Cum Aperit Pandemonium {DEAD}

by **Faal Lot Himdah** » Fri Jun 29, 2018 10:03 am

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Cum Aperit Pandemonium

"Well, let me be the first to say this, welcome to Hell, welcome to Pandemonium."

The first FTL drive created by human hands was created in the year 2156 by Dr Adriannae Erix. Two years after its initial creation, the first ship equipped with the Erix FTL Drive took flight. This new chapter of humanity was not a very bright chapter however, as a small coalition of nations hogged the technology of the FTL Drive to themselves, igniting world wide conflict. By 2200, no humans remained on the surface of the Earth.

But humanity did not kill itself, as while war was raged on the mother planet, colonies were created across the stars. But with the fall of Earth, the colonies eventually became their own independent states, and due to the lust of humanity a new age of war raged across the galaxy. Humans fought against other humans and non-human races in order to secure power. Great powers rose, and fell, over and over.

By 2832, a strange signal was detected coming from a planet once thought to be uninhabitable... and no, its not Earth. This planet was not thought to be uninhabited, but it could never have been confirmed as inhabited due to the ancient planetary shield that prevented any attempts to learn about what dwelled upon its surface from the safety of orbit. The shield never prevented ships from entering the planets atmosphere, but those that did never returned and it was assumed the shield was put in place to quarantine the planet long, long ago.

This signal was one of two signals to ever escape the planets shields. While this one's meaning was unknown to humanity, the first one however was not. The first one was a single word, the word that would become the name of the planet, Pandemonium, the home of demons. But anyways, after some time, the strange signal of 2832 was determined to be a warning that the planetary shield around Pandemonium was failing. Almost all powers at the time went into action, and moved on the planet.

Not as a united front that is, while some were heading to the planet for the just cause of making sure that whatever was trapped there remained trapped, others saw an opportunity for personal gain. And as such, the War of Pandemonium began. It raged for over a hundred years, until only two groups remained. One sought to prevent whatever was on that planet from escaping by any means necessary, and the other sought to claim the planet and whatever was on it for themselves. One sought to protect, the other sought the power to conquer.

Those who sought to protect where the Vera Pax, known across the galaxy for their kindness and their endless quest for perpetual peace. Those who sought to conquer where the Ordinis Aeterna, known across the galaxy for their cruelness, and desire to bring eternal order through force. Not only where these two the most powerful factions of the time, but they were two forces that had always fought, one for the light, and one for the dark. In fact, their roots could be traced back to Earth.

And it is actually on Earth where we start our story, not in the year 2996 when the final battle of the War of Pandemonium was fought. No, our story begins in the year 2018. Our story begins in the modern age of humanity, on Earth when it was still alive, with a group of unsuspecting humans who would find themselves waking up 978 years later, destined to either prevent the release of or maybe release the demons of Pandemonium.

Commander Kato Galen
Above Pandemonium, aboard the Titan Hero
Sometime in the year 2996

How long had he been there, on this ship, fighting an on and off battle above a certain planet. This planet, known as Pandemonium, was a mystery beyond what could be seen from space. The planet had a strange planetary sheild that seemed to fail in its design, as it allowed for ships to enter the planet. But then again, no one ever returned from the planet, leading Vera Pax along with other nations to assume that the shield was meant to keep things on the planet, and as such, the planet was assumed to have been quarintined. The galaxy would forget the planet, but then the signal was detected. One thing lead to another, and now Vera Pax had a fleet engaged in an on and off battle with the Ordinis Aeterna for the planet.

The planet had no strategic planet. Sure, maybe it had some resources, but that was an assumption. If it did, the chances that the resources where enough to out weigh the fact that the planet was likely quarintined. Not to mention the fact the planet was out of the way. So why was he, Commander Kato Galen, aboard this ship above Pandemonium with his Dragontooth Company. The reason was that if there was resources on Pandemonium, the Ordinis Aeterna was crazy enough to risk the release of whatever was quarintined on Pandemonium. And Vera Pax did not want that. So, they would stop their age old enemies from obtaining the planet, by any means necessary.

And so the Dragontooth Company was here, as the last resort. If the Vera Pax fleet was defeated, then it would be up to the Dragontooth Company to stop the Ordinis Aeterna from releasing whatever demons dwelled on the surface of Pandemonium. By any means necessary, even if it meant using a certain device they brought with them to destroy Pandemonium. And that was why he was here, waiting on the bridge of the Titan Hero, a massive battleship.

As he waited and watched the crew of the Titan Hero's bridge going on with their work. He waited and watched as a fleet of ships from the Ordinis Aeterna appeared not far from the fleet of Vera Pax. Within a few minutes, the final battle for Pandemonium had begun. Kato couldn't do anything but watch as the Vera Pax fleet seemed to push Ordinis Aeterna back, only for a fleet three times the size of Vera Pax's to drop out of FTL.

With the battle turning in Ordinis Aeterna's favour, the Titan Hero was taking heavy damage, leading to an evacuation order of the ship. But while many where running to escape pods, Kato and other members of the Dragontooth Company rushed to one of the Titan Hero's hanars, where a the Dragontooth Company's landing craft where held. There were five in total, each capable of carrying 20 - 30 people, along with a number of vehicles and equipment. Each craft had stealth technology to slip by enemy sensors.

Four of the five landing craft where full when they left the hanagar, but the fifth was not even full to the 20 people mark. Among those in the fifth craft was Kato and those closest to him. However, unknown to those aboard the last landing craft, in the storage area of the landing craft, a group of unconscious people suddenly appeared.

Meanwhile, in the cock pit of the landing craft, Kato approached the pilot, "Donatellos, get us down as quickly as possible."

Alastor Brone
Waking up in a strange place
Sometime in the year 2996

The ground was cold. But that wasn't strange, it was winter after all. No, the ground was still strangely cold. Not to mention hard. Hard and cold. Almost like metal. But that couldn't be right, right? That was what was going through his head as he slolwy stirred and woke up. As soon as he woke up, he took a look around and started to panic.

It was a metal room, with a fair amount of lighting. What caused the panic though was the unconscious people laying around the room with him. He was somewhere he didn't recognize, surrounded by what he thought was dead bodies. In his panic he found himself backing against the wall, and rolled up into a ball, with no noise escaping his mouth, but his eyes still screaming.

by **Charlia** » Fri Jun 29, 2018 1:18 pm

He was never very good at identifying his emotions--fitting them into the neat little boxes, how everyone else seemed to do. Yet, this one seemed rather simple; if he had to guess, he'd call it... fury.

Yes. Yes, he was furious, wasn't he? That sounded right. There were other things, there, but not exactly things he wanted to admit to.

He was grateful for the chocolate, at least. He knew it was a bit of a tell, but it was his one indulgence and it helped calm him down... yet, not nearly enough. He had to force himself to simply put a hand on the wall as if to support himself, instead of slamming a fist into it in anger--it wouldn't do anything, but it would give him an outlet, a way to release the incandescence building inside him. But it would also reveal just how shaken he was, and that wouldn't do at all.

He could let the others see his anger; he'd done that often enough. But the rest of it had to stay inside, shielded from view. He wasn't sure he trusted himself to show one without the rest, so he'd default to keeping it all locked away, as usual.

It was a chore, but a necessary one.

At the very least, things could have been worse. He wasn't one for looking on the bright side, but he did have to admit that there were worse circumstances to be in. Allowing his thoughts to stray in that direction never helped, though, so he forced himself to ignore the intrusive images and focused on his immediate surroundings.

He had better things to do than dwell in the past.

Ugh... She was sore. She knew she often twisted into weird positions in her sleep, but at the same time... she couldn't remember falling asleep... what had she been doing?

My bed's not this hard, anyway, she thought, eyes still closed, vague mumbles of discontent filtering through the air as she untangled her limbs. And if I ended up on the floor, I'd have woken up.

She sat up slowly, blinking. No, she was in her normal clothes, so she definitely hadn't gone to sleep. No matter how tired she got, she never slept in her normal clothes. And she certainly never slept with her goggles on... she could feel them pressing slightly against her face, and the slight pinkish tint covering her vision when she did open her eyes confirmed that she was, in fact, wearing them.

She sat up and stretched, relishing the feeling, and then blinked a few times in confusion. Well, that was... not what she'd expected. Though, it did explain a lot. It was a dream, wasn't it? Wouldn't be the first strangely vivid one, or the first lucid one.

But what on earth was this one about? There were others around her, most of them unconscious--a couple had started to stir, though, and she did notice one of them curled into a ball in the corner, shivering. That was another unusual thing--he was entirely unfamiliar. She hardly ever had people she didn't know show up in her dreams. "Weird," she muttered. "That's... that's weird. Someone explain, please?"

She felt sick; always felt sick. Psychosomatic. That was easy to figure out. Physically, she was in good health. Mentally... well, that was something much different, wasn't it?

So, the fact that she'd just randomly passed out was rather unusual. She'd been taking care to ensure that she got enough nutrition to keep herself going, though her body and mind weren't cooperating--in short, things were exactly the same as always. A change of pace would be welcome, but that wasn't likely to happen any time soon.

Whatever she was lying on, it was uncomfortable, an unfamiliar surface and an unfamiliar ceiling above her when she opened her eyes. She sat up quickly, trying to quell the instinctual panic welling up inside her--pull yourself together, she ordered in her mind, sharp and cutting as her mental chastisements often were. She was always hard on herself, but--well, it was often necessary. It was far too easy to fall apart and that would never be a good result, especially not in an unusual situation like this one.

There was a somewhat familiar sight over in the corner, though--a young man(that crawling sensation, instinctive desires she had to force back) not much older than her, curled up, clearly having lost his own fight with panic. She'd schooled herself in the nature of panic attacks enough to at least be able to attempt to help--so she moved closer to him, though she kept a fair distance, knowing that someone being too close might not help at all.

"Hey. Hey," she said softly, trying to ignore the strangeness of the situation and simply focusing on her attempt to help. "Can you hear me? Focus on my voice, all right? Can you try to breathe? Slowly. Breathe in for four seconds, hold it, then breathe out. All right? You're having a panic attack, but it will pass. Try to think about something else, if you can--you can count back from 100, it will give you something else to focus on. All right? For now, just breathe."

by **Danceria** » Fri Jun 29, 2018 7:35 pm

Vera Pax Gunship
Pandemonium Orbit

"You got it bossman!" the tanned and chipper Routeman hollered to his commander, as the Mule class gunship fired to life. She wasn't the heaviest thing Donatellos Eldoradau had to drift through a blockade, but she sure had an infernuva lot more kick than any of the old freighters he did during his smuggling days. That's why they called these babies "Mules". Priming the engines and getting the targeting systems online, he hollered over the intercom. "All right, you know the drill! Just cuz these babies have some cloaks don't mean th' Ordies aren't gonna spam a buncha mines at us. Rosestern, Guildicranz! Get on the guns an' keep any bogies off my six, an' don't fire 'till you see their serials, got it? Same goes for the rest of you flyboys, no sense lettin' some of the Ordies know where we are if we can 'elp it. Everyone else, strap yerselves in and hold onto yer butts!"

The g's throttled the occupants to the back of their chairs, or to the floor, as the craft rocketed off to the dull sound of the hangar collapsing, and the last of the crafts exited the Titan Hero. Just as predicted, there was already a vast series of mines and buzzdrones laying in wait for any Vera Pax ships attempting to enter the atmosphere. "One last thing before radio silence, keep yer eyes out for yer buddies. Dragon Five out." He then flipped a few switches on the dashboard. "Any preferences for music? ...No?" he then chuckled. "How's about some cool vibrations."

As the song dully thudded throughout the ship, Donatellos floored it, careening headfirst into the minefield, and flipped a few switches. Some idle radio chatter from the Ordies briefly interrupted the music, before the man smirked "Right, Rosestern, focus on the buzzdrones. They're fast and cranky. Guildicranz, ready the EMP. I'll send the frequency, and fire that baby when I give the signal." Much to the surprise of the crew, the stealth cloak was disabled by Donatellus, allowing the closest drones to immediately be aware of his position. The other Mules stayed far away as Donatellus skimmed the very edge of the minefield, calling a bunch of mines to his tail, before hightailing it back out into orbit. The ship's turrets made quick work of the initial buzzdrones, while the mines continued to follow dutifully behind Donatellus like a trail of pebbles. "Here come a few droneships, waste 'em!"

There were three constants in the universe, that Light is the pre-Erix speed limit of the universe, gravity, and Donatellus would defy the first two and all sanity to execute possible drifts. This was immediately proven as any remaining droneships attempted to lay a hit on the bulky ship.

"Come on Ordie Gordy..." the man goaded. "You know ya wanna go fishin'...c'mon...yes!"

His target, a few of the piloted ships, no doubt seeing what the Mule was trying to do and trying desperately to stop it. "Right, how come I still have to barrel roll?! Waste those bots you blind bats!" "Quit being a circus flyer!" was Rosenstern's response "Neither of us can get a hit on each other cuz you're flying like a hyped up Hoopergull!" "I got 'em! That's two for me!" Guildikranz cheered "When's that EMP goin' up again?" Donatellus grinned. "On my mark...three...two...one...mark! Spark 'em up!"

It was an old smuggler's trick, but it worked like a charm. By analyzing the frequency of the mines, he had swept a wave out towards the ships, and with the frequency, any mines that didn't accept the new programming to go after the manned ships would shut down. Cutting the engine and sweeping back, the few manned ships attempted to score a few shots on the mule as she flipped back into the grip of the atmosphere and barreled towards the rendezvous, her cloak once more being active now that stealth was needed. "Ya fell for th' Meropean lure...again! Ordies ne'er learn do they, up top Lowell!" Donatellus held his hand up towards the grouchy blond. It was hard to believe that two people who came from the same planet could be so different.

Shame about those who were in the back, they would be occasionally jolted from side to side, and hear the muffled sound of music and gunfire, before being replaced by a more subdued tune. But eh, hazards of human smuggling.

by **Korhal IVV** » Fri Jun 29, 2018 9:36 pm

2018
Tokyo, Japan
Akihabara
Kagero Tojo’s house

Today was just like any other. Or so one would think.

Kagero Tojo, a diminutive, kindly, and perhaps overworked man, rode the train to home from work. Sitting on the train seats, one would see that the normally extremely congested train has very few people in it. It was because it was a Sunday, and many were out in day-offs.

As he sat there, one would also see that a friend of his was with him. It was Hideki Chihaya, Kagero’s best friend for nearly 15 years. They went to the same school, same college, same neighbourhood, and the same work. One could say that they are brothers not in flesh but in spirit.

“Say, Kagero.”, Hideki suddenly said to Kagero. “Since it’s your birthday, I can be with you to celebrate that, eh?”

“Well…”, Kagero hesitated, because that might mean getting late for work tomorrow. “I think…”, he pondered for a few seconds. He then gave the nod of approval. “Well, it is not bad to loosen up now and then.”

“That’s GREAT!”, Hideki yelped as he patted his friend. “Our friends are back in Kyoto, sadly, but video chat exists, right?”

“They can’t taste the pizza though…”

“They will taste it in your 26th birthday! Come on!”, Hideki teased.

“Alright, you said it. 26th.”

“Nice!”

120 minutes later, 9:20 PM

“That was a very nice birthday, Hideki.”, Kagero said as he put the empty pizza box in the trash. “Even if it is just the two of us here…”

“Naw, why would I let you muck around here all alone?”, he would answer jubilantly. “You’re my brother. Well, at least not in blood, but still.”

“Well, I think we would have to call it a day, eh?”, Kagero smiled. “I am looking forward to tomorrow, Hideki.”

“Alright then! I’ll be going!”, Hideki replied with a wave. But before he would walk another step, Kagero would call out.

“Hey, aren’t you forgetting something?”, Kagero whimpered.

“Oh, right.”, his friend said as he stepped back towards Kagero. “An obligatory hug, mmmm.”, he went on as he wrapped his arms around his life long friend. It would then be reciprocated immediately. “You are the only one that I have here in this city.”, Kagero said as they hugged. “I may know a lot… but I know who really cares. It’s you…”

“Don’t be so dramatic, will you?”, Hideki laughed. “You know, that girl in my department says she likes Kagero Tojo…”

“Not her again, please.”

“No, its someone else.”, Hideki answered as Kagero released him. “Well, I gotta go. For real!”

“What’s the rush when you are literally next door?”

“Uhm… nothing! It’s just a she-“, Hideki said before Kagero shut his mouth using his hand. “Don’t spoil it, remember? Only say it when you are officially in a relationship.”

“Hehe.”, Hideki sighed. “See you tomorrow!”

“See you too.”, Kagero said as he closed the door. He was alone again. The walls were silent, everything was quiet. “I have to sleep now…”, he thought as he lazily walked back to his bed. “Must… change to pajamas…”

Before he could change, though, he fell on his bed and was fast asleep.

A Metal Room
Time Unknown

Kagero awoke, but he did not open his eyes just yet. The first thing he noticed was that the floor was cold, as if it was made of metal. He fumbled his hands around, confirming its metallic make. He would then have the feel of warmth… a person?!

He jolted up, looking around. Just as he did, what seemed to be a muffled explosion resounded from what looked like to be outside. His attention turned to the unconscious individuals scattered around the room. As he did so, he felt what to seemed be inertia acting up. “The belly of an aircraft ?”, he thought. He then noticed himself. He was on his robes; the ones he uses when he is just in the house. He still felt the warmth of his friend’s embrace, but it seemed like he and these other people were taken in just… a few seconds and then dragged to an aircraft’s storage? His eyes then panned towards the lady trying to calm down a young man having a panic attack. He watched them as it looked like he was calming down bit by bit. He still thought to himself.

“This doesn’t make any sense… is this a dream? No… I swear that I am awake… what is happening here?”, he thought. He then stood, and whispered to the lady as not to panic the young man any further.

“Hey… hey you… where are we?”

by **Granis** » Sat Jun 30, 2018 2:07 am

As soon as Jeremy noticed that whatever was beneath his head wasn't soft like his pillow, and in fact cold, hard metal, he was wide awake. Somehow, he managed to keep his eyes from immediately opening and looking around, and instead managed to keep his eyes shut.

Slowly, he opened them by just a crack, and saw a bunch of blurry silouhettes standing around the... room, maybe? It looked like that.

He tried his best to ignore the little voice in the back of his head that was telling him the combination of all those traits generally described a cell, but most of his thought processes ceased when he heard a familiar grumble next to him. Pretending to roll over in his sleep, he opened the eye closest to the ground to see that yes, that was Hannah groaning in her sleep. Just a few moments later however, he heard the voices of the people around him, and it sounded like they were just as confused about waking up there as he was.

So yeah, probably not guards...

With that thought in mind, he finally sat up, deciding it might just be a better idea to try and work together with his fellow captives to escape. Of course, that was assuming that they really were prisoners, but considering Hannah was with him, he kinda thought it was a pretty sure bet.

Then again, when he sat up, he found that not only did he have his bag, but he'd even been left with his bokken!, both of which seemed like the kind of things that would be taken off him in a kidnapping scenario.

He moved over to try and shake his friend awake, an action that was immediately met with a fist to the gut from the unconscious girl.

"HNNNNGH!" Jeremy grunted, before shuffling away and standing up. "Alright, maybe later then..."

He then took his chance to look around the cell, taking note of his fellow captives. Out of the ones that had regained consciousness, he saw a pair of people trying to help a guy who was huddled against the wall. It looked like he was having some kind of panic attack, and Jeremy decided to give them some space, lest he make it more difficult for him to calm down. Instead, he turned his attention to only other person awake, some girl wearing a pair of goggles.

"Hey." He said, walking up to the girl and trying to think of a way he could navigate this conversation without making yet another enemy, while also trying to keep his identity hidden, just in case. "The names Joseph Moore. Do you have any idea who put us in here? Anyone you might've pissed off? You know, someone with resources?"

He could've gone on for quite a while, and honestly probably would have, but before he could, the room jolted, smacking his head into the wall with a loud DONG. At the same time, he heard the sound of gunfire, accompanied by muffled music, and his eyes widened as the 'cell' he'd found himself in continued to shake around.

"No... No this might not be a cell after all..." He said slowly, scanning around the room once more, this time with his new theory in mind. " I think we might actually be in a vehicle."

And then he turned back to Goggles, an expression that somehow managed to convey his utter dread while still looking kind of tired and lazy.

"Ok Goggles, don't freak out yet, but I think we might've been ab-

However, he stopped once more, giving the Panic Attack Gang a quick glance before turning back to goggles, this time whispering.

"I think... I think we might've been abducted by aliens..."

by **Faal Lot Himdah** » Sat Jun 30, 2018 5:09 am

Commander Kato Galen
Dragon 5
Sometime in the year 2996

"You two..." Kato said after taking a seat in beside Donatellos, and pointed to the crafts sensors, "A little early for celebration."

Not only had more droneships been launched from the Ordinis Aeterna fleet, but manned fighters. The sensors showed that the majority of the fighters where primarily interceptors, along with some light fighters, "Looks like they have learned. They've launched interceptors to take use down. So how about we cut the chit chat, and get down to the surf-"

It was then that he saw one of the other Mule's suddenly explode, as something zoomed passed the explosion. Ordinis Aeterna had not only learned, but they had developed a counter. They expected Vera Pax to make a desparate attempt at keeping them from the planet, so they launched a certain stealth fighter before engaging the Vera Pax fleet, in preparation for such an attempt.

"Stealth fighter." Kato said and looked to Donatellos, "We need to be on the planets surface, yesterday. Get us down there now."

Alastor Brone
Waking up in a strange place
Sometime in the year 2996

There were voices. He heard them. The voices of not just those in the room with him, but those within him. So many voices. Just when he was about to scream though, he heard an unfamiliar voice. Someone was talking to him. Focus on her voice, yes he did that. So he did, focusing on her voice, he listened despite not knowing who it was. He slowly calmed down, and eventually lifted his head. He saw some of the bodies up and wondering where they were. They weren't dead, just unconscious.

"T-Thank you..." He said but still remaining pretty much balled up. Though upon feeling the room shift, and the sounds of battle beyond his wall, he jumped back from the wall. "W-What's happening..."

by **Charlia** » Sat Jun 30, 2018 10:57 am

"Of course," Aurek hissed. Snap. "They just don't give up, do they?" If I was just on one of those... Donatellos's antics weren't nearly as amusing as they might have been on any other day. He definitely wasn't in the mood for it now.

Honestly, the only thing he could truly consider himself in the mood for was to see those ships go up in flames. Now, that would be fun.

Too bad that wasn't likely to happen.

Someone'd started talking to her, and it took her a second to register what he was saying. 'Goggles'? Well, all right. He didn't know her name, so she supposed it was fair.

"People I might've pissed off? Yeah, I know a few of those. As far as I know, none of 'em have halfway good resources, though--"

She raised an eyebrow at his next words, seeming like she was trying to stifle a laugh. "Abducted by aliens? Yeah, we're in a vehicle, sure, but aliens? Ha. Also, my name's Chelsea, so you can call me that if you like it better. I don't care."

Ah, it worked. That was good. She had trouble calming herself down, sometimes, and she knew that things could get difficult for others as well--but it was good that he was able to work through it. She ignored the person who'd tried talking to her--a bit rude, perhaps, but she was trying to focus on keeping the panicked boy calm. "It's not a problem," she said softly. "I've been through my fair share of those myself. They're not fun at all, are they? It's all right, though. I don't know what's happening, I'll admit that, but try to stay calm, all right? Just try your best. Keep breathing, focus on something else. My name's Charlotte, just so you know. Who are you?"

by **Danceria** » Sat Jun 30, 2018 11:00 am

Vera Pax Gunship
Pandemonium Orbit

"With due respect sir, I'm gonna try and take out this bloke." Donatellus gritted his teeth "If this planet's half as tough as the meeting warned us, we're gonna need every hand we can get at the LZ. Guilcranz, Rosestern, you still with me?" "We're still kickin' boss!" "Since stealth's no longer an option in the air, I'm gonna make a few calls."

This wasn't the first time Donatellus and Commander Galen butted heads, and it won't be the last, but let it be known, every insubordination was absolutely true. For a good reason. "This is Dragon Five we've got unwanted guests, so look alive team, shake those sneaky bastards!"

Cloaks were dropped and guns went ablaze, in attempts to take out the oncoming stealth fighter and interceptors "Pop 'n drop team, big dog want's us down their yesterday, we're gonna have to improvise..." he then shot a look over to Galen "You want us to risk going to the LZ, or make our own, either way, Ordies have found us, so we're gonna have to leg it."

by **Aidannadia** » Sat Jun 30, 2018 1:28 pm

The day was scorching. Heat beat down onto the pavement below, and back up to the beams above. The cacophonous sounds of machinery whirring along drowned out any speech that woud have been going on. Fox could barely even hear himself think with all the noise, but he was left unfazed. The day was long but focusing on his tasks made it shorter.

The sun began to hang along the horizon, and the noise began to fade, and so did the warmth. A group of others, all worn from their days work, called out to Fox as he began to head out for the day. "Hey, Fox, we're gonna grab some drinks at Arnold's! You comin'?" The young man shook his head silently and drove off. He never had time for drinks.

Then began his classes. This day was light on hours, so he was off by about 9:30 that night. The drive home was similarly quiet, the road humming slightly in the darkness. His vehicle shuttered to a stop behind his apartment complex and he trudged up the stairs, his eye nearly crusting over with exhaustion.

He prepared for bed, and then laid out his supplies for the next day on the couch. Dreams alluded him once more, as it felt as if the moment he opened his eyes, the day began again. He quickly got ready, but something was awry. He was a good 15 minutes early. Maybe he could sneak him just a quick rest before he had to leave. He sat on his futon, closing his eyes for just a moment.

Fox let loose a groan of pain as he woke up on the ground. "How'd I fall off the-" It was then that he felt the shaking of the aircraft rock him to attention. He jolted up off the ground and took in his surroundings. "Where the fuck am I?" He saw a handful more people sleeping and a few more awake and talking. Then, he heard knocks from the far wall. He sprinted over a few sleeping figures and immediately began beating on the wall. "HEY! HEY! LET ME OUT! THIS IS A MISTAKE! I HAVE TO GET TO WORK! IMMA BE LATE"

by **Theyra** » Sat Jun 30, 2018 5:17 pm

Unknown location
Unknown time
Zacarías Obregón

Zacarias slowly woke from his spot on cold metal floor in pain. Staying on his back and rubbed his right side of head that hurt with his eyes still closed, "ow and what hit me? He spoke in Spanish and he noticed the cold sensations of the ground he was on. He felt the ground with his left hand and the metallic feel caused his eyes to open wide in alarm. He sat up cautiously with his hand still on his head and saw that he was not alone. Some others with awoke. some were still asleep and one was banging on the wall and shouting "I HAVE TO GET TO WORK" in english. He looked behind him where his head was to see what could had hit his head and found another still asleep person right to where his head was with a red mark on their head.

"Okay so that is explained at least and....." It took moment for him to register his sling backpack was still on and he frantically started to check his person. He was wearing the clothes he wore yesterday and he was sure that he did not wear them or his backpack to bed. His watch was still on and he checked it for a time and date. "Still on and..... nine-twenty three in the morning and it is the next day". Time has passed but, what happened? This has a bad dream of some kind though, this doesn't feel like a dream. "This feels real", he thought and he would have stood up to try to talk with some of the people that are awoke. Instead. he thought it was better for anyone that was still asleep to wake up so they could try and see where or why they are in a metal room somewhere.

Zacarías turned himself around to sleeping person next to him and changed between Spanish and English when talking to him. "Hey, you need to wake. Something.... weird has happened and you need to wake up now". He gently shook them also in a attempt to wake them up.

by **Zjaum** » Sat Jun 30, 2018 7:07 pm

Phillip awoke on a metal slab. The sleep was surprisingly comfortable, even considering that he usually preferred soft beds. He was up against a wall. This surely wasn't... was he dreaming? No, he wouldn't have felt the sharp chill of the floor if he was. All right, second option: he might be in the world of his own design. Surely there was some vessel with this composition in his works. Heck, there were dozens of them that he named in his writing, and hundreds made by his work's admirers. He stretched outward and flipped himself to survey the scene.

He saw the body of a woman beside him. He didn't drink last night, as far as he recalled. Besides, his character wouldn't let something like this happen. He approached her and felt her arm. It was warm; she was alive. He got himself up and looked past the stranger to see the very definition of insanity. Half a dozen normal-sized humans were shouting at the walls, demanding explanations, and all sorts of kerfuffle-ry. He was not alone. Still, if everyone was simply in his own world, he was at least partially responsible. His voice was loud but calm. "Settle down, everybody. I may have answers, but they are only hypotheses. If we just relax, and try not to think about the number of corpses, I'm sure something will sort itself out."

At this moment the girl rolled over onto his foot quite heavily and rapidly. She awoke, and the touch of the leather shoe brought her to consciousness and startled her. "Wait, what... why is the floor so..." She stood herself up. "Wait... Why are there a bunch of people here?" she exclaimed.

Phil made no visible change in expression from his foot getting crushed; he merely bottled the pain inside. "Your guess is as good as mine?"

"Okay... then... better question: where are we?"

"That's what the half-dozen of us are trying to find out," Phillip stated. Introductions were probably necessary. He stuck out his hand. "My name is Phil Richardson, I wrote the Tales of Triangulum series. What's yours?"

"A... Abigail. Abigail van der Rohe." She accepted his hand and shook it. These strange people... "Could each of you say your name as well? I'm sorry; I don't work well with others, and knowing your names would probably give me a little assurance."

by **Khasinkonia** » Sat Jun 30, 2018 11:19 pm

Theyra wrote:Unknown location
Unknown time
Zacarías Obregón

Zacarias slowly woke from his spot on cold metal floor in pain. Staying on his back and rubbed his right side of head that hurt with his eyes still closed, "ow and what hit me? He spoke in Spanish and he noticed the cold sensations of the ground he was on. He felt the ground with his left hand and the metallic feel caused his eyes to open wide in alarm. He sat up cautiously with his hand still on his head and saw that he was not alone. Some others with awoke. some were still asleep and one was banging on the wall and shouting "I HAVE TO GET TO WORK" in english. He looked behind him where his head was to see what could had hit his head and found another still asleep person right to where his head was with a red mark on their head.

"Okay so that is explained at least and....." It took moment for him to register his sling backpack was still on and he frantically started to check his person. He was wearing the clothes he wore yesterday and he was sure that he did not wear them or his backpack to bed. His watch was still on and he checked it for a time and date. "Still on and..... nine-twenty three in the morning and it is the next day". Time has passed but, what happened? This has a bad dream of some kind though, this doesn't feel like a dream. "This feels real", he thought and he would have stood up to try to talk with some of the people that are awoke. Instead. he thought it was better for anyone that was still asleep to wake up so they could try and see where or why they are in a metal room somewhere.

Zacarías turned himself around to sleeping person next to him and changed between Spanish and English when talking to him. "Hey, you need to wake. Something.... weird has happened and you need to wake up now". He gently shook them also in a attempt to wake them up.

Judith Tan Long

It was Sunday. As always, mass at St. Louis Cathedral was beautiful. Wade had gone out for lunch with some of our congregation friends, but I just wasn’t feeling right at all. Something in me was feeling wrong, like I was getting sick. Not like heartburn, not like allergies. Worse, far worse than either. By the time I got home and up to our apartment on the second floor, my stomach was feeling like it was fixing to erupt from my body like in that old Alien movie. Certainly impossible, but if there had to be a metaphor, that would be it.

Was old death finally coming for me? It didn’t feel like the symptoms of a heart attack at all, to my knowledge. I took some painkillers, and after time had passed, it had begun to subside some. Maybe it was just some pains from something passing, perhaps a kidney stone fixing to pass today or tomorrow. In the meantime, I laid back in the recliner and tried to keep my mind off it by watching Ellen while I waited for Wade to return. I dozed off during a commercial, and off into the quiet world of my old mind’s subconscious, sleepy as the town my cousins lived in.

My rest was interrupted by a frantic voice and gentle shaking, although it sounded nothing like Wade. I sleepily opened my eyes, and damn near died right there on the spot seeing this stranger with a strange backdrop. I gulped as my eyes widened, darting around as I sat up and looked at him. I quickly clasped my purse, which I’d kept by my side.

“W-Hw-What in the devil?” I sputtered, my thick Mississippi drawl coating my words thicker than cold molasses being poured into a bowl for the microwave during the winter, “Where is this, a-and who are you?!”

by **Granis** » Sun Jul 01, 2018 4:46 am

Charlia wrote:Someone'd started talking to her, and it took her a second to register what he was saying. 'Goggles'? Well, all right. He didn't know her name, so she supposed it was fair.

"People I might've pissed off? Yeah, I know a few of those. As far as I know, none of 'em have halfway good resources, though--"

She raised an eyebrow at his next words, seeming like she was trying to stifle a laugh. "Abducted by aliens? Yeah, we're in a vehicle, sure, but aliens? Ha. Also, my name's Chelsea, so you can call me that if you like it better. I don't care."

"Good, because I'm gonna keep calling you Goggles." Jeremy said, continuing to look around the room. "I prefer nicknames to normal names, easier to remember and all that."

He pointed to the walls, specifically at some of the weird, blinking lights he could see scattered along them.

"And yeah, aliens. That or time travel... Seriously, look at the walls. Have you ever seen anything like this outside a sci fi movie? At best, those are Mass Effect walls, but I'm beginning to think Star Wars might be a better comparison."

He turned back to face her again.

"Unless of course, you have a better answer. You sure you haven't pissed off any government agencies?"

"Well, looks like you've already started making new friends..." A voice said from behind Jeremy, causing him to flinch as he realised he's made the mistake of showing his back to the little monster.

Turning around, he looked to Hannah, who was staring back up at him with an expectant expression.

"Well?" She asked. "Aren't you going to introduce me?"

For a moment, Jeremy opened his mouth to make a retort. However, he quickly snapped his mouth shut, before turning back to Chelsea with a sigh.

"Goggles, this is Elise." He grumbled. "Elise, Goggles."

"Well, nice to meet you Goggles." Hannah said, smug satisfaction positively radiating from her expression as she caught on to his plan. "As our idiot friend just said, I'm Elise Ramsay. I'm sure you have a real name as well, so if you'd like, I could just call you by that. Tell me later though. Right now, I have some work to do."

She tapped Jeremy on the shoulder.

"I'm going to go socialise, you try not to scare this one off."

And then she walked over to Phillip and Abigail, leaving Jeremy to facepalm at her words.

"Hello." She said. "My name is Elise Ramsay. You say you might know what's going on here? I mean, I'm fairly certain all these people are alive, so your track record isn't exactly great, but still, do go ahead with whatever you do know..."

by **Korhal IVV** » Sun Jul 01, 2018 7:59 am

Unknown Point of Space and Time
Kagero Tojo

“Subarashīdesu. Watashi wa chōdo mushi sa reru. Maikai. (Great…, I just get ignored. Every time.)”, Kagero mumbled to himself. He would then hear the sounds of other people waking up. A girl with goggles, and a few others. None of them even seemed to see him.

“Watashi ga chīsaikara to itte daremoga watashi o mushi shimasu. Shitsureidesu ne. (Just because I am small, everyone ignores me. How rude.)”, he thought. “Shikata ga nai. Watashi wa kono-jikan o kaishi suru hito ni narudeshou. (Oh well, I’ll be the one to initiate this time.)”, Kagero mused as he stood up. He would hold out his hand to the person closest in terms of distance. The name was Philip, he believed.

“Seems that my small stature has made me gone unnoticed.”, Kagero sighed. “It appears we are going to be together for some time, for whatever reason. The name’s Kagero. Kagero Tojo.”, he said with a friendly wink. At that point, people would also notice the fairly strange outfit he has. “Don’t mind this… This is what I wear in sleep.” He would the immediately follow it up. “I still have that pizza delivery for today…”, he sighed. At that moment, someone would scream aloud about being late for work.

“There is nothing any of us can do, really.”, he said regrettably. He then took what seemed to be a bag of chips from his bag. “Imma go stress eating, care to take?”

by **Tracian Empire** » Sun Jul 01, 2018 12:49 pm

Somewhere

The gray haired boy slowly opened his eyes, as if nothing weird was happening around him. This was certainly not the first time when had woken up in the morning in a weird place with no memories of what had happened in the night before.. but oh well, he had really done it this time. He was in a metallic room, and the room itself seemed to be moving.. and that didn't seem to be from the alcohol..was he in a plane? He closed his eyes for a few moments before opening them up again - he was having a horrible headache right now, but he slowly realized that there were some other people around him... people that he had never met before. That wasn't a new situation, it had all happened before, even if not in a plane..but the boy tried to say something, to ask where he was. But his "Was ist denn hier los?" went unanswered, either because no one else spoke German, or because he hadn't really said anything.

This was a pretty bad hangover.. but people around him seemed to be speaking English, so he tried to stand up, only to realize that he was feeling weak, because of a sleep, of food, or of both. Anyway, he fell immediately back on the metallic floor, with a rather big thump. "Please tell me that I haven't done anything too weird last night..", he asked, before he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He slowly started to realize that.. something.. something really seemed to be wrong. He heard a muffled explosion from somewhere outside, and it didn't seem to be because of fireworks.. and only then did he start to realize that the people around him were in a panic. Something wasn't right here...if this had really been a party..then why were people afraid? Why were they in a plane? And were they even in Vienna anymore?..But he was feeling too bad to try to stand up again..

by **Zjaum** » Sun Jul 01, 2018 5:41 pm

"Hello." She said. "My name is Elise Ramsay. You say you might know what's going on here? I mean, I'm fairly certain all these people are alive, so your track record isn't exactly great, but still, do go ahead with whatever you do know..."

Abigail and Phillip looked at each other. Everything was considerably calmer, but it was odd that only one of the dozens of corpses... well, newly reanimated corpses was interested in what he had to say. Phil cleared his throat as both Abigail's and the sly brunette's eyes were fixed on him. "So, my name is Phil. I'm the author of a number of science fiction novels. The Tales of Triangulum series, to be specific. Some of the ships that I created had interiors that looked just like this. I have a feeling that we could be in one of my novels. I can't tell for certain; take everything with a grain of salt. That's the best explanation I have. I mean, if anyone has, for example, materials with which I can make an EMP, I think I can get us out..." Phillip surveyed his surroudings. "That said, I doubt that anyone has anything on them other than their clothes and the stuff in their pockets, so... I'll weigh my options; you'll have to get back to me."

Abigail thought Phil's hypothesis possible, but not probable by any means. She walked off to so console or help the others as best she could. It was something to do, anyways. She felt along the lines of the room's walls until she approached a Japanese man [Kagero Tojo]. He was speaking in a thick accent something about eating. "I doubt that there's any food that our captors have in here that's meant for us," she calmly stated. She reached into her backpack and pulled out a bar. "You can have this, though. Please only eat half; I'm not sure how long we're going to be, and I want to be prepared for anything."

by **Theyra** » Sun Jul 01, 2018 9:24 pm

Khasinkonia wrote:
Judith Tan Long

It was Sunday. As always, mass at St. Louis Cathedral was beautiful. Wade had gone out for lunch with some of our congregation friends, but I just wasn’t feeling right at all. Something in me was feeling wrong, like I was getting sick. Not like heartburn, not like allergies. Worse, far worse than either. By the time I got home and up to our apartment on the second floor, my stomach was feeling like it was fixing to erupt from my body like in that old Alien movie. Certainly impossible, but if there had to be a metaphor, that would be it.

Was old death finally coming for me? It didn’t feel like the symptoms of a heart attack at all, to my knowledge. I took some painkillers, and after time had passed, it had begun to subside some. Maybe it was just some pains from something passing, perhaps a kidney stone fixing to pass today or tomorrow. In the meantime, I laid back in the recliner and tried to keep my mind off it by watching Ellen while I waited for Wade to return. I dozed off during a commercial, and off into the quiet world of my old mind’s subconscious, sleepy as the town my cousins lived in.

My rest was interrupted by a frantic voice and gentle shaking, although it sounded nothing like Wade. I sleepily opened my eyes, and damn near died right there on the spot seeing this stranger with a strange backdrop. I gulped as my eyes widened, darting around as I sat up and looked at him. I quickly clasped my purse, which I’d kept by my side.

“W-Hw-What in the devil?” I sputtered, my thick Mississippi drawl coating my words thicker than cold molasses being poured into a bowl for the microwave during the winter, “Where is this, a-and who are you?!”

"C-calm down senora, Zacarías said timidly and slightly leaned back. His Spanish accent not as thick as the women's foreign accent. "I am Zacarías Obregón and are you feeling okay? I think we hit our heads while we were asleep and my head still hurts a bit". Zacarías rubbed his head a bit and worried about the elderly women's health. "About where we are...... I do not know". His tone more worried and he motioned the women to the others in the room. "The others from what I am hearing do not know either and I just woke up before I got you up". "Most of us are awake I think and let me let you up senora". Zacarías stood up and positioned himself next to the women so he could support her better. "What is your name senora and we should talk with the others?

by **Charlia** » Mon Jul 02, 2018 9:45 pm

Granis wrote:
Charlia wrote:Someone'd started talking to her, and it took her a second to register what he was saying. 'Goggles'? Well, all right. He didn't know her name, so she supposed it was fair.

"People I might've pissed off? Yeah, I know a few of those. As far as I know, none of 'em have halfway good resources, though--"

She raised an eyebrow at his next words, seeming like she was trying to stifle a laugh. "Abducted by aliens? Yeah, we're in a vehicle, sure, but aliens? Ha. Also, my name's Chelsea, so you can call me that if you like it better. I don't care."

"Good, because I'm gonna keep calling you Goggles." Jeremy said, continuing to look around the room. "I prefer nicknames to normal names, easier to remember and all that."

He pointed to the walls, specifically at some of the weird, blinking lights he could see scattered along them.

"And yeah, aliens. That or time travel... Seriously, look at the walls. Have you ever seen anything like this outside a sci fi movie? At best, those are Mass Effect walls, but I'm beginning to think Star Wars might be a better comparison."

He turned back to face her again.

"Unless of course, you have a better answer. You sure you haven't pissed off any government agencies?"

"Well, looks like you've already started making new friends..." A voice said from behind Jeremy, causing him to flinch as he realised he's made the mistake of showing his back to the little monster.

Turning around, he looked to Hannah, who was staring back up at him with an expectant expression.

"Well?" She asked. "Aren't you going to introduce me?"

For a moment, Jeremy opened his mouth to make a retort. However, he quickly snapped his mouth shut, before turning back to Chelsea with a sigh.

"Goggles, this is Elise." He grumbled. "Elise, Goggles."

"Well, nice to meet you Goggles." Hannah said, smug satisfaction positively radiating from her expression as she caught on to his plan. "As our idiot friend just said, I'm Elise Ramsay. I'm sure you have a real name as well, so if you'd like, I could just call you by that. Tell me later though. Right now, I have some work to do."

She tapped Jeremy on the shoulder.

"I'm going to go socialise, you try not to scare this one off."

"Sorry, all my enemies are just perfectly mundane folks," Chelsea replied with a shrug, before tilting her head slightly. "Unless he managed to get into a spot like that without me noticing, but all things considered, I kinda doubt it. The one with the most potential is the one I'd certainly never miss getting a job like that, y'know? Well, I guess you don't... Oh, well, who knows what's actually going on? It'd be cool if you were right, though. I'd like to meet an alien or two, see what happens. It'd at least be interesting, I get bored a lot so I could use a little entertainment."

Tracian Empire wrote:Somewhere

The gray haired boy slowly opened his eyes, as if nothing weird was happening around him. This was certainly not the first time when had woken up in the morning in a weird place with no memories of what had happened in the night before.. but oh well, he had really done it this time. He was in a metallic room, and the room itself seemed to be moving.. and that didn't seem to be from the alcohol..was he in a plane? He closed his eyes for a few moments before opening them up again - he was having a horrible headache right now, but he slowly realized that there were some other people around him... people that he had never met before. That wasn't a new situation, it had all happened before, even if not in a plane..but the boy tried to say something, to ask where he was. But his "Was ist denn hier los?" went unanswered, either because no one else spoke German, or because he hadn't really said anything.

This was a pretty bad hangover.. but people around him seemed to be speaking English, so he tried to stand up, only to realize that he was feeling weak, because of a sleep, of food, or of both. Anyway, he fell immediately back on the metallic floor, with a rather big thump. "Please tell me that I haven't done anything too weird last night..", he asked, before he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He slowly started to realize that.. something.. something really seemed to be wrong. He heard a muffled explosion from somewhere outside, and it didn't seem to be because of fireworks.. and only then did he start to realize that the people around him were in a panic. Something wasn't right here...if this had really been a party..then why were people afraid? Why were they in a plane? And were they even in Vienna anymore?..But he was feeling too bad to try to stand up again..

The sound of someone falling to the ground caught Charlotte's attention, and she looked over quickly, trying to see if anyone had been injured--though, when she actually caught a glimpse of the person responsible for the sound, she knew quite well what was actually going on, especially when he said something about not doing anything too weird the night before. Yes, he'd certainly been drinking relatively recently, judging from the speed of his breathing, his lack of coordination, and the overly pale color of his skin.

Well, she might as well deal with it. Otherwise, he might end up hurting himself... after keeping the first one from having more panic attacks, keeping this one from doing something potentially harmful was probably the highest priority in dealing with the people around her. Figuring out where they were could be left to someone else--her area of expertise was helping others, and it would be best to keep to what she knew.

At least her near-constant paranoia didn't have to be quite so excited about those two--the panicking boy was quite clearly not faking it, and thus was in no state to do anything, and alcohol consumption was actually quite a hindrance to what she was concerned about. So, they were safe. As safe as anyone was.

That counselor had been right, she reflected sadly. It was certainly going to take a long time for things to change. Yet, they had certainly been worse, so how much could she really complain?

Whatever this situation was, it wouldn't do her any good to allow herself to panic, anyway. She had other things to worry about. So, she'd have to force that fear back the way she'd taught herself.

In a situation like this, the others would all be far too confused to cause trouble, after all.

Nothing would happen, here.

by **Zjaum** » Tue Jul 03, 2018 12:41 am

Phillip weighed his options, lost in thought. Now, if this was in his universe, and the people piloting this ship didn't speak English, then... Hm, a basic design for a storage unit such as this could only come... Ah, the Werai! Now, what would be Wotaiya for, "Get us out of here, please." Ah, his language was coming back to him now!

He knocked on the side of the wall, his mind working overtime and his mouth forming the proper shape for alien speech. It looked... not safe for work. "Oo... oowerai wo 'a... no, wait, 'a wo. He's doing the letting out, not me. Oowerai 'a... hm, wo iwowerai, oo turayi 'iyi!" He paused. Maybe he was speaking in the tech-less dialect. Shoot, what's the differences between tech-less and imperial... ah, right, the 2nd formal declension! "Oowerai 'i-a..."

On a saner note, Abigail had merely handed the bar to the Japanese man and returned to study the design of the room in which they resided. The walls seemed metal. Welded together? Well, maybe. It would have to be an incredibly good job if that were the case, with technology she'd never seen before. Maybe it was from some fancy university. She leaned against the wall and looked upwards to study the ceiling layout. Hm, she could probably analyze at this for an hour or so...

by **Khasinkonia** » Tue Jul 03, 2018 2:31 am

Theyra wrote:
Khasinkonia wrote:
Judith Tan Long

It was Sunday. As always, mass at St. Louis Cathedral was beautiful. Wade had gone out for lunch with some of our congregation friends, but I just wasn’t feeling right at all. Something in me was feeling wrong, like I was getting sick. Not like heartburn, not like allergies. Worse, far worse than either. By the time I got home and up to our apartment on the second floor, my stomach was feeling like it was fixing to erupt from my body like in that old Alien movie. Certainly impossible, but if there had to be a metaphor, that would be it.

Was old death finally coming for me? It didn’t feel like the symptoms of a heart attack at all, to my knowledge. I took some painkillers, and after time had passed, it had begun to subside some. Maybe it was just some pains from something passing, perhaps a kidney stone fixing to pass today or tomorrow. In the meantime, I laid back in the recliner and tried to keep my mind off it by watching Ellen while I waited for Wade to return. I dozed off during a commercial, and off into the quiet world of my old mind’s subconscious, sleepy as the town my cousins lived in.

My rest was interrupted by a frantic voice and gentle shaking, although it sounded nothing like Wade. I sleepily opened my eyes, and damn near died right there on the spot seeing this stranger with a strange backdrop. I gulped as my eyes widened, darting around as I sat up and looked at him. I quickly clasped my purse, which I’d kept by my side.

“W-Hw-What in the devil?” I sputtered, my thick Mississippi drawl coating my words thicker than cold molasses being poured into a bowl for the microwave during the winter, “Where is this, a-and who are you?!”

"C-calm down senora, Zacarías said timidly and slightly leaned back. His Spanish accent not as thick as the women's foreign accent. "I am Zacarías Obregón and are you feeling okay? I think we hit our heads while we were asleep and my head still hurts a bit". Zacarías rubbed his head a bit and worried about the elderly women's health. "About where we are...... I do not know". His tone more worried and he motioned the women to the others in the room. "The others from what I am hearing do not know either and I just woke up before I got you up". "Most of us are awake I think and let me let you up senora". Zacarías stood up and positioned himself next to the women so he could support her better. "What is your name senora and we should talk with the others?

Judith Tan Long

Latino, that name was? He seemed like a Latino. He was probably Latino. Thinking about it further, though, that really wasn’t a concern at the moment. I let him help me up, and took a deep breath, looking around the place, and gently massaging my head with my free hand.

“Thankya, son,” I nodded, breathing a bit heavily, pausing a bit awkwardly between some words, “Z-Zacarías, was it? Yes, I’m...Judith...Judith Long...But you can call me Mrs. Long, or Ms. Judy, if...you prefer to be...more familiar. Excuse me, I’m...a bit tired. So you don’t know where...where we are either? One minute, I was falling asleep...falling asleep in my recliner...after church...waiting for Wade...Wade...Wade!”

I drifted off for a moment. Where was Wade?! My husband, was he here? My heart almost skipped a beat, and not in a good way. I took a deep breath. Surely, I’d find out what’d happened? Whenever we met whoever was running this? If? No, I mustn’t worry. He’ll be strong while I’m gone. I know he will...

“N-Never mind,” I said, “I’m fine. Let’s...Let’s go on, and see if anyone knows what’s going on.”

by **Aidannadia** » Wed Jul 04, 2018 1:17 am

Fox checked once more for knocking against the other side of the wall, but not a sound of response could be heard. He sighed, and began to wander around what appeared to be a cargo hold, but unlike anything he had work on for sure. The welding was seamless like fine linen, and most of the supplies looked strangely foreign, aside from what appeared to be some dried food packaging. "I thought I was on a plane? Why does this remind me of a ship? Maybe I've just been working too much." He gasped, thinking for a moment this must be a dream and pinching himself to wake up, but this was in vain. "So this is real. Then who did this?"

Fox looked around the hold once more, and saw the camera just as someone else in the room pointed it out. "Do you think this is like an escape room prank? Maybe we can find something to held get our way through the door?" He called out to the crowd, knocking on the metal wall once more.

by **Faal Lot Himdah** » Fri Jul 06, 2018 7:14 am

Commander Kato Galen
Dragon 5
Sometime in the year 2996

Kato was not happy, and that was quite obvious. But he understood why Donatellus had disobeyed him, and as such was fine with seeing Donatellus' plan through. At least that was what he wanted to do, but this was a situation where he had to disagree. So, he looked directly at Donatellus, with a face that not even Aurek had seen before. "Disengage. Now. And get us down to the surface. That is an order, not a suggestion. Do I make myself clear?"

Soon after he said that, the enemy stealth fighter took down another Mule, before turning around and making a run at the Dragon 5, luckily missing the ship. But it came around, and now was making another attempt at the Dragon 5, from behind.

Alastor Brone
Waking up in a strange place
Sometime in the year 2996

"They're not all dead... just unconscious..." Alastor whispered to himself before looking at Charlotte. She was talking to him. Asking his name. She was being all friendly. Maybe he could have told her his name. But what if she recognized it? What if she told everyone else? No, he couldn't give her his name, she would be disgusted by him. She would reject him. And if she didn't? Well, he would not be adequent enough to be a friend to her. But, what if she didn't do any of that?

"Alastor...." He said, "Alastor Brone."

And with that he recoiled back into his ball, bracing himself for the worst.

by **Charlia** » Fri Jul 06, 2018 7:39 am

Faal Lot Himdah wrote:Alastor Brone
Waking up in a strange place
Sometime in the year 2996

"They're not all dead... just unconscious..." Alastor whispered to himself before looking at Charlotte. She was talking to him. Asking his name. She was being all friendly. Maybe he could have told her his name. But what if she recognized it? What if she told everyone else? No, he couldn't give her his name, she would be disgusted by him. She would reject him. And if she didn't? Well, he would not be adequent enough to be a friend to her. But, what if she didn't do any of that?

"Alastor...." He said, "Alastor Brone."

And with that he recoiled back into his ball, bracing himself for the worst.

The name... sounded completely unfamiliar. Yet, the way he said it was as if he expected her to know it. Well, considering her own history, it wasn't as if she could really be expected to keep up with such things, right?

"It's nice to meet you, Alastor," she continued, her voice still soft and even. "You might not believe me, but I won't hurt you. You don't have to be afraid of me. All right?"

He probably won't believe me... not that I can blame him. If the roles were reversed, would I believe him?

...No. Even now, there's no way I could make myself believe him or anyone else if they said something like that. At least nowadays I'm self-aware enough to realize that.

by **Danceria** » Fri Jul 06, 2018 10:29 am

Vera Pax Gunship
Pandemonium Orbit

There wasn't even a moment to grit his teeth, but the Routeman disengaged. "Aye sir..." he halfheartedly muttered. He's played pakar long enough to know when to fold...and that sometimes you gotta fork over some librums in order to win a bigger payout. It's just he hated gambling with real life people. Flipping some switches, he dived down as soon as the stealth fighter attempted to do another run on Dragon-5, "Guildicranz keep that bogey off me, if we're going down as the bossman wants, that Ordie's goin' down with us!" Like he said, he was a gambler, he wasn't technically disobeying the bossman's orders, he said he wanted to be on the surface! What's an extra notch on the belt, another stealth fighter biting the dust...no plan ever survives contact with the enemy. That's what he told himself, at least until he checked over the supply cells, to make sure everything was well, then his eyes bugged out of his head, his jaw slacked, as he casually flipped back to the main systems. He pretended he didn't see at least a dozen civvies in his cargo bay for no explicable reason. Nope, not at all.

"Ffffffuccckkk this day." Donatellus had only that to say.

by **Granis** » Mon Jul 09, 2018 8:25 am

Charlia wrote:"Sorry, all my enemies are just perfectly mundane folks," Chelsea replied with a shrug, before tilting her head slightly. "Unless he managed to get into a spot like that without me noticing, but all things considered, I kinda doubt it. The one with the most potential is the one I'd certainly never miss getting a job like that, y'know? Well, I guess you don't... Oh, well, who knows what's actually going on? It'd be cool if you were right, though. I'd like to meet an alien or two, see what happens. It'd at least be interesting, I get bored a lot so I could use a little entertainment."

Jeremy sighed.

"Well, it sounds like you've also got your own shit to deal with, so I won't pry. Still though, I'm not entirely sure you're really grasping the horrific possible outcomes of aliens abducted us. I mean, they're kinda terrifying. Also there's the whole fact that they may never show up unless they knock us out again."

He looked over to the walls again, before an idea began to take form, and he took the bokken in his hand.

"But, I will say that we might be able to work together and fulfil both our goals. You wanna meet our horrifying kidnappers, or at least entertain yourself, and I want to see if there's a way to get out of here before the probing starts. So, my plan is to see if we can break some of the crap scattered around the room and just act generally unruly until they come in to see what we're doing and stop us. You get to meet our abductors, I get a look at the entrance, everyone wins!"

And then he walked over to a few crates that were stacked on top of each other, pushing them until they fell over. They didn't break, but they were certainly pretty damn loud.

"C'mon Goggles, everyone! Let's get a good look at our kidnappers faces!"

Meanwhile, Hannah had spent he last few minutes trying desperately not to laugh at the man in front of her, a task which was not easy. It had been bad enough when he said they were in his books, but then he started trying to speak what she assumed was the language he'd made up for it and everything!

"No no, come on!" She managed to grit out, shoulders trembling. "Maybe if this one doesn't work, we should try Klingon!"

Had she been anyone else, she probably would've tried to stop the man from embarrassing himself further at this point. For Hannah though, this was exactly the kind of thing that could hold her interest for a good long while.

Unfortunately, she found herself getting distracted by the sound of the collapsing crates, turning with a disinterested, almost irritated expression to stare at her friend.

"Hey Elise, help me break some of this stuff to draw whoever kidnapped us out!" Jeremy shouted, leaving Hannah to weigh up her options.

On the one hand, Jeremy giving orders was always a bit of an annoying concept, seeing as he was the minion out of the two. On the other hand though, the idea, simple as it was, did seem at least somewhat viable. Also, it involved breaking stuff, and was there really any better pastimes for a sophisticated lady like herself?

"Alright." She said, the grin from humiliating the crazy author replaced with one from going along with her boringly sane best friend. "I'm in, but just remember I'm still your boss."

"Yeah yeah..." Jeremy sighed in response, before turning to the guy who had spoken to everyone, asking if it might be an escape room. "I don't think so... I hate to sound crazy, but I'm pretty sure this is all real alien stuff. Either way though, chances are they'll come out to see what's happening if we make a big enough mess in here, either getting us some answers, or at least an exit to fight our way out of. So, you know, let's get started!"

Cum Aperit Pandemonium {DEAD}

Cum Aperit Pandemonium {DEAD}

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