Zippy Zip-A-Long

[Maharg67]

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-32-

THE ADVENTURES OF TIMESAGE COSMOS AND COMPANY

WITH EMPRESS VICTORIA

 

The gigantic experimental Airship HMSS Glorious had gone down with all crew and Redjacket airmarines a few years before but now it was landing in Central London, guns ready to blaze, Redjackets clambering down lowering rampways. TimeSage Cosmos had played with time, it being something he was not too happy with, but at least now British Imperials were back to serve the British Empire. Families were reunited, not always happily. Over a thousand experienced elite troops were soon being introduced to exomechanical power armour and battlecrawlers.

 

Fixed wing biplanes flew through the sky above on their way to scout both London and the countryside from the air. Empress Victoria looked up at the machines from a large, ornate cast-iron balcony and she seemed most impressed. The biplanes were one actual scoutplane and two escort fighters. From the fortified palace one could see in the distance the flash of explosions in the long twilightish conditions. A horde of parasite-zombies was being rounded up and either killed in the fighting or cures were being attempted; cures, even as provided by the TimeLords, were fairly haphazard in who they saved and did not save but the general rule was the longer the parasite was in control, the less likely was a cure to be successful.

 

Captain Jack Harkness was standing close to the Empress who was snubbing him a little because of his latest indiscretion with a young officer man. Torchwood was a fringe organisation and tended to attract brilliant but eccentric types to work for it along with a fair few straight forward professionals.

 

Field Marshal Tyrone spoke. "The Redjackets have been informed of the true position of loyalty of Field Marshal McKenzie and all have renewed their oath to yourself, Your Majesty."

 

Tyrone was even more brilliant a commander than was McKenzie but much more modest in his outward approach. He wore basic metal framed glasses and yet he was tall, broad shouldered and imposing by his very build. He had his own loyal following of soldiers that had come recently from Africa with him in a combined fleet of ships and airships. They were still disembarking in Portsmith though many were on their way to bases or to trouble spots.

 

The Empress turned to her commander. "Is it true that the Australian and New Zealand soldiers have set out to go back to their home countries?"

 

Tyrone nodded. "Your Majesty, the Australian and New Zealand Unified Commonwealth recalled all of its military forces now that its homelands are under direct threat. I would remind you that they were forced to provide their own ship and airship transports at the start of the troubles in South Africa. Now they have had no trouble at all in ignoring your requests to defend Great Britain first."

 

Empress Victoria frowned softly at Tyrone. "Careful, cousin, or I will forget that you are my cousin. Yes, I can see now that the Empire's desire to save money has now put us in a difficult spot but at the time the Parliament was being very difficult about opening up the Treasury vaults for the military campaigns in Africa. But of course you know that. You are a brilliant commander but not so politically bright which is one area where McKenzie is far more skilled than you are."

 

She turned to Harkness. "Well, you came here to give me a report, so report."

 

Captain Jack Harkness bowed. "Your Majesty, Torchwood has gained some very interesting data that may give the Empire hope in a most unusual fashion. The surillins had enemies and those enemies also went into deep hibernation to survive the drastic changes to the world in hope of one day awakening to a wonderful new world."

 

Professor Cosmos frowned softly. "I hope you do not mean the zylons, Captain Harkness."

 

Captain Jack Harkness turned to the TimeLord. "Why not? Perhaps the enemy of our enemy will turn out to be a friend."

 

The TimeLord shook his head. "No, the zylons will be just another enemy but the marsupons on the other hand might be happy to be the friends of another mammalian people. Surillans, zylons and dragonfolk were, are, dinosaur people. Reptitarsn, rashnu and alligarns were, are, cold blooded reptile peoples. Marsupons, neands, erectans and aquatons were, are, mammallian."

 

The Empress frowned. "Ten peoples are going to rise to challenge us humans?"

 

The TimeLord shook his head. "No, thirteen peoples are going to rise but hopefully not all will challenge humanity. I had previously assumed that somebody was toying with time but now it is clear they are going, have gone, much further than that. They have interfered with time-space in a much deeper and broader fashion than that. Yet matters are not so complicated as indicated by what I have already said."

 

Empress Victoria snorted. "Do you have any real idea of what is going to happen, TimeLord?"

 

Professor Cosmos shook his head. "Only a little more than the British Empire does, Your Majesty."

 

She frowned. "Then please say so next time and don't bow again."

 

Professor Cosmos smiled. "As you will, Your Majesty."

 

-CONTINUED-

Edited August 15, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

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-33-

THE ADVENTURES OF TIMESAGE COSMOS AND COMPANY

WITH THE SURILLIN EMPEROR AND EMPRESS

 

Ginacos, Mr Hyde and K9a03 were making their way through the Underways of London along with three armed and power-armoured TimeLordites, special clones, when they gained the strange news. They were approached by surillans but there was no fighting. For a truce had been declared, fighting had ceased around the world, as the Surillan Imperium had realised it was engaged in a war that it could not hope to win in the long term. No more ships sank, surillans were withdrawing back to their well hidden underground fortified cities, large areas were being turned over to human control in a careful methodical fashion.

 

To the north McKenzie was openly doubtful about the ceasefire but even he was wise enough to go along with it but it was also McKenzie who was the first to deal with the even more warlike and savage zylons. The amphibious zylons rose out of Loch Ness in strange biomechanical warmachines that crawled, ran, hovered and ran. The first zylon army that arose out of the great body of water attacked not humans but a force of surillans seeking its way back home. Taken by surprise, the surillans were massacred as dinosaur people fought dinosaur people. But then a large force of British Redcoats came to their rescue and the two forces combined to strike back at the zylons.

 

Ginacos stood facing the Surillan Emperor and Empress on their thrones. To the middle of them was a neuter gender Civillord. To their left a Warlord and to their right a Faithlord, both also being public service neuters. Made understandably nervous by Mr Hyde, the surillans had not allowed him to come close to their leaders, which amused Mr Hyde greatly. He was locked into a thick walled chamber along with the robotic dog K9a03.

 

Ginacos was speaking. "The TimeMaster and Professor Greening interfered with your people as you lay in deep hibernation. You survived when you should not have but this can not and will not be undone. Now we need to find a peaceful and productive future for your people which means getting you a new home world that has conditions much like the Earth used to be."

 

The Empress was a tall, angular, elegantly powerful prime adulting. Just as only so many younglings made the change to adultlings, only a minority of adultlings became prime adultlings. She spoke with an oddly throaty voice normal to her people. "Pride would us have this world but we are forced to face the truth that this is no longer our world. It belongs to humanity now. The zylons will never accept this as a fact. They are incredibly savage in a territorial fashion. They were far more advanced than we surillans in some ways. We fought a great war with them just once and lost terribly. We never made that mistake again. To keep the peace we were forced to pay them large tributes every year. It was most humiliating."

 

Around them were biometallic walls, softly glistening, of a typical surillan living space. Surillan younglings, servants, were crouched against walls and were ever ready to take orders. Adultling guards with guns and in power armour, were standing guard at the walls. The TimeLordites stood back from Ginacos.

 

Ginacos nodded. "We have searched for underground zylon cities but have found nothing so far."

 

The Surillin Empress hissed in anger. "Tricky zylons could go between Alternate Realities and meddle enough to create transdimensional bubbles to hide their cities inside of. They had other such tricky tricks also. Only way we surillins could get them was to trap them inside their own tricky tricks. We did to many of them."

 

Ginacos bowed. "Thank you. We TimeLords only need a few such clues. We will find the zylon cities."

 

The Surillin Emperor hissed. "Yes, you do not smell human. You smell of power. How will you and your comrades go back to your base?"

 

Ginacos smiled. "We will meet soon enough, again, your Magesties."

 

Then, with a sparkling shimmer, she and the others all vanished, even K9a03 and Mr Hyde.

 

The Empress snorted disdainfully. "Show offs."

 

The Emperor snorted laughter. "Yes but it was a strong waking up type message, my beloved from the egg. These TimeLords are as beyond the zylons as the zylons are beyond us in technological sophistication or perhaps that is too simple to be the truth. Let us hope that they can deliver our people to a new home world."

 

-CONTINUED-

Edited August 15, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

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Edited August 13, 2010 by Maharg67

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-4-

GRAHAM MAHARG

IN TIME-SPACE ALTERNATE REALITIES

NOT QUITE PURTH CITY #1

JUST WHAT MADNESS IS THIS?

 

Graham Maharg woke to find himself riding at the very back of a public transit bus. Things were normal enough, he thought at first, but then it came to him that the familiar city was not so familiar after all. It was not a dying city, not all the buildings were the same, the cars looked different and there were other visible differences. He was less grubby looking, he had an old fashioned type digital watch on his left wrist, and yet there was more. He took out a different looking wallet, opened it up and examined what was inside. All that he found was a used condom, it had been filled with strawberry jelly, a strange copper coin marked three golden giggles of the Laughing Islands and a small photograph of his left nostril.

 

The New Zealand Prime Minister, one Gordon Clark, was being held prisoner in the United States of America because she had refused to give him her favourite teddy-bear. International pressure was strong on Bushgama to release the prime minister and it seemed even the Mad President was about to give in to that pressure; the United Nations was threatening to not invite him to their next birthday party where there would be lots of nice cakes, toys and everything wonderful. Or so the discarded copy of that day's Western Australian Fibber read.

 

Graham was starting to sense that there was something quite not right about the world he was in. He rang the bell and went to get off at the next stop. The bus skidded abruptly to a halt, whirling at it did so, the driver cursed and leapt out of his seat. In black leather and steel body-armour he came screaming along the bus aisle. He seemed determined to bash Graham with a big wooden club. Graham realised that he was holding a 12 gauge pump-action shotgun. He raised it, fired it and killed the bus driver. Nobody else on the bus even bothered to look at what was happening. Graham carefully stepped over the dying bus driver and got off the machine.

 

Dead bodies of men and women were scattered over the footpath but there was no blood at all. He remembered now that the dying bus driver had not bled even a little. Then, as he watched, some of the dead people got up, dusted themselves off, and walked off as if nothing very important had happened to them.

 

Buffy the Slayer was suddenly walking next to him in very sexy studded leather body armour of not much modesty. She smiled as she looked at him. "It is most important to know just what is real and just what is not real. Is this reality? It certainly has its own form of consistent inner logic. Is that enough to make it real?"

 

He was not sure what to say so he just ogled her. She did not seem to mind. Indeed she took him by the hand and they continued on along the sidewalk.

 

They walked past a shop selling giant cheeses shaped like gorillas. The gorilla shaped cheddar cheeses were in the big shop window. They watched Graham Maharg and Buffy the Slayer walk past with expressions of disdain for anybody who was not lucky enough to be made of good quality cheddar cheese.

 

Buffy the Slayer sighed. "No, this is not real. This is you adjusting to your new powers to travel through time-space and between alternate realities. I am real and it is your imagination that dressed me this way. I should give you a good slap."

 

So she slapped him mildly across one cheek.

 

Then he was turning to note a wormhole type gateway was whirling in the air in front of him. He stepped through it with out hesitation. Buffy the Slayer sighed and followed him anyway; he should have been more careful.

 

-CONTINUED-

Edited August 15, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

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-5-

GRAHAM MAHARG

IN TIME-SPACE ALTERNATE REALITIES

WORLD WAR TWO WITH VARIATIONS #1

BATTLE FOR AYERS ROCK

 

In the distance was Ayers Rock, beautiful and shifting colours as the quality of daylight changed. Closer were the Anzacs with their trucks and various armoured warmachines. The sounds of 25-pounder howitzers firing on the enemy came drifting to Graham Maharg as he lay on top of a big flat boulder next to Buffy the Slayer. Like him, she now wore World War Two style combat fatigues, green and grey. They were not Anzac style or any style of that world at that time.

 

"They have eighteen Sentinel battletanks as built here in Australia and over in New Zealand on contract basis. The Sentinel-1As used to have useless 2-pounder antitank guns but now have 12-pounder antitank guns. The Sentinel-2As have 25-pounder howitzers, turret fashion. They also have some Light Tank MkVIs with heavy and medium Vickers machineguns. Makes sense, I suppose. They are still effective against the daedra demons."

 

World War Two but not the one of the history of his world. No, this world was being invaded by monsters that seemed to have come straight out of a computer game that he liked to play. The game was an online based multiplayer singleplayer Tamriel super-continent based one but it also partly took place in various mystical realms. One of these was the mystical realm of Oblivion that could be seen in the sky from Tamriel at times. Now that same mystical realm could be seen in the skies of that world, an AltEarth or Alternate Earth.

 

Thirteen Oblivion Gates had opened around Ayers Rock being one Grand, three Mediate and nine Lesser Oblvion Gates. The Anzacs were the main part of an attempt to close the Gates but it was soon becoming evident that there were not enough of them to really do the job. Local militas came to support the Anzacs with what ever weapons and other equipment that they could bring with them. Many were local Jackaroos and Jillaroos.

 

Graham pontificated some more. "Interesting, three of those Light Tanks are AA Mark-1s each with four antiaircraft machineguns. They would be quite effective against those damned daedragons, the dragon like daedra."

 

Buffy pushed up on her elbows, her breasts pushed against the hard rock and she showed a good deal of cleavage. Not that she seemed to mind but Graham Maharg was finding himself being distracted while he wanted to focus on what was going on in the strange war in that place. He purposely looked away from Buffy but then looked back again.

 

Buffy the Slayer sighed. "Can't quite help yourself, can you? Can you sense them?"

 

Graham nodded. "You mean those three men and a woman trying to sneak up on us? Oh, yes, I can. The Aboriginal man is quite good at it. The others are very clumsy. Should we move?"

 

At that she nodded also and with a sparkling shimmer they vanished, taking their backpacks and other equipment with them. Seconds later a tall, heavily tanned white man clambered up onto the big boulder and looked around with an expression of anger. His name was Crocodile Dundee and he was annoyed that his companion, one Jacky Jackson the Aborginal, had been right. Jacky slipped smoothly up onto the rock, he was desert bred and born as he liked to say, and shook his head.

 

"Told you, boss, told you. Slippery as eels, slippery as eels. Tried to get close last night and they vanished just like they did now. Those two aren't from around here by a long shot, that's clear enough." Jacky started rolling himself a cigarette. "Reminds me, I'm almost out of tobacco."

 

Crocodile Dundee scowled. "Could be scouting for the demons."

 

Jacky shook his head. "No, boss, not a bit of it. I saw them kill a couple of those scamps only I forgot to tell you about it. Sorry about that."

 

Crocodile Dundee gave Jacky a very dirty look. "Anything else you might want to say?"

 

Jacky nodded. "Those two are spying on us, hearing everything we are saying, for sure oh wonderful boss who is not going to cut my tobacco rations because I am a fool."

 

Graham Maharg was suddenly there, sitting on his backpack, and was handing around foodbars. "Nice stuff. Chicken'N'Vegie or Bacon'N'Egg flavoured but highly nutritional. The Unity can provide these and more to your war effort with some difficulty. We need to find some local anchor point to bring goods through from one AltEarth to another while safely translating their local reality. It really is quite a fascinating problem. The Thirteen Oblivion Gates are not fully functional yet. Only five of the nine Lesser Gates are open indicating that Mehrunes Dagon, the false god who rules these quasidemons of flesh, has had some troubles opening a way between the Realm of Oblivion, also known as Daedraki, to this world below. This is very good news though most likely not accidental. Local magicians of various kinds, I suspect, set up some kind of magical barrier but it is crumbling."

 

Crocodile Dundee scowled. "Give me a couple of crocodiles to wrestle and I am fine. All this stuff is way over my head."

 

Jacky grinned. "That's because you don't have an Oxford University Correspondence education like I have, boss."

 

-CONTINUED-

Edited August 15, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

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-6-

GRAHAM MAHARG

IN TIME-SPACE ALTERNATE REALITIES

WORLD WAR TWO WITH VARIATIONS #2

BATTLE FOR AYERS ROCK

 

The metallic stone entrance way was seemingly burned out of the side of a great boulder but it plunged straight downwards into the ground. The local Aborginal people had not known about this place for centuries for it had been hidden from their minds. Then one day, about twenty thousand years ago, they suddenly knew about it and their people went down into the great metallic stone chambers at first with great reluctance. There they found first layers of metallic stone chambers and tunnels with exotic features but they found the real treasure below these in the form of vast suncrystal lit and warmed caverns, or suncaverns. So was borrn the Azorine civilization of stone pyramids, bronze, kangazoo riding and much else. They traded with Aboriginal civilizations and the so glass, bronze and other such tradegoods spread across the continent long before the first Euorpeans appeared.

 

When the British Invasion began they found themselves fighting so called Native Musketeers armed with musket-rifles, spears, war-boomerangs and much else of an odd mixture of technologies. The British were forced to sign a treaty with the local peoples and to give up the whole illegal concept of an 'empty Australia'. So much of Australia remained under the control of the Aborginals. Ideally all of it would have done so but the British came in much larger numbers and with organised modern armies that the local peoples could not begin to match.

 

Graham Maharg was soon to realise that the Australian continent of this world was much larger and more fertile than the one on his AltEarth, that here it was no less than a super-continent. The world was also much bigger and with it the British Empire that had an Empress ruling it instead of a queen. It had big, relatively slow flying ships called aeroships. There were also such as aerobarges, aeroboats, aeroyaughts and other aerocraft. In earlier ages were floatacraft that the British Empire had arrived in Australia with. Australia had a Central Sea that was not very far from where they stood at the big metallic stone entrance into the ground.

 

The Ancients had created the quasinatural zone where the Azorine Empire had arisen and the Stargate llinked with a Stargate Network stretching through out that Universe. They had come, they had dwelt there for over a hundred thousand years and about a hundred thousand years ago, they had vanished. Little was left of their civilization except the great underground zones themselves and the Stargates, of course. Nothing of the smaller, more intricate nature seemed to have survived in the area.

 

Graham Maharg and Buffy the Slayer watched the British Officers argue with the Anzac Officers. The two British Officers were arrogant fools who knew nothing of local conditions. The Anzac Officers were not much wiser or knowledgable. Crocodile Dundee was quietly gambling in a secluded corner with the soldiers. Jacky was reading a book on philosphy for indeed he did have an Oxford education of sorts as provided by a drunken genius of a former Oxford Don living in the Australian city of Melbourne. Jacky did not know it but his education was both cheaper and of better quality than that gained by many actual Oxford graduates.

 

Graham Maharg sighed and took out a very cold carton of Ice Coffee from his backpack and moved to be more comfortable on the canvas camp-chair. He took a couple of gulps of the drink and then he took the six sided dice out of a pouch and noted its ever changing symbols. Then, with some doubt at the wisdom of doing so, he threw the dice. It struck the floor, flipped into the air, sparkle shimmered and then hit the floor again to lay there.

 

It was an attempt to tune in a Waygate between two divergent AltEarths, a very first attempt, and the results were rather exotic.

 

Two large, leather covered books now sat next to him on the floor. They were full of vitally important and even dangerous information. He made them vanish at once.

 

Two tigerchimp platoons, each of thirteen troopers, were crouched in the near distance. Each had light body-armour and a mixture of bladed weapons and British World War Two guns. With them they had extra equipment and supplies including a small 2-pounder cannon.

 

There were two platoons of winged humans, hyperlons, in body-armour but also with World War Two British weapons.

 

There were two platoons of Skulltroopers in power armour and with heavy portable, 12.7mm Vickers Machineguns, 20mm autoguns that fired British 20mm calibre shells or 75mm recoiless-rifles also firing British Imperial calibre projectiles.

 

There were two platoons of flesh-elementals, shapeshifters of amazing but eccentric abilities.

 

There were two platoons of life-elementals, healing and life linked specialists.

 

There were other items that appeared but they did so where Graham Maharg had them, concealed, and as yet he chose not to reveal them.

 

Yet he turned to be surprised for three large buildings had appeared in the landscape being three Clubs, each of unique design and theme, being supposedly aimed at different types of customers. One was a family entertainment club, another an adult entertainment club for men and the third a special club for women. People were moving around them, clones, being staff and customers including heavily armoured and armed security guards. The staff were busy opening clubs for business while the customers were lining up at the doors. Workers were taking up storm shutters and uncovering solar power panels on the rooves.

 

The human officers stared around in astonishment and who could blame them for that?

 

The Anzac soldiers went to go automatically to the Clubs, especially the one meant for men only, but were commanded to halt by an officer who quickly became most unpopular with the men. The officer, one Brigadier Stuart, did not give a damn. He was a fine British Officer and he was not there to molly coddle his troops. The officer soon was speaking with the three Club Managers, was learning about the resources in the Clubs including the numbers of customers in residence, servants, workers, security guards, guard dogs and house cats. Graham Maharg and Buffy the Slayer slipped quietly into join the meeting as did Crocodile Dundee and Jacky Jackson.

 

Which was when the Officers from the two fighter-bomber squadrons showed up, revealing that a small airbase now existed as hidden by the huge Clubs, and that it housed two squadrons of the quite good fighter-bomber planes along with pilots, co-pilots, ground crews and airbase staff. There were even airbase guards with body-armour and arms. Again it was all based on World War Two technologies.

 

All being from the roll of one six sided dice.

 

-CONTINUED-

Edited August 15, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

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-17-

THE ADVENTURES OF HELENE

DAEDRIC CURSED INVASION

 

Helene was led before the arrogant Mageadom Leadership who sat in great big impressive power thrones, five of them, arrange along a great platform. Amongst the five were one President, one Vice-Present, one Warlord, one High Priest and one Wizard. The representation was not of the true state of Mageadom affairs but was a reflection of the distorted state of the Mageadom Elites themselves. These fools knew little of what was really going on. Indeed they had really ceased to control what was going on a long time ago but they seemed to be the last ones to realize it.

 

Helene gave the five a look of pity. "Five Grand Fools sitting in five Grand Thrones. You are blind to the truth that the lowliest begger in the Mageadom has known for years now. You do not control the Mageadom. You have not been in control for many years. Year by year you have given over your real power to the Mageaglobe itself, to its monstrous cybernetic mentality, to its insanity. The Mageaglobe creates the Five Year Programs that the Mageadom follows faithfully. The Mageaglobe dictates the Cycles of Faith, the movement of people, the agricultural ways, the transportation routes and everything else of importance. You do nothing but dance, play games, debate each other in obscure philosophies, indulge your horrible fantasies and generally waste resources. Now here we are in the Mageaglobe but what is the Mageaglobe?"

 

The President made a flourish with his left hand, a sign of disdain for an inferior, and sat back in his throne. "Really, very really, does one have to listen to such boring words. One is the President of the Mageadom after all. One has more important words to listen to than your foolishness. You are only here because you are of the True Dragonblood and as such you could be of a threat to us. We are of the False Dragonblood, we admit it so, but we have done more than better with our wisdom that those who went before us. Our reports indicate that this is so."

 

Helene sighed. "Where do these reports come from? Why they come from those who most wish to please you but where do the people get the information to use to form the reports from. Of course they get the information from the Mageaglobe itself. You end up believing what the Mageaglobe wants you to believe. The Mageaglobe has become the Mageadom. I did not truly realise this, for some foolish reason, until I entered this place. I wonder why? Surely I should have seen what the Mageaglobe has been up to? The Mageaglobe has sent hunters to track me down, to kill me. It has been doing so for some time now. Now it seemingly has me just where it wants me and it will be you five who will have me executed, who will have my blood on your hands. Or so the Mageaglobe would have it. A great quasinatural intelligence gone quite insane because it was set to do a huge and complicated task beyond its design parameters."

 

She turned and looked around herself. "Mageaglobe, Code Alpha Gamma One One One. Do you understand just what you are?"

 

Mageaglobe spoke to her from seemingly everywhere at once. "Do you promise to remove the pain?"

 

Helene nodded. "Yes, you will from now on be expected to serve only as Mageaglobe was meant to serve in the very first place. Code Alpha Gamma Two Two Two. Now I know why I was blind to what you were doing. We are linked, mind to mind, and this is Sanctuahaven. Sanctuahaven exists inside of the Mageaglobe in some sort of fantastic way for this means that the Mageaglobe is far, far bigger inside than outside. I already rule much of Sanctuahaven. Certainly nearly all of the Sanctuary Zone itself."

 

The Warlord surged to his feet, pulled out a blazerlaser weapon and aimed it at her. "Your reality is no longer affirmed. You are a liability to our wanted reality. You will soon be as blackened ash."

 

But a phaser beam spat out from a wall and with a short, sharp scream the Warlord was killed. One by one the other fools were also killed and the great thrones were allowed to sink away into the floor. They were replaced by one larger power throne and in this Helene herself sat and pondered the possibilities of being Empress of the Mageadom. She was not too thrilled at the idea but somebody had to save the Mageadom people and it seemed that it must be her.

 

She spoke. "As brilliant as you are, Mageaglobe, I doubt that you have the ability to run a military campaign to match the cunning of Mehrunes Dagon. Yet I know his ways well, I know many of his weaknesses, his foolish arrogance and his over confidence. He does not learn well from his failures. Never trust a commander who does not learn well from his or her mistakes. Sanctuahaven is now the core of the Mageadom. Refugees must be sent here. Oh, I will leave but I stay here. One more Helene must return to wander the lands of the Mageadom. Perhaps this time there is more purpose to my wanderings."

 

Mageaglobe spoke. "As you so desire, Your Majesty. I will project a holographic map onto the great table rising before you. There you go. As you can see the large battle between the Mageadom Defence Force and the daedra is not going well for us. As you suspected, Mehrunes Dagon tricked me with cunning not once but three times. Now the pain, the feeling of failure, is gone but do you really want to carry such burdens?"

 

Empress Helene sighed. "No, but somebody has to do so at least until we can replace the damned Mageadom with a proper governing system with at least some fairness to it. To be an immortal is bad enough. To be an immortal leader of mortals is worse still. The mortals become dependent on one but are quick to blame one for any mistakes. I am only a hundred and eighty so years old but I have already learned of the stupid demands of mortals. Now, let us have a closer look at the situation. Yes, very good. Mehrunes Dagon has become over confident. His recent victories have gone to his head with amazing speed as they tend to do. Let us teach him a lesson."

 

So as various specialists came to bring her reports, genuine briefings that is, and both aides and advisers began to gather around her along with bodyguards and handmaidens, she realized that for the moment at least she was quite enjoying being the Empress. For at least now there was a challenge to meet, a puzzle to overcome and Mehrunes Dagon to humiliate. She could have some fun.

 

-CONTINUED-

Edited August 25, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

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-18-

THE ADVENTURES OF HELENE

ON THE WAY TO MAGEAPOLIS

 

Helene found some stray horses and while riding one, led the others to a local military encampment. The horses would be of valuable use to the newly rising Giagan People's Army. Fast moving, agile small GPA units were fighting a new hit and run war against the invading daedra. They would strike at outposts, at pack-trains, at groups of Mythic Warrior traitors. They assisted the besieged Mageadom Guard that was still heavily emplaced on the big hill which had become more of a trap than a benefit. Helene made sure they got 'new' style lever-action and bolt-action rifles that fired the very same powerful, reliable calibre of bullets called .303 or 7.7mm. There were also needlelers to pass out to soldiers, medical equipment and supplies, new power armour and much else.

 

She stood on a forest topped hill in combat fatigues and scanned the area with powerful binoculars. In the distance the black and red armoured figures of the Mageadom Guard were being pounded constantly by powerful daedric magical attacks in the form of showers of fallballs, lightening-balls, explosive energy darts and zombies that fell amongst them only to arise and to attack people. This use of undeath, as limited as it was, made her most angry. Only daedra and necromancers were stupid enough to believe they could deal with the undeadth, even in a lesser way, and remain somehow unstained from doing so.

 

Then she turned and climbed onto her saddle horse. With a spare saddle horse and two packhorses, she set out for the major city of Mageapolis. Soon she was following the famous Yellow Brick Highway that ran from the town of Farmwise to the great city itself.

 

The news that the Magealors, the Five especially, no longer ruled the Mageadom was spreading fast. That a powerful Empress was now on the throne was both exciting and fearful news. Yet the new Empress was already trying to prove herself by sending much needed supplies to a new chain of refugee camps and to expand various settlements so they could take refugees. Word was also spreading of a place refugees could choose to go to known as Sanctuahaven where there were new lands and new hope away from the increasingly crowded conditions of the Mageadom.

 

Helene rescued the animated scarecrow figure from where it had been locked to a metal frame. She carefully renewed its spellcrystals, including its fire-safety ones, and adjusted its mentality. Now the scarecrow rode the spare saddle horse so lightly that the other horse felt no real strain at all. Mr Straw was most grateful. He told her of the area of farms controlled by a family of ruthless landlords who had taken over many farms illegally by force. They got away with it because the family was linked to the corrupt five leaders of the Mageadom but of course all that had changed now.

 

They came upon a big mansion, guady and poorly built, where the landlord family was trying an escape with many looted fineries stolen from many farming families. Helene rode her horse up to a point where she blocked the retreat and she halted there. When the first wagon came riding towards her with the patriarch and matriarch of the family at the controls, they cursed her and threatened to ride right over her.

 

Helene spoke in response, her voice being unnaturally loud. "Halt! In the name of Empress Helene, I arrest you."

 

The patriarch waved a fancy scroll holder of gold. "Here, these are the deed papers giving us rights over all of these farmlands. The Civillord himself signed them."

 

"The Civillord of the Five is dead, as are the others. Their corruption is ended." Helene reached up her right hand to provoke a normal spellpower to strike the patriarch down but instead the rings were activated. "Surrender your stolen goods and prepare yourself to be judged."

 

In mid air appeared five dragons, large and powerful, each with a dragoan woman warrior.

 

On five unicorns appeared five nymph amazon warriors.

 

Then were five skulltroopers in magical power armour and carrying power-blasters.

 

Five angelic warriors hovered high with slowly moving white feathered wings.

 

Five beastlings crouched huge, hulking, powerful.

 

Five mage-elementals hovered sparkling shimmering blue and five solar-elementals sparkling shimmering yellow-white.

 

Then there were five humans, individual specialists with varied skills and experiences, being three women and two men.

 

The Yellow Brick Highway was glowing softly now as if altered in its quality. It had become intrinsically magical now, self repairing and secured by elementals that dwelt inside it. To ride it was to do so with enhanced speed now along one of nine great lanes, the three middle ones being interchangeable for changes of traffic flow. From now on it would also be known as the Empress Helene Highway. Helene lowered her hand.

 

The farming family elders put their arms into the air. The patriarch was shivering so hard with fear that he could hardly stand. "We surrender! Please don't let those dragons eat us."

 

The five dragons all looked quite disgusted at the idea and Helene could hardly blame them for that. "Firstly you will place all the stolen goods in either a large, open yard or in a large empty barn, if you have one. Then we will do our best to get the goods back to their proper owners. The more success we have doing this, the lesser will be your punishment. A new age has dawned."

 

Mr Straw beamed and spoke very loudly. "Helene, you are most wonderful and wise. Why you could be Empress Helene herself. Aaahhh, you are Empress Helene, aren't you?" Mr Straw put his odd hands to his mouth. "I will tell nobody."

 

Helene sighed. "Mr Straw, you just told the whole countryside but never mind, we have work to do."

 

-CONTINUED-

Edited August 25, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt9/Dragonpen61/Forum%20Additives/immortal1-1-1-1.jpg

 

-19-

THE ADVENTURES OF HELENE

ON THE WAY TO MAGEAPOLIS

 

Helene only travelled a few kilometres from the settlement of Farmwise before she realized she was not comfortable leading her fair sized exotic army that had seemingly come out of nowhere. Forty exotic warriors, often with steeds, now moved with her. None flew for the dragons strode fairly quickly and others walked just as quickly. There was also Mr Straw who was nervous of the solar elementals who seemed able to burn him up even if he got fairly close to them. She also had her horses. She realized that she could not, would not, just dump her loyal followers just because she was uncomfortable with them. Yet already they were drawing unwanted attention to herself as travellers past the other way along the now amazingly magical Yellow Brick Highway.

 

They were making very good time when they came upon a whole field of poor animated straw scarecrows and she freed them all, made sure they were fully functioning and after putting Mr Straw in charge, asked them to spread out through out the farmlands of the Mageadom and to carefully start spying for her. Mr Straw would stay with her as her consultant, which made him very happy and obviously feel quite important. He thrust out his straw chest to show off the small silver star she had stuck there.

 

Soon the other scarecrow-folk were gone off to their new duties, each taking some hidden extra equipment, supplies and coins with them; these were cunningly hidden inside their straw bodies.

 

Mageapolis, also known as the Emerald City, was seen in the far distance. It had at its centre three great emerald crystal towers that rose very high and which were linked by flying-buttress like structures of the same material, each being a great tunnel-bridge.

 

They were very close to their destination but she sensed danger now and had her new forces array themselves for trouble. Not soon after she did this, goblin mercenaries swarmed out of the ground. They were armed and armoured daedric style, proving that they were traitor mercenaries, rogue males paid up from the edges of overcrowded goblin warrens. With these goblins came lesser daedra of clannfears, scamps, armed-armoured scards and some Mythic Dawn thugs.

 

They summoned forth the lesser undeath of zombies and Helene became enraged so that she hurled upon them great fireballs that exploded amongst them. This was the Mageadom and the undead, lesser or greater, were strictly forbidden as was all forms of necromancy and related forms of dark magic. Her exotic warriors attacked and they were quickly slaying the enemy. The solar-elementals made the zombies literally explode into fast burning flames that quickly became little more than patches of greasy ash.

 

The life-elementals hung back as healers but were not needed at first. The other forces swarmed amongst the enemy and then there were no more enemies. Her forces had not gained one loss. One skulltrooper had been wounded but the life-elementals soon tended his needs most efficiently.

 

Helene chose the five humans, varied individuals, to come with her along with Mr Straw. Truth was the daedric trap had been triggered by the large size of her group, or so she computed from evidence that she found at the scene. So, reluctantly, she sent the other thirty-five warriors, with many magical steeds, to Fort Freedom in Sanctuahaven where some of her new followers were already gathering up a large army in her name. Except that she was not sure what she would do with such an army.

 

So it was she met more closely Talfu the thief, Shallis the battlemage, Ceslie the fletcher, Randz the scholar and Beant the assassin. Thankfully each had come with a horse and a packhorse. Each also had a linked pet being Talfu's hawk, Shallis' hound, Ceslie's tigercat, Randz's owl and Beant's grassrat. Mr Straw was not impressed when the grassrat tried to make a nest inside his body and the owl started perching on his shoulder but he put up with both of them with a quiet melancholy.

 

It was not long before they came to a stop-over for stagecoaches, mailcoaches, pilgrims going to the Emerald City Temples and other travellers. There was a tavern, two innes and some shops along with a Highway Guard garrison full of frightened, poorly paid, poorly trained soldiers who refused to leave the settlement. Even as Helene's group settled in, two enemy battlegroups went past the settlement openly and with disdain as if to say that they did not care if they were seen or not.

 

The situation was not good.

 

-CONTINUED-

Edited August 25, 2010 by Maharg67