|
Marco stood near the Garibah tree, just in front of the maze, his arms crossed as he kept an eye out for Tom. He couldn't see the others, but he knew they were there.
He felt jittery, like they always did back in the war before missions. He bit back the compulsion to crack a joke - he couldn't thought-speak one right now, and saying it out loud would look really weird if that just happened to be when Tom was coming along.
Course, Marco was sure Tobias would give them plenty of forewarning. Still - it didn't hurt to be cautious. Especially now. Especially when it was Tom. Marco had seen what Tom's death had done to Jake after the war: Tom's and Rachel's and those seventeen thousand Yeerks. He couldn't change what happened to those Yeerks, and who knew if Ax would be able to change things for Rachel when they got back to their world. If they ever did get back to their world. But here, right now? They could change what happened to Tom. Him they could save. And maybe that would save Jake too.
Marco waited. | |
|
It had taken some doing to convince Ax not to immediately hunt down Prince Jake's older brother and bludgeon him unconscious when Tobias told him that he was awake and infested on board. But once Tobias had managed it, Ax insisted that Elfangor be brought into their conspiracy. Not that he doubted Marco's ability to trick the Controller of course, but someone on the Command Staff should know.
He'd sent a locked and encrypted message to Elfangor over the comms, asking him to meet them at the Garibah tree. He trusted that his brother would realize that the matter was important based simply on that.
Ax shifted his weight nervously, his stalk-eyes scanning the area for anything out of the ordinary, though Tobias would probably spot an attack first. | |
|
At the Garibah tree, something unusual was happening. For one thing, Marco had decided to visit, and he never bothered with the tree unless he needed to talk to Ax or Tobias. For another thing, Marco had a rather odd object with him. Somehow, Marco had managed to find a birdie perch. And not just any birdie perch. It was quite possibly the most ridiculous birdie perch in the history of the multiverse. And Marco was currently dragging it over to a spot near the tree that had relatively less grass, and setting it up. Standing the birdie perch up straight, Marco then took out a hammer and four very, very long nails which he had also managed to find, and sat down next to the perch and began hammering each nail around the base of the perch. Which should at least keep it from moving around or getting knocked over. Sure, it wasn't so study that it couldn't be dislodged with some actual effort, like say, Tobias morphing polar bear and running over it in an angry rampage. But really, Tobias should realise that not removing the birdie perch was in his best interests. Because if that happened, Marco would then be forced to go and find one that was even uglier.When he was finished, Marco stood up and surveyed his handiwork with a smirk on his face. | |
|
Marco was lying on the grass under the Andalite tree, looking as if he'd just decided at random to plop himself down there. Though, if you could look closely enough, you'd be able to see him frowning, just a little, at the tree. This wasn't the best place for meetings. Too open. Too visible. Too much chance of someone just wondering by and wondering why they were up to. Sure, he trusted Tobias to notice anyone getting too close - but this place had anyone and everyone, and a whole range of odd abilities. For all they knew, there were people on board who could get past Tobias's sharp eyes.
But, Marco hadn't exactly found anywhere else that would work well either. And this was a place that Ax and Tobias came to regularly, so them coming here wasn't exactly suspicious. If anything, Marco was the odd one out. But hey, nothing wrong with wanting to lie down on the grass, huh? Or talking to his friends.
It was all too easy to slip back into paranoia and suspicion. Sure, there we no Yeerks and no apparent need for secrecy. But paranoia had got him through one war. It might get him through another. And everything about this was one great big mess of unknown quantities.
The really big question, though: how the hell were they supposed to explain to Ax his own future? "Guess what, the borg eats you. Try not to do that again if and when you go back." | |
|
Marco found the city to be an odd place. Well, everything on this ship was odd. But the hodge-podge nature of the city had it's own special brand of weirdness. It reminded him of the Nartec City, with their collection of ships and technology from various periods in history. Which was really unnerving, since the Nartec had also stuffed and preserved the crews of said ship. Regardless of whether they were actually dead yet.
But, he'd heard that Tobias liked to hang out near some tree that was here. And since he and Tobias needed to talk, he'd decided to come pay a visit.
Eventually, he found his to the clearing with the weird-looking tree. The tree looked a little familiar, actually... | |
|
Ax stood alone on the grass surrounding the Garibah that Stacy had abducted from his homeworld. The ship lacked the sunrise he needed to properly perform the morning ritual, but he had decided that the Garibah would make a more than adequate substitute.
< From the water that gave birth to us, > he began, dipping his right forehoof into the dish of water he'd brought with him. The lack of running water in the vicinity had been the second problem he'd faced. He wasn't particularly fond of the ritual, but he certainly wasn't going to perform them in a room devoted to waste elimination.
< From the grass that feeds us, > he continued, crushing a tuft of grass under that same hoof. < For the freedom that unites us, > he spread his arms wide and looked up at the branches of the Garibah and up further to the ceiling of Stacy's City. < We rise to the stars. >
Ax bowed low. < Freedom is my only cause. Duty to the people, my only guide. Obedience to my prince, my only glory. The destruction of my enemies, my most solemn vow. > Rising from his bow, he stepped into a fighting stance and drew his tail blade against his own throat. < I, Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill, Andalite warrior-cadet, offer my life. >
The ritual complete, he relaxed his tail and closed his main eyes. This was the part where he was supposed to meditated on the ritual and whether or not he was living up to it. He'd never been particularly good at that part, not being a big believer in the rituals to begin with. But he was an Andalite, and he did intend to be a warrior, to continue being a warrior, and so the ritual must be performed.
Perhaps it would give him some direction. | |
|
After having her injuries--as superficial as they were--treated in the medbay, Lyta had gone immediately to get some much needed sleep. Her encounter with the inquisitor in the sensorium had been grueling, nerve-wracking and painful. She'd suffered a multitude of bruises, several lacerations and one of her ribs had been cracked. However, she had thankfully survived. She had gone through what the Vorlons liked to call "the crucible" and she had come out the other side. She had, like all that had before her, come out changed. She had more doubts, more questions, more uncertainties than she had when she had gone in. But instead of doubts concerning her safety, questions of the superheroes humility, and uncertainty over whether she could trust them, all the new ones were about her.
This was why, when she finally woke back up from her rest, Lyta made her way down to the city and headed directly for one of the few places she had discovered that was peaceful here: the Garibah Tree. The tree under which she had first met Ax, the one that reflected a person's feelings back to them. And that was just what Lyta needed, for her emotions to be shown to her in the hope that, perhaps, she may gain some sort of perspective. | |
|
"And here is the edge of The City, where we have actual real-life toilets that don't look like those plants that eat bugs."
What? That was a VERY IMPORTANT part of the tour. And Paco wanted to wash all of the Yeerk-associations with the place out of his head so he could use it without getting the heebie-jeebies.
He pushed the door open and strode inside. "Also, please enjoy the complementary graffiti." | |
|
It was time to get a little more organized, share some information with each other. She had a talk with that bigface kid, Jaime, to see if he could do anything to shield them from Stacy's prying eyes and he said he had a few ideas, so a meeting place was chosen, and it was time to gather.
Cybil had a good authoritative, shouting voice.
"Everyone, listen up! We're meeting down in the city near that big tree. Grab whoever you see and get down there."
Indeed they were. People were starting to gather there.
[ooc: Instead of little subthreads, everyone post in one thread as people arrive. Try to keep the convo general, like everyone talking to each other, instead of devolving into private conversations.] - Tags:!location: the tree, !plot: pest control, 2, ax, briareos, christofel, connor macmanus, cybil bennett, danny phantom, jaime reyes, jono starsmore, kate bishop, kon-el, leela bricker, lyta alexander, mr. wednesday, murphy macmanus, nathan petrelli, paco, pat and toxin, robin, sam winchester, scorpius, speedy mia dearden, terry mcginnis, the doctor, the flash, tony stark, vincent amorason, william hudson, xander
| |
|
The place was massive, there was no denying that. And despite her time on the Vorlon homeworld, and her service to the Vorlon Ambassador Kosh, Lyta couldn't help but to be impressed. Granted, there were parts of the ship--Stacy, as she called herself--that were unsettling, some downright terrifying, but then there were places like this, the city, that seemed to bring her some comfort. Perhaps it was the churches, the temples, many of which seemed to have been ripped right from Earth and reconstructed here. Why someone would go to the trouble to kidnap all these people, snatch them up without their consent, then only to provide them with a place they could retreat to seemed more than a little odd. Like, despite their abduction, Stacy wanted to make sure than none of them had a reason to miss church.
She didn't know how much time had passed since she'd woken up, or even how long she'd been down in the city, exploring the many buildings that lay beneath its artificial sky, but it seemed like forever. It was almost like a lifetime ago, already, even if it had been only a few hours at most. It was like time worked differently here than it did everywhere else, especially on Babylon 5.
Slowly, she meandered the streets, looking up at the large structures around here. She paused in front of some, taking time to enter a few, but always she continued on, moving aimlessly along the path. Finally, she came to a clearing, an area of grass--the only she'd seen thus far--with a large tree in the center of it. She quirked an eyebrow, stepping onto the grass to get a closer look. The tree itself was unlike any tree she'd ever seen before, on Earth or the Vorlon home world. It was shade of blue and, as she circled it, appeared to be completely symmetrical. Each side was the exact same as all the others. It was as if it had been constructed rather than grown, even though it was plain to see that it wasn't a statue at all and appeared to not only be completely natural, but living as well.
ooc: open, anyone feel free to tag in!:) | |
|
|