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Titans II

Right, from now, I'm beginning to wrap up as much as possible. It's 5:13 am where I am, and I'm exhausted, so I'll write as much as possible and ask you folks to leave the characters below for me to write the next few days. Thanks... now, going to find the third shoe to drop. I know it's around here somewhere.

--

INT. ISHNU CITY - CAVERNOUS ROOM

The design of this large room is alien, completely strange, and strikingly discordant to the eye; the color combinations are at the same time grotesque yet suitable for the Vai - whose shadows we now see peeking through the door, sliding past one another to take their places in the haven of shadows just out of sight.

Daly slowly turns to face the only familiar thing in the expanse: the barrel of the human-issue gun. This is the first time we've ever seen the Old Man in full light: he seems to be a perfectly integrated cybernetic being, with flesh melting into wires and metal flowing into bone. He shines with an incandescence similar to Henderson's and Reg's, but it's smaller, less white. Less important.

OLD MAN
It's too late, now, for polite questions.

The last thing Daly is expecting is a human being. He reacts, skips a beat - hardly. But it's noticeable.

DALY
We're searching for the missing members of our Alpha Team, a team of peaceful scientific researchers -

OLD MAN (breaking in)
Peaceful? You? Invaders! Murderers! Weapons down, now!

DALY
We simply -

OLD MAN (roaring)
DOWN! NOW!

The Titans officers comply. The Old Man, the cyborg, doesn't move. Doesn't bat an eyelash.

OLD MAN
It's a trait of the human race, is it not, to go where they're unwanted, to stretch out their wings to fly too close to the sun. To pave a way for progress and in that progress kill the only hope for the future.

Daly says nothing.

OLD MAN
We are neither young nor human, Captain Daly, although thanks to your crewmembers we have now come closer to understanding your race than at any other time in our... acquaintance. Closer than diplomatic ties, than the screams of Vai children as the plague ate them alive.

His gaze turns to Dr. Chenei.

OLD MAN
We have long ago learned not to honor a human's bargain, to trust a human. But, we owe a great debt to the one known as Chenei. A debt that only fire can repay. We do not have an equivalent to revenge - but we do have justice.

Daly's eyes flicker down to the floor, where his gun lays four feet to the side.

OLD MAN (sneering)
We will have what we want. We will have what we need.

------------------
channe@[url="http://cryoterrace.tripod.com"]cryoterrace[/url] | "I wonder," said Frodo, "but I don't know. And that's the way of a real tale."
 
I just moved into my new place. So, I had a new installment up and ready to post, when I realized I had left the darned thing behind on a disk labeled "CHANNE'S TAKE-HOME PROJECTS", a few hours away. I had it sent up a few days ago - should be here tomorrow. Hold your horses, guys.

------------------
channe@[url="http://cryoterrace.tripod.com"]cryoterrace[/url] | "I wonder," said Frodo, "but I don't know. And that's the way of a real tale."
 
This is about the only thing I did for this thread all week (sorry everyone). Type it in your URL window, as I use a service that does not allow remote hosting.

It came out a bit more convoluted than I expected it to be, but then... I was hoping it would!
smile.gif


Writers, what do you say about finishing up this story after Feb. 1st (when I can really come back to the forums)?
http://cryoterrace.tripod.com/tchar1.jpg

Arrows go from the giver of orders to the subordinate.

------------------
channe@cryoterrace | "I wonder," said Frodo, "but I don't know. And that's the way of a real tale."
 
INT. ISHNU - ALIEN CITY - CHAMBER

As before. Chenei and Downey draw closer - if that's possible - to Daly. A flicker of real fear crosses Chenei's face. Downey's hand inches down his leg slower than the sweat that's streaming down his face. Daly stands, stoic, his eyes shooting once more to the gun laying on the ground near him.

CHENEI (hisses)
CAPTAIN -

DALY
We - just want to go. Let us take our crew and go. We were here for samples of the plant - zialle mehnbe - nothing more -

With a move that's almost quicker than human, the Old Man advances. The gun is to Daly's head less than a second later - he flinches with the suddenness of it all, but doesn't crack.

OLD MAN
I don't think you want to lie again.

DALY
You won't kill me yet.

The Old Man tilts his head to one side. Shadows in the back begin to advance. Chenei's beginning to look positively frightened; Downey keeps his composure as best he can, but the nervousness is showing at the corners of his mouth.

OLD MAN
Your usefulness runs out in precisely fifteen seconds, Captain.

There's a pause filled with the unspoken. Chenei bursts in upon it, her words so hurried they almost trip over one another. She's desultory, derogatory.

CHENEI
We were - defending ourselves. Nothing more.

OLD MAN
Progress.

He keeps the gun to Daly's head. Nods. One of the shadows is behind Chenei - it begins to swirl around her ankles, touch her neck. Chenei breathes in quickly - it's done something to her breath. Shortened it. Suffocated it slightly.

OLD MAN
Seeing as you're still at least genetically my countrymen, I'll allow you to leave the building alive, Captain, if you hand over the Destroyer to me. Now.

Something occurs to Daly.

DALY
Why don't you just walk up and take her?

OLD MAN
Hand her over. Now. I'm done with -

DALY
You can't just take her, can you? Is that why we got in so easily? Because you can't get near? If you could have taken her, you would have by now. The Vai don't need human theatrics.

Chenei gulps. She's very nervous now. She knows Daly's walking a tightrope, playing a deadly game. If he's wrong -

OLD MAN
I'll shoot her -

DALY
You won't shoot her. No, there are procedures for this sort of thing. You can't shoot her.

Daly has a trump card.

DALY
We're going to walk out of here, Doctor. Just walk out. Downey, flank.

He grabs her forearm. Downey, dry-throated, does the same with her other forearm - and they drag Chenei backward as if they were benevolent bank robbers being gentle with a hostage.

------------------
channe@[url="http://cryoterrace.tripod.com"]cryoterrace[/url] | "I wonder," said Frodo, "but I don't know. And that's the way of a real tale."
 
*leans forward, conspiratorially*

...anybody want to hear the ending?

I ask because there are certain things I must do if so, certain brains I need to pick.

Yeah? Yeah?
smile.gif


------------------
channe@[url="http://cryoterrace.tripod.com"]cryoterrace[/url] | "I wonder," said Frodo, "but I don't know. And that's the way of a real tale."
 
INT. ISHNU CITY TUNNELS - continued:

With KELLER safely left behind, KAHEEL crawls in utter blackness through the tunnels of the Ishnu City-Creature. He had eaten his his last remaining meal bar shortly after they'd separated and he felt some measure of his old strength returning to him.

Several times he'd heard the telltale sounds of the huge Vai creaures moving about in other areas, but thus far none had come his way.

He was thankful for that.

At the speed he'd seen the last one shoot down the passage, he had the distinct impression that if he collided with a Vai going in the opposite direction, there would be nothing left of him but a 100-meter smear on the floor of the tunnel. On the bright side, that Vai would also die in excruciating pain.

Kaheel liked to focus on the positives.

After forty minutes travelling in a downward slope, he slid across a bump on the floor of the tunnel. He reached a hand under himself to feel what it was and it gave way under the pressure. Suddenly the tunnel was filled with a cool green light as an aperture opened in the tunnel to an outside chamber.

Kaheel had wondered how the Vai were able to get in and out of the tunnels. Now he realized it was all rather simple. With their size and multiple limbs, the Vai could feel and manipulate any one of those swithes in the tunnels and enter and exit as they pleased. Kaheel had discovered this one by mere chance since it was imbedded in the floor. Who knows how many he may have passed that were on the ceiling or the walls as he crawled by blindly in the dark?

He peered out into the adjacent chamber. It was huge. Organized in rows were giant vats of various colored liquids. Control panels blinked and glistened with an unpleasant look of wetness. The air was as warm and damp as a greenhouse full of ferns. Inside the tanks Kaheel could see humanoid shapes in suspension with a myriad of wires and tubes penetrating them. Dark shapes moved stealthily between the tanks in ceaseless attendance. This was the place - the source of Kaheel's pain, the brainchild of a dark and twisted alien race, as ingenious as they were evil.

Quite by accident, Kaheel had reached the end of his journey. On instinct alone, and without a clue as to his next course of action, Kaheel emerged from the tunnel and entered the Vai laboratory.

To be continued?
***********************************

Channe, despite my recent lack of time you've inspired me to make an entry (on a Sunday, no less!).
If you want to ask me anything in order to help you wrap the story up, direct your inquiries to:

zath_ras@hotmail.com







------------------
"Draal gave Zathras list of things not to say.
This was one. No.... *tsk tsk*
No. Not good.
Not supposed to mention... "one", or... THE one.
Hmmmm.
You never heard that."

[This message has been edited by B5_Obsessed (edited February 03, 2002).]

[This message has been edited by B5_Obsessed (edited February 03, 2002).]
 
I apologize for the continuity errors, people. With this and the next two entries, I plan on writing myself out of the plothole I wrote myself into earlier (I’m already thinking revision). Strap in. It’s going to be a wild ride. We hope.

INT. ISHNU – SHUTTLE

Things are moving quickly, now. Langley slides into the pilot’s seat, followed by Mar into the co-pilot’s. Their hands are moving on the panels before they even hit the seat, pausing only to draw the belts across their shoulders and legs.

LANGLEY (over her shoulder)
Jaron?

JARON
We’re in.

Novakovich and Jaron, strapped into the crewseats, appear slightly nervous.

LANGLEY
Thrusters enabled.

MAR
We’re go. (beat)
I don’t think we should do this.

LANGLEY
It’s almost nightfall.

MAR
They’re going to see us. Shoot us down.

LANGLEY
They didn’t see us land. We’re too small to hit their sensors.

MAR
I don’t like it.

LANGLEY
Liftoff.

EXT. ISHNU – SHUTTLE

The embattled shuttle lifts up, and hovers. It begins to skim over the tops of the alien trees, silent.

INT. ISHNU – SHUTTLE

As before.

LANGLEY
Nightfall’s in four hours. We have to do this.

MAR
We can reach Deimos colony on our current fuel count. Reach reinforcements. They’d pick us up in the rings.

There’s a silence. It’s an appealing idea – dying gruesomely at the hands of mutated humans and unknown aliens on a backwater planet is the last thing Langley wanted to do with her life, anyway.

MAR
We could –

LANGLEY
You wanna go, you get out and walk there. I’m not leaving them behind.

MAR
We can’t let this die with us.

LANGLEY
Who says we’re going to die?

MAR
They’re probably already dead. They were pretty thorough with Alpha Team. They mauled them. Hell. There wasn’t anything left but shreds of clothing and a smear on a nearby tree.

Another silence.

LANGLEY
What was that clause in our contract? Novakovich?

From the back, Novakovich speaks. The woman looks green.

NOVAKOVICH
I think it’s located in 14B, ma’am. “In the case of death within the line of duty or accidential death, the Company will pay all reimbursements to the immediate family of the deceased.” I think. I’m not sure. I think.

LANGLEY (beat)
I have a kid, Mar. We’re not going to make it to Deimos. The Vai are too clean.

MAR
Reading something.

LANGLEY
I’ve got it.

EXT. ISHNU – SHUTTLE

The shuttle slows, hovers.

Below it, a darkness spreads through the trees.


------------------
channe@[url="http://cryoterrace.tripod.com"]cryoterrace[/url] | "Last one to kill a bad guy buys the beer." -lost in space
 
I'm baaacckkkk !

Without further ado ...

SMASH CUT TO:

AN EYE OPENING ...

INT. VAI CHAMBER

The mutated HENDERSON stands in the middle of the chamber ... beat ... her eyes search the chamber ... beat ... she purses her lips to speak but ...

SMASH CUT TO:

RAPID SEQUENCE OF SHOTS

- David Henderson being taken away
- the vial of Calderan blood
- the Titans arriving on Ishnu
- the landing party ...

HENDERSON (VO)
My name is Henderson, Kathleen Erin
Henderson. Born on Tarasco Colony.
I'm human ... not some ...

VAI NANOTECH (VO)
No. You are Vai.

HENDERSON (VO)
Noooooooooo ....

SMASH CUT TO:

INT. VAI CHAMBER

HENDERSON slams her fists into the ground, the bio-rock cracks, blood leaks onto the floor ... green, Vai, unhuman ...

CLOSE ON HENDERSON'S EYES

Not Vai ... slowly becoming human.

HENDERSON
I am _human_ ...


Well ? Please continue.

------------------
 
Adjusting accordingly. I'll post later - I'm at work.

Small continuity issue: Vai blood isn't green. Calderan blood is. Vai blood is exceedingly nasty-looking. Calderan blood is corrosive to Vai.

Nature vs. nurture. The Vai didn't count on one thing. The genetic scientists say that the body may change, but they're slightly deficient psychologists.

------------------
channe@[url="http://cryoterrace.tripod.com"]cryoterrace[/url] | "Last one to kill a bad guy buys the beer." -lost in space
 
INT. ISHNU LAB COMPLEX - continued:

KAHEEL stares in stunned silence at the form in the tank.

KAHEEL
No...

The body is Calderan.

A female.

It floats weightless and naked in the giant vat of liquid. It is a truly horrifying sight - greatly emaciated with bones visible everywhere under the milky white skin, which was itself sloughing off in places, no doubt due to prolonged immersion in whatever liquid the tank held. The woman's limbs were bent at odd angles - the ligaments has shortened due to lack of use.

KAHEEL
Please, please... not her. Please let this be someone else. Anyone else.

He moved closer to the tank. The flow of liquids distorted his view and particulate matter swirled in a graceless arc.

He had waited a long time and journeyed far, and risked his life all in the unreasonable hope that there might still be a chance for his family. But now, here was his wife, Chellah, pickled in a jar like a frog in formaldyhide.

She had died alone and in terror. He had failed. He felt a burning in his chest that he could barely contain. He swallowed back the pain and continued on.

There appeared to be no way in or out of the tank; it was one solid piece of glass or other glass-like substance, rounded off at the top. It was a mystery that Kaheel didn't have much patience for.

He thumped the tank hard with his fistto judge it's strength. There was very little vibration - it was extremely thick. Kaheel worked like an automaton.

KAHEEL (flatly)
I need a tool. Something to pry, to smash..

The woman in the tank was staring at him.

Kaheel felt goosebumps rise on his flesh. It was impossible. She could not be alive! But still the eyes followed his every move.

There was no recognition. They were the eyes of total insanity.

KAHEEL
Oh god, no, NO!

The woman in the tank began pounding her useless limbs against the tank and opened her mouth in a silent scream that only she could hear.

To be Continued:











------------------
"Draal gave Zathras list of things not to say.
This was one. No.... *tsk tsk*
No. Not good.
Not supposed to mention... "one", or... THE one.
Hmmmm.
You never heard that."
 
Oh gosh! Poor Chellah!!!

I'm hijackin' Keller, Obsessed...

And Henderson's name is Katherine, not Kathleen
smile.gif


INT. ISHNU - CORRIDOR

It's a few moments after Kaheel's dissappearance. Keller staggers to her feet and throws herself at the closed door, attempting to pry it open. When it's obvious she's going to fail, she brings her fist into violent contact with the door and backs off, breathing heavily.

KELLER (regretfully)
Damn you, Kaheel.

She steps back once. Something echoes. Her heel steps into some sort of liquid.

She pauses and looks down, notices. Kneeling, she reaches out to touch it; green and viscous, the liquid is Kaheel's Calderan blood.

There's a flash -

- and we're BACK AT TREVAYNE, back in the sulfur and the smoke and the shrapnel. We can't see anything - just figures, just flashes of light. But the sounds are vivid. Real. Screams. Explosions. War. We hear voices we recognize:

KELLER
JIM!!!!

DALY
I can't reach you! Ari!

KELLER
They're coming! They're coming over the ridge! GET OUT OF HERE!

DALY
ARI!!!

And as fast as we were transported here, we see Keller kneeling on the floor, examining a green-stained hand, watching the Calderan blood trickle down her fingers.

She then looks to the side. A camera focuses on a doorway further down the hallway, open. Not unlike the one Kaheel used.

With deliberate motions, Keller brings her hand up and draws it across her face. And her other cheek. And then, deliberately, she rubs the blood into her hands as if she were using hand lotion.

She reaches into her jacket, and rises. There's no way Kaheel's going to leave her behind. No way she is going to die here. Her career was just taking off, dammit.

There's a similar doorway a few meters down, a doorway that's slightly open. With a muffled grunt, she pries it open enough to shove herself through.

------------------
channe@[url="http://cryoterrace.tripod.com"]cryoterrace[/url] | "Last one to kill a bad guy buys the beer." -lost in space
 
INT. ISHNU CITY LAB

The withered woman in the tank pounded in futility against the glass as partially dissolved skin particles clouded the tank's interior.

KAHEEL could only stand in horror as this nightmare creature - his wife - flailed and writhed in her liquid environment.

KAHEEL
STOP! PLEASE! CHELLAH!

But Kaheel's words went unheeded
**************

Oh shit! My niece just threw up all over my floor!

To be Continued.
mad.gif


------------------
"Draal gave Zathras list of things not to say.
This was one. No.... *tsk tsk*
No. Not good.
Not supposed to mention... "one", or... THE one.
Hmmmm.
You never heard that."
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR> My niece just threw up all over my floor! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Since when was Kaheel's niece on Ishnu?
laugh.gif


------------------
Sheridan: Are you trying to cheer me up?
Ivanova: No sir, wouldn't dream of it.
Sheridan: Good, I hate being cheered up. It's depressing.
Ivanova: So in that case we're all going to die horrible, painful, lingering deaths.
Sheridan: Thank you, I feel so much better now.
 
It must be an Ishnu thing. I was throwing up all last night (a slight case of food poisoning... eek!)

But I'm better now.

It's a night for Ishnu - I'll be posting afore I head to sleep-land.

Hope your niece feels better, Obsessed!

EDIT NOTE: Um, I guess I'm still sick. I'm gonna post tomorrow. I'll call it the Ishnubug or something. Hope it's a 24-hour so I can get back to life... :p

------------------
channe@[url="http://cryoterrace.tripod.com"]cryoterrace[/url] | "Last one to kill a bad guy buys the beer." -lost in space

[This message has been edited by channe (edited February 17, 2002).]
 
Probably just wanted to see if we were still paying attention.
blush.gif


------------------
"Draal gave Zathras list of things not to say.
This was one. No.... *tsk tsk*
No. Not good.
Not supposed to mention... "one", or... THE one.
Hmmmm.
You never heard that."
 
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