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Post by Brie on Aug 8, 2007 9:00:28 GMT -6
"What the frack just happened?" Trula asked immediately.
"Shhh, keep your voice down," Raina instructed. "You'll ruin everything." She turned the sleeping Jorma over and searched her pockets for the keys. Finding them, she undid the cuff that was hanging from her wrist. She then released Shawney and told her to take care of everyone else. "Frack, no weapons." She proceeded to search Janey, who was also lying on the floor.
"I don't get it," Shawney said as she unlocked Millie's cuffs. "Why didn't the anaesthesine vapor affect us?"
"The juice," Tanya mumbled. "This morning Den insisted that I drink my juice. There must have been something in it, it did taste a bit funny."
"It's a counteragent," Raina explained. "With our Master's guidance I had perfected it right before I was arrested. I was able to pass the formula on. Frack, she doesn't have any weapons either. It's like the Widow doesn't trust us or something."
"You blame her?" Millie said with a grin.
Trula was the last of the former prisoners to be uncuffed. "So what's the plan? And do I get to be the one to kill the Widow?"
"I've been instructed to let you know the plan as we go along," Raina informed all of them. Although small in stature she had no qualms about taking control or being in charge. She picked up a fallen canister of anaesthesine vapor. "First, we take the shuttle. Millie, you'll pilot, Tanya, co-pilot. You can handle it, right?"
"Of course," they said in unison.
Raina knocked on the door to the cockpit. "Major Brie," she started, doing a dead-on impersonation to Jorma, "we have a bit of a problem back here." As soon as the door opened the smallest crack the entire canister of anaesthesine vapor was released into the cockpit.
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Post by Logan on Aug 8, 2007 12:48:00 GMT -6
Logan turned before Rizou could say anything else. Her eyes scanned the compartment. Hush had sat back down beside Duran, who sat with his arms folded and a sour expression on his face. He didn't seem to appreciate having to put up with a media cirus on this mission anymore than the rest of them.
The prisoners were quiet. Sid and Vreemer sat stoically side by side, not making eye contact with anyone. Ivan looked surly, his dark eyes boring into Logan with hatred, but he didn't say a word. Chip seemed very interested in Rizou and leered at her from his seat, a slight smirk on his face.
She didn't want to look at Comeek, but felt him watching her. When her eyes landed on him, he didn't look away, but viewed her with the same interest as a scientist with an especially difficult specimen in his laboratory that wasn't giving the expected results. She knew what the problem was. He was still of a mind that she was on his side and Rizou's declarations of her suddenly busy lovelife seemed to have given him doubts. She didn't really care and saw little point in maintaining her charade, but something in the back of her mind told her not to walk over to him and slap that superior look off his face. She shook her head in exasperation and walked back into the cockpit, closing the door behind her.
Just as the door closed she heard Rizou saying "And that concludes this portion of our report from Gold Shuttle Two. Once we have deposited the prioners and have a more relaxed atmosphere, we will intrview these fine Warriors in more depth on the return trip. Rozxanna-Rizou, reporting for the IFB."
"What was all that about?" asked Persephone.
"That ridiculous woman trying to sabotage this mission with her inane theories, that's what." Logan sighed and took back over at the controls. ***********************
Back in the rear seating area, Rizou had regained her seat and N'Rondar had put away his vidcam. The reporter was smiling and seemed very pleased with herself. She hadn't gotten anything juicy out of Logan or Hush, but the return trip to the Callisto offered a wealth of opportunity. Let's see them try to use 'a mission' as camouflage once there are no more prisoners onboard.
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Post by Logan on Aug 8, 2007 14:24:00 GMT -6
Rozxanna-Rizou graced Hush with her most charming smile. He was studiously ignoring her, not wanting to give her any opportunity to question him further. N'Rondar went back to fiddling in his bag, checking his equipment, whcih hush seemed to think was his way of not having to talk to the reporter at all.
Duran's gruff exclamation of "What the frack?" came out of nowhere.
Chip was out of his seat, rubbing his bloody wrists as he closed on Hush, who jumped up, the cannister of anaesthesine vapor momentarily forgotten on the seat he vacated. He reached down and grabbed it, but before the mechanism to release the gas could be triggered, Duran had already released the contents of his own cannister into the cabin.
Hush barely had time to grab the arm of his chair as he slumped to the deck. Duran, Rizou and N'Rondar sat unconscious in their seats, their heads lolling to the sides.
Comeek seemed stunned as Chip removed the restraints from his wrists. "How? What's going on?"
"Shh. The Master always has plans for us. Even if he's not here to see the fruits of our labors." Chip made quick work of the bonds on the Sid, Vreemer and Ivan.
"But...but, the gas...?" Ivan stammered.
"We were given the antidote in our juice this morning, thanks to Den," said Chip, searching Hush and Duran for weapons he couldn't find.
Comeek smiled placidly. He knew their devotion would be rewarded and this was just one step closer to The Prize.
"Ivan, you'll be piloting the shuttle. I'll be co-pilot. Comeek, you'll be in charge of the prisoners," as he said it he looked down on Rizou with regret.
"Wait," Comeek's newfound freedom had given him a surge of courage he didn't normally feel. "What about Logan?"
"What about her?" grumbled Ivan, squaring his shoulders and looking none too pleased with Comeek right now.
"She's...she's one of us. I saw her before the transfer. She's still loyal!" The skepticism on Chip's face made Comeek's voice rise harshly.
"You want to believe that because you want to own her!" Ivan had to force his voice down, glancing quickly at the cockpit door.
"We don't have time to question it now, Comeek. We'll find out soon enough." Chip's voice was reasonable, but Comeek saw his doubts on his face.
Sid and Vreemer had already begun putting the restraints on the unconscious people as Chip picked up the unused cannister of gas and walked toward the cockpit.
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Post by persephone on Aug 9, 2007 1:23:47 GMT -6
"What was all that about?" asked Persephone.
"That ridiculous woman trying to sabotage this mission with her insane theories, that's what." Logan sighed and took back over at the controls.
"And how fortunate we are at having her accompany us back to the Callisto", Persephone said sarcastically as she side glanced at Logan. Logan raised her eyebrows in agreement, as she let out a sigh.
Suddenly, a sharp uneasiness in Persephone's gut gave her an undeniable horrid sense of what was about to unfold.
Things WERE too quiet beyond the sealed cockpit.
She felt for her diamond necklace beneath her tunic. It was still there, just where Triton had put it on her. Siress Berenices' lucky necklace was certainly beautiful, but would it bestow the same fortunate upon her now? She wished for nothing more than to saafely return to the Callisto and to Triton. "Jettison your stupid thoughts, Pers" she told herself. "Everthing is fine".
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Post by Brie on Aug 9, 2007 9:44:41 GMT -6
Raina pushed the cockpit door open the rest of the way. Brik was sleeping soundly, his head back. Brie, also unconscious, was jerking violently. "Frack!" Raina exclaimed, "No one told me that the Widow is allergic!"
"You didn't ask," Trula said sarcastically. Having been on the Agro Ship she knew very well that Brie was allergic to anaesthesine vapor.
Showing that she was small but strong, Raina pulled Brie out of the pilot's seat. Millie immediately took her place. Raina pointed at Brik. "Shawney, search him for weapons and then leave him up here and you go in the back with the other two," she ordered. "And make sure all three of them are bound. With the filtration system that has been set up the effects of the anaesthesine vapor won't last long. Trula, help me out here."
Trula hated being told what to do but she listened. Now lying on the floor, Brie was having a hard time getting any air. "What do you need me to do?" Trula asked.
Brie jerked one more time and then lay on the floor, motionless. "I'll be her heart, you give her breath," Raina replied.
Trula stared at the smaller woman in disbelief. "Can't we just let her die?"
"That's not my orders," Raina told her. "Right now she's a lot more valuable to us alive than dead. We can kill her later. Now start, we don't have much time. I know you know how."
As disgusting as it was, Trula and Raina started CPR. A centon later Brie jerked again, coughed several times, then threw up all over Trula. "Good, she's going to be okay," Raina remarked.
"Good?" Trula repeated. "Look at me!"
Raina had started searching the still unconscious Brie for weapons. "She doesn't have any either. Not so much as a nail file." She bound Brie's hands behind her and left her lying on the floor. "Go clean yourself up, Trula. She won't be unconscious for long, and I'm sure that you'll want to be able to tell the Widow that you just saved her life."
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Post by Brie on Aug 10, 2007 9:30:06 GMT -6
It was warm, comfortable, beautiful, filled with light. Brie had a feeling that she had been there before. Off in the distance she saw Turner. She started to run to him, calling out his name. He walked towards her. "You don't get a choice this time, Brie. You can't stay, you have to go back."
"But I don't want to go back," Brie told him. "I want to stay here, with you."
"Things have changed since the last time you were here," Turner reminded her. "You have a family now, and you have a lot of people who are depending on you."
"Amy can take care of herself," Brie said. "She's never needed me. Not as a mother. Not really."
"Amy's not the only one who needs you," Turner said. "You have to go back, it's not your time."
"But..." Instead of finishing her thought, Brie grabbed Turner and kissed him.
"Be strong, my love," Turner said. "And remember, I'm always with you.
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Post by Logan on Aug 10, 2007 11:04:54 GMT -6
"And how fortunate we are at having her accompany us back to the Callisto", Persephone said sarcastically as she side glanced at Logan. Logan raised her eyebrows in agreement, as she let out a sigh.
She still couldn't believe Rizou's complete audacity in questioning her about her love life while on a mission. A mission that was supposed to be the reason for the reporter's presence and that she hadn't even asked the first question about. She wished she could say that she was surprised and even though she had felt sorry for JustinB before the launch, Logan now fervently wished that Rizou was chasing down the Major from one end of the Callisto to the other.
Logan shook off the reverie as she thought she heard a raised voice in the back of the shuttle. A voice that wasn't a high-pitched female. The prickling on the back of her neck made her make a quick decision. Her fingers flying over the controls, she embedded a hidden command into the navigation system. An old trick that she had learned in her Academy days.
Persephone had noticed Logan's movements and started to ask, "What are you...?"
The door to the cockpit opened and a cannister rolled across the floor, spewing it's contents into the air as Logan half-rose from her seat, her hand instinctively reaching for a blaster on her right hip that wasn't there.
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Post by Logan on Aug 10, 2007 12:06:48 GMT -6
Comeek pushed past Chip into the cockpit as Logan slumped back into her chair. A quick glance at the co-pilot showed that she too was unconscious.
"You didn't have to knock her out too!" Comeek yelled at Chip as he knelt beside Logan and stroked her hair.
"I told you, Comeek. We have to be sure. Get them into the back and tie them up." Chip looked back long enough to see that the others had secured the lieutenant, the Black Shirt and the two IFB people. He then went over to Persephone and started dragging her from the cockpit into the passenger area.
Comeek followed suit and with much less effort than Chip had expended, due in part to his increased bulk, he was able to pull Logan from her chair and back out into the rear of the shuttle. He carefully laid her back in one of the seats and using the restraints that had recently binded him, tied her hands in front of her. Her head was hanging forward, her hair having come loose, was obscuring her face. Comeek positioned her head on the headrest and pushed back her hair. He gazed down greedily at her sleeping form, her face flushed, the skin of her neck exposed by her turned head. His eyes traveled to her chest which rose and fell with each breath she took.
Chip had finished binding Persephone in his recently vacated seat and turned to Comeek, his expression grim but understanding, "I know she was promised to you. And she will be yours now. The Master is genereou to The Faithful."
Ivan had already entered the cockpit and took over Logan's seat. Sid called out, "This one is coming around already!"
Comeek was kneeling in front of Logan, his hands on her legs, staring at her face as Chip saw that Sid was talking about the lieutenant they had called Hush, who sat on the floor against the bulkhead across from Logan and Persephone's seats. A low moan had escaped his lips and he stirred. Sid raised his hand as if to strike, but Chip grasped it. "No. We don't need to do that. They should be awake when they meet their destinies."
Hush's eyes opened, blinking in confusion and he shook his head to clear the remaining effects of the gas from his clouded mind. The first thing he saw was Comeek on the floor in front of Logan, who was out cold. The prisoner's hand was tracing the curve of her jaw and Hush struggled to get up, but found that his hands were tied behind his back and a boot was holding his legs in place on the deck. The boot belonged to the prisoner, Sid, who leered down at Hush with triumph in his eyes.
"Get...get away from her," Hush managed to say.
Comeek glared at him as Sid pressed down on his leg harder, saying, "Comeek, the lieutenant here doesn't like you touching his girlfriend."
"She is not his girlfriend," Comeek grunted between clenched teeth. "That reporter doesn't know what she's talking about. Logan is mine."
Chip called into the cocpit, "Ivan, maintain course. i'll be there in a micron."
Disregarding the tension between Sid and Commek, Chip said, "Now. You are to watch the captives. When Lt. Logan wakes up, we'll see where her loyalties lie. Until then, no bickering amongst yourselves. We have important work to do for the Master."
Without another word, Chip entered the cockpit.
Comeek stood up but didn't move from Logan's chair. He crossed his massive arms over his chest and stared down at the groggy Lt. Hush, who met COmeek's gaze and didn't look away.
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Post by Brie on Aug 10, 2007 13:58:48 GMT -6
The feeling was all too familiar. Brie found herself on the floor, her hands restrained behind her, extremely nauseas. It was the same scenario as when she had been kidnapped out of the brig and taken to the Agro Ship, only this time she felt even worse. She wanted to pretend that she was still asleep, take a few centons to listen and find out what was going on, but her stomach wouldn't let her. Involuntarily, she coughed several times, turned to the side and vomited loudly, then coughed again.
"Look who is finally awake," Millie commented from the pilot's seat. Brie noticed that Tanya had taken Brik's place. She glanced around the small cockpit, Brik appeared to be sleeping not too far from there she was. Raina was standing nearby, looking at some readouts. Trula and Shawney were nowhere to be seen.
Raina looked at Brie, rolled her eyes in disgust, and poured some liquid into a cup. "Here," she said, holding it up to Brie's lips.
Brie recognized the smell. Kyla had given her the same thing on the Agro Ship, it had helped to settle her stomach. Raina wasn't nearly as nice about it as Kyla had been, she poured half of it down Brie's neck.
"Why bother doing that?" Trula asked as she entered the cockpit. "Who cares if the Widow feels sick?"
"I, for one, would prefer to not listen to her barf the entire trip," Millie added.
"So let's just kill her now and get it over with," Trula suggested.
Tanya laughed. "After you just saved her life?"
"You what?" Brie asked.
"Saved your miserable life," Trula informed her with disgust.
"You had a really bad reaction to the anaesthesine vapor," Raina explained. "You went into cardiac arrest. But it's not the time for you to die, so Trula and I brought you back. Don't worry, you'll die soon enough."
"Can hardly wait," Brie said sarcastically. Her stomach was starting to settle, although she really regretted that second muffin. Her only plan at the micron was to listen, see if she could figure out what they were planning. One thing was already obvious, the women who were now in control didn't get along. Brie wondered how she could use that to her advantage. "But we all know that you're not going to kill me."
Trula looked the most surprised of all. "And why is that?"
"Because, quite simply, your beloved Pierce didn't want me to die."
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Post by persephone on Aug 10, 2007 23:43:04 GMT -6
Persephone drifted into a deep sleep, her head thick with anaesthesine vapor, her body limp, her head falling forward with her honey brown hair ruffled and cascading in front of her to one side. Slow swirling colours imbued her mind as she began to see blurred visions of someone walking towards her gradually. A soft aura surrounded the form coming towards her.
An even softer voice called her name.
"Persephone".
Her conscious mind was groggy but heard her name being called.
The person said her name again, and suddenly a face was appearing to her.
Persephone's consciousness was in another place. She felt herself stand up and move closer to the person in front of her. But she did not move with the usual slower heaviness that physical movement abides by in the law of gravity. Rather she moved with thought.
Before she realized it, she was there, standing before the figure calling her name, in a flash.
She seemed to stare at the person for time indefinite.
"Mother"?
The person's form clarified with the very words spoken by Persephone.
Carina stood in front of her daughter smiling, then said, " Ganymeade".
Feeling slightly confused and yet unafraid of where she was, Persephone's mind questioned about Gany to her mother. "I don't know where he is, I...I don't know where he told me he is...can you tell me? Mother, can you help me find Gany"?
Carina's eyes were peaceful and held a mystical presence. Persephone had never seen her mother look so serene before.
Carina came closer to her distressed daughter and spoke again.
"Go to the Celestra. Ganymeade is there. Your brother is alive". Her words echoed but gently. Then holding out her hand she touched Persephone's arm, filling her with an incredible re-assurance and the calm of the lake, remembered to Persephone of her home at Luna Pond in Nereus on Piscon. Images of herself as a young girl with her brother, Ganymeade and the treasured time she spent with her beloved brother near the lake, and times they spent star gazing on summer nights on secton-ends flooded her memories. Wonderful feelings came to her of her happy youth.
As Persephone remembered the name of the ship her mother gave to her, her mother's image started to fade.
"NO! Mother wait! Don't go, not yet. Where's father? And Miranda? Chiron? Io? Aunt Iris? " her own voice dropped, as she persisted in asking her mother not to leave.
But Carina simply smiled serenly, as she sent waves of love to her daughter, bading her farewell. A misty cloud creeped in front of Carina's image, enveloping her form. Persephone moved faster toward her mother's fading figure, but could not reach her.
Only impressions of her family being well and happy came back to her. They were alright, but were in another place now. Chiron too.
One last word was spoken before Carina completely disappeared. Persephone didn't recognize the name. As she struggled to figure it out, she fell back into sleep. All images of her mother ceased. Every last shred of tranquility from her mother's presence began to fall away from her as felt a pain around her wrists. They were bound! A dull head ache marauded her head . A bitter taste filled her mouth, and it was dry. Her eyes struggled to open. Where the frack was she now? Was this hades hole? Was she dead? Why couldn't she open her eyes? And who was Icarus?
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