Last thing I owe you on this computer I think! Wahoo!
Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot
Chapter 5
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And then the head snapped back just as lightning quick, restored in its
original position in the brim of Zeiram's head. Inexplicably, the giant
green creature turned and strode away just as purposefully as it had when it
approached Iria's prone form.
And the readership says, "The hell?" Or some equivalent. They are joined
by the characters.
So Zeiram was still employing the same freighter that was on the space
station as his means of getting around. Even if it felt that it had killed
everyone else on the planet, why leave her alive? And the way Zeiram had
just stopped and turned away, it made no sense!
Or, he could have been called away. And given how Zeriam seems to
behave more like a machine than an animal or person, that would my guess.
More proof, as if it was needed, of a nifty conspiracy. Of course, DB
could be messing with us so any conclusions will be refrained from. We
read on with interest and suspicion.
Pain massaged every part of her body, making her vision grow dark around the
edges. Hate fueled her awareness. Locked in a life and death struggle with
consciousness, she refused to black out until her mission was accomplished.
Hate being the second most powerful emotion in short bursts. Anger is
stronger, but then I wouldn't be too surprised if she had a wee dabblin'
of that in her as well.
The large tiny projectile shot through the air in a straight line in the
direction of the ship, impacting into the hardened earth right under where
Zeiram's foot had been but a moment before.
Suck.
least. But she hadn't and it didn't.
Comma
And the air was getting harder to breathe. That was the thicker atmosphere
slowly leaking away, being replaced by the lighter one that originally
circled the planet, one filled with only trace amounts of oxygen. Darkness
Eeeee. I don't think the atmosphere would float away that quickly. I dunno
about the nifty tech supporting it, odviously, but I'd imagine that it
would remain for longer than one might expect.
the armor. That would be the easiest vulnerable point. Course decided, it
drew back its head and prepared to rip out the throat and feast on the
other's flesh, unknowingly mirroring what its progenitor had done several
minutes before, though this time having no intention of stopping at the last
moment.
Actually, up until this point, I had been suspicious that the thing was
going after the tracking dart, and events would follow as a result of
that.
Don't know if it makes a bit of difference, but I never mind hearing
random comments about my stuff.
"-am telling you that I'm still cold. We would definitely have frozen to
death before suffocating."
"And I'm telling you that it was getting too hard to breathe quicker. We'd
have suffocated first."
In the words of a great man, <Who gives me lots of C&C. You Rule and you
know who you are!> I coment, "Snerk"
"I'm dead too?" Iria's voice cracked with strain, as though she hadn't
spoken for a week.
Yuri folded her arms and snorted in disgust. "Excuse me, but I am offended
at the very idea that I would end up in the same place in the afterlife as
Kei."
I say again. "Snerk."
Iria found herself convinced that she must be alive, as it was categorically
impossible she would end up in the same place in the afterlife with either
of her current companions. "So what's going on? How did you two survive?"
That bit was truely wonderful.
"And the radioactive elements in the coolant were really low and it didn't
I'm inclined to suggest a comma in the odvious place, but the sentence is
incorrect, and reasonably so, to begin with so I'm not sure.
Giving a sad shake of her head, Iria tried to rise from the bed and into a
sitting position, but a wave of dizziness swept over her and she found
Here, on the other hand, I can confidently recommend commage. <present
tense of commaing. To use a comma. Webster's. Really.>
"That would be from the triple dose of Effarx painkillers we loaded you up
with," Yuri explained.
For a moment I thought that word was Extralax instead, and that sentence
took on a whole new meaning.
care of the older woman for a change. The lack of an argument from the
bounty hunter was an obvious indication of just how badly she had been hurt.
Once satisfied Iria was going to sleep, Kei wordlessly left the bedside and
returned to the Lovely Angel with Yuri in tow.
Or....
They were gone for no more than a couple of minutes when Iria's eyes
fluttered open. Sensing the Lovely Angels would not be returning anytime
soon, the bounty hunter focused with every ounce of remaining concentration
she possessed. It seemed to take forever for her to summon enough strength
to roll out of bed and onto the floor, her fall only being interrupted by
the deck plates underneath. It took a few more seconds to regain enough
strength to start a slow, arduous crawl towards the back of the ship.
Yeah! Got one!
Bob would probably be okay with her decision, he seemed to be the reasonable
sort, but Iria and Kei would raise hell about it. It wasn't Iria's reaction
Yuri was so much concerned about, but rather Kei's. They were partners after
A-ho. And Kei gets all the attention.
had allowed her own personal feelings to get in the way of professionalism
and they were suffering for it. Oh sure, Kei and others had made that
More commage
"Don't make me do something we'll both regret," Kei said, begging without
sounding like it in the least as her hands formed fists.
Cat fight! MREEOW!
<And the women in the audience all throw boots at me.>
aggressive stance. How dare Kei do this to her! "Partners for over fifteen
years and you're going to piss it all away because of some oversized walking
mushroom and your god-damn obsessed mother figure."
Commage in there? I dunno.
Yuri tried to do the same. The duo rolled around on the deck, each trying to
gain an advantage over the other.
<More rabid fanboy cat-calls from the audience.>
Yuri had a death grip on Kei's hair, while Kei had one of Yuri's arms bent
behind her back, when a male voice, smooth as ice, purred "Oh yeah. Keep at
it, girls! I'm getting all of this on video. We're going to make millions
with this hot catfight."
Wow! I'm right again!
Bob continued using the Lovely Angel's bridge console to talk smoothly to
them. "I think we'll dub it, 'The Dirty Pair Get Down and Nasty'. Send a
little preview through the galactic net, and I see preorders stretching into
the billions."
Hell, I'd buy six.
"Yuri, breasts," Kei hissed.
Great line.
The duo shot uncertain glances at one another, then seemed to come to an
unspoken truce. Getting Zeiram would take precedence over their 'discussion'
but they would return to it when time allowed. There were way too many
More commage needed. Man, I really like that word.
There was hesitation in Bob's voice. "Well, all but the mining operation.
That was owned by Sarvgon, a small geology corporation that operates in this
arm of the galaxy. But all of the others were owned by YSC. And there's
something else. Once I made the YCS connection, I did some additional
YSC and YCS different or a typo?
"Now there we have something of a problem," Bob admitted. "According to my
database, there are two YSC business almost equal distance from here. One is
located in the Baltron system, the other in Omicron 4. Baltron is closer,
but smaller, a series of banks on the one populated planet in the system.
However, the one on Omicron 4 is a biggie. Management center for this part
of the sector. If Zeiram is trying to hurt these guys, that would almost
definitely be his target."
And in the inavoidable decision moment. What would a fic be without one?
"A zeonoid?" Yuri asked.
Kei shook her head. "None of them are anywhere near bright enough to pilot a
spaceship of any kind."
"And the Guyver kills them too fast," Iria added. "No, we're dealing with
a Zaolord."
"What if we're wrong and he hits Baltron?" Yuri asked Iria, but shot a glare
to Kei. It was returned just as fiercely by the redhead.
"Then you'll definitely need to add a comma after wrong," Bob responded.
The others collectively gazed at his interface for a long moment.
"Well, you do." His voice was quiet, apologetic, and defensive.
Despite the pain, Iria was mentally clear enough to consider those words of
caution.
"Yes. Add a comma," she finally decided.
right. If they were and that happened, Zeiram might not surface again for
years, if ever.
Uh, if he never surfaces again, wouldn't that be a good thing? Exempting
your Ahabian vengeance kick and all.
"We'll send a warning about the freighter. Say there's a Class-1 Biological
Hazard on board and that the ship is not to land under any circumstances,
board, and
"Transmit orders to Group Beta. They'll know what to do."
And so it was done.
just in case there was _ANY_ doubt about a conspiracy...
"-get me some goddamn support, you military screwjobs! No, I don't care if
you don't have jurisdiction and it'll cause an incident! No, I don't care if
Commage
Simms scrutinized them a second time. "Don't you think you guys are a bit
old to be going around in two piece outfits like that. You aren't doing
anyone any favors by showing the effect gravity has on a body, you know."
Hiss. Oooooh.
The commander considered that and nodded in apology. "Sorry. Your sag is
barely noticeable."
Iria had the Dirty Pair calmed down enough to start talking coherently in
under five minutes.
Damn, she's good.
Simms placed his hand to his chin in thought. "Well, now that you mention
it, I suppose I could have mistaken several guys wearing black special
forces type jumpsuits and carrying sophisticated state-of-the-art armament
while moving with a military precision that managed to blow up half of the
police force in the city in just over a minute as not being a giant walking
mushroom. Sorry about that. I guess it was your perp"
I love this guy.
strategy. Chess was his favorite game and he was almost a rated grandmaster
Commage
According to the other members of the unit, their tasks were nearly
completed and they could depart through the upper atmosphere once the signal
More commage.
Man, I LOVE that word!
"Definitely an all-around good plan." Although Kei thought that infiltrating
the place by hiding in a giant wooden badger would have worked just as well.
The others shouldn't have made fun of her idea like that. It was a good plan
too.
Yeah, but the frenchies might catapult it back. "What a stupid complaint,"
Kie muttered.
The redhead continued her search looking for more compliments as well as
people to kill.
... Well, I can't say that wasn't in character.
area. No weapons to be found there either, since it appeared the folks
didn't like playing 'Grenade Golf,' or Russian Roulette during their
downtime.
Buncha wienies if you ask me.
But then Yuri's eyes spotted what was lying on one of the tables. An idea
began to form. A very risky idea, but the only chance she saw herself
having.
Oooh. They play Knumbley Peg with lightsabers?
She tossed the remaining fifty cards at his body as it slumped to the floor,
his lifeblood joining him in a growing pool of crimson at his side.
Nihippity nice.
Rene scowled at the question. "Wait thirty seconds. I'll be in position by
then. I guarantee it. We'll nail that bitch for sure." He placed his hands
on their shoulders, the first show of affection he had ever given either of
them. "I'm counting on you. Of all the people in the unit, you're the two
I've held in the highest regard. I mean that."
And the natives in the background begin shouting, "SACRIFICE! SACRIFICE!"
Blood splattered over Iria's armor as the gun fell away from her chin. She
stood up, looking in the direction that the shot had come from. Once again
she owed her life to Kei, or maybe it was Yuri this time. It was as she rose
to her full height that she saw exactly who her savior truly was.
"YOU?!"
"God Dammit, Barney! THEY SAID ONE HIT WOULD'NT GIVE ME FLASHBACKS!" Iria
jumped up and began ranting at the purple dinosaur.
Five feet away, Yuri turned to Kei and shot her an inquiring look. Kei
just shrugged and made some comment about someone's misspent youth.
Iria kept her gun trained on the man, not allowing it to waver in the
slightest.
The hell if she would lower her guard around _this_ hallucination again.
Killgore appeared offended at the comparison, though the smile never left
his features. "Hey there, Sunshine, is that any way to properly introduce
your husband?"
Ohhh boy.
On the whole:
Great running comedy. I didn't openly laugh a lot, but many were the times
I chortled quietly. That was an eventful chapter, nice flow and timing,
etc. Huzzah and huzzah. Not much bad to say.
Coincidentally, this is the reason I rarelly C&C while both sleep deprived
and really up on caffine. I'm not quite sure if its a good or bad thing.
Miashara
-The C is for coffee.