From: alexbell@iastate.edu (Alex Bell.) Subject: Operation Phoenix: Dragon Disappearance Date: 1996/02/19 Message-ID: organization: Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa newsgroups: alt.barney.dinosaur.die.die.die *--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--* Operation Phoenix: Dragon-Disappearance *--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--* Location: The TC in Northern MN... *--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--* Scanning the X'hirjq report that Aphrodite had sent before leaving, Brackard searched for a weakness in the lizards' defences. Finding naught, he sighed in frustration and slammed his fist onto the desk. "Damn lizards. There IS no fraggin' way to stop them. Unless...." Lost in thought, Brackard didn't notice a figure quietly slip through the door behind him. The figure crept closer and placed a hand on his shoulder. Brackard jumped, and grasping the intruder's wrist, violently threw him to the floor. His heart racing, he glanced at the sprawled figure, and groaned. Holding out his hand to help *her* up, Brackard exclaimed, "Ryvon! What are you doing here? I thought you were out hunting Valenka!?" Ignoring his offered hand, she shakily got to her feet. "Well, brother o' mine, there happens to be a blizzard out there, which brought the search, for *that* bastard, to a screeching halt, at least for now... Val has vanished and if he's lucky, he'll stay that way." "A little bitter, eh sis?" Chuckling, Brackard bent and began collecting his gear. "After he nearly blew up the shuttlepad? And then the episode in the barracks? Not to mention trying to sabotage the Comm room!?! You bet I'm bitter! That sponge deserves everything he gets... I hope he's caught out in that mess." Breathing roughly, she shook her head as though to clear it. "I'll deal with Val later. Right now I'm more concerned about you." Looking away, she took a deep breath before continuing. "I... I wanted to wish you good luck -- out there. I've heard the rumors. And want you to have this..." Looking him straight in the eye, Ryvon removed a silver medallion from her neck. Placing it over her brother's head, she whispered, "the Talisman of the Ravon - for luck." With that, she quickly left the room, leaving behind a very startled Brackard. Fingering the medallion, he stared after her in shock. Then a grin broke out over his face, as he hefted his bag over his shoulder, and headed out the door. *--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--* MEANWHILE... A X'hirjq noticed a strange signal coming through as he monitored the Midwest radio waves. *--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--* BACK AT THE TC... Jogging toward the shuttlepad, Brackard was amazed by the turn in the weather. The entire base had been replaced by an endless field of white, hiding everything from view. Approaching the pad, he strained to hear the crafts' engines, but they were drowned out by the heavy winds buffeting the base. "Wonderful, we're in the middle of a war, maybe leaving home for the last time... and we're hit by the Blizzard of '96." Grumbling to himself, Brackard struggled against the wind forcing his way to the nearest shuttle. Slinging his pack aboard, he glanced behind him - trying to get one final look at the TC... The wind let up for an instant, allowing him to see portions of the base and making visible a shadow hovering near the main building's door. He waved - figuring it was Ryvon. The wind picked up, and the shadow was lost from sight. Shrugging, Brackard clambered aboard and signalled the pilot to take-off. * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * Ryvon watched the shuttles depart, knowing that most of the men and women aboard would not return, wishing she could join them. Sighing, she turned from her window, stretched, and began heading back toward her station. As she navigated the deserted corridors, Ryvon's mind wandered, and she smiled - recalling how her brother had waved as if he had seen her watching. He always had been the sentimental one... Snapping her mind back to the present, she began devising a plan to find Valenka before he caused any more damage. Ryvon hurried down the corridor, lost in thought. Consequently, she didn't hear anyone approaching behind her until it was too late. The last sound she heard was a high-pitched giggle as she whirled around, just in time to see a purplish-blur flying toward her head. * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * Valenka giggled again and kicked the still body at his feet. Picking up the B'harnii toy, his giggling increased, and he skipped down the hall, looking for more victims. He stopped every once in a while, to peek into a room or "bop" someone on the head with the B'harnii doll. Reaching the end of the hallway, he looked into the last room - and clapped his hands in delight. He had found the Comm room, where he had once worked regularly... and where he had seen that icky picture of that icky head. He became enraged, again seeing that picture in his mind, and rushed over to the brightly colored machine with flashing lights -- the main comm panel. Valenka giggled hysterically and began beating the lights with his B'harnii toy. He hit the machine repeatly, causing the lights to blink more rapidly... as it began broadcasting several transmissions at once. Flying towards the base, in computer controlled Luv Bombers, the two sponge minions centered on the transmissions. Giggling with glee they pushed the purple button that made B'harnii so very happy, and dropped his Love Bombs on the icky Jihaddi place... *KA-BOOM!* *--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--* [Location: a forest in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.] -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Aphrodite groaned, her body aching everywhere. Ares and Karvin rushed over, concerned and amazed that she was *alive*, let alone awake. "Aph... can you hear me?" Karvin asked hesitantly. Aph rolled her eyes. "I'm not deaf - of course I can hear you." Seeing the wounded look on his face, she kicked herself (mentally), hard. "Sorry, Karvin, you didn't deserve that. What the schneck happened? Why does everything hurt?" She blinked her eyes, trying to focus on the blurry blobs that were hovering over her. Then, realization hit. "Where's Zaph?!?" Turning panic stricken eyes toward her companions, Aph asked again urgently, "What happened!?!?!" The two men looked at each other, confused and not wanting to face her anger. Karvin looked imploringly at Ares, and signalled him to start. Seeing Aphrodite's impatience, Ares, grumbling, began, "As you hopefully remember, we were flying around - getting the lay of the land for today's battle..?" Looking relieved as she nodded, he continued, "As we flew over one of their camps, a black ship appeared in front of us and fired. We went careening toward the ground, but Zaphyre managed to pull us up... into safety -- or so we thought. The next thing I knew, a bright flash of light hit us, Zaph screamed, and we went tumbling from the sky... on the way down, she/you shifted back into human form, and we all crashed into the snow. We thought you were dead." He shrugged as she glared at him. "In fact, we were getting ready to leave when you awoke." Karvin broke in, eagerly, "We figure it's a ten-mile hike to the LZ... but since you're back, maybe Zaph could...?" Aph growled, silencing Karvin immediately. She spoke slowly, carefully annunciating each syllable as if addressing a child of five. "Zaph isn't here. I can feel her - but she won't respond. I don't know why. Meaning: we are going to have to walk - if not go into battle without her. Understood?" They nodded and Aph returned to her normal tone, "Good. Keep that tidbit to yourselves. Now help me up - we gotta get moving. The shuttles are set to arrive in an hour." Each man grabbed an arm and hoisted her up. She wobbled for a bit - but then found her balance. The men gathered their supplies, and the three headed slowly into the forest... praying to Grimace for an easy journey. *--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*-To Be Continued-*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*