**Hello, all. Before reading this chapter I highly recommend visiting
my site. Here you
will find images as well as detailed back ground of Gene's captors. If you
want any idea of who these people are and what they look like, please go
here. Unfortunately the rest of my site isn't linked up yet but hopefully
soon. Enjoy!!**
As I slowly regained consciousness I found myself sprawled on a cool steel floor in a room with no doors or windows. The room was dimly illuminated by what seemed to be a series of tiny lights shinning underneath the floor that I lay on. As my eyes adjusted to the frosty grey light, I began to realize that I was truly trapped. Then a voice sounded, seeming to come from every metallic corner. It stated calmly "Welcome Gene Starwind, welcome to your new home" "There is no way in HELL you'll be keeping me here." I spat back. But the voice was gone, I was alone once again.
Sighing to myself I slumped against the wall silently muttering curses. I couldn't solve my way out of this one with my guns, like I usually did. Whoever that was on that speaker, they were playing for keeps. I'd have to use some of my old-fashioned brainstorming. I wasn't that tired but since they were leaving me alone for now, I might as well get some sleep in case I wouldn't get to any time soon. It might also help me relax so I could think of a way out. Now with a plan of action, I curled up in the corner and drifted off to sleep; cradling my empty castor that still offered me some solace.
Vega moved away from the microphone and leaned back in her chair. She glanced over at the video monitor, watching Gene as he slept. "What a horrible outlaw...in a strange place, and he has the gall to sleep." Vega shook her head and smiled slightly. "But you do offer me amusement Gene Starwind, reaching our goal should be enjoyable." At that moment Kujen entered the room, arms crossed with a smirk on his face. "Talking to yourself again Vega?" Vega smiled, "Well I do have to meet my quota of villain behavior." He chuckled, and then got to the point. "Captain, Fain requests your approval of the next stage." "Excellent. I will join him shortly. Call Singh and have her monitor our prisoner. Come with me, I may need your help." she replied. "Yes, Captain." Vega quickly exited the room with Kujen right behind her. As they walked down the hallway they passed Singh, who was on her way to the monitoring station. She stepped to the side, saluting Vega as she passed.
After saluting the captain, Singh continued to the monitoring room and situated herself comfortably in the plush swivel chair. She spun around a few times then checked the video feed. He was still sleeping. She sunk down in the chair and sighed. This was going to prove to be long and boring. If Vega was inspecting the next stage, then they could be occupied for hours. Swinging her legs from side to side, her eyes wandered across the vast and complicated instrument panel. Then she stopped, placing her feet firmly on the floor, as she focused her attention on the microphone controls. A sly grin appeared on her face. "Now this might actually be fun...."she thought.
As she inspected the various buttons, she noticed that she was able change the voice that was output into the confinement area. "I guess so your adversary won't recognize your voice if they ever meet you..." she mumbled. Among the standard voice distortions and fear inducing audio enhancements she saw that Vega had added some customized ones of Gene's crew members. They had been briefed previously on the identities of each of the members and their relationship to Gene, so she now knew whose voice she wanted to manipulate for her little prank. She pressed the button marked [Melfina] and bent the microphone towards her mouth.
The sound inside the steel prison snapped on. "Gene...Gene...."the false Melfina whispered. Gene began to stir at the sound of the friendly and familiar voice. "Gene, wake up Gene." the voice called again. Suddenly it struck him, forcing him awake. That was Melfina's voice! Fully on his feet, heart racing, he called out to Melfina, "Where are you Melfina?!" "Shhhhh..."she hushed. "You don't want to call attention to yourself. Now listen." Singh giggled silently to herself, enjoying watching him squirm under her false pretense. Then she began Melfina's fraudulent story.
"I'm here to help you; we found you missing and tracked you here. I infiltrated this place to save you." "But why?" Gene questioned, "Why did you leave your vacation early?" "Because I love you." breathed the fake Melfina. Gene froze, completely bowled over by Melfina's bold and shocking revelation. First captured by some unknown assailants now a love confession?!? They had always been close, even crushes but never lovers. Suddenly she screamed then the mic crackled out. Gene, already emotionally drained from the ensnarement and love declaration, nearly had a conniption when he thought about Mel in the grasps of his captors.
Singh jumped and let out a quick scream, as she turned to see Fain looming over her. She clicked the mic off and tried to look innocent. "Sumashi ow nina?"he inquired suspiciously. "Uhh...nothing...."she replied sheepishly. "But why did you have to startle me?!" she retorted, trying to change the subject. "Vega sudeitashi ow switch chitashitawa aw." "Okay, I could use a break, I'm losing my assassin reflexes...I didn't even hear you come in." Singh rose calmly from the chair, and began to walk out. Fain made one final remark, scolding her for messing with the prisoner. She snorted angrily and stormed out of the room.
Fain stepped up to the chair and sat down. He turned around, checking the panel for any problems. Seeing everything was in order, he turned to the video monitor to see Gene, stressed and startled. Fain sighed, somewhat annoyed at having to deal with the result of Singh's boredom. Fain turned on the mic, and selected a button which would translate his language into something Gene could understand. Then he spoke. "Gene, I apologize on the behalf of my teammate. That was not Melfina. Ease your mind and prepare for your challenge tomorrow." With that he set the monitor to alert him if anything strange happened, flipped out the lights and headed to his sleeping quarters.
**Well I finally updated. Not as early as I wanted to but better than usual. Hopefully you are all enjoying this story as much as I enjoy writing it. If all goes well they will be a chapter next week, but no promises. And as always please leave a comment; I love to hear from you guys! ^_^**
As I slowly regained consciousness I found myself sprawled on a cool steel floor in a room with no doors or windows. The room was dimly illuminated by what seemed to be a series of tiny lights shinning underneath the floor that I lay on. As my eyes adjusted to the frosty grey light, I began to realize that I was truly trapped. Then a voice sounded, seeming to come from every metallic corner. It stated calmly "Welcome Gene Starwind, welcome to your new home" "There is no way in HELL you'll be keeping me here." I spat back. But the voice was gone, I was alone once again.
Sighing to myself I slumped against the wall silently muttering curses. I couldn't solve my way out of this one with my guns, like I usually did. Whoever that was on that speaker, they were playing for keeps. I'd have to use some of my old-fashioned brainstorming. I wasn't that tired but since they were leaving me alone for now, I might as well get some sleep in case I wouldn't get to any time soon. It might also help me relax so I could think of a way out. Now with a plan of action, I curled up in the corner and drifted off to sleep; cradling my empty castor that still offered me some solace.
Vega moved away from the microphone and leaned back in her chair. She glanced over at the video monitor, watching Gene as he slept. "What a horrible outlaw...in a strange place, and he has the gall to sleep." Vega shook her head and smiled slightly. "But you do offer me amusement Gene Starwind, reaching our goal should be enjoyable." At that moment Kujen entered the room, arms crossed with a smirk on his face. "Talking to yourself again Vega?" Vega smiled, "Well I do have to meet my quota of villain behavior." He chuckled, and then got to the point. "Captain, Fain requests your approval of the next stage." "Excellent. I will join him shortly. Call Singh and have her monitor our prisoner. Come with me, I may need your help." she replied. "Yes, Captain." Vega quickly exited the room with Kujen right behind her. As they walked down the hallway they passed Singh, who was on her way to the monitoring station. She stepped to the side, saluting Vega as she passed.
After saluting the captain, Singh continued to the monitoring room and situated herself comfortably in the plush swivel chair. She spun around a few times then checked the video feed. He was still sleeping. She sunk down in the chair and sighed. This was going to prove to be long and boring. If Vega was inspecting the next stage, then they could be occupied for hours. Swinging her legs from side to side, her eyes wandered across the vast and complicated instrument panel. Then she stopped, placing her feet firmly on the floor, as she focused her attention on the microphone controls. A sly grin appeared on her face. "Now this might actually be fun...."she thought.
As she inspected the various buttons, she noticed that she was able change the voice that was output into the confinement area. "I guess so your adversary won't recognize your voice if they ever meet you..." she mumbled. Among the standard voice distortions and fear inducing audio enhancements she saw that Vega had added some customized ones of Gene's crew members. They had been briefed previously on the identities of each of the members and their relationship to Gene, so she now knew whose voice she wanted to manipulate for her little prank. She pressed the button marked [Melfina] and bent the microphone towards her mouth.
The sound inside the steel prison snapped on. "Gene...Gene...."the false Melfina whispered. Gene began to stir at the sound of the friendly and familiar voice. "Gene, wake up Gene." the voice called again. Suddenly it struck him, forcing him awake. That was Melfina's voice! Fully on his feet, heart racing, he called out to Melfina, "Where are you Melfina?!" "Shhhhh..."she hushed. "You don't want to call attention to yourself. Now listen." Singh giggled silently to herself, enjoying watching him squirm under her false pretense. Then she began Melfina's fraudulent story.
"I'm here to help you; we found you missing and tracked you here. I infiltrated this place to save you." "But why?" Gene questioned, "Why did you leave your vacation early?" "Because I love you." breathed the fake Melfina. Gene froze, completely bowled over by Melfina's bold and shocking revelation. First captured by some unknown assailants now a love confession?!? They had always been close, even crushes but never lovers. Suddenly she screamed then the mic crackled out. Gene, already emotionally drained from the ensnarement and love declaration, nearly had a conniption when he thought about Mel in the grasps of his captors.
Singh jumped and let out a quick scream, as she turned to see Fain looming over her. She clicked the mic off and tried to look innocent. "Sumashi ow nina?"he inquired suspiciously. "Uhh...nothing...."she replied sheepishly. "But why did you have to startle me?!" she retorted, trying to change the subject. "Vega sudeitashi ow switch chitashitawa aw." "Okay, I could use a break, I'm losing my assassin reflexes...I didn't even hear you come in." Singh rose calmly from the chair, and began to walk out. Fain made one final remark, scolding her for messing with the prisoner. She snorted angrily and stormed out of the room.
Fain stepped up to the chair and sat down. He turned around, checking the panel for any problems. Seeing everything was in order, he turned to the video monitor to see Gene, stressed and startled. Fain sighed, somewhat annoyed at having to deal with the result of Singh's boredom. Fain turned on the mic, and selected a button which would translate his language into something Gene could understand. Then he spoke. "Gene, I apologize on the behalf of my teammate. That was not Melfina. Ease your mind and prepare for your challenge tomorrow." With that he set the monitor to alert him if anything strange happened, flipped out the lights and headed to his sleeping quarters.
**Well I finally updated. Not as early as I wanted to but better than usual. Hopefully you are all enjoying this story as much as I enjoy writing it. If all goes well they will be a chapter next week, but no promises. And as always please leave a comment; I love to hear from you guys! ^_^**