New Beginning 22: Once Upon a New Beginning...

[Celadon's Penultimate]

Hidalgo reaches over to the Penultimate for a handshake. An eyebrow raised, the Penultimate simply stares at the outstretched hand.

Incensed by Hidalgo's manner of speaking to the Vault, he forces back an angry frown, but as he shakes the great blue man's hand, still utters tersely, in perfect Pandoran Na'vi, "You're captain of the ship, not chief of the tribe. You might try acting with more tact, as suits your office."

In English, he simply says, "The pleasure is all mine. I'm the Penultimate."

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

Hidalgo raises an eyebrow, then half-turn to the Vault.

The Vault shrugs. "I have all the books on language in me, and I'm locked."

The alien snorts and spins the wheel as the ship grazes the atmosphere.

(Wulf, did you want a space encounter or do I land this thing?"

[Celadon's Penultimate]

(Something quick, easily dispatched, please. And robotic. We can deal with it as we land.)

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

(Oh cool, I get to design an encounter.)

"So, who've you-" The Vault starts to Hidalgo, only to be interrupted as an that looks like an old time powder keg that had gone out to a rave rolled into the room, throwing the door to the deck open. There was inexplicably a fuse attached to it, burning down like a sparkler.

"YAR-HARHARHAR!" Came a metallic laugh from outside.

"Oh no, not Rustbeard." The Vault says quetly.

Cervantes slams his hand on the counter and scowls. "I thought I handled him."

"You didn't hurt Rustbeard, did you!?" The Vault says, rounding on him.

"I only threw him down a hatch." Cervantes grumbles. "Tenacious bastard."

[Celadon's Penultimate]

(No problem. Any time you get an itch, just holler.)

"Rustbeard?" The Penultimate sighs, "I haven't had to deal with a robotic pirate since...since...well, I can't exactly recall. My Panmnesia ain't what it once was, what with the impending force of Computress' race weakening my powers and all. I remember robots. And I remember pirates. But nothing combining the two rings a bell at the moment."

Shaking the thought, Wulf throws his arms out to either side of him, and bursts all at once into crackling electrical power. He lobs a basketball-sized volley at the clunking metal space-sailor.

[Zaleramancer]

I grab the powder keg and start looking for a window.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

The ball of electricity streams out of the door to the helm, down the stairs and over the deck, lighting three things with it's crackling brilliance.

The first is the deck itself, a beautiful garden filled with wild flowers, marble paths crisscrossing and moving out into a distant forest. Most prominent in this area is a large statue of some female, regal looking alien the same species and Cervantes.

The second is the Pirate Himself. Rustbeard is obviously a robot of the "a bunch of boxes strapped together" school. Handily any bit of him isn't square or pointed. He's painted in stripped red and yellow, and bares a skull and crossbones on both of his shoulders and atop his black hat. One of his arms ends in a massive hook, and the other has its fat finger wrapped around the base of a cutlass sort of weapon. Except when he grips the handle just right, and the chain around the edge of the blade roars to life. He has a sort of slide in the middle oh his chest, and as you watch it opens up and another of those Rave Kegs rolls out to rest before it closes tight.

His beard is metal, and indeed rusty. He is the very model of a robot pirate overlord.

The third thing is a heathing, swarming mass of rats. Or at least, they look like some machine tried very desperately to make itself look like rats. Every time they open their mouths, a metallic screaming is heard, like a flock of circular saws. Some of the rats are attaching to one another, fusing together and changing. You can see a pair of legs here, a torso there.

Rustbeard laughs, and swings his hook behind him. A soft scream is heard, and the pirate hauls the hooded figure from before out on the end oh his hook. He expertly tosses him, and intersects the ball with his body.

"HA! YOU"LL HAVE TO DO BETTER THAN THAT MATEY TO KEEP US FROM FROM OUR WAYWARD SAUCY LASS! CERVANTES, I'LL BE HAVIN' THE SHIP!" He taunts.

The Vault comes over to the open door. "He got Mimics." He says.

"God damn." Says Cervantes. "I'll try and land while you handle that blowhard." The ship begins to descent to the surface of Aeon. "Keep him off me."

(Zale, there's a clear window in front of the main wheel, two on either side that are covered with some sort of defensive metal shutter, and an open door leading to the deck where Rustbeard is. There's also a hatch in the corner leading downward, but it's closed.)

[Celadon's Penultimate]

The Penultimate's ears close up to block out the whining buzz of the robotic rat things. Again, he lights up with crackling electrical power. This time, though, rather than using the electricity itself for an attack, it merely heightens his speed and reflexes. He jolts across the deck, with a sharp CRACK, hoping to get in a quick thunderpunch.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

"HAHA!" laughs the robot. He scoops the Rave barrel up in his hook and chucks it in the Penultimate path, fuse burning.

[The Narrator]

Areson:  A battle would happen before I introduce myself

Narrator: Yea, that would happen.

*sees barrel at Penultimate*

Areson:  Hey, PU, look out!

We have to get battle ready

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

A few more legs start to form as one of the fused mimics becomes complete. A perfect, miniature copy of Rustbeard bounds up the stairs toward the narrator, pipeing a tinny "Arrrr Matey" in rough imitation of the big man. Around it's ankles a swarm of Mimic rats run forward toward the Narrator as well.

There more Mimic Rustbeards are half complete out on the deck.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

"Oh, hey, waitaminute--!"

BOOM!

[Zaleramancer]

My armored body, slender despite the spikes and points and engravings in the black metal, was rather heavy which produced a certain lack of.. speed.

Click. Click.

Creeeaakk.

I swung open the door to the mayhem outside. The fuse was quite near the keg now.

Which a shrug, I spun my strength into a throw, sending the keg over the divide towards Rustbeard's ship.

A blast of fire flew from my hand towards it.

Everybody loves a cheap shot

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

"HAHA-HAHA! LET ME THROUGH LADS! I WANT TO HIT HIM WITH MY SWORD!" he says, extending his chain cutlass in the air and revving it. The Mimics part like the red sea as his chest cavity dispenses another bomb. He hooks this one as well, chucking it toward the bridge once more as he powers forward, bringing the screamin sword down on The Penultimate.

Behind him, three more Mimic Mini-Rustbeards are a third of the way formed, with another two starting. The Mimic swarm has been reduced by about half.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

(Rustbeared has no ship, he downstairs on the deck. Otherwise it works.)

The keg explodes in mid air, missing the pirate as he charges but landing in the swarm. The blast obliterates the forming Mimic Mini-Rustbeards and scatters the swarm. The swarm is now slightly below half density.

[The Narrator]

As the rats, and mini Rust beard surround Narrator, Areson, and Brain, they begin to come up with a plan.  

Can I take lead on this?

Narrator:  Certainly

Fantastic!  Increase humidity and decrease temperature.  Let's freeze these rats, and take on that miniature scurvy dog!

[Zaleramancer]

Oops

I.. do whatever it is infernal fires encased within armor do in place of blinking.

The ghostly ship vanished.

I must be catching interference somehow. That's never good.

I look at the pirate and ponder my options. Fire was a bad idea for rather obvious reasons. Punching was the only other thing this form was really good at, but I didn't want to take my chances with touching strange robots named after Rust while being mostly composed of metal.

I shifted uncertainly.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

The chill completely solidifies the rats, worming it's way into their circuits and shutting them down. The Mimic Mini-Rustbeard is still swing though, and swings it's hook right at the Narrators face.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

(Big Rustbeard is on the deck, charging Wulf. One Mimic Mini Rustbeaed is engaged with the Narrator on the stairs. The Swarm is at less than half density and is scattered.)

[The Narrator]

Narrator *addressing the miniRustbeard*:  You thinik that by getting me on the stairs you'd use my clusminess against me, but...  

*he trips down stairs tumbling down knocking M.R.B on the ground*

Areson:  You think he's dead?