Hey, everyone! Yeah, I know, all you CC/D'ers are on pins-n-needles for my
updates, so blame the Plot Bunnies for this one. So, this just came to me
while listening to a Simon and Garfunkel song; telling you which one would
give too much away. Kind of a eulogy to the Crew of Virgil. And, we all
want to know what happened those few minutes in the core where Beck and
Josh thought that they were going to die... The core can't have been the
only hot thing going on down there! =) Anyway. On with the show!
~
"Braz would have been proud," said Joshua Keyes as he gazed up at the memorial in Washington, D.C. He glanced at the unobtanium plate at the base of the *also unobtanium* monument, made from what was left of Virgil after the mission.
~This Memorial commemorates the brave men and women that willingly risked their lives to ensure the safety of the world. It stands in dedication to Dr. Conrad Zimsky, Dr. Edward Brazzleton, Dr. Serge Leveque, and Col. Robert Iverson, who made the ultimate sacrifice to save this planet. May the flame of this torch never go out, just as we will never forget their altruism in the face of danger.~
As Josh glanced up once again at the great bowl of fire on a granite pedestal, he thought back on the dedication ceremony earlier that day. There were too many cameras for him to enjoy it properly, but now, with rainclouds rolling in and drizzling over the brick plaza, it was just right; like the heavens were in mourning, too. The feeling of a hand sliding in to his caused him to glance away from the monument and to Rebecca Childs-Keyes at his side. She, too, glanced wistfully at the Virgil Memorial. Josh watched with a joy tinted with sadness as looked wistfully up at the monument. She then slipped a hand in to his, a hand with a diamond ring shining on the fourth finger. To think, they had met just six months ago today.
"Well, Zimsky got what he always wanted." said Beck. Josh glanced at her in response, raising an eyebrow in query. "His name in textbooks and a two- story monument in his honor." Josh's laugh caught the attention of another figure standing just out of sight on the other side of the Virgil Memorial.
"Hey, guys, you showed up too?" The lovebirds glanced away from each other to see a short, skinny figure in an oversized floppy hat jogging across the plaza towards them.
"Heya, Rat! We haven't heard from you since Operation Unsung Heroes! What've you been up to?" Rat chuckled at Josh's parody of Military Codenames; Unsung Heroes had been his idea, Rat had just put it in to effect.
"Well, this memorial is all well and good, but I was thinking about going out and seeing about setting up a proper memorial."
"Which would be?"
'I was thinking a beer-can model of Virgil."
"And, of course, you wouldn't say no to some help emptying those beer cans?"
"Every little thing helps!" Beck grinned at the guy's playful bantering; it had been enough distraction for her to slip her hand in to Josh's pocket and liberate his car keys.
"Well, you guys aren't going anywhere without these!" She said, dangling the keychain teasingly before dashing off towards the car laughing.
~
The three of them piled in to Josh's faded blue stationwagon soaking wet. The rain had really started to come down before they caught Beck and the keys, but they didn't mind.
"Ok... We've got heat;" Josh flicked the corresponding button, "We've got visibility;" he tapped the Windshield Wipers button, "and, we've got Radio JOSH, for your listing pleasure." Josh pushed an ancient, beat up cassette player in to the slot in the dash board, and waited for the song to fade on.
"Like a rat, in a maze, the path before me lies..." a pair of male voices sang over twangy guitar. "And the pattern never alters until the Rat dies."
"Um... Hey, Josh? Can we turn this off? I'm gettin' a bit uncomfortable here." Laughing, Josh turned his head to Rat in the back seat.
"What, man, are you crazy? That's Simon and Garfunkel! Gods among men!"
"Woah, woah, Morpheus is a god, in both the literal and figurative terms, so don't you even start!"
"Fine, don't shoot! Here, let's try some Free World." Josh changed tapes, and the sound of a crowd cheering came on, with a voice singing over it:
"My, my, hey, hey. Rock'n'Roll is here to stay. 'S better to Burn Out then to Fade away..."
"Here, here." said Josh from the driver's seat. The car dissolved in to silence, and the music played on. *This song's for the Unsung Heroes; Unsung no longer* Rat thought. So did everyone else, but they never said anything. Nothing needed to be said.
~
Well, there it is. In case you were wondering, the song was Patterns, by Simon and Garfunkel. ** The next one is My, My, Hey, Hey, by Neil Young. Couldn't find an audio of that, folks, sorry. Anyway. Have you ever wondered why people put "Read and review" At the END of their story? I mean, if it's at the end, then you've already read it, so why tell them to do it again? Kinda like the phrase "New and Improved." Anyway, Review, but I'll hope that you've already read this. Bye!
~
"Braz would have been proud," said Joshua Keyes as he gazed up at the memorial in Washington, D.C. He glanced at the unobtanium plate at the base of the *also unobtanium* monument, made from what was left of Virgil after the mission.
~This Memorial commemorates the brave men and women that willingly risked their lives to ensure the safety of the world. It stands in dedication to Dr. Conrad Zimsky, Dr. Edward Brazzleton, Dr. Serge Leveque, and Col. Robert Iverson, who made the ultimate sacrifice to save this planet. May the flame of this torch never go out, just as we will never forget their altruism in the face of danger.~
As Josh glanced up once again at the great bowl of fire on a granite pedestal, he thought back on the dedication ceremony earlier that day. There were too many cameras for him to enjoy it properly, but now, with rainclouds rolling in and drizzling over the brick plaza, it was just right; like the heavens were in mourning, too. The feeling of a hand sliding in to his caused him to glance away from the monument and to Rebecca Childs-Keyes at his side. She, too, glanced wistfully at the Virgil Memorial. Josh watched with a joy tinted with sadness as looked wistfully up at the monument. She then slipped a hand in to his, a hand with a diamond ring shining on the fourth finger. To think, they had met just six months ago today.
"Well, Zimsky got what he always wanted." said Beck. Josh glanced at her in response, raising an eyebrow in query. "His name in textbooks and a two- story monument in his honor." Josh's laugh caught the attention of another figure standing just out of sight on the other side of the Virgil Memorial.
"Hey, guys, you showed up too?" The lovebirds glanced away from each other to see a short, skinny figure in an oversized floppy hat jogging across the plaza towards them.
"Heya, Rat! We haven't heard from you since Operation Unsung Heroes! What've you been up to?" Rat chuckled at Josh's parody of Military Codenames; Unsung Heroes had been his idea, Rat had just put it in to effect.
"Well, this memorial is all well and good, but I was thinking about going out and seeing about setting up a proper memorial."
"Which would be?"
'I was thinking a beer-can model of Virgil."
"And, of course, you wouldn't say no to some help emptying those beer cans?"
"Every little thing helps!" Beck grinned at the guy's playful bantering; it had been enough distraction for her to slip her hand in to Josh's pocket and liberate his car keys.
"Well, you guys aren't going anywhere without these!" She said, dangling the keychain teasingly before dashing off towards the car laughing.
~
The three of them piled in to Josh's faded blue stationwagon soaking wet. The rain had really started to come down before they caught Beck and the keys, but they didn't mind.
"Ok... We've got heat;" Josh flicked the corresponding button, "We've got visibility;" he tapped the Windshield Wipers button, "and, we've got Radio JOSH, for your listing pleasure." Josh pushed an ancient, beat up cassette player in to the slot in the dash board, and waited for the song to fade on.
"Like a rat, in a maze, the path before me lies..." a pair of male voices sang over twangy guitar. "And the pattern never alters until the Rat dies."
"Um... Hey, Josh? Can we turn this off? I'm gettin' a bit uncomfortable here." Laughing, Josh turned his head to Rat in the back seat.
"What, man, are you crazy? That's Simon and Garfunkel! Gods among men!"
"Woah, woah, Morpheus is a god, in both the literal and figurative terms, so don't you even start!"
"Fine, don't shoot! Here, let's try some Free World." Josh changed tapes, and the sound of a crowd cheering came on, with a voice singing over it:
"My, my, hey, hey. Rock'n'Roll is here to stay. 'S better to Burn Out then to Fade away..."
"Here, here." said Josh from the driver's seat. The car dissolved in to silence, and the music played on. *This song's for the Unsung Heroes; Unsung no longer* Rat thought. So did everyone else, but they never said anything. Nothing needed to be said.
~
Well, there it is. In case you were wondering, the song was Patterns, by Simon and Garfunkel. ** The next one is My, My, Hey, Hey, by Neil Young. Couldn't find an audio of that, folks, sorry. Anyway. Have you ever wondered why people put "Read and review" At the END of their story? I mean, if it's at the end, then you've already read it, so why tell them to do it again? Kinda like the phrase "New and Improved." Anyway, Review, but I'll hope that you've already read this. Bye!