Jacks

OOC: This is a flashback, I presume?And in the following IC, Bartholomew Helmutson will finally reunite with his son! IC: The stack of files Helm had surveyed already was now larger than the stack of files he had left, and still no lead. However, this only increased his optimism -- I'm that much closer to finding him! So he cheerfully forged onward through the P's, Q's, R's...Several minutes later he opened a file and his heart stopped. He attempted to steady his shaking hands, but he was entirely numb, overcome by the sensation that someone else was in control of his body, and he was merely a spectator. He set the file down and blinked. As his heart and soul sank lower than the deepest trenches he'd ever sailed above, he reread the line of text over and over, hoping and praying that somehow he was mistaken. Or perhaps it was the file was wrong. But the words were right there, plain as day. They took up no more than four inches of space. And the weight of those six little words utterly crushed him.Rookie Agent Jason Helmutson, codename "Tracer."

OOC: No harm done, Atton. Even if the misunderstanding was your fault, I certainly didn't help by trying to Turn It Up To Eleven. At least we could work this out without a Retcon Carpet-BombingTM.Now that it's over, I can begin preparing for my next identity reveal...IC: "Sir, has anyone determined the exact time Engineer was killed?" Hotwire asked Digger, as Amanda walked off down the hall. "The three of us," he indicated himself, Shiller, and Wright, "had been in the mess hall since 6:45. We'd be able to rule out anyone who was there at the time."------------------------As soon as Septimus had been treated, he had been whisked off for questioning. A good number of Dino Attack agents had been connected with Alpha Team as early as Mission Deep Freeze, so they would easily be able to determine whether Septimus was telling the truth, or was simply delusional.Mort, however, knew with a sinking certainty that the drone really was Swerve. No one else -- save the Sea Drone, whom Swerve had killed, and the Agents in the sub -- had been present at that Ogel Undersea Base at the time of the incident, and Swerve had refused recognition, so hardly anyone knew that he had saved Mort's life that day. He'd volunteered for transfer to the Dino Attack Team very early on, and after he disappeared, Mort had asked to be stationed in Lego City, hoping to discover what had happened. And now, after he'd assumed that his old friend was indeed dead, Mort had found him. But instead of relief, he felt only intense confusion.How on earth could Swerve have become a drone after the war started, when the production of Ogel's Mutation Orbs had been stopped in 2008?

OOC: Sorry. I shall edit my posts to get them out of Specs's office, and I expect Atton and avmatoran will do the same.And, for what it's worth, now that the situation has calmed a bit, you still have ample opportunity to handle the Trigger-Amanda confrontation once Trigger stops being stunned. :POn that note, there's a slight issue I wanted to point out to all of us involved in this scene -- so far, our characters seem to have been acting with implicit knowledge from beyond the fourth wall that none of them are the mole. If they are to act more logically, they will have to consider the possibility that Trigger is right, as well as the fact that none of them are above suspicion. I had intended to transition to this in my most recent IC with the arrival of Digger, but 1) I wasn't particularly comfortable controlling other people's characters for any longer than I already had, 2) I seem to recall that, back in the olden days, the Founding Members were only playable by PeaSam, and 3) I was really tired. :PJust a thought for whoever continues the scene next...

IC: As the commotion continued to escalate after Dr. Cyborg's sudden appearance, Wright swore violently. "I've had enough of this." She shoved her guns back into her belt."Finally," said Trigger, "someone around here listens to reas--" Then he abruptly stopped speaking. This was because, in the blink of an eye, Wright had leapt forward, deftly wrenching the mercenary's gun out of his grasp with one hand, and punching him square in the face with her other hand. At the same moment, Amanda twisted out from the headlock. Trigger was already stunned from the punch, so when he was thrown off balance, he hit the floor hard, striking the back of his head. He lay flat on his back, dazed but not unconscious.Wright tossed the mercenary's gun to Shiller, then turned to Amanda. "You all right?""For the most part," Amanda replied. "Thank you.""Good." Wright put her hands on her hips and lowered her voice a bit more. "Mind telling us what all this 'Silencia Venomosa' business is about?" Amanda winced and looked at the floor.Before she had the chance to say anything more, Hotwire cleared his throat. "If everyone would just calm down for a few minutes, I'm fairly confident we've got our mole right in front of us." He still had his gun trained on Snake."What?" exclaimed Dr. Cyborg incredulously. "No, it's got to be Trigger.""As satisfying as that would be, I think he's above suspicion," replied Hotwire, shaking his head. "He may be the very embodiment of the worst qualities of Duke, O'Cozy, and Dust combined, but he draws way too much attention to himself. The informant would have to be someone who doesn't stick out as much...someone who would benefit from having a loud, aggressive red herring at his side." He glared at Snake. "Anything to say for yourself?""I'm no mole, I can swear that much to you," the one-eyed agent growled. "They promised me I'd be a free man if I helped this megablockin' team win, so what would I gain from losing us the war?""Duly noted, but you're not quite above my suspicion yet.""Well, even if Trigger isn't the mole, he did try to assassinate a trusted member of the team," Dr. Cyborg insisted. "That could easily be construed as treason, even if it is not the specific kind of treason we're looking for.""Good point," Hotwire responded. "Make sure he doesn't have any other weapons, and don't let him out of your sight."At that moment, Digger rounded the corner, followed by one of the XERRD scientists whom Hertz had captured. "What in the name of Ole is going on here?"

OOC: Ooh, Imma have some fun with this.IC: Everyone in the mess hall jumped as the shot rang out. Hotwire, Shiller, and Wright turned in surprise to see a gunslinger standing on a table in the middle of the room. Angel Eyes finished his anouncement and stepped down, and Hotwire's eyes narrowed as Trigger and Snake immediately stood and left the mess hall."Now that looks awfully suspicious to me," he said to his compatriots. He stood awkwardly. "Znap it, unarmed again. Thought I learned my lesson yesterday morning."Wright pulled a handgun from her boot and handed it to him. "You kick around with us and we'll cure you of that habit pretty quick." She pulled two more guns from her belt, and Shiller drew a long pistol from inside his jacket. Hotwire nodded and reached for his crutch, but Wright shook her head. "Too noisy. Use my shoulder instead." Hotwire raised an eyebrow, but complied, and the three of them quickly followed Snake and Trigger.After a good fifteen minutes of shuffling through the hallways, they suddenly heard shouting up ahead. Shiller and Wright darted over against the wall, nodded to each other, and burst around the corner."Nobody move!" Shiller shouted, as Hotwire hobbled onto the scene. Trigger had Amanda in a headlock, with a gun pressed to her temple, and Snake was standing by, armed as well."Drop the gun," Wright ordered, both of her pistols pointed at Trigger's head. The mercenary growled. "I said, DROP THE GUN, YOU 4+.""Are you znapping kidding me?" Trigger shouted. "After I went to all this trouble to--""Can it," Shiller snapped. "Save your excuses for the court-martial. I think they're punishing treason with death these days.""I did have my suspicions when you went to so much effort to try and keep us out of the Maelstrom Temple," said Wright, "but I wasn't sure until now. Now DROP YOUR GUN.""Wait, what?" said Hotwire. "Oh good heavens, Trigger isn't the mole. True, he's a total Jack Stone, and he'd probably get along swimmingly with Duke, but he hasn't been here nearly long enough to be worth informing XERRD. The worst that'll happen to him is incarceration as an accomplice to treason. No, Trigger's nothing more than the hired muscle for the real mole...who's still in this room." He swung around and pointed his gun at Snake. "You've been on this team almost as long as me, haven't you?* You must've thought you were pretty clever," he said. "Keeping a low profile, letting half the team think you're dead... We might not have found you if it hadn't been for that Blood Knight--" he jerked his head towards Trigger -- "but now, my one-eyed friend, you're nicked."OOC: *Hotwire may not necessarily be aware that Snake of Spades and this Snake are different people.

OOC: Oh, I've got some more where the rest came from Though that's mainly because I'm finally in a position to execute all the Dramatic Reveals that have been lurking in my head since 2009...IC: Hotwire chomped absently on another pizza slice as Wright let out a peal of laughter. "You were right," she said. "Your codename does fit you."Hotwire smirked and swallowed. "Which one'd you tell her?""The time you wired the light switches to the fire alarms," Shiller chuckled.Hotwire grinned. Shiller's tales of their school days were doing a great deal of help in getting his mind off of recent events. He'd always felt that the past, unless specifically and directly related to one's present situation, was irrelevant, but he had to admit now that a ghost from your past appearing right in front of you wasn't always a bad thing. Only...there was something that was bothering him. Some detail he could feel burrowing its way up through the layers of his brain. A tingle on the back of his neck alerted him of someone else's attention. He glanced over and saw Zelda, sitting with Minerva and Vinyaya, quickly look down. No hard feelings about the leg, he thought to himself. She was as good as forgiven.Only...Hotwire couldn't look at her without simultaneously seeing Tracer, pale and short of breath, hooked up to all those machines...And that was it, that's what was bothering him. Swerve and Sarah are long gone, and the same for Kotua, Sauro's disappeared, Tracer's dead, and Kat...well, Kat may as well be dead... He looked back at Shiller and Wright again. How much longer before I lose them too?----​----​----​----​----​----Asking around had proved futile. He must have volunteered under a codename, Helm thought, leafing through a hard copy of the Agent Database. He'd gone through all the H's anyway, just in case -- Hacker, himself, Hertz, three Hunters, and so forth -- as well as the J's for good measure. No luck. Nothing for it then; he set aside the files he'd already checked, and then returned to the beginning, flipping through every single file individually. A few agents gave him funny looks but he ignored them.Even if it took all day, Bartholomew Helmutson was going to find his son.

OOC: I'll believe it was a good twist, but I can tell it wasn't excellent. And I know that because you didn't flip your laptop.I'll be away for a week or so for a family reunion; leaving tomorrow evening. I'm not sure how often I'll have access to the internet, but I will try my absolute hardest to keep up with this while I'm gone.IC: The UITech dropship floated smoothly into the hangar of the DAHQ. As it touched down, Katerina Schattenberg stood, glancing at the figures of Rainer and Wolfgang behind her. She reflected on the events of the previous day. It had been less than twenty-four hours since she'd re-awoken, and in that short time she'd seen an admirable man die, apparitions of her past, and finally the planet purified of the Maelstrom. Given her primary goal, it didn't make much sense that she was still following this undisciplined, ragtag "team" around; by all rights she should have left the planet immediately, to seek out the Nexus Force. She'd been re-thinking her previous strategies -- perhaps multiple people could enter the Maelstrom to confront the Darkitect face-to face...But there was one thing left for her to do on this world, and that was pass on a few choice words to the man who'd allowed the Maelstrom to wreak havoc on the Lego Planet in the first place: Dr. Ronald Alexander------------------------Once Kara Wise and X1 and X2, escorting Carl Lutsky, had disembarked, along with the three ShadowTech passengers, the dropship sat quietly. For a few minutes the only sound was the occasional ping as the engines cooled. Then there was a rattle and a soft scraping as one of the storage cabinets slid open, and a minifig dropped to the floor. He tore a strip of cloth from one of the sleeves of his black uniform, and tied it around his forehead, taking care to keep his third eye squeezed shut. He then looked around quickly and disappeared into one of the corridors.OOC: avmatoran, I'm awfully sorry if you had intended to write the return of your ship yourself, but I really needed Katerina back at HQ.

OOC: PeaSam- I suppose, if you found that twist satisfying, then I have succeeded. I'll admit I got rather irritated with myself for bringing Septimus into this game after the Alpha Team RPG fizzled and I failed to ever write that short story about Hotwire's first mission, meaning that I never got to develop the character of Swerve as a minifig, but I guess I can say it paid off.And I had been under the assumption that the plan had been to end this RPG by the end of August already. I am relieved to find that you decided to do that rather than end on July 1, because I still have more up my sleeve than I can reveal in just 22 days.

OOC: avmatoran, should I assume your dropship is on its way to HQ?IC: A little after 7, the smell of pizza began to waft into the mess hall."Odd choice for the breakfast shift," Wright remarked. She stood and strolled over to the buffet and peered into the kitchens. Seconds later she was rushing back to the table. "The Brickolinis are working the kitchen," she said excitedly. Shiller almost spat out his drink. "The Brickolinis? Holy 4+, we gotta get in on this." He jumped up. "Don't get up, we grab you some," he said to Hotwire as he and Wright practically dashed back to the buffet, returning a minute later with large steaming slices of pizza.Wright bit into hers and sighed. "Tastes like childhood," she said.Shiller elbowed her. "For you, maybe. The rest of us didn't have the privilege of growing up on LEGO Island."Hotwire nodded. "Only had this stuff once before, but it's definitely enough to turn a person to a life of crime." The three of them ate contentedly as more agents began to trickle into the mess hall -- Hotwire noticed Zach piling a tray high, and wondered briefly why he wasn't hungrier himself. Perhaps I'm in some sort of state of shock still, he mused silently. Still, even if that were the case, he felt happy enough at the moment.--------------------Septimus presented something of a puzzle to the medics in the infirmary. They were much more used to patients with...well, flesh and blood. So, when a knock on the door heralded the arrival of an expert, they quickly ushered the pale, limping Alpha Team agent inside.There was something about Mort that spooked most people. Maybe it was the fact that nobody was entirely sure when he slept, or his ability to remain completely expressionless at all times, or his uncanny tendency to show up wherever and whenever his assistance was needed. He was almost certainly stationed somewhere in Lego City, but the exact location seemed to be an enigma. Whatever it was, the medics gave him a wide berth as he entered the room. He either didn't notice or didn't care, focused entirely on the figure lying on the table. He examined the numerous fractures in the drone's limbs and ribs, muttering to himself all the while.Septimus glanced at Mort. "We've met before."The Alpha Team agent scoffed. "Like I remember every single drone I've ever shot at.""No, really, I think I know you--" Septimus insisted, but Mort shushed him with an irritated hiss before turning back to the medics."Cement all the fractures -- here, I can pull up the formula -- and splint the ones on its limbs." He took out his PDA, punched the keys for a few quiet seconds, and sent the file to the printer in the corner of the room. He then turned and limped towards the exit, but instead of leaving, sat down in a chair by the door. The medics shuffled nervously, but it was clear that Mort didn't intend to leave just yet. So, as some of the medics began mixing up the formula to repair Septimus's broken bones, one of the braver medics attempted to make conversation."So, how did-- that is, if you don't mind me asking, erm, well, your limp? Anything we can help with?"Mort did not shake his head, but still managed somehow to project a 'no' in response to the question. "Only way to fix it is an operation more delicate than I'd prefer to undergo. I'd rather deal with a limp than risk losing my entire leg.."The medic, braver now that Mort hadn't stolen the breath from his lungs with a glare, forged onward. "How? I mean, how did that happen in the first place?""Some sort of nerve damage from a Sea Drone spear back in 2008," Mort responded. "A rather nasty incident with a mutant killer whale and an ADO submarine at one of Ogel's underwater bases."On the examining table, Septimus abruptly sat up, startling the medics attending him. "Mort," he said. "I remember that. You would've died if I hadn't been there."The medics, for the first time, saw emotion on Mort's face -- rage. The Alpha Team agent stood and very nearly strode over to the table, where he aimed a withering glare at Septimus. "Just what in the nine circles of Megablockland," he growled, "do you think you're talking about, drone?"Septimus was unfazed. "I remember all of it," he said. "Everything from before, I can remember it now. Mort, it's me, Swerve."

OOC: Andrewnuva speaks the truth.I'll have another IC soonish.

OOC: avmatoran, was that inscription supposed to be sarcastic at all? Because the last three lines made me laugh. It's not just that PeaSam does things like this; there's a clear and logical reason for Rex to be dying. I won't say it just yet in the event that he's trying to keep it under wraps for the moment or I'm actually wrong, but it's easy enough to figure out just from reading the wiki....And that mutant lizard is eyeing my fingers in a way I'm not sure I approve of, so I'll change the subject here.Atton, a suggestion re:character development --The way I've almost always created characters was to think of a name first, before I had any other concept at all. Once I had that, I could more or less let the character create itself in my head or through my own writing (the only characters of mine in this RPG who did not originate this way are Helm and Loop). I notice that you determined preemptively what sort of character you wanted and then proceeded to make one up. Now I don't mean to claim that my method is how everyone should create their characters -- in fact I staunchly believe that it would not work for everyone, usually depending on writing style, etc. -- but just a thought I had: if you haven't already, decide for yourself what Trigger's real name is, and then let him develop his own character, so to speak, rather than forcing him into the mold of what type of character you want.And please disregard this entirely if you don't believe it will work for you. :POn that note, Imma introduce some new characters now.IC: After a stop in the infirmary to get a crutch, have his stump leg checked over, and snag a few more painkillers, Hotwire headed to the barracks and lay down on a bunk. Once half an hour of ceiling-staring had passed, he came to the conclusion that, for whatever reason, he wasn't going to be sleeping. May as well hit the mess instead.The mess hall was surprisingly empty for 6:45 AM; it seemed that the majority of agents were either still on their way back to HQ, or busy sleeping off their missions. He dropped a sandwich and a mugful of coffee onto a tray and looked around. Two of the agents from Larson's T-1 were sitting at a table by the wall. He recognized one as the card-playing girl who'd helped him keep his balance, and the other...well, Hotwire hadn't ever seen his face, but the steady stream of grumbling marked the agent as the former inhabitant of the sleeping bag. His head was resting on the shoulder of the female agent, who shrugged him off onto the table. As his forehead landed on his folded arms, she kissed the back of his head and punched him roughly on the arm. "Go get yourself some more food, you big baby." Grumbling, the agent stood, slouching, and dragged himself past Hotwire, his sandy shoulder-length hair falling like curtains and obscuring his face.Hotwire hobbled the rest of the way to the table. "Mind if I join you?" he asked. The female agent gestured welcomingly at the empty seat, and Hotwire leaned his crutch against the wall, set his tray on the table, and sat down across from her."So, you're the renowned Agent Hotwire?" she said. She had a plain but animated face and long brown hair. "I'm Agent Wright."Hotwire shook her extended hand. "Renowned? Builder, I'd hoped to avoid that.""Hey, a one-legged agent traipsing right into a warzone is definitely gonna attract some attention," Wright said. "When'd you lose it?"Hotwire winced. "Less than twenty-four hours ago, actually," he said. "I'm sure the psychological trauma of losing a limb is going to hit me like a brick wall eventually, but I've been in fight mode so long that I only notice it when it hurts."Wright opened her mouth to speak again, but was interrupted by the return of the grumbler. "They didn't even have any-- O'Neal?"Hotwire looked up and almost dropped his sandwich. "Shiller?" The two of them laughed in shock and joy, and the sandy-haired agent jumped over the table. He roughly hugged Hotwire, slapping him on the back. Hotwire reciprocated, and Shiller returned to his seat. He rapped Wright on the head, and she elbowed him in the gut.Shiller, still laughing, said, "Well, we kept hearing about this Elite Agent Hotwire, but holy znap, I never in a million years guessed it was you.""And I didn't even recognize you without the mohawk!" cried Hotwire.Wright raised an eyebrow in confusion, and Shiller turned to her, grinning widely. "We went to tech school together. Ten years ago, this punk rewired the intercom to constantly play elevator music real quiet. It took them all day to fix, and they never even found out who did it." Hotwire laughed too at the sudden memory. "Crazy that we've been in this so long and never met up before," Shiller continued. "Probably 'cause you let them stick you with some crazy codename."Hotwire nodded; early in the war, due to DA's close association with Alpha Team, volunteers had been encouraged to hide their identities. Recently, though, he'd noticed the trend of agents signing up under their own names, or those like Barry Jackson, who'd accepted codenames but stopped using them. "I kinda like it, though," he admitted. "It suits me. And I'm not the only one -- Agent Fullmetal not only keeps a codename, but changes it every other month. Though with a name like Leonidas I can't imagine why." The three of them laughed, and Hotwire turned to Wright. "So how'd you two end up together?" he asked, jabbing his thumb at Shiller"Got myself in a fight outside a bar two years ago," Wright said. "He stepped in to try to help, and I beat him up too. He got right back up with blood gushing out of his nose and asked me to dinner. The rest's history." She thumped Shiller hard on the back, and he kicked her shin under the table.

OOC: PeaSam- Good heavens! :oYknow, if that's happening for the reasons I think it is, then the rest of us really should have seen that coming....I have to confess, I've been thinking most of the same things that guy just said. I just didn't have the nerve to say it myself, which is good because I would not have been nearly as eloquent.So, since it's already morning in PeaSam's posts, I shall handwave myself forward in time. Sort ofIC: Among the things that Ogel Drones did not do were breathing, sleeping, and feeling pain. Still, Septimus did his best to try and be as dormant as he possibly could. After Hotwire had dozed off again, there hadn't been much else to do. And, because closing one's eyes is impossible when one's eyes are actually empty sockets, he'd simply stared across the cabin at nothing while he let his mind wander. Pain...that was an odd concept. During their conversation, Hotwire had continually eyed his bandages with a sympathetic look on his face, even though Septimus had attempted to explain that he didn't feel pain the way living minifigs did, or so he'd heard. The odd thing was that he could half-remember what pain was like from...before. Back when he was alive, a human. Now that had come as a surprise, but a welcome one, because it meant he wasn't just insane.He realized that the T-1's altitude was decreasing, and quickly snapped back to the present. Peering out the tiny window, he saw the rubble-strewn streets of Lego City in the grey pre-dawn light. Within minutes, they were landing in the hangar of DAHQ. As the engines stopped, the minifigs on board began stirring from their varying dozes and hibernations; he watched with a touch of amusement as the agent who had kept Hotwire from falling walked over to the figure in the lumpy sleeping bag and prodded it with her boot until the snores were replaced with a curse and a stream of quiet grumbling. There was a yawn from the other side of the TALON-9 desk as the sleeper in the other chair stood up and stretched. Helm hauled himself out of the forward cockpit rubbing his eyes. Larson, the only one who'd remained awake for the entirety of the journey, did not even bother leaving his cockpit in favor of the barracks, but removed his helmet, called out, "Wake me for the briefing?" and dozed off on the spot.Septimus heard a quiet chuckle from behind him, and turned to see Hotwire standing groggily in the doorway between the cabin and the gunner's cockpit. As the three card players and the grumbling sleeping bag agent climbed down the ladder into the hangar, the Ogel Drone gingerly stood up, favoring his cracked bones, and made his way to the ladder.Helm helped Hotwire down the ladder after the drone, and as his feet -- well, foot and curved metal prosthetic -- touched the floor, the elite agent smiled broadly at the moment of relief, and couldn't help but state the obvious."Well, we're back," he said. "Now would someone please find me a crutch?"

OOC: All well and good, but it might have been nice if her sendoff had been a bit more dignified But there have been plenty of cynical realists already, like Greybeard, Epsilon, Stranger, etc., so I wouldn't really call it new. I believe it. However, fun to write doesn't always translate to fun to read. I'd suggest getting into his head a bit more, because right now the only apparent difference between Trigger and Dust is that the former is motivated by money rather than a personal quest.

OOC: Brikman- I agree, the mental image was spectacular. I think we can call this one a handwave. Maybe they flew in a spare radio from a different outpost or something. Anything in the interest of time management, really. I can't really speak for anyone else, but I think the generally chilly reception Trigger has gotten is mainly because Zenna was a character with whom we were familiar, and the switch was rather abrupt; Trigger just showed up out of nowhere. To contrast, when that guy switched characters, we'd already had a good long time to get to know Hertz, so even though we all loved Dust and his magnificent chaotic antiheroism, the change felt natural. I think we would have had a similar reaction if you had switched to one of your established NPCs, even Rotor -- I think he could easily have been turned into an antihero. In addition, it seems to me that you've put a great deal of effort into showing us what an arrogant son of a Jack Stone he is. However, we are unable to see him with the same depth that you as his creator can. Dust, despite outwardly being an extremely nasty individual, was a sympathetic character because we got to see his internal monologue. All we can see of Trigger is an ASOJS. I do, however, think that Trigger has potential to be an interesting character, quite a bit of it in fact.As a disclaimer, the above is all purely observation, not criticism

OOC: So, I assume if the battle was ending around dusk, we should all be back at HQ by morning.EDIT: avmatoran, consider your offer accepted by Katerina, Rainer, and Wolfgang.IC: The T-1 stopped off briefly at Outpost 4 for refueling and maintenance, and after picking up extra passengers, lifted off to fly through the night to Lego City.Hotwire, who had dozed off in the rear cockpit on the way from the temple to the outpost, awoke to the sight of a dark, moonless sky speckled with stars. He checked his watch -- 1:37. With a yawn, he swiveled the seat around and stood, stretching his aching limbs, and stepped into the midsection of the helicopter. The pilot had turned off the interior lights, so Hotwire nearly upended a figure sleeping in one of the seats by the radar/comm display. He looked around the interior of the T-1. Three agents sat against the port side door, huddled around a card game lit by an emergency glow stick, which was currently providing the only illumination inside the craft. Another agent had unrolled a sleeping bag right on the deck and was emitting light snores that occasionally grew loud enough to be heard over the deep steady rumble of the engines. Helm sat in the upper forward cockpit, conversing with the pilot.Hotwire moved forward to the cockpits. "ETA?" he asked.The pilot, a youngish man by the name of Larson, took a swig from a thermos of coffee before answering. "Few more hours. We should reach our destination just before dawn unless there are problems."Hotwire nodded, and turned back to the cabin. He jumped; there was another figure on board whom he hadn't noticed before, sitting on the other side of the radar desk. He moved closer, stepping carefully around the card game. During that brief moment, while he did not have the wall to lean on, the T-1 hit a patch of turbulence and he stumbled. One of the card players reached out to steady him, and he grinned a silent 'thank you' to the agent, momentarily using her shoulder for support as he moved back against the wall, taking the last few steps to the mysterious seated figure."Septimus," he breathed in surprise when he recognized the figure. The Ogel Drone's uniform bore several tears, and he wore several bandages, to which Hotwire gestured quizzically."Bones can still break, even when they aren't covered by skin and sinew," the drone said in a low voice. "I didn't fare so well in the real Maelstrom Temple. I almost got left behind, but one of Katerina's synthfigs spotted me in the aftermath. I guess three eyes are better than two.""Not sure I agree with you on that one," said Hotwire, thinking of Loop. "Hey, incidentally, you were part of the squad that went into Hotep's temple, weren't you? What exactly happened in there? I heard Dust died and Lutsky went crazy.""Well, actually, that happened in the opposite order..."The two of them continued to talk as the T-1 barreled through the misty night, and after a while Hotwire couldn't help but feel an odd sense of familiarity toward the drone, like some sort of deja vu.

OOC: Don't worry, I got it. I just didn't bother to comment.And I don't think it's a problem if some groups leave the island straight off while others stop off at the outposts first. The latter course of action would be necessary for agents who have been stationed on the island for an extended period of time and would therefore probably have personal belongings to collect, whereas others who simply came as part of the mission would not necessarily have to do so and could just head straight back to Lego City. T-1s are probably stocked with provisions as well, so that could solve the food issue.Though for what it's worth I was planning to have my characters stop off at an outpost before leaving for good.

IC: "I never got a chance to mention why I left Antarctica, by the way," Helm mentioned conversationally. Hotwire stopped staring at the jungle as it passed under the T-1 and looked over curiously. "Ice snakes aside, things were going pretty well down there, especially since I found April once the riots calmed down.""Your wife?" Hotwire presumed.The mariner nodded. "Turns out I got all worried up over ShadowTech for nothing. We just evacuated in different group at different times, and the mess of bureaucracy made it difficult for us to reunite.""What about your son? Was he there too?"Helm grinned. "Now that's the crazy part. Apparently, he decided to join the Dino Attack Team, and from what April said he volunteered right around the time we were leaving the Goo Caverns. So he was on his way to Lego City while I was on my way to Antarctica. We must've passed each other on the way. Hopefully I'll be able to find him once everyone is back in HQ again."Hotwire laughed in astonihment. "That's...that's fantastic. Make sure you introduce me when you find him."

OOC: Hang on, I'm not sure how we got from Blaze smashing the Clinger against the wall and the Clinger retreating to suddenly the Clinger being able to make Blaze do stuff.

IC: This is not good. Blue person hits head on wall. I am in pain. Retreat. Letting go, for now. Hope masters will not be upset at this failure.

IC: Well, did say wanting to run again. But not like this. Not in control, because blue person still in control. Moving this fast is scary. Must take human, must have control. Wrap arms tighter.

IC: Last time took blue-person, blue-person was not awake. This one is. Makes harder.Crawl away, crawl away fast. Find cover. Behind crashed human-ship! Hear blue person make surprised sound. Crawling faster than he expected maybe?Crawl up the broken human-ship. Lift eye up, blue person doesn't notice. Then, leap.

OOC: And this is probably a good time to remember that I accidentally ditched Septimus before the battle at Hotep's temple even started. Why can I never remember that guy?

OOC: Sorry I've been away. I meant to agree with your plan, Chaos, but other obligations called. I think we could still make this work, though.IC: Everything happening so fast. One second, shooting and getting shot at. Then back in ship. Masters take human. Done good, they say. Then they send away again. Appear down in pod again, first thought -- home again? No, is different pod. On walker-ship. Opens and I drop onto human ship.Another blue-person! Want. Must take. Want to run and shoot again.

OOC: Good heavens, that victory was hardly Pyrrhic at all! We done good.IC: Hotwire sighed and pulled off his cap. "We won. We actually won. For once. Here's hoping we can keep this up."Helm glanced around the chamber at the tired, ragged team that had just purged the Temple of Imagination, and happened to spot Katerina Schattenberg across the room. "That's Kat, isn't it?" he sain quizzically. "I thought I heard she died."Hotwire laughed softly as the DA agents and various allies picked themselves up and all began making their way out to the waiting T-1s. "You've got a bit of catching up to do, my friend."--------------------Deep within the confines of his own mind, the tiny piece of Lupus Schattenberg that remained himself silently raged. Not only did the Maelstrom have complete control over him, but Phoenix and Cyrus were bossing him around too. The three of them had been making their way through the jungle towards the Maelstrom Temple, when a sudden stampede forced them to take cover in the trees. It seemed as though every single mutant dinosaur on the island shared their intent. However, as a result, they were still half a mile away from the bridge when all three Stromlings suddenly felt a sickening twist in the fabric of the world. They looked at one another, and as they collectively began to weaken, it became clear what had just occurred.The Dino Attack Team had won, and the Maelstrom was being forced off the planet.Loop's trueself immediately began to grapple for control against his Stromlingself. Without the influence of the Darkitect, this was an easy battle. He immediately began to metabolize the Maelstrom energy that was still contained in his body, and then he walked over to the two Agents, who, having also fought off the Maelstrom's hold on their minds were quite understandably shaken."I suppose we should find Captain Osprey and turn ourselves in," Cyrus was saying.Phoenix nodded. "Maybe they can find a way to cure us completely," she agreed.Loop spoke up. "No need for that." Laying a hand on each of their shoulders, he drew the Maelstrom energies out of their bodies. The two Agents gasped in amazement as their eyes changed from red to black, and their skin back to yellow. Loop stepped back, and began to undergo a similar transition as he finished metabolizing the dark energy, which turned to electricity in his cells.Phoenix and Cyrus, though exhausted, laughed with joy, and the three minifigs continued down the path towards the temple. Neither of the two Agents, walking in front, noticed Loop's odd smile, or the purplish sparks that danced across his fingertips.Their screams and pleas for mercy rang out like music, and for the first time in months, Lupus Schattenberg felt truly happy.

OOC: So, for simplicity's sake I think we ought to assume that Team H, by which I mean Hotwire, Hertz, and Helm, entered the main chamber a few minutes before the latest PeaSam IC?Incidentally, PeaSam, I'd say that was a bit of a Crowning Moment of Awesome on Frozeen's part. xDIC: There were certain things that Hotwire very strongly preferred not to think about. Metaphorical doors in his head that he kept shut. Thoughts that he passed over, forced back, and masked with a grin. So far it had worked. He'd kept those bits of his past out of mind, and had managed to cultivate in himself a sense of optimism.Unfortunately, it now seemed that one of those mental doors had opened, because a figure had just walked out of it and onto the battlefield."Any of your new buddies know your time on this team began with failure, Hotwire?" the figure asked. He was tall and light-haired, and his Dino Attack uniform also sported a small Alpha Team insignia. "Maybe I oughta let them in on those little details.""Swerve, sir, I-- I didn't, I mean," Hotwire stammered."All you had to do," Elite Agent Swerve cut in, "was fix the megablocking radio. That's all it would have taken to save an entire town. No, don't spout more excuses. All four of us saw that horde of dinos headed for Mt. Bricklake, and if you'd just gotten through to HQ we coulda gotten backup. But you just sat there in shock. You never told your friend Fullmetal that you were the one responsible for the utter destruction of his home, did you?" He spat. "That's not even mentioning the fact that you then proceeded to abandon me.""Those were your orders, though. You were cut off by the rockfall," Hotwire protested. "You told us to get back to the nearest outpost for help, not to worry about you.""No, that's what Spectrum told you I said," Swerve growled. "You were a spineless coward for not arguing.""And that doesn't even compare to what you did to me, Dave."No, Hotwire pleaded silently. Not her, not here. But as the new speaker walked from behind him to join Swerve, his dread was confirmed. The DA uniform was the same as Swerve's, sporting the Alpha Team insignia. And the short, reddish hair was the same shade as the fringe escaping Hotwire's cap."You left me for dead," accused Sarah O'Neal, better known as Agent Talon. "My own brother.""But you were dead," said Hotwire. "I saw what that lizard did." He shuddered as the memory sprang up before his mind's eye -- Spectrum at the wheel of Swerve's Iron Predator, speeding down the mountain road with the dinosaurs in pursuit...the mutant lizard leaping from the hillside onto the turret, tumbling to the pavement with Talon in its blood-soaked claws -- and the agony of that moment overcame him. He crumpled in a motion that began as though he would sink to his knees but ended, thanks to the awkward position of his leg replacement, with falling backwards into a sitting position."You should've gone back for me," Talon hissed. "You didn't even bother to stop and save me.""What was I supposed to do?" Hotwire cried. "Leap out of an IP at over seventy miles per hour? Spectrum sure wasn't stopping.""Oh, come on," Talon scoffed. "We both know he was an arrogant son of a Jack Stone. The least you could have done was knock him one upside the head -- or znap, just thrown him overboard -- and stop the IP yourself. No, Swerve's right. You're a pathetic, spineless coward. Unforgivable."Hotwire choked back a sob. With the doors in his mind wide open, there was nothing he could do to stop the wave of anguish and despair that overwhelmed him.Swerve abruptly stepped forward and kneed him in the face. His head snapped back and he lost his grip on the laser rifle, which clattered to the ground beside him. "Get up, coward," Swerve sneered. All Hotwire could do was spit out the blood that was filling his mouth and stifle another sob. Swerve growled. "I said, get UP!" He wound up and kicked Hotwire squarely in the chest, knocking him back a foot."Aw, go a bit easier on the coward," Talon said malevolently. "Can't you see he's a cripple? All he needs is a bit of help." She stepped forward to where Hotwire now lay, grabbed his prosthetic leg and twisted it roughly. Hotwire screamed.At that moment the world seemed to ripple. For a brief second, Swerve and Talon were replaced by Stromlings. Then, in the blink of an eye, they were back to normal, taunting him and lashing out with kicks against his head, sides, severed leg...Hotwire retreated from the physical world, verging on unconsciousness just to escape both the physical and emotional pain wracking his body. But the image of the Stromlings standing in place of his squad leader and sister stuck in his mind. The memory of Helm standing in the corridor, frozen in fear of a giant snake only he could see sprang up, and Hotwire was suddenly filled with a burning rage. He opened his eyes, ignoring the pain. In one smooth motion, he grabbed his laser rifle from where it had fallen and swung it above him in a single arc, striking both his tormentors. Talon staggered back, and Swerve, who had one leg drawn back for another kick, lost his balance and fell over. Hotwire stood slightly unsteadily, using the gun to haul himself upright. He then raised the weapon and pointed it at Talon."You," he snarled, "have desecrated the memory of Sarah O'Neal." He squeezed the trigger, and his 'sister' fell with a smoking hole in her chest. By the time she hit the ground, the illusion had evaporated in a wave of purple smoke, leaving the body of a Stromling laying on the stone floor.'Swerve' gave a shriek and dropped his disguise. He charged at Hotwire, swinging the nasty serrated blade fused to his arm. Hotwire brought the laser rifle up to block the blow, but there was enough force behind it to make him stumble. The Stromling took the opportunity to lash out with another kick that knocked the Dino Attack agent to the ground again. It raised its blade, but at that moment a bolt of energy caught it directly in the face. The Stromling collapsed, and a strong hand pulled Hotwire upright. Helm, Sonic Screamer on his shoulder, aimed a concerned look at the Elite agent."You all right?" he asked."I will be, I think," Hotwire responded, retrieving his laser rifle. "Thanks, I owe you one."Helm chuckled. "I owed you already. If anything, this makes us even." They turned again to face the battle raging around them, as the Darkitect shot a bolt of lightning at the mysterious samurai, and with a look of determination Hotwire forced the doors of his memory closed once again.OOC; So...this actually wasn't the idea I'd had when I last posted. I had intended to write a scene in which Hotwire is confronted by a facsimile of Agent Cane, culminating in Katerina shooting the disguised Stromling. Then I remembered that I'd always intended to tell the grim tale of Hotwire's first mission as a Rookie Agent, but scrapped the story after only three drafts, always intending to return to it at some undetermined point in the future. I dunno whether y'all remember my characters from AT: Ogel's Last Stand, but they were intended for that the whole time, and I realized abruptly that this was the perfect opportunity to finally get that story told....Gosh, I sure do love Writing By the Seat of My Pants.