The Webrunner's Saga
Chapter 1: A New Beginning
The massive ship floated majestically in the hangar, it's polished silver surface gleaming in the flourescent lights. A marvel of scientific engineering, it resembled a large, biomechanical bird, with wide, webbed wings, and oblong body, and a beaked head connected to the main part of the ship by a long, slender neck. Numerous wires, tubes, and umbilicals connected the ship to the equiptment in the hangar, charging it's batteries and filling it's fuel tanks. On the floor below, a large number of binomes carried even larger numbers of crates and boxes into the ships hold: supplies of food, ammunition, medical gear and other specialized equiptment the crew would need on it's mission.
Matrix and Bob watched from the catwalk above.
"So this is the Webrunner," Bob said.
"Nice ship," Matrix commented.
"Thank you, Matrix," an elegant, cultured voice said, reverberating throughout the hangar.
Matrix blinked. "Did it just talk to me?" he asked.
Bob nodded.
"Yes, I did. A pleasure to meet you," the Webrunner said. "According to my data, the two of you are not to be part of my crew. A pity. It would be an honor to work with you."
"Webrunner, do keep quiet for a moment. I'm recalibrating your primary vocal module, among other things, and you're disrupting the process by speaking," an impatient voice from below called.
Both Bob and Matrix looked down at the metal grating of the floor below, where a mechanical-looking Sprite was rapidly typing away at a workstation terminal.
"How's it going, 308?" Matrix asked.
"It would go much more quickly if people would stop interrupting me," the genius behind the Webrunner's design replied curtly. His eyes, merely images on twin circular screens, darted back and forth across the screen of the terminal.
"Just let him work, Matrix. This is supposed to be important."
"Important? Does anyone even know what this ship is for?"
"They're supposed to tell us at the unveiling today.," Bob replied, his long silver hair glinting in the light. "Speaking of which, we'd better get going or we'll miss it."
"After all the hype about this ship," Matrix said, "This had better be good."
* * *
In Mainframe's central town hall, the very one where Bob had once held his Game Strategies Class, nearly a third of the population of Mainframe had turned out for the meeting. Today was to be the grand unveiling of the Webrunner, the latest and greatest breakthrough in Web Transport....and though it hadn't been confirmed, there were rumors that it's maiden voyage was to be a special mission, one which would affect the welfare of the entire Net.
A hush fell over the crowd as Phong approached the poduim, a small, handheld vidwindow with his prewritten speech clutched in the elderly sprite's three-fingered claw.
"Ahem....is this on? Sprites and Binomes, We are gathered here today to unite......" Phong broke off speaking as he glanced down at the rest of the speech, then shot a dirty look at the black-clothed figure offstage. There was a short burst of maniacal laughter. Somewhat flustered, Phong started over.
"Lolita, light of my life, fire of..." Phong glared off stage again, and the laughter resumed, louder this time.
With a sigh, Phong threw the vidwindow back over his shoulder and turned back to face the crowd.
"Ahem. No doubt you have all heard wonderful things about the Webrunner. It is, indeed, the fastest, smartest, most powerful ship yet to be constructed....so powerful, in fact, that it is capable of destroying entire systems with a single blast from it's weapon. Of course, we hope that it should never have to."
There was a stunned silence, interspersed with a few nervous titters, followed by a slight commotion from the back of the room as Bob and Matrix burst into the room.
Phong nodded slightly, acknowledging them. "However, contrary to some of the things you may have heard, it is no simple cargo or luxory cruise ship. The Webrunner was constructed with a very specific purpose in mind."
Taking his cue, the figure backstage drew the curtains, exposing a holographic emitter. The device came alive, projecting a 3-dimensional map of the Net.
"Recent scans have revealed the appearance of an unidentified energy Pattern that has saturated the Net and the Web. This energy Pattern is extremely powerful, and in the wrong hands it could prove a very dangerous weapon."
A wave of red light swam across the holo-map.
Bob glanced uneasily at the binomes in the crowd, most of whom were already looking terrified. As a general rule, binomes didn't have much capacity for exitment. Phong was taking a big risk revealing this sort of information to them.
"Intelligence also reports that an unidentified agent has begun collecting the Pattern. This agent has proven itself to be hostile, attacking and destroying any ships that attempt to make contact, and ignoring all local transport regulations. We belive that if this agent aqquires the Pattern, it will use it in a very deadly manner."
"W-What will be done?!" a binome nearly screamed.
"Calmness, my child. This is why the Webrunner was constructed." Phong snapped his fingers, and two dozen smartly dressed Sprites strode onto the stage, forming two neat rows.
"This specially trained crew will pilot the Webrunner throughout the entire Net and Web, collect the Pattern, and keep it from the unfriendly agent. If neccesary, they will use the Webrunners weapons to defend themselves. So there is nothing to fear."
A sigh of collective relief went up from the crow. Bob sighed too with relief, not because of what Phong had said, but because the Binomes hadn't started rioting.
Phong rambled on for a bit about a few of the Webrunner's other specification, most of which was techspeak that Bob tuned out. As the crowd dispersed, Bob and Matrix walked up onto the stage.
"Nice speech, Phong. But don't you think it might have been a bit much for them?"
"They have a right to know, my child. And....there is something you should know, as well." Phong brought them backstage, where they wouldn't be overheard. The Sprite who had operated the curtains cocked his head curiously and wandered over so that he could eavesdrop.
"I told the crowds that the agent collecting the Pattern is unidentified...and that's true. Mostly. He has not identified himself."
"But you know who it is?" Matrix asked.
A drawer extended out from the old Sprite's midsection, and he reached inside and drew out a thick wad of photographs. he flipped through them until he found the one he wanted, then handed it to Bob. It was a picture of one of the enemy ships.
Bob's eyes narrowed. "I'd know that color scheme anywhere."
Matrix's golden cybernetic eye swiveled in it's socket, and began to glow an angry red.
"Megabyte."
* * *
308 completed his final configurations and stepped back to admire his work. "Done. Finally."
"Ooh! It's finished?"
308, not having any skin, couldn't jump out of it, but he tried. Turning, he glared at the speaker, a tall, dark clothed Sprite with milk-white skin and a polished black mask covering his face.
"Do you have clearance to be here?" 308 demanded, his screen-mouth sneering.
"Probably not. I'm Jareth. Who are you?"
"*I* am calling security. You'd best be gone before they get here."
"Well, aren't you a treat. I just wanted to have a look at the ship everyone's been talking about."
"Well, look while you can. You won't get a very good view from your cell." 308 reached for his workstation panel, but before he could hit the call button, a hand reached out and restrained him.
"Who--" 308 began, but his non-existant tongue seemed to have forgotten what it was doing. For standing in front of him was the most beautiful Sprite he had ever seen. She had long blue hair, tan skin, and had what appeared to be fins growing from her forearms. A pink starfish sat on the side of her head, and she was smiling at in a most fetching manner.
"I will love you forever," 308 whispered.
"What?" she asked.
"Huh? N-nothing. Who...who are you?"
"Hi. I'm AndrAIa. You don't REALLY need to call security do you? I mean, my friend was just looking around."
"Huh? Oh, no, of course not. By all means, have a look around. Would you like a tour? I designed this ship, you know."
AndrAIa blinked in surprise. "Erm..yes, we'd love a tour. Thank you, Mr...?"
"Oh, how rude of me not to introduce myself. I'm 308. AndrAIa...yes, I believe Phong mentioned you, though he hardy did you justice. Come, then, and let's begin the tour. Shall we start with the bridge?"
Jareth waved a hand in front of his face, changing instantly from one mask to another. His expression now was intruiged. Yes, let's. This should be fun."
308's virtual lips twitched at the corners, as though trying not to scowl.
* * *
A large crowd--for the most part, the same one that had attended Phong's meeting-- had gathered just outside the hangar where the Webrunner was stored. Accomodations had been made for them; they had benches, awnings to shelter them from the sun, even the snack vendors had arrived and were working the crowd like vultures. All were awaiting the launch of the legendary ship that would save then from their unknown enemy.
In one of the seats in the upper rows, a green-skinned woman sat. Next to her was a much younger Sprite with skin the same color. At the younger Sprite's feet sat a large red-and-yellow dog, contentedly chewing on a large bone, and on the woman's other side sat a large, cantakerous yellow robot with a shimmering green slug inside it's dome-shaped glass head.
"How much longer till the Launch, Sis?"
Dot glanced at her organizer. "Two more cycles."
"Aww...I can't wait that long! I wish it would launch sooner."
"It's already timed to launch as soon as possible," the slug-headed robot said. "They have to load the ship with supplies and fuel before launching."
"Yeah...I guess so. Hey, where's Matrix? Isn't he going to be here for this?"
"Phong had something to tell him. Bob, too. Don't worry, they'll both be here for the launch. They wouldn't miss it."
Enzo slouched in his seat, bored. "Still wish it would hurry up."
* * *
As stealthily as a Sprite can, a lone Sprite walked into the hangar. His clothing was black, his skin silver, his hair a flaming indigo. A high-tech shotgun was holstered at his back. A deep scar ran down vertically over his left eye, though the eye itself was concealed by a pair of sunglasses. A large, dark blue duffel bag hung at his side, provided by his employer. That anyone so conspicuous had gotten this far spoke volumes for his skill at infiltration...or for the pathetic security. Perhaps both. First confirming that he was the only person there, he began to circle the great ship, every few paces placing a small mechanical object from the bag at his side onto the floor.
Once they were all in place and set, he strode over to the primary workstation and adjusted the launch countdown. Finally, he quietly strode up the ramp into the ship.
Once inside, he turned left and headed strait for the bridge. Had he turned right, he'd have run directly into Jareth, AndrAIa, and 308, just finishing their tour and disembarking the ship.
"What a neat ship," Jareth said. "Hey, where can I get one?"
AndrAIa stopped short and glanced back down the other cooridore.
"What is it?" 308 asked.
"I thought I heard somethng."
"That was me," Jareth said. "Asking where I could get one of these ships."
"This ship has a number of subsystems, all of which make different sounds," 308 said. "I could show you the blueprints if you'd like."
AndrAIa shook her head. "Thanks, that's okay. We need to get going, the rest of our family will be waiting on us."
"Most of them," Jareth said, his tone almost pouty.
"Electra won't be there?" AndrAIa asked.
Jareth shook his head. "Something came up, and she had to take care of it. Didn't say what, though."
The main door to the hangar opened, and Phong rolled in, along with Bob and Matrix.
"AndrAIa?" Matrix asked. "What are you doing here?"
AndrAIA laughed. "Good to see you, too, Sparky."
Jareth giggled. "Sparky," he mimicked.
Matrix shot him a quick glare, then hugged AndrAIa as she walked over to him.
308's projected mouth hung open.
"Good timing," Jareth said. "We were just coming to find you."
"308 was giving us a tour," AndrAIa added.
"AndrAIa...what would you say if I told you I wanted to go along on this trip?"
AndrAIa opened her mouth to reply, but before she could, Phong cut in, "I told you before, Matrix. It's completely out of the question. The Webrunners crew has been in training for nearly two seconds preparing and training for this voyage. You cannot simply decide to go along at the last minute."
"But Phong...."
At that moment the doors opened again, and this time there stood a small security regiment of binomes, led by a blue-green-skinned Guardian with dark hair.
"Is there a problem, Backslash?" Phong asked.
"Mr. Phong, sir! We have surveilance reports of an unauthorized intruder, sir!" one of the binomes blurted.
"Do they make any other kind of intruder?" Jareth asked, amused.
"I saw him enter this room on the security monitors, Phong," Backslash clarified. "While he was here, he set--"
Just then, a high-pitched beeping noise filled the room.
"Oww!" Jareth said, clamping his hands to where his ears should have been. "What in the--"
Bob glanced down at the ground and spotted the source: A small, mechanical device, about the size of a Sprite's head. He picked it up and examined it.
"Bob, don't touch that!" Backslash yelled.
The device suddenly jerked in Bob's hand, and he dropped it in surprise.
Each of the devices began to unfold, eventually producing arms, legs, and a vaguely humaoid body, complete with a number of bladed appendages. The droids immediately began to attack anyone they could reach....which, within the crowded hangar bay, was everyone.
One of the blades neatly severed 308's head, which flew from his body, fell, and rolled to a halt, just within the open door of the Webrunner.
Matrix drew his Gun, his cybernetic eye swiveling in it's socket to reveal a glowing red (V).
"Gun, Command Line--Full delete." The high-tech Gun gave a bleep, then fired off an intense pulse of energy that melted it's target robot to slag.
With a crackle of energy, Backlslash's lightsaber flared to life. The nearest robot attempted to parry, but the energy blade simply sliced through the robot's steel weapon. Soon afterwards, it sliced through it's midsection.
Bob fired thick beams of golden light from his hands, disabling two of the robots, while Matrix's Gun laid low several more. Jareth fired off a few energy bolts of his own, and in moments the robots were all inoperative.
"Clean this mess up," Phong ordered the Guards, who had simply stood there during the entire fight. "And find out where those robots came from." His gaze fell on 308's lifeless body, which had sparks shooting from it's neck. The smell of burning insulation rose from it. "And someone find his head. We may be able to repair him."
"Where's AndAIa?" Matrix asked, for amidst all the chaos, she'd vanished.
"On the ship?" Jareth suggested.
"That's where the intruder went," Backie commented.
There was a brief pause, then a sudden crowding of the door as Bob, Backslash, Matrix, and Jareth all tried to get into the ship at once.
"AndrAIa!" Jareth called, his voice echoing down the passageways.
"Over here!"
"Left cooridore," Bob said. Everyone headed off down the indicated tunnel.
"Hey!" a voice called.
Jareth stopped and looked around for the voice.
"Down here."
There, lying on the ground, was 308's disembodied head.
"Don't just stand there, you moron. Pick. Me. Up."
Jareth picked up the head and ran to catch up with the others.
Folllowing AndrAIa's voice, the group found themselves at the entrance to the bridge, where she stood trying to pry the door open with her trident.
"I knew I heard something. It's the intruder, Bob. He's trying to steal the ship. And he's sealed himself in."
Matrix's bionic eye swiveled and hummed as he tuned in and focused on objects on the other side of the steel door. Sure enough, a Sprite was there, his heat signiture that of a tall Sprite of approximately Bob's build.
"I'll get us in," Matrix said, and aimed Gun at the locking mechanism.
Jareth quickly reached out and pushed down the barrel. "I have an idea. Let's NOT damage the expensive new ship." He thrust 308's head at Matrix, then knelt down, tinkered with the lock for a bit, and in moments had the device figured out.
"It's open," he said.
"Is there anything you can't unlock?" Backslash asked rhetorically.
"A brastrap, but that's not important right now," Jareth replied, hitting the button on the door.
With a hiss, the electronic door opened, and the entire group rushed in to the Bridge.
A high-tech shotgun was aimed directly at them.
"Looks like I get to have some fun after all," the intruder said. "And to think, I was just hired to steal the shi--"
"Burner?!"
The Intruder shot a surprised glance over at Matrix. "Enzo? Enzo!" As abruptly as it had appeared, the shotgun was holstered, as was Matrix's Gun.
The intruder removed his sunglasses, revealing one golden cybernetic eye, engraved with the letter (V)."And if it isn't AndrAIa! My, you've grown."
Bob stood flabbergasted. "You two know this guy?"
"We go way back," Matrix replied. "Crash, what are you doing here?"
"I'm stealing this ship. What are you doing here?"
"Stopping this ship from being stolen."
"Oh."
"Oh."
There was a pause.
"Well, duty first," Crash said, drawing his shotgun.
"Guess so," Matrix replied, Gun in hand.
"Nice seeing you again, though."
"Yeah, you too."
"Are you two out of your minds?" AndrAIa asked, stepping between them, looking from one to the other.
Crash chuckled. "Yeah, you're right," he said, holstering his weapon. "Megabyte only paid me the standard ship-stealing fee. I charge a lot more for shooting old friends."
"Megabyte...," Matrix sneered.
There was a sudden rumbling and vibration from beneath the floor.
"What's happening?" Bob asked.
"The Webrunner is launching," 308 replied. "The countdown must have been adjusted."
"Webrunner! Why didn't you tell us you were about to launch?" Matrix demanded.
"You didn't ask," the ship replied calmly. "And you may as well get comfortable. The launch program cannot be interrupted, and the entry hatches have already been sealed. I'm afraid you're stuck for the duration."
"I'm not," Jareth said smugly. "I can teleport off, easy."
"Yes, but you'd best stay anyway, Virus." The ship said.
"Why's that?"
"Because the supply loading process was not completed, and I lack the equiptment needed to complete my mission."
"So?"
"So, I am programmed not to return to port until my mission has been carried out. Therefore, unless you use your Viral powers to compensate for the loss of the missing equipment, your friends will never see their home again."
Everyone turned to stare at Jareth. Jareth sighed.
"All right, fine. But you people owe me for this."
Everyone quickly buckled themselves in as the craft raised its nose, aiming for the ceiling. The roof of the hangar split open, revealing the sky above, and the Webrunner shot from the hangar faster than the eye could follow. The crowd below cheered, though some checked to be sure their watches were functioning properly.
* * *
"This can't be right," Dot said. "It's too soon."
A beeping sound emitted from her organizer, and when she opened it, Phong's face looked back at her.
"My child, we have a problem. Bob and Matrix are on that ship."
"What? But--"
"There is nothing we can do at this point. we must simply hope that they succeed in their mission. We will lose contact with them as soon as the ship enters the Web, so you had best call them while you can." With that, Phong cut the connection.
"Looks like you got your wish, Enzo," Dot said. She quickly dialed Bob.
"Dot? Hey. It looks like I'm going on a little trip."
"Come back to me, Bob."
"Always. Here, Matrix wants to say something."
The angle changed as Bob turned his Vidwindow to face Matrix.
"Hey, Sis. Take care of Enzo until I get back. And Enzo!" he called, louder so that little Enzo could hear. "You take care of Frisket!"
The angle changed again as the Vidwindow was snatched, this time by Jareth.
"Dot, tell 'Lectra what happened. Tell her I'll be home soon. Tell her....." The scene was abruptly overcome with static as the ship flew out or range.
* * *
Opening it's own portal in the skies above Mainframe, the ship launched itself straight into the heart of the Web, sailing effortlessly through data dense enough to crush any other vessel.
The Webrunner's Saga had begun.
Chapter 1: A New Beginning
The massive ship floated majestically in the hangar, it's polished silver surface gleaming in the flourescent lights. A marvel of scientific engineering, it resembled a large, biomechanical bird, with wide, webbed wings, and oblong body, and a beaked head connected to the main part of the ship by a long, slender neck. Numerous wires, tubes, and umbilicals connected the ship to the equiptment in the hangar, charging it's batteries and filling it's fuel tanks. On the floor below, a large number of binomes carried even larger numbers of crates and boxes into the ships hold: supplies of food, ammunition, medical gear and other specialized equiptment the crew would need on it's mission.
Matrix and Bob watched from the catwalk above.
"So this is the Webrunner," Bob said.
"Nice ship," Matrix commented.
"Thank you, Matrix," an elegant, cultured voice said, reverberating throughout the hangar.
Matrix blinked. "Did it just talk to me?" he asked.
Bob nodded.
"Yes, I did. A pleasure to meet you," the Webrunner said. "According to my data, the two of you are not to be part of my crew. A pity. It would be an honor to work with you."
"Webrunner, do keep quiet for a moment. I'm recalibrating your primary vocal module, among other things, and you're disrupting the process by speaking," an impatient voice from below called.
Both Bob and Matrix looked down at the metal grating of the floor below, where a mechanical-looking Sprite was rapidly typing away at a workstation terminal.
"How's it going, 308?" Matrix asked.
"It would go much more quickly if people would stop interrupting me," the genius behind the Webrunner's design replied curtly. His eyes, merely images on twin circular screens, darted back and forth across the screen of the terminal.
"Just let him work, Matrix. This is supposed to be important."
"Important? Does anyone even know what this ship is for?"
"They're supposed to tell us at the unveiling today.," Bob replied, his long silver hair glinting in the light. "Speaking of which, we'd better get going or we'll miss it."
"After all the hype about this ship," Matrix said, "This had better be good."
* * *
In Mainframe's central town hall, the very one where Bob had once held his Game Strategies Class, nearly a third of the population of Mainframe had turned out for the meeting. Today was to be the grand unveiling of the Webrunner, the latest and greatest breakthrough in Web Transport....and though it hadn't been confirmed, there were rumors that it's maiden voyage was to be a special mission, one which would affect the welfare of the entire Net.
A hush fell over the crowd as Phong approached the poduim, a small, handheld vidwindow with his prewritten speech clutched in the elderly sprite's three-fingered claw.
"Ahem....is this on? Sprites and Binomes, We are gathered here today to unite......" Phong broke off speaking as he glanced down at the rest of the speech, then shot a dirty look at the black-clothed figure offstage. There was a short burst of maniacal laughter. Somewhat flustered, Phong started over.
"Lolita, light of my life, fire of..." Phong glared off stage again, and the laughter resumed, louder this time.
With a sigh, Phong threw the vidwindow back over his shoulder and turned back to face the crowd.
"Ahem. No doubt you have all heard wonderful things about the Webrunner. It is, indeed, the fastest, smartest, most powerful ship yet to be constructed....so powerful, in fact, that it is capable of destroying entire systems with a single blast from it's weapon. Of course, we hope that it should never have to."
There was a stunned silence, interspersed with a few nervous titters, followed by a slight commotion from the back of the room as Bob and Matrix burst into the room.
Phong nodded slightly, acknowledging them. "However, contrary to some of the things you may have heard, it is no simple cargo or luxory cruise ship. The Webrunner was constructed with a very specific purpose in mind."
Taking his cue, the figure backstage drew the curtains, exposing a holographic emitter. The device came alive, projecting a 3-dimensional map of the Net.
"Recent scans have revealed the appearance of an unidentified energy Pattern that has saturated the Net and the Web. This energy Pattern is extremely powerful, and in the wrong hands it could prove a very dangerous weapon."
A wave of red light swam across the holo-map.
Bob glanced uneasily at the binomes in the crowd, most of whom were already looking terrified. As a general rule, binomes didn't have much capacity for exitment. Phong was taking a big risk revealing this sort of information to them.
"Intelligence also reports that an unidentified agent has begun collecting the Pattern. This agent has proven itself to be hostile, attacking and destroying any ships that attempt to make contact, and ignoring all local transport regulations. We belive that if this agent aqquires the Pattern, it will use it in a very deadly manner."
"W-What will be done?!" a binome nearly screamed.
"Calmness, my child. This is why the Webrunner was constructed." Phong snapped his fingers, and two dozen smartly dressed Sprites strode onto the stage, forming two neat rows.
"This specially trained crew will pilot the Webrunner throughout the entire Net and Web, collect the Pattern, and keep it from the unfriendly agent. If neccesary, they will use the Webrunners weapons to defend themselves. So there is nothing to fear."
A sigh of collective relief went up from the crow. Bob sighed too with relief, not because of what Phong had said, but because the Binomes hadn't started rioting.
Phong rambled on for a bit about a few of the Webrunner's other specification, most of which was techspeak that Bob tuned out. As the crowd dispersed, Bob and Matrix walked up onto the stage.
"Nice speech, Phong. But don't you think it might have been a bit much for them?"
"They have a right to know, my child. And....there is something you should know, as well." Phong brought them backstage, where they wouldn't be overheard. The Sprite who had operated the curtains cocked his head curiously and wandered over so that he could eavesdrop.
"I told the crowds that the agent collecting the Pattern is unidentified...and that's true. Mostly. He has not identified himself."
"But you know who it is?" Matrix asked.
A drawer extended out from the old Sprite's midsection, and he reached inside and drew out a thick wad of photographs. he flipped through them until he found the one he wanted, then handed it to Bob. It was a picture of one of the enemy ships.
Bob's eyes narrowed. "I'd know that color scheme anywhere."
Matrix's golden cybernetic eye swiveled in it's socket, and began to glow an angry red.
"Megabyte."
* * *
308 completed his final configurations and stepped back to admire his work. "Done. Finally."
"Ooh! It's finished?"
308, not having any skin, couldn't jump out of it, but he tried. Turning, he glared at the speaker, a tall, dark clothed Sprite with milk-white skin and a polished black mask covering his face.
"Do you have clearance to be here?" 308 demanded, his screen-mouth sneering.
"Probably not. I'm Jareth. Who are you?"
"*I* am calling security. You'd best be gone before they get here."
"Well, aren't you a treat. I just wanted to have a look at the ship everyone's been talking about."
"Well, look while you can. You won't get a very good view from your cell." 308 reached for his workstation panel, but before he could hit the call button, a hand reached out and restrained him.
"Who--" 308 began, but his non-existant tongue seemed to have forgotten what it was doing. For standing in front of him was the most beautiful Sprite he had ever seen. She had long blue hair, tan skin, and had what appeared to be fins growing from her forearms. A pink starfish sat on the side of her head, and she was smiling at in a most fetching manner.
"I will love you forever," 308 whispered.
"What?" she asked.
"Huh? N-nothing. Who...who are you?"
"Hi. I'm AndrAIa. You don't REALLY need to call security do you? I mean, my friend was just looking around."
"Huh? Oh, no, of course not. By all means, have a look around. Would you like a tour? I designed this ship, you know."
AndrAIa blinked in surprise. "Erm..yes, we'd love a tour. Thank you, Mr...?"
"Oh, how rude of me not to introduce myself. I'm 308. AndrAIa...yes, I believe Phong mentioned you, though he hardy did you justice. Come, then, and let's begin the tour. Shall we start with the bridge?"
Jareth waved a hand in front of his face, changing instantly from one mask to another. His expression now was intruiged. Yes, let's. This should be fun."
308's virtual lips twitched at the corners, as though trying not to scowl.
* * *
A large crowd--for the most part, the same one that had attended Phong's meeting-- had gathered just outside the hangar where the Webrunner was stored. Accomodations had been made for them; they had benches, awnings to shelter them from the sun, even the snack vendors had arrived and were working the crowd like vultures. All were awaiting the launch of the legendary ship that would save then from their unknown enemy.
In one of the seats in the upper rows, a green-skinned woman sat. Next to her was a much younger Sprite with skin the same color. At the younger Sprite's feet sat a large red-and-yellow dog, contentedly chewing on a large bone, and on the woman's other side sat a large, cantakerous yellow robot with a shimmering green slug inside it's dome-shaped glass head.
"How much longer till the Launch, Sis?"
Dot glanced at her organizer. "Two more cycles."
"Aww...I can't wait that long! I wish it would launch sooner."
"It's already timed to launch as soon as possible," the slug-headed robot said. "They have to load the ship with supplies and fuel before launching."
"Yeah...I guess so. Hey, where's Matrix? Isn't he going to be here for this?"
"Phong had something to tell him. Bob, too. Don't worry, they'll both be here for the launch. They wouldn't miss it."
Enzo slouched in his seat, bored. "Still wish it would hurry up."
* * *
As stealthily as a Sprite can, a lone Sprite walked into the hangar. His clothing was black, his skin silver, his hair a flaming indigo. A high-tech shotgun was holstered at his back. A deep scar ran down vertically over his left eye, though the eye itself was concealed by a pair of sunglasses. A large, dark blue duffel bag hung at his side, provided by his employer. That anyone so conspicuous had gotten this far spoke volumes for his skill at infiltration...or for the pathetic security. Perhaps both. First confirming that he was the only person there, he began to circle the great ship, every few paces placing a small mechanical object from the bag at his side onto the floor.
Once they were all in place and set, he strode over to the primary workstation and adjusted the launch countdown. Finally, he quietly strode up the ramp into the ship.
Once inside, he turned left and headed strait for the bridge. Had he turned right, he'd have run directly into Jareth, AndrAIa, and 308, just finishing their tour and disembarking the ship.
"What a neat ship," Jareth said. "Hey, where can I get one?"
AndrAIa stopped short and glanced back down the other cooridore.
"What is it?" 308 asked.
"I thought I heard somethng."
"That was me," Jareth said. "Asking where I could get one of these ships."
"This ship has a number of subsystems, all of which make different sounds," 308 said. "I could show you the blueprints if you'd like."
AndrAIa shook her head. "Thanks, that's okay. We need to get going, the rest of our family will be waiting on us."
"Most of them," Jareth said, his tone almost pouty.
"Electra won't be there?" AndrAIa asked.
Jareth shook his head. "Something came up, and she had to take care of it. Didn't say what, though."
The main door to the hangar opened, and Phong rolled in, along with Bob and Matrix.
"AndrAIa?" Matrix asked. "What are you doing here?"
AndrAIA laughed. "Good to see you, too, Sparky."
Jareth giggled. "Sparky," he mimicked.
Matrix shot him a quick glare, then hugged AndrAIa as she walked over to him.
308's projected mouth hung open.
"Good timing," Jareth said. "We were just coming to find you."
"308 was giving us a tour," AndrAIa added.
"AndrAIa...what would you say if I told you I wanted to go along on this trip?"
AndrAIa opened her mouth to reply, but before she could, Phong cut in, "I told you before, Matrix. It's completely out of the question. The Webrunners crew has been in training for nearly two seconds preparing and training for this voyage. You cannot simply decide to go along at the last minute."
"But Phong...."
At that moment the doors opened again, and this time there stood a small security regiment of binomes, led by a blue-green-skinned Guardian with dark hair.
"Is there a problem, Backslash?" Phong asked.
"Mr. Phong, sir! We have surveilance reports of an unauthorized intruder, sir!" one of the binomes blurted.
"Do they make any other kind of intruder?" Jareth asked, amused.
"I saw him enter this room on the security monitors, Phong," Backslash clarified. "While he was here, he set--"
Just then, a high-pitched beeping noise filled the room.
"Oww!" Jareth said, clamping his hands to where his ears should have been. "What in the--"
Bob glanced down at the ground and spotted the source: A small, mechanical device, about the size of a Sprite's head. He picked it up and examined it.
"Bob, don't touch that!" Backslash yelled.
The device suddenly jerked in Bob's hand, and he dropped it in surprise.
Each of the devices began to unfold, eventually producing arms, legs, and a vaguely humaoid body, complete with a number of bladed appendages. The droids immediately began to attack anyone they could reach....which, within the crowded hangar bay, was everyone.
One of the blades neatly severed 308's head, which flew from his body, fell, and rolled to a halt, just within the open door of the Webrunner.
Matrix drew his Gun, his cybernetic eye swiveling in it's socket to reveal a glowing red (V).
"Gun, Command Line--Full delete." The high-tech Gun gave a bleep, then fired off an intense pulse of energy that melted it's target robot to slag.
With a crackle of energy, Backlslash's lightsaber flared to life. The nearest robot attempted to parry, but the energy blade simply sliced through the robot's steel weapon. Soon afterwards, it sliced through it's midsection.
Bob fired thick beams of golden light from his hands, disabling two of the robots, while Matrix's Gun laid low several more. Jareth fired off a few energy bolts of his own, and in moments the robots were all inoperative.
"Clean this mess up," Phong ordered the Guards, who had simply stood there during the entire fight. "And find out where those robots came from." His gaze fell on 308's lifeless body, which had sparks shooting from it's neck. The smell of burning insulation rose from it. "And someone find his head. We may be able to repair him."
"Where's AndAIa?" Matrix asked, for amidst all the chaos, she'd vanished.
"On the ship?" Jareth suggested.
"That's where the intruder went," Backie commented.
There was a brief pause, then a sudden crowding of the door as Bob, Backslash, Matrix, and Jareth all tried to get into the ship at once.
"AndrAIa!" Jareth called, his voice echoing down the passageways.
"Over here!"
"Left cooridore," Bob said. Everyone headed off down the indicated tunnel.
"Hey!" a voice called.
Jareth stopped and looked around for the voice.
"Down here."
There, lying on the ground, was 308's disembodied head.
"Don't just stand there, you moron. Pick. Me. Up."
Jareth picked up the head and ran to catch up with the others.
Folllowing AndrAIa's voice, the group found themselves at the entrance to the bridge, where she stood trying to pry the door open with her trident.
"I knew I heard something. It's the intruder, Bob. He's trying to steal the ship. And he's sealed himself in."
Matrix's bionic eye swiveled and hummed as he tuned in and focused on objects on the other side of the steel door. Sure enough, a Sprite was there, his heat signiture that of a tall Sprite of approximately Bob's build.
"I'll get us in," Matrix said, and aimed Gun at the locking mechanism.
Jareth quickly reached out and pushed down the barrel. "I have an idea. Let's NOT damage the expensive new ship." He thrust 308's head at Matrix, then knelt down, tinkered with the lock for a bit, and in moments had the device figured out.
"It's open," he said.
"Is there anything you can't unlock?" Backslash asked rhetorically.
"A brastrap, but that's not important right now," Jareth replied, hitting the button on the door.
With a hiss, the electronic door opened, and the entire group rushed in to the Bridge.
A high-tech shotgun was aimed directly at them.
"Looks like I get to have some fun after all," the intruder said. "And to think, I was just hired to steal the shi--"
"Burner?!"
The Intruder shot a surprised glance over at Matrix. "Enzo? Enzo!" As abruptly as it had appeared, the shotgun was holstered, as was Matrix's Gun.
The intruder removed his sunglasses, revealing one golden cybernetic eye, engraved with the letter (V)."And if it isn't AndrAIa! My, you've grown."
Bob stood flabbergasted. "You two know this guy?"
"We go way back," Matrix replied. "Crash, what are you doing here?"
"I'm stealing this ship. What are you doing here?"
"Stopping this ship from being stolen."
"Oh."
"Oh."
There was a pause.
"Well, duty first," Crash said, drawing his shotgun.
"Guess so," Matrix replied, Gun in hand.
"Nice seeing you again, though."
"Yeah, you too."
"Are you two out of your minds?" AndrAIa asked, stepping between them, looking from one to the other.
Crash chuckled. "Yeah, you're right," he said, holstering his weapon. "Megabyte only paid me the standard ship-stealing fee. I charge a lot more for shooting old friends."
"Megabyte...," Matrix sneered.
There was a sudden rumbling and vibration from beneath the floor.
"What's happening?" Bob asked.
"The Webrunner is launching," 308 replied. "The countdown must have been adjusted."
"Webrunner! Why didn't you tell us you were about to launch?" Matrix demanded.
"You didn't ask," the ship replied calmly. "And you may as well get comfortable. The launch program cannot be interrupted, and the entry hatches have already been sealed. I'm afraid you're stuck for the duration."
"I'm not," Jareth said smugly. "I can teleport off, easy."
"Yes, but you'd best stay anyway, Virus." The ship said.
"Why's that?"
"Because the supply loading process was not completed, and I lack the equiptment needed to complete my mission."
"So?"
"So, I am programmed not to return to port until my mission has been carried out. Therefore, unless you use your Viral powers to compensate for the loss of the missing equipment, your friends will never see their home again."
Everyone turned to stare at Jareth. Jareth sighed.
"All right, fine. But you people owe me for this."
Everyone quickly buckled themselves in as the craft raised its nose, aiming for the ceiling. The roof of the hangar split open, revealing the sky above, and the Webrunner shot from the hangar faster than the eye could follow. The crowd below cheered, though some checked to be sure their watches were functioning properly.
* * *
"This can't be right," Dot said. "It's too soon."
A beeping sound emitted from her organizer, and when she opened it, Phong's face looked back at her.
"My child, we have a problem. Bob and Matrix are on that ship."
"What? But--"
"There is nothing we can do at this point. we must simply hope that they succeed in their mission. We will lose contact with them as soon as the ship enters the Web, so you had best call them while you can." With that, Phong cut the connection.
"Looks like you got your wish, Enzo," Dot said. She quickly dialed Bob.
"Dot? Hey. It looks like I'm going on a little trip."
"Come back to me, Bob."
"Always. Here, Matrix wants to say something."
The angle changed as Bob turned his Vidwindow to face Matrix.
"Hey, Sis. Take care of Enzo until I get back. And Enzo!" he called, louder so that little Enzo could hear. "You take care of Frisket!"
The angle changed again as the Vidwindow was snatched, this time by Jareth.
"Dot, tell 'Lectra what happened. Tell her I'll be home soon. Tell her....." The scene was abruptly overcome with static as the ship flew out or range.
* * *
Opening it's own portal in the skies above Mainframe, the ship launched itself straight into the heart of the Web, sailing effortlessly through data dense enough to crush any other vessel.
The Webrunner's Saga had begun.