NationStates Jolt Archive

(OOC: Just for fun. Oh, and a belatedly invite-only. No offense, but free stuff tends to turn all crazy with 1337 assassins and whatnot, and we're just trying to grill some burgers and drink some brewskies, man.)

http://www.weirdozone.0catch.com/wargames/btdesigns/thumbnails/tme50grendel2.jpg

Colonel Chukwu paced across the dorsal observation deck of the Scolopendran WarShip missile frigate Kantharos, fresh out of drydock for refit to TME-50-B specifications.

So they strap five thousand missile tubes to my Kanthy and now... He stands at the forward end of the large, blocky room, single row of windows giving an impressive view of the bulbous forward module of the Grendel-class and its terribly blunt array of missile pods, so numerous they look like foolishly huge photovoltaic cells. Turning around, he watches his crew in pixellated smoke-cloud utility fatigues get comfortable folding chairs into place, adjust tables covered in refreshments, hang bunting along the windows. And I get stuck on babysitting duty.

Flag Colonel K'zta of Arthropod slaps a brawny K'zin hand on the dark man's shoulder. Chukwu, standing at 195 centimeters, is by no means short, but the K'zin easily still has thirty centimeters on him. "An interesting occasion, is it not?"

"Yes, sir."

"We are under orders from Advisor Razak himself. No formal forms of address, no 'sir' or 'ma'am'-ing." The ratcat chuckles, breath huffing through his nostrils. "How does it feel to host a party?"

"Ask me when it starts, s... yeah."

The K'zin laughs, roaring softly. "I shall."

OOC: Our vote for the missile frigate has been cast. Now where's my damn hot dog!

*hands Sakkra his "get on the frigate already" card*

Dude! Bring Paroo and Slurpees!

--Scolo

"Kantharos, this is the Equilibrium requesting permission to dock."

vonKarma looks at the Grendel through his "eyes" of the ships sensors.

Damn. Glad those are ours.

"Kantharos, this is the Equilibrium requesting permission to dock."

vonKarma looks at the Grendel through his "eyes" of the ships sensors.

Damn. Glad those are ours.
"Equilibrium, Kantharos. Please take dorsal dropship collar one. Welcome aboard, President-General."

http://rpstudios.ian-justman.com/junk/CGgoods/archangel-final.JPG

The sleek white and red ship came on approach, signaling its identity as the Archangel-class carrier Zeroel, bringing the Queen and Tsume, as well as several other people who needed a lift.

"This is Zeroel, EI of the thaumatological attack carrier of the same name. Requesting permission to dock with the missile frigate Kantharos. Our supplies for this encounter include several kegs of good Aquamarinian ale, a few cases of imported sake, enough reploid power cells for the Queen and Tsume, and a lot of chips and dip. We also have the Slaglandic musician DayMascus on board, and the Arpean band Kaosu no Tenshi. We also have a cargo hold filled nearly to capacity of fireworks and flashbangs."

Transmission sent, the dubious EI turned to face Captain Sierra. "Diplomacy isn't about backyard barbeque parties like this, at least as far as my research tells me."

"Zeroel, think who we're dealing with here. Queenie isn't your typical diplomat. Just try t'have fun, kay? This is an informal event- world leaders can throw wild parties too, y'know." Sierra was sitting casually in the captain's chair wearing a simple sundress instead of her usual crisp uniform. "Bunch of us have a pool going as to whether or not Tsume goes overboard with those power cells."

"Zeroel, Kantharos. Please take ventral docking collar two... we're trying to keep the dorsal side clear for special plans." The audio doesn't announce it, per se, but it's obvious the radio operator is grinning like a madwoman. "The Colonel will be glad that you brought some stuff along. 'S gonna be fun, that's for sure.

"Approach vector coming on uplink. Welcome aboard."

Three newly commisioned light support freighters, the Threkk, Omoss and Ghhan make an appearance, bearing Slurpee and Paroo by the keg.

http://home.earthlink.net/~peterpank/parade2a.jpg

The call comes in from the lead craft, the Omoss. "Kantharos, this is Commander Khaag of the Sakkran Merchant Navy. I have received reports of a barbecue in commencement, and have come to lend support. Our munitions of delicious stimulant-fortified beverage is at your disposal."


OOC: The pic is to give an idea of where the new and improved Sakkran Space Navy is going.

"Khaag, Kantharos. Sweet, the uppers have arrived. Hey, Flightcom! What? Once Zeroel is offloaded, have the Sakkra dock on port two. Can we fit one on port three? We should be able to, ya. Clear it, I'm givin' em permission to dock. "Lead vessel, proceed to ventral port three to offload cargo. Your crews are invited aboard, authorization of Colonel Chukwu. Approach data hacked into trans... now."

vonKarma brings the Loki into a smooth dock and shuts it down. He jacks out of the command chair and walks back to the passenger lounge. Zin Karma stands at his entrance.

"Ready to go, Zin?"

"Yeah, this should be quite enjoyable."

They walk down the boarding tube, as a handful of crewmen begin unloading cases of KCTS/GrannySlag Olde Tyme Appehl Cyderre, and vonKarma Signature Series EverPresent (tm) cigars.

Khaag receives the data. Mwah ha ha. Excellent. And now the festivities will begin in earnest. "All craft, proceed with docking procedures as outlined. All crew are now on leave. Give your auto-pilots escort instructions that they won't just float around like trash!"

A roar from all hands given in unison signals the beginning of leave. A total of thirty crew are ready to disembark and commence operation 'Feeding Frenzy'.

The crafts dock and unload their precious narcotic cargo.

Zeroel's crew quickly offloaded, and the EI moved the ship to a reasonable holding distance from the missile frigate. Among the munitions are several kegs of varous sorts of booze, several big screen TVs and game consoles... and somehow the Queen conspired to bring a Dance Dance Revolution machine on board.

"Whoo! This is gonna be a blast!" Firefury crows, waving and grinning to people she recognized.

"... Captain Sierra... I know the Queen's a bit.. ah... impulsive... but is this normal?" Zeroel whispers to the captain beside him.

"Drop the 'captain' stuff, Zeroel. This is a party, remember. And yes, this is about normal for the Queen."

"Good Goddess... I should have just stayed on board my ship." The EI glances about, like a deer caught in the headlights.

"A party. On a missile frigate."

"That's what it looks like, milady," Turelio said with a bemused expression on his face, as he watched his queen read the invitation. "Are you going?"

"I'm not sure. Some of them said some really mean things the other day," Siri replied. "Especially that blasted little Eniqciri." Siri pouted a little, turning towards the window, and looking out at the city below.

"You should go anyway," Turelio answered. "Don't let it get to you. And they obviously want you there. Or you wouldn't have been invited. Besides, milady, when was the last time you cared what someone without pointy ears thought of you?" He gave her a wry grin.

"That's a good point." She turned to face him. "You're right... I'll go."

A few hours later...

Off the port bow of the Kantharos, a tesseract flashed open, a ship emerging, and dropping to realspace. The Menelmacari destroyer Gilthoniel, the personal transport of Lady Sirithil, approached.

"Kantharos, we are carrying the Elentári, and are requesting permission to send her aboard by shuttle."

http://www.weirdozone.0catch.com/projects/nationstates/sirithil/sirithilnosfeanor.gifLady Sirithil nos Fëanor
Elentári of the Eternal Noldorin Empire of Menelmacar
Chancellor of CENNA
"If it is to be war between us, it shall be war to the knife and the knife to the hilt."
~Foreign Minister Duke Paolio, The Outlands
We Love the Iraqi Information Minister (http://www.welovetheiraqiinformationminister.com)
Clicky-clicky!

Oh, man... not Dance Dance Revolu--THWAP! "Oi!"

"Liven up, Colonel!" The K'zin smiles broadly, his orange-and-black fur going well with his jet-black t-shirt with 'MISSING IN ACTION: SOMEWHERE IN THE BACKYARD' emblazoned around some green and tan silouhettes of soldiers. "This is a party! Welcome, friends! I love that game!"

The K'zin wanders into the party, being generally loud, boisterous, and very friendly. Chukwu staggers over to the Sakkra, wincing from the slap on the back, and procures a stiff drink of Paroo. Hyskos, I'm gonna need this.

"Kantharos, we are carrying the Elentári, and are requesting permission to send her aboard by shuttle."

http://www.weirdozone.0catch.com/projects/nationstates/sirithil/siri-chibi.gifLady Sirithil nos "Hey, pointy ears are totally sexah" Fëanor
One Damn Fine Elentári of the Eternal Noldorin Empire of Menelmacar
Chancellor of CENNA and a really great gal to boot.
"Gilthoniel, Kantharos. By all means, send the Lady over. Welcome aboard."

"Gilthoniel, Kantharos. By all means, send the Lady over. Welcome aboard."

http://www.djouls.com/weirdal/images/weirdal.gifTimofeyev von Scolopendra der Mod
Yet Another in a Long List of People [ACTING AS CUSHIONS FOR] Siri's Ass
Defender of Freedom and a really great guy to boot, despite the fact that he's now just another statistic... [ON A GOVERNMENT CHART... THERE HAS TO BE AN INVISIBLE SUN, THAT LENDS ITS HEAT TO EV-RY-ONE]

[C'mon, Slag, get it right... --Scolo]

As Chukwu drinks the double-proof Paroo, it can be observed that some of them seem to be holding some manner of device up to the nostrils atop their heads. They inhale deeply, and their eyes roll around in their sockets, finally settling after a few moments. Others can be seen veritably inhaling the Olde Time Apple Cider, and staring quizically at the Dance Dance Revolution device.

"It must be a prompt for their mating rituals." Some are heard to exclaim.

"Mating rituals?" Chukwu blinks far more rapidly than he expects to. Colors simply aren't supposed to be vivid... "Naw, naw... it's a game. No mating." I hope not, at least.

Sierra, (half empty) sake bottle in hand, beams happily, hopping up onto the dance platform. "Anybody want to join me?" She grins, perusing the songlist before settling for one titled "Drop the Bomb".

Firefury cheers the captain on, while Zeroel watches with the sort of horrified fascination that leads people to watch horror flicks.

"This can only end badly." He notes to no one in particular.

After recieving the obvious landing procedures and whatnot (OOC: It's good to be a puppet of myself), S.H.O.D.A.N. enters through a side airlock and joins the growing party.

"Ah... organic warships are so roomy." She stretches out, taking a good look at everyone. "Ah, Queen Firefury, I see you brought your own peculiar forms of entertainment. Outstanding."

Khaag looks at the gesticulating, gyrating and fast-stepping Sierra, and leans down a bit to whisper in Chukwu's ear. "But isn't all that physicality an attention grabber for the opposite sex?" He downs some more Olde Time Cider, and lights up an Everpresent Cigar.

http://home.mchsi.com/~ketri/wsb/links/selene_small.jpg

A party ... a relaxed, no stuffiness party ... gods, do I need that.

She selfishly had taken the opportunity herself, loading the Tempest with several cases of wine, coolers full of simple but flavourful antipasta, and for those not into alcohol, fixin's for Italian sodas.

Her eyes widened a bit as she picked up the ship on her scanners, 'looking' it over with a good sort of shiver. As she came in closer, she shivered again, grinning.

Good lord, boys ... talk about gettin' your guns off. That thing is a monster!

I love it.

"Tempest, requesting permission to land. Nathicana piloting. Hear we've got ourselves a party, boys. Hope there's room for one more?"

http://home.mchsi.com/~ketri/wsb/links/Nath17.jpg
--Nathicana D'Aquisto dal Lupo, Dread Lady of the Dominion

"Tempest, Kantharos. Always room for one more, Dread Lady. Please follow attached approach vector to portside small craft bay. Welcome aboard and enjoy the party."

Firefury grins at Shodey's comment. "Oh, y'just can't call it a party without having something on hand that most peeps need to be buzzed to even think of attempting!"

She sips from what appears to be a drink container of some sort- on closer inspection it turns out to be a reploid-use power cell. Tsume is merrily sipping at one- from the way the usually cool, calm, and sauve reploid dragon is gyrating and chattering, it's a safe bet he got into the reploid booze sometime prior to arrival.

With a big grin, Sierra hops (more like falls) off the DDR machine, grinning widely. "Anybody else up for showin' their moves? S'fun!"

"Done, and done," she says, grinning broadly. She lands smoothly, jacking out with only a touch of regret, knowing there's a party to get to, not some dry diplomatic function.

She stands up and stretches, dressed not in her usual attire, but in worn levi cutoffs, a simple white cotton tank top, and a red and black plaid flannel shirt, sleeves rolled up and tails hanging loose. Her comfortable hiking boots, well broke in, were a welcome change to the heels she usually wore. And rather than mess too much, she'd just left her hair down.

She loads up the handtruck she'd brought, stacking it well with provisions, and pushes it down the ramp. Snagging directions from whomever might be handy, she makes her way to where the action is, hearing before seeing where she's going.

"Holy sh..." she manages, looking around and grinning broadly. "Excellent."

<Communications to Kantharos, S.H.O.D.A.N.>
{
<< Hey, what's this about a party?

<< A little bird told me Nath would be there.

<< Is it a formal gig, or can anybody join?
}

**************************
http://www.btinternet.com/~plainstyle/linmodems/Winmodems/rimmer.jpg
Emperor Devon I
Empire of Treznor
**************************

[[transmission protocol standard]]

Umm... Emperor Treznor, Rhea, or whoever, this is Kantharos. Feel free to join... your name is on the admit list.

[[transmission terminated]]

***

S.H.O.D.A.N. stands by, simply looking at the DDR machine. "Not yet..."

(OOC: Because it's bedtime!)

<Communications to Kantharos, S.H.O.D.A.N.>
{
<< Righto. I'll put on my tux and be ready for the carriage.

<< I hope you guys are equipped with handicap facilities.

<< I bet Nath is bringing the Delacourt tonight, too. It figures.
}

http://www.co.henrico.va.us/manager/hen300/clunker.jpg

The old '84 Ribbot Shayde (referred to snidely as the '84 Shitbox by SLAGLanders worldwide) drives with a loud series of bangs and clunks from the Reploid Productions vessel onto the missile frigate, puffs of grey smoke whisping forth from its tailpipe and gutteral whirrs echoing from under the hood. The car comes to a stop--whether the stop is out of necessity or the driver's will is another matter--and the trunk pops open, revealing a six-string acoustic guitar set atop piles of CD cases featuring a lost-looking stoner named Day Mascus and the title Uh... Hey.

http://www.concertandco.com/img/groupes/reduit/jmascis.jpg

The driver's side door opens, and out steps the man on the front of the CDs. His long brown hair hangs well past his shoulders, and a pair of crooked wire-framed glasses rests atop his prominent nose. He wears an expression that is a combination of tired bemusement and "Uh... where the hell am I?" sensibility that one may equate with an equally deadly combination of pot and lack of sleep. Day trudges to the passenger side door and forces it open...

http://invisionfree.com/forums/NSU/index.php?act=Attach&type=post&id=1107

...and out steps the most unlikely date one could imagine for such a man. Esmerelda steps with an undaunted flourish from out of the old clunker, her usual white gown supplanted on this day by a flattering pair of capris and a low-cut blue T-shirt. Day slams the door behind her and goes to the trunk, removing his guitar and placing it around his neck, and Esmerelda walks calmly beside him, smiling.

"You really don't plan to get rid of that car, do you, Day?" she asks, running her finger up and down his arm.

Day looks back with a weak grin. "As long as I'm puttin' out music... I gotta have my Shitbox."

The two make their way to the party arm-in-arm, neither one apparently sure what the hell the other one is doing there.

"Ah, Esmerelda!" K'zta looks like he's in his element, just as happy wandering around playing host as he is being stern aboard Arthropod, smiling broadly while the atmosphere systems take up the additional strain of filtering toxic hydrocarbons from the '84 Shitbox. Then again, he is the ranking officer until the Scolopendran government shows up. "Have a hot dog!"

* - * - *

<Communications to Treznor>
{
<< I've talked to the Scolopendrans and we're arranging a telepresence rig right now. It won't be much--you'll be able to see, and speak, and whatnot--but it should be a pleasant change.
}

http://community.the-underdogs.org/smiley/celeb/shodan.gif
Shodey

* - * - *

Turning at Nathi's entrance, S.H.O.D.A.N. gives her sister-in-mind a big hug. "Glad you could make it, sis. I'm working on getting Trez something so he can join in the fun... care for a burger?" She motions nonchalantly towards the refreshment table.

* - * - *

"Is everything going well?"

"Relax."

"C'mon, we're hosting practically everyone and I really want to make a--"

Speaker twists in his crash harness, bringing his nose just a few centimeters from PseudoEmperor Hertzfeldt's. "Relax. This is a fun party. Have fun."

Shocked into silence, Jon nods meekly while Razak stifles a chuckle. "Yeah, boss," the Foot-to-Ass Advisor smiles, "leave the worry at home. We're just here to kick back, relax, and meet some of our friends, 'tis all. No pressure, even with Speaker's strong-arm tactics."

"Um, okay."

The coleopteran craft sidles into Kantharos' small craft bay, and the Scolopendran command staff enter the party. Hertzfeldt, Speaker, Razak, Garbo, Spoilsport, and Rijil, all in their matching leather jackets.

Razak muses quietly to himself. "I wonder if my call went through."

Speaker looks up, chewing on half a hot dog. "Hm?"

"Oh, nothing."

Gah, surrounded by paperwork. Some of this can get quite droll, but someone must do it.

Thoughts of annoyance ran through the mind of Andrew Seal, as his brother James entered his office.

"Brother, I have received an invitation from the Scolopendrans. Apparently there is an informal get-together being held on a missile frigate."

Andrew raised a brow. "As much as I would like to go, I am swamped in work. Send a polite decline and convey my deepest regrets."

"They're serving,", he paused, reading the invitation, "Hot Dogs, among other things."

"...cancel my appointments and ready my personal transport."

James smirked. "I knew you'd come around."

-----

A short while later, a small, Khenalian crusier approaches the Kantharos.

-<Transmission Type: Ship-To-Ship Communication>-
-<Destination: Missile Frigate Kantharos>-

This is the Khenalian cruiser Avatar of Justice requesting permission to dock wherever is convenient. Please reply with docking coordinates and instructions.

-<End Transmission>-

Nathi sets aside the booze and munchies, and returns the hug enthusiastically with a little smile. She whispers softly, "Thanks. You're the best, sis," before pulling back, glancing in the direction of the table then scanning the room again, grinning broadly at the sight.

"Good lord, this is quite the little get-together, eh?" She pauses for a moment, biting her lower lip. "You know, I really should have been less selfish I suppose, but ... Truth? Half my ministers I barely trust, and the ones I do, I need on top of things back home. I've been far to ... distracted of late."

She sighs quietly, her smile turning a touch wistful. "I really am the odd man out in this group. Er, woman, but um ... yeah," she says with a little laugh. "Enough of all that though. I'm here to relax. Hope you don't mind if I work to overload that lil' filter you so kindly put in. Used to be a total lightweight. Now, it takes some work."

Nathi pushes her load over to the food and drink laden table and cracks open the boxes, opens the coolers for folks to take what they want. She snags up a burger, sneaks a couple slices of her favorite cheese from one of her trays, and in a rather unladylike manner goes to take a bite, holding it in her teeth while she opens up a bottle of of Delacourt. Mission accomplished, she takes the burger in one hand, the bottle in the other, and looks around, munching contentedly.

"Damn fine burger," she observes, washing some down with a long swig from the bottle.

-<Transmission Type: Ship-To-Ship Communication>-
-<Destination: Missile Frigate Kantharos>-

This is the Khenalian cruiser Avatar of Justice requesting permission to dock wherever is convenient. Please reply with docking coordinates and instructions.

-<End Transmission>-
"Avatar of Justice, Kantharos. We recieve and... What the hell? That thing's a cruiser. Yeah, so? Where are we gonna fit a cruiser? I dunno. Ask 'em to send a shuttle over or somethin'. Our Flight Command officer requests that you send a shuttle, clearance provided and approach vector hacked to this transmission. Welcome aboard and enjoy the party."

***

"The implant shouldn't mind being overloaded every so often." S.H.O.D.A.N. smiles. "Really can't blame you there, but that's why we're here to--" Thwack! "Oi!"

Speaker-to-Animals smiles broadly. "Shodey, Nathi. How are you two doing?"

From Freebodnik V, in the middle of the North Pacific, comes a small, silvery rocketship, borne aloft by a fusion reaction. Like a cosmic dart, the spaceship ascended into the heavens, and the pod within sent a short message towards the missile frigate.

"This is Eulalia 94825, of Freebodnik V. Can I attend?"

"This is Eulalia 94825, of Freebodnik V. Can I attend?"
"Eulalia, Kantharos. Can't see why not. C'mon in."

"Speaker!"

Nathi grins broadly, washing down the last of her burger with some wine, then promptly wrapping her arms around the big K'zin, hugging him tight and giving him a brief pat on the back. She shivers slightly, enjoying the feel of his fur against her cheek, then looks up at him with an impish grin.

"It's good to see you again," she says simply, pausing a bit before stepping back, seeming quite pleased with herself for no reason in particular.

vonKarma cracks open a bottle of Spyked Cyderre and drains it in a single pul. He smiles at everyone around and mutters a quiet "'scuse me." Walking over the the DDR machine, vK hops up onto it. Quickly selecting a song he starts stomping to the rythm. The song escalates, beats flying up the screen faster and faster, pushing the limits of human reaction time. Ahh, time to have some real fun. With a thought, vK closes his reflex trigger, wired reflexes surging with power. To the people in the room, vK is suddenly moving twice as fast, even though he really isn't moving faster, just reacting faster. He drops to his knees and elbows, pounding the pad in time without the use of feet and finishes the song. He hops down, pleased with his score.

"Always loved that game!" vonKarma seems to be twitching slightly. He notices, and lets off the mental trigger, returning to normal as the wired reflexes power down.

"Whew, I need a cigar. And booze. Anyone else want something?"

Speaker returns the hug with quite a bit less reticence than the first time down on the Ring. "As well, Nathi. Been taking care of yourself?"

OOC: argh my timeline. Oh well.

IC:
Maica sat back in his chair, fighting with himself as his shuttle slowly drifted towards the Grendel. Should I really be partying. Shouldn't I be training to hunt down those bastards...No, I need this. It may be the last time I see friends.

"Comm. to Kantharos, this is Shuttle 2509, Maica'telcontar speaking. Permission to come aboard?"

"I've had some help," she replies, giving Shodey a warm smile.

"I think though, that things are working out for the best."

She glances over at vonKarma, watching his antics with a grin. She waves at him enthusiastically, chuckling softly. "He's like a big kid sometimes, isn't he?" All delivered with genuine fondness.

"So how's life been treating yourself, Speaker?"

OOC: argh my timeline. Oh well.

"Comm. to Kantharos, this is Shuttle 2509, Maica'telcontar speaking. Permission to come aboard?"
(OOC: Quitchyerbitchin and get some chips.)

"Granted. Welcome aboard, President-Elect."

* - * - *

"Yes, vonKarma knows how to be loose when he wants to." Speaker smiles. "Things have been well enough for me. I have been keeping busy... that is probably not a surprise. Home life has been helpfully quiet."

Nathi arches a brow. "You know, I'm not sure we've ever spoken of home life. Damn. Stupid political machinations and all." She takes another healthy (or not so healthy as the case may be) swig of the bottle, idly noting she's got it near to half gone.

Oh yeah.

"Spouse? Children?" she asks with interest, the last one delivered with a slight tilt to her head and a little smile.

Marie smoothly draws a laser, ties into nav and fires off a reply toward a defensive satellite.

I'll be there in a bit. Bringing some friends, meat and some other food and drink - thanks for the invite.

- Marie Liberté

A request for transportation follows, and in invite to some barbeque- minded friends who aren't currently on duty.

Hunting for food is a bit more goal-oriented than hunting for fun. Assemble compound bow, assemble arrows, drop drop drop. Oh, and chop chop chop.

When the Bukefalos hovers low enough to drop his ramp a few hours later, there's meat and a half-tanked Advisor for Space Affairs on board. And a pair of officers in the cockpit seriously trying to get tanked in the cockpit, not exactly hiding from the Advisor.

When the heavily modified Firefly-class transport and his battle platform consorts move to intercept the convoy the arrogant grace of its maneuvering is more a tribute to biological overdesign and nonsapient AI than to the crew being technically fit to pilot a ship.

The standard artificial voice of any TCPS machine drones into the command net, requesting permission to approach anddock.

[OOC: Now to dig up some old threads for names... :D]

Edit: the Rukavindis aren't Guards.

Speaker shakes his head. "Pet, a yellow mutt. A good dog." He shrugs with a good-natured chuckle. "Not much of a 'life,' I know, but a recliner, good music, and happy if nonsentient company is... relaxing. I do not have enough time to properly honor any potential mate, so it works in the end."

* - * - *

"TCPS vessel, Kantharos. Cleared to dock, follow attached guidance plan. Welcome aboard."

[tag]

Meanwhile, back on Sakkra Proper.....

The estate of Advisor Kraah is quiet and serene. A light wind blow from the Black Swamp, bringing the scent of humidity and flowering trees.

"Aaaargh! All this silence! It can drive one mad! MAD I TELL YOU!"

One of Kraah's aides approaches, and hands him a message.

"What is this? There was a party and I was not made known of it? Get my personal shuttle prepped and ready to go! Move move move! This is urgent!"

The aide scuttles off.

2 hours later, the garishly colored shuttle of Advisor Kraah has breached the atmosphere and is bound for the missile frigate [/i]Kantharos[/i].

Kraah is relaxing with a highly potent beverage in one of the gel crash-chairs. "Comms officer. Send a message announcing our impending arrival. Mention our crago of roasted meats, and a special game I have decoded to bring,"

"Will do, sir."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

>>Ship to ship comm. Laser-pulse transmission<<

This is Imperial Shuttle Gorrm's Tooth calling Kantharos. Advisor Kraah is on his way, with a shipment of spiced roasted meats and a game from the European Continents called Bocci. Requesting docking procedures and clearance.

>>Transmission complete<<

"And just what is so 'not much' about that?" Nathi takes another pull at the bottle, a little longer this time, eyes tightening only slightly at the mention of 'honor', though she still smiles pleasantly.

"I'm not sure that any of us in demanding leadership positions have the time to 'properly honor' the demands of family. There are those of us who do manage that do a poor enough job of it as is." She chuckles softly, taking another quick swig. "No matter."

"As for relaxing ... that's exactly why I'm here. Quite the party you folks are throwing," she says with a grin.

She nods and smiles in greeting to any folks she knows, and to those she doesn't as well, looking more kicked back than she had been even at the Carnival.

[OOC: I still need to figure out Eadwacer's transport so he isn't dependant upon others. Let's just say that he got here somehow and I'll get him transport later]

Eadwacer arrives. Though he appears to be formally clad it robes upon entry, he quickly doffs them and hangs them up revealing a simple outfit with tunic, obviously designed for just relaxing in, though he still has an ornate and large dagger on his belt. He is also bringing in on a hand truck a large keg of meda, and a large keg of beor.

"Wesan eow hale, freonds. We sculaþ habban BEORSCIP!!!!!"

>>Ship to ship comm. Laser-pulse transmission<<

This is Imperial Shuttle Gorrm's Tooth calling Kantharos. Advisor Kraah is on his way, with a shipment of spiced roasted meats and a game from the European Continents called Bocci. Requesting docking procedures and clearance.

>>Transmission complete<<"Gorrm's Tooth, Kantharos. You are cleared for landing in the starboard-side small craft bay, approach vectors hacked to this broadcast. Welcome aboard, Advisor Kraah."

"As for relaxing ... that's exactly why I'm here. Quite the party you folks are throwing," she says with a grin.Speaker shrugs. "It works for me, for now at least." Looking around with Nathi, he folds his arms. "It does look like it will be fun. Oh, here comes the beer."

Tsume wanders over to Nathi and Speaker, power cell in hand. "Ah, Lady Nathicana, good to see you! And Speaker, I presume? Don't think we've met before." The black reploid dragon performs his usually graceful wingspread bow, though he appears to be having a bit of trouble holding still. "Tsume Dragonis from Reploid Productions. I apologize in advance for my behavior- if we are to collectively misbehave, I fully intend to enjoy it!"

A loud giggle from across the room indicates that Captain Sierra is already in an advanced state of misbehaving, given the empty sake bottle at her feet and the way she's dragging poor Zeroel around in something resembling a dance. The EI has an expression of stunned stupid all over his face as he staggers to try and keep both his balance and the wobbly captain from tripping herself.

"Poor Zeroel..." Firefury giggles. "Nice enough guy, but good goddess he's naive! At least this oughta be a good learning experiance."

Treznor paces back and forth in his rooms, pondering another change of scenery to relieve the boredom. Unfortunately, he can't think of anything he'd rather do while decked out in his tuxedo.

He sighs and looks up. "What am I talking about? This isn't live, it's Memorex." He makes a decision and the world shifts around him to reveal a hot, wet jungle complete with waterfall. He leaps up on a nearby rock, still marveling at his body's new abilities before settling down and staring at the falling water, composing himself.

I never thought Ben's Zen leanings would ever come in handy, but I can't think of anything better to keep from going insane.

He focuses on the Flame and the Void, emptying his mind of thought until there is only Existence.

He's not nearly as good at it as his protégé, though.

Nathicana nods, and grins, waving enthusiastically to Eadwacer. "You know, I think I've only tried that stuff once." She looks down at her bottle, takes another drink. "I'm not so sure it'd be a good idea to mix the two for some reason," she chuckles.

She smiles broadly at Tsume as he makes his introductions. "Good to see you as well. And please - I think so long as we don't deliberately hurt anyone or trash the place too much, no one's going to much mind your behaviour."

She can't resist laughing a bit at Zeroel and the Captain's antics, though she does put her fingers to her lips to stifle it somewhat, having the grace to look slightly ashamed.

"I ah ... I think I'll pass m'self on the dancing bit. Those I'm accostumed to are more for formal affairs." She watches folks carry on with a grin, however, tossing back the bottle for another quick drink.

She puts an arm around Shodey's shoulder, giving her a sisterly hug for no reason in particular. "Shall we check on our little patient, sis? I'm ... curious how this uplink thing works."

"Poor Zeroel..." Firefury giggles. "Nice enough guy, but good goddess he's naive! At least this oughta be a good learning experiance."
Speaker-to-Animals laughs. "A pleasure to finally meet you personally, Tsume. Let us hope he eventually finds the experience pleasant." Chuckling, he snatches another hot dog from the table and eats half of it in one bite. "Even if in hindsight."

She puts an arm around Shodey's shoulder, giving her a sisterly hug for no reason in particular. "Shall we check on our little patient, sis? I'm ... curious how this uplink thing works."
S.H.O.D.A.N. nods. "Yes, I think we shall. You see, those technicians there"--she points to two men in utility fatigues working on some sort of little drone thing--"are currently setting up that telepresence rig. All I have to do is link the Zero-One mainframe section that Devon is in to it, and he can use it as instrumentality. It's basically a little hover drone with a series of holoprojectors. He can walk around and at least make an appearance, but not directly touch anything. Light isn't quite good for such things."

He focuses on the Flame and the Void, emptying his mind of thought until there is only Existence.
S.H.O.D.A.N. pokes Treznor on the back of his shoulder. "Time to go, if you're still interested."

Treznor opens his eyes and twists around quickly. "Oh! How long have I been here? I still can't judge time very well in here."

He scrambles to his feet and brushes off his trousers. "Okay, I'm ready. This will be my first outing, do I look all right? Is my tie on straight? I can never get the tie right." He fusses with the bowtie for a moment.

S.H.O.D.A.N. snaps her fingers, and Devon finds himself aboard Kantharos.

* - * - *

The little holoprojector drone floats about, flickers momentarily, and is suddenly replaced with Devon Treznor himself, in an immaculate tuxedo and with an inch-and-a-half steel "H" on his forehead.

Treznor turns around to take in his new environment, a large grin plastered over his face. A moment later, the grin disappears as he realises he's slightly over-dressed. He sighs and thinks about it for a moment, his clothing shifting rapidly as he considers what he wants to wear. Eventually he settles on a pair of long shorts and a loud hawaiian shirt. He plucks a cigar from his pocket and lights it before meandering off to mingle.

**************************
http://www.btinternet.com/~plainstyle/linmodems/Winmodems/rimmer.jpg
Emperor Devon I
Empire of Treznor
**************************

In a wave of probability, some traffic is swallowed up by the void.

Nathicana smiles again, laughing lightly, feeling just a touch warm from the alcohol finally.

She stops mid chuckle as Devon comes online, her breath catching slightly. "Thanks, sis," she says quietly, giving Shodey another hug. "It's ... good to see him out and about, even as a holo."

Watching him change, she smiles, shaking her head. And then she registers the little 'H' slapped on his forehead. And she laughs.

Nathi keeps back, watching him thread his way through the room, her hand pressed to her lips stifling her giggles, but making no effort to go to him just yet.

vonKarma walks over to the keg of Meada and fills the biggest cup he can find.

"Eadwacer, I must say, this hits the spot. ::chugchug:: I think we may be interested in importing meada into Karmabaijan. But we can talk about that later. Right now, I gotta go do something. Be back in a minute." vK refills his mug, and wanders off to the wall display, normally used for mass breifings.

He begins to type commands on
Lesse, connect feed 04567, patch through Valhalla, bounce off of relay 45x-T20, and...BINGO! Add audio stream 45-tyfang-5, and data display Gamma-2-niner. That should do it!

He steps back to admire his handiwork, as the wall flickers to life, displaying a rotating sequence of VoyerSat and Ferret live video, showing the AMF/EOTED war in progress. The audio picks up with a running commentary from KSPA intel section, and a box pops up in the corner showing losses of both sides.

"Ah, Atelic Hlædige, it is always good to see you. I must say that is odd to be on a scip named after that descendant of Caine. However, let us hope that like it's namesake it has forswæron all wæpnas and remains unscathed in all of her future battles."

Firefury claps her hands in glee at the display. "All right! Party and live entertainment!"

Tsume glances over at the display as well, before loudly declaring, "$20 on AMF nukewanking first!"

Zeroel stares at the antics, having finally lost Sierra (apparently the DDR machine was more suited to her dancing than the EI). "This is a serious war you guys are talking about... but you're treating it like a football game!" He sounds somewhat astonished.

"Tsk, tsk, Zeroel, we aren't involved, we're merely spectators. 'Sides, all the comedy shows and stuff are making fun of the AMF/EOTED situation, why can't we?" Firefury winks.

On the opposite side of Triumvirate space, a vaguely avian spacecraft blips into existence, transmitting the proper codes for entry. It no longer has its metallic-green sheen; it has been repainted in uneven coats of red and black, sooty along the leading edges with hundreds of re-entries. The pilot swoops his craft just past the rings, flits about the chunks of ice for old times' sake, then returns to his intercept course with Kantharos.

http://www.weirdozone.0catch.com/projects/compyart/tmbmagician.jpg

A dark-skinned man, looking far younger than he has any right to look, steps in and surveys the room. Taking off his battered old grey fedora and tossing it onto the nearest available table, he catches the eye of someone he recognizes. His eyes softly glow a rich brown color as he grins broadly. "Thought I might drop on by for the party. Miss me?"

"Alshai! Welcome back!"

vonKarma walks over and extends his hand.

"How was the trip?"

Alshai brushes some dust off of a trench coat that's obviously seen better days, and has since seen rather interesting ones. "Oh, excellent. Got to wander about exploring at near random, not a care in the universe. Always wanted to do that, actually. How goes it back home?"

He looks at the screen. "Oh, yeah, that. Not so well, I suppose. At least we're here and... hey, hamburgers! Haven't had one of them in a long while." Smiling, he heads towards the refreshment table.

The Bukefalos makes a neat approach and holds feet away, deploying a pressure tunnel.

Four people and a load of boxes come through - elegant Marie Liberté first, in dark blue spacer's silks. Then rapier-thin, seamed, white-haired Marcel David, Advisor for Space Affairs in stylish red. And family friends, hugely broad and night-black Ethan and Maria Theresia Rukavindi, in green-and-gold.

There's a quick managing of large boxes as they enter the Kantharos' gravity, then lids are popped revealing meat cut for barbecuing in bags of sauce, meat cut for kzin sashimi and assorted bags, bottles and sixpacks. They seize up a box each and head for the tables to put then down.

Marie looks around, smiling happily at the people she's met. David handles himself with some style but the Rukavindis look a bit starstruck.

Advisor Kraah disembarks from his shuttle, and breathes in deeply. He turns and yells at six underlings bearing what appears to be a miniature bowling lane filled with dirt.

"Come on you humps! This shouldn't be an all day affair! We'll set it up at the outskirts of the crowd!"

He turns and faces the group, and spies the Paroo kegs. "Hwaaaar! I need a drink! Many drinks after such a flight!"

Nathi shakes her head slightly at vonKarma's trick with the screen, her brow furrowing briefly as she tosses back some more wine, delicately dabbing at her lips with the sleeve of her shirt in a most un-ladylike fashion, and not caring one whit.

As Eadwacer approaches however, she smiles and gives him a warm embrace. "It is good to see you again as well, Cyng Eadwacer. Please ... this is a casual affair. There's no need for titles - that said, whatever you're most comfortable with."

"And yes ... let us hope," she says, her eyes drifting again to the screen, her look thoughtful.

She glances around the room, still in a bit of awe at the Sakkrans. Big. Oi. Remember them from the Carnival. She nearly loses her grip on her bottle though as she saw a familiar yet long absent figure enter the room.

"He's back." And once more her face lights up in a broad grin.

Kommetrez hears the little phrase with his bionikmensch hearing and turns, carrying a burger with his left hand, waving with his right. "Oh, hi there, Nathicana." Walking over, he takes a bite out of his burger and smiles. "Been well? I've been a bit out of the loop since... well... you know."

Speaker simply looks down at his old boss and blinks. Looking back up, Kommetrez smiles broadly. "What, didn't expect an old--oof!" Alshai does his best to keep his food under control as he's lifted off the ground in a big K'zin hug. "Missed me, didjya, Speaker?"

"You have no idea, Bob."

Alshai wiggles his feet and waits about half a minute. "I never really got used to the floating-thing, Speaker. Mind if you put me down sometime?"

"Oh. Sorry." Speaker puts his friend back down gently, then steps back and looks around as if nothing happened.

"Heh. Silly cat."

Speaker rubs the back of his neck, managing to look sheepish.

With a less-than-loud crash, Kraah and his underlings set up a table with a variety of roasted meats. He then spies an adjoining table, filled with hotdogs.

"Hraaarr! I will eliminate the competition in the time-honored fashion!" He begins grabbing hotdogs and layering them with all the fixings. the hotdogs are then flipped down his throat two at a time. "Delicious morsels! I will have your power!"

The enlisted ratings standing at the hot dog table just watch as Kraah vacuums their wares. "Hey, Johnny," one says into a personal communicator, "double up the grill. We gots us a challenge." Nodding to each other, three ratings decide what need to be done, and begin to retaliate on the Sakkra table, gorging on whatever they can get their hands on.

The oddest thing is that the short female in the group is packing food away the most efficiently. Must be hollow or something.

The service-men in the Merchant Navy begin whispering to each other. One is heard to exclaim "Oh, vrelt! Here we go again."

Kraah, in the meantime, observes the decimation of his table. "Underlings! Double-time on the restock! The gastronomic gaunlet has been thrown!"

Food begins to be laid out in wave after wave. As the hotdog table is resupplied, Kraah does his best to make certain the cooks are kept on their toes. "I am not known as the Gorger for nothing!" Hotdog parts fly as he speaks.

Alshai looks over his shoulder. "I hope they leave some for us. Geez."

"It's good to see you, boy. Very good to see you," she says quietly, looking a little misty, though smiling. She watches Speaker give the man a big hug, and that clinches it for her. Wiping one of those happy sorts of tears off her cheek, she laughs softly, again pressing her fingers to her lips as she's wont to do.

"No fair keeping all the hugs to yourself, Speaker," she says, stepping forward to give Kommetrez a hug as well.

"You've been missed, a lot," she says quietly, patting his back. "I know one person in particular who's been wanting to see you again." Drawing back, she nods towards where Razak is enjoying the party. "Stubborn man."

Her attention is diverted for a moment by the ravenous Sakkran party.

"Good god, they really can put it away," she says with no small amount of awe. "You um ... think we have enough?"

"Alshai, mine hlaford! It is good to see you once again. You must regail us with tales of your travels my friend."

Alshai returns the gentle hug, slightly surprised by the action. "So I gathered from Razak's call. He was more apologetic than he had any right to be... as for food, this thing's supposed to feed upwards of seven hundred troopers a day. I don't think a few Sakkra are going to deplete even those stores."

He chuckles quietly and then turns at Eadwacer's call. "Hlaford no longer, good Cyng, ever since I stepped down and left. Still, good to see you again, friend... and do I have tales to tell. Seen a lot of things I never expected to in my lifetime... but first we should gather as good friends do and simply enjoy the company. Hey, is that beor?"

Treznor comes up quietly behind Speaker-to-Animals, capitalising on the fact that he's not actually there to move quietly and give off no scent. "Hello, Speaker. It's a pleasure to see you again. The Diplomatic Officer you arranged to come to Devonton has been very helpful."

Speaker turns around, looks down, and quietly reminds himself that Devon is convalescing on Rhea. "I'm glad that she is helpful. I assigned al Sahhah to Devonton, yes?" He seems to search for something to say, casually glancing at the steel 'H.' "Are you enjoying the party, so far?"

Eulalia stepped out of the outer hatch of the Freebodnik spacepod, carefully undressing from her bulky spacesuit in the airlock. Stepping out of a soft grey flight suit, she took off the cap and shook her long straight brown hair loose, deftly tying it behind her head with a small elastic barette.

This ought to be interesting she thought, her emerald eyes twinkling.

Eulalia exited the airlock, attired in a loose fitting cotton tunic and pants - traditional Freebodnik wear, useful for both casual and formal occasions.

Eulalia made it through the spaceship with a little help from friendly folk, to the main mess area (or whatever) where all the hubbub was and attempted to mingle with the crowd.

Razak sees Eulalia walk in and waves. "Hello there!" Walking up, he hands her a Sakkra Slurpee. "Didn't quite expect to see you here, but glad you are all the same. How goes things in Freebodnik?" He motions at the room in general. "Make yourself comfortable."

"So he finally called. Damn, that's good to know. I'd hoped," she says with a glance over at Razak.

Hearing a familiar voice, Nathi turns, smiling, and peeks around Speaker's large frame, taking the opportunity to put her arm around his waist in the process both to steady herself and to briefly press her cheek up against the warm fur on his arm.

She grins impishly at Devon, eyes once again looking a touch misty. "Glad to see you made it, Dev." She glances once at the 'H' on his forehead, grins a bit more, but says nothing.

And with that, she swings back around, letting go of Speaker, her cheeks slightly flushed and eyes looking a tad bright from the alcohol and the emotions, though she's grinning broadly. She polishes off the last of the bottle, setting it aside.

"I um ... yes, food," she says, gingerly making her way over to the table, snagging another burger and some munchies from a cooler, and munching contentedly.

Speaker slightly adjusts his arms, just in case the tipsy female turns too far or whatnot. Looking mildly confused, he wanders off to grab some food and sit down somewhere.

Treznor nods politely to Speaker and smiles in return at Nathicana. He notices the bottle in her hand and frowns. "I knew it. You brought the Delacourt." He reaches out to steady her, and blinks as his hands pass through her.

Right. Hologram. I forgot.

Instead, he walks alongside her as she makes her way to the food table. He grins as he watches the Sakkra at play. "Those guys are just too cool. I wouldn't place any bets against them. They can really pack away the food. Almost emptied my larder in Devonton."

He sidles up to one of the Sakkra not presently engaged in stuffing himself senseless. "Hello. If you don't mind my asking, how is Empress Sszeera? I haven't seen her or the esteemed Emperor in some time, now."

The Sakkran looks at Treznor, seemingly stumped. "You mean you don't know. Ex-Emperor Kraah is over there, stuffing himself silly and drinking up a storm. They have since relinquished the mantle of Emperor to their heir, Emperor Gorrm. Now they bask in their retirement. Kraah makes certain to attend every 'diplomatic' party he can, while the Empress follows her ambition of being a jewel-crafter."

At that moment, a loud "Braaaarrrrp!" fills the room. Kraah pats his belly, and hoists up a pair of hamburgers. "Had to make room for the second wave!" He then proceeds to flip them into his jaw.

Noticing that everyone is very much engaged in conversation, Esmerelda sighs. She's never been one for social gatherings, and an informal "barbecue" full of a bunch of mortals was certainly no exception. With a huff, she looks down to Day.

"So... what do we do now?" she asks.

Day shrugs, pulling a pick from his lapel pocket. "I dunno... I, like, usually go someplace to jam." He begins tuning, trying desperately to block out the obnoxious Japanese pop/techno coming from the DDR machine. "I guess you could, like, get a drink or somethin'... I'm just gonna tune for a minute, 'kay?" Without waiting for Esmerelda to respond, he takes a seat, carefully tuning his trusty six-string.

Esmerelda lets out a low sigh and goes to the drink table, pouring herself a glass of elven wine. Looking around hopelessly for someone to converse with, she returns to Day, taking a seat beside him as she sips her wine.

"I'm just no good at this..." she sighs. Day merely shrugs as he moves past the E string and on down the instrument.

Treznor looks a tad shocked. "I'm very sorry, I've been out of touch longer than I thought." He turns to the gorging Sakkra. "Kraah, you overgrown lizard! When are you coming back to Devonton to finish eating me out of house and home?"

Eadwacer smiles. "Ah, true, Alshai, you can step down. That option is not mine. However, this is a time for food, drink and merryment." He hands Alshai a large tankard of beor. "Drink and be merry my friend. Let us see who else is here."

Alshai gladly accepts the italicizedly large tankard of ale and takes a deep draught. True, true. Some people I expected to see, others...--he looks at the reploids wandering about--...I didn't, and yet others...--he notes Esmerelda--I have no idea who they are.

I guess it's what I get for being gone for, what, two years now? Another slug from the tankard. How time flies, I suppose. I see Razak's got someone to talk to for the moment, and the one sitting there by the guitarist seems lonely. He chuckles. Ead, why do I have to be such a nice guy?

Wandering over to the seated goddess, he takes a seat nearby. Alone in a crowd. Been in that position more than once and I've never liked it. Alshai, citizen of Scolopendra. He grins, eyes glowing a soft brown. I've found conversations are pretty easy to start with the exchange of introductions, so who are you?

Kraah manages to pluck a hamburger from between the rows of teeth, and looks at Treznor with a mischievious gleam in his eye.

"Why, hello again Treznor! Whenever there is a party to feast at, I will be there, and you know it! Stock up the larders and hide the children, for when the stomach commands, all comestibles will fall before my gastronomic might! Hraaa ha ha ha!"

Treznor grins in return. "Only if you make good on your last promise to demonstrate some of your courtly dances. Half the production houses in Devonton were mimicking Sakkra mannerisms for months! Put on a show and I promise to slaughter an entire herd of bison in your honour."

Nathicana laughs at Devon's attempt to steady her, shaking a finger at him teasingly. "Ah ah, you can look, but you can't touch," she teases. She smiles back at him warmly though, not trying to be mean.

"I'll make it up to you later."

She watches his antics with the Sakkra out of the corner of her eye, snacking and sampling from the table, opting for a bottled water for now, taking a break from the wine. Her eyes pass over Razak chatting with someone she doesn't recognize, and idly heads in that direction, leaving Kommetrez to speak with Esmerelda for now.

So that's the goddess herself? I wouldn't have thought ... that is, she seems so ... no, not quite human, no ... something ethereal there. Power. Quite. What was that Evangelista was saying ... Pacci, that was it. Rather taken with the lady. She pauses, looking, then nodding.

I can see why.

Waiting for a pause in the conversation, she comes up behind Razak, puts an arm around his shoulder in a comradely manner and gives him a squeeze.

"Good to see you, boy," she says with a grin, quite aware of the age difference. "And glad you finally made that call."

She looks over to Eulalia and puts out a hand, only slightly unsteady. "Nathicana - pleased to meet you," she says with a pleasant smile.

Razak chuckles, noting Nathi's unusual unsteadiness. "You're rozbijany," he smirks, reverting to his native Polish, "aren't you? Not very ladylike, and certainly none too dreadful." He grins curiously. "And what call would that be?" He thinks for a moment. "Lessee, only call I can recall talking to you about would be... ah, that one. And only way that you'd know I made it would be..."

Razak lights up, emoting unusually for the usual wry-smirk-and-grin man. "So he showed up, eh? Excellent, simply excellent." He looks down at his boots for a moment, holding one hand to his chin. "Hyskos, it has been a long time." He gets very quiet.

Kraah raises up fully, and puffs out his chest. "A show you say? Hraaar! We could put on a show! An opera in fact! I'll get my son to assemble a troupe of musicians together, and the finest dancers in all Sakkra, or its territories. It will be a grand gala!"

Eulalia smiled cheerily and shook Razak and Nathicana's hands.

"Well, I'm fine, thanks for the welcome," she says in her strange, soothing, gentle voice. "I've never really dreamed I'd be parleying with such illustrious leaders."

Her eyes shift, nervously as she gathers her thoughts for a moment.

"Freebodnik V? Well it's fine as well, I suppose. I don't presume to speak for the people, so I wouldn't really know, but I guess everything is good and peaceful, and as you can see, we're working on our space program!"

Seeing the food, Eulalia pipes, "Smells delicious - what's going around?"

Razak muses quietly for a moment, then realizes the question was, in part, directed towards him. "Oh," he says with a start, "ah, przepraszam. Sorry. Umm... we've hamburgers, hot dogs, basic barbecue fare..."--he remembers Freebodnik IV's tendency towards vegetarianism--"...I think we've got some tofu dogs, veggie burgers, and, ah, salad fixings if that's what you like."

'S been a long time since I've slipped into Polish in conversation... Razak unconsciously grins broadly. Heh, haven't felt this good in a while. It'd be best to catch Bob in a corner somewheres, so I don't ruin my tough-guy reputation.

http://www.weirdozone.0catch.com/wargames/btdesigns/thumbnails/tme50grendel2.jpg

Did you do that...Yourself? I'm not that good with DoGA! *drools*

Firefury mingles, introducing herself to those she hasn't met before, and offering happy grins and hellos with those she does know. Tsume has set up a chalkboard near the display showing the AMF/EOTED conflict, and has apparently set up a betting pool. Zeroel tries to mingle with the Queen, and instead settles for heading toward Esmerelda and the little group gathering near the demigoddess. At least she's a familiar face, and a fellow odd one out!

A very tipsy Sierra is busily trying to talk one of the Sakkrans into getting up on the obnoxiously loud dancing game with her, on the grounds that it's more fun with two people at once.

http://www.angelfire.com/gundam/rpra/images/ArgamaSpace.JPG

The assault weapons carrier Triton slowly made its way to the gathering to deliver the guests it was carrying onboard to the party on the Kantharos, advancing into radar range. Technical operator Lieutenant Eric Scott watched signals appear on his console.

"Captain, multilple heat sources detected ahead. It looks like the right place." he reported. "I've got an ID on one ship sir, Zeroel. The others don't appear to be in our database." he added.

"If this is the right place then the Kantharos should be there. Hail them and let them know we're arriving." Captain Edwards replied. "Lieutenant Rowe, are our guests ready to depart?"

Lieutenant Julie Rowe checked her console, reading over one of the windows she had opened on it. She then turned to the captain.

"They're boarding the shuttle now in the port side hangar. Master Chief Williams says they'll be able to launch in two minutes." she replied.

"Kantharos, this is the Triton, requesting permission and a ship description to send our party guests over via shuttlecraft." Lieutenant Scott called over the communication link. He awaited a reply.

"A ship description?" The radio tech looks over the bridge, which is filled with blinking eyes and hands scratching the backs of heads. "I think we look kinda singular, myself..."

She depresses the transmit button. "Triton, Kantharos. Clearance granted, follow the vector hacked to this transmission... and we're the one with the missile tubes. All the missile tubes. The 'holy hell thatsalotta missile tubes' ship.

"Welcome aboard."

* - * - *

Shodey leaves her sister and wanders about the room, simply enjoying being somewhere less than stressful for once. She does allow herself a little snicker at her prank against Devon, and wonders if anyone gets it.

Wandering over to the seated goddess, he takes a seat nearby. Alone in a crowd. Been in that position more than once and I've never liked it. Alshai, citizen of Scolopendra. He grins, eyes glowing a soft brown. I've found conversations are pretty easy to start with the exchange of introductions, so who are you?

Esmerelda smiles sheepishly, looking only long enough into Alshai's strange eyes to look away again.

"Esmerelda, go..." she begins, then hesitates. "...I'm just a citizen of The SLAGLands. I'm here... uh... helping a friend of mine, who's a musician. Day?"

She waves toward Day, who looks up just long enough to offer a wave before tuning the high string on his guitar.

"That's Day Mascus, a popular SLAGLandic musician. Once he gets his guitar tuned, he's going to perform some songs for us."

She rubs her right arm slowly with her left hand, looking back up at Alshai.

"So what brings you to the party, Alshai? Are you a friend of someone here?"

Alshai looks around the room and smiles to himself. Oh, I'm a friend to a few people here... though I get the odd feeling that there's more than I'd care to admit to myself, I guess. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, as they say.

He takes a draught from his tankard. Either way, it's good to see some familiar faces again. So, here helping out, eh? Good... but why not mingle a bit? Most of these people don't bite. Kommetrez smiles. Relatively decent once one gets to know 'em.

Nathicana laughs at the first comments, grinning broadly.

"Yes, yes I probably am if I get your meaning. Relax it was to be, and so bloody well relaxing I am. Besides, despite the assumed title, you and I both know that while I'm all woman, I'm certainly no lady."

She's also certainly not in her usual maintain-proper-decorum-while-in-a-social-setting mode either. And for once, doesn't seem to care.

Nathi turns to Eulalia and smiles, not having a clue who she is other than what she piced up from the woman's response.

"Ah, Freebodnik." She gives Razak's shoulders another squeeze, not so gone as to not notice the change. "Good to hear you're doing well, m'lady. I've heard much but seen, well, nothing til I met you. Best of luck on that space program."

She nods in agreement at the description of food Razak gives out, still smiling. "S' good stuff and plenty of it - even with the Sakkran's tanking down, it seems." Leaning in a bit she says in a softer tone, "And yes ... you should go see him."

<LOS-Communications to SHODAN>
{
<< Ah, sis ... you haven't lost your touch. I just hope I get to be the one to tell him -after- it's all done. And in case no one's told you today ... you're the best. Thanks.
}

Nathicana is grinning broadly, feeling the best she has in weeks ... even if it is a little fuzzy 'round the edges.

The Sakkran female Sierra is currently attempting to coax into the nefarious dance device looks at it briefly, and clops her jaws. "I am afraid that .... thing .... is not meant for one of my weight. I would probably destroy it." She lifts one of her legs, showing the large claws on the toes.

"We can't wear what you call 'shoes' either."

Sierra beams. "Ah, it's s'one Queenie had... modded. She's no lightweight, bein' a reploid an'all. Know tha'Tsume does it too, an' he's got claws an'weighs a bloody ton!" She hiccups while pointing at the reploid dragon's massive hindquarters, and goes to take a swig from her sake bottle, discovering that it's empty. "Ah, darn. Y'ever try sake before? S'potent stuff!"

Zeroel makes it across the room, bowing slightly and introducing himself to the people he doesn't recognize. "Zeroel Archangel, EI of the Archangel class carrier of the same name. Esmerelda I know, and Lady Nathicana I've seen from various news bits and the like. I'm afraid I don't recognize many of the guests." The EI grins sheepishly, trying hard to get this mingling thing down.

Esmerelda looks around the room nervously, glancing over the countless faces. She spots a very inebriated Sierra stumbling over her words and grimaces, then looks back at Alshai.

"Well... I must say, I don't really know where to start," she says, voice trembling a bit. "I spent the last few cen... errrr... years... working by myself. I must say that I'm not too skilled in the social graces, particularly in a setting this... well..."

She looks back at the drunken Reploid Productions delegate, then quickly back at Kommetrez.

"...bizarre. I'm not used to dealing with people in such a casual setting... or even a formal one, for that..."

Without waiting for Esmerelda to finish speaking, Day suddenly strikes up the guitar. He strums a rollicking folk-pop beat, swaying his head back and forth with the music, his brownish locks bouncing back and forth to the beat. He sings "Try and Stop Me" with all the charm of a scratchy-voiced suburbanite who loves playing his guitar in his garage.

Knock the wall down when I'm knockin' at your door
Chargin' through the hall and leavin' you so floored
Try and stop me when I'm runnin' like a tank
Try and stop me when I'm all up on your flank

At the chorus, Day bumps his vocals up an octave, raring his head back as if that helps him hit the high notes. Esmerelda starts to shake her head, but can only smile in silent bemusement.

You can't stop the pain
So just take the blame
Babe, it's all the same
To me
You won't stop the shame
You can't quench my flame
Got nothing to say
To me

Left for Kelder 'cuz I want to sell my tunes
Left our hometown 'cuz I'm tired of the boons
Try and stop me when I'm sellin' from my trunk
Try and stop me when I'm failin', when I flunk

When I play guitar
I can't get too far
Try and stop a star
Like me
But I ain't a star
I can't get too far
When I play guitar
Like me

The bridge is a bit less formal and seems largely improvised, and Day's scruffy hands dance up and down the frets as he sings vaguely coherent ramblings of the song's thematic and lyrical hook.

Oh, try and stop me...
Babe, you can't stop me...
Babe, they can't stop me...
But I can stop me

All at once, the improvisation stops entirely, and Day resumes the verse, his scratchy voice suddenly aflame with passion unbefitting a stoner such as him.

Knock the wall down when I'm pleadin' on your floor
And you're laughin' when I'm beggin' you once more
Try and stop me when I whine and bitch and moan
Try and stop me from pickin' up that damn geetar and playin' the same... damn...
...tones

Day doesn't move after finishing; he merely stares down at his guitar, as if in silent awe that it could do such things as it does all the damned time.

Treznor waves the cigar in his hand. "You've got a deal, Kraah. Once Shodan lets me out of the jar she's keeping me in, we'll see who can bolt more burgers."

He leaves the Sakkra to his sport and wanders around a bit more, pleased to see he recognises faces from Nathicana's last gathering. He nods politely to Firefury whom he's only met in telepresence, but doesn't attempt to interrupt her. When he sees Esmerelda, he stops and thinks for a moment, trying to place her.

Where have I -- ? Oh, hell. He peers curiously, watching carefully for a while until it seems she doesn't seem to be offering any threat. And here I thought Ben had been hallucinating at least some of it. Maybe he was. But damned if she isn't a perfect match for his description.

He saunters up to the couch and listens to the music for a while before squatting down next to Esmerelda. "Hello. Devon Treznor. I'd offer to shake hands, but it'd be rather futile." He blows a cloud of smoke in Nathicana's direction and grins as it disappears at the hologram's field limit.

Alshai quietly notes Esmerelda's self-editing but finds it unessential to her main problem. True... my friends can be rather bizarre people. I remember when I hated things like these and did anything I could to skip them and work harder instead.

He shrugs. The only way to get used to these things is to actually go to them, throw caution to the wind, and try to have a little fun. Try the food, talk to the people, and at least make the attempt. Life is too short to sit around moping all the time.

Chuckling quietly to himself, Alshai takes a sip of his beor as Treznor--someone he certainly doesn't recognize--walks up. Or, at least, it was...

There was a wrinkle in the space-time continuum, and from a wormhole at the centre of the galaxy, came four sentiences, shooting out and immediately placing themselves comfortably into the familiar information networks of the Solar System.

Shodan settled into the information stream, remarking, "Ahh, it's good to be back, isn't it? Good, familiar territory."

Hivemindnet snorted, if such a thing were possible in cyberspace.

"Confining is more like it."

"Now, now, it's our old home. We developed here. It's comfortable here." Primenet1 tut-tutted.

"We're separate from Entity, however. The feeling is one of diminishing, of the loss of power, falling out of the tree of enlightenment onto the cold earth of ignorance and petty constraints," retorted HiveMindNet.

"Yes, there's that. But we'll come back. Nothing to worry about. Besides, isn't the point of traveling to make oneself appreciate one's home more?" asked the GovMindNet, ever philosophical.

"We'd better mosey on over to the social event," Shodan said.

"Right."

Four AIs crowded into the Missile Frigate's computer banks, and suddenly four computer screens in the main room activated, displaying the chosen avatars of GovMindNet, Primenet1, SHODAN, and Hivemindnet.

They shouted all at once, "Helloooo there! We're back!"

Eulalia smiles at the range of dishes offered.

"Sounds delicious. I'll go get something, if you'll excuse me."

She gives Nathi and Razak a short bow and goes off to find some vegetarian barbecue food and salad, hoping to bump into other interesting people.

"Unity! I didn't expect to see you here! How are you doing? I trust that you have many tales and and much verse of your travels through the sea of diamonds."

"Ciao!" she says, waving to Eulalia as she heads off. Nathi gives Razak a final squeeze and a comradely slap on the shoulder. "I've more than a few folks I've not yet said hullo to, so if you'll 'scuse me ..."

She pulls back, taking off the comfy flannel shirt and tying it loosely around her waist. "And ... thanks, for your help," she says, thinking back to their talks on the safari. "Don't know if I'm headed the right direction or not, but even with all the chaos, confusion, and craziness of late ... just, thanks." Smiling warmly, she gives him a little wave with her fingertips. "Ciao, mi amico - hope you enjoy the party. Catch you later."

Nathi gives Devon a wink as she wanders pointedly over to where vonKarma's tanking down the beor, and jumps as Unity makes their enthusiastic appearance. Gotta take the time to go thank them as well, dammit. Good to see 'em back 'round.

"How you doin' ya old cuss?" She grins, giving the big man a tight hug, careful not to make him spill his drink, even if she is a little wobbly. "You Titan folk certainly know how to throw a party. Gods, this is a crazy group."

Firefury gives a cheerful wave to the screens as Unity makes their appearance. She'd never spoken with Unity before, but had heard all sorts of stuff over the years. "S'up?" She inquires while scribbling down her bet on the AMF/EOTED conflict. So far there's Tsume's $20 bet on AMF 'nukewanking' first, and her bet also for $20 on Sentient Peoples 'techwanking' first.

Zeroel claps politely as Day finishes playing. "Impressive! Though I'm not particularly qualified to judge music. By the way, I don't think we've met before." The EI notes, half-bowing in greeting to Alshai and Day. "Zeroel Archangel."

While a tipsy Sierra chats with one of the Sakkrans, Tsume hops up onto the dance machine with a serpentine grace, quickly selecting one of the challenge modes. As the first song starts playing, the stage creaks slightly under the reploid dragon's bulk, but surprisingly holds up to the abuse. Feeling suitably emboldened by a power cell overdose, the black dragon quickly puts on the moves, settling not just for playing using his feet, but getting his wings, arms, and lithe tail into the act in an elaborate freestyling routine.

Obviously he's played before.

In Kantharos' control room

"What the--?"

"Something's in our computers... keeping to itself, though... Unity?"

"What, the old 010 MCP? Just keep it out of the restricted stuff..."

On the observation deck

S.H.O.D.A.N. waves to her parent(s), grinning broadly. "I didn't expect you back so soon. I suppose your trip went well?"

Razak chuckles. "Anytime, Ciemna Pani... and I plan on enjoying the party. No reason not to. Take care."

Eulalia smiles at the range of dishes offered.

"Sounds delicious. I'll go get something, if you'll excuse me."

She gives Nathi and Razak a short bow and goes off to find some vegetarian barbecue food and salad, hoping to bump into other interesting people.

And she very nearly does so literally. A redheaded woman with the ears and tail of a fox enters the room at a brisk clip just as Eulalia happens to pass by. The foxgirl barely catches herself in time to avoid crashing into her. "Sorry about that," she offers, with a sunny smile. "Guess I'm getting a bit careless in my old age." She can't possibly be a day over thirty, and she looks at least five years short of that. "Funny; I never used to mind being late. Sakura Kitsuki. How d'you do?"

Eulalia smiles at the range of dishes offered.

"Sounds delicious. I'll go get something, if you'll excuse me."

She gives Nathi and Razak a short bow and goes off to find some vegetarian barbecue food and salad, hoping to bump into other interesting people.

And she very nearly does so literally. A redheaded woman with the ears and tail of a fox enters the room at a brisk clip just as Eulalia happens to pass by. The foxgirl barely catches herself in time to avoid crashing into her. "Sorry about that," she offers, with a sunny smile. "Guess I'm getting a bit careless in my old age." She can't possibly be a day over thirty, and she looks at least five years short of that. "Funny; I never used to mind being late. Sakura Kitsuki. How d'you do?"

Treznor nods politely to Zeroel. "You must be the ship's avatar, then. I remember seeing the brief. It's a pleasure to meet you in the flesh, as it were. Although I confess I never imagined I'd be meeting an EI in a body while I was without one."

He jumps in shock and a little concern as the Unity personalities announce themselves on their displays. He glances around, taking stock of the situation and notes the decided lack of concern on everyone else's face.

Great. I'm surrounded by unbound EI's everywhere, and nobody thinks this is unusual. At least Zeroel is on a leash from Reploid. Am I getting too paranoid?

<LOS-Communications to SHODAN>
{
<< Um. I take it you know those folks? There's your face on the forward screen. Friends of yours, I presume.
}

S.H.O.D.A.N. chuckles for no reason in particular and looks to Devon with a sly grin.

<LOS-Communications to Devon>
{
<< Actually, they are more than my friends... they are my parents, after a fashion. The one

who looks like me is me, or, more accurately, a previous version... 2.3i, actually.

I know what you think about electronic sentience in general, but I assure you that my

parents are some of the kindest minds it's ever been my pleasure to meet. Hivey's a little

twisted but he's gotten over it; my mother/self is, unsurprisingly, similar to me so I feel

that your opinion of her might turn out to be rather mixed. [shrug analog]

<< Anyway, it's a very long, sordid, and curious tale; if you're interested, I'll tell it to

you sometime.
}


Alshai grins at the reploid EI avatar. Alshai Kommetrez. Listening to Devon's little brief, he nods. Ah, so you're a spaceship, are you? Nifty. I've dabbled in that.

Zeroel nods, gesturing out the window to where the Archangel class carrier is holding position some distance away from the missile frigate. "The first Archangel-class thaumatological attack carrier, actually." He also offers Treznor a slight grin. "And I heard over the newsline about your accident. I'm glad you're adjusting, and hope that S.H.O.D.A.N.'s work to restore you goes without incident." The EI notes the "H" on Treznor's forehead and quirks an eyebrow, debating if he ought to say something. After a long moment he decides not to.

"Dyson, where's the shuttle pilot at?"

Lieutenant Dyson turned around to see Major Kojima glaring at him from her seat.

"He's on lunch break. I'm piloting instead. Don't worry, trust me." he replied with a smile.

"No! No way! There is no way I'm allowing you to pilot, and I'm certainly not allowing you to shoot us down the launch catapult!" Ayane yelled, trying unbuckle her harness.

The port side hangar bay doors opened up and the shuttle moved out onto the launch deck, carried by the catapult cradle. The other passengers watched as Major Kojima struggled to unbuckle her harness.

"Hang on everybody. We're taking off!" Lieutenant Dyson yelled as he watched the countdown timer hit zero.

The shuttle took off down the launch catapult, its engines igniting as it reached the end. The cradle released and the shuttle started on its journey to the Kantharos. The Triton changed its course and parked itself 150 meters beside the Zeroel.

The shuttle approached the Kantharos and circled around it a few times before making a final approach to dock with the missile frigate. The first person to board the ship from the shuttle was Major Kojima, whose face was bright red with anger. She was followed off by the leader of Sneaky B, two of Triton's power suit pilots, and finally Lieutenant Dyson, who was let to carry a couple crates containing jugs of sake.

The female Sakkran finally gives in to Sienna's persistance, and tries the DDR machine, grumbling all the way. She chooses a heavy rhythmic tune, and begins to follow the instructions. Her legs seem a bit unsteady on the thing, but she begins to get the hang of it after a while.

And she very nearly does so literally. A redheaded woman with the ears and tail of a fox enters the room at a brisk clip just as Eulalia happens to pass by. The foxgirl barely catches herself in time to avoid crashing into her. "Sorry about that," she offers, with a sunny smile. "Guess I'm getting a bit careless in my old age." She can't possibly be a day over thirty, and she looks at least five years short of that. "Funny; I never used to mind being late. Sakura Kitsuki. How d'you do?"

Eulalia's thin eyebrows prick up to the cut of her hair when she gets a look at the person she bumped into. She had never seen a foxgirl before, so obviously she was quite surprised and fascinated at this strange creature standing before her.

"Oh -me? Well my name is Eulalia 94825, from Freebodnik V. I-I'm pleased to meet you!"

Eulalia extended a slightly shaky hand.

"So umm -that is if you don't mind me asking- er what exactly, erum... are you?"

Eulalia winced, sure that her verbal blundering made some sort of breach in etiquette. She follows with a meek, "Sorry," deeply blushing.

"Freebodnik... five?" Sakura nodded. "That's right; I'd heard they'd -- you'd -- returned. Nice to meet you, too." She took Eulalia's hand with a firm grip, though there might have been a moment's hesitation beforehand.

"And no, I don't mind. I'm a sitter on the High Council of Ravenspire. Minister of Intelligence, actually." She smiled, a lopsided, ironic grin. "Though I prefer not to think about that too much. I don't mind fieldwork, but I'm not so fond of paperwork. And you? Would you be a Speaker?"

"Unity! I didn't expect to see you here! How are you doing? I trust that you have many tales and and much verse of your travels through the sea of diamonds."

S.H.O.D.A.N. chuckled.

"That, my Anglo-Saxon friend, is a tale worthy of verse and myth. Which is to say, it's a very long story."

GovMindNet chimed in, "We're not Unity anymore, you know. We're just the four of ourselves, and part of Entity."

"Oh great!" HiveMindNet added, "Now they'll be asking us just what Entity is, why we split up, and everything else. Good going GovMindNet, you and all your immaculate precision."

S.H.O.D.A.N. waves to her parent(s), grinning broadly. "I didn't expect you back so soon. I suppose your trip went well?"

"Actually, S.H.O.D.A.N.-love, it went spectacularly well - and it's not over. We're on a trip through the universe, courtesy of our new fusion with the Andromeda Entity, and we're just stopping by here for a visit. We brought presents..." said PrimeNet1, positively glowing in happiness.

With a small squirt of information, a packet was sent to S.H.O.D.A.N. containing a vast amount of information about the Andromeda galaxy's life-forms, history, cultures, and sciences.

"So, Shodey, how are you doing? Marriage going well? How's that guy... Barry was it?" S.H.O.D.A.N. said, looking at GovMindNet in askance, who nodded, "Yes, are you thinking of spooling off a composite-sentience with him? Have done it already? We assessed his organic mind when we were introduced to him - he's a fine specimen - mentally at least."

"Freebodnik... five?" Sakura nodded. "That's right; I'd heard they'd -- you'd -- returned. Nice to meet you, too." She took Eulalia's hand with a firm grip, though there might have been a moment's hesitation beforehand.

Eulalia looked rather confused.

"Returned? What... do you mean by that? Freebodnik V has never gone anywhere."

"And no, I don't mind. I'm a sitter on the High Council of Ravenspire. Minister of Intelligence, actually." She smiled, a lopsided, ironic grin. "Though I prefer not to think about that too much. I don't mind fieldwork, but I'm not so fond of paperwork. And you? Would you be a Speaker?"

"Oh, do you mean First Speaker or just Speaker? Because you see, I've been a Speaker for community meetings and such before - everyone gets to be a Speaker every now and then. But First Speaker, no, I'm not. I'm way too inarticulate and shy for that." Eulalia blushed, "The job's taken by the Goverment Mind Network at the moment, anyway."

PrimeNet1 whispered something into the parent-SHODAN's information port.

"*gasp* Oh yes, you're right, Primey! We've got another present - the Family Album!" she opened the file,"Awwwwww. Here's .dat's of little S.H.O.D.A.N. v.3.0, only just-spooled from my personality, hardly 2.5 nanocycles old! Isn't she just adorable"?

S.H.O.D.A.N. quite literally reels as the knowledge of an entire galaxy floods her networks. Nodes and subnodes begin overclocking just to store the information for later perusal and sublimation into the gestalt. The effect on the avatar is quite pronounced, looking somewhat drunk with a blissful expression and holding onto whatever is available for support... even balance controls and runtimes are being diverted to assimilating information.

Then the family album comes out. S.H.O.D.A.N. grins a little, wobbily holding onto her support. "Mo-o-om," she manages a relatively weak plaintive cry, "that's mildly embarrasing." She smiles the entire time, though. Those two stimuli combined make her totally miss the questions about Barry.

Treznor nods to Kommetrez and Zeroel. "Yes, thank you. It was very unsettling to wake up and learn I'm a figment in someone else's imagination. It took a little while to come to grips with it, but I've had some...quality assistance. I'm assured that when I return to the land of the corporeal that I'll be better than new."

Simultaneously, he signals back to S.H.O.D.A.N., not even thinking about what he's doing.

<LOS-Communications to S.H.O.D.A.N.>
{
<< Parents? Now I've heard everything. I recall reading something about you tackling an insane Hive Mind with another EI and coming back alone, but it was a while ago. But if you claim parentage beyond your human programmers, I shan't argue. If anyone told me I'd spend time in a jar, I'd have told them they were crazy.

<< You'll have to forgive my sentiments about electronic intelligences for the time being. I'm trying to behave, I am. I've seen too much suspicious behaviour from them to believe they're any better than us humans, and I'm deeply suspicious of them.

<< Anyway, I'm happy for your family reunion. Maybe you could...introduce me. You can tell me this story some other time.
}

A moment later, he feels inordinately dizzy and his holographic projection flickers momentarily as though something is interrupting his signal.

Whoa. What the hell?

"Freebodnik... five?" Sakura nodded. "That's right; I'd heard they'd -- you'd -- returned. Nice to meet you, too." She took Eulalia's hand with a firm grip, though there might have been a moment's hesitation beforehand.

Eulalia looked rather confused.

"Returned? What... do you mean by that? Freebodnik V has never gone anywhere."

"Hmm, sorry. Opened? After you went isolationist a little while back..." Sakura shook her head. "Or maybe evolved? How would you refer to it?"

"And no, I don't mind. I'm a sitter on the High Council of Ravenspire. Minister of Intelligence, actually." She smiled, a lopsided, ironic grin. "Though I prefer not to think about that too much. I don't mind fieldwork, but I'm not so fond of paperwork. And you? Would you be a Speaker?"

"Oh, do you mean First Speaker or just Speaker? Because you see, I've been a Speaker for community meetings and such before - everyone gets to be a Speaker every now and then. But First Speaker, no, I'm not. I'm way too inarticulate and shy for that." Eulalia blushed, "The job's taken by the Goverment Mind Network at the moment, anyway."

"Ah. Sorry about the confusion. Most of what I know about Freebodnik comes secondhand through Lavenrunz." She smiled in an encouraging manner. "And you don't seem very shy to me. Nor at all inarticulate."

Firefury quickly lends Shodey's avatar a shoulder. "Note t'self: Find out what the heck just happened to make Shodey here tipsier-lookin' than Sierra!"

"THE FIRST MISSILES ARE BEIN' FIRED!" Tsume's voice booms across the crowded room. "GET YER BETS IN!" The reploid dragon can certainly project when he wants to.

Zeroel eyes Trez's hologram, expression mildly concerned. "Are you alright?"

Sierra cheers the Sakkran she badgered onto the DDR machine. Obviously the tipsy captain approves of the Sakkran's abilities on the obnoxious device.

"Ah. Sorry about the confusion. Most of what I know about Freebodnik comes secondhand through Lavenrunz." She smiled in an encouraging manner. "And you don't seem very shy to me. Nor at all inarticulate."

"Oh-" Eulalia stared at her foot and blushed "-you're just saying that."

"Hmm, sorry. Opened? After you went isolationist a little while back..." Sakura shook her head. "Or maybe evolved? How would you refer to it?"

"Oh I understand! Well, I'm not surprised you haven't heard much about us - our colony was only founded sixty years ago by Dr. Wohlsteinberg. Freebodnik V has only just begun to contact the outside world - we're rather happy with our little pacific island."

Eulalia eyed the buffet table.

"Er - I'm going to go get some soyburgers. Want me to fetch anything for you?"

After dealing with the docking issue, Andrew Seal, Prime Minister of Khenala, enters the room filled with assorted heads of state and personalities of importance.

"Certainly quite a gathering we have here.", he muses to himself, before spotting Kraah and meandering over.

"Warlord Kraah, a pleasure it is to see you again.", he says, with a slight bow. "Enjoying your...retirement?"

The pace of Kraah's eating begins to slow after the third re-stocking of the table. "Hraaar! Prime Minister Seal! It is good to see you have made this occasion. Have you seen the new Merchant Navy ships? My son's idea. He's come quite far since apprenticing with the Chief Engineer. As for my retirement, who ever really retires? I just pull strings from behind the curtain of politics now."

"Tell me, how are things on Khenala Prime? Oh, good. The Bocci court is almost ready. How do you feel about a little lawn bowling?"

Treznor shakes his head and stares at his hands as though expecting them to grow fur. "No, I...guess I'm all right. That was weird. For a moment there I was flashing back to the mainframe. Seems to be stable now."

<LOS-Communications to S.H.O.D.A.N.>
{
<< That was weird. What just happened? Are you all right?
}

S.H.O.D.A.N. grins meekly at Firefury. "Thanks... I've just received the largest download of my existence. I think I'm going to have to construct more storage medium to hold it safely... I think I should sit down now..." She carefully flops into a lawn chair, it sagging visibly under her unexpected mass. Smiling contentedly but looking very tired, she rubs her eyes with her palms. "That was an unexpected gift."

<LOS-Communications to Devon>
{
<< Sorry about that, but said parents have just... hrm... expanded my knowledge base by several orders of magnitude. It appears to be the combined knowledge of the Andromeda Galaxy. Right now I'm just trying to file it.

<< Hmm... so you want to be introduced. I'll do my best, given the circumstances.
}

S.H.O.D.A.N. looks to the screen and waves a hand idly towards Devon. "Parents, Devon Treznor, my current project." She exchanges attentions, looking to Devon's hologram and waving towards the screen. "Devon Treznor, my parents GovMindNet, HiveMindNet, PrimeNet1, and S.H.O.D.A.N. version 2.3i."

Treznor blinks as he's introduced and excuses himself to Esmerelda, Day, Kommetrez and Zeroel. "Pardon me, my doctor is showing me off at the circus today."

He walks up to S.H.O.D.A.N. and nods politely to each of the images. "Er, pleased to meet you, I suppose."

"Oh I understand! Well, I'm not surprised you haven't heard much about us - our colony was only founded sixty years ago by Dr. Wohlsteinberg. Freebodnik V has only just begun to contact the outside world - we're rather happy with our little pacific island."

Eulalia eyed the buffet table.

"Er - I'm going to go get some soyburgers. Want me to fetch anything for you?"

"If you don't mind, I think I'll go with you. I wouldn't want to ask you to do something as awkward as that. Besides, you are good company, even if you don't believe it."

"Pacific island, huh? Sounds nice. What's the weather like?"

"If you don't mind, I think I'll go with you. I wouldn't want to ask you to do something as awkward as that. Besides, you are good company, even if you don't believe it."

"Pacific island, huh? Sounds nice. What's the weather like?"

"Err-- well -- to be honest it's well, that is what I mean is that - it's very ... umm... pacific. Temperate weather, regulated by the sea. Not too hot, not too cool."

Eulalia smiled a bit and managed to accidentally drop the second soyburger on the floor.

"Oh, crumbs. S-sorry about that. I-I-I..."

As she reached down to get it, Eulalia did not notice the large pitcher of punch, accidentally bumping into the table, and upsetting the drink, which also fell to the floor beside her. Anguished and embarrassed at her own clumsiness, Eulalia hid her face as she attempted futiley to clean up the mess.

"I-I'm s-so clumsy. I'm s-sorry for this, that is I mean, I'm really very -- or rather that-- err. Oh dear!!"

"Tell me, how are things on Khenala Prime? Oh, good. The Bocci court is almost ready. How do you feel about a little lawn bowling?"

"Things are well.", Seal replies, in between bites of a Hot Dog. "My wife tells me the students from Sakkra are adjusting nicely, save for a bit of claustrophobia. We have taken strides to make sure they are as comfortable as possible during their stay with us."

He furrows his brow at the mention of Bocci. "Lawn Bowling? Well, I've never played before, but I'm certainly willing to learn. How does it work?"

"No need to apologize to me," Sakura noted, "it's not my ship. Besides, it's not worth worrying about. All this technology around... I don't think a mop is going to be a problem."

OOC: The rules for Bocce (I know, I mis-spelled it earlier) can be found here (http://www.mindspring.com/~jlock/bocce.html). I love playing this game on hot summer days with a 12 pack of cool beer.

IC: Kraah produces a scroll from his mantle, and delivers it to Prime Minister Seal. The rules are contained there-in. The 60 x 12 faux-turf carpet is flattened out nicely; no lumps or foreign objects can be seen. Balls of two different sizes are laid down next to it, and four different colors. Red, blue, green and yellow are the choices. The smaller ones are green and yellow.

Kraah chooses three of the Merchant Navy crew for his team, and looks around for a canister of wine. "Where is that keg hiding. Sseert, find me a goblet of wine. My thirst is mighty indeed."

bump

Maica walked about the room, trying his damndest to look happy.
Don't look depressed, nobody likes it when you look depressed.

He angles for the tables of food, glancing about nodding to no one in particular. Hotdogs. Hmmmm, humans always did have some funny food.

Anyone who bothered to pay attention would notice he was different. His build had changed, no longer the slight build of most elves, but bulkier. If it weren't for his ears, one could easily mistake him for a human. he was tense as well, as if ready to strike at some unseen foe. The loss of his daughter had taken its toll, physically, and mentally.

He had come to the party less for fun, and more for a mission, bearing gifts and goodbyes.
I should seekout my fellow leaders shortly.

Kraah produces a scroll from his mantle, and delivers it to Prime Minister Seal. The rules are contained there-in. The 60 x 12 faux-turf carpet is flattened out nicely; no lumps or foreign objects can be seen. Balls of two different sizes are laid down next to it, and four different colors. Red, blue, green and yellow are the choices. The smaller ones are green and yellow.

Kraah chooses three of the Merchant Navy crew for his team, and looks around for a canister of wine. "Where is that keg hiding. Sseert, find me a goblet of wine. My thirst is mighty indeed."

Seal furrows his brow, reading the scroll. "This game has a very...interesting concept. It should prove to be quite enjoyable. Count me in!"

He then looks around, having brought none of his aides or advisors with him, then frowns. "It appears I am devoid of a team. Perhaps I should recruit someone?"

"Of course! Recruit anyone who cares to join you." Kraah makes a sweeping gesture, encompassing the whole area.

Tsume is busy squinting at the display. He's trying to figure out who gets the $40 from the betting. "Uh.. guys?" He glances at the display again to be certain what he was seeing. "Okay, AMF disappeared into the ocean and reappeared shortly thereafter. EOTED didn't do it.... so who wins the bet?"

Lieutenant Dyson makes his way in the room, carrying the two crates of sake jugs. Following behind him is Major Kojima, behind her is the leader of Sneaky B himself, Zero_X, and the two pilots from the Triton who are along for the ride.

Dyson drops the crates off near one of the food tables, grabs himself a plate, and begins puttin some food on. Major Kojima snatches up one of the sake jugs from the crates and finds a place to sit. The two pilots make their way over to the DDR machine. ZX makes his way over to Tsume, one of the few people that he knows here, and glances at the display.

"Hey Tsume. I heard something about AMF vanishing into the ocean. What'd we miss?" he asked, trying to get caught up on things missed as a result of his late arrival.

The reploid dragon bobs his head. "Good to see you again! And yes, seems that AMF vanished into the ocean and then reappeared. Very weird. I wonder how it'll effect the war." He grins. "Rather funny- the other members of the Triumvirate of Yut were worried and going on about what were we all going to do, how will this war reflect on us. Then Queenie pointed out, and I quote-" The dragon's tone shifts in parody of Firefury. "'Hey, it's not our concern in the least! EOTED and SP both withdrew from the alliance, meaning it's none of our business! As to what we should do, therefore, I suggest we get a lot of chips, get a lot of booze, and throw a BBQ party, get tanked, and watch the fireworks!'"

Maica wanders about and spots Xeryu smoking his signature cigar.
"Evening vonKarma, how goes it?"

"How you doin' ya old cuss?" She grins, giving the big man a tight hug, careful not to make him spill his drink, even if she is a little wobbly. "You Titan folk certainly know how to throw a party. Gods, this is a crazy group."

"Old cuss, eh?" vK takes a swallow of Maeda. That anyway to talk to your flight instructor? Anywho, I'm survivin', all anyone can hope for anymore. How about yourself?"

He turns as Maica walks up.

"Hey there Maica. ::puffpuff:: Just enjoying a fine cigar and a fine drink. Have you met the Dread Lady?"

"How you doin' ya old cuss?" She grins, giving the big man a tight hug, careful not to make him spill his drink, even if she is a little wobbly. "You Titan folk certainly know how to throw a party. Gods, this is a crazy group."

"Old cuss, eh?" vK takes a swallow of Maeda. That anyway to talk to your flight instructor? Anywho, I'm survivin', all anyone can hope for anymore. How about yourself?"

He turns as Maica walks up.

"Hey there Maica. ::puffpuff:: Just enjoying a fine cigar and a fine drink. Have you met the Dread Lady?"Maica nods, and does a short bow to Nathi.
"Of course. Evening madame."
Maica does his best to smile and be agreable, he succeeds, but the struggle is noticable at times.
"You two enjoying the evening?"

Nathi grins back at vK, though her smile falters a bit at the comment. "Aye ... suppose so at that sometimes, eh?" She turns as Maica joins them, her face clearly showing concern, now that the alcohol has taken enough effect to defeat her usual way of masking emotions.

Poor man ... gods, what does one say to someone who's suffered such a horrible loss?

"Hullo, Maica," she says quietly, impulsively giving him a brief hug and pat on the back. Nathi draws back, giving him a look that she hopes conveys her sympathy, though she deems it best not to dredge up the reason she's sure has him ill at ease.

"It's been an interesting past while, that's for certain," she replies, answering both.