*pulls herself into a ball and rocks back and forth* Thank you all for the reviews!!! *falls
out of chair*
*****
Sarah Hawkins was scrubbing at the pots in the sink, humming to herself. She had just
sent B.E.N. upstairs to put the four small children to bed. Last week she would have considered
herself insane to even wonder about doing such a thing, but B.E.N. had seemed to finally be
grasping the basic concepts of childcare.
B.E.N., meanwhile, was chuckling at the antics of the three kittens up against the one
puppy (who was, truth be told, putting up an admirable defense).
"Aww-haw-haww, you kids!" He picked up the red-headed kitten and the puppy by the
scruffs of their necks, interrupting their little spat. They squirmed, but otherwise made no protest
to his intervening. "So howzabout we go to beddy-bye, huh?"
The red-head happily shouted the word that she'd discovered earlier in the week. "NO!"
"Ah, well, that was more of a rhetorical question. . ." B.E.N. started. However, he was
quickly cut off by the red-head's squealing giggles as she attempted to reach her brother. B.E.N.
grinned and started to set them back down. The puppy stared up at B.E.N. with a look of horror,
as if to say, 'You're leaving me with THEM?!'.
"You sleep tight, now, kids!" B.E.N. flipped off the light, stumbled with a crash over
some of Jim's old toys, pushed himself up, and finally made it out the door.
***
The etherium was calm from the spaceport to the prison. The 'crew' was not. Jim, though
he was working pretty much all the time, was pacing in every spare moment that he was awake.
Aaron, in his nervousness (and in the true Doppleristic spirit) read at every opportunity. He read
during meals, in the short periods between work, and late into the night.
Doppler and Amelia actually appeared to be in much higher spirits. Jim and Aaron
walked in on Doppler at work in the kitchen on the second night. He was humming to himself
and had a recipe book propped open above the stove. He tossed a few vegetables into a pot and
noticed the cadets.
"Ah, boys! Almost finished. . ."
"Doc. . ." Jim struggled not to laugh. "Doc, what're you *wearing*?"
Doppler looked down at the apron that had replaced his usual worn, red coat. He looked
back up and smiled embarrassedly. "Well, eh, it just. . . I've always. . . It seemed like a good idea
at the time!!"
Jim and Aaron gave up holding it in and started laughing. "That's what they all say, Doc,"
Jim managed to get out. Doppler frowned indignantly and went back to his work on dinner for
that night (which ended up being surprisingly edible, for the most part).
"Living alone for most of your life teaches you many things," Doppler commented as they
mused at his hidden semi-talent for cooking. "Among them, how to make soup."
Jim then started coughing and managed to pull the green, leafy vegetable that he had been
choking on out of his throat.
***
Jim was sitting on a barrel, unconsciously tying and untying a bowline into the rope that
he held in his hands. He was resting for a bit after having gotten rid of the few barnacles that had
accumulated on the hull of the Volitant. There weren't many, and Amelia had even told him that
there was little point to the task, but Jim had gone down to do it, just the same. Anything that
could keep his mind off of the risks ahead of him was a welcomed distraction.
However, it didn't last long. Jim sat up quickly as he heard Doppler calling to them.
"There it is! We're there!"
Jim twisted his neck around, looking behind him, but still couldn't see much of anything.
He stood up and turned around, now finding it in full view. It was much smaller than he'd
anticipated.
"That's it?" He asked Doppler, who had come up behind him.
"Well, I assume that after he was issued his. . . his sentence, they didn't see much point to
keeping him in a high-security prison. If he should attempt to escape, they could do away with
him, no questions asked. At least, not with the empire's government being in the state that it's
currently in."
"Oh," Jim replied, saying nothing more. He was nervous beyond all reason, considering
how much he'd wanted to go on this little expedition to break the law. He rocked back and forth,
shifting his weight from the balls of his feet to his heels. He was thankful when Amelia broke the
silence.
"Alright, men! Get ready. We're pulling in soon. I'm going to rest the Volitant for a
moment. I want everyone prepared to go straight in as soon as we've docked."
A round of 'Aye, Captains' (as well as one 'yes-dear') was issued. Jim and Aaron went
down to their tiny cabin and Amelia and Doppler disappeared to theirs. Five minutes later they
all reemerged on the deck. Jim and Aaron had dressed out of their academy uniforms (which
Amelia had insisted they wear for the voyage, telling them to 'get used to it because it doesn't get
any better'), and were now wearing almost-formal clothing that would be perfect for making a
parent proud or talking your way out of a test that you had forgotten to study for. Doppler was
remarkably unchanged, aside from the fact that his coat was now faded blue, as opposed to faded
red. Amelia was by far the most shocking, having stepped onto the deck in a full-length skirt and
blouse. She did not look happy about it, but got a sly smirk on her face when asked why she was
wearing something so feminine.
"Ah, you see, boys, sacrifices had to be made for. . . the greater good, if you will." She
then lifted her skirt, revealing her usual tan leggings and long boots, but had a small arsenal of
flintlocks tucked into loops that Sarah had sewn into the skirt for her. "Understand," Amelia
added, "that we won't be using these unless absolutely necessary."
Jim and Aaron nodded to her. They instantly reverted their attentions back to the small
jailhouse, however. It continued to grow in their sights as they came nearer to it, matching their
growing apprehension.
As Amelia started to pull the Volitant nearer into the prison docks, Jim stood on the
starboard side of the Volitant, looking towards the prison. He glanced at Aaron, who had also
come up alongside him. Aaron spoke after a moment.
"So. . . you ready?"
Jim laughed a bit. "Of course not. But that's not what's important right now, I guess.
What's important is the fact that-"
***
'I gotta get outta here!'
Silver fidgeted nervously in his cell. The guards had been giving him quite a few glances
that he didn't like, and he was getting the feeling that they wouldn't mind getting the hanging
over with today or tomorrow, officer or none present.
At the moment, however, one of the guards was gone. He had walked off towards the
entrance to the prison a few moments before. The guard left behind turned to Silver, a somewhat
cruel smirk on his face.
"Now, who would come all the way out-"
***
"-here to see Silver," said Doppler, doing his best to be assertive. It was proving more
difficult than he'd anticipated. His hands were shaking slightly, and it was all he could do not to
babble incessantly.
"Nobody ever comes to see Silver," the guard responded gruffly. He looked at the group,
scrutinizing each member. This guy in the glasses seemed decent enough. Definitely didn't look
like he'd be much trouble, anyway. The two kids didn't seem like the trouble-making sort. . . but
of course those were the ones you had to watch out for. Still, it'd be easy to keep an eye on them.
His eyes scanned then to Amelia, and he did a slight double-take.
'Yow!' he thought to himself. 'Lookit that set of-'
"Yes, well," said Doppler, cutting off the guard's somewhat dirty thoughts, "then I
suppose that makes us nobody."
"Got that right. . ."
"What was that?"
"Eh, nothin'. . . right this way. . ."
He stood by the doorway, watching first Jim, Aaron, and Doppler pass through he waited
for Amelia to do so (while glancing at her rather lecherously), but she didn't budge.
"Comin', miss?"
'Alright,' thought Amelia. 'Just get it over with, old girl.' She sighed, then put on her
most charming (and certainly her most insincere, though the guard couldn't tell this) smile.
Amelia responded, "You know, I rather like it out here. So. . . *private.*" She fought her
disgust, and managed to force herself to bat her eyelashes once or twice at the guard. He stood
stock still, staring at her.
"C-come again?"
Amelia walked over to him, head tilted slightly downward, but looking him in the eye.
She threw an extra swing into her hips as she walked, feeling the comforting weight of the
flintlocks bumping against her legs as she did so.
"Oh, it's simply *dreadful* being dragged around with those horrible canians, and that
human. . ." She smirked as the guard swallowed, visibly nervous and somewhat shocked. Amelia
continued, "Wonderful to get away from them for a moment, you know. . ."
***
"Alright, boys," Doppler said quickly in a hushed tone. "If I remember the schematics
correctly, the cells are down this corridor." He pointed to a branch on their right. "Jim, you're
going to-"
"-find Silver. Gotcha." Jim nodded.
"Good boy. And Aaron, the electronic alarm controls are further down this hall. Go down
the third corridor on your left, then first on your right."
Aaron simply nodded nervously, looking slightly nauseous at the prospect of heading off
into the prison alone.
"Doc, where're you gonna be?" Jim asked quietly.
"I'm going to try to find the guard that's still in back, and keep him occupied," Doppler
said quickly. "But you need to move quickly, boys! The sooner we get out of here, the better."
Jim and Aaron nodded and took off in their own separate directions. Doppler started to
head for what he hoped was the guards' office.
***
The guard with Amelia in the front lobby still didn't move from where he was standing,
but started to turn his head toward the doorway that Jim, Doppler, and Aaron had gone through.
Amelia grabbed his jaw and turned his head back to face her. His eyes opened wide, utterly
shocked. This particular guard was of Amelia's own species, but had a stockier build than most
of the males. He could easily outfight her. Amelia poured every ounce of self-control into not
pulling out one of the flintlocks then and there.
"Don't you worry about them, darling," she said quickly, in what she hoped was an
appealing voice. "They're good boys."
"Yes, but-"
"'But' nothing!" Amelia quickly cut him off. "Don't you spend another thought on what's
going on elsewhere. Think about what's going on *here*."
The guard stared at her, completely and utterly confused.
***
"Oh man oh man oh man oh man. . ." Aaron muttered to himself as he walked as quickly
and quietly as he could down the hall. He came to the door of the room that would supposedly
hold the alarm system's controls. He nervously grasped the mechanism to open it, pulled, and-
"Perfect." The mechanism hadn't budged, obviously locked. Aaron sighed and studied it
for a moment, then pulled out a thin piece of metal from his sleeve. He stuck it into a slat in the
complicated lock, worked at it for a moment, and sighed again.
"Forget it." He then stood up straight again and looked in both directions down the
corridor that he was currently in. Nobody in sight. Good. He then lifted his right leg and kicked
hard, his heel hitting just above the mechanism. There was a satisfying sound of metal sliding
against metal for a moment, and then the door swung slowly open into the room. Aaron glanced
in. It was dark except for a few blinking lights.
". . . Anybody home?" Ridiculous a question as it was, Aaron was still somewhat afraid
that somebody would actually answer him. He squinted in the dark room. Canians had never
exactly been known for their sharp eyes, and Aaron was just going to have to feel along the wall
until he came to the main wire console. As he made his way around the wall, he bumped his head
on something. There was a metallic clang, and Aaron, acting on instinct, reached up to grab
whatever it was that had hit him.
"Oh, thank God. . ." It had been a lantern. Aaron felt for the burner, and twisted the small
knob on the side. The lantern hummed warmly, then flickered on. Aaron looked around the room
again. It looked fairly empty. A few beacons for the alarm system on one wall, a few chairs in the
corner. . . It even appeared that some of the room was being used for storage. And on the wall to
his left-
"Bingo." There was the wire console. It was a bit intimidating. At the academy, the
largest console they'd ever worked with was probably about one square meter. This one, though,
was perhaps one and a half, two meters tall, three wide. On the inside. Aaron walked along its
length, inspecting the wires, trying to remember all he'd learned in electronic engineering.
***
"Hello? Hellooo?" Doctor Delbert Doppler called nervously. "Anyone. . . eh. . . anyone
here?" He walked down the hall, somewhat on tip-toes, slowly turning his head, taking in the
surroundings as he went. Despite his attempts to walk quietly, there was still a slight echo in the
corridor.
Doppler fought the urge to look over his shoulder every few seconds. He was running
over what he could remember about this dreadful little outpost of a prison. If he was correct, the
office should be. . . ah, there it was. The door was slightly ajar. Doppler heard no noise from
within the room. If Amelia was keeping the guard up front 'busy', the other should be watching
Silver. The prison was small enough (and empty enough, housing only Silver and perhaps one or
two other minor offenders) that there would only be two guards on duty. With that thought,
Doppler pushed the door open further.
He sighed with relief. Empty.
***
"Eh, ma'am, I dunno if-"
"Don't you talk to me that way! Don't think. . ." (Amelia ground her teeth together in
disgust) ". . . that I didn't notice!"
The guard turned a shade of red. "Ma'am, I haven't the slightest what yer gettin' a-"
"More denial! Oh, when will it end?!" Amelia cried, overly dramatic. She turned away
from the guard, one arm covering her eyes. The skirt swished heavily around her ankles.
'Damned thing,' she thought to herself, frowning.
"Ma'am, I'm afraid-"
Amelia whirled around. "YOU'RE afraid! How do you think *I* feel?!" She struggled
not to laugh at the expression on the poor man's face. She decided to have a bit of fun with this.
She suddenly gasped loudly, and began to put on a remarkably believable performance of
sobbing uncontrollably.
"First, I. . . I. . . FIRST, I'm dragged around by *those three* on that *little ship*, and-
and- and- now *you're* being just *dreadful* to me, and. . ." She attempted to wail. Not having
done so since perhaps age two, she was a bit out of practice. It was, however, realistic enough to
make the guard extremely uncomfortable.
"Ehm. . . yeh don't need t' get all weepy, ma'am. . . s'alright, really. . ."
Amelia pulled her face up out of her hands, opening her eyes wide in what she hoped was
a convincing look of mixed confusion and thanks. "R-r-reeeeally?" She sniffled loudly for added
effect. It was all she could do not to burst out laughing.
"Er. . ."
"Oh, THANK YOU!!!" cried Amelia, proceeding to throw her arms around the guard's
neck and begin 'sobbing' again into his shoulder.
***
Jim crept down the hall silently. He wished desperately for one of those flintlocks that
Amelia had on her, but there was nothing he could do about that now. He had, however, managed
to slip his pocketknife into his sleeve. Hopefully he wouldn't have to use it, but it was
comforting, just the same.
At the end of the corridor that Jim was in, there was a dimly-lit doorway. The cells were
in there, which meant that Silver would be as well. There was also the possibility that the second
guard would be in there. Jim swallowed the lump in his throat and came to the doorway. He
listened carefully, but heard no movement. Somewhere towards the end of the cell block, the
sound of dripping water echoed.
Jim took a deep breath, then quickly stepped into the cell block, hands up and ready to
throw a fast punch if it was needed.
Luckily, it was not.
Jim sighed with relief and put his fists down. He walked silently down the cell block,
looking to either side of him as he went along. He was surprised (but not *too* surprised) to see
that the cells were practically all empty. 'Petty theft must be down in this sector,' he thought to
himself mildly.
He spotted the cause of the echo-y drip, a broken pipe. He squinted at it curiously and
began to walk toward it. He kneeled down next to the pipe. Jim had always been a curious kid,
and some of that curiosity was still with him; after all, he was only seventeen. He tapped at the
pipe a bit, having a bit of know-how in the ways of repair thanks to his years of work on his solar
surfer. The pipe had just eroded a bit, anyway. If Jim could just find something to get it back into
the wall firmly. . .
***
Silver sighed as he heard footsteps coming down the cell block. Wonderful. The guard
was back. He sat down on his bunk again, after pacing around the cell. Despite his deactivated
limbs, he could drag his leg well enough, and the arm helped somewhat as a balance. Walking
about in his confined little cell may not be the best thing for his health at this point (considering
the guards around this joint) but was at least a very effective way to pass the time.
Silver closed his eyes to put up the guise of sleep, or at least passiveness. It had
apparently worked because the footsteps went past him and continued on down the cell block.
Silver opened his non-cybernetic eye to make sure the guard was past. He nearly had a heart
attack then and there.
'It's *not*. . .' he thought to himself. 'It just isn't. Ain't no way it could be.' He frowned
with a frustrated sigh, then looked up again. 'But if it is-'
***
"Cell block next to the lighting next to the power grid next to the offices next to. . ."
Aaron muttered to himself as he traced the pathways of the wires across the console. Pulling the
wrong wire could have fatal results.
"Blues are silent yellows are visual reds are audio. . ." He recited the alarms. Preferably
he wouldn't trip a silent or an audio. Visual would take longer (but not much longer) to notice.
"You'd think they could at least *label* this stupid thing."
***
Doppler looked around the small, cluttered room. There were two desks with various
amounts of what looked like the contents of a wastebin all over them, a table in the corner with
the same sort of stuff upon it (though this pile seemed to be more made up of clothing than
anything else), a few lanterns on hooks on the wall, and. . .
"Ah, there you are!" Doppler spotted a box labeled 'CONFISCATED/SEIZED'. He
supposed that the bigger things would be in a closet somewhere. No matter. He looked into the
box, which had a few odds and ends in it, but two stuck out. Two small, golden microchips for
cybernetic machinery. The things that allowed the level-up prosthetics to run smoothly; to run at
all.
Doppler picked one chip up, examining it closely. He flipped it over and read the
minuscule inscription. 'M-A4000'. It didn't mean much to Doppler, but he assumed that Silver
would know what to do with it.
Looking around the room once more, Doppler quickly pocketed the two small
microchips, took one more glance, and then slipped out of the room again. He needed to find Jim,
and fast.
***
Jim was kneeling down next to the pipe. He stood up, muttering, after he had worked at it
unsuccessfully for about five minutes.
'Eh, it was broken before, it can live with being broken now,' he thought to himself. He
was pulling out a handkerchief (an addition to his outfit upon the insisting of the doc), when he
froze. He heard something behind him. He froze. If the guard was behind him, he would do well
not to give away that he knew. Instead he forced himself to calm down, shuffled his feet a bit,
and stuck his hands in his pockets. He curled them into fists, preparing to throw a good, hard
punch.
Jim whirled around, bringing his fists out and up, protecting his face. He blinked at the
aisle of the cell block. Empty. He started slowly walking down, back the way he came. He made
a sudden turn every few steps, looking around for whomever had been on the block with him.
He started walking backwards, watching behind him. His feet shuffled ever so slightly as
he made his way towards the entrance. The sound echoed ominously in the otherwise-silent hall.
Even the dripping had stopped, it seemed. It felt like there wasn't another living thing in the
galax-
"JIMBO!!!"
"YAAHHHH!!!!"
Jim flew to the side of the aisle, his back pressed against the bars of an empty cell and his
eyes bulging in shock. He stared into the cell opposite him as he gasped for breath. As he
managed to calm down, he realized that a golden eye was blinking out of the dim light at him. He
instantly pushed himself off of the bars and rushed forward.
"Silver!"
"Jimbo!"
"Silver!"
"Jimbo!"
"Si-"
"Alright, yes, that's been established, lad."
"Heh. . . right. . ."
*****
And there you have it! The end! No more! I'm not ever writing another word for this fic
EVER AGAIN.
I kid, I kid. Lots more to come. I know that wasn't funny, and you probably weren't upset,
but I needed a bit of sarcasm. *salute!*
Ah, yes. . . for those of you interested in seeing my (shyttie) take on Aaron, go to
http://chooseyourbanners.homestead.com/files/Aaron.jpg . That is all! *bow*
out of chair*
*****
Sarah Hawkins was scrubbing at the pots in the sink, humming to herself. She had just
sent B.E.N. upstairs to put the four small children to bed. Last week she would have considered
herself insane to even wonder about doing such a thing, but B.E.N. had seemed to finally be
grasping the basic concepts of childcare.
B.E.N., meanwhile, was chuckling at the antics of the three kittens up against the one
puppy (who was, truth be told, putting up an admirable defense).
"Aww-haw-haww, you kids!" He picked up the red-headed kitten and the puppy by the
scruffs of their necks, interrupting their little spat. They squirmed, but otherwise made no protest
to his intervening. "So howzabout we go to beddy-bye, huh?"
The red-head happily shouted the word that she'd discovered earlier in the week. "NO!"
"Ah, well, that was more of a rhetorical question. . ." B.E.N. started. However, he was
quickly cut off by the red-head's squealing giggles as she attempted to reach her brother. B.E.N.
grinned and started to set them back down. The puppy stared up at B.E.N. with a look of horror,
as if to say, 'You're leaving me with THEM?!'.
"You sleep tight, now, kids!" B.E.N. flipped off the light, stumbled with a crash over
some of Jim's old toys, pushed himself up, and finally made it out the door.
***
The etherium was calm from the spaceport to the prison. The 'crew' was not. Jim, though
he was working pretty much all the time, was pacing in every spare moment that he was awake.
Aaron, in his nervousness (and in the true Doppleristic spirit) read at every opportunity. He read
during meals, in the short periods between work, and late into the night.
Doppler and Amelia actually appeared to be in much higher spirits. Jim and Aaron
walked in on Doppler at work in the kitchen on the second night. He was humming to himself
and had a recipe book propped open above the stove. He tossed a few vegetables into a pot and
noticed the cadets.
"Ah, boys! Almost finished. . ."
"Doc. . ." Jim struggled not to laugh. "Doc, what're you *wearing*?"
Doppler looked down at the apron that had replaced his usual worn, red coat. He looked
back up and smiled embarrassedly. "Well, eh, it just. . . I've always. . . It seemed like a good idea
at the time!!"
Jim and Aaron gave up holding it in and started laughing. "That's what they all say, Doc,"
Jim managed to get out. Doppler frowned indignantly and went back to his work on dinner for
that night (which ended up being surprisingly edible, for the most part).
"Living alone for most of your life teaches you many things," Doppler commented as they
mused at his hidden semi-talent for cooking. "Among them, how to make soup."
Jim then started coughing and managed to pull the green, leafy vegetable that he had been
choking on out of his throat.
***
Jim was sitting on a barrel, unconsciously tying and untying a bowline into the rope that
he held in his hands. He was resting for a bit after having gotten rid of the few barnacles that had
accumulated on the hull of the Volitant. There weren't many, and Amelia had even told him that
there was little point to the task, but Jim had gone down to do it, just the same. Anything that
could keep his mind off of the risks ahead of him was a welcomed distraction.
However, it didn't last long. Jim sat up quickly as he heard Doppler calling to them.
"There it is! We're there!"
Jim twisted his neck around, looking behind him, but still couldn't see much of anything.
He stood up and turned around, now finding it in full view. It was much smaller than he'd
anticipated.
"That's it?" He asked Doppler, who had come up behind him.
"Well, I assume that after he was issued his. . . his sentence, they didn't see much point to
keeping him in a high-security prison. If he should attempt to escape, they could do away with
him, no questions asked. At least, not with the empire's government being in the state that it's
currently in."
"Oh," Jim replied, saying nothing more. He was nervous beyond all reason, considering
how much he'd wanted to go on this little expedition to break the law. He rocked back and forth,
shifting his weight from the balls of his feet to his heels. He was thankful when Amelia broke the
silence.
"Alright, men! Get ready. We're pulling in soon. I'm going to rest the Volitant for a
moment. I want everyone prepared to go straight in as soon as we've docked."
A round of 'Aye, Captains' (as well as one 'yes-dear') was issued. Jim and Aaron went
down to their tiny cabin and Amelia and Doppler disappeared to theirs. Five minutes later they
all reemerged on the deck. Jim and Aaron had dressed out of their academy uniforms (which
Amelia had insisted they wear for the voyage, telling them to 'get used to it because it doesn't get
any better'), and were now wearing almost-formal clothing that would be perfect for making a
parent proud or talking your way out of a test that you had forgotten to study for. Doppler was
remarkably unchanged, aside from the fact that his coat was now faded blue, as opposed to faded
red. Amelia was by far the most shocking, having stepped onto the deck in a full-length skirt and
blouse. She did not look happy about it, but got a sly smirk on her face when asked why she was
wearing something so feminine.
"Ah, you see, boys, sacrifices had to be made for. . . the greater good, if you will." She
then lifted her skirt, revealing her usual tan leggings and long boots, but had a small arsenal of
flintlocks tucked into loops that Sarah had sewn into the skirt for her. "Understand," Amelia
added, "that we won't be using these unless absolutely necessary."
Jim and Aaron nodded to her. They instantly reverted their attentions back to the small
jailhouse, however. It continued to grow in their sights as they came nearer to it, matching their
growing apprehension.
As Amelia started to pull the Volitant nearer into the prison docks, Jim stood on the
starboard side of the Volitant, looking towards the prison. He glanced at Aaron, who had also
come up alongside him. Aaron spoke after a moment.
"So. . . you ready?"
Jim laughed a bit. "Of course not. But that's not what's important right now, I guess.
What's important is the fact that-"
***
'I gotta get outta here!'
Silver fidgeted nervously in his cell. The guards had been giving him quite a few glances
that he didn't like, and he was getting the feeling that they wouldn't mind getting the hanging
over with today or tomorrow, officer or none present.
At the moment, however, one of the guards was gone. He had walked off towards the
entrance to the prison a few moments before. The guard left behind turned to Silver, a somewhat
cruel smirk on his face.
"Now, who would come all the way out-"
***
"-here to see Silver," said Doppler, doing his best to be assertive. It was proving more
difficult than he'd anticipated. His hands were shaking slightly, and it was all he could do not to
babble incessantly.
"Nobody ever comes to see Silver," the guard responded gruffly. He looked at the group,
scrutinizing each member. This guy in the glasses seemed decent enough. Definitely didn't look
like he'd be much trouble, anyway. The two kids didn't seem like the trouble-making sort. . . but
of course those were the ones you had to watch out for. Still, it'd be easy to keep an eye on them.
His eyes scanned then to Amelia, and he did a slight double-take.
'Yow!' he thought to himself. 'Lookit that set of-'
"Yes, well," said Doppler, cutting off the guard's somewhat dirty thoughts, "then I
suppose that makes us nobody."
"Got that right. . ."
"What was that?"
"Eh, nothin'. . . right this way. . ."
He stood by the doorway, watching first Jim, Aaron, and Doppler pass through he waited
for Amelia to do so (while glancing at her rather lecherously), but she didn't budge.
"Comin', miss?"
'Alright,' thought Amelia. 'Just get it over with, old girl.' She sighed, then put on her
most charming (and certainly her most insincere, though the guard couldn't tell this) smile.
Amelia responded, "You know, I rather like it out here. So. . . *private.*" She fought her
disgust, and managed to force herself to bat her eyelashes once or twice at the guard. He stood
stock still, staring at her.
"C-come again?"
Amelia walked over to him, head tilted slightly downward, but looking him in the eye.
She threw an extra swing into her hips as she walked, feeling the comforting weight of the
flintlocks bumping against her legs as she did so.
"Oh, it's simply *dreadful* being dragged around with those horrible canians, and that
human. . ." She smirked as the guard swallowed, visibly nervous and somewhat shocked. Amelia
continued, "Wonderful to get away from them for a moment, you know. . ."
***
"Alright, boys," Doppler said quickly in a hushed tone. "If I remember the schematics
correctly, the cells are down this corridor." He pointed to a branch on their right. "Jim, you're
going to-"
"-find Silver. Gotcha." Jim nodded.
"Good boy. And Aaron, the electronic alarm controls are further down this hall. Go down
the third corridor on your left, then first on your right."
Aaron simply nodded nervously, looking slightly nauseous at the prospect of heading off
into the prison alone.
"Doc, where're you gonna be?" Jim asked quietly.
"I'm going to try to find the guard that's still in back, and keep him occupied," Doppler
said quickly. "But you need to move quickly, boys! The sooner we get out of here, the better."
Jim and Aaron nodded and took off in their own separate directions. Doppler started to
head for what he hoped was the guards' office.
***
The guard with Amelia in the front lobby still didn't move from where he was standing,
but started to turn his head toward the doorway that Jim, Doppler, and Aaron had gone through.
Amelia grabbed his jaw and turned his head back to face her. His eyes opened wide, utterly
shocked. This particular guard was of Amelia's own species, but had a stockier build than most
of the males. He could easily outfight her. Amelia poured every ounce of self-control into not
pulling out one of the flintlocks then and there.
"Don't you worry about them, darling," she said quickly, in what she hoped was an
appealing voice. "They're good boys."
"Yes, but-"
"'But' nothing!" Amelia quickly cut him off. "Don't you spend another thought on what's
going on elsewhere. Think about what's going on *here*."
The guard stared at her, completely and utterly confused.
***
"Oh man oh man oh man oh man. . ." Aaron muttered to himself as he walked as quickly
and quietly as he could down the hall. He came to the door of the room that would supposedly
hold the alarm system's controls. He nervously grasped the mechanism to open it, pulled, and-
"Perfect." The mechanism hadn't budged, obviously locked. Aaron sighed and studied it
for a moment, then pulled out a thin piece of metal from his sleeve. He stuck it into a slat in the
complicated lock, worked at it for a moment, and sighed again.
"Forget it." He then stood up straight again and looked in both directions down the
corridor that he was currently in. Nobody in sight. Good. He then lifted his right leg and kicked
hard, his heel hitting just above the mechanism. There was a satisfying sound of metal sliding
against metal for a moment, and then the door swung slowly open into the room. Aaron glanced
in. It was dark except for a few blinking lights.
". . . Anybody home?" Ridiculous a question as it was, Aaron was still somewhat afraid
that somebody would actually answer him. He squinted in the dark room. Canians had never
exactly been known for their sharp eyes, and Aaron was just going to have to feel along the wall
until he came to the main wire console. As he made his way around the wall, he bumped his head
on something. There was a metallic clang, and Aaron, acting on instinct, reached up to grab
whatever it was that had hit him.
"Oh, thank God. . ." It had been a lantern. Aaron felt for the burner, and twisted the small
knob on the side. The lantern hummed warmly, then flickered on. Aaron looked around the room
again. It looked fairly empty. A few beacons for the alarm system on one wall, a few chairs in the
corner. . . It even appeared that some of the room was being used for storage. And on the wall to
his left-
"Bingo." There was the wire console. It was a bit intimidating. At the academy, the
largest console they'd ever worked with was probably about one square meter. This one, though,
was perhaps one and a half, two meters tall, three wide. On the inside. Aaron walked along its
length, inspecting the wires, trying to remember all he'd learned in electronic engineering.
***
"Hello? Hellooo?" Doctor Delbert Doppler called nervously. "Anyone. . . eh. . . anyone
here?" He walked down the hall, somewhat on tip-toes, slowly turning his head, taking in the
surroundings as he went. Despite his attempts to walk quietly, there was still a slight echo in the
corridor.
Doppler fought the urge to look over his shoulder every few seconds. He was running
over what he could remember about this dreadful little outpost of a prison. If he was correct, the
office should be. . . ah, there it was. The door was slightly ajar. Doppler heard no noise from
within the room. If Amelia was keeping the guard up front 'busy', the other should be watching
Silver. The prison was small enough (and empty enough, housing only Silver and perhaps one or
two other minor offenders) that there would only be two guards on duty. With that thought,
Doppler pushed the door open further.
He sighed with relief. Empty.
***
"Eh, ma'am, I dunno if-"
"Don't you talk to me that way! Don't think. . ." (Amelia ground her teeth together in
disgust) ". . . that I didn't notice!"
The guard turned a shade of red. "Ma'am, I haven't the slightest what yer gettin' a-"
"More denial! Oh, when will it end?!" Amelia cried, overly dramatic. She turned away
from the guard, one arm covering her eyes. The skirt swished heavily around her ankles.
'Damned thing,' she thought to herself, frowning.
"Ma'am, I'm afraid-"
Amelia whirled around. "YOU'RE afraid! How do you think *I* feel?!" She struggled
not to laugh at the expression on the poor man's face. She decided to have a bit of fun with this.
She suddenly gasped loudly, and began to put on a remarkably believable performance of
sobbing uncontrollably.
"First, I. . . I. . . FIRST, I'm dragged around by *those three* on that *little ship*, and-
and- and- now *you're* being just *dreadful* to me, and. . ." She attempted to wail. Not having
done so since perhaps age two, she was a bit out of practice. It was, however, realistic enough to
make the guard extremely uncomfortable.
"Ehm. . . yeh don't need t' get all weepy, ma'am. . . s'alright, really. . ."
Amelia pulled her face up out of her hands, opening her eyes wide in what she hoped was
a convincing look of mixed confusion and thanks. "R-r-reeeeally?" She sniffled loudly for added
effect. It was all she could do not to burst out laughing.
"Er. . ."
"Oh, THANK YOU!!!" cried Amelia, proceeding to throw her arms around the guard's
neck and begin 'sobbing' again into his shoulder.
***
Jim crept down the hall silently. He wished desperately for one of those flintlocks that
Amelia had on her, but there was nothing he could do about that now. He had, however, managed
to slip his pocketknife into his sleeve. Hopefully he wouldn't have to use it, but it was
comforting, just the same.
At the end of the corridor that Jim was in, there was a dimly-lit doorway. The cells were
in there, which meant that Silver would be as well. There was also the possibility that the second
guard would be in there. Jim swallowed the lump in his throat and came to the doorway. He
listened carefully, but heard no movement. Somewhere towards the end of the cell block, the
sound of dripping water echoed.
Jim took a deep breath, then quickly stepped into the cell block, hands up and ready to
throw a fast punch if it was needed.
Luckily, it was not.
Jim sighed with relief and put his fists down. He walked silently down the cell block,
looking to either side of him as he went along. He was surprised (but not *too* surprised) to see
that the cells were practically all empty. 'Petty theft must be down in this sector,' he thought to
himself mildly.
He spotted the cause of the echo-y drip, a broken pipe. He squinted at it curiously and
began to walk toward it. He kneeled down next to the pipe. Jim had always been a curious kid,
and some of that curiosity was still with him; after all, he was only seventeen. He tapped at the
pipe a bit, having a bit of know-how in the ways of repair thanks to his years of work on his solar
surfer. The pipe had just eroded a bit, anyway. If Jim could just find something to get it back into
the wall firmly. . .
***
Silver sighed as he heard footsteps coming down the cell block. Wonderful. The guard
was back. He sat down on his bunk again, after pacing around the cell. Despite his deactivated
limbs, he could drag his leg well enough, and the arm helped somewhat as a balance. Walking
about in his confined little cell may not be the best thing for his health at this point (considering
the guards around this joint) but was at least a very effective way to pass the time.
Silver closed his eyes to put up the guise of sleep, or at least passiveness. It had
apparently worked because the footsteps went past him and continued on down the cell block.
Silver opened his non-cybernetic eye to make sure the guard was past. He nearly had a heart
attack then and there.
'It's *not*. . .' he thought to himself. 'It just isn't. Ain't no way it could be.' He frowned
with a frustrated sigh, then looked up again. 'But if it is-'
***
"Cell block next to the lighting next to the power grid next to the offices next to. . ."
Aaron muttered to himself as he traced the pathways of the wires across the console. Pulling the
wrong wire could have fatal results.
"Blues are silent yellows are visual reds are audio. . ." He recited the alarms. Preferably
he wouldn't trip a silent or an audio. Visual would take longer (but not much longer) to notice.
"You'd think they could at least *label* this stupid thing."
***
Doppler looked around the small, cluttered room. There were two desks with various
amounts of what looked like the contents of a wastebin all over them, a table in the corner with
the same sort of stuff upon it (though this pile seemed to be more made up of clothing than
anything else), a few lanterns on hooks on the wall, and. . .
"Ah, there you are!" Doppler spotted a box labeled 'CONFISCATED/SEIZED'. He
supposed that the bigger things would be in a closet somewhere. No matter. He looked into the
box, which had a few odds and ends in it, but two stuck out. Two small, golden microchips for
cybernetic machinery. The things that allowed the level-up prosthetics to run smoothly; to run at
all.
Doppler picked one chip up, examining it closely. He flipped it over and read the
minuscule inscription. 'M-A4000'. It didn't mean much to Doppler, but he assumed that Silver
would know what to do with it.
Looking around the room once more, Doppler quickly pocketed the two small
microchips, took one more glance, and then slipped out of the room again. He needed to find Jim,
and fast.
***
Jim was kneeling down next to the pipe. He stood up, muttering, after he had worked at it
unsuccessfully for about five minutes.
'Eh, it was broken before, it can live with being broken now,' he thought to himself. He
was pulling out a handkerchief (an addition to his outfit upon the insisting of the doc), when he
froze. He heard something behind him. He froze. If the guard was behind him, he would do well
not to give away that he knew. Instead he forced himself to calm down, shuffled his feet a bit,
and stuck his hands in his pockets. He curled them into fists, preparing to throw a good, hard
punch.
Jim whirled around, bringing his fists out and up, protecting his face. He blinked at the
aisle of the cell block. Empty. He started slowly walking down, back the way he came. He made
a sudden turn every few steps, looking around for whomever had been on the block with him.
He started walking backwards, watching behind him. His feet shuffled ever so slightly as
he made his way towards the entrance. The sound echoed ominously in the otherwise-silent hall.
Even the dripping had stopped, it seemed. It felt like there wasn't another living thing in the
galax-
"JIMBO!!!"
"YAAHHHH!!!!"
Jim flew to the side of the aisle, his back pressed against the bars of an empty cell and his
eyes bulging in shock. He stared into the cell opposite him as he gasped for breath. As he
managed to calm down, he realized that a golden eye was blinking out of the dim light at him. He
instantly pushed himself off of the bars and rushed forward.
"Silver!"
"Jimbo!"
"Silver!"
"Jimbo!"
"Si-"
"Alright, yes, that's been established, lad."
"Heh. . . right. . ."
*****
And there you have it! The end! No more! I'm not ever writing another word for this fic
EVER AGAIN.
I kid, I kid. Lots more to come. I know that wasn't funny, and you probably weren't upset,
but I needed a bit of sarcasm. *salute!*
Ah, yes. . . for those of you interested in seeing my (shyttie) take on Aaron, go to
http://chooseyourbanners.homestead.com/files/Aaron.jpg . That is all! *bow*