"I think I'll be able to stay awake, but ok."
Stay a while and listen, and I'll tell you the story of how I got REKT..."

((I might have time to write something out, otherwise I'll leave it to your artistic freedom...unless you want artistic freedom ))

"I'll sing Bohemian Rhapsody for you!
Mammaaaaaaaa... just killed a man..."

(( Now this is a story all about how my life got flipped-turned upside down, and I'd like to take a minute, just sit right there, I'll tell you all about the story of how I got REKT... ))

((edited my post to account for outlander))

((Just to say sorry. Had no internet connection for some time and enough else to do to need ca 10 days to fix it. Needless to say, my wife and son were slightly unhappy with me. Now they are happy again, but I'll need to read the last 4 or 5 pages before I am in position to make one of my critical update that usually bring the sorry so much further.))

Edit:

Thinking: ehhh wait, wait, we are leaving the place with the funny tasty sphere? Can't have that!

Doing: crawl discretly out of Squidhead's pocket while he is reorginizing the furniture and jump at the floor.

Saying: "I'll join you later - got to taste the thingy again!"

(( errrr...
You know Squidhead is carrying the sphere, right?
))

Turn 56
Time: Time: 5.0 minutes until next pulsar sweep, 4.5 minutes until dark space ETA (1 minute used)
Squad 1: BFett, Dr. Cha0zz, Karthus

Dr. Cha0zz You walk over to your ship, putting all your samples, backpack, and weapons up. Then, climbing in, you close the canopy over you and start a systems check to prepare for take-off. BFett is outside, dragging Goatman's corpse around - you say to him, "BFett, do you think that it's a good idea to take that psychopath back to base? I mean, unless we can tamper with his brains a little, I would leave him here."

Then you pause.

"Actually, SCAMPS, what equipment do you have back at base to revive a dead person? Do you have the ability to reprogram the person's brain? Sure you do, right? A couple of simple chemical cocktails could do a whole lot..."

"We do, Doctor, but not to where they remain useful. If they need reprogrammed to begin with, they usually aren't worth keeping around. We have plenty of inmates who could serve as replacements. Same goes for you assholes, you know. We're only stopping by to pick you up ourselves because we happen to be in the area. Normally we'd just send a dropship after you."

isssss-hh ((just barely made it. welcome back!! No worries, we're glad you could show. ))
Leaving? Really? But what about that sphere? What about all the delicious stuff here? You can't have that. No, no, no. You'd rather stay behind!

Carefully, you use your appendages to crawl off of Squidhead's head while he's in the airlock, landing on the floor. "I'll join you later!" you say to him, though he doesn't seem to notice. "Got to taste the thingy again!"


BFett With a mighty heave, your legs shaking, you lift Goatman's body up and lay him over your shoulders. He's not incredibly heavy - you're just not all that strong. You're actually a bit below average - but if anything, you're determined. Putting one foot after another, you manage to reach your ship - only to find that there's not any room for Goatman's body there.

You hear Dr. Cha0zz speak over the comms. "BFett, do you think that it's a good idea to take that psychopath back to base?" he asks. "I mean, unless we can tamper with his brains a little, I would leave him here."

It hardly matters - there's not really any room for him anyway. Letting him fall to the ground, you give him one final look, a little salute, and climb into your ship. After closing the canopy, you get ready to exit the hangar.


Karthus You writhe in the tiny cockpit, trying to get yourself turned upright. The thing is made for sitting in, not for taking a nap in, and it seems like the designers were absolutely determined to drive that point home with as much ferocity as they could muster. You feel your joints cracking as you execute the uncomfortable maneuver, but eventually, you manage. Starting your ship up, you turn off your electromagnetic clamps and slowly lower yourself from the ceiling, using your RCS thrusters to balance, and exit the hangar smoothly.



Squad 3: Foreigner, Kai'isha

Foreigner You carry all your stuff to the cockpit - everything but your crowbar, blowtorch, and Metal Bar of Occasionally Imminent Death, which you take back to the airlock. After jamming the door to make sure it doesn't close on you, you use the blowtorch to cut the control panel loose, leaving it on the floor where it is. Squidhead is already on his way back in his spider-legged way, and you waste no time in getting back to your own ship, tethering yourself to it. You still have your crowbar, blowtorch, and not-so-trusty metal bar with you - and you're just about ready to go.



Squad 4: Dinosawer, Francis (with isssss'hh), Squidhead

Dinosawer You try to fiddle your thumbs.

"SCAMPS, the handicapped club is almost ready to leave - what's your ETA?"

"Within the minute, dumbass, right when I said we'd be here. We'll get you out of there in time, no sweat."

Squidhead tells you to keep talking to try to stay awake, so you try to sing Bohemian Rhapsody. It's not quite what he asked, but you're feeling rather silly as it is.

And then the pulsar sweep begins...


Squidhead You leave the airlock, trying to put as much force as you can on Goatman's skull on your way out - but you don't think anything shattered. While you're doing this, you're rambling about what you saw.

"Well, you see... there were these people there - the lot of them reminded me of my old experiments back in '89. There's a story behind that one, though - the guy didn't pay me for his implants, instead brownnosing the girl at the front desk to get her to 'let it slide'. So, the next time he came in, I sewed his ass to his face. He didn't get the irony of the situation, though, and it doesn't seem like these guys did either. They were all running around like they're scared or something - beats me as to why - maybe they're trying to get away from that darkspace thingy as well. That reminds me of another story, back in... oh, I can't remember the year. It was back in the day, when you could sell Marzoplan and do Icosophlin injections legally - well, mostly - it was back before the lawyers started this big craze about 'come to us and we'll sue for you if your weiner has fallen off'. Pure bullshit if you ask me - complete thievery. It was their own fault they'd lost their manhoods - common practice in those days was to do a half-assed job (no pun intended) to assholes (okay, maybe pun intended) that thought they could get away with dickery (okay, yeah, pun intended) like paying less than was stated on the contract for male enhancement surgery. Messy ordeal, really. Actually, that reminds me of another story..."

While you ramble on for a while, you're attaching your repair kit to the slot, putting the orb and drone away, and all of that. Then you head back to the airlock, still rambling, and grab the console - which is no longer shifting and now sports some very clearly-marked buttons in some alien language - but maybe the engineers back at REKT can get it moving again. If anyone could, it'd be an engineer. Once that final piece is back in your cockpit too, you buckle up and start up Goatman's engines - the console lights up, the engines whir behind you, and you're good to go.

Takeoff is a cinch. The ship seems to be complaining about one of the engines, but you're still able to pilot her rather well - to a fair degree, at least. She's turning strongly to one side, but you balance it out and fly over next to Dino, waiting for the Tartarus to arrive.

In the meantime, the pulsar begins its round...

...and that's when you realize that isssss-hh doesn't seem to be with you anymore.


Francis Carefully, you take off, flying up and over Kai'isha's ship. It's a tricky maneuver, but if there's anything you can do well, it's piloting. Lowering yourself carefully, you hook your electromagnetic clamps onto her ship; you feel your CASKET shudder as it takes hold.

"I think that's it, Francis," she says, louder than necessary as per usual. "I'm ready to go."

Carefully, making sure that you don't accidentally let go of her, you fly directly upwards, getting clear of the hangar entrance, and wait.

In the meantime, the pulsar begins its round...





"News incoming from the dark space - it's finally decelerated, not too far out. It's still going far faster than the Tartarus itself can manage. It's also giving out radio signals that correspond with the Tartarus' IFF - it's fooling one of your turrets into ignoring it. The remaining one is shooting warp-accelerated plasma pulses at it, but it seems to be managing to dodge it. It's going to arrive soon.

But we're going to arrive sooner. I hope you assholes are ready, because the cavalry's arrived."

Just as he speaks, the massive frame of the Tartarus drops from warp. Its body is at least as long as the width of the asteroid ring itself. One of the two mighty turrets on its underside is keeping the remaining alien megaturret distracted as it closes in, slowing to a gentle stop far above you.

It's been a long day, but it's time to go home.

Well, important things first.
I'll let the Willem Tell Overture play over the comms.
While I do that, I'll fly to the Tartarus' docking bay, when I get there I'll slow down, and dock if I still have time.

Belt in, carefully lift off from the hanger and cautiously exit the hanger (making sure that the ship doesn't hit anything while it's exiting the hanger).

"SCAMPS this is BFett. Requesting permission to dock."

Docks at the location SCAMPS provides.

"And away we go! Got room for two in there?"

Fly to the Tartarus, land Kai'isha in her bay.

"Kai'isha, I'm disengaging the clamps. Make sure you're parked up."

When she's ready, disengage and travel to and land in other designated bay.

"Anyone missing?"