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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Solo and Friends
Jack feels the pain as he slams into the cave wall, though he knows he will stand again in a few minutes. It's his gift; one day it would likely be a curse, but Jack found he rather enjoyed it most of the time.
Han ducks behind the nearest piece of lab equipment and draws his blaster, opening fire on the guards without a word to the knive wileding psychopath. He'd learned enough in the last few days to leave him to...
Magnoda grins as he draws his own gun; an old-style gun that still fired metal slugs. It wasn't as good against body armor, but it DID ignore most personal 'energy' shields. He aims for the face, ignoring the man's body armor.
Lev follows Han's example, ducking behind cover with him, aiming at any guards that fire on Magnoda, hoping to keep the man covered.
Kirk
(I'll let Indy make the first move; I think I'm going to like the meeting, but I can't think of how to start it. :smalltongue:)
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Picard
"Warp Three, Commander. Engage."
Enterprise
"Open a channel to the Constitution-Enterprise, Ensign."
The Ensign does his duty, and Picard rises from his chair as Kirk comes onscreen.
"Captain Kirk, this is Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Sovereign-Enterprise. We are on a Priority-One mission concerning a warning delivered to us by the Q entity. I respectfully request your aid in this mission."
Picard. Always formal and on ceremony, stuffy and authoritative in public. The two had attended the Academy together briefly; Picard was in his last year when Kirk was just arriving. That Picard was a...much different individual than the man before him. James rather doubted that this Picard would ever challenge someone to a drinking contest over an insult involving the Kobayashi Maru.
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Kirk
Kirk grins from his seat on the bridge, "Captain Picard. It's been too long; I'd love to help you; Q warned us while we where investigating a dimensional rift. Mr.Spock will send over our readings on the rift to you now." He gestures for Spock to, to quote Picard, 'Make it so.'
To say Picard and Kirk were different was, well, yes. Different interests. Different skills. Different flaws. Different interpretations of the nature of the Alliance. They couldn't be more different; but they were both legends that would endure long after they died. Men who had saved the Alliance more times than could be counted.
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Legato
In his quarters on his ship, Legato takes his own sweet time. each of his four prisoners has been strapped down to a table before the psion. One, however, is filled to the brim with tubing and pumps, all culminating on a valved pipe above his head.
A melody plays in the background. Symphony; pure music, no clumsy organic hands tainting the perfect sound. A servant wheels in a silver cart covered in a white sheet. Wordlessly, the servant pulls off the sheet and leaves. Underneath is a set of silver utensils, several wine-glasses, a china plate, some decoratively arranged napkins, and a single blue rose in a glass tube.
Legato picks up one of the champagne glasses and swirls his finger around the rim. He walks over to the man entrapped in tubes, and with a subtle joy turns the valve. The tubes spring to life, jolting through the man's systems. He screams out in pain as the device performs its foul work, draining him. Out of the nozzle attached to the valve, blood begins to treacle. Legato places his champagne glass under the nozzle, closing the valve when his glass his half full.
Bluesummers sips from his glass, and wistfully sighs. He then retrieves a steak knife and fork, as well as the china plate and pair of napkins. Walking over to the next man, the lunatic places the fork and knife against his prisoner's bicep. Legato is not completely blinded by his hate; even humans can serve this purpose.
Before he can cut, Legato is interrupted by the warning of a ship. Exasperated, Legato hisses, "Display visual."
Outlaw Star
Gene growls, "Damn it! There's no end to them!" Gilliam implores, with what almost be considered worry by the AI, "Gene, the Reavers are breaching our hull. It will only be a matter of minutes before they are inside the ship, and our current systems are not optimized for such intrusion."
"I know! Just give me a minute!... Alright. Aisha, if they breach us, I want you out there taking them down. Don't hold back!"
"What, you mean it? You realize you might lose half the ship?"
"Are you a Ctarl-Ctarl or aren't you!?"
"Puny human! I could tear their whole fleet apart with my bare hands! How dare you question the mighty Ctarl Ctarl!" There's some truth to what Aisha said. Ctarl Ctarl are vicious in combat, especially berserk. The last recorded incident of a Ctarl Ctarl rampage recorded over 900 deaths, and thousands of severe injuries. And that was over a wrestling match.
"Jim, Melfina, if they get too far, I want you two to hide. Are we clear? Don't do anything stupid. Just try and hope for the best. Me, Suzuka, and Aisha will try to hold them off."
"But Gene-"
"Understand?"
"Yes, Gene."
"... Yes."
"Alright. Melfina, how are we doing on getting out of here?"
"I'm still searching for a way out; it's difficult with all this movement." Melfina was created for the sole purpose of navigation. While standard space-faring is her most common practice, she shines at locating and traversing galactic ley-lines. Paths between planets and galaxies, these vast invisible trails of energy reach across space, and some even say dimensions. Right now, the innocent android is trying her hardest for even a hint of ley-line, something she can teleport the whole ship on.
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Mal
Book was sitting on the ramp of the cargo door, just watching silently. Mal was completely motionless, staring at the spinning rocks that had once been a world, his face carefully closed, only his eyes giving voice to the sheer tumult his mind was going through.
There should be people here. There should be a world. Instead, there was nothing but debris and broken dreams. The magnitude of the crime is too large for him to comprehend. Oh, if pressed he could talk about it easily It was beyond all human experience. It led only to total incomprehension.
River
She pauses, and looks at you, sharply intuitive as though expecting to find exactly what you intended written in fine print on your forehead. Then she lowers her head when she sees no such thing, and shrugs. "I don't know. I don't understand."
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Captain Kirk, Picard
The two of you exchange information quickly on what you have discovered. Unfortunately, Q was equally maddeningly unhelpful to both of you. Picard knows a little more of what it intends, and Kirk can at least say how whatever it is got here, though what it is, where it came from and what it was is still a mystery.
It’s also a very cumbersome way to transmit information. Things would be a lot more efficient if you met in person. Technology an innovation have come a long way, but it’s yet to find a more efficient way of transferring information then word of mouth.
Legato
Duncan’s eyes were closed and his breathing steady, even when you put the knife against his arm he didn’t even flinch or tense. It was an old technique for dealing with torture taught to all blademasters. Taking your brain away and becoming detached from the body, no longer feeling fatigue or pain or anything, simply knowing about them intellectually.
The doctor, meanwhile, had almost passed out, and the Mentat was trembling with emotion, although what he was feeling you’re not sure. Rage? Hate? Terror? Anything. And you didn’t particularly care to find out.
Gurney, on the other hand, is looking at you with bombardiers eyes, his inkvine scar twisting his jaw. There is no fear in those eyes. Just hate and defiance. You can do whatever you want to that man, but you won’t break him. It's strange. Such a long time that you'd been exposed to anything as simple as human courage, that you'd almost forgotten what it's like.
REBOOTING OPERATING SYSTEM. SENSORY SYSTEMS REINITIALIZING.
The black screen roiled, then derezzed. Pixels swam in a dizzying loop, caught in a whirlpool, finally forming a picture of the air above the camp.
OCCULAR SENSORS ONLINE.
The ocean of black that was the Pandoran Night sky showed a single spaceship flying above, firing at the figures bellow. It wasn’t any form of government ship, it must have arrived later. Just the same, it had passable weapons systems. Readings showed that there was nobody inside it, an illegal AI was apparently taking care of that itself.
Bebop
A curved section of the hull slid back into place with a soft thud. Air began to hiss gently from hidden vents, and you feel your ears pop gently as the cabin pressurizes. But you barely notice, because the Reavers just got in.
The Alpha’s were supposed to be tall and perfectly formed, indeed so perfect that they barely even appear human, as though each one were modeled after some statue of a Greek God. The Reavers did not look that way at all. The Assembly lines that built them had been malfunctioning for a long time, and so many of them were slightly malformed, as though their features were wax that had strayed too close to a open flame. Furthermore, living by eating each other and with no concept of personal grooming or the like, as well as the vast number of scars they all bore, they had degenerated further. Now they looked less human then many of the aliens you’d met, the likeness just strong enough to disturb you all. More to the point, driven by some incomprehensible love of self mutilation, they have torn of vast portions of their skin, and pierced it with metal. But for all that, they are still designed to be in perfect human condition, and they don’t know pain or fear. The only way to put one down is to make sure you kill it, then bury it under a rock. And even then, make it a large rock and don’t turn your back on it.
They are coming for you now, materializing out of the smoke like evil spirits.
The leader, with matted blond hair and a beard streaked with grey and black, looking like some cross between a Viking and a giant from a children’s book, roars, his voice so rough and broken that it barely sounds human anymore. The rest of the pack growl and snarl like beasts; occasionally punctuated by shrieks and moans.
The leader takes his Qualta Blade, that any collector would trade an arm and a leg for, and probably would have to in order to get it away from him, swings it before him, firing it like a pulse rifle. His followers, on the other hand, brandish a varied (and in some cases, pitiful) assortment of weapons, rusted axes, dull knives, and splintery clubs, as well as weapons they’d improvised themselves that added a whole new dimension of terror to being wounded. A few had chainswords, and you even spot a chainfist lurking towards the back, crackling with energy as it whirs evilly.
Solo and Friends
The bullet passes through the shield and grazes his face. It would have taken him between the eyes, but by luck as much as reflexes he managed to avoid the shot. Feyd-Rautha’s face opens into an ‘O’ of surprise, an expression that said more clearly then words could have done that, for all his intelligence and readiness to fight, he had expected to live a long, happy life where he shot people but was never shot himself. Shot at, perhaps, but actually hit? That wasn’t part of the plan at all.
His expression changes then, darkening even more, until his eyes are possibly burning with insane hatred.
“You shouldn’t have done that.” He whispers madly, the look of surprise replaced with a wide, trembling grin.
The soldiers meanwhile begin a range of fire with their shocklances, a series of blue arcs of fire that fill the air with the stench of ozone and an acrid smoke, sticking your hair on end. Fortunately the blasts are fairly easy to avoid, although they make cover fairly superfluous. But they only need to hit you once, you’ve seen the results once and watching someone’s skin boil off isn’t an experience you’d care to repeat.
Junior
Seeing books burn is a terrible thing. Once they start burning books, they’ll soon be burning people, for one thing. For another, destroying knowledge seems vaguely obscene. There is a huge pile of them before the palace, ancient manuscripts depicting the proud warrior history of the Klingon people. It’s their past, their existence. And they are being burned by a mob, who threw more and more on the pile, chanting all the while, while a drum beat sounded from the enormous speakers above the square, and a few klingons in white robes looked on, with the harsh faces of executioners who took satisfaction from their work.
You didn’t understand the language, but what they are chanting, again and again, is ‘way of peace’. They haven’t noticed you.
Flash Gordan, John Stalvern
“Sir, you can’t be seriously considering the ramblings of a madman in any way worthy of consideration.” She says, a little shrilly, staring at you with eyes that plead you to reconsider. “He’s only recently returned from a leave of absence after suffering post traumatic stress. He’s clearly suffering a relapse.” She wasn’t there. She hadn’t seen what you had, only heard about the aftermath. She can’t be expected to understand.
Hober Mallow
The communication device buzzes, and the screen flickers on. He begs your indulgence a moment and steps aside, in order to talk. You'd dearly like to know what he's saying, but a sound dampener leaves it as so much White Noise. He takes it up to look at it, and his face changes from curiosity to open horror, then lowers it, shaken. "Meeting ajourned. Consideration vetoed." He says, spreading his arms to make sure he has everyones attention, then without another word turns and walks out of the building, ignoring the questions and leaving you wondering what the hell is going on.
Outlaw Star
The Ctarl-Ctarl finds the hull breaches, with enormous hollow drills on the Reaver ships having torn into the hull like enormous ticks, letting the Reavers in without letting the artificial atmosphere out. Most of the attention of their flotilla is focused on you, not your friends, since your doing a much better job of fighting back, but if you do escape you’ll be leaving them alone. Which is why Gene is trying to fight his way through the swarm enough to link up. At the very least outcome, you can die with your friends.
The first one climbs into the ship, eyes bloodshot, splintered teeth bared. Once they overwhelm you, you can look forward to enduring their depravity, which really doesn’t lend thinking about.
It’s then that Melfina uncovers something. She’s not sure where it leads, but it does seem to be their only hope.
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Shevek
Shevek waves his hand at Kirk as he comes on screen.
"Greetings. We are not ambassadors from the planet Annares."
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Bebop
The Bebop has a fairly impressive weapons locker. Unfortunately the weapons in it are mainly designed to capture bounty heads alive. Nothing to put down hordes of Reavers. They do have two assault rifles though that Jet and Faye begin to empty into the on coming horde.
Spike himself picks off any that get too close with his handgun as tough as their augmentation has made them they still need their brains to remain unpunctured by lead.
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Flash Gordon
"Yes I am. I take any potential threats to my crew and mission seriously. get used to it." He tells Janeway, then looks over at the sergent. "Make it so. If you have any trouble getting the men to comply to the suggest changes, come straight to me and I'll see what I can do." He says, giving you a charming smile.
Riddick
"We'll see." He replies, and goes back to trying to get through the door.
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Kirk
"I find his denial to be suspect." Spock says, in the tone of voice of one who would not really understand the phrase 'sense of humor' if one were to sit him down for an hour and explained it with diagrams.
Shevak
"Tell me, isn’t it considered bad manners to interrupt to old friends meeting on your planet, or is common courtesy too much structure for you?" Riker asks, intending to chastise you.
He's really finding your insistence in refusing anything that could be construed as authority as irritating, verging on ridiculous.
Flash Gordon
"...Yes sir." She says, though she doesn't sound very happy about it. "Now if you could turn your attention to more important matters, perhaps we could lift off. We still have an hour of preperations, and this is only going to delay us even more."
Riddick
"As you like it." He says patiently, and leaves you searching for a crack that doesn't exist. There is no way you're getting out of this room using what you have on hand.
Nothing to improvise, nothing to take advantage of, the guards beyond your reach. The vents are too small to crew through, and are bolted shut anyway, and there is no way to get this door open.
Bebop
The leader staggers back, his chest suddenly pefforated enough to see out his back, torn to shreds under four rounds rapid, For a moment he stops, staring down at the hole in his midsection with stupid malevolence as he tries to understand how that got there, only to get shoved over and trampled by his followers in their haste to get at you, crushed under their mad rush.
The pulse clips Faye, lifting her off her feet and sending her flying with the raw force, to smash painfully against it and slide down. It's not enough to put her down, it seems it was on a low setting and he didn't know how to chage that, or it was running low on power.
You continue to lay down fire, and the Reavers simply charge into your fire, trying to drag you down with weight of numbers, heedless of the casulties.
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Shevek
Shevek frowns. "Pardon if I offended, Commander Riker."
It's different standards from different cultures. And from Shevek's perspective, he made merely made a brief interjection during a lull in the conversation.
It'll take a while for the concept of ranks to percolate into his mind.
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Picard
He tactfully ignores Shevak's outburst. At least, for now.
"Captain Kirk, I recommend we meet on the surface to discuss the situation face to face. There is something to be said about face to face contact."
And both of them were far too proud to be a guest on the other captain's Enterprise.
Hober Mallow
"Well, fine, gents. You have my wave frequency if you change your minds."
He shakes hands and exchanges parting pleasantries, and once those are over, heads back to his ship, not running, but rather walking fast enough to make it close and slow enough to still be dignified.
He activates the ship computer, and taking off one of his many rings, slips it into a plug on the mainframe.
"Okay," he mutters. "Let's see if I can't hear what they didn't want me to hear. Ultrawave Relay on, and play."
Preem
His mind comes into close contact with River's, as he attempts to still and quiet her thoughts and emotions. To make the neural pathways regular and normal. To make her better, and the way she once was. Before the Academy.
He works delicately and skillfully, and River knows this is far from the first time he has done this. Has done more than this.
For a moment, then, River's mind is still. The damage from the Academy repaired. For the moment, she is far more sane than she has been in ages.
The First Speaker (not that any of the crew know that, of course) smiles.
"I did it..."
And then he collapses, unconscious, and River's sanity slips away without his mind to help process its own thoughts.
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Ratchet
He ducks behind a tree as his shield is quickly overloaded. He sighs in relief as he hears the bullets dig into the bark. "Aphelion, no pressure or anything, but I think we need heavier Ariel support. Preferably before these bullets find their mark." Aphelion drops down from above for another round. This time the female AI ship comes in to drop smart bombs down on the mech. Ratchet meanwhile quickly tries to reset his shields.
Junior
Junior taps the earpiece on the side of his head and it extends into a visor. He then uses this visor to start transmitting visual and audio data to the Durandal. He then whispers, "This is Junior to Durandal come in. I've got something here. Care to tell me who these guys are and just what the heck they are doing Shelley and Mary?"
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Kirk
"Of course, Captain-and, the not-ambassador is invited as well." Kirk waves his hand to signal the ending of communications as he stands, "Spock, McCoy, Scotty? We're beaming down to the planet. Officer Sulu, you have the bridge."
Solo and Friends
Solo and Lev keep moving, trying to stay in sync to avoid hitting each other or getting in each others way. They don't worry about Jack; he's safe thanks to being...well....Jack.
Magnoda had never particularly liked blasters. There were a lot of reasons why; personal energy shields were alot easier to create than anything to stop a good old slug. Guns were also alot less likely to fail for some technical reason-you couldn't make some techno-babble burst and disable a gun, most of the time. And, of course, he had one last advantage; a bullet's pattern of fire was different than a lasers. Gravity had alot more affect on a bullet than a burst of energy, after all. He was used to calculating where the bullet would actually go, where as this guy was going to dodge like it was a laser. Unlikely to matter 9 times out of 10, but all he needed was the 1, and he liked those odds.
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Kirk, Picard, Shevak
You meet on red sands beneath empty skies. Mars was terraformed a long time go, but the vast majority of it is empty, only the massive foundries that are the industrial heart of the Alliance dotting it's surface. It's good, neutral ground.
Kirk has brought Spock and McCoy with him, Picard has brought Riker and the new counselor. It's good, even ground. And it's not on camera.
Solo and Friends
Magnoda fires two more shots, the first grazing his temple, the second hitting him in the lung, and then his finger doesn't respond, because of the knife that just carved nine inches out of his shoulder, severing the muscle and rendering the entire thing just so much dead weight until he can see a doctor.
Feyd-Rautha does not look like he's about to be offering a time out to rest, recover and get your breath back. In a movement disturbingly like embracing you, he drives his shoulder into your chest as you fumble for your plasma pistol with your left hand, and drives his two knives into both your kidneys, baring his teeth savagely as he does, his eyes wild and joyful, making him ugly. As you stumble, he then twists them, just to make sure you got the hint.
White hot agony fills you like a living thing, as your entire body screams in process at the sheer agony., then he rips them out, making the process infinitly worse. You collapse, bleeding horrifically and mortally wounded, in so much agony your brain has shut down all higher functions so you cannot distract yourself.
The others are accounting themselves better. A pair of guards slump as Chewie explodes up behind them and slams their heads together with a wet sound, like a boot hitting cement. Solo and Lev are crouched behind a Melange bin they are using for cover, and have accounted for seven of the troops between them, and both are without a scratch. The soldiers are reluctant to fire, since Shocklances are not a precise weapon, and that Melange is worth more then their lives and a hundred like them besides.
Jack, meanwhile, grits his teeth and pulls the knife out of his chest as he dies (again), and the wound heals. He's just in time to see what happens to Magnoda.
Junior
"That." She says, looking at the Klingons with undisguised confusion and naked dread. "Is a really bad sign. Up there with Buddhists eating babies. Something must have happened to get them really riled up."
Hober Mallow
Their security protocols are good. They'd have to be to stay in business. But you do manage to get through. They've lost communication with a rim world. And by lost communication, they mean the entire world has vanished, gone with no trace, not so much as an energy signature. As though it never existed.
Now that's disturbing. You might be trying to struggle through a war-time economy soon.
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Shevek
Shevek scoops up a small sample of red dirt and inhales, breathing in the strange scents of a new world, smiling like a child.
He did come on this mission to preserve the freedom of his planet, but whether he admits it to himself or not, he wished to see new sights.
He raises a palm in greeting as the delegation from the other Enterprise arrives. Best not to commit anymore strange social trangressions that are so endemic to the archists...
He blinks. "Why are there so many ships in your fleet named 'Enterprise'?"
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John Stalvern
He scowls at her comment and says,"It does not matter if there is delay or not, the precautionary measures will save lives. And make less zombies. Which is good, because less zombies means we can focus on the demons."
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Kirk
"Starfleet predominantly uses one class of ship for everything, then, as technology advandces, upgrades its. This method only goes so far though, so a new class needs to be commissioned. Each class of ship has one named Enterprise. Normally, the Constitutions would be getting decomissioned, but the model is still a fine warship, so it remains. As a result, there are two Enterprises in operation."
Solo and Friends
Jack charges towards Feyd, trying to tackle him away from Magnoda; he wasn't sure how he could save Magnoda from death, but he'd do it. Somehow.
Lev and Solo look at each other-they couldn't win here, not without some serious increase in numbers or firepower. After a few moments, they both nod, and Solo tries to move back to the ship; he had a plan. He just hoped it would work.
Magnoda starts to bleed as he looks up at Feyd; his life was likely about to start flashing before his eyes. After twisting his head, he attempts to spit blood at Feyd's face. "Choke on it, you crazy eyed s***."
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Solo and Friends
The blood and spittle across the psychotic noblemans face only make him look more dangerous, particularly given his maniac smile. Then he goes down as Captain Jack Harness drives his shoulder into his midsection, sending him stumbling off his feet and leaving the knives stuck in Magnoda.
Magoda, no longer with anything holding him up, stumbles and falls. He's got a moments, losing both kidneys at once was a death sentence unless you were in a hospital and had a surgeon on standby.
Solo, utilizing al his formidable skills, manages to get tot he ship, exposing himself only occasionally and managing not to get shot. Lev stumbles over Liet-Keyes as he tries to follow him. The botanist is unconscious, but alive. And if you leave him... well he knows too much. Leaving a trail for the Harkonnens is a good way to get hunted down.
John Stalvern
She opens her mouth to refute you, then pauses and replays it in her mind, trying to figure out how someone could be that wrong, then realizes something. It's the kind of logic that just can't be argued with, not because it's right, but because your position is so demented, so lost in its own insanity that any attempts to correct it will be met with more gibberish.
So she makes another appeal to reason. "You can't believe this. You have to understand this is a delusion."
Kirk, Picard, Shevak, Bridge
Riker chuckles a little at that, as does McCoy, and just like that the solemnity of the occasion is dispelled.
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Shevek
There is a sense of formal and informal on Annarres, but under vastly different circumstances than in military circles. Whether his remark was inappropriate or not was something Shevek had no conception of.
All the same, he decide to wait and listen for someone to include him in this conversation
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Legato
"A pity. We shall have to attend to dinner later." Legato presses against their minds at just the right points. The men do not break, or even change any expression. No, they only need to be unconscious so as to not cause any trouble while Bluesummers is away.
The hungry psion stalks to the main bridge of his ship. He commands, not asks, "Raise defensive shields. Has any identity been attributed to the approaching vessel?"
Outlaw Star
Aisha growls and hisses with a joyful glint in her eye as she tears through Reaver after Reaver. Bullets bounce harmlessly off her skin, and the crude weaponry folds like tin against her fur. The Ctarl-Ctarl's eyes have narrowed into feline pupils, her muscles bulge through her uniform, her fangs have grown practically out of her mouth, and a striped tail waves furiously behind her. Aisha lets out another laugh as she tears a Reaver in half. Suddenly, the feline focuses her attention on the intruding drill. Ignoring the oncoming Reavers, Aisha begins to claw furiously at the surrounding wall, digging her talons into the metal and pipes. Even the Reavers understand her tactic, but they lack the comprehension to disbelieve it; Aisha Clan-Clan is literally tearing the Reaver drill out of the wall.
+-+-+-+-+
"Gene, I've picked up something!" Melfina cries out urgently. "Great! Where does it lead?"
"I don't know; the signal is to weak to fully trace."
"It's the best we've got! Suzuka, put all our cables onto the Bebop. Melfina, can you carry the extra load?"
"I can try. I can make it as far as the warp point, but I'm not sure I can hang on to them after that."
"Good enough! Jim, get ready to make a run for it!"
"Got it!" The pint-sized pilot keeps an eye on Aisha as he readies the ship's engines. Meanwhile, the assassin ceases her combat to aim squarely at the barge-like ship. She releases the trigger, and three magnetic cables hit the Bebop. Gene pulls up the intercom again to warn, "Bebop, you ready for a ride?"
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Flash Gordan
"You heard the man! Get to work!"
Riddick
Against his better judgement, he opens the cuffs, freeing his hands.
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
River
For a moment, just a moment, there is order. All the treatment, the balance of drugs and invasive surgery, the worsening of her condition from stress and the stimuli she’d been given to try to make her pliable and controllable, it’s gone, and there is order again, patterns in the chaos as once more she is, oh so briefly, the way she was.
Then it cracks as the man collapses, as the walls crumble down and she is sent screaming back into the abyss of madness, and the gates closed behind her. And she can’t help it. Once more at the mercy of her every emotional response, she bursts into tears, crying and crying and crying until she dries up. Crying until there is no more water, no more tears, no more anything, it's all used up and finished.
Mal Reynolds
It’s a terrible thing, to look for a world and see only debris. So far out of experience that all you can do is try to make sense of it. He shakes his head, trying to clear out the cobwebs, then gets to his feet and makes his way to the controls, looking for Zoe. He needs someone to talk to who’ll talk back.
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Flash Gordan
“Sir.” She says tightly, lips pinched, and goes to take out the new orders while the rest of the immediate crew continue to get ready for launch. I half an hour, all is prepared, and you’re free to launch at any time. This could very well be the dawn of a new age, one in which what were previously the laws of physics become nothing more then guidelines.
Riddick
Nadrek gets to his feet, and nods politely to you. “That was very well done. Now, to get out of this…” He pauses a moment, there is a creak, and the door falls off it’s hinges. “…Should be simpler still. Come. We’ll release all the other prisoners to create a suitable distraction, and make our way out in the chaos. From there, we can either part ways, or I can give you a lift to Earth.”
Legato
The shield flickers up around the complex, and the ship breaks off, to circle around, waiting for the generators to go down. The men collapse around you. One loses control of his bladder as his muscles go completely slack, and you realize you over-did it a little. The ship defies any attempts to trace or identify it. Which is annoying, and possibly more, depending on what it has hidden there.
Outlaw Starr
The sides buckle and groan as you tear out the drills, but fortunately are able to compensate and you don’t get sucked out into space. The Reavers still inside, however, are less lucky, and float past, aimlessly spinning in the emptiness.
Those that have already made it in fall on you with howls and shrieks, clawing, hacking and gnashing you with splintered, broken teeth, trying to drag you down with weight of numbers.
You’ve linked up to your friend’s ships, and are just charging for a jump, in the hope that anywhere is better then here.
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Solo and Friends
Jack grabs Magnoda, lifting him onto his back as he makes a brake to try and follow Solo. Lev grabs the botanist as well, both starting to follow as Solo makes his move-
The communicators in the room crackle to life, "Hello boys and girls, we've got a new game called 'Guess who has a turbolaser aimed at this complex and nothing to lose!"
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Solo and Friends
Feyd-Rautha looks up and snarls, but holds up an arm and his men back off, even letting Jack go. "You can't honestly expect to get away from me. Do you have any idea at all what we do to people who break our laws?"
That was a better threat then it sounded like. The Hadokens were famous for atrocities, although actual evidence was almost unheard of, not that in anyway that was comforting.
But he wasn't going to press the matter now. Although far from a coward, the sort of risks he liked were controlled circumstances, where desperation was just another strategy. Russian Roulette was not his style at all, particularly when gambling with a desperate man.
He pauses, and takes a few deep breaths, calming himself. “Well then. Get out of here. It might take a while to track you down, or it might not.”
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Solo and Friends
"Have fun with that." Jack and Lev drag Magnoda and the Botanist on the ship, sans the spice, unfortunately. Chewie slides into place beside Solo as they prep the ship for takeoff. Solo throws the ship into Hyperdrive as soon as he can, getting away from the crazed Harkonion the only thing on his mind.
Jack and Lev get the dying Magnod to the closest thing they have to a medbay, along with the botanist.
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Picard
"Well then, Captain. Shall we pool our data?"
Hober Mallow
Interesting. And productive. He opens up a long-range ansible line to Terminus.
"This is Master Trader Hober Mallow requesting an audience with the Department of Commerce."
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Junior
"Well if that ain't about my luck. Well wish me luck Shelley, I'm going in. After all I'm sure they won't start firing if I extend the olive branch right?" Junior walks forward slowly towards them keeping radio contact just in case. He hasn't drawn his guns yet and has his hands up in the air to show that he is unarmed.
Ratchet
After sitting behind the the trees waiting for his shields recover while Aphelion laid down suppressing fire Ratchet leans out of of cover and aims with his magma combuster. He takes shots at one of the mech's cockpits to try and take out the pilot.
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Junior
They don't seem to notice you until you're right next to them, actually pushing our way through the crowd. "Greetings, brother." Calls one of the shaven headed ones. "Will you join us?"
Ratchet
You leap out into a hail of bullets, firing a burst of compressed magma into the chest of the big man with the mini-guns. He staggers back, as it burns through his armor and into his chest, then silently topples, like a great tree being felled.
Hober Mallow
"Certainly." The voice replied. "You shall have a meeting in sixteen hours. Use this time to prepare your case." That was a complement. Normally, it was impossible to get a meeting in less time then three days.
Solo and Friends
Magnoda died. With both his kidneys gone, it's doubtful even a properly equipped medical facility could have done much more then make him comfortable.
Liet-Keyes, on the other hand, should be well within your power to save. So it's almost ridiculous his condition is worsening. "I am a desert creature." He mumbles, slightly delirious from the fever his infection had given him. "I am made for red sands and quiet nights. I won't survive out here."
On a more personal note, you have one container of melange, and a useless satellite. It's worth a great deal, but it's a fraction of what you were supposed to get, and the Hadokens have seen your face and are looking for you. All in all, about the worst result possible.
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Kirk
"Of course, Jean Luc; though Spock can say far more than I on the exact details."
Solo and Friends - 1
Solo is the first to react, "Well, if we take you back, you're dead. So I would suggest you tell us how to treat you. Quickly."
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Han Solo
“I am made for the desert.” He said simply. “It is my home, and I cannot thrive when taken from it. There are many animals we deal with like that. We terraform a world, and attempt to introduce species who die when they should thrive. Losing their connection to their world, they cannot live.” He sighs. “My life is tied to Akkaris. I can’t adapt.”
Bebop, Outlaw Starr
You make your warp jump, following the continent sized ship that made it’s way past a few days ago (although you don’t know it), and end up in an asteroid field where there once was a planet.
As you get your bearings and kill the last of the reavers on your ship, you locate a small, Serenity class fighter on the edge of the wreckage. No way. Yet it has to be. Surely there can only be one man in the universe who still flies one of those pieces of junk.
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Han
"And if we take you back, you're going to get shot by the Harkonnen, who'll then shoot us. So, I suggest you think of another way for us to help you."
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Han Solo
"They will anyway." He says, his voice resigned. "They are despots, and despot's power comes from the fear. They'll hunt you down and shoot you. You'll have to fight at some point." He lets out a ragged breath. "And where better to hide then the vast, trackless emptiness of the desert?"
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Solo and Friends
Lev interrupts, "The problem, friend, is that a desert will probably kill us to. And one man is already down on what was supposed to be a simple trade. One I was under the impression had been worked out in advance."
Jack looks at Magnoda's body, "You never get used to men going down. But that doesn't mean we drop our desert boy off to die. I say we go back."
Solo shakes his head, "We're safe. Mostly. Face isn't enough, not in a galaxy like this. Besides, you two have connections. Lev's safe in his territory, and Jack has, or atleast claims to, a 'friend' who had dealt with worse. I hope you have better than 'We should.' Maybe some more spice?"
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Han Solo
"Faces are nothing. But this ship..." He says, and shakes his head. "It is rather distinctive." Liet-Keyes points out.
"As for the spice... Well, we do need those satellites, and I do know how to bring the Sandworms to the surface. Take me home, and I shall teach you how to harvest your own."
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Solo
"Excuse me? Are you suffering from space madness, if you think-" Solo is cut off by Jack,
"We'll go back."
"Excuse me, Harkness? Is this your ship; The Falcon-"
"IS too distinct. She's a fine ride, no doubt, but everything you've done to keep her flying? I could pick her our of a fleet with 20th century radar."
"...Point. Besides, where better to hide from my debtors than in the middle of a Harkonnen warzone? It's probably the only thing scarier."
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Team Han
You return to the planet. Liet-Keyes draws himself up and limps over to the cock-pit. "Bring us over to the mountains." He says. "Then land. You are resting on Dune, where moisture is more valuable then life. If we are to survive, you must forget all else." He sighs. "Or the desert will swallow you."
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Solo
"Jack's immortal, actually." Lev says, chuckling a little. "And Han's too stubborn to die. Still, I get your point."
"And I want off this dust bowel as soon as possible." Han adds.
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Doomguy
John Stalvern takes the time he has till before the launch to suit up in his combat armor, helmet, combat boots that aid in running, and filling up his ammo counter. He carries with him now a shotgun, pistol, plasma rifle, and rocket launcher (god knows why they let him keep it), whilst he leaves the other cool stuff in his bulging weapon's locker. After this he orders his fellow marines to suit up and be ready for anything, and by anything, I mean demons. Their laughter goes unnoticed and uncared for by John. He then heads up to the bridge to provide security for the commanding officers.
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Han Solo
‘The gun is good. The penis is evil. The penis shoots seeds, and makes new life, and poisons the earth with a plague of men, as once it was. But the gun shoots death, and purifies the earth of the filth of men.'
So thinks Zed, the Zardoz, as he watches your ship land, and you all step out of it. He’s dressed in a thigh-high leather boots, a Speedo and a pair of cross belts over his chest, and nothing else, showing off his athletic build and plethora of body-hair. You have to be beyond manly to wear that with a completely straight face (and sexuality). He has a long braid of hair, a Tom Selleck moustache, a unique sounding accent, vaguely Scottish, and a certain horrifying charisma. And he’s here to kill you. Because that’s what he does. He’s a killer, you see. And he’ll kill you, and then you’ll be dead.
Liet-keyes is setting up moisture farming equipment in the camp that’s sprung up around the ship, and mapping the place. The sandworms don’t come here, fortunately, however there is a saarlack about a mile away that you’ve been cautioned to avoid at all costs. Chewie is staying inside the ship, given his fur makes it so hot he loses moisture at a terrible rate. It’s a shame, of everyone amongst you he’s the best equipped to survive, given that Kaashyyk is widely considered to be one of the toughest worlds to survive on.
As he's drilling, Zed stalks down, lifting his gun and preparing to use it.
John Stalvern, Flash Gordan
The ION ENGINE at the aft of the ship begins to glow a deep red. The crew hang inert in the gravity couches. The engine flares white hot. Then all of a sudden the Event Horizon lances forward, launching for the first time, sliding smoothly out of the atmosphere and into the space beyond, with none of the expected rocking and shuddering from friction in a more conventional space ship. In a moment, you’re in the space outside, watching the world. Then the drive is activated, and suddenly, the ship SHUDDERS VIOLENTLY. For a moment, everything wavers, like a hologram losing it’s consistency, and you catch a susurrus of murmurs, like a million metal voices whispering obscenities beneath an overwhelming wall of STATIC and NOISE emitting from the speakers, then the world reformed into something terrible.
You’re standing in a convex, rotting cave full of swoops and mad tilts, all of which seems to blend together in a way that is rather non-Euclidean. A black labyrinthine blasphemy. Your scanner says that the temperature is simultaneously 320°F and -320°C, and the gravity has switched off, leaving you drifting in the air. A body is floating behind, the face illuminated by your helmet lights. His swollen tongue clogs his gaping, screaming mouth. His cracked and crystallized skin is crossed by a network of bloated veins. And he has no eyes.
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Serenity
"Well, this is a fine situation." Mal said.
"Really captain?" Jayne said, eyebrows going up in clear confusion. "Because to me it looks a lot more like wángbā qù chī dà biàn." Jayne had a deceptively good head for profanity and violence, if not much else.
"That's what he said." Zoe says, before staring back at Mal. "So what do we do now?"
"We go back where we came from." Everyone moves around, tossing each other glances, but Mal is like a statue. "We're not being paid, and whatever it is happens to still be out there. What are we supposed to do?"
"Seems wrong to do nothing, captain."
"And what exactly are we supposed to do against something that can blow up a plannet? Because I'm all ears."
Nobody said a word. Mal turned, only for the alarms to go off as two ships suddenly appeared on the scanners, having just returned to real space. Two ships he recognizes.
"Hail them." he says to Wash, then stops. "Simon, get out of sight. Then hail them."
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Doomguy
The first thing that come out of John's mouth is not a scream of horror, probably unlike most of his comrades, but instead shouted, "Boo-Ya, I ****ing called it! I knew that there'd be demons! You hear that demons? I expected you this time! Now crawl out of whatever holes you are all hiding in and bring it! Because I'm going to shoot you, in the face, with a shotgun. Or inflict some other bodily harm on you. Yeah!"
Whilst shouting his mighty challenge, he's going to try and get a good look at the corpse and see if it was anybody he knew.
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Hey guys sorry about the long absence, I have joined like 4 other RP's and I had to juggle them all, but I'm back on schedule now. It probably didn't help that my laptop's charger stopped working so now I have to use the home computer.
Junior
Junior lowers his hands as he says, "Mabye, but i would like to know what got you guys all riled up first. I mean, this is some party your throwing here. What happened?"
Ratchet
Seeing the mech go down he jumps up into the air to let out a victorious, "WHOOP!" Clank quickly says"Ratchet I believe there may be more enemies around. Please try to not get us killed by them." "Aw don't worry so much Clank, now that we know how to get through there armor we are golden." With that Ratchet looks around to check for any more enemies.
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Commander Anubis Cruger
Your view-screen flickers on, revealing the heavy, blunt features of Captain Tybo, the stocky, two meter high humanoid with features like a rhino. He’s a Judoon, but you don’t hold that against him.
“Bro mo to bak no.” It says, it’s deep bass voice making the poor speakers struggle a little. Which was the only phrase in Judoon you know. ‘Orders from Earth’. Then your universal translator implants (The ‘Babel fish’ circuit) kicks in, and all of a sudden he is speaking in clear English.
“The Northern Arm of the Federation is under attack by an unknown force. You are to join Kirk and investigate. Picard is to return to Starfleet Command for further instructions.” It says, repeating what it’s been told. The Judoons made great rank and file soldiers, but not very good thinkers or improvisers.
Junior
The priest finally deigns to look at you. "We toss aside the shackles that tied us to the endless circle of perpetual violence that could only beget suffering, and free ourselves to become one with our fellows in the way of peace."
"The Way of peace" The others murmur in dreamy synchronicity. It’s downright creepy, like their individuality has been reduced, smothered by something layered over the top you can only begin to sense. Some sort of mass hypnosis or something…
John Stalvern
Just one of the technicians. You can tell by the red shirt, instead of Sardaukar regimental black. Just as well. No Starship Trooper would let himself die so easily.
It’s as you think that that you realize he’s still alive, just brain-dead. Something shut his mind down, though you have no idea what it was or how it did that without you noticing. There is silence around you, but a heavy, pregnant silence, the sort of silence that is waiting for you to make the next move. The sliding doors ahead are closed, they are the only way to the bridge to search for either survivors, or unspeakable beings to kill.
Picard, Kirk
The two of you talk, and exchange information about the situation you’ve both been dragged into by cryptic hints of those in a position to know more about what is going on then you. Between Q and Ace Rimmer (Picard finds himself mumbling ‘what a guy’ at the mere mention of his name, just like everyone else), you have some information. Some Lifeforms, using technology far beyond anything you’ve ever encountered, ripped a hole in reality to come here, then went to the Western arm of Federation space, at the Rim. Around the same time, there are reports of massive disturbances, an entire planet having suddenly vanished, and the old troubles flaring up again. Revolution, once more.
It seems the height of foolishness to assume the events are unconnected.
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Shevek
[Finally, an opening for Shevek to talk. Also, Judoon!!!!]
Shevek waits for a lull in the conversation, then interjects:
"I would ask three questions. Firstly, these strange Lifeforms displaying unprecedented forms of Superluminal Technology...are they truly a new faction appearing within known space, or have previously cultures or individuals displayed such technological prowess. Secondly, is there any sensory data of the rift opening that I can analyze?"
He lets the red soil in his hands sift through his fingers. "Thirdly: If sentients are rising up in a revolutionary spirit and for better worlds, can you not simply talk with them and agree to their demands?"
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Solo
"Drop the gun buddy." Solo has his blaster pointed at Zed, his eyes narrowed. Solo was by no means a hunter of any sort, but he spent alot of time on desert worlds, alot of time looking over his shoulders, and far more time than was healthy firing a gun at people. All of this had put him on alert and made his the optimal choice for guard.
Kirk
"What do you think Picard? I have a theory or two myself; the Kelvin, perhaps? One of the participants of the Temporal Cold War mentioned in Captain Archer's reports, perhaps?"
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Solo
Zed turns, too slow, and starts to aim. Han shot first. Zed staggers back, a quarter sized hole through his chest an inch above his heart. The man's a bounty hunter, but you don't think he was looking for you in particular. Rather, he’s one of the men hired to kill any Fremen heading into this part of the desert and harvesting the spice. They go missing all the time, you have to be really mad to hunt Fremen on their home ground by yourself. Just the same, you bury him in the sand-dune for the desert to swallow up and make your way back to camp, after tracking him back to his ship. A big, stone, floating face. Nothing of value inside, or indeed any visible means of propulsion, but that's a mystery you can't bring yourself to care about.
You return to the falcon, resting at the foothills on the edge of the mountains and the desert. Jack Harkness is telling Liet-Keyes how he's been in a situation like this before, where he was captured and due to be executed. He asked for a case of brandy as his last request, got drunk out of his mind, and woke up nursing a hang-over and in bed with both his of executioners and the accuser.
Liet-Keyes points out that something like that happening here is fairly unlikely given the Hadokens tastes, and resumes priming the pumps that are distilling moisture from the air, a necesity to survive, particularly with only one still-suit between you all. In an hour the pump has produced about a cup-full of clear water, so even with the efficient facilities aboard the falcon you’ll have to cut down your intake. Then again, with a dozen more set up you might be alright, at least enough not to worry about dehydration.
Liet-Keyes finally stops tinkering, and stretches. "Well. follow me. The dessert will swallow us up, and I shall show you the wonders of Akkaris, and my promise to you."
Mallow
You step into a breathtakingly expansive spaceport. The white floor stretches out into the distance in every direction, and you have to crane your head back quite a bit to get a good look at the ceiling, which is so far away that various patches of weather are getting in the way of his view of it. Holographic signs hovering some twenty feet from the floor are indicating the arrival and departure times of spacecraft; one of the holographic signs is being rained on, and keeps flickering sullenly. You can see a few food kiosks in the distance; closer to are a number of faintly glowing squares into which people (mostly very alien, non-humanoid people) are appearing and disappearing, closely monitored by what looks like a giant purple centipede.
Somewhere within is your contact.
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Doomguy
He decides firstly to put the poor redshirt out of his misery, and prevent him from being a very good zombie to raise, this task being acomplished via a shotgun blast to the face. He also hopes that the shotgun firing will get him going in the zero-g enviornment and propel himself towards the doors so he can open them and get the hell out of this room.
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Re: [TWI] Twilight, The Final Frontier: Twipires IN SPACE!!!!
Outlaw Starr
Gene leans his head back and lets out a relieved sigh; "Made it. Good work, everyone. Jim, let Aisha in." Jim works frantically at the ship's controls. Aisha stumbles through an airlock before collapsing, unconscious; the energy needed to power a Ctarl-Ctarl's rage is gigantic, and unless Melfina can rouse her with enough food, Aisha will be unconscious for the next two days. Jim patches through Mal's signal to Gene. With a hearty laugh, the outlaw hails, "Mal, you crazy sumbitch! What, you running from Reavers too? Of course I wasn't running so much as dragging these sorry carcasses. So, where are we?"
Legato
Bluesummers scowls. It was evident that he would have to handle this matter with more a personal touch. Raising his left hand, Legato concentrates, forming a psychic grip around the oncoming ship. Like a child with a toy, he pulls the craft toward his location. If the ship had come for him, then there was no point in hiding. Or at least no desire to. If the ship hadn't come for him, well... that's somebody else's problem, isn't it?