NationStates Jolt Archive

"So, how do we get them on board?"

By this time Liam had moved back towards the group, whilst still keeping a lookout for anything that moved or could pose a possible threat. Noting that Aeris had indicated himself and Cassy, Liam moved back towards the other Assingtonian.

"Cassy can take the transporters without any issues. It's just me because of the nanites I've got running around inside me that are the problem. So far all tests we've done with transporters and nanite infused targets have been unsuccessful, with the target being transported but the nanites being left behind."

Liam didn't know the exact scientific details as to why it didn't work, just that him going through transporters was not a good idea and avoiding them at all costs was the best course of action. He was familiar with these other forms of teleporting and such and thus deferred to the knowledge of the others.

Cassy remained silent as Liam had said what she had been thinking, although she wouldn't want to leave him on the planet alone either. They would fine a way to get him aboard without bringing whatever dangers lay on the planet with them.

"We're to turn back" The shuttle's co pilot reported to the 'Goan twins. "But once wwe get there we're not supposed to open up just yet.

Twilight and Tempest exchanged bewhildered looks and shrugged but inwardly they were not at all happy. They didn't come all this way to sit in a shuttlecraft.

"Can you at least patch us through to the Falling Star. We might as well use their sensors to scan the planet more." Tempest asked.

That was something that could be done and shortly they were remote accessing very highly detailed scans and getting a short tutorial in how to read them. It wasn't as good as actually being there, but it was better than just twiddling their thumbs.

Cassy can take the transporters without any issues. It's just me because of the nanites I've got running around inside me that are the problem. So far all tests we've done with transporters and nanite infused targets have been unsuccessful, with the target being transported but the nanites being left behind."

"We're Not going to leave you behind Liam" Rob said firmly. "Like I said, Adept Valkidriss can do a Keepian "Step' or a psionic teleport on you. Though we might want to look at your nano packs later. I tramsport and my Cadre nanopaks don't get filtered out. or these transporters may be very differnt that the ones Assington uses. But thats for later."

Aeris nodded at the suggestion of the Step-gate. It was more secure than the portals she could conjure up, but even then, there was the issue of the nanites themselves. They had specific nanite information in their database for Rob's nanites, but they wouldn't have had anything for the Assingtonian version, bringing them back to square one.

She looked around at them. "All right. We need to act now before we get any problems coming to pay us a visit." Turning to Rob, she spoke to him, "Get everyone out of here that can leave by any of the more secure means of transport. The rest will have to remain planet-side until we figure something else out. We'll need to find a place to hide and defend ourselves if necessary."

She looked over toward Papa Jango, "And, I think the best plan for that is to find this survivor."

Whiptail made the call to sling his bow and arrows for now, instead drawing his small sidearm, the Steyer MA-1. An arrow wasn't going to be quick enough, and he didn't have the muscle power to keep one fully drawn at all times...

"Lead the way Jango, before his thermals cool..."

The former assassin was glad to see the little standoff between the Colonel and the Predator had ended rather than escalated. It wouldn't do to have the two of them shooting each other in the middle of this shitty predicament...

"And, I think the best plan for that is to find this survivor."

Liam nodded in agreement, happy they had decided to do something useful instead of stand around and worry about how they were going to get him back into orbit in one piece. He could worry about that later.

"Sounds good to me."

Moving a little closer to Cassy so he could speak to her in a reasonable tone, Liam displayed a somewhat mischievous grin.

"I'll catch up with you later, no doubt they'll figure a way to haul me onto the Star eventually."

Looking somewhat concerned, Cassy managed to nod herself.

"Of course... just don't get yourself killed. Who's going to protect me then?"

"I think you'll be able to manage."

With that said, Liam made his way back to security team, readying themselves to go find this mysterious survivor.

The shuttle pilots, Aeris, Cassy, Bones, and Valkidris disappeared in the twinkle of light as the transporter brought them safely back to the Falling Star, making sure that nothing undesireable came with them. As Tempest and Twilight had done some minutes earlier.

That left the small secuirty team, Rob, Liam, Jackson, Zar, Whiptail and the Colonel to follow Papa Jango as the Predator began tracking the UR signature of the fugative. As he moved through the city he left layers of remote sentries.

"If anything corporeal tries to hit us from behind, unless they can manage to shift themselves out of this dimension, we'll know they're coming...or we should." He commented

"Remind me again who the asshole who volunteered me for this thing was?"

Zar shrugged, "I think you did that, Jackson."

Jackson scowled, "Yeah, it figures. Well, I can't very well disembowel myself with that alien penis-bone that I've been keeping for the purposes of disemboweling someone in need of a particularly unpleasant disembowelment..."

Then he paused, "You'd think I'd have learned by now that volunteering only ever leads to grief. Damn it. Half a millenia of this shit and I'm still making rookie mistakes."

Perhaps the very first hint at Jackson age. Hardly unsurprising, if you knew Halfling Ascended, because the very first thing that was notable about them was they inherited the indefinite lifespans of their Ascended forebears. Indefinite in the sense that, if a Halfling Ascended could die of 'old age,' that age limit had yet to be reached...

From above, at least four stories high and hidden well from view, the man watched the group argue amongst themselves on what to do. Upon seeing several of them vanishing in a ripple of lightwaves, his eyes shot wide. "Strange creatures! Disappear like the Mists?" He replaced the small blackened shingle covering the peephole, his fingers drumming against his scratchy chin. His face having not seen even so much as a bar of soap within the last few years, was dirtied, greasy even. His thick almost curly hair was tamed barely by a single hair tie, pulled back in a ponytail that reached his mid-back.

"Have they evolved? Are they capable? Dangerous they must be! Dangerous!" he whispered quietly to himself, continuing a self-debate on what he should do. "Kill them? Yes...NO! Learn! Learn from them! Perhaps find their great weakness! They came from the sky, but so did the Mists. Oh, they come to war! War station! Forward command! The galaxy! Perhaps...yes...even the 'verse!"

Slithering back into the deep shadows, he traveled through the deliberately made maze, one designed to isolate any who might travel in pursuit of him. He would know, yes. Yes he would. And when they came searching, and undoubtedly so...they would not know he was watching, listening, and learning.

Kneeling down to the floor quite some time later, he looked up to the entryway that led to the outdoors, a sealed steel door that was truly the only way to keep one safe against the Mists that were here on this world. How silently they came, how deadly, and yet, years he had lived here alone, undiscovered. Food was running low, and he began to worry that he'd die before anyone new came and stumbled onto this planet.

Fingers streaked across the floor, leaving behind a finger-trace of residue, the same substance used to warn them earlier that day. Death is watching. A giggle, and he was gone. Clues he would leave, clues to ultimately find out who they truly were.

A laugh escaped him, silencing quickly as he traversed the maze of metal, wood, debris and yes, even bones.

Papa Jango gave the tracking all the intensity it deserved, and his movements through the silent, empty city disturbed nothing, and left no trail of his own. The Oomans tracks were clear on in the thermal vision and at first the big Predator was able to move quickly.

The maze slowed him not at all given the resources and his own experinece. However he slowed himself, taking in the various materiels that had gone into constructing it - for how and with what it was done was as important as whom had done it. He was crouched, examining a shard of human skull bone when the others - who hadn't been too far behind -joined him.

"Eighteen Terran months old , or very close to it" He offered the skull done to their inspection.

Whiptail accepted the skull-shard from the Predator's hands, pawing over it himself...

"Looks pretty intact for the sort of violence these things are apparently capable of..."

Indeed, it bore no real indications of damage besides the fact that it was a fragment of a whole. Considering the circumstances, it would appear that the owner died of a massive trauma to the head, shattering the upper portion of the skull and subsequently destroying the gray matter beneath, if someone hadn't just simply stepped on it earlier and crushed it to pieces...

"Must suck to be this guy..."

The assassin passed the fragment back along the party line to anyone else who wanted to look it over before securing a firmer hold on his sidearm and getting back in line behind the Yajunta...

Papa Jango mpved surely through the maze, though slower than he would have liked. The survivor had planted a large number of very deadly traps and dismantling them too time and gave the unknown the advantage. The Predator had to resist the temptation to just blow his way though the twisting turning space.

But dispite the time lost he felt that he and the team was gaining ground. All of those with him werew worthy hunters who just needed some polish he felt.

"Careful there. Leave that one intact." He pointed out another "It is interesting that he is using traps for corporal beings Perhaps at times they must be, perhaps they must solidify to kill." But it was just a guess.

It was in that moment that the Predator, despite all his caution, stepped onto a space of floor cleared of debris, a space much like many others throughout the maze they had been traveling. At first, nothing happened, but distantly, a rumbling began, ever so faintly. Far beneath the surface of the waters, a heat exchange generator system which had been jury-rigged for a new purpose, came to life. It was quiet enough that it would take the ears of a dog or cat to hear the sound.

As the party traveled onward, oblivious to the minute change in their careful movements, there was a series of thumps and sliding metal against stone. And then fire, great plumes of fire shot out from hidden portholes. The temperature rose rapidly as the fire torched anything and everything it could. From the floors and walls, searing hot fire spiraled like numerous elemental beasts, crackling, burning, scorching and destroying anything it could.

From far above, hidden behind several one way mirrors and protected by a bullet-proof glass, there was a secret observation room, originally built to oversee the factory floor and allow viewers to watch production. Here, the lone survivor stood, watching the scene unfold below. His words were quiet, anticipating. "Now to see! Now to see...Mists are they? Fire burns water, and water dies fast, death by fire, death by craft!"

The heavy scent of ozone reached Whiptail's nostrils a minute second before the firey inferno struck, giving him just enough time to ponder what it could be before nearly being melted alive by a massive plume of flame. It did, however, ignite the fabric of his sweatshirt and piss him off to an extreme degree, although he didn't outwardly show it. He lost more expensive sweatshirts this way, and he had to cut this one off of himself before it burned through to his scaly flesh beneath.

As he sheathed his blade, something caught his eye above, something out of place. It seemed odd to have a mirror of any sort above this odd maze-like death-trap unless someone was using it to watch them burn to death. As the temperature shot upwards like a stray bullet, Whiptail began to think that an explosive arrow into the mirror might get someone's attention.

The traps made little sense to contain any mist-like engines of death, but then again he'd read a little Stephen King on the way over and recalled that creatures actually lived in a mist of sorts in one of his stories, horrific creatures that weren't of that world, which was Earth in that case, but the plot seemed to apply here as well on this Gaia-like planet. Maybe there was some truth to that story after all...

Whiptail had no idea what to do in this case besides run to the exit, but he'd lost sight of it through the enveloping flames. It was all he could see now. Fire. Everywhere but down the searing heat of naked flame hit him from all sides and veiled the way to safety behind a curtain of destructive orange...

OOC: WA you have a TG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Predators ears had caught the rumble, but it could have been too many potentials to assume that it was specifically because of them – though he had no doubts that it was because of them. A trap had been sprung. But it was too intelligently set to activate immediately. He could only hope that he had the group moving at a goodly enough clip to take them out of the danger zone.

However that hope had not been sufficient and two of the security team were caught in the direct line of one of the jets of vicious fire. He could only watch as they died in mere seconds. Then he spied a odd break in the flames, as if one of the nozzles was clogged and the plume of lethal fire that should be pumping forth was unable to breach the clog.

He could not see the others, save for the Argonian, Whiptail, and there was a veil of fire between them. However his distortion field was not the common run of the mill Yautja shift suit. He’d incorporated other technologies into it. With a flick of a claw he activated it and leapt through the raging veil. The shielding wouldn’t last long and while it kept out the flames, the heat was still immense. The fire limed around him but did not touch him. He would override it's limitations and carry the Argonina out, the shielding protecting them both somewhat.

“We like things a bit damper than this is leaving things... Yes?” He yelled so that the dark Argonian could hear him over the roar of the flames.

Rob had been taking the read of the part and lep-t backwards, all but unharmed.unharmed by the flames but now cut off from the others,. His shirt had suffered, depsite it's anti flamability treatment and he'd gotten some scortches here and there. He tapped open his communicator and tried to contact the others of the party... He could not see though the intenst gouts of fire.

Again, a distant sound was made, and in seconds it had reached the large maze-filled room. Flames extinguished as the source of their fury was tapered off, denied further life. All that burned now was fire that remained on numerous objects, gnawing away at whatever object they had adhered to. Toxic fumes were slowly filling the air, but a giant fan hummed to life a few minutes later and began the process of automated building cleansing.

"Strange! They have lived! No change, no water! True visitors! Unwary truly of the Mists! Evidence they have seen, truth still evades!" A shuffling of feet, and away that sole survivor went, disappearing through an empty doorway. He appeared some distance away, hunched over slightly, looking around the factory room with caution.

"Come! Come come come! Before you are caught!" he urged them with wide, almost wild eyes framed by unkempt, dirty hair. "Before they come! Water and fury, hatred and hunger! Come!" He turned aside, revealing a hidden panel in the floor that revealed a hidden staircase to subterranean levels. He led the way, his voice chanting occasionally random mumblings about the Mists.

########

Sitting in one of the seats on the bridge of Heaven's Reach Aeris snapped her eyes wide open as she sensed the departure of life from the planet. Standing quickly, she traversed the empty space to the contact officer, "Hail Robert. Something's happened, and lives have been lost. I need to make sure he's ok."

"Yes, my lady. Hailing Lord Robert now."

"Yes,..Aeris, I am alright, just ever so slightly toasted." Rob smiled at the sound of his wife's concerned voice. "Yesw we lost two of security. Dornmeister and Nguyen. And every one else does look a little worse for wear...hold... it looks like our survivor has decided to show himself. And seems intent on taking us into the bowels of the city. I should be able to stay in contact though"

Rob spoke quickly as the unkempt trap setter appeared almost as if out of nowhere.

Before they come! Water and fury, hatred and hunger! Come!"

"Can you hear him over my commo?" Rob asked in a low voice as he turned the device - and the connected holocamera -built into his wristband more directly toward the man.

Whiptail thanked the Predator, looking backwards in the direction of Colonel Kerrich, who'd been back with Rob and therefore avoided most of the flames...

"Your kind always did have a fondness for fire, assassin..."

Kerrich's comment was geared more towards Whiptail's peculiar breed than his occupation. Dark Argonians had enough flame retardants in their scales to keep them from bursting into flames, but not to keep them from melting...

"A pity you weren't in here to observe it effects, Colonel..."

The Argonian let the comment slide, walking through the charred room lugging his massive rifle...

"I think we should follow him, or he's begging to be shot in the head for trying to flame-broil us like that..."

Kerrich didn't have any qualms about blasting the lone survivor into large, bloody, chunks after that failed attempt to burn him to death...

Pausing only long enough to see if they had decided to follow, he lead them up a staircase. Occassionally, as they passed certain points along the route, steel doors would slam shut behind them. It was another contraption of his, another of his paranoid defenses.

"Come! Slow! You must move fast! Swifter than wind! They will catch you!" came the voice as the survivor disappeared from sight for a time. He left certain doors open, to indicate his passage. And still, all along their route that weaved through such a maze of rooms, hallways and even some tunnels, they could see such a variety of defense mechanisms.

At last, they came to a large room that was a storage place for factory parts, but now converted to house food and supplies. A painfully low amount of either could be seen though. He turned to them. "Peace here. No danger." he muttered, still glancing about as if he were unsure about his own words. His fingers toyed with each other constantly. When they had gotten their fill of looking around the room from where they stood, he eyed them suddenly with a fierce, focused look. His question was acute, grabbing their attention.

"Have you met them?"

"Yes, I heard him." Aeris had replied, watching as Rob showed where they were being lead. "Be careful." she urged a few moments later, though she knew it wasn't necessary. The survivor was perhaps hardy and resourceful, but she didn't think he'd be able to stand up against a platoon of elite combatants.

When she heard the man's latest question to the group, she frowned. "Them? Is he talking about the people we heard that man speaking of in that recording? Find out everything, and most importantly, find out how he's managed to stay alive. And, where have all the bodies gone?"

She was full of questions, and now wished she were back on the planet, doing the interrogations herself. But, she had promised Rob she'd return to the ship to oversee things from there. A beeping sound from her left caused her to look that way.

"We've got a storm front moving in." reported the crew member assigned to watch weather patterns. "A big one too by the looks of it. Winds are already clocked at seventy-three miles per hour." The man shook his head, looking up at Aeris, "Back on earth, that's just shy of Category one hurricane strength. It makes me wonder just how strong the storms on this planet can get with a much higher percentage of open water to feed from." Aeris looked over his shoulder at the projected path and travel speed.

Aeris nodded, turning back to the com screen, "Rob, there's a storm moving in. You all better get this wrapped up quickly. It's moving fast and if it keeps to the current course, you're going to get the brunt of it within a few hours."

"Windspeed have increased! Eighty-nine miles per hour and rising."

She spun about, "What?!"

"Water temperatures are very warm, they'll fuel the storm like crazy." came the explanation.

Aeris didn't look away from the weather screen, but she did reach back and hit the com button again, "Rob...bunker down till the storm has passed. We can't risk contamination on this ship. Detain that survivor!"

As the security team stepped into a large chamber, Liam's ears picked up a faint rumbling in the distance. He couldn't quite pinpoint where it was coming from and the noise didn't indicate at all what it may cause. With no immediate issue, Liam continued to move inward, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious.

Saved by his enhanced reflexes, Liam leaped aside as a jet of fired roared out of the wall next to him, singing the back of his gear before he landed with a thud on his left shoulder, sliding across the floor momentarily before coming to a halt. Before he had a chance to move, the porthole on the wall before his head unleashed a second plume of fire. Unable to move in time, Liam threw up his arms and reached out with his mind instinctively. Eyes closed, Liam felt the heat right before his face and yet was not burned.

Opening his eyes and rolling backwards, Liam watched as the flames ran into an invisible barrier and were directed upwards. The effort of maintaining the shield was starting to give Liam a headache so he continued to move backwards before releasing the shield and allowing the flames to take their natural course.

Maintaining awareness of his surroundings, Liam continued to dodge the flames until they finally relented, although he did not relax. There was no guarantee this was the last of it.

"Come! Come come come! Before you are caught!"

With a stranger suddenly announcing himself, Liam spun around and aimed his rifle at the newcomer, keeping it trained on the man's chest even when it was clear he wasn't an immediate threat. As the security team began to follow the stranger, Liam fell into place and kept silent, waiting for another trap. He wouldn't be caught off guard this time.

"Rob...bunker down till the storm has passed. We can't risk contamination on this ship. Detain that survivor!"

As they moved deeper into the abandoned city Rob listened to Aeris's reply of the approaching storm.

"No we've not met them yet, but a massive storm is approaching. Is this area secure?" He asked the survivor his tone gentle but conveying the urgency of the situation soon to be upon them.

Rob keyed his bracers screen to show the projected path and rising strength of the storm. And the sme time he palmed a tiny chip from a holding slot in the bracer. Scarecely larger than a childs pinky nail it weighed almost nothing. When he moved over to show the survivor the storm and its course he let the wafer thin fleck fall on to the back of the mans neck.

Whiptail made a slight punching gesture into an open palm while looking at Rob, a silent question asking if Rob wanted him to detain the man physically. He would, however, be needing some handcuffs...

The survivor had noticed Rob's finger rising higher than he deemed appropriate to show him something on his bracer, and discreetly he followed what happened. He looked at the storm's projection, before suddenly stepping back. He tore off the ragged jacket, upon which the flake had fallen. He tossed it aside, glaring at Rob with a pointed finger.

"You may have passed the traps, but I trust you not! I saw what you did and I am no fool! You came seeking for answers, and I brought you in because I know just how inhumane they can be against anyone!" His words had gotten louder, almost to the point of yelling. "But you want to tag me! Track me!" His eyes narrowed, "Perhaps you plan to feed me to them to find your answers!"

Over the com unit, Aeris spoke quickly to Rob, "He's going to run! Stop him!"

As if on cue, the survivor did indeed turn and sprint away with surprising speed. Malnourished, dirty, but still quick on his feet.

Aeris cried out again, "CATCH HIM!"

That was the que he'd been waiting for...

Whiptail was off after him as soon as the man started to move, catching him by the ankle with his tail and ripping him off his feet before diving on top of him to lock in a rather painful sleeper hold, squeezing tight enough that he'd have a difficult time breathing but not with enough power to shut off his air supply completely...

"Anyone got some sort of restraints? I can't sit on him forever..."

Colonel Kerrich strode up to where Whiptail was seated on the survivor, drawing one of his pistols and sticking it in the survivor's face...

"Or we can simply shoot him in the leg and carry him back..."

"That's not an option, fuck-o... Stop struggling or I'm going to put you out!"

While poorly-fed, the man could struggle with surprising strength and Whiptail sank his hold in a little deeper around his neck in order to stay in control...

The survivor however was not ready to give up. Instead of ceasing, he dropped his hands down limp as if to indicate his passing out an inevitable conclusion of only a few seconds worth of activity. As he felt the Argonian shift to adjust his body growing slack, he suddenly snapped upward, bringing with him two shanks from hidden sheaths. One, he swept around the Argonian's leg, blade turned inward, with intent to sever the Argonian's tendons. The other shank he pointed upward to stab at the arms encircling his neck.

His eyes were wild, and yet, had an almost feral look to them, as if he had done similar tactics in the past. He was determined, for sure. It took such determination to escape them.

***********
***********

"One hundred, eighty-seven miles per hour." came the report. "Well into Category Five status. If you follow the bracket wind speeds, we're looking at a Category Seven, maybe higher." came the update on the storm's rapidly gathering strength. The weatherman looked seriously freaked, although he kept his calm. This was unnatural, unseen in all his years at this post. "It's not a hurricane anymore...it's a gorram twister!"

Aeris just exhaled heavily, watching the storm approach the city. She shook her head, hoping now that whoever had built such a city and others like it on the seas, had built them to withstand the very storms that threatened to eradicate any effort to colonization. "Any shear fronts in the area? Anything to weaken the storm?"

"No ma'am. That storm's got command of the seas."

Aeris nodded solemnly, turning to the com unit to monitor what was going on with the survivor. She had heard a commotion only a moment before, and now she watched as the man struggled fiercely against the Argonian holding him close with a well trained method.

Liam had been keeping an eye on the stranger as well and launched into a sprint after him as soon as he began moving. Whiptail had been quicker to react but Liam maintained his pursuit, simply moving to the side slightly so that he wouldn't impede the Argonian as he detained the stranger. There was no doubt in his mind that he could have caught the captive but he was there to do a job, not seek personal glory.

Catching up to the now restrained captive, Liam positioned himself in front of the stranger whilst Whiptail applied his hold. It appeared the Argonian had things handled but another pair of eyes and hands couldn't hurt if any surprises arose. Keeping both eyes on the man in Whiptail's grip, Liam waited whilst the other Argonian approached and suggested a more extreme means of restraining that Liam didn't fully disagree with.

Before Liam could get a word in, the captive made his move, attempting to strike at Whiptail with a pair of knives that seemed to have come out of nowhere. Knowing that his rifle wouldn't be appropriate, Liam lunged forward and delivered a sharp boot to the captive's head.

"CATCH HIM!"

Rob was caught off guard, but very glad that Whiptail and Liam had been watching the man and expected his reaction. As the man went limp momentarily Rob tore himself from studying the rapid intensification of the cyclone and pulled a hand full of fexicuffs strips from his pack, tossing them to Papa Jango.

The predator leapt to where Whiptail knelt on the prisoner - now limply dazed from the boot to the head that Liam had delivered. Quickly he secured the man's ankles - then his wrists at the small of his back.

Then he turned to the Dark Argonian "Did those blades score on you?"

When one studied blade-work for as long as a Grandmaster of the Shadowscale Order tended to do, there were few surprises when it came to being assaulted with an edged weapon. There were only so many ways you could do it, only so many angles of attack and only so many worthwhile targets for such attacks that after a while it became second nature.

There were the simple, brutal, and effective tactics of the Grayman, a mercenary of unknown origins who worked for no pay on the side of Darfur christians against the Al-Queda funded muslim government, and the inventor of the knife-tactic favored by the Argonian Navy's STAB teams. There was the fundamental and adaptive Escrima from the Philipines, down through the more flashy Eastern arts and further still though today's modern minimalist knife-workings, which in turn melded back towards the 'jab, grab, stab' methods of the Grayman again in a flawless circle of deadly techniques. Somewhere in the middle or that circle was the distilled learnings and teachings of the Shadowscale Assassin, a melding of all acrued knowledge into a single, unique set of techniques that suited the individual assassin perfectly, for no two were ever alike, much like the knives the carried.

In short, a restrained man with a pair of improvised knives was little match for a true master of the short blade. Whiptail simply dropped his knee downward onto the hand and wrist holding the knife against his leg, trapping it against the ground and keeping the edge away from his lightly-armored hide while catching the upcoming blade around the wrist and snapping it at a very sharp angle that sent the primitive shank clattering across the floor and a sickening snap of a wrist joint being broken through the air, at about the same time that a boot came out of nowhere and connected with the man's temple. The assassin reguarded the cyborg, or whatever Liam was, with an appreciative nod...

"You can shoot him now if you want, Colonel..."

The assassin spoke coldly as he rose to his feet, checking himself for cuts. Colonel Kerrich kept his pistol level with the man's head, the already-light single-action trigger on the 1911 barely holding the sear in check. Whiptail was sure hadn't been cut, but it never hurt to know for certain. It was then that the Predator spoke to him, asking if he'd been injured...

"No, Jango, I'm fine, but I think he knows better now, pain's the best teacher I know of..."

"No, Jango, I'm fine, but I think he knows better now, pain's the best teacher I know of..."

Agreed, but this one is adept at learning. His survival proves it so." The Predator replied as he looked the Dark Argonian over, and was pleased to see that he was uninjured. "But there is no need to shoot him, Colonel." Papa Jango moved in between the captive and the Argonian officer.

'And we have more problems, though there isn't anything we can do about this..." Rob commneted as he had his bracer project an image of what was bearing down on them and growing even as the image formed...

They were good, real good, and in the fading blackness of confusion and pain, the man knew it. He felt numb, and pained all at the same time. His vision, when he tried to open his eyes a few times, was blurred and unfocused. At last, he slipped into unconsciousness, harmless for the time being.

******
******

One hundred ninety eight miles per hour, and stabilizing. Surface water is showing preliminary wave scans at heights of seventy feet above sea level. Outer bands are over the city now."

Aeris nodded at the report. The storm was moving fast, incredibly so. "Do we have a structural scan of the city?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Bring it up."

A three dimensional hologram, complete with clouds overhead from the storm, was seen from the projector. She reached out with her hands, turning the image in various directions. "Are these storm levees and walls?" she asked, tabbing a series of strange looking constructs beneath the normal sea level."

"Yes. It appears so." replied another. "In fact, I wonder if they're maneuverable." A few seconds passed as the hologram became more transparent and the mechanisms in question brought to larger resolution. Scans showed mechanical gear behind the constructs. "Yes, they are. I'd wager they'll rise as high as fifty or sixty feet above sea level."

Aeris keyed the comm unit, "Rob. The city has defenses against the storm. You need to find a control room to access the command panel to activate them. Otherwise, you're going to be seeing nearly the entire city under water in short time."

Colonel Kerrich released his finger from the trigger before flipping the manual safetly back into place and holstering the pistol. His own gaze met the Predator's and a grim smile crossed his scaly features...

"If I'd decided to shoot him, Predator, I would have done it by now..."

His hands came back up to cradle the massive M82A1 in his equally-proportioned arms...

"Then again, if he tries anything else I'm going to use my little friend here on him, and there's no medical knowledge the Tanaarans have that will bring him back from that kind of dead..."

Kerrich didn't load standard ball ammo in his anti-material rifle. Instead, he'd packed the magazine with HEAT rounds. Overkill in the extreme against personnel, they were extremely effective against small vehicles. The threat had to be pretty idle, however. At the ranges they were currently at it would be difficult for him to snap off a shot with the massive weapon, and the round would probably kill more than just the survivor...

"Ease up, Kerrich. He's obviously been through a lot of scary shit..."

Whiptail, uncharacteristic as it was, was trying to come off as the voice of reason...

"Ease up, Kerrich. He's obviously been through a lot of scary shit..."

"He's probably technically not really sane, and I should have been a bit nore careful in trying to tag him" Rob agreed apologetically.

"Aeris, on the schematics, place our lifesigns and then mark the controll room, and let the A.I. map the fastest way there" Rob requested of his wife.

He waited until that had been done and down loaded - it took some minutes and even now they could feel the massive city beginning to thrumm to the assault of the winds.

"Ome on every one." he orderd as one of the Security crew shouldered the survivor - after thoroughly searching for and removing all weapons for the mostly unconscious survivor.

The assassin regarded the cyborg, or whatever Liam was, with an appreciative nod...

Liam returned the nod and allowed the others to take care of properly restraining their captive. Despite being confident in his own abilities, Liam felt somewhat out of place around such well known warrior species such as Whiptail and Papa Jango. Of course, this was also an opportunity to learn from those more experienced in himself and Liam wasn't about to let his pride get in the way of such.

With other members of the security team now taking care of the prisoner, Liam returned back to the bulk of the group and caught the end of the communication between Rob and Aeris.

"I hope this thing still works..."

The group scrambled though the city, though many times they had to take alternate routes, as the city had endured more than a little damage after being abandoned.

The storm was no longer just a mere thrum in the city's bones, but a pounding roar that even as deep with in the core of the city as the control room was located was still audible. However it's builers had neglected to label any of the consols within with anything resembling a language any here under stood.

Rob raised an eyebrow at Liam..."I hope it still works too, but now we have to figure how to get it to work"

"Every one take a console, and let your holocorders link to the Falling Star, they maybe able to sport something to match in their data bases"

Whiptail and Kerrich each grabbed a console, both working to unlock or even activate whatever the Hell they were. Kerrich finally succeeded by slamming an elbow into just about every key at the same time...

"About sixty percent of the time that works every time..."

"That doesn't make a bit of sense, Keyton..."

"It's not supposed to, but you should really watch a few more movies you uncultured fuck..."

"You and mass media have a lot in common. You're both tools and you can both kiss my scaly ass..."

The brief exchange highlighted one of Kerrich's most unusual traits, the ability to joke to lighten the mood in times of intense stress, as well as test Whiptail's respectable response times. The ancient assassin's wit was as sharp as his blades, but he too was impressed with the uncommon Argonian trait of humor, especially in one such as Colonel Kerrich. There might be hope for the uptight bastard after all.

He finally got his own console to boot up, but it wasn't displaying anything he could understand. Kerrich seemed to have the right idea, however. He'd plugged his wrist device into a data port and was downloading as much data from the battered console as possible. It might come in handy later. Whiptail started to do the same...

"Nice idea you trigger-happy psycho..."

"I thank you for your kind words you shadow-stepping degenerate..."

"Look just because your mother and I messed around back in the day doesn't make me a degenerate..."

"My mother's been dead for decades, assassin. There isn't much venom left to sting me in such comments..."

"Then take your hand off your gun..."

The last bit was delivered with as triumphant a grin as Whiptail could manage, hoping to press the issue a little more...

Liam took up a console not far from the Argonians and smiled slightly to himself as he overheard their banter. He knew very little of their species or nation as Assington had had very little involvement with them besides the odd Argonian traveling through the nation.

With his console now booted up Liam attempted to decipher the information being displayed on the screen yet with little success. Connecting his wrist computer to the console and establishing a link with the Falling Star, Liam began uploading all the data he could gather with the hope that one of the AIs would be able to decipher it.

"I suppose it was hoping a little too much that'd we'd find this thing running on a copy of Windows in English..."

There was a half-chuckle on Whiptail's part...

"With our luck it would be Vista and we still wouldn't be able to do anything with it..."

The download complete, he severed the link to the orbiting star-ship, risking a glance over at Kerrich's screen to see if he could tell how far along his download was coming. Not surprisingly, he couldn't get anything out of the seemingly random characters flashing across the dirty screen...

Aeris watched as the uploads began to come in from the team in the control room. Numbers, and strange characters not of any language she knew, flashed across the screen. The AI was already working to decipher the language, and it soon began to show a variety of translations, choosing the most probable after several moments.

Aeris looked to the weather display, a frown across her face as she saw the city was nearly completely out of sight. "Thermal imaging." she instructed, and it took but a moment for the results to be displayed.

Turning her attention back to the task at hand, she began reading the information as best as possible.

Instruc$50ns to sto3m-shi26%ds
On c@nso^* to the ve&y ri^!t,
b<nea\h the sanitation scr)(n,
push the b%# yellow b|-ton to raise ^$e storm w=+ls,
a#@ the re~ button to lo&*r them.

She read it repeatedly, then instructed the translation thus far to be sent to the team. It would take the AI more time to perfect it's translations of the many variables of the language, but she knew they'd be able to read it.

Aeris keyed the communiator;

"Here you go boys. It's the best we've got right now. Sorry, I couldn't get some nice stationary to write it all out for you, but I do have Advil!"

Rob looked up from the console he'd chosen, at about the same time Papa Jango did...now because the downloads were complete, but because the city Rocked- violently. "Damn!" He swore softly.

Then he looked over at the partial translation that Aeris had sent down. "We're looking for a large yellow button below the screen to the right of the sanitation screen?" He tried to decipher the semi instructions. Is that what it says?" as he began to try and determin which was the screen and button described. But which was the sanitation screen. There were a number of yellow hued buttons.

The translations were displaying on everyone's communicator screens.

"With our luck it would be Vista and we still wouldn't be able to do anything with it..."

Liam smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Aye, I think I'd rather face the storm then deal with that OS."

Muttering a curse under his breath as the city seemed to rock on its foundations, Liam began going through the translation displayed on his personal screen and cringed slightly. It looked more like the language kids communicated in over the internet. There was a resemblance to the English language but it was a terrible bastardisation.

Looking around for a yellow button, Liam sighed. There were many yellow buttons and nothing to indicate which was the sanitation screen.

"It's never easy..."

Whiptail shrugged, then started pushing every yellow button he could find, throwing a quick glance over his shoulder at Kerrich...

"Sixty percent of the time, right? Let's hope so..."

He was running out of one-liners and they were running out of time. He and Kerrich could weren't in any danger of drowning, but Whiptail couldn't say the same for the others...

Unlike his companion, Whiptail had a habit of being much more skilled at achieving whatever he put his mind to. Or, one might argue he was just too damn lucky. Either way, there appeared on the largest screen a rendition of the city's infrastructure, and flashing outlines of walls surrounding the entire city rising steadily at a brisk pace until at last they shielded the city completely from every angle.

A chirping over the com, "You've got it! Great!" Aeris declared, watching as the city's walls began to take fully the brunt of the storm.

The city's interior ceased it's consistent earthquake-like symptoms and receded back into calm existence.

Except for a long period oscillating rhythm that slowly began to build.

"You know I don't like the feel of that" Rob noted as he took it in and watched a inclination projection created from data supplied to his bracer.. We’re being pushed against – the physical shields are acting like a ships sails – providing a large surface for the wind to push against. And I think we’re missing part of the equation.”

Then the entire city gave a lurch that sent all of them off their feet, leaving them all a little shaken.

“Aeris, I don’t think that the physical shields were all they had,” Rob hauled himself up rubbing a number of places that would end up black and blue.

The ocsillation had gotten precipitously stronger now and it was hard to regain and keep ones footing.

Papa Jango muttered to himself in Yatuja - nothing polite from the tone of his voice which went interested as he looked at the console he used to haul himself up. "No I don't think physical shields were all they had either. "I know this icon" and deliberately he activated it.

"Come take a look at this symbol, then check the other consoles. If you see it use it." He called the others over. The sway had lessened since he had pressed the icon appearing on the console he stood before.

"Energy shields, to redirect the wind." He explained.

The two Argonians somehow pushed their buttons in unison, activating whatever it was they needed to activate...

"Wonder if they still work? Guess we'll see..."

Once the blast shields were up Liam had assumed they were done and would simply have to wait out the storm. The unsettling lurch of the city soon put an end to that and whilst Liam attempted to maintain his footing, Papa Jango pointed out a button that may be able to help them out.

Making his way towards the console in question, Liam peered passed the Predator to gain a glance at the symbol. It wasn't familiar to him in the slightest but that didn't really matter, as long as he could find another one somewhere.

After a few minutes Liam came across a small button with the same symbol as indicated, not long after the Argonians had just activated their own. Tapping the button with a thumb, Liam awaited the reaction.

The energy shields, ones that took the harmonics of wind and water, and used them to reenergise the city activated slowly, sluggishly. The survivor hadn't learned to use them in conjunction with the physical barriers and at first they seemed to have little effect.

But after a few tense minutes the oscilliations diminished then ended. Those in the Falling Star could see that the city ws indeed riding out they massive hurricane handily.

At long last and short drawn breaths that came to an end, Aeris watched as scanning measures indicated that the city was now fully protected from the storm. She smiled at this, and looked toward the storm's ever changing data. It was powerful now, and only time would deal it into oblivion.

"All right, see what else you can find out from the survivor about the place." Aeris told the team as she redirected her thoughts to the various facts and tidbits they had gathered since arriving on the planet.

The survivor had regained consciousness, but had remained silent and kept his eyes cracked open to a thin slit, just enough to see his surroundings and assess his predicament. He thought of himself as a prisoner of war, a prisoner of a people he didn't know, and a prisoner in the great prison that was this city against them.

Whiptail wasn't sure now was the best time for an interrogation, and neither he nor Kerrich had any idea of how to perform one without in getting messy. His eyes drifted to Rob...

"Rob, my man, what do you think? I don't know of any ways to get him to talk without making him bleed, unless you want me to step on that wrist I popped earlier..."

The comment was more of a matter-of-fact statement than a question. Kerrich would just start hacking off toes and work his way up with that tomahawk of his if left to his own devices, but Whiptail knew it wouldn't come to that, Rob really hated the guy and he couldn't blame him...

"Rob, my man, what do you think? I don't know of any ways to get him to talk without making him bleed, unless you want me to step on that wrist I popped earlier..."

Rob just shook his head and snorted. "Physical torture is not going to get us anywhere." He went down on his heels to study the man and his sham unconsciousness

"It's not going to work, I can hear your breathing pattern, and heart beat. So playing 'possum isn't going to get you any where."

Now it was Whiptail's turn to snort...

"It'll wake him up out of his pretend stupor. Hey, I've got an idea, let Kerrich shave a little meat off of his kneecaps with that tomahawk of his. That'll wake him up..."

Of course, Whiptail didn't mean what he'd said, but the survivor didn't know that. Maybe some 'good-cop bad-cop' would get his attention, only the bad cop, or cops in this case, where two angry-looking lizard-men with sharp implements and pretend cannibalistic tendencies...

"Wait wait wait wait wait wait!" the survivor spoke rapidly, shaking his head. "No! I like my knees!" He shuddered involuntarily as he stared up in bewilderment at the Argonian standing over him. He turned his head, cracking his neck audibly a few times.

"Release me and I'll help you...otherwise, you can deal with them on your own, and you'll more than likely die."

His memories broached the surface of his thoughts, reminding him again the terror of the ghost-like people who traveled this world in invincibility. The spirits who were forever angry, forever territorial.

"Release me and I'll help you...otherwise, you can deal with them on your own, and you'll more than likely die

"I'm going to trust you with that and release you...and yes it was a tracking device, but I had no intent of feeding your, or any one!" he declared sharply "to the what evers they are. I don't throw people to sharks or use them as bait if I'm not being bait along with them...but you had no way of knowing that." Rob frowned and shook his head, as he pulled this clippers out and undid the band binding the man.

He knew that the two Argonians wouldn't allow the newly freed man any chances to run off. He also knew that he, they all of them, needed the survivors help to face the menace.