It should not be possible, but the Hikari Studio looked worse than it did when Tsukasa started working on it. The door had fallen off of the frame entirely after an attempt at replacing its hinges; there were medium-sized holes in the roof where there had once been small ones, and a large hole in the wall that had some rather poor attempts to put in.

So when he noticed the advertisement on the Omnicomm though, he put in a reply. The amount of work he done was not reflected in the current results, so an attempt at branching out and pulling in an expert made sense.

While he was waiting for Xander to arrive, though...a(nother) section of roof collapsed, making one of the holes even larger. Tsukasa glared at said hole for a bit before announcing to the heavens, "You're enjoying this, aren't you?!"

Evangeline had made her home on the ship at the Chateau d'If; not the dismal island fortress to which the name properly belonged but the private rooms of the author who had made it famous. Most important to the reclusive mage was the out-of-the-way location far from the most densely-populated parts of the city, but the history and style of the building appealed to her as well. It had a cute, compact appearance not unlike that of her residence on the Mahora grounds which, while in every way inappropriate to her fearsome reputation still suited her tastes just as well as the grand and imposing castles she had once raised.

But now the picturesque grounds were marred by the terrible light of her magic, flickering weirdly as it arced to and fro, and the air was filled with the strange keening wail of densely-accumulated magical power. And above that there was one more blatantly sinister sound: the recognizably human screams of the subject of the great spell, her luckless apprentice, Negi. The site of the ritual was no less alien; master and apprentice were both suspended in air above the great circle she had formed, Negi in his agonies and Evangeline in deep concentration.

She'd had ample time to consider her approach while the boy recovered to a state she thought sufficient to withstand the rigors she had most definitely intended to put him through, but she would not simply be implementing a preexisting design. She was dealing with a living system, in more senses than one, and though she was intimately familiar with the theory behind Magia Erebea she had never intended it for use by a human, or indeed anyone other than herself, and its expression in Negi was not something she understood in detail. She would still have to think on her feet, as it were... in fact, it would be as great a challenge as anything she'd done in decades, she expected. For that, the chance to revisit her greatest work, she could almost thank Negi.

[Though this is supposed to be somewhat out-of-the-way anyone who wants to come complain about Eva's less-than-stellar bedside manner/nuking small children is welcome]

A crashing of wood and metal resounded as the patches Tsukasa had used to cover the holes in the Hikari Studio's roof fell apart, their contents spilling into the small photo studio/home. He sighed, since this was not the first time this had happened since he had gotten back aboard. "This is such a pain...why aren't these things staying on?!" He yelled,throwing his hammer at the ground.

He slid toward the ladder, and climbed down toward the ground. "A break will do me some good." He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. He went over to lean against his motorcycle and assess the repairs he had actually finished to the Hikari Studio. It...wasn't much. The door still hung off its hinges, and there was a large hole in the outward-facing wall.

Morale was high, and everyone had their share of fun, but now it was time to part ways with Zokez II.

As everyone made their way back to the spaceport to be picked up, they could see the Obs Deck waiting for them with ramp open, and large tendrils eagerly moving vehicles and cargo back aboard.

It's about time to say goodbye to this planet...but fate, it seems, has other ideas.

[OOC: PLOT BEGINS! Here's how it goes: A handful of techies and a couple fighty people (as escort) will be on the reactor end of this part of the plot, while everyone else can help out with the evacuation.]

[OOC pt 2: Also, sorry, it apparently wasn't clear that they hadn't actually gotten back onto the ship yet. Plot is obviously taking place on the planet.]

Down on the surface of the planet Zokez II, Stacy's erstwhile (and hopefully much more relaxed) crew began receiving messages over their comm rings and omnicoms.

||Shore Leave is now over, please return to the site for pick up. I repeat, Shore Leave is now over, please return to the site for pick up. I hope you have enjoyed your stay on Zokez II, but all good things must come to an end. Please return to the site for pick up. If you do not return, you will be left behind.||

She means it, too. Better get your butts back to the ship.

[OOC: Please thread amongst yourselves!]

Tsukasa sped along the highway of the planet; it was nice to get out and away from civilization for a while. It was getting close to sunset, too; the remaining light gave off pleasing colors over the skyline.

He passed a beach, one of seemingly hundreds on this world, and decided to stop and relax. So, he pulled the Machine Decader off the road and parked it in a convenient section of earth. Taking the time to set up a small fire, he stretched a little before deciding to watch the sunset. This is why I want to capture the worlds in my camera, he thought, watching the natural beauty that is a sunset. Since, no matter where you go in the Multiverse, a sunset is still one of the prettiest pheonomia in nature.

Most girls, when given the option, would rather go shopping for clothes. Even before she gained her powers, Cassie hadn't been much of a fan of that. Now that she could grow and shrink (sometimes involuntarily) it was just a bad idea. And until she could find any unstable molecules clothing was affordable (which would be never), it just wasn't going to happen. Well, she did buy a cute dress for the very rare occasion she might need one, and to wear if she went out later, but that was it.

But there was one thing she loved shopping for.

High tech, gadgets, the works. It was like candy. Currently she was lusting after staring at a set of magnetic bucky balls and was considering if there was enough tech on Stacy to justify buying it just to fool around with. She was all ready looking at some of the other gadgets with ideas on how to cannibalize them into parts.

But those bucky balls were awfully tempting. And come on, we all know Cassie likes her metal balls.

[This sucker is open to anyone who wants to go gadget shopping, you don't have to tag Cassie (although it'd be nice) if you don't want. I figured some people would want to send their characters over here anyway.]

It was nice to be out on solid ground, to breathe fresh and salt-tinged air, and to feel the real warmth of the sun on her neck and shoulders, Nanoha thought. She felt a very deep urge welling up within her breast to just take flight, to soar through an actual sky in the first time in months - and she had no doubt that she would.

But there were other things she had to take care of first. Like, for instance, swimsuit shopping with her best friend.

"Ooh, this store looks like it might have some cute ones!" Nanoha tugged on Fate's hand, pulling her towards one of the storefronts that lined this street of the bustling shopping district. Even if it didn't, there were still plenty of others to try, and plenty of cute outfits to convince Fate to try on.

(ooc: It might help to have just one thread for ALL YOUR SHOPPING NEEDS? Feel free to tag in and mingle, if you're shopping for clothes, groceries, games, whatever!)

Tsukasa, despite getting a little lost doing some additional exploring, actually made it to his destination: A hardware store.

"Let's see..." He said, running through his mental list of supplies. I'll need something akin to nails, hammers, wood, shingles, roof tar...I think that's it, but I better see if there's anything else I need.

He headed in, fully intending to stimulate the local economy with purchasing items.

Eventually, the Obs Deck made its way through the planet's atmosphere. There was a notable lurch, and then gravity returned to the Obs Deck.

Several minutes pass, and there was a loud thoom as Obs Deck landed. A large section of wall opens up to become a wide access ramp, revealing the bright, blue sky.

As the crew stepped out of the Obs Deck, they could see that they were on a landing pad of some sort. To the side, they could see another hatch on the side of the Obs Deck pod open, with large tendrils reaching inside and pulling out the vehicles Stacy mentioned earlier.

Out in the distance, they could see a large, technologically advanced city, and even further down they could see the long tracks of beach, filled with hundreds of tourists of all different species.

As they stood around, taking in the sights, a rather perky looking, green-skinned alien attendant came up to greet them.

"Greetings, everyone!" she said. "Welcome to Zokez II! My name is Kyzket, and I'll be your liaison for the duration of your stay. I'll have to ask everyone to please leave any weaponry you may have on your person aboard your vessel, as all weaponry is strictly forbidden on the planet's surface."

"Your ship's AI has already handled all the booking, and has keyed your communicators to have a line directly to my own if you need any help."

"Now, does anyone have any questions?"

[ooc: IT BEGINS! After this post, everyone is free to post their own threads on-planet. HAVE FUN GUYS.]

Suddenly, the usual relative peace of the ship is disrupted by a rather loud announcement from Stacy.

||Attention, Attention. All personnel please report to the Observation Deck. Attention, Attention. All personnel please report to the Observation Deck. Attention, Attention, all personnel...||

It's entirely likely that she won't stop repeating the announcement until, well, everyone reports to Obs Deck. The mouth in the huge statue on the wall opens, revealing a screen. On it, the dossier for the mission flickers into display, understandable to every person there. Smaller copies of the dossier appear in holographic form in front of everyone.

The planet's stats, right next to a rotating picture of it, blue with thousands of small islands just barely visible, are as follows:

( Mission Dossier )

--

...Waitaminute. That's no mission.

It's a goddamn vacation.

[ooc: SHORE LEAVE IS GO.]

Tycho was glad the squadron had so many new recruits, and he certainly didn't mind the sizable increase in his work-load that went along with it. After all, that's what his job as squadron XO was; making sure everything was organized. Still though, when it came down to it, Tycho was a pilot. He felt far more comfortable in the cockpit of a fighter than he did anywhere else.

Today, today he could use the distraction of some demanding piloting. Today, he wanted to go fast.

The sensoriums resolved themselves into the familiar hanger bay of the Mon Cal star cruiser Home One. The atmosphere was tense, buzzing with the familiar adrenaline high of before a major battle. With a grin, Tycho hoisted himself into the cockpit of his temporary ship, an A-Wing. Expertly, his fingers flicked over the controls, even as he logged into his squadron's com channel. "Green three has four lit and ready when you are," he informed Green Leader. Then they were off, forming up in a screen with the other fighters, ready to make the short jump to Endor.

Back in realspace, the fighter screen streamed towards the half finished Death Star, until there was Lando's voice on the coms, barking at them to pull back. It was a trap, the Death Star's shields were still up- even knowing it was coming, Tycho's stomach still clenched. But now, now here's where the fun part came in. He allowed himself a small smile as his craft turned to engage the oncoming wave of TIE-fighters. His A-Wing danced, his A-Wing soared, and TIE after TIE met their ends.

Tycho was a different pilot than he had been at the actual Battle of Endor 9 years earlier. He was older, more experienced. Still, he got the same joy out of flying that he always had, that same feeling of this is what I was meant to do.


[OOC: if anyone wants to come in and observe the battle, or hop in another fighter and join in, that's cool! Tycho's mostly just vapin some Imps to blow off steam. If you're not familiar with the Battle of Endor (the fight against the second Death Star) the video is here]

The music attached to a MP3 player scavanged from W&P was blasting in Rein's house, some kind of silly J-Pop that she had immediately liked. Having hooked it up to her stereo she had also discovered in said location, she was zipping around the store, looking for her tape measure.

She hadn't done any tailor work in a while, so it was definitely something to look forward to. And snapping her fingers, a slender girl of four-eleven stood there, zipping to the back and soon coming out in a tribal-like top and skirt, something she liked to lounge around in when she could afford to wear her big-person clothing. That, and the extra arms reach was more than encouraged when doing work like this.

"Hope this is alright," said Rein to herself, fingering the soft cloth that she had hanging around. There was a huge bundle of various fabric all rolled together in the corner, and a large roll of black cloth stood there, awaiting use.

Another day, another class. Just more than a month and a half had gone by since Ronon and Kang had started their classes. And it's taken them this long to notice slight improvements as a whole.

Ronon and Kang stood at the front of the gathering crowd while looking out for new faces from the latest 'pod pop.' There was a lot they had to get through today, especially for the new folk. Turning to his scaled friend, he sternly nodded ready to start the class. It looked like everyone who was interested had made it on time. Latecomers beware. Mind you, class has started 10 minutes early.

[Things to be covered!

Hand to hand as always. More Sword training. More shooting practice and gun maintenance. Gotta keep those guns clean.

Previously!

April 26 - May 9: Basics of hand-to-hand, proper knife and sword handling. Important points: Eye contact with an opponent at all times, prevention of telegraphing moves, breathing, learning to read an opponent and spot weaknesses. Most of it so far has been defensive rather than offensive.

May 10 - May 23: More hand-to-hand, basic offensive moves with knives and swords, basics of guns.

May 24 - June 6: Basics of hand-to-hand, shooting practice with handguns and knife and sword training. It was the start of more offensive training.

Notes!

Ronon's pissed with the news of a Yeerk running free on board. Don't. push. him. on this if you know what happened the last time there was a Yeerk incident or your face will make friends with the floor. And Kang is still pissed by what the Ohm did after getting his memories back. Good luck unsuspecting students >:D

Also there is an OOC post here about the warfare classes.]

"Right, let's try this one more time." Wyn mutters to herself, resetting the automatic tennis ball launcher. The tennis ball launcher and several translucent displays were the only things in the otherwise featureless white room, and (rather unusually) Wyn was still wearing her plantsuit. She was determined not to skew the results of her testing by using the Sensorium unnecessarily, even though she suspected that she couldn't actually do much to change the outcome so far.

Wyn walks back to the duct-taped line on the floor, locking the large silver bracelets on her wrists in place as she walks. "And… take 37." she says with an irritated grimace. hitting two buttons on the display closest to her. The tennis ball launcher fires, sending a tennis ball flying at Wyn's head-- and by extension, the door to the outside behind her. Now would be a very good time to not distract her, unless you'd like to be whacked in the head by a flying tennis ball.

"Mr. Sulu, bank to starboard and put us in between the transports and the pirate vessels. Engineering, divert power to the phaser banks, that oughta scare 'em off."

The aye ayes come in unison and the viewscreen flares red as the Enterprise opens up on the cluster of smaller assault cruisers. The two forces exchange fire for some minutes, but the pirate detachment soon realise they are outgunned and break off their attack.

"Mr. Scott reports crew and passengers of the transport fleet have been beamed aboard and escorted to sick bay, captain," Chekov reports inexplicably and coherently in the Queen's English, "Shields are at eighty nine percent, hull is undamaged and primary systems are fully funtional."

Uhura swivels in her chair to ask, "Permission to speak freely, captain?"

"Permission granted."

"Might I say how devastatingly handsome you are today?"

"You may, but let's save it for a more convenient time," Jim replies smugly, "Dr. Chapel, what's say you finish this up and attend to those refugees?"

Chapel, diligently kneading those pockets of tension out of the captain's shoulders, replies, "Reports received suggest only minor injuries sustained, and nurse McCoy is perfectly capable."

"Oh, if you insist. A little to the left..."

The chimp at the science officer's console with the blue shirt and the 'kick me' sign taped to his back scratches his head and says, "Ook ook!"

Kirk, jostled slightly by the massage, nods and replies, "Excellent. I don't know what I'd do without your insight, Mr. Spock."

Starfleet so needs the schematics for one of these sensorium things...

Amidst all the hubub of all the recent additions to the crew, Stacy suddenly stops whatever she was doing at the time across the ship to make an important announcement.

||Warning, general notice to all crew: One of the recently released crew mates, John Connor, has stolen a number of pieces of weaponry from the armory. It also appears he is mentally and emotionally unstable at this point in time. As he is armed and likely dangerous to the crew, it is highly recommended that the crew at large avoid him if at all possible, and that security teams be sent to secure him and the weaponry.||

||It seems he is currently down in the city, but as my sensors down there are still damaged, I cannot track his exact location.||

||Good luck, and be careful.||

Decade leaned against his Machine Decader, recalling the small amount of research he had done into the Blue Ranger.

After seeing the training sessions Mr. Cranston was in, he needs some help. Since we're generally similar in powers and abilities, what works for me should work for him. If not...well, I'm sure this place has excellent safety protocols.

He stretched, waiting for the Blue Ranger to arrive.

Stacy's voice speaks over the whole of the ship. What she has to say has become very familiar over the the podlings have spent here.

||Pod Release Protocols Initiating,|| she says. ||Please proceed to the Observation Deck to meet your new crew mates.||

Those crew members that don't head to the Obs Deck on their own are hurried there via gentle but insistent tentacles. A few people stop by Engineering to help bring and pass out omnicoms and comm rings to the new crew members as well.

[ooc: Only new characters and Command Staff can start new threads for introductions, to limit the number of threads. Everyone else, just tag in and have your guys greet the newbies.]

The chairs and cushy meatseats in Obs Deck have been arranged in a wide circle. Between those and the floor, there should be plenty of places for the crew to sit and attend the meeting.

Aang has asked Stacy for several things from the archives that he has access to. There isn't much she'll let him see, but there are one or two things he can share with the crew.

There he sits in the center of the circle, legs folded in a lotus position, waiting for everyone to gather around him. Cargn stands near him--although it would be more accurate to say he looms over the bald monk.

"Hi everybody! When everyone's here, I'll get started."

[ooc: Comment under the Intro subthread to establish characters being there and have them talk, and then Aang and Cargn will talk in the Answers thread. After that information is up, have characters ask new questions or start new discussions by starting a new subthread for each discussion/question.]