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Post by Taffer on Sept 29, 2016 23:11:46 GMT
"There goes my human only team," Taffer said with a smile as he regarded with his eyes over at least three Votans who were adamant to disembark. "Although I wouldn't rely on Lady's ghost phase or your Grid powers as the only means of protection. You see, they designed the virus to kill all Votans to make the Earth clean and safe for humans as they see it. This probably includes Volge, Grid and Gulanee as they are probably considered as the most dangerous Votan races in case of another war. So I expect this virus to have something in its sleeve for them and therefore for you too. So chances are Lena is the only Votan who is immune to it. That is, if they didn't modify the virus since Dr. Todt found a cure for Lena which is entirely possible too. So sealed suits are probably the best way we can protect you while you're on the island. Now, as it's decided, let's wait for the rest of our team to gather before I contact the authorities of the island and introduce our team to them. I expect Volodya, Sandy and Archer to come."
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Post by Volodja Uljanov on Sept 30, 2016 8:28:24 GMT
Little Meeko/Michaelangelo looked at Dr. Mikal through his round glasses and sniffed. He removed glasses after that and begun to clean them with his handkerchief. Meekos forehead was crinkled, revealing that his mind was busy with thinkingt. Then he said: "I think it's the monkey. Funny looking monkey, we saw. Leela gave a banana to the monkey. We didn't touched the monkey and monkey didn't touched us. We turned our back to monkey, so it could eat peacefully and when we looked again, it was gone. But afterwards Leela said something about an itch on her skin and begun to scratch herself. Maybe that monkey had par...parrasituses or something like that. I have read about them from old books of human hy...genie."  "Nonsense boy," said Doctor Mikal. "I do see bite marks on her skin but even if your story about the monkey is true then how could flea bites cause Leela to collapse? Unless..." "Unless what?" asked Meeko. His mind was older than his physical age, making him see logical connections between things. Thus the idea about that monkey and it's parasites. And wish to know what the Doc will say next. "Unless the monkey has not born on our island. You see, boy. Lot of diseases travel around the world, using animals or Votans or humans as vessels. Fleas and other bugs can carry diseases as well if they suck blood of sick people or animals. Stop the scratching when I am talking to you." Then he realised what he just told so he yelled: "Stop the SCRATCHING right away! That is how the infection enters into your body!" |
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Post by Atticus Batman on Sept 30, 2016 10:27:17 GMT
Lena scrunched up her cute button nose as if she smelled something bad, then stiffened her spine as she leaned towards Taffer wagging a chalk white forefinger in his face as she said adamantly, "I'm a grown woman, in case you haven't noticed, and I go where I please! This is sexual discrimination, or racial discrimination, or both, and if you're not careful I'm going to get my lawyer and sue you for all you have and own all of Fortress Kshaa by the end of the lawsuit! Besides, Marcel and I are independent contractors currently not under contract, and not Protectors, so I don't think you can order us to do anything! I've got some very important personal business on that Island with one Pappy Naruto, so just stay out of my way, you hear! I assume the risk! So I'm going down with you, but not going down on you, and if you even THINK that I'll sue you for sexual harassment too! Discussion over! Signed, sealed, and delivered! Nuff said!"
"There goes my human only team," Taffer said with a smile as he regarded with his eyes over at least three Votans who were adamant to disembark. "Although I wouldn't rely on Lady's ghost phase or your Grid powers as the only means of protection. You see, they designed the virus to kill all Votans to make the Earth clean and safe for humans as they see it. This probably includes Volge, Grid and Gulanee as they are probably considered as the most dangerous Votan races in case of another war. So I expect this virus to have something in its sleeve for them and therefore for you too. So chances are Lena is the only Votan who is immune to it. That is, if they didn't modify the virus since Dr. Todt found a cure for Lena which is entirely possible too. So sealed suits are probably the best way we can protect you while you're on the island. Now, as it's decided, let's wait for the rest of our team to gather before I contact the authorities of the island and introduce our team to them. I expect Volodya, Sandy and Archer to come."
I responded calmly but sternly with, "Fine we will wear sealed suits or sealed armor, while we act as Ambassadors. Taffer I also suggest that we setup one of our dark matter portals in the isolation chamber that Haele, Vo, Lu, and Doctor Todt have undoubtedly already setup and then take a portal down with us to setup in the Village's 'Medical' clinic as well. That way we can take any possibly infected through it and directly into the isolation chamber without risking infecting any of the rest of our crew."
Then I turned to Lena and said calmly, "Lena whatever you want to discuss with this Pappy Naruto is your business, however we need him alive and giving his friendly cooperation. That way after Taffer has made the necessary contact and introductions and we have landed on the island, Taffer's human team will search the island for Boris and any signs that his crew were there. That leaves our three Votan team, of You Lady and me, in this village of Elysium to do something that neither you or I are known for. We will be the Votan ambassadors of our team and our job will be to gain the trust of these Villagers and get them to agree to let our doctors examine any of them, preferably without causing a hysterical riot. Alright, you ladies heard Taffer. You will both need to visit the armory and get a sealed suit or sealed armor to put on. Just as I will have to make sure my armor is fully sealed. So we should go do so while Taffer waits for the others to arrive before he makes contact." |
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Post by Volodja Uljanov on Sept 30, 2016 10:56:34 GMT
"I wouldn't be too worried about Boris modifying the virus," declared Doctor Todt in laboratory. "They didn't had time and suitable conditions to do it. And they didn't had a reason to do it. Officially only ones who know anything about the virus are us. And by his opinion we are still in my island. Sealed off from the rest of the world by the energy shield. If we get that hypothetical sample you were talking about, we are able to continue our research in much better conditions than that treacherous Boris. And from the point we were interrupted."  Doctor Todt rubbed his hands together and looked around in clean and sterile laboratory, stating: "We have an edge at moment. Unless he leaves this island of...Elysium it was?...on it's own and hurries to the better equipped lab, we still have that edge. But he won't leave yet. If he wants to be sure about the efficiency of the virus, he can't afford being too far until he has some recordable results. If results satisfy him, then and only then, he will begin the mass production, possible modification and widen the ways to spread the virus. The usual routine, you know." Doctor Todt sighed and concluded in a matter of fact manner: "I am sure that you already figured out, that if they manage to finish field testing and leave this place successfully we will lose that edge, not to mention losing them. If that happens, I wouldn't give a rusty penny for the Votanis world. Once the virus is roaming freely we have to do enormous work to stop the pandemic and I am afraid that it will be the mission impossible." |
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Post by Lena Marr on Sept 30, 2016 13:55:51 GMT
Atticus Batman turned to Lena Marr and said calmly, "Lena whatever you want to discuss with this Pappy Naruto is your business, however we need him alive and giving his friendly cooperation. That way after Taffer has made the necessary contact and introductions and we have landed on the island, Taffer's human team will search the island for Boris and any signs that his crew were there. That leaves our three Votan team, of You Lady and me, in this village of Elysium to do something that neither you or I are known for. We will be the Votan ambassadors of our team and our job will be to gain the trust of these Villagers and get them to agree to let our doctors examine any of them, preferably without causing a hysterical riot. Alright, you ladies heard Taffer. You will both need to visit the armory and get a sealed suit or sealed armor to put on. Just as I will have to make sure my armor is fully sealed. So we should go do so while Taffer waits for the others to arrive before he makes contact." Lena scowled for a second, then her usual wicked grin returned to her pretty chalk white face as she replied, "Okay, Atty-Baby, you're the boss! I won't kill THIS Pappy Naruto, but does that mean I get to kill any OTHER Pappy Narutos I run into? Just kidding big guy, I won't touch a hair on his head until you and your Protectors are through with him, and then... well, no promises after that, as it all depends on what he says to ME! For his sake, let's hope as a poet he has a real way with words," Then Lena turned her unblinking sky blue eyes to Lady Christianna, "However, you know what this means for us?" Lady's big pink eyes grew even bigger, shaking vigorously her snow white locks in the negative, not sure she wanted to know what Lena had in mind, then Lena grabbed both of Lady's small alabaster hands in hers and said cheerfully, "It means WE get new outfits! YAY!" Lena pulled Lady behind her, fairly skipping their way to the armory, where they checked out several pairs of armor able to be sealed with self contained air supplies. Both Castithan women opted out of those with camouflage paint as being too militaristic and maybe alarming the locals, instead choosing more colorful high tech armors, with Lady's armor having highlights in baby blue and Lena's armor trim being in, of course, blood red. As Lena admired how she looked in the armor in the highly polished steel of a gun locker, Lady watched her intently with her small head tilted in consideration, curiosity evident on the teenager's pretty face. "Hey, these guys are artists, right BGF? This looks GORGEOUS on me, so they're going to love it - especially the colors," Remarked Lena as she held her curvaceous hips and struck a heroic pose, her wicked grin growing even wider on her lovely face. "Why?" Asked Lady, concern evident in her young voice. "Why do I want to see Pappy Naruto?" Guessed Lena, her smile turning to a frown, then answered with a sigh, "Well, if I can't tell my BGF, who can I tell, right?" Lena faced Lady putting her open hand to the side of her lush lips as if speaking in a conspiratorial whisper, "THIS Pappy might be MY Pappy, and if so, he abandoned me as a baby to a literal Hell on Earth - the child brothel in Lima! He might have reasons for doing it, but I can't think of any good ones! So, first I check to see if he really is my father - I pocketed a test kit from the Vigilant's infirmary - and second, if he proves to be a genetic match, I give him a chance to explain himself, then third, I kill him slowly by skinning him alive with Slice and Dice... or hug him like a long lost relative, depending on what he says!" Lady's mouth fell agape as her pink eyes got bigger, having her EGO replay Lena's soliloquy to Atticus and Taffer thought their EGOs, adding to the message, "I'll watch her," then saying as a matter of information to Lena, "OK. Want to talk to him too. Knew Dad when." Lena grinned, replying, "Okay, you reminiscence first, and I promise not to kill him until afterwards! Girl scout's honor!" Then grabbed Lady's hand in hers pulling her behind as she skipped back to the cargo bay where the away team to the island that Pappy Naruto was on were assembling.  ***** Lena Marr was a wizard when it came to security and surveillance devices, and getting around both; so much so that some would call her an idiot savant as to such things, although they would have been cut by her twin Bowie knives if Lena heard them call her that, as Lena wouldn't stand being called idiot anything. However, when it came to other things, like poisons and computers, she was highly skilled in their access and use, but not in the more creative aspects surrounding both. That said, Lena DID know people in the criminal underworld, many who lived in Lima and who she met during her time growing up there who had such talents, and often hired them as criminal specialists to create tools for her to use for those situations where her natural talents would not suffice.  One such person was a human woman called Dutch Velders, who hailed from New York City way before its terra-forming and who claimed to have once closed down the Internet with her skills even before the Pale Wars gave a fatal blow to it. A teenage Lena Marr had met the then much older woman in Lima, having a torrid affair that lasted a week but a working relationship that lasted years later. Dutch was not only a hacker extraordinaire, but was truly an artist when it came to developing computer viruses, cookies, and malware. It was she who developed the virus that Lena used to erase certain key parts of Dr. Todt's research computer records and replace it with flawed data. Dutch's virus had another feature though that was even more malicious. If the virus detected that it's deception had failed, it would immediately start to destroy the records from the most recent entries backwards. When Lexxy linked with the Protectors EGOs to try to extrapolate the missing data, the virus took their entry as a sign that the ruse was over, and began destroying all of Dr. Todt's stored data on the Votan killing virus. However before it began to do so, it showed an old movie scene. Like many of her ilk, Dutch Venders couldn't resist signing her work, and being an old movie aficionado, she did so with an old computer hacker scene from a movie called "Jurassic Park." In that movie scene, the hacker's blocking program wouldn't let the authorities access to see what he had done, but merely showing a cartoonish picture of a fat bespectacled man saying, "Unh, unh, unh!" while wagging a forefinger and while the screen showed a sentence on the film's computer screen over and over again, stating, "You didn't say the magic word!" |
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Post by Sandy Bell on Sept 30, 2016 14:14:14 GMT
Sandy stood sitting side-wise on an ATV in her own helm-less light armor in the cargo bay of the Vigilant, checking her Piper Assault rifle for a third time since arriving there, as she watched the two Castithan woman arrive in their sealed armors, saying to her lover, Volodja Uljanov, who stood by her side, "I wonder if we are all here? You and I, Marcel, Archer and Taffer - are we the only humans going? And I still think taking three Votans with us to Elysium is asking for them to catch the Votan killing virus, but I'm not in command." As Lena Marr sashayed by, she said, "Heard that Blondie! Be a good little soldier, don't question you betters!" ***** Meanwhile on the island of Elysium in the one roomed grass thatched clinic of Dr. Fri Mikal, the small Liberata boy named Meeko but nicknamed Michelangelo, collapsed to the hut's floor after scratching his arm. Dr. Milkal quickly turned on his recorder, then donned his microscope glasses as he grabbed a pair tweezers and quickly went by the boys side, searching his arm and plucking a small flea off it. Leaving the Votan boy laying on the floor, he quickly placed the captive insect on a slide, then put it under the lens of the more powerful microscope on his lab counter. With the recorder running, Dr. Mikal began narrating, "Two patients, both children, one Irathiant the other Liberata, brought to me on this day by the local law keeper. The female Irathiant, aged approximately nine, was already unconscious, in a comatose state. The male Liberata, aged approximately seven, became comatose soon after. As far as I know, the human law keeper, aged about thirty-five, appeared unaffected. The Liberata boy was conscious long enough to say that the two children encountered a 'funny looking monkey,' quote-unquote, and were close enough to give it a banana without actually touching the animal. I have cataloged all the species of flora and fauna on this island during my first six months here, and there are monkeys on the island, but they are common and plentiful enough with the children old enough and the island small enough that they would recognize one they had already seen. I hypothesize that this 'funny looking monkey' must be a species new to Elysium, perhaps floating in on some driftwood from a nearby island, but now I'm just guessing. However, I suspect that a new contagion came with the beast as he arrived in Elysium, and after I examined the boy, found a flea on his arm that I suspect is the immediate carrier of the contagion and which I also suspect arrived with this new monkey." Dr. Mikal took a deep breath before continuing his narration, his voice betraying his excitement at his new medical find, already naming the new contagion in his own mind the Mikal Bug, "It would not be unusual for a flea carried by a higher order animal to spread a disease on Earth. Early in this planets history, a contagion called the Black Death or Bubonic Plague killed nearly a fourth of the humans on one of the Earth's continents and was spread by fleas carried by rats. As I focus on this flea under the microscope, I claim sole discovery of this - wait! This is unusual. This flea looks different than any other I have ever seen, either on this island or anywhere else. The main feeding structure of a normal flea is called a fascicle, and is composed of three needle-like stylets. The outer two stylets are called maxillary lacinae. They’re sharp with serrated teeth, like a knife, and are used to pierce a host’s skin. Each lacinia have three rows of teeth, each of which possesses a backward projecting cusp, reminiscent of shark teeth. The tip of each plate forms a tooth-like projection, which functions to initially penetrate of the host’s skin. The middle stylet, called the median epipharynx, gets inserted into the blood vessel to draw the blood. The epipharynx is armed with sixteen teeth, arranged in two bilaterally symmetrical sets. Strong muscles around the mouth aid in sucking. Here, the stylets are much longer... and these mutated fleas - the Mikal Fleas - have what appears to be like a stinger in the back, just under it's gentalia, reminiscent of a bee or a wasp."  The Indogene gasped before continuing, "There is something else about the Mikal flea that is different than normal fleas. Here between the abdomen and the thorax appear to be a pair of... wings!?!? That means... the contagion is airborne in a way - by nearly invisible flying fleas!" Just then Dr. Mikal felt an extreme itching sensation on the back of his neck, and his blue eyes began to flutter shut almost as soon as he realized the significance of the sudden itch while his world faded to black. |
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Post by Volodja Uljanov on Oct 1, 2016 11:35:55 GMT
"Probably we are," replied Volodja Uljanov. "We don't want to make locals think that we are going to occupy their island. At moment nothing predicts course of events which needs military intervention. Our guys are will be just a call away, ready to support us if needed. Hopefully the island won't be full of infected zombies or something similar. We have enough sickos on mainland already. But when we are involved, nothing is impossible. If we only make to the island on time..."
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For Marcel Lestrange time was also important issue. He needed enough time to figure out how fast this virus can spread and infect Votans. And most important - how inflicted ones are going to behave and how long they are going to last without decent medical aid. When Lena was inflicted, she was treated almost immediately and in the best manner doctors could do. That was totally different thing than those nameless and faceless people who could get contaminated after the virus is released. Lena was somebody who mattered to Marcel, but the rest of the world...The rest of the world was a business matter. Generally Marcel divided his selling strategies into two main categories.
First one was producing and selling something in large quantities to make profit while keeping material and producing costs low as possible - that's how one can sell refreshing drinks, fast food or even drugs. Profit comes from sale numbers.
Second one was selling minimal amount of rare quality product but the prize was very high and customers were ones who could afford something exclusive. Art, handmade cars, jewels, murders et cetera. Both Lena and Marcel were more used with the second selling strategy because of their line of work - they sold contract murders, espionage acts, thefts and so on. At least until they took over Castithan drug chain after certain events in Lima and begun drug dealers en gros as well. Retailing was done by petty dealers.
The vaccine business seemed to belong into the first category too. That's why Marcel's main worry about the rest of Votans was that their rows wouldn't become too thin because of the virus. Considerably less people left is going to mean lesser amount of medicine or vaccine sold. Thus the time issue - losing some time was in their interest because more lost lives will opens buyer's wallet faster, but Marcel wanted to know how much pressure Lena and him need to put into production and negotiations so they could sell optimal amount of remedies and/or vaccine to make a nice profit while modern plague takes it's toll. Marcel was still sure that paying customers will survive long enough to buy the remedy, but he did not wanted the market to be too small either. He needed balance. Oui, balance...
He thought about that when he followed his beloved Lena and looked her lovely bottom which was moving so sexy under her tight armour, making Marcel to smile and think about different things now...Like what he could buy to Lena with all of that money after they seal the vaccine deal.
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Volodja noticed where Marcel's glance was pointed and begun to sing quietly. The tune was "Blue Moon." A classic pop song written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart in 1934. But it wasn't Billy Eckstine's or Mel Tormé's version. It wasn't even Billie Holidays, Elvis's, the Mavericks's or Rod Stewarts version. It was the international number one hit version by the band, called....tramtararaaa...The Marcels:
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Post by Vo Kshaa on Oct 1, 2016 21:36:34 GMT
"Hey, that's something Commander Taffer said should belong to the sandbox!" Lexy said, pointing her finger at the screen with the cartoonish image on it. Vo merely nodded, as when it came to computers and their functioning or in this case malfunctioning, time was an essence and using words took up too much time. Instead, Vo gave several mental commands for Shirra to be immediately transferred to Lexy. First command — and the animated image was sent to a biggest holographic projector in the lab. The computer they were storing the research data on was definitely not designed for playing games or movies, so upscaling the animated image on a high-resolution projector slowed it down tremendously, which helped to reduce the damage dealt before they could exterminate the virus. Second command — and another process was started on the infected computer which was copying random files from Dr. Todt's archive with the most recent date and time, so that the virus would focus on them. Third command — and the newly appearing copies were physically placed in the sandbox while the sandbox was linked with Dr. Todt's archive so that from the virus's point of view it still looked like it was operating in the archive, but in fact it was processing files from the sandbox instead.  Fourth command — when the virus replaced yet another infected file with its own body to avoid the security program to find and eliminate it, the body in fact appeared in the sandbox. Just as soon as it happened, the sandbox was disconnected from Dr. Todt's archive, leaving the virus trapped in the sandbox as it was still trying to remove files that were re-appearing ad infinitum. "The rat is in the cage!" Lexy exclaimed, clapping her little hands together, "Should we destroy it?" "No, let it continue running in the sandbox," Vo replied. "We don't know what else might get activated in those files if the virus stops its cycle. While the illusion that it's still working is maintained, the actual data is safe. Probably Taffer would find more elegant solution for this accident, but there was no time to consult him so we had to work with the first idea that hit my spiked noggin. Now I think we have to assess the damage that the virus managed to do and see if we could get that data back." |
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Post by Taffer on Oct 1, 2016 23:17:48 GMT
 As the human part of his away team was ready too, Taffer finally hit the button which sent the command to the Vigilant's communication system to scan the radio waves emanating from the island on all known communication channels and place a call once the right frequency was found. Whoever on the island accepted the video call could see Taffer in his new armor with his helmet removed as he looked into the camera and said, "Greetings to the people of Elysium Island. I'm Commander Taffer of Paradise Protectors. We are the group of Humans and Votans who have set their goal to maintain a peaceful co-existence of all races living on the Earth and prevent another Pale War if someone tries to unleash one. I'm afraid the latter is what is going to happen soon if we don't interfere and there are high chances it will begin from your island. Time is the essence, so I will get straight to the point. We have the intel that there's a group of xenophobial humans who arrived to your island and they are trying to spread a virulent and lethal disease throughout it. The disease affects only Votans and is highly lethal if the afflicted people are not given proper treatment immediately. Our team is working on the cure right now to save the lives of your people. Second part of our team is going to find those evil-doers before they start killing your people with the infection. That's why we request permission to land on your island and search its grounds for those criminals and the source of the disease. If you have any questions we will answer them right now or when we meet personally. The latter is preferred because the faster our team starts working on saving your people the better. Now I'll introduce the members of my team who are ready to provide help and protection to your people." With that said Taffer set the camera to circle around the away team so that each member could introduce themselves and reassure the people of Elysium of their goodwill. |
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Post by Sandy Bell on Oct 2, 2016 3:13:58 GMT
By happenstance, the camera's arc focused on Sandy Bell first and her blue eyes grew big for she just wasn't expecting to be one of the first faces of the Protectors to be seen by the people of Elysium, but after only a moment's hesitation, cleared her throat, tossed her blond tresses in an unassuming manner, and with a warm grin began, "Hi, I'm Sandy Bell. Don't let the camouflage armor and assault rifle throw you, I'm actually a surfer at heart, and wish we were here in better circumstances, for it looks like you have some sweet swells off your island. Anyway, I'm here, as Sub-commander Taffer said, to help and protect you people. I know you guys are artists, and I sure don't want to interfere with your work, so I will stay out of your way as much as possible as I and my team go searching for the enemy who are villains trying to spread this Votan killing disease. Unfortunately, the enemy are humans too, but unlike us, they want to eradicate all Votans and must be stopped. As you can see, we have Votans on our team, with even our Commmander, Atticus Batman, being an Irathiant. So if you feel more comfortable talking to them, please do so. Main thing: If you have seen any humans recently on the island that you don't know, or anything unusual going on, please let us know, for the sooner we catch these villains, the sooner we will be out of your hair! Um... next?" The camera next shifted to Lady Christianna, who by chance was to the immediate right of Sandy and who had just taken off the helmet of her high-tech suit and now with her large pink eyes growing larger still and her alabaster thin lips forming a small perfect "O", looked remarkably like a small animal caught in the headlights of an oncoming car, so merely blurted out, "Hela. Lady. Castithan... knew that, huh?... Uh... next?" Having just come into the room with Lady, Lena Marr was next in line for the camera's automatic path, and she had taken the time as the other women spoke to not only take off her helmet, comb a chalk white hand through her snow white hair, then strike a heroic pose for the camera with one hand on her hip and the other holding her suit's helmet dramatically like an ancient astronaut, saying cheerfully with a wicked grin, "Hi there Elisumatons, I come in peace, although I carry a piece, and have been called by some a nasty piece of work, but now hungry for a piece of banana cream pie if you have one! Let me reassure you, I'm not coming to kill anyone or do anything like that, so just don't worry, be happy! We're the good guys come to stop the bad guys, save the day, and by the way, save your hides! Nuff said! Oh, and also by the way, a personal message to Pappy Naruto: I'm coming to see you and you have some explaining to do! Now nuff said!" Lena's wicked smile grew as she made a cutting gesture with one alabaster finger across her chalk white throat, gesturing for the camera to go to the next person in line; however when Atticus glared at her, she merely continued to grin wickedly as she asked in mock defensiveness, "What? I'm hungry... and I LIKE pie!"  |
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Post by Volodja Uljanov on Oct 2, 2016 9:14:25 GMT
"Guss it's my turn;" said Volodja, looking into the camera lens. He smiled, tossed lock of hear away from his high forehead and smiled: "I am Volodja Uljanov. As you can see, I have no firearms with me." He showed his empty hands. "I am looking forward to see your community and get familiar with your creations from Alfa to Omega, from the scratch to final result, but first we need to put an end to the virus which might be spreading already..." Suddenly he was nudged away from the camera by Marcel, who for a second spread himself as an Ace of Spades and then used a chance to pull Lena gently back into the limelight because she seemed to like it, set one of his hands around her waist, stroke his moustache with other one and grinned before saying: "Bon Jour, mes Amis. Marcel Lestrange at your service. Lena Marr and I are couple of independent entrepreneurs. I can not speak for lovely Lena, but deep down in my soul, I consider us to be artistic entrepreneurs ("Lena and Marcel are couple of performing artists indeed, although their performances and happenings tend to be quite mundane and...fleshy, but they are really colourful, making Bosch's"The Garden of Earthly Delights" to wane, compared with their actions," chuckled Volodja on background, so only Sandy could hear him), so I evaluate and appreciate art very much ("As long as that art has a price tag," added Volodja quietly. This time Marcel heard him). I hope that our visit will be mutually profitable. Next participant, please. You may continuously ignore the joker Volodja by the way. He already had his fifteen seconds of fame."  |
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Post by Atticus Batman on Oct 2, 2016 11:49:41 GMT
As Lady and Lena left for the armory, I went and talked to one of the Hangar mechanics and borrowed his toolbox. Then I went to a nearby work station where I first cleaned and maintained my weapons. Then I removed my armor, leaving me in my blue 'Grid cloth' jumpsuit and mask that I of course created around my body using my Grid abilities. Once my armor was off, I checked it's internal systems and it's stability.
During that time, Taffer and I got the EGO replay of Lena's soliloquy from Lady's EGO to our EGOs, adding to the message, "I'll watch her," to which I merely replied, "Thanks for the head's up Snow Angel."
Once finished, with both the reply and my armor maintenance I re-donned it. Just after getting back in my armor, Lena and Lady had returned. Lady of course came over to see what I was doing and give me a quick kiss before she re-joined Lena to go check back in with Taffer.
Shortly after they had checked in, Taffer made the call to the island of Elysium. As I heard Taffer and the others make their introductions, I was focused on adjusting the re-breather, comm. system and other internal mechanics in my battle helmet. Although I did glare angrily at Lena when she had finished her introductions due to her perceived threat towards Pappy Naruto. I had just finished my adjustments when the others had finished and the camera finally started my direction.
So still holding my helmet in my hand, I turned and looked imposingly at the camera as I said commandingly, "Esenezri Elysiumites. I am Atticus Batman, Prime Commander of the Paradise Protectors.....and yes I am the one known worldwide as the 'Harbinger of Death'....and DO NOT ask for our weapons, for I will not surrender mine. Removing a warrior's weapons would be like removing an artist's tools and limiting the use of their hands. However you have my word that I will not use them unless I deem it absolutely necessary."
 
"Do not mind Lena Marr and Marcel Lestrange. I would be lying if I said that their bark was worse than their bite because quite frankly when they want to bite, they bite extremely hard and refuse to let go. However they rarely 'bite', unless money or their own hides are involved."
"Now as Commander Taffer, Miss Bell and the others have stated, we are here to help. As Commander Taffer also stated, we will answer all questions but it is best to wait until we have landed for time is of the essence. Once we land, we would appreciate it if your 'Law keeper' would go with Commander Taffer and his team to search the island and help his team in any way that he can. Lady, Lena, and I will stay in your village to talk with Pappy Naruto and answer all your questions as the Paradise Protector's 'Ambassadors of Goodwill'. We will also want to talk to your Village Doctor to see if he has any patients that may be exhibiting any signs of the disease that Commander Taffer mentioned. If we do determine that any of your residents are infected with this deadly disease, we will set up a portal in your Clinic to transfer the infected directly to our ship for our excellent medical staff to do all that they can for them. Once we have done all that we can to contain and treat the disease, we will even offer medical checkups for any of your residents that need or request it."
Then I put on and hermetically sealed my helmet, as if to signal Taffer that I was done with what I had to say and the communication was once again back in his control.
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Post by Lena Marr on Oct 2, 2016 14:51:17 GMT
  After Atticus Batman made his comment about the diabolical duo in his introduction to the people, Lena Marr stuck her tongue out at Atticus, then smiled sweetly at him as she hugged even closer to Marcel. Suddenly the Vigilant's AI, Lexxy, in the hologram of a small girl appeared, looking distraught, appeared before the small assembled group of Protectors. "I c-can't co-co... There's no trans-trans..." Stuttered Lexxy, then throwing up her hands in dismay, blurted, "Nobody's listening down there! Nobody is picking up!" Meanwhile in the large grass thatched central hut of the Elysium community which served as both town hall and bar and grill, Law Keeper Tomas Rossi sat at the bar, alternating from taking whiskey shots and tokes from a large bong. The only other two people in the bar were the old blind black jazz guitarist playing "Misty" on the small stage and his teenage daughter of the same name, who was acting as bartender for Tomas. Misty's pretty mulatto face face was drawn with concern as she shakily poured Tomas another drink, and which he downed faster than she had poured it. "Isn't there anything you can do Mr. Rossi?" Misty finally asked the question that was on her lips for an hour or more. "I'm not a doctor, are you? Is your father? I've made everybody as comfortable as I could, but as far as I can tell, they are all barely alive, and won't stay that way long if we can't find a way to feed them," Tomas took another toke, then said in a hoarse sounding voice as he breathed in deep the thick smoke, "I checked Dr. Mikal's office, and I sure as Hell don't see any equipment or supplies that can feed 323 people intravenously. Every Votan in the village is comatose, with only we three humans remaining unstricken, and I... Hell I'm just a sailor with a love of the sea and a decent tenor voice and haven't a clue what to do next." The skinny young girl poured Tomas another drink with one milk chocolate colored hand as the other clutched at a small silver cross hanging around her neck, replying, "You shouldn't cuss Mr. Rossi. I'm sure the Lord will provide. I'll pray on it," Then she bowed her head, closing her brown eyes tight, and began praying, "Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name..." Tomas drained his shot glass of whiskey, watching the young girl pray, thinking to himself after quickly dismissing a lustful thought about playing Adam and Eve,"You do that Misty, and I sure as Hell hope you get more than a busy signal, because it's going to take a miracle to save our Votan friends." |
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Post by Marcel Lestrange on Oct 2, 2016 19:28:27 GMT
"Strange!" said man by the radio equipment. "What is strange?" asked Boris. "The silence. Radio silence, to be precise, Sir. During all that time, I haven't heard a single distress call yet. If they are in trouble then asking for help would be logical thing to do..." "Unless they are not able to do it," stated Boris. "Or they aren't in trouble at all. We have to check the situation but avoid unnecessary contacts with these...guinea pigs. Instead of sending out a reconnaissance team we use modern technology. Prepare to establish the link between us and the recognition satellite." "Will be done an a minute, Sir," said man by the radio equipment. His fingers tapped keys and after a minute of clacking he gave a signal. Boris stepped closer and looked at the image of the island on the monitor. "Zoom in!" he ordered. "Closer....closer...Excellent!" The sight made Boris to grin, because...  There were bodies were laying on streets and courtyards...There were bodies in houses. Big bodies, small bodies, thin bodies, chubby bodies. Male and female bodies...All of them were Votans of different species. Every body was laying exactly where the virus hit them. Thermographic scan revealed that they were still alive because bodies emanated warmth. But nobody moved. Except one figure who entered into bar. It was a a figure of a human... "Looks like we hit the Jackpot, gentlemen!" said Boris victoriously. "Only inhabitant who still stands on feet is a human! A renegade, but still a human. Late Doctor Euthanasius did an excellent job, so maybe...just maybe his name will be written into history books along with ours and those visionaries who worked for the Cause before us! I am not sure how the monkey did it, but...What a lovely sight! Soon this kind of sight will be seen all over the world! It's our duty to make that happen!" |
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Post by Erika Widowmaker on Oct 3, 2016 10:50:50 GMT
Erika Widowmaker thought the Chancellor's state dining room was pretentious beyond measure, but her son, Chancellor Cael, insisted that the family eat their supper there every evening. A dining table that seats twenty two was far too large for just the five of them - herself, her son, her daughter Kara, and her two grand children - but Cael said they must for appearance's sake, so there they were, him sitting at one end of the table and her at the other, with the rest of their Irathiant family sitting huddled around her. Teagan Allyn, the Votan Collective's human Minister of Human Relations and her son's paramour, had a standing invitation to join them, but she insisted that she had breakfast with the Chancellor every morning, and dinnertime was a time for their family bonding, to which Erika couldn't disagree.
Still, Erika felt the dining situation was just one indicator of her son's growing aloofness from those he cared about and who truly cared about him. Outwardly, Cael was the same charismatic, idealistic, and capable young man that she had raised and who the people of the Votan Collective had elected as their leader; but inside her son Erika knew dwelt a second personality, that of the ruthless assassin she referred to as "Fakebule," but who ever since her arrival had seemed to be hiding in the background, at least from her.
The family was quiet, even her two normally rambunctious grandchildren as the Castithan handmaidens brought out the first course of their seven course meal, which was a rich Hellbug soup made delicious with traditional Irathiant spices. Erika was grateful that Irathiant spices were one of the few things that the Votans could bring with them from their home planets and which was able to be cultivated on Earth unchanged. She sometimes wondered it wasn't really just a racial home sickness that had caused the Votans to engage in the disastrous terra-forming of the Pale Wars instead of attempted genocide of the human race. Whatever the reason, terra-forming had left the Earth a ravaged and much more dangerous place then before the Votans arrived, and now both the five Votan races - or was it six, as she was never sure whether she should count the Volge or not as a Votan race - and the humans had to cope with the consequences of their actions.
As Erika contemplated such events while she sipped her soup as the rest of her family thought thoughts of their own, until all their mental reveries were interrupted by the sudden entry into the dining room by Lieutenant Sarae Maas of the Chancellor's own Elite Guard, dressed immaculately in her unit's dress uniform adorned with her various medals. Erika looked at her with her large jade green eyes, thinking not for the first time that Lieutenant Maas was one of the most beautiful Irathiant women in the Collective, and had proven herself both intelligent and capable during very trying times when the Bay Area Protectors were last in Capital City. Erika wished, perhaps with a touch of racial bigotry, that her son was attracted to Sarae instead of Teagan as Sarae would be a much better match for her son Cael than the human, but knew better than to play match-maker, for both of her son's personalities were of one mind when it came an affair of the heart. As Erika flashed a slight smile of encouragement at her, Lieutenant Maas stood at attention and saluted smartly, waiting for Chancellor Cael to acknowledge her presence, which he did with a casual wave of his red clay colored hand.
"Sorry to interrupt your dinner Chancellor," Began Lieutenant Maas, "But knowing your interest, I thought you should know immediately that our agent on 'The Island' failed to report on time. Normally, one missed report would not be alarming, but given this is 'The Island' and that our agent their is an Indogene who is very meticulous in such things, I thought you should know as soon as possible."
'The Island' was one of the worst kept secrets of the Votan Collective. It was where all Votan political dissidents who were artistic and too high profile to just disappear were exiled from the beginning of the Pale Wars to even recent times. The Votan Collective had treated it for some time as less of a prison and more of a reservation, where some of the Collective's top artistic talent could thrive, and many artists today actually clamored for entry into 'The Island', which the residents had renamed Elysium - a human name that Erika personally thought was named so just to rile some of the more conservative government officials in the Votan Collective. When Chancellor Cael first took office, he offered Elysium's exiles complete amnesty, but very few of them took advantage of his offer; instead preferring to remain there to create happily in the peace and quiet of their tropical paradise. The Votan Collective continued to supply them and protect them as a natural preserve, and in exchange the Elysium artists sent their creations back home to the Votan Collecive to be admired by the public.
Chancellor Cael's jade green eyes so like his mother's narrowed as he sat straight up, his spine rigid against his chairs' high backrest before ordering, "Lieutenant Maas, take a squad of your men, and a medical team just in case, and check out what may be the difficulty. It might just be technical difficulties, so be sure an bring a technician, but I would rather not be known as the Votan leader who let a national treasure slip though his fingers while he ate dinner. Take one of our new super sonic transport prototypes, as it will be a good test of its performance as well."
"Very good sir," Answered Lieutenant Mass with a curt salute.
As Lieutenant Mass turned to begin her mission, Erika had a sudden idea, and with a reassuring squeeze to her daughter Kara's hand, asked, "One moment Sarae - i mean Lieutenant Mass - and congratulations on your promotion," Then turned to her son, "By your leave, I would like to accompany Lieutenant Maas on her mission. I will stay out of the way, it is her command, but I have some old friends on the island that I have not seen in ages and really, I'm starting to feel cooped up and could use some fresh air."
Chancellor Cael smiled fondly at his mother, then replied, "Of course. You go and visit if all is well, but if not, stay on the plane and just let the lieutenant do her job. We'll get along here somehow without you until you get back."
Erika stood up, dropping her napkin on her plate of unfinished soup, excusing herself from the table and following after Lieutenant Maas, excited to get out even if the trip turned out to be a boring routine as opposed to an exciting adventure.
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