Experimental Fate - Vandread

[Tiffanian]

Re: Experimental Fate - Vandread

1, for great justice.

 

[the_taken]

Re: Experimental Fate - Vandread

~----- Chapter 2 -----~

Magno Vivan groaned as she awoke. Her ancient body shouldn't have to contend with the kinda stresses she was putting it through, but that was the life of a pirate. Even the captain puts herself at risk, she reminded herself. At least she was alive. "This doesn't look like the after life," she mumbled.

She opened her eyes, hearing other two bridge occupants coming to as well. "Where are we?" she inquired to her dark-skinned navigation controller. The young woman's response was cut short by a violent shaking and rumbling noise. "What's going on now?" She looked up through the window outside the ship and could see a glowing blue crystalline formation expanding and collecting debris around it, as well and wrapping around her vessel. "What the heck is going on? Is that crystal trying to eat the ship?" She watched for a moment, paying attention to the information her two controllers were feeding her while the crystal continued it's work. She could see the Ikazuchi's section above being pulled closer by the crystal as well.

---

Meanwhile, in the cargo bay of the Ikazuchi, Meia was just awakening as well. She rubbed her teal hair covered head to make sure her lack of a headache meant she still had a head to feel pain with. She wasn't certain what to make of what she was seeing, however. She was certain she was still on the Ikazuchi, but what ever metalic material was used in it's contruction was completely covered in some sort of dark blue crystal, the soft glow coming out it lightly illuminating the room. She was next to a large crystal structure without the huge cavern, and after a moment, she realized it was her Dread, she could make out the other fighter crafts covered in the same crystal material.

"Jura," she called out, making sure her team was still alive. She could see the tall blonde woman coming to not far from her. "Barnette," she called out, looking for the third member of her team.

"I'm here," the green haired Dread pilot answered from off in the distance.

Meie was about to call out to Dita, when the young woman exclaimed "Wow! A real alien! Can I keep it?"

Meia walked over to Dita, mentally groaning. Jura had question her decision to bring along a cadet pilot on a serious raid like this, and she had justified that they needed every able bodied women they could. Now she was second guessing her own decision. While the girl was a talented pilot, and got along very well with everyone, upon boarding the Ikazuchi she had become nothing but trouble. First the girl had crashed her Dread into a wall, then gotten lost on the vessel while the rest of the team captured the men without her. Then the girl ran into some sort of automated security robot, which had chased her deeper into the space ship. Now, the ditzy girl was hovering over a small man with her camera, taking pictures like a tourist.

"Dita," Meia growled, "That is a man - and a runty one. The captain will let you have one as a pet. We're going to take him prisoner for now."

"Well isn't that interesting," Jura chuckled, walking up to them abreast of Barnette.

They all took a look at the unconcious man lying before them, taking note of wild hair, baggy orange shirt and brown pants, and the sack he had slung over his shoulder. His eyes where fluttering, his mind was in a different place.

---

What are you?

"You mean me? I'm Hibiki."

Hibiki. The term for this organic being or a personal name? Why have you come? Are your objectives instinctual or preconceived?

"You sure ask allot of question. All right. I am a human, the term for the organic being that I am. I shorten the name to just 'man' in casual speech. 'Hibiki' is my personal name. I don't know why I'm here, I was just sick everything. The life I had, they way people treated me because of where I worked and the way I looked. My objectives are...

1. "... instinctual. I want something, so I chase after it."
2. "... preconceived, mostly. I have goals, and think hard about how to achieve them. That is unless my plan is thrown out of whack by circumstance, then I make it up as I go along."
3. "... both Preconceived and and Instinctual. I have feelings I can't explain or understand, but they drive me to mad unless I sate them. So I think hard about what to do to try and fulfill those desires."
4. "What are you talking about? Why does it matter? Why am I here? What's going on?"

 

[Dragontear]

Re: Experimental Fate - Vandread

Number 3! Yo, it seems to suit his formerly constrained desire to make something epic. Great story so far! X3

 

[Darkboy]

Re: Experimental Fate - Vandread

2

 

[Diagasvesle]

Re: Experimental Fate - Vandread

3. He ish a mad scientist! Doom weapons!

 

[plmnko]

Re: Experimental Fate - Vandread

3

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Experimental Fate - Vandread

3.

 

[Ranger Princess]

Re: Experimental Fate - Vandread

4

 

[the_taken]

Re: Experimental Fate - Vandread

Response incomprehensible.

"I answered your questions. Did I miss something?"

What exactly is a Hibiki?

"What do you mean, 'what am I'? I just said that I'm-"

I mean, why do you exist? Why do you exist? What is the proof that you are what you are? What is the proof of who you are?

"Oh, the Great Existential Quandary, eh? Screw it! Why do I need proof? Can't you tell just by looking at me?"

That response is primal. Three dimensional.

"Don't look down on me for being Three-Dee, you obnoxious ephemeral abortion! Who are you? What is this place? What's going?"

---

Hibiki awoke from a hunched sit on the floor beneath some boxes, which he immediately bumped his head into. He recoiled from the pain, and went to clutch his head but found it difficult since his hands were bound together in some sort of device. After a second, the pain subsided, and looked around to take in his environment. A small room filled with boxes, littered with cleaning supplies and equipment, several sheets of clothed draped over random containers, and some sort of egg shaped device in front of him. There were only three metallic walls, horizontal beams of energy where the fourth would be. Seeing the room beyond and the other storage alcoves beyond, he knew where he was now. In a cell of the Ikazuchi's brig, though how the Tarak military got a hold of him was eluding him. He was unconscious for the event, after all.

"Oh, man," bemoaned Hibiki. "Stuck behind bars with a pile of junk. How indignant."

"So you're awake," came the smooth baritone voice nearby.

"Who's there?" Hibiki gasped, startled slightly.

There was man that Hibiki hadn't noticed, sitting on the floor of the cell with his hands cuffed together as well. Hibiki could tell the man was much taller than him, and suspected the long hair shadowing the man's face would also dwarf him. "My name is Duelo McFile. Do you have a name as well, mister third class citizen?"

"Don't make fun of me," the orange suited cell occupant threw back. "My name is Hibiki Tokai. And I'm not just another third class citizen."

"You're the one that made all the commotion during the ceremony, right?" Duelo inquired, a small portion amusement hitched to his voice. "How did you manage to sneak in, anyway?"

"There sure are lots of questions today.

1. Outright refuse to answer.
2. Evade answering. A Magician never reveals his secrets, and what is magic but super advanced science? The other guy sounds a bit suspicious, anyway.
3. Evade answering, but allude to how difficult it was. A Magician never reveals his secrets, but doesn't pass up an opportunity to market himself.
4. Go ahead and tell him. It's not like the authorities won't figure out how on their own anyway. Might as well take the opportunity to brag.
5. Interrogate the other prisoner. What is Duelo doing in the brig? Something is decidedly suspicious about this situation, and listening may be a better idea than talking.
6. Demonstrate. Might be difficult, but Hibiki could somehow manage to get the cuffs off of himself and take down the energy beams keeping him and Duelo inside the cell.
   • A: Bust Duelo out as well. He might be able to help out.
   • B: Leave Duelo here. Hibiki's in prison because the Tarak military is scared of how awesome he is, but who knows why Duelo is in here?

 

[Diagasvesle]

Re: Experimental Fate - Vandread

6.A = This proof enough dumbass?

 

[Dragontear]

Re: Experimental Fate - Vandread

6.A unless I re-think it, I doubt the Pirates will be kind to the hero for what's happened.

 

[Ranger Princess]

Re: Experimental Fate - Vandread

6.B Don't trust him!

 

[Darkboy]

Re: Experimental Fate - Vandread

6.A

 

[plmnko]

Re: Experimental Fate - Vandread

6 a

 

[the_taken]

Re: Experimental Fate - Vandread

Hibiki made a sly grin. "I got on the same way we're busting out of here." He got up and started rummaging through the boxes, looking for some equipment to use.

"That isn't a very good idea," responded Duelo, beginning to protest.

"Beep, beep," said the head-sized metal egg in a mechanical voice accompanied by white noise. "Beep," it said a little louder and without the white noise. It suddenly jumped from its resting position, turning upright in the air. Four sections of its shell popped out on rubber extensions, two small shards beneath, and two larger ones from its sides which also sprouted four tiny claws. A section in its top half was without it's metal shell, indented with a black screen, which flickered with static before displaying two white ovals with a line dividing them horizontally and two black circles. Eyes.

"Where am I? Who am I?" inquired the now self-aware robot.

"Huh. A Navigation Robot," noted Hibiki. He had heard of the things and got a glimpse at a circuit-board diagram once, but had never seen one. Then inspiration hit. "You're gonna help us out of here," he said, grinning and grabbing the thing with his cuffed hands and pinning it between his legs.

"Put me down!" the robot shouted in protest.

---

Throughout the two ships, the women were scrambling to try and control the spread of the strange blue crystal. Inside what they called the Reg, the facility dedicated to arming the dreads and maintaining the various weapons the pirates, they were particularly busy. The two floor office of the facility was in the uppermost section of the pirate's ship and was closest to the point where the bleu crystal had emanated from. They had pulled out all the stops, and were using lasers beams, most emitted from their rings, and other more power armaments, to try and stem the tide of the crystal without damaging the ship. It was proving a futile effort.

One of the girls looked up at the cracking noise above the wall she was trying to burn through, discovering a hole that had formed. She could see a light far in the distance. "Miss, Gosco!" she called out from the balcony. It looks like we're connected from the inside now, too!"

The addressed superior sighed, but continued to stare at her terminal. "That's just great." The engineers of the crew had identified that the source of the crystal consuming the two ships was the Paksis Pragma Reactor on the Ikazuchi, and had taken a shuttle over. "It must be pumping out tons of energy to feed a crystal like this." She then turned around and glared up at the woman under her command.
"And by the way, it's not 'Gosco', it's 'Gascongne'!" she shouted. Even after all the years of working with these girls, they still mispronounced her name.

---

In the Ikazuchi's reactor room, the engineers where alternating between scratching their heads and testing a new method to control the blue crystal. Their orange bulky protective suits was making moving around a chore, but they had have them just in case some of the volatile devices they were using exploded. They just to deal with the blue crystal coming out of the strange bright bleu sphere in the center of the chamber, and that meant working with dangerous devices.

There were dozens of metalic curved beams scatered throughout the room, attached to the ceiling, walls and floor, which they believed caged the crystal coming out of the blue light, that had since been broken away and fused to the chamber.

After their latest atempt failed, the lead engineer decieded to check the satus of the crystal's spread, and checked the moniter she had quickly connected to the Ikazuchi's internal secruity scanner. Behind the large lenses of her glasses, he eyes went wide. "It's just as I've feared. The ships are being linked all the way through." She rubbed her head. To salvage as much as the Ikazuchi as possible, they had concentrated on doing small things to control the crystal instead of using heavy weaponry to destroy it. Destroying the crystal and the Ikazuchi was no longer an option, since the ships were now connected to each other and being intricately woven together both mechanically, electronically, and atmospherically. Using large explosives now would jeapordize everyone's safety. "We have to do something," Parfet said to herself, not giving up. There wear still a few possibilites to consider. She turned to her subordinates and ordered, "Try and insert the linestar particals into the main cable, right away! Just make it so that we can control this thing." If looked up at the energy source of the Ikazuchi. If they couldn't stop the crystal, then maybe they could redirect it's path.

---

Hibiki twisted his right hand around, try to get the metal rod in it to poke the right part of the circuit he was after. His left was too close, but he needed it to hold another metal rod on another part of the same circuit. He had successfully restrained the struggling NAVI robot, opened it and found the battery much to it's protest, and attached two cables to metal rods he found to said battery. He then used a pen and a paper clip to open a wall panel adjacent to the where he was sure the control pad on the other side was, and found it. He needed to poke the right part of the circuit, or risk frying it and sealing himself and his two new companions in the cell indefinitely. Or worse, connect to the power couplings for the energy beams and sending 50,000 Volts, 300 amps through his body.

"Beep," protested the robot, as it tried to struggle out of Hibiki's leg lock. "Let me go!"

Duelo was watching the small man intently. He had to admit, the boy was resourceful, even if he was stubborn and impulsive. He tried to explain that the women that held them prisoner weren't going to take kindly to them escaping, but the third class citizen became to wrapped in his work to listen.
A small smile crossed his lips as the containment grid flickered the disappeared. Hibiki had succeeded. "Impressive," Duelo complimented.

Hibiki smiled as he unhooked the cables from the NAVI robot and closed the compartment back up. "You haven't seen anything yet," he said with a smirk, turning to Duelo.

"I'm not sure how much more there is to see, however." Duelo pointed past Hibiki, his face impassive and neutral.

Hibiki turned and found himself looking back at three strange men... where they men? Two of them had a creamy skin tone, and wore a primarily white tunic with dark teal sleeves and shoulders, puffed up. They had tight black pants and tunic had a trim cut, giving the impression of a body shape that was very much unmanly. The other, taller, tan skinned person had a very dark green tight top, exposing their midriff and arms, but baggy pants. Between the two, Hibiki determined that their natural body shape would be relatively human, though instead of the powerful stony man shape, they had a gently curving hourglass shape for their body, as well as pronounced bulging, inflated breasts. He noted that their faces were softer and rounder, with larger eyes than any man he'd ever seen.

"How considerate," said the taller person. "All that trouble to save me a push of button?"

"Wh-?"

1. On no! Women! They're here to eat us!
2. Are these women? They're not as tall as I thought they were. They don't have scales, claws, fangs or horns.
3. What weird looking dudes. What's with that shape? And the bulges on their chests? Are they some sort of deformed mutants that escaped abortion?
4. What lovely looking people. I suddenly don't feel agressive. Let's have a nice chat about whimsical stuff like statues, architecture, and hadron collision experiments.
5. What fascinating creatures. They're biology appears to be specialized towards biological needs that are vastly diffrent than the men of Tarak. More observation will be required.

 

[Diagasvesle]

Re: Experimental Fate - Vandread

2.

 

[Darkboy]

Re: Experimental Fate - Vandread

1.

 

[Ranger Princess]

Re: Experimental Fate - Vandread

5. (And glad you feel better!)

 

[plmnko]

Re: Experimental Fate - Vandread

5

we need a very deep observation

 

[DeMatt]

Re: Experimental Fate - Vandread

2.