posted
The Naltori Ambassador’s Sphere quarters are starkly empty.
The clever use of interface screens to intra dimensional tesseract space meant that the inside of the grand room Enri Longtan and Cheshire walked into was much much larger than they expected. A Cathedral like expanse above their heads radiated a subtle diffuse glow that lent the space an underwater atmosphere. There is a holo pit discretely placed behind one of a half dozen refractal light sculpture. There were no discernable edges to the shadows cast apart from when they walked past two light sculptures.
The Ambassador is resplendent in an iridescent white and lavender robe, wrapped with a vivid scarlet sash from right shoulder to left hip. Uji Koll is reclining on one of four ornately decorated couches. His white hair is combed back from his high v shaped brow and tied in a pleated ponytail. His eyes are at best half open.
If he were any more relaxed, thought Enri, he’d be asleep.
“Gentle Beings, please come join me on my reclines. You awoke me from my afternoon meditation. Normally this would have been a luxury I would have avoided but in these worrying times any Sighting that a meager Seer like myself can eke from the grasp of the Next is helpful, no?” Again there is a sense of playfulness as the Ambassador speaks.
“We need to know what you’ve been up to Uji, say within the last 48 hours.” The Elevated cat again embarrasses Enri.
“Ambassador, please forgive my subordinates rashness, we only need to ascertain your health as Commander Cruiser was understandably concerned when you didn’t show up at the meeting he called this afternoon and sent a wreath of Joopli flowres. With the terrible events of the past two days we need to…”
As Enri has been saying this Cheshire had walked up to the Ambassadors couch, jumped up parallel to his stomach, thrust his rump into his face, tail stretched to full reach demanding attention and petting. The Ambassador stokes lightly along the Elevated cat’s back giving the tip of the tail a playful squeeze before Cheshire interrupts Enri’s prepared speech.
“So apart from the four pleasure girls from Ventura last night who else you been in contact with Uji? You wanna tell us anything?”
Enri Longtan makes a small noise very like that of a man being strangled, his face as scarlet as the Ambassador’s sash as he envisions his career floating down the proverbial shitter.
-------------------- "Tempus Fugitive" the final part of the Adventures of Dream Boy series, set in the Three-Boot Universe. Read it only in the Bits o' Legionnaire Business Forum.
From: here, more often than not | Registered: Sep 2003
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Thank you Chuck, I'll have the next few parts postted for you to praise soon.
Funny I kind of had Scat in mind when I started writing Cheshire though now he seems to have developed a personality of his own.
More coming for you by the weekend
Bxx
-------------------- "Tempus Fugitive" the final part of the Adventures of Dream Boy series, set in the Three-Boot Universe. Read it only in the Bits o' Legionnaire Business Forum.
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Snaija Patel, Mega of the Imskian Leviathons and wife of Hor Elli, was very aware of this maxim. As a native of Imsk she had inherited the ability to shrink at will, down to a sub-atomic size if need be. Although this was not unheard of it was still rare enough on Imsk to shrink that small unaided.
At the age of eight the Imskian Army had come to the small farm on the plantation moon of Strivastava Iv and performed a series of tests on all children between 4 and 10 years old. Reflexes, stamina, logic, spatial awareness, memory and physical strength. All children had to give a blood sample. Within two weeks the farmers collective School where Snaija spent six mornings a week with the forty one other children from the community had stopped talking about it and were preparing the Wheat nets for the next harvest.
On a rain blurred Thomasmonth afternoon nearly three standard months later the Holo pit in the Patel family home chimed with a high importance klaxon. This was only the second time that Snaija had heard the klaxon, the first had been two years prior when her great grand fatherhad passed away and her great uncle had Holo-d from the Med facility to tell the family the sad news. Snaija had went to tell her father about this. By the time she had returned with her father her mother and two brothers had watched the message.
Her brothers were shaken. Snaija could tell that both were in shock. They were staring at her in a way that made her believe she had grown a second head! Eyes wide open, mouths slightly open, arms hanging limply at their sides. Both started to talk at the same time, their voices were a shrieking whooping cacophony of excitement.
The look of pride on her mothers face had confused Snaija the most. Over the din of her brothers talking, her father asking everyone what was so important that he had to be taken away from the harvest preparation, the one thing that Snaija remembered most of all of that day was her mother’s quiet pride. Snaija had no memory of ever being held by her mother, or told that she was loved, and a large part of Snaija understood this to be the only way that life should be. She would not grow soft and emotional like so many of her friends. Even at eight, as she thought this Snaija knew it was not true.
Her mother gently reached out and brushed the back of her left hand over Snaijas soft cheek.
“Don’t be afraid Snaija, there is no room in your heart for such things. You will be a hero and all of Imsk shall know that we may be poor farmers on a satellite moon but we always fulfil our duty, and we never give up. Do you understand Snaija? You must never give up. No matter where you end up.”
Snaija had turned to look at her father, catching the quizzical arch of his brow as he looked at her mother.
“What’s going on now then? What do you mean…”
Before even her mother could speak both her brothers said together “She’s gonna be a Leviathon.”
………………………..
And here she was.
The Khundian Ambassador had refused to deal directly with her husband.
“What was her blatchin’ problem?” thought Snaija, the Ambassador had snubbed everyone on the ‘Stroid apart from Kord Das himself since she had arrived three weeks ago.
Well, as the Leviathon known as Mega Snaija had more strings to her bow than just the ability to grow to gargantuan proportions. She had a heightened ability to shrink, Slip Shields and a curiosity that needed to know the answer to the question.
She was in the corridor next to the Khundian Embassy Sphere. The walls were the very fashionable Ferrous glazed Trixy Root that all the seasons designers were getting worked into a masterbatory frenzy of self congratulatory froth over. Snaija thought it looked like rusty old spare parts herself but she didn't mind.
Better this than last seasons energy screens.
She couldn't shrink small enough to slip through the energy walls but this rust was a sinch.
"Let's see what the Khundian Ambassador is doing that's so sprockin' important she won't talk to my babes Hor, shall we?" She asks no-one in particular as she shrinks, activating her Slip Shield.
-------------------- "Tempus Fugitive" the final part of the Adventures of Dream Boy series, set in the Three-Boot Universe. Read it only in the Bits o' Legionnaire Business Forum.
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posted
Even with a Slip Shield and a dozen years of practice it took Snaija a little under twenty minutes to travel through the two feet thick walls of the ambassadors quarters.
She had had enough training within the Leviathon camp to know when she was a few layers of electrons from leaving the wall entirely, and at that point she activated her sensory enhancers. As she was a little over the size of an oxygen molecule she needed the technology to allow her to perceive her reality in any useful way. The relative distances made trying to view anything within the room before her without technologies help akin to trying to see through the Sol asteroid belt from Mars to see what was happening on Saturn. Using natural eyesight.
The Slip Shield kept the random forces of the electrons whizzing around from ever colliding with her. She was safe within the very outermost layer of the wall preparing to spy upon the Ambassadors private quarters.
As the sensory enhancers slowly expanded the scope of her perceptions she became aware that the Khundian quarters were in black out. She hadn’t taken into account that the Khunds home world was in perpetual eclipse so they had evolved with sight as a minor sense, preferring a grainy twilit ambience.
There was a sudden flash, like a firework against the darkness.
Snaija was expanding to her full natural height before she even realised that there was a body, shredded like the previous two corpses, being flung across the room towards her. The blood sprayed as it flew through the room leaving rorschasch streaks across the walls. The corpse flung her against the wall she had just clambered through, momentarily knocking the breath from her chest.
She heard footsteps, a clatter like a stack of ceramics onto a tile floor, a yelp of surprise, and she was out from under the shredded corpse and running full pelt after the source of the noise, infra red retina flip lenses straining in the darkness.
Twenty feet in front there is another body, cooling fast as the body fluids seep from the rough tears that cover it.
Snaija scan her surroundings quickly but there are no other heat signatures.
“Damnation and sprock!”
Reaching down to check the dying Being at her feet she hears the final moan.
Later she was overheard saying that she thought the Khundian Ambassador’s final words were “Aye aye” as if she were acknowledging Mega's presence.
Minutes later when the Kenroshi Avatar and Widdid Spood the Green Lantern came crashing through the walls to aid their comrade, there were little doubts left to the Legionnaires.
Their scanning revealed an energy signature that left no scope for error. It was legendary.
The Ambassador and her aide had been killed by one of the Emerald Eyes of Ekron.
-------------------- "Tempus Fugitive" the final part of the Adventures of Dream Boy series, set in the Three-Boot Universe. Read it only in the Bits o' Legionnaire Business Forum.
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Fantastic! There's an Emerald Eye loose on Legion World...
Does this mean I was right when I said it was the Venegaran Ambassador or wot?
Liked the backstory too.... little Mega on her farm, bless 'er....
Slip Sheilds for protection and techno gubbins to see when all shrunk down too - good ideas there, made sense too...
Cheshire kinda bugs me, I appreciate your writing about a super intelligent cat - and we all know how quixotic a normal cat can be - but I don't like him being so blatantly fearless.... Sorry
More.... etc please
From: home sweet home... unless i'm posting from work | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
“And why should we trust the two Imskian Leviathons with this case when they owe their height altering abilities to this abomination? My people are not the only ones with a historical connection you know”
The Ambassador of Vengar is a tall striking woman with the traditional leaf green hair of that planets ruling class. She is standing between Commanders Hor Elli and Moh Johh, with Sparkzzz of the Sol Defence League standing behind her. In front of her stands the two Titan Net Questioners, sweat on their brow as they concentrate on the tall woman before them. The telepaths are finding it difficult to access her mind below the superficial emotional surface.
The walls of the small cell are clad in a holo representation of a summer evenings setting sun scape from the northern Vengari city of Xyu, the Ambassadors home. The Titan Net representatives had suggested this in a bid to calm the overly excited woman. The Ambassador was as far from calm as Commander Hor Elli could imagine.
The news from Widdid Spood that the energy signature surrounding the latest victims was unmistakably that of an Emerald Eye had come over the Commander’s wrist ‘mator. The ambassadors present and even the normally unruffleable Titan Net Questioners all stared at him in shock. Within two seconds there were raised voices, fingers pointing and the calm that the Daxamite commander had final managed to broker after the Titan Net representatives had appeared was lost.
There was little choice left, Commander Hor Elli thought, they had to be questioned and he would have to run the risk of creating an ‘incident’ to get the information he needed. The Eye had to be stopped.
The Vengari was his first choice to be interviewed. She did have a point though, the Imskians Leviathons owed their abilities supposedly to one of the Eyes. He would have to be careful here but he pushed a private frequency request along the telepathways to Monsignor Totti. The Titan Net Questioner agrees with the Commanders request and as the telepaths comrade Cardinal Alvarez tries to psionically calm the enraged Vengari ambassador Monsignor Totti reaches out with his considerable mind to locate and assess the two Leviathons on Legion ‘Stroid.
“Oh Holy Rao, please Snaija don’t be involved in this!”
The Monsignor shows no sign that he has caught Hor Ellis thought.
-------------------- "Tempus Fugitive" the final part of the Adventures of Dream Boy series, set in the Three-Boot Universe. Read it only in the Bits o' Legionnaire Business Forum.
From: here, more often than not | Registered: Sep 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Sonnie Bloke: Fantastic! There's an Emerald Eye loose on Legion World...
Does this mean I was right when I said it was the Venegaran Ambassador or wot?
Liked the backstory too.... little Mega on her farm, bless 'er....
Slip Sheilds for protection and techno gubbins to see when all shrunk down too - good ideas there, made sense too...
Cheshire kinda bugs me, I appreciate your writing about a super intelligent cat - and we all know how quixotic a normal cat can be - but I don't like him being so blatantly fearless.... Sorry
More.... etc please
Fair enough Keithie. The Vengari Ambassador seems to be everyone's favourite first choice of villain. I blame the green hair myself
Techno gubbins indeed. I've always had a problem with characters that shrink down to the subatomic yet can seem to interact with the 'big' world around them too. Maybe there have been explainations why Vi can breathe at that size but I still have a few issues with it. I'll try to address a few of these in future posts.
Glad you arestill enjoying it though and thanks again for your support. Anyone else have any thoughts they'd like to share?
More coming at the end of the week as the mystery gets too much for one of our cast.
Bxx
-------------------- "Tempus Fugitive" the final part of the Adventures of Dream Boy series, set in the Three-Boot Universe. Read it only in the Bits o' Legionnaire Business Forum.
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The balls of her feet dance shoulder width apart as she bounces from foot to foot. Her head is low, crouched between raised shoulders. Both arms are up in a posture common in both boxing rings and backstreet alley fights ready to deliver or block a blow. Her strawberry blonde hair has been tied behind her head, though several strands have come loose and are flapping in rhythm with her step before her face. There is a glint of feral glee and cunning in her look, as if she is enjoying this confrontation with the obviously much larger opponent.
She never breaks eye contact.
The gray clad Being jabs to her left. The blow is easily blocked and her opponents own momentum carries him forward a step. It is the opportunity that Sparkzzz has been waiting for as she hops on her left leg before jumping to deliver a roundhouse kick to her attacker’s temple. She channels enough raw electricity through the kick to stun a large saurapod as the blow connects soundly with an explosive burst. She completes the full 360 degree turn before landing sprightly on both feet, arms still up guardedly before her face, her rhythmic dance continuing as before.
Her opponent is sprawling upon the floor trying unsuccessfully to stand up. She smiles a wide victorious smile and says:
The simulation field collapses and she is left standing in a bare room. Shaking her hair loose of the band that had held it out of her face she asks the training bubblejack AI for a towel as she wipes the sweat from off her face with her hands. A few stretch exercises later and she stripping out of her armour pack, casually leaving it strewn behind her as she walks toward the slate booth at the far end of the room for a shower and quick massage.
As the steam surrounds her she smiles to herself again. This combat session was exactly what she needed after the horrible last few days. Moh had said he was jealous of her spare hour, he had been put in charge of the quarantine checks as Widdid Spood and the Kenroshi Avatar worked alongside Hor Elli to track the Emerald Eye. Even with the two daxamites and the Green Lantern from the returned terraforming mission to McCuloloa Major Moh Johh thinks they will encounter a lot of problems as the quarantine slows down the fleet of support drones that visit the 'Stroid on an hourly basis. sparkzzz had promised him a special surprise upon his return. He had grinned like a Lallorian Gurn at that!
With a laugh she knew what she could do to cheer her lover up. She activates a personal telepathway band with maximum security one-to-one buffers and projects the sensations she is feeling in the hot shower. The water striking her skin like a thousand delicious blows, running in streams down between her chest and her thighs. The steam is all around her and were her eyes open she would have difficulty seeing the wall only eight feet from her. She takes particular delight as she feels the shower patter against her up turned face.
Stretching her arms out as if greeting the sky she can feel that Commander Moh Johh of the Northern Arm of the Daxam Fleet has received her unexpected broadcast and is most definitely appreciative of it. He returns her the favour by sending her the sensation of his arousal. There have been no words said between the pair but they both know exactly what the other wants.
Sparkzzz laughs with the pleasure of the experience and opens her eyes to the showerhead above her.
And it takes her about three seconds for her sight to clear and focus on the white and green orb currently hovering about six feet above her.
“Sprock! Moh get here now! It's the spockin' Eye!”
-------------------- "Tempus Fugitive" the final part of the Adventures of Dream Boy series, set in the Three-Boot Universe. Read it only in the Bits o' Legionnaire Business Forum.
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None of the Ambassadors had given him any information.
The Titan Net Questioners were unable to discover even the merest hint of a whisper of a clue.
The embarrassment felt by the Daxamite commander was nothing compared to the anger shown by the Vengari Ambassador and the Hojaran Princeling. Hor Elli was accomplished enough at eating crow to placate them enough to avert a serious political falling out. He had had no regrets at asking the Titan Net for help. Despite the obvious strong reactions it provoked he would do it again.
Not all of the Ambassadors had been questioned yet though. Not thoroughly enough for Hor Elli’s taste anyway. The Trom Buddhist Dalai Lama had not been heard of for nearly 72 hours. The argumentative twins from Winath had not been seen since they had broken contact with the meeting the commander had called earlier. One of their staff said that they were “recovering” from that meeting, so Hor Elli had put their Sphere quarters under Red Level scrutiny and planned on given them a couple of hours to get healed from their Auto Doc before paying them a visit. Enri Longtan had sent a private level telepathway’d report to Hor Elli letting the daxamite know that the Naltori Seer Uji Koll had given Enri and the insufferable Elevated cat Cheshire some interesting tips on where to hire pleasure slaves for an evening but had nothing else to add. Hor Elli planned on bringing the Questioners with him when he went to speak to all these ambassadors.
He would get an answer. There had been murders committed on Legion ‘Stroid under his watch by one of he blatchin’ Emerald Eyes of Ekron! Widdid Spood was trying to locate the missing Eye along with the Kenroshi Avatar. Hor Elli prayed to the gods of his youth that these two powerful Beings would be the first aboard Legion ‘Stroid to find it.
Still the Eye in of itself was not the sum of his worries. The knock on effect of having it on the ‘Stroid was that all security was increased to a previously unheard of level. Hor Elli had asked Moh Johh to take charge of the quarantine effort. As Widdid Spood and the Kenroshi Avatar were on the ‘Stroid helping track the Emerald Eye the Starhaven Freetraders would need the help that a highly disciplined Commander could bring. The Freetraders could, Hor Elli admitted to himself, be a bit of a loose cannon sometimes. He felt a little bit happier knowing that a reliable man like Moh would be on hand to keep a level head and lend a guiding hand where needed. Sparkzzz had left for a personal combat training and exercise session when Moh had left to take charge in space.
Although he would never have admitted how worried he had been by the revelation that one of the Eyes of Ekron was on the ‘Stroid Commander Hor Elli had been very open in announcing his pleasure when the team from McCuiloloa Major returned after successfully completing their terraforming mission early.
Within minutes of their return to ‘Stroid space Hor Elli asked Nar Nase, Byt Fees and the slightly odd Green Lantern Lalloo Manypockets to help with the quarantine checks. To himself Hor Elli was glad to send the two Daxamites. Officially he would say that between their meta abilities and impressive record in training and in the field it made both of them excellent choices to help with a serious security issue. Unofficially he had heard on the grapevine about their relationship and was politically savvy enough to realise that once the official wheels were in motion the two soldiers, for all their great records, would be shipped out and busted to civvy street in no time. Hor Elli did not want to be tarred by the same brush through association. On a personal level he saw their homosexuality as a little bit offensive but ultimately it made them less of a threat to his ongoing conquest of the female population of the ‘Stroid so he had no real complaint with it.
Kid Mental had presented a very detailed and thorough mission report to the ‘Stroid CCC Deck, two of Triple cubed selves at his side. Hor Elli hid his smile at the obvious cold atmosphere between the pair. He didn’t know what had happened to the couple when they were on McCuiloloa Major but if it meant they might dissolve their relationship then maybe he could have a chance with the multi replicating Cargggite and that wouldn’t be a bad thing…
Thane Refrocan requested permission to return to the Wandering Star’s Arc Bubble Ships as they await news about the missing timespun Princess. Of course Hor Elli granted it immediately. The Princess is the grand daughter of the Vegan star systems Goddess X’hal and the living symbol of the Tamarani overcoming the Creeping Dram disease, she was quite literally a god to the Thane. The Thane had watched as his people’s population had been horrifically close to extinction before her timely arrival in the 35th century. The Thane would not be able to give the ‘Stroid’s problems his full attention so Hor Elli was glad to allow him time away from his Legion duties.
Hor Elli was intelligent, educated, trained, qualified, experienced and in control.
Even so, the telepathway’d alert from Sparkzzz that the Eye was in the Rear Hall training facility made his heart boom in his chest. As he reacted to the alert, hurling himself at subsonic speed through the weave tunnels that connected much of the outer facilities aboard the ‘Stroid he telepathway’d a call to Widdid Spood, the Kenroshi Avatar and Enri Longtan to help him capture it.
He only hoped they wouldn’t be too late to save the beautiful Sparkzzz.
-------------------- "Tempus Fugitive" the final part of the Adventures of Dream Boy series, set in the Three-Boot Universe. Read it only in the Bits o' Legionnaire Business Forum.
From: here, more often than not | Registered: Sep 2003
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Right, on that note I'm off to resuscitate the "Fun and Games - in Space" thread.
Any comments, queries or suchlike would be most greatfully received.
Thanks
Bxx
-------------------- "Tempus Fugitive" the final part of the Adventures of Dream Boy series, set in the Three-Boot Universe. Read it only in the Bits o' Legionnaire Business Forum.
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Wonderful stuff B! I admit I have to reread it often to keep track of the little twists and turns you keep throwing in but that only makes it more fun.
So, here's another load of shameless idolatry for you to stow away...
posted
I'm really enjoying this story, Harbinger. I had printed out page 1 to read when I was in the States - and was wondering how to explain it all if the border guards decided to go through it.... It all started 45 years ago, in the 35th century...
I really really enjoyed Mega's first person account which started the story, as if setting up the storyteller.
One of the funniest lines, for its surprise and break from the preceding text: "They enjoy this time, every golden second of it right up to the discovery of the first shredded corpse." (Capt. Dallas will be pleased that I'm using quotations from the original text!) Another great expression you had was "a heightened ability to shrink" - don't know if it was intentional, but it made me smile.
Elevated Cat reminds me of the strange cat in Enki Bilal's Nikopol Trilogy - although that one didn't speak. Cheshire will surely play a key role in this story, self-confident little sneak that he is!
Snaija's backstory was delightful; I never would have imagined the Imskians to be so Soviet. It works! The slip shield, the sensors and the description of travelling through a two-foot thick wall are excellent - I also wonder about some of the physical explanations required for someone who could shrink that small. Remember Violet in Superboy's tear? She's lucky he didn't rub her out, literally.
I'm wondering if you work with a giant sheet of paper, or a blackboard, with all the characters and their relationships to one another. And how you choose the names.
It's a real mystery! An Emerald Eye running amok? Will it be joined by others? Who's controlling it, and why? Why the shredding?
Hyperpath: Email this page to someone!
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