Rachmaninoff

[COLOR=DarkRed]Sergei followed Kathy?s orders and began to proceed towards the gate, dodging the icicles that rained from the sky, slicing the Gargoyles that still attempted to rend them to shreds. But when some of the icicles hit a few with glancing blows on their way down and knocked some of them into other Gargoyles, to his surprise they immediately started fighting among themselves. Snarling and gnashing; tearing huge chunks out of each other. All it would take was a single hit, if they could injure other Gargoyles, whose thick think skins of stone were more than a simple blade could handle, they would tear though flesh and blood with frightening ease. Somehow he doubted they would get lucky like they had with the trees that had attacked them. Shortly after they had entered the forest the trees had come after them, but then for some unknown reason the trees had moved back to their original position and stopped. Giving them plenty of time to get out of the area. [I]If only what ever stopped the trees would stop the Gargoyles.[/I] Sergei thought. But as the insane dash for the castle gate continued nothing happened. Not that he had expected it to. He started running faster, overtaking the Captain and Bethany. Alexandra, with her lighter frame and agile speed had quickly slipped ahead, aiming for the gate so she could get it open for when they got there. But her quicker speed was attracting too much attention as a number of the Gargoyles were diving directly for her. ?[B]Look out Alexandra![/B]? Sergei screamed as one dove for her unprotected back. Somehow, over the shrieking and sounds of battle from those Gargoyles who were fighting among themselves, she heard, dodging to the right just in time as the Gargoyle plowed into the ground where she had just been. Seconds later, it was skewered by one of the icicles. It tried to get up but Sergei finished it off with a swift blow, taking its head off. He moved to help Alexandra who was getting back up but was struck a glancing blow as one of the icicles landed just behind him, the force knocking him off his feet to land hard on his stomach. His blade, knocked out of his hands by the impact, bounced across the ground and came to a rest about ten feet in front of him. ?[B]Damn![/B]? Sergei swore as he got up and dove for his blade at the same time several of the Gargoyles dove for him.[I] I?m not going to make it! [/I]He thought. But just then the Captain and Bethany caught up with him driving them off just long enough for him to recover his blade. ?[B]We?d better hurry,[/B]? Bethany said, slightly out of breath. ?[B]The spell won?t last much longer.[/B]? Sergei shot her an annoyed glance. ?[B]If we live though this how about you explain to me just how the hell you thought a spell like this would be useful.[/B]? ?[B]Well you see?[/B]? Bethany started to explain. ?[B]Not now,[/B]? Kathy ordered. ?[B]Alex is at the gate.[/B]? Sergei nodded and continued running for the gate with Bethany and Kathy. Just as Bethany had said, the icicles were becoming less frequent and before long the Gargoyles would figure that out and stop fighting among themselves. [I]When they do,[/I] he thought as he sliced through another Gargoyle that dove for them. [I]They?ll rush us and it will be over. [/I] Then as the gate finally opened from the other side and they quickly slipped inside, Bethany turned back and cast an illusion of the team in the middle of the ice and fallen Gargoyles. ?[B]What are you doing?[/B]? Alexandra asked her. Tugging on her sleeve in an attempt to get her away from the still partially open gate. A moment later a final burst of icicles rained from the sky where the Gargoyles and the illusion were, burying them. Bethany sagged with exhaustion, ?[B]Making sure they think we?re dead.[/B]? She finally answered as she started to collapse. Sergei, who had already sheathed his blade, quickly caught her. Picking her up and carrying her a ways in before setting her down on a small chair next to a table that was obviously meant for who ever would normally be maintaining the gate. Bethany smiled warmly at him. ?[B]Thanks.[/B]? Sergei turned to the Captain. ?[B]Now what?[/B]? Kathy looked at Bethany who was sagging in the chair, clearly exhausted. ?[B]Lets take a moment to rest before we continue.[/B]? She turned to Alexandra who grinned and skipped off before the Captain could ask her to take a quick look around. ?[B]As soon as Alex gets back we?ll get going.[/B]? Sergei pulled up another chair and took a seat himself. Hopefully getting to Morgwyn would be easier now that they were inside, but he doubted it. At least they had gotten into the castle. But still, he couldn't help but feel uneasy. Somehow he doubted that the Gargoyles were Morgwyn's only line of defense. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkRed]Sergei was carefully following a game trail though a thicker part of the forest with Alexandra and Bethany between him and Kathy who was bringing up the rear. Kathy who was more familiar with the forests surrounding Morgwyn's castle had insisted that they leave their horses at the last town, though Bethany had protested, [I]loudly[/I], about having to carry their supplies in packs. But now that they were there he understood. The path among the trees with leaves the color of blood would at times be so thick that they either had to find a small game trail to continue or sidetrack a bit to find a way around. Horses would have not only slowed them down, but forced them to go out of their way. And leaving them here would have been a mistake. Since though they had not encountered them yet, Kathy assured him that there were plenty of monsters that dwelled in the forest. Finally a few steps more and the trees gave way to a tiny clearing. The ground sloping down a bit as they were on a small ridge. Something that gave them a view of the forests that stretched as far as the eye could see. And off in the distance Sergei could see what appeared to be a castle or rather the tiny hints of gray stone sticking up among the trees. Sergei hadn?t realized that he was blocking the way out until a hard shove from behind sent him sprawling. ?[B]How about letting the rest of us out,[/B]? Bethany said smartly as she shoved him. ?[B]You can gawk like a country bumpkin later.[/B]? Sergei got up brushing his clothing off as the others came out from among the dense trees. Smiling sheepishly when he realized that he had been blocking their way out. ?[B]Sorry, I got distracted by the castle.[/B]? He said pointing towards it. ?[B]It?s about time! I am sick of walking already.[/B]? Bethany declared. ?[B]Too bad,[/B]? Alexandra said as she poked Bethany in the side. ?[B]Looks like it will take us a couple more days to get there. That is, if the forests continue to be as dense as they have.[/B]? She reached up and brushed some twigs and leaves out of her hair. ?[B]They are,[/B]? Kathy confirmed as she too brushed twigs and leaves out of her hair. ?[B]Also, the closer we get to the castle, the more monsters there are. I?m a bit surprised that we haven?t run into any yet.[/B]? ?[B]I bet,[/B]? Bethany said in her know it all tone of voice, ?[B]That all the other adventurers we saw headed in this direction ran into the monsters.[/B]? She paused to snicker a bit. ?[B]After all some of them couldn?t walk more than two feet with out making enough noise to scare off all the game.[/B]? Sergei winced when he saw a sneaky look on Alexandra?s face. [I]Uh oh,[/I] He recognized that look. [I]What?s she up to this time?[/I] ?[B]Of course Bethany,[/B]? Alexandra said innocently, ?[B]They were far noisier than someone who complains every five minutes that she?s not a pack mule.?[/B] It took a moment for that to sink in but when it did, Bethany whirled to pounce on Alexandra only to stop when a burst of wind came out of nowhere rustling all of the trees, sounding like something was howling. Startling all of them, causing them to look around as the howling sounded almost inhuman. Sergei was the first to spot it, ?[B]Look![/B]? He pointed, off in the distance to the right one of the huge tree?s leaves were turning gray and falling off the branches. ?[B]What happened?[/B]? Bethany grimaced, ?[B]You don?t want to know.[/B]? She turned to Kathy uncharacteristically serious, ?[B]Captain we need to get moving, either a monster accidentally damaged the tree or some stupid adventurer did it. But more importantly, we don?t want to get caught up in what?s going to happen.[/B]? Kathy just raised her eyebrow, ?[B]And what would that be young lady?[/B]? ?[B]Captain, we don?t have time to discuss it![/B]? Bethany said, a touch of annoyance in her voice. ?[B]True,[/B]? Kathy agreed, she turned to look back at the tree as more of the leaves fell. ?[B]I?ve heard all sorts of rumors about what happens, and if any of them are true we may be too late.[/B]? She sighed. ?[B]All right, lets get going. Sergei you take the rear and I?ll lead this time.[/B]? ?[B]All right Captain.[/B]? Sergei replied. He took a moment to make sure his pack and sword were all in place and then followed the others as Kathy took them away from the tree and yet still towards the castle.[I] I wonder what will happen? [/I]Sergei thought as they finished heading down the slope and finally entered the trees again. [/COLOR]

Just as Darren had never imagined that he would end up working for the High Council, he would never have guessed that he'd end up a prisoner of the resistance. Locked up in some tiny room, god knows where, since they had moved him from the actual base to this place. There was nothing to do, literally. No windows, no form of workstation to let him at least keep up with what was going on. Nothing. The only difference between this place and the cell he had been in briefly on the Crimson when this whole mess started, was that the bed was actually comfortable. Which left him thinking about what had happened and what was going to happen. When the other squad had shown up, he had been relived that they had stopped the others from killing him and Sandra. But that had been short lived once they had taken them some distance before opening up a transport door and taking them to what had to be the remaining resistance base. The squad leader had left and the two men with him had taken him and Sandra to their sickbay. And once they had done that, they had taken positions inside the room to guard them. Something that had Darren wanting to laugh since he had no combat training at all. But what had shocked him the most was when the earth woman Sara had entered the sickbay while the doctor was treating Sandra. Darren had instinctively moved backwards only to fall off the bed and land painfully on his right side where he had been hurt. Leaving him dizzy with pain. One of the squad members guarding them had helped him back into the bed to lie down but the moment he had looked up again, it was to find Sara still there. And when she spoke...Darren winced at the memory. She had changed since he last saw her. Becoming more cold and unforgiving, making him glad the security was there. Regardless, he just kept his mouth shut and had said nothing, relived when she had finally left. Then later once he had been treated as well, Daniel had finally shown up, but in spite of the squad leader's words saying he would want to talk to them, he had said very little. Only a brief bit to reassure him that other than to detain him and Sandra no harm would come to them and then he had left. Once he and Sandra had recovered they had been separated. They had brought him to this tiny room and locked him in, checking on him twice a day. He didn't know what they had done with Sandra. Or with his hand held computer either. Darren knew that Jared had seen to putting high level security on it once he had been made the shipping expert. But even if they hacked into it there wasn't much to learn since he had kept most of his information at his workstation in his quarters on board the Creator. He had been preparing a report with all the information about the fragmented reports in regards to William though. Not that it mattered since the new system prevented that from being a problem. Still it would be a shame for them to be able to confirm that they knew all about where William had been in the past thirty years. That information was suppose to go to the High Council. Darren sighed. At least Jared would make sure Kerstin was kept up to date. He would have hated for her to find out by seeing it on the news. It pained him to admit it, but it made him feel better knowing that Jared would make sure she was taken care of.

Truthfully, I never really liked them to begin with. Other than a few exceptions like Scrabble , Rummikub and Uno. Except Uno is a card game and not a board game. And that's where the trouble really lies as I like card games a bit better like Uno, Phase Ten and Solitaire. Most of my friends are the same so we rarely play board games.

[QUOTE=DeathKnight][color=crimson]Just trying to search for a reason when there probably isn't one beyond severe mental illness. Apparently people can't have severe problems just on their own anymore lol.[/color][/QUOTE]So very true, and they are conveniently overlooking the fact that if movies and video games really did have such an impact, we'd have violent shootings going on all the time. And even then, in the end the person still made the choice to pull the trigger. I wish people who make such stupid statements would stop and get their head examined before opening their mouth and inserting their foot. :animesigh

All right, just to give a quick notice, so far the accepted players are: Darren Aaryanna Sandy Aaryanna_Mom 2007DigitalBoy indifference However, there is still plenty of room for more people. I?m going to leave this open for more sign ups till the 21st this Saturday. Either way, for the rest of you who have signed up, at that point either Sunday or Monday I will get this started. ;)

Excellent start everyone. Here's my profile: [B]Name:[/B] Sergei Rach [B]Gender: [/B] Male [B]Age: [/B] 28 [B]Special Skills:[/B] Sergei is both a swordsman and a mage. Though since his spells lack the power that Bethany's does. He uses a special sword that he can temporary imbue the power of various elements into it during battle. Making for a devastating combination. [B]Description:[/B] Sergei is about 6'3 with brown hair and hazel eyes. [B]Personality: [/B] Sergei is easy going and strangely loyal to Kathy having served first under her father and now her. He's often on the quiet side, except with his companions. Though sometimes Bethany's and Alexandra's talent for creating mischief really annoys him since often he along with Kathy has to get them out of trouble. [B]Short Bio: [/B] When Kathy's father retired, Sergei stayed with the group. Feeling that on some level he owed it to his former captain since he had saved his life in battle many times, to stick around and keep an eye out for his daughter. Even if she was more than capable of taking care of herself. Sergei comes from a family of musicians and though he does have a small talent at playing a lute, his true love is in studying the ways of the sword. Something that led him to leave home since his parents couldn't understand why he did not love music in the same way they did. It's a bit late or should I say early since it's one am? Anyway, I'll be sure to get a post up later today. ;)

Well, mine is now up so I hand it over to you Aaryanna_Mom. ;) Or rather to Daniel who will be less than thrilled I imagine. Now it's just time to wait for the strike in sector seven. Hehe. The Empire is not having a good day.

Like any time he had been required to deal with dishonest merchants, dealing with those who were part of the former government for the US was equally as distasteful. Especially since a number of them were close to behaving like small children caught stealing when they knew better. Now Darren understood just why there were fully armed security squads present for the meeting. [I]What a bunch of fools. [/I]He thought. [I]I don?t know how Sandra manages to put up with them. [/I] He didn?t get much further when he heard the chime from Sandra?s hand held indicating she had a priority transmission. Startled, he turned to look at her only to be thrown sideways as explosions rocked the building and seconds later the ceiling collapsed. Darren managed to get partially under the table, but not in time to keep parts of the ceiling from hitting him on his back and his legs, knocking him flat. And the loud clutter on the sturdy table as pieces from the roof fell was deafening. Then it was over. With a grimace of pain since it felt like something had been broken on his right side since he had been partially turned when the stuff hit him. He pulled free of the debris grabbing the table for support. One side of the building was completely gone and outside was a disaster. There were several groups of individuals fully armed, tossing what appeared to be a type of explosive at the troops rushing to the area as well as several groups heading towards the building he was in. One of them had a type of disruptor rife he had never seen before and was firing at the building, knocking huge holes in the remaining walls. [I]We need to get out of here.[/I] He thought. Darren turned, ignoring the crushed bodies of both the security personal as well as the members of the US government, only to swear at the sight of Sandra who was partially buried. As quickly as he could he moved over to her position and removed the pieces of the ceiling that were lying on her. She appeared to be breathing and though her head was bleeding profusely from where she had been struck, a quick scan with his hand held computer confirmed that she was okay. Though she was bruised all over pretty bad as well as suffering from a severe concussion. He started to contact the Creator only to freeze in fear at the sound of what had to be human voices just outside the building. [I] Damn![/I] He thought. [I]We?re too exposed here. [/I]Quickly he put his hand held back in its side pouch and carefully picked Sandra up. Ignoring the pain in his side as he carefully stepped through the rubble heading for the only open doorway. But when he got inside it was only a side conference room with no other exits. He swore softly and then froze again at the sound of the humans entering the other room. ?[B]Did we get all of them??[/B] One of the voices said as Darren moved until he was on the other side of the table, hiding him and Sandra from view since the door was still open. ?[B]Looks like it, still those damn Versilans are like rats, we?d better take a quick look.[/B]? The other one said as Darren carefully placed Sandra down. Resisting the urge to curse. [I]There?s no way they?ll miss us. [/I] He thought desperately, wishing he dared to contact the Creator directly. Instead he carefully pulled out his hand held to avoid making any noise and activated the distress signal. Then as the group of three came into view he slowly put it back into his pouch. Wishing he had thought to tip some of the chairs over to keep them from being able to see under the table as they approached. Darren did not bother to get up from his position on his knees between Sandra and the door when they entered the room, their weapons aimed at him. Instead he merely raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. ?[B]See? I told you.[/B]? One of them said with disgust. ?[B]Just like rats.[/B]? He looked at Sandra and then back to Darren. ?[B]Why the hell are you trying to protect one of them?[/B]? It took Darren a moment to realize that he had never removed the treatment to his eyes. [I]They think I?m human. [/I]He thought. Something that surprised him since he would have thought that after being made the shipping expert they would have known just who he was. But obviously they didn't and unlike Sandra he was not wearing a military uniform. ?[B]You?d better hurry if you want to take care of them.?[/B] The third one by the door said. ?[B]The squad leader is coming and you know how he feels about executing them.[/B]? ?[B]Screw the damn squad leader.[/B]? The one closest to Darren said. ?[B]I want to know why this asshole is trying to protect her.[/B]? ?[B]Does it matter? Just kill them already.[/B]? ?[B]Of course it matters! Hell I voted for most of these jackasses who are still here.[/B]? [I]Lovely,[/I] Darren thought. [I]They?re arguing over whether or not to execute us. [/I]And when the one closest to him turned his attention back to Darren and Sandra, Darren looked down, and stayed silent. Refusing to meet his gaze. ?[B]God damn it![/B]? The one closest snarled in anger as he lashed out with the butt of the disruptor rifle, catching Darren on the right side of his face and knocking him over. ?[B]I asked you a question![/B]? Darren struggled to get back up on his knees, halting when the man took aim, preparing to fire. He did the only thing he could think of and closed his eyes tightly, turning away a bit. ?[B]Stop![/B]? Darren opened his eyes to see another squad entering the room. ?[B]You idiot! Don?t you realize who they are?[/B]? The one who had been about to shoot Darren lowered his disruptor rifle and shook his head. ?[B]That woman is none other than Commodore Sandra of the flag ship Creator and a candidate for the High Council as well as being the daughter of one of the current members of the High Council. And he,[/B]? the man pointed at Darren. ?[B]Is the shipping expert for the entire Versilan Empire.[/B]? ?[B]I?m sorry sir,[/B]? the man mumbled. Not sounding sorry at all as he shot Darren a glance filled with hatred. ?[B]Sorry doesn?t cut it. We?re pulling out since reinforcements are arriving.[/B]? ?[B]But sir,[/B]? he protested, ?[B]Surely we aren?t going to let them go?[/B]? ?[B]Of course not, they?re coming with us. Commander Daniel will want to talk with them.[/B]? He motioned to the men in his own team who came over and seized both Darren and Sandra. ?[B]Now lets get going, I?ll deal with you three later.[/B]? Darren did his best to not wince when they searched him and took his hand held computer. But he couldn?t help but grunt slightly from the pain in his side as his hands were forced behind his back to be bound nor from the shove to get him moving. [I]Lovely.[/I] He thought as they took him and Sandra, who was still unconscious and being carried back out into the main room.

He had heard that Crystal was known for being blunt and forward, but until a few days ago Darren hadn?t realized just how frank she really was. If it wasn?t for the impression he got that she genuinely cared about people?s welfare, that whole deal on the roof of the new medical building as well as the detailed questioning back in sickbay would have really annoyed him. And at the time it had, the last thing Darren had ever wanted was to discuss Jared with anyone, from the teasing to when he had interrogated him in regards to the earth woman Sara. Crystal insisted on knowing absolutely everything. Making it clear that he would not be leaving until he answered things to her satisfaction. And in the end, even though she had dressed him down a bit for not talking to the doctor over at the Creator about how frustrated he had been feeling, it had resulted in Crystal ordering some modifications to his quarters. It had taken a couple of days but now he had a small section with the same exercise equipment he had on his own ship. And judging from the way his workouts left him a little sore; it was obvious that he was slightly out of shape. Still it was nice to have the option available again. He had missed being able to workout. The simple stretches he had been doing just weren't the same. Darren turned his attention back to the reports Sandra had sent him in regards to the US. She had been working with the liaison and she wanted him to go with her in about a week when a meeting to address the lack of cooperation in regards to the shipping of that area was held. They kept telling her that what she expected wasn?t possible and she wanted him to determine if it really was a lack of cooperation as she suspected. And to that effect she had sent him all the information she had. Darren had yet to look everything over yet, but so far everything did point to them being misleading. Provided he understood their shipping methods properly. Then he closed those reports after a while and pulled up two messages that were waiting for him, one was from Mike, briefly explaining how the military still had him running between sectors four and one. The next one was from his sister Kerstin, who not only had arrived in sector one but also was settled into her new living accommodations. She would be starting classes in about a week. He couldn?t help but smile at how excited she sounded. And the pictures she sent showing the view from her room were as she said, quite beautiful. He sent off a brief reply thanking her for the pictures and then made a note to later check into the art she had published. Darren turned the workstation off and got up to get prepared to head down to Earth. The day was far from over and he needed to oversee some of the work being done. And then once that was done he still had a meeting with those he had finally chosen to work in his office in sector one. He stifled a yawn as he left his quarters to head for the nearest transport room. [I]Maybe I should ask Crystal for a day off when I have my follow up appointment, [/I]he thought. [I]I could certainly use a break. [/I]

[quote name='Anomaly']hmm.. I dunno. Something to pose in the main thread, I guess? And do you want to pick a sort of "theme" that our team will have? Serious/funny? Do you have a preference?[/quote]I assume that's what Sandy meant about posting profiles if we wanted. That it would go in our team thread. As for the other, don't know. We don't have to have a theme. I'm kind of curious to see what the others think. As well as what each person's idea is for our team on the quest.

I definitely think this challenge should be fun. And creating profiles seems like the way to go. On some level to make us seem more like a team, having information on the other characters would, at least for me, make it much easier for writing posts to fit the storyline.[QUOTE=Sandy][FONT=Garamond][COLOR=DarkGreen][CENTER][size=3]Theme One: [B]High Fantasy[/B][/size] The magnificent [B]Phoenix Heart[/B] had been the treasure of the [B]Aria Kingdom[/B] for centuries, but now the evil [B]Sorceress Morgwyn[/B] has stolen it to restore her youth. It is up to brave bands of heroes to start a quest to Morgwyn's castle and retrieve the royal jewel.[/CENTER][/COLOR][/FONT][/QUOTE]And since the starting story is a quest to recover a royal jewel, I'm thinking we could be a band of mercenaries who have gone after it to get the reward for recovering it. One would think that a precious treasure such as that would have a reward offered for who ever recovered it. And thus keeping us with our team theme as well. At least until Sandy changes it on us. ;) I do wonder about one thing though, if Sandy is going to change the themes on us I wonder if we are going to need to create new profiles or rather make alterations to the existing ones.

Hehe, fun stuff, sounds like things are going to get interesting again. So Daniel has a secret stash does he? I want one of those. lol Anyway, let me know if I got Crystal's responses all right Aaryanna so I can fix it if you need me too.

It was positively amazing at how smoothly things ran without the presence of the resistance in the UK. Without them disrupting and destroying things left and right, construction was quick and getting the shipping set up was turning out to be an easy task. They were into the fourth week of construction since the base in the UK had been destroyed and they were already well past the halfway mark for all the facilities that needed to be built. Things were going so well that Darren was spending a fair amount of his time back on the Creator in his quarters, requesting records now that nearly seventy percent of the Versilan Empire had been switched to the new shipping protocols. Unfortunately it seemed that the mysterious merchant William had caught on as fragmented reports with them had ceased. If they were still operating as a merchant it was under a new name and probably a forged one at that as very few fragmented reports were being encountered. So instead Darren started requesting older fragmented reports going back to when the changes he had recommended nearly thirty years ago had been put into place. It was rather interesting piecing the parts together. By back tracking where the reports had occurred he had created a time line that linked William to being in the area for quite a few incidents when the resistance was highly active. And in nearly every sector as well. Including the recent attack in sector six and four. William it seemed had been a member of the resistance for quite some time. It was a pity that tracing the activity back further wouldn't be possible. But what had shocked Darren the most was when he found fragmented reports from when apparently he himself had delivered three different shipments of the crystals needed for their technology to him. But it had been so long ago, back when he had first started as a merchant, that he simply could not remember what William looked like. In the end it didn't matter and once he was done collecting the data he would hand all of it over to the High Council. Someone was sure to find the information useful. A chime reminded him that he was due to join Commander Crystal down at one of the medical facilities in the US. She had asked him to come and oversee setting up shipments of the needed medical supplies to the facilities being built. Darren could have given the job to one of personal at the shipping facilities in Australia since the supplies for now would be transported directly from them, but instead he chose to transport down himself, if only to take a break. Crystal already had a security team with her so other than to notify Jared, who was in charge of security for him, he was not required to take anyone down with him. When Darren arrived at the transport room to head down he found that he was actually looking forward to it. He nodded politely to the transport technician who having already been briefed opened a door for him immediately. And then he quickly stepped through. Crystal along with her security team was waiting for him in front of one of the newly constructed medical facilities. "[B]Thank you for coming Darren,[/B]" She said. "[B]If you'll follow me I'll explain exactly what I need.[/B]" Darren pulled out his hand held computer to take notes. "[B]I'm ready.[/B]" Crystal nodded and then turned and briskly took him through a tour of the building, explaining how things would run. What needed to be done and what should go where, until an hour later, when they had walked through the entire building they were finally finished. Then after motioning for the security to wait at the entrance to the roof, Crystal took him outside and to the other side of the building. Close enough that the security could still see them, but not close enough to actually hear them. Puzzled, Darren waited to see just what Crystal wanted. "[B]I need to ask you something Darren and I intend to be blunt.[/B]" [I] What could she possible need to ask me?[/I] Darren wondered. "[B]It's simple, the doctor on the Creator tells me that you are stressed, enough that were you an officer he would be pulling you from active duty. As a doctor I need to know just what is going on since I have been asked to evaluate you as well to see if there is anything that needs to be done.[/B]" Darren turned away before answering, trying to keep the bitterness from his voice. "[B]Just look at my file and see how I was dragged into this mess Commander. Your answer is there, you don't need to ask me.[/B]" "[B]Wrong.[/B]" Crystal asserted, causing Darren to turn back. "[B]I have already checked into how you were initially caught in a restricted sector, given the choice to work for the military or be held accountable. Just as I have seen the file on how you were given no choice but to accept the position as the shipping expert for the High Council. Those things are stressful, but I think there is more to it than that.[/B]" "[B]If you think there is more, then why don't you tell me what it is?[/B]" Darren snapped a bit, annoyed that the [I]damn[/I] military was being concerned over stress that [I]they[/I] had caused in the first place. "[B]Very well, I think that most of your frustration comes from being sexually harassed by Jared.[/B]" Crystal folded her arms and gave him a look that clearly said he was being stupid by acting like there was nothing else. Darren paled at her words and then he became angry. [B]"If you really think that then why is nothing done to stop it? He knows I am not interested in him and yet he still persists in...[/B]" Darren stopped, swallowing hard. He wasn't sure if he should continue. Complaining about Jared could make things worse. "[B]Stop him? What do you take me for?[/B]" Crystal told him. "[B]The two of you are adults and unless Jared is breaking the law I do not interfere with how he behaves, even if I find it distasteful. Our laws our not as strict as the ones here on Earth were about consent. Unless there is a severe violation of another person's rights most cases are ignored.[/B]" Darren laughed bitterly. "[B]Then why are you bothering to even talk to me? If I understand you correctly you're saying he can do pretty much anything he wants and there's nothing I can do about it.[/B]" Crystal sighed, "[B]On some level that is true, however that doesn't mean I can't do something to help you cope with the stress. And I can and will dress Jared down if I feel that he is causing you undue stress.[/B]" He tried to hold it in but he couldn't. "[B]I don't believe you. Why would Jared even listen to you? Or better yet, why would you dress down someone who cares about you?[/B]" "[B]That would not stop me. If you don't believe me ask him for yourself. One of the very first things I did when I came to serve on the same ship with Jared was to point out what an idiot he was when it came to how he liked to amuse himself.[/B]" Crystal said sternly. "[B]In the mean time, you are coming with me to sick bay for an evaluation and then we are going to prepare a means for you to deal with the stress.[/B]" Darren started to protest but Crystal cut him off. "[B]That's an order Darren, don't make me pull rank on you.[/B]" Darren could tell from her irritated look that she meant it. He sighed. "[B]Fine.[/B]" And then he followed her back to where the security was waiting.

[quote name='cancer][SIZE=1][COLOR=Navy][SIZE=1] Does anyone here have any advice for me? I really need advice now more than ever.[/SIZE][/COLOR'][/SIZE][/quote]Start preparing for the next time they admit students, you know, just in case you don't get in. Even with everything you say you're doing, I'm sure you're not the only student applying late. So it wouldn't hurt to start getting things ready for the next round of admissions. That way if things don't work out you won't miss it when it comes up again.

No they do not have to be graphic. The mature rating is really meant to cover the fact that there will be a lot of death in this game. But the actual deaths do not have to be done in a gory or graphic manner, or rather it's not necessary to write all the details. So implying things would work just as well. ;)

[I]What the hell was I thinking?[/I] Darren thought with exasperation once Jared had left. It had been embarrassing and hard enough to actually thank him, but then he just had to go and misinterpret what Jared was thinking when he was looking at him. He just had to open his big mouth and give Jared an opening. But then how could he not respond? He was far too use to Jared?s sly responses and self-satisfied smug looks. Darren stood up, angrily taking his top suit jacket off and then tossing it to the floor, disgusted that the simple touch of Jared?s hand even on the outside of his tunic had caused all sorts of unpleasant feelings as well as the very real panic that he would do more than what he had done. Making Darren feel as if the simplest thing would cause him to snap. Something that Jared had made worse when he had told him that he found him attractive and desirable. Darren shuddered. [I]Maybe I should have agreed to work from sector one like the High Council wanted. [/I]He thought. But even that wouldn?t help his present situation since that wouldn?t have happened until after the deal with Earth was taken care of. [I]I?m such an idiot,[/I] Darren thought miserably as he took a seat in one of the over sized recliner chairs and then took a deep breath to steady himself. Only to shudder again as he remembered Jared?s smug expression when he had accused him of assuming he wouldn?t enjoy the experience.[I] Just because Jared can force someone?s body to respond doesn't mean that they truly enjoy what he does to them![/I] Darren got back up and walked over to the window overlooking Earth. Resisting the urge to bang his forehead on the window in frustration. At that moment the message received chime sounded and Darren quickly seized on the opportunity to do something else to get the visit from Jared out of his mind. He opened it up and the smiled when he saw that it was from his sister Kerstin. But then a moment later he was stunned as he read through the details of her arrangements in Sector One.[I] How in the world can she possibly afford that? [/I]He thought as he pulled up the picture to the terra formed moon, one that unlike the others that circled the home world that was the center of the Versilan Empire was quite different. [CENTER][IMG]http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/6295/sectoroneob4.jpg[/IMG] [SIZE=1]Copyright [URL=http://sakiera.deviantart.com/][U][B] Sakiera @DeviantArt[/B][/U][/URL] [/SIZE][/CENTER] The third moon or Reflection as it was referred to among the artist community, was elaborately constructed of a material that looked similar to common glass. Giving it a rather unearthly and strange look from all the reflections of light. Not only was it a popular tourist attraction, but to study there at one of the art universities as well as actual living accommodations was unbelievably expensive. But then as he read further into her brief letter, he paused when he realized that she was thanking him. [I]What is she thanking me for?[/I] He wondered. Darren closed the message and looked up the details for Kerstin?s arrangement and then understanding slowly dawned on him. Not only had Jared made sure she had the necessary clearance to contact him when ever she wished, but he had changed her status to the only living relative who was considered part of his family. Something that he had forgotten would entitle her to certain privileges, including the one that would grant her entry to schools and certain living accommodations at a greatly reduced rate. Darren sighed, [I]yet another thing I need to thank Jared for[/I]. Though seeing that he had just done so he wasn?t going to say anything to him. Darren closed the message and then bent over to pick up his jacket from off the floor. [I]I?d better put this away before someone comes and sees it on the floor.[/I] He got up and took it into his bedroom and then paused to grab a new one and put it on. He walked back out and over to his desk, picking up the data chip Jared had left as he sat back down. He had forgotten about the stuff his family would be entitled to due to his position. Embarrassing or not, he was grateful that Jared had seen to the necessary arrangements. If only to keep his father from trying to use it to his advantage something he was sure his father had tried to do immediately. With another sigh Darren inserted the chip into his workstation, the sooner he finished here at Earth, the sooner he could get away from Jared.

[QUOTE=Sandy]I'll be joining this as well, if Rach so chooses. ... What the heck, he'll pick me anyway, or else I'll take my copyright back! ;P[/QUOTE]No danger there *picks Sandy along with the other two entries* Nothing like having the original creator around to spice things up! And to make me nervous at the same time! lol

[QUOTE=Lunox][color=dimgray] It's just that settling for a college I know I'd get into (in my case it's UGA or Emory) bothers me. I want to get the hell out of Georgia, mostly. I'm just stressed that there's a huge chance I won't get into my top choice school and I'll have to settle for some other university that hasn't caught my eye as much as NYU has. [/color][/QUOTE]I know what you mean, in my case it wasn't too bad since I didn't have a huge desire to get out of the state I currently live in, even though there are much better music programs at other universities.[quote name='Lunox][color=dimgray'] One of my friends got a 2360 on her first try, and then put me down by saying that studying for the SATs is like cheating, because it's "supposed to be natural intelligence". I know that's a bunch of BS, but after years of being around these freakish and lazy geniuses it's really gets to you. [/color][/quote]No offense to your friend, but if they are saying garbage like that to you, they aren't much of a friend. If it was 'natural intelligence' as they put it, we wouldn't need schools since we would already know the information we are learning. BS indeed. Anyway, either way I hope you do get into the school you are aiming for. ;)

Probably the only one I'm looking forward to is Spider Man 3 since I really enjoyed the first two. I'll probably end up seeing the others since my friends and I end up going to the movies nearly every weekend. Hopefully at least some of them will be good.

[quote name='Lunox][color=dimgray']I hate how it's getting harder to get into top colleges every year, and admission rates are going down every year.[/color][/quote]That I couldn't say since I'm currently working towards my Masters so getting in at this point isn't really a problem for me. However I do know that if you have several top colleges in mind and you don't get in the first try, especially when it's a college that gets more admissions than they have room for students. I'd try for a more local college to start with. Anyway, what I'm getting at is you can also check with the school to see just what they take as far as transfer credits go, I've got plenty of friends who went to the community college first got some of the basic stuff out of the way and then transfered to a different college later. Plus if you had bad grades in High School, working on getting better grades for when you transfer makes a difference. At least here it does.

[QUOTE=BKstyles][FONT=Tahoma]Noteable additions: -Dog haters -Ignorance -Raisin Cookies >.>[/FONT][/QUOTE]I'll second those additions, especially since we always had dogs when I was growing up. I can understand not liking them, but hating? Also, Raisin Cookies are one of the nastiest things on Earth. There's nothing worse than eating a cookie only to realized that the dark spots are raisins instead of chocolate chips. Something that often happens when you're over at a friends house and the plate of cookies for everyone is mixed.

Congratulations everyone! I wasn't sure who Sandy would pick since each entry had some really strong points. ;) Not that I'm complaining!

[quote name='Darren']YAY! I was sad that I missed Labyrinth in the events section whenever Sandy held it... I'm glad that I won't miss out on this one as well.[/quote]Heh, same here since it had started before I joined the boards. [QUOTE=Darren]I sent you the sign-up, but I may have added too much information. If and when you decided to hold this (granted that I'm accepted) feel free to edit my info if I provided way too much! :D [/QUOTE]No it was fine. If I do edit it, it will only be to better match other entries. If everyone is putting very little I may trim it so it won't look out of place, though I'll send it to you to see what you think if that should be necessary.[quote name='Darren']I'm just a little curious: What's going to be different from Labyrinth? So far, besides it being a different setting and characters and such, it all seems spot on. So can you tell us or are you wanting to keep it a secret???[/quote]Well some of it is a secret, but one major difference will be in how the life cards work. I noticed in the previous game that having people use a life card just made them a target to the other players. Since who else would you bring back to life but your own character? So this time, even though life cards will be given. They will be completely secret. You won't even know who got one. What they will do at the end of each round is decide who to bring back (they will send me a pm saying who they want revived) and I will revive the character in a post. Thus helping to protect the identity of the creator of the character. Making it harder to know who to eliminate to win the game. Also, I intend to put identical borders on each picture so no one will stand out by having a different border. In the last game I noticed two pictures had a black pixel border. Making it fairly obvious that they were probably submitted by the same person. So by putting matching borders on all of them that will help avoid that problem.[quote name='Aaryanna][COLOR=DarkRed']I like how you've left it more open as far as the type of characters one can have. Only because I think that will make it more interesting. I assume that's instead of the characters having powers? [/COLOR][/quote]Yes it is. The powers idea was fun, but it doesn't really fit the meaning behind the maze.

[CENTER][IMG]http://img363.imageshack.us/img363/8655/themaze01dl7.jpg[/IMG] [/CENTER] Somewhere, or perhaps nowhere, a group of strangers wake up to find themselves in what appears to be a laboratory. They don?t know how they got there or why they were brought to this strange place. They only know that they want to leave, to return to their homes. But there is no one to answer their questions and only two doors leading out of the room. What lies behind the doors? Does it lead to whoever brought them there? The only way to find out is to step through and see just what lies on the other side. However, do you go it alone? Or do you decide to team up with others in your quest to find out what happened? Because behind the two doors leading out are fantastic wonders as well as lethal hazards. As well as the bones of those who have failed to escape the Maze. Something they will realize as one after another dies in the attempt to find the way out. [CENTER]----------------------------------------------------[/CENTER] Welcome to the Maze. A place where strangers from all over the galaxy, aliens and humans alike will wake up to find themselves in an unknown laboratory. Brought from not only different words and places, but different times as well. Past, present and even the future. Although this is based on the Labyrinth Event held last year by Sandy. It will be similar and yet different in many ways. There is no set amount for how many people can join. Each person who does will create two generic characters. Ones that other than their name, age, race and origin will have no personality. Since everyone will be able to control any character, their personality will develop within the game. And in the end only one or possibly two will find the exit to the Maze. [B]Here is how it will work:[/B] [B]1[/B] - In order to join I will need you to send me a pm with the profile of your two characters. [I]I will be providing the details for this later[/I]. However in addition to sending me a pm I would like you to post indicating your interest. Basically a post saying I sent the pm with the character information. Along with any questions you might have. Just to let others see how many have joined up. [B]2[/B] - All of the characters will be secret to everyone else, except for their creator and myself. The goal is to protect your characters as much as possible from the other players without revealing who their creator is as the goal is to get one of them out alive. [B]3 [/B]- The winner of course will be the player who?s character (or both characters) makes it out alive. Which means for every round you will be killing off each other?s characters. This can be done though traps, beasts, fellow players, pretty much anything you can imagine. When both of your characters die, at the end of the round you will be required to leave the game. [B]4[/B] - My role will be to create two fake characters, which will be known only to myself. They can be controlled like all the other characters; they can die like the others. However, I cannot kill and will instead revive characters at the end of each round. [B]5 [/B]- I will be using a type of card system where each player will be given one death card that must be used in the current round. Even if both of your characters die, you are not out of the game until the end of the round and I announce you are out, so you can still use your death card. Once I have revived someone, then I will announce if you are out of the game. [INDENT]When you use your death card, you will have to put it in your post like this with the picture of the character you want to kill:[/INDENT][CENTER][IMG]http://img371.imageshack.us/img371/629/deathcarduv1.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img363.imageshack.us/img363/6198/examplecharacteryv4.jpg[/IMG] [/CENTER][INDENT]I will do the same when I revive a character:[/INDENT] [CENTER][IMG]http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/2250/lifecardfl5.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img363.imageshack.us/img363/6198/examplecharacteryv4.jpg[/IMG] [/CENTER] There are other cards that I will be giving out, but for now I?m going to keep them a secret. I do promise you this, though they are similar, other than the death cards, they will work differently than they did in the labyrinth game this is based off of. [B]6 [/B]- There is no set pattern to the Maze. Anything you can think of can be encountered. The only thing limiting you is your imagination. And seeing that the characters will be coming from different parts of the galaxy, may not even be human or from the same time frame, there will be plenty that can be encountered. The only thing you cannot encounter is the exit. I will be indicating when the exit has been found. [CENTER]----------------------------------------[/CENTER] Now that you?ve read the rules it?s time to sign up! As stated in order to do so you must send me a private message with your two characters and then post saying that you have done so. [B]Here is what I am looking for:[/B] [B]Picture: [/B] Other than real pictures, anything is acceptable. I?d like them all to be 100 x 100 [B]Name: [/B] It should reflect where they are from. [B]Gender:[/B] One must be female the other male. [B]Age:[/B] How old they are. [B]Race & Origin:[/B] Any race through out the galaxy, either in the past, present or from the future as well as where they are from. However they do need to be humanoid, no dragons, angels, demons or vampires as they don't really fit the game. [B]Occupation: [/B] What is their job? And there you have it! If there are any further questions about signing up or in general just post them here. Also, special thanks to [B]Sandy[/B] for tips and suggestions as well as to [B]SunfallE[/B] for helping with the graphics.