Everflame 2 (FINISHED)

[tangletail]

Leo once again had to straighten up now finaly removeing his hand from his side to tell her everything. What he remembered from his encounter starting with the first sight of the Cyote, from inside the Quarintine bay, inside the elevator as well as his escape from the. Basicly anything the creature was envolved in. He made sure to not say the name of what they were looking for only gave hint to it.

The feline sighed shakeing her head a bit "Let me guess the reason of urgency. Sphere got ripped to shreads, you want to make sure someones alright when that chance is very unlikely, OR you feel you can stop another disaster hm?" Brogalio quirked a brow turning his attention to the Dragon "Huh... well if he ate him then theres nothing for you to..." she trail off before placeing a finger next to her head "
Oh she died... Well its not to surpriseing concidering the fact her arms missing." she would quickly rip the com link from her ear as a loud cry could be heard from it placeing a free hand over her now ringing ear. She waited for a bit for it to subside replaceing it "Pull your self back to gether, I mean you hounestly couldnt have known her for that long." The cry started again this time she pulled to com link back out and held it in her hand "Sorry, we have a rookie"

[KittKat chunky~]

Annie glanced between Dougie and Keiron, suddenly wishing that she had just kept her uniform on.
Unlike Dougie however, her emotions stayed buried beneath a calm and collected expression. She shrugged nonchalantly "A cousin of yours left them here, or something along those lines... I didn't really pay attention." She smoothed out the jacket slightly and shrugged for a second time, slowly and calm "Its not a problem is it? Only if it is, say so and I can go change."
Glancing over Keiron's head to Dougie she contemplated whether it had been worth lying, either for her own or Dougie's sake. Then again, it would make no sense to get on the wrong side of the people working for the company...





Blaze grinned in return to Reggie, but it was Tess who answered "I dunno, however long it takes Miss Yantova to get back from her trip..." She nodded back towards the doorway "You go down the corridor, then left and you find the canteen. That pass card Jessica whipped up for you should get you meals. You go right and theres the communal showers. Sorry man, but I aint got no en-suite..."

Blaze sighed and flicked his tail impatiently. He was torn between helping Reggie, though he could only really guess at what he felt right now, and being alone with Tess. RUST-E was still nowhere to be seen.

As if on cue, the little droid burst out from the shadowed corner of Tess' room. A charger cable pinged out of his metal casing as he whirred over to Tess, chirping happily as he went. Blaze glared down at the machine and huffed a sigh of annoyance. It had been too perfect after all...

[Asia Kali Yusufzai]

Asia glared at the dragon, giving a long, fading sigh. Tabby looked back at him.
"It's okay, we got other food on board." She grinned and took his hand heading into the ship. Asia looked back at the tigress.
"Look, we dont know you and have no time to send ferry you to whatever military base," he said, while Howl and Seeker drifted past into the ship.





The vixen listened intently, her brow pinched just slightly as Leo skirted around the object the beings craved.
"Okay," she said at last. "Do you have any idea of where they would be next?"





"A cousin of mine?" A slight growl rumbled through Keiron, growing louder, until he reached back, grabbed Dougie's arm and pulled him in front. "I didn't think we even had any of my cousin's clothes," he said, as he let go of the dingo, folded his arms, and gave a frozen stare.
"Well she needed help, and we had the clothes," said Dougie with a shrug. "I couldn't just leave her like that." Keiron huffed and rolled his eyes.
"And why didn't  you ask me for them?" he said, tilting his head and cocking his eyebrow. The dingo was quiet, shifting on the spot, looking around the room, until he spoke at last.
"Because it was funny." Dougie let a smile burst on his face as Keiron's mouth dropped in disbelief, shaking his head.
"You're an idiot," he said, with little puffs of his own laugh.
"You gotta admit though," said Dougie, while slowly stepping back from the cat. "She looks pretty good in it" Keiron's eyes turned violent.
"What?!" He leapt from the chair and Dougie fled into the corridor.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he said, while Keiron charged down after him, grabbing the scruff of his neck and punching him in the arm, forcing a yell of pain and laughter.




Reggie looked from the little droid to blaze and back again, then gave a shrug.
"Alright then, well I'll sort myself out," he said and stepped passed RUST-E, into Tess's rroom, closing the door behind him.

[tangletail]

Leo thought for a bit scratching his head thinking. "If they could detect the rock then it would long have been found. My guess is, they will be after the ships next. Anything that can hold millions of passengers and survive space pirates like this one. Or just one BIG "cargo" ship." he would sit down and take his glasses off tossing them on the table as if they ment nothing, just completely worthless. He placed an elbow on the table and layed his head in his palm "Well I did my best to made this situation never happened in vain, got thrown into a quarintine bay to be sure I wasnt possed AND survived several incidents that I might as well be dead in. At least that would be painless." he said sarcasticaly rolling his eyes. "More or less. Back to the subject, its just a guess. If this stone is in a ship then the ships are doomed, if its on a planet the planet will be void of life yadayadayada... its safe to say this rock is some kind of plot device that wouldn't be safe in either hands. Nor wise to destroy."

Brogalio calmly raised a brow before gesturing to herself "Captain Brogalio Morego of the Marines. But you will be back right? Were not going anywhere. Our ship is only buried in..." she turned to mort "Bout how long is the frigate?"

The dingos eyes darted from side to side "I dunno know... 24 kilos maybe?"

"17 kilometers of dirg, maybe just barely touching the end of the crest. We have plenty of guns and food and a nice camp next to a crater. And a working local radio signal because god knows the ship is beyond repairable or even reservable to get a SOS signal out. So... six days then? Three days when you have food and another three when you come back starveing?" She said with a smile

[Chrono Blackwyng]

Chronin didn't even notice the rabbit's glare, somewhat looking at the female tiger before a pebble hit him right next to his tear duct. He immedeatly turned to Tabby, who had two rocks in her hand and a mild glare on her face. "I'm not sure, the landing was pretty rough for an auto-pilot, the fridge might be a mess by the time any of us open it."

He raised one talon up to Tabby and she looked like she was going to pout, but he had already turned to the tigress with his hair half-raised. "Chronin Epheral, Elite class officer recently turned Black Ops. An SOS won't work if the Sphere is destroyed, since the ships will be more concerned in a safe haven rather than picking up strays. None of you will be able to come with myself as my ship was only suited for three, and we're now shuttling five. Scavenge whatever you can from the ship, and head to either high ground or an open terrain. Don't expect help to come until the military pulls itself together, which isn't soon." He turned around, already seeing Asia head inside, and Tabby waiting at the ramp.

He couldn't stop chuckling as he passed her, being very amused at her seemingly jealous attitude.

[KittKat chunky~]

Annie watched the pair from the sidelines, as if the audience to some bizarre play that was acting itself out before her. She sighed and leant against the cockpit wall. On the main view-screen flashed the destination arrival time, surrounded by a galactic map, stars and planets spanning out in all directions. Turning back from the screen she couldn't help but grin despite the situation.





Tess glanced down at the droid with an air of affection. Blaze merely glared, nodding distractedly as Reggie closed the door. He sighed with a grumpy huff as the three of them set off down the corridor. Shooting a sidelong glance at RUST-E he cleared his throat "Hrmn... So, hes stayin' in my room then?" Tess nodded, but said no more "You reckon theres space for all of us?" She nodded again as they reached Blaze's room.

The door slid open, revealing a mess that stretched from wall to wall. Uniforms and odd bits of clothing where scattered everywhere, odds and ends spilled over the edge of a low work bench, and the sheets to the bed had fallen to join the mess on the floor. Tess glanced across at Blaze and sighed "Your room is worse than the engineer deck. I'l take the top bunk, furthest away from the mess..." She grinned and winked with sly mischief.

[Asia Kali Yusufzai]

The vixen stared at nothing , just over the Leo's shoulder, with her pupils making little shifts in thought. "Okay," she said at last. "If we see them again, do  you think you could talk to them? We need to figure them out and you seem to have a nack for encountering them." As she spoke, a wolf guard stepped in, and whispered in her ear, spelling a smile over her.



Seeker turned to Howl, putting her hand to his, their auras twisting together like different sands flowing among eachother. The wolf's eyes turned wide.
"What?" he muttered. Seeker gave a smile, her mane flowing behind her despite no wind in the ship. They looked like wings. Howl let panic into his voice. "What am I supposed to do?!" Her antennae reached out, touched him, then she turned, drifting out of the ship towards the marines.
"Hello," she said, her voice a little broken, slightly stilted, hidden in her accent. "You stay here? I know it. We stay here, and I take care of you all." Her dark eyes gleamed in the sunlight, seeming green among all the leaves and vines.  Howl had stayed in the ship, gritting his teeth, letting sparks wriggle through his irridescant fur.


Tabby narrowed her eyes as Chronin passed, and Asia leaned to her. "Did you just throw a rock at that dragon of yours?" The cat nodded in quick reply.
"Yup, you wanna try? It's fun," she said. Asia gave a little laugh, taking her hand, and the walked through to find the fridge with food splayed everywhere. "Err," Tabby scratched her ear as she looked down at the mess. "We have food packs in the pantry."
"Food packs?" Asia raised his eyebrow.
"Well all the good food is on the floor, or made of Tiger," shrugged the cat with an apolagetic smile.
"Let's just get going."





Keiron turned, dusting his paws off, with a smirk on his face as he headed back to the pilot's chair, leaving his Dingo laughing, whining and gripping his arm in exaggerated pain.
"Don't worry dear, we'll be there soon." Just as the serval spoke, a little blip came up on the console. "See?" He smirked and sat in the chair, as a small green speck in the viewscreen, grew to a small green planet. "Welcome to Mngeya, famed for its forests." He grinned a little, while Dougie walked over to them to join in watching the screen. As they flew closer, the flora filled the screen, and they hit the atmosphere, turning red in flame. Once they'd broken through, they flew for a while, skimming over the treetops as they lowered further and further until a clearing appeared atop a hill. "Here's your stop," said Keiron, and lowered the ship down. Dougie reached under one of the consoles, pulling out a small tripod with a ring at the top, and handed it to Annie.
"Here's your beacon." The ship's airlock opened. "And that's your cue."

[Chrono Blackwyng]

Chronin went into the jail, and put his tail in the door sensor while cutting off a slab of muscle from the Tiger before tossing it in his maw to snack on. He moved the rest of the body to a corner away from flammable objects, and set his plasma weapon on a low intensity setting. This was engineered as a way to start a fire without flint or 'excessive physical effort', but it was also good at speed-cooking a recently hunted meal. He only fired once and the clothes, eyes, fur, and most of the skin, burnt away leaving a rather ugly looking yet well-cooked corpse. Dang, not even a shred of guilt or disgust, am I really getting used to being a half-breed?

[tangletail]

The feline quirked a brow to the dragon "That wont happen unless you send a call. A ship that hits a planet or star in hyperdrive is normaly concidered destroyed. Local radios only work planetarily and any tracking devices on ships only works if the ships auxilary circuts still work and thats long gone." She would think for a bit scratching her nose "Ok tell you what. The emergency escape pods witch are still on the ship, have only enough juice to break away from the planets atmosphere and land safely. If we were willing to share our supplies, and provide any assistance, would you be kind enough to taxy us?"


Before Leo could respon to her, he took note of the wolf that steped in, turning his head to examine the two. The smile for some reason worried the feline, waiting for the two to be finished before speaking. "Is something wrong?"

[Entaru]

As soon as the beast was safely on Nero's ship, he sealed the doors and hit the hyperdrive.  Stars turned to streamers as the ship disappeared into the black of space, leaving Vuranin to her own devices.

[KittKat chunky~]

Annie took the beacon carefully and smirked "Never got round to visiting a forest world before." She turned to the airlock and, with a backwards glance at the pair, stepped in. Her tail swished twice as she murmured quietly to herself "Should make a change from all the rock and steel..." The door closed behind her as she stood in the confined space within. A faint hissing filled the airlock, finally replaced by a clunk and whirr of motors as the doorway outside opened.

The ramp lowered and extended out from the smooth bulk of the ship, letting in a rush of air from outside. Annie couldn't help but stagger for a moment under the assault on her senses. Sharp and fragrant smells rode the gentle breeze and above it all swarmed the buzz and chirrup of a thousand insects. Finally the ramp touched ground with a muffled thump and crack of twigs.

Annie stepped down the ramp, moving with a silent awe that had entirely replaced any other emotion bubbling beneath her skin. Trees rose up around the ship, vast pillars on all sides that branched outwards with thick needles. The nearest trunks where a fair jogging distance away and the space between the vixen and the giant conifers filled with a sprawling undergrowth of ferns. She knelt down to set up the tripod and pressed her fingertips into the moist soil. Her eyes closed momentarily as she smiled, breath slow and calm.


----

Tess lay on the top bunk, her shapely form stretching languidly over the rumpled sheets. She grinned down at Blaze who was attempting, and failing somewhat miserably, to find an off switch on RUST-E. The little droid whirred and beeped maddeningly as he continually dodged out of Blaze's way.

"Fine! Be that way you bucket of bolts!" With a deep sigh Blaze collapsed onto the bottom bunk. Tess leaned down over the edge of the bunk and grinned down at him. The same mischievous smirk twinkling in her blue eyes  "You know... I could get 'im out of the room. If you want us just alone." 

[Asia Kali Yusufzai]

Tabby left Asia to eat, and headed through the ship to the Jail, hitting a wall of smell from the cooked soldier. She looked over to it, and shuddered, the scent twisting with the image, shuddering through her. Stepping back out of the room, she stood at the door.
"You don't hang about, do ya? He'd only just died, and he's already... prepared." She shuddered again, feeling her throat convulse, wretching, with her fur rising up. "So erm... was gonna ask, when we jettin'?"




The vixen bowed her head to Leo a little, with an afterthought of her smile. "Nothing in particular, we just have a some idea of where they might be headed. A friend of  the GA recently made some movement on one of the border worlds. Best guess is that's where they'll be going, and where you will follow."





Doug looked out through the door, feeling the wind bluster in, and shreds of leaves and dirt tumble onto the ramp as it retracts into the ship. The sun drapes over Annie, sliding along her curves, casting deep darkness onto the grass.
"Just set it up in the centre there," he said, gesturing to the grass hill summit, that waved in the wind with flickering sunlight. "Just set it up, press down the ring, a keypad will show up and you put in the code, okay?" The ramp slid into the ship, and the doors closed as the engines began to roar, slowly lifting off the ground.

[Chrono Blackwyng]

Chronin seemed somewhat startled at Tabby showing up just after he finished roasting the body. "If I didn't cook him, he would have just started rotting. The ship only needs the coordinates for Serra Draconis. Since the Black Ops bought this ship just recently, there is only the return sequence to the now obliterated Capital Sphere." He put his plasma rifle away before looking back at Tabby again with an uneasy smile. "Since I only showed my 'skill' to you, can you get your rabbit friend to stay out of the hall or the kitchen? I'd like to get the red meat cut up before I prep the rest for jettison."

[tangletail]

"Sir, I dont think there comeing back"
"Eh, go figures" she said picking something up on the radar of her eye piece. She took a glance to the side seeing what appeared to be a three leged 'hound' like creature with a mouth that split into three and a helmet like shell. As it charged to her she mearly rolled her eyes and lowered her hands to the back of her hip, unbuckleing the Desert Egal. "Well, we can always see if we can fix the power lines to the ship since people tend to be a bit anal about helping unkowns" she said pulling the pistol from its holster raiseing it up only seconds before the thing jumped pulling the trigger. A loud bang could be heard along with a plume of smoke comeing from the barrel. She quickly took a step to the side, allowing the creature to fly past her. She lowered the gun back to her side looking at it before raiseing it again to take another shot to be sure it was dead, and reholstering it.
"Left for dead, ship blown, and a demon mut... I like this planet." she commented rubbing her ear in a attempt to stop the ringing.

The feline looked at the vixen blankly, almost seeingly as if it didn't quite register just yet. "Me?" he uttered blankly. "You want me, just a standard everyday scientist, to go there. To the borderworld?" he questioned the fox, hopeing this was some kind of joke. He felt as he could no longer escape death. "Do I get a say in this at all?"

[KittKat chunky~]

With a nod Annie stepped back from the ship, hair whipping around her head like a dark halo. The ship lifted further and further away from the ground, gravitic motors harnessing the mass of the planet the ship to propel itself up into the air and finally -with a dull rumble that cascaded into a roar- ignited the main engines to fly off into the distance.In the wake of the roaring ship, the local wildlife filled the empty silence, buzzing and chirruping filling the air again. Annie sighed and started off towards the hilltop.

The very peak of the low hill took longer to reach than she anticipated. Ferns clung to the ground like a green sea of swaying tendrils and there was no clear path save that formed by some animals. The track weaved back and forth up the hill, hoof marks with an indentation of bi-cloven feet pressed into the soft earth.



Finally she reached the hill top. There she paused to stare out at the surroundings, and still a feeling of awe washed over her. The hilltop afforded a view that reached over the nearest trees, revealing more and even larger fauna in all directions. She sighed, knelt down, and set up the beacon.

As Dougie has said the depressing of the ring at the top of the device opened a keyboard, a holographic projection that hung in the air before her. Annie tapped out: -0-4-5-1-  There was a soft hum for a moment, then the sound of connection and a voice as clear as if the person where standing on the hilltop beside her "This is the operator speaking..."
Annie pushed back her hair behind her long ears and nodded, replying to the bodiless voice "I am here to meet Krade..."




-----




Blaze grinned sheepishly, glancing over his shoulder at the far corner of the room. In the dark shadows RUST-E sat, now utterly silent and immobile. Funnily enough -or so Blaze felt- all Tess had to do was say please, and the little droid backed away and shut himself down. Blaze glanced back up at Tess, where she had stretched out on the top bunk again, and cleared his throat.

"Tess?" Her answer came as a raised hand, saluting him from behind the edge of the top bunk. Blaze sighed and climbed up the ladder. They met face to face and Blaze glanced nervously away from her "Tess... I was just wondering. If...  Well, just wondering if you wanted to-"
She kissed him, cutting him off mid-babble. They remained there for a moment before she finally backed out, lips parted slightly. She smiled affectionately "I'm not cruel. I'l admit, watching you stumble around trying to ask me has been rather amusing. But still, yeah. Of course I want to... We've known each other long enough for it." Blaze smirked. The smirk turned to a grin, and that too exploded into a smile that suddenly found itself kissing her again and again.


In the corner of the room a single blue light flickered on. It whirred for a moment, focussing on the pair as they clambered up onto the top bunk, locked in an embrace. RUST-E watched for a moment longer and then whirred sadly. His eye flickered  off again...