Stop eating that watermelon!

The ThunderCrane, speeding through warp space, finally intercepts the fleeing faux Spidermobile. Milkshake's TIE-Defender detaches and prepares to attack. Inside the Crane, a transmission from Milkshake relays instructions.

"Alpha One to ThunderCrane. Try to EMP the false Spider's bridge and main control junctions. I'll take care of the engines."

Milkshake's TIE-Defender rakes green laser fire across the impostor ship's nacelle pylons, avoiding the volatile nacelles themselves. The ship's warp field collapses and it slows to impulse speeds.

"ThunderCrane to Alpha One. No problem. Want me to deploy the Tractor Beam, too?"

A few seconds later, the ThunderCrane drops a series of EMP mines that attach to the false spider's hull. The mines then activate, releasing a brief flash of purple energy that arcs across the ship. The ship's shields deactivate, and its engines cut off.

XLcior!

XLlent!

(Air Guitar Solo)

I'm afraid XL is too small for me. How long until XXL?

Ten Boards ago.

More importantly...

This is the last day you can vote in the Nittys, folks. Any votes recieved after 10 pm Central Daylight Time will not be eligible. See the 2001 Nitty Discussion board for the categories, including Concept you want to see more of and Best Author. Final Warning!

thelicc@yahoo.com

Hey, the fake Spidership was dismantled!

Whatchu talkin' `bout, Pit Nicker?

Suddenly the Earth flagship's sensors detect a large growing subspace anomaly near the planet. A giant warship emerges from the fourth dimension.

The flagship is being hailed. On the viewscreen appears an image of a winged Furby above the letters S.P.Q.F. The image vanishes and a purple/white Furby with a crown can be seen.

"Greetings, Earthlings. Could you please tell me the shortest way to Earth? I have an appointment with your Prez there. And you will immediately stop shooting at the planet and it's defenders to honor my presence here."

Not surprisingly the answer is nothing but a volley of torpedoes that bounces off the shields.

"Big mistake, Earthlings." The Great Imperator nods to his General. "Disable the attackers and then fire the Doomsday weapon at them." To the flagship again: "Have a nice day."

The Furby ship fires at the enemy forces in the near vicinity, disabling their engines and main energy sources. Then a small torpedo is fired at the helpless Earth flagship. Bam! It penetrates easily the hull and comes to rest in a large cargo bay. The turbo breeding chamber is activated and soon the first Tribbles are menacing the ship.

The Earth ships begin to retreat. The Fleet Admiral orders the ships left behind to drop more mines and comm-jammer satelittes. The crippled ships are left behind. At final count, not counting the Johnny Green, three Earth ships, the light carrier Pompeii, the Europa, and the modified science vessel Emeritus, have defected. Kiehart rejoins the Spidership crew, and gets to work on repairing the scratches and dents on the Banshee. Sickbay prepares for the influx of wounded. The Andfai ships begin landing medical personell on the planet.

The battle is over, but the Andafi and the LICC, for the time being at least, are trapped in Sslrth space. Warp powered escape pods, shuttles, and other small craft abandon the flagship, and take off towards the other retreating Earth vessels. The flagship explodes in a brilliant flash of light. Kiehart saw this before he reboarded the Spidership. He sighs. "GNN and ENS are gonna have a field day with that one. They'll say WE blew it up or something." He sighs again. "And I'll have to apologize to the bridge for blowing up at them earlier today."

ENS: Earth news Service. An infant news org. *hint hint*

The Furby ships opens a hyperspace tunnel and vanishes. It will be in Earth orbit before the news of the battle reach the planet.

Kiehart walks towards the turbolift to carry him to the bridge. The flight crew was poilite enough to offer to help polish up the weathered fihgter for him, so he decided to turn in a verbal report to the Captain. He suddenly wondered why the appearence of the Furby ship made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. As Kiehart steps off onto the bridge, a GNN outlet in a nearby system had broken the news of the "LICC's wanton destruction of the Earth Fleet Flagship." They were reporting that a massive minfield, the largest ever erected, was blocking Sslrth space. Of course, there had been minefields that surrounded whole solar systems before, but this didn't just surround it. The mine field, when completed, would be three thick, so any escpaing ship would have, in essence, THREE mine blockades to punch through. And, the mines were self replicating. The comm jammers blocked all signals incoming and outgoing, except for GNN and ENS. Kiehart learns this from a Redshirt, who doesn't die. Kiehart remembers that, for the time being at least, the contracts with CyberTec and Acme were cancelled. They'd have to preserve their resources for awhile, and that included trying to keep the Redshirts they had left alive as long as posisble.

Ok people, I want a way to get past the mines without taking damage. Perhaps a nice phasing device or something...
If we can't find a way out, then we can at least help the Sslrth.
I wonder how Commander Milkshake is doing with his search for the fake Spidership.
Captain Tacoman to Furby and Alt-Furby, please report to the bridge. I want to know everything you know about your Emperor.

You know, back in the very old times during Phantom Returns I wasn't exactly a good guy but just a normal Furby. Well, Nigel is my distant cousin and not very different from the Furbies that caused so much trouble in the early 21st century on Earth. I don't know if he is interested in expanding this civil war or not. Actually I'm very surprised to see him here in action.

Funny. In my universe we didn't have a Furby Empire at all.

Artsy considers their situation for a moment. " Difficult can be done. I don't believe that Judge Tarelle was in on the conspiracy. Don't ask me how I came to that conclusion; it was as much instinct as anything." She shrugs. "Maybe we need to come at this from a different angle. If we can figure out who really took the money, then maybe that will be enough to clear me of the bigger charges."

Rocket Ranger looks at Captain Tacoman, who can tell that Rocket would be smiling if he still had a face.

I might be able to whip up a temporary phase cloak. Give me...oh, about thirty-five minutes, and I'll see what I can do. (he pauses.) By the way, I had Shirana bring a few things here onboard the SnowCrane, and they've been transferred to my lab. You might want to come with me and take a look, Captain.

I'll just do that. I don't have anything better to do.
Tacoman goes with Rocket to his lab
Now, what do you have to show me?

Feelthy postcards!

Why must I stand here? The light of truth must shine on Shirkaron, I have to brood because some alien vermin are attacking another alien vermin. If Shirkaron was here, he could wipeout the entire fleet by unbalancing their warp intermix drives.

Captian Tacoman, I suggest we ask the Bizzaro world to kill all the good people of Bizzaro Earth. That would result in all the Evil people of Earth dying here. Or is that how the mirror universe works... In anycase it would destroy the conspiracy.

He he he.
(At that moment a anvil drops on everyones head in Artsey's home dimention, except for the good guys.)

discussion board, Pesti! Now!

The Furby ship reaches Earth and drops out of warp. The escort fleet consisting of a few hastily drawn together battleships and cruisers already waits.

"Greetings hewmans. I am the Great Imperator. Nice to meet you all. We come in peace."

Just then the first transmissions of the Sslrth disaster are received by Earth authorities and news stations. Interestingly the Furby ship there looks completely different from the one currently in the orbit and even the technologie isn't the same.

"What is that? Is there somebody conspirating against the Furby Empire? I demand an explanation. NOW."

Kiehart sighs. "Cpatain, most of the people around here are physcially and psychologically exhausted. There are wounded people on the brink of death. I need to take a ••••••• nap, and Banshee is dinged to hell. Odds are the fake Spidership has been 'sanitized.' And what you want to do is get the hell out of here? There are more important things than us. There aren't any mass bombings of human colonies, this 'civil war' as Furb claled it is a cold one. One lousy 24 hour period of rest, and conertation ain't gonna hurt us."

Milkshake's modified TIE-Defender and the ThunderCrane drop out of warp near the Spidermobile. Both are showing signs of damage.

"Milkshake to Spidermobile. Mission failed. The fake Spidermobile we chased turned out to be a clever trap. Somewhere along the way we lost the real assassin-ship and encountered a rickety simulacrum armed with a trilithium bomb. As soon as we battered down its shields, BOOM! It's amazing we survived at all. Request permission to come aboard."

You're right, Kiehart. I'm just getting things ready for when we do leave.
Ops, set up one of the holodecks as a triage unit.
Commander? How did you get by the triple layer of mine fields?
Captain Tacoman to all hands, stand down red alert for now and rest. Anybody who wants to go to the remains of the SSlrth planet may go, but please take along some recording equipment so we have evidence when we get back to Earth.

Rocket Ranger and Captain Tacoman enter the lab. Rocket points to a large metal container with a keypad on it.

That's got a new suit of armor in it. Won't do me any good until I can find a way to become human again.

He picks up a strange-looking briefcase, places it on a counter, and opens it, revealing two strange-looking devices that appear to fit on the wrist.

New versions of the Exo-Skeleton wristbands I created for you and Commander Milkshake. Once you put them on, the devices disappear; they actually merge with your armor and are activated by voice command. You can also remove them by voice command. I've included failsafe devices in case anything goes wrong.

He pauses.

I also have a large supply of Concussion Grenades and a couple of launchers for them. And a few Hover-Bike kits. Those need to be assembled, though.

He pauses.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go to Engineering and look around for a few minutes. When I get back, I'll see what I can do about that Phase Cloak. Feel free to look around, if you like, but don't touch anything with a keypad or teal-colored triangular-shaped button on it. You wouldn't like what would happen.

He leaves the lab.

(As Rocket Ranger leaves the lab, a blue shirt enters)

Greetings sirs. Lovely weather we are having.

(Both of them look at each other wondering what he is talking about)

(He morps, X-files Alien bounty hunter style into Shirkaron)

Greetings Jackson, Greetings Milkshake. You don't know who I am, but I know all about you. I am Shirkaron, scion of the Royal House of Skuld, and Immortal god of the universe. Well, that last one is a matter of time. Time, how ironic. Jackson, I understand you are immortal as well. So, we could be fighting each other while the mortal coil standing next to you is being used for a bath by a pacaderm. Well, I am a man of good breeding, so I will tell you what I am doing on your ship. I am here to kill Donna before she tries to kill me. Of course she can't kill me, but we have already covered why she cannot do that. Of course you can do nonthing to stop me. Why? I can manipulate all forms of electromagnectic energy. I am still working on Gravity, and haven't even begun to work on the nuclear forces. So in theory, I can shut off your muscles. You cannot resist me. I hope you don't feel hurt. Well, a good day to you, Farwell.
Walks out

Tacoman blinks in suprise
Hmm.. that was interesting...
Steve! I didn't see you standing in the doorway.
Skuld? I wonder if Endymion could tell us more about Shirkaron...

Because of an inherent physical property of Artsy's home dimension, the anvils bounce off anyone they hit and rebound to the person who dropped them--smashing Hobo Kat through to the planet's core! (Though no doubt he survives....)

The group was discussing what to do about Artsy when Adon stands up and motions for everyone to be quiet. Adon stares off towards the west, with the setting sun behind him.

Observer, get Artsy out of here. We have company coming, and she should get out of the line of fire as quickly as possible.

A humming sound was heard coming from the west. The sound quickly got louder until Adon fired a thin yellow beam of light in the direction of the sound. The beam hit an invisible object, destroying the mechanism that made it invisible. The object was a metallic sphere, about the size of a golf ball. The outer surface quickly melted and the sphere exploded.

We don't have a lot of time before reinforcements arrive.

Hobo kat crawls out of the hole. His body is blackened, and strangely enogth, small birds have taken to flying around his head.

Responding to Tacomans reply
Commander Milkshake is not on board.

Processing

Shirkaron projects a holofield around himself. When scanning your thoughts, he must have created a image based on your thinking of him, over the new armband. The projection of your thoughts would also explain the Stork wandering, as well as well as the SECRET TACO RECIPE OF GENERAL MARTOK.

Shirkaron leaves the area, and all the images dissapear.

Rikard gets up.
Yep, he's right. There are a lot of them too.
He pulls out his saber and a gun.
Here they come.

Well, at least he didn't combine images and create Steve Milkstork...

Eventually, Captain Tacoman receives a message over his communicator. Its from Rocket Ranger.

Well, it took a little longer than I thought it would, but I managed to whip up a Phase Cloak. Its already been hooked up. I should warn you however, that it will only function for about ten minutes at a time, and requires another twenty minutes before it can be used again.

He pauses.

Are you still going to send a team down to the Sslrth planet? If so, I want in. Otherwise, I'm going to Holodeck 4.

Holodoc: I thought we had a cloak.

Cid: We do. The Spidership has everything.

Holodoc: So why didn't you speak up.

Cid: It would mean more work for me. Java?

Holodoc I can't drink.

Cid: Yes you can (hits a button.)

(They drink coffie)

Ansh ignites her lightsaber.

Rocket, go down to Sslrty planet and take a team with you. Who knows.. you may find answers that we can use when we get back to Earth

The real Commander Milkshake runs up.

What's going on? My author hasn't been following the story because of the Nittys, and so that doesn't leave me with a lot of background. Oh yes, a war. Minefield? Well, we sorta used a technobabbly force-shield...ray...thing to get around them.

Tacoman explains about Shirkakon.

I don't think we need to worry about him. He hasn't begun to tap the universal forces that lie in the realm beyond the surface facilities of electromag, grav, weak nuclear and strong nuclear that simply serve to provide a foundation for the spatial and trans-spatial physical workings of the universe.

Milkshake looks very confused.

Where did that come from?

I have no idea, Commander.
Here. A present from Rocket Ranger.
Tacoman hands Milkshake one of the wristbands and tells Milkshake about it

Tacoman's message to Rocket Ranger doesn't go through; Instead, Tacoman gets a busy signal on his communicator!

Go read the current Discussion Board!

How far away are those mines? Maybe the Furby fighter is small enough to get through and destroy the command center if there is one?

Computer, how many Namek-jin are on the Spidership.

Five Namek-jin are on board

Good, maybe for entertainment I'll dismember one a couple times, and watch his limbs grow back. Back Scratcher. How many Undead are on board?

10 vampires, one Cortiode, three incubi

Vampire? Oh, yes I forgot, man and Vampire have learned to live in peace. Blasted UPN, why did Angel and Enterprise have to crossover. In any case, Donna is here, and I shall find her. Ah, yes, I can sense her unnatural form. Time to walk with the gods for you. I shall kill you and insure you and the Child of Tacoman never mate, and produce the chosen one. For that would spell my end. It's already bad enoght that Frnagellica is married and could have progeny. Hmm, I should destroy them while I am at it. There is time for that latter. I must kill Donna. Soon, I will unlock the unified field theory, and none of them shall be a concern. Hmm, a redshirt.
Shirkaron remotely entechs the redshirt.

Very well. Stay calm, young ones. Remember, "Defense is sometimes the best offense." "Attack not in anger." And don't die. Watch over the young ones, Commander. If you need help, you know how to reach me. Please excuse me for this, Artsy.

(Observer picks Artsy up as effortlessly as if she weighs nothing, and cradles her protectively in his arms. The reason for this is soon apparent as Observer suddenly rockets into the sky, seemingly propelled and held aloft by thin air. He and Artsy quickly vanish in the distance.)

"This is amazing! I wish I could fly!" But Artsy's voice is lost at the speed Observer has reached. She leans over to shout in his ear. "I know it's kind of defeating the purpose of getting me away, but couldn't we go back to the capital, you know, where the trial was held, and go hunting? There was a name on the witness list who didn't have a statement in the evidence. Maybe he knows something the others don't and it was surpressed."

Certainly, Artsy.

(Observer makes a sharp left turn in thin air and descends rapidly towards the capital city. The pair touches down just behind a closed eatery in the outskirts of the town. Observer gestures, and his apparel of cloak and archaic shirt and trousers disappear, replaced by the common clothing of a middle-class male native to Artsy's world. For the first time, Observer's face is completely revealed. He has the features of a handsome young man, but a look of extreme wisdom and experience resides in his green eyes. He has light brown hair which seems to always be slightly mussed.)

Do you require a disguise as well? I can change any aspect of your appearance, if you wish.

Rocket Ranger's communicator finally kicks in, and he gets the message from Tacoman.

Sorry about that. I need to fix my communicator. That's the third time today that its screwed up! Don't know who I'll take to planet with me, though, since half the team's not onboard the ship!

Hmm... Good point Rocket. Well, Kiehart is avaliable, Wayne and Kent are back from their mission... I could go with you if you need me to...
I'll be in the holodeck testing out this new wristband.
Tacoman slaps the wristband onto his armor. The two items merge, but one can still see the outline of the wristband.

I am still waiting for an answer!

One of the scouts fired a laser, which bounced off of Adon's sword and hit a second scout. The attacking scout was quickly cut in half. A third scout appeared behind Anon but was blasted out of the air by Adon. After that, they seemed to vanish.

That can't be all of them.

A single individual stepped out of the woods. Well, stepped out isn't the proper term since he appeared to be standing on thin air. He was wearing a long, green cloak, a green tunic, and while gloves. The hilt of a sword was visible under the cloak.

Rogat!

Rogat: "Hello Adon. It is so nice to see you again."

You were stripped of your powers. What are you doing here?

Rogat: "Isn't it obvious? I have been charged to bring Artsy back. And you three are not going to stop me. Neither is your friend who took her with him."

Rikard yelled and attacked Rogat with the lightsabre. Rogat simply caught the glowing blade in his hand.

Rogat: "Please."

Rogat tossed Rikard aside like a rag-doll. Adon flew into the air and caught Rikard. He set Rikard down and fired a blast at Rogat. The blast was deflected by an invisible force.

I suggest that you abandon this assignment.
Adon drew his sword.
If you do, you'll live to see another day.

Kiehart shakes his head. "I gotta go over to the Andafi fleet to seak with the Empress. With any luck, and considering the history of EarthSysGov's prior atempts to mine areas this big, it's probably not fully operational yet. It'll take some convincing but these ships will need to get back to Andufoi just in case Earth gets any funny ideas." Tacoman nods approval of the plan. The other personal on the bridge seem to be showing signs of psychological exhaustion. Only fair, considering the circumstances of the past day.

-

Earth responds to the Grand Furby's footage by hurling every planetary and oribtal weapon at the ship, blasting down it's sheilds in a matter of seconds.

"That would be great, Observer. I'd better match you in the style, but leave off the right sleeve and give me a thin silver armband. Oh, and my hair had better go up."

Artsy stands still as Observer gestures again, this time altering her appearance, including piling her white hair atop her head in a silver net that matched the new armband. The artist surveys her new outfit with approval, but blushes a bit when she glances from the armband to Observer.

Quickly recovering, she tucks her arm into Observer's and steers him towards a public information booth in front of the eatery. "We're a young couple out seeing the town, all right? I have the witness' last known address, but we'll need to get directions from somewhere since I don't know the town at all. Would you prefer the booth, or should we find an open place of business and ask around?"

Donna The darkness is rising

(Shirkaron blasts Donna with a Gamma Ray Blast)

Donna, my dear sweet Donna. It is so good you have returned. Returned to the DEAD. Ha ha ha. Well, farewell LICC, we shall meet again! But before I leave, here is a gift.

(Leaves a shaving cream can, and vanishes)

Well, I guess these won't work.
Rikard shut off his lightsaber and clipped it onto his belt. He holstered his gun. He opened his belt and out dropped his sword. It grows to its normal size.

But this might.

Rikard attacks again but is once again thrown away, this time harder. Just as he's about to hit a tree, he flips , plants voth feet on the tree, and pushes off the tree, landing on the ground.

Okay, new strategy. Assist Adon.

He stands beside Adon, sword ready.

It would be probably less suspicious if we use the booth. To avoid being tracked by the authorities, I can use the InfoNet account of this planet's Observer. It/He and I are old friends. If we cannot find any useful information here, I'm sure old Hrreeknin will be willing to help us.

(They reach the booth, and Observer logs onto the system, then steps aside to allow Artsy to use the console. She does so, and Observer regards the young artist's armband with interest, recognizing the native significance of it.)

How funny. Turn on the outer shields again and prepare to disable the manned ships. Those automatic orbital platforms can be destroyed. We can sell them replacements after this is over.

Yes, my Kaiser! Opening fire...

An impressive fireworks starts. The surrounding ships are simply knocked out. Shields are down, engines permanently offline, consoles explode. Only a few ships are able to fire back but their attack is completely useless.

Hey, this looks great. Puts down a small mirror. And this too! I'd say we fire a tribble torp at the cruiser over there. What do you think?

Great idea, my Kaiser! Firing the torpedo...10 seconds to impact...Kaboom! Hehehe...Turbo breeding chamber activated. Food replicator online...Hatch opened. First combat tribbles are released...

Very fine. The hewmans will start to evacuate in a few seconds.

Right. They are starting escape pods, shuttles and transports, everything they have...Even the main computer ejected himself!

Probably an artificial intelligence. Get him!

Yes, my Kaiser! Locking on with a tractor beam...He's in a secured cargo bay now. Sire, the combat tribbles will reach the critical mass in just one minute!

Hm, push the cruiser with the tractor beam towards those orbital battle platforms. No need to spend too much energy on them...

Yes, my Kaiser! Those platforms are even worse than our old model P4747...The cruiser is now right on course. Farewell!

The combat tribbles have reached the critical mass and explode. The cruiser does the same and so do the orbital platforms nearby.

I'll take a little nap now. You may continue fighting if the hewmans attack again. If they want to contact us, just drop me a note. Oh, and currently they don't need the control over their communication satellites.

Good night, my Kaiser! In a few seconds the sats will be under our control.

The Furby ship slowly assumes a position over New York City.

Naturally GNN and ENS are building this up. There signals, the only ones allowed through the jamming area around Sslrth space, reach the Spidership quickly. Kiehart watches the scene. He can tell it wasn't edited. It didn't need to be. The Furbies had gone insane! "Oh this is JUST what we need!" Kiehart shouts sarcastically at no one in particular. "Earth's never gonna trust us again if we let this continue! No matter what kind of evidence we present as towards our innocence, the Furby ship came from here They can and probably have traced it's flight path. Captain, the Furbies are blowing things up indiscriminately. There are innocent civilians on Earth still Captain. What should we do?"

Really, you need to learn some manners, boy.

Rogat fired off a blast towards Rikard, but Adon intercepted it, and sent the blast flying off into the woods.

I guess I'm no match for you, Adon. Good thing I enlisted some help.

A jet black mark appeared on Rogat's forehead, and he seemed to glow. In reality, everything around him was getting darker. Black lightning bolts crackled around him as he started laughing.

Goodbye, Adon.

Rogat fired a blast of energy, which was almost too quick to see. Everything behind Adon vanished in an explosion, sending trees and rocks flying everywhere. One large oak fell through the air and hit the shield above Rogat's head, and the tree shattered like glass against a rock.

Adon blinked once, fell to his knees, and toppled over. A hole was visible in his cloak. The edges of the hole were charred back, but after that, the material was slowly turning red. Adon gurgled and seemed to do a push-up. He got about halfway up and then toppled over, landing on his back. There was a matching hole in the front of his tunic, black around the edges with red expanding from it.

With shaking hands, Adon reached down to his belt buckle and pulled a small, blue capsule from a hidden compartment. He managed to get the capsule to his mouth.

No you don't!

Rogat fired a blast that sent Adon's body flying through the woods and out of sight. The mark on his forehead vanished.

Now that he's out of the way, I won't need any help defeating you two squirts.

(Inside the booth, Observer staggers and puts a hand to his forehead. Artsy looks at him, alarmed.)

"What's wrong, Observer?"

Adon...extreme pain...I don't know what happened to Adon, I can no longer sense his mind. I'm getting great stress from Rikard and Ansh, but...nothing from Adon. I must go and assist, but...I cannot leave you here. Wait...I can do something.

(Observer closes his eyes and seems to be concentrating mightily. At the same time, miles away, Josh Rikard feels a presence in his mind, a personality different than his own. In the area of his conciousness where he can access the Force, all the restrictions and barriers which had prevented him from gaining the most powerful talents are removed. He knows that there is now no limit to his utilization of the Force, he is now a Jedi Knight of the most powerful kind. He hears Observer's voice, as if from far off.)

Josh, I have given you the means to defeat your enemy. You are not meant to have such power so soon, and it will slowly disappear, so act quickly! Good luck, and may the Force be with you.

As the Furby ship hovers over the panicked city, a strange humming sound becomes apparent. The Furbies, noticing it, energize their blasters and eliminate the stray hummingbird that has fluttered past their sensor. This has no effect on their plans.

The bizzare red flash, however, has a noticeably stronger effect. In an instant, the city and all its inhabitants seem to vanish, leaving a fully armed ship hovering over a perfectly bare waste.

Perfectly? Not quite. A lone L.I.C.C. keypad lies in the middle of what was once Queens. Its highly sophisticated recognition software is trained on Tacoman, and its message reads, "Hi. Please press the blue button when the Furbies are gone."

Hmm.

The Furbies are attacking Earth? I need to get to my fighter. Excuse me, Captain.

In a second, Milkshake is off the bridge and moving fast towards the shuttle bay.

Heywaitasecond! I just received a transmission that they were attacked first!

Oh, it seems that they are blocking completely Earth's communication and broadcasting old Furby soap operas on every channel. Poor planet.

Adon lay in a crumpled heap some distance from the battle zone. As he lay, a small, clear capsule fell out of his mouth. The capsule had several teeth marks from where Adon bit it, and a hole in one side.

A shallow breath escaped from his lips. His head was lying on a bare patch of dirt. And as he breathed out, grass and flowers sprouted and grew at an incredible rate.

Artsy resumes her search through the public fund of information, and pulls up a detailed map of the city. Pushing her concern for the others out of her mind, she locates the housing development at the address given in the records. "Here, Observer. It's only a kilometer or so east of us." Then she frowns. "But it's near a major byway, so it may be pretty public. Good thing you disguied us."

A little worried at his lack of immediate response, Artsy touches his sleeve. "Observer? Shall we go?"

"Furb, I hope you don't take offense, but your Emperor's a total dickweed."

Josh had to act fast. He now had the power of a Jedi Master, one that may have bested even Yoda. He looked over to Rogat. The former Wanderer was hit by an invisible force that sent him flying. He flew for several miles before he stopped in midair. He turned around and flew back to where the two kids had been. However, when he arrived they were gone. The hit had taken more out of him than he thought it would. They had escaped, for now.
Far away, Josh ran. He was holding onto Ansh and pulling her along, at the same time protecting her from the forces that were being pressed upon them at such a high speed. He'd been training how to run faster than any normal being but he never imagined that he would ever run THIS fast. He stretched out his senses, trying to find Adon. He couldn't. But he did sense something different. Something strange. A sudden spring of life. He stopped. In a small clearing, Adon lay, and around him, things were growing far more rapidly than they normally would. Josh felt Observer's gift leave him. He collapsed.
Ansh, take my sword. If he comes back, it will at least protect you against his energy blasts.
He lost conciousness. Five minutes later he came to. Adon was still unconcious and Ansh was looking out for Rogat. Rikard got up. He was still tired, but it would pass.
Okay, let's get him out of here.

Furby, go with Commander Milkshake to see if you can talk sense into your Emperor.

Yawn! What a nice day!

He flips a few switches. The Furby soap operas are turned off and an audio link to the Earth's communication systems is established.

Loook what I've found - a Frank Sinatra karaoke CD! Let's have some fun.

Nigel A. Furby VII. starts to sing...

Hey, your cousin is really eccentric, isn't he?

Yes, but he has a far better voice than me.

The Joint Cheifs speak with the President. Only two of them are actually directly involved in the Conspiracy. They help convince the President to make a declaration that will shock everyone. "We'll have to start by quietly evacuating small colonies first sir. Asteroid bases and such,w ith populations that can be trnasplated easily. We should also try to pull as many non-traitors out of areas of space run by some of our alien 'allies' too, since doubtless they will find this decision unpopular." The President nods. "What about the Earth owned ships in the areas we'll be evacuating?" "They'll be made part of the Earth defense fleet sir. We've already cancelled some deep space missions, intelligence and scientific alike. Several battle capable vessels are already en route." "What of the ships sent to search for Taconator and those pirates he took with them?" "Returning as well sir. Thye've so far found no trace of them. Plus, sir, a few Space Marshall ships will be joining us as well. Their crews were luckily away from the scadnal and collapse in the SM organization, and they're being indoctrinated into EarthSysGov as we speak. We also recently got our hands on a Whyte Kastle destroyer. It appeared the crew was killed by a radiation leak from their engine room. We're docontaminating it now, and training some of our people to use it." The President nods. He sighs heavily. "I'm not comfortable with this guys. I wish Absurd was here to help me through this."

I'm proud to report that all communication channels have been jammed.

Great! Which flavor?

Mostly cherry, but some got strawberry.

Very well, now give them the ultimate computer VIRUS!

Yes, my Kaiser. Soon there will only be the Hamster Dance on their screens!

Yes...If they are very clever and intelligent, then those earthlings here will find out that only the L.I.C.C. can solve their problems. MWUAHAHAHA!!!!!

What a plan!

By the way Furby, let your Emperor that I believe that whatever's happening on Earth may be being controled by a small number of people...

If he finds out who they are they will get a very special serenade from him.

Kiehart takes Furby aside. "I want you to understnad something Furb. This is really important. What your Emperor is doing is really dumb. He's only enhancing the distrust and paranoia towards non-Earthers that got us to this point in the first place. It's pretty much on you to talk him out of it if you can. Good luck buddy."

The Furby activates his internal hyper-super-subspace-radio-television-holographic link to the mighty Furby Hive Mind. After a few seconds he finally gets a connection to Nigel's secretary.

Ping. I need to speak with the boss.

Uhhh, I'm afraid that not possible right now. His Majesty is sleeping.

It is urgent and if you are not immediately doing what I want then your internal functions will be mixed up for a few months! Call Nigel NOW!

Okokokokok... Ping.

Yawn, who is it!

It's me, cousin. We have to talk.

Oh well, the Furby from L.I.C.C. Actually I already have awaited your call. Surely you want to know what's going on here?

Don't call me S...Yes! What the heck is going on here? Earth has some trouble with a xenophobic conspiracy that already caused a war and in this nice situation you are disabling the local fleet, singing on all channels and even inserting a really gruesome virus into the human computer systems! ... WHY?

That's all part of a plan to take over the universe. Mwuahahaha!!!!! No, that was just a small joke, a very small one. Imagine the following: The L.I.C.C. finally gets through the darn minefield around Sslrth and despite being chased by the regular troops arrives in the solar system where the big bad enemy ship wreaks havoc. What would you do?

Uhh, usually we try to talk the baddie out of his mind. If that doesn't work or we really don't like the answer then there are always our guns...

Excellent! The Spidership shoots at the big bad Furby ship, the holoemitters there are destroyed and instead of the Furby ship you have suddenly a black Earth battleship there. A nice show with a nice surprise.

Hey, slowly it gets interesting. Continue.

The battleship is badly damaged and finally explodes, leaving behind just a small decaying subspace vortex and some evidence of the evil conspiracy amongst some hewman leaders, waiting for pickup by the L.I.C.C. or trustworthy Earth forces.

I am impressed. You'll escape during the appearant explosion and then..?

The L.I.C.C. will be again the hero of the day, week and month! I will quietly return home and you will spread the message that there is no Furby Empire, despite the fact that we have trade relations with quite a few civilisations. The growing human paranoia was reducing our income, imagine this! I had to do something.

Fine. Is there anything we should do?

Yes. Of course I could forge some false evidence of a conspiracy but it would be much better if we could use some real facts. So, some of your human friends should start a covert operation on Earth ASAP. You know what I mean? I don't want to disable every attacking ship in the next weeks - so HURRY!!!

Ok, got it. Have a nice day!

The Furby informs the staff about Nigel's cunning plan.

First we have to break out. The I suggest we send a very fast cloaked fighter with an investigation team to Earth while the Spidership plays the decoy and arrives some time later but still right on time for a furious battle with lots of fireworks.

A multistaged bluff. Wow.

If you need a cloaked ship, I can handle that part. The SnowCrane has a cloak, as a matter of fact. That's how Shirana got to the spidership undetected. (He pauses) I suggest we have Commander Milkshake, Wayne and Kent take the ThunderWolf and stand by in case the spidership gets into trouble.

Kieharts nods. "OK. I'll be going planetside with the Captain, but I'd still liek a hand on this mission. Here. Take this." He hands what looks like a data rod to Furby. "I actually got this off the O'Kak station awhile back. Wasn't sure what it was till a few days ago. It's the device that caused the force field to alter my cltohing and my hiar. It's the only one I have, btu near as I can tell it has a massive energy supply somehow, and can easily conceal you once you get to Earth. I was going to use to make my hair black again, but I decided I like it this way."

NOTE: And if you've read Logan Newcastle Edited Version you'd know why, wink wink.

Suddenly, the communications officer speaks.

Captain, I'm receiving a message from Ops. Three ships are headed this way: a {\Ticonderoga}-class vessel identified as the Wytch Queen, a Paladin-class ship identified as the Sword of Tyr, and another vessel. Its unidentifiable, and it is definitely not of Earthly origin! They should be here in less than ten minutes.

He pauses for several seconds.

Sir, I've just been informed that the other ship is similar in design to an Archon-class Destroyer! It has some sort of...."wings", and its painted black and white, but otherwise it matches the specs.

Furby, that's the best plan I've heard for a long time.
Rocket, do it.
Ops, what do we know about the three ships headed our way?
Kiehart, I'll deal with the ships, and then I'll go to the surface with you.
I assume that Observer and his team are still in Artsy's home universe?

Meanwhile 13 years in the future Admiral Jadlad gets a message from one of the ships ensigns.

Ok. Looks like I don't need to fool with Donna after all. Darn alternate timelines.

Well, back to monitering the past.

Using the chronoviewer. The future Jadlad looks in on a lab on Professor Negative's ship he's looking at several specimen containers, among them are Jadlad sample #1, Jadlad sample #2, Jadlad sample #3 DANGEROUS, Superlad sample #1, and Alison sample #1.

And in specially designed restraints with various devices attached is Jadlad (As he appeared when he tried to dimension hop to the O'kakian ship. Not the older version that talked to Tacoman on the monitor screen of the Spidership.).

Jadlad:Whatever you're planing Negative, it won't work! Just then Alison walks into the lab and speaks.

Alison:My poor brother it already has worked. Hasn't it Professor?

Jadlad:ALI?*


Professor Negative leaves Jadlad and Alison alone.

Alison:No Jadlad, I'm not your sister. Not quite. I'm from an alternate timeline.*

The future Jadlad stops watching.

Sigh.

He time hops into the past, frees himself and takes the evil alternate timeline Alison back to her proper timeline.

What next?

* Both passages are from LICC Part XXVIII. Thank you LICC Archives!

Jadlad must have been visiting the Garden of Unresolved Storylines.

We're being hailed, Captain!

Suddenly, an African-American man with a mustache and black sunglasses, dressed in a blue and green uniform with silver trim appears on the viewscreen, standing on a blue-silver colored bridge, with several people dressed in uniforms similar to his behind him.

Greetings! I am Captain Luther Biggens of the former Earth ship Wytch Queen. We believe that someone on Earth has not only framed you, but is also trying to instigate a war with the Sslrth for reasons that cannot be explained. The two ships with me are The Sword of Tyr and Victorious Fury, a prototype ship incorporating some technology that we....acquired from the wreckage of a Whyte Kastle ship. We would like to join you in putting an end to this obvious conspiracy.

Greetings, Captain Biggens. It's nice to see a ship that isn't bent on destroying us. At this point, we can use all the help we can.

At this point, we can use all the help we can

To get us out of this storyline, aah!

Rogat looked looked around for a moment after Rikard left.

Quite impressive. I will have to deal with them after I catch Artsy.

The mark lit up on his forehead again, and a jet black sphere formed around him. Then the sphere shrunk down to a point and vanished.

In the city, Artsy was just leaving the information booth, a black sphere grew out of nowhere. When it reached a particular size, it vanished, leaving Rogat standing on the sidewalk. Most of the people immediately drew back in fear.

Hello, Artsy. I recommend that you come with me peacefully as any damage that were to occur during your capture would be added to the list of charges against you.

Rogat grinned, showing a row of sharp teeth. He held out his hand to Artsy.

Lets go back, shall we?

Adon opened his eyes and looked around. When he spoke, it was in a whisper.

Josh? I'm glad that you and Ansh made it out of there all right. We have to find Artsy as quickly as possible, though I fear that we may be too late.

Knowing that Rogat guy, I wouldn't doubt it. What do you think that we should do?

Artsy, terrified by the sudden appearence of her enemy, instictively turns to run. All at once the artist's block that had prevented her from using her powers dissolves. She flashes bright blue before vanishing down the street in a near-invisible blur--leaving Observer behind to face Rogat.

(Rogat moves to catch Artsy, but is repelled by an invisible force. Observer once again appears in his cloak, but with an ancient suit of armor, which appears to be and is made of silver dragon scales. Rogat advances on the watcher but Observer quickly points his lightsaber toward the evil menace and ignites it. The golden blade drives the villain back out of range.)

So you must be Rogat. I have heard tales of you.

"You must be the one who calls himself Observer. I have heard about you too, weak one."

You must think yourself powerful, to have defeated Adon.

"I am Power, fool."

And I am Justice. The dark forces you consort with will not consent to let you escape your part of the bargain. Untold lives will be spent before you must pay that price. I will spare you the trouble and cut your life short. There are no restrictions to keep you alive. Removing you would make the Multiverse a safer place.

"Talk is cheap, idiot."

(Rogat unleashes a blinding attack with his sword, but Observer deftly blocks. The pair battle for many minutes, Observer's lightsaber leaving bare scratches on the villain's polished sword. Rogat connects, slicing through several scales on the Observer's mail suit. Observer evades, using his Force powers to jump onto the information booth, leap over Rogat's head and whirling around, stab deeply into the evil being's shoulder. Before Observer can finish the job...)

Ummm, why is Observer wearing a suit of armor made of SILVER dragon scales?! Silver dragons were the good guys! I'd hate to think he, or someone he knew, murdered one just to make a protective suit out of its hide!

Kiehart smiles. "If the bad guys on Earth have heard about this, which I can't imagine them not, they must be peeing their pants."

-

"Dammit! Three ships? Three ships got through the mines-" "They weren't on-line yet General." "Three ships! Got through the minefield and joined the LICC. Dammit! What else?" "Well, uh, sir, a few of ouir ally races have disolved their treaties with us and have begun kicking Earth citizens out, except for those who've either flat out defected, or asked for asylum. And half the command crew of the experimental battlecruiser Katherine Graham has resigned in protest. The ship is still in orbit over Io though. The mass evacuation of our smaller outer colonies is going slower than we hoped as well sir. Statisticians are telling us that if the rate of defections and resignations continue, in four months we won't enough manpower or ships to defend Pluto, let alone the entire Sol system." The General sighs. He wished General Burdukis were still alive. This was more his game than anyone elses. "We'll have to step up Plan E. Get the President and the PressSec on the line. Secure tachyon line."

Captain Biggens smiles at Tacoman's words.

I am pleased to hear that, Captain. We were afraid that you wouldn't believe us. We have some contacts on Earth who are currently trying to find out who is behind this conspiracy, but we're unable to establish communications with them. They are in a zone that is under a communications blackout.

One of the crewmen walks over and hands him a PADD, which he reads for a few seconds.

Excellent news, Captain! It appears that Captain Wilson Majors of the Star-Carrier Walter Cronkite has joined our cause! He was bringing back some starfighters from flight training at the Mars facility when he heard what was happening from an old friend of his, and wants to rendezvous with us as soon as possible. He has about 130 starfighters onboard his ship!

The Conspiracy on Earth leanrs of this, and dispatches a cadre of TerrSec vessels to bring the carrier down as soon as it reaches the edge of Sslrth space. They are to leave evidence that the LICC is responsible.

However, a young man, who recently rejoined TerrSec after a brief departure during the O'Kak invasion, is aboard on of these TerrSec vessels, and manages to sneak off a coded message, directed for one Jason Kiehart.

Unfortunately the cadre of vessels is eaten by a giant space amoeba a few light-years outside the solar system, leaving this four-string plot to conclude that much more swiftly.

Good, Captain, good. I have a memeber of my crew that was about to go to Earth to find evidence of a conspiracy. Perhaps if you inform him about your people, he can meet them on Earth.
We're also getting plans together to get rid of the Furby ship currently menacing the planet, too, by the way.

A Silver Dragon was one of my best friends during my time in the dark lands of Serkatoth. We fought the minions of the evil sorceror Mektat. My friend fell to the sorceror during the final battle, and after I vanquished the evil sorceror, my dying friend bade me create a suit of armor from his scales, so that he could continue to protect me long after his death. I did as he wished, and this armor is one of my prized possessions.

"Torpedo tube duty is so boring. We're not shooting at anything, so why do I have to waste my time here. Well, I might as well make good use of my time and shave for my date this evening. Curses! Although I have brought my portable razor and my hand mirror, I lack shaving cream. All my plans are reduced to nothing. But wait! Here is a shaving cream can that someone has left lying around. How fortunate! I will open it and shave."

The Spidership pitches and rolls from side to side as a huge burst of energy radiates from Torpedo Tube Six. It is quite lucky that the Wytch Queen, Sword of Tyr, and Victorious Fury are not in its path, because the beam instantly vaporizes everything in front of it. A huge section of the minefield is instantly destroyed, four sinister cloaked TerrSec vessels nearby are reduced to nothingness, a number of innocent space meteors are eliminated, and all Galactic News databases within a 3-fractal radius find themselves hopelessly scrambled.

In Torpedo Tube Six, a blackened and smoky yellowshirt holds an empty shaving cream can out of which now protrubes a small flag saying, "Boom."

"Captain Tacoman, sir! Whatever that thing was, it has blasted a path clear to Earth. For the moment, there is nothing between us and the Furby Menace. Kiehart, Rocket Ranger, Milkshake, and anyone else going to Earth, GO! NOW!"

Lets do it! Anyone going to Earth had better meet me in the SnowCrane's hangar in ten minutes, or you're going to be left behind!

He runs to the turbolift and enters it. Inside the turbolift, he activates his communicator.

Wayne, Kent, prepare the SnowCrane for takeoff. We're heading to Earth in ten minutes! And bring the Amplitude Modulator online.

He activates his communicator again.

That is....a few of us are heading to Earth, not you. I want you to get the SnowCrane ready, then head over to the ThunderWolf. You're going to have it ready in case the you-know-what hits the fan!

Kent comes through over the communicator.

Will do. We're activating the Amplitude Modulator right now. It should make it harder for anyone to penetrate the SnowCrane's shields, but please be careful with it! It eats up a lot of power very quickly!

Captain Tacoman to Rocket Ranger, start heading for Earth. The Spidership and the rest of the calvery will give you a 10 minute head start, and then we'll follow you. Get to Earth as fast as you can so you can meet up with the others and find out about the conspiracy.

A 16 Ton weight promptly falls on Nah Nah, crushing the little •••• to death.

The TerrSec ships reappear, and continue on their devious path.

Aboard the Spiderhsip, Kiehart runs to his fighter. He stops when his pocket padd beeps. He pulls it out and reads an encrypted message that scrolls along. A code he created when he led a resistance against the O'Kak back on Earth. He decodes it, and his eyes go wide at what he sees. The ship hums at it goes to wapr, on course towards Earth, and away from the carrier about to ambushed. Kiehart hits a button and transmits eveything to the Andafi fleet which is still en route to their home. He hopes they're close enough to ctach it. He then beams it to the lead pilot of the 128th Interceptor Squadron. He hits abutton on his comm link. "Banshee, power up. I'm transmitting a set of coordinates to you. That's where we'll be going. Not time to inform the Captain." He runs at full speed, kncking various Shirts over along the way.

So much for the Nitty Award saying that we want more humor.

Before Observer can finish the job...)

The black mark appears on Rogat's forehead again. A translucent shield appears half way down the lightsabre blade. The blade from the shield to Rogat's shoulder disappears. When Observer moves the sword away from the shield, the blade's length returns to normal.

Most impressive. You can punch through my normal defensive fields. I will have to take care of you quickly.

The Observer continues his attack, but the shield intercepts every attack. Rogat stands still with an amused expression on his face.

This is getting tiresome, and I have a prisoner to catch.

In two quick moves, Rogat knocks the lightsabre from Observer's hands and then grabs him by the throat. He lifts The Observer into the air with one hand.

Fare well.

There is a flash of silver as Adon's sword cuts through the air. The cut takes off the arm that is holding the Observer aloft. The Observer falls to the ground, and the severed limb vanished in a puff of smoke. As he turns and faces Adon, the sleeve returns to it's former length.

Give yourself up, or you will pay.

Rogat glares as another glove extends from the empty sleeve.

Rogat: "You three. It is a good thing for you that I have a prisoner to capture. I'll deal with you later."

Rogat vanishes in his sphere and Adon sinks to his knees. The Observer notices that a large bandage over Adon's chest is quickly turning red.

I'm glad to see you again. You wouldn't happen to have a med-kit on you, would you?

(Observer coughs and gasps, rubbing his throat)

*Thank* you, Adon. He caught me by surprise there. He's going after Artsy! No, we need to fix you first, I know where Artsy is, and Rogat will undoubtedly take some time to home in on her. Now, grit your teeth, Adon, this is necessary.

(Observer crouches down next to Adon, rips the bandage off of the Wanderer's chest, and grimaces at the sight of the wound. Adon grows very pale, and his eyes roll up in his head. Observer gives him a quick slap to bring him around.)

I'm very sorry, Adon, but I need you concious for this. Now, Herneti wah, Herneti Wah, Erdi Nini Defen Gat!

(Adon's horrible wound begins to heal rapidly. He remains concious just long enough to watch it, then he falls limp. Observer waves a hand and sends the Wanderer to his private meditation dimension, the mountain-top.)

That will allow you to heal. I must find Artsy!

(Observer gets to his feet, and begins to run down the street in the direction Artsy fled. The brown-cloaked watcher picks up speed and disappears.)

Rikard turns to Ansh.
I could have done that, but I'm just a little tired. Well not that well but almost. Time to find Artsy.
The duo heads in the direction which the Observer gave chase.

Artsy's fear only clouds her mind for few moments, but she keeps running, hoping that Observer can keep Rogat occupied long enough for her to complete her mission. She steers around people and vehicles, raising dust devils that bewilder her countryfolk, and aiming straight for the home of the possible witness.

When she finally stops in front of the housing complex, Artsy has to stifle a groan. It is an invalid-home, a caretaking place for the chronically or terminally ill. "Wonderful," she mutters. "Maybe the reason there's no transcript is because he can't speak!" But the artist knows she has to try, and fast, so she straightens her hair, which has tried to escape from its net en route, and boldly enters the complex.

It takes her a few tries to find the man she's looking for, but no one gets in her way. Either the diguise Observer has provided for her is working really well, or none of the workers here have been informed that she is loose in the city.

He is an older man, stringy hair grey under a flat black cap, staring out a window with blank eyes. When Artsy approaches he turns his gaze to her without interest.

"Sol Aristh?" she asks, and something in her voice seems to stir his mind. He looks more closely, then says:

"Aren't you that girl? The one who took over my workstation one day a few years back? The one who made artsy things?"

Sudden relief bubbles up inside Artsy; for once things seem to be going her way! He not only recognizes her but can speak rationally about it--and his frank tone of admiration is flattering. "That's right, Mr. Aristh. I'm glad you remember. I wanted to ask you a couple of questions if that's all right with you."

"All right." The old man settles back into his chair and waits for her to continue. Suddenly aware that time is passing, and wondering how much longer she has before she is tracked down once again, Artsy begins to question Aristh about that fateful day and why he had not testified. The answers come easily, but they aren't quite what she had expected....

Artsy, if you would like to chat a bit, I am in Pestichat right now.

Suddenly the anvil disappears and Nah Nah is restored.

THOU SHALT NOT STIFLE NEW AUTHORS!!

Nah Nah is now much more two-dimenstional than he once was, but still hale. He blushes at all this fuss over him. "Please don't take such trouble over me, but thanks for the support. This thread will now continue in the Discussion Section without interrupting the plot."

Anyway, through his long powerful space glasses, he can see the Spidership! It looks like Kiehart has taken the Banshee and has run off to stop the cadre! And something that looks like the Snow Crane has just left the hangar and is warping at full speed towards Earth. He wonders what will happen now.

Ansh and Rikard catch up with The Observer

Where's Artsy going? And will we get there before Rogart?

I hope so. She managed to cover a lot of distance. This will take some magic. Brace yourselves.

(As the three run, the world around them blurs and suddenly they are in the room with Artsy and Aristh. They skid to a stop to avoid running into the walls, resulting in several humorous seconds of flailing their arms and trying to regain their balance. Observer immediately ignites his lightsaber and looks around, warily.)

Artsy, you must come with us. Rogat will be here any second.

Rocket Ranger and crew take off and head for Earth, leaving Tacoman and fleet to follow in a number of minutes
Open a channel to all ships in the fleet.
This is Captain Tacoman. Soon, we will be heading back to Earth to deal with the various threats and conspiracies that have been hounding the LICC. My one request is that you leave the Furby ship to us. Good luck. Tacoman out

Artsy looks up, dismayed. "Observer, I was just getting some very pertinent information here. It might be enough to clear me with the judge--I was recording it, so I have it safe, but if we just take off, won't Rogat follow my trail through here and eliminate Aristh?" She puts protective arm around the old man. "I don't want anyone else hurt because of me--and his testimony will carry much more weight if the witness is still living to corraborate it."

Her hair and eyes shimmer a sad, resigned silvery-purple. "Isn't there something you can do to protect him?"

Rikard pulls out his lightsaber and his sword.

I think that we'll be able to hold him long enough for Artsy to do whatever she has to do.

Wow, I that was a simultaneous post. I didn't even read her post. Pretty good response too. I guess Darth struck again.

If Rogat is cathcing up with Artsy & the others, does that mean he's Rogaining?

Rocket Ranger is piloting the SnowCrane. The rest of the group that went with him is seated behind him.

Okay, the cloak's up and running. We should make it to Earth soon. Just to make sure we're not detected, I've deactivated the SnowCrane's comm system. There's a Concussion Grenade Launcher with 6 grenades in it in the back, if anyone wants it. Does anyone have any suggestions, or any questions?

Are we there, yet?
Are we there, yet?
Are we there, yet?
Are we there, yet?
Are we there, yet?
Are we there, yet?

1. The Greyshirts don't exist anymore; they switched to being Silvershirts.

2. Kent and Wayne are the ONLY Silvershirts, and they're on the ThunderWolf.

Last stop, post 135134. All out please. This is the end of the board for Board XL. Next board, Board XLI! Thank You.

Upon hearing what the Pit Nicker had to say the Greyshirt stopped kicking the seat, put his hands on both sides of his face and screamed,

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooo......."

as he suddenly ceased to exist.