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ENTRY # : |
22 |
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TITLE : |
SUDDEN DEATH |
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ARC : |
WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE STARS III |
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ENTERED BY : |
Hazardman |
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DATE RANGE : |
November 29th, 2000 - December 18th, 2000 |
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HEROES : |
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VILLAINS : |
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PEOPLE : |
Crucible,
A'Kaeus,
Jonkheer "One Horn",
Satai O'Meita
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OTHERS : |
The Knights of the Coast,
Alien Spacecraft,
Cipher's Brood specimen,
The D'Kai,
The Ophidian Republic,
Ophidian Slave Collar
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ENTRY : |
So there we were, riding off (metaphorically speaking), to try to save
Phoenix from a nasty fight against overwhelming odds, and Crucible from blowing himself up
to keep the Ophidians from learning the location of Earth. Just your typical Wednesday
morning for the Knights of the Coast. (Well, perhaps not, but I've always wanted to say that.)
Sounds pretty simple, eh? I'd have to say that living through it was anything but. We were
fighting a rearguard action against some of those pesky Triceratons, while trying to escort a
horde of D'Kai refugees up a lift shaft to where Phoenix was fighting for his life. To top it
all off, we were all fitted with explosive collars that Cipher, Starfire and Tesla were
furiously working to jam and remove before they could be used to incapacitate or end our little
insurrection.
I, personally, didn't see a lot of that end of the battle. Instead I was one of the first
(along with Oberon and Canadian Shield) to go up through the elevator shaft and hit the
Ophidians menacing Phoenix and Red Archer from behind. Things got really messy in that
cellblock, however, as the bad guys got some reinforcements as well and everyone really started
mixing it up for real.
I'm not sure how this would have ended. Our powers gave us an edge, but we were outnumbered
and the opponents were heavily armed and armored. That question would not be answered, however,
as in the midst of the battle a siren started wailing and the head of the Ophidians (who had
been fighting pretty seriously against one of the D'Kai) broke off and pulled back his forces.
We ran for it too, and found ourselves a docking bay and a captured D'Kai vessel which we
used to evactuate the ship.
I want to note that I still hadn't given up on Crucible. None of us had. We were trying to
explain what was going on the the D'Kai pilot as best we could using a hodgepodge of English,
Ophidian and gestures (even as he was frantically engaged in trying to dodge the incoming fire
from the mothership) when it happened. The mothership peeled open like a flower expanding,
revealing flame and destruction within. We all stared in shock as Crucible died.
The rest of the tale could fill volumes (and probably does, elsewhere in this database). The
short form of it is that we were welcomed back as heroes amongst the D'Kai people for the
rescue of the Chandra. One of the D'Kai volunteered to give us a lift back home (they seemed
interested in some congruity between their lore and that of Oberon and seemed to think that
Earth might be a lost colony of their people). One the trip back there was an accident in
hyperspace and we were forced to abandon ship with our guide, a D'Kai named P'Reseiho, as
the broken ship hurtled out of the system at a speed close to that of light. We landed
off the coast of South America and were picked up by the U.S. Navy. Cipher's pet bug (still
alive despite the wishes of Phoenix) was taken by the Feds for study "by top men". After
some hassle (especially over the status of P'Reseiho and Starfire), we were finally permitted
to return home.
There, we were faced with the task about breaking the news about Crucible. And coming to grips
with it ourselves.
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WRAPUP : |
We were home at last, though scarred by the experience and missing one of our own.
It remains to be seen how the group adapts to the void in its midst.
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