when you get back on a Saturday night and your head is caving in

(Roleplay-ish)

She sat in a chair woven of birch branches and strands of lights, brooding. Her knees were tucked under her chin as she remembered earlier, the hours earlier, his lips on her skin, his firm embrace, his presence, after so, so long...and his words, murmuring that he could sense her hunger, he could tell how long it had been since she fed...



Briefly, she resented this, blinking in a rush of sudden emotion, before she paused, and truly thought that through. And...she sighed. Because, of course, why would someone so close to her heart not know her? How could she so foolishly dismiss the insight of the first one who'd ever inherited her gift, or curse, whatever it was in truth...and who knew the shape and flavor of that particular hunger, himself?



How, indeed.

She shook her head at herself, tongue clucking. She'd grown so accustomed to being the only one, arrogant, perhaps, with that hunger, red of eye and long of tooth, her constant companion. She'd grown used to its presence, always a few steps behind, always aware of the gnawing in her belly, the desire to grow her fangs and...just...bite.



But she also refused to just use people for fodder. And she'd gotten fairly good at ways to restrain the need--she'd grown quite fond of arsenic tea, and there was a certain extract made from Destroying Angels and manchineel, though it was difficult to produce. There was one other thing she could do in times of great duress, but...she preferred not to think about it.



She sighed again. Perhaps an apology was due him, for so mistakenly thinking she could simply turn aside his innate understanding, her own hunger, concentrating on his...but again, habit, custom, arrogance, she saw it now. She fed him and was, somewhat, fed herself; he fed her, and felt the same. It wasn't just the sweet red on the lips, it was the trail of entwining energy that came with it. That trail of energy, the cord that bound them together, reinforced with every touch, every kiss, every bite.



She wrinkled her nose. Yes. She definitely owned her love an apology. She went into the treehouse, hunting for her writing desk, a spare pen, and the Gearhaven seal to press into the envelope after. At least the garden was close to done...

do you turn into your effigy?

(Roleplay...ish? Entry?)



A slip between worlds, a tug on the fabric of reality, a delicate fold in the matrix of time...When the mists cleared, she found herself standing in the shadows across the road from the shop. She stepped forward, grateful for the travel cup of warm arsenic tea she held, proof against the rising damp of the evening. She was in Castle Rock, Maine.

Travel to the literary universes was always tricky; this stop more than most. Complication was already setting in, she saw, as the proprietor of the shop stepped into the open doorway. She squared her shoulders and made her way across the street. This was necessary. Needful, one might even say.



It was a moment to barter a bit of herself away to Mr. Gaunt; a moment more to return through the portal in the alley. The longest leg of her journey, in fact, required walking up all the turning steps to the tower.

Now, all she had to do was use the ring to reinforce the wards on the estate..before the full curse fell.

Simple.



It was a pretty thing, at least. Clean lines. A bas-relief eye in the crimson metal, sigil for so many things.



She slipped it on. It fit...as if it had been cast specifically for her. Perhaps it had. There was ever an element of risk in trades; perhaps she would not win, and Gaunt would delight in her suffering. Perhaps she would, and Gaunt would realize some fish are too big for his hooks. Either way, it accomplished the most needful thing: prevention of the slow erosion in reality beyond the tower...where New Alexandria used to be.

She dare not do any less--not only for her own people, but for those of Darkmere she'd invited in. Though, on reflection, she likely could have trusted their Duke to help...Still. Done was done. And she was home again. She stood and began to cast.



In the end, the invocation was the simplest part; words that were rote at this point, retying her magic to the realm, her spellcraft to her Duke's, to wreathe the land in a protective net. Self-sustaining, as well, which required a tricky bit of phrasing; the last thing she wanted was the ring to turn on the wards and slice through them when the unblinking eye chose to shut.



All too soon, it was done. Another hour and the visible magics would fade, the ring would come off. She could return it to the small box she was sure it hadn't come with, originally, and go on about her work. She would sleep soundly tonight, she thought...which would be something of a relief.

This, by the way, is a gift from /Vae Victis\ for the Warehouse Sale, which opened August 23rd. (Or just keep an eye on their web page for more information.) And it's still this pretty.

I'll likely cover what's actually in the booth at the Warehouse in a day or so, but I wanted this out first. It comes in five colors, a sturdy brass, a strong-cast silver, a dead-of-night black, a gleaming white, and this, the scarlet. I was wholly prepared to adjust and fiddle, since it was a ring, and the whole of my SL existence has featured fiddling with adornments, regardless of where they attach. But this? No need. It fits perfectly.

alternate of alternate timestreams (part VI)

(Continued from part V.)

Justine jumped down from the mech to the street, then grinned, and climbed up the legs again to jump down a second time. Emilly heard things rattling in the office above. The blonde woman just shook her head, grimacing.

"It's a good thing the Governor is off on business, or else the jails might be full."

Justine tried to look chagrined. The crinkling of her eyes betrayed her inner glee.

The Duke simply shrugged. "For what, Doctor? Nothing has happened...no one's hurt..."

The dark-haired woman called up to the blonde as she headed towards the raised sidewalk. "Don't worry, Doc...wherever they ask me to go it can't be worse than L̸͎̠̼͑͗̏o̵͈̹͙̼̱̅̓̆̏͜š̸̛͈̗̞͍̝̉͐͂t̶̟̄̒̽̄̚ ̴̦̺͗́͂͝͝S̷̢̪̿h̵̲̦̾̾ǫ̶͎̞̳̔͂̋͒̚ŕ̴̠̱͒͊͘̕̕è̶̢̺̞͚͊͛̄̄͠s̶̲̱̳̃̕ͅ!"

That was another phrase that hurt, Emilly thought, putting a hand to her temple. Hiro briefly looked at her, then walked forward.

"No one's hurt," he repeated, then his voice lowered to a murmur. "Except me..."

Emilly casts a glance back at the blonde on the balcony, then back at Hiro. "Don't tempt her..."

The blonde, meanwhile, threw her arms up, sighing volubly. "Well, I am going to have to pick BULLETS out of the walls near the radio station...MINOR complication..."

"You don't want to go destroy killer clowns," Hiro muttered. Emilly peered at him again.

"Who doesn't?"

He just shook his head, and she sighed.

"Let's go see this painting," she said, following after them.

Hiro nodded once, decisively. "Mr. Companion Detective--"

She tilted her head at that. Detective? She thought he was a doctor.

"--Lady Orr--Duchess," he corrected, and again she tilted her head. Why had he said 'Lady' to begin with?

"--I'll summon a portal."

The dark-haired woman tilted her head now in puzzlement. "Not the painting first?"

He paused, blinking.

"Duke?" Emilly asked carefully. Down the street, Justine had finally finished packing the mech back into the small case.

"Wait for me!" she yelled, running towards them.

Hiro looked at her, then back at Emilly. "We need the painting?"

Emilly shrugged. "Dunno."

It didn't take them long to get to the weathered hotel the woman was apparently staying in. She unlocked the front door, heading up a very similar set of stairs to their office. She paused just before opening the door to her room.

"No judging," she said, and Emilly blinked.

"Wouldn't dream of it."

(Continued in part VII.)

so, where is the Duke, anyway? (part CLVIII)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part CLVII.)

A fragment from a past not ours...

When the Malaclypse struck Aetheria, the people had only a handful of months to prepare. The best mages from all the competing courts drew together and pooled their energies, extending the time remaining enough to build generation ships--ships large enough, powerful enough, that some might survive long enough to settle a new homeland. One by one, the Radiomaster watched the ships blink out of range of the scanners, and knew it was finally time.



He'd elected to stay behind--someone strong enough had to, to hold the spells distorting the flow of time around the planet. But that time was drawing to a close, and he, along with the interwoven threads of all the spells, would be torn asunder when the planet's core exploded. Malathian, they had managed to slay, finally, but his destructive will yet moved through the very soil under the Radiomaster's feet.



He made final preparations, laying in his narrow bed in the highest tower. He had no idea how far the shreds of distorted reality would extend. He hoped, for all their sakes, it would be confined to their own star system, but--even that surety had been stripped from them with Malathian's curse.



He breathed out, slowing his heartbeat, his breathing, his skin chilling with his efforts. He had done all he could. And with one last flick of directed thought, he let go of the massed spells. A brief moment of searing pain, a sensation of shattering, and the oddest feeling of being watched, by a--cat? In the guise of a man?



Then even that was gone, and the fragments of Aetheria raced through the time stream, to land where they would.



And the fragments of destroyed Aetheria raced through the timestreams, some ending up on a place known as Tanis...

so, where is the Duke, anyway? (part CLVII)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part CLVI.)

A *click* as the comms opened, followed by Justine's voice. "To All Duchy Citizenry. I'm going to make an attempt to retrieve the eldritch Warhead. All assistance welcomed."

Laurence’s voice on the channel: "Message received, support is now on its way, over."

"Ruhroh," said the bard.

"Oh, no," said the Duchess. "Okay, I'll change."

"All units, report?" she heard Justine say, as she found an outfit and flew to Darktow, diving into the Dark Sea.

"Swift here," said Thomas.

"Alive and well," said Laurence. "All units accounted for."

"No work for me?"

That was a new voice. Emilly struggled to place it as she approached the site. Doctor...Anael? No. Azazel? No. Something...

"No work for me?" he said, and it clicked into place. Araphael! That was it!

She approached, seeing the flashes of light through the water. Right, there was still an active hostile. Thankfully, she had found a working weapon in the interim.

She heard Laurence laugh. "Don't sound too disappointed Doc, there are plenty of life forms here to study."

She approached, landing on the sea bottom, weapon held at the ready, and as soon as her feet were beneath her she started firing. And firing. And firing. Bolts of green sang through the dark waters, landing too far away for her to tell if she'd truly hit the remaining hostile--but the fact she wasn't getting shot back made her hopeful.

"If the Duchess isn't too busy blasting them to pieces," Laurence said, laughing.

"No, no, that was the tentacle star. We've alreeady examined one of those--up close. We don't need to capture another one."

"I'm actually relieved," said the doctor.

"Best be on guard," Laurence aded grimly.

"I think I will be fine, I am partially tentacle as well," the doctor added, and Emilly blinked. Partially what?

"All I know is, I'll be happy when we get this thing back to Tannhauser. The water right now tastes FOUL."

She watched a large flat carrier vehicle move through the waters as she walked towards the smoking husk of the last hostile.

"The sky truck seats three, if anyone else wants a ride," Justine said over the comm.

"Laurence? I can swim back up and meet you at the station?" she asked, watching Araphael climb into the back seats.

"Take the Duchess, I will secure the area," Laurence said.

"All right, then." She climbed onto the truck, watching the servos help Justine drag the eldritch thing to the back of the vehicle.

"No problem at all," Justine said. "I'm going to bring this to the hangar on level eight, and we can figure out what to do with it from there."

"Who know if there's anything else lurking down here," Laurence said darkly. She sighed, nodding.

"That's what worries me." She checked the map again, brow furrowing. "The Dark Sea ghost is still reading on the map, so be careful along the border, Laurence."

"Get back safe," he said.

Up they went, through layers of dark water, breaching into air. She coughed for a bit, converting back to breathing oxygen, and they went up, until the air became very thin. Justine touched a button and a bubble shield sprang up around the truck. It took a bit of jockeying, but finally, the cargo was in the hangar, they dismounted, and Justine flew off to park the sky truck.

"The cargo is secure in the classified hangar on deck eight," Justine said.

"Copy that," Laurence replied. "Were there any issues on the way back?"

"Not at all. Everything is five by five."

She grinned ruefully at the doctor, as the hangar doors closed, and they walked back into the station. "The one thing that went according to plan."

The doctor smiled back.

"Yes," said Laurence. "It was a nice, smooth operation."

Justine laughed. "Well, after how rough the first half of the operation was, we needed something to go right!"

"Too true!" She waved at the doctor at the lift, and went up to the command deck to leave a report for the Duke.

(Continued in part CLVIII.)

so, where is the Duke, anyway? (part CLVI)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part CLV.)

"I'm in front of something stone..." said Swift, in a concerned voice.

Emilly floated in the water just offshore, watching the wreckage. "Yeah," she said. "Near Steam."

"With waving tentacles..."

Emilly blinked. "Oh, no, that's supposed to be there."

"What?" Swift asked, after a long pause.

Emilly dove back underwater, swimming to where the underwater temple used to be. She lands neatly on the sand beside Swift, peering into the well of writhing green flesh.

"Maybe I should have put up a sign? 'Harmless'? Or, at least--'Contained'?"

Swift just stared at her, then shook his head, and swam back to the gunship.

"We can't get close enough to them," said Laurence.

"I got a heat grenade type shell--try that?" asked Briggs.

"Try it!" said Justine.

Emilly swam closer, trying to edge around the remains of the ship still at the crash site.

"I've got eyes on--" Justine said. "They're firing on something!"

Emilly groaned, gouting blood into the dark waters, midsection charred. She was very, very glad she was no longer carrying the heirs.

"Me," she finally whispered, slowly swimming away, returning to the TG tram, summoning a shuttle to take her to Tannhauser Gate station. "I got too close. That...is a very big gun..."

"That shell hit!" crowed Justine.

"Damn things can repair themselves too," said Laurence.

"They--WHAT?" yelped the Duchess.

"Direct hit!" said Laurence. "One hostile down."

"[Sh*t]," said Justine. "There's one left."

"This is Gearhaven Actual," Hiro said for the third time. "Return to Tannhauser Gate. Mission scrubbed. New data to be reviewed in second mission briefing."



"Briggs, can you pick us up and get us back to the station?" asked Justine.

"Yes," he said. "Packing up now."

"Laurence, stay with me. We're waiting for extraction. Tom, you're awfully close to the crash site. Are you taking fire from the one remaining hostile?"

"On board the ship," said Swift.

As Justine and Laurence boarded, Laurence checked Justine over for wounds. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"I think I'm okay," she said, holstering her blaster. "Tannhauser Command to Duchess Emilly, come in?"

Emilly didn't answer, shifting on her way up to Tannhauser, picking a form mostly at random--a pale bunny. She felt rather helpless for this fight, maybe that was why. She made her way to the command deck. Hiro was peering intently at the screen when she arrived.

"So what is our situation?" Justine asked. "We eliminated three of the four hostiles. There are still tentacle monsters. But most importantly, TOTS appears to have moved."

"Right," Emilly said, slumping into a chair. Hiro looked over with concern.

"As far as I know, the Duchess is the only one who actually saw the ship move and knows where it is."

Emilly nodded at Justine's words, even though Justine couldn't see the motion. "I don’t think the cargo's on board anymore..."

"No?"

"No, I think it's still at the crash site."

"Let's go to the briefing room. If anyone has visual recordings of the crash site, please share them with me."

Justine, back on the station, took the lift to deck 02. "Okay, let's get what we've got up on the screen here."

"This is what's left at the crash site," she said, pointing out the forward section of the ship, the various threats around it, and the--whatever it was--that had slid partially into a deep furrow behind the ship.

"One hostile, some interdimensional incursion, and...one guardian monster."

Emilly leaned forward, peering at the image. "Hiro, no," she said softly.

Hiro looked over at her, shaking his head. She sighed and sat back in the chair.

"The cargo is a weaponized eldritch warhead," Hiro said.

Justine frowned. "I...see."

"We bought it from an instance of Jack Parsons...We do need it back on the station before anyone--the Federation, the UAP, et cetera...get it."

"Oh, we get it," Justine said darkly. "It's still being guarded by one remaining hostile. We've learned that if we fire at the hostiles enough, they stop firing back briefly. We might be able to get past it and retrieve the cargo, and get back out."

"What happened to the others?" he asked. "Did you kill them?"

Justine nodded. "Chief Briggs was able to take them out with heavy artillery, before he ran out of shells. A launched heat grenade took out the last one we were able to destroy."

Justine looked down at the control panel. "Hold on...I've got a shot of the new location of TOTS." She threw up the image of the collection of scrap metal.

"And that, friends and neighbors, is where the ship ended up," Emilly said.

"That is close to GH," Hiro said. "Is the site secured?"

"It's IN Gearhaven," Emilly retorted. "Or at the very least, just edging into the Dark Sea, but on land. If you were standing at that center lithon, Hiro, and walked left? You'd be at Steam."

Justine sighed. "Well, it appears the core is no longer on fire, at least."

"No, but...it fractured," Emilly said.

"So we can worry about that later," Justine said.

"Any news on the survivor?" Laurence asked.

Emilly shook her head. "Never got close enough to the ship. Kept getting shot."

"Justine..." Hiro began. Justine startled as all the station klaxons started screaming.

"STAN! What is that??"

STAN turned the screen black, before words scrolled up:

STAN: Eldritch anomaly detected.

An image appeared on the screen. Emilly sat up in the chair. "Wait! I saw one of those! I pointed that out to Briggs when we were going to the shuttle!" She turned to Hiro. "You don't have ANOTHER of those alien--things--aboard still, do you??" she asked frantically.

"I doubt it," Hiro said.

"The fact that you're not sure fills me with dread."

"STAN, bring all station defenses online!" Justine cried out, tapping the control panel. The picture changed to something desaturated and slightly grainy.



"Please tell me this isn't a live feed," said Laurence.

"I think it is," replied Justine. "STAN? What is going on?" She rushed to a separate terminal, pulling up data from the scanners.

STAN: All defensive systems online.

"Okay, so...We have a lost weapon guarded by hostiles in the Dark Sea," the Duke said slowly. "A moving crash site close to the Mansion...We have--whatever--happened...last night...and now that." He pointed at the screen.

Justine looked puzzled. "There's nothing on the scanners." She looked up. "Laurence, can you see anything?"

Emilly looked over her shoulder. "That's not possible."

"It is if something is jamming us," Justine said.

"Are we being jammed?" Hiro asked.

Justine ran a frequency modulation bypass filter on the scanners. Laurence looked over her shoulder.

"What the hell are they?" he asked.

Emilly shrugged. "I don't know."

"I'm heading to Command Ops," Hiro said, moving at speed out of the room. Everyone else piled out after him, running to the gunship again. Justine stumbled over to the copilot seat, strapping in in a hurry.

"Shields up!" Hiro said. "Reactors online!"

"I see them! West side of the station," Justine said. "Behind the cathedral. Chief, can you take us there?"

Briggs flew around the station, zeroing in the on the targets in the gunship.

Emilly stood, starting to move towards the door, and paused. She looked down, seeing pinpricks of red slowly blooming on her white dress. She tapped her comm, not sure if it was still on.

"Guys...I don't think...the patch work held..."

There was screaming over the comms, then--

"Briggs? BRIGGS!" yelled Justine.



Emilly fell to her knees, holding her stomach. She tried to stagger to her feet, and collapsed. Everything...went...dark.

(Continued in part CLVII.)

so, where is the Duke, anyway? (part CLV)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part CLIV.)



Just as Briggs reported he had exhausted his supply of shells, the radio crackled to life. It was Hiro. "This is Gearhaven Actual; Justine, do you copy?"

"Roger, Gearhaven Actual. This is Commander Johndory."

The comms lit up with cross-chatter.

"Under heavy fire!" yelled Laurence.

"All right, I can get about fifty meters from the crash site--" the Duchess chimed in.



"We've got some sort of--hellmouth--open in the center of the Dark Sea," said Justine, "and there's--something--coming out--"

"WHAT?" yelped Emilly.

Justine swerved the Stingray away from the crash site, dodging laser blasts. She turned to look at the jumpseat behind her. "Laurence! Are you all right back there?"

There was a groan over the comms. "Hit again," said the Duchess.

"Briggs? Swift? Report?" said Justine.

Laurence took off his mask, breathing heavily. "Feeling pretty lightheaded--how are you holding up, Justine?"



"This is Gearhaven Actual. Justine! Do you copy?" said the Duke.

"Standing by artillery set-up," said Briggs. "But I'm seeing some straight sights--"

"I'm all right," Justine said. "Heading for Briggs. Swift, keep outside a fifty meter perimeter from the crash site."

The Stingray was hit on the next pass. Justine struggled with the controls. Between gritted teeth she spat out "She...isn't...responding..."



"It's moving again!" yelled Emilly. She swam up, following the pieces of the mad ship. It fetched up against land again, this time--just down the hill from Steam towers. Great.

Justine regained control of the little flyer, sliding her right along the land line between the Dark Sea and...the other Dark Sea. "This is going great."

"Return to Tannhauser Gate," said Hiro.



"I'm sorry, GH Actual? Please repeat last command?" Justine asked.

"Do you have a visual on the debris field of the Bad Mofo?"

"Not at the moment, returning there now."

"Duchess...did you say the ship is flying?"

"Not anymore," she said mournfully, staring at the pile of rubble next to the TG tram.

(Continued in part CLVI.)

so, where is the Duke, anyway? (part CLIV)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part CLIII.)

Justine and Laurence swooped in on the crash site in the Mk 1 Stingray two-seater. She was quick and maneuverable, but the guns are not live, so they were basically helpless sitting ducks at this point. They deployed all sensors and began taking data.

"We're taking fire!" said Justine, turning away from the crash site.

"I have a visual on a possible survivor," reported Laurence.

"I'm going to take us in a bit closer, Laurence. Stay on those scanners."



Meanwhile, Emilly dove through the dark water, quickly growing gills to breathe. She saw part of the ship tumbling in the distance, and a fixed part straight ahead. She swam towards it, landing on the black sea bottom--and felt lasers cutting through the water near her.



She ran in the other direction, towards the moving part of the ship.



Justine and Laurence flew around the crash site, taking fire repeatedly. On each pass they relayed coordinates back to Briggs. On the sea floor, Tom Swift kept an eye on the crash site, reporting back the results of the artillery bombardment.



Meanwhile, Emilly soon found herself stranded in shadow. It wasn't called the Dark Sea for nothing, but she found herself resenting the dark sands and dark waters for the first time. It made it nearly impossible to see. She thought the ship was ahead of her--and then it was, tumbling over her and trapping her inside. They rolled unevenly along until it fetched up against something and stopped.



Now where were they?

She swam out of the cargo bay she'd been trapped in, trying to get her bearings. If they were still in the Dark Sea, and not in Tannhauser--or even Krakenstorm--she'd be surprised.



She relayed her location over the comms, and then swam back to the crash site.

"HOLY--" she yelped as another laser shot past her--or maybe it hit, as the burning line of pain on her side helpfully informed her. "Those things are long range!"

(Continued in part CLV.)

so, where is the Duke, anyway? (part CLIII)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part CLII.)

Eventually, they all had something that fit, at least save the Duchess. Who frowned at the round vintage pistol she held. She wasn't even sure it would fire underwater.



Briggs looked puzzled. She shrugged. "The one gun I KNOW I have is fairly useless--Derringer-sized palm pistol. But I have been rated to carry it."

Briggs looked dubious. She didn't blame him.



"Duchess, can you keep an eye on the scanners, please? Take us in, Briggs."



Emilly pulled out her pad, watching. "Readings are...confusing. I can pick out the ship parts. I think. But there's...organics down there? I thought Hiro said the crew was rescued?"

Justine mused, "The organics could be the hostiles, or the...well, it could be the cargo."

Laurence asked, "What exactly were they transporting down there?"

"We don't know," answered Emilly. "The cargo was classified."



Laurence offered, "So what if the threat and the cargo turn out to be the same thing? God only knows what they were transporting. What are our rules of engagement if that does turn out to be the case?"

"Our mission is to neutralize the hostiles and retrieve the cargo," Justine replied, somewhat unhelpfully.

"Understood."

STAN's vaguely mechanical voice came over the gunship's speakers. "Additional intel and new secondary objective. There appears to be one survivor still on the ship. Passenger was not on manifest."

Emilly rolled her eyes again. "Oh, great."



"Hold on, here we go!" And with that, the Varyag dove beneath the waves. The crash site was barely visible through the murky waters of Dark Sea when the ship came under fire. "Retreat, retreat! What now?"

"Forget the guns, we need someone with a nuke," offered the Duchess.

John replied grimly, "I got artillery."

"Is the Prometheus in the area?" Emilly asked.

"Yeah, that one," said the Chief. "Ask Hiro, it's got big orbital cannons on it."

Justine nodded. "Okay, Briggs, head to Gearhaven and set up the artillery. Laurence and I will get you coordinates."

Emilly looked up from the scanners, alarmed. "We have bigger problems. TOTS is moving."

A mechanical voice came from her pad. "Core Computer: Ten seconds to core failure. Core Computer: Nine..."

"Damn it, ship, slow down!" cried Emilly. She unbuckled and flung herself into the cargo hold, opening the ramp, following the out of control remnants of TOTS.

(Continued in part CLIV.)

and I'll rise to every occasion (part CLII)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part CLI.)

The Duchess stepped out of the shuttle, onto the warded landing platform. She stepped through the iris, waiting impatiently for the outer airlock door to fully seal and vent before she proceeded forward. Through the several layers of scan now implemented, but finally she reached the other side, and made her way to the command deck.



"Welcome, Duchess!" Justine said, waving from her chair.

"Thanks!"

"Affirmative, sir," Laurence said, murmuring into his comm on a private channel. Then he looked up. "This ship is quite impressive, does she have a name?"

Emilly looked at Justine. They both blinked.

"This is Tannhauser Gate station, Laurence," Justine finally said. "We're in orbit around a wormhole."

"Ah. Must be the dry air in the oxygen tanks making my head go funny."

Emilly blinked again, noting Laurence's rebreather firmly in place, even on the recirculated oxygen of the station. "Possible," she finally said. "Though the Rift can cause some odd effects on its own. That does worry me."

Laurence looked at her. "What kind of effects?"

"From the Rift? Time shifts, things moving places, quantum flares from the event horizon." She smiled at him. The usual, she said silently.

"Briggs!" called out Justine, watching him walk onto the command deck. "Damn, I am so glad to see YOU."

They made their way to seats, watching the large screen.



Justine--Commander Johndory, Emilly corrected herself, smiling, that was a rank worthy of remembering--looked over the team as they all wandered in. Lieutenant Laurence Scout, Chief John Briggs, Tom Swift, and the Duchess all made their way to seats. Ready to attempt retrieval of the cargo lost in the crash of TOTS.

"STAN," Justine said, turning to the screen,"send all available data on the crash site to the briefing room screen."

She waited for them to load before continuing. "These are the pics of the crash site. We still don't know exactly what the classified cargo was. The Duke did not choose to divulge that. But we should know it when we see it. Apparently we aren't the only people trying to retrieve it, which is why we're in a hurry. As the Duchess said, there's something hostile guarding the crash site. We're going to go down in Chief Briggs' Varyag gunship. It's rated for space, air and water, and there's room for all of us, and the cargo. The Chief is gonna pilot us, I'll be in the co-pilot jumpseat. When we get there we'll approach the site with caution, get a feel for the resistance and come up with a plan for getting through it. Okay?"

She was met with nods all around. "Okay, let's do this."

"Welcome, Duchess!" Justine said, waving from her chair.

Justine touched a button on the panel in front of her chair. "This image was captured as we fled the wreck of the TOTS freighter." She looked up. "Welcome, Tom Swift! Please, introduce yourselves while I take care of some things." She turned her attention to the panel again.

Laurence lowered Sebastian off his shoulder, leaving him in the station. "Mind things until we get back."

"Mrowr."

Emilly smiled at the small cat sitting, seemingly at attention, on the command deck.

"What are the projectiles?" asked Laurence. "Plasma? Some sort of energy-based, or materialistic?"

Briggs considered. "That the hostiles are using? That is still unclear. We need to do some recon, but keep enough distance that we don't take fire."

Justine nodded. "Great! Let's head up to level 01 and hit the armory before we get into the shuttle."



As they made their way to the lift, Laurance asked, "Isn't that going to be a problem? Oxygen we have very little of."

"Well, it is under seventy meters of water," said Justine. "So everyone is going to need rebreathers."

"Everyone but the Duchess," Emilly said. Laurence's expression was hard to make out through the thick goggles and the leather mask he wore, but she thought he looked puzzled. She shrugged. "I have that under control."

Zack met them when they were getting off on deck 01.

"You guys better be careful--I won't be able to intervene until at least Sunday evening," Zack said.

"Yikes," Justine murmured. "Good point, Zack. Not good attempting this without our medic on hand."

They made their way to the armory. Justine rummaged through the cupboards of the armory and loaded herself up with everything she found. "Hmm," she said, bending down. "What's this?"

Emilly picked up a gun dubiously. She wasn't big on shooting anything. At least, not with guns. It came with an eye-covering screen, and she clicked it on, pointing the gun at the target and focusing in. She endded up focusing too hard, and her point of view shot through the station, where there was a green-black...Something...hovering in the dark.

No, I'm not going to think about that right now.

She put the gun down and sighed, trying to find something she could use. Briggs frowned at her. She shrugged.

"I'm not the gun person. I'm generally the run away screaming person."

(Continued in part CLIII.)

so, where is the Duke, anyway? (part CLI)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part CL.)

Emilly was carefully layering extracted samples into a gas spectrometer in the fringe lab when the comm pinged. Zack's cheerfully aggrieved voice came over the wire.

"Why is it always when I am away that I miss all the fun?" He chuckles to himself, and she grins.



"Oh, I don't think the crash counted as fun!" she commented, and heard Justine's voice on the line.

"Well, it was exciting!"

Emilly snorted, remembering a report she'd read earlier, where their court bard had gotten wedged in a fold of the evac pod waiting for the shuttle. "Especially for Rusty," she said, "who nearly smothered in sand!"

She heard Zack chuckle. "You're not helping."

Justine tsked. "Not helping is kind of my thing!"

"Mm," said the Duchess, carefully capping the glass tube and setting it to extract. "So, I had another reason to check into that area. For some reason, we have a 'ghost' of the Dark Sea. It's not ours, we're trying to figure out what's happening."

"What?"

"I decided to swim down to check the division line, to see if it was just a map ghost, or if the land actually existed? I got shot at."



Silence on the comm. The Duchess tilted her head up, considering.

"So...something is down there," she finally said.



"Argh," said Zack softly. "Ghosts are in the field of--shamanism. Not my specialty."

There was another pause, then the soft tone that announced official communication from the court. It was Justine's voice.

"All Duchy Citizens, we will be assembling on the command deck of Tannhauser Gate at 2pm SLT to go over a plan for retrieval of cargo from crashed freighter 'The One With "Bad [M*therf*cker]" On It'."



Another citizen of the realm laughed on the line. "Naughty freighter," said Kara

She sighed, smiling. She tended to agree.

"The Duchy ships are sentient," Justine said, "and choose their own names."

Emilly nodded, though she was alone in the lab. "I'll be there, though I'll likely have to change."



"I might have to make a trip to Graves for a better suit of armor for this," Justine added.

"You look fine, Emilly," added Kara.

She snorted again, looking down. She'd come directly to the fringe lab from ground level, where she'd been testing the new pool. "Bikini bottoms and a beach dress to go retrieve something from the Dark Sea? I mean..."

Kara giggled. Another bard of the court, Violet, laughed. "Emilly, if you're doing it, I believe it."

She heard Thomas chime in. "I'm in a pretty heavy rig with a VRF six barrel over each shoulder."

She hmmed, pulling out an evac suit she'd found for cheap at some event, slipping into it. She looked down at the way the molded chest arched far enough away from her torso to pretty much leave her naked. "This spacesuit's built for Kupra. I cannot wear this in public," she murmured.

"Cyberfactory?" Justine asked. "They keep doing that."

She tsked, slipping out of it and continuing to search.

"I got a great set of armour for Chief Briggs from Graves. I think we all need it."



Emilly nodded, finally slipping on a dress. It was at least more clothing than the bikini, and it would work for the meeting. "We might!" she added.

"Where is everyone?" asked Thomas.

"Everyone assemble in the briefing room on deck 2 Northwest," said Justine.

The Duchess checked the time. Just a few minutes before two.

(Continued in part CLII.)

and if you court this disaster, I'll point you home (part CL)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part CXLIX.)

"We need to get TOTS out of this space. We can't lose the payload it brought back to an explosion now. It cost too much to acquire."

Hiro and Rusty leapt from the truck as soon as the hanger doors sealed behind them and they rushed to the bridge of TOTS, bringing the reactor core online and starting the pre-flight procedure. Hiro tried entering coordinates but found the automatic system unresponsive.



"I'm going to manual."

"Is that safe?" asked the Bard with his usual mien of worry.

"Nope. But it's what we've got." The TOTS began to move.

Behind them the Gate flashed, putting out a bubble of energy that was then sucked back in. The Gate went dark.

TOTS sped away from Tannhauser Gate Station, precious cargo and three members of the Gearhaven Court aboard. The Duke struggled to keep it under control as the descended towards the Dark Sea. Alarms began to sound in the ship.

Warning! Core safety limits exceeded! You have 120 seconds to return to safe operating limits before core failure!

"I'm going to fly us closer to Gearhaven and New Alexandria," said the Duke, wrestling with the ship's controls.

Inside the ship infirmary, the pod holding the Countess opened in response to the ship-wide alarms. Her eyes fluttered open and, hearing the shrill call of the klaxons, she hurried to the bridge. Hearing the door open, Hiro turned, spotting her. "Justine! Get strapped in!"

The Countess hurried to a station and buckled herself securely seconds before TOTS hit the water of the Dark Sea and plunged to the depths.

Warp error. FTL drive not responding.

The bridge went dark.

Core offline. Flight Systems inoperable. Auxiliary power activated.

Justine threw off her seatbelt and stumbled to the door, squinting for the emergency lights through the smoke. She tripped, going sprawling, then realised she'd tripped over Rusty. Grabbing him by the coat she pulled him clear of the bridge, searching frantically in the back for an emergency evac pod. She found one, partially inflated it, shoved Rusty in, then herself, before she looked back. She could see Hiro amid the flames still on the bridge.

"Hiro!! Get out of there!!"

30 seconds to core failure.

She pushed the evac pod out into open water, the partial inflation keeping them on the sea floor for now. A hatch opened on top of TOTS and a shuttle emerged, Hiro at the controls. It had barely cleared the crash site when the rear of the ship exploded.



"Get in," shouted Hiro, bringing the shuttle down beside Justine and Rusty.



Coughing, Rusty climbed in. "The cargo?"



Hiro shook his head grimly. "It's still down there. But there's no way we can get close to it now."



The shuttle raced away, barely ahead of the blast wave.

(Continued in part CLI.)