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<blockquote data-quote="kroh" data-source="post: 2347240" data-attributes="member: 16768">Chapter 3: LAUNCH&nbsp; &nbsp; Soft blue filled the cavernous room.&nbsp; It was everywhere.&nbsp;&nbsp; From the back of the room a small sliver of white light cut into the azure expanse.&nbsp; Cutting the haze like a white-hot knife, the sliver of light grew to a height of just over three meters and stopped, hovering in the back of the room.&nbsp; A sound like a sharp exhale, issued forth from the sliver causing the back rows of the amphitheater command center to turn to see what the commotion was all about.&nbsp; &nbsp; Whipping their heads back to their monitors, flashing red indicators signaled the start of a flurry of activity that soon spread throughout the room.&nbsp; Section chiefs began to take and relay orders from the catwalk above and issue them to their subordinates down below.&nbsp; Row by row, the monitors that issued the soft blue to the room lit up with flashing red indicators that turned the pastel blue into an angry storm of red and blue firefly light.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The sliver opened with a gasping sound and turned into a torrent of light to drive away the dull light of the room.&nbsp; Framed in white halo, a silhouette could be seen waiting within.&nbsp; A step brought the figure into the room as the light reluctantly gave up his identity.&nbsp; Each step brought him closer to the precipice that would send him down to the bottom of the amphitheater.&nbsp; Although the catwalk was where the decisions were made, the depths were where the action played.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Walking down the ramp to the bottom of the room, the figure passed by the techs that scurried about in the wake of all the new activity.&nbsp; As some of them looked up, all the whispers began.&nbsp; The whispers spread and began to grow.&nbsp; Shouts punctuated the chatter as a prelude to the clapping and hollering that soon erupted.&nbsp; An excited caucophony of&nbsp; “Nice!” and “Oh, Hell Yeah!” began to circulate around the descending figure as all who looked up caught site of the midnight blue long coat and dark baseball cap.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Reaching the bottom of the ramp, the figure stopped besides a particular workstation.&nbsp; “Make sure to remove all loose items and change and make sure your tray tables are in their fully upright positions.&nbsp; Be sure to extinguish all smoking materials…” said the tech.&nbsp; The figure raised a pistol that looked as though it should be vehicle mounted.&nbsp; Checking the item to see that it was, as he wanted it, the figure replaced it back into the holster at his side and looked at the tech from under his cap. “Scratch that last part,” grinned the tech.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The figure removed his baseball cap and placed it onto the tech’s head and turned it brim backwards.&nbsp; A stylized “N” superimposed over a “Y” graced the middle of the cap as those behind the tech could now see the cap’s face.&nbsp; “I’ll be back for that in a bit.&nbsp; Anything you want me to bring back for you?”&nbsp; &nbsp; “A friend of mine gets to run off to exotic locations and blow stuff up and all I get is this crappy T-shirt.”&nbsp; The two exchanged smirking glances and faced back to the black emptiness of the pit before them.&nbsp; “Be careful, Bud.&nbsp; Try not to blow everything to kingdom come like last time.”&nbsp; &nbsp; “Keep it warm, I’ll be right back.”&nbsp; &nbsp; Stepping off of the bottom most part of the ramp, the figure moved until he was greeted by another sliver of light ahead.&nbsp; Without slowing, he moved to the sliver as it widened into another doorway.&nbsp; With his back facing the pit from which he had come, the door slammed shut.&nbsp; The sound of hissing vents could be heard intermingled with high-pitched tones as the lights in the room he was in went out. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “Zach, this is Dave.&nbsp; Can you read, over?”&nbsp; &nbsp; “Everything five by five, all systems.”&nbsp; &nbsp; “Opsec in effect from here on in Echo.”&nbsp; &nbsp; “Roger that Conductor. “&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The room suddenly flared to life revealing he was in the bottom of a huge pit roughly the size of a football field.&nbsp; The area from where he had just come sat above him and all in attendance were scurrying to prepare for what was next.&nbsp; The flat featureless expanse of the pit began to hum as a vibration began to shudder though the glowing white floor.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “Conductor to Echo-3, thresh-hold in 30 seconds…try not to swallow your gum this time.”&nbsp; &nbsp; “Echo-3 this is Maestro.”&nbsp; &nbsp; The figure turned to regard the catwalk, which hovered in what seem to be the dark heavens above.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “Get our friends and come home.&nbsp; No fooling around.”&nbsp; &nbsp; “Roger that Maestro,” the figure turned his back on the crowd again.&nbsp; &nbsp; “Ten seconds, Echo-3, good hunting.”&nbsp; &nbsp; The floor of the entire amphitheater was shaking now and the humming vibration they caused was spreading into the air.&nbsp; Technicians reached for coffee cups and loose pens, pencils and pda’s, as the vibrations threatened to shake the place apart.&nbsp; Somewhere in the depths of the glowing pit, sounds of the pit vibrating began to drown out the low growl of a solitary ‘Echo’ trying his best not to scream.&nbsp; He thought to himself that he never liked this part.&nbsp; &nbsp; The pit glowed with an unearthly intensity as a static energy shield raised around it to protect the amphitheater.&nbsp; Suddenly, the main view screen displayed a stories tall word in flashing sequence.&nbsp;&nbsp; LAUNCH&nbsp; &nbsp; The brilliance of the room extinguished in the blink of an eye and all was quiet.&nbsp; The techs sat for a moment holding their breath.&nbsp; When they again remembered to breath, they also began to check displays and monitors and holograms for signs that their weapon has reached his target.&nbsp; &nbsp; High above the pit, a lone figure stood with a halo ringing his head and taking in information from many sources.&nbsp; “Good hunting, Son.&nbsp; Come home to us safe.”&nbsp; The man turned to his assistant.&nbsp; “Launch drones and keep the crew’s mind on their jobs.&nbsp; If I catch one more person betting on insertion platforms or laying odds on how many things he is going to blow up, there’s going to be hell to pay.”&nbsp; He turned back to regard the forward vids.&nbsp; &nbsp; Somewhere in the depths of the pit, emails changed sides with the subject heading…File-5-2-1Next: The Echo has Landed. <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png"&nbsp; class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":]" title="Devious&nbsp; &nbsp; :]" data-shortname=":]" /></blockquote>

[QUOTE="kroh, post: 2347240, member: 16768"] Chapter 3: LAUNCH Soft blue filled the cavernous room. It was everywhere. From the back of the room a small sliver of white light cut into the azure expanse. Cutting the haze like a white-hot knife, the sliver of light grew to a height of just over three meters and stopped, hovering in the back of the room. A sound like a sharp exhale, issued forth from the sliver causing the back rows of the amphitheater command center to turn to see what the commotion was all about. Whipping their heads back to their monitors, flashing red indicators signaled the start of a flurry of activity that soon spread throughout the room. Section chiefs began to take and relay orders from the catwalk above and issue them to their subordinates down below. Row by row, the monitors that issued the soft blue to the room lit up with flashing red indicators that turned the pastel blue into an angry storm of red and blue firefly light. The sliver opened with a gasping sound and turned into a torrent of light to drive away the dull light of the room. Framed in white halo, a silhouette could be seen waiting within. A step brought the figure into the room as the light reluctantly gave up his identity. Each step brought him closer to the precipice that would send him down to the bottom of the amphitheater. Although the catwalk was where the decisions were made, the depths were where the action played. Walking down the ramp to the bottom of the room, the figure passed by the techs that scurried about in the wake of all the new activity. As some of them looked up, all the whispers began. The whispers spread and began to grow. Shouts punctuated the chatter as a prelude to the clapping and hollering that soon erupted. An excited caucophony of “Nice!” and “Oh, Hell Yeah!” began to circulate around the descending figure as all who looked up caught site of the midnight blue long coat and dark baseball cap. Reaching the bottom of the ramp, the figure stopped besides a particular workstation. “Make sure to remove all loose items and change and make sure your tray tables are in their fully upright positions. Be sure to extinguish all smoking materials…” said the tech. The figure raised a pistol that looked as though it should be vehicle mounted. Checking the item to see that it was, as he wanted it, the figure replaced it back into the holster at his side and looked at the tech from under his cap. “Scratch that last part,” grinned the tech. The figure removed his baseball cap and placed it onto the tech’s head and turned it brim backwards. A stylized “N” superimposed over a “Y” graced the middle of the cap as those behind the tech could now see the cap’s face. “I’ll be back for that in a bit. Anything you want me to bring back for you?” “A friend of mine gets to run off to exotic locations and blow stuff up and all I get is this crappy T-shirt.” The two exchanged smirking glances and faced back to the black emptiness of the pit before them. “Be careful, Bud. Try not to blow everything to kingdom come like last time.” “Keep it warm, I’ll be right back.” Stepping off of the bottom most part of the ramp, the figure moved until he was greeted by another sliver of light ahead. Without slowing, he moved to the sliver as it widened into another doorway. With his back facing the pit from which he had come, the door slammed shut. The sound of hissing vents could be heard intermingled with high-pitched tones as the lights in the room he was in went out. “Zach, this is Dave. Can you read, over?” “Everything five by five, all systems.” “Opsec in effect from here on in Echo.” “Roger that Conductor. “ The room suddenly flared to life revealing he was in the bottom of a huge pit roughly the size of a football field. The area from where he had just come sat above him and all in attendance were scurrying to prepare for what was next. The flat featureless expanse of the pit began to hum as a vibration began to shudder though the glowing white floor. “Conductor to Echo-3, thresh-hold in 30 seconds…try not to swallow your gum this time.” “Echo-3 this is Maestro.” The figure turned to regard the catwalk, which hovered in what seem to be the dark heavens above. “Get our friends and come home. No fooling around.” “Roger that Maestro,” the figure turned his back on the crowd again. “Ten seconds, Echo-3, good hunting.” The floor of the entire amphitheater was shaking now and the humming vibration they caused was spreading into the air. Technicians reached for coffee cups and loose pens, pencils and pda’s, as the vibrations threatened to shake the place apart. Somewhere in the depths of the glowing pit, sounds of the pit vibrating began to drown out the low growl of a solitary ‘Echo’ trying his best not to scream. He thought to himself that he never liked this part. The pit glowed with an unearthly intensity as a static energy shield raised around it to protect the amphitheater. Suddenly, the main view screen displayed a stories tall word in flashing sequence. LAUNCH The brilliance of the room extinguished in the blink of an eye and all was quiet. The techs sat for a moment holding their breath. When they again remembered to breath, they also began to check displays and monitors and holograms for signs that their weapon has reached his target. High above the pit, a lone figure stood with a halo ringing his head and taking in information from many sources. “Good hunting, Son. Come home to us safe.” The man turned to his assistant. “Launch drones and keep the crew’s mind on their jobs. If I catch one more person betting on insertion platforms or laying odds on how many things he is going to blow up, there’s going to be hell to pay.” He turned back to regard the forward vids. Somewhere in the depths of the pit, emails changed sides with the subject heading… File-5-2-1 Next: The Echo has Landed. :] [/QUOTE]

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