Some suggested songs:
Keep Your Head Above The Mayhem
At The Very Beginning
Primo Victoria
Bless The Child
Fortunate Son
Deja Vu (All Over Again)
One-Winged Angel
May It Be
"The long Journey" (a Shadowrun crossover with everything)
-
Khas
- Starship Captain
- Posts: 1289
- Joined: Mon Aug 31, 2015 8:28 pm
- Location: Protoss Embassy to the Federation
-
Praeothmin
- Jedi Master
- Posts: 3920
- Joined: Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:24 pm
- Location: Quebec City
Re: "The long Journey" (a Shadowrun crossover with everythi
Little action-less update, but I believe a nice filler...
Chapter 42
James woke up in a tent he didn’t recognize, nor did he remember how he had gotten there.
He looked around and noticed it was a field Hospital, like those he had seen so many times during his military service.
Even the equipment was similar to the one he was used to.
Strangely enough, he was the only occupant out of twenty possible patients.
The Mjolnir armor was in a corner of the tent, closed so it would not take up too much space, standing upright by itself.
James felt good, refreshed, and felt no pain, which meant his wounds, if he still had some, had healed enough so his Pain Compensators would be able to overcome the pain signals coming from his battered body.
He checked his nose, and felt it was back to its normal appearance, if only slightly larger than usual due to swelling.
He noticed a chart at the foot of the bed, so he took it and read it.
It mentioned he had suffered hairline fractures in three ribs, the file mentioning normal, un-augmented ribs would have cracked and most likely punctured a lung.
It also said his nose had been broken, and that his left knee had been sprained and both shoulders dislocated.
Examining himself, he could only agree with the assessment of his wounds.
He got off the bed –after making sure he was wearing shorts- and tested his body.
It responded like a well-oiled machine, proving to him that whoever had worked on him had done a great job patching him up.
As he was looking around for his underarmor, the tent flaps parted and James saw Doc come in, still in armor but with his helmet off, followed by Johnson, Hicks, Hudson and Wilson.
He noticed there were two guards outside the tent, and wondered why they were there.
“Well, well, well, looks like somebody took some time off after rescuing our sorry asses.” Johnson told James, a huge grin on his face.
James could only smile at the comment, knowing full well, having gotten a very good measure of the man during their mission together, that it was the Sergeant’s way of thanking him for saving their lives.
“Glad to see you up and about, Sir.” Hicks said, his face still a mask of stoicism.
“Daaaaayyyymmmmmnnn, Major, when they brought you in, you were so fucked up, I thought Hicks had gone and mistook you for an enemy.” An enthused Hudson said with a large smile.
“Glad to see you were only up against an actual enemy leader.”
“Shut up, Hudson!” Hicks and James said at the same time, James fully smiling and Hicks displaying what could pass as one as well.
“Man, I can never say anything around here.” Whined Hudson.
“I always have ta be the strong, silent type around you guys.” He finished, almost with a straight face.
Doc went up to James and moved as if he wanted to examine him, but the big man let him know he was fine.
“Look, Chief, I know you’re a tough guy, especially after the whoopin’ you gave to that big Elite, but you better let your Doc check you up, in case you still need some treatment.” Johnson said.
“Don’t worry, I’m fine, I checked myself up and compared what I noticed to what my file said.” James replied.
“If I needed more treatment, I’d know it.”
“You Spartans get full medical training too with the military one?” A surprised Sergeant Johnson asked.
For only a heartbeat, James hesitated, but then he remembered that he was impersonating someone else, in a reality he knew next to nothing about, except for the fact they were at war with some alien races on a Dyson Ring.
He did not know what these Spartans he was impersonating knew, or didn’t know, and so he gave the only answer he thought would fly.
“You’d be surprised what we Spartans know.” He said.
“But I can’t tell you: classified!” He finished.
As he suspected, it shut the man up, but James saw it didn’t make him happy.
“I wish I could tell you, Sergeant, but like you, I have to follow orders.” He added, and noticed the words had the expected effects, because Johnson’s expression softened up a bit, and he nodded understanding.
“Well, I know you Spartans are a top secret project, which is why I allowed only your own Medic to work on you, and why I posted those two guards outside to ensure your privacy.” Johnson said.
“Much obliged.” James replied.
“Our supervisors will appreciate your professionalism.
I’m curious though: how did we get back here?” He asked, intrigued.
“Well,” Johnson started, “When their leader kicked the bucket, they stood and saluted you both.
The limping Elite then told us you were a great warrior, and that they would respect their leader’s word ‘cause you deserved it.
They gave us back our equipment, let us call Foe Hammer, and helped us carry you and the armor back ta the clearing in the valley, and then they left.
They’re honourable folks, I’ll give’ ‘em that.”
“Speaking of calling the cavalry,” Doc piped in, “We received a message from our project supervisor a few minutes ago, and they wanted to talk to us when you were available.”
“Well then I’ll leave you guys to your secret communications, and I’ll go back ta surpervisin’ my men.” Johnson said.
“By the way, Chief,” He added as he left, “All the guys you saved wanted me ta thank you fer rescuin’ their butts, and fer kickin’ some Covenant ass.”
He faced James, saluted, and left.
James looked at Doc, and asked the question that had been burning his tongue for the last couple of seconds.
“How long have I been out, Doc?”
“Almost a day.” Doc answered.
“Which is why you’re in such good shape.”
“Well, I’m certain your knowledge and expertise helped a lot.” James said, knowing he’d be in worse condition if Doc hadn’t been there.
“Not sure their Doctors, if they have any, know how to operate on a slightly different human.”
“Slightly different my a…” Hudson started to say, but then everyone looked at him, and so he finished simply with “Oops, sorry, shutting up right now.”
James looked at Doc, smiling, and asked:
“So, what did the Musashi have to say?”
Doc’s face became mirthless, which worried James a bit.
He came closer, and with a sidelong glance at the Mjolnir armor, whispered the answer knowing James’s enhanced hearing would get every word.
“They did not send the armor for you.” Was Doc’s whispered answer.
“They beamed the armor and the armor’s occupant separately, as you know, both going to sickbay.
They say that not long after the armor had been beamed aboard, the ship’s systems suffered a computer glitch, but then all functions came back normally.
Except that navigation was taken over, without any way for them to retake control, and then the Musashi was returned to the Ring, where the armor was beamed off, and your armor was beamed in Transporter room 3.
Then the ship systems came back online, under full control of the crew, which allowed them to get away and hide from the alien ship behind the nearest planet.
They later discovered the message that was sent to us through the ship’s Comm system.
Analysis of what happened, coupled with our recent experience with AIs showed a trace of one controlling everything on the ship, all at the same time, and worst of all, the AI in question took less than thirty seconds to completely control the ship.”
James still didn’t know everything about the Akira-class ship, even after the time he had spent on the Musashi, but he did know that the security on their systems was top notch, and they had been beefed up after the take-over attempt by the Cylons.
For an AI to take control in less than thirty seconds, it had to be extremely powerful.
“Then, after the armor was beamed to you, there was one immense communication burst sent to it, as if the AI was dumping itself in the armor.
Since then, nothing, except for an occasional small communication burst to the armor from the Musashi.
The Captain let it go on because he thought it might be useful, but they’ve put systems in place to purge all traces of the AI should it be needed.”
“They’d find it incredibly difficult, but not impossible.” A feminine voice said.
“Although it is quite unnecessary, I assure you.”
“Why did you deceive us, Cortana?” Asked James, still calm despite what he had learned, a question which he voiced loudly and had the effect of getting the attention of all the Marines in the tent.
He was certain the AI didn’t have any dark intentions, and that her actions had been born of necessity, but he wanted to know with a hundred percent certainty.
“Major,” Cortana began, “If you will let me, I would like to tell you why I did what I did.”
A long moment of silence passed before James understood that Cortana was actually waiting for his consent.
This intrigued him, so he decided he’d play along.
“Go ahead, Cortana!” He said.
“Although I don’t know why you’re asking for my permission at this point.”
“Simply because I respect you, Major.” Cortana said, sounding apologetic.
“Why?” Was James’s simple question.
“Major, you went to the Master Chief’s help, you promised him to help people you didn’t know and then sent him to your ship where you knew he’d receive the best treatment, and then you set out into danger with your crew, not knowing what you would encounter, or if you would even find anyone still alive.
You donned the armor when I sent it to you without a second thought, and you played along, pretending to be the Master Chief for the humans to accept you and let you help them.
You lost one of your men, and when the lives of many of ours were threatened by the Elites, you even accepted to fight the Sangheili leader without any armor, at your disadvantage, again to save people you did not know.”
“I did what anybody in my position would have done.” James said honestly.
He did not feel he had done anything more than any one on his team would have, and he felt that he didn’t deserve to be made something he didn’t believe he was: a hero.
“And the last fight was also to save Hicks, one of my men.”
“Major, you could have rescued him to the doom of all others if you had truly only cared for him.”
James could not deny that evidence.
“And because of your actions, you may have well changed the course of this war.” Cortana continued.
“What? I only fought against a group leader, that’s all.” James said, doubting the AI’s analysis of the earlier events.
“You do not know how the Sangheili think, which is why you do not understand what is transpiring here.
Major, the Covenant is a regroupment of different aliens races in which the Sangheili serve as war leaders because of their martial prowess.”
James understood why, as he had rarely faced such dangerous foes before.
“They respect strength, courage and honor, and an opponent that displays these traits is a highly respected adversary.
Up until now, their leaders, the Prophets, had depicted humans as weak, and worst of all, without honor, and I’m afraid our dealings with them up until now had proven them right.
When you spared that Sangheili because you understood he had shown mercy to the injured Marine by killing him, you showed humans also had honor.
You instilled doubt in their belief that the human race was unworthy, and that we only deserved to be eliminated from the galaxy.
When you accepted the fight against their leader, without armor or weapons, you again showed great honor, but also showed great courage in the face of a much stronger opponent.
And when you finally overcame their leader, the Sangheili understood.
They understood that their Prophets had lied to them.
They understood that they’d been made fools, and for such a proud race, this is unacceptable.”
“They sound like Klingons.” Doc remarked.
“Kling who’s?” Hudson asked, but a look from James and a mouthed “later” shut the man up.
“I’ve been monitoring their communications with the help of the Musashi, and received updates once every hour.
These were the bursts the Musashi kept reading.
Major, the Sangheili are leaving the Covenant!
They decided they could no longer follow Prophets who would lie to them, is this shows hypocrisy, and a great lack of honor.
While they still have no plans to ally with humanity at the moment, this is still a great blow against the Covenant war efforts.
Without the Sangheili, the Prophets will now have to rely on the Jiral’Hanae, a race the UNSC knows as Brutes.
They are slightly stronger than the Elites, less intelligent or honourable, but just as dangerous, and they have no qualms about being lied to, as long as they benefit from it.
Except that they are nowhere near the tacticians the Elites are, so the Covenant war effort has been greatly slowed, because of you.
We may even be able to negotiate a truce, or even an alliance with the Sangheili.
So when you return back home to your reality, just know that another human race has benefitted from your presence.”
James was about to ask her how she knew about their reality jumps, but then remembered it had taken her less than thirty seconds to control the ship, and so she could have taken any information she wanted from its databanks.
Suddenly, all their communicators chirped and a message came through:
“This is Cmdr. Teramak to MACOs, come in please.”
“Major Reynolds here, Cmdr.” James answered.
“We’re inbound to your location and will be in transporter range in less than twenty seconds.
We’ve detected multiple alien ships coming this way, heading straight for the Dyson ring.
Be ready for beam-up when we arrive in range.
Teramak out.”
James looked around, and saw his men were ready to leave, the loss of their comrade still in their minds.
He looked at the Mjolnir armor, and addressed Cortana:
“Please tell the Master Chief to tell Johnson the rest of the team had to leave, and that they said goodby.”
“Will do Major!” Cortana answered.
“Good luck getting home.”
“Thanks.
Good luck with your negotiations.” He said.
And then a familiar tingling sensation came over him, and the tent started dissolving in a golden shimmering veil.
He blinked, and then the familiar walls of Transporter Room 3 came into view.
They had a welcoming comity, he noticed.
Newt ran over to him and jumped in his arms while Boomer and Ripley just stood next to the technician’s console and smiled at them.
“We’ve got them, and our guest is safely back with his friends.” The Transporter Tech said to the communication system.
“Excellent!” Captain Kirkinger said, “Have Majo…”
And then he was cut off when the ship suffered a complete power failure.
The deck shook a bit beneath their feet, creaking noises were heard, but this time, no cracking sounds, which James thought was a good omen.
Or at least, he hoped so.
Chapter 42
James woke up in a tent he didn’t recognize, nor did he remember how he had gotten there.
He looked around and noticed it was a field Hospital, like those he had seen so many times during his military service.
Even the equipment was similar to the one he was used to.
Strangely enough, he was the only occupant out of twenty possible patients.
The Mjolnir armor was in a corner of the tent, closed so it would not take up too much space, standing upright by itself.
James felt good, refreshed, and felt no pain, which meant his wounds, if he still had some, had healed enough so his Pain Compensators would be able to overcome the pain signals coming from his battered body.
He checked his nose, and felt it was back to its normal appearance, if only slightly larger than usual due to swelling.
He noticed a chart at the foot of the bed, so he took it and read it.
It mentioned he had suffered hairline fractures in three ribs, the file mentioning normal, un-augmented ribs would have cracked and most likely punctured a lung.
It also said his nose had been broken, and that his left knee had been sprained and both shoulders dislocated.
Examining himself, he could only agree with the assessment of his wounds.
He got off the bed –after making sure he was wearing shorts- and tested his body.
It responded like a well-oiled machine, proving to him that whoever had worked on him had done a great job patching him up.
As he was looking around for his underarmor, the tent flaps parted and James saw Doc come in, still in armor but with his helmet off, followed by Johnson, Hicks, Hudson and Wilson.
He noticed there were two guards outside the tent, and wondered why they were there.
“Well, well, well, looks like somebody took some time off after rescuing our sorry asses.” Johnson told James, a huge grin on his face.
James could only smile at the comment, knowing full well, having gotten a very good measure of the man during their mission together, that it was the Sergeant’s way of thanking him for saving their lives.
“Glad to see you up and about, Sir.” Hicks said, his face still a mask of stoicism.
“Daaaaayyyymmmmmnnn, Major, when they brought you in, you were so fucked up, I thought Hicks had gone and mistook you for an enemy.” An enthused Hudson said with a large smile.
“Glad to see you were only up against an actual enemy leader.”
“Shut up, Hudson!” Hicks and James said at the same time, James fully smiling and Hicks displaying what could pass as one as well.
“Man, I can never say anything around here.” Whined Hudson.
“I always have ta be the strong, silent type around you guys.” He finished, almost with a straight face.
Doc went up to James and moved as if he wanted to examine him, but the big man let him know he was fine.
“Look, Chief, I know you’re a tough guy, especially after the whoopin’ you gave to that big Elite, but you better let your Doc check you up, in case you still need some treatment.” Johnson said.
“Don’t worry, I’m fine, I checked myself up and compared what I noticed to what my file said.” James replied.
“If I needed more treatment, I’d know it.”
“You Spartans get full medical training too with the military one?” A surprised Sergeant Johnson asked.
For only a heartbeat, James hesitated, but then he remembered that he was impersonating someone else, in a reality he knew next to nothing about, except for the fact they were at war with some alien races on a Dyson Ring.
He did not know what these Spartans he was impersonating knew, or didn’t know, and so he gave the only answer he thought would fly.
“You’d be surprised what we Spartans know.” He said.
“But I can’t tell you: classified!” He finished.
As he suspected, it shut the man up, but James saw it didn’t make him happy.
“I wish I could tell you, Sergeant, but like you, I have to follow orders.” He added, and noticed the words had the expected effects, because Johnson’s expression softened up a bit, and he nodded understanding.
“Well, I know you Spartans are a top secret project, which is why I allowed only your own Medic to work on you, and why I posted those two guards outside to ensure your privacy.” Johnson said.
“Much obliged.” James replied.
“Our supervisors will appreciate your professionalism.
I’m curious though: how did we get back here?” He asked, intrigued.
“Well,” Johnson started, “When their leader kicked the bucket, they stood and saluted you both.
The limping Elite then told us you were a great warrior, and that they would respect their leader’s word ‘cause you deserved it.
They gave us back our equipment, let us call Foe Hammer, and helped us carry you and the armor back ta the clearing in the valley, and then they left.
They’re honourable folks, I’ll give’ ‘em that.”
“Speaking of calling the cavalry,” Doc piped in, “We received a message from our project supervisor a few minutes ago, and they wanted to talk to us when you were available.”
“Well then I’ll leave you guys to your secret communications, and I’ll go back ta surpervisin’ my men.” Johnson said.
“By the way, Chief,” He added as he left, “All the guys you saved wanted me ta thank you fer rescuin’ their butts, and fer kickin’ some Covenant ass.”
He faced James, saluted, and left.
James looked at Doc, and asked the question that had been burning his tongue for the last couple of seconds.
“How long have I been out, Doc?”
“Almost a day.” Doc answered.
“Which is why you’re in such good shape.”
“Well, I’m certain your knowledge and expertise helped a lot.” James said, knowing he’d be in worse condition if Doc hadn’t been there.
“Not sure their Doctors, if they have any, know how to operate on a slightly different human.”
“Slightly different my a…” Hudson started to say, but then everyone looked at him, and so he finished simply with “Oops, sorry, shutting up right now.”
James looked at Doc, smiling, and asked:
“So, what did the Musashi have to say?”
Doc’s face became mirthless, which worried James a bit.
He came closer, and with a sidelong glance at the Mjolnir armor, whispered the answer knowing James’s enhanced hearing would get every word.
“They did not send the armor for you.” Was Doc’s whispered answer.
“They beamed the armor and the armor’s occupant separately, as you know, both going to sickbay.
They say that not long after the armor had been beamed aboard, the ship’s systems suffered a computer glitch, but then all functions came back normally.
Except that navigation was taken over, without any way for them to retake control, and then the Musashi was returned to the Ring, where the armor was beamed off, and your armor was beamed in Transporter room 3.
Then the ship systems came back online, under full control of the crew, which allowed them to get away and hide from the alien ship behind the nearest planet.
They later discovered the message that was sent to us through the ship’s Comm system.
Analysis of what happened, coupled with our recent experience with AIs showed a trace of one controlling everything on the ship, all at the same time, and worst of all, the AI in question took less than thirty seconds to completely control the ship.”
James still didn’t know everything about the Akira-class ship, even after the time he had spent on the Musashi, but he did know that the security on their systems was top notch, and they had been beefed up after the take-over attempt by the Cylons.
For an AI to take control in less than thirty seconds, it had to be extremely powerful.
“Then, after the armor was beamed to you, there was one immense communication burst sent to it, as if the AI was dumping itself in the armor.
Since then, nothing, except for an occasional small communication burst to the armor from the Musashi.
The Captain let it go on because he thought it might be useful, but they’ve put systems in place to purge all traces of the AI should it be needed.”
“They’d find it incredibly difficult, but not impossible.” A feminine voice said.
“Although it is quite unnecessary, I assure you.”
“Why did you deceive us, Cortana?” Asked James, still calm despite what he had learned, a question which he voiced loudly and had the effect of getting the attention of all the Marines in the tent.
He was certain the AI didn’t have any dark intentions, and that her actions had been born of necessity, but he wanted to know with a hundred percent certainty.
“Major,” Cortana began, “If you will let me, I would like to tell you why I did what I did.”
A long moment of silence passed before James understood that Cortana was actually waiting for his consent.
This intrigued him, so he decided he’d play along.
“Go ahead, Cortana!” He said.
“Although I don’t know why you’re asking for my permission at this point.”
“Simply because I respect you, Major.” Cortana said, sounding apologetic.
“Why?” Was James’s simple question.
“Major, you went to the Master Chief’s help, you promised him to help people you didn’t know and then sent him to your ship where you knew he’d receive the best treatment, and then you set out into danger with your crew, not knowing what you would encounter, or if you would even find anyone still alive.
You donned the armor when I sent it to you without a second thought, and you played along, pretending to be the Master Chief for the humans to accept you and let you help them.
You lost one of your men, and when the lives of many of ours were threatened by the Elites, you even accepted to fight the Sangheili leader without any armor, at your disadvantage, again to save people you did not know.”
“I did what anybody in my position would have done.” James said honestly.
He did not feel he had done anything more than any one on his team would have, and he felt that he didn’t deserve to be made something he didn’t believe he was: a hero.
“And the last fight was also to save Hicks, one of my men.”
“Major, you could have rescued him to the doom of all others if you had truly only cared for him.”
James could not deny that evidence.
“And because of your actions, you may have well changed the course of this war.” Cortana continued.
“What? I only fought against a group leader, that’s all.” James said, doubting the AI’s analysis of the earlier events.
“You do not know how the Sangheili think, which is why you do not understand what is transpiring here.
Major, the Covenant is a regroupment of different aliens races in which the Sangheili serve as war leaders because of their martial prowess.”
James understood why, as he had rarely faced such dangerous foes before.
“They respect strength, courage and honor, and an opponent that displays these traits is a highly respected adversary.
Up until now, their leaders, the Prophets, had depicted humans as weak, and worst of all, without honor, and I’m afraid our dealings with them up until now had proven them right.
When you spared that Sangheili because you understood he had shown mercy to the injured Marine by killing him, you showed humans also had honor.
You instilled doubt in their belief that the human race was unworthy, and that we only deserved to be eliminated from the galaxy.
When you accepted the fight against their leader, without armor or weapons, you again showed great honor, but also showed great courage in the face of a much stronger opponent.
And when you finally overcame their leader, the Sangheili understood.
They understood that their Prophets had lied to them.
They understood that they’d been made fools, and for such a proud race, this is unacceptable.”
“They sound like Klingons.” Doc remarked.
“Kling who’s?” Hudson asked, but a look from James and a mouthed “later” shut the man up.
“I’ve been monitoring their communications with the help of the Musashi, and received updates once every hour.
These were the bursts the Musashi kept reading.
Major, the Sangheili are leaving the Covenant!
They decided they could no longer follow Prophets who would lie to them, is this shows hypocrisy, and a great lack of honor.
While they still have no plans to ally with humanity at the moment, this is still a great blow against the Covenant war efforts.
Without the Sangheili, the Prophets will now have to rely on the Jiral’Hanae, a race the UNSC knows as Brutes.
They are slightly stronger than the Elites, less intelligent or honourable, but just as dangerous, and they have no qualms about being lied to, as long as they benefit from it.
Except that they are nowhere near the tacticians the Elites are, so the Covenant war effort has been greatly slowed, because of you.
We may even be able to negotiate a truce, or even an alliance with the Sangheili.
So when you return back home to your reality, just know that another human race has benefitted from your presence.”
James was about to ask her how she knew about their reality jumps, but then remembered it had taken her less than thirty seconds to control the ship, and so she could have taken any information she wanted from its databanks.
Suddenly, all their communicators chirped and a message came through:
“This is Cmdr. Teramak to MACOs, come in please.”
“Major Reynolds here, Cmdr.” James answered.
“We’re inbound to your location and will be in transporter range in less than twenty seconds.
We’ve detected multiple alien ships coming this way, heading straight for the Dyson ring.
Be ready for beam-up when we arrive in range.
Teramak out.”
James looked around, and saw his men were ready to leave, the loss of their comrade still in their minds.
He looked at the Mjolnir armor, and addressed Cortana:
“Please tell the Master Chief to tell Johnson the rest of the team had to leave, and that they said goodby.”
“Will do Major!” Cortana answered.
“Good luck getting home.”
“Thanks.
Good luck with your negotiations.” He said.
And then a familiar tingling sensation came over him, and the tent started dissolving in a golden shimmering veil.
He blinked, and then the familiar walls of Transporter Room 3 came into view.
They had a welcoming comity, he noticed.
Newt ran over to him and jumped in his arms while Boomer and Ripley just stood next to the technician’s console and smiled at them.
“We’ve got them, and our guest is safely back with his friends.” The Transporter Tech said to the communication system.
“Excellent!” Captain Kirkinger said, “Have Majo…”
And then he was cut off when the ship suffered a complete power failure.
The deck shook a bit beneath their feet, creaking noises were heard, but this time, no cracking sounds, which James thought was a good omen.
Or at least, he hoped so.
Last edited by Praeothmin on Wed Feb 22, 2012 1:30 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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sonofccn
- Starship Captain
- Posts: 1657
- Joined: Mon Aug 28, 2006 4:23 pm
- Location: Sol system, Earth,USA
Re: "The long Journey" (a Shadowrun crossover with everythi
Not bad. Learned Cortana is a lot more intelligent than I was giving her credit for, James saved another universe and Hudson is funny! Through its a small pity I was hoping Johnson would stick with him adding to James's ultimate bad arse crew but no biggie. Still fun and I can't wait to find out what world you're dumping them into next. Maybe something with zombies if I can make a humble suggestion?
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Praeothmin
- Jedi Master
- Posts: 3920
- Joined: Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:24 pm
- Location: Quebec City
Re: "The long Journey" (a Shadowrun crossover with everythi
Actually, I'm about to add one hell of a bad-ass to James's little crew with the next jump...
I think you'll like him...
I think you'll like him...
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Admiral Breetai
- Starship Captain
- Posts: 1813
- Joined: Mon Aug 31, 2015 8:28 pm
Re: "The long Journey" (a Shadowrun crossover with everythi
"they sound like Klingons" best compliment ever right there
when you say bad ass I hope you don't mean Lobo is gonna join the musashi?
when you say bad ass I hope you don't mean Lobo is gonna join the musashi?
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Khas
- Starship Captain
- Posts: 1289
- Joined: Mon Aug 31, 2015 8:28 pm
- Location: Protoss Embassy to the Federation
Re: "The long Journey" (a Shadowrun crossover with everythi
Who's the badass? Solid Snake? Tychus Findlay? Vampire Hunter D?
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Praeothmin
- Jedi Master
- Posts: 3920
- Joined: Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:24 pm
- Location: Quebec City
Re: "The long Journey" (a Shadowrun crossover with everythi
Nope, he's from a darker universe...Admiral Breetai wrote:"they sound like Klingons" best compliment ever right there
when you say bad ass I hope you don't mean Lobo is gonna join the musashi?
All I can say is... Nothing, I can't say anything, I'll let you guys find out when the time is right... :)Khas wrote:Who's the badass? Solid Snake? Tychus Findlay? Vampire Hunter D?
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Admiral Breetai
- Starship Captain
- Posts: 1813
- Joined: Mon Aug 31, 2015 8:28 pm
Re: "The long Journey" (a Shadowrun crossover with everythi
we await with baited breath
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Praeothmin
- Jedi Master
- Posts: 3920
- Joined: Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:24 pm
- Location: Quebec City
Re: "The long Journey" (a Shadowrun crossover with everythi
Update, and the reveal of the new badass James will meet...
Chapter 43
Cue “Faith” from the Equilibrium soundtrack
This time, power came back rather quickly, telling James the ship had been thoroughly repaired while his body was doing the same in the Med-tent on the Dyson Ring.
But he had a more pressing matter he wanted to attend.
“Bridge, this is Major Reynolds.” He began after reaching for the communication button on the Transporter console.
He looked around the Transporter room and noticed the nervousness in the faces of the people around him, all except for Newt, who in her blissful ignorance just continued to look at him with a great big smile on her face.
“Where are we this time?”
“Major Reynolds, this is the bridge.” Answered Teramak.
“We appear to be in orbit around a planet.
We will call you later to discuss this, but for the moment, no enemy is in sight, and it seems we’ll be able to breathe a bit and get our bearings before we plunge headfirst into trouble.” He finished.
The last part had been uttered with mirth, as James could almost hear the Commander’s smile while saying the words due to the lightness of his tone of voice.
“Before you plunge us into trouble, you mean.” James replied.
“Exactly!” Was his only answer before the channel closed.
“Sir, you may want to have your wounds checked out completely by the Doctor before we head out again.” Doc told James.
“I did what I could, but you aren’t completely healed, and before we’re thrown into danger again, it might be a good idea to ensure your peak efficiency.”
“You’re right,” He said, “And so, to ensure you’re all running at peak efficiency, you should all get some rest.
I’ll call you when I need you.”
They left the Transporter room at the same time, but went their separate ways, Boomer following James, while the others went back to their quarters after expressing their happiness at their return, and their sadness at Heyes’s death.
They walked a bit in silence until Boomer broke it.
“I’m glad you’re back.” She said.
“I heard about your fight with the alien.
I want so much to tell you it was dumb, James, that you could have gotten killed and then everybody would have lost: You, because you’d be dead.
The survivors, because they’d be prisoners of angry aliens.
The Musashi, because it would have lost one hell of a crewmember.”
She stopped talking, and continued silently for a moment, but James didn’t interrupt her, didn’t say anything, because her body language told him she still had something to add.
“And I would have lost something I value very much: you.”
She stopped walking , and so he stopped as well.
She was looking at him, her eyes in his, her hand slowly raising towards his face, brushing his cheek gently, then going to the back of his neck, just as she was getting up on her toes, her lips slowly coming near his.
His thoughts were racing, he wanted to tell her that she shouldn’t, that he was already with someone, that Valis was the one for him, but despite all his great strength, despite the willpower that had allowed him to live when he should have died, he couldn’t move, couldn’t bring his hand up to push hers away, until he realized that he couldn’t, because he didn’t want to.
Their lips drew ever closer, James’s heartbeat racing ever faster.
And then the magic was gone, brought to an end by the “ding” of Turbolift doors opening close by.
Boomer took a step back, quickly withdrew her hand to her body as if it had been burned, shook the trance from her eyes, and turning back, quickly made her way to her quarters.
James stood there, unsure of what to do, lost in the face of the emotions welling up in him.
He cared for Valis, that much he knew, but he realized that he had come to care for Boomer very much as well.
He was so immersed in his thoughts that he barely registered the “Hello Major” the passing crewman sent his way.
He turned around, still shaken, and went to the Sickbay, almost hoping Valis would not be there.
She was, and upon seeing him, she flashed him one of her great smiles, which almost buckled James’s knees in the process.
Luckily for him, she was busy with a patient, an Ensign with serious burns over his left arm and his face.
James didn’t worry thought, for the Ensign was in good hands, and with Valis’s skill and the Federation medical technology, he knew the woman would be back to work within a couple of hours, and the only trace of her injury would be the pinkish color of her newly regenerated skin.
He found a Nurse who could take care of him, and so within half an hour, his wounds had been completely healed.
By then, Valis had taken care of the Ensign’s face, and was starting work on her arm.
She flashed James another smile, which he returned, and then he left quickly, mouthing “new mission, gotta go” before exiting the room.
Her beautiful eyes simply flashed him an understanding look before she went back to work on her patient.
Cue “La Dame des Neiges” from the soundtrack “Le Pacte Des Loups”
Having slept for over a day in the Medical Tent of the UNSC Marines, James was fully rested, and so he went directly to the bridge, almost hoping for an enemy attack so his brain could stop thinking about Valis and Boomer, and the strange situation he was in.
As he entered, he was almost taken aback by the calmness of everyone there, as if the situation was now an accepted fact of life aboard the Musashi.
Repairs almost fully completed, the bridge crew had gone back to standard shifts, scanning the surrounding stars and checking on the ship’s systems to ensure their smooth operations.
People were moving with practiced ease, and the bustle and panic of the last few days was almost like an afterthought, James judged by the way people were moving around.
It was then he realized how completely different life in Starfleet was from his old one in Seattle, on Earth.
Every time the ship jumped, James was nervous, and had the immediate urge to know where they were and what had happened.
But to these people, he realized, this was just one more day in Starfleet, and as long as no enemy was waiting for them at their arrival point, life simply continued on.
This represented what James had been told was Starfleet’s first and foremost motto:
To explore strange new worlds and discover new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one had gone before.
And while in their native reality Starfleet was fighting a war, this ship, thrown so far from it, could do what its people had enrolled in Starfleet for, they could actually satiate their curiosity and their wanderlust, being prevented from going back home by an uncontrollable entity.
And James started to like it, he realized.
While his life was still full of violence, and his capacity for it had been what had motivated the Captain in giving him the leadership of the MACOs, James relished the fact that now, he used this violence for a greater good, a greater purpose.
That his presence aboard the Musashi allowed him to help people instead of helping only himself.
It had been a dream of his for as far as he could remember, to be able to help people, to right the wrongs of his world, where greed and human misery existed side-by-side, where the strong never even looked down to see the weak they were stepping on.
But he hadn’t seen any way to do this in his world, the system having been built so that the strong preyed on the weak, and the weak had no way to fight back, except by becoming strong, which required you prey on the weak.
The vicious cycle could not be broken in James’s reality.
But on the Musashi, born from a future Earth filled with a human race that had beaten its baser instincts, from a Federation founded on peace and equality where poverty was no longer tolerated, he could actually strive to help people.
He was no longer sure he wanted to go back to his reality, his old life.
He would have to think hard and long about this.
The Captain heard the doors to the Turbolift open and looked back.
“Ah, Mr. Reynolds.” He said with a smile.
“You look well considering the opponent you faced.
Even Captain Kirk had to create some sort of weapon when he faced such an opponent.”
James ignored the reference to a Captain he had never heard about and simply smiled.
“By now you should know I can take quite a beating.” He said to the Captain.
“Yes, quite, in fact I’m not even sure our shuttles can take as much, although you wouldn’t have to if you were a better fighter.” He said with a grin.
“But don’t worry my big friend, today will be a slow one.
We are in orbit of an ice planet, and scans indicate indigenous life forms, nothing too big, and only one humanoid, with almost human life signs.
No technology, no settlements, nothing.
Oh, and no silicon life forms either.”
“That will be a nice change of pace” James replied.
“I guess I’ll go and have a talk with our humanoid friend in order to learn where we are, then.”
The Captain’s nod and smile told James he had guessed his mission right, and so he left the bridge and headed to his quarters.
While on his way there, he called his team, and told them about the mission.
He mentioned his intention of going in light, and so selected Boomer because they needed a pilot, Hicks and himself for firepower, and Hudson as the Comm specialist.
They assembled in James’s room, reminding him he’d need to request for a better planning room, and he explained the mission quickly.
They loaded up light, equipping themselves with heavy pistols, Hicks and James getting Phaser rifles in case they needed more firepower.
They wore mostly form fitting armor under heavier, warmer clothing made of Kevlar.
They would be protected both from enemies and the weather.
“Man,” Hudson said, “This reminds me of the way I dressed for my last date.
The dame was as frigid as the North Pole.” He said laughing.
James looked at Boomer, wondering if she was finding the joke funny, and noticed she had been looking at him.
Their eyes met, and she quickly lowered her head, pretending she had issues with her webbing and ignored him for the rest of the preparations.
He let her to her thoughts, but decided they’d talk right after the mission.
Cue “Supression” from the soundtrack of the movie Equilibrium
They left the Musashi half an hour later in the Raptor, Boomer’s expert hands guiding the craft to the last know coordinates where the humanoid life form had been detected.
As they entered the planet’s atmosphere, strong winds buffeted them, although they were nowhere near as powerful as the winds on the Colonial colony world from Hudson and Hick’s reality, and so Boomer had no problem keeping the small ship steady as they descended ever closer to the surface.
From their vantage point they could see the area they were going to was strangely shaped.
The ground was full of what appeared ridges, creating what up in the air looked like fingerprints.
The closer they were, the greater the gap between each ridge appeared to be.
They could not land the ship on those ridges, and so looked for a more appropriate landing spot.
What resembled a mountain was detected, and they approached it to take a peek.
The Tricorders were detecting the humanoid in the direction of the mountain, but as they approached it scans were disrupted by something in the mountain.
Adjusting their tools, they learned that the mountain contained highly magnetic ore, as well as some low level energy readings.
This lead the team to surmise that the mountain in question was most likely an old artificial structure, its exact nature having been lost through time, buried under tons of snow and ice.
They found an opening in one side of the mountain, some sort of opened passage, protected from the winds by natural arches and the high walls on each side.
Boomer guided the ship easily between pillars and below archways, and eventually found a small area where she could safely land the small ship.
The landing gear lightly touched the ground, Boomer easing gradually on the thrusters to see if the weight of the Raptor would be supported.
When she was confident it would, she cut the engines off and the Raptor landed with a small thumping sound.
The MACOs opened the door of their ship, Hicks and Hudson exiting in unison covering every angle.
James followed them and looked around.
Seeing nothing, the group started their search for the humanoid they had detected.
They split up, James working alone, knowing he could cover more ground alone, and even get to places no unaugmented human could.
Boomer, it was decided, would stay behind and watch the ship, since her Cylon status made her the perfect choice to watch the ship.
They had been exploring for a while, communicating their progress at regular intervals, James having even climbed high up in the icy structure, when he lost the Comm signal.
He wondered if he had gone too far and thought that the same energy signals disrupting their Tricorders was also having an effect on their communicators.
He was about to turn around and head back when he spotted something in the snowy sky.
Using his augmented vision, he zoomed in on what he had at first thought to be a bird, only to realize it was a ship.
It looked small, but it was rather far and so he couldn’t truly evaluate its size.
Fearing possible trouble, wondering why the Musashi hadn’t warned them, he turned back and quickly made his way to the ship.
When he got there, his heart stopped.
Boomer was on the ground, blood caking her face.
James’s first reflex was to run to her to assess her situation, but his training took over, and so he surveyed his surroundings before he went to her.
Seeing nothing, no threat, no enemy, knowing full well the enemy could be invisible, he went to his fallen comrade.
While he still kept an eye out for potential dangers, he quickly checked on Boomer’s condition.
Her pulse was strong, and the copious amount of blood that was in the snow came from a gash in her forehead, and James knew these wounds were always bleeders.
He opened the Raptor’s side door, and gently laid Boomer inside.
He took out his field Med-kit and took care of her wound.
“You made three mistakes.” A deep, throaty voice said behind James.
Chapter 43
Cue “Faith” from the Equilibrium soundtrack
This time, power came back rather quickly, telling James the ship had been thoroughly repaired while his body was doing the same in the Med-tent on the Dyson Ring.
But he had a more pressing matter he wanted to attend.
“Bridge, this is Major Reynolds.” He began after reaching for the communication button on the Transporter console.
He looked around the Transporter room and noticed the nervousness in the faces of the people around him, all except for Newt, who in her blissful ignorance just continued to look at him with a great big smile on her face.
“Where are we this time?”
“Major Reynolds, this is the bridge.” Answered Teramak.
“We appear to be in orbit around a planet.
We will call you later to discuss this, but for the moment, no enemy is in sight, and it seems we’ll be able to breathe a bit and get our bearings before we plunge headfirst into trouble.” He finished.
The last part had been uttered with mirth, as James could almost hear the Commander’s smile while saying the words due to the lightness of his tone of voice.
“Before you plunge us into trouble, you mean.” James replied.
“Exactly!” Was his only answer before the channel closed.
“Sir, you may want to have your wounds checked out completely by the Doctor before we head out again.” Doc told James.
“I did what I could, but you aren’t completely healed, and before we’re thrown into danger again, it might be a good idea to ensure your peak efficiency.”
“You’re right,” He said, “And so, to ensure you’re all running at peak efficiency, you should all get some rest.
I’ll call you when I need you.”
They left the Transporter room at the same time, but went their separate ways, Boomer following James, while the others went back to their quarters after expressing their happiness at their return, and their sadness at Heyes’s death.
They walked a bit in silence until Boomer broke it.
“I’m glad you’re back.” She said.
“I heard about your fight with the alien.
I want so much to tell you it was dumb, James, that you could have gotten killed and then everybody would have lost: You, because you’d be dead.
The survivors, because they’d be prisoners of angry aliens.
The Musashi, because it would have lost one hell of a crewmember.”
She stopped talking, and continued silently for a moment, but James didn’t interrupt her, didn’t say anything, because her body language told him she still had something to add.
“And I would have lost something I value very much: you.”
She stopped walking , and so he stopped as well.
She was looking at him, her eyes in his, her hand slowly raising towards his face, brushing his cheek gently, then going to the back of his neck, just as she was getting up on her toes, her lips slowly coming near his.
His thoughts were racing, he wanted to tell her that she shouldn’t, that he was already with someone, that Valis was the one for him, but despite all his great strength, despite the willpower that had allowed him to live when he should have died, he couldn’t move, couldn’t bring his hand up to push hers away, until he realized that he couldn’t, because he didn’t want to.
Their lips drew ever closer, James’s heartbeat racing ever faster.
And then the magic was gone, brought to an end by the “ding” of Turbolift doors opening close by.
Boomer took a step back, quickly withdrew her hand to her body as if it had been burned, shook the trance from her eyes, and turning back, quickly made her way to her quarters.
James stood there, unsure of what to do, lost in the face of the emotions welling up in him.
He cared for Valis, that much he knew, but he realized that he had come to care for Boomer very much as well.
He was so immersed in his thoughts that he barely registered the “Hello Major” the passing crewman sent his way.
He turned around, still shaken, and went to the Sickbay, almost hoping Valis would not be there.
She was, and upon seeing him, she flashed him one of her great smiles, which almost buckled James’s knees in the process.
Luckily for him, she was busy with a patient, an Ensign with serious burns over his left arm and his face.
James didn’t worry thought, for the Ensign was in good hands, and with Valis’s skill and the Federation medical technology, he knew the woman would be back to work within a couple of hours, and the only trace of her injury would be the pinkish color of her newly regenerated skin.
He found a Nurse who could take care of him, and so within half an hour, his wounds had been completely healed.
By then, Valis had taken care of the Ensign’s face, and was starting work on her arm.
She flashed James another smile, which he returned, and then he left quickly, mouthing “new mission, gotta go” before exiting the room.
Her beautiful eyes simply flashed him an understanding look before she went back to work on her patient.
Cue “La Dame des Neiges” from the soundtrack “Le Pacte Des Loups”
Having slept for over a day in the Medical Tent of the UNSC Marines, James was fully rested, and so he went directly to the bridge, almost hoping for an enemy attack so his brain could stop thinking about Valis and Boomer, and the strange situation he was in.
As he entered, he was almost taken aback by the calmness of everyone there, as if the situation was now an accepted fact of life aboard the Musashi.
Repairs almost fully completed, the bridge crew had gone back to standard shifts, scanning the surrounding stars and checking on the ship’s systems to ensure their smooth operations.
People were moving with practiced ease, and the bustle and panic of the last few days was almost like an afterthought, James judged by the way people were moving around.
It was then he realized how completely different life in Starfleet was from his old one in Seattle, on Earth.
Every time the ship jumped, James was nervous, and had the immediate urge to know where they were and what had happened.
But to these people, he realized, this was just one more day in Starfleet, and as long as no enemy was waiting for them at their arrival point, life simply continued on.
This represented what James had been told was Starfleet’s first and foremost motto:
To explore strange new worlds and discover new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one had gone before.
And while in their native reality Starfleet was fighting a war, this ship, thrown so far from it, could do what its people had enrolled in Starfleet for, they could actually satiate their curiosity and their wanderlust, being prevented from going back home by an uncontrollable entity.
And James started to like it, he realized.
While his life was still full of violence, and his capacity for it had been what had motivated the Captain in giving him the leadership of the MACOs, James relished the fact that now, he used this violence for a greater good, a greater purpose.
That his presence aboard the Musashi allowed him to help people instead of helping only himself.
It had been a dream of his for as far as he could remember, to be able to help people, to right the wrongs of his world, where greed and human misery existed side-by-side, where the strong never even looked down to see the weak they were stepping on.
But he hadn’t seen any way to do this in his world, the system having been built so that the strong preyed on the weak, and the weak had no way to fight back, except by becoming strong, which required you prey on the weak.
The vicious cycle could not be broken in James’s reality.
But on the Musashi, born from a future Earth filled with a human race that had beaten its baser instincts, from a Federation founded on peace and equality where poverty was no longer tolerated, he could actually strive to help people.
He was no longer sure he wanted to go back to his reality, his old life.
He would have to think hard and long about this.
The Captain heard the doors to the Turbolift open and looked back.
“Ah, Mr. Reynolds.” He said with a smile.
“You look well considering the opponent you faced.
Even Captain Kirk had to create some sort of weapon when he faced such an opponent.”
James ignored the reference to a Captain he had never heard about and simply smiled.
“By now you should know I can take quite a beating.” He said to the Captain.
“Yes, quite, in fact I’m not even sure our shuttles can take as much, although you wouldn’t have to if you were a better fighter.” He said with a grin.
“But don’t worry my big friend, today will be a slow one.
We are in orbit of an ice planet, and scans indicate indigenous life forms, nothing too big, and only one humanoid, with almost human life signs.
No technology, no settlements, nothing.
Oh, and no silicon life forms either.”
“That will be a nice change of pace” James replied.
“I guess I’ll go and have a talk with our humanoid friend in order to learn where we are, then.”
The Captain’s nod and smile told James he had guessed his mission right, and so he left the bridge and headed to his quarters.
While on his way there, he called his team, and told them about the mission.
He mentioned his intention of going in light, and so selected Boomer because they needed a pilot, Hicks and himself for firepower, and Hudson as the Comm specialist.
They assembled in James’s room, reminding him he’d need to request for a better planning room, and he explained the mission quickly.
They loaded up light, equipping themselves with heavy pistols, Hicks and James getting Phaser rifles in case they needed more firepower.
They wore mostly form fitting armor under heavier, warmer clothing made of Kevlar.
They would be protected both from enemies and the weather.
“Man,” Hudson said, “This reminds me of the way I dressed for my last date.
The dame was as frigid as the North Pole.” He said laughing.
James looked at Boomer, wondering if she was finding the joke funny, and noticed she had been looking at him.
Their eyes met, and she quickly lowered her head, pretending she had issues with her webbing and ignored him for the rest of the preparations.
He let her to her thoughts, but decided they’d talk right after the mission.
Cue “Supression” from the soundtrack of the movie Equilibrium
They left the Musashi half an hour later in the Raptor, Boomer’s expert hands guiding the craft to the last know coordinates where the humanoid life form had been detected.
As they entered the planet’s atmosphere, strong winds buffeted them, although they were nowhere near as powerful as the winds on the Colonial colony world from Hudson and Hick’s reality, and so Boomer had no problem keeping the small ship steady as they descended ever closer to the surface.
From their vantage point they could see the area they were going to was strangely shaped.
The ground was full of what appeared ridges, creating what up in the air looked like fingerprints.
The closer they were, the greater the gap between each ridge appeared to be.
They could not land the ship on those ridges, and so looked for a more appropriate landing spot.
What resembled a mountain was detected, and they approached it to take a peek.
The Tricorders were detecting the humanoid in the direction of the mountain, but as they approached it scans were disrupted by something in the mountain.
Adjusting their tools, they learned that the mountain contained highly magnetic ore, as well as some low level energy readings.
This lead the team to surmise that the mountain in question was most likely an old artificial structure, its exact nature having been lost through time, buried under tons of snow and ice.
They found an opening in one side of the mountain, some sort of opened passage, protected from the winds by natural arches and the high walls on each side.
Boomer guided the ship easily between pillars and below archways, and eventually found a small area where she could safely land the small ship.
The landing gear lightly touched the ground, Boomer easing gradually on the thrusters to see if the weight of the Raptor would be supported.
When she was confident it would, she cut the engines off and the Raptor landed with a small thumping sound.
The MACOs opened the door of their ship, Hicks and Hudson exiting in unison covering every angle.
James followed them and looked around.
Seeing nothing, the group started their search for the humanoid they had detected.
They split up, James working alone, knowing he could cover more ground alone, and even get to places no unaugmented human could.
Boomer, it was decided, would stay behind and watch the ship, since her Cylon status made her the perfect choice to watch the ship.
They had been exploring for a while, communicating their progress at regular intervals, James having even climbed high up in the icy structure, when he lost the Comm signal.
He wondered if he had gone too far and thought that the same energy signals disrupting their Tricorders was also having an effect on their communicators.
He was about to turn around and head back when he spotted something in the snowy sky.
Using his augmented vision, he zoomed in on what he had at first thought to be a bird, only to realize it was a ship.
It looked small, but it was rather far and so he couldn’t truly evaluate its size.
Fearing possible trouble, wondering why the Musashi hadn’t warned them, he turned back and quickly made his way to the ship.
When he got there, his heart stopped.
Boomer was on the ground, blood caking her face.
James’s first reflex was to run to her to assess her situation, but his training took over, and so he surveyed his surroundings before he went to her.
Seeing nothing, no threat, no enemy, knowing full well the enemy could be invisible, he went to his fallen comrade.
While he still kept an eye out for potential dangers, he quickly checked on Boomer’s condition.
Her pulse was strong, and the copious amount of blood that was in the snow came from a gash in her forehead, and James knew these wounds were always bleeders.
He opened the Raptor’s side door, and gently laid Boomer inside.
He took out his field Med-kit and took care of her wound.
“You made three mistakes.” A deep, throaty voice said behind James.
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Admiral Breetai
- Starship Captain
- Posts: 1813
- Joined: Mon Aug 31, 2015 8:28 pm
Re: "The long Journey" (a Shadowrun crossover with everythi
god damnit...Richard B Ridick? Really?
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Praeothmin
- Jedi Master
- Posts: 3920
- Joined: Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:24 pm
- Location: Quebec City
Re: "The long Journey" (a Shadowrun crossover with everythi
Yup, really... :)
I hope you're not afraid of the dark...
I hope you're not afraid of the dark...
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sonofccn
- Starship Captain
- Posts: 1657
- Joined: Mon Aug 28, 2006 4:23 pm
- Location: Sol system, Earth,USA
Re: "The long Journey" (a Shadowrun crossover with everythi
Okay my first instinct when you described an "ice planet" was that they'd ended up at Hoth, silly me. But Ridick...starfleet material he's not. This is going to be fun. :)
Encore!
Encore!
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Praeothmin
- Jedi Master
- Posts: 3920
- Joined: Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:24 pm
- Location: Quebec City
Re: "The long Journey" (a Shadowrun crossover with everythi
Quick update, because I'm going to be very busy in the following days and I probably won't be able to update much...
Chapter 44
Cue “Recognizer” from Daft Punk and the Tron Legacy soundtrack
James turned around in the blink of an eye to see a man standing on the wing of the Raptor, less than two meters away from Boomer and him.
The man was around six feet tall, with long unkempt hair and beard, and was wearing heavy furs and goggles to protect him from the cold.
His wide build was apparent even through his thick furs.
What unnerved James, though, was that the man had successfully come this close to them without him knowing about it.
With James’s enhanced hearing, surprising him was almost impossible.
The man continued talking.
“First, you took the job.
Second, you came light.
A four man crew for me?
Fucking insulting.”
He paused only for an instant.
“But the worst mistake you made...” He said, tensing, which had James go for his ManHunter.
“...empty holster.”
James’s hand had grabbed only empty air, and then he understood just how dangerous the man in front of him was.
He had relieved James of his holstered weapon without James ever suspecting he was even that close.
Had he wanted to, he most likely could have killed James without him ever knowing who had done it, and that scared him.
For the first time in a long while, James Reynolds was truly afraid of someone.
The man looked at him and smiled, the smile of a predator smelling fear in his prey.
James shored himself up, remembering who he was, what he could do.
He was also bolstered by the fact the man held no gun, or any other apparent weapon.
Even though he found it hard, as hard as anything he’d ever done in his life, he sustained the man’s stare, and returned it in full.
“What’s the bounty on my head?” The man asked.
James realized he and the MACOs were being mistaken for bounty hunters.
He also understood he was facing a predator that believed he was cornered.
His fear shot up, but he kept it under control.
His mind raced, and for some unexplained reason, he thought he finally understood what most people felt when facing him, something he thought would be funny if he wasn’t so damn scared.
He was sweating under his clothing, and knew it wasn’t because the cold was mild.
“We’re not who you think we are.” He managed to say.
“Really, now?” the man asked with a smile, though his body posture said he was anything but amused.
“Then who would you be?”
“I am Major James Reynolds, of the Starfleet MACOs.” He said, his voice sounding stronger than he felt.
“We are here because we detected a humanoid life form, and we only wanted to ask a few questions.”
“So you were looking for me.” He said, his smile disappearing.
“Last question.” He added.
“And you better get this one right, merc.
Whose ship is this?”
“Mine.” James said, unsure.
“Wrong answer…” Was all the man added before he lunged at James, a long combat knife suddenly appearing in his right hand in a reverse grip.
James reacted instinctively, letting himself fall backwards, towards the cockpit of the Raptor, his hands grabbing both seats, and he kicked out at the man’s chest.
It lifted him off his feet, and pushed him back out of the ship.
James rushed out of the Raptor and hit the controls to close the door as he did so.
He jumped down as the man he had kicked was completing a backward roll and getting to his feet, his knife sweeping in front of him from right to left.
James tried to stop, his movements born out of fear, but he slipped and could only bend his torso back a bit to evade the blade.
Still, it dug into his armor, and he felt the bite of its edge on his flesh, which meant the man had incredible strength to allow the blade to dig through.
As the man regained his footing, he changed his knife’s grip with a flick of his hand, and came at James calmly.
Short steps became a quick straight lunge which James deflected out with his right hand, though the moment he made contact the stranger bent his arm up and rolled his hand over James’s, to come down in a short sweep, which James deflected with a side step to his right and an elbow strike to the stranger’s forearm.
He then quick stepped out of the man’s reach, fearful of getting too close, short-stepping fast, almost in a run, until he was at least four meters away from his opponent.
The man did not follow.
“What’s the matter?” He asked with a smile.
“You ain’t afraid of me, are you now?”
James didn’t answer, but his face already had, because the stranger smiled a bit wider.
“Well, then, I guess you won’t mind if I take this little ship of yours, won’t you?
I need to go somewhere and talk to some people.”
He looked at the Raptor, his smile more predatory than ever.
“I may even take her with me, just in case I get lonely.” He finished, looking back at James.
His smile disappeared, for he noticed the change that had come over James.
His fear had been replaced by rage, pure, unbridled rage, and the stranger saw it in James’s eyes.
“So it seems she’s of some importance to you.” He said, a half smile on his face.
“You touch her, you die!” Was all James replied.
“Then come and kill me.” The man said.
Cue “The Kinslayer” from the Nightwish album Best Wishes
And so James went at him.
He broke in a run and stopped short of reaching the man, but as the stranger stabbed straight out, wishing to use his own momentum against James, he dropped to the ground on his left side and used the ice to slip towards the stranger, then used his legs in a scissor sweep, his left leg low and his right high, which threw the stranger up in the air spinning and had him land to James’s left on all four.
They were both up in an instant, facing each other, as they had a few moments earlier, except that this time there were only predators there, no longer did James feel like a prey.
They both growled at each other, and then attacked.
The man sent a left jab at James’s face which was deflected to James’s right in a forearm slap by his right hand, but then the stranger retracted his left hand and swiped his knife down on James’ right forearm, a swipe that was barely deflected by James’s left hand, while his right came in and over his left to deliver a backhand to the stranger’s face.
The blow rock the stranger’s head back, but didn’t stop him from reversing his knife swipe and come back up with intent on disembowelling James.
The attack was blocked by a descending right hand which grabbed the man’s knife hand at the wrist, and then James stepped back turning to his left, pulling on the stranger’s arm.
The stranger countered the pull partially by lifting his right foot and planting it on James’ shin to push, and as he pulled his right arm towards him, he threw a straight left punch towards James’s face.
James stepped to his left while lowering his head, his right hand twisting back up to his right while his left hand came under the stranger’s arm at the elbow and pushed up.
The man came up to his tiptoes, but James continued to push, bending the arm in reverse.
The stranger let out a cry, dropping the knife, but then his right foot kicked James’s right knee, who had to let go and roll with the blow to save his knee.
The stranger’s strength was incredible, very close to his, James thought.
Though James’s speed was greater, and so he used this to his advantage.
After a tuck and roll that brought him up to his feet, James ran towards the stranger and jumped, his left leg coming up in a straight kick to the man’s abdomen, and kick that was swiftly blocked, though the stranger had to take a step back to absorb the impact.
James’s right leg snaked out behind the left one while he was still in the air, and so the stranger received a kick directly on the jaw which, with James’s strength and momentum, propelled him in the air to land in a snow pile behind an arch, ten feet away.
As James landed, his confidence fully returned, he was blinded by two search lights, and before he could react, he was thrown to the ground by the impact of two heavy nets.
The edge of the nets had spikes that had embedded themselves in the ice, and so the heavy metallic links held him down.
He tried to get out, to rip the spikes out of the ice, his great strength allowing him to pull the spikes out one at a time, but with limited leverage, he couldn’t do it fast enough.
Though he couldn’t see them, he heard voices and footsteps approaching, and then a shadow loomed above him.
“Riddick!” A raspy voice said.
“I thought you’d be tougher to catch.
You know, you’re supposed to be some slick-shit killer.
Now look at you... All back-of-the-bus and shit.”
Then a blow to the head knocked him out.
Chapter 44
Cue “Recognizer” from Daft Punk and the Tron Legacy soundtrack
James turned around in the blink of an eye to see a man standing on the wing of the Raptor, less than two meters away from Boomer and him.
The man was around six feet tall, with long unkempt hair and beard, and was wearing heavy furs and goggles to protect him from the cold.
His wide build was apparent even through his thick furs.
What unnerved James, though, was that the man had successfully come this close to them without him knowing about it.
With James’s enhanced hearing, surprising him was almost impossible.
The man continued talking.
“First, you took the job.
Second, you came light.
A four man crew for me?
Fucking insulting.”
He paused only for an instant.
“But the worst mistake you made...” He said, tensing, which had James go for his ManHunter.
“...empty holster.”
James’s hand had grabbed only empty air, and then he understood just how dangerous the man in front of him was.
He had relieved James of his holstered weapon without James ever suspecting he was even that close.
Had he wanted to, he most likely could have killed James without him ever knowing who had done it, and that scared him.
For the first time in a long while, James Reynolds was truly afraid of someone.
The man looked at him and smiled, the smile of a predator smelling fear in his prey.
James shored himself up, remembering who he was, what he could do.
He was also bolstered by the fact the man held no gun, or any other apparent weapon.
Even though he found it hard, as hard as anything he’d ever done in his life, he sustained the man’s stare, and returned it in full.
“What’s the bounty on my head?” The man asked.
James realized he and the MACOs were being mistaken for bounty hunters.
He also understood he was facing a predator that believed he was cornered.
His fear shot up, but he kept it under control.
His mind raced, and for some unexplained reason, he thought he finally understood what most people felt when facing him, something he thought would be funny if he wasn’t so damn scared.
He was sweating under his clothing, and knew it wasn’t because the cold was mild.
“We’re not who you think we are.” He managed to say.
“Really, now?” the man asked with a smile, though his body posture said he was anything but amused.
“Then who would you be?”
“I am Major James Reynolds, of the Starfleet MACOs.” He said, his voice sounding stronger than he felt.
“We are here because we detected a humanoid life form, and we only wanted to ask a few questions.”
“So you were looking for me.” He said, his smile disappearing.
“Last question.” He added.
“And you better get this one right, merc.
Whose ship is this?”
“Mine.” James said, unsure.
“Wrong answer…” Was all the man added before he lunged at James, a long combat knife suddenly appearing in his right hand in a reverse grip.
James reacted instinctively, letting himself fall backwards, towards the cockpit of the Raptor, his hands grabbing both seats, and he kicked out at the man’s chest.
It lifted him off his feet, and pushed him back out of the ship.
James rushed out of the Raptor and hit the controls to close the door as he did so.
He jumped down as the man he had kicked was completing a backward roll and getting to his feet, his knife sweeping in front of him from right to left.
James tried to stop, his movements born out of fear, but he slipped and could only bend his torso back a bit to evade the blade.
Still, it dug into his armor, and he felt the bite of its edge on his flesh, which meant the man had incredible strength to allow the blade to dig through.
As the man regained his footing, he changed his knife’s grip with a flick of his hand, and came at James calmly.
Short steps became a quick straight lunge which James deflected out with his right hand, though the moment he made contact the stranger bent his arm up and rolled his hand over James’s, to come down in a short sweep, which James deflected with a side step to his right and an elbow strike to the stranger’s forearm.
He then quick stepped out of the man’s reach, fearful of getting too close, short-stepping fast, almost in a run, until he was at least four meters away from his opponent.
The man did not follow.
“What’s the matter?” He asked with a smile.
“You ain’t afraid of me, are you now?”
James didn’t answer, but his face already had, because the stranger smiled a bit wider.
“Well, then, I guess you won’t mind if I take this little ship of yours, won’t you?
I need to go somewhere and talk to some people.”
He looked at the Raptor, his smile more predatory than ever.
“I may even take her with me, just in case I get lonely.” He finished, looking back at James.
His smile disappeared, for he noticed the change that had come over James.
His fear had been replaced by rage, pure, unbridled rage, and the stranger saw it in James’s eyes.
“So it seems she’s of some importance to you.” He said, a half smile on his face.
“You touch her, you die!” Was all James replied.
“Then come and kill me.” The man said.
Cue “The Kinslayer” from the Nightwish album Best Wishes
And so James went at him.
He broke in a run and stopped short of reaching the man, but as the stranger stabbed straight out, wishing to use his own momentum against James, he dropped to the ground on his left side and used the ice to slip towards the stranger, then used his legs in a scissor sweep, his left leg low and his right high, which threw the stranger up in the air spinning and had him land to James’s left on all four.
They were both up in an instant, facing each other, as they had a few moments earlier, except that this time there were only predators there, no longer did James feel like a prey.
They both growled at each other, and then attacked.
The man sent a left jab at James’s face which was deflected to James’s right in a forearm slap by his right hand, but then the stranger retracted his left hand and swiped his knife down on James’ right forearm, a swipe that was barely deflected by James’s left hand, while his right came in and over his left to deliver a backhand to the stranger’s face.
The blow rock the stranger’s head back, but didn’t stop him from reversing his knife swipe and come back up with intent on disembowelling James.
The attack was blocked by a descending right hand which grabbed the man’s knife hand at the wrist, and then James stepped back turning to his left, pulling on the stranger’s arm.
The stranger countered the pull partially by lifting his right foot and planting it on James’ shin to push, and as he pulled his right arm towards him, he threw a straight left punch towards James’s face.
James stepped to his left while lowering his head, his right hand twisting back up to his right while his left hand came under the stranger’s arm at the elbow and pushed up.
The man came up to his tiptoes, but James continued to push, bending the arm in reverse.
The stranger let out a cry, dropping the knife, but then his right foot kicked James’s right knee, who had to let go and roll with the blow to save his knee.
The stranger’s strength was incredible, very close to his, James thought.
Though James’s speed was greater, and so he used this to his advantage.
After a tuck and roll that brought him up to his feet, James ran towards the stranger and jumped, his left leg coming up in a straight kick to the man’s abdomen, and kick that was swiftly blocked, though the stranger had to take a step back to absorb the impact.
James’s right leg snaked out behind the left one while he was still in the air, and so the stranger received a kick directly on the jaw which, with James’s strength and momentum, propelled him in the air to land in a snow pile behind an arch, ten feet away.
As James landed, his confidence fully returned, he was blinded by two search lights, and before he could react, he was thrown to the ground by the impact of two heavy nets.
The edge of the nets had spikes that had embedded themselves in the ice, and so the heavy metallic links held him down.
He tried to get out, to rip the spikes out of the ice, his great strength allowing him to pull the spikes out one at a time, but with limited leverage, he couldn’t do it fast enough.
Though he couldn’t see them, he heard voices and footsteps approaching, and then a shadow loomed above him.
“Riddick!” A raspy voice said.
“I thought you’d be tougher to catch.
You know, you’re supposed to be some slick-shit killer.
Now look at you... All back-of-the-bus and shit.”
Then a blow to the head knocked him out.
-
Admiral Breetai
- Starship Captain
- Posts: 1813
- Joined: Mon Aug 31, 2015 8:28 pm
Re: "The long Journey" (a Shadowrun crossover with everythi
well this was an awesome fight.
-
sonofccn
- Starship Captain
- Posts: 1657
- Joined: Mon Aug 28, 2006 4:23 pm
- Location: Sol system, Earth,USA
Re: "The long Journey" (a Shadowrun crossover with everythi
Clap. Clap.
Hot dog, James verses Riddick...two men who have killed monsters with their bare hands...epic!
And now James has been "captured" by the mercs...you know when taking onboard and enraging the heavily augmented human who can twist your head off like a screw lid jar is actually the better of your two alternatives...I just think its time to reconsider your career path. :)
Hot dog, James verses Riddick...two men who have killed monsters with their bare hands...epic!
And now James has been "captured" by the mercs...you know when taking onboard and enraging the heavily augmented human who can twist your head off like a screw lid jar is actually the better of your two alternatives...I just think its time to reconsider your career path. :)