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Posted by ElectricWhite on 04-10-2013 at 20:54:
“I can’t believe so many of you would stoop to this level.” Transmute Jun marched up and down the corridor, firmly gripping a ruler in one hand and slapping the palm of her other hand with it. Along one wall stood many of the male Gatchamaniacs who were in the line to see littlewolf. They looked down at their shoes or the floor and shifted from one foot to another. It was as if they were getting a lecture from their favorite grade school teacher. “You each knew darned well that littlewolf didn’t mean for her offer to be taken as something so ... so ...”
“Tawdry?” one of the Gatchamaniacs offered.
“Yes! Tawdry ! Now, what do you have to say for yourselves?”
“Sorry.” each of the scolded membership mumbled.
“I want each of you to go back to the bay and write an apology to littlewolf.”
“Yes, Miz TJ.” some of the guys muttered as they pushed away from the wall and shuffled back to the loading dock bay that was acting as the main gathering place for the membership.
She turned to face the dozen standing against the opposite wall. “I’m sorry you gentlemen had to see that. Thank you for being honest and willing to share with littlewolf.”
The door of the office littlewolf was using flung open, and a 20-year-old, dark-haired man suddenly found himself slammed against the opposite wall. He looked cartoonish – he was stuck with his back against the wall, completely upside-down.
“When I said I’d be professional,” littlewolf bellowed from within the room, “I didn’t mean I’d be that kind of professional!”
The young man slid down the wall until he was a crumpled pile on the floor. He pulled himself up and dashed toward the bay.
Littlewolf stepped into the hall, brushing down her skirt. “Oh!” she cried as soon as she noticed the drastically shorter line. The young man at the front of the line shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other.
“I culled the herd.” TJ explained, “You shouldn’t have any more incidents.”
The front of the line whimpered before bolting for the loading dock bay.
“Okay.” TJ said, “Now you shouldn’t have any more incidents.”
* * * * *
“I can’t say I’ve seen anybody matching that description.” Amethyst said to Mark. The Phoenix had docked in another bay, and Amethyst met G-Force there. “I’m sure somebody like that would stand out, but feel free to look for yourself.”
“Thanks.” Mark replied. They started toward the entrance to the rest of the base, Amethyst keeping pace with Mark.
“So, what did this Mr. E do to get you after him?”
Mark and Jason exchanged uncomfortable glances.
“He attacked EW in the sick bay.” Jason finally said.
Amethyst came to a sudden stop. “Oh God! Is she –?”
“Seriously weakened, but alive.” Mark replied, “And we think he had something to do with the attack. Some –” He stopped a moment; mentioning the rats would surely upset her more. “Uh, assassins did the actual work.”
“But you think he’s the mastermind.” Amethyst said.
“Yes.”
“We’re sorry, Amethyst.” Princess added.
The Gatchamaniac shook it off. “Tear the place apart if you need to.”
Jason put a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll get him.”
* * * * *
TJ made her way to her quarters....it seemed strange to call it her quarters, since she rarely stayed there, but it was a room to call her own. She was just a few steps away from the door when she realized she was being followed.
She turned, expecting to see one of the men she’d scolded a short time ago. Instead, she found a red-haired woman heading toward her. “Redbird?”
“Hey, TJ!” the woman replied. Redbird wasn’t quite a newbie, but she had spent quite a bit of time lurking in the shadows, learning as much as she could about the rest of the membership before becoming familiar to them.
“Is there something I can do for you?”
“Oh, I was just wondering if you’ve heard the latest news.”
“Well,” TJ said as she stepped into the room. Redbird followed. “The last I heard –” TJ set her ruler down on a table but then froze.
“Did you hear that?”
“What?” Redbird replied.
TJ cautiously stepped to a closet and opened the door. Crammed in there, floor to ceiling, were green-uniformed rats.
The Gatchamaniacs let out a shriek and dashed from the room as a rodent flood spilled from the closet. TJ got the door shut an instant before any of the vermin could get out.
“What,” Redbird gasped as she tried to catch her breath, “you couldn’t settle for a closet full of shoes?!”
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“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." --Ray Bradbury
Posted by Redbird on 04-10-2013 at 21:26:
TJ I think you need to clean out your closet more often! 
And does this mean you're a "pack rat"? 
__________________
Playing darts with the Condor's feather shuriken...
Posted by Becky Rock on 05-10-2013 at 03:25:
Time to call the exterminator!!! Get Jason in there for target practice!
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I'm writing a book. I've got the page numbers so far...
Posted by ElectricWhite on 11-10-2013 at 21:17:
“Don’t go that way!”
“GalactorRaaaaats!”
Transmute Jun and Redbird screamed at the man walking toward the quarters. They pelted past him, not even slowing down to see who it was they’d rushed past. The man watched them disappear from view before resuming his course toward the quarters.
TJ and Redbird continued on, though their footsteps were losing their consistent pattern and their sides were burning. Tears flowed freely. Finally, their legs gave out.
But they didn’t hit the floor.
“Whoa!” Jason cried as an arm caught each of them, “Where are you off to in such a hurry?”
“GalactorRats.” Redbird wheezed as she coughed and gulped air.
“What rats?”
“Rats...” TJ explained between sputtering gasps, “Dressed like goons...”
“I’ve dealt with ‘em before.” Jason spat.
A strange sound came from the direction the two Gatchamaniacs had come. It was too loud to be a patter but too soft to be a rumble.
A gun blast slammed back and forth between the walls followed by a shrill Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
A green-clad rodent stampede rushed past the threesome. A couple of rats stopped and tried to push Jason toward the gun blast but quickly gave up and scurried to join the others.
Silence.
TJ and Redbird pulled away from Jason and leaned against the nearest wall, just a few steps behind him. Meanwhile, Jason quickly tapped his communicator and pulled out an intimidating-looking handgun.
The man walked along at a slightly quicker than casual pace as he carried a still-smoking blunderbuss. TJ gave him an intense look; there was something about this guy....
“Slowly put the gun down, you son of a bitch!” Jason hissed through grit teeth.
The man hesitated.
“If you pull that trigger, I’ll turn you into a red mist before that flintlock’ll fire.” the Condor growled.
The man obliged, crouching as he gingerly set the blunderbuss flat on the floor. He kept his hands at the level of his head as he slowly stood back up.
“You’ve got a lot to answer for.” Mark snarled as he appeared behind the man. “Like using your rats to attack a woman in the ICU.”
“What?” The man seemed shocked as he started to turn toward Mark.
“DON’T MOVE!” Jason was a hair’s breadth away from losing his temper.
“Jason, you’ve got it wrong.” TJ said as she tried to find a tone that didn’t aggravate.
“You heard me.” Mark answered the man.
“Is she –?”
Jason’s hand developed a slight tremor. “I can’t believe you expect us to buy that act.”
Redbird crept back a little, trying not to draw attention to herself.
“He’s not acting.” TJ insisted.
Jason turned just enough to glare at her.
“He’d never hurt EW.” she continued.
“And why –”
“That’s Cep!”
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“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." --Ray Bradbury
Posted by Redbird on 11-10-2013 at 21:38:
So Cep has finally revealed himself!
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Very Condor-esque!
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Yeah seriously! (Especially since I don't think I've been forgiven for trying to sneak into his quarters that one time).
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Playing darts with the Condor's feather shuriken...
Posted by Becky Rock on 12-10-2013 at 03:03:
Blunderbuss - I could see Cep using that.
Now the crap is really going to hit the fan. They stopped Cep from completing his duty!
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I'm writing a book. I've got the page numbers so far...
Posted by ElectricWhite on 24-10-2013 at 01:20:
And now the conclusion! 
==========
A little over an hour later, the spattered and decimated remains of hundreds of rats were piled into bins stacked around the Phoenix.
“So what’s going to happen to those things ?” Transmute Jun shivered a little as she and Mark watched the rest of G-Force and a handful of Gatchamania volunteers load bins onto the Phoenix.
“I’m sure the chief will know what to do with them.” Mark replied, “If not, there’s no doubt TempZark’ll have a few ideas.”
“Yeah.” TJ agreed; she shifted uncomfortably at the mention of TempZark. Could it be possible – something could be worse than 7-Zark-7?
Just then they noticed a much smaller schooner-shaped cloud floating in the air above the last few empty bins in the base. If there was a sleek, sports car model of schooners in the golden age of piracy, it sorely would have looked like this.
Four loud gunshot blasts came from the cloud. A few moments later, a hatch opened in the bottom of the cloud, and dozens more rodent carcasses tumbled into the bins.
That’s the last time I rent a ship from THAT place ! Mark and TJ felt – not heard – Cep say.
“So you think that’s where all those GalactorRats came from?” TJ asked.
“GalactorRats?!” Mark gave TJ a suspicious look.
No. Cep replied, But there were more than enough places for them to stow away. I must’ve picked up those SPECTRArats when I went to see what was wrong at the old server site.
“SpectraRats?” TJ’s face contorted in confusion for a moment, “Oh, yeah! That’s what I meant to say –”
“You said ‘GalactorRats’.” Mark’s voice didn’t have a friendly tone. “Maybe you should tell Chief Anderson what you know about those rodents.”
“Oh, it’s not what you think at all!” Transmute Jun cried, “I’ve been reading a ridiculous graphic novel.” She spoke faster as she went along. “It’s about some evil aliens that wear uniforms like the Spectrans –”
“Except they’re called Galactors.” Mark finished.
“Exactly.” She gave him a nervous grin. He gave her a hard look, sure that she knew more about those strange rodents than she was letting on.
“Hey, are you going to stand there gossiping all day?” Jason’s snide voice came from Mark’s communicator.
“On my way.”
* * * * *
There seemed to be nothing but a pile of bandages and medical equipment in the hospital bed.
Is she ... is she going to be okay?
An almost imperceptible stirring in the bed.
It’s going to take time, TJ.
Eyes opened. Transmute Jun and Security Chief Anderson were at the bedside.
“How are you doing, EW?” TJ asked in a hushed tone. She reached over to pat a hand but stopped when she saw the bandages. Her eyes darted around, trying to find some unbandaged part – she settled on a pinky knuckle.
TJ waited for an answer. When none came, she turned to the chief. “Wha’s wrong?” she tried not to sound panicked, “Why isn’t she answering?”
“She can’t speak with a respirator down her throat.”
“Oh.” She felt her cheeks burn. “I guess I’m still pretty stressed, don’cha know.”
“Canadian, eh?”
TJ ignored that and focused on her fellow Gatchamaniac. “Cep wanted me to let you know that, as soon as the last stragglers are back at the site, we’ll be doing everything we can to get you up and running again. Or maybe I should say, ‘up and wheeling again’.”
“In the meantime,” Anderson said in the most serious tone TJ had ever heard him use, “you need to tell me what you know about these GalactorRats.”
__________________
“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." --Ray Bradbury
Posted by jublke on 24-10-2013 at 04:22:
Hmm ... Things do not sounded concluded for TJ. I doubt Anderson will ever let up.
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"The heart has its reasons, of which reason knows nothing." -- Blaise Pascal
Posted by Redbird on 24-10-2013 at 11:20:
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I agree! Sounds like something new is going on!
__________________
Playing darts with the Condor's feather shuriken...
Posted by Becky Rock on 25-10-2013 at 21:52:
I believe there is another story coming?
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I'm writing a book. I've got the page numbers so far...
Posted by ElectricWhite on 25-10-2013 at 22:18:
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Nothing in the works at this point. But, later on...who knows?
__________________
“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." --Ray Bradbury
Posted by Becky Rock on 26-10-2013 at 15:17:
But you can't just leave TJ having to explain 'Galactor' to the BotP crowd.....
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I'm writing a book. I've got the page numbers so far...
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