Twi301

Megaman - Monday, July 03, 2000, 12:11 AM -----------------------------------------

=============================== IC Broadcasts ================================ Message: 9/19 Posted Author GNN Special Report Sun Jul 02 Tiffany Bridgeston ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Good afternoon. This is Tiffany Bridgeston with a GNN special report. We have just received a report that the islands of Hawaii have been forcibly evacuated by one of the Stardroids, one identifying himself as Neptune. While this being gave no apparent reasons for his actions, he gave the residents and visitors of the Hawaiian islands exactly 4 hours to completely evacuate before he would cause a massive tidal wave to wipe out all cities and structures on the main island of Honolulu. "Also, we have received reports from the International Maritime Commission. The central and southern Pacific have become infested with what can only be called traps... several ships traveling between Southeast Asia and the United States were lost at sea when a vortex of water apparently appeared out of nowhere underneath them. Officials at the Maritime Commission have issued a priority alert restricting all sea-faring craft not only in the Pacific, but in the Atlantic as well. This emergency situation has all but cut off all commercial and private travel on the ocean. We'll bring you more as this develops."

This has been a GNN Special Report ==============================================================================

Recreation Room <Hunter HQ> The recreation room is traditionally the busiest idle-time location in Light Labs. Decorated with glass and steel walls and a hard floor, games and idle distractions of all sorts dominate this room, and the noise of games is seldom absent. Several pool tables dot the floor, and other gaming tables reside as well, where games of chance and simple idle chatter can commence. One wall is lined with various console game units, dating from the dawn of video gaming to current. On the opposite wall is a small bar where many kinds of drinks can be made, though the stock is more bare than it would be in a building occupied primarily by humans. A final touch is a jukebox in the corner, filled to the brim with a wide variety of music.

Twila Peterson is currently seated on the floor by the television monitor with a gaming console in hand. Some sort of action/adventure game looks to be running within its demo sequence on the screen. The girl isn't watching that however. She seems more interested in seeing how her little cabbit is playing with the gaming console she holds in her hands...

Rick Morgan steps into the room then, pausing near the entrance to idly scratch at the back of his neck in that sort of 'not sure what he should be doing' pose. However it doesn't take long for him to spot Twila and her little...game-player.

"What's this?" He pipes up with a slight smirk. "Tryin to teach new tricks with electronics or somethin?"

Twila Peterson blinks and casts a glance over her shoulder, allowing a smile. "Hmm...maybe. Was playing a few games and Kyo wanted to see what I was up to, sooo..."

The cabbit bats her paws at the controllers. Not seeing whatever it's good for she sits back on her haunches and gently picks up the controller in her mouth. She's seen Rick work with shiny stuff such as this before so...maybe he can get this thing to work. As Twila watches with a confused expression Kyo then lays the controller at the cyborg's feet and looks up at him, staring. "Mew yip yip!" <Fix-it! I know ya wanna!> As an additional incentive she begins tapping the directional buttons again...softly mewing all the while.

Rick Morgan blinks and glances down. "What's the matter, squirt?" he offers, moving down to one knee, and scooping up the control pad in one hand. "Can't quite get the hang of it?" He smirks faintly. "Guess it makes it hard when you don't have hands you can really use..." He then digs in his pocket, and proceeds to remove none other than...a rather large carrot. One he'd procured on a recent trip out of the city...and suddenly thought of at the last moment for his sister's pet.

At one time he wasn't an animal person...but he's starting to learn that much better. "How bout if I give you something else to concentrate on?" He chuckles, wiggling the carrot back and forth.

Kyo-Ohki immediately forgets all about the controller and literally dives right for the carrot. .oO(Feh...didn't squeak anyway)Oo. Well, she does after tackling her favorite cyborg with cabbit kisses and snugs anyway. After she has some of the carrot within her mouth she scampers over to the other side of the room to enjoy her treat, thinking all the while that if Rick Morgan didn't think he had a friend for life already...he just got one!

The young woman lets out a tiny laugh at the animal's antics before picking up the disregarded unit. "Well, that's one way to get her attention distracted. Getting kinda soft on her, are ya?" she teases.

Rick Morgan smirks. "Well when she returns the favor in such a way....how am I supposed to go about not returning it in one way or another?" He chuckles, and gives a small shrug. "Ah, it just occurred to me and all when I was going through a marketplace on the other side of the world. That's when I remembered how crazy she is for em." He gives a slow nod then in Twila's direction. "Actually I was curious if you were wanting to get out from these walls..."

Twila Peterson proceeds to turn of the television as well as the gaming unit before getting to her feet. "I'd love to. You know how I just *love* being cooped up." Heavy on the sarcasm concerning the latter half of the statement. "But...you have been reading the reports recently haven't you?"

Rick Morgan sighs faintly, giving a slow nod. "Yeah...I have. But believe me Twila, one way or another, it's not gonna matter as far as the Stardroids are concerned. They're going to reach you anywhere. But thankfully it seems like they can't directly interfere. And trust me....anyone ELSE out there who would wanna try..." he frowns faintly, but then puts his expression neutral and merely shrugs it off. "Let's just say they'll wish they hadn't."

Twila Peterson offers a nod, hoping that he's indeed right instead of somehow being a...casualty in all this. That would hurt much worse than receiving the news that she had only two nights ago, "So...you have any ideas? Every time *I* seem to pick a place it always seems to get jinxed."

Rick Morgan hrms. "I think I have just the place in mind actually. Believe me when I say we'll be away from people. Well...most people anyway." He quickly corrects himself.

Twila Peterson has since learned to trust her brother on this. After all, he's as protective, if not more so, of her than Rock is himself. And Rock is *extremely* protective. "Ok. Well, you haven't been wrong before...well, I think...." she comments, with a small wink. "So...think I'm ready whenever you are. Oh...by the way, on your way back to your room remember to top by here your some cookies. Have a tuberware container all ready for you on the counter by the stove. Chocolate chip..."

Rick Morgan smirks at that, as he turns slightly to gesture to the way out. "Heey now you're talkin." He chuckles. "I think I might just take you up on that. But that can wait till we get back..."

Twila Peterson grins lightly as she starts heading out with him, wondering just what he has planned this time. Although, she doubts it could top the swim with the dolphins. "Aw...not even a hint this time either?"

Rick Morgan laughs outright, and gestures for her to follow. "Nope. You'll see when we get there." He offers. And that's that.

Maverick Hunter Ride Armor <Kodiak> emerges from the waters on the far end of the island, giant turbines deployed as water streams from them, their interior fans letting loose small torrents that fall back into the ocean in the process. As the giant mecha slowly thuds it's way free of the water's grip, it moves up the soft beach a small distance...before finally coming to a halt and letting loose a gentle hiss, as it's interior generator shuts down. It's at this point that the cockpit hatch opens up and a certain figure pops out, casting a glance around, before turning back to help someone else out too.

"Well..." Rick pipes up. "We're here!"

Tierra Del Fuego Its a lush green jungle island, off the coast of South America. It's relatively untouched by civilization.

Twila Peterson looks about her as she proceeds to climb out of the Kodiak's cockpit to join her brother. Since he refused to tell her where it was he was taking her the best the girl could come up with "Gilligan's Island" buy what she's looking. "Nice," she notes...peering about wide-eyed. "So....where exactly are we?"

"Well..." Rick starts. "The place itself is called Tierra Del Fuego. It's one of lots of these islands around in this part of the world. I did some checking and came -here- for a special reason..." He helps Twila down to the sand alongside him, and gently drapes an arm around her shoulder, gesturing down the length of the beach itself. Where there seems to be signs of movement...of large forms. Though the distance makes it difficult to make them out for the moment.

The girl settles next to her sibling, peering towards those forms, and stares at them...trying to make out what they are. She's rather quiet as she studies them and asks, lowering her voice, "Turtles?" True, more than likely such an act wasn't needed considering they're the only two there. But she would rather not disturb the natural beauty and wonder of such a place either.

Rick Morgan nods, and smiles faintly, giving Twila a small tug on her hand. "Exactly." He offers. "C'mon, let's get a closer look. And don't worry, I checked with the game and natural wildlife people. So long as we don't go disturbing the nests, we aren't going to be harming anything. They're so set on egg laying they don't even register that we're here."

With a curious look as a small grin, Twila allows herself to get helped back up to her feet to better see the hard-shelled creatures. "So, that's what they're doing? Getting ready their nests?" she asks, joining him as he leads the way across the sand.

"Oh you bet..." Rick answers, his big feet leaving their imprints in the sand behind him, as the huge form of his ride armor is left behind to stand alone on the beach. It isn't long before he and Twila are not ten feet away from the closest sea turtle, and it's up close like this that one can suddenly realize just how big they -are-. Nearly 8 feet long on the shell, and easily weighing at 400 lbs or more, they're alot bigger looking close up. Especially moreso than they appear on TV for that matter. "It's at this time of year that they start doing it and all. I remember seeing the tortoises on the Galapagos Islands sometime back. But I haven't seen the sea turtles before..." His voice moves to a gentle tone, not quite a whisper...but not raised either.

Twila Peterson nods slowly to her brother's explanation and watches the giant reptiles as they go about their business and preparing themselves for their young. Sheesh, they're huge! Much larger than the turtles that she found in the woods behind her home in Nebraska. "This is amazing, Rick. I mean you hear about this type of thing and learn about it within the science books...but to actually watch..." she muses aloud.

Rick Morgan laughs gently. "What?" he asks softly, tilting his head to the side. "Kinda like swimming with dolphins?" He gives another tug on her hand though before she can answer, and moves up the beach a little, long where one turtle is digging her nest with her rear flippers. He comes to rest at another one though...who's already got the deep hole dug, and is laying her eggs within it, setting into the arduous task that could take half an hour. Slowly, he kneels in front of the big reptile, glancing over her...then gently reaching out with his fingers to touch the top of her head.

Sure enough...she doesn't even register that he's there...or even has made contact. So intense is her concentration on her egg-laying.

"Check it out Twila..." Rick offers. "What they feel like..."

A low, rumbling voice intones quietly, but with feeling, "And so continues the great circle of life. Birth, life, the joining to create an offspring, death, birth, and so on." A large dark, crested form emerges from the dense foliage of the jungle just a few meters away from the beach. As moonlight touches the green, gray, and blue of the so far unannounced observer, dark eyes turn towards the two humans for a moment, as if watching their behavior as well as the sea turtles'. Neptune takes a soft step onto the beach, turning back to watch as the female turtles dig their nests in the moist sand. "'Tis a sight repeated everywhere across the universe. From the briefest-lived particles to the very galaxies themselves." A long sigh seems to escape the Stardroid, a sound like wind echoing across the mouth of a large conch shell. "But sometimes, like the species that are hunted ta extinction, the circle gets broken."

Twila Peterson nods quietly to her brother's prodding and reaches out to brush her hand against the toughened skin of the mother but suddenly pulls back at the new voice. Unfamiliar at first, Twila looks over her shoulder as the mechanoid verbalizes the miracle of life as well as the possibility of destruction. She doesn't say anything at first. However, by her features one can tell that she does indeed recognize him as Neptune, the Stardroid who has placed the seas underneath his care. The girl remains seated by her brother, before commenting, "Sometimes it also becomes rejoined."

Neptune: The 12-foot tall 'droid before you seems like some almost unfortunate cross between a lizard and a warrior king of yore. Unfortunate though, perhaps, for whoever crosses him. His body is primarily a study in shades of blue and gray, though most noticable are the large fans of jagged metal that encircle his neck and the ridge that arcs down his spine. Another set of the jagged metal spikes up from his forehead like a crown, and his face below is set in a nearly-permanent scowl, like he's just tasted something unpleasant. On his chest is a small insignia of the Stardroids, not nearly as noticable as the morphable left arm-cannon.

Rick Morgan smiles as Twila touches the turtle's head as well, though he too jumps at the sudden sound of another voice. For a moment, he blinks and glances over his shoulder. Did one of the nature reservists come onto the island as well to check up on them? A brief glance gives Rick a confirmation that no this is indeed NO park ranger or any such thing. But a Stardroid as well. For a moment, he considers just beating it out of here right now, not trusting it from any one of them. But then again....for the moment, it's almost as if he's tired of just running at all opportunities.

Reserved, but still cautious, he merely watches Neptune silently, casting a brief glance back to the turtle they're sitting near, before returning his gaze once more to the Stardroid.

Neptune seems unconcerned or unaware of any alarm he might cause, but continues to watch the turtles, stationary in his position. If he usually seems ill tempered or awkward on land or in other situations, if anything he seems almost majestic here on the seashore and moonlight. Finally, he murmurs, "Aye...sometimes they can be rejoined. But at what cost?" He turns to look directly at Twila, his expression softening into what could almost be considered a sad and thoughtful look. "There always be a cost, lass."

Twila casts her glance back towards the nearest of the reptilian creatures as they continue to collectively either prepare their nests or to lay their yet-to-be-hatched young to rest, oblivious to the two humans and the otherworldly visitor as near them. The girl herself doesn't display any further alarm regarding the Stardroid's presence, his words, or their implications for that matter. Whether or not it they were intended for her are immaterial. Over the course of the last couple of weeks she's been hearing such things in that some is directed towards her on a more personal level. Upon observing the female working her flippers almost nonstop she casts a glance towards her sibling and then, finally, rests it back upon Neptune himself. When she speaks, she merely repeats what the female Stardroid Libra has told her. "One must die...so that all may live?"

Rick Morgan frowns at THAT saying, deeply for that matter. Especially where Twila is concerned. One must die so that all may live? Not bloody likely...especially if that "one" is supposed to be the one sitting next to him right now. Almost reflexively, he reaches up one hand and rests it on her shoulder, giving a small squeeze.

Neptune's jaw tightens slightly at Twila's question. "I know nothin' of that. I be a simple creature, do what I'm told ta do. But is that nae true throughout your history? Mythological figures, historical figures... Prometheus dyin', over and over, to give fire ta the mortals? Death be a powerful thing... almost as powerful as..." He breaks off, grunting instead of finishing that sentence. He raises a large webbed hand to gesture out across the sand, ocean, and dark forms creating life. "But life comes from death, inevit'bly. Conservation of energy... yer scientist, Newton, was even closer ta the truth than he knew."

Twila Peterson looks out towards the waters of the sea as they lap up at the shore gently in thought. "Yes, it's true," she muses softly. "Nature shows that it is. Within more ways then one." Her eyes cast themselves down towards the sand, pondering, while a hand lifts and places itself upon the one resting in her shoulder. Instead of questioning further regarding her own place within the design, something she has a feeling she won't truly know until it her times comes to know, she asks aloud. "Various Earthen belief systems and faiths have their own views regarding reasons. Why is this all happening? What prompted this upcoming judgment?"

Rick Morgan does about the best thing he can do for the moment. Remain silent on -that- aspect. This judgment...Twila's involvement...every little bit of it for that matter. He sighs though, as he kneels up just a bit straighter, and now drapes both arms around Twila's neck, ensuring he keeps her close for the moment.

Meanwhile, behind them, the female turtle finishes laying her eggs, and begins to start shoveling the beach sand back into the hole with her very large flippers. Arduous bit by arduous bit.

Neptune is quiet a good long time, observing as the turtles begin to end the first part of the mating and laying ritual. Finally, he looks back at Twila, his optics flicking toward Rick momentarily before settling on her again. "I don' have the answers ye want, lassie. As to why this is happenin', its not we who judge ye... not ultimately. If ye want to know the truth as I think of it, the judge and jury be not us. Ye already know who they are." He makes a dismissive wave of his large hand, "I've said too much as is already."

Twila Peterson rests there against her twin as a non-verbalized for of gratitude for his presence. Her gaze falls back towards the reptilian sea creatures momentarily, allowing her had to slid against the decorative design placed against her back from conception. "Then...may I ask one last question, Neptune?" her voice sounds carefully, quietly. "Are...you and your kind...being judged as well?"

The corners of Neptune's mouth twitch, curving upward slightly in a disconcerting expression. His version of a grin, "We all be judged all the time, lass."

Rick Morgan processes those words in his mind for the moment, this adding to the fact that in his mind...he KNOWS they aren't some form of god. No, they're just as mortal as anyone else for that matter. Merely in possession of very advanced knowledge...and technology for that matter. Still, he does the smart thing, and says nothing, just giving Twila another gentle squeeze.

One way in avoiding the issue at hand, not that Twila is overly surprised by the answer either. Evasive and generalized the answer may seem. However, as the girl had promised she doesn't make any more inquires of the Stardroid or what he may or may not know concerning the world's fate. Either he knows of these matters and either chooses not to speak, or is forbidden to tell. "Yeah, suppose we are," she emits, returning the geusture of affection towards her sibling. "Nice and peaceful out here."

Neptune doesn't respond, as Twila asks nothing else of him. He merely stands there, absolutely still and silent except for the occasional flicker of his optics as he watches the spectacle. For all intents and purposes, a statue.

Rick Morgan sighs then, turning his gaze to the side just to watch as the turtle they were kneeling next to earlier has finally finished burying her nest. Bit by bit, she shuffles past the two twins, as if they were never there, making her way to the ocean itself. The water finally draping up to her form, and receiving her into the ocean's depths once more, where she disappears from sight.

Rick watches this as it happens, then lets loose another sigh. Perhaps...of being relaxed. Almost as if a reflection of finally getting a verbal confirmation of something he's supported all along. It's then that he gently taps Twila's shoulder and asks her in a soft voice. "You wanting to head back?"

Twila Peterson pats Rick's hand in response and shifts her weight, getting ready to get up. She presses her lips together, not exactly knowing how to address the Stardroid as he stands there, watching the natural events along with them. "You...enjoy Earth's sea creatures?" she asks after a period of silence. It's something asked of genuine curiosity, nothing related to the previous subject matter

Neptune responds quietly after a moment, still not moving. "Some of em, aye. Unlike most land creatures, creatures of the sea are graceful... delicate. Did ye know that there are creatures that live so deep in the sea that they never see light? Great tube worms that feed off the lava vents bubblin' up from the core of the planet? Ye humans have yet to see even a portion of the mysteries the seas have ta offer. And the other kinds of intelligence it harbors. Aye...the sea is beautiful, and inexorable."

Rick Morgan gets up slowly along with Twila, keeping his arm in contact at the whole time. He flashes Neptune a questioning glance for a moment...but doesn't act on it for himself. No...he'll prefer to let things lie for now. Peaceful or not...perhaps his views twisted by all his previous encounters...he simply can't see someone from this group as a peaceful entity. Probably never will for that matter...

Neptune finally steps towards the waters, avoiding the turtles, and slowly sinks into the waves.

"A world all it's own," the younger twin sounds as she stays within Rick's hold. She finds this type of encounter different from a few of the others and can't help but wonder of it. Still, the more the thinks on the two humans had been within 'his realm' so to speak to merely explore and learn, not to harm. Perhaps than in itself helped, sharing a common interest. It's hard to tell at this point. Her next words are spoken softly towards Rick and nods quietly. "Let's go home."

Rick Morgan nods slowly, and gives a gently nudge to Twila's form. "Yeah....that sounds good." He offers softly.

She allows Rick to lead them back towards his awaiting ride armor, leaning herself against him as she does. As they make their final approach she casts one final glance towards the turtles still out on the beach before offering her brother a snug. "Thanks for bringing me all the way out here..."

Rick Morgan smiles faintly, and returns the gesture in full, giving Twila a small kiss to the top of her head. "Hey...I remember saying how I saw the other case before.....and well I knew I could get here. What's a big brother for if he can't share with his sis, huh?" He chuckles again, and gives yet another squeeze. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."