Action, Adventure, Excitement, Part 4 Chapter 58 Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 00:02:14 -0700 (PDT) Subject: AAE IV: Must be crowded in there... On Thu, 13 Aug 1998 20:05:30 Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00005495 (OOC: Thanks for the offer, Caprice, but I'm having too much fun working for the baddies. ) >On Wed, 12 Aug 1998 11:57:00 -0700 >Stranger Said As CAoL Message # 00005474 >Stranger lunges for the starfish with his longsword, but his blow >lacks the commitment it might normally have and Morgan is easily able >to deflect it. > > Morgan parries the blow easily, but she doesn't follow up with the obvious riposte. >Stranger, deciding to take anther approach, unleashes a mental blast, >intended to drive a 'wedge' between Morgan and Starro. His lens >flares brightly as he throws his considerable willpower behind it. > >"Leave her be!" he mutters through clenched teeth. *"WHAT?!"* Starro reels briefly. *Is THIS the legendary honor of Blaze and the Justice Legion!* *We take care of our own,* Morgan sends weakly over broadband. >To Roland: >*Roland, OK, stay cool, we'll sort this, but can you use your >closeness to her to trace the main Starro?* /Yes, but this isn't a good time-oh nass-/ Roland reels as a wave of mental power spikes through, but most of those in B-5 space barely feel it. The Plooran-led attack is highly focused, on the one being with the single largest influence on B-5 at present. Starro... >Stranger has lots of willpower but is not experienced with telepathy, >his Lens is a relatively recent acquisition, and I guess the Starro >link is peculiar, it may not even be possible to subvert it like >this, although presumably Morgan will be helping. so does it work?> (OOC: Starro's disgustingly powerful; I've never seen someone break its control. But the problem becomes moot when the Thirdspacers take control of Starro. As for the 'wedge,' Morgan's tough mentally; it wouldn't hurt her.) Silently, Morgan raises one hand, and an incredibly dense fog shoots out of it. Then she teleports back several feet. "Farewell, mortals." Her voice echoes oddly. A jet black cloak unfurls from the air around her, resting on her shoulders. Then the fog swirls around her and she's gone. /At least they've got style,/ Morgan comments faintly-and dryly-as she sinks through the floor. /Morgan?/ When Starro was in control of Morgan, Roland was somewhat concerned. But Starro wasn't going to blow up Babylon Five while _it_ was aboard. Starro wouldn't sacrifice a valuable weapon on a simple end run. The Eddorans would without blinking. (Or whatever it was they did.) Roland did the math. [It would take Morgan five minutes, max.] /James I leave Thirdspace in your capable hands please don't feed Starbreaker try not to take out the rebels if you can help it and just don't give away the homeworld,/ Roland sends in one surprisingly (for Roland) dense burst. The 'don't feed Starbreaker' comment was clearly done on principle, as James definitely has the intelligence to avoid suicide. Then Roland vanishes. Morgan sinks down through the levels, the cloak billowing slightly behind her and the fog trailing her in a wide enough pattern to obscure her exact location within it. She stops after a few levels, turning to face the bright glow she has just encountered. "Let go of my wife, you sprocking Boskonian bootlicker!" Roland snarls, his staff extending in his hands. The Morgan-amalgam just laughs, Aramegil pointing casually at Roland's heart. "You _are_ joking, aren't you lover?" Roland scowls. "Nice try. But I know the difference between my wife and a 4-dimensional ten-Z beastie." Aramegil flicks out almost playfully. Roland just barely parries. "Son of the Phoenix, you are a formidable psion. As a swordsman, you are absolutely _no_ match for your wife." "Why do you think I'm using the staff?" Roland mutters, but while he's distracted, the amalgam leaps at him, and suddenly Roland is desperately fighting off one of the best swordswomen in the multiverse. "GRIFE!" The Phoenix Rod spins at incredible speeds, his forcefield sparking as Aramegil pushes through it. He counters with a resonance pulse, but the amalgam concentrates, and between Roland's own training and Morgan's greater power over reality, his psychic thrust is easily nullified. [LIGHT! It's a good thing she's holding back or I'd be toast!] Roland thinks desperately, teleporting around and trying to pin Morgan's arms. He wisely changes his mind as Aramegil interposes itself. The amalgam spins, smiles, wags a finger at him, and thrusts again. "HNF-" Roland, also holding back, is taken by surprise by a swordslap to the temple. He tries to cause a cramp in one of their hands, but the Life mage barely notices. She _does_ notice enough to give him a chance to push her back a bit. ^Morgan! Can you hear me?^ Roland tries. Morgan's voice, alone but weak, responds. ^Yes, but...^ A blow that could have taken off an arm slows enough for Roland to parry it. ^...shielding our thoughts while trying not to kill ye is taking its toll.^ ^Just hang on and don't let that thing turn you on the reactors,^ Roland replies, just ducking a sword swing. ^Believe it or not, I have a plan.^ He fails to parry the kick that sends him sprawling. ^I can't swear to how well it's _working,_ mind you...^ he finishes with a pained chuckle. ^You mean you're _not_ making it up as-^ Morgan begins, but before she can get the sentence out, she sees a Cylon in front of her, short sword raised for the kill! Aramegil flashes out, its tip striking the surprisingly tough armor- -and Roland doubles over, teleports back, and shifts to energy form, all in a fraction of a second. Grief and guilt show in Morgan's eys for a moment, then the alien control takes over, and she goes _up_ levels, the fog trailing her again. Roland's eyes narrow. [That will be _quite_ enough of that.] PK flickers, and Roland vanishes from sight. ), so we _may_ be able to post a little more tomorrow but that's it. The GM says, in his absence, that the force dome is impenetrable, the Eddorans & Starbreaker are held in check (for the moment ), and the Legion of Doom is divided (Faust is sipping Mai Tais). Have fun bashing bad guys, and "Don't give away Homeworld."> =========================== Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 00:02:29 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE 4: The ThirdSpace Mission On Fri, 14 Aug 1998 01:07:25 -0500 Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00005497 : On Wed, 12 Aug 1998 19:37:48 : Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00005485 : :>On Tue, 11 Aug 1998 00:12:40 -0500 :>Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00005459 : : (OOC: Um...the 'Lenses and whiskers' thing? The fact that she's : already slightly telepathic and would react _badly_ to having a Lens : just show up? Because then I couldn't justify having the : diversionary force around for, oh, five more seconds? ) :> He snaps up enough mental radiation to mimic all the crew, :>including the captian, using a recombined EMG taken from the ship :>herself, timed to keep changing as normal. Then James sighs. "Yes, :>but I don't see any reason for employing such a delicate and :>time-consuming subterfuge. My resources aren't endless, and I'm not :>immortal." He slides off the helmet of silvery metal to regard :>Roland levelly. "Do you think you might actually explain your :>intentions, rather than just telling me what to do? I might have :>other abilities you cannot guess at yet, for lack of data, that :>would serve the ends better." His cool Brit accent is faintly :>noticeable, and the acute observer might note a bit of fatigue. : : "I thought I had," Roland says with a frown. He thinks. "Hmph. : Must be distracted. My plan is a simple one: Get on to those bases, : shut down the gate generators more or less simultaneously, and : get out. The devil, as always, is in the details. If you have any : ideas, or a better plan, believe me I'm all ears." "All right. How about the restless native forces for help? You and I together can't shut all those down at the same time." James looks into space, addressing someone not there: "Virgil, what was your attack plan? We can plug the holes and maybe even get some to all of your implanted agents back out." He glances at Roland, "Although I'm still not sure why we don't tell everyone friendly to hit the other side of the gate and blow this up behind us." =========================== Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 00:02:36 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: Herding Daggits (was A Desperate Gamble) On Fri, 14 Aug 1998 01:01:31 -0500 Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00005498 : On Wed, 12 Aug 1998 13:38:13 PST : Nemo Said As CAoL Message # 00005480 : :> On Sun, 9 Aug 1998 19:13:12 -0500 :> Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00005437 :> :> ^James and I cannot do a such a merge, Roland.^ Zia sends, at a :> less-than-horrible moment (when he isn't fighting for his life, or :> cowing Starro. ^There are things in our minds that are harmful to :> humans.^ : : ^What if I act as a buffer?^ : : (Actually it'd be more of an impedance matching transformer... :-) Zia blinks, then realizes of COURSE Nemo could have heard that - he is relaying for her. ^It's not data stream size - it's that the Logrus creates madness (this is such a gross over-simplification it might as well have been a lie, but the best she can explain it as).^ ^I don't think driving all of you mad as a side-effect is quite what Roland had in mind.^ :> "Nemo, herding fire as we'd agreed, until the fighters designated :> as Daggits here encroach. Then hold for optimal kill in the fire :> zone, at which point you can blanket roast the whole area." : : "I'm an idiot!" : : Nemo's exclamation starles those close enough to hear it. Zia mutters, "You're a male. Not a surprise." But she DOES grin, a bit. : ^I don't know *why* this didn't occur to me sooner. Probably because : the Cyclons are *so* easy to kill. What I proposed is a slight bit : of systems hacking. We pentetrate to their core programming and drop : in Asimov's 4 Laws of Robotics. Don't worry to much about smoothing : out any conflicts that creates in them. Being immobilized is as good : as being converted right now and we can't spare a lot of time.^ ^I thought that the kill humans was hard-coded by structural elements in all the after-rebel generations of Cylon forces?^ Zia says, ^Perhaps this Shadow does not correspond well with the fictons I know of them from.^ : =========================== Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 00:02:42 -0700 (PDT) Subject: AAE 4: The Byron Gaunt On Fri, 14 Aug 1998 01:14:33 -0500 Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00005499 Zia concentrates, picks up Sil's location, and allows the warpage of space to let her be back on the Velvet Glove instantly, as time is still "frozen" in linear mode. She updates her tactical map, noting the division of Sheridan's arriving mixed fleet. /Can someone get me an interface to the newest friendlies, so I can help tie them in, and maybe send them after the Fearles Cylon Leader, himself?/ Her work caught up, she sees that the battle is going MUCH better as the Gunstar bearing Boomer cuts a swathe. /Nemo, anytime on that cannon... don't switch battle plans in the face of the enemy. Do them both. You can, after all.../ She moves some of her controlled forces nearer to the Thirdspace Gate to cover James' eventual retreat - she knows him, you see. Then she turns to the Byron. "Your Trumps, and then my scan. Nemo, I believe a kettle of hot water is in order..." =========================== Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 14:39:49 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: Herding Daggits (was A Desperate Gamble) On Fri, 14 Aug 1998 13:00:29 PST Nemo Said As CAoL Message # 00005503 > On Fri, 14 Aug 1998 01:01:31 -0500 > Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00005498 > >: On Wed, 12 Aug 1998 13:38:13 PST >: Nemo Said As CAoL Message # 00005480 >: >: ^What if I act as a buffer?^ >: >: (Actually it'd be more of an impedance matching transformer... :-) > > Zia blinks, then realizes of COURSE Nemo could have heard that - he > is relaying for her. > ^It's not data stream size - it's that the Logrus creates madness > (this is such a gross over-simplification it might as well have been > a lie, but the best she can explain it as).^ ^So I have to filter...^ > ^I don't think driving all of you mad as a side-effect is quite what > Roland had in mind.^ ^No, but driving *them* mad is an interesting option. But a bit on the chancy side...^ Nemo's sidebands give a momentary glimpse of a vast, branching web of probabilities. >: "I'm an idiot!" >: >: Nemo's exclamation starles those close enough to hear it. > > Zia mutters, "You're a male. Not a surprise." But she DOES grin, a > bit. "Humph. *That* I have under voluntary control, milady." Nemo winks at her as he says this. > ^I thought that the kill humans was hard-coded by structural > elements in all the after-rebel generations of Cylon forces?^ Zia > says, ^Perhaps this Shadow does not correspond well with the fictons > I know of them from.^ ^Probably. But given that their OS is likely ROMed anyway, we just add our code and/or 'structural elements' and let *them* deal with the contradiction. ^ =========================== Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 21:26:32 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: Desperate Gamble On Fri, 14 Aug 1998 22:34:34 -0500 Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00005507 : On Thu, 13 Aug 1998 18:44:57 : Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00005492 : :>On Mon, 10 Aug 1998 23:53:16 -0500 :>Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00005462 :> :> Zia asks Nemo to patch her voice through the outer com, "About time :>you were back. Destroy Ariel's Trumps, let me scan you for planted :>ones. While you give me a precise of your best skills and talents so :>I can insert you into the fight." : : Byron blinks. "Destroy th-I thought they were indestructible. Um, : here." He takes out the few cards Ariel gave him-one of Roland, one : of the station, one of Chronos (booby-trapped to Hell and gone) and : one of Zia. "Hmmmf. Well, perhaps 'cause to become inactive in a hard to fix way' would be more precise." Zia takes each Trump by turn, and glances at it... then reaches a hand INTO the card. Her fingers disappear as they sink through a bit. The her hand seems to pinch, and she pulls it backk out.. with some of the card pinched in the fingers. The card seems to 'turn inside out', and becomes a grayish ball shape. Zia smirks slightly, "Now. Your speciality is what, Byron?" :>/Sil, would you mind doing something VERY low keyed but Orderly wise :>so I can have a marker, please?/ : : Sil nods with a smile, though her eyes never stop tracking Byron. : /Prepare for ping,/ she replies obediently. : The closest analogy the 3-dimensional GM can provide is like a : slight ripple of silk on hair-you have to be really paying attention : to feel it, but once it's there it's unmistakable. : /Ping one,/ Sil says evenly. As she manages to resolve her position relative to Velvet Glove, and nods to Sil. "Thanks, if you don't see me once in a while, do that again, please?" =========================== Date: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 17:36:01 -0700 (PDT) Subject: AAE 4: Osborne's Innards... On Sun, 16 Aug 1998 20:27:45 EDT Scott Osborne Said As CAoL Message # 00005508 Scott Osborne sends the following signal to Nemisis: ^If you could help me here; I need some help with my OS; please respond.^ ^Please, open a 'full system' channel; we're going to need it...^ A flash; and then, a 'virtual reality' appears before Nemisis on the channel. "Welcome to my parlor, said the flider to the spy." Scott laughs. The place would appear to be a [living/bed]room/kitchen. It's comfortable, but one gets the feeling that it was built with space among the foremost concerns. Osborne is sitting on a couch, coughing. His complexion is pale white; he looks like he's been hit by a truck. "This is a construct designed to ease my ability to show you around..." Scott says. In the distant background a voice can be heard repeating the word "die" over and over again. Odd patches of the place seem to be fading in and out. "Please forgive the poor quality of transmission; much of my processing power is being used to keep me together right now..." Thanks Scott "Virtual Memory" Osborne =========================== Date: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 21:11:08 -0700 (PDT) Subject: AAE 4: Osborne's Innards... Nemisis Said As CAoL Message # 00005509 > On Sun, 16 Aug 1998 20:27:45 EDT > Scott Osborne Said As CAoL Message # 00005508 > > ^If you could help me here; I need some help with my OS; please > respond.^ ^What assistance do you need?^ > ^Please, open a 'full system' channel; we're going to need it...^ ^As full as I can, Some portions of my System Architecture are not remotely accessible, Due to hardware constraints...^ > "Please forgive the poor quality of transmission; much of my > processing power is being used to keep me together right now..." "Of course, Substance First, Then Appearances!" =========================== Date: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 21:35:40 -0700 (PDT) Subject: AAEIV: More at the party On Sun, 16 Aug 1998 23:21:22 -0400 (EDT) Shadow Said As CAoL Message # 00005510 In space near the station, a jumppoint opens. A medium sized freighter comes through, looking much battered. It ignores the fight raging around it and requests docking clearance at the station. A cylon fighter takes bead on it and fires several shots, but these are harmlessly absorbed by a shield of some sort. Any and all attacks on the ship are dealt with in a likewise manner. =========================== Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1998 08:06:58 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE 4: Osborne's Innards... On Mon, 17 Aug 1998 10:59:30 EDT Scott Osborne Said As CAoL Message # 00005511 Nemisis wrote: > "Of course, > Substance First, > Then Appearances!" "Well, I suppose I should show you around." Scott gets up. "This room is my 'quarters', the place where my matrix is the strongest; it's also where I keep the backup of myself." Scott opens the door to the room, and says "I should show you around the rest of this place." Outside Scott's room is a cavern-shaped place. Blue walls are the order of the day, as are spider webs of red and gold. "This is the OS's room. Big, powerful, efficient. The webs are the internal links between subsytems. This isn't where the damage actually is; it's a subsystem of the OS that's fried." Osborne points at a doorway in the wall. "Let's go through here." The doorway leads to a prison cell. On the other end is a creature (whose image is rather fuzzy), bound very carefully. "Nemisis, this is Troll. Say hello, Troll." The creature looks up, and says in a voice that sounds like a diesal truck badly in need of tuning, "Death to you, Death to your organization, Death to your friends, Death to the WHOLE MULTIVERSE!" Scott turns to Nemisis and says "He's rather useful as a non-root control in combat; but he's rather single minded." "Any questions?" ... Scott opens another door, and walks through. "And this is the location of the damage." The room looks like the cavern earlier, except that the color is off. Dark blues dominate, instead of the light blues of the other cavern. Some of the webs are torn. And most notably, a lens is apparent. "I told the secondary processor to obtain a method of communication with your group. And it did. Unfortunatly, it left the interface between my personality and the main computer mostly fried. I went a bit overboard on something, and the primary interface went down. I'm operating almost purely on the backup interface right now. And the backup is damaged as well." "Now, all I need is somebody to hold together the pieces of my OS, and insert a new (software) control subsystem, which I can provide. After this mission is over, I'm going to go get some major repairs." Scott smiles, and says, "So, do you have any questions?" =========================== Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1998 16:07:15 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: Must be crowded in there... On Mon, 17 Aug 1998 23:05:21 -0700 Stranger Said As CAoL Message # 00005512 > On Thu, 13 Aug 1998 20:05:30 > Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00005495 > >>On Wed, 12 Aug 1998 11:57:00 -0700 >>Stranger Said As CAoL Message # 00005474 >> >>Stranger, deciding to take anther approach, unleashes a mental >>blast, intended to drive a 'wedge' between Morgan and Starro. His >>lens flares brightly as he throws his considerable willpower behind >>it. >> >>"Leave her be!" he mutters through clenched teeth. > > *"WHAT?!"* Starro reels briefly. *Is THIS the legendary honor of > Blaze and the Justice Legion!* *No Starro, I'm not Blaze, and I'm not in the Legion, I'm just a man who wants his friend back!* Stranger sends with feeling. > Silently, Morgan raises one hand, and an incredibly dense fog > shoots out of it. Then she teleports back several feet. > "Farewell, mortals." Her voice echoes oddly. A jet black cloak > unfurls from the air around her, resting on her shoulders. Then the > fog swirls around her and she's gone. Stranger gets hit by some sort of backlash from the Plooran assualt and falls over, gasping for air as his attack crumbles. > /Morgan?/ > When Starro was in control of Morgan, Roland was somewhat > concerned. But Starro wasn't going to blow up Babylon Five while > _it_ was aboard. Starro wouldn't sacrifice a valuable weapon on a > simple end run. > The Eddorans would without blinking. > (Or whatever it was they did.) Stranger lept to his feet, taking down a hapless Cylon with a single angry blow from his ninja-to. > Roland did the math. [It would take Morgan five minutes, max.] > /James I leave Thirdspace in your capable hands please don't feed > Starbreaker try not to take out the rebels if you can help it and > just don't give away the homeworld,/ Roland sends in one > surprisingly (for Roland) dense burst. The 'don't feed Starbreaker' > comment was clearly done on principle, as James definitely has the > intelligence to avoid suicide. Stranger ran for the nearest utility stairwell /Zia, Legion can one of you track Morgan?/ "Zack, come with me, get C&C to clear a path for us!" "Er, right" Stranger snatched his lightsaber from the air as they reached the stairwell. > Then Roland vanishes. > Morgan sinks down through the levels, the cloak billowing > slightly behind her and the fog trailing her in a wide enough > pattern to obscure her exact location within it. She stops after a > few levels, turning to face the bright glow she has just > encountered. The stairwell shuddred as Stranger and Zack hurtled down flight after flight. > Aramegil flicks out almost playfully. Roland just barely parries. > "Son of the Phoenix, you are a formidable psion. As a swordsman, you > are absolutely _no_ match for your wife." "Here!" Shouted Zack, "The disturbance C&C has been tracking is on this level, it must be her." "Right!" Stranger wrenched open the doorway. "What are we going to do when we find her Stranger?" "Damned if I know, I'll improvise." "Great!" > "GRIFE!" The Phoenix Rod spins at incredible speeds, his > forcefield sparking as Aramegil pushes through it. He counters with > a resonance pulse, but the amalgam concentrates, and between > Roland's own training and Morgan's greater power over reality, his > psychic thrust is easily nullified. As they emerged from the doorway Zack and Stranger find themselves surrounded by Starro drones. "Aw heck," Stranger lit up his lightsaber and stepped forwards, swinging it in a wide arc, three Starros died and their liberated slaves vanished. Another lunged wildly at Stranger, who sidestepped, deactivating his lightsaber just in time. The attack was meant to make him kill the controlled human. Pretty sick thought Stranger as he grabbed the drone and flung him into the remaining two, who fell over in a tangled heap. > ^Morgan! Can you hear me?^ Roland tries. > > Morgan's voice, alone but weak, responds. ^Yes, but...^ A blow that > could have taken off an arm slows enough for Roland to parry it. > ^...shielding our thoughts while trying not to kill ye is taking its > toll.^ "Come on, leave them!" Stranger and Zack resumed their pursuit. "This way!" Zack took the lead. > ^Just hang on and don't let that thing turn you on the reactors,^ > Roland replies, just ducking a sword swing. ^Believe it or not, I > have a plan.^ He fails to parry the kick that sends him sprawling. > ^I can't swear to how well it's _working,_ mind you...^ he finishes > with a pained chuckle. Zack and Stranger skidded around a corner to see in front of htem a bank of fog. Without hesitating Stranger dived in, heading for the light he could dimly make out. "Stay here," he called back to Zack. Zack hesitated for a second before following. "Yeah, right" he muttered under his breath. > Grief and guilt show in Morgan's eys for a moment, then the alien > control takes over, and she goes _up_ levels, the fog trailing her > again. > > Roland's eyes narrow. > [That will be _quite_ enough of that.] > PK flickers, and Roland vanishes from sight. Stranger skidded to a stop near where he thought he'd seen Roland. Zack skidded into his back. "Shit! Where's she gone." "C&C say she's moving up again." Stranger reached out with his mind, she was indeed above him again. "Hmmm, we won't catch her this way. We definitely need to find Starro." "Er, Stranger..." The fog was clearing, they were, once again, surrounded by Starro drones. =========================== Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1998 20:40:40 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: Herding Daggits (was A Desperate Gamble) On Mon, 17 Aug 1998 22:12:12 -0500 Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00005513 : On Fri, 14 Aug 1998 13:00:29 PST : Nemo Said As CAoL Message # 00005503 :> On Fri, 14 Aug 1998 01:01:31 -0500 :> Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00005498 :>: On Wed, 12 Aug 1998 13:38:13 PST :>: Nemo Said As CAoL Message # 00005480 :>:> On Sun, 9 Aug 1998 19:13:12 -0500 :>:> Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00005437 :>:>:Nemisis Said As CAoL Message # 00005428 :>:>:> On Sat, 08 Aug 1998 21:02:19 :>:>:> Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00005418 :>:>: :> Zia blinks, then realizes of COURSE Nemo could have heard that - he :> is relaying for her. : : :> ^It's not data stream size - it's that the Logrus creates madness :> (this is such a gross over-simplification it might as well have :> been a lie, but the best she can explain it as).^ : : ^So I have to filter...^ ^Nemo. No. The risk if it effected YOU is a prospect even more daunting than my aunt's involvement in the center of the Spider's Web.^ Zia says, quiet but completely definite. :> ^I don't think driving all of you mad as a side-effect is quite :> what Roland had in mind.^ : : ^No, but driving *them* mad is an interesting option. But a bit on : the chancy side...^ Nemo's sidebands give a momentary glimpse of a : vast, branching web of probabilities. "I wonder if anyone could even TELL if it worked on Gharlane or not?" Zia quips. :> Zia mutters, "You're a male. Not a surprise." But she DOES grin, a :> bit. : : "Humph. *That* I have under voluntary control, milady." : Nemo winks at her as he says this. She _shrugs_, "Who doesn't?" Her eyes twinkle with insouciance despite the workload. :> ^I thought that the kill humans was hard-coded by structural :> elements in all the after-rebel generations of Cylon forces?^ Zia :> says, ^Perhaps this Shadow does not correspond well with the :> fictons I know of them from.^ : : ^Probably. But given that their OS is likely ROMed anyway, we just : add our code and/or 'structural elements' and let *them* deal with : the contradiction. ^ ^Once I knew a tinker gnome, a tinker gnome, Light-fingerd and bewhiskered as he could be...^ Zia SEEMS to be teasing him? If Nemo gets the referent, anyway.... ^Sounds like fun. Maybe you could make them hate the Ploorans more than humans?^ =========================== Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1998 20:40:54 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: Must be crowded in there... On Mon, 17 Aug 1998 22:03:16 -0500 Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00005515 : On Thu, 13 Aug 1998 20:05:30 : Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00005495 : /James I leave Thirdspace in your capable hands please don't feed : Starbreaker try not to take out the rebels if you can help it and : just don't give away the homeworld,/ Roland sends in one : surprisingly (for Roland) dense burst. The 'don't feed Starbreaker' : comment was clearly done on principle, as James definitely has the : intelligence to avoid suicide. : Then Roland vanishes. James quirks a grin, and locates the base nearest him already Lensman-inflitrated. And drives his suborned and camuflaged vessel towards it. With a somewhat annoyed but grimly accepting look, he scoops up the silver Helm again, and dons it with a resolute nod. TBC =========================== Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1998 20:45:43 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE 4: The ThirdSpace Mission On Tue, 18 Aug 1998 19:39:27 Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00005518 (OOC: Hi, all! I'm back! Hang on, 'cause the roller coaster's about to kick in the afterburners...) >On Fri, 14 Aug 1998 01:07:25 -0500 >Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00005497 > > CAN wear a Lens is one who can be just as much killer as the Lensmen >- Doc Smith was old-fashioned, didn't think many women could do that. >Which kinda makes the fact Zia has one, but is a pacifist ODD. But >MAN, Ivanova would be kicking serious Cylon butt-armor plates if she >did. :)> (OOC: Hmm...something I'll have to keep in mind...) >James looks into space, addressing someone not there: > "Virgil, what was your attack plan? We can plug the holes and maybe >even get some to all of your implanted agents back out." He glances >at Roland, "Although I'm still not sure why we don't tell everyone >friendly to hit the other side of the gate and blow this up behind >us." "Because the gate is still open, and it makes my _skin_ crawl to think what Starbreaker would do if he absorbed that much power. That gate _has_ to be closed before anything of that magnitude gets set off," Roland explains. *Huh? What? Oh, Director Samms' been dead for centuries. Infiltration teams are named in his honor, though, for his work in liberating Earth,* Kinnison explains. *Even if we have fallen three times since then.* Then... >On Mon, 17 Aug 1998 22:03:16 -0500 >Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00005515 > >James quirks a grin, and locates the base nearest him already >Lensman-inflitrated. And drives his suborned and camuflaged vessel >towards it. With a somewhat annoyed but grimly accepting look, he >scoops up the silver Helm again, and dons it with a resolute nod. *The plan was simple,* Kinnison sends, the frown obvious even telepathically. *We were going to cause a feedback in this thing-the power its drawing from your side is hideous-and destroy the flotilla. It would've destroyed us, too, of course-unless that 'inertialess' gimmick the scientists came up with works-but that's an acceptable risk to destroy the bulk of the Boskonian fleet. *Problem is, the gate generators are 'black box' designs. The controls are telepathic, and even Worsel can't get through the defenses. So we decided on the next best thing and use some old-fashioned fusion bombs to ruin Boskone's day. *Now, if you can round up some telepaths from _your_ universe to do the trick, we just might be able to save your team _and_ mine.* BTW, James will notice that Kinnison is a bit distracted in all his thoughts...something about red/bronze/auburn hair... =========================== Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1998 20:55:42 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: Desperate Gamble On Tue, 18 Aug 1998 19:48:35 Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00005519 >On Fri, 14 Aug 1998 22:34:34 -0500 >Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00005507 > >"Hmmmf. Well, perhaps 'cause to become inactive in a hard to fix way' >would be more precise." Zia takes each Trump by turn, and glances at >it... then reaches a hand INTO the card. Her fingers disappear as >they sink through a bit. The her hand seems to pinch, and she pulls >it backk out.. with some of the card pinched in the fingers. The card >seems to 'turn inside out', and becomes a grayish ball shape. Zia feels a sensation like a mouse trap when she reaches into the Chronos card, but just 'destroying' it doesn't trigger any traps. >Zia smirks slightly, "Now. Your speciality is what, Byron?" Byron boggles. "Ah. I, dear lady, am a psion, much like Roland, though my area of expertise is telepathy. I have a...fair amount of experience in mental subversion," he replies, seeming slightly embarrassed. >As she manages to resolve her position relative to Velvet Glove, and >nods to Sil. "Thanks, if you don't see me once in a while, do that >again, please?" Sil concentrates. /Stealth Order string on line in five./ A few moments later (OOC: Five seconds to the micro, if anyone measures) a non-intrusive Order 'tracking line' is available to Zia. She can disconnect at will, to prevent the lifeline (which is already stealthed to Heck and gone) from betraying her, but she can use it to 'center' back at will. =========================== Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1998 20:55:48 -0700 (PDT) Subject: AAE IV: WHTMG? (was: Must be crowded in there...) On Tue, 18 Aug 1998 20:04:06 Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00005520 >On Mon, 17 Aug 1998 23:05:21 -0700 >Stranger Said As CAoL Message # 00005512 > >we can make it another security type person> (OOC: No problem at all; actually, I was kinda hoping that Mike would take over Zathras. 8^) >> On Thu, 13 Aug 1998 20:05:30 >> Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00005495 >> *"WHAT?!"* Starro reels briefly. *Is THIS the legendary honor of >> Blaze and the Justice Legion!* > >*No Starro, I'm not Blaze, and I'm not in the Legion, I'm just a man > who wants his friend back!* Stranger sends with feeling. > >> *We take care of our own,* Morgan sends weakly over broadband. *Then you will all die! I will-urk-* >Stranger ran for the nearest utility stairwell > >/Zia, Legion can one of you track Morgan?/ /Follow my beacon,/ Roland sends grimly. /With my link to her, they can't get her away from me for long./ >"Er, Stranger..." > >The fog was clearing, they were, once again, surrounded by Starro >drones. "Well well well, what have we here?" As the fog clears, they see at the head of the drones Michael Garibaldi, in full armor holding a pulse rifle in each hand. "Hey, Zack! Movin' up in the world, huh?" Garibaldi smiles a wicked smile and presses a button on one of the rifles. All the security systems go haywire, and Nemesis is suddenly dealing with overloads into her from a half-dozen systems. "The problem with tapping into _any_ system, no matter how sick your tech is, is that you're vulnerable to the system you're in. See ya." Michael fires a volley at Zack and Stranger, though he's wide easily. Though when the muzzle flash fades, he's gone. Then the ceiling starts spraying knockout gas. _Then_ the drones attack... (OOC: Hey, this was _Garibaldi_ you were up against. I _had_ to make it nasty. BTW, the title stands for: Whatever Happened To Mr. Garibaldi? ) =========================== Date: Wed, 19 Aug 1998 20:25:33 -0700 (PDT) Subject: AAEIV: Making Waves On Wed, 19 Aug 1998 22:23:12 -0400 Caprice Said As CAoL Message # 00005523 [OOC: While () indicates Legion thinking to herself, as she is bolstering the minds of the B5-paths, some few thoughts may slip out... so I'm going to try to give a look inside her head. Please be EXTREMELY selective about what in () you react to] Legion's body leaned against the wall in the B5 medlab, her eyes half closed. Within two minds acted as an anchor for the others which spread across the battlefield, sometimes anchoring to them, sometimes to each other... if a normal out of body experience was a person trailed by a silver cord, then what Legion was doing was a trapeze act with two dozen or so actor, no net... and if you started to fall, you might fall... forever. (Anchoring. Monitoring. Shielding up. F Anchoring. Scanning. Pilot down. Need a hand? e Anchoring. Teleporting. Triage - Unharmed - Debriefing a Anchoring. Anchoring. T Telepath in need of support r Anchoring. Anchor... w Assistance rendered. i Anchoring. suppressing o Tracking Morgan. s Anchoring. nausea So many... Incoming telepathic assault Anchoring. Scanning. s ...where... Deflected. t Anchoring. What o There! Close one... h Anchoring. is Scanning. u Got it! too close e Anchoring. wrong r Watching the C&C m Anchoring. with c They need help over there i Anchoring. this e We can hold on... n Anchoring. reality? s It is alright... Here! d Anchoring. Anchoring How long can we take this? What k I Anchoring o As long as we have to... p is i am Anchoring f Someone take over here! a it? l starting Anchoring Scanning... i l to Anchoring t Ship down! n e tire Anchoring h Got it! Who has Morgan? r here Anchoring e Teleporting to medlab! F I Anchoring Scanning... Got a lock on her e am Anchoring w At least the b5 'paths are polite a going Anchoring a We confuse them... r to Anchoring r What else is new? Forever alone i need Anchoring p Distortion! Never alone s help Anchoring i Could be worse? Let me help t Anchoring. Anchoringn Could be alot better... h Anchoring. Anchoring How much longer? Scanning... e Anchoring. Enough! Let's do something about this! What? l Anchoring.) Legion sends along the link /We're going to try to do something about this distortion making us ill.../ With that, Legion takes ahold of the threads underlying reality and gives them a little shake... attempting to shake out the wrinkles that are making her ill. =========================== Date: Wed, 19 Aug 1998 20:25:39 -0700 (PDT) Subject: AAE IV: Breaking the Stalemate On Wed, 19 Aug 1998 22:33:25 EDT Dane0R0A Said As CAoL Message # 00005524 Both Aurora and Dragon's Bane quickly tire of the stalemate. Scanning Starbreaker as deeply as they can, and with the information that they already gleaned when the NegaSphere hit him, they hit upon a potential plan of attack. His ability to absorb energy of any type, and convert it to any other desired type, is so close to being the same as that of The Stardragon, that he may just have a similar weakness (OOC: all this train of thought happens at super computer speeds). An instant later, those who can detect a worm hole appearing near Dragon's Bane's hull. Out of it stream thousands of sparks. Those sparks flash, faster than light, to the local star, where they convert hundreds of billions of tons of matter (a dust speck out of a mountain) into energy. They then flash back to the battle, each one building hundreds more. back at the battle, they form a globe around Starbreaker (at the same distance that Dragon's Bane is). A single tick of the cosmic clock later, and hundreds of thousands of energy drain beams hit him, each about 1/1000th of the strength of what had been hitting him before. =========================== Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1998 05:38:13 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAEIV: Making Waves On Thu, 20 Aug 1998 08:27:44 -0400 Caprice Said As CAoL Message # 00005526 >On Wed, 19 Aug 1998 22:23:12 -0400 >Caprice Said As CAoL Message # 00005523 > >Legion sends along the link /We're going to try to do something about >this distortion making us ill.../ > >With that, Legion takes ahold of the threads underlying reality and >gives them a little shake... attempting to shake out the wrinkles >that are making her ill. The force of Legion's shake runs beneath the current reality, noticed by only a few of the cosmically powered individuals present, until it hits the 'disruptions'. Part of the force re-writes the gate, the alterations to time-space, attempting to put things they way back they should be. Part of the force reflects... ... back at Legion. (Anchoring Scanning. All ships stable W i P T Anchoring Something is happening... h t A R Anchoring Someone take over here! a t I A Anchoring Scanning... t l N N Anchoring Thank you! Tracking Morgan is e S Anchoring Transition Pains! h d P I Anchoring It's too soon! a e A T Anchoring Too soon to be transition p a I I Anchoring hurts too much... p t N O Anchoring It is transition! e h N Everyone What else can it be? n t Anchoring. Scatter Distortion! Tearing us! n h Anchoring. Now! Could it get worse? Let me help i a Anchoring. Anchoring It will! Flee! g Flee! t Anchoring. Anchoring The anchors will hold. Flee! Scatter! b Anchoring. Anchoring Flee! Scatter! Flee! r Anchoring.) Like a flock of birds taking wing, Legion's personas scatter, keeping to their tasks of monitoring the battle and teleporting away pilots, non combatents, and the injured. In the medlab her body falls like a puppet with the strings cut, her body convulsioning. Her body burns with a fever as reality and DNA rush to see which can rewrite her body faster and her mind is in chaos as a new personality begins to emerge far, far too fast... =========================== Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1998 17:37:44 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: WHTMG? (was: Must be crowded in there...) On Fri, 21 Aug 1998 01:09:29 -0700 Stranger Said As CAoL Message # 00005527 > On Tue, 18 Aug 1998 20:04:06 > Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00005520 > >>> On Thu, 13 Aug 1998 20:05:30 >>> Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00005495 >>> >>> *We take care of our own,* Morgan sends weakly over broadband. > > *Then you will all die! I will-urk-* *Yeah, right* > "Well well well, what have we here?" > As the fog clears, they see at the head of the drones Michael > Garibaldi, in full armor holding a pulse rifle in each hand. > "Hey, Zack! Movin' up in the world, huh?" Garibaldi smiles a > wicked smile and presses a button on one of the rifles. > "The problem with tapping into _any_ system, no matter how sick > your tech is, is that you're vulnerable to the system you're in. See > ya." Michael fires a volley at Zack and Stranger, though he's wide > easily. Though when the muzzle flash fades, he's gone. Stranger has lunged well forward, saber ready to deflect any blasts that come his way. > Then the ceiling starts spraying knockout gas. "Hell!" Stranger dropped his lightsaber and recovered two items from his utility belt. The first was a rebreather that he slipped over his mouth . > _Then_ the drones attack... Stranger dropped the second object and closed his eyes. There was a very bright flash, emitted into frequencies well outside human norms. Stranger grabbed the rapidly wilting Zack and his lightsaber flew into his hand. He slashed three, four times and then gave the floor a hefty kick. A section of deck plate fell away and Stranger dropped through. Steam sprayed across the mouth of the hole as Stranger descended into what appeared to be a service corridor. A drone fell through after him and Stranger neatly killed the Starro on his face with the tip of his lightsaber. The man dissappeared. This happened another couple of times before the drones realised this wasn't such a good idea and they headed off for a service stairwell. /OK everybody, heads up. Garibaldi has been subverted, which means they know everything about the stations security systems. I recommend throwing up a perimeter around the reactors and C&C, things could get rough./ Stranger regarded Zack, he was pretty woozy with the knockout gas, so Stranger threw him over his shoulder and headed into the station, doing his best to melt into the shadows. /If anyone can find Starro I'd appreciate it. I have a desparate urge to rip his limbs off and beat him to death with the soggy ends./ /Failing that if Nemesis is around and can provide me with a copy of my D-jump I'd appreciate it mightily. I might go get a friend to help out./ > (OOC: Hey, this was _Garibaldi_ you were up against. I _had_ to > make it nasty. BTW, the title stands for: Whatever Happened To Mr. > Garibaldi? ) =========================== Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1998 00:35:18 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: Starfish.... On Fri, 21 Aug 1998 00:13:38 -0700 (PDT) The Lone One Said As CAoL Message # 00005528 > On Wed, 12 Aug 1998 12:01:26 -0700 > Stranger Said As CAoL Message # 00005476 > > OOC: *thhhpppt* :) Whaddya expect from a demon like *her*? Smiting mightily with a posy of daisies, perchance? *grin* (She'd DIE before that happened) *knock wood* >> "Stranger?" > > "Yes?" OOC: Assume this exchange never happened, as Stranger went haring off after Morgan right after the Link-transmission. IC: Raver hissed as Morgan disappeared and Stranger and Zack went after her. "*We* are kind of up to our ass in seafood and cylons? And who may 'we' be, human?" Several Cylons rushed them, and a foot lashed out in a vicious motion, leaving steaming guts spilling onto the deck. She pivoted away from the dying Cylons, ripping a starfish off a drone's face and tossing it to the floor, where it flopped helplessly. "Rip those starfish off their faces!" she snarled at the security troops of B5. "No slicing -- the buggers regenerate." > /OK everybody, heads up. Garibaldi has been subverted, which means > they know everything about the stations security systems. I > recommend throwing up a perimeter around the reactors and C&C, > things could get rough./ [Shit.] The invective sounded simultaneously from both minds. "Humans!" Raver barked. "Take out every drone -- we cannot spare the time to free them. Your Garibaldi has been taken." The troops were sharp, as they immediately realized the ramifications, and the violence increased marginally. [They're fighting their own, Raver.] "No killing unless unavoidable." Raver ran a Cylon through and body-checked a Starro into the wall, where he slumped into unconsicousness. > /If anyone can find Starro I'd appreciate it. I have a desparate > urge to rip his limbs off and beat him to death with the soggy > ends./ Raver paused, their sword dipping to the floor as their eyes darkened. "Damn." They glanced around at the fighting, and fell back to the senior officer in charge. "Human." "Ellis Gardner." "Can you hold out here without our help? We may have to find someone that needs killing more than these pawns." The young man shot a Cylon before replying without looking at her, "We can try." Then he did look at her as a young woman's voice emerged -- significantly different from the unhuman rumble. "Good man." A brief smile flicked over their face as they turned back to the battle. [If nobody goes after El Supremo Starro in the next ten minutes...] [Right.] OOC: off for the weekend, as well. probably be back Tuesday. =========================== Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1998 11:12:19 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Arrivals & Reunions (VLong) (sorry!) On Fri, 21 Aug 1998 14:02:24 -0400 Dhyrclhanc Said As CAoL Message # 00005531 "/*{There's a hungry road that I can only hope is gonna eat me up inside There's a drifting spirit coming clean in the eyes of a life-long fire}*/"[1] EVERYONE on both sides of the conflict hears these lines, weither seemingly aloud, either through telepathy, or broadcast over a communication's system. Both the members of CAoL and the Command Staff of B5 will recogize the voice as that of Dhyrclhanc the Lensdragon and the most of the CAoL will recognize the back-up singers as both Elton John and Eric Clapton. Preciding these words are the sounds of a riff from a keyboard synthisizer on the electric guitar setting. But then a driving beat, of several electric sounding instruments continue to support the vocals when the singing begins. Also, those workers in docking bay 56, which (conviently enough) is empty at the time, witness the sudden appearence, out of nowhere, of a ship that looks like a DS9 Defiant-Class ship only built with the same hybrid Vorlon/Minbari technology as the WhiteStar Fleet. Its markings identify it as the "OTC-NX Charles Xavier" "/*{Tell Monday that I'll be around next week, I'm getting ahead of my days In the shotgun glance that scattered as I've seen the error of my ways.}*/" [1] The near 21' ruby, carnelian and amber form of the Sentinel-Lensdragon suddenly materializes in the same chamber as Byron, Lyta and, presumably, G'kar and the rest of the telepaths /May I offer some assisance?/ and the First-Ring, his True Lens, and the Orb of Amagatto shine brightly as one, effectivly boosting the combined abilities of the telepath's gestalt into the lower regions of the 'nearly phenomenal, cosmic power' range. "/*{Oh, oh, oh, oh Well, we've wrapped ourselves up in golden crowns, like Sun Gods spitting rain. I've found a way home written on this map, like the red dye in my veins. In the hardest times that come around, the fear of losing grows. I've lost and seen the world shut down; It's a darkness that no one knows. }*/" [1] Almost simulaneously, the crews of ships of the Eddorian and Zwilnik forces (en masse, in each ship), as well as the telepaths on the other side of the Thirdspace Gate, suffer the effects of a Class 5000 mental attack. [2] /Will you please excuse me? By the way, nice to see you again Lyta/ "saying" this, Dhyrclhanc phases out of existance from the telepath's chamber. Seemingly paradoxicaly though, the boosting effects remain. Without the True Lens, Dyrclhanc rates as a P5. However, with it, he rates as a P15. How the First-Ring affects all of this has yet to be measured. "/*{Oh, oh, oh, oh And, I've poured out the pleasure and delt with the pain. Standing in the station, waiting for the rain. I'm starting to feel a little muscle again. But love is lost like a runaway train. Oh, It's out of control and out of my hands. I'm tearing, like a demon, through no-man's land. Trying to get a grip on my life again, Nothing hits harder than a runaway train.}*/" [1] Dhyrclhanc re-appears in the large area which is the dividing line between the human living quarters and the alien living quarters. This is also where the Power Battery from Oa also resides. "/*{Oh, oh, oh, uh huh Oh, oh, uh, uh And, I've poured out the pleasure and delt with the pain. Standing in the station, waiting for the rain. I'm starting to feel a little muscle again. But love is lost like a runaway train. Oh, It's out of control and out of my hands. I'm tearing, like a demon, through no-man's land. Trying to get a grip on my life again, Nothing hits harder than a runaway train.}*/" [1] Dhyrclhanc raises the First-Ring up to the Power Battery and a thin path of emerald-colored flame connects the two "In both bright, blessid, Day and in black, sacred, Night; Justice -- I seek, Evil -- I fight. To those who practice Villany, worship Darkness, or cause others' plight; All these shall suffer 'neath this Sentinel's Light!" Anyone witnesses to this ritual will be momentarly blinded by the resulting burst of green light. When their vision clears they will notice that the Power Battery has resumded it's original, green lantern, shape. [That is definetly an improvement] "/*{And, I've poured out the pleasure and delt with the pain. I'm standing in the station, waiting for the rain. I'm starting to feel a little muscle again, but love is lost like a runaway train.}*/" [1] "I am Power, Life and Magick, made Incarnate. Now and Forevermore, I AM PHOENIX!" Once saying this, the immortal super-annuated hatchling ruby fire dragon extends both his arcane and psychic senses to their fullest and quickly, but momentarily, becomes overwhelmed for his troubles. "Oh well... to quote P.D. Wodehouse 'It's time to consult a higher authority'." /Hey! Roland! What can I do to help in this mess?/ "/*{Oh, oh, uh, uh huh And, I've poured out the pleasure and delt with the pain. Standing in the station, waiting for the rain. I'm starting to feel a little muscle again. But love is lost like a runaway train. Oh, It's out of control and out of my hands. I'm tearing, like a demon, through no-man's land. Trying to get a grip on my life again, Nothing hits harder than a runaway train.}*/" [1] [1] "Runaway Train" copyright 1992 to Elton John, Eric Clapton and Big Pig Music Ltd./Sony Music Publishing UK/ Anxious Music (PRS). The use of the lyrics here is not intended to chalenge this copyright nor does it make me any money. So please don't sue me. [2] Class 5000 level is a quantitative value that can only be fully understood by minds at the Second and Third Stages of Stability and still remain sane. =========================== Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1998 11:16:20 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE 4: The ThirdSpace Mission On Fri, 21 Aug 1998 14:08:09 -0400 Dhyrclhanc Said As CAoL Message # 00005532 > Roland Said > > *Now, if you can round up some telepaths from _your_ universe to > do the trick, we just might be able to save your team _and_ mine.* > BTW, James will notice that Kinnison is a bit distracted in all > his thoughts...something about red/bronze/auburn hair... Before Roland has a chance to reply to his adopted, albeit draconic, brother's query, Dhyrclhanc sends the following. All of this taking place at telepathic speeds, of course /Hey Kim, what are you doing here? Is that Worzel there too? How is the old snake?/ =========================== Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1998 12:07:51 -0700 (PDT) Subject: AAE4: And now, the Robin Goodfellow Orchestra... On Fri, 21 Aug 1998 13:54:42 -0500 Mike Knight Said As CAoL Message # 00005533 Mike sighed and passed Zathras a small radio. "Call me if you find anything that works." So far they had tried every weapon that Mike had on him and a few they had to assemble from spare parts. But nothing was penetrating the forcefield. Zathras nodded as he fumbled inside his coat for more tools. They had carried in every spare part they could locate and the catwalk was barely passable now for all the junk littering it. "Zathras not understand this, but Zathras keep working. Zathras trained in Crisis Management. Zathras think this Crisis, so Zathras manages." He continued to cluck and whistle as he fiddled in his coat. "This is wrong tool. No, no," he muttered then pulled out a long black tube with a few buttons on it, "Never use this..." Back it went. Mike turned and headed back the way he came. Zathras found a small soldering iron and made a final solder on a circuit board then inserted it into a black box. He pressed a red button. He clucked. "Malfunction." Looking inside the black box, he pulled out the board and flipped it over. "This way..." Mike shot upwards from the planet's surface toward the Walkabout. This whole thing was getting farcical. He needed to think. Passing through the wall of the Walkabout, he went straight to the bridge. [Time to put our heads together, folks.] The Walkabout seened to dissolve into yellow sparks that condensed into a single figure floating in space. /Lookit all the ships. You'd think this was a war or something,/ the figure sent through the link, sounding a bit like Mike, a bit like Brent Spiner, and a bit like Yahoo Serious. The figure, a short, thin, pale-skinned man, stood up. He ran long delicate hands through a long shock of red hair tipped in white, sweeping it back. It promptly sprung back up again in wild clumps that were reminiscient of fox tails. Pointed ears stuck rather noticably from the sides of his head, giving an already elven face the final touch of Fae-ness. Yellow eyes danced across the battlefield with a look of utter mischief. He adjusted a powder-blue tuxedo and pulled a white conductor's baton from inside his waistcoat. "Yes, Ladies and Germs, it's time for the Robin...wait a minute, I need an Orchestra!" Ten Cylon Raiders popped like soap bubbles, their crews drifting in front and 'below' the figure. Once the thirty Cylons were 'seated' in a half-circle, the conductor nodded. "MUCH better. And now, the Robin Goodfellow Orchestra presents... Cylon Concerto in D-minor-sevenths, played at four quarters equals a dollar (except in Canada!) time. Conducted by me. The Puckmeister." Puck raised his baton, then a Cylon spoke up. "We have no instruments." Puck looked irritated, "Then fake it." "By your command." "Yeah, whatever." Puck raised his hands again, "Musicians," he muttered, then his arms fell and the music started. The theme to the Dudley Do-right cartoon. All the Cylon ships started flying backwards. Some of the pilots later swore the Cylons tipped invisible hats to them as they flew past. "No, no, no!" Puck shouted. "That's not the piece we rehearsed!" "We rehearsed?" another Cylon asked. Puck snarled, "Do you know the '1812 Overture'?" The Cylons nodded. Puck said, "Fine, we'll play that then." The music started. When the first cannon was to go off, two Cylon ships crashed into each other. The song continued and so did the colliding Raiders. "I -love- audience participation!" Puck said. =========================== Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1998 19:36:36 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAEIV: Making Waves On Fri, 21 Aug 1998 19:05:10 Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00005535 >On Thu, 20 Aug 1998 08:27:44 -0400 >Caprice Said As CAoL Message # 00005526 > >The force of Legion's shake runs beneath the current reality, noticed >by only a few of the cosmically powered individuals present, until it >hits the 'disruptions'. Part of the force re-writes the gate, the >alterations to time-space, attempting to put things they way back >they should be. Part of the force reflects... > >... back at Legion. Z'On'Dar blinks at the alteration. [Hm. How odd.] A few taps on the control panel of the Tower later, it clears the screen. "Z'On'Dar?" Morden asks. "Eh? Oh. Nothing." Z'On'Dar's many eyes narrow as they look up. "Nothing of import." [This could prove to be a slight delay.] The Shadow concentrates. ^Shard, I have a small job for you...^ >In the medlab her body falls like a puppet with the strings cut, her >body convulsioning. Her body burns with a fever as reality and DNA >rush to see which can rewrite her body faster and her mind is in >chaos as a new personality begins to emerge far, far too fast... "Oh, hell!" Franklin shouts, leaping to her and actually catching Legion before she hits the ground. "Nurse, give me a hand here! Get her on a gurney!" A moment later, several monitors are attached to Legion's body. "She's burning up, and her genetic code just went berserk," Franklin snarls. "Doctor, we can't give her anything for-" "I know that. Get as much ice as you can find in here, stat! I am NOT losing anyone else today!" Elsewhere... Shard passes through the force-lock and teleports as soon as he's 'clear.' ^Whoa! Hey, boss, the Scarlet Chick(1) isn't gonna be messing with any realities for a while.^ ^Eh?^ Z'On'Dar frowns mentally. ^Enough bizarre jargon, Shard. Delay the Callahanians.^ ^You're the man. Spider. Whatever.^ Shard concentrates, and his body flows through the air ducts in short order, his mind commanding the security system to ignore him... (1) VERY oblique reference to the Scarlet Witch of Marvel fame, who can alter probability if it's in a good mood. =========================== Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1998 19:36:43 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: Breaking the Stalemate On Fri, 21 Aug 1998 18:51:47 Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00005536 >On Wed, 19 Aug 1998 22:33:25 EDT >Dane Said As CAoL Message # 00005524 > > An instant later, those who can detect a worm hole appearing near >Dragon's Bane's hull. Out of it stream thousands of sparks. Those >sparks flash, faster than light, to the local star, where they >convert hundreds of billions of tons of matter (a dust speck out of a >mountain) into energy. They then flash back to the battle, each one >building hundreds more. back at the battle, they form a globe around >Starbreaker (at the same distance that Dragon's Bane is). A single >tick of the cosmic clock later, and hundreds of thousands of energy >drain beams hit him, each about 1/1000th of the strength of what had >been hitting him before. Starbreaker blinks. "EEEYYYAAAHHH!!!" (OOC: Hey, if the _Stardragon_ would get nailed by this...) The four massive draining attacks had been holding Starbreaker back, but it was like attacking a knight in full plate with sticks-sure, they ring his bell, but they're not going to hurt much. Now imagine sending a swarm of mosquitos to attack him. Starbreaker isn't _quite_ as powerful as the Stardragon. But he does have one advantage; his mental faculties are much more adult. The swarm of tiny modules is obliterated, absorbed by Starbreaker. But he lost _far_ more energy than he gained. Starbreaker is pissed... /I don't believe it!/ Roland actually smiles, despite his own desperate straights. /You actually hurt-/ *You will PAY for this indignity, worm!* Starbreaker vanishes for the tiniest instant, appearing in the star for a moment. Starbreaker reappears in the place he'd been a moment ago, brimming with power. Those with the appropriate senses can tell that Babylon Five won't be getting any more solar power in about seven minutes... ...the star is gone! Starbreaker concentrates, and a tractor beam of hellish power hits the Dragon's Bane. *Oh dear.* Despero attaches the Amazo-Bane to Aurora's ship, linking both ships' power. *We are now officially in serious trouble.* =========================== Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1998 19:36:49 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: Arrivals & Reunions On Fri, 21 Aug 1998 19:29:30 Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00005537 >On Fri, 21 Aug 1998 14:02:24 -0400 >Dhyrclhanc Said As CAoL Message # 00005531 > >The near 21' ruby, carnelian and amber form of the Sentinel- >Lensdragon suddenly materializes in the same chamber as Byron, Lyta >and, presumably, G'kar and the rest of the telepaths /May I offer >some assisance?/ and the First-Ring, his True Lens, and the Orb of >Amagatto shine brightly as one, effectivly boosting the combined >abilities of the telepath's gestalt into the lower regions of the >'nearly phenomenal, cosmic power' range. (OOC: The B-5 universe Byron died in the same spectacular fashion that he did in 'main' continuity. The Byron running around in _this_ reality is our old friend Byron _Gaunt._ But don't worry, he's on _our_ side. G'Kar isn't actually in the tepe room, but he _is_ merged with the psi amalgam.) >Dhyrclhanc re-appears in the large area which is the dividing line >between the human living quarters and the alien living quarters. This >is also where the Power Battery from Oa also resides. (OOC: This problem is a bit bigger than the Byron bit. The Oans _retrieved_ the Central Battery. In its place is a machine about the size of a copier that makes JL power rings.) >Anyone witnesses to this ritual will be momentarly blinded by the >resulting burst of green light. When their vision clears they will >notice that the Power Battery has resumded it's original, green >lantern, shape. (OOC: I covered the Battery bit above, but the power level of the Ring generator is more than enough to recharge the First Ring. To Dhyrclhanc, it probably resembles the Lens-maker left to the Unit at the end of Children of the Lens more than anything else.) >"Oh well... to quote P.D. Wodehouse 'It's time to consult a higher >authority'." /Hey! Roland! What can I do to help in this mess?/ /Bro, you have the damnest timing,/ Roland replies dryly. /Nass, pick a target and start blasting. The so-called 'Eddoran Empire' could probably use a reintroduction to Lensmen./ >On Fri, 21 Aug 1998 14:08:09 -0400 >Dhyrclhanc Said As CAoL Message # 00005532 > >Before Roland has a chance to reply to his adopted, albeit draconic, >brother's query, Dhyrclhanc sends the following. All of this taking >place at telepathic speeds, of course > >/Hey Kim, what are you doing here? Is that Worzel there too? How is >the old snake?/ *Huh?* Kimball sends. Dhyrclhanc will note immediately that _this_ Kinnison is a _much_ less experienced telepath than the one he knows, and that the Director doesn't have a Lens! *Yeah, Worsel's here. You are, I take it, with the Earthforce bunch?* =========================== Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1998 20:06:00 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: Breaking the Stalemate On Fri, 21 Aug 1998 23:00:16 -0400 (EDT) Shadow Said As CAoL Message # 00005538 >On Fri, 21 Aug 1998 18:51:47 >Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00005536 > > Starbreaker blinks. > "EEEYYYAAAHHH!!!" > (OOC: Hey, if the _Stardragon_ would get nailed by this...) > The four massive draining attacks had been holding Starbreaker >back, but it was like attacking a knight in full plate with >sticks-sure, they ring his bell, but they're not going to hurt much. John lowers his staff, then tucks it back where he took it from. > Starbreaker concentrates, and a tractor beam of hellish power hits >the Dragon's Bane. > *Oh dear.* Despero attaches the Amazo-Bane to Aurora's ship, >linking both ships' power. *We are now officially in serious >trouble.* John pops around to the side of Starbreaker, and hauls off a hard right into his jaw. No special power behind it, no extra dense fist, no spiked energy-draining glove of doom, just a quick, hard right hook. OOC: Do not let it be said that John does not have chutzpah. =========================== Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1998 21:40:22 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: WHTMG? (was: Must be crowded in there...) On Fri, 21 Aug 1998 21:06:23 Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00005539 >On Fri, 21 Aug 1998 01:09:29 -0700 >Stranger Said As CAoL Message # 00005527 > >must lack a certain something :-) > (OOC: DUH!!! Yeah, the rest of that is supposed to read: 'The smile spreads beneath one of the now-familiar blue-plate-specials that seem to want control of the universe.' And it _does_ lack something.) >/If anyone can find Starro I'd appreciate it. I have a desparate urge >to rip his limbs off and beat him to death with the soggy ends./ > >/Failing that if Nemesis is around and can provide me with a copy of >my D-jump I'd appreciate it mightily. I might go get a friend to help >out./ /With Starro under the Ploorans' control, we may never have a better shot at its main body. Starro probably _wants_ to be found./ Roland silently floats after Morgan. /Though I don't think anyone would be particularly heartbroken if Starro ended up on the Zocolo menu. I understand the Centauri are fond of Terran starfish, though Starro doesn't qualify as Terran by a long shot.../ Nearby. [There he is. One swing of the blade, and he will cease to be a problem.] [no...] Morgan's conciousness protests weakly. [i won't let you make me kill my husband....] [Bah. He is a hindrance. Besides, it will prove once and for all which of us is the better warrior.] The part of Morgan subverted by the Starro/Plooran mentality smiles the smile of a rabid wolf. [no.....] The part of Morgan that _wan't_ subverted almost sobs, her heart sinking as she realized she might not be able to counter the Plooran control. Had to hold on. Had to believe that love really _was_ stronger. Had to... ^ROLAND!^ She managed to get out one quick mental shout before her blade whistles out from behind the pillar. "Wh-?!" Roland dodges, barely parrying with the Phoenix Rod in time. [Stupid Stupid STUPID! My invisibility is about as useful against her as her teleporting is against me!] He flies back, using the force of Morgan's own blow as propulsion. "Sprocking monsters! Let her go!" A surprisingly powerful mental blast strikes through Starro, but against such as the Ploorans, he was a mouse trying to stop a tank. "HA!" the Morgan-thing laughs, and Roland slows down as time hardens around him. But he becomes lightning before the blow can strike, and the flat of her blade- [Ha yourself! You can't conquer _my_ lady!] -whistles through the air. "DAMN! You are a fast one-but _this_ should slow you down as well!" The air fills with small particles of the foam from the extinguisher. [Nass!] Roland curses. [It's an insulator!] Forced to return to solid form, he ducks as silver spikes whistle above him. "What a woman!" he whispers in admiration. "True." The cloak billows unnaturally, as the amalgam approaches, sword pointing at Roland's neck. "The free-willed part of your wife is weakening. Starro has already been broken; she might have escaped that ridiculous creature, or from us with its help, but now?" The door behind Roland was suddenly solid titanium. "And there is _nothing_ that you can do, that Morgan cannot do better." Suddenly, almost gently, every sucker of the Starro on Morgan's face pops off as one. "Almost correct," Roland snarls, staring into the single, suddenly fearful, eye of the Starro duplicate. With a flicker of thought, he catches the staggering, weakened Morgan in a TK embrace. "But I'm the best damn kinetic this side of Earth-1. And I caught you napping." Sealing the psilink from the Starro to the Ploorans, he heats it to several hundred degrees in under a second. "_That_ ought to give them the headache from hell." Immediately, he's at Morgan's side. "How're you holding up, love?" Morgan blinks, smiling weakly. "Better, now that the sushi's gone." She looks into Roland's eyes. "Gods, those telepaths are _powerful_! It was all I could do to..." "Honey, those are _Second-Stage telepaths._ Just holding them off the way you did, with Starro against you on top of it, was absolutely superhuman." He holds her tightly. [What a woman, indeed,] he thinks with a small mental grin. ^Thanks, Phoebus,^ Morgan quips, grinning at the trademark blush when he realizes she overheard his thought. ^Those... _things_... didn't damage anything, thank the light, so I should be fine in a few minutes.^ Then her eyes widen as her inner 'diagnostic' hits something, and she switches to the Lens-link. /Garibaldi is heading for C&C! They're going to try to Starro Ivanova!/ /GRIFE!/ Roland pales. /If they get Ivanova _and_ Garibaldi, blowing up the station is the _least_ they could do! Stranger, Raver, we have a serious situation, and I don't think Morgan's going to be out of medlab in time to help. I'll do what I can, but there's no telling how long the Legion of Doom is going to be on our side./ At the word "medlab" Morgan shakes her head, giving Roland one of those looks only a wife can get away with, silently mouthing 'uh-uh' at him. Roland looks back and nods, mouthing 'uh-huh' back at her, and they both appear in medlab. "What the hell?" Franklin sighs, looking up from Legion's prone, overheating form with a piece of ice in his hand. He places it on her inner forearm and walks over to Morgan. "Take care of her, Stephen," Roland says, and turns to go. "Don't even think it," Franklin says without moving, shining a light in Morgan's eye. "Extended Starro contact...exhaustion... probably psychic residue, but I'll need a telepath to confirm that. Sit down and drink at least a liter of electrolyte solution." He turns and frowns at Roland, walking up to _him._ "Three deep abrasions, healing a lot more slowly than your scrapes usually do, and more bruises than I have time to count. Lie down." "Like hell," Roland replies evenly. "I've fought with worse, and _Starbreaker's_ out th-" Stephen starts as a hand comes over his shoulder and grasps Roland's. The Immortal's wounds heal almost completely, and although Morgan doesn't actually stick out her tongue her smile speaks volumes. "Morgan-!" Roland protests. Franklin sighs. "Ms. Greywolf, am I going to have to sedate you?" Each man grabs an arm as she begins to wobble. "Like _you've_ never worked yourself beyond endurance during a crisis?" Morgan protests, but lets them lead her to a bed. "OK, OK, I'll behave. But he's my _husband_, what do you expect?" Franklin shrugs. "You'll be fine in about half an hour, if you don't push yourself." He frowns at Roland. "As for you, I don't know the first thing about 'magic,' except that I don't believe in the so-called supernatural. But if you push yourself, you could end up worse than just a few cosmetic slices." "Cosmetic?" Roland mutters as he vanishes. Dr. Franklin shakes his head, then turns to find Morgan looking over Legion. She winces good-naturedly under his healers' scowl, smiles obediently, and heads for a bed in a realtively quiet corner. =========================== Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1998 21:40:32 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: And now, the Robin Goodfellow Orchestra... On Fri, 21 Aug 1998 21:24:27 Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00005540 >On Fri, 21 Aug 1998 13:54:42 -0500 >Mike Knight Said As CAoL Message # 00005533 >Puck snarled, "Do you know the '1812 Overture'?" > >The Cylons nodded. Puck said, "Fine, we'll play that then." > >The music started. When the first cannon was to go off, two Cylon >ships crashed into each other. The song continued and so did the >colliding Raiders. > >"I -love- audience participation!" Puck said. (OOC: Now that the GM has stopped laughing long enough to write...) Morden sighs. "If I weren't invulnerable, I'd be getting an ulcer about now." He reaches for the vial. Z'On'Dar's eyes glow faintly. "No. That should _just_ about counteract the lack of Chaos in this reality." Its face fades again. "However, I am not pleased at the prospect of that much faerie magick loose near the Dome." Z'On'Dar concentrates. *Sinestro.* Elsewhere on Epsilon-3, Sinestro stirs. He and Zoom lie in an emerald cage left behind by Green Lantern, who is presently moving Babylon Five out of immediate Starbreaker combat. "Uhh..." Sinestro stirs. "What-you!" *Yes. Inform Zod that Starbreaker will do no permanent harm to any of you.* Sinestro frowns. "And how do I know you speak the truth?" *Because I arranged for his arrival.* Sinestro thinks a moment. "Zoom, get up," he says, shaking the Reverse-Flash sternly. "We have work to do." Zoom looks up at the band. "I'm not fighting _that._" "Would you rather argue with the Shadow?" Zoom looks at the dome. "Let's go." The emerald cage vanishes, and the two streak out toward the orchestra. =========================== Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1998 23:05:58 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: Breaking the Stalemate On Sat, 22 Aug 1998 01:50:55 EDT Dane0R0A Said As CAoL Message # 00005541 >Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00005536 > > Starbreaker blinks. > "EEEYYYAAAHHH!!!" > (OOC: Hey, if the _Stardragon_ would get nailed by this...) (OOC: Actually that wasn't the point. They were just going to maintain while Aurora did something that The Stardragon would be vulnerable to) > Starbreaker concentrates, and a tractor beam of hellish power > hits the Dragon's Bane. > *Oh dear.* Despero attaches the Amazo-Bane to Aurora's ship, > linking both ships' power. *We are now officially in serious > trouble.* Aurora answers *Not yet, but we're getting there. If this doesn't work, we're definately in deep neutrons.* The beam from Dragon's Bane flickers momentarily, and then changes, replaced by a pressor beam, nearly as strong as the tractor holding it. With all propulsion in full reverse it is able (just) to maintain distance. Then Aurora strikes (as only she of all the Starspawn can), not at his body, or mind, but at that multi-dimensional thing called spirit. Hitting him with a focused spiritual blast, that would knock The Stardragon on it's pins, and would savage the Great Adversary almost as severely. *The only other thing I can think to do, it eject him from this universe into another, and that might not work.* =========================== Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1998 00:36:23 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: Arrivals & Reunions (Long) On Sat, 22 Aug 1998 03:26:02 -0400 Dhyrclhanc Said As CAoL Message # 00005543 > On Fri, 21 Aug '98 Roland Said > >>Dhyrclhanc Said > > (OOC: The B-5 universe Byron died in the same spectacular fashion > that he did in 'main' continuity. The Byron running around in _this_ > reality is our old friend Byron _Gaunt._ But don't worry, he's on > _our_ side. G'Kar isn't actually in the tepe room, but he _is_ > merged with the psi amalgam.) Oops! Well better that I posted the version where Byron was there than my earlier version with Legion is the same room . Retcon #1, check! >>Almost simulaneously, the crews of ships of the Eddorian and Zwilnik >>forces (en masse, in each ship), as well as the telepaths on the >>other side of the Thirdspace Gate, suffer the effects of a Class >>5000 mental attack. [2] Am I to assume that this part, at least worked? >>Dhyrclhanc re-appears in the large area which is the dividing line >>between the human living quarters and the alien living quarters. >>This is also where the Power Battery from Oa also resides. > > (OOC: This problem is a bit bigger than the Byron bit. The Oans > _retrieved_ the Central Battery. In its place is a machine about the > size of a copier that makes JL power rings.) Retcon #2, check! > (OOC: I covered the Battery bit above, but the power level of the > Ring generator is more than enough to recharge the First Ring. To > Dhyrclhanc, it probably resembles the Lens-maker left to the Unit at > the end of Children of the Lens more than anything else.) Retcon #3, check! In any case, Dhyrclhanc will, at least, recognize the JL ring-machine as "Oan Tech" > /Bro, you have the damnest timing,/ Roland replies dryly. /Nass, > pick a target and start blasting. The so-called 'Eddoran Empire' > could probably use a reintroduction to Lensmen./ /Eddorians? Where? Where? Where? Lemme at 'em/sends the draconic Lensman, to Roland, doing his best Runt (ala Rita & Runt of WB and Animaniacs fame) impersonation. >>Dhyrclhanc Said >> >>/Hey Kim, what are you doing here? Is that Worzel there too? How is >>the old snake?/ > > *Huh?* Kimball sends. Dhyrclhanc will note immediately that > _this_ Kinnison is a _much_ less experienced telepath than the one > he knows, and that the Director doesn't have a Lens! *Yeah, Worsel's > here. You are, I take it, with the Earthforce bunch?* Dhyrclhanc sends to *this* Kinnison, *Uh, yeah, sort of. Sorry, I thought you were someone else.* [Palatine and Takhsis, I hate it when that happens. I'm still not used to running into cognates like that. Now for those Eddorians, It's time they learned what combat with a real Lensman is like.] Playing his fingers over the C-Bands, Dhyrclhanc phases out of existence just outside of Grey Sector and back into existance on the bridge of the "OTC-NX Charles Xavier". The bridge was twide as large as the bridge on a standard Defiant-Class ship, but the only thing scalled for Dhyrclhanc was the captain's chair, everything else was scaled for a human sized crew and the extra space was taken up by extra control pannels and readout monitors. Then again, as it was soon going to be obvious, the "Charles Xavier" was anything but ordinary. Dhyrclhanc addressed the familar, near-golf-ball-sized, doedecahedron "plugged-in" to a special socket in the helm station. "PIXAR, warm up the Rift Jump Drive Generators and then bring all weapons' systems on line. We are about to go hunting Eddorians. Oh yes, bring an external view up on the main monitor. Dhyrclhanc was glad that he had stopped in the Three Galaxies before coming to B5. A ship based on a Starfleet design and built using the Minbari/Vorlon technological knowledge he had gained from Kosh, as well as his own Nano-magitech would certainly be effective enough. But adding the arcane might of the techno-wizadry of the United Worlds of Worlock wa not only a flash of briliance but it also made the craft more potent against the mulitudes of supernatural foes that he seemed to face on a regular basis. #Before I forget, bring the death cloud cannon on-line, too# added Dhyrclhanc. #I am working on it. Rift Jump Drive on-line in one minute. Death cloud cannon on-line in seven minutes and all other weapon systems will be on-line in five. Rift Jump Drive on-line now. External view on-screen now. Awaiting the command to jump.# On-screen was the main furball of the battle. The Mesclinite (sp?) fighters, the fighters from Mike's ship and the Thunderbolts and StarFurries from the Station all fighting against the Fighters and Captiol Ships of the Thirdspace Eddorians. "Whoah. Those are new designs; the Eddorians I fought never had designs like that." /Hey Roland, you sure these guys are Eddorians?/ asked Dhyrclhanc jokingly. "PIXAR, Rifts us to the outer edge of the furball. Nearest to one of the larger colection of those enemy ships. #Rift Jump Drive Initiated.# To the workers in Docking Bay 56, the "Charles Xavier" disentegrated in a huge, blue white, electrical explosion, but instead the artificaly induced transdimentional vortex carried it outside the station into the outer edge of the main battle. Exactly how many of those psuedo-Vorlon fighters and soap-bubbles with guns are left will dictate Dhyrclhanc's next move. So how many are left, oh mighty GM? =========================== Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1998 06:05:45 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: Breaking the Stalemate On Sat, 22 Aug 1998 00:52:54 PST Nemo Said As CAoL Message # 00005545 > On Fri, 21 Aug 1998 18:51:47 > Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00005536 > > Starbreaker concentrates, and a tractor beam of hellish power > hits the Dragon's Bane. > *Oh dear.* Despero attaches the Amazo-Bane to Aurora's ship, > linking both ships' power. *We are now officially in serious > trouble.* /We can't have *that*./ With this, another Nemo appears outside the Velvet Glove and flashes towards the former location of the star at hyperlight speeds (via a version of the Alcubierre drive). Upon reaching it, he vanishes as what appears to be the same star manifests itself. Those with the senses and attention to spare will note that somehow a ripple in spacetim was generated that *canceled* the gravity wave created by the vanishing of the star. It didn't propogate, it just *was*. They'd also notice that the new star has the same odd characteristic as Nemo. It doesn't seem to exist below the first sub-quantum level. The Nemo still aboard the Velvet Glove sends to all the CAoL (and allies) who might have useful input on the question: /Everyone, I need to make a decision about whether or not to try to overload Starbreaker *soon*!/ This is a reference to the message I sent something like a week+ ago. Nemo *can* feed Starbreaker more power than exists in this universe. Far more. Amounts that even exponential notation has trouble with. Even the Eddorians have stated that consuming a Universe would sate him for a while. This would be far more power. And as noted in that message, Nemo would have to transfer the energy via direct contact as it'd ruin the universe if it was "out" where the universe could be affected by it. =========================== Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1998 11:47:19 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: Starfish.... On Sat, 22 Aug 1998 11:32:30 Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00005547 >On Fri, 21 Aug 1998 00:13:38 -0700 (PDT) >The Lone One Said As CAoL Message # 00005528 > > Raver paused, their sword dipping to the floor as their eyes >darkened. "Damn." They glanced around at the fighting, and fell back >to the senior officer in charge. "Human." > "Ellis Gardner." > "Can you hold out here without our help? We may have to find >someone that needs killing more than these pawns." > The young man shot a Cylon before replying without looking at >her, "We can try." > Then he did look at her as a young woman's voice emerged -- >significantly different from the unhuman rumble. "Good man." A brief >smile flicked over their face as they turned back to the battle. > [If nobody goes after El Supremo Starro in the next ten >minutes...] > [Right.] The Cylons fell with great rapidity, and were quickly depleted. There didn't seem to be any end to the Starros, however... "Damn. Sorry, miss," Ellis said. "That...thing...has all of Downbelow for an army. How are we going to hold _that_ off?" {You're not,} Garibaldi's voice said over the loudspeaker. {Here's a little tune I call, 'Stun Wave in D Minor.' Hope you like it.} Three guesses what happens next. At least the Starros are down... =========================== Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1998 11:47:25 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: Desperate Gamble On Sat, 22 Aug 1998 11:36:56 -0700 (PDT) Fuzzy and/or Nemisis Said As CAoL Message # 00005548 > On Tue, 11 Aug 1998 15:33:26 PST > Nemo Said As CAoL Message # 00005471 > > /If you want Starbreaker distracted, I think I have just the the > thing. But you'd better not goof, or we are all in a lot of > trouble./ > > /?/ > /He wants energy. I'm going to *give* it to him. Even Gharlane > thought that the energy of a universe would sate him. I plan on > giving him far more than a mere universe..../ /Without the Arrisian's to spur development of Mental sciences, I do not trust Gharlane's Evaluation/ > Those capable of reading "sidebands" on the link get an image of > mutiple *universes*, packed *solid* with matter denser than > neutronium being cionverted into energy in almost immeasurably short > spans of time. > > /But if I want this universe tio survive the experience, I've got to > deliver the energy via direct contact./ / I request you delay this action, at least until I have attempted, Creation of a Quantum Structure Tool... If I succeed, I will bias the Quantum Matrix containing StarBreaker, In such a way as to increase the energy Requirement/Yield of Quantum Transformations... in this {} Way/ =========================== Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1998 12:36:40 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: Breaking the Stalemate On Sat, 22 Aug 1998 11:45:47 Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00005549 >On Fri, 21 Aug 1998 23:00:16 -0400 (EDT) >Shadow Said As CAoL Message # 00005538 > >John pops around to the side of Starbreaker, and hauls off a hard >right into his jaw. No special power behind it, no extra dense fist, >no spiked energy-draining glove of doom, just a quick, hard right >hook. > >OOC: Do not let it be said that John does not have chutzpah. Starbreaker (at the full 18 feet tall) stops in mid-rage, and stares in shock at John. Then his eyes narrow. "I thought I killed you, speck!" (OOC: Yep. He's got chutzpah, all right. He'd also be lunch, except...) >On Sat, 22 Aug 1998 01:50:55 EDT >Dane Said As CAoL Message # 00005541 > >Aurora answers *Not yet, but we're getting there. If this doesn't >work, we're definately in deep neutrons.* The beam from Dragon's Bane >flickers momentarily, and then changes, replaced by a pressor beam, >nearly as strong as the tractor holding it. With all propulsion in >full reverse it is able (just) to maintain distance. Then Aurora >strikes (as only she of all the Starspawn can), not at his body, or >mind, but at that multi-dimensional thing called spirit. Hitting him >with a focused spiritual blast, that would knock The Stardragon on >it's pins, and would savage the Great Adversary almost as severely. >*The only other thing I can think to do, it eject him from this >universe into another, and that might not work.* Physcally, Starbreaker has no master, and few equals. Mentally, he is 'vulnerable,' in that while he can translate physical energy into astral, he can still be dominated into stasis. Spirit is another matter. "Kkk-...*" Starbreaker reels, his 'eyes' rolling back. He clutches at empty space, trying to defend himself. Incredibly, he is actually able to use his amassed power to protect himself, but the rate of conversion is horrific (worse than energy-to-matter) and he shrinks to his 'normal' six feet tall. *Truly incredible!* Despero sends. *You have him! Do not relent! Of my calculations are correct, he should be in stasis again in...3.2 minutes!* What Despero doesn't realize is that while Starbreaker's body might return to stasis, this attack might well send his soul to the next life, effectively 'killing' him. He's nailed. If nothing happens for the next 3.2 minutes... =========================== Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1998 12:36:52 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE 4: Osborne's Innards... On Sat, 22 Aug 1998 12:14:15 -0700 (PDT) Fuzzy and/or Nemisis Said As CAoL Message # 00005550 > On Mon, 17 Aug 1998 10:59:30 EDT > Scott Osborne Said As CAoL Message # 00005511 > > Nemisis wrote: > >> "Of course, >> Substance First, >> Then Appearances!" > > "Well, I suppose I should show you around." Scott gets up. "If you think it will be helpful." > "This is the OS's room. Big, powerful, efficient. The webs are the > internal links between subsytems. This isn't where the damage > actually is; it's a subsystem of the OS that's fried." "Which is the Link pathway to the damaged subsystem?" > Scott turns to Nemisis and says "He's rather useful as a non-root > control in combat; but he's rather single minded." > > "Any questions?" "Only two related to the tour, One of those I have already asked, The Other, is Mearly a doubt as to the long term utility of maintaining the "Troll" subsystem, It seems far too likely to require capacity that may be needed elsewhere, for constant safe control." > The room looks like the cavern earlier, except that the color is > off. Dark blues dominate, instead of the light blues of the other > cavern. Some of the webs are torn. And most notably, a lens is > apparent. "Interesting..." > "I told the secondary processor to obtain a method of communication > with your group. And it did. Unfortunatly, it left the interface > between my personality and the main computer mostly fried. I went a > bit overboard on something, and the primary interface went down. I'm > operating almost purely on the backup interface right now. And the > backup is damaged as well." "That does seem to be a major problem." > "Now, all I need is somebody to hold together the pieces of my OS, > and insert a new (software) control subsystem, which I can provide. > After this mission is over, I'm going to go get some major repairs." "What methods should be used?, and What capacities do you estimate will be required?" "These ## are my Current Specs..." NanoTech Details will be sent directly to Scott... > Scott smiles, and says, "So, do you have any questions?" "I think, I have asked all of the important ones for now..." =========================== Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1998 13:13:23 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE 4: Osborne's Innards... On Sat, 22 Aug 1998 15:52:52 EDT Scott Osborne Said As CAoL Message # 00005551 Fuzzy said: >"Only two related to the tour, > One of those I have already asked, > The Other, is > Mearly a doubt as to the long term utility of maintaining the > "Troll" > subsystem, It seems far too likely to require capacity that may be > needed elsewhere, for constant safe control." "For good or ill, I'm stuck with Troll. He's nessisary for detection of..." Scott trails off. "I'd better not explain what. Just suffice it to say, that keeping Troll locked up consumes no processing power." > "What methods should be used?, and > What capacities do you estimate will be required?" > > "These ## are my Current Specs..." > NanoTech Details will be sent directly to Scott... "I don't need physical help, I just need somebody who thinks in MIPS to hold my OS together while I patch things up." "Here [] is exactly the messages you have to send to various subsystems at various times. My OS will be down for a short time, and you'll have to pretend to be it. It shouldn't take very long, only a few seconds. I'm gonna rebuild around the damage. I'll need OS maintance later, but I can get by for now." "So, are you with me?" Thanks Scott "2.2.1342.3" Osborne =========================== Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1998 13:13:28 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: WHTMG? (was: Must be crowded in there...) On Sat, 22 Aug 1998 13:02:40 -0700 (PDT) Fuzzy and/or Nemisis Said As CAoL Message # 00005552 > On Tue, 18 Aug 1998 20:04:06 > Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00005520 > > All the security systems go haywire, and Nemesis is suddenly > dealing with overloads into her from a half-dozen systems. Within second fractions she has grown parallel processing buffers at each input point showing overload. The she starts assimilating the security system, Overloaded lines first... > "The problem with tapping into _any_ system, no matter how sick > your tech is, is that you're vulnerable to the system you're in. See > ya." Michael fires a volley at Zack and Stranger, though he's wide > easily. Though when the muzzle flash fades, he's gone. "The only problem with trying to take agvantage of that weekness, Is you still have to have a clue about the limitations of the 'Sick Tech'" /Mr. Garibaldi will be getting exactly the reports he would expect, from the Security Systems, Also his commands will be followed in his immediate area if applicable./ > Then the ceiling starts spraying knockout gas. > _Then_ the drones attack... > (OOC: Hey, this was _Garibaldi_ you were up against. I _had_ to > make it nasty. BTW, the title stands for: Whatever Happened To Mr. > Garibaldi? ) /Drek, I missed that possibilty... Enviromental cleanup momentarily, Internal Comms assimilation engaged./ =========================== Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1998 13:42:17 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE 4: Osborne's Innards... On Sat, 22 Aug 1998 13:34:59 -0700 (PDT) Fuzzy and/or Nemisis Said As CAoL Message # 00005553 > On Sat, 22 Aug 1998 15:52:52 EDT > Scott Osborne Said As CAoL Message # 00005551 > > "I don't need physical help, I just need somebody who thinks in MIPS > to hold my OS together while I patch things up." "Confirmed, Standby Interupt Handler, and" > "Here [] is exactly the messages you have to send to various > subsystems at various times. My OS will be down for a short time, > and you'll have to pretend to be it. It shouldn't take very long, > only a few seconds. I'm gonna rebuild around the damage. I'll need > OS maintance later, but I can get by for now." "Wait Status Polling, to prevent system crash, due to uncontrollable Subsystem Timeouts" > "So, are you with me?" "I believe so." =========================== Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1998 14:05:58 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE 4: Osborne's Innards... On Sat, 22 Aug 1998 16:58:04 EDT Scott Osborne Said As CAoL Message # 00005554 >"Wait Status Polling, > to prevent system crash, > due to uncontrollable Subsystem Timeouts" "Close enough..." Scott says. >> "So, are you with me?" > >"I believe so." "Well, then, I'll get started." Scott picks up an axe, and starts hacking away at the walls. "Workin' in a coal mine goin' down down down, workin' in a cole mine..." The VR connection is severed, but not the system connection. ... Just beyond the battle, a caped figure appears. He says "And now, this is a job for... Somebody else." ===========================