Aaryanna_Mom

Kim wanted to go back to sleep, but the person behind the voice from the speaker had other ideas as they returned shortly, ordering her to come with them. Confirming her original thought that the person was indeed a guy when the cell door had opened. Not that it really mattered. She was still stuck in her new cell when it had all been said and done. And though they were finished, for now, she wasn?t sure what to think. It kept bugging her that he had looked so familiar. And yet she was sure that he was not someone she had served with before. Kim had really thought she was on her way to sector one, but when he had run her though [I]yet another [/I]interrogation session she wasn?t sure anymore. At first Kim had thought they were going to break her for Stevens, but when they had displayed an image of Sako Alkalero and Kajo Flenke she had been surprised, something that he had quickly picked up on as an indication that she knew them. Though she didn?t really know them, they were among the best of Daniel?s agents here on Earth, so it would probably be more accurate to say she knew of them. And unless Daniel had changed things they were stationed at the base in Europe. Kim choked back a sob; frustrated that her stubbornness had lead to her deliberately answering the questions she had been asked as unhelpfully as possible and merely prolonging the interrogation. Her father use to tease her about her obstinate streak when he was still alive, but it was what had made her a good officer, she never gave up. Though now she was so exhausted and tired that she wondered why she hadn?t given up. [I]I must be a glutton for punishment,[/I] she thought a bit hysterically. But after they had gotten what little information about Sako Alkalero and Kajo Flenke that she knew, they had started asking other questions. Ones designed to get a bit further into how the chain of command worked in a resistance cell. Stevens had asked the same questions, but he had not probed as deeply as this man did. Like the question about the resistance taking prisoners, Stevens had been satisfied with the response that they don?t and that if someone got in the way they were released. But this person was not satisfied and had insisted on knowing what would be done if the need did occur. Prying out of her that they would be kept in a safe house. And they had pried about other procedures, nitpicking details for further clarification. Information that Stevens had not gotten as she had not volunteered any information beyond the initial questions she had been asked. Kim found it disturbing since she had thought that Stevens was quite through in his interrogation, but this man was even more so. That was when it finally hit her. When the assault team that infiltrated the base in Australia had first captured her, there had been two members with combat armor that was vastly superior to the rest of the team. Something that standard assault teams didn?t have. She had thought at the time that one of them had to be the Elite Specialist as armor such as they had been wearing was far too expensive for an assault team. [I]Does that mean I'm on the Catalyst?[/I] Kim also remembered that there had been a tall woman using an ML-SS.7 with him. If she remembered correctly, the messenger ships used by Elite Specialist?s had enough room for a crew of two to support the Specialist, if she was right, that meant one of them was the Elite Specialist. And that would mean that Stevens had not been lying. It would mean he handed her over to the Specialist. It would certainly explain why he had paid more attention to the fine details of her answers. This time she couldn?t stop the tears, Kim had thought the interrogations were finally over. But if what she suspected was true, what the man had said was right, she would be here for quite some time. Kim closed her eyes, tired of the same view of the gray featureless walls of her cell. Or as in this case since she was lying on her back on the bed, the gray ceiling. [CENTER]-----------------------------------[/CENTER] Daniel smiled at the information contained on the data chip Celestia had brought to him a while ago. Even if they couldn?t get the rest of what was on Commander Crystal?s hand held computer. What they had got was quite useful. He had broken it down in to segments and was sending it in random intervals to William. It would take a while since there was a lot of information. But it was worth it. It didn?t quite confirm all of their suspicions about the research in sector fourteen, but it did have a lot that they hadn?t known. The more Daniel read the more he wished they could get Crystal to join the resistance. But he knew she never would. Crystal was too practical, to stubborn. And with good reason too. She was very accomplished in her field of genetics as well as her work with the enslaved races. At a young age she had decided that the High Council members were fools for not providing as good an environment as possible for the enslaved races and she had then gone on to prove it. Resulting in better medical facilities being built throughout the Empire as well as the approval of recreation days for all slaves. But that wasn?t all; she had also diligently worked to improve medicine and treatment for their people as well. An accomplishment that had resulted in her being recruited to work for the military as the High Council wanted her to eventually replace the current genetics specialist working for them. He was due to retire within the next thirty years so they had placed her first on a medical ship and then eventually she ended up serving as the Commander for the Tempest. He sighed, no, she would not change, Crystal was not the first person he knew of who took the inner path to change instead of the more drastic one that he had. And he hated holding her prisoner since even though she followed the military?s orders; he still respected her for all that she had done. Daniel closed the files and moved back to the other ones on the disruptions they had been creating. Causing him to smile yet again. Ever since Sara?s friend Glenn had finally finished with his modifications, they had made an excellent team. He had a bit more reserved temperament as well as being a bit more skilled, where she was more of a spitfire. It was a combination that worked and the two of them followed orders quite well. And speaking of orders, he pulled up a new list of targets for them, ones that were a little harder than the last ones. Destroying bridges, power plants and roads had turned out to be very effective as now the military was pulling all troops back into the more populated areas, leaving those in the country to fend for themselves. It was a pity that William had informed him that the High Council had agreed to call in the reserves for the Empire and send emergency reinforcements to Earth. At this rate he could have briefly broken their hold on huge sections of the US. Still, he was doing better than even William had expected. A thought that just made him smile even more.

Goodness, so many violent responses! Anyway... [quote name='Humaru][SIZE=4][FONT=Palatino Linotype][COLOR=DarkRed]Imagine this, you're in the midst of being jumped by a lot of people and you had to choose one weapon to fight your way out. What will that weapon be? It can be anything.[/COLOR][/FONT'][/SIZE][/quote]Since the original post does say my weapon can be anything...And it didn't clarify why they were being jumped. My weapon of choice would be a huge plate of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. Works every time, even on those stubborn teenagers and young adults. ;)

In regards to the music Sandy, I was wanting to know if a link to a music video of the song at a place like YouTube would be considered acceptable? I am thinking it would be, but I wish to be sure of this.

Many people have already addressed how your method of taking this girl to task was harsh and probably not something you should have done so I'll just move on to this:[QUOTE=Allamorph][FONT=Arial]I think that would be more along the lines of the loss of (purity and) innocence than it would be the loss of the absence of something. Also, "having sex" cannot be present, so it cannot be absent either. (This is just me being semantic about gerunds.) With such a perspective, one could then view virginity as the time when they are [I]not[/I] having sex, rather than the point up until which they have it or have had it. Virginity is not so much the absence of as it is the physical ignorance of sex; the naïvety towards it, if you will.[/FONT][/QUOTE]I agree with this, even though it flies in the face of how I was raised religiously. I've never really agreed with the idea that having sex once made you impure or no longer innocent. Because I'm sure many of you are well aware that there are different levels of innocence. I don't want to get too deep into it since I could easily go on a tangent of how women (at least when I was growing up) are looked down on far more for having sex outside of marriage or at an early age than guys are. Even though many of them are still quite clueless as far as sex goes regardless of that first time. Anyway...as I was saying, I think it's far more complex than having had it once and then being considered a non-virgin. And in the end, especially if you intend to have kids, unless you adopt them it usually does require sex for that to happen. So though there's nothing wrong with being a virgin and wanting to save more intimate relations for someone special, there's nothing wrong with not being one either. Though I'm assuming that you are going on the basis of being a virgin at a young age vs being a bit older, but even then there's nothing wrong with being a virgin when you are older either. It all comes down to personal choices really. And it goes without saying, [I]even though I am saying it[/I], as a parent I do frown on having sex before you are considered legally old enough to make that choice, and even then I think waiting until one is a little older and more mature is a good thing as well.

Well I certainly have no problem with the song and I like your suggestion Rachmaninoff to make a play on the words in regards to Sandy and our team winning. ;) And since it seems we are all agreed on what song to use I think its time to start working on the lyrics and move that to pm's at this point. We could all work on ideas we have and then combine them together for a finished product. Also if you are doing most of the graphics Aaryanna with Rachmanioff's help, any ideas on how to present it? We could have something rather nifty with the new lyrics on it though I'm not sure what we would use. Anyway, it should be fun. :catgirl:

When the door to her cell opened on the Conqueror, Kim knew it was finally time, the only question remaining was what Stevens had finally decided to do with her. She was ordered to stand up, something that was hard to do as she barely had the strength to do so and then while she waited the security officer in charge contacted someone and a moment later a transport door opened in the cell.[I] So I?m going to be sent back to sector one,[/I] she thought. It would take a while to get there, but once she arrived the only thing awaiting her would be a public execution. Kim gasped in surprise as the officer stepped forward and shoved her though the transport door. She had been so busy thinking about what was going to happen that she hadn?t heard his order to go through the door. Then a moment later the door closed behind her and she struggled to get up from where she had fallen on her knees, looking at the new cell she had just been transferred to. It was smaller than the one she had been in before, which if she were on a transport ship would make sense. Other than that it was virtually identical to the one she had just been in. The same type of bed fastened to the wall the small restroom facilities just off the main room. And the door leading to the rest of the ship with no type of windows to let her see anything at all. Kim was in the process of turning to simply lie down on the bed when the two-way speaker system activated and an unknown voice greeted her. ?[B]Hello Kim,[/B]? the voice said. It sounded like it was a guy, but without actually seeing them she couldn?t be sure. Kim ignored it. ?[B]Well, you?re no fun at all,[/B]? the unknown voice said, sounding disappointed. ?[B]I was hoping for some entertainment after what I heard about you from Stevens. Oh, well. I guess he just took all the fight out of you. Too bad, really. Makes things much less enjoyable for me.[/B]? Kim knew she should ignore it, but she responded before she could think twice about it. ?[B]That?s just too bad, isn?t it?[/B]? She replied, annoyed at the implication that she would be [I]entertaining[/I]. ?[B]Oh, so you do talk. Well, well, well. This may be fun, after all.[/B]? The unknown voice said, clearly amused. Nettled Kim responded yet again, ?[B]Enjoy it while you can. It won?t be long before I?m gone, now, will it?[/B]? She said sarcastically. Stopping before she said more and annoyed who ever was on the other side of the speaker system.[I] Don?t do it![/I] She thought, [I]don?t banter with them. Just sit down and shut up.[/I] It was hardly fair that they could see her and she couldn?t see them. Kim did her best to say nothing when the person laughed at her. ?[B]It ?won?t be long?? Amusing. I suppose you think you?re on a transport to sector one, don?t you? That?s not the case, though. No, you?ll be here for quite some time, I?d say. Long enough for me to completely break you. Should be fun.[/B]? [I]Don?t respond,[/I] Kim thought. [I]Just ignore them.[/I] But part of her wondered what was going on. Were they telling the truth? Was she really not on a transport ship headed for sector one? Had Stevens merely handed her over to someone to [I]break her[/I] for him? A thought that made her tremble a bit. She waited, but who ever it was seemed to be done as nothing else was said. Kim finally sat down on the bed and then she lay down on her back, still exhausted from what Stevens had done to her. How long had it been since this started five, six, seven weeks? Kim had a hard time remembering. She sighed. What ever was happening she would find out soon enough, unfortunately. Kim shifted a bit on her new bed; at least this one seemed to have a comfortable mattress on it. And frightened or not, she found herself starting to fall asleep;[I] I wish people would just let me get some rest [/I] she thought. [CENTER]-----------------------------------[/CENTER] Once again Daniel went over the report from the Elite Specialist, confirming the news that William had been successful as well as other updates, along with the news that Kim had been transferred to the Catalyst. Making her even more out of reach than she had been on the Conqueror. He memorized everything he needed and then removed the report and carefully copied only the information into his hand held. Now that the relay system was down he would have to send the information to William in snippets. It would be foolish to send them all at once. He had already notified him that Commander Crystal had been captured and that Celestia and Jason were working on breaking the encryption on her hand held computer. Then he pulled up another set of objectives, with the Military?s focus on Commander Crystal and what happened in sector four, it was time to start putting the supplies they had stolen to good use. Within a few days, Earth would be in utter chaos with all the strikes he had in mind. Even though Stevens had altered things after what happened before, it didn?t mean they couldn?t disrupt things in other ways. He smiled a bit, just wait until they see what happens next.

All right, let me know if I got any of the information about the genetic research mixed up SunfallE. I'm still curious as to what happens that upsets the resistance, though I'm assuming it is going to be something related to what the Military does because of sector four and what happened to Crystal. Anyway, I still just can't get over how much fun doing RPG's is. :catgirl:

Daniel breathed a sigh of relief as he sat down in the small conference room just off the command center. Things had gone perfectly as the two agents had kidnapped Commander Crystal without a hitch. And the short report they sent indicated that she had been confined to the safe house in the UK designed to hold someone should the need arise. He finished reviewing their brief summary indicating that other than to stun the light security at the medical facility and to destroy the door to the lab to get to Crystal, nothing else had occurred. Daniel sent a message to both Celestia and Jason that he needed to speak to them immediately. Then he picked up Crystal's hand held computer that he had set on the small conference table. He opened it and though the power came on, a screen requesting a password was displayed. Daniel was not surprised since the agent who had worked with her on the Crimson when Celestia and Jason had been prisoners, had told them that Crystal kept her research on her hand held and very little on the main computer of the ship. The agent had taken advantage of the time when Celestia had required treatment when she had a bad reaction to the modifications to obtain a copy from Crystal's hand held on the genetic modification process. Daniel closed the hand held and set it down. If what William suspected was true, it would make sense that she kept most of the information on a protected source that was isolated from the main system. He only hoped that Jason and Celestia could hack into it. It was bound to have very high level encryptions and security protecting the files. He looked up as Jason and Celestia entered the room. Daniel didn't give them a chance to speak but instead motioned for them to sit down. "[B]Thank you for coming, I need both of you to handle a special project for me.[/B]" He picked up the hand held computer, "[B]The files on this computer are protected by very high level security and encryptions. I need both of you to break that security and hack into it and gain access to the files.[/B]" "[B]I take it that it belongs to a member of the Military here?[/B]" Celestia asked. Daniel nodded, "[B]It does.[/B]" "[B]You've never stolen a hand held before, why now? What makes this one so special?[/B]" Jason asked. Daniel paused and then decided to tell them, since news of Crystal's kidnapping would be all over the network by the end of the day. "[B]It's belongs to Commander Crystal, we took it from her when I had two agents kidnap her this morning.[/B]" "[B]You what[/B]?" Celestia said incredulously as she stood up angrily, "[B]Does William know about this?[/B]" "[B]William is the one who issued the order.[/B]" Daniel replied. Celestia sat back down looking confused, "[B]I don't understand, I thought the resistance didn't kidnap people or use torture or drugs to gain information.[/B]" She paused to look at Jason and then back at Daniel her expression again one of anger, "[B]Crystal is a doctor father, what possible reason could William have to kidnap her.[/B]" "[B]Crystal is the top authority on genetics in the Versilan Empire. She is responsible for overseeing not only the medical facilities on Earth, but research being done to modify the genetics of the enslaved races to make them live longer but without the same health benefits of improved strength, immune system and other advantages that you received when you were modified.[/B]" He waited a moment to let that sink in. "[B]But more importantly, we need to verify if the High Council has authorized research that would allow modification to be done that would change the essence of how they feel and react, making them more passive and accepting of their situation. Such research is forbidden, even among the enslaved races.[/B]" "[B]They can do that?[/B]" Jason asked. Daniel nodded, "[B]They can, which is why it is forbidden, experiments done well over a thousand years go proved that such research only caused problems, so it was outlawed since people wanted to use it have passive obedient children, there was concern that the military would use it to make more powerful and aggressive troops, in the end the High Council ruled that such manipulation was unacceptable and banned it.[/B]" Celestia just shook her head, "[B]That's terrible.[/B]" "[B]Exactly, which is why we need to find out if they really are doing it. Nothing will happen to Crystal, she will simply be detained for the time being.[/B]" Celestia got up and walked over and picked up the hand held computer, "[B]I see, I'll do as you ask, just promise me one thing in return. That as soon as it's possible, you'll release Crystal.[/B]" "[B]I will.[/B]" Daniel replied. Then once the two of them had left he went back to working on even more reports that needed to be taken care of. [CENTER]-----------------------------------------------[/CENTER] [B]OOC: [/B]Just to be clear, this happened the same day sector four was attacked, so this is right before the news of what happened in sector four reaches Earth.

Alright SunfallE, my post is up. It was a little hard to post without completely knowing just what Daniel is upset over, so if I got something off just let me know. It ought to be fun though. And I can't wait to see what you are up to since we are almost to the next point like you mentioned. And speaking of that I have decided what will happen to Kim, though I sent that to you in a pm since I didn't know how you wanted to handle that.

Daniel didn?t expect to receive a reply from William so soon and using an encryption program that they hadn?t used yet. [I]What?s so important that he decided to use it? [/I]He wondered as he used the corresponding program to decode it. Then a moment later as he was reading it? ?[B]What the hell? He actually wants me to do that?[/B]? Daniel said to himself incredulously. ?[B]What is that idiot thinking?[/B]? He continued to read his eyes going wide at what was contained within the message. Daniel shook his head in disbelief and reread the message. [I]This can?t be true, it just can?t![/I] He thought, [I]if the High Council really is doing this?[/I] Daniel moved to the very last notes of the message, reading William?s explanation as to why this order was so important, how he stressed that though he needed Daniel to do it, he didn?t not expect him to. The resistance simply didn?t use the same methods as the Versilan Empire for a good reason, it had been done in the beginning and the resulting backlash among the people had nearly done the resistance in. He closed the report and without realizing it Daniel was up and pacing back and forth in the small conference room off the main command center. His thoughts racing. For one thing, if what William had found out was true, spreading the knowledge would start to put a wedge between the common Versilan and the High Council. Explaining such a thing would be very difficult since it represented a deep betrayal of trust. But on the other hand, if he did as William said and it turned out to be incorrect, his actions would make the resistance look bad, just as the accidental deaths of the civilians in sector six had. It wouldn?t matter that he would not be doing all of the horrible things the Military could and would do. The incident would be put into the worst light possible due to the nature of what was often done. It was why the resistance simply did not do it at all. It was hard enough getting support for their cause as it was. Daniel sighed and sat back down, in the end he would do it. The potential gains far outweighed the risks of public disapproval and if he did it now at the same time the run William was speaking of was due to happen, it would be drowned out by the uproar over what William had in mind, or so he hoped. He pulled up his list of agents, selecting only the most trusted and experienced, then he painstakingly explained why it was being done and more importantly what would not happen should they succeed, as he knew they would feel the same way about it as he did. Then he sent the message to them before turning off his console. [CENTER]-------------------------------[/CENTER] Once again Kim was lying on the bed in her cell, her mind still confused by the powerful drugs. Though she knew for certain that her time was nearly up. There was so little left to be addressed and though she tried to hide it she was frightened of dying, of possibly being broken by Stevens. Kim could feel tears running down her face but she was too tired to brush them off. The only thing she could hope for now was to be executed; she did not want to be put solely into Stevens?s hands. But Stevens had spent a good part of the afternoon toying with her as to what he would finally decide on, hinting at even another fate, though she could not imagine what it would be. The way Kim saw it, she would either die here, be sent to sector one for a public execution or be taken by Stevens. She had tried to think of something else and failed. She was beginning to wonder if he was implying there was more just to upset her. And though she did her best not to show it, it did bother her. Kim sighed, at least he had not used the disruptor's on her this week, her ability to resist was reduced greatly, to the point that the drugs were all that were needed. She had not been given enough time to build any strength back and Commander Crystal was efficient, changing the drugs to match her perfectly. It was a pity her training was only to help her resist long enough for the information she knew to be rendered useless. It was rather ironic that it was standard training for all officers in the Military. Because once she became a member of the resistance she had learned that the stories of them kidnapping officers and torturing them for information was a rumor. The resistance didn?t kidnap or torture people, it just wasn?t done. And the few times someone did get in the way, they were released within a few days completely unharmed. She supposed it could be done by other branches of the resistance, but she doubted it, William was one of their top leaders and he did not sanction or support such tactics, and if he did kidnap someone, he would never torture them, ever. It was possible that William had lied to her, but she chose to believe in him. After all when she had been kidnapped initially out of a desire to protect her, she had still been given the choice to go her own way. But after what Jared had done to Daniel and his mother she had decided to join the resistance since she had been questioning the brutality that went unchecked in the Empire for a long time. Kim sighed yet again as she shifted so she was lying on her left side in an attempt to get more comfortable. In a few days she would know one way or the other just what was going to happen. And though she didn?t want to die, she would rather be dead than become Stevens plaything.

I've only heard a few songs by the spice girls but Backstreet Boys? I think I even have one of their albums since I enjoy their music. What song did you have in mind? Because most of my music knowledge is classical and not rock. I've been pulling out what I do have and listening to it to see if there's a catchy one that would be fun to use for our theme song.

Oh you two! *pokes* That's hardly necessary. ;) If it helps any DeadSeraphim the dog has those silly costumes on maybe once or twice a year for pictures and the rest of the year which is 99.9% of the time she only wears her collar as it's required she have her tags for shots and personal info with her all the time. Bichon's fur tangles to easily so it's not a good idea to leave them in clothing. Which is why she always looks so unhappy in the pictures, she rarely has them on and hates them. And that's not going to change since SunfallE grooms her for us for free and tangled fur is a pain to deal with for both the groomer and the dog. It's not even an argument since Aaryanna agrees with me. As for the topic, I wouldn't even know where to begin. I tend to think of members in terms of whether or not their posts are fun to read, how polite and nice they are to fellow members. As well as if they post things that make me laugh. So if I really got down to it I could list quite a few people that I like here. But that's really not fair to the others who I wouldn't list, since many of them I either don't know or don't read the threads they post in since I don't read everything that goes up. So my list wouldn't be a true reflection of who's supposedly popular around here. Or of who I like or would like had I gotten the chance to know them.

[quote name='Nerdsy][color=deeppink']Leviticus 19:28, of the King James version. For all your stemming needs.[/color][/quote]Thank you hun, we don't really study the Bible a lot in my religion so I couldn't think of where or if I had read anything to that effect. Still in the end I've come to believe that God really doesn't care about appearance but more about the purity of one's soul. My view comes from a brother who smokes, isn't religious, served as a sheriff for decades. Has biker buddies who when ever they drove around the US would stop and visit me and my kids. And many of them did indeed have tattoos and yet I would trust any of them with my kids. So I guess it boils down to if it's in the rules, the kid has no recourse, but if they are singling him out and ignoring others who are not following the rules, that sort of thing needs to be addressed.

[QUOTE=RobinWH]i realized that. but BYU is also a mostly religious university so their tattoo guidelines are based on religious beliefs. my post was based on the fact that the kid in the article was under 18.[/QUOTE]Actually that's not entirely accurate. Until in the past couple of decades where body piercing and tattoos became more popular among the younger generation. There was not set standard for piercings or tattoos but rather one of a modest dress code. Clothing that was less revealing. The restriction on piercings is new within the last ten years and tattoos are more of an unspoken expectation that you don't get them. I am not sure what the Catholic Church's stance is on tattoos, but the push here to get rid of such things actually comes from parents who see it as a disruptive influence. In time I'm sure it will be included in what ever you sign when you attend the religious BYU university. But right now it is not and yet it is used as an excuse to expel students. Even if the tattoo in question is of a religious nature. I use to think that such things were disruptive but now I think trying to control that aspect of another person's life is intrusive and unnecessary. Unless it's something offensive and even then that needs to be carefully limited so we aren't interfering with another person's right to have piercings or tattoos. The only condition I have put on my children is that they have to be at least sixteen, and then the choice is theirs. After all at that point kids are considered old enough to drive so it seems only fair that you start giving them even more responsibility at that point as well. Sometimes when it comes to dress code I'm in favor of uniforms for the simple reason that it avoids a lot of the hassle of worrying about what a student is wearing. But that never really caught on here. Also, I really don't recall anything in either the Bible or the Book of Mormon that said tattoos were bad, so I have to wonder if that's a more modern concept of them being bad. At least for where I live and the religion I grew up in. I can't remember a single time where a lesson was on not getting a tattoo.

[quote name='Retribution][size=1] In general, I'm not calling for my 40 acres and a mule like some black people are, but a "Alright, the government did mess up back then" would suffice.[/size][/QUOTE]I agree completely, it's not about being compensated when it happened so long ago, but to say the government made a mistake is definitely appropriate in my opinion. [QUOTE=Retribution][size=1']I never understood the "There are more pressing matters" argument, either. It really isn't an involving process to issue a formal apology, and unless everyone's minds are solely focused on getting an apology, I hardly see the problem with wanting one.[/size][/quote]Again I agree, since when should more pressing matters take precedent? You can use that argument to put off just about anything. And something like this has been 'put off' far too long due to lingering resentment and racism. It won't end it, but I do think it makes a good statement in formally admitting that our government back then was wrong to have done what they did.

It's never too late for an apology, or as in this case, to make amends since there still a big gap between opportunities for blacks vs whites. On some level it disgusts me that people think there is no need to apologize as if the fact that it happened so long ago makes it unnecessary to apologize. It's not so much about trying to make current leaders responsible, but rather the government finally coming forward and saying we were wrong and we'll do our best to make sure things get better and more equal. Obviously that's not an easy task and there will always be a level of inequality, but it shouldn't be because we aren't doing things to keep it more open and equal for everyone. And to be honest, it does bother me that the Mormon Church has yet to apologize, since I've run into cases of racism towards black members even after they were given equal status as far as holding the priesthood goes. Things that make me ashamed of the members who could think they are somehow better than another human being. And I could easily get long winded on the horrible things I ran into as a child when I was living in Texas before I later got married and moved here. The whole thing should never be forgotten and it's about time that a formal apology was issued. In my opinion that is.

[quote name='True Angel][COLOR=Magenta]The problem is, she thinks that I'm her friend but she really doesn't have any friends at all. Me and some others are like there and yet not there. I'm a friend to both friends and I know that one will get hurt but she seems to be dragging everyone in the problem just to feel sorry for her after her aunt had died last week. I mean I do feel sorry for her, but she is very annoying and the problem just might get pushed too far that I don't I can be there for her anymore. [spoiler][SIZE=1][FONT=Century Gothic] Like I want to.[/spoiler][/SIZE][/FONT'][/COLOR][/quote]Here's the thing hun, if you are her friend at all, then it's important that you be there for her, especially since based on what you have written, the real nobody is the boy who dated her because he was 'bored' Regardless if you find the girl annoying or not, this whole mess started by him asking her out. If anyone is dragging people into this mess it's the notion that being a skater dude is somehow better than just being a regular student, who is not a nobody, no one is and to say so is just mean spirited. I'd have to know more, but this whole thing sounds like she's upset over what happened and people are being rude to her since she is not the 'popular' one in this instance. To be honest, it sounds like she is better off not being friends or dating any of those kids, and they sound like they need a good swift kick in the rear as well. Also, if it was you, how would you feel if you went online and found that someone who you thought was your friend referred to you as a nobody? So either be her friend or don't be.

Daniel had long since removed the message from the Elite Specialist from the system. And to be sure he had even followed her instructions on how to remove traces that would show up that she or other hackers could find, even though all it would do was show that he made a deletion. Again he was impressed by how detailed and good at her job she really was. Which was why other than William, no one knew about her. Even her suggestions were being passed off as coming from William since he too was skilled at hacking. And now that both Celestia and Jason had already written up the changes and sent it to the other programmers here who had implemented them, he was preparing a very short report to William as to the information he had gotten, including the part on how Kim?s interrogation was nearly complete and that her fate was still undecided. Including the bit that she might be transferred to the Catalyst, something that would put her further out of reach since the hacking routine, when it had been running had failed to get into their system. He wondered how the Elite Specialist could do what she did, if Kim was transferred to the Catalyst and they required information, she would be expected to use what ever means necessary to get the information. [I]How does she manage to do it?[/I] He wondered. [I]Just admit it, you?re far too soft[/I], he thought to himself. A thought that on some levels pained him. [I]I wonder why she joined the resistance? Did something terrible happen to her like it did to me? I'll just had to wonder about her reasons, [/I]he thought as there was no way he was going to search her records and possibly bring unwanted attention to her. Especially since in the end, he didn't need to know why. Daniel pulled out the photograph of his mother to take a look at it. Turning it and opening the back to reveal the poison he kept on hand at all times. He sighed, closed the back of the tiny picture frame and put it back inside his breast pocket. Other than William, no one else knew about the poison. Like his father Nathan had done, he would make sure he was never taken alive, he knew far too much. That was another thing that pained him; he had spent all those years hating his father, not realizing that he had done his best to protect him and his mother as well as those who were affected by the government and the corruption at the higher levels. He shook his head and shifted in his chair as he went back to the report he was sending to William. Now that the changes had been made, even though it wasn?t as secure, he needed to send him an update. He smiled a bit as he carefully worded things to indicate that all the knowledge they had gotten came from a new hacking routine, even though one hadn?t been written yet. [I]Let them think that the new one is untraceable,[/I] he thought. [I]That will keep them busy for a while trying to find a program that doesn?t exist.[/I] Then as he went to send it the chime for a new message sounded, puzzled he opened it. It was from William, very short and in a manner that would confuse the Military, all it said was [B]A new run will commence shortly[/B]. [I]A new run? So soon? I wonder what he has in mind?[/I] Daniel thought even as he quickly sent the update he had prepared to William in return. [I]Well no matter, [/I]he thought. [I]Even if our transmission isn?t as secure I?ll find out soon enough if it?s big enough like the destruction in sector six, that had been broadcasted across the entire Versilan Empire, that sort of thing doesn?t require a secure message since all we have to do is pick up the transmission being sent to the fleet. [/I] Then, he finished and closed what he was working on. A quick glance at the clock showed that it was almost time for when Jason and Celestia would be returning. He hoped that the time in the cabin safe house had helped them to relax and deal with some of the stress they had been experiencing. Daniel had been surprised when Jason along with the doctor had confronted him about making it possible for the two of them to leave. He had resisted it until the doctor backed Jason. It wasn?t easy for him to understand since he had been born and raised to expect space travel and had spent quite a bit of time without setting foot on a planet, so he did not feel the lose of sunlight or walking on the ground as keenly as Jason and Celestia did. And though they were rescued over half a year ago, between being captured in the first place and working with the resistance, other than a few hours at the place where he and Kim had lived for a while on Earth, both of them had been either on a space ship or in a station since they got pulled into this mess. [I]I really should talk to the doctor about this, [/I]he thought as he got up to go to the transport room to meet them when they arrived. [I]If they got that stressed, then others who rarely leave the base might have the same problem.[/I] And as a former Commander, he knew perfectly well it was better to catch such things before they became a problem that would interfere with a person?s performance. And in all honesty, losing the work by both Jason and Celestia would be a terrible loss, as they didn?t have anyone better at what they did in all of the resistance.

Kim couldn?t help but snicker at the two security personal stationed at her room in the sickbay of the Conqueror. Even if she had wanted to try and escape, she lacked the strength to even try. She was puzzled as to why Commander Crystal had even bothered to repair the damage to her nerves yet again when Stevens had already gotten everything he had asked her. Until in her weakened and half conscious state she remembered that it would be standard procedure for him to re-verify things with her to look for inconsistencies that would indicate she was still managing to lie in spite of the drugs. That would take a week at the most since Kim knew she lacked the strength to even fight anymore. Commander Crystal had made sure to force nutrients into her every day, but even with that precaution she had lost weight, the sheer stress of both the drugs and the disruptors clearly taking a toll on her health. Kim sighed to herself; at least the sickbay bed was comfortable, unlike the one in her cell. Not that it mattered, in about a week, once Stevens was done he would either have her executed or keep her around to break. Kim had heard about how he liked to do that to female prisoners. It was why she had never liked him in the first place, though she had been very careful to never say so to his face. And then she had been assigned to serve under Daniel and had put Stevens out of her mind. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that one day she would end up in his clutches. She shifted a bit more so she was on her right side, smiling at the memory of the last couple of sessions. Stevens had been horribly cruel, when she had finally broke, when the drugs had finally forced her to answer his questions. His dumbfounded expression when he realized that she really didn?t know the exact location of the bases had been too much and she had gloated and laughed hysterically in his face. That one moment made all the suffering and pain she had endured worth it. Kim chuckled a bit to herself at the memory. And then she choked back a sob before the tranquilizers Commander Crystal had given her a short while ago finally took effect and she fell asleep. [CENTER]---------------------[/CENTER] Daniel was as always working on reports and coordinating with all the various units and agents on Earth when the chime indicating someone was at the door sounded. He opened to find Glen waiting to see him. ?[B]Ah Glen, what can I do for you?[/B]? Daniel asked motioning for Glen to take a seat on the other side of the conference table. ?[B]I?d like to ask you some questions sir,[/B]? Glen replied. Daniel smiled, ?[B]By all means, what would you like to know?[/B]? He waited patiently for Glen to speak, as it was obvious to him that he was upset. ?[B]I understand that no plans are being made to rescue Kim. Why have you abandoned her?[/B]? Daniel smiled sadly, ?[B]It?s not that we have abandoned her, it?s simply that we have no means to get to her. If we did, we would have already tried to rescue her.[/B]? Glen merely looked confused. ?[B]Let me show you,[/B]? Daniel said as he pulled up a holographic display of the conqueror between him and Glen. ?[B]Kim is being held here,[/B]? he highlighted the section of the ship she was in, showing that it was deep within the Conqueror. ?[B]The detention and interrogation section of a flagship is protected by shielding independent of the main ship.[/B]? Daniel highlighted the areas protected by the internal shield and then again to show the one where the shield would be for the rest of the ship. ?[B]Not only is it impossible for us to transport to her location, we lack the means to disable both shields. Making retrieving her impossible. Plus in order to get on board the Conqueror requires documentation and special passwords that change every single day. We could forge the electronic documentation, but our best attempts to get the passwords for the security for the detention area has failed, and even if we get someone in, they would not have authorization to leave with Kim.[/B]? Daniel paused for a moment to let that sink in. ?[B]I want to rescue her, but I cannot and will not send agents on a suicidal mission doomed to fail.[/B]? Daniel shut down the holographic display and watched, as Glen seemed to struggle with what he had just said. Then Glen asked him another question, one that did not surprise him. ?[B]I see, then answer me this, why do your people think you are superior to other races, I don?t understand how something like this could go on for thousands of years and yet have so few people object to it.[/B]? ?[B]That too is not so simple, why does anyone think they are better than someone else? Part of the problem is my people have spent thousands of years being raised and taught that they are better than other races, something that physically and technologically they actually are[/B].? ?[B]But that doesn?t make sense![/B]? Glen protested. ?[B]Of course it doesn?t, and a look at your own history will show that believing you are superior to someone else isn?t just a problem with my people.[/B]? Daniel replied. Glen shook his head, ?[B]I still don?t understand how there can be so many of you and so few who even care.[/B]? Daniel sighed, ?[B]It?s simple really, because compared to their previous lives, more than seventy percent of the slaves all have physically less demanding lives, proper medical care, and time off for recreation as well as being allowed to work together with their families instead of being separated. It works because for those of the worlds that were conquered who are poor, their new life is far better than their old one of starvation, poor health, and deplorable living conditions. As a result many of the average citizens see it as giving them a better life in exchange for doing work for the Empire.[/B]? ?[B]I still don?t understand it,[/B]? Glen finally said. Daniel just smiled, ?[B]Anything else?[/B]? ?[B]Only one thing, and though I?m sure you have your reasons, why are you so damn secretive about everything?[/B]? ?[B]Think about it, if I were not secretive, Kim would have known the exact physical location of the bases here on Earth and as a result the Military would know where we are. The secrecy is to protect as many people as possible, including you. My people?s method of using torture combined with truth drugs is very, very effective. An unmodified human has no resistance to the drugs at all, and even someone like Kim with military training on how to resist, will eventually break, everyone does.[/B]? ?[B]Everyone?[/B]? Glen asked incredulously. ?[B]How would you know?[/B]? ?[B]Because not only have I served as a Commander in the Military before joining the resistance, I interrogated criminals myself,[/B]? Daniel gave Glen a stern look, ?[B]And when I was declared a traitor and stripped of my command, I too was subjected to being interrogated. And even with my training, I was ruthlessly broken. Make no mistake here Glen, I have no illusions about anyone?s ability to hold out should they be caught and I will not put people?s lives at risk just so people can know more about what?s going on.[/B]? Daniel paused as the chime indicating a message had arrived sounded. ?[B]Now if you?ll excuse me I have work to do, we can continue this later.[/B]? He waited until Glen had left and then opened up the message, it was from the Elite Specialist. With a touch of a button he secured the door and then opened up the message and started going through it.

Well the [COLOR=Blue]Titans[/COLOR] may have gotten to choose first, but that does not change the fact that there are other excellent members to consider asking to return to the game. And with that in mind we invite Rachmaninoff to return and join the [COLOR=DarkRed]Mercenaries[/COLOR]. :catgirl: Oh and by the way Sandy, did you want the team captains to pm the person they asked? Or is that something you are going to do? Or does the person need to post here saying they accept?

Both indifference or Rachmaninoff sound like a good choice to add to our team, so with that in mind I will use a not so secret method of deciding who to ask...several minutes later...My choice will be to ask Rachmaninoff to join the Mercenaries. And I shall go and post to that effect in the main thread. ;)

I would have never thought of that Takuya and I'll certainly keep that in mind when it comes time to decide. Especially since when you think about it, Kim could potentially know something that Stevens would not have realized would be useful for someone with Kiva's skills. Some obscure reference that would make sense to Kiva since her position is rather different. Even if that does leave poor Kim in the position of being interrogated yet again. o_O And just to be clear to everyone, *pokes Rachmaninoff* when SunfallE mentioned the plot twist of Kim being caught she explained upfront that it could mean Kim would end up dead. And if that was the case I could simply add another character if I so desired. SunfallE also gave me the choice to say no, but I felt that it would be far more realistic than the resistance always besting the Versilan Military and much less cliched if the story included some characters getting caught and even ending up dead. Anyway, I'll definitely consider what you suggested Takuya because that scenario seems very realistic to me. Someone like Kiva would never abandon a resource that could still be useful. That sort of thinking is part of what I would imagine got her selected to be an Elite Specialist in the first place.

[QUOTE=Retribution][size=1]I'm against the legalization of prostitution. Raiyuu summed up the biggest objection I had, which is that it can usually be tantamount to sex-slavery or trafficking. But aside from that, prostitutes often drag an area down in terms of land value, and with them drugs and petty crime are almost sure to follow.[/size][/QUOTE]I do not agree with it either. Though I'm more worried about the sex-slavery, drugs and petty crime than anything else. And then there are moral and religious issues, though I'm not going to go into those as everyone has different ideas as to what is considered moral. I do understand that there are men and women who do willingly prostitute themselves, but I have to wonder how many of them would if they had better jobs out there that were available instead. I would imagine plenty of them would do something else, or least I would hope so.

[b]Name:[/b] Mom [b]Real name:[/b] Martha [b]Current age:[/b] Deceased [b]Height:[/b] 5'1" [b]Hair:[/b] Silver Blonde [b]Eye color:[/b] Blue My mother was a mixture of both good and bad. She was very good to me and I clearly remember how well we got along while I was growing up. And when I was married, she always took trips to visit me and the family. Every time I was expecting a child she always came out to help just before I was due and for a while after the baby was born. I loved having her visit since she was a good cook and I enjoyed chatting with her. And having her help while adjusting to a newborn baby was heavenly. On the bad side, she was a busy body. She could not stay out of other people's affairs, even to the point that the church finally refused to allow her to be part of any teaching role as she would try to play mom to other children since she was convinced that their parents were bad. It was really sad to see her do this since most of the time the families in question were good loving families and her actions caused them a lot of grief. She was very critical of anyone who was not a member of the church, even to the point that she would ignore her own grandchildren since my brother was not religious. Still I loved her a lot and I miss her, since even though she had her faults she still did her best to be a good mom to me while she was alive, supporting me as much as possible. I only wish she had lived long enough to be there when Aaryanna was born though due to my religious beliefs I'm sure she already knows about her.

[quote name='Rachmaninoff]I've decided Crystia, every character you control, even if it's remotely, is completely psycho! I mean ewww! [/QUOTE]I'll second that, especially with this part here:[QUOTE=indifference][SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed]It really was a pity that he simply didn?t have the time to bend her to his will and completely break her. Someone like her who had had held out nearly a month would have been an interesting challenge.[/COLOR'][/SIZE][/quote]o_O I'm amazed at how much got read into the initial implication I put in one of the posts indicating that at one time Stevens and Kim knew each other. And looking back I have to say that I shouldn't be surprised. Goodness! Even my own daughter is caught up in it! I swear, kids seem to grow up to fast these days. ;) As for Kim getting free...as SunfallE would say...we'll see... :p