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--- Lockout 2 (http://www.gatchamania.net/threadid.php?threadid=4332)
Posted by ElectricWhite on 26-07-2013 at 01:24:
Lockout 2
And so begins the tale of what happened this time....
==========
ElectricWhite arrived at the Coral Temp Base, the place the members of Gatchamania.net gather whenever the regular site was unaccessible. It hadn’t been that long since Spectra had tried to take over the site, and the thought of them trying again was the first thing that came to her mind when her access had been blocked.
There were a few people milling about the loading dock – it hadn’t been that long since access to the regular site was blocked. On one wall were several large monitor screens. One of them displayed an image of the Gatchamania.net site; it looked like the camera shot was from the third floor of a building across the street, though no such building existed. A pale blue aura surrounded the site.
“So what’s going on?†Amethyst called as she came over to EW.
“You probably know more than I do.â€
“Right. You keep saying that – â€
“Look, all I know is that I ran into that force field when I tried to check in at the site.â€
“I’m just gonna stop talking – †Amethyst let out a sigh, “nobody can tell when I’m joking.â€
“CENTER NEPTUNE CONTROL TO THE CORAL TEMP BASE, COME IN CORAL TEMP BASE!†The Public Address system blasted 7-Zark-7's voice blasted throughout the base.
Amethyst grabbed the back of EW’s wheelchair and rushed over to the monitors.
“7-ZARK-7 TO THE TEMP BASE – IS ANYONE THERE? HELLO?â€
“This is the Coral Temp Base!†EW cried as soon as they reached the monitor wall. Amethyst tried to not look as winded as she actually was; she’d seriously underestimated how far they were from the monitors.
“Oh good!†the robot replied at a more appropriate volume. His image appeared on the largest monitor. “I was afraid G-Force would have to investigate why you haven’t initiated your segment of the Omega Protocol!â€
Amethyst and EW exchanged confused looks. “What do you mean?†EW asked.
“You should have initiated the protocol as soon as I locked down and isolated Gatchamania.net!†Zark proclaimed, “It’s imperative you follow the instructions Cep left in the event of his...oh dear....â€
“Zark,†Amethyst said in a carefully measured tone, “what exactly are you trying to tell us?â€
“Oh dear.†Zark said, “I’m sorry I must be the one to inform you of this...I’m afraid Cep has passed away.â€
==========
To be continued..........
__________________
“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." --Ray Bradbury
Posted by clouddancer on 26-07-2013 at 01:31:
See, I knew EW knew what was going on !!!!!
(That's what I said over at the temp base site)
__________________
Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things.
Posted by Becky Rock on 26-07-2013 at 22:07:
What do you mean, Cep has passed away?
Do I have to take a particular tin can and place him in a trash compactor?
__________________
I'm writing a book. I've got the page numbers so far...
Posted by KT1972 on 26-07-2013 at 22:10:
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Yes please Becky!
__________________
Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement; nothing can be done without hope. - HELEN KELLER
Posted by ElectricWhite on 26-07-2013 at 22:58:
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Perhaps you should read on!
==========
A very heavy, stunned silence crashed down on everyone in the base. Then a few, pitiful gasps were heard.
“Well,†Zark chirped, “now that we’ve gotten past that bit of unpleasantness – â€
“Now wait a minute, you overgrown metal tampon!†Amethyst cried.
“Is there something wrong?â€
“I hope you’ve got proof.†EW said in a near growl.
“He disappeared from my sensors last night.†Zark replied evenly, “and I have not found him. In fact, he hasn’t appeared on any sensors in the galactic web. Therefore, it’s reasonable to assume he has – I’m sorry to say – passed on.â€
EW and Amethyst heard several shrieks and sobs behind them.
“Zark,†EW strained to keep herself calm, “sensors can be blocked. They can malfunction. Technology fails from time to time.â€
“What are you trying to say?â€
“You need more than a sensor glitch to convince me that Cep’s dead.â€
“Yeah!†someone behind EW cried.
“You tell ‘em, girl!†someone else declared.
“Oh dear.†Zark said, “I hadn’t planned on you being so irrational. I don’t want to be harsh, but you must realize that, one way or another, the Omega Protocol will be carried out!†With that, the screen went black.
“I don’t like the sound of that.†EW muttered.
“I wonder what he’s got in mind.†Amethyst said in a hushed tone.
* * * * *
Mark’s Cessna soared through the clear blue sky. At times like this, nothing else existed. Heaven couldn’t fill him with this kind of joy.
An electronic chirp came from his bracelet.
“Ears on, Zark!â€
“Emergency! Rendevous with the Phoenix immediately!â€
“On my way.â€
==========
To Be continued..........
__________________
“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." --Ray Bradbury
Posted by Becky Rock on 27-07-2013 at 00:47:
Yep, it's the trash compactor for him, after Jason and anyone else interested gets to use him for target practice.
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I'm writing a book. I've got the page numbers so far...
Posted by jublke on 27-07-2013 at 04:37:
"Overgrown metal tampon"? Bwah-ha-ha-ha!
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"The heart has its reasons, of which reason knows nothing." -- Blaise Pascal
Posted by ElectricWhite on 27-07-2013 at 13:08:
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Glad you liked that! It came to me when I was reviewing a BotP episode that I'm going to rewrite....it suddenly occurred to me how much Zark looks like that when he isn't wearing any of his costumes. (Thank God there's no novelty tampon market! Just imagine....eeeeeewwwwwww!)
__________________
“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." --Ray Bradbury
Posted by Becky Rock on 27-07-2013 at 15:24:
Don't give them ideas!
__________________
I'm writing a book. I've got the page numbers so far...
Posted by clouddancer on 27-07-2013 at 15:40:
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Shudders at the thought
__________________
Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things.
Posted by Daniella T on 27-07-2013 at 21:11:
It's good to know what and who is behind the lockouts!
__________________
They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Naturally, they became heroes -- Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan.
Posted by Daniella T on 27-07-2013 at 21:12:
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__________________
They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Naturally, they became heroes -- Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan.
Posted by ElectricWhite on 27-07-2013 at 23:52:
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But, wait, DT! There's more!
==========
In the middle of the docking bay floor was a clump of people wearing the helmets, capes, and utility belts of various G-Force members combined with the polo shirts and khaki slacks of IT techs. Each one was hunched over a laptop computer, their fingers furiously flying over the keyboards.
Amethyst never dreamed there were so many Gatchageeks in the membership.
She circled around the clump, looking for one geek in particular. So many Eagle helmets...
She finally found him and picked her way through the clump until she stood before him.
“How’s it going, Gary?â€
He stopped typing and looked up at Amethyst while he rubbed his fingers. “I’ve never come across anything so tough.â€
Amethyst looked crestfallen.
“I’m not saying it’s impossible.†he added, “It’s just that, well, that pissy little trash can is pretty stubborn when he wants to be.â€
“Is there anything you can tell me?â€
“Somebody here’s bound to get around Zark and reopen the site.†He stopped a moment to reach under his visor to push his horn-rimmed glasses up on his nose. “ Nobody’s found Cep yet, but the entire solar system’ll have to explode before I’ll believe Cep’s really dead.â€
Amethyst gave him a weak smile. “Keep up the good work.â€
* * * * *
The Phoenix sat on the ocean floor. A short distance away was a perfect replica of Center Neptune.
“Well, I’ll be damned.†Tiny breathed as he stared at the image on the viewscreen.
“How on Earth did they get past the Early Warning System and build that thing?†Princess asked, awestruck.
“We’ll have to save that question for later.†Mark said in a commanding tone, “Right now, we need to take it out of the picture before it goes online!â€
==========
To be continued..........
__________________
“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." --Ray Bradbury
Posted by Daniella T on 28-07-2013 at 09:56:
EW -- Oh yes, I was hoping there was more! Now how are they going to take a whole replica of Centre Neptune out of the picture? And, most importantly, how can the team make sure that the site does not go down again?
__________________
They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Naturally, they became heroes -- Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan.
Posted by Becky Rock on 28-07-2013 at 17:39:
So, Cep went to the wrong Center Neptune?
__________________
I'm writing a book. I've got the page numbers so far...
Posted by clouddancer on 28-07-2013 at 22:24:
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Obviously the team can't, considering the site was down again for me for 4 hours this afternoon.
__________________
Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things.
Posted by ElectricWhite on 28-07-2013 at 23:11:
Well, maybe you should keep reading!
==========
Whenever people think of the Condor when he’s about to fire the Phoenix’s missiles, they usually see him slamming his fist down on the big, red button. Or he’s simply pressing the button with his index finger. But they fail to realize that there are subtleties to pressing that button.
Right now, for instance, Jason’s preparing to use a very gentle touch. So gentle, in fact, that you might not realize he’s actually pressed the button until you hear the rocket leave the missile bay and see it streaking away on the viewscreen.
Any minute now, the fake Center Neptune will taste one of the Condor’s favorite forms of fiery destruction.
Any...minute...now....
“What’s wrong, Jason?†Mark asked.
“This whole situation’s wrong.†Jason answered as he stepped back from the console.
“Of course it is!†Mark retorted, “Spectra’s built a base that looks exactly like Center Neptune!â€
“But why? And look around! There aren’t any of those crab tanks around. Hell, they should’ve at least fired a missile at us by now!â€
“They probably would have if Zark hadn’t discovered this base until later – â€
“And Zark’s never wrong!†The rest of the team could almost see the sarcasm drip from Jason’s words.
“We have our orders, Jason.†Mark reached for the button. Jason promptly slapped his commander’s hand away.
Princess, Tiny, and Keyop shifted uncomfortably in their seats; while they’ve watched the Eagle and the Condor argue many times before, it was usually Mark holding Jason back, not what they were witnessing now.
Mark finally knocked Jason off balance just enough to allow a fist to slam down on the red button.
The Condor grit his teeth as he watched two missiles race away from the Phoenix and find their mark.
“You son of a – â€
“It has to be done, Jason.â€
“What if there are innocent people – â€
“I doubt you’ll find any innocent Spectrans there.â€
Princess let out a gasp. “Mark, you need to hear this!â€
The in-cabin speakers hissed to life. â€...to the Phoenix, please respond!†It took a moment for G-Force to realize they were hearing ElectricWhite’s voice through the static. Her voice was steady and controlled, as if she was a professional broadcaster. â€This is an unarmed civilian facility. We have numerous casualties. G-Force, please respond!â€
But then her voice broke, and they heard her sob, â€For the love of God, Jason, at least tell me why you fired on us!â€
==========
To be continued..........
__________________
“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." --Ray Bradbury
Posted by Becky Rock on 29-07-2013 at 00:00:
EW, your plotting is fantastic and truly evil. Mark is going to be groveling for a long time.
__________________
I'm writing a book. I've got the page numbers so far...
Posted by KT1972 on 29-07-2013 at 08:23:
Oooops....... 
I guess this is one time Mark should have listened to Jason....
__________________
Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement; nothing can be done without hope. - HELEN KELLER
Posted by ElectricWhite on 29-07-2013 at 21:47:
And the story continues....
==========
Security Chief Anderson’s mouth hung slightly open as he stood on an observation deck of the landing bay, watching corpsmen race to the Phoenix with stretchers. With the utmost precision, they rushed the most severely injured Gatchamaniacs to Center Neptune’s sick bay.
As soon as the last of the corpsmen were on their way, the chief made his way down to meet G-Force. Jason rushed past, carrying a woman in his arms. The Condor was moving so quickly that the chief couldn’t see who the woman was.
Mark walked several paces ahead of the rest of the team. Once he was before Chief Anderson, he dropped his head.
“I’m sorry, Chief.†Mark said, “I was so determined to carry out orders that I refused to see the problems with the intel.â€
“What are you talking about, Mark?â€
“The orders to destroy the new Spectran base that looked like Center Neptune.â€
Chief Anderson’s expression darkened. “My office. Now.â€
* * * * *
Several hours passed. Mark was still in Bird Style – he’d spent the entire time in Chief Anderson’s office. The chief looked tired, but Mark had the look of someone who had been forced to watch as all the residents of five orphanages were tortured and killed.
Jason entered the office, wearing his civilian clothes. He saw Mark and stopped as soon as he was through the door.
“Were you able to talk to ElectricWhite?†Anderson asked. Jason nodded. The chief motioned for Jason to stand before the desk, next to Mark.
Jason grit his teeth and then obliged. Once he was at the desk, he gave Mark a look of both disgust and anger. He then crossed his arms and turned his face away.
Even though he didn’t look at Jason, the look of misery on Mark’s face intensified at the instant the Condor turned his face away.
“Well?†the chief asked.
“Gatchamania.net’s down.†Jason said, “The membership was starting to gather at their temporary site when Zark contacted them.â€
“Zark contacted them?†Anderson wasn’t sure if he should believe what he’d just heard.
“That’s what she said.†Jason replied, his voice slightly tinged with annoyance, “He informed them that he’d locked down the site and initiated something called ‘The Omega Protocol’.â€
“And what’s that?†the chief asked.
“Nobody knows. But Zark said it was initiated upon Cep’s death, and he was going to make sure it’s completed, no matter what.â€
“Cep’s dead?!†Mark cried.
“That’s what Zark said.†Jason replied, “But some people are smart enough to not take Zark’s word as Gospel.â€
“Jason....†Anderson warned. Jason let out a snort and again turned his face away from Mark.
The chief let a moment pass before he continued. “I don’t like the implications of this. I fear Zark may have gone rogue.â€
==========
To be continued..........
__________________
“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." --Ray Bradbury
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