ElectricWhite
Gatchamaniac
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Registration Date: 29-12-2011
Posts: 18925
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Well, here's more of the story!
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G-Force and the two dingos sat in Chief Anderson’s office. While Anderson read the latest data on his computer screen, the dingos sat at one end of his desk, and G-Force had taken up their usual positions around the room.
“How much longer?” Keyop asked.
“They’re on the way.” Anderson replied without looking up, “I’ll let you know when they arrive.”
The dingos kept their eyes fixed on Jason.
“I can’t believe somebody at the Gatchamania site was effected by the device this time.” Tiny said.
Princess added, “I wonder if it’s anybody we know.”
“Well, at the rate this is going,” Jason’s voice had a bit of a drawl, “Center Neptune’s gonna need a dog park.” A moment passed before he had the feeling he was being watched. He finally noticed littlewolf and ElectricWhite staring at him. His eyes narroed. “What?” he finally barked.
By the time the others realized whom he was talking to, the dingos acted as though they were watching a fly on the ceiling.
The chief’s eyes returned to his monitor. Mark, Princess, Tiny, and Keyop went to small talk. Littlewolf and ElectricWhite returned to staring at Jason.
“What?!”
The dingos watched fish swim past the nearest porthole.
“Something wrong, Jason?” Mark asked.
“They keep looking at me!” Jason replied, indicating EW and LW.
As soon as Anderson looked up and raised an eyebrow, Jason realized how he must have sounded.
“Geez, Jase!” Tiny cried, “What’s it gonna be next – they’re breathin’ at ya?”
“Maybe you should take a little walk,” Mark suggested, “clear your head.”
“I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?” Princess used a gentle tone that seemed to have been made especially for Jason.
“I said I’m fine.”
Just then, the phone rang, and the chief answered. “Good.” he said, “Send them to me right away.”
“They’re here?” Tiny didn’t hide his growing feeling of excitement.
“Yes,” Anderson replied, “they’re in the docking bay now.” He gave G-Force a quick look, but his gaze lingered a bit on Jason as he spoke, “I want all of you to try to keep things as calm as possible – we don’t know how much stress this latest victim of the Project Mudar device is experiencing.”
“Are you sure you’re all right, Jason? You’re not too stressed out?” Princess again asked.
“I. Said. I’m. Fine.”
“Everybody calm down.” Mark chimed in with his soothing-but-commanding tone, “Let’s take a deep breath and get ready to scratch behind another puppy’s ears.”
EW stretched out and sighed. And she stared at Jason.
LW went over to Tiny and rested her head on his lap. He automatically began scratching behind her ears. And she stared at Jason.
* * * * *
“Is it really necessary to have so many security guards?” Daniella T asked. She was quickly becoming winded because she was also carrying the newly-transformed Becky Rock. Beside her was KT1972, and they were surrounded by a squad of Center Neptune’s top security.
“Orders, ma’am.” a guard behind DT replied.
“Here,” KT said, reaching toward DT, “let me take Becky for a bit.”
“Thanks.” DT sighed as she handed Becky over. “By the way,” she said after she caught her breath a little, “is the diaper really necessary?”
“I don’t know.” KT answered, “It doesn’t seem like an animal-friendly place here –”
“Ah.”
A guard stepped ahead and opened a door. “In here, please.”
The Gatchamaniacs obliged. They found G-Force, two dingos, and Chief Anderson giving them a surprised expression.
“I’m sorry.” Princess finally said, “We were expecting another dingo.”
“Not a chimp!” Keyop added.
“Actually,” the chief replied, “that’s a bonobo.”
__________________
“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." --Ray Bradbury
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19-09-2013 00:55
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ElectricWhite
Gatchamaniac
0 fics uploaded
Registration Date: 29-12-2011
Posts: 18925
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Does Center Neptune become a wildlife preserve?
Read on....
==========
“Yes, Zark, that could be serious.” Security Chief Anderson said into the phone as he stood behind his desk, “Were you able to trace it? Display it.” With that, he hung up the phone.
The chief looked at each member of G-Force as he spoke. “Apparently that last discharge of the Project Mudar device sent a signal to another hidden Spectra base.”
“Does this mean the Spectrans know where Center Neptune is?” Princess gasped.
“Possibly.”
“But it also means we know where they are!” Mark proclaimed.
The view screen behind the chief flickered to life. The image was a map with a large red “X”.
“What are we looking at, Zark?” Anderson said to the screen.
“It’s a previously uncharted region of the Mammoth Cave complex in Kentucky.” Zark’s voice replied from a hidden speaker near the monitor.
“Hey,” Tiny sounded as if this had just occurred to him. “Should we be discussing it in front of other people...and animals?”
Littlewolf and ElectricWhite had moved around behind Anderson’s desk; they sat on either side of him, staring at the map. KT1972 and Daniella flanked the couch, and Becky Rock was at the back of the room with Jason. She was clinging to his left leg, looking up at him adoringly, stroking his inner thigh while he tried to quietly push her off.
Jason was quickly learning that his implant-enhanced abilities couldn’t overcome an enamored bonobo.
“Don’t worry.” the chief replied, “They’re not going anywhere.”
* * * * *
While the animals were left in the chief’s office, Daniella and KT1972 joined Anderson in an observation lounge to watch the Phoenix depart. Even though everything was precisely smooth, the two Gatchamaniacs were in awe of the pulsing, reverberating power that throbbed all through Center Neptune.
Several minutes passed, and they all stood there in silence.
“Now’s the hard part...” Anderson finally said, “the wait.” He turned and headed back to his office. DT and KT quietly followed. KT looked around awkwardly as they walked; she knew she should say something, but nothing would come. Daniella fought the urge to giggle like a silly schoolgirl – she couldn’t say how long she’d had a crush on Security Chief Anderson.
It seemed as though both an eternity and an instant had passed when they reached the office door. The chief reached for the doorknob and froze. KT and DT opened their mouths to ask what was wrong, but then they heard it: a faint whimper.
He slowly opened the door. Nothing deadly rushed out. He cautiously crept in. The Gatchamaniacs waited a moment before following.
The canine wheelchair dangled from a light fixture on the ceiling. There was no other sign of ElectricWhite, littlewolf, or Becky Rock.
A whine came from behind the desk. They quickly went over and found EW on her side.
“What happened?” KT cried.
“Are you all right? Who did this to you? What can we do to help?” DT was so upset by what she saw that she didn’t realize how quickly she spoke...or that she said it in Greek, Flemish, Turkish, Swahili, Ancient Egyptian, Navajo, Aztec, and Esperanto.
There was silence as DT received confused stares.
“At any rate,” Anderson finally said, “we must find out what happened. EW, I’ll ask you some questions –”
“Bark once for ‘yes’,” KT interrupted, “and twice for ‘no’.”
“I thought it was once for ‘no’ and twice for ‘yes’.” DT said.
“You sure?”
“I think so.”
“Anyway,” the chief took on a stern tone for a moment. He then held his hand out to the dingo. “can you tap my hand?”
EW lightly touched his hand with her paw. “Good.” he replied.
After a few minutes, EW was able to tell them that LW and Becky had taken the wheelchair, possibly because she would have slowed them down as they tried to join G-Force. The chief got on the phone and initiated a search of Center Neptune.
“Let’s hope they didn’t board the Phoenix.” he said as he hung up the phone, “G-Force is under radio silence, so there would be no way to know if they received any warning I’d send.”
“What should we do in the meantime?” Daniella asked.
“We could get EW her wheels back.” KT replied.
“I’ll call maint –” Anderson started to say, but the Gatchamaniacs had already bounded over to the furniture closest to the suspended wheelchair – the couch – and started positioning it to be directly below the light fixture. He let out a small sigh and let them carry on.
A moment later he realized that EW hadn’t stirred. She had put her head down, making it look like she was road kill. He knelt down beside her to get a better look. Her eyes were squeezed shut, and her breathing seemed a little labored. He placed his hand close to her. “Are you in pain?”
EW opened her eyes just long enough to see where his hand was so she could tap it with a paw.
“Can you show me where?”
She opened her eyes again and moved as if she was going to bite her right hip. He placed his hand on her hip. “It feels warm.” he said, “I’ll see if the vet’s still here.”
EW growled.
“Look, given your current condition, a vet would be better suited than me.”
She let out a sigh and put her head down.
Daniella balanced herself on the back of the couch while KT held onto the piece of furniture.
“Why,” DT said as she reached for the canine wheelchair dangling from the light fixture, “am I the one doing this?”
“Because you’re not me, that’s why!”
DT was about to introduce KT to a colorful phrase in another language when she lost her balance and fell into the couch cushions. The wheel set followed, bounced off her stomach, and landed on the floor halfway to Chief Anderson’s desk.
DT sprang to her feet. But then she saw Anderson scoop EW into his arms. “Come along.” he commanded as he headed toward the door. DT snatched up the canine wheelchair and followed behind KT.
* * * * *
The Phoenix set down between a soybean field and a wooded area near central Kentucky. Four members of G-Force had departed before the ship landed, and Tiny was now settling in for a wait. He never noticed the two stowaways by the Spacebuggy, or that they were now dropping to the ground below.
One of the stowaways sniffed the air and then started off toward the woods. The other followed.
__________________
“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." --Ray Bradbury
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27-09-2013 22:58
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ElectricWhite
Gatchamaniac
0 fics uploaded
Registration Date: 29-12-2011
Posts: 18925
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Here's more!
==========
ElectricWhite was on the examination table in a “road kill” position. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was slightly labored.
The veterinarian conferred with Chief Anderson, Daniella T, and KT1972 just outside the examination room. “I know better than to ask what you’re using that dingo for.” the vet said, “I could see from my first exam that you’ve done a lot of work on her.”
The chief nodded as if what the vet said was completely accurate. The two Gatchamaniacs decided to follow his lead.
“If it were up to me,” the vet continued, “I would have put her down. That’s the humane thing to do in her case.”
“Put her down?” Daniella whispered to KT, her lack of understanding thick in her voice.
“Put her to sleep.” KT quietly explained, “Euthanize her.”
DT let out a horrified gasp.
“That isn’t an option.” Anderson replied. “Is there something she could take for the pain? It’s important that she’s able to function.”
“Function? You mean she’s not just a pet or a mascot?”
“Certainly not! I can’t tell you what it is she does....”
“I wouldn’t expect you to. I just never imagined a dingo could be important to the security of the galaxy.” The vet seemed to ponder the last sentence. Anderson cleared his throat. “Oh, sorry.” the vet snapped back to reality, “There are several options we could try.”
* * * * *
The stowaways continued on deeper into the woods. Suddenly, there was a gunshot, and a branch above their heads exploded in a shower of splinters. They let out a startled cry. One stowaway threw her arms around the other one.
“Hold up, Earl!” they heard a voice with a thick, redneck accent shout. A head wearing a camouflage cap popped up from a nearby clump of bushes. “Take a look at whut you wus shootin’ at!”
Another head – presumably Earl – popped up next to the first. “Whoa!” he cried, “What is them thangs?”
“I think that one doin’ the huggin’ is a bigfoot!”
“No way! It’s too small!”
“It’s a baby bigfoot, you dipstick!”
“So what’s it huggin’?”
“Coyote?”
“No...definitely ain’t no wolf.”Earl said, “Hey, Jolene!”
A third head popped up. This one’s hair was pulled back with a bit of pink duct tape. “Whut?”
“What’s that baby bigfoot huggin’?” the first redneck asked.
“I think it’s one of them chupacabra thangs.” she replied.
“Ooooooh!” Earl cried, “We’s gonna be rich!” He started to raise his shotgun.
“No, you idjit!” Jolene hissed, “They’re worth more alive! The shot you’re using will turn ‘em into chop suey!”
“Whatever we do,” the first redneck said, “we’d better hurry – Mama Bigfoot cain’t be too far off!”
They cautiously began to move to surround their new, amazing finds.
“Just think,” Earl said in a hushed tone as he moved, “all those nights Jethro spent squatchin’....”
“And it all drops in our laps!” Jolene concluded.
The “chupacabra” began looking for an escape route. Just then, there was a flash of sunlight glinting off of metal. And then the rednecks were sprawled out on the ground, unconscious.
G-Force surrounded the stowaways. Mark stood in front of them, a stern expression on his face.
“You two were supposed to stay at the base.”
Becky Rock let out a cry of delight as she wrapped herself around Jason’s right leg. This time, her hand moved farther up as she stroked his inner thigh.
“Get off!” Jason hissed.
The bonobo then started a very subtle thrusting motion with her hips.
“Stop!” Jason put his hand over the holster of his cable gun. “I’ll use this if you don’t –”
Mark glared at littlewolf and Becky. “I just hope your stunt didn’t tip off any Spectrans!”
= = = = = = = = = =
NOTE: “Squatching”
Squatch (pronounced “skwatch”) – the act of searching for Sasquatch (a.k.a. Bigfoot), Everglades Skunk Apes, Yeti, Yowies, and the ilk.
__________________
“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." --Ray Bradbury
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29-09-2013 18:25
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ElectricWhite
Gatchamaniac
0 fics uploaded
Registration Date: 29-12-2011
Posts: 18925
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A gloomy aura surrounded Becky Rock as she slept in Jason’s chair on board the Phoenix.
Littlewolf sat beside Tiny, one paw and her head in his lap. She gave him the most pitiful puppy dog eyes she could muster.
He rubbed behind her ears. “Hey, it could’ve been worse.” He spoke in a soft tone. “Mark could’ve smacked your nose with a rolled-up newspaper.”
LW let out a lackluster snort.
“Yeah, I know. But things’ll pick up soon, you’ll see.”
An electronic chirp came from Tiny’s wrist communicator.
“See? What did I tell ya?”
* * * * *
The Phoenix did a low, slow flyover as the away team boarded through a hatch in the bottom of the ship.
“Grab some sky, Tiny!” Mark ordered before the hatch had even begun to close.
“10-4, Commander!”
Becky hopped out of Jason’s seat just in time for him to slide in. As soon as he was seated, she slipped onto his lap and threw her arms around him.
“It’s nice seeing you, too.” Jason said, trying to urge the bonobo out of his lap, “But now I’ve got work to do.”
Becky shifted around just enough for him to work around her.
The rest of G-Force were in their seats. “I hope we got everything we need.” Princess said as she put a half-dozen thumb drives into a pouch on her belt.
The ship’s nose tipped more toward the sky, causing littlewolf to slide toward the aft of the bridge. Becky reached out just in time to grab the dingo by the scruff of the neck.
The Phoenix leveled out, and LW took that opportunity to rush over to the nearest corner and wedged herself into it.
G-Force watched the receding landscape in the main view screen. The ground bulged upward for a moment and then collapsed into a gigantic sinkhole.
“I’m glad that’s over!” Tiny sighed.
“Don’t speak so soon, Tiny.” Princess said as she switched the main monitor to the forward view. On the screen was an insect mecha almost five times larger than the Phoenix. It was brown and trapezoidal in shape. At the base of its wings were several protrusions that were too large to be called studs but too small to be spikes. Six spikes ran along the inside of its frontmost legs.
“Ugh,” Keyop muttered, “stink bug!”
“Anything connected to Zoltar stinks.” Jason replied.
“Evasive action, Tiny.”
“Roger that.”
It seemed that Tiny had no time – the stink bug mecha moved far faster than its size would imply. The mecha promptly latched onto the Phoenix with its front legs, puncturing the hull with its spikes until the bridge was breached. There was a hissing sound, and the air began to fill with the smell of rancid almonds.
__________________
“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." --Ray Bradbury
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05-10-2013 21:29
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ElectricWhite
Gatchamaniac
0 fics uploaded
Registration Date: 29-12-2011
Posts: 18925
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Tiny’s fingers were a blur as he put his skill toward pulling the Phoenix away from the stink bug mecha’s grip. The ship shuddered and groaned. Finally, the sound of scraping metal filled the air as the Phoenix pulled itself off the mecha’s spikes.
The ship pulled free. Tiny touched a few buttons, and the bridge began being ventilated while the hull breaches were closed.
The Phoenix banked around. Jason stood – a bit shaky – and made his way over to the front, toward the red button. He staggered a little as bonobo Becky Rock clung to him, refusing to let go. Jason steadied himself and started taking aim. Becky reached down and repeatedly slapped the console.
“Hey!” he croaked – his voice had become raspy, “Keep your hairy knuckles away from my button!”
Five missiles streaked toward the giant stink bug, turning it into metallic confetti.
“That works for me!” Mark gasped. “Get us home ASAP, Tiny!”
“Roger.”
Jason headed back to his seat. As soon as he was in the chair, Becky pressed her head against his chest and closed her eyes. “I know the feeling.” he muttered as he closed his eyes for a moment.
“Mark,” Princess wheezed, “I got a sample of the gas and sent the data to Center Neptune.”
“Good work, Princess.” Mark turned to check on the teammates behind him. Jason and Becky seemed to be straining to stay in the seat. Keyop had his head down on the console, unconscious. Princess strained to breathe as she sat next to Keyop.
Then Mark saw littlewolf. She was still in the corner, but she was now on her side with her legs out in front of her. Her breathing was labored. Her tongue hung out of her mouth as she watched everything through squinted eyes.
God, I hope we get back in time. Mark thought.
* * * * *
Everything was spinning. Her head throbbed. It felt like a steamroller was squeezing the air out of her lungs. Something....no, someone....or some – what?
She was floating through the air. Then she was on....a cool sheet? A bed?
Somebody was trying to smother her. She tried to slap the hands away, but she was so weak....but she could move her head. Maybe if she moved her head enough and kept dodging the strange hands....
“Miss Wolf, please!” an unfamiliar voice said, “We have to give you an antidote.”
Miss Wolf? What the –? Wait a minute. Did he say “antidote”?
Her nose and mouth were covered.
“It’s not the most pleasant stuff,” the voice said, “but you’ll start feeling better soon.”
__________________
“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." --Ray Bradbury
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18-10-2013 21:58
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