5 Minutes: Reloaded

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Re: 5 Minutes: Reloaded

Post by oldwrench » January 20th, 2018, 4:46 am

Can Chad and Arisa survive the storm? And, What is the anomaly that Yuki has picked up?
But....... answers might have to wait a bit, there are other threads happening in the story, time to catch up on a couple.


Chapter 40


Edward Geraldine watched the man stagger into his room waving a half empty bottle. The fool had been out all night again, drinking, and probably with some young boy. He felt disgusted. How had he gotten into this mess?

Kirk laughed at Edwards frown. “You’re too sour, old man. You should get out and have some fun,” he told him. “You won’t believe who I ran into........ that bitch, and the tall pilot boy from the Krikav. I showed her she can’t hit me. I shot them down........ they’re sunk, fish food.” Kirk laughed uncontrollably.

“What?” Edward demanded. “EDF pilots? What happened? What did you do?”

“They rented a heli,” Kirk got out between laughs. “I followed them, way out over the ocean, and I shot them down. She was supposed to marry me, then I would get all their money....... but then that tall guy got in the way. I fixed them, he won’t get her money cause they’re dead.”

EDF! The pilots would have called in that they were attacked. Even if they were dead, the EDF would be alerted that there was an enemy. They would be on heightened alert. This severely compromised his ability to search for Ridia and the Atropos. Edward jumped up, face red with rage. “You fool, now you’ve put them under alert. You’ve ruined our chances of finding Ridia and getting away with Atropos.” He stepped forward menacingly, “get out...... get out before I kill you myself. We’re through, I don’t need idiots around me. Get out and never let me see you again!”

Kirk backed to the door. “You need me,” he shouted. “I’ve got money, I can get a ship. You got nothing....... what are you going to do if you find the thing........ we’ll see who’s the fool.” Kirk ducked out the door.

Edward sat down, his head in his hands. How had it come to this, EDF deserter, rouge general of the Red Faction, wanted man, by both law and outlaw. How had they convinced him to desert the EDF? He had been angry.... in a rage, because he had been passed over for promotion. Somehow the Leader had found him, fed his anger, promised him the rank of general. It was madness. What had he thought the Red Faction could accomplish? How had the Leader convinced him to fight against the EDF? And....... Who was the Leader? He couldn’t remember, not his face, not his location, nothing about the man........ or woman? He just didn’t remember. They had ruined his life. If he ever found the Leader, he’d kill the bastard.


Tom entered the small lounge room on the frigate, Sheffield. He found Janice seated there and took a chair across from her. He could feel the hum of the engines as the ship accelerated away from Earth orbit. It would take a while to reach a safe distance for entrance to warp drive. Janice was engrossed in something on the tablet she always carried with her. Once again he wondered what she would look like with her hair down and without her glasses. She was a nice looking woman, if she were a few years younger.... and not hung up on doctor Tod...... Tom had always been attracted to brains.......... and good looks. “Where is doctor Moeller?” Tom asked.

“He went to his room,” Janice answered without looking up. “He doesn’t do well with space flight. It’s usually the worst at take off, but I wonder how he’ll take transition to warp drive. He’s never left the system before.”

“That could be an unpleasant time for him. I hope it doesn’t bother him too much.” Tom replied. “Have you traveled in warp drive?”

“Several times,” she answered, “it doesn’t bother me at all, but the doctor has a bit of a phobia of warp space.”

“Some people have unusual fears,” Tom mused. “Warp travel has been proven very safe. I’m sure he’ll relax once we are in warp space.” Tom watched her working for a short time, then curiosity got the better of him. “Do you mind if I ask you, why do you wear glasses? You could have your vision corrected.”

Janice stopped and looked up. “I was an orphan at a young age. My family was killed when the pirates destroyed Arctown on Ceti seven. I grew up in foster homes on several colony worlds so I never could afford to have my vision corrected.”

“Oh,” Tom answered, “I wasn’t aware of that.” He hesitated, “ But you are in an eminent position now, You would be able to have the procedure now.”

Janice pushed the large glasses up on her small nose. “I guess I could, but I’ve become accustomed to wearing them.” Janice looked down. Tom noticed her face was a bit red. “I’m not very....... comfortable with medical procedures.”

He smiled, “I’m not either....... Um... how is your work on the operating system coming.” He said, trying to change the subject.”

“The inertial work on the mech is a problem. It’s a complex weave of gravitational forces and if you get it wrong it would tear itself apart.” Janice answered, much more willing to get into this subject. “In time I think we could work it out but it wouldn’t be soon. If we find the machine we might be able to reverse engineer the OS, but it would be so much better to talk with the designer. I really hope we find him. He must have known my father.”

“It sounds like they are pretty sure the mech is on Shakuras,” Tom assured her. “Once we have that, we may be able to learn who designed the machine and perhaps be able to pick him up.”

“I certainly hope so,” Janice replied as she stood up. “It would be unfortunate to travel all this way and not find anything at the end........ I had better check on Doctor Moeller. He may need something.”

Brains and beauty, Tom thought as he watched her leave the room, to bad she doesn’t have a sister. Why can’t I find a woman like that?
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Re: 5 Minutes: Reloaded

Post by oldwrench » January 30th, 2018, 5:37 am

Ok, I wanted to get more done before I left for vacation, but I just couldn't get more than 28 hours in a day. I did get one more chapter ready though.
What is the anomaly? Will they find Chad and Arisa before the storm comes? Now we know who shot them down, how are Kirk Ashford and Edward Geraldine going to fit into this mess? How is the Princess going to head off the rebellion of the colonies? As they say...... The plot thickens....... or does it just get more confusing? Read on.


Chapter 41

Colonel Hellwind hurried onto the bridge of the Krikav. What had Yuki found? Was it something concerning the search or some sort of attack aimed at the princess or the conference. “What do you have, Yuki?” He asked the controller as he sat in his command chair.

“There has been an anomaly in the static discharges I have recorded from the approaching storm.” Yuki replied. “The noise from the storm has been the only radio signal from the area, outside of search vehicle traffic. One of the static bursts appeared to be of excessive duration.” A picture of a trace of radio noise appeared on the screen in front of the colonel. “The duration was approximately forty eight point two three seconds long. When I removed the static noise I was left with a regular base frequency.” The picture changed to show a regular sine wave. It does not carry an emergency message, but it is the same frequency as the carrier wave used by the standard emergency beacon.”

Daniel jumped up. “Where did that originate?” Dan demanded. “Did you get a location?”

“ The signal was too short of duration. By the time the anomaly was noted, it was to late to get an accurate fix on the transmission.” Yuki answered.

“Damn!” The colonel cursed.

“A sixty square kilometer area is as close as I can locate the transmission.” Yuki told him. “Have the shuttles search that area immediately,” Dan ordered.

Yuki rapidly keyed in coordinates to to send to the shuttles. “The area is outside of our original search parameters.” Yuki informed the colonel.

“They could have traveled some distance after the locator beacon failed.” Daniel speculated. “Get those shuttles there now.”


Arisa watched Chad stripping the long fibers from the leaves and twisting them into tough cords. She felt useless, there was nothing she could do to help, and her head ached badly. She looked up once more at the fast approaching storm front. “Chad! There’s something out there,” Arisa shouted. “It’s a shuttle, there’s a shuttle.”

Chad jumped up, “where?” He scanned the horizon as Arisa excitedly pointed toward the clouds. Chad finally spotted the distant craft. “It’s not coming this way,” he told her after a short time. “We have to signal them.” Chad looked for the for the signal flares he salvaged from the wrecked heli, but they were gone. Chad cursed as he realized he had been so intent on what he was doing he hadn’t noticed the rising waves that washed over the rocks. “The flares are gone, we have no way to signal them.” Chad moaned.

“They have to see us,” Arisa cried out as she tried to lift one of the huge leaves and wave it in the air. “They just have to!”

The sun broke through a rift in the clouds blindingly bright. Chad immediately dived for his tech’s tool. He grabbed the tool, folded it closed and stood up. Chad held the tool up and rocked it back and forth.

“The island should be coming into view soon,” Megumi told Ben as she picked up the binoculars to scan the water for any sign of debris.

“That storm is moving in to quick,” Ben answered. We aren’t going to be able to cover even the biggest islands much less the rest of the area.” Ben’s head snapped around to the right. “Hey, what was that? I saw a flash over there.” He exclaimed.

“Where?” Megumi looked to the right but didn’t see anything. “Are you sure there was something? Maybe it was a lightning flash.”

“Not in that direction, it’s away from the storm,” Ben answered. “Maybe it was nothing. We’ll keep going to that island.”

“Wait!” Megumi yelled excitedly, “I saw it, there was a flash....... over there.” Megumi pointed to the right and Ben quickly turned the shuttle to head in the direction she indicated. She picked up the binoculars and scanned the horizon. “There’s an island there, just a little rock.” She increased the magnification. “There’s someone there.” She adjusted the controls on the glasses. “It’s Chad!” She shouted............ “And Arisa! They’re both there!”

Ben accelerated to reach the island as soon as possible. He brought the shuttle around to the lee side of the island to avoid the worst of the waves. Ben lowered the floats, glad the colonel had ordered them installed before they headed out on the search. He set down and approached as closely as he dared to the rocks. “Hold position here, Meg,” He told Megumi. I’ll go in back and get them in.”

Chad watched the shuttle approach. “It’s ours!” He told Arisa. “They found us.” As the shuttle came around the rock, Chad helped Arisa climb down to the edge of the water. When the shuttle stopped a short distance from the island, Chad scooped up Arisa. “Hey, you don’t have to carry me,” she protested, but Chad jumped into the water. The water was more than waist deep on him and the surging water washed chest deep. Chad tried to keep Arisa above the water but the waves were too high. The side door on the shuttle opened as he reached the float. Chad saw Ben standing in the door. “Take her,” he yelled up to Ben and tossed the small girl up with all his strength.

Ben opened the door on the side of the shuttle and saw Chad in the water carrying Arisa. Chad yelled to him and tossed the girl his direction. Ben effortlessly caught Arisa and set her down in one of the seats. He turned back and found Chad struggling to get a grip on the handhold to pull himself out of the surging water. Ben caught Chad’s wrist and quickly pulled him up into the cabin, then punched the control to shut the door. “Take us up, Meg, and call the colonel,” Ben called to Megumi. He looked over Chad and Arisa, “damn, are we glad to see you two.”

“Not as glad as we are,” Chad assured him, as he sat down next to Arisa.

Chad slumped down in the seat, exhaustion creeping up on him. He could feel the surge of the thrusters and hear the whine of the inertial dampers as they accelerated through the clouds. They must be heading for the Krikav. The colonel would probably be furious with him, but at least Arisa was safe.

“Colonel’s on the com,” Megumi called back to Ben.

“Got it,” Ben said as he switched on the com.

“Do you have them on board?” The colonel demanded.

“Yes sir,” Ben replied.

“What is their condition? Are they injured.”

“They’re mobile sir, Chad has an arm injury and Arisa has a head injury.”

“How bad?” The colonel barked.

“Ah, she doesn’t seem too bad,” Ben told him. He looked at Arisa where he sat huddled next to Chad. She certainly didn’t look her best. “Ah, are you alright?” He asked her.

“Do I look alright?” Arisa snapped back. “I’m wet and cold, I’m hungry and I hurt all over. You throw me around like I’m a child.......... I’m not alright. She yelled at him.

“Ah, colonel, I don’t think she’s..........” Ben started to say, surprised by her uncharacteristic outburst.

“I’ll have the med team standing by, get them here, best possible speed.” The colonel ordered.

Chad looked down at Arisa and put his arm around her. He was worried about her. He had seen his share of head injuries. After her outburst, she had put her face in her hands and broken down crying.

Arisa looked up at Ben, tears ran down her face. “I’m sorry, Ben,” she cried. “I shouldn’t have....... You don’t deserve that........... I’m useless,” she put her head back down in her hands. “I couldn’t do anything to help. I didn’t know how to do anything. I couldn’t even get into the shuttle myself.” Arisa was trembling as she leaned against Chad. “My head hurts so much...... I’m useless.” Chad held her close, he didn’t know what else to do.

“You aren’t useless, Arisa,” Ben told her in a soft voice. If it hadn’t been for you, That gang wouldn’t have been willing to help us and we would never have found you. It was because of how you handled them that they helped us to find out where you had gone.”

“Don’t forget that they also gave us the lead to finding captain Dominic.” Chad added. “You’re part of our gang......... er, unit, we’re all needed.”

“Thank you,” Arisa sniffed, “I still wish I could do more, but I can’t even think straight.” She leaned against Chad. “My head hurts so much.” She cried.

Ben sighed, “Good thing you sent that radio signal or we’d never have found you.”

“Radio signal?” Chad questioned. “I thought it didn’t work. It just blew up the batteries when I tried it.”

“Well, it was enough that Yuki could get us close,” Ben told him.

“See, it did work,” Arisa mumbled.

Chad looked down at her, “We should hurry.” Ben could hear the worry in Chad’s voice.
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Re: 5 Minutes: Reloaded

Post by Sakura » January 30th, 2018, 9:51 am

Glad we have them back, a little tarnished but okay :thumb:
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Re: 5 Minutes: Reloaded

Post by oldwrench » February 20th, 2018, 10:48 pm

I'm back too.... from three weeks in Argentina and Chili.

They found them, but Arisa isn't feeling very good at the moment. I hope things don't get worse.
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Re: 5 Minutes: Reloaded

Post by oldwrench » February 28th, 2018, 4:52 pm

I actually wrote down several chapters while on vacation........ now I just have to type them in, sigh, At my typing speed that could take a few months.

Will Arisa be alright? Head injuries can be dangerous things. Will they find Captain Torres, or will he run off again? If they do find him, are they going to have to battle that giant mech? What about Edward Geraldine and Kirk Ashford, how do they figure in this mess........ Oh, and don't forget the Red Faction, they are still lurking in the background. How the heck am I going to clear up this mess???????
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Re: 5 Minutes: Reloaded

Post by oldwrench » March 1st, 2018, 5:14 am

Ok, maybe I can begin to answer those questions.



Chapter 42


The doctor finished wrapping the bandage on Chad’s right arm. “Take it easy a few days, till that patch has a chance to set,” he told Chad.

“I don’t think that will be a problem,” Chad mumbled. “Is it ok if I see her?”

“Sure,” the doctor relented, “but it won’t do you much good. She’s sedated right now.”

‘I know,” Chad replied sadly, “but I may not be able to see her again till, I don’t know when.”

“Ya, well, don’t stay long,” the doctor told him, concerned. “I have to go report to the colonel.”


Daniel looked up as Melpomene entered the waiting area. “I thought you were trying to get the conference back together.”

“I was,” She answered, “but there’s a group who are trying to break things up. They won’t even meet with me or I could do something about it.”

“That’s not good,” Dan mused. “You should be down there...........”

“I heard you found them,” the princess cut him off. Her concern was sharply evident. “I heard they were injured. I had to come. How are they? How bad is it?”

“I don’t know, but, they didn’t look that bad.” Dan tried to reassure her , but the worry was easy for Melpomene to see. “The doctor should be here with his report any time now.”

“Arisa has a head injury, that’s what they said,” Mel sobbed. “That’s bad...... what if she’s.....”

Dan saw the tears in the Mel’s eyes and moved over to sit next to her. He put his arm around her reassuringly. “She was awake, that was a good thing. I don’t think it was too bad.” He didn’t want to tell her how bad Arisa had looked or how concerned the doctor had been.

The door opened and the doctor came into the room. The colonel quickly stood up. “What do you have to report, major?” Dan questioned the doctor.

The princess jumped up, “are they alright?” She demanded. “Is Arisa ok?”

The doctor smiled a disarming smile at the princess. “They are both going to survive this, so no need to worry.” He reassured her. He turned to the colonel. Lieutenant Higgens suffered a head injury caused by a sharp edged object, possibly a piece of the cockpit canopy. The impact caused a laceration and concussion. They were able to get her back here in time, the nano meds should have no trouble dealing with the injury. I don’t expect any lasting damage. The laceration looks a lot worse than it is. “

Melpomene slumped down onto the couch, She felt like a heavy weight was lifted off her. If something bad had happened to Arisa........ How could she face Arisa’s parents. How could she tell her father’s old friend that she had arranged for Arisa and Chad to be together on this mission.

The nano meds should finish repairing the damage in a few hours,” the doctor continued. “I’ll keep her here twenty four hours just to be sure, but she should be ready for duty in a couple days. Captain Ross is fit for duty, but he’ll have to go easy on his right arm for a few days, till the pseudo flesh graft grows in a bit. That was a pretty deep grove the bullet cut in his arm.”

“BULLET!?” The colonel yelled in surprise.

“Yes, bullet,” the doctor repeated. “They were attacked and......... I’ll let him tell you.”

“What the hell was he trying to do?” Daniel growled.

The doctor could see the anger in the colonels eyes. “Dan, the kid has had a very bad experience. He’s tired and hungry, we all are, before you condemn him, you should listen to what he has to say. Go easy on him.”

Daniel was in a dark mood. “Is that your order..... doctor?” He growled angrily.

The Major sighed, “we’ve been friends long enough that you know better than that, Dan. Let’s just say it’s my recommendation.”

As the doctor left, Melpomene looked up at Daniel. “He’s right Daniel,” she began, “maybe you should........”

“Are you going to tell me how to run my command?” Daniel snapped at her. He sharply turned away and picked up his coffee cup. It had gotten cold. He dumped out the lod coffee and refilled his cup from the dispenser. I’m so damn tired, he thought. Everything is falling apart and I can’t control it. It’s worse than it was at Mar Sara. Dan looked down at his coffee, he felt really bad about snapping at Melpomene. She didn’t deserve that. He turned back to apologize to her.”

The princess had been shocked when Dan snapped at her. That wasn’t like him. He had never treated her that way, and it hurt, but she realized that it was fatigue and worry that caused it. She could feel that the situation was volatile, but there was little she could do to help.

Before Daniel could say anything to the princess, the door opened and Chad stepped stiffly into the room. The colonel looked him over. He looks worse than I feel, Daniel thought, But he has that same hard look he had the first time I saw him. He was about to speak when he remembered a few days earlier, he had lashed out at Chad without a cause.... before he knew the facts of the matter. “Debriefing can wait till you’ve had something to eat and some sleep.” The colonel informed Chad. “But, before you go, I’d like to know what happened, a short version. How did you end up getting shot?”

“Yes sir,” Chad replied. His relief was evident as he visibly relaxed. “Nothing was happening so I decided to check the apartment. We discovered it was cleaned out. We did find evidence that led us to the airfield. The, ah, proprietor knew the captain as a professor Santana. he and his assistant had taken their shuttle and left to do research on the islands, as they often had. I made a guess that they would have hidden the mech at the old maintenance base. Arisa came up with a cover story and we rented a heli to check out the base.

“What did you think you were going to do, bring Torres in yourself?” The colonel snapped, unable to completely contain his frustration. “What if the Red Faction had guards there....... is that how you got shot?”

“No sir,” Chad answered, stiffening once again, “I intended to do a recon overflight. If they landed that large a mech at an unused facility it would have left evidence, tracks. I didn’t intend to land.”

Daniel immediately regretted his outburst. He should have asked before accusing. “You did the right thing, captain,” he admitted. “Please continue.”

“We were about half way to the island when we were fired on from behind.” Chad continued.

“Did you see who attacked you?” Daniel asked. “Was it another heli?”

“It was an armed shuttle, long range, diplomatic or military type.” Chad answered.

“That’s just great,” the colonel moaned, “there must be a couple hundred of that type here for the conference. What was the color? Did it have any markings?”

“It was a standard military grey with no markings that I noted.” Chad informed him.

“Even better,” the colonel interjected, “that narrows it down to maybe a hundred fifty or so.”

“It should be easy to find though,” Chad assured him.

“How?” Daniel cut him off. “We can’t just go around checking the guns on diplomats shuttles to see if they have been fired.”

“No,” Chad answered, “but it’s the only shuttle I’ve ever seen with missile launcher tubes on the bottom.”

Daniel didn’t even notice the hot coffee as his fists clenched crushing his coffee cup. “You’re sure,” Daniel snapped, “sure it was a missile launcher.”

Chad stepped back, surprised by the colonels violent reaction. “Yes sir,” Chad replied, “They didn’t fire any missiles, but I know a missile pod when I see one.”

“Geraldine!” the colonel spat out. “He’s here” There was fire in Daniels eyes. “I want him......... We’re going to find him, and he’s going to pay....... Pay for what he’s done.”

“Ah.... Who is Geraldine, sir?” Chad asked a bit warily.

Daniel calmed himself before answering. “He’s a deserter, captain, and he was the general of the Red Faction at Mar Sara.” Daniel shook his head sadly. “I can’t believe Torres would fall in with someone like that.”

“I don’t think he has, sir.” Chad offered. “The evidence just doesn’t seem to point that way.”

“I certainly hope you’re right,” Daniel sighed.
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Re: 5 Minutes: Reloaded

Post by Sakura » March 5th, 2018, 5:29 pm

oldwrench wrote: February 20th, 2018, 10:48 pmThey found them, but Arisa isn't feeling very good at the moment. I hope things don't get worse.
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Re: 5 Minutes: Reloaded

Post by oldwrench » March 11th, 2018, 7:04 am

So, seems Arisa is going to be alright, and Chad's off the hook too. Now the colonel has someone else to find. His life isn't getting easier, but it is getting better. Well time for another chapter


Chapter 43

Melpomene entered the room just as the doctor was leaving. he had called her to inform her that Arisa was awake. “She’s doing just fine,” the doctor told her before he left. “I didn’t find any impairment.”

Arisa looked up at Melpomene as she approached. “I thought Chad would come,” she complained.

“He’s sleeping, and the doctor gave orders not to wake him.” Mel told her. “He was pretty burned out, and the doctor told me I can’t stay long because you need to rest too. He says the nano meds use up your energy.”

Arisa yawned, she did feel very tired. I have to talk to the colonel,” she insisted. “He’s going to blame Chad and it wasn’t his fault. It was my idea, I should be the one in trouble.”

The princess chuckled, “I don’t doubt that, but that’s not the way Chad told it. Don’t worry the colonel understood the situation. Besides, when he heard the description of the shuttle that attacked you, he forgot about the rest of it. It seems you found a deserter that the colonel is very anxious to locate.”

Arisa lay back down, relieved. “Good, then Chad will be alright. I was afraid the colonel would put him in the brig and court marshal him.”

“I don’t think Daniel would go that far,” Mel assured her. As she opened the door to leave, she looked back at Arisa. “Don’t worry about Chad, I’ll take care of him.”

Arisa sat up turning toward the door. “No you won’t!” She snarled menacingly, but The princess was gone.


Daniel stood looking at a shuttle, the one with a missile pod added on the belly. Walt walked in behind him carrying his pad. “The guy told me his name was Greenfield, but he fits your description.” Walt told him. “There was a shorter dark haired guy with him. I tried calling their numbers but they don’t answer. I called the super of the apartment building he gave as an address and he said nobody of that name or description lives there.”

“Damn,” Daniel swore, “it couldn’t be that easy, could it.”

“Seems it never is,” Walt agreed. “I wish I could help. It’s going to be tough to track them down in a town this size. I wish you luck. I’ll make sure they can’t use that shuttle to get away and call you if they show up.” They walked out of the hangar to the colonels car. “I’m glad your pilots are alright, colonel. They were good kids. I shouldn’t have said those things I said about them. It’s just damn lucky your people found them. We lose people out there, and they’re never seen again.”

Dan nodded, “thanks, just keep me informed.” As he opened the car door he turned back toward Walt. “The princess ordered your new heli, it should be here in a few days.” Daniel got in the car and as Tammy drove them away he had to laugh at the surprised look on Walt’s face.

Melpomene walked toward the office the colonel used in their old hotel base. She had spent most of the last hour talking with Georgianna. The captain had been wary at first, unwilling to talk about her experience with the blackouts and unwanted compulsions. When she realized that the princess was not accusing but was sympathetic and trying to uncover the cause of the events, she opened up. Melpomene had wrung every bit of information she could from Georgianna, yet it was still a confusing picture.

Melpomene found Daniel in his office. He had returned from the airfield. He’d found the shuttle, but not the man he was after. She told him what she had learned from the captain. “I don’t think I can tell the delegates that she saw them as alien monsters,” Melpomene chuckled. “But, at least we have some idea what they are using to try to control our people. If only we could figure out how they are doing it, maybe the psych boys could find a way to counter it.”

“I hope they can,” Dan replied. “This must have something to do with Geraldine and the Red Faction. They must have come up with some big advance in psych ability. I wish I had come up with a lead on Geraldine’s location. I don’t know how we can find him.”

“If they are behind this, they found something our psych boys don’t know about,” Mel mused. “Hmmm, maybe there is a way we can locate Edward Geraldine. I need to talk with some one, it’s worth a try.” Melpomene left to talk with Megumi.


Chad followed Ben into the colonels office. They had just returned from the recon mission the colonel had ordered. Chad was anxious to get this over with, he had heard that Arisa was back at the base.

The colonel looked up as they entered. ‘What did you find, captain”

‘There is something big there, sir,” Chad informed him. He set his pad down in front of the colonel. He pointed to the picture on the screen. “There are recent tracks into the hangar. There is also evidence of a shuttle landing and a set of shuttle tracks into the hangar.”

“Hmm, it appears they are there,” Daniel mused, “but there could be others there too. We may need to wait for more troops.”

“I don’t think there are others, sir,” Chad replied. “Unless they landed multiple shuttles in the same spot and ran them into the hangar on the same tracks, I think it’s only captain Torres and the girl.”

“You’re probably right,” Daniel admitted. “I’ll have to think this over. You’re dismissed, go get something to eat.”



Chad went directly to the lounge, but before he could look around for Arisa, the princess stepped in front of him. She had been on her way back to the colonel’s office. ‘How did it go?” She asked. “Did you find anything, was there any trouble?”

Chad grinned, “Ya, we found something, tracks, big tracks. I’m sure it’s that giant mech. I’ll bet captain Torres and that girl are there too. I only saw tracks from one shuttle so I’m pretty sure they’re alone.”

“At least you had some good luck,” Melpomene told him. “I haven’t been able to get anywhere with the peace conference and the colonel struck out looking for Edward Geraldine. I was beginning to think I am the muse of tragedy.”

“Not likely,” Chad assured her, “Our luck is changing for the better.”

The princess noticed the pseudo flesh patch on Chad’s arm. She had never seen the it used before. She reached up and gently touched it. “Does it hurt?” She asked him.

“Sure, it hurts some, but not as bad as it would without the patch.” He informed the princess. “It’s not my first time, and, I suppose not my last.”

Suddenly Arisa pushed between Chad and Melpomene, pushing the princess away from Chad. “Chad! I’m so glad you’re back. I’ve been so worried since they told me you went to that island.” Arisa cooed in her sweetest voice.

“Arisa!” Chad smiled happily. “I was just looking for you........ Ah, it was nothing, just a recon run. Besides, we had the shuttle fully armed.”

Arisa took Chad by the arm and started to pull him away. “You must be starved, I’ll bring you something.” She told him.

“I’ll see you later,” Melpomene told them as they started to leave, but at her words, Arisa turned and glared at her.

“No you won’t, Mel,” Arisa told her menacingly.

Melpomene stepped back from Arisa. She watched Arisa pull a confused looking Chad away. This has gone far enough, The princess thought. Arisa had been her friend since Arisa was a little girl. She was going to have to put an end to this.
Dogs have owners, Cats have staff

Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.

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Sakura
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Re: 5 Minutes: Reloaded

Post by Sakura » March 11th, 2018, 8:55 am

Arisa can be very possessive can't she? :thumb:

I've been in more than one cat fight for my boyfriend, too
What do you call a dinosaur with an extended vocabulary? A thesaurus.

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oldwrench
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Re: 5 Minutes: Reloaded

Post by oldwrench » March 15th, 2018, 4:08 am

Cat fight, That could get nasty, Kittens have sharp claws........ or with Arisa, is that powerful explosives? It's too bad, even though the princess is a few years older, she and Arisa were friends when they were children.
Well, let's see how the princess is going to settle this matter. Who is going to end up with Chad? Does Chad get any say in this? Only one way to find out, read on.


Chapter 44

It was getting late when Melpomene left the colonels office. They had discussed and decided on two plans of action for the following day. She headed toward the lounge, hoping Chad and Arisa would still be there. It was time to settle this with the younger girl. She saw the two sitting in a corner of the room and approached them.

“Lieutenant Higgens, you will escort me to my room,” the princess ordered.

“What?” Arisa looked up at the princess in surprise. “You don’t need an escort here,” she protested. “You can find your own room, Mel.”

“Now lieutenant,” Melpomene barked, “that’s an order.”

“Oh, alright!” Arisa got up angrily.

Chad looked very confused, he started to get up.

“Not you, Chad,” the princess told him. “This is just between Arisa and me.”

Chad sat back down, he didn’t know what was going on, but he knew when to stay out of a woman’s way.

“I’ll be right back,” Arisa told him then turned and stalked off after the princess.

Melpomene’s demeanor softened as she led Arisa out of the room and down the hallway. “ Chad is certainly an attractive young man, isn’t he.” Mepomene began.

Arisa grabbed Melpomene by the arm and pulled her around so they were face to face. “He’s more than that, he’s special. He’s smart and strong, he’s good and he’s kind, he’s.............. he’s wonderful, and he’s mine!” Arisa told her with fierce passion. “Mel, you always have all the boys, even at my graduation. I know I’m not beautiful like you, or special, but Chad loves me. You leave him alone, or................ or you’ll be sorry.”

Melpomene saw the tears and desperation in the smaller girl’s blue eyes. She turned and started walking. She had learned from Arisa’s tone and words all she wanted to know. How much Chad actually meant to her, and more........ So that was why their friendship had cooled since Arisa’s high school graduation party. Of course the boys at the party had flocked around the princess, they always did. Arisa had been a late bloomer and Mel had been older, more mature, well endowed, and a princess. The boys had flocked around her, it always happened, and it wasn’t something she had intended. It was often more of a problem than a blessing. She wished she had realized the problem earlier. She could have cleared up the misunderstanding. The jealousy had lasted too long. Arisa was angry with her and the thought of Arisa with the special ops demolition pack that Mel had ordered supplied to the lieutenant........ scary. Melpomene smiled as she remembered yeas ago, when Arisa was an elementary school girl. Mel had told the younger girl that there was a secret treasure hidden in the old stone building in the back woods on the palace grounds but the door was locked and there was no key. Arisa vowed that she would open that door. The little girl collected some chemicals from the kitchen and garden shed. Using a piece of pipe they found in the maintenance shed, Arisa made an explosive. Mel hadn’t expected it to work and was shocked when Arisa not only blew the door open, but also blew away a large part of the front of the building. In minutes, the imperial guard had surrounded them with ground troops vehicles and helis. It took a lot of contrite tears to get the girls off with only light punishment.......... You didn’t want Arisa angry with you when she had explosives.

“I know Chad is all of those things,” She told Arisa in a gentile voice. “He has been a very interesting subject. I have never had the chance to study someone from the lower cities. I’ve learned a lot about the people and the environment he grew up in. He led a very...... colorful life.” They stopped by the door to Melpomene’s room. “That’s the reason I’ve spent time with him, Ari. He was interesting to study, but that’s all, He really isn’t my type.” Melpomene started to reach for the door but stopped and turned back. She stepped closer to Arisa, a wickedly seductive smile on her face. She bent down, their faces were inches apart. “But then, dear Ari, maybe you are,” she purred in a voice that could have softened stone.

Arisa backed up till she was against the wall, she wasn’t that kind, but....... she licked dry lips. Those dark eyes, she couldn’t look away, she was drawn in. The princess reached out and leaned against the wall, her face drew closer. Arisa could hardly breath, those dark eyes, those soft red lips, her heart hammered so hard it hurt. This was all wrong but..... she leaned forward, she had to............

Melpomene stood up and backed away. “Then again, maybe not,” her laughter was like silver bells. Melpomene opened her door. ‘Have a good night, Ari,” she told the shocked little girl. Mel entered her room and closed the door, she leaned her back against it trying to stifle her giggling. Arisa had always been naive and easy to play jokes on, Melpomene just hadn’t been able to resist. “There is someone who is the perfect type for me, Ari, if he would just stop thinking of me as the princess,” she stated quietly.

Arisa stood against the wall for several long minutes, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Finally she started for the lounge. She was messing with me, Arisa concluded. Arisa’s frown started to turn to a smile. Mel had always liked to play tricks on her, that had to be it, and with all that psychology stuff that Mel had studied, she could seduce a statue........... Arisa stopped and looked back down the hall. Mel could seduce anyone, that’s what she showed her, even Chad, but she hadn’t. She said he wasn’t her type. Mel wasn’t trying to steal Chad away from her, she was just being nice so she could learn from him. Arisa had a big smile as she hurried back to the lounge. Chad was hers.

In the lounge, Arisa literally jumped onto Chad’s lap, hugging and kissing the startled boy. Chad was even more confused, but he didn’t mind at all.
Dogs have owners, Cats have staff

Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.

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