LAST TIME ON LICC...

D'naraf's quest to snatch the pretty book is not going as planned. Morgan has been captured, the team is in disarray, Artsy is losing control without her ring and mean naughty-named folks attacked the Spider! What can be done? Stay tuned!

Delgado is in engineering, helping to supervise the installation and testing of the FTL drive. Suddenly, there is a familiar sounding "ZAP!" and he looks up to see Dnar'af standing in front of the engine core, looking extremely peeved. Delgado hastily finds a com panel.

"Delgado to Commander Adon. I think you should come to engineering, sir. We have a visitor."

Meanwhile...

Nikaren is fascinated by the sphere Kieran has produced, and he is scrutinizing it intently.

"All I have to do is concentrate? Very well..." The image suddenly fluctuates, then the viewpoint becomes that of a meteor hurtling towards the surface. Streaking through the atmosphere, the ground becomes closer and closer, until the shimmering forest can be seen. Nikaren zooms in closer and closer, until the forest fills the view. He can see the swirling patterns of Artsy's madness, and indeed, it almost seems to make sense... But suddenly there is a flash of light from somewhere within the forest, and the colors are abrubtly ended. Startled, Nikaren hurries to a window, where he confirms that the forest has returned to normal. He returns to the Vishva Ankha.

"What was that light I saw? I must get closer."

No...wrong one, wrong one...here!

Milkshake pulls a book out of one of the many shelves in Nikaren's massive library. One quick flip through the tome confirm's it's the prize the team is looking for. Just inside the library door, Jadlad and the two Tacomen finish dragging in the bodies of several stunned guards, pushing them behind an elaborate musical instrument.

We've got it, team, let's move out. Enesku, you take the Rune.

"Why me?" Enesku replies.

You're youngest and smallest, you're our bagman. Girl. Let's go, quickly and quietly.

But I don't even have a bag!

(she stuffs down the front of her clothing)

Well, that'll have to do I suppose.

(seated in front of the elaborate musical instrument, trying to play it)

Oh, do we have to go now?

Morgan puts his hand on his forehead, and his features go slack, before abruptly fastening his coat shut and hobbling once toward the door.

"Feel free to browse the treasure at your leisure, I trust our business is concluded, farewell and goodbye I hope we won't be meeting again." he says breathlessly.

"I think not, my friend." With Keiran's back to him, Nikaren brings out his ring/chain and mumbles a brief chant. The chain starts spinning rapidly and from the ring, a ball of bright blue energy flies out, striking Keiran in the same leg that Helshir favored earlier. This time, the effect is much more pronounced, and Keiran falls to the floor. Nikaren, chain extended, approaches slowly.

"I'm afraid that your bauble, while interesting, does not attract me nearly as much as that coat of yours."

Morgan gasps in pain, grabbing at his left leg.

"Aah...ah...terribly sorry to hear that, old boy. You know, it's not really worth the trouble, I bought it off Amazon.omninet for 87 credits. Do a search for 'Leather bomber jacket'. Meanwhile..."

Morgan's eyes narrow, and suddenly one of the guards' polearm leaps out of his hand and fetches Nikaren a sound blow on the back of his legs, effectively bowling the castleowner over. Morgan then tries to struggle to his feet.

Nikaren is somewhat winded after hitting the ground hard, but he rallies to get the word to his gaurds- "Sound the alarm!" The one whose polearm was used to trip Nikaren up hurries out of the room, and Nikaren starts spinning his chain while the other gaurd swing unsheaths his dagger and moves towards Keiran.

Nikaren's now polearmless guard is tearing down the stone corridor of the castle, trying mightily to reach the nearest guardpost (with its many-chimed alarm) as soon as possible. He reaches the heavily-built door, and tugs it open, just to find a surprised Commander Milkshake, who fires a single stunbolt into the guard's chest.

That makes twenty-eight. How many guards does one castle have on a shift? Team, move out, and stay quiet. I don't know how we'll get across the courtyard a second time if they've found the sentries.

With the much-faster dagger-armed guard between him and the door, the injured Morgan inches his way toward the only other way out, the window overlooking the now-dark forest, stopping once to snatch up the Vishva Ankha from a table.

"You threw it away, Nikaren. You could've had an eye onto things no man for hundreds of years from now will see. Your entire world in your sight. Well, easy come easy go, I guess."

Morgan unfastens his coat just enough to slip the orb into one of the pockets.

Nikaren gets to his feat.

"Fascinating- you speak of the future when you yourself have none!" With that, he casts a spell on his ring. Instantly, a bolt of lightning flies out from the ring, striking Keiran square in the chest, the impact toppling him out the open window...

"Uh...thank the Maker for hay, soft dirt and chicken feathers."

For it is precisely on these materials that the now lightly toasted Morgan has landed, just outside the castle proper. He stares up at the light flickering from the open window far overhead, and despite the dullness in his mind, the stabbing unpleasantness in his left leg, a grated-nerve tingling dead-square in the chest, and the horrible sensation of a near-slipped disk in the spine he's lying on, he feels rather good. And so he makes it to his feet as best he can, and sets out for the dark forest just metres away.

Nikaren watches Keiran fall, then turns to the remaining gaurd.

"We must find the body quickly." They exit the room and walk down the hallway, where they are surprised to find the body of the stunned gaurd lying prostrate in the corridor.

"What? There are more interlopers? Or has Helshir escaped..." He addresses the gaurd. "Get to the library and make sure everything is in order." The gaurd runs off and Nikaren sprints into the post to sound the alarm, which springs to life in a hurry.

Halfway through the courtyard, the team can hear the alarm begin to clang.

"Oh great, we missed one. Move, people, move!"

"Ah, so you finally found that I evaded you, eh, Nikaren?"

A familiar voice causes Nikaren to spin around, ring held ready in hand. His former associate Helshir shakes his head in warning, a glowing blue ball held in one hand.

"I really wouldn't. The FrostSoul can touch you before you can utter one foul chant. We have much to discuss, eh?"

"Ah, there you are. I should have known. Unfortunately for you, I have killed your confederate. I hope that doesn't prove too troublesome for you."

"One confederate, Nikaren? Surely you must know by now many among your personal guards are my men. In fact, I'd be willing to wager anyone rushing to your defense right now is loyal to me. Shall we see what happens when they finally arrive?"

Nikaren smiles a very, very, thin smile.

"An interesting gamble. But, I do not think you know, Helshir, of the many responsibilities that come with the treasures I house. Powers greater than all the might in this castle have a vested interest in the well-being of these items, and I do not believe they will be quite so interested in handing over their gaurdianship to you. Thus, I must... politely... decline."

And with his last word, Nikaren snaps the chain his ring hangs on like the reins of a horse. There is the brief essence of smoke, a ZAP! sound, and Nikaren dissapears.

The doors to engineering open, and Adon walks up to Dnar'af.

Greetings, I am Commander Adon. And you must be the visitor. The one responsible for sending most of the senior staff away.

"Commander, my name is Dnar'af. And yes, you are correct. I am the one your senior officers are now laboring for. I have to say, I am so far unimpressed with the highly-praised Leauge of Intergalactic Cosmic Champions. Perhaps my expectations were too high. But that is not why I am here. I note with some displeasure that you have installed a Faster Than Light drive on this quaint little ship of yours. Under the current conditions of the agreement I made with your Captain, I'm afraid I cannot allow you to actually use it."

Adon folded his arms over his chest. He looked rather annoyed at this latest turn of events.

And why not, if I may ask? As I understood the agreement, you return our ship to normal if we complete some of your chores. If those of us that are left behind can manage to return the ship to some semblance of normality without your help, why should you care? If anything, it will make your job easier.

Hey! What did that announcer mean when he said "mean naughty-named folks attacked the Spider!"

He's making fun of our name!

What?! How dare he make fun of the proud, dignified & melodic name of the Pzz'Dophian people!

Death to the Announcer!!!

(The Pzz'Dophian viewers then storm the K-NIT studios demanding the head of the Anonymous announcer.)

I like the way you people think! How would you all like to be our new Marketing department here at K-NIT TV-47?

Artsy's prone form begins to stir, making soft waking sounds. Rikard, having not seen a crewmate nor recieved a transmission, raises his phaser again, set for light stun. His thumb is on the trigger, when SNAP! The weapon is unexplainably flung out of his hand, spinning off into the underbrush.

A few moments later, Morgan limps into the little clearing with Rikard and Artsy. He acknowledges Rikard with only a nod, but all his attention is fixed on the young woman who is slowly coming to her senses, the riot of colors already beginning to play throughout her hair and apparel. Morgan reaches into his pocket and retrieves something that, to Rikard's eye, glints and sparkles in the broken moonlight.

"The dream is over." says Morgan quietly as he slips the crystal ring onto the fourth finger of Artsy's right hand.

"You must think me naïve, Commander. Certainly it's occured to you to use your fancy new Faster Than Light drive to go somewhere you can get more repairs, or even rescue your crewmates. No, Commander, I'm afraid I can't allow that."

"Oh, right."

The indignant feminine voice from several feet away draws both D'naraf and Adon's attention.

"Can't even help ourselves, we gotta jump through your little hoops. Enjoy this, mister? Have a giggle at the little lifeforms who struggle to play your sadistic games? You're no better than the Qs."

A cool, smooth band slides onto her finger, and Artsy nearly cries out. The beautiful patterns, the flow of visual rhythm and shaded harmony, stop, hesitate, halt, bound by an unbreakable circle of law, of control.

No!, some part of her screams silently.

But the moment of rage and frustration dies as abruptly as it flared, and the artist lifts her head to see the slow fading of color from branch and trunk. To feel a solid certainty in her mind of--ownership. She controls the patterns now, not the patterns her.

Involuntarily her right hand squeezes into a fist, and Artsy looks down in shock.

The glassy, delicate Ring of Craft glints about her finger.

Clutching her hands together, assuring herself of its reality, Artsy glances about for the giver of this gift, and breaks into a brilliant smile, hair and eyes and clothing cascading gold. "Keiran! What--? Where--?"

YES!

Uh-oh...

Also it seems like Dragonette's spell is correcting the problem without Dnar'af's help anyway.

(she holds up what had been her big gun)

An hour ago this was a musket, now it's a Thompson Submachine gun.

(as she holds it in front of Adon & Dnar'af it changes into a 21st century laser rifle)

Cooooooooooool!

Dnar'af regards Ensign Ceffiree with what might almost be termed as bemusement.

"On the contrary, I am not getting any amusement from the present scenario. If I wanted entertainment, I would viset Riley's Pleasure Planet. Now, why don't you let the Commander and I discuss our buisness?"

However, Delgado has used the distraction to make a suggestion to Adon.

"Sir," he whispers, "there's probably nothing we can do to prevent him taking the FTL drive if he wants, but perhaps we can barter for it somehow... see if we can get some upgrades to our medical systems, perhaps?"

Morgan grins, a darker counterpoint to Artsy's golden display of joy.

"Turns out that there was more in that castle across the way than just a strange book. That scamp Dnar'af thought he was plunking us on a totally unfamiliar planet. This is Ryli, maybe a millennium and a half before we ever got here. The Ring was sitting in that dusty old castle under the control of some maniac."

What if I refuse, and use the warp drive anyway? Let me guess, because we aren't going to play, you'll strand everyone you sent away where ever they are with a "too bad, but that Adon character doesn't want to play by the rules. Have fun with the locals!" Right?

Adon's gaze became as hard as diamond. His hair began to stand on end (as did everyone else's in the room) and his cloak began to slowly billow around him. The bulkheads and equipment in the room creaked and groaned as a slight quiver ran though the room.

Because if that happens, I won't be happy. And it wouldn't matter where you ran, or how long you hid, I would find you and then you would regret ever being born.

The tention in the room calmed immensely as everything suddenly returned to normal.

But perhaps it won't come to that. You want some trinket or errand ran in exchange for returning the ship to normal. Then send me to get whatever you wanted in exchange for the warp drive. Then the ship could get underway for an area that has more friendly ships in the area than what we may run across out here. If any of the enemies that we have made over the years were to hear of our predicament, this ship would be easy prey.

After all, it would be a shame if the ship was destroyed while everyone was away doing favors for you, wouldn't it?

After a moment of searching, Rikard finds his pistol and looks up to see Keiran slipping a ring onto her finger. The ring she had until recently always had. He holsters his weapon and approaches his two crewmates, crouching next to them.
Obsy, man, you look like hell. Where've you been? Is she okay now? And are you okay?

Dnar'af is really non-plussed by all the posturing.

"Interesting trick. Let me attempt to make this clear to you. If you try to use your warp drive, I will stop you. Simple as that. I will not strand your crew in the distant boondocks of the galaxy, rather, I shall retain them until they have completed their work and then they shall return to you.

Your concern for your ship, while admirable, is not nessecary. Yes, you have many enemies who would not flinch at the chance of obliterating you, but while your crew is away, they will never find you. Any hostile ship that you cannot defeat in your present condition is being kept away.

Now, the offer that you make is an interesting one, however, the goal at the end of my quest is not something that can be merely found and picked up by any whip-carrying neophyte. If you had been present when your captain was choosing the team, perhaps you would have made a useful addition, but for now I suggest you contain your magnificent bravado and tend to the command of your crew until the rest of your comrades have been restored.

And finally, Commander... if I thought that sword of yours would do any damage to me whatsoever, I would invite you to slay me where I stand. But it can't, and neither could any of the countless other devices at your disposal. But in every life, one must get used to dissapointments."

Nikaren materializes in a dark place. He does not know where he is, he only knows that this is where he was told to go if any crisis emerged... and Helshir's uprising seems to qualify.

There is very little light in the room. Nikaren can just manage to make out a simple wooden box resting on a simple wooden table at the other end of the room. He crosses to it and places his hands on the box's lid, preparing himself to open it. Once he is ready, he swings the box open, and the room is filled with a warm golden light. After a brief moment, a voice can be heard from inside.

"Speak to us, Rune-Keeper."

Nikaren wets his lips before beginning.

"My Lords, there is a problem. One of my subordinates, Helshir, is staging an uprising against me. I cannot tell yet which of my gaurds and officers can be trusted, and thus I do not know how I can ensure the Rune's safety here. What can I do?"

Pause.

"Rune-Keeper, there is nothing we can do about your subordinate. However, those who have sworn their loyalty to you, and not yet broken it, have also sworn their royalty to the Rune, and can be identified by casting the spell of Obedience to the Rune. Find your men this way, then locate the Rune. It may have already been seized; you know how to track it. The Rune must not leave your world."

"Very well, I shall do this." Nikaren closes the box, and quickly withdraws his ring chain once again, flicks it, and transports himself to the woods outside his castle. Peering from the trees, he can see three gaurds at an enterance. They are alert, as the alarm is still sounding. Nikaren spins the chain around and murmurs an incantation. A silver light emanates from the chain, and breaks into three energy spheres, each of which hits a startled gaurd. In two of the gaurds, the light remains shining in the middle of their chests, but in the third, it dissapates almost immediately. Whirling his ring again, Nikaren sends a powerful bolt of lightning into the chest of the third gaurd, killing him instantly. He then runs up to the gaurds, who have their weapons drawn.

"Leige! You live!" says one.

"Lord Helshir said you had been assasinated," the other explains.

"Far from true. Helshir is attempting a takeover. I need my best men by my side now."

Both gaurds vouch their unfailing loyalty to Nikaren, and the trio moves out to round up more supporters. Within minutes, a group of nearly two dozen is skirting the trees of the forest.

"Now," Nikaren adresses his men, "our duty at this time is to ensure the safety of one of the items in the library, a Rune which I was entrusted with by powers unknown. I must cast a spell to see if it has been disturbed."

Nikaren grows very quiet, and instead of spinning his ring, he holds it out at arms length. Though his lips are moving, none of his men can make out the incantation, but they are soon distracted by the ring, which begins to glow red hot. Suddenly, a thin beam of white light shoots out of the ring, pointing across the trees to the courtyard. Nikaren grows pale.

"The Rune has been taken. However, they do not appear to have left the castle grounds. Come, if we hurry, we can find the thief, or theives..."

The group moves out, headed towards an unwitting group of LICCers...

The team reaches the far wall, and begins to climb the unused spiral stairway leading up the wall.

All right, first to reach the ropes go down immediately. We meet in the staging area half a click away. Enesku, you go first.


Soft footfalls approach from across the courtyard.

What's that?

And suddenly Quinn is perched upon the battlements, twirling a small twig in his leathery hands.

"That...is the ruler of this castle. And I'm very anxious to see how you deal with this.

Dnar'af is really non-plussed by all the posturing.

So he was minused?

Jackson, Alex, and Butrfli look up the stairway.
Butrfli: Sir, for the three of us, I can us a simple transport spell to get us to the ropes... I could even whip up a fog effect to confuse things a little.
Jackson: Plus, the boots Alex and I are wearing have a hover and jet feature... we could fly along with Butrfli if needed.

Milkshake replies in a tense whisper.

Remember the mission parameters. We've already caused an alarm, but we want to display as little out of the ordinary as we can. No magic. No technology besides that which is necessary. Let's get out as normally and quickly as possible.

Adon breaks out laughing at Dnar'af's last comment.

Oh, if I had a credit for every time I heard that song and dance about how I couldn't slay someone over the centuries, I would be a very wealthy person right now.

However, I'm not going to sit around and twittle my thumbs while you wait for us to finsh your chores for you, and your claim that we will be able to handle whatever comes are way is less than encouraging.

The nearby intercom activated itself.

Bridge. Plot a course for friendlier skies and bring the warp drive online.

The engineering crew began scurring around as they brought the warp core online and began preparations to leave, trying their best to ignore Dnar'af and Adon's little contest of wills in the center of the room. Finally, it was announced that the warp drive was online and everything was functioning properly.

Engage.

No, he stayed the same, minused would be 'un-plussed', not 'non-plussed'

Morgan looks down and notices his rather pitiful appearance, bandages and bruises and all. He replies to Rikard's concerned queries with a rather off-hand air. Trying too hard to look nonchalant? Perhaps.

"I've had worse, tell you the truth. But if Milkshake and the others don't know what they're getting into, we could all be in a sticky situation."

He turns back to Artsy, who is clasping her now safely-beringed hand with the other.

"Are you all right now, love?"

...and as soon as Adon gave the command, the entire Warp Drive dissapeared from the ship as if it had never been there to begin with.

"I'm sorry, Commander. But you left me with no choice. After I leave, consider that I have not stripped away the quarantine field you also bartered for."

And with a ZAP! Dnar'af departs.

And with the Warp Drive disappeared, two conduits leading from the ship's fuel tanks now terminate in...nothing. The engineers quickly shut down the antimatter and matter feeds, but there is the matter of the few grams of antimatter present in the conduit to charge the line...

BOOM!

Rikard silently watches his two companions, hoping to find some of the answers to the questions running through his mind. He then hears a snap, and footsteps. They're far away yet still close enough for Rikard to take caution. He stands up and stares into the forest, toward the direction of the sounds he hears. Someone is nearby, coming close. How close, he wasn't sure, but he did know that it was more than one individual. Many more than one. He crouches down next to Keiran and Artsy again, listening.

Ryli? Artsy shivers as her manic work vanishes from the living foliage; this display was too much like the false accusation that had been leveled against her on homeworld before, the destruction of a live forest for 'mere art'.

"Are you all right now, love?"

She smiles at his concern, gold again flooding out gray, and puts an arm around Keiran's shoulders. "Yes, I think so." The ring glints on her finger as she reaches up to pull his head down to hers--

But Keiran breaks off the kiss before it can start, listening, and in a moment Artsy can hear something as well....

Jackson: Steve, do you hear something? I think it's time to go...

Keiran listens for just another moment, then whispers.

"We might have enough time to get up in the trees. Josh, will-?"

And then at least six men crash into the clearing in the exact opposite direction from which the sounds came. All are armed with the medieval Rylian version of projectile weapons, and all are clad in the blue and gold of Nikaren's guards. The head man smiles.

"Ah, there we go. All right, all of you, back to the castle."

Guard # 2 leans in toward the leader.

Sir, should we not first be certain that they have the Rune? These may not be the thieves that we are after.

On the ship, the matter/antimatter explosion would normally be quite enough to cause the ship to be blown to smithareens, but somehow, the force of the explosion is channeled into the archaic deflector grid and dissapates harmlessly into space.

On the planet, Nikaren and his contingent have spotted the ropes leading over the wall, and they crouch in the forest nearby, weapons and various implements of sorcery at the ready. The footsteps Milkshake heard, it should be noted, were actually for Helshir's men, searching for Nikaren.

"Who's there? Halt!" one of them calls out.

At the base of the wall, Nikaren instructs his men.

"Wait until they reach the ground. We must determine which one is carrying the Rune. Once we know that, we can kill the others."

"No, even if they aren't the thieves, Nikaren will want to deal with trespassers in his private forest. Back we go, now."

Enesku is down the rope first, followed closely by Jadlad, her escort. Two by two, the team quickly descend from the walls, moments ahead of the approaching footsteps. Milkshake is the last, guarding the anchored cords, as several guards burst out of the covered section of the wall not 30 feet away.

"Stop!" they cry, in the manner of guards everywhere.

Milkshake responds by firing two stun-bolts in their general direction, then taking a rope in a gloved hand, skimming down, almost in a freefall, the rope smoking with the friction. He hits the ground, turns toward the rest of his team, and...

...a bolt of lightning, provided by Nikaren, scorches over his shoulder. He immediately decuces Milkshake to be the Rune carrier, and shouts for his men to focus their attacks on the rest of the group. He sends another bolt of lighting out, missing once again.

I've never missed with this spell since I learned it... he thinks. Something is very strange here, but I can't quite grasp what...

Meanwhile one of his gaurds manages to get off a fireball which explodes at Insane's feet, sending him tumbling.

Very slowly, Rikard stands up, his phaser pistol still held in one hand. Morgan attempts to stand and accidentally places too much weight on his left leg. With a groan, he half falls to the ground, and a firm hand immediately grabs hold of his shoulder, preventing him from tumbling completely over. Artsy gently helps him to his feet. Morgan smiles in thanks. Without the use of his magic, the young artist is quite a bit stronger than he is.

"We surrender, sirs." Morgan says, and the group of guards relax imperceptibly. But before anyone can do much else, Morgan turns toward Josh. "Trespassing? I'm fairly stunned anyone could suggest such a thing, stunned! We were never harassed for playing in the wide field and forests at home, were we?"

Rikard hides his pistol in his native clothing before the guards see it. He answers Keiran.

"No, no we weren't. Things were so much simpler. Just because we happen to be hanging around in a nice little open forest in the dead of night means we're doing something wrong. What is this kingdom coming to? I remember when we didn't have to bolt our doors in fear and lock our animals up to protect them from thieves. We used to be so safe and now look. Neighbors can no longer trust neighbors and that's a shame."

After the damage from the explosion is taken care of as best it can be, Adon meets with the highest ranking crew left aboard in the Conference Room.

All right, this is what we're going to do. First off, set the ship's course for the nearest habitable planet and engage at full impulse. Lets try and shorten the distance as much as we possibly can.

Next, I want a catalogue of every piece of equpment we have onboard, right down to each screw and wire. I want to know exactly what we have to work with.

Finally, we're going to take what we have and either build, modify, or design a new drive system from the ground up. I don't really want to hang out in space for the next few decades slowly crawling back.

As for me, I'm going to try and find out all that I can about this Dnar'af character, and see what can be done about him.

The team reacts admirably, spinning about to face the incoming fire, dropping down low to present the smallest profile possible, and putting their weapons at the ready. Milkshake springs in front of the downed Insane.

Return fire!

The Leaguers begin to spray stun-bolts into the forest.

Nikaren and his men dive to the ground, but not before two of them are hit by the stun bolts. He orders his men to pin the LICCers down and casts the Rune-finding spell once again, and is surprised when the beam of light settles on Enesku.

"She! She has the Rune! Concentrate your power on the others!"

Sir, they're using magic. Should we fight magic with magic?

Defensively, see if you can set up some kind of shield, Butr--

A fireball almost parts Milkshake's hair.

@#$$! We're too exposed here. Jadlad, Enesku, try to make it around that tower and break for the trees!

Milkshake reaches into his armored vest and pulls out a small metal sphereoid, which he squeezes once, then tosses into the forest.

Aye, sir.
Butrfli begins to chant, and soon enough, every team member is enveloped in a slightly glowing aura. She chants again, and suddenly a wall of fog rolls in between our heroes and the bad guys.
There. Individual but temporary shielding for everybody, and fog so we can escape easier. I can give them a little lightning too, if you like. Maybe a small fireball or two...

Even as he flings lightning bolts, Nikaren has to be somewhat impressed at the level of defensive magic used by the LICC. He's so impressed, he doesn't even see Milkshake toss his spheroid.

"Follow the one with the bag!"

Butrfli begins chanting again, this time providing extra security and shielding around Enesku. It scatters and confuses Nikaren's magic so that he can't get a fix on who has the book. She casts a confusion spell on the bad guys chasing them.
Sir, I can unfold my wings and blow these guys away...

(whispers to Butrfli)

I think you're drawing too much attention to me. Remember, they're after 'the one with a bag'. I don't have a bag, it's all in here.

(presses her hand against the book stuffed down the front of her chest, and nearly knocks her breath out in the process)

Day 187. It is with much sadness that I report the death of the Hawkflint's Onboard Computer. It was beginning to lick its infected wounds and suddenly contracted a fatal I/O Port disease. Needless to say, he was in so much pain that we had to have it put down. It is my only wish that his remains be used to replace the broken cogs in the ship's life-support sluice valve pump.

My new task this week is to assist Ensigns Pigeon and Lingus in charting every last piece of scrap left on this ship. It's mostly useless junk such as brass knobs, mousemats, tactical nuclear missiles, etc. but we're slowly getting through. One whole sector of the ship's engineering section is under radiation quarantine following the loss of our FTL Drive, so guess who's job it is to clean it out? That's rignt, the Ship's Official Crewman 9th-Class! Of interest, I saw among the debris of that deck an odd-looking calling card of an alien design. It was right next to where the FTL drive had been. It only had the following message: "L Hip." Maybe someone had found a new way to disarm an assailant using emotopuncture needles through the left hip? Whatever it is, I'll report it to Delgado... maybe.

Speaking of which, Delgado approached me today. He asked me to see him in his office after my shift ended. For what? Maybe he's curious about this calling-card thing I found already. Maybe it has his mother's brother's number on the back. Maybe he knows how it feels to lose a loved one like the Hawkflint computer, and is trying to play the sympathy card to someone like me. Or maybe he's finally seen through my charade and wants to "out" me. OK, so maybe that time I punched Kallie and Konnie in the docking bay had something to do with it. They're trying to put me into the Brig for good, convinced that it's these terrible nightmares which are affecting my work and my sanity. Mind you, annoying bunkmates can also affect one's work and sanity. As can PMT.

Must dash. The Commander's coming this way. Time to make these titanium shoe-horns look useful.

Bye for now.

R

Delgado approaches Commander Adon.

"Sir, it occurs to me that there may be some way for me to provide some illumination about Dnar'af. Prior to being hit with the obsolescence beam, my bag included a PADD with the ship's cultural archives downloaded onto it. I can't gaurantee that it will be in any useful form, but that data may still exist somewhere inside the bag."

Meanwhile, on the planet, Nikaren is becoming more and more confused, not to mention desparate. He sends lightning bolts zapping every which way, narrowly missing his own people, of which there are increasingly fewer as the LICC stun bolts strike true. But his attention is diverted as the gaurds bring Keiran, Artsy, and Rikard to him.

"You! You're still not dead? How can that be?"

Morgan shrugs.

"A lot of people over a lot of time have taken turns trying to kill me. I suppose you learn from things like that. What matters now is I'm not going to hold back this time. I'd advise you to withdraw, before you realize how deep the water is in which you stand."

Rikard slowly moves toward the lead guard. Standing behind him, he very softly speaks.
"We're not enemies of the king."
The guards expression becomes a little blank as he speaks to Nikaren. "Sir, they are not enemies of the king."
Rikard continues,"We're only passing through."
"They're only passing through," the guard says.
"We're not a threat, we only wish to go home," Rikard says.
"They're not a threat, they only wish to go home."

Get the PADD and try and get that data any way you can. I can still open a portal, so I can leave, and I'll try and find out some information myself. I would just send the entire ship through a portal, but there's no way I could get something this size through.

I'm leaving you in command until I get back.

Adon opened a portal.

Oh, and have Crewman 9th-Class R Jimlad clean out the bathrooms. The auto-cleaners have been down and they're getting ripe.

Adon steps through the portal and vanishes.

Artsy lets Keiran and Rikard do the talking, and concentrates on keeping even her normally involuntary color-change under control. If the enemy don't take too much notice of her, she may be the group's only element of surprise. Even if the only materiels she will have to work with are whatever makes up their surroundings....

"Right." Delgado orders two crewmen to tote his bag up to the bridge. After being hit by the obsolescence wave, the bag still holds all that it did before, however this makes it extremely heavy. He also sends a runner down to Crewman 9th class Jimlad to inform him of his new assignment.

On the planet, Nikaren has a difficult decision to make, one made all the more difficult by the ensuing firefight. He first adresses the gaurd that Rikard was talking to.

"I would almost believe you, if you had not arrived in the company of him," he indicates Keiran. "As for you, yes, I'm sure you've made no shortage of enemies. But there is no man that does not have someone capable of overpowering them, and I find your warnings of not holding back less than convincing. Therefore, prepare yourself."

Nikaren begins whilring his chain...

Muttering to Milkshake
Sir, should I step in and do something, either magical or non-magical? If nothing else, I can hit the guy with my staff...

(wishes he were still a jedi so he could also use jedi mind-tricks)

Morgan concentrates but a moment, and Nikaren's mystic chain and ring suddenly becomes searingly hot to the touch!

(sigh) You make everything *so* complicated.

(steps forward to Nikaren, and seductively starts caressing his shoulders)

Now, surely you won't let him (indicating Keiran) cloud your judgement... surely you know some of us are... (looks wide-eyed as she stares him in the face) completely innocent. Now, surely you'll prove to us that you're really a nice guy, a really nice guy, under that stern exterior... but then, some people like stern, don't they? I must admit (starts to giggle) I have a little weakness for it myself. I bet all your soldiers and henchman... (put on a look of concern) must *infuriate* you so much. (all this time she has slowly been carressing the hand which holds the chain, which he is slowly letting go of) They just don't understand your orders... maybe you need someone who *does* understand you. (she reaches up and kisses him lightly on the lips, her hand now holding the chain. Those around her notice that she is emitting a powerful pheremone, directed straight at Nikaren) I can't think of anyone myself (looking modest) but someday... someone might come along... (she kisses him again, and moves her shoulders around) but I must confess... (as she wriggles her shoulders, one of the shoulders of her clothing slides down, baring her own shoulder - which was her intent. What was not, however, was the way that the book of Rune suddenly sticks out of her top. Nikaren starts to notice...)

Muahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaa!
I strike again!

What with his chain suddenly turning against him and the ever-erotic Enesku cozying up to him, Nikaren is momentarily quite confused as to what to do. He is, briefly, eager to follow Enesku's lead, but then he spies the Rune and his head clears.

"There!" He makes a lunge for the book...

...when Enesku is pulled away bodily, replaced by a smiling Keiran Morgan, who lets Nikaren have it right in what used to be colloquially referred to as the 'kisser'. Rikard takes the opportunity to unholster his phaser, and Artsy ring shines as she begins to work with her uncanny artistic talents...

All right, Butrfli, I want you to take out as many guards as you possibly can. Stun, distract, just don't kill. The head guy there, it looks like our long-lost comrades can handle.

Milkshake creeeps up to the little fracas a couple of hillocks away, stunner at the ready. The closest guards to Nikaren and Keiran raise their weapons to attack when their lord is struck, but Milkshake snaps off two carefully-aimed shots, eliminating the threats.

Making a heavy "Guh!" noise, Nikaren falls backwards onto the ground. He seizes the staff of one of his fallen men and swings it around under the legs of everyone in the immediate vicinity, taking out Rikard and Artsy...

"HOLY-!"

Rikard hits the ground with a thud, dropping his phase pistol. It lands several feet away, behind a few guards. Rikard hops back up.

"Alright buddy, you asked for it," he says, staring Nikaren down. He reaches for his belt and grabs his lightsaber. He brings it out and activates it. The only problem is that it's now a flashlight.

"Ah man," he says as Nikaren swings again. Rikard jumps out of the way and hurls the flashlight at Nikaren, hitting him in the shoulder. He then rushed toward the guards standing near his phase pistol, tackling the one closest to him.

Butrfli looks towards Jackson and Alex
You heard the man, get the guards!
Setting their weapons on stun, the Duprees begin firing on any guard they see. Meanwhile, Butrfli sends her staff flying towards other guards, knocking them out. Seeing a group of guards descending the stairs, Jackson fires, knocking them all out. Alex rushes over, grabs Rikard's pistol, and tosses it to him.
Here, catch!

Taking advantage of the confusion, Butrfli creates bags for our heroes. Each bag registers to Nikaren as the one with the rune.

Nikaren absorbs the flashlight blow and squares himself again, channeling his magical energy into the staff, preparing to send out a MOALB*. Unfortunately, he has completely forgotten about Helshir's men on the parapet above, and the position Nikaren is in now is their clearest shot at him of the entire fracas. He begins chanting the spell, ready to fry the nearest LICC member (who happens to be Rikard), when his back suddenly erupts with the icy needles of Frost Soul. He gasps and drops his spear, freezing (no pun intended) in place...


* Mother of All Lightning Bolts

"FIRRREEE!" Helshir thunders, holding the FrostSoul in one hand, thrusting it toward the battle down below. The mystical orb flashes again and again, not striking Leaguers, but members of Nikaren's own guard. One by one, the blue-and-gold clad soldiers fall to piercing bolts of ice-energy. But then, a wounded loyal guard picks up his master's fallen staff, still crackling with energy, and looses its power at the high parapet.

The aim is true, and the massive lightning bolt slams into the edge of the wall where Helshir and his men stand, ripping it apart. When everyone's eyes clear, nothing remains there but a large gash in the solid stone wall.

Morgan shakes his head, his ears ringing from the explosion. Nikaren stands in place, eyes wide with pain, no longer in possession in his staff. But somehow, he still has his ring and chain in his hand. Artsy rushes forward, dodging a guard who is promptly cut down by Alex Tacoman. Her ring glints, and both can see the sudden look of rage in Nikaren's eye as he catches sight of his lost treasure. Despite being gravely wounded, Nikaren begins to whirl his chain, and Morgan can feel the deadly energies being summoned by the spell in Nikaren's mind, the enemy's eyes fixed firmly on Artsy.

Without thinking about it, Morgan slips his hand into his rift-pocket, feeling through that otherworldly space until his fingers wrap around a cylinder, cold to the touch. And in one instant, his hand whips the lightsaber out, ignites its golden blade, and brings it straight down in a mighty arc. Right down on Nikaren.

The pieces of Nikaren's body fall to the ground, the last noises before an odd silence befalls the woods. The LICC members look about and notice that they are the only ones left standing, with all the gaurds and castle debris littered about the landscape. Remembering Dnar'af's instructions, the team heads back to the clearing where they first arrived.

Dnar'af is waiting for the team at the edge of the clearing. He surveys their battered, bruised, and in Kerian's case, bedraggled state for a moment before adressing them.

"Have you the Rune?"

Eneksu produces the requested item and hands it over, wordlessly. Dnar'af runs his fingers over the binding in obvious contentment, losing himself, if only for a moment, in the prize he has sought. Soon, he snaps out of his reverie and returns his gaze to the LICC as a whole.

"You have acheived a partial victory here. Yes, I now hold the Rune in my hands, but certain parties wishing to keep it from me now most likely know that I am at least in search of it, if not in posession of it already. This will very likely complicate matters further later on. However, I am a man of my word, and once I have delivered you to your next location, I will complete the promised upgrade to your long-range sensors. In fact, let us journey there now..."

With a ZAP! he takes the group far, far away. They materialize on a beach, at night, on some alien world. Looking about them, they can see a spa that has been built on the edge of the beach before them. Dnar'af indicates the main building.

"Here is where I must leave you for the time being. Inside, you will find that arrangements have been made for your stay, complete with proper medical care for those who may need it. Feel free to relax and enjoy yourselves, and rest for your next task. Indeed, it will be one where strength certainly matters. For now... goodbye..." And he vanishes.

On the ship, Delgado is still waiting for the bag to be brought to him when a ZAP! heralds Dnar'af's return to the bridge. Before Delgado can rise to challenge him, Dnar'af has made his way over to the obsolete sensor panel, where he sets the Rune on an adjacent workstation. He closes his eyes, places his hands on the panel, and concentrates very hard. For a few seconds, there is nothing. Then, a faint rumble can be heard from the console, accompanied by a brilliant light emanating from the panel's surface. The phenomena grow steadily, until Delgado is forced to cover his ears at the volume of the rumble. The panel too, dissapears from the light, grows brighter, brighter still...

And then it all ceases. When Delgado opens his eyes, he finds that the sensor panel has been restored to its previous glory. Dnar'af turns to face Delgado.

"Your crewmates have succeeded in their first task. So here I am. Too bad your Commander Adon couldn't be here... I would have liked to see his reaction..."

"Is the crew all right?"

"For the most part, yes."

"For the most part?"

"There were some injuries, but nothing too dramatic. They're all recouperating as we speak. But I have no time for small talk." Dnar'af picks up the Rune. "I have some studying to do. Farewell."

Delgado regards the newly operation sensors after Dnar'af leaves. Just then, the doors to the bridge open, revealing a whole load of crewmen struggling to bring Delgado's bag onto the bridge.

"Not having too much trouble there, are you?"

"Well, a few redshirts were crushed earlier..."

"Fine, fine. Here, just take it into the Captain's Ready Room. I'll study the contents in there. In the meantime, Lieutenant, you have the bridge. Use the sensors to scan for the nearest inhabited planet, and set a course at our top speed, whatever that is."

And with that, he walks into the Ready Room to begin his search.

"Medical care, yes, that's probably a good idea." Morgan says, seeming to wilt now that the situation no longer calls for unceasing vigilance.

I think we could all use some sleep. It sounds like we're going to need it.

"Alright then K, let's get you some treatment. We wouln't want anything permanant now would we? Need any help getting over there," Rikard asks, indicating the building.

Kauri unlocked her house and disabled the alarm, thinking that nothing was wrong. She set down the bags she was carrying and opened the door to her study/home office. Her chair slowly swung around to reveal that Adon was sitting in it. She yelled out in supprise.

Kauri: "Adon! What are you doing here?"

Adon: "I need you to do something for me."

She frowned.
Kauri: "You're not in trouble again, are you?"

Adon: "Of course not! I just wanted the help of the greatest seer in the known multiverse, that's all."

Kauri: "Fine, I'll help you. But you have to do that with me."

Adon: "Do I have to? I am in a bit of a hurry."

She pouted.
Kauri: "You promised."

Adon sighed.
Adon: "All right.:

Three hours later, Adon and Kauri walked out of a nearby casino with a large bag of cash that they won at the games.

"Lopez to Spidership. Our screens went dead and we have no view ports. I guess they were worried about the Airheadians being distracted by all the shiny stars. What the heck is going on out there?"

More amused-pink than concerned-grey, Artsy pulls Keiran's arm around her shoulders and steers him towards the main building. The stars, visible through the hazy sea-level atmosphere, remind her of something. "I wonder how Seeker and the rest of the LICC are doing," she vetures quietly.

Crewman 9th-Class R Jimlad: (speaking into dictaphone) "This is hopeless! We're finally making some progress here and I'm nowhere to be seen when it happens! Well, by nowhere to be seen I'm really stuck in these bathrooms cleaning out every filthy hair from these rusting plugholes. A far cry from the good old days on the Hawkflint before it was a pile of broken kiddie bricks, you might say, yes? Uh-oh, someone's coming. Gotta sign off." (sings to self) Oh, scrub scrub scrub away, my life is being scrubbed away away...

Crewman 1st-Class Ottoman Empire: Can I help you, Crewman?

Jimlad: You again. What needs to be done now?

Empire: Well I don't believe we've properly introduced ourselves yet. I'm Crewman 1st-Class Empire, your new supervisor, but you can call me Ottoman. Well, just Otto. I must say, it's good to see another Volunteer Reservist on the ship.

Jimlad: R Jimlad, Crewman 9th-Class. That's right, the first name is just a letter. R.

suddenly a host of familiar-looking demons appear in fromt of Jimlad, but of course only the 9th-Class crewman can see and hear them...

Xanadu: Jimlad! Don't be a fool! He's trying to rip you off again! He'll ask you to paint the ship neon-yellow now!

Empire: Such a nice name, that... R.

Glitter: Yeah, right, as if "Ottoman Empire" is the height of sophistication...

Jimlad: Well, what sort of name is Ottoman Empire, exactly?

Zardoz: Yeah, you tell it to him like it is, R!

Empire: To be honest, I tried asking my brothers Roman, British and NeoCon and they don't know, either.

Ishtar: What a loser. Jimlad, do him for us, please.

Jimlad: Sounds weird. Anyway, why do you continue to be the Commander's stool pigeon, if you don't mind me saying? And what do you want me to do now? Paint the hull neon-yellow?

Empire: Hey, don't kill the messenger yet--

Showgirls: Hmmmm. Another good idea...

Empire: --I'm only here to make pleasant conversation. After all, you've had a bit of a rough time of late.

Jimlad: Don't remind me. No, really, don't. I have enough troubles as it is--

Gigli: Yeah, that's right! Us!

Jimlad: --without having someone trying to be "friendly" and lovey-dovey with me. Please, leave me alone to my scrubbing.

Empire: Well fine, if you want to be a loner on this big ship. I'm just trying to brighten your day, that's all.

Xanadu: I can think of several ways to brighten up your day, Jimlad. Having "Ottoman"'s head on a plate might be one of them.

Jimlad: Well, you can start by helping me scrub this floor. (starts looking around in a panic)

Showgirls: Touche, R.

Ishtar: Yeah, R, I say we do this chump right now!

Gigli: You chicken or what, Jimlad? He's dead meat!

Jimlad: (to demons) GO AWAY, YOU MONSTERS!!!

Empire: (shocked) Crewman? You OK?

Showgirls: Ha-ha-haaa! You're in trouble now, R!

Jimlad: I, er, well, that is to say there were these...

Empire: I think you ought to rest your weary head for a while now. Come now. My quarters can easily accommodate two of us for the moment...

Glitter: NOW, Jimlad! Now's our chance! If you don't do him this moment, he'll have you thrown into space for good!

Zardoz: Come ON, Crewman! Are you up to it? Kill him this moment! He's been nothing but trouble since you first set your eyes on him!

Jimlad: No... wait... I can...

Empire: Just for a few minutes? Can I even interest you in some... coffee?

Gigli: AAAAGH! Warning bells! Warning bells! Do it NOW!

All demons: Do it! Do it!!! DO IT!!!

Jimlad: I... don't... think... so...

Jimlad grabs the Calling Card found previously and punches Empire in the back. As Empire falls, however, he bursts into billions upon billions of tiny, invisible fragments! Jimlad stands tall, pleased yet somewhat disturbed by all that's happened. This certainly never happened to Konnie and Kallie...

Showgirls: YES! You da man, Jimlad! You da man!

Zardoz: He won't bother us again.

Ishtar: Not for a while, at least. I suspect he'll be back.

Gigli: But hey, I knew you had it in ya, Jimlad!

Glitter: Now you REALLY ARE one of us!

All demons: ONE OF US! ONE OF US! ONE OF US!

Xanadu: Sh*t! Delgado's coming! Hide!

the demons disappear. But Delgado has seen everything... well everything except those demons of course.

Delgado: My office NOW, young man.

Jimlad: (glowers at Delgado) What do you mean, "man"?

Over the Siliconian ship's communication system comes the Doctor's voice

Ah, Mr. Lopez. You'll be glad to know that the tests I ran on you have shown that you are not contagious. However you have had your genetic structure altered.

Would you like to be beamed back to the Spidermobile to discuss it or shall I beam over there?

Once close to the main building, the Leaguers begin to realize something is out of the ordinary on this alien planet. The complex is surrounded by a beautiful parklike area, with extremely wide paths and flower beds that reach to eye level. Once they reach the door of the main level, the minor mystery is explained.

Orange-skinned beings hustle and bustle inside the large atrium-like center of the spa building, not a one under perhaps 16 feet tall. The desks, chairs, doors, everything inside is built to the natives' proportions. As they pass through what seems to be the lobby, several of the natives react with amusement, chuckling and pointing.

The (supposed) female at the receptionist's desk smiles, revealing thin purple teeth, as the group troops near.

"Hello there, you must be the small party we were expecting!" She makes a honking noise with the nasal flaps just below her eyes. "Everything's been prepared, Mr. Daenaeraff set your appointment. I'm afraid we'll have to give you quarters normally reserved for small children, but they should be comfortable enough. If you'll just follow the hosts to the relaxation wing, we'll set you up."

The receptionist peers through her conical eye-lenses at Keiran. "Looks like you're not all right, young man. We'll take you to the healer's wing."

A native who seems even taller and more massive than the rest comes forward, picks up Keiran like a child, and begins to carry him off toward another section of the complex.

"What do you mean not contagious? Every person I come in contact with treats me like I'm L. Ron freakin' Hubbard and following me everywhere I go! And that's just the men! The women think I'm some Adonis type. I mean I'm no Homer Simpson here. You have to be in good shape to be a pilot, but I'm not exactly Johnny Depp either, you know?"

"Oh, this does not look good. Queep queep queep."

The green-garbed healer has been 'queep'ing all throughout Keiran's examination, and as best he can figure it is the equivalent of a human 'tsk'.

"The limb is in advanced coldburn. Very bad, we'll have to regrow the cells completely. The bone looks all right, though. This burn through the torso is terrible, it almost looks electrical. That needs new cells as well. At least the spine-rings can be set right with a little pressure. Now I don't know what you were getting into, my diminuative patient, but stay away from these things in future."

"Yes, Doc." Keiran replies dutifully.

No Mr. Lopez, i don't have the slightest idea what you are talking about. I've never heard of this Jonny Dep or Elrond Hubber. I take it you want me to beam over there then?

Having finally settled the question of whom beams where, the Doctor & Grant Lopez get together and discuss his condition.

As I said before your condition is not contagious, but is the result of some genetic alterations done to you. Unfortunately in the Spidermobile's current condition I don't have the proper equipment to attempt to restore you. We don't even have the records of your last transporter trace.

However I was able to come up with this spray. It will temporarily counter the hormones your body is producing so that you should be able to interact with others as you previously did.

One more thing. It seems that you may have some control over this. Your production of hormones increased when I accidentally activated the surgical instruments in this robot body.* If you do have control over this you may be able to 'turn it off' with practice.

* Previous board

*sigh* "All right. I just wish I knew WHY the Siliconians did this to me."

Ugh.

Milkshake is shown the way to a private room. Being reserved for small children, the furnishings is only this side of too large, but that suits the tall commanding officer all right. Feeling the effects of not sleeping since before the battle with Taconator, he drops his armor, equipment and weapons right next to bed, collapses on it, uniform and all, and falls right asleep.

I believe the Siliconians who did this to you are prisoners on the Siliconian ship you appropriated. Maybe you should ask them?

The Siliconian doctors were not hard to find. Their breasts were only a D-cup instaed of a Double D, their hair color was plain-colored and tied up in buns, some of them had a wrinkle or two, and some of them were really, really old, like say, 30 - 35.

Oh, and they wore lab coats instead of capes.

One was brought, in restraints, to answer Grant & the Doctor's questions.

Alex, Butrfli, and Jackson are shown to their rooms, and like Commander Milkshake, drop their stuff and fall right to sleep.

Grant Lopez sighed. "Look, I'm no good at this interogation thing, I've been awake for two days straight, and my genetic makeup has been messed with. I wanna go check on my fighters, see that they weren't badly effected by that, retro techno thingee, whatever it was called, then go to bed." With that he leave WaldoDoc to handle the questioning.

A portal opens and Adon steps through onto the bridge.

Well, that was a fun trip! Hopefully my sources will be able to find out some useful information.

So, did you get any info out of that bag of yours, Delgado?

Adon's question fell on somewhat deaf ears as Delgado was not on the bridge, but in the ready room!

Dnar'af and the Rune appear in the Dnar'af's base of operations. It's something of a Fortress of Solitude, if you will. Located inside a hollowed out asteroid in an uninhabited system of no particular importance or interest, his base affords him the few comforts he requires and assures no one bothers him.

Now, he takes out the Rune and sets it, reverently on a table. Sitting at the table, he takes a moment and then proceeds to open the book. The first page...

...is blank.

Dnar'af takes a moment to register this, almost not believing what he sees. He recovers and flips a few more pages over. Blank, blank, faster and faster, he rifles through the pages with a building determination, only to find them all devoid of any particular knowledge. He leans back, somewhat heavily, when he reaches the back cover. This was not entirely unexpected, given the LICC's conduct during the previous mission, but it is still a significant setback. Dnar'af's mind begins to work, trying to determine how he will solve this predicament...

"...and so the boy says, 'it's not my dog.' Eh? Get it?" The doorman, at least 18 feet tall, just looks down at Rikard.
"That's not funny." He says. Rikard sighs and nods.
"Yeah, I know, I know." He glances around the room, apparently made for the size of a 8-11 foot tall child.
"Will there be anything else sir?" the doorman asks.
Rikard shakes his head. "No, that's all, thanks." The doorman turns and walks away. Rikard closes the door and jumps onto the fairly high bed. He turns on what passes as an audio/visual unit and flips through the channels. After finding nothing on, Rikard lies back, thinking about the recent events.

We are the X-Pendables! Heroes pulled from certain death from various dimensions to put the timeline right and save the multiverse! If we survive we will be returned to our own dimensions, away from the certain death situation, to live out the rest of our lives!

Or so Kronides claims.

Kronides, the voice on the cross-dimensional doohickey that gives us our assignments, has said a lot of things, but hasn't really shown any proof to back up those claims.

Oh, sure, a couple of members of the group have allegedly been sent back home, but it's not like we got to go there and see them. For all we know Kronides just blasted them into pixey dust and claimed to return them.

And we don't really know for a fact that what we are doing is good. Sure we're always told that things will get worse if we don't stop it, but maybe that's just a story & not a real possibility?

It would be nice to talk to the others about this, but if Kronides is up to no good my life expectancy could probably be counted on the fingers of an accident-prone shop teacher.

So I end up thinking these things to myself, hoping that the all-seeing Kronides isn't a mind reader & wondering what am I going to do if it turns out to be true?

Devil Girl: Hey, Mick! Vacation's over! Marching orders have come.

Huh? Oh, yeah. (Mick gets up and walks over to the others* with Devil Girl.)

DG, she's a newbie. A replacement of a replacement. Still new enough to believe in what the mission is all about. *sigh* I wish I did.

(The cross-dimensional doohickey speaks with the voice of Kronides.)

Kronides: Your next mission will take you into the LICC Dimension. (A hologram of Dnar'af appears) This person, Dnar'af, is attempting to gather various items of power. (A hologram of Keiran, Artsy, Milkshake, Rikard, Insane, Enesku, Jadlad, Jackson, Alex, and Butrfli appear) He has gathered these superbeings to gather the items for him. If Dnar'af gets these items it will mean death and destruction to the forces of good in the LICC dimension and will have serious repurcussions on nearby parallel dimensions. (A hologram of death, destruction and other atrocities plays.) You must prevent these superbeings from getting the items by any means necesary!

(The X-Pendables are transported to the LICC Dimension.)

* Want to play one of the others? Positions are open. Hint, hint.

Eventually Rikard falls asleep and dreams. In his dream he wakes up to find himself in bed back on the ship. He hears the shower running in the bathroom. He walks over and sees a feminine silhouette in the shower. He opens the stall door to discover Griselda Evil inside. She turns to him and says, "Join me" and Rikard wakes up puzzled. Normally the shower dream featured Enesku.

The LICC, huh? They don't look so tough. What's so super about these superbeings?

And we're supposed to find a ship shaped like a spider? Who shapes a starship like a spider?