Friday, May 14, 2004

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I'm back, baby. wh00t.

Tests are over and done with, and my brain hurts. Two more days of class, then sweet, sweet freedom...

Anyways, what's up with me? I'll tell you what's up with me: I gots a date for Sunday night, with Julie. ^__^ Wer'e going to the movies, which is cool.

I need a job, desperatly, and nowhere I've applied to has sent word back. Why? Because they suck...

I'm gonna' apply at Barnes & Noble, and Best Buy, maybe some stores in the mall...there has to be *something* out there.

Ah, I lucked out at the comic store yesterday. I found a copy of "Amazing Spider-Man: Saga of the Alien Costume". It's out of print, and is some primo stuff. Good times.

Regarding Sol: Once I have a job, and get into a routine, I'll start writing again. Trust me, I haven't forgotten about it.

I have many things to do, mostly to get caught up with stuff I've missed all week, so I'll be checking you guys out later. More 'Sol', though:

XIV

Class was a horrible daze for Simon the next morning, which probably explained the grade on his chemistry test. He kept thinking about what he’d said to Rena; was he wrong to not want this? After all, she’d basically said it was because of him that the Earth was screwed. Maybe he’d been tactless, but he still thought he made the right decision. He had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time; there was no way he could take on responsibility for any of this.

He was eating lunch alone when “Timothy” suddenly sat down next to him. “Good afternoon, Simon.”

Simon glared at him. “What do you want, freak?”

“Timothy” sighed. “You’re a very hostile young man, Simon. I came her with a proposition for you.”

Simon flipped him off. “The answer is no. What’s the question?”

“You shouldn’t be so hasty,” he frowned. “I wanted to inform you that if you were to cooperate with me, my fathers’ scientists might be able to remove the system from you without
killing you.”

Simon considered this for a second. “’Cooperate’ how?”

“Well it would aid my father’s plans to have a few natives cooperating, and giving up information.”

Simon glared again. “You want me to sell out my planet?”

“I want you to realize the inevitable. This planet is going to be part of my father’s empire either way. You can save yourself, or you can die. Your choice.”

“I think I told you this before, but @#$% off.”

“Timothy” shrugged. “The Sol system is a part of you, and it will be my father’s either way.”

Before Simon could reiterate his profanity, a familiar group of jocks approached. Brooks, Stevens, and co.; Simon rolled his eyes.

“Hey, Timmy,” Brooks said. “Why are you hangin’ with this looser? Come on, let’s go. We can throw the ball around before class starts again.”

“That sounds fun,” “Timothy” said as he got up to leave. “See you later, Simon.”

Simon watched them walk away, then laid his head on the table.

---
“See you tomorrow, Susan,” Timothy said, waving.

“You, too, Timothy!” She smiled back, turning down her street.

Timothy walked alone, examining several of the books he had procured from the school’s library. History texts, philosophy, art books…this planet’s culture was very rich.

Lost in thought, Timothy was slightly careless as he approached the scrap yard. He almost didn’t notice the attack until it was too late.

“Yah!” He leapt aside, narrowly avoiding the two metal tendrils that lashed out at him from a pile of metal parts. They were long and snake-like, with tiny gripping claws on the end.

“This isn’t Rena…” he muttered as his features shifted back to his normal form. “Nor is it Simon…who-?”

The tendrils attacked again, but he was ready for them. He sliced one in half with a plasma dagger, then grabbed the other one as it stopped mere inches from his face, the claws gripping uselessly. “Too easy…”

He turned around, only to be assaulted by another pair of tendrils. Just a distraction, he thought as he leapt over them. He landed a few feet away, but was too late in realizing that he’d been orchestrated to land there.

A third pair of tendrils arose; these, however, had electric current running through them. Tybalt didn’t have time to dodge before they made contact; the shock rendered him unconscious.

---
In a small, desolate area of the local woods, the remains of Rena’s ship were hidden under a great deal of foliage. Add in the holographic technology cloaking it, and it was quite secure.

Inside, Von was tinkering with the radar, while Rena ran another check on the computer systems. Von had been quiet most of the day, and Rena was a little bit annoyed by that.

“Tell me, Von, what would you have done?” she finally asked.

Von looked up, startled. “About what?’

“You know what. The sol being.”

He hesitated. “Well…I mean, what you said was right and everything…but did you have to be so harsh?”

“I was simply stating the facts of the situation. Emergencies such as this don’t allow for tact.”

“Well, sure, I know that, because I know you. But he doesn’t, not really. To him, you probably come off as a bit…arrogant?”

Rena sighed. “It’s the curse of the weak-minded to mistake confidence with arrogance.”

“Yeah…but still…” Von connected a wire on the radar, and it suddenly sprang to life.

“Whoa! Rena, ma’am, there’s a ship!”

“What? Is it Tybalt’s?”

“No…not Felinon…or Natas…it’s a rogue ship…no identifying data…”

Rena sighed. “Just what we needed; bounty hunters. Track it.”

“Are we going to tell Simon?”

“You heard what he said; let him figure it out on his own.”
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