Troubling Heaven

Ethian nodded. "Right!" he said as he lurched forward, blasting through two guards. "Just makes sure to hurry it up!" Ethian rushed up the stairs (though very slowly because of one of the activated artifacts), incinerating another guard. He then rushed back down the stairs and said, "It's been nice workin' with ya'! Good luck getting off of the planet and all that!" he said this as he closed off the entrances to the room from the outside by melting the ceiling and walls (all but the hole leading to Lance's ship). Ethian raced outside, mowing down guards with blasts of energy as he went. It was then that he realized he wouldn't be able to stop moving once he got into space, and first he had to get out of range of the slowing-artifact. Time to go, then! Ethian tried to move forward, but he sighed angrily as he found himself trapped in a tractor beam. What NOW?!

Ethian turned to see the aquatic Loo girl from before, Phera, with a small ship. "What the heck are you doing?!" Ethian slapped his forehead in frustration. Phera rolled her eyes and replied, "I'm getting you off this planet, dipstick. You think you're gonna' get anywhere fast out there in space?" Ethian shrugged as the tractor beam dissipated. "Well, we better get going then!" Ethian said as he got into the ship, Phera following. "How'd you find me, anyway?" he asked as she entered and the door sealed shut. "I tracked your friend's energy signature." Ethian nodded. Iban's got plenty of that to go around...

Phera took to the pilot's seat and the ship prepared to take off. "Next stop?" she asked. Ethian stared at the sky for a brief moment before replying, "Aragithia."

From space, a ship could be seen leaving Hollowstar and heading to the coordinates of the Genesehres System.

((Finally, my home turf! ))

Lance was working diligently and with complete focus, even as parts of the ceiling began to rain down. The homeostasis of Hollowstar was dissolving, and with it chaos and destruction came. Five minutes....
Lance pieced together the remaining pieces of Iban's mind, then added it to the genetic reconstruction of Iban.
"Regeneration, complete. Initiating mind upload, now..." Navi said from Lance's wrist-com.
"C'mon, c'mon..." Lance said, bouncing up and down on his toes. He had added the extreme need to get off Hollowstar to Iban's memory, and it would disappear forever once he did get off. Lance was coming down to the wire on this one.
"Upload, complete. Full regeneration has been acheived, Lance."
Lance nodded, before disconnecting Navi from the system.
"It's time we got out of here, then."
Lance jumped out of the hole in the wall, and landed in the cockpit of his dogfighter.
"It's up to you to get off the planet now, Iban. Here's hoping I didn't make a big mistake..."
Lance shot out into space then, the planet slowly collapsing in on itself.
"Lance, the General is broadcasting a transmission."
"Let him through," Lance replied. "And let's hope he doesn't have anything too boring for me this time."
"Congratulations, my boy! You have accomplished your mission, from what my scouts tell me. Hollowstar is nothing more than a bad memory now. The Bruthalian Empire will be unable to use their technology, as well as their aid."
Lance nodded. He had destroyed Hollowstar, a clear threat. But... had he done it for the right reasons?
Tek's words rang in his mind from time to time, and he always said the same thing.
"I'm against the Bruthalian Empire, sure. But that's where that Martyr Militia of yours and I are different. I don't destroy planets just because the Empire has control of them. So unless you're having doubts about your so called "superiors", I suggest you leave my ship before I get the Captain in here. We won't have you while you still work for those monsters."
"...Lance, are you listening? ATTENTION, SOLDIER!!!"
Lance jumped. He had made a huge mistake.
"S-sorry, sir!" he exclaimed, saluting. "I have no excuse for my inattention!"
The General nodded on the vid-screen. Lance didn't have the most advanced ship, but he was going to get a holo-screen soon, with the payoff from this mission, anyway.
"See that you pay more attention from now on. I'll have no excuse for letting your discipline slacken. Here is your next assignment..."
*********
Tek leaned back, shouting from the cockpit to his passengers.
"We're here! All ashore who's going ashore!"
FIN
(the fin is for Lance's part in this act. Brilliand is the only one who can officially end the act, methinks.)

Ethian stood up from his seat next Phera. "Iban's back," he said, pointing in the direction of the android. The appearance of his energy signature had been so sudden and so great that Ethian's legs had almost buckled when he stood up. "He's that way. We need to go get him. Go that way."

Phera shrugged and replied, "I don't know who this Iban character is, but if you say so." Phera hit a few switches and continued, "Yeah, my ship is getting some big energy spikes. I'll enter his general coordinates." As she did so, the ship veered to the right and took off in the direction of Iban, tracking his coordinates and adjusting its flight pattern accordingly.

***

Twenty minutes later, Iban was visible from Phera's ship. Ethian took out the small artifact he had put in his bag and activated it. "Iban, this is Ethian Eltii. We're going to pull you in with a tractor beam. Please refrain from blowing us to pieces." Ethian's words immediately broadcast in front of Iban in his native tongue so that he could read them. "Alright, pull him in," Ethian said as he deactivated the artifact and put it away. Phera nodded and flipped a switch, activating a tractor beam that extended to Iban and pulled him into the ship.

((Hope that's alright.))

"I'll be taking that specimen off your hands," said an unfamiliar voice over the intercom. "We've had our eye on him for a while now. And... you'll find we have our ways of taking what we want."
A ship seemed to appear out of nowhere as it's cloak deactivated. The ship seemed to glow slightly, before a pulse beam hit Iban, knocking him out. It had been an artifact plugged into the ship's weapon systems.
"Shame that Janem had to go like that, along with Hollowstar. However, I would have had to annihilate him eventually. He would have wanted to conquer us soon enough. Now unless you want a taste of death, I suggest you just stay where you are. You wouldn't want to be unable to come after your friend, after all."
The ship maneuvered so that it cut the tractor beam off, somehow disrupting the energy. Iban was taken into an open door, and it closed behind him.
"Today is your lucky day. You get to live. The Bruthalian Empire thanks you for your cooperation."
The ship pulled into hyperspace and vanished on its course. Towards Aragithia.

(the unknown voice... well, you'll be acquainted with him eventually.)

((Whoa man, you just insulted Brilliand's manhood. Iban doesn't get knocked out. He's not even a real living being... Well, at least he's still going to Aragithia. ))

Ethian slammed his fist down on the dashboard. "@#$%." The boy looked at Phera, and he groaned, "Follow them." He sat back down in his seat and his hands glowed white from the rage that was building up inside him. I want this Empire dead.

((Hey, I'm sorry. I don't know a bunch about Iban's makeup or limitations. Besides, even if Iban is not a real living being, there is always a way to "knock out" something. Like, short-circuiting a robot, freezing bacteria to make it come to a nearly complete stop... etc. Just use your imagination! Plus, I did it merely to bring this act to a close so we can start the next one. Iban can bust out if he wants... the containment field he'll be in isn't entirely suited for someone of his power. He'll be out cold until the next act, however, maybe... ummm... so there! )

((IBAN DOES NOT GET KNOCKED OUT!! Sheesh. ))

((Look at the OOC thread. )

((I don't care what Brilliand says! Iban doesn't get knocked out! ))

((He does by a 24 year old Japanese Liutenant!!! Hiyahh!!!!))

(((Um....I'm not sure what to do now....)))

((Get your characters ready for Aragithia while we're in our little advertising interlude. Read the OOC [two pages back, I believe] for the details about the state of Aragithia, too [it's like, two paragraphs of info]. Also, Miranda is still alive and well, so you can take her back if you wish.))

(((OOOHOOOHOOOH!!!! Can I start the next act with my Bruthalian? Iban can bust out then. )

((Nooooooooooo way man! I'm starting out the act this time... I've got to set the, uh, setting. You can do it right afterwards though, I promise. ))

((Fine then..... *pouts*..... just kidding! )

((Want me to make the opening post?))

((I suppose that answers my question.

You know, I just noticed that Aragithia sounds remarkably similar to Terabithia... that aggravates me. ))

Floating through space, Tetnik Anna Ulisk's life-support systems were exhausted. She looked at her HUD in terror: she had three minutes of oxygen left. In three minutes, she would run out of air. In four minutes, she would be unconscious. In five, she would be dead. Just when all hope seemed lost, however, she spotted a large escape pod floating not two hundred feet below her. If she could simply reach it... If I use my grapple-hook, my energy will drain so much that my suit might shatter and... Anna had no time to weigh the risks. She aimed her left hand and hit a switch on her left palm. Her plasma grapple hook shot out of the back of her hand and extended down to the pod. As soon as she felt it lock onto its target, she initiated the pull sequence. Her grapple beam began condensing, bringing her down, down, down, until she stood on the pod.

Anna looked at the top-left corner of her HUD again. Thirty seconds of air. Anna pulled with all her might on the latch to open the pod, but it wouldn't budge. Twenty seconds... Anna pulled harder, but she was getting weaker as the air got thinner. No matter how hard she pulled and twisted, the latch wouldn't move. Ten... seconds... Anna fell on her face on the top of the pod, completely exhausted. I'm... going to die...?

As Anna slipped into unconsciousness and everything went black, the latch to the door opened and a figure pulled her dying body inside.

***

Litra glanced around the field, noting the black, smoke-filled sky. "This doesn't seem like the world in Yando's memories..." she said, shrugging in confusion. She turned to Aden and muttered, "Are you sure you even got the right place? Uck! What's this gunk?" Litra shook a gray gel from her foot with a look of disgust on her face.

***

Ethian sat, staring at Phera as she piloted the ship. He had been sitting there, staring, for what seemed like hours, wondering about the girl. There was something about her that didn't seem "Loo-ish"-- for one, Ethian had never seen a Loo out of water (even the Loo member on the Genesehres Council was transported in a tank full of water), but she also just didn't act like a Loo. Loo were, above all, dedicated to peace and prosperity, to the point of banning weapons of all kind on their home planet of Pelnome. In fact, crime in Loo society was almost non-existent. So why did this girl carry guns?

Most of all, however, was the fact that Phera could walk with ease-- it took years of training for Loo to learn to walk like a Kelosian*, and yet she could walk perfectly. And then there are her eyes... Loo don't have colored eyes, but her eyes are blue. Ethian almost got lost in the thought of her eyes for a moment, but quickly shook his head and came back to his senses. Alright, so she isn't a Loo-- then what is she? "Are you done staring at me yet?" Ethian was shocked at Phera's question. The girl smirked and glanced over to him. "Sorry," he mumbled, embarrassed. Phera ignored his apology, instead saying, "We're in the Genesehres System now. We'll be at Genesehres II in two minutes." Ethian's ears twitched and he asked, "Genesehres II?" Phera rolled her eyes. "That's the name of your planet, numbskull." Ethian looked at the floor. "Oh," he said, highly confused.

*Kelosian-- human-like species. Basically the Basilicus form of humanity.