RP: ISC Phoenix [Interlude 5] - The Making Of

[CadetNewb]

The truth was, he didn't like this one bit. Deals, meetings and other clandestine things were always best done premeditated and thought out. And flexible enough to deal with any new development of course. But this was different. This thing was dragging him right into the complete unknown. Hell, chances were, he probably didn't have the tools, the technology to pull whatever it was off perfectly. And he hated sloppy jobs. Loose ends were simply a danger to him - and more importantly, what was left of his family.

As Smith stepped into the elevator with the Neko, the doors sealed with a finality as that of a closing coffin. He was absolutely trapped with her now, with nowhere to go, and he couldn't withdraw, not without loosing face. He honestly thought it was likely the beginning of his end.

And then the elevator music started.

 

[Lamb]

Elsewhere, Enzo was cracking up on the bridge of the Lady, his earnings now safely deposited in his 'Captain's Lockbox' in his quarters. He watched with cat-like glee as the Dying Star broke off from its docking position and sailed away. When it was almost out-of-sight, the greasy conman lit a cigarette and depressed the detonator key on the improvised bomb he'd left in the other ship's latrine.

Nothing happened. Enzo pressed the button again. Nothing. A third time. Nothing. Finally, Enzo threw the device down and crushed it under his boot before frantically engaging pursuit. He hailed the Dying Star, shouting obscenities into his radio.

Finally, an answer came. A video transmission of Dragil Kahn's reptillian partner looked back at him over the controls. Clutched in the lizard's right claw was the bomb, it's detonator clicking uselessly over an empty explosive casing.

"Did you forget ssssomething on our sssship, Neplessslian?" The lizard jeered, toying with the detonator in his free hand, "Isss thisss what you are looking for?"

The cigarette dropped from Enzo's mouth. He gunned the accelerator and moved in on the other ship, but it was already picking up speed. The lizard chuckled and continued, "Perhapssss you sssshould have hidden two of these devicesss?"

 

[Luca]

The man at the computer and robot part shop that Vincent had walked into looked like he'd gotten used to dealing with people who are acting as the delivery guy for someone else's needs.
"Sure man, one sec," He said as he reached under the counter and got the HDD, which was a storage device for digital media that could hold a very large amount of information, and was about the size of Vincent's thumb.

"Your friend building something?" He inquired as he got around the counter and fetched the motor servos and the basic robot skeleton, putting the two articles next to Vincent, "Me and my friends always used to do it, thought I'd make a living of it."

He then got the length of wire Echelon had requested and tapped his chin, "You know, I've gotten so much more business since those Freespacers moved in," He started to calculate the bill, "In fact, I've had trouble keeping up with the demand recently! They just build and build and build!"

"Aaand that comes to 500 DA," Vincent was lucky enough to have come on a sale day, where some of the stuff, especially the robot skeleton was half price.

-

"I think that movie was pirate movie," Mr. Yamada replied to the inebriated Daxle, "Happens all the time, when they nick star's closest likeliness and shove in film - even if he not used to role."

After taking Zeta's suggestion, it was settled: "Good! Dave the Marine VI it is, I'll buy the tickets," He counted himself and three others, and tickets were fairly cheap and the queue was short. Popcorn, fizzy drinks and other such foodstuffs were available for a small fee as well.

They eventually found their cinema, sat down and got comfy, trying their best to ignore the soda-stickied floors and chewing gum present under most of the seats. After the trailers and advertisements rolled, the movie started...

-

As Naoko and Mr. Smith were in their elevator, an unexpected stop was made as a woman who happened to work at the building they were making an undercover siege in walked in after the doors opened. Neat dress, shoes, pantyhose and spectacles topped with brunette hair and hazel eyes and all complimented by a slim figure most women would envy.

She turned her back to Naoko and Smith, before pushing a button for a floor two levels away from where Smith and Naoko were headed.

 

[TeslaTornado]

Vincent was surprised at how well the attendant took his bluntly shoving a shopping list into his face, and he merely followed the man around as he gathered the requested things, then rang them up at the counter. He caught the comment about building the little robot for himself, and tilted his head to one side in confusion briefly.

"Oh," he finally responded. "Uh... No, I'm not building this. I don't understand robotics. It's for a friend." Vincent hoped Echelon wouldn't fiddle with his armory list for that. "She's a 'spacer, like you mentioned; bit of a tinkerer and a little on the vengeful side." He shrugged. "List came straight from her, so I hope I'm getting all of this right."

He eventually managed to fumble his credit chit from the detritus littering his pockets and ran it through the card reader, then signed and nodded at the attendant. "I appreciate the help, sir," Vincent said as he gathered up all of the required equipment and made his way towards the door, after returning the chit to his pocket.

 

[Blackbird Lore]

Uriel listened with an intent most intense. This information was burned into his mind. Anyone willing to degrade and destroy a man so thoroughly was an enemy of God and plain, secular goodwill. Furthermore it sounded like they enjoyed it, so The Mob had officially earned a place on his list.

When asked if he would go solo, the Elysian answered quite matter-of-factly, "I will if I must, but I have a feeling I won't need to. I have powerful friends with good intentions." Most of them, he added to himself.

"Give me the name and address of your old store. Here." Uriel proffered half the physical currency he had on his person- about 100DA. "Eat something good for you, maybe clean up. Feel good." He smiled at this. "Your luck is about to change sir, and the same could be said for this Mob."

 

[ShotJon]

It was few minutes later and Zeta was sitting with othres waiting for movie to start. She had no popcorn but 1,5 liter cup of Speedy Bubbles was in her cup holder. She was just thirsty. "So you think baron Xrghlzaru shows up again in this movie darling?" She asked Mr. Yamada as movie was starting. For once she was still playing her role and for second she was really looking forward to the movie.

But it also did no stop her from all the other duties. She was glad they choose to sit up-top in them iddle. FIrstly it wa best spot to watch the movie and secondly, she could scan whole room with her eyes. It was full of regular nepleslian poeple, most of them underage. After all this was Dave the Marine. Zeta would bet half of 18 years old marines joined up because of this guy. Zeta also made a mental note. "Maybe they are underage, but that does not mean they do not have guns." This was good'ol Nepleslia after all.

 

[Luca]

"I'm not sure," Mr. Yamada replied before the curtains rose, some advertisements for things the crew of the ISC Phoenix wouldn't be interested in rolled, and the marquee that announced that the movie was about to begin came on.
"Shh, let's find out."

Triumphant electric guitar fanfare marked the return of Dave, ever the hero, but now he was past his prime, and was in dire need of a holiday. He was getting just that. However, subtle clues and hints were telling the audience that things were not going to be like that for long.

Why does life imitate art so often? Luca pondered.

Dave's life was once again thrown into chaos and he was forced to be the one man army yet again - something he'd honed to excellence over the past few movies. However, if excellence was supposed to be something that was a mere flash of battle brilliance and not an action that could be repeated with ease, was excellence then simply a habit to Dave?

...as a matter of fact... Luca frowned again, feeling very uncertain of himself.

-

The broken man blinked at Uriel's question as the 1000 DA came into his hands, "I guess there's no stopping you, as I said - they firebombed my shop, but their biggest base of operations is a casino called Zero. It shouldn't be too hard to find."

Meanwhile, the broken man contemplated what to do with all of this newfound wealth. To spend it immediately would be unwise. He had to get his life in order away from the prying eyes of the Zero men. He wasn't even sure if his wife and children were alive - or even the same person they were.

"If you are an avenging angel, make them pay. You don't look like the redeeming type," The broken man's voice gained a last bout of clarity in defiance against those who wronged him, his family and his livelihood.

 

[Lamb]

Now coming in high over Prime City, the chase between the Lady of the Night and the Dying Star continued between the rare casino or hotel building, both ship swinging around both buildings. Enzo clutched the manual-control stick tightly in whitened knuckles and sweaty palms, pressing the Lady ever onward towards her prey. Said prey was starting to make headway. Although the smaller ship was slightly slower at full acceleration than the Lady, it was obviously more maneuverable at full-speed. Enzo was losing distance.

Not wanting to explain later to Luca why bounty-hunters were after him, Enzo activated the Lady's Ionic Pulse Cannons and locked onto the offending shuttle. As they swung between the buildings on the shoreline in an up-sized version of a Slalom-run, Enzo watched the small volumetric targeting screen carefully. Every time the two ships aligned ever-so-briefly between two buildings, the reticule turned blue on Enzo's screen, signaling him to fire if ready.

The frantic conman wrapped his finger around the trigger and held firm to it. Then, just as the other ship swung into his line of fire, his finger clasped the trigger in an almighty grip of desperation. The Lady of the Night spat out a bolt of lightning and rocked hard, a flash of white showing on the screen inside.

 

[Blackbird Lore]

Uriel nodded, grateful for the lead. "Thank you. I would say, 'I'll see you again,' but I can't very well promise that. So, be well. Take care of yourself." With a small wave, the Elysian walked away, a small smile on his face. He had himself a mission, a cause, a calling. A brief message soon found its way to Luca:

I have a job that I think some of the crew would be interested in- after our public appearance of course. I would like to discuss it with you privately first.

With nothing more important on his plate, the Archangel returned to the ship, and returned to his book. This was big and would require words of wisdom, guidance, and strength.

 

[ShotJon]

There it was again. Dave was living happily, hoping for some peace and quiet when suddenly he was drawn into hell and forced to become badass action hero once again. Splendid. Just the way Zeta like cheesy action flick. But she had to sighed, as her attention was often drawn from the movie to the audience. She felt uneasy being with Luca in the same room as forty armed people.

She also felt like Dave, having her Peace and Quiet and enjoying some downtime, only waiting for a Ripper to come through the room. Or maybe a whole shuttle with armed grizzlies or whatever. Zeta checked the large revolver in her purse. She smirked and thought, "Bring it on!"

 

[Luca]

One of the other disturbing trends in the Dave films was the fact that all around Dave the people who supported him were dying in a variety of ways. Sometimes they died peacefully and quietly, sometimes without Dave knowing, and most of all, beside Dave in the thick of it. Luca was only feeling more and more unsettled by this as he looked over to Zeta and Robert, two of his most loyal companions - and Daxle too.

So help me, if that happens... Luca contemplated grimly.

And then his communicator vibrated, notifying him of Uriel's message helpfully. He quickly smothered the source of the noise, since there was special place in the afterlife for people who answered their phones in the middle of movies - and even an NMX torture technician would call it unpleasant.

But that was the least of his worries. Meanwhile, above the theatre, the sounds of a pitched air battle could be heard, and the ceiling vibrated ever slightly. The other moviegoers didn't seem to mind, passing this off as a common occurrence. Luca, however, frowned even further.

His hands unconsciously went for the spot where he'd keep his HHG, but he realised that he'd only packed his as-of-yet unused ODM 10mm Pistol for concealment purposes - and the fact that no self-respecting Nepleslian was without a gun, even the tiniest peashooter.

The movie itself was about to get to the climax, too, with Dave standing between oblivion and peace against the combined forces of the Doomed Legion, The Red Remnants and NMX.
"Bring it on, bitchtits," Dave scowled as he unflicked the safety and got ready to unleash hell.

 

[Lamb]

The battle in the sky didn't last long. Enzo's preliminary shot had done its job. The Ionic Pulse Cannon was designed to disable systems before causing damage, and disable it had. With inactive respulsors, the smaller Merula-class shuttle wavered and plummeted to the ground. The resulting crash wasn't very spectacular. The shuttle spun its way down into a small accounting office next to a movie theater and was soon covered in a layer of bricks.

Enzo was quick to bring the Lady down to investigate. When his scanners picked up heat still active in the ship below, the conman hurried down to exit through the cargo bay after setting the auto-pilot to return to the Kestrel without him.

He was pulling his duster over his shoulders and climbing the small pile of bricks when his ship pulled away to go back without him, leaving him in the soft, arid winds of the city streets. The conman kicked away at some of the rubble with an idle boot while he surveyed the surroundings.

"Where the hells the polices at, eh?" He commented, still kicking away at pieces of rubble here and there. One of the nearby accountants cowered in response. Enzo went on, "Was'air some kinds of raid on the precint, er somethins?"

Then, as if to answer the second question, a single scaly claw shot up from the rubble and soon the reptilian Kohanian from before emerged, covered in coolant fluid and still clutching the detonator from Enzo's improvised bomb. Behind him, Dra'Gil Kahn's massive form was stirring under the broken shards of transparent durandium that once made up the shuttle's cockpit.

"Foolisssh Neplessslian." Quoth the lizard squeezing the detonator tightly in its claw. "You will not survive the wrath of the almighty Dra'Gil Kahn! He shall hunt you and your kin like elk in the forest, and not one of them will be spared, for the al-"

KA-BLOW!!!

The round from Enzo's revolver struck the reptilian Kohanian firmly in the chest, bringing him down instantly. Dra'Gil Kahn approached next, shoving the body of his former accomplice from between himself and Enzo. Before he could do anything, Enzo fired another blast from his revolver.

Dra'Gil Kahn didn't even flinch. Instead, the lumbering bear-type Kohanian firmly grasped the revolver in Enzo's hand and snapped the barrel off with an errant thumb.

"Oh." Enzo submitted, "That does changes things a bit, yeah?"

Suddenly, the conman found himself running into the movie theater with the beast trundling along behind him. He was about to try and blend in when he caught sight of Mister Yamada and company in the back row. Then, he repeated himself.

"Oh." Enzo submitted, "That does changes things a bit, yeah?"

 

[ShotJon]

Zeta was enjoying the movie. It was bloody and kinda stupid, but that was the way she liked her Dave. Plus actor playing him was a looker too and that will never hurt a movie. She sighed as Dave's friends and dear ones were dying. It almost seemed as Death was on Dave's heels.

As theater started shaking and some fire could be heard from outside Zeta frowned and looked at Ceiling. She poked Luca and said, "bloody hell, not even one stupid evening free of any buggers." She shook her head and took her revolver out of her handbag, holding it down by her leg to not be in plain sight.

It did not take for Loud crash happened outside, followed by gunfire. Zeta got ready to jump in front of Luca. Only way out was through the combat anyway. Another shot and doors opened. Man runned out. Zeta got ready for anything that would follow the man.

 

[Luca]

The last thing just about everyone expected in the cinema was what would, on first glance appear to be a man in a bear shaped fursuit. However, the smell was a bit too authentic to be a basement dweller, and the fury in the eyes was something that was too far removed from human to be just a man in a suit. Naturally, just about everyone in the cinema exploded into the stark raving madly presented need to run the hell away from the Kohanian bear with a bloodrage.

Any Nepleslian with a grain of sense ran like hell, and if they had the stones to, they would return with an explosive. It was the only way to be sure of destroying a bear completely and utterly, Kohanian or otherwise.
And having a body guard on top of you was no way to escape from a rampaging bear in a movie theatre.

Surprisingly enough, Luca's response was to run rather than stand and fight - he recognised Enzo (save for the few bumps he'd picked up in transit) and blinked incredulously under his sunglasses as he watched him outrun the bear - he also noticed Enzo's prized Revolver with an unusual bend that wasn't just a trendy after-market modification.

"Quick! Everyone!" He called to the ISC Phoenix team assembled - which was Daxle, Robert, Zeta and Enzo, "Run like hell from the fursuit wearing man! We can pirate the movie and watch it later!"
He was counting on hitting a nerve with the bear-kohanian and having it chase after him, he thought he could outrun it. Bears were basically short range battletanks to the Captain incognito.

He might've been wrong, but he might've been right - only one way to confirm it.

Luca attempted to pry Zeta off of himself so she could start making ground - and if he did, he'd start running. Robert and Daxle were already on their heels and towards the exits.

 

[TeslaTornado]

Several Minutes Later...

Vincent had managed to, over time, lug all of Echelon's new heavy equipment back to the Big Bird, and from there into the workshop. Once he arrived there, he laid out all of the parts and instruction manuals on the floor - although he knew how they were supposed to work thanks to the flash training, he didn't know how to put them together and as such would require assistance from the brain of the operation.

He lifted his COMM to his lips and opened up his link to Echelon. "I've got your equipment; you want to help me put this thing together?"

 

[Lamb]

Dra'Gil Kahn stood still in the theater as it emptied out around him, eyes firm on Enzo. In all of the confusion, he almost didn't notice the incognito Luca Pavone and company slip past him. He almost didn't notice. With cat-like speed and gorilla-like strength, the massive Kohanian swooped Enzo up by the collar and dragged the (now vociferous) conman out of the theater behind him, trundling after his target with Enzo pounding away at his shoulder.

"Put me down, yous dirty sonofabitch, why I oughta tear yous down the middle!" Enzo shouted, amongst other things. Dra'Gil Kahn kept himself focused on 'Yamada' as they entered the harsh light of the streets.

 

[ShotJon]

"Move your butt honey," Zeta shouted at Luca as she moved behind him making sure to keep between him and big bear-person. As they got to door she noticed that the man chased by bear was no one else then Enzo. What's that bugger got himself into now?" She thought as she followed Luca out standing between him and the bear. She was ready to jump at the beast should it attack, wishing her mechanical arm would be enough to hold her own against the beast. She still prepared her high-caliber revolver in her other hand to be sure.

 

[Lamb]

Dra'Gil Kahn looked down at Zeta standing before him with fire in her eyes.

"Move, woman." He commanded in growling tone. "You stand between me and the Yamada. I have no claim to your head, only this one and the Yamada."

At 'this one', Dra'Gil hefted Enzo over his shoulder and swatted the grifter in the temple with a massive paw, silencing him.

 

[ShotJon]

Zeta smiled looking at the bear in front of him. She felt a shiver on her spine, seeing the giant animal man in front of her. He was big and muscly. It could be seen by some blood that he was shot or stabbed and yet he did not care one bit. Well the bigger they are, the harder I hit.

Zeta smiled and leaned down picking up large stell pipe that flew there from the wreckage of bearmans shuttle. "Oh I am sorry. But that Yamada you are hunting is my hubby, and I won't let you just take him. Also you should put that man on the ground, or he will be in your way when you fight." She said trying to sound confident. She wanted to provoke and enrage the beast, knowing that she is most agile. She was also quite sure that the bear will be able to strike fast, but she has very strong cybernetic arm and big pipe. That should give her a little advantage of her own.

 

[Luca]

One of the fascinating things about Nepleslians was their single minded love for weaponry of all sorts ranging from brass knuckles all the way to military grade ship shearing lasers and everything else in between. It was practically common knowledge that kids were weaned on .22 before graduating to higher calibres and improvised axes made from lead piping, circular sawblades and duct tape.

This fact made Luca consider something that could make the odds go his way in spite of the fact that there was a Freaking Bear in the theatre. (On technicality, it was a Kohanian bear, but it was still a Freaking Bear.)
"You just a man in a fursuit with bad temper!" Mr. Yamada yelled as he turned to start bolting away. He sent a telepathic message to Zeta: "I hope you know what you're doing! I'll be coming back sans disguise and with something to tip the-"

His phone rung again, distracting him and causing him to run like hell back into the cinema, of which most of the patrons had managed to evacuate, with popcorn and drinks dropped and trampled, as well as an unlucky person who eventually picked himself out and continued on his merry way, screaming his head off too.

Luca jumped behind the counter and looked for something, anything that'd be of use in a fight against the Freaking Bear that'd outclass his ODM 10mm popgun. Surely, the cinema industry of Nepleslia faced enough adversity to pack iron?

-

Meanwhile, back at the Crimson Kestrel, Echelon was waiting for Vincent in full view in the workshop down in the cargo bay. To describe Echelon's physical appearance after her transplant in Drift would be spindly, spiderlike and motherly.

It appeared to be a large, feminine humanoid robot at least eight feet tall and weighing a tonne, with a large spherical area in the hips/belly area.
Its right shoulder had a Fingale's Revenge rifle protruding from it, with wires and connections to load and fire it properly. Its hands had two fingers and an opposable thumb-claw. It also had a compliment of thrusters around its body, allowing it to move around in zero gravity environs, or climb short distances.

A single, glowing red eye on the head provided sight, but the effect was very unnerving. For some reason, a rainbow pattern scarf was draped around it's neck, along with childish scribbles and glyphs of Freespacer 'heraldry'.

"If you would be so kind as to assist me with making a shell more... presentable, swift and terrible..." The eye of the machine looked at Vincent, and glanced about him, making minuscule movements, just like a real eye would. However, instead of appearing more human, it'd only set the ID-SOL on edge, "I would terribly appreciate it, fleshbag."

-

"For the love of crikey," Luca groaned upon realising that the cinema industry was relatively unchallenged, and came up with a stun gun - it wasn't even lethal, "If this can't slow a person down, I seriously doubt it could scratch the paint on that Freaking Bear."
He looked about frantically for something, anything to assist his return and attack. As he pondered this he flicked his communicator open and checked Uriel's message at long last.

Uriel, that's wonderful. Sorry for the late reply, things have gotten interesting at the cinema. It involves a Freaking Bear and Enzo seems to have something to do with this. We'll talk more when we all regroup.

With that he sent the message and snapped his communicator shut, then his eyes wandered over to the popcorn machine on wheels, "That'll do nicely," He grinned as a plan formulated in his head. All that had to happen was the Freaking Bear to come along and fall into whatever Luca had in mind as he got behind the controls and inspected them with a maniacal smile and itchy fingers.