FleetCaptainT: Created page with "'''Forty-eight'''
With Spakybob gone, his attack force was qu..."

2017-05-23T18:27:51Z

Created page with "'''Forty-eight''' With Spakybob gone, his attack force was qu..."

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'''Forty-eight'''

With Spakybob gone, his attack force was quickly decimated by the combination of defenders from the Sentinel Base Camp and Nimbus Station. Calm soon settled over Avant Gardenâs hills, and coincidentally the skies cleared.



Intrepid looked up at a navy blue sky after shoveling back the last of the dug up earth. Evelyne lay in a deactivated Nexus Force stasis tube. It was the best they had as it would protect her from Maelstrom.

 

No words were said then, as there was nothing productive to do with such things, except to plan on how to stop the Maelstrom Dimension. Defeating them was fitting. It was the Maelstrom that killed Evelyne both times.

 

âStill no sign of Red?â Jonna asked Intrepid as they headed back to the shipping container.

 

He shook his head. âGuess whoâs also gone.â Future Intrepid hadnât shown up either after the battle, but Intrepid was used to a lack of communication with Red, and by extension the entire Future Dimension. With his Unverse Manipulator out coordinating with them was impossible, unless they could get to The Ring in Nexus Tower, but every world including Crux Prime had been hit, according to reports. Only Avant Gardens and Nimbus Station had overcome the first wave of attacks.

 

Intrepid held up his dysfunctional Manipulator. âWe need to fix this.â

 

Jonna wrote it down in a battered notepad. âThatâs on the list, as well as rescuing Cyclone, Edgar, and Allison. And finding more Nexus Figures, but with Red gone we have no way of following the lead she might have had.â

 

âWe might not need to.â Skilled Honored Ninja, also walking beside them, cut in. âI just remembered something about that term, Nexus Figures.â He scratched his hair. âOkay, this might make me seem like a stalker.â

 

âWell, inferior janitor, tell us whatâs on your mind!â Strange Odd Shadow urged him.

 

âI need a moment to recallâ¦ now Iâve got it!â SHN pointed at Jonna. âWrite this down: Verbina Ingram.â

 

Jonna inscribed the name carefully.

 

âSome type of flower?â asked Shira, perplexed.

 

âItâs the name of a scientist who used to work for Leek Works.â Skilled clarified. âI was cleaning her office once, as any good janitor would, and this is the stalker-ish part. I saw a document on her desk with the title âNexus Figuresâ on it.â

 

Intrepid stared at him. âYouâre sure?â

 

âIâm ninety-nine percent positive.â Skilled affirmed. âMake that ninety-eight. I could be wrong. Donât sue me.â

 

âI was about to call my attorney.â Shadow joked, but no one smiled.

 

âSo this Verbina worked, past-tense, for Future Leek Works?â Intrepid repeated. âWhat did she do there?â

 

âShe built the original Unverse Manipulators, thatâs all I know.â Skilled shrugged. âThe whole organization is very secretive. I didnât even know Tiberius lived in the basement until he came up one night for a midnight snack, the same night I was going for a midnight snack. Scared the bricks out of me.â

 

âThatâs great, Skilled.â Jonna interrupted. âThis is a great lead for us.â She shut the notebook and let a smile cross her weary face, which had been expressionless the past few hours, due in no small part to the conflict. âWe kill three birds with one stone by finding Verbina. We learn what we can about the Nexus Figures, fix Intrepidâs Unverse Manipulator and maybe build more, so we can then go to the Maelstrom Dimension to save Cyclone and the others.â

 

The five of them and Rover reached the shipping container and found two Sentinels inside. Kate was sprawled on the cot again and barely waved a greeting. The other was a white colored Sentinel wearing gear from all kits. A zip gun hung off his left side, a sword off his right, and a Samuraiâs helmet and arrows were behind his back.

 

âSuave Able Cat!â Rover shouted the Super Sentinelâs name. They both drew wide grins. âHavenât seen you in a few years, buddy.â

 

âYouâd think Iâd be second in command now with Brocktree still missing,â Suave said, letting his face turn grim at the mention of Lord Brocktree, who had gone missing on a mission three years before, âinstead Iâm still working behind the scenes. I thought Iâd come back here, to see if I left any notes behind that would give a clue to this sudden Maelstrom resurgence. Instead I run into old friends. Come here.â The two shared a brotherly hug.

 

âThis isnât a typical resurgence.â Jonna said, getting to business. âIntrepid?â

 

âDo you know about the Epsilon Experiment?â Intrepid queried.

 

âWe sent explorers into another universe using the Ring device.â Suave answered and shook his head. âDonât ask me how the thing works, Overbuild built it, not me.â

 

âThere are other dimensions, not like that universe, but based on ours and separated from us by unverse.â Intrepid said. âSimilar and different. Thereâs a Maelstrom Dimension where the Darkitect has completely taken over the Crux System, maybe more, and theyâve developed Unverse breaching tech that uses Maelstrom. Now theyâre attacking us.â

 

Strange Odd Shadow opened his backpack and held up a notepad of his own, opened to a drawing. âHereâs a cleverly illustrated illustration of the Polyverse as we know it, drawn by myself.â

 

âJanitor Dimension?â Suave stared at the drawing, a perplexed expression on his face. âWho came up with these names?â

 

âIâm a janitor where I come from, one of the best.â Shadow explained. âFor that reason my source dimension is named after me. And for the sake of familiarity, your dimension is called the âOriginal Dimensionâ, as about everyone here sees it, exceptions being me and the inferior janitor.â

 

âHi.â Skilled Honored Ninja waved. âI respectfully disagree with his claims that I am an inferior janitor.â

 

Suave looked up. âAlright, I believe you about the dimensions. So do you have any plans to stop this?â

 

âWeâre working on making one.â Jonna said. âRight now weâre looking for someone else who we think can help us.â

 

âCan you take us to a Verbina Ingram?â Skilled asked. âGiven time, we could just hack the Nexus Force databases to find her, but we donât have that, so...â

 

âI know who youâre talking about,â Suave said, âbut you really shouldnât be hacking our stuff. That said, she works in Nexus Tower.â

 

âGood, we were headed there anyway.â Intrepid said. âHaving your authorization also means we donât need to steal the Ring.â

 

Suave folded his arms. âYou talk about breaking into Nexus Tower like youâve done it before.â He cast a sidelong glance towards Kate. âOh right, some of you have. Well, I have no more business here. Thanks to you, I got what I came for. Iâll come with you.â

 

âThe more the merrier. We should all stick together this time.â Shira advised. âThere are some people from Nimbus Station whoâd like to join us.â

 

Kate swung off the cot and followed them as they headed out, and Intrepid noticed her downcast expression. He walked slowly so she could catch up, then he asked, âHowâre you doing?â

 

âI should be asking about you.â she said huskily. âIâm sorry about Evelyne. She was a brave girl.â

 

Intrepid nodded. He could tell she was bothered about killing Janitor Cyclone. âYouâre thinking you should have been able to save them.â

 

âI know itâs not my fault,â Kate said, âbut I should have been able to do more. Being like a living Nexus has to mean something.â

 

âWeâll figure it out.â Intrepid said. âOur primary objective is getting Cyclone, Edgar, and Allison back.â

 

âThat means going to the Maelstrom Dimension.â Kate translated. âCharles was adamant against me going there.â

 

âHe canât play god.â Intrepid declared, and Kate sighed.

 

âNeither can we.â

 

Intrepid knew what her words meant, and he knew they were true. ''We canât save everyone''.

 

The sky was beginning to lighten when they approached their rockets. The Avant Gardens and Nimbus Stations defenders, lead by Beck Strongheart and Epsilon Starcracker, had set up camp over another hill, and Intrepid watched as teammates and friends, old and new, came down the hillcrest to join them, lead by Shira who had went to rally them and Luke and Mara.

 

âHello, Sergeant.â Intrepid greeted a sterling Assembly officer dressed in Inventor gear who walked behind Luke.

 

âHow come you never visited me, Intrepid?â Sergeant Ghost Mustache asked with a scowl. âItâs a rocketâs flight between Avant Gardens and Nimbus Station. I could have been there for you, these last two years. Your friends have filled me in.â

 

âI plead guilty to laziness.â Intrepid admitted. âSo weâre still friends?â

 

Sergeant clapped him on the back. âDo you even have to ask? Iâm glad to see you again.â

 

The two surveyed the rest of the new arrivals, five familiar persons in total. A black haired Sentinel Knight was showing off his latest rare acquisitions to Kate. Two Rank 3 Space Marauders, one blue-haired and the other brown-haired, stood alongside Shira. Another Sentinel, a Space Ranger, was cleaning his zipgun. The last of the entourage was a lean, bearded man with sand colored wavy hair dressed in a matte gray, carbon-mesh armor suit with no faction identification, signifying his independence from the Nexus Force. He held a modified Paradox Heavy Bolter and a Sniper Rifle was slung on his back. Other small weapons, pistols, blades, hooks, and tazers, and plenty of supplies were secured to his tool belt.

 

âRemember these guys?â Shira pointed at the Space Marauders.

 

âIâm Stunt.â said the blue-haired one.

 

âAnd Iâm Rare Spiffy Agent.â said the other.

 

âOf course I remember them,â Intrepid said, âand Master Blade Nine and Argon Dragon Udon.â

 

âDonât forget me.â the faction-less man said, and he looked over Intrepidâs shoulder as Rover walked to Intrepidâs side.

 

âIâll never forget you, Krill Mathias.â the Buccaneer greeted his old nemesis. âGood to see you, Blade.â

 

âShrill told us everything. Cyclone is captured again.â Blade confirmed. âOf course weâre here to help.â

 

âSo weâre going to this so-called Maelstrom Dimension?â Krill asked.

 

âWe need to see Verbina Ingram first,â Skilled said, âso we can build up our forces and tech.â

 

âAre you sure we have time for this lady?â Krill questioned. âIf we have a way into the Maelstrom Dimension, which we do with the Ring in Nexus Tower, we should go now.â

 

âHe has a point,â Rover agreed, âand how do we know itâs not too late for Cyclone and the others?â

 

âWeâre still going to try.â Kate reminded. âWeâre going to see Verbina since she can help train my powers so we can save Cyclone.â

 

âYou have powers?!â Blade exclaimed.

 

âI owe Kate my life.â Luke said, which made Mara cling to his arm.

 

â''Guess Shira didnât tell you everything, Blade.'' Intrepid thought. âYouâre a Nexus Figure too, Blade. You, Kate, and Cyclone are the greatest threat to a Darkitect, which is why the Maelstrom Dimension one wanted you deadâ¦ now he wants to infect you again.â

 

âSo what are we waiting for?â Rover asked, summoning his Venture rocket.

 

âMore like who.â Intrepid added, looking over the people assembled. Ray and Tornado were present. Ben was there. Cailan and Crimson were drinking soda. He whirled to Luke and Mara. âWhereâs the Figdroids?â

 

âTheyâre not here,â Luke said worriedly, âwhich can only mean one thing.â

 

Intrepid took a deep breath and let it out raggedly, while he tallied in his head, ''Cyclone. Edgar. Allison. Jay and Katie''. âSpakybob must have gotten them. Theyâve been captured too.â

 

The group of twenty-one delayed no further in boarding their rockets and launching to Nexus Tower.<ac_metadata title="Song of the Swans Part 8: Resolutions"> </ac_metadata>

Thread:FleetCaptainT/@comment-27324808-20170523182751 - Revision history

FleetCaptainT at 21:11, 23 May 2017

FleetCaptainT at 21:08, 23 May 2017

FleetCaptainT at 18:49, 23 May 2017

FleetCaptainT: Created page with "'''Forty-eight'''
With Spakybob gone, his attack force was qu..."

Thread:FleetCaptainT/@comment-27324808-20170523182751 - Revision history

FleetCaptainT at 21:11, 23 May 2017

FleetCaptainT at 21:08, 23 May 2017

FleetCaptainT at 18:49, 23 May 2017

FleetCaptainT: Created page with "'''Forty-eight''' With Spakybob gone, his attack force was qu..."

FleetCaptainT: Created page with "'''Forty-eight'''
With Spakybob gone, his attack force was qu..."