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<blockquote data-quote="Capellan" data-source="post: 1882854" data-attributes="member: 6294">&quot;The Targ Totality&quot; - Part 3&quot;Great plan.&quot; S'Ondra snorts, &quot;I'll take the four miles on the left, you take the four miles on the right.&quot;&quot;I do not zink we have ze means to destroy ze alien vessel.&quot; Gustav replies in a more agreeable tone, &quot;At least, not in any way zat would not endanger ze entire solar system.&quot;Fury ... well, on anyone else the expression would be 'pouts', but the Captain's too manly for that, so we'll say 'scowls';&quot;We have to do something.&quot;&quot;Indeed.&quot; Gustav agrees, &quot;And vat I propose we do is attempt to get aboard ze alien craft, and acquire ze formula for ze compound which zey have used to destroy ze mould.&nbsp; Zis will allow us to protect our own Earth from ze fate of zis one, when we return home.&quot;&quot;And until then, we can use it to protect the Venusians, here.&quot; S'Ondra adds.Fury nods slowly,&quot;So the question becomes one of how we get aboard.&quot; He frowns, &quot;Even with their sensors on passive, they'll spot the Pathfinder if we get too close.&nbsp; The only reason they haven't seen us so far is that we've been sticking close to planets.&nbsp; We can't exactly stroll up and knock on their front door.&quot;&quot;A small craft just launched from the mother ship, and is heading toward the surface.&quot; Archie announces.Fury punches the Targ shuttle up on his display, then zooms back to frame the larger vessel and the Earth in the shot as well.&quot;The mother ship is in a geo-synchronous orbit.&quot; He mutters, &quot;If we wait behind the moon for ... six hours ... they'll be out of sensor arcs to pick us up.&nbsp; We could fly down to Earth.&nbsp; But by then the shuttle could have gone anywhere.&quot;&quot;Zey are in geo-synchronous orbit above ze area of ze surface which zey have cleared.&quot; Gustav observes, &quot;It seems likely to me zat ze cleared area is where zet intend to land, and vill be ze point from which ze shuttle travels to and from ze larger vessel.&quot;S'Ondra nods fiercely,&quot;They shall be like the Ortwog, using the same path to the stream every day, and we shall be the hunters, ready to spear them and bring them home for our feast.&quot;&quot;Princess, I like the way you think.&quot; Fury puts his hands on his hips, &quot;Let's go spear some Ortwogs!&quot;The plan is put into effect.&nbsp; As soon as the enormous Targ vessel slips behind the curve of the Earth, Captain Fury brings all the engines up to full, plunging the Pathfinder down towards the planet's surface.&quot;We'll come down over India.&quot; He announces, over the soft rattle of the ship as it powers forward, engines blazing, &quot;Then fly nape of the earth to England.&nbsp; As long as we stay below a few hundred feet, there's no way the alien ship will be able to spot us.&nbsp; Did you get a fix on where our new 'friends' set down, Archie?&quot;&quot;I have plotted their landing position, Captain.&quot; The robot confirms, &quot;And I have identified a suitable location for us to land the Pathfinder.&nbsp; It is an open-face mine about just under two miles from the Targ's position.&nbsp; The mineral deposits of the region should mask the ship's presence.&quot;The Pathfinder swoops over a brown, mould-covered landscape, then briefly over a wide blue expanse of water,&quot;The Black Sea.&quot; Fury informs the others, &quot;We'll soon be flying over Germany, Doc.&quot;&quot;If only zere vos somebody to whom I could wave.&quot; Gustav shakes his head sadly, &quot;Vot monsters are zese Targ, to annihilate anozzer race, like zis?&quot;&quot;Don't worry, Doctor.&quot; S'Ondra pats her foster-father's shoulder, &quot;We'll stop them from doing it again.&quot;&quot;I've got Dover in sight.&quot; Fury points through the viewscreen, then lifts the Pathfinder's nose so that it whistles just over the top of the white cliffs.&nbsp; The ground below the ship is still brown, but this is a deep, earthy shade, not like the washed-out colour of the mould.&quot;No sign of any remaining mould, or protoplasm.&quot; Gustav reports, &quot;A perfect chemical reaction, leaving no residue of either sort.&nbsp; Quite sophisticated vork, to be used for such barbaric purposes.&quot;The Pathfinder sets down within the rocky bowl of a quarry in Surrey.&quot;All conditions within one percent of Earth-normal.&quot; Gustav&nbsp; reports, &quot;Levels of nitrogen and carbon are slightly elevated, but all gauges are within ze safe limits.&quot;Archie has also been studying the readings.&quot;Doctor, I detect a great deal of mud.&nbsp; I recommend full encounter suits.&quot;&quot;I don't fancy trying to dodge disruptor blasts while in a suit.&quot; Fury shakes his head, &quot;If the Doc says it's safe, we go as we are.&quot;&quot;It is safe.&quot;&quot;Except for the alien marauders, anyway.&quot; S'Ondra looks quite pleased at the thought. &quot;Except for them.&quot; Fury doesn't exactly look reluctant to meet the Targ, either. &quot;Doc, you're the only one who's not armed.&nbsp; If I give you an atomic pistol, do you promise not to disassemble it?&quot;&quot;Ja, of course.&quot; Gustav looks wounded, then curious, &quot;Zo it vould be interesting to study ze manner in which ze beam is focussed -&quot;&quot;Maybe you should just stick close to the rest of us, Doc, and keep your head down if any shooting starts.&quot; Fury glances around at the others, &quot;Right, are we all ready?&nbsp; Then let's go teach these aliens not to mess with our planet.&quot;He strides out, not sparing a backwards look.&quot;Ze Captain does realise ve are not going to war with zes Targ, ja Archie?&quot;&quot;I will ensure he remembers, Doctor.&quot; The robot chivvies the scientist before him.S'Ondra brings up the rear, muttering to herself as she walks out of shot,&quot;It's not my planet.&quot;</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Capellan, post: 1882854, member: 6294"] [b]"The Targ Totality" - Part 3[/b] "Great plan." S'Ondra snorts, "I'll take the four miles on the left, you take the four miles on the right." "I do not zink we have ze means to destroy ze alien vessel." Gustav replies in a more agreeable tone, "At least, not in any way zat would not endanger ze entire solar system." Fury ... well, on anyone else the expression would be 'pouts', but the Captain's too manly for that, so we'll say 'scowls'; "We have to do [I]something[/I]." "Indeed." Gustav agrees, "And vat I propose we do is attempt to get aboard ze alien craft, and acquire ze formula for ze compound which zey have used to destroy ze mould. Zis will allow us to protect our own Earth from ze fate of zis one, when we return home." "And until then, we can use it to protect the Venusians, here." S'Ondra adds. Fury nods slowly, "So the question becomes one of how we get aboard." He frowns, "Even with their sensors on passive, they'll spot the [I]Pathfinder[/I] if we get too close. The only reason they haven't seen us so far is that we've been sticking close to planets. We can't exactly stroll up and knock on their front door." "A small craft just launched from the mother ship, and is heading toward the surface." Archie announces. Fury punches the Targ shuttle up on his display, then zooms back to frame the larger vessel and the Earth in the shot as well. "The mother ship is in a geo-synchronous orbit." He mutters, "If we wait behind the moon for ... six hours ... they'll be out of sensor arcs to pick us up. We could fly down to Earth. But by then the shuttle could have gone anywhere." "Zey are in geo-synchronous orbit above ze area of ze surface which zey have cleared." Gustav observes, "It seems likely to me zat ze cleared area is where zet intend to land, and vill be ze point from which ze shuttle travels to and from ze larger vessel." S'Ondra nods fiercely, "They shall be like the Ortwog, using the same path to the stream every day, and we shall be the hunters, ready to spear them and bring them home for our feast." "Princess, I like the way you think." Fury puts his hands on his hips, "Let's go spear some Ortwogs!" The plan is put into effect. As soon as the enormous Targ vessel slips behind the curve of the Earth, Captain Fury brings all the engines up to full, plunging the [I]Pathfinder[/I] down towards the planet's surface. "We'll come down over India." He announces, over the soft rattle of the ship as it powers forward, engines blazing, "Then fly nape of the earth to England. As long as we stay below a few hundred feet, there's no way the alien ship will be able to spot us. Did you get a fix on where our new 'friends' set down, Archie?" "I have plotted their landing position, Captain." The robot confirms, "And I have identified a suitable location for us to land the [I]Pathfinder[/I]. It is an open-face mine about just under two miles from the Targ's position. The mineral deposits of the region should mask the ship's presence." The [I]Pathfinder[/I] swoops over a brown, mould-covered landscape, then briefly over a wide blue expanse of water, "The Black Sea." Fury informs the others, "We'll soon be flying over Germany, Doc." "If only zere vos somebody to whom I could wave." Gustav shakes his head sadly, "Vot monsters are zese Targ, to annihilate anozzer race, like zis?" "Don't worry, Doctor." S'Ondra pats her foster-father's shoulder, "We'll stop them from doing it again." "I've got Dover in sight." Fury points through the viewscreen, then lifts the [I]Pathfinder[/I]'s nose so that it whistles just over the top of the white cliffs. The ground below the ship is still brown, but this is a deep, earthy shade, not like the washed-out colour of the mould. "No sign of any remaining mould, or protoplasm." Gustav reports, "A perfect chemical reaction, leaving no residue of either sort. Quite sophisticated vork, to be used for such barbaric purposes." The [I]Pathfinder[/I] sets down within the rocky bowl of a quarry in Surrey. "All conditions within one percent of Earth-normal." Gustav reports, "Levels of nitrogen and carbon are slightly elevated, but all gauges are within ze safe limits." Archie has also been studying the readings. "Doctor, I detect a great deal of mud. I recommend full encounter suits." "I don't fancy trying to dodge disruptor blasts while in a suit." Fury shakes his head, "If the Doc says it's safe, we go as we are." "It is safe." "Except for the alien marauders, anyway." S'Ondra looks quite pleased at the thought. "Except for them." Fury doesn't exactly look reluctant to meet the Targ, either. "Doc, you're the only one who's not armed. If I give you an atomic pistol, do you promise not to disassemble it?" "[I]Ja[/I], of course." Gustav looks wounded, then curious, "Zo it vould be interesting to study ze manner in which ze beam is focussed -" "Maybe you should just stick close to the rest of us, Doc, and keep your head down if any shooting starts." Fury glances around at the others, "Right, are we all ready? Then let's go teach these aliens not to mess with our planet." He strides out, not sparing a backwards look. "Ze Captain does realise ve are not going to war with zes Targ, [I]ja[/I] Archie?" "I will ensure he remembers, Doctor." The robot chivvies the scientist before him. S'Ondra brings up the rear, muttering to herself as she walks out of shot, "It's not [I]my[/I] planet." [/QUOTE]

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