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Post by Huntress on Dec 28, 2008 19:35:14 GMT -5
The library wasn't too far away, but Fraze's reappearance crossed those plans straight out. Crud. Crudcrudcrud. Granted, she wasn't entirely sure whether the library, or at least the section they needed, was off limits or not, but she wasn't about to ask either. There'd been enough trouble these last hours, she wasn't about to get into even more if she could do anything to help it.
"Ah, there you are," Fraze said. "I've been told to stay with you."
This didn't bode well. Although-
"Might be useful to have him around," Bloody Mary whispered, as if having caught some stray thread of her thoughts, "the guy's a one-man-army, but what d'we do for the library?"
Hunty gave a faint grimace to serve as 'hold that thought' as she nodded at Zylaa to agree with her offer to take Goosh away. This was one problem less, at least. Then, when Kat turned into a helpfully distracting light show, she focused on her shouldermeepit again.
"Justice?"
Bloody Mary blinked in confusion. "What about her?"
"Couldn't you send her to fetch that book?"
The meepit winced, as always when Hunty simplified the system of commands and hierarcy of her dark blue gang that mostly worked on situation-based denial. "Yes, but what difference does it make? These guys got cameras. She'd be seen just as well as you, and we're not exactly hard to recognize."
She gave it a thought while they hurried along Kat's track. It was a good point. Well then, can't get to the book at the moment, no sense in getting to the book at the moment. Might as well focus on Leraye instead.
They caught up with Cyborg and Keng, Rider asked what happened and Cyborg replied with "Well, we got he Leraye data, but then we spotted Leraye himself, here! We chased him, but before we could catch him, he disappared."
Wait, what?
Bloody Mary could feel Hunty's shoulders tense. This was never a good sign.
"Well, curses," he muttered to himself. "I knew I should've made a bet that he'll wind up saying something that blows the entire situation up right there."
Hunty turned to the crew, or actually the gathering in front of the doors. Her voice was somewhat metallic.
"We're guests here, or rather a diplomatic corps. We can't do anything the Spacefleet doesn't allow us to, and I'm not entirely sure if chasing a demon across their territory would be allowed." She paused. "Although at this point I'd really like some sort of booklet on the house rules or something. I swear, most diplomats get years of training."
"Well, that's what you got me for," Bloody Mary said. "If you need anyone to make political smalltalk while eating those little cheese cubes on a toothpick, all you have to do is ask."
Hunty grinned. "Wonderful." She looked at the 'fleeters present. "So what I'd like to know right now is... do you have some kind of local equivalent of catching and handing out wanted criminals to a foreign diplomatic force if they ask you to? As in, if we want to catch Leraye, would you help us? When your only reason is 'the pirates asked us to'?"
"Don't sign anything that makes us pay for his collateral," Bloody Mary suggested. He was fairly sure that this topic was largely meant as an attempt to distract from Cyborg's information-spill, but he also suspected that it was less because of saving Cyborg's hide and more because Hunty didn't want to miss the chance of stabbing that hide herself on a more opportune moment.
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Post by Goosh on Dec 29, 2008 18:03:30 GMT -5
Faze showed up, and Zylaa offered to escort Goosh to the infirmary. Since it appeared that the crew's plans were going to be skewed anyway, he agreed. Pushing off from the wall and staring at the map, he strode down the hallway, not waiting for Zylaa to follow him.
He ran a paw through the fur on his head, but stopped abruptly when he reached his spiral ears. They felt...odd, ridgy, and the hair on them was thinner. The Yurble peered into a shiny metal beam on the wall and stared at his ears, which certainly did not look the same. They were dark now, bordering on black, and looked like...he didn't really want to think it, but he had to.
Horns.
He started walking faster.
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Post by Fraze on Dec 30, 2008 0:21:00 GMT -5
"So you can locate people with the computers in here?" Fraze heard Rider ask. "Anyone, really?"
Fraze wasn't sure if she was interested, or just terrified. He wasn't sure if the whole truth would quite be a good thing here--that the system was all but shot, and it would currently be very difficult to find where people were--but decided to tell as much of it as he thought he could. "Usually, yes. Right now the computers are having a lot of trouble because of whatever just happened. But witha bit of manipulation, yes, you can pretty much find anyone."
"Please tell me the infirmary's not far from here."
Fraze turned to look at Zylaa, who seemed to be trying to take care of...Fraze hadn't seen many yurbles, but this one looked very sick.
"Uh...down that hall, take a left right when you pass the green door, head straight down and you'll get to the infirmary after a hundred yards or so."
It didn't seem to be of much help, as Goosh was rather intent on not waiting.
There was a brief panic of sorts involving a werewolf Spacefleeter, an ex-Pirate Kougra with cybernetic implants, a demon alchemist with a people-eating gem, and a bear with a squeaky toy that kept running into walls. Fraze only wished he was making this up.
However, what Cyborg brashly said once he returned was quite interesting. "Well, we got he Leraye data, but then we spotted Leraye himself, here! We chased him, but before we could catch him, he disappared."
Data? Hunty's immediate attempts to explain the Pirates' role in this seemed almost panicked, in a way. Fraze had had his suspicions about why they were there, and this wasn't helping. He didn't want to say anything, but...
"Keng, can I have a word?" Gah, he should have chosen a better way of phrasing that.
Once he had Keng's attention, he spoke, quietly. "You know, I still think you may have saved my life back in the second Guilld War, after the Pirates found my dropship. The Commander would probably have tried to kill me if you hadn't helped me. I've always felt like I owed you one after that.
"I don't know what's going on with Cyborg and the Pirates. I'm not sure I want to know. You can tell me if you think I should know, or not. Either way. But I trust you, so I won't try to blow any whistles.
He looked up in time to hear Hunty ask a question. "So what I'd like to know right now is... do you have some kind of local equivalent of catching and handing out wanted criminals to a foreign diplomatic force if they ask you to? As in, if we want to catch Leraye, would you help us? When your only reason is 'the pirates asked us to'?"
Ahh, so that's what it was. "From what it looks like, catching Leraye is pretty high on our priority list as well. If it were up to me, we'd let you have him after his gem has been taken care of. But he's acted with hostility against Spacefleet, which means we'll want a piece of him as well. Then again, seems like everyone wants him, so it'll be a bit hard for everyone to be appeased without going the Solomon route."
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Post by Kengplant on Dec 30, 2008 21:53:07 GMT -5
"I got authorization to pull random volunteers out of nowhere who weren't busy with defending the base from demons before the time jump. With the ... unique array of characters around spacefleet civilians are allowed to 'volunteer' so long as they have some combat training or experience and the approval of an officer (me in this case) based on the emergency situation so I could track down Lerarye seeing as how he seems to be connected with the ... err... future demon attack. So Cyborg get the temporary status of being a member of my team until such a time that I dismiss him or the emergency has ended, whatever comes first. I extend this to the rest of the pirates. It means we don't charge you with anything for beating up Leraye, and quite frankly you guys are probably the most qualified in the fleet right now for his capture. But on that note, Cyborg dear, don't get too comfy and think for a bloody second I'd let any non-fleet personnel access any part of SF security systems, even you. Also we're SUPPOSED to only use the locating system for emergencies to maintain some level of privacy for people. It's been abused in the past. There was a rather famous account regarding a love-struck idiot who is currently in jail."
*SQUEAK!*
Keng explained, then looked over at Brain. "It was just a bear running into a door. Don't-" Keng then noticed what was behind Brian. "Umm...." she wasn't expecting to see it and was taken aback, really unsure how to react. She had a few urges that included smashing it, or running away as fast as she could. She doubted either would do anything though, other than making it mad in the case of the former. Instead, she just wound up pointing vaguely in the direction of the bike with her mouth hanging open.
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Post by Zylaa on Dec 30, 2008 22:02:39 GMT -5
Hunty nodded assent, and Goosh set off, not waiting for Zylaa's help... or for directions.
"Uh...down that hall, take a left right when you pass the green door, head straight down and you'll get to the infirmary after a hundred yards or so," Fraze said.
"Thanks!" Zylaa said, turning and striding to catch up with Goosh. Fortunately he had started staggering down the right hallway. He had stopped, though, and was peering at his reflection in one of the beams on the wall. Zylaa bit back a sarcastic remark and instead began to examine Goosh's head herself.
His ears were horns. Zylaa blinked, several times, to make sure she hadn't miss-seen... yeah, those were horns.
"Um, Goosh? What exactly happened while you were away from us?"
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Post by Kat on Dec 31, 2008 6:20:30 GMT -5
For lack of anything better to say or do, Kat decided to ask Huntress, "Cap'n, now that we've established that everyone wants Leraye's head and the gem on a silver platter, can I please do something now? I feel all...urgh, I feel jumpy waiting around like this."
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Post by Rider on Dec 31, 2008 15:45:06 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]"Also we're SUPPOSED to only use the locating system for emergencies to maintain some level of privacy for people."
"It'd make Kat's job a lot easier, using your fancy machines," Rider said. "Of course, he may have switched disguises again, but that's a risk we're willing to take."
She turned to Hunty. "With your permission, Cap'n, I'd like to join Keng's volunteer squad."
Future!Leraye was watching the whole exchange over the security cameras. Of course, they'd be looking for him in the security room next, but it was always helpful to know what his enemies were doing.
The pirates were falling apart, seperating. One appeared to be turning into a demon, or at the very least a horned Yurble. very interesting. The Captain's anger was turning the key to the situation against her. Leraye zoomed in. A strange marking on the Kougra's neck. It looked like a bird of some sort.
The Gem made an impatient buzz in his pocket. TMC was rattling the bars of his cage. The bike was buzzing with energy in response. There was no telling what the ex-Horseman would do when seperated from his bike like this.
On a seperate camera, a monkey was examining a stone that looked a lot like...
... Blast.
Somewhere in this Spacefleet, another Leraye was running around without a Gem in a building full of people who wanted his head. Badly.
The past him didn't have any of the knowledge of the demon attack either.
Leraye almost jumped out of his seat. He needed to find the past him.[/glow]
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Post by Huntress on Jan 1, 2009 17:51:43 GMT -5
Hunty eyed Fraze with a scowl. She hadn't heard what he'd asked Keng, but judging from the werewolf's answer and the general situation itself, she could guess pretty easily.
Should've seen it coming anyway. The guy wasn't an idiot, after all. Keng seemed to have handled the situation rather well, but the captain knew that she wouldn't have taken it as a satisfying answer if she'd asked about what Cyborg had said.
The offer itself, though... she wasn't actually sure whether Keng seriously meant it with the volunteer group or only used it as a convenient white lie. In any case she had to answer, and she didn't have many choices with it.
"As of right now," she said, "our welfare clearly depends on the welfare of this station. So I believe I'm speaking for my entire crew when I say that you can count on all of us in this mission. I admit that we're not exactly famous for our loyalty and honesty, but as of right now, we all know that there's a demon attack coming in at around T minus five-ish hours, and we bloody well do fight like rodents when cornered."
"That they do," Bloody Mary said cheerfully. "We've given 'em a couple tips over the time."
"Cap'n, now that we've established that everyone wants Leraye's head and the gem on a silver platter, can I please do something now? I feel all...urgh, I feel jumpy waiting around like this."
"Well, I'll be having no rash actions, especially at a time like this," Hunty said sternly. "What we're up against here is worse than the last big war. Back then we only had," she nodded at Cyborg, "him. And a couple thousand ancient soldiers who mostly fought each other. Right now we have demons and an alchemist with a gem that, to my understanding, should beat all magical devices in this universe by a long run. In any case, I do like the idea of tracking Leraye down with the Fleet's surveillance cameras. With a powerful alchemist running around with a possibly omnipotent magical item, I'd think it's enough of an emergency to warrant using the cameras, right? Kat... how hard is it to track Leraye? As in, would you be able to give us at least some kind of a general area to look in? This place is pretty darn big and complicated."
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Post by Cyborg on Jan 1, 2009 21:22:16 GMT -5
" Okay Keng, I got it, I'll stay away from the security systems. Hunty, we don`t like each other, but right now whether we like it or not, we all need to work together. These demons are powerful, and ruthless. I think the main thing, is making sure innocent pedestrians are out of our way when the demons attack." Cyborg stated to the group.
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Post by Kengplant on Jan 2, 2009 1:05:58 GMT -5
"If we want to use the security cameras we should contact Sub-Commander Kygit... err... the one from our time. He's the one who entertained my suspicions about Leraye's link to the demon attack and agrees with me that there is a connection, then granted me the power to pull volunteers -I had you guys in mind-" Keng gave a quick wink, "for a track and capture mission. Security was fried at the time, so the surveillance was unreliable to... wait a second... do we know the source of the security breach? If we can find out the place and time: or what network they came through from an outside source, we may be able to protect the system before the shut down occurs. One moment..."
Keng paused in her train of spoken thoughts to open up a com. to security's central controls. She then sent the following encrypted message:
Report: Comdo. Keng
URGENT! / IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!
You have no doubt heard warnings of a demon attack, and likely the systems compromise that occurred shortly before. Please question all security persons from the future to try to piece together the location of the breach and time in hopes that it might be prevented.
"We'll have security worry about that, they'll be better suited for the task. Our focus should be on finding Leraye. ... Actually, Fraze, as a spec. ops. do you have access to the surveillance systems?"
Faze of course already knew all about how Keng was pursuing Leraye from when she's asked him to decrypt the information on the demon.
"And Cyborg, I agree with you, but if in the chaos we are unable to get the life-support back up again many people will still have to stay in the Caf. I'll pass the suggestion on to someone who can deal with it though. It stands to reason that if many people of the fleet have been duplicated so would too Leraye. We could have two of them on our hands now."
*vwwwmmmm* hummed her com. quietly. She checked it.
"Security's just reported that they'd already started piecing it together 6 minutes ago, and have made only a little progress so far, but think they can solve the puzzle of the security breach before it happens."
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Post by Kat on Jan 2, 2009 7:40:20 GMT -5
Kat frowned in thought. "There are a lot of people here, but Leraye is a demon, so his aura should stand out pretty well. But it dissipates pretty quickly...I would have to find a place where he has been lingering in order to track him better, otherwise I'd just be looking for a needle in a haystack, even if it is a very different-looking needle."
She turned to Cyborg and Keng. "Where did you last see Leraye?"
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Post by Kengplant on Jan 2, 2009 19:50:55 GMT -5
"Oh, right in-front of this door before he went swooshing off into the oblivion of no-where to get to no-clue where he went." Keng replied to Kat, knowing she was being unhelpful.
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Post by Speck on Jan 3, 2009 2:11:14 GMT -5
It's be so much easier to run if I weren't clapped in irons, Speck thought as she ran. She had taken advantage of the time warp and its moment of confusion to make her escape. The security officers who had arrested her (and bound her arms together) were just about to get into an elevator when they ran into their past selves. Or did that mean that the future selves ran into their present selves?
Two thick tubes of metal which were locked together encased both of her arms. She had absolutely no use of her arms below the elbow -flexing her fingers did not count. Speck ran on down the endless hallways, occasionally making a left or a right. She could only hope that she ran into someone she knew.
A guy with green hair turned around the corner in a panic, just as she decided to hang a right.
"I'm sorry. I'm lost, do you think you could help me?" She said, her voice muffled through the sash that covered all but her eyes.
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Post by Amneiger on Jan 3, 2009 2:59:10 GMT -5
Amneiger had been listening as best he could to the conversation between the Fleet personnal and the Pirates. The connection wasn't very reliable; he had keep stopping and recalibrating the system whenever everything deteriorated into static. He did what he could with the pieces he'd heard.
"Keng, I've reconnected the lab network's to the rest of the station's network so that I can access the security grid. The quality is bad, but I think I can work with it. What does Leraye look like?" He glanced back at the screens. "Wait, there's someone in what looks like ninja clothes running around in one of the residential areas. She's got a pair of security cuffs on her. Pirates, are you interested in this?"
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Post by Rider on Jan 3, 2009 19:05:52 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]"Wait, there's someone in what looks like ninja clothes running around in one of the residential areas. She's got a pair of security cuffs on her. Pirates, are you interested in this?"
"Security cuffs? What did Speckles do to get herself arrested?"
The words were out of Rider's mouth before her brain had caught up. She winced. No doubt Hunty would be wanting her head next for spilling information and making the Fleet suspicious.
"I'm sorry. I'm lost, do you think you could help me?"
Leraye stopped very suddenly. He was very aware of how much time it would take for him to track down his other self in this screwed-up Spacefleet HQ. Perhaps he could cut the time in half. Most importantly, ninjas excelled at not attracting unwanted attention.
"Certainly," he said, smiling cheerfully. He touched the gem in his pocket and used the same trick that he used to weaken the Fleet's dome. He wore away at the metal from the outside until it was so thin that Speck could break it under her own strength.
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Milo Turion." It was a name he had used as an alias when he came to Spacefleet. He was certain his other self would recognize it. "You understand of course that the Spacefleet is going through a temporal anomaly and there are duplicates of everyone running around. I was wondering if you have seen my other self. I was injured permanently when the demons attacked the Spacefleet." A simple illusion spell turned the hand that was in his pocket into a mangled mess. He pulled it out to show her, hoping for a gasp or some noise of pity.
"I know I ought to do my duty and fight again for the Spacefleet when the time comes, but I work with computers. I need my hands to earn a living. Please, I don't know what my three little ones would do if their daddy was out of a job. We could lose our home.
"I was wondering... and I know this is wicked and selfish of me... if you could find my other self and bring him to me. I need to warn him. He must not fight against the demons. Only, if you could please not make too much noise about it. I don't want the higher-ups to know I am shirking my duty. Please, you must help me." [/glow]
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