Memoirs of a RAFian

[redtailedsaffa]

it's exclusively exclusive

Very eloquent, Cloaky.

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER TEN:
Action to Be Taken

"A male Saiyan. A female human. A male half-Saiyan/half-human hybrid. A male Prypiatosian-B, wearing a containment suit. A male Ewok. A male Cerebrocrustacean. A female Vulcan. A female Aerophibian. A male Zabrak." Yarin reported. "A male Appoplexian. A male Gimlinopithecus. Possibly more disappearances. No trace of a struggle was found, though this means nothing, as the Knights could have easily infiltrated the police and crime scene investigators."

"We have to act," Cloak said, at once. "To choose inaction, would be wrong at this point."

"Cloak's right," Faerie agreed. "If we choose not act, the Knights are going to sweep the Earth. They aren't even following their own ideology anymore!"

"How aren't they?" Helen asked.

"They are all about human superiority," Sakki answered. "But this the second human they 'disappeared'."

"They must have a projector of some sort," Cloak mused. "Given what we know . . . they are obviously using Void Space as some sort of incarceration place, for the crime of either not being Terran and daring to exist or opposing the Knights."

"So, they have finally realized their goal of becoming a legitimate threat," Saffa said, with a scowl. "Well, what's our next move?"

"A full frontal assault?" Parker suggested.

"No," Richard said. "That might just tip them off to our intentions. It might destroy whatever this projector is."

"Or they might destroy it themselves, just to spite us," Gaz put in.

"So, we go in by stealth." Ash said. "Sneak in and take the projector. Do some recon first."

"The projector could be bulky, like the shrinking machine from 'Honey, I Shrunk the Kids'," Aquilai noted. "Something that wouldn't be easy to spirit away."

"Not to mention we have a responsibility to rescue the victims," GH said, altruistically.

Cloak wondered if he should mention that the Void Space is a place that wasn't really hospitable to life. Unless the species could survive in a vacuum, Cloak believed the people to be dead.

"Well, on that count, could you just Walk to this Void Space, Cloak?" Saffa asked.

"Can you morph directly to another morph?" Cloak answered with a question.

"A simple 'no' would have sufficed."

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER ELEVEN:
Baiting the Trap

The RAFians had decided on what they called "the Berenson Gambit".

They had set up some bait to draw the Knights in -- what appeared to be a Geochelone Aerio with an Arquillian perched on his shoulder like a parrot. Two of the most peaceful species known. Irresistible targets for the Knights to somehow vilify, and condemn.

It was almost too telling, but bigots tend to be on the stupid side, for the most part, because their own superiority complexes limit their thinking. But it does not mean that they are not dangerous, if only for their finite comprehension of those who are different.

The Knights, unable to resist this bait anymore than a shark or Taxxon could resist a blood trail, came sniffing around like a year-old pup who didn't know any better. They came in their full regalia, armor and all. It was a wonder if they even took that armor off at all, or even if they chose not to bathe because it required takjng off their armor, which they actually considered a tangible symbol of their species purity, their blood purity, or something stupid, foolishly obstinate, and asinine like that.

Then again, Parker had habit of keeping his armor on at most times as well, but the reason for that was a bit simpler. He was simply obsessed with it, though Helen's presence has dulled the edge of that obsession.

Anyway, the Knights began to stake out the area, proving that they could be tactical when they decided to turn their brains on. They didn't really notice the obvious flaw of these two aliens, but that was really fortunate. And it was what the RAFians were hoping for, what the RAFians were counting on, what the RAFians planning on.

Even Jaxur himself showed up.

With the Void Space projector.

They weren't hesitating on their ridiculous crusade. Proven when they didn't bother to question whether their natural disposition was benign or malignant, whether it was idealistic and altruistic or selfisb and cruel. All they knew was that they were sentient, and not human. In their rather limited view, humans are the only sentient species on the plan, despite this not being true.

They never questioned their actions or the ramifications and the consequences of said actions. It was a bit reckless on their part, true, but they didn't tend to think these things out. And the fact that they were doing this out in the open (granted, there was forest cover) meant that there was a greater likelihood that they actually had people in the police force.

But this was good.

"Alien filth!" Jaxur announced.

Very good.

"You are not welcomed on Earth!" Jaxur belted out in bellowing tones. "Be prepared to be put in your place! A place of nothing FOR a nothing!"

All according to plan. . . .

[Cloak]

This book may have some connections with a future one.

New chapter.

CHAPTER TWELVE:
The Base Diversion

"Sir," a Knight with a gruff voice said, "I just got intel. This is a diversion."

Jaxur looked away from the projector slightly, and braced himself against a sudden wind that came from nowhere. Be glanced back, and saw the projector was fine.

"A diversion?" Jaxur repeated. "A diversion from what?"

"The base is being stormed by the alien filth and the filth supporters," the Knight said.

"What?!" Jaxur yelled. "How can the Castle be stormed?!"

The . . . Castle?

Yes, he was serious. That is what they called their base, their stronghold. They seemed to be unaware of how silly it sounded when spoken aloud, but then again, these are the people that went around in clunky all-metal armor like a child playing dress-up.

"Sir, that is just what the intel says." the knight said, rather noncommittally.

Jaxur seemed to be apoplectic with absolute, abject rage at this. But not at the Knight, but at the circumstance. But Jaxur did not want these two aliens to get away.

"How dire is the need at the Castle?" Jaxur said with a calm he did not feel.

"Our people are holding their own," the Knight said.

"Good," Jaxur said, his helmet unintentionally hiding his dung-eating grin. "They can hold their own for a bit longer, then. We will take care of this filth before we go to help our brothers and sisters."

In his megalomania, he did not notice the slight difference of the projector's weight and how the aim felt ever so slightly off. He aimed at the Geochelone Aerio and Arquillian, who trembled with an unseen wobble.

"Yes, sir," the Knight said.

He activated the portal projector, and did not notice how the portal seemed ever so slightly off-colored. The minute Arquillian and the turtle-like Geochelone Aerio were sucked in, protesting loudly in their native languages, despite not really being as accurate as it usually was. But this went unnoticed by the armored idiots.

"Good. Now let's get back to the Castle," Jaxur said.

After a few minutes, Cloak walked into the forest clearing, and he announced, "They're gone. Rocky, you can drop the pretense."

The area flickered as Rocklobster dropped the hologram, and commented, "Thst seemed to go well."

"Yes, it did." the Realm Walker said, before addressing the third RAFian. "Cerulean?"

"I got it," Cerulean said, hefting the projector. "Hopefully, Faerie's glamoured rock-with-handles will be able to sustain the illusion."

"Hey!" Faerie protested. "I know my stuff!"

"Now, all we can do is hope that Parker's team is successful," Cloak said, seriously. "As we move to rescue the victims."

"You sound like you don't believe that they may be alive," Rocklobster said, shrewdly.

"Activate the projector, Chee," Cloak said, surly.

[redtailedsaffa]

They remind me of the knights from Monty Python.

[Cloak]

Never bothered to watch Monty Python, so I assure you I took no inspiration from it. Since I'm posting this now, tomorrow's chapter may come later than usual. Please don't go all "DBZA self-entitled fanboy brat" on me. ( j/k)

Oh, and --

[spoiler=Behind the scenes tidbit.]In my original outline, Jaxur was actually a legit general, but still a Knight.[/spoiler]

New chapter.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
Putting Everything Right

Rocklobster said nothing more and did as he was instructed.

Meanwhile, Cloak created a scarlet-and-gold tether from his energy, which he used to bind himself to Cerulean and Faerie. The reasoning behind this was simple, Cloak wanted to ensure that they did not get separated, and could be yanked out if need be.

He supposed that he could simply Walk back, but he didn't know if he would be able to take passengers -- this hadn't ever really been tried. No Realm Walker dallied when Walking, and, far more often than not, zipped right through the Void Space, not even noticing it when Walking.

Soon enough, they saw an oval portal with crackling, yellow energy at the edges. It was calm and not sucking anything it. Inside was just blackness, nothing but an empty void -- and that was unsurprising, considering the name. The portal was just a doorway now.

"That pitiful Knight held down the button when a simple tap was all that was necessary," Rocklobster tsked, then addressed the others. "You can go through at any moment."

"Then let's get the lead out already!" Faerie said, never one to enjoy sitting around and doing nothing. With Faerie's bravado egging them on, Cloak secured the tether and the three jumped in.

***

En route to the Castle, Jaxur started to feel a bit suspicious.

These things were happening too close in proximity . . . they had found two alien pieces of filth and put them in their proper place. Could it be that these aliens and species-traitors thst call themselves RAFians -- a ludicrous name to be sure (despite thr name "Knights of Humanity" sounding like the villains of a Saturday morning cartoon show or some doomed-to-fail sci-fi drama) -- had realized the means in which they took to put these filthy invaders in their place?

They couldn't have taken the projector, as he had it here with him. He treated it eith the utmost care. The very idea that it wasn't was ludicrous. There was no doubt that it was the very same projector that he took from that naive scientist.

That scientist though . . .

The thought occured to Jaxur that the scientist was still alive. Still alive, and Jaxur didn't have the presence of mind to confiscate his notes. It would have been a good idea to do that, so they would be able to recreate it should the projector ever be stolen, damaged, or even destroyed. They only had this prototype. . . .

Jaxur decided that he would add it to his to-do list after they quelled this RAFian siege. Something to concern himself with later. Priorities. The Castle came first. Goode will come next.

[redtailedsaffa]

Pretty sure that'll never happen.

[Cloak]

I know.

It's just those self-entitled "fan" brats whining about no new DBZA episode really irritated the hell outta me. I'm just glad none of the replies to "Memoirs" was anything like that (except that one time years ago, but never mind that).

New, shortish chapter.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN:
The Purposely-Botched Battle

<Underseen and Ash have established telepathic contact, Parker,> Yarin reported. <They're coming with the head Knight.>

"So, they still haven't chosen a new King," Parker noted.

<This Jaxur guy is certainly close enough to be their King,> Yarin noted, maintaining silent communication.>

Parker acknowledged this with but a thought. He was only discharging his weapons at a fraction of their maximum potential. But he was trying very hard to conceal this fact from the Knights, as well as concealing the true nature of the attack. This was the diversion. This was to hold there attention whilst the others were rescuing the victims.

Parker's team consisted of Yarin, Saffa (currently in Tyrannopede morph), GH, Helen, Abby (in Mucillor morph), Sakki, Azguard, and Parker himself. Underseen and Ash were in disguise amongst the Knights' own ranks.

What Parker never realized was the challenge of not just overly decimating the Knights. Their base walls could have easily crumbled to one well-placed charged blast from his twin fusion cannons, but he had to hold that back. That wouldn't be good, as they were to try to give Cloak's team as much time as they could. Parker wasn't really sure he liked pulling his punches in such a way.

But it was necessary to continue the illusion, the deception.

Still it was rather embarrassing that the main force of the Knights were being stymied by a mere eight RAFians. It would be even more embarrassing if they knew these eight RAFians were holding back.

They had to make this look like this was a genuine attempt to take their base. They had to make it look like this battle was being botched without it being overtly deliberate. This was not as easy as it sounded, and it didn't sound very easy to begin with.

The Knights, including Jaxur, were none the wiser. The ddception had been very good, though Parker was having his doubts. He also didn't know which of thr Knight troops Underseen and Ash had so cleverly ensconced themselves. But all was going well for them, and none of the Knights were suspicious.

All was going according to plan . . . now . . . if they could keep up the pretense just a bit longer . . .

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN:
Easy Fallback

Parker was finding it harder and harder to keep up the pretense. Part of him wanted to so desperately cut loose. But he knew that he could not,  he had make the Knights think that they were actually a match for him, let alone seven other RAFians.

But the difficulty was escalating exponentially. Parker would have to decide. Parker would have to make the call. He quickly assessed the situation. Pulling their punches was having a far more exhaustive effect on the others, and himself.

This will be a PR nightmare, Parker found himself thinking. They're never going to let us forget this embarrassment.

The others were obviously experiencing as much difficulty as Parker was. They were trying their best not to just outright decimate them. There was only one real choice left, and it wasn't the one that Parker really wanted to implement. The one he sorely wanted to implement.

It was the one that could potentially embarrass the forum. The one that the Knights would lord over them, their already considerably large egos inflated even more. But there was no choice. They gave Cloak's team as much time as they could -- Abby and Saffa had to demorph and remorph a few times. It should have been sufficient amount of time.

"Okay, guys," Parker said, aloud, mostly so the Knights could also hear. "Fall back!"

They did and the Knights cheered, apparently obvious to the fact that they had outnumbered the RAFians, three-to-one. Well, five-to-one, when Jaxur returned.

***

Cheers rent the sky. The Knights did not realize the true reasoning brhind this, buying the pretense hook, line, and sinker. Their cognitive prowess was very questionable at this point, but then again, was it really all that surprising?

But there was one Knight who was not as easily duped as his fellows.

Jaxur was judging the sudden retreat -- the retreat where the RAFians were holding their own. It was surprising that a Knight was not only this intelligent with this degree of foresight (but enough arrogance to stymie and sabotage himself in the grater scheme of things). Jaxur was a man with very little patience for frivolity and laziness, and he coukd be shrewd when he bothered to put his mind to it.

"Shut up, shut up, you fools," he said, in a way heavily reminiscent of Governor Radcliff in "Pocahontas. "They'll be back."

Jaxur continued his ponderings over it, when an idea suddenly occured to him. Perhaps, just perhaps, this siege wasn't all it appeared to be. Perhaps, just perhaps, there could be more to it. Something that they weren't privy to.

Jaxur eyed the projector with newly suspicious eyes. He was starting to put two and two together. He was starting to consider that the projector may not be the right one -- he started to speculate perhaps the two events were more related than he thought. The gears in his head were starting to turn. . . .

[redtailedsaffa]

Well, the military had to have taught you something.

[Cloak]

Jaxur wasn't in the military, though. He just impersonated a general. He only was in my original outline, before I decided to change it.

New, shortish chapter.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN:
Recovery and Discovery

Void Space really lived up to its name.

There wasn't anything here but absolute, abject blackness. A suffocating darkness. But it was remarkable that no one had any respiratory distress or vacuum decompression or anything like that. Cloak was vulnerable here, as he was without the elements here. No earth beneath him, no air around him (which made the fact Faerie and Cerulean could respirate without any trouble or distress all the more strangely odd), no water, no wood, no metal, and, since there was no air, no fire could be generated.

The fact that Cerulean and Faerie could survive in this inhospitable, hostile environment was simply remarkable in and of itself. But they could not communicate with each other, as neither Faerie or Cerulean couldn't thought-speak, and their wasn't really sufficient light to see little more than their waists and the fleeting glimpses of hands and slight reflections of the tether light in their eyes.

The light given off by their energy tether was really insufficient to see where they were going. It was at this point that they realize just how daunting this task was going to be. Void Space was massive. It would be more tedious and time-consuming than finding a bone needle in a veritable mountain of haystacks. Very, very difficult.

Cloak was beginning to question the wisdom of coming in here without an actual plan to locate the people sucked into this space. It could take them hours to -- oh, there they were. Well, that was easy.

Maybe a little too easy. Cloak wasn't too quick to trust this good luck.

He blinked. Then he shook his head. No, it couldn't be what he thought. He just mistook . . . er, never mind. He looked at the victims, all balled up in the fetal position. They seemed to be unconscious, but otherwise unharmed. Cloak also couldn't shake the feeling that . . . nah, he was just imagining things.

It was amazing just how efficiently Cerluean, Faerie, and Cloak could work when they really couldn't communicate. They quickly gathered up the people, and hurriedly made their way to the exit. It took them far less time to get the exit and close the portal.

"How dare you?!" came an irritated voice. "You had no right in bringing back these filthy monsters!"

Cloak turned around and looked the Knight Jaxur in the eye. Jaxur had come alone. A foolish, arrogant mistake.

[redtailedsaffa]

So he's been coming and going all the while.

[Cloak]

His intelligence? Yeah, that's the problem with bigots though. Their intelligence tends to fluctuate.

New chapter.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:
Nevermore

"You haven't any right to undo my righteous works!" Jaxur declared.

"Rights?" Cloak growled. He glared at Jaxur, and he was at least two feet shorter than the Realm Walker, but was fairly tall, for a human. "You want to talk of rights?"

"Oh, here we go," Faerie sighed, rubbing her forehead slightly.

"What right have you, Knight, to throw sentient beings into the void?" Cloak growled, advancing menacingly towards Jaxur. "What right do YOU have to marginalize, demean, terrorize, and even kill nonhuman sentient beings?"

"Please,"Jaxur said, rather stupidly dismissive, "it's not like they feel pain. It's not like they're people."

"He's not very smart, is he?" Cerulean said, with narrowed eyes.

"My money's on 'no'." Faerie commented.

"I cannot fathom how any being could be so crass . . . so inhumane . . . so arrogant . . ." Cloak said, laying a delicate emphasis over every single syllable. "So . . . intellectually barren. . . . So stupid."

"How dare you." Jaxur said, apparently not understanding that he had no leverage here. "How dare you speak to your superior like that, beast!"

Despite himself, Cloak snorted back a bark of laughter, which was better than Faerie, Cerulean, and Rocklobster who burst out in giggles at the sheer absurdity of this statement. "Superior? Seriously, Knight?"

"Mankind was given divine dominion over all beasts," Jaxur sniffed rather haughtily. "And all creatures who are not human are beasts. Thus, I have divine dominion over you."

"Are you trying to be ridiculous?" Faerie asked. "I mean that sincerely. Because you simply cannot be this stupid."

"Just return my projector, and I'll forget your transgressions," Jaxur said. "I might even consider to forgive such treachery."

"It's not treachery," Rocklobster stated, not having put up a holographic human disguise, because he simply did not think to do so, at the time. "Treachery is delibrate disregard of trust or faith -- you have neither trust nor faith in us. Or perhaps you mean we violated your confidence? We never had it to begin with. I repeat, we commited no treachery."

"Silence, inconsequential hunk of metal." Jaxur said, dimissively. "I'll forgive your treasonous actions and spiel -- just return my projector!"

"Our actions aren't treasonous," Cerulean pointed out, "we were never aligned to your cause, nor did you have any authority over us."

"I have divine dominion --"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah -- blah blah blah-ity blah." Faerie said, with her usual acid wit and irreverent sarcasm. "Just because you claim something, and use religious mumbo jumbo to attempt to justify it, doesn't make you right, Knighty-Knight. Fact is, you cannot demand anything of us."

It was at the point Jaxur decided to drop all pretense, drop the whole veneer of religious dogmatism. He simply demanded, "Give me back my projector."

"No." all four said.

Jaxur would not be denied, he removed his helmet. Another foolish move on his part -- the RAFians now could ID him, and they did. The man who had a habit of impersonating a soldier, impersonating a general. John Jacob Jaxur. The fact that he was a Knight was hardly surprising.

Jaxur ordered, "Give me back my projector. Now."

"If it's yours, Jaxur, truly yours," Rocklobster said, having uncovered an engraving upon the projector when he was operating it. "Then why is 'Property of Dr. Emil Bradford Goode' etched in its underside?"

Jaxur's eyes widened a bit at that, but his constant refrain only changed very slightly. "Give it to me!"

"No," Cloak said, very firmly. He addressed the Chee without even looking.  "Rocky, step away from the projector."

"Cloak, I thought we weren't giving it to him." Rocklobster protested.

"We're not," Cloak replied, quite seriously, as Rocklobster backed away. Cloak looked intently at the projector, cooled down after its rather brief use. Cloak hesitated for only a moment before he pulled back his arm and slammed a tree trunk-thick tendril of scarlet and gold energy down upon the machine. It was nothing more than twisted circuit boards, metal and plastic casing. Cloak used his Mastery over the Metal element to make it even more irreparable. "Nevermore will you be meddling in forces, with places, that you ought not."

"HOW DARE YOU!!" Jaxur shrieked.

[guitarhero01234]

I really love the way you wrote Jaxur. It may just be nicotine withdrawal, but I find myself genuinely pissed at every word he says. Good thing the Rocky and Faerie keep things lighthearted.

[Cloak]

Oh, you'll get ticked at him at least once more before the book is done. We're nearly done with the book now, as is, too.

New chapter.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:
Goode Kidnapping

Jaxur didn't stick around.

He was livid. Absolutely livid. How dare that cloaked idiot destroy his property! Heads would roll for this outrage! That cloaked twerp didn't know anything. The cloaked dunce didn't know what Jaxur's mission was. How truly noble, how truly righteous it was. His was a crusade, a noble quest! He walked the path of the hero! The only real hero the dullards and morons of this world didn't seem to comprehend!

But all was not lost to him.

The builder, the inventor, the creator -- he still lived. He would make another projector for Jaxur's glorious mission. He would do it. All Jaxur would have to do is go down to his lab and impersonate a general again. Goode would just hand over another prototype. One that was superior to the last. Yes, this would be good.

But wait . . . how would he validate his reappearance? He couldn't come right out and tell Goode that the prototype was destroyed. It would have made the news if the military had lost and destroyed such a device. Right?

No, he couldn't use the general ruse again. Goode may be naive, but he wasn't stupid enough to fall for the ruse a second time. Jaxur wouldn't be able to explain away the questions that Goode might have. At least not satisfactorily.

There was another option, though.

They would take Goode against his will. They would make him produce another projector, allowing him access to his notes in order to do it. Make him under threat of force. He will crumple like a piece of paper to their whims. Yes, this was the option for them to use.

He whipped out a flip phone and called the other Knights as he headed back to the Castle. He ordered the kidnapping of the good doctor, either unworried or unconcerned or unknowing about the potential legal backlash such a move would cause.

"-- And I expect him to be there by the time I return."

Jaxur fell silent as he listened to the Knight on the other end.

"I don't give a rat's . . . Look, Roger, just do it. And tell Donald that he better look the other way on this or he won't be getting any donations for his presidential campaign in a few years." Jaxur said, firmly and angrily. "I don't care! Just do it!"

Then he hung up and quickened his pace. Unaware that each step was essentially an announcement through a megaphone to Cloak's Earthsight. . . .