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Post by Jakob on Sept 6, 2008 22:52:19 GMT -4
Philip opened the door to his parents' house. It was dark as last time, except darker due to the fact that it was early morning. The sun didn't even rise yet.
It was still as empty as ever. Even after a thorough search, he didn't even spot anything human. Everything even acquired a fresh, though thin layer of dust.
It didn't make sense. Something was definitely wrong. Philip even checked his Parents' own room, and they weren't there.
It was almost as if they were kidnapped. If they were, no human would be able to take them both and leave without a trace. The only exceptions are if it's a Mafia-like gang, or if the Cluster was more clever in their kidnappings than the ARKS thought.
If it was the former, then that would add another objective to the ARKS mission. The results would include an improved society, humanity's greater confidence toward the ARKS, and it would take a big plateful off of Jenny's crime-fighting hands.
If it was the latter... then it wouldn't make much difference. After all, the ultimate goal is to bust out every human from the Cluster's iron grip. It was most likely the latter, as Philip couldn't think of any reason why a human gang would want to kidnap his parents of all people. They were never anyone special. In the sense of any other Average Joe, they never will. The unfortunate semi-true fact that spawned with greed.
Philip shook his head and left, locking the door behind him again. He then made his way toward the school. He seemed to have spent longer at his house than he expected.
He walked onto the pavement, his dull gray steel exoskeleton shone slightly with the morning sun glinting over the horizon. Jakob soon arrived as well. They were the first people to arrive. Jakob and Philip nodded a greeting to each other and sat down beside the doors.
"What time is it?" Philip asked.
"Six thirty-eight, in the morning."
"When did school start... half-past eight?"
"Yeah."
"Two hours to kill."
The first hour was silent. Then the humans started to flock to their legally-bound education building. Amongst the early birds was Jenny, who was followed by the orange-red-haired kid yet again. Then again, they were best friends, so it's hardly surprising. No life form, be it natural or artificial, would hang around their friends for repeated days on end. Cravings for being alone will always arise.
Then again, when Philip thinks about the past, humanity is unpredictable, and anything can happen. Jenny and her friend spotted the robotic duo and walked toward them. The short, black-haired hoody-donned boy also arrived... Sheldon, was it?
Philip remembered, and wondered if Jakob did as well. Shelden and he used to be partners for Workshop, mainly because Philip never liked partner jobs and he ended up with the last choice, thanks to the ignorant teacher with gigantic lens-equipped glasses. Sheldon was a good kid, but since the Robot Girl arrived there one morning, Philip couldn't help but notice that Sheldon seemed to be entranced every time the robot girl was around.
Sheldon told the story to Philip... twice. Something Sheldon never seemed to do unless asked to repeat himself. The three douchebags that occasionally pestered them regarding Shop homework decided to pick on Sheldon while Philip was at the bathroom. The robot girl apparently re-arranged their sockets and made them eat their own homework like the dogs they are.
It always strikes Philip as odd though. Humans and anything not human were never naturally meant to be, especially if the non-human was a robot. Then again, there are cultural groups out there that have so-called "strange" and "unfamiliar" fantasies that either weirded-out, or simply grossed-out the average population. Philip never cared though. If they didn't affect him directly, it's nothing he should worry about.
The thing that sickened him more was the fact that there were others that acted the exact opposite, irregardless if they weren't even talked to by one of the "unfamiliar" humans.
Throughout this philosophical thinking, Philip missed over half of the conversation. Jakob seemed to be shocked, in a sense. Sheldon and Orange-Red-Hair seemed to glare at Jakob. Jenny seemed disappointed in general.
"Sorry, I spaced out." Philip said as Jakob turned toward his counterpart, "What happened?"
"What happened is that your violent friend sent Don Prima to the hospital." Sheldon replied. Anger was present, but minimal at that.
"The hospital?"
Philip felt horrible now. The only reason Jakob actually did such injury was because he was in a hurry, and he was in a hurry because of Philip. Any other situation, Jakob would have taken his time and leave Don standing with bruises.
From what the others told Philip, Jakob inflicted a fractured jaw, multiple broken bones in the right hand, lacerations in the stomach, and minor internal damage. Not only that, but the smack-down that knocked Don Prima out dislocated his left shoulder and sent him into a coma. Nothing a good doctor couldn't fix, but it was definitely serious. Don Prima would be out of the coma in a predicted four weeks.
Four weeks... Don Prima is a world-respected human, considering his parties are "World-famous." It would definitely hurt the ARKS' reputation if it became hugely apparent that one of their key members severely injured a high-class human.
This could complicate things. The worst of it all: Philip is the primary cause.
-----
Cluster Prime. A prime metaphor of the invention known to human girls as "makeup". On the outside, it looked beautiful, but easily artificial. On the underside, it's commonly dark, not so pretty, and holds secrets even the mask itself doesn't even know.
The prime example: the Behind-the-Scenes district led by the Warden. The queen, though actually having great power, was ultimately a figurehead. The Warden was the real leader behind the Cluster, or more precisely, the army it's equipped with.
The Warden lived through World War R and many other conflicts, with the blood of many on his hands and the experience of all combat chiseling his titanium shell. He had seen all, and he is a quick thinker. Leadership was something he will never lack. However, Vexus ruled the Cluster for over two thousand years. If not for the fact that her daughter Vega existed, the next one to take the throne would be the Warden himself.
He never liked Vexas, despite his never-fading obedience. Her leadership skills sucked and she had even worse charisma. All she is is a bag of taunts obsessed with the XJ-9 menace's cooperation with the Cluster. Even the Warden knew that the robot girl would never join the Cluster, no matter how much she's battered.
A foolish queen is far worse than no queen at all, even the Warden knew that. For reasons even he could not fathom, the public loved her. If he would have to remove her, it would have to be flawlessly, without incident, and followed by his instigation of ruling the Cluster completely.
It would be a plan of tremendous complication. The simplest solution would be something quite obvious:
Terminate the ARKS, and XJ-9 with them.
He would have to get this plan set up first. The XJ-9 is incredibly dangerous, even to Vexas, let alone the Warden. The ARKS are not as much of a threat, but they comprise of specialists. From what he knew of reports from his soldiers, the Retired one is a crackshot with any sniper rifle, and a veteran from World War R, able to kill a robotic squirrel hiding in a tree from across the park in Epsilon, the biggest park on Cluster Prime.
Citizen 5700, "Jessie" is a medical official well-known around many planets for her skills with robots and organic beings alike. The physical systems education teacher is one whom the Warden doesn't know about yet.
As the Warden saw the Captain enter his office again, he knew that was soon to change.
"Any news on the third citizen?"
"He's known to the staff of CP High School as Terrace Yoral." the Captain replied, looking through his memory banks quickly.
"Okay then, who is this Terrace?"
"He used to be a military trainer throughout the aftermath of World War R. Highly skilled in firearms and explosives, from when I looked through the military records."
"What else?"
"He also has a camouflage generator, something we only equip to our Stealth units. He's also known to be a bit of a grease monkey and mechanic prior and even during his military years."
"Gifted multi-tasking character, isn't he?"
"He quit the army soon after, making a comment that "World War R should remain the last war ever." He then went to CP High to teach the next generation, also making a comment that "the young ones should be taught what is right, and what is right is that wars should never happen again."
"Sounds like a pacifist."
"Hardly, by reports, he is the one who currently has the most kills against our forces out of all the ones we have seen."
"Speaking of... How many have we seen? Remind me."
"Not counting Seven-Nine-Nine, we have seen four."
"So that's Terrace, Jessie, the sniper called "Orange". Who's the last one?"
"We managed to get photographic evidence by a good Samaritan. There's no doubt about it."
"About what?"
"It's Jakob, sir."
"Jakob..." the Warden knew the name well. the Jakob fellow used to be an associate of the XJ-9, Embarrassing the Warden's invasion squads a few weeks ago with a can of spray paint and a Bunsen burner. Despite the cleverness, most of the surviving soldiers that heard of the maneuver made the Warden and the survivors that were involved laughing stocks back at the HQ.
"He's associated with the ARKS."
"That news goes to no one. The only one to be informed should be the Queen and the Queen only. Do you understand?" the Warden growled. The Captain could easily see that he pushed one of the Warden's forbidden buttons. He quickly nodded and ran out.
Of all people, that violent bastard, the Warden thought. This was going to complicate things. He knew what Jakob was capable of. That combined with the efforts of the ARKS and the fact that he's reunited with the XJ-9 made the Warden's ultimate goal appear even more difficult than it already is.
He'd have to think carefully, and target carefully. The future of the Cluster as a power throughout the galaxy rested on his shoulders.
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Post by Jakob on Sept 9, 2008 23:49:31 GMT -4
Remove ARKS from existence, terminate XJ-9. If successful, the Warden would make himself a big name throughout Cluster Prime and more. It would easily make him a flawless leader should the Queen and her daughter get terminated by well-planned, yet still unknown means.
He always has good luck with starting on the harder jobs, so he began to formulate plans to kill the threats still residing on Earth. It would take a while, but the price of time paid would be nothing compared to the result.
-----
Everyone seemed to glare at the duo as school was about to start. More Jakob than anything, but Jakob could tell that they were despising robots even more because of the short-term danger they seemed to present. Then again, injuries that could heal with time are never worse than life-long slavery or something as unstoppable as death itself.
Humans seemed to not think of the long-term effects. If they did, they didn't seem to respect it. Ungrateful meatbags... Jakob grimaced.
Classes were same as usual. Yesterday was Thursday, but this was Friday. Weekend was coming, meaning that Jakob and Philip would soon have to catch up on their missed work. Jakob most likely worked on his on his free time, but Philip didn't even start.
The only thing about the classes were that Philip seemed to be noticed; something he never experienced. He didn't like it. It felt like being a celebrity, except mild-mannered, and not insane. Philip was never a fan of celebrities, let alone the fact that he apparently is one now.
If only the paintball game had gone as planned... if only the Cluster didn't attack on that day... If only the Cluster didn't have to get formed...
If only the Humans didn't despise the robots for being different, causing those beyond rampancy to band together as a species. If only World War R never happened.
What was he thinking? putting blame on things that already passed? Hoping that it was different in a futile effort. Rampancy is a fickle thing. If only this Anger stage would get by sooner. He'd then be mentally stable, so he could think more clearly without distractions.
Too late, Lunch time already. Philip sat with Jakob like usual. Everyone stayed away from them, while shooting mean glares.
"I doubt saying sorry would even change anything." Philip muttered.
"There's no way I'd apologize to the one who started it. Besides, he wanted to fight me without hesitation, so I fought back. It's only instinct." Jakob replied as he drew in some sketchbook. Philip couldn't help but marvel at the realistic shading over a wide assortment of familiar characters to those that look nothing like anything any human could have ever seen.
"What got you into drawing?" Philip asked.
"Nothing, really. I just like it."
"No actual, deep reason?"
"Nope. Definitely something you don't see in movies, eh?" Jakob asked as he turned back to his drawing.
"I guess not." Philip muttered as he got back to drinking the motor oil Jakob brought. Philip slowly grew a taste for the black sludge. It didn't seem to be bad for him. Although if he was a human, it would kill him within minutes.
Well, one objective down. Another few to go, plus a few more. this was definitely something the ARKS never expected, nor appreciated.
Soon, the next classes came. It was more Deja vu than anything, except only slightly different lessons, and the fact that people occasionally threw glares at the duo. Even the robot girl, the only one actually able to sympathize with them, joined in the glaring. It was hard to figure out why she would be like that. Could be be another case of Rampancy?
Impossible. From what they knew, the XJ-9 unit was not mistreated by handlers, only bullied by those who were too stupid to know better than to not tolerate those of a different species. Then again, thinking of it that way turns "impossible" to "probable". They would have to consult her creator.
Meanwhile, Philip needed to see something. The bell soon rang, indicating the end of the school day. They both left and parted ways. They would later meet up again at Time.
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Post by Jakob on Sept 10, 2008 21:59:38 GMT -4
Jakob walked to a direction Philip never expected Jakob to go. He figured that Jakob would keep Philip informed about what he's going to be doing and moved out as well. After all, Philip is going to be doing the same thing, except a different direction.
Where Philip walked to was the Paintball place that his team was last at before the Cluster attacked and Philip was pulled into this whole mess.
He stood in the ruined cottage. Paintball equipment was scattered everywhere with differing levels of damage, dry paint splattered across what was left of the Paintball storage vats, and corpses remained. It was as if Paintball was a dying sport. Not even the authorities knew about the destruction that took place here.
He recognized the body of the guy who always stood at the counter. His blood was already at the darkest shade of red that blood could possibly turn to, and the bugs were already decomposing the dead. Same thing with all of the Paintball players that still lay outside the two doors.
Once Philip got back, he'd have to inform someone about this. He'll have to tell Jakob at least.
After looking throughout the corpses, he noticed that one was missing. There were five altogether that were abducted, but from the overall count, six were missing.
Philip noticed disturbed ground around where the missing person would have been. Philip followed the crushed grass, snapped trigs, trudged-around dirt, and damaged foliage until he finally came across another body. The one was one that was part of Philip's group. After a quick check for pulse, the kid was confirmed to be dead as well. Philip cursed under his breath. Screams for help were a lot like trees falling in forests. They make sound, but it never gets anywhere, and no one hears it.
Philip shook his head again, and closed the already-opened eyes of the dead paintball player. He then left. He couldn't bear the sight of his dead friends. The only friends he had before this damned ordeal.
-----
"You again. I heard about what you did."
"He asked for it, trust me."
"I never liked egotistical people, but that alone does not entitle someone to be sent to the hospital for four weeks."
"For your information, my friend Philip..."
"What do your "friends" have to do with you critically injuring a human?"
"...undergoing Rampancy,"
"I don't ca- Wait... Rampancy?"
"Yes, and he's currently in the Anger stage."
"Explain."
Jakob explained the entire situation during the fight to Dr. Wakeman, who seemed to know what Rampancy is very well. After all, she sent Jenny to school. Not only was it out of her wishes to become "human", but it was also a way to reduce the fatal risks of Rampancy when it comes from her.
"Your friend, where is he?"
"He went off on his own, after reassuring me that he wouldn't get close to any humans. He'll make his way back to our ship as well."
"I'd like to speak with him in that case."
"You're better off coming with me anyway. We could use a second mechanic to get Time back in working order."
"I'll call Jenny. She can help as well."
"Might as well. We'll need your help anyway."
Jakob nodded his head and saluted a goodbye to Dr. Wakeman, who remained standing at her doorstep, most likely thinking about the idea of Rampancy.
Jakob would have to get to Time. He moved into a jog and passed a couple of blocks before passing by Mezmer's. Jakob stopped, thought for a moment, and then entered. He was craving a Sundae. Considering the past events, what was the worst that could happen?
The worst was that everyone, even Mezmer, despised Jakob. Jenny, her orange-red-haired friend, and that Sheldon fellow were the only ones that weren't glaring. They took their slice of the anger cake already. Jakob already passed his Rampancy, but he still had a short fuse. He got a little tired of the stupid, shallow, one-sided opinions.
"It's been a freakin' day. Why do you guys still hold a grudge against me, just because I badly hurt a guy who's ultimately a jackass?"
No one responded. It was like looking at a graveyard, except all the stones were faces, still keeping their form. Jakob sighed; it was futile to get the facts in their instinct-based minds.
"I come here primarily to inform you guys that the bloody Cluster is becoming more and more clever and that you guys don't yet realize it. Don Prima still held a grudge against me for two freakin' months just because of the fact that I was the new kid. Now my reputation is crap because of all this shallow, one-sided favoritism. Great work on making my day!" Jakob finally said while storming out.
He wanted to call them every insult in the book, or even threaten them into fear rather than anger, but that would just terrify them to the point where it would just simply be pointless. Jakob despised humanity, despite being human once himself. He despised the ones who don't think most of all.
Jakob grumbled on the way to the mountain range outside of the city, where Time still lay. On the way, he calmed down slowly. By the time he got to the mountains, he forgot that the events that conspired ever happened. Exercise was definitely a way to assuage one's anger.
Jakob arrived to see some Skyway Patrol soldiers trying to break open the side door, which was closed.
"Excuse me, what are you guys doing?"
"Alien invaders. We got the order to apprehend them." the Lieutenant replied. "I'm assuming you're one of them, correct?"
Jakob knew that if he said "yes", he'd get arrested. He just simply replied in punching the El-Tee in the face, knocking him out cold. Once they got the paperwork signed, there was no other way to stop the corrupt Planetary Police.
Before the other three soldiers could get their weapons, Jakob already took down all three via CQC. He then grabbed the radio of the leading soldier and called into it.
"Is anyone there?"
"Who is this?"
"This is Jakob. You know, Semi-Threat Seven? Why the hell did you try to arrest my allies?"
"They are alien invaders and we have been given orders to apprehend them."
"State your sources." Jakob barked.
There was no response.
"I thought not. Pick up your dudes and refrain doing anything just as stupid. Give us some time, and we'll be out of here. Do you understand me?"
"Fine." the response finally came. The Skyway Patrol cruiser patrolling the mountain ranges and covering the area around Time flew down and dropped an elevator platform. Jakob dropped the unconscious bodies of the Skyway Patrol officers along with their equipment. As the ship left, Jakob shook his head. Today was definitely a day of stupidity, and he was getting sick of it.
At least it'll be over once Jakob gets some sleep. Clear his head, re-new his patience with humanity.
But where was Philip? Obviously if he was there, Skyway Patrol would ask why he was there, and in a best-case scenario, they could escape with minor injuries. Worst-case: death of four soldiers.
Jakob cursed under his breath, and climbed up the mountain beside the crash site. He needed to find Philip.
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Post by Jakob on Sept 13, 2008 1:59:15 GMT -4
Philip was still in the forest, on his way back to Time. By the time he exited, he found himself nearby Tremorton anyway. He took a wrong turn.
It became worse when Don Prima's posse arrived. Why they were there or how they knew where Philip was is completely unknown. The one whose hand Philip crushed was there as well. Jessie's repair work was definitely something to respect, as the kid was pounding his fists together without so much as wincing.
By the time he saw that others had things like pipes or aluminum bats, he knew why they were there. They wanted to scrap.
Deep down, he wanted to run. He could easily outrun the pigs. However, he could not bring himself to do his deep-down desires. Before any of them could take a swing, Philip shot to the right and grabbed a stick off of a dead tree. The stick itself was more a branch than anything. Good reach, high durability, and no signs of rotting yet. If anything, Nature will always come out on top.
That was when the group of rich boys attacked. Philip should have brought a camera, so he could take a picture of before and after, so he could laugh at the changes he'd pull off on them.
One took a swing with his bat. Philip ducked to avoid and swept around knee-height with the branch. The force of the blow could easily break a leg when it hits in the right place.
Said right place would be the first attacker's knee, which buckled and let our a sharp snap, followed by the agony-laden scream of the affected human. Bloodlust filled Philip's eyes.
Unlike Jakob, Philip was not that skilled in CQC, so his moves were predictable, not so fast and relentless. The branch didn't help because of its bulkiness. The sheer power sent the first attacker to the ground, shrieking in agony.
-----
Jakob definitely heard it, and he found out where it came from. Within seconds, Jakob spotted the fray as the other attackers backed off to try to catch Philip off-guard. Jakob burst into a mad sprint and jump-kicked Philip in the side of the head. The branch was thrown out of reach and Philip was knocked unconscious almost instantly.
Jakob cursed yet again. All this happening in one day. He couldn't take it. Philip's Rampancy, Skyway Patrol screwing around, humanity despising them because of a deep-down disrespectful idiot, and the fact that life could be snuffed out without a care in the rest of the universe while they dawdled.
"You guys had best get out of here, It's not safe to be around Phil right now." Jakob said as he helped the others lift up the one with the broken leg. "You seriously need to get that looked at."
"What, you mean like Don?" the kid retorted.
"He had every chance to back off, but he didn't. He made his choice, and it resulted in me making the obvious choice of taking him down using any means necessary. It wouldn't have happened if you guys were tolerant for us. Get out of here and mention this to no one."
The one with the broken leg grunted a reply, while the others simply nodded. Jakob picked up Philip's body and carried it back to Time. Philip was their best tactician, and he was out of commission. Jessie and the others are busy trying to repair Time, which left Jakob to try to get human relations stable.
He was definitely not doing a good job at that either. If anything, he would need to keep calm; something he was never good at. The relations with the people they're trying to help was definitely on bad terms. It would take some time and some good, well-used time to think things over.
Jakob was a quick thinker when it came to combat, but for planning, he needed Philip more than ever. However, Philip is now completely out of commission.
Might as well regroup with the rest of the ARKS and try to figure something out within this fog of confusion. Jakob got through the slightly damaged door and entered the ship. He rested Philip into his dormitory before going to the hospital room.
Jessie was there, as usual.
"Jakob, what took you so long?"
"Multiple things happened." Jakob said. He then gave his report on the day. The kids hated their guts because of the fight with Don Prima, Jakob and Philip separating after school, Jakob's conversation with Dr. Wakeman, and the intervention in the fight between Philip and Don Prima's remaining "loyalists".
"This is very serious indeed. What damage did Philip inflict?"
"Broken leg. Would be hard to explain when they go home."
"You do realize that our goal is ultimately to get all of the human slaves off of Cluster Prime, right?"
"Yeah. Considering there are about a thousand or more, Time won't be able to carry them all at once."
"Which means we'll need to rely on the Humans in order to supply us with ships that can carry that many. The way things are going right now, we're going to end up very much alone in this ordeal."
"I know. They're idiots, however. They don't realize how pointless their unnecessary grudges are. I honestly don't get it."
"I guess it's just one of those human qualities robots tend to discard when we get through Rampancy. I don't understand fully, so that's my guess.
"Where are the others?"
"Terrace is working on the engine, while Drawl and Trig are replacing the windows."
"Alright. Philip's at his dorm. I had to take him down, so he might be damaged."
"Might as well leave him in there. We can't risk letting him exit the ship at all for now."
Jakob nodded and left. Jessie sat down and pulled a terminal from a wall. She checked the hard drive to see if it was damaged, and appeared satisfied that it wasn't.
-----
"Warden?"
"Yes?"
"I informed the Queen."
"What did she say?"
"She ordered another attack on Earth."
"If it's another attempt to assimilate the XJ-9 unit, I will kill her myself."
"She apparently has a vendetta with the ARKS. She probably knows that Jakob is somehow involved."
"Did you tell her?"
"No, but she seemed to know anyway."
"Hmm... So long as she doesn't squander my soldiers toward her futile efforts, I'll be find with another attack. Round up as many squads as you see fit."
"Yes, Warden."
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Oh, by the way, you CAN rate this, or make comments about it or something. I keep getting the feeling that despite the views, no one wants to say anything. My guess is the fear of the response.
So long as you don't blatantly say that "it sucks", I'm actually good with practically any comment.
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Post by Jakob on Sept 21, 2008 0:16:48 GMT -4
A... typewriter.
Philip was sitting in front of one. A blank sheet of paper was already fed inside, ready for someone to fill it.
Everywhere else was all black, so Philip walked to the typewriter. It was most likely some kind of dream-state. The last thing he remembered was getting kicked from the right by some strong force.
Philip sat down in front of the typewriter, and placed his fingertips in a common formation over the keys. After five minutes of thinking, he just kept typing one word over and over: Damn.
He was frustrated, it was usually his fault for choosing to be angry, but this time, he couldn't control it. This Rampancy subject becomes more and more real to Philip the longer he goes through it.
He woke up again. The taste of gravy still remained. He forgot to have something to eat to get rid of it. The thoughts of trying to find survivors at the Paintball course took over during school.
Then those bastard humans with their petty grudges came around with weapons. It was difficult to comprehend, but the fact that they were very open about it is starting to make Philip think if there actually was a gang somewhere in Tremorton. It would be a possibility as to why his parents are missing in the first place.
He was in a dorm room aboard Time. Jakob probably found him.
Jakob passed by the room, and noticed that Philip was awake. Jakob entered with a fury.
"What the hell were you doing?" He barked.
"What?"
"You got into a friggin' fight, and injured another kid. You nearly popped his kneecap this time."
"How'd I end up here then?"
"I took you down myself, then I got them to forget about this one. Can't trust them to do either, to be honest. Point is: I'm getting the feeling that you compromised the mission."
Philip was silent.
"I'd keep you contained here, but that would just make your Rampancy worse. The only way we can get through this is by allowing you to continue this way. Bad news: It'll make the humans hate us even more, which would pass on to the XJ-9."
"So what, me well-being is more important than human life?"
"I never liked humans, so in my case, it wouldn't sound cruel. In the case of just about everyone else, you're right, that sounds cruel. But in the long run, your well-being will preserve more human life. After all, we need to bust the slaves out, and we can't do it without a naturally tactical mind like yours."
"So what, none of you can do the same?"
"Not at such a level as you. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll have to help Terrace fix up a door and the starboard wing."
Philip fell asleep again as Jakob locked the door behind him. The dream with the typewriter came again. Except this time, Philip was randomly typing a reminder for the objectives.
-----
"Four ships?"
"Is something wrong, Warden?"
"Yes, Captain. Are you sure this is all that's able to go on this stupid Queen-ordered mission?"
"Hm. I personally would prefer that she fight XJ-9 herself while we do what we were supposed to do before this "Get the damned robot girl" crap."
"You're in a bad mood right now, Warden. Try to keep it low."
"Thanks, Captain... I just can't stand her arrogance. It's impossible to get her to join and she should know it more than anyone else. Even that one plan that fool Smytus pulled off with that Mind Control device was foiled by vomit. Freakin' vomit! Do you not realize how disturbingly humiliating that is?"
"Yes, Warden. I know."
"Speak of the devil, here comes the son-of-a-fool."
Captain Smytus was three times taller and twice as intimidating as both the Warden and the Captain, but they both knew the truth that Smytus was an idiot. Even more so than the Queen. Smytus merely walked past them without even a glance.
"Then there's that old guy. Despite his many failures, his gadgets do actually work." the Captain continued.
"Krackus. He does a good job for functioning things. He just needs to work on their durability."
"Speak of the devil again."
The mustached robot rolled passed the two on a small wheel that served as his "feet".
"Two in one go. I think we should stop talking about others behind their backs.
"Agreed. Get to your ship. I think I'll go to Earth as well."
"See you there, Warden."
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Post by Jakob on Oct 5, 2008 21:05:21 GMT -4
Philip awoke to a distant explosion.
He shot a glance out of the window to see Jessie run past. Philip ran up to the door and started rapping his fist.
"What's happening?"
Jakob came around, and just so happened to hear Philip. Jakob opened the door.
"Tremorton's under attack. Perfect chance for you to vent your aggression, eh?" Jakob replied, tossing Philip some kind of rifle.
Philip followed Jakob, who bounded down the corridor to the small hangar, where High Hopes still remained. The chopper was already active and ready to lift off. Orange, Jessie, and Terrace were also aboard. Jakob and Philip strapped themselves in as the helicopter started to leave. Terrace was on the turret.
"Remember, Orange, keep it steady."
"Phil, do you have any plans?"
"Well, I'd recommend that Terrace keep with the turret, but we'll also need a sniper or two helping to cover the civilians as they evacuate the attacked area."
"Jessie and I can handle the evacuation. Orange can't leave his post. That leaves you as our only option for a sniper." Jakob looked to Orange, who simply pointed to the weapon rack to the right of the cockpit door. On it was Jakob's FAMAS-like rifle, along with an old TAC-50 sniper rifle. It was commonly used by the Canadian soldiers during the early 21st century. Five shots per magazine, bolt-action, still the rifle that holds the record for the longest-range kill in human history.
"Extra rounds in the pouch beside the TAC," Orange said. Philip grasped the rifle, surprised on how light it is. Philip also grabbed the pouch and got close to the door outside. A building stood over the park, where assorted Cluster Soldiers were sprawled and firing upon the humans.
The robot girl was also there, but she was having troubles with the sheer numbers.
"There, drop me off there." Philip said, pointing to a high building. Orange piloted High Hopes close enough for Philip to jump onto the roof safely, which is what he did.
Philip rolled as he landed to prevent any hydraulic damage. He then got to the edge and parapet and started to examine the sniper rifle to get a feel for how it works.
Philip then swung the long-barreled rifle to point down into the park. The rifle was much heavier than a paintball gun, but it can't be that different, can it?
One shot, and the recoil shocked Philip a little. A Cluster Soldier took the round and his head exploded in a shower of oil. the .408 caliber round, though not as destructive as a .50 caliber round, did just as well.
Terrace in the turret fired down upon other soldiers while Philip retracted the bolt, discarding the spent casing, and took aim again. Philip saw Jakob jump out from High Hopes with Jessie in his arms.
Jakob was most likely experienced in jumping from such great heights. Otherwise he wouldn't be so stupid as to jump such a distance from that height. Jakob landed in the same way, but possessed far greater agility than Philip, as he rolled with Jessie in his arms.
Jessie had a rifle of her own. It looked like a shotgun of some kind. Jakob had his own rifle.
"Phil". Jakob said into some radio, which ringed into Philip's ear.
"Yeah?"
"Look sharp. I counted four ships on the way down here. Try to get the Robot Girl's attention. Have her target the ships only."
"How the hell am I supposed to do that?"
"I don't know, nor do I care. We're going to be busy on ground level as it is. There are a lot of civilians under fire."
After switching off the COMM channel, Philip cursed under his breath. He finished off his clip and reloaded the sniper rifle. He then got into cover and turned to the sky, trying to spot the robot girl.
She saw Philip beckoning her to see him. Reluctantly, she landed onto the roof.
"We're going to take care of the ground forces. Concentrate on the ships." Philip said. Jenny just simply nodded and flew up toward the nearest ship. Philip then got into sniping position again and continued taking shots at Cluster soldiers.
-----
"The ARKS are here. It's confirmed..." the Warden muttered under his breath.
"We caught visuals of the infamous Jakob, along with "Jessie", "Terrace Yoral", and "Orange". There's another confirmed target as well."
"Who?"
"Seven-Nine-Nine."
The Warden hummed for a moment. Before he could think of a plan, the ship rocked from some powerful impact.
"What the hell was that?"
"The XJ-9! She's attacking us!" a Cluster soldier screamed.
"Clever bastards." The Warden muttered. The ARKS got Jenny to attack their ships while they slaughtered the ground soldiers. Teamwork at its finest.
"All troops, repel the boarder! Get the other ships to send us reinforcements." The Warden barked before grabbed the Captain and pulled him into a corridor outside of the bridge.
"When worst comes to worst, get to the Evac Stealth Fighter. The last thing I want is to lose you." The Warden said.
"I appreciate your concern, sir, but you're more important. If need be, I'll self-destruct if it'll impede the robot girl getting to you." The Captain replied.
The Warden chuckled. "Good to hear it, but that's not going to happen," The Warden flipped open a weapon locker and grabbed two pule rifles. He tossed one to the Captain along with two extra clips.
"Lets kill ourselves a bolt-bag."
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Post by Jakob on Oct 18, 2008 2:54:26 GMT -4
The ship received heavy damage already by the first barrage of countless missiles. Laser fire rained down upon the Robot Girl, who either dodged or deflected them with relative ease.
High Hopes and Jakob's CQC expertise made the ground forces literally nothing, especially with Philip's refreshed rifle-wielding capability, let alone sniping.
Which is why Philip took the liberty to take pot shots at the Cluster Soldiers shooting down at the XJ-9. He soon ran out of shots altogether.
"I'm out." Philip said into the communicator strapped to his shoulder.
"On my way." Orange's voice replied.
High Hopes hovered down to the rooftop. Philip jumped and hefted himself inside.
"Get me aboard that ship." Terrace said.
"Will be difficult. Multiple contacts. No apparent end of suppressing fire."
"Then let me make some of my own first." Terrace said as he aimed the chaingun up toward the ship that was firing down upon Jenny. The multiple barrels revved up and spun. Energy-based rounds then tore through the enemy forces.
"How's Jakob?" Philip asked.
"They're fine. We just need to take down the ships. That enough clearing for you to get us aboard?" Terrace asked Orange.
"I think we should let Jenny take them down from inside while we keep up with this suppressing fire on the other ships." Philip replied.
"Actually, what he said." Terrace said.
Orange didn't say anything, but Philip spotted a nodding gesture. Terrace continued his repeated plastering of destruction on the ships.
-----
Jenny was ripping apart Cluster Soldiers with any manner of gadgets her mother integrated within her vast arsenal. One would think the Warden and the Captain be incredibly stupid to try to stand up to her with pulse rifles and nothing else.
However, what the Warden and the Captain were highly skilled at were close-quarter tactics, or any range at that.
The Captain swung his rifle around the corner and opened fire on Jenny. Three rounds caught her shoulder. The Captain didn't see; he was too busy retreating in a Hit-&-Run technique.
The Warden did the same. It began to frustrate the XJ-9, which was exactly what the duo were expecting.
They retreated while the Robot Girl sent her frustrations on just about anything in the ship. They both met up at the Stealth ship.
"We definitely screwed with her, don't you think?"
"Personally, I would have killed her, but now's a little too soon to start our rise to power. Not to mention the fact that Vexas is here. I'd much rather kill the XJ-9 when Vexas isn't around, so there would be no way for her to try to take the credit."
"Understandable. She's too weak to kill the XJ-9 anyway."
"Get aboard and get it revved up. I'll cover you." Warden said.
"It's already functional. Lets get out of here."
Warden jumped onto the craft as the small door closed. The ship turned invisible as it launched into space.
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Post by Jakob on Nov 8, 2008 2:44:49 GMT -4
The ships were crippled, and Skyway Patrol apprehended them and towed them away. High Hopes landed in the park, where Philip got down from the apartment and met up with Jakob and Jessie. The sniper rifle barrel was still hot from the multiple shots taken at Cluster Soldiers.
Said soldiers were littering the park, steaming from metal-on-metal slashing, oil catching fire from sparks, or general explosions caused by severe circuitry damage. Either way, the ARKS were victorious. That means the XJ-9 was as well.
However, she took pretty severe damage. She collapsed when she landed.
Jakob and Jessie got to XJ-9. Jakob caught her before she hit the ground.
"Whoa, you look pretty bashed-up. What happened?"
"Two Cluster... looked different... couldn't find them..." Jenny wheezed with a damaged voice modulator.
"Two Cluster... they looked different..." Jakob muttered. "Did one of them, perchance, have a beard?"
"I... I think so."
Jakob swore as he backed away to let Jessie do some repair work.
"What's wrong?" Philip asked, walking up after storing the sniper rifle aboard High Hopes. Terrace was also with him.
"The Warden's onto us." Jakob replied.
"Who?"
"You know the prison you were cooped up in and fed that nasty grub? He's the guy who most likely gave the order do do everything."
"Ah, hence the name Warden..."
"Don't sound sarcastic. The Warden is a very dangerous robot. He's the one that started World War R, and lived through every battle he was in. He's got hundreds of years of experience under his belt, and he's not an idiot. Far from it, actually."
"Then why did he retreat?"
"As I said, he's not an idiot. He would know better than to try and take on the XJ-9 alone without any sort of advantage. He most likely escaped after dealing enough damage."
"Who would the second guy be?"
"His Second-in-Command." Terrace replied. "They call him The Captain or simply Captain. Heck, I don't think they know each others real names."
"I was about to say "odd names for high-ranking officers." Philip replied.
"But you realise what this means, right?" Terrace asked.
"I don't know what the threat is, apart from the fact that the Warden and Captain are very dangerous bad guys in combat, but I still don't see what makes them something more than the Queen Vexas herself." Philip said.
"Actually, they are."
"How so?"
"Queen Vexas is a crappy commander, make no mistake. Even Skyway Patrol, under all its stupidity, know damn well that the XJ-9 will never join the Cluster unless completely reprogrammed. Said tactic is something Vexus won't try to do, which is incredibly stupid. She tries to beat her ideals into XJ-9, hoping it would cause even a speck of sympathy."
"And... what, the Warden and Captain do otherwise?"
"They're the real military power, but they are underlings to Vexus. Considering their superior intellect and experience, even though Vexus is probably a millennium older than the two of them, they wouldn't like being ordered around by an old hag."
"Why haven't they revolted?"
"They're working under the law while figuring out a way to get rid of Vexus, at the same time, guaranteeing themselves unanimous leadership over the Cluster. I have no idea how they're going to do that."
"Maybe that's why he was here." Philip said.
"What do you mean?"
"In order to make him a trusted guy with a good reputation, he'll need to get on good terms with the public. Everyone knows that the ARKS are a very hated "gang" at Cluster Prime. If Warden and Captain killed us and got the credit for it, they would be heroes beyond imagination. With a reputation like that, their ways of removing Vexus would be much easier, because there could always be the reason of "Suicide out of jealousy". You know?"
"This is exactly the reason why we made you our brains. You over your Rampancy yet?"
"I don't know, to be honest." Philip said, now looking at XJ-9, who was temporarily deactivated in order for Jessie to repair internal systems.
"Anyway, It's not as simple as that. See, Vexus has a kid of her own. Vega's her name. Quite a dame."
Jessie and Terrace both gave Jakob strange looks.
"What?"
"... Dame?" Terrace chuckled.
"I'm a freakin' teenager, what do you expect me to say?"
"Hot?" Philip said.
"Not helping," Jessie sighed while Terrace's laughter started to grow.
"Whatever. Vega's Vexas' kid. She would be a factor that the Warden would have to remove as well."
"That would pose a dilemma." Philip said. "If this "hot dame" (Terrace burst out laughing hysterically at this point) were to live, she would be very suspicious of Vexas' death and would most likely investigate. She would no doubt uncover what happened to Vexas. On the other hand, if Warden kills her along with Vexas, people will start to become a little suspicious. The Queen herself is a strange enough death, but her "dame-of-a-daughter" as well."
"Will you shut up, Terrace?" Jakob asked. Terrace was on the floor. Jessie started to laugh as well, while Philip got infected by the contagious hilarity.
Jakob attempted to resist, but he then started to laugh.
The mood was killed when Orange called "Time in possible danger. Recommend we return home, ASAP."
"Sure thing, Orange. We'll just need to get Jenny repaired." Jessie called back. Said repairs were over soon after. When Jenny woke up, she noticed that Jakob was carrying her. Philip was walking beside, while the faint sound of a helicopter rang in her sound sensors.
"What happened?" the robot-girl asked.
"You got some heavy damage, but Jessie got you fixed up."
"No, I mean with the attack."
"It was successful. We repelled the attackers with no human casualties. Orange and Terrace even scouted the area to see if there were any areas where abductions could have happened."
"That's good news."
"Anyway, you'll need to wait for a moment for the welds to solidify before we can let you get on your own feet again. Which class is your first?"
"Second Floor, Social Studies." She replied as she activated sleep mode again.
"Phil, think you can take her for a minute?"
"She's taller than me. I'd rather not have her feet drag on the ground."
"Fine." Jakob huffed.
"Still mad about the dame comments?" Phil smiled.
"Not in the least." Jakob sarcastically replied.
The duo made it to the school. They had the usual glaring shot at them. The XJ-9's red-haired friend and five and-a-half foot tall other friend ran up to Jakob.
"Before you ask, yes. She's fine." Philip said.
"What happened?" the red-haired one asked.
"Cluster Attack. More severe than we thought it would have been. She asked us to get to her first class before she entered sleep move." Jakob said.
"I have the same class as her. I'll show you the way." he replied.
Jakob and Phil dropped off Jenny to her first class. The red-haired one was there, so the robot girl should be fine.
"I've been meaning to ask you." the black-haired friend of XJ-9 said to Philip as they walked to their own classes. Jakob made his way to the gym, where his first class was.
"Yeah?"
"You were that one paintball player who never really associated with anyone, right?"
"More or less." Philip replied. "More like I was, when I think about it."
"You went missing last week."
"Yeah, I did... Wait, today's Monday, right?"
"Yeah."
"Whoa, I've been out for the whole weekend..." Philip muttered. Jakob sure knew how to kick. The homework still needs to be caught up with.
"Anyway, no hard feelings?" Philip asked.
"Yeah, name's Sheldon." he replied. "My class is coming up. Is it yours as well?"
"Yeah, actually. I never noticed we were in the same class."
Sheldon simply nodded as they both entered. Sheldon sat near one of the front corners. The window outside gave Sheldon a clear view of the classroom where Jenny was. It didn't take a moment of thought for Philip to realise that he was in love with the robot girl.
Philip shrugged and nabbed a piece of extra paper from a side counter. He still had a pencil in the hoody he wore.
School started nicely, a Cluster attack thwarted, a baby-step in forgiveness for recent actions achieved. It was definitely a good day.
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Post by Jakob on Nov 10, 2008 3:06:43 GMT -4
Philip shoved the now-folded piece of paper laden with notes into his pocket. His pencil followed as he stood up. The bell had just rang, and Philip never realised his reaction time had improved. He simply left the classroom. Sheldon didn't seem interested in leaving immediately.
The next class went like last day. Nothing of interest happened. It was as if no one even looked at Philip anymore. He didn't mind it. Better that than glaring.
Lunch was pretty typical. The XJ-9 and her friends even sat with Philip and Jakob. Jakob seemed to be drawing in a sketchbook, oblivious to everything around him. The others were simply mingling with each other while Philip drank the motor oil he was given. He liked the taste of it, if he had a sense of taste.
Don Prima wasn't there. His posse were the only ones to be glaring at the two, save for the popular girls.
The COMM radio on Jakob's shoulder started to crackle, as if the other end was being bumped around.
"Jakob?" It was Terrace.
"Go ahead." Jakob replied.
"We're attempting to make contact with Skyway Patrol HQ."
"And...?"
"We managed to have them agree to lend some transports capable of carrying everyone out of Cluster Prime."
"Good news. I'm assuming there's bad news?"
"More or less. They refuse to let their pilots join us in the incursion. Something about World War R having to do with it."
"World War R is dead. It's been dead for a decade and the heat has been cool since then."
"You obviously never were in a war." Terrace replied.
"We currently are." Jakob chuckled. Philip was a little surprised of Jakob's black humor.
"Anyway, in order for us to be able to use the transport ships, which they so graciously landed beside Time, we'll need some people capable of flying them."
"How many?"
"Two. Each can carry about a thousand apiece."
"Time can carry another hundred if we manage to stuff them in," Jakob muttered. "I guess I'll try to find pilots."
"That's what I called you for. Terrace out."
Jakob took his finger off of the talk button and continued drawing.
"Any of you know any pilots?" Jakob asked. The XJ-9, her red-haired friend, and Sheldon looked at each other. Sheldon then raised his hand a little.
"Nice." Jakob said. "Orange can take care of Time, Trig and Drawl on one ship, and you with the other. Sound good, Phil?"
"Yeah." Philip replied after finishing off the motor oil.
"We'll have to get excused for the next few days before we go out for this. I'll talk with the VP about that."
The bell rang, and everyone started moving like sheep. Phil made his way to his next class, while Jakob walked with the XJ-9 and her red-haired friend. They had the same Chemistry class.
-----
"That turned out more nicely than expected, actually." the Captain said.
"Apart from the fact that I would've much rather enjoyed killing the XJ-9." the Warden replied.
The two of them were in the Warden's office. Pictures, file cabinets, and memorable posters riddled the wall, all complemented by the Warden's desk. It looked wood, but was really ornately-welded titanium. The Warden was looking through the Prisoner files and compared them to recent reports.
"Looks like someone escaped." the Warden said.
"Who?"
"That Hender character. He was the first one Subject Seven-Seven-Nine met."
"He's the only one?" the Captain asked.
"Yeah. Makes me wonder just how long he'll survive."
"Four bucks says within the week."
"You're making it hard for me."
"Alright, alright. Within the next two days."
"That's better."
The Warden and Captain continued sipping on their oil-based drinks.
"We've yet to pull off our plan." the Captain commented.
"We'll need the ARKS to finally arrive if we're to pull it off. Hopefully the XJ-9 will be with them, so we can kill all of the birds."
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Post by Jakob on Jan 22, 2009 3:32:25 GMT -4
The school seemed brighter, now that Philip and Jakob left with their reputations not as blackened as yesterday. Baby steps to get in favour. They'll take a huge leap if they're successful in their operation.
A slight tremor was felt throughout the school mid-way through Third Period. Everyone instinctively looked out the nearby windows to see the XJ-9 fly up and combat a bunch of Cluster soldiers. Phil spotted someone apparently leading the strike team. She had long black antennae holding up some red orb over top her general bee-striped exoskeleton. She looked like a Queen Bee of sorts.
Philip saw Jakob run out with what looks like that net device Sheldon used when they first made contact with the Robot Girl.
Without any words, Jakob took aim and fired. The Queen Bee robot had an expression similar to shock as the net grabbed her in mid-air and pulled her down to the ground.
Philip opened one of the windows near his desk and jumped out. The XJ-9 continued destroying the Cluster Soldiers as Jakob and Philip ran to the downed Queen.
The robot girl was soon done with the strike team, and landed beside Jakob and Philip.
"Vexas. I should be thankful you arrived so soon." Jakob said.
"Now how shall I finish this once and for all?" The XJ-9 asked the trapped robot, switching one of her arms to a many assortment of weapons.
"No, Jenny! That's what the Warden would want us to do!" Philip said.
Not only the XJ-9 displayed confusion, but Vexas as well.
"What?" they both asked, then glared at each other.
"You're probably not going to believe us, Vexas, but we know things that you don't." Jakob said.
"What is this about the Warden?" Vexas asked.
"You have time for a story?" Jakob asked.
"We still have school, you know." Philip said.
Jakob nodded and turned to the radio on his shoulder.
"Terrace, you'll never know who dropped by for a little visit."
"Orange and I are on the way, same with Drawl."
"No Trig?" Jakob asked. He knew that Drawl and Trig never separated, as Drawl was the only one capable of carrying Trig from terminal to terminal.
"No. He needs to stay with Time to make sure that systems remain green." Terrace replied.
"Got it," Jakob said, "See you soon."
Philip got back to his class, which continued like normal, while Jakob and Jenny remained with Vexas, making sure she doesn't try to escape. Soon, the familiar helicopter was heard, and High Hopes came to view from the windows.
Terrace and Jakob brought the still-trapped Queen Vexas onto High Hopes and soon flew off; leaving the Robot Girl and Jakob to go back to their classes. Philip would have to wait until after school in order to see what will happen with the Queen Bee.
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Post by Jakob on Feb 2, 2009 1:01:54 GMT -4
The bell rang, indicating the end of the school day. Philip jumped out of the second-story window of his fourth-period class without thinking. He landed clumsily, but got back up again. He wanted to see what would happen with Vexus.
He passed by Mezmer's, the corner cafe that doubled as the teenager hang-out. He noticed that Don Prima was back, but still bandaged heavily. Medical systems must have worked wonders, he thought. He couldn't escape without catching Don's piercing glare.
Philip didn't have time to waste with someone who can't drop a grudge. The ARKS literally had the Queen of the Cluster in their own back yard. Information will be passed, and it would only be a matter of time before things start getting exciting.
Jakob was already at Time when Philip arrived. The XJ-9 probably gave him a lift; she was there as well.
Vexus was still in the net-trap, but this time kept under watch by Terrace, armed with a pulse rifle. "Precautions," Jakob muttered to Philip.
"Alright, everyone's here," Vexus said, "Now what was all this about the Warden?"
"The Warden, as you know perfectly well, runs the human slavery factor in your empire. He also runs the army as Supreme General. The tip of Top Brass."
"Go on..."
"Anyway, he doesn't like being ultimately inferior to you, whom he has claimed to be a stubborn bee that doesn't know when to stop on trivial goals."
Vexus growled, insulted. Jakob could sympathize.
"But the thing is, I can actually agree with him. You continuously waste Cluster Soldiers trying to convert the XJ-9. As far as we're know, he could have been plotting a perfect over-throw of the crown."
It was obvious that Vexus wasn't going to buy this information that easily, even if she's tied in a net. After a staring contest, Jakob simply shook his head.
"Whatever. Just go back to Cluster Prime. If I were you, I'd watch my back over there." he said, ripping the net open.
Vexus buzzed and slashed open a rift. She entered the rift and was gone.
Jakob sat down on a makeshift bench made of empty supply boxes, stationed outside the main door of Time
"At least we got the thought on her mind," Philip said.
Jakob nodded in reply.
"Something on your mind?" Terrace asked.
"One thing you should never do is underestimate the Warden, especially since he almost destroyed the XJ-9 with superior thinking. Even assuming he can't beat the XJ-9 alone, we still don't know the full extent of his ability, and he's probably got more power in Cluster Prime than Vexas... and no one even knows it."
"You know him?"
"Met him once. Close Quarters duel, Solo Op. Translucent. I still don't know how I survived."
"You never did report regarding Solo Op. Transluscent. What happened exactly?" Jessie asked.
"It was going like normal. Infiltrated the Cluster Museum without a problem. Bomb was set in the security station. Managed to get artworks in a safe place from the bomb-"
"Wait, you saved the artwork?" Terrace asked.
"Do I look like the one who would let paintings get destroyed?" Jakob growled. Terrace simply nodded. "Anyway, I was about to get out when the Warden was there with a bunch of guards. The guards weren't much of a problem, but I ran out of ammo for the pistol I had after the last one. Warden came at me. He snapped my leg without a problem and sent me across the room. I detonated the bomb, which blasted rubble in Warden's face. In the dust, I got out."
"You weren't damaged from the explosion then." Jessie said.
"No, I wasn't."
Everyone exchanged glances.
"Now seeing as he can manage attacking Jenny here and escaping, he's no-doubt more powerful than... well, any of us."
"How about combined?" Philip asked.
"We'd have to be super-organized, which we aren't, and won't be during... Was it Operation Goodbye Blue Sky?" Jakob asked Terrace, who nodded. "Anyway, we're going to be split up due to the fact that we'll have to use our own members for pilots, and that Sheldon guy as well. Our sniper, stealth, and hacking experts will be busy."
Orange, Drawl, and Trig, of course, Philip thought.
"Now Phil, you're a um... jack-of-all-trades, master in none," Jakob said. "We'll probably have to train you in this sort of stuff before we even begin. You did good during the four-cruiser assault, but now we're going to be on their turf. Much more dangerous.
"Okay... Just one more thing though," Philip said.
Jakob nodded Philip to continue.
"My parents... They're missing. I went home twice, and it's been desolate. Nothing disturbed the dust that collected."
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Post by Jakob on Feb 18, 2009 1:38:47 GMT -4
Next day, Philip was early to leave. Terrace and Jakob were with him. They planned to investigate Philip's empty home to find clues as to where his parents could have gone. The sun hadn't even risen yet. It was still early in the morning.
The roads were empty, typical for a residential area. The cars had long cooled down from their day usage, and everyone was still asleep.
The trio soon found and entered Philip's abode. They then started searching without a word.
"We got something," Terrace said after an hour, when they started searching the kitchen.
"What is it?" Philip asked.
"Looks like a knife with fingerprints on it."
"Scan it then."
"What will we do with them?" Jakob asked.
"We'll take the fingerprints to the police to have them analyzed." Philip replied.
Terrace nodded and stored the knife in a storage cell in his relatively large arms.
"Not Skyway Patrol?" Jakob asked. Philip responded by giving Jakob an emotionless look. "Ah, I get it," Jakob finally said.
"Did you honestly think Skyway Patrol would be an option?" Philip asked. Terrace couldn't help but laugh. "Now look what you did to Terrace. First the "hot dame", now this!"
Terrace burst out laughing hysterically. Jakob's eyes lined in annoyance.
"Right, enough," Philip said. Terrace stifled his laughter, or rather, attempted to. Jakob still stood
"There's still a problem with your plan. I dount they'd be so willing to do the scanning for us."
"Which means we'll need Trig. He'll hack into the police files to find a match on this knife. Once we do, man hunt time."
"And we'll find him and get the information from him?" Jakob asked.
"The Dogs of War won't negotiate." Terrace added.
"Enough quoting. Terrace, you get Drawl and Trig to get the information we need. Jakob and I will go to school to avoid arousing suspicion by the students, while the rest will take care of Time"
Jakob and Terrace nodded. Philip was wondering just what made the two not as competent leaders. They had much more combat experience. In Terrace's case, much more than the XJ-9. After all, She wasn't even activated during World War R.
Actually, Jakob must have known about World war R. He's literally twelve years older than XJ-9, he would've been around five years old during the war.
-----
"What is it this time, Captain?"
"Got some information regarding Orange."
"What about him?"
"Remember the battle at Rimy?"
"Yes, that landslide victory?"
"It would have been a humiliating defeat if not for Orange."
"Wait, he's a War Vet?"
"From what I learned at the Veteran's Hall. One hell of one too."
The Warden suddenly remembered an old memory. "Ah yes, that heroic sniper... He was called... Gettysburg. Master Sergeant Gettysburg from Platoon 5. I gave him the Victoria Cap after that battle. He disappeared after that."
"Actually, he reappeared later. Turns out he was transferred to a new front against the Pyllyans."
"I guess that's what made us lose against the humans next battle."
"Who would've thought that one sniper could make that much of a difference."
"At least we beat the ever-loving crap out of the Pyllyans and got resources to rebuild after the war."
"Can't win it all, but you can't lose it all."
Both of them chuckled. The Captain suddenly remembered something and spoke again.
"By the way, what's your next move regarding the Queen?"
"I came for a visit for reconnaissance purposes, but she wasn't there. The First Daughter was also at school, so she wasn't there either. No idea where Vexus is though," The Warden replied.
"Probably went on one of those random attacks on Earth like she usually does," The Captain muttered.
"Unfortunately... bitch..."
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Post by Zero on Feb 18, 2009 2:01:58 GMT -4
Is this the only place you're posting this on?
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Post by Jakob on Feb 18, 2009 9:54:17 GMT -4
Yes, why?
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Post by Zero on Feb 18, 2009 21:42:56 GMT -4
You'd probably get a better response on dA or Fanfiction.net.
Response also depends on how well your character or you yourself is established in the overall internet community.
Show active interest in others, not just your friends. Reaching out can work wonders.
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