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Post by Vo Kshaa on Feb 7, 2016 13:10:41 GMT
"You've heard what our Commander said, so let's go get to work!" Lu exclaimed, ushering Constantines outside the compound, where the spaceship was located. "Besides, I'm eager to see my brother again", she added with a wink, "You two definitely can relate to it." Once they got close to the group of people busy with unloading the parts for the repairs, Lu put her finger to her lips and placed her decoy to the left of Vo Kshaa as she tapped him on his right shoulder. While he turned his head to the right, she quickly switched her place with her decoy, whispering "Boo" at Vo's left side. "Hello brother," Lu said smiling as Vo finally turned around to see her. "Meet Attila and Atika Constantine, both new to our team but already showed their skills in our little anti-mission. Taffer sent us to help you with the repairs. Attila is good with mechanics and Atika is our communication expert, so I think you'll find a good task for each of us. And you can safely remove your sunglasses as I've found out the color of our eyes doesn't bother them the slightest. Something connected with twin powers I suppose." Vo took off his sunglasses and tried to smile but Lu could definitely see sadness in his eyes. There was no need to explain to her why because she already had heard the news of several girls from their team missing, including Belle Starr. Lu jumped up to Vo immediately and embraced him in a hug, stroking the back of his head as she did and whispered, "We'll find her. You can count on me. So let's get these repairs done so we can start our search." Vo broke the hug and nodded to Lu with a sad smile on his face. There was no need for more words. He knew her offer was sincere and he appreciated that. "It's always nice to meet the newcomers," Vo said to the Constantines, "Here's Chase Lonehart, of whom you have probably heard of, and here's Archer. Hey, that's not for you!" Vo exclaimed bumping a dog-size scrapper which already aimed its scanner at one of the parts scattered around. "Okay people, once the formal introduction is done, let's get to work before these mechanical pets find their own ways to utilize them. Slipknot's crew did a good job repairing the ship's hull during our absence, so the only thing that's left to repair is a damaged engine. Lu and Atika, the engine's powering and control system will be your part of work. Attila, you come with me, we'll assemble the mechanics. I'm uploading all the schematics to your EGO." As they got to work on the engine, Vo noted that Attila was a very picture of a Murphy's law. He was quick on assembling things together, but anything that could be assembled in a wrong way, was done exactly that way. Each time Vo was distracted by another scrapper trying to gnaw on some small part, on his return he saw something set in a way that would make the engine explode on its first power on or make some parts in it wear out during their first flight. He sighed with relief when Archer started to play her harmonica as it seemed to sooth the scrappers and made them listen to it in a somewhat mesmerized state. Now Vo could concentrate on the work, so he thoroughly examined what was already assembled and watched Attila at work to see where exactly he makes mistakes. He found out Attila was applying an intuitive approach to his work, frequently tracing the edge of the part and searching for its proper placement. It made Vo smile as he was intuitive as well, but there was one flaw that Vo thought could be easily corrected. "Look, you've placed the thrust bearing the wrong way," Vo pointed at the part which Attila had just set in place. "You see, it's not enough to find a proper place for the part so that it seemingly fits in. You must imagine how the whole thing would work and what function your part will do in it and how. Let's see. The particle stream will rush from there and push the turbine this way. The way you've set the bearing, the pressure applied on the turbine's axle will easily break it apart. Now let me turn it around. Now look, the way it's placed now, the pressure will only make it sit firmly on its place while allowing the turbine rotate freely. It's easy to understand once you look at how it's designed and at which direction the force is supposed to be applied to it. Once you've visualized it in your head, it's easy to determine how it should be placed. Your EGO may help you with this a lot." With that explained, the work went much faster as two Irathients could work in sync without the need for Vo to re-do Attila's part. "We are ready for the test launch," Vo finally said as their part was done, "Lu, how it's going on your side?"
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Post by Attila Constantine on Feb 7, 2016 13:31:50 GMT
"You've heard what our Commander said, so let's go get to work!" Lu exclaimed, ushering Constantines outside the compound, where the spaceship was located. "Besides, I'm eager to see my brother again", she added with a wink, "You two definitely can relate to it."
The Constantine twins agreed and accompanied Lu to meet her brother Vo. As they followed her, Attila made sure he stayed back enough to admire her firm ass. However his sister Atika, knowing her twin so well, of course instantly realized what he was up to and stepped back t be next to him and quietly told him in their made up twin-speak, to knock it the heck off BEFORE Lu or Lu's brother caught him staring at Lu's bottom. Then she gave him a Gibbs slap for emphasis. Attila took one last look at Lu's backside, then he readjusted his gaze to make his sister happy, as they quickly caught back up to Lu.
"Hello brother," Lu said smiling as Vo finally turned around to see her. "Meet Attila and Atika Constantine, both new to our team but already showed their skills in our little anti-mission. Taffer sent us to help you with the repairs. Attila is good with mechanics and Atika is our communication expert, so I think you'll find a good task for each of us. And you can safely remove your sunglasses as I've found out the color of our eyes doesn't bother them the slightest. Something connected with twin powers I suppose."
"It's always nice to meet the newcomers," Vo said to the Constantines, "Here's Chase Lonehart, of whom you have probably heard of, and here's Archer. Hey, that's not for you!" Vo exclaimed bumping a dog-size scrapper which already aimed its scanner at one of the parts scattered around. "Okay people, once the formal introduction is done, let's get to work before these mechanical pets find their own ways to utilize them. Slipknot's crew did a good job repairing the ship's hull during our absence, so the only thing that's left to repair is a damaged engine. Lu and Atika, the engine's powering and control system will be your part of work. Attila, you come with me, we'll assemble the mechanics. I'm uploading all the schematics to your EGO."
After Lu took them to meet Vo, they were introduced to Vo and Chase, as well as meeting Archer again, and Attila once again took a few admiring glances at Archer's body before focusing on his tasks, while Atika went with Lu so they could do theirs.
Then Attila happily got a hold of some of the tools and started helping Vo in every way that he could an the young nomad even managed to quickly prove to Vo that he did indeed have a knack for engineering, even if he was a little reckless in his exuberance of being able to finally do what he loved, not to mention that he had never had an opportunity to work on a spaceship before Slipknot and team brought the two you twin adventurers with them onboard the Vigilant to help rescue Slipknot's former teammate, Atticus Batman, who of course ended up not needing rescuing from anybody but himself. However once Vo was done fighting with the 'pet' scrappers he had to talk to Attila and help him with his mistakes so he would be better at his work.
"Look, you've placed the thrust bearing the wrong way," Vo pointed at the part which Attila had just set in place. "You see, it's not enough to find a proper place for the part so that it seemingly fits in. You must imagine how the whole thing would work and what function your part will do in it and how. Let's see. The particle stream will rush from there and push the turbine this way. The way you've set the bearing, the pressure applied on the turbine's axle will easily break it apart. Now let me turn it around. Now look, the way it's placed now, the pressure will only make it sit firmly on its place while allowing the turbine rotate freely. It's easy to understand once you look at how it's designed and at which direction the force is supposed to be applied to it. Once you've visualized it in your head, it's easy to determine how it should be placed. Your EGO may help you with this a lot."
With that explained, the work went much faster as two Irathients could work in sync without the need for Vo to re-do Attila's part.
"We are ready for the test launch," Vo finally said as their part was done, "Lu, how it's going on your side?"
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Post by Atika Constantine on Feb 7, 2016 13:43:14 GMT
Atika on the other hand, did not enjoy the engineering and mechanical repair aspect of the current assignment but also did what she could. However it wasn't long before she and Lu finished working on the engine's powering and control system with Archer helping them
Then Atika convinced Vo (with Lu backing her up) that it would be best if the three women be allowed to examine and repair all the ship's communications, while the boys continued all the other repairs. As the women walked towards the ship's door, Atika saw her brother Attila watching them, so she smiled and winked, then stuck her tongue out at him as she entered the ship behind the other two and closed the door.
Once the three women were inside the small ship, Atika quietly said, "Let the boys do all that mechanical engineering! Miss Archer, you can go back out and help them if you prefer, but if you help us in here, then there will be a lot less heavy lifting and BORING engine and mechanics talk for you to endure! Besides it would be nice to get to know the other girls I will be working with and would love to call friend, while the boys are too busy with their mechanic work to interrupt or annoy us! So Ladies what do you like to do in your spare time? I love reading, running and learning new languages!"
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Post by Lady Christianna on Feb 7, 2016 14:14:26 GMT
Lady Christianna looked up into Atticus' sleeping face as she lay next to him in their stateroom's bed on the Vigilant, smiling as she saw the grin on his face. Knowing he was exhausted, not just from their sex reunion but from all the energy she had leeched from him during her adventures in Russia, Lady did not want to disturb Atticus from his rest. Lady was careful as she crept out of bed, going to her closet to see what appropriate outfit she had there. Finding one that she thought looked suitable for a person in a command position, she put it on, careful not to make any noise as she did. Quickly, she applied her face makeup, then with her enigmatic smile firmly in place, quietly sneaked out of their stateroom. Lady was a girl with a mission! After her confrontation with Iri, she had time - well when she wasn't making love to Atticus - to think about what Iri had said to her, and concluded that Iri was right! Lady had been a dumb ass, not thinking out her plans on creating Utopia and relying too much on technology and too little on people. If she was going to change the world in her lifetime, thought Lady to herself, she would have to change people, not landscapes. Lady had the perfect plan on how to do so, although it might mean she had to disappear into the San Francisco wastelands for large amounts of time, which wouldn't please Atticus; but as she saw in a movie, the good for the many outweighs the good for the few, or even the ONE, who was her loving husband, Atticus. She had the perfect plan, and unlike her last plan, she wasn't being manipulated by her mother and she had thought it out - for at least a whole hour! She would make sure the twins had plenty of breast milk before she left, and was sure she could get back to Fortress Kshaa before she was declared "MIA" by its staff, but even if she didn't, she felt her mission was just THAT important. First step though, Lady had to get back to the Bay Area and the Vigilant seemed to be stuck in Defiance, but she would change that! Lady had a determined look in her pink eyes as she entered the Vigilant's bridge, shooing the officer who was occupying the command chair and taking his place. Lady sat back in the chair as if on a throne, surveying the bridge crew regally as they stared back with quizzical looks on their faces. "Um... okay then! Let's go home! Back to Fortress Kshaa! Arriba Arriba Andale! Make it so! Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead! You get what I mean!" ordered Lady with a royal wave of her hand. The Vigilant's bridge crew members looked at each other, unsure of what to do since Lady was not only well liked but the wife of the Protector's Commander, the feared and respected Atticus Batman, until the officer she has had shooed from the command chair said in a hesitant manner, "Umm, ma'm? Commander Batman gave us strict orders not to leave until Mr. K'shaa and his team had their vessel fixed and were on their way. He was pretty adamant about it." A frown crossed Lady's pretty chalk white face as her brow furrowed and her pink eyes narrowed in thought before she threw her small hands into the air in resignation, muttering, "Well... don't want to get you in trouble or anything. Hela, Atticus is the supreme commander and all..." Lady made a loud sound of exasperation, pouted, then threw her eyes heavenward as she swung her thin legs so that they hung over one arm of the command chair as she rested the back of her neck on the other arm, looking at the bridge's ceiling as she thought to herself, "Okay, a small setback in my plan. Nothing to sweat. I can still set my plan in motion from here." Still staring unblinking at the ceiling, as if her grand plan was written there in some detail, Lady ordered, "Get me Ralph the Cook at Fortress Kshaa... on a secure channel!"
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Post by Atticus Batman on Feb 8, 2016 12:58:08 GMT
"Too long... way too long..." Lady muttered between gasps, as all thoughts of future escapades to help mankind disappeared in the sensual mist of the shower and the immediate but understandably selfish act of helping her man and herself.
I grunted in agreement and continued my rhythm with Lady. Eventually we both reached orgasm, however as Lady orgasmed she became translucent for a second, and then once again became corporeal but felt like hitting a wall for a second, and then after another orgasmic wave rippled through her she returned to her normal body mass. After I had finished my orgasm at the same time as her final one. I slowly withdrew from her. I leaned back against the wall, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her back into my chest.
As I held her and we calmed down from our strenuous shower activity, I said, "Well you sure know how to relax me don't you Snow Angel? I must say though, that was certainly different but great as always."
After a little longer I completely washed her and she washed me again. Then we got out of the shower, dried each other off and crawled back into our bed naked. It wasn't long before I was sound asleep with her snuggled tightly into my chest.
A while later, I could feel that I was restrained to a hospital bed of some sort and heard somebody standing near me saying to another, " Do you think he or any of them will survive the Grid implantation experiment?"
The second voice said, "Who cares? It is not our problem. Our job is to implant the Grid into these "volunteers" and take excellent notes of what happens between that moment and the moment that we activate their new EGOs."
The first, "Well this one seems to have some strong survival instincts according to his file and quite the temper. So I do hope his restraints hold and he stays subdued until we are done, just in case."
The second said, "Agreed now let's begin."
I heard movement and felt something or somebody being thrust into my body as I heard the screams of the other "volunteers" that the two voices had mentioned. Then my eyes snapped open and I saw them and our guards being killed by Grid that had been released from cryo-tubes by the guards. I fought my restraints trying to get up and onto my tired and shaky feet.
Just then I heard a vaguely familiar female voice in my head yelling, "Atticus snap out of it! Nobody is there! You are in your quarters and hallucinating!...Atticus! ATTICUS! AT-TI-CUS!!!" As the voice yelled my named louder and louder, I grabbed my head in pain and reclosed my eyes in the process in hopes of making the pain go away.
When I reopened my eyes again, I looked around and realized that I was indeed in my Stateroom aboard the Vigilant. I was naked and alone in my bed and I heard that female voice again. Only this time I knew that it was my EGO psyche Dinara and she sounded worried as she said, "Atty! Thank Irzu you are awake! You had me worried. Kakusi and Kabule said that the scene you heard was from the past, from when Kakusi first joined with you and Kabule! Are you alright?! You had me worried! It was like you weren't even here!"
I looked around the room again, looking for my wife Lady as I now remembered that she had been asleep on my chest when I fell asleep, and I mentally answered Dinara with, "Yes I am fine now. Just another flashback from the past that I wish would stay the dak there! No reason to worry. ___Where is Lady?!"
Dinara said, "Don't worry. She left the room a little while ago. So she didn't witness this flashback of yours and she is safe. My sensors show that she is on the Bridge."
I said, "Fine. Have the others left yet? Is the Vigilant still in Defiance?"
She said, "The answer to the first is no and the second is yes. I know I am to wake you when they are ready to head to Lima. Besides the Vigilant is still in it's landing zone in Defiance. So calm down and take a deep breath. Are you sure you are fine? "
"Yes. You know I am used to them and that is one of the reasons I rarely sleep longer than a couple hours. So let it go now."
I then walked over to my armor and clothes. I got dressed and holstered my weapons. Then I left my quarters, as I walked down the halls of the Vigilant, I ran into Tasha Yar, leaving the ship's Mess and on her way to the bridge, as I entered the Mess. She said, "Glad to have you all back Commander."
I managed to hide my persistent agitation at my most recent flashback as I somewhat calmly said, "Agreed. Captain Tasha Yar of Vigilant Security, correct?"
She said, "Yes Commander. Have you talked to Lieutenant Oenfer? Kaj has appointed me as his second during our mission. He also informed me of his new permanent position as Commander of the Vigilant and asked if I'd stay on as his second. Provided you are fine with snaking me away from Security, that is."
I said, "That is fine, since you were already part of the Vigilant's bridge crew anyways, as it's Security Officer. Besides, it's Commander should be allowed to appoint his second. So carry on, Captain Yar."
Then I entered the Mess. I went into the kitchen and rummaged through it's stores until I found some things that I thought Lady may like. Then I prepared to make a meal for the two of us As I prepared the ingredients that I had decided on, I sent Lady a hailer message, hoping she wouldn't hear the slight uneasiness in my voice, as I said, "Hello Tianna. I am in the Mess preparing us some food and was hoping that you would join me soon."
Then I busied myself with the cooking of a meal for the two of us, in hopes that the busy work would calm me and help me get past my most recent flashback, before Lady came in and recognized my agitation.
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Post by Lady Christianna on Feb 8, 2016 14:09:43 GMT
Although she was usually very attentive to her husbands moods, Lady Christianna didn't notice either Atticus' agitation or even what he had prepared for breakfast. Lady's mind was just so full of her dreams and plans at that moment that there was no room for anything else. In the Vigilant's mess, Lady was so excited that she even had a hard time keeping the atoms of her hand cohesive enough to hold the silverware to eat the breakfast he had prepared for her. She made a mental checklist of what she needed to do once she got back to the Bay Area and Fortress Kshaa.
"First," Lady thought to herself, "Got to get an SUV. I think we have a reinforced bulletproof Durango that would be perfect in the garage at Fortress Kshaa. Got to remember to check it for bugs!"
"Second," Lady unconsciously touched the second finger of one small chalk white hand with the index finger of her other, "Got to check Chloe's and Officer's Gish's shift schedule. Don't want to leave Fortress Kshaa when they are on duty - they are just TOO nosy!"
"Third," Lady touched a third finger, "Ralph should have my order ready by then - so if I can just get out of Fortress Kshaa without being noticed - which I've always been good at - I should be able to get to the Mutant District to do my deed, as Belle would say, easy peasy!"
Lady's pretty mouth formed a small "o" and her eyes got wider as she remembered a very important task, adding to her mental list of things to do, "Oh and fourth - or should it be first - got to get a babysitter for the twins and make sure they are well fed before I leave, with plenty of pumped reserve milk so if I don't get back in time for their next feeding, they'll be OK. Maybe Wolfram - he's old and doesn't have anything better to do!"
Lady noticed her unconscious ticking off of her tasks, and glanced over to Atticus, hoping he didn't notice too, but he seemed preoccupied, so she just smiled sweetly and finished her meal. Lady missed having MOM, her EGO's psyche, to take notes for her, but she figured that was another thing she could have looked into once she got back to the Bay Area. Once MOM was back, she hoped she would be as thrilled as Lady with Lady's master plan, although MOM would probably try to talk her out of it as being too dangerous.
"On second thought," Lady thought to herself, "Maybe I better wait to have MOM put back online until AFTER I begin my plan's implementation."
As Lady took the last bite of her meal, she turned to Atticus with bright pink eyes full of dreams and kissed him, saying, "Hela, real good. Thanks!" then smiled her Mona Lisa smile at him, resisting the urge to add, "Bwa ha HA!"
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Post by Vo Kshaa on Feb 8, 2016 21:53:27 GMT
"So Ladies what do you like to do in your spare time? I love reading, running and learning new languages!"
Lu tipped back in her seat and raised her eyes to the ceiling dreamily.
"I like traveling, visiting new places, admiring landscapes. Sometimes I get in the mood of visiting abandoned places, trying to imagine what kind of people lived there. Sometimes I go mountain climbing when the weather is generous enough. You know, In Canadian Desert it highly depends on weather, what you can do today and what you can't. And you probably already know I like to learn and experiment on explosives."
She told about places around Calgary and Red Deer she saw during her life there, about underground rivers and lakes which form a whole interconnected system, tried to explain how exciting it is to find a rare oasis in the desert where a brook finds its way to the surface and feeds some exotic plants. She also told how she found some places where it was relatively safe to watch Razor Rain from. But she also was more inclined to hear what others would tell about themselves and their adventures.
When they heard the engine finally powering up, Lu winkled and said, "I think we can win another couple of minutes and get the boys busy for a little more."
She turned on the comm device and said, "Vo, could you please set up the transmitter on one of the vehicles and circle around the ship so I'd be sure it works in any direction? Thanks! A little slower please."
As she saw the rover slowly rolling around the ship, she smiled and used that moment to chat some more.
"Thanks Vo," she said once the rover made a full circle. "Now make some distance please. Great. Now get as close as possible, I'd like to make sure it won't be overloading."
The rover came close to the ship and Vo even raised its transmission to place it as close to the antenna as possible, but suddenly the signal disappeared. Lu thought of switching the receiver off and back on, but then she noticed that the sound of rover's engine had stopped too but instead a humming sound of some servomotors was heard which Lu didn't hear in that ship before. Full of bad feelings, she turned the radar on, but the rover could not be seen on it. Instead Vo's position was located by her EGO as being right on top of her. When she was about to rush out f the ship to see what happened to Vo and the rover, she saw a small message "Docking Completed" on the screen. She touched it intuitively, thinking that maybe it would give her more information on what was going on, but instead the hatch above her head opened and Vo appeared in it, falling through right at her feet.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Vo muttered as Lu held him in her arms, "Don't ask me what happened, because I don't know either. Let's go out and see."
As they came out of the ship, they saw the rover firmly resting on top of the spaceship with all its wheels and other appendages compactly folded.
"Could you imagine these two are that compatible with each other?" Vo exclaimed, tilting his head. "Guess it means we have one more vehicle to use on our mission and one les vehicle to clutter the space inside. Anyway, let's call Taffer and tell him the ship's ready for takeoff."
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Post by Archer, Frankie J. on Feb 8, 2016 22:03:15 GMT
Frankie shrugged as she looked at Atika and Luuzuk then at the engine team, and back, and again. Guessing she was needed more inside the craft rather that outside, she stepped through the door. Glancing aft she spotted her backpack resting by itself. Someone had taken the liberty of transferring her personal belongings from the Vigilant onto the smaller craft. Just as well and satisfied by it, Archer went forward to the one of the four seats which were the operating stations that effectively composed the functional cockpit of this craft.
The station she put herself in was a place just behind the co-pilot’s seat, and sat perpendicular. There was of course the pilot seat. There was the co-pilot/navigator seat. There was the communicator seat behind the pilot. Then there was the weapons operator seat. Atika’s obvious position was directly behind (not aft) of Archer at the comms station. Using a simple prompt Archer basically introduced herself to the ship. Grabbing her hailer she made a rudimentary network connection between the ship and her handheld communicator. Mechanical, technical, scientific, and complex engineering systems were a complete mystery to her; but relationships, she understood. As long as two or more parts knew a common language effective communication was possible.
“…What do you like to do in your spare time? I love reading, running and learning new languages!” Frankie nearly cut her off by interrupting, “Verify platform page nine four please.” She said to Atika without turning her head from the console in front of her. The screen appeared to be displaying a whole lot of programing jargon. She couldn’t understand most of it except for one or two lines, asking Atika to help confirm what Archer thought she knew. //Invoke hab maintenance} latch.insecure, 2@796}GRBP-3541f script,outer.function/ [PERFORM] :obsolete.exchange,334(exit standard function) INdate/[WEAPN] :domain.name,sd- (12470)callsign: (error090)systemcheck “RIOT” Prose*void main() {concept : identify user {action/prospect87i8 power
Thinking out loud, “This ship’s name is Riot?” The soldier looked at her hailer which what it displayed was that it was newly linked to a system designated as ‘RIOT.’ “Uh,” Frankie began, pausing to concentrate on doing a function then continued, “I listen to music.” Frankie’s modesty doesn’t entirely become her. Fortunately this wasn’t one of those times when one needed to sell themselves. She read, exercised hard regularly, trained in many martial forms, powerlifted, studied several religions, spoke fluently in four languages and could wrestle with menus in eight more, liked to debate, enjoyed board & card games, watched movies, and loved children & animals.
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Post by Wolfram von Eschen on Feb 9, 2016 8:02:12 GMT
"The Eagle has almost landed! I repeat! The Eagle has almost landed!" The War Room of Fortres Kshaa sighed from relief, including Wolfram von Eschen who finally regained his dignified statue after Chloe's impressive singing performance.
"Danke Schön, der Rote Baron," he replied. "I expect you to unload the humanitarian aid for people of Defiance, load the crew on board and start the evac on schedule."
"Done already, Sir! We are on our way back now!"
"Sehr Gut, Sehr Gut! I like it! Ahead of the time table, although I can't offer you extra payment for that, I still like it. Less talk, more walk. That's how things are done, except when one of my close friends is involved...Nevermind that slip of the tongue. Just let me know when you are going to land."
"Will be done, Sir!"
In movies it would be the the first opportunity to picture the moment when the ATC crew shares cigars and so on, but nobody had even a single one to pass it around as a ceremonial Peace Pipe. Instead of that Wolfram ordered them to end their shift and send in another one after that they may get into the canteen and have a small party, adding that the first round of beer is on him because they deserved it. Then he put his hands to the table leaned his jaw to them, because Remy Lebeau needed to rest after his trip and Wolfram decided to remain to his post, until Remy takes over or the air fleet lands in Paradise, whichever occurs first. He stays dutifully on the bridge to command the troops, until everything is done.
At least some of their people will return to their home now. But rest of them are still missing - no sign of Erika Widowmaker or Sandy Bell yet. And Volodja Uljanov went MIA with Marcel Lestrange. Wolfram didn't trusted that arrogant Frenchman at all, because Marcel had sharp and scheming mind and he usually lacked conscious. Except in some cases. Those features made Marcel eligible of being nominated for the dishonourable title of the most untrustworthy man to hang out with. That meant that Volodja Uljanov left Defiance in a really bad company...
"A Schnapps for your thoughts," said voice of Chloe, and Wolfram could hear the whole diatonic scale of pleasant sounds when she filled his and her glass with the product from Wolfram's personal distillery.
"You charming blackmailer, you" commented Wolfram. "But you found the right button to push. I am still thinking about our missing friends, Liebchen."
"Don't worry too much, you wonderful old goat. Some of them will be back soon and we will find the rest of them." This time Chloe put aside her Aussie talk and looked at Wolfram with worried green eyes. Suddenly she smiled and placed a kiss to the top of Wolfram's head whispering: "Our bloody shift gets over as soon they are back and then we both will go, find us some top drop and sangers or snags and..." Chloe's whisper became too quiet to anyone else to hear.
"I am able to learn all those wonderful Australian words of yours, by writing them down with translations, but can you tell me what "Bangaroo" means?" Wolfram asked.
After receiving whispered answer, he grinned and said: "I don't need my black book to remember the meaning of THAT one!"
"I bet you don't, you old goat. We are going make the learning process of that one unforgettable," giggled Chloe and kissed the top of his head once more.
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Post by Atika Constantine on Feb 9, 2016 10:44:32 GMT
Frankie nearly cut Atika off by interrupting, “Verify platform page nine four please.” She said to Atika without turning her head from the console in front of her. The screen appeared to be displaying a whole lot of programing jargon. She couldn’t understand most of it except for one or two lines, asking Atika to help confirm what Archer thought she knew. //Invoke hab maintenance} latch.insecure, 2@796}GRBP-3541f script,outer.function/ [PERFORM] :obsolete.exchange,334(exit standard function) INdate/[WEAPN] :domain.name,sd- (12470)callsign: (error090)systemcheck “RIOT” Prose*void main() {concept : identify user {action/prospect87i8 power
Thinking out loud Archer said, “This ship’s name is Riot?” The soldier looked at her hailer which what it displayed was that it was newly linked to a system designated as ‘RIOT.’ “Uh,” Frankie began, pausing to concentrate on doing a function then continued, “I listen to music.”
Atika looked at the information that Archer showed her and said unphased, "Yes it appears that the ship's designation is Riot. Guess we can tell Mr.K'shaa that the ship actually has a name afterall, but Lu can do that Later. Lu, your turn to answer my question!"
Lu tipped back in her seat and raised her eyes to the ceiling dreamily.
"I like traveling, visiting new places, admiring landscapes. Sometimes I get in the mood of visiting abandoned places, trying to imagine what kind of people lived there. Sometimes I go mountain climbing when the weather is generous enough. You know, In Canadian Desert it highly depends on weather, what you can do today and what you can't. And you probably already know I like to learn and experiment on explosives."
She told about places around Calgary and Red Deer she saw during her life there, about underground rivers and lakes which form a whole interconnected system, tried to explain how exciting it is to find a rare oasis in the desert where a brook finds its way to the surface and feeds some exotic plants. She also told how she found some places where it was relatively safe to watch Razor Rain from. But she also was more inclined to hear what others would tell about themselves and their adventures.
Then Lu came up with ways to keep the boys busy a little longer while the women continued to bond. So while Lu was doing that, Atika told them about how she and her twin brother had left their adoptive family in Mongolia recently as the two had grown tired of the nomadic life in Mongolia even though they loved the beauty of the "wild" place despite the fact that the plants were just as likely to have you for lunch as the animals were, but they couldn't fully pursue their "mechanical" interests in a place devoid of almost all mechanical devices. Nor could they meet interesting people or make new friends and she wanted her own friends instead of just their 'tribal family'. So they said their goodbyes, packed up their few possessions, and hiked to the nearest civilized settlement, but not sure of what they would do when they got there. Shortly after their arrival in the settlement, they had heard that a group of Italians, led by a masked individual, were currently in town but just passing through on their way to a big city where an airship awaited to take them out of the country. Upon hearing that Attila, of course, decided they would talk to those men and see if there was a way that they would give them a lift.
Atika then told of how Attila drug her into the pub that the locals had said the Italians were at. Then Attila went right up to the masked man, introduced them and asked where they were headed and what it would take for them to take the twins with them. Slipknot had said that they were headed to the U.S. to do some training in the Bay area, as it is notorious for having some dangerous arkfalls and Arkbreaks that would make for some great training opportunities for him and his team, not to mention they had some contacts there that they needed to see. Slipknot then told them that since he liked their bold move, at just coming in and approaching him like they did, that the young twins could get a ride with them as far as the Bay area, but they would be on there own from there. However they had to help out in any way necessary during the trip.
Atika said that Attila saw the sparkle in her eye when she heard where the Italians were headed and he quickly answered for them and told Slipknot that they accepted his generous offer. Then she told the basic details of that and the small skirmishes they had been drawn into during the trip, then said, "Shortly after we arrived in the Bay area, Mr. Slipknot took us to where they would be staying and said that he and some of his men had decided to give us some presents that would help us with our new lives in Paradise. That is when he gave us shields and explained what EGOs were and how they helped individuals called Arkhunters have an edge on the competition.
As I had read a book all about my idol, an Arkhunter named Belle Starr located in the Bay area, I already had an idea of what those were but his explanation helped clear it up more for us. Then he informed us that his contact at a place called "The Fork" had agreed to supply him with some "Sentient" Egos and Slipknot and team had decided to give us each one, if we agreed. I was a little reluctant to do so for various reasons, but my reckless brother quickly accepted. So we got EGOs, after all if he can do something so can I only BETTER, and Mr. Slipknot said we could stay with them for a couple more days so we could learn about the Arkhunting way of life from them while we got used to our EGO implants. As you know from what I told you back in Russia, that it wasn't long after that, that Mr. Slipknot had heard about his friend and other contact, the Bounty hunter and Harbinger of Death Atticus Batman, being missing and perhaps in trouble in Defiance with a group calling themselves the Paradise Protectors or Bay Area Protectors or something. So Mr. Slipknot immediately told his contact at "the Fork" to tell that hero group's Rescue team that they would join in the rescue. Then he asked if we would like to go and get some more firsthand experience as mercenaries and Arkhunters. Of course my crazy brother agreed for us. So here we are and that is how we ended up meeting on the Vigilant."
Just then they all noticed the rover came close to the ship and then suddenly the signal disappeared. Lu thought of switching the receiver off and back on, but then she noticed that the sound of the rover's engine had stopped too but instead a humming sound of some servomotors was heard which Lu didn't hear in that ship before. Atika saw the look of worry on Lu's face suddenly, as Lu quickly reached over and turned the radar on, but the rover could not be seen on it. Instead Vo's position was located by their EGOs as being right on top of them. When Atika noticed that Lu was about to rush out of the ship to see what happened to Vo and the rover, and she was ready to follow her new friend to offer her help, Lu saw a small message "Docking Completed" on the screen. Lu touched it intuitively, thinking that maybe it would give her more information on what was going on, but instead the hatch above her head opened and Vo appeared in it, falling through right at her feet.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Vo muttered as Lu held him in her arms, "Don't ask me what happened, because I don't know either. Let's go out and see."
As the K'shaa twins left the ship, Atika glanced at Archer, then looked at the screens that Lu had been looking at. She then scanned the computer codes and realized that their ship, Riot had just assigned a name to the Dark Matter rover that Vo had docked with it. She chuckled slightly upon reading the name that appeared on the screen in Kastíthanu, as it seemed fitting to her given the ship's name.
Then she opened a comm channel with Lu and Vo so they could hear her as she said outloud, "Our ship the Riot, according to it's coding, has just assigned a Castithan name to the rover that Mr. K'shaa has docked with it. It has been designated Garilu, which is Kastíthanu for, "to Raze". So I guess in English, the ship and rover combination would be called the: Riot and Raze. That is unless you or Mr. Taffer want me to change their designations, but I kinda like the combination of: Riot and Garilu, or if you insist it be in English, then: Riot and Raze."
Meanwhile back in the skies above the Bay area, Slipknot and all the people that Atticus had put him in charge of had started to approach their final destination of Fortress Ka'shaa. So Slipknot once again had the pilot of the aircraft that he was in contact Fortress Ka'shaa that they were making their final approach and the fleet was just about to land outside the compound, coincidently in the same clearing that Wolfram had taken the base personnel to earlier, when they had been ordered to abandon base.
After they landed, they were greeted by the Durangos and jeeps that the Fortress had sent to get them with Security Chief Remy Lebeau in the main jeep, as he was rested and felt it was his job as head of Security to be there to see to returning everybody to the Fortress safely. Slipknot and Remy saw to getting everyone transferred back to Fortress Ka'shaa, then the rescue fleets were sent back to where they belonged. After everybody had safely returned to the Fortress, Slipknot asked, Chief Lebeau, if him and his men could visit Fortress Ka'shaa's Mess before they departed, as they could use a nice hot meal after all they that had been through. After Remy contacted Doctor Von Eschen and Miss Mcguyver to make sure it was alright, he accompanied Slipknot's team to the Mess, as he was also hungry and could use a drink.
Shortly after they had entered the Mess Slipknot sat at a table and asked Remy to join him. As they ordered food, Doctor Von Eschen and Chloe MacGyver came in and introduced themselves to Slipknot. Then Slipknot said, "You can call me Slipknot. Care to join us for some food or at least a drink?"
After the two acting base commanders sat down with Remy and Slipknot, Slipknot leaned down from his chair and opened up his rucksack. After he had found what he was looking for, he unwrapped it and sat back up. THen He sat it on the table and there they saw a bottle of vintage Vecchia Romagna Etichetta Nera Brandy.
Slipknot gestured to one of the kitchen staff and the person brought over 4 Brandy sifters. Then Slipknot poured four glasses of Brandy and started to pass them around the table to the others. As Remy took his, he said, "Danks. Dis be smellin good..." Then he tapped the EGO implant in his neck and continued in a matter-of-fact tone, as if there is nothing odd about what he is about to say, with, "But mon Gaienne (my girlfriend), be remindin me dat I shuld only be havin dis one, as I am back on duty." Slipknot raised an eyebrow at that odd statement of Remy's, as it had caught him offguard, but merely nodded in acknowledgment as if it was no big deal, as he had encountered things much more odd or disturbing than that in his lifetime, so it was just another new form of how humanity adapts to the ever-changing world and nothing more to him. Then he handed Wolfram and Chloe their sifters of Brandy. Then Slipknot raised his in a toast. "To the safe return of all that I have returned to you here at Fortress Ka'shaa and to the safe of return of all that are yet to come back!"
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Post by Wolfram von Eschen on Feb 9, 2016 12:38:28 GMT
Oh that brandy...once again it reminded Wolfram about his close friend who also enjoyed taste of it, so his muscles became a bit stiff from reaction to that thought. Chloe, who's pale hand rested on his thigh, felt it and patted soothingly his knee, whispering: "Relax, you old goat. It takes only one stiffened part of yours to make our night worthwhile and it ain't your muscular system, I am talking about. I miss that folk too, but I am not jumping out of my panties because of that. But there is a thing, I am willing to sacrifice my panties for and that thing is right...here."
Her pale hand slid upwards on Wolfram's thigh and rested briefly where Chloe wanted it to rest. "This is the place which should be rigid indeed. Love the reaction," she whispered while her other hand rose brandy shifter to a toast.
Wolfram gulped at that her remark and didn't lift an eyebrow at Remy's one, because it was matter of taste after all. Few decades ago his point of view would have been different, but ever since people started to have EGO implants, having voices in one's head became quite common. Especially when their EGO psyches happened to be sentient ones. After all - his aforementioned brandy loving friend dated an EGO psyche before she regained her corporeal body. Wolfram himself was more conventional about those kind of things, excluding his innocent flirt attempts with Di - their holographic assistant in Psychiatric Department which were an ancient history already. He preferred ladies who were flesh and blood and at moment one of most attractive one of them was sitting by his side, so things were changed and become more excited...Totally excited.
"To our friends," he rose his shifter as well. "They will find their way into trou...home. Yes, home. Let us enjoy the touch of...brandy on our taste buds now. I find it very...stimulating."
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Post by Archer, Frankie J. on Feb 9, 2016 22:31:16 GMT
Still sitting up at the tactical station of the Riot she was seated informally far forward on the chair. Archer continued with pre-checks moving on to familiarizing herself with the Riot’s assets. She looked over the readouts, among them the ship’s armor and shield protection, a 50 kilometer cable wench, weapons, and anti-tracking measures. What almost surprised her was seeing ‘exhaust sinks’ listed. The Riot apparently had limited stealth technology. In the middle of her examinations an automatic update on the screen displayed following a loud mechanical KRRH-CHLUNK from overhead. It reported a docking completion along with an identification, “Good dock.” She confirmed verbally. Resuming her readouts she came across some information she found delightfully surprising as her eyebrows raised and mouth opened involuntarily, reading, “Audio input compatible?” After a short hesitation as if trying to determine what that meant by telepathy, Archer utilized knowledge taught to her by her former comms officer. If she was right in her thinking she’d be able to supplement her interface with verbal keyword commands, potentially reducing precious seconds during engagement. So once she completed a simple integration sequence between her hailer with the ship, she tested her theory speaking through her hailer to the Riot, “Alert proximity?” Without pause the monitor displayed a view of all objects, structures, and persons nearby for 20 meters. A small celebration in her echoed in the form of a clap of her hands, “Target identify.” The screen highlighted potential threats including hard and soft targets. A second successful test made her grin and cuss in L’irathi as she manipulated the console to ignore and clear. Now getting up from the console she went to go make a visual inspection of the Riot’s weapons and ordinance inventory making sure that what was there actually matched with how the computer was keeping correct logs. Though according to when it registered the rover, its logs were accurate. But being too sure wasn’t always a bad thing. Archer was ready now for a mission briefing and was just waiting for “the word.”
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Post by Chase Lonehart on Feb 10, 2016 4:37:16 GMT
Iri had found herself at the NeedWant once more, finding it having picked up a bit. She didn’t find Amanda Rosewater there, as she had hoped to get some advice from her, but she remembered that she was not just the owner of the NeedWant, and the madam to the Night Porters who worked there, she was also the Mayor. Her ability of remembering had sort of been out of place since the whole thing with Chase started. Now, she couldn’t trust herself for reasons beyond her own reasoning. Had she always been so misunderstanding of Chase and their relationship to the point where she didn’t realize that talking about it was a bad thing? As she had told him, monogamy was a new concept that Indogenes like herself learned upon arriving on this planet. And since she had considered Eren Niden as a friend, she didn’t see any harm in, as humans would say, compare notes. Both of their experiences were different, and seeing overlap that could be deducted as “expected in a relationship with one person.” But she knew she screwed up with Chase.
Her hailer began to squawk at her, Iri managing to retrieve it from her pocket. She saw Chase’s face and identification on the display screen, Iri pressing the answer button.
“Hey, Iri,” Chase’s voice came over the hailer. “We’re about to take off. You may want to hustle as quick as you can and get back here.”
“I’ve decided to stay in Defiance for a little while longer. I’ll see you back in the Bay,” she responded before hitting the call end button.
She couldn’t figure out what else she could possibly say to him other than that. She sat the hailer down on the bar and picked up her glass of bourbon, taking a sip from it as the hailer squawked once more. She picked it up, seeing the display showing Chase’s face and info once again. She hit the cancel this time, feeling there was no point in talking any further due to Chase’s attitude towards her. She felt it was probably best to give him the space he needed.
Iri thought back to when Lady had used the Omen control rods on her and the other Indogenes, as well as what appeared to be some of the others from Belle’s group, as well as the stun rods used by them. She had began to recall back to reading information on the trip to Defiance about the Omec tech that Lady had gotten her hands on, and how some pieces managed to make it out. It was from the report that Belle filed that she realized the Omec had come to Defiance with the intention of using it as a beachhead for a full on takeover. Iri knew she needed to talk to someone here about it, as she figured there may be some Omec tech that may have been unaccounted for. She knew that the Omec tech is what allowed Lady her attempt at trying to change the world, and she wanted to make sure that all the tech that had showed up Defiance was accounted for, so that no one could get their hands on it. She was sure that the Edmonton site was long since secured due to Lu Kshaa’s actions when Iri was in a coma, and that any equipment that Lady had gotten her hands on were secured and under tight lock and key at either Fort Kshaa or some undisclosed location.
I should probably talk with one of the Lawkeepers about this, Iri concluded. No need to bother the rather attractive lady mayor about this.
Iri finished her drink and began to head out the door, deciding to head to the Lawkeeper office in hopes to put some of her fears at rest.
Chase stood there looking at his hailer after Iri cancelled the call. He couldn’t figure out why Iri would decide to stay in Defiance, but then concluded it was because of how he was acting towards her. Yes, he understood that she was just talking about what happened between them behind closed doors, but it didn’t make things easier for him. And now, she’s keeping her distance from him because he pushed her away. He hoped that it wasn’t something permanent, or at least from her point of view. When he was younger, he did fool around, but he never told anyone about any of his activities or the ladies he had been involved with. Not even his father knew, as he didn’t feel comfortable in telling him about it. This was long before Iri had come into his life, yet he found himself in this position where the Heisenberg uncertainty principle seemed to apply.
I am such an idiot, he told himself. I just hope she doesn’t see us as being over. We’ve already gone through so much Hell for each other, it’d be a real shame for it to end between us like this. All because I, as she said, am hanging on to an out of date concept. I can’t help it if my parents raised me to be a gentleman. In this day and age, does anyone want a classic gentleman? What if I’m being an idiot even more?
Chase put the hailer into his pocket as he began to head towards the command center of the ship.
“I guess I better tell someone that we're good to go, and Iri's staying behind," he muttered to himself. "Hey Jane... get me off of this crazy thing... called love."
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Post by Taffer on Feb 10, 2016 22:02:13 GMT
After Lu informed Taffer that the spaceship was ready for takeoff and Vigilant departed as well, Taffer made final preparations. The armored jammer vehicle went into the ship's hull and Archer's ATV fitted into the vehicle so it didn't take much space. Several VBI assault rifles and SMGs were transported on board too with ammo crate. He paid special attention he didn't forget to pick up Luuzuk's weapons too.
"So everyone on board?" Taffer asked looking around, "Chase, where's Iri?"
After Chase shortly explained that Iri was going to stay in Defiance, Taffer shook his head but opted to not question their decision. "I hope she's not going far away from the city while she's here and I hope she won't try to travel alone. We have enough missing people already."
Having said that, he walked up to the pilot seat and quickly checked the logs. He read the latest events like the docking of the rover vehicle and its name, and Archer's latest test she run from her seat and approved them, showing a thumb up sign as he turned the engines on, letting them warm up before the takeoff. Then he turned stood up from his seat and faced the team.
"Well, as everyone else is here, I hope its time for a little briefing. As most of you already know, we're going to find Sandra Bell, our missing team member who is being held in Lima, at least that were he latest news of her whereabouts. She may know something about other missing people from our family, so the mission may take longer than just a simple fetch and get back. I'm sending her photos and voice samples and her EGO signature to your EGO units and hailers so that you could recognize her if you find her.
Now to what resistance we're going to face. Gangs, mobsters and other criminals most likely in vast numbers. Fully armed because of never-ending gang wars happening in that city frequently. Collective forces could be met as well, but those better be not engaged until provoked. They have no legal power in that city, but they might be the sanest group in that asylum so if there's a chance they might become our allies, we better use it. The only exception is Governor Skarr. He or his men can never be trusted and are better be shot on sight unless backed up by Collective forces, in which case things will get unpredictably complicated. So I have some plans which I'm going to execute to avoid attracting too much attention.
Plan one. I'm going to have a meeting with Montero. I have enough evidence that it was his man who killed Ivu's courier which was to deliver a message for me. This information would definitely weaken his standing among gangs he has contacts with. You know, even mobsters don't like their men killed for such a small reason like tipping the scales on auction. He's a trader after all and all this surfacing up will affect his business badly. But that offer will be just an incentive for him to have a talk with me. My actual offer will be quite simple. He shares with me all the information he has on this auction, whoever holds it and possible Sandy's whereabouts and once we get her back, I give him what I'm going to offer at the auction. I'm going to play on his greed.
Plan two if the first one fails for some reason. Lima is a big city with sprawling streets and underground tunnels. So I expect the place I was appointed to has nothing to do with the actual place where the auction will be held. I probably will be only meeting another courier there. So the plan will be first to trace back the courier's communication once we meet. Then I'll be going to the place where auction is held, and you will trace the courier and attack the place where the communication would be coming from. One of those places will have to have some information about Sandy's whereabouts.
Plan three, if those two fail will include me actually participating in the auction. I have no illusions about it and I know I'm not supposed to come out of it alive. But I'm going to even the odds. First, I'm going to play on their greed again. And second, I'll make a certain downgrade to my EGO unit. Vo, I hope you don't mind if I borrow a single ability of your unit, which is the ability to rebuild itself and bypass the EGO jammer this way. I happen to know a very good EGO specialist in Lima so we can pay him a visit. As our EGO units are petty much clones of each other with slight differences in their firmware, I expect that re-programming it won't take too long. So once I get an inside information on Sandy's whereabouts, you'll have to attach both places simultaneously — the one where Sandi is held and the one when they will hold me."
"Taf, I certainly don't mind if it helps the mission, but there's one thing you must know. The rebuilding process is extremely painful. I'm afraid it can't be done without having anyone to notice that you're in a major pain during it."
"Given the circumstances I'm going to use this function in, I highly doubt I will actually have to hide that I'm in pain," Taffer visibly winced on a thought that he would have to let them use him as a punch bag.
"That's all for now", Taffer concluded, turning to the controls and adding power to the engines.
"We have a couple of hours before we reach our destination, so if you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to say."
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Post by Archer, Frankie J. on Feb 11, 2016 0:21:33 GMT
The powergirl assisted with making final preparations: securing the armored roller & 4wheeler inside Riot’s cargo space and loading the small arms with ammunition. She took the opportunity to stow her heavy backpack after extracting some things and adding them to her mission bag. Her vest was off resting across the seatback of the tactical station. Essentially she exchanged what she was wearing for some clean attire, swapping out fatigues with less formal civilianized uniform. Archer had an opened box of 12 gauge shotgun shells from the ammo crate. One by one she pressed the shells into her magazines, also adding to her vest this time a drum magazine. “…As most of you already know, we're going to find Sandra Bell,” When Taffer began his brief, Archer kept loading shells while listening. As he went on and would state vital knowledge she immediately picked up her pad and pen to handwrite notes. Jotting thoughts with her own fingers helped her remember. As well, keeping some recorded notes she could refer to later was a bonus advantage. Most things she could recall effortlessly. And as Taffer explained Archer went back and forth between her notepad and the shotgun shells. “That's all for now,” Taffer concluded. The badass acknowledged by sitting in her chair. In her quiet passion she shortly growled, “Zown!”“We have a couple of hours before we reach our destination, so if you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to say.” “Flight, Tac. Suggest a ‘show of force.’” Without waiting for an order, music had begun sounding off through in and out of the Riot as she rose over the compound then made way above Defiance:
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