Michael nods and then heads to Katy's hut via the trees. Michael figures that Katy does not want to openly talk about the secret mission that Benji and himself went on so he remains silent while heading to her hut.

Once both Katy and himself have reached her hut, he'll tell her what was seen on regarding the 'mission' that Benji and he had gone on.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:00, Sun 11 Mar 2007.

Valin nods and says "On it," to acknowledge Katy's order. The gorilla smiles and then heads off to find Emerald to let her know what Katy has planned.

While looking for Emerald, Valin considers the ramifications of today's mission and figures that Katy is in the mood she's in as it isn't everyday that new allies against Robotnik's forces are found.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:05, Sun 11 Mar 2007.

On the journey from Channelwood to Aquarius, Samuel remains vigilant and mostly silent, since he knows that if you let your guard down for an instant while sill in a hostile environment, no matter what makes it hostile, you can easily wind up dead. Although Samuel typically was trained to deal with hostile environmental conditions or native creatures that weren't friendly, Samuel is relying on that training even though it is an army of robots that makes this environment hostile.

After all, many accidents can occur at the end of a mission if people lower their guard as they believe the mission is already completed when only it's objectives have been completed, but those on the mission have not yet reached their base of operations.

  "Its time to break out the air-guitars, as we are lacking in the normal guitars department for the most part."  Why must you talk like you have a huge chunk of crazy lodged in your voice box Joe?

  For those who still don't know how to translate Joe into sane, word of celebrations in thanks for explosives (of justice) was spread.

Once in her hut with Michael, Katy turns to face him. "See anything suspicious at all? Change of expression? Apparent temptations?" She looks like she was holding her breathe since the start of the mission. She may be in a good mood from the victory, but Katy is still concerned about the possability of strangers becoming traitors.

Once informed by Valin of the upcoming party, Emerald nods and heads for the kitchen quickly. She looks thrilled. Of course, so do all the other villagers that Joe comes accross as he spreads the word. Who can object to a post-victory party? Even sour-pusses have to admit that since the mission is done and the objective attained, partying could be in order.

Once Samuel makes it back to Aquarius, Shelly is waiting for them at the pool where they arrive. "Welcome back. Did everything go smoothely? Did you get what you went there for?"

Crucible, of course, went back for Mittens to get her into Aquarius. When he returns with Mittens, he says, "We seriously need to do something about Mittens not having scuba gear. Maybe we could build a new set for her or find an alternative means of entering and exiting Aquarius."

Michael shakes his head as he replies, "Nope, I didn't see anything of the sort. While it does look like they are who and what they appear to be. I do believe that even Shelly is a bit concerned about Samuel. From what I've seen already, I doubt he'd betray anyone to Robotnik. However, I wouldn't rule out him letting someone else get hurt, or worse, if it meant he had a better chance at getting revenge against Robotnik than if he had intervened."

While Michael also honestly informs Katy of what he's witnessed, he doesn't conceal his concerns regarding Samuel, since to Michael, Samuel seems to just be an Overlander, despite where the guy claims to be from.

After informing Emerald, Valin heads off to do what he can in preparation for celebration party. The gorilla is pleased things have gone well, and Valin hopes that today's events weren't some calm before a terrible storm. However, Valin does not dwell on such fears for long as he banishes such thoughts from his mind so he can enjoy the moment as there is no reason to ruin a festive occasion with doubts of fear that currently have no foundation.

Samuel takes off the gas mask he uses as scuba gear and shakes some of the wter from his hair before he answers Shelly's questions, "Things went smoothly, and I got the materials I needed."  Samuel pats the waterproof bags at his side as he mentions the materials as an indication of where they are.

Upon Crucible mentioning his options, Samuel turns and says, "Between the options of building another set of scuba gear, or adding onto the facility to create a new entrance to Aquarius that could be discovered and used by robots thus eliminating the protection of the lake... I think the safer option is to build another set of scuba gear. I also think it would be faster than the excavation which might also draw the attention of Robotnik's forces if they have any seismographs in the region."

Samuel then nods to the others before heading off to the hangar where his shuttle is so he can get to work as he needs to sort out the materials, and work on the two salvaged SWATBots. Samuel knows that when he's busy working, his mind doesn't dwell on painful memories. When it comes to either being a workaholic, or drowing in emotions due to the sorrow and rage of memories he can't forget, Samuel would rather work as at least then something is getting done.

    "That was my original mission in Middletown," Mittens chimes in with a grin :D, "Find scuba gear so I could put the 'Mermaids of Aquarius' myth to rest."  She rubs behind her head.  ^.^\  "Looks like the myth was right and I was wrong," she admits with a wink at Shelly.  ^.~

  "In any case, I wanted to ask your leave to go on a solo mission tonight.  :3  I'm in need of a replacement shield since the last one was used as a decoy...  o.O  Come to think of it...  Those swats are such poor shots there's a good chance it's still in perfect condition!  ^.^  That means all I need to salvage in Middletown is some scuba!"  :D

  Mittens doesn't admit that her plans are a little more grandiose - weapons raid, sabotage, recon...  anything she can get her furry little paws into while the power's still down.  >;)  When opportunity knocks, she _rushes_ to open the door!  :D

Shelly turns her attention to Crucible and Samuel and agrees with Samuel. "Much as I can understand your concern for the growing number of Freedom Fighters who can't swim joining us, Crucible, I have to agree with Samuel. As it stands, the only way to enter Aquarius is through water. And most SWATbots are not equipped for that."

Shelly then turns her attention to Mittens. "For future reference, there is no such thing as a solo mission. So while I don't see a problem with taking FULL advantage of Middletown's current crippled state, I'd advise taking someone with you..." she turns to Crucible and sees he is uncomfortable. "....that said, however, I think that despite how cripple Middletown is, now is not the time to go back. They will have their defenses up by the time you get there. The city itself may be short on energy now, but the SWATbots are not since they run individually from the power grid."

She goes to put a hand on Mittens' shoulder. "You don't have to feel like you need to prove yourself. You helped complete a mission. Relax. You'll get another shot soon enough."

Katy nods to Michael. "Sounds good. In that case, we will continue to watch our backs. But since Samuel's interests are anti-Robotnik, let's make sure our missions and intentions never get in Samuel's way. After all... if that is how he feels, then far be it from me to get in his way... even if he does something stupid or suicidal." She heads to the door. "There's a party waiting for us... if there's anything else you want to add, I'm all ears. Otherwise, let's go."

Michael grins a bit as he says, "I don't have anything else to add."" As the chimpanzee heads to the door he adds, "After how things have gone, a party sounds like a good idea. I just hope nothing gets out of hand. The last thing we would want is to drop our guard and do something stupid that draws attention. After all today we gave Middletown a bloody nose and a black eye. I bet Ra and the others in charge of Middletown are wanting some form of payback...so let's not give them any opportunities." While it is clear that Michael isn't wanting to downplay the victory, he doesn't want it going to anyone's head either.

Emerald cooks up some yummy stuff. Vegetable stew for all those veggi-lovers. Some selections of pies; Apple, Strawberry, Blueberry, Cherry and even an odd one made from Oranges. Most of the stuff are hot meals, but she has side trays of cooler dishes as well. Some cheeses, bread, and other stuff. There are carnivours among the Channelwood villagers, so she also has some nice meat selections. She doesn't make steak often, but there it is. She also makes some ice cream. But she doesn't do all this alone, obviously. Just that everyone knows she's pretty much doing the bulk of it and loves it. When everyone is gathered and ready to eat, she does what she enjoys the absolute most: Sing! She sings for the villagers, providing some good party music while they eat.

Village-wide parties in Channelwood are few and far between. But when they happen, Emerald knows how to contribute in a big way.

  "Not proving myself, Princess," Mittens says with a broad smile :), "Just wanting to snarf up the tools I'll need to more effectively make progress in this region."  She thrusts her fist forward vigorously as if stabbing someone in the gut with an imaginary sword. (>^.^)>|==>

  "I'm all for the buddy system," she adds with a mischievous smirk, "Especially if my buddy's a princess!  ;D  Wuddya say?  Wunna come stretch your legs and breath in some fresh air with me?  We need not enter Middletown to retrieve my shield, and we can get a better look at the enemy's state...  and the stars in the sky!"  \^.^/
This message was last edited by the player at 21:38, Wed 14 Mar 2007.

Shelly is taken aback by Mittens' offer and thinks about it. Bonding with the newcommer while picking up a piece of equipment that Mittens claims would not require going into Middletown. Shelly thinks about it. "Sure. But I need to inform the others. And if too many people object, then we should stay here for now. Agreed?"

After reaching the hanger and his shuttle, Samuel heads to the cargo bay in the shuttle and empties out the waterproof bags as he sorts which components will go in which section. Samuel sorts items out depending on how they are to be used and what they are to be used for.

Once Samuel has sorted the materials, he turns his attention to the two disabled SWATBots that were brought to the shuttle earlier. By now the two maintenance robots in the shuttle have managed to finish the scan and diagnostic analysis of the SWATBot design and have delicately disassembled both of the disabled robots.

When Samuel asks the shuttle's computer where the intact SWATBot CPU and memory storage units is so that Samuel can hand that over to an expert in Aquarius for analysis, the computer simply replies by stating the location of those components.

Samuel then picks up those SWATBot components and requests that the computer upload all necessary information into his communication bracer so that he'll have the information he needs to figure out how to make an effective 'SWATBot suit disguise'. By the time Samuel exits the shuttle with the SWATBot components, the shuttle's computer has finished uploading the requested information into the bracer's data storage. Samuel then heads off towards Aquarius' best data hacker to hand over the SWATBot components so that it will be possible to learn more about a SWATBot's operating system, and how they work from a software prospective. Not to mention it will be possible to see if there is any useful information in the SWATBot's memory files. But Samuel doubts there will be anything useful. However, it doesn't hurt to be thorough.

  Its like this.  Free snacks mean eaten snacks.  Though Joe spends more time generally relaxing as opposed to partying it up.  There was also the unspoken agreement with Mike on the fact that their victory wasn't exactly all that amazing.  Though his personal opinion that it wasn't exactly party worthy may be taking it a bit farther down the line.

  But may as well enjoy them when they turn up.

  Mittens nods at Shelly with a smile and follows her lead.  ^.^

Katy goes to the party and when everyone is ready for it, she makes the announcement. Of course, this means Emmy quiets down and Katy has the floor. "Fellow Freedom Fighters, I'm sure many of you are wondering why we are partying other than the fact that it's been a while and that the go-team just came back with another mission accomplished. Many of you know we had some guests. Those guests left because they are not going to join Channelwood as citizens. However, that is because they are already citizens to a neigboring village. Emerald talked with one of them (Pierson) while we were doing our mission and found out the reason we had never met these people: The normally did under-water missions in Lake Urser! There's been an underwater Robotnik settlement all this time and we never knew! But in the same breathe, there have been Freedom Fighters living very nearby all this time. THIS is the reason for the party: We now have an entire village worth of new allies that we can coordinate with and both our and their chances at getting a victory on any given mission have been increased 2-fold. Today, we had a victory while teamed up with another town's freedom fighters. And not just any victory, either... Middletown's power is OUT and will stay out for some time. Coordination between the freedom fighters of the world will be the key to ultimate victory in the future. Here's to the future!" Katy raises her glass and steps down.

Needless to say, many people raise their glasses and cheer. It's a party, after all. Sure, some people got a little ruffled that Katy mentioned "an underwater Robotnik settlement", but the good news seemed to outweigh the bad. Katy goes back to sitting next to Michael. She leans over and says, "It's funny how Samuel was trying to be negative earlier and wound up only complimenting us. Without meaning to, he made the point of just how invaluable coordination is."

Shelly goes to inform the Aquarius Freedom Fighters that she is going for a brief mission with Mittens. "Do not worry. It doesn't involve going into Urser or Middletown. I will be about an hour or two at most." Due to the way she put it, most people don't see the problem. Though many are wondering who Mittens is since she really hasn't had the chance to mingle with the Aquarians.

  Mittens silently follows Shelly's lead and just smiles and waves whenever someone locks eyes with her.  ^.^/

Micheal nods to Katy and replies, "I doubt he found it funny, but he is right in that coordination is invaluable. Although we already know that since if there was nothing to be gained through teamwork, we would be going after Robotnik as individuals instead of as the unified group that is the Channelwood Freedom Fighters."

*End of Chapter 01: New Friends*

I will begin chapter 02 now.