Chapter Three: All In

[Purr]

Taniya slowly grinned and shook her head. "Curse me for a male-brained buffoon; I should have seen this coming."

The forty-foot tall Meltrandi leaned down to her micronized and panicking subordinate. "Cera," she called. Cera, her eyes still pupilless, turned her face upward toward the veteran ace. "Dear Cera," she mock-pouted, "is that any way to treat someone who is trying to repair you?"

"Re..." she gasped, "'repair me'? Why?"

"Release her."

Cera reached out again and (unless Toph prevented her) placed her hand on Toph's chest. She stared at her hand. Then before Toph had made it into a trance state, the magnetic seals on Toph's mega-suit's neckline released, allowing Toph to remove her helmet if she wished.

At once, the climate controls reversed themselves and Toph could feel those little fans blowing cool air against her skin again. It was a refreshing sensation. Toph's mega-suit computer spoke into her ear. "Climate control restored. Reserve oxygen tank available."

Taniya chuckled as Cera dropped her hand away from Toph. "As you are now no doubt aware," Taniya sighed, "the Meltrandi Traverser I spoke of earlier stands before you. However..." she frowned, "unlike you, her power of seems to have a great and merciless control over her."

Cera shivered again but not from the weather. Toph saw now the Meltrandi's sunken eyes returning to their normal color. She clenched her teeth like a woman in ongoing pain.

Taniya stood tall again while Unit One's eyes showed a grassy green. "So, Traversers, you wish to ally with the Ura-Meltrandi? Here is my offer: I help you find your precious tanks and you repair Cera completely.

"Have we a deal?"

Just then, the Red Baroness soared back inside the aerospace hangar bay and came to a stop not far from Toph and Cera. Mack glanced around not knowing what had just occurred.

"Hey, Doc!" She popped her canopy. "Man down in my back seat here!" The Californian jerked Her thumb toward a very woozy-and-uncomfortable-looking Hercules. Meanwhile, her Valkyrie held Spaceman Sam and MechaKitten in its steely left hand. But Taniya had not yet noticed them.

What do you do?

 

[Psychie]

Toph takes a ragged breath as the air flow once more returns to normal, then she yanks her helmet off and fires off a glare at Cera. After a few more lungfuls of air, her attention is drawn by Mack calling out that they had a man down. Well, she seems to be stable enough for me to go work on Herc. Serves me right, getting that close to a potentially hostile patient and just assuming that she wouldn't freak out at my presence. Toph slips her helmet back on and looks to Taniya. "If her troubles come from her Traversing, there is little I can do for her here other than sedate her until we get back to see our own teacher in this talent. For now, I would suggest we do that, but she looks like she can wait. I have a teammate that needs my immediate attention." Looking up at the Red Baroness with a nod, she grabs her bag and moves out briskly. "I'm coming up. Just hold still." She kicks in her jump pack to make the leap up to the wing, then works her way to the edge of the cockpit to look in on Hercules. "If I were a betting girl, it looks like he overextended himself Traversing, just like Corporal Zuko did." She busies herself getting a hypo spray ready with a powerful painkiller and gets herself set to inject him.

 

[Kaerri]

Herself, Elinor thought it was a pretty good deal -- probably the best they'd get just now. Still, some things needed to be clarified before anyone agreed. And Shirley would have to be in on the agreeing. She called out over the radio, "Mack, Taniya's girl Cera here is their Traverser, but she needs trainin' worse than we do. Taniya says she'll get us to the tanks if we'll take care of Cera." She turned her attention to Taniya then. "You oughta know by now, we aren't experts ourselves yet. We can do our best for her, and get her back to folks that know a lot more 'n us about how all this works and see that they do their best for her, but I can't promise she'll be fixed up completely 'cause I just don't know enough to know if we can. That OK by you? If you're good with it, and the rest of our team is too, I'll take her in my own cockpit until we get her to a safer spot."

 

[Purr]

Toph takes a ragged breath as the air flow once more returns to normal, then she yanks her helmet off and fires off a glare at Cera.

Cera could not help but take interest in the Micronian's features as Toph took off her helmet revealing a crown of pink hair and mixed Meltrandi and human features - if one knew where to look.

Cera saw Toph's glare and recoiled as if Toph were a poisonous viper. Her face fell and tears welled up again. She had the look of someone who was terribly sorry for what she had done.

 

[Sherwood]

Mario is uncertain as to what to do. He likes the idea of succeeding in their mission to get the tanks, but will the be able to with all of these hostiles in the way? Then there is the risk to Eglin base. He clenches his teeth. No. There is no way that he will stand idly by and let that happen. Then he says to Mackenzie, "Ma'am? I think that having an extra pair of mecha on our side couldn't be a bad thing, and with all of the unknowns out there, offering to help these Meltrandi and their comrade, gain some allies, and possibly save the lives of everyone at the base might be our only way to get there. If this were a democracy, I'd vote to help them. Also, we should try to get ahold of the Colonel and warn him to begin the evacuation of Eglin, just to cover our bets. Permission to try and get a signal out?"

As he talks, he keeps an eye on the radar screen and his ear open to the radio. There may be a moment's notice from the enemy by looking to the sensors, and he spends some time scanning the airwaves to see if there is any signals that he can tap into.

 

[Purr]

"Make it happen, Mario!" Her Valkyrie cockpit wide open while Toph administered assistance to Hercules, Shirley kept a close and unamused eye on Taniya.

And Mario did. But like many things in life, at first it wasn't easy.

Being military-trained into communications, the young Italian-American tanker knew his stuff in ground vehicles and in radio rooms, but in aircraft? Corporal Zuko may have had the honor of being on the largest aircraft ever developed on Earth, that being the Super Dimensional Fortress 1, but now that he was in the backseat of a T.A.S.C. Ajax, a virtually brand-new flying veritech, well, for the first few moments he was became so confused as to all of the different controls and settings in front of him that he may as well have been trying this in one of the United States's old space shuttles.

However, if there were one thing A.T.A.C. tankers often had going for them, they had a reputation for being hard fighters who did not give up easily. And he didn't. Sure, it took a few long, frustrating moments to finally find the radio controls he so needed, but he knew they were there somewhere. It was also beneficial that Toph had not shut the Ajax down. Otherwise, Mario might have never gotten the thing started, at least not with his mechanical knowledge.

So here Mario was. Radio on. He easily linked his mega-suit's own little radio into the Ajax so he could hear what was being transmitted over the airwaves without having to worry about the background noise of the Ajax's super-high-tech turbines.

He clicked from radio channel to channel, reaching out across the vast Florida wastelands for signs of life. Searching so, he heard these things between the clicks of the channel dial in his fingers:

*CLICK*

(buzzing, crackling static)

*CLICK*

(fast-paced pop music along with wild, excited, and, you might say, weird singing)

"Burn your candle at both ends
Look a gift horse in the mouth
Mashed potatoes can be your friend

You can be a coffee achiever!
You can sit around the house and watch Leave it to Beaver!
The future's up to you
so what'choo gonna do?!"

*CLICK*

(static)

*CLICK*

(a television show of some kind, first speaker sounds like a street dude, while the second has the tone, pacing, and command of language of a highly educated person)

Street dude: "Dere's a bloke from 'round my hood... who reject everything to do with science. He just chill at home, he smoke his own homegrown, and check this - he don't have a telly."

Educated person: "He lives in a house though. And a house is a product of technology."

Street dude: "No, no, he ain't got no technology! You can check out his website..."

*CLICK*

(static)

*CLICK*

(radio show of some kind, male speaker, very likely African-American by his very cool accent)

"Helllllooooo? Capital Wastleland! This is Three Dog - awwwooooo! Comin' to you loud and proud from Galaxy News Radio. And heeeeere's me! - ha ha ha - with the news...."

*CLICK*

(static)

*CLICK*

(radio or television show from the sound of it. Male speaker, British accent, sounds young and full of resolve, perhaps facing down a foe)

"Is this world protected? Because, you are not the first to have come here. Oh, there have been SO many! And, what you've got to ask is: what happened to them?"

"Hello, I'm The Doctor."

"Basically... run."

*CLICK*

(At this point, it dawns on Mario that, having access to military channels, he can directly contact Eglin ASC base using its own channels. Distance might be a factor, however. Since Mario has no knowledge or experience with aircraft radios, he has no idea what the exact range of the Ajax's radio or if it can reach Eglin. Mario did know that aircraft often had radios that surpassed their ground-based-vehicle equivalents. Armed with this knowledge and education, he knew how to make the attempt.

How, in his own words, does Mario go about attempting to contact Eglin?)

 

[Purr]

"Cards up."

Spoiler: Mood music

"Le Bel Age" by Pat Benatar

Looking up at the Red Baroness with a nod, she grabs her bag and moves out briskly. "I'm coming up. Just hold still." She kicks in her jump pack to make the leap up to the wing, then works her way to the edge of the cockpit to look in on Hercules. "If I were a betting girl, it looks like he overextended himself Traversing, just like Corporal Zuko did." She busies herself getting a hypo spray ready with a powerful painkiller and gets herself set to inject him.

Toph saw that Hercules's helmet was off and that gave her an easy way to apply her medicines. Like all medicines, they would take time. However, Toph knew a severe migraine when she saw one and Hercules was showing every sign that he had one (closing his eyes against bright light, inching away from loud sounds, and holding one side of his head, among others).

With this accomplished, Toph found herself free to act.

She turned her attention to Taniya then. "You oughta know by now, we aren't experts ourselves yet. We can do our best for her, and get her back to folks that know a lot more 'n us about how all this works and see that they do their best for her, but I can't promise she'll be fixed up completely 'cause I just don't know enough to know if we can. That OK by you? If you're good with it, and the rest of our team is too, I'll take her in my own cockpit until we get her to a safer spot."

Toph slips her helmet back on and looks to Taniya. "If her troubles come from her Traversing, there is little I can do for her here other than sedate her until we get back to see our own teacher in this talent."

Taniya folded her arms, and looked down on Elinor. "You must do more than that, Elly Nor; you must act as her dentalla." She sighed to Toph and shook her head. "Sedation by your means is out of the question. We have avoided it as we have no proof she will wake again. Hence, our decision to keep Cera inactive in a Scrath cocoon. Take her and repair her as best you--"

Cera heard this and just about lost her mind. Wide-eyed, she clasped her fingers and staggered desperately toward her giant-sized superior. "Nooo! Do not send me away alone!"

"Cera..."

Weeping, the micronized Ura-Meltrandi pleaded. "My war-queen! When I have I ever disobeyed you?! Please--"

"Cera!"

At that tone, the other Meltrandi and some Scrath turned and watched. Cera stopped in her tracks as if she had ran into a wall of superstructure. Then she listened with all that she was.

Softly and with what could be called compassion, Taniya said, "Cera, I am not abandoning you. I am not sending you off alone. You are worth saving."

Taniya turned to Elinor and Toph. Her red eyes narrowing, she instructed. "You will take Unit One. She alone understands Cera's condition and the way of the Ura-Meltrandi. What Cera does not know, Unit One will. You will treat Unit One as Ura-Meltrandi. Then you will--"

"Shove it up your ass..."

Taniya paused and looked down. It was Shirley who had spoken. There the black-haired lieutenant was, sitting in her cockpit, staring up at Taniya, her blue eyes smoldering.

"You dare?!"

Shirley snarled and looked the veteran ace right in the eyes. "Darned right I do! I have had enough of you dicating to us, chick!" Mack pointed up at her. "You're not in charge of the Wild Cards. I am. And I'm changing our deal."

"Oh? You believe yourself a worthy warrior?"

Shirley smiled back like a cat with a mouse in her paws. "Listen, missy... Sure, you bagged a bunch of Zentraedi today, but from what I saw, most of them were just wearing personal armor. Easy kills, mostly. Plus, you lost one of your mechs in the process."

"Your point, Micronian?"

"Not 24 hours ago, I was primarily responsible for destroying an entire Zentraedi mechanized platoon. Battle pods mostly, including the officer's pod leading them." She paused and let that sink in. "I did this in a trainer Valkyrie. My people took no physical casualties and our civilians survived the Zentraedi ambush to a man. All of those jerkoff Zentraedi died without the honor of getting a kill off us."

"That was you?"

Shirley winked at Mario. "Oh, along with the assistance of my male buddies, yeah. You know - those guys you think are so worthless?"

Taniya paused. And in doing so, she unknowingly gave Shirley Mackenzie an advantage. "My Scrath saw this," the ace said. "You overwhelmed them with a missile strike they should have seen coming, but did not. How?"

"Chick, after the way you've insulted and treated us, do you honestly think I'm going to start sharing trade secrets with you? Uh uhh... Now you want a deal?" Shirley smirked at her. "You deal with me..."

Ura-Meltrandi looked back and forth at each other. Cera gawked. Even Spaceman Sam and MechaKitten remained still. Many eyes drifted onto War-queen Taniya...

...who laughed uproariously.

"Ha ha haaaa! How delightful! Another micronian with warrior spirit!" Taniya's Cheshire grin reappeared. She glanced at Toph and Elinor. "I see now why you follow this woman." She shouted. "Time?"

One of the Ura-Meltrandi near a computer console responded. "Two minutes, fifteen seconds until contact!"

The fingers on Taniya's left hand moved for a moment. Her Queadluun-Rau turned and floated toward her obediently. "Come and present your desires quickly, Leader Mack!"

"Here's the deal," Shirley said. "We'll help your beloved Cera and take Iris along... somehow. We'll help Cera as best we can and keep them safe. That's just the human thing to do."

"And in return?"

"Our two Veritech Hover Tanks, plus Iris said something about a Soothing? I'm betting she's not the only one who knows how to do that." Shirley indicated the Scrath who had carried Cera. "You fix my guys of their... 'brain-burn' so they can Traverse again..."

"And?"

"... and you help us save everyone on Eglin base, dammit!"

Taniya frowned. "You ask much of the Ura-Meltrandi, Leader Mack."

It became Shirley's turn to glare defiantly. She glanced at Cera and back at the war-queen. Cooly, she replied. "You got a better offer, chick?"

Taniya thought a moment. Then she looked up to her aces. "Twist the knife," she commanded. Immediately, four of the six Quealunn-Rau flew off to computer consoles all about the aerospace hangar. In moments, all but one of the Ura-Meltrandi, Taniya included were tapping on keys and placing things inside the Zeki-Zentraedi computers.

"What are you doing?" Shirley asked.

"Buying us time."

"Does that mean..."

"Micronian..." Taniya grinned. "We have a deal."

Within moments, the small group of Scrath buzzed along and came down beside the Wild Cards' mecha. There, they sat, still as statues. In moments, Mario and Hercules felt great waves of stress-releasing, pain-killing, pleasurable sensations slowly make their way into and through their aching brains.

A minute later, the pain was gone!

(What do each of your characters do?)

 

[Sherwood]

Mario grumbles quietly to himself as he listens to Mack give the Meltrandi leader what for. I was there, facing off against those bastards, too, and managed to save those kids from getting blasted. But does the lowly ground-pounder get any credit? <sigh> Such is my lot in life. Besides, lady, you've never seen me in a Hover Tank at my best. When I'm not trying to catch bullets to save some kids, I'll be able to seriously kick some ass! He turns his attention to the radio, then stops dead when the bugs land on the Ajax and do . . . something . . . to his head and suddenly, all that pain was gone! Blessed relief! "Oooooh, mama! I don't know what you just did, but thank you! I didn't realize just how bad my head was hurting until it stopped! Now, what was I doing? Oh, yeah. The radio call." He works the controls to get a military frequency and begins to transmit, "Eglin base, Eglin base, this is Corporal Zuko, Ident code Alpha Alpha Niner Seven Two Delta. I need immediate contact with Colonel Sharp. The base is in peril from a Zentraedi cruiser, buried underground at the following GPS coordinates." He quickly relays the location of the ship. "The base is about to be hit hard by this ship, and you need to begin an evacuation ASAP. I say again, Eglin Base is about to be bombarded by a Zentraedi ship, and Colonel Sharp needs to be contacted now. Do you copy?"

 

[Psychie]

Toph leans over the large figure of Hercules and pulls his helmet off to get a look at him. She is in the middle of pulling out her bioscanner when the Scrath fly over and perch on the wings of the Veritech, then there is the sudden change in his face, a look of relief as his pain is removed. She stops her work and says, "Well, it seems that our new allies have done my work for me. Lieutenant, Herc seems to be recovered, so I'm going to get back to my ride before we get more company in here." Kicking in her jump pack, she moves quickly over to the waiting Ajax. Toph then stows her pack and scrambles up into the cockpit and straps in once more and she seals the Veritech up tight.

"Muppet here, I'm ready to move."

 

[Kaerri]

Taniya folded her arms, and looked down on Elinor. "You must do more than that, Elly Nor; you must act as her dentalla."

Elinor wondered aloud, "What's a dentalla?" Given the interruptions that swiftly followed, Elinor didn't really expect an answer just now. She figured she could ask Unit One later, since it seemed there would be a later with Unit One in it.

It became Shirley's turn to glare defiantly. She glanced at Cera and back at the war-queen. Cooly, she replied. "You got a better offer, chick?"

Elinor had started grinning from the moment Shirley had interrupted Taniya's dictation of what the Wild Cards would and would not do. That grin stayed firmly on her face all the way through, only getting bigger at her squad leader's next-to-last question (the one in the quote). As Scrath and Ura-Meltrandi scurried about doing God (and presumably Taniya) knew what, Elinor nodded and said clearly over squad and Nexus, "Yep. That's what makes her worth following."

She half-turned in her seat to make sure the backseat was clear. It was, of course, but she wanted to check anyway. She'd be taking on passengers soon. "Mack, I'll take Cera like I said. We're running short on seats, but I can carry anyone else that's coming with and needs a lift. Recommend Unit One be one of them, or at least that she stays near so she can reassure Cera as needed."

 

[Captain Hesperus]

Hercules' own personal world was one of nothing but PAIN. Pain clawed at his brain, ate into his muscles every time he dared move so much as an inch, crushed his bones with every beat of his heart. Words shaped like sledgehammers pounded at his skull via his eardrums. Icy water speared his flesh and brought momentary relief before the agony recommenced.

Then, there was nothing. The pain which had been all-encompassing, all-enveloping was gone. It was as if he'd been under a blanket and someone had whisked it away. He remembered the feel of it, but not the least vestige of it remained. He opened his eyes and was confronted with the tiny face of MechaKitten stood on his chest, above that the familiar face of Lieutenant Toph watched him. He blinked and raised his head.
"Well, that didn't work.", he groaned, tiredly.

 

[Purr]

Spoiler: Instrumental Scene Music

"Suicide Mission" by Jack Wall for the Mass Effect 2 soundtrack. I know I've played it before... but for this scene, it is so very fitting. =)

Elinor wondered aloud, "What's a dentalla?" Given the interruptions that swiftly followed, Elinor didn't really expect an answer just now. She figured she could ask Unit One later, since it seemed there would be a later with Unit One in it.

"Dentella..." Taniya's proud grin told Elinor the word had special meaning. "It means ally or... 'friend' if you believe in such things. In your case, Elly Nor, the best word to describe it might be... guardian." Taniya's warm red eyes lingered upon Elinor in the manner of approval. "You seem to have the kind of warrior spirit Cera can respect and listen to; Toph Kirin contains the scientific knowledge to aid Cera. I am telling Cera that she can rely on you while Toph Kirin finds a way to repair her. Cera... will therefore... listen and obey you."

The Ura-Meltrandi War-queen turned to Cera while still addressing Elinor. She sighed. "It is maddening. I do not know what is wrong with her, but she can teach you much of what you will need to know." There was something haunting in the way Taniya's spoke these of words. "I suspect a great deal of listening will be had for all involved in your interactions with her."

Cera, meanwhile, stood shivering like a woman in a blizzard, her red-brown eyes forlorn, her mouth in a perpetual frown. Her midnight-black bodysuit made her hair and facial features stand out. The micronized Ura-Meltrandi clenched her teeth and looked up at Elinor. Elinor saw great fear and sadness in Cera's expression. Not just fear of Elinor, but of much, much more. Cera seemed to be despair incarnate.

"Mack, I'll take Cera like I said. We're running short on seats, but I can carry anyone else that's coming with and needs a lift. Recommend Unit One be one of them, or at least that she stays near so she can reassure Cera as needed."

Mack watched this interaction silently. She did not like the idea of taking the "broken" Ura-Meltrandi along, but how could she leave such a person behind without any kind of hope? Mack nodded. "That works, Leanne. But uhhh," Mack took a good look at the 15-foot tall sentient insectoid you called Iris. "Just how are we supposed to take you along? You're a little too big to fit inside any of our cockpits..."

The Wild Cards could immediately read Iris's reply in their minds. Consensus reached. Worry not, Leader Mack! This One is able to withstand the rigors of atmospheric high-speed air travel. Scrath are exceptionally resilient to harm, much like the carapaces you do battle in!

Taniya added. "What Unit One is attempting to convey is..." she rolled her eyes, "the Scrath attach themselves to our war machines and fly with us. As long as you do not transform your machine at the wrong moment, she will adapt to your flight patterns with ease."

Iris closed her eyes and beamed with pride at her war-queen's remarks.

"Well, that didn't work.", he groaned, tiredly.

Mack had to ask. "What didn't work, big fella? When I picked you up, you looked like you'd gone ten rounds with a M.A.C. II..."

* * *​

Spoiler: Game Master note for all

I really don't mean to drop any more bombs on the Wild Cards, but since Mario is attempting to establish contact with Eglin base, this one is kind of unavoidable. Apologies to you and your characters in advance...

He works the controls to get a military frequency and begins to transmit, "Eglin base, Eglin base, this is Corporal Zuko, Ident code Alpha Alpha Niner Seven Two Delta. I need immediate contact with Colonel Sharp. The base is in peril from a Zentraedi cruiser, buried underground at the following GPS coordinates." He quickly relays the location of the ship. "The base is about to be hit hard by this ship, and you need to begin an evacuation ASAP. I say again, Eglin Base is about to be bombarded by a Zentraedi ship, and Colonel Sharp needs to be contacted now. Do you copy?"

It took a few long moments of trying, but Mario knew that when it came to radio work, patience and clarity of ears and minds were more than a desired traits; they were often necessities.

After what felt like a small age, Mario's attempts were finally rewarded. A faint male voice with a southern accent, easy to understand and as professional as could be, came over. Mario adjusted the gain quickly and, with the training of someone in the communications field, he found himself shutting out all outside disturbances lest he miss something important. He missed nothing.

"Copy Alpha Alpha Niner Seven Two Delta. We read you as Wild Card squadron." There was a brief pause. "Yer intel is on its way to the colonel. He's been eagerly waitin' on an update from y'all-- Oh. Wait one...

Whomever Mario was talking to came back on again, but now he sounded... troubled. "Wild Card squadron, prepare to receive pre-recorded encoded transmission to yer radios. Yer team's ears only. Listen good; she'll only play once." Another pause.

Then... "Sending transmissions to yer fighters now. Over."

Elinor's Valkyrie, Toph's Ajax, and Mack's Red Baroness then received an encrypted radio package. The computers inside each vehicle quickly verified, reverified, accepted, and then decoded three audio files for all to hear.

Mario and all of the Wild Cards immediately heard the sound of General Steele's voice come over. That heavy tone of authority was every bit as cold and hard as his namesake. Especially now. As always, the General did not mince words.

"Wild Card Squadron. General Steele speaking. It has recently come to my attention that you have advised Eglin of a self-made change in your mission parameters..." There was a pause. "Listen well, Wild Cards. I have words of wisdom for you.

"Your sole mission is to retrieve those Veritech Hover Tanks out of enemy hands.

"Therefore I recommend, upon your return, you don your very best uniforms, Wild Cards... for your victory party should you succeed in your duty to humanity...

"...or upon your failure, for your court martial hearings."

The messages ceased and deleted themselves from your mecha.

 

[Sherwood]

Mario's jaw would have hit his chest if it were not for the armored helmet covering his head when he heard the pre-recorded message from the General. Before he could stop the words from coming out of his mouth, he finds himself saying, "What the fuck did I just hear? Jesus Christ! I had thought that the rumors of that man being a colossal ass were just griping from the ranks. But this asshole is willing to put the lives of this team in the shit hole just because his people lost two tanks?!? Taniya may be a forty foot tall bitch, but at least she is interested in the well being of the warriors that follow her! Someone ought to frag his sorry ass." Taking a deep breath, he composes himself. Toggling the radio, he replies, "Copy your last transmission, Eglin. Can't say I'm happy to hear it, but I'm not going to blame the messenger for that. Just make sure you get the evac of the base going. If we can't stop this ship, all hell is about to break loose. Alpha Alpha Niner Seven Two Delta out."

He makes sure that the transmission is over before continuing. "Ma'am? I acknowledged the signal from Eglin, and hopefully they will listen to the report. Looks like our bacon is going to get cooked unless we find those tanks." He then looks up at Taniya. "Ms. Taniya? Uh, no offense meant to the 'forty foot tall bitch' comment, but you are hardly one to argue the point that you have been a bit . . . unpleasant . . . to deal with. Hopefully we can work together to get to the bottom of this ship and get both sets of our goals achieved." Ok, ladies, time to do some of that fancy aerospace pilot shit that you are so good at.

 

[Psychie]

Toph fires off a glare at Mario. "Corporal! I will not tolerate that kind of talk about an officer, even one as odious as General Steele. We have cockpit recorders in these Veritechs, and it would be a simple act to download a transcript of your comments and have you arrested for plotting treason! We don't have to like the General, but we will grant him the respect due to his rank. Am I clear?"

She lets out a calming breath. "Mack, it would seem that we have limited options available to us. Either we find those tanks, or get court martialed. Not a good set of choices. Personally, I don't like the way that we are being jerked around, but in the Green Machine, we do as we're told by our commanding officers. I'm set to go when you ladies are."

 

[Sherwood]

Mario grits his teeth, biting off his angry retort, but then he calms himself. She's right. He may be a goddamned fucking asshole, but he is an officer, and I should treat him with the proper respect. Besides, Lt. Kirin has a point about the flight recorders. No need to give the General any reason to cashier me out of the ASC. "Yes, ma'am. You are crystal clear, and I apologize for my inappropriate comments. I will do my best to keep from making such disrespectful statements in the future." Even when they are totally called for.

 

[Kaerri]

"Dentella..." Taniya's proud grin told Elinor the word had special meaning. "It means ally or... 'friend' if you believe in such things. In your case, Elly Nor, the best word to describe it might be... guardian." Taniya's warm red eyes lingered upon Elinor in the manner of approval. "You seem to have the kind of warrior spirit Cera can respect and listen to; Toph Kirin contains the scientific knowledge to aid Cera. I am telling Cera that she can rely on you while Toph Kirin finds a way to repair her. Cera... will therefore... listen and obey you."

Elinor thought that over. After a moment, she met Taniya's gaze briefly and nodded, then looked down at Cera and smiled. "You're with me then, Cera. Don't you worry, now. I'll protect you 'til we can get you fixed up." They were simple words, but Elinor was from a place and culture where giving your word meant something real -- and she'd just given her word to Cera, freely and sincerely.

"Therefore I recommend, upon your return, you don your very best uniforms, Wild Cards... for your victory party should you succeed in your duty to humanity...
"...or upon your failure, for your court martial hearings."

That got Elinor's attention for sure. Jerk-face though he was, the general had all the power he need to screw them all over royally. He'd already played one unfair game that morning. Now he was getting set to do another?? She opened her mouth, then closed it before something unwise could escape. Unfortunately, Mario was rather more hot-headed and let quite a bit escape before he got hold of himself. But Toph had pretty much covered that already and there wasn't any point in yelling at him again. Odds are there'd be enough yelling over this mess before the day was done anyhow.

"Yes, ma'am. You are crystal clear, and I apologize for my inappropriate comments. I will do my best to keep from making such disrespectful statements in the future."

Elinor simply added, "Good idea, Corporal," before turning to more immediate matters. "Right, so, the future's a-waitin', but so are bad guys, and somewheres, our tanks. Let's get them taken care of first, and worry about the rest when we've time for it." Her tone implied they might not have time for worrying if they didn't get moving soon.

 

[Captain Hesperus]

Hercules scowled at the recorded message. The spineless bastard didn't even have balls enough to make his threat in person.
"If I had known our senior officer was such a... man... as this, I would have stayed in Legend squad.", he growled.
Now, more than ever, he missed his M.A.C. II and his sassy co-pilot. Tahel would've taken Steel to task, if not in person, then in the privacy of the M.A.C. II via the on-board comms with the external comms firmly turned off.
He shook his big head sadly. So much sadness he had experienced in the past couple of days, so much pain. He yearned for the comradeship of his old unit, despite all he'd experienced with the Wild Cards. Perhaps things would improve. Or maybe they wouldn't. Right now, Hercules couldn't tell and it was all he could do to stop a tear leaking from his eye.

 

[Purr]

(Game Master note: Here's another big post, but it does cover everything going on. Enjoy!)

"Your sole mission is to retrieve those Veritech Hover Tanks out of enemy hands.

"Therefore I recommend, upon your return, you don your very best uniforms, Wild Cards... for your victory party should you succeed in your duty to humanity...

"...or upon your failure, for your court martial hearings."

Shirley Mackenzie's face fell. "Oh my God..." She took off her helmet. Long silky curls of black hair fell about her shoulders as she buried her face in her hands. "This... this is all my fault, guys. If I hadn't told 'em I was changing the mission parameters... to get you guys instead of the tanks..." She sniffed. "Now you're all paying for my mistake!"

Hercules scowled at the recorded message. The spineless bastard didn't even have balls enough to make his threat in person.
"If I had known our senior officer was such a... man... as this, I would have stayed in Legend squad.", he growled.

Shirley grimaced. "I'll... do everything I can to get you back to them, Herc. By the way," she half-joked, "Legend Squad got any extra openings for the rest of us?"

As shaken as Shirley was, it was all she could do not to scream out loud. For General Steele to threaten her career was one thing - she would proudly stand trial for her actions, but yet again, Steele was hitting her in her weakest spot - the people she cared about. First Reggie, now the Wild Cards! This was hell for the new squadron leader.

Mario had talked about fragging Steele. In this darkest of moments, Shirley momentarily realized she would have lost little sleep if Mario had. Then she put the thought out of her mind.

* * *​

We have cockpit recorders in these Veritechs, and it would be a simple act to download a transcript of your comments and have you arrested for plotting treason!"

Spaceman Sam and MechaKitten continued to hide from Taniya's sight at the foot of the Red Baroness. It seemed they were doing everything possible not to be seen by the War-queen. And they had succeeded. Even Cera had not noticed them.

Shirley croaked. "Muppet's right, Mario. About the cockpit recorders and respect for the star, at least." By the star, the Wild Cards knew she meant Brigadier General Steele's golden star always displaying his rank on his uniforms and vehicles.

Queries: Toph Kirin? Unit One looked over at the half-human. Unit One's letters could be read by everyone except Hercules. We wonder. If you are unsatisfied with your radio communications, why not communicate solely using the polyphonic nexus? Surely your Micronian leader cannot know your very thoughts, unless he too is a Traverser? Besides, do you Traversers not find radio communication... antiquated?

* * *​

Then the green-eyed Scrath jerked upright in surprise. Self recalls Self's failure in joining the male Traverser to the nexus! But now the male is free of mind. The Soothing is successful and the male is no longer brain-burned. Glee! Consensus reached: A second attempt to establish polyphonic nexus may now be performed! Hold please.

Perhaps things would improve. Or maybe they wouldn't. Right now, Hercules couldn't tell and it was all he could do to stop a tear leaking from his eye.

Spoiler: Scene music for Hercules

"What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy)" by Information Society. Yes, I know I did this one for Neqel's intro, but it's worth doing again for Herc's sake! Besides... the lyrics, in their own way, are so wonderfully fitting! =)

Partial lyrics:
I wanna know
What you're thinking
There are some things you can't hide
I wanna know
What you're feeling
Tell me what's on your mind

Not two moments after this, Hercules felt something inside his mind. Something... very, very strange...

It was not despair, not familiar, and most certainly, not him! The big Greek felt rather than heard an odd buzzing sound, almost musical and very faint as if hearing an alien orchestra from a great distance away. A peculiar feeling called to Hercules and he felt his gaze turning to... a humongous insect perched nearby Cera!

Spoiler: Unit One

This, but with a bulbous mass on her lower back. She is roughly fifteen feet in height and length at the moment.

(Image credit: Davesrightmind - DeviantArt )

The creature was staring right at him with triangle eyes that glowed a very happy-looking bright green. It was as still as an island. Only its feelers moved in the slight Florida wind. The rest of the Wild Cards seemed to be aware of its presence and were acting normally. Or was all this a hallucination inside Hercules' mind? With his headache gone, had Toph's injection created side-effects?

Shapes in the dozens came into view into Hercules's mind. They appeared to be letters but they made no sense.

Pnxx iQfEEzbbb xtnqDSvvv

One long moment went by. Then these faded into new symbols.

cccQcc onononaxx talkabmob

Again, one by one, coming into the tanker's mind easily and fluidly.

ēgrots aílihp soré epagaaaaaaaaaaa

A weight seemed to lift from inside Hercules and when he looked again, there were new symbols, but these were letters-become-language.

Spoiler: Game Master note for Cap'n

When Unit One/Iris writes in Herc's mind, it's all in Greek but for simplicity's sake, I'm just going to keep it all in English for us English-speakers... =)

Success! Communication established. Earth language; Greek dialect.

Greetings! This One understands male's designation as

Hercules heard Toph's voice say, "Herc" in such a way as if to give Hercules reason to believe the sound had been plucked out of some sentence of Toph's.

Query: Is this your preferred designation?

There was no doubt. All of this was coming from the alien insect staring at him. It was real.

* * *
​

"You're with me then, Cera. Don't you worry, now. I'll protect you 'til we can get you fixed up." They were simple words, but Elinor was from a place and culture where giving your word meant something real -- and she'd just given her word to Cera, freely and sincerely.

To Elinor's eyes, Cera seemed to take the Georgian woman's offer with one hand girlishly clasped behind her back. The Ura-Meltrandi appeared to comprehend Elinor's promise, but little else. In that moment, the differences between Elinor's culture and Cera's complete lack of culture may as well have made the two females miles apart.

Cera's eyes were full of sorrow. "You... waste your time with me, Traverser."

* * *​

"Ms. Taniya? Uh, no offense meant to the 'forty foot tall bitch' comment, but you are hardly one to argue the point that you have been a bit . . . unpleasant . . . to deal with. Hopefully we can work together to get to the bottom of this ship and get both sets of our goals achieved."

The blue-skinned giantess turned to Mario in a most intimidating manner. Mario saw her Cheshire grin and this time it was meant for him. It was the same smile she wore when she was putting her sword into squirming, dying Zeki-Zentraedi. She seemed quite amused by the youthful Italian's statement. Amused enough to go along with it.

"Traverser! You have done me an injustice!" The deadly beauty leaned down to Mario and laughed. "I am not a forty-foot tall bitch, but the forty-foot tall bitch!"

Loudspeakers blared with another female's voice behind them. It was one of Taniya's Ura-Meltrandi inside her jet-black Queadlunn Rau. "Show him, War-queen!"

"Yes!" said another. "Make him see!"

"Ladies..." Taniya feigned disapproval with a mock gasp. "Are these blasted and bloodied corpses of our foes not enough for you?"

"NO! NO!" The Ura-Meltrandi began chanting as one. Their voices were bloodthirsty, their weapons raised high in eagerness for battle. Even the Scrath were mimicking these movements in equal approval.

"We have but bought these Traversers time! Shall we slip a dagger into the bones of the ship's entire crew?"

"YES! YES! DEATH TO THE MALES!!"

It became clear to every creature present that this loud and passionate call for blood was something well-practiced, a ritual of sorts perhaps. The females' hatred of the males was nothing less than all-consuming and fanatical. Arms raised, Cera, too, screamed for war. And loudly. From the Wild Cards' human perspective, it was as if this was all the Ura-Meltrandi knew and lived by.

"Look here!" Taniya's fingers raced over the Zeki-Zentraedi computer controls. From her hip, she withdrew a small, slim device. This, she inserted into the computer with a toothy grin. Then several monitors in the aerospace hangar began showing scenes of armored Zeki-Zentraedi by the scores. Weapons in hand, they ran down hallways and formed up in offensive positions as if readying themselves to take ground.

Ground like the aerospace bay you were occupying.

The monitors displayed all. Suddenly, repair robots began appearing out of nowhere and began attacking the Zeki-Zentraedi with everything from water cannons to foam extinguishers to gelatin-like blobs applied with their own metal limbs. The soldiers shouted and cursed, and having been attacked, responded as genetically-created clone soldiers are supposed to.

Gunfire erupted. In the chaos, some soldiers shot each other. Zentraedi, after all, were masters of only one thing - war. In the battle, stray fire happened. Robots, computers, and canisters exploded. Bodies flew.

Then the monitors showed other scenes in different areas. Robots, once loyal to the service of the ship, were now apparently trying to put out fires while treating every moving thing as if it were a fire. Evidently, this was now happening all over the ship except in the aerospace hangar. Zentraedi by the hundreds were mildly inconvenienced to say the least.

The Meltrandi laughed mockingly. Scrath raised their pincers in victory.

"I am such a bitch..." Taniya proclaimed with pride. "Cera!"

Cera touched what appeared to be a small earring. "I have it, my War-queen!"

Taniya turned to the Wild Cards with an expression filled with age-old mischievousness. "Heed me, Traversers. Your Hover Tanks? Cera knows where they are now. You have about a half an hour before the Zeki-Zentraedi recover from this unless they perform some technological marvel and override the robots. Use it well."

Cera ran to Elinor's Valkyrie and climbed aboard. With movements every bit as cautious as filled with curiosity, she slipped into the rear seat and strapped herself in with a surety that spoke of previous experience. As Elinor's cockpit closed, Taniya called one more, perhaps final, order to the Auxiliary Specialist.

"Cera!"

"Yes, my War-queen?"

"Tell the Traversers all they need to know." Then Taniya ordered. "And Cera!"

With a flash of her brown hair and red-brown eyes, Cera looked back.

"Do not die..."

Cera grimaced and looked very sorry. She hesitated. Then finally, she nodded firmly, "Your will, my War-queen!" From inside Elinor's Valkyrie, she saluted Taniya. Iris saluted too.

Taniya and the rest of the Ura-Meltrandi paused and returned these salutes.

Taniya gracefully hopped inside her Queadlunn-Rau. "Traversers, we take our leave! The Maelstrom continues! Go and change all that is... for humanity's future... and for ours!"

Taniya, along with her Ura-Meltrandi and Scrath, began to lift off and make their way to the stars outside the Zeki-Zentraedi warship. The War-queen mused.

It had been quite a pleasant vacation after all.

Spoiler: Game Master note for all

At this stage, unless you have some last word for Taniya and her team, the Wild Cards are now on their own.

Through your own hard work, you have rescued your A.T.A.C. tankers and now have the coordinates to General Steele's Veritech Hover Tanks. Besides yourselves, you now have the following members in your company: Cera, Unit One/Iris, "Spaceman Sam," and, of course, MechaKitten.

I recommend you take this next scene to gather your team, speak your minds, and prepare yourselves to get those Hover Tanks. This is a good time to ask questions, but how many and what you ask is up to you. Whatever you decide, make good use of the time. =)

 

[Psychie]

With the revelation that they were now in possession of the location of the tanks, suddenly this mission begins to look like it can actually be completed. Assuming that the enemy warship that they are on doesn't take off and blast their home base to ash and take them all with it to deep space.

Toph calls out through the mental link to Mackenzie. "LT? My recommendation is that we use speed to our advantage as much as possible. These corridors are large enough to race through in our Guardian modes right over the top of the heads of the Zentraedi having fun with the fire extinguisher bots. Don't worry about trying to engage them; just go full evasive as fast as we can until we reach the tanks. Hit any defenders there hard to give Hercules and Mario time to get buttoned up, then with that part of our mission accomplished, we'll have some extra firepower to make up for having to slow down for the ground-pounders. We then can ponder our next moves from there."

 

[Kaerri]

Shirley Mackenzie's face fell. "Oh my God..." She took off her helmet. Long silky curls of black hair fell about her shoulders as she buried her face in her hands. "This... this is all my fault, guys. If I hadn't told 'em I was changing the mission parameters... to get you guys instead of the tanks..." She sniffed. "Now you're all paying for my mistake!"

Queries: Toph Kirin? Unit One looked over at the half-human. Unit One's letters could be read by everyone except Hercules. We wonder. If you are unsatisfied with your radio communications, why not communicate solely using the polyphonic nexus? Surely your Micronian leader cannot know your very thoughts, unless he too is a Traverser? Besides, do you Traversers not find radio communication... antiquated?

Elinor was about to answer Shirley when she heard (read?) Unit One's words in her mind. Closing her mouth, she thought at the squad leader instead. "I figure your only mistake is tellin' 'em, Mack. And I'd'a done the same, so don't you worry none. Fact is, we both agreed with you on it, right Toph? So if you want to blame someone, you blame the bastard that's willing to punish everyone for one person's mistake. Got it?"

To Elinor's eyes, Cera seemed to take the Georgian woman's offer with one hand girlishly clasped behind her back. The Ura-Meltrandi appeared to comprehend Elinor's promise, but little else. In that moment, the differences between Elinor's culture and Cera's complete lack of culture may as well have made the two females miles apart.

Cera's eyes were full of sorrow. "You... waste your time with me, Traverser."

Elinor shook her head and smiled. "My time to waste, ain't it? That's if it is a waste, which I don't think so, and your queen there don't think so, and you're not gonna argue with her, right?"

Then the monitors showed other scenes in different areas. Robots, once loyal to the service of the ship, were now apparently trying to put out fires while treating every moving thing as if it were a fire. Evidently, this was now happening all over the ship except in the aerospace hangar. Zentraedi by the hundreds were mildly inconvenienced to say the least.

The Meltrandi laughed mockingly. Scrath raised their pincers in victory.

Elinor laughed right along with them, albeit with less mockery and more appreciation of the sheer humor of it all. "Nice one, Miss Taniya!" she thought over the Nexus, knowing Unit One could relay. "Now to do our part. Where to, Cera?"

 

[Sherwood]

For his part, Mario is quite content with siting back and letting the pink haired girl do her pilot stuff while he tries his best to tap into the Zentraedi communication net. As he works, he sends a thought through the mental link, "Ma'am? I'm just a passenger here, but I'm ready to go get those tanks. I have an itch for some payback on these assholes for . . . what they did. Besides, we gotta try to stop them from wrecking Eglin, am I right?"

 

[Captain Hesperus]

"...Uhhmmm...How much information is shared through this mental link?", Hercules asked, using his actual voice, "I have things in my head I'd rather not be shared... Private things."
He was not overly shocked by the appearance of the 'Unit One' creature. There had been enough strangeness and oddity on this mission, that the appearance of a fifteen-foot-long preying mantis seemed almost commonplace. He sighed.
Suddenly I wonder if Alice felt like this in Wonderland.

 

[Psychie]

Responding to the worried voice on the radio, Toph replies out loud, "I believe that Iris only sends the thoughts that we intend on sharing, not any others. At least, I have not had any 'inappropriate' thoughts come to me from the others in the link. I believe your privacy is safe, corporal."

 

[Purr]

Closing her mouth, she thought at the squad leader instead. "I figure your only mistake is tellin' 'em, Mack. And I'd'a done the same, so don't you worry none. Fact is, we both agreed with you on it, right Toph? So if you want to blame someone, you blame the bastard that's willing to punish everyone for one person's mistake. Got it?"

The Wild Cards could see Elinor's words clearly in each of their busy minds. Shirley set her jaw and stared fiercely. The sound of her voice was, as ever, ever-pleasing to the ears. Even her sigh sounded pleasant somehow even if her tone was not exactly happy. "Elinor, you're right as rain. That Sand-for-Brains Steele should be the one I should be dumping this on, not myself. Thanks, chick..."

* * *​

Cera's eyes were full of sorrow. "You... waste your time with me, Traverser."

Elinor shook her head and smiled. "My time to waste, ain't it? That's if it is a waste, which I don't think so, and your queen there don't think so, and you're not gonna argue with her, right?"

Cera suddenly sat upright in her seat as sure as if Elinor had pulled her there. She thought deeply for the first time since her emergence from the Scrath cocoon. She stared but as if her mind were far away. "Yes... Yes... One does not argue with a War-queen..." She mused further. "'Do not die...'"

Elinor, looking through her viewscreen in her cockpit, could see the Ura-Meltrandi shaking her head and tossing her hair about. Then Cera looked up and into the camera she knew Elinor could see her by. Cera had a new look in her eye now - one of galvanized resolution. "Dentalla Elly Nor, I see you are absolutely correct. It is time I follow orders.

Cera whispered. "Unit One. Include me in the Polyphonic Nexus."

Iris turned her head toward Elinor's Valkyrie. Compliance, the Scrath responded.

Cera closed her eyes. Then the Wild Cards saw these words in their minds. "Unit One," she said. "I cannot hear any of the Traversers. Explanation?"

Iris's eyes flashed a brief pinkish-red color before returning to a calm green. Alert! Consensus unattainable. Commencing Nexus diagnostic and repair. A moment passed and there was an odd mental pop! in all of of the Wild Cards' minds. Suddenly, a soft flood of sound like the rushing of an ocean tide. It was peaceful and strong at the same time.

Then all of the Wild Cards heard an adult woman's voice. It had a cheerful feel to it and every word was crystal clear. It was like having a favorite aunt in your family, an English teacher or nanny perhaps, who spoke as if she read books aloud for a living. And to you too, but free of charge. This was Iris. Despite the alien insect's odd word choices, her mental voice sounded comforting, thoughtful, and kind-hearted.

"Apologies, Mistress Cera. This One believed the Traversers could hear Self all along!"

Cera's voice sounded stronger now. Her sorrow behind her for the moment, the young Ura-Meltrandi sounded as sure and motivated as any warrior of her kind. Like a woman on a mission. "Find the reason behind this later. We have Micronian tanks to procure."

* * *​

"...Uhhmmm...How much information is shared through this mental link?", Hercules asked, using his actual voice, "I have things in my head I'd rather not be shared... Private things."

Cera wondered. "Male, are you damaged? All Traversers know of what you ask."

Iris replied, her eyes closed in the contented feeling of sharing something good with someone else. "Micronian with current designation: 'Herc.' A Polyphonic Nexus is the clearest communication possible between living organisms. Each participant decides what data to send and how much.

"Each nexus contains the mental voice of each of its participants. This mental voice provides the surface-level emotions and thoughts. Images and memories as experienced by the participant can also be transmitted freely and without fear of outside influence or interference. All of these things can be withheld."

"Conclusion: In order for Herc to keep 'things private,' Herc simply must keep them that way. Query: Does this satisfy Herc's curiosity?"

* * *​

For his part, Mario is quite content with siting back and letting the pink haired girl do her pilot stuff while he tries his best to tap into the Zentraedi communication net.

Mario knew the chances of his somehow finding the Zeki-Zentraedi frequency were next to impossible without some kind of lead to tell him which frequencies they were using or if they were using radio at all. This was especially true given what little the Wild Cards knew of Zeki-Zentraedi technology.

Still, Mario made the attempt... and somehow, someway, he lucked himself onto a radio channel that happened to be right in the middle of a short conversation... in the Zentraedi language! Immediately, as many radio operators do, Mario found himself shutting out the outside world and focusing himself completely on the conversation. He knew that if he allowed even a single distraction that he could lose important, irretrievable context or worse, the entire conversation.

Spoiler: The Conversation

The two Zentraedi males stammered and spoke haltingly in the manner of Zentraedi grunts (or perhaps officers who had taken a very bad blow to the noggin).

Male #1 - "--aaaaat?! All three of our soldiers destroyed? How is this possible?"

Male #2 - "Close range with a plasma weapon and blunt trauma, sir!"

Male #1 - "Three of ours on one? Certainly they destroyed their attacker with their final actions?"

Male #2 - "No, sir! There is no evidence of damage to their attacker!"

Male #1 - "You are certain this is not the work of the Micronians?"

Male #2 - "There are only Zentraedi tracks, sir! There is a damaged Micronian vehicle and the blasted remains of two Micronians. The Females--"

Male #1 - "The Females do not use plasma weapons! No Micronian mecha uses our Nousjadeul--Ger machine pistols! Continue searching! We will teach this impudent creature the might of great Lord Dolza's warriors! He will pay with his life!"

Male #2 - "Understood, sir! For Lord Dolza!"
(The communication ends here.)

As he works, he sends a thought through the mental link, "Ma'am? I'm just a passenger here, but I'm ready to go get those tanks. I have an itch for some payback on these assholes for . . . what they did. Besides, we gotta try to stop them from wrecking Eglin, am I right?"

Mario's voice now came through to the Wild Cards and Iris and Cera as perfectly as if he were standing right next to them - in fact, even better than that. You could not hear the background noise of Toph's Ajax engines nor the muffled effect one has when speaking from inside a helmet.

Mack grinned. "Mario, you silly twerp, you're more than just a passenger - you're a Wild Card like the rest of us! And yeah I'm ready to get this going - now let's do this! Cera, point Elinor the way, willya? Elinor, take point."

Cera replied. "Yes. We should make for your tanks immediately. Even in these..." Elinor saw Cera run her hand across the inside of her Valkyrie's canopy.

"These what?"

"...relics."

"'Relics'?"

"Yes. This is a standard 1st generation VF-1S Valkyrie veritech fighter. That your superior sends you to face the terrible Zeki-Zentraedi in these... Surely he wishes you death and disgrace instead of victory?"

Shirley watched as Spaceman Sam lifted MechaKitten into her cockpit. She pet the four-footed fellow on his head before handing him back to Hercules. "Listen, chick! Valkyries might not be the brand-new machines that the Ajax and Logan are, but don't treat these birds like they're ancient artifacts!

Shirley put her helmet back on. "Hey, Iris? Can you somehow give Sam a hand? We're all outta seats."

Iris walked over to Spaceman Sam. For a long moment, they regarded each other with great curiosity. Iris nodded. Sam did the same. Then, with razor-like pincers as long as Sam was tall, Iris easily plucked Sam up off his feet and placed him upon her back, directly above the bulbous mass that contained her wings. These sprouted like wet flowers after rainfall, scintillating and very pretty. Iris was ready to fly.

"Who is Sam?" Cera asked calmly. Then she turned and saw him on Iris's back. Elinor heard a sharp gasp from behind her. On the video camera on her console, Elinor saw Cera's red-brown eyes fly wide in recognition. She looked pale. Unconsciously, she had thrust herself back into the Valkyrie's leather seat in surprise.

Shirley, oblivious to this interaction, replied. "Who's Sam? I... dunno! Hey, Mario? Herc? You two beach bums answer her question and fill the rest of us in while you're at it?" The Red Baroness's canopy closed. Her engines roared to life as they lifted the crimson Valkyrie off the aerospace hangar's deck and into the air. GU-11 at the ready, Shirley took a look about the burning, smashed Gnerl hangar. She spoke aloud. "Cygnus Two and Three, lift off! Let's go get us some tanks!" Then she waited for Cera's direction.

But Cera continued to gape at that mega-damage spacesuit in a mixture of shock and awe...

What do the Wild Cards do?

 

[Sherwood]

Mario yanks his attention away from the cut signal and looks up. "Quick question for the group at large. What mecha, either RDF/ASC or Meltrandi, utilize a plasma weapon? I overheard a radio transmission between the Zentraedi here, saying that three of their soldiers were killed with 'plasma weapons and blunt force trauma'. They also said that they found the remains of a Micronian vehicle, and closed the signal with a salute to Lord Dolza."

Mario does his best to hide his expression, but even through the Nexus, you can hear and feel the embarrassment of what he's about to say. "Um, yeah, about Sam. We kinda found him in the air shafts we were using to make our way through the ship. So far, I can't remember him speaking a single word, but by some kind of hologram hocus-pokus, he showed us images of a old model Tomahawk, and indicated that he, well, I think he's a he, was a crewman on one of those Destroids. It all happened right around the time we lost . . . we lost Booty. Ever since then, he has been helpful with us, and even Mechakitten seems to have taken a shine to him."