Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread
Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 4:02 am
5.
Codename: Xanadu, c/o First National Energy Research Laboratories, River Ridge
“So, what was your job like, man?” Eddie asked to the King shepherd sitting on the seat row in front of him.
“What do you mean?” Dasco asked back, unfazed.
Edward rolled his eyes. “Come on, you know it! What did you see? Do we actually have a UFO stocked since Roswell? And the ‘Alien Autopsy’, it was a fake of course…but we do have a live alien ambassador hosted at Area 51, right?”
Dasco raised an eyebrow, much like Mr. Spock used to do when ‘Bones’ McCoy proved himself really dense. “Do you really want to know?”
Eddie nodded enthusiastically.
“Do you love your family?”
Eddie blinked. “Guh?”
Dasco kept up that poker face. “They would all disappear, along with you. Pets and their parasites included, if any.”
This made the youngest human of the group to fall silent, while their car ran toward the core cluster of Xanadu.
Iris kept looking at the panorama around them and visible under their feet. The car’s frailty was apparent, as it was made of plasteel and could stand a bazooka shot. “It’s so beautiful,” she muttered, feeling like a puppy during her first exploration of the world. “Sir?” she then asked to the black wolf standing near the door, together with that silent Natalie Domina woman.
Speaking of ‘standing’, their Captain hadn’t taken a second to rest since ‘welcoming’ the group.
“Speak,” Temno said.
“Uh, this area was hit by an earthquake, once. In fact, the old Truman Laboratories were shut down due to leaks caused in the fissile material storage tanks. Isn’t it dangerous to have a nuclear fusion reactor here, of all places?” Especially considering that the thing was supposed to revolution the energy market forever.
The wolf nodded. “First of all, Prometheus is supposed to just turn off, in case of structural emergency. The plasma core smothers itself like a candle fire. No fancy explosion, sorry for the drama lovers. The real mess will be turning it on, as that process requires a very generous injection of energy.
“As for the geological factor, well, I guess some you will know that there is no ‘safe’ place in the world, as tectonics go. Of course, building something right over the New Madrid fault or the San Andrea would be akin to harakiri, but in our case the vault has been restructured just like they did with NORAD base. Actually, improving the work thanks to Japanese cooperation. Oh, and by the way, Panderov and Beckett teams: your first priority will be to check the Samurais who worked with us in case something fishy slipped past our control.”
Sarah and Catherine nodded. This was their territory, international espionage. It was a safe bet that an hostile party would not rely on microphones and the such –no unapproved transmission could leave this place or reach it. And it was as much clear that privacy was nonexistent. No one could ask for a ‘personal favor’ without Big Brother knowing.
This left room to good ol’ spies only. Now, that was something hard to catch, unless you were a pro. Like a CIA spook and the daughter of a former top KGB Agent.
Under their feet, the car reached Green Cluster of this small-scale Coruscant. “Next stop,” Eddie said, “lingerie, women’s wear, cosmetics. Please don’t hit me, Cap.”
Temno shrugged. “I demand respect from my underlings, not lobotomy. And you all will hear a lot of jokes, it relieves the stress; actually, the eggheads can be actually funny once you stop wishing them dead. You’ll like to spend some time with them.”
“Is that an order, Sir?”
Temno grinned. “Do you need to ask?”
The car stopped over the roof of the central building.
The group disembarked. Jake was wearing his full combat attire. “Uh, Sir, do we actually need to introduce ourselves with all this stuff?”
Temno examined his ‘troops’: plasteel plates body armor, emergency kits (including ‘invisible cloak’ and AR contacts), HUD glasses and cameras which allowed each member of a single team to keep track of the other, skin communicators powered by the body heat, smartphones GT Omivac-Z3, sleeve stunners, GT Hyperflash neural grenades NG MIII, C5 explosive pack, boot knives.
Then came the weapons of choice, what humans and animals had decided to keep as personal item. Of course, their armory held enough bounty to last for World War III and some year later, but a good soldier would stuck to those weapons he or she would use more frequently.
In this case, Jake Torrance’s question was not really unfounded.
Archer had kept his arrows, his ‘Hawkeye’ quiver and his own compound bow. Considering he could turn any object into a weapon thanks to his exceptionsl marksmanship, he really wasn’t disarmed without bow and arrow.
Edward Pope Jr. now owned a PSE TAC 15 crossbow, his own quiver, and a SIG Sauer P238 loaded with six GT C5 fragmentation bullets.
Chance showed no visible weapons, but only because his vest contained anything he needed to be dangerous and taking his enemies by surprise. The cat had dubbed that vest his ‘Bat-belt’. Like him, Clayton Whitaker was good with an assortment of weapons, but since he excelled at short range combat and preferred to be of support to Chance, he had chosen a “Ranger” combat trench survival knife, a Tomahawk knife, and a KSG Kel-Tec Shotgun.
Iris and Sarah had been trained to fight, of course, but their job rarely required action on the field. And so, aside from the mandatory attire, they had gone for something more…discreet, which could add to their MAAD training. The Anatolian Shepherd had chosen two katanas and a GT Stun/Killer SK-08 gun. Sarah carried two Desert Eagles Mark XIX .357
Sodina and Catherine Panderov had eventually gone for items that could make their own bodies more lethal –retractable wrist claws GT M1 ‘Predator’, gloves reinforced with titanium layers, reinforced boots with hidden knives, and telescopic batons strapped to their arms.
Flare and Fredrick, who had trained to think and work as one, a requirement in their kind of specialty, carried a classical piece each: AK-47, and a bag to reassemble it according to necessity. Whatever else they needed, in case of defusing explosives or setting them, they carried it in their backpacks.
Lance and Jake carried each an XM-25 rifle by Alliance Techsystems, still to go on the market, and a multipurpose knife. Other than that, they too had their own backpacks –and no one still knew what was inside them.
Amar had chosen two items: As a spotter, his job was to be silent. All he needed were a Leonida Combat Survival Knife, and a GT SF-01 ‘StarField’ Spotting Scope. His partner, Elsa, carried a disassembled M107A1 in a hard bag strapped around her shoulders. That, combined with her talent, made her one of the most lethal women in the world.
Navy and Caleb couldn’t refuse their standard attire, and they really, really hated to use lethal weapons. So both had opted as well for the GT SK-08. Caleb had added a Taser X12 Stun gun for longer range shots. After all, they were basically negotiators. Right?
To say that Marcus liked overkill, there was no doubt: after a long debate with himself, and Temno’s refusal to hire a Sherpa, the dire wolf had kept his Smith & Wesson Bush Hog Kukri and the SOG cutting knife. He had strapped a Beretta M92 with 9x19 prabellum rounds to his thigh…and had replaced his first choice with two novelties: The Auto Assault AA-12 shotgun, and a Pfeifer-Zeliska .600 Nitro Express Magnum! A weapon that only one like him could fire like a ‘normal’ gun’. Damien, with his M4 Carbine with Grenade Launcher and his D2 Extreme Fighting Ka-Bar, looked small and inadequate!
Dasco had his Magpul FMG9 folding machine gun, a FNH Five SeveN ODG, and a Cold Steel Recon 1 Knife. Rusty was equipped with an M4 Carbine, a Beretta M9 pistol and a Walther P99C.
All in all, a sight to fear.
“As I previously stated,” Temno repeated as if that was the most normal thing in the world, “the research staff is used to the sight of armed guards, as they make up for 30% of general staff. You must instill at least prudence in your enemies, at best fear for their lives. Your different specialties will force hostile forces to rethink their strategies from time to time, while an amateur will think of you as some gun-loving, mindless mercenaries. Now, let’s meet your quarries.”
The elevator doors opened on a large meeting room –as local architecture went, a room occupying the whole floor. It must be an interesting show, when it was filled to capacity with scientists discussing over their pet project.
For now, it was just an empty amphitheater, the set for some post-apocalypse movie. Eerie.
Eddie scratched his head. “Sir, didn’t you say they were waiting for us?”
Flare sniffed intently at the air. “They’re here.”
Marcus was looking around, sniffing at the air too. “So? This placed is filled with humans, it’s normal that their smell is lingering—“
Flare shook his head. “They’re here. Now.”
“Beak! I told you guys we needed to work on the scent factor!” An incorporeal male voice said…a moment before a crowd filling the room to capacity appeared out of nowhere! Men, women and animals, all wearing their clothes and coats!
At the same moment, every single team member carrying a gun produced it and cocked it, aiming at the crowd!
A 50 year old man with a bald head and a short beard raised his hands in mock defense. “Ah, guys? Nerd joke, no need to raise hackles here. Plus, the liability would hurt you more than any bullet.”
The warriors lowered their weapons. “Just. Don’t. Do. That. Again,” Marcus growled, lowering his AA-12.
Dasco shook his head, while refolding his machine gun. “And to think I fell for it, during my previous assignment.”
The man stepped forward, He was accompanied by a Russian Blue cat. A graceful, pretty female Russian Blue cat.
“I think I am being in love,” Amar said.
“Saw her first,” Chance whispered.
The man walked to the dire wolf, showing no sign of hesitation or fear as he grabbed the enormous paw and shook it as if Marcus had been an old college pal! “I see Gottschalk chose all too well,” he said with a British accent in his voice. “Welcome to Xanadu, guys! I am Justin Wayward, Magnetic Containment Field Team Supervisor. But please, you guys ignore our degrees and just call us any way you wish. After all, you are not here to listen to a lecture.”
Marcus was looking at Wayward as if the human was an alien –how was he supposed to instill fear in the enemy if he didn’t even instill awe in this…puny creature?!
Jake and Lance were examining the crowd. The two newly elected guns for hire were actually drooling at the sight!
“I love my job,” Lance said.
Jake nodded. There was history at work, in this room. He felt has if he could learn everything only through osmosis! He had never seen so many brains he had only read about, so far. “I recognize at least two dozen people who…used to work at ITER?”
One of them walked to him. A woman, definitely French if her accent and the tag BOULANGER were clues enough. “We were part of the staff, oui, before budget cuts, political decisions, and reschedules put us in front of a choice: teaching at a ridiculous fraction of what we used to earn, and without a career worth of its name, or coming here.”
“And build our future,” a German male scientist said. His tag read FRIGSBURG.
Wayward nodded. “Science is about improving with what you know, after all. Wisely, Gottschalk thought he could use our talents and save time and money, rather than starting from scraps You could say his was the winning idea.”
“And doesn’t this give you…loyalty problems”? Iris asked. As a dog, loyalty was something built in her DNA. As a CIA agent, she couldn’t see herself giving her talents to any other country than hers.
Frigsburg shook his head. He was accompanied by a Doberman. A female as well. “Nein, not in the least. You see, it was our own countries who decided to sacrifice progress in favor of public money waste.”
“Especially my country,” a Mr. DONADIO said. He looked like the grumpy guy of that bunch. He also looked a lot like a younger Michael Ironside. He was accompanied by a female Boxer. “If I told you just how much cash our politicians spent for their own bordello pleasures instead of financing research…” He was becoming all red in the face.
“Dad,” the dog said, holding his hand. “Your pressure, please.”
The man sighed heavily, then recomposed himself. He bent down and hugged his dog. “Sorry, Tuscia. Thank you for reminding me.”
Dasco knew it wasn’t professional in the least, but he couldn’t help wagging. He whispered to Archer, “Is it my imagination or every single civilian fur here is female?”
Flare’s heart was beating hard, his nostrils flaring like a horse's. “No. Not imagination. Heaven.”
Wayward nodded. “You’ll discover that, except for Einstein, since Dr. Stanwick threatened to fire herself if she couldn’t keep him, every lab pet at Xanadu is a female. And with fine brains to match.”
“I want their puppies,” Lance whimpered.
Temno cleared his throat. “I think you all may want to keep a hold of your testosterone, grunts. Oh, and since we’re at it, FYI while the eggheads’ pets are females, every security animal is male. Don’t think it will be a milkrun to the ladies’ hearts.”
“Who is caring?” Amar shrugged. “I…like a good competition,” he said to the Russian Blue, correcting himself at the last moment. He didn’t usually care about his speech, but all of a sudden he wished he was more sophisticated.
“Meh,” Chance said, “Since there are so many fishes in the sea, you can have her.” Then he noticed Clayton rolling his eyes. “What? It’s not as if I was raised in a politically-correct culture.”
“GRUNTS!” Temno roared. The mercenaries sprung on attention.
The black wolf was almost projecting lasers from his eyes. “You are still professionals, and you’re asked to act as such! This is an informal meeting, but still not the school’s prom! So meet your quarries, eat something with them and then go back to your quarters, or explore the place, or anything else you’d like to do. Your first shift is set for tomorrow.” He turned and walked back toward the elevator—
“Sir!” Archer raised his paw.
Temno turned. His body screamed This better be good! “Yes, grunt?”
“Why Captain Domina didn’t speak a word so far? Her file says she…well, has no problems of sort.”
Temno smiled. “Because I ordered her not to. Just a way to remind you who’s top dog. And now, goodbye. I must go kill a sheppie who thought he could be a ladykiller with the wrong lady.”
After he and his partner had left the room, a long silence fell while the guns for hire looked at the civilians.
Eddie cleared his throat. He felt as if he was about to get flunked at an exam.
“Relax, young man,” said one of them. Spanish? “We’re on the same side.”
Eddie remembered that examining commission guy saying the same thing. Before a painful F hit him in history. His old man had eaten him alive, at dinner…were those fangs in this Spanish guy’s mouth? He needed air!
When Edward spoke, at last, his voice came out like a croak. “Uh, Archer and I rescued a scientist, once. Biochemist. Funny guy, always sweating and nervous. Heh.”
The scientist patted his shoulder. “Now, now. I am sure you have a lot of interesting things to say. Your colleagues of security have fine stories to tell, but I’m sure you guys did things that make you very interesting subjects to talk with.”
Eddie’s upper lip contracted like during a rabbit’s rictus. “Subjects. Yes. Heh.”
“So, to put you at ease, wouldn’t you like to speak about something easy? Like how Tritium and Deuterium collide to form Helium-4?”
Eddie fainted into Catherine’s arms. Wayward sighed through a facetious smile. “Dr. Galvan, you always know how to pick them.”
The man shrugged. “They can’t even make it hard. Remember that Venezuelan guy?”
“Didn’t he try to kill you?” Donadio asked.
Galvan shook his head, tutting. “It’s the job, colleagues: cabin fever may get to one’s nerves.”
“Didn’t the Cap say these guys were funny?” Sodina whispered to her partner
“Once you get past the wish to strangle them, I guess,” Catherine whispered back.
Jake was interested in another thing. “So, uh, can anyone tell me why the lab pets are all…girls?”
The answer came from a Japanese man tagged SHIRAKAWA. He bowed before answering and pointing at the Tanuki with him. “Because these daughters of our Earth are our family. Each one of us humans has completely devoted himself or herself to this job, we have left our…biological relatives back in our country, and our IDs outside Xanadu are coded.”
“You can’t be tracked,” Iris said. “Like in witness program.”
Shirakawa nodded. “We need recreation from time to time, fresh air, meet other people, but we are not stupid. We are well aware of the historical importance of our jobs. The work of the other Clusters is important, but it’s nothing compared to this. In fact, they depend on us giving them the fire to feed their products and the industry manufacturing them.
“In this contest, our furry companions are the family we need without the…complications of a human nucleus. And it’s only fair that they have the chance to build their own happiness rather than just hanging out with us.”
“Quite…pragmatic,” Sodina smirked. “So, they will be coming along with you during your time out?”
The tanuki bowed in turn. “We promise we will not be of hindrance to your job, Panderov-San.”
Edward was coming back to consciousness at that moment. “Sorry, guys. I…guess I didn’t sleep as much as I thought. What happened?”
Galvan went to him with a thick plastic cup containing a hot beverage. “Here, hombre. This will cheer you up.”
Eddie thanked him and took the cup. Yes, he so needed some cocoa right now…
Only a moment before drinking from it, did he notice something weird with the vapor –it wasn’t really going up the cup, rather it was pouring out like a liquid. “Uhh, is this cocoa?”
Galvan looked at the cup’s content. He seemed puzzled. “Hmm, I think I may have taken the liquid nitrogen by mistake. Here, let me try.” He took the cup and emptied it with a couple of gulps! Eddie saw his career dying in front of his eyes and his body grinded for his uncle’s next lunch!
Galvan smacked his lips. “Hmm, no. This is the cocoa, all right. I’ll fix you another—“
But Eddie had fainted again.
The scientist smiled. “A new friend.”
Codename: Xanadu, c/o First National Energy Research Laboratories, River Ridge
“So, what was your job like, man?” Eddie asked to the King shepherd sitting on the seat row in front of him.
“What do you mean?” Dasco asked back, unfazed.
Edward rolled his eyes. “Come on, you know it! What did you see? Do we actually have a UFO stocked since Roswell? And the ‘Alien Autopsy’, it was a fake of course…but we do have a live alien ambassador hosted at Area 51, right?”
Dasco raised an eyebrow, much like Mr. Spock used to do when ‘Bones’ McCoy proved himself really dense. “Do you really want to know?”
Eddie nodded enthusiastically.
“Do you love your family?”
Eddie blinked. “Guh?”
Dasco kept up that poker face. “They would all disappear, along with you. Pets and their parasites included, if any.”
This made the youngest human of the group to fall silent, while their car ran toward the core cluster of Xanadu.
Iris kept looking at the panorama around them and visible under their feet. The car’s frailty was apparent, as it was made of plasteel and could stand a bazooka shot. “It’s so beautiful,” she muttered, feeling like a puppy during her first exploration of the world. “Sir?” she then asked to the black wolf standing near the door, together with that silent Natalie Domina woman.
Speaking of ‘standing’, their Captain hadn’t taken a second to rest since ‘welcoming’ the group.
“Speak,” Temno said.
“Uh, this area was hit by an earthquake, once. In fact, the old Truman Laboratories were shut down due to leaks caused in the fissile material storage tanks. Isn’t it dangerous to have a nuclear fusion reactor here, of all places?” Especially considering that the thing was supposed to revolution the energy market forever.
The wolf nodded. “First of all, Prometheus is supposed to just turn off, in case of structural emergency. The plasma core smothers itself like a candle fire. No fancy explosion, sorry for the drama lovers. The real mess will be turning it on, as that process requires a very generous injection of energy.
“As for the geological factor, well, I guess some you will know that there is no ‘safe’ place in the world, as tectonics go. Of course, building something right over the New Madrid fault or the San Andrea would be akin to harakiri, but in our case the vault has been restructured just like they did with NORAD base. Actually, improving the work thanks to Japanese cooperation. Oh, and by the way, Panderov and Beckett teams: your first priority will be to check the Samurais who worked with us in case something fishy slipped past our control.”
Sarah and Catherine nodded. This was their territory, international espionage. It was a safe bet that an hostile party would not rely on microphones and the such –no unapproved transmission could leave this place or reach it. And it was as much clear that privacy was nonexistent. No one could ask for a ‘personal favor’ without Big Brother knowing.
This left room to good ol’ spies only. Now, that was something hard to catch, unless you were a pro. Like a CIA spook and the daughter of a former top KGB Agent.
Under their feet, the car reached Green Cluster of this small-scale Coruscant. “Next stop,” Eddie said, “lingerie, women’s wear, cosmetics. Please don’t hit me, Cap.”
Temno shrugged. “I demand respect from my underlings, not lobotomy. And you all will hear a lot of jokes, it relieves the stress; actually, the eggheads can be actually funny once you stop wishing them dead. You’ll like to spend some time with them.”
“Is that an order, Sir?”
Temno grinned. “Do you need to ask?”
The car stopped over the roof of the central building.
The group disembarked. Jake was wearing his full combat attire. “Uh, Sir, do we actually need to introduce ourselves with all this stuff?”
Temno examined his ‘troops’: plasteel plates body armor, emergency kits (including ‘invisible cloak’ and AR contacts), HUD glasses and cameras which allowed each member of a single team to keep track of the other, skin communicators powered by the body heat, smartphones GT Omivac-Z3, sleeve stunners, GT Hyperflash neural grenades NG MIII, C5 explosive pack, boot knives.
Then came the weapons of choice, what humans and animals had decided to keep as personal item. Of course, their armory held enough bounty to last for World War III and some year later, but a good soldier would stuck to those weapons he or she would use more frequently.
In this case, Jake Torrance’s question was not really unfounded.
Archer had kept his arrows, his ‘Hawkeye’ quiver and his own compound bow. Considering he could turn any object into a weapon thanks to his exceptionsl marksmanship, he really wasn’t disarmed without bow and arrow.
Edward Pope Jr. now owned a PSE TAC 15 crossbow, his own quiver, and a SIG Sauer P238 loaded with six GT C5 fragmentation bullets.
Chance showed no visible weapons, but only because his vest contained anything he needed to be dangerous and taking his enemies by surprise. The cat had dubbed that vest his ‘Bat-belt’. Like him, Clayton Whitaker was good with an assortment of weapons, but since he excelled at short range combat and preferred to be of support to Chance, he had chosen a “Ranger” combat trench survival knife, a Tomahawk knife, and a KSG Kel-Tec Shotgun.
Iris and Sarah had been trained to fight, of course, but their job rarely required action on the field. And so, aside from the mandatory attire, they had gone for something more…discreet, which could add to their MAAD training. The Anatolian Shepherd had chosen two katanas and a GT Stun/Killer SK-08 gun. Sarah carried two Desert Eagles Mark XIX .357
Sodina and Catherine Panderov had eventually gone for items that could make their own bodies more lethal –retractable wrist claws GT M1 ‘Predator’, gloves reinforced with titanium layers, reinforced boots with hidden knives, and telescopic batons strapped to their arms.
Flare and Fredrick, who had trained to think and work as one, a requirement in their kind of specialty, carried a classical piece each: AK-47, and a bag to reassemble it according to necessity. Whatever else they needed, in case of defusing explosives or setting them, they carried it in their backpacks.
Lance and Jake carried each an XM-25 rifle by Alliance Techsystems, still to go on the market, and a multipurpose knife. Other than that, they too had their own backpacks –and no one still knew what was inside them.
Amar had chosen two items: As a spotter, his job was to be silent. All he needed were a Leonida Combat Survival Knife, and a GT SF-01 ‘StarField’ Spotting Scope. His partner, Elsa, carried a disassembled M107A1 in a hard bag strapped around her shoulders. That, combined with her talent, made her one of the most lethal women in the world.
Navy and Caleb couldn’t refuse their standard attire, and they really, really hated to use lethal weapons. So both had opted as well for the GT SK-08. Caleb had added a Taser X12 Stun gun for longer range shots. After all, they were basically negotiators. Right?
To say that Marcus liked overkill, there was no doubt: after a long debate with himself, and Temno’s refusal to hire a Sherpa, the dire wolf had kept his Smith & Wesson Bush Hog Kukri and the SOG cutting knife. He had strapped a Beretta M92 with 9x19 prabellum rounds to his thigh…and had replaced his first choice with two novelties: The Auto Assault AA-12 shotgun, and a Pfeifer-Zeliska .600 Nitro Express Magnum! A weapon that only one like him could fire like a ‘normal’ gun’. Damien, with his M4 Carbine with Grenade Launcher and his D2 Extreme Fighting Ka-Bar, looked small and inadequate!
Dasco had his Magpul FMG9 folding machine gun, a FNH Five SeveN ODG, and a Cold Steel Recon 1 Knife. Rusty was equipped with an M4 Carbine, a Beretta M9 pistol and a Walther P99C.
All in all, a sight to fear.
“As I previously stated,” Temno repeated as if that was the most normal thing in the world, “the research staff is used to the sight of armed guards, as they make up for 30% of general staff. You must instill at least prudence in your enemies, at best fear for their lives. Your different specialties will force hostile forces to rethink their strategies from time to time, while an amateur will think of you as some gun-loving, mindless mercenaries. Now, let’s meet your quarries.”
The elevator doors opened on a large meeting room –as local architecture went, a room occupying the whole floor. It must be an interesting show, when it was filled to capacity with scientists discussing over their pet project.
For now, it was just an empty amphitheater, the set for some post-apocalypse movie. Eerie.
Eddie scratched his head. “Sir, didn’t you say they were waiting for us?”
Flare sniffed intently at the air. “They’re here.”
Marcus was looking around, sniffing at the air too. “So? This placed is filled with humans, it’s normal that their smell is lingering—“
Flare shook his head. “They’re here. Now.”
“Beak! I told you guys we needed to work on the scent factor!” An incorporeal male voice said…a moment before a crowd filling the room to capacity appeared out of nowhere! Men, women and animals, all wearing their clothes and coats!
At the same moment, every single team member carrying a gun produced it and cocked it, aiming at the crowd!
A 50 year old man with a bald head and a short beard raised his hands in mock defense. “Ah, guys? Nerd joke, no need to raise hackles here. Plus, the liability would hurt you more than any bullet.”
The warriors lowered their weapons. “Just. Don’t. Do. That. Again,” Marcus growled, lowering his AA-12.
Dasco shook his head, while refolding his machine gun. “And to think I fell for it, during my previous assignment.”
The man stepped forward, He was accompanied by a Russian Blue cat. A graceful, pretty female Russian Blue cat.
“I think I am being in love,” Amar said.
“Saw her first,” Chance whispered.
The man walked to the dire wolf, showing no sign of hesitation or fear as he grabbed the enormous paw and shook it as if Marcus had been an old college pal! “I see Gottschalk chose all too well,” he said with a British accent in his voice. “Welcome to Xanadu, guys! I am Justin Wayward, Magnetic Containment Field Team Supervisor. But please, you guys ignore our degrees and just call us any way you wish. After all, you are not here to listen to a lecture.”
Marcus was looking at Wayward as if the human was an alien –how was he supposed to instill fear in the enemy if he didn’t even instill awe in this…puny creature?!
Jake and Lance were examining the crowd. The two newly elected guns for hire were actually drooling at the sight!
“I love my job,” Lance said.
Jake nodded. There was history at work, in this room. He felt has if he could learn everything only through osmosis! He had never seen so many brains he had only read about, so far. “I recognize at least two dozen people who…used to work at ITER?”
One of them walked to him. A woman, definitely French if her accent and the tag BOULANGER were clues enough. “We were part of the staff, oui, before budget cuts, political decisions, and reschedules put us in front of a choice: teaching at a ridiculous fraction of what we used to earn, and without a career worth of its name, or coming here.”
“And build our future,” a German male scientist said. His tag read FRIGSBURG.
Wayward nodded. “Science is about improving with what you know, after all. Wisely, Gottschalk thought he could use our talents and save time and money, rather than starting from scraps You could say his was the winning idea.”
“And doesn’t this give you…loyalty problems”? Iris asked. As a dog, loyalty was something built in her DNA. As a CIA agent, she couldn’t see herself giving her talents to any other country than hers.
Frigsburg shook his head. He was accompanied by a Doberman. A female as well. “Nein, not in the least. You see, it was our own countries who decided to sacrifice progress in favor of public money waste.”
“Especially my country,” a Mr. DONADIO said. He looked like the grumpy guy of that bunch. He also looked a lot like a younger Michael Ironside. He was accompanied by a female Boxer. “If I told you just how much cash our politicians spent for their own bordello pleasures instead of financing research…” He was becoming all red in the face.
“Dad,” the dog said, holding his hand. “Your pressure, please.”
The man sighed heavily, then recomposed himself. He bent down and hugged his dog. “Sorry, Tuscia. Thank you for reminding me.”
Dasco knew it wasn’t professional in the least, but he couldn’t help wagging. He whispered to Archer, “Is it my imagination or every single civilian fur here is female?”
Flare’s heart was beating hard, his nostrils flaring like a horse's. “No. Not imagination. Heaven.”
Wayward nodded. “You’ll discover that, except for Einstein, since Dr. Stanwick threatened to fire herself if she couldn’t keep him, every lab pet at Xanadu is a female. And with fine brains to match.”
“I want their puppies,” Lance whimpered.
Temno cleared his throat. “I think you all may want to keep a hold of your testosterone, grunts. Oh, and since we’re at it, FYI while the eggheads’ pets are females, every security animal is male. Don’t think it will be a milkrun to the ladies’ hearts.”
“Who is caring?” Amar shrugged. “I…like a good competition,” he said to the Russian Blue, correcting himself at the last moment. He didn’t usually care about his speech, but all of a sudden he wished he was more sophisticated.
“Meh,” Chance said, “Since there are so many fishes in the sea, you can have her.” Then he noticed Clayton rolling his eyes. “What? It’s not as if I was raised in a politically-correct culture.”
“GRUNTS!” Temno roared. The mercenaries sprung on attention.
The black wolf was almost projecting lasers from his eyes. “You are still professionals, and you’re asked to act as such! This is an informal meeting, but still not the school’s prom! So meet your quarries, eat something with them and then go back to your quarters, or explore the place, or anything else you’d like to do. Your first shift is set for tomorrow.” He turned and walked back toward the elevator—
“Sir!” Archer raised his paw.
Temno turned. His body screamed This better be good! “Yes, grunt?”
“Why Captain Domina didn’t speak a word so far? Her file says she…well, has no problems of sort.”
Temno smiled. “Because I ordered her not to. Just a way to remind you who’s top dog. And now, goodbye. I must go kill a sheppie who thought he could be a ladykiller with the wrong lady.”
After he and his partner had left the room, a long silence fell while the guns for hire looked at the civilians.
Eddie cleared his throat. He felt as if he was about to get flunked at an exam.
“Relax, young man,” said one of them. Spanish? “We’re on the same side.”
Eddie remembered that examining commission guy saying the same thing. Before a painful F hit him in history. His old man had eaten him alive, at dinner…were those fangs in this Spanish guy’s mouth? He needed air!
When Edward spoke, at last, his voice came out like a croak. “Uh, Archer and I rescued a scientist, once. Biochemist. Funny guy, always sweating and nervous. Heh.”
The scientist patted his shoulder. “Now, now. I am sure you have a lot of interesting things to say. Your colleagues of security have fine stories to tell, but I’m sure you guys did things that make you very interesting subjects to talk with.”
Eddie’s upper lip contracted like during a rabbit’s rictus. “Subjects. Yes. Heh.”
“So, to put you at ease, wouldn’t you like to speak about something easy? Like how Tritium and Deuterium collide to form Helium-4?”
Eddie fainted into Catherine’s arms. Wayward sighed through a facetious smile. “Dr. Galvan, you always know how to pick them.”
The man shrugged. “They can’t even make it hard. Remember that Venezuelan guy?”
“Didn’t he try to kill you?” Donadio asked.
Galvan shook his head, tutting. “It’s the job, colleagues: cabin fever may get to one’s nerves.”
“Didn’t the Cap say these guys were funny?” Sodina whispered to her partner
“Once you get past the wish to strangle them, I guess,” Catherine whispered back.
Jake was interested in another thing. “So, uh, can anyone tell me why the lab pets are all…girls?”
The answer came from a Japanese man tagged SHIRAKAWA. He bowed before answering and pointing at the Tanuki with him. “Because these daughters of our Earth are our family. Each one of us humans has completely devoted himself or herself to this job, we have left our…biological relatives back in our country, and our IDs outside Xanadu are coded.”
“You can’t be tracked,” Iris said. “Like in witness program.”
Shirakawa nodded. “We need recreation from time to time, fresh air, meet other people, but we are not stupid. We are well aware of the historical importance of our jobs. The work of the other Clusters is important, but it’s nothing compared to this. In fact, they depend on us giving them the fire to feed their products and the industry manufacturing them.
“In this contest, our furry companions are the family we need without the…complications of a human nucleus. And it’s only fair that they have the chance to build their own happiness rather than just hanging out with us.”
“Quite…pragmatic,” Sodina smirked. “So, they will be coming along with you during your time out?”
The tanuki bowed in turn. “We promise we will not be of hindrance to your job, Panderov-San.”
Edward was coming back to consciousness at that moment. “Sorry, guys. I…guess I didn’t sleep as much as I thought. What happened?”
Galvan went to him with a thick plastic cup containing a hot beverage. “Here, hombre. This will cheer you up.”
Eddie thanked him and took the cup. Yes, he so needed some cocoa right now…
Only a moment before drinking from it, did he notice something weird with the vapor –it wasn’t really going up the cup, rather it was pouring out like a liquid. “Uhh, is this cocoa?”
Galvan looked at the cup’s content. He seemed puzzled. “Hmm, I think I may have taken the liquid nitrogen by mistake. Here, let me try.” He took the cup and emptied it with a couple of gulps! Eddie saw his career dying in front of his eyes and his body grinded for his uncle’s next lunch!
Galvan smacked his lips. “Hmm, no. This is the cocoa, all right. I’ll fix you another—“
But Eddie had fainted again.
The scientist smiled. “A new friend.”