The Voyages of the Penelope and the Yydryl

'Relax! It was a joke!' Carpet howled in glee while Deez sputtered and snatched at pieces of food that had gone flying thanks to Silo's reaction to Carpet's well timed 'Boo'.

'A JOKE?! Are you out of your MINDS!' Silo squealed. 'And stop laughing!' Trying to stomp a foot while peeling off her two-skin Silo tripped, failed to regain her balance and tumbled to the floor caught by Carpets deep soft plush.

'Let go of me you idiot!' Silo scrambled to her feet recovering neatly this time to step out of the two-skin pooled at her ankles.

'You two make me sick! I was terrified.' Panting and gulping her breath Silo drew her hands across her face.

'You Funny, no sick, funny! A sound like tinkling of small bells glittered around the room. That is came out of Deez in his small fury form while pointing at her with a tiny finger sticking out a tiny fist was disturbing.

'Funny. Yeah, well. What was this all about? Why the monster act Deez? And what were you doing all that time in my PHARS? ' Hands on hips Silo demanded answers.

'Silo, you got to admit it was funny, ' Carpet butt in. 'You should have seen your face when I said 'Boo'. Carpet started in on another laughing jig causing every strand of his Milli-Being fiber to shiver the length of the room.

'Over here...' Making a crooking motion with her finger for Carpet to follow Silo walked to the corner of her quarters queued a working droid, stopped, turned back to her communicator and requested a few more. Before she even asked Carpet started filling in the blanks.

'Silo, it was just a joke, a little test, that's all. Deez would never of hurt you, not now. So, blame me, not Deez.' Carpet did his best to keep his reply staid but Silo could still hear a tide of fresh giggles trying to escape but pretended not to notice them. Instead after the droid carrying food arrived she sat cross legged on the floor waiting for Carpet to continue his explanation.

'Silo, I didn't have time to tell you. I went after Deez right after the attack in the torpedo room. I was afraid what he might do if we left him alone but I found him in the Recovery Bay and he'd gone back to little Deez, like he is now. And I believe unless we need him, he'll stay that way because...'

Using a meat bone like a wand Silo waved him to continue and went back to eating.

'It's like this. Where he wont say but Antar found Deez and learned of his, 'capabilities', let's call them. She wanted Deez as a pet and bodyguard but had to keep him under control at the same time. So she gave him his magic, his 'Eye'. Silly, but yes, something he could hold and keep, something to keep an 'Eye' on him. Now that he's learning control on his own he can be an asset to Ship, and you and the baby.' Carpet let his last words hang not sure of her response. They' hadn't yet spoken of the child openly, in easy conversation, but Silo didn't even stop chewing just mumbled for him to continue around a new bite of food.

'And when I asked Deez what Antar called his 'Eye'? Get this. He told me it's name was 'Placebo.' Carpet let the air fill with explanation and drain back to questions again.

'Placebo? So that means the 'Eye' has no powers in itself, it's only power is the power of suggestion - and that power in Deez's head?"

'Yes. He still doesn't want to share his 'Eye', he's still pretty jealous of it, but he's also learning that he can control himself without it.'

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'Something here doesn't make sense,' Silo let the thought stand while she picked at her teeth with a splinter of bone. 'I mean, how did this thing effect what was inside of Swarg? How did it work to drive this thing out of Swarg? Isn't that what we were looking for, answers to that?'

'We were. Yes. And I think we have the answer. It's as simple as the placebo works, or it does not.'

'Or it's all a bunch of crap we're being fed by a very crafty little being that likes to eat and can morph into something that can kill us at will?' Raised eyebrows punctuated her incredulity.

'Or it's all a bunch of crap and he's still a loose cannon, yes.' Carpet replied with a sigh.

Tossing Deez the rest of her bone Silo smiled against her will as the little creature caught it deftly with one hand, hopped onto of her PHARS to begin gnawing away on his prize in earnest.

"I guess we have to just hope the food holds out then.' Shaking her head and using her shed two-skin like a towel Silo wiped her hands before looking around for a new skin. 'And as soon as you two are done here I want you both to concentrate on restoring the Recovery Bay. I've got plans there. Its' time to put that place back in order. Deez can help, he needs to make himself useful from now on out.' Without waiting for a response Silo found a new two-skin and pulled it on over her nakedness smiling while she did. Droids, Deez, Carpet, funny that, how it didn't bother her to be nude again in front of others. Maybe it was the baby. She let the thought fall into a crack in her mind she'd explore later.

'Well Carpet, I gotta say, I owe you one.' Smiling a coy smile Silo let the double meaning sink in. 'Oh and Carpet, you owe me a new set a skins... You and Deez went and scared me so bad I spotted...' Bursting out laughing Silo made her way from the chamber to go find Chumley but not before emptying the rest of her flagon of wine all over Carpet's 'head'.

Nenothtu felt hands on him, probing for what he assumed must be his injuries, as the swirling fog cleared from his head. He then felt his broken carcass being dragged to what seemed to be some other surface. The pain of his movement was nearly unbearable, but then the pressure of an autoinjector against his neck provided a measure of respite from the pain. It did nothing, however, to clear his mind.

Neno seemed unable to speak, but the motions he was undergoing forced a grunt or two out of his throat. Just as he was being strapped onto what he thought was probably a backboard, the blackness arose again, claiming his consciousness.

sometime later, how long he had no way of gauging, the mists parted again, leaving him somewhat clearer, but still unable to speak. He could again feel motion, but of a different sort. It seemed that he was strapped on to some object, which in it's turn was being dragged along. This, to neno, seemed a good sign. Apparently the Penelope had sent a rescue crew to drag him out of the wreckage. Perhaps karma had finally paid him off in a positive way, and he was gaining a return for his steadfast refusal over time to ever leave a fallen comrade behind, whether alive or dead. Now it was his turn to be carried by others, so the universe at times comes full circle.

Carried. Neno suddenly made the connection. He wasn't being carried at all, he was being dragged. Wouldn't a rescue crew have enough personnel to carry him? Dear gods, the Morrigan, in a fit of pique, must have let the Buzzards capture him!

This was going to be unpleasant.

Confusing thoughts. Why would the Buzzards strap him to a backboard, or provide any sort of pain relief? On the other hand, why would Penelope send a single rescue person? Just what the hell WAS going on here? Curiosity got the better of nenothtu, he just had to know. Against his better judgement, and fighting a wave of nausea, neno imperceptibly opened one eye, to satisfy that curiosity. The figure he saw dragging the stretcher, although fuzzy in his vision, was unmistakable.

Studious.

Great. The man he'd come to capture, had instead captured him. This day was just getting betterer and betterer, as the folks back home were wont to express it. He slammed his eye shut again, and tried to take stock of the situation.

Studious had held his cane at the ready. Not a good sign. Damn that 'Cane-Fu'! Studious, whole and armed with his ever-present cane, and nenothtu strapped down and in a state of disrepair. The odds were not in his favor. Nevertheless, he continued to take stock, sensing every part of his body and what lay against it. He hadn't been disarmed, a good sign, but was in no condition to bring arms to bear, even if he weren't strapped down. Which he was.

DAM-MIT! his mind screamed at him. Where did Studious come from, any how? After assessing the situation, nenothtu decided that the only available course of action at the moment was to relax, and enjoy the ride.

As a captive.

Deez jumped down from the green bench, looking both ways before he did so, scuttled between a pair of weeping vines that trailed from the bench top and squeezed himself between twin oversized tubs of bio-soil placed under the bench for easy access. Out of sight of the working droids, and Carpet (who was still stationed outside the Green Rooms door), Deez tucked his sharp nose into the crevice under his arm to muffle his shrill squeaking snicker. That Silo thought she was so smart. But Silo forgot Carpet couldn't enter the Garden rooms beyond the Recovery bay. Yet. Knowing Silo she'd rectify it soon and that filthy rug would be underfoot everywhere Deez had to go, watching, lurking, keeping tack. But for now Deez could still do what he needed undetected. For now.

Gnawing at the bottom of the soil tub Deez caught his tooth on the tiny lip of a panel, removed the concealed square revealing a small crevice hollowed out and hidden in the side of the container. Scrabbling a small fist into the hollow Deez's fingers closed over what he sought, the thrill of the touch filling him, sweeter than the last time. Replacing the object with the small "Eye" fisted in his opposite paw Deez felt no loss in letting it go. That 'Eye" was nothing. That "Eye" was dead. That "Eye' was nothing but a trinket to pass under the unsuspecting noses of that Silo and her Carpet. But the real 'Eye' now secreted in one of the tiny twin pouches Deez and all his kind grew under their extremities, the real eye shivered in delight as it snuggled itself into place in the fold of Deez's skin.

Filled with the thrill and power of the object hidden under the fold of skin nearest his heart Deez trembled with righteous joy. He'd had been right to control his change in the torpedo room. He'd been right to let 'them' see his other self. He's been right to let them think, think they knew the reason for his change, blaming it all on that incompetent Antar. Yes! Deez had been so smart to hide his real 'Eye' where no one could find it. No one but him. And now, with Antar out of the way, Whisper trapped as she was, the Captain's gone and Swarg exterminated, the cocoons still safe hidden deep within Ship's Center? Deez was well on the way of accomplishing the task set to him by the Dark Lord. A task he would accomplish at all costs.

'Silo, I agree, the Recovery Bay and Hydroponics lab need to be refurbished, rebuilt even but what I'm telling you is my problem can't wait!'

'Ship, please,' Silo burst out, the irritation in her voice like grinding teeth, 'The Center has to wait. There's just no question here!' Pacing the floor of the bridge Silo came close to his hiding spot but turned and backtracked her path just steps before reaching his hideout.

'Please Ship, we've no healing abilities beyond my PHARS and only a few of us can even fit in there. The Yydryl has no healing facilities, nothing. I mean, what if something had happened to Chumley, or Deson out there? ' Silo pointed to the view screen at a pair of Deson Drone stragglers making their way back to the docking bay. Silo glared around the room waiting for Ship's response eyestalks quivering in frustration, her eyes narrowing to slits.

It was almost too much fun to watch.
Deez could barely resist his temptation to rub his palms together in glee. Armed with his real 'Eye' and still in his smaller form he had no fear of being discovered, his size allowed him to hide, the 'Eye' tucked safely in his pouch provided him with cloaking from Ship's censors, but still he didn't trust the 4 eyed Silo not to pick up on even the slightest movement from where he was crouched. Between the delicious fun of eavesdropping and the slightest fear of being found Deez's emotions were high. As long as that filthy Carpet didn't catch him sneaking about the bridge he'd be fine, tucked where he was between a console and a sliding maintenance panel.

'Silo, it's commendable, your care of your crewmates safety. But I asked to talk to you here, and alone because I need your help. There's no use fighting over what needs to be done now, or later. Without your help, there will be no 'later'.' Ships voice fell of fell of dire meaning.

'Huh?' Attendant to Ship Silo slowed her pacing, her eyebrows crunched at war with one another, 'There'll be no what?

'Let me put this another way. We've got to figure out a way, and soon, for me to, well... To let some water off.' Ship replied sounding embarrassed, 'We need to figure out something before I, well, burst...'

'Burst? Ship, just what are you talking about?'

'Yes, burst. All my live tissue is already waterlogged and soon will begin to interfere with the power systems. Silo, I need to take a hydra.' Ship choked on a hysterical giggle, the mood in the room changing swiftly to one of growing alarm.

'Are you telling me you have to take a... A pee?' Silo burst out in nervous laughter at the strange turn of information.

'Yes'! Ship replied clearly mortified.

'Doesn't Deson take care of your...water works?' Silo tried and failed to hide her perverse delight in Ship's discomfiture.

'Actually no... I used to use the whale tank...' Ship replied in a barely audible whisper.

'You peed in the Whale tank?' Silo burst out laughing. Incredulous as it seemed she knew it was truth, she recalled being asked to regulate the Whale's water and PH in times when Whales still inhabited Ship.

'It's not like that Silo!' Ship pleaded.

'Ok, ok, sorry. So, just tell me flat out - what do you need me to do?' Feeling a need for a hygiene break Silo began to empathize with Ship. After all, helping Ship was her job she reminded herself feeling all humor from the situation fade.

'Since the Center has grown so has my - needs. There's only so much moisture build up I can take. We have no sun, only artificial light and heat, so, it doesn't do much to relive the total build up and excess of water. Normally, at the beginning all the H2o went into the Center, I thought I'd never fill it up. But the more the Center grew, I began expel small amounts into the whale tanks. Now that you've started refurbishing tanks for fresh water use for the hydro rooms I'll be able to use those chambers to store excess fluids. But I just can't wait any longer!' Ship grew more agitated with her explanation.

'Can't you just, well, let it go into - out there? Silo pointed to the viewing screen indication space.

'I've no provisions for that.'

'What are you saying? You can't just open a hatch somewhere and let it all go weeee?'

'Silo, you know I really think you brought too much of CindyMars earth back with you...' Ship harrumphed at Silo's use of earth lingo. 'And no, I can't go 'weeeee' is it? I thought I could sweat it out, try to force it out through my skin, but my skin is made to prevent me from loosing moisture and provides no way to expel it. ' Beyond her attempt at dry humor Ship went back to sounding agitated. 'Plus, I've no way of gauging how a sudden water loss would effect pressure ratios might have on myself and the crew.

'So what you're saying is that if I don't find a way to help you you're going to...'

'Explode. I'm not sure, maybe something like that. Or worse, drown us all.'

Silo didn't want to debate what was worse. It was all the same in the end.

'What are we going to do?' Silo found feeling helpless was quickly giving way to feeling scared.

'First things first, we have to go to...'

'Deson' They echoed each others words as Silo began to run for the munitions Officers quarters.

Deez, having absorbed the conversation for retelling had to get off the bridge and pronto. There was someone waiting for this information and waiting wasn't something the Dark Lord was good at. Deez would have hell to pay if he didn't report this new information soon and Deez knew all about hell...it was someplace he never wanted to go again.


[edit on 18-5-2010 by silo13]

The path following the light orbs was dense with trees and vines, the environment had a purple cast and the sky was a violet hue. It appeared like dust before its star passed to the other side, or like sunset on Earth. The orbs came toward Cim in and offensively started to swarm, they circled her with strands of light and somehow blindfolded her eyes, rendering her defenseless. She felt herself lifted as if on air and moving forward horizontally on her back.

“Oh brother!” thought Cim, “I have been in some tight situations but never have I been abducted by light orbs.” The speed in which she was moving began to decrease, she was hoping for a positive, in all this. If they let her loose she could orb out herself, but she had a suspicion that they were not going to let her lose. She now could hear a high pitched chirping noise, not like birds and not a language she had ever previously heard. When finally she stopped moving, she gently was righted and set softly on her feet and suddenly she could see, as if the invisible blindfold had been removed.

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Her mouth fell open in utter astonishment, she found herself still bound by strands of light, in a clearing of the most beautiful grand trees that she had ever seen anywhere.
What appeared to be elves approached and surrounded her, the tallest and eldest shakes a staff at her and speaks to her with an angry look on his face. Cim is speechless, for one, she has no idea what he said and two, why is he angry with her? “Merlin’s beard!” she thinks but does not say, instead she smiles, her very sweetest smile and bows her head slightly.

The old one reaches out and places his palm on her forehead, he leaves it there for minutes. When he finally removes his hand he looks at her with deep blue eyes and say
“So ShaRA you are the being responsible, I will have to keep you bound, but we will speak alone.” in his chirping language he instructed the others. They then carried her up a curved stairway into a large tree and into a cozy room, with twinkle lights like fire flies on Earth. “Was this Earth?” she thought, she was perplexed. The aroma in the room was intoxicating like a night jasmine, flowering vines grew up the walls, odd shaped glass containers and old scrolls on the table. This place was quit enchanting, except that she was a prisoner. The old wise one entered the room, Cim was sat comfortably and a younger elf (just assuming they are elves), placed a cup before her on the table, Cim smiled and nodded. A beautiful and tall female came and put it to her lips, Cim was hesitant to drink but what was the worse that could happen? So she sipped it and it tasted of cherries and some other flavor she had no comparison to, it warmed her much like the wine she gave Neno had the same affect.

“I am Elowho, the Elder.” says the old one to Cim, who is a little happy from the beverage.

“Pleasure meeting you, Elowho. Mind telling me why I am a captive to your hospitality?”
Elowho dips his head in a quizzical studied manner. “Well ShaRA, it will take some telling.” he says as he looks up into her face.

“and how do you know my true name?” Cim ask.

“That will come with the telling.” the look on his face was very somber, which disturbed Cim deeply.

“We are the Eloven, and we have been here for a very long time.” he pauses and looks up at her, “Yes, you are right we are on Terra but not the dimension in which you visit so frequently and in time…” he pauses again. “Long ago, long ago, we are in a time that is ancient to where you are now on that Space vessel.”

Cim is very intrigued, “But how…” Elowho puts up his hand to quiet her.

“It is in the telling, my dear one, all in the telling.”


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Only the 'Eye' under his arm stinging and burning like a bad bite prodded Deez to continue scuttling through the dark, all four feet engaged, his nose to the ground.
The absence of all light in the tunnels made Deez shake.
Hard.
Deez didn't like it down in the caves, even less he liked sneaking through 'Four Eyes' quarters to get to the hidden tunnels but Silo's door was the only one always open and unguarded. That his Master had commanded complete secrecy was tantamount to Deez. To fail was something he didn't want to contemplate.
Stopping to catch his breath Deez squeaked loudly in pain when the 'Eye' stung hard, a bolt of energy to his nervous system, the pain excruciating. Falling back into a shuffling run Deez began to chatter again in fear. The Dark Lord was impatient and didn't like to wait. Ever.

Missing turns, backtracking and futility plagued his way though the labyrinth of caves and byways but finally Deez found the room holding his charges. Entering the large cavern the pain under his arm ebbed with every step closer to the huge softly glowing egg shaped cocoons.

Stopping in the center of his wards Deez shot his chin forward, first to the left, then to the right popping free the joints in his jaws, opening his mouth wide to disgorge the massive amount of food he'd packed away over the last two days. Later, exhausted from gagging, lurching and turning his stomach inside-out Deez stood staring in wide-eyed perverse pride at the mountain of stinking regurgitated offal he'd brought as his offering to the Dark Lord.

Though daily Deez made his way through Ship in his scurvy haired rodent size his stomach still stored vast amounts of food as his gargantuan reptilian like fighting size - and with no visible distortion. It wasn't something Deez understood, and wasn't something he'd ask about considering it was a feat the Dark Lord had instilled in him. So, between the Dark Lord, Deez mooching from 'Four Eyes' (who never failed to give him free reign of the kitchens) and the working droids who fed Deez on demand (with the help of his 'Eye') Deez had brought the cocoons a mammoth feed.

No matter how many times Deez had disgorged for the cocoons, he still couldn't watch them feed. He clenched his eyes tightly shut at the first stirring of the pale finger end of their tentacles peaking out from under each cocoon their flat round tips weaving through the air like timid snakes. Rearing back at the scent of food the tentacles shot forward whipping into a frenzy of action competing for portions of the stinking refuse in the middle of the floor. The appendages, now blood red and throbbing curled around a chunk of food then shot back to the cocoon to reappear with lightening speed to grab another slimy piece of sustenance.

Fighting over the last pieces of remains the tentacles smacked together with sickening sloppy sounds turning even Deez's stomach. He'd forgotten to plug his ears but he didn't try to now, not at the risk of drawing attention to himself. Though the cocoons would not eat anything live it didn't stop them from trying to take more than he'd offered. Occasionally when all food was consumed a tentacle would probe his mouth open, forcing its way into his stomach to check for any last dregs. The memory stopped Deez's chattering to clamp his lips teeth and lips firmly shut.

The commotion lessening Deez opened one eye and let out his breath. Luckily he'd provided a large amount of rations this run, the cocoons seemed sated. Through with their meal, every speck of vomit encrusted edible clean from the floor the satisfied tentacles sucked back into the cocoons with a sucking 'pop'. They'd spend the next pair of days digesting the feed, growing, becoming stronger. Aging.

A spurt of directed energy hit Deezes tiny brain tickling his sensory systems like a pleasure drug.
Deez welcomed the sensation as a sign the Dark Lord was pleased with his service. The memory of what the Dark Lord could do when he wasn't pleased sank to the bottom of Deezes memory as his senses melted in ecstasy, rewarding the little creature just as it subdued and made him amiable for what the Dark Lord would do next.

Probing his malleable mind with complete intrusion the Dark Lord played Deez like a bio-recorder. Taking full reign with his memory the Dark Lord learned the outcome of the fight with the 'Buzzards' in every detail and heard every confidence that Ship had shared with her Attendant. Normally muddling about in the little idiots mind repelled the Dark Lord, but this time, with the smug gnashing of row after row of razor teeth sprouting from his grotesque cone shaped mouth the Dark Lord chuckled once before breaking into a full bellied laugh.

That Ship was saved from attack pleased him. That Ship was failing, pleased him more. That she couldn't control her water absorption and was feeling pain gave the Dark Lord something akin to happiness in his blackened soulless heart.
He chuckled again. Ship had already lost touch with the Center, the cocoons and everything She'd started 'growing' her belly. It wouldn't be long now, it wouldn't be long at all he thought with great satisfaction.

Pleased with the results the Dark Lord programmed his ongoing directive into Deez'a mind. The creature would keep the remaining cocoons fed and to report back to him any pertinent information concerning Ship and her sparse crew. The Dark Lord also command Deez to sabotage all plans designed to help Ship relieve her water problem and like each time before the Dark Lord commanded Deez not to fail.
Disgusted the insignificant being was his lone 'tool' aboard Ship the Dark Lords felt his anger budding but reminded himself the cocoons were near to aged. It wouldn't be long before he could get rid of this flea and move on to commanding a real army. No, he reminded himself, it wouldn't be long at all.

Returned to benevolence the Dark Lord gave his slave an extra spurt of stimulation before exiting Deez's mind and releasing the creature to run fast and light back to Ship's main decks. Deez'es first cognitive thought after finding himself nearing Ship's kitchen? Food.


[edit on 26-5-2010 by silo13]

Darkness, beeps and voices were the first thing to enter Luder's consciousness. He felt a dull pain throbbing through parts of his body but it was no match for the anguish he felt as soon as he became aware.

"She's dead."

Just hearing himself think the words made it all that much worse. He felt hot tears beginning to build up in his closed eyes. He fought them back and took a few deep breaths, hearing the beeps change frequency in accordance with his actions. He slowly opened his eyes, squinting involuntarily against the harsh lighting of what looked to be the sickbay aboard the Penelope. Luder shifted his head a bit and peered around to see what was going on in the room around him.

He saw one of the nurses looking pretty haggard, with her hair down and bags under her eyes going over a few charts. Luder swallowed a few times, feeling the dry throat he had. He coughed a couple of times and managed a few words.

"Nurse. Situation..."

The nurse was apparently startled by his voice, because she dropped the charts and stood up, a panicked look on her face. She hurried over to the table and checked a few of the IVs and other fluids then looked at him.

"Captain?"

Luder nodded and tried to sit up. She stepped back a bit and watched. Luder felt the throbbing pain intensify a bit and after a bit of effort, sat the rest of the way up in the bed, taking a few more deep breaths.

"How long until I can get out of here, nurse?" Luder asked, looking at the menagerie of tubes protruding from his arms.

"Sir, we could have you out now if you think you can manage it."

Luder scooted to the edge of the bed and flopped his legs over the side, feeling his bare feet touch the cold metal of the deck. The sensation sent chills up and down his spine and caused him to draw a quick breath. The nurse put her hand under his arm and helped him stand the rest of the way up. A bout of dizziness overcame him and he steadied himself on the bed for a bit.

"How long have I been out?" he asked.

"Days, sir."

"Jesus. Get these tubes out of me and get me some pills. I need to get to the command center."

"Sir, I don't think it would be wise at the moment, you..."

"I don't care. Get the pills."

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Luder spent a good half hour in his quarters, pulling on his uniform and shaving. The pain killers did their job a bit too well, he thought. Looking around the quarters sent him into a spell of thinking about... her....

A few minutes later, he emerged from his quarters, holding a leather bound journal and a package, and started limping toward the command center.

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The command center was the usual hive of activity that it had been before he left and it made him feel good to know that this place wouldn't change too much with or without him around. The crew were well-trained in their jobs and judging on their actions with the events which transpired up to this point had probably produced one of the finest crews the UEF would ever know.

Luder pushed the massive door open the rest of the way and limped into the center. It immediately got quiet as people watched him work his way from the entrance to the center of the bridge. Slowly, people started to clap around the bridge. Luder looked around and waved his hand.

"Don't you people have jobs?"

All hands, this is the Captain. I need a full status report on crew and systems within the next 12 hours. I have information to put out to the senior staff which will prove.... interesting. Luder out.

'Intestinal Worms? Stomach leeches? ' Silo wondered loudly, even so her voice rising from up from the depths of the refrigeration unit sounded muffled and flat to Carpet where he waited in the hall.

'Naw, he took a turn through your PHARS remember?' Carpet yelled back, refusing to go any closer to the pools of drool soaked crumbs, chunks of gristle, fruit pits and melon rinds falling from the counter-top where Deez sat inhaling food as fast as Silo could deliver it.

'Maybe some kind of life sucking parasite then?' Silo felt a need to scratch just thinking about it but her hands were full juggling fruit and something brown and thick she supposed was meat.

'Carpet listen, there's got to be something wrong,' She righted herself from a crouch to place what she'd gathered on the counter in front of Deez. 'I mean, just look at him! He eats more than Chumley but he's still as light as a lint ball!' She lamented, hands on hips, the very picture of frustration.

Her concern made Carpet want to unravel.

'Yeah well, I've known more appealing lint balls.' He sneered, 'Makes my weave shrink just watching him.' Carpet cringed looking away from the little creature who, oblivious to being watched continued his feeding frenzy.

'Being a bit harsh aren't' you?' Silo reproved, her eye-stalks swung around the cooler door to glare in Carpets direction. 'I mean, I thought you two got along? Now she sounded perplexed.

'Me? Get along with a Shifter? That's ludicrous!' Carpet blustered, his knap rising so high he nearly tumbled over the doorway. 'I bet you a bag a pretzels he pees in corners!' Carpet finished with undisguised loathing.

'That's gross Carpet. Just gross!'

Head stuck shoulders deep back in the cooling unit Silo giggled softly. Secretly she agreed with Carpet's opinion of Deez. She couldn't pinpoint what it was but something about the creature was off.
'Oh well, it couldn't do any harm to let him eat' she muttered, placing a bowl brimming with snails before the impatient Deez.

Silo's stomach flip-flopped at the wet lip-smacking, sickly slurping coos of contentment the little being made over his meal.
Between the sickening sounds of his eating and the refuse of his meal clotting and staining his greasy fur Silo's benevolence was quickly being replaced by nausea.
When an empty snail shell scrunched under her foot making Silo cringe her tolerance level came to an abrupt end. Enough was enough. Carpet was right, Deez was revolting.

Closing the cooling unit Silo winced at the pathetic keening wail rising from Deez but silenced him with a dark look that promised something she'd make sure he'd regret if he didn't stop. Now.
Momentarily daunted Deez quit whining but eyeing the tray of fruit and meat Silo balanced on one hand, a jug of wine in her other Deez offered her a pleading gaze and a toothy green attempt at a smile that made her gorge rise.
'No way buddy, this is mine.' She said in a laugh trying to make light of her refusal to feed him anything more and the laughter caught in her throat when she caught a flash pure malice flash from behind Deez's black beady eyes.
Cocking her head quizzically she wondered briefly if she'd imagined it and reminded herself she'd have to do a visual memory scan later as the working droid she'd summoned had arrived and was waiting orders.
With a helpless shrug at the mess Silo asked the droid to please clean the kitchen, restock the coolers, and keep Deez away from food all together.
Thanking the worker in advance Silo took up her tray and in turning to go felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle in warning.
'Deez, give the droid a hand with clean up!' She commanded and without turning back left the kitchen.

'How you can eat after watching that thing consuming I just don't know.' Carpet grumbled as Silo followed him down the hall popping grapes in her mouth as she went. 'Put me right off my appetite with all that swilling and slopping.'
'Just be glad you didn't have to clean it up.' She snickered and tossed him a handful of the fruit from her tray.
'That's gross Silo, just gross!' He shuddered and laughed rolling his weave over the grapes and quickly absorbed them away.
'Now, about that lint ball friend of yours...' Silo teased and continued eating grapes and following him to her quarters.

~~~

Nestled comfortably in a deep hollow Carpet fashioned for her on the floor in front of the viewing screen Silo curled herself tighter, chin to knees, and sighed. Cozy warm, full of food and wine and with Carpet tucked around her like a blanket Silo was glad for the past hour of down time they'd shared in contentment. The only thing keeping her from falling into a doze was another few minutes.

'How long you think it's gonna take Deson to figure out how to help Ship?' She asked over a lazy yawn, her voice husky.
'I wish I knew.' Carpet answered softly against her ear where it lay snuggled deep against his thick warm shag. 'It shouldn't' be long though, you know the only time he locks us out of the lab is when he's about to test something.' He added, silently wishing Deson luck.

Before stopping by the kitchen the pair had made a detour to the Armory for a consultation with Deson only to find the Armor already well at work applying himself to fixing Ship's overabundance of water.
Declining their offer of help Deson shooed them from his office and with his famed Deson charm and characteristic Deson courtesy commanded them to take some time off and not to return until they were summoned.

'Silo, have you thought about what you're going to do if Deson can't fix Ship, if water starts leaking from her pores onto the decks?' As reluctant as he was to bring up the subject, especially with her so content and relaxed, he must. Silo's inability to ward off morphing with water was a distinct and present danger. Full immersion and she'd never be make it back to her true form alive. A good dousing and she'd be lucky to re-form with her wits intact. Sickened at the thought though he was Carpet made an extra effort to kept his voice light. He couldn't bear to see her upset now, not while carrying Swarg and his own offspring deep in her belly.

Waiting for her to answer Carpet initiated a bio-scan.
'I'm thinking Carpet not sleeping, there's no reason to scan us...' She grumbled with a hint of irritation.
Carpet warmed with embarrassment. How she felt it he didn't know but she caught him every time he tried to scan her and their child.
And he tried as often as possible.

Rising nimbly to her feet effectively separating herself from Carpet and his sensors Silo moved to stretch across her bed, head hanging down over the side, her hands hovered just above his reach. Payback.

'You can stop worrying,' she called down moments later after her ire had passed, 'I've decided to go to CindyMar's cabin. I wanted to go check and see if she's been there anyway. It's been too long since we've heard from her and I haven't told her about...the baby...yet.' Her voice faltered as it was wont to when she spoke of the child.
Carpet didn't know if it was the fear of motherhood or the pain in remembering Swarg's death that caused the catch in her voice. He'd never asked her and he probably never would.

'You'll leave before it gets too risky?' Carpet asked giving in to worry.
'Yeah, and by the looks of things that should be pretty soon.' A quick view of the bloated ceiling and spongy discolored walls gave Silo a moments unease. Carpet, having taken his own assessment of the surroundings felt the first tug of fear.
'You'll have to go soon or the hazard...' Carpet left his sentence hanging as sadness filled him.
Sensitive to his feelings Silo reached under the bed for her backpack. She'd be traveling light.

'You'll come back soon as you can? He asked with forced cheer while watching her readying to go. Knowing Silo's love for Earth years-past Carpet could never guess how long she would be gone once she time traveled back to Cim's cabin.
'I'll be back as soon as Ship's water problem is fixed. Promise. I wouldn't leave you, or Ship, Chumley and the rest for long. I mean, I haven't even seen Chumley since he returned from fighting.' She realized. 'No worry friend, even that dreadful Deez couldn't keep me away.'

At the mention of Deez Carpet stiffened in anger. He was pleased Silo finally shared his opinion but he'd wanted to savor their few remaining moments alone without even a thought of that cretin coming between them. Promising himself he'd do something about Deez the moment Silo left Ship Carpet relaxed.

Sensing her mistake as soon as she'd said the creatures name Silo crouched and ruffled Carpet's strands gently, an unspoken 'I'm sorry' in her touch. He was right, she conceded. Something had to be done about Deez, a problem she'd tackle as soon as she returned to Ship. She new a scan of her memory bank would prove she hadn't imagined the look of hate she'd seen in Deez's eyes after all.

Unbeknownst to either of them Deez, seething with hatred lurked in the shadows. He'd heard every word the two had shared, and then some.

Edit by request

[edit on 13/6/10 by masqua]

While nenothtu was being dragged along, the board he was strapped to 'bumped'. He would have assumed that it was in crossing a threshold, but he didn't get the chance to make assumptions. The bump sent him off into the blackness and mists again.

After some indeterminate amount of time, neno came back to the surface again. He slightly opened an eye, to look around and take stock. What he saw chilled him. Studious was nowhere in his sight, but others were.

The dead NI team that Asher had decimated was there. Great. More dead folks. Nenothtu had a backlog of dead people behind him who, it appeared, were lining up to bust his chops. First Margot, now these. The one called Ackerman was looking straight at neno, and had no doubt noticed his open eyes. Nenothtu HAD to say something.

He managed to croak out "Is this gonna happen every triple-goddess damned time that I think I'm conscious? You dead folks are just gonna have to line up and wait your turns. You've got forever to give me grief. I..." and then he faded out, just as it appeared Ackerman was about to say something. Back inside his own head again, nenothtu mused to himself that he thought going crazy would be more fun than this.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sometime later, neno, playing over the encounter with Margot in his head again, tried to piece together just what it was she had been getting at. One thing he had come to understand (sort of) was the 'timeless' quality of the state he was in that she had alluded to. Here, he had no way of gaging the passage of time. It might have been an instant, it might have been eons.

What else had she said? Something about 'fields' and the 'universe', and the ability to project instantaneous thought across the one by using the other. Penelope thought him dead, he was sure of that. The fact that Studious of all people had been the one to rescue him pretty much confirmed that for him. He could stay gone forever, and no one would know - they would all just assume. Maybe put up a shiny plaque on a wall somewhere marking the fact that he had ever existed, and that would be the end of that.

nenothtu really had nothing to lose by playing with the concepts Margot had outlined. He might not gain anything, but he sure as heck couldn't lose anything, either. What was it she'd said? Something about injecting thought into fields, and it going all the way across the 'verse instantaneously. She hadn't said anything about how to address the envelope so that the thought got where it was supposed to.

He had time... until the next time the universe chose to jerk him out of the 'tween, that is. He was already there, in the 'tween, so all he could think to do was imagine Penelope's bridge. With any luck, he figured, he could give acting Captain Prof-Rabbit a nagging notion to keep looking for him.

Neno had no idea of the changes that had been wrought in him, nor the power they had. If he HAD had any idea, he would no doubt have scoffed at them. Margot was right about one thing she'd said - if he couldn't eat it, kill it, or whatever, it just didn't exist in his world. Neno was about to get educated, and wouldn't even know it.

When he started to imagine the Penelope bridge, an image of it started to resolve around him. It looked to be there, but had a translucent quality - one often found in dreams, but not in the real world. Something wasn't right on the bridge he saw in his mind. There was Lt. James, at the security station. That's what he would have expected in his absence. Neno was insufferably proud of that boy, and never could figure out why the kid always seemed to look up to him. Freddy had far surpassed nenothtu, as far as neno was concerned. The kid was able to listen and learn from neno's own mistakes, and as far as he knew had never repeated a one of them. Yeah, he was proud of that boy, but dads often are, for no discernible reason but some inscrutable ones of their own.

No, the problem with the bridge he'd imagined into being wasn't Lt James at the console - it was Captain Luder in the captain's chair. Wasn't Luder, in company with Teresa, off on some super-secret junket or something? Try as he might, he couldn't erase Luder from the image and replace him with Prof-Rabbit. well, he'd just deliver the message to Luder. Then neno recalled something Margot had said to tell Luder. He thought he'd begin with that cryptic thought.

"Captain Luder" he began, imagining that he had spoken. "Teresa said to tell you 'it ain't over 'till the fat lady sings, bucko'." Nenothtu didn't know that Teresa was dead, only that Margot had said to deliver the message.

When he spoke, several heads on the bridge snapped towards him. Why is that, he wondered? can they all hear me thinkin'? Lt. James in particular had wide eyes, and was rapidly turning pale. No matter, nenothtu thought. This is MY dream. It can't bother Freddy for real. He tried to continue. "I think I'm a goner, Cap, but keep looking for me. Studious has..." and the bridge faded out, as if all the energy in it had been drained away. It dissolved, as if in a dream. Just before it did, neno saw the pale form of his boy Freddy hit the floor like water poured out of a glass. That concerned him. It wasn't Lt. James he saw hit the floor, it was his son Freddy. Same guy, different perception.

And then nenothtu was back inside his own head, alone again, and feeling mighty drained. His breathing was shallow, and his heart rate dropping. Neno had no way of knowing what his projection had done. Everyone on Penelope's bridge had just seen his 'ghost'.


[edit on 2010/6/14 by nenothtu]

Who else, nenothtu mused in the timeless state in which he found himself more or less trapped. He peered through the misty dark, but saw no 'visitors'. That, to his mind, was a GOOD thing. He was just about fed up with running into ghosts. He seemed to have recovered some of the reserve energy he had expended in his last mental excursion.

Who else indeed. With Earth having been decimated, there would be no help coming from that quarter. Most of his friends and comrades from past campaigns were dead now. He'd never gotten close enough to any aliens that would cause them to come looking for him on a whim.

Aliens! CLOSE aliens! The Yydryl. Those were the closest aliens he could think of, space wise. The inhabitants of the planet below had been engaged in their own little spats amongst themselves the last he had heard, and would hardly have reason to come looking for a stranger, and an alien to their world. They couldn't even get along together amongst their own.

The Yydryl crew it was, then. Which? The blue lady, Cim, had seemed to develop a rapport of sorts with neno. The problem there was that she seemed a gentle sort, not prone to the fits of violence that may prove necessary to extract him from his current dilemma. Further, she seemed rather aloof, above most day to day entanglements, and may not have been amenable to the notion of traipsing about the universe looking to spring his raggedy ass. He simply didn't know, hadn't really been around her enough to gauge her. She had, without doubt, exuded a certain aura of power, something neno tended to notice in those with whom he came in contact when it was present, but he was just not sure that she could be convinced to bring any such power to bear in his current situation. Chumley? No, While undoubtedly strong enough, and prone to use of the violence required, neno was certain that Chumley would as soon watch him be eaten by nanobots as to help him out.

That left SILO and Deson. Deson was a courtly sort, who neno thought sure would appreciate the chivalrous nature of a rescue operation, but he tended to not pay much attention to anything not a direct threat to the Yydryl or her crew. Neno could appreciate that, since he felt much the same about Penelope, and realized that the perpetually busy Deson would likely not be lured away from his duties for a possible wild goose chase, just over a thought planted in his head. That sort of took Deson out of the running.

SILO.

The cute but frail looking little alien, the one with the purple hair, had an indefinable 'something' about her. She seemed completely devoted to the entire 'world' she had brought to be in the center of Yydryl, but also seemed to not have any barriers against going off on side missions when she thought the situation warranted it. To her credit, that 'warrant' seemed not to be evaluated in just the same way as anyone nenothtu had ever met. Further,according to the reports of the Yydryl incursion which led to the deaths of the NI crew (the same crew that was currently plaguing him whenever he came out of the 'tween into the 'real' world), Silo had met with, and interacted with Studious. He wouldn't be completely unfamiliar to her. Maybe Silo was the one. There were really too many unknowns in the equation, but Silo seemed his best bet among the alien crew of the Yydryl. Besides, Margot had instructed him to give a message to Silo. Two birds with one mission.

How to go about it? With the Penelope, he had assumed that the bridge would be the most likely place to find his target. Aboard Yydryl, however, he had no idea just which part of the ship would contain Silo at any given instant. Rather than imagining some WHERE, nenothtu decided it might be better to imagine some ONE, in this case, Silo. He brought her features to mind, and started concentrating on them. As he did so, not only Silo materialized in his head, but as well an entire room came into being around her, a room he had not seen in the Yydryl while he had been there - or at least not one he recognized. When everything had solidified into that translucent ghostly presence evident in these situations, neno spoke, trying to implant thoughts in her head.

"Silo" he said. At his mention of her name, her face shot straight towards him, with an apparent measure of alarm. Could she actually HEAR him, instead of just his thoughts? "Silo, I've been told to give you a message. it was 'Tell the alien SILO aboard Yydryl that 'forever never ends, no matter how brief, and new life doesn't replace old, it just makes you that much richer'. I have no idea what that means, but it's your message, not mine. Also, I need help." Strangely, a pair of what he at first thought were antennae started growing out of her hair, and eyes opened at the end of them. Eyestalks, he thought. How strange. I don't remember any 'eyestalks' on Silo. There seemed to ALWAYS be some sort of discrepancy in these imaginary worlds of his. Probably just meant he was crazier than he thought, these little off the wall details his mind kept making up. First Luder on the Penelope bridge, when he knew damned well Luder wasn't there, now this. Always a little something 'off'. The eyes at the end of the stalks regarded him with some degree of trepidation, as if they were double checking on what her facial eyes were seeing.

Nonplussed by the discrepancy, nenothtu began again. "Silo. I need help. Your old buddy Studious has captured me, and I need to get out of here, so I can get back to work. Please get word out, or something. there's other... unusual... things going on here, and I need to get away. Any sort of he..." and the image dissolved, leaving neno back in the 'tween again, feeling even more drained than before. Just before fading out, neno had caught a 'feeling' of an inimical 'presence' somewhere close to Silo. He hadn't had time to give her a warning, though.

His heart rate had dropped to 30, or one beat every 2 seconds. His breathing had become so shallow as to be nearly imperceptible. The effort, while kept open a bit longer than last time, had left him so exhausted that he never even realized that his 'ghost' had appeared to Silo.

Neno had no way of knowing that everyone already thought he was dead, and these events might just strengthen that notion, instead of causing a rescue mission to be mounted.

Appearances can be deceiving. To the other people on the NI dropship, it appeared that Lieutenant Commander nenothtu was fading right out of life, and an NI dropship didn't have the sort of medical facilities to reverse that. They knew, without a doubt, who would get the blame if nenothtu died in their custody, right or wrong.

"That didn't go so well, eh?" Margot said.

"Whaddaya mean?" neno said , puzzled.

"Well, now every body KNOWS you're dead. They've all seen your 'ghost'. You scared the bejesus out of those poor people."

Nenothtu started to speak, but Margot cut him off with an upraised hand and slight turn of her head.

"I'm glad you didn't contact that Blue Woman. I SAW the way you looked at her when you thought no one was looking, you lecherous old goat!" Margot fumed.

"Tsk, tsk, Margot. Jealousy is SO unbecoming in a DEAD woman. Besides, looking is free, it's touching that'll cost ya! If I'd EVER tried to lay a hand on her, she might have disassembled me into microscopic molecular units or something."

"You... you.... you're INCORRIGIBLE!" she spat out.

"So don't encourage me." neno replied smugly.

"Not 'encourageable', you dolt! 'incorrigible'.... AHHH nevermind! I'm NOT DEAD, you jackass! I've already explained that to you!"

"Yes you are. I've been to your grave on Travis' Rift, and I've already explained THAT to YOU!" neno shot right back.

"Again, I've already explained it to YOU, neno honey. If you live long enough, maybe you'll eventually realize that we NEVER 'die'." Margot was beginning to sound exasperated.

"That's a paradox, Margot. 'If I live long enough' and 'I'll never die' are contradictory." nenothtu replied condescendingly.

Not to be outdone, Margot said "No it isn't. I said 'maybe you'll realize'. 'Realization' is predicated on your intelligence, your ABILITY to learn. I'm doubting that just now, and not for the first time. I think you could live forever, and STILL be blissfully ignorant."

Considering that, neno said "Educate me then, Old Wise One."

Margot bristled. "Watch that 'old' stuff, mister!" Then, realizing he'd done it just to get her goat, she softened a bit, so as not to give him that satisfaction. "Alright, I WILL teach you something. Rather than flitting about the universe, scaring hell out of everybody you meet, don't you think it would have been more beneficial to get your carcass OUT of here, instead of just your 'ghost'?"

"Well, YEAH! That's what I was trying to do!"

"No you weren't. You were trying to tell them you're a prisoner. Just having them know that doesn't get you anywhere. You should be trying to escape. It would be SO easy... even a neanderthal like you could get it done."

"uh huh. And how's THAT, Margot? You might not have noticed, but I'm a bit under the weather at the moment, having got myself all blown up and everything. Further, I'm strapped to a board, and surrounded by enemy. CLOSELY surrounded, I might add. Beyond them is space, the VACCUUM of space. Hard to breathe there, while you're trying to run through it. How do you 'spect I could get myself out of this?"

"Well the blue trinket the Blue Woman gave you, of course!" was all Margot said, as if everything else was self-evident.

Neno, frustrated, said "The blue trinket? How would you think that could help me? Are you saying Studious and company could be bribed by trading it to them for freedom?"

"No, no, NO!" Margot replied. "That blue bauble is TUNED to YOU. I dunno how, I just know it is. I suspect it's a homing beacon of some sort, but it'll work both ways. Remember, the Blue Woman told you she needed to be able to recognize you when she gave it to you? It tells where YOU are, but you will also be wherever IT is. You should teleport and get out of here." she finished up, as if THAT explained everything.

"Tele-WHO? Margot, you sound like some 300 year old space opera. Penelope doesn't have any 'teleporters'. We just don't have that sort of sci-fi technology."

Not YOU, hon, not YOU. Teleport the trinket - you follow wherever IT goes."

"Uh huh. I'll bet if I check my pockets, I won't find any handy-dandy portable 'teleporter'. Oh, that's right, I can't check my pockets anyhow - I'M STRAPPED DOWN!".

Losing her patience, Margot wailed "What have I been telling you? Mass - energy - field - universe - same everywhere - you know, I DON'T think you can learn anything! YOU teleport the trinket, because I seriously doubt you could muster the energy to teleport yourself, and THE TRINKET provides what it takes to drag you along! Simple, huh? You do what you want, neno. I'm outta here before you make my head explode!" and poof, she was gone.

Neno considered it for a few moments, and decided he had nothing to lose by trying. He was still in the 'tween, the only place he could apparently make much of anything happen. He decided that in his weakened state, he was probably going to die, anyhow, and if he was going to die, he wanted to do it on Earth. The problem was, Earth was no more, as far as he knew. The next best thing was Ship's Center aboard the Yydryl. He'd aim for that, so he could die amongst 'his' patch of forest, so reminiscent of Earth.

He concentrated on the blue bauble, imagining it among the trees, and tightened his concentration on it. Intensifying his concentration with as much energy as he could muster, he was surprised when everything turned into a brilliant, blinding flash. He wasn't surprised long, however. The effort caused him to fall so deeply unconscious that he wasn't even aware of the 'tween any more. He had no idea of what had transpired on the dropship, either. No lightning, no thunder, no fanfare. One moment his physical body was strapped to the board Studious had 'rescued' him on, and the next instant it simply wasn't there. The straps collapsed on the nothingness, just pinning his uniform, and every thing with it, to the board. Nenothtu's body was no longer there.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Specificity is everything in programming. Nenothtu hadn't been specific enough in just imagining a forest. The trinket, in running through potential destinations (for it WAS a 'transport' device of sorts, as surmised), had settled on a different forest destination in the quanta that it accessed. Unfortunately for neno, that forest WASN'T aboard Yydryl, and neno had no way of knowing that, or where, or WHEN he had arrived.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gradually, nenothtu became aware of a light, warm breeze blowing over him. 'damn clunky air recirculator's on the fritz again - too much moisture in the mixture' his addled brain brought to the surface, before full consciousness hit him. He snatched in a sharp breath, and started testing each individual limb and appendage for damage before trying to move. It hurt, Great Thor's hammer it hurt! But nothing seemed to be broken or detached. Ever so slowly, he pried open bleary eyes, to take stock of his surroundings before moving, and possibly giving himself away. Green greeted his view. An absolute riot of green. Far above, through the tops of what appeared to be a double canopy forest, he caught a flash of oddly colored sky in a gap in the tops of the huge trees. Ever so slowly, he rotated first his eyes, and then his head, from side to side.

Something like a jungle. Thick growth, and an explanation for the warm, wet, gentle breeze. he was in a double canopy tropical forest. "Looks like it mighta worked" he croaked out. His throat was parched. Had to find some water. Still the breeze stirred.

Gathering his legs under him, nenothtu slowly and somewhat unsteadily clambered to his feet. Bits of leaf mold and organic matter fell off of his skin as he stood.

His buck naked skin.

Gaining his feet, he looked down and surveyed the damage. 'Nekkid as a jaybird' he mused, just like the day he was born. "Hmmph. Thought I felt a breeze!" he exclaimed to the forest at large, and no one in particular. Evidently specificity IS paramount in programming. The trinket had transported him, but not his uniform... nor ANY of his equipment. Nenothtu was stranded again, without so much as a pocket knife this time. "Don't matter" he mumbled to himself "ain't got a pocket to keep one in no how". and he set out to find some water.

Feeling something rhythmically thumping against his chest as he walked, he looked down and noticed the trinket Cim had given him. It wasn't glowing any more. Picking it up to study it, neno noticed that it was predominately blue, with translucent whitish swirls, and green, brown, and yellow blotches. Studying it more closely, it dawned on neno that what he was holding was a miniature, marble-sized globe on a silver chain.

A globe of the Earth, as it was before the destruction wrought by the Buzzards.

"Imagine that" he commented as he let it drop back to continue thumping against his chest as he moved through the forest. "I reckon I ain't nekkid after all!" he mused "but this just ain't dignified. Nossir, it ain't dignified at all". With that running commentary on his near nakedness that would pass for complete nakedness in any place but this, he strode off into the forest, in as dignified a manner as he could muster, all things considered.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/5d80046ed41f.jpg[/atsimg]

'Hmmm' thought the shivering creature hanging
from The Tree Of Woes, the figure walking west
was naked.
Boy In A Dress, or to the four Clansmen that
had strapped his arms to the boughs of this damned
tree had known him... BIAD, craned his neck to watch
the man fade off into the greenery.

The shadows lengthened east and BIAD wondered
when the Night Tarns would venture out, he was
easy prey hanging here and the wrist bindings didn't
give any impression of yielding.

BIAD looked up to the purple sky and the odd pinprick
of a star twinkled back at him. Somewhere out there,
he guessed a craft of some sort may have deposited
the stranger and BIAD's smile twinkled back at the
stars from the gloom... there was a way of this cursed
ball.

The binding on the left wrist loosened about ten
minutes later and BIAD sighed as his reddened wrist
slipped from the bondage. After both arms were free
and his ragged short red dress was straightened,
"heaven forbid..." the voice of his creator said in BIAD's
head "... always, always keep your decency" -he made his
way carefully down the gnarled trunk.
As his strange eyeless face panned the forest floor below
him, the two even rows of teeth in his smile shone brighter
as he saw the severed ear of that foul-smelling Clansman
they called Viric, laid in the undergrowth.

BAID grimaced as his high-heeled feet landed on the
soft marshy ground.
A strange wailing cry came from far off to his left
and BIAD knew the Night Tarns were cruising for an
early supper. "Time to get back in the game" BIAD hissed
and set off along the track that the naked man had made.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/5d80046ed41f.jpg[/atsimg]
It was around half an hour later when BIAD saw
the glow from a camp fire. BIAD guessed it didn't
belong to the naked man... (he kept hearing the words
'nekked as a Jaybird' in his head, for some reason)
... the man was travelling in the wrong direction.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/c464b9b933b2.jpg[/atsimg]

The night sounds chittered and wailed as this
man/girl crept through a grove of fern-like plants
and BIAD felt the little fronds grabbing for his flesh.
"Later, my darlings" he whispered to the waving
leaves and scrubbed his chin, his whiskers were near
again.

The track of the naked man seemed to meander and BIAD
pondered whether the stranger was lost, a plan was
already forming in that permo-wig wrapped head... he wanted
to leave this planet now, while the Clansmen thought he was
dead.
BIAD pressed on.

He mused as he followed the spoor, his thoughts returning
to that day when the Creator had turned him out into the world.
"I have great faith in you..." the worryingly thin old man had
coughed "...you're going to do fine"
BIAD had smiled and his nervous hands had smoothed his new
red dress, the only thing he had ever owned of his own.

"You're going to find rockets and spaceships... technologies
that will astound and bewilder you, but don't forget, my dear
BIAD..." that wracking cough had returned and BIAD had placed
a long red finger-nailed hand on the bony shoulder, "... it's your
heart that will conquer all"
The old man had sagged then and without looking up, he had
shooed BIAD away, the last act of the nearest thing BIAD had to
a father.

The world had looked big to this enigmatic creature, but hearing
his Creator's words... BAID had stepped forward.

A twig snapped up ahead and BIAD's broad grin tightened...
someone was close.

[edit on 20-6-2010 by A boy in a dress]

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/5d80046ed41f.jpg[/atsimg]

The shadow ahead of him was searching for water, BIAD had
realised this due to the way the man was constantly seeking
low ground.
The night slithered further into the forest and the darkness
wrapped them both in it's velvet cloak.
The camp fire was far behind BIAD now and only the faint
glow of one of the moon attempted to make his path easier to see.
BIAD didn't use eyes... but that's another tale for another time

A light rushing sound reached BIAD's ears and he guessed the
man's pace would quicken. The noise of breaking foliage confirmed
BIAD's guess and the naked man charged out of sight.

About 50 yards... BIAD knew nobody used that sort of measurement
anymore... the glittering water rushed over smooth rocks and he
sensed the man quenching his thirst down near the boulder that
looked like a quilib root.
BIAD hunkered behind a mossy log and watched the stranger
take on water. BIAD's tongue fluttered across his lips, but he
knew that his body would go weeks without a drop of the life-saving
liquid, his Creator had seen to that.

There seemed to be a dull glow from the man's chest area and
BAID got down on all fours to creep closer. Was it a machine to
contact the spaceship...? was it one of those things that made
you disappear and reappear somewhere else...?
The latter he had heard about back in the Triton Prison, where he'd
spent four years and even then, BIAD had doubted such a device
existed.

The fern-things preened for BIAD's attention, but his focus was
on the man soaking his head in the stream.
BIAD watched and waited.



[edit on 21-6-2010 by A boy in a dress]

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/5d80046ed41f.jpg[/atsimg]

"I heard that the contraptions can take you all the way back
to Earth" Jenson snorted and patted his huge bodyguard
on the back.
The mountain that served Jenson shuddered and it's head
moved slowly to check the surroundings. Jenson eyed BIAD's
unbelieving face.
Triton Prison held some of the last of the worst sort in this sector
of the galaxy and it was only by poor administration, that BIAD
had been incarcerated here.

The white-haired man with the many-ringed fingers carried on
with his information sharing and BIAD wondered when Jenson
would cotton on that he wasn't interested.
"It's about as big as the stone in my ring..." Jenson said and uncurled
his forefinger, there a faceted crystal sparkled in the noon sun,
"... except the thing is blue"
Jenson nodded as if this was the most important part of his tale and
BIAD's face remained stony.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/5c55469f0e6a.jpg[/atsimg]

The man was now bathing in the rushing water and BIAD had
moved back a few paces into the undergrowth to rest his aching body.
The memories had come then, the talk of the blue magic stone, the
fight with Jenson's henchman and the finale, where BIAD escaped
the damned place in the back of a Maintenance droid.

The night called for more stars and BIAD wondered which part of
the sky -home was, he missed his Creator.
The celestial jewels glittered and the moon seemed to have a greenish tinge across it's pock-marked surface tonight, BIAD's heart soared among the heavens.

BIAD watched as the man attempted to dry himself with the moss-like
substance that lay near the stream. It took all of BAID's will not to burst
out laughing, as the 'moss' ran away from the man's searching hands.
Jin-moss didn't like to be handled.

A sudden vision of Jenson flashed across BIAD's mind and the decision
was made then... he must have that transporting bauble.

[edit on 21-6-2010 by A boy in a dress]

'So, you're ready to go then Silo?' Carpet called from where he waited outside her quarters.
He'd stepped out to give her a moment of privacy, though he hadn't moved far from her doorstep.

'Sure, I'm about ready. And you might as well come back in, I know you've been out there the whole time.' She groused around the lump in her throat.

'Yeah, a long ten minutes that' He tried, and failed at levity as the door opened and he entered.

Silo took a moment to marvel anew at her friend Carpet as he crossed the room.
The rug beneath her feet - without Carpet's 'essence' - was just that, a rug, a soulless strands of bio weave. But as Carpet entered, the fibers took on life, gently waving like in a soft wind, the drab white glowing in a color without name, ever changing, icy clear as a diamond, muted and warm as an opal.

'So, you'll be heading out soon?' He asked again, feeling ill at ease. He'd wanted to hear her laugh as she was wont to when she was nervous. He felt even sadder when she did not. She just sat there on the edge of her bed watching his approach, shoulders slumped against the straps of her backpack, one of CindyMars teleport tabs playing back and forth between her fingers. Head lowered now, eye-stalks drooping over her brow - the picture of misery she presented nearly tore his heart in two.

'Aww come on Silo, cheer up. You wont be gone that long...' His stopped the weak arguments before they got started. Trying to make light of her leaving Ship in this way tipped support to insult.

'Carpet, I...' Her voice hitched in sadness, 'I know it's silly but, I just don't want to go...' Shrugging out of her backpack she slid to the floor, her arms spread wide fingers digging into his weave. Tears falling freely, Silo began to weep.

Crooning nonsensical whispers against her cheek Carpet wrapped himself around her as best he could and let her cry, his guilt growing as she cried harder.
How could this suffering of hers make him feel so good?
Holding her, comforting her made him whole, his soul expanding until he thought he'd burst with the wonder of it. Strong, ahhhh but she made him feel strong, and needed, like he could carry the weight of all her fears on his...shoulders.

Pain shot through him like fire from a white hot brand pressed over a barely healed scar.
Cursing himself to hell, Carpet cursed again at the Creator who bound him to love someone he could never hold.
Shaking with the raw agony of it Carpet pulled away from her ever so slightly giving him that one tiny bit of distance he needed to remain in command of his anger.

As Silo quieted Carpet initiated a bio-scan. Her heart hurt, but she was physically fine. Further scanning proved the baby was fine also.
Oblivious to his personal pain Silo chuckled, broke contact with Carpet and rose to her knees.
'Hey, a new use for your bio-scan. It stops me from feeling sorry for myself." She laughed and cleared her aching throat, wiped her face with the back of her hand and laughed at herself again.
'Nothing wrong with a good cry...' Carpet started but she waved him away, subject closed.

Eyes still bright with unshed tears caught a burst of light from her view screen, drawing her attention to the farthest part of the room.
The image snapped open with an electric 'pop' to reveal Deson's tapping against the display in his lab to get her attention.

'Silo... Siloooooo you there?' His fingers beat another impatient tattoo.
Leaning into the viewer his long horsey-face appeared even longer giving him a comical look he'd never knowingly portray.

'View on!' Silo commanded, opening the console on her end to allow Deson a look into her quarters and giving her face another quick wipe of her palms Silo stepped into his view.

'I'm here Deson, I was just about to leave, what's up?' She waved and spoke loudly.

'Silo! There you are! Deson backed up, his face pulling away from the camera, big square white teeth shining in a wide grin.
'Silo ol' girl! I've got good news. Is Carpet there with you?' Deson asked, knowing the answer but as always treating Carpet with the same respect he would give any other shipmate.

'Here Deson.' Carpet replied, 'What's the good news?'

'Good news? Ahhh Carpet, it's great news! Why yes, great news!' Deson manually adjusted his controls, Silo's monitor changed to split screen, one half a vision of Deson and his lab, the other half showing...'

'Deson... Where is that? It's beautiful.' Silo knew she was looking deep into Ship's Center but she didn't recognize the exact location. Tall pines surrounding a crystal clear lake adorned with a tiered fountain shooting plumes of water high into the sky. It was beautiful.

'Patience young Silo, patience...' Giving her another wide toothy grin Deson dipped his face closer to the lens and snorted.

Silo hadn't seem him this excited since he and Chumley blew up a scraped fighter with a single blast from a laser hand cannon.

'Mistress Silo, Sir Carpet, if you two would do me the kindness of directing your attention to the screen on your right, you'll have your questions answered in a jiffy!'

'A 'jiffy?' Silo dropped the word to Carpet from the corner of her barely open lips like an amateur ventriloquist.

'I heard that Silo!' Deson laughed good naturedly sticking one eye to his viewer. On Silo's display his eye grew to the size of Chumley's diner plate.

Feeling the heat rush into her cheeks Silo covered them with her hands and smiled sheepishly.

'Stop blushing Silo!' Deson laughed again. 'What we need ma dear is COLD in your cheeks! Not hot ma dear, but COLD!"

With a flourish Deson's arms raised to wave like a magician's then dropped below their line of sight. The pop of keys being punched told them his fingers were busy at his keyboard.

Her attention riveted on the scene of the mountain lake Silo felt frustrated not knowing what she was supposed to be seeing, until...

'Deson! NO!' Silo jumped closer to the screen, her mouth hanging open, her second eyes having risen to their pinnacle, unabashed surprise keeping their stems rigid.

'DESON! NOOOOO! It's a miracle!' Silo screamed again, turning Carpet nearly apoplectic until he realized she screamed in joy.

'Yes Silo.' Deson replied, his voice deepened, overcome with emotion.
'Yes Silo you're safe. Ship is safe. The excess water is being diverted by the millions of gallons as we speak. My work is done here.' Deson stood back from the camera pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, wiped his face, dabbed at his eyes and closed Silo's view of himself and his lab.

The half view showing the lake snapped to full screen, Silo leaned forward, hands flat against the display, her eyes wide and filling with new tears.

'WHAT!' Carpet yelled, still not sure what this 'miracle' was until the view went to full and he too could witness the event from his vantage point.
Taking in the 'miracle' Carpet whispered in awe, his voice choked.

'Why Silo... It's breathtaking.'

'It's snow Carpet. Snow.'

[edit on 21-6-2010 by silo13]

'Come on you two slow pokes!' Deson's voice boomed from outside Silo's quarters, 'Get yourselves to the Swamp presto! This calls for a celebration!'

'Were coming, we're coming!' Silo called back while finishing changing into her ceremonial uniform, but Deson had already gone ahead.

Moments later following hard on his heels Silo and Carpet startled in encountering President Bransom exiting Chumley's chambers, a look of surprise clearly written across her face at being caught.

'Why hello Silo! You... You just missed Deson.' She explained nervously. 'How very nice to see you, right here IN THE HALL.' Bransom's voice rose to a loud falsetto directed at whoever was still in the room more than for greeting Silo.
Chumley plowing through the door bumped into the pair saving Silo from having to respond by grabbing her around the waist to toss her high in the air in happiness to see her.

'Hey you big lug, put her down!' Carpet bellowed, causing Chumley to look sheepish, placing Silo on her feet as gently as if he'd break her.
'Oh don't listen to him Chumley,' Silo scoffed throwing herself into the Regallians arms for a hug, while simultaneously digging her heel into Carpet who gave a yelp.

'We're happy to see you.' Chumley grinned from Silo to Bransom and back again.
'I'm glad to see you too Chumley. I've missed you.' Silo meant it but wondered at his use of 'we' and stepped back to examine the larger of the two creatures.
There was something different about Chumley, and definitely something different about Bransom, but for the life of her she couldn't' pinpoint what it was.

'Look, um Chumley, we're on the way to the Swamp, to um, have a meeting, sooo, you coming with us Chumley?' Silo glared pointedly at the big Regellian hoping he'd take the hint and leave Bransom behind.
'We go too!' He replied a huge grin creasing his face, quite oblivious to Silo's exclusion of Bransom.
The light that shining from Bransom's eyes when Chumley included her in their party made Silo feel like a heel.
Silo promised herself she'd make it up to Bransom somehow.

~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~

In the Swamp Deson's 'snow' triumph turned impromptu homecoming victory for Chumley, Ship announcing Chumley's elevation to First Security Officer. Ship's then generously issued an invitation to a blushing President Bransom to join the Yydryl as a honorary crew member followed by the company applauding and cheering with joy. The crew of the Yydryl were glad to be alive.

One arm draped over Chumley's shoulders Deson seemed to honestly enjoy sharing his own victory with the pilot who's enthusiastic recounting of the perils of his first air battle was a site to see.
Tentacles flailing, spittle flying, his face bright with pride and adding furtive glances at Bransom, his cheeks warming when she returned his gaze adoringly, Chumley had come into his own.
Deson glad to be out of spit range overlooked the pairs byplay but didn't miss a word of the comments Chumley and President Bransom made concerning the 'flyability' and 'fightability' of the Deson Fighters.

Congratulations and back slapping complete, war stories recounted thrice over Ship spoke up, asking for their attention her small speech in recognition for those who'd put their life on the line to keep her safe, to keep them all safe were spoken with deep sincerity and great thanks.

'If it wasn't for...' Ship paused to regain her composure. 'If it wasn't for you all...' Her voice cracked and the room sobered remembering where they would all be if victory hadn't been theirs over the 'Buzzards', if her water problem has not been solved.
'Look, you know what I'm trying to say so I'll leave it at that. If I don't stop talking I'll start crying and poor Deson will have to come up with another miracle, so, thank you, all of you!' She ended, a smatter of clapping and cheers once again rounded the room.

Chumley gave Deson a quick hug, Deson backing away arms raised in the air as if to ward off the exchange, but making quite a show out of wiping his eyes after Silo gave them both he and Chumley a peck on the cheek.
Moving to Bransom Silo offered her hand, then leaned forward and placed a kiss on the Presidents cheek also, less making up for her past callousness than in real thanks.
Bransom thanked Silo softly, with a true measure of kind regard.

Moving into their chairs circling table, pretzels at hand, jugs of beer within easy reach the group settled in to watch the snow.
Deson standing off to the side, a fetlock cocked under a hind leg relaxing in his own way, a working droid played pony from the bar to a side table keeping Deson's goblet full with wine, his snack bowl on a side bar at his elbow brimming with the salty chips.

Only Deez, hiding out of sight chewing his fingernails to bloody stumps was discontent. But he promised himself, he would not be for long.

~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~

The pale pink light of dawn barely peaking over the horizon, sparkling off powdery virgin snow brought morning, Center time, to the Yydryl and crew.

Chumley slumped in his chair snoring softly roused when Bransom touched his arm.
Rising to deliver a quick slap to Deson's back and a peck to Silo's forehead Chumley left the Swamp close on Bransom's heels.
Silo called out of a light slumber where she'd been curled up in the corner with Carpet could only look at the retreating couple, stunned.

'Don't ask' Were the last words Chumley called out after 'Goodnight' as he made his way down the hall, the giggle from Bransom something warm and feminine so unlike the grating giddy tone she'd used when she first came aboard the Yydryl.
Deson, following Bransom with his eyes, smiled a knowing smile, a finger to his lips silencing the wicked laughter bubbling up in Silo's throat, his large lipid expression commanding her to have a care.
Once more Silo found herself wanting to apologize to Bransom.

'Silo, I'm going to escort Deson back to the Armory. It's the least I can do for the Hero.' Carpet sounded groggy but determined.

'No need for that ma boy. No need.' Deson preened under the compliment, 'Just doing my duty and keeping our girl here aboard where she belongs.' Stumbling forward Deson caught one of her hands between his own and held it warmly.

'Silo, ol girl, goodnight ma dear, goodnight. And sweet dreams.' Deson, more than a little tipsy leaned closer to give her a hug but catching himself pulled back to drop a deep bow nearly knocking over a chair Carpet grasped to keep from falling.

'Damned cramped quarters these, don't ya know.' Deson grumbled and chuckled, 'Good man Carpet. Good man.' He snorted, releasing Silo's hand to follow the path Carpet cut for him towards the armory and his private quarters.

Watching them go Silo reflected on the night, one that would have been perfect had only CindyMars not been absent.
Thinking on her missing friend, wondering where she was Silo went to her quarters, lay on the corner of her bed and watched the snowflakes drift to the ground, so peaceful and serene.

~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~

'Silo..'

'Mmm Hmmm, ' She responded without opening her eyes wondering how long she'd been asleep waiting for Carpet.

"Silo" he said.

Eyes popping open in alarm Silo slowly rose to her feet, blinked, continued to blink some more while reaching out blindly for her knife pouch that had fallen to the floor.

Someone was there, in her room, right in front of her, and it wasn't Carpet.

Closer inspection revealed it wasn't a person either, but more an apparition, translucent and faintly shimmering.
Her hands stilled in their search for her knives when she recognized who the vision belonged to.
The Neno, of the SS Penelope.
Clearly the apparition bore his features, his build, and there was no mistaking it was his voice that called to her.
Just before she said his name, the Neno spoke again.

"Silo, I've been told to give you a message. It was, 'Tell the alien SILO aboard Yydryl that 'forever never ends, no matter how brief, and new life doesn't replace old, it just makes you that much richer'.

He paused, his face contorted before he continued.

Silo, I have no idea what that means, but it's your message, not mine. Also, I need help."

At his mention of needing help, concern overcame instinct and Silo let her secondary eyes travel up their stalks to peer at the Neno in worry. She was relieved the human didn't flinch as her eye-stalks stretched forward to examine him closer and as much as she didn't want to get involved with humans' again, in any capacity, Silo knew she'd no choice but to help him. It was who and what she was.

"Silo. Your old buddy Studious has captured me, and I need to get out of here, so I can get back to work. Please get word out, or something. There's other... unusual... things going on here, and I need to get away. Any sort of he..."

'Sir? What was that Sir?' She called as his apparition wavered, then disappeared leaving nothing behind but questions and alarm.

'Silo? You alone in there?' Carpet called from outside her quarters.

'Carpet, I think you better get in here' Silo replied in one breath and in the next commanded her central door to open allowing Carpet entry.

'What's going on? Was there someone in here?' Carpet asked concerned and a little frightened by the look on her face.

'Yeah, The Neno.' She replied, one hand to her forehead the other at her neck squeezing her Green Man pendant sending an emergency signal to Ship.

'Neno? Here?' Carpet snorted in disbelief clearly thinking she'd been dreaming.

'Yes, The Neno. Here. And Carpet? He's in trouble...'


[edit on 21-6-2010 by silo13]

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/5d80046ed41f.jpg[/atsimg]

Somewhere high above BIAD, he sensed that something was
happening. The tree canopy only showed parts of the sky and
BIAD's head twisted this way and that, trying get a lock on what
it was.

The man 'sans' clothes was standing still and staring into the
darkness across the stream, BIAD knew that nothing hid there and
pondered on what this stranger was doing.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/cbff3bf2eeb3.jpg[/atsimg]

The bubbling water prevented BIAD from hearing a voice, but
he would have swore the man was moving his lips, he inched closer
to find out more.
With scrubbed knees and snagged fingernails, BIAD the man/girl
neared the naked figure and stretched his neck to pick up any sound.

"There's other... unusual... things going..." BIAD thought he heard the
words, but couldn't be sure because at that moment a Night Tarn
cried out it's victory screech that proclaimed a caught meal and
the moment was lost.

Under the long fringe, BIAD sneered and began to plot how he was
to obtain the trinket around the man's neck.
The forest looked on,

Then the snap of a young branch, maybe only the thickness of
a baby's finger, twisted as something passed it and BIAD heard
the sound... behind him.
The lupine smile remained on his face as he scrambled quietly back
to the prone rotting log and waited to see what was coming.

The days of his father... (BIAD had resorted to calling him father
in the early years)... leaving the skinny white-skinned boy/girl out
in the woods overnight were now put into practice, he made no
sound as he manoeuvred for a better look.

Steady footfalls neared the stream and with a quick glance towards
the silhouette near the silver stream, BIAD prepared his trap.

Nenothtu plodded along in the forest, trying to watch EVERYTHING, all at once, and of course failing in that endeavor. He was acutely aware of his current lack of technology, and kept an especial eye out for anything he thought might be useful as raw materials. He stopped every so often, testing a sapling here, a leaf there, looking for something to construct armaments out of.

As he pursued the individual development of technological marvels, he angled ever downward, following the lowest ground in sight, since water always travels downhill, and often collects at the bottom. Finding a stream at last, he slaked his thirst, then, when the water settled back down in the eddy pool he had drunk from, he caught his first glimpse of himself, in how long he had no way of knowing. "My garsh, I'm CAMOUFLAGED!" he exclaimed. sure enough, the beating he had taken aboard StarWolf as he was thrown around like a rag doll had left black and blue splotches all over his body, which had aged enough to be showing reddish and yellow areas.

As if the viewing had suddenly reminded him of how badly his body hurt, neno decided on the spur of the moment that a good soaking would do him good. "Might as well get the shock over with" he mumbled, and sprang from the bank into the stream. If he had any doubts as to his consciousness, the cold water dispelled them. As he splashed around like a madman in the water (and who's to say he wasn't a madman?) he became aware of a nagging feeling of being watched. Casting a wary eye around a 360 degree perimeter, he couldn't SEE anyone obviously watching, but still couldn't shake the feeling. He wanted to get something going before full dark was on, so he regretfully left the stream, feeling either refreshed or numb from the water. He couldn't tell just which it was,and didn't much care. Relief was relief. He snatched at some green patches of moss to dry off with, and was surprised - moss will run away from you on this planet! Giving up finally in what appeared to be a futile effort, he just shook himself off as a dog would do, then set off to finish drip-drying as he bent to his tasks at hand. Now that he had a source of water, the next business at hand was fire and some sort of weaponry. He looked around on the creek bank at the stones, and finally settled on one that was a bit larger than his hand, and appeared to have qualities somewhere between flint and obsidian. Finding another stone rounded by the actions of the water, and somewhat softer, he set to work systematically striking the first with the second, until he had a crude edge worked out on it.

With the makeshift axe as his new favorite toy, he looked around some more, finding a type of tree that he had noticed on his trek. It was a sapling, and growing under the forest canopy had forced it to grow relatively straight, reaching for the sunlight above. He'd noticed earlier that this particular sort of tree was both straight and tough, having a springy quality to it. Selecting one that was about 10 feet tall and something under two inches in diameter, he bent it with one hand to put the fibers under tension, and hacked away at the base of it with his "axe" held in the other hand until it came loose. He cleaned and trimmed up a section about 8 feet long, stripping the bark and small branches off of it, and painstakingly scraping a point on the end. "pointy stick and a sharp rock is better than what I showed up with" he mumbled, to himself mostly, but loud enough that hopefully the watcher would hear - and hoping that the watcher wasn't some jungle carnivore that didn't fret much about pointy sticks and sharp rocks.

In the process of stripping the bark from the tree, he discovered that it was of a fibrous nature, in keeping with the tough qualities of the wood. He picked up 3 strands that he judged to be long enough, pounded them between a couple of nearby rocks until they were softer and separating, then twisted up a short piece of 3-lay cord out of the 3 strands. Searching around until he found a tree branch that was slightly curved, he hacked it off, and tied the cord to it, forming a contraption that looked like a short bow with a too-loose string, a throughly useless looking mechanism.

Next, nenothtu found a dry and relatively straight stick, and scraped a blunt point on it, making it look for all the world like a dull arrow to go with his useless bow. A heavier piece of dry wood was used to form the last bit of his kit. he split it, cut a v-shaped notch in the side of one piece, and bored a blunt cup shape at the apex of the 'V', and another in the other piece of wood.

By this time, it was twilight. Nenothtu though he heard something rustling across the creek in the woods, and peering into the darkness over there, he mumbled "wonder where unusual... things... go to drink around here..." Just then, some sort of a banshee screech helped neno determine that that the water might not be the best place to be in these parts. Certainly no place to make a camp. That's the way it goes everywhere wild, though. Everything has to drink, and some predators have figured out that watering places are the place to be when one gets hungry.

Because of that, neno knew that watering places WEREN'T the place to be when one goes to sleep.

Nenothtu started back into the woods carrying his implements, going uphill this time, and trying to spot anything he could use for tinder in the gathering darkness. The snap of a twig off in the darkness caused him to divide his attention between tinder and other... things. It seemed like wherever he went, there were always things going bump in the night.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/5d80046ed41f.jpg[/atsimg]

The shadows had hidden the stranger and BIAD now saw two
things that he hadn't counted on. One, was that this naked man
was looking for something in the forest, the second was that this
guy had somehow got behind him.

BIAD's smile twisted, which usually meant that he was concentrating.
The fern-like plants still picked at his red dress as he sat picking at
the damp bark of the log, he was puzzled what to do next.
'How could he have gotten past him so quick?' and immediately on
the tail of that thought... 'is he looking for BIAD?' These thoughts
fluttered in BIAD's head like a trapped bird.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/5fd00d5ec61c.jpg[/atsimg]

The man/girl tilted his head dog-like and waited for anymore changes,
this wasn't going to plan.

The stranger looked painted in some way and BIAD focused on when
the figure before him, stepped into the odd ray of moonlight. There,
about the shoulders and chest, bruises had bloomed and had turned
yellow, this confusing information left BIAD more puzzled.

BIAD also saw that the man was carrying rocks, he guessed these
were to be used as weapons and BIAD survivor-skills prickled the
hair at the bottom of his wig.

Then he saw the cudgel, with deft fingers, this naked shadow had built
a weapon. BIAD bit down hard and pondered whether this had been a
bad idea, an attack now was out of the question... the guy was arming
himself as BIAD sat and watched!

Occasionally, BIAD could hear the stranger mumbling and that
usually meant one of two things... either the stranger was certain he
was alone and therefore needed the company of his own
reassuring voice or the bruised naked man knew BIAD was watching.

Any plan BIAD had been sporting about an attack and theft, leapt
away into the gloom of the forest. BIAD sat in hopelessness as the
figure built himself a rudimentary bow and arrow... the guy was now
rigged for bear, as BIAD's father used to say.

After a few more minutes passed, the guy moved off towards higher
ground, only to stop once at a night sound... BIAD, dog-like and dejected,
followed the bruise-painted man.


[edit on 22-6-2010 by A boy in a dress]