Spring RTS Engine

But M3M (im to damn lazy to write your damn name) forgot one thing:

If you enjoy writting, then do it during lunch time! If not, then why the hell are you writting? Your not going to get rich or anything!

But if you are, then have fun!

I be back!

It was one hell of a firefight too. The 3rd Air Cav had arrived early. Due to a lack of GHE fighter cover the Air Cav had waltzed right in, dodging the occasional RPG. Their cargo, the 9th Drop Troop Division had disembarked and was now aiding in the defenders├óÔé¼Ôäó attempt to break out of the encirclement. This included destroying the tank column at Road 3. Seski and Baska darted between piles of rubble and burnt out tanks, pausing only to snap off a few shots. They kicked the door of a nearby building and entered. The first floor was empty. So was the second. The third ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ well, there wasn├óÔé¼Ôäót much left of the third. It was occupied by a few conscripts firing down on the Droop Troops below. Seski dispatched them with a well placed hand grenade. They returned to the street, smashing down any standing doors and searching the buildings.

The Sniper lay almost comatose. The door was a blur. Everything was a blur. Sound seemed muffled. This wasn├óÔé¼Ôäót the usual effect of the painkiller however; the Sniper was running out of blood. Aware of this, he reached forward and pulled free his spare medikit. He sprayed the stump with an sterilising spray, then cauterized it with a small flamer designed for the purpose. Finally, he rapped it up with bandages. The medikit also had a small bag of blood and IV fluid. He set them up too. His vision and hearing slowly returned. Immobile, he waited. Out of the corner of his eye, his rifle lay where it had been kicked away to by Baska earlier. It was, however, far out of the Sniper├óÔé¼Ôäós reach. He took a hookshot out. This one was different to normal PsyCore version. Instead of a hook, it had a magnet. He fired it at the rifle. It stuck fast, and he retracted it. The hookshot dragged the rifle back to him. Properly armed, the Sniper waited. He knew that Baska and Seski were trustworthy, but the arrival of the 3rd Air Cav was completely unexpected. According to the timeline, they were repulsed by enemy fighter activity, but for some reason there were no fighters. What would happen to him if found? The rifle was one no-one of this age had seen. Neither was his equipment. If they fell into the hands of any of the sides, the timeline would really be screwed, and he himself would probably be hunted down like Baska had. Something new to add to the list of things gone wrong├óÔé¼┬ª

=== Several Thousand Years in the future ===
=== Telebase 021 ===

Salfi Hyssan checked his rifle and collected up several powerpacks and a medikit. He slipped on his cloak and put on his helmet, clipping the strap under the chin. He collected two Plasma SMGs and clipped them to his belt. A pouch full of grenades went on next. He picked up the finely crafted, razor sharp katana from its shelf. It was unique to his unit ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ each member had one. He admired the way the light reflected off it, before putting it into its sheath (also attached to his belt). Geared up, he left his little armoury and entered the corridor.

The Psychasi ├óÔé¼╦£Thunderflash├óÔé¼Ôäó were solitary figures. Getting to know others just got confusing ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ any changes to the timeline, however minor, could and did change people├óÔé¼Ôäós personalities and memories. That was the funny thing about time. If you change it, you remember it, even if it changes your future (which caused all kinds of problems and so was frowned upon). Fortunately, Thunderflash had devised a method of extracting memories from different timelines. This method ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ called ├óÔé¼┼ôextructing├óÔé¼┬Ø ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ allowed Thunderflash to find out what was supposed to happen (the unaltered memory was the last to be dug up), and usually what Firefly had altered. Time seemed to lose its meaning ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ it could (and did) drive men mad ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ with the current record being 3 hours, 25 minutes. ├óÔé¼╦£Thunderflash├óÔé¼Ôäó members had undergo several years of intense training to unlearn all the things they thought they knew about time, and even that wasn├óÔé¼Ôäót always enough.

Thunderflash was just one unit messing about with the timeline. Another unit, a sort of splinter group called ├óÔé¼╦£Firefly├óÔé¼Ôäó, was trying to ├óÔé¼╦£fix├óÔé¼Ôäó the timeline. Thunderflash was trying to preserve it. Thunderflash was situated on the Судновремени, part of the Evacuation Fleet fleeing from the wrath of the Tessarin Space Navy. Sure, it was hardly the most ideal situation for mankind, but altering the timeline could (and - surprise, surprise - did) have severe consequences. Salfi thought the PDF Training Incident that sparked the whole damn thing would have brought ├óÔé¼╦£Firefly├óÔé¼Ôäó to their senses, but it didn├óÔé¼Ôäót. They continued to tweak and alter, and Thunderflash continued to fix and undo what they had done. What happens happens, and who are we to say whether or not it should?

The ├óÔé¼╦£Time Gates├óÔé¼Ôäó as they were nicknamed, where the apparatus used to time travel. They were everywhere, and hidden well. Across the full spread of time and space, the Time Gates were stationed. Firefly had started the practise, building the Gates across the timeline so that Thunderflash could simply destroy their stolen Gate and prevent them fiddling and changing what they shouldn├óÔé¼Ôäót. Firefly and Thunderflash were (and, in theory, would be) fighting a bloody but silent war of tremendous consequence across the full spectrum of space and time. Firefly usually did things to change prominent members of the commanding governments. It was actually Thunderflash who sent Earth├óÔé¼Ôäós first colony ship (the Проект Колонизации Один) off course, and Firefly shot down all the others that tried to leave, until Thunderflash realised what was going on and managed to fight a path for the ├óÔé¼┼ôNew Hope├óÔé¼┬Ø, but Firefly shot that down as it tried to land on Terth. Firefly then firebombed Earth, leaving it completely barren. Assuming the ├óÔé¼┼ôNew Hope├óÔé¼┬Ø passengers dead, Firefly left Earth space to find the Проект Колонизации Один and fix its nav systems. Thunderflash, however, watched the passengers of the ├óÔé¼┼ôNew Hope├óÔé¼┬Ø, keeping them protected from the planet├óÔé¼Ôäós wildlife and secretly helping them rebuild and form the Galactic Human Empire. As for the Tessarin...

A life as a Thunderflash was not a good one. Outside the organisation, people who├óÔé¼Ôäós life didn├óÔé¼Ôäót involve shooting around over the great expanse of, well, everything, you were born, you lived your life and at the end of it you died. Everything made at least a glimmer of sense, everything was chronological. Not as a Thunderflash. Every moment was in a state of permanent war. Every inch of your being was honed for battle. Things and ideals such as mercy, fear, even humour, were dropped lest they clouded your judgement at that crucial time. Shooting around everywhere, fixing what had been changed, the constant battle with Firefly, one never acknowledged, one you were never congratulated for, one that would never, ever end, meant that you were exposed to the worse aspect of human nature. Tyranny, corruption, suppression, war. It left you no time (of all things) to even acknowledge the existence of the most basic... good things in life. If you stared in the Abyss for too long, the Abyss stared back at you. Humanity├óÔé¼Ôäós adaptive nature meant that if you spend an age fighting monsters, you yourself would become one. Thinking on the same terms as the enemy made predicting their next move that much easier. But as much as Salfi hated his job, he was powerless to leave it. There were no laws or anything that prevented him quitting ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ the whole thing was a volunteer outfit ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ but, once you realised the true extent of existence, you couldn├óÔé¼Ôäót turn back. You couldn├óÔé¼Ôäót live a normal life after spending so long a time away from it. Once a Thunderflash, always a Thunderflash. Until death do you part.

Salfi had a very fast gait, like a man without time, funnily enough. He paced down the hallway fast enough to make people have to quick dodge out of the way. The Time Gate was waiting.

=== Present Day ===
=== Soelis City ===

And now Salfi lay incapacitated with part of his leg missing, courtesy of the very man he had to save. And he waited.

=== Telebase 211 ===
=== 50 years in the past ===

├óÔé¼┼ôSo where are we going today?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôSoelis├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYay. When?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôIn 50 years time├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôDouble yay├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôReady?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYup├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôGo for it├óÔé¼┬Ø

=== Present Day ===
=== Soelis City ===

Salfi kept on waiting. He heard a very distinctive crack.
├óÔé¼┼ôHello Falco├óÔé¼┬Ø
Falco materialised above the hole in the ceiling that had permanently removed Salfi├óÔé¼Ôäós lower leg. He fell straight through it and landed with a hard thud.
├óÔé¼┼ôI hate point teleportation├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôDon├óÔé¼Ôäót we all├óÔé¼┬Ø
He got to his feet, groaning
├óÔé¼┼ôSalfi├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôFalco├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôLike the leg├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôFuck you├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôIs that the 3rd Air Cav?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYep├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôWhat the hell are they doing here?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôLetting the PsyCore mount a fighting retreat├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôOh shit. Firefly?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôWho else?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôHey Kelko├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôWhere the piss have you two been?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôRunning like hell mostly├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôBloke with a big sniper rifle that disintegrates people?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôNo, actually├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôA large number of GHE regulars?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôUh, yeah... ?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôJoin the club├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôIs it free?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôShut up Seski. Where├óÔé¼Ôäós Brandy?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôDunno. Ran off somewhere saying something about a cease-fire├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôOh great. Spotted the fireworks?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYup. About bloody time they got here too├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôStill got that stretcher?├óÔé¼┬Ø
Kelko nodded
├óÔé¼┼ôExcellent├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôWhat is it?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôI├óÔé¼Ôäóve a friend I want to you to meet├óÔé¼┬Ø

Sheepshit ran on. This area was relatively quiet. The GHEs had even stopped shelling. Tallin was running on ahead with his SMG. They ran up to a burnt out car and took cover behind it, Sheepshit slapping down the tripod and mounting the Repeater.
├óÔé¼┼ôWhere the hell are the GHEs?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôI don├óÔé¼Ôäót care├óÔé¼┬Ø Sheepshit replied tiredly. It was becoming late evening.
├óÔé¼┼ôGot your NVGs?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôThey├óÔé¼Ôäóre built into our helmets├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôSo that├óÔé¼Ôäós a yes?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYeah, that├óÔé¼Ôäós a yes├óÔé¼┬Ø
A target ran across the opposite end of the street. On impulse Sheepshit opened fire. The target skidded and took cover behind another burnt out car.

Brandy skidded behind the car. That was Repeater fire!
├óÔé¼┼ôPsyCore?├óÔé¼┬Ø Called the Repeater gunner
├óÔé¼┼ôYeah!├óÔé¼┬Ø

Sheepshit recognised the voice.
├óÔé¼┼ôIt├óÔé¼Ôäós me, Sheepshit! Tallin├óÔé¼Ôäós here too!├óÔé¼┬Ø

Brandy cursed under his breath.
├óÔé¼┼ôIt├óÔé¼Ôäós Brandy!├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôI know!├óÔé¼┬Ø came the reply. ├óÔé¼┼ôWe almost killed you!├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôThen check your sodding targets!├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôCome to us!├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôFuck you, come to me!├óÔé¼┬Ø
They compromised and both ran to a broken corner of a building.
├óÔé¼┼ôHey Sheeps├óÔé¼┬Ø said Brandy
├óÔé¼┼ôHey├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôWhere is everyone?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYou know you and Tallin have a lot in common?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôWhere is everybody?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôHaven├óÔé¼Ôäót a clue├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôHelpful. What are you two doing here?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôLooking for you and your lot. Tallin├óÔé¼Ôäós idea. Where are your lot anyways?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôBack there├óÔé¼┬Ø Brandy jerked his thumb.
├óÔé¼┼ôComing?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôSure, why not?├óÔé¼┬Ø
And so Brandy found himself going in the same direction he came from.

--------------------------------
Production Notes

Yay for jumping about the timeline!

Hope the dialog isn't too confusing

Time travel gives me a headach.

I advise not even trying to make sense of temporal mechanics and paradoxes. If you try, you get those. I just read and enjoy.

├óÔé¼┼ôSo what brings you here?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYou and your lack-of-leggy-ness├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôNice to see HQ are paying attention├óÔé¼┬Ø
Falco chuckled. ├óÔé¼┼ôIf only├óÔé¼┬Ø
When you├óÔé¼Ôäóre running ops spanning the entire length of space and time, it├óÔé¼Ôäós quite easy to lose track of things.
├óÔé¼┼ôSeen anything odd, asides from the 3rd Air Cav?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôFor some reason, Seski won├óÔé¼Ôäót ever shut up. Asides that, no, not really.├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôI├óÔé¼Ôäóll see if I can find those missing GHE fighters. If we can vector them in in time, we might be able to sort this out without having to gate back a few hours.├óÔé¼┬Ø
If any Psychasi overhead that conversation, Falco and Salfi would probably have been shot as traitors. But they had a good reason for preventing the PsyCore infantry from making a fighting withdrawal. If the Psychasi did manage to fight their way out, the success would be overshadowed by the fact that the Psychasi had just lost one of their most important cities. Soelis had been build during the First Expansion, when the Psychasi first started to explore outside of their new homeplanet. If Soelis went, so did morale. If Soelis held firm, as the timeline said it should, it would blunt the GHE├óÔé¼Ôäós invasion, encouraging them to organise a ceasefire.
Whilst the 3rd Air Cav had good intentions, they were only making things worse.

├óÔé¼┼ôSo where are we going?├óÔé¼┬Ø Asked Brandy
├óÔé¼┼ôHuh?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôWhere are we going?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôI dunno, I├óÔé¼Ôäóm following you!├óÔé¼┬Ø Sheepshit replied.
├óÔé¼┼ôAh. Where are we?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôSoelis!├óÔé¼┬Ø Said Sheepshit, deliberately over enthusiastic
├óÔé¼┼ôNo shit! Where abouts in Soelis, pray tell?├óÔé¼┬Ø
Sheepshit looked about himself rather drunkenly
├óÔé¼┼ôThe bit that├óÔé¼Ôäós been bombed to hell!├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôThat├óÔé¼Ôäós still not quite specific enough├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôOh get over it├óÔé¼┬Ø Sheepshit said, still merry. He tried to climb a pile of rubble and slipped.
├óÔé¼┼ôWheee!!!!├óÔé¼┬Ø
Brandy grasped his collar and stopped his slide. Sheepshit threw his arm off.
├óÔé¼┼ôI├óÔé¼Ôäóm fine!├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôNo you├óÔé¼Ôäóre not...├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYes I am! Just being me! Good old, though too old, flesh and blood me!├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôSheepshit...├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôMe, me, me, me, me-me-me-memememe, me!├óÔé¼┬Ø
He slipped again on a loose piece of rock and fell. Brandy spotted a dart in his neck. In panic, he whizzed around, and came face to face with an exquisitely crafted barrel.

Falco and Salfi both raised their rifles at the commotion.
├óÔé¼┼ôIt├óÔé¼Ôäós us, it├óÔé¼Ôäós us!├óÔé¼┬Ø Called Baska, hands raised.
Salfi lowered his rifle.
├óÔé¼┼ôWho the hell are you?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôThe same to you!├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôFalco Brinarsin, Thunderflash unit 331. You?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôBaska Pedaniva. PsyCore Combat Infantry division 449. What the hell is Thunderflash?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôAsk me no questions, I tell you no lies├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôShut up the pair of you├óÔé¼┬Ø Salfi called from his impromptu one-man field hospital. Falco and Baska lowered their weapons, eyeing each other wearily.
├óÔé¼┼ôWho are you two?├óÔé¼┬Ø Falco asked to Seski and Kelko
├óÔé¼┼ôSeski and Kelko, Male, Female respectively├óÔé¼┬Ø Said Salfi helpfully, getting more odd looks from the three PsyCore infantrymen/women, Kelko in particular.

===============
Production Notes

He he he, tranquilizers...

Tallin had lost Brandy and Sheepshit again. He turned a corner, and saw no-one. The entire area was deserted. It was almost tranquil compared to the usual firestorm. Which only served to make Tallin more paranoid. He walked cautiously up a pile of rubble, hoping to get onto the roof and search for the two from there. Suddenly, something pierced his boot sole. He screamed in pain and fell backwards, rolling down a not so smooth slope of large pointy rocks. He reached for his foot and pulled out the dart he had just trodden on. He examined it. It wasn├óÔé¼Ôäót Psychasi made. He looked back up the slope and spotted a lone helmet. In fear, he ran back to it and scooped it up. There was a nametag on the back of it. Now truly afraid, he threw it down and drew his rifle
It had been Sheepshit├óÔé¼Ôäós helmet.

├óÔé¼┼ôCome on!├óÔé¼┬Ø Baska semi-grunted as he hefted Salfi onto Kelko├óÔé¼Ôäós stretcher. Salfi├óÔé¼Ôäós ├óÔé¼╦£medical tree├óÔé¼Ôäó with IV fluid and blood bags attached had wheels, so that went with them too.
├óÔé¼┼ôWe├óÔé¼Ôäód best go building by building├óÔé¼┬Ø Said Kelko
├óÔé¼┼ôStay off the streets you mean?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYeah├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôNo!├óÔé¼┬Ø Said Falco
├óÔé¼┼ôWhy?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôOur Snipers are all over the rooftops├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôNo they├óÔé¼Ôäóre not├óÔé¼┬Ø Said Seski suddenly
├óÔé¼┼ôWhat makes you so sure?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôDo you hear las shots?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI'm gonna brood. Silently. Over here.├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôThat├óÔé¼Ôäós helpful.├óÔé¼┬Ø Quipped Brandy. He and Sheepshit were in a sort of prison cell with about 6 others, 3 Psychasi, 2 GHE and a CRU guy from somewhere. The two GHEs and the CRU guy where both chained to a wall and kept far apart. According to Falya, one of the Psychasi, it was to prevent the CRU guy (who was a bit of a fanatic) from attacking the GHEs. The three Psychasi were all members of the PsyCore, though each served in different units in different combat zones. Falya was of the 123rd Drop Troop division, fighting for in industrial planet Dalamascus. She had actually gotten involved in a firefight with their captors, killing two. She was, personally, quite surprised they let her live. Another, Lenya, was himself a sniper. He didn├óÔé¼Ôäót talk much, and as such Falya had nothing to say about him. Talya was, it seemed, your average PsyCore footslogger like Brandy and Sheepshit, only neither of them were as cocky. She had found one of their rifles and had started using it ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ to great effect too ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ and for that, they took her. Like Falya, she felt lucky to be alive. None, save Brandy, had actually seen their captors, all being tranquillised and waking up in the cell. Brandy hadn├óÔé¼Ôäót seen much though. Just a black cloak and one big rifle. The cloak had obscured his (Brandy guessed it was a ├óÔé¼╦£he├óÔé¼Ôäó) face. Then one jabbed something into his neck. And he woke up here. Falya had filled him and a rather unconcerned Sheepshit in upon their awakening. She didn├óÔé¼Ôäót know anything about the GHEs and the CRU fanatic. The GHEs spent most of their time sleeping ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ they looked like they needed it too ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ and when they woke, they didn├óÔé¼Ôäót say anything, merely staring at you solemnly when you tried to talk to them, in a way that chilled you to the bone. As the CRU guy, he refused to talk to anyone ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ spitting and shouting at anyone who came close. No-one was sure how long they had been in the cell, and food was sent through a small hatch. This had actually been quite useful, as the CRU guy, upon realising where he was and who he was with, began shouting obscenities at them all, and they only got him to shut up by refusing to give him food unless he kept quiet. Then he disappeared one ├óÔé¼╦£day├óÔé¼Ôäó (It was impossible to keep track of time in the cell), returning completely unable to speak. Their captors had permanently stopped him talking by removing his larynx.

They set out into the streets at a brisk run. Kelko and Seski carried the stretcher whilst Falco and Baska provided fire support. Salfi took potshots with a pistol from his stretcher, whilst holding on to the IV tree with his other hand. The 3rd Air Cav was still shooting the crap out of the GHE conscripts but the regulars were proving troublesome, having shot down three ├óÔé¼╦£Landers already. They ran into a building so that the shooters could reload.
├óÔé¼┼ôWhere are we going anyway?├óÔé¼┬Ø Asked Kelko
├óÔé¼┼ôBack to our lines├óÔé¼┬Ø replied Baska.
├óÔé¼┼ôWHAT?├óÔé¼┬Ø exclaimed Salfi and Falco in unison
├óÔé¼┼ôBut our lines... safer...├óÔé¼┬Ø Baska replied, baffled.
├óÔé¼┼ôNo├óÔé¼┬Ø Said Falco firmly
├óÔé¼┼ôThen where the fuck are we supposed to go now?├óÔé¼┬Ø Asked Seski.
Falco looked out of a window. One of the Drop Troop Thunderlanders was staying put and providing fire support. The side hatches were open.
├óÔé¼┼ôLets go├óÔé¼┬Ø

==============
Production Notes

The CRU is the Civillian Rights Union. I'll explain who they are later

Larynx is the medical term for a voice box, without which, you can't talk very easily

If you recall, Sheepshit has his nametag taped on the back of his helmet. That's how Tallin knew who's it was

EDIT: Crap, I thought this addition was going to be longer than this! Should have merged this one with the one above

EDIT: Added a bit

Sheepshit and Brady have been captured.
Tallin is looking for them, to protect the time line
Some other things are happeining.

Thats what i am getting so far.

No, Tallin isn't a member of Thunderflash, he was with Brandy and Sheepshit but they got seperated.

Of the known Thunderflash members: Salfi is stretcher bound and Falco is with the the others

Kelko, Baska and Seski are with Salfi and Falco

Brandy and Sheepshit are with all the people in that prison cell thing they're in

Argh!

Brandy lay slumped against the wall. Falya was distributing bowls of soup that had just been pushed through the hatch-door-thing, gently shaking the GHEs awake. Then she walked over to him with the two last bowls, sat, passed him one and began eating it.
├óÔé¼┼ôSo who├óÔé¼Ôäós your friend?├óÔé¼┬Ø She asked, gesturing to Sheepshit with her plastic spoon
Brandy grinned.
├óÔé¼┼ôHe sings, he surfs and he reads minds!├óÔé¼┬Ø
Falya chuckled. ├óÔé¼┼ôHe got a name?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôNope├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôNo?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôI just know him as ├óÔé¼╦£Sheepshit├óÔé¼Ôäó├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ô... Sheepshit?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYes, Sheepshit├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYou nicknamed him Sheepshit?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôIt was taped on the back of his helmet├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôOh├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôWhere are our helmets anyway?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôThey probably took them. They have GPS and loads of other stuff built in remember?├óÔé¼┬Ø
Not that GPS would be of much use with no satellites around.
├óÔé¼┼ôOh, yeah.├óÔé¼┬Ø
He fell silent and went back to his soup

Falco activated his cloaking device (much to the surprise of Kelko) and left the building, heading for the ├óÔé¼╦£Lander. He hopped in the back and found the real reason it hadn├óÔé¼Ôäót taken off ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ both pilots were dead. Sniper by the looks of it. Deciding it would be better to take out the sniper now before he could shoot any of his team, he kneeled down behind cover, and turned off the cloak, leaving it to recharge. He saw a glint of a helmet in a window. He lined up his shot and fired. Reactivating the cloak he beeped Salfi

Salfi heard it.
├óÔé¼┼ôGo, go, go!├óÔé¼┬Ø He called. Kelko, Baska and Seski set off. Bullets ricocheted off the ground around them. Baska kept firing and Salfi gave up trying to take pot shots with his pistol. Kelko and Seski, holding the stretcher handles, ran. Until something struck Seski in the chest. The armour reduced most of the force, but some ribs were broken. Seski just collapsed onto the ground, taking Salfi with him. Salfi rolled into a crater and Seski squirmed on the floor. Kelko picked him up and dragged into the back of the Thunderlander. Salfi was now shooting things with his pistol again, dragging himself toward the dropship. Kelko put her arms under his shoulder and dragged him to the ├óÔé¼╦£Lander. Once inside, Falco closed the hatch.
├óÔé¼┼ôWhat about the stretcher?├óÔé¼┬Ø Kelko asked
├óÔé¼┼ôScrew the stretcher!├óÔé¼┬Ø Falco shot back as the ├óÔé¼╦£Lander took off.
Salfi grasped at a button and a wall moved aside, revealing several stretchers, which promptly fell out and landed on him. Kelko dragged Seski into a seat and strapped him in. She did the same for Salfi before strapped in herself. The ├óÔé¼╦£Lander rocked and turned as Falco did his best to dodge the anti-aircraft fire.

They finished their soup in silence. Brandy set it down and lay back a bit to try and sleep, but failed when his hookshot, which still had a large chunk of rock in it, shot into the nearby wall. The rock shattered, but a small hole was made in the wall. He looked at it, an idea forming in his head.
├óÔé¼┼ôGo for it├óÔé¼┬Ø Falya whispered.
With sudden vigour, he reeled in the hootshot, shot it through the hole and reeled it in again, enlarging the hole. He peered inside. It was an air vent. He pulled on the loosened whatever-it-was the wall was made of, making the hole big enough to slide through. The Psychasi leapt to their feet and crowded around.
├óÔé¼┼ôWait, wait, wait, wait!├óÔé¼┬Ø Brandy called out. ├óÔé¼┼ôOne at a time.├óÔé¼┬Ø
They backed off a bit.
├óÔé¼┼ôLenya?├óÔé¼┬Ø He called. The sniper looked at him ├óÔé¼┼ôI├óÔé¼Ôäóm guessing you have a good sense of direction. You go first.├óÔé¼┬Ø
Lenya nodded and squirmed his way into the vent.
├óÔé¼┼ôAnyone got a torch?├óÔé¼┬Ø He asked
Brandy looked around. One of the GHEs pulled one from his pocket. Brandy walked over, remembering the fact that they were chained to the wall to stop them going near the CRU guy. They couldn├óÔé¼Ôäót come with them, yet they offered help.
├óÔé¼┼ôThanks├óÔé¼┬Ø Brandy said, taking the torch. ├óÔé¼┼ôWell come back for both of you, once we get something to break those chains├óÔé¼┬Ø
The GHE nodded.
├óÔé¼┼ôWho next?├óÔé¼┬Ø asked Talya. Brandy turned around
├óÔé¼┼ôEr, go for it├óÔé¼┬Ø
Talya squirmed into the hole. Brandy gave her the torch, which she handed down to Lenya.
├óÔé¼┼ôSheepshit├óÔé¼┬Ø
He went in
├óÔé¼┼ôFalya├óÔé¼┬Ø
She went in.
With one last look at the remaining prisoners, Brandy crawled into the vent.

EDIT: Fixed some typos

├óÔé¼┼ôWe├óÔé¼Ôäóre clear!├óÔé¼┬Ø Falco shouted out, relieved. He turned the craft away from Soelis and sped towards the Psychasi lines. After activating the autopilot and telling it to fly around in circles until told otherwise, he got out of his seat and went to check on Salfi and Seski.
├óÔé¼┼ôWhere are we going?├óÔé¼┬Ø Baska asked him as he entered
├óÔé¼┼ôNowhere yet├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôSo where are we now?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôBehind the Psychasi lines├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôI thought you didn├óÔé¼Ôäót want to go to the Psychasi lines!├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôAnd I still don├óÔé¼Ôäót. Its just that if I go to the GHE lines instead, they├óÔé¼Ôäóll probably shoot at us, this being a Thunderlander and that├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôFair point├óÔé¼┬Ø
Falco looked around. Kelko was sleeping in her chair, Seski was either doing the same or had gone unconscious and Salfi was setting up a new IV tree, having lost the first one with the stretcher at takeoff. Then Falco├óÔé¼Ôäós earpiece crackled. He turned it on.
He listened, nodding here and there with the occasional ├óÔé¼┼ôYes Sir├óÔé¼┬Ø and ├óÔé¼┼ôNo Sir├óÔé¼┬Ø and one ├óÔé¼┼ôHe├óÔé¼Ôäóll be fine Sir├óÔé¼┬Ø. Then, from what Baska could gleam from Falco├óÔé¼Ôäós facial expressions, Falco was handed either some very bad or some very surprising news, and Baska guessed it was probably both.
├óÔé¼┼ôYes Sir, on my way├óÔé¼┬Ø

=== Present Day ===
=== Sainilae Information Centre (The SIC Tower) ===

Lyden had had a long day. As a member of the SIC Guard, he had to stand watch at the main entrance, despite it being covered by several (as in, 23) security cameras ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ not to mention the turrets, tripwires and pressure pads. He was not needed here. He had joined Sainilae in the hopes of adventure and glory. Not to stand outside the SIC. In the rain. As a rather heavily armed doorman. Sure the tech was pretty damn cool, but he never got to use it. No-one in their right mind would attack the SIC! Not only was it one of the most heavily defended installations in the Psychasi Empire, it was also (more or less) in the middle of it. It could also move, both off the ground and off the planet, if an invasion seemed imminent, something it had done twice now. He tried to wrap the dark blue coat around himself. It had armour plates stitched onto the inside, which made that practically impossible. Then something caught his eye. It was a sort of├óÔé¼┬ª distortion in the rain, visible for only a moment. The turrets hadn├óÔé¼Ôäót spotted anything. He pulled out his thermals and scanned the area. Blue, more Blue, Red! He reached for his gun, but was suddenly thrown into a wall, a deep knife wound in his chest.

The security centre of the SIC is very sophisticated, taking up an entire floor. One of the most useful system is the ability to detect when one of the people inside is killed. All SIC employees have little implants in their hearts that detected when they stopped beating. This made an alarm go off, moments before another was sounded when the people watching the security cameras saw Lyden go flying. Assuming it to be rifle ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ and with the lack of gunshot sounds, probably sniper rifle ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ fire, Security Protocol 101 was activated.

Hatches opened and turrets appeared, until the panelled surface of the SIC├óÔé¼Ôäós exterior was bristling with automated weaponry. The panels of the top two levels simply shot off to reveal 8 Anti-Air LasFlak cannons. Inside, a small device bleeped and came alive. Panels and hatches opened, an iris unfurled itself and a tall pole rose. There was a small atop it. And it began flashing. Immediately, all unshielded electronics in a 5 mile vicinity went haywire.

All the people normally at work within immediately reacted to the alarms and how their computers and the lights just went out as one.
├óÔé¼┼ôIntruder Alert. The SIC is under attack. This is not a drill├óÔé¼┬Ø
They ran to the lifts, which took them down to the basements so that they could escape via the myriad of tunnels below.

Then the people watching the cameras (shielded against the EMP field ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ which was actually a device that created EMP pulses every few seconds rather than an actual field) saw a very strange sight as hundreds of black-cloaked figures suddenly appeared from thin air as their cloaking devices died under the EMP. The turrets roared.

The staff in the lifts felt a large jolt, as the lifts suddenly reversed direction having discovered that the attackers were inside the building. They shot up to the top level and stayed there. On the lower levels, all stairway access doors locked, clamped and then electrified themselves. The main gates did the same whilst metal plating descended over all the windows and poison gas flooded the first three floors.

The Sainilae Information Centre was now in full lockdown.

├óÔé¼┼ôSo where are we going now?├óÔé¼┬Ø Baska asked again.
├óÔé¼┼ôOrbit├óÔé¼┬Ø Said Falco simply. He was back at the pilot├óÔé¼Ôäós controls.
├óÔé¼┼ôORBIT?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYes, orbit. Now hush before you wake someone up├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYou├óÔé¼Ôäóre taking us into orbit!├óÔé¼┬Ø Baska said, quieter this time.
├óÔé¼┼ôYes! Thunderlanders can enter outer space you know!├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYes, they can. But they normally don├óÔé¼Ôäót have two holes in the windscreen!├óÔé¼┬Ø
Falco looked at the windscreen, horrified. The two holes from where the sniper had shot the pilots. Outer Space Me Don├óÔé¼Ôäót. Falco swore, put the ├óÔé¼╦£Lander in a slight dive and started talking into his earpiece again. After some heated conversation, Falco activated the autopilot again and the ├óÔé¼╦£Lander suddenly shot upwards towards the upper stratosphere. He then jumped out of the pilot cabin and activated the airlock, sealing off the cabin, and all controls within.

Brandy was still crawling through the vents of the prison, or whatever it was they were in. Lenya didn├óÔé¼Ôäót know where he was going, but he did have a very good sense of direction and was ensuring that they weren├óÔé¼Ôäót going around in circles.
├óÔé¼┼ôHere!├óÔé¼┬Ø Lenya whispered back.
├óÔé¼┼ôWhat├óÔé¼Ôäós here?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôGrate. We can get out of this damn vent├óÔé¼┬Ø
Someone whooped
├óÔé¼┼ôGo on!├óÔé¼┬Ø Brandy whispered back down the shaft. The was some scuffling and a light thud.
├óÔé¼┼ôHe├óÔé¼Ôäós out!├óÔé¼┬Ø called Talya.
├óÔé¼┼ôKeep going!├óÔé¼┬Ø
They disgorged themselves from the vent. Lenya seemed to be messing around with one of their captures├óÔé¼Ôäó rifles.
├óÔé¼┼ôWhere├óÔé¼Ôäód you get that?├óÔé¼┬Ø
Lenya grinned and nodded at something behind Brandy. Brandy turned. It was a weapons locker. It contained pistols, katana, extremely lightweight SMGs which Falya could aim and fire akimbo with surprising ease and accuracy, what appeared to be a grenade launcher, several of those sniper rifles and something utterly unidentifiable. No hand grenades though. Everyone picked a weapon. Brandy took the grenade launcher and an SMG; Fayla kept her twin SMGs; Lenya and Talya took a rifle and SMG each and Sheepshit took the unidentifiable thing that Brandy privately suspected was a hairdryer. Along with an SMG. They also took a pistol and a katana each.
├óÔé¼┼ôCome on, lets find a map├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWe have a ship in orbit. We├óÔé¼Ôäóre docking in that├óÔé¼┬Ø said Falco, strapping himself into a seat
├óÔé¼┼ôAnd why are you taking us?├óÔé¼┬Ø Asked Baska
├óÔé¼┼ôNone of you have any real consequence on the timeline ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ with the exception of Seski, and we need as many soldiers as possible├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôI don├óÔé¼Ôäót quite...├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôWe├óÔé¼Ôäóre recruiting you and Kelko into Thunderflash├óÔé¼┬Ø said Salfi tiredly. Baska and Falco were both momentarily surprised.
├óÔé¼┼ôI thought you were asleep!├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôI was├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôOh├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYou want me and Kelko in Thunderflash?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôWhy not? You├óÔé¼Ôäóre both good fighters, and you seem to have taken this whole timeline thing remarkably well├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôWhat Timeline thing? No-one├óÔé¼Ôäós really explained that!├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôI thought Salfi had ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ ├óÔé¼┼ô
├óÔé¼┼ôWhen you lose half your leg, you also tend to lose track of things├óÔé¼┬Ø Salfi explained from his stretcher.
├óÔé¼┼ôOh.├óÔé¼┬Ø Said Falco, disappointed. ├óÔé¼┼ôDamn.├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôI├óÔé¼Ôäóll wake Kelko.├óÔé¼┬Ø Said Baska
├óÔé¼┼ôDon├óÔé¼Ôäót. If I tell her now she├óÔé¼Ôäóll probably think she├óÔé¼Ôäós dreaming. I├óÔé¼Ôäóll tell her later├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôAnd what are you going to tell her exactly?├óÔé¼┬Ø
Falco leaned forwards in his seat and began to explain.

===================
PRODUCTION NOTES

Is this getting too confusing?

Spot the 'Doctor Who' reference

No. The people in prison are breaking out. And the people who got mixed up with the time line thingy are getting recruted.

Wheteher they want to or not

Oh and I never got to see Dr. Who, so no.

In the SIC, a cloud of green poisonous smoke hung. The turrets had stopped firing. On the first floor lobby, something flashed and several turrets imploded, collapsing in on themselves. The two remaining turrets exploded from las shots, and someone blew open the doors, allowing the gas to vent out. As the green disappeared, 5 figures could be seen standing on the security cameras. They had shod their black robes to reveal gear identical to the PsyCore infantry armour, but with the entire thing was pure white. Their rifles were short and snub ended with ammo chains dangling. They looked industrial and mass produced, a mass of metal and bolts that gave the overall impression of ├óÔé¼╦£mess with us and you end up very dead├óÔé¼Ôäó. Their helmets where white and had black visors that contrasted with the armour. It also made face identification impossible. They fanned out, taking out turrets as they went and meeting up with more of their white-clad brethren. They started blowing out the stair-access doors and began moving up the levels of the Information Centre. Then they met the SIC guard, and all hell broke loose.

Lenya edged himself up against a corner. Brandy had told him to take point. Two black cloaked men with long, ornate rifles were walking away from him. One took his cloak off to reveal black armour identical to the PsyCore armour, just black and brown and very shiny. He didn├óÔé¼Ôäót want to shoot them ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ the rifles were very heavy, and he had no idea as to how he was supposed to reload the damn thing. The pair turned a corner and exited his line of sight. He motioned the others forward and they ran on as quietly as they could down the corridor. As he went down the corridor he snatched the hung-up cloak and dug through the pockets, pulling out an earpiece. Lenya smiled. It was always good to know what the enemy was thinking. He put it in his ear
Hookshots are such wonderful things aren├óÔé¼Ôäót they?
Heh. I wonder when that Repeater guy will realise he├óÔé¼Ôäós lugging one of your video cameras around.
He├óÔé¼Ôäós nabbed that!?!
Yup
Son of a bitch!
Heheheh
I don├óÔé¼Ôäót have any warranty on that!
That Falya seems to have taken to one of the newcomers
Oh? Which one?
The one that├óÔé¼Ôäós actually sane
He seems pretty competent
Officer material?
Probably
They├óÔé¼Ôäóre now in the East Wing
Hold on, I think the snipers got one of our earpieces. Change frequency to 665
Neighbour of the beast?
Just change the damn thing
The talk dissolved into static. Lenya took it out and looked at it in astonishment.
├óÔé¼┼ôUh, Brandy...?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôAnd what happens if we refuse to join?├óÔé¼┬Ø Asked Brandy
├óÔé¼┼ôYou stay in our primary time period ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ basically where our command ship is ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ and live out your life there.├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôAnd why are we bringing Seski if he├óÔé¼Ôäós important to the timeline?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôMedical aid. He├óÔé¼Ôäós been shot in the damn chest├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôOh. Fair enough.├óÔé¼┬Ø Baska leaned back in his chair. ├óÔé¼┼ôSo when did you join Thunderflash?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôUh... What year is it?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ô11132├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôThen I join in about 21 years time├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôOh├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYeah.├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôThat├óÔé¼Ôäós confusing├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôThat├óÔé¼Ôäós Thunderflash├óÔé¼┬Ø

===========================
PRODUCTION NOTES

How the bloody hell can you write so much so fast Zoombie?

Its simple: Typing of the Dead!

Basically House of the dead, but you have to type words to hit the zombie. If you misspell the work then its a miss, and you have to reload by clicking the screen. I just played that all the time, wrote a lot, and here we go. Also I touch type. do you, Guessmyname, touch type.

Also I think your name...is Josh! Is your name Josh?

I also love everything I write. Its easy to love what you do. And I plan what I write, all the time, in my head! So I'll be sitting in class, pretending to care how to find X in Triangle B, and plotting out what happens next.

I can type without really looking at the keyboard if that's what you mean.

And it's not Josh

├óÔé¼┼ôAre you kidding?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôNo├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYou├óÔé¼Ôäóve got to be fucking kidding├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôI├óÔé¼Ôäóm not├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYou├óÔé¼Ôäóre telling me that this things a video recorder├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYes. I am├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôFuck.├óÔé¼┬Ø
There was a loud clang. Tati readied her SMG. The arguing pair were around a corner and out of sight.
├óÔé¼┼ôLook, if they├óÔé¼Ôäóre spying on us, why haven├óÔé¼Ôäót we been attacked yet?├óÔé¼┬Ø
Because we like to bide our time. Tati thought. She turned the corner and got peppered with SMG pellets.
Tati collapsed into a wall, drooling slightly.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhat do we do with her?├óÔé¼┬Ø Talya asked.
├óÔé¼┼ôLeave her├óÔé¼┬Ø said Lenya
├óÔé¼┼ôWait!├óÔé¼┬Ø Said Brandy
├óÔé¼┼ôWe can├óÔé¼Ôäót drag her around you know├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôShe might have a map or key or something├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôOr another earpiece├óÔé¼┬Ø
Brandy nodded and started checking over their temporarily stunned attacker. He took the earpiece and put it in his ear.
Okay, that wasn├óÔé¼Ôäót meant to happen
Oh fuck it
I say we go in there right now and shoot the bastards
They only stunned her you know
And we do need more personnel
They didn├óÔé¼Ôäót know that the SMGs stun people!
Well they do now
They were gonna kill her!
They thought she was going to kill them
Yeah but ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£
They├óÔé¼Ôäóve nabbed her earpiece. Channel 122 people
Fucking hell...
Like Lenya had, Brandy took the earpiece out of his ear and looked at it in utter bewilderment.
├óÔé¼┼ôI think we need to get out of this place├óÔé¼┬Ø He said to the others.
Someone pressed a pistol against the back of his temple
├óÔé¼┼ôI don├óÔé¼Ôäót think you have much of a choice├óÔé¼┬Ø
The black-clad soldiers poured out through hidden doors and hatches in the walls and ceilings. Weapons raised.
The Psychasi escapee├óÔé¼Ôäós surrendered.
In the SIC, all out war had broken out between the white-clad invaders and the SIC Guard. When an SIC Guard was hit by a rifle, they seemed to simply die, with no wounds or other marks. When one of the ├óÔé¼╦£Whites├óÔé¼Ôäó were hit, they died in a fair bit of agony. Plasma weapons tended to do that. The fighting was at it├óÔé¼Ôäós ruthless on level 14 ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ the primary Laboratory Sector. Neither side would give an inch. Between grenades, the ├óÔé¼╦£Whites├óÔé¼Ôäó rifles and the Plasma SMGs used by the SIC Guard, labs were turned in smouldering ruins and at least two labs had to be sealed off because of various viral diseases that had escaped due to the firefight. The SIC Guard, having realised that the ├óÔé¼╦£Whites├óÔé¼Ôäó had gained access to the stairway, blew it and the metal stairs fell in a mass of shards to the bottom, trapping the ├óÔé¼╦£Whites├óÔé¼Ôäó and any SIC Guards on whichever floor they happened to be on (As a security measure, the SIC Tower only had one stairway that was only used during the Tower├óÔé¼Ôäós construction). The Battle for the SIC had just broken down into desperate ├óÔé¼╦£Last Man Standing├óÔé¼Ôäó combat on each floor. On the top level the office workers and non-combatants sat huddled in fear of the sounds of war below.

├óÔé¼┼ôSo what├óÔé¼Ôäós it like?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôWhat├óÔé¼Ôäós what like?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôLife as a Thunderflash├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôConfusing├óÔé¼┬Ø
There was a pause. Baska leaned further forward
├óÔé¼┼ôThat├óÔé¼Ôäós it?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYeah.├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôPretty much├óÔé¼┬Ø Added Salfi.
├óÔé¼┼ôWell, there├óÔé¼Ôäós also a lot of sneaking around and the odd shooty-shooty, bang-bang moment as well├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôHuh.├óÔé¼┬Ø Said Baska. ├óÔé¼┼ôIs it worth it?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôDepends on the person├óÔé¼┬Ø
The Thunderlander jolted hard.
├óÔé¼┼ôOh, we├óÔé¼Ôäóve docked!├óÔé¼┬Ø Said Falco, obviously glad to get out of the conversation. He unstrapped himself from his seat and checked through a view port. They were indeed inside a dock. Baska made a motion for the door, but Falco stopped him
├óÔé¼┼ôNot yet. Let them repressurise the dock├óÔé¼┬Ø
They waited for a few moments looking out the port. Then a large light that was previously red blinked green.
├óÔé¼┼ôNow we go!├óÔé¼┬Ø. Falco pulled the door open and stepped out into the open dock. Falco was clearly much happier aboard the craft. ├óÔé¼┼ôWelcome, boys and girls, to the Thunderflash ├óÔé¼┼ôInterdictor├óÔé¼┬Ø Battlecruiser! Please don├óÔé¼Ôäót touch anything.├óÔé¼┬Ø
The dock was expansive and bathed in green light. From the looks of things it was designed to hold a lot of craft, but their├óÔé¼Ôäós was the only spacecraft. Baska kicked Kelko awake and they put Seski ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ still unresponsive ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ onto a stretcher and carried him out. Because Salfi├óÔé¼Ôäós had wheels Falco simply went back in, opened the side hatch and pushed him out. An automated crane snatched up the Thunderlander and carried it off into a section called ├óÔé¼┼ôRepair Station Alpha├óÔé¼┬Ø. Within the repair station were numerous Psychasi, GHE and white-angular spacecraft - which Baska and Kelko guessed to be Tessarin - in various states of damage from space combat.
A trio of black-clad and black-robed Thunderflash troopers approached them. The lead trooper looked very old with greying iron hair. The other two looked rather young ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ around 40-ish. One male and one female. They both had shoulder length brown hair. The old one greeted Falco with a grin and a handshake.
├óÔé¼┼ôCaptain Lunii├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôFalco├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôHow├óÔé¼Ôäós things?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôGood, good. What happened to him?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôShoot in the knee├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôOuch├óÔé¼┬Ø. Lunii looked over Falco├óÔé¼Ôäós shoulder at Baska and Kelko who were watching him apprehensively. ├óÔé¼┼ôHello├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôHi├óÔé¼┬Ø Replied Baska. Kelko didn├óÔé¼Ôäót reply. Lunii took this rather cold reception in his stride.
├óÔé¼┼ôHow├óÔé¼Ôäós things?├óÔé¼┬Ø Falco repeated, with a more urgent look in his eye. Lunii looked at Baska and Kelko uncomfortably.
├óÔé¼┼ôFollow me├óÔé¼┬Ø He said. He motioned to the two others with him. The female when around Salfi├óÔé¼Ôäós stretcher and gave him a quick smile which Salfi returned before she began pushing the stretcher off towards a door labelled ├óÔé¼┼ôMedical├óÔé¼┬Ø. The male one watched her go before motioning Baska and Kelko to follow him as he followed the female one and Salfi through the medical door.

├óÔé¼┼ôSo,├óÔé¼┬Ø Said Falco, taking a seat in Lunii├óÔé¼Ôäós office. ├óÔé¼┼ôHow├óÔé¼Ôäós things?├óÔé¼┬Ø
The two where sitting opposite each other and leaning forwards on a coffee table covered in papers.
├óÔé¼┼ôCoffee?├óÔé¼┬Ø Lunii asked pulling a pair of cups from under the table
├óÔé¼┼ôHow├óÔé¼Ôäós things?├óÔé¼┬Ø Falco persisted. Lunii sighed.
├óÔé¼┼ôThe SIC Tower is under attack.├óÔé¼┬Ø
Falco blinked.
├óÔé¼┼ôWho by?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôGuess├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôFirefly?├óÔé¼┬Ø Said Falco, bewildered. Lunii nodded gravely
├óÔé¼┼ôThey├óÔé¼Ôäóve risked open conflict once again├óÔé¼┬Ø
Falco looked momentarily stunned.
├óÔé¼┼ôWhy now?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôHow should I know? The point is that the SIC tower is under attack. We├óÔé¼Ôäóre en route now├óÔé¼┬Ø
Falco stared at the coffee cups in shock. Lunii took this as an opportunity to change the subject.
├óÔé¼┼ôWho are your friends?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôHuh?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôThe three PsyCore├óÔé¼Ôäós who came up with you├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôI dunno.├óÔé¼┬Ø Falco said bluntly. ├óÔé¼┼ôThey were with Salfi when I found him. I assumed they were with him and that they were in the recruitment program.├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYou told them you were going to recruit them into Thunderflash?├óÔé¼┬Ø Said Lunii exasperated.
├óÔé¼┼ôYes...├óÔé¼┬Ø
Lunii sighed and lowered his head.
├óÔé¼┼ôWell, only Baska├óÔé¼┬Ø
Lunii looked at him quizzically
├óÔé¼┼ôKelko was asleep and Seski comatose├óÔé¼┬Ø
Lunii accepted this with a nod
├óÔé¼┼ôWhy did you bring Seski aboard?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôMedical attention.├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôWhat if he talks?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôHe won├óÔé¼Ôäót. If he does Sainilae will snatch him up.├óÔé¼┬Ø
Lunii accepted this again with a nod
├óÔé¼┼ôOkay. What does this Kelko know of us?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôNot a hell of a lot├óÔé¼┬Ø
Lunii sighed. Whether in relief or despair Falco couldn├óÔé¼Ôäót tell.
├óÔé¼┼ôRecruit or dump?├óÔé¼┬Ø
Lunii sighed again.
├óÔé¼┼ôWell, we do need the personnel. Recruit. Baska too.├óÔé¼┬Ø
Falco nodded
├óÔé¼┼ôHow├óÔé¼Ôäós the ship?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôGood. Good. Needs some repair work on the left side ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ an unfortunate run-in with a Tessarin Ark. We├óÔé¼Ôäóre a bit understaffed├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôI noticed. None of our fighters seem in good working order.!
Lunii nodded. ├óÔé¼┼ôWe won, fortunately, so we managed to pick up the pieces, so to speak├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôHow many?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ô31├óÔé¼┬Ø
There was a moment of silence
├óÔé¼┼ôWe├óÔé¼Ôäóre not winning are we?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôWe never were.├óÔé¼┬Ø
That was Thunderflash. A reactionary force. They never got the initiative. Falco moved the conversation onto other topics
├óÔé¼┼ôHow├óÔé¼Ôäós Fylin and Sanni?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôThey├óÔé¼Ôäóre fine. Sanni will be pleased to see Salfi back at last.├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôI think she was.├óÔé¼┬Ø
Falco let Lunii have his moment of quiet reflection before rising to his feet
├óÔé¼┼ôThanks├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôDon├óÔé¼Ôäót mention it├óÔé¼┬Ø
Falco went for the door.
├óÔé¼┼ôWe├óÔé¼Ôäóll reach the SIC in about 3 hours. I don├óÔé¼Ôäót know what├óÔé¼Ôäóll be left, but...├óÔé¼┬Ø
Falco nodded and exited.

Baska sat in the corner of the hospital, keeping an eye on Seski├óÔé¼Ôäós vitals. The two were actually related, sort of; Seski was Baska├óÔé¼Ôäós Step-Cousin. His biological father had died in the so called ├óÔé¼╦£Black Wednesday├óÔé¼Ôäó when an EMP was blown in the middle of L-Liyra City, knocking out all the trains and cars. All the electric mono-rails fell off their tracks. His father was one of those crushed. Since that incident, mono-rails had never been used in large cities, despite the new ├óÔé¼╦£foolproof├óÔé¼Ôäó EMP shielding their manufacturers had put on them. His mother had remarried about 7 years later, and Baska got a step-cousin. As a single child he never had a brother. Seski had become the nearest equivalent. The two had been practically inseparable. They joined up, trained and fought together. And now they were in ├óÔé¼╦£deep-shit-over-their-heads├óÔé¼Ôäó together. The Sniper, Salfi, was talking to the brown-haired female who had accompanied the Captain Lunii. She was sitting on his hospital bed ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ the two looked fairly close. A few seats back, and the brown-haired guy was sitting, watching them behind a pair of dark sunglasses. Baska guessed that they were related. Kelko walked in.
├óÔé¼┼ôHow├óÔé¼Ôäós he doing?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôHe├óÔé¼Ôäós stable├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYou need sleep├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYeah.├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôGo on, I├óÔé¼Ôäóll keep an eye on him├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôOkay├óÔé¼┬Ø
Baska got up and headed for the door to see Falco leaning against the frame and looking in.
├óÔé¼┼ôI wouldn├óÔé¼Ôäót bother if I were you. We├óÔé¼Ôäóll be making planetfall in about 3 hours├óÔé¼┬Ø

===============
PRODUCTION NOTES

Gasp! Character Development!

And a Zoombie length story post!

I started, stoped, started, stoped then finnaly finnished it today. Damn my telephone and my overly outgoing freinds who want me to do things. With people, none the less.

Hurra for the draft!