was a dumb impulse to follow he thought to himself. Now why the hell did I do that?
-
The fox huffed,
"Is that how you always deal with stress?" He smirked, but his eyes were anxious. "And yes, he's always been this crazy." Blaze burst through the hole, being from behind by Jaack.
"let's go, let's go!" the rabbit yelled, followed more shots, then a scream, the pistol clattering against the floor, and machinery whirring, spinning and slicing. The fox charged forward, pushing Annie out the of the way. He shover his gun through the hole, aimed and fired wild at the creature. It roared, and yelped, and the bullets tore through the flesh and metal. The fox reached in, grabbed the rabbit and yanked him through into the corridor, with a trail of blood behind him.
In the operating theatre, the faces moved away.
"Stay calm and answer the questions please." On a table to the side, a computer reached out with tendrilous wires, into piece of electronics laid flat. The doctor pressed into it. "Do you feel that?"
-
Kitt was shocked at the question but answered it "Yes," Kitt waited for the next question
-
The cat caught Chronin's attention, but he was having mixed feelings about approaching her. Is she praising me, or is she delighted at seeing a credible threat to their current pecking order? he thought as he slowly approached her, his rifle close at hand. "Has this unit actually been sent out on any assignments, or is this just a reserve for the other squads?" Hes only asking because he never heard of Squad D being sent anywhere. Then again, he hasn't heard of Squad A's or Squad B's adventures either. There was a defined autonomity in every squad, never having to say anything except for orders that were squad specific...
-
"Alright, good work," said the doctor. He turned to one of the other people that swanned around, pressing dials, doing something. He nodded to them, and Kitt felt his eyes fall, his consciousness broken. He fell back to sleep.
When he woke up again, he was standing up, but his legs and arms didn't move. One of the doctors, a dog, appeared again, leaning in from the side, and took his hand. The arm was dark and grey with a silver line running down along it. The hand was a chunky collection of metallic components, activating, moving twisting. Someone else, another doctor, a red panda, worked on the computer, activating commands. Kitt's vision zoomed in. "Activating bio-defence net" was displayed on the screen. His hand opened up, showing a small, hollow compartment inside. The first doctor looked into the boy's new eyes.
"Will he always look like this?" he said. Another doctor nodded in reply. "Well, you don't look bad." He reached out, and stroked the boy's head. "How do you feel?"
The cat smiled to Chronin, and shook her head.
"I have no idea. I ain't with these guys. I just heard they were fun." She grinned wider, declaring her sharp and deadly teeth. Her eyes lit up. The other soldiers in Squad D muttered and nodded, while some kept quiet and stood to reluctant attention for the Elite.
-
"Not as sore as I was, and what do you mean 'will he always look like this?' Secondly how are you guys controlling my biorhythms?"
-
Annie instinctively grabbed Blaze by the scruff of the neck, and pulled him as fast as she could away from the doorway... "Just like your bleedin' father, always gettin' in trouble when im not there!"
Blaze tried to pull out of the grip, but found it was simply easier to try and run alongside her, he had a feeling that even if he had wanted to he couldnt break out of her grip.... once a marine, always a marine was Annie's motto... Running alongside the fox, Annie panted "Our guns... Where did you put our guns? ... I'm nto prepared to die here simply because some scavengers wanted the loot all to themselves!"
-
"Care to tell me your name and rank, or shall I ask my officer why theres a female cat from another unit in a room full of boys?" He looked back at the men who had lined up, and had a somewhat angry look in his eyes. "So you're telling me you wasted your time lounging about, when you could have gotten better at what you're actually hired to do?" he asked since he told them to continue their break, not line up...
-
Nero finished his meal as well as dessert. Maintaining this insignificant form required a lot of energy. Normally he would get that energy from passing comets or stars, but he had to keep a low profile...at least his version of a low profile. The bodies and spirits of these vermin were tasty and provided a fair amount of energy...of course it wasn't nearly as nourishing as a galaxy or as healthy as a star but he didn't care. The taste of the flesh and souls filled him with an ectasy he had never felt before.
Of course, his own pleasure would have to wait until he found a way off planet. Nero, now feeling much better, limped his way where he had seen the children come from. What remained of the children seemed to sink into the ground and disappear like it was never there.
-
"Dont worry," said the doctor. "You'll be in control of your own biorhythms soon enough." He turned to one of his assistants. "Do you think we should bring in Dr. Rehman now, or later?" The woman he asked nodded.
"I think he deserves an answer," she said. The doctor laughed.
"Yeah, I guess he deserves something at least." He walked over to the door, and pressed the intercom that was set into the wall beside it. "Bring in the psych" he said. A few moments later a Blanford's vixen with soft features, and no mask, walked into the room, with a datapad clasped in her hand. Her ears stretched high above her and twitched with attentive energy, while her luxuriously large bushy tail sweapt along the floor. She was wearing a regular suit, with a light and flighty golden scarf draped over her. She watched the poor boy, before glancing to the doctors.
"It's safe isn't it?" He nodded in reply, and stepped closer, looking straight into the boy's eyes. "Hello there. My name's Seema Rehman. I'm here to help." She smiled at him, softly, and her eyes glimmered, reflecting the lights around them. "This is all probably a lot for you to handle, so if there's anything to ask, just ask me, okay?"
The fox pulled the rabbit along, passing his assault rifle back to him as the beast crawled into the hole, getting its irregular body stuck in the gap. The fox held the bag with his teeth, reaching in and getting the two confiscated pistols. He handed one of them over and kept the other for himself.
"No offense," he said. "But it's not like you don't want to shoot us." The beast scratched at the floor, pulling itself further and further out through the gap. The rabbit being dragged along behind, took aim and fired off a few shots, that tore into the creature's side. He clicked the button on his communicator.
"Hey yo, Davie," he said. His voice was loose, and slurred. "We need to get out of here quick. Where's the closest you can pick us up?"
"There's a big gaping hole in the ship just round the corner if you fancy jumping." The rabbit smirked, which turned to a wince as his injuries clawed at him. He looked back to Blaze and Annie.
"Are your outfits prepped for space walks?" The fox looked over at them then up along the corridor, seeing the turn right at the end. "It's a lot quicker than getting back to your ship." he said.
The cat made a theatrical pout, and stood up next to the dragon, examining the soldiers. Her top hung down behind her, splitting apart for her tail, and draping over the back of a pair of heavy jeans.
"Oh these boys ain't bad, and they do work hard... for me at least." She turned to Chronin, sticking out her hand. "I'm Tabby, and I'm a bounty hunter, you see? These guys help me out when I need to find people down on Sphere." She turned to them, nodding for them all to sit down, which they did, moving with caution. Most of them kept their eyes on the dragon. "But don't let me get in the way. These are your men." She grinned and sat back against the lockers.
Far ahead of Nero, a city stretched up out of the ground, full of tightly packed houses and shops. Seperate from this, in the distance to the right, seperate from everything, unmanned factories stood together like a battery.
-
"Alright where to start? First, why am I not dead? I can clearly remember being shot in the head. Second, why when i woke up in the room with the bright lights did my hearing sound like static then go completely crystal clear? I can Hear better than I ever have in my whole life, And the same goes for my eyes and the vision their feeding me. Third. What did they mean by, 'Will he always look like that?' And 'don't worry you'll be in controll of your own Biorhythms soon.'? Third I would really like to move I am starting to feel like a statue here." Kitt thought for a second then added "I hope you don't mind that I say I think you look absolutely stunning?"
-
She flashed a smile, gave a breath of a giggle, and then pulled out a digipen, writing straight onto the datapad.
"For now, I think the doctors here would like to keep you still for a little while," she said. "This procedure can be unpredictable when it comes to behaviour." One of the doctors chuckled at the comment as he continued testing out different mechanisms while his colleagues did diagnostics. Seema Rehman flicked her tail and glanced at the doctor before continuing. Her smile was gone, and her eyes were serious. "Technically you were dead, for a little while, before we saved you." She stopped writing on her pad, and brushed her rich auburn hair behind her large vulpine ears, though some strands still hung down. "Legally you still are dead. The punishment for what you did was to be shot on sight, and our project supervisors pounced on it as an opportunity to take a promising young fox and turn him into an incredible asset to the armed forces." She looked up and down his body. "They've modified you with the most amazing technology, and now you're more advanced than that plane you wanted to fly." She chanced at a modest smile, and her ears twitched, pointing straight at the boy. "As for your looks; the gunshot was quite damaging and our medical technology had to fix quite a bit, and had to be up to a near perfect standard in order to fully integrate and take advantage of the implants." She paused, pushing her tongue against the roof of her mouth as she pondered before speaking again. " A side effect of that technology is that it leaves a mark." One of the doctors leaned in from the side.
"We are fixing that issue with the tech. We just didn't have time with you. You'd have been dead if we didn't move quick." Seema nodded to her, and patted her on the shoulder, while gesturing for her to return to his job. The doctor obliged, and Dr. Rehman sighed. Looking back up to Kitt, her eyes joined with his. "See? You really are made with the latest and greatest." She smiled again, then looked to her jacket pocket. "To be honest, I think you look good, but maybe you should be the judge of that." She pulled out a pocket mirror and flipped it open in front of him. In the reflection, staring back with light silver eyes, and bloodshot corneas, was Kitt. There was no scar, but instead, a rich blue flame of fur reached over from the back of his head and down over his left eye, ending at a point down along his muzzle. "What do you think?"
-
"That is cool." Kitt practicaly breathed the last part of the sentance. "You know, Its almost fitting in a way. all of my life I have had a way with technology. and now im a walking peice of tech myself." Kitt thought for a second "Wait if im still technically dead, how am I supposed to go about with anything?"
-
"Hm...how quaint." He scanned the horizon, searching for something that might help him. The factories looked like a good place to hide should he need to. The houses and the like were probably brimming with potential energy sources.
IT SeemS I'vE FounD ThE PerfecT StaginG GrounD FoR MY SearcH...ShoulD ThE UnlikelY EvenT OF A 'DetouR' OccuR I CaN JusT ComE BacK HerE... With a grin, Nero limped towards the apparent residential area. He had no idea how these vermin travled about, so he would have to ask around for a way to get off the planet when he arrived.
-
Seema put the mirror back into her pocket, then clasped held the datapad with both hands behind her.
"It's useful if who you were before, stopped existing. We'll create a whole new identity for you. Maybe more than one. We can also give you an unlimited array of disguises. We can dye your fur, give you contact lenses, and even change the shape of your face." One of the doctors behind him reached over and pushed his head down, looking at the back, examining him.
"Also," the other doctor said. "If we get the chameleon fibre technology working, your arms and legs will have realistic fur. It'll all look totally natural, until you need to use your body for anything extraordinary." Seema's lips made a soft curl that slowly faded.
"There's one problem though. In order for your old life to die, your family can't know that you survived, and your only friends will be us."
Nero walked onwards, and a main road snaked towards him, turning towards the city beside. On it, cars whipped past, humming their individual electric tones, while humans, and the occasional furry or scaly alien, lounged around inside; letting the car drive itself. Up ahead, the buildings started to loom large over Nero, filled with rooms that were filled with people looking out, at all the other stone buildings. The further he went into the city, the more litter he found. Packages biodegrading in the street, and cigarettes stubbed into dry chewing gum that flaked off the floor and drifted over into the tires of the cars. There were a few young humans standing around in the street kicking a ball against the buildings.
-
Nero made his way to the humans playing ball. "Excuse me? I need directions to the nearest..." Nero stopped realizing he had no idea what he was looking for. He thought up of an excuse quickly. ...Ah, blast it all. I seem to have forgotten what it is called. It seems my age is catching up with me. Its used to house vehicles that travel to different planets."
Nero cursed to himself in his mind. Now he sounded like an idiot.
-
The humans looked at eachother, confused. One, a south asian man with a stylised beard stepped forward, leaning towards nero, as though it would make the old hyena understand better.
"What you mean like the ferry? Or a spaceflight dealership? Where you headed?"
-
"Freinds won't be a problem. As for my parents, well they never thought I'd amount to much anyway. It would probaly be better if they thought me dead than a cyborg." Kitt though furiously for a moment then came up with a few mod ideas for the gadgets incase they werent already in the system. "Do these eyes have the ability to acces the central communication boards? And along what kind of jobs would I be doing? As for the chameleon tech. What is the problem holding it back?"
-
Annie took the pistol, firing several shots at the cyborg... "You get your frackin' claws off my son!" all three of the shots hit, glancing off its metal body like raindrops over a tin roof... Despite the lack of obvious damage, it obviously made her feel a lot better...
She looked across at the fox, as they continued to run, still dragging Blaze behind her... "We're Explorator Mechanicus, you can bet your life that we're prepared for anything...." With that she flipped a switch on her wrist, hitting the button that nestled behind it... Blaze did the same, as a carapace helmet extended from inside his red mechanicus armour... Both his and Annie's helms where made of several segmented sections, sliding into place with a series of clicks and hissing compressed gas... Finally their helms locked into place, and a orange-tinted visor slid down with a hiss...
Annie's voice crackled over the rabbit's comms as she winked to them both...
"Your comms channel wasnt very hard to hack into... Like i said, ready for anythin'..."
With that both she and Blaze hit a button set into their helms, and two strobing flashlights lit up the corridor ahead...
-
Chronin looked at 'his men' with confusion as they mostly kept their eyes on him. "If you were to go in order of helpfulness, which one of these boys would be in the top five?" He asked, wondering if that crow he floored was at the top, or one of the top since he was the first to speak out. His hair started to go down as he relaxed more and more, but it wouldn't go all the way down until he had reason to trust this 'Tabby' around his newly assigned squad.
-
"Ah, that's it! Spaceflight dealership. I'm trying to get to the Capital Sphere and I'm afraid that I have no way to get there as of yet." Nero looked the man square in the eyes as he spoke, revealing the eyeless socket.
-
One of the other doctors glanced over at the boy.
"You really are very young, aren't you?" He shrugged and turned back to his work, making the compartments in the boy's legs open up. Seema tilted her head at the boy.
"I'm sure your parents wouldn't agree with you, Kitt." She gave a growing smile, as the boy moved the subject to technology. "You'll have access to the entire galactic network," she replied. "Communication, personnel records, documents and investigations, phone bills and photos, even Google Street View. You're our agent and we need to make sure you have all the information you need, whenever you need it." She grinned, then looked over to the head doctor as Kitt asked about the Camouflage. The dog turned and pulled off his face mask, showing a slightly pudgy Alsatian.
"The technology basically grows fibres that act and react like real fur, except it's far more durable than any natural construction. The problems, however, are simple. The fibres can't replicate realistic shades, and they have a tendency of falling out, which is not good because it can't just grow back on its own. You need to gather the right materials for it, including silicon and basic carbon, which won't always be available to you out there."
The fox looked over to Annie, grinning and letting a little laugh escape him. Him and Jaack activated their own helmets and the four of them turned the corner, finding emergency doors holding in the atmosphere. The group stopped, and the rabbit slowly looked up at his friend. His eyes were drooping and he was dazed. The fox knelt down behind him, and looked over to Annie.
"That thing's locked down. You think you can open it?" Through the door, the scavenger swung into view, and down the corridor they had been through, the clacking of metal claws echoed towards them.
Tabby looked incredulously at the dragon.
"You can't make me choose between my boys!" She smirked, and giggled a little. "But if you insist, He's number one," she said, pointing to the crow. "Two," a human in the corner, packing up a deck of cards. "Three," a bulldog, with a drink in his hand. "Four," an oversized anteater with an impressive physique. "And five." For the last, she pointed with her tail, to a weedy little ferret, trying to stuff a dirty magazine into a gap behind the lockers. Tabby giggled and winked at him, making him smile. "Those are my faves," she said. "They do everything they can for me, short of taking a bullet." She giggled again and the men who were still conscious laughed with her.
The human recoiled, but only slightly, trying to maintain civility.
"The sphere? It'll take you a while, and you'll need to go through border checks." He and his friends tried not to stare at the hyena, as he pointed up the road. "The dealership is pretty close. Just on the edge of the city. Won't take you five minutes."
-
"Excellent, thank you very much." Nero turned away from the humans and continued down the road in the pointed direction. He was full for now so killing them would be a waste of time and energy. Plus he would no doubt find himself swarmed with vermin like them...not that he couldn't handle it, he just didn't want the hassle. Soon the dealership was in view and Nero hobbled in.
-
Chronin grinned and tried to stiffle his chuckle when she pointed at the crow and said 'first'."Sorry for knocking him down a few pegs, don't like playing second fiddle to someone who isn't at least an 'Elite' rank. Would you mind working as 2nd since they obviously favor you more than someone that just showed up and already started a fight..." He wasn't even trying to flirt with Tabby, since his 'hostile' side was the only side he allowed himself to show when around soldiers beyond his 'Aunt' and 'Gran'.
-
Kitt began to experiment with the data records and thought for a moment fo what to search for so he decided on the word 'Cyborg' pulling up thousands of results. Deciding to narrow his search he brought it up as hair replication systems stopping to read a few entries pausing over an arcticle saying that a doctor had found a way to pigment the artificial hair to natural shades. It used a small refiliable resivouir filled with a high concentration pigment ink simililar to the stuff the used in tattoos now days.
"Hey doc, can you pull the screen im looking at right now up for a visual? Its rather interesting. Also What is the name of this medical team and the company running these systems?"
-
Annie knelt down beside the pressurised door, firing several bursts from her pistol into a metal panel... Throwing the pistol to Blaze, she pulled the panel away to reveal a mass of wiring and circuitry... Immediately she set to work, pulling two thick wires out of their sockets, and plugging them directly into two ports on her wrist-mounted hacking systems... Biting her tongue with concentration, her tail flicked earnestly as she pulled out another pair of wires, twisting the metal ends together...
"Hurry it up... That thing is gonna be here any second!" Blaze stood facing down the corridor, pistol shaking in his grip as a long shadow stretched around the corner, accompanied by clicking footsteps... Annie switched off her comms, a single bead of swest dripping down her nose as he breath raked loudly inside her helmet... Finally she flipped open a small touchpad on her wrist, selected a computer spike, and activated it...
"Gottit!"
The touchpad flickered twice, as the wiring ad circuitry fizzed and sparked... The pressurised door hissed, unlocking with a slow grinding noise, even as the metallic monstrosity turned the corner... It screeched again, a sound like nails in a blender, as it broke into a clattering run...
-
A human in a suit watched Nero walked, and straightened his tie as he skipped over to the hyena.
"What can I do for you sir?"
Tabby smirked and nodded to the dragon. "Sure I don't mind. I'm just waiting until night anyway." She went back to her corner and sat back down. "You can order me around if you want." She grinned at him.
Seema looked past Kitt, over to something behind him, and the rest of the doctors did too.
"We've always been watching, Kitt," she said. "Even before you woke up." Kitt's chair shuddered as a latch was unhooked so the doctors could swing it around to face behind him, where a monitor showed the view from his own eyes. The alsatian looked over to him.
"We've tried that technology already, and it sacrifices durability. When a fibre is broken from the weave, pigment spills out. Any violent episode would have you dripping ink everywhere. We've got other plans but they have to be perfected first." He almost sounded annoyed. Seema leaned in from behind Kitt.
"Just be patient," she murmured, while looking at what he saw. Then she turned to face him. "And if you want to know about us, you could just ask. But if you insist on searching, we're under Dragonfly, and the company is the Ethelred Medical Corporation."
"They're just suppliers and research," barked the alsatian. "We do the actual application."
Jaack fired wildly with the assault rifle, pushing back the beast as the door prepared to open.
"Magnetize your boots and hold onto something!" he yelled, and his boots sucked to the floor, as he pressed a button on his collar. Everyone followed suit just as the door burst open, sucking out everything into the void. The beast flailed through the air, whipping past the group and flying through space, until it collided headfirst into the scavenger ship, and crushed its skull. The ship opened its airlock, ready to receive passengers.
"Let's get out of this hellhole," said the fox as hoisted the rabbit onto his back, deactivated their boots and jumped for the ship.
-
Chronin gave her a talon-up before lazily looking back at the now-sitting squad, and growled as they just sat there doing nothing even remotely active or productive. "Unless you plan on killing innocents or fellow crew members with your card tricks and erotica, I could care less if you have it out. Now line up like you did earlier since you apparently have nothing better to do..." he said with a lazy twirl of his right index talon.
Gran is going to laugh when she hears this; I was actually given command over a squad of horndogs, with their object of beauty being my second in command...
-
The men slowly pushed themselves up onto their feet, and shuffled into an unkempt line. The ferret pulled the magazine back out from behind the lockers and straightened out the pages before joining the rest of the squad. Tabby winked at him, and walked over to pick up his magazine and look through it, occasionally laughing to herself.
-
Nero looked the man up and down before speaking. "I'm looking for a ship...something fast but durable. Preferably with advanced scanning equipment and...mining lasers. I'm planning on a little prospecting in an asteriod field and I have plenty of money."
-
Chronin pushed off his seat, and swung himself back and onto his feet in a pseudo-backflip from the chair. He walked over to his squad, straightening them with rather strong pushes and pulls before they all formed a neat line by rank. He looked up and down the line, and didn't even grin as he looked at the now shuffling crow. "You are all to report to Sparring room #5 within the hour, I'll break the arms of anyone who doesn't arrive before the hour is up; dismissed, I guess." He walked out the door, but went straight to the Sparring room, setting up a clock to count down the remaining time before sounding off at the end of the hour...
-
"Well sir," said the human, as he swooped around Nero. "We don't specialise in such technology. We are mainly a passenger and/or cargo transport dealership, but we do have an all-environments package." He herded the hyena towards a display set in the corner, where a red and blocky model stood proud, with holographic asteroids circling around it. "It's for any rugged and harsh encounters you may have with the elements. It does have a basic mining laser, and impressive sensory equipment as well as a microwave emitter and what we like to call, the freeze ray." The swung behind the display, and appeared on the other side with a brochure, that he handed over. "It's not anything specialist, but it should work well for whatever endeavour you may want to persue, and is a lot more affordable."
Squad D grumbled in response, and as Chronin left, they let out a collective sigh and dropped themselves back to their seats.
"Aw what the hell is this," whined the ferret, as he leaned back, thudding against the locker.
"Well listen," Tabby replied, as a more overt accent rolled out of her. "It pro'lly won't last long, and you never know, man. You might enjoy it." She stood up and flicked her tail, while tapping the magazine against her hip. "Why'd you take this job if you don't wanna do it? Don't you want to catch dudes instead of just sniffing them out and letting others do the sick mission stuff?"
"Nope," said the human, as he pulled out his cards again. "This job is safe and secure. The less I do, the better I feel." Tabby smirked in reply, and then looked over to the crow.
"What about you?" He tapped his talons against the linoleum floor, and stared at the wall, wrapped in thought.
"I took it because it was something to do. Isn't that why you became a bounty hunter?"
"Nah," she replied. "I do it cus it's sick, innit. All this running around taking mans out. I dreamed of that since I was little, man." She walked over to the door and stepped just outside, with the exit still open. "I'm surprised. You guys worked hard to get this job and now you don't wanna do it? That's kinda messed," she said, flicking her tail and looking back over her shoulder. "I've always wanted my job, and I enjoy every minute I can." With that she left for the sparring room, finding Chronin standing alone on a set of mats in a wood panelled hall, surrounded by the echoes of her footsteps.
-
Blaze and Annie jumped with them, out into the vast expanse of outer space.... The jump itself was less than ten metres, and over in seconds. But to Blaze it felt like an eternity, as he looked out into huge nothingness... Suddenly the nothingness was very much filled with spaceship, as they slammed home into the scavenger's freighter with several muffled clangs....
Blaze gave a whoop of excitement, looking across to the others as they clung onto anything they could grab hold of for dear life... "Who wants t' do that again!?" Annie shook her head in disbelieve, and the words "Just like his father" where definitely used somewhere...
-
The doors closed behind them, and air rushed in, blasting around them, as the room repressurised. Finally another set of doors led into the cargo bay, where Blaze was meant to move the boxes. Instead of them, the snake, in his loud shirt, stood with his arms folded, until he noticed the sickly face of the rabbit. He ran to them, and pressed the button that slid Jaack's helmet away.
"He's not looking good. I'll take him to the medbay, you keep an eye on them," he said, pointing to Annie and Blaze, and shoving the assault rifle into the fox's paws. He gathered the rabbit up, struggling under the weight, and jogged back through a door in the middle of the room, and into the rest of the ship. The fox removed his own helmet, and sat down resting against a bare wall, breathing hard, but keeping the rifle in both hands.
-
Annie looked across to the fox and held one arm out straight in front of her.. From it she dropped her pistol onto the steel floor with a clank "Prisoners again i'm guessing?" She smirked, flipping up her own helmet as well...
She looked across at the fox, who was still breathing heavily, and then looked back down the corridor where the snake had gone with the rabbit... "He's gonna be fine... I seen people pull through far worse, trust me..." Blaze looked across at her, he knew she was talking about her time as a marine... He too flipped up his visor, leaning against the steel wall...
"So... You guys... I'm guessing you guys didnt expect that thing to be in there..." He gave a weak laugh, wiping the blood from his ear and cheek...
-
The fox gave an exhausted nod to Blaze, and looked over to the door.
"I don't think anyone would have expected that." His deep, growling voice then fell quiet, as thoughts and fears ran through him. "Sorry about this," he gestured to his gun. "You're prisoners in name only. We never wanted anyone hurt. It just that with EMC goods, you've got to be careful, and thought that letting other people put their paws on it would keep us out of any investigation, unless they caught us transporting the stuff." His laughter was exhausted, and he rubbed his face. He looked to the boy, examining the wound from where he sat. "You know, I could get my friend to check that out for you, after he's helped my other friend."
-
Nero looked through the brochure for a moment and then back at the ship. It wasn't much, but it'd have to do. He could always customize it later. "Alright, how much?"
-
Chronin looked at Tabby as she walked in, and smirked when he saw that about half an hour had passed. "How am I going to explain to my commander that all of my squad except for my second, will be put in the infirmary for at least a week for not showing up on time?" He asked rhetorically as he stretched and got to the center of the sparring mat. "I know I'm being hard on them, but this is so I can see how much I need to push them before they're physically ready for any real combat..." He took off his upper-clothing, since only his pants were designed for freedom of movement while his upper-half was made for more defense than speed. "...or would you rather just get warmed up here and hunt down the squad memebers that showed up late?"
-
Blaze looked up, blood now covering the two fingers he had used to inspect the wound... He shook his head, grimacing "Nah... That crazy rabbit needs help, not me... This'l heal over..." he sighed, wiping the blood off on one sleeve... He flipped open the small touchpad on his wrist, and slipped on a pair of slim overhead earphones, already bobbing his head in time with loud music....
Annie looked over at him, rolling her eyes... "Sheesh... Kids these days, always plugged into their music...." She looked across at the fox, attempting a smile. He was calm-headed in a crisis... good looking too. She shook her head at the last thought, looking away from the fox and down at the floor. A definite flush spread across her white-furred cheeks as she pretended to check over her suit diagnostics...
-
"I don't mind asking. I just wanted to see what news articles were out there. Just to know how hush hush this was. I was kinda curious about the ink. It was just an idea." Kitt trailed off from the previous statement. It was never a good idea to tick off your doctors. Even more so when they held you life as they did his.
"Seema, how long has Dragonfly been operating and what do we do?"
-
The salesman pulled a thin strip of metal from his front jacket pocket, and a screen materialised, spilling light into the form of a contract.
"For the basic package, it comes to just under thirty billion. If you want, we can add the expanded set up, which has a more durable structure and added inertial shielding. It's a bit more expensive but most damage you get can be buffed right off with the right tools." He presented the contract to Nero, and tapped it, displaying a hand scanner in the centre. "Just put your paw right there and you can fly out tomorrow."
Tabby stretched as she walked to the centre of the room.
"Give the boys time," she said. "The hour's not up for a while yet." She unbuttoned her top, and pulled it off, dropping it behind her, leaving a small tank top and her heavy jeans. "I wouldn't mind occupying your time though." She smiled at him, and reached down to her mid thigh, pulling a hidden zip around her legs, turning the jeans into loose shorts. She kicked the legs off the mat and away to the side, and planted her hands on her hips, scanning her eyes up and down the dragon.
The fox huffed a laugh.
"I wasn't any different when I was his age." He smiled and scratched his chin. "I'm hardly that different nowadays." His head cocked to the side as Annie blushed, and the curl of his lips lingered, but it was lost in his eyes. "So," he said. "You seem pretty calm about all this, like it's nothing."
Seema raised an eyebrow. "What do we do? Well... you. You're what these people here have been working towards for the past ten years. I only joined in the last year or so, but basically, we're special operations." She grinned wide. "It's as hush hush as you can get." Her tail flicked, and she looked to her datapad. "As for what you're going to be doing. We'll first run some trials to see what you're suitable for, and then you will most likely be on the most secret and top level missions there are. We've had some whispers going around and they're certainly interesting." The datapad was put back behind her, and she turned to leave, swinging her luxurious tail behind her. "But you'll learn about that when it comes. As for right now, say hello to your dreams for me." As she was speaking, Kitt's eyes drooped, and he fell into unconsciousness.
When he awoke, he was standing, and saw a cold, white wall. He wasn't supported to stand, and he could feel his fingers and toes.
"Wake up, Kitt. Wake up and walk."
-
It was Annie's turn to laugh this time, as she re-checked over her suit oxygen levels "This kinda thing seems to follow me around everywhere... Personally its these kinda thrills that keep the job exciting." She looked up, her blushing finally under control "And in a hot situation you need to keep calm. Get flustered and panic, you will make mistakes...." She smiled, finally satisfied that her suit was fine, and that she wouldn't embarrass herself again...
On the other side of the room, Blaze was acing his way through a level of 3d Tetris on his wrist-screen.
-
The fox looked over to the door where the rabbit had been taken. "I know all about that," he said, as he tapped his fingers against the gun. "About five, ten years ago, we were attack by... Dalorian scavengers i think. Remember, they were widespread, far reaching back then." He looked down at his feet, then to Annie. "They attacked us only just escaped, but not until I had freaked out and shot Jaack in the gut." He sighed and smiled to himself. "He was in bed for six months."
-
"Jaack?" Annie rolled the name over her tongue, smiling "Interesting name... You two have some history then?" She leant back against the wall, stretching with several audible cracks from her back. She started to pull off her carapace suit, dropping the chest plate to the floor with a muffled clang to reveal dark red combat-fatigues underneath. She stretched again, this time rolling her shoulders back and forth as well...
Blaze looked up, as the words GAME OVER flashed across his wrist screen... he looked from Annie, to the fox, and then back to the screen... Already pulling off his headphones...
-
Nero let out a bit of a chuckle as he looked at the scanner. He knew something was going to go wrong as soon as he touched it. Just what he would have to see. Until then he would humor the salesman. Let him get that jolt of happiness before sending him to oblivion...his expression would be more entertaining that way.
"Hm, why not. I'll take the expanded setup too." Nero placed his paw on the scanner.
-
Kitt looked around his suroundings then stood up and streched, heaving a sigh of releif. It feelt good to have controll of his arms and legs again.
"Alright lets see where I am." Kitt said aloud as he accesed the data banks and pulled up a GPS veiw of the area. "Interesting, well I might as well take a look around." walking back a few feet, Kitt ran straight at the wall running up a few steps then latching his fingers over the top of the wall and hauling himself effortlessly to the top. After standing on top of the wall and letting the veiw sink in he activated the com link.
"Hey Doc, do you have any destination for me to go to right now, or do you mind if I take a freerunning trip around the city to test out my new body?
-
Chronin didn't go into any special stance, either from fighting experience, or from lack of it. He simply strode up to Tabby until she was within range of his legs, and still had that complacent look as he suddenly spun around and did a back kick to her head.
She apparently blocked, but Chronin only grinned as she didn't realize the assault hadn't stopped as he pushed her block down and put his entire eight on her arm, and caught her tripping leg with his tail. He then pulled her leg towards him with a sharp tug, sending her onto the ground with his feet talons around her neck after he pulled his leg away from her block. "Don't beat yourself up, even my Elite reptilian friends were having problems stopping this..." He uncoiled his tail and got off her throat, then pressed on his tail on a few points to make it fall limp behind him. "Your turn..."
-
The fox watched as she pulled the suit off her, revealing her figure, making him turn away with a smirk.
"Yeah, me and Jaack have been together for ages. We're pretty much brothers." He laughed. "A bunny and a fox, brothers in arms, ha-ha." He scratched his ear, then held his hand out for Annie to shake. "I'm Reggie, by the way."
The human suppressed the involuntary revulsion from the withered hand as Nero reached forward and pressed the scanner. The contract flashed red, and an error flew up onto the hologram.
"Err," the salesman said with a smile. "I think your hand might be too different from what the scanner can recognise. Maybe you could just sign your name." He unclipped a digipen from the contract emitter, and handed it over at arms length.
"Be my guest," Seema replied inside the boy's head. "Go as far and as hard as you can. This is a stress test for your new self, so have fun."
Tabby coughed from the foot on her throat, and clambered to her feet with a smile on her face.
"That's a new one, I have to say, but it ain't the best I've seen." She bounced on her feet, and leapt around him, flicking out kicks to his calves, before throwing a punch. The block to defend was caught as she opened her hand with claws gripping him, using his arm as leverage as she flew foot first to his face.
-
Nero couldn't help but laugh at the salesmen's reaction. Signing the contract, he forged a fake last name for himself. The name read "Nero Goltbenz." He didn't know why but he liked the name. Giving the pen back to the salesman Nero smiled in a way that can only be described as slimy. "When will the ship itself be ready?"
-
The contract dematerialised, and the salesman slotted the pen into the emitter, and the whole thing into his pocket.
"The vessels are way out at the airport. There's a transport that takes us right to it, if you'll follow me." He span around, and sauntered to double doors behind the display. They slid apart to reveal a rounded cube with seven seats. It all hovered in a tube that stretched down into the ground. "Take a seat," he said, with a turn to Nero, and a composed face.
-
Chrono braced his taste sense as he leaned into the kick, and took a bite at the ankle, stopping her kick as his teeth held her foot in place. He then let go and with his mouth and grabbed the now wet ankle with his guarding hand, then suddenly pushed into Tabby's hand while knocking the hand away with his free talon. He then sent her sliding on the mat as he literally tossed her away from him. By this time, his hair had gone completely flat, and he had a constant grin of his face as he lightly bounced on the mat. "Come on, do better, I wanna use my tail again!" he said rather childishly as he enjoyed sparring with someone who could actually force him to think on his feet.
-
Laughing as well, Annie shook his hand with a grin "Annie... Explorator Mechanicus first class" she winked at the last part, also untying her dark hair from its long ponytail. She ran her fingers through, smoothing out the hair that had tangled...
Blaze walked over to the pair of foxes, giving a wide grin and nodding to Reggie "Blaze... Mech. 3rd Class" He ran a hand through his own much, much shorter hair and smirked at Annie "Just cut it all off, much easier" She frowned, retying her ponytail...
-
Nero sat down in one of the seats and looked around the interior. His patience with the salesman's demeanor was beginning to wear thin. As soon as he knew that the ship was ready he would get rid of the salesman.
Judging by the way he acted...he wouldn't be missed.
-
The cat landed on all fours, with claws digging into mat to pull against the momentum, launching herself forward into the scuttling run, dodging in and around Chronin, feinting and weaving around. She dug her feet in, leapt high to flip upside down above the dragon, a hand on his head, gripping his loose hair, and dropping her body behind him, sticking her feet into his back to throw him up, over and behind her.
Reggie watched Annie's hair, leading to her face, and as her son piped up, he smirked.
"Yeah, it is easier," he said with his rumbling voice, and pinched a lock of his short fringe before brushing it aside. "But no-one ever said it was best." He smiled at the boy, and lay the assault rifle in his lap. "So, Blaze, you haven't said much. Do you enjoy scavenging with your mother?
The transport closed around Nero and the salesman, with clear reinforced plastic, and with silent ease, it set off into the underground transport channel. They were lit up by the floor, and during the journey, the salesman shuffled, fidgeted, and glanced again and again at Nero's sleeve, where the withered hand was hidden. Then light burst into the tunnel, as the breached onto the surface, faced by a field of open tarmac, with various craft parked in rows. Many colours, shapes and sizes. Most were small, built for families, or personal use, with twin engines and a wide and curved nose, and disabled ramps spilling out of the side.
"Here we are." The transport slowed, and glided through the rows as groups of ships whizzed past, until they got to the far end. There were three identical ships, all red craft, the same as the one Nero had bought. "And here's your ride." The transport stopped, and the plastic walls split open, disappearing into the floor. The salesman got out, and stood in front of the three. "So which would you like?"
-
Nero looked around at the three ships with a tad bit of confusion. As he looked up at the ships, his cowl fell off revealing Nero's entire face. Any doctor would have believed him to be rotting where he stood and morticians would have thought him a runaway from an improperly sealed casket.
"These ships all look the same. Does it really matter which I choose? Or do they each have a different yet vague quality?" Nero faced the salesman and looked him square in the eyes, the pit of his eyeless socket seeming to pierce through the salesman and into his very being.
-
The salesman stood silent, his eyes were wide, quivering, but his feet held him upright, refusing to run.
"Err, no..." His voice sounded like it had been crumpled, straining to to be heard. "There's no... no difference. Take any." His hands clenched into fists, gripping into his palms. Tears dripped down his cheeks.
-
Chronin felt his feet leave the ground, and stuck his talons out to catch the mat before landing on all fours. He reached behind again and 'reactivated' his tail, then slowly made his way back to Tabby, doing fakes until getting in range. He then did some rather expert footwork until ending up right next to her, grabbing both her arms and locking them above, then behind her head as he pushes her onto the mat as his right leg and tail bind her legs. "You know, you seem kind of awkward in this pose... here!" He lifted her torso back up and held both her arms with his own while still holding onto her legs. It was only then that he actually caught a whiff of something in her hair, and he started nuzzling the back of her head. "Your hair smells nice... how much did it cost to get this scent?"
-
Nero smiled at the salesman's reaction. He walked up to him slowly and placed his gnarled claw on his shoulder. "Tell me...do you have a family, Mr...I'm sorry, I never caught your name."
-
Tabby's tail whipped against Chronin's chest. Her grunts and struggles in his hold were blasted with a bullet of a laugh as he spoke, and She grinned with gritted teeth as she felt him nuzzling.
"Bounty hunting makes good money," she said, between heavy breaths and pained gasps. "I like to treat myself. How much did it cost for hair like yours? Mood reactive."
The salesman flinched and his shoulder dropped a few inches under the claw. "Kaicen... Ka... Kaicen Jones." He trembled, sweated, and he stared into Nero's face. His mouth could barely formed the words, losing their strength, moving like uncontrollable liquid.
"I have... I have... yes," he swallowed hard, and clenched his eyes shut, feeling the claw holding him in the dark. "My wife, four kids."
-
Chronin suddenly let go of her arms, then behind her back as if she were under arrest since he wasn't trying to torture her for anything. "My hair was like this ever since the Everflame incident. One time I actually had a doctor see if I could have them replicate the gene for cosmetics; do I need to list my current total in royalties?" He said with a chuckle as he let her go and stepped away, and didn't realize that the hour was nearly over...
-
"Well then, Mister Jones, I have a little job for you when you get home tonight...." The salesman felt a strange sensation in his mind, like black tendrils creeping into his conciousness. The tendrils were pulling, wrenching at his brain...reeling his mind into that black pit of Nero's socket.
"When you get home you're going to make dinner for your wife and children..." Nero's words pierced into the salesman's brain, bypassing any reservations or defenses. "When you do..." Nero whispered into the man's ear for a moment and then stood away from him. Leaving the salesman to his task, Nero got into one of the ships and took off.
-
Tabby rubbed her arms and rolled her shoulders, stretching to relieve the tension, while never taking her eyes off of him. She was smiling, and licked her lips.
"That's pretty cool." The door to the sparring room swung open, and squad D strolled in, led by the crow who had a fierce stare at Chronin. Tabby glanced over to them. "We should talk later, over dinner." She turned, and with swinging hips, walked over to her men, beckoning them to go to Chronin.
Kaicen Jones watched in silence as Nero got into the ship and flew away, and got covered in the dust that it blasted in take-off. Nero rose up, bursting through the atmosphere, before a message was sent to his console. It flashed open with the initials EBP.
"Unknown vessel, this is the Earth Border Patrol. Please transfer your information so we may allow you to leave orbit of the planet."
Meanwhile, Jones turned and headed home.
-
Chronin went back to get his coat since thats what he was wearing when he messed with the crow. "What I am about to say applies to everyone but the crow, and Tabby: I want to face each of you one on one, that way I can get an idea of how good you are without a gun. I don't care about order, but I expect to have fought everyone before the day is done." He stretched his arms and looked among those he really hadn't had a chance to fight as his hair started to raise back up again...
-
Tabby left the room while the squad jostled to decide who went first. The giant anteater stepped forward, presenting his formidable physique and deadly claws. He stepped up to Chronin, spread his arms, and planted his legs, ready to fight. The doors opened again, and Tabby returned with a bottle of water and a chair that she dragged along the floor and swung round so she could sit with folded arms, watching the show.
-
Chronin tried to hold in his laughter as the anteater's mouth dangled just within his reach. "You sure you don't want to... tie that down?" he said with a smirk before taking the mouth and yanking it hard. The anteater broke his stance as he was rather surprised Chronin then stuck his talon into the mouth, raking the bottom of it before yanking it up and kicking out the soldier's right leg.
The anteater swung into his abdomen when Chronin forced him onto a knee, but Chronin didn't feel much as the coat buffeted most of the blow. He then grabbed the anteater's hand and twisted it to where it sounded like bones were breaking, but it was actually his wrist being twisted out of the socket instead of actual bone damage. The dragon then let go of the anteater's mouth before swining the arm behind the solider, and putting the heel of his foot on his tail.
"You rely too much on your upper body and should put some focus into kicking. Also, either get a different mouth, or try to turn it into a weapon so this doesn't happen again. Contestant two, time for your evaluation." He let go of the man's arm, and literally walked over his back before hopping onto the middle of the mat. Amazingly, there was not a single tear where he walked, even though his feet had rather large talons...
-
Tabby bounced with laughter in her seat. The human soldier, in his short denim jacket and combat trousers, had joined her, and they muttered, whispered and giggled together. The anteater stumbled away, back into the crowd. Nobody moved to replace him, everyone shuffling and nudging eachother towards Chronin.
"Come on, boys, show some guts!" yelled Tabby, as she chucked the top of bottletop at them. "Morgan, get going." Among the crowd, the bulldog looked back at her, thought for a moment, and nodded. He walked out into the open, composed himself and puffed out his chest, breathing in deep. Once ready, he set himself into a ready, heavy, brawler stance.
"Ding ding ding," yelled the human, making Tabby giggle again.
-
Blaze looked across at Annie, running a hand through his hair and shrugging "Well... Its pretty good.... Never a boring day" Annie looked up at Blaze, smiling behind his back with the smile of a proud parent... Blaze continued, scratching nervously at the nape of his neck... "But.... In the future i hope to join the marine core, like my dad..." Annie's smile suddenly turned to a frown of concern, as she finished retying her ponytail...
-
Chronin's grin went from childish to predatorial as he adopted a boxing stance and got near the bulldog. He dodged the first set of swings easily before he reached out for the dog's left hand. But it was actually a fake-out as Chronin was knocked off the ground as the bulldog slammed the side of his arm at his hip. Once again, the coat took away most of the damage, but not the momentum that Chronin still felt. He could tell quickly that the bulldog had a moment of inflated ego for making him fly off the ground, but that was when Chronin turned the tables...
His right arm latched onto the bulldog's muscle and hooked his claws in before pushing the arm with both of his legs, sending the attack right across the bulldog's chest. If it had been a serious battle, Chronin would have pulled back on the forearm, breaking the elbow as well as using the momentum to knock the bulldog back; only the latter occoured. He then held the bulldog's forearm around his neck before knocking out his knees and pulling the entire arm back. "You did better than contestant one, almost made me resort to lethal combat just to turn the tables. Just don't let your arms get any bigger than this, makes it really hard to deal with sudden attacks from behind, or breaking out of holds." He let go of the bulldog and gave him an audible smack on the back that made him buckle for a moment as he walked back to the center of the mat. "Since nobody wants to volunteer, I'll have Miss Tabby pick out my third contestant..."
-
"Really?" Reggie said, with raised eyebrows. He glanced at Annie, fuming, then smiled to the boy. "Well maybe you'll do some good for the galaxy. I was never one for the forces. It's a different world to me." He looked around at the cargo bay, and all the familiar angles arcing over them. "So what did your dad do in the core?"
Tabby hopped up off the chair and sauntered in front of the cowering group.
"Aww look at 'em." She put her arm on the ferrets shoulder. He smiled at her and she grinned wide and whispered in his ear, moving forward with him, frogmarching him out in the open. She looked up into Chronin's eyes. "This is Lans, and save for Mr. lazy human back there," she nodded over to her chair. "He's my final favourite, so after him we should probably get out and fight real criminals." She grinned, then looked to the ferret. "You've beaten the others, Elite boy, but don't underestimate him. He surprises me everyday." He patted the ferret on the shoulder and pushed him towards Chronin. He stared up at the dragon, with nerves sparking in his eyes. He set himself, ready to move.
-
Chrono frowned slightly at the 'underestimating' statement, but nodded and his hair started to spike out again as he advanced towards the ferret. They both waited for an unusual amount of time until Chronin acted first by going for a punch to the gut. However, the ferret literally bent around the punch, then grabbed the arm and tried to repeat what Chronin did earlier. However, he was currently in a state of constant shock, only reacting instinctivly to attacks. That is why he swung his arm and pulled the ferret off the ground and slammed him back down before putting his foot talons right at the ferret's gut as his tail waited to hold the ferret in place. The ferret had a look of defeat as he realized how close he was to getting a serious injury, and let go. Chronin got his foot off and huffed as his serious mood kept the hair spiked. "Get suited up and report to docking; I'll brief you on our mission in twenty minutes" Chronin walked out of the room with only a nod in Tabby's direction as he turned on his personal comm. "This is Elite officer Chronin requesting mission briefing for Squad D." he said as he took the long way towards the docking area...
-
Tabby winked at Chronin as he passed, and then headed to the ferret to pull him to his feet. She put her arm around him, picked up her top and the legs of her jeans, and then gathered the boys to follow her to the locker room.
Over the comm, Chronin's commanding officer grumbled the orders.
"It's a simple patrol. Your area has Flatread street at one corner, and Spencer road at the opposite. That's three square miles. Get to it"
-
Nero looked to the comm as it buzzed to life. Transfer information? What information? Nero sighed and flipped the comm on. "Eh, sorry EBP...I just got this ship and I don't know where everything is yet. I could show you my information in person but probably not over any frequencies as of yet."
-
Annie stood behind Blaze, hands on hips as she waited to see what he would say... Blaze either ignored her, or didnt notice the scowl of disaproval, as he continued to explain "Well, he joined young, around my age... I dont know much about the details, but he met my mum during enforcement training.... And then he went into enforcement branch of the core as a secondary officer..." Annie seemed to calm down slightly, as if she had thought he would say somthing different, but Blaze had not finished...
"But... uhm, you probably know about the Triffid problem... Anyway, my Dad helped save an entire team of Marines and his rescuers from a..." He was cut off by Annie, who caught him a sharp slap across the back of the head... She gave him a look that clearly said ...thats enough... Blaze rubbed the back of his head, more in annoyance than pain, but he too realised that maybe he was saying too much...
-
"Unknown vessel" buzzed the EBP through the comms. "Just tell us your name, proof of identity and the vehicle registration number. We can check our records from there and if all is verified, you'll be free to go."
Reggie looked up at the vixen, and narrowed his eyes.
"Well, It's fine to have your secrets, but I'm sure what your father did was very noble, or at least impressive." The door at the end of the cargo bay swung open, and the snake strolled out, wiping his hands. Reggie stood up looked over with stern eyes demanding an answer. The snake wasn't smiling, and nodded over at the boy. "Hey kid," he said, with a serious tone in his laconic voice. His eyes were sharp. "You best come with me to the medbay." His stare shifted to Reggie, but he continued to talk to the boy. "Our friend had some serious bacteria in his wound, and you might do too."
-
Chronin groaned after he turned his comm off and picked up pace towards the docking area, then pulled up a map by twisting a 'valve' on the opposite side of the comm. He put the comm back on and it displayed a HUD directly in the vision part of his brain, showing a universal compass and displaying his vitals. Activate scan program he 'ordered' as a multiple dots appeared in his vision, giving information on anyone he looked at; although it wasn't displayed in detail unless he focused both of his eyes on the target. The scaner was easily detectible by the tell-tale dull-red glow in his eyes as he looked about for his squad...
-
Annie sighed, pressing the palm of one hand to her forehead... "I'm sorry... Its just we live a life full of secrets, and so far the only reason im still alive is by only giving those secrets to them i trusts...." She dropped her hand back down at her side, putting the other arm around Blaze in a strong embrace... "I just try to keep my son safe.... He means everything to me, you know?"
It was then that the snake walked in, and he spoke Annie's hold on Blaze grew tighter... "Whadya mean bacteria?... He gona be alright?" Blaze pushed himself out of her grip, walking up to the snake...
-
In front of Chronin, double doors opened up. Most of the other squads had already left, so Squad D strolled out into the empty area, wearing matching mint uniforms, with Tabby and the human at the front. She wore her own clothes. Her tank top, and black button up top that tailed down behind her to her calves, and the legs to her jeans, reattached. She theatrically marched to Chronin, and stood to attention, saluting wildly.
"Squad D, ready to roll out," she said, suppressing a giggle.
The snake put his arm around Blaze, and walked him back through the ship. Reggie followed along behind and gestured for Annie to come with them. The snake looked back as they walked.
"We're gonna find out if he's okay, alright lady? We'll keep your boy as safe as we can." He led to a quick turn into a little alcove where the medbay was nestled, glowing in white walls and glass. Despite being dulled over time, it looked alien to the rest of the ship. Inside, there were two beds on either side, with one occupied by Jaack, covered in a bedcloth. "Just sit on that bed there, kid." The snake headed to a worktop pressed to the side, taking a swab, and using it to gather some blood from the boy's ear.
-
Nero smiled and rummaged though the cockpit for the registration. "Kaicen Jones..." Nero also gave out the registration number and Kaicen Jones Social Security Number (which he had plucked from his mind earlier). "Am I free to go officer?"
-
Kitt had been running for hours. He had moved through the city like it was his own personal playground. He would vault from the roof tops spinning a quick series of flips, twist, and turns before landing on the roof of the next building. In exhileration he contacted the team.
"You guys have out done yourselves! I have been out here running for hours. I don't even feel tired! Can we try somthing to realy push my limits?"
-
Chronin looked at each of the members, his eyes pulling up their names and genders the instant he focused on them. "Tabby..." he announced while looking at her then calling off her favorite boys, starting from the crow. "...take Felix, Ted, Jace, Kev, and Halard to Spencer road while the rest of use take Flathead street." The other members gathered around him, all of them quietly dreading his possible hostility.
"I expect you all to take the scenic route since this is a patrol, just don't get side-tracked by the scenery with exception for obvious cases..." he said before looking at Tabby, partially expecting her to either nod or reply...
-
There was a pause on the EBP side, filled with static, before a voice scratched through.
"Okay sir, that checks out, you're free to leave. Have a nice journey."
Seema's silky voice eased into Kitt's mind. "Look over the skyline. There should be a tall building rising out of the city. It's the Temeri Tower, and reaches half a mile into the air. Climb it in twenty seconds, then jump off. We think you'll climb it in thirty, and become severely damaged when you hit the ground. Prove us wrong." The communication stopped, and the breeze filled the silence. Then her voice came back. "Don't jump headfirst. You'll kill yourself. We have a team ready at the bottom to help you."
Tabby pouted, with fists on her hips.
"I was hoping I could walk around with you, maybe pick up a meal on the way." The men murmured and laughed, nudging eachother and gesturing towards their leading lady. The human stepped foward with open arms to herd her back to her favourites.
"Don't worry Tabs, we'll keep you company." He looked over at Chronin, "Oh, and don't call me Ted. I'm Thread." Tabby kept her eyes on the dragon as well, flicking her tail from side to side. "Come on lads," said Thread. "Let's get going."
-
"Thank you very much sir." Nero flew the ship away from Earth. Using the information he had extracted from Mr. Jones mind, he plotted a course to the Capital Sphere. Placing it on auto-pilot he got out of the cockpit and took a look around the ship.
-
Chronin tried to hold back a grin as Tabby was being 'herded' towards the people she was supposed to lead. "Thread, if you want to take lead, then Tabby will be helping me with those who did not 'earn her favor'. Otherwise, Tabby will watch over the other group while I keep an eye on you five; Which do you perfer?" One thing he didn't like in men, but tolerated in the opposite gender of his age, was a shifty attitude of being meek, then being dominant the next moment. "I would assume you would pick those two, then being punished for insuborination since Tabby is the one leading." he declared while putting a hand on his rifle...
-
Steam filled a suburban earth house, as firemen doused the flames. Police swarmed around. Uniformed officers frogmarched Kaisen Jones into a police car, heading off to the station, and two detectives, one human, one sparrowhaw, sat on the sidelines with a packet of crisps (potato chips).
"So what happened?" asked the avian.
"Neighbours heard screams and saw smoke pouring out. The firemen went in and found the mother dead at the dining table, a kid dead on the kitchen floor, and all but one of the other kids stuck in the closet." The human picked a crisp out of the bag and stroked a hand through his hair.
"Anybody left alive?" The sparrowhawk looked up, watching the steam and smoke embed itself into the sky.
"Well they can't find the youngest kid, and the dad was kicking and screaming through the whole thing. The mentalist was waving a knife around, screaming about the fire." He breathed a grim little chuckle. "We'll question him in a bit."
"Alright," said the bird. "But first let's get some proper food."
Tabby's frown disappeared, and Thread sidestepped out of the way as she bounced over to the dragon, grinning at his side.
"Thanks," she said. "You won't regret it."
"Felix will lead, not me." Thread laughed and headed to his group who then all headed off out of the building. Tabby waved as they went, then looked up at Chronin.
"Lead on."
-
Blaze winced lightly as the snake swabbed the cut in his ear... He stayed, arms crossed and waiting... "So.... These bacteria, whats so bad about 'em?"
Annie stood at the doorway to the medbay, standing very close to Reggie she watched the Snake intently... She rolled her eyes and Blaze's question, and couldnt help but smirk...
-
The snake smirked as he spread the blood onto a petri dish, and set it under a microscope.
"The bacteria in your wound is part of an intentional infection. That creature was poisonous, but doesn't use venom. It uses bacteria." He looked into the microscope as he talked. Reggie looked down to Annie standing close beside him, and tentatively reached an arm round her shoulder to comfort her. The snake grinned at the bacteria. "My friend has a similar effect, he's a komodo dragon"
-
Nero walked through the ship, non-chalantly. The interior was fancy and luxorious. The outside was sleek and smooth like a bullet. Everything was colored in either white or bright red. It was obviously made for looks and comfort...even if it was fuctional.
He hated it...
Nero wrapped his arm around a sturdy pole and opened the hatch to the outside. All of the air was sucked out of the ship and into the vaccum of space. When the decompression was complete he let go of the pole and climbed out onto the hull of the ship.
The coldness of space against his bare flesh was ectasy to Nero as he crawled along the outside and stood atop the ship. Nero allowed all of the breath to be taken from his lungs as he let the cold into his being, letting himself freeze. Looking down at the ship at his feet, he placed a gnarled claw against the hull.
The hull suddenly came alive, screeching and groaning as it twisted out of shape. Black crystals formed around Nero's claw and spread across the hull, shooting in every direction. Black spires began jutting out of the crystal, wrapping around one another to form grotesque monuments to their creator. Inside, glass from the instruments shattered as they were crushed under the weight of the crystal. The once plush interior became scattered with horrid faces of those consumed and blade-like edges. The ship now looked like a crystalline asteriod...carved into a nightmarish parody of a ship. Nero melted into the crystal and rematerialized back in the cockpit with a grim smile on his face.
"Much better..." Nero spoke into the vaccum inside his ship...making sound despite the lack of air.
-
Scratching worriedly at the nape of his neck Blaze frowned, he didnt like the sound of that... "So... Uh.... What exactly, does the bacteria do?" He twisted his tail nervously around one paw distractedly, watching the Snake lean over the microscope... Annie flinched and drew away from Reggies tentative embrace, a knee-jerk reaction that made her blush as she drew back beside him, allowing him to put his arm back around her. She watched the snake as well, eyes flicking back to Blaze every few seconds...
-
"Get the paramedic!" The officer keyed the code in and pulled open Kaicen Jones' cell. His face was pale, and blood pooled around him, and covered his fingernails. There was a large gash along his wrist, and through the meat, there was a hint of white bone. On the wall opposite him, blood had been smeared on the walls as writing.
The flame that does not burn, will be returned
The snake gave a vicious grin into the microscope, then rubbed his hands on his hawaiian shirt. He turned to face Blaze, keeping eye contact, and his face dropped into a serious stare.
"The bacteria gets into your bloodstream, and heads to your brain. You'll be in pain for a good while, and if untreated, you could suffer organ failure, cardiac arrest or brain death." He looked at the cut, then over to Annie. "Obviously it could be fatal."
Reggie squeezed Annie's shoulder, keeping her close to him.
-
Blaze fell silent, still twisting his tail around one paw in agitation.. He swallowed, looking up at the Snake... "That.... uh... That doesnt sound good..." Annie inadvertently held herself closer to Reggie, one hand on her chest in shock... She spluttered, looking from the Blaze to the snake... "But zou can treat it right?... She clenched the other hand into a fist and back again repeatedly, tail flicking in a mixture of anger and worry...
-
His lips flickered and curled into a smile.
"Yeah," he said. His voice was loose and laconic. "I can treat it, but the infection is designed to be resilient. It's not an easy thing to do." Reggie gripped a bit too tight onto Annie.
"What about Jaack?" The snake turned to the rabbit, who lay unconscious under a white sheet. His ears poked out the top, twitching in his sleep. The snake lost his smile, turning to a grimace.
"I've helped him out and he should be okay, but I'll be honest, dude. He's in real danger." Reggie gritted his teeth, and his deep voice rumbling with agitation.
-
Chronin nodded as he lead his group down the street, and it was all rather boring even with Tabby trying to pull him towards random resturaunts. However, that changed when they made a turn towards their start on Spencer road and there were about seven to nine thug-like characters just sitting at the corner apparently just waiting for them to pass through as one saw Chronin and alerted the others around him. Chronin's hair was almost pointing straight up when he saw the thugs getting near with an assortment of melee class weapons. "Looks like we've got trouble expecting us." he mumbled as he motioned for the squad to be ready for a brawl since he already expected Tabby to be ready-to-go...
-
Tabby had a heavy grin, and her tail swung from side to side. She nodded to the rest of the group, who put their hands on their truncheons ready to whip them out. Tabby stepped forward, swinging her hips.
"'Sup lads, how's it going?"
-
Some stopped at the sight of Tabby's strutting, but the others pulled them away so they could focus on Chronin. "Two broken arms and a fractured skull, ring any bells?!" a human with a mohawk yelled, holding a rather spiky chain in his hand. Chronin cupped his chin and looked at the group "That could be anybody... maybe a disloacted arm or a momentarily broken neck?" he said as his eyes went towards the human with a smug grin on his face. "Oh, its on..." the human mumbled before taking a swing at Chronin, who actually grabbed the chain and let it wrap around his reinforced sleeve before kneeing him in the gut, kicking him over, and breaking his left thigh with a stomp before pulling the bottom half of the leg way up and past its stretching point, making the same human scream in pain. "There, add a broken thigh and dislocated calf joint to the list... and the rest of you get lost before the other patrol has to clean you off the floor!" A fox with a shiv tried to take a swing in payback, but Chronin flipped him mid-swing and pulled the knife out of his hand before he even hit the ground. "Must I repeat myself!?" he growled before two other gang-bangers got the human away, and the fox slowly got up before bolting. The rest just backed away slowly as he put a hand on Tabby's shoulder. "How come they got a show but I didn't?" he calmly replied with a grin while getting ready to block an imminent attack from her...
-
Tabby spun and sent a kick flying at Chronin. She faked a frown, barely concealing her smirk.
"What kind of team leadership was that?" she said, pointing to the grumbling squad who had watched Chronin dispatch the criminals on his own. "And it seemed like they knew you, like you're a magnet for crime!" The facade completely fell, revealing an unashamed toothy grin. She walked up next to him, looking up at his reptilian face, and smacked him beneath his tail. "And if you want a show, you just have to ask, but not in the middle of the street."
-
Annie winced slightly, as Reggie squeezed her shoulder tightly... If she hadnt been so worried about Blaze, she would have taken the time to notice that he was very strong, Rivaling Kate... And she hadnt exactly been a weak little kitty... Annie looked back up at the snake from Blaze... "Just do the best you can... The names Annie Yantova..."
Blaze meanwhile worried about death... Most notably, his own death...
-
The snake nodded to her.
"David Ashavé," he said, and then opened one of his cupboards, picking out a small vial. he stuck a cyringe through the top and pulled back the plunger, filling it with the vials clear fluid. Removing the cyringe, he tapped it and squirted a bit out to test it. "I'm going to give you a little medicine, okay kid?" he said, glancing to Blaze. "Take off that spacesuit and give me your arm."
Reggie noticed his grip on Annie, and let go of her, keeping his arm behind him, murmuring, "Sorry," to her. He looked over the rabbit, licked his teeth, and then lightly bit his tongue.
-
Kitt ran full speed to the indicated tower. As he reached the base he looked up at it and recalled Seema's instructions. 'Shes nuts.' Kitt thought to himself as he started up the side of the tower. His hands expertly finding the holds weathered into the side of the structure at an allarming rate. The climb itself was not bad unless you counted the fact that about a hundred feet up the winds picked up and threatened to do their best to dislodge him from his climb. "Should have taken the stairs." Kitt said aloud even though he knew he wanted the challenge. He laughed as he topped the building at seventeen minutes flat. "Hey Seema, I thought you said twenty minutes?" Oh well time for the jump."
Kitt stepped back a few paces and took a few very deep breaths to calm his nerves before running to the side and executing a gainer before plumeting towards the ground feet first. Just before he hit the ground he braced for impact.
-
As he climbed, Seema laughed at his comments, and applauded when his twenty minute timer stopped at 17. "Well done, now for the hard part." She held her breath as Kitt's feet left the building, and he plummeted to the ground.
When Kitt eventually regained consciousness, he was encased in a transparent tube. Around him, doctors milled and shuffled. The tables were covered in electronics and robotics, including his shattered limbs.
-
Blaze started the rasonably quick process of taking of his suit. It, like most Mechanicus equipment, was built to be both modular and ´flat-packable´. After a couple of minutes he had stripped down to his dark red fatigues, which unlike Annie´s where short-sleeved and ´artfully´ ripped and torn, as well as adorned with tags buckles and badges. He proffered one forearm, hoping in earnest that was where the Snake needed to stick the needle...
Annie meanwhile nodded a greeting to the Snake, half-smiling. She looked up as Reggie let go of her, murmuring equally quietly back "No worries... And i hope your friend pulls through..." She put a tentative arm around him, looking across at the rabbit Jaack... She bit her lip and sighed...
-
Chronin was trying to hide a blush as his hair completely fell flat at the tail-smack, but it rose right back up and he tried to look away. "My officer thought it was funny to stick someone who didn't "show discipline" to lead a squad of the apparent disposition. As for the 'crime magnet', I usually forget to bring hand-cuffs; so I learned to quickly perform what you just saw..." He took a deep breath and looked over to his 'squad' with a level tone in his voice. "You know heard the lady, you guys are taking point while I keep lookout..." some of them groaned, but they all followed the order and made their way towards Flathead as Chronin was close behind, keeping his left arm up and behind his neck, unconsiously showing to Tabby that the damage of the spikes as he tried to keep the bloodflow of that area to a minimum. Hopefully that chain wasn't rusted when it got in. Would really hate to report to the infirmary after only the first mission on the squad...
-
Feeling Annie's arm around him, Reggie looked down to her, put his arm back where it was, and began stroking her arm; partly to comfort her, but also himself.
David grabbed Blaze's arm, and pressed his thumb along it, finding a vein. He smirked he found one, stuck the needle in, and pressed the plunger, shooting the drug into the boy's bloodstream.
"This'll help with the infection, but it's not a cure and you'll still be in a lot of pain." He patted the empty bed. "Rest here, and I'll take everyone to the best doctors available to people like us." He headed out of the room, gave a glance and a grin at Reggie and Annie, before sidling past them. "It'll take a day or two, so you newcomers best make yourself comfy; except for the boy. He'll be begging for comfort." His smile disappeared as he paused on the stairs. His tongue flicked in the air, and he headed off into the ship.
Reggie shook his head as the snake disappeared.
"Sorry about him," he said. "We don't have him around for his bedside manner." He growled under his breath, then pulled away from Annie, walking to Jaack's side and pulling back the cloth to see his friend's sunken, shivering face. Reggie gripped the bed, and his growling grew. "I hate it when this happens."
Tabby reached into her black top and pulled out some cuffs.
"Take mine; you can put them to more professional use than I normally do." She smiled and walked along with Chronin as the group set off again for Flathead Street. She looked up at him, watching blood trickle down his arm. She gave a slight frown, before softening up, with an honest smile at his resilience. She kept quiet, but walked closer by him.
-
"Thanks... hopefully I'll get to use them before the habit kicks in..." he said as his right arm plucked the cuffs and put them in the pocket of the vest thats under his coat. He made note of more gangs, but it was odd... they all just sat there, staying away from pedestrians and 'easy targets' while just staring at him and the group. "Get in contact with the second squad, we might be running into more trouble soon... hopefully they weren't here when Thread combed this area" he said rather quietly to Tabby, keeping his right hand close to the rifle just in case...
-
Blaze sat down on the bed, leaning against the wall it was built into and sighed. He looked across at Jaack, and briefly shuddered, chances are he'd soon be like that... He folded his arms across his chest, and sighed again, running one thumb back and forth across the largest badge on his fatigues. It was a bright gold and silver pair of wings, emblazoned with the words "MARINE CORE"...
Annie smiled as Reggie stroked her arm, a smile that quickly turned to a light frown as he walked over to Jaack and pulled back the covers... She walked up just behind Reggie, but didnt try to put her arm around him, instead she sat down beside her son and hugged him close ...
-
"You really are a crime magnet, aren't you," whispered Tabby. She walked beside Chronin, cautiously slowing down. "The sphere's never this dangerous." She put her hands into the pockets of her baggy jeans, feeling the curve of two pistols. The rest of the group held their truncheons ready, with eyes darting around at the increasing number of threats.
Reggie pulled the cloth to cover his friends face again, and then pushed off the bed, making it rattle. He clenched his fists and turned to leave, but changed his mind. He looked at Annie, and then turned away to the window leading into the ship. He turned again, like a caged animal, pacing back and forth.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" His arms tensed, and let loose, punching the wall, and storming out disappearing through the narrow corridor.
-
"Ugh, you know what Seema? I am pretty glad that you can turn the feeling off now cause that would hurt like hell right now. How long till you think I'll be up and moveing again?" Kitt said as he slightly raised his head to get a better veiw of his surroundings. Pausing a moment on his shattered limbs.
-
"Even if I am a crime magnet, some of these guys usually stay out of this area... either theres a gang coalation, or someone is leaking info" he mumbled as he continued to look around. They were all gangs he had stopped before, but on different sectors of the Captial sphere. This place was usually a quiet in the way that anything carried out was almost never shown in the light. I'll need to tell 'Auntie' about this even though she might just laugh at how my actions are finally showing their consenquences...
-
Nero flew the airless ship into Capital Sphere space. "Hmmm...quite a bit of security. I'd hate to be the docking party...speaking of which." Nero looked to the wall opposite of the door. With a flick of the wrist, several spikes erupted from the wall and stretched until they were three feet from the door.
If anyone opened the door...their day would become very bad, very quick.
-
Seema's voice didn't speak inside his head. Kitt could hear her for real, as she walked in front of.
"I was wondering when you'd wake up." She adjusted her suit jacket and pulled out a datapad from her pocket. "Repairs shouldn't take too long. A week at most. But right now, as your psychologist, I've suggested that since your immobile for now, we could take you to my office and we can have a little chat." She held the pad at her side, and brushed her fringe from her eyes, while her massive tail swung lethargically from side to side. "What do you think, are you okay with that?"
"You're a dangerous man," Tabby whispered with a smirk on her face. "So what's the plan?". The squad were tense, making steps filled with caution. Everyone looked around, trying to keep their eyes on all the gangs.
The communication panel of Nero's ship lit up, and a male voice rolled through.
"Unknown vessel, do you read us? This is Capital Sphere Orbital Security. Please note, due to an upcoming jump sequence, we cannot let you approach or dock with the Capital Sphere. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause you."
-
"They won't do anything until we get into a less populated street, the last thing they probably want right now is more units coming here to supress a 'gang war'... just keep with the crowded areas until we hook back up with Thread. 'Just a simple patrol' he said..." he grumbled the last part to himself as his troops followed the flow of the crowds to the end of the street, then realized the crowd thinned out to only a tenth of its original size as they went on the return route of the patrol. "The moment they start leaving the alley, start running and don't look back..." he ordered as they went down the road.
-
Tabby started to laugh, breaking out of the tension, holding her arms and giggling.
"This is fun. Out numbered and under threat? I like this. You know, we could just call for back up, get this fight going fair and square." She grinned and giggled through her breaths. The rest of the squad sent nervous looks her way.
-
Annie hugged Blaze tightly, ignoring his muffled complaints... She nuzzled his cheek as she had once done when he was very young, and this time Blaze´s complaints definitely where heard. Annie simply smirked, stopping but not releasing him from the tight hug "You´re gonna be okay... I´ve kept you safe ya whole life, i aint gonna let you go die on me now..." She looked up as Reggie released his anger on the nearest wall, before storming off further into the ship.
For one, rather confused moment Annie felt like going after him, and indeed half-stood up. She stopped, looking back down at Blaze and giving a weak smile. She sat back down, and pulled out a slim data-pad, the very one Kitt had when back on Serra Draconis... Switching it on, Annie pulled Blaze closer "C´mon... I´l show you some photos from when me and youre dad where young... Just like when you where just a kit, sittin´on my lap and asking to see ´em, eh?" Blaze nodded wearily, drawing his knees up to his chin...
-
Nero didn't reply to the call and kept flying. The engines of the ship were on but if anyone scanned theship for lifesigns they wouldn't find anything. To machines...it was a ghost ship whose fuel had yet to run out.
-
"Perfectly fine with it. What would you like to know?"
-
"Fine, if I must." he taps his comm, and he immedeatly contacts Thread in an ear-piece he slipped onto his person as he was walking out of the sparring area. "Tabby said to call you, since I'm apparently dragging her into a gang-war on a road that you just walked down." he said as he heard a snicker coming from one of the previously nervous soldiers....
-
Reggie stormed through the ship, deliberately stomping along the dull metal floors, like he was trying to break the ship, until he reached his room. The door was more like a shutter, locked in place with a padlock. The electromagnetic locks had failed a long time ago. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys, fiddling through them to find the right one, grumbling and growling throughout. He put the key into the padlock, turned it one way, and it didn't work. He turned it the other way, and it jammed. He pulled on the padlock, but it refused to budge. Snarling, he slammed the door with his fist. His breath was heavy, his mind was red, and he swung the assault rifle from his back into his hands. A gunshot echoed through the ship.
"Sir, they're not responding." A young fennec stared at his holographic screen, sitting in a line of five other Orbital Security employees. A female dolphin sat on the floor with legs crossed in the centre of the room behind the five subordinates.
"Scan the ship then," The fennec did as ordered, and found no life signs. The results appeared in a holographic screen that popped into life in front of the dolphin. "That's one strange little boat, ain't it," she said, with a light effortless tone. "Right, no life signs, engines still running, heading to the sphere. You know the procedures. EMP then KRoon it out of the way."
"Yes ma'am."
Out in space, an EMP missile appeared through the dark like a spec, rocketing towards Nero's ship.
Seema spread a closed smile across her narrow muzzle.
"Let's go somewhere more private first, shall we?" There was a noise, something clunked behind Kitt's back, and slowly his quadruple amputee, cyborg body tilted until he was flat on his back. He stared at the ceiling as the platform he was on carried away to a nearby building. Inside it, the walls and the ceiling were filled with colour. They almost seemed alive, as vines of purple crawled and writhed across muted pinks , and a haze of white sparkled all around. He passed another doorway, and the room he entered cleansed his mind with calm. Sky blue danced with vibrant, living greens. Speakers hidden in the walls filled the air with a warm filling tone. The platform Kitt was on whirred, and tilted his body forward just slightly. As he looked around, he saw Seema leaving the room, with her luxurious tail flowing behind her slender legs. The door swung shut behind her, leaving Kitt alone. Around him, there was very furnishings, save for a long psychiatrist's couch, and a chair opposite, with a small table between them. When Seema returned, she had a jug of water, two cups and a plate of cooked chicken all on a tray, which she placed on the table.
"If you get hungry or thirsty, just ask," she said, and then plucked a digipen and a datapad from her pocket. She sat down and preened her hair, before clearing her throat. "So Kitt," she said with a perfectly pleasant smile. "We've done so much to you and with you, but the group don't feel that we know who you are. Basically I'm here to figure you out and make sure you're okay; that you're handling things." She leaned forward and her dripped with sympathy. "How is the transition between what you were, and what you are now? You seem to be enjoying it but I don't think that enjoyment will last. Are you sure you aren't worried about the people back home? Your family, your friends? Did you have a girlfriend back there?"
Thread's breathy laugh huffed through the comms.
"Oh them? Yeah we met them. Nice guys. They didn't seem interested when we walked by, but I'm guessing that's not the case with you. Maybe they like your smell." he laughed again, and drank something down. He smacked his lips then continued his little laugh. "Look, if you want us to go over and smooth things out, since you're obviously not a diplomat, then I'd be happy to lend a hand. If it's fighters you'll need, we'll lend everyone else's hands."
-
Chronin kept a grimace held back as he heard Thread's choices. "I would like any muscle you can offer, since its possible that I have more than two-hundred gang-bangers hiding behind the alleys and stalls just to get a chance at me. Laugh and I'll rip your tongue out when we get back..." after a few more moments of one-sided conversations on Thread's part, Chronin turned off his comm before turning to Tabby with a look between disgust and confusion. "Thread suggested diplomacy of all things. Diplomacy, what are we... Ambassadors?!"
That was when the first bullet flew past his head and the fight began...
-
Nero waited until the last possible moment, turning off everything nanoseconds before the EMP hit. The ship would have been fried either way...if it had still been the same ship he flew away from Earth on. The changes were far more than just the look of the ship...
The crystal of the ship was alive...organic...all attached to a simple nervous system in the heart of the ship, which Nero had just put into a temporary coma.
To Orbital security, the EMP had done its job.
To Nero...all that was left to do was wait.
-
"Nah, I've never had a girl friend. I was always a little too smart for my own good, and being around people that were easy to read and tell what they wanted got me labled as a potential psychic. So it kinda made other people paranoid about me. As a result I became rather reclusive. As for my family I'm not too worried about them Yeah I know I'm going to end up missing them eventualy. My mother is also planning on having another child after i was gone so i guess they will have something to keep them happy. At some point and time I can start a family of my own so that could take up my time that I'm not working. Yes I know that with the transitions it is possible i couldent had they taken a full system through my lower half, but theres a slightly different feel to the machinery than to my natural flesh. I can tell where the machine starts and where it integrates into my system. So I know whats flesh and whats machine. But on the plus note its not all that uncomfortable. As to my enjoyment of it I get the same enjoyment from moving and pulling dare devil stunts that I did before. The added strength, however, is a nice little bonus."
Kitt smiled as he ended the previous statement. He had answered truthfully. He also knew just how much a pshychologist could read into such simple statements to garner information as to what a persons true identity was.
-
"Roger that Mr. Elite Sir," turned off his communicator just as a whisperof laughter was about to take him. After Chronin talked to Tabby she giggled and lightly slapped Chronin's arm, and then bullets flew. The first ricocheted behind them. Tabby turned and saw the street filled with gangsters charging forward with knives, chains and the occasional firearm. Tabby leapt back, taking cover around a corner. She looked round its edge, and pulled out two pistols, firing them into the crowd. The squad ducked and scattered, pulling further and further back.
Out above the capital sphere, a small craft darted through the black, until it sat in the path of Nero's ship. It stopped, faced him, and unfurled an oversized emitter. Lights blinked and a transparent force was fired towards Nero. Light distorted in its wake, skewing the stars and the capital sphere seen behind it. It slammed into the ship, knocking it away to drift away through space.
Seema smiled. "Yes well, the scientists and engineers were mostly male. They know what body parts are important to you." She wrote something down on her datapad, and lay it in her lap. "Would you say that you're a well adjusted person? You've lost seventy percent of your body and are taking it in your stride. What's more, you're going to be sent on military missions where you will have to kill a lot of people. Are you not at least apprehensive about any of that?"
-
Annie looked up at the gunshot, eyes flicking from Blaze to the door... Calculating, the soldier in her alert all of a sudden... "Blaze.. You stay here, imha go see whats going on..." She stood up, leaving Blaze to sit on the bed, looking through old photographs. Annie walked out, drawing her pistol from its thigh holster and walking left down the corridor... Turning several corners she finally arrived where the gunshot had originated, pistol loaded and primed...
Blaze meanwhile looked from a photograph of his father, proud and straight-backed beside Annie and Kate, back down to the Marine Core badge on his chest... The very tip of one wing had been completely torn off, a semi-circular hole where a bullet had entered his fathers chest. The first of three such shots, from less than a foot away... The silver badge was still stained with a rusty-red smear...
-
Chronin unholstered his plasma rifle, and actually fired with cold accuracy, not even phased at the screams of the gangsters who take the shots full-on. Some of them actually stopped when they saw that some of them had limbs fried off. Figures, gangsters can't work up the gut when the smell of burning flesh is permeating through the air...
One of them, a fox-wolf, actually managed to get around the crowd of burnt or dead, and was moments within stabbing him with a 10'' knife, but Chronin spun around and badly cutting up the wolf with his taloned foot. There were about fifty bodies on the ground, most from Chronin's firing, the rest went back to the alleyways, but the bullets still flew. He went behind cover and sighed while pulling down on his face with the left hand. Its like Everflame all over again, only my actions drove the gangs to throw themselves at me...
This was one of the few times that his hair actually fell down from depression, instead of calm or elation. "Tabby, get behind cover, and cover your ears!" he yelled as he 'turned on' his port-a-bomb glove and decided to shut them out to prevent more casualties that would only breed more hatred...
-
Reggie's door was half open, revealing a tiny room, with barely space for a bed and some shelves, covered in anything he'd picked up along the way. The big fox was sat down with the rifle at his side, and a little yellow bulldozer in his gargantuan hands. His ear twitched to face the corridor. He heard footsteps and as Annie turned the corner, he shoved the toy into his pocket.
"Oh, hey. Sorry about the noise, I probably scared you-- no wait you don't get scared, uhm well." He clasped his hands together wringing his fingers. "Sorry about just now and... before." He let out a nervous laugh and got up off the bed to leave his little room. Closing the door behind him revealed a massive hole where the lock had been.
Tabby leapt behind the building and crouched down, hands clamped over her ears. The rest of the squad dove behind whatever they could, bracing for impact.
-
Nero's ship twirled through the black like a helpless toy. As soon as it was out of sensor range, Nero turned the ship back on to steady it. As soon as it was stable again he turned it back off. Allowing himself to melt into the crystal, he rematerialized on the outside of the ship.
He could see the Capital Sphere in the distance...tens of miles of space between himself and the Sphere. Nero looked down at his ship...knowing it would be useless. This was about stealth, and he was far too tempted to simply fly in and rip the Sphere apart in search for the Everflame or any information on it. With a silent sigh he stepped off the hull of the ship and began to walk to the Sphere as if there was solid ground beneath his feet.
Space seemed to bend and warp with every footstep, sometimes shifting him much farther than the step should have allowed. His own form seemed to be in flux as well. At times he seemed to not be moving at all but the next moment his body was nothing more than a vibrating blur. Traveling like this was taking a toll on his borrowed body...he would need to feed again when he got to the station.
-
Chronin turned on the reticle for his built-in HUD, and then aimed right where a blast would cause the most efficient blockage. He then stood up behind the cover and charged his bomb to about the size of a melon, then shot it at the target, making a rather audible 'boom' and cutting off the bullets from one of the alleys. One down, seven left he inwardly groaned as he now ducked behind cover to charge again...
-
"Well I wouldn't say so much well adjusted as logical, and on top of that mostly optimistic. I can pull a bright side out of almost anything. As for the thought of killing things, or as my reality now is, people, everything has to die at some point and time. It is simply a matter of training my mind to be able to view them as, well, prey. Although I would have to say I would like the development team to make some spare limbs so I can still move of my own accord whenever they need to make adjustments to my standard limbs. God, I never thought I would be speaking of my body as if it were a vehicle." Kitt laughed a little at the previous statement and let loose a resigned sigh. yes he had a lot of mental training he would need to do for his new life but he did have alot of pent up aggresion to help him with that objective. "Seema, as to the later question on the military. I do belive that I am going to require a training regimine to help me with the stated mental aspects. In theroy it works but reality is a very different situation. So the one reason why I resented my own choice to join the military is that I fear that I will enjoy one too many of the aspects of the life."
-
Annie let the pistol drop to her side, safety back on with an audible click... She shrugged, eyes searching over Reggie´s expression "Dont worry... Just checking, you know, gunshot n´ all..." She stepped aside to let him pass as he closed the door behind him, glancing briefly at the space where a lock had obviously once been. She sighed, slipping the pistol back into its thigh holster she smiled warmly... "Look, Reg.." She paused briefly, pushing her fringe out of her eyes "I... I know how you feel... I always worry about what could happen to Blaze one of these days, and before him, heaps of friends who i cared about..."
Back in the medbay, Blaze flicked through another photograph. Annie and Kitt stood proudly side-by-side on the paradeground. Then after that, the two and a few others he didnt know the names of, at a night out off duty... After that however, his father was in no other photographs... Only himself, Blaze, and Annie...
-
The street felt the blast, tearing into the street, blasting holes into collapsing walls. Tabby crouched lower, gripping her ears and shutting her eyes tight. After the blast, she turned to Chronin, breathing hard with an open, incredulous smile.
"What the hell was that?!" she said. Her eyes were shining. The rest of the squad clambered to their feet to scramble further back down the street behind the dragon.
Seema leaned forward, cocking her head to hear more, and understand better. "Enjoyment? Don't worry, you can enjoy it as much as you like as long as you follow orders." She flicked the pen down the datapad, scrolling through its files. "You'll recieve the regular military knowledge and training as well as some special ops excercises via dowload. You won't need to do these straight away, since your body and to some extent, your mind have been engineered to already be better than any soldier we have, so don't worry about that. However, just in case you do get overwhelmed by anything, there is a function in your suit that injects certain chemicals into your bloodstream. They will accentuate those psychological impulses that a good soldier needs and diminish those that get in the way. You won't be scared, you wont panic, and you wont lose your self control. You'll be alert, and ready to handle anything that comes your way in the appropriate manner. Your higher functions will be supported by the AI, and your reaction times will go through the roof; but don't use it too much. It's not good for you." She brushed her hair out of her eyes and sat straight in the chair. "I have one more question before you can go to sleep and get your body parts back, including spares," she said with a smile. "What's your greatest achievement in life so far?"
Reggie looked into her eyes, seeing himself reflected in the amber tones.
"I guess I'm just not used to it." He clasped his hands together, then broke them apart, reaching one into his pocket to feel the metal of the toy bulldozer. "There were my parents, who disappeared; and then there was Jaack. That's all there's ever been, really." he laughed a little, and looked at a wall, pressing his palm against it. "I guess I should have gotten out more, eh?" His laughter subsided, and his smile disappeared. "I don't really know how... I can't... He can't disappear as well, you know?" He gripped the toy tight in his hands, and he fidgeted, turning and shifting on the spot. He was looking around, at anything that wasn't Annie. "You should get back to your son."
-
"A momento of my father" he half-mumbled as he formed a another 'bomb' in his hand, which looked like a bubble with glowing yellow soap. He reduced the size because apparently the blast was not as well-contained in this area. He fired another and took out a second ally-way before spotting Tabby's favorite ment getting behind cover and laying down suppressive fire. "Took you long enough!" he yelled before forming another 'bomb' in his hands...
-
The new arrivals pulled out whatever weapons they had an opened fire. All around the violence, screams pierced through from gangsters and the fleeing innocent. The gangs began to disperse, joining the civilians to run for their lives. Thread jogged over to Chronin. "Looks like we've been missing a party." He was barely murmuring, as he looked around at the chaos, with hard eyes.
-
Annie looked up at Reggie, sighing. Some part of her, the motherly instinct, wanted to hug him. Hold him close and say everything would be okay. She sighed again, torn between her son and Reggie "Your parents... they... I mean, how old where you?" Annie stepped closer, around to face Reggie. Blaze could wait for a moment or two...
A roiling pain had started somewhere in Blaze´s gut. A short stab of nausea and a prickling feeling all over his skin. The small screen on his wrist flashed twice, along with a continual beeping and scrolling message --Incoming Message--- His face brightened, despite the pain, as he flicked up the screen to answer it "Hey, Tess... that you?"
The screen now showed the caller, a young vixen with bleached-blond hair. Sweat ran down her bangs, and behind her was the sound of welding and cutting. She smirked, flicking her fringe away with an upward huff of air from her mouth. "Yo Blaze! Just calling about your Mag-Bike, finally got it fixed... When you gonna be back at the carrier next?"
Blaze grimaced, the stabbing pain increasing, now in his chest... "Ugh, i dunno... It woulda been today. But we ran into some trouble..." On the other end of the line Tess rolled her eyes, blowing her fringe away again."Ah, your always running into trouble... Well... Next time you dock with the carrier, make sure to come pick her up from the engineer deck... And dont crash her like that next time!"
-
"Thirteen years, eleven months and six days." He looked down at her and sighed. "I made a point of remembering it. I don't know why; it doesnt change anything, but I remember it anyway." He could see in her eyes, she was honestly worried. He gripped the legs of his space suit, holding the fabric in his hands, just to hold something. "It won't bring them back and it wont make him better and I know it never will." His voice faltered, his breathing sharpened, and his stomach felt as though someone was scooping out his insides. He rubbed his eyes, while shying away from Annie; and he gripped his hair to calm down. It wasn't working. His breathing grew sharper still. Growling at himself, he slammed his head against the wall. This calmed him down, but only a little. "I'm sorry."
-
Annie listened pensively, looking up at him... She flinched suddenly as he banged his head on the steel wall, her hand already half-way up to attempting to stop him. She held it there, rubbing her thumb against the tip of her index finger worriedly. She shook her head, still looking up at him "No... You dont need to be sorry..." With slightly trembling fingers, Annie laid her palm softly on his chest. She looked closely into his eyes, no matter how much he tried to shirk away "You really do care for Jaack... Really, and utterly.... Theres no reason to be sorry for that..."
"Hey! Also remember to tell yer Ma´ that we got some new Explorator Droids in.... She might be interested...." Tess by now had skirted away from whatever work she had been doing, for the sound of heavy machinery was no longer buzzing through the small mic on Blaze´s wrist. He nodded, biting his own tongue against the pain in his stomach and chest...
Tess blew her fringe away again, frowning slightly "You okay man? Y´dont look so good..." Blaze shook his head, grimacing again. Tess´ frown deepened as she quickly looked over her shoulder, and back again "Dude, your not on the Stims again? I thought you quit..."
Blaze forced a laugh, the pain subsiding slightly "Nah... I´m clean since that night in the loading bay..." Tess laughed as well, frown already gone... "Oh... Man!.... What a craaazy night that was..."
-
"I think the most ironic about the after-math, is the amount of guff I'll get from my 'commanding' officer for the expenses it would take to repair the buildings.; as well as letting about a hundred 'threats' walk away with their lives. Why did fifty have to get injured or killed for the rest to just give up..." he asked rhetoricly before getting up and 'finishing' the patrol. They said 'elites' rarely see the frontline after they make it there... funny, sure feels like I just "won" a battle He 'crushed' the bomb and looked at the bodies. "Just like Dad said: the hardest thing a soldier must face is the immedeat outcome of his actions and his victories" he mumbled before going to the three soldiers that hadn't fire a single round, that he had dragged with him; the idea only made the disappointment greater. "Why are you here; I don't bring civilians into patrol."
Frustrated that he and Tabby were basically the only ones fighting until help arrived, he only gave her a sad glance before turning his comm back on. "Patrol is over, report back to your dorm on the double." Thread nodded in the distance before getting his group out of the area, then Chronin saw his 'charges' run towards base. He could tell Tabby was right beside him as he walked, and he tried his best to restraing his expression of frustration. "Even unruly fighters can defend themselves... but I guess that explains why they didn't make your top five."
-
Reggie looked down at his chest, and then back to her eyes. He almost whispered a grateful smile, and reached forward, holding his palm to her cheek. He felt her hair against his fingertips.
"You're really wonderful, you know that?" Just as he spoke, the mood in the air snapped. Down the corridor, David started a slow applause. Reggie turned to face him, and put an arm around Annie.
"Well, even when I heard the gunshot, I didn't expect this much action this quick." David smirked and casually leaned against the wall. "Reggie, can I talk to your for a second? In private."
"Not now David." Reggie held Annie close to him, and the snake glared.
"Yes, Reg. Now." He said with unequivocal authority. "And you, princess," he shifted his violent stare to Annie. "Maybe you should go see your son, eh? My guess is the bacteria has set to work by now, and he isn't feeling to well anymore."
Tabby sighed, and looked over to the other three of the group.
"They joined for the benefits. Plus, it's not like they were prepared for this." She looked back up at Chronin. . "I mean this is the capital sphere, when's the last time there's been a gunfight round here." She started to smile again, and looked at his glove. Her eyes shined with awe. "I tell you what though, that was impressive. Can I see that thing you got?"
-
Chronin raised an eyebrow and showed her the glove, but didn't let her touch it. "Its something my father designed but couldn't finish refining it before the Everflame was stolen 25 years ago, he died during the riots, leaving me to finish his work. Two others I made have built-in limiters and only 'Auntie' is allowed to issue them since its like carrying a dynamite factory in your hand. Trust me, this tech is far from user friendly and it would have destroyed my arm if I didn't reverse engineer before trying to finish my father's refinements." He only cautioned her since her face showed just how much she wanted to try it out. "Its stricly for small-scale demolition like you saw when I clogged up the alleys, it can even work in space as long as it was formed in an oxygen rich atmosphere first."
-
Tabby chewed the warnings around in her head.
"Aw come on. You can't just flash that sexy thing around without letting me have a go." She looked up at him, pouted, then growled a sigh. "Fine, but I expect compensation for it in the future." She grabbed his butt and squeezed, just as they turned the corner towards the police barracks. The regional officer stood outside with arms folded and a vicious glare.
-
Chronin didn't even bat an eye as he made his way up to the officer and saluted and waited for his regional officer to speak. He knew he was going to get chewed out for how he ended up killing, damaging property, and doing exactly what was expected of him when encountering a fire-fight. He may be a crime magnet, but he made sure his own buisness was kept away from endangering others. However, this was his first encounter of dealing with an ambush of at least two-hundred gangsters.
-
With a smile, Annie brought a hand up to hold Reggie´s to her cheek. She breathed slowly, not daring to make a sound, as if to do so would burst the small bubble they now occupied together. Her tail flicked excitedly behind her, before stopping still as David turned the corner. Annie returned the glare, meeting the snake´s eyes. But even so, the moment was lost and she pushed away from Reggie, already walking back towards the medbay...
Annie entered the small room, just in time to see Blaze flip down the small screen on his wrist. Even so, she knew who the caller had been... With a concerned frown, she looked down at Blaze. He was biting his lip, a single drop of blood welling up where the incisor met soft flesh. She sat down carefully, putting an arm around him "How you doing champ?" Blaze shrugged, not opening his mouth. Annie nodded, suddenly smirking "Was that Tess just called?" another nod "And you still havnt asked her out yet?"
This time Blaze gave more than a nod. Apparently with all pain forgotten, he sat up straight"Mum! Its not like that... we´re just... friends..." Annie rolled her eyes, glad that she had finally gotten him to speak. She raised her eyebrows, still smirking "Just friends? Boy how many times have i heard that before... By the time me and your father where your age, we´d already gone the full way... if you know what i mean..."
She grinned even more, as Blaze pulled a face of disgust and laughter."Eugh! Seriously, waaay too much information..."
-
"Elite, I and those higher in command watched what happened, and we know what damage your presence have caused." His stern face curled into a smirk. "Because of your little adventure, and the actions of all those gang members circling around you, the Head of Security on the Capital Sphere has decided to transfer you to a special ops division. You're to support Project Dragonfly. They didn't say any more than that, and frankly I don't care. Pack your stuff and get out of my fur."
Tabby looked between the two men. Intrigue was etched into her expression.
David grabbed the big fox's arm, and dragged him into a secluded alcove, covered in shadows and bad acoustics.
"What the hell are you doing?" David whispers were harsh with his hiss. "In case you've forgotten, you're already taken." Reggie sighed and rolled his eyes, making David's frown deepen.
"Look, I was just--"
"You were just betraying a woman who loves you for someone you've only just met!" Reggie flinched as David raised his voice. Both of them looked up and down the corridor, then whispered even quieter than before.
"It's not that simple."
"It's perfectly simple. You promised her! Don't you care? You stupid flippin' vulpine." David stopped himself from saying anymore, and collected his thoughts. "I can't believe you're doing this."
"David, look--"
"No, shut up," said David with a point of his finger. Reggie looked away, and gritted his teeth. "What you're doing here, now, could ruin a relationship that's been going on for how long? Two years?" He stepped back out into lit corridor, and looked back towards the crew living area. He sighed and scratched his head, taking some skin off with it, making him grumble. "The best thing you can do now is avoid that vixen. Have a cold shower and then just... read a book or something."
-
Chronin was a bit dumbstruck; Special ops was the last place he expected to arrive at with how he acted. But, he barely showed his awe as he saluted and went away from the officer before he looked at Tabby. "Um, Tabby..." he was really nervous about this since he didn't really know how much of an attachment she had to the Squad, but he also didn't want to just walk away from this like it was of no importance...
-
"Um, what?" Tabby replied. "You heard him well enough, now come on. Get your stuff." She grinned wide. "Mine's already packed, so we can just pick it up and go." She clicked her fingers and pointed to the thoughts spouting out of her head. "When does the transport leave? Maybe that head of security person sent you instructions or something." She giggled and looked up at him with expectation.
-
Chronin was once again thrown off at apparently how easily she just decided to go with him to who-knows-where. "Um, 'Auntie' never tells me anything unless I ask, she tends to either enjoy her time off, or is too busy to remember that I'm not a popular person with intelligence division." He said with a nervous laugh before they both made their way to the Sqaud D's room, and managed to go in and out with only Thread knowing what was going on, and reluctantly yet almost snickering as he was understanding why Tabby wanted to leave with Chronin.
Chronin also made his pack-up quick as some Elites just stared at the girl that was following Chronin so closely. Some were showing looks of jealousy, while others were just confused as to why and how Chronin got a companion that could put up with him. However, nobody said anything as Chronin got his gear and headed out the door, not really realizing that his arm was over Tabby's shoulders.
He took out his ear-piece and 'switched' it so that the usually inoperative parts had activated, then put on the ear-piece as it contacted Kateri, the Head of Security for Capital Sphere...
-
After little more than a half hour, Nero finally felt the cold hard metal of the Capital Sphere beneath his feet. Now he had to find a inconspicuos way in. This was far easier said than done...there weren't exactly many areas that a man could walk into the Sphere from.
Nero couldn't help himself as he stood on the Sphere...semi perturbed that he hadn't thought of this before 'walking' to the Sphere. "Now what?...."
-
"My greatesty achivement so far. Hmm thats a hard one. I'd have to say that winning the Beltine Festival's test of strength and courage. I've only won it once. The test of the bull, the test of the flame, the test strength, and the test of the man. Basicly a log toss, a fire jump, a bull fight, a wrestling match, and a rock haul. The test was, difficult."
-
Blaze sat, hunched over with gritted teeth. Annie hugged him close, running a hand soothingly across his feverish forehead "So she got your Mag-bike fixed then? Well, as soon as we get back to the carrier you´l be able to go out on the tracks again wont you?"
Blaze nodded, biting hard on his tongue. This new pain seemed to clear his head a little, as he looked up at her "Tess also said they got some new Explorator Droids in that ya might be interested in seeing... I told her we wouldnt be coming in today though..." He groaned again, doubling over and clutching his chest. Annie held him closer, a plan already forming. She stood up slowly, pulling the covers over her son, and kissed his forehead. He curled up in the bed, as Annie walked quietly back out into the steel corridors of the ship.
-
Tabby did a double take at Chronin's words. "Auntie? Your aunt is the Head of Security? That's lucky, mine was a barmaid." When he put his arm around her, she pressed herself against him.
In the Head of Security office, Kateri gripped her hair, trying to navigate through all the different message and procedures bombarding her after the visit from Seeker and Howl. In front of her, holographic windows spread out like a field of blue flowers. Except these were rather demanding flowers. Further along the office, the door faced her, with the timer on the top with fourteen hours left. Then, another window popped up, audio only communication from an unknown source. She sighed and tapped it open.
"Head security office, Kateri Peralta speaking. what do you need me for?"
Seema smiled again and looked almost impressed.
"Interesting, well you'll be doing a lot more in the coming weeks, don't worry about that." She tapped her datapad, and turned it to face him. On the display was an orange border world, and next to it, a stone with an internal glow. "You'll be leaving for this place in a few days, once all the training has been installed, and you won't be going alone. The GA have requested a soldier to come with you. He'll be arriving soon. The dragonfly team will stay here, you just need you to record anything that happens, and when you come back we'll sort it all out. As for details, we'll give you that later. now come on, let's get you a body and some training." She pushed up off the chair, took a piece of chicken from the table, and led back through the corridors. The platform swivelled and moved along behind her, back into the open lab where new limbs were being prepped.
Reggie nodded with a whispered growl, and then headed down towards the shower area. David went to opposite way, heading towards the medbay. He turned a corner, and saw Annie walking up towards him. He hissed to himself and glared at her.
"What are you doing? Go back to the medbay."
-
"Auntie, whats with the sudden change from a squad leader to special ops?. I put the other calls on hold " He managed to find a piece of paper that showed a 'bird' number, but that didn't really answer all of his questions as he twisted the comm again and all of her calls were shown in his HUD. "Or is this a bad time?"
On all of the communications that are trying to reach her, a single message played before techno music started playing. "This is the office of Kateri Peralta, Head of Security for the Capital Sphere. I am currently in a meeting that requires my full attention. If your call is truly important, and when I can finally answer your call, it will be answered to the best of my knowledge. Thank you..."
-
"Oh my God, Chronin, what are you doing?!" Kateri yelled through the comms. "Look, you're visiting me and your gran today anyway. Get off the system and I'll explain everything there. For God's sake." She closed the comm with him, and reopened all the others, sending an apology to each one.
-
Chronin just stood there, rather confused. How can I visit her if I'm going to special ops? he thought before looking at Tabby with a shrug. "I guess we'll just go to the dock again and find he transport, and maybe I should stop infiltrating the system..." the last part he half-mumbled as he started walking with Tabby towards 'Transport-6529'.
-
A heavyset woman leaned against the transport, and once she caught sight of Chronin and Tabby, she pushed herself off it and raised her hands to stop them.
"Hey, sorry lovies, the transport ain't leaving until the spaceport is ready to shoot you off to wherever you're going. That wont be at least until early tomorrow." Tabby looked up at Chrono.
"Do you know anywhere we can go in the meantime" she said.
-
"Any resturaunts you would like to go to since I would at least like to date a girl before she had to room with me..." he said as soon as they got out of earshot of the woman that stopped them. It either derived from experience, or just his mentality alone, but in only ten minutes he had gone from depressed-sober to the Chronin that only 'Auntie' and 'Gran' would see.
-
Annie stopped in her tracks, meeting David's glare calmly and complacently. She rubbed her upper arm, unsure of how to best put forward her proposition. "David you, uhm... You said my son and Jaack would need medical treatment if they where to... you know... survive.." She visibly winced at the prospect of Blaze dying, but continued "Well... We were stationed at a Mechanicus Carrier, in this sector... The company ensures, due to the inherent risk in the job, that all the carriers have an extensive medbay... I'm sure i could get both Blaze and Jaack in there, so long as i pull the right strings...." She looked pleadingly at the snake, hands now behind her back...
-
Tabby smirked, and put on the most innocent look she could, with massive eyes and a demure expression. "So we're 'rooming' together? I hope you don't hog the quilt." After her giggles, she grabbed his hand and pulled him along to OmNom, a cat food place filled with felines. "This place is great. The food is trashy as heck but i love it." As she pushed the door open, other cats turned and and eyed up the dragon.
David looked her over, and sneered.
"Fine. I'll get you there, and as long as things go smoothly then there shouldn't be a problem." He folded his arms and his eyes became harsher, more piercing. "Let me just request one thing of you. Don't go near Reggie. You don't know what the situation is, you don't know the damage that could be done. Just leave him alone, okay?"
-
"Uh... Is there any red meat, or am I just expecting fish and milk since the ones who are staring at me are partaking in exactly that kind of meal." he asked while feeling quite oversized compared to the felines around him, probably because the only felines that would be his size are red-meat carnivores that probably won't be there.
-
Nero had been sitting on the outside of the Sphere for twenty minutes when he shrugged and decided to simply take the easiest route.
After all...its not like the vermin could stop him.
Nero placed his claw on the metal of the Sphere. With a burst of energy, the metal ripped open. Nero flattened himself against the side of the Sphere as air began rushing out of the beached area. Even getting knicked by anything coming out could completely destroy his host...and he was growing to like it.
-
Annie shrugged nonchalantly, while internally she breathed a huge sigh of relief "Sure... The big fella could probably do without me flittin´ around here..." She was about to turn back towards the medbay, but stopped. "I´l need access to my ship though... Its just on the other side of the wreckage, if you could dock i can send a communication to the carrier, perhaps even get them to jump here for us... save the hassle of us travelling..."
Blaze moaned in pain, hunched over and clutching his stomach and chest. The pain wasnt spreading anywhere else, so the injection David had given him must be helping for now. It wasnt much consolation however, as a fresh wave of nausea and stabbing pain started...
-
Tabby cocked an eyebrow at him. "Ofcourse they do you silly flippin' scaley." She shook her head in disbelief and headed to a table. "We're not otters, you know." She smiled at him, then her eyes lit up as she spotted her favourite waitress. "Piyo! Hey girl, gimme some food!" The waitress was a burmese draped in purple, with a pen and pad ready to serve customers. When she spotted Tabby a smile burst on her face.
"Tabs! Hey, what's up? And who's your friend," she said, pointing to Chronin with her pen. Tabby stared at him as well, proud of her self for catching him.
"Ain't he the best?"
The automatic safety measures on the sphere kicked in almost immediately, setting up a kinetic barrier at the hole, as a temporary measure while the filler poured in to plug the gap. In an engineering room deep into the sphere, warning lights flahshed, and camers flicked open on the sphere's surface, showing Nero clear against the dark of space.
"Who the hell is that?" said a blue tailed skink, as he set in the commands to release attack drones.
As Annie agreed with him, David relaxed, leaning against the wall.
"Thanks, but I can't let you back onto the ship. We're already prepped to jump and frankly, I don't know you, so i don't trust you with your own ship. You can just give me the coordinates and we can jump there by tomorrow morning."
-
Annie frowned, fist clenched as she thought about the cargo aboard her ship, and just how much it would fetch if she had gotten it to the carrier by today. She sighed, shaking her head "Fine... Fine... I´l get the salvage team to collect my ship once we´ve arrived. Just hope the sleazy rats dont clean out the cargo hold like last time... Cost me a pretty penny that did..."
She pulled out a small data-pad from a pouch in her red fatigues. Handing it over to David she patted him playfully on the cheek "Its good you dont trust strangers"... Turning she walked back down the corridor, bushy tail swishing behind her as she turned the corner ..."You´l live longer!"
-
David shook his head as she left.
"Darn vulpines." He turned headed to the cockpit, tapping the datapad against his leg. Slipping past consoles and seats, he dropped himself into the navigator's seat, and keyed in the the new co-ordinates. The computer hummed for a little while, before pinging with acceptance. He slapped open the comms and set it to transmit right through the ship.
"Okay, we're ready to jump. The jolt into hyperspeed might be a bit more distressing than usual for the injured so keep that in mind. We're off in three, two... one"
-
Chronin's amused look was apparently lost between the two, but then he got their attention when he lifted Tabby up to his eye-level before hugging her to his chest and letting her feet just dangle half a foot off the ground. "With the way she clings to me, I swear someone put cat-nip in my jacket!" of course the hug didn't last long as Tabby stuck her claws in his chest and he let go of her before hitting the floor cringing in exaggerated pain. "Oh come on, you looked so huggable!"
-
Piyo looked at chronin, and a laugh spat out of her.
"hah... ahaha... ahahahahaahahah!" She continued laughing and pointed at Tabby. "You're huggable, hahaaa! Aw that is wicked man. " Tabby got to her feet and patted down her clothes.
"Yeah well shut it, alright." She shook her head and playfully shoved Chronin."I'ma get you for that. Now come on let's order something." Still giggling, Piyo tapped through the menus on her datapad while Tabby talked. "I want rabbit and chicken, oh and a bit o' cheese as well, mate. Some water too." She turned to Chronin. "What you want?"
-
Chronin got up and wiped away the little dots of blood, then looked at Tabby with a grin. "Steak, fried chicken, and two pints of ale" he said before looking around the place for an area to sit down. He was probably the only thing on par or bigger than the large felines that were unusually rare to see in the room. "Any reason, why I hardly see any of the 'big' cat species in here?"
-
Everything distorted, light, space, and even time as the scavenger´s ship sped into hyperspace with a bright blue flash. Annie, who had just made it into the medbay didnt even loose a step as the ship rocketed away, experienced space-faring legs compensating for the inertial movement.
On his bed Blaze gave a groan of pain as they reached full speed, nausea roiling in the pit of his stomach. Annie sighed and sat down beside him, kissing him lightly on the cheek she pulled legs up and sat, one hand carefully stroking Blaze´s feverish forehead... Despite the inherit closeness of the carrier, it could still be several hours before they reached it. And even then, without a registered Mechanicus ship things would get... difficult...
-
"Alright Seema how are we going to go about the whole training thing to make sure it downloaded alright?"
-
Tabby looked around at the restaurant, counting a total of four big cats.
"I don't know. I guess it's just the atmosphere. Anyone who isn't one of us is an outsider." She winked at him, and looked from his eyes to his strong, broad chest. She bit her lip and stared back into his eyes again. "I've always liked the exotic."
Once the ship got to a steady velocity, David stumbled out of his seat and headed over to the medbay, leaning against the walls as he walked. He shook his head as he swayed into medbay.
"Darn it these jumps always mess me up. How's he holding up?" he nodded over to Blaze.
Seema smirked at him.
"Oh don't worry about that. A spec ops man will be arriving in a day or two. You'll be able to put everything into practice then, with a full test of all your systems. Right now though, you have time to get it all in your head, and relax a bit." She put her paw against his hair, and stroked a little before smiling at him. "Relax after you get your legs back ofcourse." They turned a corner, and the doctors welcomed them back. Kitt's platform lay back, and a needle poked into his neck, sending him back to sleep.
When he awoke, the sun was going down, and there were only two people left around him, wearing labcoats. They sat around with cups of tea, watching monitors of his vital signs and cybernetic implants.
-
Chronin raised a brow when she said 'exotic'. "Just know I don't take too well to being a 'trophy mate'." he said rather bluntly since he rarely did anything for the sake of looking good. "Besides, not common to see a bounty hunter that not only likes to look pretty, but happens to be working with the 'good' side, even if its because you were only looking for extra help..."
-
Nero was about to dive into the hole when the barrier went up. Cursing, he looked up in time to see the attack drones.
Sphere security had seen him.
The rags on his back flew off to intercept the drones. They wouldn't hold them off for long so he had to act fast. Nero jabbed his arm into the barrier, causing it to spark and pulse. His arm began to shred apart as the barrier destabilized his body and tore it apart at a molecular level. He startied to feed more energy into the barrier and soon the feedback was too much, shorting out the barrier. Nero jumped into the hole, now somewhat depressurized and turned back to the hole. With a wave of his hand the metal stretched and twsted sealing the hole back up. Nero smiled at his handiwork and turned to leave...only to drop unconcious on the ground.
-
Annie looked up, shrugging with one hand still lightly stroking Blaze´s forehead "Doing okay... Doesnt seem to be getting worse...."
Blaze gave a slight groan, but no more, still curled up under the covers. Annie sighed, looking down at him with pain in her eyes...
-
Tabby laughed, throwing her head back. "The good side? No, bounty hunters don't have sides. I go with what looks fine or profitable at the time." Her laughter subsided and and she stared off into memory. "Yeah, I've been doing some 'bad side' stuff since I was a kid, simply because I wanted to. I'm sure you've done, or at least wanted to do similar." Piyo returned with the food piled up. She winked at Tabby as she laid it all down on the table.
"Dig in," she said, and left with a giggle. Tabby smirked then looked back to Chronin.
"So, since you don't want to be my trophy, maybe i should learn a bit about you." She tore off a bit of chicken and chewed. "So get talking."
Security and engineering crews at already appeared at the Sphere's newly sealed hole, and circled around the unconscious hyena. An official with a large red stripe down the left side of his jacket yelled into a megaphone.
"Do not go near him, this is a primary order, nobody is to go near that person. Through the crowd, a group of heavily armoured engineers ran in with a ceramic dome with a box attached on the outside. They dropped it on top of him and taped the box setting it into life, flaring hyper-heated plasma through holes in the ceramic. The plasma formed to the shape of the dome, created a barrier that would vaporise anything that touched it. The official turned on a communicator.
"Ma'am, we've got the being. He pretty much punched his way through the barrier," he said.
"Alright, ask him some questions, see if he's able to talk," Kateri Peralta replied on the other side.
David nodded, then stumbled over to Jaack's bed. "Okay, well lets see how you're doing then, eh?" He examined his eyes, checked his pulse and his breathing. Everything was working too hard and too fast. His chest was heaving and his breathing ragged. "Aw hell." The snake searched through his cupboards, and found more of the drug, adminestering it as quick as he could. With shaking hands and unsure footing, it took a few tries to get the vein. "I flipping hate these jumps. How you people handle it I've no idea." He used the bed to hold himself up, and turned around to lean back against it, facing Blaze. "You sure you're okay, kid?"
-
With a piece of fried chicken in his mouth, Chronin thought about it before slippling the entire thing in his maw before crushing the bone and marrow in his jaws. "Well, I've had at least ten years of combat experience, three consecutive years of frontline combat since a small-scale war occoured within the vicinity of the Captial Sphere. Top that off with my complete lack of genetic enhancements or alterations; but I'd rather not go into detail around the more squeamish folks, unless you want to see the siamese behind me run to the bathroom while I explain what I saw during my second year on the 'war-front'."
-
"Ten years?" Tabby raised her eyebrows, exaggerating her being impressed. "Not bad at all. You know I remember that war. Plenty of work for a hunter in that situation." She looked at him with a nostalgiac glow. "I made a ton of money." The siamese behind Chronin, who had taken notice of them talking about her huffed at Tabby's sentiment. Tabby just breathed a laugh in reply. "You know I don't think any gruesome war stories will be appreciated out in public. But I'm guessing you're well versed in combat." she smiled, before eating more of her food. "So anyway," she said, pointing a chicken bone at him. "What's all this Aunt business. You're related to the head of security here?"
-
Chronin held the steak in his talons as his serrated teeth simply tore off meat without sending giblets about. "We're not related by blood at all, I just call her Aunt because she was the only one beyond Gran that was keeping me out of trouble when the riots occoured. She was also the only other person who knew of my father's work before the incident since she frequently visited to make sure he didn't do any unschedualed 'field tests'. Don't even remember having a mother since I can only remember as far back as the time I spent helping my father with his work. So I guess she should be called my step-mother, but that would have been too awkward to explain to the brass..."
-
Blaze gave a thumbs up, the pain still only localized to his chest and stomach. He then went back to the screen on his wrist, making Annie sigh and shake her head "On deaths bed and your playing Tetris?" Blaze shrugged and grimaced at the same time.
Annie rolled her eyes at him, flipping the screen down despite his protests... She pushed him down into his pillow, running a hand over his forehead "C´mon... sleep kiddo... I´l wake you up when we reach the carrier..." Blaze closed his eyes, grumbling. Annie looked up at David and gave a half-smile "I´l probably get some sleep too if thats alright..."
-
Kitt sat up and rubbed his head. Then noticing the two lab personel Kitt turned to them.
"Good morning, or should I say evening?" Kitt chuckled a little "Can I get somthing to eat? I'm starving."
-
Tabby chewed on the rabbit mixed with cheese while she talked.
"My mum was great, but she always freaked out about me. She thinks i fell in with the wrong crowd, and looking at me now? I can't say she's wrong. But then, the wrong crowd brought me to you, didn't it." She winked, and Chronin could feel her foot sliding up his leg.
David nodded. "Oh yeah sure, and if you need anything, there's a comm unit in that cupboard by the door." He pushed himself upright and stumbled out of the room.
About a half hour later, someone crept through the corridor, sneaking through and poking his head past the medbay window. It was Reggie.
One of the personnel, a young jackal looked to the other, a raven and shrugged.
"Yeah why not? There's a canteen back down the hall," he said, pointing back with his thumb.
-
Nero woke up shortly, now surrounded. He already knew what was going on, as it was his body not his being that had passed out. Sitting up, Nero sighed and looked at the official. "Well? Go ahead...I'm not going anywhere."
-
Chronin pivoted his leg and lightly swatted away her foot, not breaking his gaze in the slightest. "I hadn't dealt with female Elites due to the ironic trend of them all perferring same-gender relations, but I'm pretty sure you're jumping the gun when I still havn't paid for the meal..." He said in a level tone while the grin was still on his face.
-
The official straightened himself and looked down at Nero.
"Let's start with the basics. What's your name, your species, and your origin?"
"Oh I don't think I'm jumping the gun at all," Tabby said with an exaggerated pout, with smirk crawling underneath, threatening to burst into a devilish grin as she ate the last bit of meat on her plate. "I think we both know where this is going." She took his hand and gulped down the rest of her water. "So," she said with a wink. "Can we go meet the parents?"
-
Chronin's jaw dropped at the mention of 'meet the parents', and so many scenarios of what could go wrong if he suddenly walked in Gran's house with Tabby holding onto him. He could also hear Auntie yelling at him for getting emotionally involved with a mercenary, whos not even of the same species. However, all of this failed to affect the outcome of the life-changing sentence he was going to say:"Uh... ok!" he said with a slight smile before gnashing apart the last piece of bone and paying the meal and giving Piyo her a 50% tip for the meal.
He led Tabby to the house on foot, and occasionally picked her up when she started to complain about walking only to set her back down after the next two blocks. When they reached the house, Chrono opened his mouth and hooked his talons under his tongue to lightly pull up the pouch he had made just for holding the key to Gran's house. That pouch was probably the only surgery he ever had, and it didn't change his appearance in the slightest as he dragged the key out and wiped the saliva on the inside of his jacket before unlocking the door and walking in with Tabby. "Gran, I'm home~" he announced before closing the door behind Tabby and locking it before going through the house...
-
Letting out a bored yawn a feline inside the capital sphere, walked through one of the labratories dressed in a lab coat and a bowtie. He kept a mental note of his surroundings as he read a document on the clipboard he was holding untill he noticed a long yellow line along a pipe with warnings on it. He began to read them out boredly "Caution, Lasers! Caution, Lasers! Caution, Lasers! What could it mean?!" giveing his head a few shakes before walking through a door droping the clipboard on his desk and headed back out the door to get changed and leave the facility.
-
Annie snoozed against the wall, Blaze's head against her shoulder. He snuffled in his sleep, rolling over onto his other side... For a moment it seemed Annie was going to wake as well, eyes fluttering open, before she yawned widely and continued to sleep. Her long ponytail lay across one shoulder, and several strands of her dark hair fell over her smooth forehead.
-
When Chronin gave Piyo the tip, she stared in astonishment at the amount, and barely managed a wave when they left. Tabby looked at him with incredulous laughter, until she got distracted or just wanted him to carry her.
When he opened the door, she peered inside at a soft front room, overflowing with strange little items accumulated over the years. There were brightly coloured feathers, a collection of strange old rocks, a slice of a tree and a mountain of books filling a good third of the walls in bookcases. She stepped inside and looked around, examining all the little trinkets while Chronin closed the door. In the top corner of the room, she could see a little light with the word JAsoN written beside it. Then a controlled male voice emanated out of the wall.
"Welcome home Chronin." It was the AI Chronin had designed to keep his Gran company while everyone else worked. "Your grandmother is in the living room"
"Who is it, Jason?," a small, raspy and high pitched old voice came from the room down the hall, which was lit up by flickering lights and sounds of exciting gunfights set to rough music.. There were mumbles between her and Jason, until she called out again.
"Aww welcome home kid! Jason tells me you've brought a friend."
Reggie watched them sleep before taking his chance and creeping into the medbay, over to Jaack. He switched on a little desk lamp to see his face and wished he hadnt. The rabbit looked worse every second. Reggie looked away, and crouched down, leaning back against the worktop. He looked up, and the lamplight was getting in his eyes, so with a little reach, he blindly fumbled for the switch. When he found it, and pressed it down, it made a strong and satisfying click, and covered the room dark again. He moved his hand back to his side, but caught the wire with his finger, pulling it with him. It thudded into his head and clattered against the floor. Reggie tensed up, trying his hardest not to make a sound.
-
Nero smirked as he looked up at the official. "Simple enough...Nero, non-existant, a black hole." Nero pulled back his cowl, revealing his whole face, and laughed a bit
-
The official looked at his communicator.
"Did you hear that?"
"Yes I did," Kateri replied. "Let me talk to him."
"Yes ma'am." The official nodded and pointed the communicator towards Nero as Kateri's voice emanated from it.
"Okay, we'll go along with that. Why are you here?"
-
As the lamp hit the floor another click echoed in the small med-bay. Annie sat bolt-upright on the bed, pistol aimed at the dark silhouette of Reggie. A single red dot played across his chest, the finger tensed on the trigger already relaxing its grip "Reg?" The question was hazy, sleep filled words that slurred, as Annie rubbed at her eye with a clenched fist.
Beside her Blaze snored loudly, turning over and continued to sleep. Annie dropped the pistol to her side, red dot now wavering on the steel floor. She looked up at Reggie in the darkness, glad he could not see her blush "I just...Kinda on edge..."
-
Chronin walked in the room and refrained from shouting at her for how the room is lit. "This is like, the fifth time this week Gran, you're the only fox I know that doesn't need glasses, please don't mess that up for just another action movie." Tabby looked at him and tried to keep her laughter in check as Chronin turned on the lights, and then got hit in the back of a head with a flat-shoe thrown by Gran. "Before you smack me with your cane again for touching the lights... I should probably introduce you to my friend Tabby."
-
Reggie stared at the gun pointed at him, until Annie put it down, letting him breathe.
"Sorry Annie," he whispered."I just wanted to check up on... you know." He gestured up to Jaack, then wrung his hands for a little while. "Can we talk outside, so we don't have to whisper?"
Tabby leaned her head through the doorway, and saw the little old vixen shaking as she slowly pushed herself up off her chair.
"Hello," Tabby said. The vixen froze and she tilted her head, examining Tabby.
"I've seen you before. You're not famous, are you? Because I'm sure I've seen you on TV or something." Tabby looked to the carpeted floor and scratched her head.
"No you're probably mistaken. I get this all the time. I have a very average face."
"No you don't," said the old vixen. Then a cold smile spread across her face. "I know who you are." Tabby reached and grabbed Chronin's hand, moving close against him.
"I'm dating your grandson!" she blurted, her voice strung with nerves. The old vixen looked to her grandson.
"Are you now?" she said, and pressed her hands together.
-
Chronin just stood there like a doe staring at a pick-up just before it runs her over. "Um... yes... yes I am" He regretted adding a personality to the AI since it left the room to go let out its laughter. "Um, Tabby, could you wait upstairs, I have a question to ask Gran that you would be better off not hearing..." he said in an attempt to not only change the subject, but not get a lecture or beating from from 'Granny Vix', the name he used to call her when he was just a civilian. It was obvious how the conversation affected him since his hair hung so loosely, it looked like it would fall out at any moment.
Tabby was pouting for a few moments, but Chronin's pleading eyes won and she sighed before walking upstairs in faux shame. Chronin then made his way to Gran and sat on his knees in front of her, and tried to work up the nerve to ask her what Aunt Kateri told him. "Auntie said: "Something is happening", and that you wouldn't make it... please don't keep me in the dark Gran, if Aunt Kateri was worried when she told me this then I need to know since I'm taking Aunt's place on the front-line!"
-
Vix looked up to the ceiling, where just above, Tabby was sitting on Chronin's bed.
"Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to tell her about this too. But I'll let you do that if and when the time comes." She sighed and her face seemed tired and lost. "I don't know any specifics, I just know that lately I've felt something in the wind" She looked at her grandson, and chewed on her ideas to find a way to explain it. "I just know that something will happen soon. It's like... a connection will occur and I wont be here anymore. I'm guessing it means I'll be dead, but also, something else is coming. An energy. It might already be here, and it will change everything." She sighed and rubbed her eyes. "You can't be careful about this because you can't even begin to think of how to stop it. The best you can do is help your Aunt. Do what she says because if anyone has a plan to at least hold this back for as long as possible, it's her."
-
Chronin sighed when she said 'help your Aunt', which reminded him of how he probably hampered her by putting her calls on hold, but then remembered he was going to be on some kind of "Project Dragonfly" as a Special Ops. "Hopefully, I can get Tabby out of my room before she gets any ideas. Unless you had my room sound-proofed..." the last part he half mumbled as his hair actually curled inwardly at the thought.
That was when JasON finally re-appeared and informed him. "Sir, Miss Vix had long since sound-proofed your room during your snoring episode; and Miss Tabby is expecting you." Chronin was worried that she probably asked JasON the same thing, and what Gran would ask how long they had been dating. He took his chances and quickly went upstairs to his room, and opened and entered the room before closing the door again.
-
Nero laughed and spoke into the communicator. "I believe two friends of mine have already informed you about my purpose. But if that isn't enough, may I suggest you turn on the News. I have a feeling that what you want to know will be broadcasting from Earth. Though I'd suggest keeping a bucket near, Miss Kateri...one of your assistants has a weak stomach."
-
Now fully dressed leaveing the facility to walk around the Capital Sphere aimlessly wandering what to do out of boredom. He was hopeing for something intresting to happen as he checked in with security getting his gun back, putting it away. "What to do... what to do..." He chanted to himself as he casualy walked to the transit station. He sat down on a nearby bench slouching a bit letting his head roll back after adjusting his glasses.
-
Yu-Razul awoke from his afternoon nap, he let out a long heavy yawn as he stretched. He stood looking out his houses window, far across the desert world he seemed trapped upon. He let out a slight sigh and grabbed his rifle. He through it over his shoulder and began to prepare himself for a long night. He feared there may be smugglers and merc's gathering on the platue to the south, if so he'd have to 'catch' them if need be. He threw on his trench coat which perfectly covered his wings, with a smilght grimace he began the walk into the harsh desert ready for anything it could throw at him.
As he traveled down the road he could here the desert windblowing, a storm seemed to be approaching. Yu-Razul made a sudden turn, ducked down and had his pistol in his hand. Only dust swarmed behind him, he felt like something was off, as if something was just off in the horrizon. He stood back up and continued on his journey to the platue, there he knew something big was hapening.
-
Annie glanced over at Jaack, then back to Reggie. She sighed, putting the safety back on her pistol and sliding it into her thigh holster. She slipped off the bed, careful not to wake Blaze, and walked quietly out of the med-bay. Annie stopped beside Reggie, looking up at him "What is it Reg?" She glanced down the corridor beyond him, instinctively checking for David "Dave said I shouldnt be talking to you..."
-
Vix watched in a lot of surprise and a little smirk as Chronin darted up the stairs.
"He doesn't waste time, does he?" She looekd over to JasON who shook his head and sat down next to the old woman. "I do hope she takes care of him though. How long do you think he's been hiding her from us?"
"According to Miss Tabitha Lace," JasON replied. "They only just met this morning." Vix looked at him, and her smile disappeared.
"This morning?"
"Yes."
"Stupid boy," she shook her head, remotely switched off the light and continued watching her movie.
Tabby draped herself on Chronin's bed, looking over at him as he opened the door, putting on her best sultry look. She'd already taken off her black jacket and the legs of her jeans, lying there in a tank top and shorts.
"I like your room."
Kateri sighed through the comms.
"Don't worry, we know why you're here. We don't need cryptic blood messages in the jail cell of some backwater planet to tell us." The crew that swarmed around Nero looked around to eachother and murmured in quiet confusion. "Since you're obviously not going about this in a friendly manner, we'll want to keep you here for a little while, until all peaceful solutions have been used. If by then you have what you want, then we can all go back to our homes and relax. How does that sound to you?"
In the swirling dust of the desert, two large eyes peered through binoculars, watching the gunslinger march through the storm. The binoculars were pulled away and shoved into a bag, as the figure crawled along, hiding in the dustclouds. Her long ears long ears angled to hear his faint footsteps and steady breaths. She pulled mask made of card down over her face, and set off following him.
Reggie grimaced.
"Yeah David's partly what I wanted to talk to you about. What did he say to you?"
-
Annie shrugged nonchalantly "He just said i didnt know what i was getting myself into..." She paused, tail flicking earnestly behind her "I didnt want to... I dunno... Upset anything, or anyone. So I did as he asked..." Her tail fell still, as she rubbed her upper arm tentatively.
-
As soon as the transit arived leo entered it takeing his seat just as it began moveing to the next station. Falling asleep along for the ride he was soon awakened by a tone signaling that he's now at his destination. Standing up walking out of the shuttle, comeing into the streets, he noticed a large gathering of officers. He was about to shrug it off and leave till he noticed that there were other scientist within the area and his curiousity got the best of him as he made his way into the group "What's going on here?" he asked tilting his head looking at the person everyone was gathered around.
-
Nero yawned and looked around at the crowd around him. "I suppose I have no choice....I needed a break anyways." A growl emanated from his host's stomach, slightly surprising him. "You wouldn't happen to have any food would you?"
-
Reggie gave a little laugh and smiled to the side. "Yeah he's kinda right, but trust me," he said, putting his hand hers to rub her arm, and pull her close to him. "This is the right thing to do." His deep voice travelled through her body. "It's not perfect but I'll sort everything out."
A female ferret scientist turned to him and waved for him to come closer so she could whisper.
"Hey, I've seen you around, you work at the facility round Benton street, right?" She pointed over to some equipment that monitored him, measure different energies that emitted from him. "Basically, this guy there is... well we don't know, he's like an impossibility in a hyena suit. He says his origin is a black hole, and as far as I'm concerened, that might be true."
"Alright," Kateri replied. "Officer, you take care of him. Under no circumstances will you let him out of that cage. Seal off the area and get him his food, within reason. Then let the scientists examine him from a distance.." The officer nodded while she spoke. "Call me if you need anything." The communication ended and he put the communicator into his pocket, before looking back down at Nero.
"So, what do you eat?"
Kateri sat back and rubbed her face out of lethargy. Her desk was finally blank as everyone else had to go through their own maddening procedures. A PDA popped at the corner of her desk, and she took it out and put it into her pocket, just in case she had to quickly assist anything. She grabbed her suit jacket, straightened herself out and looked at her raggedy visage in a pocket mirror. A quick preen later and she headed off for home.
-
Chronin was actually able to get over his hormonal reaction, and get straight to his actual mentality, which was annoyance and frustration as his hair shot right back up. "You..." he nearly sprinted to the bed, catching Tabby by surprise as he grabbed her hair and held her neck at the end of the bed, with her head at the floor. She was about to elbow him to the crotch, but Chronin grabbed the elbow with his other hand and growled. "How much of what you told me was a lie, who told you to treat me like this?!" he roared while his tail held both of her legs together.
This was not the first time someone sent the opposite gender to kill him, but he didn't tell her since that would cause her to completely change her approach if she was really going to kill him the moment he truly let his guard down.
-
"Mhm, burton street and a reasearch station somewhere in space, its constantly moveing you see." He said standing next to the ferret before looking at the accused hyena and began thinking "And I wanted something to do..." he rotated his head slightly letting his eyes rotate to face the ferret crossing his arms in disbelife "Your telling me this is impossible? Someone thinking they could create water by mix water and hydrogen soon learned that water could be turned into a firey bomb that can reach high temperatures, soon developing a welding torch in water that reaches 2500 degrees celcius, first thought impossible now it is possible. Is this any diffrent?" he said gestureing the hyena.
-
Nero stood up in the cage and stretched. "The question isn't what I eat, so much as the state that it's in. I cannot eat anything dead or inanimate. It has to be alive otherwise I may lose this body and accidently tear the Sphere apart with my full form. As grand of a sight as it may be, I doubt you'd want that to happen." He waved his hand as if to shoo the official away. "It doesn't matter what, as long as as it's trying to get away. Even something you consider vermin would do."
-
Tabby winced as Chronin grabbed and held her still, but soon it faded and she let out an almost exaggerated sigh.
"Aw what the flip, not again," she said, letting her old accent. "Look, listen man, just chill, aight?" She strained to look up at him. "Sit down, calm down, and don't go on some next level killin' stuff, okay?" She tried to relax and settle herself while she grumbled at her own bad luck. Soon she was back to her regular accent but now it was stern, harsh, and far more mature than she looked. "I'm not trying to kill you. Other people are, sure, but I'm expensive, and if I was trying to kill you, you'd never would have known I was there." She grumbled some more, then tried to struggle out of his grip. "And plus, I'm not the kind of assassin that uses her body to kill people. Yeah, i threw myself at you, but that's cus I like you. That's just what I do, alright? So calm down."
The ferret rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips.
"I'm not saying he is impossible, I said he was like an impossibility; and yes, this is different from burning hydrogen, because he defies the laws of physics!" She rose up with her arms in the air out of sheer exasperation. "That hyena you see there has been broken and dead for quite a while. Most of his bones are gone and his muscles have degenerated. This is partly due to the insane amount of radiation that is constantly spewing out, which then stops for no reason right at the end of his fur. There is also a massive amount anti-matter swirling around his centre, along with negative energy that seems to be keeping some kind of space-time tear open inside his body. His gravitational field is off the charts, almost as though he's a planetoid whose gravity is at the same level as the other forces, which is ofcourse, insane! The electromagnetic field around him is also more extreme than that of some planets, and just like everything else, something is keeping it all contained and functioning within that form, but we can't find what that thing is. Maybe it's dark matter, or inverted dark energy, and even then, that doesn't take into account the fact that he's talking to us!" The ferret panted hard, and some of the other scientist looked over at her with little smirks and smiles. She settled herself and stood up straight, holding her datapad to her chest. "So tell me, is he like an impossibility inside a hyena suit?"
The official cocked an eyebrow at Nero. "Seriously? Alright then." He waved for one of his assistants to come forward.
"Yes sir?" said a labrador in uniform.
"Go to the pet shop, find the cheapest animal and bring it here alive."
"Yes sir." The dog nodded and rushed away, before returning with a small rodent clasped in his paws. One of the heavily armoured engineers took it, and another went to the control box for the cage. The rat was poised, wriggling over the top, ready to be dropped in. With a turn of some dials, a small gap appeared in the plasma, just big enough for the rat, falling inside. It flailed and lost its tail as it went down, squeeking and scrambling for safety, running around the inside of the plasma fence.
-
Chronin didn't know if he should believe her or not, but he immedeatly let his hair down and got off of her, not really in any good mood since at that time an assassin would have either told him or tried to kill him through devious means since he actually seemed to be beyond reasoning. "First time that happened, almost had my neck cut, the second time... there was nothing left that could be seen as part of her body. The rest just gave up and then ran off the moment I let go... I was hoping that you would at least have some nervousness at someone that you just met. Sorry for being, suspicious, of your sudden openess..." he said as guilt made his hair droop, but his personal space was still quite large for someone in a room with a person they just dated.
-
"Hm... I like his diet, reminds me of home" He joked before watching her panting. Looking over to the ferret "Mam, You have left that information out so, do I find this impossible, Yes, now I do." Looking back to the hyena he then shook his head a bit "So...." he trailed off watching the rat being dropped inside of the cage practicaly curious about what the hyena would look like if what he or it said happened, "Im going to assume that it can metabolize. We could be dealing with a creature, not an object or energy." He then began to scratch his head before adjusting his glasses "But... that wouldn't fully explain the fact that you said he has a gravitational pull, and radiation." he then looked to the datapad she held, and held out a hand "May I see that?"
-
Nero looked down at the rat and snatched it up in one hand. He looked at the rat for a moment, turning it about in his hand. The rat was shivering...and for good reason. The parts of the rat that were touching his hand was already developing frostbite.
Switching his grip to its tail, he dangled it in front of him. The rat looked up at him and stopped moving altogether as he held it to his eyesocket. Placing the immobile rat on the ground, he sat back as it began to inflate slightly. The rat seemed as if it was getting bigger by the second. Its eyes bulged out of its head as it grew triple its size. Finally it burst open, spraying its innards across the cage. The methane from the rapid decompositon of the rat's organs hit the plasma and sent a burst of fire around parts of the cage, searing one of the scientists.
"Oh? Did I do that?" Nero grinned inside the cage as he pulled a few pieces of the dead rat off of his face and dropped it down his throat. "I'm sorry, the aftermath of my meals are rather...inconsistant. Sometimes the body just lays there...sometimes it wanders off...I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner." Nero was lying of course...he had control of the leftovers after the life force was drained from them. He just found it entertaining to see what would happen if he made the rat decompose a week in 5 seconds.
-
Rasu neared the platue as the sun set off in the distance, what little bit of light shown gleamed off his silver scales. The storm had grown and sand whipped all around him, luckily it bothered him little. He peered around him listening for anything, there was only the wind it seemed. Rasu dug his claws into the stone and began to climb up in silence, he breathed as little as possible keeping the sand from getting in his nostrals, his second eyelids were protecting his eyes though. The climb was long and strenuous, his body ached by the time he reached the top. The wind was calm up here and bellow the sands flew in a flurry. It would kill none scaley creatures if they weren't equiped for it.
Rasu stuck close to the rocks as he moved in towards several ships that sat atop the platue. Mercenaries and smuglers began to load the ships up with explosives. He pulled out a pair of binoculars to get a better look. Everyone was hurrying and busy, not seeming to even notice or think of the fact that they could be spotted. As Rasu but his binoculars down he felt a metal barrel of a gun push itself onto his back. Someone had been very sneeky.
-
Annie sighed, her heart fluttering as Reggie pulled her close to him. She laid a hand on his chest, biting her tongue as some internal struggle fought inside her "I haven't loved... In a long time..." She took in another shuddering breath, clenching her hand around the material of his suit, and then unclenching "I dont... dont know if i should..."
She looked away from him, starting to pull her hand away from him. She paused, the very tips of her fingers brushing his large chest. It was now, in the half-light of the corridor that Reggie could see the ends of her hair where a fine silvery grey, though her eyes still shone with the same gleam of youth they had twenty years ago "You really care for your friend... You really... Care...." She turned back to look at him, one strand of hair falling across her forehead. Inside her a voice screamed that she would regret this, that she knew better. But the voice was merely a single individual, in a huge crowd of voices all shouting their opinions.
She clenched her hand on his chest, tentatively pulling them close together again. Closed her eyes... And kissed him.
-
Tabby moved to sit up, cross legged on his bed, rubbing her arms and legs, and fixing her hair.
"Don't worry, it's not the first time its happened to me. It's the perils of the guys I like. Dangerous men with a past full of violence. I used to find it exciting," She sighed and reached to take Chronin's hand. "Nowadays I find it comforting... and also exciting." She smirked, and looked up into his guilty eyes. "How you feeling? Sometimes this kind of thing ruins a night."
As Leo conceded the point, she flashed a triumphant smile. "Thankyou," she panted. "Anyway, he might still be an energy of some sort that requires replenishment, but yeah this is all wild hypothesising, but then it's all we've got." She handed over the datapad, covered in windows monitoring the different wavelengths.
The singed scientist yelped and patted himself down, jogging away from Nero. The official grew a crease in his brow.
"Wanders off? I'm sure it does. So, now that you've had your food, these nice people want to ask you a few questions." His voice was cold, tinged with a growl. The female ferret who had been talking to Leo stepped forward.
"How are you keeping yourself contained like that?"
"Howdy sheriff," said a young female voice. It belonged to a desert hare, covered in a dark Abaya that settled around her letting the sand tumble off. Her ears stretched high above them both, listening to his every movement. "Well you're not really a law enforcer are you, since you never arrest anyone. I wonder how nobody has found any bodies or evidence. You don't eat them do you?" She let out a little laugh. "But then you are a carnivore."
The kiss lasted, and the hum of the jump drive disappeared from Reggie's mind, as he slipped his arms around Annie's waist, keeping her to him. When finally they parted, he smiled softly, with almost a nervous innocence about him.
"Nowadays, I'm caring about more than just him." A childish grin burst on his face, and he pulled her into a hug, resting his head over hers. "When we get to the carrier, and everyone's all better. Do you want to go on a date with me?" Despite everything, there was still a hint of hesitation, and he tensed as he said the word 'date'.
-
Annie pressed her head close to Reggie's chest, held in his embrace. She could hear his heart beating out the same staccato rhythm to match her own as she let him hold her. She smiled, letting out a deep breath, only to have it catch in her throat. She pulled away slightly, looking up into his eyes "A... Date?" Her tail swished, a nervous excitement coursing through her.
She stroked her hand down his chest, still looking up at him with an anxious grin "Sure, why not?... Yes, I will go on a date with you..." She gave a nervous laugh, and kissed him lightly on the cheek. Despite her best attempts at nonchalance, her bushy tail was flicking animatedly as she turned back to the medbay.
-
Looking back at the Ferret after noticeing she was still panting "Still excided are we? I have to admit you have me stumped." he asked with a smile before saying "Thankyou, wow... he has enough radiation to reinact hiroshima many times over." when he received the pad examining the windows, flicking his ear as he heard them being mentioned by the official, not careing right now. Instead he seemed to be looking for something specific as he rearranged the windows mummering to himself "Boreing...boreing....nope....here it is". Putting his finger on the pad to bring the window to the front as he looked examined it carefully before walking forward next to the ferret not even peeling his eyes away from the screen.
He finaly managed to look waiting for the ferrets question to be answered first before asking. "Now then... exactly how massive are you"
-
"Great," Reggie said, and gave her one last hug before they parted and he headed for his room. "I'll see you in the morning. We'd have reached your carrier by then."
-
Annie nodded, smiling as he hugged her "Sure... They'l get Jaack fixed up, at the carrier... We got some top notch medics there." She waved to him, walking back into the med-bay and slidding carefully onto Blaze's bed. He snored, snuggling closer to the warmth of his mother. She smiled, hugging him close beside her, yawning as her eyes closed.
-
First his eyes regained their former happy 'glow', then a smile formed on his face before he said anything. "Lets see that dance you sort-of promised me, then we'll see from there." he rather calmy stated while his tail couldn't hide the excitement as it twitched from side to side.
Vuranin had little to say to Howl and Seeker when they returned from their apparently failed negotiation. "Not only am I not surprised, but I'm not even disappointed in how you could so casually return since you two are our only 'diplomats'. My turn~" her voice trailed off in a rather childish tone as she got out of the chair in her apartment/hideout and walked tall as she was now the only one who stood between relative peace and all-out war. In her eyes the streets had passed in miliseconds the moment she stepped out of the door, compressing the space between her current location and the homing signal on her husband's ring. Fortunatly for the one who was currently holding it, she walked face-first into a closed door going at about the speed of light. Normally her form would've become smoke and she'd reform in half a second, but a solid yet near-indestructible body was knocked out cold and fell to the side of the same house Chronin was still in...
-
Reggie watched her walk away, seeing her tail wag, making his wag just as fast. He couldn't resist his smile, and practically skipped back to his room, where he pulled of his space suit and dropped his big body down against his tiny bed. He didn't have a great mattress and immediately regretted the drop, feeling a pain in his back.
Eventually, the ship dropped from its jump, and David looked out the front viewscreen. They had arrived. The carrier stretched acroos space with its vast body, filled with hangar bays that lined the sides, getting larger and larger, until one final claw held in place a warship bristling with guns larger than most of the ships on board. The carrier gleamed in the sunlight, glinting in gunmetal grey, with hints of multicoloured vehicles hidden inside, blaring with styles, lights and patterns. It was as though the very ships themselves were alive, like a perpetual firework display, held within an enormous casing.
"Wake up people!" David yelled down the comms to the rest of the ship. "I think we've arrived."
Tabby smirked, which rolled into a giggle as she crawled off the bed, still holding his hand.
"You got it, boy. I'll dance for you." She winked and swayed her hips. Her tail whipped behind her, and she turned and writhed to show off the curves of her body. She pulled Chronin's hand, and with effortless grace, slid it under her tank top, letting him feel her furry feline midriff.
Kateri silently eased into her driveway and got out the car as it automatically switched off. She turned towards the house, and saw a dragoness lying unconscious at her door.
"Um, JasON... who's that?" JasON's face appeared as a holographic feature in the wall.
"Unconfirmed."
"What do you mean, unconfirmed. You know all the identities on the Sphere." Kateri walked to the body and kneeled beside her. "How can you not know this one?"
"I don't know. There are just no current records of this individual." There was a pause as his face went blank; returning a second later. "However, historical records show her to be Vuranin Epheral... oh." The AI paused. Kateri tilted her head.
"Oh?"
"According to this, she disappeared twenty five years ago, leaving her husband and ten year old son."
"So?" Kateri put her hands on her hips , staring at the face with growing impatience.
"The son was called Chronin Epheral." There was silence, with barely even the atmosphere making a movement, until Kateri slapped her forehead.
"Oh for crying out loud. Why did this have to happen now?" She shook her head in disbelief, and sighed before stepping over the dragon to open the front door. She glanced back at the AI. "I don't suppose there's a chance you can become corporeal and help me out is there?"
"No madam," JasON replied.
"Didn't think so." She knelt down and put her arms under the unconcious guest, trying to drag her inside.
"Miss Peralta, your nephew is home, I think he could help you." Kateri's eyes lit up.
"Chronin's here. Alright, where is he?"
"In his room."
-
Chronin was trying to not look away as his heart started to beat faster, but his hand got a mind of its own as it wrapped around her pulled Tabby right up to his chest, and thats when there his hair again curled inwardly and he was too preoccupied with emotional overload to go any farther.
Vuranin was quickly reganing consiousness as the force on her brain was equal to a good right hook, and was only long enough to change the chances of a fight, not pass for a comatose. She already wrenched herself away from the human, but then recognized her as the Kateri her husband described, except for the difference in age. She had her by the collar of her top and actually lifted her off the ground and pinned her to the wall before Kateri could even pull out any weapon. "Where is Chrono, where is my husband?!?" she almost roared as the concern of her family came before Everflame.
-
Nero looked at the ferret and scratched at his decaying arm. "The same way you creature's keep your life force from escaping...I just know how to turn it off and on. However, something like me requires a little extra to keep inside a body, hence the food." Nero's answer raised more questions than it answered, and it didn't look like he wanted to answer many more. Turning to Leo he sighed a bit. "Lets just say that if you were my size you could look at the Sphere and not even notice it as you walked by. You could fit it on a flea as a funny little hat."
-
Rasu tensed up, this person knew the truth. He had only been impersonating a sherriff, after all the sherrif died a long time ago and he took up the mantle. No one had ever argued or questioned it, no one.... until now. He tried to smile, but was having a hard time finding a way around this.
"So, you know the truth then? Well are you going to kill me? After all i'm the only one trying to keep the peace." Rasu tried to calm himself focusing his mind and igniting his inner fire. If things got bad he might be able to have cooked hare for supper. If things went right he might have a new 'Deputy'.
-
claspe his hands together triumphly then pointing at him with his hands together keeping a graceful hold on the data pad "That explains a lot" he chimed before holding the datapad up to the female ferret pointing to the few screens that caught his intrest greately, the first one was mass, the other was surface area witch both showed no results only the phrase "Error; Out of Memmory". Giveing her a few seconds to read it he then said to her "Well, the gravity query is now explained, he's large enough to be a planet... or a collosuss in space..."
-
A loud thump in the med-bay answered David's wake up call. Preceded by several muttered choice words, as Annie picked herself up off the steel floor. She rubbed the sleep from her eye as she ruffled Balze's hair, walking out into the corridor beyond. After several minutes of wandering the corridors, she finally found the cockpit, along with David. She muttered a "G'morning" amid a wide yawn, before looking at the carrier stretching out before them.
The area of space around the gargantuan steel construct was abuzz with ships of all shapes and sizes. Some bore the dark red paint schemes of Mechanicus, others still only their gunmetal undercoats, and others exotic colours. All where flowing in and out of the Carrier hangars, a constant stream of activity like a hive and its accompanying bees.
Suddenly a harsh beeping filled the cockpit, as an incoming message flashed across a screen. An avian appeared on the screen, a sharp-beaked hawk who frowned "Yantova! What are you doing aboard a non-regulation ship?" She paused, beak clicking "I cant have you keep losing company equipment Yantova... where is your ship?"
Annie grimaced, still rubbing one tired eye "Very sorry Miss Ivana, Sir... My ship is still at my last co-ordinates, and two men aboard this ship need medical attention immediately... sir"
Ivana frowned again, ruffling her feather "Okay, enter Bay 35... If that ship strays anywhere else we'l blow it out of the sky... You'l be the death of me Yantova..."
-
Tabby purred in delight as Chronin pulled her close. She grinned and her staring eyes filled with lust, as she started pulling off his close, getting more frantic as she felt his bare chest.
Kateri's eyes widened as she she got picked up off the ground, but her voice was calm as she stared into the violently strong dragoness.
"Don't worry, your son is safe. He's upstairs, we've been taking care of him while you were away, and he's an upstanding citizen."
The desert hare smirked behind her mask, and prodded him with the gun.
"You can't keep the peace by killing the citizens; and you have killed innocent citizens. Shooting suspected criminals before they're charged or even arrested? That's a goldmine for miscarriages of justice. So how many innocents do you think you killed in all this time? Certainly enough to make you a serial killer." She pushed the gun up his back towards his head. "If you sat back and looked at yourself as a criminal, would you kill yourself?" She prodded the back of his head, then pulled the gun away, slotting it into a holster attached to a gunbelt that held her Abaya to her hips. "I wouldn't, but then I don't kill others like you do, especially if their back is turned."
The female ferret shook her head.
"it doesn't explain it entirely, something's off," she murmured, before hurling another question at Nero. "You have a break in space/time, right at your centre. How? Why?"
"Nice woman," David smirked, and then swivelled in his chair to nod at Annie.
"thanks a lot, now where's Bay 35?" he glanced down the corridor and whispered a frown before turning back to his controls. "You didnt see Reggie on the way, did you? normally I'm the last to wake up."
-
Annie also looked down the corridor, tail giving a nervous swish at the mention of Reggie. She shook her head, looking back out of the main view screen "Havnt seen him today... And its that one there." She pointed to a small hangar bay, a slight blue shimmer the only signs that it was protected by an eviro-shield. She yawned again, stretching languidly "Just fly straight in and land anywhere... Its the bay Me and Blaze normally use and the enviro-shield will reform around the ship."
-
"Right, got it." David held the controls and guided the ship through the vacuum, floating in silence toward the pulsing lights of the hangar bay. The blue haze of the shield slid over the hull, as the ship entered the the bay, swooping over other ships of similar size, before settling in a space. The snake gave a little smile of satisfaction, before grabbing the comms.
"Reggie, wake up, you dozey fox, we've arrived." After putting the comms back, swivelled the chair bounce out of it, facing Annie. "You're our liaison, you best tell them what's going on."
-
Nero, despite how few the questions were, was starting to show irritation. "Black holes are a tear in space and time...what makes me any different? A black hole whelped me...therefore I have a tear to match her. I do not know why, only what is." Nero eyed the cage around him. "What is this cage made of? Plasma?"
-
Annie nodded, walking back down the corridor towards the entrance of the ship. She walked down the ramp that had lowered to the steel floor of the hangar, and stepped out into the bright florescent light. Before her stood only a single person, though that was not necessarily true. For it was really a single person, and her droid. Annie sighed, jumping down the last few steps of the ramp to land with a muffled clang "Hey Teresa... Rusty... You couldnt call up the med-team could you?"
Tess threw an exuberant salute, followed by a shrill beep from the droid at her side "Already gone n' done it Miss Yantova... They said they be here soon 'nuff..." Annie smiled, nodding approvingly. Tess was one of those people that radiated energy and a sense of optimism. It was highly infectious. Even now she was literally bouncing on the balls of her feet, snatching glances over Annie's shoulder "So... Nice ship... It yours?" Annie would have answered, but the lithe figure of Tess had already scooted past her, examining some feature of David's ship.
She was followed a moment later by her droid RUST-E, who gave a nonchalant beep as he passed Annie. Across the hangar, a group of men and women with a pair of stretchers where already running towards the ship, all clad in dark red fatigues overlayed with a white medic-cross.
-
"Well... technicaly, we dont have very much knowlage about him from the start Ms..." he trailed off to let her fill in with her name before finishing "The most we know about him is that he's a potential walking bio hazard. You said yourself he's an impossiblity and I'd really have to say that this time, any answer we try to create or commit is just going to be pulled out of the ass, oh so hapazardly" He said with a sigh shakeing his head "This is such an odd day" he muttered before handing the ferret back her data pad.
-
Chronin's self-control was pushed to a far corner of his mind as he tilted his head down to kiss her, only to have her push him onto the bed and giggle as she straddled him. "Just remember that I'm not going to go past the make-out, we're not exactly alone in the house and the sound-proof doesn't cover the bed squeaking..."
Vuranin only let up for an instant at the mention of her son, but then redoubled her push into the wall as her hair started to 'catch fire' and ruin any guise of being a normal dragoness as her frustration was visible from the other end of the hall. "Where is my Chrono, my mate?!?"
-
"Innocent?" Rasu puzzled at this idea, was anyone innocent? "I think you have it a little confused. I've never killed in cold blood, i've only killed murderers and rapists. People who dont deserve a second chance. I only killed when i was there to see it, when i was only to late to save a life. No my friend you have me wrong, very wrong. Now if you'll excuse me i have some Smugglers to stop as well as there mercenaries from loading up those explosives." Rasu stood and turned to the desert hare. "If you'd like you can do some good by helping me catch them."
-
"It might be made of plasma," the female ferret said. "Maybe you should touch it and find out." She winked at Nero, and took the datapad off Leo, glancing over at him. "Our job is to make answers. We need as much to work on as we can get. True, we haven't got much if anything right now. But we've got a force of nature in a box... that's something." She brushed her hair back and tapped the datapad with her thumb. "Oh and my name's Leia Fearaid, and you are?" She held out her hand for him to shake without looking away from the pad.
"It's not her ship." A deep and heavy voice came down upon Tess as Reggie looked down at her inspecting the hull and the landing gear. "It's mine." He stood in the entrance to the ship, with fresh, clean fur, a smooth pressed shirt and jeans, and a soft scent of cologne. After stepping aside to let the medical team pass, he jogged down the runway towards Annie, with a wide smile spread across his face. "Good morning."
Inside the ship, David directed the team towards the medbay, and hovered around them as they examined Jaack and Blaze.
Tabby pressed herself against Chronin, and kissed him deep. "Ooh, you're such a spoil sport," she said with a pout, and bit onto his neck.
Kateri's eyes widened, as Vuranin's hair set alight. Her mind rushed through her options, before she blurted out her answer.
"Talk to your son, he'll tell you everything." While she spoke, a soft little voice came through the corridor.
"What is going on?" said Vix, as JasON tried herding her away. "Kateri who's that with you?"
The hare's smirk dropped behind her mask and her hand twitched to grab her gun.
"Of course you haven't killed an innocent, because you never make mistakes. You're just perfect. And how do you expect to be present at all these rapes and murders? Are you magical? Of course you are, Mister 'I only kill monsters.'" She kicked the ground and shouted a spark of frustration, before turning to walk away. She stopped, grabbed a stone and hurled it at his back. "So you think criminals are irrideemable demons? The most common murders are mothers killing their babies. You gonna shoot them too?"
-
"If one kills another in cold blood there lives become forefeit. Before you go, i know i have done wrong in my past. Its why i seek to do right now. I am curious why are you so angry at me?" Rasu stood there a little taken aback by this hare. No one had ever stood up to him, and now this one person does.
-
Nero smirked as the ferret turned away. "If you insist." Sticking out his tongue he licked at the plasma cage, leaving an empty trail in the cage which soon closed itself up. Nero shivered in delight as he swallowed the part of the cage he licked up. "Ooooh, nice and refined. I've never had anything but raw plasma before now. I must say that I've been missing out."
-
"Leo Cyrule" he said shakeing her hand "Well, with any luck me may be able to find some floating samples, then again me may just be testing a cadaver, better than nothing." he said with a shrug. He let out a soft yawn and shook his head a bit to wake up. "And well, as far as I can see, its risky testing the liveing wonder, and my only idea for learning more about this person just absolutely insane, just as risky to a smaller crowd." he mused while crossing his arms looking up at the dome sky. "Then again this isn't the first thing I have done that turned into a disaster and ended so rightly...." he trailed off watching the thing inside the cage so carelessly lick the bars "Well... thats unexspected"
-
Tess looked up at Reggie, before looking straight back down underneath the ships hull. She gave an impressed whistle, which was strangely imitated by RUST-E at her side "Sweet ride... Five-Five gyrostabalised ion drive... Twin turbine injection system?" She laid a palm against the hull, running a finger across a long line of rivets "Not a bad paint job either..."
Annie smiled in return, pulling Reggie into a sudden hug. She stopped, stepped back and brushed herself down "G'...G'morning Reg..." She gave an embarrassed flick of her tail, looking furtively around the hangar. Tess was still gawking over technical aspects of the ship, and no-one else was paying them any attention. She shoved her hands deep into the pockets of her dark red fatigues, becoming suddenly very aware that she was covered in a general layer of sweat grime and oil from two weeks of scavenging.
Inside the ship, three Dark Tan wolves leaned over Jaack, while another helped Blaze to his feet. The first, the largest of the three wolves, pulled back one of Jaack's eyelids and looked in close "Multi-cellular Bacterial Infection... Possibly synthetic... Attacking the nervous system, possibly the B strain of Cano-nimbus?"
The slightest of the wolves nodded in agreement, already lifting Jaack onto the stretcher... The lead medic watched until he was safely on, as well as Blaze, before clapping his hands together "C'mon then... Quickly, Med-bay 8, prep them with two shots each of aluminium helide.. shoudl slow the infection until we can find out exactly what bacteria this is..."
-
Tabby's teeth couldn't even make a dent in the line of scales as Chronin rubbed and kneaded her back. "Should have thought that through before trying to bed me at my Auntie's house, we can have our fun at my place, which is probably the most isolated building in Capital sphere beyond the Capital Center."
Vuranin's gaze went from hostile to docile as she saw an old vixen down the hall, and managed a nervous smile while forgetting that her hair was still 'on fire'. "Hi, I'm Vuranin... Kateri says my son is somewhere in this house, do you know where that would be?" her voice was almost sickengly innocent compared to the growling she was giving towards Kateri just a moment earlier.
-
The hare gave a long exhale, settling herself. "I'm upset because people like you are so sure of yourself, that you assume you are infallible." She shook her head in disgust. "You're literally killing people because you think you know best. You're not the angel of death, and you haven't the ability or the right to act as such." She folded her arms, and her fingers dug into her clothes as her anger rose again. "Be honest, if you found out you'd made a mistake, and murdered the wrong person. Would you kill yourself?"
Leia, the ferret, watched as Nero licked his own cage. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened with a loss of voice. Without taking her eyes away from Nero she yelled out.
"Sir, the entity is loose." The official turned and marched over to her.
"What are you talking about? He's right there," he said, pointing at the smiling extra-dimensional being.
"Sir, we haven't contained him. He's able leave at any time." She stared at Nero, watching his grin, and the darkness of his absent eye.
"Are you sure about this?" asked the official.
"Certain." She started backing away, further and further from Nero, her hands shaking around the datapad.
Reggie looked down to Annie, watching her eyes and the curve of her cheek. He reached to her face stroked her fur with his large hand, sliding his fingers down under her chin, pulling her head up to face him, as he leaned forward and gave a long and tender kiss. He stepped closer to her and put his arm around her waist. Then, from the ship, the medic crew of wolves marched out with the stretchers. Reggie quickly broke the kiss and stepped away, grinning to her with hints of embarrassment.
"Oi!" yelled David. Reggie jolted step away from Annie. "What are you doing to the ship?" David was yelling at Tess after spotting her while following the medics. He was raising his arms and waving for her to leave. Reggie sighed, dropping his shoulders and shaking his head. He glanced over to Annie and mouthed a "sorry."
"David, leave her alone, she's just curious," he said, walking over to the snake.
"Well don't blame me when we crash and die because of her breaking our ship." He folded his arms and grumbled to himself, before taking a glance at Reggie, then a double take. "You're awfully clean today." He leaned to the right, peering past Reggie's large body, spotting Annie and scowling at her, and then at Reggie. "You just can't help yourself can you. Well heck with it. On your head be it, because I'm not telling Fazila you found someone new." He headed past, barging Reggie with his shoulder as he followed the medics. "That's your responsibility."
Tabby smirked and licked up his neck to his ear.
"Well we can atleast have a little fun, right?" she said, as her hands ran down his bare scaly chest towards his hips and pushing lower against his combat trousers.
The elderly fox looked from Vuranin to Kateri and back again.
"Your son?" Kateri nodded frantically behind the dragon. Vix thought for a second, then gave a little smirk. "Well he's just upstairs, first door on the left."
-
Watching Leia back away he looked over to the official, he inserted his hands into his pocket and said to him keeping an eye on the being as he spoke there was some hint of fear in his voice though not fully visible. "Sir, I dont mean to cause any alarm, but I hope you have a kinetic weapon availible." He paused for a minute absorbing what he just saw, finding it unbeliveable "Plasma... no longer can cut it... its like water... to him."
-
"You think a regular gun will stop him?" the officer replied, keeping his eye on Nero. "He just punched his way into the sphere." He paused for a second, gathered his thoughts, then stepped forward to Nero.
"If you could that all this time, what's stopping you from walking off?"
-
"Well, yes and no, unless you want to risk seeing, what else he could possibly do in a physical fight" Leo said seriously, now takeing this moment to take a few steps back as the officer gave Nero the choice to leave the cage.
-
Tess had an ear pressed against the side of the ship, listening to the deep thrumming sound of its engine ticking over. She jumped back suddenly, looking up at David. At her side RUST-E gave a sharp beep, and rapidly whirred backwards, away from the ship. Tess held her hands up in the air, as if David held a gun to her "Woah... Calm it down... Just checkin' out your ship..."
She stopped, watching as the two stretcher bearers walked down the ramp and started off at a quick pace across the hangar. She lost interest in both David and the ship, running off at full pelt to catch up with them. Her droid followed, beeping what sounded like an apology to David as it whirred away, zigzagging between engineers.
Annie looked up as David shooed Tess away. She smiled to Reggie, winking surreptitiously before shouting over to David, loudly enough for most of the nearby people to hear "N'aaw... Leave her a lone, she's the best engineer we got in this hangar!" Over beside the stretcher bearers, Tess gave a mock salute, whistling her agreement.
Annie smirked, only to have the smile wiped away as David barged past Reggie, and started off after the stretchers... She looked from David, to Reggie, a frown already forming "Reg... What did he mean?" She pulled her hands out of her pockets, taking a step closer as she frowned "What was the reason David didnt want me interfering?... Tell me, or i swear whatever we had going is over before it even started..."
Blaze groaned as he lay back in the stretcher, glimpses of the steel ceiling and florescent light bobbing past. A familiar face poked over the side, as Tess looked down at him "Yo Blaze... Sup this time?"
Blaze smiled, trying to sit up in the constantly moving stretcher "Ah, nothing... You know me, always gettin' into trouble... Always getting straight back out again..."
He laughed, rather spoiling it by clenching his chest and falling back into the stretcher. Tess frowned, but said no more, as the wolves walked through a large pair of double doors and into the steel corridor beyond...
-
Kitt turned and walked down the hall towards the canteen. Along the way he surfed through the old files on the I.U.G.net locating songs that he like before settling on a metal band from the frozen reaches. As he walked into the canteen Kitt shut down the music player, and walked over to place an order for his meal. After getting his order of a large serving of Hash Browns, Sassage, Bacon, Eggs over easy, Toast, and a few Breakfast Peppers, Kitt made his way over to a table when he noticed Seema sitting at the far end of the room. Quickly changing his path he walked over to the table where Seema was sitting and took a seat.
"Hello Seema, How are you doing today?" Kitt asked as he gave her a discreet once over while he set down his plate.
-
Chronin pulled her hands and arms over her head as he kept her at bay with another kiss, then tried to somehow disarm her by winding down her 'frisky' meter. "My aunt should be here any minute now, and she probably doesn't want a bounty hunter like yourself anywhere near me. So please can you keep your hands to yourself until we get back to my place?"
only a half-second later there was a rather loud knock at his door as Vuranin was standing just behind it and waiting for her son to come answer. Both were suprised at what the saw of the other as Chronin opened the door to see a dragoness with flaming hair while the dragoness saw someone that looked like Chrono, but much more muscular and taller.
"Um, hello?" they said in unison as this was a somewhat awkward moment for both of them...
-
Reggie gritted his teeth, almost growling at David's back, but eventually, the anger crumbled, collapsing and replaced by resignation. His eyes switched from David to Annie, looking into her frown, feeling her stare.
"I guess now's a good a time as any," he said, pushing his hands into the pockets of his jeans. His massive form seemed to shrink as he looked at the floor, then back up at her. "I'm not, strictly speaking, single. There's someone back home who I used to call my girlfriend." His face was honest, almost pleading understanding. "After I met you, I can't say that she is anymore. Or that she ever has been. Maybe she loves me but to me, she's a distraction. I treat her like a pet to entertain me when I want her to." The hands in his pockets turned into fists. "Yeah I'm a monster... and I was stupid for thinking that I could hide this from you and still make something good. I'm sorry I wasted your time." He stopped, and turned to walk back up into the ship.
David rushed to catch up with the medic team, barely even glancing at Tess as he passed her by and caught up with the unconscious Jaack, who seemed less and less alive with every second. The wolves carrying him didn't look too positive either. David nudged one of them.
"Hey, is he gonna be okay? Can you fix him?"
Seema growled at her datapad, gripping it tight in her paws, scowling down at it.
"Oh for God's sake!" She slammed the pad onto the table and ran her hands through her hair, before glancing at Kitt. "I'm just dandy, thanks," she said, and grabbed one of his sausages, popping the end into her mouth and taking a bite. "I just got word about that spec ops guy we ordered. Turns out the Capital Sphere is prepping for a jump, so it'll take a little longer for him to leave." She sat back and folded her arms, chewing the sausage, frowning, and blowing her hair out of her eyes. "We're gonna get one of the security guys to fill in for your training, so eat up," she said, and stole another sausage.
Tabby's shot her eyes at the knocking door, then picked up Chronin's quilt hid underneath it, while the dragon stood up to answer the door. When he and Vuranin spoke, she peeked from the quilt, and saw the two impressive dragons staring at eachother.
JasON watched Vuranin walk upstairs, before turning to Vix.
"Why didn't you tell her about the girl? She'll barge right in." he said. Kateri twitched at the words.
"Girl? What girl?" she asked, looking from the AI to the fox. Vix put her hands up to calm them down.
"Chronin brought a girl home and took her to his room. It turns out he only just met her this morning, so he deserves to get interrupted, the stupid boy." She turned and shuffled back into the living room, sitting to watch her movies. Kateri gave and incredulous little smile and put her hands on her hips, but soon she couldn't stop her giggles.
-
It seemed that they were moving in perfect harmony as if they were staring at a reflection of their gender opposite. "Soooo, what's your name?" It took a few seconds for them to decide who spoke first, but it eventually worked out and as he spoke, she only gawked at what her son become after 25 years of neglect on her part. "Now your turn." "Um; Vuranin Epheral: your mother".
It had been a long time since he saw her, but when she mentioned that one small fact, the memories that she was in had turned back on, and his consious mind had turned off as he hit the floor in the first and hopefully last faint of his life. Vuranin was just confused as to how she should deal with her son fainting on top of her as she looked at Kateri with a look that showed just how confused she truly was.
-
Nero couldn't help but burst into cackling laughter at the frightened crowd. As Leia stared at the socket she felt something tug at her mind. All of her emotions and thoughts seemed to be siphoning out of her and into the blackness of the socket. He began to speak through his own laughter whilst speaking to Leia in her mind. The voice in her head was far different to the one coming from his mouth. It seemed as if the screams of a thousand planets all seemed to mold together to form the words.
"Its because I do not wish to yet. I am right where I want to be. Until it is time for me to leave, I will comply with what you ask"
...HellO LeiA.....YoU HavE HaD YouR QuestionS....NoW YoU MusT AnsweR MinE.....WherE IS ThE EverflamE....WherE...WherE....
-
Yu-Razul thought for a moment, what if he had killed someone Innocent?
"Ok, if i had i wouldnt kill myself no. I would instead do what was possible to make it up, even if it meant to allow there nearest relative the right to kill me if they so wished. Of course i would like to help others as much as i can first." Yu-Razul tried to relax, whatwas this hare getting at?
-
As Reggie started to walk back to the ship a hand gripped his shoulder, stopping him from walking any further. Annie stood, the frown long gone as she held tightly onto Reggie. She sighed, leaning close she whispered into his ear, almost having to go onto the tips of her toes to reach "Well... I'm glad you where finally honest about it... But you never wasted my time..."
She turned him around, facing him again she laid a hand tenderly across his large chest "Look... Your a sweet guy, and its been a long time since i felt this for anyone... " She sighed again, turning to watch as the stretcher bearers disappeared through the double doors of the hangar. She looked back up at Reggie, torn between him and her son "If you still want this, then so do I... But right now i need to be with my son... And i think you need to be with Jaack..."
With that she turned and started to walk towards the hangar doors, tailing flicking behind her...
The wolf that David nudged looked from him to Jaack, frowning as they continued to weave between engineers and Droids "We're doing our best... We just have to hope he doesnt go into cardiac-arrest before we get him on the surgical table..." The largest of the wolves put two fingers to Jaack's neck, frowning even more he made a quick motion for the stretcher bearers to speed up. They did so, breaking into a light jog as the lead wolf shouted for the crowds to part and let them through...
-
Tabby burst out from under the quilt, and Kateri burst up the stairs, both running to Chronin's side. They gave a glance at eachother.
"Hi, I'm Tabby,"
"Kateri, nice to meet you," the aunt replied as she tapped her nephew's face, trying to wake him up. Tabby looked up at Vuranin.
"What did you do to him?"
"Leave her alone," Kateri pulled attention back to Chronin. "He's just fainted, we should to get his legs elevated. Help me take him to the bed."
The officer planted his feet, in front of the rest of the crowd, displaying his confidence and strength. Others joined by him, though some still stayed back.
"What decides when it's time to leave?" he said.
Leia pulled her her hands around her, like a barrier against Nero, but she continued to stare, wide eyed. Her tail began to puff up in fear, but her legs refused to step back.
"I..." Her voice was almost silent, murmuring and mumbling like a child. "I can't... they won't tell..."
The hare shook her head in disgust.
"You would give yourself the luxury that you refuse to all others. You think you're the only one capable of redemption?" Her paws became fists at her side. "You're a selfish, arrogant, coward, and those pirates should have killed you." She turned, and headed off back into the dust.
Reggie watched her walk, and couldn't stop his smile. He chased after her and with his great strength, wrapped her in a tight hug, lifting her from the ground. He then turned her around, gave a quick kiss and grabbed her hand.
"We're not gonna catch up by walking," he said, and headed off running, pulling Annie along behind him.
David wrung his hands, pulling off some of his old snake skin, while the medics pushed through double doors into the medical bay, heading into an ICU.
"We have an emergency here!" yelled the lead wolf. "Severe bacterial infection, put crash team on standby!" Almost instantly, Jaack and Blaze were swarmed by specialists, dressed in white and clinical blue. David was pushed to the side.
-
Annie laughed, the moment of annoyance lost entirely as she broke into a run to match Reggie's. The pair tore through crowds of Engineers and Explorators, wolves, foxes and felines all shouting out in annoyance as they crossed the hangar deck at high speed.
In the ICU a bright-yellow skink pushed through the specialists, already pulling on a surgical mask "Okay, two drips of polymorphide, we need to buy these guys time until we work out what the hell is inside of 'em..."
As the surgeons crowded around the two, a young nurse shooed Tess to one side as well "I'm very sorry... You really need to move out of the way here..." Tess moved as she was told, jumping slightly to try and get a view over the rows of medics...
-
They did is all Yu-Razul thought. He had lost everything, he wasnt being selfish, he was doing what no one else was willing to do. Who could understand? Yu-Razul turned and picked up his rifle. He began blasting at the mercs like a sniper. These blasted traitors, murderers, and thieves, no one deserved life if there was darkness in his heart. Yu-Razul knew he didnt deserve life but he couldnt surrender to those wants not when there were others to stop.
"This is for my father, my Mother, and all of those who've died!" Shouted Yu-Razul as he started to march forward continuing to fire at the bewildered mercenaries. He ducked behind a boulder and through a shrapnel grenade at there explosives they were loading.
-
Looking to his side Leo began to worry a bit when he noticed how strangely Leia seemed to be acting strange. Noticeing her tail fur standing on end he cautiously placed a hand on her shoulder giveing her a slight gentle shake.
"Something wrong Leia?" He asked in a concerned tone, wandering what she was mumbleing about.
-
Reggie and Annie burst through into the med-bay, finding David sticking his arms out to stop them going right into the ICU.
"Woah stop, stop. They're not letting anyone in."
"How are they?" Reggie said with slightly heavier breaths.
"If you want to know about Blaze, ask her," he said, pointing a thumb over at Tess as she hopped about, while RUST-E tried to push his way through the doctors to get a look for her. "But he should be okay. These people know what they're doing." Reggie squeezed Annie's hand with a smile.
"Good, what about Jaack?" he asked. David's face went cold, and he brushed his chin as he looked away. "David," Reggie persisted. "Is Jaack okay?" His smile was faltering, and then a blue light flicked on in the ICU. Alarms started to blare, specialists rushed around, and the crash team rushed in.
"He's going into cardiac arrest, get the cart ready." Reggie pushed David aside, heading to the window into the ICU, seeing a mass of blue clothed doctors and nurses. Alarms and lights screaming. Jaack was hidden, lost in the crowd.
"Clear!"
Reggie slammed his fist against the window.
"Clear!"
He gripped his hair, wrenching it out.
"Clear!"
One by one, the machines were switched off. The alarms went silent, and the lights died.
Mercenaries yelled and ran from the explosion, blowing dust and fire. They hid behind rocks, or their transports, firing back, or screaming in agony.
Leia grabbed Leo's arm, digging in her claws, as she shook in fear. She pulled him to her, holding him close, whispering into his ear.
"Help me... save me."
-
Vuranin nodded and carried him over to the bed, and put him down rather easily despite the fact that he was still wearing the jacket and pants, which weighed about fifty kilos each and the vest alone being about seventy kilos due to the amount of high-density material used to mitigate shock, blunt trauma, and obviously bullets. When Kateri lifted up his vest, she found out the hard-way that he definatly inherited his mother's body strength since he walked around rather easily with all of that armor on. Vuranin slid a pillow under his feet and used her tail as an improvised seat while waiting for him to wake up, with at least a small smile since he had obviously had grown strong during her absence regardless of his genetic tie to her very un-athletic husband.
-
Kitt smiled as Seema took a couple of his saussages, then tucked in. After Kitt finnished his meal he stood and looked at Seema,
"Seema, if you would please, can we go start trying out the new memories that I have?" Kitt offered Seema his hand as a gentleman would.
-
Unsure of exactly what was going on when she pulled him close to her. His ear flicked when she wispered, leaveing him even more confused than he was previously before hand. Very akwardly he wrapped his arms around her hopeing that this will comfort her as he wispered "It's alright, your safe" before over his shoulder to Nero, wandering what he did to make her like this.
Slowly removeing one arm from her, he thought it would be best to lead her away from the group. Useing the hand thats on her back to guide her out of the crowd and away from the block before asking. "What happened? Why are you so scared?"
-
Yu-Razul breathed in as he prepared for the next part. He need to find where these explosives were going, he needed to get on board one of there ships in the chaos. Yu-Razul grabbed three smore grenades and through them, running through the smoke he grabbed a flashbang and launched it high into the air. The noise defeaned everyone including himself, a stray energy bolt slashed into Yu-Razul's arm and he dropped and rolled under one of the ships. He pulled out his short sword and looked for the maintenece hatch. Spotting it he moved along the ground towards it, he could hear the sounds of the mercenaries firing into the smoke. He forced the hatch open with his sword and climbed into the maintenece corridor. Yu-Razul closed the hatch behind him and quickly found some pannaling that was easily removed, he crawled in a closed it behind him. Once inside he began to look at his wound, hopefully he could keep it from being infected.
-
Kateri dropped the vest in the corner, letting it thud against the floor, before walking back to the head of the bed, folding her arms and leaning to the wall. Her eyes went from the fiery dragon, to the little cat sitting at the foot of the bed, and looking nervous.
"Well, I guess this is quite interesting to all of us," she said, running a hand through her hair. "Now we all need to explain who we are and what we're doing here, but I think I should start, for your sake." She nodded over to Vuranin, the pushed herself up off the wall and put her hands behind her back. "You're not going to like what I'm about to say, but please don't turn violent. That won't help anything. The reason Chronin is here, with us, is because I took guardianship over him after his father was killed in an unfortunate security incident, not long after you disappeared." She looked down at Chronin's sleeping face, then to Vuranin, gauging her reaction.
"Oh thankyou," Seema said as she took Kitt's hand, and stood up off the canteen chair in an effortless and elegant manner, smiling a little at his gesture. "Come with me. Your training partner should be ready by now." Letting go of his hand, she headed off into the corridors, with her huge and soft tail swaying behind her. After a few turns, and some double doors, they entered an impossibly large hall, stretching wide like a hangar bay. In the centre stood a figure clad in a tight fitting body-enhancement suit, connecting to his form. The figure watched them enter, and shook his limbs to ready himself.
Seema stopped at the entrance and stood beside Kitt. "All you have to do is immobilise him. Try not to kill him, but don't underestimate him. He's a dangerous man." Her voice was soft and smooth, and formed to her smile.
Above Yu-Razul, footsteps of heavy boots thudded and stomped, as mercenaries searched around.
"Hey, he bust open the maintenance hatch," one of them said, followed by the sound of someone climbing into that corridor, and flicking on a flashlight, looking down into the shadows. Yu-Razul could see the light spill through gaps in the panel that hid him, scanning across from side to side. "He's not here," said the mercenary, who crawled back out onto the main deck of the craft.
"We can't wait here forever 'cause of one guy. Do one last search and then we leave. If we're late, we're dead."
"Yes sir!" The footsteps intensified, with people rushing around, pulling objects away, searching in every corner. Eventually, the sound of the explosives behind rolled onto the ships filled the dragon's ears, followed by a final call of
"The area's clear!" The engines began to heat and hum, churning into a roar, heating up the maintenance corridor and the silver dragon hidden inside.
Outside, the lone female desert hare looked up from behind her mask, and saw the pack of ships lift and burn through the atmosphere, out into space.
-
Vuranin only shifted in her seat after Kateri told the fate of her mate, but it was obvious to the keen eye that she was trying to not have a break-down in front of her son's unconsious body. She could only mumble her words as it took too much effort otherwise to restrain herself. "Because of Everflame I came to find you, because of Everflame I grew to love you, then had to leave you..." her hair's blaze turned blue and became brighter as her sadness was reflected in her appearance. Her voice became easily heard when she addressed Kateri without looking at her. "When he wakes... you will have your time for farewells before I clean his mind of the memories during his father's death and all that has occoured afterwards, then we will both leave this realm with the empty Everflame."
Everything from her vocal emotion, and her lack of body movement had practically broadcasted how determined she was to back up her statement. Luckily Chronin had faked his unconsiousness for a good minute-half when he actually woke up from being placed in the bed. He suddenly sat upright, and tackled his mother to the ground, holding her hands high above her head with one hand and pushing her head to the floor with the other. "You are twenty-five years too late to order me around, I'm staying!!"
-
Nero stood up in the cage, his own stature dwarfed by the officer...but not in presence. "When I find that you and this piece of scrap iron have nothing left to offer me." In a lightning quick motion Nero's hand shot out of the cage, grabbed the officer and pulled him within millimeters of the plasma field. The hair and flesh on Nero's arm cooked as it sat between the inside and outside of the cage. "And that could be any time I want....maybe now, maybe a year. Good enough for you?"
Inside Leia's head Nero was conducting a search of information for the Everflame. He searched in vain, only finding stories and rumors...many of which were preposterous. ...YoU TolD ThE TrutH...GooD GirL...NoW I HavE A JoB FoR YoU...FinD ThE AmbassadorS...HowL AnD SeekeR...DO IT QuicklY EnougH AnD I MaY GivE YoU A RewarD... Leia could feel an incorporeal hand caress the side of her face as he 'spoke'. ...NoW TrY NoT TO WorrY...I OnlY PunisH IgnorancE, LieS, AnD RudenesS...AnD YoU Aren'T AnY OF ThosE ArE YoU....
-
Yu-Razul cringed as the area heated up, he had forgotten how hot it could get. Luckily his scales were buit for the heat, it was very uncomfortable to say the least. Yu-Razul began to focus again, calming himself, meditating on what had happened. That Desert Hare just wouldnt leave his mind. What had she been getting at, why didnt she kill him?
Yu-Razul could hear muffled taling from above, he must be beneath a bedroom r something. It wouldnt matter until they arrived at there destination. His wound could wait for now.
-
It was a full ten minutes later when a dark furred wolf walked out of the ICU, closing the door behind him he pulled off his surgical mask and dropped it into an incinerator chute. He sighed, looking across to David Annie and Reggie "There is never an easy way to say this..."
He sighed again, taking a step closer "We did the best we could, but by the time we had pinpointed the bacterial strain, the infection was already too far developed. It had spread to his lungs, causing massive internal haemorrhaging, which lead to cardiac-arrest..."
He paused, looking over at Annie "Your son is finally stable, we managed to clear the bacteria out of his system, though he may have sustained some minor lung-tissue damage... Nothing permanent I assure you. That engineer and her bucket of bolts are in there with him now... Despite our best attempts to keep her out..." he sighed a final time, turning back to the ICU door "You can come in now, if you wish..."
-
As Vuranin spoke, Kateri gave out a long, drawn out sigh, and put her hand through her hair. Then Chronin burst out.
"Woah!" She ran to Chronin's side, kneeling beside him and pulling on his arm that held his mother down. "Chronin, calm down. We can deal with this like adults. Come on, let her go." She glanced up at Tabby for help, but she was dumbstruck with a smile.
The officer grimaced, and felt the heat at end of his muzzle.
"Yes, I guess I don't have a choice about that. Now could you let me go?"
Leia put her hands over her ears, trying to block him out, and tears flowed into her fur as she felt his tender touch.
"Yes... Yes I can do that, I'll find them for you," she said, louder than before, while nodding vigorously. She stepped closer to Leo, still shaking with a puffed up tail, still nodding frantically. She looked to him.
"I've got to go, I've got to find someone."
The flight went on for hours, as the fleet floated through space with only idle conversation to keep the mercenaries busy. Then, there were shouts.
"The Felix and Komayer have been hit!"
"Sir, they're gone!" Frantic running of heavy boots thudded over Yu-Razul.
"I don't have a target!" An explosion blasted through the ship, and the engine died.
"Where is it coming from?!" There was a sound, like giant claws thudding into the hull.
"We're being boarded!" Gunfire lit up the ship. Smoke poured into the maintenance corridors, seeping into Yu-Razul's nook. More feet above him, more shouts, turning into screams until everything stopped. A few final shots rang out.
"Right, where is he?" There was a pause, and people crept around, with softer footstpes. Someone jumped into the maintenance corridor, followed by another. He could hear guns being prepped and ready. "Come on out, or we'll shoot."
Reggie sat on the floor, his back against the wall, staring across at the opposite, with its pale blue paint. David leaned towards him, keeping his distance.
"Reg, do you want to go in?" The fox didn't reply, so David turned and moved to herd Annie away towards Blaze. "Come on, leave him alone for a while." He stopped still, then took her arm, looking dead into her eyes. "Seriously, for your own sake, stay away from him for a little while. He gets dangerous when he's like this."
-
Chronin reluctantly let go, but then put the bed between him and his mother by vaulting over it, his hair still spiked out from his sudden hostility. Vuranin slowly got off the floor, somewhat surprised how easily she was knocked down and pinned without even noticing his movements. Her tone was becoming hostile the longer she spoke, and her hair was burning brighter and brighter until it lit up the whole room like the afternoon sun. "Miss Kateri, you had your chance to deal with it like adults when you dismissed our ambassadors, Howl and Seeker. I am either taking Everflame, or getting my only child to my dimension before he gets involved in a war that your short-sighted politicians perfer over giving up a dead rock!"
-
Annie stared back, looking from David to Reggie. She tore her arm out from his grip, frowning she hissed through sharp white teeth"Dont tell me what i can and cant do..." She dropped the arm to her side, sighing as she watched Reggie sit hunched up. She watched his eyes, normally bright and alive, now glazed over. She looked back to David, and nodded "Fine... You know best..." With that she turned back to the ICU, tail flicking anxiously...
There where two beds in the ICU, the room now quiet with only one or two nurses checking over the machines. One was covered over with a white sheet, the indistinct form of a body beneath it, in the other lay Blaze. Tess stood at the side of the bed, even now ignoring the nurse hovering beside Blaze. At her side stood RUST-E, who was currently sneaking a quick re-charge from one of the power sockets in the ICU wall. Blaze himself was awake, though very pale.
-
As Vuranin flared up, Tabby shifted away from her, crawling behind the bed, beside Chronin. Kateri shook her head, and put her hands up to placate the dragon.
"I don't have the authority to hand it over. It's probably the most important object in the galaxy, there are a lot of negotiations and procedures we need to go through before we can give it over. It'll take at least a week, it's barely been a day."
David walked over to the covered body, and pulled back the sheet.
"Oh heavens," he murmured, and covered him up again. He rubbed his arms and looked back out the window, knowing that just below it was a bomb in the form of a fox. One of the nurses, a young Pika walked past, and David moved in to get her attention. "Excuse me, when will the body be cleared. We need to take him back home to be buried." She looked at him with the best sympathy face she could do. She'd had plenty of practice.
"Well with your friend's unique circumstances, it might take a few days, just to get some information on what killed him, but after that, we'll load him onto your ship ourselves." David gave a soft smile back, which disappeared almost immediately.
"Thanks."
-
Tess sat beside Blaze on his bed, while RUST-E watched them from his low view-point. Annie sat down on Blaze's other side, ruffling his hair carefully "Hey... Hows my champ doing?" Blaze shrugged, wincing at the slight movement.
Tess smirked, looking up to Annie "The docs gave 'im some anti-themics... Said he wont be able to talk for an hour or two, but it should make sure the damage to his lungs dont get worse..." She punched Blaze in the upper arm lightly, still smirking "Ah, i knew he'd be alright... You guys always pull yerselves outa' trouble..." Blaze winced again, despite the lightness of the punch, earning him an apologetic whistle from RUST-E.
Annie smiled, standing up and turning to face David. The smile vanished as quickly as it had formed, she watched him carefully, talking in a low hushed voice "You... You sure he wouldn't like some company?" She nodded her head towards the ICU window, though it was obvious who she was talking about anyway. She rubbed her upper arm in earnest, looking from him to the body of Jaack...
-
David shook his head, over and over. "No, you can't. When he gets upset, he gets aggressive, and he's never been this upset before." He looked into her eyes, with a cold and honest stare. "If you go over there, and try to help him, you could end up worse off than your son. It's best to just leave him be."
-
Yu-Razul knew he was caught, but by who? The only way to find out was to go into the open, the problem would be the fact he'd be going into the open. He took in a deep breath and readied himself.
"I'm coming out, don't shoot." Spoke Yu-Razul as he prepared to open the pannaling. He pushed it aside and stepped out to look at these people who apparently were looking for him.
-
Vuranin was about to go ballistic when Kateri said it had 'barely been a day' but caught Chronin's gaze and calmed down rather fast since he seemed ready to start off the fight where they last left off. She apparently put out the fire in her hair as he brushed her mane back, then nodded to Kateri. "You have two and a half weeks, otherwise I will come back for my son. Is that understood?"
It was odd how commanding she was, since she was actually a few inches shorter than her son and making a statement that ten years of war had proven difficult to accoplish....
-
Two ermines, covered in light armour, and almost pitch black goggles aimed assault rifles, ready to fire.
"Are you Yu-Razul?" they asked, while aiming down their sights at him.
Kateri breathed her relief, and gave a grateful smile. "Thankyou. Now you should probably talk things through with your son. But you can do that later, when both of you have calmed down. We don't want this to just turn into a fight," she said, looking between the two of them. Chronin's hair was almost solid.
-
Annie sighed, crossing her arms defiantly across her chest "Fine... Fine, Fine, Fine... Have it your way..." She half-turned away, tail flicking behind her, before turning back "Look... How do you know he doesnt need someone?... You..." She growled slightly, clenching her fist against her thigh, and then released it.
She sighed, stepping away from David "I'm sorry... I just feel like its my fault somehow... If we hadnt interrupted you guys, or... Oh i dont know..." With another flick of her bushy tail, she turned away and started to walk back over to her son...
-
Chronin calmed down when he heard Kateri agree to the given time-line, so he didn't have to deal with his 'mother' going off from frustration. "Exactly how much of me came from my father?"
Vuranin fought back a smirk when she heard the question, and did her best not to crack a joke. "Your gender, and your flesh-based body, everything else is me alone. As far as I know, you are the only being that has 'light' lineage, but not a real being of the dimension of light. Anything more will have to wait; if you want to know anything beyond my history with your father, come to my flat alone." she had gone from one side of the bed to in front of Chronin with her hand on the back of his neck as she transferred the address and directions to her current hide-away, then checked to see that the door was open behind her.
She vanished again, and this time she was able to get around the door that had knocked her out earlier. Chronin just looked at Kateri and could only smirk as he asked: "Well, whats for dinner?"
-
David rolled his eyes at the idea that she was at fault, and then jumped as Reggie slammed his hand against the window. It shuddered and the hospital security perked their ears up, ready to deal with him.
"TALK QUIETER!" Reggie yelled, then thudded the back of his head against the wall. One of the security guards, an alsatian, stepped forward, putting out his hand to calm the fox.
"Sir, could you please calm down." Reggie glared and growled in reply. He moved to stand, feeling his anger tense his body. David moved away from the window, shaking his head and mumbling curses to himself.
Kateri frowned at where Vuranin used to be, but it disappeared when she looked to Chronin, replaced by worry, creasing her brow.
"Are you okay?" she asked, as she moved around the bed, and pulled him into a hug. "Are you okay, sweetheart?"
Tabby sat back, curled up in the corner, feeling her intrusion into this family.
-
Chronin wanted to pry her off, but just let her hug him since he really didn't want to cause any more problems for his Auntie. "The only thing I don't get is why Dad didn't tell me anything about my mother, regardless of how hot-tempered she was. Other than that I'm completely okay, really!"
-
The Alsation drew a short-barrelled carbine, already reaching for a pair of Magno-bond cuffs with the other hand "Sir... Really, please calm down. Or else we will have to forcefully restrain you, under the Mechanicus legislation #39 ..." He glanced nervously from Reggie as he stood, to the guard on the opposite side of the room. His colleague, a wiry lynx, already had his cuffs ready as he too watched Reggie's every move.
Back in the ICU, Tess gave a start as Reggie slammed the window "Frack! That friend o' yours has got some serious anger issues man...". Annie raised an eyebrow sarcastically in Tess' direction, as she turned back to face the commotion. She stepping closer to David, almost instinctively. At Tess' side, RUST-E gave a quiet beep, followed by a shrill whistling noise as he scooted into the dark space underneath Blaze's bed.
-
Kateri looked up at her nephew, and held him close. "Well as long as you're sure you're okay." She let him go patted his chest. "Now put some proper clothes on, you're having chicken and rice for dinner." She looked over at Tabby. "Bring your friend too. We should all have a good talk." Tabby gave a little smile and a laugh, waving as Kateri left the room. Once the door closed, she looked to her new boyfriend with smirk, staring over his muscular body.
"You are the sexiest man alive, I hope you know that."
"Or what?!" Reggie could be heard right through the medbay, and was gathering a crowd. "You gonna shoot me for breaking a window?" He set his feet and punched the reinforced glass with all his strength, leaving a huge web of cracks stretching from end to end. He looked at the guard, daring him with his eyes. He hit the glass again, putting deep cuts into his fist. He punched again, and again. Four guards rushed in and grabbed hold of him. One was thrown into the wall, another pushed a taser into Reggie's back, subduing him.
David stayed in the corner, shaking his head.
-
Leo gave a slight curt nod with a worried expression looking at her "Need any help... your crying?" he said takeing notice the tear drops flowing down her cheeks before looking into her eyes "What got you so... worried?"
-
Chronin shook his head while grinning and went over to his closet before sliding off his jacket and ignoring the whistle heard behind him as he took out a loose, red, and emblem-less shirt and then put on his vest armor before slipping the shirt over it. He decided to keep his pants on since they were already considered casual despite weighing almost as a much as ten bowling balls and also didn't want to give Tabby too much to stare at. "I don't think you fall too far from such a claim either, but its not good manners to have intimacy during dinner, especially with the how wild you get." He opened the door as he started to rub two locks of hair together to see if it would combust like his mother's hair, but nothing of the sort occoured...
-
Kitt smiled as he looked at Seema after she told him what his objective was. He knew this was going to be a bit more of a challenge than he was used to. The guy looked trained, you could see it in his eyes, and this wasn't a heavly forested area or even a city area for that matter but a wide flat surface. In as much it gave Kitt no where to find any purchase to come at his opponent from any angle, including from above, effectivly leveling the playing field making this a test of resorce and strength not just skill. As Kitt walked over to greet his opponent he took in the build and design of the suit. If he was to beat his partner he would have to dissable the suit. Kitt pulled up a schematic for the suit to find any vulnerable point and was shown only one, at the base of the neck, before the schematic shut down. Turning to Seema Kitt smiled again,
"I take it that you shut down the search engine I was using? I only managed to see one of the vulnerable points on that suit. If this guy's as good as you say, it will be difficult to get to that point." Kitt turned back to the task at hand and started loosening out his body.
-
Annie opened the ICU door, stepping out as two more guards rushed in to help cuff Reggie. A taser was shoved at him again, despite the fact he was already pulled down to the ground by over four times his number of guards... "Hey! Let up on him!" Annie shouted, as the taser was thrust again and the Alsation wrestled Reggie's muscled arm behind his back.
Most of the guards ignored her as one of them, a fox, stood up and trying to get her back into the ICU "Please, back away... we have it under control..." Behind him, Reggie shouted in anguish and rage, kicking and wrestling against the guards...
Annie tried to push past the guard, as a guard lashed out at Reggie with one heavy boot "Like frack you are!... Let up on him!" The guard stopped Annie, holding up his hands in an attempt to force her back "Look, its for his and our safety..." The taser was used again, again by the same guard who kicked out. Annie shoved the guard aside in attempt to reach Reggie... The fox grabbed her by the shoulder "Look Miss... Stay out of it..."
The guard barely had time to notice the punch coming, only just catching Annie's fist in a quick arm-lock through a combination of years of training, and fast reactions. He pulled her arm behind her back, shoving her up against the wall "If you persist in trying to interfere i'l be forced to arrest you as well!"
-
Tabby pouted, and folded her arms.
"I can be civilised you know. I'm controlled by my urges." She looked over his body, and bit her lip. "No matter how tempting you are." She looked around for the legs of her jeans then attached them back to the shorts. She looked down at herself in a tanktop and jeans. "Though I guess I could have made myself a bit more presentable. I don't suppose you have any clothes for a five foot cat girl, do you?" She gave a little smirk, then brushed down her clothes, trying to get as clean and neat as possible.
Seema gave him a sweet smile.
"The enemies you will be facing in the field don't use military technology. You can't look them up and find their weakness. You have to work it out for yourself." She stepped back and out the door, closing and locking it behind her. The opponent readied himself, setting his feet down. Kitt heard a whisper of a hiss, then the opponent launched into the air, shooting modules that embedded into the ceiling, before dropping down, heading down onto Kitt.
Reggie roared in pain at each electrocution, feeling his body bruise as he got kicked. He looked back, catching glimpses of Annie, pushing and yelling. She punched, and got pushed to the wall. Another electrocution hit him in his back.
"Alright, stop!" He stopped resisting, going limp, only to feel another taser in the back. "I said I'll stop! Just let her go, and I'll come quietly." David stopped his mumbles, then peered through the door, looking over at Reggie. His face covered in confusion. The guards let off, though kept him in his cuffs. They pushed Annie away and dragged Reggie to his feet.
"You're under arrest for criminal damage."
"Yeah yeah, I know," Reggie replied.
-
Chronin thought about the jacket, but wasn't sure if Tabby was really able to put it on considering how heavy it was. He reached under his bed and pulled out a rather metallic suitcase, and opened it to show Chronin's old security clothes from when he wasn't in the elite. He took the jacket that was about Tabby's size, and hands it to her before sliding the case back under the bed. "I don't think I told anybody why my clothes are so heavy, but I guess its safe to explain that I dabbled a bit into personal protection, and had spent about four years testing fibers for all sorts of health and life hazards. We can get into the details during dinner or after our 'fun', but basically the clothes you first saw me in, are the latest I have come up with in body armor. These pants, vest, and jacket had been in combat and saved my hide from all sorts of attacks for about ten years. You're wearing the prototype, which is lightweight and offers protection against at least assault-caliber rifles and a single shot from a plasma based weapon." When she put it on it was almost a perfect fit and he was half tempted to just walk out on Auntie and Gran and take her to his place, but he went to the door and opened it as he walked down the stairs two steps at a time before heading to the dinner table.
-
"That's a better attitude..." Nero grinned at the officer before letting him go. "So, if we're done here I have to ask...where do you plan on putting me? Obviously you can't just quarantine this area until I decide to leave, so where shall I be spending my stay?"
Leia could feel Nero inside her head as she walked away. She could hear him humming an alien tune which seemed to change every minute...his voice making the tune a parody of itself. The tune, if sung by a mortal voice, would be considered happy...if not joyous but for the sounds of screams, supernovas, and howling winds that made up his voice made it impossible to hear any joy in the song.
-
At her hide-away, Vuranin sat on the middle of her floor, and closed her eyes as she expanded her vision from what was in front of her, to all that was around her. She then expanded it to include the Capital Sphere before starting her scan. A single line started from where she was at, then went 'east' to scan for anyone from the 'dimension of light', and located one individual whos location was just before the start of her scan. She 'zoomed' on the figure, and was able to make out a hyena shell housing one of her kind. She was going to get a better look, but then her vision and senses were disrupted at a sudden screech and the sight of what she remembered as the infamous "Nero's eye". She suddenly felt her upper body fall to the floor but stopped it as her staggered breathing told her how much of a shock she got from being 'spotted'.
Of all the entities to jump the gun on Everflame, it had to be him...
-
Yu-Razul breathed in deep before answering. He hoped they weren't going to kill him, to many people wanted him dead or saw him as a villain already.
"Indeed i am. If your going to kill me though please either be quick or give me a fighting chance. If not how may i be of Service?" Yu-Razul looked at the men, trying to read them. He took in another deep breath igniting his fire, in case he needed a good way to cover his next move. Hopefully it wouldnt be neccesary.
-
The guard let go of Annie, brusquely shoving her back towards the ICU door "You should know better, I thought you Explorators where supposed to keep a cool head... Next time it happens i'l personally make sure your demoted, sir..." The guards pulled Reggie away, leaving Annie to collapse back against the wall, letting her head hit the cold steel with a muffled thud... Everything had gone wrong...
Back in the ICU, Blaze had been put under general anaesthetic, leaving Tess with only RUST-E or a nurse to speak to. She looked down at the droid, patting his metallic head "C'mon, you can come out now... They aint fighting no more..." With a faint beep and a whistle of embarrassment, RUST-E whirred out from under the bed. His head swivelled a full 180 to face the peacefully sleeping Blaze, he gave a happy little chirrup. Tess smirked, nodding "Yeah, he's gonna be fine alright..."
-
"You sure know how to charm a girl," Tabby said, as she slipped on the jacket, and spun around to model it for him. She took his hand and they went down the stairs together, greeted in the smartly decorated dining room, by Kateri, Vix, and large bowls of rice, chicken and salad, with two plates on either side of the dining table. A large window looked out over the sphere, letting UV light in over the dining table.
"Help yourself to food," Kateri said, as Tabby and Chronin sat down on one side, with 'the parents' opposite. "So tell me Chronin," Kateri said with the most genial smile. "How did you find this fine woman?"
The officer straightened his clothes. "We're not sure yet, but there's a transport cage that can take you. It's uses plasma but then that's apparently useless." He grumbled under his breath, and pressed his hands behind his back. "You'll be taken to a ship that will transport you off the sphere and into a secure location."
Leia took Leo's hand, holding it tight, and walked away from the group, with sound of dreadful songs in her head.
"I need to find some people... I need to find them and he'll be nice to me. He won't hurt me, and he can hurt me, he will hurt me." She shook fierce, and gripped hold of Leo's paw. "We need to find Howl and Seeker... do you have security clearance? We need it, or we have to bypass it to get the information. They track everything. Security know where they are."
One of the gunmen looked back up to the maintenance hatch.
"It's him!" he yelled.
"Alright, bring him up." A strong, heavy female voice spoke back, and the men nodded.
"You're under arrest for vigilantism. Come out with your hands clear in front of you. You're coming with us."
Reggie shoved and pulled at the guards as they frog-marched him out through the doors. David walked out into the corridor, and crouched down in front of Annie.
"Congratulations. Nobody's ever stopped him when he's in full on rage mode, but honestly you probably should have stayed out of it. This isn't the first time cops have beat the living daylights out of him. Sometimes I think he enjoys it." He gave a smirk and a chuckle, then noticed her expression, and coughed away the laughter. "Sorry, but the thing is, he's not important enough to get ruin your life over."
-
Leo flicked his ears trying to follow her bizzare comments. Seeing how she held a tight grip on his hand he didn't really have much of a choice to follow along "Whos trying to hurt you? Your not even makeing since now!"
"Se...Security Clearence? Yes, to some degree... But hounestly I think that varies... grately" he said, unsure of who Howl and Seeker was supposed to be. "
-
Chrono held a piece of chicken that was seemingly packed in rice, and wrapped around with a lettuce leaf. He slipped the enitre piece into his mouth and chewed it up so he could have a moment to think of his answer. "I met her shortly after your order to increase security, we spent some time in the sparring room while Squad D got ready for evaluation. Besides, not my fault that all the women I've gone to war with are either dead or perfer other women."
-
Annie looked up at David, giving a deep sigh "Yeah... Why not?" She let her head thud against the steel wall again, staring up at the flickering florescent light set into the ceiling "He's... He's a sweet, obviously caring guy... Stuff like this shouldnt have to happen to him, losing his parents, now losing Jaack..."
She looked back down to David, a single tear rolling down her cheek "When i lost... The guy I loved... What i woulda done to have somebody at my side..." She pushed herself to her feet, wiping the tear away hurriedly as she turned back to the ICU door "Give me one good reason, why i cant be the person at his side for him..."
-
"Well," Leia said, heading off with a purposeful walk to nowhere in particular. "He said they were ambassadors... We need top top security... to find anyone, everyone. We need the highest." She paused for a second, then pointed at Leo. "That woman! That woman on the phone. Her name, what was it? Spateri? Kateri? Oh I can't think! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" She gripped her head with her free hand, with claws digging in.
"Oh so you're part of security?" Kateri chirped high and bright, while Tabby shrunk and squirmed in her seat.
"Not exactly," she replied, and took another bite of chicken. Vix let out an old breathy giggle.
"Oh she's certainly not that," she tittered. Tabby winced and spoke up.
"Err, no I'm more of a freelancer... A bounty hunter." She beamed a wide smile, trying to lift the rapidly falling mood.
"A bounty hunter?" Kateri lost her chirpiness, though tried to smile with a frosty stare. "I see." She turned to Chronin. "So you met this... freelancer this morning, and liked her so much that you decided to show her your room?"
David stood up with Annie, and rubbed his bald, scaley head.
"Everyone's had problems in their life. The issue is how we deal with that." He walked to her side, and put an arm on her shoulder. "He is simply no good at dealing with life's problems. He gets angry, and he hurts people. The worse the problem, the longer he'll be like that. Trust me, he's not done trashing the place just yet, and without Jaack to calm him down, it could take years to get over it."
-
Nero raised an eyebrow at the officer. "Secure location? Hmph....I dont think you quite understand what I meant." Taking a moment to crack his knuckles and neck, Nero looked around at the street around him. "I am not leaving this station until I'm finished here...I'll be no danger to anyone as long as my needs are served but if you try to take me off the Sphere then I'll have no choice but to start hurting people. Understand?"
-
The officer eyed Nero up, and folded his arms.
"Is this a hostage situation?" He pulled his communicator from his pocket, ready to call whoever he needed.
-
"I dont have that kind of security clearance" Leo reached out placeing a his free hand on her shoulder to comfort her "Its ok...The head of security? I belive you got it correct the second time... Kaetri, dont beat yourself up... or claw yourself." Leo said in careing tone.
"But... at the moment I dont know where she is."
-
Chrono fumbled with his talons before explaining why only a day made them this close. "The gangs of Captial Sphere had attacked me "en masse" during my patrol, she was basically the only one who didn't run away or cower in fear. She wasn't hired to protect me and only volunteered to help me." He took a breath, and then his hair raised up as he addressed the two in front of him. "Gran and Autnie, if I did not have an honest care for an honest relationship, you would never have even known I had even met her. Now it would have been a slowly building relationship, but only a few hours ago I was just indoctrinated to Black Ops based on one mission. If you want to comment on my taste in women, then give me more than just one day to get to know her!" Gran quickly turned to Auntie and mouthed 'one mission?!' as Chronin waited for her defense.
-
"Hm...you could put it that way. I already have control of a few of the people around you. It would be a shame if their families never saw them again." Nero sat back down in his cage. "Now...normally I'd doubt you'd make deals with hostage takers, but seeing as you have no idea who is under my control and cannot possibly harm me, I have the feeling that you'll make an exception."
-
"A cage? That wont be neccesary i will go peacefully. If your not going to kill me, at least not yet, at least let me enjoy somewhere... less uncomforatabe." Spoke Yu-Razul hoping for a less difficult hard place to be stuck behind. He began to study the marines that stood before him and became curious.
"May i also ask why i'm being picked up, and who sent you?"
-
Annie sighed again, allowing David to put his arm around her shoulder. They walked into the ICU, to see Blaze asleep, while Tess sat on the side of his bed in deep discussion with RUST-E. Or at least, as deep a discussion as you can get with a droid.
Tess looked up as they walked in, jumping down off the bed and giving a ridiculously wide smile "Mornin' Miss Yantova... RUST-E n' me think Blaze's gonna be a-okay... dun we Rusty?" The droid whirred up to her side, cocking his head to one side as he looked up at David and giving an affirmative beep. He looked from Annie to David, bright blue 'eye' focussing on each in turn, before giving a little whistle, followed by a series of beeps.
Tess frowned, kicking him to one side with her steel-toe boot "Excuse 'is language Miss... I still 'avnt replaced that inhibitor chip in 'im..." Annie couldnt help but give a slight smirk, despite herself. Watching as RUST-E now tried to get back around Tess, thwarted by her sticking her foot out every time he tried...
Reggie was bustled and shoved all the way into a small holding cell. A steel door slid closed behind him, leaving him alone in a cell with padded walls. One wall was thick magno-glass, behind which a grim-faced officer stood, watching him closely. A small intercom set somewhere into the ceiling buzzed into life, the slightest moment of lag noticeable between the time the officer spoke, and when it was heard in the cell "State your name, and affiliation with the Mechanicus, anything you say WILL be used against you in court..."
-
Leia dragged her claws down the back of her head, taking some fur with them. She grabbed Leo's collar and pushed her head into his chest, shutting her eyes, hiding herself into him.
"Please, please... please you've got to help me. We've got to try.... We need to find her. Please, have you got any ideas of who might know? Higher up officers? Anyone?"
Kateri rolled her eyes, and dropped her cuttlery onto her plate.
"It wasn't after just one mission. I'm your aunt, I know you better than anyone and I know that nobody helped to get where you are! They need a veteran soldier who is good with technology, do you know anyone like that? Because apparently I'm just picking people at random!" She held her arms and looked away at the walls, frustration building in her face. "Unlike you and this girl," she said, glancing at Tabby who was rapidly shrinking into her seat. "I know who you are, and what you're capable of, and I thought this would be a great opportunity for you." She stood up, taking her plate with her to the kitchen. Just before she got to the door, she turned. "Don't insult me, Chronin... and don't insult yourself with girls like that." As she left, Tabby gave a silent whistle, and shifted her seat closer to Chronin.
"Well... I've had worse receptions," she whispered, while Vix giggled into her rice.
The officer put the communicator to his ear.
"Primary, cancel that transport, and corden off this area indefinitely. We have an ill-judged hostage situation going on." He pressed a button and put it back into his pocket. He scratched his cheek, as he thought of what to say. "You know... this won't gain anything. The Everflame is too important to be just tossed over to you. You're going to have to wait for due process just like your friends."
"You're being picked up because you're a vigilante." Said one of them, staring at him with blak goggles. "We respond to the orders of Internal Justice, and they have found evidence of your guilt. You will be held in the comfort that all sentient beings deserve at the least, something that you would not offer your victims. There you will be tried in a court and proven either guilty or innocent." The one that had been silent tapped his gun against the wall.
"Now come on out, so we can arrest you."
David gave a bemused look to the robot, then plastered a warm yet condescending smile on himself.
"So, how's the criminal justice system here? Also, where can we get parts for the ship?"
Reggie paced around the cell, back and forth, around and around, growling to himself, until he officer spoke. He paused and glared at him.
"Reginald S. Mongoste. I have no affiliation with this hell hole except by being the boyfriend of one of your scavengers, and how about you use this in court?" He stepped close to the glass, and his breath spread across it. "I came here to with my best friend, and I'm gonna leave here without him, because you and your useless doctors couldn't do a damn thing to help him except run around and shout!" He slammed his head against the glass, over and over, starting to bleed.
-
Chronin's hair was all the way up, but he just sat there, waiting to go off. He slowly got out of his seat, and punched a a hole through the wall that jaSON fixed after he pulled his fist back. He went up to his room and closed the door before pulling out his comm, not expecting her to pick up at all, but leaving a delayed message for when her frustration is hopefully gone. "My parents made their relationship work, what makes me any different?" He ended the call and went back downstairs with his armor on, and his hair went down when he said his good-bye to Granny Vix and walked out with Tabby. "I think I liked it better when nobody cared what I did as long as I got results..."
-
Once again Leo wrapped his arms around her, and tried to remember some officers who may know her, that he's met at the lab "Dohitri, Jack, Nohrman, Jacob, Newman," he recited before looking up thoughtfully trying to to remember the other one. "I do belive, there was a dragon that's real close to her... that I heard of, his name excapes me"
-
"Why is it everyone either wants to kill me or arrest me. There was no law on that planet, murderers and rapists kept getting away with what they did. So i did what i needed to do, i saved as many people as i could. Also i dont much like the idea of being arrested for helping people. Let me talk to your commanding officer, i know my rights." Yu-Razul was about to lose it, they were going to arrest him, not they had the wronge man. All he'd ever done is help people, someone was setting him up. The fire within him was reaching its peaking point he'd have to decide what to do with it soon.
-
Tess raised her eyebrows, looking from David to the still cracked ICU window "I'm guessin' that was your guy then..." She shook her head, frowning "The guys screwed... Justice system? There is no justice here...." Her frown disappeared as she nodded to Annie, winking "But so long as you got friends in high places here... You just about safe bro... Saved me from a couple o' nicks didn' ya Miss Yantova..."
Annie sighed "Yes, but that was for you stealing a spare central processor for RUST-E... Not quite the same as damaging Mechanicus property..."She turned to David, shrugging "But she's right... You get the money in the right hands, and from the right people, and anything goes... As for parts, well Tess here can probably find you the best prices... She knows people, or at least knows who to scam..."
Tess waved to David at her mention, looking rather smug with herself. Beside her RUST-E gave a whistle of exasperation, and if he had them, he would have rolled his eyes...
As Reggie slammed his head into the glass, the officer jumped to his feet, muffled shouting hear through the thick pane. Suddenly, with a sharp crack and smell of Ozone, the glass electrified. Reggie was hurled back across the cell, as the door slid open again.
A single security guard raised his rifle, and fired a metalic dart into Reggie's neck. As his eyes fluttered closed, the officer walked closer to the glass, talking out of the corner of his mouth to a guard standing beside him "Find out who this scavenger he told us about is... Though i have a suspicion I know her name already..." The guard beside him nodded hurriedly, walking quickly away as the officer continued to watch as Reggie was cuffed....
-
Tabby slipped her small hand into his, and looked up at his solid and serious face.
"So where we going?" She was smiling.
"Find him, get him, we need him." Leia looked up into his eyes, showing her tears flowing without constraint. "What rank is he? Where's his house, his station, where?" She kept pulling at his clothes, gripping and releasing.
"Calm down, Yu-Razul," said the left gunman. "Your rights do not affect the fact that you are under arrest, and that you should put your hands out in front of you and move towards us so we can restrain you." The other man sighed.
"These guns aren't for show, mister."
David folded his arms.
"Well maybe he needs a little time in prison, unless you're gonna buy him out. I can barely afford the engine parts." He thought for a moment, and looked back at Jaack's covered body. "To be honest, I dont think I would take even if you did get him. He can rot here if he has to. I'm not gonna deal with his issues, and fly a ship." He turned and followed Tess with a jog, catching up to her, before looking back at Annie. "If you really want him, he's your responsibiliy, not mine!" He almost had a spring in his step; a weight lifted from him, as he walked in step with the young girl. He looked down to her and talked about his ship; the rattling engine, the whines and the whispers during jumps, the occasional cut outs.
Reggie opened his eyes, and found himself in the same room, or what he thought was that room. Now, however, the window was gone, covered in more padded wall. He tried to get up, and felt his arms stuck, bound to his body. His feet too, were stuck together. Looking down he saw his straight jacket, that spread down his legs, tying himself up like a caterpillar in a cacoon. The only thing free was his head, and his breathing was getting harsh.
-
He looked up at the sky and thought about it for a moment. "To be honest, I am a bit pent up, but I really don't want to knock you up until at least a year into the relationship. Its your call when we get to my place..."
As they walked down the street, one could notice there were a few muggers hiding in the alleys, but none of them dared make a move until Chronin passed by and kept going for two further blocks. He was unaware of the small fry however, since he was contemplating the kind of situation he got himself into. He contemplated telling her to come by the port tomorrow, but she might not even have her own place since shes a mercenary of questionable origin.
-
Looking back into her eyes he began to think for a bit trying to recall the answers for the questions she was asking with no luck. Shakeing his head a bit leo could only respond with a simple and regretful"His station is another two, three blocks from here, but he could be off-duty at this time, other than that, I dont know..."
He pointed in the direction that he mentioned, to were his station was.
-
She frowned at him, and felt his frustration in his walk, forceful and restless. Her frown deepened, and she took a breath, before pulling him to stop, to face her.
"Okay, okay, date's over. You've had a bad day, and I guess I should leave you alone to deal with it." She let go of his hand, and scratched her nose. "I'll see you at the port tomorrow, and I'll join you on this adventure, but the way you're acting now? I'm having doubts about us as a couple." She reached forward and patted his chest. "I only date men, and you're pouting like a teenager." With a swish of her tail, she turned and walked off into an alley.
Leia got a spark of light in her eyes, and beamed a smile. "Good, take me there!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him along in the direction he had pointed, not knowing where to turn, just knowing the answer might be somewhere there. She needed to be free from the song, faster than anything else in the world.
-
Nearly falling over, surprised that she began walking so soon "Theres a smile!" Leo said, he moved his feet a bit quicker untill he was next to her and matched her pace. He began humming along the walk to pass the time seeing how long it might take to get there.
"While we walk could..." he began to think about it and shook the thought off before saying "Nevermind" not wanting her to spontainiously cry once again.
-
"I see, well then it seems you win." Yu-Razul put his hands in front of him, as the man came to place the restraints on him he released his inner flame. The blast engulfed the entire maintenence passage, after the blast Yu-Razul dropped and tumbled behind the flaming guards and pulled his blaster pistol firing at them. He quickly calmed himself and continued to move thorugh the ship. He would gain control of whatever ship they were using to escape. Yu-Razul was now dead, he had to become someone knew.
-
Chronin stood there for a moment, and three options stood before him. His first one would be to follow Tabby and see where she lives, which probably wouldn't go over well. The second would be to head home and just put the frustration behind him like before. Then there was the third option his mother presented of finding out more about what he was, which might improve his mood before he went home.
He made a right at the next block and started following the directions to his mother's hideaway. In only a few minutes he was at the door and he knocked on it lightly, then nutted up and made his knock louder. He was then yanked back a few inches by his hair while his mother stood behind him. "I thought I said tomorrow..." "No, you said 'later'..." she shrugged and let go as they both went inside and Chronin sat down on a chair, only to be pulled back up and pushed against a wall. "You don't get to sit down until you forget about what happened during dinner..." she said firmly to a rather confused Chronin.
"I'll assume you came over to find more about your heritage and not just as a reason to **** around." she stated before sitting down on a recliner in front of him. "We're a loose coalation of powerful beings that reside in a dimension where emotion has a physical presence, like the Everflame but we have more where that one rock came from. We all have our own individual powers, but most of us have the ability to either read the minds, or the motives of those around us. Some of us change form depending on our emotions, you inherited that through your rising and falling hair. However, we all have the ability to take more than one form, and so do you but what is more important is finding your unique power." Her eyes flashed and Chronin felt his mind being pried open as she tried to force him to change to his 'light' form.
"You'll be done changing long before tomorrow, but you won't be leaving this house until you finish resting your new body..."
-
"Due process?" Nero raised his eyebrow at the word. "I don't know what that is but it sounds like it may take a while. I'm willing to wait but if it takes too long I may decide to take it myself. You see...I'm not like my 'friends', as you call them. Of course you already know that." Sighing, he leaned his head in his hand and looked up at the officer tiredly. "I have a feeling that 'due process' will not be a factor in all of this, thankfully."
-
Leia pulled his hand along to grab his arm and hold it to her. "Tell me, tell me now. Anything you have to say, I don't have time for half sentences." Her voice was stronger, calmer, now she was on the right track, until she stopped at a T-junction. "Which way?" She tugged on his arm.
The female voice yelled out somewhere down the ship. "He's making a run for it! Plan B!" There was a beep, a click, then the wall beside Yu-Razul burst open. The flames of the blast sucked out and fading into deep space, dragging all the air out, and pulling the dragon too.
"Why wouldn't it be a factor?" said the officer, hands firmly behind his back, standing tall. "You're waiting until you get the Everflame, and honestly I think you should get it, and so do a lot of important people. You'll get it when we've gone through the procedures for you to have it. So sit tight. It'll only take a couple of weeks."
-
Annie nodded dumbly, watching as David walked away with Tess... "Yeah, i guess your right... wait, what?" She shook her head, taking a double-take at what David had just said. She stood up hurriedly, tail flicking "What kinda friend are you!?" She sighed, realising that neither of them could actually hear her. She sighed, looking back at the sleeping form of Blaze...
The same Dark-furred guard who had restrained her earlier walked into the ICU, quickly walking up to Annie he drew his pistol and magno-cuffs "Miss Yantova? I need you to come with me, if you struggle i will be forced to restrain you... sir..."
Tess walked alongside David, grinning as the conversation turned to ship engineering "Ah, sounds like you gotta problem with the velocity compensator.... Me and Rusty could take a look at it for ya... That might not even need replacin'.... We can take a look over everythin' else while we're at it... Free of charge of course bro.." RUST-E whirred up alongside them, only just keeping up as he zigzagged between peoples legs....
-
Leo nods to the left a bit "We need to take a left" leading her in the direction he just pointed." Looking over to her he decided to repeat the question he was going to ask earlier "What got you so scared? I've never really seen anyone... scared to the point of tears." as they were walking another road came up makeing a turn there then said "The station is just ahead"
-
As Yu-Razul was sucked out he breathed outwords, getting all the air aout of his body. Digging his claws into the metal he began to climb across the surface to the airlock at the top of the ship. Just before he reached it he saw the other ship. That was his way out. He launched himself through space to the shi grabbing onto the landing gear he climbed to an emercency hatch and opened it. He clrawled in and closed it up. He took a deep breath of air and readied his weapons and flame. He had nearly died, but he had to much to live for.
-
Kitt's reflexes shot him out to the side, causing the would be assailant to land on bare ground. 'What were those?' Kitt asked himself registering only a quick glance before moving against his enemy. Using his robotic limbs to propell himself at full speed, Kitt came in low and hard. Designing his rush so that if he missed his mark his momentum would carry him out of striking distance, but if he hit all of his momentum would transfer to the strike. Causing it to be more devastating than a punch alone would have. A fighting technique that he had learned from fighting larger opponents than himself.
-
About half an hour into the treatment was when Chronin started to show signs of changing when his eyes started to glow from within. Vuranin reached out while still reclining in her seat, and spread her fingers out just as the same glow came out of Chronin's mouth. She could only guess what would happen as this was where the individual would take on a form entirely their own, as she had seen when Howl and Seeker had become 'denizens of light'. Locks of Chronin's hair started to literally harden and turn into a crystaline luster, and his teeth also took the same look, but not the same color. His power was also manifesting as furniture started to gravitate towards him at an exponential speed.
Vuranin however, stopped the furniture from moving any further by relaxing her 'hold' on Chronin. The only difference being, was that the furniture was no longer threantening to crush him while he suffered the intense, but initial, pain of having his molecules re-arrange into new positions on his body.
-
Reggie shifted along the floor, up against the corner of the tiny room. Slowly he managed to sit up against the wall, allowing him to move his arms just a little easier. His fingers gripped his body, and as he tried to move about, he could feel how tight he had been bound. His clothes were gone, to remove almost all wriggle room. His fingers gripped and pulled along his fur, climbing up his body, getting his hands almost to his front before there was no more give. He growled hard and made a series of feral barks as he tried to shift and pull in vain. He looked down, then bit at the restraints, pulling at them with his teeth.
David gave a suspicious little glance at the girl and her toy, then walking with her over to the ship.
"Go take a look." he said, not taking his eyes of her for a second.
As Leo asked the question, Leia moved faster, stepping hard and quick, pulling him along. "He's in my head. That hyena. I can hear his song, and it hurts." She closed her eyes, shaking her head trying to get rid of the noise, walking faster. "I can't stop him, I have to obey, he says I'm a good girl if I obey." They reach the station, and she keeps walking, eyes closed, head shaking, tail puffed.
"Are they in place to catch him?" The serval leaned on his subordinates chair, staring through the viewscreen at the lifeless merc ship. Another ship, bright and covered in wing like modules floated beside it.
"Looks like," said the dingo in the chair. He tapped on his ear, activating comms. "Detonate when ready." There was a pause, the cat getting more and more excited, leaning further forward. Then, the blast. Flames shot out and disappeared in space, and along with it, debris and air blasted towards the second ship.
"Did they get him?"
"I don't think so." The dingo squinted at the screen. "Nope, he's clinging to the hull." The serval stood a little straighter, and tilted his head.
"How long can he survive in space? Two minutes?"
"Yeah that's the average." They watched as the dragon crawled onto the top of the ship. "I bet you ten slips that he misses," the dingo said, leaning back in his chair.
"Pffft," the cat rolled his eyes. "If you saw his record, you would not be making that bet. But sure, I'll have your money." They shook hands, and the dingo pressed a finger into his ear again.
"Security teams, he's coming to us, get to the hatches." They both watched as the dragon prepped himself. The serval practically bouncing with excitement.
"Oh... oh... he's jumping!" The cat almost jumped with him, as they watched the dragon soar through space.
"Miss, miss, miss, miss,"
"Catch, catch, catch, YES!" The cat cheered and punched the air, while the dingo groaned, hanging his head as he reached into his pocket, and pulled out the his wallet, filled with local cash, and handing it over. The cat grinned as he pinched some notes. "I love taking your money."
"Well then we should celebrate your win by buying me a meal." The dingo still had his head down low, but looked up with a sly smile, making the serval whack him in the shoulder.
The hatch closed with a hiss behind Yu-Razul, as he climbed up and faced the only door. There was a shot, muted, and high pitched. Taser rounds shot out at his back.
The opponent pressed against the, shooting off four more models before launching himself away, planting some more on the wall. As the punch came flying in, he pressed himself back against the wall, took aim with his arms, and an emitter curled out of the forearm, letting loose kinetic waves. More and more, slowing Kitt down. He pointed an arm at the ground, aimed the kinetic blaster, and launched himself high over Kitt. He fired off more modules, putting some on each surface of the room.
-
Annie stood beside the security officer, a gruff tiger who leant against the computer monitor on which was a grainy image of Reggie pulling at his restraints. He raised an eyebrow, tapping the screen "You know him then Yantova?"
Annie nodded, watching the image as it blurred slightly, before regaining focus. The officer sighed, a rumbling growl of a sound as he hit the screen off button "The names Rex Grawn... Head of security here at bay 35..." He paused, pointing to the now blank monitor "And your boyfriend has just broken code 362 of the Mechanicus Decree..."
Annie frowned, crossing her arms defensively "He's not my... boyfriend, sir... And he isnt even part of the Mechanicus, ask him yourself... or check the databases. He's never set foot on this ship before..." Officer Grawn growled again, thumping the monitor case with a clenched fist "Ignorance is no excuse Yantova! You know as well as I, that as soon as you enter Mechanicus air-space, you abide by Mechanicus laws!" He unclenched his fist, glaring at the now cracked screen. A security personnel carried the now broken equipment away, tch-ing under his breath as he did so.
Annie sighed, as the office door closed again "Sir... His friend died today, maybe you could let up on him... for me, just this once?" She set down a thin metal card onto the office desk, on it was printed a large 2000, along with the Mechanicus corporate logo. Officer Grawn looked down at the credits, watching as Annie kept them hidden under one paw, and sighed in return. He walked over to the other side of the office, and twisted the security camera there around so it faced the wall... He walked back, pocketing the money "Mechanicus help me Yantova... You are the mother of all loose cannons..."
Tess bounded up to David's ship, nocking deftly on one of the hull panels. She muttered under her breath as she worked, pulling out a magno-spanner "Should be a mark 2 set-up hull... So we just get this here... And here..." After a moment of work, the entire hull panel fell away on a large hinge that was concealed on the inside of the ship. It was lined with yellow and black striped tape, and a thick layer of grime and dust.
Tess clambered in, regardless of the dripping oil, leaving RUST-E to wait outside beside David. The droid whirred, cocking his head slightly to get a better view of him. He whistled, followed by a sharp beep, before turning back to the open service hatch. The dark silhouette of Tess could be seen inside, as she fumbled about "Rusty! Light please..." The droid whistled a short reply, a bright halogen-light illuminating the inside of the ship...
-
Yuranin released her hold when his transformation finished, and took a moment to behold her son's "true form". His clothes had become part of his body, while fragments of wood, concrete, and pottery orbited about. The glow of his eyes had turned crimson and were now smoldering. His clothes had also been infused with the same material that allows his mother to survive a crash at the speed of light. But, this was entirely lost on him as he was angry from the pain of the change. But as the pain went away, the crystal hair cracked open like a candy coating to let his literally radiant mane fall down along his face that had now taken a more feral countenance. His scales was of the same material as his mother, but his coat was made of even stronger material that had grown spikes on the shoulder and elbows. His gun, that he surprisingly had on him ever since he left the house, had looked brand-new and was probably much more powerful than it had ever been or could be. Yet he quickly lost consiousness as the change not only pained him but took out all the energy he originaly ment to use on Tabby. So, he took a few steps and his mother got up just in time to catch him as he fell on her, unkowning of her soft smile when she saw him change back to his 'normal form'.
It would almost be worth it to delay the 'due process' if this is what my son could become when he comes home. she mused before laying him down on the couch, and pulling her recliner over to watch him and starting to forget that her son is no longer a child since he slept so soundly.
-
Leo had to plant his feet to stop her from over shooting the station door. Holding her to him "Wait, the same biohazard of Hyena?! This song... What does it sound like? Could you hum it out? That's if it's to much to ask for..."
-
Nero tapped the side of his nose. "Now, now...that would be telling. I've said too much already. If you'll excuse me, I've been awake since I came into this dimension." Closing his eyes, he seemed to drift into sleep.
Meanwhile, Nero slipped himself fully into Leia's mind. ....InquisitivE LittlE InsecT, Isn'T HE....TheN AgaiN HE IS A ScientisT....VerY WelL....HE WantS TO HeaR MY SonG....TheN We'lL ShoW HiM... The melody slipped out of Leia's mouth...but it wasn't her voice. The song shattered the glass around them and seemed to claw at the metal of the Sphere. Leo could feel the music pulling at every part of his body as if his body were trying to rend itself apart, piece by piece. Leia's eyes turned black as the song played itself through. Leia/Nero turned their head to Leo, still humming. "DO NoT SeeK ThingS YoU DO NoT UnderstanD, CockroacH....TheY OfteN EnD BadlY FoR ThE SeekeR....YoU ArE FortunatE ThaT YoU ShoulD HeaR ThE SonG OF ThE VoiD OutsidE OF ItS TheateR...."
As quickly as it came, the song passed. Leia's eyes reverted back to their true color, leaving her worse off than before.
Leia was back in full control....for now.
-
Reggie bit, chewed and gnawed, pulling at the restraints, stopping to pant for half a minute, before chewing and struggling again.
David leaned and peered through the ship, watching her clamber through in darkness, then watching her lit up by her robot friend.
"Hey, kid, don't go breaking anything okay. You'll have to pay for it... and don't steal anything." He moved his head inside the ship, keeping an eye on her as she worked, with her tail swishing about among the machinery. "And don't get your fur everywhere!"
Leia stumbled, falling against Leo, grabbing him to hold onto as her legs lost her strength, and she burst out into wailing tears.
-
Listening to the song, his tail imediatly straightened out fluffing in fear as he heard the song, his eyes widen as he saw the glass breaking along with the metal warping. He heard a loud ring comeing from his ear followed by a painful popping noise signaling his right eardrum blew, followed by a stream of blood trecking from it, dyeing the hair that it touched to a crimson tone. To scared to cover his ear by instinct, or to even move. He could only think "What... the... hell" through the whole ordeal.
Leo had to force himself to move to catch her as she fell on him, forceing himself to calm down but to no avail. He couldn't say anything after that.
-
Yu-Razul fell to the ground and lost consciousness. His body convulsed as the electricity began to fry him slightly. His mind became addled and his memories went dark.
He awoke several hours later, with no memory of where he was or who he was. Everything felt disconnected and distant, his body felt like someone elses. Yu-Razul walked to the cell door and looked out the small slit to see several gaurds and a small squad walking towards his cell. He ran to the far end trying to find a place to hide, but the room was almost entirly empty. He turned to await those who'd captured him.
-
The door to Reggie's cell slid open, and a single guard walked in, a young lynx. He cleared his throat, glancing up at the corner where he knew the fish-eye camera was located "Officer Grawn has instigated your release, on behalf of his own generosity. He would like to ask that you refrain from damaging Mechanicus property once released..."
The lynx stepped forward,stopping mid-step "Oh... and he would like you to know that it only due to a friends own generosity, that you are being released without trial... He said you would know what that means..."
From behind the young guard, Annie stepped into the cell as well. She looked down at Reggie, before looking away hurriedly. Her tail swished behind her, as the young lynx walked uncertainly over to unbind the large fox.
Tess looked up at David, a screwdriver in her mouth and two ends of wire in each paw "Wha' 'goo 'ean don' b'ake 'nythin?" She spat the screwdriver out, shaking her fringe out of her eyes as it clattered onto the steel flooring "Look dude, I've fixed more ships that you've 'et hot dinners..."
She twisted the two wires together, picking the screwdriver up against and screwing back on a large steel panel "Plus, your a friend o' miss Yantova... That means no stealin'..." She winked, tail swishing behind her as she crawled slightly further into the ship...
-
Leia trembled against him, her words turned to whimpers.
"You see?.... I have to..." Then, they both collapsed into a heap, slumped against the wall of the station.
The footsteps of the squad came up to the door, and a panel opened, showing a serval's face, peaking through.
"Yo," he said. "We've arrived at the base, so clean yourself up. We've got some presentable clothes, because you're going to meet the judge today, okay?" He moved away from the panel, and pushed a package through. It flopped onto the floor, crinkling in its cover. The face came back. "You've got ten minutes, and don't try to escape; that won't look good to the judge."
Reggie growled at the lynx, until he spoke. He saw Annie walk in, and soon he was calm, resting against the wall as the guard unbound him. Once free, he stretched out, bending and curling in every position, free from the binding. All throughout, he watched Annie who had turned to face the door. He walked up behind, and brought his muscled arms around her, holding her close.
"Thankyou," he murmured. "Now could you get me some clothes?"
David folded his arms, grumbling, and giving sidewards glances at the little droid.
"Well I hope you know what you're doing in there." His tongue flicked out, tasting the air as people milled around their own ships in the big hangar. "Do you think you can fix it?"
-
The next day on Capital Sphere...
Chronin woke up feeling like he just went to bed with Tabby, however he achieved the opposite feeling when he made his first step towards his first face-plant of the day. He started to regain his senses just in time to hear his mother laughing and hopefully not pointing. She had only came over to wake him up and get him to breakfast, but she managed to walk in just in time to see her son get up and fall down in one comedically fluid motion. He started to regain control of his arms, and made full advantage of her self-distraction by yanking her left foot out and seeing her fall on her back with a scream of her own.
"I thought my mother would be more concerned at my sudden fall than laugh!!"
"Yes, I'm aboslutely cruel for laughing at you when you face-plant your first step out of bed!!" Chronin pointed an accusing talon at her while his face was still on the ground.
"Aha, so you admit it!!"
"I also admit that, the only thing I regret is not having your father's camera to show your Tabitha the kind of man she likes!!" She takes a few calming breaths in an attempt to stop laughing.
"Oh~, that was a good start to the day." she mumbled before getting Chronin up and over to the dinner table for breakfast since he currently could not move...
-
Yu-Razul looked dazed, a judge? He went to the package and opened it, within was a set of black, gold, and blue slacks and shirt customized for dragons. He put them on and found them comfortable. Indeed it made him look nice but they were probably only for this one occasion. He looked down trying to remember anything, but nothing came to mind. He truely was lost, and he didnt know what he could do.
-
Annie blushed, still facing the other way as Reggie embraced her "Hmn... I could do that... Or maybe you'd enjoy walking around the carrier naked?" She looked over her shoulder at him, smirking childishly. The young lynx guard was still standing in the cell, unable to get out of the door due to the impromptu fox-hug.
He coughed lightly, trying to get their attention "Officer Grawn didnt say anything about your clothing, I assume it is still impounded, or incinerated... I can try and get you a spare set of Mechanicus overalls though..." He watched Reggie and Annie, doing his best not to appear embarrassed or awkward with the situation...
RUST-E whirred slightly closer to David, leaning back to a point where he was almost toppling over to get a look at him. His bright blue eye focused and re-focused, whirring quietly. He gave a content whistle followed by a beep, satisfied with whatever he had been doing. In the ship, there was a bright blue flash of sparks, a smell of burnt fur and a loud "Ow! Do Riti!"
The small droid backed away hurriedly from David, bright halogen light turning back on to illuminate Tess, now sucking her thumb beside a maze of electrics and cabling. RUST-E gave a sheepish whistle as Tess clambered back out of the ship "Well... I think i found the problem..." She wiped her paws with an oily cloth distractedly as she talked "Your central inertia compensator is completely fried.... Probably needs to be completely replaced that does... Your lucky it hasnt blown out during a jump yet buddy..."
-
Leo woke up groaning from the worse headache of his life. He placed a paw over his right ear feeling the dried blood in his hair. His ear was no longer reading, just blocked. He carefully inserted a finger to dig out the dried blood thats irritateing it and flicked his ear violently before noticeing his glasses are now broken. Takeing off the specs he thought "What a night" as he was putting them away. He looked back down to Leia, who was still asleep against him and wrapped the arm he was useing around her letting out a yawn as he lowered his chin on her shoulder.
-
There were two knocks on the door of the dragon's cell.
"Alright," said a new voice, darker, harsher than the first. "You're up. Come with us." There was a clunk, then the door eased open, showing a two twin leopards. They stood apart, leaving a gap for Yu-Razul to walk through.
Reggie looked down at Annie, shaking his head.
"Maybe you'd enjoy that, but I wouldn't," he said, with a growing grin. As the guard coughed, Reggie looked back. "Oh you didn't burn my clothes, did you? You bugger! Those cost a lot!" He whacked his own thigh. "Flipping heck." He felt his anger growing again, building on the previous feelings, but he stopped, and bit his tongue. "Fine, get my some overalls. I hope you've got my size."
David gave unsure looks at the little droid, and stepped a bit away, but still keeping in sight of Tess, until the light flashed. He jumped forward and put his head inside to take a look.
"What did you break?" he said. Then as she spoke, a frown sat on his face. He kicked his ship, making a tung of a noise. "Stupid thing." He glances over at the fried vixen. "So how much would a replacement cost?"
Leia whimpered and yelped in her sleep, twitching in her nightmares. She grabbed hold of Leo's hand, and her eyes shot open, feeling him against her. She screamed, and scrambled away against the building, covering her eyes and crying in fear. A wolf police officer charged round the corner.
"What happened? What did you do?" He yelled, pointing a truncheon at Leo.
-
Leo held up his hands not wanting to cause any problems and staying seated were he was not knowing how jumpy the officer was. He began to think not knowing exactly how to explain this. "Officer the girl is haveing some hard times and woke up from a nightmare. We both fell unconscious from a very loud sound that did the damage around this area, or at least the sound knocked me out..." he groaned holding onto his head to ease some of the pain before looking back up not sure exactly how believable the explanation was he gave the cop and hoped for Leia to vouch for him.
-
"Yeah we know about the niose," said the officer, as he put the his truncheon away. "We're still not sure what it came from." He glanced over at the girl. "Is she alright. Does she need any help?"
-
Seeing that the officer no longer accused him of anything, Leo decided to standup before looking over to Leia "Shes... haveing some nightmares, that's been bothering her. But she's looking for someone actualy. Do you by chance no were Kaetri is... the head of security? Or a black dragon on the force?"
Looking over to the officer he then added promptly "And yes, its a bit important"
-
YU-Razul walked forwards moving between the leopards. He knew that somewhere within his memories were his answers, and that he must have done something terrible. The question for his now was what was to be his fate. As the leopard grabbed his right arm it burned a bit, he had grabbed a charred piece if scaley flesh. Yu-Razul held back a yelp of pain and readied himself for his judgement.
-
Annie pulled out of Reggie's embrace, walking right up to the young lynx. He took a hasty step back as she smiled, sharp white teeth flashing as she leant close to him "Look kid... You go find my boyfriends clothes, and you'd better find them, or else i'm going to tear out and... eat.... your.... throat..." She laid severe emphasis on the last three words, jabbing a claw into his chest as she spoke.
She tussled his hair, smiling devilishly and nodded her head towards the open cell door "C'mon... Shoo!" The young lynx nodded hurriedly, clutching the straight-jacket he held tightly as she skirted past the two foxes. Annie smirked, looking back to Reggie "I know him... And i would never eat his throat... too stringy..."
Tess gave sucked in a deep breath, like a strange inward whistle. The general sign for all engineer across the entire universe that somthing was going to cost a pretty penny... "Weeell... To find one compatible with this ship... At this time of year...." She turned away from David, waving to someone across the huge carrier and shouted over the crowds of engineers and pilots "OY! Jakers! What price you put on a Inertia compensator for a series two freighter!?"
A wolf looked up from unloading crates off a small ship, shrugging and shouting back equally loudly "Dunno Tess!.... Give or take a coupla thousan' credits?" Tess flicked her tail twice, looking back to David "I reckon' i can get it cheaper n' that for you... I'l see what i can find... But thankfully it looks like that is really the biggest problem with your ship 'ere... It would account for the jump problems and engine cut-outs..." RUST-E gave a little beep, followed by the mechanical nod of his head.
-
The wolf officer gave curious glance at Leo. "It would have to be pretty important to talk to them."
"Everflame!" yelled Leia. "Howl and Seeker, it's about them... and that." She crawled on all fours, as though standing up would be too hard. "Tell her, she'll know." The officer tilted his head at her, then nodded and headed off back into the station. A little while later, a car pulled up beside them, a lioness growling in the drivers seat.
"Get inside." The rear door opened towards them.
One of the leopards gave a sidewards glance as Yu-Razul winced, but carried on pulling him along through a door, then along a straight stone corridor, with a low arched ceiling. Orbs of light were place along the middle of that arch. At the end an ornate wooden door with lavish fabrics decorating, opened up to a large circular hall. A long and low table curled in a ring around the room, and at the opposite end, a harpy eagle, lavished in elaborate furs, feathers and beads, sat on a cushion, with plates of food displayed in front of her. She took a chunk of meat into her massive beak, snapping as she ate it down. The leopards let go of the dragon, and called out his name.
"Yu-Razul, accused of vigialantism and mass murder." The eagle looked up, her head twitching and tilting as she examined him from across the room.
"Sit," she said. Her voice was soft, like a gossamer cloth, caressing his cheek.
Reggie cocked and eyebrow at Annie, and spread a bemused smirk across him.
"Well... I'm impressed," he said, before he looked down and decided to cover himself. "Yeah, sorry. I don't normally end up naked with someone on a first date." He gave a little laugh, and his smile grew warmer. "Thanks a lot, you're a life saver."
David groaned, and rubbed his eyes.
"Ugh, that's not good." He thought for a moment, eyes clenched shut. "Well... actually..." He tapped Tess on the shoulder. "Do you know where I could sell a bunch of random stuff. I mean, I've lost two passengers so I could sell their stuff to pay for the part, right?"
-
Annie returned the laugh, nervously blushing a little "Well... It certainly makes a change of pace to what would normally happen... Around about now i'd be around fifty credits up on a game of Red-Diamond cards, in the mess hall..." She brushed away his thanks, tail swishing lazily "Its no trouble... I'd do the same for any friend..." She sighed, looking from Reggie up to the ceiling. She hoped he would think she just wanted to give him some privacy, while really she was thinking of David and his idea of 'friendship'...
The young lynx jogged down a long steel corridor, dodging between guards engineers and pilots in a mad rush. In his paws he held a bundle of clothes, and behind him emanated the loud shouts of a very disgruntled officer. He ducked underneath a pane of glass, carried carefully by two engineers. The pair of wolves shouted as he did so, but his short bob-tail had already zipped round the corner out of sight. His training sergeant would have been impressed, after during recruitment he had been the slowest over the obstacle course, and only eighth in full sprint...
Tess looked up, bright eyed at the question "Ooh, clear-out... what you got for sale?" Her tail swished behind her energetically, as she looked past David to the entrance of his ship "Uh, i mean.... Theres a general trader who would buy most stuff off you... Just odds and ends... Other stuff like weaponry and electronics can be sold to the different Mechanicus departments, or directly to the engineers..."
She waggled her eyebrows at the last part, winking happily...
-
Reggie's expression gave a little twitch at the word 'friend'.
"Heh... I assumed we weren't just 'friends'," he said with a shrug. Through the door, yells and echoing footsteps charged towards them, and the lynx burst through, with heaving breaths, carrying the clothes. Reggie's eyes lit up and moved one hand away from himself to grab the clothes. "Aw mate, you're a star, thanks." He turned away so he could use both hands, searching through the clothes and pulling them as fast as he could manage.
David gave a little smirk and snapped his fingers.
"Good, okay. Since you helped me out, you can have first pick of the stuff, and since you know this place, you can be my liaison with the others. Once I have my engine part, you can have a cut of the profits. How does that sound to you?"
-
Leo blinked at the sudden car driveing up "Er... right...". He helped leia back to her feet and helping her in before getting in himself and closeing the door. He was a bit nervous about the "friendly" Lioness in the front seat.
-
Chronin and Yuranin ate their breakfast, then Chronin was finally able to get up without falling to the floor. They both give a farewell hug, but Vuranin holds on longer than Chronin would consider okay as she starts to reminice holding her husband, but was a bit ashamed of herself that she actually felt safer and better in her son's arms rather than her husband's. She forced herself to let go and sat down before she shooed him away with a hand, trying to hold back tears. Chronin left the flat confused, but knew where to go in order to arrive at the port before Tabby.
Yuranin roared into a shriek before breaking down into tears as part of her mind was truly jealous of Tabby for beng one of his top interests. There was also the fact that Chronin would probably reject her on the basis of incest, or the idea that it was his own mother that loved him so.
It just made the ache that much more unbearable...
-
Nero's withered husk of a body laid perfectly still inside the cage...its owner far away from it. Meanwhile, Nero sat comfortably in the cracks and crevices of Leia's mind. AT LasT...NoW WE ArE FinallY GettinG SomewherE...I WoulD PunisH YoU FoR TakinG SO LonG BuT I OfteN ForgeT HoW FragilE YoU WormS ArE...AnD SeeinG AS YouR TardinesS IS MY FaulT I WilL SparE YoU This OncE...
-
Annie looked up at Reggie, frowning slightly at his comment... Her frown was replaced with a smile however, as the young lynx rushed in with his clothes, and a definite smell of ozone and burnt fur... As Reggie turned and started to get dressed, Annie walked over to the lynx, flicking his singed ear "Yeah... I should've warned you that officer Karla has a nasty temper when interrupted, and keeps a blaster pistol in her desk draw at all times..." The lynx winced, rubbing his ear and the now blackened fur... "Thanks for the warning Yantova..."
Tess nodded enthusiastically, tail flicking "Sounds like a sweet deal, I'm in for it..." With that she spat into her oil-stained palm, offering for David to do the same and shake.
-
The lioness eased the car along, simple and smooth like a sunday drive.
"Who are you and what do you know about the ambassadors?" her voice was harsh, but to cars driving past, she put on a face of pleasantries.
"Thankyou," Leia said, as she stared out the window. The Lioness gave a quick glance at the mirror with a confused cocked eyebrow
"For what?"
"What?" Leia jumped at the words, coming back to reality. "Sorry what?" The Lioness sighed and grumbled.
"Who are you?"
Tabby rested a large case onto her back, and walked out of her house, dressed in the same armoured jacket Chronin had given her, with a zip corset t-shirt, slightly undone to show off her cleavage. She also wore black microshorts that clung to her hips, with a large utility belt hanging off, covered in different military equipment, including two pistols, two extra magazines, and a pair of knives. She strolled over to a hired transport, and relaxed in the backseat as it silently carried her along to the port.
Reggie buttoned up his shirt, then turned, displaying his now clothed self. "So what happens now? How's Blaze?"
David motioned for Tess to follow and led her into the ship towards the crew quarters. Jaack's room was locked, but with a quick kick, it buckled and bent, allowing for it to be pulled open.
"Take what you want, but there's a price on everything."
-
Chronin was at a catwalk just above the south-side entrance to the port, and climbed over the railing before digging his claws onto the ground. He waited for there to be nobody on the ground where he would land, and simply let go. In mid-fall he reached behind him and caught onto the sign that dangled a good ten feet above the entrance, and Chronin dropped the rest of the way.
He landed with minimal pains, but realized that he shouldn't be doing such things since it left evidence in the form of rather large claw marks along where he grabbed. However, there was noone there to witness what he performed so he just walked off as nothing happened and made his way over to the ship; he was completely unaware of the transport Tabby was taking, but he also made sure to restrain himself if she decided to wear revealing clothing...
-
Kitt felt his reactions slow from the blast cursing himself for so foolishly rushing in. As his opponent went about his way launching the mysterious orbs into the walls it occurred to Kitt what they may be. 'I'm willing to bet that those are to amplify or produce something similar to that blast!' Kitt thought to himself. Standing upright against the wall where he had come to rest, Kitt plunged his hand into the concrete around one of the orbs and after lining up the shot as carefully as he could, hurled it towards his opponent. With hopes that if they hit it would not only cause damage but effectively be used against the plan his opponent was enacting. For Kitt had noticed that his opponent wasn't paying too much attention to him unless it was to stop an attack. 'He is setting a trap!' Kitt thought to himself. 'I can't get too close or he'll render my limbs next to useless, guess I'm using ranged weapons to try and keep his mind off of laying more of those orbs.' Kitt smiled as a plan crystallized in his mind.
-
The transport hummed to a halt in the port, and the door slid away into the front, allowing Tabby to step out into lights. She reached to her belt, and pulled out a pair of sunglasses, stylish and slim, sliding it onto her nose. She gave a smile and scanned her eyes across the port, before she sauntered with insouciant sway towards the entrance of the ship, tossing her case over to one of the crew. It thudded into his arms making him stumble back and grumble as he carried it over to the other personal effects. She strolled into the ship, and spotted Chronin, standing with his powerful, muscled body. She licked her lips and stretched a smile.
"Hey boy, have you become a man yet?"
Kitts opponent watched beneath his mask, seeing the concrete fly. He set his feet, punching the rock, bursting the module, and sending fragments and rocks shooting off in every direction. If he could see under the mask, Kitt would find a smile, as the modules lit up, and hummed as kinetic force built up around the opponent, lifting him off the ground, hovering in the air. Then, in a flash like a bullet, he shot forward, hurling a fist.
-
He raised an eyebrow at her, and was tempted to make a comment, but held it in as he nodded his head.
"I've gotten over yesterday if thats what you mean, and why must you tempt me with those short shorts?" One of the men that signed up for Black Ops, a tiger, had put a hand on his shoulder to spin him around. But what actually happened was Chronin lifting up his left leg to kick the tiger in the gut before wrenching the hand off and back-spinning his fist right into the tiger's face. The tiger, who is now suffering from a bleeding mouth and minor lacerations to the abdomen, had staggered back in confusion as the tiger's physique was marginally larger than Chronin's.
"Can you keep your hands to yourself, since I have no idea who you are?" Chronin asked as he turned to face the tiger, who only growled before going back into the transport before Chronin wiped the slobber off his hand. He turned back to Tabby with a small look of embarrassment.
"He could have been polite and asked, but he just grabbed my shoulder..." his voice trailed off as he feared her possible retaliation.
-
Annie smiled, looking Reggie up and down "They said Blaze is stable, and just needs some un-interupted rest..." She walked up to him, tail swishing lagnuidly "So... Perhaps we should get some un-interupted rest ourselves... As a first class Explorator, i'm entitled to my own bunk quarters..." She bit her lip tenderly, laying one paw across his chest "So... Whadya say?"
The young lynx scuffed his boot on the steel flooring, looking between the two awkwardly "I'l just... Go.... Yeah...." He backed out of the cell, almost knocking into the very same pair of engineers and pane of glass. The two wolves gave a shout of anger, as the lynx ducked underneath...
Tess followed behind David as they walked through the ship. She flinched as he kicked open the door, but seemed unpreterbed by the prospect of who had previously owned the room or its contents. She nodded, pulling open the door "Sure thing... What i dont want, I'm sure i'l find someone on this carrier that does want it..."
-
Leo looked over to Leia, knowing who she was talking too just not sure about what before looking back to the lioness.
"I'm Dr. Leo Cyrule... Scientist over at burton street and Space Station Oupost 345..." he said rolling his head back wishing for the migrain to leave.
"As far as the ambassadors, I only know of them, because I'm helping out my friend here, who is looking for them."
-
Tabby raised an eyebrow, listening to his excuse, before sighing and shaking her head.
"Yeeaah... real mature." She walked past, flicking her tail across his leg, and looked back just before headed to the passenger quarters. "You're gonna get these short shorts off me in NO time." Her voice jarred with cold sarcasm, and she disappeared through the archway into the quarters.
Reggie gave a little smirk, and slid his arms around Annie's waist, pulling her to him.
"Honestly," he said, his eyes glowing with earnestness. "After all that's happened, having a little company would be nice." He lowered his head, and kissed her lips, slow and soft, before letting go and nodding to the door. "Lead the way."
David leaned against the wall, hearing her step over all the clutter, hearing things crumple and drop, clanging against the metal floor.
"You break it, you pay for it," he said, and leaned around the corner to watch her, just in case. "Hey, when you're finished here, maybe you could go through this other room. Don't worry the lock's been shot off so it's open."
The lioness, was silent for a while, thinking it over as she drove around the block over and over.
"And why are you looking for them?" she asked. Leia trembled.
"Because... he told me too. That... that person, the hyena. If I don't tell him where the ambassadors are, bad things will happen." The lioness stopped the car, and looked back at her.
"The hyena? As in the imprisoned one?" She looked over at Leo. "Is she talking sense?"
-
Leo took a look out the window before looking back to the lioness, nodding a bit "Yes the same locked up hyena. She's not exaderating this, infact I doubt it's even possible" he said pointing to the blood stain in his hair next to his ear. "I really dont know how to explain this without makeing it sound incredibly impossible..." he groaned.
-
Leia could feel Nero's irritation as the car stopped. While his appetite may have been infinite, his patience certainly was not. ...YoU InsectS HavE A BaD HabiT OF ProlonginG ThingS WitH QuestionS....Haven'T TheY HearD ThaT CuriositY KilleD ThE...ER...WhaT DO YoU CalL ThosE AgaiN?...BlasT IT!...NoW I'M DoinG IT!...
-
Chronin was apparently no better off than yesterday, and as he walked in, it was just like when he joined the Elites. Everyone he came across had only heard how hostile and strong he was, which only made things worse as he ended up in a room alone, only to have the same tiger from earlier come back, and apparently not treated for his injury.
"I don't know where you got that power, but I guess you're more normal than they say." the tiger tossed a blade into a trash-bin that he may have brandished when he was grabbing his shoulder.
"They said you had a body that metal couldn't go in, and I bet against it, your reaction had obviously proven the claim false. Now they just keep their eyes off me since I got all bloody, nice back-hand by the way." Chronin tried to hold back a laugh that he turned hostile over a bet between 'expert' soldiers. He opened a pocket next to his ankle and handed a canister, that was half red and half white, to the tiger.
"Nano-meds, good for facial injuries and mild cuts." He said bluntly as he noticed the tiger's puzzled look.
"Oh, thanks... who was that girl you were talking to anyway?"
"She calls herself Tabby, but don't get any ideas, shes a Widow-maker of a cat. She tells me to act like a man, but all I know is being a soldier: attacking first and almost never questioning." The tiger held back a laughter as he could see the image he was given being melted down to a relationship-challenged dragon.
"I may only enough experience to count as a novice swinger, but she probably ment you should be able to be 'stable'. I can tell her that I was about to stab you over a stupid bet, and that you probably could tell that before you even had to look in my hand before beating me up." Chronin thought about it, then shrugged.
"She'll think your lying if you get your face fixed..."
"Just give me a chance, its the least I can do for helping me get a thousand credits richer...." Chronin just let down his head and sighed before nodding. The tiger took the blade out of the trashcan and noticed Tabby was standing at the door, apparently listening to what they were talking about.
"Heres the blade I tried to stab him with, good day." He quickly left the two while applying the medicine Chronin gave him, leaving the two a partial stand-off. He couldn't tell what her emotions were at the moment, but he straightened himself out and looked Tabby right in the eyes.
"You don't have to stand there since I can see you outside the door, Miss Tabitha." She quickly left his sight, then sighed before going into the room and sitting in one of the seats.
"Now, we could either fight it out, or tallk it out, either way. I'm finding out what gives you the right to call me 'boy'." He said as he shot a glance at the door and it slammed shut.
-
"Please!" Leia blurted out. "Please take us to the Kateri woman." The lioness peered closer at the ferret, looking into her eyes. They were paralysed with fear, unable to focus. The lioness nodded.
"Alright, I'll take you to her. Sit tight." She set the car moving again, put it into autodrive and unclipped her seat belt to crawl into the back seats between the two passengers. Leia shrunk back against the seat. "Don't worry, don't worry," said the lioness. "I'm just checking something." She put her hands on the ferret's head, holding her still, and pulling her eyelids back with her thumbs. She put her face close, looking into her dark eyes. There was a colour in them, like lightning being sucked into the black. "What is that?" The lioness murmured.
Tabby stretched, sitting upright on the seat with the blade in her hand, letting out a soft little mew. After dropping her arms onto her lap, she locked a stare with Chronin. Her eyes were deep, and condescencion whispered despite her smile.
"All you know is how to fight, right?" She said, tilting her head. "Even in that twisted family of yours. Even in bed, you thrash and attack, and fear; constantly on edge, constantly defensive, constantly afraid. It's attractive in a toy, but ultimately ugly and undignified." She looked at the blade, running her finger along its edge. "When he 'attacked' you with this, you weren't thinking. You were reacting. You could have pulled your toes back when you kicked him, to avoid the chance of slicing his gut open." She pointed the blade at her stomach, pressing the tip along the zip of her corset. "You didn't have to punch him in the face, you could have used his hand to twist him up, disarm him." She moved the blade up the centre of her corset, to where it opened revealing her cleavage, pressing down against where the zip came together. "You could have held him, asked him questions, but instead, you punched, slashed him, and let him go." She pushed the knife down, undoing her corset, further and further. "You're a ball of fire, and yes that makes me... very... hot. But you're not a man." The corset opened, freeing her body, her dignity covered only by Chronin's old jacket. "You're only good enough for a toy... boy." In one swift move, she slid off her seat, and straddled his lap, pressing against him, with the blade at his throat.
-
Leo gave the lioness a questionable look before looking to Leia. "Let me see..." he said leaning forward looking into Leia's eyes. He noticed the color in her eyes and tilted his head a bit. He reached back raising his vest a bit to grab a flashlight off of his gun holster and turned it on to a very dim setting and held it up pointing away from the ferrets eyes, but close enough to illumiate them so they could get a better look. He soon turned off the light putting the flashlight away and returned to his seat silently.
-
Chronin rolled his eyes back, and started to recall what he felt when his mother did something to him. He put up one finger, and Tabby's hand opened up on its own. As the blade clattered to the floor, Chrono lifted a second finger, and Tabby was up in the air before being put back down on her seat, although she couldn't move a muscle.
"See, now I get where you're coming from. Now unless you think I can be toyed with right now, I have to get set a few rumors straight." He got up and walked out of the room before letting go of the feeling and releasing Tabby from his new-found 'hold'.
Moments later he met up with the Tiger and he took him to the group that apparently started the rumors.
"What is this I'm hearing about me having steel skin, and a taste for sentient flesh?" His reply was one of the men pulling a gun on him. Tabby's words rang through his head, but he didn't raise his hands like someone who couldn't help themselves. Instead, he shot his arm out and twisted the gun out before emptying the clip and tossing it behind him.
"Come on, I'm really not that bad, I healed the cuts on your friend's face when my reflex's kicked in. We're all in the same unit, so why start putting eachother down?" one of them had a blade similiar to the one the tiger used, but he did the same disarming maneuver and the knife fell to the floor.
"Look just stop the rumors and I'll stay away from you unless your life is in danger, alright?. Can we agree to at least that?." two out of the five were soothing their aching wrists, but they all nodded. He mouthed a 'thank you' with clapsed talons before walking off, the tiger close behind.
"You know, they just said you were the only dragon in our unit, but I never did get your name."
"Oh, I'm Chronin, Chronin Epheral!" There were a few moments of silence before the tiger smacked Chronin in the back, throwing the dragon completely off guard.
"Chronin from squad C?! Man, its been too long!!" Chronin was lost for a few moments, not even knowing how this tiger knew about him like that.
"I'm sorry, I really don't think I know you like that..." the tiger suddenly grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him.
"I'm your squad-mate Jetho!!" Now it was Chronin's turn to be surprised.
"Jetho, man, how the heck did you get so big?!" They both started laughing and hugging, then let go for a moment to breathe before Chronin spoke again.
"Man, I feel really bad about hitting you like that."
"Don't be, everyone in our squad had been 'suffering' from stubborn muscle memory. We're the only ones to survive the entire war, cover-ups and all!" He realized how loud he was speaking, then quieted his voice: "Man, I knew you wanted to tackle him when he drew that knife."
"Come on man, I don't want to hear it, that war is still messing with me sixteen years later. We're Black Ops now, and I'm still emotionally recovering from the 'goodwill' incident." the tiger understood, but gave him another pat on the back.
"We lost half our unit that night. But we certainly paid them back, with interest, when morning came around. The only one of us who completely recovered from the war-flashes is right now far away from the Capital Sphere with her wife. Although it is a bit ironic that she was the only one who got some during the incident. Seriously, lesbians get all the luck in the Elite.". They both walked back to the room that Tabby had long since left, but judging by the periodic announcements, she hadn't even attempted to leave the transport. Chronin sat in the now empty room, and started to feel some of the past slipping away.
It was good to know that he wasn't the only one in his squad who didn't leave the Sphere despite the paranoia.
-
Something stirred in the blackness of Leia's pupil. Both Leo and the lioness could see it slithering just out of view. On the other side however, it wasn't so obscured. Nero glared at the onlookers from the back of her mind. ...ThatS EnougH!!... Black vein-like tendrils suddenly shot out of the darkness of Leia's eyes and reached into the eyes of the onlookers, grasping onto their souls momentarily to deliver a message.
....GO AwaY!!....
The tendrils sucked themselves back in and disappeared back into the darkness.
-
Annie smiled happily, sliding her arm around his waist as well "Sure thing... Its only a short walk from here..." She lead the way out of the cell, and further out into a wide corridor packed with Engineers and Pilots. All wore dark red overalls, though the engineers wore florescent jackets over them. Annie held tightly onto Reggie's hand as they walked, turning off into a smaller corridor.
Here the walls where lined with doors, each with a number imprinted into the steel. The pair walked for around five minutes, down the single unending corridor, until they reached a door marked with #368 - Yantova. Annie reached into her overalls, pulling out a thin key-card and swiping it through what at first appeared to be a door handle. A small light flashed from red to green, and the door slid open. A single florescent light flickered on in the room beyond, switching from a bright white, to a more pleasant orange glow...
Her small room was a mess of clothes and equipment. A single steel bunk-bed was pushed up against one wall, beside it a tall wardrobe, again made of steel. Against the opposite wall was a workbench, covered in parts and wires, as well as a pistol in a state of disassembly. Beside it stood a single framed photograph, of Kitt and Annie standing side-by-side in Marine Fatigues. Annie sighed, kicking an oil-covered set of overalls across the room "Sorry about the mess, never really bother cleaning up in here..."
Tess stepped back out of David's room, a red neckerchief tied loosely around her throat, and a matte-black snub barrelled assault rifle clutched eagerly in her hands "Well I reckon you can shift most of the stuff in there... As for me, I'l give you five creds for the neckerchief.... And how much for the gun?" She smiled in earnest, clutching the unloaded rifle...
-
The lioness pushed away from Leia, eyes-wide, moving back against Leo. She looked over to him.
"Yeah, we need to get there fast." The car came to a halt outside a tall and clean building with vast plates of flexible film used as windows. An automaticdoor stood at the end of a stairway as an entrance. The lioness got out of the car and ushered Leia along with her, taking her hand and guiding her into the building towards the receptionist.
"Hello there, what's your business?" said a young pheasant.
"We need to see Kateri Peralta," said the lioness, who then looked at her watch. "For E7 reasons." The receptionist looked at her screen, then nodded them towards a lift. The went inside and it carried them up high into the building, stopping on the seventeenth floor. It opened with a ping, into an office where Kateri's secretary typed. Ahead of them was another door. The secretary looked up.
"State your business."
"We need to see Miss Peralta, it's about the ambassadors, and that hyena under surveillance." The secretary bit her nail, then tapped on her screen, and then pointed at Leia and Leo, gesturing for them to enter. The door opened, and behind a desk was Kateri. The lioness pushed Leia and Leo into the room.
Tabby ran her tongue along her teeth, and pulled the jacket off of her, throwing it to the side of her tiny box room, before climbing into her bunk.
"He goes away one night," she thought to herself, "and comes back with telekinetic powers." She tapped her sunglasses. "No electrical pulse, but an enhanced electromagnetic field." She ran her paw through her hair, and scratched behind her ear. "So he went to see his extra-dimensional mother who gives him an upgrade."
"Well that's not good," said a voice in her head. She grinned.
"Nope, it's a conflict of interest if ever I saw one." She rested her hands behind her head, and closed her eyes.
"Do you think our tech would work on him?"
"Probably, but let's not try just yet." She reached for a sheet, and pulled it over herself, kicking her shoes off the side of the bed. "I need my beauty sleep."
"Yeah, whatever," the voice replied, and she could feel him laugh.
Reggie clambered in after her, and stumbled on cold metal objects, before dropping himself onto her bed.
"Well you've seen my room, it's not that much better." He looked around, spotting the photo, making sure not to stare. "It's not a bad little place." He looked at her back and reached out to touch her, snaking his hand around her and pulling her onto his lap. He brought his arms round her, and toyed with her clothes, while nuzzling into her neck.
David tilted his head, and thought for a second.
"300, with ammunition, it should be in a box under his bed." He looked at the rest of the junk, splayed around. "If you can shift this stuff for me, I'll give you a hundred cred discount... Now come on, the other room's this way." He headed down the corridor towards the end, where Reggie's room sat open, and filled with its own selection of rubbish. "Have at it."
-
Vuranin knew she could track her son since she just awoke the other half of his genetics, but knew she had to stay on the Sphere if Nero lost his patience. She paced about in her flat as her mind started to wander. She only then realized that she may know Kateri, but the 'Tabby' is too close and too soon. Vuranin herself only wanted Everflame, but even she didn't get onto him that quickly.
This would be so much easier if Nero wasn't known for his discretion...
Chronin thought he had enough rest, and did the rather odd-looking procedure to activate his HUD before turning on his old jacket's homing device. He had it installed after getting out of his second time as a POW, so he could make sure that he got his armor on before fighting his way out of a prison. He figured this was a similar situation, except that he gave someone his old jacket. He made his way over to the room the jacket was in, and gently opened the door to see Tabby on the bed, but his interest wasn't her. He had kept an audio recorder near the tracker just in case the one with his jacket, or anyone he passed, managed to say anything helpful. He slowly lifted the jacket up, making only enough sound that it would not be noticeable in the background.
Now for the hardest part of the extraction: the actual extraction. he thought to himself as he slipped his hand into an inside shoulder pocket that would be hard to find even after a careful search. He slipped out the audio, but kept the tracker in case she ever called for help, then gently put the jacket back down as his HUD showed him the exact position and state the jacket was in before slipping out as quietly as he entered.
When he made it back to his room, he humored himself by closing and locking the door before taking off his jacket, pants, and vest and searched them for any bugs. Although, what surprised him was that there was a tracker bug that he found in the bottom right pocket of his long jacket. The paranoia of war was starting to set in again, but before he would reach the point of heading to the room and shooting her while she slept. He instead just tossed the tracker in the waste bin and put the audio bug in his comm. He could check to see if it was still recording, but the device was photo-sensitive, which ment that if it stayed out of a light source for more than an hour, it would shut off and lose all of the recordings from anything two days old. So, he had to wait a day before he could see exactly what it recorded before he got rid of it for good...
-
Annie smirked, falling back lightly into Reggie's lap. She kicked off her heavy boots, stretching out her legs and wiggling her toes "Oh... maaan, that feels good..." She reached back to untie her long ponytail, letting the black hairband slide onto her wrist, and her dark hair to flow outwards across her back. She shook her head, running a hand across Reggie's as he fumbled with the buckle of her overalls. She twisted around in his lap, now half-facing him as she leant close "You ever wondered what i wear, underneath the uniform?" She smirked, leaning closer "Because I've already found out what you wear under yours..."
The young lynx walked through the steel corridors of the carrier, following a steady stream of other workers and guards. His boots clanked on the steel-mesh floor, as did the hundreds of other boots around him. He turned off into a smaller corridor, straightening his dark red uniform as he did so, and ruffled up his hair into what he considered a reasonably cool and windswept fashion.
Finally he reached a pair of double doors and pushed them open. He walked into the medbay, right up to the bed where Blaze lay. He smirked, sitting down on the end of the bed "Hey Blaze... third time this rota that your in the medbay... Gotta say im glad I stay on the carrier, while you go out and do the dangerous work..."
Tess set the assault rifle down on a small table, eyeing it with a 'I'l come back for you later' look. She turned and followed David, walking into Reggie's room. She raised an eyebrow, looking over the toys and other random bits and bobs he had everywhere "Sheesh... This friend of yours was a bit of a hoarder... Personally i dont see anything that I want in here...I'l see what i can do about selling it...."
-
The ship tore through space through the hyperjump, but still, the hours rolled past, until a new day arrived, and Tabby's eyes flickered, and then opened, focusing on the ceiling.
"Okay..." she murmured, pushing herself up and crawling out of bed, seeing the jacket disturbed. "O... kay?" She tilted her head, and stepped around it to her utility belt. She picked it up, clipped it around her and pulled a mirror out to preen herself. Once done, with light eyeshadow applied, she headed out to the mess hall.
Reggie murred in appreciation, and helped Annie out, unbuckling her overalls, and pulling them to reveal her curves. His almost salivated, with wide eyes taking everything in. With a smirk, he turned on the bed, putting her on her back beneath him.
"I've been thinking of this since I first saw you," he said, as he crawled over her, and undid his shirt.
"A girl who knows what she wants. Good," David said with a smile. He looked back at RUST-E, then folded his arms as he turned to Reggie's room. "How are we going to take all this stuff out? Think you can get hold of a trolley or two?" He said, glancing at Tess.
-
Chronin went to the mess hall before meeting up with Jetho. They spent about an hour talking to eachother, and Chronin questioned a few things since his memory wasn't all that clear.
"Dude, you never got captured, and you were always angry that your trackers couldn't survive the slightest tap. Lets not forget the time you almost fried your head when your audio device was on the fritz. The only good and reliable things you made were the body armor and gun mods. Now I admit that its not easy to get nano-bot meds; but that was a stupid move in my personal opinion, if I was in your shoes." That alone killed any hopes of keeping a step ahead, but he knew that it would now be mandatory to do a clothing search for bugs whenever he came in arm's reach of Tabby.
Shortly after the revelation he noticed Tabby walking into the mess hall and kept his eyes down and hope that she really didn't plan to bother him as he ate...
-
Tabby strolled in, swaying her hips, and soaking in the stares of every male, and a few females in the hall. She went to the catering, ordered a quick breakfast of meat, eggs and a sliver of a carrot, and then carried her food over to one of the busier tables, walking right past Chronin, giving him a quick stroke on his head as she went. She stepped into a large group of men stepping between them, and sitting at their table, surrounded by their stares.
"So boys, having a good day?" She smirked, triggering them all to laugh and murmur, the atmosphere dripping with lust, making her smile.
-
Chronin felt a chill go down his spine as she stroked his head, and Jetho could only chuckle as Chronin glanced at Tabby with mild annoyance.
"I may not be a swinger, but if someone like her bothered to touch you like that before getting surrounded by guys, shes interested."
"I've only met her yesterday, and I still don't know what to make of her. Auntie told me I deserve better, but its not like I could have looked for a girlfriend when 'on duty'."
"I can drink to that, but the tightwads up in high-command won't allow any of the good stuff before debriefing; whenever that is."
"Probably only ment for those who like to start fights, and our ship happens to be full of those kinds of people. So in a sad way, it was a smart move..."
"Whatever, just don't like going through a day without at least one beer."
-
Leo took a few steps forward before introduceing himself "Miss Peralta? I am Leo and this is my collegue Leia, er... we have a few questions to ask.
-
Annie's hair fanned out across the crisp linen bedding, a dark corona surrounding her bright-eyed face. She murred in return, kicking off the last of her overalls onto the steel floor "Had your eyes on me that long, eh?" She smirked, pressing the palm of her hand to his large chest, helping him undo the last buttons of his shirt with delight...
Blaze smirked, dark shadows beneath his eyes the only sign of having been through major operation... "Well... Lets just be thankful that I always end up coming back out of the Medbay at the end of the day... How you been man?"
The Lynx shrugged, tapping a clenched fist distractedly against the his light kevlar body armour "Just as always... Nothing much goes on around here... Well, other than your Ma' threatening to eat my throat... again..." Blaze laughed, ending in a short coughing fit as he smirked...
Tess nodded with a flick of her fringe "Sure i can.... Coupla trolleys will be no probs..." She turned and walked back down the corridor towards the ship entrance. RUST-E stayed resolutely still, bright blue eye fixed on David.
The small droid was sat directly in the centre of the corridor, and as the snake tried to edge around it, his head swivelled to follow him with a whirr. His eye focussed closely on David, and as crazy as it may have sounded, the Snake was sure that he was being analysed and weighed up.
Tess' voice echoed from the other end of the ship, a slight note of impatience in her normally energetic tone "Hey, Rusty!... C'mon..." The small droid beeped twice, giving a sharp whistly before backing away down the corridor. Reaching the corner, he swivelled and whirred away...
-
Tabby ate the meat, calm and confident in the midst of all the men. One of them, a wolf, put their arm around her, and she carried on eating, as though she never noticed.
"So what's your name?" said the wolf.
"Tabitha Lace, how do you do," she said with a mouth full of food, though she didn't look up from her plate. There were eager smiles all around her, until the door shifted open, and a grey furred badger strolled in with a datapad in his hands.
"Attention!" he yelled. "Soldiers, we have been ordered on a few different missions... so we're doing this in groups of three. Each will have a squad leader, and the leader decides the squad. Chronin, Juarez and Imcep, you're squad leaders." he tapped his datapad, and scrolled down. "Okay Chronin, you're helping out operation Dragonfly. You're to escort some new tech, and help track down two major targets. Juarez, we have lost contact with a planet laboratory, your team are up to investigate. Imcep, You got a simple assasination." He threw a PDA at each person. "Check these, they have the details. We're dropping the first squad, that's Chronin's, in twenty minutes so pick your people fast and grab your stuff." By the time the badger had left, Tabby had already stood up and walked over to Chronin's table.
"Hey," she said, as sultry a tone as she could manage.
Kateri barely glanced up from the sea of holographic windows springing up from her desk.
"Well go on then, ask away," she said, with growing agitation. Leia stayed quiet.
Reggie gave a smile, and pushed her hands down under his jeans.
"Ofcourse I have. Back when me and Jaack first saw you, Jaack had to... he..." Reggie's eyes lost focus, looking down through her eyes down to nothing, lost in his mind. His grib on her wrists grew tight, and his claws started to dig in. "Yeah well, sucks to be him." His voice shook, and he put his face close to hers, his smile was long forgotten. "I've got you." He pushed himself between her legs, and pressed his weight upon her, bringing his teeth around her neck to hold her, but they were digging in.
David narrowed his eyes, and followed them out, to see Tess and two automated trolleys rattling along behind her and into the ship. He watched the little robot scuttle alongside her, as they headed back to the rooms.
"Just take everything," he murmured.
-
Takeing a deep breath as he thought "Is every officer this unfriendly?" before looking back up to Kateri, "We are looking for two ambasoders by the name of... Howl and... Seeker I belive?" Leo said looking back to Leia wandering if he got it correct before looking back "If you could, could you... point us in the direction of these two please, the circumstances... are rather important... actualy very important if I could stress it enough."
-
Chronin kept himself from sighing as he glanced at Jetho, who gave him a thumbs up.
"I've got your back man, you know that!"
Its not you I'm worried about, Jetho. He thought as he forced a smile and turned to face Tabby. His look showed a hint of 'I know what you did', but it was really hard to notice since he was restraining his emotions.
"You're so lucky I met you yesterday, or I would've just picked someone at random." he grumbled as he got up and checked the PDA. The names of the two he tracked down seemed really familiar, then he remembered his mother mentioning 'Howl' and 'Seeker'.
Hunting down two entities of light, as if I didn't have enough people angry at me... he inwardly grumbled as he looked at Jetho, who curtly nodded before leaving to get ready. He then casually looked at Tabby and smirked.
"Let me guess, you're wearing at least a pistol, two clips, and two blades. One of those blades I had knocked out of your hand earlier, how off am I?" He didn't base this off of prior experience, but on the two pistols she pulled during the gang fight, and that she would need a spare blade if the other was knocked away.
-
Kateri stopped her work, and looked up, brushing her fringe from her eyes.
"Why?" she said. Leia flinched.
"He told me! He did, the hyena." She blurted her words out, spilling them in front of her.
"The Hyena?" Kateri pressed on her desk, lighting it up. "Nero?" Leia nodded in shakes. The human tapped the desk again.
"Security, there are two people in my office. I need them in quarantine as soon as you can." She gave a soft little smile, though her face was solemn. "I hope you don't mind. I really do."
Tabby grinned.
"Almost!" She brought her hand up, bringing out a finger for every item. "Two pistols, two clips, three blades; the one you knocked from me is the one matey here gave me," she nodded to Jetho. "I've also got my make-up, my sunglasses, my t-shirt, my shorts, a novelty keyring, and no underwear." She winked at him, then made a swipe for the PDA. "Pass that over here, for a sec."
-
Chronin pulled away the PDA before her hand touched it. "Last time I checked, I was team leader. Now both of you get to your rooms and gear-up and report to the drop-off in fifteen minutes." Jetho had already left by then, and Tabby made another swipe, only to have it get within five inches of hitting her in the jaw. "Next time I find a tracker, I'm not holding back..." he growled before walking out of the mess hall and to his room.
-
Leo flinched hearing the word "Quarantine" and repeated it, slowly butgradualy raiseing into a panic "Quarantine?! I do mind... surely your jokeing!"
His ears flicked a bit hearing the door behind him open, murmering "unbeliveable" takeing a glance over his shoulder before looking back to Kateri "Your arresting us, for asking for a simple, very productive request that can make a diffrence of every single life, dust and metal on this sphere?"
-
Nero was tempted to speak up using Leia, but decided better of it. It wasn't as if they could find him inside Leia, let alone do anything about it. As impatient as he was, speaking out now would only increase the delay. ...MisS LeiA...YoU ArE NoT TO SaY AnotheR WorD OF MY PresencE HerE InsidE YouR MinD...ShoulD YouR ComradE OR AnyonE ElsE SaY ThaT I'M IN YoU...YoU ArE TO DenY IT!...UnderstooD?...
-
Annie gave a moan that was a mixture of pleasure and pain, as Reggie pressed himself close in on her. She winced slightly, as his teeth dug into her neck but she made no move to stop him. She licked at his muzzle, nuzzling him affectionately "And I've got you.... We've got each other Reg... Dont forget that... Please... Dont forget it..."
Blaze was sat up in his bed, as the young lynx showed him several photographs on a datapad. A sleek Mag-Bike rested against several crates was shown on the screen, and Blaze gave a whistle of admiration "Sweet Ride... And you say the guy gave it t' you half price?"
The Lynx shrugged, switching off the datapad and slipping it back into a pocket "Sure... Wont beat yours though, not on the straights..." Blaze shrugged in return, scratching behind his ear "Yeeah... But mine gets crashed so much i'm surprised it still runs... As a matter of fact, Tess said she'd fixed it while i was away.... Reckon we could sneak out'a here and go check?"
The lynx looked up and down the medbay, and smirked with a conspiratorial wink "Sure, lets go get you some overalls..."
One of the trolleys got caught on the ship ramp, rattling and whirring it struggled for a moment, before toppling over with a crash. Tess swore loudly, jumping out of the way at the last moment, as it hit the steel floor... A few engineers and pilots looked up at the sudden noise, only to look back down as Tess gave them the middle finger and stuck out her tongue childishly "Stupid pieces of trash... Rusty, reckon you can go find me one that aint broke? Me an' Dave 'ere will go load this first one up while yer at it..."
The small droid gave a shrill whistle, shaking his head back and forth. He then looked pointedly at David, and then back to Tess. She frowned, giving him a hefty kick with her boot "Go on... Go do what i said, while me an' 'im load this one up..." The small robot gave a moody little noise halfway between a beep and a whistle, turning away he scuttled across the hangar bay with many a backward glance.... Tess frowned, kicking the first trolley to get it moving again...
-
"A tracker?" the thoughts tick-tocked around in her head, like a grandfather clock, getting msllaer and smaller until *pop* a smile was on her face. "I'm not the only fisher on the lake." She bounced off the chair and skipped her way to her room, getting her boots and ordering her case to be brought to her. It arrived, and she opened it up, pulling out some black opera gloves, stretching and running her hands in front of her, admiring the fabric. She re-touched her face, then headed out as the ship came in to orbit a planet. She headed to the shuttles, and the badger was there, waiting for the squad to leave.
"Yes sir, sorry sir," Leia replied. Kateri glanced at her, then to the argumentative one.
"One of you is being manipulated, maybe both of you. It's happened before by that same Hyena. I cannot let you do what he wants you to." Two large men appeared from the doorway, and grabbed hold of Leia and Leo. "Take them away," said Kateri with a nod. At once, they were dragged back past the secretary, towards the elevator.
Reggie moved his hands away, undoing his jeans, pushing the rest of his clothes off him, showing his body. As he put himself against her, he let go of her neck, then pushed in a kiss, pulling her onto him. His eyes were clenched shut and his claws dug into her back, as he growled into her mouth. He broke the kiss, and stared down with violent eyes.
David gave a relieved sigh as the robot trundled away. He leaned back against the wall.
"Thanks for that. Your robot's a bit mental, he kept looking at me weird." He pushed himself off the wall and led the way back to the rooms. "We should be able to fit all this rubbish onto the trollies, so we can be done in one trip." He grinned and folded his arms with a little pride.
-
Leo didnt put up a protest as he was dragged away by the two men. Instead he simply began to wonder what exactly happened to the last one who was being manipulated.
-
Chronin showed up only a minute later than Tabby, his rifle strapped to his back, and his 'port-a-bomb' re-painted black as he wore another fingerless glove to make it seem like he was not quite as armed. Jetho showed up two minutes later than Chrono, and was wearing what looked like a hybrid between power-armor and black tights. Anyone who looked at the group and didn't know better, would have thought they were three different squad leaders all going on the same mision. "You definatly know how to make a scene." the badger said while looking at Chronin, before stepping away from the shuttle door and letting all three of them go in.
-
Leia and Leo were dragged into the elevator and it closed around them with a ping. The only other sound was Leia, crying. She had gone limp in the hands of the guard, and simply sobbed as the lifted headed up to the roof. The two were pulled into a another room and were strapped into seats. There were no windows, only blue walls, and then a rumble, building to a focused, powerful hum, and the room went even higher, for another five minutes, until the force of accelleration slowed, until they felt no movement at all.
"Please forgive me," Leia said, with her tears drying against her fur.
Tabby bounded immediately for the cockpit, planted herself into the pilot seat, pulled the release to power the ship and retract the docking clamps.
"Alright heroes? Lets get going." She slammed the acceleration panel, pull a lever back and rocketing the shuttle down towards the planet, tearing through the atmosphere. "So where we off to anyway?" She looked back with a wide, giggling grin
-
Chronin looked at the PDA again, and then went over to the Nav console, typing in the coordinates by hand to avoid Tabby from getting her hands on the PDA. The ship automatically went down to a forested landscape that seemd to lack any sentient life or influence except for a single bunker only two-hundred yards away from where the ship landed.
"Jetho, guard the ship, Tabby, I'll need you to cover me while I blast the door" he would have had her go first, but apparently someone sealed the door since there was too much vegetation to say that it was just a pick-up point.
-
Leo let his head roll back on the chair from his migrain "It's fine... really" he reasured Leia "It's not like I have anything important to attend to anyways..." he added truthfully letting his curiousity get the better of him as he turned to a gaurd. Struggleing to turn his head back since he couldn't pivot his body do to the situation at hand and asked one of them. "Lets take the blinders off the horse... shall we? When you quarintine us... is there anything we should know about this process, so we know what to exspect."
-
Annie stared up at Reggie, breathing heavily, as raw emotion masked pain questions or any sane thought whatsoever. She returned the kiss with equal ferocity, pent up tension and worries released in a few minutes of passion. She paused, panting as he broke the kiss. And stared up into his wild eyes...
Blaze pulled the tarpaulin cover off his Mag-bike with a deft flourish. He and the young Lynx where alone in a small hangar bay, its large doorway out into space closed off. The hangar was filled with ships of vehicles of all sizes, as well as work benches and tools and equipment. The Lynx gave an impressed whistle, running a hand across the bike's sleek bodywork "Tess sure fixed it up good... Ya' can hardly tell ya' hit that gantry..." He smirked looking slyly over at Blaze.
Blaze shrugged nonchalantly, tapping the small LCD screen set into the steering column fondly "A good Mag-Racer takes risks... Risks equal reward..." He swung one leg over the bike, settling into a comfortable position. He coughed twice, thumping his chest as he did so. The lynx frowned, watching him "You sure ya' okay Blaze?"
Blaze nodded, wiping his mouth "Sure, sure... I'm fine..."
Tess smirked, looking back over her shoulder as RUST-E scooted between a pair of engineer "Ah, dont mind him... He's just loyal... Per'aps too loyal... Plus ever since his inhibitor blew, He's been acting a little strange..." She shrugged, following David through the ship "I'd fix him up with a new one... But theyre real expensive... He cant do any harm anyway... He's just a service droid..."
She stopped at the doorway to Jaack's room, frowning slightly "These friends of yours, they..." She stopped, smiling again "Eh, never mind... None o' my business is it?... yeah, we get this lot onto the trolleys, down to the marketplace and sell it... May take a while to get it all shifted, but i reckon we should... At the very least we can sell it in a coupla bulk crates, let some other merchant deal with selling it individually..."
-
"Err, what?" Tabby spun her chair to look back at Chronin. "We're not knocking, or saying hi? Just blow it up?" She stood up, jogging after him out of the shuttle, taking her case with her and tagged it onto her belt, as she headed out into the grassy clearing, surrounded by forest. "I mean, I'm a'ight with that if you are?" she said, looking over to the bunker. "But we don't know who's in there."
The guard leaned back against the wall, and gave a smirk.
"Simple quarantine stuff. They put you in a room, do a few psych tests, take a few samples then either kill you or release you, depending on the results." He put his great paw upon leo's shoulder, gripping him tight. "But that doesn't mean you should escape. That would be certain death."
Reggie clawed deep into Annie, and moved his body faster, growling and grunting. He bit down again, holding her against the bed, with his sharp teeth digging in, past her fur and skin. He attacked her body, with all the strength of his own, faster, harsher until he met his peak, and let go. His breath was heavy, but slowly calmed, but then it twisted, changed into sharp, quick gasps. His body started to shake, and he whimpered.
"You're right, it isn't any of your business," David replied, eyeing her close before flashing a smile of his own. "Now lets get this stuff out." He stepped in the rooms and pulled all manner of things, clothes, pistols, old datapads covered in dust, even the bedsheets, piling them all onto the trolly.
-
Chronin gave a rather toothy grin as he pulled out his rifle. "Sorry, old habit... I ment we're cutting down the vines that are blocking the door, then we'll knock." He corrected as he made his way over to the entrance. He stood right at the door, then turned the dial of his gun from 'blast' to 'stream' as he cut the vines.
-
Annie panted heavily, clenching the bedding beneath her as he chest rose and fell violently... She sighed, releasing a a long-held breath as she breathed heavily through her mouth, licking her lips "Oh, how i missed that..." She looked across at Reggie, a frown crawling across her expression as he whimpered and shook "Reg... Reg are you alright?"
She stopped, looking down at her hand. It was covered in dark red blood, as where the sheets beneath her. With that single image, pain rose up from the many cuts and gouges in her sides, stomach and neck. She gasped, wincing as she felt her side, half-congealed blood, still warm to the touch met her fingers "Ow... Jesus that stings!"
Blaze and the Lynx walked through a crowded corridor, towards Hangar #32... The pair walked side-by-side, despite the narrowness of the corridor, arguing over the specs of Mag-bikes, and the usefullness of gyro-suspensers on a type 2 racer... "Look Yuri... Type 2 racers have no need for the gyro stability... Your just creating excess weight and slowing your acceleration..."
The lynx frowned at the use of his christened name, but didnt comment on it "No, you see... that is where you are wrong... Given that you have the old type 2, not the newer build, you can get away with upping the suspesner system with no drawbacks...."
The conversation carried on, going back and forth between the two until they reached the carrier. Blaze lead the way in, immediately spotting David's ship, and a rather flustered looking RUST-E coming theyr way. He knelt down to the droid's eye-level "Hey little guy... You seen Tess at all?"
Tess followed suite, piling as much on as she could too... Within minutes the room was stripped bare, and the trolley groaning under the weight... She smirked, tying the red neckerchief around her throat, and sliding the assault rifle and its accompanying box of ammo into a compartment of the trolley.
She turned away from David, unzipping her overalls and reaching to an inner pocket. She turned back, zipping her overalls back up as she went, a handful of credits handed over "Three 'undred and five credits there... I'm willin' to pay the full deal, its a good gun... An' the neckerchief if in my fave colour too..."
-
Tabby shook her head with a snickering smirk, and then sat against one of the trees, pulling out her pistols and checking them over. She then pressed on one arm of her sunglasses, and in the lens it started recording.
"No... yeah," Reggie said, before clearing his throat and wiping his eyes. He looked down to her, feeling his body against hers, inside her, and saw the blood coating her fur. He winced, tasting it on his tongue. "I'm sorry, I just... I wanted to..." He began to lick and kiss her wounds, talking as he moved across her neck. "How are you feeling... shall I call a doctor?"
David smiled as he took the money, and pushed it into his pocket.
"Great, now you take that big pile of junk and dont come back until you've got me an engine part, and don't go thinking you can take the money for yourself. I'm not going anywhere."
-
"Dont worry, I wont try anytime soon" Leo said as his ear flicked a bit, but soon rememberd something crucial and immediately calmed back down before his panic was even noticeable "Seems rather shadey... what happens to the one that isnt killed? Let me guess... that 'one' is still killed or locked up to avoid informing the public I assume. Now... you quaritine two phd and perfectly certified scientist, when infact, a scientist could eventualy find a way to fix his self? Now say this...dont attack me now, just food for thought... if you were in the same situation... quarintined" he let out a wistle "If this happened before, chances are it can be passed on anyway possible, when it comes to you, well... your... well... cant find a better word here. Lets say something our vocabulary is to limited to discribe"
-
Chronin finished cutting the vines, and put his rifle away before kicking the metal door several times to make sure he was heard. He made sure to keep his talons from cutting the frame, and he waited for a reply. Such a reply came as the door slid open and mist spilled out from within, never ending until there stood a rather scrawny bear, who pulled his own gun out at Chronin.
"Can we just skip the gun-pointing and get the tech we were promised??" Chronin's voice had a great tone of annoyance as he was trying to restrain himself, but he was running into situations that seemed to make such a task very hard to accomplish. The bear stood there with a stone face before suddenly cracking up in hill-billy laughter and lowering the gun.
"Hooo boy, must really be sumthin' to ask that with a gun in your face. Just sign here and I'll get the package for you..." The bear pulled out a rather dingy pad that flickered every other second, and had a big 'X' at the bottom left corner. Chronin started to write his name on the pad then the bear cussed up a storm and threw the pad into a wall, where it shattered on impact.
"You freaking idjit', you ain't sapposed' to write ya' real name. Just put a scribble or something so I can get rid of the box and get back to my drinking!!" He pulled out another pad from apparently the same location, and only slightly less dingy than the last one.
"If you say so..." Chronin muttered as he just wrote a wavy line, then had the pad yanked away before a cylidrical container rolled from the darkness and at his feet. He picked it up, then the bear suddenly grabbed his hands with panic in his eyes when he saw Chronin moving to open it.
"Hey, this thing gonna' blow us all to kingdom come if you tryin' ta' open it. Your boss shoulda' told you that shes the only one who ma' lady told the code. So keep your scaly claws ways' fum' da' lid if you still want to live a few years, or at least 'til you're far away from me!" The redneck bear warned before quickly shutting the door and leaving Chronin rather dumbfounded.
Someone behind a steel bunker afraid of an exploding container. Guess I shouldn't open it at all... he mused before walking his way back to the ship, and Tabby right behind him.
-
The guard gave out a laugh, as the room started to decellerate, then came to a stop. The door hissed, then slid open.
"Shady? no, not at all, it's perfectly above board. We don't kill you for that sort of thing. Also, due to the possibility of me and my colleague here getting infected," he said, gesturing to the other guard. "We are also going into quarantine as well, for a little while. Sound like a raw deal? It's better than the alternative for us. Now mush." The two prisoners were prodded in the back, and all four marched through into a pure white room. The door closed behind them all, and hissed again as the transport headed off, leaving them stranded in a room with no windows and rounded walls. A screen flickered on. On it was a cute pink vector drawing of a cat with a surgical mask.
"Welcome to... Quarantine," said an automated voice. "You will be here for... unknown months... unkown days... and unknown hours." It was calm and serene, yet jarring in its broken stammer. "Escape is not advised. Simply remain calm, enjoy the entertainment provided, and be safe. You will be released soon."
Tabby made quick light steps behind Chronin, and peered past his big arms at the container.
"Is that it? Just pick up and go? You sure we got the right place?" She looked back at the cut trees and dirt covered bunker. "That place looked pretty nasty and unprofessional... Oh well, next stop, the high profile guys we have to find. What does the PDA say about them?"
-
Annie shook her head, relaxing again underneath him "No.... No need, I'm fine..." She nuzzled his neck in return, pressing close "It's fine... I'm fine... Everything is fine Reg..." She smiled, letting her head drop back against her slightly bloodstained pillow...
Tess smirked, winking to David as she kicked the Trolley to get it moving "I know you aint going no-where... Well you could try, but i doubt this ship would make another jump.... And i'm a girl to my word... I said you'l get that enginer part, You will get it sir..." She gave a mock-salute, turning to follow the trolley as it rattled down the ship ramp-way...
-
Leo's eyes narrowed at the sight of the drawing trying to identify what it was without his glasses "...Could someone tell me what I'm looking at here?" he siged sitting down leaning against the wall. "Well... were going to be in here for a while, so... we have plenty of time to get to know each other. So who are you in where were you born" he said looking around the room.
-
Chronin got into the ship and closed the door when Tabby came in. He walked past Jetho with only nod before sitting down in the pilot's seat and turning back to the others.
"If this isn't the container, then it isn't our problem since these were the coordinates I was given. Now, if the container is supposed to destroy itself and the people around it, its either something of real importance or someone is really paranoid about the skeletons in their closet." He spun around and put in the provided location that the targets were last seen at before turning back to the other two.
"We're looking for two people named Javen Howl, and Koreno Seeker. I only know that they once contacted the Sphere about Everflame and that one is a wolf while the other is, spider-like. It'll take two days to reach their last known location, and hopefully thats also where they're still located."
The ship took off about two minutes after he had spoken, heading straight for where 'Howl' and 'Seeker' were last sighted.
-
Reggie kissed the vixen's neck, then moved up to her lips.
"Sorry about this. I get so angry, and I take it out on people close to me." He kissed her again, and rested onto her body, feeling her furry chest against his. "I guess... right now... you're the closest person I've got." He smiled and gave as much of a laugh as he could muster, which came out as barely a cough. "You can leave me whenever you want. You'd probably be better off... but you really like me, don't you." He looked into her eyes, moving his face closer, kissing her again. "Ofcourse you do."
David returned a smirk to Tess, then headed up towards the cockpit. He dropped himself into the pilot's chair, and pulled the networking system towards him. Tapping in, he accessed the Med-bay system, and navigated to corpse retrieval, cancelling his request to take Jaack aboard.
Leia made herself small, and shuffled towards Leo , sitting beside him and leaning against his shoulder. She shut her eyes, and held his arm close to her. Only one of the guards had talked at all. A big leopard in a grey uniform. The other was an even bigger tiger, wearing the same. He stood by the wall, looking at the ceiling. The leopard looked at Leia and Leo.
"My name's Kane, and people like to call him Abel," he said with a smirk as he gestured over to the tiger, who rolled his eyes. "We're both from a planet called Draln. You've probably not heard of it. It's near the border worlds."
-
Annie met his kiss, wrapping her arms up and around his broad back. She ran her fingers through his fur, meeting his gaze tantalisingly "You're a little rough I'l admit..."
She leant close to his ear, rubbing her cheek against his as she did so "...Luckily for you I like it that way, Reg..."
She grinned childishly, running her hands further down his body "So.... As far as I'm concerned here..." She put her forehead against his, looking straight into his eyes "I wouldn't leave you for anything in this universe..."
Tess stepped off the ramp, stretching languidly with a yawn. The yawn turned to a sharp squeak of surprise as Blaze pounced out on her from behind the Mechanicus Carrier landed beside David's ship. She blushed, quickly turning the surprised squeal to a giggling laugh as RUST-E and Yuri showed themselves as well "Hey Blaze.... And Yuri, mah lil' brother from another mother..." She put an arm around the young lynx's shoulder, ruffling his hair even as he squirmed and pulled away.
Blaze smirked, watching as Yuri flicked his short bob-tail in brief annoyance. He stuck his tongue out at Tess, folding his arms and doing his best to look down his nose at her. He was rather hampered by the face that Tess was a good two inches taller than him, and the same in years of age "Blaze said he w'nted to see ya.... I just got dragged along... As always if i may add..."
-
"Huh... someones not trying to make the best of things," Leo said looking at Abel, soon shrugging it off "Well nice to meet you Kane, wish we met under better circumstances... I'm Leo, my friend here is Leia" he said looking down to her before curling his tail around her to confort her "I'm from a planet called Qurana, not sure if you heard of it either but... thats what happens when your sun is a blue star. No one wants to visit because of a little heat. But I can't talk, I don't like the cold"
-
Reggie grinned.
"You're a perfect woman. If it weren't for the circumstances, I'd think I was dreaming." He licked up Annie's neck, along to her chin, and looked down at her; tracing his eyes over the curve of her lips, the glow of her eyes, and the way her hair splayed out. Black with strands of grey appearing. He let out a deep low growl, vibrating through her body, and snapped his jaws, before pressing his lips to her neck, letting his teeth scratch against her. The blood slid across his lips. He tasted it again, and released her. "Maybe we should stop for tonight though. I dont think your son would appreciate his mum getting stitches."
The leopard's laugh was high and strong, but scratched along his throat.
"Abel just hates the name Abel," he said. "It weren't exactly his choice, and as for the heat you might like it here. On the weirder illnesses, they like to mess with the temperature, to see what will happen." He shook his head and ran a paw over his short cropped hair. "Your guys' illness is definitely on the weirder side of things." There was a ping from the screen, making Leia jump and hold Leo's arm tighter. A section of the wall beside Abel slid away, revealing some sterilised, plastic board games. The tiger pulled them out and lay them in front of Leo without a word.
-
Nero glared at the games from inside Leia's mind. OH JoY...I HavE ThE FeelinG ThaT I MaY JusT GO StiR CrazY MyselF...
-
Leo blinked looking quietly at the bord games his ear flicking with slight annoyance towards them and told Leia "Its allright..." he then let out a sigh scratching his head a bit eyeing the bord games. "Unknown days, weeks, months... our main source of entertainment... is a bordgame." With another flick of his ear the serval leaned forward opening the box looking at it's containts "And the tempeture... nothing below freezing right?" he asked sounding a bit nervous, as he layed out the bord figureing to go with it, if its part of there test.
-
Annie sighed, nodding "I guess your right...." She made no move to get up, or slide out from underneath him. Sighing, she nuzzled his neck, enjoying the feeling of being so close to another person again. A feeling she had not felt for a great number of years.
She opened her eyes, and glanced across the room at the framed photograph on her workbench. A single tear rolled down her cheek, ending at her lips with the sharp taste of salt. She looked back up at Reg, and nodded "Okay... But tonight... Was heaven Reg..."
The three walked down a rather less crowded corridor, the automated trolley rattling alongside them. Yuri sat on the trolley itself, legs swaying with its erratic movement over the steel grated floor. Blaze walked close to Tess, glancing sideways at her repeatedly "So... You say David needed to sell this to get an engine part?"
Tess nodded, shrugging "Sure... I reckon its a good deal I got..." Blaze nodded in return, watching as Tess walked with her tail swishing languidly behind her. He felt the urge, as always when he was with Tess, to reach out and hold her hand as they walked. He flexed his fingers, nervously reaching out, his heart beating wildly.
Suddenly RUST-E was between him and Tess, giving a sharp little whistle, looking between the two of them. Blaze frowned, but said nothing else as they continued to walk. He dismissed it as mere chance, but he had been sure the little robot had separated them on purpose....
-
Leia shivered and hid her face behind Lei, closing her eyes and whimpering. Abel tilted his head, trying to get a look at her, while Kane sat opposite Leo, with the board game between them.
"Sometimes they do. It's not uncommon," he says, as they set out all the pieces.
Reggie lay down, feeling himself between Annie's legs, and her breath against his neck.
"It was... is heaven." He closed his eyes, and moved to her side, holding her close and falling asleep.
-
"Great! I'm gonna have fun with that. Ever heard of blood sickle? Thats an adaptation for my planets climate... its not the common anemia, thats just damageing. Diffrence being, they act like pine needles now without the plant fucntions of corse, they last the same as normal cells some generations had been born with ones that has a speacil protien that prevets freezing. I was the unfortunate bunch that wasnt... and frozen blood sickles can cause internal bleeding, not sure if its deadly... no ones died from it yet." Leo looked behind himself with a concerned look before murmering to her "Something wrong?" then reaching back behind her to place a hand on her shoulder.
-
Annie sighed, snuggling in close to Reggie. She could feel every rise and fall of his chest as he slept, hear the dull and steady thud of his heart. She rolled over slightly, now staring up at the steel underside of the top bunk. Every scratch and blemish on the worn metal was visible in the half-light, and yet no matter how long she waited sleep would not find her.
She sighed again, rolling back over and nuzzling into the warm body of Reggie, trying to clear her mind. It was another hour before she finally fell asleep, curled up in a protective foetal position, head laid across Reggie's chest...
"No, thats where your wrong... This datapad is top of the range, five megahertz disk space and state of the art bitration system..." The gruff-faced wolf looked from Tess, to the datapad she was waving energetically in front of him. He took it curtly, sniffing disparagingly before finally handing over a handfull of credits. Tess smirked, taking the cash and turning back to face Blaze with a flirty swish of her tail "Good doing business with you sir... C'mon guys, time to go find someone to buy all this old clothing..."
-
Chronin had went to his room about ten minutes after the ship departed, but refrained from practicing his 'change' since the ship was the only thing keeping them from exploding decompression. He could smell Tabby under the door, then realized she left when her scent was gone with the sound of footsteps. He sat down with his legs crossed, and closed his eyes as he tried to meditate on the entire situation. In two minutes, he suddenly felt like his eyes were pulled out and sent far away to view the galaxy they were in. The entire experience snapped him out of the trance, but he could remember two blips on the 'map' that near the location they were going to arrive at.
I wonder if Mom feels this everytime... or is it just because I'm not entirely her race?
-
"Dont worry about your health," said Kane, pointing to the ceiling. "They heard you." He looked over at the ferret pressed against Leo. She was shaking, and kept gripping at Leo's clothes.
"We should be going," she said. "We need to go, we have to go, we have to find them, or... nothing. Nothing will happen. I'm fine." Her eyes were clamped shut, and held tight to Leo. The tiger moved to the corner again, and lay down. The leopard rolled his eyes and sighed.
Tabby sauntered to her room, passing Jetho on the way, catching a stroke along his tail as she went. She didn't look back at him, and simply carried on to her room, closing it behind her. She put her bag by the bed, kicked off her boots, pulled off her gloves, put her sunglasses into her belt and put the whole collection to the side before laying down and shutting her eyes.
-
Leo nodded a bit wrapping the arm around her to confert her before murmering "I understand..." He than looked up back to the tiger "Not to friendly is he?" he asked tilting his head. He now began to wander what time it was begining to regret and at the same time was happy about not haveing one. Examining the bord game he let out a sigh before picking up a piece "I think we can make this a bit more intresting..." he said rotateing it slowly watching it glint, then setting it down and picking up a card "They dont mind if I make an adjustment right?"
-
Kane gave a smile.
"Go right ahead. As for my friend, he might have the right idea. If your girlfriend keeps acting like that, something might happen." He glanced around the room, then to Leia, watching her.
-
Looking down to Leia with a concerned look he said "Yeah, well you cant blame fear, after what your friend in the elevator said." He then looked back up reshapeing the cards to resemble what looks like 3d paper soldiers and vehicules "You probably lost all fear from doing this, I lost most of mine from the rather poorly thought out safety techniques during sampleing or testing, she's just a bit nervous thats all... or just have an overdose of adrenalin. Either or" he added as he fliped the board over tearing strips out of the rest of the cards "Now then, this is a game of war. Its simple, you use six strips to move a soldier, three for a tank, and 8 for a starship. To attack for a soldier flick a small ball of paper" holds up a very small ball "Tanks use something bigger, and ships, just drop a card over the board were ever it lands its blown."
-
Trade Market #32, a veritable hurricane of colours sounds and smells. A potent mixture of engine oil, axle grease and the shouts of thousands of merchants and potential buyers filled the large hangar. Tess Blaze and Yuri sat on the empty trolley, chatting as the crowds of people flowed around them "Well.... The guy got his engine part alrigh'..." Tess was flicking through a wad of credits, counting under her breath.
Blaze watched her sorting through the money, tapping his thumb distractedly against the steel surface of the trolley. Beside him, Yuri swung his legs back and forth. Being the youngest of the group, he could barely reach the steel-grate flooring. Blaze shifted closer to Tess, watching closely as she licked her thumb and forefinger, to help seperate several particularly oil-stained credits. He nudged her foot with his, smirking "Its thanks to your haggling skills that we got so much for that loada crap..."
She nudged his foot in return, smirking as well "Yeah well... Its thanks to your strange desire to keep on living that you didnt die today in the medbay..." She looked up, unzipping her overalls and shoving the money into an inside pocket "Say, what did happen when you where out with yer ma'... Y' still didnt tell me..."
Blaze shrugged, tugging at a fold in his dark red fatigues "The usual. Ran into something we weren't expecting... I got poisoned by some crazed machine, and then yet again i lived..."
Tess grinned, jumping down from the trolley "The epic tales of Blaze Yantova continue, eh?... C'mon, lets go down to the mag-tracks... This place is gettin' boring..."
-
Kane took the pieces and prepared for the game, while Abel stayed where he was, while keeping an eye on Leia, who became more and more restless. She wrapped her arms around Leo and rocked back and forth against his chest. She was mumbling and murmuring against him. Kane frowned.
"Yeah well... most people who act like that have something wrong with them. Fear only does so much." He started the game off
-
Vuranin finally decided to go find Nero, but was unaware of where exactly he was when she closed the 'gap' between them, and again banged her head against the door that seperated her from the target. It was always the doors, when the target was reached through the window she never hit the window or felt any pain. This time, she was able to stay consious, and look at the hall she was in. It looked like it was designed to keep something in, and she was right in the middle of the 'intake' process.
"Anyone by the name of Nero?" she yelled as she banged against the door, hoping that her voice was at least remotely understood on the other side of the door.
-
Leia's head suddenly turned to the door as Nero heard his name. Her eyes flashed black at the sudden movement, Nero losing a bit of concentration in trying to get a better look at the door. Leia breathed in deeply, allowing Nero to smell everything in the vicinity.
He could smell the plastic of the freshly torn cards, the sterilization mixture that was sprayed on the walls, the electricity flowing through the wires of the cameras around them...but there was something else.
Something behind that door...
Something immortal.
Leia's lips rose into a snarl as Nero placed the scent. ....VuraniN....
-
Deep inside the steel belly of the Mechanicus carrier, the sound of revving engines and thumping bass echoed through long unused corridors. The Mag-tracks, famous racing grounds of the Mechanicus Mag-Bikes and their racers, where the focal point of all black-market entertainment in the large ship. Tess sat, legs dangling over the track on a rickety catwalk. Beside her sat Blaze and Yuri, all three watched from behind by the ever present droid RUST-E...
"You reckon ther'l be a crash today?" Tess spat down onto the track below, listening as the saliva hit the magnetic strips with a loud sizzle. Blaze shrugged, watching the racers line up... Tess looked across at him, and then back down to the track "Hows the bike?... You smashed it up a fair bit didn'ya!" Blaze simply smirked, looking back at her. Her bleach-blonde bangs hung over either side of her bright blue eyes, welding goggles pushed up over her forehead and always the same excitable buzz in her expression.
"Hey! Snap out of it!" Blaze shook his head, blinking as Tess snapped her fingers under his nose. She smirked as he looked back down at the track, cheeks flushing "Man, you where out of it...... So whadya think, anyone gonna crash today?"
-
Paused for a minute unconsiously before saying "Oh really?" looking up at him. His ear flicked hearing the doors being banged against "... Isnt that a blast door?!" He asked recalling how thick the door was on his entrance. Tilting his head a bit before letting his eyes widen at the mentioning of Nero. He looked down at Leia before looking over at Kane "Is this normal?" asking motioning to the door with his head.
-
Kane stared at the door, and Abel sat up, pushing himself back to the wall.
"No that is not normal at all," said the leopard. He stood to his feet and crept over to the door, putting his ear to it. He mouthed 'who's Nero?' over to Leo, while Abel stood up, looking confused.
-
Carefully removes Leia from his chest, and stands up. After he stands up he moves them to the side of the room haveing a bad feeling about the sterdiness of the doors "This is rather hard to explain... so... my lips are sealed" he said watching the door as his back pressed against the wall feeling something poke him, after thinking for a minute he realized they didn't even bother to search him seeing how he still has his gun.
-
Vuranin thought over the question 'Who's Nero?', but her answer left much to be desired.
"I don't know, all I know is that he is in that room, and inside something." She looked around the hall, and noticed that there was a camera aimed right at her face, and that made her frown. She walked her way over to the camera and put her thumb-talon right on the lens of the camera.
"Its impolite to stare, you know..." she said aloud before breaking the lens with the claw of her talon before yanking the camera out with a tug that could have pulled an entire arm off.
-
"Who are you?" Kane yelled out, as they all backed away from the door.
-
Vuranin went back to the door, and leaned against it. "Nero can tell you when hes done playing hide-and-seek. The only thing you need to know is that I come from the same space that he did, and that I also know that there are two others in there."
Chronin felt the ship was soon reaching the half-way point while he was back in his meditative state. He slowly opened his eyes, but the sight of fur caused them to snap open as Tabby was staring at him with a half-tilted head. "Exactly how long have you been staring at me, and why?" he asked with a rather indifferent tone.
-
Leos ear flicked hearing that who ever it was had the same origons as Nero and leaned against the wall growling "Aw great..." regretingly giveing who ever it was the benifet of a doubt on weather or not she would be just as menacing as the hyeena. Thinking for a bit he called out "So, Can we help you!?" carefully chooseing his words to not sound as demanding before faceing kane mouthing to him "Do not, threat, or demand anything from who ever this is" showing some signs of fear.
-
Bikes roared by underneath the catwalk, the sharp smell of ozone and mag-fuel filled the confined space as the steel-girder platform shook and juddered "C'mon! Grind im' on the side!" Tess leant as far over the catwalk railing as she could, her hair whipping back as another trio of bike roared past, making the railing shudder and shake again. Blaze stood beside her, arms crossed and leaning on the railing.
He kept shooting sidelong glances at Tess, moving closer to her as the catwalk shuddered again with a roar of engines "I reckon my bike would outstrip all these jockeys... That job you did on it was awesome..." Tess looked up from the track, smiling "Eh, just helping a friend..." Blaze grimaced slightly, moving closer still "Yeah about that... Tess..."
The catwalk juddered, as below them a bike roared past, scant centimetres from the steel supports before careering around a corner "Did you ever think that we could... I dunno, be more than just..." At that moment RUST-E bumped heavily into Blaze's leg from behind, knocking him hard against the catwalk railing. The little droid gave an apologetic whistle, backing away with many little trills and beeps. Blaze rubbed his calf gingerly, meanwhile Tess gave a loud shout of joy as a Mag-racer smashed against the track wall, sparks and pieces of metal flying everywhere...
"Hah! I told you someone'd crash dude!" The moment was gone...
-
Tabby smiled wide, and she looked deep into Chronin's eyes.
"Well I like looking at sexy things. There's nothing unusual about that." She looked up and thought for a moment. "Well maybe breaking into your room is a bit unusual, but I like you." She leaned down and kissed his lips.
-
Chronin's mood didn't change a bit after she kissed him, he was still annoyed at how she can be flirty, cold, and indifferent all at once.
"You know, its hard to not get angry when only twenty hours ago you called me a 'toy' with a knife at my neck, and now I get kissed. I understand that I'm far from self-contained, but in two days you've messed with my head with your flip-flop attitude towards me. Now, what part of 'explosive container' did you not understand?" He growled as he felt her hand on the cylinder that was inside his jacket.
Yesterday morning, he never even knew this woman, and now he wished that he'd never gotten interested in her as Kateri's words rang through his mind.
-
"Mmm hehe." Tabby giggled and put her lips close to Chronin's ear. "I was curious." She grinned, stroked her hand over his body armour, and looking him in the eyes with a knowing spark. "Your mind is burning right now, isn't it. Paranoia, frustration, indignation, maybe a touch of fear?" Her stroking hand smoothed up along his neck, to his lips, feeling his growl. "Don't be upset. I'll let you bite me if you want." She giggled again, and rested herself upon him.
-
Chronin had enough of her flirtations, and simply sat up, easily 'knocking' her off and hiding his body's slight excitement.
"I'm not frustrated, indignified, or afraid. I'm getting fed up with a cat that thinks I'm just another 'conquest', like those meatheads at the mess hall." He grabbed her by the shoulder, opened the door, and pushed her out.
"You want someone to mess with? Jetho is down the hall to your left. We have one more day before we arrive at their last known location." he calmly said before shutting the door and going back to meditation.
Vuranin leans against the wall to the right of the door, and growls inwardly as she hears the dumbest question she heard since she got here. "Obviously, I would like the one that Nero is inhabiting, to actually speak with me, or at least touch the door..."
-
Takes some offence to the word obvious, even though she was looking for nero it was still unknown why she wanted him. Looking back to Leia and back at the door.
-
Tabby leaned back against the cold door and gave a heavy laugh.
"You don't conquer a toy, you just play with them!" She yelled and then pushed off to waltz through the ship, with insouciant swagger. She caught a electronic sign by a door, with Jetho's name on it, which made her stop and lick her teeth with ideas. She went to the door, and prised it open, just a crack, seeing the big tiger huffing through press ups. He was topless, making Tabby smile and put on her sunglasses, setting it to record. She sat down and folded her arms, watching the show until she got bored. So she whistled.
"Hey, you want a drink? I'm thirsty."
Kane and Abel looked over at Leia, and she stared at the door, while gripping Leo tight, keeping hold of him. Her legs shook with the urge to walk to the door, and she whimpered, with a harsh voice.
-
Jetho turned to Tabby, and felt a pang of fear when she asked if he wanted a drink. Chronin seriously referred to her as a 'widow-maker' and he was not interested in finding out the reason.
"J-just water, no additives..." was all he could say before he flipped over and started doing push-ups. Jetho was surprisingly bulky for a tiger, but what drove him to keep exercising was that his friend Chronin was still able to beat him in contests of pure strength.
"Actually, do you know how Chronin got that strong??" He asked, expecting her to not have left yet.
-
Leo scratched his head a few times thinking for a bit looking at the door, giveing a frown at the various things that could happen he used his hand that was still at his side to slowly reach behind him turning the safety off on his Plasma Pistol being sure to make it inaudible as he undid the strap that was holding it down. "Please, this will only take a second... I'll walk with you. It'll be fine" he said walking her to the door.
-
Tabby gave a little smile, and headed of to the ration store. It was nothing more than a closet filled with cupboards. She opened one, and took out two bottles of water. When she came back, she walked into Jetho's room, put the bottle beside him and sat on his bed, taking a drink.
"I'm surprised that you dont know," she said. "You seem to be good friends with the dragon." She drank more down, looking at him over the bottle.
Leia's grip became tighter and tighter, and she moved behind Leo, pushing him to the door, as she felt Vuranin's presence grow stronger.
"Master," she whispered. "Someone's here to see you."
-
Nero sighed inside Leia's mind. ...I KnoW...I WilL TakE CarE OF IT... Leia suddenly began to gag as as a black tar-like substance filled her lungs and throat. She doubled over as the substance poured out of her mouth and onto the ground. The tar slithered across the ground and sat at the front of the door. For a moment it didn't move...as if it was looking at the door. Then, in a flash, the door was off of its hinges with the tar sitting on top of it. Slowly the tar rose upwards and formed a black anthromorphic figure with hollow eyesockets. It turned to Vuranin angrily before speaking.
"WhaT DO YoU WanT?!"
-
Jetho laughed at the idea of him not knowing, no matter how true or sad it was.
"Hes usually the type to keep quiet yet make more noise than the normal braggart. Hes only told us that his family died during the Everflame incident, something that most of the squad had in common. Beyond that, we never really paid attention to his ingenuity or his strength unless it saved our lives. Hes never been this open before, but I can only guess its due to the second 'seduction' incident..." Jetho shuddered as he started to recall evidence of a mutilation over every square inch of the room.
Vuranin could only chuckle at his choice of host, and then looked towards the other end of the corridor.
"I was worried when your aura weakened, but I see you've found a vessel." She paced down towards the door, then looked back at him as her hair lit up in agitation.
"I know the exile was a stupid decision on their part, but don't justify it by taking over my job..."
-
"YouR JoB? I'M SO SorrY. I'lL JusT WaltZ RighT BacK HomE TheN...SincE You'vE DonE SucH A BanG UP JoB SO FaR!" The tone was a joyous one but the snarl that the figure wore said otherwise. "WhilE I'M AT IT, I ThinK I'lL MakE FlowerS ComE OuT OF MY EarS! HowS ThaT SounD, OH GloriouS RetreiveR OF ThE FlamE?!" The Nero-thing spat at the ground, ending the sentence and the tone.
"NoW ListeN UP AnD ListeN GooD, CausE I'm OnlY SayinG ThiS OncE! BacK OfF AnD GO HomE! I'lL RetrievE ThE EverflamE...WithouT GettinG DistracteD, LikE YoU. UnderstanD?"
-
Vuranin's hair turned into an inferno as she vanished from sight, then reappeared to splatter Nero's tar-like form with an open palm.
"If I found you in a secured facility, within a quarantine zone..." she pointed to the biohazard sign on the right wall.
"...something obviously went wrong. As for the title 'glorious retreiver', you obviously neglected your job of keeping the dimensions seperated!!" She rubbed the top of her snout with her talons, and walked back to the door with her head hung low and voice near un-audible.
"Why is Everflame so important, its not like we can't make another one; and why is it, that Howl and Seeker can go back if they fail, but I can't?!" The door became visibly dented as she finished her sentence with an enraged fist. She turned back around, and her hair became a blue flame as she sat against the door, and looked back at the reassembled 'tar'.
"I need a few minutes to calm down... then I'll leave you alone."
-
"I'M HerE OF MY OwN FreE WilL...AnD I WilL TakE ThE EverflamE EventuallY. It'S A LoT MorE ThaN YoU Can SaY, ExilE." The Nero-thing began to steam and evaporate. Soon it was gone, leaving only the destroyed door to indicate it was ever there.
-
Leo found himself having a hard time keeping up with the way things were going as is, but made a few notes to understand some distinct things. He began to rub his chin leaning on the wall listening intently on the entire conversation. "...So the hyena is from a different dimension, same for who ever is behind the door and everflame." He then flinched after hearing a loud bang his head quickly turning to the door his face soon turned to a frown now that the door was dented in a way where there wasnt a simple way out unless it was hopefully knocked down. He slid down the wall to the floor growling "Looks like were not getting out anytime soon" he commented about the door loud enough so it could be heard as a muffle, made in an attempt so the mass of tar will talk the dragon into knocking the door down.
-
Tabby flicked her tail with agitation.
"That boy'boy's too messed up and not messed up enough." She sighed. "Whatever, he can keep being the ball of spikes all he wants. Do you mind if I watch you work out?" She looked over his body, seeing the curve of his muscles, and licked her lips. "It's entertatining".
After the Nero thing evaporated, Leia collapsed to the ground unconscious. Kane and Abel stood at the back, staring in disbelief.
"What the hell is going on?!" the leopard said, sticking close to his friend.
-
Tess walked down the empty steel corridor, now up in the upper levels of the carrier. Behind her trailed Blaze, Yuri and RUST-E, the latter watching Blaze carefully. The group stopped at a wide T-junction, Yuri turning one way, Tess and Blaze the other "Hey Yuri! Dont forget that inhibitor for RUST-E! If you can get it for under fifty creds I'l love ya!"
She smirked, turning back to Blaze who had inadvertently flinched at what she had just said... The pair continued to walk together down the corridors, the little droid following close behind Blaze....
Finally they reached the entrance to hangar, Tess leant close to Blaze unzipping her overalls and pulling out a wad of credits from an inside pocket "Okay man... I got somthing i really need you to do for me... Give this to that guy who's ship you came in... Tell 'im he can have the full lot, I'm happy with what i got... I'm gonna go get some bunk time before new shifts..."
She smiled, leaning closer and kissing him lightly on the cheek "Thanks man.... And for the record... I heard what you wanted to ask me at the mag-tracks..." With that she smirked, turning and walking away with a spring in her step. Behind her whirred RUST-E, the little droid watching Blaze suspiciously...
-
Jetho shook his head, and pointed at the door.
"No offense, but I don't feel like being eye-candy while on the job; plus he already told me how you called him a 'toy', or 'boy, whatever the first letter was." he stopped for a moment to center his thoughts then nudged her at the door.
"I'm not gonna' be a scape-goat for your issues, you either work it out, or go without eye-candy!" He yelled before the door shut and locked behind her, while Chronin's was still unlocked...
Vuranin finally settled down after the leopard's outburst, and had silently gotten back up to only vanish again...
-
Tabby shook her head as she was ushered out, and gave a long, head shaking sigh after the door closed behind her.
"Ugh, why does everyone have to question my motives?" She grumbled to herself and headed back to her room, closing the door and dropping herself onto her bed. "Bleh, I hate people. Stupid people." She closed her eyes, trying to get to sleep.
-
Blaze walked up the entrance ramp to David's ship, tail flicking excitedly behind him. Tess hadn't exactly said yes, and sure he hadn't really asked her properly... But still... He walked down the steel corridors towards the cockpit, slamming a fist several times on the wall as he walked"Yo! Mr. David? Tess sent me with your credits for some engine part... I dont know about you but I'd quite like some bunk-time tonight, so hurry it up if ya could dude.."
Tess yawned widely, sliding into one of the communal bunk-beds. Above her another engineer snored and rolled over with a creak of bedsprings. She pulled the covers up to her chin, and patted the pitted and scratched head of RUST-E beside the bed. The little droid was plugged into a wall power socket, and gave a little beep of satisfaction before powering down.
Tess sighed, settling back in her pillow. Around her the ship groaned and hummed, accompanied by the sounds of fifty or so people sleeping. It was times like this, in the twilit world between waking and sleeping, that she wondered... wondered what it would be like to leave the Mechanicus Carrier....
-
The door slid open to a heavy eyed, yawning snake. David stretched, and licked the air, smelling the engine component, and looking Blaze over.
"You sure seem mobile for someone recovering from a near fatal bacterial infection. You can't be feeling too good, and your mum can't possibly approve." His voice was measured, yet piercing, his words wriggling into crevices as he examined Blaze's face. His eyes narrowed, and he took the engine component. "Thanks. Maybe you could get your girlfriend to help me install it." He flicked a slight twist of his mouth into a smile, then turned took one final look over the cockpit, seeing ships come and go through the viewscreen. One of the arrivals was a large, regal craft, covered in glowing golden markings on its rounded sides coloured an earthy red. Several curved sections that rotated around it, flashing blue from beneath their dark shells. David cocked his head, and his mind twisted around it, trying to figure it out.
-
"I dont even know anymore..." Leo said kneeling down a bit to adjust Leia to a bit more of a safer position after makeing sure she was fine "They both want the same thing obviously and unless you have the clearance for it you might as well give up hope." he finaly growled before walking up to the door placeing his ear on it seeing if anyone was still out there, but the dragon was no longer still out there "Ok... Are they going to cut the door open or just leave us locked in here..." he asked patting on the dent that would keep it from opening.
-
Abel stood up, and headed with purposeful speed towards Leia, while Kane stood back.
"After that little show, I don't think anyone's leaving any time soon." Kane said. "Especially not her." Abel reached down and gathered up the ferret, before heading over to a blank wall. A section of it dissolved until he could step through and it closed behind him.
-
Blaze wrinkled his nose, frowning back "She's not my... I mean... I was never one to do what my ma'm said..." He leant around David, watching the ship land with a woosh of discharged CO2 and flashing landing lights. He sighed, leaning heavily against the wall of the ship "But your right man, I'l go get some bunk-time now... I'l see what I can do about gettin' Tess to help ya there..." With that he left, giving one curious look at the ship plastered across the view screen...
-
As people headed to bed, sleeping to the sound of the carrier engines, others were waking for the night shift, with activities continuing constantly, just cycling through the workers. In the morning, David woke in the cockpit, and used the little energy he had, flicking on the heaters, hidden all around him. He had a little smile and lay motionless, curled up in his pilot chair.
Meanwhile, Reggie was stirring, feeling someone elses fur between his fingers, and waking up to the scent of dried blood and sex. His eyes flickered, giving the slightest vision of Annie's sleeping face. The clouding of sleep wreathed her in an angelic glow, and he reached along her side to feel her in his arms.
-
Blaze groaned, pulling his covers further over his head. Outside his minuscule bunk-room someone hammered heavily on the door with their fist "Wake up ya lazy half-breed! Breakfast servin' in five minutes down in the mess hall, and I aint savin' you anythin' like last time!"
With a deep sigh, Blaze stood up ungainly, walked over to the steel door and opened it with the press of a button. It slid, and in fell Tess, fist outstretched to knock again on the door. She jumped back to her feet, ignoring Blaze's protesting groans of pain "C'mon dude... Breakfast!..." She paused, throwing a reasonably clean pair of trousers at him "And while your at it get dressed... Seriously, guys are the skankiest..."
Annie gave a wide yawn, ending the lazy motion with her muzzle resting against Reggie's powerful chest. She looked up at him, curling up even further next to him seeking warmth under the thin bedcovers... She muttered under her breath, voice half muffled in Reggie's fur "Morning handsome..."
-
Reggie stretched a little smile, then closed his eyes tight before opening them again.
"Nope," he said. "This is real." He gave a breath of a chuckle, and kissed Annie, holding her close, feeling his body against hers. Then, three knocks hit the door, snapping the sleepy glow.
"Ms Yantova, are you there? Your presence has been requested by the heads of Internal Justice." The voice through was male, but light and tinted with a certain chipper twist. Reggie groaned and rolled his eyes.
"Peace, I want some peace," he mumbled into Annie's ear.
-
Leo's ears perked up slightly takeing a glance behind him seeing able leave growling to Kane "What?! You cant be serious!" dragging his claws across the metal trying to hold back his rage "Whats next then? Stay in here for a week hoping that something comes out of me, or you? And what about her Kane. She didn't even ask for any of this." he growled even louder placing his head on the door hearing a slightly hollow bang showing the door was thinner that it seemed. He was doing his best to calm down before doing anything rash, as a thought already came over his head.
-
"What did you think you were in here for, a picnic?" Kane narrowed his eyes, and gestured to the pure white and empty room, save for the abandoned board game and the damaged door. "We could all be diseased right now, but from what I heard back out in the world, that's probably not the case. It's probably just you and that girl, and as far as I can see, she's the only one speaking in tongues vomiting living goop. So sit down and calm down, because you'll be let out eventually. Yeah maybe in a week, maybe longer, but at least you'll be out to live your life." The small section of the wall dissolved again, letting Abel step back into the main room, leaving Leia in the small seperate compartment as it closed behind him.
Leia was still unconscious, and the room was pitch black. There was only the sound of whirring electric motors, as a table lifted her up, and robotic arms reached out, cutting fur, scraping skin and sucking blood samples out of her.
-
"No only a quarantine reason, now I know I'm in the worse room to be in with a pink daunting cat on the wall because some freak of nature of some deminsion of god knows where, just outside caused my college to spit something up and now shes in that room while they do who knows what." he said soon calming himself down as he left the door sitting down leaning on the wall "Jeez... can this day get better? I'm afraid not, bad things happened everywhere!"
-
Nero, now nestled back in Leia's brain, watched with interest as the machines went about their work. SucH EfficiencY...PerhapS YoU CreatureS Aren'T AS SimplE AS I ThoughT...I MusT KnoW HoW IT WorkS A bit of the tar dribbled out of Leia's mouth and on to one of the machines. It quickly spread across the machines until they were dripping with the tar. Then, just as suddenly as it had spread, it evaporated. The arms stopped their work and began to flex and turn, sometimes scratching at the walls as if to see if they could pick through them.
InterestinG...VerY InterestinG
-
Annie sighed, pushing reluctantly away from Reggie. She kissed him across the muzzle as she got awkwardly up off the bed, and walked through the half-darkness to the door. As she walked, Annie stooped down to pick up a set of clean overalls, roughly pulling one leg into them as she hopped towards the door. Finally clothed, she pressed the button for the door to open, catching the steel as it slid and holding it tight. The door opened only halfway, leaving the room behind her in shadow as she met the gaze of the messenger...
Tess stood outside Blaze's closed door, tapping her foot impatiently on the steel grated floor. At her feet sat RUST-E, watching her with a bright blue optic-eye -"bzz-wheep-du-weep"- Tess stuck out her tongue at the little droid, giving him a hefty kick "Well how was I to know he wouldnt thank me for being woken up early?..." RUST-E cocked his head to one side, beeping again "-B'deep-wheep?"-
Tess looked away from him, back at the closed door "Shut it you bucket of bolts... Its not like that..."
-
Chassity felt something like a drop of rain fall on her shoulder. It came again, wet, cold...sticky. Not rain. Something else. But what? She opened her eyes and shook her head to clear her dreams away. She looked up. Leaning over her was Roger, her master. Apparently he had decided to give her a rude wake up call…for the second time that week. He said nothing. His hands were shaking as he clutched them together. His eyes were wide and stir-crazy. And…
It wasn’t rain dripping down onto her. It was something else.
Quickly, the girl sat up in her bed and tossed the heavy green blankets aside. They were very scratchy, not because of their make necessarily, but because of Chassity’s wooden texture and the longevity of her rests in that bed, and they made static popping noises as they rubbed against each other.
She took hold of Roger’s trembling hands, smearing herself with his blood as she did so. He balked. “Yyy-oou d-d-didn’t try to a-a-gain? D-d-d-diiid yoou?” she asked in a voice far from human.
Tears, as sparkling as tinsel in the artificial light, streaked down his careworn face. Desolate pools, his eyes. Lost in the grey, his soul. Oh…how she pitied her poor, poor master. She could not comprehend why. She could not prevent or assist. But she had been grafted with enough of a heart to pity. Now trembling herself, she tightened her grip on him and got out of bed. Action. She had to take action. Pulling and shoving with all her strength, trying to block out all reason that told her to let him deal with it himself, making progress as steadily as the flow of an hourglass, the doll eventually managed to corral her master into the bathroom. She washed the blood off in the basin. Then, as she studied the extent of his injuries, she found she could only cringe at just how deep those injuries were. A sigh.
“Y-y-yoou d-do k-k-knoow t-t-that…i-if y-you r-r-really want t-to kill y-y-y-yooourself…it d-d-doesn’t h-h-h-h-help to come s-stand over m-me a-after y-y-you t-t-trrry i-it. B-because then I-I have to f-fix you.” She started to clean him up with a white cloth doused in insta-healing medicine. The medicine had been purposefully set by the sink the night before...this was not the first time.
Roger replied with his best form of reasoning. “You’re my slave. You feel like you have to protect and help me. I made you that way.” He jerked as the astringent-smelling medicine alighted upon the cuts on his wrists, causing a stinging stream of shock to pass through his skinny body. “But I missed where I was aiming. Couldn’t even go deep enough to nab a vein. Too scared,” he continued matter-of-factly.
Tiny smile of forgiveness playing across her almost non-existent lips, the doll reached up with her free hand and stroked his ruby-red hair. The long locks felt soothing to her. She then moved on to straighten the collar of his white button up and adjust the black goggles set atop his head. He was a human. A very suicidal human. But a lovable one.
“I-I-I d-don’t t-think y-you r-r-r-realllly w-want to die. I t-thiink you l-l-like me t-too m-much to n-not s-s-stick around.”
-
Abel sat back in his corner, while Kane grumbled.
"Yeah well," he said. "This is the way your life has ended up. Now you have to live through it." The screen on the wall pinged, and the little cat symbol opened its mouth.
"Please enter the scanning room for re-evaluation." A little section of the wall below the screen dissolved away, revealing another room, lit up blue. "Please enter one at a time."
In the extraction room Leia was in, power was cut from the arms, and error signals flared on the walls. The room was sealed, and a report sent away.
The small feline face of a serval peaked through the gap, with a bright and cheerful expression flowing out of him, increased by his preened and perfect fur. He almost had a glow compared to the wall behind him.
"Ms. Yantova I take it." He had a big smile, full of bright teeth. "You're a lucky woman. One of the head judges of Internal Justice arrived last night, and she would like very much to speak with you." He looked her over, and his smile turned to a grimace. "And if you could. You should probably clean yourself up and wear something more... formal." His staring then caught something on her neck. "Is... is that blood? Are you okay?"
-
Leo made his way through the dissolved doorway scratching his head lightly looking into the blue room "I hate you guys... you know that..." he sighed hopeing this room would be somewhat different then just sitting in one place.
-
Nero frowned slightly as the power was cut. Of course...that didn't matter at this point now that he was powering the machines. The arms hovered over Leia's body, expectantly awaiting a command.
Nero sighed as he spoke directly into Leia's mind. SO ManY DelayS...I'M AfraiD ThaT ThiS WilL NoT DO...I ThoughT ThaT PerhapS ThrougH YouR GuisE OF InnocencE I CoulD MakE MY WaY ThrougH WithouT WorrY...ApparentlY, WhilE YoU VermiN ArE InferioR IN IntellecT, YoU MakE UP FoR IT IN BeinG ObsessivelY ThourougH... Leia could feel Nero pacing back and forth in her mind, as if trying to dodge a subject. AnD WhilE I ApplauD YouR KiN FoR SucH ThingS, I SimplY CannoT BE DelayeD AnY LongeR...YoU DO UnderstanD ThaT, IN BeinG DelayeD SO LonG, I HavE GrowN WearY OF YouR PresencE...IF PerhapS YoU HaD RemaineD CalM, YoU MighT HavE SeeN ThaT BoY LeO OnE LasT TimE...UnintentionallY OR NO, YouR PaniC IS WhaT TippeD TheM OfF TO ME IN ThE FirsT PlacE...MeaninG ThaT YoU FaileD YouR PurposE...ThereforE...
The arms clicked menacingly as they prepared themselves to take "samples"
...I HavE NO ChoicE BuT TO PunisH YoU...SO SorrY
Leia shot awake as the Nero's final words entered her mind. The arms whirred to life as they began ripping into Leia's flesh. Needles began jabbing in and out, scalpels tearing across and pulling up muscles and tendons. Those outside could hear Leia screaming in agony as she was torn apart, piece by piece. The arms were diligent in their work, making every moment of the process last for their new master's pleasure.
SucH WonderouS ThingS, ThesE MachineS...I MusT StarT IncorporatinG TheM MorE OfteN
Soon the screams stopped, as did the arms. The machines were detecting no life-signs...of course Nero didn't need a machine to tell him that the pile of blood, flesh, and organs wasn't alive anymore. His essence withdrew from the area, leaving the machines and what was left of Leia for the morals to discover. Sitting back up in the plasma cage, Nero let out a yawn and stretched slightly.
"Ahh, now that was a wonderful nap."
-
Annie put a hand to her neck, covering the dark stains of congealed blood "No, no... I'm fine, just caught myself on the edge of my bunk earlier..." She smiled back, amber eyes glinting "If you dont mind though, I need to get changed now..."
Sighing, she let go of the door. It slid closed again as she turned back to face the small bunk-room. Hitting a switch set into the wall, dull light strips flickered on as Annie walked back over to the bed, leaning in beside Reggie "Im so sorry... But I will have to go, Internal Justice aren't ones to enjoy being kept waiting..."
-
Kane and Abel ran to the wall, where the screams tore through the walls.
"What the hell is going on there?" Meanwhile the door closed behind Leo, sealing him in the scanning room. Blue lights slithered across his body, through his fur, and tingled against his eyes. Soon it flicked green.
"Anamolous readings normalised, abnormalities absent, you are free to leave." The door behind him opened. The screams had ended, and the walls had thickened as the sample room was sealed off. The damaged door shuddered, and scratched along the ground to open, but instead became stuck, shaking and screeching against the ground.
The officer in the capital sphere city had been leaning back on a portable chair, and stood up after noticing Nero returning.
"Did you get what you wanted?" he said. The scientist moved back, staying way back from the being.
Reggie grumbled in reply, and sat up rubbing his face. Then, with a quick smirk, he grabbed Annie around the waist, pulling her to the bed, and kissing her with fierce and mischievous hunger.
-
Annie giggled hysterically, giggles cut off and muffled as she met the kiss. Her tail swished as Reggie pulled her close. She mumbled between kisses, holding him closer "I really... Should be getting... Dressed... " She burrowed into his thick fur, pressing herself as close as she could to his body. She gave a sigh of relief, running a hand down hs chest...
Tess and Blaze sat opposite each other in the mess hall, long steel tables lined with workers as hey ate. Blaze looked up from his plate, catching Tess' light blue eye. She smirked, watching with a faint air of disgust as he swallowed another large mouthfull "You're really packing it away there... If anything that bacteria stuff seems to have given you a hearty appetite..."
She picked up her empty plate, standing and taking a step back from the table "See you at hangar 35... Imha got an important appointment with a engine part..." Still smirking, she kicked RUST-E out from underneath the table, giving away his hiding place. The little droid gave a beep of annoyance, as Tess started to walk towards the Mess hall entrance "It seems you gotta appointment with breakfast though... Se ya in half n' hour?"
-
Vuranin sat in her room once again, visually upset and disturbed as there was a giant diagram that started from a paper saying 'Now'. From there, it connected to three other notes. Normally, she would have thought that anyone who did this had either compltetly lost it or were simply deranged; that changed since shes now hit her emotional 'rock bottom'.
One note said 'Abandon', and it went into almost gross detail how she would take the Everflame without even causing a single alarm to go off. But, it also ment that the moment she had Everflame, she would wipe all information of her existing by purging her image once again from her son's mind before leaving him an orphan. It satisfies her 'friends' and shes no longer an exile like Nero.
Another said 'Evacuate', which was similar to the 'Abandon' plan with the exception that she take Chronin with her and attempts to make him forget his past fears and trauma. She would then alter his mind just enough for him to not identify her as his mother, but as his lover. This also satisfies her selfish desire, but leaves a bad taste in her mouth since she would be potentially altering what made him the son she adores.
The last note said 'Stay', and all that was written under it was 'Improvise?'. Right now, the third note is what would happen if she can't will herself to do any of the other two.
Ironically, the only option that kept her from going completely beserk from frustration and despair, was the recently added third option. Yet, she could only sit there and think of what would become of the 'Stay' option...
Chronin couldn't get himself to sleep, even though he had been awake for more than a day. His meditation was only filled with images of her, most of them were the result of how he treated her. Maybe I should just act... playful? He could only derive that no matter how angry she got at him, she always got frisky when it seemed that he let his guard down. Slowly it mulled around in his head, and his pupils started to dialate until he opened the door and made his way to Tabby's room and knocked on the door.
"Sorry about accusing you for planting the bug, can I make it up?" he asked, his voice only slightly muffled by the metal door.
-
Reggie growled and pinned Annie down. "You want to get dressed? Well then let's get you out of these overalls." He grinned and pulled her clothes down off her top, showing her chest, making him tense and lick his lips. Meanwhile the visitor waited outside, humming tune. A dingo was with him, and nudged his arm.
"D'you hear that?" he asked, nodding towards Annie's room.
"Hear what?" the serval replied, raising an eyebrow.
"I thought I heard like... a growl or something." The dingo put his ear to the door, while the cat looked perplexed. "I don't think it's from her, I think she's got a guy in there." He looked back at the serval and smirked. In reply, the cat shrugged and gave a little chuckle.
Tabby lay face down in her bed, but she was awake, and grinning. She climbed to her feet and leaned against the wall beside her door.
"Thankyou, that's rather honourable of you. Now how're you going to make it up?" she asked, flicking her tail against the wall.
-
There was a tone of nervousness in his voice as he forced himself to speak. "Its really awkward to say it, can you just let me in before Jetho decides to leave his room?"
-
"Not quite. Circumstances deemed that I be delayed further." Nero stood up in the cage and cracked his neck. "At least the experience has given me more energy. A shame though...such a waste of flesh."
-
Annie giggled with pleasure, helping Reggie to pull off the overalls until they caught at her feet. She kicked them off, letting them land haphazardly over the workbench. Pieces of metal, small tools and wires scattered everywhere across the floor, knocked out of the way by the clothing.
The framed photograph from Annie's past teetered on the edge for a moment, before falling to the steel floor with a clatter and smash of breaking glass. Outside, the Serval and Dingo shared a glance, smirking...
Tess walked up the open access ramp of David's ship, running a hand fondly over the smooth steel hull. She placed her palm flat against the metal, feeling the dull thrum of its systems ticking over. She smiled, walking into the ship. Behind her RUST-E followed quietly, whirring up the ramp as Tess entered the cockpit "Yo! Mr. David, Gotta Engine part waitin' for you outside..."
-
Tabby grinned, patted the door control panel, and it slid open.
"Come on in," she said with a sweet smile.
The scientists that surrounded Entaru ran through simulations, and always collected new data, as different materials and elements were brought close to Entaru to see the effects. The officer folded his arms.
"So what's your plan now? Gonna take another nap?"
Reggie moved down, licking and biting Annie's chest, while his legs moved between hers, while inadvertantly pushing the bedding to the floor, covering the mess that they filled the room with. Beyond the door, the serval looked at his watch, tapping it.
"They can't take too long in there. We've gotta go in like five minutes." The dingo meanwhile, was pressing his ear to their door, hearing the bumps, gasps and yelps of pleasure. The cat threw a disgusted look and punched his arm.
"I was kidding," he giggled with a wide cheeky smile. The serval smiled in return.
"Stupid puppy,"
"Yes i am." The dingo said, deadpan. He straightened his stance, looking proud. The serval turned back to the door, and knocked a few more times.
"Could you two hurry it up a bit maybe?" he said in his high and apolagetic voice.
David stretched his limbs and rolled his head aroud while he swallowed some meat down.
"Brilliant, I need to get going soon." He got up off his chair and followed Tess back into the hangar.
-
He stepped in, and gripped his talons every few moments. For once, it wasn't fear that kept him from acting, it was his own 'prudish' tendencies. He felt the door close behind him, and in a swift motion, he picked her up in his arms and kissed her right on the lips. "If I can recall, I owe you some 'fun' for the buzzkill three days ago..." he said a in a near-whisper as he tried to keep his blush from being noticable.
-
Tabby whooped in surprised as she was lifted off the ground, making her giggle.
"Oh, the boy wants to play does he?" she said, mocking him, daring him to react.
-
Annie looked up at the knock on the door, smirking and looking back down at Reggie amidst moans and pants "What do you say Reg? I go meet this high and mighty person..." She kissed him, biting down on his lip as she did so before releasing "And we continue from where we left of... Personally, this is worth a small wait..." She kissed again, held down under his powerful weight...
Tess walked down the ramp backwards, facing David as they walked. She jabbed a thumb over her shoulder, pointing to an automated trolley, easily twice the size of the ones they had used before. On it sat a large piece of machinery, stainless steel, gears motors and wiring splayed out around it. Tess smirked triumphantly "Second hand, the ship wasnt even used once so it's good as new... This should sort out most the problems you been having with your beauty here..." She looked fondly up at the ship, eyes roving over its sleek steel hull....
-
Chronin started to regain some confidence from Tabby's reaction, and carried her over to the bed before he fell first with a smile. "You'll need a better pet name than 'boy' if you want to go at it..." He had only a minimal agitation at the name now, but honestly wanted a better 'pet' name as he held her right leg with his tail and made her straddle him while one hand held her wrists and the other held her left leg. His hold was firm, but not even close to constricting.
-
Reggie growled deep and loud, vibrating right through every point in Annie's body.
"Depends on whether you can resist the temptation." He made one quick bite down onto her neck, pressing his teeth against her skin, making sure not to pierce. "You have to be sure that you want me to stop." Grabbing her body, he pulled her to him, bringing their bodies together at the waist. He bit down again, holding her tight against the bed, threatening go harder.
The dingo scratched his nose.
"Are you sure you wanna interrupt them? They sound like their having fun," he said. The serval rolled his eyes.
"We get interrupted all the time. It's only fair that it happens to someone else."
"I guess," the dingo said, wobbling his head about as he weighed the argument. He smirked as something clicked in his mind. "Hehe, I remember one time we got interrupted, I made you wear that--"
"Oi!" The cat pointed a finger at the dingo, eyes wide. "You said you weren't going to mention that."
"Did I?" The dingo said, looking innocent.
"Yes, yes you did."
"Yeah I did, didn't I." He grinned and couldn't resist a laugh.
David looked in awe at the size of the thing.
"How are we gonna get that thing in there?" he said, walking around it, eyeing up the dimensions.
Tabby sat down on Chronin's crotch, grinding a bit and looked down at him.
"So you want to be my pet?" she asked, almost looking disappointed, while she pulled down the zip of her top, revealing herself.
-
The tail tightened, but nothing else did. "You want me to call you Tabby, even though you're really Tabitha. All I ask is that you exchange 'boy' for something... less demeaning" he rubbed his snout against her neck during the pause, but was sure to keep himself from completely diving into his instincts.
-
Tabby gasped as he pressed to her neck. "I could call you my little toy dwagon, but if you want something less demeaning..." she looked him in the eyes, licking her lips. "You're gonna have to earn it, now take off that stupid armour." She patted his clothes and sneered at it all, covering him up.
-
Chronin smirked as he replaced his hand with his left leg while he shrugged off his jacket and switched hands so he could put it on the floor. "Your turn, or you can just ditch the knives and I'll take off my vest as a bonus."
-
Annie returned the growl, light and smooth after Reggie's guttural rumble. She smirked, gasping "Well you know me... Temptation wins hands down..."
In the corridor outside, a hulking tiger bore down on the dingo and serval, white whiskers bristling "May I ask why Miss Yantova still isn't with you two, on her way to wherever your going right now?" Officer Grawn looked between the two, powerful jaw chewing on a tobacco-stick. He growled, pushing the serval roughly aside with one clawed hand "Miss Yantova! I dont care what you are doing in there with that law-breaking, hot-headed fox of yours... You get dressed, smart and proper, and march yourself out here in less than five minutes!"
Grawn slammed his fist against the steel door, turning back to face the serval "The Court dont like waiting. And if they get annoyed, they start to hassle me..." he leant close, large incisors flashing as he chewed on the tobacco "I dont like being hassled..."
-
Tabby cocked an eyebrow.
"why? You afraid of these little things?" she pulled out the knives, and hovered them point down over Chronin's face.
"Hey calm down," said the serval as he was pushed to the side. "We were gonna do that. There's no need to fret about it." He looked over to the dingo and shook his head gesturing incredulously at the tiger.
Inside the room, Reggie grumbled in annoyance at the officer, and then off of Annie. "ugh, fine, you go and deal with them. I'll go check on David."
-
Grawn looked close at the Serval, chewing angrily on his tobacco. Finally he spat out the lumpen mess, grinding it under one heavy boot "Good... " With that he walked away, flexing heavily muscled shoulder underneath his dark red uniform...
Annie sighed, biting playfully at Reggie's ear as he crawled off "M' sorry about this... We'l get some 'peace' alone together after this meeting..." She laid heavy stress on the word peace, winking an all too unsubtle way as she slid of the bed, and onto the now even messier floor.
She stumbled over to a steel chest of draws, rummaging through until she found a formal dark red uniform. Sewed onto the shoulders where a set of golden chevrons, in the shape of the Mechanicus logo, a set of mehsed cogs and gears.
She smirked, walking over to Reggie, flicking her tail enticingly to each side "Perhaps... You could help me get dressed then. Almost like earlier, but in reverse..."
-
"What a nice man." The serval rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall opposite the door.
Meanwhile, Reggie let out a laugh as he dressed Annie.
"We're going the wrong way," he said, as he slipped the dark jacket onto her and pointed her toward the door. "I'll go check on David, see what we can do about staying here a while." His smile was quite sweet.
-
Leo motions to the door with a bit of a worried look "What are they doing chopping her up?" he asked walking towards the door placing an ear on it. Something didn't sound right to him however, normally there would be more than one machine running to keep a stable environment at all times. "This isnt right... is it?" he asked looking to able.
-
Abel shook his head.
"Nope, not at all." Soon the screaming stopped dead, and the main, damaged door opened up, with the robotic voice chirping out.
"The abnormality is now absent, you are free to leave at any time."
-
Chronin momentarily lost his 'mood' as she hovered the knives over his face. "Either you ditch the knives, or I tie your hands behind your back before taking off the vest."
-
Tabby sighed, her eyes fading a little, her face dropping a little.
"Too easy." She tossed the knives to the side and seemed almost bored as she sat patiently, straddling Chronin.
-
Leo's face went blank as he slowly removed his ear from the door starring at it with a gut wrenching guilt. He placed a hand on his door letting his head hang for a minute knowingly that he could of have dismantled his plasma pistol and used it to cut the door open. Without a word he turned to leave, almost without speaking before calling out to the two "You guys are terrible guards... start searching who ever you apprehend..." he said lifting his vest a bit revealing the gun, leaving it in it's holster he took out the ammunition, dropping it to the floor and heading for the elevator. He pressed the button and leaned on the wall waiting for it to come down.
-
Chronin sighed shortly after her, and lifted a hand to make the knives float back into her hand. He then lifted himself up to kiss her as his talons hooked into her shorts. "I Just don't find knives all that 'hot', but if its for you then I guess I can 'experiment'."
-
The two big cats watched as the elevator arrived. They didn't join him, and Kane mumbled as he gestured for Leo to leave.
"We're not exactly guards."
"That's not what I meant." Tabby growled and threw the knives away. She heaved a sigh, and looked down at him. "You little toy dragon. You probably won't ever understand." She looked at the door, but didn't move from hm. "I'm wasting my life."
-
(That was NOT supposed to go here. Sorry I fail at life...posted it in the wrong place.)
Chassity took up Roger's hands, now a second time, now they were clean and beautiful to her. She rubbed them up against her cheek. "Y-y-you r-r-reeally n-n-n-need to stop." The fourth time he had tried to kill himself in a month. She never questioned why. Never. He never told her why either. It was like an akward game, with fumbles and plenty of out-of-bounds moments, and it was like a drama, played out for an audience of zero in a ship floating lonely out in heavens-know-where. But every time. Every single time, he had come to her. Every time she had helped him. Every time they had made up to each other...
They had since evactuated back to her bed, curled up in the static sheets like limp pretzels. It was warm. But it was hard. The emotions they had to deal with, not the bed...Eventually, Roger replied: "Why?" He was stiff. Not looking like he would break soon.
She did not blink, she could not because she lacked the body parts to do so, but she shook her head slightly. How could he not know why? "B-because I love you."
He pulled himself away. It almost seemed as though he had been hoping for something else. "You? Love me? No." He stood up. "Don't even get started with that. You can't." He pointed at her like one would at a bad dog. "First of all, you're a little girl. Second...I don't really think you're capable of it."
Sparks. A dynamic. Something Chassity was not getting. "You know I do!" Speech. Without stutter. She practically chucked herself up off the bed to grab hold of him in the tightest of hugs. "S-s-shouldn't I? Shouldn't I?"
-
Annie smirked, walking over to the door as slowly as she could, tail swishing behind her. She stooped down, picking up the photograph from the floor, sighing for a moment at it's smashed frame, before setting it down on the workbench. She walked to the door, stopping for a moment and turned her head, blowing a kiss to Reggie over her shoulder "Dont wait too long..."
With that she opened the door and walked out, giving a faint grin to the Serval and Dingo outside "Sorry for the wait there guys..."
Tess smirked, walking around the machinery as well "Ah... What we do Is remove the old coolant system and infibrator... Then see where else we can save some space... Give the entire ship a bit of a tune-up as we go... Bang this in, wire her up.. And your off..." She smirked again, flicking her fringe to one side "Done good, eh?"
-
the dingo gave a lecherous laugh, so the serval nudged him in the gut, and set off leading through to the far end of the ship, where the vip rooms looked out into space.
"Now try to have good manners," the serval said. "Spoke when spoken to, all that stuff. You're going to be given an opportunity that doesn't get given often."
Meanwhile, Reggie got up off the bed and pulled his clothes back on. He looked around her room, and the mess covering the floor. In particular, he looked close to the picture.
David stood with mouth agape.
"You dont great! Next time I have engine trouble, I'm coming straight to you. Alright, let's get this thing in so I can get out of here."
-
Annie walked alongside the serval, winking surreptitiously to the dingo behind his back. She walked with a happy little spring in her step, tail swishing animatedly behind her "Okay then, speak when spoken at. Dont make a fool of myself, I gotcha..."
The photograph, though having its framed smashed, still showed the rather aged image from over thirty years ago. Kitt and Annie stood side-by-side, arms locked together and smiling. In Annie's arms was a bundle of baby swaddling, from which the tip of a bushy tail poked out. The pair stood on a concrete runway, wearing dark-red ceremonial fatigues... The photo, though Reggie did not know it, was taken the same say that Kitt was shot through the chest...
Tess grinned, walking over to the hull of David's ship "RUST-E here may need ta check out yer' ship hardrives an' stuff..." She looked back at David, tail flicking "Somtimes the parts aint always integrable... But the lil' guy can sort that out easily..." She pulled hard on a large panel, letting it drop to the floor with a clang before clambering in "When was the last time you got 'er MOT'd?"
-
The dingo smiled back, and soon they arrived a small door, layered with liquid glass. The serval tapped on a panel to the side, and the door faded away into gas. He took off his shoes and stepped through, bowing to the right of a room covered in wolf fur.
"Your honour, Annabel Yantova has arrived," he said. There was a snap of a beak, and the hint of a satisfied hum.
"Bring her in." The voice was strong, yet covered in silk. The serval turned to Annie, and nodded to her shoes, while the dingo stood back against the opposite wall.
Reggie looked up close to the photo, finding the details. His smile was gone, as he put it down and headed out the door towards the hangar bay.
David gave a sideward stare at the little robot. His eyes bubbled suspiscion into his skin, but after a sigh and grumble, he nodded.
"Fine let him in, but that's a weird little bot you got there. I don't want him deleting anything or giving me a virus, intentionally or not." He rolled his shoulders and stretched again, and then moved the where Tess had disappeared into the ship. "It's been ages since the MOT... ten years maybe?" His voice echoed around the innards of his ship.
-
Annie stiffened slightly at the use of her full name. No one had called her Annabel in many years, and somehow it felt like an unfamiliar taste, roiling across her tongue. She slipped off her shoes, stepping in after the Serval and smoothing out a crease in her jacket as she did so...
Blaze strolled into hangar 35, swallowing a handful of brightly coloured pills. The doctors had been thorough in examining him after breakfast... Thorough enough to leave him rather sore in questionable places. He gulped the pills down, grimacing at the taste as he walked over to David's ship. Around him the hangar buzzed and shrieked, filled with constant noise and motion, as ships flew in and out...
Tess poked her head and upper body back out of the ship, throwing a mess of tangled wires and electronics onto the floor at David's feet. The metal clanged loudly, screws and rivets rolling in all directions "You dont need that lot for starters... I can reckon we could trim several tonnes of body fat off your girl here... With that new system installed, she'l give most other vehicles her size a run for your money..." She smirked, disappearing back into the dark confines of the ship...
-
In the room, laying across a bed of furry skins, was the high judge Shivan, a female harpy eagle, with large wings and violent talons. Her feathers were immaculate, and her beak sharp. She snapped it and smiled.
"Ah yes, I recognise you, though the surveillance does not do you justice. How old are you?" she asked, as he hand stroked over a dead wolf's head.
David moved around, trying to get a good look at what she was pulling out. He glanced over the hangar, noticing Blaze.
"Is she always like this?" he asked, pointing up into the ship.
Meanwhile Reggie saw the group, and the massive engine part as he walked across the hangar bay towards them.
-
Leo wanted to ask what were they by now but quickly dismissed it with an annoyed flick of his tail as he entered the elevator, greeted by the same old song you hear in any lift. Sticking his hand out to keep the doors from closeing "Sorry for the trouble" he said with a low solemn sigh before pulling his hand back letting the door close. Takeing a quick glance over at the panel his eye twitched at the array of buttons that were displayed scratching his head for a moment, before pressing one and leaning back, remembering how deep they were inside of the sphere and took this moment to relax as much as he could. He took a second to flick a phone out checking the date before putting it up remembering that he has to be at the research station by tomorrow.
-
Chronin only raised and eyebrow, then completely let go as he slid off the bed, picked up his jacket and went to the door. He stopped before he could touch the door, and pivoted around to face Tabby on the bed. "All I know about you is that you find exotic things attractive, that you're a bounty hunter, and that when I try to make it up to you: all I get is sarcasm, or a blade at my neck, or the anger you just showed a few minutes ago. I realized my issues when you explained them to me, and I am grateful for that. But as far as I know, you have a fetish for people that act like 'fireballs', and you're trying to mold me into someone through a series of trial-and-error tests." his voice was surpringly level and calm, as his posture showed rage.
It was also visible that she was very annoyed at how he suddenly called her out, despite the small pangs that came with knowing there was some truth to his words.
"I just thought the knives were unnessecary for sex, which I doubt you wouldn't be annoyed if I did the same to you."
-
Annie nodded her head in respect, meeting Shivan's gaze warily "I will be fourty four this year..." She spoke matter of factly, as if her growing age was no problem or inconvenience. Tail flicking in mild agitation, she licked her lips, still under close scrutiny by Shivan's piercing eyes...
Blaze gave a wide grin, ducking his head under the edge of the panel to look "Yup... She can strip, re-assemble and polish up any vehicle you care to give her..." He ducked back out, only just dodging a metal ring that rolled away across the hangar deck, clanking on the steel flooring.
"Best Mechanic I ever saw, she Is..." Kneeling down, Blaze ducked back under the rim of the open panel, peering into the murky gloom of the ship's underbelly. He caught a glimpse of Tess from behind, bent over and tail in the air, wrenching hard on a tangle of old electronics... He ducked back out again, a pinkish flush spreading up his cheeks as he attempted, and failed, at nonchalance...
-
Nero grinned slightly at the officer. "You know...I have no clue. At this point I may just have to start looking myself." His grin widened to the point where the sides of his face actually tore open...allowing it to go even farther.
-
The elevator stopped, as the power in that small contained section of the sphere died. The heat seemed to rise, and something formed of white heat began to coalesce. It was growing beside Leo, and he could hear its breath.
"The dark was here," its voice was strained out, but growing stronger as the being formed tighter and denser.
Tabby pressed her paws to her forehead, rubbing down over her eyes.
"You know what? I'm tired of you. I don't want fireballs, I want men, and you aren't that." she sighed, zipped up her top, and then smacked the side of a fist to the wall. She licked her lips and stared at nothing. "Just... get out of my room. Let's get this job done."
Shivan snapped her beak in satisfaction.
"Ahh I see." Smiled and toyed with the wolf's ears. "So you were only a child back then. Nineteen years old, no doubt following orders when you abandoned your career, for a murderer." Her tongue could be seen, sliding up the inside of her upper beak, and then she breathed a sniff of a laugh. "You konw, there is dispute over whether he just killed a lot of people, or whether it was actual genocide."
David gave a little smirk as Blaze caught a glimpse of Tess. He leaned in close and whispered to him.
"So she's not your girlfriend, then, but you want her to be." He grinned wide, but as he turned to look back, he caught a glimpse of the huge fox striding his way.
"Hey David, what's all this?" David almost shrunk, and he struggled with words.
"Errm... we're fixing the ship. This kid's friend is helping us out." He looked around, eyes darting, searching for escape routes.
"Brilliant, well, I was thinking, maybe we could stay for a little while," Reggie said, and David lock a bemused glance at him. "This place is nice."
"You mean, the people are nice," David replied, making Reggie smirk, which turned into a full grin.
"Yeah, the people are very nice." David sighed, shook his head.
"Alright then, well you go back to your new bed-buddy, and I'll sort this out," he said. Reggie nodded in agreement, then turned to the ship.
"I'm just gonna get some stuff from my room, 'kay?"
The officer seemed to just slightly drop his shoulders, as the possibility of Nero wreaking havoc played in his mind.
"Well maybe you can try different avenues before anything like that is required."
-
Chronin looked at the clock near the bed, then nodded as he walked out the room. "We are now entering the atomosphere, please have something to grab onto." Was all that Chronin heard before he was sent off his feet and right into the bottom half of the pilot's chair.
Jetho had already grabbed onto the bar next to his bed so he didn't suffer a smiliar fate, not even remotely concerned as to how the other two are doing...
-
Frowning, Annie watched Shivan with growing concern, the tip of her tail flicking with anxiety "I am not sure quite what you mean, miss... What murder would this be?"
Blaze grinned, rubbing a paw across the back of neck bashfully "Eh... Every guy has his dreams I guess..." He watched as Reggie strode over, keeping quiet as they spoke... At the mention of the people at the carrier being nice, Tess leaned out of the open panel, giving a cheery thumbs up at Reggie... Her smile faded however, as he walked towards the ship, especially when he mentioned 'his stuff'... She cringed, quickly scurrying back inside the ship's underbelly....
-
Leo blinked when the elevator stopped pressing the button again growling to himself "Ugh, What a tease, just left quarentine now this?!" before he could do anything else the power went out along with the lights, now slameing his head on the door a few times before noticeing the change in the heat then the voice. Now startled he turned around wandering if another one of the extra ordinary beings made its way inside. Nervoulsy pullign out his flash light flicking it on he was hopeing that he was just halucinateing from stress only to prove himself wrong as his face shrivled into a dreadful frown "The... dark?" he asked nervously.
-
"And what avenues do you suggest...that don't involve waiting. I am a very impatient creature and the longer I stay put without something in my agenda getting done, the antsier I get." Nero glared at the officer impatiently.
-
Chronin couldn't tell if they landed, as his sight only covered the area he just slid along and the hallway he was just in. Luckily, he was able to get up and notice that his ship landed on a thankfully flat plateu that decended only a good ten feet before leading towards a mountain range that was covered in jungle growth. Going from a swamp to a jungle, well at least its habitable he mumbled before opening the landing ramp and opening both doors.
"Jetho, 'Tabbs', we're all moving out. Anyone who has a problem with that will be left behind when we take off." He went down the ramp and leaned against the nose of the ship as Jetho got off and made his way down the plateu, stopping just far enough so the others can catch up. It took him a few moments in his near-emotionless haze to realize that he was in some pain. He reached towards the source of pain, and felt two knives sticking out of his jacket while the cuts they left were a milimeter deep at best.
"Ma'am, I believe these are yours." He slid the knives out of his jacket and handed them to Tabby, who was apparently still sour at him, but took the knives back. She then nudged Chronin to move, but found that he was not moving in the slightest simply because he was weighed down by nearly two-hundred pounds of armor. She growled under her breath before going down the plateu to join Jetho, and only then did Chronin finally move to jump over the decent and end up in front of the two.
"There are three peaks we have to inspect, our targets could be hiding out in any of them. Hope you can keep up..."
-
Stars fell to dust, and passion to nil. Chassity and her love, forever unrequited, grew cold over the next day, despite her not even knowing the definition of cold emotion. All she knew was that something was wrong, and she didn't like it. As she filled the day cleaning and organizing the furthest edges of the ship, to avoid him, he similarly tried to avoid her. Locked up tight in his study, set to a chilling temperature of 45 degrees, he read. He read about places he had already been to, and places he newly would like to venture to. They were all marvelous ventures in memory and imagination, but there was one certain 'tourist attraction' that caught his eye most of all.
Something called the Everflame.
Where it was...
Who owned it...
How it came to be...
He did not know. But at the moment, it sounded like the most satisfying destination he'd ever heard of.
-
Shivan's smirk fell into a sharp stone beak
"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Miss Yantova. The entire squad went into hiding over it. Two of your squadmates deied, and your commanding officer was injured and arrested." She was vicious, and looked almost ready to leap at Annie, giant talons bared. "I'm talking about the events on the GA Demolition, where you aided in the escape of Daray Mabaton and his accomplices."
David winced as Reggie disappeared into the ship. He grabbed Blaze by the arm.
"Okay, first, that girl in there is not a dream, she's reality. If dreams were reality I'd be a happy man because that fox who's banging your mum is gonna charge out of that ship and kill me." He looked the boy in the eyes. "I need you to distract him, please," he said, gripping Blaze's shoulders.
"The dark," said the voice. "The opposite, the shunned fool." There was almost laughter, flowing out of the walls, until it focused and Leo could light gathering beside him into a bestial form. "I can feel him." the breath was made of fire.
The officer frowned, trying to gauge Nero. "Well sit a little tighter and we will probably help your agenda when we can."
Tabby leapt off the ship, and jogged in front of them all, staring from one peak to another.
"Wait... three peaks?" Lights seemed to blaze in her head, more and more, one by one. "Holy heck, I know this place!" She started to run, but stopped, eyes wide. "I know where they are." She turned around, but was bouncing enough, needing to move, needing to run. "They're not on the peak, but they're close to it, and they're not hiding, they're visiting. Follow me!" She bounced and charged through the foliage, flinging herself past thick bush and forest. her lithe body weaving easily through it all.
-
Chronin was at a loss for words, she apparently knew where they are, who these people are, and where they would be found. He chased after her, but kept his rifle at the ready in case Tabby was going to get ambushed. He did not realize however, that Jetho was not following either him or Tabby as they went through the jungle...
-
Annie frowned, but kept a calm resolve as she met Shivan's viscous stare "I believe you must be mistaken... If you would check my Mechanicus files, as I am sure you have, you will see that I joined the company less than twenty years ago on Solar ViracusII. Before then I was working with my late husband on a mining barge..."
Her chest rose and fell rapidly, the only sign of the building tension encircling her mind "You must have me mistaken for somebody else, for my records show no military service Miss..." Thoughts tumbled through Annie's mind as she spoke, all overlaid with a voice from the past, her father reciting an old saying "You may run as fast and for as long as you wish, but the past catches us all in the end kid..."
Blaze looked from David's pleading gesture, to the maintenance hatch of his ship, to the entrance where Reggie's tail had just disappeared around the corner. He groaned, pulling out of David's grip "Fine... Fine, but I reckon you owe me one after this..." With that he broke into a run towards the ship, tapping away on his wrist-datapad.
"Hey Reggie!" Finally Blaze caught up with him, panting and between the fox and his room "My mum just sent you a message... Sorry, I already read it.." He handed over a thin data-pad with the message on:
---Annie Yantova, Mum---
--- Had to send this thru Blaze, meet u at mess hall for some lunch, then we can continue what we left off ;-) Blaze can show u where the hall is, Cya ---
Blaze shrugged, looking up at Reggie "I'l show you where the Mess hall is then... Sounds like she wanted to see ya real bad..." He grinned slyly, resisting the urge to wink...
-
Tabby dove past trees, and bounded across the hills with a smile on her face. At times she'd stop, climb to the highest point on a nearby tree and get her bearings before leaping to lower branches of other trees, heading to the northern most peak. Jumping down to the forest floor, she set to running again, until the ground gave way to something soft, something that moved. The smile went. She grabbed her guns, and leapt back to climb the tree.
"Get off the ground!" she yelled to Chronin.
Shivan's talons on the end of her hands crushed the dead wolf's skull, leaving it torn and mishapen. She looked down at it, then at her hand, and seemed to calm. Her face relaxing, her hand stroking the broken wolf.
"I'm not here to arrest you, though I could convict you simple for lying to me. You're a good person, and I don't like imprisoning good people." She looked up in Annie's eyes, holding her to the spot with her stare. "I'm giving you an opportunity. You can let me arrest you for aiding the escape of one of the worst criminals in the galaxy, or you can help us catch people who truly deserve punishment."
David gave a smile of relief and turned to Tess.
"Yeah if you could finish that asap, that would be great. I'm off to hide for a little while." He pulled out a datapad, and laid it beside her. "Here's how to call me when he's gone, see ya!" He waved and ran across the hangar.
Reggie looked back at the boy, then at the pad.
"Huh, okay then. Well I've just gotta go check and get something from my room. Tell her I'll be there soon." He winked and headed onwards through the ship.
-
Annie sighed, her shoulders visibly loosing their military-drilled posture. Her tail flicked one as she glanced from the abhorrent wolf-skin, and then back to Shivan. She sighed again, paws still held sternly behind her back "Fine... You have me listening..."
Tess frowned, looking from David to the datapad. She shrugged "Sure... I call you when the heat dies down..." With that she turned back to the ship, kicking RUST-E as she went "C'mon you bucket of bolts, lets try and get this thing fitted..."
Blaze blanched, grinning and jumping in front of Reggie again "You sure you cant come now? I just kinda wanted to meet someone myself, an' I'm kinda late as it already..." He looked up at Reggie, internally gulping. If it came to trying to physically stop the fox from getting into his room, he didnt have a gnats chance in space...
-
Chronin was a bit late to hear the 'Get off the ground!', but stopped just before the ground Tabby was on, and looked up. "What was that?" he yelled before feeling the ground move as well, jumping onto a tree with almost enough force to uproot it from the side.
-
Leos eyes widen in terror and began thinking to himself "Im speaking... with the devil..." he thought as he looked down to his side backing away from the beast that began to form "Why me? And feel who? he asked with panic as his back now touched the wall in little hopes of getting away, and probably being mauled horrificly.
-
Nero sighed "Well I suppose..." His sentence stopped dead. All of his senses began blaring warnings in his head.
Something else was here. Something different. Just what, he didn't know. All he knew was that it knew him.
Nero's face contorted into a snarl as he looked back at the officer. "Change of plan! I'm leaving!" Nero looked at the cage for a moment and opened his mouth to an impossible width. The officer could feel a wind starting to pick up...which was odd because there can't be any wind on a space station. The wind got faster and faster as small objects began to be picked up and dragged in the direction of the wind...right into Nero's mouth. Soon the plasma itself was wavering in the wind as more and more things were dragged into his mouth. Then, all at once, the cage buckled and twisted around itself and was sucked into Nero's maw. With the cage gone Nero's mouth snapped shut, cutting off the wind. Nero dodged a large book as it continued it trajectory towards him before he stood up.
Ignoring the officer and the scientists he walked back towards the hull of the space station. With a slight turn of his head back at his captors, he grinned. "Sorry to eat and run...but I have pressing business elsewhere." With that he grabbed a piece of the hull and blasted a hole through it, sucking him out. Nero allowed himself to fly through the black as he hurtled back to the debris field where he left his ship.
-
"Good." Shivan curled a smile, and relaxed on her bed of furs. "Do you remember Mabaton's wife or probably girlfriend at the time? A cat called Tina?" She stared at Annie, trying to gauge the reactions. "After her murdering husband died some time ago, she's been maknig quite a name for herself. Fake names ofcourse. Normally people know her as Krade." The smile disappeared, and her talons stroked between the wolf's eyes. "She seems to have been infected by her late husband, with his disregard for the law. People have been hurt."
Reggie looked down at Annie's son, and options bounced around his head.
"Okay then, I'll get it later." He turned back, and stepped to the side to let Blaze pass. "Come on then, lead the way."
The trees began to shift, and the ground shuddered. Beneath the dirt, something moved, something big. At the base of the tree, tiny tendrils shot up from the soil, curling up the trees, waving out to the air, tasting the smells, feeling the sights. Tabby watched the ground in front, and glanced behind and around.
"It's a saltworm, and it's a lot bigger than it looks. They're quite docile, so we should be safe, but stay on your guard." The tendrils turned to her, getting close, reaching towards her.
The beast began to solidify, as a lump of golden light, blinding Leo. It still grew larger, pressing against the wall, melting them into nothing. The lump had appendages, legs, wings, burning. Its eyes shone and shifted over its face. It turned around, at the walls and the floor.
"Why you? Me... I, we... We." It grew larger, and reached through a melted hole in the elevator, pushing a stump of a mishapen arm out, feeling around at the metal construction.
The officer moved back as Nero blasted through the hull, and it sealed behind him.
"Let him go!" he yelled, with his arms out. He turned to the scientists. "Have we got what we need."
"There should be enough research here, yes." A small red panda stepped forward with his reply.
"Will it work?" asked the officer.
"Maybe. Or it might destroy everything within a lightyear."
-
Nero clambered into his ship after a brief flight through space. He was still no closer to the Everflame than he was before. DO TheY EveN HavE IT?...AloT OF NothinG SeemeD TO BE HappeninG...I WondeR IF TheY WerE WastinG MY TimE ON PurposE...BaH!...They'rE FaR ToO SimplE TO HavE DonE ThaT....StilL, I NeeD TO FinD ThE EverflamE... Nero sat in the cockpit and powered up the engines with a grimace. ...I Won'T LasT MucH LongeR WithouT IT...
-
Blaze breathed a deep sigh of relief, and then caught it mid breath "Cool stuff... Mess hall is this way..." He walked past Reggie, bushy fox tail swishing behind him as his feline ears perked up to accompany his grin "So... You and mum 'ave been getting on well..." He smirked, watching Reggie out of the corner of his eye as the pair walked down the ramp of the ship...
-
Chronin had little time to think it over, but luckily did the best he could as he lept off the tree and pulled Tabby, in mid-jump, away from the advancing tendrils and onto the next tree he landed on. Before she could even say anything, he already lept through several trees and was waiting for the worm to go away. When he could no longer see the tendrils, he set her down then went to the next branch. "Lets get going before I find out why theres only two of us here..."
-
Eyes widen breifly as he, for the first time in ages, began to cower in shear fear. "I dont understand" he said seeing the elevator melting standing up but keeping himself pressed on the wall near the door "Is there something you want from me?"
-
Shivan stretched her wings, spreading an impressive display.
"Miss Yantova, I want you to contact her. You two have at least a limited history, and a call for help might just put her in our hands." Her eyes locked with Annie's. "We need your help, Miss Yantova."
Reggie smiled an honest, and almost bashful smile on his dangerous image.
"Yeah she's a great woman. Though what she thinks of me, I don't know, but I'm guessing it's good things." He looked down at the boy, with a searching look. "Is that alright with you?"
"Two of us?" Tabby looked around. "Where... where's your friend?" She climbed higher up the tree, trying to get a look, watching the saltworm shift the soil.
The beast looked back, focusing the heat of its eyes into Leo.
"The Everflame." The fire grew, melting away half of the elevator, making it shift and sway. "The danger is worse than we know. Apocalyptic."
-
Chronin climbed up his tree to get up to her elevation, then looked in the same direction she was looking. He held up a pair of dog tags as their chain was entwined in his claw. "Shortly after you kicked me out of your room, I went to search through my jacket for any small devices. I had the dog tags of the real Jetho, who was also a victim of my homicidal tendencies. Long story short, our ship is comprimised and someone is parading around as one of my fallen friends..."
-
Annie nodded, keeping her own gaze locked with Shivan's own piercing stare. She cleared her throat and folded her arms behind her back "I suppose I have little choice in the matter, though please the one thing I ask is that my son is not pressed for any charges. He has a life to live, and I have already had mine... His future is the one thing I still hold dearly..." Sighing, she maintained her gaze, amber eyes pleading...
Tess glanced over at Blaze and David as they walked down the ramp. She considered waving to them for a moment, but decided against it, simply content with watching Blaze's tail flick from side to side as he walked away. She grinned to herself, watching the tail as she sat with her back against the steel hull of David's ship.
RUST-E whirred up beside her, carrying a circuit board in his metal servo-claw. The little droid looked from Tess, to Blaze, blue eye flickering. Giving a shrill beep, the droid bumped into Tess, rather harder than necessary to get her attention. She gave a disgruntled yelp, glancing down at her companion. RUST-E beeped several times, brandishing the circuit board "Yeah, thats the one... Just go plug it into the server-console..."
Tess looked back up again, just in time to spot Blaze disappearing into the crowds of engineers. She sighed, standing up and kicking the little droid distractedly...
Blaze grinned, snapping his fingers and dodging aside two engineers with an energetic side-step "Dude... Your making her happy, why would I have a problem with that?" Smirking, he glanced up at Reggie "I aint some five year old who has no idea of whats goin' on. What I do know is I havnt seen mum this happy in years. Not since dad-..." He stopped, glaring sullenly at his feet as they walked through the hangar doorway...
-
Leo clung desprately to what little was left of the elevator shuffleing his way to the other end as that part was almost melted away he called up to the monstrosity pittifuly as he was now in a cold sweat "I cant tell you where it is! I dont know where it is! Please I dont know..." he said breathing quickly panicing as the elevator was now amost fully melted. He can see his death now, either falling to death or being mauled brutaly by the creature that was infront of him. Even if the creature allowed him to live, he would probably end up like his collegue, mind driven mad, and killed so inhumanely.
-
"Wait what?" Tabby looked incredulously at Chronin. "If you killed the real one, why did you let an imposter on our ship. Who knows what he's doing right now." She looked back over to the ship, and tapped her sunglasses to zoom in as far as it could, peering through viewscreens and at the surrounding forest. At this distance, back-scatter X-rays would be useless, so finding out what he was doing was near impossible from where they were.
Shivan nodded in compliance.
"Your child is not a criminal, and my organisation would not treat him as such. However, you won't be able to take him with you on this. We don't want any unreliable elements." She stood up and walked over to Annie, pulling out a datapad. "What you have to do is simple enough. Go to a planet called Mngeya, and leave a beacon marked zero-four-five-one. You will be contacted by an operator. You ask for Krade. That you need her to repay a favour. We'll tell you the rest when we get to it." She smiled and handed over the datapad with those same instructions on it.
Reggie awkwardly grimaced at the situation. "Well, er... she's happy now, and so are you, right?" He said, glancing down to Blaze.
The beast growled, deep and harsh, the mountains cracking at their core. It turned to the surrounding steel, and reach out, grabbing the Capital Sphere innards. It continued to grow, spreading wings from it massive back. It crawled out, solidifying claws to grab hold, while the head and body burned through the surrounding metal, climbing up, growing larger, wings spread wide.
Meanwhile, the half melted elevator swung loose hanging against frayed cables.
-
Chronin let out a rather sad chuckle when he scrapped his claws against the bark of the tree he was standing on. "I planned on killing him either when he confronted me, or right after the job ended. Also, I did a quick sweep of the rooms: The ship was only ment for two, with a third room being a cell. I put 'Jetho' in the cell, and apparently he didn't realize that the room can only be entered. The landing probably jarred the cell door into opening, which was how he was able to get out on his own. I'll go deal with him, unless you want to fight him first..."
-
Calming down a bit and turning back on his flash light he swiveled it around to find a service ladder of some sort, not very surpriseingly finding none, for any lower is just the quarentine bay he just escaped. Sighing a bit he soon let out a gasp as the elevator jerked, hearing a loud creak, as if something was pulling apart giveing a occasional ping sound. Panicing in a desprate move leo darted forward takeing a few steps before jumping into the gapeing hole then to a steal beam inside just as the elevator made a large plumit. He sat down for a bit looking around the area he was in now before looking at the path the beast melted, his only way out with far many obstacles that risked him falling to his death.
"Its always something." he cryed out loud punching a pole next to him he now leaned against it crouching down in the fetal position "I just want to go home, continue my life. And this day to be over with" he sniffed now finaly cracking under the preasure.
-
Taking the datapad, Annie sighed a long and deep sigh. She looked up from the device to Shivan, eyes meeting "So long as my son is unharmed, It is fine with me... When do I leave?"
Blaze remained silent for a moment, staring straight ahead as they walked through the crowds of workers. Finally he looked up, shrugging "I'm fine... We're together and that's all that matters to me..."
He chewed his bottom lip, thinking, before finally asking a question he seemed to have been holding in for a while "Reggie, eh... How do you... Erm..." A dark flush spread up his neck and he looked away as he rushed the last part "How do you know a girl likes you.. Like, properly likes you?" Still blushing uncontrollably he looked down at his feet...
Tess finished tapping out a short message on the datapad David had given her, hitting the send button:
-"The fox is away, snake can play ;) "-
She smirked, dropping the datapad down onto the steel floor of the service hatch. Still grinning, she clambered up inside the ship, bushy tail disappearing into the gloomy darkness...
She
-
"Are you kidding me?" Tabby asked, incredulous. "Hell man, go for it. He's not my problem, he's yours; but if he goes through my stuff, I'll kill him." She smirked, then looked over to the closest peak, and their destination beyond it. "It is annoying though. Such a setback."
The golden beast burned blinding like the violent stars, clawing its way up through the capital sphere. Growing, and burning, sending heat radiating through the steel, melting and crippling. The surface started to warm, sending mist into the air, a thick fog. The wings grew large, stretching through the sphere. The beast spat flame, bursting into the air, breaching skin of the sphere. The head of a giant now rose through the ground, staring as a monster of flame, into the buildings and souls within. Still it grew, its jaw screaming and swallowing the streets. The wings burst out, tearing through the metal, splitting it, destroying and burning everything and everyone. Buildings buckled, people screamed as their fur burned. The sphere cracked, and shattered into a thousand chunks, the size of moons, and the shrieks of millions stretched across the galaxy.
Shivan put an arm around Annie, and walked her to the door. "There is a ship we have procured. It sits in the hangar right now, and you can have it, if all goes well." The door opened. The dingo and serval had been standing there, chatting all this time. "Go now," said Shivan. "and redeem yourself."
Reggie gave a sideward glance at the boy, then breathed the slightest laugh. He folded his arms and looked up into his mind.
"Honestly, you can't know, unless you ask." He ruffled Blaze's hair. "Though," he said inhaling a deep breath. "There are clues. If she's always complimenting you, or always smiling and laughing when she's with you... also, if she fears for you." He put his hands into his pockets, and shrugged. "Honestly though, none of them are certainties. You should ask her yourself."
David breathed a sigh, and leaned against the wall in grateful relief. Then, pushing off that wall, he headed back to the hangar, heading over to his ship. He peered inside, trying to find the young mechanic.
"Thanks," he said. "So when can I leave?"
-
Nero watched in quiet awe from his ship as he saw the Capital Sphere split apart. Quickly dashing to the airlock, Nero almost ripped it off of its hinges to get a better look. He clambered onto the top of the ship and looked onward as the golden beast bloomed from the steel seed. Suddenly, Nero was nearly knocked from his perch as the life energy of all those dead blasted into him like a nova. Nero let his mouth fall open to take in as much of the energy as possible...much like his real dimension counterparts would do after a star died. As he fed, he watched the beast with his eye-socket...his real eye.
You'rE BeautifuL....WhoeveR YoU MaY BE....
-
Leos ear flicked hearing the horrid screams of the many people before hearing an alarm from his phone. Reaching into his pocket and pulling it out his eyes widen at what hes seeing the message showing...
WARNING!!!
Critical Air Leak 13:23min
Nearist Evacuation unit found
The screen would display a map, the map lead back up the elevator shaft into the lobby and down a hallway to a hanger bay. The feline gaged a bit feeling the artificial life support systems of the sphere shutting down along with a difference of gravity. Hopping back into the elevator shaft, he nearly slamed his face against the metal as the gravity was now lower than exspected, dismissing it he grabbed onto a nearby beam and pulled himself up flinging him upwards, repeating this process each beam he came across untill he reached a elevator door leading into the lobby. Pulling it open he bounded down the lobby and into the directed hallway, his heart raceing as the adrenalin was circulated through his body.
-
Annie sighed and walked out, sliding out from underneath Shivan's wing she made sure not to seem overly eager to leave her presence, or her talons... As she stepped over the threshold of the door, the thin datapad in her jacket pocket buzzed, a small message icon flashing in the corner of the screen...
Blaze gave a weak smile, the red flush subsiding from his cheeks as he hit send on his datapad "Right... Thanks, I guess." He clipped the datapad back onto his belt, sidestepping a pair of engineers who where fixing a light fixture in the ceiling of the corridor "Mum just messaged me to say she's being held up at a meeting or something... But she'l meet us in the mess hall in about ten minutes." he grinned suddenly, stopping at a T-junction of the corridor "Hey Reggie... You wanna come see my Mag-bike? We got time for a quick detour."
Tess looked up from the large piece of machinery she was dragging across the hangar floor, speaking between pants and grunts "If you just... Help me with this... Haul it up into yer' ship..." She paused for a moment, letting go of the metal device. It was roughly cylindrical, but flattened and covered in wiring and cables. At each side was a small handle, almost completely obscured by the tangle of wires. She grinned, wiping her forehead with a gloved paw "This is the last part. We just slot it into the centre, hook it up, and I reckon you could leave in around half an hour... twenty minutes perhaps, if you come help me shift it now..."
-
"Not really a setback since we only spent about ten minutes running. Plus the ship needs more than an hour to get ready for take-off." He jumped back over to Tabby causing the branch she was standing on to break, but as they both started to fall Chronin grabbed onto the tree and let Tabby grab onto his shoulders with her claws unsheathed.
"Don't unhook unless you plan on falling off." Chronin pushed off the tree and landed on another one, then kept building up momentum from each jump to the point where it felt like he was gliding across the treetops. He could have been clearing two trees at a time, but that would mean he took off his vest and jacket with Tabby not riding on his back.
-
The beast of fire flapped its wings, tearing through space, spreading its light across the chunks of the sphere, blinding the citizens with its flame.
"WHERE!" it screeched, with a voice tinted in the bass of explosion. "WHERE IS THE FLAME!" It flicked its head, to and fro, searching across the innards of the sphere, then the depths of space. It focused on a star, and panted as though pining for its life, for the energy of a sun. It flicked its head again, to a soul drenched in the dark, staring back into Nero's eye, like a claw driving into it, gripping hold of the innards of his opposition soul. "You..." The body of fire rippled in a shiver that coursed through it. Down through the vast wings that stretched across all sight, along legs covered in scales of light, and tendrils of fire, with golden claws at the feet. The head was amorphous, undefinable and inward, pulling existence into a beak, or a muzzle, or between human lips. "You entity of darkness," it said. "You planestrider. You came for the Everflame, where is it?"
Around Leo, people lay strewn over the lobby, sweating and broken. Very few were breathing, and even they were at death's feet. panting, straining, staring at Leo. The covering on the walls had deformed under the heat, and the ceiling began to sag as supports were bending. Outside, soldiers stood directing survivors towards the hangar bay. Cars had been abandoned, and everyone ran.
The dingo and serval grinned as Annie walked out, and they moved to escort to the hangar bay.
"So... just so you know," said the serval.
"If the missus didn't tell you," said the dingo.
"We'll be coming with you. To keep tabs and all, so to introduce ourselves," the cat pointed to the canine. "He's Dougie, and I'm Kieron."
"Mag-bike?" Reggie replied, and looked at the clock on his own datapad. "I... guess so. Okay, yeah alright." He said, and followed the boy away.
"Twenty?" David replied, and looked at the clock on his own datapad. "Alright, fine," he said, and climbed up into the ship with her, setting his feet to be secure, and pushed up on the problematic piece of machinery.
Tabby watched the world race past her, as she held onto Chronin, ducking and shifting when she had to. The worm disappeared into the rapidly growing distance behind them, while up ahead, the mountain charged toward them, and the forest started to thin out.
"We're getting close," she said, and peered along the mountainside, to the plateau behind it, where a lone house sat in a green field that stretched away beside the forest.
-
Nero laughed at the creature's question, despite his predicament. He spoke in his own unaltered voice with a smug grin. WaS IT NoT TherE?...WelL TheN IT SeemS WE HavE BotH BeeN MisleaD AS TO ThE Flame'S LocatioN... His voice echoed louder than the screams of the sphere, his words seeming to warp light and space around themselves. A VerY TheatricaL EntrancE I MighT AdD...OnE WhosE NamE IS A MysterY TO ME, WhY DO YoU SeeK IT?...I SeE NO ReasoN WhY A BeinG OF YouR StaturE MaY NeeD IT...
-
Leo pulled out his phone as he quietly stepped over the bodies, sending a signal to his own ship, thankful that the company assigned it to him, and sent a command to it telling it to land in the hanger that was now just down the hall. He didnt so much glance at the bodies, no longer careing for the people that had there faits sealed as they laid to waste on the ground.
Takeing a moment to put his phone back up he began to jog down the hallway and cought sight of falling chunk of metal through the glass, yelping he dived forwards practicaly propelling himself down the hall from the low gravity and landing in a roll just as the hallway was sealed. Standing up panting from the brief excitement he opened the door and walked into the hanger gazeing about the crowd of people who had made it safely.
-
Annie's troubled frown slowly slid away, the creases of worry on her brow smoothing over. She smiled weakly, nodding to them both "I would introduce myself, but I believe you already know a great deal more about me than I you..." SIghing, she walked alongside the pair, watching them with a faint air of curiosity "So tell me... I don't see any mechanicus badges, or explorator tattoos of any kind... Not from around these parts, or the company in general?
----
Blaze grinned "Cool... You ever seen a mag-bike race? S'exciting stuff... I reckon if mum wasnt so worried about me I coulda entered the Mechanicus league..." He scowled, leading Reggie through a small entranceway into a low-ceilinged hangar. The room was filled with vehicles of all shapes and sizes "Thing is its a dangerous sport... I've had three crashes this season, and thats off league too..."
Blaze stopped beside a tarpaulin covered bike, hauling off the cover with a deft tug. It slid off, revealing a Mag-bike that at one time had been new and shiny. Glosy blue body parts now dented and scratched, chrome metal long since dulled and worn. Despite the numerous scratches and chips, the vehicle looked well-used in a good way, and cared for by a good mechanic. Blaze grinned, running a hand down the bike's engine "Tess is a miracle worker... Without her this thing would've been grounded years ago..."
----
The underbelly of David's ship was muggy and dark, a tangle of pipes, metal supports and vents. Everything hummed and hissed, overlaid with the low thrumming reverberations of the engines ticking slowly over. With the snake's help the final engine piece was slotted into place, sliding into it's own little niche. Tess wiped her brow again, sweat and grime dripping off the tips of her blonde hair, covering her russet fur with a layer of greasy soot and oil.
She grinned, slapping David on the shoulder, the cramped space making it hard to reached anything better than a crouch "Good work man... All we gotta do is link it up to the mainframe, run a few quick tests and then your sorted..."
-
Chronin jumped off the last tree, digging his claws into the earth before looking to see where he could start moving again. He mumbled for a few moments, then went into a mad-dash towards the mountain that lead to a rather large leap onto the nearest outcrop of rock. He wasted no time in adjusting to rock-climbing as all of his limbs moved in fluid motion to scale up to the nearest platform. All that was left was for him to move around the mountain and then slide down towards the house on the plateu.
He didn't go any further as he looked around the field with a rather confused face...
"I think someone might get to that copy-cat before us."
-
The beast's fiery claws started to deform and turn in on themselves, piercing into the limbs, while the creature hissed.
"Have we become so twisted?" Its eyes blinked out, disappeareing into itself. "Of course you don't recognise us. The everflame is more important than anyone understood. The effect it has, like the foundation of a tower." The eyes returned, and stared into Nero. "We used to be atop that tower, looking over into this dimension. Now we're falling." It flapped its wings and its claws returned. The body twisted, fluctuated, flickering like a candle flame. "We feel it. The everflame is in this existence, and if we don't take it, everything is gone. Our dimension... that tower is tumbling."
The ground of the hanger, poised on the shattered sphere, began to groan, deformed by the previous heat. Most of the spacecraft were unusable, where some had completely exploded. Those ships that remained became crowded. The ground rumbled and creaked, then landing gear dropped through the floor. A large transport half falling into the sphere followed by screams and commanding yells as people scrambled to escape before it fell further in.
"Yeah we're no scavengers or anything like that," Dougie smirked.
"We're part of the justice group. Mostly we go out, find criminals, that sort of thing." Keiron grinned in a cheery mood, swishing his tail. "It's a good job really."
"Not that yours is rubbish," said Dougie.
"Yeah but it might be, in comparison," said Keiron
"But we don't know that."
"Yeah we haven't a clue, anyway!" The hangar bay opened up to them. Reggie's ship was perched on the side with its guts spilling out, and a few ships behind it, a small brown boat sat next to the huge regal rounded justice ship. "There's our ride," Keiron said, pointing over to the little boat.
Reggie ran his eyes over the bike, looking at the different components, each in varying degrees of repair.
"You sure you should be doing that sort of thing? Your mum probably isn't happy about it, right?"
"Thank God," said David, as he leaned against the machinery. "Not that I don't enjoy your company, but the sooner I get out of here, the better."
"What makes you say that?" said Tabby, whispering into Chronin's ear.
-
Annie smirked, looking between the two as they finished each other's sentences "Yeah... My job isn't the best that's for sure... Sounds like you two have got it good then." She looked across at the ship they indicated, unobtrusive and about as ordinary as a cheap space-faring ship got.
She sighed, longing for her own ship, making a mental note to get on the tail of the recovery teams... As far as she knew, her ship, though technically being owned by the company, was still floating out by that wreck...
Blaze looked up at Reggie, one hand resting lightly on the throttle. He grinned "And there was me hoping you'd be the cool one... Yeah, she doesnt like me Mag-biking. And I'm sure if she had her way this bike wouldn't even belong to me." He hauled the cover back over the bike, looking down at his datapad and the time "But, I bought this second-hand with my own credits. Money I saved up and worked for myself... "
Tess grinned, winking conspiratorially to David as she started plugging wires into sockets "Sure... The big guy? Personally I wouldnt wanna get on his wrong side neither..." Still grinning, she knelt down on all fours, linking up a cable underneath the machinery.
"And no need to worry 'bout it. As an engineer I dont normally get to know the people." She straightened up, running a gloved hand across the smooth metal "Just the machines..."
-
Chronin shrugged his shoulders and kept walking towards the house.
"'Premonition', ESP, 'Sixth sense', or maybe just hopeful thinking. Lets just get the job done so I can kill the imposter without losing track of our targets..."
-
Nero frowned slightly. TruE EnougH...BuT IT IS NonE OF MY ConcerN...WhO NeedS ThaT RealM WheN WE CaN BE GodS IN ThiS OnE Nero turned away from the creature. LeT IT BurN.....I HavE MY OwN PlanS FoR ThE FlamE
-
Leo blinked a bit shuffleing slightly to the side to avoid a ship landing on him. He began to notice something different about himself, he was no longer actingly like the crowd who violently shoved passed him as they avoided the ship. He just stared on calmly at the shuttle as it landed next to him with a hard thump nearly the entire hull took damage right before his eyes yet he just stared at it erily before turning around walking to the private airstrip as he saw his ship pull in on its own through autopilot. As he moved closer to the ship people were looking at him, begging him, as the shouted to him to save one of them.
With a curt respond "No..." he casualy shoved people out of his way climbing onto his ships wing and into the cockpit after the hatch opened, and closed once he was fully inside. The ship it's self had a lazy design, its hull looked almost like a triangular pyramid with wings. Next to the thrusters were four windbooms with a set of thrusters of there own. There were two on top and two below. Painted with silver and blue. Unuseualy this ship had a set of its own guns, when most very personal ships do not have such a thing. In the cockpit, there was only one seat, it wasnt like he had a choice to take a passenger, but, that wasn't the case to him.
He placed a paw on his head growling at a migrane he now had, whispering to himself "Come on Leo... stay sane... stay sane.." he repeated to himself as he ignited the thrusters and shot off into space.
-
"Yeah it's a good enough job," Dougie said with a smirk, while Keiron skipped ahead past David's ship, over to the little boat. He spun around and spread his arms wide displaying the craft.
"I call it, the Lovebug." He made a little giggle, then pulled open part of the casing, revealing a control panel. He typed in a code and a small hatch hissed and crawled open.
"That code he put in is on that datapad the boss gave you," Dougie said, before heading forward into the ship while Keiron stood aside like a doorman. "Show her around, okay?" said the dingo.
"Yup yup." Keiron grinned while Dougie crawled through the hatch and headed to the cockpit.
"Well you should respect your mother's wishes," Reggie said with a stern grin, that slowly broke into a smirk. "But yeah, that is pretty cool, especially if you bought it yourself." He looked around, admiring all the different vehicles. "I worked as a kid, though I wouldn't have been able to afford this kind of stuff in a million years."
David looked over at the girl with an appreciative smile. "Glad we understand understand eachother. Personally, I talk to my ship, or at least the controls of it. I'm no good at the actual innards." he said. "Now quick quick," he clapped his hands together. "Let's get this all hooked and connected and integrated so I can go."
Up ahead, the door of the house opened, and ageing rabbit stepped out, keeping a tall, proud posture. He squinted over at them, and a smile moved his lips.
"Tabby, is that you?" he called. Tabby grinned and her eyes had a flash of happiness as she began to run to the rabbit, laughing as she went.
"'Sup bunny!" She slowed as she reached him, and moved into a tight hug.
"Fool!" hissed the beast. It's claws wear gripping the nothing, holding on, almost as though it would fall. "The everflame stayed here, and now it has stopped. We can't feel it. The same will happen to you. The dimensional barriers are breaking, and we are becoming nothing but natural phenomena." The fire seemed to grow, and the body undulated, growing in intensity, like heaving breaths. "We can feel the others though. Vuranin, and those two new ones. I feel them. Vuranin is near, where is she? Who knows the location of the flame? Tell me, now."
Beside Leo's ship as he took off, a large, sleek transport, covered in regal insignia was being loaded with officials in suits. Paramedics rushed around, and a few swarmed beside a stretcher carrying a blonde human woman.
-
Chronin almost roared his frustration as Tabby apparently lead him to some old rabbit hermit's hideaway. "I'm sorry for interrupting this reunion, but I still need to f-" Chronin's hair shot up as he pulled out his plasma rifle and aimed past the two and inside the house. He was able to stop himself from shooting, and put the gun back down while smoothing his hair back. "Sir, are your friends not coming out... I was told that two others besides us were visiting."
Vuranin stretched her arms as she stepped out of her room, and noticed that her building was seperated from everything and that another of the entities had appeared. She dropped her 'guise as she guessed that the new entity was the one that caused the damage.
The Sphere would probably have gotten Kateri some help during the 'attack', so I just need to keep these two occupied enough so she can get away. Vuranin let the smoke of her form envealop her and also let her size increase to the height of a seven-story building before teleporting right up to the beast.
"The flame went out, all that remains is to take the rock that housed it and leave. But since you just tore apart the Sphere that contained it, the rock is probably somewhere in the debris." Her crimson hair was almost like a lighthouse becon of her location inside the smoke her body gave off.
-
Nero sneered at Vuranin as she appeared. SO MucH FoR QuestioN OnE....AS FoR QuestioN TwO I KnoW AS MucH AS YoU DO...NothinG! Nero turned to Vuranin. AS FoR YoU...AwfullY ConvienienT HoW YoU AppeaR JusT AS YoU WerE NeedeD...
-
Annie followed into the ship, smoothing down the creases in her parade uniform. It was uncomfortably tight, the reason why it had sat folded at the bottom of her drawers for several years now. Silently she cursed herself for not ordering a replacement. "Well. After a round of the ship, I have a few matters to sort out before I leave. One of the most important of which is finding where my own ship has gotten too..."
Blaze sighed, a deep sigh of impatient youth "I do respect Mum... She brought me up on her own for almost nineteen years. You gotta respect that..." His sigh turned to grin, glancing around at the other bikes "Yeah. Some of the stuff here is top-quality. Only reason I got this bike though is Tess; that girl can hammer down a price 'till even I can afford it..."
Tess grinned, holding in a laugh "I've never been one for the controls, prefer to leave the flying to someone like Blaze..." She stood up, clambering out back into the harsh white light of the hangar "Someone who don't mind takin' the blame for every bump and scratch... I couldnt go flyin' the ships I fix, the whole point is I make money off the guys who crash all the time..." She winked, walking out of sight towards the entrance of David's ship...
-
Leo took a glance to his side, flinching as he moved his index finger to the trigger that primed the weapons to his ship, a neat but impractical safety feature he always thought. But he sighed a bit seeing that it was just a transport ship shakeing his head some and removeing his finger from the trigger.
He flicked out a notecard, that held his ships Identification information written to it before reaching to the side typeing in the numbers for the transport and putting on his head set. "This is FOXALIVE 2322, requesting permission to dock. Please answer now waiting on standby..."
-
Asia glanced at the dragon with raised grey eyebrows, then back to Tabby.
"He seems nice, where'd you get him from?" he asked. Tabby giggled and lightly backhanded his arm.
"He's aight, just jumpy, you know what I mean? Anyway, yeah we heard there were these important people comin' here, right? And we were sent to find them." she said, swishing her tail.
"And then what?"
"I 'unno, they'll probs just tell us on pad," she replied, and looked back to Chronin.
"Right well, I think I know who you're talking about, but," he paused, then looked to the dragon. "They aren't here yet. They'll be here soon though, very soon."
"How d'you know that, man?" Tabby asked with a tilt of her head.
"Afgha," he said, nodding back into the house.
"Aaaah," she said, with a big exaggerated head roll. "Yeah that makes sense." Asia smirked and put an arm around her.
"So, do you want something to eat while you're here?"
"In the debris?" said the winged beast of blinding heat. "Very well, we'll search it all," and as it spoke, it grew even more, flooding the cosmos with its body, and began flowing through the debris, melting and devouring every chunk of the capital sphere, moving across space, vapourising everything as it went.
Dougie looked back and almost squirmed.
"Well... alright, but you don't have long, we really don't want to delay." He sighed, and pulled out his datapad, looking down at it. "You have about half an hour, and if you're not back then you get consequences, okay." He almost kicked his own leg in annoyance at this allowance before he continued the tour. "Anyway, this place really isn't much. Here's the bathroom, there's only one," he said, pointing to a tiny closet of a room, and then walked past to two other rooms crammed beside eachother, with barely room to walk. "And these are the bunks. You can choose, left or right. Me and Keiron will take the other." He looked back at her, with annoyance bubbling at himself. "Now go on, and hurry back, seriously this is important."
Reggie gave a little laugh and a sigh.
"You really like her, don't you. This Tess girl. Have you asked her out yet?"
David climbed down out of the ship and watched her walk around to the entrance. He looked around, unsure, then moved to follow her in.
"FOXALIVE, this is CAPITAL 0001, what is your clearance and purpose for docki..." the voice on the radio trailed out, but faint voices could be heard.
"What the hell is that? Is that... It's coming back, HOLY CRAP, GET GOING!"
"FOXALIVE, there is no time, we are getting out and so should you." The transport lifted up and sped out towards space, weaving through the debris. Behind Leo's ship, a bright golden light filled the sky.
-
Listening closely to the voices on the radio he soon sighed not bothering to look back, as it would only waist time and set his thrusters to full throttle. He cought a glint of light up ahead as he caught up with the Capital ship and swore under his breath as he saw it was a giant chunk of glass. Pulling the triggers to prime his ships gun he heard the consol rang.
"Weapons to enabled... Enabled...Targeting systems to enabled...enabled... setting bombs to primed...primed... Wing blasters to prime... primed.., at large all systems enabled and primed."
Leo spoke over the radio takeing a quick glance behind him seeing the capital ship "Capital 001! Hold your speed, obstruction ahead!" before pressing a button on his consol several times. the two pairs of wing bombs on either side of the ship opened up slightly and shot out four bombs. each one collided into the glass and soon broke open a large enough hole for the capital ship to manuver through. He sighed a bit as he pushed both hand controls forward triggering the boost, and jetted through the hole in a rush.
"Obstacle clear! Proceed through the opening" he spoke over the radio before looking down to the consol seeing a warning showing that he had minimal hull damages.
-
With a nod, Annie turned and walked back to the ship entrance "Dont worry, this wont take long..." she left the ship at a light jog, heading towards her room. She stopped, amidst a crowd of engineers and pilots, and slapped her forehead in frustration.
Blaze rubbed the back of his neck, his cheeks prickling and hot "Well... I just-" he groaned, kicking the steel platform with one scuffed boot "No. I'm just worried she aint gonna say yes. We been friends for long, sure, but I dunno if she feels the same way..."
A shrill beeping broke the conversation, the datapad clipped to Blaze's belt flashed twice urgently with a message icon. He unclipped it, skimmed over the message and frowned "S' Mum... She says meet her in the hangar, in ten minutes... Bring Reggie, she's gonna explain when we get there..." Blaze looked up at Reggie, shrugging "Dunno what that's about... She sounds pretty hot under the collar though..."
Tess walked through to the ship cockpit, running a hand across the steel corridor walls as she went. RUST-E waited for them inside, welding a small panel shut with one of his many articulated arms. Tess patted the droid affectionately on the domed head, gesturing to the controls of David's ship "Start 'er up... Slow cycle first."
-
Chronin chewed on his lower lip as Tabby brought up the data pad on their objective. "Upon locating them, we either eliminate them, or simply relay their exact location. But since they're guests, I guess it would be rude to fire on sight. As for the food, it would be nice to have something after taking two days to travel here." He felt like he was chickening out of a fight, but this was also the first time he had to make a decision without the advice or orders from others. Chronin looked at the data pad and clicked the 'refresh' option in case they added any more parts to operation Dragonfly...
-
The voice through the comms roared back at Leo.
"FOXALIVE, please refrain from firing weaponry near a capital ship. We do not require your assistance!" The transport raced past the new debris, weaving past the mess of smaller asteroids. Any that hit, vapourised on impact. Up ahead, a enormous carrier bearing the GA mark warped into the nearby space, watching as the Beast swallowed vast chunks of metal, consuming it all as it crawled towards the transports.
Dougie winced as Annie left the ship, and he grumbled his way to the cockpit, where Keiron sat in the pilot's seat, chirpily flicking switches to prep take off.
"You'd best hold off on that for a little while," Dougie said, leaning over the back of Keiron's chair. The serval looked up and kissed the dingo before flashing a smile.
"How come?"
"I let her walkabout, probably saying goodbye to people." Dougie looked away with a frown, and gritted teeth. "If she doesn't come back in time, i am in so much trouble." Keiron grinned and reached up to stroke the dingo's cheek.
"Aww, you're so nice sometimes."
"Shut up." Dougie burst a little laugh and pushed himself off the chair to stand and look to the side, through the window into the hangar. "I'm too soft for this job," he said, giving a little sigh. He looked back to Keiron, who was staring at him with knowing eyes. "What?"
"You want to ask that question again," Keiron said.
"Well what's the answer then?" Dougie folded his arms, with an almost challenging look to the cat. Keiron shrugged.
"Depends if you want to retire in Alderia or Raven's Nest. If we quit now, we're headed for Raven's nest, and you're no good with the cold," said the cat with a chirp in his voice. Dougie sighed and looked back out the window, spotting Annie standing and waiting for her two boys. He sighed again, while Keiron swivelled round in his chair and stood up, walking behind the dingo and putting his arms around him. "Stop sighing." The both of them looked out, watching their VIP. "How long did you give her?" Keiron asked.
"Half-hour."
"See, you're not that soft," Keiron said with a smile. "Normally you give them a whole hour."
"Shut up."
"You can't know anything until you try it out," Reggie said, before the datapad beeped out, interrupting them both. He gave a sideward glance to it, and the message Blaze relayed, and then gave a nod. "Okay, let's get going. It's probably to do with those justice people she met this morning."
"Alright," David said, pressing in the commands and letting the engines roll into life, letting off a sweet hum.
Asia looked between the two of them. "Two days of that military food? That stuff is messed up." He winked and led the way inside the house. It was a simple two floor building, with sandy walls and thick rugs all over the floor, through a hallway into the living room. The room had two sofas and a small coffee table in the centre with assorted fruit, and in the corner, beside the fireplace, was a screen, showing old TV shows. "Please, take a seat," the rabbit said, and Tabby gestured for Chronin to follow to sit, while Asia headed back out the room to the stairs. "Afgha!" he called out. "Tabs' back, with a military friend!" Unintelligible mumbling could be heard in reply. Asia walked out to kitchen, then brought into the living room, a tray of meat. "We were saving this for the visitors, but they'll be here any minute now." He laid the tray on the coffee table, then sat down on the opposing sofa, facing Chronin and Tabby. "So," he said to Chronin. "You known Tabs long?"
Then, Tabs' and Chronin's datapad both beeped wildly. Pulling hers out, Tabby read aloud.
"Attention all military personnel, extra-dimensional forces have destroyed the capital sphere. Any person who comes into contact with such a being is ordered to fire on sight. Repeat, extra-dimensional forces have destroyed the capital sphere. Any person who comes into contact with such a being is ordered to fire on sight."
-
The ship rang some before sounds of the wing booms closeing to hide the guns "Combat mode disengaged...standby"
"Sorry Capital 001, Im unable to survive collision with massive particles." Leo said with a slight grimace looking down at his hull seeing a gouge that had oil seeping out, left by a small asteroid some distance away. "Again, requesting permissions to dock Security clearance seven out of 10."
-
Chronin's jaw dropped at the order, since he and his mother would technically be considered extra-dimensional if it came down to genetics. "Well, to be honest, only about four to five days. But, somehow I have not angered her enough to simply try to put a bullet through my head or cut my throat. The one time I've seen her fight in a shoot-out she handled herself rather well compared to the rest of the squad I was with." Chronin didn't mention that the only other people in his squad had curled up in the fetal position while both of them handled the gangs on their own. In moments it looked like he was forcing himself to remain calm even though his eyes shot all over the place and his hair was starting to rise up.
Auntie can handle herself. Auntie can handle herself he kept chanting in his head to keep his hands from clawing into the table.
-
Nero frowned as the beast devoured what was left of the station. With a sudden burst of black, Nero left his body to search the wreckage as well. The black ooze of his corporeal body enveloped everything it could find. The ooze made its way to the transports as well, with the presumption that the Everflame may be on board.
IF IT WaS ON ThE StatioN, TheN IT ShoulD BE ON OnE OF ThosE ShipS....TheY PrizE IT ToO HighlY TO LeavE IT ON ThE SpherE...
-
Vuranin noticed the damage Nero was causing to transports, and tried to stop him since she didn't know which one had Kateri in it. She appeared in the path of the ooze, and her tendrils turned into a bowl that caught the ooze before it could dissolve the next ship. She could tell this was a passenger because of the amount of life Nero just sucked in right now. "Theres a difference between passenger transports and storage transports, attacking them indescriminatly gives the Everflame stone a chance to get away with the remaining ships. The bulkier ones carry storage since it takes less space to pack these mortals!"
-
Annie tapped her foot impatiently, occasionally glancing across at the hangar entrance. She sighed, looking down at her datapad. Nearly half her time was up.
"My dear, would you be visiting the Mechanicus for the first time?" An old owl, feathers grey with age hobbled over to Annie, eyes bright and shining "If you need any help, I can give you a quick tour, for just twenty credits..."
Growling brusquely, Annie's lip raised into a snarl "I work here... Move along unless you want me to ask for a tourism-permit." The owl snapped her beak, hobbling away towards a sleek ship that had just set down at the other end of the hangar.
The crowds where thick, workers and pilots moving in vast waves through tightly-packed corridors. Finally Blaze and Reggie reached the hangar, slipping out of the crowds of people, and met by an anxious vixen. Annie looked between them both, but made no move to embrace either. She twisted her long ponytail around one finger impatiently "I am leaving, on company business... Hopefully not for long. The worst part, Is that I can tell neither of you where it is I am going..."
She glanced across at Blaze "You at least know company policy, and its not like this is the first time." She looked back to Reggie, apology written across her expression "I hope you understand, that I would only do this if it was absolutely necessary."
Tess grinned, laying the palm of her hand against the cool steel of the ship interior. It hummed, a low purr that rose to a steady woosh of energy and noise. She nodded "Sounds good, n' RUST-E says all the tests checked out... I reckon she's as good as space-worthy as you'd ever get 'er..."
-
"FOXALIVE, sticking your ship to the end of ours won't help anyone," said the pilot of the capital transport. "You see that GA carrier up there? That's the Damascus; head to that, they'll try and pull in as many ships as they can," and with that, the transport shot ahead, powering past debris. Then, a ball of light shot out from the carrier, hitting the transport, and with just as much speed, the transport flew to the GA Damascus. More lights shot out, frantically pulling ships in before they could be devoured.
"Well," Asia said, watching the dragon react. "It's good to know that you two are at least getting along. While he talked, soft and slow footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs, until the doorway showed a hunched old rabbit, ravaged by age, and with robotic legs. Tabby beamed a massive smile, and her eyes lit up.
"Afgha!" she said, and got up, taking the old rabbit in a hug. "How you feeling?" she asked. The old rabbit thought for a moment, then looked up at her.
"Old," he said with a little shimmer in his eyes. Tabby laughed, then turned guiding him to the sofa. Afgha looked to Chronin while he walked, and he couldn't pull his eyes away, he almost had a smile on him.
"Afgha," Asia said. "Tabby and her friend just got a rather interesting order." Afgha didn't seem to react, staring still at Chronin. "Apparently your friends just blew up the capital sphere," said Asia. Afgha gave a sideward glance, and whatever hint of a smile he had on his face was gone. "They've been ordered to kill all extra-dimensionals."
"Oh really?" the ancient rabbit said, his eyes burning into Chronin. "Are you willing to kill every single one, no matter who they are?"
The Beast consumed the last of the debris, and turned to Vuranin.
"Your interruptions waste time. If you think it's in the cargo transports, then go get it," it said, and turned its attention to the carrier, filling the darkness with its light as it burned through all the ships between it and the largest, most impressive craft.
Reggie's head drooped. "Oh," he said, and looked between Annie and her son. "If you say so." He reached for her, pulling her into a hug and kissing her. "How long will you be gone?"
David gave an exaggerated salute back to Tess. "Alright then, thanks for all this. I'll be sure to come back to you for repairs whenever I can." He powered the engines a little more, almost ready to lift off, as he waited for Tess to depart.
-
His frustration at the questions and the mounting concern for his foster mother caused Chronin's hair to rise and fall at random as he fiddeled with his talons. Then his hair went completely flat and he made a soundless snicker before looking up at the old rabbit. He was about to say something, then looked at Tabby, who just shrugged her shoulders. "Auntie is so going to kill me when this ends." he muttered as he took a drink then exhaled heavily.
"I had never killed on order, and never will."
-
With a sigh Annie returned the kiss, clutching the folds of his clothes, unwilling to let go " I- I dont know. This isn't a regular trip, rather unexpected I'l admit." She kissed him again, now whispering quietly "Thank you Reg...""
Blaze watched the pair silently, eyes searching as if to pick up tips or techniques. He sighed too and looked across at Reggie's ship. Tess had just jumped down from the ramp, as the engines of the ship rose to a throb. After a quick decision he sidled up to his mum, brushed a quick kiss across her cheek and muttered goodbye, then walked away towards David's ship through the crowds of people...
Tess jumped down off the ramp, little companion following her with a rattle of wheels and whirring motors. The pair moved away from the ship, over a black and yellow striped box painted onto the floor, the safety zone for landing and take-off. Watching David in the cockpit, Tess returned the salute and grinned, running a thumb over the stack of credits in her overalls pocket.
"Hey Tess, what's goin' on?" Blaze stopped beside her, on the opposite side to RUST-E. She turned to look at him, nodding back at the ship "Just fixed the guys ship, good profit out of it too. Why'd you ask?"
Blaze frowned, looking back at Reggie, just visible through the thick crowds. The frown slid away, replaced with a grin "Eh, nothing. Just wanted to know what you been up to all this time..."
-
GeT OuT OF MY WaY!...TherE Wasn'T TimE TO LoaD IT OntO ThE CargO ShipS! The ooze billowed outward towards more ships, devouring one of the closer ones whole. IF It'S HerE TheN WE Can'T AfforD TO LosE IT AgaiN!
-
Vuranin's hair flared up and grew past her shoulders from frustration, but it receded as she started to warp to each of the passenger ships, using the 'one door' limit of her power to 'teleport' to the pilot's cabin so she could search the passenger areas. People panicked at the sight of her, yet they stood still as her eyes were not focused on any of them. She occasionally told a passenger to open up their belongings for any rocks, which was rather painless since she only needed to feel around instead of just tossing things everywhere like her 'associates' seemed to enjoy doing.
Because she didn't have to tear up the ship to get to the inside, she was able to move from ship to ship faster than both Beast and Nero could...
-
"Well then," said Afgha. "Perhaps your defiance could extend into mercy for the two visitors who should be arriving right about now." With his words, the air seemed to shift, and there was a knock on the door. Asia smirked and stood up, heading to the door. Tabby and Chronin could hear it open, and Asia's voice came soft.
"Well bless me," he said. "It's been a long time, and you... I've seen you before too." There were footsteps, and there seemed to be a whisper in the air. Asia returned to the living room, leading the two visitors. When Tabby saw them, her eyes opened wide.
"The hell?" She stood up off the sofa as Howl and Seeker entered the room. Howl seemed like mist of his body was trailing behind him, like a blur, while everything around Seeker seemed to burn with colour. "WHAT THE HELL?!" Tabby stepped back, tilting her head wildly as she comprehended. "You're supposed to be dead!"
Reggie held Annie close to him, momentarily glancing at Blaze as he headed to Tess. Then he saw the ship.
"What the... OI!" With a fierce snarl, he let go off Annie and ran screaming to his ship as it lifted off. "What are you doing!? Get back here! God damn it, I'll kill you!" He picked up a loose component off the floor and hurled it to the ship as it shot away. People fled as the piece of machinery fell to the floor with a clang.
The Beast powered through space, lighting up the dark, towards the GA Damascus.
"He's almost on us!" yelled a lieutenant.
"Stay just a little longer, we need to get as many ships as we can save."
-
Leo didn't take another look as he saw the orbs flying around. He began to panic as one nearly made contact and only crazed his wing, it was quite lucky for something so massive. Quickly he moved to the GA Damascus, flareing on his boost to get there as quickly as possible.
"Warning! Dangerous Energy Levels detected!" the consol wrang out. Leo too a glance behind him and gritted his teeth as this one did more then just graze him. It took off an entire wing and a wingboom. "Danger Stableizers Compromised" the ship wrang again as his ship spiraled out of control towards the entrance.
"Madey! Madey! GA Damascusm, please clear the docking bay!" he yelled into the radio link. As best he cold, he tryed stableizeing the ship manualy but to no avail, the design depended to much on the wingbooms for stability and turning. Seeing a glimps of the landing bay, he quickly raised his feet and put them against the consol to brace for impact. The ship detected the ineditable collision and quickly drew a blast seal from the inside to cover the glass. No more then a second later his ship came crashing into the metal floor slideing, then rolling across the bay and slaming into a wall breaking the glass, rendering the feline inside unconsious as the vessel spart from were the severed parts used to be.
-
Annie stepped back, watching as the ship flew out of the hangar entrance, blue shield shimmering as David flew out into space. She sighed, walking at a much slower and more constrained pace. With a glance over to the small corporation ship, and then down to the time on her datapad she cleared her throat "Reggie?" She took a hesitant step closer "Reggie... I need to go... Blaze can sort out a bunk for you -or something- but i really do have to go now..."
Tess dived behind Blaze, bushy tail flicking "Hide me!" Blaze frowned, utterly confused as he whispered back "What the-? Tess, what're you doing?" She poked her head over his shoulder, eyes watching Reggie "Well... I was the one who fixed that ship right? And the big guy don't seem too pleased it took off..."
Blaze rolled his eyes, looking back at Reggie "Fine... But he isnt like that, he's a good guy. Its that snake who's the culprit here..."
-
Chronin seemed unphased by their entrance, but he glanced at Tabby when she yelled at them. He turned around while chewing on a bone, then lazily took it out as he looked up at the two he was supposed to find. "I heard about you two from Vuranin, why couldn't you wait for the two weeks to pass?" Something in his head kept him from looking at anything but them, probably some kind of sense thats almost overpowering his sense of hearing or smell.
-
The GA Damacus turned from the beast, closed its doors, powered its jump drive and shot through space, disappearing from sight, leaving the remaining ships to their fate. Inside the Damascus, emergency squads raced around, crawling over Leo's ship, slicing it open and lifting the cat from the wreckage. He was taken away among a hundred other victims, crowding in the medical bay.
The beast turned and devoured more ships, burning them to nothing.
Reggie stopped and went quiet, breathlessly looking from the hangar exit, then back to Annie, his face contorted and helpless. His muscles were tensed with clenched fists, until, looking at Annie, he relented and went back to her, taking her hand.
"Well... damn it, come back soon, okay. As fast as you can." His breathing was heavy, and his eyes seemed strained as thoughts and emotions ravaged his mind. Then, with a sudden jerk, he pulled her in and hugged her tight, as though he would never let go.
"Well," said Seeker, her voice flowing around the room like exotic birds. "We want to get the everflame before our... associates do any irreperable damage." howl looked at her, while a ghost of his image still looked to Chronin. The ghost spoke while the other listened with twitching ears.
"If you've heard of Vuranin, then you probably know about Nero too, right? Hopefully they haven't caused too many problems yet," he said, cocking his head and attempting a diplomatic smile. Seeker looked deep into Chronin, swarming inside him.
"They've already caused something, my dear Howl; something terrible. What hapenned?" she asked.
-
Chronin's hair flared out in a fashion similar to Vuranin, but there was no fire-like effect. "Apparently they've just now torn apart the Capital Sphere, and it would take too long for me to get there to be of any good. Looking into my eyes won't get you a better answer, even though my intelligence was wrong in stating that you were a spider hybrid, Seeker." The way she looked at him gave off a similar feeling like his first time staring down a gun-barrel, but it also brought up the same emotion that dragged out his 'other half'.
-
The feline breathed heavily, remaining unconsious as he was dragged away twitching everynow and then as images of the recent events ran through his head. He was bleeding pretty heavily from an injury to his head. He let out a low groan from the pain as he stired some. His eyes opened a bit only to close quickly from the bright light. Opening them again very slowly, his eyes began to focus. Erily stareing around trying to find out where he was exactly, as his sight begin to lose focus closeing again.
-
Annie murred softly, letting Reggie hold her tightly. She had forgotten how it felt to have someone so intent on keeping her at their side. Memories came thick and fast, of Kitt, and with him, Kate and many others. She sighed and nuzzled Reggie's chest, looked up into his eyes and spoke softly "I need to go now Reg..."
Blaze and Tess had both moved way to an empty corner of the hangar, amongst the gutted remains of an old ship, long since grounded and stripped for spares. Blaze grinned, watching Tess as they talked. He paused, drawing up the courage to ask the question "Well... Tess, would you?-"
He was cut short, as RUST-E butted into the conversation, quite literally... "What the hell!?" Tess grinned and giggled quietly as Blaze shoved the droid away. The little automaton issued another loud beep and pushed aginst Blaze's leg, determined to unseat from his precarious position on top of an engine unit "Tess! Call him of would you!?"
-
"The Capital Sphere?" Howl looked back and forth from Seeker to Chronin, creating a ghostly blur of movement, like he was moving through smoke. His eyes were wide. "That's mental. Seeker we gotta get moving!" He grabbed Seeker's arm, and she looked to him, giving a soft smile. He almost seemed to fade to it, until she turned back to Chronin, the smile absent.
"I hope you won't stop us," she said, and turned to Asia. "We need help from you, since you stole before."
"Yeah," Howl said. "It's too hard and too long to get the flame through normal means, so we... obviously need to take the quickest route. We need to steal it and we want your help to do it."
Asia gave a soft smile.
Medics pulled Leo onto a bed, scanned over all his wounds, checked his eyes, checked his pulse, and started patching him up as soon as they could, rushing and working hard.
"Okay, stopped the bleeding. Looks like he knocked his head. He'll be out a little while."
"Move on?"
"Yeah, take him away, bring the next patient." They put him onto a stretcher, and carried him away to the storage bay where matresses were laid out and he was laid down among hundreds of others.
"Fine," Reggie said, his deep voice running through her body. Then he released his grip on her, and stroked her arms. Leaning down, he kissed her lips, then let go completely, and stepped out of her way. "Have fun." He put on a smile for her.
-
The Nero Ooze finished off what few ships had straggled behind before stopping completely and let out a shriek which echoed through the black of space. LiarS!!!!...IT Isn'T HerE!...It'S Hasn'T BeeN HerE FoR A WhilE! The ooze reshaped into his hyena-like form and looked to the beast. NoW WhaT ArE WE SupposeD TO DO?!
-
The felines eyes once again opened up some time after. He slowly looked around winceing from a brutal head ache as he got up. The room he was in was almost full leaveing him with a decision to leave for the more sevier cases. Slowly he through the sheats off of him checking his self to be sure nothing was broken only finding bandages around his torso and right leg, but no cast, signaling nothing was broken.
Turning his body so his legs were now off the bed and getting up. He felt a sharp pain in his side winceing as his hand instinctively went to it. Even then he still got out of the bed and slowly made his way out of the room haveing done this before in many lab accidents, he should be used to it by now.
-
Annie sighed and stroked her own hand down Reggie's arm sadly "I solemnly promise to hurry my furry tail back here as fast as possible..." She returned the smile and walked past Reggie "And if you wait nice and patiently, we may have interesting things to do when I get back." She blew him a kiss, winked, and turned away with an elegant swish of both hips and tail. She smirked as she walked away, muttering under her breath "Still got it..."
Blaze sat with his arms crossed, moodily imagining Tess' mechanical companion being methodically crushed in the compactor. Tess meanwhile was still grinning, holding in a laugh that would surely split her sides if it where let loose. RUST-E stood between the pair, blue eye flickering as he turned from one to the other "Happy now are you?" The little droid looked up at Blaze's question and beeped loudly.
Tess' grin widened, a small laugh escaping between her lips "-snrk- Watching you two is like one of those silly comedies on the visi-net..."
-
The beast twisted from side to side. Its burning eyes scanning the stars.
"Where are the others, the hybrids, the ambassadors we sent. They might know. I can feel them, but where are they?"
Medical staff rushed around to all the other patients, completely not noticing Leo walk by, except for one. A short, male porcupine rushed to him, and tried to guide the cat back to the mattresses.
Reggie couldn't resist a sigh, as he stared at Annie's tail. He then notice a dingo, with a serval's arms draped over its shoulders.
Dougie and Keiron stood in the doorway, to the ship.
"You're five minutes late," said the dingo, while Keiron poked his head above Dougie's shoulder.
"Was that your mate?" asked the cat, gesturing to Reggie. "He's a nice catch, ow!" Dougie had elbowed him in the ribs. "Well he's hot!"
"Oi!" Dougie looked up at Keiron, who had a big cheeky grin on his feline face.Dougie shook his head and stepped aside for Annie to pass, while he glanced to Reggie, giving a quick salute. Reggie replied in kind.
-
Vuranin re-appeared next to Nero, her own aura seeming to repel the etheral sludge of Nero's. "I can reach them within an hour or two, but I can't bring them back since my 'carry-bag' can only be used on a single object. Beyond that, it would take several days for the likes of yourselves to reach them, even if Nero decided to get full-size."
Chronin seemed really complacent from where he was sitting, but Seeker saw that he was ready for a fight given an instant's notice. He stood up and bleched into his left sleeve before looking at Tabby. "Well, we should report back to the ship before a plan can be decided on our part. You ready to go back Tabs'?"
-
Nero smirked YoU UnderestimatE ME, DeaR VuraniN...JusT TelL ME WherE TheY ArE...I HavE A ShiP ThaT ShoulD GeT TherE FasT EnougH...IT HaS A BranD NeW LightspeeD DrivE...At LeasT That'S WhaT ThE SalesmaN SaiD WheN I TooK IT Nero turned to the beast. I ShoulD BE AblE TO TransporT US BotH AS LonG AS YoU CaN ShrinK YourselF DowN FaR EnougH
-
Leo lightly placed a hand on the porcupines chest moveing him out of the way as he continued walking in a limp. "Im fine" he grunted as he continued makeing his way to the door.
-
Annie raised an eyebrow as she passed Keiron "Yes, he is. And I'l ask you to keep your paws off him-" she grinned "-both of you..." With a wink to the pair, and a last wave goodbye to Reggie, she stepped into the ship.
Blaze glared at the small droid, turning back to Tess "Why dont you just turn him off for a while? He's starting to really bug me..." Tess shook her head, patting RUST-E on the head "No, I couldn't do that... I mean, I havn't even performed a memory wipe since-" She stopped abruptly, looking away.
Blaze turned his glare to her "You what? Tess, all droids have to undergo a system scan and wipe every year... Its policy..." Tess stood up and returned the glare "Why should I wipe him? He'd just be like every other droid!"
With a growl Blaze stood "Yeah, but he's completely erratic. He wont even let me near you!" He stopped suddenly, looking down at the steel floor as Tess stared curiously at him "Blaze, what do you mean?"
-
"No way," Tabby said with exaggerated surprise at Chronin. "Why would the people we're stealing from agree to this? I want to do this. It's just like old times," she said with a grin and a glance to Asia, but the rabbit was none too pleased.
"I dont know about this. I wanted to just be peaceful," he said. Tabby made a sound to reply, but was cut short by the decrepit Afgha.
"We must do this," said the aged rabbit. "This is not something small. We've got to help them." He turned to Chronin. "You too, young dragon. You owe it to yourself, and whoever put that feeling around you. You're connected to this other dimension somehow, you have to help." Everyone looked to Chronin, some with a whisper of confusion on their faces at the idea that he had anything to do with another plane of existence.
The beast twisted and turned, slowly shifting and shrinking, growing brighter and denser, like a cluster of stars forming together.
"Take me there, Nero," he said.
The porcupine persevered, coming around Leo again. "Sir, you're not well, where are you going?"
Reggie waved goodbye, and watched as the door closed. It didn't take long before his faced started to turn back to a deep vicious snarl. His muscles tensed, and his fists clenched, so he walked anywhere. Realising he didn't know where anything was, he turned back and forth, like a caged animal, mumbling and growling to himself, baring his teeth.
Keiron hopped away back toward the cockpit, while Dougie stepped aside motioning for Annie to come with them. They all went into the crampt little cockpit, and the dingo leaned against the side, holding onto handles that were molded out of the walls.
"Alrighty then," said Keiron. "Hold onto something." The engines began to build and the ship began to shift, wobbling off the ground. The cat kept it steady, and powered out through the exit, flinging themselves into space. Dougie let go of the handles and folded his arms.
"So," he said. "We've got a good bit of time before we arrive at the place, so any questions about what we're doing?"
-
Annie braced herself against the sudden thrust of the ship, space-faring legs easily compensating for the change in momentum. She looked up at Dougie and shrugged "Going to Mngeya, leave a beacon marked zer-four-five. Ask for Krade when contacted by the operator and say I need her to repay a favour..." Annie grinned "Military mind, never forgets orders. Though I was not told what we do after that, care to elaborate?"
"Look, its just that he... it , gets in the way all the time! Its like it doesnt want me to even know you!" Blaze glared in accusation at RUST-E, even now the little droid sat between him and Tess like a guard dog. Tess flicked her fringe to one side and sighed "Blaze, your acting like a child... He's just protective, he always has been." Blaze interjected with a sardonic laugh "Yeah he sure is protective. I cant get a moments peace alone with you. And I'd like that Tess, I really would..."
With another sigh Tess sat back down onto a dismembered engine. She looked between RUST-E and Blaze and pressed her fingers to her temples "I'd like that too Blaze..." She looked up and nodded back into the hangar "The Big guy your mum was with looks kinda lost. Lets just go help him, and forget this..." Blaze chewed his bottom lip, but nodded as they walked back over to where Reggie paced.
-
"Well," Dougie said. "Apparently you'll get certain instructions. They're never the same instructions twice, and after that, we'll decide on what to do." He gave a little tweak of a smile, while Keiron sat back in his piloting chair and swivelled round.
"We'll get there in, like, a couple of hours," he said. "So, you can eat something if you want, though we probably only got that nasty space ration rubbish." He pulled a face in disgust. "We should stop off somewhere and get some good food."
Reggie stopped and crouched down, while pressing his hands to his face and growling deep. He flicked an eye open and looked over at the approaching youngsters.
"What do you want, kid?" he said to Blaze with a brusque tone and a cold stare.
-
Chronin could vaguely hear the wooden floor splintering under his feet as he heard the old rabbit talk about the 'other dimension'. However, he was able to calm himself down and keep his 'other side' from lashing out in frustration. "Unless your ship can fit all of us, I'll need to get back to my ship so I can also get the canister I was originally going to bring back to my aunt."
-
VerY WelL...VuraniN, I NeeD ThosE CoordinateS...ThE FasteR WE CaN ObtaiN IT, ThE SooneR WE CaN GeT BacK Nero glared at Vuranin, waiting for her to speak. He didn't trust her as far as he could spit her out. Her ties to this realm made her more like Seeker and Howl in his eyes...abominations who, despite everything, seem to manage to live. Trash...
-
Leo growled a bit not wanting to stay in such a room "I dont care were Im going as long as its not here" he said pulling away from the porcupine now exspecting someone to try and jab him with a needle as he continued to the exit.
-
"Well," Asia said. "We never really had a ship to give." He looked to Howl who shrugged apolagetically.
"Would it be okay if we used yours," said the wolf to the dragon.
The porcupine frowned his little face, and his quills flared up.
"Sir, please I'm supposed to keep the injured here. You can't go back to your ship, it's trashed, and we can't have people hobbling around unsupervised." He stood in front of the door, arms out stretched to stop the serval.
-
Chronin had looked at the three, then at Tabby, only to shrug and walk right up to Howl. "On two conditions: the first is, I'm the one whos steering the ship..." He looks directly at her again with a small smirk on his face. "The second: Tabby is the only one who is allowed to come into my room, and only with my permission at the moment of knocking."
Vuranin snorted at Nero, and flicked her head back in a way that made her fiery mane fly about. "Of all people to say 'we', I hear it from the one who's self-isolation cost him his role as the 'Wall between'!! For the love of light, what was going through my head when I willingly took part of the blame for it as 'Retriever'!?!" Regardless of her ranting, she floated away from both of them and went into a meditative position so she could get the coordinates that Nero asked for.
-
The feline immediately recoiled at the sight of the quils. Reaching forwards a bit to test one with a light poke he would then look at his finger witch had a small layer of skin."I figured my ship was probably destroyed" he groaned obviously not wanting to stay any longer. Being on such a ship ment they would be back to tear it apart like the others for who knows what reason. But he figured not to say anything takeing a glance back.
"Well if Im walking then am I not fine?" he asked the porcupine not wanting to let on he was on his last leg at the moment.
-
Annie shrugged "I'm not particularly hungry." She glanced between Dougie and Keiron, tail flicking "When do you think we'l be back? If all goes well of course..."
"We where just wondering... If we could just help finding you a bunk?" He shrugged and looked anywhere but at Reggie, while behind his back Tess rolled her eyes.
-
Everyone looked to Tabby, and Asia gave a little smirk. She rolled her eyes.
"Don't push it, a'ight, you daft dragon." She gave a hint of a smile and shook her head, while Seeker turned her attention to Chronin.
"Yes," she said. "That is good, we shall do that, you can steer. Tabitha knows the way, right?" Tabby looked blank, and her eyes bounced around in her head as she thought.
"I think I do, yeah. Serra Draconis, right? It was a long time ago though, they might have moved it," she said, putting her hands to her hips.
"Not likely," said Afgha. "They unless recent events deem it prudent, it should still be there, under heavy guard."
The porcupine sighed in disapproval at the cat. "Okay then," he said. "If you can run non-stop for ten seconds, I'll let you go."
"Err, best case scenario, I would say a few days," Dougie said. "That's about right, isn't it?" he added, looking down to his mate.
"Yeah but, that depends on the instructions," Keiron replied, making Dougie shrug. "Most likely it'll take about a week, worst case, it'll take--."
"--Kitty," Dougie said with folded arms. "Be nice."
"Sorry" Keiron said, with a little shrug and grimace.
Reggie stared down at them as he stood up, towering over the two youngsters. His fists were still clenched tight but he hid that tension from his face.
"Fine, show me," he said, then sighed. "Thanks."
-
Chronin edged his way past Howl, Seeker, and Asia as he reached up to the side of his head and looked around. "When we get to the ship, you will all need to wait outside while I look for a certain tiger. If I find him, thats what we'll be eating during the ride there..."
-
With a slight sigh of her own Annie nodded "Alright-" She paused, glancing down at her smart-cut uniform. In the rush to find Reggie and say goodbye to him changing into something more appropriate had never really happened. She sighed again and glanced between apologetically Dougie and Keiron "You wouldn't happen to have something more appropriate, clothing wise, on the ship? Unless we're expecting formal meetings to be part of the plan..."
Blaze nodded, for once not grinning with mischievous eagerness "If you want I can show you around the carrier afterwards. The layout is pretty simple in this area so it wouldn't take long. As for a bunk..." He glanced across at Tess who shrugged.
"Theres plenty space. You've always got a ship or two who just never make it back, I reckon I can find something..." Blaze met the statement with a grin, despite his best attempts to stay straight-faced. He punched her lightly in the shoulder, she punched him back, harder, but grinning in return "C'mon. We go to central reception they'l sort something out all legit like..."
-
Leo gave the porcupine a very blank stare, knowing full well this wouldnt end well. He began thinking if he should try and hope for the best or just go back. His stubborness finaly got to him and made up his mind. "Fine"
He turned away from the porcupine and took a step forward before doing his best to run. Not even two seconds in he let out an ack grabing his side and faceplanting into the ground with a loud thud. Tasteing a bit of blood coughed up he would then growl up to the porcupine trying to get up before cringeing from another pain in his side and falling back down "I hate you..."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another feline on a planet woke up in a daze. She tryed to stand up only to find that something was keeping her from doing so. Takeing a glance up she saw that rather large plate of metal was just above her, heavy enough to crush her, but a large bend in the metal floor kept it at bay. Moveing an arm forward pulling it back to be followed by another she dragged herself ontop of a blood soaked ground. Alarmed she checked over herself learning that it wasn't infact hers, and continued on concludeing it was some unfortunate soul.
Now free from the obstruction she pushed herself up and examined the area around her, finding her rifle lieing on the ground in a puddle of, more blood. Grabbing hold of it she shook the blood off and slung it onto her back were it snapped into place with the magnets and begin exploreing for an exit.
Finding a broken window in the hull, she pulled some wire free from the wall and tossed it out makeing a half decent repel line. She slowly climbed through the window and began her decent down to be greeted by a familiar cry from a dingo.
"Captain? Captain! Your alive?! Jeez woman I thought you were dead after seeing you without this" he said tossing her, her own helmet
"Thanks Mort" she said catching it and strapping it on before tilting her head back and forth "So whos all still alive?"
The dingo gave her a grim look "Only six others sir"
"Eh thats actualy a lot" she said practicaly skipping off now with a wide smile.
"Sir?!"
"Six survive a hyperdrive crash into a planet, one HECK of a story now isnt it?" she called to him waveing "Come on will you?! Jeez its like you ended up as one of the corpses I saw, No legs!"
-
The group nodded and followed Chronin out the door.
"Just so you know," Asia said. "I'll be coming to advise. I can't let Tabs do this without a little safety net, and instant messaging isn't so instant that far away." Tabby smiled back at him, and stuck to his side as they left the house. The cat looked back to the doorway where Afgha stood, watching them leave before turning back and heading up the stairs.
Seeker seemed to flow through the air up behind Chronin. "Where is your ship?"
Keiron shrugged and leaned back in his piloting chair.
"Well unless you like wearing mens clothes, I think you're stuck with that." He leaned back even more, looking upside down at her, while Dougie repressed a smirk. "But anyway, I think you look nice like that," said Keiron, while Dougie hid his face. The dingo's shoulders were quivering, and little shreds of laughter were coming out of him.
Reggie looked at the two of them with narrowed eyes.
"Okay, lead the way," he said, stepping aside with a sigh in him. "Something... good, might as well happen today." He repressed a snarl, and his hands were still firmly clenched into fists.
The porcupine shook his head with a sigh, and called others over with a stretcher.
"You know, you're only giving me more work to do," he said as theylifted Leo onto the stretcher and carried him over to one of the mattresses. THey checked the cat over, stroking and prodding him to check the damage. "You seem fine for now," said the porcupine, leaning over Leo's face. "But you have to rest or we're all screwed. But, while you're in such a vulnerable, perhaps you can answer some questions about what happened. We've been ordered to get information about the incident from any victims who can think relatively straight."
-
Leo groaned as one of them poked his ribs moveing away from the hand. He glanced up at the procupine and to the side seeing images run through his head from the past events. He shook them away and returned his sight back to the porcupine nodding lightly "Fine, shoot" he agreed to the question.
-----------------------------
After ariveing back at the camp she took a look back at the crash sight and scratched her head "Boys... quick question. How the crap did this thing not blow?!" she asked the group of survivors, scanning over the crater left by the ship.
"Captain Ga'li! There are some others around!"
Brogalio turned her head with a wide smile "Eh? You sure?" she turned her body slightly and began walking towards the man who was fiddleing with his helmets scanner.
"Positive! A small group is walking around just north from here."
With a nod, she motioned to the dingo from before to follow and turning on her radar. He was correct as a few dots appeared showing a wide distance between them. "Come with me Mort." she said not waiting for a responce as she began to run out of the camp following the markers "On the hop Sergent!"
-
Chronin had finished looking around about a minute after Seeker asked him where the ship was. "Judging from where Tabs and I traveled after encountering an earthworm, we will arrive at our ship in less than twenty minutes of sprinting if we go in this direction." He pointed in the direction of the ship's supposed location, then looked back at Howl and Seeker. "If either of you are a third as strong as Vuranin, Then it should be no problem carrying these three since I need both hands to fire my rifle with accuracy."
-
Annie simply smiled, smoothing out the creases from her jacket and fiddling with the cuffs distractedly "I'm flattered Keiron, and at least one of us likes it." She sighed and turned to Dougie. It took all her self control not to laugh at Keiron as well, the pair where definitely very upbeat, and it was catching "You wouldn't suppose there's enough time for a shower before we arrive? Seems there where several things I hadn't time to do before leaving..."
Tess lead the way, sliding between engineers, pilots, mercenaries and officers with sinuous agility. Blaze trailed just behind, shooting glances across at Reggie. Annie had left him at the carrier several times before, so he was fairly used to it. But it seemed Reggie was taking it a sore blow. He gave a small sigh and instead turned his attention back to Tess.
It was then that he realised that the usual presence of RUST-E, was nowhere to be seen. Blaze glanced to either side as they walked but the little droid was in definitel gone. He grinned, as Tess lead them through a large pair of double doors.
The main reception was a-bustle with people. A large and high-ceilinged room, built around a circular desk at which several dozen clerks worked. Before each of them stood lines of Mechanicus workers and Explorators. A constant tapping of fingers on keys and conversation filled the room as Tess lead the way.
The clerk, a young vixen with striking eyelashes and a bright smile, looked up as Tess approaced. The grin widened further as she spotted Tess, falling ever so slightly when Blaze walked up alongside her "Tessie, glad you could stop by girl. What's it today?"
-
"Well, we'll start with the basics," said the porcupine, as he peered over the serval's face. "Where were you when you saw that fire... thing?"
Seeker gave a pleasant smile, and bowed her head. "I am sorry, but I think we cannot help in carrying," she said, in her thick alien accent. Asia gave a smirk and stepped forward.
"Don't worry," he said. "Afgha's staying behind and Tabby can pull my old body along." Tabby looked up at him and nodded, taking his hand. "She's fast enough and strong enough." The young cat grinned with pride.
Keiron frowned at the dingo, who gave him a little wink, before walking to Annie.
"Alright girl," said Dougie, as he put an arm around her shoulders. "Walk with me, it's just up here." Keiron watched them leave, and squinted as he thought on that wink, before shaking his head and turning back to his controls. Dougie gave a glance back as he and Annie headed through the ship.
"I guess you would need a good wash after last night, eh." He said with a growing smile that wriggled on his face. His eyes seemed full of vibrant secrets. He looked back again, then turned to whisper in her ear. "I tell you what though, I think I might be able to help with the clothing issue." His ears constantly pointed back to Keiron, just in case. "I hope you like skirts."
Reggie strode behind Blaze, shuffling past others, and resisting the urge to growl and push. As they reached the clerk, he came up behind Tess, towering over everyone as he looked around the room.
-
Chronin shrugged his shoulders, even though his smile hadn't faded in the slightest. "Since I went 'rogue', and majority says that our resident kitty-cat is carrying our advisor. I just have one thing to say:" He tightened up his legs and then made a rather large leap, leaving claw marks in the dirt as well as sending him a good thirty meters ahead of the group. "Try to keep up!!"
-
Asia groaned and rolled his eyes.
"Oh, God, there's always one isn't there," he said. Tabby giggled and set off to the trees, leaping into the forest, while Howl and Seeker set off at a light walk, before fading into the ground. Chronin could see them beside him, drifting through the trees as though the forest was merely mist.
-
Leo closed his eyes recalling everything, takeing a moment to take a deep breath. "I was actualy the only one who truely saw the thing emerge. I was leaveing the quarentine area by the elevator and the power went out. The elevator stayed were it was deep inside the sphere and that fire beast started to appear from thin air inside the elevator. If it helps it also had a small chat with me." he said shuffleing upwards on the bed some to lean up not to comfortable with the porcupine stareing down at him like so.
Brogalios eyes shifted to the radar and grunted quicking her pace as the dots moved faster "Oh great there running!" she laughed hurtling herself over a log with the dingo following her.
"There what?! Great somethings chaseing them!" The dingo yelled out after her.
"Then stop talking and start sprinting!"
"You do know how far they are right?!"
"Yeah pretty fricken far, but if they want a race then this is a challenge I'm not loseing!" Brogalio laughed changeing her course slightly heading to what appears to be a small ledge that was to steep and smooth be scaled to easily by conventional means. Takeing a lounge forwards and planting her foot against the cliff and grabbing onto a small hold and began climbing untill she reached the top and continued running takeing a slight angle to catch them faster, with the dingo just behind her.
-
Chronin's grin widened as he saluted all of them before digging his talons into the bark for more traction, instead of simply pushing off the trees, and left rather large claw marks on the trees as he almost doubled in speed, using the motivation of 'competition' to pick up their traveling pace.
-
This time Annie couldn't help but grin, regarding Dougie with a raised eyebrow and the hint of a laugh. She returned the whisper just as quietly, glancing over her shoulder at the cockpit behind them "Well if the pair of you aren't just chock-full of surprises... I appreciate the help."
Tess leaned over the desk, tapping its plastic surface "I'm calling in a favour Jessica. We need to find somewhere for Reggie to sleep tonight... You reckon you pull some wheelie-dealings?" Jessica raised an eyebrow incredulously and grinned "Tess calling in a favour? Ha! I thought I'd never see the day."
Still grinning she glanced down at her computer screen and frowned "I'm guessing he isn't with the Mechanicus. And that could be a problem." She twisted the screen around and showed it to Tess "All legit visitor bunks are taken. We got a Versmerchian trade cruiser docked this week, and their entire crew are clogging up the system." Jessica frowned, glancing from Reggie, to Blaze, and back to Tess.
"I've got an idea though. Tess, you have your own bunk now, so do you Blaze. Not exactly roomy neither of them, but still. How about if one of you shares with the other, and the big guy takes the free room?"
Tess glanced over at Blaze and frowned for a moment, before turning to Reggie "Whadya think? I'd be more n' happy to give you my room. Its gonna be cleaner n' Blaze's at any rate..."
Jessica shrugged apologetically from behind her desk "Sorry I couldn't be more help guys. If it weren't for the Versmerchains and their whining crews I'd have given him an en-suite somewhere..."
-
The porcupine creased his brow and pulled out a datapad, letting it note down what was said.
"It spoke to you? What did it say?"
Tabby and Asia disappeared among the trees as Chronin sped away, but Howl and Seeker kept up, without any visible effort, almost as though the world was moving past them, and they weren't moving at all.
Dougie gave a dark little chuckle and herded Annie to the bathroom.
"You go clean up in there," he said. "And when you're done, come to me and Keiron's room, okay?" He couldn't stop his smile as he left Annie at the bathroom and almost ran to his room.
Reggie glanced down at Blaze, breaking a little smile for the first time in a while, then nodded to the young clerk.
"That sounds just fine."
-
Chronin wasn't entirely sure if he lost Tabby and Asia, but he was sure that he was getting close to the ship as the trees became less dense and he could see its shining hull through the leaves. I guess my premonition was right... he couldn't get air-borne before we came back.
-
Nero crossed his arms impatiently as Vuranin attempted to locate the half-breeds. AnY TimE NoW, VuraniN....I WoulD LikE TO GeT ThiS OveR WitH...ThE LesS I HavE TO BE ArounD YoU, ThE BetteR
-
As if on cue, Vuranin finally got up and floated over to Nero. Her hand was wrapped in aural flames as she almost back-handed Nero, then went over to the beast as her flaming hand had extinguished itself. "I'll put in the coordinates when Nero gets the ship. But to be honest, Howl and Seeker are not that easy to get at. Unlike the three of us, who posses the means to remove objects in our path, they can simply pass through our hands and auras as if they were not even there."
-
"He gave me what sounded like a, or what I think was a premonition of evil. Dark the opposite or shunned fool. And that he could feel him." He said looking upwards like he was searching for something "He was looking for... you know what. I think the object should be better left unsaid. If they can hear me talk from this far then this ship will be pulled inside out." He sighed, he knew well enough what they were looking for. "After all, they had a field trip with the metal planet we call Sphere"
A single dot grew nearer to them as they continued running. Looking over a ledge, Brogalio saw what appeared to be a dragon and hopped down. Landing with one hand on the ground and her feet firmly place, a loud crack comeing from her joints but seemed over all unbothered by it as she came back up followed by her partner. "Hey, Scalie we could use a hand!" She called to him walking closer.
-
Annie slid the bathroom door closed behind her, slipped out of the stiff-collared uniform, and stepped quickly into a torrent of hot water. She yelped with surprise and fumbled blindly for the thermostat. Finally, and after several several frustrated minutes, she managed to find a temperature that was somewhere between boiling hot and freezing cold.Throwing back her head, she simply stood under the flow of water and scoured away the layer of grime that had accumulated over the course of several long days.
After a good fifteen minutes she stepped out of the bathroom, with a towel wrapped around herself and the dark red uniform slung over one arm. She sighed and padded softly down the narrow corridor to Dougie and Keiron's bedroom where she knocked cautiously on the steel door.
Blaze returned the grin, tail swishing. Tess threw him a sidelong glance momentarily as the Clerk smiled happily "Okay, If you just wait a moment I can get a few forms and things printed out. Save any hassle..." She tapped a button on her keyboard and leaned underneath the desk, where a high-speed printer spat out the necessary forms.
She straightened up again and handed them to Reggie with a brilliant smile "The red form is the most important one, just give that to any official who tries to stop you. Though the pass card there would be enough I'd have thought." She indicated the card, a thin piece of metal stamped with a bar code. Tess grinned to her and leaned over the desk for an impromptu hug "Thank'you Jessica. Your a star, girl."
The vixen merely smiled and hugged her briefly back "Not a problem sister. Come round some other time, desk duty gets awful boring alone..."
-
Before the group reached the ship, Howl and Seeker were already there, still and silent. Howl seemed to stare at the ship, almost with wonder and also relief. Tabby and Asia soon caught up, a little way behind.
"So where's the tiger?" she asked Chronin.
The beast growled, its white hot fire spurting its body. "Everything melts, we need to hurry," it said.
The porcupine opened his mouth to speak, then stopped.
"I think you need to see the general." He got up and headed back to the door. "I'll be back in a minute," he said, and disappeared out of the cargo bay. Everyone else seemed to hurry around, all with deep frowns or wide eyes, flitting back and forth from patient to patient, as more and more injured were carried in. Eventually the porcupine returned with a rather slender vixen, with straight lank hair trailing between her shoulders and parted at two unusual little bumps on her back, hidden under her slim green uniform. She said something to the porcupine, drowned out by the other patients, then walked over to Leo and sat beside him.
"So, my friend here says you've had contact with the beast. Can you walk? I would like this to be more private than it is," she said, looking around at the room.
The door clicked and slid away and Dougie stepped aside, revealing a bed covered in three different outfits. A short red party dress, with ribbons and high heels; a rather conservative long skirt, dull green tshirt and cardigan; and the last was more curious. The gleaming white skirt was remarkably short, but the top was a white blouse and a loose red jacket that trailed down like a robe, and beside it, various flowers and head garments were arranged. Dougie stood beside it, beaming pride and mischeif.
"Just so you know, these aren't mine," he said, always grinning. "I've been buying these for Keiron for years. We've got loads more at home." He stifled his laughter, biting his lip. "He's gonna kill me for this, but just for you, you have the honour of borrowing whatever you like, because i kinda feel bad for you." His face softened as he stepped aside and gestured for Annie to enter, before he exited. "Call me if you need me."
Reggie took the forms and looked through them. "Right, should we go?"
-
Chronin looked out at the female tiger and her compainions, and pointed directly at the ship. "I don't know where these jokers came from, but the one I'm looking for should still be in the ship." He walked up to the lining that betrayed the location of the docking ramp and tapped the hull three times before the ramp came down. He walked up the ramp and went straight to the room 'Jetho' was rooming in, and knocked on the door with his talons. "Had fun while we were gone, 'Jetho'?" The sound of a bullet bouncing off metal only seemed to make it more difficult for Chronin to not grin. "This isn't funny, I've been needing to eat for almost five hours!!" "On the contrary, seeing a copy-cat getting locked up by his own pride is rather entertaining." "Whatev- wait, 'copycat'?!" "Should have done a more thorough background check, Jetho died before I left the war-front, an accidental casualty on my fault..."
-
Leo gave the vixen a curious look as she walked in. "Let me see" he said turning his body some and planting a foot on the ground followed by another. He pushed himself off the bed winceing grabbing onto his side and walked forwards with a limp."Yes I can" he said. He made a mental note to himself to thank his years of exsperiance developed by malpractice in the lab for why he could walk even when in so much pain. "So, where to?" he asked straighting himself up.
Brogalio clapped her hands a few times not understanding whats going on before turning to the Tabby cat. "Hey can your friends give us a lift?" she then shook her leg a bit popping it some after some pain from the landing started to reveal its self "We have six others, A random female civilian whos missing an arm and her shoulder, and a marine with a lame leg" she said not feeling like discribing such a twisted and punctured limb.
-
Nero smirked Couldn'T HavE SaiD IT BetteR MyselF...LetS GO. Nero suddenly began hurdling towards his ship. In moments he was on board and typing in the co-ordinates. The lightspeed drive charged as he typed, ready to go at a moments notice.
-
Annie smiled graciously, watching Dougie with curiosity "Well, I really appreciate it." She waited until the door was closed before walking over to the bed. She glanced over the clothes warily, moving to touch the skirt gingerly. It was soft, incredibly so, and made from a material unlike any other she had seen. She grinned, picking up the skirt carefully. It reminded her of the skirts she had worn in her early teens. Strange, she reflected, how clothes would often turn full circle and come back into fashion years later.
With a light sigh, and backward glance to the door, she dropped the towel from around herself and slipped on the skirt and its accompanying blouse. Both where much warmer than appearances would suggest, and incredibly soft after the formal trousers and linen shirt of her uniform. Finally she pulled on the dark red jacket, the only part of her uniform that she retained, with the twin cogs logo of the Mechanicus emblazoned no the forearm. She rolled up the sleeves, black cuffs now ending before her elbows, and left it casually unbuttoned.
With cold eyes she pulled out a thin metal case from an inside pocket of the jacket. It opened with a click to reveal an equally slim pistol. Its steel body hummed softly as she checked it over, before sliding it back into the jacket pocket and walking quietly to the bedroom door...
Tess glanced up at Reggie and shrugged "Sure. Sorry we couldnt sort anything better out for ya' though." She nudged Blaze with her elbow and nodded in the direction of the exit "C'mon then..."
The crowds where just as thick as ever, a veritable sea of pilots and workmen. The trio slowly made their way to the less crowded bunk area where steel doors lined both sides of the corridors. Tess stopped at the doorway marked 'Teresa Kováč', sliding it open to reveal a room that was small, but unusually tidy. The only mess lay on and around a dismembered engine that sat at the end of the room. She sighed and motioned to the bunk bed "Beds made an' all. Sorry for the motor, gettin' that fixed up for a mag-bike this season..."
-
The vixen gave a warm little smile and guided Leo out of the cargo bay, and shuffled him through a small reflective corridor, moving him into a tiny little room that had a table, two chairs, and a mop and bucket in the corner.
"So," said the vixen, with a slight robotic smile, while her eyes searched, digging into the serval. "I'm told the creature talked to you. That it wanted something. Tell me everything."
Asia looked to the new group and guided the tigress back from the dragon.
"Any other time you may be helped, but we're in a rather important situation that can't really wait." He had apologies jumping off his face.
The beast compressed more and more, turning into a tight ball of blinding light, with all its amorphous features turned into sweet soft curves of apocalyptic fire, before finding its way into Nero's ship.
The door opened, and Dougie turned to the newly dressed Annie with a bright little smile on his face, with floods of anxious anticipation, like a light bulb about to burst.
"Yup," he said, looking her over. "I'm a dead man, because he's gonna kill me." He grinned wide, thenput his arm around Annie. "You look great though, and I like the little personalisation with the jacket and everything. Gives you a kind of... sexy yet capable look about you." He guided her back down the corridor, their footsteps tapping against the bare floor. As the cockpit came into view, they could see Keiron facing the main screen, displaying navigation maps and an estimated timer countdown. They would reach their destination soon. They walked to the cockpit and Dougie let Annie go, moving up behind Keiron's chair, draping his arms down over the serval, who looked up at him.
"What?" said Keiron, in silk soft tone.
"I found some clothes for Annie to wear. Have a look." Dougie moved around, turning the chair about, while staying behind it, almost hiding as he revealed the vixen. "What do you think?" Keiron's calm dropped from his face like an untied mask, replaced by shock, then realisation, then wisps of anger just slightly pinching his face as he attempted placidity. A twitching smile pulled upon his face.
"Miss Yantova, where did my... darling dingo... get those clothes from?"
Reggie shrugged at the motor. "It's a much better room than I had on that bloody ship." He gritted his teeth a little then shook away his bubbling aggression. He turned to Tess and Blaze. "How long will this set up last?" he said, with a little smirking glance to Blaze.
-
The slight sound of a door opening, a muffled scuffle, then a roar that becomes a shriek are heard in all of three minutes. Then, Chronin walks down the ramp, licking the blood off his claws as his hair goes from straight-up and spiked to completely deflated. "Unless our two etheral guests have tangible needs, we should have enough meat for almost three straight days of travel."
-
Leo once again had to straighten up now finaly removeing his hand from his side to tell her everything. What he remembered from his encounter starting with the first sight of the Cyote, from inside the Quarintine bay, inside the elevator as well as his escape from the. Basicly anything the creature was envolved in. He made sure to not say the name of what they were looking for only gave hint to it.
The feline sighed shakeing her head a bit "Let me guess the reason of urgency. Sphere got ripped to shreads, you want to make sure someones alright when that chance is very unlikely, OR you feel you can stop another disaster hm?" Brogalio quirked a brow turning his attention to the Dragon "Huh... well if he ate him then theres nothing for you to..." she trail off before placeing a finger next to her head "
Oh she died... Well its not to surpriseing concidering the fact her arms missing." she would quickly rip the com link from her ear as a loud cry could be heard from it placeing a free hand over her now ringing ear. She waited for a bit for it to subside replaceing it "Pull your self back to gether, I mean you hounestly couldnt have known her for that long." The cry started again this time she pulled to com link back out and held it in her hand "Sorry, we have a rookie"
-
Annie glanced between Dougie and Keiron, suddenly wishing that she had just kept her uniform on.
Unlike Dougie however, her emotions stayed buried beneath a calm and collected expression. She shrugged nonchalantly "A cousin of yours left them here, or something along those lines... I didn't really pay attention." She smoothed out the jacket slightly and shrugged for a second time, slowly and calm "Its not a problem is it? Only if it is, say so and I can go change."
Glancing over Keiron's head to Dougie she contemplated whether it had been worth lying, either for her own or Dougie's sake. Then again, it would make no sense to get on the wrong side of the people working for the company...
Blaze grinned in return to Reggie, but it was Tess who answered "I dunno, however long it takes Miss Yantova to get back from her trip..." She nodded back towards the doorway "You go down the corridor, then left and you find the canteen. That pass card Jessica whipped up for you should get you meals. You go right and theres the communal showers. Sorry man, but I aint got no en-suite..."
Blaze sighed and flicked his tail impatiently. He was torn between helping Reggie, though he could only really guess at what he felt right now, and being alone with Tess. RUST-E was still nowhere to be seen.
As if on cue, the little droid burst out from the shadowed corner of Tess' room. A charger cable pinged out of his metal casing as he whirred over to Tess, chirping happily as he went. Blaze glared down at the machine and huffed a sigh of annoyance. It had been too perfect after all...
-
Asia glared at the dragon, giving a long, fading sigh. Tabby looked back at him.
"It's okay, we got other food on board." She grinned and took his hand heading into the ship. Asia looked back at the tigress.
"Look, we dont know you and have no time to send ferry you to whatever military base," he said, while Howl and Seeker drifted past into the ship.
The vixen listened intently, her brow pinched just slightly as Leo skirted around the object the beings craved.
"Okay," she said at last. "Do you have any idea of where they would be next?"
"A cousin of mine?" A slight growl rumbled through Keiron, growing louder, until he reached back, grabbed Dougie's arm and pulled him in front. "I didn't think we even had any of my cousin's clothes," he said, as he let go of the dingo, folded his arms, and gave a frozen stare.
"Well she needed help, and we had the clothes," said Dougie with a shrug. "I couldn't just leave her like that." Keiron huffed and rolled his eyes.
"And why didn't you ask me for them?" he said, tilting his head and cocking his eyebrow. The dingo was quiet, shifting on the spot, looking around the room, until he spoke at last.
"Because it was funny." Dougie let a smile burst on his face as Keiron's mouth dropped in disbelief, shaking his head.
"You're an idiot," he said, with little puffs of his own laugh.
"You gotta admit though," said Dougie, while slowly stepping back from the cat. "She looks pretty good in it" Keiron's eyes turned violent.
"What?!" He leapt from the chair and Dougie fled into the corridor.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he said, while Keiron charged down after him, grabbing the scruff of his neck and punching him in the arm, forcing a yell of pain and laughter.
Reggie looked from the little droid to blaze and back again, then gave a shrug.
"Alright then, well I'll sort myself out," he said and stepped passed RUST-E, into Tess's rroom, closing the door behind him.
-
Leo thought for a bit scratching his head thinking. "If they could detect the rock then it would long have been found. My guess is, they will be after the ships next. Anything that can hold millions of passengers and survive space pirates like this one. Or just one BIG "cargo" ship." he would sit down and take his glasses off tossing them on the table as if they ment nothing, just completely worthless. He placed an elbow on the table and layed his head in his palm "Well I did my best to made this situation never happened in vain, got thrown into a quarintine bay to be sure I wasnt possed AND survived several incidents that I might as well be dead in. At least that would be painless." he said sarcasticaly rolling his eyes. "More or less. Back to the subject, its just a guess. If this stone is in a ship then the ships are doomed, if its on a planet the planet will be void of life yadayadayada... its safe to say this rock is some kind of plot device that wouldn't be safe in either hands. Nor wise to destroy."
Brogalio calmly raised a brow before gesturing to herself "Captain Brogalio Morego of the Marines. But you will be back right? Were not going anywhere. Our ship is only buried in..." she turned to mort "Bout how long is the frigate?"
The dingos eyes darted from side to side "I dunno know... 24 kilos maybe?"
"17 kilometers of dirg, maybe just barely touching the end of the crest. We have plenty of guns and food and a nice camp next to a crater. And a working local radio signal because god knows the ship is beyond repairable or even reservable to get a SOS signal out. So... six days then? Three days when you have food and another three when you come back starveing?" She said with a smile
-
Chronin didn't even notice the rabbit's glare, somewhat looking at the female tiger before a pebble hit him right next to his tear duct. He immedeatly turned to Tabby, who had two rocks in her hand and a mild glare on her face. "I'm not sure, the landing was pretty rough for an auto-pilot, the fridge might be a mess by the time any of us open it."
He raised one talon up to Tabby and she looked like she was going to pout, but he had already turned to the tigress with his hair half-raised. "Chronin Epheral, Elite class officer recently turned Black Ops. An SOS won't work if the Sphere is destroyed, since the ships will be more concerned in a safe haven rather than picking up strays. None of you will be able to come with myself as my ship was only suited for three, and we're now shuttling five. Scavenge whatever you can from the ship, and head to either high ground or an open terrain. Don't expect help to come until the military pulls itself together, which isn't soon." He turned around, already seeing Asia head inside, and Tabby waiting at the ramp.
He couldn't stop chuckling as he passed her, being very amused at her seemingly jealous attitude.
-
Annie watched the pair from the sidelines, as if the audience to some bizarre play that was acting itself out before her. She sighed and leant against the cockpit wall. On the main view-screen flashed the destination arrival time, surrounded by a galactic map, stars and planets spanning out in all directions. Turning back from the screen she couldn't help but grin despite the situation.
Tess glanced down at the droid with an air of affection. Blaze merely glared, nodding distractedly as Reggie closed the door. He sighed with a grumpy huff as the three of them set off down the corridor. Shooting a sidelong glance at RUST-E he cleared his throat "Hrmn... So, hes stayin' in my room then?" Tess nodded, but said no more "You reckon theres space for all of us?" She nodded again as they reached Blaze's room.
The door slid open, revealing a mess that stretched from wall to wall. Uniforms and odd bits of clothing where scattered everywhere, odds and ends spilled over the edge of a low work bench, and the sheets to the bed had fallen to join the mess on the floor. Tess glanced across at Blaze and sighed "Your room is worse than the engineer deck. I'l take the top bunk, furthest away from the mess..." She grinned and winked with sly mischief.
-
The vixen stared at nothing , just over the Leo's shoulder, with her pupils making little shifts in thought. "Okay," she said at last. "If we see them again, do you think you could talk to them? We need to figure them out and you seem to have a nack for encountering them." As she spoke, a wolf guard stepped in, and whispered in her ear, spelling a smile over her.
Seeker turned to Howl, putting her hand to his, their auras twisting together like different sands flowing among eachother. The wolf's eyes turned wide.
"What?" he muttered. Seeker gave a smile, her mane flowing behind her despite no wind in the ship. They looked like wings. Howl let panic into his voice. "What am I supposed to do?!" Her antennae reached out, touched him, then she turned, drifting out of the ship towards the marines.
"Hello," she said, her voice a little broken, slightly stilted, hidden in her accent. "You stay here? I know it. We stay here, and I take care of you all." Her dark eyes gleamed in the sunlight, seeming green among all the leaves and vines. Howl had stayed in the ship, gritting his teeth, letting sparks wriggle through his irridescant fur.
Tabby narrowed her eyes as Chronin passed, and Asia leaned to her. "Did you just throw a rock at that dragon of yours?" The cat nodded in quick reply.
"Yup, you wanna try? It's fun," she said. Asia gave a little laugh, taking her hand, and the walked through to find the fridge with food splayed everywhere. "Err," Tabby scratched her ear as she looked down at the mess. "We have food packs in the pantry."
"Food packs?" Asia raised his eyebrow.
"Well all the good food is on the floor, or made of Tiger," shrugged the cat with an apolagetic smile.
"Let's just get going."
Keiron turned, dusting his paws off, with a smirk on his face as he headed back to the pilot's chair, leaving his Dingo laughing, whining and gripping his arm in exaggerated pain.
"Don't worry dear, we'll be there soon." Just as the serval spoke, a little blip came up on the console. "See?" He smirked and sat in the chair, as a small green speck in the viewscreen, grew to a small green planet. "Welcome to Mngeya, famed for its forests." He grinned a little, while Dougie walked over to them to join in watching the screen. As they flew closer, the flora filled the screen, and they hit the atmosphere, turning red in flame. Once they'd broken through, they flew for a while, skimming over the treetops as they lowered further and further until a clearing appeared atop a hill. "Here's your stop," said Keiron, and lowered the ship down. Dougie reached under one of the consoles, pulling out a small tripod with a ring at the top, and handed it to Annie.
"Here's your beacon." The ship's airlock opened. "And that's your cue."
-
Chronin went into the jail, and put his tail in the door sensor while cutting off a slab of muscle from the Tiger before tossing it in his maw to snack on. He moved the rest of the body to a corner away from flammable objects, and set his plasma weapon on a low intensity setting. This was engineered as a way to start a fire without flint or 'excessive physical effort', but it was also good at speed-cooking a recently hunted meal. He only fired once and the clothes, eyes, fur, and most of the skin, burnt away leaving a rather ugly looking yet well-cooked corpse. Dang, not even a shred of guilt or disgust, am I really getting used to being a half-breed?
-
The feline quirked a brow to the dragon "That wont happen unless you send a call. A ship that hits a planet or star in hyperdrive is normaly concidered destroyed. Local radios only work planetarily and any tracking devices on ships only works if the ships auxilary circuts still work and thats long gone." She would think for a bit scratching her nose "Ok tell you what. The emergency escape pods witch are still on the ship, have only enough juice to break away from the planets atmosphere and land safely. If we were willing to share our supplies, and provide any assistance, would you be kind enough to taxy us?"
Before Leo could respon to her, he took note of the wolf that steped in, turning his head to examine the two. The smile for some reason worried the feline, waiting for the two to be finished before speaking. "Is something wrong?"
-
As soon as the beast was safely on Nero's ship, he sealed the doors and hit the hyperdrive. Stars turned to streamers as the ship disappeared into the black of space, leaving Vuranin to her own devices.
-
Annie took the beacon carefully and smirked "Never got round to visiting a forest world before." She turned to the airlock and, with a backwards glance at the pair, stepped in. Her tail swished twice as she murmured quietly to herself "Should make a change from all the rock and steel..." The door closed behind her as she stood in the confined space within. A faint hissing filled the airlock, finally replaced by a clunk and whirr of motors as the doorway outside opened.
The ramp lowered and extended out from the smooth bulk of the ship, letting in a rush of air from outside. Annie couldn't help but stagger for a moment under the assault on her senses. Sharp and fragrant smells rode the gentle breeze and above it all swarmed the buzz and chirrup of a thousand insects. Finally the ramp touched ground with a muffled thump and crack of twigs.
Annie stepped down the ramp, moving with a silent awe that had entirely replaced any other emotion bubbling beneath her skin. Trees rose up around the ship, vast pillars on all sides that branched outwards with thick needles. The nearest trunks where a fair jogging distance away and the space between the vixen and the giant conifers filled with a sprawling undergrowth of ferns. She knelt down to set up the tripod and pressed her fingertips into the moist soil. Her eyes closed momentarily as she smiled, breath slow and calm.
----
Tess lay on the top bunk, her shapely form stretching languidly over the rumpled sheets. She grinned down at Blaze who was attempting, and failing somewhat miserably, to find an off switch on RUST-E. The little droid whirred and beeped maddeningly as he continually dodged out of Blaze's way.
"Fine! Be that way you bucket of bolts!" With a deep sigh Blaze collapsed onto the bottom bunk. Tess leaned down over the edge of the bunk and grinned down at him. The same mischievous smirk twinkling in her blue eyes "You know... I could get 'im out of the room. If you want us just alone."
-
Tabby left Asia to eat, and headed through the ship to the Jail, hitting a wall of smell from the cooked soldier. She looked over to it, and shuddered, the scent twisting with the image, shuddering through her. Stepping back out of the room, she stood at the door.
"You don't hang about, do ya? He'd only just died, and he's already... prepared." She shuddered again, feeling her throat convulse, wretching, with her fur rising up. "So erm... was gonna ask, when we jettin'?"
The vixen bowed her head to Leo a little, with an afterthought of her smile. "Nothing in particular, we just have a some idea of where they might be headed. A friend of the GA recently made some movement on one of the border worlds. Best guess is that's where they'll be going, and where you will follow."
Doug looked out through the door, feeling the wind bluster in, and shreds of leaves and dirt tumble onto the ramp as it retracts into the ship. The sun drapes over Annie, sliding along her curves, casting deep darkness onto the grass.
"Just set it up in the centre there," he said, gesturing to the grass hill summit, that waved in the wind with flickering sunlight. "Just set it up, press down the ring, a keypad will show up and you put in the code, okay?" The ramp slid into the ship, and the doors closed as the engines began to roar, slowly lifting off the ground.
-
Chronin seemed somewhat startled at Tabby showing up just after he finished roasting the body. "If I didn't cook him, he would have just started rotting. The ship only needs the coordinates for Serra Draconis. Since the Black Ops bought this ship just recently, there is only the return sequence to the now obliterated Capital Sphere." He put his plasma rifle away before looking back at Tabby again with an uneasy smile. "Since I only showed my 'skill' to you, can you get your rabbit friend to stay out of the hall or the kitchen? I'd like to get the red meat cut up before I prep the rest for jettison."
-
"Sir, I dont think there comeing back"
"Eh, go figures" she said picking something up on the radar of her eye piece. She took a glance to the side seeing what appeared to be a three leged 'hound' like creature with a mouth that split into three and a helmet like shell. As it charged to her she mearly rolled her eyes and lowered her hands to the back of her hip, unbuckleing the Desert Egal. "Well, we can always see if we can fix the power lines to the ship since people tend to be a bit anal about helping unkowns" she said pulling the pistol from its holster raiseing it up only seconds before the thing jumped pulling the trigger. A loud bang could be heard along with a plume of smoke comeing from the barrel. She quickly took a step to the side, allowing the creature to fly past her. She lowered the gun back to her side looking at it before raiseing it again to take another shot to be sure it was dead, and reholstering it.
"Left for dead, ship blown, and a demon mut... I like this planet." she commented rubbing her ear in a attempt to stop the ringing.
The feline looked at the vixen blankly, almost seeingly as if it didn't quite register just yet. "Me?" he uttered blankly. "You want me, just a standard everyday scientist, to go there. To the borderworld?" he questioned the fox, hopeing this was some kind of joke. He felt as he could no longer escape death. "Do I get a say in this at all?"
-
With a nod Annie stepped back from the ship, hair whipping around her head like a dark halo. The ship lifted further and further away from the ground, gravitic motors harnessing the mass of the planet the ship to propel itself up into the air and finally -with a dull rumble that cascaded into a roar- ignited the main engines to fly off into the distance.In the wake of the roaring ship, the local wildlife filled the empty silence, buzzing and chirruping filling the air again. Annie sighed and started off towards the hilltop.
The very peak of the low hill took longer to reach than she anticipated. Ferns clung to the ground like a green sea of swaying tendrils and there was no clear path save that formed by some animals. The track weaved back and forth up the hill, hoof marks with an indentation of bi-cloven feet pressed into the soft earth.
Finally she reached the hill top. There she paused to stare out at the surroundings, and still a feeling of awe washed over her. The hilltop afforded a view that reached over the nearest trees, revealing more and even larger fauna in all directions. She sighed, knelt down, and set up the beacon.
As Dougie has said the depressing of the ring at the top of the device opened a keyboard, a holographic projection that hung in the air before her. Annie tapped out: -0-4-5-1- There was a soft hum for a moment, then the sound of connection and a voice as clear as if the person where standing on the hilltop beside her "This is the operator speaking..."
Annie pushed back her hair behind her long ears and nodded, replying to the bodiless voice "I am here to meet Krade..."
-----
Blaze grinned sheepishly, glancing over his shoulder at the far corner of the room. In the dark shadows RUST-E sat, now utterly silent and immobile. Funnily enough -or so Blaze felt- all Tess had to do was say please, and the little droid backed away and shut himself down. Blaze glanced back up at Tess, where she had stretched out on the top bunk again, and cleared his throat.
"Tess?" Her answer came as a raised hand, saluting him from behind the edge of the top bunk. Blaze sighed and climbed up the ladder. They met face to face and Blaze glanced nervously away from her "Tess... I was just wondering. If... Well, just wondering if you wanted to-"
She kissed him, cutting him off mid-babble. They remained there for a moment before she finally backed out, lips parted slightly. She smiled affectionately "I'm not cruel. I'l admit, watching you stumble around trying to ask me has been rather amusing. But still, yeah. Of course I want to... We've known each other long enough for it." Blaze smirked. The smirk turned to a grin, and that too exploded into a smile that suddenly found itself kissing her again and again.
In the corner of the room a single blue light flickered on. It whirred for a moment, focussing on the pair as they clambered up onto the top bunk, locked in an embrace. RUST-E watched for a moment longer and then whirred sadly. His eye flickered off again...
-
Tabby made a little nod, and what could have been a smile if it weren't for her constant twitches from the smell.
"Don't stress," she said. "He'll stay in his room or the cockpit." She turned and left, heading through the ship to the pantry where Asia leaned against the wall, munching on a foodpack that was taken from a box full in the corner.
"This stuff tastes like crap," he said, glancing up at her. She grinned and tapped his shoulder.
"Come on, we need your co-ordinates in the cockpit." She took his hand, pulling him along as he ate. He kept looking around, sighing at the walls.
"I haven't been in a ship in years," he mumbled. He stepped through into the cockpit. Howl was already there, looking wide eyed out the main screen to the surrounding trees. His phazing body seemed to drift and merge with the walls. Asia was sat down to the left at the navigation. "Now lemme see if I remember," he said, tapping in the numbers.
In the little closet, the vixen let a laugh escape her tight lips. "No, don't worry about that. By the time you get there, they would be long gone." She leaned forward, the light bulb flowing over her fringe, hiding her eyes. "We know where they're going, so we can... well you can intercept and stop them. Okay?" she said, lilting her voice, becoming light and effervescant, almost making the walls spread, becoming bigger and brighter.
"An agent will meet you, please stand by." The keyboard snapped out of existence, while the beacon shut down, losing its electric hum, leaving the birdcalls and wind to fill Annie's ears. The clouds moved fast, whipped by the wind across the sun, blocking its light like a screen, for just a moment. The bushes seem to rustle at the bottom of the hill, and from it, an ancient rabbit stepped out, with greying fur and creaking bones. The wind could have pushed him to the floor, if it weren't for his robotic legs. Slowly he began clambering up the hill, while the cloud drifted off, letting the light warm him.
-
Chronin took a meditative breath, then kept his forearms level while turning his hands upward to raise the body off the ground. He 'carried' the food towards the kitchen, and got a switch blade so he could cut off the ligaments and put the meat into plastic containers before putting them in the fridge. There was little blood on his body as he had pre-cooked the meat before cutting it, leaving the skeleton and organs for the scrap as he put the remains in the bulk compactor along with the packages of food ration the rabbit had eaten earlier. He washed his hands and then went to the cell, cleaning out the smell of blood and burnt fur.
As Asia finished putting in the coordinates, Chrono was wiping his hands with a rag and wrapped his tail around his own waist. "So, whats your name sir rabbit?"
-
Annie straightened up and smoothed out the creases in her skirt and jacket. She sighed and tied back her hair into its customary ponytail and waited, arms crossed and straight backed as she studied the surrounding forest. Continually she glanced down the slope to the solitary figure and waited as he made his slow way up to the summit of the hill.
-------------
The Mechanicus carrier continued to swim slowly through the ether, steel skin harbouring an entire community, engines thurmming and humming as they propelled it through space, and a constant stream of ships - all sizes and shapes- flitting in and out of its vast hangars. Set into the armoured prow the bridge bustled with crew and pilots, the nerve centre to a ship so large it could be considered alive.
A pilot, young and green with inexperience, strode across the breadth of the bridge. The captain glanced up and snapped his beak. He was an osprey of greying feathers, but with eyes that still shone fiercely as the pilot saluted hurriedly "Captain, latest report in. The Carszanians are requesting we leave their sector."
Captain Vadiik frowned and stood slowly "The Carszan government has never requested this before..." The pilot nodded, hands wringing "No they haven't. But a dispute between their fleet and the Galactic union has escalated quite ferociously. The Capital Sphere has been destroyed. They are at war!"
-
Asia sat back in the navigation chair, letting it creak. "Asia Kali," he said to the dragon. "You may have heard of me."
The elderly rabbit huffed as he trudged up the slope. "Are you the one lookin' for trouble?" he yelled up to Annie, stopping a minute to catch his breath, before climbing some more.
-
Chronin's hair seemed to be on the verge of falling off with how relaxed it was. "Asia Kali!? Auntie told me that you helped spread the gift of Everflame! Oh, and she thinks I got my disregard for command from you... probably because the only records I got of you, were written during the incident you inadvertedly caused." He looked back at Tabby, then face-taloned before wrapping his claws around her ears. "I guess that would explain why you look old enough to be 'Kitten's adoptive father, I mean you really can't be her genetic father since her ears are triangle shaped-" The moment "Kitten" bit Chronin's hand, he lifted her head up to show her upper jaw. "Shes also missing the front incisors and fluffy cotton tail!" The next instant Tabby kicked his knee out and he ended up putting her down as well as getting on that knee. "Whats wrong with you, I made sure that my grip was gentle and my claws were relaxed!"
-
Asia looked down to Tabby, then glanced to the dragon. "Tabs, are you okay?" His voice was calm, though a little raised.
"I'm fine." said Tabby, as she got to her feet, glaring at the dragon.
"You know how I feel about this, dont you?" He put out his arm to her, never taking his eyes off the dragon. The cat nodded, and took his arm, helping him out of the chair, before heading out of the cockpit, through the ship and over to the airlock. Howl looked from the dragon to the rabbit, back and forth, his swaying essence drifting from his body like a cloud.
"Asia what are you doing?" he said, exasperated.
"Getting off this ship." He looked back to the wolf with a little smile. "You've got the destination, and him to keep you company, it'll be fine." Howl looked to Chronin, desperation in his eyes.
"What have you done?" said the wolf to the dragon.
-
Annie grinned and shouted back down the hill "As always!" She waited patiently, glad to have a moment peace and rest amid the snowballing avalanche of events that often became her life. The wind picked up and whipped her hair.
She waited.
-------
Tess stirred, yawning and curling her toes sumptuously under the sheets. She opened bleary eyes and glanced around the room. Cast in murky twilight the rough shape of RUST-E sat silent in one corner, a workbench and chest of drawers in the other. None of these caught her eye however, because in the centre of her view slept Blaze. His hair was tousled and his fur unkempt. But now ,deep asleep, he looked calm and peaceful. Most unlike himself.
One of his arms lay around Tess' waist under the bedspread and the warmth of his body, pressed close to hers, felt better than any heated blanket. She sighed and burrowed down into the warmth of the bed, only to groan loudly. The alarm in her room was set to go off at 8AM and a quick glance across at Blaze's alarm (obviously never set to anything earlier than ten in the morning) told her it was 7:58. She sighed again and moved closer to Blaze. Hopefully Reggie didn't mind early mornings...
-------
Captain Vladiik pressed fingers to temples and sighed. His beak snapped loudly and he stood up from his seat. He clapped the nearest pilot on the shoulder, eyes fierce "Get me a secure channel. It seems politics and idle talk can only go so far. If any Carszan ships jump into our vicinity warn them that we are armed, and protected by the Galactic union..." The pilot nodded and turned back to his screen as Vladiik returned to massaging his forehead.
-
The elderly rabbit huffed a laughed among his heavy breaths, as he climbed the slope, until finslally reaching the top, holding his knees and gulping air. He reached into his old, scuffed jacket, pulling out a clear plastic box filled with little capsules that rattled against the walls. He pressed the box between his palms, and looked up at the vixen.
"You know," he said. His voice still fluctuated in his heaving lungs. "Only idiots and criminals come looking for Krade. Which one are you?" He glanced into her eyes, with his own that seemed empty. "Why did you come here?"
Reggie stared at the dark and unfamiliar ceiling, laying back in a bed too small for him. His face was drawn and his eyes seemed to sag. The only sound was of his own breathing, slow and mechanical in its daily toil. The alarm shrieked and broke his breath. The light flickered on, blinding him, so he closed his eyes, and shuffled to his feet, stumbling without sight for the clock. His hand fumbled over the bedside table, then over the wall with the clock set into it. He could feel the display under his fingers, and his eyes opened a crack, examining it.
"How do you turn this thing off?" he murmured, patting the display, then the wall around it. The shriek dug into his head, and he lowered his ears away. "For God's sake, shut up," he said, his deep voice turning to growl. "Off!" And at last, the room was silent. He let out a sigh, and shook his head as he grabbed his clothes and dressed himself in the only clothes he had. His new pass card was still in his pocket, as well as his datapad, but nothing else. After stepping out, Reggie knocked on Blaze's door, just a few times.
-
Chronin waved Asia off, then got up and ushered Howl into his room before standing at ease. "I am assuming from the 'what have you done?', that you want me to take a man well past his prime, to a location where we might encounter beings of my mother's caliber and higher? Like he said, all I asked for was the coordinates, after that, he was on the verge of becoming a liability. Be he the real Asia Kali or not, he has nothing on his person or in his body that would overlook his advanced age. Now, if you want me to bring him along, it will be your responsibility to tell Tabby or Afgha you insisted on having Asia come along. Are we clear, Howl?"
-
Annie stared down at the rabbit and narrowed her eyes, if only slightly "I think you will find I am neither Idiot nor criminal. As for why I am here?" She glanced out at distant treetops that swayed slowly in the wind "I need her to repay a favour."
---
Blaze stirred at the brief knocking and mumbled sleepily "Five more minutes..." He rolled over and his words where lost in the mass of the pillow. Tess rolled her eyes, in the galactic-standard expression of exasperation, and pulled back the covers. She clambered over Blaze and slipped barefoot onto the mess that was his bedroom floor. Clothes lay scattered, Engineer overalls beside Explorator fatigues in a tangled mess. And so the next couple of minutes was spent zipping up on and pulling on in an attempt at decency.
The door opened with a hiss and was caught before it could open fully. The mechanics whined for a moment in protest, and then complied, staying half-opened. Tess glanced up and flicked her bangs aside. She smiled and spoke in a hushed tone "He's still asleep, if that's who your looking for."
---
"I am sorry it lead to this Captain. We at Carszen do benefit from your trade, and the services your people provide. But times are different. The galactic union is weak and it is time for the underdogs to take their rightful place." The image of a fox in drab blue fatigues crackled but stayed in view on the screen. Captain Vladiik frowned and tapped a clawed finger on the arm of his chair.
"Chestov. My friend, you cannot be serious?" The fox frowned even deeper than Vladiik. His head shook briefly and he cleared his throat "You forget to use my honourific. But I can let that small slip of decorum go, you are obviously under stress. But I am serious, do not doubt that. And from this moment we can no longer be friends. Choose your place Captain, my ships will arrive in twenty four hours. You have until then to leave Carszenian space..."
The transmission ended.
-
Leo stared at the Vixen that sat so erily infront of him now. He now could only wish to get up and leave but something forbided him to, it wasn't that he felt that he no longer had a choice, it was the fact that he was going to be used. For the longest time he sat there silent and unmoveing, only that edgy bounceing of his right leg showed that he was still in reality. For a moment he had a twitch of a lip as if he was going to speak but kept his mouth closed. Shortly he gained the courage after thinking this out and let out a regretful sigh "Okay." he responded at last, hopeing he didnt seal his fate.
=====
The female feline now turned around and began walking slowly back to the camp thinking to herself for a minute as to how they were going to leave, paying no attention to the passengers who just left the ship. Slowly raiseing a single hand to tap her radio and spoke into it.
"This is Captain, looks like were on our own for now boys. See if you can find hopefully a still working ship in that larger one."
And with that she flicked the switch on the box before she continued on her way.
-
Howl stood uneasy, his ethereal body shifted from side to side, as though trapped in a breeze. "Alright," he said, nodding with begrudging eyes. "If you know how to break into a highly secured area and steal something like that, then go ahead. But if you don't and we fail; you're responsible for the consequences." He breathed a sigh, sending little motes of colour through his lips. "Let's get going."
The old rabbit coughed his laugh, heaving spit onto the floor. He grabbed his ear to wipe his mouth. "So you know her, do you?" He stepped closer to Annie, his head stooped, looking up at her. "So what's the favour?"
Reggie gave an apolagetic shrug, and shook his head. "No, I just cam to say that your alarm clock went off; In case you need to wake up early." He tried to glance into the room but stopped, giving a brief smile, before heading away to the showers.
The vixen's smile was soft and controlled, never going too wide, yet big enough to notice. She stood up and motioned for Leo to do the same, before the door opened, and she headed out, occasionally looking back to make sure he was still with her.
"You're doing a great service to us all. RIght now we need every bit of help."
-
Chrono had a rather pathetic smile as he walked out into the hall, that all too familiar depression setting in. "If its one thing I'm good at, its destruction and breaking into compounds. Just wish I could turn that part off for at least a day..." He went over to the cockpit and started the launch sequence, then got in the seat and put the armrests up so he could get in the meditative stance again.
-
For the first time in their brief conversation Annie stared down at the rabbit with condescending disdain "That is a matter I can only talk to Krade herself. My business is with her alone." The disdain cleared, as did her furrowed brow, and she sighed "I assume you are to take me to her?"
====
It was Tess' turn to shrug as she smiled buoyantly "No, I just prefer to wake early. My work shift doesn't start for several hours yet." She glanced over her shoulder, following Reggie's own curious gaze and then back again. A sly grin tugged the corners of her mouth "Breakfast starts serving in an hour... And the showers are communal by the way, so don't expect much privacy." She winked as Reggie walked away.
Blaze mumbled as Tess sat down on the edge of the mattress. She leant in close and bit his ear playfully. He merely groaned and attempted to push her away, mumbling incoherently. Tess sighed and rolled her eyes again "I'm going to go shower. Hopefully you'l be more awake when I'm back..." She kissed him and pulled on her boots. Blaze merely pulled the covers over his head and snored loudly.
-
"Well, if it works, then good," said Howl, and stood behind Chronin's chair. The screens flew from menu to menu, as the launch procedure fell into progress, and the ship began to lift from the ground, while the whole craft hummed and sang in violent chorus. Then the main engines fired up, and they shot through the atmosphere.
Entaru's ship stopped out in space, near a small solar system of three planets. The closest rock had a green coating of plant life, and a small craft rocketed out from the surface.
The old rabbit picked his ear, and looked at Annie with heavy lidded eyes. "There's no need to get huffy, girl. Come on." He opened his other hand, and on his palm was the little plastic container. It clicked open, and two capsules tumbled out. "Take these." he said, offering them to her."
Reggie showered away from anyone else. Not by choice, as others moved away from the giant muscled fox., passing hushed whispers and stares around, hidden in the hiss of the water.
"He's dangerous you know," he heard. "Attacked people yesterday, and the day before." Reggie was silent, suppressing his growls while they kept their distance.
-
Chronin's meditation was interrupted as he felt a rather massive presence suddenly showing up on his new sixth sense. The interruption consisted of him suddenly breathing hard and almost falling off the chair. What... just happened?! the arm rests suddenly came flying from their away positions to his arms as his other half was reacting to the sixth sense with hostility.
-
Nero suddenly felt the presence of the half-breeds. "Bingo...we're here." Nero steered the ship towards the presence and found himself flying towards the ship. "They're in the ship..."
-
Howl stepped back, staring through the viewscreen to the darkness ahead. "You feel that too?" His ethereal form spread like pollen, slowly dispersing, his body becoming intangible. "We're too late."
The beast in Nero's ship hissed and roared, its body of fire growing, and pushing the walls of the craft. It filled every corner, stopping at Nero's back, with two eyes searching through space, finding the little ship that tore away from the planet.
"Let us out."
-
"Right… right..." Leo chanted, picking up his glasses and replacing them back on his face, taking a slight moment to adjust them. Now standing up, sliding his chair in he would walk after the vixen "Mam... all do the respect, but I'm not a soldier, I am a scientist, the thrill of saving the world from who knows what fate, doesn’t interest me. I’m not a hero, I just solve practical problems” he sighed taking a moment to glance out the windows. “Dear me… dear me… what am I supposed to do when I get there?”
-
Annie took the capsules and rolled them between finger and thumb. She glanced down at the rabbit and paused, before swallowing both swiftly...
====
The showers where unusually busy for so early in the morning. Tess noted this with an air of indifference, standing under the hot running water, she sighed and proceeded to wash quickly. Showers where on a timer to prevent unneeded waste of water, though the Carrier's entire population could feasibly be sustained on recycled water alone for months, and so the time allotted for a single shower did not allow much more than was necessary for hygiene purposes.
Tess returned to Blaze's bedroom feeling fresh and even more buoyant than before. Blaze, who had been waiting behind the door, pulled her into a tight hug that was accompanied by her squeal of surprise. She wrinkled her nose at the smell that -after her refreshing shower- was prevalent in the room "Are you not gonna shower?" Blaze merely grinned and shook his head, kissing her ferociously and then turning back to the door "Taking a shower would mean less time spent eating breakfast..."
-
"Your wish is my command." Every hatch on the ship blew open as Nero gave the central brain of the ship the pyschic command. "Lets do this." Nero melded into the ship and formed on the outside of the ship. With a single push, he was flying in a crash course with the other craft.
-
Even though he could see an entity flying right towards him. Normally it wouldn't bother him since the ship wasn't moving, but the thing oozed out of the ship and lept at him. So, it was a good enough reason for him to put his hands on the ground in an attempt to move his ship while he was still in it. He was successful, but he couldn't maintain the power as the ship's sudden movement knocked his back into the chair and lost his balance.
Hopefully he had moved the ship at a speed fast enough to avoid whatever was coming at him...
-
"Calm down," said the vixen, as she marched with a vibrant sway thruogh the corridors, into the hangar bay where a ship lit up and sang in high tones. "All you have to do is stay with them, keep track of them, communicate with them, and most of all keep them away from the Everflame until a decision has been made on it." She patted Leo on the shoulder and pulled him toward her ship.
The forest wind rushed through Annie's nose, filling her mind with the scent of fresh plants and trees, crawling animals and trickling streams. The rabbit gave a smirk as she began to sway, and her eyes unfocused before she fell to the ground.
When she woke up, there was an unnatural, electric light filling the room, showing it bare and cold. Grey walls layered in moss and grime. In front of her was a door without a handle or a control panel, and the walls had no windows.
Reggie dressed, stuffing his datapad and passcard into the pocket of his jeans, then headed out toward the canteen for breakfast.
The beast slipped through the open hatches, out into space, flaring and bursting with life as it stretched out wide across the darkness. Chronin's ship dove out of the way of Nero, but headed into the surrounding wings of the beast, curling around it, closing in.
-
The feline sighed shakeing his head as he was pulled to the ship. "I will still go but first, a thought to chew on. A dragon that is the equivilant of a walking supernova, a Hyena that some how has its own gravitational pool, and ability to posses people and finaly ANOTHER dragon who I have no idea of what it can do. Can I at least borrow a weapon of some sort to defend myself with." His eyes would dart tot the side for a moment before returning them slowly to the front when he learned he was gazeing at a illusion potrayed in his mind.
-
Annie pressed two fingers to her temple, blinking away the last effects of the tranquillizer. She stood carefully, taking a moment to compose herself and glance around the room. With a sigh she straightened out her jacket lapels. There was no visible way out, so it was safe to assume that if anyone was to meet her they would have to come in. She sighed again and moved a hand to the inner pocket of her jacket, fingers searching for the slim blaster that she had placed there...
-----
The canteen was filled with the tumultuous sound of constant chatter, just as any room that housed several hundred people would have been expected to be. Rows of tables filled the cavernous space, Tess and Blaze sat down at the table nearest to the doors. An extra tray and breakfast was set out for Reggie on the table beside them, provided by Tess rather than Blaze, of course.
Blaze leant close to Tess, running a hand down her thigh. She slapped it away and hissed between clenched teeth "Not here." Blaze recoiled, frowning "What d'ya mean by that?" Tess sighed and glanced around at the tables nearest before replying "Your Mechanicus and I'm Engineer. You know how people are about us mixin'. Its like black an' white, motor oil and brake fluid."
Still frowning, Blaze replaced his hand on her leg, this time meeting no resistance "Oh, come on. Dont tell me you're worried about a small thing like that." She turned her head away from him and grimaced "I wish I didnt Blaze. Last night was nice, real nice in fact. But I've got a reputation to think of..." Blaze recoiled again "And what d'ya mean by that then? You rather people dont know we're going out? You rather you keep your rep with the Engineers than admit that we like each other?" he turned back to his breakfast, stabbing angrily with his fork "What is it about me? Why should it matter if I'm Mech... Its stupid, and I thought you didnt care for it..."
-
The ship's doorway slid aside, and the vixen stepped through, heading to the cockpit, where she dropped herself into the seat. She swivelled about, looking back at Leo."Hmm, you're probably right right. This is rather dangerous." She reached to her belt and pulled out a pistol. "Here you go," she said, handing it over. "I'm sure it'll do you a lot of good." With a chuckle and a smile she swivelled back and started up the engines. "These creatures are too powerful for any weapon we have, but one of our agents, the one you're heading toward, picked up a bomb that could hopefully destabilise their forms. If anything goes wrong, we can detonate it."
The door in front of Annie creaked open, shuddering as it dragged against the floor; behind it was all shadow. A figure stepped out, an aging female cat stepped out, dressed in functional black clothes; top and trousers, and a beret leaning to the side. She held no weapons and walked in with calm grace, almost gliding. Looking down at Annie, she leaned against the wall.
"So," she said. "Apparently I owe you a favour. That would be useful if I could remember you."
Reggie marched in, towering over all others. He spotted Blaze and Tess, snapping at eachother, and moved to the free seat beside them. "Trouble in paradise?"
-
Crossing her arms behind her back, Annie returned the gaze. She took a moment to glance over the figure before answering "I cannot say I am all that surprised. It has been quite some time, and I dare say we never knew each other that well." The gaze was broken as Annie glanced down, and then back to the feline "Twenty One years, to be precise, since we last met Tina. Though It would seem you go by another name now." She paused to gauge Tina's reaction.
---
Tess glanced up at Reggie and shook her head placidly, suddenly smiling "No, nothing-" Blaze interjected, making no attempt to smile "You bet." Glaring, Tess sighed pointedly while Blaze merely shrugged "Reggie. If say, two people shouldn't be together, but only because society thinks they shouldn't. If the only basis for society not wanting them to be together is age old prejudice. What should these two people do?" Tess rolled her eyes and flicked her bangs to one side with a despondent huff.
-
Chronin was mildly aware of the situation outside the ship since the feeling, the one he had constantly related to sensing beings like his mother or Howl, had flared up after he finished moving the ship. He tried to get the ship to move up or down, but the incessant growling and screeches in his head kept him from focusing. It quickly got to the point where Chronin was hitting his head into the wall or the edge of the dashboard to alleviate the voice in his head.
The beast's wings could feel resistance that continued to build the closer it got to the ship...
-
Nero stopped himself mid-flight as he passed the ship. He grimaced as he watched the beast envelope the ship. "Be careful with them....you can't ask a corpse a question and expect an answer!" Nero floated towards the ship and stood on its hull, leaving black footprints as he left pieces of himself behind to hold the ship in place. He looked in through the glass of the cockpit and grinned maliciously. "Come on out, Howl. I promise not hurt you!"
-
Takeing the gun and looking over it the feline took out the cartriage from its power slot, and pulled one from his pocket to compare it. "Well, thanks for deadening any hope left inside me" he said sarcasticaly before reloading it and makeing sure the safety was on. Lifting up his shirt he placed the gun in the, was empty holster now and locked it in place.
He hopped into the cockpit himself and sat down in a seat takeing his glasses off and pocketing them "You want me to try and reason with the maybe unreasonable. Is there something else you wish to inform me of?"
-
Krade grinned, then a laugh came out, tired and short.
"Yes, well a lot has changed, don't you think?" She slid her back down the wall until he sat with her knees up, and head leant back. "I suppose it's changed a lot for you too. I think I remember you right? The one with the boyfriend. What happened to him?" The tilted her head to the side with honest, inquiring eyes.
Reggie lifted a piece of chicken, ready to eat, but he just left it hanging in the air as he looked down at Tess. "Depends what's at stake, but personally?" He glanced to Blaze. "I'm with you." He ate the chicken, gave a little glare to Tess, then looked at his food. "I mean, not that I'm not grateful to you Tess, after my stuff was stolen and... all that. But you have to decide what's important."
Howl moved to Chronin's side and looked up at Nero. "I'm fine where I am. We're all working toward the same goal, so leave us be."
The beast encroached closer in on the ship, moulding to its shape. Golden eyes looked through the hull, melting it until it peered inside at the components. It moved closer still, melting the hull entirely, leaving the cockpit alone as it breathed in the engine force, andreached inside, cutting everything dead. The ship went quiet, leaving only voices.
-
Annie's breath caught in her throat. Her gaze fell on the opposite wall as she relived, as she did every night, the last moments that she had shared with Kitt Szarda...
"Ship crash landed on strip 12, not two clicks from here... We're the closest team to the site. We get in, and get them out..." Kitt glanced around at the faces of the team. All wore dark red fatigues and no body armour or helmets, testimony to the unexpected nature of the alarm call. The ship juddered again as it roared through the sky. Annie stood opposite her husband, and grinned as she glanced over his muscled frame. His hair was greying at the edges, prematurely like his father's, but his eyes still shone with vibrant youth. He caught her gaze and smiled in return. Overhead, a light turned from red to green, and the ship shook for a final time as it landed...
Colony 254423A, locally known as Jermain. Arid, but habitable, vast concrete landing strips covered the planetary surface. As the ramp of the Mechanicus Dropship lowered, several immense Mechanicus Carriers in the far distance came into view. Giant steel constructs that stretched for miles, they sat now silent and still on their landing strips, hundreds of smaller ships swarming around them.
Close by however, a ship of much smaller design lay near the Dropship. It stood, engines pointing to the sky, nose burried deep into a charred furrow of concrete and earth, thick black smoke billowing.
The team set off at a run, boots clanking down the dropship ramp and crunching on the concrete landing strip below. Five minutes went by in a blur of hydrants and dousing sprays of fire-retardant foam. The ship still blazed from within, and so Kitt was the first to enter, air purifier pulled over his mouth. The door of the ship opened with a clang and a figure slumped out of the smoke and darkness inside. Kitt caught the fox as he fell, already checking him over for burns and carrying him bodily towards the waiting stretcher.
Back in the dropship the pilot had received a second message, just as the lone crewmember of the crashed ship was rescued from certain death. A message that, had it reached the team in time, would have saved Kitt's life... "Do not approach crashed ship, pilot assumed to be dangerous and unstable. Await arrival of police forces and make no attempt to approach the ship... I repeat, make no attempt to approach crashed ship..."
Annie clenched her fist tightly and glanced up at Krade. How long she had been staring at the blank wall she did not know, and so instead she cleared her throat hoarsely "He's dead. Shot three times in the chest from point blank range..."
-----
Blaze grinned and glanced from Reggie over to Tess. She sighed and stabbed at her own breakfast, all appetite gone "Your making a big thing out of it." Blaze put down his fork and turned in his seat to her "No, your the one who is acting like this is alright. Why does it matter to you what the other engineers think?" Tess bowed her head over her plate and mumbled weakly "Well it does matter to me... I wish it didn't, but it does."
-
Chronin's sense went wild as he could feel the presence closing in, and it drove him to repeatedly bash himself into the dead machinery and whatever was left of the cockpit. Eventually the self-injury caused him to go unconsious, but that was only a brief calm before the other side took over. Whatever was left of the hull was torn apart to add onto Chronin's frame, essentially scrapping his only method of traveling by somewhat conventional means. It was a small price to pay though, as his soundless shriek scattered the beasts wings and pushed Nero a good ten meters away. His lack of control was evident since he was giving off a massive amount of energy and he was adopting a more bestial posture.
He gave off so much that his mother, Vuranin, could feel the spike from several lightyears away. Would figure he might end up in this, he is the only known hybrid after all. She continued to stand there, not really sure if she wanted to spend all the effort and possibly arrive too late. She dispelled that doubt though, when she felt herself gravitating towards the energy spike. She shrugged only for a moment, and then she was gone...
-
Nero flipped through space for a moment before regaining his posture. WhaT IN HelL WaS ThaT? Nero snarled at Chronin and approached Howl, what little mischeif he had in mind now gone. "We may be after the same goal, but our methods are very different. I know that you have some idea as to where the Everflame is. Tell us where it is...your diplomatic approach is taking far too long and the boundries between our worlds is becoming thinner with every passing moment. We'll take what is ours by force, since peace is obviously too slow."
-
Krade narrowed her eyes, and a small twist of her mouth almost seemed like a smile. She brushed her trousers at the thigh with her hand, whether there was dust or not. Breathing a sigh, she looked to the vixen, and the twitch of a smile left her.
"Mine died as well," she said with a lilt in her voice. "I suppose maybe we could share sob stories if you like." Stepping forward, she leaned close to Annie. Her fringe dangled in front of her like a screen. "But that's not why you're here, is it? Why are you here?"
Reggie smirked, and scarfed down half his meal. "You know what, I'm no good at being mediator. You deal with this yourself. How do I get to the mortuary from here?"
The four inter-dimensional beings floated in space, with the beasts' wings threatening to enclose all around them. Howl drifted by Chronin's side, and looked up to Nero with a set scowl.
"There's no need to hurt anyone. That's not why we came here." He shook his head and looked out into space, looking over to where they were headed. "And maybe you're right about the peaceful solution, but we're not going to hurt anyone. We'll steal the everflame and so everyone's happy."
-
Leo sat there in the cockpit quietly waiting for an answer, soon shrugging seeing he wasn't going to get one anytime soon. "I guess that is a no." he sighed looking off to his side out of the window.
-
Chronin's power was still affecting everything as everyone's aura seemed to bend and stretch towards him. Inside his shell of metal though, Chronin was silently freaking out at how he was in space and somehow not dying or suffering bodily damage from the change in atmosphere. It was only Howl's words that pulled him out of his self-speculation. "Wait, stealing Everflame? If I know anything about protocol, any ships that left the Sphere are going straight to Serra Draconis, which will take at least a day with a ship, let alone on 'foot'. Plus, only one of those ships would have it, and my only parent would probably be on it! I am not leading these two to her!"
-
The vixen jumped at Leo's voice.
"Hm? Oh sorry, I was distracted." She gave a quick smile then tapped on the front console. The door shut and the engine began to spin and hum, giving rhythmic breaths of life. "You'll be fine. I'll be with you every step of the way, now lets go."
Howl darted eyes back at Chronin. "What did you think we were doing? Look we don't have time for this we've got to go, now." His body seemed to bend and shift, one part floating in toward Chronin, the other drifted out to space.
-
With a flick of her ponytail to one side Annie returned Krade's cold stare. It was her turn to give a hint of a smile "No, of course it isn't. I would not come traipsing across space just to relieve sentiments." She cleared her throat and ran a hand down each of her lapels, composing herself "You have made quite a name and reputation for yourself. I am in need of your services. All greetings aside, we need to talk..."
----
Blaze gave an exasperated sigh and then turned to Reggie "The mortuary? What do you want to go there f-" Tess elbowed him sharply in the ribs, glaring peevishly.
She glanced up at Reggie with an apologetic glint in her blue eyes "Go down down the corridor to your left, there's several grav-elevators there. Take one and insert your pass card. Then its as simple as selecting the place you want to go." Blaze nodded in conformation, sheepishly staring at his fork and chewing silently.
----
The bridge of the Mechanicus Carrier echoed with constant chatter and clanks of boots running back and forth along its length. Captain Vladiik sat in the middle of it all, two fingers pressed to his temple. He sighed "Pilot, how long until the Carszenian fleet arrives?" A finch glanced up from his screen, tearing his eyes unwillingly away from the series of jump calculations he had been preparing "One hour thirty sir." Vladiik nodded and the finch turned back to his screen.
With a vertebrae-cracking stretch, Vladiik unfurled his wings and stood. He walked through the bridge and came to rest against the railing that ran along the length of the bridge. Five metres of clear plas-steel and countless deflection shields where all that stood between him and space, inky darkness flecked with stars.
He sighed, jumps always took a very long time with a ship as large as Mechanicus carriers. Normally several days would be put aside for preparation, calculating every possibility and ensuring minimal deviation. Now they had less than an hour and a half in which to evacuate thousands of Mechanicus crew. Any civilian ships not docked couldn't be accounted for, they must be left behind...
-
Krade flashed a smile like a silent explosion, there and gone in a second. Her teeth flashed in the light. She nodded her head, her brow starting to knot, hands on hips she leaned back, tall and staring down. "You need my services, you need my services, we need to talk? Yeah, yeah we do. You know what, you first. Who flew that ship you came on?" With every quickfire phrase, she twitched and turned, eyes never leaving the fox. "Looks like a piece of crap to me. How'd you end up on a ship like that? Do tell."
Reggie stood, watching the boy prod his food. He took his tray and headed away, putting it with the others before leaving the canteen and walking to the grav lift. He ran his hand through his hair, gripping strands.
-
Chronin made a soundless sigh as Howl seemed to get cross for the wrong reason. "Let me clarify myself, I already knew we needed to snatch the Everflame, but such an undertaking will not be possible with those two 'helping' us!"
-
Leo smiled back "Thanks thats very reasureing" his tone was hard to differ from sarcastic and serious now. Turning his attention back into the dark pits of space "So how long is this trip going to last?"
-
Howl frowned, his body shivered its little motes of self, and he folded his arms as he moved close to chronin. "So what do you suggest?"
The vixen smirked and leaned on the pilot chair. "Shouldn't be long. We'll intercept them, or even turn up ahead of them." She tapped the unfurnished walls, making metallic thuds. "This ship is faster than it looks." She pushed off to stand straight, and headed back through the ship. "That said, you best eat something before we arrive. Keep your strength up, we've no idea how long your mission will take."
-
Chronin thought about it for a moment, and a sudden surge in the attraction force signified his idea. "I... have clearance, which can at least get me to my Aunt, whom has full clearance. She, or at least her I.D., can get us to the Everflame stone, then my mother -going out on a limb with this, mind you- will take the stone back to your realm since she is apparently an expert in traveling through space."
-
Calm and composed, Annie frowned "Of course, I suppose you have every reason to doubt me." She suppressed a small smirk "After all, I would not trust an old friend who just happened to turn up looking for you, after all these years. The ship was piloted by two officials of the mechanicus, and the ship originates of the same company."
With a tap of the finger to the Mechanicus badge stitched to her shoulder, Annie continued "I ordered the ship to be flown here and await my return, under official business, the true nature of which is unknown to the company." A frown creased her brow and she sighed "Any other questions. Anything else you doubt or don't believe Krade?"
----
Tess sighed, snatching glances across as Blaze. Finally she slipped her fingers around his wrist, stopping him from prodding despondently at his chicken, and smiled "Look, if it means this much to you. Maybe it dont matter what others think?" She sighed and kissed him. Blaze dropped his fork and returned the kiss, grinning he pulled away "Thanks. Come on then, we both got the day off rota... So what do ya wanna do?"
-
Krade rolled her eyes and put her fingers to her brow.
"Oh don't call me Krade, it sounds weird from people who know me from back then." She huffed a sigh. "Makes me sound like a man, that's why I chose it." She stepped back and leant agains the wall again, and with the back of her fist, she knocked on the door. "Look, there's no need for all this. We know why you're here. That Justice lot have been on me for ages, and though they can cover their tracks, they're not the best at it. So, why are you really here? I'm just doing what's right, what are you doing?"
Reggie marched out of the grav lift and through the corridor. The sick bay drifted past him in a row of windows. Ignoring every one, he stepped through a small metal door, and the morgue greeted him like a cold wind, with a receptionist at the end of it.
-
Nero glared at Chronin and cracked his neck as he listened. When Chronin was finished he spoke. "Alright then...suppose this all goes to plan. How long would it take? Days? Weeks? Months?" Nero's lips curled into a snarl as he spoke, his tone growing harsher with each passing syllable. "I don't know how time here converts to over there, if it does at all, but I can tell you this: WE DON'T HAVE THAT LONG! In fact every second we waste is just adding to the mess that's going to need to be cleaned up."
-
Annie let a small sigh escape her lips, breathing in deeply before replying "I'm just doing what I need to survive." She ran a hand through her ponytail and sighed again "Not all that surprising really. Its almost as if they wanted me to be caught, the plan was so vague." Still running a hand down her ponytail, Annie leant against the nearest wall, finally losing her composure "A woman called Shivan, you know her? Well she is very high up in the Mechanicus, I'd say she even has her contacts in with the funders and generals. Suffice to say, I had no choice but to agree."
Annie ran a hand over the wall behind her, fingers questing through the many grooves and cracks in the concrete "She wants you dead Tina. She knew that I was there with you, security photographs, enough evidence to have to me rejected from the Mechanicus and on my way to state prison without a fuss from the court. Instead she gave me the choice, redeem myself or take the charges." With a weak smile Annie reached into her jacket. She pulled out the slim pistol from the inside pocket and threw it down to the floor. It skidded over the concrete to Tina's feet "You know which choice I took."
-
Leo threw a arm over the seat he was sitting in and peered over his shoulder to watch her walk into the back. He wanted to say something but quickly stop as he held a blank exspertion only just now remembering when the last time he ate was. Yesturday's morning. Forgeting what he said out the sound of his stomach he got up and walked into the back looking for the kitchen inside the ship "Thanks for reminding me."
-
Chronin sighed, very tempted to test out the limits of his power on the entity yelling at him. "Until you and your friend decided to tear the ship apart, it was only going to take two days at maximum..."
-
"I have a ship, half-breed" Nero snarled, becoming even more ill tempered as the half breed not only refused to act as the inferior being that it was but even had the audacity to talk back to him. "Now hold your tongue until I speak to you...unless you want to spend the rest of your short life without it. Now, Howl...where is it?"
-
Howl stepped back, toward Chronin. "I'm not telling any of you. You can't be trusted to keep anyone safe." A sudden hiss screeched into their heads, as the beast rippled and grew, flames flicking at the sides of the dragon and wolf.
"There is no time. Dimensions are folding." The beast encroached closer in on the pair, and tentacles of light reached out to Howl. "I can pull what we need from you. We do need no consent."
Tina knelt down, picking the pistol from the floor, and held it up to the light. "Shivan, huh? Justice bird, she is." The put the pistol to rest on her head and breathed a little sigh. "Perhaps things will turn out pretty well for you." She flicked her tail and stared into Annie's eyes. "Have you got any loved ones left? People to save?"
Reggie marched through the doors, and came to the reception, where a finch looked sideways at him.
"I'm here for Jaack Kavel," Reggie said, as he leaned to the side, watching a lizard pass through some double doors, swinging and revealing the body coolers. The finch made a quick twitch of a nod at him, then typed on her computer.
"Says 'ere, 'e's gotta be prepped for transport on a ship registered under someone called Reginald S. Mongoste." Reggie nodded his head and pointed to himself. The finch tilted her head to the side. "You got one day to take 'im. He's prepped, ready." After the last word, she flicked on a smile like a switch. Reggie squirmed where he stood, and his hands became fists.
"Look, there's a problem." The finch's smile vanished. "My ship was stolen." The finch gained a frown.
"Well that is a problem, but not our problem. You can still take 'im, or you can wait a day, and watch us cremate him." Reggie flinched, and began to grind his teeth. He stood thinking, and the bird kept twitching her head like a marionette. "So I can still take him."
"He's frozen right now," the finch said, and tapped her computer screen before spinning it around to show him. "But if you want, we have an embalming service, so you can keep him on the station for as long as you need." A slew of options for dealing with corpses filled the screen. "We take no responsibility for the actions of the security on this station."
The vixen tapped on the wall, and a small cupboard opened up, letting silver packets of food tumble out. She caught a few, and let the rest fall to the floor. The microwave slid open, and she tossed them in.
"We haven't got much on this ship," she said. "But after the mission I'll buy you something nice."
-
Annie nodded "Yes, a son." Finally she smiled and let out a weak laugh "I'm doing this all for him. And there are... others." Flicking her tail Annie glanced up at the ceiling, away from Tina's prying eyes "There will always be people I want to save..." She sighed deeply and let her head lean back against the wall "So, where does this leave us?"
-----
Together, Blaze and Tess walked through the winding corridors of the mechanicus carrier. Arms linked, hands held and smiles shared they walked at a leisurely pace, matched only by the few others who where not currently on work shifts. Whirring softly, a small droid followed the pair, slinking between the legs of workers and pilots. Finally when they had reached a wide hangar the little droid stopped, watching as they walked away. He gave a little whirring sigh...
-----
"Captain!" Vladiik glanced up at the sudden shout, one voice rising above the constant murmur on the bridge "Ships jumping inbound!" He rose, feathers ruffling as he strode across the bridge and to the pilot who had shouted. The young hawk pointed in what could only be described as abject terror, as half a dozen unlabelled diamonds flashed onto his screen. Vladiik frowned and leant closer. The diamonds stayed still and immobile, and his frown deepened "They could be cargo ships..."
His voice petered out, for the dozen diamond icons had suddenly been joined by a flock of new icons like flies to meat. Several thousand miles away, across the inky darkness of space a fleet of armoured warships had jumped into position, engines already flaring into action, weapons traversing. Vladiik pushed the pilot roughly aside and reached for the controls. He flicked a switch and shouted, voice resonating throughout the carrier "Standby for emergency jump!"
-
"Well dont get ahead of yourself, the conversation isn't over," said Tina, as she held the pistol to her side. "I need to know exactly who you want to save, and how far away they are." Her pierced through with her eyes, a serious expression engraved on her face. "This is important."
-
Nero smirked as the beast moved in closer. "You know, I think you're right. I've never needed anyone's consent to get what I want. A fake and a half-breed may prove to be a challenge but nothing that I can't handle." Nero himself seemed to grow, if only in presence, as the darkness of space seemed to get even darker.
"So you can tell us willingly..." Nero began to fade into the background as his flesh began to take the form of the space around him, the hole where his eye should have been emitting an eerie glow.
...OR We'lL RiP IT OuT OF YoU!!!!
-
Leo tilted his head at the pile of packets and watching them go into the microwave. He scratched his head a bit not really haveing a likeing for space food. His ear twitched and he gave her a funny look "I thought that was the males job?" he joked, but hounestly he couldn't argue.
-
With another sigh Annie looked down and met Tina's gaze "My son, of course, and a fox named Reggie. They are the ones closest to me... Both are on-board a Mechanicus carrier. I can give you the co-ordinates if you need them. Why is this so important? I can hardly return to that place, Shivan would revel in locking me up..."
-----
The mechanicus carrier lurched, shuddered and roared, and then disappeared in a flash. Those ships that had been outside hangars scattered like ants as the Carszenian war fleet descended, beams of energy flickering and lashing out at the doomed remnants of the Merchant ships...
Everywhere inside the carrier a dull red light flashed, all other lighting gone. Everything rocked and swayed, metal groaning in protest. In the hangars crates and equipment slipped and slid, the unexpected jump not leaving time for heavier objects to be tied down. Screams of panic where drowned out as crowds of non-mechanicus merchants fled in every direction...
-
Chronin's power flipped its aura about as he felt threatened, and suddenly started pushing away what it used to be pulling in. Beyond that, he had no idea how to deal with something as seemingly omnipotent as these creatures before him...
"Nero, don't tell me you're getting worked up by my son, who is barely in control of his own powers." Vuranin appeared next to Chronin and Howl, her tendrils wrapping around Howl while her hand grabbed Chrono by his now-crystalline hair before warping above the converging entities. "I swear, all you two are good for is causing more problems. I at least gave birth to the one who can get us to the Everflame!"
-
The vixen typed in the microwave time, then glanced over to Leo. "Yeah well," she said, and put her hand to the wall, while she listened to the hum of the microwave. "I dont suppose I ever put much stock in that." She flashed a smile, though it began to fade. "I don't suppose you've had a good day, have you." THe microwave pinged, and the vixen pressed the door to open. The packets bulged, and she pulled them out with her fingertips, dropping them on the table. "There should be plates in one of these cupboards, go get them."
Tina nodded, and ran her tongue along her teeth.
"Alright then, a carrier." She brought the gun up and tapped it against the side of her head. "Okay. You're not gonna land on the carrier, you'll just be nearby so we can contact you easily to identify who you want." She tapped her leg, and then the door twice. "We better be quick. We've had some strange reports, and a mechanicus carrier might have to jump at any moment." The door opened and a chameleon in a tshirt and shorts peered through, staring at both women in expectant poise. Tina turned to him. "Take her to the ship."
"Um," said the chameleon. "What, um... what about the, um... Justice prizzies... um... Justice prisoners." Tina sighed, while the chameleon wrung his shirt in his hands.
"If we're not back in time, kill them."
Reggie stumbled to the side, and the finch moved with her chair on its wheels, rolling across the sleek floor.
"Wooo, what's 'appening?" She tweeted as she grabbed the desk and pulled herself back. Reggie looked around, red lights flashing in his eyes, and a frown deepening on him. The finch swiped through menus on her screen, delving deeper into systems. "Looks like we just jumped," she said.
"What?" Reggie from her, to the morgue and back to the door outside. "We jumped? Away? Where?!"
Howl's relief travelled through a sigh, though still he was stiff in Vuranin's grasp. He watched her, then the beast who flared and spread out like flowing orange over a black page. The two bright eyes burned from the growth of a head, and he stared at Vuranin, drifting to her. "He stands in our way. Your connection has no relevance. We are the amalgam of minds, and if we consume him, his knowledge can be ours. His interference will be negated."
-
Vuranin's hair flared out as she stared at the 'beast'."My only connection to my decision was that your method of information gathering put my son in danger. Besides, how exactly can you get to the Everflame if they shoot your ship down before you can even see them!?" Chronin could feel something being pulled from his mind, but he could also tell that it wouldn't be forgotten on his side. I'll need a few seconds to get all three of us transported to the location in your head, can you hold that thing back for that long?
-
The feline scratched his head as he turned to the side looking at the cupboard. He reached up to open the cabnet and quickly sift through it grabbing two plates. He would turn around to the vixen and shrug slightly "You can say that. I... feel like I'm begining to lose my total grip on reality from today." he sighed laying the plates out. "Really, I'm starting to no longer care, I mean nearly everyone on the sphere is nearly dead, I got killed... wait no I haven't... did I?" paused for a minute thinking "yeah I am still alive."
-
Annie straightened her jacket and took an expectant step towards the door. She stopped and glanced to Tina, eyebrow raised curiously "Prisoners?"
----
Finally the carrier lurched to a halt, reappearing into real-space with a flash of light. Captain Vladiik pulled himself to his feet, turning to face his navigator "Where did you send us?" The hawk was clutching a gash across his forehead, blood smeared across the corner of his console "Arbani quadrant. Twenty kilometres from a Mechanicus outpost..."
Through the bridge windows a great structure of steel and lights hung in space. Five long arms stretched out from a central ring, lights blinking and flickering. Vladiik nodded and breathed a faint sigh of relief "You did well... See about docking at the station and put medical on standby."
----
Blaze screamed in agony, tears blurring his vision as men and women ran in all directions. His arm was trapped from the elbow down, a heavy crate crushing with all its weight against the hangar wall. Tess knelt beside him, tears streaking her cheeks as she ran shaking hands over Blaze's neck "Shh- Shh- Its gonna be fine, its gonna be fine..."
Engineers hauled on the chains for a third time, crate screeching as it slid across the metal flooring. Blaze's screams where drowned out as they pulled for a final time. The crate pulled away and he curled up, sobbing and whimpering as a team of wolf medics rushed through the terrified crowds...
-
Nero snarled ThE ShiP Doesn'T MatteR, IT IS SimplY A WaY TO GeT FroM A TO B...UnfortunatelY WE Don'T KnoW WherE B IS!! I AM ThrougH NegotiatinG MisS VuraniN!! I WilL DevouR TheM BOTH!!!!! The stars all seemed to go out at once as Nero burst into an amorphous black shape. In the center was what looked like a miniature black hole.
KILL THEM ALL!!!!!
-
The vixen smirked, though her eyes were cold. "No, you're not dead yet, though chances are, we all will be soon." She put the packets onto the plates, two on each, and opened them all, spilling food out and ready. "Now eat up," she said, and tossed the empty packets aside. "We all need our strength in times like these, and it won't be long before we reach our enemy."
Tina narrowed her eyes. "Your two chaperones, or prison guards, however you want to call them." She stepped through the door and looked back, waiting for Annie. "It doesn't matter either way, they're not your concern."
"Well, according to this," said the finch. Reggie gripped the table, his face shoved near hers, growling with every breath. "The Arbani quadrant." She looked up at him, as his face twisted, contorting with the changing thoughts in his head. She pushed back against the desk, moving away from him on her chair.
"The... we're in a different quadrant?" The finch made a little nod, and scooted even further, her back pressed to the wall. Reggie gritted his teeth, his growl rumbled through his body, and the desk creaked. "How many lightyears?" His voice was strained, and stumbled through his throat.
"Um," the finch glanced from him to the screen. She squinted rather than lean forward. "Eight hundred-"
"Eight hundred?" The finch jumped as Reggie slammed his fist on the desk, and left a deep dent. "Eight hundred."
"And... fourty seven," the finch murmured, and shifted away into the corner of the room. REggie grabbed the computer screen, twisted it toward him, and stared at the coordinates.
"Eight hundred." His growl deepend, becoming heavy, and he snarled, baring vicious teeth and eyes. "What the hell!" He grabbed the screen in his massive hands, and wrenched it from its socket. The display cut out, and it tore from the desk, bringing with it wires and a panel from the desk itself. He hurled it to the wall and it shattered into pieces, while the finch shrieked in the corner. The double doors swung open, and the lizard returned.
"What's going on?" he said, before he turned to the finch in the corner, and Reggie turned to him.
"Who's in charge of this place?" Reggie yelled, marching toward the lizard, who seemed to shrink back to the doors.
"Sir, calm down, I don't know what's going on, but if you want assistance, I can call security."
"Security?" Reggie snarled again, then barked at the man, who flinched, and stumbled back against the double doors. "You're gonna call security on me?" Reggie followed him into the morgue, his fists clenched, and his teeth bared.
"Sir, I never said that."
"You were gonna get me arrested?" The man flicked his glance around the room, catching something in the back corner. Reggie looked up, saw the back door. "Don't you dare!" Reggie charged.
The beast grew, and swarmed around them all, his heat closed about in a perfect sphere that began to shrink. Howl could feel the fire lick every mote of energy within him, reaching into his head, touching everything like snowflakes in a fiery grip. The beast closed closer, Nero's black hole encroached, the universe became small. Howl gripped Vuranin's tendrils tight, and shut his eyes. The flames twisted around them all, then burst to nothing. Nero was gone. The stars had changed, they had moved far away. Howl breathed relief. His teleport had worked.
-
Nero stopped, shocked. They had escaped. The space around him cracked and bent as his anger grew to full blown rage. NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! HOWL, YOU FILTHY HALF-BREED! I'LL TEAR YOU TO SHREDS!!!
-
Leo smiled at this comment "Eh I guess we should just hope it's short and sweet" he chuckled taking a bite out of some of the food. "Hm... I never really learned your name. Either that or I forgot, what was it again?"
-
Annie narrowed her eyes, not moving any closer to the door "A dingo and serval? Tina, I'm sorry but I wont let you kill them..." A growing frown crawled across her normally smooth forehead "Not everyone in the company is as bad as the high-ups... Kill them and your as bad as Shivan."
---
Blaze's vision blurred, rolling and bouncing in the stretcher as the wolves weaved between crowds. Everywhere red light flashed until they finally burst into the surgery. Pain flared up his right side as the wolves transfered him to a surgery table, all around him surgeons prepped equipment and a mask came down over his face... Respite from the pain finally came as he fell backwards into unconsciousness...
"I'm sorry miss, but you really cant come in here while they are operating-" A nurse held up protesting hands as Tess followed through with the stretcher. Tears streaked down her cheeks, and a steely look of determination flashed in her eyes "Just you try and stop me..."
-
"I don't think I ever told you," said the vixen, before taking a bite of some steaming chunk of indeterminate meat. "General Andreya Caisen," she said, spouting food. "The twenty seventh." She flicked a smile at Leo, then continued to eat. She had almost finished half of the food when the light in the kitchen flashed red three times. She glanced up, then over to the console. "Looks like we're meeting them earlier than expected." She pushed the plate aside and headed to the cockpit. The view screen was filled with a beast made of fire.
Tina tilted her head at the notion. "Well I wouldn't want that." she said. "I dont want to be the same as someone I've never met." Her smile cut through her words, and she shook her head, almost in disbelief. "Guess what Annabel, people die. You of all people should know that. I'm just eliminating a threat. Now come on, unless you want to lose your son and that fox you talked about." She turned and followed the chameleon through the corridor. "And anyway, they'll only be killed if we don't get back before a certain time. If we do get back before a certain time, then I'll just interrogate them, and decide what to do after that. Sound good?"
The fox held the lizard's neck.
"I don't have time for this. I dont have the... capacity for this." The words seemed to stumble in his mind before he could blurt them out. "How long does it take for a message to cross eight hundred light years?" The lizard trembled in the fox's grip.
"Two... three weeks, maybe-"
"Three weeks." The fingers tightened around the neck. "I just lost contact with the only person I have left. Do you get that? Do you understand?" He brought the lizard up, closer to his face. "I can't even jump back there because I don't have a ship anymore." The lizard began to choke. "I can't even bury my best friend." The finch shrieked as the lizard went limp. The double doors burst open, a dozen heavy boots beat the ground and electricity shot through Reggie's body.
-
Vuranin was rather surprised Howl had a similar movement ability, but went back to the task of 'extracting' the location from Chronin's mind. "Um, thanks for making it a bit easier on me; although I probably might have needed the practice since those two still have a lightspeed ship in case they didn't destroy it while attempting to absorb us..."
-
Leo took his time to finish eatting before pushing the plate to the side and climbing out of the small booth inside of the ship. He began makeing his way to the cockpit scratching his head before leaning forwards to take a closer look at the screen. He would take a second to adjust his glasses before speaking. "That thing again? I remember him, I think its a he at least, that was the thing that just... grew from an elevator." he spoke calmly placeing his hand on a chair.
-
Again an irrepressible flinch at the use of her christened name, a name only ever used by a mother long since driven from memory and thought. Annie ran a hand across her fringe and her frown deepened "People die all the time, but that does not mean I am prepared to stand by and watch it happen..." She sighed and stepped into the corridor after Tina, tail swishing nervously.
----
The nurse knelt down, the usually placid expression of doctors gone and replaced with one of real sorrow. Blood spattered both her apron and gloved hands, the latter removed with a snap of latex and a soft whoosh from the disposal chute. Tess looked up from where she sat cross-legged, fringe falling over her tear-streaked eyes "How is he?"
The nurse ran a hand through her hair and sighed "The surgeon says he will live... I'm sorry, but we've been absolutely swamped with injuries from the engineering decks." She proffered a hand to the young vixen "You can come through to see him. I have to warn you though, he's in a bad state..."
-
Howl breathed heavy, and his some flecks of himself drifted loose in space. "I've never teleported more than just myself before, but hey we're away. We know where we're going." His body seemed to float in Vuranin's grasp.
"Well then lets say hello." General Caisen powered the thrusters, pushing them closer, as the beast filled the view screen. What might have been its head, turned, and two blinding lights shone out from the flames. The vixen flicked a switch, then tapped the comms menu open, and set to loudspeaker. "Go ahead."
Tina kept walking, staring ahead down through the corridor, where a light glimmered at the end. "Then we should hurry up and get back in time, then." They approached the light, and a blue sky could be seen, as the corridor lead out to a green fields, catching the glimmer of the sun. Up ahead, the little craft Annie had arrived in sat. There were deep scratches down the side, and one of the landing legs was propped up by a rock. The chameleon walked up to it, knocking twice on the side.
"Open it," he said, and the entranced hissed and opened outward, making stairs down the grass. Inside, a young mouse girl ran back to the cockpit. She looked about twelve.
-
Leo smiled placeing his hand on the com units mike t block out what he was about to say. "The large one just may be a bit unstable. If you plan on staying alive, if I somehow insult it. You may want to put on one of the suits in the back." He told the general before removeing his hand and takeing a seat. "Good evening, now upon this lovely day many dramatic events had occured. Followed by the desturction of what we called sphere and what may have been just paper mache and glass under your might. I will not ask why you brought upon such destruction because we already know that you are looking for something, a rock. A simple stone that was according to history worth fighting for, but no longer is as of this melenium. What is it's importance to you?" Leo paused for a minute thinking for a bit before speaking again "Scratch that, why do you want it?"
-
Annie followed out into the sunshine, breathing a faint sigh of relief at the cool air that tugged at wisps of her hair. She glanced over the body of the once sleek ship and couldn't help but think of her own craft, perhaps never picked up by retrieval and still floating in the cold expanses of space. It was with a small shake of her head that she returned to the current situation, ponytail flicking over her shoulder with the movement, and she shot a curious glance to the quickly disappearing mouse.
----
The surgeon, a dark-furred wolf with keen blue eyes, graced Tess with a warming smile. The gesture was rather undermined though by his blood-covered apron and hands "Luckily he was on a full term contract with the Mechanicus. As a 3rd class explorator he was covered for all injuries including loss of limb..."
Tess drew in a sharp breath "You mean-?"
The surgeon nodded "We had to amputate, normally it would have been fine but... Complications arose. As i said, luckily for him loss of limb was covered under his contract. We here in the medical department work closely with EMC... While not the latest model, the standard replacement is superior to many prosthetic on the commercial market." With careful hands the surgeon pulled back the blood-stained sheets covering Blaze.
Chewing her lip apprehensively, Tess' eyes moved slowly across Blaze's right arm. At a point just above the elbow his flesh and bone stopped, replaced with a metal likeness of the original. The arm was skeletal in shape and dark gun-metal grey in colour. She reached out a hand to touch it, only to draw back as the surgeon shook his head "Please, we still need to calibrate it and ensure all is fine. You can see him again when he is awake..."
-
Vuranin released Chronin after she gained her information, then spread her arms out and held her palms downwards. "If you're not used to light-speed travel, you should cover your eyes so the sudden influx of light doesn't fry them." Chrono put his arm over her snout, effectively blocking out all light while using his new sense to tell if he was too far away from his mother.
-
The beast shivered flames down its back, then turned to face face little insect of a ship that faced them. It loomed forward, spearing the two bright lights out through the flames, into the cockpit of the ship.
"We know your face." Another shiver sent flares of light bursting out into space. General Caisen covered her eyes, then glanced at the other creature, Nero. It was a darkness in the void. Darker than black.
"Well you got their attention," she said, and gripped the shoulder of his chair.
"The loss of the everflame," said the beast. "Has more shattering consequences than your reality can consider." It stretched even closer. The hull of the ship strained under the heat. "Give it to us, or we will take it."
Tina marched behind the chameleon, and climbed the stairs into the ship.
"Say hello to the Camel." She tapped the door as she entered, and headed to the cockpit. All the dusky brown interior hung by threads, and a look through the corridors to the kitchen saw broken cupboards hanging open. "It looks hideous but it's reliable." She smirked, and leaned against the wall. The cockpit was large for such a small ship, and had space for four. Two pilots, navigation and communications. The young mouse hopped into the pilot's seat with the chameleon beside her. Tina gave a nod to the girl, who nodded back.
"What's the coordinates?" she asked. Her eyes were wide and expectant at Annie.
While Tess talked with the surgeon, a dog in sharp security uniform stepped up beside her.
"Excuse me, I've been told you know a fox named Reginald S. Mongoste"
Howl drifted beside Vuranin's body, but gripped with his hands onto her, willing himself more tangibly solid.
-
With another flick of her ponytail Annie pulled a small data-chip from the inside pocket of her Mechanicus jacket "The co-ordinates for the carrier are on here. Its scheduled to be in that area of space for another three months before the next jump." She smiled and flipped the data-chip open, careful to keep her fingers away from the metal contacts as she held it out to Tina.
---
Tess looked up to the dog, streaks from her tears still running down her cheeks "Yeah, I know a Reggie." She glanced across to the surgeon who gave her a distracted smile before walking away down the rows of beds and equipment.
-
Vuranin strained herself as she made all three of them take the same path that was originally ment for just her. The result on Chronin's body was much more volatile than both herself and Howl combined. When they arrived at Sierra Draconis, Chronin emptied whatever part of the tiger he had previously eaten beforehand. "How many times before I stop doing this?" "Not enough to make with the amount of time we have left..."
-
Leo let out a small erk, greatly surprised by the creatures memory. He glanced down at the hut and frowned seeing the metal plates slowly starting to sucumb to the heating. It took him a few minutes to actualy react to the light before he finaly covered his eyes temporarly blinded by white.
He turned his head to the General, his eyes squinting "Tell me about, he still remembers me." he said just thinking about the many people he questioned and how he could possibly remember all.
"Ok... unfortunately we do not have the Everflame with us. But..." he said trailing off remembering a ferret who succumb to a rather disturbing fate "We were to help you? Under a few conditions."
-
Nero, now through with his tantrum, turned to the ship and melded back into his mortal shell. In an instant he was hovering in front of the cockpit, between the ship and the beast. WelL...Aren'T WE BravE, AskinG TO HelP US EveN AfteR ThE DamagE WE CauseD. The hyena-thing smirked, his composure now in one piece again. TelL ME LeO...HoW ManY PieceS WaS ThaT GirL IN AfteR I ShreddeD HeR....I LosT CounT IN ThE ExcitemenT. He cackled remembering the event, before waving it away. BuT That'S BesidE ThE PoinT...TelL US YouR ConditionS SO ThaT WE CaN PretenD TO ConsideR TheM.
-
Leo leaned back into the chair thinking for a bit remembering the trigger they had on hand "Well we have something strong enough to tear your molecules down to the smallest basic subparticle in yours and includeing our bodies, so if you dont agree your mission will be destroyed, and non of us will survive. We all shall die, non shall survive~" He sung the last part in a mocking tone. Thats not a condition, just a quick forshadowing that could happen. First condition that little trick you pulled with that corspe, and my friend, and anyother tricks will not happen. Ever. Two, deaths stay at a minimal, that event with the sphere was not even neccisary, if at most you can't even sence it you just made it a lot harder to search for all of you."
-
Nero raised an eyebrow and leaned closer, his smirk now gone. I ThinK You'rE BluffinG...It'S A DangerouS GamE You'rE PlayinG IF YoU ThinK ThreateninG SomethinG ThaT CoulD SwalloW A ReD GianT IS A GooD IdeA... Crossing his arms, Nero sighed a bit causing the ship to shudder ever so slightly. AS FoR ThE SpherE, IT WaS AN UnforseeablE EvenT WhicH I HaD NothinG TO DO WitH....ThougH HoW IT MadE OuR JobS AnY HardeR I FaiL TO SeE
-
Leo leaned back in the chair unstartled by the sudden rocking of the ship as he began humming to himself as he brought his hands closer to himself resting them on his lap "Oh, I assure you I am not. You may beable to swallow a red giant but not the equivilent of seven supernovas, a black hole and..." he trailed off for a minute thinking "actualy... its to incredible to accurately compare it."
Once again leaning forwards to get a closer look through the window "I know it wasn't you, and I am surprised it wasn't. But let me illustrate this for you. Now the sphere. Well, lets see... when you shread a massive station supporting life, you have large masses of well... debris. That rock you want is either dormant or it just no longer emits energy. So you the next time you do that, you can have fun playing wheres evy, by searching through biomass, debriss, defication, glass, and a lot of other fun materias. The Everstone would blend in just well within that, don't you think?"
-
Chronin, using what little information he had on Serra Draconis, lead the two to a research facility that seemed to have more automatic security than the 'attachments' he ment to put on the house-bot thats probably in pieces, along with whatever remains of his home. "Please don't follow me until I get past the front door, and only take the path that I've tread."
-
Tina took the data-chip and sat at the navigation console. It lit up grey and orange, and she inserted the chip in, which sent lights streaking across the console face. A small galacting map burst open and zoomed to the plot of space.
"Alright then, let's get going," she said. The young mouse saluted and turned to Annie.
"You should sit down. THis ship isn't very smooth." Her voice was high and sweet, and she flicked switches at her pilot seat. The ship rumbled deep and heavy. The wall panels rattled and the whole ship shuddered as the roar of the engines brought the Camel up off the ground.
The dog pulled out a datapad and scrolled through it. "Your friend has attempted to murder someone in the morgue. Due to the current situation the carrier finds itself in, we do not have the time for protracted legal issues, nor the space to hold him." He flicked a look at the surgeons, then back to the tearful Tess. "We are giving you a choice. You can pay for his release, or he will be executed tomorrow morning."
Howl drifted in a disoriented mist, and struggled to hold his form together. They headed down through the atmosphere until the facility came into view, surrounded by triffid who screeched, crawled and flung vines at the sky. They approached close to the tall white towers and stopped. Howl nodded his head and watched Chronin head over to the facility, to the open airdocks midway up the tower.
"Good luck," he said.
The beast dimmed and its light focused inward, and dark orange scabs of fire floated across its body.
"Tell us what you know," it said. The voice was deep, heavy, and crawled through Leo and the General. In the kitchen, a plate cracked. "Though we are willing to take the risk of your weapon."
-
Leo’s ears flicked as the plate broke in the kitchen, his gaze slowly moved back to the plate before turning back to the beast looking him dead in the eyes with a very calm look with otter confidence. “Agree to my terms, and I will not just tell but assist you, because obviously you can make a difficult job harder then it has to be.” He said placing his elbows on the consol and resting his maw on his hands. “Do we have an agreement? And one speaks for all.”
-
Annie stayed at her feet for a moment, swaying slightly but upright. She grinned and placed one steadying hand on the back of the co-pilot chair "I pride myself on my space-faring legs-" The ship juddered and groaned. A ceiling panel, its securing rivets shaken from their place, clattered to the floor. Annie quickly sat down in the seat and her grin turned sheepish "Of course, some ships just aren't built for standing..."
----
Tess wiped a sleeve of her overalls across her muzzle, sniffing loudly. Her gaze finally broke away from Blaze "Sorry, what did you-?" The security officer's words finally seemed to have sunk in, prompting a sharp intake of breath, quickly followed by another teary sniff "What-? How much is the fee?"
---
"An impressive display of utter incompetence cadet Yuri!" The officer bellowed, spit flecking the young lynx's helmet visor "How on earth do you intend to pass training with an attitude like that?" Again spit flecked the visor. Yuri resisted the urge to wipe it with the sleeve of his riot-gear, and instead gritted his teeth against the renewed onslaught. This time at least, it was aimed at the group of cadets as a whole "I havent seen such a pathetic display of riot-control in my entire career... You just earned yourselves another lap around the course!" The cadets glanced between themselves, prompting another bellow from the officer "Another lap, go! Go! Go!"
-
Chronin slowly made his way to the facility, hiding behind a stone in order to conceal his frame as he checked out the towers. Using the glove would be ideal, but I can't fire off enough blasts to take out all the towers. He picked up a nearby rock, and threw it towards the facility. The rock instantly shattered as a sniper round rang through the air. Great, my clothes can't protect against high-caliber rounds... this is going to be interesting to bypass...
-
The little mouse giggled, and Tina and the chameleon smirked at eachother, while the rickety ship tore through the atmosphere, screaming up into the sky. The sound of the engine, like a nuclear monstrosity, roared at their back, and carried up off the planet and away. The blue ripped past, and when they were free from the nitrogen haze, the stars met them with gentle glinting eyes.
"Miss Annie," said the young mouse. "You need to hold on tight!" The girl gripped a lever, and yanked it down. The engine slowed to a dull murmur, and a heavy, bloated silence pressed on them, until the jump drive activated. A high screech rattled their bones, and the galaxy opened up to drag them through to the carrier's coordinates.
The sniper tapped a button on his helmet, and in the heart of the tower, alarms sounded out. Captain Grezz, a german shepherd in military fatigues, marched through the dull grey corridors, to the outer ring of the projection deck. Windows faced in toward the centre of a large open chamber, where a tall chunk of machinery sat, smooth and pale. Cables attached to the walls. A long walkway reached the centre, where three scientists sat with laptops beside an open compartment of the machine. A dull transparent rock was nestled inside, a various contraptions were set up around it, pointing with sensors stuck on spikes. The captain walked to a thick blast door, and tapped at the keypad beside it. The door sighed as it opened, and the scientists looked up from their work.
"Pack your stuff; the watchers picked up unusual readings from the atmosphere, and our troops report intruders." He walked as he talked, and his thick boots banged against the metal catwalk. One of the scientists, Jerime, a red panda in mint green trousers and tie stood up with his laptop.
"Are we under attack?" he asked. His voice eased out calm, but the tension on his face was hard to hide. The other two scientists, a gecko girl called Jenna and an old male squirrel called Deas looked up at the two of them.
"Probably, so pack your crap and get to the personnel hold so we can lock this place down." The dog stood with arms folded. The red panda looked to his colleagues, then nodded to the dog.
"Okay, come on guys let's get out of here." They all saved the files on their laptops and unplugged the sensors and aparatus, before Jerime pulled open a holographic keypad for the gargantuan machine that hung in the centre of the room. He typed in a code while his two workmates walked back along the catwalk with the captain. A clear shield slid around the dull rock, then a thick pale cover crawled over that. The keyboard disappeared under Jerime's fingers, and he turned to face the door. The catwalk shuddered, and carried him along as it slid away from the machine into the wall of the outer ring, where his workmates waited. The captain stood beside them, with a datapad in his hand that displayed a map of the area. Anomalies were marked out by sensors planted all over the area.
-
Chronin took hold of his plasma rifle, and changed it to the 'compact shot' setting before quickly getting out of cover and firing at one of the openings in the tower. He wasn't sure if he got the sniper, but he imagined if anyone was at the window, they were dead or dying now.
-
Annie tensed in her seat, feeling the familiar sensation of her stomach flipping as the ship accelerated past light-speed. As the screeching roar and constant juddering settled down to a quiet rumble and erratic shaking Annie finally relaxed slightly. She flicked her tail twice and attempted a smile "Not the smoothest of jumps I must admit..."
----
"The patient is this way..." Yuri followed behind the surgeon, glancing around at the rows of beds and injured workers "He still isn't conscious, but we assumed you would want to see him all the same." The surgeon walked away and left Yuri standing alone beside Blaze's bed. He looked down and sighed, scratching at the nape of his neck. Blaze lay on sheets still soaked in his own blood, a deep frown creasing his forehead. Without a word Yuri walked out of the medical bay, passing Tess with only a small nod of the head and a half-smile sent her way...
-
Nero scowled at the thought of being helped by such inferior creatures. He cracked his neck a few times, thinking the proposition over. He had no information whatsoever on the whereabouts of the Everflame. Even a being such as he could take a millienia before finding so much as a trace of it in this galaxy. too much ground to cover and not enough time....time he wasn't even sure he had. VerY WelL....WE AgreE. NoW WhaT InformatioN DO YoU HavE?
-
The tower shook with the force of the shot, and medics rushed in, pulling the sniper away. One of them pressed the comms to the Captain.
"We've got a sniper down. The enemy is a good shot." The Captain pressed his tongue to his teeth.
"Shot?" he asked.
"Yes sir. Plasma rifle, it looks like." The Captain chewed the words over in his head. He turned to Jerime.
"Is there any evidence of Interdimensionals using guns?" The red panda shook his head.
"No, there would be no need," he said. Captain Grezz smirked, and pressed his comm channel open.
"Activate mortars and attack drones. Lets get this guy out in the open."
The little mouse giggled at Annie's comment.
"Oh no," she said. "Going into a jump is easy. Coming out of it is the hard part." Tina smirked at the girl, then got up from her navigation chair.
"The journey will take about an hour so you've got time to waste," she said, and then walked back through the ship to the kitchen, where she pulled out a plastic bottle of brown liquid from one of the broken cupboards.
The security officer watched Yuri pass, and flicked a look at all the doctors in full sympathy mode. He winced.
"It'll be five thousand credits. We do take services as payment."
General Caisen leaned forward to the comms console.
"We'll lead you to the Everflame. Just follow us and we'll get you there as quick as we can." She flicked off the comms and powered the engines, ready to jump. She patted Leo on the shoulder and gave a sweet smile. "Excellent job. Most people would have at least broke a sweat."
-
Annie grinned and raised an eyebrow "Oh?" She glanced over her shoulder as Tina stood up, then turned back to the young girl "Well you obviously know how to fly a ship better than me..." she watched with curious eyes as the girl controlled the ship with deft and confident movements, fingers flying over the controls "... Of course, I only learnt some Basics with the Marine core. The rest I had to pick up along the way."
Still smiling openly, Annie leaned back in her seat and glanced the young mouse up and down "Where did you learn to fly like this?"
Tess grimaced and ran a hand through her hair "Five thousand?" Her voice sounded hoarse, tears welling up behind her blue eyes "How long do I have?" she glanced over at Blaze's bed and sighed "I need some time to think..."
-
"Lantz taught me," she squeaked and gestured over to her chameleon co-pilot. He raised his hand to acknowledge. "He's really good, he used to be a criminal and dodge and dive away from the GA."
"Tiz," the lizard said. He didn't take his eyes of the screens around him. "We still are criminals, even if we don't act like it... and telling government agents my personal history isn't appreciated either." The girl looked over at him half perplexed.
"It's not like it matters though, right? We're all going in the bunker anyway."
"Yes but we don't know if we're taking her with us" He finally turned his head a little to look into the girl's eyes. "And you're not supposed to tell people about our plans either." The little moused moved to speak but stopped. Her open mouth turned to a pout.
The security officer tugged at the cuffs of his jacket. "You have until the end of today. His execution is tomorrow morning." He tugged a little harder as he watched her face. "You can contact us through the main network on your datapad," he said. "So I'll just um..." He looked around for the door, finding it down the left corridor. "I'll leave you to it," he said, and rushed away.
-
Leo smiled "Oh no, I would have trust me. I am just dehydrated." He sat down in the co-pilot chair and typed in a few cordinates "This... is not a problem is it?" He asked as the location becon appeared.
-
The general leaned past Leo's chair over his shoulder, and modified the co-ordinates just slightly.
"Well just because you said you'd take them to the everflame doesn't mean that we'll actually do it." The beacon flitted to a neighbouring solar system. "Remember, our job is to keep them from the everflame until stated otherwise."
-
The smile that Annie held slipped, if only slightly, at Lantz' comment "I wouldn't call myself an official, and I have no business with the government by any means..." She stood up from her seat and flicked her tail twice as she walked through the ship. As she neared the kitchen Annie glanced back at the chameleon and spoke softly, despite the sharp edge in her gaze "I also lived the life of a criminal. Don't be so sure to assume that appearances reveal everything about a person."
Tess nodded and turned as the officer walked hurriedly out of the medbay. Dragging her heels across the steel-grated floor she sat down beside Blaze's bed and slid her hand over his own, clenching his remaining wrist that was still made of flesh and blood. She sighed "I dont want to have to make this decision... I'm and engineer, I fix vehicles and machinery; not relationships or lives..." and with that she brushed a kiss across Blaze's cheek, getting reluctantly to her feet.
Yuri's datapad buzzed in his jacket, vibrating nosily until he unzipped his uniform and fished the wretched thing out of the inner pocket. He stopped and leaned against the steel wall of the corridor. On the screen flashed a message that he had been hoping not to recieve - Meet at Hangar 32. Need to talk, Tess x -
-
Chronin was going to take another shot, when he heard a dull -whump- followed by a ringing in his ears. As his past spilled out some of the memories his mind kept buried, he automatically responded by making himself as scarce as possible behind the rock. He then prepared a sphere from his underused blast-glove, its size only getting as big as he could hide from them, which was about three feet in diameter. He got out from the rock and aimed at what, only taking aim for three seconds, he saw as a mortar gun and fired the sphere. He hoped it would take out the gun, or at least give him a respite as they try to figure out how that blast occurred.
-
The beast pulled back, away from the ship Caisen and Leo were on as it whirred and rumbled with energy. The engines lit up and the hull rippled while it turned toward away toward distant stars. The space around it burst into light, and it shot away toward its destination. The beast turned to Nero and growled in a gesture to follow. The beast shrunk in bright flames, down to a small searing heat and headed into his ship.
"Let's go."
Tina leaned back against one of the open cupboards, and watched Annie walk in. She took a swig of the brown drink.
"Don't berate my crew," she said, and wiped her mouth before putting a cap back onto the bottle. "They're doing a big favour for you here even though they're doing it because I told them to." She motioned over to the cupboard behind her. It was packed with more bottles, filled with every colour liquid you could think of. "Want some?"
The mortar crew leapt for cover as the ball shot toward them. The weapon burst apart and the explosion ate the ground spitting chunks of rock and shrapnel. The crew retreated back toward the tower where more mortars were ready. In the air above chrono, something glinted against the sun. It crashed down into a cloud of dust. A silver monstrosity of metal and flesh dug teeth on the end of thirteen legs into the floor. Feathers fluttered, sprouting wherever they could, among beaks and skin. It ripped the dirt and launched itself toward chrono, bristling with blades and eyes.
-
Nero shot back towards his ship, a bit perturbed. Once in the ship, he quickly entered in coordinates to follow the lead ship. "As soon as we don't need them anymore....rip them apart." Sealing up the ship, he engaged the hyperdrive and the black mass that was Nero's ship began to hurtle through hyperspace.
-
Leo gave a short and curt nod to the general and readjusting the coordinates himself, to a bit more of a hazardous planet in the system. He then removed himself from the chair. "So why are we protecting a reposing stone?" He asked heading to the back and opening a closet. He glanced over the contents before stepping inside closing the door behind him slipping into one of the few suits included with the ship. When he finished, the door flew open and he stepped out adjusting the sleeves and plates that were attached to it, as well as reattaching the plasma pistol's holster to the back of his hip. "I am normally not one to say this, but if something this useless, return to memory as an inconvenience. Then it would make since to get rid of it.”
-
Annie stopped at the door, leaning heavily against the frame with a sense of weariness. She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and shrugged "Sure, never say no to an offered drink." A small smile caught at the corners of her mouth as she pushed herself away from the doorframe. By the time she had reached Tina it had already slipped away again "I do not doubt your crew's sacrifice, or the risk they are putting themselves through. I was just curious about the girl..."
She shook her head and leaned against the cupboard beside Tina, tail flicking "But what of our plan? Surely you dont expect to walk into a Mechanicus Carrier filled with private security without some tricks up your sleeves."
"What's this got to do with Blaze then?" Yuri folded his arms and stuck out his lower jaw stubbornly. "Nothing! Not directly anyway" Tess massaged her temples with two fingertips before raising her arms desperately, accompanying the motion with a frustrated yell "Its his mother dammit!" Several heads turned their way and then turned back, though everywhere ears remained cocked curiously.
Tess huffed, blowing her fringe to one side as she moved her hand to her hip. With the other free hand she waved vaguely back into the steel depths of the ship "That fox is his mothers god-damn problem, not mine! But she isn't here is she? So where do I get five thousand credits!" Yuri winced and stepped back, arms unfolding in resignation "Well, I had one idea. Blaze's mag-bike..."
-
Chronin cursed under his breath as the attack drone appeared before him. "Of course, can't have a remote facility without massive masses of murderous machinery." he muttered before jumping over the rock and running on all fours to the entrance at the bottom of the tower. Note to self: make an EMP setting for the glove.
-
The beast curled into a blinding ball, that growled with extreme energy, making every inch of the ship shudder, every molecule vibrate as they burst into hyperspeed, heading after the military ship.
The general looked him over, and raised her eyebrow at his clothes. "Nice," she said, and leaned against the back of the chair. "And that stone used to be the most useful thing in the galaxy. It might still be that. We dont have the authority, nor the knowledge of the bigger picture to figure out its value." She glanced back at the navigation controls. They were speeding to the planet and would reach it soon. "Why did you send us to a gas giant?"
"Curiosity is fine," Tina replied. "As long as its in the right place." She pulled open the bottle and drank some down. "Anyway, the plan? it's simple. Before we duck, you send amessage to your buddies, they come out to meet us as we arrive. We pick them up and leave." She smiled and walked to Annie, placing a paw on her shoulder. "Don't worry about anything else, we've got it sorted. You're lucky I'm telling you any part of this plan. I'm not one for trust." She winked and slid past Annie, stopping just short of heading to the cockpit. She looked up. "Oh," she said. "We're arriving." The ship started to shudder, rattling cupboards jittered from the walls. Tina looked back. "You best hang onto something."
The canine captain barked down his comms. "He's out in the open. Snipers, open fire. Security get a strike team to ground level." He grinned and looked at his datapad, keying into the camera system, watching as the monstrous attack drone turned about, and tore up the bare dust, charging after Chronin.
-
Annie quickly put a paw to the nearest kitchen appliance and then, when that started to move and rattle with the rest of the ship, switched her paw to the wall instead. She braced her legs against the sudden shaking of the floor and grinned back to Tina "That or we've flown into a supernova..."
The ship rocked and juddered, buffeted side to side as arcs of energy crawled across its metal skin. Everything shook and threatened to come apart under its own crazy momentum. And then with a flash the ship stopped dead. It dropped out of hyperspace like a fish leaping gratefully back into water, the universe re-appearing around it in a brief moment of bloated swelling and then a lull as the ship settled into reality.
Normally the radio would have buzzed with the chatter of a thousand ships, sensors and scanners flashing madly. Instead a hazy silence fell over the ship permeated only by hissing static.
Gutted and charred ships floated everywhere, still spewing occasional sparks. Around them swam the remains of the crew members, bloodied and torn, drifting lifelessly. In amongst the pressing silence and mangled metal a single encrypted signal flashed over and over.
Tess pulled back the tarpaulin and ran her paw over the sleek blue mag-bike. Dented, scratched and defiant its engine purred briefly into life at her touch. She sighed and took the hand away "He loves this bike Yuri... I love this bike..."
The young bob-tailed lynx ran his fingers through his hair and grimaced "Yeah. But Blaze also loves his mum... He'd do it, if he was conscious." Tess nodded, as if the gesture settled the matter "Fine, hand me your datapad-" Yuri held it up and tapped the screen "Already sold, five-thousand credits transfered to your account now." Tess merely nodded again and reached for her own datapad, eyes casting one last look over Blaze's pride and joy as she connected to the main network.
-
“Well, only a few reasons that... might help.” Leo stammered as he recalled what happened in the past. He rose a single finger as he began to speak, “The first being an obvious possible military outpost, or a haven for things you want kept a secret.” The feline rose a second finger as he started to walk back to the front of the ship “The next, we had a small...er large accident on the research station that used to orbit here, and completely pressurizing it and sending it into the planet. There were a lot of people who didn't quite make it out, so there are some still operational ships inside in case anything happens to this one, once they figure us out.” He then slid into his seat and re-strapped himself back into the chair “The final one is the atmosphere is pretty dense so it should limit vision to only a few feet, and disorientate any forms of radar, and sounds...” he trailed off as he checked behind himself as if to see if the creatures were still following or not. "Someone always told me "Plan ahead, or you just might lose your head" I just didn't think it would be literal till now."
-
Chronin felt bullets digging into his armor, and was rather thankful that his running managed to make a head-shot almost impossible to pull off. He was halfway across the field as the security bot turned around, and he came up with a quick method of entry as he formed another explosive sphere and lobbed it at the door of the compound. Vuranin watched as her son, not using a single ounce of his other half to assist in the entry, was already making his way into the compound before even five minutes had passed. She couldn't help but feel a spark of passion when she kept thinking on how different, and seemingly better, her son was in comparison to her deceased husband Chrono.
-
Tina stepped into the cockpit, moving behind the little mouse, leaning on her chair. She took in the sight, and put her hand over the eyes of the girl.
"Tiz, get up, go to your room."
"What?" The mouse girl protested and pushed at Tina's arm. The cat spun the chair to face her, stared into Tiz's eyes.
"Do what I say, okay? We'll deal with this," she said. Tiz huffed then complied by pushing up off the chair and heading back through the cockpit, passing Annie by to head to her room at the centre of the ship. Tina sat in the chair and faced forward. Her hands flew over the controls, flicking navigation screens around, checking and double checking.
"Tina," Lantz said. "There's a signal." He pointed to the central panel that flashed in distress. Tina brushed the suggestion away.
"Forget it, we're going home."
The general smirked at Leo.
"I don't think these guys use radar or traditional vision, but good thinking anyway." She leaned on his chair and ruffled his hair. "We'll be there soon so lets hope your idea works." She turned about and headed back through the ship, into the kitchen to pick up a snack, returning minutes later with it wedged in her mouth. "Fink It'w work?"
The tower rocked with the explosion, vibrations rippling along its walls as it took the assault. The captain turned to the guards around him.
"Get these scientists out of here to the holds," he said. The guards, covered in sinuous armour nodded and guided the red panda and his associates back through the tower. The rest of the guards headed downstairs. A squad was already prepared as the explosion hit. Rock burst into the cavernous base, and they opened fire, spewing energy like a flood of muted green projectiles.
-
Leo shrugged "I am not worried about radar. I am worried about them being able to detect that stupid stone's energy spectrum." he sighed as he turned his head to the back again, watching the general. When he was questioned he began to think about the plan. He contemplated over it before his lips curled up some revealing to her a soft smile shaking his head "Nope, odds are they will just inhale the planet, or rip open a worm hole. But grab a suit. I have a feeling we are going to need it." he sighed.
"Never trust a monster."
-
Annie stepped aside when Tiz walked through, glancing at the young mouse curiously as she walked into the cockpit. Her hand went to the wall, steadying herself as a twisted and charred ship listed in front of the view screen, crates of cargo trailing out from a wound in its armored side "Wheres the carrier? It wasn't due a jump for two months..." Annie finally let go of the wall and clenching her fist as another gutted ship vented oxygen in a violent decompression "These are merchant ships. Civilians, none of them where built for fighting... Who would do this?"
Glancing to where Lantz pointed Annie stepped stepped forward until stood just behind the seat "Its automated... Whichever ship is sending it out will be Mechanicus. The signal should contain the jump co-ordinates of the carrier, standard automated procedure by the company. I disabled it in my own ship of course-" The brief smile barely made it to her lips before it slipped away again...
The datapad beeped in conformation, causing Yuri to look up from his touch-screen "Done then?"
Tess nodded, leaned back against the mag-bike and huffed a deep sigh "Yup, we need to go fetch him from the detention block... Coming?"
"Cant. Duty in five minutes, I skipped lunch break to come here" Yuri shrugged and clapped Tess on the shoulder "We did the right thing, I'm sure Blaze will understand..."
Tess stepped out of the elevator, patting herself down as she walked up to the desk opposite. An uninterested guard looked up from his computer and raised an eyebrow "Prisoner pickup? Tess nodded and handed over her datapad, glancing down the rows of steel corridors beyond the desk.
-
General Caisen smirked and turned to the wardrobe full of space suits. "Good," she said as she pulled one out, comparing it against herself. "For a second I thought you'd started thinking we'd survive this." She gave him a grin and stepped into the suit, feeling it curl around her, though it sagged in places. "These things are always too big." She sighed and pulled at it. "Stupid one size fits all emergency crap." A light blared on the ships console. The navigation screen flared up, showing their arrival as imminent. The general held to the wall and the ship shook and lurched as it fell out of the jump, smoothing into a slow decelleration to orbit the planet.
Behind them, Nero, his ship, and the monstrous passenger approached. Their stop was immediate. The beast shifted about inside.
"Have we arrived?" it asked. Its voice made the craft shiver.
Tina glanced back at Annie with a frown.
"I said we ignore the signal and go home. We're not heading off into a potential firefight." She set in the coordinates back to the base on Mngeya. "We did this as a favour to you, favour's over. Lantz, engage the jump." The chameleon nodded and started setting up the jump sequence.
The guard looked down at Tess, glancing from the datapad and back to her.
"This one? Really? What's he your dad or something, a guy like that just seems like trouble."
-
Chronin went to the side of the new entrance, waiting for the robot to get close enough before diving back into the opening and also firing an explosive sphere that only had enough energy to kick up the dust like an improvised smoke grenade. As he felt the robot smash into the wall, he used the din it created to get up to the closest guard and pick him up and toss him at the other guards. The ones that got up quickly, he had knocked them out with a back-swing of his fist.
-
Leo turned back around humming questionably "Hm? Oh there is a simple fix!" He would hold up his arm and point to a band that was tied tightly on his arms to keep the sleeves at a manageable size "Just tie it together with some random string." he chuckled as he turned back to the console flicking on the microphone and connecting the com link to the ship behind them "This is it. The station that it was on experienced some technical issues with an asteroid and several tons of testing materials... so its not in the best condition. In fact the sector that was supposed to contain it fell within the atmosphere of the planet ahead of us."
-
((What the? The forum ate my last post! D:))
Nero was about to respond to the creature when the transmisson came through. "You mean to tell me its on THAT thing?" Nero sneered at the thought of searching the whole thing. Then an idea dawned on him and a smirk came over his face. "Alright, we'll look." Nero switched off the comms and turned to the creature. GO DowN TO ThE PlaneT AnD IgnitE ThE GasseS...IF ItS TherE, We'lL BE AblE TO SensE IT AfteR ThE GaS IS GonE...I'lL BE KeepinG OuR 'FriendS' FroM LeavinG IF IT Isn'T. Nero opened the hatch to the outside and launched himself at the other ship, cloaked in black to appear as another part of space. Stopping about 30 feet from the hull, he focused on the space around the ship. Soon invisibles waves of energy pulsed around it as he encapsulated it inside a gravity well. IF ThiS IS TreacherY...YoU WilL SuffeR InfinitelY MorE ThaN ThE GirL...LeO
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Leo grinned as he leaned to the side so he could rest an elbow on the chair. “And so do I know that. What reason do I have to lie to you?” he chirped as he examined the field around them “Hm... so while we are here. Lets take some time to get to know each other, shall we? Where did you come from my dear stranger,” he had asked in curious tone as began to type on the console in-front of him.
Within a few seconds the screen changed to dark matter scan of the environment even scanning for abnormalities in the area around them.
-
Annie reached into her jacket and found the inner pocket to be empty. She remembered, too late, that Tina still had the pistol after her imprisonment. With a sigh that barely masked the growl beneath it Annie clenched the back of the pilot seat "Tina... You asked whether I had anyone I loved, who I cared about. I don't know about you, but I still love them and I don't intend to leave them behind."
Her grip on the seat tightened, claws digging into the plastic and soft padding "Even though I never thought I would be the motherly type, or one to settle down, I have a son now." She released the seat with more force than was necessary and continued "I promised his father that I would care for him as best I could, putting my own safety before his."
With a deep sigh she turned and leaned against the wall, watching Tina closely "I cannot force that same promise on you or your crew however..."
-
As chronin headed up the tower, three soldiers met his way. They clung to the walls in sleek sinuous armour that clung to their skin and enhanced their bodies, letting out a soft hum. Little bursts of light tingled from their palms against the wall.
"Captain, the intruder has been spotted, moving to engage." They darted across the walls in a flash of light, surrounding chronin in an instant, with arms outstretched and palms facing. Globes of energy emerged and crackled. They snapped the air around it, and with a finger twitch, launched at the dragon.
General Caisen took some tape from the cupboard and wrapped it about herself. "I guess this works," she said. She glanced out the viewscreen and saw beast slip from the void of black that was Nero's craft. The creature burned and shone upon the planet like a sun. Its gasses churned and sparked, glowing as the beast slipped out entirely and slid through space down into the mists. On the surface, little explosions burst under the concentrated heat, sparking and burning, brewing storms among the clouds. The general leaned close over Leo's shoulder and whispered into his ear. "They're igniting the planet."
Tina glared back at Annie looking almost insulted at her. "Don't call me Tina, right now I'm Krade, okay?" She turned to Lantz. "Get us out of here." The chameleon was watching her, and the ship didn't move. The engines hummed, ready to jump but the order didn't arrive.
"She did do the same for you," he said. Tina stared in disbelief.
"What did you say?" She swivelled the chair and shot a look straight into his eyes. "You don't get to say that. You haven't got the right to tell me that." She leaned forward, hand gripped on the console. "Do you understand?" Lantz sighed and dropped his gaze.
"I get it, but--"
"Right, you get it. I'm keeping us safe, now take us home," she said. The chameleon shook his head.
"What if Tiz was out there," he said. "Would you go to save her?" Tina growled under her breath, but didn't say a word. Lantz looked over at Annie. "She has loved ones who need to be saved. We can do that, we have just enough time." Tina's growl grew louder, and she pushed herself up off her chair. Her paws were clenched into fists and her fur stood on end. Lantz looked up into her eyes, placid and honest. She turned to Annie, her body stiff and wracked with frustration as she stared at the vixen.
"Get out of my way," she snarled and marched through the cockpit. She pushed past Annie and headed through the ship to Tiz's room. Lantz watched her leave, then as she moved out sight, he slumped back into his chair, breathing hard in relief.
-
Chronin judged the height of the attacks, noticing a duck would be less than suitable means of avoiding contact. So, he did one of his unnatural leaps, sailing over a globe and landing on the guard that had fired that orb. As he got back up, the other two guards rushed in from different angles. Chronin kept one foot on the guard under him, using it as a pivot point as he back-kicked the first guard and then spun into a round-house at the next guard. He noticed he really wasn't holding back as they were knocked off their feet and onto the wall. "Okay, that was new..." he murmured, tearing off a piece of the armor that belonged the guard he stood on before continuing his ascent to the hangar.
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Annie was pushed aside into the wall of the cockpit; slumped wearily against the steel she huffed a small and bitter laugh. She rubbed her eyes with one hand and then glanced around to Lantz and said "Who?" Her hand dropped to her side and she rubbed her knee as she elaborated "Who do you need to save?"
Tess leaned close against the desk, one hand stuffed into the pocket at her hip "Yeah him." She frowned and blew her fringe out of her eyes with a huff of breath "You think that maniac is my father? Boy am I glad that 'aint true. No, I'm just getting him out of this mess for a third party." At her feet RUST-E gave a small beep and nudged her leg with a whir. Tess shooed him away with a flick of her wrist and looked back up to the guard with a grin.
"Sir, the station is not responding to our docking requests..." The finch looked up from his computer screen, an air of desperation edging its way into his voice.
Vladiik looked over and frowned "You've tried all wavelengths?"
The finch nodded desperately, tapping away at his screen before throwing his hands up in desperation "Nothing! Just static and silence."
Frown deepening Vladiik walked across the bridge until he stood beside the Finch, his own feather ruffling. Suddenly he stopped and looked up to the shielded view-screen that ran around the bridge. The Mechanicus space station was closer now, long arms stretching out to embrace the sides of the Carrier, but the windows and view-screens across its steel bulk all lay dark and unlit.
Vladiik glared back to the finch and spoke hurriedly, his normally calm resolve gone "Ready the crew. Have every Mechanicus Explorator available suited up and into the main hangar bays." He turned back to the view screen, eyes searching "Get the internal police geared up as well, we need authority restored for this to work..."
Blaze woke slowly, light piercing the darkness that clouded his vision. Vague shapes moved about him that slowly came into sharp focus. Pain rippled up his right arm, but it was pain numbed and suppressed until it felt detached and barely pain at all. Blaze shifted where he lay and tried to sit up. A surgeon pushed him back down and shook his head, words hidden behind the white mask that failed to permeate the ringing that filled his ears.
He woke again, realizing that he had fallen unconscious at some point inbetween. Vision came quickly and sound with it as he pushed himself up onto his elbows. The medical bay was silent, with the usual plethora of nurses and surgeons gone and Blaze's bed being the only one occupied. With a deep grunt of effort he pushed the cover back and swung his legs out bed. It was then that he noticed his arm, gunmetal steel from just below his shoulder to his knuckles and fingers. He flexed, watching as the robotic hand and wrist complied, fist clenching and then relaxing with a soft whir.
-
The soldier beneath Chronin screamed in pain as the piece of chest armour was pulled from him. It was embedded among his skin and reached into his muscles. Wires and cables tore out as the dragon pulled it up. The guard fell back onto the stairwell, tumbling until he landed against the wall. The other two charged after the dragon, leaping from wall to wall, moving fluid like squirrels across trees. Behind the armour, they probably were squirrels, with their tails flared out behind them. They chased and leapt about, one darting ahead of the dragon while the other landed a kick into his back. The guard ahead bounded toward Chronin and leapt with palm outstretched, flared with bright light.
Lantz shook his head at Annie. "I was talking about you having people we needed to save, you fool." He smirked and lay back against the chair. With an exhausted slap he hit the console, activating the signal and programming in the navigation details for the carrier's jump. "I hope you're grateful for what I've done. You've no idea how dangerous it is to confront her." The engines began to warm again, and the ship began to rattle. "Now sit down before you hurt yourself."
The guard looked down at Tess over and sighed, looking almost disappointed at her answer. "Not your father, eh?" Then a shadow of an idea passed across him, and a smile pulled at his face. He put the datapad behind his back. "Well since you're not related, I can't release him to you; unless of course you give me something to change my mind."
-
Annie laughed again, shaking her own head in return "I am a fool. A tired old fool who wants to get back to her own bed and get a good nights sleep." She sat heavily down in the seat Tina had vacated and sighed "I'm very grateful Lantz. Now lets just hope they jumped somewhere safe..."
Tess sighed in resignation and pulled the zip of her overalls partway down, giving a small glimpse of soft fur as she rummaged around in a deep inside pocket. She retrieved several thin plastic cards and set them down on the desk with a click; sliding them towards the guard with two fingers "I'm low on credits but, thats thirty there." Fingers still resting on the credits she gave the guard an apprehensive sidelong glance "Thats all I've got in non-digital credits... I've no other way of paying you..."
Below the level of the desk RUST-E shook his metal head and gave a whistling beep that sounded almost like exasperation.
Men and women lined up in ranks in the hangar bay, all wearing fully armored Explorator Mechanicus suits sealed up and geared. Every suit was different from small cosmetic changes to completely different models and swapped or modified parts. Surrounding the Explorators was a protective wall of internal security, dark red ballistic armor and stun batons keeping the crowds of merchants, civilians and engineers back. Yuri stood in line with the other security forces, a good head shorter than those beside him and sweating profusely in his suit.
"Keep back and out of the way! Official Mechanicus business!" One of the security forces pushed against a wolf, the civilian shaking his fist and yelling "We demand to know what is going on! My daughter is injured after that jump, and now your arming soldiers!" The wolf pushed forward against the line again, surrounded by other shouting engineers or civilians. The loud crack of a stun baton sounded out over the shouting and the crowds pulled back, the wolf now motionless on the floor with the internal security officer standing over him, baton still crackling in his hand as he shouted "I said get back!"
Blaze gingerly touched where flesh met metal, the transition from one to the other seamless. Raised voices from the set of doors at the end of the medbay sounded closer and closer, accompanied by hurried footsteps. Blaze's ear flicked up, followed a moment later by the rest of his head, to the direction of the noise as a surgeon pushed through the doors, surrounded by internal security officers.
"I am telling you, he needs rest!" The surgeon shouted, but continued to walk towards Blaze's bed.
Beside him a security officer, helmet and visor obscuring his face, retorted "Well he looks fine to me. Get him ready, the orders are for every able Explorator to suit up... These orders are from Captain Vladiik himself." It was now that Blaze realized the security officer was carrying his own Mechanicus suit, segmented armor collapsed together until it was rucksack-sized. The group turned to him and Blaze felt a cold sinking feeling in his stomach that had nothing to do with the medication he had been on.
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Leo calmly shrugged as the scanners scanned the field around them then the planet and flicked off the mic "Eh, I didn't see that comming. Well... if they do that the planet is going to become a creature made star and possibly destroy the dragon. After all, the hotter flame always kills the rest."
He calmly read over the reports of the scan and panned through the render till he eventually found the station. He pressed on the screen once more to open up a terminal and began typing inside it. A message blimp appeared with the words "Connection Successful; Systems primed and ready"
"Don't mind me, I am just going to resort to a little violence now for a back up plan." he told her dully before flicking back on the mic.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. If you want to set worlds on fire, you may want to care about what they are made of. You won't reveal the stone your just going to create an unstable star and destroy it and yourself. So unless you can burn far hotter then a blue star, dragon. Consider stopping then and there."
-
Chronin couldn't contain his other side as he was getting pushed around by squirrel-like soldiers. He let out a roar, and parts of the wall bent away as the soldiers were flattened against the floor and roof. "You idiots are going to get us killed if you keep slowing me down!" he bellowed, finally calming down and resuming his ascent. You sure you don't need my assistance? The other two are trying to blow up the planet we're on. Unless you can give me directions, you should just wait until I get the Everflame. Well, you do have some time, someone is stalling them, I think.
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Nero's voice flowed out of the intercom. "We are not like you....stars are but food to our kind. This thing hardly rates as a...what do you call it? A candybar? Yes that's it...a candybar." Nero strengthens the gravity well around Leo's ship. "Know this...Leo. If the stone is on that planet, it will survive the ignition. In fact, the amount of energy released may even strengthen it if its down there. Don't take us for fools...just because you know this plane better does not mean that we are completely ignorant."By this point, the amount of gravity holding them in place was nearly equivalent to a black hole. Nero wasn't letting them get away this time...
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“I don't know about that. Even one can do damage to you in some way. After all candy these days are high in calories and cholesterol,” he mocked as his fingers continued to dance around on the terminal typing long chains of complexed commands. “You might not be like us, stick around for a while. You will find that we are far more competent then you give us credit for. Your reasoning for simple problems is primitive.”
By this time he sent the commands and waited for the next message and smiled. “So who want's this stone so baddly to send two... questionably well suited ambassadors our way?”
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Lantz gave a smirk. "Sleep should be the last thing on your mind. The jump won't take long." The ship shuddered and tore into hyperspace. The screeched and groaned, as though it were to tear itself apart, until it soothed, and a warm calm flowed through the metal. "We'll be there before you can brush your teeth."
The reptilian guard plucked the credits from Tess' paw. "I could get this much from stopping some random guy in the street." He glimpse her chest fur and paused, then looked over her curves. "You've really got to do better, but I've got an idea." He leaned forward, pointing his snout at hers, eyes matching each. "I have a brother, young guy, your age. He's terrible with girls. He's nervous, clumsy. I need a girl like you to give him lessons, okay?" He leaned back and pocketed the money. "Tomorrow good for you?"
The squirrel guards streaked past, like lightning across the walls. An energetic charge raced along their bodies, forming at the hands. They hurled bolts and spheres of energy, burning and bending the walls. An elbow flew at chronin, crashing into the back of his neck.
The captain watched on his datapad, the guards' signals moving up the tower. He chewed his cheek then reached to his belt. He pulled little gadgets from it, placing them up his sleeves.
The beast roared through the atmosphere and light raced across the surface, flames reaching high and thick. Across the face of the planet, a greater brightness spread. The beast itself stretched and grew across the rock. Its speed was phenomenal, charging like a wave soon covering half its surface and moving to encompass it all.
General Caisen leaned on Leo's shoulders. "You best have a good plan. That other one will find nothing pretty quick."
-
The feline's ear flicked a few times to let her know that he heard him before nodding to the seat beside him. "Strap in, this is going to end,.. horribly well..." he groaned, adding emphasis to his oxymoron. He raised his finger slowly and tapped the console once then again once the planet was completely covered in flames. The first triggered a low groan from the ship as the gravity was immediately cut and reversed to push away from outside of the hull. The force of this was distributed only onto the right wing in such a way that it pressed against the gravity field weakly and even forced the ship to spin rapidly.
The second caused the abandoned station to propelled its self back into orbit and slowly twist it's self to face the mortals ship. The structure was practically falling apart at this time as large chunks of metal tore away from the main hull, and sirens rang from it as a large hatch opened to reveal a small missile. The missile immediately flared to life and shot out like a bottle rocket aimed for Entaru's ship.
While all this is happening Leo quickly overrider the main controls and slammed onto the hyper-drive.
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Chronin bent forward, letting the blow push him into a forward flip. He caught the attacker's arms with his legs, and recovered in a way that slammed the squirrel's head onto the floor. The bolts flew past him as he recovered, close enough to just singe the trimmings of his overcoat armor. He let go of the squirrel's arms long enough for him to smash the biceps with a stomp for each arm. He then took his rifle out, setting it to a condensed ray of plasma as he turned and fired at the same time. The sweep nailed the other attacker across the chest and arms, but the ray passed too quickly to actually remove any limbs. The wires and armor itself melted onto the flesh of its wearer, making a sound like raw bacon on a hot frying pan. He gave them a glance over to see if either wound would be considered fatal, and left when he remembered his job. Normally, this would be fun, but now its just annoying.
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Annie returned the smirk as the ship rocked and juddered, finally relaxing her grip on the sides of the seat when the shaking slowed to a low humming. "Sleep shouldn't be on my mind, but its been almost two days now since I slept properly." She twisted around in the seat and tucked her knees up, resting her head against the back of the chair. Eyelids flickering closed Annie stifled a yawn and mumbled "I'm just going to get some shut-eye. Wake me up before we get there if I do manage to nod off could you?" She didn't wait for an answer as her breathing slowed until it was a whisper through her lips, quite obviously asleep.
Tess put her hands to her hips and wrinkled her nose, pulling back slightly as the guard leaned forward. She glanced to the steel floor and back again before answering "So long as it gets the big guy out of the cells, no harm in it I suppose. Yeah... tomorrow is good for me."
At her feet the little droid whirred and nudged her foot, blue eye flickering. Tess glanced down to RUST-E and frowned before shoving him out of the way with her boot. Looking back up to the guard she held out her paw expectantly "Fair is fair, I help out this brother of yours and you give me that datapad and one loony fox."
Yuri hissed to Blaze from below his visor, eyes darting from him to the other Explorators "What the hell are you doing here?"
The lupine/feline hybrid merely grinned and stretched expansively "Doing my job Yuri, Mechanicus high ups call and I have to answer... Its what your doing here isn't it? Holding back crowds of angry merchants and civvies doesn't seem like something you would choose to do willingly."
Huffing with annoyance Yuri watched as Blaze checked over his set of dark red armour "Yes, but I'm not the one who recently had his bleedin' arm torn off! Your mum would be having a fit if she knew you where going to do this-" Blaze looked Yuri square in the eyes, a dark glower welling up in his expression "Its just like the Marine Core says; We fight with strength and courage, because war is where we serve." He turned away from his friend and followed the line of explorators towards the waiting shuttle "My father would go Yuri... And my mother knows that."
-
The beast slid across the planets surface, forming together like a gel, snapping back small and fast. It burned through the atmosphere, tearing up and out into space, leaving a burning wreck in its wake.
"We have been deceived, the Everflame was never here!" The sound ground through both ships, shuddering and bending the metal infrastructure. General Caisen leapt and buckled herself into the copilot seat.
"Get us the hell out of here, boy," she said as the hyper-drive shook into action, roaring loud and hard as space bent around them.
The guards fell to the ground in a heap, and they screams ran into the comms before the captain cut them off. He growled under his breath and pulled off his shirt, exposing the bio-armour grafted to his body. He slotted the datapad against his arm, and tapped the little device strapped to his wrist. It whirred into life and gave a gentle purr of activity. The dog pulled off the rest of his clothes and stood ready at the door of the main chamber, where the everflame sat encased within the central emitter. All walkways had slotted away and it stood alone within the tower. A helmet curled over the captain's face and he stood ready to engage.
Lantz sighed, now alone at the controls with a sleeping fox as copilot. Space spun and stretched across the ship. The estimated time until destination flicked about uncertain. He'd probably have do a bit of estimating himself.
"Annie wants to know when we'll arrive so she has time to change." Lantz looked back and found Tiz standing with hands clasped together in front.
"Not long. Half hour, maybe less," he replied.
"Okay." The little girl nodded. "Also, she told me to tell you that you're grounded for a month." Lantz gave a puff of a laugh, and a smile stretched across him.
"I knew it." He flopped his head back against the head rest and looked out as space warped about. "I guess she was super angry, huh?"
"Yeah." Tiz was quiet, not so much for Annie's sake; she was just unsure. The ship started to rattle, then give a violent shake. Tiz dropped into the rear seats. She held to the chair and buckled herself in.
"Okay, maybe a lot less than half an hour." Space tore a gap in front, and the ship was dragged through. Panels creaked and the hull began to bend until they were spat out. Ahead of them, a Mechanicus space station sat with the carrier at its base heading in to dock.
"Deal." The guard smiled and put his arm around her. He slapped the pad into her paw and guided her through a door down through the cells. They were silent beyond the blank windowless doors, each one plain and white. "Now I'll be watching you, okay? I don't want you running off before your date." He gripped her shoulder a little tighter, with reptilian claws digging into her clothes. Eventually the guard stopped at one of the doors and grabbed its handle. "Oh and you best have a spare set of clothes. People in charge like the prisoners tied tight until the squeeze point so they can't escape. Clothes get in the way of the squeezing." He leaned to her and looked into her eyes. "I could get his clothes for you, though you already know i don't do things for free."
-
Annie woke with a gasp and claws clutching at the soft covering of the seat. Her eyes turned from Lantz to the view screen, sleep muffling and slurring her words "We here already?" She uncurled and pressed a paw to her forehead "The carrier seems fine, they escaped somewhere safe after all. That is a Mechanicus Salvage Port, metal crushers, recycling plants and forges, all on one space station." Frowning and blinking away the sleep, she leaned forward "Though I am surprised that there aren't other carriers already docked here."
"Why aren't we docked with the station?" Vladiik stopped behind the finch officer, unfurling his dark feathered wings.
The finch grimaced and leaned back in his seat "The docking system is offline too, and that is supposed to be fully automated!" He tapped away at his controls for a few seconds more and then spun the seat around until he faced the captain "I called for a shuttle to be taken from bay twelve to bay thirty two, the few explorators we have on board are already on their way sir." And sure enough, through the great view screen that spanned the carrier bridge, a small craft could be seen sailing out across the inky darkness towards the space station.
The shuttle rocked and yawed, engines thrumming along at cruising speed as the occupants of the cargo bay held onto straps and handles. The cramped space was dark save the single emergency light set in the ceiling which washed the steel surfaces and explorators in bleak red light. Blaze stood holding onto a structural beam of the wall, cybernetic arm gripping tight with a soft whir of servos, he listened intently as the lead explorator strode amongst the group.
Grawn punctuated each step with a jabbing motion of his index finger, his own dark red armor the largest and newest of them all. Blaze wondered how the suit managed to restrain the tiger's deep chest and great forearms. "We are to make our way to the control bridge, just two decks up from where we will be docking manually. Jaeka and Lita, you two will be in charge of door slicing if security is locked down as we suspect. Once at the control bridge we are to restore power so the carrier can dock immediately."
He suddenly took several steps towards Blaze, steel boots clashing as he bared large canines "You listening boy? As far as I'm concerned your a liability, and while your mother is as loose a cannon as I've ever seen I dont want the same from you."
Tess took a deep breath, ears pressing back as she released the air as a short -hmff- through her nose "If I had known it was so profitable, I would've enrolled for the guards a long time ago you swindler."
She reached into one of the many pouches and pockets on her belt and grinned back into the guard's eyes. In her paw she held a small cellophane pouch, and inside it a small square of silver metal and circuitry sparkled "But, being an engineer does have its perks... This is a mk II droid processor enhancement. Worth more than a hundred credits and easily sold anywhere on the carrier." She remained close to the guard, pressing the pouch to him "You have it and we make sure the rest of this goes quick and easy right?"
-
Chronin continued to go up the stairs, making much more progess since he didn't have to swat away a few odd soldiers after every tenth step. He made it up to a room occupied by what seemed to be only a single guard at the other end of the room. "Instead of trying to impede my progress, why don't you go get help for the soldiers I crippled back there? I made sure to not kill them, but I don't know how much internal injury I inflicted." After a few seconds of slience, he let out a grunt of frustration. "Look, I really don't want to use my other abilities, so can you please just let me get the dead rock known as Everflame so I can be on my way?"
-
Nero felt his grip on the ship slipping and looked just in time to see his own ship get blown to bits. NO! NO! You'rE NoT GettinG AwaY!!!! I Won'T AlloW IT!!! The ship began to groan as he forced more gravity onto it, parts of the hull bending inward as invisble fingers tried to keep it in place.
-
Lantz ran his fingers across the view controls, zooming in on the station.
"No carriers, and no lights either." He looked over at Annie, and nerves pulled on his face. "We're going in kinda blind. I don't want any more risks than is necessary." The engines rumbled through the ship and they accelerated toward the carrier. The lizard flicked up the communication panel and contacted the carrier. Tiz hopped out of her chair up behind Lantz.
"Are we doing video?" she asked. Lantz chewed it over and turned to Annie.
"You should hide," he said to the vixen. Tiz grinned and jumped into his lap. He looked down at her as she settled in. "You ready?" he asked. She nodded in reply. He ran his fingers over the controls opening communication with the carrier.
The guard narrowed his eyes and examined Tess while he pulled the processor from her. He ran his thumb across its shape then slid it into his pocket. He then pulled his datapad out, and set in the right commands, sending a message across.
"I'm being nice to you, you know?" He said to Tess. "I know people who would do much worse. I'm sure you know the stories." He put the datapad back and a young feline assistant jogged over with a bag.
"Here's his personal effects, sir," he said. The guard took it and reached inside, shifting about to find something. He soon pulled out a datapad and tossed the bag over to Tess. He typed at the door's keypad. It flashed green and he pulled it open with a faint hiss and slip. The white walls practically glowed out into the corridor, and in the corner was a large body wrapped up. The fox was unconscious and faced the wall. The guard leaned back into the corridor and winked at Tess, while the feline rolled his eyes. The reptile guard held the datapad up and threw it. It slammed into the back of Reggie's head and he jerked awake. He twisted and pulled at his restraints, and snarled and barked with teeth bared as he turned to the door. The guard gave him a nod and stepped back out.
"All yours, girl."
Captain Grezz gave an exaggerated shrug.
"I'm not stepping out of your way. Our medics are aware of my soldiers and of you. You're loud enough to wake the galaxy and the galaxy is all ears." He smiled and stood ready to fight. "So all I have to do is stall you, until the galaxy arrives." From his body came an blue flow of energy. The suit glowed with it. It pooled into his arms, reaching out like a blade of light. He whipped his arms forward and the light sliced out.
The ship's engines screamed and pushed against the walls of Nero's hold. The walls shuddered and creaked with the strain. General Caisen pulled on the space suit's helmet.
"Your plan was good, but his hold is pretty strong. Hyperdrive in this gravity well could tear space apart and blow us all to hell," she said. She clung to the seat, fingers gripped tight to it.
The beast rose through space and spread across the stars. He dwarfed the planet with his breadth.
"Your presence has hindered us, we shall find it ourselves. We shall burn every molecule on this plane of existence." He grew further and wider. Even the nearby sun dimmed against its fire.
-
Leo's lips curled into a smile as he turned to the other. "Not to worry..." he said in a very doubtful yet cheery tone. He propped himself up and slipped on his helmet and spoke again "Uhm.. so one thing you should consider when facing a physicist is that we are willing to do the world's... most outrageous things for a goal. In this case it's to have both of us stay alive because I am really looking forward to that dinner." Now he reached up to the console above him and began shutting down various different systems "so... for the duration of our flight, to ensure your safety stay buckled in at all times, and keep your helmet on. We might suffer some major turbulence and various decompressions..."
The ship spoke after each switch had been flipped. "Warning Auxiliary power disabled. Weapon's systems offline, targeting systems offline, Life support offline, Monitoring systems offline, lights offline, Aux power rerouted. Warning Manual Overdrive detected. System is now liable to overheating..." The feline pressed another switched and looked to his side as a panel clicked and opened up revealing a lever.
"So... worst case scenario... we die a much more quicker death... best case scenario we blast into freedom" he sighed as he grabbed hold of the lever and jammed it forward, and almost immediately the engines could be heard blaring even louder as the emission from outside of the ship grew gradually stronger.
-
Annie dived towards Lantz, shoving a metal card into his hands before crouching behind her chair "Quick, insert that into your computer's disc drive. Its a Mechanicus trading license which should show your ship as registered to dock and land in the hangars, might help..." She settled into a slightly comfier position on the steel floor of the ship and leaned her head against the back of the seat. Worry nagged at the back of her mind as the communication panel crackled into life.
The screen was blank except for the Mechanicus company logo, twin cogs of dark red meshed together and slowly turning. A cheerful voice emanated from the speakers ~"You have reached the Mechanicus carrier 'Steel Pride', we are currently experiencing an unusual number of internal calls and are unable to respond. Please hold until such a time as one of our staff can-"~
The voice was cut off and another weary one took its place, accompanied by an equally tired vixen with long eyelashes on the screen "Good day my name is Jessica... Sorry for the delay but things are hectic here." She let out a breath which rattled through her mic as several people bustled past her, the sound of the mechanicus reception room audible across the communication. "If you two could just state your business and cargo I can see what I can do for you."
Tess remained silent as the guard called for his assistant, shooting a glance to the latter before taking the bag. She flinched when the guard threw the datapad and it was with an apprehensive expression that she stepped into the cell. One foot remained outside the door, as though she feared it closing behind her, as her usual grin flitted across her lips "Hey Reggie, I'm here to bust you out of this hell hole."
She walked over to him and knelt down to undo the clasps on the restraints, hands shaking as she glanced over her shoulder "That Annie better be grateful after all this, I got better things to be blowing a thousan' creds on..." The claps finally opened with a snap and the restraints loosened. Tess stood up and dropped the bag beside Reggie, turning away and only just concealing the fact that her hands were still shaking.
The shuttle shook and juddered as a loud screeching filled the cargo bay. An explorator, first class too, nudged Blaze and winked surreptitiously "Dont worry about that officer Grawn. Just stay close with me." She pressed a button on her armor and her helmet slid up in a series of interlocking plates that ended with an orange visor sliding closed. Her voice sounded in Blaze's own helmet as the bay door opened into swirling darkness "This is the best part of being an explorator after all. Guns out and a ship to salvage. That Grawn just takes it too seriously because he used to be in the marine core."
-
Nero clenched his teeth as he tried to maintain a hold on the ship. Then, as the engine blasted one last time, his grip slipped sending the ship hurtling through hyperspace at an unknown but dangerous speed. The fabric of space tore slightly at the strain, but quickly healed itself back over. Nero stood there, his hands still gripping the space that the ship had once occupied, dumbfounded.
TheY...TheY GoT...AwaY.................THEY GOT AWAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nero's psionic howl of rage could be felt for lightyears around him as he began slamming his black claws into the very fabric of reality, sending destructive ripples throughout the solar system and the space surrounding it. The remaining planets in the system burst like balloons that had been poked with pins. The sun faded with each ripple until it collapsed in on itself, creating a black hole which seemed to widen every time another ripple slammed into it.
ThaT DoeS IT!!! We'rE GoinG TO TeaR AparT ThiS UniversE AtoM BY AtoM!! ThE FlamE WilL BE RETURNED!!!
-
Chronin watched the officer as he spoke, keeping some focus on any hostile movements. So, he was able to simply side-step the blade as it came out. "The Sphere was annihilated a few days ago. I am very sure that they are more concerned with their own survival, than on a rock that doesn't belong here." He held out his hand, letting out a minor fraction of his energy as he yanked the officer off his feet and send him flying chest first into his palm. He tugged on the suit with the same palm, and snapped his arm back to quickly tear off some of the suit. He then delivered a front kick to the same area, keeping his talons from digging into the muscle. Shortly after the captain recovered from the kick, Chronin still held the suit-piece in his claws. "You have one more chance to get out of my way, before I start lopping off your arms and legs."
-
The general clung to her seat and the ship screamed as it stretched and tore before being flung into the void of hyperspace, burning through beyond sound and light. Stars whirled and blurred, spewing colour and the sound of the universe roared. Every frequency increased, every sound from every star and planet shrieked past as the ship blasted among them. Across every molecule of the galaxy the ship sliced. The hull cracked, the air escaped, and the engines screamed their last spurt of energy. They dropped out of hyperspace and drifted for a moment until gravity took hold. A planet peered up and pulled them toward it, down into a field of white stems and purple flowers. They were dragged toward it, hurtling to the ground. It raced to meet them, the flowers waving until the ship slammed into the ground. Dirt tore and the glass screen snapped. The hull crushed and burst, spilling its innards across the meadow. Chunks of metal bounced and tore while the ship scraped into the dirt until it eventually stopped.
An eastern pygmy possum girl with black diamond patches over her eyes rode across the field on the back of a great feral lizard. She wore a short red tunic and a her pocket was crammed with flowers. The large lizard strode through the flowers and its long tail stretched out behind it, swinging over the blooming heads. They approached the craft, weaving past the chunks of wreckage, eyes wide at it all. The girl looked around at everything, seeing them new and strange. The lizard kept its distance until the girl leaned forward and whispered into its ear. It looked around, then with a resigning sigh it crept forward. It nosed through the wreckage, past hull plating and pushed through the pierced hull. The girl climbed forward to its head and peered through inside the ship, finding two unmoving humanoids with alien suits.
Lantz pushed the metal card into the computer just as the screen burst into life. He smiled to the tired mechanicus receptionist while Tiz buzzed with cutesy energy. She leaned forward to the screen, staring at the activity in the background.
"Tara, sit down," Lantz said, and pulled her back onto his lap before apologising to the vixen. "Sorry about that. Anyway, we're just here to pick up some of our friends. We've got no cargo except food for the trip." Distractions raced around behind the receptionist, with the loudest shout getting caught by the communications. "I hope everything's okay over there. We're on a bit of a deadline, you see."
Reggie's growls died down as she stepped through, and an almost appreciative look came across him. He looked into her eyes and the look faded. She could barely look at him, so he turned away. Once the clasps were undone, he shrugged the restraints off his large body and got to his feet with the bag at his side. He searched through his clothes and pulled them on, finding them crumpled. They also stank of his sweat. He gave a sigh and a growl crept out. It grew as he pulled clothes on, and watched Tess keep her distance. He could see her shake. He gritted his teeth.
"A thousand credits?" he managed to say while he suppressed himself. "Thanks." He picked the datapad from the floor and looked through the messages, there were none. He shook his head then prodded Tess in the back. "So what happens now?"
The beast spread and grew across the stars, reaching and consuming rocks and dirt far beyond the solar system, out to other stars, even clusters as it stretched, burned and consumed. Its body moved toward Nero, its energy all encompassing. The beast had no voice as it threatened to engulf him.
The captain yelled as the chest piece tore and the talons dug into his flesh. Then there was a sound and a light that glowed from his arm. A small shine and a harmonious hum. It twirled with his screams and soothed the very air it touched. The sound became music and the captain calmed. A smile came upon him as he got to his feet, and the muscles that were exposed reached and grew into the suit, pulling it together. The suit grew and stretched across his front until he was healed and armoured once more. The sound didn't stop, it grew with his body as the dog built and thickened with a stronger, faster and larger self. He stood seven foot tall with a smile on his face.
"This everflame thing. It's great. And with decades of research on it, we've made something even you can't beat."
-
Chronin's face never showed any negative expression as the captain changed shape and got taller. In fact, it looked like he finally had something to smile about. "I guess I can spend some time with you, not every day an interesting person comes along..." The panels and walls warped once again as Chronin's body also changed shape. His hair became several layers of crystalline spikes while his eyes had a bright yellow glow. The glove on his right talon fused with the scales and gave off a flow of its own. His clothes were also hardened, but segmented to allow freedom of movement. Chronin deftly raised his right arm and fired five explosive spheres in rapid succession, while giving off an aura that would make anyone within two meters of him feel like their weight almost doubled.
-
The captain dove under the bombs, hit the floor and launched himself up, firing off blades of light at Chronin that cut through the walls and floor with a blinding gleam. He gripped the ceiling and threw himself into the dragon's aura, teeth bared and fists clenched. The bombs exploded behind him in the small corridor, bursting through to the outside, and tearing a chunk from the inner wall that protected the central chamber.
-
Chronin had set up the aura for two different reasons, the first was to slow or push down any projectiles coming at him, the second was to make it easy for him to find someone near the reach of his arms. So it was easy for him to focus his power on the airborne super-wolf, and suspend him in the air with just one hand. With a methodical slowness, Chronin raised his left arm and had it point towards the wolf's right bicep. In a single twist-pull motion, the wolf's arm was completely dislocated and removed from the shoulder before flopping to the floor and draining the blood it had inside. "One arm, two legs..."
-
The wolf eyes rolled up into his head and his jaw fell open with his tongue lolling. His body followed suit and hung against Chronin's hand while the dismembered arm fell to the floor. The severed limb covered the floor in a pool of blood until the vessels stopped the flow. That same glow that arm beat and grew. The sound returned and the arm stretched. The fingers clawed and the arm leapt off the floor. It grabbed Chronin's leg, squeezed tight while the severed end spread and expanded. Its muscles and bones stretched and formed growing into a twisted form. Another arm and reached and pulled.
-
A bright smile flashed through the weariness in Jessica's expression as Lantz pulled Tiz away from the screen "No worries sir, cute kid... Non-trade business? I see you're ship is Mechanicus registered as well. That should-" She paused, and it was clear from the way her eyes flicked back and forth that she was reading something on her computer monitor. The grin slowly sank beneath a fresh wave of fatigue as she glanced over her shoulder and then back to the screen.
Jessica flicked her fringe out of her eyes and the smile returned once again "If you could just list the passengers aboard you're ship, everything else seems in order. This carrier is currently unavailable for trade but if your just here for pickup I can clear you through quickly."
Tess flinched and her tail flicked twice. She turned to face Reggie and, now that he was fully clothed, her usual grin returned "Well, if I was in your place I would be dying for a shower..." She glanced up at him from under his fringe, at his massive frame looming over her in the small cell, and wrinkled her nose "And some clean clothes."
In the corridor RUST-E watched the reptilian guard with his unblinking blue lens, motors whirring as the little droid waited for his mistress.
The corridors of the space station lay silent, darkness shrouding every corner. A thick black fog clung to the steel flooring which swirled in the wake of the explorators. Beams of white light sliced through the shadows and the dull clank of armored boots on steel filled the corridors. "Lita, Jaeka... Slice that door, everyone else form up, weapons out." Grawn jabbed a finger at the bulkhead doorway and pulled two bulky pistols from their holsters on his belt as he growled into the helmet mic "This place is too quiet..."
-
Chronin ignored the lone arm, believing the arm alone lacked the leverage and the power to throw off his balance. However, he did acknowledge that the limb was still working despite being torn from the body. So in hoping that the head was the reason behind the madness, Chronin moved his left arm back up to the super-wolf and twisted the head off. He made sure to remove the spine as well, then ripped the spine off the skull before tossing the head down the stairs that he came from. If the body still moves, then I could just say he was unnaturally augmented to begin with.
-
Lantz nodded with an apparently genuine smile. "Well there's three of us. There's me, this girl here," he said, gesturing to Tiz who waved to the woman. "And her mother's in her room having a nap." He looked into the camera with his best, most honest expression.
Reggie puffed a breath of laughter, and sniffed at himself. "Yeah okay and where do I go for that." He walked past Tess to the door. The guard gave a nod as he passed and Reggie replied with a snarl. When Tess followed behind, the guard pulled her aside and whispered into her ear.
"Remember tomorrow, eight o' clock." He grinned and pushed her away to Reggie, who had pulled up his datapad and flicked to his finances. The fox groaned in frustration at the miniscule number and turned to the girl.
"You might have to help me out with money for a bit until I get some of my own."
The arm continues to grow and spread, with more limps sprouting from that torn wound. They like a spider unfurling and gripped the floor for leverage. With every second, the arms multiplied and expanded with thick muscle and claws. As Chronin pulled out the limp head, the arms grabbed his tail and dug in through the armour. They clung to his leg, and gripped the floor ready to pull and tear. The dragged against the floor, wrenching the tail one way, the leg another, ripping at the thigh with a spray of blood.
-
Jessica returned the smile and tapped away at her computer. Finally, after a minute of clamour from the reception behind her, the vixen turned back to the screen. "Very well, I've got you clearance to bay four. Mechanicus security there will take your names and details for our logs." She huffed a weary breath and pushed her fringe back out of her eyes with one finger, grinning and waving to Tiz "Nice seeing you kid, and we hope you have a good day sir."
The screen flashed back to the Mechanicus logo where a message scrolled below the emblem:
~Automated docking sequence initiated. Do not remove your registration card. Do not attempt to regain control of your ship Automated docking sequence initiated.~
The entire ship lurched for a moment, and then the carrier and space station before them started to grow in size as the ship accelerated through space. Annie sighed with relief and stood, relieving the cramp from her legs as she said "Well we're in."
Tess followed Reggie out, explaining as she walked "Those clothes can be washed for you while you shower in the communal baths-" She was cut off as the guard pulled her aside. Her lip curled and she hissed back at him "Fine..." Turning back to Reggie it took Tess a perceptible moment or two for what he said to register. She cringed and wrinkled her nose again "Mechanicus Engineer doesn't pay much, beside the stuff I get on contract... But don't worry, there are ways to live cheap round here."
Blaze's heavy breathing was the only sound he could hear inside his helmet. The orange tint of the visor cast everything in strange shades and shadows lay down every twisting corner of the corridors. Beside him the female explorator, name of Karla he figured from the nameplate on her armour, touched two fingers to the corridor wall.
Dark marks where plastered across the metal in a staggered fashion "Scorch marks... Possibly plasma burns." Karla turned her head to look at Blaze, her furrowed brow visible through the tinted visor "Plasma weaponry is illegal onboard ships, too much risk of penetrating the hull..."
-
When Chronin saw his own blood, he had flashbacks to the war he was in a decade ago. He shrieked - at a volume and tone that could have rivaled the dragons of folk tales - as his 'power' spiked, pulling off every piece and limb of the captain's body off of him and smashed it all together in one heaping mass of flesh, bone, and blood. Chronin quickly regained self-control afterwards, not taking a minute to ponder how he accomplished it as he brandished his rifle again and set it for 'burn' before unloading shot after shot into the regenerating flesh. He finally stopped firing when the charring became visible and started to spread as a greenish flame. His head will probably take a few minutes to regenerate a full body, and by that time I'll have probably busted open the door to the dead Everflame. Then again, I can simply get the head and send it into deep space so it won't be a problem at all. Chronin smirked at the wound, shaking his leg before continuing once again. Whatever is your pleasure, mother.
During Chronin's power spike, his presence could be felt in a radius of several lightyears. But it was a short spike, masking his presence the moment he regained his senses.
-
Nero turned to the beast, fuming. The flames around him only seemed to anger him more. AlL RighT! NO MorE MR. NicE GuY!!! I NeeD PoweR AnD YourS IS SufficienT. I'lL BreaK DowN ThiS UniversE BY MY SelF!!! Nero repulsed the flames around him and allowed is full girth to emerge. He quickly dwarfed the beast as the darkness that made up his body expanded, the black of his body somehow contrasted against the deep of space. Stars began to shimmer across his body as what seemed to be a whole other galaxy materialized in his vastness. Planets lightyears away could see a dark humanoid figure growing across the sky. A miniature black hole began to swirl where his empty eye socket once was. Fully formed, a tendril of darkness shot out from his body like the stinger of a jellyfish and wrapped around the beast, dragging the burning creature towards the black hole. YoU WiLl BeCoMe OnE WiTh US...ThE FlAmE MuSt BE ReTuRnEd!!!
-
Tiz grinned at Annie, though Lantz still stared at the space where the communication screen was projected. He furrowed his brow and and leaned back in the chair making the mouse girl wobble in his lap.
"I don't know about this, that woman looked a bit... I don't trust this." He scratched his neck, and Tiz looked up at him expecting elaboration. He looked down at her and grumbled at himself. "At any rate," he turned to Annie. "You should contact your two boys. They can't bring friends though. The camel is not a big ship."
"Thank God," Reggie marched through the corridors, holding back a bit so Tess would lead. "I have not had a good day." He growled to himself and looked around as he passed. The people, particularly the guards made him scowl. Finally they came to the Mechanicus quarters, and he headed for the communal shower. "So how does this work, I hand you my clothes or what?"
Howl stood beside Vuranin but he felt his body drift. His essence slipped along the flow of the wind. With every step Chronin took to the everflame, Howl felt his body move away and spread.
Many lightyears away from the planet, Chronin's energy spike flared across the instruments of a satellite. The letters, GA were plastered across its side. The information was relayed to the machine's owners.
The beast looked up in the grasp of Nero. Its eyes burned but showed nothing. It was just light. The flame of its body was draining, being sucked into the tendrils of Nero's darkness, but the blinding light of its eyes did not wane. "You forget." Its voice boomed and sent ripples through the absence that was the beast's new obstacle. "Or you never realised. Some would remember your insolent nature. You do not listen." The flames whipped away, and even the light from the eyes was pulled and dragged but the glow did not falter. "When you left, the dimension was folding, fusing. All the beings you knew bent and absorbed into one. As the boundaries of our existence were pulled together, even the passive and inert fused into one. What was born from that fusing is who you would now try to consume." From the eyes, tendrils of light spread. They coiled and weaved together, then reached for the dark. The felt into the ink and spread like white paint in dark water. "I, we, they and it are one in this form. You are, will and have always been part of it." The light spread and tainted the dark, fusing themselves together.
-
Vuranin turned to Howl, showing some confusion and a little curiosity. "Is something wrong, 'Ambassador Howl'?"
Chronin entered the small corridor, and inspected the damage done by his 'blast glove'. Huh, I thought I made these blasts to be 'contained'. I thought I covered more than just the air-bound shockwave, guess not. He looked around for anything that might hint as a direction, since the gaping hole in the wall is throwing off his sense of direction. "I could start blasting more holes, but that would probably make more of a mess than I'd like to clean up." He looked around for something akin to a P.A. system button, and only found a fire-alarm and a 'containment shield' which seemed unusually close to the aforementioned fire alarm. He took a gamble and opened the door, greeted by a falling mop that hit him right between the eyes. "Aw ****!!" He knocked the mop away, then noticed a small cartridge with clear-blue corners on the top of it. He toyed with the cartridge until the corners lit up and projected a 3D hologram of the tower, along with the rooms, corridors, and facilities inside. I guess this is for the trainee janitors or something. I'll just be borrowing it for now.
Chronin spent a minute or two trying to get a close-up on his location when his thoughts were interrupted by a mechanically nerd-like voice.
"Please select a destination."
"Uh... the Main Chamber."
"Statement "Uh... the Main Chamber" is not valid, please select a destination."
"Main Chamber."
"Statement "Main Chamber" is not valid, please select a destination."
Oh for the love of... "Everflame..." After a few seconds of silence, a line connected from Chronin's position to some location just two floors above.
"Before entering the chamber, please report your destination to your supervisor so the door can be opened for you." He cursed under his breath, trying to resist the temptation to throw the 'silly' device outside through the hole he made just a moment ago.
-
Annie shook her head at Lantz's comment "I know her, friend of my son." She watched the carrier grow closer with every passing moment and a frown creased her smooth forehead "She's a good girl. I wouldn't think we have any reason to distrust her, besides, they let us dock."
The frown grew until it pinched at the corners of her eyes and lips. She thought of Tess, after all Blaze had always had a crush on her, but childhood fancies never lasted anyway. Annie sighed and threw her ponytail over one shoulder with a flick of her head, it wasn't like Blaze had even asked her out yet. The safety of her son came before childhood relationships. "Yes I'd better do that right away. Thank you again, for all of this."
Tess ran a hand through her hair and sighed "Tell me about it. Blaze had his arm crushed when we jumped." She sighed again as they entered the communal washrooms "He had it replaced with a prosthetic of course, Mechanicus service has its benefits after all, and its not like I'm obsessed with appearances." Her eyes flicked up at Reggie from behind her fringe and she rubbed her upper arm tentatively "I love him. Really, I didn't understand what people meant when they explained how they love someone. My mother died when I was young, and I never knew my father, but now I understand."
The look in Tess' blue eyes was one of bright happiness, and it was with flushing cheeks that she turned to a metal slot in the wall. With a deft tug she pulled a clear plastic bag from the dispenser and held it out to Reggie "Put your clothes in here and drop them down the chute outside the shower, by the towels." The cellophane was marked with a large number 46 and a zip-lock ran across the open end.
Tess flicked her fringe to one side and grinned her usual cheeky smile "I'l be off to see Blaze. The doctor said he needs rest, but I doubt he will want to be lying around for long..."
The final door to the station bridge opened with a hiss of pneumatics and the darkness beyond lit up by a dozen torch beams. Grawn lead the way, red laser sights traversing across the wide room and reflecting off control panels "Jaeka, get in here now and see if you can slice into these consoles. We want the power up ASAP." Jaeka nodded and pushed roughly past Blaze, plucking a device from his armored wrist and dropping heavily into one of the many empty chairs.
A soft clicking and fervored rustle echoed through the many air vents lacing the corridor behind the group, but the sound was barely noticted as the heavy doors slid closed again with a long hiss. Blaze glanced across to Karla who returned the glance and gave an encouraging smile as the bridge was suddenly bathed in florescent light.
Jessice squirmed in her seat, fingers twisting nervously. She leaned back in her chair and glanced across the rows of Mechanicus office workers in the reception. With a mental groan she rubbed her temples as she muttered under her breath "I did not need this happening today..."
-
Nero stood shocked for a moment as the light spread through his form. Suddenly the feeling of shock faded from his gargantuan frame and the taint of light began to fade. The dark form cackled with delight as more tendrils wrapped around the beast. IF YoU TrUlY ArE WhAt YoU sAy YoU aRe...ThEn YoU kNoW wHy It WaS i WhO wAs SeNt. I aM tHe STRONGEST!! NoNe CaN CoMpArE To ME!! His arrogant voice screeched through the stars as the beast was drawn closer to the black hole of his eye. One by one, the stars that sparkled around his body became extinguished as they were pulled into the deep dark of his eye. iNfInItY!!! tHaT iS wHaT i Am!!! InFiNiTe DaRk!!! NoT eVeN aN iNcReDiBlE lIgHt SuCh As YoUrSeLf CaN cOmPaRe To Me!! YOU AND THIS ENTIRE UNIVERSE ARE STILL NOTHING BUT FOOD!!!!!
Black tendrils shot out from Nero's body, pulling the beast's taint out of his body before shredding it like paper. More tendrils snatched up pieces of the beast and dragged them into his eye, feeding him the essence of the creature. As he devoured the beast Nero could feel himself expanding as the entirety of the ethereal realm was absorbed into his body. The black twisted and contorted becoming less humanoid and more bestial, as the black hole grew and moved down to cover the Nero-creature's entire body. Twelve red stars appeared on the black like eyes. A curling snarling mouth grimaced and smirked into the deep of space as countless clawed limbs sprouted from his form.So MuCh...PoWeR. i CaN AlMoSt....No.....I CAN sMelL tHe FlAmE!! aT LoNg LaSt...I cAn FiNaLlY dEvOuR iT aNd CoMpLeTe My PoWeR!! i WiLl Be A gOd!! I WiLl CoNsUmE eVeRyThInG!!! The Nero-creature's many arms clawed and tore at the fabric of space as it dragged its bloated body across the stars at blinding speeds. It was heading straight for the Everflame.
IT'S MINE!!!!
-
Howl shook on his feet and motes of his body drifted away like petals plucked and flown through the air. He turned to Vuranin and confusion riddled through his eyes.
"I feel like something bad is going to happen. I think it's my connection to the dimension. I'm drifting apart and maybe we all will. Whatever is going to happen will happen soon so I guess there's not much I can do about it." He turned to the tower with smoke and dust billowing through the damaged base where the defense drone sparked aflame. "Ignore me. Let's just focus on getting this done and getting out as fast as possible."
Chronin climbed up through the tower, as warning lights stared with red eyes. The place had been locked down and as he reached the right floor, the door to the central chamber was sealed. There were no windows to look through, only a gallery of computer consoles shut off. According to the device in Chronin's hand, the room was right there, and the everflame inside.
High above them all among the surrounding stars, the GA satellite signal was recieved. Ships moved, hummed and roared with engines as large as mountains that charged with a force of a thousand earthquakes. They leapt into hyperspace and raced to the planet and the intruders invading it.
Lantz folded his arms and looked out to the carrier.
"No offense but i dont know you, nor your son. Personal assurances dont hold much weight." He looked to annie and gave an apologetic grimace, then turned the screen in silent observation of what lay ahead. Tiz climbed off his lap and headed to the kitchen.
Reggie gave a sideward glance to the young vixen, with bright eyes filled with emotion as she went on about her love. It made him smirk.
"You love him? You've got a funny way of showing it around him." He laughed a little, laced with an almost an aggressive bark. "Unless you think hiding your relationship from others is super romantic." He took the bag as she offered it and nodded at her instructions. He turned to head to the showers when his datapad buzzed in his pocket. "Oh what now." He pulled it out and its screen was lit with a name. "Annie." He nearly yelled it out, then prodded the pad to answer and held it up. On the screen, she looked out to him.
-
Chronin flipped the device around in his hand for a few seconds, then put a finger on his earpiece. There was nobody on the other line, but the motion made it easier for him to 'contact' Vuranin. I'm at the room, but there is a door in the way.
Vuranin had mixed feelings about what Howl said. On the positive side, Nero and Beast would probably be sent back to their dimension, but this would also mean that her son would probably be in the most danger due to him being a dimensional hybrid. Just break the door down or something, we don't have much time left...
Chronin nodded to himself, then backed a certain distance before changing into his more primal form. The energy that powered this form, and his powers, were all poured into his bomb glove. The result was a dark red sphere that was becoming more and more unstable the longer it existed. He launched the sphere at the door, and he could only hear the ring in his ears as the smoke cleared.
All that remained of the door, was a piece of the threshold that had almost completely melted into the floor itself. The rest of the area was unharmed, due to the instability directing the blast through the door and only allowed the combustion to enter the Everflame's chamber. Chronin changed back to his 'mortal' form, and walked up to the Everflame. Huh, I can feel something in there... is that just my new instincts recognizing a piece of 'home', or is it less dead than originally thought?
-
As the Nero-creature tore through space, it could smell the Everflame more and more. Suddenly three more presences came into its senses.
It was them...Howl....Vuranin...and her half-breed son, Chronin.
His red eyes shone bright with rage as he realized where they were. A silent howl pierced into the minds of Howl, Vuranin, and Chronin No!!! It'S mInE!! yOu HeAr Me!!! i WoNt AlLoW yOu To HaVe It!!! ThE fLaMe Is MINE!! His voice shrieked and wailed louder as he grew ever closer to their position. His lightning fast pace became frantic as he scrambled to reach the Everflame before the others.
-
Tess flicked her fringe to one side with a huff and pointed an accusing finger "Hey! Don't you-" She stopped, flushing red and realizing she had no smart comment to whip back at Reggie. "Blaze doesn't want to tell other people either, its not just me." She glanced away, knowing that this wasn't remotely true. It was with a sigh of relief therefore that Reggie answered a call from Annie, as Tess took the chance to sidle away from his accusations and set off towards the medical bay.
Annie grinned, exhausted but relieved "Hey Reggie. I'm going to be docking in bay four, ask Tess or someone where to find it." Her eyes watched Reggie's intently and she sighed "If you could also find Blaze, He isn't answering his calls; probably just asleep, the lazy boy." Now she grimaced and brought the datapad closer "Look, if ever I needed you to trust me its now. We need to leave the carrier fast, get your things and tell Blaze to pack too. Please, this is important Reg, I wouldn't ask this of you if it wasnt."
"Power is booting up finally, systems seem normal." Jaeka's fingers flew over keyboards as his eyes flicked from screen to screen. He pressed a final button and then leaned back in the chair "The carrier is docking automatically with the station now..."
Grawn watched, looking satisfied as he glanced around at the explorators around him. He growled as he spoke "Good work team, those engineers should count themselves lucky they got captain Grawn here to-" his last words where lost as screams of pain erupted in everyone's helmet receivers. The scream went on and on, overlaid with a high-pitched shriek like a circular saw biting into steel. With the noise came sudden darkness as the florescent light strips overhead buzzed, flickered, and went out.
The screaming stopped as quickly as it started, with only the high-pitched buzzing lingering for a moment as the lights returned with a flicker of sparks. Blaze turned to Karla, terror in his eyes, a fear that stemmed from the cargo bay of the wrecked ship and the metallic beast that had chased him. Karla however was looking elsewhere, weapon suddenly drawn as she said "Where's Lita... She was standing right next to me-"
In the mechanicus carrier, on the top bunk of Blaze's bed his datapad flashed periodically. On the screen a small icon blinked -'3 New Messages'-
-
The everflame sat nestled in the central container within the chamber. A sweet purr came from its cold insides. As the dragon looked upon it, it looked back, and its voice overrode Nero's wails.
Howl covered his ears and shut his eyes. He felt his body twist in the wind, and the screams of the demon racing toward them.
"Hurry up Chronin, grab it so we can leave and finish this whole situation."
Reggie gritted his teeth as she talked about Blaze.
"Right well I just heard something you won't like." He looked around for Tess, and glimpsed her tail slipped through a door before it closed. He sped after her, catching up with haste and patting her on the shoulder. "You should probably hear it from Tess." He handed the phone over to the girl. "I'm coming with you to the medbay. You tell her about Blaze."
-
For the first time in his whole adult life, Chronin couldn't do anything. He was just mesmerized by the 'voice' of the stone, something that he thought until now was just a dead rock that had lost all its power. It didn't last long however, as a growl in his head brought him out of the trance. "Okay, time to take you home..." he said aloud, only realizing as he changed form once again but without the overflowing rage that sometimes came with it. He put his hands on the panel between him and the stone, and it crumpled like paper before hitting the ground with a thud. He gently took the stone out as some part of his mind refused to think of the Everflame as just a 'magical stone'. Vuranin came through the opening after teleporting just a short distance away, and held out her hand.
"Sorry for the mess and all... came at a bad time." "Funny, your father said the same thing when I met him... why don't you come with me?" "W-what?!" "Oh darn it, would you look at the time, I'll just give you a tour, see if you like it or not." Vuranin's aura spilled out as she hastily put together an inter-dimensional portal, that pulled every entity foreign (and some partially foreign) to this dimension within a mile-wide raidus, into the dimension of light.
-
The tower twisted and warped, stretching against the boundaries of the portal as Vuranin spread it wide. Light spluttered out through the growing tear, spilling out like phlegm until through the gap there was nothing. There was no light, not even darkness. The portal lead to an emptiness. It spread and shuddered with the impossible anomaly on the other side. The dimension of light was gone, collapsed into a few last shreds that smeared the floor. The walls of the inter-dimensional shook and ripped its walls. A force pushed at Vuranin, Chronin, Howl and even Nero and Seeker. It dragged at the molecules, motes of themselves. Shimmers of light that pulled off their bodies was whipped out across space. The everflame burst into light like ash in the breeze, whileChronin's body, half of both dimensions, was tearing every sliver of himself apart, ripping his light self from his real. Vuranin's body bore the full force, light pouring off her body like a shimmering stream. Nero felt the wave slam against his self and speared cracks into his dark tendrils, full and deep. Howl, already half spread through the wind, scattered across the planet and out across the stars; as did Seeker on the planet Mngeya. Every piece of them screaming across the galaxy, colliding with ships, planets and people; and where each mote hit burst with life.
The spirit of existence spread like diamonds across the stars. The same force the everflame had emitted twenty five years ago, but stronger, harder. The light hit the galaxy and at each point, a plant grew. A plant born of pure life, hungry, crawling and spreading to multiply and expand. They grew fast, as they had done before, when the flame was strong. Their roots pulled from the dirt, or the puddle, or the crumbs of soil on the floor of a ship. They spread and bloomed with great flowers and strong vines filled with barbs. The triffids marched again.
-
Tess grimaced when Reggie caught up with her, hitching on a smile as she took the datapad "Hi Annie. Yeah, about Blaze..." She glanced across at Reggie and then back to Annie, turning left a they neared the medbay "He was injured during an unscheduled jump. All the cargo was loose and it crushed his right arm."
On the screen Annie took in a sharp breath and said "Prosthetic?" Tess nodded and flicked he fringe to one side. At the doors to the medbay a nurse ushered the two of them through the wards. Annie shook her head and sighed "That boy is nothing but trouble. But so long as he is okay, losing an arm isn't the end of the world."
At the bridge of the carrier Captain Vladiik drummed his fingers on the arm of his seat, clicking his beak impatiently "When did you say we lost contact?"
The finch sitting at the computer screens massaged his forehead and groaned "As soon as they reached the bridge. All radio contact was lost with the explorators and-" He stopped, looking across to a screen which flashed. Vladiik looked from the finch to the computer expectantly. Frowning, the finch tapped the screen and stared for several long moments "Heat signals captain, just flared up all across the station." He looked up at Vladiik and the frown deepened "The same heat signals are also appearing across our own decks sir.... Thousands of them."
With a deep guttural growl that rattled the helmet speakers Grawn turned to the computer banks "Jaeka, find out what-" He blinked, the seat where Jaeka had sat mere moments before was empty and its soft plastic covering scorched and blackened. Grawn pointed his pistols accusingly at the explorators and growled again "Where did that son of a fox go-" Darkness enveloped the bridge again and tortured screams cut-off Grawn mid sentence.
Unlike the first time however, beams of light flared out from the helmets of several explorators. Even this did not completely lift the darkness as the torches ebbed and waned, with one going out in a flash of sparks, just as the florescent lights overhead had done. The sight that was illuminated by Blaze's helmet light twisted his stomach and churned its contents, fur prickling across his body.
Spiders. Not the small arachnids which could be found in every spaceship across the galaxy, nothing more than a nuisance to air-filters and long disused corners of cupboards, but arm-length metallic creatures with too many legs to count that swarmed and scittered across the ceiling. They dropped down on the men and women below with clicking mandibles and chattering limbs. Even the large form of Grawn had been overcome, pistols dropping from limp hands to clatter across the floor as metallic squeals and buzzing filled the room. Sparks flew and gunshots rang out as the explorators struggled and writhed, but armor was torn apart and helmet visors where sliced open to reveal the fleshy insides of the prey.
"Run you fool!" The words filtered slowly through Blaze's mind as he watched the horrific scene, insect-like machines skittering and clicking over the shuddering bodies. "Run!" This time the shout was accompanied by a strong tug on the arm. Karla with her face spattered in blood, helmet shattered and burst inwards, pulled Blaze towards the door. She fired off shots as she ran but they merely ricocheted off metallic bodies as the swarm surged in the direction of the last living creatures aboard the station.
-
Chronin could barely keep his eyes open as he regained consiousness. He didn't feel despair, anger, or even frustration. In fact, he couldn't even feel relief at being alive. I have no emotions... interesting. He could make out humanoid shapes coming towards him, then the feeling of being lifted up by almost three of those figures and dragged through the grass and woods until he felt his feet scraping against metal and linoleum. I suppose I could go to sleep for a few hours, I've been awake for almost two days now.
-
Reggie gave a sideward look at Annie through the datapad as they passed through into the medical bay.
"Are you sure you're okay. You dont seem that fussed that he just lost an arm." They strolled through the corridors and he took a peak into the different rooms as they passed. "I mean you're right, the prosthetic should be fine, but still..." Reggie leaned into Blaze's room with an empty bed. "Where's he gone?" After he spoke, a red light flashed on the wall and the fire alarm started to blare. A voice barked from the loudspeaker.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a problem in one of the wards and require anyone able to leave the medibay, to do so and gather in the assembly area outside the front doors." As the voice came through, it met the march of boots, as security moved through the corridor and evacuated people from their rooms. Those who couldn't move were wheeled out or defended by one guard each.
Lantz peered over Annie's shoulder as the drama unfolded, then faced ahead as they were guided into the carrier. They hovered over the other ships, then halted frozen by the carrier control. Roots and vines crawled across the floor and leaves sprung with flowers held aloft. These green creatures moved over all the craft and the carrier floor, while guards charged in, shooting them down. Back through their own ship, he heard a door slam.
"Shut the doors, lock the kitchen," said Tina. "There's a Triffid in my bloody room!"
The soldiers pulled Chronin through the tower, to the lower areas on the opposite end to where the dragon had broken through. The three scientists, Jerime, Deas and Jenna followed on behind to a small complex of labs. Windows looked out across the landscape where triffids were sprouting from the ground.
"How long until this guy wakes up?" asked one of the soldiers. Jerime, the red panda in the mint suit, shrugged.
"Probably a while. That... whatever that was took a lot out of him, literally." They laid Chronin down on a bed and tied him with straps and clamps. Three of the soldiers stepped back and watched him with suspicion, while the last checked the restraints.
"We'll be back with security that's a bit more robust, but for now this will have to do." The scientist huddled around the dragon and began cautious examination
-
Nero howled in agony as he felt pain for the first time. The fissures throughout his body ran to his very core. A dark purple light emanated from each crack as they spiderwebbed across his being. His howl quickly silenced itself as his body destabilized, no longer able to control and contain the power inside him. With a blast the size of a small supernova, Nero's body shattered like glass. Dozens of fragments scattered across the galaxy, streaking through space like black spears. The shards buried themselves into planets, ships, and space stations. The shards radiated with dark energy that bled into the very fabric of reality as the areas around them twisted to match them.
And where Nero once stood, a small black mass sat motionless...barely alive.
-
Annie pushed her hair back and met Reggie's glance. "I'm fine. Just incredibly preoccupied..." She huffed a small sigh "So long as Tess says he is okay... Blaze always knew the dangers of the job." Now smiling and closing her eyes a moment as if in prayer, she sighed "All I want now is to be there for him, and for you too Reg." Her eyes opened again and she looked over her shoulder with a frown. For a moment the datapad showed the ceiling and then it fell.
The shouted loudhailer instructions crackled through the speaker of the datapad as it dropped to the floor with a clatter. At the other end, on the carrier, shouting and the sound of lashing vines where the only things that could be heard as the view skidded across the steel flooring, showing feet bustling and tendrils spreading.
Screams and blasts of high velocity flechette sounded throughout the corridors of the carrier. Security personnel ran back and forth, boots clattering and crashing over the steel floor as engineers and other civilians fled in the wake of the advancing tendrils and vines. Yuri ran, breath raking behind his gas-mask. Beside him another security guard brandished his shock-baton at a group of engineers and pointed down the corridor "Follow us, we're assembling outside the medical bay to rendezvous with security there!" Yuri did his best to help shepherd the men and women towards the medibay, drawing and charging his own baton as they reached the entrance doors.
"Lock down the entire ship! I'm declaring a Code Red infection." Vladiik reached for a gas-mask and slipped it on. The other crew members at the bridge followed suit, the finch doing so with shaking hands.
Suddenly, with a shriek of tearing metal, the doors of the bridge bulged inwards. With a shout the security personnel leaped forwards, only to be smashed back as the doors finally caved and a pressing mass of triffids spilled into the room. Vines and roots snaked out, searching for prey as the venemous stings in the flowering heads lashed out. Most broke across the gas-masks but one lashed through the thick material and a junior-officer fell to the ground with a yelp.
"Protect the Captain!" The shout rang out even as the triffids advanced with implacable strength. Only five security guards remained, surrounding Vladiik as they fired wildly at the approaching plants. The young finch lay dead where he had sat at his control panel in a pool of blood. Vladiik roared in defiance as the guards that sought to protect him, and finally he himsel, where dragged to the ground under a mass of hungry vines.
The doors opened far too slowly, hissing as they slid to either side. Karla shoved Blaze through the doorway as soon as the gap was wide enough for him to pass through, scraping some of the dark red paint off at one shoulder to reveal the gleaming metal beneath. Even as she pushed through herself Karla slapped the door control, sending them sliding closed again.
For one moment it seemed she would make it. Blaze leaned against a wall, loading his own pistol and taking in deep shuddering breaths that rattled through the suit filters. As he retched a high-pitched buzz rose into a shriek and one of the mechanical insects caught Karla's left leg as it passed over the threshold of the door. The small machine was far stronger than it appeared for, legs chattering and whirring, it dragged Karla down to the ground with a crash.
That small moment was enough. Other spiders had reached her, buzzing and whirring as they dragged her backwards into the bridge again. Karla drew her pistol and turned to fire, bullets rebounding off the metal hide of the closest insect as it tore through her leg with white-hot claws. Blaze rushed forward, even as the doors slid inexorably closer together. Finally Karla turned her head to look up to meet Blaze's eyes, and fired. The door panel exploded and the doors came crashing firmly together.
Blaze slumped, beating at the steel with his fists, shouting and yelling. Tears streamed down his cheeks as beyond the door screams and the sound of more shots being fired reverberated through the empty corridor.
-
Reggie looked up the corridor where people poured out, both sick and well. He turned back to the room for one last look.
"Tess, he's not here, where the hell is he?" A soldier jogged through, checking the rooms as he went. He tapped Reggie on the arm.
"Sir, madam, you've got to leave, everyone else is assembled outside." Reggie gave a frustrated bark then nodded to the soldier and turned to Tess.
"If he's going to be anywhere, he'll be there."
Tina held her door down, while Lantz stood among a pile of leaves and petals with Annie's gun in his hand. he now held it at his side as he kept the door to the kitchen shut. The sound of vines whipped and pulled at it. The creature dug at the joints trying to pry it off. Tiz took control of the ship. The carrier's control over them faltered and the ship lurched until it fell straight down. QUick thrust held them over the ground, burning triffids at the same time, while others reached their tendrils across to the hull. The doors in the ship twisted and bent, being pulled and dragged by the triffids behind them.
"How many guns have we got?" Lantz yelled over to Tina who gave a quick laugh.
"Beside the one you've got? One, and it's in my room." She gave a grin until one of the triffids slammed against the door she held shut.
-
Tess looked around the room incredulously and ran a hand through her fringe. She glanced from the room to outside and then back again. "I don't know. He was here, right here..." Still staring at the empty bed Tess barely heard Reggie and the soldier talking, and it was only when Reggie addressed her directly that she looked up at him "Yeah, I guess so. Lets get going then." The Datapad Reggie still held had gone blank, a small flashing message in the center of the screen reading -Signal Lost-
Annie slammed her shoulder into place against the door Tina held, pushing back against it as the hinges creaked in protest. She gave a short laugh "Triffids! Well hasn't that just made my day."
She pushed desperately back as the Triffid in Tina's room thrashed and slammed against it again. "Lantz, give me my gun!" Still holding back against the door Annie held out a hand to him, head flicking to the door and back "I know how to kill these things. Just give me my gun and cover your eyes... We're going to have to open this door."
Blood pounded through Blaze's ears as he ran through the empty corridors of the station. His breath rattled through the air filter of the suit and the visor steamed up, despite assurances from the mechanicus armory that it wouldn't. Retracing the route the group had taken up to the bridge the corridors stretched endlessly before him.
Lungs burning Blaze stopped and leaned heavily against the steel wall. With a press of a button he flipped the visor open, taking in a gulps of air. He retched, clutching the wall for support as his stomach heaved again and he wiped away the blood that flecked his suit.
Moments later he started off at a run again, the fear in him renewed, for behind him the florescent lights had started to flicker and one by one went out.
-
Reggie and Tess headed out through the main doors to exit the medibay. A perimeter of guards had been erected with some milling about the crowd while sound of scratching and crackling met with gunshots echoed along the metal walls. Reggie headed to the crowd and tapped a rather young looking guard on the shoulder. Yuri turned and looked up at him with electric prod ready.
"Whoa, hey. I'm looking for a cat-fox kid with a fake arm? Name's Blaze, you seen anythin' like that?"
Lantz screwed his face and raised a brow at the gun request. "Give you a gun? Just tell me what to do and I'll bloody kill it. This is the only gun we have, remember?" He held the pistol to his chest while he pressed to the kitchen door as vines whipped and pulled against it. "Though first I need to deal with this one."
-
Yuri pushed his gas-mask up grinning, despite the situation, as he recognized Reggie "Hey, your Miss Annie's guy. We met in your cell when I had to get you some clothes?" His grin widened and it was with sheer luck that he missed Reggie for a second time with the crackling end of his shock baton "Yeah, I'm a friend of Blaze... But no I havent seen him since all this craziness started." Yuri held the weapon sheepishly behind his back and frowned "Wasn't he with you in the medbay?"
An exasperated huff escaped Annie's lips as she pushed back against her and Tina's door. "Fine! Fine, you do that." She ran from one side to the other and slammed into the door beside Lantz with a grunt. Flicking her ponytail over her shoulder she nodded back into the cockpit "You, get over there... When I open the door Tina you need to cover your eyes. Lantz, aim for the flower at the top."
She paused to push back as the kitchen door creaked. "Triffids have a stinger in their bloom, that's the most dangerous thing at the moment." The hinges groaned and one popped out of its housing in the frame "Give it three or four shots to the flower, then aim the rest at the center. That pistol should have enough charge in its cell for a good fifty shots... Give or take."
Blaze hit the ramp of the mechanicus shuttle at a sprint. Behind him lights flickered and went out with dull thunks, plunging the hangar bay into darkness. Once in the shuttle he jabbed desperately at the ramp controls. With panting breath and wide eyes Blaze watched the rampway rise slowly, ever so slowly as darkness slid closer. Finally, and as the last lights went out in the hangar, the ramp closed with a hiss.
-
Reggie puffed with frustration and gave a grimace.
"No he's long gone, and I don't see him in this crowd neither." He scratched his head and pulled a little on his fur. "I don't have time for this, we gotta get going. Annie's waiting for us in the hangar bay." He craned his neck and looked over everyone's heads, catching glimpses of triffids down corridors. "You think the whole carrier's like this?"
Lantz moved to the back wall and aimed at the door.
"Alright, I'm ready," he said. Tina growled as she pressed to her bedroom door.
"Hurry up you idiot. This bloody thing is breaking through." The door had buckled and bent, ready to burst.
-
"Hangar? You cant go to any hangars, those things are everywhere." Yuri rubbed his neck and glanced back to where the lines of guards were readying riot shields and weaponry. He looked back to Tess, but the young vixen was bobbing on her feet, trying to see over the guards and chewing her lip. "Look, I have no idea what is going on. No one does!"
His voice rose in desperation as the first shouts rose from the line of guards "Its absolute craziness out there. You'd do good to stay here." The last part seemed to have been aimed at Tess more than Reggie. Yuri watched as she continued to ignore him, glancing around at the people in the crowd. "Tess!" He shouted and finally caught her attention "He's not here Tess, space knows where he is..."
Annie nodded and turned the handle, shouting as she hurled herself across the room to the door Tina held shut "Shoot it!" She hit the door hard and covered her head with her arms. With the force holding the door closed gone it exploded outwards, torn from its hinges to door smash into the opposite wall. As the plant lurched through the doorway its constant tick-tocking rose in ferocity and a return call from Tina's bedroom answered. Tendrils lashed out into the corridor, pulling the bulk of the Triffid with it out through the doorway as one thrashing mass of leaves and vines.
"Pilot!" Blaze shouted, his voice hoarse and his breathing strained. He stumbled through the shuttle to the door that separated the cockpit. It opened at a press of a button and Blaze stepped through, clutching the wall for support "Get us out of here-" He choked on his words as the stench of blood filled his nostrils. Every surface was covered in it, a thin red film that glistened in the florescent light. From among the mutilated remains of the pilot a buzzing and whirring creature burst out amid a haze of blood. It leaped onto Blaze, limbs chattering, slashing and biting ferociously as it whined and screeched.
-
Reggie looked to his datapad, with the message failure message still staring back up at him.
"We don't have time for this." He moved past Yuri, heading to the guard perimeter. "Anything could happen while we're searching blindly. Let's get to Annie and figure out what to do from there." he looked back to Tess and gestured her to follow and he moved up to the guards as they faced out to the corridors. He looked around, searching for a good route out before he turned back to Yuri. "Hey kid, make sure we don't get stopped yeah?"
Lantz went wide eyed and held the pistol up firing into the flower in a burst of gold. Petals flew in an explosion of shreds, while a screech dragged out of the Triffid. More gunshots, now to the body, leaves and vines falling to the ground until a heap of green littered the corridor. The screams continued now from the other Triffid, loud and fierce as the bedroom door exploded outward, slamming Tina into the wall. Lantz turned and fired again while a stinging vine whipped out from the bloom and sliced toward Annie.
-
Tess grabbed Yuri by the ear as he opened his mouth to argue "Do as he says, it wasn't a request kiddo."
The young lynx pulled out of her grip and shouted "No! What gives you the right?" He pointed a finger accusingly, glaring. "You always pushed me around, just because I'm the kid of the group! You any idea what that's like?"
Lip curling into a snarl Tess raised a fist as though to hit him, but instead the threat fell limp at her side. She sighed and pulled Yuri into a rough hug " 'Course I got no idea what that's like. Your a brother to me Yuri, and I should've apologized to you before now for all that." Yuri tensed and then his shoulders sagged as he hugged the girl back. Kissing him across the cheek Tess let him go and ruffled his hair, then jerked her head back towards Reggie and the line of security "I know I don't deserve it, but for Blaze and Annie maybe?"
Yuri glanced over at Reggie and then nodded "Fine. But if you see him again, you owe Blaze that very same apology too."
Annie hit the opposite wall hard, arms held over her head. The stinger lashed at her and drew blood in a raking line across her arm. She yelled in pain as Lantz's shots hit home with a series of shredding bursts that blew petals up in a violet hued cloud. The Triffid screeched and thrashed, sap oozing from it as it shuddered and recoiled. Arms still covering her eyes Annie crawled blindly away from the creature as vines whipped out in every direction.
Claws chattered and tore at flesh and Armour as Blaze wrestled with the metallic creature. It clung to his helmet and, inches from Blaze's eyes, inhuman jaws that whirred in concentric rings slathered blue-fire sparks. With a shout Blaze stumbled to one side and brought the thing into the wall with a crunch and tore it from his helmet.
Whirring and screaming the machine hit a series of pipes with a loud clang. Blaze reached for his gun and drew it as the creature scuttled towards him, whirring and buzzing. He fired again and again, muzzle flashing and spewing energy until it glowed red hot. Plumes of sparks and light burst all over the creature as it leaped through the air. Metal carapace charred and twisted as the ear-splitting screech grew louder.
Blaze yelled in terror as the last shot punched its way through the machine and, with a final surge of strength, he brought his prosthetic arm up to smash the creature aside. It buzzed and whirred in a mangled heap, skittering across the steel floor. Blood running from the scratches across his face and arms Blaze stamped down with one armored boot and spat defiantly on the remains.
-
Reggie pulled Yuri to the front and thrust him to the guards who let him pass. He and Tess walked along behind as he held his smirk though his eyes darted across the corridors ahead. Gun fire and plant life whipped about. They headed forward accelerating into a jog while they ducked past soldiers running past with cracked armour and aging guns. Ahead was a sign to the hangar that pointed over to a twisted hunk of door, soldiers with weapons ablaze rattling through the ship, and corpses smeared. Reggie headed to it, and grabbed at one of the guns on the floor. He wrenched it from the guard whose cold hand gripped it tight.
The triffid tumbled into a heap on the floor while its broken shreds floated down after it. As they fell, so did the door from the wall. It dropped with a clang and Tina slid, crumpled behind it. Lantz slid the gun into his pocket then climbed through the ship and kneeled to her side. He placed his fingers to her neck, checked her pulse and sighed in relief, before checking the wounds. He then turned back to Annie.
"You okay?" he asked.
-
Yuri pulled his own gun from across his back. He walked purposefully ahead of the two with his weapon primed and sweat beading across his forehead. "That's it there." He nodded to the hangar doors and slid the gasmask back down. His voice sounded muffled but audible behind the clear full-face visor of the mask "I can go first. You two try and find Annie as quick as you can."
Annie did not reply to Lantz, instead sucking at the cut on her forearm. She pulled her head away from the fresh wound and spat a mouthful of blood and inky venom across the floor. Shuddering she sucked again and spat away three more times before finally collapsing back against the wall behind her. "No, I'm not okay. That thing didn't get me in the eyes but it still stung me." She grimaced and tore away a strip of material from her jacket. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she tightened the material around her upper arm. She spoke between gritted teeth as she worked "The venom works quick. I don't have long, and no anti-venom either."
Blaze stumbled to the pilot seat and collapsed into it, clutching the arms of the chair as he took in deep gulping breaths. He wiped away the blood from instruments and held back another urge to retch. It took a moment to find the correct switches, then light spilled out from under the wings of the shuttle across the steel floor of the hangar. Blaze flicked another switch and the ship hummed into life, engines growing to a deep throb. He gripped the controls and clenched his teeth, muttering as the ship lifted away from the floor "Its just like a mag-bike. Just like a mag-bike. Just a mag-bike..."
-
"Well then let's get going, come on." Reggie nudged him on and followed on behind until they reached the doors and peered beyond. Ahead, guards blasted away as petals, leaves and torn stems drifted to the ground among triffids that whipped their stingers that sprouted upon a long tendril, reaching from the golden flowers. Screams burned through the air at every slash and cut, and every person that crumpled to the floor. At the centre, a rickety little ship hovered and creaked above it all. A few plants had a grip on its hull and were pulling themselves up onto it.
Inside, Lantz grumbled to himself, then looked over at Annie.
"You think you can last a while. We can fix you up back at the planet."
"Hey, there's some people here. Two foxes dressed as civilians." Tiz yelled back out through the cockpit. Lantz got up from Tina's side and ran to the cockpit to look out over the hangar bay. He made a quick return and nudged Annie in the shoulder.
"You think you can get up to the cockpit and identify or do i have to carry you?" he asked.
-
Annie spat out another mouthful of venom of venom and shrugged to Lantz "I've done what I can." She slumped against the wall and closed her eyes, grimacing. "The venom will be slowed, maybe even enough time..."
Her eyes flicked open again at Tiz's shout from the cockpit. She pushed herself up onto her elbows and grinned at Lantz's question "I'm still conscious aren't I?" With a grunt of pain Annie got to her feet and walked through to the cockpit, a great sigh of relief escaping as she clutched the pilot seat and waved at the figures below "Space, yes. Its them alright!"
Triffids crawled everywhere, but clustered around the ramps of several shuttles which were attempting to take off. Yuri glanced around at the chaos and then stepped through the doors "You better hope she isn't aboard one of those shuttles, Triffids are crawling over them-" He stopped mid-sentence and grinned. "There she is, the small ship up there!"
Even as Yuri shouted triumphantly his grin slipped and turned to a look of dismay. Beyond the hangar entrance, stretching out as far as they could see to either side lay the thick-steel skin of the space-station, lights flickering and flashing across its surface. "Oh god. Tess, I have seen Blaze!" Tess rounded on him, oblivious to the Triffids that where lurching towards them and the screams and explosions.
"What? Yuri!" She grabbed him by the lapels, shaking him viciously "Where? Where have you seen him?" The young Lynx tore away from her and clutched his head with one hand. He swore repeatedly under his breath "Christ, I know where he is. The space station. All of the explorators went to the station in a shuttle."
Blaze jostled with the controls of the shuttle, dragging back as it juddered and shook. Cold sweat drenched his back. The carrier steadily grew larger as he hurtled towards it, away from the darkness and the terror. Behind him, in the confined space of the cockpit, something buzzed like a wounded wasp. In a spray of blood a long claw-like limb burst out through his chest, blood and pain obscuring his vision as he screamed, the buzzing growing until it was a shriek.
Despite the pain that filled every inch of his body he twisted around and drew the pistol from its holster. He fired again and again, shrieks and buzzing echoing as tears streamed from his eyes. Through the window of the cockpit the carrier grew rapidly larger and larger. The control display flashed warnings and Blaze fired one last time into the twitching remains of metal and sparks.
-
Lantz couldn't help but smirk.
"Alright, Tiz get the ship over to them and open the doors when you're close enough." He turned to Annie and gestured to the co-pilot seat. "You sit yourself down and stay there. I'll sort anything that comes up." He moved back through the ship to where Tina lay unconscious with a drip of blood from her head.
The craft swayed and swerved under the weight of a triffid latched to the side. It dragged along the floor and reached its vines to the opening doors.
"Yuri cover us." Reggie grabbed Tess's arm and pulled her away toward the ship. He hoisted his gun up to aim with one hand, firing off little bursts that tore into Triffids, sending leaves and petals to fall among the rest that formed a green carpet, stained with red. Stingers sliced through the air, and among the roar of the engines came the screams of the wounded.
-
The mechanicus shuttle plowed blindly through a fleeing civilian space-liner, impacting with a muffled whoosh of flames and flying debris. What little remained of the the ship burst out the other side of the silver hull and careened through the open hangar. As a bright comet of flames it smashed through triffids and ships, the floor rumbling and shuddering as the lights overhead all went out.
Sudden darkness followed, lit only by flickering flames and blue-flashing sparks. Tess yelled and screamed as she beat her free fist against Reggie and struggling to run towards the remains of the shuttle. Yuri, who had been firing controlled bursts into the surrounding Triffids, dropped his gun to his side and stared up at the mangled remains of the explorator shuttle with dreaded realisation.
Yuri was the quicker of the two to recover from the shock, running to catch up with Tess and Reggie and help drag the kicking and screaming girl towards the ship. Even as the doors to the ship grew closer and closer Triffids bore down on the three, vines lashing out at running feet and stingers slashing through the air. With a crack like a whip one vine caught Tess across the ankle, dragging her down to the ground with inhuman strength. Without a moments hesitation Yuri threw himself at the Triffid with all his strength, pumping his gun into the writhing mass, breaking the vines that held Tess down, shredding leaves and flowers. He shouted over his shoulder at the two, still firing into the mass of Triffids that encircled him "Get going!" Tess lost sight of him as Reggie dragged her to the open ramp, lifting her bodily into the ship.
Annie held her head in one hand, forcing back the urge to retch. She looked up through the cock-pit window and the chaos beyond. Darkness swathed everything, flames spread and sparks flashed; but in amongst it all a small droid sat atop the nose of the crashed shuttle. With mechanical persitance it pulled and dragged at something that was hard to discern at a distance, and it was only when it had pulled more than half of it through the smashed window that it was obviously a limp body clad in explorator armour.
-
"They're on, shut the doors and get us out. We've stayed way too long as it is." Lantz yelled through the ship, then ran to the rear where the two new passengers dragged themselves aboard with the door shut behind them and plant debris scattered around. The engines squealed into an excited blaze as they burned the ground and blasted through the hangar bay toward the open stars. The bloody form on the crashed ship shrunk as they streaked through the chaos of bullets and vines until the metal passed and they entered the empty beyond.
Reggie leaned to the wall, with only a token grip on Tess as she stared and beat the rear door. Lantz stuck beside Tina, and checked over her injuries while letting off little murmurs of relief. Tiz watched the dark with a smile on her face and hints of tears on her furred face, bursting their dams as she powered up the hyperdrive, bringing that familiar rattle that ran through the ship. She kept her eyes away from Annie.
-
Annie watched as the carrier shrank into the distance, flames and debris spilling out of the hangar behind them. She pushed herself out of the co-pilot seat and moved to follow Lantz, her gaze falling on Tiz, tears in the young girl's eyes. Annie moved through to the back of the ship with a growing sense of icy trepidation that clenched at her insides.
Even as the ship juddered and rattled into hyperspace Tess beat her fists against the door, tears rolling down her cheeks. She shouted with a fierce anger in her voice. "He's dead. Both of them, they're dead... And nothing I could do!" She finally stopped pounding and let her head fall into the crook of her arm against the door.
"Reggie-" Tess looked up with red-rimmed eyes to see Annie, clutching the door frame, amber eyes glistening. She gasped again and her legs, normally space-faring and strong, gave way until she lay crumpled against the door frame. Tears brimmed in her eyes as she shook her head slowly and held back gasps of pain. "Don't say it's Blaze. Please, don't say it is him." She swore halfheartedly and clutched at her chest, breaths coming as deep shudders and gasps.
-
Reggie relinquished his grip on Tess, letting her loose to droop against the metal. He turned to Annie, and in his face he wanted relief. Happiness pressed and stretched at his skin as he watched her, but with the view came the gut-wrenching pull she let out. He went to her and closed his great arms around her; kept pressed to his chest.
Lantz gathered Tina up in his arms, and made his movements silent, sidling past the grievers into his captain's bedroom. He laid her down onto the soft covers, headed back out to the corridor cupboard and returned with a bandage. He plastered it to her head where the blood seeped and taped it down. The ship's rattling grew and the ship shook itself into a cacophony of mechanical grind and clatter. It built and roared like a oncoming train, screaming into every ear, until a burst of light shook through the ship and hyperspace welcomed them.
Lantz stood up and moved through the ship to the cockpit, where the twelve year old sat, hidden by the back of her chair. He gripped the headrest and leaned over, looking down at the mouse.
"When we get back home, message the compound. Tell them to open the doors and ready the weapons. We can't park outside so we'll have to drop right into the main lock," he said. The girl nodded without looking away from the spewing lights of hyperspace, and the navigation display running down the minutes until they arrived.
-
Annie clutched at Reggie's chest, seeking the comfort of his warmth and strength like a child to a father. She weeped without restraint now and drew in choking breaths. Tears rolled down her cheeks and glistened in her amber eyes. "I promised his father that the boy would be safe." Her words sounded choked, coming between deep shuddering breaths. "I promised he would have a better life than we did." She clenched the front of Reggie's shirt hard and kept her head turned down, tears dripping down to the steel floor.
Tess slumped down with her back to the door of the ship, pulling her knees to her chest. Her bleach-blonde hair fell down over her eyes which watched Annie and Reggie embrace with shimmering tears in them. She let out a deep sigh and pushed herself to her feet, walked silently past the two foxes and continued through to the cockpit. Tess wiped the tears from her eyes as she sat down in the co-pilot seat and glanced across as Tiz, then to the navigation display. She flicked her fringe to one side and smiled weakly "Hi kid, 'names Tess."
-
Reggie opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again and held Annie tighter. He made a move to guide her to a chair, then stopped again and held her tighter. His arms became awkward, his face unsure, so he held her tighter.
Lantz and Tiz looked over at her and the lizard nodded while Tiz gave a smile.
"I'm Tiz," she said. "And this is my buddy Lantz." She looked up at him, then to the timer display. Numbers raced down and in front of them, hyperspace spewed light and colour, until it wriggled and bent.
"We'll be arriving soon." Lantz headed to one of the rear cockpit chairs and strapped himself in. "It'll be shaky coming out. It'll be way worse when we land." A light flared on the control panel, and a window out to the stars stretched apart infront of them, throwing the ship in a violent shudder into normal space, poised over the planet Mngeya. Reggie held to the wall while clung to Annie, resting to it with her. Tiz grinned as she saw the planet look up at them. A light on the main screen indicated the base, and they headed down, entering the atmosphere. The forests wriggled across the surface of the planet, a seething wave of green leaves and golden flowers. The ship rattled against the atmosphere. It shook and roared with new molecules pounding against the rickety nose. In the kitchen, bottles fell, and in the corridors came wall panels, tumbling from their place. The point of light at the screen grey and spread as they fell toward the bunker. Tiz raced through the communication controls until the message was sent. A floor of grey revealed below as the bunker doors spread.
-
With a shudder that ran through her frame Annie pressed her cheek to Reggie's chest, and finally returned the embrace, linking her arms around his waist. She stayed that way for a few moments as the ship started to rattle and shake, then looked up into Reggie's eyes and said "It's all gone wrong Reg. None of this should have happened." Then, even as the pain that had started in her arm shook through her again, she kissed him.
Tess buckled herself in as well and watched the young girl pilot the ship with a curious eye. She lay back into the headrest of the seat and drew her knees up again, the dappled greens of the planet growing closer and closer, flashing past below.
-
Reggie shut his eyes when their lips met, and he leaned to the wall to keep them steady.
"Will you two bloody sit down!" Lantz yelled to them from the cockpit and the fox complied, bringing Annie down to sit nestled in the corner while the ship shook with the force of hell. The bunker doors in front yawned open and Triffids reached in, crawling across the dirt and tumbling into the dark cavern while the ship burned toward them. Leaves from the tallest trees whipped against the hull, , the branched, twigs, thudding. The mouse girl pressed for slowing thrusters and airbrakes; the ship screamed. Pieces of the walls came loose and clanged against the floor as they lurched in deceleration, blasting past trees and slicing through the doors, breaking through two triffids on route. As they passed into the bunker, a blue gel spread from the floor and reached for the ship, latching on in an embrace that eased into to thud against the ground. The force was still great, and threw the passengers forward. Reggie and Annie pressed to the floor while a crash came out from Tina's room. The ship had stopped. The bunker doors closed as internal lights flickered into life. More doors opened leading into the compound, where Tabby, a young cat marched out with gun ready. She blasted the last living triffid in the airlock and waved up to the cockpit with a smile.
"Hey guys, we made it." Tiz grinned as she looked back through the ship. Groaning came from Tina's room as she stumbled out.
"Thank heck for that." She held her head and leaned against the corridor with a glance back at Reggie. "Who the hell are you?"
-
Annie clung to Reggie as the ship decelerated, still kissing him after the ship landed with a crunch. When she finally pulled away from him blood marked both their lips and the same bright red ran from the corner of her mouth. She wiped the blood away hastily, then fell backwards away from Reggie, catching herself from hitting the floor with an outstretched hand. Steadying herself on the floor she pressed the palm of her hand to her chest and shuddered again.
Tess unbuckled herself from the seat and stood, glancing around at the others in the ship, casting a look towards Tina and then to the cat outside the ship. She stood at the edge of the cockpit, flicking her tail back and forth unsure as to what to do. The usual glint of mischief had gone from her eyes and the streaks left from tears ran down her cheeks.
-
"Open the rear doors," Lantz said and Tiz complied, before she too unbuckled herself from the chair. Lantz looked back through the corridor to Tina who stood groggy in the corridor as she looked down at the bleeding vixen.
"The hell happened to her?" Tina asked, while Reggie gasped and fumbled as Annie crumpled in his arms.
"What's going on, what's going on?" he cried. He froze, afraid. Tabby ran to the rear opening door and peered inside. Lantz waved to grab her attention.
"This woman's been poisoned, take her to Hasina, see what she can do about it, and hurry," he said. Tabby nodded and clambered past Reggie and pull Annie to her feet. Reggie took note and helped, hoisting his vixen to lean on him before taking her down the ramp to the doors. In the ship, Tiz looked up to Tess, peering at her face.
"Are you okay?" she asked. Meanwhile Lantz moved to Tina, checking her wound.
-
Annie's vision swam and blurred as Reggie and Tabby half guided, half carried her down the ramp. Hlafway to the doors she retched, bright blood spattering the floor, her whole body shuddering as she felt Reggie pull her up again. Past that point everything turned to a haze. People moved around her and she could hear the sounds of voices but it sounded distant and muffled as she was rushed away from the ship.
Tess met Tiz's gaze and for a moment it looked as thought she might smile, then she hung her head "No... No i'm not." She huffed a small sigh and fell back into the co-pilot seat, drawing her knees to her chest and watching the slow blink of one of the many controls in the cockpit. Her eyes stayed intently on the little light as she spoke to the young girl in a small voice quite unlike her usual self "Two of the best people I ever knew died today. One of them I think I might even had loved, and I did nothing to prevent it."
She looked away from the control panel, back into Tiz's eyes "And now Annie is gonna die to. And there is nothing I can do about that either." With a long and drawn out sigh she pressed her palm to her forehead and said "Every person I thought mattered is gone, and the worst part is I'm alive to know it."
-
Grace, a ring-tailed lemur, beckoned the group into a nearby room. Reggie and Tabby carried Annie through and lifted her onto a bed that had a medical scanner sat beside it with mechanical arms outstretched. Grace pulled the arms over Annie's body and started the scanner. It swooped over the Vixen, streaming information into a long list of words and numbers that poured down a screen. Reggie gripped his arms with nails dug in. Warning lights lit up. Blood smeared down Annie's mouth and soaked into the bed. Her fur glistened while her eyes faded. Staring up at the ceiling, a daze came over her. Light burned in her eyes until it all faded. More warning lights, more blood.
"Do something then," Reggie yelled while the Lemur red the screen with frozen serious expression etched into her. She closed her eyes and shook her head as the red warnings went out and a new white light appeared.
She turned the machine off.
Lantz and Tina headed out toward the bunker doors, while inside the ship, Tiz took Tess's hand.
"Tina says... When I lost my parents Tina said that I shouldn't blame myself or the people who killed them. Just remember what you learned." She gave a grin. "And I learned that there will always be new people, different people. I haven't got my parents but I've got her." She looked over to the bunker doors where Tina and Lantz headed through together. "Now you've got her too."
-
Tess glanced down at her hand, held tightly in the mouse girl's small palm. She listened with ears flat to her head and, once Tiz had finished, looked out into the bunker to see Tina and Lantz. She sighed and shook her head. "My parents died when I was young too. Annie took me in like a daughter, and I grew up alongside Blaze all my life. It's just painful to think all of them are gone just like that."
Her body tensed, then she looked back to Tiz and the young girl's bright grin. Tess sat for several moments just watching her smile before saying "You're right. There always will be new people." She returned the smile with her own weak imitation and squeezed Tiz's hand gently "And even though I don't think I will ever stop blaming myself, maybe there is something I can learn from all this. The others died to keep me alive. I need to make sure they didn't die for nothing."
-
The End