Ginn's sense of reality was abruptly restored, the sense of extreme motion being replaced by non-movement. His first instinct would have been to look around, but his vision appeared to be obstructed...there was something in his way. Specifically, cleavage. A pretty spectacular display, too. The flesh-colored valley led down into a short yellow vest, pinned closed beneath them which in turn was also using the garment, tight as it was, to support the impressive mammaries.
There was a snipping sound, he judged, coming from near his temple, and something was falling away, though he felt no pain, in fact, it felt as though cloth was being cut away from around his head.
"Faye, are you sure you didn't goof it up? He's got a stunned look on his face." The voice was that of an older man, rough with a slightly goofy edge to it, that sounded almost affected, as though he was trying to sound harmless.
"Maybe you'd like to treat his injuries yourself next time, Jet!" The woman he was speaking to snapped back. Her voice was smooth, almost silky, but her manner of speech made her seem uncultured, and almost as rough as the man.
The older man's voice moved closer. "Okay, okay. Hey, Spike! You ok, buddy?"
Ginn decided to stare for a moment, to let the view sink in.
However much explaining happened during that very odd briefing, it didn't prepare Ginn for the view he was currently shown. But, even for a split second, the ball and chain of his life came back around, and he knew who he was, where he was, and what he was going to do.
First, not to stare, she wouldn't like that.
Secondly, I got to get a move on. The game is on, and I need to find teammates... preferably Cy and Ra-chan.
Ginn sat up, accidentally planting his face where it shouldn't go.
Jet choked back a snicker as Faye gasped. "Yeah, I'd say he's okay..."
Faye shot Jet a dirty look, then looked down at the green haired man with his face in her breasts. Her expression was cool, only a slight flush ruined the illusion of calm.
Ever so slowly, she drew back...
-CRACK!-
Faye stalked away, muttering, leaving Spike sitting there with a large red welt on his cheek, shaped vaguely like her hand. Jet glanced at Spike, raising an eyebrow. "You'll probably pay for that later."
"As far as I'm concerned, I already payed quite enough."
Ginn ignored the pain and looked around.
"Where are we now? I don't remember anything before I blacked out..."
Spike noted that the surrounding three walls of the room were curved metal...and very familar, while the fourth, behind the couch he was on was a large window...easily recognizable as the interior of the Bebop.
Jet gave Spike a long look, taking a short drag from his cigarette. "Geez...Vincent musta hit you harder than we thought, Spike. You need a doctor or something?"
Ginn got up and off the couch, and started heading towards the deck.
"Nah, I'll walk it off."
Jet simply shrugged, and moved to let Spike past, when a excited, high pitched voice sounded from the 'control deck' of the Bebop, the place where Jet steered the old spacegoing fishing boat (Read: He played games of chess with himself, and occaisionally Spike there...there happened to be the navigational controls on that deck, too.)
"Spike! Look Ein, Spike is on the TV!"
"Who what when where how?"
Ginn looks around.
Jet blinked, and looked up to the control deck. He leaned past Spike, caling up the steps.
"Hey, Ed, what's that?"
There was no response, only a strange, excited humming, mixed with mumbled nonsense. "Yes, I see...Spike on TV...Come to mee...Aw...dead end."
Ginn scrambles up to the control deck and looks at what Ed is looking at.
As Spike ascends to the control deck, he notes that the navigational equipment is, at present, sans Ed.
In point of fact, the little redheaded girl was sitting on the floor in the farthest corners away from the navigational equipment, hunched over the ship's TV/Computer monitor, bobbing in a manner slightly reminiscient of a drug trip.
The main focus of the monitor was on a mass of color, with small figures and screens floating in it. The top left quarter of the screen, however, is occupied with what looks to be a TV commercial. Spike's picture flashes across it, as well as pictures of a number of other people, some of whom Spike recognizes from assorted anime. Ed apparently has the sound turned way down, so she can surf and watch at the same time...
Ginn walks over to Ed, so he can pay more attention.
"Hey Ed? Whats in that upper left corner there?"
Ed turns around to look at him, her goggles pulled down over her eyes. "It's a commercial! Ed found it on the free-net! Spike is going to be a wrestler?"
She made a few adjustments on the screenm and the tail end of the commecial came up with an extremely cheesy, stylized picture of Spike, superimposed on pictures of Tsuruko Aoyama, Sakura Kinomoto, Minako Aino, among others....with the words "Fight for The Multiverse '72!" Scrolled across the screen.
"Hey Ed? Can you do something for me? Try looking up information on those other people in this wrestling thing."
"Yep yep! Ed is already looking!" the girl responded, tapping a few commands. She paused and pouted. "Dead end...four oh four...information not found..."
Jet had come up behind Spike, and was peering at the screen over Spike's shoulder. "You know these people, Spike?"
"Yeah, and I think they're in trouble, so I should probably try to find out where they are."
Ginn tried Ed again.
"Are you SURE you can't find ANYTHING at all?"
Ed shook her head at Spike, the goggles giving her a disconcertingly googly-eyed appearance. "They're not even registered in the Mars Colony Manifest Registry Database...Ghosts....Ghosty-wosty...oooh,scary..."
Jet was staring intently at the screen as Spike and Ed spoke, and suddenly he coughed to get Spike's attention. "Uh...According to the commercial, they're gonna be in Tokyo in...four days." The bearded man observed.
"Then, since my face appears on there too, shouldn't I be in Tokyo in 4 days?"
Jet gave Spike an incredulous look. "This has to be a joke, Spike. Earth is a junkyard...a death trap. You aren't going there, are you?"
"I've walked into worse, haven't I?"
Ginn turned to look around the bridge.
"Now, where are we and how long will it take to get us to Earth?"
Jet frowned slightly, but fortunately, to judge by the yellow streaks passing the windows, they were traversing a gate, so the question wasn't too terribly strange.
He moved up to a navigational console, and checked it. "Three hours away from Mars." He told Spike. "If we divert once we get there, We can be at earth in a day or so."
"If you please, we should probably do so."
Ginn turned back towards the rest of the ship.
"I'll see what kind of equipment we still got that I can use..."
Jet stared after Spike for a moment, then shrugged, adding the course corrections to the autopilot computer. "We keep going back to earth..." he muttered.
***
Spike made his way to the room that served as the Bebop's storage area, to find...a giant mess. Items were strewn everywhere, but none of it looked...'equipmentish'. However, a largish fridge in one corner had a type of locker sitting beside it that looked promising...
Eyeing the refridgerator warily, Ginn stepped past it and opened up the locker, ready for trouble.
The locker seemed unwilling to provide trouble, however. The equipment inside had obviously seen hard use, but looked to be well maintained.
The most obvious item was the largish rifle that ended in four strange prongs, though there were two or three small pistols stacked beside the stock of the rifle. There was also a belt, which seemed to have a few devices attached such as a motion scanner, and a heat sensor, along with the goggle attatchments. Leaning against the other wall, a flamethrower sat, and by it's base, a carboard box and a re-breather also rested. on the shelf above everything, there were seven ammunition boxes for the pistols...
Ginn opens the cardboard box first.
Inside the cardboard box, Spike discovered six carefully packed grenades, though half of them were of a somewhat different make than the other three.
A close examination of the box revealed nothing, save for the word 'Flashbang' written on the inside of the lid.
I hope they're all flashbangs...
Ginn starts moving all the stuff out into the main room (the one with the couch and table) and organizing it.
Faye sauntered into the room, dressed in loose shorts and a muscle shirt, with a towel draped over her head. She eyed Spike as he sorted, curiousity overcoming earlier irritation.
"Why've you got your armory out?"
"Heading to earth, need to pack lots of heat."
Ginn continues sorting.
Faye blinks, then shrugs and walks away, muttering about the nutcases she's hooked up with.
***
The three hours to Mars are more or less un eventful, and Jet handles the travel arrangements to earth. Once the Bebop is safely inside the gate headed to earth, Jet and Faye head into the main room, having talked between themselves, and now, apparently, decide to take it to Spike.
"We're on our way to Earth." Jet said slowly, folding his arms across his barrel chest. "Want to tell us what this is all about, Spike?"
OOC: Finals and vacation means Ginn is away from the computer alot.
IC: Ginn starts putting things in holsters, clips, and other ways to basically try to carry all the gear on him.
"Well, so far as I know it, some big entity is trying to destroy the universe, and the opposing entity has handpicked different people, the ones in that commercial, to try to stop him. Since I was one of the ones picked, I get to go try to stop him. Do we have a backpack?"
Faye stares, speechless, while Jet sighs.
"No. Just use your duffel." The bald man replies, rubbing his smooth head with metal fingers. "Do you at least get paid this time?"
"Yes. I'm not sure how much, but it should be enough for what I want. Now where did I leave that duffel?"
Ginn looks around for the duffel.
"It's beside your cigarette stash, under your bunk." Faye replies distractedly. "So, how much will we make on this job?" she adds eagerly.
"I stand to make quite a bit. Don't want to involve the two of you, as it might be more dangerous that I can imagine."
Ginn goes to his bunk and grabs the duffel and cigarettes.
"I'll be willing to throw you a cut, after I get back... if I do get back."
Faye frowned, but the mental math seemed to be good, as she didn't raise any objections.
Jet, on the other hand, looked bothered. "Spike, you sure about this, buddy? Heading blind into a job with no backup ain't smart..."
"You see those other people one the screen? They're my backup. At least some of them. Don't worry, I'm sure everything will turn out alright."
Ginn started loading gear into the duffel.
Jet shook his head. "If you say so. Looks like a bunch of wrestling to me..." He muttered. "Still. Take a radio. I can be planetside in ten if you need me."
Ginn finishes packing the duffel, and grabs a radio as well. He makes his way to the bridge with the duffel.
"Are we there yet?"
"Not yet. We've got a three hour approach. If you're in a hurry, why not take Swordfish? We can catch up..." Jet replied, glancing at the navigational computers.
Ed bolted past, her arms spread like wings. "Whee! Fishy-wishy, flying dishy!"
"Oh! I totally forgot about that! Thanks!"
Ginn makes his way down to the hanger.
Fortunately, Bebop's layout is fairly simple, and after a slight detour to the sleeping quarters, Spike finds himself in the hangar.
For a small ship, the hangar is fairly large, but almost entirely occupied by Swordfish, Hammerhead and Redbird sitting next to one another in their 'storage' positions...
Ginn walked over to the hanger controls, and pulled the lever marked "Swordfish" moving it into position. He then made his way down to the Swordfish, and strapped himself in, while calling Jet on the radio.
"Jet, you wanna get the door for me?"
"Yeah, yeah..." Jet grumbled back over the radio, and the hangar doors slowly rumbled apart. "You be sure to check in, buddy. We're getting weird readings from the surface."
Well, lets see if we can get this thing flying.
Ginn sighs and lets intuition guide him as his arms, hands, and fingers move almost on their own, pushing and proding at various levers and button, making the ship's engine ignite and power the red spacecraft into the space beyond the Bebop.
The ignition, being essentially a large key, was not terribly difficult for Spike to operate, and Swordfish began to move quickly from the hangar. The steering was rathermore difficult, but after some experimenting, Spike found the throttle footpedal, and worker out how to use the steering, which seemed to resemble motorcycle handlebars from hell.
As Spike shot into space, he realized something was missing...
Swordfish's wings had not been lowered...
Ginn quickly looked for a level or button labeled "wings" or something along those lines.
Unfortunately, no such button seemed to exist, and Swordfish Was beginning to fly strangely, the poor attitude control making the path erratic...
The closest thing he could find was the landing gear switch...
Ginn flips it, hoping that with the landing gear up, the plane will fly smoother.
The landing gear retracts into the base of the fighter, and the erratic path stabilizes, but not completely. However, Leaning down to flip the switch let's Spike see a pair of switches unter the steering mechanism...
Ginn flips them both.
To Spike's gratification, the Swordfish's wings begin to fall...but the engine begins to rise in pitch, and suddenly Spike notices that earth is heading for them quite a bit faster that it had been...
Ginn eases back the throttle, pulls up on the stick, and flips one of the switches, just in case he activated a booster or something.
The wings settle into place with a dull 'thunk' that can be heard in the cockpit, and as Spike flips the second switch, the engine fades to it's previous tone, the fighter angling up, parallel to the appraoching atmosphere and slowing down...
Ginn realizes that he has no idea how to land. Panic sets in.
Wait! I could try to fly this thing like flight simulator! I know which button is the landing gear, so all I have to do is find out where to land!
Ginn presses the 'talk' button on the walkie-talkie.
"Jet? Are you there? Could you find out where I have to land?"
The walkie talkie came alive in Spike's hand.
>*Bzztcrackle*< "Uh, yeah, Spike. There's a little area on an island in the nav computer, marked as Japan. It reads like a population center, but we're getting some pretty weird sensor looks at it...there's no way it should have any power at all, and it looks kinda like a sensor mirage...If that's what you're lookin' for...you sure this is okay, bud? This is pretty weird... >*Bzztcrackle*<
After a moment's thought, Jet called him again.
>*Bzztcrackle*<"You sure you can make it to the surface? That was a pretty funky takeoff...">*Bzztcrackle*<
"Yeah, I'll be fine, I just need some aspirin. And don't worry. If I need any backup, I'll just radio in."
Ginn looks to the nav computer, and steers the craft (ever so carefully) so that it's pointed at Japan.
Swordfish dove gracefully, and slowly, down in the direction indicated by the navigational computer, aimed to the small island in the Pacific, sliding down...and approaching the debris field surrounding the atmosphere...
Ginn pulled back on the throttle, and looked for a path through the field.
The debris field, fortunately, appears to be thin enough to navigate through, albiet with some care. Swordfish responded instantly to the command, the throttle easing back to the bare minimum...
Ginn, use to playing space simulators at home, decided to apply his skills here, in a real situation.
Ginn attempts to navigate through the debris field.
Spike's skill with spaceflight simulators is well used, and with a moment to become accustomed to the 3-D aspects of the debris field, the Swordfish slices effortlessly through the floating junk without any incident whatsoever.
As it dove past the garbage, the fighter finally came upon the planet's atmoshpere...
Ginn looks for Japan. Or at least any semblence(sp) of Japan.
Swordfish's navigational computers direct Spike's attention to a small island, where the computer seems to be trying to report something, but can't seem to hold onto the readings...
Ginn steers the plane towards the island.
Swordfish knifed through the clouds, it's bearing unchanged, and heading staight for the former island nation until it pierced the final cloud layer...and suddenly, all the instruments went absolutely wild, gauges spinning dramatically...
Ginn stayed on course, and looked for a place to land.
Without the instuments to guide him, Spike's flight became slightly erratic, though he managed to keep it mostly stable, until the island became land, and the land rushed up at him, and spike found himself with a largish school as the only open space long enough to land at...
Ginn first circles the school, observing it from a distance before picking his approach vector and lining the plane up with it.
Then he reduces the throttle and tries to slow the speed (but not too much), while flipping the gear lever. He then takes the stick and tries to gentle guide the plane down gently.
OOC: Roll +1 for Avation sim skills! >.> Success!
IC:
Surprisingly, despite the haywire instruments, Spike manages to guide Swordfish expertly down to the ground. While the landing is a little bumpy, the fighter sets down without incident, save for scores of frightened schoolgirls either staring, or running for cover, the jet coming to the front of the building...
OOC: XD Another thread merge! Spike moves to Magical Sensei...Kwoky-chan?!