Kevin Kinross (better_now) wrote in exiles,
@ 2010-05-08 13:13:00

Entry tags:

It was really called Skuttlebutt?

Kev boarded the Korbinite ship -- Korbinites? Not something he knew about -- and wondered what on Earth he was going to be able to do.

They were going to be looking for someone called the Grandmaster. Not a Family Story. So he wasn't really sure.

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exiles_cosmic
2010-05-08 04:55 pm UTC (link)

Skuttlebutt, the last great Korbinite ship, the last great hope of a once mighty people, now all but lost. And he was Beta Ray Bill, cybernetic champion of those people who now also shared in the power of Asgard. A protector of his people, yet forever outcast from them as well.

And now, his thoughts had turned even grimmer. His Oath-Brother, Thor, was dead. Asgard would be without its mightiest champion when Ragnarok, that which Odin sought ever to prevent, came.

Dark times indeed, but even the Golden Realm would not last long if those gems were not recovered.

They were fortunate. Unlike some of the Elders of the Universe, the Grandmaster was not a difficult one to find. Nomadic, yes, but with recognizable places of operation and haunts.

"Our time of arrival draws near," he told his companion. "Be wary. The Grandmaster is one of the oldest, most clever beings in the universe. He views all who live as but chess pieces for his own pursuits."

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	better_now 2010-05-08 05:04 pm UTC (link)
	"Doesn't take too much cleverness to do that," Kev muttered. Hell, his Da had done that, and Da wasn't that clever. Kev should know, he still had the memories in his head. "But I'll take your word." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	exiles_cosmic 2010-05-08 05:18 pm UTC (link)
	Bill nodded slightly, one hand resting lightly on Stormbringer, hanging at his belt. There was the slightest sensation of shifting, as Skuttlebutt dropped out of warp-space and back into real space. The last known coordinates of the Grandmaster. "Skuttlebutt," he said, "scan for the Grandmaster's ship." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	better_now 2010-05-08 05:20 pm UTC (link)
	Kev reflects. "Eh, one lat thing before we go, not that I think it'll be relevant for the Grandmaster himself, but do you have a weapon I can borrow? Preferably ranged, preferably not made entirely out of metal, but, you know, some sort of precaution?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

exiles_cosmic
2010-05-08 05:27 pm UTC (link)

"That can be arranged," Bill replied. Skuttlebutt possessed a full armory, weapons that had been forged to fight the Fire Demons that had nearly wiped his people from the face of the galaxy.

Bill opened a compartment in the wall of the bridge, revealing an array of weapons. His eyes scanned over them for a minute, before selecting a gun-shaped weapon. "This one is made largely of composite plastics, I believe," he said, offering it to Kev.

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	better_now 2010-05-08 05:35 pm UTC (link)
	"Thanks much." And he takes just a moment to basically figure how it functions and that the equivalent of the safety's on before putting it in his coat. And then looks out the window. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	exiles_cosmic 2010-05-08 05:51 pm UTC (link)
	And there was the Grandmaster's ship, a massive vessel, one that befit an Elder of the Universe. "Does it detect us?" Yes, Bill. But it is making no hostile moves toward us. "Initiate docking procedures then." Skuttlebutt docked with the other ship efficiently, and Bill gestured toward the elevator that would take them to the air lock. "Let us go then." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	better_now 2010-05-08 05:55 pm UTC (link)
	Kev nods and, checking both the weapon and the medkit tucked in his coat first, follows. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	exiles_cosmic 2010-05-13 06:24 am UTC (link)
	The Grandmaster was waiting for them. "Welcome my friends. I've been waiting for you." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	better_now 2010-05-13 06:31 am UTC (link)
	"Great!" Kev says cheerily. "So you know what we're here about, and you're prepared to do something about it?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	exiles_cosmic 2010-05-13 10:59 pm UTC (link)
	Bill was, naturally, more wary. "We must have the Gem, Grandmaster," he said. "The fate of the very universe is at stake." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	exiles_cosmic 2010-05-13 11:06 pm UTC (link)
	"Oh that is quite obvious, but I can't just give it to you. I've already had someone challenge me for it. I can't pass up a challenge, now can I? Though I think we can reach an understanding." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	better_now 2010-05-13 11:08 pm UTC (link)
	"Well, I would usually figure the benefit of resisting challenges over this particular thing would be more certainty about existing to play another day. But what sort of understanding do you think we can reach here? Because I'd like to start reaching it as soon as possible." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	exiles_cosmic 2010-05-18 09:31 pm UTC (link)
	"Very," Bill agreed. And frustrating. The design of the maze insured that he would not be able to simply use Stormbringer to fly over the tops of it. "The Grandmaster will play largely fair... to do otherwise would defeat his purpose as a gamesman, but he will not hesitate to stack the deck in his favor." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	exiles_baddie 2010-05-18 11:53 pm UTC (link)
	Up ahead some Mindless Ones are bashing through walls to make a straight line toward the center. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	better_now 2010-05-19 02:55 am UTC (link)
	Kev starts walking "Ridiculous. They could just as easily run themselves into the side...and they'll just turn around and stempede again, won't they...? So....that lot. I'm sure it's safe to say they could crush me. Do you think you can get us past them if we need?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	exiles_cosmic 2010-05-20 10:24 pm UTC (link)
	"That is why they are called the Mindless Ones," Bill said. "They are unthinking monsters from the Dark Dimension, feared even by those of sorcerrous power." "But aye, I should be able to fight them, for a time." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	exiles_baddie 2010-05-20 10:26 pm UTC (link)
	The mindless ones continue clearing a path through the walls. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	exiles_cosmic 2010-05-22 04:41 pm UTC (link)
	Bill gripped Stormbringer tightly. "Worry not," he said. "I have faced fire demons and far worse. Whatever happens, I shall be able to stop it. So long as one of us solves this maze..." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	exiles_baddie 2010-05-25 02:02 am UTC (link)
	The mindless ones kept bashing through the walls. Occasionally the floor would open underneath them and some fell into the pit. Others continued on their quest to get through the walls. In another part of the maze a loud roar echoed through the maze. What is a maze without a minotaur. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	exiles_cosmic 2010-05-26 11:23 pm UTC (link)
	"They will," Bill agreed. "They know naught but mindless aggression." It had been said even the dread Dormamu could not defeat the Mindless Ones, only contain them. Though he had bested fire demons, trolls, and even dark elves in his time, he worried, secretly, about how well his god-given power would serve him here. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	better_now 2010-05-26 11:43 pm UTC (link)
	"Then," Kev says quietly. "When we've all gotten a little closer to Whatever That Thing Is, what do you think of getting their attention and steering the situation towards it?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)