With much ado, and long, hard hours of carefully editing, I now present for your reading pleasure, the second half of the Incursion into Ballpoint. I must give full credit to Talvieno for collaborating with me on this, as it was mostly his idea.
Urist and Hans stopped outside Mr Frog’s doorway, clad in the light gray clothing he had issued them the previous day. It was fairly form fitting and comfortable, as well as being as tough as silk, so Mr Frog had said.
The pair of dwarves knocked on Mr Frog’s door, and it swung open immediately to reveal a irate looking Mr Frog. He glared at them, and said, “You’re late. We must hurry. Here are these, and I'll get Vanya.” He handed them a pair of odd weapons, then turned and hit a small button on his desk amid the myriad pieces of less identifiable equipment.
Urist and Hans looked at the weapons carefully. One was a large warhammer with one hammer head replaced with a small serrated disk, and the other was a pike with the main head replaced by a similar saw blade. In the middle of the handle of each was a short, recessed stud, perfectly placed to go under the thumb of the user. Urist kept the sawpike, and Hans took the buzzhammer, as Vanya later called them. The two dwarves heard a sound from one of the doors within Mr Frog's room.
A muffled, “Fine!” echoed through the door after the sound, and it slid open to reveal Vanya in a tight fitting jumpsuit of the same color and fabric as Urist and Hans’ clothes. She looked the three over quickly, then smiled at Urist.
Mr Frog said, “Get over here, stupid girl.” He was still glaring as he said, “I’ve got an errand to run; I’ll be back in a moment. Take the opportunity to say hello, or whatever it is you socialites do.” He was already stepping through a door as he did so, and it slid shut behind him.
Vanya stepped forward a bit, and smiled at Urist again. He smiled back, and she said, “Hi!”
Urist looked her over, and it struck him that something was different. He said, “You didn’t cover your ears.”
Vanya’s smile eroded a bit, and she blushed as she said, “I’m sorry. I would cover them if I could but-“
Urist interrupted her swiftly, and said, “It’s alright, Vanya. I don’t mind.” He smiled a little, and said, “You look nice.”
Vanya’s smiled returned full force and she seemed to glow a little with pleasure. She said, “Really?”
Before Urist could respond, the door banged back open, and Mr Frog stormed in, the glare having, impossibly, deepened. He said, “That’s taken care of! Do you remember your mission objectives?” His piercing gaze flicked over them, one by one.
Vanya nodded, and Mr Frog turned, wordlessly, to the empty hoop on the wall, and began fiddling with the controls on the side. A shimmering surface coalesced inside the hoop. Urist and Hans had been informed of the existence of the portal already by Vanya, but the appearance of it was still quite amazing to the two dwarves.
Urist noticed Vanya suppressing a laugh at the look on Hans’ face, and he grinned inwardly. Hans was a superstitious enough fellow, but this was too much for him. He’d backpedal a couple steps when Mr Frog appeared behind him, and nearly growled, “No you don’t! You have to get in there! Vanya, you go first! Lead them in there so this buffon doesn’t get terrified and run out on us!” He easily pushed the burly Hans forward.
Vanya gave the two a strange look, and then Mr Frog growled again, “Move!” Vanya stepped through the portal without question. Urist watched her go through, then realized it was his turn. He gritted his teeth, and tried to put his thoughts elsewhere, then stepped through the portal.
Mr Frog immediately pushed Hans the last few steps into the portal, and once he was through, shut it down.
Urist couldn’t begin to describe the feeling of stepping through the portal, but it ended soon enough, and he found himself walking toward Vanya at a brisk pace in a strange little room.
Surprise bloomed on her face, and Urist ran right into her before he could stop himself. He fell on top of her, and she fell onto the steel floor. They lay there like that for a moment, then her eyes widened and she said, “Ah! Get off!”
Urist felt his face redden a bit, and he scrambled off of her. He stood a few feet away, and an awkward silence stretched out. Finally Urist found his tongue and said, “I didn’t mean to fall on you.” He could feel that his cheeks were still a bit red.
Vanya said, “It’s all right. It wasn’t intentional. You didn’t see me there, and I was in the way. It’s my fault, really.” She was speaking very quietly and swiftly stood up very gracefully.
Urist shook his head a bit, and said, “No, no, the fault is mine. I should have been watching.”
Vanya sidled up closer to Urist, a fey look in her eyes as she gazed up at Urist. “It’s okay, really.” They stood there for a long moment like that. Urist felt the urge to step even closer to Vanya, and perhaps kiss her.
Before Urist could act on his urge, he heard, “No Mr Frog, I don’t wanna go in-“And then he toppled forward into Vanya once more, Hans on his back. The three of them untangled themselves, and as Urist stood, he noticed Vanya giving Hans a slitty-eyed glare. They all stood, and apologies were exchanged.
Then, they all looked around confusedly. Finally Hans said, “So… You have any idea where we are missus?” In the dimly lit hallway, Vanya shook her head, and the two dwarves saw it easily despite the poor lighting.
She said, “There should be maps on the floors of the intersections- I saw them last time I was here. Once we get there, we can figure out where we are.”
Urist nodded absent-mindedly as he said, “Did Mr Frog inform you of where to find the access key?”
Vanya shook her head, and said, “No, he just said that the only ones who have them are higher-ranking officers.”
Hans also nodded, and rumbled in0 the depths of his throat grimly, “Well… Let’s go find one then.”
They started out into the corridors of the strange base, Vanya in the lead. They were moving at a brisk pace, and at one point, Vanya looked back, a distracted look on her face. Urist grinned to himself and said, “We are still here. No need to check on us.”
She nodded, only half listening, and pointed up ahead to the approaching intersection, “There’s an intersection ahead of us, see? On the floor in the middle there’s a map, it should be marked with different places and we’ll be able to figure out where we are.
Hans grinned at her back, and said jovially, “Oh, one of them ‘You are here’ maps, ya mean? Spearbreakers don’t have any of them.”
Vanya had stopped suddenly though, and a dwarf came around the corner ahead of them, clad in strange armor and carrying an odd device. A gun. Vanya said, “Just keep walking and don’t look at him. And don’t attack, that gun is huge. It it’s a guard, he should just walk on by…”
Urist inwardly winced at the thought of attacking an armed and armored ranged opponent with melee weapons, but before he could foolishly say anything, the guard said, “Halt. State your business.”
The guard’s voice was feminine, barely, and her visor lifted to reveal a horribly battle scarred face that was twisted into a suspicious glare. She stopped, and said, “I’ll need to see your ID.”
Vanya stepped forward, and the guard bristled a bit at the movement. Vanya held out her ID card, and said, “Vanya Carena, I’m a-“
“Level three spy.” The guard finished for her, the glare deepening, “Yes, don’t look surprised. I know the uniforms’ color code. You’re supposed to be down at the southeast quadrant. Why are you in this portion of Ballpoint?” The guard’s eyes shifted suspiciously across the little group.
Urist thought about his days patrolling his home fortress, and got an idea. He stepped forward and challenged the guard’s authority. Only those of higher rank challenge the challenger. He said, “Who wants to know?”
The guard straightened, an odd look on her face, and said, “I’m Commander Acetalyta, it is my business to know.”
Urist looked at Vanya, and said quietly, “Convienent.” Strange, how easily they had found someone likely to have a access key.
The guard said, “Where’s your identification? Don’t you have it with you?”
Vanya spoke up quickly and said, “They’re with me.” The guard slid back a step and her hands gripped her gun a bit more tightly. Urist winced at Vanya’s words inwardly. They’d been ill-considered, as professional guards wouldn’t accept such an excuse easily.
Urist kept calm though, and stepped a bit closer to the guard, his hands visible, his voice smooth as glass, “We’re on an assignment.” Such a generic phrase would be commonplace, and unlikely to be challenged. Thinking quickly, Urist also appealed to her vanity, “But… If you would like, I could come back after it’s done.”
Behind him, Vanya’s jaw dropped, but he didn’t see. Acetalyta smiled a bit at Urist, and said, “Well, I think that may be against protocol. I may have to take you two down to security.” She put gentle emphasis on security, and her smile deepened lewdly.
Hans wasn’t a fool, and he stepped forward to support Urist’s gambit. Neither was ugly by dwarven standards. Hans said, languorously, “Mmmm, sounds like she caught us. Guess you’ll have to take us in.”
The Commander turned and started strutting away as she said, “Let’s go boys. You two are in big trouble.” Urist and Hans stepped close up next to her, and Urist put his hand on the small of her back.
Vanya said, “You can’t go yet!” Urist turned, letting his hand slip across the guard’s utility belt, and more importantly, her access key. He slipped it off easily, and tossed it to Vanya.
Urist winked at her, then put his finger to his lips and said, “Don’t wait up for us.” The last he saw of Vanya was her disbelieving stare. The three dwarves turned the corner, and the Commander almost immediately turned to a door. She winked at them, and opened the door with a push of a button.
The followed her inside, revealing a half-filled storeroom. Urist and Hans exchanged a significant glance as they entered. The Commander stopped in the middle of the room, and beckoned to them lewdly. She was standing hands on her hips, so her attributes were prominently displayed, despite the thick armor. Urist smiled, and stepped close to her as Hans sidled around her side. She frowned after a second, and felt her belt suddenly. Then her eyes widened and her gaze snapped up to Urist, fear in her eyes.
At that moment, Hans slipped his thick forearm across her throat and locked it. Her eyes bulged, and she tried to scratch at Urist, but he grabbed her arms in the crook of his elbows and brought them tight against his body. She scrabbled against their grips on her, but they had caught her by surprise and fully immobilized her. Hans strangled her carefully and finally, she went unconscious.
Hans released her throat and checked her pulse, not wanting to kill her. The two gently set her behind a large crate, and removed her weapons. Then they took her utility belt. They found a rope on a shelf in the room, and tied her up thoroughly. Then the two dwarves stepped out of the storeroom and locked the door.
They walked down the hallway to another intersection, where they studied the floor map carefully. Finally, Hans said, “So… Where do you think we can cause the most trouble?”
Urist read the names of various sections, then finally a cruel grin spread across his face as he said, “Well, I think the Armory means the same thing here as it does back home.” Hans looked up at Urist, an awed smile on his face.
Shortly thereafter, they stood outside the doors of the armory. It was, surprisingly, not very well guarded. It consisted mostly of a large mesh wall with a small slot in it which was in front of a desk. At the desk sat a very bored looking human quartermaster. No other guards were visible. The door next to the mesh wall was hanging open slightly. Urist shook his head and whispered to Hans, “Complacent. They’ve never had trouble this deep in before.”
Hans smiled grimly, “Complacency kills. Fischer allus said that.” He took the buzzhammer off his back, and stepped through the door into the armory. The quartermaster looked up at him quizzically, then abruptly realized that this large dwarf was holding a melee weapon in a threatening manner. The human reached for his hip holster, but found his pistol missing. It was in the desk.
Hans smiled at the human, and stepped a bit closer, “Hiya. Just lay down right there, would you?” The human smiled weakly, and complied. Urist stepped in, and closed the door. He strode to the shelves, and started rummaging through them swiftly. He gathered up a couple large guns for him and Hans, then one for Vanya. He picked up a belt of odd little cylinders, and looked at them curiously.
Urist turned to the prone quartermaster and said, “Hey. What are these?”
The human’s expression was priceless, and unthinkingly, he said, “Grenades. You pull the pin and throw them.”
Urist smiled, and asked, “What happens then?”
The human grimaced as he realized the dwarf hadn’t known what a grenade was, but said, “They explode.”
Urist’s face scrunched up and he cocked his head, “What is an explosion?”
Hans said, “Like when rock caves into magma I think. Vanya said something about it.”
Urist nodded, and strapped the belt of grenades on. He rummaged through more shelves, and handed Hans a gun belt with a pistol in it, then strapped one on himself. The two dwarves smiled as they surveyed their new arsenal of weapons. Hans stepped to the door and opened it back up. Urist joined him.
The human looked up, and saw his chance. He slid open the drawer and snatched his pistol out. His first shot drilled into the wall next to Hans, then the next grazed Hans’ arm. Urist whipped out his pistol, and fired several shots into the prone human, more than one hitting the man in the face. Urist grimaced at the mess left behind, but put it out of his mind. It had been life or death.
Hans also sported a grim look, but he looked at the armory. He said, “What about all this? What should we do now?”
Urist shrugged, and then got an idea. He pulled one grenade off the belt, and pulled the little pin. A small red light blinked on momentarily, and Urist chucked the grenade into the armory. He pushed Hans out and slammed the door shut behind them. They took off at a run down the hall, when a tremendous sound filled the corridor. It was like the sound of a cave-in multiplied by a thousand. A wave of heat passed over the two dwarves, and tossed them to the floor.
They slowly got up from the prone position, their ears ringing and their clothes hot. Urist smiled at Hans and said, “I liked that!”
Hans cocked his head, and held a hand up to his ear and said something.
Urist said, “What?!”
Hans said something again, but this time Urist realized that the shape of his lips were that of someone saying, ‘what?!’. Urist waved his hand as if to dismiss the discussion, then pointed forwards. They ambled down the hallway, to a large door. Hans hit the button next to it, and the door slid open easily.
Inside the door was a massive chamber, in which large vats were lined up in rows. They reached to the ceiling, masses of piping and wiring connecting them to each other and the walls. Urist and Hans eyed it confusedly, and then saw a guard sprinting between the vats at them. He was holding a gun, and shouting something. They still couldn’t quite hear, but it didn’t matter.
Urist aimed his pistol, and fired a single shot. It sparked off a vat next to the guard, who dived for cover behind some piping. Hans ducked behind a large barrel, and Urist followed him as the guard returned fire from behind his cover. As their hearing returned, the two dwarves heard shouting in more than one voice, as more guards joined the first.
Hans popped up, rifle in hand, and fired a burst at one guard. Several rounds caught the soldier in the chest, and hurled him back with the force of the impact. He fell to the floor, unmoving. Hans looked at his rifle admiringly, then the return fire drove him back into cover. Urist nodded at Hans, then slid out to the side, and fired several rounds.
The firefight continued for a short time, but every second, more soldiers were arriving. They moved up in squads, from cover to cover. Urist shouted at Hans over the din of fire and counter-fire, “We’ve got to get out of here! They’re going to cut us off!” Hans nodded, and fired a few rounds, then gaped as almost a whole company of soldiers suddenly burst into the chamber, guns blazing. The rounds blanketed the cover the two dwarves hid behind, and Hans dropped behind his cover immediately.
Urist pulled off a grenade, and pulled the pin. He waited for the small red light, and then tossed the grenade over his cover without looking. The blast washed over their cover, and Urist chuckled at the sudden absence of gunfire. Hans peeked over the edge, and his jaw dropped. Urist was reloading while Hans tried to get his attention. “Urist. Urist! Urist, we’ve got to go!”
Urist slapped the magazine in, and popped over the cover to be greeted with a horrifying sight. The grenade blast had been centered right under one of the vats, which were apparently filled with some sort of caustic acid. It was spurting from the severed pipes and a couple rents in the metal of the vat. The vat hung crazily from a single damaged strut and swayed gently as the strut slowly stretched toward the breaking point. The soldiers facing the two dwarves were still stunned by the explosion, and hadn’t spotted the danger yet.
Urist and Hans dove out of cover, and bolted for the door, right as the strut finally gave. The vat bounced off the floor, and its damaged structure warped fully, the smaller rents ripping through the tough metal under the weight of the vat, and the acid within pouring out in a deluge. It swept the soldiers nearby up, and rushed toward the two dwarves as they rushed out the door. They shut it as they exited, stopping the acid from engulfing them, but were faced with another problem.
Yet more soldiers were rushing toward the sound of the second explosion, guns at the ready. The two dwarves were almost right in the middle of a squad of soldiers armed with rifles, so they let their guns hang loose and whipped out their melee weapons. Hans blasted the hammerhead of the buzzhammer into the skull of a slim elf male that was starting to aim his gun, shattering the poor creature's head so thoroughly it looked as if he'd been decapitated. Urist plunged his sawpike through the chest of an armored dwarf, and into the throat of the human behind him. It lodged firmly in the dwarf, and Urist let go of it. He grabbed his rifle, and fired it from the hip into the next two soldiers. The rounds blasted them off their feet, spattering blood against the walls and Urist's face. Urist yanked his sawpike out of the dead dwarf, and turned to watch Hans.
Hans faced a young, blonde-haired soldier who's rifle was aimed at him. Hans swept his hammer around in a tight arc, twisting the rifle out of alignment and sending the burst the soldier had fired into the wall and floor. He pushed the younger soldier back forcefully, bouncing him off the wall, then swept his hammer through a short arc, letting the buzzsaw rip through the soldier's chest. The younger soldier's eyes widened as blood spurted from him, and he fell onto the floor, in shock.
Urist and Hans surveyed the gory remnants of the squad they had blundered into, when a burst of gunfire forced them to retreat down the hallway into the cover of some doorways. Urist chucked another grenade toward where they had slaughtered the squad, and hunkered behind his cover as it went off.
Then the two dwarves fired blindly around the corner, Urist crouching low so Hans could shoot over his head. Hans blind fired again, and Urist popped out, gun ready. As the sounds of fire from Hans burst died away, several soldiers ran around the corner, guns up. Urist blazed away at them on full auto, killing several, and mortally wounding another. The wounded one fell back into the safety of the corner, but farther down the hall, more soldiers were taking cover and firing on the two dwarves.
Urist fired blindly, and threw another grenade he’d readied with his other hand. It exploded, buying them a moment of silence once more. After the brief reprieve, Urist blind fired again. He heard, “What are you doing?! Hold your fire! Hold your fire!” as the sounds of running echoed down the hallway.
Then “She’s with them!” and the gunfire erupted again as Vanya skidded around the corner behind the doorway. She was panting and had a grim look on her face. Urist fired a few more rounds, and said, “Where were you? We weren’t sure if we’d find you again.” He realized that they hadn’t even discussed how to return to Vanya, which was a tactical mistake in addition to a thoughtless one. She was the one wearing the bracelet to return them home, and also the one who was supposed to have got the PEA.
She almost snarled at him, “I knew where I’d find you. Just follow the trail of the dead, and discarded women.”
Hans looked at her, his eyes filled with hurt, “What?”
Vanya sighed, frustrated, “Not you Hans. Though I’m sure you’ve done your share of killing.”
Urist unslung the third gun he carried, and said, “Vanya, take this.” He tossed it to her, and she barely caught it in her confusion.
She stared at it, a bit surprised, “It’s a gun… I don’t want a gun!”
Urist popped out and fired a burst down the corridor, then dodged back before he could get hit by return fire. He said, “I must see if the corridor behind us dead ends. When I go, fire it to suppress the enemy.”
Vanya set the gun on the floor, and shook her head, “I’m not killing anyone. I hate guns! And you’ve killed too many good people already!”
Urist was too stressed and confused to understand what was making her resist this so much, and he said, “Vanya, I need both you and Hans covering me, or I could die.”
Vanya spitted him with a glare, and said, “Unlike you, I actually care about the safety of other people. Even the ‘enemy’!”
Urist paused in his adrenaline fueled haze, and thought for a moment. He looked at her for a long second, and then finally said, “Just fire it.” He turned and ran without making sure she would do so. He sprinted into the room at the end of the hallway, and looked around for doors. There weren’t any but the one he’d entered through, so he turned back.
Hans was wrapping his arm up in a bandage as Vanya fired a wild burst around the corner. He asked, “You okay missus?” She sure seemed out of sorts. Normally she was so nice.
She snapped out, “I’m fine.” Then seemed to regret it, and continued as she dropped her rifle, “It’s just Urist. And this isn't my blood.”
Hans nodded absent mindedly as he finished tying off the bandage. He would puzzle over her behavior more when they were out of combat, know that he knew she was unharmed. Meanwhile, Urist returned, sprinting wildly into the cover of the doorway.
Hans said, "Was it any good?" The clang of bullets on metal walls puntuating his question.
Urist winced at the gunfire as he nodded, and said, "The hallways behind us appear to be clear, and there is an empty room nearby. We'll need to exit through them to a safer location. Vanya," He said, shifting his focus to her, "Do you have the portal device?"
She rolled her eyes and shook her bracelet at him like he was stupid, "Yes, of course I do, can't you see it on my wrist?" Her voice was filled with choler, but Urist let it wash over him. Something must have happened while they were seperated to make her so angry.
He felt his beard tingle a little, and his eyes dilated. He leaned around the corner, rifle leading. He fired a few blind shots, then shrank back a bit to avoid the return fire. Once it stopped, he leaned back out, and fired a couple aimed bursts, taking out at least one more soldier.
Vanya said over the din, "Aren't we going? If we wait, they'll just bring more soldiers in..." Urist didn't bother telling her about the squad forming up to rush them, instead getting a hold of his sawpike. Vanya waited a moment, then peeked around her corner. A burst of fire down the hall almost hit her, and she flattened back against the wall, in cover again. She spat, "Oh look, Urist, another girl! Why don't you go flirt with her?"
Urist lost his concentration at this, the words cutting deep through his military mind. He looked at Vanya, his face twisted with hurt and confusion. Her expression was twisted between shame and pleasure, but before Urist could say anything, he heard the footsteps of the squad coming out of cover, lead by a human woman. Urist fired a burst into her from the side, and Hans blazed his rifle into the midst of the squad, either killing them or forcing them back to their cover.
Vanya was curled into a tight ball by the wall. After a moment like that, she peeked out, her face white and twisted with fear. When she saw the dead woman, she went livid with color and said, "Oh..." Then, louder, "Oh, you SHOT her! Oh, well, lovely. Do you do that with all women when you're done with them?"
Still hurt from her last comment, Urist let his emotion over take his judgement, and glared at her. She shrank back from his gaze, looking away from him. Finally, Urist regained control over himself, then said, "Vanya, on my signal, run for the corner behind us. Hans was blind firing as Urist spoke.
Vanya gaped at Urist, then said, "What?! Are you trying to kill me?"
Urist shook his head, and shouted, "Just trust me!"
"Trust you?? Are you serious?!"
Urist turned, as another soldier came around the corner, and thrust his sawpike into the man's chest, ripping his upper body to ribbons. As he did so, he shouted, "Of course I'm serious!" The firefight slowed for a moment, and he said, in a rage filled voice, "Do you want us to die?"
"Why would I?" She shouted back, her face showing her confusion and trepidation.
Urist shook his head and shouted in his best instructor's voice, "NOW! Hans, Vanya - RUN!" Without thinking, they all did so, Urist and Hans firing furiously over their shoulders as they sprinted for the end of the hallway. A quiet click when unnoticed until Hans shouted, "Out of ammo!"
They burst into the room just in time, Hans dropping his rifle to the floor in disgust.
It was a storeroom, just like the first room they'd arrived in. Vanya hit the button on her bracelet. The portal shimmered into existence, when suddenly a dwarf in civilian clothes, nonetheless holding a submachinegun in his sweaty hands, jumped out from behind a stack of crates. He shouted, "All of you, freeze!" Vanya flicked her arm, a look of fear on her face, and several long, clear tubes flashed across the distance between her and the dwarf instantly. They plunged into his chest, and he said, "Drop... Your wea..." Even as he was passing out.
Vanya's face twisted into a look of horror, and she said, "Wait, is he dead? Mr Frog said it wouldn't kill anyone... he can't be dead!"
Behind Urist, facing the door, was Hans and he said, "Guys, we need to go now." Urist ignored him, and walked over to pick up the dwarf's weapon.
Urist mocked Vanya's voice, adopting a terrible falsetto, "'Is he dead'... Does it matter?" He picked up the submachinegun, and shook his head ruefully.
Vanya seemed lost in thought, and she quietly said, "'Does it matter'..."
As she did so, Urist was glowering at her, “Now would you mind explaining exactly what I’m doing that’s pissing you off so damn much?”
Her head snapped up, and her eyes narrowed to slits,"What do you think the problem is? Haven't I given you enough hints already? Or are you pretending to be dumb?"
Urist’s features twisted in confusion, “What are you talking about?” Hans gestured at the portal.
"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about!" Vanya shot back at Urist.
“Guys, we need to go right now.” Hans said, still gesturing. They weren’t listening though, so embroiled in their argument. Hans said again, “Guys, we gotta get out of here! Those soldiers will be here any second!”
"Would you kindly answer my question instead of avoiding it?" Urist said caustically.
"'Would you kindly,'" Vanya mocked him in an ironic echo of his earlier statement, "Oh, you act so mannerly and gentlemanly, but then you try to get into bed with the first woman you see!"
The two exploded into a vicious argument, neither making any real sense, just shouting at each other as loud as they could. Vanya seemed to be getting more and more upset, and Urist was getting more and more angry. Hans just watched them in utter disbelief, when something thudded against the door.
Hans glared at them suddenly, then said, “Shut the fuck up!”
They stopped arguing and turned a confused look on him at the same time. Hans scooped them both up in his huge arms, and pushed through the portal.
They lay in a heap at Mr Frog's feet. He looked at them curiously, then shut off the portal. "Trying to 'get into bed' with her? How could you possibly think that?" Urist growled at Vanya as they all stood.
Vanya twisted to face him, her eyes full of vitriol, "Your secret's out, Urist," She said. "You can quit playing charades now and come clean." Hans was shaking his head in frustration beside them, and Mr Frog was blankly watching this little drama, no thoughts showing on his inscrutable sneer.
"I have no secrets," Urist shot back.
"It's all been an act! You've been faking your personality, acting like you actually cared about people; acting like a gentleman when in reality you're nothing but a player!"
"A player?? I've told you before, I'm married. Are you thick-headed?" Urist was gesticulating, obviously angry.
"So you were cheating on your wife when you tried to seduce Commander Acetalyta?" Vanya said, her eyes flashing.
"Is that what you're upset about? I wasn't seducing her! I was distracting her so I could steal the key." Urist objected vociferously.
"Yes, 'distracting her' with your deep voice and muscled arms."
Urist's anger was replaced with confusion suddenly, "Obviously there is no way you will believe me. Why is this bothering you so much??"
"You abandoned me!" Vanya accused him. "You lied, you -"
"Silence!!!" Mr Frog roared threateningly. The two stopped arguing from the brute force of his personality, and he more calmly asked, "Did you complete the assignment or not?"
Vanya's lips twisted into a sad frown as she ripped the backpack off her shoulders and thrust it into Mr Frog's chest. "Here." She turned back to Urist, anger returning to her features. "I thought I knew who you were. I trusted you."
Urist was struck, suddenly, by the memory of her kissing him outside Hans' room, and he desperately said, "You do know who I am."
"You ran off with the commander!! It was right in the middle of a mission, too!"
"I had no choice. But Vanya..." His anger was gone, replaced by sudden understanding.
"And what got the army after you? Did she figure it out as I did? Did you shoot her??" Her voice was shaking, and she wouldn't look at him.
"Vanya, stop this." Urist stepped closer to her, and gently grabbing her delicate hands. "Just listen. You're being ridiculous." He winced inwardly at his poor choice of words.
"No I'm not!" Vanya yelled at him, ripping her hands from his, and dashing away into her room as she said, "I can't believe I fell in love with you!!"
The door to Vanya's room slammed shut. Mr Frog and Hans both turned to look at Urist, who was standing frozen in place, his mouth hanging open, his features twisted in confusion and consternation. He finally seemed to come to, and looked at Mr Frog and Hans, his gaze distant. Hans said, "Are you okay?"
Urist said, "Did... Did she just say she loved me?"
Mr Frog snorted derisively and took the backpack to his equipment table as he said, "Yes, she did, you dolt. Whatever you did in there obviously upset her quite a lot, so I wouldn't count on her feeling that way for much longer."
Hans shook his head at Mr Frog's back, and put his hand on Urist's shoulder, "Don't listen to him, Urist. Vanya's just confused. Give her some time, try and talk to her later. For now, let's go get a drink."
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Topic: [34.11] Spearbreakers - It shudders and begins to move (Read 2279631 times)