CYOF Fanfic RPG - The Game - updates

I think I may add to this tomorrow. Oh yes, it has been added to. I hope you like. ----------------- &quot;Whoa.&quot; The sights that greeted Rob and Tanya as they emerged from jumpspace in the uncharted system were like nothing either of them had ever seen. A quick look around gave Rob the feeling that they were actually <i>inside </i> a massive cylindrical shell of some sort. The familiar boundlessness of space was gone. There was also a distinct impression that the system was artificial in some way; everything about it – from the tiny floating motes of light, to the oddly-configured binary star, to the spiny, angular, and vaguely mine-like debris scattered across the system - was simply too strange, too bizarre to possibly be natural. &quot;Rob!&quot; Tanya´s voice jolted the freelancer from his brief musings. &quot;I have at least four hostile contacts inbound, 2 o´clock high!&quot; &quot;Right.&quot; Rob glanced at the threatboard quickly. The hostile craft, of apparently unknown class, were still a good few Ks away. He turned the Falcon towards the planet – <i>figures that it would be the one that´s far away, too </i> - marked by a waypoint on his Nav Map and hit cruise. &quot;Let´s see if we can´t outrun them. Are they mounting disruptors?&quot; &quot;I can´t tell.&quot; Tanya said. &quot;There´s some sort of radiation interfering with the scanners. I don´t know where it´s coming from though.&quot; &quot;Well, I guess we´d just better hope they aren´t then.&quot; Rob said, checking the engine status. The cruise drive was only two-thirds charged. &quot;They´ll be within firing range in a few seconds.&quot; &quot;You handle the flying, Rob. I´ve got countermeasures.&quot; &quot;Won´t be necessary.&quot; Rob smiled as the cruise engines engaged. &quot;We´re clear.&quot; &quot;How far to the planet?&quot; Tanya asked. &quot;Just under 15K.&quot; Rob answered. &quot;Keep an eye out. I have a feeling we haven´t seen the last of our pursuers. Did you get a visual?&quot; &quot;I´m not sure.&quot; Tanya said. &quot;I saw something, but what with all this debris it´s hard to say what it was.&quot; &quot;Damn.&quot; Rob muttered. Tanya, concentrating on the sensor readouts, was silent. This left Rob contemplating his feelings about this new, uncharted system in private. He decided that he didn´t like it very much. <i>Too damn eerie. </i> Just as Rob´s Falcon passed the halfway point to the marked planet – designated Primus, according to the constantly updating Nav Map – Tanya spoke up. &quot;I´m getting some odd energy readings from behind the planet,&quot; she said. &quot;More hostiles?&quot; Rob asked. &quot;I can´t tell... wait, yes. Yes, we have another four hostile contacts on an intercept course.&quot; &quot;Sh*t.&quot; Rob swore. &quot;Can´t run this time. If they drop us outta cruise we´ll have to fight.&quot; The prospect did not excite Rob in the slightest. &quot;I can´t get any reliable readings.&quot; Tanya said. &quot;Too much interference, and it´s coming from the ships themselves. I´ll paint the targets for you. Let me know when you have visual.&quot; &quot;Got it.&quot; Rob said as four red boxes appeared on his heads-up display, one for each enemy. A few seconds later Rob thought he could see the faint glow of four cruise engines bearing down on him. &quot;Got visual, I think.&quot; He said. Tanya leaned forward to get a better look. &quot;I see. Cruise engines. Maybe they´ll just pass us.&quot; &quot;Not likely.&quot; Rob said. He was surprised when, as time passed, no fuselages became apparent. Just as he finished speaking, the hostile craft dropped out of cruise. Without the backlight of the cruise engines to blind him, Rob was finally able to see the distinctive glowing purple craft of the Nomads. He swore, repeatedly, as he pulled back on the Falcon´s controls in an attempt to put his ship above the aliens´ firing plane. The gesture ultimately proved futile. Despite the sudden manoeuvre, and some creative attempts at dodging, a few blasts hammered Rob´s shields. The blue bar dropped nearly halfway, and then almost completely as the luminous organic ships passed underneath him. They were unable to pursue, however, and Rob breathed a sigh of relief as the shield indicator crept back towards full. For her part, Tanya was unfazed. &quot;Nomads. Mason must be involved.&quot; &quot;Looks like it.&quot; Rob said. &quot;At the very least, somebody was able to keep the Nomads at bay long enough to install a docking ring.&quot; &quot;They built a docking ring?&quot; Tanya sounded slightly surprised. &quot;Take a look for yourself.&quot; Rob said and gestured towards Primus. Sure enough, the double circles of a docking ring were visible against the brown surface of the planet. &quot;To be honest, I´m a bit surprised myself. I´d have thought they´d just put in a small elevator.&quot; &quot;A what?&quot; Tanya asked, confused. &quot;An elevator.&quot; Rob said. &quot;Like what I´m going to use on Gaia. It´s like a docking ring, but much smaller. You just have one satellite in geosynchronous orbit over the planet, connected to some of the micro-cables like in a regular ring. But then instead of latching the ship directly to the cables, you use a small platform to tow the ships into the atmosphere. &quot;It´s a much more secure system than a ring, since the platform is stored on the planet´s surface. That´s part of the reason why I´m going to be using one. It´s cheaper, too. The only real downside is that it can´t handle high volume traffic.&quot; &quot;I see,&quot; Tanya said. &quot;I wouldn´t think that volume would be a concern here though.&quot; Rob chuckled. &quot;Me neither. Still, it makes our lives easier. Hold on, I´ll try to get landing clearance.&quot; &quot;Okay,&quot; Tanya said and sat back. Rob opened a channel to the docking control, &quot;Planet Primus this is Freelancer Epsilon four dash nine, request permission to land.&quot; &quot;Roger that,&quot; a robotic voice returned. <i>Automated systems. </i> &quot;Your request to land is granted.&quot; The giant, pincer-like arms of the docking ring swung open to allow the Falcon access. Rob guided his ship towards the orbiting structure, gradually bleeding off speed as he approached. The ship shuddered once as the micro-cables latched on. &quot;We´re good?&quot; Tanya asked. &quot;We´re good.&quot; Rob confirmed as they slipped slowly into the atmosphere. &quot;What now?&quot; &quot;Um, see if you can find the main Hammer base. I´d like to at least land fairly nearby.&quot; Rob replied. The Falcon shook again as the micro-cables disengaged. &quot;Scanning.&quot; Rob could hear the faint tap-tap-tap of Tanya´s fingers dancing across the sensor controls. &quot;Anything?&quot; &quot;No, I´m not getting any energy readings that match man-made transmissions. Lots of warm bodies though. Thousands, at least.&quot; Tanya said. &quot;Thousands? That can´t be right. Doc Tomsons said this planet was uncharted. Hell, it <i>is </i> uncharted.&quot; &quot;Have a look yourself.&quot; Tanya said and rerouted the sensor information to Rob´s screen. Sure enough, the surface of the planet was dotted with clusters of infrared hotspots. Hotspots with temperatures very near that of the human body. Then, suddenly, a large emissions bloom appeared at the top of the screen. The energy signatures were most certainly not natural, but didn´t match any devices Rob knew of either. &quot;Tanya? Are you seeing what I´m seeing?&quot; Rob asked, surprise creeping into his voice. &quot;Hard to miss it, Rob.&quot; Tanya said. &quot;And are you thinking what I´m thinking?&quot; &quot;Only if you´re thinking that you want to take a closer look.&quot; Tanya replied. Rob could tell she was smiling. Instead of saying anything, Rob pushed the Falcon´s nose down into a sharp descent. Tanya laughed, whether from the sudden sensation of freefall or excitement at the unknown Rob didn´t know. After a moment´s reflection he decided it was probably a bit of both. As the surface of Primus rushed up to meet them, Rob tried to see if he could make out any man-made structures. &quot;I´m not seeing any buildings or anything,&quot;he said. &quot;Not even around those hotspots.&quot; &quot;Me neither.&quot; Tanya said. &quot;And where´s the source of that energy bloom?&quot; &quot;Somewhere over the horizon, I think.&quot; Rob replied. &quot;If we hold this altitude we should see it soon. I´d like to descend a bit more though, see if we can´t try to get a better look at whatever is responsible for all the heat.&quot; The Falcon continued its descent and Rob was soon able to see some surface detail. Primus was a barren rock, for the most part. The ground was an almost uniform shade of brown with large boulders everywhere. The odd mountain or plateau jutted towards the sky, but mostly Primus was flat. There was still no sign of intelligent life, current or past. &quot;Tanya, can you get any readings on atmospheric composition?&quot; &quot;Yes. It´s normal. Mostly nitrogen and oxygen with some carbon dioxide, water vapour and trace amounts of other gasses. No toxicity.&quot; &quot;Any chance that heat could be coming from below ground?&quot; Rob asked. &quot;I don´t think so.&quot; Tanya asked. &quot;It looks like surface sources to me.&quot; &quot;Wait. I think I see something moving down there.&quot; Rob said suddenly and pulled the Falcon out if its dive a few hundred feet above the surface. &quot;Where?&quot; Tanya asked. Rob banked his fighter to the left and began circling a large cluster of boulders. He said, &quot;Down there, in between the rocks.&quot; A second later Tanya said, &quot;Yes! Yes, I see them too.&quot; &quot;They don´t look human though.&quot; Rob mused. &quot;No, their movements are... different.&quot; Tanya confirmed. Rob once again dipped the Falcon´s nose downwards, but gently this time. Slowly, he spiraled down towards the rock formation. Not long after, Rob could see small, scraggly clumps of vegetation and the not-quite-human creatures in the rocks. They stood on their hind legs, as humans, but carried themselves in a half slouch. As far as Rob could tell, they were also naked and covered in dark brown or black fur. One must have seen the circling spacecraft because they all turned their heads towards the sky and bolted at once, disappearing into the nooks and crannies of the nearby rocks. &quot;I guess they aren´t happy to see us.&quot; Rob said. Tanya giggled. &quot;I guess not.&quot; &quot;Well, let´s go check out that energy bloom then.&quot; Rob said. He pulled out of the spiral and set a course for the location of the anomalous readings. As Rob and Tanya sped over the surface of Primus, it occurred to the freelancer than he should check in with Konn and Travis. He tried to open a secure channel with the trader first, but was unable to connect due to interference. Then Rob tried Travis. Again, the connection failed. &quot;I´m having some trouble with my Neural Net.&quot; Rob said. &quot;Can you see if you can get in touch with Travis and Konn?&quot; &quot;I´ll try.&quot; Tanya was silent for a second and then she said, &quot;I can´t connect either. There´s some sort of interference.&quot; &quot;Damn.&quot; Rob said. &quot;This isn´t good.&quot; &quot;You weren´t thinking about asking for reinforcements, were you?&quot; Tanya asked, jokingly. Rob laughed and turned around, an exaggerated expression of seriousness on his face. &quot;Me? Ask for reinforcements? Never. I´ll have you know that back in the day they called me ´One Man Army´ Schaefer.&quot; &quot;I don´t believe you.&quot; Tanya said, and stuck out her tongue. Rob shrugged his shoulders and sighed melodramatically. &quot;Fine, be that way.&quot; He stuck his tongue out. The two of them laughed together as Rob turned to recheck the instruments. His voice became serious again when he said, &quot;Stay sharp. If there´s anything to see, it should appear on the horizon soon.&quot; The very same instant as Rob stopped speaking, a spire materialized on the horizon. At first the silver needle was barely visible against the sky. The Falcon moved closer and soon Rob and Tanya noticed that it was broken. The top had snapped off and hung downwards at a 30 degree angle from the spire. Then, what Rob and Tanya thought was the base of the structure came into view. It was roughly triangular and had a pinkish hue. Rob was quite surprised when the edifice continued to appear as though it was rising from the ground. The spire alone must have been hundreds of meters high. The apparent base of the ziggurat grew from 500 meters, to one kilometer, to five kilometers, to ten kilometers before the full structure was visible. &quot;I think we found our ruins.&quot; Rob said. &quot;I think so.&quot; Tanya agreed. &quot;Circle around them. It´s possible that any emissions from the Hammer site are being drowned out by whatever that thing is pumping out. Now that we´re closer I might be able to pick something out.&quot; &quot;Good idea.&quot; Rob said. &quot;I´ll wait until we´re a bit closer though.&quot; The degree to which the giant pyramid was ruined became more and more evident the closer Rob and Tanya were. Huge chunks of material had been blasted away from the superstructure and littered the ground for kilometers in every direction. In other places, the outer shell had caved in, crushing whatever lay inside. The entire edifice was worn. Rob imagined that it had gleamed in the light of two stars at one point, but it now was dull and lifeless. &quot;I´m picking up some new readings,&quot; Tanya said, a few seconds after Rob began to circle the giant structure. &quot;And they look like they could be man-made. Just keep going... there! You should be able to see something now.&quot; Rob peered through the Falcon´s cockpit window. Sure enough, he saw what appeared to be a cluster of temporary structures erected a good 5 kilometers away from the ruins. He pulled back on the fighter´s throttle and slowly descended to take a closer look. What he saw chilled Rob to the bone. Bodies were everywhere. Many appeared to be the primitive simians he hand Tanya had been seeing, but some were unmistakably human. Tents had been collapsed here and there, and equipment was strewn everywhere. At first, it looked like there was no life in the camp, but some movements caught Rob´s eye. He soon wished it hadn´t. A group of ape-men surrounded a pile of corpses, pulling them apart and, <i>Son of a b*tch! They´re eating them! </i> Rob squeezed the trigger and bolts of energy leapt from his guns. The noise caught the attention of the apes just in time for them to witness the ground explode where Rob´s shots hit home. All the surviving animals raced from the scene, leaving the encampment still. &quot;I´m not reading any more lifesigns in the vicinity of the outpost.&quot; Tanya said, somewhat dejectedly. &quot;Goddamnit!&quot; Rob swore. &quot;What now?&quot; Tanya asked. Rob thought for a moment and then said, &quot;We can be sure that Mason, or whoever is behind this operation is going to send another team as soon as he can. Yeah, it´s likely that nobody aside from us knows what happened here, but if our Neural Nets aren´t working, it´s a good bet that there´s been no word from these guys since they arrived. I figure plans were probably set in motion to get new people out here as early as a few days ago. &quot;That means we don´t have much time. Sure as hell we can´t afford to call for our own backup. We need to figure out what these guys were after, and we need to grab it before the second team arrives.&quot; Rob´s voice was cold, determined. &quot;See if you can find a place without those monkeys to set us down.&quot; Tanya said. &quot;And we should keep clear of the Hammer encampment as well. You may have spooked them, but I don´t think they´ll stay away for long.&quot; &quot;Right.&quot; Rob said, and circled away from the scene of carnage. Unfortunately, the only place free of monkeys was the ruined pyramid itself. And, after seeing it fairly close-up, Rob didn´t trust the decrepit structure to support the weight of his Falcon. He searched for the area with fewest rocks where the ape-men might wait in ambush. &quot;Looks like I´ll have to clear the monkeys away myself,&quot; he said once he came across a suitable location. Rob brought his Falcon down to mere feet off the ground and aimed it at a cluster of ape-men congregated where he wanted to land. It looked like they were fighting. One set of blasts over their heads stopped the fight, a second caused them to flee in all directions. &quot;There.&quot; Rob said. &quot;It´ll have to do.&quot; &quot;Why didn´t you just kill them?&quot; Tanya asked. &quot;Ah, well, I just don´t feel comfortable butchering animals like that.&quot; Rob said. &quot;Well, <i>they </i> obviously have no problems butchering humans.&quot; Tanya said back. Rob sighed. &quot;I know. But that may only be because they don´t know any better. Look, if they try to kill either of us, I´ll burn each and every one that gets in our way. But until they threaten me, I can´t kill them.&quot; &quot;Fine,&quot; Tanya said, her voice as cold and hard as Rob´s had been earlier. &quot;But don´t get all wishy-washy later.&quot; &quot;Of course not.&quot; Rob said and let his Falcon settle onto the surface of Primus. &quot;Let´s get going,&quot; Tanya said. &quot;Okay, but keep your eyes peeled.&quot; Rob said as he popped his ship´s canopy. &quot;I think I scared most of those monkeys off, but they can´t be hiding too far away.&quot; Tanya was already unbuckled and she leapt deftly from the cockpit once the canopy was sufficiently raised. &quot;Cover me while I get our things from the hold,&quot; she said. Rob swung out of the fighter himself and landed in a crouch on the dry, caked-mud surface. He drew his dual energy pistols and swept the area with his eyes. All was silent and unmoving. Wherever the monkeys had run to, they were well hidden. Rob heard two light thumps behind him. Tanya had removed the packs containing survival equipment, portable scanners and other belongings from the hold. &quot;I´ll take one,&quot; he said, holstering one pistol and holding his hand out, palm up. &quot;Here,&quot; Tanya said and slipped the pack´s strap into Rob´s hand. &quot;Thanks.&quot; Rob slipped the strap over his head so it ran over his shoulder and across his chest. He pulled the pistol from its holster once more and turned to Tanya. &quot;Shall we?&quot; She asked with a smile. - - - - Rob had put his shades on, and adjusted the IR settings to highlight anything that might be a warm body. As he and Tanya picked their way through the wasteland he caught brief glimpses of potential contacts, but none stayed steady for more than a few seconds. The massive bulk of the ruins lay dead ahead and judging by the amount of sky it obscured, Rob figured he couldn´t be more than a kilometer away. &quot;Any sign of the monkeys?&quot; Rob asked Tanya who had taken the vanguard position. &quot;Nothing to speak of, no.&quot; Tanya answered. &quot;You?&quot; &quot;Same. Nothing – wait, did you hear that?&quot; The sound of pebbles tumbling down one of the nearby rockfaces put Rob on edge. Tanya had her pistols raised and was slowly surveying the area. <i>I´ll take that as a yes, </i> Rob thought as he scanned the space outside Tanya´s field of view. Heat flashed in Rob´s peripheral vision and he spun around just in time to see a rock hurtling at Tanya´s head. &quot;Get down!&quot; He yelled and squeezed off two shots each from his pistols before rolling forward to avoid the rock the was almost certainly aimed at his head. There was a bang as one of Rob´s shots connected with the stone thrown at Tanya, superheating it in an instant and causing it to explode. A millisecond later a dull thud announced the impact of another rock not far from where Rob had rolled. Rob took a quick look around and saw dozens of black, furry faces peering down from the large boulders nearby. They didn´t look happy. &quot;Run!&quot; Tanya shouted and began to sprint towards the ruins. Rob didn´t need any further encouragement. He sprung up and followed Tanya, shooting towards the monkeys as he ran. The monkeys began to hoot and crow madly and rocks rained down from all sides. Rob and Tanya jumped, bobbed and weaved through the deadly hail, Tanya with her characteristic grace and Rob with an economy of movement meant to conserve as much energy as possible. The unintelligible cries of the monkeys grew ever louder as the rocks thumped and bounced off the ground with diminishing intensity. Rob hazarded a quick look behind and, to his horror, saw what looked like hundreds of apes racing after him. <i>SH*T! </i> &quot;Run faster!&quot; He yelled at Tanya, who didn´t need to turn around to take Rob´s advice. If they could make it to the ruins, take cover inside, Rob figured they´d have a good chance of holding the monkeys off. Sweat poured off Rob´s brow as he struggled to keep ahead of the pursuing horde and keep close behind Tanya. As they sprinted towards the giant structure now less than hundred meters away, the apes screamed louder. There was even a hint of desperation to their cries, or so it seemed to Rob. Both Tanya and Rob poured every last ounce of strength they could muster into the final sprint for the cover and – they hoped – safety of the ruins. The ape-men shrieked madly as Tanya disappeared into the dark structure and redoubled their efforts to catch Rob. Tanya, having found cover, began to blast away at the simian pursuers. Rob heard the sounds of bullets ripping through flesh and bone as he barreled through the arched entrance to the ruins. Almost immediately the almost thunderous sound of the apes´ footfalls fell silent. Mournful whimpers from the animals turned to low pitched growls and then vicious snarls. Rob peeked outside and was astonished to see that, in the absence of their prey, the apes had turned on one-another. The monkeys attacked each other with a viciousness and savagery the likes of which Rob had never seen. Fists, feet, teeth and claws found their way home as the apes beat each other to a bloody pulp. &quot;I´ve never seen anything like that.&quot; Tanya said. Rob turned, he had been watching the apes with such intense morbid fascination that he hadn´t even noticed when the beautiful young woman came over and crouched beside him. &quot;Yeah. Me neither.&quot; Rob said, still breathing heavily. He wiped the sweat off his brow. &quot;I´m not sure this is a good thing though.&quot; &quot;I´m a bit worried too.&quot; Tanya admitted. Rob was relieved when he noticed Tanya´s heavy breathing; it told him he could feel pleased that he was able to keep up. &quot;It´s possible that the monkeys think this is holy ground, but I don´t think that´s the most likely explanation.&quot; &quot;No, there´s probably something in here that scares them.&quot; Rob completed Tanya´s thought. He had harbored the same concern. &quot;Maybe we can - &quot; Rob´s thought was interrupted as an ape was flung violently out of the main skirmish, hooting as it flew towards the pyramid. It collided with a sickening, bone-shattering crunch. The force of impact was enough to crack stone weakened by space-knew-how-many years of weathering. Rob watched, mouth agape, as fissures spidered across the entrance. &quot;We have to get out! Now!&quot; He bellowed and, adrenaline hitting his system once more, tore down the hallway towards the entrance in a desperate attempt to get out before the entrance collapsed. His dual energy pistols screamed, and blasts illuminated the darkened walls for millisecond intervals, as he unloaded fire into the roiling mass of fur and flesh. If he was going to have to face the ape-men again, Rob wanted to make sure their numbers had been thinned some. Just then a second ape collided with the entryway. The keystone cracked further under the force of impact. Time slowed to a crawl for Rob as he watched a chunk of rock fall to the ground. The archway trembled for a second and then, no longer able to support its own weight, collapsed. The ground beneath Rob´s feet trembled as tons of rock came crashing to the ground, sealing himself and Tanya inside the ruins, and blocking off what little light had filtered inside the passageway. Rob took a deep breath. &quot;Well, this is just fan-goddamn-tastic.&quot; <b>Summary: Rob and Tanya travel to Primus. On the way they encounter Nomads, giving weight to the hypothesized Mason/Covenant connection. They find the ruins that the Hammer expedition was supposed to investigate. They also find the remains of the expedition. It has been overrun by the native species of ape-men. There are no survivors. Rob and Tanya decide that there´s not time to go for backup (and they can´t call anyone because of radiation disrupting Neural Net transmissions) and land. They progress, on foot, to the ruins. The monkeys ambush Rob and Tanya, and chase them to the ruins. Rob and Tanya manage to reach the ruins, and are not pursued inside, but a cave-in traps them. </b> OOC: Athena, if you´re still going to be busy for the next little while (say, a week or more) let me know and I´ll keep going with this. Otherwise I´d be most grateful if we could split writing duties. Also, I know that some of the stuff here (especially relating to the monkeys) isn´t really faithful to &quot;vanilla&quot; FL, but walking, talking monkeys who wear clothes and can fix spaceships seem like more of a joke than anything to me. I´ve always though of Primus and Gammu as &quot;easter egg&quot; systems, and not really a part of the &quot;actual&quot; FL universe. So I went ahead and re-interpreted Primus for dramatic effect. If anyone has a problem with this, let me know and I´ll see if I can come up with something more satisfactory. <img src=smilies/icon_smile.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> Edited by - Codename on 8/8/2005 12:31:55 AM

Lol, that last bit was very reminisant if Planet of the Apes. <img src=smilies/icon_smile_tongue.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> Good update. I´ll get my next one up as soon as I can.

OOC: Yeah i was a bit worried when Bob said he was taking the gang to primus. You did it good though, i promote thee to vice callendar duke!

OOC: Note - some sexual references are made here so, you were warned and all. Thanks go to Wilde, DSQrn and [GR_Fallen_Angel for the assistance where needed. ----- Still feeling the aftereffects of the Cambridge Reds, Hahukum Konn re-entered the hotel room, and heard Nikolai say, “Christ almighty, Dev…” He looked at the screen displaying the Colony News feed, and saw the blue-haired punk just before the feed cut out and the announcer said, “Due to the graphic nature of the events that occurred, we have chosen not to display the man’s suicide. However, it was successful, and Rheinland Police are refusing to comment at this time.” Hahukum said, “Dev? You know him?” Nikolai turned down the volume and said, “Yeah. It was some years ago. I don’t know how much you know about that madman, but he was a bounty hunter even back then.” A smile lit across his face. “Anyway, how I met him was that his target turned out to be…somewhat busy with me. In a back room in a bar.” Konn didn’t have to use his imagination too much to figure out that Nikolai didn’t just mean having a nice conversation in those rooms. Sure enough, he swiftly got to the point. “Jens, that was his name. The target. Dev walked in there, gun drawn, pointed directly at the man’s back…Poor bastard was between my legs at the time.” Nikolai closed his eyes, remembering. “Only slightly awkward.” Konn thought, <i>Nikolai was probably getting serviced, I imagine. </i> “So what did you do?” “Threw a credit stick at Dev and told him to get the f**k out.” Konn giggled. “After we were done, I found Dev still in the bar at one of the tables. We got to talking and that’s how I know him. Madman. F**king amazing drunk, though. A good guy to hang out with.” Nikolai sat down again. “Did you…do anything with him?” Nikolai shrugged. “Unfortunately, no. I don’t think he was the type. But the punk look was very attractive…” “I don’t know whether to be disappointed or relieved at that fact about Dev. Probably the latter.” Nikolai grinned. Konn looked into Nikolai’s eyes for a second too long, and would have blushed at the realization, except that it looked like Nikolai was holding his eyes, too. Finally, he cleared his throat and said, “Um, I’ve got to get some more sleep. That tea I had didn’t really help clear the cobwebs.” Nikolai smirked. “Fine. I’m going out to shop for something to replace these unsightly rags. I’ll be back soon.” --- Once again, the communications panel’s tone distracted Hahukum from his sleep. He hit the acknowledge button and said, “Yes?” <i>”A Nick Warren is here for you, sir. He says it’s urgent.” </i> “Send him up.” The comm panel went silent and Nikolai, back from his shopping excursion, raised his eyebrow. “Didn’t figure you for the type.” Konn laughed and said, “It’s not that. It’s this mission I’ve got and which you have been unwittingly dragged into because we rescued you out of that prison. I’ve been in contact with a BAF officer who wants to assist us, and he seems reliable. He wouldn’t call this quickly unless he had very important information.” “Oh, military…” Nikolai licked his lips. “But no chance he’d be up for some fun, so I’ll leave you two alone. Unless of course you want me here.” “No, stay. You’re going to want to hear this information.” A beep at the door indicated Nick was waiting outside it, and Konn let him in. “Just have a seat over there, Major. This is Nikolai van Haalein, who I vouch for and who can be trusted regarding any information you give me.” “Sorry to interrupt you so quickly, but I’ve got some breaking news. Just after our little chat this morning a bloke who overheard us –” At that, Konn’s face had tightened. “Bugger. Well, go on, Major. We couldn’t have expected someone to have that sharp a set of ears.” “As I said, he overheard us and introduced himself as Gabriel. He says there’s been some strange activity in Omega-5. Both the Hessian and Corsair bases have been wiped out in the system. He doesn’t think they did it to each other.” <i>”Both </i> bases?” Both Nikolai and Hahukum raised their eyebrows. Everybody in Sirius knew the Hessians and Corsairs had been battling each other to a draw in that system for years. For someone or something to wipe out the two bases would create a dangerous power vacuum and possibly destabilize Rheinland as the fallout from a pitched battle between the Corsairs and Red Hessians spilled over into Dresden, as certainly the criminal factions would blame each other for the destruction of the bases. “That’s what the fellow said. I know it seems strange, but there it is. I don’t think we can afford to pass up this information.” Konn rubbed his chin and said, “Do you think he’s reliable? Could we bring him with us? I want to check it out for myself – not that I think your man is lying, you realize.” “I get the feeling he can keep his mouth shut if he’s asked, and if worst comes to worst we can go on our own and locate your mission leader later.” “Right. Let’s get him over here and sort things out. Nikolai, I need a gunner.” Nikolai seemed surprised. “Me? I’m not the best at that, I’ll admit.” “Better than nothing. My Humpback is not going to get so much as a scratch on the hull plates in Omega-5. We have no idea who or what is in there, and I’d as soon err on the side of caution.” Nikolai shrugged and began packing away his newly-acquired clothing. Nick said, “All right then, I just need to use your communications console here.” The meeting was quickly arranged, and Nick said, “His full name´s Gabriel Urran. He lives some ways from here so he´ll be a few minutes. Meanwhile, I need to use the facilities.” In the meantime, Hahukum got on the comm console and relayed a message to Rob´s message drop. “Hello, Rob, it´s me, your erstwhile trader-slash-raider. I´ve debriefed Nikolai and the full session will be appended to this as a data burst. You can listen to it at your leisure, but the salient points are that he was captured by Mason´s goons pretending to be Rheinland Police, and then turned over to the Outcasts. He spent some time on Malta, and then was hauled off to that base we rescued him from. The guards there mentioned a man named Juan, who is probably a big wheel in the Outcasts. Put all this together and it looks like the Outcasts had some ideas of their own independent of Mason. “Other breaking news: I´ve met the BAF man Commodore Pearce sent me. Solid fellow named Major Nick Warren. Has a crew he can bring with him. We´ll be checking out strange goings-on in Omega-5. Seems someone who was actually there found both the Red Hessian and the Corsair bases completely destroyed. “This ends the transmission, and remember, the debriefing is attached. It´s audio only.” Konn stuck the datachip containing the debriefing session into the comm console´s input slot, appended the audio recording to the message, and sent the whole thing off. As he re-packed his datachip and began putting his clothes away and preparing for a trip to space, Nick came out of the bathroom, and the comm signal chimed at the same time. Konn hit the acknowledge button and said, “Yes?” <i>“Gabriel Urran to see you, sir.” </i> “Send him up.” A tall man with a long thick blonde braid most of the way down his back, and with a fairly muscular build, wearing nondescript civilian clothing, entered the room. He said, “Hi. I’m Gabriel Urran, and while it may have been a breach of etiquette to listen in to your conversation, I felt the subject matter was important enough.” Hahukum said, “Understood. First, I’m Hahukum Konn, and I’m mission liaison to the two people most involved, who are currently trying to track down a lead and so aren’t available. You already know Major Nick Warren, and this gentleman on the other bed is Nikolai van Haalein, who I vouch for in this matter. “Now, if you could tell us anything at all that expands on what we already know, that would be very helpful. We’re planning on going to Omega-5 to explore and see for ourselves what went on. So we need information at the very least. “Would you be willing to tell us what you saw and discovered?” “Thank you, Mr. Konn. I first discovered something unusual was going on when, on the Battleship Norfolk, I heard a rumor that screams were being heard in the Grasmere Ice Cloud. Once on the other side of the jump hole to Omega-5, I found no signs of any life in the system. Both bases were still, silent wrecks. I could see many dead bodies. It was terrible, terrible…” He had trailed off, apparently still in shock at having witnessed such carnage. Konn spoke gently. “Thank you, Mr. Urran. I’m afraid I have to ask you for a favor. I would like you to come with us to Omega-5, but you don’t need to feel any obligation whatsoever to accompany us.” “No, I will come with you. The reason I approached Nick was because I wanted to get in on this. Whatever did this, it’s powerful; more powerful than anything you or I have ever witnessed. I’m a good pilot, and you´re going to need all the help you can get.” “I agree. Let’s move out, shall we? Major Warren, please be ready and have your crew ready to go at the spacedock in one hour. Gabriel, please have your ship ready at the same time. We’ll go in a convoy and take no chances.” For all his bravado, Hahukum Konn knew he was going up against something even bigger than an Outcast base. Big things were happening in Sirius, and this excited and scared him at the same time. He wondered how the others felt, and almost unconsciously looked over at Nikolai, seeking some kind of reassurance from the man’s devil-may-care demeanor. ----- <b>Summary: Nikolai explains how he met Dev, and then things break fast as Major Warren and Gabriel Urran relay their news, and HK decides to check out Omega-5. </b> Edited by - Hahukum Konn on 8/8/2005 9:37:51 PM

Rob and Tanya looked at each other. <i>The who? </i> &quot;Few have ever heard of us.&quot; The man said. &quot;We prefer to remain hidden.&quot; &quot;Hold on,&quot; said Rob. &quot;Tell me again, <i>what </i> do you call yourselves?&quot; &quot;Ta´Gue´Led.&quot; Rob racked his brain for any memory of this strange name. He tried to find a linguistic connection to any factions he was aware of. He glanced over at Tanya. It seemed she was having no more luck. &quot;Now, please.&quot; The three men raised their rifles. &quot;Come with us.&quot; Tanya sighed. &quot;We don´t have much choice, do we?&quot; The man in the middle smiled coldly. &quot;No.&quot; The two other men circled around behind the freelancers, keeping them covered at all times. &quot;This way.&quot; The man said. He turned and strode through the wrecked doors of the warehouse. If the Hammer outpost had been in rough shape earlier, it was utterly devastated after the bombardment. None of the tents were still standing. Most had been reduced to twisted metal and the odd scrap of charred cloth. The ground was blackened and, in some places, glassy. The air reeked of burnt flesh and molten plastic though there was little left of the forces who had attacked Rob and Tanya. <i>Must have used Cannonballs, </i> thought Rob. <i>Them or torpedoes. These guys are well equipped. Who´s their backer, I wonder? </i> As the Ta´Gue´Led forces and their two captives walked through the ravaged remains of the base, Rob considered his predicament. Certainly things could be worse. He could be dead, for one. Of course, being prisoner of a faction he knew nothing about – <i>hell I probably can´t even get their name right </i> – wasn´t much better. And he was in no condition to attempt an escape either. <i>Still, maybe I can distract them long enough that Tanya can get away. If she can make it to my Falcon… </i> Rob´s train of thought was abruptly derailed when he looked up and past the man who had taken point. Straight head lay the still smoldering wreckage of three armored transports, six Sabres, and – <i>F*ck. </i> – one Falcon. Rob was not happy. &quot;That was my Falcon, you worthless, trigger-happy Liberty Rogue rejects! My goddamn Falcon! You´d better be able to replace it - Ow! Sh*t!&quot; Rob´s ribs throbbed painfully and he lapsed into a string of muttered curses. &quot;Shut up.&quot; One of the goons prodded Rob in the back with the barrel of his rifle, causing even more pain to lance through Rob´s chest. Rob cursed louder. &quot;I said shut up!&quot; Rob was about to turn and confront the goon when he heard Tanya yell, &quot;Watch out!&quot; Rob saw her spring into action, her body becoming a blur in his peripheral vision. When the barrel of the pulse rifle connected with the base of Rob´s skull the world exploded in light and color. And then was dark. <b>Summary: Rob and Tanya are escorted out of the warehouse by the TGL guys. Rob is grumpy, and he shows it. He gets clobbered with a rifle for his troubles and is knocked right out. Those TGL folks can be real bastards sometimes. </b> Edited by - Codename on 8/17/2005 4:57:22 PM

Hans was staring out of a window,into the unknown. There were swerling red´s and still blue nebulaes.It was beuty in a dark hour. The past reports were that Freital had been destroyed.Hans began to cry,some of his best friends lived there.&quot;Why,damn´it,why? &quot; He was interrupted by a scanner in his nueral net,it was escape pods-three of them. He immediatly called Vinny,telling him to tractor them in.The pods were of the kind used on bases.Hans ran to the hangar bay where there were sure enough,three escape pods.They opened up,and each had twelve Hessians in it. He ran over and gave his surviving friend´s hugs.He mourned over the loss of the less fortunate. Then,Hans planned for his revenge.

OOC: Here it is, my long awaited update! Enjoy <img src=smilies/icon_smile_big.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> _____________________________________________________ Nikolai looked sceptically at the trader. “I really should warn you, I’m bloody incompetent at space flight. And I still have somewhat of a hangover to sleep off. You’d be better off hiring someone else.” Konn shook his head. “I can’t trust someone else. Plus, I’m not leaving you here to get drunk without me.” He sat down beside Nikolai, the latter’s head falling down on Konn’s lap. “You won’t have to fly anything, just be the turret gunner.” “Hmm.” The Rhinelander’s eyes slid in and out of focus, and closed. “You make a very good pillow, you know?” He began to drift off to sleep. Nikolai felt something thwack the side of his head. He opened his eyes again. “No sleep for you!” a grinning Konn whispered at him, his fist raised. “Ugh. Fine, fine.” He rose, walked over to the bathroom. “I’m going to take a quick shower. I’ll meet you in the hangar.” Nikolai climbed into the cockpit, yawning. His head had started pounding again. This ride was not going to be fun. At least he had managed to smuggle a bottle of whisky along with him. The cockpit he found to be cramped and cold, but fortunately clean and the seat was at least somewhat comfortable. “Initiating pre-flight checks” came a voice behind him. Konn had climbed into the driver’s seat. “So what do you think about that Urran character?” Konn shrugged. “Seem decent enough to me. A bit of an odd look.” Nikolai chuckled. “Heh.” The man had actually been preying on his mind ever since he walked into the apartment. He was bloody gorgeous, true enough…the blonde braid extremely sexy…Nikolai smiled. He seemed to have a weakness for men with long hair. But there was something else about him, some aura that was suspicious, dangerous even… The ship launched suddenly, with a **** that sent Nikolai flying forward. “Bloody hell!” “Don’t fall asleep!” The flight to Omega 5 was without incident, and on the whole, quite tedious. They rendezvoused with Urran, Warren, and his team of five crusaders outside the New London docking ring, then headed to Cambridge and the Omega 5 jumphole. Not piloting and without any attacking ships, Nikolai found himself bored out of his mind and ended up amusing himself by singing quietly and off-key into the intercom and imagining Urran in more revealing positions. Nikolai breathed deeply as Konn’s ship plunged through the jumphole. The rumbling, shaking, and the flashing lights of the space travel did not go easily on his turning stomach and pounding head. Within seconds they catapulted out of the tumultuous wormhole, into a barren, asteroid-ridden wasteland. <i>Bloody hell. What madman would want to live in this system? </i> “Careful. The entire system’s crawling with Junkers,” Urran warned. “Very well. Proceed to the wreckage of Ronneburg base. The Hessians have less to loot, we might find something there.” The Major responded quietly, orderly, with undeniable authority. Nikolai furrowed his brow; Damien had sometimes sounded like that, when he had served the Bundschuh. <i>God, what is with me? Everything reminds me of him… </i> Contrary to Urran’s word, the system was strangely Junker-free. Not a single CSV crossed their path, and long range scans showed nothing. “It looks like they’ve already drained the entire system of anything salvageable,” Konn said into the intercom. “Well, proceed. We may still find something.” Only 5 kilometres away lay what was once Ronneburg, the rock and steel of the base now scattered throughout the surrounding fields of dust and asteroid. The humpback roamed over the field of ash. Nikolai squinted his eyes at what he saw. “The way the debris is scattered…look. A larger ship couldn’t have done this. The base was destroyed by fighters.” “<i>Fighters </i> destroy a base?” The Major sounded sceptical. “Improbable, but not impossible,” Urran responded. “Several waves of strong enough fighters could easily take it out—found something!” “What is it?” “A…Black Box. In-flight recording. Completely intact, I think. It might be helpful.” “Good find,” Konn said into his comm. outlet. “But we’re going to need more than that—” Suddenly, a group of five CSVs appeared, darting through the wreckage, fox-like and suspicious in their movements. The Major’s ships moved quickly to encircle them. “Junker Beta three-dash-nine, this is Major Nick Warren of the Bretonia Armed Forces. Stand down and drop your cargo!” “Move behind them, Konn”, Nikolai whispered. “Keep the turrets facing the one in the centre.” Though Konn raised an eyebrow at him, the ship began to move slowly, unnoticeably, behind the looters, weaving behind the asteroids to avoid detection. They locked into position steadily. Nikolai flicked on the turrets, and readied his hands on his guns… A pilot’s gruff voice echoed out over the intercom: “The BAF has no authority in the Omegas. Get the hell out of—“ Silence reigned as the Junker’s ship exploded under the torrent of fighter from the humpback, strange objects flying from its cargo hold. Konn quickly hit the tractor button. “He <i>said </i>, give up the cargo! B*tch!” Nikolai shouted into the intercom. “Break and attack!” One of the Junkers called out—but the BAF ships were already weaving through their lines, gunning them down. Konn shot forward and out of the way, sending Nikolai flying a second time into the metal before his head. Not pausing to complain, he pressed the guns down once again, firing all turrets at the head of an oncoming CSV, whose shields integrity wavered for a moment and shot to nothing. Konn spun the ship around suddenly, launching a volley of three catapult missiles at the ship’s hull, pulling up rapidly as the dying pilot attempted to ram the humpback. In less than thirty seconds, it was over. “My compliments, Major. Your boys fly well,” Urran’s deep voice rang out. “Thanks. Did we get anything they were carrying?” “I picked up a gun…of some sort. Nothing my neural net recognizes, though.” “One missile launcher, sir.” Konn responded: “We have a gun here, too…and a chunk of armour. Odd, my neural net doesn’t recognize either of them.” “Looks like we might have found something, then. And I’ve got a video recording of this all, that’ll be helpful. Head to the BAF base on Planet Sprague; that’s closest.” The exploring party took off, heading for the Omega 3 jumphole. Nikolai breathed a sigh of relief; being in a dead system was more than a little eerie. <b>Summary: Warren, Urran, Konn, and Nikolai (mmm. Odd names.) head off to Omega 5. Kill some junkers, pick up strange weapons, chunks of armour, a black box, and head off to Sprague. Fun, fun, fun. </b>

Ah,the wonders of the TLR censor. ass ****=J-E-R-K

Rob came to, and instantly regretted it. It felt as though someone had driven a spike through the back of his skull and out his left eye. He instinctively reached around to feel where the rifle had hit and was not surprised to find the flesh tender and sore. Dried blood left his hair stuck together in clumps. If there was one thing Rob was thankful for, it was the fact that those Tagooey bastards at least put him in a nice, dark room; there was no obvious source of light as far as Rob could see, but there was enough to see by. Rob was seated – not bound though, he discovered quickly – in a simple plastic chair. An empty metal table sat before him and, on the other side, two chairs which Rob assumed were much like his own. The walls appeared to be a dull grey, except one which was mirrored. <i>One way glass. </i> Rob thought. <i>I´ve got myself an audience, it seems. Best give them what they´re looking for. </i> He let his shoulders droop, and hung his head in what looked like defeat. He sighed softly. Briefly, Rob toyed with the idea of rubbing his face, but decided against it. He didn´t want to lay it on too thick. Rob knew full well that he´d be &quot;left to stew&quot; a bit before his interrogator would show up. He considered his options. Fighting was out. His aching head and still sore ribs – <i>I really need a doc to look at those </i> – put him at a serious disadvantage. He had also been relieved of his weapons and other gadgets while unconscious. There was always the option of trying to buy his way out, but Rob had other plans for the money, and there were no guarantees his captors wouldn´t simply drain his accounts and kill him. That left talking. <i>Time to turn on the charm, </i> Rob thought wryly. A few minutes later Rob heard a soft sucking noise. He looked up and saw in the reflection of the mirrored glass the outline of a circular doorway begin to take form in the rear wall. It irised open with a hiss to admit a woman. Light shone in from the hallway, and Rob could only see her silhouette. She had an athletic build not unlike Tanya´s and appeared to be bald, as was the fashion in some circles. The door shut behind her and disappeared once more into the wall. As the woman walked across the room her shoes clicked against the floor in just the right way to drive spikes of pain through Rob´s skull with every step she took. Rob held back a sigh of relief when she stopped beside one of the chairs and slid it out. He stared at the woman intently, trying to size her up as she surely had been doing moments before. Everything about her was severe; from her high, prominent cheekbones, to her sharp nose, to her clean-shaven pate. Her eyes were pale blue, and cold as liquid nitrogen. &quot;Right,&quot; she said in a voice so devoid of emotion it might have been a computer speaking. &quot;Why were you trying to get the artifact?&quot; Rob sat up as straight as he could and looked his interrogator in the eye. &quot;I´ll answer all your questions, in full. But only once I´ve seen a doc. Your goons did a real number on me, and I still hurt in places I didn´t even know I had.&quot; The woman looked at Rob with an air of disdain. &quot;We had a medical officer examine you upon arrival. You will heal well enough in time. Now, why did you and your partner want the artifact?&quot; &quot;Take me to a doctor.&quot; &quot;Your injuries are not severe.&quot; &quot;I want to speak to a doctor.&quot; Rob insisted. &quot;You want answers. I got ´em. But until I see a doctor, I´m not saying anything.&quot; He folded his arms over his chest and stared at the bald woman defiantly. The woman appeared to consider Rob´s ultimatum briefly and then nodded. &quot;Fine.&quot; Not a second later, the door once again materialized and spun open. Rob could see another woman, conspicuously armed, waiting outside. &quot;Get up.&quot; The interrogator said. &quot;We going to a doctor?&quot; Rob asked. &quot;You´ll find out soon enough, won´t you?&quot; The bald woman smiled thinly. Rob did as he was told, standing up slowly and gripping the back of his chair for balance. The pain in his chest increased momentarily from the change in position, but quickly subsided. He heard the woman stand and the click-click-click of her heels across the floor. The noise did not offend him so much as before. Rob followed his interrogator out of the chamber, squinting and wincing as he crossed from the dim room into a bright hallway. It was a short walk to the medical bay. When they arrived a young and very bored-looking doctor looked up from the viewscreen he was studying, and motioned halfheartedly for Rob to sit on one of the examination beds. &quot;I´ll be with you in a moment.&quot; Rob sat down and waited. The interrogator stood a few feet away and the guard posted herself just inside the doorway, her gun always trained on Rob´s head. <i>At this point, I doubt it´s set to &quot;stun&quot;. </i> The doctor walked over, took one look at Rob and said, &quot;Didn´t I already examine you?&quot; &quot;I dunno. Did you?&quot; Rob asked. &quot;Yeah.&quot; The doctor said. &quot;They brought you in about an hour ago. You were unconscious. I took some scans and everything checked out okay. You´ll be a bit sore for the next while – you have two cracked ribs and some internal bruising – but if you don´t do anything too stupid you should heal up just fine.&quot; &quot;I don´t suppose I can see those scans you took?&quot; &quot;Uh, hold on.&quot; The doctor said. He went back to his terminal and pressed a few buttons. The screen and the foot of Rob´s bed lit up. &quot;You know how to read one of these?&quot; &quot;Yeah.&quot; Rob said. He shifted his body so he had a better view of the readouts. Sure enough, the doctor was telling the truth. &quot;Are we finished here?&quot; The interrogator asked. &quot;I´m satisfied.&quot; Rob said. &quot;Well, as much as a guy with two broken ribs and a blown up ship can be.&quot; &quot;I´ll escort you back to your room then. I believe you said you have some information.&quot; &quot;One quick thing first. The woman who was with me, where is she?&quot; Rob´s interrogator glared at him and said through clenched teeth. &quot;She is being held for questioning, as you are. Now, if you will please come with me...&quot; &quot;You know, if it´s all the same to you, I´m pretty comfortable here. Could we just stick around and do the interrogation here?&quot; Rob asked. The bald woman sighed. &quot;Fine. Start talking.&quot; &quot;What do you want to know?&quot; Rob asked. <i>&quot;Why </i> were you trying to get the artifact?&quot; &quot;Well,&quot; Rob said. &quot;It´s not so much that we were trying to get it, as we just didn´t want those other folks to get it.&quot; &quot;And who were they?&quot; &quot;I´m not entirely sure.&quot; Rob said. &quot;If you aren´t sure, why were you fighting - ?&quot; &quot;Can I finish, please?&quot; Rob asked, putting an edge into his voice. &quot;I´m not entirely sure who they were, but I´m almost certain they were working for a man named Jack Mason. Have you heard of him?&quot; The woman didn´t answer. &quot;Well, he´s a Liberty governor with delusions of grandeur. Apparently he´s part of some cult known as The Covenant. Heard of them?&quot; The woman didn´t answer. &quot;My partner and I have been on Mason´s tail for quite some time now. We´ve been doing our best to keep him from bringing whatever plans he has had to fruition. When we found out that there was a dig going on on Primus, we knew that we had to take a look.&quot; &quot;Who gave you the location of the artifact?&quot; &quot;An old friend of mine is a xeno-archaeologist. He and his colleagues were contacted by an unknown group to participate in a dig. He refused, but passed the information along to me.&quot; &quot;Where is this friend of yours now?&quot; The woman leaned forward, looking at Rob intently. &quot;I don´t know.&quot; Rob replied. &quot;I told him to go into hiding for a while. He´s with another friend of mine, but there´s something in this system that´s totally buggered up my Neural Net. I haven´t been able to contact anyone since I got here.&quot; &quot;So nobody will be coming to... retrieve you?&quot; The interrogator asked. There was a look about her that Rob found mildly disconcerting. &quot;I wouldn´t say that.&quot; Rob lied. &quot;A few of my other partners in this endeavour know we´re here, and they´ll swing by in about a day if they don´t hear anything from us.&quot; &quot;I see.&quot; The interrogator sat back. &quot;Now, this Governor Mason, what has he been doing that he should be considered such a threat?&quot; &quot;Well, the fact that he´s after artifacts should give you a hint.&quot; Rob said. &quot;Humor me,&quot; said the interrogator. &quot;He and The Covenant are working to reintroduce the Nomads into Sirius. As far as I can tell, they plan on using them and their technology as tools in their quest for domination.&quot; &quot;It would appear that they must be stopped then.&quot; &quot;Yeah.&quot; Rob said. &quot;I was sort of trying to do that until you lot decided it would be a laugh of you broke my goddamn ribs, blew up my fighter, and smashed my head with a rifle.&quot; The interrogator wasn´t swayed. &quot;You are still alive; we could have killed you along with your foes.&quot; &quot;Good thing you didn´t,&quot; Rob shot back. &quot;You think I´m pissed now, you should have seen what happened the last time somebody killed me.&quot; The bald woman puzzled over Rob´s response for a second before resuming her questions. &quot;What do you know of the artifact´s purpose?&quot; &quot;Nothing.&quot; Rob said. &quot;I´m not interested in using it. All I want is to stop Mason from getting his hands on it.&quot; &quot;You have no desire to use it?&quot; &quot;None.&quot; &quot;Not even to save the life of your partner?&quot; Rob´s face darkened. &quot;That had better be a f*cking hypothetical.&quot; &quot;Would you use it?&quot; The interrogator pressed. &quot;Goddamnit, I don´t know!&quot; Rob spat. &quot;I don´t even know what it does! Where´s Tanya? I want to see her. Now!&quot; He made a move to stand. &quot;I would advise against that.&quot; The guard said, speaking for the first time. She had a voice altogether too pleasant for her position. Had he not been unarmed and staring down the barrel of a gun that would disintegrate him in a second, Rob probably would have laughed at the threat. Instead he froze, cursing silently. &quot;So you care for this woman, Tanya.&quot; The interrogator stated. &quot;Of course I do!&quot; Rob said. &quot;She´s my partner!&quot; <i>Don´t say anything else. Don´t say anything else. Don´t say anything else. Don´t say… </i> &quot;But that´s not all, is it?&quot; The interrogator asked. Rob said nothing as he glared back at his captor, stony-faced. &quot;Let´s go back a bit though.&quot; The bald woman said. &quot;How can we be sure <i>you </i> aren´t the ones who want to do all those things you attributed to Governor Mason?&quot; Rob sighed. &quot;Look at what we are and look at what they were. There are two of us. We came in one ship – my Falcon. We were picking through the debris of somebody else´s base to find information about the artifact. &quot;Now look at the other guys. <i>They </i> sent two <i>teams </i> to Primus, under heavy guard. They set up a large encampment for support. Tell me, of the two, who strikes you as being more likely to want to take and use your precious artifact for their own purposes?&quot; Rob was beginning to get irritated, and he didn´t like it. The interrogator had played him on Tanya, despite his best efforts to put her off-balance. &quot;It certainly appears as though you are who you claim to be – &quot; &quot;Great.&quot; Rob said. &quot;Can I go now?&quot; &quot;But we need more concrete proof of your honesty,&quot; the bald woman finished. Rob rolled his eyes and said, &quot;Right, what do you want me to do?&quot; &quot;The Council will decide that.&quot; &quot;Wonderful.&quot; Rob said. &quot;Wonder-f*cking-ful. You know, while you´re dithering here, Mason´s going to be mounting another expedition to get that artifact.&quot; &quot;It is under guard.&quot; The bald woman said. &quot;And our technicians are working to retrieve it.&quot; Rob´s eyes widened at that. &quot;Sh*t,&quot; he murrmured. <i>Now what? For all I know, these guys could be even worse than Mason. </i> &quot;In the mean time, you will return to your cell while the Council deliberates on your and your partner´s information.&quot; &quot;I want to see my partner.&quot; Rob said simply. &quot;I don´t think – &quot; &quot;Look, I don´t care what you have to do. Bind my hands and feet, put me in a straightjacket, stun me, break my other ribs, bust my head again. I don´t care. I want to see Tanya.&quot; The bald woman considered this for a moment, turned to look at the guards and looked back at Rob. &quot;Very well. We will take you to your partner´s cell. But your hands will have to be bound, and your feet shackled.&quot; &quot;Fine.&quot; Rob said. Just then, and with a speed Rob was beginning to find unnerving, another guard - an older man this time - showed up with hand and leg cuffs. Rob stood and cooperated as first his feet were restrained, and then his hands secured. &quot;Follow me.&quot; The bald woman said. Rob obliged, shuffling off behind her, the two guards watching him carefully. As Rob was led down the hall he began to get the feeling that something was wrong. <i>Oh, sh*t, no. Not agai – </i> - - - - The two guards hauled Rob´s unconscious, bleeding body the last few yards to Tanya´s cell. The door hissed open and they dumped him unceremoniously inside. <b>Summary: The interrogation. Rob explains why he was where he was. He gives some basic background on Mason and why he and Tanya have been working to thwart the Governor´s plans. In the end, Rob gets another blow to the head for his troubles. Ouch. </b> OOC: I know the TGL seem rather... brutal here. However, I don´t think it´s unrealistic. While we know that T&amp;R should be allied with the TGL, they don´t. All the TGL know is that R&amp;T were tring to get the artifact. That alone makes them a threat. Also, there have been a number of studies which have proven that people such as prison guards tend to abuse their power. Finally, Rob wasn´t realy cooperative and, to a degree, brought the assaults upon himself. Anyway, FA, if you´re uncomfortable with this, let me know. I´ll change things up so Rob does somthing really stupid to deserve the thumping. Edited by - Codename on 8/22/2005 4:09:31 PM

OOC: Well I´ll give it a try. See if anyone likes it. *** Stefan sat in the chair staring at small plants he had on the diskshelf, admiring the beauty of life, thinking of what other of these ecological wonders might exist. <i>Life is wonderful, </i> he thought. <i>It has it´s bad sides but it´s absolutely wonderful </i>. He went back to admiring the plants. <i>And this must be one of the good sides of life </i> A minute later the optronic beeped, signalling that the download was ready. Within a second the computer initiated it´s shutdown. When that was done he pulled out the wire from the socket that connected him with the computer. He pulled it out from the socket on his arm and closed the lid to dust and other small things from gathering in the ´armsocket´, and put the wire in his pocket. It hit him that he hasn´t watched the news for nearly two weeks now. He quickly went to a sofa in the middle of the room, activated the TV and went to the news channel. There a picture of a farm on Stuttgart was viewed, then faded out and the news-announcers young picture was viewed. ´´It has been a week since the manslaughtering terrorist know only as ´Dev´ committed suicide at the window of his hotel room. The butcher put a side arm towards his head and fired while grinning. But the people still question the government on why the Police was so innef-´´ - YES! Stefan shouted. ´´The butcher is dead! The plague has ended!´´. He went back to normal and began to feel some pressure in the ´´down under´´. He went for the bathroom and relieved himself of the pressure. *** When he came out ten minutes later he heard loud voices from the kitchen. As he made his way to the room he knew what was going on. ´´And this has to be one of the bad sides of live´´, he said with a sigh. He went in and saw that Jim (Henderson) and Benno (Krüger) were yelling at each other over the table. About as petty things as Liberty politics. - Quiet! He yelled then calmed down, ´´you make such a noise that could be heard all the way to Potsdam! Now I know that your political opinions differ, but you don´t have to go around yelling about it. This is not the bloody Rheinland Reichstag. Jim´´, he turned to the freelancer, didn´t you have a mission to fly? -Well yes but- -The go an do it instead of sitting here and losing your prey.´´ He then turned to the Zoner, and you said you were just coming over for a short visit. Well it seems it weren’t that short at all aye? -Yeah, I´ll just be heading back to Freeport 2 now. -Right. And no more of these petty squabbles ok? -Sure Vater, they both said simultaneously. Then went to their ships. He sighed and walked back to the sofa and relaxed. ´´Det ser ut som om dem fortfarande har en bit kvar´´ (Seems like they still have a bit to go). Just then he recieved a message on his inbuilt neural net. He answered within a second. Walther had called him from Freiburg and wanted them to meet on planet Stuttgart. He went to the kitchen and warmed a portion of cabbage pasta. He ate it quickly and went to walk into the town where his ship was stored. He locked the door of his house wich looked more like an underground storehouse. He took the path through the forest (wich is the only way to town from his house). <i>Well nobody has died of a little forest walk. </i> *** He opened the garage doors and entered that little pile of junk, he opened his little hatch and stuck in the wire in his armsocket and an open socket in the ship. Then he took off. The ships name ´´Rebirth´´ gleamed as the dusk suns rays shone upon the ships hull. The sky was clear with a few clouds here and there. The giant gates of the docking ring swung open as he exited the atmosphere. ´´Zoners zeta 9 dash 4 this is Planet New Berlin, planetary exit successful, good luck out there.´´ -Understood, Stefan responded and activated his cruise engine. He looked back at the beautiful white-blue-yellow coloured world and entered the trade lane to Brandenburg Border Station. Enjoying the ´´plump´´ sound as he called it. He sat back and chuckled. <i>When people bother themselves with turning their lever here and there and reaching around just to press a little button all I have to do is to sit back and relax. Live is just wonderful. </i> He exited the trade lane and received a call from the border station. -This is Brandenburg Border Station to Unknown Ship please identify yourself. -This is Zoners zeta 4 dash 9 sending the data know. I´m on route from Planet New Berlin and heading towards the Stuttgart System. He answered and continued towards the trade lane. -Roger that Zoners zeta 4 dash 9, your clear to proceed. But before the robot had time to respond, he was already on his way to Bonn Station. He exited the trade lane and was already entering the one leading to the Stuttgart Jumpgate. <i>Strange, ain´t there any pirate activity here? Do they have a day off or what? </i>, he wondered. Normally the trade lane was always disrupted at this place, but not today. <i>Well at least I´ll don´t have to bother talking to some greedy Hessian this time. </i> He came to the Stuttgart gate and to his surprise there was no activity there. It was dead. Not even a pirate. He went forth to the gate initiating the docking sequence. Then he pulled out his wire and put it back in his pocket. The sheep speeded towards the jump tunnel and Stefan was pressed back a little. Then he was blinded by the light that always comes with jump travel.

OOC: Everyone takes a shot at Dev...

I never did.... =D did I?

Hhehehe probably not... But he´s so lovable...

Rob´s mind drifted back to consciousness slowly. First came the pain, as Rob would have expected. Then, surprisingly, comfort. His head was nestled in something soft and warm, and Rob felt fingers running gently through his hair. As quickly as it had come, the pain faded away. He kept his eyes closed and remained still, enjoying a few moments of peace. The binders on his wrists and ankles weighed heavily on Rob. <i>Shouldn´t be too hard to deal with though. </i> Letting his right eye open a crack, Rob hazarded a glance up at Tanya. Her thoughts seemed elsewhere as she stroked Rob´s head absentmindedly. <i>Ahhh. Good. </i> Rob immediately set to work. He studied his wrist-cuffs carefully. They didn´t appear to be any model he was familiar with, but he was still able to isolate the locking mechanism without too much trouble. It looked to be electronic, with a mechanical backup mechanism. <i>This won´t be easy, </i> he thought. With his left index finger Rob pressed down hard on his left thumbnail. The polymer-based adhesive broke silently and the false-keratin sheath slid away to reveal a razor-sharp blade. In four deft movements Rob had cut away the synthetic skin of his right palm. Underneath were a number of tiny, specialized tools. They had been preserved and kept soft by a special formula trapped between the layers of skin. The liquid evaporated quickly and odourlessly, and the tools hardened almost instantly in Rob´s hand. He picked through them, selecting those he might need. The rest he let spill from his hand; their biological components would degrade quickly, leaving no useful trace. First, Rob disabled the mechanical lock. It was easy enough to do while it remained disengaged. He broke off a piece of multi-use material and used a small pin to jam the sliding-bolt mechanism. The electronic lock proved to be somewhat more difficult. First, Rob needed to find the circuit board. This required him to carefully examine the entire surface area of the cuffs with a special electrosensitive rod. It began to shake powerfully, indicating to Rob that he had found what he was looking for. Another few quick movements from his left thumb and he intricate optronics were revealed. For all its complexity, actually disrupting the lock was easy. Rob carefully inserted a microscopic prism into the beam of light which held the lock shut. The beam diffracted and the lock slid open. Rob looked up at Tanya again. She was still lost in her own thoughts. She hadn´t stopped stroking Rob´s head though, and Rob wasn´t about to give her reason to. Quietly, he slipped his wrists out of their binders. Rob lay on his back, gazing up at the beautiful young woman who had captured his heart so. Suddenly, Tanya looked down, surprised to find Rob conscious. &quot;Hey. How long have you been awake?&quot; she demanded. &quot;Dunno. Doesn´t matter.&quot; Rob mumbled. Tanya jumped up and Rob´s head hit the floor. &quot;Ow!&quot; &quot;You rogue!&quot; Tanya admonished, though it seemed to Rob that she wasn´t really angry. Rob grinned as he stood, despite the aches and pains that came flooding back. &quot;I couldn´t help it. It was just so comfortable.&quot; Any lingering anger Tanya may have felt melted away and she hugged Rob tenderly. Rob wrapped his arms around Tanya´s slender, toned body and pulled her to him. Their faces met, cheek caressing cheek. They touched for a moment before slipping into a long kiss. When they pulled apart – too soon for Rob – he gazed longingly at Tanya´s gorgeous face, &quot;Damn you´re a sight for sore eyes.&quot; Tanya´s eyes widened momentarily before she smiled. &quot;You just look sore, Rob.&quot; Suddenly the floor under Rob´s feet shook and he felt the familiar sensation of deceleration. <i>We´re on a ship? </i> Rob thought. <i>That´ll make escape tougher. </i> Tanya released Rob and stepped back. &quot;I have a lot to tell you,&quot; she said. &quot;And I don´t know if it´s good or bad news...&quot; &quot;Hm.&quot; Rob said. &quot;Can´t say I learned anything of use. Other than it´s a bad idea to get hit in the head too often. Let me sit down and get out of these shackles. Then you can tell me what you know.&quot; Rob shuffled over to the nearest chair and set to work picking his was out of the ankle-cuffs. While he was busy, Tanya took the seat opposite him and waited. Rob was able to finish quickly, having full use of both his hands. &quot;Now, what is it you managed to learn?&quot; Tanya opened her mouth and was just about to begin speaking when Rob suddenly raised his hand. He stood and walked around the table, stopping to kneel beside the young woman. Tanya looked at Rob, first in puzzlement, and then, as he brought his face to hers, worry, disappointment and even a bit of anger. &quot;Rob! Now isn´t the time! We have things – &quot; She stopped speaking abruptly when Rob whispered, &quot;Bugs.&quot; Tanya nodded almost imperceptibly. She and Rob had become so used to simply using Rob´s favoured gadgets that they had almost forgotten to consider that they were being taped. Tanya turned her head and brought her lips to Rob´s ear. She said, &quot;Why don´t we just subvocalize?&quot; The sound of Tanya´s whispered words and the feeling of her warm breath on his skin sent a shiver down Rob´s spine. He couldn´t help but imagine hearing some decidedly less prosaic phrases from the sometimes mischievous and often playful Tanya. Rob swallowed and said, &quot;Won´t work. They´ll either be blocking or recording all comm traffic here. Most likely the former, and - assuming they aren´t - even if we use maximal encryption, they´ll still be able to crack the transmissions. We´re stuck whispering.&quot; &quot;Oh, I´m sure you´re devastated.&quot; Tanya said, her voice taking a sultry note. Rob coughed, taking care not to bark in Tanya´s ear. &quot;Just tell me what you know.&quot; &quot;Hold on. We´ll be more comfortable if we´re both on the floor for this,&quot; Tanya said. She pulled her face away from Rob´s. Rob nodded and sat, cross-legged, two feet away from Tanya´s chair. Tanya stood and walked around the chair. She settled to the floor gracefully and leaned forward, Rob mirroring her action. &quot;First things first. Where are we, and how did we get here?&quot; Rob whispered, cupping his hand around his mouth to muffle his speech and to make lip-reading impossible. &quot;We´re on a carrier of some sort,&quot; Tanya answered. &quot;I almost managed to escape after you were knocked out, but the transport I stole had some pre-programmed routines I couldn´t deal with.&quot; Rob was more than a little impressed. Alone and unarmed, Tanya had somehow managed to take out three soldiers. Rob wished he could have seen her in action. &quot;What happened then?&quot; &quot;When we landed, we were boarded. I was tranquilized and brought here. You were taken to your cell, I assume.&quot; &quot;They didn´t <i>do </i> anything... did they?&quot; Rob asked, his concern coming through loud and clear. Instinctively, he wrapped his free arm around Tanya. &quot;Other than scanning out Neural Nets and taking our things? No. We´d know if they did anything else.&quot; Tanya said, reassuringly. She patted Rob on the back. &quot;And your interrogation? How did that go?&quot; Rob asked. Tanya told Rob everything, from Chambers´ arrival to Garibald´s departure. Much of what she said seemed too fanciful to be real. The &quot;nodes&quot; screamed Nomad involvement, and keeping his arm around Tanya, Rob reached back and felt for any lumps on the back of his neck. Rob was worried that he and Tanya would be turned into unwitting pawns for some other group´s plan for domination. <i>Not on my watch, </i> he promised himself silently. Rob could help but chuckle at Tanya´s recounting of her dealings with &quot;Ook&quot;. Garibald was a more menacing figure though. Rob got the sense that Tanya had not been given the whole story, that Garibald knew more than he was letting on. The unspecified &quot;powers beyond&quot; gave Rob the chills. And it the notion that the Ta´Gue´Led considered themselves more &quot;evolved&quot; was disturbing as well. Rob knew well enough that a superiority complex was the first step down the road to evil. Tanya told Rob of the artifacts, and their immeasurable power. He hoped that some might be well beyond Mason´s reach, but Tanya soon put an end to that wish. Tanya explained that the Ta´Gue´Led wished to remove all traces of the artifacts from Sirius, that others such as Mason could not abuse their power. Rob was disquieted by the lack of any mention of what his captors planned to do once they possessed the artifacts. He tried to think up his own methods of dealing with them. With only the information passed on to him by Tanya, Rob couldn´t think of much short of launching the artifacts into a star. That, of course, came with a rather significant risk to both Rob and any denizens of that particular system. It was hard to tell if the risk would be worthwhile. &quot;...and that just about covers everything.&quot; Tanya finished. Rob turned over the information in his head. It was a lot to take in. &quot;What´s our next move?&quot; Rob asked. &quot;I thought about that myself while you were ´enjoying the view´.&quot; Tanya said, pinching Rob´s ear teasingly. &quot;I think we should work with them. But keep on our guard.&quot; &quot;I was thinking the same thing.&quot; Rob said. &quot;Have they offered anything concrete?&quot; &quot;Yes. They´ve offered us a ship and will help however possible.&quot; &quot;What sort of ship?&quot; Rob asked, hoping for something fun to fly. &quot;A Sabre.&quot; Tanya answered. Rob grunted; he wasn´t entirely pleased. &quot;They say it´s been modified slightly.&quot; &quot;Did that Garibald guy give you any specific instructions? Where to go? What to look for? Things like that.&quot; &quot;No. I think he wanted to wait and make sure you would ´cooperate´.&quot; Tanya said. &quot;Yeah, I´ll play along.&quot; Rob said. &quot;I guess now we just have to wait.&quot; &quot;They may be a while...&quot; Tanya whispered. &quot;I can think of a few ways to pass the time.&quot; Rob kissed Tanya´s neck softly. &quot;They might be watching.&quot; &quot;Good.&quot; - - - - Rob didn´t know for how long he and Tanya had been kissing when he heard the distinctive suck-hiss of the door opening, and the sound of a person entering. Reluctantly Tanya and Rob disentangled their intertwined limbs and stood to face the newcomer, a beet-red Chambers. Rob attempted to straighten his tattered, rumpled shirt before remembering what lousy shape it was in, and how pointless his efforts were. Tanya immediately recognized the man before her and welcomed him with a gleeful &quot;Ook!&quot; Chambers´ face went from red to purple and Rob fought hard to suppress his laughter. &quot;I´ve come to bring you to Larius.&quot; Chambers said, staring resolutely at his grey combat boots. It was then that Rob first noticed the pulsating protrusion on the back of the man´s neck, just as Tanya had described it. It pulsated in a manner that seemed rather sinister to Rob. &quot;Who´s Larius?&quot; He asked. &quot;He is head of the Council, and leader of the Ta´Gue´Led.&quot; Chambers answered. &quot;Do not keep him waiting.&quot; Rob and Tanya looked at each other and nodded. &quot;Ook ook!&quot; Tanya said. &quot;I think that means ´lead on´,&quot; Rob translated, a goofy grin plastered on his face. Chambers scowled, spun on his heel and marched out of the cell. Tanya and Rob followed not far behind. When they stepped out of their cell they were flanked by a contingent of guards. Tanya had shown that she was not to be underestimated, and the Ta´Gue´Led were taking no more chances. They wound their way through the ship. A slight increase in deck vibration gave Rob the feeling that they were moving aft, towards the engines. He and Tanya were ushered into a lift and were whisked upwards. They emerged from the lift seconds later. The room they stepped into was dark. It was lit only by the diffuse light of space filtering through the large window which dominated the room. Rob could see a table before him, and seven figures seated behind it, shrouded in darkness. Light began to emanate from behind the central figure – presumably Larius - surrounding him in an almost eerie yellow glow. The rest of the figures remained in darkness. The man spoke, his voice was soft and warm, paternal. &quot;Hello Tanya. Hello Rob. I am Larius.&quot; Rob and Tanya waited for him to continue. &quot;Let me begin by apologizing to you, Rob, for your mistreatment.&quot; Larius said. &quot;There are those amongst us who take our superiority as license to overstep their bounds. Rest assured, the offenders will be reprimanded.&quot; &quot;Good to know.&quot; Rob said. <i>Again with the goddamn complex, </i> he thought. <i>These people are dangerous. </i> &quot;Do you know why I have brought you here?&quot; Larius asked. &quot;You want to help us,&quot; Tanya said. &quot;And you want us to help you.&quot; &quot;Yes.&quot; Larius nodded. &quot;Are you willing to work with us?&quot; &quot;Sure.&quot; Rob said easily. &quot;You scratch our back, we´ll scratch yours.&quot; &quot;Excellent.&quot; Larius clapped his hands together. It sounded to Rob like the man was smiling. &quot;I want you to go to the planet you have named ´Los Angeles´. There is an artifact there – that which governs ´water´.&quot; &quot;Los Angeles is a big planet,&quot; Rob said. &quot;Do you know exactly where the artifact is?&quot; &quot;Yes,&quot; Larius answered. &quot;All mission data has been uploaded into your Sabre. You must move quickly, we do not have time to waste in briefings now that Mason and his Covenant have discovered the artifacts´ existence. You can review everything at your leisure while you travel. Also, we have loaded your personal effects into the Sabre, along with some special equipment.&quot; &quot;We´ll leave now.&quot; Tanya said. &quot;Good, I wish you the best of luck.&quot; The light behind Larius faded, and the room was dark once more. - - - - Rob and Tanya emerged onto the flight deck. Rob froze for a moment and marveled at the spacecraft that sat before him. The Ta´Gue´Led fighters were almost like nothing he had ever seen before. Upon closer inspection, Rob saw that they bore some similarities to Nomad fighters, cementing Tanya´s information and causing Rob´s worry to grow. They were quite a bit larger than Nomad fighters, however, with two large engine pods – each almost the size of a Nomad fighter - slung below a small cockpit. The entire body of the ship glowed yellow. The transport craft were equally exotic. They bore four engine pods, similar to those on the fighters. The main fuselage was long and rounded, with a large, semicircular cockpit at front. In amongst these exotic craft there sat a number of fighters of Sirian manufacture. Rob saw some Kusari Dragons, a number of Banshee Rheinland Light Fighters, and all Civilian ships from the diminutive Starflier, to the powerful, imposing Eagle. Rob gazed longingly at the smooth, sleek lines of the few Falcons that sat in the bay, but walked towards the Sabre he and Tanya had been given. &quot;I don´t like Sabres,&quot; he grumbled. &quot;Then you won´t mind if I fly?&quot; Tanya asked brightly. &quot;I´d mind if you didn´t.&quot; Rob said. &quot;If you´re going to be like this all the way to LA...&quot; Tanya said, a hint of exasperation in her voice. &quot;Sorry.&quot; Rob said. &quot;I just don´t like these people very much.&quot; &quot;Well don´t take it out on me.&quot; Tanya shot back. &quot;Okay.&quot; Rob said, raising his hands. &quot;I won´t. Here, you get the ship ready for launch. I´ll go see if I can´t vent my frustrations. Do a full sweep of all systems. If these guys are watching us, of have any cards up their sleeves, I want to at least know about it.&quot; &quot;Got it,&quot; Tanya said. Rob peeled away from her as she loped towards the Border Worlds Very Heavy Fighter. Stopping in the middle of the hangar, Rob scanned the area for the biggest, meanest-looking person he could find. After about a minute, he had settled on three potential candidates. He studied each for a moment before recognizing the third as one who had been part of the group which had captured him. Rob took a deep breath, and strode purposefully up to the man. &quot;Excuse me,&quot; he said, tapping the soldier on the shoulder. &quot;I was wondering if I can get you to help me with something?&quot; &quot;What?&quot; The Ta´ trooper turned to face Rob. And met Rob´s flying fist, head on. The force of impact resounded in the cavernous hangar as the soldier was lifted clean off his feet by Rob´s surprise punch. He crumpled onto the deck. Rob immediately broke into a run towards the Sabre, grinning like the idiot he was. He tore through the hangar bay and up the ladder, giggling furiously as he landed in the seat behind Tanya. &quot;I take it you feel better?&quot; Tanya said, not looking up from the last of her checks. &quot;Yes, yes. Now, let´s go!&quot; Rob said. &quot;Quickly!&quot; Tanya turned around as the Sabre exited the hangar. &quot;What did you do?&quot; Rob just snickered. <b>Summary: Rob and Tanya are reunited. Tanya fills Rob in on what Garibald said. They discuss what they will do next, agreeing to at least play along with the Ta´s, if not allying with them outright. T&amp;R are taken to meet Larius, who gives them the basic outline of their misson. R&amp;T leave, but not before Rob gets some well-deserved revenge for the beatings he suffered. </b> OOC: A couple things... First off, I´d just like to say a few words about the second kissing scene. Rob´s motivations aren´t necessarily as simple as you might think. Sure, there´s the obvious reason, but there´s a slightly more subtle one as well. You see, humans are voyeuristic to a degree. This isn´t something we´re often proud of though, and we try to suppress our instinct to watch people doing intimate things, especially when we aren´t alone. Now, I figure whoever´s watching/listening to Tanya and Rob´s (rom)antics in the cell isn´t alone. At the very least, they´re sharing thoughts with a symbiote. So it´ll be very uncomfortable for them. Rob knows this, and figures that he´ll be able to get out of the cell quicker because of it. That´s also why he says &quot;good&quot; when Tanya reminds him of the watchers; not because he´s some sort of closet exhibitionist. <img src=smilies/icon_smile_tongue.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> Second, I´d just like to throw out a few ideas for what might happen next. We´ll say that Tanya didn´t pick up any overt signs of modification to the Sabre, other than those Garibald already told her about. Rob will still want to take a look though, so he and Tanya will set down somewhere (doesn´t really matter where) and have a friend of one of them (I´m thinking Tanya) tear the ship apart and look over it piece by piece. Maybe T&amp;R will even switch ships, leaving the Sabre behind while it´s being analyzed. Oh, and the special equipment includes flame-throwers to deal with the water guardian that R&amp;T will encounter. Edited by - Codename on 8/26/2005 8:30:29 AM

OOC: Flamethrowers for a water gaurdian? Didnt you ever play pokemon, water trumps fire <img src=smilies/icon_smile_wink.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> Try salt throwers <img src=smilies/icon_smile_big.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle>

either that or some sort of condensing agent that would trap the water inside of it, cant remember the name of the chemical, but its used in nappies/daipers and can absorb 10 times its own weight... =P or, a really really big sponge =D oooor something that seperates the hydrogen from the oxgen and then the engines would ignite it in a nice big fireball =P Edited by - [GR_Fallen_Angel on 8/26/2005 12:34:21 PM