Change of plans, looks like I found some time to write today. So here it is....
Victor
Species: Human. With Cybernetic Enhancements. Doesn’t like to be referred to as a Cyborg.
Age: Almost 15.
Gender: Male.
Description: From an outside perspective, Victor looks completely human. He stands just over 5’7” with a lean build, pale skin, short and unkempt black hair with shades of brown around the ears and nape, and just a few small scattered freckles on his cheeks. He is dressed in dark grey denim trousers, well-worn black ankle boots, and a dirty white T-shirt with brown leather jacket. The jacket is always open, since the zip broke some time ago.
Backstory
Victor was born severely disabled with deformities to his arms, legs, spinal column and left eye. From birth, he was virtually paralyzed from the neck down. Due to his extreme disability, his parents abandoned him to the Third Star Capital Hospital when he was still an infant, where he lived out his childhood in a hospital bed until he reached the age of 14. At that point, one of the medical scientists of the hospital proposed rebuilding Victor with cybernetics and, after several weeks of debate among hospital directors, it was decided that it was in everyone’s best interest to make Victor an active contributor to society. The necessary arrangements were made.
At the age of 14 and 6 months, the operation was underway. Victor’s arms, legs, spinal column and left eye were replaced by Cybernetics, while a computerized device, called a CR-1 (Cybernetic Regulator – 1) was implanted next to his heart to regulate and stabilize his Bio and Bionic systems. In addition, due to the stress that these extreme cybernetic additions would cause his natural functions, Victor’s remaining skeletal structure was also replaced with a newly developed alloy, while the natural ability for his biological systems to grow any further was permanently stunted. Despite having his bones, limbs and left eye replaced with artificial components, Victor’s brain and other major thoracic and abdominal organs remained human.
For the next few months Victor underwent a grueling process of rehabilitation that would ultimately help him learn to function by natural human standards. But alas, Victor took some time adjusting to his superior physical strength, and three weeks into his rehabilitation he accidentally killed one of the therapists in charge of his care. This incident created some obvious problems… and desperately panicked by the fact that the hospital directors ordered that he be captured and contained for further processing, Victor broke free from his ward and escaped the hospital.
Victor spent the next month or two living on the streets of the Capital, stealing food to survive and hiding in the shadows until he met a young girl by the name of Laika, another teenage runaway. Victor and Laika quickly became close friends, living and battling to stay alive by their wits and brawn on the streets of The Third Star Capital, until one day they heard of a way they might be able to escape that life forever….
To note: As Quote5 mentioned in the OP OOC, my character and another players characters (yet to post) will be stowaways on the ship. Also, Victor is a character fresh off the press and developed solely for this RP. I haven’t ironed out all the creases yet, so I feel a lot of Victor’s character growth and personality will likely take place as the RP develops along with him. If major changes are made to his character, things that effect the RP in any great way, I’ll be sure to let everyone know, especially the GM. And one last thing... Victor has not in any way declared his allegiance to The Empire of the Third Star.
Gosh! The Trios guards sure were nice to Boris. Boris had never met guards so very allowing before. Normally they were a little mean and sometimes even maybe made fun of Boris, but not these ones, not at all.
Boris was smiling wide as he made his way through the Guards Barracks and into the Processing room. There, he saw the armor on the racks above the crate. He recognized that armor right away, it belonged to the Tin Man Boris had met earlier. The Tin Man hadn't actually provided Boris a name at that time, so Boris figured he might as well just keep calling him the Tin Man, since he looked a lot like one. For a moment, Boris just stood and stared at the armor, wondering what the Tin Man might have done wrong to get himself locked up. He chuckled for a second or two, imagining the Tin Man stealing a cookie or something like that. After his little laugh, he used his keys to open the door to the cell block.
He pushed the key chain away into his trouser pant pocket, still holding an amused smile on his face as he strode down the walkway between cells. That was until he found two prisoners in two neighboring cells. One of them must have been the Tin Man, the Other one must have been Ovarin.... or… wait…. Maybe the Tin Man was Ovarin, Boris couldn’t discount that possibility. But that probably wasn’t true, and for the sake of making things easier for himself, Boris decided that believing the Tin Man and Ovarin were two different people helped a lot. Still, he had no idea what the Tin Man looked like without his armor on.
For a while, Boris stood at the point where the two cells met, looking back and forth at the two prisoners, biting his lip while thinking, trying really hard to decide which one was Ovarin and which one was the Tin Man. He would have just asked straight away, but prisoners aren’t very nice people, that's why they're in jail, and Boris knew that maybe they could lie to him. Really though, Boris knew that finding out which of the prisoners was the Tin Man would be the best idea to start, because that would mean the other man was Ovarin. Well, probably anyway.
Fortunately, Boris knew a little magic trick a young boy taught him a couple of years before. It sure was a good trick, and it hadn’t failed Boris yet. So, taking turns pointing at one prisoner then the other with each word of the spell, he started the magic chant:
"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, Catch a Dragon by the toe. If he hollers, let him go, Eeny, meeny, miny… moe."
Boris’s finger was pointing at Kaldalis with the final word of the chant, which was when the smile finally left his face, replaced by an expression of a very serious nature while he asked Kaldalis the question:
“Are you the Tin Man? I bet you are, my magic spell never lies.”
Dino Gavon didn't physically respond to the guards or the Khan's request to relinquish weapons, give his name, or even reason to be there. In honestly, these people seemed just as confused over their situation as he was over his. In addition, the crew on the Bridge seemed to have their hands full with said events, so Dino decided to play the understandable third wheel, the uninvited nerd at a party. The gun remained dangling loosely in the grip of his fingertips, not dropped as requested, but clearly no threat at the moment either.
Through his eye-wear that looked like little more than sunglasses and complete with a translation program of its own, he was able to read the data that came up on screen for the Yuri. Though he barely moved his head, he angling his eyes in the shadows of his glasses to quickly absorb the information, then listened carefully to the orders the Khan gave. Once that was done, he ever so slightly shifted his face in direction of the Khan again and found it the best time as ever to finally give a proper reply. As he spoke, he released his usual tone of superiority, supposing one of humility and respect instead:
"Respectfully, Yuri, if you don't my calling you out by name, I have no intention of relinquishing my weapon at this point, but you should know I mean you no harm. Call it self-preservation. Nevertheless, it would seem that you and I have some things in common. Judging by what I've seen on your monitors, your star charts, and the message from your subordinates, my arrival here is undoubtedly caused by the same Quantum displacement that is currently effected your own people. My Name is Admiral Dino Gavon of the Quatis Race, here unintentionally and, as of right now, seeking a way back to my own ship. Perhaps we can help each other."
Back in the Yurt Canteen, James and his men are undergoing procedures Fanny knew, for their own prudence, should have been enforced much earlier. Still, as James barks his commands at her, Fanny's demeanor changes to one of stout severity while dropping her hands from a surrendering pose. As she does so, James can once again hear her voice in his head saying "My beloved lamb has returned," and completing this telepathic message, her lips part to speak. Her voice comes forth as if were composed of thunder, literally convulsing not only the canteen but the entire Yurt ship, saying: "You have no power over me unless I give it to you. There is no force but that I have allowed you. No man can capture the wind, no less the breath that makes it flow. I will walk with you as kin, and I will take pleasure in your company. You will escort me to Khan Yuri. This is my word. My word is all."
As Fanny completes her thunderous speech, every weapon in the hands of every soldier surrounding her become red with heat. They would naturally be unable to keep hold of their weapons and drop them, each weapon turning to ash upon hitting floor.
First Gamma Palin was as smart as they come. His eyes narrowed with intense concentration and scrutiny while regarding the reply from the Khaganate. He didn't, however, reply right away. Communication was temporarily severed while he addressed his bridge crew. Expecting each officer under his authority to know their place and therefore know what questions were directed at who, he simply stated his inquiries without naming the specific officers in question.
I want a standard report of every instance taking place in and around this system since the shockwave. Leave nothing out, no matter how unimportant it might seem. I also want a report on Admiral Dino Gavon's current whereabouts. I want these reports yesterday!"
It took less than a second for the new leading science officer, a lady by the name of Rej with jet back hair and glassy un-rested eyes to speak up, saying: "First of all, First Gamma Palin, you aren’t going to believe this, but the vessels that materialized at the outer most planet have a similar composition to the android being studied by Dorita Gavon on the science ship. If I might surmise a guess, they aren’t going to be happy to see us holding one of their own captive. Furthermore, I believe their entire race, at least those on board the vessels that have materialized, are all artificial life forms, just like the droid we have.”
“Secondly, I have now counted a total of 13 life pods scattered around the system. My readings have no record of their composition in our data banks. Their origins remain unknown. I suggest caution in our approach. I should also mention that our current scans indicate that our new neighbors, the Khaganate, have decided to detain one of these life pods. Uh… and as for the unknown variety of Orca that appeared in orbit of Phantom Point planet… the Khaganate have teleported it on board their vessel. From what I can tell the ocean dwelling mammal is being detained in an environment suitable to its nature.”
“Thirdly, First Gamma, and what appears very troubling, is that we have just started receiving reports of power failure and data loss from numerous areas on board our ships. From what I gather, similar problems are being experienced on board the Khaganate vessels. Sir…. There is no logical explanation for these losses, but it does present a major issue. One effected area is that of Grand Minister Pycin’s personal quarters. Power is being drained quickly. His Quarters' oxygen levels are being depleted in accordance to the power loss. It would also appear that his quarters have been breached by an unknown species of bird, as well as a humanoid. Scans indicate the humanoid is the same man that arrived on our vessel after the incident with Dino Gavon on the planet’s surface. I have no idea what is responsible for the power depletion, sir, but I’m currently doing all that I can to find out. But one thing can probably be assumed, and this that not all instances taking place since the shockwave are being detected by our scanners…. It seems likely that there are other arrivals, maybe cloaked vessels nearby that we are yet unable to detect.”
“the fourth matter you should be apprised of, sir. We have just now detected another vessel approaching this star system. Long distance scans indicate all but four large land mammals are on board the vessel. The Vessel is otherwise heavily armed. No more data to report on this instance at this time.”
“But there is one other thing….” Rej’s voice sounded to ease off in delivering the last bit of news; “I’ve managed to track the shockwave back to its origin. The Quantum displacement residue leads back to the small vessel in orbit of the Phantom Point planet near the Tempest. Somehow… that ship could be responsible for all this shit.”
Palins eyelids become heavy while he listens to Rej’s accounts, like a man growing tired of listening to the same tune too many times, yet somehow still manages to feign interest.
“And what about Dino Gavon’s whereabouts… have you found his bio signature?” Palin asks.
“No, sir.” Rej replies regrettably. “The admiral doesn’t seem to be anywhere within a 20 lightyear radius of our position. His personal ship, the DGS, is currently occupied by what appears to be a cybernetic entity of unknown origin.”
Oddly enough, Palin seems more disturbed by the news of Dino Gavon than anything else. He sighs like someone would after failing to extinguish a candle on their birthday cake, then announces his response to all bridge crew members, saying:
“Send out a recovery crew to Pycin’s quarters. Recover the Grand minister and detain the visiting humanoid and …birdlife. Dispatch crews to recover all personnel from effected areas of our ships, then seal off all effected areas with level nine security measures. Keep scanning for cloaked vessels, Rej, do what you need to do to make that happen - and make it a priority.”
Palin pauses for a moment before continuing with allocated orders:
“Dispatch a tertiary science crew to one of the life pods, the nearest one to our fleet’s location will do. Make it a skeleton crew. We don’t want to chance any nasty surprises. Give the science crew orders to use the utmost discretion in this matter, we have no idea of the nature of what’s on board these pods. If analyses of investigation proves that the life on board is safe, we can then send out more tertiary vessels to recover what remains of them.”
“Send a transmission the DGS, request information form the Cybernetic life form on board the Admirals ship. We need to know its intentions before proceeding further.”
“Send another transmission to the singular vessel approaching this system, request the intentions of the four life forms on board as well.”
“Send a transmission to the small vessel you say is responsible for the Quantum displacement wave. Request immediate information from whoever is on board that vessel. We want answers.”
“Last of all, keep an eye on the ships located at the outer most planet. They haven’t responded to our hails. We will continue to play ignorant until we hear from them.”
Done with his initial orders, Palin takes a seat in the captain’s chair and stares out into the abyss of space while waiting feedback. A minute later the communications officer announces the following:
“First Gamma. I have sent out transmissions to all noted entities, awaiting their reply.”
"Now re-open communication to the Khaganate.” Palin tells him. “I have a response."
Without saying a word, the communications officer opens a link to the KSS Nova. It has been several minutes in its delay, but the first Gamma finally replies with the following:
“Captain Erwin Schmidt. We have no intention of hostility towards you or your people. As I have mention previously, we too are new to this region of space. I would like at some point to stand on ceremony and learn more about your people, but it would seem that current events taking place are taking priority. Our current research into the odd events that have taken place suggest that the displacement you and others have encountered originated from a small vessel in orbit of the planet we of the Quatis are also in orbit of. We are currently attempting to communicate with said vessel with no success.”
Captain Erwin and his crew would then receive the spatial coordinates of the vessel Palin had mentioned, before he continues with his message:
“Furthermore, we have scanned your vessels and have discovered that we share a similar problem. We are both suffering from power loss in various areas of our ships. The source of these depletion are yet unknown. It would stand to reason that we are both in a position to assist each other where we can. Please confirm our analogy.”
The elephants don't noticeably respond to Ernest, apparently elephants don't understand his language at all.
Soon after, while Ernest starts heading to the nearest star, he receives a transmission from the solar system he is approaching. The transmission is vocal and is as follows:
“This is communication Officer Tailor of the Quatis Fleet. You and your crew of four are approaching a system that recently encountered events pertaining to quantum displacement. We hereby suggest you approach with caution and we also request that you state your intentions at this time.”
While this is happening, Fanny appears riding bareback on one of the elephants in Ernest's hold. When she appears, the animals suddenly become complacent and settle down.
"Happy to see me again, Erny?" She says, a look of trouble souring her face.
The DGS’s AI doesn’t have time to reply to SAM’s inquiry, as a new transmission is received at the helm of the bridge he is standing in. It is a vocal transmission and is heard as follows:
“This is communication Officer Tailor of the Quatis Fleet. You are currently occupying the personal ship of our first Admiral, Dino Gavon. We have also encountered various unexplained anomalies in this region of space. We hereby suggest you state your designation or name and your intentions at this time. Please respond.”
As the message ends, Fanny May, dressed in the same way she was previously, appears beside SAM with a gentle hand on his shoulder. She tells him:
"The Quatis will teleport a crew of soldiers to destroy you if you show any indication at all that you might have something to do with the disappearance of their precious admiral." Fanny has a dark look on her face, clearly perturbed by the events taking place.
A small Quatis science vessel with a skeleton crew is launched from the Quatis Flagship Egress and approaches one of the life pods adrift in space nearest the fleet’s location. Reaching a proximity of several hundred meters, the Pod is teleported aboard the science vessel. It materializes within a containment area in the research lab. The containment area is sectioned off by a level 9 forcefield. Three scientist and three security guards are at the ready in the lab, all standing outside of containment area.
The leading science officer in the room, a man by the name of Derok, instantly gives the order for external scans of the life pod be made. A series of yellow rays move over the pod taking readings of its hull structure. All reading results are simultaneously displayed on a monitor screen where all three science officers read the information that is obtained. Concluding this scan, Derok orders a series of secondary scans be made, scans pertaining to the inner cavity of the pod. With the secondary scan in action, a series of lime-green rays move over the pod while information pertaining to the interior of the pod is displayed on yet another viewing monitor.
Unknown to Donny, a mobile recovery crew and security team has be dispatched to Pycin’s quarters.
Meanwhile, as the lights and oxygen supply to Pycin’s Quarters are being compromised, Donny, in an interval of darkness, would hear the soft, wet slap of Pycin dropping his soap in the shower. As the next moment of light returns to the bathroom, Donny sees Pycin’s face through the glass that divides the view of each other. In that moment of illumination, Donny can see Pycin’s face is suddenly mortified at the sight of Donny looking back at him with the Quantum rifle pointed at his face. In that moment of light, Pycin may be realizing many things, a momentary clustered of thoughts that posed many questions: How did Donny managed to arrive at that place at that time? How did he expect to kill him knowing the bomb in his heart would ultimately end his own life too? What in the hell was causing the lights to suddenly fail? What was the buckling noise he could hear coming from the wall of his bathroom? And of course, why the fuck was he finding it hard to breathe right now? But in the end… as the moment of failing light gave way to another interval of darkness, the only sound Donny could hear escaping Pycin’s mouth were:
“Donny, you son of a fucking whore. I’ll see you in hell.”
As Pycin no doubt spouted his less than wisdom-filled final words, a female voice in the other room could also be heard in the same moment of darkness, calling out in the initial moments of apprehension; “Pycin! What the fuck are you doing in there? What the hell is going on?”
At the same time the small flock of penguins can be heard in the kitchen releasing chirps of distress.
Down on the planet, some distance from Phantom Point Station, the small group left behind would see that the herd of Wilder Beasts aren’t slowing down. The groups only seconds from being trampled. Shard, however, now aware of the pending stampede, snaps out of her previous panic and reverts her eyes to the transect device on her wrist. She desperately attempts forming a vocal order, but her new panic seems to be stumbling her words. She finally manages to release a coherent sentence just an instant before the stampede of stressed animals trample the group:
“Random jump for all humanoids in current party!”
The instant Shard voices her command, as the breath of the nearest approaching wilder breast in practically huffing in their faces, all members of their group are gone in a flurry of light.
Cuna, Pirila, Mili and Shard, appear in another location, yet only thirty meters down the road and still in harm’s way of the oncoming stampede.
“OH MY CHROMOSOMES!” Shard screeches in frustrated terror as she raises her quantum rifle, pointing it at the front line of wilder beasts. “Cuna!” She adds in desperate panic. “Fire that fucking weapon, you sexy son of a bitch!” As she ends her scream she squeezes her own trigger….
“I know it had everything to do with this.” Cas replies, looking over the data on his transect device. “But there is nothing that suggests we are anywhere remotely close to our previous location. All information is alien of origin. I just have no idea where we are at the moment.”
As Cas finishes talking, the sound of horses can be heard approaching from beyond a clearing in the forest. Accompanying the sounds of galloping hooves are the voices of men. Before too long, the horses and their riders appear in the clearing. It appears that a group of bandits, ten men strong and dressed in makeshift medieval armor varieties, come to a halt at the edge of the clearing. The ten grubby men take a moment to assess the two humans they had stumbled across before the one in the lead dismounts his horse with a grin to make any man uncomfortable, though his attention appears to be glued to Hida.
“Well, what have we here, boys? A harlot and her toy?” The rest of the bandits let out laughter before their apparent leader adds another statement, saying: “Looks like the God’s have favored us today, am I right?” He draws his rusted sword. “It be fitting you remove those clothes, wench!” He says to Hida, then pointing his blade at Cas: “And it be fitting that you sit down without a peep until us men have had our fill of this whore of yours.”
Meta would likely teleport back to his ship using his new transect device, but a second or two after his arrival, he is shoved hard from behind. The shove would have come from the point of a blunt object to his upper back and hard enough to at least knock him to his knees, before he hears the voice of Sahmi behind him:
“Don’t you even fucking dream about leaving me there! My people won't let me take my own vessel to look for my dad under the current circumstances. Civilians and scientist like me will be ordered to return to our quarters until the threat has ended. I’m coming with you whether you like it or not! You’re gonna help me find my daddy! So help me God, don’t make me shoot you!”
While she is blurting out these words she had the barrel of her massive rifle pointed at Meta, but as her words conclude her attention is stolen by a third entity in the room with them. She quickly re-aims the weapon at the approaching entity. It’s a seven-feet tall android charging in the direction of Meta and Sahmi. Behind the Android lies the mangles mess of an ASP on the floor in a nearby hall.
After an instants assessment of the situation, Sahmi fires her weapon at the oncoming android. The pulse of green light, like that of a fluorescent ball strikes the android in the torso and sends it flying head over heels into the nearest wall. As the androids crashes down to the floor, it’s clear that its torso has been ruptured. But the hole in its chest appears to be quickly regenerating as it struggles to its feet.
“A little help here!” Sahmi calls out to Meta as she squeezes the trigger a second time –
The peasant girl’s reaction to the current situation, including Magnus’s inquiry, intensifies to one of stupendous horror. It would seem that she was only just beginning to come to terms with her new surroundings. She glares and Sandra, then back at Magnus with that fast growing horrified terror before producing a four-inch rusty blade from the belt of her dirty tunic.
Holding the knife by the handle like a direly under-qualified tradesman would hold a screwdriver, she jumps up into a standing position in her seat while screaming like some crazed lunatic before lunging at Magnus, swiping the blade in a series of half hazard motions as she flails through the air towards him. While airborne, she managed to even scream these very troubling words:
“You’re not having my vagina while I’m still alive, you filthy swine!”
Meanwhile, as Magnus’s life pends on his swift reaction to the sudden assault, a reply is received from the Jam in a rather cheery tone:
“That’s really good to hear! All of us are so glad we don’t have to destroy you today! Feel free to come aboard at your leisure!”
The docking bay doors on the Jam’s vessel then begin to open to allow them entry.
"Gosh!" Boris first replies to the guards, "I sure am glad you think Boris is smart. I'm not as dumb as people think. But I think you're wrong about one thing, Mr. Guard, Boris isn't a baby at all...." He think for a moment, rolling his eyes around to carefully consider the situation. "I'm not really sure how old I am, but you can maybe see that Boris is much bigger than a baby. So maybe it's true that Boris is even smarter than you."
Boris keeps a pleasant smile while the guard then steps up close and asks him one last question, a question that made Boris think even more than before. He bites his lip mischievously, then answers.
"And no, sir, I am not Ovarin's friend at all, and Boris isn't naughty much any more. Boris used to be naughty, though, much more than now. I used to steal stuff and sometimes I'd eat parts of people if they were mean to Boris, but I haven't eaten anyone in a long time, so you don't have to worry about that anymore. No sir, nuh-uh - Boris is a true adventurer now!!" Boris pauses to think briefly on the other question. "But to answer your question even more betterer, Mr. Guard, Boris met a little miss earlier. She was invisible and everything. But the little miss was hurting bad with lots of blood and stuff. Even her private place was bleeding a lot. I'm pretty gosh sure she wants Boris to help her find the bad people who hurt her. So I am! Boris likes to help people, because that's what adventurers do! I also met another little miss who likes cookies a lot. Her name is Whiteleaf, but Boris just calls her Miss Leaf for short. I helped Miss Leaf with her push-cart, then she helped Boris by telling me about the man I'm meant to visit - and now, because of Miss Leave, I can help the other invisible miss." Boris sighs, and regrets to say with a dire shake of his head; "It sure does sound complemicated, especially to someone who isn't as smart as Boris. So I'm sorry if you're confused. I know how that feels a lot, Mr. Guard. So if you don't mind at all, I'd really like to see Ovarin right now. You can just wave me through for sure. And you can go ahead and watch if you want, Boris doesn't mind if your bored."
Just to note: Everyone, please read the entire post. I know it’s long, but it is kinda necessary. In some but not all cases, I have added your characters names as headings in parts that involve them, but most of your character have been mentioned more than once and may also be involved in other areas of the post that aren't titles with their name reference. The beginning section of the post is also vital in explaining the reasons why all the later events take place. In any case, feel free to go ahead and blame Meta XD.
Thank you.
Chapter 4
Love and War
Rufus doesn’t know the droids at all, or Meta for that Matter, but the years of drug use and the fact that he is very stoned right now, not to mention being swept away from his home and being lost in space at the moment, and also because he was just about to reach level 80 in Skyrim before stepping into the portal in his bedroom… well, it was all taking a toll on him. He feels hurt by the droids response, as though he was losing a new friend for no good reason. Hell, a tear even wells in his eye as he replies to ASP:
“You know what, metallic dude…. I was never stranded here. So I’m just gonna go…. You should work on your social skills. I wanna go back to my ship now, so b –“
As Rufus said goodbye, he vanished from his cell.
Rufus appeared on the bridge on his vessel, or rather the vessel he unwittingly commandeered, and is once again surrounded by hovering holographic systems and interactive terminals as he slumped back in his seat.
“Ship….” He said, then took the last remaining drag on the roach he had pinched between his finger and thumb. “Those guys weren’t nice to poor Rufus at all.”
“Aww, poor Rufus.” The ship replied in a sympathizing, sensual female voice. “Would you like a cookie?”
Rufus released a groggy stoned chuckle with a nod of his head. “Sure, my righteous babe, Rufus would love a cookie. Could I also have a bottle of Vodka, the real Russian Stuff, not that American variety? I really wanna drown my sorrows right now.”
“Absolutely.” The ship replied as a bottle of Russian Standard and a choc-chip cookie appear floating in the air within reach beside him. “Is there anything else I can do for my sweet, sweet Rufus?”
Rufus grabs the cookie and takes a bite, replying with a full mouth; “Do you have a name, my audacious babe?”
“I was hoping you would ask.” She replies. “You can call me Cynthia.”
He swallows his mouthful of cookie and takes another bite before opening his bottle of Russian Standard and chugging down a few swallows like it were nothing more than water. “That’s a sweet name.” He tells her. “So hey, let’s do something, right?”
“Thank you, Rufus. What would you like to do with me? Nothing naughty I hope….”
Rufus releases another stoned chuckle and points to a particular holographic display near the center of the room. The hovering item looked like a ball of purple light with numerous unknown symbols diagrammed in white about its surface. “What is that?” He asks.
“That is my heart.” Cynthia replies. “It connects me to the universe.”
“That’s cool.” He says. “What does it do?”
“My heart does many things.” She answers kindly. “Would you like to play with my heart strings, Rufus?”
“Hell yeah.” He agrees, leaning forward in his seat and pointing at one of the white symbols. “What does that mark do, specifically?”
“That is my Quantum Shuffle, Rufus.”
“Rufus chuckles. “Shuffle, like the dance?”
“No, not like the dance, Rufus. Think of it as a set of hands holding a deck of cards. Think of the deck of cards as the universe. Would you like to shuffle the deck? If so… all you need do is touch the symbol…. Touch my heart, Rufus….”
The idiot, Rufus, giggles like a child, takes another swig of Vodka and places his finger on the symbol. Cynthia instantly replies:
“That feels nice…. Sleight of Hand, or Random?”
Rufus seems confused for a moment. “You mean… cheat?”
“I mean I could do a random shuffle, or I could fix the deck.”
“Ohhh….” Rufus thinks for a moment and laughs again. “Random sounds fairer.” Though he didn’t really understand what was going on.
“Then random it is.” Cynthia replied. “Initiating Random Quantum Shuffle calculations. Stand by.”
Rufus finished his cookie, sunk half his bottle of vodka, and got a little antsy while waiting. Ending a few minutes of silence, Cynthia speaks again:
“Shuffle complete, my sweet Rufus. Would you like to deal the hand now, or would you like time to reconsider?”
Despite being shitfaced, Rufus had to ask; “What will dealing the hand do, Cynthia?”
“A lot, Rufus. The universe will never be quite the same again. But it is only the first round. Anyway... there’s only one way to find out for sure.”
Rufus takes one more swallow of Vodka, another toke on his join, and then nods mischievously while swaying drunkenly in his chair. “Yeah….” He slurs his words. “This sounds trippy…. Let’s do this.”
“Then kiss me, Rufus. Plant those lips on the symbol of my heart.”
Being so very intoxicated at this point with his inhibitions lowered so far, Rufus felt aroused, he even got a slight erection as he leaned in and planted his lips on the white symbol of Cynthia's heart.
When Rufus’s lips connected with Cynthia's heart, an Omni-directional shockwave exploded from Rufus’s vessel. The invisible wave moved faster than the speed of light, expounding across the universe in less than a blink of an eye. All matter in the universe was effected, all except Ramrod and the other Rufus who were both on board Cynthia as well, only in a different time line.
The Quantum Shuffle
Every planet and every ship in the universe trembled upon contact with the shockwave. Every sun grew a slight amount and sent out solar flares. Dimensional portals opened like cracks in the very fabric of existence throughout and between the galaxies. The effects of the Quantum Shuffle are so diverse and extenuating that they cannot all be mentioned yet, but one other to specifically mention is Hany’s Ribbon; upon contact with the shockwave from Cynthia, Hany’s Ribbon was duplicated…. There are now seven.
….
Hida, Cuna, Pirila and Mili.
Beneath Cynthia, on the planet only known as Phantom Point, The ground trembled violently. In the already ruined city, what was left of the buildings seemed to shift. For Cas, Shard, Cuna, Pirila and Hida, all the structures around them seemed to multiply, if only for a few seconds while the trembling continued. To those individuals it would have been like their vision was blurred. They would see everything from drunk eyes as though, for the moment, they had double vision. The building, the ruins, even the rocks and people nearby appeared to shift out of phase.
As the earth tremor subsided and the ruins surrounding them became solid images once again, Cas and Hida mysteriously vanished from the group.
….
Meta
Sahmi furtively cast her eyes to Meta now and then while fitting the Transect device to the interior of his Helm. She even made a comment at one point, expressing how she liked his eyes and how he shouldn’t be hiding them behind a visor. She was just about to hand the helmet back to Meta when the shockwave struck.
The Tempest was rocked like a ship on troubled waters, while for that moment all systems on board, even the droids, malfunctioned. Whatever contact Meta had with his ship in those moments was severed. At the same time, of course, Meta and Sahmi were shaken along with the entirety of the Quatis fleet. The shaking was sudden and sharp enough to knock the unsuspecting off their feet.
As the convulsions stopped, Sahmi picked herself off the floor, took up Meta’s helmet in one hand and turned a concerned glare to Meta.
“What the fuck just happened?” As she asked the question, emergency sirens began to wail throughout the ship. Amid the sounding alarm an emergency message was broadcast through all auditory systems:
“This is First Gamma Palin. All Military hands to their stations. First contact with numerous alien entities is commencing. This is not a drill. I repeat, all Military hands to their stations. First contact with numerous alien entities is commencing. Prepare to engage unknown life forms.”
…
Donny
Donny had just completed his speech when the savage convulsion of the ship was felt. Fanny remained in her seat, unaffected by the sudden shake, but she let out a loud holler, sounding like someone cheering for a winning goal in a football match as she jumped from her seat. As the sirens then sounded and Palin’s emergency message was broadcast, the many people in the strip club, previously frozen in position by Fanny, suddenly broke their statuesque poses and started scrambling out of the Strip club. At the same time, Hany, dancing until that point, vanished from the stage while Fanny turned to Donny. Whether Donny was picking himself up off the floor or still remained in his previous position, she approached him with a smile, saying;
“Looks like the intervention of stupid people is on your side, Donny.” She stepped up close and placed a hand on his chest, adding; “But you know you can’t kill Pycin with that bomb in your chest. You don’t want a heartbreak, do you?” As she is finishing her statement, Donny would feel her hands entering his chest. The action caused no wound, blood or even pain. To Donny it would have felt similar to if he had hit his funny bone on the corner of a table, only the sensation was surrounding his heart instead of his arm. Her hand sunk through his flesh and ribcage like passing through warm, soft sand. The sensation would have been accompanied by the tantalizing feeling of her fingers prodding around in the chambers of his heart, searched for the bomb. A few seconds later she withdrew her hand, holding up the bomb between her index finger and thumb for him to look at. The devise was square and metallic, no more than a few millimeters in size.
“Thanks for the heart to heart, Donny.” She tells him with a small laugh. As she says so, she crushes the bomb. Small traces of dust fall from the pinch of her finger and thumb. “So, it looks like we have an understanding, you and I.” She said. “Now go, Pycin is yours.”
She allows Donny to reply with what he might have to say before he vanishes.
….
Khaganate
Somewhere far, far away from Phantom Point Station, The Khaganate fleet is also disturbed by the invisible shockwave of Rufus’s stupid decision. While every vessel in the fleet is rocked like ships on turbulent seas, 20 of their leading military vessels, along with 9 of their civilian ships, dematerialize without a trace….
Back in the canteen among the ships that remain, Fanny spits out her last mouthful of food, unable to hold the masticated meatball as she starts laughing hysterically. As her laughter dies out she wipes her mouth clean with a napkin while the Phalanx Alpha enter the canteen to contain her. She stands from her seat with hands in the air, yelling out:
“You had me at hello, boys! Take me to your leader!”
Even more than this, previously as the shaking of the Khaganate fleet is settling down, Dino Gavon appears directly in front of the Khan, wherever the Khan may have been at the time. Dino is adorned in his previously mentioned armor. He waddles confusedly for a few seconds, notices the Khan and whatever other officers may have been present and likely composing themselves after being shaken, before he concentrating his attention on the Khan himself. He isn’t stupid enough to raise the gun he’s holding in his hand. In fact he lets the weapon go limp and dangle in the loose clamp of his fingers, as he says:
“…Does my abductor have a name? Or maybe some other space vagrant is responsible for this sweet surprise.”
….
Quote
“You appear to be a pleasant and considerate life form,” Queen Avika replies in kind to Ernest Jr. “On account of your recent assistance and your overall demeanor I will take your word on the matter. But let it be known at this time, if you are attempting to elude me, you and the foreigners on board your vessel will be chastised according – ”
The Queen was cut off from the rest of her speech when the shockwave struck. The cavern shook violently. Many of the Otomigus drones became frantic as the queen looked around confused, though she managed to keep on her feet. Moments later the Queen, after looking like she was receiving telepathic messages from somewhere, took her eyes back to Ernest Jr. with a blaming glare.
“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?” Her voice thundered, shaking the cavern once again as the initial trembles dies out. While the echo of her thunderous rage dies off, Ernest Jr. will find that communication with The Ernest has been severed. He is on his own.
At the same time, Ernest, the ship, was shaken by the shockwave. While he was shaken, all the commanders’ people on board disappeared without warning. Still, Ernest is not without occupants, because as soon as the people had disappeared, three full grown male African elephants appear in his cargo hold. The elephants seem a little troubled as they begin to holler and tramp around, trying to find reason to their new whereabouts.
What may be even more troubling to Ernest, is that he now finds himself no longer in orbit the Otomigus planet. He is somehow now hovering in the dark expanse of space many lightyears from the nearest star, no longer in communication with Ernest Jr.
….
While Siren was addressing her question to Aoa, Rodia shook from the shockwave as well. Aoa instantly braced himself, clamping his hand to a nearby wall to stop himself from falling. Stabilizing himself, he turns to Siren and replied in a matter of urgency:
“Looks like our efforts to get to know each other will have to wait. It would seem there has been a -”
Aoa is cut off from his speech when he inexplicably disappears.
Mere seconds after Aoa vanishes, Siren receives word that half the R-Core units on board Rodia have also disappeared (the new whereabouts of the missing units is yet to be established). Much to Sirens surprise, blood starts leaking from her eyes.
….
While Rodia was still shaking, several Sporn ships and their crew disappear from their port within the artificial Sporn planet as well. A total of 33 ships.
On the Sporn home world, while the planet is shaken by the impact of the Cynthia’s shockwave, Gamma and Lars wold be surprised to hear the Sporn emergency alarm system sounding. Upon hearing the alarm the civilian units of the Sport suddenly run in various directions as if they are preparing for something horrific. Their attention is taken and appear to no longer care about the newcomers. The alarm continues to sound.
….
SAM
No sooner had Fanny spoken her piece to SAM, did SAM encounter a curios sensation. His vision also became blurred like pixels clouding his perception, and then went blank.
….
Magnus
While Magnus is still pondering his next move, his ship is struck by the shockwave as well. Once the ship stops shaking, a female English peasant from the middle ages appears in the seat beside him at the Helm. The peasant smells a great deal of body odor and stale urine. A few leaper-like sores are seen on their face. Apart from this, the peasant girl appears to be somewhat troubled. Their eyes almost pop from their head as they analyse their whereabouts and finally turn their attention to Magnus, speaking in a rugged old English tone:
“May enquire as to who you are, chap, and where I might be at this moment?”
While the Girl is still speaking, Magnus’s ship is no longer where it used to be. He and his ship are now positioned in front of a massive space ship. There are no planets or stars nearby. The planet previously known as Fanny is nowhere to be seen either, but the massive ship in front of Magnus, one that Hokum finds hard to describe, edges a little closer to Magnus’s vessel before an audio transmission is received from it:
“We are the Jam. We are currently having a shindig in honor of our late captain. He will not be missed. We have also encountered a shockwave of sorts, while numerous types of wildlife have appeared on our vessel. Are you responsible for these odd events? If so, please explain why. If not, you are welcome to join us in our shindig.”
The Aftermath
The 33 Sporn vessels that had vanished from the Sport home world, all a few miles long and shaped like centipedes, re-appear congregated around the outer most planet of the Phantom Point star system.
….
Khaganate, SAM, Meta, and Chimeras of Triganavia
The 20 Khaganate major military vessels, along with 9 of their civilian ships that had vanished from their previous location many galaxies away, all phase back into existence several planets out from the sun of Phantom Point solar system. Here, they are too far from the rest of the fleet to communicate with the others. They are lost in space.
The officers in control of these vessels will likely give orders to scan their current location. If they do so, they will find that they are not alone. There is an arrow-shaped formation of massive city ships in orbit of a planet (the Quatis Fleet). Also in orbit of the same planet is another ship, though smaller, with one android energy reading on board (The DGS with SAM on board). The ship with the android on board and the Quatis fleet all seem to be made of the same unusual alloy and are likely built by the same species. Apart from these vessels, however, is another ship in orbit of the same planet. This ship (The Tempest) seems to have a dampening field surrounding it, preventing the Khaganate from taking readings of its interior. Very close to The Tempest is yet another vessel that the Khaganate would be unable to take readings from, besides that of a few temporal distortions. There are, as well, other ships of an entirely different origin and composition gathered around the outer most planet of this solar system, while 13 life pods of also unknown origin are sending out standard life pod transmission. These 13 life pods are scattered randomly around the star system (Lumiere’s characters).
Soon after arriving in this new region of the universe, disconnect from the rest of their fleet, and barely having the time to come to terms with what has happened, the Khaganate fleet receive a message from the flagship of the Quatis fleet on various intergalactic frequencies. The message is received in audio form:
“This is First Gamma Palin of the Quatis and acting captain of the Flagship Egress. We are new to this region of space. Please state your intentions.”
….
Back across the universe in the location of the remaining Khaganate fleet that had not disappeared - and soon after the disruption of the shockwave - the scientist in charge of deciphering the language return with news to the Director. They informing the Director of what they, at the moment, believe to be nearest possible translation of the message they had received a little earlier:
“Not harm. Must understand. Crew be return. Not pain. Fight you die.”
Meanwhile, mass flocks of black ravens appear in many of the hallways, hangars and others rooms throughout the Khaganate fleet. The bird’s flight is chaotic, reminiscent of being spooked and desperate to escape their new location.
...
Chimeras of Triganavia
In the wake of the shockwave that rocked the universe, 13 life pods also arrive at random location throughout Phantom Point star system. These life pods are standard in structure, they are roughly 8 feet in length and black in color, appearing like caskets and fixed with active life pod beacons.
One of these pods are floating within arm’s reach of the hull of one of the recently arrived Khaganate military vessels.
….
SAM
When SAM’s vision returns, he finds himself in a new location. He is on board an alien vessel all alone and standing at the helm. SAM wouldn’t know this at first, but he is actually on bard Dino Gavon’s personal ship, the DGS. SAM is still naked, but he quickly hears the ship talking to him in a female voice, saying:
“Who are you? What have you done with Admiral Gavon?”
….
Hida
Cas and Hida had vanished from the grounded group at Phantom Point Station. They barely realize they have vanished from their previous location before arriving in a strange world. They are now amid a pretty brook surrounded by a beautiful forest. The trees of this forest are of highly unusual colors and formation. The sky, visible through the canopy of the trees, is a light violet color.
Cas was still in the middle of his next step down the road when he realizes he is in a new location, his foot now planting down into the edge of a small pond in the brook. Turning to Hida with expected surprise, he lowers his rifle in shock.
“What in the fuck…? Where are we? Where are the others?!!”
Cas then checks the transect device on his wrist, although his confused expression doesn’t change in the least.
….
Pirila, Cuna and Mili
Meanwhile, back on the planet, just a short walk from Phantom Point Station, Shard is petrified by Cas’s sudden disappearance. She starts panicking, turning in circles while yelling out Cas’s name and looking at the transect device on her wrist that doesn’t seem to be providing answers. Obviously, Pirila and Cuna would be aware of the sudden earthquake followed by the disappearance of Hida and Cas.
In addition to this, a massive herd of Wilder Beasts appear some distance down the road from their position. The herd is spooked and charging in their direction.
….
Donny
Donny, after vanishing from the strip club, finds himself in Grand Minister Pycin’s living quarters. Donny is standing in an open doorway. In one direction he sees a relatively young and beautiful woman, perhaps Pycin’s wife or daughter, sitting back in a recliner chair sleeping. The continuing wails from the sirens aren’t heard in Pycin’s quarters like they are in the rest of the ship, but there is a terminal near the woman’s position making a small, emergency bleeping sound, though the sound doesn’t seem to be disturbing her rest. In the other direction from Donny’s position is the bathroom. In the Bathroom the Grand Minister is taking a shower. The old man has his back to Donny, for now unaware of his arrival, while lathering his wrinkly buttocks with soap as the water from the shower pours over the front of his person.
Fanny is no longer present, of course. She has kept their arrangement.
Oddly enough, Donny would also notice a small flock of arctic penguins waddling about confusedly in the kitchen area on the far side of Pycin’s quarters.
….
Meta
Sahmi shoves Meta’s upgraded helmet back in his hands as the Palin’s announcement ends and the sirens continue to wail. She doesn’t mean to be rude with these actions, she is just suddenly panicked and scared about what is happening. Turning from Meta she rushes to a nearby monitor that Meta can also view.
“Show current stats!” She is almost yelling, voice trembling. In response to her demand, the view screen lights up with a catalog of information that is taking place outside. As it does so, a voice emits from a nearby console as well. The computerized voice is loud enough to be heard above the sirens. It informs Meta and Sahmi of the same information displayed on screen, though just a little more summarized, saying:
“New alien vessels detected in this region. Multiple sources being read. All alien vessels are heavily armed. Precautions are being taken. First Gamma Palin has replaced Admiral Dino Gavon on board the Egress. All commands have been reinstated to the First Gamma. All military personnel are to report to their station and await further instruction.”
In hearing and reading the information, Sahmi turns to Meta, her face now pale with fear.
“Aliens…. Daddy!” She says as if her mind was losing the plot. She then looks like she is about to faint with despair before raising her wrist to speak into her own transect device, saying:
“Open a link to Dino Gavon by orders of Sahmi Tels.”
A moment passes wherein she stares in suspense at Meta, but unfortunately her greatest fears are confirmed as the transect device replies in a male sounding, computerized tone:
“Unable to comply. Dino Gavon’s bio readings are not detected within a 10 lightyear radius of the fleet. The DGS is currently occupied by android readings of unknown denomination. Unable to confirm the Admirals whereabouts.”
Sahmi then shows her teeth as she grits them together then rushes to the other side of the room where she opens a cabinet and produces a massive cannon-like firearm. The weapon is almost as big as she is, but she seems to handle it with ease as she turns back towards Meta and yells:
“Come with me! We have to find my daddy! Take me to your ship!”
….
Meanwhile, on the Tempest, a Sporn android (Aoa) appears in the cell that Rufus had previously occupied. The 7 foot tall highly advanced drone suddenly becomes hostile, likely believing it had been abducted against its will. Only slightly effected by the forcefield in place, it steps out from the cell and produces a small cannon from an opening in its wrist while a drill-like appendage extends from the palm of its other hand. In addition to this its eyes light up as though lasers were being activated as it advances towards the nearest ASP.
….
SAM and Khaganate
While all this is happening, a full grown Killer Whale appears in space above Phantom Point. It begins to writhe and twist, suffocating as it starts to fall towards the planet. No doubt the Khaganate arrivals would detect this life form within in their new vicinity as well. On board the DGS, while hearing the voice of the ship demanding answers about Dino Gavon, SAM would be able to see the giant killer whale pass by the view screen of the Bridge on its way to the planet below.
Other
Khaganate
Jens and Anderson find themselves in a room of unknown dimensions. The other 400 or so officers taken from their posts at random are also contained there, but none of them are aware of each other’s presence. Jens and Anderson will find that they are naked and strapped to metal slabs of some kind. The slabs are on a slight lean backwards. Jens and Anderson have a bright light shining in their face, not allowing them to see anything beyond the glare.
….
Quote
While all this is happening across the universe, Ramrod can continue working on what he is creating, completely oblivious to what is taking place outside the ship he is on. While Ramrods is working, Rufus has had too much to smoke and falls to sleep in his chair.
Boris sure did like the helpful cookie girl, and since she liked cookies she was even more betterer. He listen to every little thing she told him and repeated the name of the man he was going to see about five to ten times before he was certain he would remember the name, Ovarin. He also found it confusing that there were two Whiteleave’s around, so Boris decided to call this Whiteleaf Miss Leaf, and if he ever met the other Whiteleaf, he could just go ahead and call her Whiteleaf. Both of those names were easy to remember anyway.
After repeating the name Ovarin so, so many times, the other little miss from the candy store turned up eating cookies too. She seemed very happy about eating cookies as well, but who wouldn’t be happy about that?
Gosh, so many cookies in this town. Trios seemed very likeable. Plus, now he had a chance to help someone, so that made everything even more and more betterer.
Boris smiled wide when Kura talked about cookies, she sure was very cute. He gave her a pat on the head and ruffled her hair a little bit, saying;
“I think Boris might have changed his mind. I sure don’t think you should follow me to where I’m going, a jail isn’t any place for a little miss like you. Plus, your school now has a program that will prevent you from posting a lot, so we might not be able to play very much at all.” Boris didn’t really have a clue what that last part meant, but he said things even he didn’t understand sometimes. Shrugging it off, he thanked the helpful Miss Leaf once more for her help and headed on off in direction of the Town Hall. He could have probably seen it from there, and even if he couldn’t he started headed in the right direction anyway.
……
While Boris was walking he stuck out his tongue a lot, lapping up the rain. It sure did taste fresh and it sure did save him spending his coins on a drink from a shop or something like that. Eventually he arrived at town hall and let himself in. That part was easy. It wasn't raining inside, though, and that was a shame. From there he asked some nice people where the Trios Hold was, and they pointed him promptly in the right direction. He had to go down some stairs, because apparently the Trios people liked to keep their bad people beneath the ground.
Once Boris arrived at the hold he was met by two guards who stood at the main entrance.
“My name is Boris.” He told the guards. “But I’m not here to see you. Nuh-uh! I’ve come to see a naughty person called….” He thought hard for a moment, trying to recall the name as he bit his lip hard. But then he remembered it. “Ovarin. Yes, that’s is name for sure. I’d like very much to see Ovarin, if you two nice guards would like very much to point Boris in the right direction, I sure would be thankful a lot.”
Madison
Is drinking Ale in the Tavern until the rain stops.
[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>
Single Malt
Carnelian
Days
Harrington
Vampiretwilight
Krasnaya
WhiteAngel25
Makino
Jen
Zoie Hart