Noted.
I'll try to post a chapter soon -- if not, I might just wait until tomorrow. Gotta walk roughly 8.4 miles (round-trip), according to Google Maps. Should take me more than three or four hours. But the rain . . . *sigh*
EDIT:
CHAPTER SIX:
An Expected Twist
"Space?" Sakki said aghast. "We're in space?"
"Well, what else would you call it?" Mithril asked. Sakki punched his shoulder, to which he replied, "Ow."
<How long were we out?> Noelle said. <We must have been out for some time, considering the enclosures he had ready for us.>
"Never mind how long were we knocked out," Phoenix said. "What I want to know how that dingbat managed to captures us all so easily!"
Everyone seemed far too concern with the fact they were in deep space, far from Earth, to notice Dino's conspicuous silence. They were so concerned with the situation they've found themselves in, they hadn't noticed her triskaidekaphobia. It's something when you see an ankylotyrannus shake and shiver.
"Dino," Yarin said, having noticed her stress, "are you okay?"
The other twelve turned to her.
"Thirteen . . ." she muttered.
The other twelve blinked, and Mithril looked at Dino with a confused gaze. Yarin slapped his forehead -- accidentally poking on his six eyes -- and said, "Of course -- sorry that I forgot, Dino. Dino is triskaidekaphobic, guys."
"Um . . . what?" Hunter said.
"She's afraid of the number thirteen," Aquilai supplied.
"Well, there isn't much we can do about it now," Myitt said, "Sorry Dino, you're just gonna have tough it out . . ."
"We could split up," Phoenix offered. "Hunter's missing his weapon. Aquilai's been stripped his sonic screwdriver. They could go look for that together. Then the rest of us can go to the bridge of this ship, take control from this -- this "Collector" -- and turn it around. Head toward Earth, and beam us down or whatever."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Parker said.
"Sounds like a death warrant to me," Demos said, grinning.
***
Hunter and Aquilai stalked through the opposite direction of the other group, searching for a secret room, a hidden alcove, where their items might be recovered. It was tough, daunting, and arduous work. And they repeatedly met with little success.
"Well, this is time-consuming," Aquilai said, an attempt at a blythe tone.
Hunter said nothing. He wanted his gun back, and he wanted it back NOW! Then he perked up when he thought he smelled a familiar scent -- his own scent. It was faint, but he did as the toucan demands and followed his nose.
They manage to find the alcove that housed both Hunter's gun and Aquilai's sonic screwdriver. But something about it, the placement of the items . . . out in the open, no security measures taken . . . it unnerved Aquilai. Hunter was just too focused on his gun to care.
"Hunter," Aquilai cautioned, "I think we should be careful. This could be a --"
Hunter reached out and grasped his gun, suddenly two tubes encapsulated the two from ceiling to floor.
"-- Trap," Aquilai finished, as the tubes started to fill with a greenish knockout gas.
***
Meanwhile, the others had managed to locate the bridge of the ship. The door was, naturally, closed. The deliberated on the quickest way through, and in the end, Parker just cut through using his energy sword in one fluid movement.
"That was actually easier than I thought it would be," Parker said, suspiciously.
"Too easy," Phoenix muttered in agreement.
They filed in, flanking Collector who looked unsurprised at their intrusion.
"You're outnumbered, Collector!" Sakki shouted.
"Hand over this ship to us," Myitt said, well aware her human body was unarmed.
"Or you might as well be hurt," Parker threatened.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Collector said, still irritatingly calm and infuriatingly condescending. "Poor little beings. Do you honestly think that you would have escaped your enclosures . . . if I had not allowed it? I deliberately left that sword in the SPARTAN's possession to see if he was intelligent enough to USE it."
Collector snapped his fingers and, as a white-and-yellow energy bubble shielded him, green knockout gas leaked up from the floor and down from the ceiling. One by one, the RAFians dropped, with Sakki being the last to fall. Collector never even left his chair.
