Ambrosia Software Web Board: The Kul'Shar Legacy, Part 1: Arrival - Ambrosia Software Web Board

Ranari glanced back at Lemenath worriedly. No matter what her sister had done, it had not really brought him back. He was only half aware of what was going on around him... at best. Fleetingly, Ranari heard the voice of Simya and saw his face, the long, white hair and intelligent eyes the color of the sky. An'dao awartha, ni u'tûra. If you give up you have already lost. Ranari would not give up. She had never given up yet, and she definately wouldn't now, neither on Madaya, nor on Lemenath, no matter how hopeless the situation might appear. There was always hope. Ranari stopped to wait for Lemenath. His eyes focused, for a short moment. With a determined expression Ranari took his hand. It seemed silly, but she was afraid he might get lost if she wouldn't take care. With her other hand she tightened her grip on the phasor*. She wasn't comfortable with it, but it seemed effective enough.
The group walked on in silence, Kwon walking a little ahead, to stop them once they were close enough to the group of hunters they had picked. Trusting Kwon to stop them in time, Ranari paid only little attention on her surroundings, until Kwon raised his hand. Everyone stopped. They had alomst reached another intersection.
"They are not far now," Kwon spoke in a low voice. "Only a small distance down the left corridor."
"How many are there?" Talm inquired.
"Five." Ranari answered instantly.
"That shouldn't be too hard, now that we're properly equipped." Phinril said.
"Maybe. But remember we need to know how they got into this...maze. Just killing them won't help us." Katze remarked.
Ranari bit her lower lip, taking her hand off the phasor to reach for the amulet her sister had given her. This was as good an opportunity to test it as any. "Leave that to me." Reluctantly, she let go of Lemenath's hand. Before anyone could say a word, she had turned the corner.
"Sanyasa, telori. Bian bha la da'in." They heard her melodious voice, speaking in an unusually friendly tone.
"Has she -" Sideline began, but Moonshadow silenced him quickly. "Shhh! Keep your weapons ready, and stay quiet. For now, we'll just wait."
"Hands up, and don't move!" Came the reply. Ranari smiled, just to keep herself from frowning. What now? Hands up? Or stay unmoving? Why did they expect her to understand them, anyway? "And don't try to use magic." The same voice added, as an afterthought. As if those humans could really keep her from using magic. They wouldn't even notice until it was too late. Already, her spell was beginning to affect them. "If you just tell us where your friends are we're not going to harm you." Lie! Ranari knew it before the man had finished speaking, but she forced herself to stay calm and friendly.
"Of course." She nodded, staring straight into the man's eyes. "But..."
"But? Come on, just tell us, girl." The man prompted gently.
Right, don't scare the poor elven girl, Ranari thought quizicaly. The man was unknowingly playing along better than she had hoped. "Uhm, could you... could you..." She began hesitatingly, seemingly insecure . "I mean... those - those..." She pointed at their raised weapons vaguely, and noticed with satisfaction that they were no longer pointing them at her. What a stroke of luck that amulet turned out to be! It multiplied the effectiveness of her spell more than she had expected, thus making the humans an easy prey.
The leader of the hunters nodded in understanding. "Lower your weapons." He ordered his men, and they obeyed without hesitating. "Now, where are your friends? We don't want to hurt you or them." The other men nodded in agreement. This time, nobody was lying.
"Uhm... can't you just put those things away?" This was the final test. If those men fulfilled that request, she could be sure that her spell had finally reached its full extent. She breathed a sigh of relief when the weapons were put away, but at the same time felt the heavy strain put on her power. Better end this quickly. "They're just around the corner." She replied. Moonshadow took this as her sign, and stepped around the corner, motioning for the others to follow her.
"Now, all I need to know is where to get out of this labyrinth." Ranari continued, tiliting her head slightly.
"Out of here?" The leader asked, insecurity showing on his face.
"Yes." Ranari took a few graceful steps forward, stopping right in front of the man. "Won't you tell me?" She asked softly, putting one hand to her hip.
Katze shuddered. Somehow, Ranari's way of treating the man reminded her of a cat.
The man blinked. Orders. There had been orders. For what? Ranari tensed as she felt her hold on the man falter for a moment. She was not really experienced with doing this. But maybe that wasn't necessary. While the man still thought of her as a friend, it was easy to retrieve the information from his mind. She raised her other hand to his cheek, smiling. "I really just want to get out of here."
A cat, toying around with the mouse she's caught.
The elf's touch was surprisingly cool. A smile crossed her pale face, a chill smile that made the man's hair stand on end.
Toying around, just before killing her prey.
The leader's eyes opened wide as Ranari abandoned the friendship spell and he recognized the danger. Not that it mattered. The icy cold reached his brain before he could even warn his men.
"Fire." Moonshadow said calmly, staring at the other group without even a hint of pity.
The leader's dead body hit the ground only seconds before his men's.
"That way." Ranari said, pointing. She took Lemenath by the hand again, just to make sure, and went away, without ever looking back. Hergat collected the Defenders' weapons and handed them to those still unarmed.
The others followed as the girl led the way to an apparently blocked side passage, and Moonshadow couldn't help but notice how fatigued Ranari was, even though she wouldn't let it show. She most certainly wouldn't be doing much for some time, magic-wise. The girl quickly removed a panel, revealing a small keypad. She hit a combination of keys, and a part of the wall blocking their way slid open, with barely a sound.

*Which I now realize she didn't even have in the first place... so she's using Lemenath's. He's in no condition to use it, anyway.
------------------
As l lay in my bed staring at the sky I asked myself:
Where the hell did the roof go?

[This message has been edited by Moonshadow (edited 01-18-2002).]

The group rounded another corner leading from the last junction. They found the lights here were flickering lightly, and the corridor was mostly dark, heading straight to a dead stop at a heavy door. The group advanced easily, having escaped the traps set for them, but also aware that they were being hunted. Eventually, they reached the door.

The door was a heavy steel alloy, large enough to fill up the corridor it blocked, and strong enough to resist all save the most resiliant technological or magic attacks. A single control panel illuminated the door, and two lights flashed an eerie red as they sat, one on each wall a bit in front of the door, lighting the corridor oddly as they rotated about their axis. Phinril walked over and began working at the panel. With a hiss, the door rose, revealing a short continuation of the corridor in a dimly lit area.

The temperature seemed slightly cooler, but there was a charge of energy in the air. The corridor came to a stop several feet after the door once stood, and after the last group member passed it, the door came sliding back down with a whoosh.

"I don't believe this..." Phinril stuttered, staring in awe at the sight that befell the group. In front of them, the corridor opened to a chamber large enough to house a few taverns. Above them, a walkway encircled half of the tapered wedge-shaped room. To their left lay most of the base of the wedge, they were somewhere near the right wall. At the focal point, in front of them, lay a raised hollow circle above the floor, and within it lay suspended a giant crystal, in the shape of a multi-faceted oval. The crystal itself was over 20 feet tall, and the base lay hidden in the space below the base of the circle.

All of the walls were a gray metal plating, and most of the upper walkway was between a railing on the inner side and various flickering consoles and devices against the wall they had just left. The room was dimly lit.

"We're in the main power reactor." Phinril continued, growing excited, "If we could knock this baby out, the base would be running on auxilliary power. That means they won't be able to easily track us."

"I don't know, that looks like it would take some doing to destroy that thing." Xenar remarked.

"We don't have to, if I can disrupt the stasis fields holding it in place, it won't remain suspended anymore, and would fall. A slight fracture could cause serious problems." Phinril replied, sounding eager to get to work.

"That would take some time, and if they attack us here we'll be trapped." Xenar pointed out.

"A pebble in a pond, the ripples can either fade away as it spreads out or it could amass to a tidal wave..." Lemenath whispered, barely audible.

"What do you suggust then? Shall we try to destroy it, or move on?" Hergat asked the group.

*You don't have to destroy the crystal, different consequences and outcomes are on either path. This is simply one of the points where we determine who lives and dies.*

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"I'm a controversial figure. My friends either dislike me or hate me."

[This message has been edited by Avatara (edited 01-18-2002).]

Talm Pondered the immense, radiant crystal. It bore little physical resemblance to the Solar Shard, but underneath the surface it too held great power inside.
He thought for a moment, then cast his vote. “I say we ought to put this out of commission, if we can. Perhaps it would better our chances for escape alive.”

Salmaris nodded, then spoke up. “I do not know about the construction of this crystal. However, it is a interdemensional energy collector, destroying it outright could have unpleasant effects. I think we should look for another way to disrupt power, without actually damaging the crystal.”

Talm, convinced by the comment, backed the statement. “Seems reasonable. Is there any way to cut the station off from the crystal, and keep them from fixing it for a while?” He asked.

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Ein weasel hat Sie Gehirn!
Those online traslators just don't live up to the hype.


[e]Fixed rather odd spell-checker error[/e]

[This message has been edited by Talm (edited 01-18-2002).]

"That's what I was intending to do. Put it out of commission, for a long time." Phinril replied. "My way would cause it to fracture from the drop, it wouldn't shatter it, but it would discharge it...making it useless for many years while it slowly recharged."

"I still have my doubts..." Xenar interjected, but quited down quickly.

------------------
"I'm a controversial figure. My friends either dislike me or hate me."

Kwon was looking curiously at Lemenath. The phrase he'd spoken had sounded strangely like something his old master might have said, back at the monastery; and although it didn't quite seem appropriate to their current circumstances, he felt it might have some deeper meaning that, if he could only decipher it, would be important later on. Regardless, Kwon determined to begin paying much closer attention to the stricken elf.

After looking around the collection of uncertain faces, Flynn voiced his opinion. "I say, if you think you can do it quickly, and without killing us all, go ahead. I'm sorry Talm, Salmaris, but we're in a bind, and we need all the edge we can get."

Most of the group nodded in agreement. Phinril quickly climbed up a nearby ladder and onto the catwalk, followed by a highly curious Wolmark. Phinril located the control panel he was after, and set to work.

He swore loudly. "It's encrypted! Pretty primitive stuff, but it'll take me a while to break through."

Flynn sighed. "Just work as fast as you can."

"Of course I will, you idiot," Phinril muttered under his breath.

After a moment, Wolmark broke the silence. "Phinril -"

"Not now!"

"What if -"

"I said, don't interrupt!"

"But Phinril -"

"Look, I'm busy here!"

There was a loud bang, and Phinril turned to see Wolmark beating a hasty retreat, amid a shower of sparks.

"What did you do?" Phinril demanded, as the lights on the various consoles began to flicker and go out.

"Well, that cable was dangling down here, and there was a kind of hole over there, and I just wondered what would happen if I shoved it in..."

"What happened, is that you short circuited the whole system! All the maintenance power is draining -" He broke off, eyes wide, and glanced over at the crystal. It was starting to shake a little, as the power for the stasis fields rapidly drained away. "Oh..."

He leaned over the railing, and called down to the rest of the group. "Look out below! It's coming down any second!"

As if to punctuate his statement, the great crystal suddenly dropped, with a loud, reverberating 'clang'.

Phinril glared at Wolmark. "Not a word to about this to anybody, understand?"

*** OoC ***
This was just for fun, so if anyone has any objections, let me know
*** BiC ***

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I came, I saw, I wrote the travelguide!

[quote]Originally posted by theScribe:

*** OoC ***
This was just for fun, so if anyone has any objections, let me know  

Phinril swung over the rail, and landed on the floor, Wolmark behind him.

"We should leave, they know we are here now." Hergat spoke. Phinril nodded grumpily and turned to lead the way. Five steps hadn't been taken before the lights flickered and went out, plunging them in almost-darkness for a moment.

"Come on! Hurry!" Phinril's voice called from the darkness, with an impatient edge to it.

The group turned, and followed his voice as well as they could. On the other side of the room, a door whooshed open, and they could see red lighting beyond, the emergency power had kicked in. The group picked up their pace, and began running away from the power crystal.

------------------

After several minutes of twisting around corridors, hoping to "lose pursuit," the group found themselves facing an open-topped box with a metal pole sticking out of one of the sides, large enough for half of them to fit in.

"Quick get in, take the first one. You four come with me." Phinral ordered the group.

Ranari, Lemenath, Flynn, Moonshadow, Talm, Salmaris, and Xenar all climbed in the box (some rather reluctantly), and Phinril hit something into the console on the side wall. A metallic whirring sound was heard, and the cable car began to move upward, out a door that opened next to the console, revealing a vast cavernous area that neither the floor or the cieling could be seen. All around lay various other rooms, it was a big hive of technology. Humans were busy working away at various machines, performing their little tasks. The whole cavern was lit by blue lighting on the walls, and on the far side they could see an opening that would eventually lead to their destination: the hanger bay.

After a few moments, another box appeared from the opposite wall, and Phinril quickly ushered the group in. This group cooperated much better, all of them could feel a sort of looming danger nearby. After inserting something into the console, Phinril jumped aboard, and the car started off with a rush.

At first, several of the group were nervous, mostly due to the sheer fall below them and wind rapidly whipping by their face. However, their nervousness was quickly lost as Hergat shouted out suddenly.

"Son of a.... You traitorous bastard! Phinril..." Hergat grabbed Phinril, shoving him against the wall of the cable car, and pulling up a box with flashing lights, "You've been revealing us to them all along. This is how they've been tracking us!"

"I...I...you see, it was..." Phinril was cut off by a sudden violent shudder as the car jolted. "Uh oh, the generator seems to be short-circuiting."

"I bet you planned this as well!"

"No...but...we'll die if it can't be fixed." Phinril replied, meekly. Hergat grunted, and Phinril leaned over the left railing, working on the console. "I've got it!" he shouted as the car started forward again with a slight lurch. Phinril smiled triumphantly, but quickly became shocked as the wall behind him gave way, and he fell backwards. Hergat reached down and grabbed his wrist.

"Somebody, grab his other arm!" Hergat bellowed, ahead of them the first car had safely landed. Sideline hurried over, but before he could reach Phinril, Hergat's grasp slipped and Phinril let out a scream as he fell, and was lost to sight. "Damn..." Hergat muttered in shock, staring at the broken wall.

The car climbed upward to the landing silently...

------------------
"I'm a controversial figure. My friends either dislike me or hate me."

The car landed, the group evacuated silently, but keeping up their haste. Xenar had led the first group in the direction they wanted to travel, away. The first group was already lost to sight, by the time the second group was ready.

Hergat silently led the second group, down the corridor Xenar had taken moments before, but when he rounded the corner of the intersection, Xenar was nowhere to be seen, and neither was anyone from the first group. With a puzzled frown, Hergat advanced at a slower pace, picking his path.

WIth another frown, Hergat led Sideline, Katze, Wolmark, Leandra, and Kwon over a bridge spanning another big cavern similar to the first, but less than half as wide. Another brief turn brought Hergat face to face with a bewildered Flynn, who seemed to be lost.

"What are you doing? Where's Xenar?" Hergat yelled angrily.

"I don't know. I looked behind us to check if we were being followed and when I looked back, everyone was gone." Flynn replied. Around the corner Talm, Salmaris, and Moonshadow appeared.

"You fools! We've already lost one of us, for what? So we can let you 'primitives' return home!" Hergat yelled angrily, Moonshadow started hurrying toward Flynn, but the corridor seemed long and Flynn seemed far away for her.

"Hergat, I'm sorry...I don't know what you mean but-"

"No buts! A life is a life! I never should've listened to the dying elf! And yes, he is dying, there's nothing his friend can do to save him! He's dying! We're all dying! And as for you!" Hergat's voice echoed throughout the corridors, as he pulled out a knife and jabbed it into Flynn's chest. Flynn appeared startled, looked down to see blood coming out of his wound.

"Flynn!" Moonshadow could only cry out.

------------------
"I'm a controversial figure. My friends either dislike me or hate me."

The group hushed, all in shocked silence as Hergat removed his knife from Flynn in horror. Flynn wavered once, then became blurred and resolved in the form of...

"Phinril?" Hergat gasped, staring at his blooded blade and his wounded friend sprawled on the floor.

"I tried....to...warn you..." Phinril gasped, with a smile.

"But...how?"

"I..." Phinril decided to ignore the question, sensing his time was running short, "Beware....Xenar is the traitor, not I..." With another smile, his head fell back and he breathed his last. Kwon knelt, muttered something, and closed his eyes.

"Xenar? The traitor?" Sideline asked, "That means..."

"Ranari!" Moonshadow finished.

------------------

Lemenath halted, having another wave of nausea pass over him. Ranari tried helping him up, still following Xenar, but in hopes that he could save Lemenath. She looked at him, he shook his head, she could see he was in pain.

"I wouldn't go any further if I were you." She looked up, to see Xenar pointing a phaser at her. In her shock, she suddenly began realizing what had happened, as Major Trius and three of his men came out, pointing their blasters at her.

"I wouldn't think of using magic if I were you." Trius grinned, holding up some type of crystal. Ranari concentrated, attempting to charm one of the men, but frowned as the crystal glowed and merely absorbed the magic from the spell she was trying to cast.

Ranari just knelt by Lemenath, never leaving his side, as the men advanced.

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"I'm a controversial figure. My friends either dislike me or hate me."

Moonshadow stared at Phinril, momentarily at a loss, unable to decide what to do. Help Ranari or find Flynn? She could sense that he was not in immediate danger, yet that could change quickly.
Katze leaned back against the wall, thinking hard. "Doy ou still have the tracking device, Moonshadow?" She asked eventually.
"Why, yes, I have." Moonshadow looked up.
"I suggest we split up, then." Katze said.
Moonshadow pulled the device out of her back and activated it quickly.
Sidline stared at it thoughtfully. "Do you know which of them is Flynn?"
"Yes, sure. He's that way." Moonshadow pointed down the left corridor, and Kwon nodded affirmatively.
"Okay. I trust Lemenath knows where we're headed, Hergat?"
The addressed man looked at Katze curiously, not sure what she was getting at, but answered nonetheless. "Yes, he does. The hangar bay."
Katze frowned, but decided not to ask. A bay? In this metal maze? And what was a a hangar, anyway? Some kind of animal that lived there, maybe? No, somehow Katze doubted that.
Sideline, finally finding himself on more or less familar terrain again, spoke up. "Then you'll lead the search for Flynn, Hergat." He looked at Katze, smiling. This kind of logic they both knew.
"I, for one, prefer to hunt down Xenar." Katze added, pushing herself off of the wall.
Resolutely, Moonshadow handed the device to Katze. "You'll need that, then. I can make Flynn out without this."
Katze nodded. "Fine. Salmaris, you're coming with me; you know more of this technology then I do. As for the rest of you, it's your choice."
Soon afterwards, Katze, Salmaris, Sideline and Kwon set off down the other corridor.
***
Ranari stared at Xenar cold fury on her face; her mind was racing. The crystal obviously absorbed all spells directed at the group, and there was no way she could overcome them without magic, not while their weapons were pointed at her. Had she been alone, she might have had a chance to escape, but she was determined to stay.
"Dha'mâo valva iama; a'mâo ar'thi!*" She told Lemenath, clasping his hand.
"Do't you notice that your spells are useless?" Trius asked quizically, mistaking her words, spoken in the melodious, almost sung elven tongue, for an incantation.
"Useless!" Ranari hissed, eyes flashing. "You and your men are the only ones who're useless here!"
Trius laughed. No matter how cold the girl appeared, she seemed to have quite a temper. He looked over at the male elf. The man was apparently seriously ill. No matter, Trius had never intended to let him live, anyway.
"Bha'iya!**" Ranari whirled around, placing herself in front of Lemenath, her back turned to the soldiers. She wouldn't watch him die, she wouldn't. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for that brilliant beam of energy to hit her. Ar'nanda! An'zerza ar'mâ e'ra! But there was nothing she could do... or was there? A'mâo ayu'dha.
"Damnit!" Trius shouted, angrily, firing again.
"What's wrong? Why doesn't the crystal work?" Xenar asked.
Ranari opened her eyes slowly. She was not dead. She turned around, just as stunned as everybody else, looking first at the soldiers, then at Lemenath. He was cerrtainly in no condition to cast a shielding spell, if he even knew one. It must have worked. Nurd'dhao, ista'rhi. Ranari thought, heaving a sigh of relief. Then she pulled out her phasor, just as she heard the sound of people approaching quickly from behind. Trapped!
A beam of energy cut the air, hitting Xenar in the chest. He was dead before he knew it. Ranari turned around to see Katze, staring in amazement at the phasor in hand. "Wow, this thing actually works!"
Ranari pulled Lemenath aside, out of their line of fire, aiming the phasor at the leader and firing. She only hit his right, upper arm, making him drop the blaster, while her companions took aim again and fired. It didn't take long to take out the other soldiers. "Didn't I say you're useless?" Ranari asked, her voice colder than ice. She slowly pointed the phasor directly at his head, and, with a chill smile, pressed the button. The damage the phasor inflicted to a human was apparently much greater than what it did to a metal floor plate.

Translations:
* You're not going to die; I won't let you!
** No, don't!

------------------
As l lay in my bed staring at the sky I asked myself:
Where the hell did the roof go?

[This message has been edited by Moonshadow (edited 01-21-2002).]

Actually, I was going to post - but I'll wait, now

[edit] OK, I waited, and it was worth it! Now to get my thinking cap on... [/edit]
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Kobayashi Maru!

[This message has been edited by cache22 (edited 01-21-2002).]

Flynn awoke with a pounding headache. Years of combat had schooled him on the importance of silence, so he didn't groan; but he certainly felt like doing it. The second thing he noticed, was the utter darkness. The third, the confined space.

Feeling around slowly, he found himself to be lying in some kind of long metal box, with just enough room to roll over once. As his eyes adjusted, he began to make out a faint rectangular gleam of red light, presumably seeping in around the hatch or cover. He was about to try and open it, when he heard the voices.

"The straggler's in here somewhere; turn down the range on that scanner so we can get a fix." Flynn didn't recognise the voice, but he recognised the type. He didn't know what the man was called here; but at the count's castle where he grew up, he would've been the master-at-arms.

"Yes, sargeant," came a second voice. This voice was much younger, and had just a hint of timidity; probably a new recruit.

"Whaddya think, sarge - should we let the rookie take his first blood?" A veteran soldier this, hardened to the brutality of war.

Flynn felt the temptation to panic rising in him. He was a swordsman, used to fighting in open spaces; getting caught in this confined box wasn't the right way for him to go out. Needing to control his fear, he fell back on a technique Kwon had taught him. He began to breath slowly and deeply, while searching for something on which to focus, to calm himself. An image of a face floated into view; Moonshadow's.

In spite of everything, Flynn found himself smiling. The fear drained away, as his body relaxed.

"No, Crandell, we'll take point. Sorry Alstor, you're just not ready yet."

"That's ok, sarge," the younger voice replied. Then: "Got him! He's in there!"

"Vital signs?"

"Low and slow; looks like he's unconscious."

"Right. Crandell, on three!"

-------------------

Alstor was never quite sure exactly what happened next. One second, the sarge counted 'three', and Crandell flung open the storage locker; the next, an energy beam flashed out where one had no right to be, cutting both Crandell and the sarge in half in a single, sweeping arc. He was still staring at the four separate places their bodies had fallen, when the blonde stranger clambered up out of the locker.

"Don't!" he shouted, as Alstor began to raise his weapon. Alstor froze. He knew he could never aim and fire before the phasor that was already pointed at him cut him down.

"Drop the weapon," their erstwhile prey said, calmly. Alstor complied; he had no choice. He felt absolutely terrified; he knew he was about to die - so the next thing that happened took him completely by surprise.

"What's your first name, boy?" the stranger queried, gently.

"T-Troyen," he stuttered.

"Well, Troyen, my name's Flynn." As he spoke, the man sat down on the storage locker. Neither the weapon, nor his gaze, wavered for an instant.

"Now tell me, young master Alstor: why are you hunting us?"

"Be- because you're criminals, and you escaped."

"I've got news for you kid - most of us were innocent bystanders. We escaped because that's what kidnap victims do, if they can." He chuckled. "And we happen to be a fairly capable bunch."

Alstor frowned, and shook his head. "But that's not our mission! It's our job to enforce peace and justice!"

"Is that what they told you, kid?" Flynn's tone was almost pitying. Troyen stared at the floor in bewilderment; he wasn't sure what to believe any more.

"Let me tell you what really happened," Flynn continued, "then you can make up your own mind."

Flynn proceeded to tell the tale as best he knew it, starting from their return from the Air Castle, and ending on the mountain top.

"So there we were," he concluded, "both the good and the bad, you might say, facing off over a stack of barrels; then suddenly we ended up here."

"But you admit you were fighting!" Troyen protested. "And it's our job to keep the peace!"

"Not in Cythera," Flynn continued gently. "We have our own king, our own laws, and our own enforcers of the law. Citizens have the right to defend themselves against attack, and some - generally known as the 'heroes' - are trusted to do whatever is in the best interest of the country, and execute judgements concerning the law. My friends and I are counted among that group; and in my judgement, it was your people who acted with criminal intent. Your group is neither known, nor is it's jurisdiction recognised in Cythera; so what you did amounts to abduction."

Alstor was almost half convinced - but only half. "He must be keeping me alive for some reason, but why?" he asked himself; then he suddenly thought he had the answer.

"You need me to help you find your companions, don't you!" he exclaimed.

"Hmm?" Flynn murmured absently. "No; she'll find me, I think." Troyen wondered at his strange phrasing, but Flynn didn't seem to notice.

"Then why are you keeping me alive?" He blurted, abruptly; he almost dreaded getting an answer.

"Because I don't like killing, and you're young enough to mend," came the surprising reply. "Ah, I think that's them now," Flynn continued, standing once more, before Troyen could really comprehend what he'd said.

"Flynn!" Troyen looked up to see a young, silver haired woman rushing over toward Flynn, at the head of a larger group.

The woman hugged Flynn tightly, then released him and stepped away, blushing.

Flynn cleared his throat; he was equally as red faced as the woman. "Everybody, I'd like you to meet Troyen Alstor." The group stared at Troyen with varying degrees of anger and suspicion.

"I have hopes that he'll mend his ways," Flynn continued, drily.

------------------
The only substitute for good manners, is fast reflexes.

[This message has been edited by Flynn (edited 01-22-2002).]

OoC
Well, Looks like our first local charicter!
I won't kill him without your permission, don't worry
BiC


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I'll just put a random number at 0008EC and see what happens.
(Famous Last Words #-32767)
   
Where do you want to [url="http://"http://www.macclassics.com/cythera/tricks/rJade.htm"]teleport[/url] today?

Katze was the one to break the silence. "Hergat says you know where to go. We're looking for a hanger bay?" She frowned, still not understanding, but Lemenath stood up, with Ranari's help.

"Hanger bay..." Lemenath stated absent-mindedly.

"I have no clue either-" Katze was cut off.

"I think I know where that is. Follow me." Lemenath waited a minute, then started walking slowly, one step at a time, Ranari supporting him. Pain was evident in his face, yet he gritted his teeth and struggled onward. Just a few turns away they emerged into another large room. This one, however, had one wall missing, the far wall. It opened past a translucent blue field, out into a vast red barren land. Several mechanical devices were strewn about the room, several looked almost like birds. "This is your hanger bay. We need to take one of those contraptions out of here, I'm sure Hergat will follow."

------------------
"Travel with an alert eye and a drawn sword."

The vessel was twenty-five feet long, and did indeed look almost avian. Talm eagerly approached the mechanical raptor, and examined what seemed to be a hatch.

Talm spied a handle set into the side of the vessel, and gave it a tug.
With a smooth, hydraulic, whoosh, the hatch opened.

-----------------

Flynn was the first inside the vessel. It was an armored troop shuttle, according to the more savvy elements in the group. There were seats for seven passengers and a pilot, but more could be accommodated if they were willing to be crowded.

At Flynn’s signal, the others began to board the vessel.
Things were looking up, and their prospects for escape seemed better than ever.

------------------
Ein weasel hat Sie Gehirn!
Those online traslators just don't live up to the hype.

[This message has been edited by Talm (edited 01-22-2002).]

Hergat scanned the controls of the shuttle. Nothing too complicated, a run of the mill armored shuttle. Shields, Velocity, Directional computer, all typical stuff. He sat down in the pilot’s chair.

Soon, with all of the adventurers crammed into the avian vessel like sardines, Flynn pulled the hatch closed.


Salmaris looked around her. Humans to her right, Elves to her left, and more Humans to her front.
Never had she been jammed into so small a place with so many aliens.
Moonshadow nudged Salmaris.
“Are you okay?” She asked the displaced being.

Salmaris nodded. “I’m fine... it’s just I’ve never been in such proximity close to so many people...”

Moonshadow was not totally convinced - something seemed to be troubling Salmaris. But then, she’d never seen Salmaris relaxed.

Talm, situated in front of Wolmark in one of the chairs, turned around to speak to the scientist.
“This vessel is amazing, isn’t it! It’s an air vessel, judging from the design. What do you make of it?”

Wolmark, who was trying to wind down for a moment, replied.
“Eh? Oh, this vessel, yes. It is very interesting.” Wolmark seemed half asleep already.

Talm took a hint, and turned back around to his approrate position.

Hergat’s voice cut the boredom.
“Alright, we’re ready to Take off!”

There was a whirring noise, and the blue field fell automatically as the shuttle ambled out of the hanger and into the land beyond.

OoC
Heh, my spell checker wanted to turn ‘Wolmark’ into ‘WalMart’!
BiC

------------------
I'll just put a random number at 0008EC and see what happens.
(Famous Last Words #-32767)
   
Where do you want to [url="http://"http://www.macclassics.com/cythera/tricks/rJade.htm"]teleport[/url] today?

*As does Avatara *

Ranari shuddered, leaning back into her seat. Trying to escape from that metal maze with her human companions was one thing, being cramped into a small, strange... box with them was a totally different matter. Who would have thought that helping out one silly human - she stared at Flynn angrily - would lead her into so much trouble? Why had she let Lemenath talk her into this in the first place? Ranari had repeated that question over and over in her mind, and still the answer remained the same: she liked him, liked him very much, in fact. The point where you let emotions take over is the point where you lose control of a situation. Once again, one of her mentor's favorite phrases flashed through her head. Or hadn't it been Simya's words? No, it hadn't. But why had she assigned them to him, then? And who had originally said them? No matter, the person was undoubtedly right. Ranari had completely lost control of the situation, and now she was tired. She looked up at Lemenath, sitting next to her, and noticed yet again how painfully pale he was. Tentatively, she leaned her head on his shoulder, sleep overwhelming her even as she did so.
***
Katze sat down next to Hergat sullenly. She would not forget how he had captured and treated her, but right now was not the right time to hold grudges. "Hergat?"
"Hm?" He never looked up from the controls. They wanted to get out of here alive, after all.
"When we're out of here, could you show me how to use some of this stuff?" Katze hated asking that, but Lemanath was in no condition to help her, and Hergat seemed to be the only alternative.
"Hm." Hergat replied absent-mindedly. Katze figured that would have to suffice until they were safely out of reach of their hunters.
***
Moonshadow glanced worriedly at Salmaris now an then, wondering what was troubling her, until Flynn nudged her gently, motioning for her to look ahead, out of the main window, where the landscape was rushing by at an incredible speed, at least for the Cytherans. They were apparently rising steadily.
"Where are we going?" Leandra asked, firmly clasping the armrest of her seat.

------------------
As l lay in my bed staring at the sky I asked myself:
Where the hell did the roof go?

[This message has been edited by Moonshadow (edited 01-25-2002).]

"Up" Hergat pointed a finger upward.

"The ceiling?" Leandra frowned, Hergat raised his hand higher, momentarily occupied with a console in front of him. "The stars?"

"Not that far. He intends to take us to the moon." Kwon interjected, Hergat turned at him in shock for a moment, but was pulled back due to an irritating beeping noise and a flickering red light.

"You've got to be kidding..." he grumbled.

Wolmark looked out the viewport at the clouds rapidly whizzing by, leaving the barren red world below. Above he could see a large something that appeared to have many arms. "What's that?"

"It appears we have an orbital space station in our way, we'll have to go through it, hang on tight." Hergat mumbled as he pressed a button, and a metal rod rose that he gripped, and moved about. Salmaris, Talm and Wolmark remained awake fascinated with the controls, unlike the others who slipped into blissful dreams.

The craft rose higher, and the sky darkened, as they left the base behind. Now it was merely a flickering light on the ground that could barely be seen, when they first left it seemed to stretch in three directions as far as the eye could see. Above them, the contraption grew bigger, a maze of cross-beams, corridors, and large cylinder contraptions that they later learned were living quarters.

Hergat responded to an irritable screeching and frantic flashing of a large red light on the right side of the cockpit by weaving in and out of the tube-like corridors that were strung across their path. Skimming over one, and quickly diving down, there was a bright flash as some type of flaming projectile flew overhead and crashed into a sheild around the base. Hergat spun the craft shaply starboard, and headed towards a largely unfinished and menacing section of the space station, the moon just barely visible on their left.

------------------
"I'm a controversial figure. My friends either dislike me or hate me."

An shrill alarm began beeping, in concert with a flashing red light. Hergat made several wild manouvers, but the alarm kept sounding. "Damn," he exclaimed, "I can't seem to lose this one!"

Troyen suddenly lunged forward toward the console, quickly pressing a button before Katze could grab him from behind and wrestle him back. There was a strange whooshing sound, and a second or two later the alarm abruptly stopped.

"What did you do?" Katze queried, suspiciously.

"He released chaff," Hergat sighed, relieved. He glanced back at them, briefly. "I wasn't sure where the control was. Nice going, kid." Katze had no idea what Hergat was talking about, but released Troyen anyway, since it seemed he'd been trying to help.

"So what finally convinced you, Troyen?" she asked.

"I'm not convinced - yet," he replied. "That Flynn tells a good story, and he doesn't seem to act like a criminal, but I just don't know what to think. But I don't want to die, before I make up my mind." Katze nodded in understanding, and leaned back in her seat.

--------

Wolmark had watched the interplay with interest, not really understanding half of what he saw, and very excited by the fact; it was a long time since anything had presented him with such an intellectual challenge.

The station was soon left far behind. "They've broken off the attack," Hergat commented. "They're probably counting on any forces on the moon itself to deal with us - I doubt they've given up completely."

Wolmark nodded. He gazed around at the rest of the people in the cramped cabin, wondering how they could have slept through all the excitement; but then, he was extremely tired himself. Finally, he looked down at Leandra, buckled securely into the seat next to him. She'd been thrown about a bit by the sharp twists and turns, and her head had ended up resting on his shoulder.

He'd never understood why Flynn hadn't returned her affections; she was such a wonderful person, and certainly good looking. He glanced over at Flynn, on the other side of the cabin. He was leaning against the wall, soundly asleep; Moonshadow had ended up in a similar position to Leandra, with her head on Flynn's shoulder.

"Well," Wolmark thought, smiling to himself, "his attentions are clearly focused elsewhere now." So maybe, just maybe, he had a chance afterall...

------------------
There are three kinds of computer users: those that use Macintoshes, those that wish they used Macintoshes, and those that don't know any better.

Talm glanced around the cabin.
He recollected about how he’d came into this situation - Salmaris mentioning an ‘energy reading’, and her talking him into investigating it. It hadn’t been hard for her, he was innately curious.

Was this a flaw, or a blessing?
He wasn’t sure entirely. Most of Cythera’s people seemed content with the way things were, not striving to improve things. They didn’t seem, with some exemptions, to be a curious people.

Of course, Talm wasn’t from Cythera, he was from the islands of Tatrinas.
His mind wandered back to his family. His parents, his friends. His kindly aunt and uncle - the governor of Tatrinas. His sister. His brother Toral. Then, he remembered with reason he left Tatrinas.

Talm winced at the thought of Toral’s betrayal. How could his own brother turn out be a traitor?

His introspection was interrupted by Hegart’s speech.
“I’ve sighted the moon on close-range sensors. We’ll be there in under ten minutes.”

Talm wondered what challenges the moon would hold.
Would he even have a future, or would he end up dead on some forsaken moon?

------------------
Ein weasel hat Sie Gehirn!
 
Those online traslators just don't live up to the hype.

The craft swerved away in a large arc; the space station grew smaller behind them. Nobody followed them, either they were unable to or they had other plans in mind. After a brief peaceful journey, Hergat woke everyone up.

"We're preparing to land on the moon now. I suggust you each fasten yourselves snugly in those straps. Somebody help that elf." Hergat gestured towards Lemenath as he hurried back to the front. The craft jarred slightly and Hergat cursed, trying to keep it steady. The weary group did as requested, fastening themselves in tight as the craft spun into the atmosphere of the small moon, leaving a trail of flame behind.

------------------

Ranari helped the unconscious Lemenath into the contraption, then stood back as something caught her eye. A strange green glow was emenating around his ears, the illness was starting to openly show itself.

------------------
"I'm a controversial figure. My friends either dislike me or hate me."

The group landed, and Hergat ordered everyone out. With a quick glance around the barren white landscape, with a vague hint of purple above them, they began to exit the vehicle.

"I am having a hard time...of breathing..." Talm gasped out.

"The atmosphere is thin, if we don't hurry, we'll die." Hergat replied calmly, as he set off at a jog towards the only direction that was flat. The group followed, some suspiciously, checking around to make sure they weren't being followed. After a brief jog, the suspicions were banished when Hergat began a sharp descent into a small bowl on the plain, unnoticable until they stumbled on it. At the bottom, was an octogonal marble platform, raised up three steps from the rest of the ground, and containing eight curved metal spires, bordering the platform. It seemed like nobody had been here for years, but the metal was still well tended.

"Finally, our destination." The group stepped into the middle hexagon, and watched awed as the air began to hum, and blue energy swirled from the metal prongs, lighting them up. The energy flowed down runes inside the inner hexagon, crossing under the group, lighting up symbols as well. The blue grew brighter and brighter, and with a flash, the group awoke.

------------------

"All's clear. We haven't found any trace of them after they left their craft."

"Make one more pass around to make sure, then return to base."

"Roger that, sir." The aircraft cruised over the surface of the moon one last time, before turning and heading back to the orbital station. The metal prongs remained behind, undisturbed...

------------------
"I'm a controversial figure. My friends either dislike me or hate me."