Everflame 2 (FINISHED)

[Asia Kali Yusufzai]

Krade rolled her eyes and put her fingers to her brow.
"Oh don't call me Krade, it sounds weird from people who know me from back then." She huffed a sigh. "Makes me sound like a man, that's why I chose it." She stepped back and leant agains the wall again, and with the back of her fist, she knocked on the door. "Look, there's no need for all this. We know why you're here. That Justice lot have been on me for ages, and though they can cover their tracks, they're not the best at it. So, why are you really here? I'm just doing what's right, what are you doing?"





Reggie marched out of the grav lift and through the corridor. The sick bay drifted past him in a row of windows. Ignoring every one, he stepped through a small metal door, and the morgue greeted him like a cold wind, with a receptionist at the end of it.

[Entaru]

Nero glared at Chronin and cracked his neck as he listened.  When Chronin was finished he spoke.  "Alright then...suppose this all goes to plan.  How long would it take?  Days?  Weeks?  Months?"  Nero's lips curled into a snarl as he spoke, his tone growing harsher with each passing syllable.  "I don't know how time here converts to over there, if it does at all, but I can tell you this:  WE DON'T HAVE THAT LONG!  In fact every second we waste is just adding to the mess that's going to need to be cleaned up."

[KittKat chunky~]

Annie let a small sigh escape her lips, breathing in deeply before replying "I'm just doing what I need to survive." She ran a hand through her ponytail and sighed again "Not all that surprising really. Its almost as if they wanted me to be caught, the plan was so vague." Still running a hand down her ponytail, Annie leant against the nearest wall, finally losing her composure "A woman called Shivan, you know her? Well she is very high up in the Mechanicus, I'd say she even has her contacts in with the funders and generals. Suffice to say, I had no choice but to agree."

Annie ran a hand over the wall behind her, fingers questing through the many grooves and cracks in the concrete "She wants you dead Tina. She knew that I was there with you, security photographs, enough evidence to have to me rejected from the Mechanicus and on my way to state prison without a fuss from the court. Instead she gave me the choice, redeem myself or take the charges." With a weak smile Annie reached into her jacket. She pulled out the slim pistol from the inside pocket and threw it down to the floor. It skidded over the concrete to Tina's feet "You know which choice I took."

[tangletail]

Leo threw a arm over the seat he was sitting in and peered over his shoulder to watch her walk into the back. He wanted to say something but quickly stop as he held a blank exspertion only just now remembering when the last time he ate was. Yesturday's morning. Forgeting what he said out the sound of his stomach he got up and walked into the back looking for the kitchen inside the ship "Thanks for reminding me."

[Chrono Blackwyng]

Chronin sighed, very tempted to test out the limits of his power on the entity yelling at him. "Until you and your friend decided to tear the ship apart, it was only going to take two days at maximum..."

[Entaru]

"I have a ship, half-breed" Nero snarled, becoming even more ill tempered as the half breed not only refused to act as the inferior being that it was but even had the audacity to talk back to him.  "Now hold your tongue until I speak to you...unless you want to spend the rest of your short life without it.  Now, Howl...where is it?"

[Asia Kali Yusufzai]

Howl stepped back, toward Chronin. "I'm not telling any of you. You can't be trusted to keep anyone safe." A sudden hiss screeched into their heads, as the beast rippled and grew, flames flicking at the sides of the dragon and wolf.
"There is no time. Dimensions are folding." The beast encroached closer in on the pair, and tentacles of light reached out to Howl. "I can pull what we need from you. We do need no consent."




Tina knelt down, picking the pistol from the floor, and held it up to the light. "Shivan, huh? Justice bird, she is." The put the pistol to rest on her head and breathed a little sigh. "Perhaps things will turn out pretty well for you." She flicked her tail and stared into Annie's eyes. "Have you got any loved ones left? People to save?"




Reggie marched through the doors, and came to the reception, where a finch looked sideways at him.
"I'm here for Jaack Kavel," Reggie said, as he leaned to the side, watching a lizard pass through some double doors, swinging and revealing the body coolers. The finch made a quick twitch of a nod at him, then typed on her computer.
"Says 'ere, 'e's gotta be prepped for transport on a ship registered under someone called Reginald S. Mongoste." Reggie nodded his head and pointed to himself. The finch tilted her head to the side. "You got one day to take 'im. He's prepped, ready." After the last word, she flicked on a smile like a switch. Reggie squirmed where he stood, and his hands became fists.
"Look, there's a problem." The finch's smile vanished. "My ship was stolen." The finch gained a frown.
"Well that is a problem, but not our problem. You can still take 'im, or you can wait a day, and watch us cremate him." Reggie flinched, and began to grind his teeth.  He stood thinking, and the bird kept twitching her head like a marionette. "So I can still take him."
"He's frozen right now," the finch said, and tapped her computer screen before spinning it around to show him. "But if you want, we have an embalming service, so you can keep him on the station for as long as you need." A slew of options for dealing with corpses filled the screen. "We take no responsibility for the actions of the security on this station."




The vixen tapped on the wall, and a small cupboard opened up, letting silver packets of food tumble out. She caught a few, and let the rest fall to the floor. The microwave slid open, and she tossed them in.
"We haven't got much on this ship," she said. "But after the mission I'll buy you something nice."

[KittKat chunky~]

Annie nodded "Yes, a son." Finally she smiled and let out a weak laugh "I'm doing this all for him. And there are... others." Flicking her tail Annie glanced up at the ceiling, away from Tina's prying eyes "There will always be people I want to save..." She sighed deeply and let her head lean back against the wall "So, where does this leave us?"



-----


Together, Blaze and Tess walked through the winding corridors of the mechanicus carrier. Arms linked, hands held and smiles shared they walked at a leisurely pace, matched only by the few others who where not currently on work shifts. Whirring softly, a small droid followed the pair, slinking between the legs of workers and pilots. Finally when they had reached a wide hangar the little droid stopped, watching as they walked away. He gave a little whirring sigh...



-----



"Captain!" Vladiik glanced up at the sudden shout, one voice rising above the constant murmur on the bridge "Ships jumping inbound!" He rose, feathers ruffling as he strode across the bridge and to the pilot who had shouted. The young hawk pointed in what could only be described as abject terror, as half a dozen unlabelled diamonds flashed onto his screen. Vladiik frowned and leant closer. The diamonds stayed still and immobile, and his frown deepened "They could be cargo ships..."

His voice petered out, for the dozen diamond icons had suddenly been joined by a flock of new icons like flies to meat. Several thousand miles away, across the inky darkness of space a fleet of armoured warships had jumped into position, engines already flaring into action, weapons traversing. Vladiik pushed the pilot roughly aside and reached for the controls. He flicked a switch and shouted, voice resonating throughout the carrier "Standby for emergency jump!"

[Asia Kali Yusufzai]

"Well dont get ahead of yourself, the conversation isn't over," said Tina, as she held the pistol to her side. "I need to know exactly who you want to save, and how far away they are." Her pierced through with her eyes, a serious expression engraved on her face. "This is important."

[Entaru]

Nero smirked as the beast moved in closer.  "You know, I think you're right.  I've never needed anyone's consent to get what I want.  A fake and a half-breed may prove to be a challenge but nothing that I can't handle."  Nero himself seemed to grow, if only in presence, as the darkness of space seemed to get even darker. 

"So you can tell us willingly..." Nero began to fade into the background as his flesh began to take the form of the space around him, the hole where his eye should have been emitting an eerie glow.

...OR We'lL RiP IT OuT OF YoU!!!!

[tangletail]

Leo tilted his head at the pile of packets and watching them go into the microwave. He scratched his head a bit not really haveing a likeing for space food. His ear twitched and he gave her a funny look "I thought that was the males job?" he joked, but hounestly he couldn't argue.

[KittKat chunky~]

With another sigh Annie looked down and met Tina's gaze "My son, of course, and a fox named Reggie. They are the ones closest to me... Both are on-board a Mechanicus carrier. I can give you the co-ordinates if you need them. Why is this so important? I can hardly return to that place, Shivan would revel in locking me up..."



-----



The mechanicus carrier lurched, shuddered and roared, and then disappeared in a flash. Those ships that had been outside hangars scattered like ants as the Carszenian war fleet descended, beams of energy flickering and lashing out at the doomed remnants of the Merchant ships...

Everywhere inside the carrier a dull red light flashed, all other lighting gone. Everything rocked and swayed, metal groaning in protest. In the hangars  crates and equipment slipped and slid, the unexpected jump not leaving time for heavier objects to be tied down. Screams of panic where drowned out as crowds of non-mechanicus merchants fled in every direction...

[Chrono Blackwyng]

Chronin's power flipped its aura about as he felt threatened, and suddenly started pushing away what it used to be pulling in. Beyond that, he had no idea how to deal with something as seemingly omnipotent as these creatures before him...

"Nero, don't tell me you're getting worked up by my son, who is barely in control of his own powers." Vuranin appeared next to Chronin and Howl, her tendrils wrapping around Howl while her hand grabbed Chrono by his now-crystalline hair before warping above the converging entities. "I swear, all you two are good for is causing more problems. I at least gave birth to the one who can get us to the Everflame!"

[Asia Kali Yusufzai]

The vixen typed in the microwave time, then glanced over to Leo. "Yeah well," she said, and put her hand to the wall, while she listened to the hum of the microwave. "I dont suppose I ever put much stock in that." She flashed a smile, though it began to fade. "I don't suppose you've had a good day, have you." THe microwave pinged, and the vixen pressed the door to open. The packets bulged, and she pulled them out with her fingertips, dropping them on the table. "There should be plates in one of these cupboards, go get them."





Tina nodded, and ran her tongue along her teeth.
"Alright then, a carrier." She brought the gun up and tapped it against the side of her head. "Okay. You're not gonna land on the carrier, you'll just be nearby so we can contact you easily to identify who you want." She tapped her leg, and then the door twice. "We better be quick. We've had some strange reports, and a mechanicus carrier might have to jump at any moment." The door opened and a chameleon in a tshirt and shorts peered through, staring at both women in expectant poise. Tina turned to him. "Take her to the ship."
"Um," said the chameleon. "What, um... what about the, um... Justice prizzies... um... Justice prisoners." Tina sighed, while the chameleon wrung his shirt in his hands.
"If we're not back in time, kill them."







Reggie stumbled to the side, and the finch moved with her chair on its wheels, rolling across the sleek floor.
"Wooo, what's 'appening?" She tweeted as she grabbed the desk and pulled herself back. Reggie looked around, red lights flashing in his eyes, and a frown deepening on him. The finch swiped through menus on her screen, delving deeper into systems. "Looks like we just jumped," she said.
"What?" Reggie from her, to the morgue and back to the door outside. "We jumped? Away? Where?!"




Howl's relief travelled through a sigh, though still he was stiff in Vuranin's grasp. He watched her, then the beast who flared and spread out like flowing orange over a black page. The two bright eyes burned from the growth of a head, and he stared at Vuranin, drifting to her. "He stands in our way. Your connection has no relevance. We are the amalgam of minds, and if we consume him, his knowledge can be ours. His interference will be negated."

[Chrono Blackwyng]

Vuranin's hair flared out as she stared at the 'beast'."My only connection to my decision was that your method of information gathering put my son in danger. Besides, how exactly can you get to the Everflame if they shoot your ship down before you can even see them!?" Chronin could feel something being pulled from his mind, but he could also tell that it wouldn't be forgotten on his side. I'll need a few seconds to get all three of us transported to the location in your head, can you hold that thing back for that long?