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Post by Chris Robet on Jan 26, 2015 13:35:46 GMT
Reeling from the hug which feels like I must've lost a lung from I point, the strange Castian man down the hall before going back to work on the engines, trusting that with batman still on security this man would be scattered particles if he was bad. Going over to the vehicle I unload all the gear before scanning for any hidden bombs.
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Post by Atticus Batman on Jan 26, 2015 13:55:49 GMT
Receiving Belle`s call, I quickly put on all my Collective infiltrator armor and re-holster my pistol. I look at Lady who had walked into my room, but just stood there dancing to my songs instead of saying anything.
I put on my mask, then grab my Collective Infiltrator helm, walk over to Christianna and kiss her lovingly, then put on and secure my helm."I do love you, but please say something about anything I told you, before we go out to meet your Father, and I probably get hit or shot when he discovers your Boyfriend, I hope that`s what you see me as, is the legendary Atticus Batman and infamous `Harbinger of Death`."
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Post by Lady Christianna on Jan 26, 2015 16:27:34 GMT
Lady Christianna heard what Atticus said, but wasn't sure how to answer Atticus, so she moved to the beat of the beautiful music she had never heard before while she thought out her response. Finally, just as she had formulated what to say, she got Belle's message that her father was in the complex. Lady jutted our her lower lip, always marveling how her father had the worst timing in the world when it came to her. He would always bumble into an emotional crisis of hers, not know how to handle it, then bumble out. Last memorable crisis time, he had found her locked in their bathroom when she had her first period. What did he do? He asked if there was anything he could do to help. "What could HE do?" Thought Lady at the time. Luckily, Belle was visiting at the time, and was able to talk Lady down from the panic she was feeling, no thanks to her father.
"And now Dad is here, just when Atticus is pouring out his heart to me, and feeling guilty for things he shouldn't," Thought Lady, "Can't everyone just leave us alone and let us be happy. Just like a rent!"
"You could just let them fight it out, and to the victor goes the spoils," Mischievously thought Minx , her EGO's psyche, on the telepathic link they shared.
"Shut up Minx! And don't call me spoiled!" Thought back Lady to Minx.
Atticus grabbed his Collective Infiltrator helm, walked over to Christianna and kissed her lovingly, then put on and secure his helm, saying, "I do love you, but please say something about anything I told you, before we go out to meet your Father, and I probably get hit or shot when he discovers your Boyfriend, I hope that`s what you see me as, is the legendary Atticus Batman and infamous `Harbinger of Death`."
Lady frowned as she looked up at him with big pink eyes, then stood up on her tip toes, touching first the scar on his throat, lingering there with a gentle touch, then tapping once the chin of his helmet with a delicate white forefinger, saying as a matter-of-fact, "History," then added as she smiled up at him with as much feeling as he had ever heard in her voice "Love ya NOW!"
Just then, Lady got the second warning about her father from Belle, that he was headed to the war room but that Belle would take him to the dining hall instead, whereupon Lady rolled her pink eyes, turned on her heel heading out the door to the mess, muttering just one word, "Rents..."
Meanwhile, Belle was racing down the hall to intercept Bocar, mentally cursing the designer of the Casti Business outfit she wore, thinking, "What idiot thinks it's a good idea to put high heels on boots!?!?!"
"Belle!" Bocar boisterously called from down the hall, "It's so good to see you! Vo is well I hope!" But then he laughed, "Or maybe not! I'd give him a run for his money for your heart if I was but ten years younger!"
Belle slowed down, smiling and embracing the bear of a man. She had known Bocar for over a year, her sponsor into her present clan, and one of her best friends, but he had always been a gentleman to her, never acting or speaking at being anything but her friend. Before Vo became her confidante as well as her lover, Bocar was who Belle turned to whenever anything bad happened to her. His first inclination was always to go out and defend her honor, and once she had talked him out of that, he would give her sage advice as to how to really proceed. Bocar was the closest person Belle had to a parent in the Bay Area, so it became quite natural to see Lady as a little sister to be protected and nurtured. Belle was afraid Bocar would think she had done neither as to Lady's present relationship with Atticus.
Belle took Bocar's arm in hers, heading them both to the Complex's mess hall, smiling as she chatted, "Let's get some fresh coffee! You must have left the Iron Demon Ranch early to get here this fast! Bet my clan mates weren't happy getting up so early to load that Durango of yours!"
"Oh, bunch of whiners and lowlifes, " Joked Bocar as he walked. "They have become an even more unruly lot since you've been gone Belle, if that's possible!"
"Yeah, I missed you yahoots too!" Laughed Belle, as she entered the mess, settling the two of them down at a table with two steaming mugs of coffee.
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Post by Vo Kshaa on Jan 26, 2015 19:20:00 GMT
When Belle and Bocar settled down at the table, Vo appeared in the doorway with a plate full of cookies.
"Hey Bocar! Glad to see you!" he grinned widely as he took his seat next to them.
They talked about some affairs in the clan, then Vo sent to Belle through his EGO, "Shall we let him know about our next mission? I mean, I think we'll need a whole bunch of weapons which are designed to work in space. Votan pulsers, blasters and blast rifles should be fine. Cold fire weapons obviously too. Some rocket launchers I guess but I don't know for sure. What else? Damn, where's Taffer when he's most needed?"
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Post by Taffer on Jan 26, 2015 19:44:52 GMT
Suddenly the base receiver signaled of an incoming transmission, which was encrypted with old group code back from their Europe mission. "Hey there", they heard a voice through static, suspiciously resembling Taffer's, "Allen Telescope Array speaking live. Well, what's left of the array I mean… <static covers his voice> …hate offset Gregorian antennas… <static again> If anyone can hear me please respond so I can be sure I assembled all this stuff right… <static> … seems this was a Dark Matter base for a short time, then abandoned and captured by mutants. They were so kind to give me full control of this couple of still working antennas in exchange of relieving their miseries. And by the way, does anyone have a Dark Matter portal somewhere? My part of it seems functioning enough and I could definitely use one as my ride seems to be able to endure not more than a few miles before it crumbles…"  |
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Post by Atticus Batman on Jan 26, 2015 22:00:05 GMT
Just then, Lady got the second warning about her father from Belle, that he was headed to the war room but that Belle would take him to the dining hall instead, whereupon Lady rolled her pink eyes, turned on her heel heading out the door to the mess, muttering just one word, "Rents..."
As I watch her leave, I disable the music and turn off privacy mode. Then I quickly double check my pistol and refill my flask, before slowly following her out the door. As I do, Dinara alerts me of an encrypted message. "Skragi! What now?!" I watch Lady round the corner towards the Dining Hall, then quickly turn the other direction and run toward the War room.
"Dinara, alert Lady and Belle I am needed in the War Room, but will handle the issue as quickly as possible, then meet them in the Dining Hall."
I arrive at the War room, enter it and listen to the message. After hearing it I do a quick check and see that we do have a working Dark Matter portal in a cargo bay, and double check the security for that bay. "Dinara, alert Belle of the message. Tell her it is urgent. I have it on a replay loop in the War room and on the Base's Security frequency, and tell her that if that is really Taffer, that there is indeed a working Dark Matter portal in one of the Cargo bays. I have all security measures up and running in there, so she should be able to handle any thing that happens, since I will obviously be busy in the Dining Hall."
I then quickly check my security protocols again grumbling that one of Belle's codes got Lady's father into the base which is why I got no warning, and head to the Dining Hall, to face Lady's father. thinking, "Kakusi, we need to keep ourselves in control for this one. Man, this is a good reason why, I was better off alone!"
Dinara replies with, "But then you wouldn't have your Snow Angel. Would you Atty?"
I grumble at her then increase my speed towards the Dining Hall, because Dinara is right. Lady and even this ragtag group are what matter to me these days. So I better face the music sooner rather than later. I get to the dining hall and walk in Well composed and in my usual menacing, imposing and controlled manner. Headed towards Belle and Lady. |
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Post by Chris Robet on Jan 26, 2015 22:22:00 GMT
Jacking into the intercom systems I proceed to announce, "Everyone within 500 meters of the vehicle bay please go to a different location as I will be doing a test of the newly repaired engines in five minutes. I repeat 500 meters away in 5 minutes as the engines may explode." I sit in the pilot seat and nervously await the end of the five minutes.
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Post by Atticus Batman on Jan 26, 2015 23:00:48 GMT
As I enter the Dining Hall, I hear Chris's message and quickly get to the com console as I say out loud, "Skragi! This is such a fucked up morning!"
I quickly, start entering Security over-ride commands, "Skragi! I can't do it from here! Sorry everyone! Duty Calls! I'll be back when I can!" I quickly run out of the Dining Hall and back to the War Room. After messing with all the systems there I manage to get a secured Force-field up around the vehicle bay Chris is in. with less than a minute of Chris's countdown left. Then get on the com system. "Robet, this is Atticus. I have a maximum intensity security field up around the vehicle bay. Although more warning would have been nice. Anyway the only unsafe place to be now is...well where you are. Try not to blow yourself up! I do not want to inherit that stink-bomb dropping bug, Nor can we afford to lose everything in there! That includes you! Good luck!! Atticus out."
I bring it up on a monitor and just stand there and watch, wondering what else can go wrong, and hoping Belle can handle the Taffer situation, and Lady can deal with her dad longer. While watching the monitors, I open a secured and private channel to Lady. "Snow Angel, I love you too, NOW and MUCH LONGER. You are all that matters in my life. I look forward to meeting your father, but I am dealing with an incoming Dark Matter portal issue, and a fool trying to blow himself up! I will get there as soon as I can get the threats to our and more importantly your safety handled. Love you completely MY SNOW ANGEL." I then go back to monitoring the situations closely.
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Post by Belle Starr on Jan 27, 2015 1:57:14 GMT
MOM relayed Taffer's message to Belle, whereupon Belle exclaimed, "Holy crap-on-a-stick-times-two!"
A look of concern crossed Bocar's craggy face as he asked, "What is it Belle? What message did your EGO receive?"
Belle forgot for a second that as an ark hunter, one of the originals from aboard the ERS New Freedom, Bocar had his own EGO unit, with years of experience using it, and any white lie she might tell he could easily see through because he was very astute in most things. More to the point, Belle was a terrible liar, so she answered honestly, "One of our fire team needs a Dark Matter portal exit from a dangerous situation! We have one in the cargo bay next to the hangar, but it was disconnected and secured when it was suspected that a Dark Matter intruder entered this complex through it before our European mission. It's still there, but I haven't a clue how to get it up and running! If it was human technology, then my machinist background would help, but Dark Matter tech...!"
Bocar smiled calmly as he said, "You forget my dear, that I was a General in the Votan army during the Pale Wars. Those portals were how I got around the battlefield so quickly, and they were always delicate machinery. I often couldn't wait for technical support to get one up and running, so I learned how to trouble shoot their repair myself. Show me to the culprit!."
Belle got up from the table in a flurry, grabbing Lady Christianna's short-barreled shottie that Lady had brought with her from the target range, and led Bocar towards the cargo bay with the Dark Matter portal, hoping Chris and Atticus would be able to clear the hangar of obstacles since they had to go through there to get to it, saying, "Follow me Bocar!"
As he got up to follow her, Bocar turned to Lady and said good naturedly as he winked one pink eye, "Duty calls! I enjoyed meeting your young man in the hangar! Seems like a nice chap, for a human that is!'
As Bocar followed Belle out of the mess hall in a rush to the cargo bay, Lady followed them with her wide pink eyes, saying after they exited the room, "What? Huh?"
Lady then shrugged her slight shoulders, grabbing a cookie from the tray Vo had brought in, and after taking a bite, turned to Vo saying, "Good. Got milk?"
As Belle and Bocar hurried down the hall, Bocar commented, "That was Atticus Batman, wasn't it, who entered the mess hall and than left? I recognized him from the wanted posters Law Keeper Cooper once put up to apprehend him. He's very dangerous, you know, even to be just around. He's made many, many, enemies in the Bay Area."
"Haven't we all, Bocar?" Answered Belle as she ran, sighing before she said , "Atticus is a true friend, and I trust him with my life!"
Bocar laughed, "It's not your life I'm worried about! You I know can handle yourself! Lady is only a child."
"You would be surprised how much she has grown up!" Muttered Belle under her breath.
"What did you say my dear! My old ears aren't what they were!" Replied Bocar, wheezing slightly from the exertion, "Better slow down or I'll be yelling Bocar down! Any way, about that wanted poster! The clan was having a party one night at The Crater, I think you were in Florida at the time, and after one too many drinks, Somedude, our fearless leader, decides the clan should collect the bounty to pay for the next party! So, we all went after the famous, or infamous Atticus Batman! He led us on a merry chase that night he did! He didn't kill any of us, not that night, but I and the roller I was driving ended up in the Pacific Ocean! I think that chase cost the clan twice the scrip we would have gained from the bounty, but it was a glorious time! The clan still talk about it at the ranch during down times!"
Belle and Bocar were at the door to the hangar making it convenient for Belle not to reply as she typed in the security code into the pad at the side of the door. Belle reaffirmed it was safe to enter with Chris and Atticus, and so they crossed the hangar though a grey haze of smoke, then repeated the security process with the cargo bay door. They found the dormant Dark Matter portal, which Bocar quickly got in working order.
Leaving Bocar to tend to the portal, Belle rushed though the portal, the shotgun at the ready, wishing she was dressed in her Liberty Trooper armor instead of her Casti business suit, but glad she still had her Thorn Liro charge blade in her suit pocket as her EGO searched for Taffer's and Belle whispered into the darkness, "Taffer?"
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Post by Chris Robet on Jan 27, 2015 5:44:50 GMT
Starting the ships engines I am greeted with a beautiful melody of the revving of the engines. With tears in my eyes I call out on the intercom, "Guys we are now spaceworthy I am looking forward to our continued adventures into the unknown. We now have the power to go anywhere and do anything we are no longer bound by anything on earth. Preparations can now start in earnest. I am looking forward to joining you on the moon over and out." I turn of the intercom before leaning back in the pilot seat. Getting up and stretching I work on the ship's turrets replacing the older rusted metal with newer metal scavenged from various places around the base. When the turrets were operational I fired a shot at the wall easily shattering it and the two walls behind it. Figuring that was enough for now I turn to the spacesuit I had begun making for Tim and continue reinforcing the tips of the legs so his feet won't poke through.
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Post by Atticus Batman on Jan 27, 2015 6:23:50 GMT
Watching Belle and the big Castithan running towards the hangers, Kabule, the Irathiant I was long ago, who normally stays in the deep darkness of my mind starts yelling excitedly at me as I see Bocar's face, "Look Half-breed! We know that old man! Our squad was supposed to assassinate him during the Pale Wars! He was to be the next target after leaving that place the humans called Fort Defiance! Small world, the old General that was to be killed during battle by an unknown sniper is your girl's father!" Kabule says the next part with anger, "AREN'T YOU GLAD NOW, THAT COOOOPPPPPPEERRRRRRR KILLED ME?!"
"I have always been glad that Cooper's bullet fractured your mind in two, and that I proved to be the more dominant! Trying to destroy a whole race just to steal their planet is wrong, no matter what!! I am also glad those orders got called off, when Nim and you both went missing!!!!"
"You know, as a military man, he would probably want his daughter to be with a high ranking officer and not a lowly, sergeant Major of the Votan Army! Even that human fool trying to blow up, outranks you now that he is a lieutenant!"
"First of all you are an idiot so shut up! Second of all, you were given a field promotion to first lieutenant before the Battle at Fort Defiance. Third I have looked up your record and hacked through the red tape and redactions. Officially you were a war hero killed at the Battle of Fort Defiance, and posthumously promoted to Captain. In the off-record and redacted files you are still listed as MIA. However in all the records you are listed as: Captain Kabule of the Votan military and part of a specialized Dark Matter unit. Now shut the hell up! I do not want or need you bugging me right now! I need to make sure my friends, family, and Girlfriend are alright. three things you never had!"
"I never needed them either! Wait, did you say Specialized unit?! Is that their way of saying Politically backed Hit Squad?!"
"Who cares. It never happened, and nobody knew who was to assassinate him or that he was to be assassinated at that time. It is the past. I even agree with his opinion that we should all live together. So let it go, and shut up! You annoy me!"
I continue watching the monitors, and saw Belle and Bocar, go through the Hangar and enter the Cargo Bay. I watch the cargo bay monitor as they repair and reactivate the portal, then step through it. Then I bring the vehicle bay back up on the main monitor, with a smaller monitor keeping track of Lady to make sure that she is safe. Unfortunately the Vehicle bay is still filled with smoke, and none of my thermal or life detection systems are currently working in the Vehicle Bay.
Fortunately that is when I hear Chris's message coming through.
"Chris all I see there is smoke, I am activating the venting system to clear the air in there."
I turn on the industrial turbines to remove all the smoke and polluted air, and filter fresh air in. As it clears up, I survey the damages, while bypassing some damaged systems to reactivate all the security and scanning systems in the hangar bay.
"Chris did you really need to destroy the retaining wall and blast wall?! Now I not only need to find personnel, I also need to find a contractor! Hmm perhaps I will leave that up to Belle's staff. Anyway get a gun and be on standby, just incase Belle calls for backup. You are the closest, since the portal she used is in the cargo bay next door to that hangar!"
I then look at the monitor of the Mess hall and see that Vo and Lady are both still in there. Talking and waiting to hear if everything is fine. I decide to just tell them in person, while making sure Dinara can monitor all of our secured channels from almost anywhere in the base.
I quietly walk into the Dining hall. Since I am still wearing my blue mask under my helm, I remove the helm as I turn Lady around and kiss her lovingly. I feel her melt into the kiss. After I break it, I put my helm back on.
"Alright. I am sure you heard the fool didn't blow up. However he did fill the hangar with smoke and destroy the retaining wall and blast wall. Not sure if I should get a repairman or give him the equipment and tools to rebuild them better, himself."
I then Look at Vo.
"I hope you are feeling better after that shock this morning. Anyway, the system still hasn't cracked the message that was being transmitted to the base last night. And I haven't heard back from Belle or Lady's father yet. Hopefully they will return soon with Taffer. They have 30 minutes then I am going after them."
I then lean against a wall and Lady leans back into my chest and I happily wrap my arms around her from behind and hold her to me, forgetting for a second that her father may be back soon and probably wouldn't approve of me, as I continue talking to them, making sure I can still hear all of our com channels.
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Post by Taffer on Jan 27, 2015 7:22:25 GMT
"Hello Belle!" she heard Taffer's voice from behind and its owner emerged from darkness. Taffer was standing on the opposite side of the portal which became nothing more than a pile of charred metal now.
"Well", he said smiling, "Good news you did receive my message, that means I assembled it right after all. With all that is left here, this complex can monitor objects in space and send and receive data to Top Notch and the base in San Fran as we confirmed now. Bad news, this portal was on its last breath already when I found it. So I guess we'll have to find another way back to San Fran. I think I was too excited to hear from you and you thought I'm in danger? Well, I'm not, the facility is under my control and I even had the Dark Matter defense grid running. It will keep this place safe from hellbugs and probably even mutants if they won't be to eager to overcome the defenses. Anyway, Belle, I'm so glad to see you again!"
He took the microphone again and sent another transmission to the base, "Taffer again. I'm safe and Belle is safe with me. The portal is destroyed so we'll have to take the long way home. See you soon!"
He turned to Belle again, "Well, I think we may start working on getting one of those mutants' APCs running, because my ride definitely won't be able to handle us two. Not that I imply you're that heavy, just this engine-on-a-frame is in that bad condition from my trip from Alaska. No need to keep our friends waiting more than they already have to". He looked at Belle in her Casti business suit again, and added laughing, "Those mutants could have had one limousine in their garage, just in case VBI's higher-up decides to visit their base you know. Oh well, at least there should be a set of workwear somewhere nearby".
While they were working, Taffer told her the story of his return.
He woke up at the mutants' base somewhere near Rome and his EGO informed him they took him to their lab and were about to extract her from his neck. Being rather brainless, they didn't notice he was in consciousness but playing possum until it was too late. Taffer escaped the base, took one of their helicopters and flew it to Russia as he didn't trust mutants' tech to fly over the ocean. In Russia, he exchanged the old copter for a hovercraft they use there to travel a rough terrain and hired a driver so they could drive non-stop to the eastern edge of the continent. Then he took a boat to Alaska and traveled all the way south to find this facility, the one he was always looking forward to visit.
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Post by Atticus Batman on Jan 27, 2015 11:28:15 GMT
Hearing Taffer's message, I reluctantly let go of Lady, and go to the com console send Taffer a simple message back saying that We understand and that I will hold things down until they get back. All I can do now is hope he received it. Then I send a base-wide message, saying what happened with Belle. Then I walk back to Lady.
"Sorry Tianna. Starr Eyes....Belle, got herself a one way portal trip. So her and Taffer will be a while, which means your father will end up back in here soon, looking for you. So I must unfortunately let you go for now. However you know where my room and private armory are anytime you want to feel my arms on you." I smile and wink at her with that comment.
Then I remove my helmet, once again revealing my blue mask, then give her a quick kiss. As I walk over to the cupboards to find a bottle of Irath rum, I concentrate and cause a blue aura to glow around my body for a quick second as my mask and concealed jumpsuit are altered to cover all of my face and neck, except the eyes and mouth. As I grab some rum, I turn around and see Vo K'shaa just staring at me and Lady quietly chuckling at his response.
"Sorry. I have grown accustomed to the ability to use my Grid's electrical field to make my blue garments,. I forgot for a second, that somebody I hadn't revealed that talent to, was in the room."
I then take a swig of the rum, set my helm on the table I am next to, and sit down facing the door and lean back against the table behind me that I stuck my helm on, waiting for Bocar to come back. I notice Lady glance at my lap, and then the spot next to me, then the door, as if she is deciding if she wants to stay where she is, sit next to me, or just say "screw daddy" and sit on my lap since we both like the contact with each other, even if my body is fully covered with my armor including my gloved hands.
As I watch her, I smile and shrug my shoulders to let her know it's her decision, and I will not stop her no matter what she decides. Then I think to myself, "This could be interesting."
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Post by Belle Starr on Jan 27, 2015 14:15:17 GMT
As the machine crumbled, Belle Starr closed her blue eyes tight, her rose petal lips making a pretty pout as she thought, "Holy crap-on-a-stick times three!", but then opened her eyes wide smiling and rushing over to give Taffer a friendly hug, saying to him, "Looks like I leaped before I looked, literally and figuratively! It's been one heck of a day, Taffer!"
Belle took her VBI encrypted hailer out of the jacket pocket of her business suit, as she continued smiling and speaking, "However I think I have a way home that will get the team all together fairly quickly! VBI has a research station and I'm betting they have another one near here! Lady managed to haul my sorry naked self out of the rubble after last mission, and our mission plane just got us near the lab in Italy, then they picked us up in a copter taking us to that base. Within a few hours, with my clearances confirmed, a VBI supersonic stealth jet picked us up and brought us home to the Bay Area! With all the ark debris cleared, it's a lot safer to fly the friendly skies now! Don't see why VBI can't do it again, especially since I look much more like a VBI executive this time! We can be home within hours, and if you don't want anyone to find this base, let's hike out of here a ways before I make the call! And don't worry about clothes for me, as my suit has thermal controls to keep me warm and I'm wearing my EL Darkest Night shield, and it still looks slimming!""
Belle giggled melodically, "I can keep us safe with this wonderful sawed-off shotgun and it's two bullets! What was I thinking?!?!?"
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Post by Lady Christianna on Jan 27, 2015 15:03:18 GMT
Lady Christianna frowned, then took the chair next to Atticus moving it right next to his, then sat down, taking one of his large hands in both her small ones as he leaned on his shoulder, making herself comfortable as they waited together for her father. Then she grabbed another cookie from the platter on the table with one hand, nibbling on it as she waited.
Bocar entered the mess looking a bit disheveled, the smoke ruining the polish on his armor and several black grease streaks on his chalk white face, his shock of white hair no longer neatly combed. He took in the room with a glance of his intense pink eyes, focusing his attention at the pair of lovers sitting at the table. Bocar frowned as he walked calmly to the kitchen, where he poured two glasses of POW milk. He brought the glasses back with him when he sat down at the table across from the couple, putting one glass in front of himself and the other in front of Lady, then sat back and stared at the couple.
Bocar raked his hands backwards through his hair before speaking, "I'm guessing the young man in the hangar is not you boyfriend! Good thing, as he seems a bit trouble prone!" Bocar kept a poker face as he grabbed a cookie from the platter and took a bite, then turned to Vo and smiled saying to him, "These are really quite tasty!"
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