Back to Basics

[Cptdragon9]

The harsh desert sun beat down on the thin gypsum sands, already sending the temperature into the high nineties when a small hum began to vibrate the ground. A jackrabbit hunkered down in the chamisa. A flush of quail bolted from their hiding place under the spread of sage as the hum intensified, rippling the sand. Then there was a muffled thump and the air contorted as if somebody was pinching the framework before quickly releasing it, spitting out a form of metal and man into the dirt, followed by a larger reptilian-like one. The breech then seemed to vomit a pile of broken parts from a mangled spaceship and a broken helicopter over the both of them before the fissure snapped shut.

All was quite for a moment, then the chur-chur-churchurchurchruchur of a cactus wren broke the silence.

It took quite a moments before Brimstone even moved. Everything was still buzzing about in his head. Most of the sensors were deadlined and the sand working its way into his servos wasn't helping much. He had a vague understanding of what had happened, but it was hard to keep himself focused on that task. Focused on Any task actually.

Man, impromptu time travel sucked.

It was an effort even to roll over, but once he saw the huge frame of his fiance laid out in the sand, it seemed to jar him into action, even if all he could to was manage a mumble, gravelly inquiry. "You... okay.... hun?"

[brialath]

Artemis opened one eye, ~what are you doing here, Artemis thought you were going to investigate, a cave.... ~ she blinked and raised her head looking around at the new scenery ~this is not where Artemis started napping, Did you play with that cube again?~

slowly she stood, and shook off the collection of mechanical parts, her immense size blocking out the sun over her beloved, ~It does feel nice to have the sun on my back, Artemis is full and now warm, we can fly if you like, find out where we are.... Artemis does not need food yet, but would like large duck again. that was nice~

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[Cptdragon9]

“No… I wasn’t playin’ wid th’ cube. It’s toast. I…” His memory stirred back to the brief instance. Something happened in the cave; a pulse of somekind. Guessing how he felt, it had to be the source of the time-warp.

Slowly two and two began to piece itself together. “The Book. Betcha Aurora and them found the book while me and the creepy twins were tango-ing with that Guardian thing.” He gave a long groan. “…and I bet she did something. Triggered it somehow.”

Brimstone finally managed to get to his feet and took a few steps over to pick through the pile of gear that had somehow been ‘ported with him. He should be counting his lucky stars that he even came through in one piece because most of the stuff was mangled badly. One of the rifles was almost tied in a bow. “Yeah, judgin’ buy this mess she must’ve whammied the thing real good.’ He now stood up, slapping the metallic side of his head, trying to get some of his sensors back up on line. Oh he knew that hitting himself wasn’t about to really fix anything, but he still carries some disproven human axioms in what was left of his brain.

He chuckled about the duck. More like a super duck. His gaze rolled over the desert floor. Hopefully there wasn’t anything super-sized here, though with Artie’s burgeoning appetite, it might well prove helpful to get a big meal down her gullet every now and then. “Not sure there’re ducks in the desert, but maybe we c’n at least find an oasis or sumptin’.” He slowly mounted Artemis’s back, easing in the natural saddle where her massive neck joined to the top of the scapula. Only then did he look up to spot the lone com-trail high overhead. “Hold up, hun,” he frowned, wishing he had telescopics on line. But it did narrow down the possibilities. “See that up there? Most likely commercial flight, though I wouldn’t put it past military. We can’t go up there. We’ll be spotted, and I’m pretty sure we don’t blend in with the neutral surroundings.”

Still it was hope. Maybe there were back in DC land, or was it Marvel? It didn’t matter, he had standing in both worlds. But then again they might be somewhere where the likes of them had never been seen before. He wasn’t willing to get himself and Artie locked up and probed at.

Best to err on the side of caution. “We’re gonna hafta lay low til we’re sure of when and where we are.”

[brialath]

Artemis looked back at him ~then we fly low, artemis can fly very low, which way do we fly, follow aircraft, or away, Artemis would go away and find trees,~

without waiting she had launched herself but kept her flight less than 20ft off the ground using a WIG effect. once up to speed she took herself off to the northwest.

~Artemis will keep low~

[Cptdragon9]

Brimstone wasn’t sure if keeping low would keep them out of sight, but he Was sure that he wasn’t going to be able to tolerate the heat much longer. He gave a wry face. Maybe he was getting too long in the tooth; not cut out for these adventures anymore. Maybe it Was time to settle down, raise a brood.

Just as soon as he could figure out how to get home.

Thanks to the thermal lift, Artemis was able to hug the rolling terrain for quite a few miles, until they stumble over a road. Not a dirt road. Not some peasant track, but an actual paved road.

Hallelujah, civilization confirmed! Not that it was going to help Them, her being an oversized flying dinosaur, him being a third-hand rust-bucket of a robot; but Bs could almost feel the luxury of taking a bath indoors with running hot water. Provided they weren’t in the middle of Baghdad.

But now they sort of had a dilemma. Brimstone would have preferred to follow the road, but he didn’t want to meet up with the locals. Pitchforks and M1 Garands and all that. He craned his neck, trying to see down the road without getting high enough to See down the road. “I Think we can run parallel to this, there’s a natural ditch alongside. Mebbe we can find a gas station or something to get our bearings."

[brialath]

Artemis kept her angle and when she had passed the road by a mile she turned to follow it, ~Artemis does not need to be close, neither does Brimstone, Artemis will fly a little higher, but not want to go above 60ft ground radar will see, want to know who here, yes, but must find place for food by night time..... Artemis eat a lot when eating for 6~

with a little height everythign seemed to slow on the ground but her speed had not changed much, if anything she had sped up, with a greater area to flap her enormous wings,

~if not find food by tomorrow would warrant giving up, just to get fed, know if captured would feed, toxins not work well on Artemis so can not be put to sleep and not hurt Children, as they are artemis too~

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[Cptdragon9]

It wasn’t often that Brimstone was totally waylaid. Being an empath had its advantages after all; but Artie nearly lost her rider. “Six? Six?! Really?! I mean how do you…? WHEN did you…?” He was almost damning himself. He should have been paying more attention; at least done a scan with what was still working on his person; but he’d been a little sidetracked, what with trying to keep the rag-tag fugitive fleet alive on that supersized buffet island where he, Artie, and a whole slew of other characters had been for the past few days.

Well somebody had to referee.

Yeah this little tidbit of information was nearly enough to make the metal man swoon. Of course he’d raised babies; orphans from the war, but he’d never had any of his own. From the sounds of it, he would have an instant brood of his very own.

He found himself beaming, smiling proudly to himself…

… so much so that he nearly missed the aforementioned gas station. “Ach! There it is!” It seemed such a lonely little place, with just one lone truck that looked almost like a junker to him as they circled. The building barely qualified as one as two side seemed to be nothing more than rusted sheet metal with a roughly hewn door and white lettering painted over it stating “RESTROOM”

“Oh thank the heavens. English!” He’d been praying for anything other than Arabic. His Arabic sucked. It also helped hone in on the location. Had to be the American southwest with this much sand. Now they had to narrow down the time and space. Heck a Spanish- speaking chicken could be running the register for all he knew.

The front of the building was a little more upscale. The parking lot had two pumps advertising for Sinclair Oil, the plastic marquees coated with a layer of oil followed by fine sand while the concrete slab was likewise marred with oil and cracked from wear and tear. The only sign that there was any life at all was the fact that the neon “OPEN” sign was lit up, if flickering a bit.

Brimstone pondered their delimma. Artie might well need food, but BS wasn’t keen on being locked up and experimented on; seeing how things ended up for him the last time as his captors turned him into a cheap knockoff of Robocop. Still they needed to know where and when they were and this seemed as ideal a place as could be.

Hopefully they didn’t give the guy (or girl, or … whatever…) a major heart attack.

“We better land, Hun. ‘Think it’s time to introduce ourselves to the natives.”

[brialath]

Artie turned to look at Brimstone, ~yes 6, Artemis and the five Artemis tell you about,~ she did her best to keep him from falling off, and sighed when they came into view of the gas station, she turned again

~you want Artemis to land and let Brimstone look it over, Artemis can do this, but it will look odd, want Artemis to stay still, hope people think Artemis model?~

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[Cptdragon9]

Brimstone looked over the isolated building once more. “Mebbe if you just hung out on the backside of the place. I don’t see no windows so I don’t think anybody can see you from inside. But I want you close, in case things go bad real quick.” Worse case scenario he could envision was having his hide peppered with buckshot. Anyone having to run a station out here in the middle of nowhere Had to be packing some sort of firearm to defend themselves.

He waited for Artie to land before sliding off her back, taking a nervous minute to stretch his legs, clearly not 100% sure he wanted to do this, but they had to figure out where and when they were. “If you see any vehicles coming, give me the high sign and duck down. There’s enough junk out here that you might blend in, but I sure won’t. I’ll need all the lead time you c’n give me.” Finally he leaned over and kissed her massive jawline. “Wish me luck, hun,” and he set his jaw and headed around the building to the front door…..

[brialath]

Artemis licked him and settle down, an pair of eyes on each direction in the road, ~Artemis is watching~

she hunkered herself down wings folded in her tail coiled as best as she could, she was not an easy thing to hide but she did her best, even trying to see if she could change her colour, she did have both cuttlefish and chameleon, as animal forms and this was supposed to be an amalgam of all animal DNA she had,

~If need to, Artemis can make hut dissappear, if no one here Brimstone think he can get radio to work, then hear news and broadcasts, when do that can hear if anything familiar, if so need to get to familiar place,~

she paused, ~Remember talk of place in LA, in San Fransisco and on west coast, if can get higher in flight can make better speed........if can, Can brimstone make CB work... work with air frequencies, if can we can fly and not be shot at~

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[Cptdragon9]

Oh to be Not shot at; what a wonderful wish. ~~Okay, Hun. I’ll try~~ and he inhaled before stepping inside.

There was the familiar hum of electricity as two coolers filled with old-fashioned mass produced Coors and Bud stood prominently against the far wall, surrounded with enough neon to make Brimstone homesick. There were commercial chips of all flavors and varieties, though the Mango Salsa and the Bacon Mac and Cheese Lays were new to him. Still it was better than deep fried rat on a stick, and he didn’t see any of that.

Nor did he see a store clerk. “Hello?” he called out timidly.

There must have been a small storage area because a door opened and a young pimply-faced kid emerged in a red and white striped shirt and white jeans, clearly some sort of uniform for whatever company he worked for. He turned, then stopped, his jaw dropping when he got a full gander at BS.

Five seconds of frozen silence.

“Oh Wow! That’s rad! Yer Cyborg, right? From Teen Titans?”

“I erm… no….” Bs sure as hell didn’t want to be taking credit away from another superhero. Teen Titans? So they were back in DC land?

“Naw, to rough… You must be Deathlok. Not enough black leather to be a ‘Borg.” The kid was now circling him, jaw agape. “That’s a cool cosplay there. Yer all lit up too. What are you using for lights?”

Cosplay? “Uhm LEDs?”

“Awesome. So yer headed to EPCON, right?”

Brimstone’s head swam through his Rolodex of abbreviations and couldn’t cough up anything at all.

Thankfully the kid seemed on the ball. “El Paso Comic Con?”

“Oh, yeah, right. You’ll hafta forgive me. Lack of sleep putting … uhm… my costume together. I’m not that far away, am I?”

“About another four hours, my friend. I know, you keep driving and driving and you think you’re almost there. I suppose you need to fill up right?” The kid craned his neck around the cyborg, then gave a slight face. “Where’s your ride?”

Brimstone now had the deer- in- the- headlights look going on as he had No reply to that at all. “Uhm… uhm….”

[brialath]

Artie smiled to herself, and felt disappointed at the same time, she was listening in and didnt like the fact that the kid had thought it was a costume...... this was bad for her and she needed to find a safe harbor, somewhere secluded but close to lots of food, as she pondered this she made a reply for Brimstone.

~say 'my motor is down the road, i need some water'~

her voice sounded odd, as if it was composed of several snippits of someone else talking

~Dear, Artemis think we have a problem, Artemis not going to fit in anywhere not going to be able to hid..... have to approach someone, or we have problem, dont think this place have gifted people, ~

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[Cptdragon9]

<<Oh I’m quite sure we c’n hide ya somewhere. Earth’s got allotta ocean space. Probably can find ya allotta grub out there too.>> He sounded hopeful, hoping this wasn’t the version of Earth that had already trashed the ecosystem. She probably was right about the people though. Unless they were basing cosplay on real live superheroes he had a feeling that they weren’t anywhere near where they had been before. So much for getting help from Bats, or Reed.

Clearly his girl was mimicking more than just body types. He had to wonder how she was picking up local lingo, or maybe it was bit she picked up while they were jumping around time and space. It was how he picked up His accent afterall.

BS could have slapped himself silly for not thinking of a practical way out of his predicament. “I… erm… the van blew a hose down the road a bit. I need some water to fill the radiator up after it cools down a bit.”

“Oh bummer! Look, I’ve got a ride. Lemme at least give you a lift back to your truck….”

Damn his infernal luck. He stumbled across the only good Samaritan on the planet….

But then an idea crawled into his chrome dome… <<How ‘bout we show ‘em? He seems geeky enough. He might go along, ‘specially if I ‘prod’ ‘im along.>> They were isolated enough. If the kid freaked they could lock him in the back and beat feet and try their luck elsewhere

[brialath]

Artemis sighed, ~if Artemis tell you to use a set phrase, please use it~ there was a mental raspberry ~Artemis your ride..... yes, Artemis is thirsty~

she listened to the conversation, and slipped her head up high above the main building checking for any vehicles in the air and on the road, and after a moment stood, making her way slowly towards the front of the building she kept herself hidden from the store clerk,

~If you want to show Artemis off, then best do it before i change my mind.... and i really don't want to eat him, but if he makes too much fuss Artemis will have to Artmeis supposes.... and yes before you ask Artemis ate someone before, but it was in defense of an innocent, he was trying to kill her with a machete~

[Cptdragon9]

Brimstone curled up his lip as Artie chastised him. Clearly they were going to have to work on their planning and execution of said plans later on, provided they weren’t under arrest by the end of the day. <<No, you can’t eat the kid. If he gets uppity, we’ll lock in the storage room and move on.>> Who would believe the guy anyhow if he Did tell them what he saw?

He inhaled. “Okay dude, I’ve got something ta show ya. I’d tell ya first but you won’t believe me.” A long sigh of resignation escaped him as he gestured for the clerk to follow him outside.

The clerk hesitated, thinking that the costumed cyborg might try to jack him, but heck he could have done that in the store. There were no surveillance cameras and he would have been easy pickings. Besides, he was curious. Maybe they had a souped-up ride to match the costume….

The duo now stood out in the parking lot. “Okay, Artie. Show ‘em,” Brimstone spoke out loud for the benefit of the store clerk.

[brialath]

Artemis sighed, ~dont say Artemis did not warn you~

slowly she poked her head out from beside the main office,

oh she was not an easy thing to hide, her wingspan fully extended was about 100ft across, her head alone was at least 8ft tall, and her overall length was close to 110ft, including her tail, her heavy brow ridges shading her main eyes, the closest thing in media she had seen was the Turuk from Avatar, but this one was all terrestrial, it was the fusion of over 200 different species, both current and extinct, including her base form,

her skin was a mottled green and blue, with redish brown, stripes, around her rib cage, behind her main wings were a smaller pair, these seemed to join just ahead of the pelvis, her legs were about 15ft, long, ending in the same patterned talons she had in her normal, form,

bringing her wing claws into play she stepped forward and lowered her head, letting her chin slowly scrape along the ground, her very posture one of submissiveness,

~get him to stretch out his hand and Artemis will put nose under it, and he can feel it, will not take for ride though~

Artemis was keeping an ear out for any road or aerial traffic, and stopped mid stride,

~they are moving..... ~ she sent him the best imitation of how she was feeling, ~Artemis feel them moving..... Artemis is confused...... but happy,~

she got herself under control again, and inched her head towards the clerk, and when she was about 6ft away, she stopped, ~if he wants to touch me, then he can come here now, ~

[Cptdragon9]

Needless to say the clerk froze in his tracks when the monstrous head slowly emerged from the side of the building. He probably would have taken a few steps backwards if his mind hadn’t just been overloaded with what he was seeing. At first he thought it was a prop, and damn good one at that, but as she stepped forward he could feel the heat from her skin and could feel her as she moved. That and there were no strings or motors or any sort of prop gear that would have been needed to move such mass.

When all other options have been dismissed.

Brimstone had moved behind the boy, just in case he Should faint. He them prompted him to touch her. “Go ahead, dude. She’s real.”

“She?” The reply seemed automatic.

“Yeah. This is Artie. She’s my girlfriend.”

Now the boy’s head swiveled back around to take in BS’s measure once more, now that he was close enough to really get a good look at what he thought were lights with a back up battery source; but now he could see how the skin was pulled against the metal, could see that it was Not prosthetics or makeup.

To the kid’s merit, he didn’t faint. “So… you’re real?”

“As real as it gets.” He reached out and patted Artie’s nose, showing that she wasn’t going to bite. “We were travelling and got lost.”

“Travelling,” the kid echoed before his eyes rolled back to the monster. He drew his hand outward, hesitantly, and then placed it right next to where the cyborg had his. It took him a few moments, but Brimstone couldn’t have been much prouder at the outcome. “Cool,” the kid breathed.

“Wow, you’re taking this better than most.”

The kid was now gently stroking her nose still trying to come into grips with the whole thing, letting the questions pop out as they hit him. “Sooo you don’t need me to take you to our leaders, right?”

“Oh by my Eyeteeth no! We don’t really like letting people know about us, but we’re in a pickle. Artie here is pregnant and…”

“Pregnant?” The kid took a couple of steps back, craning his neck to look over Artie’s side to see for himself.

“Yeah, I know. Shocked me too. We’d been trying for a while and…” he saw the kid look between himself and Artie. “Well no… she wasn’t like that when… “ Yeah, this wasn’t easy to explain. “She’s a mesomorph, a shape – shifter. She’s stuck in this form until she clutches, or births, or however it’s gonna work. We’re still playin’ that by ear. For now we need a place to hole up and something to feed her.”

Now it was the kid’s brain that finally seemed to engage. “Well I got food here… but… well I’m not sure how much she needs to eat….”

“A lot. A big lot of a lot. A herd of something would be good.”

“Ah, well I can offer what’s here in the store for now, but there’s nowhere to hide here. We don’t get much business, but the sheriff does swing by on occasion, just to check on me. Make sure I don’t get mugged.” Now he was shaking his head a bit, a small smile on his face. “Doubt the sheriff would even come close to understandin’ this at all.” It seemed an idea hit him and he held up a finger. “Be right back,” and he darted back into the store.

Brimstone darted in right after him. He hadn’t caught any sort of deception; in fact the kid was pretty much accepting the whole thing so far; if anything he was awestruck by the whole deal; but there was nothing to say that the kid wouldn’t come to his sense once away from the sight of the massive dinosaur-like creature just outside. He didn’t need to fear, the kid was flipping through one of the road map brochures before plunking it down on the counter. “My uncle’s got some land up here a bit. He don’t go there but there are a few left of range cattle that meander through the place. No house, but there’s an abandoned feed shed. It’s all rusty but it should be just big enough to hold… Artie was her name?"

“Artemis actually. And I’m Brimstone.” He held out his good hand in the traditional Earth- style greeting, one that the kid automatically took up well enough.

“Greg Chapman.”

BS nodded. “You sure are game about all this.”

“Are you kidding? I’ve been reading Sci-Fi books for years. Watched every flick ever made, I think. This is like the coolest thing ever.”

Wonderful. They had a fan base. He turned towards Artie as she hovered by the front door. "Told ya it was gonna be okay!"

[brialath]

~Yeah, Yeah....... still dont like it..... Artemis is worried, but thiks we can do what we need, will have to fly low all way over... if go to high radar will see us and have big helecopters coming after us..... ask to see if have radio or something can change... know beloved can work wonders with technology... and may need radio to 'fake' being an aircraft~

she turned and looked out along the road again,

~Artemis feels exposed here, want to go.... need to find way to feed brimstone, not sure if want only cow all time..... hunting not hard.... cow slow and fat, but need to be able to fly high to get or have problems, and brings in military again ig seen on radar.... not good~

tags

[Cptdragon9]

Greg watched as the cyborg spoke to the monster, but the monster didn’t seem to be saying anything back. Brimstone caught this from the corner of his good eye. “She’s telepathic but on an intermittent wavelength. We have a close bond we can ‘hear’ each other.” The emphasis on the word was enough that he didn’t need to do those quotation marks in the air. “I speak aloud because it’s polite in mixed company. She’s concerned that we can’t fly very high without getting picked up by radar or spotted by plane.”

The counterman scratched his head. “Well she won’t fit in the Jeep, and I don’t have a trailer long enough at the ranch either.” It was clear that the kid was brainstorming as well. “There’s a flatbed we still have when we were baling; haven’t used it the past few years cause of the drought, but it might be long enough, if it’s still running.” He now turned to Artemis, making an effort to include her in the conversation. “It might not be polite, but we could throw a tarp over ya, at least until we can get you to the ranch. Doubt anyone will spot you.”

Brimstone cleared his throat. “She’s also worried about food. She’s eating for … six dear?” He still blushed at the thought, but clearly was brimming with pride.

Greg looked her over again, trying to imagine six hungry little flying dinosaur-like monsters running rampant all over the abandoned buildings. “Cattle’s all I got ta offer. I can check in on the local feed lots but pretty much the only thing out here is cows and deer. An occasional bear or cougar. Mckruger’s got a couple head of buffalo but the fed watches that herd pretty close.” He gave Artie a shrug of his shoulders. “I’m sorry.”

“Sokay,” Brimstone insisted. “We’ll have to make do for now. First things first. Outta sight, outta mind. Think we can fly over to your place?”

Again Greg scratched the back of his head, tousling the russet red hair on his neck. “I dunno. Not direct like. If you swoop north and around this mesa, you’ll miss most of the units. Once you’re around the butte, it’ll be smooth sailing. If you don’t feel comfortable, I can call in sick and play hooky for a few days to fetch the rig.”

Brimstone turned to his beloved. “What do you think? Wanna try to wing it?”

[brialath]

Artemis moved her head in a figure eight motion, ~Artemis will fly, not like being in tight spaces.... and not know how well keep control if have panic attack, not want to hurt,~

she looked at the kid then to Brimstone, ~if wants to can take kid for flight, let him feel how it is to be free........ Artemis see look in kids face, wonders how and why cyborg and 'dragon' make babies....... kids are growing, can slow growth, try not to bare here want nice place like world just left~

she sighed, ~it is nice to hide yes but we not live like that for long, have to find way to make good, make into things not to hunt, and make it so that lots of people see, not like LA, to many idiots, but also like idea of LA as brimstone and Artemis work in movies,~

she craned her neck around, trying to show off her best side

~Does brimstone have any way to get to computer, perhaps we can look for things we need, remember that time is not with us and we need to get off world like this... need to go to nice place where not hunted because only ones~

tags

[Cptdragon9]

Brimstone hadn’t know how much Artie had enjoyed the savage land they had left behind, but now that he thought about it, it seemed oh so clear. She had little to fear from any denizens of that wild jungle, unlike the rest of the party they had left behind. There was a little twang of borderline guilt over the fact that Aurora was now stuck there with no means of escape, save for that book that she probably broke somehow. She Was kin, afterall.

But so was Artie. It was his obligation as mate to assure her safety in an unsure world. If she wanted to try her hand in show business, so be it. Of course there would have to be concessions, along with assurances that they wouldn’t be locked up by the local law and poked at and experimented on. Both of them had more than their fill of that nonsense.

But first things first. A base camp. The cyborg turned to Greg. “She don’t wanna be strapped down, and frankly I don’t blame her. She can fly us both over there, if you wanna ride.”

That hadn’t crossed the kid’s mind at all, but the prospect of actually riding dragonback was bringing out the geek in the clerk. “Really?” he almost squeaked in giddiness. In fact that seemed to be the straw that broke the camel’s back for Greg as he pulled the company apron off by dragging it over his head and slapping it down with some emphasis on the counter.

Looked like somebody had just quit.

The kid shrugged into a thick battered leather jacket and slipped his essentials (phone, wallet) into the roomy pockets. “I’m good,” he announced before once again looking over the monster but paused. “There’s no saddle. How do you hang on?”

[brialath]

Artemis looked at the kid and shook her head and snorted from the massive nostrils at the base of her neck, ~knees, and onto my antennae, Artemis an animal.... so Artemis will make sure you dont fall~

she moved forward, still keeping an eye on the road,

~we will be taking off and heading in which direction, Artemis need to know where it is we are going~

tags

[Cptdragon9]

Brimstone translated. "You just sit. She'll make sure you don't fall off. It's not like yer ridin' a bronc afterall. All ya need to do is point the direction she needs ta go."

"Okaaay." Greg replied as he scratched his head. "How do you know about rodeos and broncs?"

"Oh." Brimstone pursed his lips. "Uhm...well... this wouldn't be the first time I crossed Earth's timestream. I may not know exactly which one we're in but I imagine that the west is the west. Not much changes."

Greg seemed to tak that explaination well enough. "Yeah nothing changed, until today that is."

Soon the kid ws being unceremoniosly boosted up so that he could swing a leg astride the base of her neck, with the cyborg hefting himself up behind the kid. "That way," Greg pointed westward. "There's only one big farm that's between here and there, but I think we can veer around it without gettin's spotted."

[brialath]

Artemis looked back and caught the direction he indicated..... ~hold on~

as soon as she was sure she took off, there was a bug G force pull with the first wing beat, and soon she was up to 100ft, where she transitioned into a more forward flight path, getting the WIG effect back, she would be able to fly under any radar.

it was not long before she was at an altitude of 40ft, her wings beating gently to keep forward momentum, ~Artemis hope our passenger is enjoying this...Sorry we do not have goggles,~

there was very little in the way of tall trees so she was able to keep low,

~the more Artemis thinks about if having to spend time here, More Artemis, knows need money, if not get in good way not want to get... and to get... people must know about........ just how to do it....... think best to do something VERY good, make selves visible all at once, if do good then people not want us to be hidden... if get taken. will not be long. people will want back..... Yes Artemis is scared. but more scared of staying here.... Brimstone have any ideas on how to travel to better home?~

[Cptdragon9]

~Artemis hope our passenger is enjoying this...

The borg had to snicker at this because he could feel the kid vibrating in front of him. “Artie wants to know if yer enjoyin’ the view.”

There was a silent lull, but Greg finally managed to shout out. “This Is Awesome!” Greg had ridden horses most of his life, being out in the sticks and all, so he was able to keep his seat surprisingly well, but the sensation of riding the wind itself was overwhelming.

Brimstone merely nodded. There was time that he mastered the skies as well, but nowadays he could only live vicariously through Artie when it came to flying. Funny since he was slightly afraid of heights. His elation, fed through the loud emotional broadcast of their new friend, was tempered by Artie’s concerns. <<Hush. Don’t you fret about money and people. Let’s find out how the rubes treat each other before we go showing off ourselves. Won’t do to get inta th’ money market if were gonna be nothin’ more than freaks at a geek show. >> Or worse, but he kept that to himself.

As to how to get off this world? He had no idea. They hadn’t travelled by cube but by an outside force, one he still didn’t ken fully to begin with. Still this clearly was a tech-world; maybe not as advanced as some, but if they could jerry rig a powerful enough source he might… Might… be able to generate another event.

Anything to make Artie happier, even if they ended up back on that tropical hell- spot.

<I’m workin’ on it, Hun.>> was all he could answer her with.

Their flight wasn’t as long as anticipated. Without having to navigate back roads and sand bogs and tire-killing cactus, they were soon at the abandoned ranch without so’s much as spotting another living soul. The ranch had fallen in serious disrepair; the roof to the shed was rusted in several spots and bent down at an angle in one corner as if something had stepped on it. Not watertight, but judging by the lack of green and the liberal dusting of the powder-fine sand, BS doubted they were in danger of any sort of rain. At least there was livestock, or at least evidence thereof as he spotted an occasional cow-pie. Most were so dry they were grey, but some were fresh enough to indicate that the cattle had been through the place at least a few days ago.

BS slid off Artie’s back, then helped Greg down (Artie was a sight bigger than any pony Greg had ever ridden), giving the kid a moment to catch his breath. Greg gently patted her side, pausing a moment to feel the strange hide. Again this was clearly no bronc or nag. Not at all. “That was so cool. Thank you… uhm… Artie?” The kid clearly felt strange talking to the dragon-like creature but as he understood things, she was sentient, but just couldn’t speak. He hung there in a daze for a moment before shaking himself and turning towards the sparse abode. “I guess we should check the well first. It’s been dry; been in a drought for a few years now, but it’s a deep well.”

He headed over to the stock tank, fiddling with various components until he engaged the small windmill’s gears. All it took was a soft breeze and the pump began cranking and churning. It took a few minutes, but first muddy and sandy water sluiced out into the trough, followed by clearer, cooler liquid. Greg looked relieved as he turned to the duo. “It ain’t much, but nobody should bug ya out here.”

BS was eying the windmill. “Think we can hook up a generator to that?”

“A small one, I guess.” He looked over Brimstone’s body. “Ya need to recharge or sumptin’?”

“Ah, no. I’m good, though I probably should’ve snagged a bag of chips or somethin’ before we took off. No, I was thinking of getting’ a news feed. A TV would be nice.” Yes he could have tuned himself to the local frequencies but currently it seemed that a lot of the minor stuff imbedded in his mainframe was not cooperating. The nanos would eventually repair them, but until then they were a little cut off.

Greg was scratching his head, also trying to come up with a solution. “I’ve got a small one back at my place. Runs on propane. I can heft it out here later tonight.. uhm… if your girlfriend can give me a lift closer back to the store … later. I don’t want to tire her out.” More like he was thinking he didn’t want to get her mad, but it was a nice concern. Brimstone was really beginning to like the kid.