jonathan_wolfe

The duality of what you have and the hell of coming back to a harsh reality I like the take on the real world, sucky and a little lousy most of the time =)

the fields of green, a soft gentle walk nostalgia, hope and optimism high country, the land, the mountains, speckles of dandelions in the field below walking on the grass, withering, whirling calming grey clouds slide overhead the rain, the short sharp shock of a raindrop another drop, then 20 cold sharp shocks, life giving shocks cool warm skin, warmth of the body, real feelings of rain to the west, a gold and white brilliance sillouhette of the moutains, spirtzed with evergreens suprising the clouds, defiant, proud. the sharp shock of the drizzle, the warming joy of the helios, the virdant field home, hearth, my land peace, and rain imperfect hopeful bliss

I would pounce and hug dear Yui, but I can't seem to find her, too many shadows in this castle

Redwolfe paced about the artificial clearing, his chameleon-suit lay folded on a metal box next to him. After going back and forth for about five times, he sat down and began cleaning his pistol. “Well, these beauties certainly did the job right, right through the body armour and into the nervous system,” he remarked, sighting the weapon and sliding it into his holster, “I hope they keep these around, they’re the best weapon we’ve used so far.” Vermillion nodded, “I’d say, they’re more effective than firearms not to mention the mess that is avoided by knocking them out.” She was standing next to a small aircar, she opened the door and slipped in, tinting the windows and changing out of her suit. A minute later, she came back out, dressed in civilian clothes but she still had her carrying case with her laptop inside it. She was a fox, her ears standing tall through her bright blue hair, with the long bangs tied into multiple braids, hanging down over her cheeks. She had a mustard coloured t-shirt with a dingy green jacket, which looked it had been salvaged from a coverall. Her arms were bare save a gilded armband on her right arm. She had a broad bushy tail that slowly twisted left and right as she packed up her equipment, her boots clumping mutedly on the hard ground. When she was done, she turned around and sat down next to Redwolfe, looking around at the various exits from the ruined building they were in. “So, what do you think? Will Roley come back drunk? Or will he have a whole battalion on his tail?” Redwolfe commented, looking at his watch. “Either one will be fine, he’s done both before. We’ve been able to deal with both successfully, no worries.” Vermillion said, chuckling, “Just wish he’d tell us in advance which one so we’d have more time to prepare.” Redwolfe shrugged, “Well, he’s got the armour and the skill, we’ll just have to accept his eccentricities.” Vermillion grunted in agreement and they waited on their friend. ----- Trafalgar-4’s squad pulled back into the base, surveying the damage during the firefight, most of the destruction was in a line where the armoured soldier had fended them all off in order to escape. A couple of trashed hallways and the comm. station was completely trashed. The sergeant stepped off the truck and was saluted by the corporal waiting to give his report. “So what kinda hell did he wreak on the place?” The sergeant remarked, holding his hand to his eyes to survey the tarmac. “Sir, loss of one vehicle, gatehouse needs repairs as do corridors A, B and E. The cafeteria is a mess and the comm. centre is in a million pieces. And uh, Sir.” “Spit it out Corporal.” “We found more unconscious guards inside the warehouse, someone came and stole the prototype shipment from right under our noses.” The Sergeant glared at the Corporal, his ears flattening against his skull, “The shipping is GONE? What the hell, @#*! We’ve been sucker punched!” The sergeant growled and slowly calmed down, needing to be in control of the situation, “Give HQ a full report by 6:00pm tonight, don’t leave anything out, this is something they’ll want to take a look at themselves. Track down security and get any and all information on the intruders, I want to know why they didn’t notice anything unusual during this whole incident.” “Yes sir.” The jaguarondi Corporal turned and jogged towards the main entrance, the doors of which were being replaced back on their hinges. The sergeant just looked at the base and shook his head, his tail swishing, but low to the ground, “How in the hell…” He got back into his jeep and drove away. ----- “Ahh, the man of the hour, the master of ceremonies himself, glad you could accompany us on such short notice.” Redwolfe said with a grin, watching the familiar red and grey figure come out of a dark hallway in front of him. “James, Chels! Howsit goin?” Roley said, waving to the pair. As he approached, Roley unclipped his belt and let it fall to the ground, opening a side holster and sliding out a can of beer. “Well, at least he waited until it was over this time.” Chels observed, shaking her head and picking up the box containing their field gear for this mission. She placed the box on a ledge of the aircar and popped a side hatch, sliding the box into the compartment. She slammed it shut and turned to the other two, Roley has his helmet half open and was thoroughly enjoying his beer, while James quietly inquired about his diversion techniques. “Oh ya, I showed up and all they had for me were Greenmen, so I had to give them some on the spot training quickly so that I would be able to enjoy myself.” “How attentive were they?” James inquired. Roley chugged his can and nodded, “Quite well actually, they caught me sleeping and rolled my ‘nade right back at my feet. And that was only after I took out three of them!” Roley continued drinking and Chels began laughing quietly, opening the car door and getting in. Roley looked at her quizzically and then looked at James, “What’s with her?” He asked. James smiles and answered, “You were on the comm. the whole time, we heard everything. I’m surprised you didn’t lose your entire paint job, you crazy fox!” Roley just grinned like an idiot and walked over to get into the car, “I am that is!” James got in the driver seat and turned the vehicle on. The turbines on the side quickly sprung to life and rotated upwards, lifting the car slowly off the ground. It moved forward and flew into the largest exit, moving down a derelict passage. The tunnel opened out into a deep abyss, the site of a large catastrophe over 100 years ago, which had created a large wedge inside of the plate, ruining the area around it for kilometres. It was almost completely dark and the aircar navigated using tightband radar to scan the terrain around it. The aircar descended for some time before re-entering the maze of tunnels near the bottom. It was a narrow fit; metal beams occasionally scraping the side of the vehicle as James precariously piloted the car, a specific path in mind as they dove deeper into the darkness. Finally, after half an hour of twists and turns, they came to a large and ancient wall. There was no visible way past this immense barrier and James set the craft down twenty feet from it. The trio got out of the car and packed up their field gear and the prototypes, Roley strapping the large metal box to his back. The servos and hydraulics in his suit whined as they rebalanced for the added weight on his back. He gave James the thumbs up and began walking to the wall. Chels followed, with a smaller load of gear and one of the prototypes. James shut and locked the aircar, tapping a six-digit code on an exterior keypad. The aircar powered down completely and faded from view, slowly taking on the looks of the surrounding junk metal. Satisfied with the results, James walked over to the wall where the other two were waiting. “Roley, your suits electronics shielded up?” James asked, sliding a hidden panel open on the wall. “Tighter than the Wall-That-Traps-Us, I am.” He replied, slipping his beer can into the cup holder on his belt. James nodded and entered a code, then pulling on the handle to the left. Something inside the wall clanged and a door retracted from the wall, revealing darkness even deeper than the one they just left. They silently walked in, single file and the door shut right behind Roley’s tail as they weaved their way deeper in. They did not say a word as they plodded their way through this place, so ancient, the semblances of cell structures worn away by hundreds of years of war, history and abandonment. This deep under the plate, civilization had taken its leave long ago. They had all turned their radios off, and anything powering Roley’s suit had its EM signature completely masked. As far as the world of light and radio was concerned, they were dead to the world. Chels lead the way, following a strange twisting path that seemed to be planned by some malevolent being with a random number generator. No flashlights, no night vision, just one person following the one in front. Chels deftly walked the path however, and did not stumble, as if she knew every bump and every snag in the way. Chels stopped, holding motionless, which signalled the other two to do so as well. In front of them about twenty feet away, something moved about, seeming to come right out of the endless mass of metal and ceramics scrap. It was about two feet in length and moved with exact careful movements. It’s metal shell glinted the bits of light that were this far down, it’s eyes a deep glowing red. The creature moved from its place and approached the path, pausing every now and then to look around. It paused when it’s gaze fell on the trio. For a full ten seconds, not even the fur on their hides moved. The creature, now satisfied, moved on, disappearing into a small hole on the opposite side of the path. Two minutes later, Chels began moving again, making her way down the path again. James followed and so did Roley, exhaling a sigh of relief, though somewhat muted. Finally, Chels stopped in front of a door, one of the few still left intact from the ravages of this place. She entered a combination into the keypad, the buttons worn and the plastic rotting away. It beeped and the door slid open, silently and quickly. Inside was an old but undamaged hallway. The walls were made of drywall and the lights overhead worked. The trio entered and the door shut behind them. “At last, I don’t have to hear myself think again!” Roley shouted his stride more confident and purposeful. He powered his suit back up to full and sighed with relief, “OH, in the name of Dawn, that’s a lotta weight to carry. Next time could we just go steal schematics of these things? Data soo much easier to carry!” James chuckled and reached forward, releasing the straps on Roley’s back and pulling up one end of the box and holding it up, “There, now get all the kinks out before I put this back on you.” Roley stopped and stretched his limbs out, the sound of several vertebrae cracking echoed down the hall and Roley let out a howl of satisfaction, his tail swishing happily now. “Oooh, damn that felt good.” Roley said, helping reattach the box to his back. The trio moved on, reaching the end of the hallway. Roley quickly reached for the door that blocked their way and gripped the handle. Without warning, Roley had a portable Railgun to his head and an arm around his neck. “I win.” The de-cloaking figure declared, Roley whimpering, his tail down and limp. “Don’t do that!” Roley complained, shoving off the guard, a tall thin mouse in full chameleon-battle armour. The guard holstered the gun and laughed at Roley, “You’re just too big of a target to resist, bumbling around here like that. I heard you coming half a click away!” He smiled and moved on to the other two. “Seigfried.” James said. “James.” The mouse replied, glancing at Chels, moving onto Chels, “Lieutenant” “Captain” She nodded in assent. He waited for Roley to calm down and stand next to his team mates. “I shall scan you and if you check out, you can be on your way.” The mouse moved back to Roley and held his hand against the temple of his helmet, concentrating and closing his eyes. He could see in front of him, a swirling and glowing mass of light. It was bright and gaudy, seeming to move at random. However there were no signs of drugs or mental programming, which always made itself apparent because of it’s unnatural origin. He took his hand away and nodded to Roley, who moved to the door and waited. Now Seigfried held his fingers near James’ temple. Cool and grey, looking like a sea creature hovering in the darkness, regular and very bright. It was very easy to tell that nothing hindered this mind. Seigfried nodded to James, who walked over and stood next to Roley. Finally, Seigfried scanned Chels, hand next to the temple. He could see a swirling red mass, variable in brightness and changing slowly over time, never the same as before. Nothing here though, appeared unnatural, so he dropped his hand and nodded, “You’ve all got clear heads, but mind you Roley, the alcohol is going to affect your long term memory.” “What if I want to mess with my head huh?” Roley challenged, hands on is hips. Seigfried sighed, “You all can go, Dunrick will be glad to hear of your success in the field.” “Good Hunting.” James said, opening the door. “Until again James.” Seigfried said, fading into the void. -----*End of Chapter 1*

Deeper inside the base, the two figures quickly searched through the warehouse looking for a truck that had arrived a few hours earlier. It wasn’t with the other trucks that were just inside the gates. To the left, however, was a secured garage and four guards patrolling around it. “Two on the left for you, two for me” The smaller figure said, slinking towards a pile of crates overlooking the garage. When she reached the pile, she leapt up onto the first level, landing with near silence as she used her forward momentum to vault up onto the second level. She waited for her partner to get in place, keeping completely motionless. “All set Vermillion, lets finish this,” She radioed quietly and with that, she sprung into the air, catching the guard on top, it was over almost before it started, the guard falling to the ground softly with a swirl of air. One down and one to go. At the same time, down below, the other person was taking deft care of the unknowing guards. His focus was not so much on the guards but his surroundings, ready for those who might come at the sight of four guards falling for no reason. Within the next five seconds, the four that were patrolling around the building were on the floor. “Try the side door, should be keypad only” The male radioed, round the corner, only to find her already slipping inside the darkened garage. He followed inside, his suit automatically switching viewing modes to low-light operation. A large freight truck occupied much of the interior of the small warehouse, giving the male little room to get around and behind to the freight truck's rear door. The female was working hard away at the lock, a combination padlock and keypad. The male placed his hand on the door, using a x-ray sensor to scan inside. As expected, three guards occupied the interior, guarding a large box about 3 feet long by 2 feet wide. “We’ve got three, pistol should do.” The male radioed. “Three seconds… two…go!” The door unlatched and slid up rapidly, revealing the three guards jumping to their feet, rifles drawn and aimed at the entrance. From thin air the shots rang out, the middle guard and the left one falling immediately. The third, obliviously shaken, scanned left and right across the entrance, beginning to fire. The air left his lungs as a heavy weight came down on his chest. He saw the shimmering outline of a person, maybe a fox or wolf. A sharp pain and then darkness. “Halfway point, now get the box open so we can hightail.” The male radioed, turning to guard the garage entrance. “How’s our ‘diversion’ doing?” she inquired, tapping away rapidly at the keypad built into the lid. “Quite good, the main comm is down so the reinforcements will be late in coming. He seems to have paused in one of the barracks rooms though, I should give him a shout, see if he’s ok.” He replied, switching channels. “…astard child of Navernus could shoot better than you… see? Now he’s down, the rest of you have to make up for him! C’MON, one hand on the stock, the other on the grip, burst fire, don’t hang on the full auto…” “Juggernaut, what the hell are you doing?” “Eh? Aww crap.” The radio died out and the male could feel the floor rumble with a muffled explosion. The signal cut back in a few seconds later, “…cking recruits, you threw my ‘nade back! That’s more like it!” Juggernaut switched his comm. off and resumed clearing out the barracks. The male turned and looked at Vermillion, he shrugged, “Well, he’s doing ok, I question his tactics but he’ll be done in time for us to leave.” Vermillion nodded and resumed working on the box, tapping in the last digit of the access code which caused a small section of the case to slide open and present a clear panel. She grunted and slipped out her laptop again, the lock had biometrics built in, most likely keyed to the base commander fingerprints. She pried open another access panel and hooked the laptop to the open port revealed. Vermillion started a program on the laptop, which made an attempt at bypassing the biometrics in order to get at the physical lock. Within 15 seconds a light on the box turned green and the biometrics panel slid away, showing an electronic deadbolt, which required the correct key card to unlock. Sliding a programmable key card into the slot, she used her laptop to hack the access code. With a beep and an audible click, the box began to open, sliding on small pneumatic hinges. Within, a blue glow emanated from four fuel cells, new prototypes that were almost thirty percent more powerful than anything manufactured before. “Not bad, four of them. Good, lets get them packed and punch out.” She said, sliding the first cell out. She had two pouches clipped to her belt, in which the first two went. The male removed the other two and fitting them on his own belt. “It’s finished, let hightail.” The male said, turning and jumping down onto the floor. He stumbled slightly, not yet adjusted to the extra fourty pounds balanced on his back as he rounded the side of the truck and headed out of the garage, Vermillion following just behind. ----- Juggernaut burst through a set of double doors, running out into the cafeteria, immediately he was set upon by another large group of soldiers. He kicked a table over and took cover. “Redwolfe, I’m in a bit ‘o a snag at the moment, group of twenty, these ain’t young cubs either. I’ll be an extra… 2 minutes.” “Copy.” Redwolfe replied, “Don't let them catch you.” Juggernaut grunted and lobbed a grenade over the table, the soldiers had split into two groups, when he focused on one, the other group took advantage and advanced on him. Gunfire rained all over the cafeteria, most of it slamming into the table and the wall behind Juggernaut. There were also several scuffmarks on his helmet when he was also struck. He shouted to them as he fired on a soldier moving advancing close to him, “Quit hiding behind things, you’re getting on my nerves, being competent like that! Five minutes, just five minutes I’ll have you lot running hightail!” He fired his rifle at the group farther away and lobbed grenades at them to keep them down, before he dropped the rifle, letting it dangle on its sling as he unhooked the shotgun he has strapped to his right thigh. He let loose a strident roar and charged towards the nearer group. For once, he remembered to use cover as he weaving through the overturned tables, beginning to pick them off one by one at very close range. Circling a pillar, he spotted another solider under cover behind a counter. He rolled a primed grenade his way and ran in the opposite direction…into a torrent of rifle fire. He stood his ground, letting the bullets strike his armour, slowly advancing, clipping the shotgun to his thigh and taking his rifle back up into his hands before opening fire. Redwolfe did one last scan of the warehouse before departing, scampering up the rope behind Vermillion. Halfway up his hands slipped and he slid down a foot before clamping down hard, he adjusted the fuel cells and grunted, labouring the first few feet before regaining his momentum. Vermillion wound up the rope when Redwolfe made it to the catwalk and they both re-cloaked and slipped back up through the hatch in the roof. Vermillion raced across the line they had laid earlier, Redwolfe in step, his arms swinging wider and his pace more loping. “This isn’t a race, you go any faster and you’ll de-cloak! We’re supposed to be untraceable, not timely!” Redwolfe radioed, grabbing the ledge and pulling himself over. He waited as Vermillion retracted and coiled the second rope, she turned and looked at him, her outline visible in his suit’s Heads-up-display or HUD. “Fast and hidden, I’m not going to hang around here for any longer than I have to.” She replied as she turned way, melting back into the shadows and moving away. With a loud report, the doors flew off of their hinges, blow open by a charge Juggernaut had placed there, through the dust cloud he ran, his weapons were blazing fire, the last of the base troops stood between him and freedom. He largely ignored the small arms fire, but took cover when they used LAWs and grenades. Heavily outnumbered, he quickly made his way across the tarmac to where two jeeps were parked. He pressed the ignition button and gripped the wheel tight, slamming down on the accelerator, tires squealing in protest as he accelerated towards the gate, firing on the troops with his free hand as he raced past them. Rounds punched into and through the jeep, shattering the windows, but luckily nothing hit the engine. The gate sheared off when he drove the jeep through it, and he looked in the rear-view mirror and immediately swerved to the left to avoid a LAW that had been fired at him, the rocket darted harmlessly beside him and exploded fifty feet down the road. He gunned the vehicle past the crater and went for the nearest subsurface entrance, he could see several jeeps pulling out of the base and three more coming towards him from in front. Gripping the handbrake, he forced the jeep into a slide as he rounded the exit to the down ramp, making the turn at about 80kph. Down into the ramp he went, racing down the road with only the tunnel lights illuminating the way. He continued deeper underground, passing level after level of the city before turning hard into a side street, His targeting HUD declared the nearest jeep still on his tail about 500 meters behind him, Juggernaut opened his belt kit and slid out an AI controller and slid it into a slot next to the ignition. Immediately the wheel began turning on it’s own and he no longer had to drive the vehicle. In fact, when the jeep passed through an area that had its streetlights knocked out, he jumped off and allowed his suit to absorb the shock as he tumbled to a halt. Immediately, he was up and off into the endless walkways and alleys that twisted throughout the entire underground. The soldiers pursued the jeep until it mindlessly struck a concrete barrier and slid down the road on its side before exploding. As the jeeps pulled up to the wreckage, the command channel sprung to life, the repair personnel having finally repaired the comm. centre at the base.“Trafalgar-4 and Traf-6 investigate and determine if driver died in crash. Isolate this cube and block all exits in and out of there.” Two of the jeeps stayed put and the soldiers disembarked, moving to put out the fire and examine the wreckage. The other four jeeps sped off in different directions to begin sealing off the exits from the area. Trafalgar-4, a Lieutenant from a neighbouring base, surveyed the wrecked jeep, “Just what the hell was he up to crashing a base like that. Frig, he must’ve taken on at least three of the five platoons that were stationed there. Corporal! Is he there?” A tall wolf in fatigues stood up and turned to the Sergeant, “No sign of him sir, he jumped, probably no father than half a click away by now.” The Lieutenant nodded and went on the horn, “Tango on foot, half click radius. Check all vehicles and people coming in and out, he’s a walking suit of power armour, I don’t think he’s going to get rid of it just yet! Block all exits and determine hidden exits and block those off too, Platoons T-1 thru T-4 will cover up, T-5 to 8 will cover down. This guy attacked a military installation one-handed in broad daylight, let’s find him!” The command circuit echoed several affirmatives and the soldiers packed up into the jeeps to isolate the local cell, about a kilometre in area and 150 meters deep. Juggernaut looked up the long tunnel he was climbing through. This cell, like most cells, was riddled with holes and access ways that had been constructed through the years to transverse from one to the next. This particular cell and the ones around it looked particularly Swiss cheese like, which made them excellent starting points for going into hiding deep within the underground part of the lower plate. He continued climbing and the metal surrounding the tunnel became solid and monotone, marking the thick superstructure of the cell boundary. Below, the ladder continued down into the poorly lit cell below, people slowly drifting out of buildings and shacks, the day had begun. -----*

I'm open to input on what I have posted in the assembly room, it's undergone a few redos but is still definitely in a first draft kind of mode Gyrfalcon should catch all the silly things like my problem with tenses, but feel free to comment on whatever you find. Level 4 C&C, poke all the holes you want, with the exception of the technology, which is where I am the most unflexible and stubborn as Gyrfalcon has slowly learned

I just wanted Pennites new and old alike to know that the first few pages of Utopia's Twilight has been posted in the Assembly room, this is a long, ongoing story of mine and while it is far from completion, I thought it would be a treat to share what I have it all with you guys Consume, read and enjoy and don't be afraid to give me a shout I'll be posting more of it in the coming weeks http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?showtopic=12047 I want to thank Bhurin and Gyrfalcon for continued and ongoing support in this endeavour

Utopia’s Twilight Part 1 – Resonance Chapter 1 – Emergence Darkness. A shifting of shadows and murmured noise, The dawn sky a slim crescent masked by the silhouette of the buildings and structures lining the landscape, the bright blues and gold like a necklace adorning the obscured black depths above the city, mirroring the landscape in a negative reflection. The sun glints against the surfaces of the city, finding points of brilliance in the browns and reds and greys of the cityscape, the sun rising in glories of crimson and orange. The light lances in between the landscape above and around, casting long shadows and warming the endless miles of concrete and steel. Sleep. A figure lies in the driver’s seat of a small vehicle, clutching a ceramic mug as if his only possession. The interior lightening from touches of sunlight echoing down into the narrow alley. The light shimmers on his armoured form, rising and falling slowly with each breath, the soft muted silence of the vehicle keeping his slumber. A shrill chirping erupts inside of the cabin, the figure’s head jerking with a start, the front panel of his suit flickering to life as he looked about in confusion and muffled grumbles, groaning and slapping his wrist against the metal console until the sound abated. He grumbled and sighed and brought his cup to his mouth and sampled the liquid from within. A jarring noise from no apparent source causes him to tilt his head and frown. “…pid alarm clocks!” He flustered to himself, sitting up and taking another sip from his mug. The mug crashed against his faceplate for the second time now, and the impact shattered it, pieces rattling against his helmet and falling into his lap, the splash of old coffee dripping from his armour onto the upholstery of the seat. He blinked and looked curiously at the handle left in his hand. He threw it behind himself, hearing it thump on a back seat and sighed again, the noise from the breaking of the mug having startled the cobwebs from his mind, sitting up and checking the clock display in his helmet. He considered the loss of his favourite coffee mug with another sigh before leaning forward and hitting the engine start button. The buggy groaned and whined for a second before coming silent again, only faint hints of ventilation system hinting the vehicle was started, the windows fading from a full tint to reveal the soft hues of the alley in front of him. He quickly pulled up a list of names on his helmet display and clicked a name from the list twice with a pinging noise and put the buggy into drive, the vehicle quickly leaping to life and rolling out of the alley onto the empty roadway, accelerating down the street with papers and dust shifting in the wake. ----- Shadow. On the roof of an older building, shadows wavered for a few seconds and stilled, seeming to protect and guide something insubstantial and indistinct, always on the move. A quick dribble of shadow seemed to leap from the edge of one building to the next; the quiet scuff of feet on asphalt was all that could be heard. The shadow moved to the far edge of this new building and for a moment, the shape of the person within, tall and somewhat thin, could be seen. Then shadow became light and the shadow hid in the open, the slight shivering of the air settling down to complete obscurity. Behind, another more vague form approaches and it too, melds to the light and becomes completely transparent. Slight distortions break in the air as the two forms converse silently, touching hands and tapping the other. The smaller form breaks off and steps onto the ledge. A glassy looking harpoon and a nearly invisible rope appear from the air and shoots towards the large building comprising a whole complex, surrounded by a large barbed wire fence and armed figures far below. A loud screeching of tires occurs at the very moment the harpoon embeds itself into the roof asphalt on top of the guarded structure, the rope pulling taut. The forms swiftly transverse the zipline and lay down flat on the roof of the military installation. The armed figures below focused intently on the sounds coming from the front gate and the newly arrived vehicle. ----- The figure lacking his favourite coffee mug got out of the urban buggy, standing tall and flexing before moving towards the gate. Nothing can be seen of the man inside the powered armour, his garish grey and red body armour covering him from head to toe, revealing neither factional alignment or army rank. In front of him was a small booth and a large stripped gate. A guard stood behind it, eyeing the red and grey form with confusion and suspicion, motioning to his partner inside the booth to be ready. The guard raised his rifle to bear and shouted out to the approaching figure, “Stand down and identify yourself! Coming within 20 feet of a Regime military facility is a felony and is punishable by one year in prison. Halt and give identification!” “I am, that is!” The grey and red figure said, still slowly bearing down on the gate, “I am, that is who I am what?” The figure paused, seemingly trapped his own strange sense of logic. The guard just raised his weapon and aimed at the intruder, shouting “You have five seconds to stand down or I open fire!” “You have two seconds to stand down or I open fire!” The figure challenged back. The guard stared at the figure, wondering just what kind of hallucinogen this person has procured for his own enjoyment. If it were not for the heavy armour he was wearing, the guard would have already sent him on his way. Before the five seconds are up, the guard felt a sharp pain in his shoulder and began to lose consciousness, the last thing he sees before the darkness takes him is the red and grey figure laughing as he vaults over the barrier and shoots at the guard in the booth with his gun. The two shadows don’t need to visually confirm the diversion is working, gunfire reports spilled over from the front edge of the building and a Klaxon blared to life. The smaller figure lined charges around a roof entrance and trigged it, blowing the hatch up and to one side. The two forms quickly slide into the dark room below. ----- “I don’t like it when people think they can shoot me!” Declared the figure as he took aim down the corridor to his left, taking out one of many guards as he trundled straight down the hall towards the room his maps declared was the barracks. He passed through an open door to find a squad of soldiers in various states of dress, who opened fire on him with various weapons. The armoured man jerked to the left as a rifle round struck him and jerked back to the right as a shotgun blast slammed into him. He braced himself and rained fire back at the group, sweeping left and right until there was a heap of bodies on the ground. He blew at the muzzle of his weapon and moved on, apparently uninjured during the battle, his armour bearing only a few scuff marks. The two shadows landed just a few feet behind a patrolling guard; the minor sounds of their landing didn’t even make the guard’s ears shift back. One shot from a pistol was all it took and the other form caught the guard as he crumpled to the ground. The form that fired the shot attached another almost invisible rope to the guardrail beside them and began to rappel down to the floor. He hid behind a stack of crates as several guards rushed past to deal with the intruder in the barracks. Once it was clear, the second form slid down and joined him. “So far, so friggin’ good eh?” The taller of the two mentioned, his suit fading back to reality, casting a shadow of its own. The other person grunted in response and de-cloaked. She opened up her satchel pack, sliding a laptop out and quickly activating it. The military grade processor inside hacked the local wireless network, bypassing the security subroutines with stolen codes and accessing the camera and turret subsystems. The program analyzed the camera’s monitoring the warehouse section of the installation and ensured that they would be edited out of the image sent to the security room. She then made the turrets initiate diagnostic mode, causing them to disengage and slide into their sleeves. With that, the two re-cloaked and set out towards the centre of the warehouse. “Conniving salt-water hordes! I’ll teach you to bat tails with the likes of me!” He roared, raining fire on another squad that tried to ambush him. This time, the squad leader had prepared a LAW (Light anti-tank weapon), waiting until the red and grey armoured soldier took out the rest of the squad. The leader fired and sent the rocket straight down the corridor towards the figure, an explosion rocked the area and sent debris flying, smoke filling the hallway. “Trafalgar-1 confirm kill.” The leader’s radio crackled as he peered through the smoke, his rifle ready. "Trafalgar-1, the kill is confirm-" the leader began to say into the radio, relaxing slightly. “I hate LAWs! They cover my armour in soot!” Declared the figure as he strode out of the smoke. The leader began firing and retreating down the hallway. He fell down to the ground a few seconds later, smoke coming out of the barrel of the seemingly invincible figure’s weapon. The armoured marauder moved on towards the Security and Control room of the installation, grumbling about the fact he forgot to take out the communication dishes before assaulting the base. -----*to be continued*

Utopia's Twilight is a story I am working on, the goal is completion but I expect that to take a long time indeed. In the mean time I'm going to begin posting parts of chapter one and further chapters in neat little sections for your continued enjoyment. Any comments, criticism or feedback can be placed in the Critic's Corner or PMed to me, to ensure this thread's cleanliness of presentation. Thank you and I hope you enjoy! ps. A Wonderful resource to quickly explain to you the setting of this story in contained on this webpage: Thalos Comments and criticism can be posted in this thread: http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?showtopic=12053 Comments and Criticism level 4 is requested and appreciated. But if you're lazy, don't stress and just drop positive comments.

Here's mine: http://roleypolinde.friendtest.com/ I don't expect very much from anyone, I'm not a public figure

Soft noise of a synth drum Flight of the bumblebee, drone of radar ping woman and children first hunkered down in this technological haven technological hell close your eyes and recall the story dance to that electronic drum digital thrum interconnected bliss no angst here just a groove, a hope and a dream electronic beat.

Jonathan strolls into the carnival grounds. Noticing the now long list of names of Eligible Bachelors now signed up "Lo, this is quite the field, I'm not sure if I can compete. I guess I shall have to throw my hat into the ring and hope those who missed out on Daryl remember the other fuzzy creature" He leans down and inscribes his sprawling signature near the bottom of the page (Count me in )

It's consistency that will outdo us all

The late sunsent lances into Scarlot's office, rendering the finely crafted desk and furnishings in an ironic scarlet colour, a grin gracing Jonathan's face as he closes the door behind him and looks up, pushing his hood back and glancing at Scarlot working at the desk. He clears his throat and smiles again, "Excuse me, Mrs Scarlot, I would like to apply to the AVV." Scarlot doesn't look up and instead wings him a ornate looking piece of paper denoted, 'Why I would be a asset to the AVV' "Fill that out and hand it over when you're done," She said, obviously distracted by whatever tome she was writting furiously into He smiles and takes a seat as a smaller desk nearby and gets out a pen, and begins to fill it out. Why I would be an asset to the Alliance of Vagabonds and Vanguards I am, that is! I am Jonathan Wolfe, a living paradox and a deranged, psychotic cute furry animal in the best of times. I am the poet, who follows no rules and creates new ones on the spot for others to enjoy, be amazed and be enthralled. I am the ghost for in my own writings I have fortold my death and yet I persist in this somewhat non-ghostly form, I exists outside of the norms I am the bringer of joy and one too many hugs. I exist soley for the entertainment and the amusment of my fellow man, I am here to dazzle, amaze and just come up with something new I am of many faces, but the personality of one man. Give me a mask and I shall wear it, but the masked man shall hug anyone he chooses. I am that is, who I am, before what I was, is who? And so I end this application, with pocky!

Penguins for Tassie! A haaaaapppy birthday to you, a happy birthday to aaaaaaaaaaa youuuuuuu

Snap your fingers, grind the strings hit the drums, thump the beat waggle the refrain, shrill the chorus hit the drums, beat the thumper determination, resolution, steadfastness confidence. strings and cellos and violins, growling fading quiet next track.

Those who are using their brains are sacrificing their values for the sake of some lofty goal of "strategy" I'm trying to say, you as a person, you know what values you hold dear, and what values you should expect your politicians to hold, quit this nonsense and vote for the party that agreeds with your values and your ideals That's what voting with your heart is.

I like to take the words of the leader I support and just pipe up and say, I feel it is arrogant to assume that the Liberals are your only choice to stop Harper The NDP is the party that invented and championed public health care into existence in Canada fer crissakes, what more could you ask for? Holding your nose and voting for a Candidate because he's the only one who will stop Harper is nonsense, if you vote for the NDP it sends an ever stronger signal that Harper and his Campbell-Klein-Harris style of politics are not wanted in this nation Don't be afraid to rock the boat, if the liberal guy is going strong, what the heck, vote for him. But if you're in a place where the NDP is coming on strong, don't be afraid to embrace them, especially in the west, where a lot of the ridings balance on the edge between Harper and Layton I'm voting NDP, I'm ready to light a fire under the political system and elect someone who'll really go for the gusto Don't vote with your head, vote with your heart -fin

Thanks for the feedback and the minor spelling correction I'll see about posting some more as the days roll on.

People chanting, marching, drums beating cantor and furor of the protest, the power of humanity conflict and agression, met with solidarity, the news is all over people in the streets, beading from the sun, yellow talking, shouting, chanting, united swept up in the moment, moving land and society in a new direction the velvet revolution.

I like it because it mentions that us guys aren't all that evil when it comes to that specific topic Though I still maintain the hypnotic and influental effect they have over nearly all males!

Class cancelled today, no paticular reason, which allowed me the state of mind to take the pen in at my Leisure and make this post

I pulled some of my favorite quotes from Alpha Centauri, some of the sources are fictional. "The righteous need not cower before the drumbeat of human progress. Though the song of yesterday fades into the challenge of tomorrow, God still watches and judges us. Evil lurks in the datalinks as it lurked in the streets of yesteryear. But it was never the streets that were evil." Sister Miriam Godwinson "The Blessed Struggle" "And when the hourglass has run out, the hourglass of temporality, when the noise of secular life has grown silent and its restless or ineffectual activism has come to an end, when everything around you is still, as it is in eternity, then eternity asks you and every individual in these millions and millions about only one thing: whether you have lived in despair or not." Soren Kierkegaard "The Sickness Unto Death" (The one above is real and by a famous psychologist) "Eternity lies ahead of us, and behind. Have you drunk your fill?" Lady Deirdre Skye "Conversations with Planet", Epilogue "As the Americans learned so painfully in Earth's final century, free flow of information is the only safeguard against tyranny. The once-chained people whose leaders at last lose their grip on information flow will soon burst with freedom and vitality, but the free nation gradually constricting its grip on public discourse has begun its rapid slide into despotism. Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master." Commissioner Pravin Lal "U.N. Declaration of Rights"

There are some things that languages other than English can exude in massive amounts. It seems to me that a dark and bainful mood is much more effective in the glutteral utterances of Die deutsche Sprache The english sounds like a poem, the german sounds like a prayer or a incantation, ooooh *shivers*

What I like about this is that I've never seen this kind of structure in a poem before, I love the semicoloned first lines in each stanza. I wonder if the word choices upsets the rhythm of the reading of it halfway through, I had to go back and reread it before I got it right Nah, it's good, short and sweet and good for the mind.