Shining Prospect

[Giichi Twinkieland]

[Skip over Giichi. I don't have anything for him to contribute this round. Also, maybe it's time for a time skip so we can get down to the plot Amiroo described, hmm?]

[Echo]

Quote:"...yeah. No hard feelings."

Am couldn't help but feel hurt inside, despite everything in him telling him he had no right. Nail's words and tone, said two very different things. It would seem all was forgiven by Nail's words, but that tone peirced him like an arrow. Am hung his head a bit, in shame.

"Oh...um...ok. Sorry again, Nail. I'll..uh....um....just go do make myself useful elsewhere then, if everythings ok here."

Am turned, and quickly made his way towards a set of double doors on one of the walls of the hanger.

Era took a few steps after Am, "sweetheart, are you ok?"

"yeah, I'm fine. I'm just going to go watch the skies for a bit." Am said as he exited the hanger.

Era gave Tybe a pleading look, to which he gave her a nod, and she was gone down the hallway after Amiroo.

Tybe shook his head, "Amero!"

"Yes elder?" the young raptor chimed, as he stepped forward.

"You're with me and Nail, I'll need an assistant"

"yes elder."

Tybe turned to Rye and rog,

"why don't you two find something to entertain Gichii here, hmm."

He turned back to Nail, "If you'd follow us please." He said gesturing a pair of double doors opposite the side of the hanger Era and Amiroo had exited.

As Amero,Nail,and Tybe would leave, Rye turned to Gichii

"Hey! I know. Why don't we go to the archives, and look at history and archeological photographs slash videos from alien worlds; or maybe go get something to eat, look at star
charts,....watch movies?....Saurian movies?"

[Terrador Bellator]

(Sorry for the huge delay guys, there's been a lack of internet for me that recently got resolved. I'll wedge myself back in with a short post lol.)

Terrador gave his reptilian allies a series of nods. Upon hearing about some sort of danger in another room about a weapon of some sort, the echidna decided to remain where he was. If a battle were to commence, he'd have an easier time defending himself on this earthen surface. He watched the raptor duo depart and gripped his staff in preperation. Moments passed and he heard so sign of a conflict other then heightened voices. Things seemed to be fine and the Geomancer decided to take a seat on the rocky ground and focus on regaining his lost energy.

[Nail Strafer]

While Am looked hurt by Nail's words, the hybrid didn't appear to be all that concerned about it. Sometimes Nail was just a jerk like that.

As Tybe invited Nail through the doors, he shrugged and followed Amero and Tybe. As he left though, he couldn't help but wonder what a dinosaur medical clinic would look like.

[Giichi Twinkieland]

As Rye explained the archives, Giichi listened with rapt attention. He loved learning about history and cultures outside of his own. It was part of why ancient relics and archaeology interested him so much. When she mentioned Saurian movies, Giichi's eyes shot wide open.

They have their own movies?! What on earth could they be about? What are they like? Do they follow the same conventions as our films?

"Let's do the last one...the movies. I'm really interested in that."

He smiled and waited to be led off to the archives.

[Time skip on your next turn, Echo?]

[Echo]

Tybe and Amero lead Nail down a series of hallways and down two separate elevators, while in route to their destination. This would betray to Nail the true size of this arctic facility, it was truly massive. They passed a whole galaxy of oddities and wonders, of which Amero and Tybe had simply ignored, and kept pushing on towards some destination in mind. Apparently, Tybe had had enough of waiting, he wanted that genome map.

After what seemed like a small eternity, they had finally arrived it seemed, as they entered a room, that would appear to Nail's eyes like some sort of super O.R. from some scifi movie. The room was a brightly lit, sterile, wonderland of technological gizmos and gadgets, and smelled very strongly of potent cleaners. Really, of all the things in the room, probably the one thing that would really grab the most attention, is just how clean everything was, it put Mobian O.R.'s to shame. A person could probably manufacture microprocessors on the stone floor, without a worry in the world of contaminating the chips; the room was freakishly clean. Holographic displays littered the otherwise featureless silvery metallic walls of the large room, the only other feature being the large decontaminating airlock they entered the room through. Entering the room, would have been more than a visual shock, as outside of the room, it was a comfortable 75 degrees, inside the room it was a brisk 34 degrees, presumably to prevent bacteria from developing. The sounds of various machines whirring, chirping, buzzing, and humming formed the ambiance for this place. It was unnerving in a way, even for those who called it their workplace.

"Alright, I apologize for the cold, but it's regulation to keep the room under 35 degrees, to help keep it sterile in here. Alright, I need you to take your shirt off, and hop up on this table for me."

Tybe tapped his big toe claw, with a practiced precision, on a small tile on the floor, which began glowing orange and gradually changed to a bright Aqua blue. As Tybe turned to a counter top to retrieve a hypo-spray and some glass tubes, the Aqua tile spread to a 4 foot by 3 foot tile, and the floor itself began molding itself, from said tile, into a silvery metallic table.

"I'll need your arm for a moment, this won't hurt a bit."

(Time skip 3 days.)

The whole crew had crammed themselves in the room, and were huddled around a metal table, sitting upon which was Nail. All the lights in the room were focused upon him. He was the focus of all the gadgets, displays, etc the room had to offer. The lengthy procedure had seemingly gone off without a hitch, Nail was now restored to an 18 year old version of himself, tail included. That being said, Tybe was taking no chances.

"Do you hurt anywhere? Any pain, tingling, numbness, or other odd sensations?"

Tybe was inspecting Nail from head to toe, taking readings with a small device that was essentially a hand held MRI machine.

"How about memory lapses? Can you tell me who you are? How about who these people are?" He said gesturing to the crew standing excitedly around him.

"How about your range of motion? Any irregularities there?"

Tybe would continue with the questions for a bit, until finally he was satisfied that the procedure had been a complete success. He layed his tools back in their respective cases, and began locking everything up. Tybe mentally thanked a higher power, this procedure had really drained him. Three days it had taken to restore Nail to his current condition. Three days the three of them hadn't left this cold, sterile room. Tybe and Amero had stayed with Nail the entire time, even when they hadn't needed to. The procedure was long, uncomfortable, and even painful at times. Tybe and Amero were there by his side for support the whole way. Amiroo and Era had been there to, stopping by multiple times a day, and were there for the really painful bits, to lend their support as well. To speak plainly, this had been an ordeal. Now, the long awaited moment had arrived, when the three of them could finally, for the first time in three days, leave this O.R. .

"Alright, well you have a clean bill of health, little brother. The procedure seems to have been a complete success. But I'm afraid there is one more thing we have to do, before I can allow you to leave this room."

He began digging through a drawer, apparently looking for something.

"Now, I know I put it here somewhere..oh...here it is."

He pulled a small black bag from the drawer, and approached Nail with it in tow. He reached into it and gripped something, but paused a moment, his eyes darting to Nail.

"For being such a brave young man, it's only fitting that I give you this." He said pulling out a piece of candy from the bag, and handing it to Nail. Everyone around him giggled, and whispered amongst themselves, a 'nice!' and 'well, where have I seen that one before?' being heard here and there.

"Alright lets get out of here, I've grown tired of looking at this room." Tybe said, with a great laugh.
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Meanwhile, Giichi had been with Rye and Rog, watching every manner and assortment of Saurian films ranging from war flicks, documentaries of all sorts including some on long extinct eco systems (YES! Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous ecosystems 'documented' on film!) and basically half of the raptors personal collections. Rye had been translating these films nearly non-stop for the better part of three days, pausing only for sleep, bathroom breaks, and the occasional snack. Her and Rog, had been slowly introducing Giichi to the Saurian language, enough so, that he might actually be able to pick up words and bits of sentences, here and there. The three had ended their marathon, when they heard of Nail's completing his treatment. They rushed to see the newly restored Mobian.

"Alright lets get out of here, I've grown tired of looking at this room." Tybe said, with a great laugh.

"haha, so how'd you like those movies Giichi? Any good ones?" Amiroo asked as they vacated the room.

"So how's it feel Nail? To be youthful again? I'll probably need that treatment in about another 20 years or so. Does it really hurt as badly as it looked? I'm so sorry you had to experience that. Tybe warned you beforehand, right?"

"Of course I warned him, he was breifed about everything, while I was taking a blood sample." Tybe snapped, clearly irritated that his procedures were being questioned.

"sorry elder, I didn't mean it as an insult."

"It's alright, little sister. I'm just exhausted. I haven't slept that much these last few days."

The raptor was clearly exhausted from the ordeal. One could see the exhaustion in his eyes, they looked as though they threatened to snap shut, at any moment. His tail, normally held straight as part of his athletic posture, now drooped due to exhausted, sore, muscles. His arms were allowed to simply hang, while they were normally kept tucked tightly to his torso.

"I can only imagine, elder." Era responded.

Tybe stopped, as they passed an intersection of hallways. "My shift doesn't end for four more hours. I think I'll spend them watching the radar. See you guys, enjoy yourself Nail, but take it easy for a bit, ok?"

With that, Tybe disappeared down a hallway, presumably off to take over radar duty.

[I pushed us forward 3 days, just before the plot is set to begin. I'll be posting my villain, and an updated Amiroo soon. Maybe even Jav will come to join the party ]

[Nail Strafer]

Nail gazed in wonder as they walked through the base. He kept wanting to stop and ask about practically everything he saw, but the raptors always walked off hurriedly before he could say anything. In fact he found himself falling behind over and over again as he kept stopping to look at all the strange sights and sounds.

The temperature suddenly dropped severely as they stepped into the operating room. While to the raptors it was uncomfortable, the temperature felt like a welcome cool breeze flowing across his body. Nail grew up in this kind of weather, and it always helped him relax to go somewhere very cool.

Quote:"Alright, I apologize for the cold, but it's regulation to keep the room under 35 degrees, to help keep it sterile in here. Alright, I need you to take your shirt off, and hop up on this table for me."

"Doesn't bother me at all," Nail said, taking in a deep breath as he took in the fresh cold temperature. It was then that Tybe said he had to remove his shirt, which did put a slight damper on Nail's spirit. Sure the cold was nice, but even HE had his limits. Oh well...if it were necessary for the procedure, then he would do it.

As he stripped down, the hybrid gazed in wonder once more as the table molded into shape from the floor tiles below. This time was a little less enthusiastic though, since he'd seen all kinds of crazy things on the way here. He quickly jumped on, as he couldn't wait to be younger again.

[After the three days]

Nail awoke three days later, seeing all the raptors staring down at him. While before he'd have been terrified of being surrounded by them, he was far more interested in finding out if the procedure had done its work. Had it though?

From first impressions, Nail immediately thought yes. For starters, all of his senses felt a lot sharper. He could hear the distinct 'clicks' of the raptor talons on the floor, when before they'd gone unnoticed. The chemical smells greeted his nose more acutely. Everything in the room had a sharper edge to it, as his eyes were now physically younger.

Something wriggled around underneath his body, and for a brief moment it frightened him. It took a second to realize what it was, as he sat up and reached behind his back. When he pulled his hand back with the wriggling thing, he saw that he now had a complete tail once again, after nineteen years of only having half of one. Amazing how alien it felt, when it had once been a part of his body all that time ago.

Nail just sat there for a moment, not really acknowledging anyone else in the room as he held the tail with a curiously vacant expression on his face. The tip vaguely flicked back and forth, while the hybrid continuously rubbed his hand up and down its length. It was as if his brain hadn't fully accepted this was real yet, and Nail had to touch the tail to see he wasn't dreaming.

Quote:"Do you hurt anywhere? Any pain, tingling, numbness, or other odd sensations?"

"How about memory lapses? Can you tell me who you are? How about who these people are?"

"Hmm?" Nail snapped his head up, looking as if he really had amnesia for a moment. The hybrid blinked a few times, before he brought himself back to the room. "Uh...well, yes I remember all of you. Just... It's rather overwhelming..."

Nail's gaze returned to his tail, as he continued rubbing it up and down. He suddenly snapped his head back up, as he noticed the sound of his own voice had changed. It definitely sounded a lot younger and more vibrant.

"Is-is that my voice?" he stuttered. "My voice? A B C...one two three..."

He recited the last bit a couple times, apparently wanting to try out the sounds of his younger self's voice.

Quote:"Alright, well you have a clean bill of health, little brother. The procedure seems to have been a complete success. But I'm afraid there is one more thing we have to do, before I can allow you to leave this room."

Nail's head snapped back to Tybe, not really sure where this was going. Surely it couldn't be anything worse than some of the pain he'd had during the transformation. Then Tybe whipped out the lollipop. Normally Nail would have just frowned and given everyone a dark look instead of having a sense of humor. However, this time Nail felt like he owed it to everyone else to be at least a bit cheerful about the procedure.

"Thank you," he said, as he accepted the lollipop and started to lick it with a rare toothy smile on his face. "It feels amazing to be young again. Thank you all so much for doing this for me. You don't know how much it means."

[Giichi Twinkieland]

"I liked the documentaries the best, I think," Giichi said, stifling a yawn. While it had been enjoyable to see a lot of foreign films, he was about tired of it after a few days. "I think I'm ready to see Nail too."

They walked down the hallways. Giichi walked along rather anxiously, wondering what it would be like to see middle-aged Nail suddenly a young boy again, like himself.

As they entered the operating theater, the cat's mouth dropped in shock. He'd been told about the procedure sure, but to see it in action was quite another thing. The Mobian before him could easily pass for Nail's long lost son.

"That you...Nail?"

"Who else would it be?" Nail said, throwing in a rare smirk as he licked the lollipop.

"Why do you have one of those?"

"Tybe gave it to me for being a good boy," as Nail slid off of the operating table and moved to put a shirt on.

Giichi stifled a smile. So far, he definitely preferred young Nail to old Nail. This one appeared to be a lot friendlier and more sociable than his middle-aged counterpart.

[Terrador said to go ahead without him this round.]

[SOLIS]

While Nail had been busy with his treatment, SOLIS had been carted off along with the rest of his belongings in a nearby storage bin, which it didn't mind. Within the three days it had waited, it had learned the full communications suite with the bases hardware, acquired a complete layout of the structure as well as its surroundings, and got to know each crew member indirectly through the security cameras. It had, in a lapse of boredom, equated the situation to the prototypical bored college student, nothing but studying and TV for days on end.

[Apologies for going AWOL, I had various issues with work and real life that sort of took over, but I should be fine now.]

[Echo]

[Sorry, my computer picks the best times to goof up. You're fixed : D No you're not! >: D Yes you are! :B Only kidding! XD Just kidding about kidding >: P I'm gonna have the profiles in soon as well, because I'm about to begin the plot. I know I keep saying that, but I mean it this time! >< *shot*]


Tybe made his way down the long hallway until it dead ended in a small room with several elevators.

"Oh my goodness, my back hurts so much" He said, boarding an elevator that would take him to his destination up on one of the upper floors. He really wished his shift was over. He could have just called it a day, being the ranking officer and all, but that wouldn't rightly be fair, as he'd made the crew work through holidays, and even when they had decent reasons for wanting off. His attention to regulation had clearly come back to haunt him.

A distinctive ding could be heard, and the elevators doors slid open just a split second later, revealing a large dark room with walls littered with holographic displays. At once, he could tell something was wrong. All the displays were orange, indicating some sort of message had been received. He raced over to the command console and began working his way to the appropriate menu screen. When he brought up the facilities long range radar, it took his breath away.....something, or someone, was out there.

"This just figures" he said racing over the P.A. com system. " Doesn't anyone watch the radars?"

He tapped a small panel on the wall, which began to glow an Aqua color, onto which he began to speak.

"All hands, All hands, to your stations. We have company Raptors, we've got roaming eyes. I repeat, to your stations!"

The message rang out over the entire facility, everyone would hear it.
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Amiroo was taken off guard by the call to stations.

"What!? We're being called to stations? We couldn't be under attack!" He exclaimed.

"To your stations Raptors! Mobians, you're with us, this way!" Era commanded as she took off back down the hallway they'd just came from. Amiroo and the others followed without another word, obviously beyond words that the base could potentially...be under attack?

"This had better be good" Amero panned, apparently having been looking forward to some down time.
The group ran through a series of halls and made their way up the elevator to the same room Tybe was in.

"What's going on?!" Amiroo said bolting from the elevator as soon as its doors opened, the others following close behind. Tybe was sitting at a console, his head snapped to them as they disembarked the elevator. It was creepy a bit, his eyes seemingly glowed in the dark, his highly sensitive retinas reflecting a fair bit of light from the faint light sources.

"Ninety minutes ago, we had an unidentified ship fall out of slipspace near the planet the Mobians call 'Saturn', the Sixth planet from their star. That's what's going on."

"The gas giant? Do we have a probe out that far?" Amiroo asked.

"Not yet, the farthest one we currently have is in orbit around a moon of the biggest Gas giant, Jupiter as the Mobians call it. It would take six hours for it get there even if we did send it, which I'm not sure would be wise."

"Has it moved? Has it done anything?" Era asked walking over to another panel and bringing up similar radar screens on the mysterious craft.

"Nothing yet, it hasn't even scanned the system yet. Which worries me, that's usually the first thing you do when you enter a new star system, and that's not the only red flag. The ship doesn't have an encrypted transponder signal. Amiroo, you know what that means."

"Yeah, Pirate or Rebel ship." Amiroo responded. His eyes shifted about a moment, "Are we sending out any signals?"

"A few to our outbound probes.."

"Kill those signals immediately, we need to fall silent."

Tybe turned to the console, and after a few moments of working through menus, killed all signals leaving the base. To any listening ears, the base just fell off the face of Mobius.

"Got it, we are silent. Hopefully they'll just leave befo..."

"I think it's waiting on something." Era interrupted staring at her screen.

"I don't want to alarm anyone, but this looks suspiciously similar to radar signatures I've seen elsewhere."

Amiroo's face fell, when his wife said something like that...it was never good news.

"really?"

"I think it's a rebel scout ship. Which means it could be scanning the area and we wouldn't be able to pick it up." she confirmed.

"Wait..I thought slipspace capable scout ships only ran runners for large fleets, they rely on a supply line nearby, right?" Amero asked.

The whole room fell deathly silent as everyone contemplated that possibility.

"Does that mean what I think it means?" Rye asked fearfully.

"To be blunt, yes." Amiroo confirmed. "It means that there is a rebel fleet nearby, possibly heading in this direction. If they are, I'll give you three guesses which planet they're probably coming to visit, but I suspect you'll only need one."

"Amiroo, we don't have to the strength to repel an invasion." Tybe said matter of factly.

"I am aware, Captain."

"So what do we do? You're chief of security, this is your field."

"Hope that they simply pass this star system by, and that starship is just goofing around or letting it's FTL's cool. Until then, we need to ready the base for a possibly attack, we stay silent on radio, and we don't leave the base just yet. For now, we wait and watch what happens. I want someone on this radar 20/8, or 24/7 for you Mobians, never leave it unattended."

Amiroo turned to his other crew mates with purpose in his step.

"Alright, we potentially have hostiles in the neighborhood, we're going to lock this place down, nice and tight. Everyone carries weapons with them at all times, we don't know when we might be hit, if we get hit. Until further notice, noone leaves. Nail, I don't think it'll be hard to convince you to stay armed at all times, so observe that, stay 'locked and loaded' as your people say. Gichii, we'll have to supply you with a weapon. You seem to have taken a liking to Rye, so she will teach you how to handle a saurian weapon, unfortunately we don't have any of your kinds weapons here. SOLIS, I may need your help. Is there anyway you could interface with the base's systems?"

"Amiroo, you can't be serious!?" Tybe exclaimed, "you're handing our systems over to an alien AI?"

"in a word...yes. I need someone to operate the bases defenses and systems without having to be told what to do, and faster than Raptor or Mobian can react. Our AI is admittedly....stupid and lacks the Saurian touch, no offense yuu"

"None taken, sir" the AI responded over the PA.