the shiny NEW take turns writing
POSTED BY: ebonezer
UPDATED: Sunday, November 14, 2004 03:18
VIEWED: 22733
PAGE 3 of 10
Glico breathed an incredible sigh of relief, and punched the button to sync the two ships orbit's. She watched as Sidere slid into view, coming in from the top left. Habitually, she sized up the ship. Big and sturdy looking, no weapons, but those engines could rotate, giving it a real quick turn. With the right pilot that ship could get away from near anything. The light on the "Sync Orbits" button turned off, and with an enthusiasm she hadn't felt for days she grabed the control sticks, and guided the ship into docking bay one. After the message "AIR CLEAR" she pulled open her fighter's door, then Sidere's door. The rush of air threw her shaggy brown hair back for a second. She walked out and looked for the cockpit, getting lost several times along the way. When she found it, she saw Ebo sitting in the pilots chair all too lazily, reading the manual. Then she noticed the RADAR screen. She flew forward, pushed ebo back away from the console and grabbed the steering wheel. Turned the ship out of the orbital plane for interplanetary transits.
"Obviously you don't know the rules yet, you have gotta stay outta that plane until you're right ready to leave this ugly little rock. Ships with big guns'll get mighty mad with this boat in there way."She smiled. "It's allright though. Just pay a little more attention when you're in a high traffic lane next time."
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Ebo looked up at her, "But we're not in a high traffic..." she trailed off, looking at the high traffic around them, "What the..." Ebo tapped a few keys "Whats wrong with this thing? We were supposed to break orbit 15 minutes ago." More key tapping, "Hell, I'll figure out this bloody auto-pilot later. Its different with every model I swear." She tossed the manual on the floor and took the controls and began flying manually. "Thanks for saving the day there. I was trying to figure out how to set the clock. I'm tired of that stupid 12 blinking at me."
Glico shrugged, "No problem."
Teela trudged through the door, "Hey Ebo, We're hungry, any idea how to -Gaa! Holy God where'd you come from?"
"Me?" Ebo asked, "I'm the pilot, you hired me."
"Not you! Her!" Teela gestured at Glico.
"Oh," Ebo scratched her head, "Something about running out of air and...um...maybe I'll let her explain."
"She summed it up pretty good. Somethings wrong with the life support on my fighter and I was low on fuel. Ebo let me dock. I was hoping i could pay my way by offering my services as a mercenary."
As Teela and Glico worked out a deal, Ebo noticed a light blinking on the radar and locked on to their trajectory. 'Somebody else goin to Ballard I guess,' she thought and beyond that didn't think about it anymore.
"Can you cook?" Teela was asking.
"Little bit," Glico nodded.
"Good, eveybody else on this ship seems fairly incopetent in that area. Soul just started a small fire, actually. And Manti isn't willing to try-"
"-Me neither," Ebo cut in, "I refuse to cook."
"Right," Teela contunuted, "So if you can handle that I'm willing to give you a job here."
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Four out of five dentists reccomend calling Ebo a girl.
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"Right, food! On my way." Cooking was one of the things she liked that didn't involve blowing people up. She jogged happily off to the kitchen. When she looked through the cupboards she found protein in all colors of the rainbow. She sighed, then muttered "Maybe I could get some hydroponics going on this boat." She pulled out a few things and started to make soup. While the water & protein began to boil, she explored the kitchen. Found some flour, some yeast and a bread pan. Atleast one thing would be real for this meal. She Eyeballed the correct proportions and started to knead out the bread dough.
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"Do I smell food?" Ebo said, hoping down the steps into the dining room, "Like, real, actual food food?" She spied Glico pulling bread out of the oven.
"Bread!" Ebo practicly shrieked, "Actual fresh bread!"
"Did you get the auto-pilot figured out?"
"Hopefully, at least theres nothing to run into out here in the black. And I'm sure theres some sort of proximity alert if something gets to close. I'm not overly concerned. Besides, if we die, I'll die eating, and that doesn't sound so bad."
"Whats this about dying?" Manti said, stepping into the kitchen. "Hey I smell - whoa. I didn't know there was anybody else on the ship."
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Four out of five dentists reccomend calling Ebo a girl.
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Soul came striding back into the kitchen wearing a new shirt, since he had only moments before burnt a hole in the one he was wearing. He had told Teela that he didn't know how to cook, but did she listen? No. And look what had happened.
He strode over to the stove, about to finish cleaning up his mess when he realized that someone had already beat him to it. Someone he hadn't met before.
How many people were on this gorram boat?
"Hi," he said, eying the new person warily. Then he noticed that she was cooking, and apparently with some skill, so he relaxed. Ebo and Manti were there as well, Manti looking as mystified as Soul as to who the new person was.
______________________
But if your hand touches metal, I swear by my pretty floral bonnet, I will end you.
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Glico smiled at Ebo and started to sing "We are the champions". She put the bread into the bread pan, and placed that in the oven. Then stirred the soup, and began to dance around the kitchen. She saw Ebo's wry smile, and Mantis confused look and laughed.
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Introductios were made and soon everyone was aware of who Glico was, and what she was doing on the ship.
Teela wandered in from wherever and they all sat down for a meal. Ebo was just taking her first bite of bread when an alarm when off.
"Crap," she mumbled and stuffed a piece of bread into her mouth.
"What is it?" Teela asked.
"Sounds like a proximity alert. Must be commin up on something.," Ebo mumbled through all the food in her mouth. She pushed back from the table and stomped uo to the bridge.
"Or somethings commin up on us," Manti mumbled before following the otheres to the bridge.
Ebo plopped down in the pilots chair and began cheking the insturments.
"Whats out there?" Teela asked, leaning over the control pannel.
"Dunno yet. There was something following us a while back but it looks to be gone yet."
"Where'd it go?" Ebo checked the radar and shrugged, "Away," she said tentitivly.
"Thats impossible," Glico said, "It couldn't have gone fast enough to get out of the radar screen in time."
"I know."
"Some of the newer short range fighters might've been able too," Manti pointed out.
"But the alerts still goin off," Soul said, "Steath technology?"
Ebo shrugged, "It doesn't make sense. If its stealth the proximity alert shouldn't have picked it up either. Hell, its probably just a glitch somewhere. Just the ship worken all the bugs out of itself."
Suddenly the ship jumped upward.
"Woah!" Ebo shouted, grabbing the controls, "I didn't do that."
The ship jumped again.
Glico looked around, "Its not a glitch. The reason the other ship isn't showing up on radar is because its underneath us."
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Four out of five dentists reccomend calling Ebo a girl.
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"Wish me luck, and get ready for full burn the moment I'm back with ya"
Glico ran down to her fighter, strapped in, and hit the switch that made everything go. As soon as Sidere let her go she was off, making a half orbit of Sidere. Sidere was down, black was up. God it felt good to be flying again. With some food in her, and air. Sweet sweet air. She came around the bottom of the ship and saw...
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Note to everyone for clarification:
The atmo in my ship was about to run out because I was almost out of fuel. Everythings fine except for the fuel levels, which I took the liberty of topping off out of Sidere.
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Back on the bridge, Ebo was typing furiously away at the auto-pilot, trying to get it to revoke control of the ship to her so that they could get away from whatever it was banging around below.
Manti was shaking his head, "It just doesn't make any sense. How come the sensors didn't tell you where the other ship was."
Suddenly an alert flashed up on the screen by Ebo's left hand. 'Collision Warning! Pull up at once!'
Ebo shrugged, "Sometimes things just need to wiggle into place. Goddamn! If this bloody auto-pilot doesn't give me control again so help me I'll..."
"This ship is a death trap," Soul mumbled.
"Hey!" Teela said "Its my death trap and you'll not offend it else you'll be taken a short walk outside."
"No thanks," Soul mumbled, "Its cold out there."
"Guys, I think we have larger issues at hand here," Glico's face appeared on the monotor.
"Whats down there?" Teela asked.
"Fighter, it looks Aliance, but with all the markings sratched off."
"Aliance?" Manti wondered, "What are they doing way out here? Were at least seven sectors away from anything under Aliance rule."
"Nine," Ebo offered, "We're nine sectors away."
"I hear that the Aliance is trying to expand, and get every planet in this system under its rule," Soul said.
"They've been saying that for years but its not happened yet, and i don't see it happening at all. The Alliance just isn't powerful enough to get it done," Teela interjected.
"Not yet anyway," Manti mumbled darkly.
"Hey, lets not get ahead of ourselves," Glico jumped in, "Lets worry about this first, and politics later. Wan't me to blow em up?" she asked eagerly.
"Not yet. Lets talk like civilized folk for a bit. Then you can blow em up," Teela said, "Ebo, gimme radio contact."
"Aye Aye," she fliped the switch, "This is Firefly class Sidere to whoevers messing up our paint job..."
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Four out of five dentists reccomend calling Ebo a girl.
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The radio spluttered into life. "Sidere, this is the Hydra-class SR* fighter Talon. I'm in a spot of difficulty here. Could you guide me back down to the planet? Over."
Mantichorus' head shot up. "Hell. I know that voice." He muttered under his breath. However, Teela was able to hear him.
"Who is it?" She asked.
"Lieutenant Richard Wilkins. One of the Alliance's up-and-coming young hopeful's. God alone knows what the gosa he's doin' out at a backwater rock like this..."
Ebo frowned. "So... whatta we do?" Mantichorus glanced questionly at Teela.
Teela sighed. "Great. Thanks for the advice, Manti." She said with more than a hint of sarcasm.
"If you want my two cents..." Soul said levelly "...I'd help him out. We don't want the Alliance taking a disliking to us."
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(*SR=Short Range.)
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"The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference." -Elie Wiesel, quoted in US News World Report.
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