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Ravagerrr
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 Posted: Sat Apr 08, 2006 12:53 pm Post subject: Chapter 3: Welcome to the LRS! |
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:biggrin: Pillbox - Chapter 3
Welcome to the LRS!
"This is INCREDIBLE!", yelled SGT James Mack as the world outside his darkly stained window rushed by him in a blurr.
"Yeah, heh. It took me a while to get used to it myself.", replied Sydney Blake, with a wry smile, gazing out the opposite window.
"I-I-I just don't understand how a craft can move so FAST! What about the rotors above us? How do they avoid being ripped off?!? What kind of propulsion system is at work here?"
"Questions, questions, Sergeant... In time all will be answered, I assure you. By the way, there's a bag next to you."
"Wha?"
BOOM! The craft shook forward with such intensity, SGT Mack felt as if his eyes might sink into his brain. Nausia gripped his stomach, twisting his entrails into tight knots, threatening to squeeze his belly out his throat like a geyser... the bag, of course, the BAG!
Grabbing for the cloth sack that hung beside him, he rapidly pulled open the lining and buried his face inside, wretching with the propulsive might of a jet engine.
Moments later, gasping for breath, James wiped the dripping remnants from his chin as his head lolled back. Tears drooled down his face as he cautiously pried open his eyelids. A slight gurgle in the pit of his bowels was all that remained of his discomfort.
"The rotors are more decorative than anything, really." Sydney continued the conversation casually. "That happens to all of us the first time we decelerate from hyperspeed. It gets better each time. Thankfully, if you experience this again, you probably won't even get sick, just a bit nausiated is all."
"I'll have to remember that you hand out warnings in short supply," croaked SGT Mack. Tying the drawstring at the rim of the sack, he lolled his head over to peer out of the blackened window again. A slight resurgence of stomach churnings made him aware of the craft's descent. Vibrant humming massaged the craft and its passengers. "Sounds like those 'decorations' are working as hard as any other chopper's propellers. If that's all they are, why are they mounted up there?"
"As I have told you, Sergeant, the surface world wouldn't understand much of what we do. This bird here," he said patting his seat gently, " is a perfect example. Its designed with technologies that the sleepers don't have the slightest clue exists. I'm including the top scientists in the avionics field as sleepers here. They would be even more impressed by our Mobile Headquarters here than you. They would also," Sydney let out a sigh of frustration, "be quite angry to have been kept out of the technological loop."
"I can see why." stated the SGT simply. "Still, this thing's a genius piece of work! So the blades above us do nothing but make this craft LOOK like a gunship, eh? What's the actual engine?" The needle of the Washington monument began to emerge into the view of SGT Mack's window. "What on Earth can propel something THIS fast?"
"Actually, its situated underneath us here. Its really a panel on the bottom of the craft. It looks about the same as the usual exterior plating you see on the sides and such. There's really not much more to it actually." Sydney wore a wry smile. "I had all these questions myself when I started here after the first Gulf War. You'll have many more before the day is out I'm sure. Keep an eye out the window now SGT." Sydney motioned towards the window pane.
An audible gasp emitted from James. Water was rushing past the window, the water level raising so quickly, that had he not been watching just then he would have missed the descent. "What the?" exclaimed the Sergeant.
"We are submerging into the Potomac river. Our destination lay on its riverbed, our Ground Headquarters.
The Mobile Headquarters here is actually suspended inside an electromagnetic bubble. Surface world physicists are just now beginning to consider the possibilities of electromagnetics, ours have had some... assistance.
In the case of our ferry here, its whole propulsion system, including its frictionless nature and its artificial internal environment all stem from the generation and manipulation of the electromagnetic bubble that surrounds it.
Furthermore, the ship, when operated, is impenetrable by forces as devastating as a nuclear bombs. Such blasts might knock us around a bit but... you get the picture... she's far beyond bullet-proof.
There's more to the whole technology of course, especially the anti-gravity mechanism located above us, just under the rotors, but I think we're out of time for idle chat."
Fish swam by the window in the murky darkness of the depths of the Potomac river. Lights emerged, shining brightly in the watery haze, mounted on a not-so-distant stone wall that slid past the windows on both sides. A vague churning, whirring, hum gave meaning to the motion of the steel Hangar door that rolled along the roof of the structure they had entered, indicating its closure.
Soon, without sound or motion, the water level drained from the chamber, scrambling down the window's viewpoint. Before long, circling yellow lights strobed the stone hangar as the doors of Mobile Headquarters #3 hissed with the breaking of their seals. Slowly rising, the doors eventually let a cold, wet breeze invade the inside passenger compartment, eliciting a shiver from SGT Mack, who had just moments before been exposed to Iraqi desert heat.
Sydney turned to Mack with a stern look. "Before we leave this ship SGT, I must remind you that you are entering a Maximum Secret facility, Maximum Secret being a level of security beyond Top Secret. From here on out, nothing you see here may be expressed to anyone, including the President himself, upon penalty of instant death. Do you understand?"
"I've proven my ability to keep high level secrets, sir. I understand completely. I've never heard of "Maximum" Secret classification, but I assure you, what I see here goes no further."
"SGT, what you see here will blow your mind. Just warning you."
Stern, well dressed men, much like the ones whom had lifted him into the craft appeared at the doorways. Reaching in, they gently carried SGT Mack's wheelchair to the stone floor of the hangar, a large open chamber with a high vaulted ceiling. He never did see where, exactly they dissapeared to after assisting him.
"We'll have to upgrade your mode of transportation until we can get those legs fixed, Sergeant," called out Sydney from behind him. Mack strained his neck around to witness Sydney's chair, no longer laden with wheels, hover down from the passenger section of the Mobile Headquarters to maintain an equivilent distance from the floor such that their heads could face each other evenly. "You like? Not bad for a cripple eh? Same anti-grav technology as our Mobile Headquarters here uses.
THANKS STICK-MAN!", Sydney called out to the dismounting pilot dressed in all black leather. A resulting wave and nod denoted he had taken notice of the appreciation.
"This is all quite impressive!" stated Mack as his gaze graced the whole of the hangar. Two more ships, of identical design as his most recent chariot, were parked in a distant corner, next to a large bay door which was whirring open as his eyes fell upon it.
Two figures strode forth from the light of the portal beyond the bay door.
"General Sternheim is in charge of the facilities here. He's the short, gray haired, thick one on the right," stated Sydney. The General seemed to prefer the readiness look as he strode in with camo's adorning him, four stars gleaming off of his lapels. "He's very decorated and highly respected on Capital Hill, among those who know him that is.
And the one on the left is his personal guard, Kapeleuontes, Kape for short. Don't be alarmed, he won't hurt you unless you become a threat." Sydney looked over at SGT Mack to evaluate the look of shock and suprise as the SGT began to make out exactly what, or who, he was looking at. Sydney was impressed. The only reaction was a slight widening of the eyes.
"He's unnatural," not sure if he was questioning or stating, Mack took a deep breath as he took the creature in.
The first thing he noticed wasn't what one would normally take note of first, but SGT Mack was from a different world than most.
It was the gun the creature carried that Mack goggled at initially. This awesome piece of equipment was huge, equivilent to an M-60 but bigger, and seemed made more firm, for more accuracy, more damage. But where were the bullets? No chain emerged from its side as an M-60 would sport...
Then the shock of the weapon's master took hold.
Kapeleuontes walked as a man would, his legs also adorned with camoflauge trousers, but his waistline came up to the General's chest!
And above the waistline was a sight to melt the eyes of the faint of heart. Fur, grey, coarse, fur bristled out of the burly, perfectly muscled, chest of the beast! Arms the size of tree trunks jutted forth from his massive fur encrested shoulders, cradling the weapon which first caught the Sergeant's attention.
But nothing was quite as disturbing as his head, supported on a thicker neck than Mack had ever seen. His jaw was elongated into a snout, rimmed with thick teeth and graced with a pointed soft nose at its tip. Just above the jaw/nose region, his eyes were inset into each side of his head, eyes with pupils vertically elongated. They were the kind of eyes no "man" should have! His long furry ears flickered and swiveled in their outstretched position. Horns jutted out from atop his furry head and the utterance of a "beh-eh-eh" in rapid succession brought home recognition of the head in its entirety... it was the head of a GOAT!
Kape was a living, breathing GOAT-MAN!
If Mack had doubted the severity of Sydney's previous comment about this place "blowing your mind", all doubt had fled from him now! He could hardly breath as he took in Kape's visage.
"He's a product of a previous experiment. Very successful, but not as cognizant as we had hoped. Unfortunately, the skull didn't accomodate all the brain enlargements we were shooting for.
We didn't find this procedure necessary to offer in your case, as we aren't having to replace your entire upper body structure, but much of the same medical data should go into your procedure.
No, Sergeant," Sydney took note of the shocked look he was being given, "you won't have any animal body parts, not unless you really want some." He stated this last segment with a twist upwards towards the edge of his lips. Was it a statement or a question? Mack wasn't sure.
"He's," Mack groped for words, "He's amazing! Creepy, yet incredible!"
"Yep, one of the marvels of our work here. We're very pround of Kape.
Alright, look, they're approaching quickly Sergeant. The General will want you're decision. Which procedure are we to give you?"
"Well," Mack continued to stare at the approaching beast, "I've never liked the idea of being a machine, not even in the least. If you can work such biological miracles as Kape here, I think I'm going to have to go with the regrowth. I'd like to maintain my humanity as much as possible, if," his gaze lingered on Kape a moment, "If that's possible at all here."
"Certainly Sergeant, certainly. Human you will be, but beyond that. You'll soon see what I mean.
GENERAL STERNHEIM!" Sydney called to the approaching General, offering a salute. Catching on and emerging from his shock, Sergeant Mack fumbled into a salute as well.
"God-dammit Blake, how many times have I had to insist that you take those dammed formalities and shove 'em up yer ass?," General Sternheim returned in a deep gravely voice followed up by a hearty chuckle. "Sergeant Jeremy Mack, I presume?" He offered James a meaty handshake.
"James, sir." Mack couldn't pry his eyes from the beast behind the General to save his career.
"Ah HELL, Jeremy, Jeff, James, Joseph, JACK-ASS, all just a bunch of meaningless names 'round here Sergeant. From here out, we'll call ya Mack, just Mack. Won't even grace ya with the goddammed title of Sergeant anymore! You can take that pompous decorative term and cram it up yer bunghole for all its worth!"
Mack had never met a military man with such a take on tradition... Sternheim had his attention!
"Yes, sir!", replied Mack in accordance with his deeply ingrained training.
"SIR?!? AH HELL, SIR is just RIGHT OUT! You can use that word to clean out yer diapers later, dammit. 'Name's Sternheim, not General, Sir, or anything else you see fit to socialize me with! Around here, Mack, we may be a branch of the Army, but we're the crown of the TREE! We're above them pukes in the field Mack and never forget it! Understand me, Mack?"
"Yes... uh... yes... S-s-Stern-heim."
"Goddammit I think he's beginning to understand me, Blake! Whaddayou think Kape?"
"Be-eh-eh!" A slight nod indicated approval, sending shivers down Mack's spine at the display. Holy crap, a real live goat-man! The thought continued to pester him in a dark corner of his mind. Look at the FUR, the HORNS!
"Dammit Mack are you paying attention to me?", barked Sternheim.
"Yes, Absolutely, s-Sternheim"
"Good! Goddam good! Now then, welcome to the LRS, Mack! You came with the highest of recommendations. We WILL be returning you to health AND to service, but you must know that you have already seen too much to be allowed back into the surface world, the world you knew, ever again."
"Yes, Sternheim, I am aware and have already agreed to this." Mack nodded a glance towards Sydney, whom was calmly perched in his hoverchair.
"GodDAMMIT, I like you already Mack! Now, I assume Sydney has gone over the options with you?"
"Yes, S-s, yes he has."
"AND? What the hell are we doin' with ya Mack?"
"I have decided to chose the biological regrowth method, Sternheim, s.." Damn that horrible word 'sir'!
At this response a big toothy, if not a bit creepy, grin exploded on the General's face. "A man after my own heart, DAMMIT. NO WAY I'd let these clowns take my skin and make it metal... whole goddam lot of power in it, the cyber bastards, but I want flesh and BONE, a proper nervous system, DAMMIT but you are a cunning BITCH Mack! I'm just glad I'm not the one under the needle here... thats your sorry ass Mack! Damn, son, those Bastards shot you up good, they did!"
"Yes they did, Sternheim", reminded of his leg stumps, "Honestly I don't really remember what all happened that night."
"Well, Goddammit, ya better be ready to, cause that juice we're gonna pump through ya should have a mighty impressive effect on yer head as much as yer body. Get used to the thought, Mack."
James nodded, still eyeing Kape, watching, as his goat head swiveled atop his humanoid body, alertly eying the compound with those eerie horizontally aligned pupils. Was he dangerous, despite Sydney's reassurances? He couldn't help but wonder.
"Alright, Goddammit, Mack, ya got a few options at this point. I can have this bastard Sydney here take ya on a tour around the compound, you can follow Kape here to your bedchambers for a bit of a rest first, or you can follow me and we'll get ya started on healin that broken goddammed body of yours. I suppose if ya have ta, you can ask me a few questions first too, and I'll be happy to answer what I can for now.
What'll it be, Mack?"
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