Affairs of the Lylat System

[Star_Dragon]

*     *     *     ZONESS     *     *     *

At the very edge of the Zoness system, well beyond the range of the sensors of any orbiting ships, a single ship dropped out of warp:

Before anyone could even lay eyes on it, it shimmered and vanished like a ghost as it engaged it's cloaking device.

"Cloaking device engaged, Admiral," reported a Romulan male.

"Very good, Tovan," responded a wolf with a decorated uniform and a Romulan Vice Admiral insignia on his collar. "Helm, full stealth approach."

The RRW Retribution's Thunder made for Zoness, the orbital traffic seemingly unaware of it.

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

(We need a discussion thread for this.)

While Bohdan and Elizabeth looked out onto Themiskyra from their balcony, in the room next to theirs, Sandor and Korben relaxed and winded down after a day traversing the broken city. Sandor was napping on his twin-sized bed, donned with his grey v-neck, faded baggy jeans, and worn sneakers. Sandor did not snore, but his breathing could be noticed by his rising and falling chest. Korben, meanwhile, was watching the muted pictures flashing by on the television. He wore a black t-shirt, black jeans, aviators, and black skate sneakers. The images were propaganda, to teach the population of the horrors it has committed against itself. Real, raw, unblemished footage of the brutal civil war a few years earlier. Dead bodies, bodies of men, women, and children. Faces grotesquely contorted into the shape of death. Blood oozing from their wounds. There was also footage of the terrible violence committed by both soldier and citizen. LBMs chasing MAs with machetes, hacking them to bits. Secret videos taped by resistance members of labor camps set up by MAs to house LBMs. Camps where death was planned.

Korben, although outwardly stoic, was within, horrified. A cold shiver crawled up his spine, and he swallowed a lump in his throat. He reached for the remote, and turned off the television. Slightly shaking and distraught, he stepped out to the balcony, where he crossed his arms and scanned the city. He looked to his right, and saw Bohdan and Elizabeth on their balcony, not that far of a distance away. Korben sighed.

[Shmibli7]

Kimber smirked slightly at the newscast as he walked down the destroyed streets of Zoness. They called this civil war? They should come down to Venom, see how they like it there. They knew nothing of slaughter. He joined his faction six months ago and ever since then, the teenage procyon had seen and partaken in horrific violence. Such was life and the native Venomian accepted it.

He thinks to himself about raider gangs and, for protection, unholsters his standard issue 13 millimeter blaster pistol.

His communicator went off again and his commander spoke to him again, telling him to find shelter for the night. "Yes, Commander O'Donell." He says and walks until he comes to a building with two people looking off of it. Lucky people. 

He travels by them  and comes to an abandoned store. He kicks the door down and walks inside.

 

 

Edited July 19, 2015 by Shmibli7

[CrypticQuery]

(If you could place large images in spoiler tags it would be appreciated.)

[Shmibli7]

(Since I'm technologically impaired, how does one do that?)

[CrypticQuery]

(spoiler)

IMAGE LINK GOES HERE

(/spoiler)

But replace the parenthesis around the spoiler and /spoiler with brackets.

[Star_Dragon]

(Yeah, sorry bout that, OneUnder. Wasn't exactly completely awake when I posted that. Sorry.)

*     *     *     Zoness     *     *     *

Nearby, somewhat close to Kimber, a group of thugs harassed a Male Cerinian Fox dressed in odd robes that looked ratty and tattered, giving him the appearance of a wraith. At his waist were a number of tubular items, varying in size, shape, and decoration.

"... man's got a lot of flashlights," one thug said. "What you need so many of these for?"

"These are not flashlights," the Cerinian said. "They are weapons."

"Yeah, right - if those are weapons, I'm a Cornerian," another of the thugs snickered.

"Heya, boys - would you take a look at them crystals in his hands!" the third exclaimed, indicating the glowing green crystals embedded in each hand.

"I have better things to do than be harassed by morons like you," the Cerinian growled, his hand drifting toward one of the "flashlights".

"And what are you gonna do about it?" The leader among the thugs demanded. "Flash us to death?"

"Looks like he's gonna try," the second thug laughed. The leader pulled a weapon.

It was a mistake.

*snap-hiss!* a Crimson Lightsaber blade went active in an instant, and in a blur, all four of the thugs were on the ground, moaning in pain. The leader was more or less unharmed - the other three had varying lightsaber wounds. The Cerinian held his lightsaber at the leader's throat as he growled in a foreign language alien to those around him, "Zu'u fun hi. Zu'u unt wah naav hi, nuz med ful pogaan vorey, hi hon, nuz hi dreh ni gir." ("I told you. I tried to warn you, but like so many others, you hear, but you do not listen.")

The Cerinian extinguished his lightsaber and clipped with the others on his belt. He then walked away, toward Kimber.

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"Woah," uttered Elizabeth as the Cerinian unsheathed his lightsaber and put it away almost as quickly.

"A Sith," announced Bohdan, focusing his vision on the cloaked Cerinian. "A Cerinian Sith... Very interesting." He sipped his beer once more, and leaned down on the rail, as Elizabeth was doing. "You know, I once killed a Sith Marauder," Bohdan said. Elizabeth looked at him in utter disbelief.

"Bullshit," she said bluntly.

"Ah, but it is true," stressed Bohdan. "He wounded me savagely, but I stabbed him in the heart with this," he continued, touching the handle of his ghurium-forged bastard sword. I still have the scars to prove it."

"Bull-freaking-shit," Elizabeth said. Bohdan, wanting to provide physical evidence of this, lifted up his shirt to reveal three criss-cross scars on his stomach. After a few moments of Elizabeth analyzing and touching them, he put the shirt down.

"Do you believe me now?" asked Bohdan.

"Those could've come from anywhere," replied Elizabeth, brushing him off.

"What about this?" he inquired as he pulled out an object that looked like a flashlight from his belt. It was located next to his bastard sword's sheath. It was plainly designed and decorated, with a button at its side. He pressed it, and out came a blood-red pulsing blade of energy. He made several fluid motions with it before putting it away. Elizabeth looked at the weapon in awe. "A memento to that battle."

"Nice flashlight," she said comically.

Edited July 19, 2015 by Arminius H O Fiddywinks

[Star_Dragon]

(Elizabeth's last comment, Arminius... funny. Just funny.)

The Cerinian "Sith" made his way to a clearing in the street, then an empty intersection. Nearby was a police patrol. While they were booking a "suspect", the Cerinian looked down at his wrist as something squawked. At the distance Bohdan and Elizabeth were at, they couldn't hear it. If they had any radios, however, they wouldn't have too much trouble listening in on an unencrypted radio transmission:

"Drog Faasnu, daar los Okaazin Trask Makron - mu los ko virlaan. Fos los hin nizaag? Avok." (Lord Faasnu, this is Admiral Trask Makron - we are in system. What is your location? Over.) Said a voice Bohdan and Elizabeth would find familiar.

(Unless one of them speaks Dovah, they'll have a hard time making out what Trask said. I provided a translation so you wouldn't be confused.)

[Shmibli7]

"What?" Kimber said, watching the man pass him. He was curious as to who this man was, so he followed him at a distance, his hand on his weapon.

[Star_Dragon]

(Again, I merely provide translations so that you all know what is being said. Unless your characters speak Dovahzul, they won't actually understand what is being said.)

When the Cerinian Sith's radio squawked, a voice speaking in Dovahzul, he looked down at the radio unit in his gauntlet. He activated it, then spoke, "Okaazin Trask? Fos los dreh het? Vir drey hi siiv zey?" (Admiral Trask? What are you doing here? How did you find me?)

"Mu zemqulek vok siintul nol hin veysun. Los hi ahraan?" (We picked up a beacon from your ship. Are you hurt?) the voice from the radio answered.

"Zu'u los flogah, nox hi. Zu'u kuz nii mal zeymah los ahmiin do fos koros?" (I am fine, thank you. I take it little brother is aware of what happened?) the Sith responded.

[Shmibli7]

"Hey!" Kimber yelled at the man. "Who are you? And what in Sevzen is your weapon?" He tightens his grip on his blaster for the possibility of this man springing into action.

He presses a button on his comm so that his base back on Venom could listen.

[Star_Dragon]

The Cerinian Sith looked at Kimber, and noticed he had his hand on his weapon. He still had his lightsaber in hand, but hearing Kimber's questions, he responds, "My name is Mathayus Indari, but most in the galaxy know me as Faasnu... Darth Faasnu. As for my weapon... it is called a Lightsaber." He paused, looking over Kimber. Deciding him a minimal threat, he clipped his lightsaber to his belt, with the many others. "I'd love to stay and chat, but I have to get somewhere," he said. In an aside directed at the one he'd been conversing with over the radio, he added, "Faasnu to the Retribution's Thunder... energize." In a flash of green light, Faasnu vanished in a transporter beam, and was deposited on the deck of the aforementioned ship.

"Transporter room to bridge - we have him," the transporter chief reported.

The cloaked Retribution's Thunder broke orbit, heading away from the orbiting ships over Zoness, and de-cloaked briefly before warp-jumping to what was now being called Mantakar Station...

*     *     *     Mantakar Station     *     *     *

Lord-Admiral Markus moved through the halls of the Fiend Station, which he'd decided to name Mantakar Station, after his XO, who suggested that UAC Forces capture the station and all surrounding facilities, rather than destroy them. The inspection tour was done, and Markus was heading up to his office on the station to ensure the computer being installed there would link with the computer in his quarters aboard the Thermopylae.

[Shmibli7]

He stood there looking at the spot where the man had been beamed up. "What the Varsnad is a "Darth." ?"He asked out loud. 

The teenage raccoon headed back to his less-than-protective shelter and sat on top of what was a deli counter. He thought about the man and the people who were also out. Those were the same ones from the balcony. What were they doing?

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Bohdan and Elizabeth witnessed the Sith beaming up to a ship in orbit around Zoness, his reasons unclear. With this scene now closed, the two of them retreated back into their hotel room. Korben, however, still viewed Themiskyra in its battered state. Bohdan sat down on his twin-sized bed, while Elizabeth went into the bathroom to wash up. She took off her shirt and bra, locked the door, and turned on the faucet. She cupped some water into her hands and splashed it on her face. She then wet her hands further and rubbed her shoulders and neck. Turning off the faucet, Elizabeth placed her hands on the rims of the sink, and stared at herself in the mirror. She examined her blue eyes, her black and white fur, her white teeth. Suddenly, a knocking came from the other side of the bathroom door. It was Bohdan.

"Elizabeth, I need to use the restroom," he said.

"Wait!" yelled Elizabeth as she put on her bra. When she did so, she opened the door, and was slightly taken aback by Bohdan, who stood in front of her. "Come on, make it quick," she hissed. Bohdan went in, although his large frame made it quite difficult for proper maneuvering. After a few fidgety seconds, both he and Elizabeth managed to finally go to their rightful places. Elizabeth sat down onto her twin-sized bed, and rubbed the back of her neck. Sighing, she looked at the door. She suddenly felt something. A feeling that made her absolutely confused. She began to feel not anger. Not pity. Not even camaraderie. It was something else. Something she at first denied utterly, and made her disgusted. She shook her head, trying to nod it off.

At that moment, the toilet in the bathroom flushed, and after a few more moments of the faucet running, Bohdan emerged from the room, somewhat relieved. Elizabeth eyed him with a look he has never seen before. "What?" he asked, noticing Elizabeth's stare.

"Ah, nothing," Elizabeth replied.

"Very well..." he said confused. He walked slowly to his bed, occasionally glancing at Elizabeth. He sat down and faced the television. As he reached for the remote on the nightstand, Elizabeth began to speak to him.

"Actually..." she started with a reluctant voice. "It's something." Bohdan, raising his eyebrow, turned to her. She scoffed, trying to dismiss the feeling. But she caved, and continued to explain. "I'm not sure if it's something like Wercheg Syndrome (the Lylat equivalent to Stockholm's Syndrome), but ah.... You killed my husband." Bohdan became unsettled from that statement.

"Yes, we have went over that before," he said apprehensively. He fidgeted slightly.

"And... I forgive you. But it's more than that. It's...." Elizabeth attempted to continue to communicate, but she could not seem to convey her words properly. Instead, she retracted like a tortoise, and pulled her head down by her knees and grabbed the back of her head.

"What?" Bohdan asked softly, seemingly sensing her reluctance. "If you have something to say, you can say it to me." Bohdan leaned in towards Elizabeth, who looked up to Bohdan's hazelnut eyes. His snout protruded out to her, almost touching hers. She then approached him, and stole a kiss from him. This totally left Bohdan utterly unprepared and dumbfounded. His eyes darted across the room in total confusion as he was locked for a few seconds in the kiss. When they finally pulled away, Bohdan stared at Elizabeth. "So..." he began, albeit struggling to pluck the words from his wet mouth, "you are feeling that."

"Yeah," replied Elizabeth, still looking into Bohdan's eyes. She stood up and walked to the balcony doors, where she closed them and pulled the drapes over them. She then went back beside Bohdan and kicked him in the chest, which knocked him on his back on his bed. She took off her bra and dropped it onto the floor.

"Oh...." uttered Bohdan. "Just rush into it, hmm? Fine."

[Star_Dragon]

(Careful, Arminius. Don't want the admins coming down on this because of that.)

*     *     *     Mantakar Station     *     *     *

Markus sat at his desk, merely going over the post-action reports he'd delayed for too long anyway. As usual, the reports were good. So far, the Sargasso pirates hadn't reacted to UAC forces being so close to their doorstep, and the CDF was impressed with the UAC's work. Hell, the UAC even got some media coverage, though Markus worried about the potential complications that could spawn from that.

[Naza Sutera]

It was late, the road was wet, and cars whizzed past at highway speeds. The man eyed the black SUV that sat in the middle lane, brake lights ablaze. A wolf pack of cars flew past; once it was safe, the young man trotted into the traffic lanes, walking around to the driver side of the vehicle.

"Lady!" he said, pounding on the window to try and wake up the white-furred canid woman who was apparently passed out at the wheel. "Wake up! You're going to get killed!!" He pounded on the window again, and tugged on the door handle to find it locked. He looked down the highway, seeing the glare of oncoming headlights. "Shit," he swore as he jogged back to his car which was parked on the shoulder.

He climbed into his car and pulled the door closed. Picking up his phone, he dialed the three-digit number for the emergency services.

"Corneria City District Emergency Services. May I have the location and nature of your emergency?"

"Uh..." The man looked back nervously as the traffic got closer, the vehicles flying by--this time without incident. "...There is a woman passed out in her car in the middle of the freeway." He looked around for a roadsign or some kind of landmark to easier disclosed the location. He spotted a mile marker a few yards ahead. "...On mile 23 of CR-407 West."

"The vehicle is stalled on the freeway?"

"Well--uh...The woman, she is passed out in the driver's seat, I don't know what the hell..."

"Okay. Can I have the color, make, and model of the vehicle?"

They young man squinted his eyes at the SUV as he tried to make out what kind of car it was. "It's a black... Porsche Cayenne."

"Okay. If you don't mind, I need you to stay until an officer arrives. And please, stay out of the road for your safety."

"Alright."

 

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Elias and Joanna sped down the highway in their beige sedan at what seemed to be a million miles an hour. The Macarena was playing over the radio, as the car was tuned in to the radio station which only played cheesy line dance music. Eli took his hands off the wheel and performed the Macarena in his seat, the seat belt not at all obstructing his performance. Joanna, in the front passenger seat, looked at him partly laughably and partly concerned. "That's dangerous, Eli," she said smiling.

"You're dangerous," replied Elias comically in his iconic Abyssinian accent, glancing at his wife. They chuckled. Joanna then suddenly noticed a stopped Porsche Cayenne in front of them.

"Eli, break, break!!!" she yelled. Elias then turned his attention to the Cayenne, and grabbing the wheel, he slammed on the breaks.

"That was dangerous," he said. Elias unlocked his seat belt and opened the door. "Let's see what this guy's problem is," he said, leaving his Honda Accord. Joanna followed him. Elias walked up to the driver's side window, and upon seeing an unconscious woman and a man with a cellphone nearby, he darted to the man. "Excuse me, but what's wrong with that woman? She seems passed out." Joanna went up to the passenger's side window and looked in the Porsche.

Edited July 20, 2015 by Arminius H O Fiddywinks

[Shmibli7]

Desmond, upon seeing the car in the middle of the freeway, rushes over to see what the problem was. Someone stood at the passenger side window. Once the way was clear, he darts over to the car and sees the unconscious woman. Without thinking, he jumps onto the hood of the car, takes his blaster from under his coat, turns it around and starts to beat the glass windshield with it.

 

[Naza Sutera]

Amelia never sinned on purpose, but it didn't matter when the deed was done. She couldn't remember what happened. All she remembered was waking up with the a start at the sound of glass splintering. The windshield was riddled with spiderweb cracks and there was a man on the hood of her car. Having no idea what was going on, she panicked. Stomping on the gas pedal, the SUV launched forward, then she hit the brakes, dumping the man off her hood. She was about to take off and run for her life, but then she saw flashing blue and red lights in her rearview mirror.

"Pull the vehicle over now," said the cop's voice over the intercom.

What was going on? What had she done?

Her heart sank into her stomach as she maneuvered the car onto the shoulder. She couldn't tell which way was up right now, but she knew she had screwed up big time.

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Elias and Joanna ran to the curb as the SUV suddenly and unexpectedly sped off into the distance. A police car gave chase, its sleek super car-like body gliding down the street as its fusion engine pulsed blue under the hood. "Woah!" yelled Joanna. Elias grabbed onto Joanna as if she was in danger.

"Maybe we should leave..." Elias pondered as he stood by Joanna on the curb.

Edited July 20, 2015 by Arminius H O Fiddywinks

[Star_Dragon]

As rain steadily tapped on everything outdoors on Corneria, a wolf with a void in his mind drove his modified M12 LRV down the road, unwittingly approaching the scene unfolding on the road. After a night in the bar, something told him to make his way... somewhere. But coming across the accident, his instincts flared.

Ketorr wasn't much of a rubbernecker, but he admitted, this accident was a little peculiar. He pulled over, got out, and began to approach the area, wondering if he could be of assistance.

[Naza Sutera]

"Ma'am?" The officer said, walking up to the driver side window, glaring the beam of his flashlight in Amelia's face. "Ma'am, can you open the door?" Amelia, keeping a white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel, didn't seem to respond. The officer tapped on the glass with his flashlight. "Ma'am I need you to open the door."

She had forgotten about the drugs. Not street drugs, but perfectly legal prescription medications. She kept her doctor's number in her purse, and carried extra pills on her just in case. Granted the pills could be deadly if mixed with certain other medications or if the ate the wrong foods. Monoamine oxidase inhibitors or MAOIs they are called. No doctor ever prescribed MAOIs unless everything else has failed. But Amelia had been through every drug out there, and had undergone every therapy there was. Nothing seemed to work. When depressed, she was suicidal. And when she was manic, she had the energy to act on those impulses.

So when her doctor prescribed MAOIs, she went along with it. She had looked up the PDR and it terrified her. If she consumed anything with tyramine in it, she would have a stroke. Tyramine was everywhere; in pizza, red wine, cheeses, smoked meats, and fava beans, just to name a few. She figured that she could live without fava beans, even pizza if need be. And she had to. She was centimeters away from her next attempt.

The only issue was that she kept fainting. The drugs made her blood pressure drop randomly. She carried a portable blood pressure kit with her and tried to monitor herself every hour or so. But it had not helped very much.

She fainted everywhere during the past few weeks--at the Fourth Street Promenade, at the Corneria City Municipal Court House, in her father's arms, in a stranger's arms. She once passed out in a less desirable part of town and woke up to find her purse stolen and her blouse unbuttoned. She passed out while walking into Saks in The District and was shaken awake by two officers who wanted to take her into custody, but relented when she got her doctor on the phone. He explained that she never sinned on purpose, and that the medications were prescription. The cops were nice about it. They offered to drive her home but by that time she was fine—coherent, well mannered, even a bit flirty. So they let her go with a warning about walking in public while on the medication. A warning. Who had ever heeded a cop’s warning? You are just relieved that you got off scot-free, even a little smug about your luck. She should have listened.

Abruptly, she turned to the officer, staring at him with a wide-eyed, confused expression. She took her foot off the brake pedal, allowing the car to creep forward.

"Ma'am! Stop the car!" He hit the window, hard, to try and get her attention. When it didn't work, he took out his baton, extending it as he ran around to the passenger side of the Porche. As hard as he could, he struck the passenger window, the blow landing with a resounding KRAK. He hit it again, this time causing the tempered glass to explode on impact. Using the baton, he cleared the broken glass from the window sill and reached inside to unlock the door. Pulling the door open, he reached in and grabbed the gear selector lever and threw it into 'park', causing the car to abruptly jerk to a stop. 

Jogging back around to the driver side, the officer opened the door. "Ma'am, I need you to step out of the car."

"...I'm sorry, I'm a little dizzy," Amelia said, still dumbfounded and trying to figure out what was going on.

"Okay." Reaching over her lap, the cop unbuckled her seatbelt and gently guided her out of the car. White spots started to dance before her eyes like they did when she would come to. The cop sat her down on the shoulder next to the concrete guard rail on the edge of the highway.

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"No, Eli," pleaded Joanna, tugging on his arm. "It's our obligation to see if that woman's okay. Now come on." She dragged her husband off of the curb and towards the SUV.

"Ah, fine," acquiesced Elias, stumbling along.

[Star_Dragon]

Ketorr, too, went over to see if this woman was okay. Yet, still... something seemed off. Out-of-place. Something...

An odd, rapid, alien clicking sounded, barely audible, yet Ketorr heard it. He stopped dead in his tracks, listening for it again. The source of the sound didn't make itself known again.

*     *     *     Mantakar Station     *     *     *

The Retribution's Thunder dropped out of warp at Mantakar Station, to the already-present UAC Fleet. A coded military line went active, and the Cerinian Sith found on Zoness spoke, "Mantakar Station, this is Mathayus Indari - Lord-Admiral Tokarev, I must speak with you, urgently. Please respond, over."