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Aquarius:

In one of the security rooms of the underwater base Aquarius, Shelly is leaning back in her seat. The guard there, sitting next to her explains that he hasn't seen anything suspicious all night.

"I guess it's time you get some rest then. Go tell Dorian it's his turn to sit guard." Shelly says to the guard. Once the guard has exited, Shelly leans forward to look at the monitors. "What a beautiful morning", Shelly thinks to herself as she watches the sunbeams dance about inside the water. But as she watches, she narrows her eyes a little. Shelly presses the lockdown button and gets on the intercom.

"Attention. Aquarius is under lockdown for the time being. A spybot has been detected over the lake. Please remain indoors until further notice." That said, Shelly sees Dorian enter the room and she lets him take over. "Hey there, Dorian. All yours." Shelly then heads off to check that everyone is accounted for. Especially the newcomer Samuel, who Shelly wants to know the status of right away.


Channelwood:

Meanwhile, about 8 miles away, a town in the trees called Channelwood is still unaware of their nearby lake being occupied. But it was only in the past year or so that Channelwood finally had what it took to start fighting back against the forces of Middletown which was taken over by Robotnik. Their current leader Katy is always making strike plans and today is no exception. By the very same sunrise that Shelly was admiring, Katy is writing plans in her personal hut. Little does she know how much things are about to change in the next few weeks. For the moment, however, Katy decides to take a break from her plan-making and exits her hut to socialize. After all... what's the point of fighting for freedom if you don't express some freedom now and then?
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:27, Wed 10 Jan 2007.

  Mittens greets the new day with a yawn and a stretch.  "Good morning, God," she prays, "Nice sunrise you got there!"  After a few moments of admiring the beauty of the light sifting through the slowly swaying trees above, Mittens breaks camp and re-checks her topographical map of the area.  "Middletown shouldn't be very far," she ponders to herself then begins recalling what she's heard of the area. "'Enemy stronghold,' is it?  'Avoid at all costs,' you say?  'Lake inhabited by man-eating mermaids!'"  She can't help but chuckle.  XD  Those are the kind of things she considers an open invitation to go adventuring!  ^.^

  "Superstitious people," she thinks, "More than likely the mermaids are nothing more than alligators and the town's been long abandoned by the badniks."  She sighs in disappointment v_v but resolves to see this through anyway.  "No scuba gear means I'll have to go into town for supplies first before I solve the mystery of the lake."  With that she sets her compass and heads for Middletown.  :D

   At the time Shelly put Aquarius into lockdown, Samuel was just getting out of the shower in his shuttle after completing his daily early morning workout. Not that anyone in Aquarius would realize exactly how his daily routine goes as he mixes it up frequently. Sometimes he works out just in the makeshift hangar for his shuttle. Somtimes he runs laps around Aquarius on the lakebed wearing his space suit. Other times his workout takes him through the inside of Aquarius, and more than once Samuel has been told to not 'run on the ceiling or walls' with his boots anti-grav and magnetic abilities.

  However his routine for today had been of the run laps around Aquarius in his space suit variety, which is why Shelly was no doubt worried. This is due Samuel making sport of trying to hide from Aquarius' cameras after learning where they were where. When asked about this, Samuel's excuse was that it was practice for when he heads into Ursur or Middletown and he has to avoid the cameras or he'll set off an alarm. Combined with Samuel's 'bad habit' of bypassing the normal check-in/check-out procedure of reporting into the Guard station, as Samuel often complains that it is boring and time consuming, there is good reason for Shelly to be worried about Samuel's location.

  Samuel's voice comes over the speaker in the guardroom's intercom speaker as Samuel asks, "Any clue how long Aquarius will be on lockdown? I do have plans and Aquarius being under lockdown hinders them,"

  It has already been established that its a lovely morning out.  Though with all bright and sunny mornings comes an obvious and often overlooked problem that a certain coyote will be pointing out.  No, not the one with the French accent.  Or the one with the Acme mail order catalog. Joe.

  "Stupid sun, thinks it can wake people up just because its responsible for heat and light keeping us from being Popsicles..." Just because a guy can manage on next to no sleep doesn't mean its not lame. Though in this case its more plenty of sleep and laziness.  The obvious requirements of getting up went through, Joe took a moment to try and remember where the grappling hook gun he was working on was.  A glance upwards confirmed that it was still on the ceiling of the hut.

  "Right, retraction speed needed work."  This comment of the first sign of madness variety made he headed on out to the general Channel wood area leaving it where it was.  One of the benefits of being in a group was that you could leave stuff laying around, because there was a place to leave it laying around.

Like most mornings, Michael is surveying the village while munching on some fruit.  His habitual checking to see if anything needs to be repaired or replaced has kept Channelwood in excellent condition over the years. Looking around is about all Michael can do this early as he knows all to well that people woken up to noise from maintenance of the village tend to be grumpy.

Upon seeing that Katy has left her hut Michael waves and starts to make his way towards her as Michael wants to check on the progress of the plans for the next raid into Middletown as he knows there are more than a few items that coudl be acquried in a raid that are in short supply in Channelwood.

Valin yawns as the light from the sunrise comes through the open window of his hut. He isn't a lazy gorilla, but Valin doesn't have much to do this morning so he's taken the opportunity to relax for a moment as he munches on some berries.

Looking out the window, Valin mutters, "I wonder if today will hold any surprises for us," as Valin hopes that if there are any surprises that they won't be harmful ones as he opens the locket he wears around his neck and glances at the photo of him as a ten year old boy with his parents as the gorilla's thoughts drift to joyful times from the past.

"There you are!" Shelly says with some enthusiasm. "I currently shut down Aquarius due to a spybot patrolling over the lake. Where *are* you?"

Shelly would much rather Samuel not get caught after all. Though thankfully, she has faith that even if he were spotted, Samuel would probabley not give away the location of Aquarius (nor would Robotnik know to ask about it anyway).

Katy spots Michael approaching, so she continues on her way towards the switch for the winding stairs. When Michael is close enough, Katy greets him. "Good morning, Michael. I trust things are fine on level 2 so far?"

By "level 2" she is, of course, referring to the current level of the village that she and Michael are on since there are 3 level (if you include the ground level).

"Where do you THINK I am? I have plans to scavange parts from Middletown today and I can't do that with Aquarius on lockdown." as Samuel clearly sounds agitated while he finishes prepairing for the solo sortie to Middletown in his shuttle's hangar.

After all why would Samuel expect any of the freedom fighters to be willing to risk their lives for him since he's always made it clear that his fight with Robotnik isn't noble, one of vengence.

"Goodmorning Katy. Things are going well, although we are running dnagerously low on certain supplies," as Michael hops over to Katy using a few tree branches as a short cut as Michael often does when he wishes to manuever around the village quickly.

Michael holds up a piece of paper with a list of supply items on it to Katy and says, "Here is the list. I hate to say it but I think we'll be needed to head into Middletown to get some of these items as they can't be made with what we currently have."

Shelly folds her arms and mocks what Samuel said using mouth gestures, though Samuel can't really see that. "I can understand cabin fever, but please try to understand. It's not like I have much choice in the matter. And it's probabley only going to patrol this area for a few minutes."

Then, after thinking for half a second, Shelly adds, "And you know you shouldn't go alone. So take one or two people with you. Lemme know who you'd like to take and, of course, let me know when you actually leave."

She hates having to treat a full grown man like a baby, but in her mind, since Samuel is new to Aquarius, she has to remind him he's not independantly active anymore.

Katy looks over the list and nods. "I was just about to go to the windmill to check it for any required maintainance. Did you already check the windmill?"

That said, she turns the switch to the on position to allow access on the ground level to the second level. "If you did, I can gather the people we'll need in order to get these materials. Maybe it can even tie into the plans I was writing up."

NPC post:

Meanwhile, as Mittens gets close enough to see Middletown, it's easy to see the influence of Robotnik. Smoke rising to the darkened, polluted sky. Hovercrafts patrolling various locations of Middletown. The entire place is dark and dreary.

"This has nothing to do with cabins or a fever. This has to do with acquiring components I can not find or make here," as Samuel walks voer to the smaller airlock for personel in the makeshift shuttle hangar to wait.

"Besides it's best if I go alone, any guards that come with me means Aquarius' defenses are weakened, and I won't risk taking a civilian into a dangerous place, as that goes against the principles I live by as a Stelaras Employee." Samuel sighs as his mind drifts back to what he's lost. Samusl goes quiet as his mind thinks of how Mobius is a prison for him, and Robotnik is the psychotic warden...and that one day he'll rescue his captain, his best friend, and his wife from that madman...and then leave this hellhole of a planet to get back where he belongs....outer space.

But before that, Samuel Stevenson must first repair his shuttle, find out how to reverse the roboticization process, find his crewmates, rescue them, and get revenge on Robotnik... and not necessarily in that order.

Michael says, "The windmill was the first place I checked." He glances into the direction of the camoflaged windmill and adds, "It's okay for now, but it's only a matter of time before its maintenance will require some of the items on the list I just gave you." as Michael looks back to Katy and wonders how she'll respond to what he has just told her.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:24, Sat 13 Jan 2007.

"Of all the stubborn.." Shelly thinks to herself. She then replies with, "I can understand your concern, but going it alone is more dangerous since you won't have anyone to watch your back. And if you get caught, me and many more that would have gone with you in the first place will come to rescue you. So just let some freedom fighters do what they do best. I mean come on... we're all in this fight against Robonik, so we all accept the risks."

After finishing his breakfast, Valin exits his hut and looks around. As he doesn't have anything that he has to do for the next few hours, Valin figures that he shouldn't spend his free time couped up in a hut, as he's always prefered being outside when the weather is nice.

Thus Valin starts walking around Channelwood's second level, simply observing how things are, as wildlife is still abundant in the forest, and Valin has always enjoyed living amoung the wildlife, as he always knows where he stands with nature.

Katy ponders for a moment while staring at the list. "Alright then. A material run. Go get Emerald and Joe and meet me in the planning room. I'll be getting the Middletown map and the plans I've been making." With that, she waits for Michael to acknowledge before she heads for the elevator that heads for the third level.

Shelly's words bring Samuel's thoughts back to the present as he says, "The more that come, the more at risk. Besdies if I'm captured, I'll be dead before Robotnik's forces can interrogate or roboticize me. If I'd be dead that fast, there would be no time for a rescue. For a person used to traveling free among the stars, being stuck on a planet is a fate many would say is worse than death. There is nothing you can say that will convince me delay going I know the dangers and I am prepared the face them."

Samuel closes his eyes for a moment as he awaits for the lockdown to be lifted so he can get going. Samuel is tired of being told things people think he doesn't understand. But he's even more tired of people underestimating him, Robotnik made that mistake when his Spacepod entered Mobius' atmosphere and crashed in the ocean..and now Samuel feels that Shelly is underestimating him... after the sensors Samuel has at his disposal, Samuel can watch his own back..and Shelly seems to believe that he doesn't know what he can and can't handle. "As soon as the lockdown is lifted, I'm going out this airlock... I'm going to complete my mission, and I won't let anything on Mobius stand in my way."

Michael nods and asks, "I'll get them, anyone else you think might be useful on this raid?" as Michael awaits Katy's responce before heading off to fetch Joe and Emerald.

  Joe might take advantage of those moments where you can be lazy without causing any hassles, but that doesn't mean he doesn't go out of his way to make things easier for others at times.  Take now for example, instead of having to look for both Joe and Emerald, Mike only has to look for Emerald thanks to the fact Joe happened to be passing by the area.  Never mind it involved more coincidence than planned action, it still counts.

  "From the four words of that I heard, I'm assuming I'm going to be told to do stupidly dangerous things and be given the conflicting orders not to do stupidly dangerous things while we're out there at the same time?  If so, no problem. Well, unless I'm supposed to play suicidal decoy or something, then I might argue with you for two minutes for appearances sake before going with it."

  Yes, anyone can wander through killer robot infested areas and get supplies.  Its doing this and being able to convince people you're doing this in a safe manner thats really hard.

Shelly scrunches up her face. "You really should try to be more social, ya know..." is all she says before checking the monitors again. "Lifting lockdown. The spybot's gone. Anyone planning to go outside, please do so with caution as always." That said, she presses the button to release lockdown. Meanwhile, she hurries over to a couple freedom fighters. "Samuel is going to Middletown alone. Follow him." They bow and hurry off.

Katy notices Joe conveniently showing up somehow and says, "Well sort of. It's a supplies run, but I also plan to kill two birds with one stone. You may as well accompany me to Level 3." she then looks to Michael, ponders for a moment and says, "Yes. I'm sure I won't need anyone else. You'll be going also, but I'll be staying here. I have some things to do here and the mission isn't complicated. Again... meet you at the planning room." She starts off towards the elevator that leads to Level 3.

As soon as the lockdown is lifted, Samuel steps into the airlock and shuts the door behind him. He then quickly takes out and dons the gas mask from his tool belt to allow him to breath while underwater.

Within moments of the gas mask being put on, he floods the airlock with water and then opens the door infront of him to the lake. As soon as Samuel exits Aquarius he closes the airlock behind him and starts swiming towards the shore near Middletown. Samuel sets his diagnostic sensors to continually make passive scans to try and give him as much warning when a robot comes into the area as possible since Samuel most will need those sensors long before he reaches Middletown.

Samuel stays away from the surface of the lake until it is so shallow he has no choice to surface at the shore. After reaching the shore, he double checks the two water proof satchels and backpack, that he has put on to safely store the materials he plans to bring back to Aquarius, before he starts heading towards Middletown.

Samuel closes his eyes for a moment and thinks to himself, 'This should be no different from the virtual reality simulations I've run, now let's see how acurate those simulations were.'

Michael looks over to Joe and grins while thinking, 'He definately is a strange one, but his timing tends to be helpful, well most of the time at least.' Michael then nods to Katy and says, "It shouldn't take too long to find Emerald and get to the planning room, see you there."

Michael then jumps up onto a nearby treebranch and starts using the trees as a shortcut to Emerald's hut as he figures she should still be in or near her hut.

And not far behind Samuel are two freedom fighters. A seabear and a skunk. The two know to stay a safe distance away from Samuel's heat sensors, so the chances of him detecting them are slim to none.

Upon getting to Middletown, Samuel can see about 5 SWATbots are patrolling the nearest entrance road. There are, of course, buildings to sneak into, but chances are Samuel would be spotted if he were to try sneaking into one. One of the annoying things about Middletown's defence is that it has a wide open area, making it easy for those inside Middletown to see who is coming. It would seem the only alternative would be the sewer or just straight up combat with a half dozen SWATbots. Hey... nobody said sneaking into Robotnik territory was easy... even a remote place like Middletown.

Emerald is at her hut, watering some potted flowers and plants she has hanging around. She notices Michael swinging her way and pauses to turn and face him with her watering can in front of her.

As Samuel knows there is no way even inthe best situation that he could take out all the SWATBots before they called for reinforcements, Samuel opts for using the sewers. With his gas mask, he won't be bothered by the smell, and he's had to work in some rather unpleasant areas before. With his sensors it's not too hard to find an enterence into the sewers that isn't guarded...unfortunately this also means anyone following him will have to take the same route.

Michael grins as he finds Emerald, before saying, "I'm glad I found you. Katy needs us in the planning room to discuss a raid to get some supplies from Middletown." Michael thinks to himself, 'It's a good thing I found her here, it could have taken quite a while if she wasn't here and I had to look all over Channelwood for her.'

  Mittens blinks in surprise at the sight of Middletown.  "Wow!" she thinks to herself, "Wasn't expecting this town to be so lively!"  ^.^  Mittens recalls her training: the presence of so much activity can only mean one or both of two things - valuable resources, and/or freedom fighter groups in the area!  :D  She sits on the tree branch she was standing on, watches the enemy through an old-fashioned spyglass, and munches on an apple.  :9

  "Well," she explains to herself, "So much for the direct approach.  No way I'm getting through the front door..."  Mittens easily gets distracted with fantasies of flying over the defenses with and imaginary rocket pack, landing in the center of town, fighting her way through hoards of Swats, facing off against some giant boss robot that's holding a child hostage, and slicing it in half Voltron style.  *.*  "Waitaminute.  Wouldn't the explosion kill the kid?  Guess I'd have to slice off the hand first."  Mittens motions her hand like she's practicing the ancient slice-off-giant-robot's-hand-while-rescuing-child technique.  (>-.-)>+-

  She snaps out of her muse.  "If ya can't beat 'em join 'em I always say!"  With that, she makes her way to the forest floor and constructs some stilts out of a few strong, straight branches.  She then camouflages herself with a bush, puts her shield made from a Swatbot's head on on her own head, and begins approaching the town looking for all the world like a stilted bush with a Swatbot's head on top.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:51, Mon 15 Jan 2007.

Fortunately for Mittens, or unfortunately for Samuel, his path to the sewer enterence takes him right past Mittens in her 'costume'. Samuel blinks for a second upon seeing the oddity from his position at the treeline. Samuel then says, "I don't know who you are, but that won't fool anyone. Unless you want to be roboticized, I suggest you get over here. Otherwise I will shoot you to prevent you setting off alarms in Middletown," as Samuel has his left hand on the holster for his laster cutter pistol and his right on his gauss gun holster as Samuel hopes that none of the robots have already seen this oddity. Samuel sighs as he knows that if the alarms get set off this early he might as well hide in the forest till the alarms die down and thigns go back to normal before trying again.

On the other hand, Samuel realizes that this is some childish attempt to look like a SWATBot, and then grins as he realizes he could pull the trick off with a real SWATBot shell. And for that he'd need an intact SWATBot, or two SWATBots damaged in different areas...Samuel thinks to himself, 'Just great, more items to add to the list I'll eventually need to get.

Samuel knows that if anyone triggers an alarm, it will make his job infinitly more difficult as he knows that freedom fighters travel in packs. Thus Samuel must assume that those running Middletown wouldn't be contient to capture just one person. They'd look for that person's friends, even if there were none, which would inturn make Samuel's job of getting in and out undetected much harder as they'd probably search areas they don't normally search.

  While there are some people who might think to themselves 'I could do that' after seeing someone do something mildly fancy like ignore the convenient walkways to save time, Joe's train of thought went more along the lines of 'There is an elevator! Right there! Cmon man!'  Sure it was faster and easier heading to a lower floor useing Mike's methods thanks to gravity, but the upward distance required effort.  Besides, Katy would even be dealing with the pushing of buttons, how could he not take advantage of this?

  "I'd ask for details, but I figure I'll let you need to explain it only once."

  Joe isn't lazy, so much that he saves up his effort for special occasions.

Emerald nods to Michael. "Alright. I'll be there." That said, she heads for the elevator also.

Katy arrives on level 3 with Joe and taps the button to send the elevator back down to the others. She then heads for the planning room (which is on the way to her room) and says, "I'll be right back. Do me a favor, Joe. Pull out the Middletown map and tack it on the table." She heads off to her hut.

Of the two who were following Samuel, the seabear gives a look if distain for the idea of hitting the sewers. The skunk seems uneffected. But they both get distracted for a moment as this... stilted bush with a SWATbot head... walks in to the area. Both of them go for cover and watch since they noticed Samuel was about to handle the situation.

For the record, SWATbots are pretty stupid. Almost stupid enough to believe a SWATbot-headed bush is a fellow SWATbot. But not... QUIIIITE that stupid. Otherwise, the freedom fighters would have figure out long ago to simpley pilfer SWATbot heads.

That said, a SWATbot turns to notice Mittens and even though she is still in the shadows, he sees this:
  ____
 /____\
  /00\
  \__/
  /  \
 /    \
/      \_
\

"Unidentified object." says one SWATbot. Another SWATbot hears this statement and faces the one who said it. The original bot continues, "I have no robot matching that in my databanks. Digitizing appearance."

It appears that while Mittens has effectively evaded immediate capture (And thankfully, the bots might not even search for "friends" since she DEFINATELY doesn't match the description of a freedom fighter), she has not evaded detection completely.

Michael heads straight to the planning room via the tree brances as it's a more direct route. Upon reaching the planning room Michael says, "Emerald will be here shortly," as he knows that Emerald has had to deal with the elevator which is never as fast as Michael is at climbing the branches.

  Mittens is startled at the scary voice's command and nearly loses her balance!  If the Swats hadn't already spotted her, the staggering try-to-regain-balance dance would most certainly have caught their attention.  "But shooting me would set off alarms too!" she objects.

  Once she regains her balance she decides to obey the scary voice and heads in the direction she thinks it came from.  "Voice doesn't sound like a badnik," she thinks to herself, "But doesn't sound like a Freedom Fighter either.  Must be some vigilante.  Overlander no doubt."  Mittens fails her attempt at forgetting all the racist things she's heard about Overlanders and assumes the worst...  after all, it DID just threaten to kill her for very selfish reasons.

The sensors in both Samuel's diagnostic bracer and his cybernetic implants warn him of the two SWATBots. Fortunately they haven't noticed him yet but that have noticed the 'walking shrub' which drastically alters Samuel's situation. Samuel makes a split second decision to act. He knows the person in the 'bad costume' won't be safe for long. Thus before the SWATBots can report anything back to base, he whips out both his laser cutter pistol and his gauss gun and using this sensors to aim the weapons.

In the span of what seems like only two seconds since the SWATBots noticed the 'unidentified object' Samuel relies on his implants and the sensors in his diagnostic bracer to do what he otherwise could not. For while both SWATBots are stationary while trying to figure out what to do about the 'unidentifed object' Samuel easily has the time to aim his laser pistol at the visor of one of the SWATBots while simultaneously aiming his gauss gun at the neck of the other SWATBot. Samuel then fires one shot from each of this two weapons hoping to take out the preoccupied SWATBots before they can even finish compiling their report inquiring what to do about the 'unidentified' object.

Samuel hopes that both SWATBots drop without any problems, but he's ready to fight incase they don't. 'I hope this works since if it does I won't have long to get both of them into the treeline where I should have enough time to remove and toss away their tracing beacons before moving them deeper into the woods to work on gutting them for parts and a complete SWATBot shell for me to use....Hmm, I wonder how badly I just surprised whoever is in that bad costume.'

Probabley not as badly as the walking shrub surprised Samuel. Nevertheless, the SWATbots are downed. However, before Samuel was able to take them out....

Meanwhile, at Middletown's headquarters:

Ra observes the data sent to him on the computers screen and sees what looks like a stilted robot with a hat. "What manner of trickery is this?" Ra thinks to himself. When he notices the robots who sent the data got interrupted with a sudden end, he looks over at Blipvert. "I believe we have invaders. Seek and destroy."

Back to the current location: Edge of Middletown

Other SWATbots hear the two that got shot fall with a loud clank and quickly hurry to investigate. Seeing as how Samuel took out 2 of the 5 that were guarding the more open area, that leaves 3 headed his way.

Samuel grumbles as his sensors inform him he wasn't fast enough and that now odds are the three other SWATBots as part of this patrol are heading this way, which means he has to act faster than the SWATBots. And this throws a monkey wrench into his plans.

Thus Samuel runs to the two downed SWATBots while saying to the 'shrub', "If you want to live get to the treeline and HIDE as the three other SWATBots in the area are probably heading here right now," as Samuel holsters his laser pistol and switches the gauss gun to his left hand, as he knows with his cybernetic implants in that arm he'll be able to use the gun while moving easier. Samuel then quickly bends down and grabs one of the SWATBots and picks it up like a sack of potatoes while activating the antigrav features in his shoes to negate enough of his weight to let him run a short distance. As Samuel doesn't have time to stop to see what the 'shrub' is doing he just rushes towards the first peice of cover he sees, which happens to be where the two Aquarius Freedom Fighters are hiding as he needs a spot to hide the downed SWATBots since he wants to keep them for parts.. but Samuel expects that he'll have to fight the three other SWATBots to get the other SWATBot...which is something Samuel isn't looking forward to... as a three on one isn't something Samuel wanted to deal with... as he knows now that his intended mission is blown, all because of whoever wanted to dress up as a shrub with a SWATBot's head.

  Joe nods as the boss lady heads off and gets on the whole table and map corner abuse thing.  He wonders how many times it would take till the corners of the map are nonexistent for a moment before deciding on 'a lot'.

  "Hmm, what would be the second biggest hassle of an area..."  The way things tend to go, its always the high disaster potential areas that get dealt with.  However things haven't been dramatically building up enough recently for a trip to where Ra hangs out, so that leaves less dangerous areas like where they keep the volatile explosive materials and such.

  You're either bored out of your mind or would really prefer to be someplace bland instead of robot death land.  What ever happened to moderation?
This message was last edited by the player at 04:16, Tue 16 Jan 2007.

  Lifesaving tips like, "3 badnicks incoming!  Hide!" tend to change one's opinion of the tipper for the better.  The bush...  Mittens decides to take Samuel's advice and dives for cover - the same nearby cover where everyone else is.  Once there she drops the disguise and stares in amazement at the Seabear.

  "Are you from the lake?" she asks.

Katy arrives at the planning hut and notices the map is pinned. "Thanks, Joe." She then looks at Michael and Emerald. "Good timing everyone. Since you're all here we can begin." She then turns her attention to the map. "It just so happens I ran accross some interesting information. The backup power originates at a generator that's near the dump. Here's what I want you to do: Two of you will sneak over to the main generator while one of you stays behind at the backup generator. At an appointed time, all three of you will make both generators inoperable and head for the dump right away. The bots will be expecting you to go the opposite direction, so you should be safe as long as you stay out of sight. Grab what you need from the dump and head out. If you gather any intel on your way home, be sure to let me know."

This info on the backup generator is crucial since the main generator, being right next to the roboticization building, was always too risky to attack.

"You know I strongly prefer fewer numbers, but if you believe there should be any others on this mission, please speak up."

The seabear looks over at Mittens and then at Samuel as he arrives. "Well... I guess the cover's been blown." The skunk shrugs and says, "Yes, ma'am. We're from Aquarius. We've been sent to make sure that ox masquerading as an overlander doesn't get himself roboticized or worse."

Samuel quickly rattles off, "My cover wouldn't have been blown if fur-for-brains didn't think SWATBots were stupid enough to not make a report about that bad disguise even if they wouldn't think it was a threat, their bosses with more brainpower would want it captured to investigate it...Exceuse me for not being as heartless as an overlander. Then she would have been roboticized, now excuse me I have anotehr swatbot body to grab. Make sure this one isn't left behind," as Samuel drops off the swatbot body at the feet of the two from Aquarius before running back to the other SWATBOt body as fast as he can, picking it up and hopefully getting back to the others before any of the other SWATBots get into the area.

Michael grins as he says,"That is a good plan, but is it safe to have one person go solo for a part of this mission?" Michael wonders who Katy has in mind for the solo part... as he thinks the raid is well thought out, but wonders why a group of 3 and not a 4 for two pairs.

Katy is speachless for a moment. Then smacks her forhead. "Stupid... I kept thinking four because I keep thinking I'll go with you even though I'm staying here." She cracks a smirk. "I guess now ya know how much I wanted to go with... sorry. Yeah. Take a fourth member."

Unfortunately, the three extra SWATs are already at the fallen body of the SWATbot Samuel was about to go fetch. They seem to be talking to each other about something and looking around.

  Mittens glances from the very heavy Swatbot to the departing Human to the two Lake People.  He can't seriously expect 3 little furries to drag that hunk of junk around now that the Badnicks are on alert, can he?  "He's a few bullets short of a full clip, isn't he?" Mittens asks the skunk while twirling her finger at her head, "In any case, I'm gunna make us a diversion so we can escape."

  With that, she scarfs up her former disguise and begins to rig up a scarecrow made from said disguise by hanging it from a tree branch with a rope.  "That should buy us some time,"  she tells them, "Let's hope the Swats'll be drawn to the decoy once blaster-brains comes back."  She then begins to string her bow.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:50, Tue 16 Jan 2007.

The frustrating part of playing babysitter to the shrub-master and the stubborn ox overlander (Which is of course what they meant by "ox": He's stubborn) is that they were given an order from the princess. Oh wait! The skunk couldn't care less about royal decrees from a dead kingdom. So the skunk looks at the seabear and says, "If this gets any more chaotic, let's get out of here."

But the seabear shakes his head. "Sorry. I have to stay. You can leave if you like, but I have my orders from the princess."

"She'd rather you stay alive, man."

"That might even be the case, and knowing her, I'd say it IS the case. But that's inconsiquential. In seabear society, if you fail to obey the orders of royalty, you are among the lowest scum of Mobius."

"Suit yourself. I'd rather be scum and reassured by a loving, kind princess than be a roboticized or dead person who isn't considered scum."

"Enough. We don't even know that running is neccessary yet."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:02, Tue 16 Jan 2007.

Samuel frowns as he sees the three SWATBots staring at their downed comrade, but that doesn't deter him. Samuel remains quiet as he points his Gauss gun at the three SWATBots and holds down the trigger to release a rapid spray of two dozen projectiles at the three SWATBots as he waves the gun back and forth slightly to insure all three get hit with enough rounds to drop them before they can turn and fire at him since he doesn't have the time to snipe them like he did with the first two.

After the sustained burst is over, his cybernetic implants remind him that he is now at half a clip as the three SWATBots fall to the ground sparking. Samuel grumbles about the wasted ammo as his implants inform him that about half the rounds missed the SWATBots and impacted the building off in the distance... but Samuel isn't too concerned as the metal projectiles are easy to manufacture as they are little more than shaped metal toothpicks.

Samuel then picks up the other SWATBot corpse he was going after and then heads back to the others as Samuel knows he now has the time to remove both of the tracking beacons before moving the SWATBot corpses to another location with the help of the others.

Upon getting back to the others, Samuel immediately starts working to disable and remove the tracking beacons while saying, "Okay we got enough time to deal with the tracking beacons from these two SWATBots, then with your help we'll carry them out of here... then in a few hours after things cool off, I'm going back in through the sewers... unless another fur-for-brains decides to walk up to the SWATBots in a rediculous disguise,." Samuel continues working to remove the tracking beacons from the SWATBots using his tools and sensors to keep working fast while still keeping aware of any approaching robots, although Samuel hopes that he'll have enough time to get both beacons deactivated before anything else shows up.

Micheal rubs his chin before asking, "Any suggestions on who we take as our fourth member for this raid?" as Michael glances back and forth between Katy, Emerald, and Joe.

Emerald thinks about it for a while. Then nods and says, "I think we should bring Valin. He can stay behind at the scrapyard while the rest of us disable the power. Then, when we head back, his brawn will be helpful, not only in carrying the materials back, but plowing through any resistance we get on the way out. Since the scrapyard is at the southern edge of Middletown, it's not like he'd be fighting his way from the center of the chaos. So I think it's safe."

Michael shakes his head and says, "But that leave two people going solo for parts of the mission, since Valin wouldn't be with the indivudal going after one of the generators on his own. And how are we disabling these generators anyways, they are guarded and large. I don't think we can make a distraction that would draw away their guards without also bringing Ra into the equation and I'd rather not do that. So how are we dealing with the guards and disabling the generators?" as Michael realizes that Katy never said how the generators were to be disabled.

It's around that time that the robot known as Blipvert arrives as per his orders from Ra. As his eyes glow red, he turns on his creepy green lights at his waist and begins to speak in a voice that echoes with a resounding creepiness only a robot can achieve, "INTRUDERS! SURRENDER AT ONCE!" With those simple words, he commands about 25 SWATbots who are behind him to proceed towards the area where Samuel and the others are.

Samuel isn't phased by the robot shouting, but he dose pause to silently signal the three mobians with him to remain hidden and silent as he has just finished dealing with the two tracking beacons.

Samuel then is very careful to switch out the clip in his gauss gun for a fresh clip and puts the half empty clip where the fresh clip came from on his leg. Samuel make a mental note of which clip is now the one that is only half full, but he figures if he needs to deal with over two dozen robots while retreating, he wants to make sure that he has a full clip.

Samuel then is quick to hook up his two grappling hooks to the two SWATBot 'corpses' as he has already figured out how to get both out at once with only himself and three mobians. He'll support most of the weight, while the two Freedom Fighters each support some of the weight from a single SWATBot.

Samuel silently tries to inform the other two on what he wants them to do. Next he visualizes the area in the map in his mind's eye to figure how far he has to go to get into the woods and be able to loose the slower SWATBots, although he does realize that carrying the two SWATBot 'corpses' his group won't be much faster.

However Samuel knows he is only carrying 125 rounds left for his gauss gun and 59 for his laser pistol... so fighting these many robots isn't what he wants to do. Fortunately he has a few tricks up his sleeves.

  Joe while he didn't really have any particular thoughts on who got to go solo aside from a vague guess on who would end up doing so, did have some on dealing with the generators.

  "Well, considering Robotnic wouldn't want to go through the hassle of replacing numerous robots when preforming generator maintenance, there would probably be some way to turn it off.  Though the obvious disregard for safety features probably means there isn't any emergency switch and that would only be done from Ra's control setup.  And we want it to stay off.  Failing that, things stop working when new parts are introduced between where old parts are supposed to be able to move, fuel getting introduced to sparks because carrying that much sugar for the tank would be a hassle, or any other method we tend to use to abuse the scenery."

  Right, even Joe has offered ways to get things done now.  Wasn't Mike supposed to be the sensible one?  Why hasn't he given any info they can use yet?  Note to self, get more materials that explode when either properly handled or mishandled to make up for lack of advice in the future.  People whining abut how dangerous things are dangerous is a small price to pay to get things done in the time normally reserved for complaint time.

  Mittens watches the scene in fascination.  Between machine gun fire, a spaceman scrounging and butchering robots, creepy boss-bot voices, and hand signals, she looks like a kitten watching a windup mouse spin around.  @.@  She looks to the man-eating mermaid - erm...  merMAN and his skunk friend for some semblance of sanity and follows their lead.  Meanwhile she fantasizes about fighting through the robot army and fighting the boss again.  >:D

Katy nods to Michael. "That's easily remedied. Valin goes with Emerald to the backup generator since it's right there near the scrapyard. You and Joe go to the main generator since Joe has the grappling hook and thus the ability to avoid ground forces since the main generator will be more guarded for sure. But I want to add one more thing. It's not neccessary, but stronly preferred if possible: Make the problem at the backup generator look like a rat chewed through it or something. As long as it looks like it wasn't done by freedom fighters, we'll be better off than if Ra figures out we purposely downed the backup generator. The less he thinks we know, the better."

Blipvert says, "They've been warned. Enemy is not a freedom fighter. Engage with extreme hostility."

That said, the SWATbots switch their lasers to burn and begin firing a barrage of lasers at the general area around Mittens's scarecrow. Blipvert turns on his personal blinding lights and looks to the ground, noticing drag marks on the ground that lead to the bushes Samuel is hiding in. He points and the laser fire soon gets diverted to Samuel's hiding place. This robot is smart. But what's worse is the blinding lights being pointed in Sam's direction along with... well out come the speakers and a very LOUD accompanyment of chalkboard scraping, high-pitch screaming, and thunder bass sounds all at once come from Blipvert's speaker system. The blinding lights and nasty sounds quickly accompanied by change in color of lights at one change of color per .1 seconds.

Blipvert is one annoying robot. Especially since the SWATbots seem uneffected by it since they are BEHIND the lightshow and speakers. Whatever effect it may have on them must be halved at LEAST since there is still a barrage of laser fire.

The seabear and the skunk don't have time to argue with Samuel and quickly grab hold of whatever Samuel showed them to and start hefting when suddenly, the skunk lets go to cover his ears while the seabear winces in pain. All he can do is point deeper into the forest as if to say now's the time to run.

Samuel grunts as he puts in earplugs as soon as the loud noises begin. Samuel chuckles as the same earplugs that he has to wear around noisy mining equipment works just as well against annoying robots. Then he slides down his tinted goggles, which normally he uses to protect his eyes while using equipement that throws off bright sparks, but they shield his eyes from the lightshow jsut as effectively. Samuels then grins as the noise and light no longer bother him. Now his grin becomes a cruel smile as he pulls out two palm sized objects with with strange lettering on them that looks quite alien. Infact it is in the Dinonian written language and says 'Caution, Highly Flamable - Thermite enhanced 'flash bang' grenade'. And his cybernetic implants along with his diagnostic bracer have just finished calculating where the SWATBots are firing from, and where blipvert must be dur to his sound and lightshow.

Samuel says, "Amature," although with Blipvert's loudspeakers it probably can't be heard by anyone. 'Although I've seen worse plans used by Space Pirates, this is still rather pathetic, but it does remind me of a joke Markus and I pulled as children back on Tanelorn.' Samuel then uses the calculations his cybernetics have made to know exactly where he has to toss the grenades and how to set them for maximum effect. Samuel then quickly throws them while keeping himself behind the cover as he knows sticking his arm out would be an easy way to loose it. Samuel knows the only thing keeping them alive is the fact the laserfight hasn't breached the cover... yet so he has to act quickly. Samuel knows that Blipvert's light and sound show will mask the grenades till it is too late to do anything about them as the first is set to go off in midair when thrown, calculated to blow up a few feet infront of blipvert, while the second will blow up in the middle of the SWATBot formation.

Samuel waits for his two grenades to go off as Samuel specifically modified them to annoy electronic sensors in addition to just the normal senses... in addition to the sound and light flash, they also release a huge heat plumb to neutralize thermal sensors and give of enough of an electromagnetic static to interfer with most eletronic sensors for about a minute, easily enough time for Samuel to get the others out of here.

Michael nods and then turns to Joe and says, "That is why I asked, there are many ways to take out the generator, but not all the ways will have the same results," as Michael rubs his chin as he thinks he may have just realized a way to disable the generator in that fashion and adds, "Hmm Valin and Emerald probably could bring that somewhat damaged wrench and a wirecutter in similar condition. They could use them to mangle the wires such that it would look like the wires have been chewed threw without someone actually chewing through them. I have tools that I haven't been able to get into good condition yet which would work perfectly for this task. However it would be easy to repair once they find the wires... although if enough wires are 'chewed' it might still take an hour or two to fix simply due to having to track down all the wires. SO they need to 'chew up' more than one wire, preferably several wires in every part of the building they can safely get to."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:17, Tue 16 Jan 2007.

Katy says, "Sounds good... speaking of sound, does anybody besides me hear what I'm hearing? It's coming from Middletown. Are they having a party over there?"

A vague sound of Blipvert's antics can be heard all the way in Channelwood, even though they are quite a distance from Middletown.

"No matter. Let's crash that party and execute the plan. Michael, get the preperations for the mission ready. I'll get Valin."

She prepares to go back down to the second level.

Blipvert is wondering why he hasn't heard any pleas yet or seen much movement. Did the SWATbots kill their target? Or is the target long gone?

BLAM! The answer comes quick as Samuel's little gift goes off for Blipvert and the SWATbots, taking out about 2 SWATbots and temporarily blinding 10 others. Lucky for the 13 others, they were behind other SWATbots, protecting them from blindness. Blipvert, of course, dived for cover as soon as he detected a hint of danger. Thankfully, due to his small size, he's also a smaller target. He rolls and quickly calculates a probable origin of the grenades and pulls out his laser pistol to fire. He's off by only a few feet, telling Samuel that while his plan is working for now, he needs to get going while the going's good.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:17, Tue 16 Jan 2007.

The two FFs are determined to get out of this mess and have no objection to helping Samuel get outta dodge! The seabear reflexily grabs at Mittens's hand in order to guide her. The skunk is more worried about perminant hearing loss. Either way, when the chaos clears, they, Mittens and Samuel will have all had the chance to get a good 40 yard distance head start.

Samuel knows he only has two more grenades on him and figures they'll be needed later. Right now there is only one thing to do... flee!

Samuel heads off as fast as he can while carrying most of the weight from two SWATBots, although the antigrav features in his shoes does negate enough of his own body's weight to enable him to move at about the same rate the encumbered mobians helping him are moving at, Furthermore Samuel doesn't simply run in a straight line as even a SWATBot would eventually hit him then. Instead he zig-zags a bit using sensor data from his cybernetic implants and his diagnostic bracer to help inform him when to zig, and when to zag to have the best chances of insuring the group can evade the wild barrage of incoming weapons fire till they hit the treeline.

Samuel keeps on running till he's sure they have lost the bots, although once they hit the treeline it's clear that Samuel is starting to suffer from fatigue from carrying around this much weight... but being as stubborn as he is, he keeps moving.

Michael nods and looks in the direction of Middletown and mutters, "I wonder who the party is for," as Michael hears the racket despite the distance from Middletown, but Michael has the distinct feeling something strange is going on since he knows no one from Channelwood would be near Middletown already, and who else would be going to Middletown that would cause such a racket.

Michael then turns back to Katy and says, "I understand, where do you want us to meet up, on the ground or at the elevator on the second level? I assume you'll fill Valin in on what needs to be done when you get him."

Michael is ready to go and get the needed tools, but he'd like to know where Emerald, Joe, Valin, and himself will meet up before leaving Channelwood.

Blipvert rather suddenly turns off his sound and lights display and holds his hand up. The SWATbots halt and stand at attention. Blipvert does a quick scan of the area. "Return to Middletown. Report to Ra." is all he says in that ever-creepy voice of his.

When he gets back to Middletown, he assesses the damage done and sends the data to Ra. That done, he waits for his next command.

Back at the Middletown Headquarters, Ra examines the data and says, "Well done. I believe this attacker is clever and wants to infiltrate using SWATbot armor. Well... I have a way of dealing with that."

Ra quickly gives the command to all SWATbots that whenever entering or leaving any area of Middletown, including the fringe points, that they must send in their serial number. "If we discover this person, do not attack. I want to learn more about them."

Katy glances over her shoulder. "Ground level at the elevator. That way, Valin can make his way down without straining the elevator's weight limit. You can fill him in once he meets with you."

Michael nods and says, "Okay see everyone there."

Michael then exits the planning room and quickly takes to the branches before he starts heading off down towards the workshop to get the tools Emerald and Valin will need before he heads down to the ground level near the elevator.

Michael does feel somewhat sorry for Valin, since the larger primate isn't able to move through the trees as easily due to his greater bulk, but Michael knows Valin is still a skilled climber. Michael has a hard time imagining what it would be like being unable to move through the trees as easily as he does, but he knows that people who can't still manage just fine.

Valin currently isn't far from the elevator on the second level as he's watching  two small unevolved birds build nest in a nearby tree. Valin often seems quite content to watch wildlife, and he enjoys being able to do so from the vantage point from the second and third levels of Channelwood since it is so much safer than doing so from the ground.

Katy heads straight for Valin and as soon as she gets up to him, she is looking WAY up at him. "Hey Valin. I know you won't like this, so I'm sorry. But you have a mission to go on. The good news is, it's simple and will probabley be low-risk. Michael can explain. Meet him at the base of the elevator on the ground level. Also, sorry to say, I won't be joining you."

Valin looks away form the birds and dowards towards Katy once she starts talking. Valin listens carefully and realizes a few things that must be true about the mission. First that heavy lifting will be involved or else his strength wouldn't be needed. Second since Katy said low-risk, it's probably not going that deep into Middletown so no airshafts are going to be involved as he wouldn't fit through them. Third, odds are they'll have to enter the city using the stinky sewers... Valin hates those sewers even though they are large enough for him to use, saying they stink is an understatement. Valin is well aware that something is already going on in Middletown as like everyone else in Channelwood he heard the racket that Blipvert no doubt caused...and Valin wonders if this mission is to investigate what is going on in Middletown.

"I understand. I trust whatever it is that you be doing here is equally as important as the mission," as Valin nods before heading towards the Elevator to get to the ground, as has everything he'll need for the mission already on him, or be told what he needs when he meets up with Michael. Instead of using the Elevator, Valin uses the tree trunk next to it as he's able to climb down the trunk with ease. Valin knows the elevator can handle his weight, he still prefers not to stress it as that reduces the amount of maintenance it needs.

  Joe of course also needs to leave the room in order to grab some stuff before they go and deface property for justice.  But he also takes a moment to put the map away where he found the thing.

  "I'll see you in the obvious spot then I guess." This said to the only other to not leave the room yet as he made them the only one to not leave the room yet.  He was sure Emerald could handle the pressure though.

  An as quick as normal two legged transportation trip resulted in the grabbing of the usual fun items that kept one alive in killer robot country, the grapple gun also being retrieved from the ceiling and the technical term of 'minor fiddleing around with' was put in action as he made his way to the previously mentioned spot.

  The sounds of chaos has already started and they didn't have anything to do with it yet.  He knew while that would change, he really wished it wasn't so likely to be because of unpleasant disaster.

Emerald nods to Joe and helps him put away the map by un-tacking one end while he untacks the other. Then heads off with him to the elevator that leads to the second floor. A quick stop at her hut for supplies and she heads off to meet the others on the ground level. Once there, her ears perk. "The noise stopped..." she notes. "Maybe we'll get there in time to find out what's going on, but either way, it sounds like someone sufficiently distracted Middletown's forces for us."

  By now Mittens is very jealous of the spaceman's toys, but focuses more on escaping alive.  She glances over her shoulder with a sad look at what used to be her shield and wonders if she'll ever get it back.  ;.;  She imagines the Swats recovering it and following the footprints...  all the way back to the merman's home!  0.0!

  "OK time to slow down!" she insists to the others, "They've stopped following, but we need to cover our tracks or they'll find us for sure!"

During the trek into the woods, Samuel's thoughts drift to the prank he and Markus pulled back on Tanelorn when they were children... At the local electronic's store on the space station, the owner had 'hired' his teenage son as a salesperson, but in truth, the son couldn't tell a toaster from a plasma coil and the owner knew it. Furthermore since the son had a nasty habbit of picking on the younger children at the space station, Samuel and Markus had figured out the best way to get back at him... since they knew that the parents of one of their friends was going to be buying an entertainment center the next day... so that night they snuck into the store and messed with the settings and wiring of the entertainment system they knew would be shown to their friend's parents by the owner's son. The next day when he tried to show them the 'best entertainment system' on the station, they heard nothing but load and annoying static and fifteen different songs trying to be played at once, along with a rather bright lightshow, and the teenager being the electronically challenged nitwit that he was didn't know how to fix the problem... And he was completely humiliated when his father had to come and deal with the situation. Samuel grins as he remembers the aftermath of that prank with the son being reassigned from working on the salesfloor to restocking inventory in the back of the shop.

Samuel stops shortly after Mitten speaks Samuel thoughts shift back to the present, as the sensors in his diagnostic bracer inform him what was said since he wasn't paying attention and with his earplugs in he couldn't hear anything anyways. Samuel looks to the skunk and jokingly says, "Did you hear something? I thought I heard something but I couldn't make it out....Oh wait," as Samuel removes the earplugs from his ears and puts them back into his tool belt as he adds, "That's better," with a somewhat silly grin on his face before Samuel turns to Mittens and says, "Actually I heard you, but don't worry about the robots tracking where we came from to that city, since we always take care to prevent people from bieng able to track us. Which is why from this point onwards we are going to conceal our tracks as we move. Although it's not all that big of a deal since a SWATBot couldn't even track a Nekkarian slugbeast, and they leave a pretty large slime trail that even a two year old could follow. However we probably should catch our breath first as these disabled SWATBot aren't exactly light." as Samuel works with the two Aquarius Freedom Fighters to set the two SWATBot 'Corpses' on the ground so everyone can rest and figure out what to do next.

Samuel then looks at the two SWATBot 'corpses' and mutters, "They won't fit in the waterproof satchels I brought with me... I'll need to fetch some larger bags from the hangar to carry them into the hangar safely."

Samuel then looks to the seabear and skunk and asks, "So what should we do with fur-for-brains?" as Samuel points to Mittens, as he looks at the skunk as he continues, "She knows to much to just let her go, and I know you two won't approve of silencing her, so what are your suggestions." It almost seems as if Samuel is purposely trying to annoy the skunk.

By the time Joe and Emerald arrive on the ground via the elevator Michael has already finished explaining the details of the raid to Valin.

When the noise coming from Middletown stops Michael mutters, "I wonder if we'll ever find out what that was all about.. But no matter, hopefully it doesn't have anything to do with our mission, so is everyone ready to go? It would be a bit of a problem if someone had to use the bathroom during a delicate part of the mission, so it's better to deal with that stuff before we leave Channelwood," Michael looks around to see if anyone says they are ready, for if they are then the group can start heading to Middletown.

OOC: In a SatAM episode there is a scene where when Tails and Sonic are in the ventilation system in Robotnik's headquarters and Tails tells Sonic he needs to use the bathroom...It was a rather amusing episode... and thankfully the entire SatAM series will be out on DVD in March.

Valin chuckles, "I believe we're fine and ready to go. We aren't little children Michael so I think we realize how inconvenient that would be and thus won't end up in that situation." Valin guesses that for a moment Michael and slipped into 'school teacher mode' and was acting like this was just a school field trip... a very dangerous school feild trip.

Michael looks up at Valin and says, "You were never little." as Michael knows that even when he first met Valin years ago, when the gorilla was a child, Valin was slightly taller than Michael is as an adult.

  When it comes to school teacher field trip comments, Joe could work the 'Don't stick your arm out the bus window' angle.  If you're gonna start climbing out of a moving vehicle then finish the job.

  "My antics are immature, not childish.  There is a supposed difference you know."  Joe as usual shows that when it comes to defending himself verbally, he really needs to get the concept straightened out.

  "You're a strange one, Mr. Spaceman," Mittens says to Samuel,  "One second you threaten the next you defend."  Mittens folds her arms and looks up at Samuel with pursed lips skewed to the left. :\   "Well enigmas aside, thanks for the warning about the hostile Swats...  What's a Nekkarian slugbeast?"  Mittens eye's sparkle eagerly at the prospect of a wonderful new monster she's never fought.  *.*
This message was last edited by the player at 19:17, Thu 18 Jan 2007.

Samuel turns to Mittens while grinning as he says, "This is a Nekkarian Slugbeast," as he activates the small holo-projector on the communications bracer on his right forearm and a holographic image of a large creature appears before Mittens, the creature looks like a giant slug that is six feet tall, eight feet long, and four feet wide. At least that is what the statistics say the size of an average Nekkarian Slugbeast is. In addition to being many times larger than the slugs on Mobius, this creature has what looks like an armored shell on it's back sort of like a snail, although it looks more like a turtle's shell. On the creature's head is a large mouth with rows of what look like razor sharp teeth. Below the status for the creature's size and weight, which is listed at being around 700 pounds, it notes that the Nekkarian Slugbeast leaves a wide slimy residue trail of a milky white substance that has a rather pleasent odor, which it uses to attract prey as the substance is as sticky as spider silk. It also mentions that Nekkarian Slugbeasts are aggressively territorial savenging omnivores that will also attack anything that gets stuck in their slime trails. However most of the time they feed on anything they come across. Combined with their limited intelligence, they are considered more annoying than dangerous due to their slow speed. However being slow isn't a problem when their prey is trapped in a slime trail.

Samuel looks at the creature for a moment before muttering, "I have known a few excentric people who have kept a Nekkarian Slugbeast as a pet, and they do make descent guard animals once trained. Although it is only possible to train them if they are bred in captivity, as an adult Slugbeast would try to eat its trainer. A baby one wouldn't dare try and eat something so many times larger than itself since when they are first born, they are around the size of   SWATBot's head," as Samuel makes sure to use an object of comparison that Mittens would be familiar with since if Samuel mentioned another creature, that would most likely result in having to explain what the other creature was.

OOC: Remember, the holo-projector Nichole has is capable of creating large holograms, I see no reason why Samuel's bracer can't either. However like Nichol's holograms, the ones from the bracer have that wavey outline and are slightly transparent. Hence there is no chance that such a hologram could have its holographic nature concealed.

Emerald smiles at Michael. "Let's go. The sooner we get this over with, the better." And with that, she follow Michael to Middletown.

The seabear leads the way back to Aquarius as he answers Samuel's earlier question. "She's coming to Aquarius where the Princess will decide what happens to her. Unless this young lady is an immediate threat, there is zero reason to make a judgement call like killing her." He's trying to remain calm, but the fact is, now Samuel has gotten on the Seabear's nerves twice as bad as he got on the skunk's nerves. Who simpley says, "Well let's hurry up. The sooner we're home, the better."

Michael nods once everyone else has indicated that they are ready, and then starts leading the group towards Middletown.

Valin keeps pace with the others on the way to Middletown, but grumbles occasionally when he has to duck under a branch that everyone else can just walk under.

Samuel turns off the holoprojector before the groups heads off to Aquarius. Samuel works with the Seabear and the Skunk to get the two SWATBot 'corpses' to Aquarius without leaving a trail. Samuel frowns at the mention of the word 'home' as he says, "My home is in another star system, so don't even talk about that." it is clear that as easily as Samuel can get on the nerves of the Aquarius Freedom Fighters, they can get on his nerves as well.

The skunk grunts, "I'll talk about it as I wish. At least you will have a home to return to when this war's over. Other than Aquarius, I have none left. So you may as well join the club. Some day when you're celebrating with your wife and friends in deep space, I'll be wishing mine were still around. But I'll be content with the friends I have in Aquarius." The seabear says, "Neither of you are alone. Everyone's suffered thanks to Robotnik. Rest assured, he WILL pay. It's only a matter of time."

  Theres only so much you can do to make a casual stroll towards your destination seem more exciting than it actually is.  All thats involved is the progressive placement of one leg in front of the other after all unless you use different methods.

  Speaking of other methods not being put to use, Joe had since finished screwing around with the grapple hook gun and had put it away.  Man, doesn't he have enough of that sort of thing?  Bionic commando style grapple hook, batman style grapple hook, old fashioned rope and grapple hook, chain that can be used sorta kinda like one if you're in a hurry.  Its no running up walls and on ceilings, (he can only manage several steps before gravity reminds him how its supposed to work) but he works with what he's got.

Samuel sighs, "If I can get off the planet and out of this solar system. Remember Space Forces put a quarentine on this star system to insure Robotnik won't try spreading his carnival of trapped souls to other solar systems."

Samuel then looks at the seabear and says with a grim look on his face, "Markus swore," as Samuel continues by saying a phrase in dinonian, a language which sounds like a blending of birdcalls and snake hissing and this particular phrase sounds particularly venomous, before Samuel switches back to a language that the others understand, explaining, "which when translated into this language roughly means a blood oath of ultimate revenge on Robotnik. As Markus' best friend despite not being a Dinonian, I'll see to it that Markus get's his revenge... So far I've come up with ripping Robotnik's brain out of his bloated body and hooking it up to life support and a virtual reality machine in which he'd be subjected to continual painful roboticization and then an even more painful deroboticization beign cycled over and over as well as every other torture immaginable till his brain rots from extreme old age. That is unless Markus will have thought up something even more fitting to carry out the," as Samuel then uses the same Dinonian phrase.

  Mittens eye-pops and wows at the slugbeast and takes a stab at it with an imaginary sword.  (>^.^)=@  She then watches the three men try to one-up each other with their PMS (Poor Me Syndrome) like a kitten watching a wind-up...  Deja Vu!  @.@

  "Sounds yummie!" chimes Mittens cheerfully, "I'll bring the brain scooper!"  ^.^  She has a very eccentric way of "whistling in the grave yard" as the saying goes.  Then she tries to steer the topic to something she's more interested in - adventure!  "So you're from outer space?!  That's awesome!  Never met an alien before!  What's it like where you come from?  Are there lots of monsters like that slug?  What I wouldn't give to visit the stars!  Wow!"  *.*
This message was last edited by the player at 15:23, Fri 19 Jan 2007.

The seabear says, "I'll let you know if I come up with anything better, Sam..." he looks at Mittens at her "brain scooper" comment and says, "...yummy? Does your kind eat overlanders?" he looks like he honestly doesn't know the answer due to his half disgusted and yet half curious look.

(OOC: Three men? The seabear didn't complain.)

Being a fox, Emerald has some good hearing. She wiggles her ears and looks over at Michael. "I think I hear people talking over to our left some. Wanna check it out?"

(OOC: Intersting facts!  A fox can hear sounds up to 65,000Hz at a range of up to 160 feet. This is substantially better than humans, whose hearing tops out around 22,000Hz at best. Chimps and gorillas have similar hearing to that of humans. Skunks I couldn't find out and Seabears are my own creation. So I figure I'll give them similar hearing to humans, with better range under water obviously.)

Samuel gives Mittens a strange look, not too different from the seabear's reaction to Mitten's 'yummy' and 'brain scooper' remarks. Samuel says, "Actually I was going to let the robots on my shuttle perform the actual brain extraction and hooking up of life support as they are able to function as surgeons if the situation calls for it. And please tell me your joking about finding the idea being yummy. The fate I have described is meant to be so horrifying that even someone as sadistic as Robotnik would learn to regreat his actions as everything he's done to this world would be done unto him till he could no longer tolerate it and then it would continue to be done to him with no end in sight. Yes, I am from outer space, but I am not a monster, even if I am quite capable of monstrous actions. I do what I must when I must." Samuel then sighs before answering Mitten's questions, "It's quite different when I come from since without a frame of reference it would be nearly impossible for you to understand. And yes there are lots of creatures I suspect you would call 'monsters'. Life always finds a way to survive. Thus it takes many forms, some pleasant, while others horrifying."

OOC: Other interesting facts, humans senses aren't as bad as some might think, they just aren't developed to the extent they would be if we had to live in the wild and not in a civilized environment where super keen senses are not required. If this was not the case, then it would be impossible for a person's remaining senses to improve after the loss of one of their senses (as the remaining senses heighten to compensate). But yes foxes, as with canines in general, have exellent sense of hearing and sense of smell. Also Elephants can hear sounds of much lower frequencies than what humans can hear. Many types of insects have a different range of visual wavelengths they are receptive to when compared to the range humans can see.

Michael looks at Emerald while considering the situation for a moment. Michael trusts Emerald enough to know that she wouldn't make something like this up as he says, "We probably should. Although if what you hear starts sounding like it could be a threat to us and channelwood, let us know immediately. So which way are the voices coming from?"

  "Well I had actually considered going around in order to not attract more attention to ourselves than necessary, but I guess heading straight for the questionable noises works too."

  However, if someone suggests they split up or opts to run towards an enclosed single entrance area when fleeing from something he is so leaving.

Emerald nods and leads the way. Slowly at first, since the sound is still distant and faint. But she quickens her pace after about 40 feet. "I'm confident now... I hear people. Not robots. We need to use caution, though, and be stealthy."

(OOC: Up to you, Sam or Mittens, when you and the others detect the presence of Emmy and friends. If at all.)

  "Of course I was kidding!" Mittens giggles, "And I didn't mean you when I asked about monsters.  :p  So I'm guessing from what you've said that you're here to defeat Robotnik?  I bet grabbin' those two Swats is part of your ingenious plan.  How can I help?"  ^.^
This message was last edited by the player at 22:12, Sat 20 Jan 2007.

Michael nods as Emerald further explains the sounds she is hearing and agrees with her assessment as he says, "Considering that we don't know their intentions or allegiances we can't assume they will welcome us with open arms. We probably should split into two groups, one trailing behind the other as backup incase they prove to be hostile." as Michael wonders which would be the best combination for the two groups of two since each choice has it's pros and cons.

Samuel looks at Mittens with a look of relief in his face and says, "I"m here to save my fellow crewmates that he has roboticized, and get revenge on him by any means necessary. And yes these intact but disabled SWATBots will factor into my plans... with them I will better understand the robots I face, and given their size... I could make a much better SWATBot disguise for myself than the makeshift one created. Furthermore, once the programming for the SWATBots if figured out, I'll know how they think and how they act. And to infiltrate any of Robotnik's bases, you have to do more than look like a SWATBot, you have to act like one as well. Otherwise your cover would be blown well before you are ready. I've seen Space Pirates who tried to pass themselves off as Space Fores in order to get close... but even though they looked the part, they didn't act the part and thus their ploy failed miserably. I'll not be making the same mistake."

It seemms that either Samuel doesn't care or that he choses to ignore Mittens ealier comment which some might have interperated as Mittens calling Samuel a monster. However it is only after Samuel finishes speaking that he realizes Mittens is now likely to ask about both the Space Pirates and the Space Forces, or at least one of the two.

Valin initially remains quiet as the others discuss what to do about the individuals that they are now moving towards. Valin breaks his silence as he asks, "So do you wish for me to hang back or be one of the two that would act as backup? My size and strength would serve a purpose either way." Valin knows that if he's part of the backup, his appearance would come as quite a surprise and could be most helpful in a rescue as he could most likely overpower anyone they came across that isn't a robot, and even then he might be able to match their strength for a short time. Valin also knows that if he is part of the first group, his appearance would show that the group is not easily taken out.

  "Sorry 'bout your friends," says Mittens, visibly ready to burst at the seams with how excited she is just talking about space pirates, "You'll get 'em back if I have anything to say about it!"  She puts on a serious face, stands at attention, pounds her chest with her fist with a loud clang in true paladin style signaling a pseudo "I'm going to right the wrongs done to you, citizen" oath.

  Mittens blink-blinks when it dawns on her that she just might have thrown a monkey wrench into Samuel's plans by being at the wrong place at the wrong time.  "I take it then your friends are being kept in Middletown?"  she asks softly, hoping Samuel doesn't blame her for the tight spot he was just in.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:16, Mon 22 Jan 2007.

Samuel shakes his head as he says, "I have no clue where they are now. Robotnik had them robotized in Robotropolis. I have no clue where they are now. I was just heading into Middletown to salvage parts to fix my shuttle, since till it's able to go back into outer space, there is now way I can get to Robotropolis, and even then the shuttle isn't enough. Robotnik's anti-air defenses and Stealthbots can trash it. It would be suicide to start at the top against Robotnik's empire... then again... if I can confirm that my friends are not being used within Robotropolis... once I get my shuttle spaceworthy... I could head out to that asteroid belt beyond the fourth planet in this solar system and then change the orbit of an asteroid to have it impact with Robotropolis and destroy the city with everything and everyone within it... I'd love to see Robotnik try to stop that... even if he blasts it the fragments would still destroy Robotropolis." Samuel's statment makes one thing clear to anyone who realizes what he's saying. He has just admitted that he willing to sacrifice everyone being held hostage in Robotropolis due to being roboticized to get at Robotnik as long as he didn't harm his friends in the process. This is something that no freedom fighter would ever even consider.

  "Well the way I see it, if we really want to make things easier to decide we can just stand here considering deep and meaningful pro/con points until whoever they are reach here. problem solved."  Accurate, to the point, and completely nonproductive.  Joe must be working under the two out of three ain't bad concept of conversation.

  "I'd say Valin and Emerald check if out for the overreaction at being tall thing, and the fact that the ones lacking in the tact department wouldn't make things worse if they aren't openly hostile."

At Joe's comment, Emerald faces Michael. "You and I should go while Valin and Joe stay behind, Michael. Valin's size would intimidate, and thus possibley provoke them into violence. Joe's comments alone could start something wether he wants that to happen or not. But you and I know how to speak peaceabley with people as you've been a teacher and I minored psychology." Not that she went to college to learn psychology, but she figures what she did to learn it was good enough.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 13:07, Mon 22 Jan 2007.

The seabear looks at Samuel as though obviously Samuel doesn't understand the consiquences and explains, "While that'd be nice and dandy, the problem with sending an asteroid his way is that he has tens of thousands of people hostage there via Roboticization that would die from such an attack while Robotnik would likely have some escape plan that got him out of there long before the meteor gets there."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:06, Mon 22 Jan 2007.

Samuel looks at the saebear and replies, "True there would be some collateral damage. By steering the asteroid towards impacting with Robotropolis at the last moment, Robotnik would only have two minutes of warning. The only escape route I believe Robotnik could take with that little warning is a single fast hoverunit. And I doubt he'd bring escorts with him as he'd be too worried about saving his own fat butt. And with the element of surprise I can take out one hoverunit in a diving attack with my shuttle in a single pass and then flee the scene before any Stealthbots show up. Then again if Robotropolis is destroyed, where would the Stealthbots show up from?"

Samuel frowns as he knows that the seabear nad probably the skunk both dissaprove of his methods even if they would get results. But Samuel chalks that up to the two being both pessimistic and having a perspective on the situation.

Michael considers what is said he nods and replies, "I agree with Emerald, that Valin and Joe should be the backup. While Valin being part of the contact group could be useful in a few senarios, in many more senarios it would be at a disadvantage to us."

Michael then turns to Valin and Joe and says, "I'll leave how you two wish to act as backup to you two, while Emerald and I go on ahead. Just make sure to stay out of sight until needed."

Valin nods as he acknowledges Micheal's orders and slows down a bit so that he and Joe can fall back to act as Backup. The only words Valin says are, "Just be careful."

Valin then loods to Joe as the gorilla wonders what Joe's suggestions on the matter will be, since Joe always seems to have something to say, even if what Joe says tends to be odd comments.

Emerald smiles and waves to Valin. "We will." she answers. Then she heads off with Michael. It won't take them long to catch up and it won't take long before Emerald might start to even pick up a scent (wind and such pending).

The seabear sighs. "Oh well. Not like that's happening any time soon anyway. Keep dreaming, Sam." The seabear's not dense. He can see Sam could care less about the people of Mobotropolis. But for now, it's not like Samuel's "dream" can come true anyway. The skunk looks annoyed, but says nothing.

Michael lets Emerald lead since it's her sense of hearing that has even revealed that there are others nearby, and Michael doesn't want to go in the wrong direction.

Michael does keep a look out for anything unusual as he asks Emerald, "Any clue how close we are to them, and if they are aware of us yet?"

Emerald looks over at Michael while still trotting along. "I'd say about, say, 50 feet. Give or take a few. We'll be there shortly..." She looks back to where she was going and, indeed, it's not long before Samuel, Mittens, the seabear and the skunk are all in view. Also meaning Emerald and Michael would be in view also. And since their intention is to talk rather than spy, it's not like Emerald is hiding.

  "Well rest assured Robotnik WILL get what's comin' to him," Mittens concludes as she pounds her fist into her open hand, "One way or another.  Hopefully with as little collateral damage as possible."  >:[   Mittens has seen enough combat and read enough military history to be inclined to almost agree with Samuel's assessment of destroying an entire city as a valid plan - a valid plan "B" - given that the longer he remains in power, the more people will suffer and the harder it will be to depose him.  v.v  On the other hand, she's far more inclined to favor a one-on-one "final boss" type fight than a "throw a bunch of meteors at 'em and ambush 'em when they're desperately running for their lives" fight.  :o

  "I'm sure time will reveal the best plan to use unless some other hero beats us to him!"  :P  Of course she's inferring Sonic will be the one likely to beat everyone to the punch, but she'd much rather be the one who deals the killing blow to the drago...  Robotnik - as would many other freedom fighters.  ^.^;    "Until then, methinks we best be focusing on the task at hand."  :I
This message was last edited by the player at 23:50, Mon 22 Jan 2007.

As Mittens speaks up, Samuel glances in anotehr direction and seems to be staring off at nothing as Samuel thinks to himself, 'What that, two have gotten this close to... wait, they aren't robots... that explains why my sensors didn't detect them before now..But what are they doing here.'

Moments later, Michael and Emerald walk into view with Samuel staring right at them as he finally speaks up in responce to Mitten's comments. "I believe the task at hand has changed yet again."

Samuel then glances to the Seabear and Skunk and to the two nonfunctional SWATBots on the ground before locking his gaze on the two newcomers. 'I definately need to improve the range at which my sensors can detect non-robotic entities. Hmm if I recalibrate the audio sensors to search for a heartbeat and/or breath that might improve the range somewhat... but without specialized components the detection range still won't be anywhere near where I can detect robots.'

As Michael and Emerald walk into view, Michael is a bit surprised at the group they have come across. Michael's eyes glance around as he looks at the Skunk, then the Seabear, then Mittens, then Samuel, and then the two seemingly disabled SWATBots on the ground. 'Definately not what I was expecting that we'd come across.'

Michael then says, "Hello." as the chimpanzee hopes that everyone present will remain civilized. Although Michael does notice that Samuel is carrying what looks to be several weapons, so Michael is a bit weary of the group he and Emerald have come across.

Emerald is wary also. While she sees the SWAT-corpses, she knows that the old addage "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" doesn't always apply. But she smiles and waves anyway, adding to the friendly greeting Michael gave. Emerald is somewhat surprised at the sight of an overlander in these parts, but doesn't dare show her surprise.

The seabear goes quiet as he sees what Sam sees. As does the skunk. They both stay quiet for a moment, but the seabear says, "Hello... are we to assume you are allies?"

  Silence is golden in situations like these, so Mittens returns Emerald's greeting with a friendly smile and wave.  ^.^/

Samuel remains quiet as he considers his options. Samuel doesn't hide the fact he is thinking as he mutters, "Well what do we have here?" as Samuel isn't sure if these two are friendly or if they intend to steal what he has already acquired via conquest, namely the two disabled SWATBots.

Samuel grins for a moment as he seems to come to a conclusion. "I'm guessing these two are a couple, but it's the wrong time to be out for a moonlit stroll in the woods." Samuel thinks that he'd rather be back on Tanelorn with his wife taking a moonlit stroll through Tanelorn's gardens, but his thoughts don't linger on that as he remember's the Seabear's words about dreaming... this isn't the time. Even if Samuel has every intention of making his dreams into reality.

Samuel's comments turn the seabear's thoughts to Mittens and how he hopes the shrubbery-queen doesn't get a crush on him. She seems downright crazy in some respects. The skunk, on the other hand, is pondering food.

Michael is caught offguard by the overlander's remark about Emerald and Michael being a couple and the look of surprise is evident on the chimpanzee's face.

"And what makes you think we are a couple?" as Michael ponders for only half a second before realizing that since Michael and Emerald seem to be traveling alone.... and are both adults... and realizes how the overlander could jump to such a conclusion. "No we are not a couple. Do you see any wedding rings?" as Michael holds up his hands revealing that he isn't wearing any rings.
This message was last updated by the player at 00:29, Tue 23 Jan 2007.

Emerald looks over at Michael. "Don't need to be married to be a couple." Then looks at Samuel. "But no... we aren't a couple. I heard you while we were on our way to do something important and we decided to look into it. My name is Emerald. This is Michael. We are allies and, hopefully, friends."

  Mittens grins at Sam's tease, happy that she's not the focus of someone's mistaken notions of romance for once.  ^.^  She wonders what the kids would look like - Orange monkeys with white bellies?  They'd prolly look like two little scoops of orange-vanilla ice cream!  :9  Maybe the scooper will be needed sooner than she thought...  though not for brains.  :P

  "Nothing romantic goin' on in this motley crew either," Mittens chimes once she snaps out of her muse, "Though we were just about to head home and enjoy a nice meal together.  Yourself?"  :)  She may be eccentric, but she's not stupid.  Life has taught her to be cautious when dealing with strangers.  She took care not to mention the lake or any details about the fallen Swats.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:48, Tue 23 Jan 2007.

Samuel considers what Mittens has said and realizes why she has said it. Samuel keeps quiet since he doesn't want to say what he actually intends to do as he's still wanting to drop off the two disabled SWATBots, reequip himself for the mission he intended to do, and then head back out and complete his original scavenger hunt sortie.

Instead Samuel simply says, "I am Samuel Stevenson." Samuel doesn't say more than that since he doesn't feel the need to explain how he's not from mobius and all that.

  Joe's suggestions on the matters of how people should spend their time as they head off are kept to himself, due to the fact that nobody would ever get anywhere if they kept stopping to ask what the hell he was talking about.

  He then looks over at the one who started staring at him first.  He wonders not for the first time why people always overreact when it comes to things like height while the ones who could stab someone in the face repeatedly while singing the entire lyrics to weird Al's albuquerque are never considered dangerous.

  Maybe it was because Joe didn't really advertise this fact?  What good is dropping big freaking rocks on someone if they saw it coming, anyone who's seen any spy movie knows giving away your elaborate death plan ahead of time is just a bad idea.

  "So, what kind of people you think they're headed for?  My guess that theres gonna be both someone that gets more odd looks and someone who beats me in the scathing sarcasm department.  Because well adjusted doesn't seem to be popular anymore."

Valin shrugs at Joe's statement and simply says, "We don't know what to expect. So we must be prepaired for anything."

Valin makes sure to hang back far enough to hopefully not be noticed by anyone Michael and Emerald are dealing with, while close enough to bolt into action to save them should the need arise. While doing this Valin glances around to see if there are any useful rocks which could be thrown, or fallen parts of trees that would make for good clubs. Just in case.

Emerald ponders how to deal with this. And since Michael isn't speaking up at this moment, she decides to. "Michael and I are from Channelwood. We're freedom fighters and were on our way to execute a mission in Middletown. And you say you are going home, so... where is 'home'?"

The seabear says, "Aquarius. And you're welcome to come along if it doesn't deter you from your mission too long." The skunk mutters stuff about how Aquarius is quickly becoming a home to any drifting outsiders, but gets a stiff nudge from the seabear. "That's for the princess to decide."

Samuel looks at the Michael and Emerald and says, "I'm only heading back long enough to drop off excess baggage and resupply," as Samuel points to the two disabled SWATBots although, due to the tone in his voice, some might also suspect he is also refering to some people in the vicinity as 'excess baggage'. "Afterwards I'm heading back to Middletown to gather the supplies I was originally going after. But I'll admit I'm an opportunist so I took advantage of a situation I was forced into due to the actions of another," as Samuel looks at Mittens with a look many would read as 'don't you even think about trying that stunt again'.

Michael hasn't been speaking up much as he's been trying to figure out what the otehrs were doing here. However upon hearing what the Seabear and Overlander say, Michael figures that they may be a freedom fighter group. However doesn't seem to fit with the idea of the Overlander being a freedom fighter. Then again Michael's actual knowledge about Overlanders that isn't rumor or propoganda is quite limited. What Michael does realize is that the racket from Middletown earlier was probably caused by these people... and given how the Overlander intends on going right back there... it does seem to indicate that he isn't intimidated by what he came up against. And judging how the others are acting, it means that no one was captured or injured. "So I guess that racket we heard coming from Middletown was their attempt to prevent you getting away with those remains. Was wondering what that was about." as Michael points to the SWATBots.

Michael does think that the knowledge of where others live in the area is more important than the mission since they may have some of the items to be picked up during the mission, or they might be able to assist in getting those items. "Our mission isn't time sensitive." as Michael glances to Emerald to figure out her opinion on the matter.

Michael hasn't ruled out an ambush yet... but if this is a trick or a trap, it's one far more elaborate than anything Ra has ever tried before, not to mention it doesn't seem like Ra's style.

Emerald leans closer to Michael and whispers, "You're right. It's not terribley time sensative. But we can't take *too* long or Katy'll come looking for us, taking unneccessary risks for a team who isn't in trouble. One or two of us should go back to tell her what's up. The opportunity to have allies is far too great to turn down."

  Mittens grins at Samuel's "naughty girl" look much like a mischievous child would at a scalding parent.  :D  She doesn't have any witty come-backs for him, and turns back to face Emerald and Michael.

  "It was a robian of some kind," she answers them, "Didn't get a good look with all the blinding lights, but it musta had somekindofa souped-up boom box playing the worst sounding album in it...  worse than easy listening!"  >.<

  "I'd be more than happy to help with your mission against the badniks," she continues, "But methinks these fellas want me to meet their boss first."  She thumbs at the skunk and seabear.  b^.^

OOC: speaking of noise - http://homepage.ntlworld.com/e.../wahkazoo-dr_who.mp3 :P  (http://www.wahkazoo.co.uk/)
This message was last edited by the player at 16:52, Wed 24 Jan 2007.

Michael nods to Emerald and then whispers back, "We probably should let Joe and Valin go back since that way no one ends up traveling alone, and between the two of them, Katy would get the information she'd need, since Joe might be a bit sarcastic, and Valin has never been very verbose."

Michael then glance at Mittens and makes a mental note that she only pointed her thumb at the seabear and the skunk, and not the overlander...which Michael assumes means that either the overlander doesn't care about Mittens meeting their boss, or more likely, that their boss isn't the overlander's boss.

Samuel uses his sensors to eavesdrop in on Emerald's and Michael's whispering since they are within the range of his sensors, but he doesn't let on that he's heard what they have said. 'Katy must be their boss. And it seems they also have two others hiding around nearby. Clever tactical decision, holding back some of your force incase it is a trap you minimize the risk to the group,' as Samuel hasn't had command training, but with his experience on the Elsydeon and his wife's side of the family, he's picked up a few things.

"So what now? Since I doubt waiting around for something to occur is part of anyone's plan. I know it isn't part of mine." as Samuel wonders how things are going to proceed since he knows he has no control over the situation, not that the lack of control bothers him.

OOC: If your wondering, filtered short range wide spectrum audio sensors are useful to detect and analyse the sounds machines make that the human ear can't detect either due to being to faint or out of the human range of hearing. Such sounds can be an early warning that something is wrong with the machine. And these are also the same sensors Samuel was using early to 'replace' his hearing while using his earplugs as they can easily filter out 'background noise'.

Emerald nods to Michael. "You're right. But how do we tell them to go back to town? I'm guessing we'll just have to have them come out in the open and then tell them. It's not too bad to reveal we had some people in hiding if they are about to leave anyway. Right?"


(OOC: Noted. I was going to use similar tech on you with Blipvert. Noise canceling tech would very well be within Blipvert's reach and soon, he'd be able to cancel the sounds he makes, making it very easy to hear things like a bomb being thrown at him or someone saying "amature" to themselves not far away. Keeping in mind, of course, that being Robotnik's, Blipvert has access to more resources and such, so he can do that sort of thing. But I figured Blipvert's new enough that the neccessity for such tech hadn't come just yet, so he's currently upgrading.)
This message was last edited by the player at 03:26, Thu 25 Jan 2007.

The seabear says, "The guy's got a point. Let's not sit around. You coming with us or not?"

Michael nods to Emerald and then glances to the others that are around and then whispers back to her, "We might as well bring them over since if we are wanting to be allies, wouldn't it be in poor taste to have people hiding around for our protection, as that would be a sign of mistrust?"

Samuel observes Emerald and Michael whispering back and forth and says, "Well it looks like they may have just reached a decision, although I could be mistaken." Samuel still conceals the fact he's well aware of what Emerald and Michael are saying.

  Mittens watches the conversation like a kitten watching a...  Hey!  This keeps happening and I'll have to come up with a new metaphor!  >.<

  "Did I say dinner?" Mittens chimes, "Got a little ahead of myself.  I meant lunch!  Seaweed sandwitches!  Yum!  :9  Or whatever it is the lake people like....  I can't wait to try it out!"   ^.^

  Mittens pets her belly and resists the urge to prove she can pat her head at the same time.  :P
This message was last edited by the player at 16:31, Thu 25 Jan 2007.

Emerald looks over her shoulder. "Come on out, you two. These guys aren't dangerous to us." She specified "to us" because she realises that a group of four people, even as un-united as they appear to be, could be quite dangerous. She doesn't know much about them yet, but she figures they are friendly enough.

On the other hand, while she knows that overlanders can be quite dangerous and this one seems to be... prepared... she also realises that an un-unified group who questionabley have an alliance with each other have little chance against a unified group that have equal numbers. Especially since their big guy may be an overlander, but Valin is a 400 lbs gorilla. Mostly, she's thinking these things just in case of an emergency because honestly, it will take a bit more before she fully trusts these strangers. But just to check, she turns to the seabear and asks, "So you guys are on the same team? Or did you all just meet?"

The seabear says, "Samuel here lives in Aquarius with us, but he's made it clear he's not really one of us. He doesn't follow orders well and seems headstrong. Pierson here is definately an Aquarius Freedom Fighter and has been for years. This cat's name is Mittens and while she may have found her mittens, seems to have lost her mind in the proccess. She's not an AFF yet, but she might be soon. And my name is Crucible. I owe my loyalty to Aquarius and Urser from birth to the day I die."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:29, Thu 25 Jan 2007.

Samuel glares at Crucible and says, "I follow orders...I'm just not following your orders as they often conflict with my standing orders. I have never disobeyed an order given by any of my superiors in Stelaras, and I never will. Even now I work to uphold the values and ideals that has allowed Stelaras to become one of the major interstellar corporations in the known galaxy. I will repair the shuttle as it is Stelaras property, and I will rescue my crewmembers and get them to safety. Preferably back to Tanelorn and off this forsaken planet in the middle of nowhere. My only personal desire that I am also working towards is that I will carry out Markus' oath," as Samuel alludes to the oath the Dinonian swore before Robotnik Roboticized him.

Samuel clearly looks aggitated upon being described as someone who doesn't follow orders, although he doesn't seem to mind being called headstrong.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 22:31, Thu 25 Jan 2007.

Michael looks at Samuel and thinks that either the Overlander is insane... or he's really from another world. Given the strange equipment that Samuel is carrying, Michael strongly suspects that the latter is true. However, that doesn't mean that Michael isn't also discoutning the possiblity that Samuel is an insane person that isn't native to Mobius.

"Is he always this disagreeable?" as the Michael wonders if Samuel is always like this, or if he's just in a bad mood. Michael doesn't bother calling out to Joe or Valin since Emerald has already done so.

  "The entire time I've known him," snickers Mittens, "And we go waaay back... to this morning!"  XD

  Mittens eye-pops when Valin comes into view.  O.O!!  "WHOAH!  Big!"

Valin walks into view just in time to hear Samuel's rant, which doesn't impress the gorilla at all. Valin then looks down to see Mittens after she speaks up about Valin being 'huge'. The Gorilla says, "Hello," as he waves to those that Michael and Emerald met.

  Joe figures that there wouldn't be much point to remaining where he was now that others have pointed out that his general area.  He'd at least have to move off somewhere else if he wanted to remain properly hidden despite polite requests.  But in this case Joe does as asked and arrives in time to see the obvious overreaction to Valin's basketball qualifications.

  He takes in the scene and it doesn't take a genius to figure out his previously mentioned expectations were correct.  "Well, here we are. Now what?"

Crucible doesn't even bother answering Michael as he's already made his point. Not to mention, Samuel just kind of proved his statement right in a way. However, he gives the blanket statement of "I rest my case." before turning his attention to the two new arrivals. Hidden? Now he can see why the two were so confident. It wasn't arrogance or naivity, it was simpley knowing they had an escape if neccessary. "Hello there." he says to Joe and Valin.

Pierson, however, doesn't think about the whole thing much. All he can think about is food and how huge that gorilla is. His first reaction is realising how screwed they'd have been if Samuel decided to get as homicidal as Pierson has imagined Samuel will get any day now. An overlander is an overlander, no matter where they are from. And Samuel's statements only prove it further to Pierson. He doesn't come out and say how shocked he is by Valin's size, but he waves all the same. And then wonders what the other three can do since Valin's use is obvious.

Needless to say, Pierson doesn't take as much notice to Joe as he does to Valin. But interestingly enough, Crucible has his eye on Joe.

Emerald turns to Joe and Valin and says, "Much as I'd love to give a more propper introduction, you two are needed for something slightly more urgent. Michael and I are going with this group to their village. We need you two to go back to Channelwood and tell Katy about our detour so she doesn't needlessly come looking for us. We'll report back to Channelwood before embarking on the mission, of course, but expect us to be anywhere from a couple hours to a whole day."

Technically, Emerald doesn't have a rank like Katy and Michael do. But among Freedom Fighters, rank is a loose term and usually, age has a lot to do with it. Though Samuel *might* not be able to tell wether Emerald or Michael are the ranking ones here just yet, Emerald seems to be putting on the appearance of being what, really, Michael is.

Michael looks to Valin and Joe and nods in aggreement with course of action Emerald has stated, "Be careful. Remember after we return to Channelwood, we'll most likely embark on the mission soon afterwards. That is unless Katy decides to adapt the mission in light of our report."

Michael has no qualms about not maintaining a clear chain of command, since doing so can leave potential attackers off confused as to what the real chain of command is.

Valin nods upon hearing what Emerald and Michael say before turning to Joe and simply saying, "Now we head back to Channelwood to inform Katy of the situation." Valin then turns back to Michael and Emerald before adding, "Good luck. I hope your report will contain good news."

Valin waves to the others present, but the gorilla waits for Joe to start making his way back to Channelwood before Valin starts heading back himself.

Samuel doesn't care if everyone on Mobius thinks he's insane, or homicidal, or both. After all, once he manages to rescue his crewmembers and vengence has been carried out on Robotnik... Samuel just wants to leave this planet and never return. Samuel also knows that if he risks friendship with anyone on Mobius, it would make his leaving when his task is done all the more difficult. Rich Asteroid and Kuiper belts or not, this human wants simply to go home to Tanelorn.

Samuel simply sighs and then says, "Well let's get this over with. If we are taking them to Aquarius, we might as well get moving," as Samuel ridges up the two disabled SWATBots as before so they can be carried with the help of Cruicible and Piersonwithout leaving a trail. In the back of his mind, Samuel fears that once he gets back to Tanelorn, Stelaras might send him right back here as part of an envoy to speak with whatever legitimate government forms on this world in order to negotiate mining rights for both the asteroid belt between the fourth and fifth planets in the solar system and the Kuiper belt at the edge of the solar system. Naturally Samuel wouldn't disobey that order, but he'd request that someone else be sent instead.

  Mittens eyes dart back and forth watching the conversation like the eyes of a ticking kitty cat clock.  b_b  d_d  There!  A new metaphor!  XP  When Samuel punctuates it with his practical suggestion, she smiles and nods in whole-hearted agreement.  "Yes!  Let's!"  ^.^  With that she grabs the other end of a Swatbot, eager to explore lake village for the first time!  :D

OOC:
Cat clock: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bt8ERofXrp0

Samuel:

In the back of his mind, Samuel fears that once he gets back to Tanelorn, Stelaras might send him right back here as part of an envoy...

Oh the irony!  XD
This message was last edited by the player at 05:47, Sun 28 Jan 2007.

  While Joe didn't have any particular dedication to following orders, them being conveniently worded to fit with one's personal goals or not, he also didn't have any particular reason not to follow them most of the time.

  However, would Joe's going along with the recent instructions to put off real effort be following orders?  Or disobeying them considering they we're given a job to do?

  "Petty details shall never stop a Darkthorne I guess, Off we go to tell Katy why we're ditching the job for a good cause...  Its a bad sign when I sound responsible by any comparison." This commentary gotten out of the way, Joe did the obvious.  Wait, thats been brought into question hasn't it?  He gets on that heading back to tell Katy stuff thing.

Emerald follows the newly met bunch as she ponders what sort of town Aquarius is. She had heard about Seabears and even heard descriptions, but never actually saw one. And this overlander seems to be indicating he's from outer space. Could it be that his man is purely alien... or was the old theory on Overlanders being invaders from outer space true all along? Fact is, Emerald knows the answer to that question and even believes she knows Samuel is not as alien as even Samuel might think. But as always, she keeps quiet about her historical knowledge gained from archaeology and such... seeing as how she doesn't ever want to slip up and mention her namesake.

"Well while we're walking there, what can you tell me about Aquarius? Are there things I'll need to know, such as specific rules?" She's been to places before that literally had the rule "No foxes allowed", so she knows it's best to ask before she rubs people the wrong way.

Crucible looks over his shoulder and says, "The obvious. Just conduct yourself in a respectful manner. As Pierson can attest to, we don't have any strange rules. Mostly common-sense stuff."

Pierson can't help it as he chuckles and says, "Yes, but there's the new rule that came thanks to odd company: No walking on the walls or cieling."

Crucible cracks a smile, remembering how humorous it was to see Samuel walking on the walls and the cieling. And he, like Shelly, wishes the rule didn't have to come about. But due to safety regulations that Shelly must abide by, she was pretty much forced to make that rule. "Heh... well yeah. But I doubt our current guests would do that. In any case, just behave yourself. If you do any obvious crimes like stealing or assault, you'll be put in prison. But we shouldn't have to worry about you doing that. Oh! And keep in mind that our leader Shelly is a princess. The only present member of the royal family of Urser. So please do treat her as royalty. Though she's a tad laid back, so don't be nervous either."

"You guys are no fun. I've been walking on walls and ceilings since I could walk. You have to admit it did let me avoid congestion in the hallways, and I never did anything stupid or dangerous when I was walking on the walls or ceiling," says Samuel as the group heads to Aquarius.

Samuel's thoughts drift back to the first time he and Markus met Alexis and her family when the three of them were children. 'Her family was moving to Tanelorn. We met at the space port. She was bragging about how fast she was... Although she's no where as fast as that Priority One Hedgehog I've heard rumors about... I remember how Markus and I managed to outwit her olympic running speed. She didn't have boots like mine, so we aggreed to an impromptu game of tag right then and there. SHe ran through a crowd of people, expertly weaving around to not run into anyone... I simply ziplined up to a wall and ran on that where it wasn't nearly as crowded. Markus flew to keep an eye on where Alexis was and was usign a headset radio to keep me informed of her location... by the time we came to an overpass walkway I had gotten ahead of her as I was running straight she was having to zig zag, she had thought she lost me... and then I zipline over to the overpass and drop to the ground a full second before she got there. She was so surprised she failed to evade my tag. Afterwards Markus and I explained to Alexis and her brother the teamwork we used. Her brother laughed and said "That was a clever use of teamwork." Alexis grumbled about how she thought it was cheating, even after it was explained how none of the rules of the game had been broken. The four of us became good friends after that, with each of us bringing something unique to the group that later became the Tiny Tanelornian Terrors, at least after our Station Wide Prankfest...those were good times.'

Samuel's thoguhts shift back to the present as he finds himself nearing tears as  his memories remind him of the friends and family he misses so dearly. However Samuel does grin at the irony of a person raised and bred on the use of teamwork, having to try and get the job done alone due to Stelaras' rule about keeping civilians out of danger. With Samuel considering most of the freedom fighters he's met as just highly skilled civilians, there were civilians none the less. Except Shelly, she was royalty, and endangering Royalty was even worse than endangering Civilians, hence since Samuel ended up on this strange planet, he's had to work alone for the most part...all in the name of following regulations. 'And these fur-brained natives say I never obey orders...I'm always following the standing orders for Stelaras... and so far it hasn't endangered anyone, other than myself, and I'm willing to take that risk.'

Valin simply nods to Joe and continues with Joe towards Channelwood to inform Katy of the unexpected detour. The Gorilla keepts the mental comment of how Joe talks as much as he remains quiet to himself.

OOC: Why do I sort of have the comparison of Joe and Valin to the Jay and Silent Bob in my mind? Although Valin isn't exactly as quiet as Silent Bob.

Michael looks slightly confused when he's told that Samuel likes to walk on the ceiling and walls. The Monkey has heard of the expression 'driving someone up the wall'... but Michael has never suspected anyone could actually live out that expression. "I guess that explains why Overlanders are so defiant... if they instinctively wish to defy even the law of gravity... what else can you expect from them."

Upon hearing Michael refer to Samuel as an Overlander, Samuel says, "Do not mistake me for an Overlander. I am not native to this planet, and I am neither horrendiously obesse or short and balding. If you wish to call me as something other than Samuel, Mr. Stevenson, or simply human, then call me a Tanelornian, as I am native to the Space Station Tanelorn, in the Tanelornian Solar System." with a slight trace of angry and warning in his voice. Samuel clearly sounds as if he feels he's just been insulted.

Knowing that it is, in fact, possible that Samuel could well technically be an overlander, but not wanting to show her cards, Emerald chimes in, saying something else about overlanders. "Very few overlanders are like Doctor Robotnik, Samuel. All races have their criminals. Nobody's saying you're a sadist like Robotnik."

Pierson says, "The overlanders are not all as smart as Robotnik, but they are mostly as evil. Why else was there a great war between the mobians and overlanders?"

Crucible says, "And the overlanders are probabley muttering the same about so-called mobians. When did they lose the right to call THEMselves mobians?"

Samuel speaks coldly, "I don't care about Overlanders, but I won't pass judgement on them. I have no right to. I am a human, a Tanelornian. It is not my place nor my right to judge another culture. I only make opinions about individuals I have encountered. In Tanelornian Society, many species have lived together for many generations. We judge people by what they do, not what they are. Yes, there are many places in the Galaxy that still wish keep themselves seperated by their species in where they live. Humans have many worlds, moons, and stations that they have colonized where they wish to keep seperate from other species. But there are also planets and space stations where species doesn't matter. You get the whole spectrum, for every species. I do feel pity for anyone who judges other soley by their species." it's clear that Samuel doesn't want to be typecast as an Overlander as he isn't one from his perspective. But he also makes it clear he has a strong dislike for bigotry.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 23:46, Thu 01 Feb 2007.

Michael considers what is said and comes to one conclusion, that Samuel is not crazy. Michael also makes a mental note to not call him an Overlander again, even if he looks just like one. Instead Michael asks, "Given how much you look like an Overlander, does that mean that there are many species which look similar in the galaxy?" Michael thinks that since he started the topic about Overlanders, he should be the one to at least try to shift away from it since it is clearly a sore spot for several people present.

Meanwhile, back at Channelwood, Katy is just finishing up one of her assignments when she notices Joe and Valin coming back without Emerald or Michael and gets slightly worried. Though the lack of distress or emergency or even sadness in their posture sets Katy at ease. Nothing's wrong... but something's up. She hurries to the elevator and goes to the ground level in order to meet them sooner.

Valin waves to Katy upon seeing her. When she meets up with Valin and Joe, Valin friefly explains about the group's encounter with a group from a city called Aquarius, giving a brief description of each of the members in that group. Finally Valin also briefly states what Michael and Emerald chose to do and how it detours from the initially planned mission.

  Mittens begins softly humming the tune of "Jesus Loves The Little Children" to keep her mind focused on God's own take on racism and refrain from interrupting the conversation between the Overla...  Tanelornian and the Monkey.  ^.^  "What should I say?" she asks Jesus in a prayer, "Well yeah, scripture IS always a good way to make your point, but which one?  The one about there being no racism in heaven will likely go over their heads...  And I bet the race aspect of 'The Good Samaritan' parable will be lost on 'em too.   ._."

  Mittens eye-blinks as if suddenly realizing something.  "The creation story?" she continues in her prayer, "Never thought of it that way, but I suppose you got a point there."  O.O  She continues humming contentedly while she waits her turn to add her 2 cents.  ^.^
This message was last edited by the player at 21:31, Sun 28 Jan 2007.

Crucible notices Mittens not speaking up and decides to count his blessings and thank Trident. However, it isn't too long before they all arrive at the edge of the lake. Aquarius Lake is fed from the same body of water that feeds the pond surrounding the Channelwood Windmill, but the two are not directly connected. Crucible says, "Wait here." to Mittens, Michael and Emerald. Then dives into the lake.

Pierson, not wanting Sam to cause mischief or get in trouble, etc, stays behind.

Michael waits as instructed by the Seabear before Cruicible dives into the lake. Michael realizes that this lake is probably fed by the same primary source of water that Channelwood uses.

"I hope Cruicible remembers to get waterproof bags large enough for the SWATBots..." as Samuel waits for the Seabear to return.

Crucible returns and places the waterproof bags in front of Samuel. Then hands some swimsuits to Michael and Emerald. "Put these on and follow me. If you can't swim, let me know."

Emerald gets to work putting the swimset on. "I can swim." she answers nonchalantly while she dons the "suit". And of course, there isn't much to it since it's not like they will be having to swim too much. It's a simple oxygen tank, breather and goggles. Sure Emerald's clothes will get wet, but that's not a big deal and she's sure the AFF know what their doing.

Michael puts on the 'swim suit' handed to him while saying, "We both know how to swim." Michael notices that if scuba gear is being handed out that the city is deep underwater. Michael thinks that it is a good idea Valin went back to Channelwood, as the gorilla isn't a good swimmer.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:44, Sun 28 Jan 2007.

Samuel quickly works to put the two SWATBots into the waterproof bags and to get the bags sealed before putting on the gas mask that was in a pouch on his belt.
Samuel then waits till everyone else is ready before he does anything else.

Once she's all set, Emerald dives in after Crucible, following him down to Aquarius. It's not far, but when swimming, it can seem a ways. However, with Crucible staying well within reach, it's easy to find their way. And soon enough, Emerald is led into the entrance.

Michael enters the water when everyone else does. While underwater Michael simply follows the others to the enterence. Michael considers how the lake seems to act as a protective barrier for Aquarius even more than the forest does for Channelwood, since the lake itself is hostile to robots that aren't waterproofed, and SWATBots aren't waterproofed.

After entering the water, Samuel doesn't need as much help dragging along the SWATBots in the bags, although he still needs some help due to their weight. However, he is glad that Pierson is assisting, even though there is no concern about leaving a train on the ground from being dragged. Otherwise the two SWATBots would be difficult, but not impossible, to carry the enterence of Aquarius.

Once in Aquarius, Crucible helps the others enter. Pierson is the last to come in as he and Sam followed the others inside. Pierson looks at the waterproofed bags and pffs. "Guess you're going to be busy eventually. But I'll bet you're still wanting to do the errand you planned to do, aren't you Sam?"

Shelly is there in the entrance room. She faces Michael and Emerald and says, "Welcome to Aquarius. I'm Shelly. Pleased to meet you." She looks around some more for Mittens... "But where is the cat?"

Shelly looks at Crucible. He says, "Lack of scuba gear today, your highness." and with that, he grabs the scuba gear Emerald just finished taking off and heads off back to the shore.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:27, Mon 29 Jan 2007.

  Mittens figures there must be good reason she was left behind without scuba gear or instructions to follow, so she just finds some driftwood to sit on and admires the lake.

  Joe is saved the effort of explaining the situation thanks to Valin doing that for him.  And while he didn't know for sure, he suspected he had been saved the minor hassle of wishing he had waterproof pockets along with the less than pleasant environment protected arm.  It had been annoying to set up in the first place, but the long term benefits of ones fake arm not just going limp because its raining out or someone decided to play around with EMP was worth it.  The high voltage resistance was just a given, even if providing such wasn't an option right now.

  "What I'm wondering is how nobody from either group has noticed the other might exist yet.  We're only making one of the planned generator problems look like an accident for example, and the destruction of property not caused by one's own group is prime point and laugh material."

Crucible surfaces to find Mittens on some driftwood. "Sorry about that. There were only two scuba sets besides the ones Pierson and Samuel had... not that Sam's would fit you." he offers up the scuba gear to Mittens and cracks a smile. "Appreciate your patience." He can't help but feel a little sorry for her having to wait like that. Even if she's nuts.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:41, Mon 29 Jan 2007.

Katy shrugs her shoulders with a scriggly face. "I don't know, Joe. Maybe they just got started with freedom fighting. Maybe they just got to this area. Or maybe they don't normally attack Middletown. Hard to say. But I suppose we'll find out soon enough." Still, she doesn't like the idea of waiting while Michael and Emerald could potentially be in a trap. "I don't like them going off on their own even if the strangers seem trustworthy. But it seems like we don't have much choice. I guess we just have to wait for them. Back to work with me. I guess you guys can either help me out or keep a look-out for them."
This message was last edited by the player at 12:54, Mon 29 Jan 2007.

  Mittens returns the seabear's smile with a big smile of her own!  :)  "Perfectly understandable," she assures him, "Scuba gear doesn't grow on trees.  And I see you don't need it.  So it's just for those not native to the lake.  Am I right?"  ^.^

  Mits had enough time to herself to realize that the weight of her armor would guarantee she'd get stuck in the mud at the lake's bottom, so she spent the last few minutes rigging up some mud "skis" out of some of the branches nearby.  :D  She accepts the scuba gear and wonders who's gear she's reusing.  "Which is worse," she thinks to herself, "dog breath or monkey breath?  Hmm...  That sounds like it could be a song title..."  :x


OOC:  The song I'm referring to is "Grease Paint and Monkey Brains" by White Zombie.  :P
This message was last edited by the player at 13:17, Mon 29 Jan 2007.

Crucible nods and says, "You're right. Follow me then." he then dives and waits for Mittens to follow. When she does, of course, she was right. Staying afloat with all that armor is... well.. impossible. Mittens sinks like a rock with arms and legs. Crucible just swims by her until she's at the bottom of the lake. The lake is 100 feet deep at it's deepest point, and Mittens is probabley at 80 feet right now. The lake seems to be designed like a non-gradual crater. After you enter about 10 feet into the lake there is a sudden drop. Crucible looks over at Mittens and points the direction. He gives her another assuring smile and swims ahead of her, occasionally looking over at her to make sure the walking stone stays with him. At this point, he figures either it's another crazy antic to keep armor on under water, or those pieces of metal are actually part of her and she's a partially roboticized person. Which would explain her craziness. Either way, he figures as long as she's friendly, that's a good thing.

"What are you working on? You never told us what you were working on that prevented you from going on the mission in the first place." as the gorilla asks a question that has been on his mind since he found out about the mission, and that Katy wasn't going to be part of it.

Samuel looks at Shelly and replies, "I am always busy. And as soon as I get these two SWATBots to my shuttle, and resupply, I'm heading back out to Middletown to get the parts I was originally going after since such parts won't be found in Urser. I just hope I don't have to save anyone else that pulled a dumb stunt like what Mittens did. If your going to imitate a SWATBot, a SWATBot head, some wooden stilts and a dead shrub won't cut it. SWATBots aren't that stupid. Now I believe you probably have some stuff to discuss with them," as Samuel points to Emerald and Michael, "So I'll just take these two disabled SWATBots to my shuttle where I can work on salvaging them properly. Although unless you don't mind me scuffing up the floor and ruining the bags they are in, I could use some assistance in trnasporting these two SWATBots," as Samuel now looks to Pierson. And once Samuel get's the assistance he needs to carry the two SWATBots without them suffing up the floor, which would also shred the bags they are in, he heads off towards where his shuttle if docked.

After Michael has taken off the scuba gear he had been given and Shelly introduces herself, Michael replies, "I'm Michael. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Upon hearing Samuel explain what he plans to do, as well as what Mittens had tried to do, Michael's jaw drops open in shock. Michael would never believe anyone to be either or naive, or crazy, enough to try to trick a SWATBot with a disguise that poorly thought out. 'Even Joe wouldn't try and pull of a stunt that badly thought out. Especially since he has enough common sense to know it wouldn't work.' Michael also makes note that Samuel plans on going back to Middletown, and that there is appearantly a place called Urser, but Michael will inquire about that later.

  Despite previous allegations that Joe talks a bunch while Valin stays quiet, there are plenty of times when its the other way around.  Like when Valin asks the sensible questions before he gets around to them, thus freeing him of the need himself.

  ...

  This means he's just standing there waiting for the answer.

  Mittens follows Crucible until she's led into Aquarius.  She then returns the scuba gear with a "thank you!" ^.^ and takes off the mud shoes.  From there she follows him, soaking wet, until she's led to Shelly.  She then deduces that Shelly is the princess from the way Crucible respects her, Shelly's nicer-than-average clothes, and the presence of Pierson, Michael, and Emerald.  ;)

  It's not often Mittens gets a chance to meet royalty, so even though she was told Shelly is informal, she can't help but go all-out with the formalities!  XD  She combines all the bows from all the cultures she's learned so far.  :p  First she clicks her heels together, stands at attention, and pounds her left fist onto her chest while saluting military style with her right hand.  /-_-  Then she slides her right foot back and raises the heel while bringing her right fist into her open left hand in a Kung Fu salute.  She then bows her head and drops her right knee and right fist to the floor in a full medieval kneel with her left fist once again clanging against her breastplate.  One unfamiliar with these poses might think the whole thing some strange dance, especially since it's made all the more Hollywood dramatic from the drops of water flying from her arms when she swings them.  :P

  "It's an honor to meet you, princess!" Mittens mews cheerfully in stark contrast to the formal pose, "Sir Crucible and Sir Pierson say good things of you!"  ^.^

Katy says, "Today happens to be the monthly re-evaluation day. I'm checking on everything from maintainance to schooling to behavior patterns. And I even discovered recently that the cieling of Joe's hut is damaged..." She glances at Joe as though wondering wether Joe knows about it or not. But she's known him long enough now that she's pretty sure it was Joe's doing. "Michael and Emerald were right. The mission to collect resources isn't terribley urgent, but that's why I sent you all. In order to have a nice cusion of time between now and when it becomes urgent. In case things like what just happened come up. I think you and Joe will be perfect for fixing Joe's cieling."

Shelly looks at Pierson and Crucible who bow and go to help Samuel out with the bodybags-errr... waterproof bags. Before Sam leaves the room, Shelly says, "Don't forget to let me know when you're heading off. Thanks. And good going nabbing those suits!" Shelly is not one to overlook a job well done. Especially when it means they sure could use someone like Sam to fit into a suit and infiltrate Middletown easier.

She then turns her attention to Mittens. "Nice to hear. We can use all the help we can get. Interested in joining us in our fight against Robotnik? Or are you just here seeking a home?" It's true that while she honestly doesn't have the resources to house loafers, she can use even people who don't volunteer to fight. Which is how she can afford to ask that question.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:00, Tue 30 Jan 2007.

The gorilla looks at Joe an then at Joe's Grappling Hook, and figures he can guess what caused the damage to Joe's hut. Valin simply thinks to himself 'boys with toys,' as the gorilla says, "I'll help in any way I can."

Samuel takes the fastest route to his shuttle. On the way he uses his communications bracer to signal the shuttle and have it open a hatch while the two maintenence robots prep a workbench for the two disabled SWATBots. Samuel, Pierson, and Cruicible reach the shuttle just in time to watch the enterence hatch open, as Samuel then takes the two disabled SWATBots to the hatch, where Samuel says to Pierson and Cruicible, "The shuttle's two maintenance robots will be able to carry the SWATBots from here to the workbench. If you want you two can head back to Shelly now. I'll head back to talk with her before I head back out. I suspect our guests are going to be heading to Middletown when they are done here, and if we go seperately, odds are we could get in each other's way if we remain ignorate of what the others are doing.  Thus I'll definately have to talk with the guests before I return to Middletown to get the supplies I intended to get," as Samuel then takes the two SWATBots out of the waterproof bags one at a time.

The two maintenance robots, which sort of look like Johnny 5, without a blaster although they do have tool kits on their torso and back. Currently, the two robots have a treadsystem attached to the base of their lower torso so they can move around within the planet's gravitational field. As their internal thrusters are designed for movement in zero-gravity or when neutrally buoyant underwater they aren't enough to move teh robots on land. The two remote control robots are currently being controled by the shuttle's main computer and following Samuel's instructions, roll up and pick up the two SWATBots and carry them off to a workbench within the Shuttle's field workshop that Samuel has been using to maintain his equipment. Normally is used to deal with field repairs on equipment and for testing such as analyzing materials being mined from asteroids before they get back to the mothership to make sure everything is going well.

It isn't long before Samuel has the shuttle's computer programed to have the robots start the process of salvaging the two SWATBots to make a SWATBot suit while Samuel removes the computer brain from the SWATBot that was disabled with a neckshot. The suit will hopefully let him pass as a SWATBot so that anything less than maintenance requiring disassembly wouldn't realize that the 'suit' isn't a real SWATBot. However Samuel knows the two robots can't do more than performing some analysis testing on the SWATBots and preliminary disassembly. Anything further is beyond the limited capabilities of what these two robots can do when unattended. 'I really should try to swipe one of those Techbot robots... I'm sure they are capable of more autonomous activities than these two remote control astromech robots. If I waterproofed it and equiped it with maneuvering thrusters so it could function underwater and in zero-g, I'm sure it could be rather useful. Only hard part, getting to one of those suckers as they don't usually wander streets... but with a SWATBot disguise... I could walk up to one and surprise it.'

Samuel plans on taking the SWATBot's brain back with him when he goes to talk to Shelly since he isn't a hacker and doesn't know how to extract the information he needs from it. Samuel makes a mental note to tell Shelly what information he'll need from the computer brain before he puts it in one of his satchels and exits the shuttle to meet up with Shelly and the others.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:14, Wed 31 Jan 2007.

  "He was amazing!" Mittens boasts of Samuel after jumping to her feet like a kid recalling a super hero sighting, "You shoulda seen 'im!  He ran right at 'em guns blazing!"  Mittens mimes the story's action.  XD  "Thentherewasthis robian with all kinds of blinding lights and deafening sounds and an army of Swats at his back blasting my decoy with their lasers, but we gave 'em the slip 'cause Spaceman Sam can carry two Swats like he's some kindofa gorilla.  OH!  And then we met an actual gorilla!"  She swings her arms open and stands on her tip-toes like she's telling the biggest fish tail ever.  \^.^/

  Mittens pauses to catch her breath and realizes she was asked a question.  ^.^;  "You bet I wunna join!" she cheers, "It's my sworn duty to right wrongs and Robotnik is one very big wrong."  She grins and realizes too late that she just inadvertently made a fat joke.  o.O  "And thank you very much for your hospitality, princess!" ^.^
This message was last edited by the player at 20:23, Tue 30 Jan 2007.

Michael looks at Mittens as the feline does her introduction and blinks. Michael wonders who is more unusual; Mittens with her armor and strange introductory 'poses', or Samuel who claims to be an alien from another world. Michael glance to Emerald to see what her opinion is of Mitten's recent actions, which in a different situation might be viewed as comical. Michael also looks to Shelly to see her reaction as well as to know when the conversation will shift back towards Emerald and himself.

Emerald raises an eyebrow at Mittens' description of Samuel's misadventures. And the loud noises from Middletown are a bit more explained too. She wonders how Samuel could be so strong. Those SWATbots are heavy and while Sam may be about their size, they weigh as much if not more than Samuel does. To carry two of them is indeed a feat of massive proportions. She strokes her chin looking less happy and more thoughtful. But she quickly smiles again and says, "Nice to have someone like Samuel on our team. And it's an honor to meet you too, princess. I've only heard of your people, but never seen them before. This is a truely memorable event for me."

She turns her attention to Mittens, keeping her smile and says, "That's amazing. So if you weren't a member of the Aquarius Freedom Fighters, what was your business in Middletown?" Emerald doesn't think Mittens is crazy. Not yet. She's known too many people who disguise cleverness with craziness. And sometimes, what some consider crazy, is simpley personality. Or maybe, being overly happy is Mittens' only way of staying sane in this mad world. But Emerald will find out. Piece at a time.

Shelly nods to Mittens. "No problem." is all she says before turning her attention to Emerald and listening to what Mittens will have to say in response. Meanwhile, Crucible and Pierson return to see what's up.

Michael does realize that there is some truth to Mitten's story, since both he and Emerald heard the noise coming from Middletown, however he does believe there was some exaggeration as he doubts Samuel could lift both SWATBots, although it is far more likely he dragged them around which wouldn't require nearly as much strength.

Michael says, "I agree, it is more advantageous to have him as an ally as opposed to an enemy. From what I've seen already, he acts like he has nothing left to loose. Someone like that can hard to stop, and very dangerous." in responce to what Emerald has said. However with the tone in Michael's voice as he says 'dangerous', it is clear that he means it as a double-edged sword. It is clear that even if Samuel is a crazy alien from space, he's willing to attack SWATBots headon, and he is able to walk away from the encounter. Michael knows that he would not want someone with that capability coming after him or anyone else from Channelwood.

  "My name's Mittens," she replies to Emerald with a smile, "I'm and adventurer from Crater Village.  In my travels I heard a rumor about dangerous mermaids near Middletown, so I came to investigate and dispel the rumor.  So far the only danger I see them posing is to Robotnik's army."  >:D

  Mittens turns to again bow courteously to Shelly, though far less elaborately this time.  She then turns back to face Emerald.  "The reason I was headed for Middletown and not the Lake is because I lacked the gear to explore the Lake, so I was looking to find it in town.  That's when I met Sam, Pierson, and Crucible."  ^.^
This message was last edited by the player at 00:14, Wed 31 Jan 2007.

  Joe would be very upset if he knew that things like satchels, vests, pockets, and long sleeved shirts didn't do things like block direct viewing of objects.  He didn't bring the lead smock for his X-rays.

  "Well its not like I wasn't going to do that anyways at least, though it might take slightly longer if someone put the stuff I left behind before our sidetracked mission to deal with it away.  Though you don't have to help out if you don't want to."  This last bit directed at Valin.

Shelly looks at Michael and wonders how Michael came to that conclusion in the short time he's known Samuel. "Really? You sure he wasn't just acting like a guy who's twice the size of most people on the planet so he thinks he can do whatever he wants to?" She cracks a smirk to show she's somewhat kidding about Samuel. "To be honest with you, though, he lost everything that mattered to him when he came here. So now, me and the AFF are currently his only friends. Though I sometimes wonder if he takes that for granted and would just as soon leave Aquarius like we never mattered to him once he finds another place that suits his purposes." Though this is mostly said to herself, she can't help but speak her mind out loud about Samuel because it'd honestly hurt her feelings if he did just up and leave without a goodbye or any sign of missing her and the others. She's a teen too, so wearing emotions on her sleeve is expected.

She turns to Mittens and offers a hand. "Welcome to the Aquarius Freedom Fighters, Mittens. When we've all been aquainted with our guests, I'll be more than happy to show you your new accomidations and such." She winks at Mittens and smiles.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:40, Thu 01 Feb 2007.

Emerald glances at Michael and Shelly and adds to Michael's comment, "I hope he doesn't have to learn the hard way that no matter how bad you think you got it, you *always* have something to lose until the day you die. I most definately hope for Samuel's sake that he doesn't take you or anyone else for granted, your highness. Life can be so good, if you have the right attitude. No matter what or who you've lost." This said as though from experience. She doesn't know yet that Samuel's wife is what's missing, but even if she did know this, she'd say the same thing and probabley add that Alexis would say the same thing too.

Michael explains, "It's simple really, based on what Mittens has said, Samuel came out fighting against SWATBots alone. He isn't twice the size of a SWATBot. And how he acted after he and the others had gotten away from Middletown and came across us," as Michael points to both Emerald and himself before continuing, "Although I do not think he could carry two SWATBots like a gorilla; I don't doubt that he's capable of moving them on his own, one at a time."

Michael then turns to Emerald and adds, "What concerns me more, is to what extent he may go to rescue his fellow crewmembers that he mentioned. And that oath he mentioned that Markus made that Samuel seems intent to carry out. But it does seem that he acts as if nothing else matters, and we both know that is not true. Then again, I remember how things were just after Robotnik took over. He could be going through a sort of denial about the situation he has been forced into, and is affraid to make new friends out of a fear of loosing them as well. However, I don't know enough about him to be sure. It could be a cultural thing for all I know." Michael then turns back to Shelly and nods as he aggrees with her assessment.

  "Honored, Princess," Mittens replies with a smile and a bow.  ^.^  "I look forward to serving as a member of the AFF until such time as I must leave this place."

  Mittens is quite aware that many a monarch assumes that one small favor on their part, like offering food and shelter, constitutes a contract of life-long service from the person receiving the favor, so she made it a point to clarify that she has no intention of being a surf indefinitely.  :)
This message was last edited by the player at 19:34, Sat 03 Feb 2007.

Shelly makes a mental note of Mittens' slight reluctance. "But again... we can talk about that more when our guests are not here. But if you'd like, Crucible and Pierson can get you aquainted with the AFF while I tend our guests."

That said, Crucible and Pierson go to Mittens' sides and present a way out of the room. Shelly does the same for Michael and Emerald, though she intends to lead them a different way.

  At first Mittens assumes when Shelly says "our" guests, she's already referring to Mittens as a citizen of Aquarius and is quite flattered, but on second thought, that's how royalty refers to themselves all the time, so she shrugs it off.  She bows to Shelly and leaves with her escorts with an eager smile.  :3

  "I can't wait to get started!" she mews at them, "I hope to become a valuable addition to your team!"  ^.^

Katy looks from Joe to Valin. "Entirely up to you, as Joe just indicated, wether you help him or do something else. As long as you're productive while we wait for Mike and Emmy to return."

Emerald follows Shelly to wherever it is she's going and looks over at Michael as they go. "I'd like to talk with you and Katy in a little more detail on what to do about all this when we return to Channelwood. I have experience with overla-... humans." She then turns to Shelly, "I don't know how long we can stay, but I'd like to know Channelwood can be allies with Aquarius and how before me and Michael leave.

Valin considers what Joe says as well as what Katy says as Valin asks Katy, "Is there anything else of any importance that needs to be done? If not, I might as well help Joe. Although I believe Joe said he can handle his ceiling on his own." Valin doesn't mention the 'since he most likely damaged it on his own, but by the look on Valin's face and his tone, it might be understood that Valin thinks Joe should fix the ceiling on his own.

Crucible and Pierson lead Mittens to a guest room. "There aren't many of us here..." Crucible begins, "So we're still trying to fill rooms around here. Couldn't help but notice your indication that you're only here temperarily. Where exactly were you planning to go?"

Michael listens to Emerald as the two of them follow Shelly. Upon hearing Emerald stop herself from saying overlanders he asks, "What sort of experience?"

Michael then says in aggreement with Emerald to what she says to Shelly, "There is the old saying of unitied we stand, divided we fall. It will take a very long time to defeat Robotnik if those fighting him do not cooperate. The more people that work together, the faster his evil empire will fall apart."

Katy nods, "You're right. Tell ya what. You can help out with the children. Since they have off today and Emerald is not here, they are currently wearing down Justin. He will appreciate someone with a lot of endurance coming to his rescue." She chuckles at that last comment.

Valin nods and says, "I'll do what I can to help Justin," as the gorilla heads off to help Justin deal with the children.

Shelly turns to Michael. "Of course... so I'm taking you all to the room where I keep spare comm equipment. Hopefully, we can stay in touch with those, and possibley coordinate plans."

Emerald is somewhat silent as she had hoped to reserve that answer for when she was alone with Mike and Katy. "In short, all kinds of experience. I'll tell you more when we get to Channelwood." The way her ears move indicates a slight hint of the topic being personal. Though it's hard to say wether it is personal in a bad way or a good way... or if she's just downright embarrassed. Then again, if one were to try second-guessing Emerald, they could hardly blame any mobian for being embarrassed for being familiar with overlanders more than the next person.

Michael nods first to Shelly as he says, "Hopefully we can," as Michael then turns to Emerald and remains quiet as he knows better than to press the matter for now since Emerald has said she'll discuss it in more detail later at Channelwood.

  In a truly unexpected and shocking coincidence, Joe was also thinking that he should fix the hole he madeargodthesarcasm-o-meterhasexploded...  He takes the lack of answer either way to mean that what he left behind to do this as well is still there.

  He nods and waves as he starts to head off, "See you two whenever I do then."

  Thankfully for Joe, unless an infestation of lumber fairies had occurred recently nobody had removed the convenient materials for ceiling repairs.  That step ladder would help him get at the ceiling easier without resorting to more holes in it or sliding around tables or the bed.  And the fact he was now dealing with the incredibly tiny version of a skylight showed this was true.

  ooc style: And for those that can't easily figure where spaces should go in text, that solid block reads...  Made, dear god the sarcasm-o-meter has exploded.

  "As the saying goes:" Mittens answers with a smirk, "'Wunna make God laugh?  Tell Him your plans!'"  ^.^

  Mittens wiggles her eyebrows to indicate that that was supposed to be a joke.  <:P

  "No plan other than to help where help is needed," she continues vaguely, "If God wants me to stay here forever, so be it.  But I'm an adventurer, and I like the idea of hitching a ride to the stars with Spaceman Sam once his ship is fixed...  Or storming Robotnik's main fortress should the opportunity present itself...  Or whatever.  When opportunity knocks, I tend to answer the door."  :3

Shelly takes Michael and Emerald to her meeting hall and goes to some chamber where she pulls out a communicator. "This should go to whoever's in charge of your village. With it, you can make a call to this base and thus get in touch with me. We can coordinate plans this way." She hands it over. "If you'd like to get on your way, I won't hold you back. But if you'd like to stick around, I can show you some more hospitality. Whatever your decision, please let me know."

Emerald looks about, but acts as though she is disappointed as she says, "Wish I *could* stick around. But I fear time is not something we can afford too much of. I don't want our village worrying about us. But thank you very much for the communicator. And you can be very sure we will be in touch and try to return for more festivities..." At the latter part, she smiles and seems to cheer up.

Crucible says, "Well... try not to talk too much about leaving. Bad enough Samuel does. Some people already think he keeps talking that way because he doesn't want to get attatched to us. That way he can kill us when he's through with us. So please... try to refrain from talking about leaving. It's depressing for everyone here, considering that it's so hard to come accross new friends anymore."

Pierson says nothing on this. He figures Crucible has said what needs to be said. But his expression certainly confirms Crucible's claims.

Michael nods and accepts the communicator when it is offered as he says, "Thank you. As Emerald has said, we don't want to worry our friends back home, and we do have a raid we still have to carry out." Michael doesn't mention it as he figures Emerald probably realizes that there will be plenty of time after the raid to deal with hospitality and pleasentries, and by then Katy would probably be able to join along so that Katy and Shelly can work out more details about how the two groups would cooperate.

Samuel uses Aquarius' intercom system to talk with Shelly as he leaves the hangar where his Shuttle is, "Okay I'll be heading back out as I still have the list of parts I needed to get from Middletown to deal with. Are you going to be sending more people behind my back again? I've told you before I don't need a babysister," as Samuel thinks to himself, 'she'll probably send some, even if she says no.'

It is clear that Samuel isn't aware that Michael and Emerald are still planning on their own raid on Middletown.

Shelly ponders this for a moment. "Plans may have changed for the better, Samuel. Meet me in the hangar." She then turns to Michael and Emerald. "Let's go. I think you could use Samuel and vice versa. I'm not sure what your raid is, but surely, you may as well get supplies while you're at it. If you aid Samuel, and he aids you in return, it might be mutually beneficial enough that even he won't say no."

  ;.; "Awww!" Mittens meows sympathetically as she pats Crucible's shoulder to comfort him, "I'm in no hurry to go anywhere.  I've been told, 'Company is like fish - starts to stink after 2 days.' so I was just trying to say I'm not a freeloader here to take advantage of your hospitality for as long as you can put up with me."

  Mittens' expression changes to a broad smile!  :)  "But *you* guys...  You're so sweet!  You make me feel like I'm more than just a guest.  You make me feel like family!"

  She tail-wags eagerly and looks like she's about to burst at the seams.  ^.^S  "Speaking of family," she blurts out, "I just gotta tell you about my adopted father!"  :D

  She pauses to take a breath, say a quick prayer, and judge the readiness of her audience to hear the gospel from the looks on their faces.

Crucible is unsure what to make of Mittens and her reactions. But Pierson adds, "Of course we'd make you feel like family. Anymore... other freedom fighters are all the family most anyone has. So yes... you are family."

Crucible nods. And then says, "Uh... sure. Adopted father? Where is he? Is he in need of rescuing?"

Meanwhile, Shelly replies to the intercom. "Fine. But even you can't argue that it's gotten more dangerous now because Middletown's been alerted to your presense. So you have a choice: You can wait patiently for Middletown to settle down. You can take some people with you, preferabley Crucible and Pierson. Or... I will go with you myself. I can respect that you don't follow all of *my* orders since you owe no allegiance to Urser. But I owe no allegiance to your bosses either, so you can't expect to tell me how to run my freedom fighters. If I want them to watch a stray human go off to Middletown, that's my business. We need to work together if you want to do this right, Samuel." She would say that only babies need babysitters and until he stops acting like a baby, she'll continue to treat him like one, but that would conflict with the fact that she understands why Samuel says and does what he says and does.

  "I'd say *we're* the ones in need of rescuing," Mittens says in a grim tone, "'cause even if somehow we manage to defeat Robotnik, we're all gunna lose the fight with time.  Sooner or later, the grave conquers even the mightiest."  ;.;

  Mittens' expression changes dramatically to one of a child telling about what a hero her daddy is!  :D  "But my adopted Father's made a way to defeat death!  And no wonder - He's the only one with that kind of power.  He's the one who created this world in the first place!  The one who breathed life into me and you!  His name is Jesus!  And thanks to His work all I have to do is believe in Him and my spirit will live on in paradise after my body dies!"  XD

  Mittens pants and catches herself like she was just blown away by her own words!  @.@

  "He's the reason I can laugh in the face of danger.  I mean...  WOW!  God Himself not only gave me immortality, but he adopted me into His family!"  ^.^
This message was last edited by the player at 16:30, Wed 07 Feb 2007.

If Crucible didn't already think Mittens was crazy before, he knows now. "Alright, Mittens, just calm down. I'm glad you're... excited... about what you believe. But immortality or no, try to be a little more cautious should you ever join us on a mission." Her use of stilted bushes is now thoroughly explained to Crucible. Mittens has no will to live anymore and has snapped to where she thinks she's invulnerable. He makes a mental note to warn Samuel that if he thinks he's got nothing to lose, he should just ask Mittens some day about her "adopted father" and then be thankful he hasn't lost his MIND.

Pierson doesn't know what to make of it. But he figures maybe time will tell what Mittens can bring to the table. After all, someone who thinks they are invincible could be useful, but could also be a liability. "Well until I hear any direct orders from this guy saying otherwise, I'd appreciate if you show loyalty to Shelly and do what she says exactly how she says it, so that there is no confusion on the battlefield."

Samuel responds over the intercom, "I'm stranded not stray, there is a difference. But your right what you do with your freedom fighters is your business. Since I doubt anyone wants to hear us argue over the intercom, I'll just wait for you in the hangar."

Since Samuel had just left the hangar, it's not like he's far from it as Samuel grins as he walks back into the hangar and then up the wall and positions himself above door with his back to the wall as he waits for Shelly and whoever she decides to bring with her. 'Too bad I don't have time to grab a bucket of soapy water before she gets here...then again now probably isn't the best time for a prank. Besides with how things have been going, she might take it as an insult claiming I'm saying she needs a bath,' as Samuel waits for the doors to open to indicate that someone else has entered the hangar.

Michael nods to Shelly and follows her to the hangar while glancing to Emerald to see if she mentions that part of their raid was to get supplies. 'I wonder what are the odds that two raids that include gathering supplies from Middletown would end up beign planned for the same time.'

Emerald ponders for a bit, but then decides it'd be best if... "Shelly... if you could be so kind and hold off for a little, I think our missions could indeed be coordinated in each other's favor. With my leader's permission, I'll fill you in. That said, I plan to go straight for Channelwood Village and hand her the communicator."

Shelly nods and says, "I'm sure Samuel would be interested if it meant he would be a step closer to his goal than if he didn't wait." as she enters the hangar. Having said it clearly enough that she KNOWS Mr "Peeping Tom" Samuel can hear what she said. She then turns to face Samuel, clueless that even now, his mind was on innocent pranks. If she only knew the restraint Sam was exercizing, Shelly would probabley have more respect for him because she KNOWS how tempting pranks are... being as she's a prankster herself. Wonderful thing about woopie cusions: Shelly is sure that for all Samuel's gear, none of it could protect him from having THAT prank pulled on him. "Samuel, if you are willing to wait, I think we can coordinate something bigger. It sounds like the Channelwood Freedom Fighters are anxious to try out some inter-village freedom fighter teamwork. You game?"

  "You're right, of course," Mittens answers the two with a humble bow, "Let's go to the hangar!  Sounds like something fun's brewing!"  ^.^

Samuel looks down from his 'perch' above the door as Shelly, Emerald, and Michael enter the hangar. Samuel had indeed been listening in and upon hearing Shelly's question Samuel's responce is simply, "That of course depends on the rules of the 'game'." Samuel isn't surprised that Shelly knew to look for him there as Samuel often 'perches' on a wall seemingly out of habit. It is clear by the tone of his voice and the look upon his face that Samuel is quite serious despite refering to the raid and the changing situation as a 'game'.

Samuel then jumps away from the wall and to the right, pushing off a bit more with his right lef than his left to insure that when he lands he is facing the three mobians as he continues, "So what are the rules?" as Samuel figures that if unacceptable restrictions are placed upon him he'll decide that he's better off not bothering with it and keeping the status quo with how he has been doing things.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:27, Thu 08 Feb 2007.

Michael nods as Emerald explains her idea as Michael aggrees it is a good one. However Michael isn't so sure about having Samuel tag along since Michael doesn't trust the 'human' as to Michael he still seems as some crazy Overlander. The fact that when they enter the Hanger he's perched above the door not unlike a bird, except that his the 'bottom' of his shoes are against the wall doesn't improve Michael's perception of Samuel's sanity.

Michael figures that it must be a feature of Samuel's shoes that enable him to do tricks like clinging to a wall like an insect. Michael isn't quite sure what to make of Samuel's reaction to Shelly's statement, but Michael holds off on the 'this isn't a game' responce as the chimpanzee figures that Samuel is just refering to a game metaphorically. Instead Michael says, "No resets, no do overs, no extra lives. Only one chance to get it right."

Emerald smiles at Michael. "I couldn't have said it better myself." She then faces Samuel. "But yeah... the rules would simpley be to keep with the plan, whatever it may be. And presumabley, Shelly and Katy would be the ones formulating that plan. Originally, me and Michael were going to get supplies from Middletown. And from the sounds of it, so were you. It makes more sense to coordinate our goals since we'll be in the same area anyway, or else we might get in eachother's way like what apparently happened with you and Mittens." Hopefully, her point was made sound enough that Samuel would decide to go along with this idea rather than face another aborted mission due to the chaos factor of uncoordinated groups.

Crucible nods to Mittens and hurries her over to the hangar with Pierson in tow. He gets there just as Emerald is finishing her statement.

Shelly looks to Samuel. "Emerald's right, ya know. Chaos is not ideal. The more you know about what's going on, the better." Shelly can't help but get excited about the idea that the coming of the Channelwood Freedom Fighters was not a moment too soon since they will give her all the excuse she needs to make Samuel play ball.

Samuel looks at Shelly and knows that if Markus was present he'd say something about how there is no such thing as true chaos, just applications of chaos theory and then start talking about stuff that Samuel could hardly comprehend due to the complex scientific principles that would be used. Instead of approaching the situation as Markus would, Samuel simply says, "Ipsa scientia potestas est," 'Knowledge itself is power.'

Samuel grins slightly as he thinks back to when he and Markus were in school and mnarkus had convinced him and the others who had earned the nickname 'Tiny Tanelornian Terrors' to learn a few somewhat old languages to use since you never know when using an obscure language that not everyone would understand could come in handy, especially since most standard 'universal translators' don't contain knowledge about antient and obscure languages such as Latin. Such was one of hte tricks that allowed the group to freely be able to discuss their plans without much fear in being overheard. Even as adults they have found uses for the language as it let them dicuss tactical ideas with an added layer of security, since even if someone else managed to decrypt the communication, if they didn't know the language, then they didn't learn anything about what was being discussed. Samuel then looks a bit sad for a moment as his thoughts drift to pondering about what has become of Markus now that he's a victim of the Roboticizer.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:24, Thu 08 Feb 2007.

Michael looks at Samuel rather oddly after Samuel seems to speak gibberish, but Michael suspects it is probably just some language that he isn't familiar with.

Michael isn't sure how best to respond to a statement said in a language he isn't familiar with, but Michael does know that it would be best if Samuel didn't use such languages while on the mission. "Care to stick with languages we can understand. After all, communication is vital during a mission."

  "Ego te absolvo," Mittens says authoritatively with an arcane hand gesture, "Dominus vobiscum."  ;P

  Mittens is giggling inside since she has no idea what Samuel just said, but only picked up a few phrases from the time she was trapped inside an ancient cathedral with a group of Christians with some very interesting customs.  ^.^
This message was lightly edited by the player at 22:46, Thu 08 Feb 2007.

Like Mittens and Samuel, Emerald knows an ancient language (More like 2 or 3). Unlike them, however, none of them are latin. Though she's "heard" enough latin to know what language is being spoken. But she stays quiet, once again deciding not to let anyone know this about herself since, as Samuel put it, Knowledge is power. And Emerald learned long ago not to be a big mouth when you have powerful knowledge. She does, however, agree with Michael. "I doubt most if any of the people going on the mission will understand that language. In either case, me and Michael should be on our way so this can happen as soon as possible." That said, she goes for the scuba gear.

Shelly scriggley-faces at Samuel. "Please tell me you didn't just insult everyone in the room?" Interestingly, her concerns are a bit different. ;)

Samuel glares at Mittens with a look of surprise and confusion on his face as he didn't expect any Mobians to know Latin as he asks, "Quisnam doctus vos oro Latin?" as Samuel simply asks Mittens who taught you to speak Latin?. However Samuel figures once could be an acident, but twice isn't... and Mittens spoke two short Latin phrases.
 Samuel would prefer to not have to consider the chance that Overlanders could be the decendants of some long lost human colonists that there are no modern records of would explain a few things. Although even then it would be a long shot for latin phrases, specifically religious ones, to have survived so long if the race that brought them to the planet is hated as much as Overlanders currently are... Samuel then considers that at one time, perhapse the ancesters of Overlanders weren't hated.

Samuel looks to Shelly and grins as he says, "Haud EGO did non iustus insult sulum in cella." as Samuel then pauses a moment as he chuckles before translating for Shelly, "No I did not just insult everyone in the room." Samuel may be showing restraint in not pulling any pranks on anyone, but he sees no harm in having a little fun with different languages.

OOC: Free Web-based translation pages are so much fun. http://www.translation-guide.c...English&to=Latin

Michael may not know Latin, but he does know surprised when he sees it and Michael is well aware that whatever Mittens said has surprised Samuel.

Michael looks rather confused as both Mittens and Samuel both seem to continue speaking in a strange language. Michael then sighs and says to Shelly, "Is hope these two aren't always like this."

Michael then adds, "In any case, Emerald is right we should get back so that this mission won't be delayed any more than it has to," as Michael heads off to the scuba gear as well.

Shelly answers Michael with a grin. "And I hope they are..." and then smiles and waves. "You wouldn't mind if Samuel or Crucible followed you to Channelwood, would you? It'd be convenient for the both of us that we know where eachother's villages are." She then grins at Samuel. "Looks like you and Mittens have something in common! I wonder if it would be beneficial to learn another language..."

Crucible raises a finger, "Doubtful, your highness. It'd have to be an unrecognizable language. Chances are Robotnik has some kind of translator system in most of his mainframes which, as we can safely assume, are accessable to all his bots."

Shelly hrms. "We can talk on this more later..."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:21, Fri 09 Feb 2007.

Emerald soon has her gear on and waves back to Shelly. Then to the others. "We'll be quick as possible. And I don't see a problem with you guys following us since even if I did see a problem with it, nothing's to stop you from doing so secretly at this point anyway. Besides, we're all friends here." she says cheerfully. She then falls backwards into the water. Because it's fun.

She can't help but think on what Shelly said. Emerald wonders if holding back her linguistic knowledge is actually hurting the freedom fighter movement. But she decides she'll discuss that with Katy and Michael another day.

Samuel looks at Crucible and says, "Those translator systems would not have any knowledge about languages not native to this planet, so if a language that has never been spoken on this planet by a native is used, it could work. However it is not always easy to learn such a language. And if we used Dinonian, it might actually intimidate Robotnik, after all the last time he heard that language it was when Markus was yelling a very gruesome oath of vengence."

Samuel then turns to Shelly and Michael and says, "I might as well go. That way it will be easier to discuss the collaborate mission parameters. That and otherwise the group would have to come back here before starting the mission. Thus I recommend that anyone you plan on having go on the mission to go with Michael and Emerald. So who else will be going?"
This message was last edited by the player at 22:27, Fri 09 Feb 2007.

Michael nods to Shelly and replies, "We can only hope so."

The chimpanzee doesn't add upon what Emerald says as Michael feels that there is nothing to add, but Michael nods and says, "I agree that is a good idea, since an extra trip back here before the mission would only tire people out right before a mission which is never a good idea," in responce to what Samuel has suggested.

Michael then finishes putting on his scuba gear but waits to see who else will be going before entering the water.

Shelly realises this overly anxious kitty named Mittens would probabley follow the others even if ordered to stay behind. So to make a good first impression, "Why not just take the people involved already? Crucible, Pierson, Mittens and Samuel. It makes sense because you all have been familiarizing yourselves with eachother anyway."

Michael considers the suggestion and says, "That will work, I hope it will not take long for them to get ready. We'll meet with them on the shore since I beleive we'll have to deal with trading around scuba gear due to it's limited supply." Michael then jumps into the moonpool, fully expecting several of them to follow shortly afterwards, although Michael remembers that one extra trip was needed to deal with the fact that between Emerald, Mittens, and himself there are only two sets of Scuba gear that he knows of.

"I'm ready now," says Samuel in responce to Michael's statement before the chimpanzee enters the water. Samuel then puts on his own gas mask/breathing gear and enters the water.

Crucible watches the other go on ahead and says to Mittens, "Don't worry. I'll come back with an extra scuba pair for you. Just sit tight." then dives in.

  (Mittens just grins at Samuel's Latin question since she doesn't have much of a chance to answer.  :D  Only the most fluent in the language of body language could tell she had no idea what he said but had a ready answer none the less.)  :)

   "Thankie kindly, Sir Crucible," Mittens answers with a bow in an eclectic fusion of Medieval and casual speech.  :P  She busies herself strapping back on her makeshift mud shoes and smiles over her shoulder at Shelly.   :3  "Guess that leaves us some time to chat a li'l, princess...  unless you've got something else you've gotta to get to?"  ^.^
This message was last edited by the player at 14:48, Mon 12 Feb 2007.

Shelly looks down at Mittens (Because I'm assuming Mittens would have to be sitting down to put on her "shoes"). "Well... really... I just want to emphasise two things. 1 - How very happy I am to see yet another mobian straggler come to find a home in Aquarius. I'm always overjoyed to see a new face seeking refuge. It's like another person has been deroboticized in a way. But that said, point 2 is that I really don't want to see that happen to anyone. Your actions not only effect you, but those around you. Act responsibley and do only what you are told. No more. No less. If you act outside of orders, you could get yourself or someone else roboticized... or worse. So please, contain yourself and act according to what you're told. OK?"

Michael reaches the shore with little difficulty as it's far simplier to reach the shore not far from where Emerald has reached the shore and then takes off the scuba gear since he figures Cruisible or Pierson will take it back to Aquarius either for Mittens to use or just so it doesn't get left out here.

Samuel reaches the shore shortly after Michael and then puts his gas mask/breathing mask into his tool belt and lets himself drip dry as he mutters a phrase in Dinonian, which sounds like some strange bird call, although it doesn't sound harsh as he doubts that the Mobians would approve of him saying 'I hate the smell of wet fur,' around Mobians getting out of a lake.

Samuel looks around and seems to keep an eye out for anything that might be trouble while the group is exiting the lake and dealign with ferrying scuba gear back and forth.

Emerald already has her gear off by the time Michael has his halfway off. When Crucible arrives, she hands her gear to him. Once Crucible gets the scuba gear from Michael also and dives into the lake, Emerald faces Samuel. "I was wondering... are you still thinking about the possability of teach Dinonian to the rest of us?" Emerald doesn't give away the fact that she can tell Samuel was using two different languages other than English so far, but she is interested to know his intentions.

  "You can count on me! :)" Mittens answers with a stalwart salute and an earnest smile, "And I'm flattered you and your knights so warmly welcome me to your home!  ^.^  Like I told them, you make me feel like family!"  :D

  Mittens ponders for a moment.  :[  "You bring up a good point though.  I get the feeling there's gunna be a disagreement on the question of 'who's the boss?' in the upcoming mission.  If I may suggest, perhaps it would be best to send word with me that you want Samuel to lead the mission.  From what I can tell he seems like the only one who'd have difficulty following orders, so he may as well be the one giving them.  I don't think Emerald or Michael would mind too much for as mature as they were acting.  Also, perhaps Sam'd be more inclined to taking orders if he got the message that you trust him."  :)

  Mittens bows respectfully.  Offering unsolicited advice is dangerous, especially when offered to royalty, but Shelly's so disarmingly friendly!  ^.^;

Samuel nods and says, "I am consdiering it, although I don't know how successful it would be as it is not a simple language to learn due the tones having as much importances and the sounds, for example if I said the Dinonian word for person in a harsh tone, it has a different meaning than if I say the same word in a soothing tone."

Samuel then goes back to keeping watch for any robots that might approach the area.

Shelly strokes her chin. She realises... if she doesn't show Samuel some respect and trust, she won't get it in return. Perhaps Mittens is right. But she also knows Samuel might not even like leading the mission since he's not trained for that. Which might be perfect since it would instill a sense a responsability into this, what she considers, irresponsible man. "Sure, Mittens. That's a fine idea. And when Crucible comes back with your scuba gear, I'll tell him. Samuel will lead the mission. And if Samuel objects, then the leader will be up to Katy. But don't tell Samuel that unless he objects."

Crucible arrives and hands the scuba gear to Mittens. Shelly explains to Crucible who nods, though looking somewhat uncomfortable with the idea. Especially since he knows Pierson's reaction will be less than pleasant. Crucible helps Mittens make sure the scuba gear is on right before nodding in approval. He bows to Shelly. "It will be as you say, your highness." He then dives in.

Emerald says, "Well you can try, at least, and see how well your students catch on. If it's a difficult language, the advantage would be that Robotnik will have a hard time trying to decode it. If it's an easy language, the advantage is that more of us can learn it. But let's face it... only the people who use the comm systems need learn a new language. And that would pretty much just be the people in charge or who would be put in charge of a mission. Still... I would love to try learning it myself."

  "Glad you like the idea!"  ^.^

  Mittens bows goodbye to Shelly and jumps into the water.  :)  She sinks like a rock to the bottom and proceeds to make her way to shore.  ^.^  When she crawls out of the lake, she can't help but pretend to be a lake monster rising from the deep.  :P  She thinks back with a chuckle at the stories of man-eating mermaids living in the lake as she waddles onto the beach with a monstrous zombie limp.  XD

Michael considers the benifits from being able to communicate in a language Robotnik's minions couldn't decode and quickly realizes the benefits as he speaks up, "I agree, such an advantage would be well worth the difficulty in learning a new language."

Samuel considers the views both Emerald and Michael have put forward and says, "I'll think about it, although I am not sure Mobian Vocal cords are capable of speaking Dinonian properly, Humans have a difficult time speaking more than a very limited and basic vocabulary as the sounds aren't all the difficult to make, but using the right tones and tempo with the sounds to form complete statments using Dinonian Grammer isn't easy. I've known Dinonian most of my life as my best friend is a Dinonian. It may be worth trying though."

Samuel thinks to himself, 'Markus would definately find satisfaction if he were to learn that his species' language could assist in the revenge that he has sworn against Robotnik. It would be a fitting way for him to help in spirit since he can not help in body...'

Emerald watches Mittens rise and covers her mouth to stiffle a laugh. All that is heard is a little fox squeek. But she nods to Samuel. "I understand what you mean. Still... even a bastardized version would be useful against Robotnik. If the sound itself can't be made, we can substitute. Just like babies do when they innitially learn how to talk." She turns to Mittens and raises her hands to the sky in an attack-like fashion as she opens her mouth wide to show off her sharp teeth. "Raaawwrr!" she exclaims at Mittens playfully. Then giggles again.

Crucible rises with Mittens and says, "Alright then. Keep the scuba gear handy, Mittens. It's yours now. Though with all that armor, I can only imagine how bogged down you'll be with that much more to carry... I'll carry your scuba gear if you need me to. Let's not waste time..." He then looks at Michael and Emerald. "Lead the way."

  Mittens grins at Emerald's playful roar.  :D  In response to Crucible she smiles and nudges her head toward the tree line.  :)  Once there she shows him where she hid her rucksack.  "Alright if I leave the scuba dooba gear here?" she asks, "I don't expect I'll be needing it in Middletown."  :3
This message was last edited by the player at 20:47, Tue 13 Feb 2007.

Michael looks over to Mittens when Emerald 'squeeks' and arches an eyebrow as he thinks to himself, 'why do I get the feeling she'll not take anything serious wen we are in Middletown? I mean even Samuel here seems to know enough that this is serious business. I just hope she learns before something bad happens.'

Michael then turns to Crucible and nods,"Well then, let's get going. We don't have all day since we don't want to worry Katy and the others," as Michaelstarts heading away from the shore.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:15, Tue 13 Feb 2007.

Samuel simply shakes his head in regards to Mitten's emergence from the lake and Emerald's responce to it. Not in dissaproval, but out of trying to shake off memories that Samuel simply doesn't wish to think about right now. After all, when the situation isn't dire, Samuel himself has messed around in a similar fashion with his space suit... especially when he first came across Aquarius and his space suit was covered with seaweed and he looked like a monster. Which didn't help much when even after those in Aquarius ralized he wasn't a threat that the first words out of his mouth jokingly were, 'take me to your leader'. Samuel does have a fondness for old human movies and their silly cliches.

However now isn't the time as the group is heading from one freedom fighter outpost to another, with the intent on going into hostile territory and gathering salvage plus whatever the people from Channelwood also plan to do on the sortie.

When Michael starts leading the group to Channelwood, Samuel follows and quietly makes not of the distance and direction the group is traveling relying on his still secret cybernetics to handle it to insure that if need be, Samuel would be able to retrace this route on his own.

Crucible nods to Mittens. "You can. But be quick." That said, he starts following the others, as if to indicate how quick he wants Mittens to be.

Pierson is still ignorant of the fact Samuel might just lead this mission. So he's currently in a so-so mood. He looks annoyed, however, at Mittens and says, "We shouldn't leave any evidence of our exsistance anywhere besides where we live. Everyone who lives in Aquarius carries their own stuff, so you should too. And if Crucible's willing to help you, that's his deal. But don't go leaving stuff around. Even if we don't get found by badniks, there's still a chance some wild animal will run off with your stuff."

Crucible sighs. But nods and grabs at Mittens' scuba gear. "He's right. Let's get going."

Emerald doesn't say anything on the topic as she follows Michael and catches up to be next to him. She looks over at him, then blushes lightly as she remembers what Samuel said. So she slows down a little so she isn't next to Michael. She'll talk with him at Channelwood later anyway.

Michael hasn't forgotten what Samuel said eariler so he can guess why Emerald blushed asfter catching up to the chimpanzee, before she falls back slightly.

Michael doesn't say anything and just continues to lead the group quietly as he knows that Emerald's ears are better than his, but he'd still rather not make any noise that would prevent the group from hearing a patrol from Middletown if one was in the area.

Samuel looks around as the group heads towards Channelwood. However it is quite obvious that the look on Samuel's face isn't one of wonderment or amazement, but a mix of boredom and caution. With all the trees, Samuel would like nothing better than to use his grappling hooks to swing from tree to tree, not unlike the times he'd play in the park in Tanelorn with Markus and the others as a child. However he knows that while it's fast, its also noisy, and right now being noisy isn't an option.

However Samuel isn't worried as he knows his sensors would alert him to any robots in the area long before they noticed the group, so long as the group didn't do anything to attract attention from a distance, such as shouting out something for some reason.

  Wearing her trademark cuppiecake smile, Mittens hoists her rucksack onto her back and follows the others with a quickened pace to catch up.  :3  "Sheesh," she thinks to herself, "People need to lighten up...  Literally!"  :P

  "Thanks for helping with the gear, Sir Crucible," she whispers at the Seabear, noting the silence of the others, "Rucksack + Scoobie-doobie gear = one very winded kitty!"  :P

"Scooby... doobie?" is all he says in a whisper as he looks at Mittens funny. "You like playing with words?" He actually isn't sure since this is the first time he's heard her say something like that.

Like Samuel, Crucible isn't much in wonderment or amazement either. Though in his case, it's because he strongly prefers seeing a body of water. And being on land makes him feel so... limited. However, as usual, Crucible remains calm and level-headed.

Meanwhile, Pierson is enjoying nature. But it doesn't show since he always seems to be in a serious mood.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:53, Thu 15 Feb 2007.

(OOC: Fast forwarding a little bit)

As the group arrives, Samuel can detect the massive number of lifeforms ahead and soon can see that they are actually above him. Between 40 and 80 feet above him. As the group gets closer, it's easier to hear the commotion and the sight of an entire village of tree-houses. You'd have to be that monotone teacher who always put the class to sleep to be able to even pretend the sight of a treehouse village isn't cool. Or someone scared of heights. Either way, the person who was on guard duty informs someone to let Katy know that not only have Michael and Emerald arrived, but they brought "friends" with them...

When Katy hears about the group's arrival, she tells the informant to let Valin and Joe know to meet her at the elevator. Katy then heads to the elevator that leads to the ground level and lowers it for the approaching group. She sees among them is an overlander. She's heard about them, but never seen one. There is also a skunk. Those she's seen before. And finally, at the sight of Crucible, Katy is at a loss since she's never seen one of them either, but unlike overlanders, seabears were talked about like fairy tales. "Today is getting more and more interesting..."

When the informant reaches Valin, the gorilla is busy with Justin in dealing with the children. Upon hearing what the informat, Valin wishes Justin luck as he has to head off to deal with the mission, while also bidding farewell to the children, several of whom beg Valin to tell them about the raid when he get's back. Valin responds by telling them, "I'll consider it you all behave."

Afterwards, Valin heads off to meet up with Katy on the ground floor, via the elevator. Upon recognizing who the 'friends' are Valin thinks to himself, 'I didn't think they would be bringing them here, I wonder what is going on. I probably should just wait till Michael and Emerald explain things."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:33, Thu 15 Feb 2007.

Samuel glances up at the village up in the trees and then chuckles, "I haven't seen stuff built onto trees since the park in Tanelorn, but that playground was nothing as large as this."

When Katy comes down the elevator and approaches the group Samuel doesn't seem to pay much attention to her as he looks at the elevator and the bridges between the trees and thinks to himself, 'blech... such primitiave conditions and materials. Although I will admit using these materials may be why they haven't been found by Robotnik's robots...I'll have to take a closer look at the sensors on a SWATBot and have someone look through their protocals on using those sensors.'

Upon seeing Katy approach, Michael walks up to her and explains the situation regarding Aquarius and how they have people that were going to go on a mission to Middletown, and that it was realzied that more could be accomplished is the two groups worked together.

Michael lets the others present add to the explaination if they choose to. However Michael doesn't point out that the overlander claims to be from space, but he does mention that Samuel uses gear unlike anything Michael has seen before, and that Samuel is the reason why Middletown was so noisy earlier and that he and the others from Aquarius made off with two disabled SWATBots.

  Mittens smiles and waves when her part in the story is mentioned by Michael.  ^.^/  She thinks to ask if this is the leader she heard about earlier but catches herself as she remembers the occasions when a not-so-friendly looking boss interjected with the stereotypical, "I'LL be asking the questions around here!"  9.9  Katy seems to fit the not-so-friendly looking boss mold.  :P

  Joe had managed to bring the ceiling of his hut to properly weather resistant standards once again.  And because his 'common sense' only seems to show up when he'd die otherwise (or if it really feels like it), he continued working on the kind of object that had put the hole there in the first place.  Though this time no incidents occurred.

  Of course, there was only a lack of incident inside the hut.  Joe's conveniently timed to the plot, poorly timed for others opening of his huts door resulted in a contest of wood VS face for the guy sent to get Joe.

  Apologies were properly given and Joe went on his way to see what the latest details of life were.  His reaction to the interesting group being here was the same as his reaction to meeting them in the first place.  An incredulous lack of shock and surprise.

  "Okay, so now we've been everywhere except inside Middletown today.  Was there anywhere else for side trips on the list?  Or are things going to progress in a predictable but useful manner now?"

(OOC: For the sake of not spamming with multiple posts, I will pose the whole conversation here in one post)

Having been filled in by Michael, seeing that Valin and Joe are present now, and recieving the communicater from Emerald, Katy uses it. "Hello. This is Katy Coloflower. I'm in charge of Channelwood Village. Am I reaching?" She notices Mittens waving and waves back. ALMOST nonchalantly, but gives Mittens a once-over, checking out the suit of armor. Talk about your motley crew...

Shelly responds from the other end, "We receive you, Katy! Go ahead and share your plans so we can all work with it."

Katy faces the guests as she continues on the communicator. "The plan is very simple. Originally, two people were going to go to the backup generator while two went to the main generator. They deactivate both at the same time while making it look like a critter chewed through the wiring. Then while the group at the backup generator waited for the group at the main generator to return, they would loot some materials at the scrapyard. This is because the backup generator in Middletown happens to be in the building right next to the scrapyard."

Shelly says, "Well now you have more than 4 people to choose from. Were you counting on having four, or would you like to have more?"

Katy ponders. "I had thought the fewer the better... but let's hear what your plans were."

Shelly replies, "My plans? Heh... just to make sure Samuel stayed safe. I sent some people to watch his back. If you want actual plans and strategies, ask *him*. This was *his* mission."

Katy looks at the communicator like Shelly was talking an alien language. Then looks at Samuel. "Fine. What were you planning to do exactly and what else should I be aware of?"

Emerald is tempted to put Joe in a headlock and noogie him, but plans are being made and she doesn't want Katy or Samuel distracted with Joe sending her into orbit via hookshot/swing action. Or whatever other response Joe would have handy. But she does reply in a quiet tone to Joe, "Actually, I doubt we'll have any more sidetracks, but if we do, I sure hope it's as useful as this one was."

Samuel turns to Joe and considers saying something, but decides against it.

Samuel then looks to Katy and says, "Basically, my plan was to use the sewers to sneak into the parts of the junkyard where the parts I need are likely to be located gather them and then get out, hopefully without anyone even knowing I was there. However the first time I tried that I had to take a detour to keep Mittens from being captured. Oh well, at least I did come out with two disabled SWATBots for my trouble."

Samuel grins as he considers what Katy has said to Shelly and then adds, "You want to destroy a couple of generators... that is child's play... Use a thermite grenade on top of the generator and then it would be ruined beyond repair. After all that is how space forces and militaries have been disposing of gear when they have to leave it behind due to rapid evac as a result of enemy advancement for millenia. And yes I have some thermite grenades, I'd just have to configure one of them to melt instead of explode as a thermal masking flash bang by removing the secondary charge in one so that the thermite remains concentrated."

Samuel then turns to Mittens and says, "Don't even ask me how to make Thermite. Although it is easy and the supplies needed to make it are plentiful, it isn't safe. The stuff is very dangerous when mishandled."

  Once again, cliche speeches and plans are no match for conflicting details.  Such as people supposedly bent on revenge not being very helpful in ensuring the revenge business is easier all around.

   "Kind of a useless plan in the long run if it can't be accomplished without outside help.  You also may as well tell us not to even use pointy sticks and rocks because we could put an eye out.  The fact people keep worrying proper safety procedures while planning how to walk into killer robot town continues to make no sense to me.  Also odd are how so many people are dedicated to the death of a certain fat man, but don't ever bother to make it easier for others to do this without them.  You'll probably brush this off as not mattering due to it being the other extreme, and not going with your way of thinking. But if you make due with only crossbows and sharp objects then I wont have anything to legitimately comment about anymore."

  As usual, Joe will probably only get answers of the variety that just showcase how honesty isn't' actually the best policy.  No matter how many times people tell him that it is after he comments on the near 100% disaterous results they get him.  Along with the expected lack any helpful information on how to manage in case someone conveniently available now isn't conveniently alive later.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:18, Fri 16 Feb 2007.

Samuel looks at Joe and says, "I'm just making suggestions based on equipment I have with me. And if you've seen what I've seen, you'd know showing Mittens how to make Thermite would probably result in cremated cat. I mean she thought she could pass herself as a SWATBot by using a bush, some sticks, and a SWATBot head. I was surprised the things didn't just shoot her on sight, I guess they were too busy either trying to figure out what she was, or too busy laughing to each other over the communicators to remember to shoot. Working with highly volatile and explosive materials isn't the same as working with sticks and stones. I also never said anything about refusing to lend the grenades to people who proved they were competent in using them. After all pulling pin and remembering to throw the grenade isn't that hard." Samuel seems somewhat annoyed, but Samuel restrains himself from doing anything rash, although he does make a mental note that pulling a few pranks on Joe down the line is not only acceptable, but mandatory.

Samuel clearly doesn't look amused by Joe's remarks, since although Samuel prefers to work alone since being on Mobius, he's never refused to help others when they have asked for his help. It's just that Samuel doesn't ask others for help himself.

Valin sighs at the remarks said by both Joe and Samuel as the gorilla says, "We are all on the same side here, no reason to argue about sarcastic remarks."

Michael sighs and mutters, "Just what we don't need... let's focus on the mission and not overreacting to sarcastic remarks."

Michael won't admit it but he knows why Samuel said what he said directed at Mittens, it's no different from using a welding torch, if you aren't trained it is dangerous, although Michael suspects Thermite is a bit more dangerous than the welding torches that were used in his metal shop classes.

  Mittens is tempted to say, "Oh!  And let's not overreact to sarcastic remarks too!" but decides against it.  :P  As for what Joe was trying to say...  though it sounded a little like he was defending Mittens, the way he said it stretched the language and logic centers of her brain beyond their ability to decipher, so she decides to disregard it altogether.

  "Seems like a simple enough solution then," Mittens chimes in, returning to the original subject, "Substitute two of the four original members with members from the Aquarius Freedom Fighters!  :)  That way you can accomplish all three goals simultaneously!  :D  You'll keep the mission's numbers the same, you'll get both salvage and sabotage accomplished, and you'll find out how well we get along with each other!  ^.^  Shelly sent word with me that she'd like Samuel to lead the mission, and I volunteer to be the second member from the AFF!"  :3

  Mittens stands at attention, clicks her heels together, and gives her favorite pound-fist-into-chest-with-a-loud-clang salute.  :D  Although she feels a little guilty for cutting Pierson and Crucible out of the adventure with her suggestion - especially Crucible, seeing as he's the only ones here who's an actual native to Aquarius - she can't help but jump at the chance to see some action.  ^.^;  Worth a try even if she expects Spaceman Sam to insist the mission's too dangerous for one such as Mittens.  v.v

  "I'm looking forward to the chance to prove myself a valuable member of both the AFF and your group," Mittens adds in an attempt to defuse Samuel's expected objection.  ;)
This message was last edited by the player at 13:22, Sat 17 Feb 2007.

Samuel looks at Mittens and says, "Actually that isn't a good idea. The idea of putting as few people in risk is good, but you also have to consider the risk that the longer the mission takes, the more chance for something to go wrong. A better option would be to have four people gathering salvage and acting as an emergency back up while two people go after each generator. All at the same time. If something goes wrong the four on salvage detail are close enough to lend assistance. And once the generators are down, we should want to get out of Middletown as fast as possible. They will know the primary generator was not an accident, and they they might try to trap people in the city and then deal with them at their leisure. Thus after it's over we want to be out not having to search for salvage. Get in, get the job done, and get out, as fast as possible. If your going to work in a time then there can be none of this let's have a few people do all the work or have groups pulling double duty while others sit back and relax and party. Everyone works and the job gets done. Personally I prefer to work alone so I don't have to worry about some civilian screwing things up, but it's clear now that Shelly will send people after me which will cause trouble  when they blunder into something looking for me, so that isn't an option. " The tone in Samuel's voice clearly indicates that he is starting to loose his patience with the cat as Samuel goes on a rant detailing a better approach to the situation, among other things.

Katy ponders how to put this nicely since Samuel has, without intending to, offended her pride in a major way. After a short thought proccess, however, it occurs to her that Samuel is an overlander and thus sees everyone else as pint-sized pushovers so it goes to follow that he still thinks himself the most qualified for anything on the planet, even if he won't admit that to himself. "Well before you go worrying too much, I should assure you, Samuel, that we are not simple civilians. We've been doing this sort of thing for 10 straight years. And as such, we are all pretty good at this. I don't know Mittens' background, but I hope you can trust in the experience the people of Channelwood have. Your plan is sound. I'm still leaning towards choosing the same four I chose earlier and then having two from Aquarius go with. But I'm open to suggestions."

Crucible interjects, "From what I understand, this is as safe as a mission gets. This is a good opportunity for Mittens to learn how things are done... she's new to freedom fighting from what I gathered." She must be to have survived this long. "But I was also directly ordered from the princess to go along and help. So I will go wether anyone objects or not. Still, I can't help but think four to two is unfair. So Samuel, having already proven he's as stubborn as me, but also a very capable man, should go. That makes three from Aquarius. You can either cut out one of your choices, or risk having the odd number going."

Katy ponders. "Again... I'm open to suggestions."

Emerald strokes her chin in thought. "I reccomend either me or Michael step down from this mission. I still believe Valin and Joe are neccessary. And I can't argue with Crucible." She looks over at Michael as if to see what he wants to do about it.

Michael looks rather unhappy with Samuel and unlike Katy, Michael doesn't think that Samuel will understand a more tactful explanation as the chimpanzee says, "Mr. Stevenson this is not Tanelorn, where ever that is. I don't care who or what Stelaras is, but do not think that we can't deal with Robotnik's forces, and in enough time we'll deal with him to. If you feel that our rate of progress is not fast enough, it would be more beneficial to that rate of progress to lend assistance and not to mock our capabilities."

Michael holds off on the 'if you continue to act like an overlander, then I'll call you an overlander' bit, as Michael figures that the only overlanders Samuel has heard of are Snively and Robotnik, and he could make a pretty good case against a comparison with those do as Samuel's not the world domination sort, even if he does seem to be just as rude.

Valin sighs at what he sees as pointless bickering and misunderstanding, "Bickering will get us nowhere, when arguing with each other like this, the only one who wins, is Robotnik."

Samuel listens to what is said in response to his statement regarding Mitten's suggestion Samuel considers his options and then decides to address them in the order he feels is most important.

First, Samuel turns to Michael "Stelaras is a space mining and salvage company that often does contract work with the Space Forces and other organizations that need a job done that requires a high security clearance. Tanelorn is a space station colony that is in a star system you either do not know of, or know of by a different name, so telling you its coordinates would accomplish nothing."

Then, Samuel turns to face Katy and says, "When planning for a mission, available resources is always something that has to be taken into consideration. Given the resources available to just Channelwood, a number of participants in a mission might be optimal at around four. However, when you combine the resources of Channelwood and Aquarius, the optimal number increases."

Samuel thinks to himself, 'This isn't the time to ask about what moron allowed Robotnik to gather enough power to take over in the first place. After all, the forces he has at his disposal don't appear overnight, they need lots of time to be built.'
This message was last edited by the player at 15:21, Sun 18 Feb 2007.

Katy covers her mouth with her fist in thought as she mulls over what Samuel said. She understands that people are resources, but she also knows this means any weapons or technology that Aquarius has can be shared as well. But she also recognizes friction when she sees it. Her eyes glance over at Michael as he makes a less tactful comment. Then back to Valin as he makes his common sense comment, repeated though it may be. Taking into consideration the people before her and the personalities involved, and even as much as she empathizes with Michael and is greatful he said some of what she was thinking, she makes her decision.

"Michael. I'd like you and Emerald to both stay here. I'm going. You two can help do the things on the list that I was tending to. This is our FIRST mission with any outside freedom fighter group. I intend to oversee it myself."

She looks at Samuel. "All you wanted was some resources. So by all means, go for it. You can be part of the group of four that rummages the scrapyard. Mittens will stay with you. Both so that you can help make sure she doesn't get herself over her head and so she can watch and learn."

Katy then looks at Joe. "Joe. You're with me. We get to sabotage the main generator."

She then looks at Valin. "You will aid Samuel. Do what he tells you to do."

Then Katy makes the general statement to everyone present, "Crucible here seems to be bent on staying with Samuel, so that is what he will do. The plan is as it originally was: At a specified time, we cut both generators at the same time. Samuel had a good point: They will KNOW we were the ones to cut the power of the main generator. So me and Joe will not bother making that one look like a malfunction. However, it is important that the backup generator look that way. The less that Robotnik knows that we know about him and his forces, the better. That said..."

She looks back at Samuel, "Show me one of your grenades and how to use it. We can afford the time for a quick lesson."

Katy looks back to the rest. "If anyone has a problem with this, speak up. But if you speak up, be sure to have a better alternative in mind. I have a thing or two to do to prepare for the mission, so you all will have a few minutes to think of any last-minute things that may have been forgotten."

Samuel nods and pulls out one of his thermite grenades and pops open the top just below the pin, revealing a two ring nobs one outside the other and both are around two wires that connects the grenade to the cap, which probably has something to do with the arming mechanism.

After adjusting the two nobs and closing the cap Samuel pulls says, "Okay the grenade is set up properly and with a thirty second fuse. To use it, just place the grenade upright on the middle of the top of the generator. Then pull the pin and then get away from the generator. Twenty seconds should be enough time to get away from the generator before it goes off and ruins the generator by melting  a descently sized hole through it, which may also trigger an explosion depending on the type of generator, but even if it doesn't the generator will be unsalvageable and will have to be rebuilt from scratch due to the thermal damage the key components will suffer. Once the pin is pulled do try to reposition the grenade, the bottom will be magnetically sealed onto the generator, such seals are often needed when working in zero gravity to keep the explosive fixed to the proper place without it floating away from the surface slightly which would drastically weaken the effect."

Samuel offers the grenade to Katy and asks, "You do have a way to get to the top of the generator without being detected right?"

  Sabotage is way more fun than salvage, so Mittens looks for an excuse to join the A-Team.  ;)  "If I may request," Mittens softly answers Katy's not-to-friendly question, "That I join the sabotage portion of the mission.  I have a grapple hook for climbing to the top of the generator."  ^.^

  Mittens bows then pats her rucksack to indicate the hook is handy.  :3  "And that way you'll have an AFF member right next to you to more effectively supervise!"  ^.^

  Mittens resists making any further suggestions lest she look like a know-it-all to the grouchy raccoon even though it seems way more sensible to her that Katy go with the larger group if she's wanting to find out what the AFF is made of.  >.>

Samuel looks at Mittens looks ready to chew her out as Samuel clearly has had it with Mittens thinking she can handle anything when her actions seem to dictate otherwise. However Samuel holds his tongue to see how Katy will react, if she accepts the danger of having a rookie on the most dangerous part of the mission, then it would reveal a lot about her resource allocation skills, or more precisely her lack of them. Then again, if Mittens causes them to screw things up either he and the others with him will have to rescue them, or at least they will provide a good distraction while he salvages goods.

Valin listens to Mitten's request and wonders if Mittens is asking to supervise, or be supervised. Based upon what he's heard about the cat... he doubts that it would be wise for someone wearing armor like that to be trying to sneak around as the armor would probably make noise.

Doesn't mind that he and Emerald have been taken off the mission to do work here, but he is curious about the reassignment of rolls withing the mission, "So if you and Joe are going to be dealing with the primary reactor, who will attend to the backup generator while the scavenging is going on?"

  Joe shrugs, "In the end it doesn't matter too much which job you want me to do id the whole point of it isn't death or injury for the sake of a distraction or something."

  Mitten's latest announcement raises his opinion of her for obvious reasons.

  "Seeing how that plan is the same plan I'd use unless the situation didn't call for it, and seeing how nobody else seems to have given any suggestions on the who and how of the backup generator, I don't see any issues myself beyond generic 'can't handle it' nay saying is that applies."

Katy turns to face Mittens. "No. I want you to demonstrate how well you can not only follow orders, but demonstrate restraint. If your only fault is bad ideas, then your luckier than many. So simpley do as you're told and you will prove to everyone here you are more than someone to be joked about." She says this with the most serious tone she can muster as if to emphasise how much this is not a matter to be taken lightly. She knows all too well that when people deviate from orders, things become chaotic. And chaos is NOT a good enemy to contend with. "Besides... Valin will be watching you, Samuel and Crucible. I trust Valin with my life, so it goes without saying that whatever he reports to me is as good as me having seen it myself. As for the graple, that's what I'm taking Joe for." She can't help but give Valin a glance, complete with a slightly sentimental look to her.

She then faces Michael. "A good question. And I think Samuel and Crucible will do just fine. Let's face it.. no offense to Valin, but something tells me his sneaking probabley isn't as good as Samuel's by sheer size. But I could be wrong. But again... this is a joint effort, so whoever was supposed to be leading the Aquarius team should decide who messes up the backup generator. And Michael? Emerald? I want you both to come with me to my hut while I'm getting ready. I can tell you what all needs to be done quicker that way."

Katy begins going to the elevator, expecting Michael and Emerald to follow her. Once in the elevator, she faces the others. "Discuss it, think on it, and when I'm back from getting ready, let me know any other thoughts you might have on the mission."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:35, Mon 19 Feb 2007.

Michael nods and says, "Okay," before he follows Katy towards the elevator.

Michael figures that while on the way to Katy's hut he wonders if he should explain how Samuel claims to be from outer space or if it won't be an issue.

Valin nods and clearly doesn't take any offense when Katy infers that Samuel would be more stealthy than he is since Valin knows that he isn't a very stealthy person.

Samuel hmms and mutters, "It shouldn't be too hard to take a generator off line for a while due to what seems like natural wear and tear, although it won't be till I see the generator that I will know how best to take it out of commission."

Samuel figures that the best way will be to rely on the demand increase when the primary generator goes down to trigger a cascading overload in the backup generator so that it burns itself out once the power grid shifts to rely on it instead of the primary generator. Samuel is well aware of the standard procedures to prevent such cascading blackouts and failures and knows how to bypass them in a way to make it look like natural wear and tear since any evidence of the sabotage gets destroyed when the generator burns itself out. Samuel just hopes that the procedures used with the backup generator are similar to procedures he is familiar with.

Emerald follows Katy onto the elevator. She doesn't really say anything, but is definately wondering what is on Katy's mind and if now is the time to discuss with Katy and Michael about what she knows concerning Overlanders. Probabley best to wait until the mission is over and the overlander is LONG gone. Emerald figures if she knows one thing about overlanders, it's that they are curious creatures and think nothing of evesdropping.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 00:10, Tue 20 Feb 2007.

Katy begins briefing Michael and Emerald on what's what in Channelwood. What's been taken care of and what hasn't. Once she, Michael and Emerald are on the third level up (Making it the fourth level if you include the ground level), however, Katy says, "Michael... Emerald... I want one of you to take someone and go watch this mission happen. Be as sneaky as possible. If it looks like you will be discovered, abort your mission. But the top priority will be to not be discovered. The only person who will know you are there is me. Do you know if, among Samuel's gadgets is anything that would detect your presence? If so, what?"

The third level is high. Very high. 120 feet high certainly provides a nice view, given you don't have a fear of heights. And yes... the trees in this area of the woods are very tall, spanning much higher than the third level.

Crucible thinks about what was said. He can't help but realise how naturally Katy just up and took charge, telling everyone what they will be doing and still making everyone FEEL like they have options even after she clearly shot down Mittens' request. "This will be interesting. I have to admit I'm nervous... first time working with a group of strangers."

Pierson folds his arms. "Too bad I can't tag along. But I guess six one way, half a dozen the other, right?" He looks over at Mittens, curiously examining her expression as if to read wether Mittens was disappointed or not. He wonders if she CAN get disappointed. She's been non-stop happiness even in the face of clearly endangering everyone when they met. He then looks at Samuel. "So is it going to be you and Crucible who mess with this backup generator? And what do you think about this... Katy... person? I think she's too bossy."

Crucible glances at Pierson. "Well you can't honestly expect anyone to be quite as exquisit as her highness Princess Shelly, can you?"

Pierson snorts.
This message was last updated by the player at 15:48, Tue 20 Feb 2007.

Michael says, "Given that he claims to be from outer space I'm not sure what his gadgets can do. But I do believe he has gadgets to inform him of what is around him, as Shelly hinted that he's fond of eavesdropping on nearby conversations when we were at Aquarius."

Samuel turns to Pierson and says, "Most likely, but I think I'll be doing most of the delicate work since I have more experience with heavy high voltage equipment. I've encountered people who are bossier than Katy. But I doubt she likes to take 'no' for an answer," as Samuel makes a mental note to find out how Katy responds to things not going her way later on when the situation isn't so serious... a few pranks might be in order.

Valin simply remains quiet as there is little for him to say, although he plans on informing Katy what the others say and do from now till the mission is over, after all if they forget he's around they might talk as if he wasn't.

  Mittens wears her typical cuppy-cake smile to hide her disappointment and salutes with a heel-click as Katy leaves.  :3  "Grumble-grumble grouchy bossy Raccoon, grumble," she thinks to herself, "I never should have suggested Sam be put in charge.  I'll bet he'll give me all the boring jobs."  ;.;  "Well at least I get to go on the mission at all..."  Her thoughts turn to prayer.  "Thanks, Jesus!  ^.^  You've got me this far, please gimme the strength...  and... _{the patience...} to do my part well!"  :)

  When Mittens overhears Pierson's remarks about Katy, she can't help but defend the grumpy raccoon.  "Hardly bossy, Sir Pierson," she insists, implying experience in the matter, "She's a sweetheart compared to the leaders I've met.  And those are the good-guys!  Let's not forget the tyrant we're united against.  Methinks it best to focus on the strengths of our allies rather than perceived weaknesses."  ^.^

  Mittens then turns to Crucible.  "Fear not, Sir Crucible!" she mews cheerfully, "We're in good company!  It's those badniks that should be worried!" >;D
This message was last edited by the player at 00:31, Tue 20 Feb 2007.

Emerald says, "His lack of surprise when Joe and Valin showed themselves had me concerned. It was like he knew they were there." She then adds, "On one hand, I'm stealthier than Michael. But on the other hand, he can reach high places easier than I can. So with binoculars, he might have a better chance at staying out of Samuel's range." She said she was stealthier with confidence, but past missions have proven her to be the stealthiest in Channelwood, actually. What they don't know is that it's from her pickpocket days...

Katy collects a few things from her hut while listening. She picks up a crowbar and tosses it on her bed, picks up a notepad and tosses it on her bed, picks up a small container and tosses it on her bed... she pauses for a moment. Then scratches her head. "Wish we had some tranq darts... Do either of you know if there are any tranquilizers in Channelwood?" She then notices an old radio she's been meaning to have fixed and holds it up, thinking. Katy mumbles "I still have to have this looked at.." Typical raccoon... even as an organized leader, she HAS to hoard stuff. But Katy is easily excused since all of it is useful.

Crucible nods at what Mittens says. "Mittens is right. Let's focus not on how bad our allies are, but on how we can work together to complete the mission. I think Katy's plan is fine. We will need a plan B and C, though. Perhaps we can bring that up with her when she comes back."

  "No mention was made of the two groups being in contact via radio," Mittens notes, "We need some means to warn Katy's group if we need to abort the mission, and vice versa."

  Mittens loses her smile as some unpleasant memories surface.  "Keep us safe, Lord," she prays, breathing slowly to keep from crying, "Hide us in the shelter of your wings."

Michael nods and says to Emerald, "That may be best, we know that he can fight as he managed to escape Middletown with two disabled SWATBots, and we know he likes to eavesdrop on anything nearby, and we don't know what the range is on his gadgets so a more distant observation is probably the wiser choice. From where Samuel will be for most of the mission I should be able to watch them from the treeline."

Michael looks to Katy and asks, "Do you really foresee trouble with those from Aquarius or Samuel that tranq darts will be needed? After all they aren't any good against robots."

Samuel looks at Crucible and arches an eyebrow at the comments about plan B and plan C. Samuel then replies, "Simply, Plan B occurs if we are spotted and combat is inevitable, blast anything apart that gets in our way as we fight our way out of the city. Plan C occurs when we can't do that, we see to it that we cause enough destruction to make sure as many escape as possible... and those people then mount a rescue operation for anyone who is unable to escape. I hope plan C is never employed. And then there is Plan D... which I hope only SWATBots employ... for it is to die."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:08, Tue 20 Feb 2007.

Katy looks over at Michael. "From the sounds of things, the overlander isn't even giving his own TEAM MATES much reason to trust him since he likes doing things his way or no way. Right? So why in Walkers' name should WE trust him? I don't and I won't. You're there to make sure he doesn't stab everyone in the back for his own gain." she folds her arms and looks aside. She looks angry. "I just hope he gives me a reason to either trust him or hate his guts so I can get this uncertainty out of the way." She looks at Michael again, calming herself. "Sounds like you and Emerald are thinking safely as usual. So the decision is obvious. But I need Emerald to stay here to tend to things. So go find someone from the village to take with you. Even if you aren't entering Middletown, I still don't want you going alone." She picks up her things from the bed and heads out of her hut, expecting the two to follow her.

Emerald follows Katy. "Calm down, Katy. On the chance he's telling the truth and really is from outer space and suddenly lost everything, we should give him the benefit of a doubt. He's scared, confused, and worst of all, lonely. We need to be his friends so he can learn how to be strong like us." She pounds her fist on her chest, indicating that Samuel is in a weakened state right now since he doesn't have friends to lean on and is finding it hard to trust the newer "friends" enough to call them friends. "But since you asked, I'll save some time and try to find some tranquilizers while Michael searches for someone to take with him. You go on ahead and don't worry."

Pierson grunts. "Sounds to me like you need to leave plans B and C to Katy."

Crucible faces Mittens. "Wish we had the option. But right now, radios are a luxury. The only radio here now belongs to Katy and is only for staying in touch with Princess Shelly."

Michael listens to what both Katy and Emerald are saying before speaking his mind and saying, "While I do believe Emerald is right in that Samuel, if he is telling the truth, is going through a phase not unlike what several in Channelwood went through immediately after Robotnik came to power and they had lost everything and everyone they knew. But Katy is still right in that she should bring something to protect herself in case he turns out to be the sort that would sacrifice the others he is with to either save his own hide or further his own goals. After all people who think they have nothing left to loose are very dangerous, to themselves, and those around them." When Katy leaves the hut, Michael follows and adds, "Any suggestions on who I should pick to take with me, since it will have to be someone adept in climbing among trees."

Samuel chuckles a bit as Pierson's remark and says, "Seriously, the plan is avoid detection above all else and complete the mission. If your detected then abort mission, unless it is already completed, and exit the city as fast as possible. Also taking out anything in our way while evading capture makes escaping easier. While being chased, do not head towards a known base as if you lead Robotnik's forces to a base they will destroy it. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one. Where I come from its called the plan, the backup plan, and the fubar plan."

Emerald thinks about it for a moment and says, "You could take Benji. He took to climbing when he was little and has enjoyed it on occasion now and then. He's not as good as you, but he knows what he's doing and knows how to follow directions should the need arise." Emerald is pretty social, so she tends to know a thing or two about the people here. But she IS newer to Channelwood than Michael, so this information would be more of an "oh yeah, now I remember" than anything to him.

Katy goes to the ground level, leaving the rest in Michael's and Emerald's very capable hands. She looks around at the group and says, "Ready if you all are. Any suggestions I will be listening to on the way. We have about a 10 minute walk before we need to be quiet." She starts leading the way.

  "Question," Mittens blurts hastily, "How does one group signal 'abort mission' to the other group?  I assume we will be outside earshot of each other?"  o.o;  For once Mittens is visibly nervous.  Although she can be quite brave when it comes to putting herself in harm's way, it's a whole other story when others are at risk.