|
|
Post by Lady Christianna on Sept 21, 2016 22:33:19 GMT
Still floating a foot off the ground, Lady Christianna waved good-bye to the cat creature as it disappeared into the jungle, saying in barely a whisper, "Bye Kitty! Bye wild thing!" Then accepted the compliment and her Crimefighter shotgun from Taffer graciously, remarking in her wispy voice, "Thanks", Whereupon she glanced at Vo with wide pink eyes and an enigmatic smile as she shouldered her weapon, noting as a matter-of-fact, "But Belle would of made friends faster!"
As Taffer examined her hand and removed the dead nanites, Lady scrunched up her pretty chalk white face as if to say, "Ewwww," then quickly retreated like a will-of-the-wisp to where her husband, Atticus Batman, stood, hugging him firmly around the waist with both arms.
Lady floated as Atticus walked to the Riot with her still tightly holding him, but once in, she released him and looked up at him lovingly with her bright pink eyes before saying in a wispy voice, "Need to check on Lu. Might need friend."
As Lady levitated to where Lu Kshaa lay in the small ship's infirmary, Atticus watched her go solemnly, as he realized that she hardly ever touched the ground anymore, remaining substantial just enough to touch things, but no more than that. Atticus began to wonder if his wife might be quite literally slipping through his fingers. When Lady got by Lu's bedside, she crossed her legs and still hovering four feet off the ground, with her enigmatic smile in place on her ghostly face, watching and waiting for Lu to awaken.
Once Volodja Uljanov climbed out of the tree and the danger appeared over, Sandy shouldered her assault rifle, running over to Volodja and kissing and hugging him, before saying with grin, "Throwing branches?!?! Really!?!? You are such a nut, but you're my nut, and I love you so," whereupon she hugged and kissed him even harder.
By the time they ended their embrace, everyone else was on board the Riot and they were the last to embark. As they did, they heard yelling coming from a nearby occupied water closet, whose voice Sandy immediately recognized as belonging to Lena Marr, as she screamed in ecstasy, "Yes, yes, YES!!!!! Don't stop, DON'T... OH, POOH BEAR!!!!" |
|
|
|
Post by Volodja Uljanov on Sept 22, 2016 6:06:49 GMT
Volodja Uljanov put his pointing finger between his lips for a brief moment and then against the closet door (the one behind Lena and Marcel were busy with each other), making the  sound as the door was overheated. Then he smiled and whispered to Sandy: "Majority of nut cases have some logic in their behaviour. I am not an exception here. I was following orders of my Commander and tried to maintain our fragile truce between Viral and us. Thus the "branches over bullets" tactics. Withered ones, by the way. A material for the new soil when they decompose. So I guess that my ecological footprint is a mild one and blends with the way of the nature. Speaking of nature..." Volodja didn't spoke no more, took her hand into his and they left the doorstep of the Lena's and Marcel's Love Tunnel, leaving them alone. He stopped only when they reached into the polite distance from Diabolic Duo who were doing it as they were doing it on Discovery Channel. Then and only then, Volodja closed Sandy into his embrace and kissed her passionately for a long long time... |
|
|
|
Post by Sandy Bell on Sept 22, 2016 9:04:31 GMT
As Sandy Bell and Volodja Uljanov took a quiet moment for themselves in a corner of the Riot, to the south of them on a small island called Elysium by its 326 inhabitants, a tall thin elderly Castithan man in a faded blue artist smock sat on the seashore, watching the waves splash onto his bare chalk white feet that dangled into the green water. He smiled serenely, one hand brushing casually through his shock of unruly blond hair spiked in all directions, as his other hand made intricate designs in the warm sand, not noticing the pretty Irathiant girl in a short sari who approached him from a village of grass huts nearby, holding two chilled coconut drinks in her red clay hands. She sat down next to him, letting her bare feet enjoy the cool waters as well as she handed him one of the two drinks, before asking with a warm smile, "Still fighting writer's block Pappy Naruto?" An easy grin crossed Pappy Naruto's alabaster face, a face whose laugh lines and deep wrinkles only enhanced, evidencing a lifetime of good humor and optimism, as he replied to the young girl while he gratefully accepted the drink, "It will pass as all bad things do, Mia, just as the sea continues to flow from our beautiful island to the next. Besides, a break from my poetry allows me to contemplate and enjoy the simpler things of life, like this wonderful concoction of yours and your own lovely company. How goes you own sculpture by the way?" "It goes Pappy Naruto, it goes" Replied Mia Faash as she sipped her own drink, her gold flecked hazel eyes flashing her affection for the old man, "I still can't get the hands to look just the way I want. I don't know if I'll ever get it done" Although as the unanimously designated leader of Elysium, he loved all the residents of Elysium, but Mia was one of Papa Naruto' favorites in the artists' commune, being the first one born in the community that he had founded many years ago. Back then, he and a few other Votans with artistic inclinations that made them "different" from others of their races found refuge as castaways on the then empty island, and since then he had encouraged artists of all races who shared their outcast status, work ethic, and libertarian ways to join them there. Today, they had Castithans, Irathiants, Liberata, Sensoths, and even a few humans living in the thriving commune. Everyone did their job to keep the community going, but also allowing every member of the community to have plenty of time to create their art. In Elysium, it did indeed take a village to raise a child, and he had babysat Mia many times when she was a child as her father painted his colorful landscapes and her mother perfected her performance art. Sipping his tasty beverage, the old man's vivid blue eyes looked to the ocean's horizon as he noted sagely, "You will know when it is done, for it will be done. Your art will tell you so," Then her looked into her wide Irathiant eyes, his laugh lines getting even deeper as his grin broadened when he added, "Although it might tell you sooner if you were not such a perfectionist!" They laughed good naturedly together, Mia kicking her feet in the water, mischievously splashing them both as she did, casually glancing at the ocean. Suddenly she grew still, her gold flecked eyes focused on something on the horizon as she raised one red clay hand to her forehead to shade her eyes for a better view. Pappy Naruto looked in the direction she was staring, but could see nothing unusual, although he knew her young Irathiant eyes were much sharper than his old Castithan ones. "What do you see, Mia?" Asked the old man with concern evident in his voice. Mia pursed her lips, than shook her head although she kept looking at the ocean's horizon, saying, "I thought I saw something large break the waves. Not a whale but... something else. I don't know... maybe just a trick of the light." "Probably a muse telling us both it is time to get back to our creations," Commented Pappy Naruto with a pleasant laugh. Mia smiled warmly, getting up and dusting the sand off her bight colored sari, before helping the old man up and back to his hut, then going herself to her workshop, not giving a second thought to what she had seen far off in the sea.   |
|
|
|
Post by Atticus Batman on Sept 22, 2016 11:20:35 GMT
As Lady levitated to where Lu Kshaa lay in the small ship's infirmary, I watched her go solemnly, as I realized that she hardly ever touched the ground anymore, remaining substantial just enough to touch things, but no more than that. I began to wonder yet again if my wife might be quite literally slipping through my fingers. Part of me wanted to ask her about it but I knew her well enough to know that she would not tell me anything until she was ready to and pushing would just push her away. So I sighed in frustration and glanced towards her direction again before I reluctantly turned and walked back out towards the Garilu to help tow it into place.
It went very well and with some outside-of-the-box thinking from Vo we managed to get the hull of the Garilu redocked to the riot and loaded all the loose items from it in the Riot's cargo hold. Then we reloaded the Riot as well. Once it was all done, I walked into the Riot's cockpit where Atika and Taffer were talking with Attila going over the Riot's systems in preperation for takeoff.
I said gruffly while trying to hide the sadness in my voice, "Taffer, everyone is onboard. The Garilu's remains are securely in place and all it's lose items are in the cargo hold. So take us back to the Vigilant. Then we will head to wherever they tracked the sub to."
I then left the cockpit and met up with Vo as we both seemed to be heading to the same part of the small ship. That spot would be where the Lu lay unconscious with Lady by her side. When we got there I saw Lady floating crossed-legged and still hovering four feet off the ground. I just stood in the doorway watching Lady for a few seconds, before I walked in and sat in a nearby chair. I actually wanted to hold my wife in my lap like I have happily grown accustomed to when we are together, but was afraid that she may actually prefer floating rather than sitting with me. So I merely sat glumly as I watched her happily floating in air while she watched Lu sleep.
Honestly I was so focused on my thoughts and watching my lovely wife while I feared losing her, that I even lost track of wether Vo actually came into the makeshift infirmary with me or not. I so wanted to ask her about why she mostly floats now and likes to stay so light and airy but I was so afraid of her answer that I just continued to sit there glumly and watch her.
Even after lift off I just glumly sat there silently watching her with all the love in my heart, hoping that she would just make herself solid again and come cuddle with me but so very afraid that she would choose the air over me and her family.
|
|
|
|
Post by Lady Christianna on Sept 22, 2016 14:34:59 GMT
Deep in thought, Lady Christianna felt more than saw her husband, Atticus Batman, come into the small infirmary, and nodded almost imperceptibly as he did, acknowledging his presence while smiling enigmatically, then turned back to the unconscious subject on the bed, Lu Kshaa. Lady wondered what Lu's connection to the cat creature on the island was, and if she knew about the nanites that went from it into her, and wondered, somewhat enviously, why the same didn't happen to her, for it created a connection to the feline beast that Lady knew she would never have. Lady had grown fond of the beast, even naming it Kitty, but realized that she couldn't take her with them, for it was a creature of the wild and wouldn't be happy anywhere else. Still, Lady wondered what it would be like to be so totally connected to a creature of the wild, and wanted to talk to Lu about it.
"In some ways, I guess I am," Thought Lady as she looked at Atticus from the corner of her large pink eyes, "Atticus Batman IS a force of nature! And we share a bond no other Votans could ever have, not only for our love for each other and our children, but also the pendant I wear that holds a piece of his Grid energy." The smile vanished from her ghostly face as suddenly as it had appeared, as she reminded herself, "And which is all that keeps me alive, for if I didn't take energy from him, my atoms would go flying off into space. End story."
Feeling the Riot lift off the island, Lady turned towards Atticus while still sitting cross-legged four feet off the ground, and became even more transparent as she saw the color of his eyes through the eyeholes of his helmet; knowing that the color always reflected his mood and being his wife, knowing which color reflected which mood. Seeing the worries there, she unfolded her legs and floated to where he was sitting, levitating herself downward until she was sitting across his lap with her small short legs dangling above the floor, her chest laying on his broad chest, and her thin arms around him. She thought she could hear his heart beating strongly in his chest, but chastised herself believing it was her imagination going wild, for how could she hear that through his battle armor?
Atticus could barely feel her weight, for Lady had decreased her density to such a point that she could be felt and be barely touched, but only that. Lady felt his eyes staring through her, and turned her ghostly white face upwards. He tilted his head slightly, as if to say "Why?." She furrowed her chalk white translucent brow, her own pink eyes narrowing in question, until she realized she was the center of his concern. Her thin lips made a tiny "O" with realization, and knew she must say something, although she was always loathe to use words when she didn't have to. In this instance, Lady knew she must, whether she wanted to or not, because as Commander of the Protectors, he had enough worries without adding one more.
As Lady's small lips made an even smaller pout, she whispered to him, "Leech. Me. From you."
"So?" Asked Atticus in his gruff but never frightening to her voice.
"You're the hero. Superhero. All depend on you. Me... just me. You need your energy... especially now," Explained Lady as if every word was depleting her own energy and she became close to transparent, with only the glint in her large pink eyes showing clearly as she said wispily, "I love you so."
Atticus could no longer feel her on his lap or her touch as she embraced him, and the tear that fell down her cheek was almost invisible to him as she strained to take as little of his energy as possible, even at the risk of her own life.
|
|
|
|
Post by Vo Kshaa on Sept 22, 2016 21:16:55 GMT
Just once Atticus left to meet Sandy's group, Vo walked up to his sister and began to scan her with a worried look on his face. The message Taffer had sent to the team about Lu's condition sounded too much ridiculous and he wanted to get some proof or disproof of it.
"Her vitals are stable," Shirra reported, "She does not have any severe injures, more likely she's just fainted from a sensory overload. So I recommend to leave her sleep and recover rather than to revive her right away. As for the cause of her overload… Vo, I've found some very active nanites in her body, and those do not belong to her EGO device!"
"Do they look similar to those we've found on Teagan Allyn, Those which was planted by Mistress of Judgment?" Vo asked mentally with a sinking feeling that something was going terribly wrong.
"No, definitely not. The ones Mistress was using were a pinnacle of the technology, very sneaky and efficient. These are… Do you remember that episode when Eren asked us to take over the generator at the Trolley Graveyard so that she could take control of those scrapper robots? These are similar to those that keep those robots alive so to speak and able to communicate with each other."
"We need to bring her to the Riot and then to the medical on the Vigilant as fast as possible," Vo decided as he left to the remains of the Garilu to control its thrusters while Poe drove the Raptor. The hull of the rover was heavy and the jungle was not so eager to release it from its green embrace, but Vo had a lot of experience of towing different kinds of vehicles from the ford at Bug'n'Chug when those unprepared travelers faced the rough terrain on their way to San Francisco for the first time. So all the tricks he used which looked amazing for the bystander were already familiar to him. Like setting the Raptor against a tree and using the motor of the winch where Raptor's engine didn't have enough torque or its wheels didn't have enough grip. Or using Garilu's own wheel as a pulley when the power of the winch happened to be not enough too. Once the remains of the rover were successfully loaded into the spaceship, Vo picked Lu up and brought her to her cot, as he sat next to her, waiting for others to return. Soon Lady and Atticus came too and Taffer warned they were going to take off.
"Remember I told you those nanites in Lu's body were very active?" Shirra asked suddenly. "I've just found out what exactly they were doing. You know that this so-called EGO-disabling serum does not harm a EGO device or its nanites in any way? They are just hard-coded to react this way when they see the certain polymeric substance with certain information it contains on a molecular level. They just stay dormant for a fixed period of time. And what those non-EGO nanites were doing — they were reprogramming every EGO nanite in Lu's body by adjusting their internal clock so that their time off would pass faster. By my estimation, all reprogrammed nanites should come back to life in five… four… three…"
|
|
|
|
Post by Luuzuk Kshaa on Sept 22, 2016 22:49:32 GMT
Lu opened her eyes with a sudden intake of breath and immediately sat on her bed while her holographic copy remained in its horizontal position, only slightly opening its eyes.
"What a nice crowd of meeters and greeters," Lu said as she regarded a group of people who were sitting next to her and waiting for her to wake up. "Did I do something wrong… again?" She asked as she saw a worried look on their faces.
"You got us worried," Vo said as his eyes scanned her for any kind of abnormal behavior, "You know like when your friend starts to act like they are controlled by someone else and then loses her consciousness right in front of a wild predator."
"Ah, that one," Lu said with a sigh. "I should have known you won't let me see her, let alone meet in person." She stared at the backside of the Riot where the island was left with a sad look in her eyes and then suddenly turned to Lady.
"It's probably not my business, but I've heard something you said and I'm feeling a bit high so please forgive me for not keeping my mouth shut. You're afraid you'll drain too much energy from Atticus. I'd say you'd better think of him as an accumulator, not as a galvanic battery. All you need for the accumulator to function properly is to keep the balance between charge and discharge. You see, there's no harm in using the energy from the accumulator if you charge it after that. Some types of accumulators even deteriorate faster if you keep them fully charged all the time. Okay I'll stop my ramblings now."
"Lu, do you know about nanites in your body which do not belong to your EGO?" Vo suddenly asked as he could not hold his anxiety back any longer. "We've found them while your EGO was disabled and Taffer also found traces of them on the feline beast you were connected with so much."
"Vo, what are you talking about? I don't even…"
"He's speaking the truth," Lu's holographic copy said with the voice Lu recognized as Klimi's. They had been living in your body long before I was implanted. In fact, I had a hard time adapting to your system because of them as I didn’t have any instructions on how to treat them.
"Why didn't you tell me before?"
"Well, at that time I just didn't think they were uncommon. I've just assumed they were as natural to your body as any other processes in it. Especially as soon as they haven't caused any trouble."
"Until they started to mix my consciousness with the one of an animal." Lu said, shaking her head, "Can you at least tell me for how long they have been in my body?"
"That's pretty possible to determine, especially given how much experience I had with them. The date where they appeared in your body is January 5, 2030."
"The day of the Arkfall," Lu and Vo said simultaneously. "I and my mother were caught in the middle of what is now called Razor Rain. We managed to find shelter pretty quick, suffering only minor wounds."
"I've heard of an episode when some nanites from an Ark Brain reanimated a dead body so that they could gain access to the radio station and send a signal to some Ark on the orbit," Vo noted, "Mere rumors, but…"
"But it's entirely possible that those nanites in my body are those from some Ark Brain too. And the ones that cat had are from the same one too. That explains why I feel like I share her memories and feelings and she seems to feel mine as well. And also explains why I was so eager to stay and meet that cat personally."
"Taffer said you both were hypnotized when you saw each other and you started sleepwalking towards each other until Lady stopped you."
"Yep, I know Lady probably saved my life then, or Kitty's life, or both. I think it's safe to assume those nanites are trying to form an Ark Brain again, so they would probably unite in the host they found appropriate, discarding the other," Lu shrugged as she added, "But I think I feel much better now as we're getting further away from the island. And If those nanites try to control me again, you'll stop them next time, right Klimi?" She winkled at her holographic self but then a cascade of emotions rushed through her face as a sudden realization came to her mind.
"Sayo was wounded too in that rain. My mother might have the same," Lu groaned as she leaned the back of her head against the wall.
"But you didn't happen to share the memories with her same way did you?" Vo asked with hope, "Chances are…"
"I did. Once. Briefly." Lu stated, "I didn't know what that was of course. I've just had a dream of being an Indogene and inventing a long-range communication system using wormhole generators. It lasted just for a moment before I woke up. I thought that was funny and wanted to tell my mother about it but she had never come to me since then." Noting questioning looks she explained, "Sayo is my Indogene stepmother. She's stolen me from the lab when I was an infant. Being an Indogene, she probably knew what was happening to her and stopped this consciousness sharing thing right when it started. But given she never cured me from that, opting to just disappear, it means those nanites cannot be removed from the body. That's why I'm so eager to find her for the whole life. And that's why I've never heard from her since. I thought I could find some traces that would lead me to her and once she sees me alive she'll be glad to see me again. But the fact is, she's probably running like hell away from me wiping any traces, as I'm literally a walking and stalking death for her."
Her voice was very calm while she was saying it and then she went silent with her eyes closed, tears were running down her cheeks.
|
|
|
|
Post by Marcel Lestrange on Sept 23, 2016 7:17:52 GMT
"Periscope up!" commanded captain of the submarine and stroke his thick moustache which give him slight resemblance of a walrus. Looks might be deceiving and that walrus like head was home of cold and decisive mind. "I believe that this is the island you were looking for, Sir!" Boris walked closer and looked into the periscope, moving it, so he could observe the coast of the island and huts of Elysium. "What do we know about this island? Data, please!" Thin man in black suit, who wore glasses and who's hair was carefully combed in Prussian style stepped closer. He held a leather briefcase under his arm. Man placed his briefcase carefully to the table and pulled out slim and shiny notepad. His long pale fingers touched the screen, opening necessary files and windown until he was ready to report with his soft voice: "Island of Elysium. 326 inhabitants. Most of them are Votans. Few humans as well. Intellectuals, writers, artists, composers. Would you care to see examples?" "Renegades," marked Boris. "Misfits who's art is as degenerated as they are. Nobody is going to regret the loss of this amount of non-existent talent. There won't be even a need to arrange an exhibition of degenerate and corrupted art afterwards. I don't need any examples to prove if an egg is rotten or not! Only art which has right to live is an art dedicated to praising triumphant human! This is a historical moment, gentlemen! We are about to test the virus for a first time and have a taste of things to come! Hubert! Have you prepared the container?" "Yes, I have," said Hubert, wiping his bald sweaty head with a handkerchief. "It wasn't easy in conditions like these, but I managed to distil, separate and divide the samples into suitable doses. But I am certain that we can begin a mass production after our arrival. Our distinguished doctors are ready for that. As soon as they received your instructions, they begun adjusting the equipment according to them." Man in black removed his leather briefcase from the table, so Hubert could put his metal one there and open it, shoving row of Petri dishes and sealed ampoules. Hubert's pointing finger moved along the row until it stopped and he carefully pulled out an ampoule which was marked with two green stripes. "We try this one!" he said and pulled back a saliva drop which appeared into the corner of his wide mouth. "Good! Now there is only one technicality left," said Boris. "We have to deliver that sample into the island and make sure that the virus will be released among these...vermins. We already worked out plans for a wider spread, but since we have a small closed community, we are going to use...this specimen! Sometimes it takes a rat to get rid of rats, so let me introduce you a Simian raticus!" Boris lifted his hand and two sailors carried in covered cage. Boris pulled the cover off, revealing nasty looking rat like creature.  "This rat monkey is another creature of, I believe that already late, Doctor Todt, may him rest in peace, who got an idea from an old film. Be cautious because the creature is highly aggressive. Hubert already knows that, because he got bitten several times. The plan is simple enough. The virus will be injected into the monkey who will be released on the island. I know that it makes the spreading of the virus sort of a lottery, but..." Boris reached his hand towards the cage. As a response the rat monkey made a jump towards cage bars, snapping it's jaws together in attempt to bite Boris's hand. "Creature like this will barely sit on it's bare ass once it's released. Point proven! Let us proceed with injection, gentlemen." Hubert pulled on pair of rubber gloves and after breaking and ampoule, filled an injection with the liquid inside. Then he passed injector to Boris. Meanwhile one of the sailors used tranquillizer gun on a rat monkey, so Boris could insert the needle into now unconscious creature. When the procedure was over, Boris gave an order: "You two will deliver the cage to the beach unnoticed, release the monkey and return. Then we will wait." "Aye,Sir!" replied sailors and carried the cage out... |
|
|
|
Post by Atticus Batman on Sept 23, 2016 10:11:26 GMT
I could no longer feel Lady on my lap or her touch as she embraced me, and the tear that fell down her cheek was almost invisible to me as she strained to take as little of of energy as possible, even at the risk of her own life. However I did notice it and it pained me greatly for I was not sure I could ever convince her that sharing my life energy with her was in no way hurting me and never would for I was able to draw electrical energy from everything around even out of thin air. As I started to hurt more knowing that Lady was killing herself because of ME, I noticed some sort of movement from Lu and glanced breifly at her to see what it was.
Lu opened her eyes with a sudden intake of breath and immediately sat on her bed while her holographic copy remained in its horizontal position, only slightly opening its eyes.
"What a nice crowd of meeters and greeters," Lu said as she regarded a group of people who were sitting next to her and waiting for her to wake up. "Did I do something wrong… again?" She asked as she saw a worried look on their faces.
"You got us worried," Vo said as his eyes scanned her for any kind of abnormal behavior, "You know like when your friend starts to act like they are controlled by someone else and then loses her consciousness right in front of a wild predator."
"Ah, that one," Lu said with a sigh. "I should have known you won't let me see her, let alone meet in person." She stared at the backside of the Riot where the island was left with a sad look in her eyes and then suddenly turned to Lady.
"It's probably not my business, but I've heard something you said and I'm feeling a bit high so please forgive me for not keeping my mouth shut. You're afraid you'll drain too much energy from Atticus. I'd say you'd better think of him as an accumulator, not as a galvanic battery. All you need for the accumulator to function properly is to keep the balance between charge and discharge. You see, there's no harm in using the energy from the accumulator if you charge it after that. Some types of accumulators even deteriorate faster if you keep them fully charged all the time. Okay I'll stop my ramblings now."
As Vo started anxiously talking to his now conscious sister I said somewhat quietly to Lady, "I suppose Lu is right, I am definitely more of an accumulator than a battery. I do carry a Grid Re-energizer around with me and did give you one in case we need an immediate energy boost. However several of the Protectors have witnessed at some point that I can absorb energy from any living thing, any electrical thing and even from the electrical currents present in the air if needed.
During the last month, I have been researching various things about electrical absorbtion. My research led me to an ancient Earth scientist named Nikola Tesla, who was once quoted as saying: 'If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.'
That quote urged me to dig deeper and based on that urge, I recently learned about Energy Vampires, existing in Earth's history. Based on what I have learned of them, I could and would be considered one. However unlike most of the ones that I have read about, I have learned self-control most of the time because if I build up too much energy it can.......well let's just say it would be extremely harmful to me and lots of others. Taffer, Vo, Volodja and Dinara can definitely vouch for that.....and I think Sandy may have even witnessed it recently. So Lu is correct in her theory that your sharing my energy is beneficial to us both. So please quit this protest and come back to me. Besides I am NO...."
Then I trailed off as I knew she would always argue with what I was about to say, no matter how much I personally believe it. Which is so much that I find myself saying it EVERYTIME somebody directs the "H" word my way. Besides Lady always seems to know what I want to say without me ever actually having to say it, just as I often know what is on her mind without her having to say it.
So instead I removed my battle helmet hoping Lady would see the defiant and absolute confidence in them concerning what I was saying as I whispered to Lady, "I love you completely as well and.....miss your touch. I miss us. So please have faith in me to know what I am doing for once.....have faith in US." Then I just sat there watching Lady closely and hoping that I would soon be able to completely feel her physically once again, as I partially listened to Vo's and Lu's exchange.
|
|
|
|
Post by Lady Christianna on Sept 23, 2016 13:20:28 GMT
Huddling on her husband's lap like some hapless sad ghost, Lady listened to Lu Kshaa and then Atticus Batman, trying to put meaning to their words, but understanding little. The Castithan teenager had never heard of an "accumulator" or "galvanic battery," much less understood the science behind them, yet wouldn't admit it for she didn't want to demonstrate that she was as stupid as she felt by asking questions, thinking to herself as tears began to fall freely down her translucent cheeks, "Everyone is so much smarter and braver than me in the Protectors! I have no business being on the team! I'm surrounded by geniuses and heroes, and I'm just... me! I should have just stayed home with the kids, for all the use I am to them!"
Still, one word Lady did understand was "faith." Although she had never been very religious, she had learned to have faith in her father, Bocar, her mentor, Belle Starr, and later her friends, the Protectors. However, one person she had faith in the minute they first kissed was her husband, Atticus Batman. She loved him with all her heart, so when he asked her to have faith in him, in the both of them together, she didn't see how she could say "No". So Lady slowly, hesitantly, became substantial, increasing her density in stages, checking every few moments to make sure she wasn't hurting him, the love of her life. As Vo and Lu continued to talk, Atticus soon felt her small weight on his lap and her thin arms around him holding him tight. Once she had reached one hundred percent density, Lady looked up at him with large pink eyes, the pink stain of her tears still streaking her chalk white cheeks as she pursed her lips before kissing him hard, so he would definitely know she was there for him - always.
When the kiss was over, Lady opened her eyes and hugged him even tighter, saying into his chest as she lightly bit her lower lip, "Ummm... Grid Re-energizer... lost it. Kept falling through me."
Being a young girl of few words, Lady didn't explain her statement; not telling him that there was something in the instrument's makeup that made it fall through her hands and off her belt or pack whenever she ghosted, unlike her other equipment or her Crimefighter shotgun. At the time it occurred, the Protectors with him as their Commander were embroiled in foiling the plot of one megalomaniac villain or another, and she didn't want to bother him with such a trivial matter. Then later, when things became calmer in one of the team's rare interludes of peace and quiet, Lady simply forgot to mention it, so enjoying their rare "family" time with their children.
As Lady hugged him tight, she suddenly heard Lu begin to cry, and glanced over to Lu who was obviously upset. She wiped the tears off her pretty alabaster face with the cuff of her shirt before giving Atticus a look he immediately recognized, for he had seen it so often when either of their twin children began to fuss or cry, which told him she just "HAD" to leave him to deal with it. Even though she might never admit it, preferring her masquerade as an uncaring observer hiding in the shadows, when it came to her family and her friends, Lady was a creature of empathy, and if one of either of those two small groups in her life were hurting, she could not leave them to hurt alone.
Losing substantiality again, Lady floated over to where Lu lay on her bed, increasing the density of her small arms as she put them around Lu's red clay colored neck, telling her in a wispy voice, "S'alright. Family HERE!"
*****
Tomas Rossi loved his job as the sole law keeper on the island of Elysium. All he had to do was patrol the coastline of the small island on Elysium's only ATV, break up an occasional fistfight among two of the island's inhabitants, usually over a lover, and post occasional "no swimming" signs when a whale's carcass washed up on shore with huge teeth marks in it, which had only happened five times during his three year tenure on the island. Tomas hadn't even had to take care of disposing of the carcasses by himself, as Pappy Naruto, the designated leader of the island and the closest thing the island had to a Governor, had said that the job was one for the community, and everyone had happily lent a hand, even making a party of it. In truth, even the fistfights were a rarity, for everyone was fairly amiable in the artist community, except when there was clash of egos over artistic preferences, and those fights never got very physical. Even the fights over a lover rarely happened because of the island's policy of no "legal" marriage and "free" love, so that two citizens - or three or four or whatever - could have sex whenever they wanted as long as it was consensual on both party's part. If a couple wanted to have an exclusive long-term loving relationship with each other, that too was permissible, although also rare, and strangely enough, those were the relationships that sometimes led to trouble when one of the members was ready to end the exclusivity and the other was not.
In fact, as a human seaman on the merchant marine cargo ship from the Votan Collective that visited the island once a month to supply the colony, it was that very "free love" policy that first drew Tomas to stay on the island. As one of the three human denizens of the island - the other two being an old blind jazz musician and his young daughter who loved to dance - he was considered an exotic lover by the local Votans, so he hardly ever slept alone at night. Furthermore, he was quite handsome by human standards, with his tan rugged good looks and sun-bleached blond hair. He had been a boxer in his youth, and still exercised to keep himself fit, so was also quite muscular and agile, which made him quite the favorite with the ladies, and even some of the men.
However, if Tomas was truthful with himself, which he usually was, the real reason for him staying on the island was the camaraderie of the artistic community. Tomas had classical training in operatic singing, and although he never made a successful carer of it, had quite a good voice, although that didn't save him from derision by his fellow sailors whenever he broke up in to song, whether when in the shower or swabbing the deck. The sailors' jibes were good-natured, and he never took them personally; still the immediate acceptance by the islanders of himself, and more importantly, his art, made Tomas never want to leave.
That didn't mean that all the island's citizens appreciated his operatic singing, for human opera was an acquired taste, even for other humans and Tomas knew this fact; which was why Pappy Naruto offered him the job of Elysium's law keeper and why Tomas had accepted it. Tomas could patrol around the mostly empty coastline of the island on his ATV, the wind whipping through his long blond hair, singing opera with his rich tenor voice to his hearts content, and not bother the other artists in their creative work. Those few Votans who actually liked human opera would come and sit on the seashore just to hear him as he rode by, while those that did not made sure they took huts far to the center of the island.
Usually Tomas met no one during his thrice daily patrols, but on this occasion his singing was interrupted by an unusual sight. A large rubber dingy had been dragged on to shore, with two human strangers and a large empty cage by the side of it. Tomas rode up to the two sailors, dismounting the ATV with an easy grace and a wide grin as he greeted them, then asked what business they had on the island. The two men mumbled something nonsensical and contradictory, whereupon Thomas warned them that Elysium had a strict policy of protecting its sparse wildlife and therefore the capturing and caging of any island creature on the was strictly not allowed, although he should have probably added "by non-residents" for he himself had a pet parrot back in his grass hut. In a matter-of-fact manner, Tomas then educated them to the fact that Elysium's wildlife was not particularly exotic, with no large dangerous predators whatsoever, so that their hunting might be better awarded on one of the islands north of Elysium.
The two humans just nodded their heads in seeming agreement, then got in their dingy taking their empty cage with them and headed off towards the horizon, although Tomas could not see any large ship in that direction. After a few minutes to make sure the strangers were not going to turn around and come back, Tomas again mounted his ATV, continuing his patrol and his song, while making a mental note to inform Pappy Naruto of the unusual encounter when he got back to the village.
|
|
|
|
Post by Atticus Batman on Sept 24, 2016 11:42:31 GMT
When the kiss was over, Lady opened her eyes and hugged him even tighter, saying into his chest as she lightly bit her lower lip, "Ummm... Grid Re-energizer... lost it. Kept falling through me."
Being a young girl of few words, Lady didn't explain her statement; not telling him that there was something in the instrument's makeup that made it fall through her hands and off her belt or pack whenever she ghosted, unlike her other equipment or her Crimefighter shotgun. At the time it occurred, the Protectors with him as their Commander were embroiled in foiling the plot of one megalomaniac villain or another, and she didn't want to bother him with such a trivial matter. Then later, when things became calmer in one of the team's rare interludes of peace and quiet, Lady simply forgot to mention it, so enjoying their rare "family" time with their children.
After I kissed Lady back, I responded with, "No problem. Haele made several based loosely on mine. So I keep at least one in each armory we have, including on our ships, just in case one of us loses or breaks one. However I am sure Haele would love the challenge of making one specifically for you, as I know she gets bored easily back at the Fortress."
As Lady hugged me tight and I hugged her back just as tight, she suddenly heard Lu begin to cry, and glanced over to Lu who was obviously upset. She wiped the tears off her pretty alabaster face with the cuff of her shirt before giving me a look I immediately recognized, for I had seen it so often when either of our twin children began to fuss or cry, which told me she just "HAD" to leave me to deal with it. Even though she might never admit it, preferring her masquerade as an uncaring observer hiding in the shadows, when it came to her family and her friends, Lady was a creature of empathy, and if one of either of those two small groups in her life were hurting, she could not leave them to hurt alone.
Losing substantiality again, Lady floated over to where Lu lay on her bed, increasing the density of her small arms as she put them around Lu's red clay colored neck, telling her in a wispy voice, "S'alright. Family HERE!"
Feeling Lady come back to me was great. Seeing her caring for others made me once again realize that while she sees me as the hero for some odd reason, that she is the true hero for she ALWAYS puts others' feelings and needs before her's. She constantly makes sacrifices strictly to help others. Hell our second meeting and first kiss happened because I had infiltrated the base the Protectors had been using and snuck into Belle's room to find out why she was repeatedly trying to contact me. Out of curiosity and also to protect her friend, Lady had used her EGO's holo-emitter to camouflage herself as Belle and confront me. I saw through the ruse, but something about this young woman made me want desperately to kiss her and being a creature of instinct , chaos, and action; I did so without thinking about it.
That turned out to be the best move I had ever made for in that moment I felt something awaken in myself that I had never felt before, as far as I knew. I didn't discover until later that night, when she snuck into my guestroom and just cuddled into bed with me and we fell asleep together, that what I was feeling was love for somebody, unconditional love at that. Then when we awoke to a Dark Matter intruder in my room trying to take her, I instinctively put myself between her and the intruder and fought him off to protect her. Shortly after that intruder's death when Belle confronted me about what had happened not only with the intruder, but also with Lady being in my room, is when I realized that I would always do anything in my power to protect this lovely young woman and make her happy.
I on the other hand am different for I have never been and don't believe I ever will be a hero. Sure I will always do what it takes to help my family. However I have always faced death in the hopes of dying, only to discover that Death would never willingly come for me. Then after I met Belle I sacrificed my life to save the whole Bay area from a Volge incursion. Yes I always let Belle and the others believe it was my first true act of kindness___however when I did it part of me was hoping, that by offering my life to save the Bay area's, that Death would finally take me away. However even after such a 'heroic' act, Death had forsaken me yet again. Even when he did come for me it was he who always chose that stupid chess game and he who always won. Yet he also always seemed to know that I had let him win so he would take me away. However because he knew I had thrown the game, he would always leave me behind.
However since meeting Lady and falling so deeply in love with her on our first kiss, when I do face Death now, it is no longer because I want to die. It is because I know that Death will do everything in his power to keep me from him as long as he thinks I am serving some sort of purpose, just as I will ALWAYS do everything in my power to protect all my family and make Lady happy. So my first true and completely selfless act of heroism was indeed when I had saved Lady from that intruder in my quarters the morning after I had arrived at the base. Therefor it was indeed True Love's first kiss that had awakened the soul of a man inside the fearsome and deadly uncaring beast that I had always been seen as, not only by others but also by myself. Well by all except Lady that is for ever since that first kiss she has always seen a hero in me that I can not see or truly acknowledge, and may never be able to for I am certain that somebody as 'dark' as myself could never truly be a hero.
No matter what life has thrown at us since, we had always endured and our love just keeps getting stronger thanks to it. So as I thought about those moments, I sat there watching Lady comfort Lu , happy that Lady was once again being the loving and selfless heroic young woman that I had fallen for. As I continued to watch Lady comforting Lu a small smile came to my face. Just then I felt a slight change in the ship's movement speed, just as we heard Atika's voice over the comms.
She merely stated, "Preparing to re-enter the Vigilant, so please be seated if you are not already."
Just a few minutes later, I could sense that the Riot had stopped completely based on it's electrical signatures. So I picked my helmet back up from the floor by my chair where I had dropped it when Lady and I shared our deep hug and kiss. Shortly after, we once again heard Atika over the Riot's comms saying, "Ladies and Gentlemen I am happy to inform you that we are back aboard the Vigilant. So you are free to leave your seats again."
|
|
|
|
Post by Vo Kshaa on Sept 24, 2016 19:24:18 GMT
"S'alright. Family HERE!"
"Lady's right Lu," Vo said as he sat on the edge of the cot closer to Lu. "You have your family here with us now."
"I know," Lu wiped her tears and smiled, albeit sadly, "But it will take some time to cope with the fact that my ultimate goal, the one which kept me alive and going for all these years was just nothing but nanites whispering in my ear because they wanted to rebuild the Ark Brain they formed before."
"You don't need nanites to love your mother," Vo answered soothingly, "You also don't need them to want to find her after she disappeared. It's the goal any Votan or Human could set for themselves. As for those nanites in your body, I'm pretty sure there's away to disable them or remove them from your body or at least re-program them so that they would abandon their actions on trying to take control over you or trying to build whatever they are trying to form."
"There's isn't a way Vo," Lu shook her head, "If there was, Sayo would know it or find it already. Then she would at least remove them from herself which would make us safe to meet each other. She's an Indogene you know. She has the knowledge and she has the links. If she haven't completed it until now and sent me a sign that I'm safe to find her, it can only mean she know for sure there's nothing that can be done about it."
"It's possible of course, but what if we have better knowledge now than her? I mean she probably have never been to that island and never knew Kitty which has the same nanites in its body. You know it's rather unusual for an arkfall to spread that far between Guadalajara and this Efate island. It must have had an unusual trajectory too. Klimi said it happened at the day of the first Arkfall, before the terraforming started and in means all space tracking systems were still active and recording all pieces entering the atmosphere. If we seek through archives, we might get lucky to find the Ark's original orbit, and then knowing that we'll be able to find out more about that Ark, the type and properties of the Ark Brain which was on it and so on. I'm pretty sure that if our friend Taffer does not have this kind of information on Arks, he definitely knows where we can get it. If you feel uneasy to tell him about all this then I can…"
"Please don't," Lu interrupted him, "I've made enough trouble for him already by being an arrogant lunatic while he tried to shake some sense into me and keep me safe. I think he has enough on his plate without me loading my personal problems on him too. I'll tell him some day, so thank you for the clue, but first I still need some time to gather my thoughts on what I really want to do and achieve."
"Ladies and Gentlemen I am happy to inform you that we are back aboard the Vigilant. So you are free to leave your seats again," they heard Atika's voice over the comm.
"All right, I think it means my time for feeling sorry for myself is up," Lu said as she stood up and smiled, albeit still sadly to some degree. "So brother if you're eager so much to tell Taffer something about me, you better tell him I'm ready for any task he assigns me to."
|
|
|
|
Post by Sandy Bell on Sept 25, 2016 13:19:23 GMT
As the Protectors' team left the Riot in the landing bay of the Vigilant, Sandy Bell waited at the Riot's disembarkation rank with her data-pad in hand for her commander, Atticus Batman, to exit, whereupon when he did arm-in-arm with his wife, Lady Christianna, Sandy waylaid him and reported, "Excuse me Commander, but I gathered some intelligence about the island which seems to be the enemy's target. Looking at our data base at Fortress Kshaa drew a blank, but I contacted your sister Erika Widowmaker in Capital City and it seems the Votan Collective has connections to the island, even though the island isn't officially part of their territory. According to their records, the island was a traditional exile destination after the Pale Wars for political dissidents of the Votan Collective government who were too popular with the public as artists to just execute. Much to the surprise of the Votan government, those exiled there formed a thriving artist community under the colony's still living founder and one of the first exiled there, a poet called Pappy Naruto by the island's residents. The colonists renamed the island Elysium, surprisingly after an ancient human myth. Back in antiquity, Elysium or the Elysian Fields was a conception of the afterlife that developed over time and was maintained by some Greek religious and philosophical sects and cults. Anyway, for PR reasons I guess, the Votan Collective keeps the island supplied with what necessities the 326 current residents can't obtain themselves, even though most of the residents today weren't exiled there but were voluntary immigrants or born there. The population is still almost exclusively Votan, albeit of all Votan races. In exchange for supplies, the artists are commissioned by the Votan Collective and it's richer citizens for artistic works. In fact, Erika tells me that her son, Chancellor Cael, has a gallery of their work in one of the private rooms of the Governor's House, and even has commissioned a life size sculpture of himself with a young Irathiant artist on the island named Mia Faash "
Sandy looked up from her data pad, her blue eyes locking with Lady Christianna's pink ones, remarking, "You might find this interesting: Pappy Naruto was exiled for writing poetry exhorting the virtues of a celebrated Votan Pale Wars general who took a pacifistic view after the wars and urged peace with all humankind, and was himself with his infant daughter chased out of the Votan Collective under penalty of death - your father Bocar, Lady," As Lady's eyes grew wide and she flashed an enigmatic smile at Sandy, Sandy turned to Atticus and continued her report, "Seems the island has no defenses, and small arms are forbidden on the island, with even the single Elysium Law Keeper running around unarmed. Seems like the perfect helpless target for Boris and his Votan killing virus."
Right then the conversation ground to a stop when Lena Marr and Marcel Lestrange disembarked the Riot, the last to do so, laughing and swinging their held hands while staring adoringly at each other like teenagers in puppy love. Sandy just had to grin at the diabolical duo, despite the fact that both Lena and Marcel were known sociopaths, for Lena's hair was so mussed she looked like she had just gotten out of bed, which in a way she had, and the buttons of her blouse were in the wrong buttonholes.
|
|
|
|
Post by Atticus Batman on Sept 26, 2016 9:58:15 GMT
Sandy looked up from her data pad, her blue eyes locking with Lady Christianna's pink ones, remarking, "You might find this interesting: Pappy Naruto was exiled for writing poetry exhorting the virtues of a celebrated Votan Pale Wars general who took a pacifistic view after the wars and urged peace with all humankind, and was himself with his infant daughter chased out of the Votan Collective under penalty of death - your father Bocar, Lady," As Lady's eyes grew wide and she flashed an enigmatic smile at Sandy, Sandy turned to Atticus and continued her report, "Seems the island has no defenses, and small arms are forbidden on the island, with even the single Elysium Law Keeper running around unarmed. Seems like the perfect helpless target for Boris and his Votan killing virus."
Right then the conversation ground to a stop when Lena Marr and Marcel Lestrange disembarked the Riot, the last to do so, laughing and swinging their held hands while staring adoringly at each other like teenagers in puppy love. Sandy just had to grin at the diabolical duo, despite the fact that both Lena and Marcel were known sociopaths, for Lena's hair was so mussed she looked like she had just gotten out of bed, which in a way she had, and the buttons of her blouse were in the wrong buttonholes.
As Lena and Lestrange walked past, most likely headed to their stateroom or the ship's Mess, I also glanced at them before returning my attention to Sandy and Lady. After Lena and Lestrange were out of earshot, I said, "Obviously they have gotten plenty of use out of the latrine. Remind me to have it thoroughly cleaned when we get back to Fortress K'shaa. So artists huh? Well if we succeed in saving their island, perhaps I can get them to make a portrait of Lady and get Lady some of that poetry about Bocar if she wants. Anyway may I see your data-pad for a second?"
When Sandy handed it to me, I looked over her data. Then I sent a copy of it to the Captain's database aboard the Vigilant, a copy to Taffer, and a copy to my own data-pad. Next I handed it back to her. As I did so, I responded with, "I would say their no small arms policy is about to bite them in the ass. Anyway, you did Very good Sandy. It seems you just keep proving that you are indeed an invaluable Officer. You managed to dig up quite a bit of information in such a short time. Does this mean that you have decided that you want your Chief Officer position to be in either Intel or Tactical Affairs?...Anyway, from what I see in your information, it seems that the island of Elysium is only about an hour away with basic thrusters. That is good because if we travel too fast, then we risk alerting the enemy too early. So if Taffer agrees, after he reviews your information, then we will travel at the minimum thruster speed to help avoid suspicion. I will have Taffer re-assemble the team when we are closer to Elysium. Therefor I suggest everyone take a quick rest or get some food from the Mess during that time."
After Sandy agreed, I contacted Taffer via EGO and said calmly, "Taffer I sent you some information, that Sandy found on our destination. It appears to be an unofficial Votan colony. After reviewing it myself, I am going to order Kaj to head there using basic thruster speed to avoid alerting suspicion, but if you feel that is too slow after you have reviewed the data then by all means have Kaj increase the thrust speed as needed. In the meantime I am ordering our main away team to get a quick meal and relax during our short trip. I am going to go spend some quality time with Lady, like she deserves. So go over the data and get some lunch. Then contact me when you are ready to discuss a plan with me. Also summon the others to the location of your choosing, when you are ready for all of us. After all you are ALWAYS 'The Man with The Plan'."
Then I sent a message over the team's EGO channel informing them to get some lunch and a little rest during our travel time. Next I contacted Kaj and told him to head to the island of Elysium at minimum thruster speed for now. Once that was done, I called over the Officer in charge of the hanger bay and ask that he have his crew unload the Garilu's hull from the Riot. That way when we disembark again in the Riot, we will not be slowed down by it. He agreed and immediately got his men to work on the task.
Once done in the Hanger Bay, I gently squeezed Lady's hand to let her know I was done and we could leave the bay. She smiled at me and we left the bay arm-in-arm. As we walked down the hall outside the hangar bay, I removed my helm and glanced lovingly at Lady as I said calmly, "Shall we go get some lunch my lovely Snow Angel, or would you rather we go back to our quarters to freshen up first?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Marcel Lestrange on Sept 26, 2016 18:10:34 GMT
"So you fulfilled your task,"stated Boris on board of the submarine. "I do hope that you managed to do it without getting caught." "If you put it that way, Sir, then...We managed to deliver the monkey without raising any suspicions," said one of the sailors after a really microscopic break. "Aye, Sir," confirmed other. "Would it matter if we didn't?" "Actually not," replied Boris. "At least not in longer perspective. Votans are destined to extinct. But from tactical point of view, getting caught might arise suspicions among inhabitants. They will probably inform somebody and I would be forced to take....necessary precautions to maintain secrecy. Why ask such questions anyway? Curiosity might be lethal." Boris smiled with his lips but somehow his smile reminded old Jolly Roger and that didn't made sailors to feel comfortable at all...  _________ The rat monkey woke from artificial sleep. Monkey was laying on the tall grass. It was soft and smelled...safe. Comfortable place to wake up. Rat monkey moved it's nostrils catching new smells, he had no previous experience with, because all his life he had, was spent in the cage in Doctor Euthanasius's laboratory. These smells didn't resembled lab odours he was used with. His torturers - the ones who kept the monkey on cage and poked with needles and such weren't anywhere near. What's most important - he wasn't surrounded by metal bars. What should monkey do in totally different environment? Lot of things to do actually... Well, as a first thing the monkey felt hungry. Not angry as before, but hungry. Since nobody didn't bothered to feed him here as monkey was used to, he decided to seek for something edible. Insects were monkey's first choice. Something told him that they should taste good by his standards. And his torturers fed him insects as well, so his experience confirmed what his instincts had to tell. Alas! The rat monkey wasn't used to catch his own food. It was always served to him. But now he had to try if he wanted to survive. Flying ones were too fast for the inexperienced hunter. After several vain attempts the monkey figured out that crawling ones were easier to catch. Soon the rat monkey held large colourful insect between his paws and monkey tasted it carefully. What else monkey could try to eat? There were fruits. Monkey had tried fruits before but now he discovered that fruits grow on trees. Luckily fruits didn't moved at all and tasted good. Even better than insects. Safe place, good place. Plenty of food. The rat monkey decided to stay there. |
|
