The Liberator. Of course her new skipper is Zacharias 'Zach' Zero of the Earth Alliance forces. Well once he was- now Zach's a plain old merc like his pals Han Solo and Gene Starwind....
AW Ch 58 'The Trouble with Gundams' or 'The Return of the Liberator'
Wow!Mar's been injured and now that worst of all combat weapons is almost in Zorin's cronies' hands- Gundams! Almost as terrifying as the 'God Guns' or the Angels' new toy- the r-- whoops! I almost let the neko outta the sack folks! This chapter will put two close tomos at loggerheads with each other and nai it ain't Vacuumhead and Firebrand either! Some old tomos returned and the Boss decides to head for Onsokamaru! Who's in sick bay and how did she end up there? Why is Yuri Donovan furious?
ANGEL WINGS
DISCLAIMER: OK InuYasha darlin’, it’s all yours. First I wanna thank Mr T for the use of his Angels and stuff. Then I wanna thank everyone else who has been allowing us to use their creations here like Thom Beers for the use of his ice road truckers Hugh, Drew, Rick, Eric, Alex and Bear. I took the liberty of naming the 3WA academy in Furool City on Shimougou after Mr Haruka Takachiho in honour of his creations- the Angels. How was that, Yuri? Great, kiddo. Oh hai it sure was, Kei! Now since we left ya up in the air last time let’s get to Ch 58 without any further meandering, shall we? Why is Zack Zero back and oro does he want with Suba Marina Oki? Can Mandy keep her big mouth shut? A hint re the titles- Aw do ya expect me to spoil it for ya? Oro does this all mean? We’ll find out momentarily gang. The Boss Red Marshall’s on the warpath again! Here ’tis:-
CHAPTER 58
'The Trouble with Gundams' or 'The Return of the Liberator'
Yuri's entire party raced onto the lift and rode down to sick bay on Level Three.
"Rally! 'Extrapoleen 80'- 190 mg's- stat! Kei! Lots of blankets! Mae! Tricorder readout! Nami! Change her bandages!" yelled the violet maned vixen while she worked furiously on the young blonde.
"There! I think that that almost 600 mg's of 'Extra 80' may just have done the business for sure. She's breathing on her own and sleeping peacefully. (Yuri whirled like a Dervish to face the Boss) You dimwitted dodobrain! If you 'ever' pull a dumbass trick like that again, I swear I'll flatten your ass! All you had to do was turn on the taps at the kitchen sink for Kami's sake! You used dishwater! And- and- and- y- y- you almost damned near killed her, Deirdre!!" sobbed Yuri.
"I saw the dishwater there so I stuck her hand into it figuring it'd like clean out the wound, that's all! 'Kolacydyl's water soluble anyway, ain't it?" replied the redhead with an oath.
"Yeah sure! 'Kolacydyl' is but Marley had used 'Synthenol Koron' thinking it was 'Kol' and the lanolin/sodium combo from the dishsoap speeded up the reaction time. Mar's allergic to 'Syn K' you big dummy!" wailed a distraught Yuri Maureen Bridget Donovan her body shaking with uncontrolled emotion. Kei was belligerent.
"Well she was the one that used that crap on herself! I didn't so it ain't my fault!" retorted the Boss angrily.
"Besides you said she was gonna be OK, didn't you? (Yuri's purple head nodded) Then shut the Fxxx up about it already!" howled the redjeaded Amazon wildcat.
"Don't tell 'me' to shut up! You shut up, dipstick!" shouted Yuri and suddenly Kei grinned like a Cheshire neko (cat).
"See? Every now and then ya just gotta let off some of that steam, kiddo. Look. I am really really sorry for oro (what) happened to Marlene but it really was just an accident. She gonna be OK now so let's just forget about it eh?" suggested the Boss. Yuri finally nodded and dried her aizu (eyes). Then the redhead got deadly serious.
"We have 'got' to get to 'Onsokamaru' and fast. Gene seems to think he can get us there in two days. We'll make our pickup there, turn and burn back to 'Rom' and 'Rem' ('Romulus' and 'Remus') and hopefully get there in time." she explained.
"Oro are we picking up Boss? More damned 'railguns'?" demanded a sarcastic wing commander vixen. Kei shook her head slowly and her expression was grim.
"Nai (No). Two more 'Gundams' are there. It seems that old Zorin (Oakenshield) had this pair stockpiled at 'Onsokamaru' just in case the others on 'XANA' were discovered by the authorities. Charlie Garner says we owe a really big favour to Johnny Raven. His 'Ganymede' contingent found 'em for us. One of John's 'X-Wing' pilots had engine trouble so the squadron put down at 'Onsokamaru' for repairs. Another of his guys went exploring and stumbled into a cavern like that one on 'XANA' only this one had two bigger 'Gundams' than ours in it. Charlie said that if Zorin was going to use four of them against 'Rom' then by Kami and all that's holy we are going to use four of 'em against Lord Dooku and Admiral Thrawn. (Kei mused and pursed her lips in thought) Maybe, just maybe we won't be needing to use those damned 'railguns' after all, Vac-- er I mean Yuri." replied Kei. Yuri was speedily calculating on her PDO unit. Then she frowned and tapped her foot.
"OK listen up. Our beam transporters work from a hundred thousand kilos (kilometres) out so we can beam those monstrosities directly aboard the 'Angel' without having to touch down at all if we have John set up 'pattern enhancers' around them for us. I will not risk beaming anyone down there from that far out no matter how damned much of a hurry Uncle Chuckie's in. We will be within beaming range in another six solar hours. Let's say it'll take fifteen minutes to beam and then we turn and burn back to 'Adonis' (Arch) and use it to get to 'Remus' and from there we go to 'Romulus' which by my calculations we should reach by dinnertime (1700 hours aka 5 PM) ashita no yobi (the day after tomorrow). That will be well within our window so how's that suit you, Boss?" asked a now composed and recovered Yuri Donovan.
"Sounds like a plan to me, kid. Let Gene know will ya? (Yuri smiled and nodded) Arigatou (Thanks). On your way back down to your star room duties of course. I just love it when a plan comes together! (Kei thought for a moment or so) Is there someone with Mar? Just in case?" asked the redhead.
"Of course there is. I'm not that stupid ya know! Either Zoe, Winry, Flaysie, Cagalli or Maesie. They're taking turns in hourly shifts." explained Yuri who was again as per usual- mad as Hell at the Boss. She touched a fingertip to her comlink earring.
"Ari? Yuri. Listen up. We are picking up two more of those 'Gundam' toys. John Raven's going to 'pattern enhance' the area they're in for us. I want you to beam them along with our first two directly to Armoury Room 3 on the Fourth level. Got that? Good. Oro? Not for another six solar hours. Huh? Nai (No) we ain't touching down there. Why? Well for one thing it's hostile territory and for another we're in a damned hurry. Be ready when I give you the go ahead. OK? Fine. Arigatou (Thanks) Ari. Yuri out." she trilled on her way to the bridge to acquaint Gene and Han with Territorial Sector Chief Charles Augustus Garner's latest orders. They took this grim news like the true troopers they were.
"Two more of those Kami forsaken pieces of crap? Oro the jigoku (Hell) does Charlie Boy think we're runnin' here, Duchess? A damned galactic delivery service?" drawled an irked Han Solo.
"All the way to 'Onsokamaru' and back in less than two solar days? I sure hope our warp core can handle the added strain." worried Gene Starwind.
"Orders is orders, old buddy. Guess we're like the Terrans' ancient Marines corps- 'the tough stuff we do right away; the impossible takes a little longer.' Hey Zoe! Plot us a quickie course to 'Onsokamaru' and back will ya?" yelled Han to the nav room next door. Zoe silently gave him a two thumbs up sign.
It took the combined efforts of both Gene and Han on the throttle to turn the almost mile long starcraft around after the ship had dropped out of hyperspace mode. Had they attempted this foolhardy maneuvre while in hyperthrust they could have quite easily placed the 'Lovely Angel 2' in more than just one dimension!
Meanwhile downstairs in Engineering Cyborg and Donnatella were having a minor disagreement regarding the ship's speed.
"If we go back into hyperthrust we cannot exceed thirty Warp, Cy." explained Don reasonably.
"Bull! Blondie said we can go all the way up to forty-five, Don!" countered the angry Teen Titan.
"Yes but she did not mean while we were still in hyperspace mode! If we do we'll reduce this vessel to nano-atoms!" argued the Ninja.
"Not if we stabilize that danged core field beforehand we won't!" yelled Cyborg.
"Forget that, stupid! That core's as unstable as the nine gates of Hell and we really shouldn't be putting more strain on it! However, if we're really careful maybe we can hyper her up to twenty-five guys but that is it! Any more and we risk creating a new moon above 'Sontarra'!" cried Blackfire of Tamaran who was checking gauges with Faye Valentine.
"I have already witnessed the birth of a new moon thank you very much and I do not want to see another one guys so stick to 25 Warp dammit!" snarled the 'cowgirl' with finality.
Cyborg made a wry face to Donnatella. "You always win darn it!" he sulked.
"Stabilize the core field, Black and fire her up again. Take us to twelve then gradually increase to twenty-five, Cy. Who's got night watch folks?" said the Ninja turtle. Faye raised her hand.
"I got it tonight, Commander." she replied.
"Better go get some chow and some rest now. You'll take over at 2100 (9 PM) tonight, Suba." said Don. Blackfire was frowning at her station.
"You and Cy go on ahead to the chuck wagon, sir. I'll rep up something here. I don't trust this core even with a stabilized magnetic field. See ya later." said the Tamaranian girl. Cy shrugged then left with Faye and Don. The Tam's caution proved unnecessary so when Faye returned at nine an exhausted and grateful Blackfire went to her bunk. Meanwhile Rin, Ed (the Bebop tomboy not the blonde alchemist) and Mooney were bored to tears. None of them wanted to play vid games or horse around on the holodecks. The rec room was too noisy and most of the 'cool' places aboard were 'off limits' to them for obvious reasons. Then Rinny remembered the dumb waiter she and Conan had used to get to the Auntie Kei's 'office' behind the bridge.
"Mako (one of Mooney's scouts) told me that Auntie Kome's got a cool new vid game up in the office and I know how we can get in there without anybody seeing us." she announced proudly. Ed and Mooney wanted to hear more details and pumped Rin for more and more information.
The chromos read 1900 (7 PM) and since they were travelling 'hyper' nobody was manning any weapons. Instead the rec room was full of merriment, laughter and noise. After all besides the bridge's skeleton crew, a 'Mar watcher' in sick bay and a few guards nobody else was on duty tonight. Even the Duchess and the Hyuga siblings (Neji and Hinata) got a break since 'you cannot watch space for stuff when you're zippin' past it at almost thirty times the speed of light!' as Yuri had pointed out to the Ninjas who were not slow in agreeing with her. Nat's 'railgun' crew was offduty except for Flaysie who had drawn this shift's 'Mar watch' detail. Flaysie could have cared less. She got to watch ancient Terran movie vids called DVDs while her blonde charge slumbered on. If she knew oro was going on just one level above her on Four she wouldn't have been so contented.
Beside the laudry room Rinny proudly pointed out the dumb waiter's concealed hatch.
"Conan said that supply room across from us used to be a kitchen where special dinners were cooked for meetings in the office upstairs. They sent the food up this little elevator thingy. Then Mr Popo (Donald Poporo was the 3WA Section 237 Chief) said they needed more room for his medicine (booze of course but Rinny didn't know that) so the kitchen became a supply room. Everybody must have forgotten about the little elevator thingy but it's still here." explained the inu youkai's (dog demon's) ward. Ed and Mooney smiled while Rinny grinned back at them.
It was a tight fit for them but only a short ride up to the ready room on Nine. They all piled out and Rinny sat on the big conference table. Ed folded her arms and looked the kid squarely in the face.
"I don't see no damned vid games, Rinny." she said suspiciously.
"Me neither." agreed Mooney but Rin clapped her hands and laughed.
"Watch this guys!" she giggled and hit the control bar for the 'out of order' vidscreen number 18. The star map rose from the console's rear.
"See? Auntie Kome and Auntie Nat just punch the little letters and stuff here and lights do a dance on the big TV set. Watch." she instructed and pressed 'Enter' and 'Start' together.
"Weapons are now fully armed and functional. Please select target coordinates." intoned the 'railguns' program.
"Cool! Let's pick that place that Uncle Anton doesn't like too much- 'Minerva'." suggested Mooney with an impish grin. Rin squinted at the star chart.
"Which one is 'Minnie Nerve', Ed?" she asked.
"That one. The one that looks like little Ein (Ed's data doggie). How do we play?" replied the tow-headed tomboy.
"Turn the wheels until the lines cross at that square doohickey (Canadian bull target sight)." explained Rinny.
The trio took turns (very unusual for them) using the windage targeting controls until-
"Target selected and locked. Are we go for launch?" requested the program.
"Hell yeah! Blow the damned thing up already!" yelled Ed excitedly while Mooney and Rin cheered her on.
"Affirmative. We are go for launch. Please select salvo number." instructed the computer. Rin was counting on her fingers and Ed was musing while Mooney looked confused. Finally-
"Shit on it! Let's start with one." said Sailor Moon and she pressed the '1' key.
"Salvo One will launch in T minus five minutes. We are go for launch. Gun ports are clear. Back blast ports are opened. Correcting firing elevation to 800.14621. Mark. Alert! Alert! Clear all sublevels immediately! Firing will commence in three solar minutes! All hands stand clear! Stand clear!" intoned the launch program and at the same time klaxons strted to bray everywhere! Then the huge ship lurched heavily downwards throwing the kids to the deck. Next door on the bridge the peaceful tranquility had just been shattered.
"What the Hell? Gene! Did you do that?" shouted Han Solo. Gene Starwind was just as confused as his compadre in arms.
"Me? You're the damned pilot, Han!" yelled Starwind.
"Yo! You two birdbrains just took us off course dammit! Oro the Hell do you think this is- a frigging joyride?" shouted Nami from her nav room.
"Hey guys! Why the oni (devil) are we targeting 'Minerva'?" demanded Rally Vincent from her scanning station. Then the terrifying truth sunk in.
"Those bloody 'railguns'!" howled pilot and co-pilot together.
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posted by keimanzero
"Han old buddy! Do you know oro happens if a 'railgun' is fired while a ship's in 'hyperspace' mode?" yelped a panicky Gene.
"Nope but I'm guessin' it ain't a very perty sight!" drawled Solo.
"It'll blast a hole through all the continuums in all the Universes! It would unmake creation itself!" shouted Gene who was double timing it for the ready room.
"When does it go boom, Ed?" complained a pouting Rin.
"If we're lucky- Never! Oro the Hell are you hooligan brats doing up here? Han! Oro's the override for this damned thing?" yelled Gene.
"How the Hell should I know dammit?" howled Solo.
"Abort! Abort mission at once! Abort! Hellfire and eternal damnation! Abort I say!" cried Villa who had just rushed in.
"Go for launch has been cancelled. All stations standing down." intoned the program.
By now most of the flag officers were crowding the little room. The three little miscreants decided now was a good time to take off.
"Freeze! Get your asses out of that dumb waiter right now! You three ladies have got some explaining to do!" roared Naturle Edwards from the doorway. The kids froze in terror.
"We didn't do nothing, Auntie Nat!" wailed a sobbing Rinny.
"We were just playing with the new vid game up here." said Mooney.
"It's just Auntie Kome's dumb old vid game. We didn't hurt nothing." sulked Ed.
"You kiddies are danged lucky that the Red Hellfire didn't catch you!" warned Villa.
"Catch oro? Oro the Hell's going on up here?" asked a suspicious Keirran O'Halloran. She'd come up here to chat with Nami and had walked over to the ready room to see oro all the excitement was about. The Boss's suite you will no doubt recall is soundproof.
"We were running a little fire drill, weren't we Captain Gene?" suggested Cagalli Yula Athna digging her elbow into his ribs.
"Huh? Oh yeah that's right, ma'am. Very good folks. Now you can all go back to whatever you were doing." agreed Starwind.
Kei shrugged and went into the nav room.
"We sure lucked outta that one, that we did." said Mooney heaving a sigh of relief.
"Not quite. You three have pots and pans detail for a month." ordered Nat.
"Huh? We rep up everything so there's nothing to wash up, Auntie Nat." said Mooney.
"That may be true but Uncle Tracey cooks so he'll need clean pots and pans. You'll be washing and drying them for the next month. Ed? Mooney? A one thousand word essay regarding artillery safety. Single spaced. Rin? You will write 'I will never play in the ready room again' one thousand times. Auntie Mae will see you get to your bunks. Get plenty of sleep kids because you'll be up at dawn. Dismissed." commanded a seething Nat Edwards. Mae wasted no time in hustling them off to bed and then went to her own bunk. It had been a long damned day.
"OK folks. We got lucky tonight. Kei didn't hear anything and Donovan took three 'Xenokot' sleeping capsules. Needless to say neither they nor the Brigadier must ever find out anything about this little incident. Is that quite clear? Kome, send out that message to everyone's PDO unit on this ship except theirs and add a two minute 'delete' instruction. This minor 'wargame' never happened. I need a drink so let's go back to the bar." said the ex-Archangelite (Nat, Caggie and Flay's former ship had been the 'Archangel' in Cosmic Year 30) and they all left.
Over in the nav room Nami and the Boss were chatting about old times while they ostensibly searched for the best approach to 'Onsokamaru' space and those two 'Double 0 Riser' Gundams.
"Yuri won't let us get any closer than a hundred K kilos (100,000 kilometres) and neither one of us is gonna risk beaming anyone down there. Those 'pattern enhancers' should let us pick 'em up with no prolems." said the redhead.
"Blackfire's worried about our damned warp core holding up long enough to get us there and back again, Boss. By the way who's gonna pilot these two new Gundams for us?" asked Nami Richards.
"Annie (Anne Hathaway was Ella's daughter and a time ship pilot with the 3WA albeit in AD 2268) and KR (Keitarou Reef was the Angels' godson, Annie's partner and a time ship pilot as well). They're both time ship pilots so Gundams should be a cinch for them." replied Kei who had never really known too much about these ancient 'Celestial Being' beasties. Nyssa arrived to spell Nami who headed for bed. Nyssa was the quiet type, answered in monosyllables so the Boss left with Han and Gene who had just been relieved by Rukia and Ichigo. Rally's replacement was 'Derringer' Merrill Stryfe. InuYasha was night security chief. The big hanyou was both upset and amused by his niece's (Rin) stunt with the 'long pipes' next door while everyone else was having a grand old time in the rec room and the bar.
"Rinny gets it from her dad. That's my brother Sesshomaru ya know. Oro I mean is she gets it from him, not me!" said the big inu hanyou or half human and half dog demon.
"Oh no! You never did anything reckless, did you? No! Not you!" commented Kagome Higurashi sarcastically.
"Aw you just think Sess is a saint on account of he adopted Rinny." grumbled InuYasha.
"I most certainly do not! I was referring to the time you and Ichigo were sparring on Deck Six (Deck Six 'is' the 'God Gun') and your 'Tetsusaiga' (IY's sword) cut into the 'God Gun's coolant lines." she replied.
Ichigo guffawed. "She's got ya dead to rights there, Dog Breath! I remember that mess!" chuckled the soul reaper from Kara Kura Town. Rukia turned towards him and smiled.
"Then you must recall that 'Zangetsu' (Ichigo's zanzapatou sword) almost split the gun's ion generator in half that day, Lt Kurosaki." reminded Ms Kutschski.
It really irked Rukia Kutschski that Ichigo Kurosaki had been promoted to lieutenant and assigned to Gin Ichimaru's old squad while she was snubbed. In Squad 13 Rukia was still a lowly nobody warrior. That was back in the Seretai in the Soul Society and that was bad enough but now that they were here as temporary 3WA officers Ichigo's promotions had continued. That blonde hussy brigadier had just made him a Captain while passing over Rukia leaving her still a lowly Ensign! Even Kagome, a fifteen year old schoolkid, was a Suba (Subaltern) and her pet pooch ("Sit Boy!!") was a Lieutenant. Life was like a boat dammit! It was just not fair at all!
"Hey Kagome! Take Rukie and rep us up some snacks and java will ya?" called the petite brunette from the nav room.
"You got it, Merrill. Let's go, Ensign Kutschski." replied Kagome.
"Dammit all! Merrill's not only a First Lieutenant, she's a frigging Acting Captain to boot!" sulked Rukia to herself.
"Bridge duty tonight and babysitting tomorrow. I just can't seem to catch a break, Suba." she complained to the schoolgirl. Kagome shook her head sadly.
"It's your own damned fault, Reaper Girl. You should not have decked Light Yagami yesterday. And you did it in front of Donovan too. Blondie was all set to hand you your bars at tonight's party. Now with you on report she can't do it." explained Kagome while punching in the snack orders on her PDO unit. Involuntarily Rukia shivered.
"Dammit! It's bloody cold in here, Kaggie. Can the 3WA possibly make these damned miniskirts any shorter? I hate these things! That's why I was hoping to make Lieutenant, Kaggie." said Rukia.
"Here's the list. Get repping. Oro does not being promoted to Lieutenant have to do with miniskirts, Rukie?" asked a confused Kagome.
"Lieutenants and the higher up ranks get to wear pants, Suba Higurashi. Reds I mean the Marshall put the kibosh on my 'gi' (soul reapers wear a black overshirt and oversized black pants called a 'gi'. The same outfit is used by Ninjas or Karate fighters) outfit while on duty so I gotta wear this damned getup. Excuse me while I rep, ma'am." said the angry soul reaper.
"I think Andy Gooley picked 'em out and Kome said he's a dirty old man. Suba Oki took hers off and threw it in his face. Chief Gustav told me that after Marina Oki had stormed out the entire steno pool bombarded him with theirs too." giggled Kagome.
"And I thought the Seretai's 'Inner Sanctum' was full of nutcases!" chuckled Rukia. She began placing cakes and pies, buns and rolls, doughnuts and Danishes on an antigrav trolley while Kagome carried the two immense java (coffee) urns over. Then they stacked the dishes and cutlery. Rukia was carefully filling the last cream pitcher when--
"Yo! Hurry up with the food, Shortie! I'm hungry!" bellowed Dog Boy.
"Shit! Look at this blasted mess!" yelped the angry soul reaper who had just dumped the contents of the cream canister all over herself.
"Aren't you a cutie! Better get outta that uniform so we can sponge it off before the stains set." said Kagome while Rukia stared at her open-mouthed then relaxed when Kagome slipped off her own flightsuit and tossed it to her. Kagome had had on a tee shirt and jeans underneath it.
"Looks like you'll be going against regulations until tomorrow, Rukie. Hurry up and change. Gimme your cruddy stuff so I can toss it down the laundry chute. No way! Teddy bear undies? (Rukia made a wry face and nodded) Sango give 'em to you? (Again Rukia nodded) Thought so. I was the one that gave 'em to her." chuckled Kagome while relacing her deck boots.
"Ha ha. Very funny. Thanks for the jumper though." replied the reaper girl. They refilled the creamers and the sugar bowls before trundling the trolley back to the bridge.
"Slumming, Kaggie?" chortled Ichigo.
"A little spilt cream, Reaper Boy. Luckily I had my 'slumming' outfit on underneath my flightsuit so I gave it to Rukie. This is just between us, guys. OK? Rukie's in enough trouble already what with the Light thing yesterday and all." said Kagome and Rukia got very red in the face.
"Darn it all! I wasn't even trying to hit Light. I was going after that Shinigami of his!" yelled Rukia.
"You cannot harm a death god, kid. As a rule you cannot even see or hear them." explained Light who was making his rounds trailed by a grinning Ryuuk.
"Sorry if I got you into trouble, fellow Shinigami." apologized Ryuuk.
"Thanks Ry. I forgot that us soul reapers are Shinigami too." replied Rukie.
"Only they aren't as ugly." added Ichigo.
"You haven't seen the Squad 12 Captain yet, have you?" giggled Rukia. This dude rivalled both the Joker and Ryuuk in ugliness.
"Enough chatter in there, guys. I got something onscreen. Kagome, get in here." called 'Cat' from the nav room.
"Oro does Nami say about it, 'Cat'?" asked Rukia.
"I got no idea, Reaper Gal so get Kaggie's ass in here dammit!" snarled the Terran navigator.
"Is it one of ours, Kaggie?" asked 'Cat' but the schoolgirl slowly shook her head.
"Nope. I'm sure the Boss said we're the only law enforcement ship in these parts. It's way out of 'ISSP' jurisdiction and no other 3WA vessels have been assigned out this far. Whoever it is it's definitely not one of our vessels." said Kagome. Rukia was leaning over Nami and squinting into the scanner.
"Who's 'GC'?" she asked innocently.
"Huh?" replied Nami.
"That's oro it says on the side of that ship out there." explained Rukia.
"It means 'Galactic Command', darlin'. They're sort of like one of us so get your itchy fingers off those triggers out there, Reaper Boy." drawled Han Solo.
"Where the Hell'd you come from, Pirate?" grumbled Nami.
"I trilled Commander Solo and asked him to come up, Ensign Richards. When I saw Kurosaki charging up the plasma cannons I wanted to make damned sure who we were firing on first." explained Light Yagami.
"The Boss called in a favour and asked John Raven ('ISSP' commander at 'Ganymede') to get us some kind of an escort. 'Galactic Command' was the only one that would send a ship out this far. That ship can only assume we're here since we're still 'cloaked' and they can't see us or detect us. Put down that mike, Ensign Kutschski. We are maintaining relay silence until we reach 'Onsokamaru' space. I'll sack out up here across from the ready room. Don't be afraid to sing out if you kids spot anything else. And stay off the comm relays, Rukie love. G'Night." drawled Solo and he left them.
"Oro do we do now?" asked the reaper girl.
"I'm starving to death so let's eat!" yelled InuYasha and he grabbed four ham and Swiss on ryes and popped off the top of a java urn.
"You're a pig!" yelled Rukia.
"Ain't he though." agreed Vincent.
"Sit boy!" ordered Kagome and the big hanyou pitched forward and crashed to the deck floor.
"OW! Damn you wench! That hurt!" howled InuYasha.
"Next time watch your manners, InuYasha." advised Kagome.
Ichigo pulled him up and Nami handed him a cup and a sandwich. Still sulking he wolfed it down and allowed Rukia to fill his mug all the while complaining because they had forgotten his ramen.
Meanwhile the 'GC' ship kept a silent vigil while both vessels sped on towards the most lawless sector of the 'Epsilon Quadrant'- the 'Elysian Fields' and their rendezvous on the tiny asteroid known as 'Onsokamaru'.
Seated in his pilot's chair the 'GC' Captain was brooding. He wasn't a bit worried about the dangerous regions they were soon to encounter. He was way too angry with the 'Galactic Command' and their shyster tactics which was how he and his starcruiser became enmeshed in this mess in the first place. Finding himself in need of a few million credits in a hurry he had foolishly floated a loan from an Antillian moneylender. This guy could have given Shylock lessons! The 150% interest loan was signed in 'Dariabar' but oro the Captain did not know was that the moneylender was only a frontman for the real creditor- Goren LaGann, Supreme Commodore and Commander of the 'Galactic Command' headquartered just beyond Alderaan.
When he discovered that his new creditor was LaGann he still wasn't too concerned. He had patrolled for the law before and anyway until that note was settled he and his fine vessel belonged to the 'GC' so he decided to just make the best of it. None of this upset him until LaGann dropped his bombshells. Then the Captain became as mad as a Zygorvian Sabre Cat and began spitting fire! A "GC' ship or one that was temporarily on loan to them had to fly their ensign- a grey 'GC' on a dark field. In addition LaGann had placed an observer from his own staff aboard the Captain's craft ostensibly as an advisour but to the Captain he was a little fat pain-in-the-ass. The final thing that rankled his ire was that the 'GC' had the unmitigated gall to repaint his beloved starship!
After all the 'Liberator' had just been repainted a cheery red, white and aoishi (blue) to match his fave redhead's 'Lovely Angel 2' starship. Before that it been green and gold- the clours of Marina's fave Terran NFL football team- the Green Bay Packers. He had begged and pleaded to no avail. Supreme Commodore LaGann had been gracious and sympathetic but firm. In the end Captain Zacharias Zero was sitting here just beyond no-man's land in his drab grey 'Liberator' while Warrant Officer Second Class Jomdath Jegga slept in his room downstairs.
Jegga was ostensibly the 'GC' observer but to Zach he was a royal apin-in-the-ass. Zach fumed inwardly at his blasted orders from the High Command. The 'Liberator' was to maintain comm relay silence and Zach was to assume that the 3WA 'LA2' was out there somewhere nearby. Therefore he was to continue his voyage to the 'Elysian Fields' as if the 'Liberator' was on a scenic pleasure tour of the galaxy. Shit! That meant that he couldn't even hail the 'Angel' despite the fact that he and his ship were well known to most of the 3WA and their crews. Well they knew his 'Lib' as a speedy green and yellow starcruiser not as this drab grey 'GC' patrol ship. They had to have seen him here but merely logged him as a 'GC' escort vessel. Wait a minute. Maybe he could send them a message like they had both done in the 'Gyrol Mountains' that time back on 'Shimougou' using ancient Terran Morse Code.
"No Captain. No Morse Code either. No comm relays at all. Your orders are to remain silent. Good night." Damn that Jegga! He had anticipated Zach's thoughts and warned him telepathically. Why not? Like all 'Zargons' Jegga could read minds- even from a distance while Jegga himself was sleeping soundly with a deck between them! If Zach thought that the 'ISSP' had been stern taskmasters they were kindergartners compared to these 'Galactic Command' clowns. At midnight Zach Zero called it a night and went to his cabin.
At that exact same time aboard the other vessel the party broke up and Villa headed for his bunk. Halfway there he recalled that Mae Hopkins had asked that he check in on Nyssa who was navigating the huge ship solo tonight for the very first time. Wearily Villa rode the lift up to the bridge. Nyssa was carefully following the course Nami had laid in earlier and then relaying the course corrections to Ichigo next door who was simply sending them on to the autopilot system. Villa strolled onto the bridge and greeted the two soul reapers. Rukia saluted while Ichigo waved and yawned. To reach the nav room Villa had to step over InuYasha who was asleep on the floor across the doorway. Kagome was dozing in one of the gunner's chairs. Kikyo was on the scanners and politely waved to him. So intense was the Trakken girl on her task that Villa had to practically shout to get her attention. The nav comp readouts were satisfactory and so after assuring Nyssa that she was doing a superb job Villa tried chatting with her. He soon discovered oro most of the bridge teams already knew- Nyssa is no talker. As he rose to leave he remembered the earlier excitement up here.
"One more thing kiddo. Oro was all the hoo hah up here earlier when Yagi Boy (Light Yagami) sent for Solo? A sighting of some kind?" asked Villa and Nyssa shrugged her shoulders.
"Miss Rukia (As an acting Lieutenant technically she outranked Rukia who was only an Ensign but Nyssa had been brought up on courtesy. Since Rukia was older than she Nyssa treated her with the same respect she would give a superior officer or a fine titled lady.) saw a ship out there. Mr Solo told Mr Kurosaki he couldn't shoot at it because it was a 'Galactic Command' vessel and probably our escort to 'Onsokamaru', sir. The good guys was how he phrased it for us, sir." replied Nyssa quietly.
"They still out there?" he asked.
"I guess so, sir." mumbled Nyssa. Villa sighed and peered over Kikyo's slim shoulders at the scanner's vidscreens.
"That it Honey? The big grey one?" he asked and the miko (Shinto preistess) from Terra's ancient past nodded.
"Han said no comm relay transmissions and no hails either. I do not believe the commander trusts the 'GC', sir." she replied.
"Probably not love only he can trust that vessel, that he can. I served aboard her before Gene Starwind found me. That ship is Zach Zero's 'Liberator' my dear child. I will have no trouble sleeping tonight knowing Zach's on watch out there. Good night to you, Warrant Officer Kikyo. See you ashita I mean tomorrow." yawned Villa and he ambled off to find his bunk. Villa's mind mused over how to let Zach Zero know that he was here aboard the 'Lovely Angel 2' (or indeed even that this 'cloaked' ship was the 'LA2') without violating a direct order from a superior officer. Then it hit him. He speedily uploaded a vidphoto of that famed ancient Terran Italian estate 'Villa d'Este' and added the caption 'Zero humidity today. Glad you could make it. How do you like this house?' to it. Then using an old coded pre-war channel Villa sent the image and its cryptic message to his old chieftain.
As soon as 'You have a signal' popped up on Zach's vidscreen he automatically opened it. Then he puzzled over it for a few minutes.
The Italian Tewrran house was called a 'villa' so Zero guessed that his old pal Villa must be aboard that mysterious 'cloaked' ship out there. They were probably under the 'No relays' orders the same as he was. The last Zach had heard of Villa he was serving as a gunner aboard the 'Outlaw Star' and the Star was more than likely docked aboard the 'fire maiden's Angel. After all ever since Gene Starwind and his crew had attempted to rescue 'Black Ghost' from the 3WA Gene had been travelling with that crazy mixed-up firebrand Hellcat, hadn't he? At least that was the scuttlebut from 'Rygiel 9' where he'd delivered some spare parts for 'Voltrons' last year. Did that mean that Villa was here? Apparently so if this cryptic message was any indication.
Zach racked his brain for a way to respond without giving 'GC' an excuse to discipline him- again! Finally he hit 'reply' and circled a 'ray' of sunlight on the photo.
'Me too. The house is simply Angelic'.' was how he captioned the ancient photo. Then he hit 'send' and relaxed a bit. Villa would easily understand the 'ray' message he hoped. 'Rei' was 'zero' in Japanese and the 'Angelic' house was the 'Lovely Angel 2' starship. Zach hoped that Villa wouldn't risk sending another signal tonight. After all the 'Galactic Command' weren't totally idiotic!
Villa chuckled while reading Zach's signal. Now he was quite certain that they had themselves a really good escort out there. He had served Zach Zero as a weaponry expert ever since Zach had 'acquired' the 'Liberator' from her previous skipper- Alonzo Blake. He grinned at that recollection from long ago. Once upon a time Villa had been a member of that infamous renegade pack known as 'Blake's 7' but that was another story entirely. Jonny Harlock hadn't yet left the rec room when Villa had retired so Villa decided a night cap was in order and returned to the bar. He confided his suspected identity of their "GC' escort spacecraft to the grizzled old pirate captain. Jon had known Zach Zero long before Villa had crossed paths with him all those years ago. He agreed with Villa that they were indeed in 'good hands' but like Villa he also wondered why in the wide cosmos Zero had decided to join the 'GC' forces.
"We'll be in position by noon tomorrow, laddie." observed Harlock while he sloshed another three fingers of rum and rye for them.
"The sooner we finish our job and get the Hell outta here the better, Cap." replied Villa. He drained his glass and turned it upside down before wishing Jon good night and going back to his bunk. A few drinks later Jon followed suit and peace claimed the 'Angel' at long last. Meanwhile abovestairs Villa was troubled.
Why hadn't he told the Brigadier (Marlene Angel) about the 'Liberator' and Zach? Villa mused over that problem and finally decided he'd damned well better tell Blondie all about it in the morning. He soon fell into a fitful sleep. And aboard the 'Liberator' Zach Zero was having second thoughts as well.
Zach had decided against telling anyone except his exec about Villa's messages and he'd do that in the morning. And? Well he'd better just sleep on it.
True to Jon's word by noon the Angel was in position and ready to 'beam' the two Leviathan 'Gundams' aboard. That is until Bear and Eric of the Ice Road Brigade got a good close look at them through the long range vidcams!
"Wow! Those things are monsters, Reds!" exclaimed Eric while Bear merely nodded in awe. The other four Terran truckers agreed they'd have one Helluva time moving those two behemoths. Alex whispered something into Neko's ear and she nodded. The nekomata girl trilled John Raven who was waiting below on 'Onsokamaru' and he answered immediately. Her face clouded over at his reply. She turned to the others.
"Bad news, kids. John says the two 'Gundams' weigh a good 75 or 80 apiece. Therein lies our problem." she said grimly. Hugh the 'Polar Bear' blanched white.
"Tons? Metric tons? What's the gravity like down there, 'Kittykat'?" he asked worriedly.
"Seventy-five or eighty thousand kilograms, Mr Hugh. Like I said therein lies our problem. John thinks so too." replied Neko.
"Oro (What) problem?" demanded the Boss. Rally had pulled John Raven's rugged image up on the vidscreens and patched in a relay so everyone could see and hear him.
"Hiya Reds. Well you're a hundred kilos out and that is well within range of 'em if they were up here on the surface. However, those things are another two or three kilos below us and too damned heavy to move on our own. None of our shuttles will fit down in those tunnels and--" he began.
"Sorry to bust in on ya there, Mr Raven but how wide are these tunnels of yours?" cried Hugh suddenly.
"That you Polar Bear? Well I er--" he dithered until-
"For Kami's sake John! Just tell him dammit!" growled Kei.
"OK. They're pretty darned narrow for us, Hugh. Only a kilo and a half in width." replied Raven.
"Only? Hell! That's almost a whole damned mile!" yelled Drew. Slowly Jon Harlock shook his bearded head.
"I know oro ye be thinkin' laddie and it willnae (will not) work. Each one of those tin suits weighs over 75,000 tons! Your lorries will hold only a fraction of that weight. Sorry to burst your bubble, Hugh." apologized Jonathan Harlock sadly. Hugh smiled and Alex frowned at first and then he too finally got Hugh's drift.
"Ever heard of 'tandem trucking', Mr Raven?" chuckled the burly minister of the ice roads.
"I never even heard of 'trucking' until you guys showed up on 'Gysymeo', Reverend but I'm willing to learn. Oro's the deal, guys?" asked John Raven. Being the oldest trucker Bear explained.
"Back home on our ice roads sometimes we just have to deliver loads too heavy for one rig to haul. Like say an oil derrick tower. What we do is this. Put two rigs against each other back to back. Then we load the thing so half of it's in the bed of one rig and the other half's in the bed of the other rig. See? (John nodded) Then while one rig drives forwards the other driver is going in reverse. (John's aizu (eyes) popped) Of course both trucks have got to maintain the same speed and keep their load as steady as possible but we do it quite a bit, sir with very few problems." explained the greybeard. Solo was amused.
"Ever try that trick through a twisting pitch black tunnel deep beneath the surface for 5 or 6 kilometres (3 or 4 miles)?" drawled Han.
"Nope. But we never had onboard navigation systems like these before either." said Rick. The Boss was gnawing her knuckles. Finally she glanced over at Ari the Elf Huntress.
"Can you beam 4 trucks, 2 skysleds, drivers, handlers and provisions for each onto that asteroid's surface? I won't ask you to beam 'em all underground kid. They can drive down there by themselves. (Ari nodded) Right. 4 rigs and 2 sleds. Hugh and Alex will drive 2 of the trucks while Bear and Eric will drive the other 2. Rick and Drew will each be aboard a skysled with a driver. Rally's gonna scan the tunnels and relay information to the sleds who will in turn pass the word along to the rig. Once they get those 'Double O Riser' units topside Ari will beam 'em aboard one at a time. Then she'' beam the rest of the teams and their equipment back here. Any questions? Good. You guys go and get your gear together awhile. You'll be trilled when we're ready to go. I want a guard on each rig and a security team with each sled. Rick? Drew? I take it you guys dunno how to operate a skysled?" said the redhead.
"What the Hell's a skysled?" asked Drew and Rick merely stared into his java.
"OK. Then Ichigo and Naraku will be your drivers. Jon? (The big guy nodded) You'll pick the security teams. As for the rig guards- InuYasha will go with Bear. Kouga will go with Eric. Lord Ivy (Ivanhoe) will be with the Reverend (Alex) and Rebecca goes with Hugh. Ichigo will drive Rick and Naraku will drive Drew." commanded the Red Marshall. The Ice Road Six had left some time before this and so were not privy to these orders nor would they have approved of them!
A little while later Nyssa tapped on the door of the truckers' quarters and Eric opened it.
"Hello there, Love. Come by to wish us luck eh?" he asked with a devilish grin.
"Yeah but the Boss told me to deliver this stuff to you guys." she said and dumped what appeared to be a huge armload of shimmering tissue-thin plastic sheeting on a table.
"What the Hell are we supposed to do with this shiny plastic wrap? Gift wrap those metal beasts?" joked Rick. She grinned.
"Hardly. These are Elfin suits of mail for your protection, gentlemen. They are composed of 'Mithril' which makes them very light but amazingly strong. Elfin armour to be precise. It'll stop a disruptor bolt or a bullet." explained the Trakken girl.
"This crap wouldn't even stop a pebble from a slingshot, kid!" Hugh guffawed loudly. The rest snickered their agreement. Nyssa sighed and spread one of the 'Mithril' suits on the floor. Next she drew her Mark XII disruptor pistol and motioned them all to step back.
"Stand well back, Terrans. Watch and learn." she ordered before calmy firing six bolts of pure plasma energy into the garment from two metres away. Mouths gaped open in shock! The 'Mithril' mail was completely undamaged. "And they're even warmer than your long johns, me boyos." she added while reholstering her pistol. "Reds said to be on your rigs and ready to split by 1500 hours- three o'clock this afternoon. We're serving luch now so I guess I'll see you guys later. Good luck, gents." said Nyssa and she departed. Bear grinned.
"Like I keep on telling ya- this is Wonderland or Oz- one or the other! It has just got to be!" he said and picked up a 'Mithril' suit of mail.
"Truly the good Lord doth work in mysterious ways his wonders to perform." agreed Alex who was already pulling on one of the strange Elfish armours. Drew and Rick were still looking for blaster holes (unsuccessfully) in the one Nyssa had shot. Eric was admiring himself in the mirror.
"Look at me! I am Super Eric!" he chortled. Hugh grouched at bit but did get into one of the 'Mithril' Hall-o-we'enie costumes as he called them.
"Well, one o' these thingies did save Reds' life in that shoot 'em up, didn't it?" growled the Polar Bear.
Finding no holes in the test garment Rick handed it to Drew while he donned the remaining one himself.
"Hey! They ain't scratchy like wool or flannel!" said an approving Drew.
"Warm as toast to boot." agreed Rick.
As it turned out all of the drivers and their passengers wound up at the same lunch table. The ones that knew Kei's orders and the ones that didn't were sitting side by side and across from each other. As usual the big hanyou was the first to put his foot in his mouth.
"I've got the job of protecting you, Mr Bear." said InuYasha in between bowls of ramen. InuYasha's usual meal contained at least sixty bowls of the noodles staple.
"Eric? The big mangy wolf's (Kouga the wolf youkai demon) with you. Lord Ivy's watching your back, Mr Alex. Rick's got soul reaper boy (Ichigo Kurosaki) and Naraku's with Drew." explained InuYasha who almost always ate as though someone was trying to take his food away from him.
"Who am I stuck with? Your brother?" demanded Hugh grumpily.
"Nope. You have got me, Lord Hugh." said Rebecca. Then she reached across the table to slap Rin's fingers.
"Do not take things without asking, young lady." she admonished after Sesshomaru's ward had tried to grab a bowl of InuYasha's prized ramen. Kagome pretended not to notice since IY apparently hadn't and bit into her cheesesteak and munched away heartily.
"Bring Rin some ramen please and better bring another fifty for Dog Boy. I'll have some more onion rings please." said Kikyo to Mina who nodded and jetted off to the galley.
Ami, Serena, Zoe and Leila trundled eight heavily overloaded antigrav trolleys past the truckers' table.
"Who's all that for?" asked Nami Richards.
"Guess." replied Faye Valentine.
"The Saiyaans are over there so it must be for them." said Light Yagami. Ryuuk pointed confusedly at InuYasha.
"Ain't he a Saiyaan?" asked the Shinigami death god.
"I'm a demon, Ugly!" snorted InuYasha angrily.
"Half demon." intoned Kikyo, Naraku, Sess and Kagome.
"Stupid mutt!" said Kouga.
"Mangy wolf!" replied the hanyou.
"Please don't start that all over again!" pleaded Rukia Kutschski.
"Yeah. I've got a headache." agreed Ichigo Kurosaki.
"How come I get stuck with Becky for a passenger?" sulked Hugh.
"Would ye rather after havin' Revy Roberts, Mr Hugh? (Hugh emphatically shook his head) Then pipe doon already, sir." said Jon Harlock.
"Cheer up, Hugh. You coulda gotten saddled with that pirate gal Emma." chuckled Rick. Jon rounded on him savagely.
"And just what be wrong with that, laddie?" demanded Harlock.
"Nothing. Sorry, sir." apologized Rick who still had a blank look on his face until Drew whispered to him.
"Cool it, you dolt! Emma's Jon's niece." seethed Drew. Jon drew out a huge old-fashioned Turnip watch.
"It be half past two. I'll see ye all doon in the bays at three sharp and ye dinna better be late!" he said and left the table.
By 1500 (3 PM) six of Kiva's 'Coriander' crew had been drafted by Jon to be his two security teams- three for each sled.
"Can you guys hear me OK? Rick? Drew? This is 'Cat' here. Over." trilled Rally Vincent.
"Yup. We sure can." trilled Rick.
"Loud and clear, ma'am." trilled Drew.
"That's great. OK. Just read out whatever messages I send to your vidscreens. Rick will be advising Hugh and Alex. Drew will be relaying to Bear and Eric. Good luck, boys. 'Cat' out." trilled Vincent.
Suddenly Rick thought of something really important!
"Yo Reds! We are getting paid for this job, ain't we?" he blurted out anxiously. This seemed to be a cue for the others to chime in and they did- loudly.
"Of course we're paying you guys. Galadriel has given all six of you oro you guys call 'blank cheques' for the duration of your stay with us. By the way you are all warrant officers and acting Subalterns you know. Rebecca's already a Suba so for this mission she's in charge. One more thing, gang. You'll be pleased to know that our old tomo (friend) Zach Zero is commanding our 'Galactic Command' escort vessel. Yup that's the old 'Liberator' out there although Kami knows why he decided to aint her battleship grey. OK. All team members will carry sidearms and plasma rifles, got it? Ari will beam you down in five seconds. Good luck, me boyos and lassies." said the Boss and she pointed to Ari who nodded.
"All systems go. Energize." ordered the redhead and the small convoy vanished.
A tall lanky official-looking guy in black flight togs was standing in front of oro resembled the entrance to the New Holland Tunnel in ancient Terran New York City if that tunnel had been ten times wider than it really was.
"Jesus H Christ! What the Hell's that thing, Alex?" trilled Hugh.
"Abandon hope all ye who enter here. May the good Lord protect us, Hugh." replied Alex.
"Amen to that, brother." agreed Eric.
"Who wants to go down the dark creepy tunnel first?" trilled Bear.
"Lead the way, Rick!" trilled Drew.
"I just remembered that I got claustrophobia, guys!" trilled Rick.
"Pretend you're Robert Langdon on a dangerous mission, Rick." suggested Eric.
"Greetings gentlemen and welcome to 'Onsokamaru'." said John Raven. "You needn't worry, lads. I'll be leading this sortie. This place is honeycombed like a rabbits' warren. We don't want you guys getting lost now, do we?" chuckled the 'ISSP' chief.
"After my sled the order will be Drew, the Polar Bear, the Reverend, Rick, Eric and Bear. Lt Moran will be bringing up the rear so we don't lose any stragglers. It's as icy as the devil down there so be careful. The temperature is minus 650 degrees Kelvin which is well over 800 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. That means that you stay inside your rigs at all times. My men will load your carriages. There will be ample space to reverse your trucks once you reach bottom. Any questions?" asked Raven.
"How much does each one of those statue things weight, Mr Raven?" asked Eric.
"Almost 400 tons which means that each rig must bear a 200 tons load. Which two of you drew the short straw and get to back out of the tunnel?" asked John. Alex and Bear's hands went up.
"Fine. Just keep your speeds even and constant. Even your excessive weight will not break the ice but a 400 ton Gundam might so onegai (please) do not drop one on the way out. Anyone else? No? Then queue up behind me and keep together. Good luck." said Raven.
"All set, Morey?" trilled John and Lt Mortimer Moran replied in the affirmative.
"Only three and a half Terran miles but to these Earthers it'll feel more like a thousand, eh Starbuck?" he chuckled to his driver Sapper Dave Starbuck who grinned.
"Damned straight, sir. Three and a half miles down but that's as the crow flies and not as the tunnel twists, Lt." he agreed.
Except for Drew's constant wailings of impending doom and Rick's constant cursing, Alex's praying, Hugh's yelling, Eric's laughing and Bear's continual exclamations of wonderment the trip down was uneventful and took less than four solar hours.
"We're all gonna die!" bemoaned Drew for the umpteenth time.
"If you say that one more time, drw, you really ARE going to die!" yelled an exasperated Naraku.
"I'm getting airsick again!" announced Rick.
"Dammit! Use those barf bags, Mr Rick!" howled Ichigo.
"Our children are acting up again, Bear." chortled Eric.
"Yeah, seems we can't take 'em anywhere without their getting into trouble, Eric." agreed the greybeard trucker.
"Do not worry for the good Lord will protect us from evil." intoned a solemn Alex.
"I sure as Hell hope so!" cried Hugh who was not used to driving in utter pitch black darkness. On Terra there was always moonlight.
"Are not you men supposed to be the stronger sex? Time to start acting like it, Lord Hugh." said a disgusted Rebecca.
"Hooray! I can see light up ahead!" rejoiced Drew.
"Thanks be to Christ! I like this evil darkness not!" replied Ivanhoe the Dark Knight.
"Stand by with those monstrosities, lads! Get these old antique jalopies loaded up quick so these boyos can get on their way, Mr Moriarty." trilled John Raven.
"Standing by, sir." trilled his 'truck push' who had been borrowed from the Kaguran Air and Space Patrol (KASP) for this mission.
"Thanks. I'll be sure to put in a good word for you and Mr Moran the next time I'm with Dan Dastun, Lt." trilled Raven.
Dan Dastun was the chief commanding officer of KASP and both Moran and Moriarty's boss. After the first two rigs had been loaded and placed back to back with Hugh in front and Alex in reverse the big Polar Bear asked jokingly:
"What happens if one of us drops his half of one of these iron giants?" Raven answered in a deadpan voice:
"After losing so much weight so quickly your outmoded conveyance will be catapulted upwards into and partway through the roof of the tunnel where you will be wedged for all eternity. The sudden shift of excess weight to the remaining contraption will of course crush both driver and passenger into a compact box instantly. I am not sure whether the Gundam's excessive weight will break through the tunnel's floor or not. However, if it does, this tunnel sits above a virtually bottomless crevasse or chasm large enough to engulf your Terran moon with room to spare, Polar Bear."
Hugh paled as did Becky!
END of Ch 58. Ch 59 'Monsters On the Angel?' or 'RAVEing Lunatics? ' soon. Getting interesting eh? Wonder how our heroine’s gonna get outta this one? Read on and r/r/s away as always. Have a wunnerful day and sfn/sys/jm/Kami bless you all for your interest and assistance. Hooble-toodle-doo! Toodles tomos watashi-K&K
I dickered over this chapter’s titles. Let me know if I got ‘em right eh?
Hope ya had a happy and safe Guy Fawkes' Day!
PS- I really do appreciate all your loyalty and support over the years my tomos watashi all! And you can take that to the bank folks!-K&K
See ya next blog post. Toodles-K&K
This chapter brings me up to date. Then I have to wind up this one and think about my next one folks- K&K
This Rally 'Cat' Vincent and Minnie Mae 'Kitten' 'Blonde Bomber' Hopkins from the Gunsmith Cats is a good comparison pix of how 'my' 'Cat' and 'Blonde Bomber' look on the Angel 2 in Angel Wings. Rally's a scanner while Mae's a gunner although they both do double duty stuff including babysitting.
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