Join the Club pt. 3

"Alright, wise ones," says Lirassa sourly, "where do you suggest we go now?"

"Not standing around here in the hallway!" replies Betham.

"Obviously," adds Mon'Fargret.  Noting Mey'Luskar coming up behind him, he asks her, "You know this place?"

She gestures affirmative.  "That's just the first floor lounge there.  Adu...what's-her-face...won't be there."  Anticipating Lirassa's question, she adds, "The kitchens are to the left, and I think the other way goes to the business office."

Lirassa toys with her pistol.  "Good.  Let's put 'em out of business."

"That's not why we're here," reminds Betham.

"Maybe not YOU," retorts Lirassa.

*     *     *

 

  Meanwhile, just before entering the mansion, Widjgeeby turns and regards the fleeing group again.  Then her gaze moves to her grenade launcher.  A twinge of excitement pulses through her massive frame.

"Aw, just one," she mumbles, drawing an awkward bead.  She hesitates as a tiny knot of uncertainty pops out of a trap door in the back of her mind.  It whimpers for a moment.  But then her eagerness ruthlessly stomps it flat.

"Just one..."

*     *     *

"First things first," says Mon'Fargret.  "Where do you think Adulie will be?"

Mey'Luskar pauses as unpleasant memories pass through her thoughts.  "The club is just upstairs.  That's where the real toughs will be...watching the stairs.  In fact..."  She glances around.  "Why isn't the whole place coming down on us?"

"I've been wondering that, too," adds Betham.  "I don't like this.  In fact, I..."  He shudders.

"I'm not wondering at all," retorts Lirassa, glancing around restlessly.  "An opportunity should never be wasted."

"I agree with you partly," says Mon'Fargret.  "Nothing but door guards and floor guards so far, and now nothing.  Either we really did take them by surprise, or..."  He eyes his pistol thoughtfully.

"Or...?" echoes Pru anxiously.

"Getting up those stairs isn't going to be pretty."  With a sigh, Mon'Fargret turns and glances toward Pru, who is checking out the nearby cloakroom window.  "Where's Granite Spear?"

"I think she went through the other door," replies Pru.

*     *     *

Widjgleeby pulls the trigger...and nothing happens.  Grunting impatiently, she sniffs around the weapon for a bit until she locates what is probably the safety and a cocking mechanism.  Then she tries again, aiming into the group just as it arrives in the parking lot.

*     *     *

"Other door..."  Mon'Fargret clicks his tongue irritably and lifts his wrister.  Before he touches it, however, it chimes at him.  "Go," he says.

"Granite Spear has secured the security station," reports Nekshi's voice.

"I guess it wasn't very secure," notes Betham.  His attempt at humor elicits only glares.

"That's good," replies Mon'Fargret.  "Now leave the baggage, get the fighters in front, and..."

"Wait, this is all wrong," protests Nekshi.  "It's illogical!  The security station..."

"What about it?"

"Granite Spear says the guard at the security panel was catatonic."

Mon'Fargret shares furrowed brows with the others.  "Um...don't you mean comatose?"

Pru giggles.

"No, catatonic !"  Nekshi's voice betrays a hint of indignance.  "I looked up the Yangae word to be sure!  Conscious, but unaware."

"What could do that?"  Mon'Fargret and the others exchange uncertain glances.  Nekshi remains silent.

"Psy?" suggests Lirassa.  "But why?  Who would freeze the watchman?"

"Someone who wants to get in," replies Betham, "or wants us to get in.  A trap?"

"Or an opportunity."  Mon'Fargret glances at Lirassa.  "We still need to get up there."

*     *     *

Widjgleeby pulls the trigger.  There is a muffled report...followed by a much bigger report.  The aim was off, so the blast is well short of the target.  The fireball isn't particularly big or bright, but it appears to be above ground.  Ricocheting shrapnel can be heard like a sort of dissonant percussion ensemble among the parked vehicles.  Anti-personnel rounds, then?  Obviously not high-yield, though.

Widjgleeby recocks the weapon.

*     *     *

 The sudden blast outside makes everyone jump.  A few glances are exchanged.  Then there is a chorus of sighs.

"Our Farbett friend just upped the ante," says Mon'Fargret.  "We're out of time."

"There's an elevator," suggests Mey'Luskar.  She gestures east.  "Over there.  The cooks use it."

"Elevator..."  Mon'Fargret pauses thoughtfully.  Then he looks over at Pru again.  The light bulb over his head is almost visible.  He taps his wrister.  "Zeton!  Is Ham up yet?"

"He's only just coming around," reports the Lybolt.  "Furnfin...whatever his name is...is picking him up right now."

"Alright, I guess he'll help if and when he can," says Mon'Fargret.  "As for you, make sure your guest doesn't interfere, and get yourself up here.  We've got work to do."

"What's your plan?" demands Lirassa.

"We'll send a strike team up through the elevator first," replies Mon'Fargret.  "Either they'll secure the landing or tie up the guards enough for the others to come up the stairs."

"We'd better leave the non-coms in the basement," recommends Betham.  He jerks a thumb at Mey'Luskar.  "Including her.  Pru could stand guard."

"I'm not staying down there!" she cries.

"Me either!" adds Pru.  "We're moving, like it or not!  And we need Bina up here, too."

"Alright, whatever," sighs Mon'Fargret.  "But let's get moving!"

Join the Club pt. 2

Lirassa starts to move forward, thinks better of it, and tosses out her mini-robot instead, shouting a command in Brekka. The little machine glides into the corridor junction...

...and almost immediately comes under stun bolt fire from the west. One bolt grazes the mini-robot, and it automatically retreats.

 Swearing, Lirassa jumps across the corridor and presses herself against the stairs, weapon at the ready. Mon'Fargret glances at Betham, who reassures him with an awkward grunt and vibe of annoyance. Then he moves out around Lirassa.

Up above, Granite Spear looks both up and down the curved stairway, debating her next move. It's dark up above, but she can sense there are living beings up there. On the other hand, her loyalty sense gnaws at her...

Just as Widjgleeby reaches the landing, Mey'Luskar crouches down to pick up a pistol dropped by one of the felled door guards.

 "Nice!" she coos.

The Farbett brings herself to an awkward halt, rumbling impatiently. Pru, eager to get to the top, walks right into the giant reptile's backside and snaps, "Hey, watch it, you!" Widjgleeby turns to confront the dark-skinned Yangae but smells danger.

She and Pru glance toward the west door just as it slides open with a bang to reveal a guard with light body armor and a carbine.

 Acting on pure instinct, Widjgleeby dives through the still-open front door just as the guard pulls the trigger...and nothing happens.

Snatching up the expensive-looking designer pistol, Mey'Luskar breaks into a run..and plows right into Betham as he tries to stand.

 Landing on the porch outside, Widjgleeby dimly notices that there is a group of people (three that smell like Yangae and three armored figures of uncertain race) hurrying away but concerns herself with the activity inside the house. She regains her bearings and turns back toward the door.

Sensing the commotion, Granite Spear spins around, presses against the rail, and begins scanning the area with all her senses. The strong beat going through the floor makes her acoustic sense almost useless and makes it hard to focus...

Whining like a wet fezik, Mey'Luskar spins around as she regains her balance and notices the guard is fiddling with his gun rather than shooting it. She glances at the pistol for an instant, guesses what button might be the safety, and trips it as the guard reinitializes his weapon.

Behind her, Betham takes a couple of steps to secure his footing and moves toward Mon'Fargret.

Shaking her head to clear it, Granite Spear finally spots the guard and notes the positions of the others. Through the fog of her battle lust, she begins weighing her options.

Lirassa makes no such effort.  Popping out from behind her cover, she squeezes off a shot at the other guard.

Stowing the bulky pistol as best she can, Granite Spear begins to climb on top of the stair rail and readies herself to jump.

Mey'Luskar purses her lips and shoots the handsome-looking pistol. There is a flash and a crackle of ionized air, and both the guard's weapon and the breastplate of his armor melt away into plasma. "Scarlet!" she hums, eying the pistol with a grin.

Lirassa adjusts her aim and shoots again. Then she ducks back and sends out her mini-robot.

Betham comes to a stop behind Mon'Fargret and reaches out with his psy senses.

With a violent HWOOPH, Granite Spear launches herself airborne, lands off-balance on the center stair landing (directly in front of Pru, who has to abort her attempt to emerge to keep from getting skewered), rolls, and comes to a stop braced on her feet and tail right in front of the guard. Partly confused, partly petrified, the guard manages one word or two before the Shurian's beak tears his throat off. Granite Spear then tosses the gurgling guard aside and continues into the room behind him. A second later, a loud crash can be heard followed by the Shurian's excited clicking.

"Oh!" whines Mey'Luskar. "I wanted to shoot my gun again!" With a huff, she struts on her way toward the others, tossing her head at Pru when the latter hurries to catch up with her.

Mon'Fargret glances at Betham expectantly, and the latter says, "There's one more guard in the parlor over there." He points south. "She's scared boneless. So are the people over that way." He gestures west. "Most of the people in the parlor don't know what's going on."

"Yeah?" retorts Lirassa. "Well, we need to fix that. Come on!" She swaggers out into the corridor.

"Do we really need to do that?" wonders Mon'Fargret.

"That's what I want to know," adds Betham. "What exactly are we trying to do here, anyway?"

Join the Club pt. I

 

 

As Lirassa presses herself against the counter on the east side to avoid the incoming fire, the others quickly take action.  Granite Spear struggles to maneuver herself around without getting tangled up in anything or anybody.  Meanwhile, Betham and Mon'Fargret dart around the ascending staircase to the east.

To the south, a guard stands in a doorway brandishing a carbine with which he continues to rain stun bolts on Lirassa's position.

Betham instantly pulls his holomatte cloak around himself and dives to the floor while Mon'Fargret calmly takes a pot shot with his pistol.

It's a clean miss.

Mon'Fargret ducks back behind the post on the side of the staircase as the guard launches a volley in his direction.

Mey'Luskar hesitates at the top of the stairs as Widjgleeby appears behind her.

With a bloodthirsty whoomph, Granite Spear uses her compression leap to its fullest to launch herself up onto the east ascending staircase.  As she does so, Mon'Fargret pops out from behind his cover and squeezes off another shot.  It's closer this time, but the wall suffers yet another undeserved hit.  The guard answers with another volley in his direction which is equally ineffectual...though one errant burst grazes Betham, making him partly visible.

More tumbling than walking to the railing, Granite Spear fires off a more or less random shot from her enormous pistol.  The floor about two meters in front of the guard erupts in a ball of fire.

Mon'Fargret corrects his bead and shoots again, this time planting a pulse in the guard's face.  The laser energy can be seen to dissipate against the guard's visor.  The guard, meanwhile, perhaps confused by all the goings-on, unloads on Betham's position.  The combination of the stun bolts, the overloaded holomatte, and the stun-proofing of Betham's body armor make an interesting light show.

Similarly irritated, both Mon'Fargret and Granite Spear fire again almost simultaneously.  Still not having a clear view of the target, the Shurian manages to cause another explosion directly at the guard's feet.  Mon'Fargret's shot lands right between the guard's eyes, only just penetrating.  The same is true of the pulse which follows a fraction of a second afterward, but this time it's directly on the guard's eye.

Lirassa yells a Besteeng battle cry as Mon'Fargret plants one more pulse directly on the hole scored by the last one.  The guard screams and clutches at his helmet as he crumples to the floor.

Securing the Landing pt. III

Mon'Fargret carefully steps around Granite Spear to the west door and puts his ear to it. Nothing can be heard. The music in the air is strangely muffled, as if the source itself were muted but the floor and walls were acting as a conductor.

Reading the thought, Betham says, "I think it's coming from that way." He points south toward the stairwells. "Somewhere behind the stairs. I sense a lot of people that way." Then he looks around at the smoldering bodies on the floor with disapproval.

Lirassa crouches, pauses, and then quickly jumps around the corner of the stairs toward the window to the east. After a quick scan with her pistol, she relaxes with a sigh and mutters to herself.

Mey'Luskar suddenly appears on the stairs, which then creak as if in agony.

"Ooh, that Farbett is going to wreck the place!" she cries.

"Let's hope the music muffled that," replies Mon'Fargret.  "In any case, we'd better get a move on."

He, Betham, and Granite Spear turn to follow after Lirassa, who mutters something evilly about the leafy-green carpeting.

All at once, Lirassa's muttering ends in a grunt of surprise and she stiffens.  In the next instant, a volley of stun bolts cuts low across her position, one of them catching her in the shin.  The Besteeng convulses but stays on her feet.

Securing the Landing pt. II

Lirassa disappears completely.  Mon'Fargret, with Betham close behind, heads up the stairs.  Both vanish as well.

"I don't remember that !" mutters Mey'Luskar as she starts up the stairs, Widjgleeby closing from behind.  Pru follows uneasily.

"Is Ham alright?" calls Zeton across to Bina.

"He's just stunned!" replies the disgraced priestess as she looks over the Ibitonian.  "At least I think he is!  I don't see anything else!"

Over by the crystal's display stand, Nekshi and L'Toyei start a very low but apparently animated conversation.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the action, Mon'Fargret and Betham cross what appears to be a cloaking curtain, and everything at the top of the stairs suddenly comes into view.  (At exactly the same moment, the thumping of loud but muffled music becomes audible.)  What are apparently the front doors of the mansion stand open to the night.  Two armored figures and one in ordinary (but professional looking) clothing lie on the floor with smoldering wounds.  Granite Spear prods one of the armored ones to the left.  Lirassa, weapon in hand, eases around the banister of the stairway to the right.  On either side of the stairway, twin curved staircases arc upward to the next floor.  There is also a door to the left and a passageway going right.

Securing the Landing

"Lirassa," starts Mon'Fargret into his wrister.

Puzzled, Granite Spear starts to raise her staff to poke ahead.

"Are you there?" continues Mon'Fargret. "What's hap..."

Just then, Granite Spear's fighting reflexes allow her to jump aside just as Ham suddenly materializes directly in front of her and tumbles backward.

On the other side of the stairway, Lirassa can be seen partly to appear. She seems to be quickly crouching and pressing herself against the rail.

"...pening?" continues Mon'Fargret.

Granite Spear immediately grasps her bulky pistol and dives up the stairs, disappearing from view as she passes Lirassa's half-visible form.  The armored Amazon, perhaps startled, seems to lose her balance and catches herself on the rail, allowing a little more of her form to fade into view.

"Lirassa!" cries Mon'Fargret.

Forgetting all about the crystal, Bina sprints across toward Ham, cutting in front of Mon'Fargret and leaping across the bottom of the stairs.  She pays no mind to the stun bolt that suddenly appears from nowhere in the stairwell and expends itself against the railing directly behind her.

Lirassa seems to right herself and move a little up the stairs again, parts of her fading out grotesquely as she does so.

"Tricks!" Widgy says, starting to move closer to the stairs as Betham raises his weapon and trots forward.

The Stairs to Where?

"How about if we misalign the crystal?" suggests Mon'Fargret.  "It might save us from what is ahead. Anybody game to turn it in a different direction?"

Bina eyes him as if he'd just asked her to jump off a bridge.

L'Toyei eyes him vacuously.

Nekshi raises an eyebrow and then walks right up to the crystal's display stand.

"No!" hisses Bina, waving her hands frantically. "Don't!!"

Nekshi pauses thoughtfully, and then she reaches through the shattered case and turns the crystal.

There is an instant of intense, heartstopping silence (other than Bina's brief vocal/psychic cry of alarm).  Then, suddenly, there is a dramatic outburst of absolutely nothing.

"Obviously not physical alignment," observes Nekshi, scratching her chin as she moves away.

"Obviously not !" retorts Bina through clenched teeth. "That word..." She purses her lips. "I think...it has...well, it would have a more spiritual meaning, wouldn't it?"

"We don't know, do we?" barks Betham. "So let's leave it! Come on, let's move!"

As Mon'Fargret waits at the bottom of the stairs for Mey'Luskar to catch up, Lirassa and Ham move quickly up (or at least as quickly as their armor allows) with Granite Spear close behind.

Then Granite Spear, Mon'Fargret, and Mey'Luskar react with surprise as both Ham and Lirassa seem simply to vanish into thin air, leaving only the empty stairway.

The Crystal and the Oneness

The procession continues to pass through the narrow hallway and into the chamber.  As it does so, Widjgleeby impatiently pushes one of the doors out of her way, just missing Mey'Luskar and blocking Pru.

Mey'Luskar only gives the massive reptile a pensive glare and moves on.
"Hey, WATCH IT, you oversized clod!" snaps Pru from behind the door.

Lirassa and Ham continue to strut toward the older Yangae man, who trembles and stammers as he backs toward the display case behind him.

Bina enters the chamber and heads straight toward the crystal with an emotional moan, Atraktu on her heels.  Betham pauses in the doorway and eyes the large gem warily.

 "That's it!" hisses the constable.  "That...thing...has been buzzing in my head since we got here!"

"You fear the Oneness," sings Bina as if in a daze.

"Fear?"  Betham grunts with annoyance.  "All I give a flame about right now is that...rock...is driving me bonkers!"

"A gift from the Elders," retorts Bina as she comes up behind Nekshi.  "It calls to us!"

Betham sighs and shakes his head.

"If you're talking about that old rock," says Mey'Luskar weakly, "just forget it!  Keep walking!  I HATE that thing!"

"Don't fear the Oneness!" replies Bina.

A Mysterious Relic

"You didn't have to do that!" cries the older man in a near panic as the burning ruin of his young companion lands heavily (and messily) on the floor.
"Yes, I did," retorts Lirassa as she struts forward, Ham moving out from behind her.

Nekshi huffs impatiently as the two large, armored humanoids finally allow her egress.  Entering the room with Granite Spear close behind, she ignores the goings-on in the center and heads straight for the case holding the large crystal.

"Don't touch it!" calls Bina from back in the hallway.

"Fascinating!" says Nekshi, and she starts fiddling with her wrister.  "If I'm not mistaken..."

"Let me see it!" cries Bina.

"As I thought!" says Nekshi.  "Temple technology!  Or at least a very reasonable facsimile..."

"Let me through!" cries Bina from behind Granite Spear.  "Let me see it!"

"I don't like this!" calls Betham from further back.

A Diamond in the Dark

(Recapping and continuing)
Mon'Fargret speaks with the couple while aiming his pistol at them, "I apologize for the intrusion. Place your hands in the air and realize I am very good with this pistol. That is a very nice crystal. Tell me about it."

It's a couple of guys, one of whom looks middle aged and respectable and the other of whom looks to be in his late teens and a bit more rowdy in style.

The kid smirks and strikes a cocky pose. "Do you even know where you are?"

Mon'Fargret's finger twitches ever so gently on the trigger, and a burst of vaporized material erupts from the edge of the display case behind the two men.  The older one jumps with fright. The younger one, however, only takes a couple of startled steps and then resumes his haughty stance.

"The next one won't miss," says Mon'Fargret.  "Talk about the function on the crystal."

"That?" replies the younger man smugly, gesturing toward the crystal. He chuckles. "Who knows? It's just some old Gothie relic. Ancient witch-ware. I don't know what it does...or how the lady got it." He glances over his shoulder and raises an eyebrow. "I guess I don't have to call for the guards."

Mon'Fargret pauses, but then Lirassa gives him a shove, sending him out of the doorway so she can emerge herself.

"Stop holding up the procession!" she barks.  Then she sees the two men and sings a sweet, "Good evening, gentlemen!" Her pistol rises into position.  Behind her, Ham levels his stun carbine under her arm.

"I don't think the guards are coming," observes the older man anxiously.

"The guards have already been here," retorts Mon'Fargret, resuming his steely gunpoint.

"They're still here, too," adds Lirassa, nodding to the rear.  "On the floor.  Wanna see?"

The younger man's smirk lowers a bit and a spark of worry enters his eyes.  His voice sounds thinner as he says, "Look, I don't know what this is about, but at least try not to be stupid!  You're not.."

His last utterance ends with a nasty gurgle as his chest cavity bursts open in a cloud of luminescent steam.  Flames play about his clothing as he topples over.

The older man dances with panic.

"Don't call me stupid," says Lirassa flatly.

Mon'Fargret sighs as confusion can be heard from back within the corridor.  Bina is trying to push her way through the group.

Into the Gallery

"Lirassa," calls Mon'Fargret as he steps over the just-shot guard to get to the door, "get Nekshi and Granite up here and Widg too if she can fit. Fighters in front. Zeton will see to Ham. Get Betham to look at you and tell him to pull it together and watch Mey and Bina." Indifferently, he picks up the guard's pistol and examines the door.

Lirassa starts reciting her own version of what Mon'Fargret said as she comes up behind him.

"I'm alright," grunts Ham in protest as he stiffly follows after her, blocking the side entrance just as Nekshi and Granite Spear try to come through.

With a snort of discomfort, Widjgleeby does her best to turn around in the tight space.

Betham, his back pressed tightly against the corridor wall to let people pass, moans, "Could they have made this any narrower?"

"I don't think they expected people to have a party in here," says Zeton in a failed attempt at humor.

Bina gestures toward the closet.  "Maybe I should see what I can learn from them," she offers.

"Maybe you should just close the door," retorts Mey'Luskar.  "The less you learn, the better.  Trust me on this one."

Just then, Mon'Fargret pries open the inert sliding doors to reveal a large chamber.

In the eerie glow of emergency lights, the room reveals itself to be a sort of museum, no doubt a display of the owner's private collection.  There are many works of art on the walls and on various stands.  Glass cases display a variety of valuable items.  Without a doubt the most imposing display, however, is a purplish stand holding a case containing what looks like a large, carved crystal with some kind of writing on it.

Mon'Fargret fancies that the large crystal seems to be giving off a faint luminescence of its own.  He also notes that the sight of it gives him the creeps.

There is another set of sliding double doors on the opposite side of the chamber, a couple of smaller doors on either side to the south, and a beautiful, marble staircase going up to the ground floor.

The only people visible in the room are a Yangae couple standing between a couple of display cases eying Mon'Fargret warily.

What's Behind the Door?

Ham starts to stir, so Lirassa hefts him onto his feet and helps him out into the outer corridor (as opposed to in out to the inner corridor), allowing the rest of the party to move.

"Easy, Granite!" says Zeton, carefully easing his bulk around Granite Spear's spiky form and into the closet.  "Let's get her calmed down fi...uh..."  He blushes hotly orange, and his gaze quickly drops to the floor with Lybolt modesty.  Spying the clothing there, he picks up the woman's garments and offers them to the Shurian without a word.

Granite Spear eyes the Lybolt blankly for a second or two, takes the clothes, and uses them to tie up the woman even more securely.  In the process, she frees up one tentacle just long enough to say a curt, "See to the male," with her talkbox.  Zeton complies quietly.

"This door solid," grunts Widjgleeby, tugging in vain with four arms.  Then she backs up and levels the grenade launcher.  "Just one?"

"Put that damned thing away!" snaps Lirassa.  "If those are high-end boomers, just one will make us all mincemeat!"

Mon'Fargret peers into the corridor from the doorway and nods toward Ham.  "Can he move?"

"He's coming around," replies Lirassa.  "We're go."

Mon'Fargret nods at the guard on the floor.  "What about that?"

Widjgleeby gives the guard a good sniffing and then shrugs two pairs of shoulders.

Mon'Fargret sets his jaw and peers at the double doors to the left.  "I wonder what's behind those?"

Behind him, Nekshi pauses to look into the closet, bringing the rest of the party to an abrupt halt.  So abrupt, in fact, that Betham barely avoids bumping into her.  Bina, however, does not avoid bumping into him.

"Hey, watch it!" snaps the constable as much ahead as behind.  "Can we all be just a little more alert?"

"Forgive me!" retorts Bina with an irritated sigh.  Looking back at Mey'Luskar, she says, "Sister, you need to control your feelings!  You're blinding my senses!"

"I can't help it!" whimpers Mey'Luskar.  "I've been here before!  I know what's coming!"

"I'm familiar with that woman," reports Nekshi.  "She is Ami'Sallan, the host of 'The Civilized Kitchen' on the Morva Free Channel.  I always thought her recipes sounded as overwrought as her fashion sense."  She furrows her brows.  "This, however, may qualify as an improvement!"  She looks down at the man.  "I may have seen him before, too.  Maybe a news anchor?"

Betham squeezes past Nekshi.  "With all this noise, it's a wonder the whole sodding place isn't on us by now!"

Bina clutches her head.  "With all THIS noise, I can't sense...someone's coming!"  She nods to the left.

Betham taps Mon'Fargret's left shoulder and gestures as he takes cover.  Mon'Fargret eases partly behind the door, pistol at the ready.  Across the hall, Lirassa starts to brandish her stun carbine, but Mon'Fargret hisses at her and nods back into the corridor.  Lirassa nods in understanding, lowers the carbine, and backs toward the stunned guard.

There is a click, and the double doors to the left jolt apart a few centimeters.  Armored fingers press through, and then the doors are slid ponderously open to reveal a single guard similar to the one on the floor.

"Help!" cries Lirassa in Yangae, gesturing at Ham and the stunned guard.  "They've been shot!"

"Shot?" Echoes the newcomer in a masculine yet effeminate voice.  He wrestles with the doors and enters the corridor.  "With what?  I heard a blast...over in the restroom..." Once he clears the doorway and releases the doors. they quickly slide shut again of their own accord.  "Who's shooting?"

Lirassa points toward the doorway to the south.  "They went that way!"

"Who?"  He glances toward the doorway.  "Why are you even up here?  You're supposed to be down guarding the...who's there?" The guard leaps back a pace or two, wheels toward Mon'Fargret, and goes for his weapon.

Quick as a flash, Lirassa raises her stun carbine and...fumbles.  The weapon flies through the air.

Mon'Fargret immediately follows and is more successful.  Sparks fly from the guard's throat as laser pulses tear open the vulnerable spot.  The guard hits the floor only a fraction of a second before Lirassa's carbine.

"I believe that's the way we should go," observes Mon'Fargret as he retrieves the weapon.

"I don't like it," retorts Betham.  "Whatever it is that is bothering me..."  He nods toward the double doors.  "That's where it is."

Uninvited Guests

Widjgleeby starts to move forward, jostling Ham and Lirassa, and growls with impatience.  Caught off guard, the two armored warriors move aside to let the Farbett pass and then fall in behind her.

Behind the door is a chamber with three exits.  The ones on either side are heavy-looking cargo doors.  The one in the middle is an opening behind which is another set of stairs, this one narrower than the ones in the shaft.

Without pausing for a moment, Widjgleeby continues forward and up the stairs.  It only goes up the equivalent of a single story before arriving at a very plain-looking room with a set of double doors off to one side.

The door is slightly ajar.  Behind it, muffled moans can be heard.

Out of the Darkness and Into...?

Ham and Lirassa continue up the looping stairs (not technically a spiral since it is broken at regular intervals by terraces) with Widjgleeby close behind.  The steps are about three meters wide, meaning there's not much room to pass the Farbett, so Granite Spear follows closely behind to one side, Nekshi right at her tail.  Zeton, scowling, marches next to the Zorlan.  Betham and Mon'Fargret come next, weapons at the ready.

Behind them trudge Bina and Mey'Luskar.  The latter mutters darkly, while the former radiates an aura of indignation.  Atraktu moves between and slightly behind them, not sure what to make of it all.  Pru, one of her looted guns at the ready, marches a pace back, eying the Ahmonite warily.

Furnfinndorn and L'Toyei quietly bring up the rear.

About a third of the way up, the panting starts.  A little more than halfway up, Widjgleeby comes to a stop.  "Need rest," she moans.

"Oh, come on!" snarls Lirassa.  "Put some spunk in it!"

"I'm with her!" huffs Mey'Luskar, leaning heavily against the rail.  "Not all of us are sodding war machines!"

"Why don't we leave the tired ones here for a minute," suggests Betham, "while the rest of us move ahead and see what's up there."

UPDATE 5/3 (since no one has commented)

After a bit of the usual quibbling, it is decided that Widjgleeby, Mey'Luskar, Bina, Atraktu, and L'Toyei will stay and rest while Pru stands guard.  The rest of the party continues up the remaining few levels to the top. 

Zobog has already scouted ahead and found nothing of any obvious concern, as Zeton reports.  There are a couple of domed housings on the ceiling near the doors at the top, but they appear to be inert.  The doors themselves are obviously equipped with some kind of protection, but it's unclear whether it's active or not.

The party assembles on the landing, eying the doors and the surrounding chamber warily.  Then Ham takes a few impatient steps closer, ignoring a few muffled warnings.  "I don't see any controls," he says.

"Intelligent," replies Furnfinndorn.  "It will open if it knows you, or if you know the password."

"Any ideas?" wonders Lirassa.

"What the..." mutters Betham in Her-galad.

Into the Bowels of the Eye

Widjgleeby goes into the tunnel after Granite Spear, Nekshi following close behind. The rest of the party soon falls into line.

Beyond the gate, the passage continues for about twenty meters and then makes a shallow bend to the left, after which the rather rough-looking cement walls suddenly become a more sophisticated-looking material with obvious signs of technology. A couple of ominous-looking domes on the ceiling (which could be sensors, weapons, or both) stand inert. There are a few racks and cabinets which (if anyone looks) contain some basic supplies (tools, rope, etc.).

After continuing for the better part of a hundred meters, the passageway ends at a pair of double doors. Off to one side is the hatch to what is probably a cargo elevator.

Bina hums with surprise.

"You have any idea what it is?" asks Betham with a troubled look.

"What?" demands Mey'Luskar, looking frazzled herself.

"You hear it, too," retorts Bina, "don't you, sister? Don't deny it!"

"I...," attempts Mey'Luskar, and then she gives up.

Into the Eye

"Hmmm," says Nekshi thoughtfully. "This deflector grid is not powered and seems to be unlocked." She starts quickly examining it and its arch.

"Wait a minute," says Mey'Luskar, starting forward.

Nekshi flips open a small, covered wall panel, eyes it for about 0.987 seconds, and then taps something on it.

"Um," says Mey'Luskar, quickening her pace.

There is a hiss, and the grate shoots upward into its socket, its final bang echoing dully in the gloomy chamber. The narrow tunnel beyond is dark and forbidding.

"Wait!" cries Mey'Luskar, breaking into a run. "Don't go in!" She hustles up next to Nekshi (who dodges out of the way just in time) and looks intently at the wall panel. "Off!" she says. "It's all turned off!"

As Nekshi starts to lecture her about the redundancy of her statement, Mey'Luskar quickly digs in her bag, pulls out a piece of candy, and tosses it into the tunnel. It bounces with a dry popping sound.

"This isn't right," she says darkly. "They would never turn everything off!"

Pru comes up behind her. "So Dusker did his job, just like he said!" She glances around at the others. "This is it! Are we going in?"

The Final Node

"Well, I'm not going to stand around thinking about it," says Betham irritably, and he starts off down the tunnel at a brisk pace, Bina falling in behind him. Zeton (with Zobog hovering nearby) and Granite follow as well.

With its usual level of uncertainty and disorganization, the party gradually moves along.

They traverse the passageway without incident and eventually arrive at yet another storage node, this one larger than the other two and bisected by what looks for all intents and purposes like a three-lane road that continues into a wide tunnel on either side.

There are two humanoids and a Farbett, all equipped for battle, lying motionless on the floor on the opposite side of the road.

Not far from them is a smaller tunnel entrance that is blocked by a grating or mesh gate. Above it is a sign saying, "Private property; no trespassing," in Yangae. Both the gate and the sign seem to be designed to look as forbidding as possible. It's as if that whole section of the storage node radiates a painfully loud, "Don't even think of coming in!"

"Think that might be it?" wonders Lirassa.

"It should be," say Betham and L'Toyei simultaneously.

"It is," adds Mey'Luskar in a brittle voice.

Moving On Again

The party starts to gather itself together to continue on its way...but with some uncertain glances at the various exits.

"Which tunnel was it?" wonders Pru. She points at the southwest exit. "That one?"

Betham glances at his wrister and opens his mouth to speak.

"That's where we came from," blurts L'Toyei. "That way leads to the main arterial tunnel under New Bousin Road and an access station there. You can get to your destination that way, of course, but it's not the most direct route." He points toward the southeast exit. "On the other hand, that one..."

"...is the way we want to go," interrupts Betham edgily. "It goes to another supply node..."

"...which is also on the New Bousin Road main arterial tunnel," butts in L'Toyei, "and is the junction to your destination, so you'll have to pass through it no matter..."

"Guarded?" asks Lirassa.

"Bet on it," replies Furnfinndorn darkly.

The Ehrlathagi guard starts quietly humming inside his cardboard fortress.

The party quickly check their weapons and gear. As they do so, Bina turns with a huff and strides impatiently toward the southeast tunnel, Atraktu falling behind her.

"Hey, you!" cries Mey'Luskar, hurrying after the priestess. "Wait! You're not g...uh?"

The three women come to an abrupt halt at the tunnel entrance.

Some members of the party react to something they've heard while others glance at them questioningly.

"Stun weapon fire!" reports Ham, nodding toward the southeast tunnel.

Linking Up

Gradually, the party follows Mon'Fargret and Zeton, easing out into the supply node while keeping a wary eye on the two guards and the strangers emerging from the opposite tunnel.

There are indeed two of them, a Farbett and a smallish humanoid of the race known as Ephri Em (a protectorate of the Ergothei Nation.) The Farbett, who is a bit on the short side but brawny, is geared up and very obviously armed. The Ephri Em doesn't seem to have anything but a wrister and the simple clothes he is wearing.

While the Farbett hangs back near the tunnel entrance and eyes (and sniffs) the party suspiciously, the Ephri Em walks confidently forward, staring at Mon'Fargret.

"There is no mistake," he says in the pleasantly accented Yangae heard before. "Mon'Fargret. The artist interviewed on the vid last night." His gaze shifts. "Zeton, the Lybolt reporter. This is a strange place to be investigating cultural issues."

Before there can be any reply, he moves toward the rest of the party and furrows his hairless brow. "But this is even stranger. I assume the two armored ones are from the same ship; perhaps this one is Lirassa. I can't recall the Ibitonian's name yet. And here we have Constable Betham without his badge and Bina Ber'maina without her brooch...together with Pu'Laru of the Night Guard? Curious!" He glances at Nekshi and Granite Spear and frowns. "I don't know these two...or the Ahmonite." He walks dismissively past them. "I do know Widjgleebie." Finally, his gaze lands on Mey'Luskar. "This one...I can't come up with a name, but the face is in circulation now. You are sought by many! There is even talk of a reward..."

Pru clicks off the safety on her gun. "Who are you, and what do you want?" she demands.

"My apologies," replies the Ephri Em evenly. "My name is L'Toyei, and it is my job to know things." He gestures toward the Farbett by the tunnel entrance. "My partner, Furfinndorn. As for why we are here..."

The Farbett clears his throat violently.

"Ah," says the Ephri Em with absolutely no change in his demeanor. "I suppose I should just say that Kuluf said to expect you. We...are looking for something similar, if we understood him correctly."

Under the Airfield...Under the Airfield

(Continued from the last comment thread)

Nekshi licks her lips nervously and activates the comm link through Zobog (in Ehrkiss),"This is training Cadet Solanei with supply, I have appropriated this robot from our fallen comrades to appraise you of the situation concerning the attackers. Although I am sorely wounded and frightened, I will continue to broadcast in the hopes you may gain the upper-hand tactically and rescue both our honor and my life. #cough#cough!"

Nekshi looks at Granite and shrugs.

There is an awkward pause.

"I don't know what you just said," says Pru quietly, "but I really hope you know what you're doing!"

Then, from both the tunnel ahead and at least two party members' wristers, a deep belly laugh can be heard.

There is an abrupt spate of clicks and hums as various firearm safeties are deactivated all over the party.

"Wait!" hisses Bina.

A deep voice calls out a hearty line in Ehrkiss punctuated with another laugh.

"What did he say?" demands Betham.

"He thinks Nekshi is a guard's sex toy or something," replies the disgraced priestess. "He thinks it's a joke!"