"LUNAR: Tales From Crystal Tokyo"
LUNAR:
Tales From Crystal Tokyo
By
Daryll Pung
Episode
2-07: Opening A Bag Of Pretzels
Rated:
R
Somewhere
in deep space, just outside of GM territory, near the Sabaat system, 22 December
2737
The
Atlanta
Brad London gripped the armrests of his chair as the screen showed the
blast of dark energy that was racing towards them.
He gritted his teeth.
"Z axis minus one thousand meters, high-energy maneuver! Do it now!" he commanded urgently. The bridge lurched as the Atlanta responded,
desperately trying to dodge the incoming blast, nosing over almost vertically.
The grav generators were barely able to compensate; Brad felt his body
shift erratically.
They didn't completely succeed in dodging.
The Atlanta dropped out of direct line-of-fire of the Dread,
but not before the energy blast launched by Heran smashed into, and completely
obliterated, one of the fins; debris fluttered by aft as plasma streamed from
the wound. The hull surrounding the
area was scorched. On the bridge, a
concussive shudder jolted those standing off their feet, as sparks flared from
several tactical consoles.
"Max speed; jump us the hell outta here!" Brad shouted angrily.
"We'll get'em next time!"
He shook his head, and reached for his gwarmian whiskey, which was still
miraculously intact. "Fuck!
Way to go, London, you cocky asshole!"
The Atlanta's stern glowed intense blue, drawing in particles
around them; the Atlanta seemed to briefly stretch to infinity, before
disappearing in a bright blue flash.
The
Dread
"They've jumped into FTL, Boss," Aaryx coughed.
The smoke still hung heavily on the bridge of the Dread.
Heran scowled.
"Engines?" he snarled.
"Minor damage; they're useable, just not at full capacity,"
Neris reported, holding her arm, which was streaming dark blood.
Heran glared as he removed himself from the TPA.
Now they would have to spend all of their spare funds repairing the Dread.
"Dammit!" Heran cursed. "Plot
a course for the Shroud; looks like we've got some repairs to conduct.
Maximum possible speed. Neris,
when we get there... start nosing around. I
want to know who the hell put a price on us, or who would be interested in
putting us out of business, and most importantly, who has the capability."
Neris nodded. "If
you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go take care of this arm, and get a casualty
report." Heran waved
dismissively before glowering at the screen.
Green energy enveloped the Dread; and it disappeared in a green
spiral and a flash as it, too, jumped into faster-than-light transit.
The
Sabaat Starbase
"From what we could determine," began the captain of the
destroyer SLS Samuel Tsukino, "Another merc jumped the Dread.
At least we think it was a merc."
"Dodged a torpedo on that one," put in the first officer from
the same ship.
Sailor Orion nodded. "Why
a merc?"
"Well... and this is the funny thing... the reason I'm not sure it
is one, is they fired Ghost torpedoes at the Dread.
Not a lot, and followed by fusion beams and polaron torpedoes," the
captain shrugged.
"Fusion beams? Polaron
torpedoes?" asked Sailor America, arms crossed as she leaned against the
doorframe. Both the Samuel
Tsukino and the Osprey were now safely docked at the starbase; and
both combatants had fled. While a
good resolution to the situation, it was not an entirely satisfactory one.
"I know of them," reported the starbase's tactical officer. "Fusion beams work by exciting the atomic nuclei of the
hull of an enemy target. They have
zero effect against energy fields like shields, and they are very short range
weapons."
"Why would anyone want them, then?" asked Sailor America.
"Because they're powerful as hell," replied the tactical
officer. "They're easily
capable of ripping one of our hulls to shreds with only a few shots."
"And the torpedoes?" queried Sailor Orion.
"Polaron torpedoes are generic torpedoes; essentially spaceborne
thermonuclear weapons; they're not as potent as our Phoenix torps, or Negatorps.
However, they're cheap, and fired in massive quantities are decently
effective. Probably why the other
ship used them in the fashion they did. A
few strategically placed Ghost torps, followed by fusion beam fire and a large
amount of polarons… I daresay the
Dread is out of business for a while.
They're not gonna want to rely on the TPA alone; it's too powerful,"
he concluded.
Sailor Orion faced him squarely. "You're
not telling us everything."
Lieutenant Commander Jack London nodded.
"You're right; I'm not. I
think the ship responsible belongs to my cousin, Brad London.
He's the only merc I can think of who could have possibly acquired Ghost
torps." Jack London wore his
blonde hair in a classic crewcut, and had the same piercing blue eyes as his
cousin. "You see, Brad used to
be a LISA agent. However, he had
two things going against him: one, he hated how after a conflict, some of the responsible
parties would get away with no retribution, in the interest of fairness, peace,
and diplomacy. Two, he was, and
probably still is, an alcoholic. The
end result was he was cashiered out of LISA for insubordination, failure to obey
direct orders, and his alcoholism."
"Go on," Sailor Orion said, interested despite herself.
"Well, he was, and still is, extremely loyal to Her Highness,"
Jack continued.
"How do you know he still is?" asked Sailor America.
"Because he rarely accepts a target that isn't a direct enemy, or
has done some harm against, the GM," Jack said.
"I daresay he's probably encouraged, though not publicly, by the RSN
high brass; he once told me they've paid him for hunting down certain
individuals. That would explain to
me why the ship had Ghost torps; probably a payment on the sly for services
rendered. The report from the Sam
Tsukino shows only three were used; probably he doesn't have too many of
them."
Sailor Orion leaned back. "Interesting,"
she said. "Thanks, Lieutenant
Commander. Good report; you can
go."
Jack nodded. He stood, and
turned to leave; he paused by the door. "One
other thing, Sailor Orion," he added.
"If it is Brad, then he isn't going to stop hunting the Dread
until one of the two ships are destroyed with all hands.
I think the threat of the Dread to us is going to be sharply reduced;
they'll have their hands full."
Sailor America glanced after him as he left, the door hissing shut behind
him.
"Cool," she said with a grin.
Isle
of Avalon, Planet Earth, Sol system, 25 December 2737
Hoshi stood, with a luxurious stretch, as she surveyed the encampment. They were on a lush green field, near the ancient remains of
a castle; they were as of yet uncertain to the name or origin of the castle.
The place was literally a paradise; what a place to have spent Christmas!
By night, one sensitive to mystical forces- like herself, Talia, and
Archmage Torym- could feel the supernatural presence, the spirits moving around.
For the most part, all was benign; there was one locked and sealed
chamber where hostility seemed to emanate, as if they weren't supposed to be
near it; it had been agreed to leave it alone.
Hoshi walked over to the bank of instrumentation, which was set up with
quite a few portable computers. Their
current position was now near the Bahamas; not that the temperature had changed
a whit since they had arrived.
Perhaps that was what had her on edge about Avalon.
While it was pleasant, it was also unchanging. There was never any wind or bad weather; the temperature
stayed at a pleasant springtime temperature, day or night. It was... stifling. It
was as if time seemed to stand still here.
She paused to grab her morning glass of orange juice, and take a sip.
She examined the grid work. They
actually had yet to start digging or looking for any artifacts; they were still
finishing up a detailed survey of everything.
It was much easier here, since nothing ever changed.
She grinned, thinking of how bored Torym was.
He hadn't expected the long prep time, and it was bugging him.
Hoshi's grin then faded a little. Torym
was also showing an unhealthy interest in the tomb they had decided not to
touch.
It was as if something was calling to him.
"Good morning," she heard a voice say pleasantly behind her.
She turned.
"You too, Tal," Hoshi replied.
"Ready to finish that survey, and get to some serious digging?"
Talia nodded. "Indeed,
but there will be little 'digging', I believe.
It seems we will be spending most of our time figuring out how to open
various chambers; there seems to be a lot of puzzles to solve."
"Yeah," nodded Hoshi. "But
it makes you wonder what is in there; and is it really Camelot? No ruins of Camelot have ever been found; how does one move a
castle? Of course, no one has ever
found The Lake, either, and it seems to be here, assuming that lake on the other
side of the castle is the one."
"Indeed," agreed Talia. Both
paused to examine to castle one final time before getting to work.
Torym stared at the statue that marked the entrance to the tomb. Behind the unrelenting hostility, there was an undercurrent
of something else. Something was
begging him to rescue it, with promises of great reward. He was the only one, he felt, the only one who heard this
call, who could possibly answer it.
It made Torym feel good to know that there was something only he could
do, something he was unique for.
So he sat, and surveyed the entry, trying to figure out how to get in.
He would ask for no help; this was to be his moment alone.
Crystal
Palace in Crystal Tokyo, Planet Luna, Sol system, 26 December 2737
Sailor Neptune walked gracefully into the courtyard, eyes taking in
everything. Sailor Mercury stood
near the shuttle, talking animatedly with the three Royals, plus Artemis, Diana,
and Luna. Several of her Skunk
Works designers were with her.
Sailor Neptune drew to a stop near the Planetary of Ice.
"Hello, Sailor Mercury," she smiled.
"Hello, Sailor Neptune," Sailor Mercury replied.
"Glad you could join us."
"Can I ask what this is all about?" Sailor Neptune continued.
"You'll see," grinned Sailor Mercury mysteriously.
Neo-Queen Serenity I mock-pouted. "That's
all she's telling us, too, Michelle."
The ruler of the GM looked appraisingly at Sailor Mercury.
"If everyone will board the shuttle, all will be explained,"
Sailor Mercury said, indicating they should all board ahead of her.
Minutes later, a cloud of steam burst from under the shuttle as it lifted
into the clear blue sky.
In
an Executive Shuttle, departing Luna
As the blue of the atmosphere of Luna faded to the black of space, the
Planetary of the Oceans could barely contain herself.
Sailor Mercury glanced around the shuttle.
"Okay. The reason
you're all here is because we have a little something new to show you."
Sailor Mercury looked at Serenity. "I
asked you along, Serenity, Endymion, Reeni, Artemis, Luna, Diana, because you've
always been interested in new developments, and like to be kept informed.
Michelle, I asked you along because this directly concerns you as the
current deputy commander-in-chief of the Royal Star Navy."
"Okay," Sailor Neptune said slowly.
"You remember the SLS Wolverine?
How badly damaged it was, to the point where the decision was made to
scrap it and build another? And how
we asked for it?" Amy asked them all, falling into a familiar role as a
teacher.
"Yes," Sailor Neptune said, tilting her head slightly. "I remember wondering why you'd want that hulk."
"Well, we took it, and built it to be an automatic ship,
remote-controlled for a specific test. We
didn't need the RIFT drive, so we simply beefed up the fusion impellers, adding
in an extensive level of shielding, and supplying it with plenty of weapons, to
make it a more than fair match up."
"'Match up'?" asked Luna. "Match
up for what?"
"And where precisely are we headed?" asked Artemis.
"The Belt," Sailor Mercury replied.
"We have a testing platform constructed there, and that's where this
demonstration is going to take place. Just
a little longer, please."
Outside of the window, they could see Phobos passing by.
Weapons
Research Platform, The Asteroid Belt
"Well, this place certainly is... spartan," commented Diana as
they stepped into the observation area. Built
just on the edge of the asteroid belt, the post allowed an excellent view into
the fringes of the belt. This
particular area was a firing ground, both for RSN ships doing target practice,
and researching new weapons and weapon upgrades.
Sailor Mercury often reflected on the irony of the double-edged research
she was in charge of conducting. Many
of her developments were beneficial; medical advances being the top of that
list. Yet, she had long ago
realized she had to accept that to keep her people alive, she also had to
research better ways of killing people.
Sometimes it was hard to accept.
Yet, no matter what the development, she couldn't help but get excited.
All of her research had had spin-offs; discover a new medical technology,
and suddenly part of that technology could be applied to ships.
Discover a new weapon principle, and suddenly it had applications in
terraforming.
So, she had learned to accept it all.
"Well, we are only here to conduct tests; we saw little point in
making it plush and habitable, with the exception of the quarters for the
skeleton crew that mans this place when nothing's happening," Sailor
Mercury explained. They could see
the hastily modified Wolverine circling one of the nearer asteroids.
Sailor Mercury glanced at one of the technicians.
"Status?" she asked.
"They're in position now," one said.
"Maneuvering for the attack."
"Good," Sailor Mercury stated.
"Bring the Wolverine to full attack status."
"Done," came the report.
"What's..." began Princess Serena, to trail off and stare out of the
window.
"Watch carefully," Sailor Mercury said with a faint smile.
Outside, the Wolverine turned away from the asteroid, at the
precise second a yellow beam from a blaster lanced out from behind a tiny
asteroid.
"Wait a minute; that asteroid's too small to hide a ship!"
Sailor Neptune said, leaning forward intently.
"Correct," Sailor Mercury replied.
Yellow beams began lancing out from the Wolverine; two small
shield arcs flaring could be seen.
"Magnify," Sailor Mercury ordered, and one of the windows
blinked to show a closer view. Two
small, shuttle-sized craft maneuvered around the Wolverine; both abruptly
dived in, dodging as the Wolverine launched torpedoes.
Again, the Wolverine's point defenses fired; again, their shields
flared. The Wolverine's torpedoes missed.
The two craft were now on opposite sides of the Wolverine; both
fired one Ghost torpedo, followed by a Phoenix torpedo, and then both laid into
the Wolverine with blasters. The
Ghost torps hit; the Wolverine's shields phased, allowing the two Phoenix
torps to hit home. The small craft
pulled up abruptly; they soared away from the Wolverine as small blossoms
of flame and debris erupted all over the
Wolverine, seconds before it exploded in a brilliant blast.
"Status?" asked Sailor Mercury as the two shapes flew right
towards the post.
"Shields on one at 77%; shields on two at 65%," reported the
tech. "All systems performed
according to spec."
"Most excellent," Sailor Mercury said in satisfaction. She turned to the extremely curious gathering as the two
craft roared right by the observation area.
They were shaped like a double-bladed battleaxe, minus handle; the
gathered barely caught a glimpse of the cockpit in the middle of the 'blade',
and the glowing red fusion impeller engines mounted aft of the cockpit, coupled
with a sleek silver paint scheme.
"Your highnesses, Sailor Neptune, Luna, Artemis, Diana; may I
present the new Battlewing AS Mark 1 anti-ship fighter?" smiled Sailor
Mercury.
"A fighter?" blinked Sailor Neptune in astonishment.
"Impressive."
They had retired to the briefing room, along with the two pilots who had
flown the fighters.
"So, what exactly are we looking at here, Amy?" asked Serenity.
Sailor Mercury grinned. "That
was the final test in the Battlewing program.
That model of the fighter is ready for production if we so choose."
"I am curious," King Endymion said, leaning forward. "What brought this about?"
Sailor Mercury leaned back, picking up her glass of water and taking a
sip. "New advances in
micronization, and metallurgy; and the need for such a craft."
"The need?" asked Diana.
Sailor Mercury nodded. "Think
about this; the Battlewing AS you just saw demonstrated carries 4 hardpoint
blaster arrays; the same variety that is mounted on transports.
It also has a pair of torpedo tubes, capable of carrying one shot each.
It is constructed to be extremely durable.
If you recall, seven months ago we looked into this sort of thing by
modifying existing shuttles; we were encouraged enough by the results that we
took it further, tearing apart a shuttle and discarding systems for passengers,
and for comfort in transitory flights."
She paused, and chuckled. "Which
reduced the shuttle's mass by 47%, once we removed the RIFT drive components. It
was a short leap from there to replace those parts with combat-worthy materials.
The end result is a highly responsive, durable, powerful little ship that
is roughly the same size of a shuttle; it is just a touch wider.
And think about this: What
if a transport or a scout ship was carrying one of these?
You're looking at at least a 100% increase in firepower. They have shielding equivalent to a destroyer;
they are nimble, capable of dodging most weapons designed for ship-to-ship
combat, while carrying them. Granted,
we are the only race right now that uses point defense; but even that isn't too
effective against these." Sailor
Mercury shook her head.
"You're right," said Luna.
"The leap in firepower there is definitely reason to replace a
shuttle on scouts and transports with one."
"Was this designed with the Dread in mind?" asked
Artemis slyly.
"One of the reasons," nodded Sailor Mercury.
"Transports generally have huge shuttle bays for work shuttles; what
transport captain wouldn't accept a loss of two or three of their work shuttles
for a self-defense fleet? Another
is the Zerm that we're suddenly having problems with.
A fighter has no RIFT core, just fusion impellers.
We all know how quickly that those power up; plus we've tied in extensive
auxiliary power. A ship could
launch fighters at range, and the fighters could close in, deactivate, let the
energy matrix pass them, and reactivate; the fighters are very responsive and
quick. The Zerm literally wouldn't
know what hit them."
"Do the fighters have a TPA?" asked Princess Serena.
"We have one of each type currently that does; we weren't planning
on mass producing them. Rather,
those'll be available by special request, if a Sorcerer or Senshi decides to
make a career flying these," Sailor Mercury answered.
"Each type?" asked Sailor Neptune.
"We've designed three varieties.
I'm sure you were wondering, what if someone gets a hold of these AS type
of fighters? Well, we also have
Battlewing GS, for ground-strike, and Battlewing IF, for interceptor-fighter.
The GS is designed to support Sorcerer ground attacks, and targets on the
ground. That one has two hard point
blasters; and room for multiple reloads of the torpedo tubes; it can carry
eight, one in the tubes and three spares to a side.
The IF doesn't have torpedoes; rather, it has six hardpoint blasters,
designed for maximum effectiveness against other fighters.
It also has a new weapon, good against small craft.
This weapon releases a gravity wave; it's designed to knock low mass,
not-so-stable craft around. All
three have TPA capability; it just won't be built into the standard
models," Sailor Mercury replied.
"And they're a delight to fly," put in Archmage Xaslen, one of
the pilots. His partner nodded.
"Well," said Serenity. "What
are we waiting for? Amy, finish
your testing on all three varieties; Michelle, began preparations to incorporate
them into the fleet. Archmage
Xaslen, Lieutenant Harrison, would you object to becoming instructor
pilots?"
"Of course not, your Highness," they replied simultaneously.
"Actually, we already have trainers ready, too," Sailor Mercury
smiled. "They're designated
TR."
Serenity shared Sailor Mercury's smile.
"What would we ever do without you, Amy?"
Isle
of Avalon, Planet Earth, Sol system, 2 January 2738
"They're getting stronger," frowned Hoshiko.
Talia glanced at the casual, slender woman.
"What, precisely?"
"Can't you feel the unrest? The
uncertainty? The spiritual presence
here is growing, and not in a good way," Hoshi said, shivering from the
ambience. It certainly wasn't from
the temperature.
Tal nodded slowly. "Indeed,
I can sense this. I am at a loss to
explain it, though." The two
were standing in a hallway of the castle; they stood in front of a set of double
doors, and they and several experts were attempting to open them.
"I'm not," muttered Hoshi.
"I hate to say it, but it's Torym.
He's disappeared, and I guarantee he's still trying to get in that one
tomb. Bringing him along is turning
out to be a bad idea. He's claiming
something's in there, calling to him, that only he can rescue it."
"And might that not be true?" asked Tal.
"What does logic tell you?" returned Hoshi.
Tal nodded slightly. "Logically,
I can only think of one reason such a place exists in a place of such goodness
such as this. What better place to
hide an artifact of great evil, than a place of great good?"
"Exactly," Hoshi murmured grimly.
"I think something bad is misleading him; and he's falling for it
hook, line, and sinker. We should
inform Her Highness the second anything develops."
"Got it!" called one of their companions in triumph. With the groan of something that hasn't opened in a long
time, the two double doors slowly opened.
Tal stepped in first, followed by Hoshi.
"By the Crystal," gasped Hoshi.
"It is Camelot!"
"Indeed," Tal said quietly.
"The round table; the crest of Arthur by the highest chair. This is Camelot."
"Welcome," came a quiet voice.
They whirled to see an old man in brown robes, leaning on a staff,
examining them. He was standing off
to the right.
He had a long white beard, and hair.
Tal and Hoshi faced him, and bowed slightly.
"Greetings," Tal said. "We
are-"
"I know who you are," he said calmly.
"I have been watching. I
know that you are of good, noble persuasion.
But the weak one you brought with you is about to release an ancient
evil; Avalon is about to become a battleground.
I will require your assistance."
"If I may ask, sir, who are you?" Hoshi said, after exchanging
a glance with Tal.
"My name..." he began, "is Merlin."
Somewhere
in the Alpha Zone, 2 January 2738
The
SLS Bahumat
The double doors hissed open, and a slightly disheveled Wizard Duke and
slightly crisped Sorcerer Derrelli stepped out.
The holotrainer doors closed behind them.
"That was fun," grinned Derrelli.
"It's always a blast blowing shit up," chuckled Duke in
agreement. "Can't think of a
better way to relax in our free time."
"Quite," agreed Derrelli, as the comm overhead beeped.
"All senior officers to the bridge," came Sailor Geminga's
voice.
Derrelli made a face. "She
is a real spoilsport, isn't she?"
Duke rolled his eyes as the two turned and headed to the lift.
As they stepped out onto the bridge, the first thing they noticed was the
image on screen one; it showed a GM cruiser, adrift and powerless, amidst the
flickering of a nebula.
"What's up?" asked Derrelli.
Sailor Geminga turned, and scowled at him.
"Now is not the time for your facetiousness, Sorcerer Derrelli.
We have a situation here."
Derrelli blinked at the rebuke, his humor disappearing.
Duke hastily made his way to the helm, tapping the officer there on the
shoulder to relieve him. Sailor
Geminga's scowl deepened as she noticed their uniforms.
"Why is it you two are always coming in looking less than
professional?" she asked angrily.
Derrelli glared. "Excuse
us if we're constantly being called while we're on our off time. These things happen, Captain," Derrelli responded
stiffly. "May I inquire as to
the situation?" What's up
her ass today? he wondered, annoyed.
Sailor Geminga glared a second longer, then shook her head and turned
back to the screen. "The SLS Centaur.
For some reason, it dropped off the comms yesterday.
We left our patrol routing to investigate.
This is what we found. There
is no power, and we can't get definitive readings on life signs or anything else
due to that particular nebula; and there are no scout ships in the region."
She paced. "This means
we have to do this the old-fashioned way. I
have a security squad ready, as well as Commander Thompson, who is in overall
charge. I also want you to go;
you'll hopefully be able to restore power."
Derrelli nodded.
Sailor Geminga glanced at Shelia, who stood.
"All those assigned to the boarding party report to Shuttlebay One
on the double!" Derrelli moved
to the lift, and he and Shelia got in.
Ten minutes later, the shuttle left the Bahumat.
Derrelli was in the copilot's seat; Shelia was flying.
Behind them were ten members of the ship's security contingent.
All ten were equipped with blaster rifles from the ship's stores. Derrelli had his staff, his Pythons, and his magic; Shelia
also had a blaster rifle.
"Two minutes," she said. Derrelli
nodded, still angry. Shelia sighed.
"Listen, Derrelli; just ignore her attitudes.
It takes awhile, I know, but they're actually harmless.
She has never filed any reports or grievances or punishments due to her
prejudices; she never will. I'd say
it's her way of dealing with stress; and being a starship captain is often
awfully lonely. Just ignore
it."
"You don't believe what she does?" Derrelli asked, surprised.
"Hell no," Shelia replied.
"I respect all those who serve in the RSN; it takes a special breed
to last out here. Differences
matter not to me. She's the only
one who feels that way, trust me."
Derrelli thought for a moment, and smiled.
"That's good to know."
They fell silent as the shuttle drew level with the silent cruiser's main
docking hatch; anticipation hung in the air.
Shelia carefully pulled up to the hatch, inverting the shuttle, since the
shuttle's docking hatch was on the top. There
was a clunk as it locked.
"Okay, good seal," Shelia said.
"Let's get the hatch opened."
The shuttle's hatch opened, to reveal the closed, powerless hatch of the
ship.
"Seems to be sufficient atmosphere," Derrelli said, examining
the microcomp in his hands.
Shelia nodded, and motioned to two of the security troops, who leveled
their rifles and pulled the triggers. Brilliant
beams of energy drilled into the hatch.
It took just over a minute to cut through the hatch; as it fell away, an
awful stench assaulted their nostrils. The
stench of decaying bodies; the stench of death.
"What the hell?" gagged Shelia.
Derrelli frowned. "Well,
we gotta get this done. Let's
go." He drew his Pythons.
He led the way, carefully stepping over the hatch; shining his wristlight
about. The corridor was a short
one, intersecting with another. He
waited until the entire squad was behind him; Shelia then closed the shuttle's
hatch, and nodded at Derrelli.
He moved ahead slowly, pausing at the intersection, glancing down one
way, and then glancing the other way. He
moved into the intersection, and stopped dead as his light revealed more clearly
the shape he had noticed.
Shelia moved next to him, and also shined her beam on it.
"Oh, shit," she whispered.
"I think I'm going to be sick."
Their lights revealed a human body... in pieces.
The bulkheads, ceiling, and deck around it were liberally coated in the
brown of dried blood.
"Just what the hell happened here?" Derrelli asked in a
horrified whisper.
STAY
TUNED!