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| All of the Stars in the Outer Space (Ch. 3b: Day 1b) http://sonic.spindash.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=196 |
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| Author: | Sheff [ Mon Apr 18, 2011 12:32 am ] |
| Post subject: | All of the Stars in the Outer Space (Ch. 3b: Day 1b) |
Miles above the blue planet's surface, past the clouds and the protective coat of ozone, was... vacuum. A cold, harsh, irradiated, interstellar wasteland just beyond the atmosphere, with oxygen nonexistent and inhabitable territories all around. Yet this did not prevent scientists, explorers, and now even tourists from reaching the starry landscape above, the multiple signs of mankind's travels to the stars now existent in the planet's orbit. Places to research, live, and even to entertain. One of such new locations, if one were to float in space from a distance, could possibly be mistaken for a new cluster of stars floating amongst the multitude of others in the vast sea of black. Yet, they were multicolored, brighter than any other celestial body, and looked, most of all, flashy. The Comet Trails Hotel was a new addition to the growing number of orbiting colonies, who's population had exploded in the past year following the first steps back into the mostly unexplored frontier. Some thought it to be a useless business venture, one that would surely fail due to the already growing prices of space-faring ships and the utter vulnerability of such a location. But, of course, its founder would never let such a thing occur under his watch, knowing quite surely he would be the first to make substantial profit in space, and if he failed... well, it wouldn't take much out of his fattened fortune. This person, much to simple assumption, was Vince. And, in a yet unstated set requirement, the hotel truly showed signs of its owner. Larger than any other man made object in the sky (except for a certain space colony), the Comet Trails Hotel was the sleekest thing past the atmosphere, having what was close to a top-like structure leading down to a single spire that pointed down to the planet below. The whole hotel seemed alive, meant to catch the eye and bring new light to the dark area of space, lights of all sorts of color placed accordingly around it, flashing periodically to a unknown beat; a technicolor light show in the middle of space. However, this wasn't the main appealing feature of the hotel. That just wouldn't live up to Vince's standards in any sort of way. The hotel, in fact, was a dazzling gold, reflecting whatever light beamed upon it. It was as if the colony itself was made of the precious metal, when, in actuality, it was simply colored in such a way that would make it even visible from the planet's surface, zooming across the night sky if one were to look. A new star, in a way. Where the exterior of the hotel was quite a sight, the interior lived up to that perfectly. Holding expansive rooms with all sorts of entertainment (zero-gravity squash ball was a new popular activity), suites for the better paying, floor to ceiling windows that showed the fantastic views of the Earth below, and, as needed, excellent service, the hotel proved to be quite the hot spot for tourists willing to escape Earth to live a week or two in the vacuum of space. Already, additions were beginning to be made, construction always occurring to expand the hotel's options. But there was one publicity event that was to occur quite soon. Just beyond the golden, orbiting colony, pinpointed bursts of light could be seen moving about, small figures flying around the emptiness of outer space. They seemed to be in a set area, twisting and turning sharply as the wove around each other, some going at much higher speed than others. Eventually, though, each figure paused, then turned and streaked across the starry background towards the hotel with bursts of ignition, making good time as they approached the colony. All of these spots happened to be a variety of people garbed in nearly form fitting suits, darkened visors across each of their faces as they traveled along in a somewhat close pack. They all rode upon a variety of vehicles, ranging from what looked like motorbikes lacking wheels to the typical boards, all fitted to travel smoothly through space, thrusters placed at certain angles for optimal control and to work properly in the weightlessness of space. One of the travelers veered away from the main group, doing a quick loop around an incoming shuttle that more than likely carried new attendees to the hotel. He was riding easily on a board, his suit a familiar green color, his helmet fitted specifically to hold his protruding quills. His movements were fluid as finished his loop and performed a quick corkscrew before blasting off towards the hotel in a new rush of speed, rejoining the other riders. Soon they came upon an open hangar near the bottom of the colony, their speed slowing as they gathered at the entry point. One by one, they passed into the interior, and as the hedgehog arrived, he felt the sudden tug of familiar gravity beneath him, and once he entered with enough substantial distance behind him, he hopped off his board. Eventually, the rest of the riders arrived in their varied gear, and the hangar's thick, metal door slowly slid down, blocking the view of the cosmos outside. The group waited patiently as the steady hiss of oxygen filled the room, and finally, within all their helmets, a signal beeped in unison. Hasty movements were made around the room as the people removed their head gear, faces being revealed left and right that were once hidden behind visors. Sheffer gave a quick shake of his head, his helmet always feeling compressed, but it was a price paid for the sake of oxygen and safety. Shuffling a hand quickly through his hair, he looked about the hangar, his eyes landing on many of his fellow racers that he would soon be competing with. Two weeks ago, most of them had been strangers, but now they were either established acquaintances or rivals after days of practicing in such a new habitat. It'd been a surreal experience, at first, trying to navigate a board through zero gravity, but the technology available and his determination helped Sheffer become well acquainted with the different form of racing. He, as well as the others, were set for the plans in store. Vince himself had conceived the competition which many believed to be a new attempt to make up for the disastrous end to his boxing tourney. The space race, or the Great Interstellar Cosmic Rush as it was now known, would be a new take on EX Gear racing as the people of Earth knew it. With the right strings pulled and the correct amount of money passed on, Vince had managed to "rent out" the area surrounding the infamous Space Colony Ark, designing what would be the competition's race course through the stars. It would be new, fresh, thrilling, and maybe even dangerous, but already the anticipation was set. Racers from every corner of the globe found their way to the hotel's remote location, determined to be the first to win such a inventive way of racing. Once registered and approved, training began, the beginnings clumsy, but now they were are well experienced after just over two weeks. Now, there they stood within the hotel's large hangar, their Gear at their sides, now waiting for a scheduled meeting; a simple rundown of the race that had been set to occur only hours from the current moment, and one that was open to racers and any spectators alike. searchindextag chapter3bsearch |
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| Author: | Kazz [ Mon Apr 18, 2011 1:19 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: All of the Stars in the Outer Space |
As the crowd took their helmets off, so did one of the more solemn-faced members of the congregation. However, it was a little hard to wear a constantly-sour expression when one's mass of hair was currently a disheveled rat's-nest. In two words: helmet hair. A sort of grimace crossed Rodolf's face. He tossed his head (his hands thoroughly occupied by his removed headgear and the EX Gear board held under the other arm) in some vague attempt to at least slightly undo the damage. He grunted in a sort of surrender. He scanned his surroundings and those around him. Two birds -- a peacock with a bike-type-gear, and a bird he couldn't quite distinguish presumably with skate-type gears -- chatted idly as they joined the mass of competitors; what seemed to be a shifty-looking dolphin and a stingray, the former with a bike and the latter with skates, stood apart from the rest. Two very peculiar hedgehogs -- one red, one purple, both wearing extremely odd clothes -- were gathering some attention a short ways away, with a sort of silent "are they supposed to be here?" vibe from everyone else, even though they both held boards. Even Rodolf raised his eyebrows for a moment. Rodolf's eyes lingered only on Sheffer, one of the only faces he recognized. Over the past two weeks, he had been... far from social. Not quite surprising, given his demeanor. At any rate, he strode up near said hedgehog, not looking at him; as he shifted his head-wear to be held in the same hand as he was using to hold his board, he seemed prepared to say something... But he was interrupted. "Outta the way!" Rodolf grimaced, and turn around to see a very short individual with a bike-type gear. This here meant he was still on said gear by the time most had dismounted, and seemed perfectly okay with ramming into people in the hangar. Ladies and gentlemen, enter the (Tasmanian) devil. Yes, it was Murdoch. Maybe he had some sort of passive-aggressive (or, knowing him, incredibly-active-aggressive) revenge to dole out on Vince for the interruption of the boxing tournament way back when. Or maybe he was here entirely to kick up trouble. Either way, he was making his presence incredibly known. Only when he was a good ways through the crowd did he get off his gear and looked forward, arms akimbo. He still smelled like beer. |
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| Author: | psikeout [ Tue Apr 19, 2011 5:18 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: All of the Stars in the Outer Space |
Dark grey and black smoke streamed through the hangar, pouring from a gear immediately behind Rodolf. Extreme Gear didn't even have combustion engines. This did not make sense. Regardless, the board clattered like a plank to a stop, and its rider, wearing a frumpy, dumpy orange space suit (patched with tape, no less), reached up to remove his big, scratched-up, silvery dome helmet. Alas, Juke owned no fancy, skin-tight racing biosuit; all he had was something that looked like it had come from the outer space equivalent of a pawn shop. The same was true of his gear, which, although a proper ZG gear, was large, hideously ugly (it was an extremely garish "yacht" type racer, with mechanized sail), painted neon green, fuchsia and yellow, and had a lot of bare parts exposed, including some kinda shaky lookin' high-pressure canisters that were welded to it, for whatever reason. Eyes watering from smoke, he fanned the air in front of his face and coughed raggedly as he began to storm violently toward the green hedgehog, taking care to shove Rodolf on the way to him, just to emphasize how angry he was. "Yyyoouuu lowly dirtbag," he began most politely, in a gritty, gravelly, forcibly low voice that sounded like a poor impersonation of another famous bat. "You wanna play rough, is that it? You wanna dance? Izzat it?!" What was this even about? "Do you know who I am, pincushion?" (Juke's ZG yacht meanwhile fell over in the background like a bike with a crappy kickstand.) Unfortunately, Juke had no idea who he was. And that there were in fact at least two other hedgehogs in the race, and that it was one of them who had nearly caused him to wreck (or, rather, were harmlessly nearby when he nearly wrecked himself, more accurately)—And that he'd never even remotely caught up close enough to Sheffer to have a chance to interact with him. But whatever. |
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| Author: | Sheff [ Tue Apr 19, 2011 9:40 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: All of the Stars in the Outer Space |
Whether he wanted to make a snide comment about the Tasmanian devil or attempt to ignite conversation with the long-maned unicorn beside him, Sheffer didn't have much chance before being introduced to what seemed to be his new winged aggressor. The bat's hasty introduction was unwelcome, and the hedgehog, at first, replied to it with an unamused look. His eyes flickered briefly as they studied Juke's choice of garb, then quickly over his shoulder to the smoking mess that was supposed to be a racing vehicle. Compared to the bat, Sheffer would be deemed well off for his equipment. His suit was nearly perfectly fitted for his height and weight, barely any wear or tear on it or his helmet, and the board under his arm appeared well-cleaned, showing the compassion he at least had for the sport. The bat, on the other hand.... the lingering smoke was all that was needed to gather an opinion. Waving a hand in front of his face in an attempt to whisk away the said smoke, the hedgehog gave a small cough as he glanced between bat and gear for a moment longer, finally addressing his question. "...a lost cause?" |
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| Author: | psikeout [ Wed Apr 20, 2011 3:44 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: All of the Stars in the Outer Space |
The bat looked like he was about to respond and give Sheffer incredible verbal comeuppance, but just as his mouth opened, he stopped, and squinted discerningly. (It was hard to see through such dark sunglasses, especially when his eyesight was already poor.) "..." He leaned over and peered around Sheffer, toward where a couple other aforementioned hedgehogs were located, one red and one purple. "Hnghk. You waste my time," he stated dead-seriously (albeit in a much more normal, nasal tone than the grunting he had just been making). Then, without further ado, he pushed past Sheff and went storming off toward the other hedgehogs. "Stupid hedgehog, not even the right hedgehog," he complained redundantly. Soon, he was pestering yet another spiny racer (and quite possibly still not the right one). "Yyyoouuu lowly dirtbag..." Yeah, probably a lost cause. |
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| Author: | Tony [ Wed Apr 20, 2011 7:08 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: All of the Stars in the Outer Space |
Nearby the obnoxious bat, another fellow participant tossed his own helmet off to the side, and replaced it with his own favorite hat. Just didn't feel right to the fennec fox to go on without it, it seemed. Vito rested an elbow over his propped up Gear, and gave most everyone within range a rather sour facial expression. In particular, one Juke the bat. "Eh, why don'tcher keep y' mouth shut, and just stay nice-n-quiet 'til this thing gets started, huh? You bother me, kid." He was mildly grouchy, himself. He was no real fan of the whole EX Gear thing, but per Vince's instructions, it was necessary to add himself to the roster this time around, to bolster participation, among... other things. Whether he won or lost, he was certainly promised compensation. That was good enough for him. So there he stood, waiting along with everyone else for the opening ceremonies, as it were. ... but man that bat was an eyesore -- and that went for his Gear, too. Vito made a mental note to go after him, specifically, once the whole event came underway.. |
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| Author: | Kazz [ Wed Apr 20, 2011 9:19 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: All of the Stars in the Outer Space |
"Assuredly a lost cause," confirmed Rodolf, still not looking at Sheffer directly, but watching Juke. The unicorn made a motion to dust himself off after being shoved by the bat, then scrutinizing the garish gear with a vague look of mixed disgust and confusion. He seemed to be making an estimate as for how long it would last before blowing up in its entirety. He'd give it a couple minutes of activity, at best. Regardless, he sighed, set his board and helmet down, gave a short "watch these for me" to the hedgehog, and strode after the bat in the technicolour-vomit space suit. Even if he was quite plainly a blundering idiot... "Do we have a problem?" Murdoch gave a sort of snort as he watched the bat, leaning nonchalantly on his bike gear. He seemed vaguely amused. "Looks like we got us a mobster," he muttered, eying Vito-- one could almost hear the italics in his sarcastic tone -- and then his attentions moved to Rodolf as he approached Juke. "And a boy-scout. F*$!kin' fabulous." He made a mental note to keep an eye on the unicorn. Meanwhile, the two above-mentioned hedgehogs looked between Juke and eachother, trying very, very hard not to laugh, with... decidedly mixed success. |
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| Author: | psikeout [ Thu Apr 21, 2011 10:35 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: All of the Stars in the Outer Space |
When Juke spoke, it generally didn't make a whole lot of sense, and it was virtually impossible to interrupt him because he had a habit of blatantly ignoring anything that wasn't his own voice or reflection. Whatever the case, with little regard for Rodolf's interruption, whatever Juke was saying soon came to an end with something along the lines of, "... so count yourselves lucky I don't have my nunchucks with me." Better not to even question it. He seemed immune the very notion that anyone was not taking him seriously. Maybe he really didn't see that well. Either way, thirty seconds' worth of prattling and theatrical threat-throwing ended with nothing of consequence as the bat wandered away to go pick his gear up off the ground, swaggering around leisurely like he owned the place. At least he seemed done bothering people (for the moment). |
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| Author: | Tony [ Sat Apr 23, 2011 10:15 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: All of the Stars in the Outer Space |
Soon enough, paneling in the walls, high above the rest of the group opened up, and a lone platform, fitted with guard rails, slowly moved through the opened dooray. Leaning onto the rails the host with the most wore a most satisfied grin upon his face. It was a rather decent turnout, especially given the circumstances surrounding the closure of his last major event. Unsurprisingly, the resort owner was accompanied by a few members of his security staff, including the dalmatian head of security from Hot Constellations. She merely quirked a brow from behind her sunglasses as her boss began to speak to the crowd below. "Greetings, and welcome, one and all, to the Great Interstellar Cosmic Rush! I want to extend my apologies to some of the familiar faces who had attended my last extravagant event. However, hopefully this new tournament will more than make up for it. Thankfully, I hardly had to dip into my own pocket to finance this venture -- I was fortunate enough to come across an extra cache of funds at some point. Heh..." He seemed rather oddly pleased with himself about that minor tidbit, for some reason or another... "In any case, all of you should have received an appropriate map of the course at hand - as well as any specific attractions that I personally find worth seeing during your stay here. The rules, I daresay, are rather simple to follow - stay on course, no excessive amounts of force towards your opponents, no racing in the opposite direction, and no removing your helmet while in the deep reaches of space, for safety reasons. Any infringement of these rules, on a once or constant basis, may result in your disqualification... which would be quite a shame, because I'm quite sure that you will want to stick around to remain eligible for the winning prize..." He seemed to pause for that needless dramatic effect, before deciding to finally resume. "... which is, I should say... If you remember what the cash prize was before, then all you have to do for this tournament is... well, multiply it by five... Yes, that seems like a decent amount of encouragement, wouldn't you say...?" Finishing up his important 'speech', Vince finished things up with the inquiry, "Now... are there any questions...?" |
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| Author: | Sheff [ Sat Apr 23, 2011 11:59 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: All of the Stars in the Outer Space |
Much to Sheffer's self contained relief, the bat and his erratic behavior moved on to confront the other quill-bearing racers. Having been left in peace without much conflict, the hedgehog had stood silently, maybe greeting another competitor or two upon recognition, as he waited for the one thing that kept him rooted within the hangar. And there he was, speaking to the crowd of misfit racers as if he was addressing the world (and on second thought, he probably was). Most of Vince's words passed through Sheffer's ears as useless drivel. He'd heard enough of the porcupine's extravagant speeches in the pass, already remembering the boxing tourney vividly. Thinking of it, the hedgehog was at peace with the fact he did not see the outcome of the tournament, knowing full well he had much higher chances of succeeding with racing over fisticuffs. He did perk up some at the mention of the cash prize, that being a large motivation for the event that was definitely mutual with all the racers. It was near basic knowledge though, and having moved some during Vince's appearance, he found himself near Rodolph once more. "The guy must think we don't know jack about what's going down around here concerning rules," he muttered to the unicorn. "Then again, some of these people here might need quite a few reminders..." He eyed a certain short, angry fellow for a quick moment. |
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| Author: | Kazz [ Tue Apr 26, 2011 10:51 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: All of the Stars in the Outer Space |
Almost as if he could sense the hedgehog, Murdoch cast his eyes over at Sheff as he spoke to the unicorn. The rules were plainly going in one ear and out the other-- he was scoping out potential threats. As his eyes met Sheffer's for just that one second, the Tasmanian devil smirked. It was a nasty look, dripping with a horrible mixture of all kinds of bad habits and bad attitudes. He remained close-mouthed and kept his distance, shifting his attention to Vince. In those little malicious eyes, there was a hint of shrewdness. (And possibly murderous intent.) Rodolf kept his eyes forward, until spoken to. "That's one way to put it," he said, having taken his board and helmet back up again at some point during the speech, "and I have no doubt that for at least a few of those here, this is the first they're hearing of the rules." The unicorn paused. "Something tells me," he added after a moment, "that the rule about no excessive force may not exactly be enforced too strictly." He wasn't exactly of great faith in Vince's practices. |
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| Author: | Sheff [ Sun May 01, 2011 5:58 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: All of the Stars in the Outer Space |
Vince's appearance may have gained the attention of the rag-tag racers, but with the porcupine's question hanging about in the air like the suddenly dead thing it was, mumbles moved about the small crowd. It was quite possibly the most indifferent crowd that ever graced Vince's presence, and with no one piping up to his query, some actually began to file out of the hangar, others just striking up conversation amongst one another, politeness thrown out the window. The group obviously didn't care for the porcupine's words or questions, only here for the tantalizing prize, and soon the hangar felt quite empty as most of the racers left. Sheffer, affected by the mood of the others, gave a brief nod to the unicorn, the only one he could call an ally on in the hotel, and promptly followed some of the others out, his board jutting out from under his arm. Seemed as if all of them just wanted to get on with the show. |
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| Author: | Tony [ Tue May 03, 2011 1:28 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: All of the Stars in the Outer Space (Ch. 3b: Day 1b) |
As the crowd began to disperse, Vince merely shrugged, and glanced off to the side, lighting a new cigar. He hadn't had one for quite some time, he realized... "Ahhh... so no questions, huh...? Fine by me." "Sir." The dalmatian looked over to her boss, mildly confused. "You certainly lost their attention rather quickly. You normally have a better hold than that..." "Keh hah hah, it's no big deal. They only want to hurry up and get things over with so they can get their prize money. And a few faces down below don't exactly hold me in high favour since last time, as it is. Really, I was surprised nobody left the room by the time I arrived." He huffed onto his cigar, and leaned over the railing, eying anybody that happened to be remaining. "This will prove to be an interesting event, indeed." "Come, we should go ahead and make our exit as well." Vince turned as the platform began to return to its place beyond the room's walls. "We need to take care of some unfinished business before the races begin..." As the other competitors began to depart, as well as the host himself, Vito merely grumped and hoisted up his Gear. "That jerk had better pay up -- I hardly got compensated for the mess I got involved with last time.." Giving the disappearing scaffolding up above one last glare, the fennec turned on his heel and made his exit. |
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