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Post by Kaj Oenfer on Mar 5, 2016 12:47:41 GMT
Kaj had re-entered the Riot with Taffer and the others. So he was leaning against a wall while he watched everything happen with Teagan Allyn. He was paying attention to it all, as usual, when her accusing finger moved to his direction, as she continued, "And I had read in the Tattler too about biomen from the Pale Wars and how many of them have gone bonkers hanging out with mutants and killing people and eating them although I never met one and I thought they were blue and not purple, and that confirmed it, I thought, 'I'm dead meat,' so I guess that triggered another panic attack and you showed up and now that we are up-to-date Sargent Mass, can we please go home?"
"Well," Remarked Sandy with narrowed blue eyes between bites of her MRE, "Despite the resemblance, that is NOT Belle, although she does have the Bell family's gift of gab!"
Hearing the young woman's response Kaj adjusted his black beret but tried to keep a passive look on his face, even though he hated that he was always seen as a horrible monster instead of the gentle giant that he is.
However he remained quiet as Volo decided to speak. After Volo had his say, Taffer started talking. While Kaj did pay attention, he was also thinking about Volo's kind words as well.
Just then Kaj noticed that Taffer was wrapping up his current concerns with, " So please Sandy, could you finally tell us what happened the last time you saw Erika that they do not want us to hear?"
Kaj glanced at Sandy and saw that she was staring into her tea, trying to figure out what to say. So he decided he had something to say to the accusing woman while they waited for Sandy to say something.
So Kaj first said, "Thank you Volo. You are right. There are no bone-crushing urges for me, as I hate killing or hurting others if it can be avoided." Kaj glanced around and continued with, "Yes Bio-men could come in pretty much any color that the scientist chose. However blue was the most common one and used in most lines. The Lincoln line was the only line of purple Biomen as far as I know, and as my friend has said, I am the last of my line for those same reasons that he feels made the Lincoln line unique."
Then Kaj took off his beret, knelt near the woman and smiled slightly as he calmly said, "Excuse me Miss, but I am not a monster, just a big purple human. I may be a biogenetically engineered human, however I am still human. Just like you. Are I not? A famous playwright named William Shakespeare, once wrote,
So I ask you; Do I not also deserve the same respect and understanding, that you and everyone else present in here believe a sentient being deserves, until such time that they have proven that they are unworthy of such respect?"
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Post by Sandy Bell on Mar 5, 2016 14:52:02 GMT
Teagan Allyn blinked her one brown eye and one blue eye in unison several times as her brain sorted through what Kaj said and, like she often did when confronted with information she didn't truly understand, she focused on one word that she did, so she exclaimed, "OH MY GOD! The bioman's going to take revenge on me! Help me Sargent Mass!"
Maas sat down next to the frantic woman, putting one clay red hand on her pale one and locking her gold eyes with Teagan's mismatched ones, saying in low steady tone to her, "Calm yourself Minister, the big man means you no harm, he is merely explaining himself to you," Then she turned her intense eyes upwards to Kaj, and with a smile remarked, "Eseneziri Mister Kaj! No explanation is needed, and Minister Teagan will understand once she has time to process the information - or she will not! I have noticed that unlike we Irtathients who treasure the diversity of nature - and all are creatures of the gods, no matter how they are born - humans seem to look with suspicion on those who are not exactly like them. There are exceptions, like your Mr. Uljanov judging from his words, but sadly, they are far and few between."
A pretty pout crossed Teagan's face and her brow furrowed as she remembered the job description for her position of Minister of Human Relations, "Are you dissing me Sargent? Was that a dis? You know how Chancellor Cael feels about dissing humans! I'd hate to put you on report - especially since you saved me from the monsters and all!"
Sargent Maas sighed as she turned to Teagan, taking out her canteen and a handkerchief, and began cleaning the dirt and runny mascara from Teagan's face like a mother does for a small child as she spoke in measured tones to her, "No one means any disrespect Minister Allyn, to you or Mister Kaj. Let us get you presentable. Did you know that one of your contacts fell out? I did not realize you wore contacts, is it an enhancement or merely cosmetic?"
Teagan's mouth fell open as she took out the remaining blue contact and looked at it in the palm of her pale hand, as she remarked in consternation, "Oh no, I've got to get that replaced before Chancellor Cael sees me. The elderly Castithan lady who recruited me in Toronto just as I got laid off as the personal Assistant to CEO Fontaine of the Theseus Corporation said I should wear them for my interview with Chancelor Cael, telling me that he REALLY liked human females with blue eyes and blond hair," Teagan laughed melodically as a warm smile crossed her beautiful pale face, so like Belle Starr that those who knew her took a double take and Vo Kshaa, her lover, winced at the memory that Belle was still missing, while Teagan continued, "My personal motto is, 'With good looks and a good attitude, you can do anything you set your mind to,' but I'm clever enough to take any advantage I can get when going into a job interview, and I'm already a natural blond, so I wore these contacts into the interview like the lady suggested - and guess what? It worked like a charm! Cael - I mean Chancellor Cael - took a real shine to me, and I don't mind telling you, he is so dreamy, that I took an immediate shine to him too!" The smile vanished from Teagan's face as her hand went instinctively to her eye like this was not the first time it had been injured when unbidden memories filled her mind, so that she blurted, "But he can have a temper too. His mood can change so quickly... but that's my fault! Sometimes I just say the wrong things and... well you know... but I know he really likes me, and I have this great job, so it's all good!"
A single tear fell down her pale cheek as she stared with doe like eyes into the big bioman's face and reached out touching his purple hued cheek, reassuring herself of his humanity, then saying, "I'm sorry Mr. Kaj. I'm sorry I didn't give you the respect you deserve as a fellow human being..."
Teagan let the words trail off, drawing her shapely legs up to her chin, and hugging them tightly to herself as she became lost to her own thoughts, looking sad and lonely as she sat in her corner - a gesture so reminiscent of Belle Starr that it made Vo wince yet again. As the exchange between Minister Allyn, Sargent Maas, and Kaj took place, Sandy Bell stared into her cup of herbal tea, so lost in her own thoughts that she only half heard the conversation as she pondered Taffer's question.
A few minutes ago Taffer had asked, "So please Sandy, could you finally tell us what happened the last time you saw Erika that they do not want us to hear?" And her friends were all waiting patiently for her answer as she organized her thoughts, but she knew her answer was going to disappoint them when she said, "There's not much to say. I remember driving down some pretty good highway on the way to Defiance. We had the top down on my convertible, relying on the shield to protect us from any sniping raiders. I had a Beach Boys on the music player, and California Girls was just starting, so I was singing along with it as I drove. I remember Erika just kind of looking at the horizon, deep in thought, which she had done a lot during this road trip. I tried to get her talk about it, but she would just give me that small sad smile she does so often, and merely say family troubles."
Sandy paused as she remembered how woebegone Erika Widowmaker had looked ever since her arrival from the Votan Collective's Capital city, and Sandy had hoped the road trip would help change her mood, even though they both were worried about the rescue mission perhaps waiting for them at Defiance, then continued her story, "Suddenly a black Durango SUV came out of no where and forced me off the road an into a ditch. I hit my head on the steering wheel, and everything is fuzzy from then until I drifted into unconsciousness. I remember hearing sounds of a quick battle and then silence, then saw two pairs of black boots standing above the ditch I was in, one set much smaller than the other, like maybe a woman's and a man's, and voices speaking in a language I didn't know, although I think it was Votan. Then things faded to black. Sorry Taffer, that's all I remember, other than hearing the beach boys playing Kokomo as I passed out."
Sandy grimaced before she added, "One other thing Commander Taffer: I promised on my honor to Commander Kima just before he died that I would go to Capital City to talk to Chancellor Cael and I'm going to do it, with or without the Protectors. Not only because I gave a dying soldier my word of honor, but because I got the feeling from what he said that something bad would happen to his family if I didn't."
"That's nonsense," Interjected Sargent Maas emphatically, "Chancelor Cael is beloved by his people for his benevolence. He has brought the Votanis Collective into an age of prosperity, equality, and peace greater than any even our tribal elders say they have seen in their lifetimes. I have seen him close up, and he has been nothing if not honorable, although he proved much more capable in combat then I would have guessed, once taking out a would-be assassin before our protection detail could even draw our weapons, but I figured that is because his mother, Erika Widowmaker, is a renowned Votan warrior. I cannot believe that he would ever do violence to someone who didn't deserve it!"
"Believe it," Muttered Teagan Allyn, her hand instinctively going up to her hurt eye again.
Maas frowned but ignored what Teagan said, saying herself, "I can attest that Chancellor Cael wants Captain Bell alive for interrogation and is well aware of her status as a friend to his mother. Our orders were explicit, as was the contract to the bounty hunters, which Mr. Lestrange can testify to: Sandy Bell was to be returned to Capital City alive and unhurt. And I may be able to shed light as to why Capital City: There is a rumor that our Votan Scientists now have a machine that can extract memories, even details that the person the memories came from might not remember. Think of it as a video tape of, say a bank robbery, which would be much more detailed than the eyewitness bank teller who was robbed. As I have heard, the machine is not portable, and takes a whole building to house. However, as I say, it's just a rumor I heard."
"Hell, it makes sense to me why Cael wants me in Capital City, so I say lets fulfill his fucking wish!' Exclaimed Sandy, "What do you guys say?"
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Post by Chase Lonehart on Mar 5, 2016 15:53:05 GMT
Irisa showed back up with both Rynn and Yewll, with the clone jumping into helping out with the sleep pod without having to wait for Iri to ask. As Yewll did so, Iri finished up with the missile and began to focus on the Earth-based equipment connected to it.
“Maybe you two should look around,” Iri suggested. “See if there’s anything around here that we can use.”
Irisa nodded and began to head out, with Rynn following suit. Iri turned back to the equipment connected to the Omec technology.
“Peculiar,” Iri spoke. “The layout of the electronic systems is odd. One, from what I can best gather, appears to be some sort of medical observation equipment, like what humans called an EKG. However, despite how old it is, the second one looks striking similar to some of the pre-war video game systems I’ve seen, but looks to be modified to be used with some modern wireless systems, including EGO devices.”
“What does that mean?” Yewll asked.
“It means that whoever put her down here wanted to make sure she stayed under and kept busy,” Iri told her. “You see, it’s sort of similar to dreaming. According to some studies, if you don’t dream, you go bonkers. It’s not that different from the sleep pods that brought the Votan races to Earth. Except that instead of a dream, where in some cases the person having it wouldn’t realize they were dreaming, this gaming system allows for the person who is asleep to play games. Honestly, I don’t see the point in video games.”
“Have you ever played one?” the Yewll clone asked.
“No.”
“As the old saying goes, ‘don’t knock it till you tried it’.”
“Anyways,” Iri replied a bit annoyed. “By the way it looks, we can turn these off without having to worry about it killing her and without any long or short term psychological damage.”
Yewll searched around for a tool to use, finding what appeared to be an old box cutter.
“And getting this open is so easy, I could do it with my eyes closed,” the clone replied as she extended the blade.
“Okay then,” Irisa responded. “Whenever you’re ready.”
“Pop the lock, Doctor,” Iri responded.
“Three, two, one…. Now.”
Just as Iri switched off the hardware, Yewll jabbed the blade into the bubble and the pale figure of Lena Marr within fell to the floor. Iri looked down at her, hoping that he estimate was correct. The Castithan looked up at her, familiarity in her eyes. And then confusion and fear seemed to cross her pale face.
“Hey, Iri Something-or-other,” she said as she pushed herself up. “I have a couple of questions for you and your friend. First, how long have I been on ice? And second, and more importantly, do you either of you have a working hailer so I can call my Pooh Bear and tell him his Honey Pot is back. I KNOW he has to be worrying - that is, if he didn’t die of old age, which would REALLY be a bummer!”
All four people in the room looked at her silently for a moment.
“Okay. I’ve heard Castithans call their chivo various things, but Honey Pot will definitely be a first for me,” Yewll piped up.
Iri couldn’t help but admire Lena’s body as she carefully stood up. But tried to ignore it as Lena realized herself she was nude.
“Oh yeah, one other question,” Lena piped up. “Either of you two have extra sets of clothing I can borrow? The way my nipples are puckering, somebody really turned up the air conditioner in here!”
It didn’t take Yewll long to find something for Lena to cover herself up with.
“Yes, we wouldn’t want you to scaring the good folk of Defiance,” the clone pipped up.
"So... I'm still in Defiance, I guess that's good," she said as she began to pull the curve hugging outfit, almost tempting. "Just my size - which means it's one size too small!"
Iri couldn’t help but admire Lena’s body once again. How thin and muscular it was, how perky her breasts were, how shapely her thighs. Despite Iri knowing that she was in a relationship with Chase, and that Lena had a male of her own, she could picture the two of them together, bodies close and intertwined with lips locked in heated passion. She shook the thought out of her here, trying to get back to the task at hand. And worse, she needed to remind herself that she had someone waiting for her, even though there was a wedge between them at the current moment.
“You haven’t been gone lone from what I understand to answer your first question,” Iri explained. “As to your second, no regular hailer could reach the surface through all the galantine in this area, so you’ll have to wait until we return to Defiance for that.”
“What is, is,” Lena headed towards the nearby table with suits and boots, with her becoming tasked with finding a pair of boots.
She was quiet for a moment as Lena just dug through box to find what she assumed was a pair to fit her size. Iri looked over at Yewll, who seemed to be examining the recently opened pod.
“Hey Iri, where’s the hunk?” Lena’s voice caught her attention once more. “You know, Chase Loneguy! Marcel and I went to all that trouble to find and rescue him. Don’t tell me you lost him already!”
“He’s on a mission right now with some of the others,” she explained. “Things are complicated between us right now. He’s off doing his thing, and I’m here trying to do mine, which was to recovering the cloning tech that’s down here in the mines and get the rest of the Omec tech back to the Bay. Hopefully, keep the world from having another major headache.”
Iri began to leave.
“Yewll, when she’s done, lead her to the cloning equipment. And bring Irisa and Rynn with you as well,” Iri said. “The longer we wait to get the tech out of Defiance, the more likely someone could find it.”
———————————————————
Taffer handed Chase the necessary pain pills, which Chase dry mouthed and swallowed before Taffer handed him a bottle of water, which he swallowed a few mouth full. Chase sat back, helping massage the headache away. Taffer took a seat next to him, looking intently at him.
“If you’re going to ask me questions, go ahead,” Chase told him.
“What happened out there?”
“That little vixen we brought back tried to kill me. Gave me a headache AND this to my throat. And she made my headache worse by screaming that i was a Ninety-Niner because else could see my mechanical arm from the rip she caused.”
Chase pulled his collar down to show the marks of the rifle that dug into his skin.
“No, I mean at the church. McCoy said that you were having a personal event going on.”
Chase clammed up. He couldn’t very well just share that he saw his mother in a church and his father out in the woods.
“I was trying to find out if anyone had seen our people,” Chase began. “I found the church and it brought back some childhood memories for me. Of the church in Freedom. My mom would drag both my father and I to there every Sunday. Despite how either my Dad and I felt, she hung onto the belief of a big guy in the sky. It brought back both good and bad memories.”
Again, Chase had to mix in lie with the truth in order to protect himself from his friends. He couldn’t risk his teammates believing him to be insane and potentially reverting back to the nutcase that showed up in Defiance or worse. He needed time to figure it out to himself.
“Are you okay for the questions portion of talking with the prisoner?”
“Yeah. My headache’s not as bad as it was.”
Chase stood with the others as they listened to Teagan as she sat on the floor, giving her version of things. He wasn’t sure what to make of the whole thing, but the whole situation was annoying to him for a reason he couldn’t explain.
“I don’t know about y’all, but this Mistress of Judgement is the second most annoying pain in the ass in existence,” Chase told them.
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Post by Lena Marr on Mar 5, 2016 21:08:36 GMT
“He’s on a mission right now with some of the others,” Iri Seuwel explained to Lena Marr after she inquired as to the whereabouts of Iri's lover, Chase Lonehart. “Things are complicated between us right now. He’s off doing his thing, and I’m here trying to do mine, which was to recovering the cloning tech that’s down here in the mines and get the rest of the Omec tech back to the Bay. Hopefully, keep the world from having another major headache.” As Iri turned to leave, Lena yelled at Iri's back as Lena looked around the room for something, "Yeah, human lovers are real high maintenance! Even the French ones! You got to be the center of their universe 24/7, and don't get me started on their expectation of exclusive privileges to our womanly favors! Marcel once caught me giving a blowjob to a guy just to pay a debt for this antique razor blade that you couldn't find anywhere else and for a deal I made BEFORE I even met Marcel. Marcel got so upset, I had to kill the guy and everyone else around him for a quarter mile radius to make him happy again!" Lena noticed the two Irathiant women for the first time, recognizing one of them as Defiance's Law Keeper, so with unblinking sky blue eyes and a sheepish grin she said, "Oh Hi Irisa, and Irathient-lady-I-have-yet-to-meet. How's everything shaking? Please disregard what you just heard me say. It wasn't a confession or guilty admission or anything. I just made it all up to give myself... color! Get it? I'm a Castithan, and I wanted to give myself color. Never mind! Don't suppose either of you have a spare weapon you can lend me." Lena paused and the silence was deafening, so she answered her own question, "No? Under the circumstances, I can't blame you!" Lena continued her search, finding a one foot section of pipe on the floor. She hefted it, testing it's weight then spotted a Votan rat scavenging on the floor thirty feet away. Before it could scurry away, Lena closed one eye and took aim, her moist pink tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth as she threw the pipe fatally striking the rat and leaving a green and purple splotch on the floor. Lena retrieved the pipe with one chalk white hand, licking it clean or the rat's blood before sticking it in her belt. "Finger licking good!" Remarked Lena with a wicked smile to the two Irathients as she passed them following Iri out of the room, asking as she did, "So what are we going to do with this Omec cloning equipment when we find it? We could clone our boyfriends and maybe have a menage-a-trois they would approve of - or maybe make an army of Lenas and conquer the world, but one Lena is enough for this mud ball, I think. Or we could just destroy the Omec tech and save the world from it's own evil inclinations, although that last option is kind of boring! Your party, your call Iri! So what's it going to be?"  |
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Post by Chase Lonehart on Mar 6, 2016 1:28:11 GMT
"So what are we going to do with this Omec cloning equipment when we find it?" Lena asked her. "We could clone our boyfriends and maybe have a menage-a-trois they would approve of - or maybe make an army of Lenas and conquer the world, but one Lena is enough for this mud ball, I think. Or we could just destroy the Omec tech and save the world from it's own evil inclinations, although that last option is kind of boring! Your party, your call Iri! So what's it going to be?"
"Do not even joke around like that, Lena. This tech has already made things difficult for everyone, and I do not plan on allowing it any more destructiveness to occur," Iri told her. "Yes, we could just destroy the technology, but with a little bit of reverse engineering, the technology could be more useful to us here on Earth, and be less harmless. And despite your scenarios of cloning our lovers for a potential threeway, the drawback is that when humans are cloned, their memories do not copy over like they do with us Indogenes."
"Yep," Yewll responded as they walked. "So, even if you did clone them, all they'd do is lay there, unless they had some sort of personality to drive it. You'd have to use an EGO memory to copy the memories just to get the personality right. Besides, that's a whole different can of worms."
"But technology can be reversed engineered and made to help people. What if your human lost a hand, Lena? Instead of having to use a prosthetic, which requires at least a full day of surgery to attach, a new one could be grown and attached in hours, and the only thing that'd be noticeable is a minor scar. Or what if you needed a new lung? Same thing, takes less time to grow a single organ and implanted than it would to grow a complete copy. Besides, the option to destroy the tech is still there, and even then, I don't want to allow even a small piece of such technology out into the world. It was bad enough to have the control sticks and stun rods get let loose in the world. I'll be damned if I'm allowing anything else to slip out without my say so."
"But who named you the one to make that decision?" Lena asked.
'Lady Christianna, the moment she and her band of assholes used the tech on Chase and myself. I've got more resolve to keep this world safe from the misuse of Omec technology more than anyone else."
Iri took moment to think about what Lena said and then looked over her shoulder to the Castithan.
"You gave a blow job for a razor?" Iri asked. "It must have been a pretty good one."
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Post by Lena Marr on Mar 6, 2016 4:04:37 GMT
 Lena Marr gave a wicked smile as she replied, "Yeah, it was the best - a rare straight razor with an edge so keen it could cut a throat like a hot knife through butter. So pretty too with..." She gave a sidewise glance at Irisa, and let the sentence peter out, then said, "Yeah, but Marcel made me get rid of it and gave me a really sharp switchblade instead that was much nicer, and sometimes you just want to thrust and not slice, and it can do either! I sure hope it's still at the compound. I wonder if Marcel is still there - probably not, for he's lost without me, so I bet he's searching the world for me." Lena dutifully followed Iri, but after having nobody but her EGO to talk to while she was in deep sleep for so long, she couldn't let the silence stand so filled it with small talk by saying, "I bet your guy is lost without you too Iri. Guys in love are always lost without their gals who love them. They think they know best, but then when we aren't around they just meander around, wondering what we are doing. Oh, they may fill their time with missions and stuff, but deep down they are just thinking about us all that time. Not guys in lust, but at least guys in love do, and I saw the way Chase Loneguy looks at you. Yeppers, true love, no doubt about it." The group entered a room filled with strange looking equipment, whereupon Lena raced to one of them that had a large red button, exclaiming with glee, "Oooooh! Is this Omec equipment? What happens if I push this button? Shall we find out? Ha, made you look! I'm crazy, but not that crazy!" Suddenly several Omec robot security spheres appeared all around the five women, as Lena spit into her chalk white hands, gripping her pipe like a baseball bat and wiggling her butt into a batter's stance, whereupon she struck the nearest Omec sphere like a base ball into the far wall where it exploded, then yelled, "Home run!" As the fight began in earnest, Lena kept talking to Iri as she fought like a pit fighter, swinging her pipe like a gladiator swings a sword, going from one defeated foe to the next, "You know, Lady Christianna is my BFF, but... yeah, she can be a real tool sometimes! She can be so damn naive it verges on idiotic! Did I ever tell you I tried to kill her once? One of my few failures as an assassin. Some human once said 'God protects Fools, Children, and the United States of America.' Don't know about the last one, but Lady sure qualifies as the first two. But I have to ask, which of Lady's bands of assholes are you worried about? The Inquisition or the Protectors? When it comes to ideologues, good and bad are relative terms, for they both think they know what's best for the little people; but when they are wrong, as they usually are, the little people are the first to get hurt. Having always been one of the little people, I know that's true from experience. Just saying! Food for thought!"  |
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Post by Volodja Uljanov on Mar 6, 2016 9:37:43 GMT
Marcel wiped Volodja to come closer from his corner. Since nobody seemed to need Volodja's services, he wasn't mind to join Marcel. Marcel measured him up and down ad said: "Would you be so kind and sit down. I do not like to look up to you."
"Sure, Marcel. I will get myself to your level if it makes you comfortable, especially when I have no reason to look down at you. Happy now?"
"Satisfied. Now to the business - Cael was your patient back in your...where the hell Hobbits live? In Hobbiton. Oui?"
"Let's assume that he was," replied Volodja, sitting by Marcel's side. "And you can call him Councillor Cael, if you don't mind."
"I will call him Councillor then. Happy now? Is there anything, the rest of your good doers should know about him?"
"Of course they do, but at moment we have only four people who know about his delicate condition and two of them need Cael's permission to talk about it. Or Erika's permission, because she was there and she is Cael's closest relative. There are alos Cale himself, me and good old Wolfram von Eschen - his therapist. Damn! I do wonder how he is doing! Haven't heard about him since....forever. But Wolfram and I are doomed to follow laws of confidentiality. Matter of professional ethics, if you know what that means, Marcel. My lips must be sealed."
"Let us assume that I know, but have you be so damn rigid as that arrogant German?"
"He is Liechtensteinian, Marcel. Keep that in mind. And yes! I have to be rigid about that until I have permission to share private information. So no handouts, Marcel. I have to find another way to show you my gratitude."
"Are you still mad about that vacation I arranged to you? Free trip to South America, no charge for a plane trip there and so on."
"Nothing to do with being mad, Marcel."
"I bet there is. A plenty. Most of people would be furious if someone kidnapped them, but it was for your own good."
"I assure you, that I am not mad."
"Hard to believe, so I am prepared for ANYTHING from your side."
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Post by Taffer on Mar 6, 2016 16:51:55 GMT
"Hell, it makes sense to me why Cael wants me in Capital City, so I say lets fulfill his fucking wish!' Exclaimed Sandy, "What do you guys say?"
"We'll definitely be going to Capital City as Chancellor Cael seems to be the prominent figure in this entire situation and chances are high he knows more that we do about Erika's and Belle's whereabouts," Taffer replied, "but Sargent's remark about his personality got me thinking of possibilities again. Capturing or threatening Kima's family members is definitely not his style of action, it's more akin to how Mistress tries to achieve her goals. This leads me to a conclusion that either Cael is being manipulated or those threats came from another source and not from Cael. Either way it means that Mistress has its claws deep into the chain of command of the Collective elite forces, which is a threat not only to our missing friends and Cael, but the entire Collective too. Another point is that even if those rumors are true and Cael has the machine which can extract the memories from Sandy's head, all recent events make me uncertain on if he really wants to. There's a possibility that he's more interested in making sure those memories would be completely erased and never be known to anyone. Or maybe he's forced to act this way. Or he had to create an illusion that he's going to silence her, but at the same time he's trying to find a way to extract this information without anyone else knowing what he's up to. He mentioned our enemies in that message Miss Allyn was so kind to pass on to us. He might have done this for a reason, not just as an empty threat. You see, it all boils down to how much real control Cael has over the situation and what his real intentions are.
So our next plan is really simple. We all go to the Capital, I hope Miss Allyn and Sargent Maas will get us clearance. Then we'll meet Cael in person and make sure he's acting on his own and he really wants to get more information about the kidnapping and not to destroy it. Then if it's confirmed his intentions are same as ours, we'll guard the laboratory or where that machine is located so that the process could not be interrupted or manipulated from outside. I have a feeling that it's not only about two missing people anymore, even if one of them is Chancellor Cael's mother. I'm almost sure now there's something more to it, so this technology and information extracted using it should never fall into wrong hands. I hope we all understand that. Lu, I want you to erase the information on that flashdrive I gave you previously and download on it this data on nanites Vo have found. This information will be given to Cael personally so that he could get rid of those nanites wherever he could find them in his residence or on his people. Now, if we have all our misunderstandings cleared and information shared, I think it's time to get moving. I won't limit any of you in what aircraft you would like to travel in, so if you feel comfortable of using the Collective's helicopter, feel free to. Now let's get our vehicles aboard and get ready for takeoff."
Just before Taffer switched the Riot's shield to normal mode to let the door open, he came up closer to Sargent Maas and Teagan and said, "On a more personal note, there's something I heard from you which I must say something about. My entire life has taught me that a person who claims to be your friend and at the same time tries to beat you up is definitely not your friend. Of course there could be an extreme situation if they have to stop you from doing something bad like harming an innocent and hitting you is the only way to stop you at the moment. But if they try to hit you for something you have said or some harmless action, then it's a sign there's something terribly wrong in your relationship and the wrong is not on your side. It may be not my business and you have your own take on your life, so it's up to you to listen to my opinion or not, but I'm going to say nevertheless. If a person fails to treat you as equal partner, he does not deserve your friendship or affection.
On a brighter note, I hope Sargent Maas will see that your new pair of lenses come from a reliable source and they are thoroughly checked for any spyware before you wear them."
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Post by Volodja Uljanov on Mar 6, 2016 17:33:05 GMT
"I happened to hear that," remarked Volodja from his corner. "It's classical case of domestic violence. As Merrier-Webster dictionary definition would say - "the inflicting of physical injury by one family or household member on another; also: a repeated / habitual pattern of such behaviour." I spare you from the rest of my lecture and jump into conclusions right away: Domestic violence is something one should not tolerate, and most of hopes that violent human or Votan changes it's behaviour if they stay with him/her and are patient enough, are usually vain. People like this must be stopped one way or other. Doing nothing about it gives the signal that violent behaviour is tolerated and it will continue ad infinitum so it's not a solution."
"Sign of weakness," said Marcel Lestrange coldly. Only words from him about that topic. He grew up in violent family so he knew what he was speaking of. His cold and steely eyes became even more cold and someone who knew him well, could say that Marcel was as cold as dry ice bomb would be before explosion. About −78.5 °C (−109.3 °F) cold.
After saying that Marcel lit a cigarette and Volodja who observed him from corner of his eye, didn't say a single word about his behaviour and let him smoke, because he knew Marcel quite well to let him be for awhile. Especially when Marcel had lot of worries lately, like missing Lena Marr, which chewed his already dark soul. Instead of paying him more attention, Volodja continued:
"Guess we go to the Capital then. But we must be extremely careful there because Cael's behaviour is highly unpredictable. That much I can say, but I am not allowed to reveal reasons of changes of his behavioural patterns. I need permission for that as I already told Marcel. His permission or at least Erika's, unless someone accidentally sees his files. But the fact that Councillor Cael is a blessing for his people, complicates things even more, because one wrong move and we might end up with stirred up Votanis Collective, not to mention possibility that warmonger wing of their Senate starts to act against us...and Cael as well. But we don't have much choice anyway."
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Post by Sandy Bell on Mar 7, 2016 5:42:02 GMT
"I cannot believe what I am hearing," Sargent Sarae Maas asserted adamantly, "As part of Chancellor Cael's private bodyguard, I am around the Chancellor quite a bit, and have never seen him as much as raise a hand against anyone except those who attack him or his people. There has never been such a benevolent and kind leader as Chancellor Cael!"
"That is true," Interjected Teagan Allyn, "Most times he is the nicest, considerate gentleman ever, but then... I can say a word or do an act that I think is okay and he just loses it. He gets violent and I swear... its like he enjoys it. Then he'll take me to dinner, buy me flowers, and court me like nothing happened. It's like he doesn't remember being mean... or like he's two different people, but that's crazy, right? Anyway, these sudden mood changes hardly ever happened when his mother, Erika Widowmaker, was around. I don't think she liked me much, but she was always cordial, and when she was around us, Cael was always at his best behavior. I know he cares for me, I really do, but... he scares me when he gets in one of his moods..." Then Teagan said almost under her breath, "And these days he gets in these moods more and more. I think... sometimes... when he really gets angry... that he's going to kill me one of these days..."
Suddenly the silence was so thick that one could slice it with a knife, but no one seemed to want to break it until Sargent Maas finally did saying, "I'm sure you are exaggerating Minister Allyn, and I'm also sure you are tired after your tiring day," Then Maas turned to Taffer, "If you don't mind, Minister Allyn and I will travel with you, as your's is the faster craft and so that I may give the proper pass codes to get us through Votanis Collective airspace in on piece. The faster we get to the Capital City, the faster we can get this sordid business sorted out. I will have my commandos follow us with the bodies of our fallen comrades in the helicopter at their own speed. Of course Commander Taffer, if that is okay with you, then I will go to the cockpit to begin communications and if you would, please find somewhere for Minister Allyn to lay down and rest."
"Ummm..." Asked Teagan hestitantly, "If it won't be a bother Sargeant Maas, could you please arrange for a new pair of blue contact lenses to be waiting for me when we land," Then Teagan smiled warmly as she said, "I really wouldn't want to disappoint Chancellor Cael. He really is such a good man - really!"
Sandy Bell leaned over and whispered into her lover Volodja Uljanov's ear so no one else could hear, "Or at least one of his personalities is!"
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Post by Volodja Uljanov on Mar 7, 2016 9:42:33 GMT
"Exactly Sandy. Thus we should be really careful with him. Teagan Allyn provided me with information about his behaviour among other things she said...And these are her personal observations, not anything she read from "Daily Tatters." Wish we had Erika with us and wish I could speak straightly about Cael, but when one can't allow himself a direct approach the one must take a detour and speak in riddles," whispered Volodja back to her and kissed her ear to disguise his talk (and because he wanted to kiss her). "Let's hope it works. And I think that I have to call Wolfram too." He removed his lips away from Sandy's ear and said with much louder voice:
"Let's play a riddle game while our people get thing done. We could play charades, but it takes too many time. The topic is...literature. Just for the record, I have to tell that at least human culture has familiar stories to tell about strange cases just like our is. Don't look at me as I lost my mind. Instead of that, try to figure out the name of the book:
There once was a man and Dr. Henry was his name.
He had a stylish cast and lot of certain fame.
And then there was another guy - Edward, he was called.
He had most infamous acting manner if I may it toll.
They hadn't met in life, but yet they were together.
One had to fix the crimes committed by the other.
Until the day they both could meet their bitter end.
Because the lives of these two were seriously blend.
So many hearts and adaptation story of theirs won.
Which once written was by certain Stephen's son."
"It's actually easy to guess," added Volodja. "The story is quite familiar, but I could not hold myself back when I had a chance to make another bunch of sort of clumsy improvised verses."
"I pass," announced Marcel. "You are insane and I do not have time for your nonsense because I have to go and check my plane. Can not leave her here. I think I will fly solo to the Capital of Votanis Collective. What else can I do? Nothing!"
"As you wish, Marcel," nodded Volodja. "Anyone else wants to do something more useful than guess the title?"
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Post by Kaj Oenfer on Mar 7, 2016 12:32:31 GMT
Kaj, who was once again standing against a wall with his beret in hand, looked at Volo and began to chuckle slightly. Then he stopped doing so when he realized that it may scare Miss Allyn, even more than he already had.
So he said apologetically to her, "Forgive me Miss Allyn, if I have scared you at all. It was not my intention. I really am a nice guy when you get to know me. Honest." Then he thought for a second before calmly continuing with," I see even Marcel Lestrange is rhyming a little. So I will try to answer Volo's riddle, with a verse of my own."
Kaj cleared his throat then began as poetically as he knew how:
I know of what text you summarize,
So please do not crunkle,
A copy of it belongs to a certain person's long lost uncle,
I know because when I guarded this uncle's children, I also borrowed his book, Then I read it in his home's breakfast nook,
While his babies did slumber, I had time to give it a look,
So remember my friend, some people may like to heckle,
And some people can be rather snide,
However this book you speak of,
Is about a doctor named Jekyll,
And his cohort named Hyde.
Kaj then said calmly, but slightly unsure of his verse, "I do hope that my verse worked for everyone. So is that what you were looking for, my friend?"
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Post by Volodja Uljanov on Mar 7, 2016 12:50:01 GMT
"Yes it is"The strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." by Robert Louis Stevenson, you read while babysitting Cosmin and Caprice, my literature loving Bioman friend. Can't imagine how I would present the title in format of charade game though, so versed riddle worked the best. You won, Kaj, with your nicely versed answer. I guess that book suits to describe certain situation we are familiar with, by the way."  Volodja smiled. It was best he could do at moment to point at possible clues because he was still under oath which forbid to discuss about his patients. But nobody restricted him talking about literature. Plus solving his riddle on his own gave Kaj a chance to demonstrate his erudition, so Teagan could stop being afraid of him, because people tend to look at uncommon appearance first. That was actually tragedy of one the most famous monster in literature, not to mention film history - the unnamed creation of Dr. Victor Frankenstein, although people tend to call him Frankenstein monster or Frankenstein because of the films and Boris Karloff's superb performance in it. In original story by Mary Shelley the monster didn't had a criminal brain, but normal one, and he realized that people despised him or were afraid because of his looks with an exception of the blind man and a little girl - that was the reason of stalking his creator and asking him to create a companion for him. He wanted to be treated as ordinary human being. By his creator and everybody else weren't ready for that. Thus the tragedy. And same thing happened with Kaj here not too long ago. Hopefully Teagan and Irathient Commandos see him even more as a cultured person, who can even be trusted with a delicate task of babysitting, than ordinary mutant Bioman... |
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Post by Sandy Bell on Mar 7, 2016 13:22:03 GMT
Sandy Bell said with a good-natured laugh, "Always the gracious host Volodja, coming up with parlor games to bide the time, but you're the soldier-scholar, not me, so I haven't a clue! I'm more of a soldier... um, I guess soldier!"
Sargent Maas merely raised one purple eyebrow and shook her head once, otherwise keeping an impassive composure as she moved to the cockpit to begin communications with the Votan Collective.
Teagan Allyn smiled with childlike enthusiasm, saying, "There's a Dr. Henry Higgins in 'My Fair Lady.' Rex Harrison played him, and is a phonetics professor who teaches a flower girl played by Audrey Hepburn how to speak properly. She wore such beautiful outfits in that movie. And there was a Dr. Henry Jones in the third Indiana Jones movie, 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.' Sean Connery played him, and he was Indiana Jone's father. Harrison Ford played Indiana Jones, an adventurer professor like you Mr. Uljanov, and he was so dreamy in that movie and they had to work out their estranged relationship. Boy, that was an exciting movie! There was a Dr. Henry Goose played by the very handsome Tom Hanks in 'Cloud Atlas', a science fiction movie that crossed six eras - but to tell the truth, I got lost in the first fifteen minutes! Dr Henry McCoy was in the X-men movies, and he was a blue furred hero called the Beast and it was the worst make-up job ever! There was also a Dr. Henry Wu in Jurassic World, but he was kind of a minor character - although the dinosaurs he created scared the bejeezits out of me! I sure am glad gene manipulation is science fiction!"
Suddenly the corners of Teagan's rose petal lips turned down in a frown as she realized, "I guess those aren't books, just movies... I don't read that much, other than the news in the Daily Tattler so... I guess I'll just keep quiet... pretend I didn't say anything, please."
As Teagan tried to shrink into the corner she was sitting in and listened with fascination as Kaj answered Volodja's riddle with a rhyme of his own, Vo Kshaa winced, not for the first time that day, for his true love Belle Starr, had been the subject of such gene manipulation by her mad scientist father, who had mixed her genes with those of Volge in an attempt to create a super soldier to fight for humanity in the next Pale Wars. Teagan Allyn reminded him so much of his missing lover not only in looks but also in certain mannerisms, such as how her beautiful face reflected her every emotion, even about the littlest of things. Vo was anxious, for after days of searching, he was still not one step closer to finding his lost love, and part of him wanted to scream to high heavens bemoaning his fate. Instead, he merely clenched his teeth, hoping the answers he sought as to Belle's whereabouts might be in the Capital City of the Votanis Collective.
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Post by Volodja Uljanov on Mar 7, 2016 13:39:40 GMT
"You have most excellent taste about movies, Ms. Allyn," said Volodja and smiled. "You named lot of famous Dr. Henry's here. Most of them are still remembered, as I see. Even after Pale Wars and Terraforming, so the hope for humankind is not lost yet. Maybe one day we start to create new films...and new memorable Dr. Henry's as an addition to that list. And hopefully some of them are things to remember for the future generations." Then he turned to Sandy and whispered to her ear: "You already knew the hidden answer to my riddle, so it was only fair and square that you didn't participate. You gave the rest of us a chance to open themselves more and show some hidden facets of our characters, which makes you kind and generous soul, Sandy. You see - your modesty told how wonderful person you are."  "And since "My fair Lady" got me somewhat inspired," said Volodja and gave Sophie a signal to download something into his data pad. "I would like to share this video with you. After all, fancy talk and culture and manners are only a part of personality. There are also lot of other features which make people good. Hope you find this video to be as lovely as you are, Sandy. |
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