All comments are welcome and wanted, though the more constructive are more so!! Though if you won't comment at least vote that way I get SOME response.
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"I SAID NO LARIA!" Brian snarled at a pouty Laria. "And DON'T think that since we're separated by a few thousand miles and a view screen you can get away with what you're about to do."
"And what is it that I'm about to do?" Laria pouted, acting innocent enough to give someone diabetes.
"Laria, you just said that you all just saved some people from a wreck that in all likelihood someone wasn't supposed to walk away from and you act like I don't know what you're about to do?" Brain groaned. "Okay Laria. "He sighed. "So what if they're supposed to be dead, they aren't, YOU saw to that! DON'T let me find out that you've gone and ran wild with the mod pods,.I've got to go get ready for our run-in with the Palaricilon, Ciao." And with that he headed off the bridge. "Hey Atherian, how close to overloaded is this transport?" Brian asked as he barely squeezed through a gap in the equipment as he neared the armory.
"The transport is at it's maximum weight limit BUT, it is riding high and smooth all the same Captain." Atherian said as Brian reached the door to the armory and it slid open revealing a normally spacious area filled to bursting with weapons, armor and the wide array of armaments that normally wouldn't be exist much less in an occupied transport.
"Also there ARE enough battery packs and ammo canisters to allow us to make use of Tiff's Flechette Cannon more than once aren't there?" Brian asked as the suit was sealed around the squirrel's body who started chittering when she saw the helmet that would seal her in the metal coffin. "Easy big girl, we have NO IDEA what those bugs are going to do or throw at us so we ALL are going to be in-cased in these things. You're just going to be packing more hardware than most of us will be." He said as he leaned down and kissed her nose.
"Theoretically we SHOULD have enough battery packs and ammo packs. We have also taken the initiative and also created a number of canisters that will deliver a number of small but powerful charges. They should be helpful in eliminating or at the very least slowing down a large number of following adversaries, opening or closing doorways or just saying 'Hi, how WAS it going?' to the Queen's chambers or any of the possible hatcheries that we may come across." Said the animorphic deer that had been helping Tiffany into her armor.
"Better safe than sorry, even though I WOULD prefer to come to a mutually beneficial agreement with the bugs." Brian said as his own armor was pulled from underneath a pile.
"That wish might be a prime example of what is referred to as a 'Pipe Dream' Captain." Atherian advised him. "Though onto things that are very much not Pipe Dreams, we have started 'REEDUCATING' some of the so called 'Warlords' or whatever they're referred to in the Congolese Republic. A large enough contingent of the chosen leader's palisade should be 'willing' to help with the subjugation of Africa by the time you have made up your mind on what to do with the Palaricilon. As it is, you are there!"
"Oh doody, fun in the sun and sand. Granted the suits are meant for just about everything in this quadrant but how well do the sims run with sand?" Brian asked as he slid his helmet on and locked it into place. "And remember, no turning Kilimanjaro into a base! Granted that mountain would work but it's a symbol of a continent and it would get most of the world turned against us if we messed with that."
"It would be inadvisable to rely to heavily on the shields or cloak with the technology that we have at the present time." Atherian advised him as the transport landed at the base that had been setup within fifty feet of the pit that had been dug down to the Palaricilon tunnels. "Anyway, it was only a suggestion to use that mountain as a base."
"About time you got here." Athena laughed as Brian slipped out of the ship. "We've ascertained that were dealing with a downed star-craft. PRESUMABLY Palaricilon but we'll have to wait until we get inside and access a data-port to find out for certain."
"Excellent, most excellent indeed! So, how far down does the pit go and what do we have to deal with the hive if we're allowed down to the core with their intent on us to be turned into queen chow?" Brian asked as he turned to give a hand with the unloading. "Out of curiosity, just HOW do we get IN?"
"Hatch. We got lucky and hit an edge to one." An animorph said excitedly. "We're in the process of fixing up a external barrier, that way we can move all the stuff that's to be taken in and and maintain a barrier between atmospheres. As to the backup safeguard, we decided on Clartarium explosives since that will also detonate the battery packs and flooding the tunnels with an agent that that gunk known as VX Gas wants to go up into."
"How are the plans for the matter boosters?" Brian asked as another case of battery packs was unloaded. "It'll help relocating all that tonnage."
"Are you SURE that you want to feed the Palaricilon unpoisoned fruits and vegetables?" Atherian asked exasperatedly.
"Considering that we're TRYING to get them to JOIN us, yes. IF we were going to eradicate them, there are much safer, EASIER ways to go about it than go down in their own tunnels WITH them." Brian said with a smile. "There IS strawberry rhubarb pie in the replicators isn't there?" Brian couldn't help but laugh at the stunned silence that his question immediately caused. "WHAT? I like that stuff."
"How can you so totally go off subject like that?" Atherian asked. "I have NEVER been around ANY commander that could do that as easily as you seem able to."
"Momma's boy." Brian laughed. "It takes skill not to get whiplash doing that let me tell you."
"I'll take your word on that." Atherian said. "And yes, there is that strawberry rhubarb pie in the banks. You spent nearly three hundred dollars getting pie after pie to find the one you wanted in the replicator food bank, remember? As to the matter of the transport boosters that you wanted to take down, it will take some experimenting and tinkering with them but they should work."
"You weren't to bad on THAT course change Atherian." An animorph laughed moving to Brian's side. "We should be about ready to move the barrier into place in about three hours. The Sentinels that were sent with the first wave have sensed that the Palaricilon have stopped using the tunnels in the immediate area so it's a safe bet that they KNOW we are here and that they're about to have company."
"DAMN! I had HOPED that we'd be in the tunnels before we were noticed, EVERYONE that's going down is bonded with a blade aren't they?"
"Yes, and I'm not the only one who doesn't fully understand why, since you want a peaceful agreement with the Palaricilon." Athena said.
"Simple, they AREN'T going down with us! They'll be up here where it's safe and if ANYTHING goes wrong and our bodies are destroyed hopefully by our own hands and not the bugs. They'll rip our minds free through the link and place them into the replicators control systems which will then create new bodies for us around our minds. Theoretically, saving us from my stupidity."
"No matter what my arguments are Captain, stupidity DOESN'T include the attempt at peaceful contact with sentient beings. It does though include ignoring RECORDED past events." Atherian said as a contingent of heavy battle droids filed out of the open cargo bay. "The power systems on all the battle droids that you wished here, have been modified to run off of multiple styles of energy fields as well as radiation leaving the actual battery packs at maximum charge for combat or other necessary functions."
"Excellent! Let's get a move on, I want to be ready for them before they're ready for us and start moving up here!"
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