From: Centurion A.G. Cerberus (Galand@cris.com) Subject: Cerberus: The Return, part 1 Newsgroups: alt.barney.dinosaur.die.die.die Date: 1997/05/09 Cerberus: The return -------------------------- Part One: Lethe He awoke slowly, unsure of where he was, or even who he was. He dimly recalled an explosion, then floating through a psychedelic landscape, vague impressions of countless worlds flashing past in a blur, then a sudden harsh jolt as he landed and came to rest. He shook himself off as he rose slowly, painfully. He seemed to have been lying next to a large pond in the middle of a park..as he leaned over the water, he peered at his reflection. He stood about 5’6", appeared human, with sandy blond hair and light blue eyes. He wore a strange outfit, consisting of a black t-shirt under a black leather jacket with red pinstripes down the right breast, black slacks, combat boots, and a black beret with some sort of rank insignia on it. On the jacket’s epaulets were similar rank markings, and there were two patches, one on each shoulder. The one on the left shoulder was shaped like an irregular hexagon, with crossed swords behind the head of some ferocious looking canine. Two chevrons had been added just underneath the patch. The patch on the left shoulder appeared to be a wire-frame drawing of a spiked spheroid, with the letters W.E.D.J.E.E. lining the bottom of the circular black background. On the left breast a nametag read "Centurion A.G. Cerberus." At his hip he wore a vicious-looking sidearm, and strapped across his back was a massive broadsword with an obsidian hilt. { A.G. Cerberus, eh? } he thought, { Not too bad a name…if that IS my name…} He looked his clothing over and smirked. { Spiffy outfit, if nothing else. Now…I need to find some information… } And with that in mind, he crossed a crowded corner of the park, looking at what appeared to be a bulletin board. Only after he had scrolled through the first half-dozen messages did it register upon him that the others in the park were for the most part animals…furry animals, walking on two legs, most of them wearing clothing! He also noticed the number of stares that he and his broadsword were attracting, not all of them friendly. He smiled, being careful not to show teeth, and was about to say something hopefully disarming when suddenly he reeled back against the bulletin board, his mind awash with fragments of memory…. ***Discontinuity*** "Hey, Sam," he said, gesturing his friend and superior over into WEDJEE C&C. "C’mere, I’ve noticed something odd." As Fleet Commander Samhain walked into the room, he signaled for a tech to replay the sensor logs of a moment ago. "Take a look at this…I’m getting some weird fluctuations on several interphase bands in subspace." Samhain looked at the readings, then looked back at him and said quietly, "Is this what I think it is?" His face growing grim as he realized the implications. Cerberus nodded. "Yeah…I think so..these readings look a lot like the Apocalypse Device the HellWyrm used to try and collapse all the dimensions into his home one." He looked over at his trusted friend. "I don’t like this, Sam…It took damn near everything we had to get rid of that thing the last time, and if he’s managed to piece another one together…" He trailed off, not needing to say more. Samhain nodded solemnly. "Check it out…and Ash..be careful." With that, he marched out of the command center…. ***Discontinuity*** He awoke again with a cluster of the furred creatures standing or kneeling around him. As they murmured assurances and asked him if he was all right, he waved off their advances, and stalked down the street, lost in thought. He walked many blocks, pondering what those flashes of memory meant…who was this Samhain? Who-or what-was the HellWyrm? And most troubling of all, what was the Apocalypse Device? It certainly didn’t sound like some sort of fancy party favor, that was for certain. He did know, however, that he needed to get away from this world, wherever it was, and get home fast. He was pondering how to do that when he saw a sign, written in several different languages, some of which he didn’t recognize, "SPACEPORT, 1 MILE." He smiled. "Must be my lucky day…" and picked up the pace, whistling a jaunty tune as he marched toward the towering structure ahead. To Be Continued…. Copyright Stephen D. Scott, aka Centurion Ashur Galand Cerberus, May 1997 Centurion Ashur Galand Cerberus, Commanding Officer, WEDJEE Proud member of the Doberman Empire and the Jihad to Destroy B'Harnii the Dinosaur. Resident of the House Of Eternal Night, and one of the Kindred Children. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- aka Prof. Clayton Forrester, Evil Geniuses for a Better Tomorrow. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- WEDJEE-Weapons and Equipment Development for Jihad Expeditionary Efforts "Better Living Thru Advanced Weaponry!" ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Galand@cris.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pursuant to USC 47, unsolicited commercial E-mail sent to this address is subject to a $500 archival fee per copy. E-mail recieved after any reciept of this notice implies acceptance of these terms. 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