5 Minutes: Reloaded
Re: 5 Minutes: Reloaded
So they found Dominic and Rydia.......... or have they? If Dominic doesn't want to be found, it may not be that easy.
Arisa really seems to be messing up poor Chad's head. She may be a bit naive in some ways, but she knows all the tricks to catch a boy's eye.
The girls are going to have a fun day shopping but what will the boys do to keep from dying of boredom?
Will the Princess be able to work out an accord with those independent colony governments?
Will the colonel die of boredom?
Will I get more than one chapter a year completed?
I guess you'll just have to keep checking, at least once a day, to find out.
Chapter 29
“Captain, you should take a break,” The voice came from far away, “Captain, I’ll take over, go get some coffee or something...... GEORGI.” John’s face came into focus in front of Georgianna. “Don’t call me that,” she snarled. “Alright, I’ll take a break, just keep your mind on what you’re doing, not on the women.” Georgianna stalked out of the room.
John watched her go, he could keep his mind on the job, but could she? What had she been thinking? The princess had asked him to keep an eye on Georgianna, and he had, but what should he do now?
Georgianna was relieved to get out of the conference room. She went out into the courtyard and sat on the edge of the fountain, she splashed some of the cool water on her face. Everything was going wrong. It had happened again, the blackout, the dreams that she could almost remember, images just beyond recall. John had seen it, she was sure this time, he had noticed her sidearm holster was unsnapped and her hand on the grip of her gun. He would report it and it would be the end for her. They would find out that she was losing her mind. There would be tests, they would put her away......... she would lose everything. Tears burned Georgianna’s eyes, her head ached, and she felt so very tired, but there was something she had to do, something the they insisted she must do.
The esper slumped over at his station, exhausted. He had been so close, then someone had interfered, broken his connection. His superior leaned over him. “What happened?” The officer demanded. “Were you successful?” “No,” the esper replied, “I was so close, then that other broke into her consciousness.” “This must not disrupt the plan,” the officer insisted. “There must be some way to overcome this. You are dealing with a female, after all.” “There is a way, I can use her anger to turn her against that one,” the esper assured him. “I will cause her to destroy that one along with the others.”
Dominic moved the curtain and looked down the street. They were still there, trying to look inconspicuous. He hadn’t counted on this. How did they find them so soon? “Rydia, pack your things, we have to get out of here.” He called to the girl in the next room.
“Why?” Rydia called back, “I thought things were pretty good here.”
“They found us,” Dominic told her. “I didn’t think they would find us this soon, but they’re here. There are two of them down at the corner. They’ve been watching the door.”
Rydia came out of the room, carrying a duffle bag. “How are we going to get away? If they’re watching we’ll be caught.”
“I know another way out,” Dominic assured her. “You might not like it, it’s through the basement and the utility tunnels.”
Tom laid a memory chip on General Parker’s desk. The general motioned him to sit down as he picked up the chip and slid it into his terminal. He scrolled through the pages for several minutes. “It certainly was a stroke of luck that you happened to find the one person in the entire EDF who has ever even heard of this forgotten language,” general Parker told him. “This will be be the key to understanding that weapon.”
Tom sighed, “We may be able to build the thing, but we still are missing the system to operate it. Tod told me the programming to control the intersection of that many inertial damper fields and the weapon’s field control would be extremely complex. He thinks he and Janice could figure it out, but it could take a couple years. They really would like to meet the guy who designed this thing, especially Janice. she thinks it must be someone who knew her father.”
“If Daniel can find his missing pilot, we may have a lead to that person,” Parker replied. “Have the Sheffield pick up the Doc and his assistant and take them to Shakuras. If they find that weapon, I want those two there. They might get the information they need. We either have to control that weapon, or destroy it. Also,Tod had developed some kind of tracking device for warp space. If Dominic tries to run again, they have to plant that tracker on that weapon so we can find it.” He sat looking at the terminal again, thinking. “Tom, I want you to make sure the eighth is on alert and ready to assemble. But keep it quiet, I don’t want this known outside the eighth.” The general ordered. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this. I didn’t think it was a good idea to send Daniel out there with no backup. I know the argument, that it would look antagonistic to send out a fleet of ships, but I think there is more to it than that. I don’t think the Red Faction has been destroyed. I’m afraid Daniel was sent to be the sacrificial goat. Someone wants to start a war, and I think that someone here in the EDF is in on it.”
Arisa stood in the bus shelter, her arms folded and a frown on her face. She tapped her toe impatiently. “Where could they have gone?” she asked petulantly. “We’re going to miss the bus. They said they would meet us here.”
Megumi smiled and answered, “they probably went to find something to eat.”
Arisa looked straight at Megumi, fists on her hips, “they couldn’t, with all they ate at lunch, they’d explode.”
Megumi laughed, “you don’t know Ben, he’s just getting started, and, it looks like Chad could keep right up with him.”
“They better get here,” Arisa grouched, “there won’t be another bus for an hour and we should be there when the colonel gets back. He’ll want to hear what we found out today.”
“If they aren’t here on time, we’ll leave without them,” Megumi told her.
“That wouldn’t be any fun.” Arisa pouted. What she really wanted was to see Ben’s reaction when he saw Megumi. They had found a really cute little black dress. It had a short skirt and tight fitting body that was cut low enough to be very alluring. Megumi protested, but Arisa had insisted they buy it and that Megumi had to wear it.
“Hi girls, have you been waiting long?” Chad called out as he came around the side of the bus stop shelter. Megumi stood up to greet Ben as he followed Chad around the shelter. “Hey Megumi..........” Clank.... “Ouch.” As Ben spotted Megumi his eyes nearly poped out, his mouth hung open and he walked right into the bus stop sign post.
“Oh!” Megumi cried as she hurried over to Ben. “Are you alright?”
“Ya..... I guess,” Ben answered as he pulled the signpost back to straight. He turned a lustful look toward Megumi. “Oh wow,” was all he could think to say. He’d never seen his athletic little girlfriend dressed like this. She was stunning.
Megumi blushed, she had never worn such an enticing dress, she was afraid to. She was worried what Ben would think of her........ But now, she was glad she did, she saw the look in his eyes and she wanted that.
Arisa giggled. “She’s pretty hot, isn’t she?” Arisa asked Chad.
“Yes, that she is,” Chad answered as he glanced at Megumi. Chad turned back to Arisa, she was what he was interested in. Arisa was wearing a party dress and matching shoes she had purchased. It was a light blue that matched her eyes, with short puff sleave’s and a high collar with lace trim, the full gathered skirt was hemmed a little above he knees. Chad was fascinated, with her golden curls shining in the sunlight, she could be a pixie princess or queen of the fairies. Chad’s longing look wasn’t lost on Arisa. She smiled up at him, it was exactly what she had hoped for. He was looking at her, even though Megumi was so pretty. Arisa noticed the bus pulling up. “Hey you two, wait till you get back to your room, at least,” she told Ben and Megumi. The two blushed and they all laughed as they got on the bus.
Colonel Hellwind sighed as the car stopped in front of their old hotel building. It had been another long and mostly boring day, though it had been interesting to see how the princess had manipulated the diplomats. At times he wondered if she was trying to prevent a war..... or start one. As they entered the lounge area Daniel did a double take. Was there a party tonight that he didn’t know about? The girls were stunning.
Melpomene chuckled when she saw the pile of shopping bags by the girls. “It looks like you had a fun day,” she told them. She stepped up to Chad, she thought he looked very good in the new cloths he was wearing. Melpomene touched his face. “Your bruises are fading nicely,” she observed, “you should be able to check the other schools in a day or two.”
Arisa pushed her way between Chad and Melpomene forcing them to back away from each other. “We won’t be going to the other schools so you don’t have to worry about Chad,” she angrily told the princess.
“Oh?” The princess questioned, “what makes you think that?”
“We know where captain Dominic and the woman are living,” Arisa told her in a smug voice, “and where they work.”
Colonel Hellwind stepped up to the group. “Are you sure? Did you see them?” He asked.
“No, but we know where to find them now.” Arisa told him. She recounted the story of how they had been stopped by the gang members and had been given the information.
“Can we be sure the information is true?” The colonel questioned.
“They wouldn’t have had reason to try to deceive us,” Chad assured him. “They were worried, afraid we would retaliate and they knew we could destroy them. Also, while the girls were shopping, Ben and I went and checked out the apartment, there is a Carlos Santana listed for a second floor apartment. “
“I hope he didn’t see you. If he’s on the run from the EDF, we could lose him.” The colonel admonished them.
“I made sure we weren’t able to be seen from inside the building,” Chad informed him. “And, I kept watch and didn’t see the captain in the area.”
“He wasn’t home anyway,” Ben told him. Then, when the colonel looked questioningly at him, he added, “I tried buzzing his room.”
“That was a bad idea,” the colonel told Ben. “If he saw you on the security camera he might not answer. He might be running, we might have lost our chance.”
“No, there were no cameras. It was a simple voice only intercom system.” Chad came to Ben’s defense.
The colonel sighed, “That’s good. We’ll have to stake out the apartment building. If we can be sure he’s there, we can cover the exits before we confront him to make sure he can’t run. We need to find a place where we can watch the building without being seen.”
Arisa grinned, “I can take care of that. I have a plan.”
Arisa really seems to be messing up poor Chad's head. She may be a bit naive in some ways, but she knows all the tricks to catch a boy's eye.
The girls are going to have a fun day shopping but what will the boys do to keep from dying of boredom?
Will the Princess be able to work out an accord with those independent colony governments?
Will the colonel die of boredom?
Will I get more than one chapter a year completed?
I guess you'll just have to keep checking, at least once a day, to find out.
Chapter 29
“Captain, you should take a break,” The voice came from far away, “Captain, I’ll take over, go get some coffee or something...... GEORGI.” John’s face came into focus in front of Georgianna. “Don’t call me that,” she snarled. “Alright, I’ll take a break, just keep your mind on what you’re doing, not on the women.” Georgianna stalked out of the room.
John watched her go, he could keep his mind on the job, but could she? What had she been thinking? The princess had asked him to keep an eye on Georgianna, and he had, but what should he do now?
Georgianna was relieved to get out of the conference room. She went out into the courtyard and sat on the edge of the fountain, she splashed some of the cool water on her face. Everything was going wrong. It had happened again, the blackout, the dreams that she could almost remember, images just beyond recall. John had seen it, she was sure this time, he had noticed her sidearm holster was unsnapped and her hand on the grip of her gun. He would report it and it would be the end for her. They would find out that she was losing her mind. There would be tests, they would put her away......... she would lose everything. Tears burned Georgianna’s eyes, her head ached, and she felt so very tired, but there was something she had to do, something the they insisted she must do.
The esper slumped over at his station, exhausted. He had been so close, then someone had interfered, broken his connection. His superior leaned over him. “What happened?” The officer demanded. “Were you successful?” “No,” the esper replied, “I was so close, then that other broke into her consciousness.” “This must not disrupt the plan,” the officer insisted. “There must be some way to overcome this. You are dealing with a female, after all.” “There is a way, I can use her anger to turn her against that one,” the esper assured him. “I will cause her to destroy that one along with the others.”
Dominic moved the curtain and looked down the street. They were still there, trying to look inconspicuous. He hadn’t counted on this. How did they find them so soon? “Rydia, pack your things, we have to get out of here.” He called to the girl in the next room.
“Why?” Rydia called back, “I thought things were pretty good here.”
“They found us,” Dominic told her. “I didn’t think they would find us this soon, but they’re here. There are two of them down at the corner. They’ve been watching the door.”
Rydia came out of the room, carrying a duffle bag. “How are we going to get away? If they’re watching we’ll be caught.”
“I know another way out,” Dominic assured her. “You might not like it, it’s through the basement and the utility tunnels.”
Tom laid a memory chip on General Parker’s desk. The general motioned him to sit down as he picked up the chip and slid it into his terminal. He scrolled through the pages for several minutes. “It certainly was a stroke of luck that you happened to find the one person in the entire EDF who has ever even heard of this forgotten language,” general Parker told him. “This will be be the key to understanding that weapon.”
Tom sighed, “We may be able to build the thing, but we still are missing the system to operate it. Tod told me the programming to control the intersection of that many inertial damper fields and the weapon’s field control would be extremely complex. He thinks he and Janice could figure it out, but it could take a couple years. They really would like to meet the guy who designed this thing, especially Janice. she thinks it must be someone who knew her father.”
“If Daniel can find his missing pilot, we may have a lead to that person,” Parker replied. “Have the Sheffield pick up the Doc and his assistant and take them to Shakuras. If they find that weapon, I want those two there. They might get the information they need. We either have to control that weapon, or destroy it. Also,Tod had developed some kind of tracking device for warp space. If Dominic tries to run again, they have to plant that tracker on that weapon so we can find it.” He sat looking at the terminal again, thinking. “Tom, I want you to make sure the eighth is on alert and ready to assemble. But keep it quiet, I don’t want this known outside the eighth.” The general ordered. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this. I didn’t think it was a good idea to send Daniel out there with no backup. I know the argument, that it would look antagonistic to send out a fleet of ships, but I think there is more to it than that. I don’t think the Red Faction has been destroyed. I’m afraid Daniel was sent to be the sacrificial goat. Someone wants to start a war, and I think that someone here in the EDF is in on it.”
Arisa stood in the bus shelter, her arms folded and a frown on her face. She tapped her toe impatiently. “Where could they have gone?” she asked petulantly. “We’re going to miss the bus. They said they would meet us here.”
Megumi smiled and answered, “they probably went to find something to eat.”
Arisa looked straight at Megumi, fists on her hips, “they couldn’t, with all they ate at lunch, they’d explode.”
Megumi laughed, “you don’t know Ben, he’s just getting started, and, it looks like Chad could keep right up with him.”
“They better get here,” Arisa grouched, “there won’t be another bus for an hour and we should be there when the colonel gets back. He’ll want to hear what we found out today.”
“If they aren’t here on time, we’ll leave without them,” Megumi told her.
“That wouldn’t be any fun.” Arisa pouted. What she really wanted was to see Ben’s reaction when he saw Megumi. They had found a really cute little black dress. It had a short skirt and tight fitting body that was cut low enough to be very alluring. Megumi protested, but Arisa had insisted they buy it and that Megumi had to wear it.
“Hi girls, have you been waiting long?” Chad called out as he came around the side of the bus stop shelter. Megumi stood up to greet Ben as he followed Chad around the shelter. “Hey Megumi..........” Clank.... “Ouch.” As Ben spotted Megumi his eyes nearly poped out, his mouth hung open and he walked right into the bus stop sign post.
“Oh!” Megumi cried as she hurried over to Ben. “Are you alright?”
“Ya..... I guess,” Ben answered as he pulled the signpost back to straight. He turned a lustful look toward Megumi. “Oh wow,” was all he could think to say. He’d never seen his athletic little girlfriend dressed like this. She was stunning.
Megumi blushed, she had never worn such an enticing dress, she was afraid to. She was worried what Ben would think of her........ But now, she was glad she did, she saw the look in his eyes and she wanted that.
Arisa giggled. “She’s pretty hot, isn’t she?” Arisa asked Chad.
“Yes, that she is,” Chad answered as he glanced at Megumi. Chad turned back to Arisa, she was what he was interested in. Arisa was wearing a party dress and matching shoes she had purchased. It was a light blue that matched her eyes, with short puff sleave’s and a high collar with lace trim, the full gathered skirt was hemmed a little above he knees. Chad was fascinated, with her golden curls shining in the sunlight, she could be a pixie princess or queen of the fairies. Chad’s longing look wasn’t lost on Arisa. She smiled up at him, it was exactly what she had hoped for. He was looking at her, even though Megumi was so pretty. Arisa noticed the bus pulling up. “Hey you two, wait till you get back to your room, at least,” she told Ben and Megumi. The two blushed and they all laughed as they got on the bus.
Colonel Hellwind sighed as the car stopped in front of their old hotel building. It had been another long and mostly boring day, though it had been interesting to see how the princess had manipulated the diplomats. At times he wondered if she was trying to prevent a war..... or start one. As they entered the lounge area Daniel did a double take. Was there a party tonight that he didn’t know about? The girls were stunning.
Melpomene chuckled when she saw the pile of shopping bags by the girls. “It looks like you had a fun day,” she told them. She stepped up to Chad, she thought he looked very good in the new cloths he was wearing. Melpomene touched his face. “Your bruises are fading nicely,” she observed, “you should be able to check the other schools in a day or two.”
Arisa pushed her way between Chad and Melpomene forcing them to back away from each other. “We won’t be going to the other schools so you don’t have to worry about Chad,” she angrily told the princess.
“Oh?” The princess questioned, “what makes you think that?”
“We know where captain Dominic and the woman are living,” Arisa told her in a smug voice, “and where they work.”
Colonel Hellwind stepped up to the group. “Are you sure? Did you see them?” He asked.
“No, but we know where to find them now.” Arisa told him. She recounted the story of how they had been stopped by the gang members and had been given the information.
“Can we be sure the information is true?” The colonel questioned.
“They wouldn’t have had reason to try to deceive us,” Chad assured him. “They were worried, afraid we would retaliate and they knew we could destroy them. Also, while the girls were shopping, Ben and I went and checked out the apartment, there is a Carlos Santana listed for a second floor apartment. “
“I hope he didn’t see you. If he’s on the run from the EDF, we could lose him.” The colonel admonished them.
“I made sure we weren’t able to be seen from inside the building,” Chad informed him. “And, I kept watch and didn’t see the captain in the area.”
“He wasn’t home anyway,” Ben told him. Then, when the colonel looked questioningly at him, he added, “I tried buzzing his room.”
“That was a bad idea,” the colonel told Ben. “If he saw you on the security camera he might not answer. He might be running, we might have lost our chance.”
“No, there were no cameras. It was a simple voice only intercom system.” Chad came to Ben’s defense.
The colonel sighed, “That’s good. We’ll have to stake out the apartment building. If we can be sure he’s there, we can cover the exits before we confront him to make sure he can’t run. We need to find a place where we can watch the building without being seen.”
Arisa grinned, “I can take care of that. I have a plan.”
Dogs have owners, Cats have staff
Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
Re: 5 Minutes: Reloaded
Arisa has a plan! Ooooo, can this be a good thing? Let's not underestimate the kitten, she stood down a whole gang, maybe she knows something the others haven't thought of. Well, let's find out.
Chapter 30
The young man at the registration desk of the Ambassador Hotel looked up as a group of four people entered the lobby. There were two young men, one tall and dark haired, the other a blond haired mountain of a man. What drew his attention was the two girls. One was an exotic looking beauty with long black hair dressed in a very hot looking black dress, and in the lead of the group was a small girl with short blond curls, blue eyes, and wearing a cute blue dress.
Arisa led Chad up to the registration desk. “I want two adjoining rooms facing the street on the second floor,” she informed the young man.
The young man was taken aback by the little girl’s imperious sounding attitude. He looked at the computer screen. “I’m afraid those rooms are taken,” he informed Arisa. “There are only suite’s open on the seventh floor, but they are rather expensive.”
Aisa folded her arms over her chest and stamped her foot. “Did I say seventh floor? NO! I said I want my rooms on the second floor.” Arisa steamed.
“Well, that’s not possible,” he retorted. “Those rooms are occupied.”
“I don’t care,” Arisa replied tossing her head. “Move them to the suites, or send them somewhere else, I want those rooms.”
The manager ran his fingers through his greying hair. He could hear the raised voices coming through the office door and wondered what kind of trouble his assistant was getting into this time. He got up and peered out the door then blanched as he heard his assistant suggest that they look for other accommodations. This would never do, he hurried out of the office to the counter. “It will take a bit of time to get the rooms cleaned and prepared for you,” he told Arisa. “Would an hour delay be be satisfactory?”
Arisa sniffed, “I suppose it will have to do.” She looked around and spotted one of the bell boys. “You there, go bring in my bags,” she ordered.
The bell boy looked at the manager who motioned for him to do it.
The assistant looked incredulously at the manager. “But sir, those rooms are..........”
The manager took the young man by the arm and steered him toward the office. “Please excuse us for a moment,” he told Arisa.
In the office the assistant turned toward his manager. “Why are you catering to that arrogant little......”
The manager waved him to silence. “You may be young enough to look for a different career, but I’m not.” He chided the young man. “Don’t you ever look at the company news letters? That arrogant little girl is Arisa Higgins, her family owns this hotel, and just about every other one you can think of. What ever she wants, you had better find a way of providing for her. Now, hurry and get those rooms ready.”
“What should I do with the guests belongings from the rooms?” The young man asked.
“Move them to the suites, it’s a rather big upgrade, I don’t think they will complain.” The manager ordered. He went back out to the counter. “We could contact you when the rooms are ready,” he told Arisa.
“That would be fine,” Arisa told him. “We’ll be waiting in the bar. I hope they have better drinks than those awful things they served on the ship.” She turned toward the lounge and looked at the bell boy pushing in the cart with the dozen big suitcases she had purchased that morning. “I hope there are some decent shops on this planet, Meg,” she said to Megumi, loud enough for the manager to hear, as they headed for the lounge. “The princess is having a dinner party and I simply have nothing to wear.”
The manager picked up his phone to call the bar, he’d better give the bar tender a heads up on just who was headed his way. The manager could just imagine what would happen if he refused to serve the girl.
Megumi walked close to Arisa. “You really played that part well,” She told Arisa then giggled.
“That’s where I come from,” Arisa answered. “It’s how my father wants me to be. And, exactly what I don’t ever want to be.”
Chapter 30
The young man at the registration desk of the Ambassador Hotel looked up as a group of four people entered the lobby. There were two young men, one tall and dark haired, the other a blond haired mountain of a man. What drew his attention was the two girls. One was an exotic looking beauty with long black hair dressed in a very hot looking black dress, and in the lead of the group was a small girl with short blond curls, blue eyes, and wearing a cute blue dress.
Arisa led Chad up to the registration desk. “I want two adjoining rooms facing the street on the second floor,” she informed the young man.
The young man was taken aback by the little girl’s imperious sounding attitude. He looked at the computer screen. “I’m afraid those rooms are taken,” he informed Arisa. “There are only suite’s open on the seventh floor, but they are rather expensive.”
Aisa folded her arms over her chest and stamped her foot. “Did I say seventh floor? NO! I said I want my rooms on the second floor.” Arisa steamed.
“Well, that’s not possible,” he retorted. “Those rooms are occupied.”
“I don’t care,” Arisa replied tossing her head. “Move them to the suites, or send them somewhere else, I want those rooms.”
The manager ran his fingers through his greying hair. He could hear the raised voices coming through the office door and wondered what kind of trouble his assistant was getting into this time. He got up and peered out the door then blanched as he heard his assistant suggest that they look for other accommodations. This would never do, he hurried out of the office to the counter. “It will take a bit of time to get the rooms cleaned and prepared for you,” he told Arisa. “Would an hour delay be be satisfactory?”
Arisa sniffed, “I suppose it will have to do.” She looked around and spotted one of the bell boys. “You there, go bring in my bags,” she ordered.
The bell boy looked at the manager who motioned for him to do it.
The assistant looked incredulously at the manager. “But sir, those rooms are..........”
The manager took the young man by the arm and steered him toward the office. “Please excuse us for a moment,” he told Arisa.
In the office the assistant turned toward his manager. “Why are you catering to that arrogant little......”
The manager waved him to silence. “You may be young enough to look for a different career, but I’m not.” He chided the young man. “Don’t you ever look at the company news letters? That arrogant little girl is Arisa Higgins, her family owns this hotel, and just about every other one you can think of. What ever she wants, you had better find a way of providing for her. Now, hurry and get those rooms ready.”
“What should I do with the guests belongings from the rooms?” The young man asked.
“Move them to the suites, it’s a rather big upgrade, I don’t think they will complain.” The manager ordered. He went back out to the counter. “We could contact you when the rooms are ready,” he told Arisa.
“That would be fine,” Arisa told him. “We’ll be waiting in the bar. I hope they have better drinks than those awful things they served on the ship.” She turned toward the lounge and looked at the bell boy pushing in the cart with the dozen big suitcases she had purchased that morning. “I hope there are some decent shops on this planet, Meg,” she said to Megumi, loud enough for the manager to hear, as they headed for the lounge. “The princess is having a dinner party and I simply have nothing to wear.”
The manager picked up his phone to call the bar, he’d better give the bar tender a heads up on just who was headed his way. The manager could just imagine what would happen if he refused to serve the girl.
Megumi walked close to Arisa. “You really played that part well,” She told Arisa then giggled.
“That’s where I come from,” Arisa answered. “It’s how my father wants me to be. And, exactly what I don’t ever want to be.”
Dogs have owners, Cats have staff
Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
Re: 5 Minutes: Reloaded
Whew I purrromise to make a new pdf for mew, err you ![kiss :kiss:](./images/smilies/anikis2.gif)
![kiss :kiss:](./images/smilies/anikis2.gif)
What do you call a dinosaur with an extended vocabulary? A thesaurus.
Re: 5 Minutes: Reloaded
Kitty purrromised, kitty delivers! ![kiss :kiss:](./images/smilies/anikis2.gif)
![kiss :kiss:](./images/smilies/anikis2.gif)
What do you call a dinosaur with an extended vocabulary? A thesaurus.
Re: 5 Minutes: Reloaded
You thought Colonel Hellwind and company had gotten lost......... They didn't, I did. I finally got back in gear and finished another chapter. Yes there is a plot, and I think I have an idea where this is going. We'll just have to follow the pilots story and see if I'm right.
As the last chapter was ending, The colonel had our pilots set up to watch the apartment building where Dominic and Ridia were living. It won't be long till they have Dom and Ridia and the secrets to her giant mech.
With that neatly in hand we can turn our thoughts to Georgianna and John and the conference. What is happening with the captain, and who are these espers that are trying to take control of her? What is their plan? We know they were trying to start a war at Mar Sara, and at Tarsonis, but we don't know why. Surely they don't think the colonies can defeat the EDF. Or are they simply trying to force the colonies to break away from Earth? Are they trying to break up the empire, and can the princess keep them together. So far, it sounds like she is causing more problems than she is solving.
Ok, time to see if the stake out can gather in our awol pilot and the brilliant young designer of the powerful Atropos.
Chapter 31
“How can I fix it, I don’t know what’s wrong.” Ridia’s voice whined. “The power units are all acting strange. There should be enough power but there just isn’t.” She pushed her big glasses up her nose, tears glistened in the corners of her eyes.
Dominic sighed, “sorry I snapped at you, but they know we’re on this planet, it won’t be long till they figure out where we are. We have to get out of here.”
“We can’t leave Atropos here, we can’t let them get him.” Ridia pleaded.
“You told me they can’t operate it without the operating system and only you have that.” Dominic reasoned with her. “It would be useless to them without you, so we have to get away.”
“I won’t let them have him,” Ridia vowed. “I won’t leave him behind.”
Chad looked down the street, then back to the door of the apartment building across the street. They had watched the building all day yesterday and the last two nights. Dominic and the girl hadn’t shown up. The sensors and cameras on the rear door and fire escape hadn’t shown anyone either. He had a bad feeling that they were too late. Sitting alone with Arisa. in this hotel room, was straining his will power to keep watching the street, and not........
Ben followed Megumi into the bar. He looked around the room but other than the bartender they were the only ones there. They took stools at the bar and ordered drinks.
“You look a bit young, miss, do you have an ID.” The bartender asked, looking a bit skeptical.
Megumi sighed and got out her ID card. Maybe she should be use to being checked, it happened often enough. It must be worse for Arisa, they probably thought her ID was fake.
The bartender took the card and looked at it and frowned. “EDF, we don’t see many of your kind around here.” He said with a scowl.
“Ya, well we’re just looking for a friend,” Ben told him, smiling. “I heard he was playing guitar in a band here.”
“Oh? Maybe.” The bartender looked at them suspiciously. “And where do you know him from?”
“Gunner was my captain at the Mar Sara battle. I haven’t seen him since then.” Ben answered. “We’re escorting a big wheel to some conference here, so I thought I might look him up.”
“Mar Sara, huh,” the bartender looked Ben over more closely. “What did you pilot?”
“A Lancer heavy.”
“What did they call you?”
“Bullseye, hey why all the questions?” Ben demanded.
The bartender smiled, “ya, you fit the description. He told me all about the battle you had at Mar Sara. Of all the EDF you guys are the only ones who are welcomed here. You’re heros for saving the colony, in our opinion.
Megumi laughed, “it’s nice to know we’re welcome somewhere.”
“You got a bad deal,” the bartender told them, “the way they made it sound, you were the bad guys. Say, Carlos isn’t in some kind of trouble, is he?”
“Na, not with us,” Ben answered. “What makes you think that?”
"Well, you’re the third one in here looking for him.” The man answered. “Three guys a couple days ago, two yesterday, now you two.”
“Hmm,” Ben scratched his chin, “he did tend to get himself into trouble. Wonder if he was gambling or something. Do you know where he is?”
“Can’t help you there,” the bartender answered. “He and that girl would take off for a few days every now and then. Seemed different this time. He came in for his guitar and told me they would be gone for a while, he seemed in a big hurry.”
“Aw nuts, we could maybe help him out if we knew where to find him.” Ben shook his head. “Seems we came a bit too late.”
Ben and Megumi finished their drinks while the bartender pried stories of the Mar Sara battle out of them. They left the bar, disappointed that they didn’t have any more information on where Dominic was than when they had entered. “Who else would be looking for them?” Ben asked Megumi. “Do you think the EDF would have sent someone else?”
“I don’t know,” She told him. “The OMI seems to do things on their own. but even if they sent investigators, who are the other ones? Something strange is going on here.”
“Ya, I got a bad feeling about it........ Something bad is going to happen.” Ben warned her.
“They aren’t coming back,” Arisa grumbled. If she had to sit here alone in this hotel room with Chad much longer, she was going to go crazy and......... “We should do something. Maybe we should go over there and question the other tenants. Maybe they would know where they are.”
Chad got up and paced around the room, thinking. He picked up the case of tools he had brought with him. “It might be better to check his room first. Maybe they’re hiding out in there...... or worse......”
“That would be a good idea, but they must have a security system,” Arisa explained. “They would have their door locked, we couldn’t get in.” Arisa looked up and saw Chad grinning.
“Really?” Chad chuckled.
“Oh.....” Arisa said as she remembered Chad’s past. “Ok, let’s go.”
Even though she knew Chad had experience with breaking into buildings, she was surprised at how quickly he got the door open while she acted the part of talking to someone on the intercom. When they reached the apartment, Chad had Arisa stand to the side as he picked the lock on the door as quietly as he could. He stood to the side as he quietly turned the knob and pushed the door open. He didn’t want to be in the line of fire if someone had a nervous trigger finger. There was no sound so he cautiously looked around into the room, he didn’t see anyone so he entered then told Arisa she should come in. There were papers scattered around, some magazines a couple old books, odd things in this day, but they were some kind of technical and physics books. There were some canned goods and boxes of food in the little kitchen area and food left in the refrigerator. Arisa looked in the closets and Chad in the drawers.
“Empty,” Chad reported, “they were cleaned out.”
Arisa frowned, “There are three school uniforms in the closet, that’s all. It looks like they grabbed everything and left.”
“In a hurry, I’d guess,” Chad mused. “Well, maybe we can find something in the papers that will give us a clue to where they are.” Did they spot us and run? Chad wondered. Or was it because of those guys who have been watching the building.
Arisa gathered the papers and looked through them, they were schematic diagrams and mathematical formulae. Nothing that could help them.
Chad dumped out the waste basket and looked through the contents. Empty food packages, containers, and store receipts, the basket by the desk just had more of the pages of hand drawn diagrams. “Nothing,” Chad sighed.
Arisa frowned, she felt so frustrated she could cry. They had been so close. When they received the information from the gang leader, she was sure they would find captain Torres and the girl. Now their hopes were crushed, Torres was gone and had left no clues. “We were so close,” she pouted, “I was sure we were going to find them. Now, they’re gone.”
“Ya, it looks like it,” Chad grumped. “The colonel isn’t going to be happy about this.”
“Do you think they saw us and that’s why they left?” Arisa questioned.
“Maybe,” Chad mused as he put the basket back. “Or maybe it was because of the other guys.” He spotted a piece of crumpled paper stuck behind the edge of the desk and picked it up.
“What other guys?” Arisa asked.
“The ones who have been down at the corner for the last two days.” Chad answered as he straightened the paper and glanced at it. Just another receipt. “We aren’t going to find anything here,” Chad said as he started to throw the paper in the basket....... then stopped and looked more closely at it, and smiled. “Or, we might just get lucky.”
Arisa stood on her toes trying to get a look at the paper. “What is it? Oh, it’s just another receipt. What good is that?”
“Just a receipt,” Chad answered, “for hangar space rental at one of the airfields.”
“Oh, thats good....... maybe?” Arisa exclaimed. “But if they’re gone, how will that help?”
“We won’t know till we check it out,” Chad told her. “We have to go to that airfield. We better leave a note in the room for Ben and Megumi.”
Arisa laughed, “yes let’s go...... the game is afoot!”
“Huh?” Chad looked a bit dumbfounded.
“Just something from the old books my brother read,” Arisa told him. “Something a great detective would say.”
As the last chapter was ending, The colonel had our pilots set up to watch the apartment building where Dominic and Ridia were living. It won't be long till they have Dom and Ridia and the secrets to her giant mech.
With that neatly in hand we can turn our thoughts to Georgianna and John and the conference. What is happening with the captain, and who are these espers that are trying to take control of her? What is their plan? We know they were trying to start a war at Mar Sara, and at Tarsonis, but we don't know why. Surely they don't think the colonies can defeat the EDF. Or are they simply trying to force the colonies to break away from Earth? Are they trying to break up the empire, and can the princess keep them together. So far, it sounds like she is causing more problems than she is solving.
Ok, time to see if the stake out can gather in our awol pilot and the brilliant young designer of the powerful Atropos.
Chapter 31
“How can I fix it, I don’t know what’s wrong.” Ridia’s voice whined. “The power units are all acting strange. There should be enough power but there just isn’t.” She pushed her big glasses up her nose, tears glistened in the corners of her eyes.
Dominic sighed, “sorry I snapped at you, but they know we’re on this planet, it won’t be long till they figure out where we are. We have to get out of here.”
“We can’t leave Atropos here, we can’t let them get him.” Ridia pleaded.
“You told me they can’t operate it without the operating system and only you have that.” Dominic reasoned with her. “It would be useless to them without you, so we have to get away.”
“I won’t let them have him,” Ridia vowed. “I won’t leave him behind.”
Chad looked down the street, then back to the door of the apartment building across the street. They had watched the building all day yesterday and the last two nights. Dominic and the girl hadn’t shown up. The sensors and cameras on the rear door and fire escape hadn’t shown anyone either. He had a bad feeling that they were too late. Sitting alone with Arisa. in this hotel room, was straining his will power to keep watching the street, and not........
Ben followed Megumi into the bar. He looked around the room but other than the bartender they were the only ones there. They took stools at the bar and ordered drinks.
“You look a bit young, miss, do you have an ID.” The bartender asked, looking a bit skeptical.
Megumi sighed and got out her ID card. Maybe she should be use to being checked, it happened often enough. It must be worse for Arisa, they probably thought her ID was fake.
The bartender took the card and looked at it and frowned. “EDF, we don’t see many of your kind around here.” He said with a scowl.
“Ya, well we’re just looking for a friend,” Ben told him, smiling. “I heard he was playing guitar in a band here.”
“Oh? Maybe.” The bartender looked at them suspiciously. “And where do you know him from?”
“Gunner was my captain at the Mar Sara battle. I haven’t seen him since then.” Ben answered. “We’re escorting a big wheel to some conference here, so I thought I might look him up.”
“Mar Sara, huh,” the bartender looked Ben over more closely. “What did you pilot?”
“A Lancer heavy.”
“What did they call you?”
“Bullseye, hey why all the questions?” Ben demanded.
The bartender smiled, “ya, you fit the description. He told me all about the battle you had at Mar Sara. Of all the EDF you guys are the only ones who are welcomed here. You’re heros for saving the colony, in our opinion.
Megumi laughed, “it’s nice to know we’re welcome somewhere.”
“You got a bad deal,” the bartender told them, “the way they made it sound, you were the bad guys. Say, Carlos isn’t in some kind of trouble, is he?”
“Na, not with us,” Ben answered. “What makes you think that?”
"Well, you’re the third one in here looking for him.” The man answered. “Three guys a couple days ago, two yesterday, now you two.”
“Hmm,” Ben scratched his chin, “he did tend to get himself into trouble. Wonder if he was gambling or something. Do you know where he is?”
“Can’t help you there,” the bartender answered. “He and that girl would take off for a few days every now and then. Seemed different this time. He came in for his guitar and told me they would be gone for a while, he seemed in a big hurry.”
“Aw nuts, we could maybe help him out if we knew where to find him.” Ben shook his head. “Seems we came a bit too late.”
Ben and Megumi finished their drinks while the bartender pried stories of the Mar Sara battle out of them. They left the bar, disappointed that they didn’t have any more information on where Dominic was than when they had entered. “Who else would be looking for them?” Ben asked Megumi. “Do you think the EDF would have sent someone else?”
“I don’t know,” She told him. “The OMI seems to do things on their own. but even if they sent investigators, who are the other ones? Something strange is going on here.”
“Ya, I got a bad feeling about it........ Something bad is going to happen.” Ben warned her.
“They aren’t coming back,” Arisa grumbled. If she had to sit here alone in this hotel room with Chad much longer, she was going to go crazy and......... “We should do something. Maybe we should go over there and question the other tenants. Maybe they would know where they are.”
Chad got up and paced around the room, thinking. He picked up the case of tools he had brought with him. “It might be better to check his room first. Maybe they’re hiding out in there...... or worse......”
“That would be a good idea, but they must have a security system,” Arisa explained. “They would have their door locked, we couldn’t get in.” Arisa looked up and saw Chad grinning.
“Really?” Chad chuckled.
“Oh.....” Arisa said as she remembered Chad’s past. “Ok, let’s go.”
Even though she knew Chad had experience with breaking into buildings, she was surprised at how quickly he got the door open while she acted the part of talking to someone on the intercom. When they reached the apartment, Chad had Arisa stand to the side as he picked the lock on the door as quietly as he could. He stood to the side as he quietly turned the knob and pushed the door open. He didn’t want to be in the line of fire if someone had a nervous trigger finger. There was no sound so he cautiously looked around into the room, he didn’t see anyone so he entered then told Arisa she should come in. There were papers scattered around, some magazines a couple old books, odd things in this day, but they were some kind of technical and physics books. There were some canned goods and boxes of food in the little kitchen area and food left in the refrigerator. Arisa looked in the closets and Chad in the drawers.
“Empty,” Chad reported, “they were cleaned out.”
Arisa frowned, “There are three school uniforms in the closet, that’s all. It looks like they grabbed everything and left.”
“In a hurry, I’d guess,” Chad mused. “Well, maybe we can find something in the papers that will give us a clue to where they are.” Did they spot us and run? Chad wondered. Or was it because of those guys who have been watching the building.
Arisa gathered the papers and looked through them, they were schematic diagrams and mathematical formulae. Nothing that could help them.
Chad dumped out the waste basket and looked through the contents. Empty food packages, containers, and store receipts, the basket by the desk just had more of the pages of hand drawn diagrams. “Nothing,” Chad sighed.
Arisa frowned, she felt so frustrated she could cry. They had been so close. When they received the information from the gang leader, she was sure they would find captain Torres and the girl. Now their hopes were crushed, Torres was gone and had left no clues. “We were so close,” she pouted, “I was sure we were going to find them. Now, they’re gone.”
“Ya, it looks like it,” Chad grumped. “The colonel isn’t going to be happy about this.”
“Do you think they saw us and that’s why they left?” Arisa questioned.
“Maybe,” Chad mused as he put the basket back. “Or maybe it was because of the other guys.” He spotted a piece of crumpled paper stuck behind the edge of the desk and picked it up.
“What other guys?” Arisa asked.
“The ones who have been down at the corner for the last two days.” Chad answered as he straightened the paper and glanced at it. Just another receipt. “We aren’t going to find anything here,” Chad said as he started to throw the paper in the basket....... then stopped and looked more closely at it, and smiled. “Or, we might just get lucky.”
Arisa stood on her toes trying to get a look at the paper. “What is it? Oh, it’s just another receipt. What good is that?”
“Just a receipt,” Chad answered, “for hangar space rental at one of the airfields.”
“Oh, thats good....... maybe?” Arisa exclaimed. “But if they’re gone, how will that help?”
“We won’t know till we check it out,” Chad told her. “We have to go to that airfield. We better leave a note in the room for Ben and Megumi.”
Arisa laughed, “yes let’s go...... the game is afoot!”
“Huh?” Chad looked a bit dumbfounded.
“Just something from the old books my brother read,” Arisa told him. “Something a great detective would say.”
Dogs have owners, Cats have staff
Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
Re: 5 Minutes: Reloaded
Well, I can get on the forum again so I can post another chapter. Let's see, where were we? Ha yes, they haven't found Dominic yet, but it doesn't look like he's going anywhere soon with Atropos broken. Ben and Megumi had a couple drinks and found out Dominic and the girl left town. At least Arisa and Chad had a bit more luck thanks to Chad's background in burglary.
Things are going to begin to heat up. Just hang in there.
Chapter 32
Georgianna quickly looked away when she saw John looking at her. Why does he keep looking me over, she wondered? It’s like he can tell...... She closed her eyes, damn this headache. It’s like he knew she could hear voices in her head, like he knew she felt like someone else was there.......... Like he knew she was going crazy. Ignore him, the voices told her, you hate him, he’s a letcher......... if he gets in your way, kill him. Georgianna tried to block out the voices, they were insanity, but there was something she had to do, and she couldn’t let John get in her way.
It was a small airfield, on the opposite side of town from the spaceport, right on the sea shore. There were several hangars and one larger building that was a combination of office maintenance shed. There was a sign that read “Walt’s Heli Repair” over the big door. Chad and Arisa entered the office. There was a box with a button on the counter that had a sign saying, “if you want help, push the damn button”. Chad laughed as he pushed the button.
There were clanking sounds of tools dropping and a few expletives from the shop before the door opened and Walt entered the office. He was a short, stoutly built man, wearing dirty coveralls and wiping his hands on a shop towel. He looked the two over then grumbled, “what do you kids want?”
Arisa didn’t like the man’s tone and was about to let him know it, but Chad answered before she could. “We’re looking for, ah, Carlos Santana,” Chad told him. “He stores a shuttle here.”
“Well, he ain’t here,” Walt told them. “The professor and that assistant of his took off a couple days ago, out to the islands, doing some kind of research...... he says. What do you want him for? You college kids or something?” He looked rather skeptically at Arisa.
Arisa quickly adapted to the situation. “We have documents, concerning his research grant from the university, that he needs to deal with. Do you know where he went?”
“How would I know?” Walt grumbled. “I don’t keep track of private shuttles. They go out to the islands somewhere.”
“Darn,” Arisa complained, “we need to find him to get these......”
“That’s alright,” Chad broke in as he looked at a map on the wall. “I know where he is.”
“What? How do you know?” Arisa asked.
“Oh, the Uni told me where I could find him,” Chad answered. “I would like to rent a Heli for a couple hours to, ah, take him the documents.” Chad told the man.
Walt looked a bit skeptical, not many college boys, especially off worlders, could manually fly a heli. “You got a license to fly, boy?”
“Yes,” Chad answered as he pulled out his wallet. He had hoped the man wouldn’t ask to see his license, it could be a problem.
Walt took the license and after looking at it frowned. “EDF! I thought you said you were college kids.
Chad knew they hadn’t actually told him they were college students, but he wasn’t about to mention that. “Ya, well, I’m from lower Detroit, how else could I afford to attend a Uni. I was lucky, the court gave me a choice, EDF or prison. It was a no brainer.”
“So you were a heli pilot?” He asked. “I didn’t think the EDF used those old things.”
“They have lots of odd stuff. I was a tech, if the EDF had it, we had to learn to drive or fly it.” Chad told him.
Walt’s attitude visibly brightened. “A tech? Well, guess you’re alright then. All I have is a turbine powered heli, no auto pilot stuff. I hope you’re alright with that.”
“No problem,” Chad assured him, “I’ve worked with turbines before.”
“I should have figured you would have,” Walt replied. “Say, do you know much about power units?”
“Ya, some,” Chad answered.
“Some? He’s an expert on power units,” Arisa added.
“Well, maybe not.......” Chad started to say.
“Good, I’ve got a big cargo hauler in the shop that’s low on power. I don’t know a lot about those things. I could give you a deal on the rent if you would check it for me.” Walt said hopefully. A military tech should know plenty about power units.
Chad smiled, he was always willing to tackle a tech problem. “Sure, I’ll check it out. I might be able to find the problem.” They followed Walt into the shop area. There was a cargo heli with a diagnostic tablet hooked to the power unit. It was a common RR-W power unit, an older design. Chad looked over the readout, “how old are the fuel rods?”
“Put in new ones a couple of years ago.” Walt told him.
Chad powered up the unit and tried a load test, it wouldn’t top forty percent. He used a few commands to open a second page of tests.
“What the heck is that?” Walt asked, looking over Chad’s shoulder.
“Factory service page,” Chad told him. “Only the factory techs are supposed to access it, but it’s the only way to really see what’s going on.” He scrolled through data and graphs. “Thought so, there’s the trouble. Half the dampers aren’t opening up.” Chad opened a panel covering electronic circuits. He found a jumper wire and connected two terminals, you could immediately hear the power increase. Chad quickly removed the jumper and shut down the unit. He pulled a circuit board out of the panel and looked at it. “There’s the problem, a burned board. I’d guess the third bank either has a stuck fuel rod or a bad actuator. You’ll need to repair that first then replace the board.”
Walt scratched the stubble on his chin, “damn, you do know your stuff. You saved me a ton, I usually have to get a factory tech from off world to get into these things. I’ll let you have a couple hours of heli rent free.”
“That’s nice,” Arisa broke in. “The Uni will be happy about that. They are always worried about budgets. Speaking of which, we better get those documents to the professor.”
Walt led them to a two seat heli car. It had two turbine electric generators in the tail and four short wings ending in electrically driven ducted fans. The fans pivoted to lift and drive the car. Chad did a look around the car while Arisa got in and ran through the flight checks. Chad got in, “you want to fly it?” He asked.
Arisa looked a bit dubiously at the manual controls, “you said you know where to go, so you take it.”
Chad started the turbines and spun up the fans. He smiled at Arisa and then, as boys have done for millenia, had to show off. He pushed the fans to max and took off in a breath taking arc.
Arisa held tight to the seat arms and giggled. She hadn’t had this much fun in a long time.
Another man watched from the shadows of one of the hangars as Arisa and Chad got into the heli car. An evil grin crossed his face, he’d gotten lucky. As they took off, he turned and entered the hangar.
Colonel Hellwind hoped the princess knew what she was doing. She had assured him that negotiations were proceeding exactly as she had planned. The rivalry between the colony governments had reached near fever pitch. If things didn’t cool off soon, there would be war, not between earth and colonies, but between colonies themselves. Several of the ambassadors were already in a shouting match.
John surreptitiously kept an eye on Georgianna, He didn’t want her to know he suspected something was wrong. She seemed too stiff, almost like in a trance. He began to worry as he saw her unsnap the catch securing her holster.
She had to stop them, they weren’t here to find a way to peace, they were here to start a war. Georgianna wrapped her hand around the grip of her gun. They were evil, she must stop them........... No, what was she thinking, this was wrong she couldn’t.......... If she let them live, millions would die.......... This is insanity, it’s not up to me, I can’t......... I have to save everyone, I have to do it, no one else is going to........... No, no, no, this isn’t right, don’t make me........ They’re monsters, they’re inhuman, kill them, kill them all! Georgianna drew her gun.
Things are going to begin to heat up. Just hang in there.
Chapter 32
Georgianna quickly looked away when she saw John looking at her. Why does he keep looking me over, she wondered? It’s like he can tell...... She closed her eyes, damn this headache. It’s like he knew she could hear voices in her head, like he knew she felt like someone else was there.......... Like he knew she was going crazy. Ignore him, the voices told her, you hate him, he’s a letcher......... if he gets in your way, kill him. Georgianna tried to block out the voices, they were insanity, but there was something she had to do, and she couldn’t let John get in her way.
It was a small airfield, on the opposite side of town from the spaceport, right on the sea shore. There were several hangars and one larger building that was a combination of office maintenance shed. There was a sign that read “Walt’s Heli Repair” over the big door. Chad and Arisa entered the office. There was a box with a button on the counter that had a sign saying, “if you want help, push the damn button”. Chad laughed as he pushed the button.
There were clanking sounds of tools dropping and a few expletives from the shop before the door opened and Walt entered the office. He was a short, stoutly built man, wearing dirty coveralls and wiping his hands on a shop towel. He looked the two over then grumbled, “what do you kids want?”
Arisa didn’t like the man’s tone and was about to let him know it, but Chad answered before she could. “We’re looking for, ah, Carlos Santana,” Chad told him. “He stores a shuttle here.”
“Well, he ain’t here,” Walt told them. “The professor and that assistant of his took off a couple days ago, out to the islands, doing some kind of research...... he says. What do you want him for? You college kids or something?” He looked rather skeptically at Arisa.
Arisa quickly adapted to the situation. “We have documents, concerning his research grant from the university, that he needs to deal with. Do you know where he went?”
“How would I know?” Walt grumbled. “I don’t keep track of private shuttles. They go out to the islands somewhere.”
“Darn,” Arisa complained, “we need to find him to get these......”
“That’s alright,” Chad broke in as he looked at a map on the wall. “I know where he is.”
“What? How do you know?” Arisa asked.
“Oh, the Uni told me where I could find him,” Chad answered. “I would like to rent a Heli for a couple hours to, ah, take him the documents.” Chad told the man.
Walt looked a bit skeptical, not many college boys, especially off worlders, could manually fly a heli. “You got a license to fly, boy?”
“Yes,” Chad answered as he pulled out his wallet. He had hoped the man wouldn’t ask to see his license, it could be a problem.
Walt took the license and after looking at it frowned. “EDF! I thought you said you were college kids.
Chad knew they hadn’t actually told him they were college students, but he wasn’t about to mention that. “Ya, well, I’m from lower Detroit, how else could I afford to attend a Uni. I was lucky, the court gave me a choice, EDF or prison. It was a no brainer.”
“So you were a heli pilot?” He asked. “I didn’t think the EDF used those old things.”
“They have lots of odd stuff. I was a tech, if the EDF had it, we had to learn to drive or fly it.” Chad told him.
Walt’s attitude visibly brightened. “A tech? Well, guess you’re alright then. All I have is a turbine powered heli, no auto pilot stuff. I hope you’re alright with that.”
“No problem,” Chad assured him, “I’ve worked with turbines before.”
“I should have figured you would have,” Walt replied. “Say, do you know much about power units?”
“Ya, some,” Chad answered.
“Some? He’s an expert on power units,” Arisa added.
“Well, maybe not.......” Chad started to say.
“Good, I’ve got a big cargo hauler in the shop that’s low on power. I don’t know a lot about those things. I could give you a deal on the rent if you would check it for me.” Walt said hopefully. A military tech should know plenty about power units.
Chad smiled, he was always willing to tackle a tech problem. “Sure, I’ll check it out. I might be able to find the problem.” They followed Walt into the shop area. There was a cargo heli with a diagnostic tablet hooked to the power unit. It was a common RR-W power unit, an older design. Chad looked over the readout, “how old are the fuel rods?”
“Put in new ones a couple of years ago.” Walt told him.
Chad powered up the unit and tried a load test, it wouldn’t top forty percent. He used a few commands to open a second page of tests.
“What the heck is that?” Walt asked, looking over Chad’s shoulder.
“Factory service page,” Chad told him. “Only the factory techs are supposed to access it, but it’s the only way to really see what’s going on.” He scrolled through data and graphs. “Thought so, there’s the trouble. Half the dampers aren’t opening up.” Chad opened a panel covering electronic circuits. He found a jumper wire and connected two terminals, you could immediately hear the power increase. Chad quickly removed the jumper and shut down the unit. He pulled a circuit board out of the panel and looked at it. “There’s the problem, a burned board. I’d guess the third bank either has a stuck fuel rod or a bad actuator. You’ll need to repair that first then replace the board.”
Walt scratched the stubble on his chin, “damn, you do know your stuff. You saved me a ton, I usually have to get a factory tech from off world to get into these things. I’ll let you have a couple hours of heli rent free.”
“That’s nice,” Arisa broke in. “The Uni will be happy about that. They are always worried about budgets. Speaking of which, we better get those documents to the professor.”
Walt led them to a two seat heli car. It had two turbine electric generators in the tail and four short wings ending in electrically driven ducted fans. The fans pivoted to lift and drive the car. Chad did a look around the car while Arisa got in and ran through the flight checks. Chad got in, “you want to fly it?” He asked.
Arisa looked a bit dubiously at the manual controls, “you said you know where to go, so you take it.”
Chad started the turbines and spun up the fans. He smiled at Arisa and then, as boys have done for millenia, had to show off. He pushed the fans to max and took off in a breath taking arc.
Arisa held tight to the seat arms and giggled. She hadn’t had this much fun in a long time.
Another man watched from the shadows of one of the hangars as Arisa and Chad got into the heli car. An evil grin crossed his face, he’d gotten lucky. As they took off, he turned and entered the hangar.
Colonel Hellwind hoped the princess knew what she was doing. She had assured him that negotiations were proceeding exactly as she had planned. The rivalry between the colony governments had reached near fever pitch. If things didn’t cool off soon, there would be war, not between earth and colonies, but between colonies themselves. Several of the ambassadors were already in a shouting match.
John surreptitiously kept an eye on Georgianna, He didn’t want her to know he suspected something was wrong. She seemed too stiff, almost like in a trance. He began to worry as he saw her unsnap the catch securing her holster.
She had to stop them, they weren’t here to find a way to peace, they were here to start a war. Georgianna wrapped her hand around the grip of her gun. They were evil, she must stop them........... No, what was she thinking, this was wrong she couldn’t.......... If she let them live, millions would die.......... This is insanity, it’s not up to me, I can’t......... I have to save everyone, I have to do it, no one else is going to........... No, no, no, this isn’t right, don’t make me........ They’re monsters, they’re inhuman, kill them, kill them all! Georgianna drew her gun.
Dogs have owners, Cats have staff
Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
Re: 5 Minutes: Reloaded
Oh no! What is Georgianna doing? She can't shoot anyone, that would really start a war........ But isn't that the Leader's plan? Melpomene.......... The muse of the tragedy hasn't haunted our group yet, but things can change in a moment. At least things are looking up for Chad and Arisa, off together to find captain Torres and the giant mech. But, will it be that easy? Who was the man that watched them from the hangar, and what is he going to do?
Things are beginning to heat up.
Chapter 33
Arisa was excited to be out alone in the car with Chad. Her imagination wandered to landing on one of the little islands. After a quarter hour, her curiosity got the better of her. “Ok, where are we going?” She asked. “How do you know where to find captain Torres?”
Chad chuckled, he wondered how long she could wait before she had to ask. “I don’t,” he answered, “not exactly. There aren’t a lot of big islands out here and he’s trying to hide a really big mech. That narrows it down, but there is one island in particular. It has a ship and mech maintenence base that they built during the colony wars. It’s one of the reasons the people of Shakuras don’t like the EDF. The base was forced on them when they were trying to remain neutral. It was operational during the pirate war, but wasn’t needed. It’s been mothballed since. If I were going to hide a giant mech, I’d break into one of the maintenence hangars and leave it there.”
“OH! That’s smart thinking, I’m sure he has to be there.” Arisa said excitedly. “What will we do if we find him?”
“I don’t plan on landing,” Chad told her. “He might shoot first and ask who we are later. I figure we can fly over without raising too much interest. If they landed that big a mech there, it would leave tracks. We can report back to the colonel and let him decide what to do.”
“Ok,” Arisa was a bit disappointed, “that probably is the best way to do it.”
The car shuddered, there was a loud crashing, Chad felt a burning across his arm. It took him several seconds to realize what had happened. He put the car into a dive and a hard left turn. Arisa screamed as Chad pushed the throttle to maximum and pulled into hard climbing turn to the right. “What’s happening! What’s wrong?” Arisa screamed.
“They’re shooting at us!” Chad yelled as he continued to twist and turn, trying to evade their pursuer. The heli again shuddered and rattled as shells hit the right rear wing and fan. The car started to vibrate badly, the fan had been hit. “”Radio in, tell them we’re being attacked.” Chad told her.
Arisa tried the radio, “it’s not working!” She told him.
The two holes in the instrument panel and the smell of acrid smoke told Chad all he needed to know. Chad got a good look at their attacker as he pulled a hard turn...... They didn’t have a chance. Against a shuttle, flying with thrusters and inertia dampers, the heli car was no match. He saw shell tracers pass by on his left as he pulled a right turn. Chad wished the heli was armed. The shuttle pilot must not be using automatic targeting. He was either toying with them or stupid. Maybe they did have a chance. Maybe he could dodge the attackers shells till he ran out of ammo. Then he might be able to nurse the heli back to land....... if he could find his way back, the nav system was dead.
John watched with shock as Georgianna drew her weapon, of all the possibilities he had imagined, shooting someone hadn’t been a factor. John reacted instantly, He took three fast steps and swung up with his cane, knocking the gun up as she fired. The arguing and noise in the room came to an abrupt halt at the loud report of the gunshot. The diplomats security guards drew their weapons but they were only allowed stun guns, only the EDF were allowed firearms, none were close enough to the woman to use them. The colonel jumped up and drew his gun, stepping in front of the princess. He would have fired, but John was in his way.
“What the hell are you doing?” John demanded. “Put that gun down.”
“I can’t,” Georgianna answered, “ I have to kill them.”
“That’s insane,” John barked, “now drop your weapon.”
“They won’t let me,” She wailed, “you have to get away, they’re telling me to kill you. I can’t let them...... I can’t stop them...... They won’t let you stop me......... You have to move, John.
“I won’t move, Georgi, I won’t let you do this.” Confused John stood his ground. “What do you mean ‘They’? You can’t do this, you have to put down the gun.”
“No, they won’t let me,” She moaned. “I have to kill them..... you......everyone........ I can’t stop.” Her finger tightened on the trigger. “I can’t ........ don’t make me........ I won’t let you......... go away, get out.......... get out of my head.” She screamed. Georgianna had an anguished look on her face as she raised the gun to her temple and pulled the trigger.
Chad pulled the heli into a thick cloud. He turned wildly, and blindly in the cloud hoping, if the attacker was using manual aiming, he might not be tracking them with sensors........ Wrong, as the car popped out of the cloud, the shuttle was directly ahead of them, firing at them. Chad reacted as shells crashed through the front of the cockpit. He dived the heli and the shells ripped through the fuselage behind him. A warning light glared brightly in front of him, one of the turbines was hit, it was on fire. “Fire,” he yelled, “pull the extinguisher.” Chad looked over at Arisa and froze. Arisa was slumped against the door, the side of her head covered with blood and it ran down across her pretty face. Chad’s hands lost their grip on the controls as the car dropped toward the water. He had lost his reason to keep fighting.
Things are beginning to heat up.
Chapter 33
Arisa was excited to be out alone in the car with Chad. Her imagination wandered to landing on one of the little islands. After a quarter hour, her curiosity got the better of her. “Ok, where are we going?” She asked. “How do you know where to find captain Torres?”
Chad chuckled, he wondered how long she could wait before she had to ask. “I don’t,” he answered, “not exactly. There aren’t a lot of big islands out here and he’s trying to hide a really big mech. That narrows it down, but there is one island in particular. It has a ship and mech maintenence base that they built during the colony wars. It’s one of the reasons the people of Shakuras don’t like the EDF. The base was forced on them when they were trying to remain neutral. It was operational during the pirate war, but wasn’t needed. It’s been mothballed since. If I were going to hide a giant mech, I’d break into one of the maintenence hangars and leave it there.”
“OH! That’s smart thinking, I’m sure he has to be there.” Arisa said excitedly. “What will we do if we find him?”
“I don’t plan on landing,” Chad told her. “He might shoot first and ask who we are later. I figure we can fly over without raising too much interest. If they landed that big a mech there, it would leave tracks. We can report back to the colonel and let him decide what to do.”
“Ok,” Arisa was a bit disappointed, “that probably is the best way to do it.”
The car shuddered, there was a loud crashing, Chad felt a burning across his arm. It took him several seconds to realize what had happened. He put the car into a dive and a hard left turn. Arisa screamed as Chad pushed the throttle to maximum and pulled into hard climbing turn to the right. “What’s happening! What’s wrong?” Arisa screamed.
“They’re shooting at us!” Chad yelled as he continued to twist and turn, trying to evade their pursuer. The heli again shuddered and rattled as shells hit the right rear wing and fan. The car started to vibrate badly, the fan had been hit. “”Radio in, tell them we’re being attacked.” Chad told her.
Arisa tried the radio, “it’s not working!” She told him.
The two holes in the instrument panel and the smell of acrid smoke told Chad all he needed to know. Chad got a good look at their attacker as he pulled a hard turn...... They didn’t have a chance. Against a shuttle, flying with thrusters and inertia dampers, the heli car was no match. He saw shell tracers pass by on his left as he pulled a right turn. Chad wished the heli was armed. The shuttle pilot must not be using automatic targeting. He was either toying with them or stupid. Maybe they did have a chance. Maybe he could dodge the attackers shells till he ran out of ammo. Then he might be able to nurse the heli back to land....... if he could find his way back, the nav system was dead.
John watched with shock as Georgianna drew her weapon, of all the possibilities he had imagined, shooting someone hadn’t been a factor. John reacted instantly, He took three fast steps and swung up with his cane, knocking the gun up as she fired. The arguing and noise in the room came to an abrupt halt at the loud report of the gunshot. The diplomats security guards drew their weapons but they were only allowed stun guns, only the EDF were allowed firearms, none were close enough to the woman to use them. The colonel jumped up and drew his gun, stepping in front of the princess. He would have fired, but John was in his way.
“What the hell are you doing?” John demanded. “Put that gun down.”
“I can’t,” Georgianna answered, “ I have to kill them.”
“That’s insane,” John barked, “now drop your weapon.”
“They won’t let me,” She wailed, “you have to get away, they’re telling me to kill you. I can’t let them...... I can’t stop them...... They won’t let you stop me......... You have to move, John.
“I won’t move, Georgi, I won’t let you do this.” Confused John stood his ground. “What do you mean ‘They’? You can’t do this, you have to put down the gun.”
“No, they won’t let me,” She moaned. “I have to kill them..... you......everyone........ I can’t stop.” Her finger tightened on the trigger. “I can’t ........ don’t make me........ I won’t let you......... go away, get out.......... get out of my head.” She screamed. Georgianna had an anguished look on her face as she raised the gun to her temple and pulled the trigger.
Chad pulled the heli into a thick cloud. He turned wildly, and blindly in the cloud hoping, if the attacker was using manual aiming, he might not be tracking them with sensors........ Wrong, as the car popped out of the cloud, the shuttle was directly ahead of them, firing at them. Chad reacted as shells crashed through the front of the cockpit. He dived the heli and the shells ripped through the fuselage behind him. A warning light glared brightly in front of him, one of the turbines was hit, it was on fire. “Fire,” he yelled, “pull the extinguisher.” Chad looked over at Arisa and froze. Arisa was slumped against the door, the side of her head covered with blood and it ran down across her pretty face. Chad’s hands lost their grip on the controls as the car dropped toward the water. He had lost his reason to keep fighting.
Dogs have owners, Cats have staff
Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
Re: 5 Minutes: Reloaded
She can't? Why?
![grinning :gg:](./images/smilies/anigg.gif)
I made the letcher a "lecher" is that correct? Or would you purrefer "hentai" instead?
![tongue :meh:](./images/smilies/anitongue.gif)
You won't let Arisa die, would you? No I think the bottle of tomato juice was misplaced in the glovebox, wasn't it? Damn people who forget to take their tomato juice out of the glovebox.
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What do you call a dinosaur with an extended vocabulary? A thesaurus.
Re: 5 Minutes: Reloaded
Things look bad, Georgianna committing suicide, Chad and Arisa crashing into the sea......... Where can we go from here, will the whole mission fall apart? Will the war begin? Has the curse of the muse of the tragedy finally struck? Colonel Hellwind's whole career may be coming to a bloody end.
But we have to find out what's going on. What was happening to Georgianna? Who was trying to control her? Who was the stranger that watched Chad and Arisa from the hangar, and who attacked them?
There is a bit more story to go.
But we have to find out what's going on. What was happening to Georgianna? Who was trying to control her? Who was the stranger that watched Chad and Arisa from the hangar, and who attacked them?
There is a bit more story to go.
Dogs have owners, Cats have staff
Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
Re: 5 Minutes: Reloaded
Hm you forgot to explain why Giorgianna cannot shoot everyone in sight. These people are rotten. Rotten! Hail Il Palazzo-sama.
And even the US constitution says: "All men are created evil" (or something like that).
![tongue :meh:](./images/smilies/anitongue.gif)
Now you can write a sequel-sequel with Chad and Arisa in "Lost (for 5 Minutes)" I think it's a great idea
![kiss :kiss:](./images/smilies/anikis2.gif)
And even the US constitution says: "All men are created evil" (or something like that).
![grinning :gg:](./images/smilies/anigg.gif)
![tongue :meh:](./images/smilies/anitongue.gif)
Now you can write a sequel-sequel with Chad and Arisa in "Lost (for 5 Minutes)" I think it's a great idea
![thumb up :thumb:](./images/smilies/anino1.gif)
![kiss :kiss:](./images/smilies/anikis2.gif)
What do you call a dinosaur with an extended vocabulary? A thesaurus.