GinjaGen
Not-so-Sneaky Ninja
TBD RP between Ampersand & GinjaGen
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TBD (Ampersand & GinjaGen)
- Thread starter GinjaGen
- Start date
Ampersand
I ♥ semicolons
Chapter I - A Diamond in The Rough
"It's a tough life out in The Fringe," said the man wearing fresh black eyes, "Case in point, you're going about mindin' your own business, when suddenly you get left in the desert to die...by 'friends' of all people. And if that ain't enough, they had to shoot me too, the bastards!" He rode the shoulders of a lanky robot as it carried him across the blistering horizon. "Well, I guess them's the breaks, eh Lodo?" The robot's servos whizzed and hummed as it stepped through the soft white sand.
"Look on the bright side Quinn, they could have ejected you into space. I consider this unusually creative for the Kur'ak brothers, or any Srakakrian for that matter."
"Lucky me. By the way, how much longer did you say it was to Oasis?"
"At our current speed, approximately 8 days, but I'm afraid you'll be long dead by then."
"Ugh, stupid Varr'sar and it's stupid three suns. Nobody'd be here if it weren't the best place in the sector to move hot cargo. Like anyone's comin' for the scenery. Nothin' but sand. Round dunes, wavy dunes, and uh...hey, wait a sec...what'dya make of that?"
Quinn pointed ahead. In the distance a triangular fixture pierced the desert surface.
**********************************************************
The obelisk was much larger up close, towering over them by a dozen feet.
"Come on Lodo, lemme down already, I'm gonna take a look. And watch the shoulder this time." The tin man obliged and took to a knee. Quinn stepped off and walked to the jutting structure, now a flat surface with a metallic sheen. With his right arm, he wiped a long strip of sand off the side, revealing strange symbols. Quinn looked back to the robot, "Anything?"
"I don't recognize it; then again, I'm just a mail delivery droid."
"Huh.." Carefully raising his other arm, Quinn pulled back the bloody sleeve, exposing a Digidex-1000 forearm computer.
"Becky, can you identify that?" The computer's screen came to life, followed by a digitally distorted female voice.
"Scanning..." *Beep* "The symbols originate from an ancient language of the human homeworld Earth, used commonly throughout the Terran Federation until its fall in 2816. The complete language is on file."
"What?! This is a human ship?!"
"And it's over 700 years old," added Lodo.
"Becky, translate and pipe it to my spex!" Quinn flipped down a pair of spectacles over his eyes and its integrated heads up displays converted the strange language to something more familiar: "BOREALIS LIFEBOAT-0026"
"THE BOREALIS!!?," they shouted in unison.
"It's a tough life out in The Fringe," said the man wearing fresh black eyes, "Case in point, you're going about mindin' your own business, when suddenly you get left in the desert to die...by 'friends' of all people. And if that ain't enough, they had to shoot me too, the bastards!" He rode the shoulders of a lanky robot as it carried him across the blistering horizon. "Well, I guess them's the breaks, eh Lodo?" The robot's servos whizzed and hummed as it stepped through the soft white sand.
"Look on the bright side Quinn, they could have ejected you into space. I consider this unusually creative for the Kur'ak brothers, or any Srakakrian for that matter."
"Lucky me. By the way, how much longer did you say it was to Oasis?"
"At our current speed, approximately 8 days, but I'm afraid you'll be long dead by then."
"Ugh, stupid Varr'sar and it's stupid three suns. Nobody'd be here if it weren't the best place in the sector to move hot cargo. Like anyone's comin' for the scenery. Nothin' but sand. Round dunes, wavy dunes, and uh...hey, wait a sec...what'dya make of that?"
Quinn pointed ahead. In the distance a triangular fixture pierced the desert surface.
**********************************************************
The obelisk was much larger up close, towering over them by a dozen feet.
"Come on Lodo, lemme down already, I'm gonna take a look. And watch the shoulder this time." The tin man obliged and took to a knee. Quinn stepped off and walked to the jutting structure, now a flat surface with a metallic sheen. With his right arm, he wiped a long strip of sand off the side, revealing strange symbols. Quinn looked back to the robot, "Anything?"
"I don't recognize it; then again, I'm just a mail delivery droid."
"Huh.." Carefully raising his other arm, Quinn pulled back the bloody sleeve, exposing a Digidex-1000 forearm computer.
"Becky, can you identify that?" The computer's screen came to life, followed by a digitally distorted female voice.
"Scanning..." *Beep* "The symbols originate from an ancient language of the human homeworld Earth, used commonly throughout the Terran Federation until its fall in 2816. The complete language is on file."
"What?! This is a human ship?!"
"And it's over 700 years old," added Lodo.
"Becky, translate and pipe it to my spex!" Quinn flipped down a pair of spectacles over his eyes and its integrated heads up displays converted the strange language to something more familiar: "BOREALIS LIFEBOAT-0026"
"THE BOREALIS!!?," they shouted in unison.
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GinjaGen
Not-so-Sneaky Ninja
Miles away in Oasis a woman and a young boy were having a very public argument.
"Caleb, just... come back with me... let's talk about this..."
"NO!" The boy appearing to be of about eight or nine years replied, backing away from the woman. He accidentally bumped into a rather plump and well dressed looking Muragira woman, who somewhat resembled a giant chicken with long intricately braided pink hair. The Muragira had only recently turned her attention to the argument, but the boy saw her look of sympathy and buried his face into her shirt. "I don't want to go back with you. I don't like you! I don't want you with my dad!"
"Caleb... I've been with your dad because, well... I love your dad... and if you would let me, I'd like to become your mom..." She woman said smiling, trying to console the distraught child while also trying to slowly get closer. However, the boy clung even more tightly to the Muragira, and she put her arm protectively around his shoulder. The Muragira was obviously a mother herself, and the maternal instincts had kicked in. She was now fully on the distraught little boy's side, and willing to protect him from this cruel woman who wanted to replace his mother.
"YOU CAN'T BE MY MOM!" the boy howled, his head whipping around showing his eyes filled to the brim with tears. "You're not my mom!... You'll never be her... she's gone, and I can never get her back!" he said, then he turned an ran down the street, the tears now streaming down his face.
The woman stood there for a moment, shock and sadness on her face, along with a few tears of her own. Then she took off after the child, "Caleb, wait!"
The woman ran for a few more blocks, while she was still in the sight of the onlookers. As soon as she reached a particularly crowded intersection, however, she stopped abruptly and joined the flow of traffic with ease, drying her tears and blending in instantly with the plethora of different faces. A few blocks down the busy street, she peeled off and headed back out away from the busy center of the city. The streets soon narrowed, and the woman found herself in the slums. Not looking the slightest bit upset by this, she
She finally came to a stop outside of what looked like a run down factory. After looking both directions to ensure she hadn't been followed, she pushed open the door and walked into the room.
Sitting on a crate was a young boy that resembled the one from before, except this boy was wearing only a pair of shorts, and was very clearly not human. This boy had blue hair, and intricately patterned blue, black and white fur covering all of his visible skin save the very front of his face, which easily resembled a human's. He also had small rounded horns, hand-like furry feet, large furry pointed ears and a tail. Anyone with half a brain would see the pile of clothing next to him, specifically chosen to hide his alien features, and realize it had all been a ruse. The boy was sitting on a crate, his tail swishing back and forth as he tossed a small bag up and down, coins jingling each time he caught it. "Do you have any idea how hot those clothes were?"
"I'm sweating bullets, so I'm sure you were ready to burst into flames!" The woman responded, walking over and pulling her own hood down off of her face, "The tears were a nice touch."
"I wasn't sure the Muragira was going to let me get close to her, with all of those nice expensive things she was wearing, so I thought I'd step up my game." Even the boy's way of speaking had changed from the child-like tone from before, to almost like an adult. It was clear this "boy" was not a young as he appeared.
"You should have seen her! She was holding onto you like you were one of her chicks!" The woman said, mimicking in the air the way the Muragira had held the boy to her."
The boy chuckled. "She should have been holding on to her purse!"
"Caleb, just... come back with me... let's talk about this..."
"NO!" The boy appearing to be of about eight or nine years replied, backing away from the woman. He accidentally bumped into a rather plump and well dressed looking Muragira woman, who somewhat resembled a giant chicken with long intricately braided pink hair. The Muragira had only recently turned her attention to the argument, but the boy saw her look of sympathy and buried his face into her shirt. "I don't want to go back with you. I don't like you! I don't want you with my dad!"
"Caleb... I've been with your dad because, well... I love your dad... and if you would let me, I'd like to become your mom..." She woman said smiling, trying to console the distraught child while also trying to slowly get closer. However, the boy clung even more tightly to the Muragira, and she put her arm protectively around his shoulder. The Muragira was obviously a mother herself, and the maternal instincts had kicked in. She was now fully on the distraught little boy's side, and willing to protect him from this cruel woman who wanted to replace his mother.
"YOU CAN'T BE MY MOM!" the boy howled, his head whipping around showing his eyes filled to the brim with tears. "You're not my mom!... You'll never be her... she's gone, and I can never get her back!" he said, then he turned an ran down the street, the tears now streaming down his face.
The woman stood there for a moment, shock and sadness on her face, along with a few tears of her own. Then she took off after the child, "Caleb, wait!"
**********************************************************
The woman ran for a few more blocks, while she was still in the sight of the onlookers. As soon as she reached a particularly crowded intersection, however, she stopped abruptly and joined the flow of traffic with ease, drying her tears and blending in instantly with the plethora of different faces. A few blocks down the busy street, she peeled off and headed back out away from the busy center of the city. The streets soon narrowed, and the woman found herself in the slums. Not looking the slightest bit upset by this, she
She finally came to a stop outside of what looked like a run down factory. After looking both directions to ensure she hadn't been followed, she pushed open the door and walked into the room.
Sitting on a crate was a young boy that resembled the one from before, except this boy was wearing only a pair of shorts, and was very clearly not human. This boy had blue hair, and intricately patterned blue, black and white fur covering all of his visible skin save the very front of his face, which easily resembled a human's. He also had small rounded horns, hand-like furry feet, large furry pointed ears and a tail. Anyone with half a brain would see the pile of clothing next to him, specifically chosen to hide his alien features, and realize it had all been a ruse. The boy was sitting on a crate, his tail swishing back and forth as he tossed a small bag up and down, coins jingling each time he caught it. "Do you have any idea how hot those clothes were?"
"I'm sweating bullets, so I'm sure you were ready to burst into flames!" The woman responded, walking over and pulling her own hood down off of her face, "The tears were a nice touch."
"I wasn't sure the Muragira was going to let me get close to her, with all of those nice expensive things she was wearing, so I thought I'd step up my game." Even the boy's way of speaking had changed from the child-like tone from before, to almost like an adult. It was clear this "boy" was not a young as he appeared.
"You should have seen her! She was holding onto you like you were one of her chicks!" The woman said, mimicking in the air the way the Muragira had held the boy to her."
The boy chuckled. "She should have been holding on to her purse!"
Ampersand
I ♥ semicolons
"Keep digging, you're almost there!," Quinn cheered from the edge of the hole. Lodo let out a digital grown. "Hey, you try to be a meatbag in this heat!," Quinn jabbed as he made his way down into the pit, "Plus, look at these beautiful hands, do these look like workers hands?," he teased. The robot would have rolled his eyes if he had any.
At the bottom was the nearly uncovered airlock, caution striped and wide enough for two men to walk through side-by-side. “All this time I thought the legend was just some story made up to give fools hope!,” Quinn said as dug around the red release handle, “A ship containing all the secrets of mankind, lost in space! I can’t believe it’s real.”
“It is no doubt of Earth origin, but how are you certain that the story is true?”
“Well, there’s only one way to find out. Shall we?,” asked Quinn with a smirk on his face, before reaching out and rotating the handle. A rush of air burst from the seams, breaking the seal after a millennium, and the doors opened with a pneumatic hiss. The emergency lighting blinked to life, filling the interior with a dim glow.
“Wow, would you look at that, its power core still has some juice left it in after all this time. This just might be our ticket outta here." Quinn activated the flashlight on his Digidex and led the way inside.
It was well preserved for its age. Quarters were tight, stuffed with conduit and subsystems, and in the center of the ship lie its heart, an old Voith-Ijgenko drive core. Quinn sat down in the cockpit seat and a wave of nostalgia passed over him. “Well, wouldn’ya know it, it’s just like the old Falklore hauler I used to fly!”
“Was that ship also a thousand years old?”
“Naw, just a few hundred, but the guy who sold it to me might have been, ha! I still can’t imagine how this thing got all the way out here to The Fringe though. These Terran ships are tough, but they ain’t no Validian Star Streaker,” Quinn said as he punched some guesswork into a cockpit display. The readout flashed red. “Damn, I was afraid of this. She’s almost dead, 4% power...but I got an idea.”
Lodo crossed his arms, “Let me guess…”
“Bingo. That little reactor inside you might have just enough juice to dig us out if we burn it all at once,” Quinn said as he positioned Lodo near the core and began plugging in nearby cables, “Now we’ll only get one shot at this, and there’s no telling what that much power going through ya might do. You could light up light a matchstick. Or explode and kill us both. But I’m pretty sure you’ll be fine.”
“I might…explode? How sure are you?”
“Like 70%,” Quinn said as he finished jerry rigging Lodo to the drive core.
“70%, that’s it?! And are you going to ask if I’m ok with that?”
“Nope!,” and Quinn flipped the main breaker.
At the bottom was the nearly uncovered airlock, caution striped and wide enough for two men to walk through side-by-side. “All this time I thought the legend was just some story made up to give fools hope!,” Quinn said as dug around the red release handle, “A ship containing all the secrets of mankind, lost in space! I can’t believe it’s real.”
“It is no doubt of Earth origin, but how are you certain that the story is true?”
“Well, there’s only one way to find out. Shall we?,” asked Quinn with a smirk on his face, before reaching out and rotating the handle. A rush of air burst from the seams, breaking the seal after a millennium, and the doors opened with a pneumatic hiss. The emergency lighting blinked to life, filling the interior with a dim glow.
“Wow, would you look at that, its power core still has some juice left it in after all this time. This just might be our ticket outta here." Quinn activated the flashlight on his Digidex and led the way inside.
**********************************************************
It was well preserved for its age. Quarters were tight, stuffed with conduit and subsystems, and in the center of the ship lie its heart, an old Voith-Ijgenko drive core. Quinn sat down in the cockpit seat and a wave of nostalgia passed over him. “Well, wouldn’ya know it, it’s just like the old Falklore hauler I used to fly!”
“Was that ship also a thousand years old?”
“Naw, just a few hundred, but the guy who sold it to me might have been, ha! I still can’t imagine how this thing got all the way out here to The Fringe though. These Terran ships are tough, but they ain’t no Validian Star Streaker,” Quinn said as he punched some guesswork into a cockpit display. The readout flashed red. “Damn, I was afraid of this. She’s almost dead, 4% power...but I got an idea.”
Lodo crossed his arms, “Let me guess…”
“Bingo. That little reactor inside you might have just enough juice to dig us out if we burn it all at once,” Quinn said as he positioned Lodo near the core and began plugging in nearby cables, “Now we’ll only get one shot at this, and there’s no telling what that much power going through ya might do. You could light up light a matchstick. Or explode and kill us both. But I’m pretty sure you’ll be fine.”
“I might…explode? How sure are you?”
“Like 70%,” Quinn said as he finished jerry rigging Lodo to the drive core.
“70%, that’s it?! And are you going to ask if I’m ok with that?”
“Nope!,” and Quinn flipped the main breaker.
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GinjaGen
Not-so-Sneaky Ninja
"So... You have a plan for how we're going to get off this giant pressure cooker?" The boy, Kader, said adjusting his hood to adequately cover his horns as the two once again headed out into the heat.
"Working on it..." The woman, Ayala responded, pulling her own hood and face cover on, making sure her face was obscured as it had been yesterday, minimizing the chance she could be recognized. Truth be told she had absolutely no idea how they were going to get off the planet, and the longer they stayed, the more likely it was they would get caught. Not that that was much of a problem, they'd been caught before, and had broken out. However, judging from the quality of life in the capital city of a planet basically made of sand, the prison was probably not the nicest place.
"So... no plan..." Kader sighed, knowing his partner in crime. They had been together for a long time, since they were both children on a lonely space station, more than fifteen years ago.
They spent the morning wandering the city, being very careful to not go near the market they had been at yesterday, taking a little bit from people wherever they went. Sometimes it was just a piece of fruit carelessly bumped off of a cart, other times they acted out one of their many practiced scenes in order to relieve people of their heavy purses. In general they tried to only take from people who they figured didn't need the items, the fruit from a mean salesman, and the most recent purse from an equally abrasive shopper who had stupidly shoved Ayala out of the way, at which point she had relieved him of his credits.
Things were going well until Ayala felt a rather fluffy hand on her shoulder. "I'm so happy to see you two made up!" The Muragira woman said, her eyes twinkling, which, on the face of a giant space chicken, was about as close to a smile as was physically possible.
"Y-yeah" Ayala said, looking to Kader who matched Ayala's surprised and very worried expression. "Thank you for being concerned... now, we must be going." Ayala tried to muster a small smile, then grabbed Kader's hand and started pulling him away. They both knew this was a dangerous situation, and it was quickly growing more so. Then, from behind them. "My credits! They're gone!" In that moment, two very bad things happened simultaneously. One: because Kader was shorter than Ayala, and his movement was already hindered by the excess of clothing, he tripped. This caused his hood to fall of his head, and the bag of credits hidden in his sleeve to fall out. The Muragira's eyes widened, if that was physiologically possible. "A Byakti?" They were very rare... and she vaguely remembered hearing of one that was wanted and in the vicinity. Then her eyes caught sight of the credits lying on the ground.
For a moment no one in the square moved. You could almost hear the Muragira struggling to put the pieces together, her people not particularly known for their intelligence. This was their chance, and Ayala took it. In one fluid motion, Ayala scooped Kader up and threw him over her shoulder, causing her own hood to fall off. The Muragira's eyes pushed the limits of their physiological bounds as she recognized Ayala's face from the same wanted wanted warning as the Byakti.
"Thank you ladies and gentlemen!" Ayala said, pretending to curtsy. "It's been wonderful." Then she turned tail and sprinted from the center.
This broke the spell that seemed to have been holding the square. People began yelling, some for the guards, other about their missing credits. It was chaos, which only helped Ayala make her escape.
Ayala took the most backwards way she could to make it back to their warehouse. When she arrived she was breathing hard.
"PUT ME DOWN!" Kader protested. He understood he was smaller than her physically, but he hated being carried. Of the two of them, he was in fact the elder, and being carried like a sack of potatoes was a bit more than a little insulting to his pride. She gently placed him on the floor. He brushed the sand off of his clothing, then, recovered, the looked up at her. "Well, I guess paying for a ticket is out of the question now."
"Desert..." Ayala huffed, still trying to catch her breath. Still breathing hard, she moved over to their pile of things. For the most part, it was already packed up, and she was able to simply throw it over her shoulder.
"What?"
"We... go to the desert..." Ayala said, finally catching her breath.
"... great..." Kader said, his nose scrunched in annoyance. "You do understand how hard it is to get sand out of my fur, right..."
"It's the only chance we have... Now that we've been identified, he'll be sending people for us. We could probably lose them in the desert... camp out in one of the old cities, or something"
"Or die..."
"I'll take my chances..."
After a moment Kader nodded in agreement. "Me too."
***************************************************************************************************************
A few minutes later, covered from head to toe they carefully made their way to the edge of the city. After filling up whatever they had that could hold water, they paused. Behind them, the city rose, like the oasis it was named after. Before them lay nothing but sand. After sharing a look, Ayala started up the hover bike they had hot-wired on the way to the edge of town and took off into the desert. She prayed they could find something, anything before the bike ran out of power.
"Working on it..." The woman, Ayala responded, pulling her own hood and face cover on, making sure her face was obscured as it had been yesterday, minimizing the chance she could be recognized. Truth be told she had absolutely no idea how they were going to get off the planet, and the longer they stayed, the more likely it was they would get caught. Not that that was much of a problem, they'd been caught before, and had broken out. However, judging from the quality of life in the capital city of a planet basically made of sand, the prison was probably not the nicest place.
"So... no plan..." Kader sighed, knowing his partner in crime. They had been together for a long time, since they were both children on a lonely space station, more than fifteen years ago.
They spent the morning wandering the city, being very careful to not go near the market they had been at yesterday, taking a little bit from people wherever they went. Sometimes it was just a piece of fruit carelessly bumped off of a cart, other times they acted out one of their many practiced scenes in order to relieve people of their heavy purses. In general they tried to only take from people who they figured didn't need the items, the fruit from a mean salesman, and the most recent purse from an equally abrasive shopper who had stupidly shoved Ayala out of the way, at which point she had relieved him of his credits.
Things were going well until Ayala felt a rather fluffy hand on her shoulder. "I'm so happy to see you two made up!" The Muragira woman said, her eyes twinkling, which, on the face of a giant space chicken, was about as close to a smile as was physically possible.
"Y-yeah" Ayala said, looking to Kader who matched Ayala's surprised and very worried expression. "Thank you for being concerned... now, we must be going." Ayala tried to muster a small smile, then grabbed Kader's hand and started pulling him away. They both knew this was a dangerous situation, and it was quickly growing more so. Then, from behind them. "My credits! They're gone!" In that moment, two very bad things happened simultaneously. One: because Kader was shorter than Ayala, and his movement was already hindered by the excess of clothing, he tripped. This caused his hood to fall of his head, and the bag of credits hidden in his sleeve to fall out. The Muragira's eyes widened, if that was physiologically possible. "A Byakti?" They were very rare... and she vaguely remembered hearing of one that was wanted and in the vicinity. Then her eyes caught sight of the credits lying on the ground.
For a moment no one in the square moved. You could almost hear the Muragira struggling to put the pieces together, her people not particularly known for their intelligence. This was their chance, and Ayala took it. In one fluid motion, Ayala scooped Kader up and threw him over her shoulder, causing her own hood to fall off. The Muragira's eyes pushed the limits of their physiological bounds as she recognized Ayala's face from the same wanted wanted warning as the Byakti.
"Thank you ladies and gentlemen!" Ayala said, pretending to curtsy. "It's been wonderful." Then she turned tail and sprinted from the center.
This broke the spell that seemed to have been holding the square. People began yelling, some for the guards, other about their missing credits. It was chaos, which only helped Ayala make her escape.
***************************************************************************************************************
Ayala took the most backwards way she could to make it back to their warehouse. When she arrived she was breathing hard.
"PUT ME DOWN!" Kader protested. He understood he was smaller than her physically, but he hated being carried. Of the two of them, he was in fact the elder, and being carried like a sack of potatoes was a bit more than a little insulting to his pride. She gently placed him on the floor. He brushed the sand off of his clothing, then, recovered, the looked up at her. "Well, I guess paying for a ticket is out of the question now."
"Desert..." Ayala huffed, still trying to catch her breath. Still breathing hard, she moved over to their pile of things. For the most part, it was already packed up, and she was able to simply throw it over her shoulder.
"What?"
"We... go to the desert..." Ayala said, finally catching her breath.
"... great..." Kader said, his nose scrunched in annoyance. "You do understand how hard it is to get sand out of my fur, right..."
"It's the only chance we have... Now that we've been identified, he'll be sending people for us. We could probably lose them in the desert... camp out in one of the old cities, or something"
"Or die..."
"I'll take my chances..."
After a moment Kader nodded in agreement. "Me too."
***************************************************************************************************************
A few minutes later, covered from head to toe they carefully made their way to the edge of the city. After filling up whatever they had that could hold water, they paused. Behind them, the city rose, like the oasis it was named after. Before them lay nothing but sand. After sharing a look, Ayala started up the hover bike they had hot-wired on the way to the edge of town and took off into the desert. She prayed they could find something, anything before the bike ran out of power.
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Ampersand
I ♥ semicolons
A shower of sparks burst from the core as a deep rumble emanated from below the deck plates. The power readout began to climb; 5%...7%...12%.
“YESS, it’s working!! What'd I tell ya!” Quinn yelled over the rising whine of the engines as he strapped himself into the cockpit chair. “How you doin’ back there?!”
“Uh…Quinn, I’m getting a tad hot,” reported Lodo as the jerry-rigged cables began to smoke.
27%...35%...42%... “Keep an eye on your reactor temp and let me know when it passes 4000 Kelvin!”
“IT JUST DID!” The center of the robot’s chest was glowing red, “QUINN?!”
“NOT YET…” …76%...82%... “…ALMOST…” …87%...96%... “…aand, NOW!” Quinn jammed the thrust levers forward and the engines roared to life. The ship shook violently as it struggled to free itself from its ancient tomb. “HERE WE GO!!”
If there had been anyone to witness the escape, they’d have seen the massive dust plume pierced like a silver bullet by a ship from mythos. It shot straight into the air, arced west, and rocketed away with a thunderous crackle.
“I’m throttling down!” Quinn pulled back on the levers until the engines’ roar reduced to a muted purr. In the distance, the glistening city of Oasis crept into view. He turned back to his mechanical companion, “Hot damn, we made it! At this rate we’ll get there in no time!”
And on those words, Lodo exploded.
The Robadyne X31 Power Unit is a self-contained micro fusion reactor strictly rated to a 10 kilowatt output with a lifespan of 3.6 years. To that effect, it is ill advised to modify it to output 10 megawatts over 36 seconds. Having done just that, a white-hot sphere closely resembling Lodo’s micro reactor burst from his chest, ricocheted around the cabin, and shot itself out a portside window. Moments later, the ship’s engines lurched.
“WHAT THE?!... Oh shit! OH SHIT!”
The howling air whistled past the fresh hole; across from it, Lodo laid in pieces on the floor. “Hold on pal!” Quinn’s instinctively pushed down on the yoke to maintain airspeed as he frantically toggled the engine switches. “Come on baby, come on, you had a little power in ya…” The craft surged as the engines relit and fluttered out again. Its stubby wings were losing their grip on the air and it slipped from the sky.
“COME ON! START DAMMIT!!”
“YESS, it’s working!! What'd I tell ya!” Quinn yelled over the rising whine of the engines as he strapped himself into the cockpit chair. “How you doin’ back there?!”
“Uh…Quinn, I’m getting a tad hot,” reported Lodo as the jerry-rigged cables began to smoke.
27%...35%...42%... “Keep an eye on your reactor temp and let me know when it passes 4000 Kelvin!”
“IT JUST DID!” The center of the robot’s chest was glowing red, “QUINN?!”
“NOT YET…” …76%...82%... “…ALMOST…” …87%...96%... “…aand, NOW!” Quinn jammed the thrust levers forward and the engines roared to life. The ship shook violently as it struggled to free itself from its ancient tomb. “HERE WE GO!!”
If there had been anyone to witness the escape, they’d have seen the massive dust plume pierced like a silver bullet by a ship from mythos. It shot straight into the air, arced west, and rocketed away with a thunderous crackle.
“I’m throttling down!” Quinn pulled back on the levers until the engines’ roar reduced to a muted purr. In the distance, the glistening city of Oasis crept into view. He turned back to his mechanical companion, “Hot damn, we made it! At this rate we’ll get there in no time!”
And on those words, Lodo exploded.
**********************************************************
The Robadyne X31 Power Unit is a self-contained micro fusion reactor strictly rated to a 10 kilowatt output with a lifespan of 3.6 years. To that effect, it is ill advised to modify it to output 10 megawatts over 36 seconds. Having done just that, a white-hot sphere closely resembling Lodo’s micro reactor burst from his chest, ricocheted around the cabin, and shot itself out a portside window. Moments later, the ship’s engines lurched.
“WHAT THE?!... Oh shit! OH SHIT!”
The howling air whistled past the fresh hole; across from it, Lodo laid in pieces on the floor. “Hold on pal!” Quinn’s instinctively pushed down on the yoke to maintain airspeed as he frantically toggled the engine switches. “Come on baby, come on, you had a little power in ya…” The craft surged as the engines relit and fluttered out again. Its stubby wings were losing their grip on the air and it slipped from the sky.
“COME ON! START DAMMIT!!”
GinjaGen
Not-so-Sneaky Ninja
"None of this crap would have happened if you hadn't taken that stupid necklace!" Kader was yelling.
"I couldn't just leave it there! It was obviously something important if the boss kept it on his desk, on top of plans marked "Secret"... I mean... who does that? How obvious can you be?" Ayala replied, pulling a strand of hair out of her mouth. She had taken her hood off long ago, and now her long black ponytail was blowing in the wind behind her, and more importantly directly into Kader's face. "Watch it!" He said for the billionth time, turning his head to try to keep the hair out of his face. In response Ayala swished here head back and forth to make sure the most amount of hair that could get in his face did.
"AUUUUUGGGHHHHH!" Kader finally yelled, irritated. Ayala's only response was to cackle and keep riding.
They had been out on the never ending sand for at least a few hours. The bike's energy was solar dependent, and it was going to get dark soon, and Ayala wasn't too keen on staying out after dark. Dark brought all sorts of dangers, the least dangerous being the freezing cold temperatures, and some of the most being the nocturnal alien animals that no doubt lived out on the desert. Since the sun had begun its descent the two had become keenly aware of where their weapons were on them, and the sounds that were coming from around them. Not that hearing the sounds would have helped much, as sound travels quickly and far in the desert, especially as it gets dark, and they wouldn't have been able to recognize the sounds as it was.
Suddenly they could make out a small light in the distance as the sun really began to set and darkness approached. "There! See! That must be a settlement!" Ayala said triumphantly. Kader simply made a huffing noise. He couldn't see anything over her shoulders. Then the light started to get bigger, and she slowed the bike a bit. The light continued to get larger, which meant only one thing: Some kind of ship was headed their way.
Ayala came to a dead stop, almost launching Kader off of the bike as she stared at the ship getting closer. "What!?" Kader asked, peeking over her shoulders.
"A ship." Ayala said simply.
The two watched the ship slowly getting closer to them. As it was, Ayala knew that if the ship was looking for them, there was no point in trying to make it back to Oasis, or in going further into the desert. As the ship got closer they noticed it didn't appear to be like any ship they had ever seen before, in fact it looked quite old.
They were considering this observation when suddenly something could be seen flying from the ship. It flew towards them, landing with such impact that sand flew up into the air.
"They're shooting at us!" Kader said incredulously. "Let's go!"
Ayala was about to agree, her hand already on the throttle when she saw the ship wobble. "Wait..." She said.
"What? Let's go before they shoot something else at us!"
"But... I don't think they are..." Ayala responed.
"What? Didn't you see the projectile?" Kader said, staring at Ayala, wondering what the heck she could be talking about.
"Yeah... but... doesn't the ship look like it's..." She tilted her head to the side, watching the ship wobble in the air again.
"Look like it's what?" Kader asked, getting increasingly impatient. It was at that moment that the ship took a sudden sharp dive and smashed into the sand, leaving a long impact trail and displacing so much sand that Ayala and Kader were actually thrown off of their bike.
As they both sat up, spitting sand out of their mouths Ayala finished her sentence. "Crashing..."
"I couldn't just leave it there! It was obviously something important if the boss kept it on his desk, on top of plans marked "Secret"... I mean... who does that? How obvious can you be?" Ayala replied, pulling a strand of hair out of her mouth. She had taken her hood off long ago, and now her long black ponytail was blowing in the wind behind her, and more importantly directly into Kader's face. "Watch it!" He said for the billionth time, turning his head to try to keep the hair out of his face. In response Ayala swished here head back and forth to make sure the most amount of hair that could get in his face did.
"AUUUUUGGGHHHHH!" Kader finally yelled, irritated. Ayala's only response was to cackle and keep riding.
They had been out on the never ending sand for at least a few hours. The bike's energy was solar dependent, and it was going to get dark soon, and Ayala wasn't too keen on staying out after dark. Dark brought all sorts of dangers, the least dangerous being the freezing cold temperatures, and some of the most being the nocturnal alien animals that no doubt lived out on the desert. Since the sun had begun its descent the two had become keenly aware of where their weapons were on them, and the sounds that were coming from around them. Not that hearing the sounds would have helped much, as sound travels quickly and far in the desert, especially as it gets dark, and they wouldn't have been able to recognize the sounds as it was.
Suddenly they could make out a small light in the distance as the sun really began to set and darkness approached. "There! See! That must be a settlement!" Ayala said triumphantly. Kader simply made a huffing noise. He couldn't see anything over her shoulders. Then the light started to get bigger, and she slowed the bike a bit. The light continued to get larger, which meant only one thing: Some kind of ship was headed their way.
Ayala came to a dead stop, almost launching Kader off of the bike as she stared at the ship getting closer. "What!?" Kader asked, peeking over her shoulders.
"A ship." Ayala said simply.
The two watched the ship slowly getting closer to them. As it was, Ayala knew that if the ship was looking for them, there was no point in trying to make it back to Oasis, or in going further into the desert. As the ship got closer they noticed it didn't appear to be like any ship they had ever seen before, in fact it looked quite old.
They were considering this observation when suddenly something could be seen flying from the ship. It flew towards them, landing with such impact that sand flew up into the air.
"They're shooting at us!" Kader said incredulously. "Let's go!"
Ayala was about to agree, her hand already on the throttle when she saw the ship wobble. "Wait..." She said.
"What? Let's go before they shoot something else at us!"
"But... I don't think they are..." Ayala responed.
"What? Didn't you see the projectile?" Kader said, staring at Ayala, wondering what the heck she could be talking about.
"Yeah... but... doesn't the ship look like it's..." She tilted her head to the side, watching the ship wobble in the air again.
"Look like it's what?" Kader asked, getting increasingly impatient. It was at that moment that the ship took a sudden sharp dive and smashed into the sand, leaving a long impact trail and displacing so much sand that Ayala and Kader were actually thrown off of their bike.
As they both sat up, spitting sand out of their mouths Ayala finished her sentence. "Crashing..."
Ampersand
I ♥ semicolons
By Quinn's best guess, they had just recreated the crash that originally stranded the poor lifeboat. He unbuckled the seat harness and grabbed onto the console, pulling himself up—everything hurt. “Ugh, I’m gonna feel that in the morning.”
Quinn opened a panel above and pulled the navigation computer’s data card, a black box containing all the celestial data the lifeboat collected since it launched from its mothership. It was an isolinear chip no larger than his thumb—easily slipped into a pocket, or a robot. Any hope of finding the Borealis lay with that data.
Noxious fumes filled the cockpit as flames erupted from the console. Quinn lurched out of the chair and stumbled to Lodo’s motionless body, checking him for damage. There was baseball sized hole in his chest, but his head was in one piece. “Looks like your memdrive is intact,” he said with relief and a smile, “Damn mail bots, built like tanks.”
Lodo weighed a good two-hundred pounds, light for a robot, but heavy as hell to drag twenty feet through a burning ship. A turn of the airlock handle illuminated a red *DOOR MALFUNCITON* light. Quinn elbowed the breakaway glass protecting the emergency door jettison switch. With a twist, the door blew off its hinges and landed some distance away with a metallic thud.
Quinn pushed Lodo out of the airlock and followed suit, jumping down onto the desert floor. It was cool, almost cold outside, a startling contrast to the day-side of the planet. Out of immediate danger, a wave of dizziness passed over him; rolling onto his back to catch his breath, he stared up at the wreck. The nighttime breeze mixed with smoke bellowing from the airlock.
They were at least fifty miles from Oasis. Maybe he could walk it. Probably not. The desert was a deadly place, even at night. Just before Quinn lost consciousness, he swore he heard footsteps approaching.
Quinn opened a panel above and pulled the navigation computer’s data card, a black box containing all the celestial data the lifeboat collected since it launched from its mothership. It was an isolinear chip no larger than his thumb—easily slipped into a pocket, or a robot. Any hope of finding the Borealis lay with that data.
Noxious fumes filled the cockpit as flames erupted from the console. Quinn lurched out of the chair and stumbled to Lodo’s motionless body, checking him for damage. There was baseball sized hole in his chest, but his head was in one piece. “Looks like your memdrive is intact,” he said with relief and a smile, “Damn mail bots, built like tanks.”
Lodo weighed a good two-hundred pounds, light for a robot, but heavy as hell to drag twenty feet through a burning ship. A turn of the airlock handle illuminated a red *DOOR MALFUNCITON* light. Quinn elbowed the breakaway glass protecting the emergency door jettison switch. With a twist, the door blew off its hinges and landed some distance away with a metallic thud.
Quinn pushed Lodo out of the airlock and followed suit, jumping down onto the desert floor. It was cool, almost cold outside, a startling contrast to the day-side of the planet. Out of immediate danger, a wave of dizziness passed over him; rolling onto his back to catch his breath, he stared up at the wreck. The nighttime breeze mixed with smoke bellowing from the airlock.
They were at least fifty miles from Oasis. Maybe he could walk it. Probably not. The desert was a deadly place, even at night. Just before Quinn lost consciousness, he swore he heard footsteps approaching.
GinjaGen
Not-so-Sneaky Ninja
Ayala and Kader approached the ship carefully, wary of both its inhabitants and the possibly immanent explosion. Kader hadn't wanted to approach the ship to begin with because of these hazards, but Ayala was too curious, and she was the only one who could drive the bike, so he was stuck going along with her.
From what they could see, the ship was quite beat up, though it looked like much of the damage wasn't new. They could also definitively see that the ship was in fact quite old, though neither of them could place the script on the outside of it. After biking carefully around it, noting the amount of smoke billowing out of it, they finally turned and started to move away.
At the last possible moment Ayala caught sight of the door being blown off. It was, from what she could tell, a very damaged escape hatch. "Wait..."
"What now?" Kader said, his voice betraying his anxiety. The ship was not looking in a good way, and it would just make his day that much worse to die because Ayala was being curious.
"I think someone survived."
"Yeah. That's nice for them... Let's get out of here before this place blows up or they decide to shoot at us again or something."
"We can't just leave them here."
"Uh... yeah... we can. They shot at us. For all we know they could work for the boss and were coming to get us when they screwed up and crashed."
"They weren't coming from Oasis..." Ayala said. She had a point. It was unlikely the people looking for them would have been out in the desert. They also would have had to pass the two on the bike to get far enough for them to be coming back, and at least one of the two would have seen a ship going past them. Though, they could have already been searching the desert and she could be entirely wrong. Ayala decided to take that chance, and got off of the bike. "I'm going to check." Kader simply sighed in response, muttering about her being the epitome of a crazy human.
Ayala drew her sidearm just in case, then carefully walked over to where she had seen the movement, making sure to note any drastic changes in the ship next to her. As she got closer she caught sight of a robot laying on the sand. This alone was confused because even from as far away as she was, she could see the robot was damaged and most likely hadn't gotten out of the ship alone. So, how'd it get out? She wondered, getting cautiously closer. Her question was answered a moment later when a man jumped out of the hole as well, landing in the sand next to the robot. That surprised her and she instinctively raised her sidearm.
Then the man appeared to wobble, as if he was going to pass out. Concerned, Ayala lowered her weapon and hurried, carefully, over to the man. As she finally got close to him, he was just slipping into unconsciousness. She knelt down next to him, checking his pulse, assuming he was a humanoid with reasonably similar pulse points to her own. She sighed with relief to find he did appear to have a pulse.
"Well?" Kader said, standing behind her. He had followed her despite his dislike for her plan.
"One robot, one humanoid. Robot's pretty banged up... looks like it's missing its reactor core... which is probably what shot at us!" She said with sudden realization.
Kader was skeptical, but turned his attention to the man. "And him?"
"Banged up as well, but alive. Nothing of importance in his pockets except some sort of data chip." Of course being a thief, after confirming he was alive, she had checked his pockets. One can learn a lot about a person by what they keep in their pockets.
"Well, great. Now can we go?" Kader said with growing impatience. The sun was really setting now.
"We can't just leave them! They'll die from the cold, or be eaten by some crazy alien out here!"
"Well, what do you suggest we do?"
Ayala paused for a moment, then gave Kader a puppy dog stare.
"Oh no... we are not bringing them with us!"
"Just until the morning!"
"No!"
"Come on Kader... we've done some crappy things in our lives, but if we leave them here to die it's basically murder!" Ayala said, batting her eyes at Kader.
Kader kept his face stoic for a moment, then sighed and gave in. "Fine... we help them tonight... but first thing tomorrow we're leaving them, man-eating aliens or not!"
******************************************************************
Working together the two had been able to get the man and the robot onto the back of the solar bike before the sun fully disappeared from the sky. After using the remaining stored energy to get a reasonably safe distance from the ship that may or may not explode at any moment, they set up camp for the night.
They always kept a certain amount of supplies with them, wherever they went, and were never so happy to have brought so much than they were at the moment. Ayala was now bundled up in one of the thick blankets they had, and had put the other on the man. Kader, with his fur and the layers of clothing which he resented much less now, was comfortably warm; at least warm enough to fall asleep.
Ayala was left awake for first watch to look out for the people coming for them, the dangerous aliens, or the strangers Ayala had brought with them waking up. Ayala watched the desert for any signs of a change, but continually found her gaze wandering to the strange pair they had rescued. The man had had a bullet in his shoulder, which Ayala had removed, cleaned and bandaged to the best of her ability. That, along with their spectacularly damaged ship made her wonder if, like her and Kader, the two were being chased by someone.
From what they could see, the ship was quite beat up, though it looked like much of the damage wasn't new. They could also definitively see that the ship was in fact quite old, though neither of them could place the script on the outside of it. After biking carefully around it, noting the amount of smoke billowing out of it, they finally turned and started to move away.
At the last possible moment Ayala caught sight of the door being blown off. It was, from what she could tell, a very damaged escape hatch. "Wait..."
"What now?" Kader said, his voice betraying his anxiety. The ship was not looking in a good way, and it would just make his day that much worse to die because Ayala was being curious.
"I think someone survived."
"Yeah. That's nice for them... Let's get out of here before this place blows up or they decide to shoot at us again or something."
"We can't just leave them here."
"Uh... yeah... we can. They shot at us. For all we know they could work for the boss and were coming to get us when they screwed up and crashed."
"They weren't coming from Oasis..." Ayala said. She had a point. It was unlikely the people looking for them would have been out in the desert. They also would have had to pass the two on the bike to get far enough for them to be coming back, and at least one of the two would have seen a ship going past them. Though, they could have already been searching the desert and she could be entirely wrong. Ayala decided to take that chance, and got off of the bike. "I'm going to check." Kader simply sighed in response, muttering about her being the epitome of a crazy human.
Ayala drew her sidearm just in case, then carefully walked over to where she had seen the movement, making sure to note any drastic changes in the ship next to her. As she got closer she caught sight of a robot laying on the sand. This alone was confused because even from as far away as she was, she could see the robot was damaged and most likely hadn't gotten out of the ship alone. So, how'd it get out? She wondered, getting cautiously closer. Her question was answered a moment later when a man jumped out of the hole as well, landing in the sand next to the robot. That surprised her and she instinctively raised her sidearm.
Then the man appeared to wobble, as if he was going to pass out. Concerned, Ayala lowered her weapon and hurried, carefully, over to the man. As she finally got close to him, he was just slipping into unconsciousness. She knelt down next to him, checking his pulse, assuming he was a humanoid with reasonably similar pulse points to her own. She sighed with relief to find he did appear to have a pulse.
"Well?" Kader said, standing behind her. He had followed her despite his dislike for her plan.
"One robot, one humanoid. Robot's pretty banged up... looks like it's missing its reactor core... which is probably what shot at us!" She said with sudden realization.
Kader was skeptical, but turned his attention to the man. "And him?"
"Banged up as well, but alive. Nothing of importance in his pockets except some sort of data chip." Of course being a thief, after confirming he was alive, she had checked his pockets. One can learn a lot about a person by what they keep in their pockets.
"Well, great. Now can we go?" Kader said with growing impatience. The sun was really setting now.
"We can't just leave them! They'll die from the cold, or be eaten by some crazy alien out here!"
"Well, what do you suggest we do?"
Ayala paused for a moment, then gave Kader a puppy dog stare.
"Oh no... we are not bringing them with us!"
"Just until the morning!"
"No!"
"Come on Kader... we've done some crappy things in our lives, but if we leave them here to die it's basically murder!" Ayala said, batting her eyes at Kader.
Kader kept his face stoic for a moment, then sighed and gave in. "Fine... we help them tonight... but first thing tomorrow we're leaving them, man-eating aliens or not!"
******************************************************************
Working together the two had been able to get the man and the robot onto the back of the solar bike before the sun fully disappeared from the sky. After using the remaining stored energy to get a reasonably safe distance from the ship that may or may not explode at any moment, they set up camp for the night.
They always kept a certain amount of supplies with them, wherever they went, and were never so happy to have brought so much than they were at the moment. Ayala was now bundled up in one of the thick blankets they had, and had put the other on the man. Kader, with his fur and the layers of clothing which he resented much less now, was comfortably warm; at least warm enough to fall asleep.
Ayala was left awake for first watch to look out for the people coming for them, the dangerous aliens, or the strangers Ayala had brought with them waking up. Ayala watched the desert for any signs of a change, but continually found her gaze wandering to the strange pair they had rescued. The man had had a bullet in his shoulder, which Ayala had removed, cleaned and bandaged to the best of her ability. That, along with their spectacularly damaged ship made her wonder if, like her and Kader, the two were being chased by someone.
Ampersand
I ♥ semicolons
"Don't ever forget where we came from, son," said his father, putting a hand on Quinn's shoulder as he presented the boy with the best birthday gift he had ever received--a fresh red apple. He only knew of it through old Earth tales and had never seen a real one; it must have cost a week's pay. "Terran's were a great people with an empire of planets stretching across the stars." Quinn followed the waving gesture to the sky and could sense the pride in his father's voice. "One day, we will be again."
Quinn awoke sitting up to the biting morning breeze rustling his hair. One of Varr'sar's suns peaked atop the horizon and he could instantly feel the heat against his face. The light was piercing, worsening an already throbbing headache; he wasn't this hung over since the time he first drank Sarkak moonshine. It was no doubt a result of inhaling the combined gas-forms of ship conduit and battery cells while trying to escape the toxic inferno. The last thing he remembered was jettisoning the airlock door and jumping out, but how he made it here escaped him; the landscape had changed, the wreck was nowhere to be found...and he was tied up. Polyrope bound his arms to his sides and something cold and metallic pressed against his spine. He glanced back, immediately regretting it, realizing how sore his neck was from the crash. Behind him, or more accurately, tied to him was Lodo's lifeless body. And further beyond that came the sound of ruffling tarp and a crackling fire. He tugged against the ropes to get a better view when he first heard the voices of their captors.
******************************************************************
Quinn awoke sitting up to the biting morning breeze rustling his hair. One of Varr'sar's suns peaked atop the horizon and he could instantly feel the heat against his face. The light was piercing, worsening an already throbbing headache; he wasn't this hung over since the time he first drank Sarkak moonshine. It was no doubt a result of inhaling the combined gas-forms of ship conduit and battery cells while trying to escape the toxic inferno. The last thing he remembered was jettisoning the airlock door and jumping out, but how he made it here escaped him; the landscape had changed, the wreck was nowhere to be found...and he was tied up. Polyrope bound his arms to his sides and something cold and metallic pressed against his spine. He glanced back, immediately regretting it, realizing how sore his neck was from the crash. Behind him, or more accurately, tied to him was Lodo's lifeless body. And further beyond that came the sound of ruffling tarp and a crackling fire. He tugged against the ropes to get a better view when he first heard the voices of their captors.
Last edited by a moderator:
GinjaGen
Not-so-Sneaky Ninja
"It's morning. We agreed on leaving them in the morning." Kader was saying, his blue tail swishing in irritation as he finished packing.
Ayala pursed her lips. She was currently braiding her long dark hair to keep it from going crazy. It had a tendency to knot instantaneously, thus she kept it tied down as much as humanly possible. As she slipped the elastic over the end of her rather messy braid she looked over at their captives, noticing movement. "Kader-"
"No. Pack up the tent." Kader responded somewhat shortly. He assumed Ayala was arguing with him about leaving the two, and he was having none of it.
"Kader-" Ayala tried again, now certain the man was moving.
"No. Tent. Now." Kader wasn't listening. He wanted to get out of the desert. It was too open, and by now the people chasing them would realize they weren't in the city anymore and would undoubtably venture into the desert. And the group were completely exposed out in the completely empty desert, Besides, Kader had sand in places he didn't even want to think about.
Ayala sighed, exasperated, then began to do as Kader asked as loudly and slowly as possible. "Just so yo know." Ayala said, "one of our guests is awake."
"What?" Kader said, glancin over at the man. "Why didn't you say something?"
"Why didn't you listen?" Ayala retorted, rolling her eyes and throwing another object unceremoniously into the sack in front of her.
Kader groaned, then walked over to the now very awake man. "Welcome back." He said, standing front of the man, with his arms crossed and his tail swishing. Despite the fact that he was so small, there was something about Kader hat made him intimidating somehow. Maybe it was how held himself, or his multiple scars. Or it might have been the horns.
He studied the man's face for a moment. "You're real lucky we were riding by, and that my partner took pity on you. So, how about you repay some of that kindness by telling me what you were doing out here?"
Ayala pursed her lips. She was currently braiding her long dark hair to keep it from going crazy. It had a tendency to knot instantaneously, thus she kept it tied down as much as humanly possible. As she slipped the elastic over the end of her rather messy braid she looked over at their captives, noticing movement. "Kader-"
"No. Pack up the tent." Kader responded somewhat shortly. He assumed Ayala was arguing with him about leaving the two, and he was having none of it.
"Kader-" Ayala tried again, now certain the man was moving.
"No. Tent. Now." Kader wasn't listening. He wanted to get out of the desert. It was too open, and by now the people chasing them would realize they weren't in the city anymore and would undoubtably venture into the desert. And the group were completely exposed out in the completely empty desert, Besides, Kader had sand in places he didn't even want to think about.
Ayala sighed, exasperated, then began to do as Kader asked as loudly and slowly as possible. "Just so yo know." Ayala said, "one of our guests is awake."
"What?" Kader said, glancin over at the man. "Why didn't you say something?"
"Why didn't you listen?" Ayala retorted, rolling her eyes and throwing another object unceremoniously into the sack in front of her.
Kader groaned, then walked over to the now very awake man. "Welcome back." He said, standing front of the man, with his arms crossed and his tail swishing. Despite the fact that he was so small, there was something about Kader hat made him intimidating somehow. Maybe it was how held himself, or his multiple scars. Or it might have been the horns.
He studied the man's face for a moment. "You're real lucky we were riding by, and that my partner took pity on you. So, how about you repay some of that kindness by telling me what you were doing out here?"
Ampersand
I ♥ semicolons
"Yeah, some kindness tying a guy up and stealing all his stuff after he barely survives a ship wreck," Quinn snapped, realizing he'd also been stripped of his tech; no spex, no digidex, and probably no navchip unless these two were dumb enough to not check his pockets, "And just who the hell are you anywa... ... . . wait, are you working for Duncan? 'Cause it's the Kur'ak brothers he should be looking for." It wouldn't have taken Duncan more than a day to learn that the weapons shipment never made it off the planet, and by now Quinn's picture was added to the bounty list accessible by any digidex within a thousand miles.
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GinjaGen
Not-so-Sneaky Ninja
"It's not like you had a lot of expensive stuff" Kader said, rolling his eyes. The only thing of interest the man had was the odd chip the man had in his pocket, and they didn't know what it was worth, or who they could even sell it to. At the mention of their old boss, Kader looked a the man more closely, squinting his eyes, his tail freezing mid swish in surprise. He was trying to place the man, trying to figure out if he had seen him before. He hadn't known the man had joined them on the "Duncan's most wanted" list. They had turned all of their technology off long ago so Duncan couldn't use it to tack them.
"Screwing with Duncan, I like your style." Ayala said, walking to look at the man as well.
"Screwing with Duncan, I like your style." Ayala said, walking to look at the man as well.
Ampersand
I ♥ semicolons
"'Screwing with Duncan', wait, just who are you two anyway?," Quinn asked, his eyebrows tilted in a look of confusion until it clicked, "Woah, is that why you're out here in the middle of the desert? You're running from Duncan?," Quinn laughed sympathetically, "You know he's gonna find you, right? As long as you're here on Varr'sar, you're not safe. The only way to escape is to get off world."
"Look, my robot and I were trying to do just that when our ship suffered an unfortunate...power failure. Now he's a 200 lb paperweight and I wouldn't make it ten miles on foot in this heat. If you can get us back to the city, I'll make it worth your while--I know a guy who can smuggle people off Varr'sar."
"Look, my robot and I were trying to do just that when our ship suffered an unfortunate...power failure. Now he's a 200 lb paperweight and I wouldn't make it ten miles on foot in this heat. If you can get us back to the city, I'll make it worth your while--I know a guy who can smuggle people off Varr'sar."
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GinjaGen
Not-so-Sneaky Ninja
Kader and Ayala exchanged apprehensive looks. What the man said was true, and they both knew it. Hiding out in the desert would only work for so long. Plus, his offer was quite tempting.
Kader took Ayala aside. "I think we should do it."
Ayala's eyes practically popped out of her head. "What?"
"I think he's our only chance to get off this planet."
"But..." Ayala couldn't believe she was the one against a plan. She usually was the one coming up with the crazy plan, that was true, but still, Kader at least was always against plans. It was like he was allergic to them. "He could screw us over, and I really don't feel like being disemboweled by The Wrath.... "
"This could be our only chance to make it off the planet. The way I see it we're dead either way, but if we go with him we at least have a chance, and won't be sitting ducks in this damn desert."
Ayala was silent for a moment, then she nodded. They turned back to the man. "We'll help you get to the city if you help us get off the planet. Screw us over, and let's just say at the very least you'll become very closely acquainted with my weapons." Kader said to the man. Kader wasn't typically into violence, probably because of the violence he'd suffered being a juvenile Byakti growing up, but he did know how to handle himself, and how to cause a lot of pain if he needed.
Kader took Ayala aside. "I think we should do it."
Ayala's eyes practically popped out of her head. "What?"
"I think he's our only chance to get off this planet."
"But..." Ayala couldn't believe she was the one against a plan. She usually was the one coming up with the crazy plan, that was true, but still, Kader at least was always against plans. It was like he was allergic to them. "He could screw us over, and I really don't feel like being disemboweled by The Wrath.... "
"This could be our only chance to make it off the planet. The way I see it we're dead either way, but if we go with him we at least have a chance, and won't be sitting ducks in this damn desert."
Ayala was silent for a moment, then she nodded. They turned back to the man. "We'll help you get to the city if you help us get off the planet. Screw us over, and let's just say at the very least you'll become very closely acquainted with my weapons." Kader said to the man. Kader wasn't typically into violence, probably because of the violence he'd suffered being a juvenile Byakti growing up, but he did know how to handle himself, and how to cause a lot of pain if he needed.
Ampersand
I ♥ semicolons
"Yeah, ok kid, a deal is a deal," Quinn agreed, smirking at the melodramatic threat. In this business, you don't even have to say it--death upon failure is guaranteed. He wasn't expecting to have another two on board, and it'd make it that much trickier to avoid Duncan's goons, but he almost pitied them, maybe enough to see this thing through.
"Now, you mind untying me?"
"Now, you mind untying me?"
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GinjaGen
Not-so-Sneaky Ninja
Kader squinted his eyes when the man said "kid." He hated that word. He understood he was as small as a human child, as was the norm for the juveniles of his people, and it was quite likely the man was older than him. That didn't change the fact that he was not a child.
Ayala saw his look, knowing it well, and gave him a 'let it go' face, then went over and untied the man from the heavy robot. "I'd tell you not to run, but you took a pretty bad beating in the crash, your shoulder was bleeding and could start bleeding again at any moment, and we're in the middle of the desert, so I'd hope you wouldn't even try it." She said, helping the man to his feet.
Ayala saw his look, knowing it well, and gave him a 'let it go' face, then went over and untied the man from the heavy robot. "I'd tell you not to run, but you took a pretty bad beating in the crash, your shoulder was bleeding and could start bleeding again at any moment, and we're in the middle of the desert, so I'd hope you wouldn't even try it." She said, helping the man to his feet.
Ampersand
I ♥ semicolons
Quinn stood up and began brushing the sand off himself. "Lady, like you said, even if I could run there's nowhere to run to. And don't worry about the shoulder, can hardly feel it at all. By the way, I don't think we've properly met; I'm Quinn and this is Lodo, my robot," Quinn pointed back to the robot with his thumb. Lodo sat propped up for a moment, before slumping forward and face planting into the sand with a thud. "Uhh...yeah, he's ok. Just needs a some patchwork," Quinn reassured as he grabbed Lodo by the arms and clumsily dragged his friend across the sand, wincing in pain. "Hmppff ... we'll just strap him to the bike ... over there ... Fffgahh ... damn, he's heavy ... UGhhoAHgh! ... I might need a hand."
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GinjaGen
Not-so-Sneaky Ninja
Ayala watched Quinn struggle with the robot for a few moments, then walked past him to the bike parked a few yards away, jumped on, and drove it right up next to him. "why don't i bring the bike a bit closer." She said, smiling. She dismounted, and then helped him attach the incredibly heavy robot to the bike. They were lucky they had chosen a larger bike, built for trips into the desert. The back and front were designed to be able to accommodate supplies, while still leaving enough room . This was where Lodo was now tied.
Panting as they finally got the robot firmly tied on, Ayala flopped to the ground for a moment to recover, wiping some sweat from her forehead. "The name's Ayala." She said, smiling up at him, "The fuzzy bundle of joy over there is called Kader." Kader made a "hmph" noise at Ayala's description of him, but said nothing, tying their remaining belongings to the bike.
After he was satisfied with the arrangement of their items, Kader turned to the two. "Ok, time to get going." He climbed onto the bike into the back seat, waiting for the other two to follow suit. It was then that Ayala realized a problem. There were only two actual "seats" on the bike. It had been fine before when Quinn had been unconscious because they had just tied him onto the bike like Lodo. That option wouldn't really work now that he was awake.
Panting as they finally got the robot firmly tied on, Ayala flopped to the ground for a moment to recover, wiping some sweat from her forehead. "The name's Ayala." She said, smiling up at him, "The fuzzy bundle of joy over there is called Kader." Kader made a "hmph" noise at Ayala's description of him, but said nothing, tying their remaining belongings to the bike.
After he was satisfied with the arrangement of their items, Kader turned to the two. "Ok, time to get going." He climbed onto the bike into the back seat, waiting for the other two to follow suit. It was then that Ayala realized a problem. There were only two actual "seats" on the bike. It had been fine before when Quinn had been unconscious because they had just tied him onto the bike like Lodo. That option wouldn't really work now that he was awake.
Ampersand
I ♥ semicolons
Also recognizing this predicament, Quinn turned to Ayala. "Well, looks like we're short a seat. You wanna sit on my lap?," he chuckled with a smile. Truth be told, Quinn wasn't much the ladies man since coming to The Fringe. Partly due to him being stuffed in a cargo skip half the time, but mostly because the races in this area of space aren't what you'd call "attractive". Just take Sarkakrian females for example; 7ft tall and 300lbs of muscle covered in lizard skin. Or the Zirth, they're basically giant preying mantises. In summary, his options are limited. Though, there was that green girl...what was her name? Amy, Amia, Emmia?, he tried to recall. And those spotted twins that one time. Maybe it hasn't been so bad.
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GinjaGen
Not-so-Sneaky Ninja
Kader's eyes were the size of dinner plates, and he glanced at Ayala to see her response. For a moment she appeared like the was honestly considering it. Quinn was not a bad looking guy, in fact he could be considered a good looking guy, and she hadn't really been around those recently. But then she chuckled. "Thanks for the offer, but I drive the bike. We've got a rule, you steal the vehicle, you drive the vehicle. You can sit on my lap if you want, though." she said, winking at him as she climbed into the driver's seat, patting her thigh encouragingly.
Kader didn't like where this conversation was going. He cleared his throat loudly. "I'll sit on his lap!" He said, then realized what he'd said and looked mortified. Ayala was holding back a laugh, but was now fully into enforcing Kader's bad decision. She grinned at Quinn. "Well, get on, we've got a ways to go!" She said.
Kader begrudgingly stood up and moved out of the way so Quinn could get on.
Kader didn't like where this conversation was going. He cleared his throat loudly. "I'll sit on his lap!" He said, then realized what he'd said and looked mortified. Ayala was holding back a laugh, but was now fully into enforcing Kader's bad decision. She grinned at Quinn. "Well, get on, we've got a ways to go!" She said.
Kader begrudgingly stood up and moved out of the way so Quinn could get on.
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Ampersand
I ♥ semicolons
Quinn frowned. Ride on the back of a bike with a blue furry kid...guy...on his lap? The story of his life hit a new low. For a moment he reconsidered his odds of survival walking back to Oasis instead, before begrudgingly sitting on the bike. Kader followed suit. "This never happened," Quinn whispered.
GinjaGen
Not-so-Sneaky Ninja
"Deal." Kader replied, mortified on a number of levels. He too was considering his chances of survival if he tried to walk, or maybe he could strap himself to the back. No, that would be even more dangerous. He simply resigned himself to never think of this event again, and he prayed that Ayala didn't ever remind him of it either, though he knew there was a fat chance of that.
Ayala was grinning from ear to ear as she started up the bike and revved it. "Hold on boys!" She shouted over the engine. Then she took off towards the small dot on the horizon that was Oasis, the wind and sand almost instantly covering any signs that they had been there.
Ayala was grinning from ear to ear as she started up the bike and revved it. "Hold on boys!" She shouted over the engine. Then she took off towards the small dot on the horizon that was Oasis, the wind and sand almost instantly covering any signs that they had been there.
Ampersand
I ♥ semicolons
Chapter II - City of Thieves
"There it is, just ahead!," Quinn pointed to the city's East Gate, an archway tall enough to fly a ship through. Its iron doors were fixed open by dunes of sand that had formed at their sides. Beyond them lie the sprawl of Oasis, endless streets littered with cloth tents and domed sandstone buildings. In the distance a colossal palace towered over the urban landscape like its protector, or tyrant. "Pull up here," Quinn said, pointing to a row of parked hover bikes, "We'll take a cab in, don't want to draw attention." He whistled down their transport, a dusty rickshaw with a robot driver. Its carriage was enclosed in a silk privacy veil. The group boarded the motorized cart, propping Lodo up in one of the seats. "Tech district, electronics bazaar!," Quinn commanded, and off they went, into the bustling crowd.
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The rickshaw jostled over the worn pavestones as they traveled through what seemed like an endless market packed with merchants peddling odd wares. "We're going to see a friend of mine, name's Rudii. He can fix Lodo here and get us some hacked Transpasses to get off world. Of course, his services aren't free, but I might have something he wants," Quinn said as he reattached the Digidex to his arm, "There was a data chip in my pocket...can I have it back?"
"There it is, just ahead!," Quinn pointed to the city's East Gate, an archway tall enough to fly a ship through. Its iron doors were fixed open by dunes of sand that had formed at their sides. Beyond them lie the sprawl of Oasis, endless streets littered with cloth tents and domed sandstone buildings. In the distance a colossal palace towered over the urban landscape like its protector, or tyrant. "Pull up here," Quinn said, pointing to a row of parked hover bikes, "We'll take a cab in, don't want to draw attention." He whistled down their transport, a dusty rickshaw with a robot driver. Its carriage was enclosed in a silk privacy veil. The group boarded the motorized cart, propping Lodo up in one of the seats. "Tech district, electronics bazaar!," Quinn commanded, and off they went, into the bustling crowd.
**********************************************************
The rickshaw jostled over the worn pavestones as they traveled through what seemed like an endless market packed with merchants peddling odd wares. "We're going to see a friend of mine, name's Rudii. He can fix Lodo here and get us some hacked Transpasses to get off world. Of course, his services aren't free, but I might have something he wants," Quinn said as he reattached the Digidex to his arm, "There was a data chip in my pocket...can I have it back?"
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GinjaGen
Not-so-Sneaky Ninja
"How likely is Rudii to screw us over?" Ayala asked, carefully adjusting her face cover. Now that they were back in the city, she knew they would have to be more careful, both in who they trusted, and how they were dressed. Duncan's me knew for a fact that they were there, so even the smallest slip up could mean their death. That in mind she out her hand on his arm as he put his digidex back on. "You probably don't want to activate that. Duncan has ways if tracking even encrypted digidexes." That's how he had almost caught Kader and Ayala once. Luckily for them the bounty hunter Duncan had hired at the start to chase them hadn't been the smartest Sambial in the nest, and had practically announced to the community that he was following their digidex trail. They had promptly deactivate their devices, and relocated across the expansive city.
Kader was also once again dressed in the traditional long robe of the desert city, adequately covering his unusual features but leaving him uncomfortably hot and in a foul mood. "How about we hold onto the chip until your 'friend' books a spot off this oven." He suggested. Just because the man, Quinn, was being nice and offering them passage didn't mean he wouldn't screw them over to save his own skin. They knew nothing about him. Plus, when they'd first officially met, he'd been their prisoner, which isn't usually a way to promote trust and friendship.
Kader was also once again dressed in the traditional long robe of the desert city, adequately covering his unusual features but leaving him uncomfortably hot and in a foul mood. "How about we hold onto the chip until your 'friend' books a spot off this oven." He suggested. Just because the man, Quinn, was being nice and offering them passage didn't mean he wouldn't screw them over to save his own skin. They knew nothing about him. Plus, when they'd first officially met, he'd been their prisoner, which isn't usually a way to promote trust and friendship.
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