Boris was about to thank the tin man who hadn't provided a name, but he quickly turned his back on Boris and ushered the two girls away. Boris didn't mind at all, in fact he thought very little of it. Instead, he was busy repeating the words that the tin man told him, making sure he wouldn't forget what the messages said. He had pretty much memorized the words pretty well when one of the girls with the tin man broke away and started a dash up the street toward a store named:
Delicious Delights
Of course, Boris couldn't read but, judging by the nice tasty colors of the sign over the door, he figured it must have been a candy store, and the display of actual candy in the shopfront windows was a dead giveaway.
Boris sure did like candy, a lot, and his own tin of hard candy was running low. Refilling his candy supply was an obvious priority before continuing on his job to find the people who hurt the invisible girl, so he too started his way towards the candy store with a happy spring in his step.
When he entered the store, the shop attendant gave Boris a strange look. A man like him probably wasn't expected to be seen in a place like that. Again, Boris didn't pay the look of the attendant too much mind, he was already too busy looking over the jars of candy lined up along the shop counter. His mouth was watering a lot, and making a decision of which candy to buy was very, very difficult.
Madison
Madison didn't bother turning her attention back to the woman who had been staring at her, and she soon grew tired of the blood display on the church tower. She knew all there was to know about that. Taking up the pastry from the counter, she shoved the whole damn thing in her mouth without thanking the stallholder and started walking towards the nearest inn she could see. Probably best to secure a room so she didn't have to do so later.
Like most people, the receptionist at the desk couldn't wait for Madison to get the hell away from him. He took her money, gagged on her stench a few times, and practically threw the key across the counter at her.
Up in her room, she took a small look over the town from her window, but didn't stay long. Locking her room behind her, she headed down the stairs and back out on the street. Her next order of business was clear: A hardy breakfast. One pastry was hardly even an appetizer. She had seen just the place to go from the window in her room, some Diner called:
Big Alf's BLD
(Big Alf's Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner)
It was located just north of the bazaar, and that's exactly where Madison was headed.
The three encroaching cylindrical objects held position near their points of appearance and became utterly still.
Captain Soun attempts to deliver a message to the alien structures via various general frequencies, naturally uncertain if any of these frequencies are actually those used by estranged alien technological establishments. One way or another, there was but a short wait of silent anticipation before a response was received on each of the various frequencies used. Each response was the same:
“Unknown Vessel. We are the Lanist Khaganate, and we come in peace,”
Meanwhile, the electromagnetic-wave scans uncover what might be seen as disturbing. They manage to confirm the shape and size of the many hundreds of objects in the solar system, the structural parameters of which may show up on the Captain’s telemetry. But, for the instant after the electromagnetic-wave made contact with each of the alien objects, they vanished. For what was merely a few seconds every alien object in the solar system seemed to… cease to exist. What was even more curious, is that for the minuscule instant before they vanished, many more objects were detected by the electromagnetic scan. It would seem that there were other unseen objects occupying this solar system as well. If the Khaganate captured an image of what was seen in that minuscule moment, they would see a vast network of tens of thousands of objects of various size and dimensions throughout the solar system, most of which were not visible outside of that instant.
Upon the reappearance of the objects that were already visible prior to the event, The Khaganate fleet find themselves systematically scanned by electromagnetic waves, apparently no different to their own. Like the message sent out on various frequencies, the scans appear to be relayed back to them, that, or maybe their technology was being mimicked down to the finest detail. It would be impossible to tell which.
The absorption spectrum on the other hand, had no perceivable effect. Whatever substance these alien structures were made of, did not allow such absorption technology to penetrate.
Despite these three efforts providing no firm information of just what the Khaganate were dealing with, a few minutes transpired before the first of the cylindrical objects to appear dispersed a violet flash of light. The short flash of light enveloped the whole Khaganate fleet like a cocoon for an instant in time, though no effect would have otherwise been felt.
Soon, however, there was an effect to be felt by Khaganate. Each vessel in the fleet would have felt it simultaneously. Just seconds after the flash of violet light, the fleet was shaken. The instance, that lasted no more than a second or two, could be comparable to the sudden turbulence felt by in an airplane. Yet, whatever caused this effect on the fleet wouldn’t be determined; it was accompanied by no known energy reading at all. Immediately following the impact, several hundred random Khaganate, both civilian and personnel alike throughout the fleet, would have felt lightheaded. An unlucky few of those people would have felt dizzy enough to collapse, though every individual effected would recover within a minute or two, undamaged.
Close to fifteen minutes then pass before every functional speaker device in every ship and in any room or on any person equipped with a functional audio communication or media device of any kind, receives an offensively loud screech, similar to that of an audio feedback squeal. The tremendous screech resonates through every vessel for near seven seconds before sharply cutting out.
The three massive cylindrical structures hold their positions, unchanging. Now, the center structure, though keeping its position, releases a spherical object. Its exterior however does not open up to release the sphere, the sphere simply appears to form from the cylinders curved exterior like a bubble rising from a surface before detaching. The sphere has a 50.555meter diameter, its surface apparently comprised of the same substance the cylinders are. It moved directly, though slowly, towards the Khaganate flagship, but stops at 100.555meters from the foremost point of the flagships bow. No propulsion systems are detected. No energy. Like the cylindrical structures, it gives off no readings at all. It looks like nothing more than a massive stone ball.
In the hangar of the Atlas, just a second or two after the fleet was shaken by the unknown force, Vice-Admiral Jens vanishes. From the admiral’s point of view, he feels nothing. One moment he is in the Hanger, the next thing he knows he is on board the civilian vessel KKS Yurt, seated at a table in the canteen with Fanny May seated across from him. On the table are two trays of food and a bottle of beer, one of each for him, one of each for her. From the perspective of any personnel monitoring surveillance footage, the admiral will simply appear at the table with Fanny. There will be no power flux or energy surges accompanying his transition from the Atlas to the Yurk.
Fanny didn’t arrive at the same time as the Admiral, though. She'd been spotted strolling through various random places throughout the many ships of the Khaganate fleet, yet she was doing little more than just strolling about like a tourists checking out the sights. She doesn’t interact with ships systems and interacts very little with personnel or civilians. Her specific locations seem random also - Civilian, military etc; no apparent discrimination made for her choice of destinations, which would likely make very little sense to any personnel attempting to keep track of her whereabouts at any given time. She simply appears in one place, walks around for a moment, disappears and reappears in another place on another vessel, and at times appearing in more than one place at once. But she eventually winds up in the canteen on board the Yurk just a few minutes before Jens arrives. When she arrives, there are no other instances of her appearing anywhere else among the fleet. The canteen is occupied by roughly eighty Khaganate civilians, some eating and conversing at the many tables decked out in the room, others dishing out food from the buffet style food counters.
Dressed as she was previously, and although her specific fashion may not meet the general dress code of the Khaganate civilians, nobody really pays her much attention. She casually walks to the buffet counter and grazes casually down the line taking up one each item on the menu then takes the tray back to an empty table positioned next to one wall of the room. She places the tray on the table. When she does so, and exact duplicate of the tray and its content appears beside it, along with two bottles of beer. She then takes a seat. That is the moment that Vice-Admiral Jens materializes at the table with her
While the Admiral is likely trying to come to terms with what just happened to him, Fanny takes that moment to casually rattle of some words that may not need be responded to. Perhaps a way to help him settle in faster. Or not.
“You know what?’ She says with a congenial smile, “You remind me a lot of my dad – Just kidding though!” She slaps the Admiral’s hand playfully and laughs lightly. “But don’t you just adore places like this? I really prefer the more humble surrounds, don’t you? All that posturing and broomsticks up butts is enough to give me a headache. And believe me, I’m not the person to be around when I have a headache. So eat up!” She gestures to the food in front of him. “It’s probably not what your prestigious taste is used to, but it’ll give you what you need. And oh, I hope you don’t mind, I provided my own drinks. Enjoy!”
At this point, Jens will probably have some general idea of where he is and what’s going on, but he isn’t given a chance to respond, yet. A loud piercing screech erupts throughout the room from the intercoms and various other media and communication devises that be present in the room. Fanny cringes, screwing up her face until the noise cuts of sharply.
“Oof,” She tells him, as her face returns to its normal casual demeanour; “They make such a horrible noise, don’t they? Anyway, so I thought I might have some lunch with you, Admiral. So just relax. Maybe you can answer a few more questions I have.”
If the admiral attempts to reply at that point, Fanny will reach out and place a finger on his mouth to hush him, like a mother would with her child. Kindly with a smile.
“First of all, I’d really like to know the Khaganate’s ambitions, generally. I’d just really like to hear it in your own words, you know what I mean? Secondly, picture yourself on some planet somewhere, Admiral. Let’s call it home. While you’re there, you’re walking down the street of a city and come across two strangers, one a business man, the other a street bum. Who do you smile for?”
Now willing to let the admiral speak, she picks up a bread stick and rips off a bite, chewing contently while she listens to what he has to say.
The internet, or as the Quatis used to call it, QIR (Quatis Inter-media Relations) was abolished some years ago. The Quatis felt that free information for all was more of a hazard to the Quatis infrastructure and security than anything else. Since then, information access is based on an individual’s rank or status in society. For Donny at the moment, been given class Z civilian status, he can access all he wants to know about the civilian infrastructure throughout the fleet, the ships functions, maps, almost anything aside from military sectors, political sectors, and ranking government and military personnel sheets. As for technological information of ships and other fleet functions, Donny will need to tap into the appropriate terminals that are position at their coordinating station throughout the Vessel.
Donny is transported to the 18th floor, section C, subsection A, the Flight Simulator Range. Now that Donny is out of Pycin’s office, he can use his new device to traverse through the different ships of the fleet, limited to civilian occupation. He has his own Quarters on level 5 of the flagship, civilians canteen rooms, sports centers, entertainment and theater halls, libraries etc.
The Flight Simulation Range is basically a long corridor with designated cubicles, each cubicle having its own bridge simulator. The cubicles can be sealed off by the user. Once that is done, the user takes a seat at the helm, at which point the entire cubicle transforms into an interactive realm. For Donny, it would seem like he is on the bridge of a smaller Quatis vessel complete with view screens and all the equipment, including the simulated view of space outside. The experience will feel real. Even crashing the ship is possible, to the point of the simulation resetting to start again.
That said, the Cubicles interactive vocal subroutines kick in when Donny takes a seat. It’s computerized female voice, stating:
“Welcome, Donny. You can call me El. Please state your preference. Safety protocols On or Off? At this point I must warn you, with safety protocols off any simulated accident will result in realistic consequential injuries to your person. Having the safety protocols on will restrict any injures to your person. Please state your preference.”
Once Donny answers, the interactive vocal subroutine will instantaneously set the specifications to Donny’s choosing. He can verbally request it changed at any time from this point on. He’s now free to start his training...
[Note: these are not stats on the operations of a Fleet ships, only smaller standard vessels]
The controls are fairly straight forward for anyone with a reasonable degree of intelligence. They are divided into four main boards/terminals, all four within reach of the person at the helm: Communications. Science. Propulsion. Defence and combat. Besides manual controls for everything, many of the systems can also be interacted with via voice command when more than one function needs to be applied at once.
Communications terminal
All known methods of intergalactic communication is contained here. Audio, Text, wave lengths, frequencies etc. Too many to list. Standard communications are listed on the primary panel. All communication systems are equipped with a universal translator that deciphers alien dialect in the most efficient fashion possible. For complex languages, there may be a wait before the translated message is released.
Science
Scanning array: Can scan all known elements, matter and energy and biological signatures for up to a lightyear radius. Data input is huge and distributed to various areas of the science databanks. All unknown data is distributed to sections of science analyses system for further study and computerized hypothesis.
Detection scanning array: Can scan in search of up to four elements at once within a radius 5 lightyears.
Biological Scanner: Can read and organize life signs on a planet and categorize and index of up to 200 trillion individual life sources.
Weapons array scanner: Detects, deciphers function and organizes external weapons (those of alien vessels) into data.
Propulsion terminal
Coordinates Interface: Is a scanning device that can be used in coordination with any of the propulsion systems. Scanning range of coordinates is effective up to 10 lightyears. If coordinates are chosen for any propulsion system, a speed must be chosen, and the vessel will enter autopilot until arriving at its destination. Coordinates Interface must always be used with TJS and LSF propulsion systems, as manual steering will not work.
Steering: All propulsion systems, besides TSJ and LSF, are synchronized with an Omni-directional steering stick. While at Impulse, a slight move up, down, right, left etc. will change the vessels direction correspondingly and instantly. While at Secondary Impulse, speeds must be reduced to below 2,000miles/sec for the steering to be effective. [WARNING: Attempting to steer at higher velocities will shut down all ships propulsion systems instantaneously]. Holding down the button on the top of the steering stick while changing direction will keep the vessel facing the same direction even though its direction of flight has changed.
Impulse: standard Omni-directional flight. Velocity .005 to 1,000miles/sec. Functional with instant velocity (can increase speed gradually or start instantly at the specified speed. Impulse is the only propulsion system that can be used while within a planet’s atmosphere. It can also be used in space.)
Secondary Impulse: Secondary Omni-Directional flight. Can only be used in space. Velocity 1,000 to 80,000miles/sec.
Light Speet Flux[LSF]: Single directional light speed (uses subspace as a slipstream to achieve light speed).
Trans Stellar Jump [TSJ]: Hyperspace jump. Near instantaneous travel to the desired coordinates. Works by folding space. Effective up to 10 lightyears only, as compatible to the Coordinates Interface scanners of standard vessels.
Defense and Combat terminal
Disruptors: An energy ray designed to penetrate and disrupt/destabilize all electrical and other energy power at its target. effective diameter is adjustable from 1 to 100 meters from point of impact. Range: 30, 000, 000 miles.
Quantum Cannons: Designed to remove all matter from a set containment parameter. Is effective to all elements and material known to the Quatis, besides what their own vessels are made of. Rate of fire: 2 per second. Speed of projectile: Half Light speed, depending on the gravitation pull or other influences of the surroundings. Destructive radius adjustable from levels 1-10. 1=5meters. 10=50meters. Range: 30, 000, 000 miles.
Sonic Pulse: Ineffective in space or outside an atmosphere able to support sonic waves. Is a vibrational Disrupter. Destabilization of matter within a setting of containment. See Quantum Cannons for destructive radius parameters. Range: 30, 000, 000 miles.
Photonic Charge: Narrow laser capsules of compressed, stimulated photons. Speed: Light. 1-5000 rounds per second. Will instantly melt a hole in most materials, alloys and metal upon impact. Destructive radius 5cm to 10 meters. Range: 30, 000, 000 miles.
Triobsidium Gun: Single shot or automatic. Level 10 Fully Auto=5000 rounds per second. Fires Triobsidium heavy armor piercing bullets (lead and most other metals and alloys), though ammunition is limited. Otherwise fires highly stimulated protons contained in a bullet-size self-magnetizing field, and can fire Nitrogen-field condensed air bullets within atmospheres that contain Nitrogen (all three bullet types have the same destructive capacity). Effective range: 50 miles.
Shielding
Graviton Shield: Invisible force field. A reverse gravitational/magnetic field to prevent objects from entering but allows objects to exit. Can be used while firing weapons. Cannot be used during TSJ and LSF propulsion are active.
Transphasic Shield: Will show up as a transparent red cocoon that envelops the vessel. Prevents all matter and forms of radiation from entering or exiting. Cannot be used while firing weapons. Cannot be used while any form of propulsion is active. Can withstand a blast with the yield of a supernova. Can remain effectively active for up to 15 minutes.
[NOTE: Donny will also read through the information displayed on the weapons panel of the defense and combat terminal, that Quatis vessels are impervious to their own combat technology. Saves any loose cannon Quatis trying to destroy their own kind.]
There are four view screens, all of which can be selected to display whatever data or visual information the flyer wants. Usually, at least one of these view screens are allocated to show a view of space from all six directional perspectives in split-screen style.
Rufus doesn’t seem to mind the escort, in fact he looks pretty fascinated by the proceedings. It’s all so wonderful to him. When he enters the cell the force field reactivates and the Instigator enters for added security.
“See ya later, my main man!” Rufus gives a small wave to the ASP as it exits the cell block. He then nods with righteous sentiments at the instigator. “Another marvel of the modern age, ay?”
Rufus gets bored pretty easy though. He starts rubbing his stomach while his face winces uncomfortably. After a short while he regards the Instigator again.
“I have the munchies, my dude.”
He then reaches out towards the force field of the cell, just out of curiosity, but seems a little confused when nothing happens. He reaches a little farther thinking that maybe he hadn’t reached far enough, before he realizes the force field wasn’t working. Well, at least, it wasn't working on him.
Rufus grins, looking pretty mischievous at that moment while his stomach continued to grumble.
“I’m so sorry, my righteous machine.” He said as he steps out from his cell unhindered. He steps gingerly though, cautious as to how the Instigator might respond. “Please don’t shoot me. I won’t hurt anyone. I just need to find me some food, right?” Now standing in the cell block outside of his cell, Rufus looks around for an appropriate exit. “Which way’s the kitchen? Maybe I should speak with your captain dude if he’s back? I feel like I should explain Rufus’s situation.”
The Quatis Engineers are merely under orders from their commanding officer. They say very little and comply with Meta’s instructions. They do seem a little curious, maybe a little apprehensive when Niner shows up, but systematically follow the droid to their respective areas. They get to work immediately.
It’s only a matter of minutes before Hany’s Ribbon decimates Rodia, the MASGC space station, and the planet Iceolia. Ernest readies his Hyperdrive in case he needs to use it, Siren and others on Rodia hope to God that there is in fact a God to save them, and The MASGC start charging their propulsion systems to prepare to go to warp.
Alas… the 12 lights of the nearby formation grows brighter, and the gravitational pull of the void within the lights grows stronger. Now, The Ernest has waited too little too long, even if he initiates Hyperdrive he will not be able to escape the gravity of the void. In the same way, MASGC headquarters will find their station is unable to enter Warp, because the gravitational pull of the void is creating too much subspace interference. Whether they like it or not, The MASGC are being pulled in. As for those on board the Rodia, well, maybe their prayers have been answered. Or have they? They too are inevitably being pulled into the void. The good news is, if you can call it good news at this point, is that the void will swallow them before Hany’s Ribbon arrives.
MASGC Headquarters is the first to enter the void. A few seconds later Rodia and the satellite that MASGC launched get sucked in as well. Last of all, Ernest enters the Void.
Did Hany’s Ribbon destroy Iceolia along with those poor soul left behind? Or did Hany’s Ribbon re-enter subspace and vanish just moments before impact? Maybe none of the abducted will ever know what happened to Iceolia….
When The MASGC Headquarters exit, the spatial anomaly closes behind them. They have arrived in another galaxy far, far away, in a solar system supported by a yellow dwarf star with ten major planetary bodies in orbit. The solar system is occupied by a space veering civilization that occupy 5 of these planets and a great number of artificial space colonies, satellites and stations of various kinds.
Upon their arrival, The MASGC are almost instantly approached by 10 space craft. Seven of these craft are about the length of an earth’s luxury ocean liner with elongated bodies and broad bird-like wings, brown in color, and no exterior lighting. The other craft are almost ten times that size with a similar shape and coloring, but they do have markings of striped yellow light on the lower bow and frontal regions of their wings.
The ten alien vessels quickly encompass the Commanders station. MASGC Headquarters quickly receive an abrupt, less than warm reception in the form of an automated message:
“We are the Kradam Supreme. This is the Kradam Domain. You have violated our space. You are of a foreign origin. You will not react with hostility. You will state your intentions. You will do it now.”
Despite the hostile approach of the Kradam, if the commander was to conduct scans of the region, he would find many of the planets rich in commodities.
3.5 lightyears away from where MASGC Headquarters ended up, The Ernest arrives on the outskirts of a Nebula. The Nebula is made of various gasses of different colors, and at the heart of the nebula is a pink binary star system. The binary system also has 22 planets in orbit. Many of these planets seem to be supporting life, and other space dwelling structures can be detected within the system and throughout the nebula. These other structures seem to be comprised of biological material. The whole thing is a beautiful thing to see.
Soon after arriving at the Nebula, Ernest receives a hail from somewhere within the Nebula. It’s an odd transmission composed of a series of high-pitched clicking sounds, maybe a form of language. The message lasts for several seconds before fading out like an echo in his systems.
A few minutes later, a pulse of blue light is dispersed from an unknown location within the Nebula as well. The pulse of light doesn’t damage Ernest. But soon afterwards, Ernest receives a second transmission. This time in words he can understand:
Rodia, may have had their hopes in a God fulfilled. They emerge from the anomaly in a completely different part of the universe as well, but nowhere near the MASGC or Ernest. Instead they are spewed out in what is now a solar system supported by a dead, neutron Star. The outer limits of the solar system is encompassed by a dull, grey nebula, kinda like the solar system is cloaked in a thick layer of space dust that completely blocks out the view of the outside universe.
The inner planets that may have once existed in this system have long since been done away with by the star’s aging process, and the three planets that remained in the outer perimeters of the system seem like lifeless, dark orbs continuing their slow, ancient rout around the distant glow of their sun.
There is another structure though. At first glance it might look like a planet, and a large one at that. It’s keeping a closer orbit of the sun than the other three, but on closer inspection Rodia scans will find that it’s an artificial planet 72,555miles (116,766km) in diameter and made of various unfamiliar metal types. Scanning beneath the surface of the massive planet might prove a difficult task. Maybe Rodia should take a closer look, which shouldn’t be a problem, because soon after arriving they find themselves being pulled towards it by an unknown and invisible energy beam. The pull isn’t fast, and it may take an hour or so to reach the planet, but they are definitely being pulled towards it.
Last of all, the small satellite MASGC launched before being swallowed by the void, comes out in yet another location in the universe. As it drifts of into the endless expanse of space, it is intercepted by a large vessel, 30 miles in length. This elegant looking vessel looks and moves a lot like a silver colored snake through space. After a close inspection of the satellite, the mouth of the snake-like vessel opens up and swallows the Sputnik.
“Don’t panic little dude!” Rufus said, as he continued his pursuit of the tree, “We’ll get our dooby back!”
The chase lasts until they arrive at the clearing with the vessel that Ramrod had arrived in with Hank. There the thieving orange tree stops abruptly, but not because it saw the vessel, but because the heat from the joint had caused its leaves to catch light. Within seconds one of its branches were engulfed in flames as it threw the joint away and started squealing in pain and jumping around the area in a an attempt to shake off the fire. Unfortunately, all that jumping around only made the flames spread further. The surrounding grass soon caught alight as well, each blade of the grass that caught alight also started to scream in agony, while several of the nearby trees uprooted themselves and started running away.
Rufus was the one to panic now, saying; “I should have never stepped into that portal!” He then swung his arm fast, throwing Ramrod in through the crack of the vessel to keep him safe from the fire. “Stay in there little dude, Rufus has got this!”
When Ramrod lands inside the vessel, he heard a low groaning sound. He soon realizes that the groaning is coming from Hank who is still broken on the floor in the corner. But he isn’t alone, three small shrubs have since entered the vessel. They were using their branches to poke and prod at Hank. One of the shrubs were trying to pull parts off of him. This was causing Hank a lot of distress. He was helpless and needed saving.
Meanwhile, Rufus realized he didn’t have control of the situation at all. The fire was spreading wildly. The orange tree had already reduced to ash, his dying screams cause Rufus to feel sick with pity. In the distance, maybe 30 meters away, he could see a pond. Water! But how the hell was he going to get the water from way over there to put out the fast growing fire over her?
“Little plush dude!’ He yelled out. “I think I might need your help after all!”
Dino grins at Pirila when she bats away his arm. Apparently he kinda likes a sassy woman.
"That’s fine, you attractive dame, I wouldn’t expect you to understand. Being cute will get you by.”
With his hands now placed smartly on his hips, he regards the barrier of stone, then gives a nonchalant look at Cas, Pirila and Hida, before saying smoothly. “A plan I have.” Pausing for a moment, he adds, and aiming the explanation at Pirila more than the others; “You see, young wench. Mili’s abductor is right there with her. We just can’t see him. This means he has some abilities we didn’t count on. It was an obvious trap. As a rule I tend to be wary of traps.” He gives her a smoldering look. “Call me crazy, right? But don’t worry your pretty head. Think of it this way: That monster obviously wants that girl alive for now, and I think its best we keep it that way. Let’s play along with his game for the time being.”
He looks at Cas: “You remember your spot attack and salvage training, Nerd?”
“Yes I do.” Cas gives Dino a confident nod. “Ready when you are, Admiral.”
“Then wait for my command and make sure you keep these dames safe in the process.” Dino says, then turns his attention to the girls; “Stand back, ladies, this might get messy….” He thinks for a moment and suggests. “If by chance either of you too have abilities I’m unaware of that might help along the way, and assuming you arrive at a point that you understand what’s going on at the time, feel free to lend your support to the situation.”
With that said, Dino quickly reconfigured the scanners on his wrist device, then sets in carefully laid coordinates before pressing the Teleport button.
“See you all on the other side.” He says, as he then vanishes in a flurry of light.
Once he’s gone, Cas takes a position on one knee in front of the fallen barrier of rock. He activates an open communication channel to Dino, then readies his rifle, aiming at the rocks.
In the passage on the other side of the rock barrier, Dino reappears facing towards the rocks and the position that Mili was last seen, also where her bio signature is still located along with her abductors. He is just a few meters from her. He’s also down on one knee and read for anything….
Boris was conveniently walking past the church on rout to the Bazaar when the sudden dong of the church bell was heard. He wouldn't have normally thought much of the church bell ringing, as he didn't have much knowledge on church bell times, but a moment after the loud dong struck he thought it was starting to rain, only to realize, by the blood spattering his clothes, that it wasn't rain at all. He stopped walking and looked up, got an extra drop of blood in his eyes, and then through his blurred vision and saw a the empty woman from the house he just left. She was hanging way up high by a rope now. She sure did get around fast for dead lady. Beside the dangling woman was another message, and even though he couldn't read the message, it didn't look the same as the one he saw back in the house. Normally, he would have copied the message down for safe keeping, but this message was on display for the whole gosh town to read, so copying it didn't seem like it was needed.
He stared at the bloody mess way above for a while, wondering what it all meant, but the ringing bell became a little annoying. He sure wished it would stop ringing soon.
"That sure is a lot of blood." He mumbled. It wasn't the most the blood he'd ever seen, but it sure was a lot for one person.
Moving on, he walked a little farther before he came across a interesting weirdo all dressed in a shiny armor. The weirdo was with a little girl, and also another young girl all dressed in black. There sure were a lot of girls in this town, young ones especially. Boris had be on his guard, it was only a matter of time before little girls became mean like big girls. Avoiding any possible conflict, the massive Neanderthal of a man first addresses the man in the armor, who may or may not have still been watching the bell tower.
"Excuse me Mr. Tin Man. My name is Boris." He pulled out a notebook from his bag and opened to the page with the message he copied earlier and showed him:
"Boris can't read." He then added, "Can you? If you can, it sure would be nice if you told me what this said."
Boris then took his chances with the two girls, turning the message for them both to look at. Maybe they could read as well. After all three people had a chance to see the message in his note book, he jerked his thumb towards the bell tower and also asked;
"If it isn't too much trouble, could any of you also tell me what that other message says as well?" He sighed. "Boris had a visit from an invisible little girl." He glances back at the bell tower with a mischievous look, and admitted; "I think she might have done that to empty lady."
Madison didn't like people staring at her, even though it happened all the damn time. It seemed to be unavoidable. But now and then she would get that feeling, that hair standing feeling on the back of her neck that told her when someone a little different from the others was looking at her. Right now she had that feeling. The hairs on her neck stood up as she turned from the stall holder and looked through the crowd, most of whom were gawking at her. With a snarl, she kept her search going until she found the person responsible for the feeling she had - and there she was; some skinny, well dressed young woman wearing glasses. Her pretty face made Madison cringe.
"What are you staring at...." Madison mimed the words, since she was too far away to comfortably yell out. Still, Madison noticed something of interest, a quartz crystal hanging from the woman's neck.
I'll have that fucking gem, she thinks to herself. Then, with a hard slap of her own ass, Madison changes her mind on the yelling out thing, and calls across the crowd of people at the woman, saying;
"YOU WANNA LICK THIS -"
Her verbal attack on Allysse was interrupted by the sudden ring of the church bell. She quickly turned her attention, and saw the blood display on the bell tower wall. She kinda like it, though. The sight of blood spraying the people walking below made her oddly happy.
yeah... get em good...
Madison then corkscrewed her nose with her pinkie finger, something she quite often did while thinking, and carefully analysed the hanged woman and bloody message.
"Well that's just beautiful..." She utters, plucking a dob of snot from her nostril and smearing it across her top lip. "That ain't something you see every day." She licks the snot from her lip and starts chewing contently.
Had Donny shot the Symbot in the head, the exolining (its skin) will have been shredded, though the alloy skeleton would remain, and also the tertiary motor functions, such as speech. Symbot’s, as the name might suggest, are specifically made to mimic an already existing life form, in this case Pycin. Generally, they are controlled by the real person themselves by way of a temporal receptor that is attached to the users temple. Symbot’s don’t wear wrist devices, though. Like most androids Bots and Cyborgs – with the exception of those being used for specific purposes of deception – they don’t wear the usual wrist devises that real living people wear. Instead, they have a built in teleporter array. Donny wouldn’t have seen and wrist device on the Pycin Symbot.
In another room that looks almost identical to the room that Donny is in, the real Pycin is still seated at his desk with a temporal transceiver attached to his temple. He is watching Donny’s holographic template move around his office, perfectly mimicking the real Donny’s behavior in the duplicate room. In this office, the real office, the holographic representation of Pycin’s Symbot is also lying on the floor, interacting with the holographic Donny.
Pycin now opens his mouth to speak once again, answering Donny’s request, while the Symbot in the room with the real Donny mimics his speech, saying;
“Don’t confuse what you know about politics with those of the Quatis, Donny. My own seat is secure until I die or become otherwise incapacitated. At that point, I won’t really give a shit anymore anyway. That aside, you have no need to concern yourself. My Symbot has provided you all you will need to perform the task at hand.”
The Symbot at Donny’s feet pauses, to add patiently;
“Look to the desk again, Donny. Beside the cigar is a new Transect (wrist device). It will take you freely from ship to ship, only among non-restricted areas. That freedom is already yours. Once you’ve killed Dino you can have his personal ship. It is fitted with everything you request for after the job is done. You can’t have it while he’s still alive…. Still, I’m willing to make a compromise for you. But only this one…. Don’t make me regret this.”
Pause.
“…Securing a temporary shuttle for you will take a little time. I suggest you use that time wisely. I’ll send you directly to the flight simulators on the 18th floor. Learn to pilot a craft, Donny. I’ll then provide you the shuttle. It won’t be anything special, but it will get you around until Dino is dead. Once the shuttle is ready I’ll message you its location and the spatial coordinates of Dino Gavon. After that, you can then use the new Transect to track him. I have, as mentioned earlier, given you your own living quarter’s two doors down from his own on board the Egress. This should help. In your Transect you will find Dino’s personal access codes. With them you can enter his own chambers. Try and keep the proceedings discrete, Donny. We don’t want other members of the Quatis to know what you are up to. And one more thing… Donny. Kill him slow… make it hurt…. Do that for me, my wife, my baby girl.”
Pause.
“If there is nothing else, I will transport you to the flight simulation sector. I’ll inform you when your temporary shuttle is ready and provide you Dino’s spatial coordinates. I do suggest you get some rest, no sense in rushing this. So sleep. Have some food in the mess hall. If you like, you can access Dino’s personnel files by way of the interface terminal in his personal chambers. Best be prepared. Do not underestimate him. His cockiness is his greatest weakness.”
Donny can’t exit this room on his own, but if takes the cigar and Transect from the desk and agrees with these conditions, Pycin would then be teleport him from this room directly to the flight simulation sector, or another room of Donny's choice. Meanwhile, in the real Grand Ministers office, Pycin will remove the interface from his temple and the Symbot will power down completely.
“Good relationships built on trust, you say?” Was the Pilan’s first response. “Is that like my wife letting Dino lick her tentacles?” Palin smirked. It may have been meant as joke, had it not been for the underlining truth behind it.
He then reaches into a pocket of his pants and produces a small tablet-like device in a fashion that suggests he had been expecting Meta to ask for it. He tosses it on the table for Meta to read over:
Tablet reads as follows:
Dino Gavon: First Admiral.
Marital status: Single.
Next of kin: Parents deceased. Two known offspring. Females: Amiah Kayt and Sahmi Tels. Offspring personnel files NA.
Service History:
- First instance: Karnin Civil War. Third Rank secret Ops Officer. Extensive Intel unwarranted. File restricted. - Second instance: Karnin Civil war. Second Rank Secret Ops Officer. Extensive Intel warranted. Sixteen medallions of Quatis honor and Bravery. File Data:
Data Expunged.
- Third instance: First Lieutenant, Gold Class. File Data:
Data Expunged.
- Fourth Instance: First Gamma. Quatis Global War. Infiltration of hostile force. Objective successful. File Data:
Dino Gavon, First Gamma physical Injury. Classification: Casualty. Resuscitation required.
Medical Update: Status Rebuild. Cybernetic and structural enhancements.
Rebuild Stats: Skeletal frame replaced by Triobsidium construct. Responsive Turbine Receptor (RTR) implants applied to all joints.
Current Physical Diagnostics: Enhanced tertiary cybernetic physical abilities.
- Fifth Service History Instance: Promotion. Tertiary Cybernetic enhances Quatisoid appointed to First Admiral. Assigned as acting captain to the Quatis flag ship, Egress.
Current Primary Weapon Status: First Admiral’s Quantum rifle. First Admiral’s Transect.
First Admiral’s Quantum Rifle Combat Stats
Quantum Pulse (QP) – Subatomic molecule disrupting energy pulse. Range effect adaptable on a scale of 1-10. Setting 1=16 cm radius. setting 10=10meters radius. Obliteration of all constructs within a setting of containment.
Sonic Pulse (SP) – Vibrational Disrupter. Range effect adaptable on a scale of 1-10. Destabilization of structural matter within a setting of containment. See Quantum Pulse for containment parameters.
Photonic Piercing Charge (PPC) – Photonic discharge. Narrow Ray Assault, AKA; condensed light capsules. Intensity scaled 1-5. Scale 1=200Celcius contained heat dart. Scale 5=1000Celcius contained heat dart. All heat charges released on impact.
Electro Pelt(EP): Piercing Explosive Electric Charge. Stun Pelt Setting 1-5. Single Setting 1=500,000 volts (926 watts). Setting 5=2’500,000 volts.
Airgun(AG): Nitrogen-field Condensed air bullet. 10.0 Ns. Air bullet density= 0,01134 kg/cm^3. Air bullet Nitrogen containment integrity effective up to 200mtr. Fully and semi-automatic settings. Fully automatic – Setting 1: 400rounds per second. Setting 2=6500rounds per second. (inoperable in Nitrogen free atmospheres)
(note: this is Admiral ranking rifle settings only)
Palin then chuckles at Meta’s third request, but casually taps his finger on the desk while thinking on the matter. “You should really upgrade your repair systems. That said… I’ll assemble a small crew to repair the remainder of your systems.”
He looks at Meta’s extended hand for moment, considering the behavior. It wasn’t an unknown form of physical agreement, it just wasn’t one the Quatis used. Nevertheless, Palin takes Meta’s hand and gives it a shake; saying;
“I’m sure you’re confident in your abilities, Meta. But don’t underestimate Dino. Greater have fallen by his hand.” He releases Meta’s hand, rests back in his chair as though a great burden had been lifted from him. “I’ll transport you back to your vessel. Once your ship has been repaired I’ll send you Dino’s spatial coordinates. If you are contacted by anyone else, anyone but me personally, ignore it. You and I are the only ones supposed to know about this. Good luck. Don’t die.”
Assuming Meta has nothing further to say, he is transported back to The Tempest in a blink of an eye. He is accompanied by a Quatis repair crew who await his instruction.
“Whatever you say, my mechanical dude.” Rufus replies to the ASP and starts following. He shoves the bag of weed in his pocket as he’s walking, taking in the sights of the ship like he were a paying visitor to a futuristic museum. “Really wish I didn’t leave my cell at home ay. So hey, dudes,” He looks back at the second droid, ”Where ya’ll taken Rufus?”
Ernest doesn’t get a response from Fanny. But while he is taking the initiative to allocate specific people from the planet - and while Siren attempts to negotiate with the rude operator - the most unexpected thing happens:
Twelve blue lights appear near the orbit of Iceolia. Each light is the size of a small moon and have taken on the following formation.
At the center of the lights a void within space opens (as seen in the grey area in the image). The lights give off no scientific readings. In fact they show up on scanners as nothing more than light. But they are obviously more than that.
The void within the light formation has a 15,000 kilometers diameter (9,320.5679 miles) and has a heavy, though slow, gravitational pull, more than strong enough to pull in MASGC Space Station and Rodia into it. Ernest can also feel the pull of the anomalous light formation attempting to lift him off the ground. It will only be a matter of minutes before he is removed from the planet’s surface. Decisions better be made quickly, or none of them are going to be saved. He needs to make decisions. Now.
Rufus is already seated, so there was no reason to stoop down to shake the plush hand of Ramrod. Still, Rufus is a little confused. He doesn’t understand a word of what Ramrod is saying. He does feel a little giddy by the cat though, giggling in a dopey way as the plush is talking. After he finished talking, Rufus just assumes Ramrod said yes to his offer. He instantly starts rolling a joint while saying;
“I have no idea what you just said, my little furry dude, but allow Rufus to do the honors.”
It doesn’t take long for Rufus to roll a nice dooby. He lights it up and holds it out for Ramrod to take when suddenly the orange shrub that had followed Ramrod to that point shoves Ranrod out the way. It grabs the joint between two twigs and runs off down the path that Ramrod had arrived by, making a giggly sound as he flees.
“Yo, tree dude – that’s just rude, right?” Rufus cries out like his life was gonna soon come to an end. Picking up Ramrod by one arm, he gives chase after the shrub. “Give us back our joint, little tree dude!”
Magnus starts to feel more effects of the tree outside trying to get to him. The tree wraps its limbs around the vessel, picks it up, then starts shaking it like it was trying to empty nuts from a jar.
While Magnus is being thrown around inside the ship, SANDRA’s communication display receives an audio message from the planet-size life-form known as Fanny.
“Magnus, my darling, are you okay? I have a really bad feeling. I think daddy may have found out about our forbidden love. I’m coming – just you hold on tight!”
Following that, the ship stops shaking and a moment later the door to the ship is forced open by the tree. Bees, hundreds of them, flood into the ship. The bees take on the form of a muscular man that stands in front of Magnus and speaks:
“Filthy human spawn. What are your intentions with my daughter?”
Dino is stunned to see Pirila start running towards her friend, Mili. Anyone, even a savage like Pirila, could see that the situation didn’t add up. Thinking fast, he sets his rifle to sonic pulse, level 3, and fires at the roof of the passage. The shot causes the stone roof of the passage to come apart. A barrier of rocks fall to the floor of the passage between Pirila and Mili, blocking access.
Pirila can’t go any further without removing the wall of rocks from her path.
“Settle down, woman!” Dino now moves forward and grabs Pirila’s firmly by the shoulder, showing her the display in his wrist device. “Look here. Two reading are showing up, one of Mili and one of her abductor.”
Meanwhile, Cas lunges after Hida. Doing more than he needs to, he tackles the girl to the floor of the passage. He’s now lying on top of her, face to face, he looks into her eyes;
“You’re so brave and smart….”
Dino then furrows his brow at Cas, he can’t quite believe what is going on.
“What the hell has gotten into you, Nerd!? Can’t any of my subordinates act in the slightest way professional? Get on your feet, man!”
Cas stands and helps Hida to her feet. He looks at Dino a little embarrassed. “Forgive me, admiral, I can’t help myself. She’s so adorable. I want to know what her tentacles taste like.” With a shake of his head, an effort to cast off his unprofessional thoughts, Cas checks his wrist devise and refers to the important matter at hand, adding; “What are your plans, Admiral? It’s clear that the abductor is fucking with us.”
GM Pycin, despite having a denser muscular and bone structure than most humans, as all Quatis do, is nevertheless getting on in years. He can’t take a hit like used be able to, and he can’t possibly defend himself against someone like Donny. It also wouldn’t have been terribly smart for anyone to allow a talented killer into their office without an escort of some variety or defensive strategy in place. Being that Pycin is the Grand Minister of Quatis, he would be more than well aware of all these things, as he would have also been aware that informing a killer that a bomb was in their chest was likely to have repercussions. After all, Pycin had been leading his people for many, many years….
As it happens, and as Donny had seen by the fact that Pycin had taken a smoke from Donny and had been drinking like any ordinary man since Donny arrived in his office, there was no reason to think that Pycin had any real protection. In a way Donny was right to assume that, but maybe his emotional detachment from the situation made him overlook the lingering fact that Pycin was still Grand Minister. Even when Donny’s left hook struck, Pycin knew very well what he was doing. He had control of the situation.
The punch didn’t knock Pycin out, but it was hard enough to topple the old man’s figure off his chair and onto the floor, at which point Donny’s hand would have been feeling the effects of punching a specific type of Titanium Alloy called Triobsidium. Referred to in short as Triobsi.
It probably wouldn’t have taken long, though he lie unmoving on the floor, for Donny to notice the old man’s eyes remained open, while the barely audible reeling hum of his primary motor functions could be heard powering down. Donny had punched a Symbot. It wasn’t damaged, not even the synthetic lining of its skin. The main motor function had simply been shut down by an exterior mobile source, but its secondary and tertiary functions remained operational by the real Pycin who was watching on from another room.
The Symbot started speaking again, its mouth the only part of its anatomy currently moving:
“I didn’t mean to offend you, Donny. I hope you can see past your disdain and understand why I had to do this. Insurance, you see. One can never be too sure. I do hope you are still of the mind to take me up on my offer.”
The Symbot paused a few seconds, then added;
“I don’t hold against you your actions towards me. To be honest, it was somewhat expected. And now I know for sure, you are not a man to take another man’s stature in society as a reason to compromise your principles.”
Pause.
“Rest assure, Donny, and as I told you before, you have been acquitted of all transgression towards my people. You have access to all civilian areas of the fleet. I will hold up my end of the bargain. I should inform you at this time that the jeopardy of the MIIT, although it will in fact respond only to my commands, is dependent on a subspace interface link with Dino Gavon’s life signs. Once he is dead, all my own commands will be rescinded. The MIIT will automatically detach itself from the wall of your heart and dissolve in your blood. No harm done.”
Pycin accepted the cigarette and pulled back harder than need be when provided the light. He eased back in his chair again, taking another swallow of his rum before exhaling through his nose. He was listening to Donny carefully, noted by the occasional small twitch of his sunken eyes. It wasn’t until Donny had finished saying his piece that he responded; gently twirling the cigarette in his finger and thumb he analysed the smoke drifting off for a moment.
“It’s been a while….”
Drawing back a second toke, another swallow of rum, he tilted his head with a crack of his neck, and said:
“I never thought of myself as the political type. All those faggits….” He gave a short, dismissive snort of one nostril and used his pinkie finger to tap on the desk, saying; “Ash.” The top of the desk opened and a small silver tray popped out before the desk sealed up again beneath it. “Truth be told, I was more of a cigar man.”
Tapping off a head of ash, he grit his teeth as though conjuring a memory better left forgotten. His eyes narrowed at Donny.
“Hany’s Ribbon. Fuck that bitch.” He cleared his throat. “My scientists will tell you it’s a mindless spatial phenomenon. Ask me, there is nothing completely without mind in this God forsaken universe. In any case, her name suits her description. A ribbon of pure light and destructive energy. Over a lightyear in length. All we know with any guarantee is that she’s stable within herself. She appeared at random locations and destroys everything in her path. We can’t damage her, we can’t slow her down. She destroyed our home world. Our solar system. Wiped out the sun. Seven billion citizens. Couldn’t save them all.”
Pycin polishes off yet another glass of rum, pours another and draws back another toke of his cigarette.
“This is my office on the flagship, Donny. My own little sanctuary. From here I have all the control I need to have.” He looks to his right at one of the eight view screens that make up the walls of his office. That one view screen showed an empty Shuttle bay somewhere on the ship. “Dino Gavon isn’t on board at present. That’s his personal bay. In fact he’s left the solar system in search of some …alien girl recently abducted from the planet below. But you see that empty docking bay?” He looks back at Donny. “I hope to be giving that to you, along with the ship that goes with it.”
He takes one last heavy drag of his cigarette and stamps it out in the tray. He takes another swig of his drink before rising slowly from his seat. He shuffles to the far side of the office and stands to stare off into a view of the main mess hall on the ship. The Mess hall is big, no smaller in size than that of a football field with hundreds of Quatis citizens busy eating, preparing food, chatting, going about their everyday lives.
“I find you a man of deeper understanding than most, Donny. It’s a refreshing thing in this life. So I believe you’d understand the need for taking measures to ensure a job is done right. Just business, you see….” Pycin shifts, turning enough to look Donny dead in the eyes to confess: “While you were being operated on by my physicians, I had them attach an MIIT (Macro Ignition Interface Transponder) to the wall of the right Atrium chambers within your heart. Think of it as an interactive explosive tracking device. It relays information of your activities directly to my station and responds to my command, specifically. In the case of my death, MIIT will ignite. Your heart will explode. If I die, you die. If you fail me, you die. But honestly… I have no desire for that to happen, Donny. Not in the least. That’s my security. Nothing personal. Just peace of mind, you understand.”
Pycin begins his shuffled walk back to his seat.
“I’ve hereby rescinded all warrants of activity against you. You are now free to roam my fleet, with the exception of restricted ranking activity. You’re a citizen now. Consider this a…” He takes a seat and consumes a hard swallow of his rum. “…display of good faith between one mortal and another.” He then reaches into the lining of his robe, producing a fat cigar, and places it on the desk for Donny. “Make yourself at home here. No one is after you anymore. You will hereby be treated like any other outstanding citizen of my people. Once the job is done, I’ll give you Dino’s ship, elevate your status to whatever rank or status you desire.”
He takes a deep breath and finally places the the last drop of glassed rum on the desk in front of him, saying;
“Until Admiral Gavon arrives back within easy access, settle in. You Quarters are located on the 5th floor of the Egress. Room 10252. Two doors down from Dino’s personal chambers.” He reaches into a drawer on his left and produces a new wrist device. With it, Donny can access all floors of all vessels within the fleet outside that of military personnel activity. He places the device on the desk next to the cigar and pushes both in Donny’s direction. “Get to know your surroundings, Donny. Have a sleep in your chambers. Fuck a whore. Have a bite to eat in the mess hall. Have some fun while you wait.” He glances at the cigar. “Do yourself a favor and light this up when you’ve finished the job.”
Easing back in his seat, Pycin picks up his rum once more, taking a sip before finishing;
“I’ll let you know when he’s back. Be alert. And don’t underestimate that son of a cunt.”
The officer regards Meta with a stare that notes his intrigue and sliver of optimism. He then grins and takes a seat in the chair on the opposite side of the desk. He places his hand on the empty desk and a holographic terminal projects from the surface of the desk. Typing out a few commands, the display of the alien ship, as well as the display of the data screen go black. In line with given commands, a beverage of brown liquid in a glass and a frosted pastry appears on a silver plate in front of Meta. It is obvious that both are his to consume if he wishes.
“Bounty hunter huh….” He said, raising one brow. This look is one of interest but concern. “Funny how things just fall into place.”
He then regards both empty view screens. Glances down at the four stripes on his chest, and tells;
“I’m First Gamma Rank of the Quatis Military, Naval issue, next in line under Admiral Dino Gavon.” He nods as if any of this would make sense. “My name is Eshten Palin.” Regarding the view screen that previously displayed the image of the alien ship, he adds; “We’ve been unable to establish any reading from that vessel, any aside from a temporal distortion, that is. By our own scanners, that ship isn’t even a sold object. There is no substantial reading. All we get is a temporal displacement. Nothing more. And that’s all we’ve been able to obtain from the individual that’s boarded your own vessel, The Tempest. He doesn’t register as a life form. He doesn’t register as anything aside from a distortion in time. A temporal anomaly. So you can imagine our concern. But I believe what you say…." He pauses to add; "But here’s the thing, bounty hunter, us Quatis don’t believe it prudent to delve into temporal technology. You should be able to understand the danger it presents to life in the universe. Changing the course of history is all fucked up. We did take a shot at the vessel, feeling the need to destroy it. Nothing happened. It was like our Quantum canons were passing through thin air. No effect whatsoever. It didn't even fire back.”
First Gamma Eshten, sighs then tries without success to relax in his chair.
“Thing is, Meta, I didn’t really bring you here to discuss the perils of time technology and just how dangerous it is. I’ve brought you here for another matter at hand. I mentioned Dino Gavon, foremost Admiral of the Quatis, but also the son of a cunt that’s been fucking my wife for the last two years. I fucking hate him. He’s also the one standing in the way of my promotion. I can’t get one of our soldiers to kill him, no one would dream of killing him. They won’t do it. And this is why you’re here. I’m offering you the job to kill him. Take him out.”
Eshten smirks, gives his nose a little scratch and continues.
“This is our own little secret. You and i will be the only ones who know. If you can manage to pull this off, you’ll be made a friend to the Quatis. You’ll be regarded an ally and compensated with whatever other form payment your heart desires. If you fail, I’ll assemble a legion of troops to hunt you down and kill you. Simple as that. And believe me, you will not escape my wrath. If you accept this mission, however, I’ll be sending you back to your ship and, in time, inform you of Admiral Gavon whereabouts. Stay close. If you decline, I’ll kill you here and now.”
Eshten now dusts off some non-existent dirt from his uniform with a quick backhand on his fingers, and concludes;
“So… make your decision. State your terms of accepting this mission.”
Back on board the Tempest, Rufus stops in his tracks to regard the 5 foot hovering mechanical construction with a look a of overwhelmed amazement.
“Woah... machine dude, you’re like something from Star Wars of something. So righteous, my main man.” He extends one hand, tapping on the ASP between its eyes with his index finger, as if giving a light knock on a door. “Name’s Rufus, yo. I don’t mean no harm or nothing. Just checking out the specs, ya know? Those other dudes that were here, man, they just kinda deserted poor Rufus. Can’t blame a man for that, right. Buy say….” Rufus reaches into his tracksuit pocket and produces a clip sealed bag of marijuana, dangling in front of ASP’s face. “Can a righteous dude like yourself get high, man? I reckon we can sit back, play some games and have a few bongs, right?” He looks around expectantly. “Sure there must be something around here we can make a bong out of. Seriously – less you have one stashed away in those walls of yours.” He then pulls out a join from his other pocket, suggesting; “But I got this wicked J as the next option. Am I right or am right, awesome dude?”
The thin redhead man appears pleasantly surprised by the web-like substance the plush cat produces. Taking hold of one end he started pulling himself to safety. As he does this, the rock that Ramrod tied the ohter end of the web to groans, but at the same time it lifts from the ground with an extension of rock legs and starts walking away as if it were fed up with situation, yet no doubt helping with pulling the man from the quicksand.
As the man climbs free and crawls happily onto solid ground, the quicksand releases an ‘aww….’ of obvious disappointment.
Sitting back on the ground and resting against the trunk of a tree that sighs with an odd kind of satisfaction, the young man gives a thankful nod to Ramrod.
“Little dude, never thought I’d see the day where my eyes would witness a righteous stuffed animal like yourself. You saved my life, little dude. Consider me in you debt. Name’s Rufus from planet Earth, by the way…” He adds, extending his hand to the plush cat to greet him. With his other hand he produces a clip seal bag of weed and gives it a little shake. “the honor is mine.”
Meanwhile, the rock continues to make its way deeper into the forest letting out small griping grunts as it goes, while the orange shrub that had followed Ramrod, plants its roots in the soil beside Rufus and Ramrod, leaning curiously as it analyses the bag of weed with the brown eyes that appear on its upper stem.
“I’m getting old, Donny… too old to take care of bullshit for myself anymore. These days I have other people take care of the bullshit.”
Pycin takes a sip of his rum, and continues;
“Thing is, I’d have my own men do this job, but they won’t. No Quatis man, woman or child would even dream of killing an admiral.”
He looks soberly down into the brown liquid of his glass like an old wizard reading the future in a potion he’d made.
“I don’t know where you’re from, Donny. I don’t know how you got out here. What I do know is that this space is far from the likes that you call home. But that’s okay….”
He takes another sip of his drink and looks at Donny again.
“The important thing is you know how to take care of yourself. Your tools may be primitive, but you can somehow manage to put our security to shame. To be honest, I wouldn’t mind seeing how you’d fair against one of our elite soldiers. Would prove quite entertaining, and maybe sort of the reason why I brought you here today.”
Finishing his drink, he leans across and take the bottle, filling his glass once more before easing back in his seat to continue in a lowering tone;
“You’ve met my Admiral, Dino Gavon. The man that shot you in the back and sent you to our medical bay.”
He then nods to the holographic image of the woman and child on his desk for reference.
“This is my wife and little girl, or at least they were until Dino Gavon got them both killed. Don’t get me wrong, Donny, he didn’t kill them outright, but he might as well have. I won’t bore you with too many details, as you probably don’t want to know in any regard. But you see, Dino was fucking my wife for the last year or so before she died. Naturally, Dino didn’t think I knew about it. But that’s not the point at the moment…. Point is, her relationship with the man distracted her at the wrong time, one thing led to another, and as a result both she my daughter were stranded on Quatis when Hany’s Ribbon struck. …They were meant to be safe with me right here on this ship.”
Pycin takes a long, deep breath. Another sip of rum. If one looked hard enough they could see the emotion trying to break his rock hard façade.
“Donny…. No doubt a man even of your own pedigree would understand the need for security in life, without the constant need to be looking over your shoulder, and I’m the man who can make that happen for you, Donny. You can have your past transgressions towards the Quatis removes. You could have free reign among the Quatis fleet, join the ranks of the superior officers if want, live as a civilian, come and go as you please, have your own place to live, all the food and pussy you can eat – and you know how us men just love the taste of those tentacles, am I right? Hell, Donny, I’d even be willing to give you your very own personal space ship… and all I have to do to make that happen is say the word….”
For the first time Pycin shows some real emotion, though only the faintest of grins, as he added;
While Ramrod moves through the forest towards the sound of the girl crying for help, he would notice many of the plants aren’t quite normal. Several of the shrubs sprout eyes when they see him coming, while others reach out, feeling at the small plush creature with their leaves and branches. When they make contact with him, the plants release small moans, some sounding intrigued by his texture, others sounding pleasured by the touch.
Soon, Ramrod would become aware of a straggly orange shrub with tiny leaves. It had uprooted itself and started following Ramrod, making small grunting noises in its effort to keep up.
Assuming that Ramrod keeps moving he soon arrives at a clearing. In the middle of the clearing is a young man with red hair and freckles and wearing a purple woolly pullover. What he’s wearing on his legs isn’t seen, since he is waist deep in a weird type of quicksand. Funnily enough, the young man is the one calling for help. It becomes obvious to Ramrod that the mans state of panic has caused his voice to become high pitched like a girl.
The quicksand is pulsating and bubbling, releasing sounds like that of a grumbling stomach and groans of satisfaction as it slowly consumed the sinking man.
When the man sees Ramron, he stops squealing like a girl. Suddenly his despair is replaced by a look of bizarre confusion for the plush cat.
“Uhh… dude….” He said with a young, masculine tone. “You’re like… a plush toy or something.” Realizing he’s sinking a little deeper into the quicksand, he raises a curios eyebrow. “So, like… help?”
The Android Quatis Mechanic didn't display a look of satisfaction for Meta's reply. He remained suspicious, narrowing his eyes. He wasn't ready to lower his weapon just yet. He was however about to reply, mouth open with the first syllable formed when he got distracted by a third person in the room. He quickly re-aimed his gun at a young man that just kinda blinked into existence a few meters away. Shortly after appearing, the young man vanished, then quickly reappeared, only this time he didn't vanish again.
The stranger had short wavy red hair and small freckles on his cheeks, standing about 6 feet tall with green, bloodshot eyes. He was no older than early twenties, dressed in deep-blue tracksuit pants, purple woolly pullover, and brown slippers on his feet. He wasn't armed at all and didn't actually carry any possessions whatsoever.
Once his arrival was stable, the young man rolled his eyes around the room in amazement while his hands felt the air as if he were a mime lost in his act. It took a moment before he acknowledged the other two people in the room.
"Dudes..." He said in a state of wonder as he lowering his hands; "I'm like so freaked out right now."
The engineer was speechless for a moment, apparently having no idea what was taking place. He then turned his eyes quickly to Meta, his suspicion intensifying as he then turned his look back to the strange redhead, and demanded answers. He raised the line of his gun to the strangers head:
"Who the hell are you?!"
"Whoa, dude!" The man replied, throwing his hands up again as a gesture of surrender. But he didn't really seem to be taking the situation too seriously, sort of laughing while he spoke: "What's with the badass gun, man? I ain't armed, I swear - hell, I don't even know where I am. Can someone fill me in or what?" Then, as if his arms were way too heavy keep held up, he flopped them back down by his side and turned his attention the Meta, saying:
"Duuuude... you are look'n so righteous right now. Nice getup, really, you have my respec." He thumped his fist to his chest as a sign of sincerity then held out his hand to greet Meta; "Names Rufus, man. Ya got a name or what?"
Whether Meta responded or not, the android - who was looking rather panicked at this point - spoke into the device on his wrist: "Command. Two to teleport!" As soon as he finished saying so, he grabbed Meta by the shoulder. Less than a second later the Android and Meta vanished in a flurry of light.
Rufus was a little confused, but not too phased by the two men disappearing in front of him.
"Rude." He said, and with a small shrug started exploring the Tempest.
Meta materialized in a small, square metallic room somewhere on board the Quatis flagship Egress. He is seated in a chair but isn't restrained and appears to have all his items on his person. In front of him is a bare metal table, the legs of which seem to be melded to the floor. The room is fairly dark, but enough light is present to look around comfortably. On the wall to the left is a view screen displaying an image of a space vessel:
On the wall to the right is a terminal with what would appear to be random data readouts. There don't appear to be any doors in the room, but on the far side of the table in front of him is yet another stranger. This man is standing, hands behind his back in a casual yet staunch pose. He looks about middle age, black hair with streaks of violet around the ears, and a long violet and black goatee. He has brown eyes and is wearing a two-piece black uniform, maybe some sort of military issue judging by the four white stripes on the right of his chest and the Quantum rifle hanging from his belt. But he doesn't introduce himself. Instead, he takes a step closer to the table, saying:
"State your full name, occupation, origin, reason for being in this region of space, and..." He glances at the vessel on the view screen; "...everything you know about the ship that just appeared within close proximity of your own."
Fortunately for Donny, and anyone else who decided to take potshots at doors and walls, the energy blast had no real effect. Apparently the walls and doors of the Quatis ship were designed to absorb many types of energy. The absorption technology was so effective that the shot Donny took was practically non-climactic. The energy just dissipated on contact.
Donny's furthering efforts to access inter-Quatis information also fell flat. Moments after replying to the Grand Minister, his wrist devise went off-line. All functions went dark. Nothing responded. Even if he had been able to open up inter-Quatis information, he wouldn’t have found much on Pycin, besides the fact that he was Prime Leader of the Quatis. The Grand Ministers personal files are restricted.
Still, Donny wasn't without achievement, after seeing his wrist device go dead, he would have felt the sensation of crawling skin and butterflies in his stomach as his vision went black –
Donny’s vision returns to find himself standing and facing Pycin from the opposite side of his desk in his office. The office is as previously described. No doors are apparent. If Donny is thinking, as he usually is, and even though he is alone in the room with the Grand Minister, he would likely suspect that the office isn’t without its share of security systems. Furthermore, the devise on Donny’s wrist is still not operational.
Grand Minister Pycin has sky-blue eyes and swept back hair, silver, though a tint on the blue side. No facial hair, but his face was hard as nails. It was clear he wasn’t easily aroused. He’s dressed in a grey full-length robe, obviously a casual attire similar to that of a bath robe, while holding half a glass of Kraken Rum in one hand.
When Donny appears, he makes a small effort to rise from his chair, gives a small nod to greet him, then retakes the seat behind his desk. He then motions with his head towards a small cabinet position next to the empty seat in front his desk. In the glass door cabinet are various bottles of alcohol as well non-alcoholic beverages and several drinking classes.
“Fix yourself a drink, Donny. Take a seat. Relax. We have… business to discuss, you and I.”
“Mine?” Dino Gavon responds to the transmission from the alien vessel and looks at Cas, then back at the reading’s at his station. “Fuck you!” As he told the person on the alien vessel to get fucked, the words ‘fuck you’ seemed to play on his mind, as though he were reminded of something but couldn’t quite figure out what. He gives Cas another odd look and shrugs. “Anyway, No time to waste, we have to get down there and save that little girl now.”
Cas gives Hida a friendly smile as she, Cas and Dino make their way back to center chamber of the ship where Pirila and Shard have recently exited the room they had been in. Cuna was no longer there, but no one really seemed to notice his absence.
“Pirila!” Dino said, “We’ve found your friends bio readings on the planet below. It’s clear by the readings that she is still alive, but she is still in the company of her abductor.”
Dino then gives Pirila a smoldering look as he snaps his fingers. When he does this, a chamber opens out from the wall beside her displaying a range of guns and rifles.
“Take your pick, hot stuff, a fine dame like yourself shouldn’t be landing on an uncharted planet without a means to protect herself, am I right? Of course I’m right!”
Shard then steps aside, seemingly a little confused by something, but says to Dino; “Sir, I’m staying here. I don’t know why exactly, but I just feel like I need to be doing something while you’re gone. I can’t quite explain it, sir, but I’m sure it’s important that I stay here.”
“Very well,” Dino tells her, “stay if you want. In fact, I’d prefer someone was her to guard the ship while I’m gone.”
Whether Pirila had decided to take a gun or not, Cas takes one, but it’s not for him to use. He hands it to Hida like a man presenting a woman a rose, saying; “This is for you. It’s a beautiful piece of machinery… just like you. I’ve also got peanuts if you’re hungry.”
Dino then states a command and the next thing Hida and Pirila know they are standing in the caves of the planet below with Dino and Cas. Dino checks his wrist device and gives a nod to Pirila.
“Follow me. This way. Be as quiet as you can and stay on guard.”
The group of four start heading down the passages of the cave towards Mili’s bio signature.
Back on board the DGS, Cuna had found himself in Dino Gavon’s Bedchamber. It was likely the most elaborately decorated room in the ship. The bed was massive and circular and adorned with velvet cushions of sensual colors. The walls were violet. The ceiling and floor were made of mirrors. Several expensive looking dressers and wardrobes were scattered about the outer perimeter of the room.
A little while after he enters, the door opens and Shard walks in. For a second after seeing Cuna, her expression is blank, but then changes to one of surprising realization.
“Oh – it’s you, you sexy, sexy man!” She declares as a delightful smile scrunches her cute little face. She quickly accesses her wrist device with a few little taps of her finger. Cuna’s clothes then vanish for a moment, then appear neatly folded on the top of a dresser on the far side of the room. At the same time, Shard’s own clothing disappears and reappears in a neat stack beside his own. Her body is nothing short of perfect, the proportions and supple texture of her skin are literally the makings of a supermodel. But then - as her nipples harden, her lips noticeably swell and her pupils dilate - six octopus-like tentacles grow out from her vagina, prodding at the air as if desperately searching for something to hold on to.
“Get on the bed!” She orders, as she catwalks towards him.
The planet is a beautiful sight to see. The flora is vivacious with fanciful coloring. While Magnus is surveying the area, he feels the sensation of fingers walking up the back of his leg. At the same time he feels a tap on his shoulder while the sound of a pleasured moan is heard. If he looks back, he won’t see anyone but a tree standing behind him. It’s a nice looking tree, about the same height as Magnus, with purple plumage and several eyes lining its trunk. Farther down, he might notice the roots of the tree have uprooted themselves. The roots were causing the sensation of fingers walking up his leg, now groping and prodding at Magnus as they approach his upper thigh.
Suddenly, the nearby tree line comes alive as a larger, uglier looking tree steps out and beats its lower limb against the ground with a powerful strike. When it does so, the smaller purple tree squeals like a frightened mouse and starts running away; its roots carrying it as fast as they can across the clearing to hide in another part of the forest.
The large tree looms and growls as it strides towards Magnus, while somewhere nearby a small white flower in the clearing sighs like no good thing was about to happen.
"While the desperate men, women and children of Iceolia turn on each other to save themselves, Ernest is forced to make decisions. He knows that Fanny is watching, though she is no longer present to help, but the deluge of people trying to force themselves on board are likely the only thing on his mind right now. What does one do when faces with such a dire situation?
Meanwhile, those on board the Rodia are also faced with a decisions. The threat of Hany's Ribbon and the transmission from the MASGC Operator will probably cause some conflicting views. Even if those of the Rodia could help with the MASGC evacuate, will they be able to find a way to escape the path of Hany's Ribbon, or would their efforts to help be in vain?
Tune in for the next edition of channel 0 news!"
Trillions of citizen from across the universe watch on as Frank Feelsalot, the chubby pink octopod news broadcaster, shuffles the papers on his desk and the inter-universal breaking news broadcast ends.
Boris opened his clapped hands, checking for the bacon like a child might check to see if he had caught a fly. But no, the rasher hit the mirror instead, and Boris turned his attention to follow. His wide-eye look of suspense quickly dropped when he saw the girl standing next to him in the mirror, replaced by a look of morbid confusion. He cast his eyes beside him to look for the girl who should have been standing beside him. She wasn't. He looked at the girls reflection in the mirror again, beside him, then back at the reflection.
Boris had seen a lot of strange things in his life, and this was up there with some of the stranger ones, but it sure wasn't THE strangest thing. He figured there must have been a logical explanation to what was happening, but knew he wouldn't be smart enough to figure it out. He poked the mirror image of the girl to see if he could feel her. Nah, it was just a mirror.
He sighed.
Still, there was no sense in wasting good food. Plucking the Bacon from the mirror he chewed on it slowly while thinking really hard. The bacon tasted good, but the girl sure did look bad. Someone must have punched her a lot or something. Boris didn't really blame people for wanting to punch girls, well, older girls, not younger ones. Older girls were very mean a lot of the time, but younger girls were usually okay. He couldn't think of a reason why someone might want to beat up a child. They were just children, after all. After looking over the girls wounds, he had to wonder out loud:
"Did a mean person punch you in your private place? Boris can punch them back in their private place too if you want...."
The girl didn't answer his question, though. Instead, she showed Boris that she didn't have a tongue to answer. Then she lifted her arm and pointed at Boris. Then the drawer of the dresser opened up in a hurry. Then a small wooden box flew out of the drawer and landed on the dresser. This girl may have been hurt really bad, for which Boris felt sorry, but she sure did know how to use magic that Boris didn't know how to use. He wondered how she did that....
He looked at the box with a curios grin, like a child awaiting a prize, and despite her not having a tongue, he really wanted to ask anyway;
"Is that for me, little miss?"
Of course, Boris didn't get an answer from the tongueless girl, but he went ahead and took the box off the dresser anyway. He gave it a shake next to his ear, trying to figure out what might have been inside by the rattle it made. Whatever was inside made a dull sound. It sure was possible that rocks were inside. He could use them in his slingshot! Maybe the girl was giving him ammunition to hurt the people that hurt her.
Wanting to know for sure, Boris pried open the box using just his thumbs and the lock broke away pretty easy. In the box he found a small cloth sack with some writing on it and three gold nuggets inside. He didn't know what the writing said, but it sure was nice of the girl to give Boris such valuable ammunition. Hurting the people who hurt her must have been very important.
Boris bit his lip, thinking on the matter for a moment, then nodded at the girl, saying;
"It's okay, little miss. I think I understand. I'll get those people that hurt you bad. You don't need to worry at all."
As he finished Speaking, the girl disappeared and the window shutters slammed shut. Boris guessed their meeting was over, but he was a little disappointed that the girl didn't stay a little longer, he really wanted to draw her picture. But anyway, she was gone now, so he shoved the small sack with the gold in his backpack and - since he had finished breakfast, played a fun game of catch the bacon, and couldn't see any way to help the headless man or empty woman - he left the house. The door of the house was already opened for him, so that was nice.
Boris had a little bounce in his step as he walked down the road towards the Bazaar. He had someone to help, and that was good! All he needed to do now was figure out how. Maybe some people at the Bazaar knew how to read.
Madison had slept in. She woke in her cabin after most of the other passengers had already disembarked at Trios. The lack of motion made her realize the ferry had docked, and the sound of her stomach grumbling made her realize she needed to find some food fast. She struggled to sit up on her bed, rested a moment, and then rocked back and forth a few times in order to get the momentum needed to stand up.
Giving her nose a quick pick, she grabbed her bag from the table and opened the door to leave. She cussed loudly while pushing through the narrow door-frame and into the hallway that wasn't much wider. A sliding sound was heard as her hips and arms rubbed along both walls of the corridor.
When she reached the deck, she shoved hard past a well-dressed lady in a small top hat (Oblivia Minot) without stopping to apologize, then walked a bit farther before stopping on the boarding plank. There she quickly survey what she could see of Trios. The plank creaked under the strain of her weight as she picked a lice from her hair and shoved it in her mouth. Chewing the lice, she grunted and barged through more people in her way, heading to the merchants that had set up stalls at the docks.
She stopped at the nearest food stall and slammed a small, dirty copper coin on the counter. She looked over the few food items on display then grimaced at the stall holder.
“I wan some meat, ya got meat? Maybe pastry or somefin?”
[center][b][color=708090]. . .[/color][/b][/center]
[center][b][color=708090]I ' m a w r i t e r
I l i k e i t[/color][/b][/center]
[center][b][color=708090]. . .[/color][/b][/center]
<div style="white-space:pre-wrap;"><div class="bb-center"><span class="bb-b"><font color="#708090">. . .</font></span></div> <br><br><div class="bb-center"><span class="bb-b"><font color="#708090">I ' m a w r i t e r<br><br>I l i k e i t</font></span></div><br><br><div class="bb-center"><span class="bb-b"><font color="#708090">. . .</font></span></div> <br><br></div>
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