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Post by Galio on Apr 26, 2011 23:53:07 GMT -5
Charl responded for Jorj in a droning voice, "Family? We all have family here... every one of us." She had moved to a window of the tower with a pair of binoculars. She lowered the binoculars and turned her head. "But we have no time for family, now."
Jorj and Zephate rushed to the window to see what had instilled this resolve into her. She had been observing Station A. Most of the few windows were black, but in a brightly lit room with a wide window facing Station B, an obscene deed was being committed. Through her binoculars, Charl could see remnants of a corpse, bloodied and shredded. Severed sections of flesh were being consumed by three infected subjects... no... limbs and organs ripped from a murdered person were being voraciously devoured by three undead human beings with menacing eyes. Charl jumped and almost dropped the binoculars when she thought of it that way. She went back into battle-mode.
"We have no time for The Family. The infection is here, and protocol indicates that we should evacuate the station." Pushing Jorj out of the way, she strode fast to the exit thinking aloud, "If the infection has already been in this station, why would it leave before consuming every..." She froze mid-stride. There was intense silence for ten seconds. Zephate and Jorj watched her play a statue in the center of the room. Jorj began to ask, "What is she..." Zephate snapped a finger to his lips. Charl knowingly glanced back at Zephate. He nodded. She stomped on the floor hard, two times. An explosion of horrible, riotous sounds roared up the stairs to the control room. They were coming.
Charl thought about berating Zephate about how it would be nice to have a door on its hinges right about now, but she denied the thought speaking privileges. She realized he was rubbing off on her. That wasn't about to happen.
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Post by NµKe on Apr 27, 2011 8:50:56 GMT -5
Zephate drew his blade and swung it around with his wrist. He slowly started walking towards the open portal. 'Nice move with the door, Zephy-poo' he thought to himself. 'Meh, don't matter, they'd've broken it quickly anyways.' He responded to himself. (Self-Conversations were frequent with Zephate). 'Riiiiiiight...' was the sarcastic reply.
Zephate leaned against the door and called out to the other to occupants.
"Alright, so, exit pods are down the hall, second-to-last door on the left, then right into the first door on the right, then down the hall and down the stairs, correct?"
Charl nodded and placed her hands on her guns.
"Remember, we're not going for kill-count on this one. Plan is: Blast Past Fast. Got it?"
Jorj's eyebrows went up.
"Yes, Jorj, we're facing them. Grab a gun and watch what you're shooting at. If I get a bullet in my rear you lose your ear... or more. Capisci?"
Zephate called out in a loud, operatic tone. "Oveeerrrrrr heeeeeeere, zommm zomm zommms!"
The riotous sounds began to draw closer and closer...
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Post by Galio on May 2, 2011 23:00:44 GMT -5
Charl glanced at Jorj and turned back to the door. He looked quite afraid. Her planning and tactics for the fight to come were paused. She thought of how he felt. She looked back at him and surmounted her fences of emotion. "D... do you have any family here?"
Charl jumped when Zephate blathered out some nonsense at the oncoming undead. She acted as if she had never asked Jorj anything.
"I figure 45 infected. We funnel them through this door and make for the pods after the last one falls." The stumbling and crashing up the stairs grew louder. "There will be more along the way, so just like Zephate said," she forced, "blast... past... f. That is ridiculous! You know this is called the turret run in Hacto Ja. You can't just rename things as you pleas..." The first undead arrived at the door.
A cacophony of gunfire erupted from Jorj's weapon. Charl fired one round from each pistol and glared at Jorj's wastefulness. Zephate plunged through the threshold. "Zephate Ryth, funnel them through the..." He enveloped himself in the chaos. Charl was so angry, she turned around and kicked a chair into the control room's outer window. It bounced off with a clang, and Jorj put some distance between him and the angered feline. Now, she was even more angry that she showed anger. She holstered her pistols and drew her knives as she charged the doorway. Diving headlong above the chaos, she looked down and saw Zephate enacting an micro exterminatus in the center of the horde. She flipped, placing her feet on the wall in the stairway and began exacting a vindictive kill-count pursuit.
Seconds passed, and the undead were unundeaded... or dead. Jorj, Charl, and Zephate ran the hallways of the station to the escape pods doing the, as it is stated in Hacto Ja training, "The Turret Run." Just then, Charl noticed something bright moving in Station A. She ran to the window with her binoculars. "Father?! It's Father over there!" Zephate demanded, "What's he doing in Station A!?" She observed. "He's with his men and carrying... something. A case" Just then, Charl saw a family of three come through a door on the opposite side of the room from Father. They were all wearing their protective suits, thank goodness. The mother and father ran with their small child to Father, and he signaled his soldiers. Charl's already fragile world shattered into dust as she witnessed. The soldiers gunned down the family, and Father callously walked away.
[[Zeph and Charl don't know Father's been 'killed' yet. I didn't forget about that, so Jorj should be shocked.]]
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Post by Hoovy on May 10, 2011 20:31:48 GMT -5
Jorj and Zephate continued down the hallway, oblivious to the horror Charl witnessed. Zephate stopped and turned, looking back at Charl. Jorj continued down the hallway and punched the button powering up the Escape Pods. The console above read: [Powering; 3% Complete; Estimated time left: 5.7 Minutes;] "Six minutes?! How the heck are we going to hold out for six more minutes?!" He turned around expecting Zephate and Charl to be right behind him.
Instead he found them both staring blankly out a veiwport. Jorj could hear the things coming closer. He ran up to them and fired off a round of his 9mm, into the shoulder of the first undead that rounded the corner. The gunshot seemed to awake Charl and Zephate from their stupor.
"What is wrong with you two?!" Jorj shouted as he fired another shot into the same infected, this time clipping the side of it's skull, cracking it open. The dead zombie was soon replaced by three more rounding the corner. The moans started to get louder.
"Huh? Oh sorry," said Zephate as he shook his head, clearing his mind of the gruesome scene for now. "We'll tell you later." He seemed to have lost his normally cheerful disposition. He flicked his katana, cleansing it of the blood of the infected. "Charl, take Jorj to the Escape Pods. I'll hold them off for as long as I can." he said, as he motioned us back without turning around. Now there was well over fifty zombies coming down the hall, with more following behind them.
Charl grabbed Zephate's shoulder. "Zephate, don't do anything stupid. We need you. I need you." He simply shrugged her off.
"Since when has anything I've done not been stupid?" a bit of his happiness started to return. "Besides, I'm not going to get myself killed. If I die, you'll all die also." He smiled his insane smirk and sliced through the neck of the nearest undead. "Here's my access card. You'll need it to launch the pod."
Charl ran back towards the escape pod. "Where's Zephate?" Jorj asked, reloading his pistol. "We're going to need his Access Card to blast off this rock." The console now read: [Powering: 97%; Estimated time left: .45 Minutes] When Charl didn't answer, Jorj looked up, into the face of a scared child. Something had happened to break down all the barriers she had built up. He decided not to press it further. He looked around the corner just in time to see Zephate slicing two zombies at once. The Console chimed, signaling full power. He took the card from Charl's hand. She didn't even seem to notice. He slide it through the reader. As if to say good luck, the console chimed one more time before the doors to the Pods opened. Jorj Ushered Charl inside and started to run a pre-launch check. He nearly jumped out of his seat when he heard the sound of something running towards the pod. It was Zephate. Jorj sighed and Charl simply glanced behind her.
Zephate stood in the access port. "Hurry up!" he shouted, a bit frantic. "I couldn't hold them back any longer." Jorj heard a gunshot behind him and glanced back to see Zephate firing a 9mm handgun.
"Stand clear!" Shouted Jorj as he hit the 'Launch' button. At first nothing happened, then suddenly, they were forced back in their seats as the G's not to politely, shoved them. As soon as they pierced the atmosphere, Jorj knew they were safe for the time. He turned around, "Zephate, where did you get a 9mm?" He just smiled and put a finger to his lips. "That's my little secret."
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Post by NµKe on May 25, 2011 23:52:36 GMT -5
Zephate smiled and winked at Jorj.
"And also, don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to, Jorjie."
Zeph leaned over to Charl and made eye contact with her. He then gave her a small smile just to let her know that things were alright.
"Somethin' wasn't right in there, Charl. I am not convinced that everything was as we saw it. Basically, what I'm saying is... let's not just latch this down right away. Benefit of the doubt and all that nonsense, right?"
He attempted a grin at the end of all that... garbage... and Charl was quite obviously not consoled. He shrugged his shoulders. 'I am not a consoler. I do not comfort, I kill. And I freaking rock at it too....' Zeph smiled to himself. He looked around the pod.
"This place ain't half bad. I wonder how long we'll be in here cuz... I kinda need... but I'm sure it won't be too long."
Zeph looked at Jorj who looked slightly shellshocked. "You did well in there, kid. Not too bad."
Zeph bounced around a little on his chair, quite obviously still pumped from the massacre. He winked at Charl and said...
"So, did I get you with the 'I can't hold 'em back any longer' comment? Were you fooled? Cuz... the waves died down for a few seconds and I wanted to see if I could scare ya at all..." Zeph smiled.
"Oh, and can I have my access card back?"
Charl nodded at Jorj. Zeph's jolly face suddenly became very serious. He then looked back at Charl and said very slowly and very articulately.
"Did. you. give. it. to. him?"
Charl shook her head.
Zephate turned his head very slowly back to Jorj. He was ticked. No one takes my access card. No one takes it from those to whom I bestow it. Jorj already had his hand extended with the card in it, attempting to give it back. Zephate reached to take it then swiftly slapped Jorj across the face. Whack! Whack, whack, whack! Jorj looked angry and confused. The access card had fallen to the floor during the slappings.
"Pick it up, Jorj." Zephate said, very seriously.
Jorj stared in bewilderment. "What the heck?"
"Now."
Jorj reached over and scraped the card off the ground and tossed it at Zeph.
"Never, ever take another man's access card, Jorj. You should know that by now."
"But you g--"
"No. Never. Charl is different. One, she is a lady, ergo she cannot take "another man's" access card because she is not a man. Two, she is a close and trusted friend. You are practically Joe Schmo to me, Jorj. Three, I gave the card to her, not to you."
Zeph's face then morphed back into its joviality.
"Lesson Learnt, moving on. Is that a planet?"
Zeph was pointing to the small radar screen that was intended to produce some sort of map thingy to guide them as to which direction they were headed... not like they could change their trajectory. I suppose it was to give hope... or despair, depending on the situation.
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Post by Galio on May 26, 2011 1:27:03 GMT -5
Charl wasn't as shocked as she thought she might have been. She didn't really like Jorge, and she knew Zephate was capable of much worse. It was easy for her to sit back and watch it happen without emotional turmoil.
She had been working on bad posture since the blast off from Station B two hours ago... just because, but she sat up when Zephate mentioned a planet. She analyzed the display. "It is a planet." She looked to Jorge. His cheeks were red from the strikes. "Can this craft alter course?"
He began, "No, it can only send out a distress signal. It's only designed for..." "Is it capable of a planetary landing?" She interrupted.
He thought for a moment. "Yes... yes it is. It is equipped with inertial dampeners, heat shield, and two forms of air brakes. But again, we have no engines, and we are thousands of miles off course with... " She interrupted again, "At this range, we only need a slight alteration. How many space suits are in here?"
They looked and found one. She smiled devious smile at Zephate. "You're going to like me for this. Help me get this on." They helped her suit up. As they finished, Zephate asked, "Ooooh, Charly Char Char, are you thinking of doing what I think you're..." "Probably" she smiled. "And my pistols don't use conventional munitions. I don't need oxygen to fire."
She stood near the door with one pistol strapped to her leg. "Strap yourselves in. I'll do this quickly." The entailments of the plan dawned on Jorge. "Wait, wait, wait! What are you think..." She interrupted him, yet again, "You'll want to have your mouth closed. Also, close your eyes and nose. In 5... 4..." Jorge frantically fastened himself in. Zephate had a huge grin on his face with his eyes closed. "3... 2..." She braced "1..." The door flung open.
Within one second, the air violently gushed out of the door nearly sucking Charl out with it, but she held fast. She quickly pulled herself out after a last glance at the screen. She clung to an air brake pump and kicked the door shut. She looked through the window and waited for the atmosphere to fill the compartment again. Zephate and Jorge opened their eyes. Looking blue, Zephate gave a thumbs up.
She crawled around to the other side of the pod and held to something with her feet. She pulled her pistol from her leg, put her shoulder to the hull of the pod, and fired twice. Silent concussions rocked her arm. There were different effects of firing a weapon in space.
She quickly crawled around to the window. Zephate and Jorge were looking at the display. She knocked. Zephate turned and held up three fingers. Charl nodded and got back into position. She fired three more unheard rounds into the abyss of space and tried to track them into the stars. She couldn't.
She went back to the window again. Jorge and Zephate were jumping and smiling. Apparently, they were on course for the planet. She could tell they were laughing, but she couldn't hear a thing. She was watching everything through a window... separated and alone... still not quite sure if she was ready to participate.
Without looking, Zephate held up a thumbs-up which turned into a pointed finger at her. She involuntarily giggled.
They strapped themselves in, and she re-entered the pod. She took off her helmet as Jorge and Zephate unstrapped themselves. They were laughing and shouting. Jorge said, "Ha! That was incredible! I have never even heard of that being done!" Zephate guffawed, "You are so right! I do very much like you for that! Hahaa! You are a sexy thing! Yes, SEXY!"
Charl peered up at him as they group hugged her. She was smiling bigger than she thought she could and scarcely contained herself. As the celebration settled, and they sat back down, she pulled her legs up and rested her chin on her knees. She looked back and forth at Jorge and Zephate and pondered and wondered, "Is this joy?"
[[Have either of you have seen this new movie called Hanna? The character of Hanna is SO similar to Charl. I think they stole her from me.]]
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Post by Hoovy on Jun 17, 2011 22:04:11 GMT -5
(I realized AFTER I wrote this that this is almost like one scene from KotOR... 0_o) The little party continued for a little while then all of a sudden some alarm went off in the general vicinity of the cockpit. Everyone got silent. Zephate was the first to move. He dashed towards the origin of the sound. "Uh, Jorj, do you pilot spacecraft much?" Jorj was next to Zephate a moment later, looking over his shoulder.
Jorj's face went from confused to blank the second he saw the light. "Zephate, you and Charl might want to buckle in quickly. This could get bad really quick..."
"Jorj, what is that light?" Charl asked with a hint of concern in her voice. She did as he said and sat down. Zephate sat next to her.
Jorj started to answer but the pod lurched like a drunken spacer, then started picking up speed. Jorj was thrown into the control panel. He got up, glad for his bullet-proof armor. The controls weren't so glad. Sparks shot out of what was the landing controls. "Jorj! You idiot!" Shouted Zephate "How are we supposed to land when THE FREAKING CONTROLS ARE BUSTED?!" The two men were at each others throat when from the back of the cabin, Charl said, "Guys, you might want to see this..." It was a command, not a request. They put the feuding behind then for a minute and looked out the view-port. Directly in front of the pod was a massive Lamboda class assault cruiser. Charl turned to face Jorj and weakly asked, "Jorj, what was that alarm?"
Jorj's face was pale, but he managed to get out two words. "Targeting Lock..."
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Post by NµKe on Jun 20, 2011 18:42:16 GMT -5
Zephate chuckled.
"Awesome. I love targeting locks. So, what do we have to shoot at them?"
Zephate sniggered at his own joke as he began looking around the pod for anything of use. He looked at the space suit. He wasn't an incredibly large individual. Neither was Charl. Jorj couldn't fit in it, but that was okay. He'd probably want to go down with his ship anyway, stupid traditionalist. Zeph went to the suit and began looking inside of it to see if there was actually more room in it than appeared from the outside. Not too much success was found though.
An idea dawned on Zephate.
"Maybe they actually don't want to kill us! Maybe they just want to talk to us! I love talking. This could actually work out quite well."
"Are you kidding me? Who 'target locks' a friendly in space? We need to prepare to be boarded." Jorj replied checking any sort of weaponry or weaponry-look-alikes on the pod.
Zephate raised his left eye-brow at the zealot.
"Do you even want to survive, twerp?" Zephate asked, his face almost a face of genuine care. Charl cleared her throat and Zeph looked over at her. She shook her head and started to engage in what Zeph knew she'd term "profitable" activity, which was not antagonizing the infidel. Zephate rolled his eyes and went back to looking around the pod. He got closer to Charl and whispered as quietly as he could.
"We might both be able to fit in that spacesuit, homie." He saw Charl's mind begin to work, but then she gestured with her head towards Jorj in a very subtle way. Zephate's ears moved back and he gave her his non-plussed face. She replied with the 'you're a terrible person' face. Zephate's lips pursed in frustration. He stormed away as quietly as he could.
Just when he was feeling ready to just freak out and chop off Jorj's head he saw a small head pop around the outside of the pod and peer inside the window. It was definitely a lizard of some kind. A strange looking lizard. It smiled. It moved around so that it was completely visible through the window; then it pulled from the small satchel it had on it's side a small piece of paper. It placed one end on the one side of the window and began to unscroll the paper across the window.
"Whoa..." Was all that Zephate could manage. It was enough to draw the others' attention to the window though. Charl smiled. She definitely thought it was cute or something. Jorj looked confused. Moron. Zephate looked back at the window and realized the message was completely unscrolled.
"That's not English..." Jorj stated.
"Upside down." Charl muttered as she got closer to the window.
"...moron..." Zephate added as though he had known from the start it was upside down.
They got closer and read the message upside down. Zephate tilted his head in a strange sort of way, which didn't accomplish much, but made him feel as though he could now easily read the message upside down. Jorj did the same, but moreso... and he looked dumb doing it. Charl kept her head upright and simply read it upside down. Bit of a showoff sometimes...
We are a Crew from Dalthanoton. Saw your ship get destroyed. Want to help. Clap for the Lizard if you want to accept the help. Stick your tongues out at the lizard if you refuse help. -The Phoenix
"Allight, tongths ou, you guyth." Jorj managed to say with his tongue hanging out. The lizard looked at the dork and was about to leave.
Zephate punched Jorj. He had it coming! Refusing help, what an egotistical punk! One good smack to the head. That wasn't enough to knock him out, but the pole he hit whilst falling was. Cold. Charl started to speak...
"Zepha--"
"I will apologize later. Maybe. Clapping time!"
Zephate began wildly clapping. He was dancing and clapping, to be honest. Charl simply clapped and gave a reassuring smile to the lizard. The lizard's eyes went back and forth between them, then down at the unconscious buffoon. Zephate began adding in a kick to his dance and the kicks all seemed to land in Jorj's stomach. Lizard understands.
The lizard left and next thing you know, the pod was being drawn in to the Lamboda Class Assault Ship.
Zephate leaned back in his chair and smiled.
"Ah, good times, here we come!"
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Post by Hoovy on Jun 22, 2011 19:39:59 GMT -5
Zephate and Charl sat in silence as the pod continued to be drawn into the docking bay. "Hm, these guys must be really smart," said Zephate as he attempted small talk. "They actually got a tractor beam that isn't so bumpy." Charl just rolled her eyes.
[15 Minutes Later]
The pod had docked with The Phoenix without much incident. Some low level officer guided them to the MedBay, due to standard procedures. Charl and Zephate walked into the MedBay, and the officer dumped Jorj into one of the seat and muttered something about us surfacers being so fat and left. "Might as well get Jorj onto one of these tables, the doctors are probably going to have to check for any brain damage." Said Charl as she glared at Zeph. He just hopped on one of the tables and smiled. "I try to be through." He laid down on the table. "Hey, Charl, I'm going to try and scare the doctor. Just act natural." He winked and closed his eyes, trying to hide a smile. Charl was going to object, but decided not to. It was nice seeing Zephate back in his normal state of mind. If it ever was normal to begin with.
A doctor in white lab coat strolled into the MedBay, reading some notes on his Datapad. He walked into the center of the room. "So, what problems do we have here?" He announced, with a British accent, to no one in particular without even looking up. "Oh, Jorj," she pointed to his still unconscious form, "He hit his head on a pipe, and has been out ever since." Doctor walked over to Jorj and poked him. And then suddenly, nothing happened. The doctor tapped some buttons on his datapad and walked over to Zephate. "And what about this one?"
"That's Zephate, I- I don't know what is wrong with him..." It wasn't a lie. The Doctor walked over to Zephate and was getting read to poke him to, when Zephate jumped up and yelled as loud as he could. The Doctor merely glanced up and went back to tapping some buttons on the datapad, completely unfazed. Zephate sat there for a second in disbelief. The hopped down of the table and stood near Charl.
Suddenly, Jorj sat up and glanced around like a maniac. Then he saw Zephate. "WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT FOR?!" he shouted ignoring the Doctor.
"You were going to get us killed, slowly, from starvation, in the icy black void of space." he replied matter-of-factly.
"DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW?!"
"I do believe you are aboard The Phoenix. And, please do keep your voice down, I don't want you to disturb my other patients." The Doctor gestured towards the rest of the empty MedBay. He strolled out, and Zephate could have sworn he was smiling. ---
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Post by Hoovy on Jun 22, 2011 20:22:57 GMT -5
"... And this will be you quarters during your stay here." Said the same low-level officer as before, as he opened the door to the room. He definitely did not want to be here, giving a tour to this odd group. "Breakfast is served in the Mess-Hall, down that way. If you need any help, please feel free to ask someone else." With that, he turned and left.
"Got to love the hospitality here," muttered Zephate.
"Hey!" snapped Charl, "Just consider yourself lucky. I surprized we aren't in the brig right now, with that attitude of yours."
"Whatev's. Dibs on top bunk!" Zephate ran and jumped up into the top bed, mounted to the wall.
Jorj watched the Officer turn the corner and quickly closed the door. He started looking around the room inspecting every inch of floor, wall, and ceiling.
Charl sat down on her bunk (below Zephate's). "What-" Her question was cut off as Jorj held up a finger. He quickly scribbled onto a peice of paper: Room bugged. Talk in code.
As he finished looking around the room, Charl handed to paper to Zeph. By the time he finished reading it, Jorj was sitting on a steel table in the middle of the room.
"Apples." said Jorj, looking at Zephate.
"Green flashlight." he replied.
"Northern Monkeys."
"Kiwi".
Jorj nodded. "Half sideways."
Zephate just frowned. "Coconuts."
"WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU TWO SAYING?!" Shouted Charl.
"Heh, just kidding, rooms fine. Good job, playing along Zeph." He gave a thumbs up. Zephate smiled. "Anyways," Jorj said, "what I was trying to tell you guys earlier, was this is The Phoenix."
"So?" asked Charl.
"So, The Phoenix is the Flagship of that group of pirates that caused all those problem's over in the Mewhut' System about 10 years ago."
"So?" asked Charl. She remembered something about that from her history lessons back at the base. Thinking of The Family brought back the memory of Father. She forced those away, trying to stay focused at the moment at hand.
"Anyways, The Phoenix was reported destroyed over Mewhutta by more than 5,000 truth-worthy personnel. This ship shouldn't exist."
"So?" asked Zephate. He laughed, "just kidding. Anyways, yeah, I recognized the name."
"So, you understood why I rejected their invitation..."
"Yeah." replied Zephate.
"THEN WHY DID YOU PUNCH ME IN THE FACE?!"
"I don't know. I kinda like ghost."
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Post by Galio on Jun 29, 2011 0:11:22 GMT -5
[[Long post, I know.]]
Charl added, "And I'd rather fight ghosts than freeze to death in a pod."
Zephate was puzzled that she forgot about the planet. "Um... kido? We were en route for a planet."
Charl responded instantly, "It was an ice planet. -2,000 degrees Fahrenheit on the surface. We would have frozen instantly."
Zephate stared wide-eyed at her. "Ah! Good to know... now."
"Anyway, we can't stay on this ship. They're cut-throats and bandits. It's miraculous that they've stayed alive through the apocalypse, but we are in constant danger as long as we're on board" Jorj warned. Zephate chimed in, "Wow, buddy, keep your pants on! We don't even know if all these wild stories are true. Have you been on this ship before? Have ya?" He leaned closer to Jorj. "Have ya?" Jorj gently pushed Zephate to a comfortable distance. "No." "Alright then! Let's not get our burdens in a bundle before we know the whole story." He plopped down next to Charl, happily grinning.
Charl frowned at him. "Burdens?" His smile didn't change. "You wouldn't understand."
Charl stood and walked to the door. "I'm going to kill them all!" She exploded after she attempted to open the locked door. Zephate jumped to her, "Easy, easy! Wow! That wasn't exactly rational, eh? You wouldn't let unknown people from a random escape pod in space roam freely around your ship renown for shady deeds, now would you?" Her jaw was clenched, and her eyes burned with intensity. "I hate being locked up!" Zephate's face altered from slight confusion to mild compassion. "It's just a security measure. It will keep you safe, for now." She turned her head in his direction, but kept her gaze low. "That is exactly what Father used to say." He paused, wordless, then turned and sat on the bed.
By now, Jorj knew better than to interject when Charl and Zeph were speaking exclusively to each other, but he felt he had to speak up after looking out the window for ten seconds. "Guys, um... a planet outside is getting bigger. And I may be wrong, but I think it may be that planet from before... which is incidentally, definitely an ice planet.
Charl snapped out her pistols when a melodious, raspy, colorful voice cackled over the ship's intercom and said, "Aahahaha! I am so sorry not to have met you in person already, but this is your Captain, Mackabel Talanasburgh... at your service. If you look out of your quarters' window, you will see the planet Aveesh." The three looked at each other. "The temperature is a balmy -1,700 this time of year, and we're just coming up on mating season for the Kalepetor mogs... they're very territorial; keep your distance. Okaaaay, so the nearest star is... well, not nearly near enough, but I'm somewhat of a sportsman. I'll leave you some matches and kindling. Pkchsshhhh! Ahaaaaaaaaaaaa... just kidding. Actually the quarters in which you now reside is actually a drop-outpost. It has no engines, so don't bother checking. But ANYWAY, here's the challenge..."
Zephate grinned, "I almost like this guy." Charl elbowed his stomach.
"The coordinance that I'm droppin' ya off at is in the dead center of the previously mentioned mog mating grounds. They're actually very friendly... uuuuuh... I believe they're called community animals. They love people. Don't worry about 'em. Hehe. There is a ship, (with engines) that is docked at a launch pad two kilometers from the mating grounds. Now, now, now, I know you're wondering, 'But Captain Mack! How we gonna get there when it's too cold to even be in heat?'"
Charl scowled upward. "What!?" Zephate shoulder bumped her.
"But keep your shirts on... and as much as you can. There's a wondrous catch. That not-near-enough star really does orbit nearer than it is now, and tomorrow, it will be a roasting -80 degrees! Ah? Ah? Hah?? Isn't that great?! I knew you'd think so. OK, I'm boring myself. Your window is 3 hours; then it starts to get cold again. The challenge is to run through the friendly mog mating ground, through the snow, and to the ship within 3 hours. I'll be watching from orbit, so if you do make it to the ship, I'll shoot you down as soon as you break atmo. Do make it a good show, please. Zombie challenge courses are so freaking predictable. They just don't... think. I guess they're dead. Anyway, adieu!
Zephate laughed, Jorj's mouth fell open, and Charl said, "I'm going to kill him."
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Post by NµKe on Jul 2, 2011 19:11:48 GMT -5
[Very, very nice]
Zephate's laugh subsided down into a chuckle and he breathed a contented sigh.
"Honestly though, not a bad way to go... Freezing to death, getting mauled by mogs, all for the sake of the sport of some pirates. Gotta hand it to them, they do know how to entertain themselves."
"I feel like a hopeless hamster..." Jorj muttered.
"Aha! But we are harmful hamsters who are, indeed, homies! We shall make it out of this mess alive, Jorjie. Have only a little fear... that... I might leave you behind... accidentally on purpose." The last part was somewhat muttered, but Jorj definitely could hear it.
Zephate got off the bunk he was sitting on and began bouncing on the balls of his feet back and forth as if preparing for some sports match. He cracked his neck back and forth, then looked up and saw a ventilation shaft. He stopped and stared.
"How many people saw the three of us before we entered this chamber, Charl?"
"Three." Jorj and Charl said simultaneously. Zephate threw a tissue box at him and yelled...
"YOU are not Charl, Jorj-stupid-butt-head-pants! DO NOT reply when I am talking to CHARL. GOT IT?!"
Jorj rolled his eyes but then got a second tissue box in the head. "Alright!" he stated exasperatedly.
"Thank you," was the calm reply. "Now, where was I... oh yes, three, so, if this little holding cell were released... and... there were three people running around down there... how long do you think...?" Zephate paused, then stopped when he saw it dawn on Charl's face that she understood. She turned over a chair, bent one of the metallic legs back and forth with all her might, and eventually she wrenched it free from the chair. Jorj didn't even bother asking questions... he seemed to be learning that they wouldn't do him any good anyways. Charl looked at Zephate and he put his hands together to form a "boost" for her. She ran full speed at him and he braced himself. Charl stepped on his hands and immediately her momentum was coupled with Zephate's strength sending her soaring up into the air. Her fingers went into the vent grate and caught her. She then put the bar up through the holes and used it to give her more of a comfortable grip on the shaft.
"Ready." She stated calmly.
Zeph had moved a table underneath her and had climbed on top of it. He jumped straight up and caught onto her legs. They could hear the grate groan with displeasure and weakness.
"Yank in three... one, two, THREE!" Both of the climbers lifted themselves a little, then let their weight pull themselves back down, the grate pulled free and Zeph landed on the table a little lopsidedly. Charl brought them both down... off the table. They both chuckled then looked back up. Charl had wedged the bar into the shaft perfectly, so that it hung there as a nice handle.
"Rea-" "Yerp." She cut him off and moved to get a good enough distance then turned. Zeph had moved the table and made his boost again. She booked it. He launched her, she hung there. Jorj stared. Zeph looked at him and shook his head.
"We'll be back in a bit, you stay here and play nice, mmkay, pumpkin?"
Jorj started to answer, then again realized that it'd be fruitless, and simply attempted to get comfortable on his bunk. Zeph climbed the table, and jumped back on to Charl's feet and climbed up her and into the shaft.
---
They moved swiftly and very quietly. The next two openings had been guard's quarters, both of them empty. The following was a guard room. A bit too full for Zeph's liking... though Charl was eager and ready. Zeph simply shook his continuing down the vent... she's never been beat for trespassing before though... never been whipped for getting caught... or maybe she has... Zeph shrugged. The last opening was the winner. It was a smoking room and there were two occupants. Both looked semi-conscious. Zeph motioned that they would both jam their feet into the grate and break it open, then he would go for the fat one on the left and she could get the thinner, shorter one on the couch. On three...
One, two... three...
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Post by Galio on Jul 3, 2011 2:03:09 GMT -5
[[Posting during your honeymoon??? Wow, dude. I wonder if I'll do that. ]] The combined force of Zeph and Charl's feet impacting the grate, sent it downward at such a velocity that it shattered the coffee table beneath the opening. The lounging men made seamless transitions from incognizant, to stupor, then to unconscious. Charl handily heaved hers onto her shoulders before Zephate got his. "Whoa! You da man, girl!" He looked at his. "Hm... at least 285... This is one fat pirate." Charl smiled and hesitated. She was in mission-mode; Absolutely no funny remarks. She wanted to, though. To her surprise, Zephate said, with his back to her, "Go on. Say it, kido." Her eyes grew large. He turned. "You had somethin' funny to say. Tell me." She stared in confused amazement. She skipped over the part where he read her mind, because he was more sobered than she had ever seen him. He very sincerely wanted her to say it. But why? She didn't like the feeling of being pushed into something outside mission... outside regulation. She dropped the man back on the couch and grabbed a step-ladder from the corner. She spoke as she worked, "It wasn't that funny." Zeph let it go after that. They quickly and cautiously handled the men back to the drop-room. Charl lowered hers to Jorj, who was waiting on the edge of the bed. She dropped down and moved just before Zeph dropped his straight from the vent to the floor. A hideous crash sounded and shook the room. Zeph looked down at the two sets of glaring eyes. "Wow! That was probably more like 315." Charl berated back up, "You might have killed him, Zephate." Jorj stood from checking the pulse. "His heart is still beating, anyway." Zephate dropped down, coat flapping behind him. Jorj shouted, "Wait! Waiaaaaah... You left the third one up there!" Zephate snickered, "What? You didn't get your own? Charl looked on. The voice over the intercom didn't break Jorj's tension. "Hey, whoa now, neighbors, friends, compatriots, and detainees. I have received word from me fellows that you be smashing around in there. I can assure you that we aboard the Phoenix employ only the very finest structural materials the verse has to offer. What I'm tryna say is quit horsin' around; There's no way out. You're gonna hurt yourselves before the test. Annnnnnnd... yeah, that's it. Bye."
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Post by NµKe on Jul 24, 2011 16:15:45 GMT -5
[[lol... sorry about the no-reply for a while... I guess it's Ranger's fault mainly... but I'm posting now.]]
Jorj looked back and forth from Zephate to Charl as if trying to decide which one would strike him first. He started to speak, then stopped. Then started again...
"So... you really are going to just leave me? Is that it?"
Charl looked back over at Zephate. Zeph almost looked sober for a second, then grinned and looked back at Jorj.
"Listen, bud, it's not like you'd have lasted any longer up here then down there, right? Your chances are minimal either way."
"But I'm on your side!"
Charl breathed out a heavy sigh. Zeph looked back up at the ceiling for a couple seconds, then over at Charl. She looked at him. He shrugged. She just closed her eyes for a couple seconds. Jorj decided it was a good time to insert a little advertisement for his own life.
"Listen, I just want you guys to remember that you are deciding the outcome of my life right now. I mean, no rush or no big deal or anything, it's just my blood on your hands. Not that it might mean--"
Zeph looked directly at him. It was a very clear 'shut-up' face. Charl sighed again.
"Listen up, pimple. If you actually want us to save you, quit being such a moron. The more you try and pull your position or guilt cards or whatever you are trying to pull... the more we're going to beat you before chucking you out into Winter Wonderland out there, got it?"
Jorj nodded.
Zeph looked back up at the vent. Charl stood up from leaning on the bed. Then began running at him again. Zeph made the boost and threw her up as hard as he could. It definitely was a bit further than before because she actually cleared past where the bar had been wedged before. She moved around up in the vent to the point where she could peer down into the room. Zeph had made a little makeshift rope with the guards' belts and his own spare belt. Tossing it up to Charl, he moved the table over and didn't have to jump as high to catch on and climb up in.
They disappeared in the vent. Jorj sighed a deep, slightly wavering sigh. He felt his life begin to slip away from him. Visions of friends, family, possible love interests... all slowly coming to mind. This was it.
"Moron. Your bus is leaving... are you done daydreaming? Because I am not holding this for much longer."
The belt was hanging from the vent. The adrenaline that surged through Jorj was enough to make him think he didn't even need the table as a launching pad (but he used it anyways... best not to try your own luck, right?).
Five minutes later a lonely hall-guard was tossed unceremoniously into the room. He was significantly lighter than the other pirates, thereby not making as loud a thump as he hit the table, then the floor. Jorj actually had a relatively good idea to use another room's vent grate to replace the one they had taken off their own room, just in case people got suspicious.
As the three of them scurried along the vent shaft, Zeph whispered back to Charl something about an empty guard's room, some changes of clothes, and a shower. Then they heard that familiar voice announcing over the intercom...
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Post by Galio on Jul 26, 2011 23:52:22 GMT -5
"Aaaaaalrighty, my few, fond, and flightless friends, the time has come for our fair wells. You will experience a small amount of extreme and rigorous turbulence in the minutes to come, but you will have the opportunity to enjoy a stellar view of the doom to come out of your balcony window should you choose to rise from your martini luncheon. For all of us aboard the Phoenix, this is your Captain, Mackabel Talanasburgh. I hope your stay has been... memorable. Zai jian."
A tremor in the floor was accompanied by the sound of the landing craft being jettisoned. At that, a muffled tumult of unkempt laughter erupted down the hall.
Charl looked back at Zephate, "I like my clothes... and your coat!"
Jorj caught up, "We need to get out of the hall..."
Zephate pointed at him with a recognizable message in his eyes.
Jorj rolled his eyes and spun around, hands in the air, "I can't say anything!"
Zephate smiled, "It... it's... intelligent." Jorj stared back with a deadpan face. "Ah. Nope, it's not." He turned back to Charl, "C'mon, we've never gone incognito before. And I frickin' need a shower."
She grinned, "I won't argue there, stinky. But we're coming back for our clothes. I love these pants. And this bra is irreplaceable.
"You melancholy" he laughed as he led them into a locker room of sorts.
Charl quickly showered and waited in the hallway for the other two. A tiny smile appeared on her face when she heard Zephate's ridiculous singing. For her disguise, she found a black bandanna and wrapped it around her head. A white sleeveless shirt and a black vest covered her torso as a pair of short, black pants hung from her lower waist. Also, she had never worn sandals until today... she liked it.
Zephate came into the hall singing and saw her. Waiting for his reaction, she was bubbling inside.
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