Re: Inexorable Altercation [Round IV - Hezekiah]
05-11-2012, 05:12 AM
Originally posted on MSPA by Pinary.
Meddet clapped his hands together. "Excellent! Glad to have another person aboard!"
"No," Will wanted to say, "it's not excellent." He wanted to explain just what Parset's presence meant, just how many different implications it had, but before he could so much as say a word, a piercing, screeching alarm filled the hall they were in, accompanied by flashing lights and slamming iron barricades.
"We were due, you see," Meddet shouted, barely making himself heard over the din. He produced a pistol from somewhere in his patchwork coat, and Chester brought an big, alien-looking weapon to bear as well. "Time is a factor as well; if the ship sees you as being free too long, it cracks down. The trick is to reset the clock once in a while!"
With a sudden move, Eltere jabbed something into one of the Themms' neck. It slumped, and before the other Themm could leap to its compatriot's aid, Meddet put a pair of holes in its torso. Chester, covering Will and Parset with his weapon, looked wary.
"We need to cut the group down to less than half," the ringleader shouted, "or the ship will cut us down to zero. It's nothing personal!"
"How many times have you done this?", Will asked, holding his Blastec on Meddet. "How many times have you gained peoples' trust, then turned on them?" Parset, down around knee-level and without any weapons pointed his way, started tapping out a nervous little rhythm.
Meddet laughed. "I've lost track," he shouted back, "I stopped counting when I ran out of toes!"
Will shot a glance at Chester. The big man didn't look all that comfortable with the situation, but he kept the gun pointed at Will nonetheless.
"And Chester," Will ventured, "how long has he been with you?"
"Not long," Meddet replied, "but he's proven his worth." A grin cracked onto his face. "His predecessor wasn't nearly as good with Hezekiah as he is."
"And when you find someone better, what, you'll drop Chester and pick up the new model?" Keeping his pistol trained squarely on Meddet, Will addressed the computer expert instead. "You really want to stay loyal to this guy? Listen to him, he's talking about you like you're a piece of meat!"
Chester bristled. "Hey, I'm no turncoat! Don't go trying to turn me on Meddet, man!"
Will shrugged. "Look, I respect your loyalty, but the facts are that he's getting people to join up with him just so that he can kill them to stay free. He abuses loyalty to his own ends, I don't know if that's the sort-"
With a crash, a pair of wolf-like robots came through a door a ways down the hall, spotted the group, and began prowling forward, their metallic growls managing to make themselves heard over the din.
"Chester," Meddet shouted, "just shoot them and be done with it!"
The big man snarled something that was lost in the din, hefted his weapon-
A little vial, having worked itself slowly out of one of Eltere's pockets, smashed into the side of Meddet's head, and the shattering glass drew Chester's attention long enough for Will to fire off a pair of shots in Meddet's direction and lunge behind the open door of Parset's cell. From the other side, he heard the sounds of a few bullets ricocheting, the screech of metal on metal, another shot from a pistol- and then a massive, deafening roar drowned out everything.
As Will's ears gradually stopped ringing, he realized that the alarms had stopped. Cautiously, he poked his head out around the door.
Parset was right next to the door, sitting inside a metal box he'd turned on its side. From any angle but inside the cell, no one could see inside. He didn't look massively pleased with what all was going on, but Will imagined the gnome would make it.
Eltere was nowhere to be seen, all Will could see of Meddet was his frayed hat. Aside from a few gashes in the metal walls of the hall, there was no sign of Hezekiah's wolf-robots either.
Chester, though, stood to one side, half of an alien rifle still clutched in his hand. The other half had apparently been blown to slag when the thing had fired.
The man was still breathing, though, and when Will came out from behind the door, he did so slowly and with his hands raised.
"Put those down," Chester grumbled, waving dismissively at Will. "'M not going to shoot you."
"You alright?", Will asked, still hesitant.
"Yeah, fine. The enforcers must've figured we were down to a small enough group and it wasn't worth getting blasted on principle."
"Well, glad you're alright. Listen, what I said earlier-"
"No, I know." The big man gestured vaguely in the direction the robots had gone. "He used people, no reason to think he looked at me any differently." He heaved a sigh. "It's just not easy just throwing a history with someone away like that, y'know?"
"Mm."
"Well, whatever. It's done with." He sighed again. "So, you got any big ideas on what to do?"
"You know how things work around here better than I do," Will replied. "I've got some things to figure out."
"Alright, well, it wouldn't hurt to get to a maintenance terminal, make sure the ship's off our backs."
"Sounds good," Will said, "lead the way."
Chester nodded and turned, heading down the hall. Parset started off even before Will did, and the human found himself taking up the rear in the little group. That suited him fine; he had to work through some things anyway.
Meddet clapped his hands together. "Excellent! Glad to have another person aboard!"
"No," Will wanted to say, "it's not excellent." He wanted to explain just what Parset's presence meant, just how many different implications it had, but before he could so much as say a word, a piercing, screeching alarm filled the hall they were in, accompanied by flashing lights and slamming iron barricades.
"We were due, you see," Meddet shouted, barely making himself heard over the din. He produced a pistol from somewhere in his patchwork coat, and Chester brought an big, alien-looking weapon to bear as well. "Time is a factor as well; if the ship sees you as being free too long, it cracks down. The trick is to reset the clock once in a while!"
With a sudden move, Eltere jabbed something into one of the Themms' neck. It slumped, and before the other Themm could leap to its compatriot's aid, Meddet put a pair of holes in its torso. Chester, covering Will and Parset with his weapon, looked wary.
"We need to cut the group down to less than half," the ringleader shouted, "or the ship will cut us down to zero. It's nothing personal!"
"How many times have you done this?", Will asked, holding his Blastec on Meddet. "How many times have you gained peoples' trust, then turned on them?" Parset, down around knee-level and without any weapons pointed his way, started tapping out a nervous little rhythm.
Meddet laughed. "I've lost track," he shouted back, "I stopped counting when I ran out of toes!"
Will shot a glance at Chester. The big man didn't look all that comfortable with the situation, but he kept the gun pointed at Will nonetheless.
"And Chester," Will ventured, "how long has he been with you?"
"Not long," Meddet replied, "but he's proven his worth." A grin cracked onto his face. "His predecessor wasn't nearly as good with Hezekiah as he is."
"And when you find someone better, what, you'll drop Chester and pick up the new model?" Keeping his pistol trained squarely on Meddet, Will addressed the computer expert instead. "You really want to stay loyal to this guy? Listen to him, he's talking about you like you're a piece of meat!"
Chester bristled. "Hey, I'm no turncoat! Don't go trying to turn me on Meddet, man!"
Will shrugged. "Look, I respect your loyalty, but the facts are that he's getting people to join up with him just so that he can kill them to stay free. He abuses loyalty to his own ends, I don't know if that's the sort-"
With a crash, a pair of wolf-like robots came through a door a ways down the hall, spotted the group, and began prowling forward, their metallic growls managing to make themselves heard over the din.
"Chester," Meddet shouted, "just shoot them and be done with it!"
The big man snarled something that was lost in the din, hefted his weapon-
A little vial, having worked itself slowly out of one of Eltere's pockets, smashed into the side of Meddet's head, and the shattering glass drew Chester's attention long enough for Will to fire off a pair of shots in Meddet's direction and lunge behind the open door of Parset's cell. From the other side, he heard the sounds of a few bullets ricocheting, the screech of metal on metal, another shot from a pistol- and then a massive, deafening roar drowned out everything.
As Will's ears gradually stopped ringing, he realized that the alarms had stopped. Cautiously, he poked his head out around the door.
Parset was right next to the door, sitting inside a metal box he'd turned on its side. From any angle but inside the cell, no one could see inside. He didn't look massively pleased with what all was going on, but Will imagined the gnome would make it.
Eltere was nowhere to be seen, all Will could see of Meddet was his frayed hat. Aside from a few gashes in the metal walls of the hall, there was no sign of Hezekiah's wolf-robots either.
Chester, though, stood to one side, half of an alien rifle still clutched in his hand. The other half had apparently been blown to slag when the thing had fired.
The man was still breathing, though, and when Will came out from behind the door, he did so slowly and with his hands raised.
"Put those down," Chester grumbled, waving dismissively at Will. "'M not going to shoot you."
"You alright?", Will asked, still hesitant.
"Yeah, fine. The enforcers must've figured we were down to a small enough group and it wasn't worth getting blasted on principle."
"Well, glad you're alright. Listen, what I said earlier-"
"No, I know." The big man gestured vaguely in the direction the robots had gone. "He used people, no reason to think he looked at me any differently." He heaved a sigh. "It's just not easy just throwing a history with someone away like that, y'know?"
"Mm."
"Well, whatever. It's done with." He sighed again. "So, you got any big ideas on what to do?"
"You know how things work around here better than I do," Will replied. "I've got some things to figure out."
"Alright, well, it wouldn't hurt to get to a maintenance terminal, make sure the ship's off our backs."
"Sounds good," Will said, "lead the way."
Chester nodded and turned, heading down the hall. Parset started off even before Will did, and the human found himself taking up the rear in the little group. That suited him fine; he had to work through some things anyway.