I don't know how to break this to you Guys, but i still don't own Outlaw star, sorry if i disillusioned anyone.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Hayth ducked beneath the Gnoll's large blade and shot a leg out into the beast's gut. Spinning, he used the large blue blade he held in both hands to parry one of the pole-axes which had been aimed at Odana's chest. Continuing the swing he rammed the pummel of the sword into the gnoll's snarling muzzle. Turning to his companion he yelled:
"Odana! Hurry up with the spell, I can't hold these things off forever."
The cleric didn't reply, only continued mumbling in a strange language, her hands pressed together in prayer. Hayth winced as he fealt a spear pierce his left side. Swinging the blade around in a long arc, a string of mist following it, he sliced the head of the monster clean off. He was good, over the past monthes the training, in and out of Illusia, had made him one of the best broad sword users in the game. However, even being the best doesn't make you immortal, and an entire army of monsters were out of even his league. After his last swing the gnolls looked like they were slightly more cautious of him and had backed up. The knight positioned himself in front of the cleric, his sword held before him in the 'ready' position.
With a ferral snarl, the gnolls charged up to him. Hayth grinned, if he was going down, he was going down he'd go down fighting. Ignoring the new stab wounds, he swung the sword around in a low sweep, felling 3 of the nearest in the first blow. Behind him, Odana's eyes slammed open and she shouted:
"Hayth! Hit the floor, now!!"
His instincts kicked in immediately and he threw himself down to the floor, burying his face into the dirt. From Hayth's forehead formed a small ball of light about the size of a tennis ball. It hovered there for a split second before exploding into a 1000 smaller balls, each flying into one of the gnolls. The beasts stood there for a second, an expression of pure horror etched on every one of their faces, suddenly each of them ignited and burned until nothing was left.
Pushing himself up, Hayth started to brush the dirt from his armour. Looking around at the hudreds of piles of ash on the floor he turned to his partner
"Not too much overkill then?" he said with a grin
"Nope, just the right amount"
*********************************************************
In the months since they had met, Hayth and Odana had amassed quite a large amount of fame amongst the worlds. When they first started out there were only a few people who had heard about a knight/cleric team who had started working together to clear out some of the tougher areas.
After a month of them both playing together they had been invited by the administrators to take part in a contest between some of the best players in the game. They were both the lowest leveled characters in the contest but the understanding that each had for the other meant that they worked better than any other team in the competition. As runners-up in the contest, each was given a special item. Hayth now wielded a sword known as 'The Glacier', a sword which could harness the powers of ice. Odana's gift had been a suit of armour which protected her against spellcraft.
It had been three months since the contest and Hayth had raised his level to one similar to Odana's, as well as making the cottage, his base of operations. The pair were known to most people as friendly and helpful, especially to people who were just starting the game.
What was slightly more amusing was the discussions out of the game, on the official forums. Theories were being thrown back and forth about the true identities of the Pair. Some people claimed that they were two of the original programmers, others claimed that they were high level detectives, partners who were involved in a romance which they could only express in Illusia. Both Hayth and Odana found this hilarious. All Odana knew about Hayth was that he lived on a ship which traveled around quite a bit all and all Hayth knew about the Cleric was how she served on a ship as some sort of moral officer. Neither pressed the issue of real life personas and both seemed content with the anonymity which accompanied their friendship.
***********************************************
Jim pulled his headset off and put it back into the draw where it usually lay. He had successfully kept his hobby a secret from all bar one member of the crew for the past 4 months, and if he had his way it would stay that way. A small grin formed on his face as he remembered the day when Suzuka had sat him down to talk.
***********************************************
It had been one month into his training with Suzuka when, in one of their training sessions with Jim using the mock broadsword, she had noticed that the hacker was far more proficient with the sword than she had taught him to be.
As she poured them each a cup of tea, she looked across at the hacker and said:
"So Jim, who else has been teaching you to fight?", a small smirk playing on her lips. Jim perked up, a shocked expression on his face.
"Wh-what do you mean Suzuka? You know that you're my only teacher."
"Whilst it would be flattering if I could claim sole credit for the skills you have with that weapon, it would not be truthfull now, would it?" Jim looked down at the table for a few seconds, his brow furrowing in thought. When Jim looked up again it looked like he had decided on something.
"No, it wouldn't" Suzuka nodded her head, her supicions confirmed.
"So would you mind explaining how it is that you are now fighting as if you had been using that blade for a year?"
A red tint, coloured Jim's cheeks. "There's this Game..."
With that Jim began to explain about Illusia, the character of Hayth, about Odana. When he had finished he looked over at Suzuka to try and decide what she was going to say. The ex-assasin had her eyes lowered, peering into the contents of the tea-cup .
"Suzuka?" She looked up at him, her face portraying no emotion. Jim fealt a ball of fear growing within his stomach. What would she do? Would she be angry that he had used his training for? He couldn't be sure, just had to wait to see how she would react. No preparation could prepare him for her reaction.
Raising her hand to her mouth Suzuka began to chuckle softly. Jim's jaw dropped as he stared at his teacher in a mixture of confusion and amazement.
"You're not mad?" Suzuka stopped laughing and looked into Jim's eyes, a smile etched on her face.
"No Jim I'm not mad. Surprised, certainly but not at all angry. It certainly has made you a better fighter"
The blonde sat back, a visably relieved expression on his face.
"Can I ask you a favour though Suzuka?" She tilted her head to the side and gestured for him to contiue.
"Well i was just wondering if we could keep this our secret. I don't want Gene and Aisha to find out about it, they'll just make fun of me for it"
"Very well, i shall do as you requested on one condition" At this Jim perked up. "I want you to show me what you can really do with that sword" The hacker breathed a sigh of relief and pushed himself up off the floor.
"You got it"
After they had been practicing for about ten minutes Suzuka gestured for him to stop for a moment.
"What is it Suzuka?"
"I think i might have an idea which may help you. You said that in the past whenever you wanted to enter Illusia that you just claimed that you were going to get some sleep correct?"
"Yeah that's right, why?"
"Well i think I might have another excuse for you to use." Jim looked intrigued by the concept "What if, in the future you claimed that you had meditation exercises, to work through each day" Jim's face broke out into a broad grin.
***********************************************
He hadn't spent all his time playing the game and training though. There was someone on the crew who made sure of that. After Suzuka's explanations about Jim's meditiation time, Aisha had decided that the 'Kid' was taking life far too serously.
**********************************************
Jim made his way back to the cockpit. He had a sandwhich held in one hand and a glass of milk in the other. Placing them on the side of his work station, he swung himself into his chair and tried to start his work before noticing that his computer was missing. In it's place was a small piece of paper, folded over so that Jim couldn't see what was written on it. Inside it read:
'I get used to much and so have gone for a trip
Where i am there ain't a barbershop but there is a quartet
If we didn't use them we'd really get stuck.'
Putting the paper down, Jim started trying to work out what the riddle meant. It took him a couple of seconds to deduce what it was getting at. The foursome which helped them to move was obviously the engines, which was Jim found himslef heading next.
**************************************************
On the floor was another clue as to the where-abouts of his computer
'I waited here but you took to long
I fancy a snack so thats where you'll find me,
Where Mel does some of her best work'
This one was quite a bit easier than the earlier one and before the paper even landed on the floor Jim was making his way to the ships galley
**************************************************
Melfina was standing next to the cooker stirring the contents of a large pot.
"Mel? Have you seen my computer
"Jim? No I haven't seen it today, sorry" Jim took a seat at the table. Looking around he saw another note on the table in front of him
'Boy you really are slow
I went back to where i feel most at home
Truly where the worlds biggest "?" plants his "?"'
Jim pocketed the note and tried to puzzle this one out. Well the first part was obvious so he might as well go to the right room first.
"See you later Mel."
"Goodbye Jim."
**************************************************
"What can i do for you Jim?"
"Nothing right now Gene, I'm just looking for my computer" Satisfied that he had tried Gene returned to the work he was doing at his terminal.
Jim started searching around trying to find his next clue. It wasn't until he was searching around where Aisha usually sitting that a thought entered his head which caused him to grin.
"Gene could you just stand up for a few seconds"
"Um sure why?" Reaching beneath Gene he found the piece of paper he had been looking for on Gene's seat.
"Never mind got it now" Jim said as he headed towards the door.
"Whatever" The red-haired outlaw said as he returned to his console.
Standing in the doorway Jim read the newest clue
'Well you've almost caught me
You've taken me here loads of times before
Usually to evaluate the loot we've just got'
*****************************************************
As he aproached the Cargo bay he noticed that the lights had all been turned off and the only source of illumination was coming from his computer screen. Once through the door he spotted the light switch he flicked it and was immediately shocked by the sight which greeted him. Behind the computer, previously hidden by the darkness, stood aisha, a large....... well i supose cake would be the most appropriate word but it didn't look like any of the other cakes Jim had ever seen before. Aisha however looked incredibly pleased with it and it was evident she had baked it herself.
"Aisha, did you take my computer?" The C'tarl C'tarl nodded vigourossly
"Yup"
"Why?"
"'Cos it was fun. You had fun didn't you?" Jim looked down at the cake in her arms.
"Well yeah I gotta admit I did" he said scratching the back of his head"
"Good, now c'mon don't you want to try a piece?" with that she sat down on the floor and began cutting a large piece from it. Jim sat opposite her and weighed up his options in his mind. Deciding that he only truly had one option he shrugged and said.
"Sure that'd be great." As soon as the words left his mouth he found himself with a hunk of cake iin his hands. Jim gingerly lifted the cake to his mouth and took a bite. He chewed it for a few seconds before reaching into his mouth and pulling out a fish bone. Aisha looked up at him, a few crumbs sticking to her lips.
"What do you think?"
"Um... It's interesting Aisha thank you." As Aisha continued to devour the rest of the cake Jim looked around the rest of the bay and found a small empty box which he quickly dropped the rest of the cake into it. When Aisha looked up again a blob of cream had been left on the end of her nose.
"Um, Aisha." Jim tried to gesture to her without actually speaking the words. After about a minute of hand gestures the hacker reached out and wiped away the cream with his index finger, grinning he held the finger between them, showing Aisha the blob.
It wasn't long before she began to giggle, after a couple of seconds Jim began to join in. After a few moments af the mingling laughter, Aisha leaned forward and licked the cream off Jim's finger, if anything this caused them both to laugh even harder.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Thanks for the reviews and comments guys, this thing is almost writing itself, you can probably expect the next chapter in about 4 days or less.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Hayth ducked beneath the Gnoll's large blade and shot a leg out into the beast's gut. Spinning, he used the large blue blade he held in both hands to parry one of the pole-axes which had been aimed at Odana's chest. Continuing the swing he rammed the pummel of the sword into the gnoll's snarling muzzle. Turning to his companion he yelled:
"Odana! Hurry up with the spell, I can't hold these things off forever."
The cleric didn't reply, only continued mumbling in a strange language, her hands pressed together in prayer. Hayth winced as he fealt a spear pierce his left side. Swinging the blade around in a long arc, a string of mist following it, he sliced the head of the monster clean off. He was good, over the past monthes the training, in and out of Illusia, had made him one of the best broad sword users in the game. However, even being the best doesn't make you immortal, and an entire army of monsters were out of even his league. After his last swing the gnolls looked like they were slightly more cautious of him and had backed up. The knight positioned himself in front of the cleric, his sword held before him in the 'ready' position.
With a ferral snarl, the gnolls charged up to him. Hayth grinned, if he was going down, he was going down he'd go down fighting. Ignoring the new stab wounds, he swung the sword around in a low sweep, felling 3 of the nearest in the first blow. Behind him, Odana's eyes slammed open and she shouted:
"Hayth! Hit the floor, now!!"
His instincts kicked in immediately and he threw himself down to the floor, burying his face into the dirt. From Hayth's forehead formed a small ball of light about the size of a tennis ball. It hovered there for a split second before exploding into a 1000 smaller balls, each flying into one of the gnolls. The beasts stood there for a second, an expression of pure horror etched on every one of their faces, suddenly each of them ignited and burned until nothing was left.
Pushing himself up, Hayth started to brush the dirt from his armour. Looking around at the hudreds of piles of ash on the floor he turned to his partner
"Not too much overkill then?" he said with a grin
"Nope, just the right amount"
*********************************************************
In the months since they had met, Hayth and Odana had amassed quite a large amount of fame amongst the worlds. When they first started out there were only a few people who had heard about a knight/cleric team who had started working together to clear out some of the tougher areas.
After a month of them both playing together they had been invited by the administrators to take part in a contest between some of the best players in the game. They were both the lowest leveled characters in the contest but the understanding that each had for the other meant that they worked better than any other team in the competition. As runners-up in the contest, each was given a special item. Hayth now wielded a sword known as 'The Glacier', a sword which could harness the powers of ice. Odana's gift had been a suit of armour which protected her against spellcraft.
It had been three months since the contest and Hayth had raised his level to one similar to Odana's, as well as making the cottage, his base of operations. The pair were known to most people as friendly and helpful, especially to people who were just starting the game.
What was slightly more amusing was the discussions out of the game, on the official forums. Theories were being thrown back and forth about the true identities of the Pair. Some people claimed that they were two of the original programmers, others claimed that they were high level detectives, partners who were involved in a romance which they could only express in Illusia. Both Hayth and Odana found this hilarious. All Odana knew about Hayth was that he lived on a ship which traveled around quite a bit all and all Hayth knew about the Cleric was how she served on a ship as some sort of moral officer. Neither pressed the issue of real life personas and both seemed content with the anonymity which accompanied their friendship.
***********************************************
Jim pulled his headset off and put it back into the draw where it usually lay. He had successfully kept his hobby a secret from all bar one member of the crew for the past 4 months, and if he had his way it would stay that way. A small grin formed on his face as he remembered the day when Suzuka had sat him down to talk.
***********************************************
It had been one month into his training with Suzuka when, in one of their training sessions with Jim using the mock broadsword, she had noticed that the hacker was far more proficient with the sword than she had taught him to be.
As she poured them each a cup of tea, she looked across at the hacker and said:
"So Jim, who else has been teaching you to fight?", a small smirk playing on her lips. Jim perked up, a shocked expression on his face.
"Wh-what do you mean Suzuka? You know that you're my only teacher."
"Whilst it would be flattering if I could claim sole credit for the skills you have with that weapon, it would not be truthfull now, would it?" Jim looked down at the table for a few seconds, his brow furrowing in thought. When Jim looked up again it looked like he had decided on something.
"No, it wouldn't" Suzuka nodded her head, her supicions confirmed.
"So would you mind explaining how it is that you are now fighting as if you had been using that blade for a year?"
A red tint, coloured Jim's cheeks. "There's this Game..."
With that Jim began to explain about Illusia, the character of Hayth, about Odana. When he had finished he looked over at Suzuka to try and decide what she was going to say. The ex-assasin had her eyes lowered, peering into the contents of the tea-cup .
"Suzuka?" She looked up at him, her face portraying no emotion. Jim fealt a ball of fear growing within his stomach. What would she do? Would she be angry that he had used his training for? He couldn't be sure, just had to wait to see how she would react. No preparation could prepare him for her reaction.
Raising her hand to her mouth Suzuka began to chuckle softly. Jim's jaw dropped as he stared at his teacher in a mixture of confusion and amazement.
"You're not mad?" Suzuka stopped laughing and looked into Jim's eyes, a smile etched on her face.
"No Jim I'm not mad. Surprised, certainly but not at all angry. It certainly has made you a better fighter"
The blonde sat back, a visably relieved expression on his face.
"Can I ask you a favour though Suzuka?" She tilted her head to the side and gestured for him to contiue.
"Well i was just wondering if we could keep this our secret. I don't want Gene and Aisha to find out about it, they'll just make fun of me for it"
"Very well, i shall do as you requested on one condition" At this Jim perked up. "I want you to show me what you can really do with that sword" The hacker breathed a sigh of relief and pushed himself up off the floor.
"You got it"
After they had been practicing for about ten minutes Suzuka gestured for him to stop for a moment.
"What is it Suzuka?"
"I think i might have an idea which may help you. You said that in the past whenever you wanted to enter Illusia that you just claimed that you were going to get some sleep correct?"
"Yeah that's right, why?"
"Well i think I might have another excuse for you to use." Jim looked intrigued by the concept "What if, in the future you claimed that you had meditation exercises, to work through each day" Jim's face broke out into a broad grin.
***********************************************
He hadn't spent all his time playing the game and training though. There was someone on the crew who made sure of that. After Suzuka's explanations about Jim's meditiation time, Aisha had decided that the 'Kid' was taking life far too serously.
**********************************************
Jim made his way back to the cockpit. He had a sandwhich held in one hand and a glass of milk in the other. Placing them on the side of his work station, he swung himself into his chair and tried to start his work before noticing that his computer was missing. In it's place was a small piece of paper, folded over so that Jim couldn't see what was written on it. Inside it read:
'I get used to much and so have gone for a trip
Where i am there ain't a barbershop but there is a quartet
If we didn't use them we'd really get stuck.'
Putting the paper down, Jim started trying to work out what the riddle meant. It took him a couple of seconds to deduce what it was getting at. The foursome which helped them to move was obviously the engines, which was Jim found himslef heading next.
**************************************************
On the floor was another clue as to the where-abouts of his computer
'I waited here but you took to long
I fancy a snack so thats where you'll find me,
Where Mel does some of her best work'
This one was quite a bit easier than the earlier one and before the paper even landed on the floor Jim was making his way to the ships galley
**************************************************
Melfina was standing next to the cooker stirring the contents of a large pot.
"Mel? Have you seen my computer
"Jim? No I haven't seen it today, sorry" Jim took a seat at the table. Looking around he saw another note on the table in front of him
'Boy you really are slow
I went back to where i feel most at home
Truly where the worlds biggest "?" plants his "?"'
Jim pocketed the note and tried to puzzle this one out. Well the first part was obvious so he might as well go to the right room first.
"See you later Mel."
"Goodbye Jim."
**************************************************
"What can i do for you Jim?"
"Nothing right now Gene, I'm just looking for my computer" Satisfied that he had tried Gene returned to the work he was doing at his terminal.
Jim started searching around trying to find his next clue. It wasn't until he was searching around where Aisha usually sitting that a thought entered his head which caused him to grin.
"Gene could you just stand up for a few seconds"
"Um sure why?" Reaching beneath Gene he found the piece of paper he had been looking for on Gene's seat.
"Never mind got it now" Jim said as he headed towards the door.
"Whatever" The red-haired outlaw said as he returned to his console.
Standing in the doorway Jim read the newest clue
'Well you've almost caught me
You've taken me here loads of times before
Usually to evaluate the loot we've just got'
*****************************************************
As he aproached the Cargo bay he noticed that the lights had all been turned off and the only source of illumination was coming from his computer screen. Once through the door he spotted the light switch he flicked it and was immediately shocked by the sight which greeted him. Behind the computer, previously hidden by the darkness, stood aisha, a large....... well i supose cake would be the most appropriate word but it didn't look like any of the other cakes Jim had ever seen before. Aisha however looked incredibly pleased with it and it was evident she had baked it herself.
"Aisha, did you take my computer?" The C'tarl C'tarl nodded vigourossly
"Yup"
"Why?"
"'Cos it was fun. You had fun didn't you?" Jim looked down at the cake in her arms.
"Well yeah I gotta admit I did" he said scratching the back of his head"
"Good, now c'mon don't you want to try a piece?" with that she sat down on the floor and began cutting a large piece from it. Jim sat opposite her and weighed up his options in his mind. Deciding that he only truly had one option he shrugged and said.
"Sure that'd be great." As soon as the words left his mouth he found himself with a hunk of cake iin his hands. Jim gingerly lifted the cake to his mouth and took a bite. He chewed it for a few seconds before reaching into his mouth and pulling out a fish bone. Aisha looked up at him, a few crumbs sticking to her lips.
"What do you think?"
"Um... It's interesting Aisha thank you." As Aisha continued to devour the rest of the cake Jim looked around the rest of the bay and found a small empty box which he quickly dropped the rest of the cake into it. When Aisha looked up again a blob of cream had been left on the end of her nose.
"Um, Aisha." Jim tried to gesture to her without actually speaking the words. After about a minute of hand gestures the hacker reached out and wiped away the cream with his index finger, grinning he held the finger between them, showing Aisha the blob.
It wasn't long before she began to giggle, after a couple of seconds Jim began to join in. After a few moments af the mingling laughter, Aisha leaned forward and licked the cream off Jim's finger, if anything this caused them both to laugh even harder.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Thanks for the reviews and comments guys, this thing is almost writing itself, you can probably expect the next chapter in about 4 days or less.
