posted 11-09-98 10:26 PM ET        

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Ok, that took a tad bit longer than I expected. Sofie, I'm done! Are you happy NOW?! Comments appreciated, by the way.

Recon Raid, Part 2.2

�Forksy, running is the obvious solution. They know we�ll run. We need a better idea.� Freerunner looked around expectantly. Blank faces met her gaze. She sighed slightly. �We�re going to die, aren�t we?�
�I certainly hope not.� Colin started flashing. �I have an idea that may keep that
from happening.�
�We�re going to listen to a watch? Do we have a death wish?� Sofie groaned.
Freerunner glared at the Catalisk for a second, then turned back to Colin, who cleared his
speech synthesizer and started. When he was done, the group just stared at the watch for
a second. Fjorxc slowly shook his head.
�It�s the best chance we have. Besides, It has the advantage of novelty. Only
crazy people would think that we would do it.�
�So we shouldn�t try this against you, eh, Forsky?�
�Shut up.�
�Two minutes!� yelled Gunslinger. The group ducked as another volley of laser
fire shot past their heads. Fjorxc sighed one last time, then stood and pointed at the Civil
War troops. �CHARGE!� he cried. He drew a Random Generic Death Bringing Long
Range Device� and dashed straight at the lines of troops, followe by Sofie, Gunslinger,
and Freerunner. The men stared in shock at the charging CWALers, then dropped their
weapons and ran. The CWALers just stood there for a second.
�It worked. Keen! I did something right! I�m the smartest watch/computer in the
universe!� yelled Colin. As he did, a nearby vent slid open, and a pair of red eyes gazed
out. Gunslinger hooked his console up to a nearby viewscreen on the wall, then looked at
the complex�s map.
�We have more troops coming. We�d better get out of here and come back
another day when the staff isn�t so bothersome.� He unhooked the computer and pointed
down the hall, towards a conveniently mounted exit sign. The four dashed off down the
hall, Fjorxc in the lead.
�Aren�t fearless leaders supposed to stay back and keep the enemy off of their
comrades?� Sofie muttered. Fjorxc narrowed his eyes, then decided to ignore the
comment and keep running. As he reached the exit, a strangled cry burst out of the back
of the group. Sofielisk, Gunslinger, and Fjorxc turned to see Freerunner with a long
sword at her throat. The drow above her smiled.
�DarkLight? Why are YOU of all people here?�
�That�s a simple question, my dear kitchen utensil. I don�t feel like telling you,
though.� The drow pressed his sword into Freerunner�s throat, and a thin line of blood
slid out of the slight cut. She stared out at Fjorxc, her eyes wide. The drow noticed, and
then his smile widened. �A girlfriend, perhaps? Maybe a wife? Hmm, no no one would
ever go out with one of you loonies. Maybe a sister... No matter. I have a proposition for
you. You leave right now, and she lives. You try to stay, I slice her head off, then kill all
three of you. Which do you choose?�
�Forsky, I-Ack!� The drow narrowed his eyes as his kick smashed into her side.
�No comments from the peanut gallery.� The drow turned his gaze back to an
enraged Fjorxc. �What will it be? Leave or stay?�
�I will be back, drow. And when I am back, I�ll lock you in a cave for the rest of
your life!� Fjorxc was rather stunned when the drow started laughing.
�Run along, little human fool. I have no more time for games. Mr. Meier wants
to see me in his labs.� The drow smiled as the CWALers slowly left the building. He
then turned to Freerunner. �So, you seem valuable to the CWALer. Therefore, you are
valuable to me.� The drow pulled the watch off of her wrist and looked at it with a smirk.
�Can�t risk having you call for help. -=I wonder if this is valuable to her...=- Hmm...
Might as well just drop it.� He glanced expectantly at her.
�It�s just a watch,� she said with a slightly nervous tremor in her voice.
�Maybe I�ll drop it into a toilet...�
�It�s just a watch.� Sweat was gathering at her brow as she spoke.
�Ah. Then you don�t mind if I do this.� The drow slapped a button on the wall,
and a panel labeled �Trash Compactor� hissed open. A grinding noise emanated from
within. The drow calmly tossed Colin into the Firaxis Trash Disposal System.
Freerunner sat still for a second, then her eye twitched slightly. The drow smiled
inwardly.
�NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! You BASTARD drow! I'll KILL YOU!�
Freerunner shrieked. She tried to jump on him, but she was knocked away by the flat of
his blades. Several guards appeared at the drow�s side with ropes and power manacles.
�Take her to the dungeon. I have other matters to attend to...� The drow walked
off as the guards bound Freerunner and dragged her off. She stared at the trash
compactor, wondering if Colin could have survived...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
�Well, this is a FINE mess she�s gotten me into. I just hate travel...� The watch
computer hung off of a metal spar three feet above the massive jaws of the compactor...
�Eddie, this is all your fault! How�d you convince me to do this?�

Dark Omens, Part Two

Sid looked at the floor of the laboratory, then back at the drow beside him. He
sighed as he thought of the cost of this project; he hoped what the drow was going to give
him was worth the cost he had payed. The drow smiled slightly, as if he knew what the
Chairman of Firaxis was thinking.
�You shouldn�t worry so much, Meier. This project should not disappoint you.�
The drow gestured to the massive structure at the center of the room. In the center of the
electronics was a long cylinder. No clues to what was inside could be seen from the
outside. �Within that is the key to this plan, and the key to the elimination of the
CWALer�s.�
�Drow, I�ve never worked with this kind of weapon before. Are you sure it can
be controlled?�
�Yes. Now, start the first step of the final step of the process!� Red warning
lights began to glow around the room. Sid glanced at them nervously, wondering what
he was releasing upon his company.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
�No, no, no! Plus is positive, minus is negative!� Sassy yelled at Fjorxc. The
Orca pilot sighed as he looked down at the TV remote.
�Why won�t the blasted thing work?� He threw the remote at the TV. Sofielisk
sighed slightly.
�You have to put the batteries in correctly,� said an exasperated Sassy. �How did
you become a pilot when you don�t know how to put in batteries?�
�Um... I choose to waive my right of free speech.� Fjorxc looked around
nervously. He sighed in relief as Aura walked into the room. �Aura! Fix the remote!�
-=She�ll never do it! BWAHAHAHA!!!!=-
�Okay, Fjorxc, you incompetent fool,� she said with an innocent smile. She
grabbed the remote, inserted the batteies smoothly, and turned on the TV. It was
immediately set to the Home Shopping Network.
�D�OH! You little show-off,� he muttered as he walked off. Sofielisk followed
him. As they passed, Tawdal wandered down the stairs, followed by a group of beavers.
He glanced around warily, then spied the TV.
�Ah ha! Beavers, commandeer that television for our usage,� he commanded.
The beavers ran over and picked up the TV, then carried it up the stairs.
�Hey! I was watching that!� Aura yelled angrily.
�That is not our concern. You are to find another method of entertainment,�
Tawdal said casually as he walked up after his beavers. Aura sighed and sat down on the
couch, then leapt up as an idea formed in her head. She smiled slowly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
�But why do I have to come along?� Laeryn whined.
�Because you�re the only one who won�t get sidetracked by something stupid,�
Aura said as she continued dragging the elf down the street towards the mall. �Besides, I
need someone to help carry some stuff.�
�So you picked an elf? What are you, deluded?�
�Shut up.�
The pair, amazingly, made it to the mall without incident. Once there, Aura
immediately walked into the electronics section of the mall. She started browsing
through the TV aisles. Laeryn sighed and looked arpund. His eyes narrowed as he
caught sight of a short, fast, rat-like creature. He drew his sword, which, oddly enough,
did not startle anyone near by, and dashed off after what he thought to be a kobold.
Nearby, Aura smiled as she settled on a TV.
�Laeryn! Come here and help me with this! Laeryn!� She frowned. �Laeryn,
where are you? Oh, great...He probably saw some kind of ice cream stand that looked
like it was possessed.� The woman dashed off,then stopped as she accidentally slammed
into a rack. She clapped a hand over the cut, then kept running. A cloaked figure
stepped out of a nearby aisle and scraped some of the blood into a small vial, then it
turned and walked off into the mall.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
�Forks, we really should be doing something about Freerunner.� Sofielisk
slithered towards the pilot, who was currently ramming into the wall at high speed.
�Oh, that *THUD* might be a *THUD* good idea,� he said in between
collisions. �Shouldn�t we wait for the others, though? Aura and Laeryn should be back
soon, but Tawdal is no where to be found.�
�Oh. *THUD* Curses. Guess we�ll be *THUD* waiting, then,� he said with a
rather prominent slur to his speech. The pilot collapsed after another blow. The
hydralisk issued a triple sigh.
�Come on, you lazy elf! Hold your end up!�
�Can�t... It�s too heavy!� *THUD*
�IF THAT�S BROKEN I�LL KILL YOU!!!!!� Laeryn dashed into the HQ and ran
upstairs. Aura appeared in the door a minute later, dragging a massive box along the
ground.
�We should probably help,� said Jasmine. *THWACK* �OW! Sofie!�
�No helping. Just watch her suffer.� Sofie smiled as she sat down in a chair and
watched Aura drag the box into the recently installed elevator.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
�Is the proto-form ready?�
�Yes, DarkLight. All we need is that blood sample,� said a technician at a nearby
console. The drow took out the vial and handed it to him. The tech inserted it in the side
of the electronics surrounding the tube, then stepped back. Sid walked up to him with a
frown.
�Why do you need that blood? Don�t you have the genetic code already?�
�Yes, but the original designers of this being decided that to make another, you
would need a sample of the original creature�s blood. Though this is the second
evolution, it still needs the blood.�
�Ah.� A warning siren echoed through the room. �Excellent, the incubation is
complete.�
�Yes, it is...� the drow murmured with a smile. The tube started to slowly open.
Sid leaned forward in anticipation. Slight wisps of mist drifted out of the bottom of the
tube as the door slid upward. Soon, the door was fully open. A pair of red eyes started to
glow within the darkness of the tube. A technician walked up to the tube, a notepad in
hand. He looked up, then his eye widened as his body burst into flames and
disintegrated. A shriek burst from the tube, one that chilled the bones of every human in
the room. The drow smiled in triumph.
�Sid Meier, I present to you the Aura Project, Evolution Two.� The dark form
within the tube stepped out into the light, revealing a slender, beautiful woman. Her
brown eyes rapidly looked over the room. She then fixed her gaze on Sid and DarkLight.
�Sid, this is Aura. Technically, Aura Secunda. This little lady is an improvement over
her predecessor in almost every way. Her gaze has twice the range and half the time
requirement, she can make fifty miles an hour on a straight course and maintain it for
three hours, and she�s as nimble as a drow.�
�Excellent, drow, excellent! She even looks like her original form...� the man
murmured in awe...
�Yes...� the drow said with a smile. �Aura, what is your goal?�
�To fulfill the will of DarkLight and Sid Meier.�
�And what is your first objective?�
�To destroy CWAL...�

posted 11-09-98 10:51 PM ET            

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DarkLight would like some feedback, just so you know.

Fjorxc the Maniac(CWAL Hunt Valley)
May the Fjorxc be with you and a happy new year.

"Give me Alpha Centauri or give me death!"

posted 11-10-98 07:26 PM ET            

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Victor Walked into Fort Sid. He walked up to a receptionist in the lobby. He wasn't quite sure what this was going to accomplish, but he hadn't worried about that yet.

"Hello, I'm Victor Galis, I have an appointment with Mr..." Victor trailed off, next time he would hack into the Firaxis computer systems at a time of night that wasn't a big blank in his memory the next day.

"Yes, Mr. Galis" the receptionist punched a few buttons. An overhead scanning unit performed several quick identification tests. "who so you work for?"

"C...um...um (looks at side of bag he had over his shoulder)... Sun Microsystems." Victor answered. "Top secret project, musn't let Microsoft know."

"I see," said the receptionist as she punched some more buttons. I appeared that Sun did have an employee named Victor Galis. "He is in the Big Killer Robot of Death Assembly Room."

"Thank you." Victor said as he went down the wrong coridor.

"It's that way." pointed the receptionist.

Victor walked down the right corridor. Several minutes later, he was throughly lost in the maze of underground corridors. He passed a door marked "Torture Room", then one labeled "Secret Labs", next he saw a door marked "Top Secret Project Room: DO NOT ENTER!" He opened that door.

------------------------------------------

Two evil looking mad scientists were hunched over what looked like a coffee maker.

"It is almost complete!" (manaiacal laughter) said one.

"Yes... all we need is a test subject." said the other.

At that point the door opened revealing Victor, "Say, you wouldn't happen to know where the Big Evil Killer Robot of Death Assembly Room is?"

The mad scientists talked amongst themselves for a second.

"Yes, it is two doors down on the left. Would you like some coffee?" one spoke up.

"Thank you."Victor said taking the cup offered to him by the mad scientist and leaving.

----------------------------------------

Victor, knowing better than to drink anything given to him by a mad scientist, pulled out a bottle from his pocket and poured the coffee in there. He would have it analyzed if he ever found CWAL Headquarters.

He entered the Big Evil Killer Robot of Death Room.

"Hello. Mr. Galis I was told you wished to see me." said a man in a business suit. (Nobody important).

Victor put down his bag and shook hands with the man. They walked into an office somewhere else where Victor tryed his best to fake being an acual Sun employee involved in a top secret project, ad suceeded.

-----------------------------------

About an hour later, Victor walked out of the Firaxis building and headed over to the IHOP across the street for breakfast. As he entered his watch alarm went off, he took several more steps, the side wall of the Firaxis building erupted into a million fragments of concrete. A violent explosion shook the building. The Big Evil Killer Robots of Death Assembly Room was gone! The rest of the building stood as it had always...