February 23rd 2025
Sunday
Abandoned airbase
Somewhere in Papua New Guinea
ROUND 4
You are now: ZIXINUS, ETERNAL FREEDOM, PHANT, WHITE CHINESE DELIVERY GUY, RI'ANN SHAPP, LARGE IRRITABLE DOG, COMBAT JANITOR, SMARMY AMERICAN SAILOR, TROPICAL BEAUTY, STIRLITZ THE RUSSIAN SPY and MILDLY DERANGED PHYSICIST.
You are no longer SICK. You have RECOVERED from TEAR GAS POISONING.
You are in a JUNGLE. There is an OLD HANGAR. There is a slab of TARMAC and a RUNWAY. There is a SPACEPLANE. The SPACEPLANE is MAGNIFICENT. It is MORNING. It is getting HOT again. There is SOUND of FORNICATION from the HANGAR OFFICE.
You READ the EMAIL. HELPFUL ADVICE is GIVEN to ZIXINUS. You DECIDE to TAKE the OFFER and SPLIT UP the TEAM for SOME TIME. MILDLY DERANGED PHYSICIST becomes TEMPORARILY USELESS after TAKING a SIP of HUNGARIAN PALINKA.
ZIXINUS MAKES some BREAKFAST after the CONSULTATIONS are DONE. You DERVICE much AMUSEMENT from WATCHING the MILDLY DERANGED PHYSICIST RUN AROUND while FLAILING his ARMS and SCREAMING about being BLING. There is MUCH LAUGHTER. ZIXINUS reads a PIECE of PAPER with SCRIBBLED STUFF on it.
COMBAT JANITOR CACKLES
The PIECE of PAPER contains a NEAT set of ACCOUNTS describing the OVERALL SITUATION of the COMPANY. It is up to its FIGURATIVE EYEBALLS in DEBT. There is ALSO a COST SIMULATION that SHOWS you will be LEFT with a NET SUM of TWO MILLION DOLLARIOS upon your RETURN to EARTH, PROVIDED PHANT did his COST ESTIMATES corrctly. You are not SURE what DOLLARIOS are.
ROBOTIC PROBE seems to be GONE. Hopefully for GOOD.
After BREAKFAST is EATEN and POSSIBLY removed from your DIGESTIVE TRACTS, WORK begins to get DONE. HOSES are CONNECTED to the MAGNIFICENT SPACEPLANE and PUMPING of highly VOLATILE chemicals BEGINS.
STIRLITZ THE RUSSIAN SPY abandons his COVER IDENTITY as it is no longer NEEDED. He is now IVAN IVANOV.
COMBAT JANITOR CACKLES
IVAN IVANOV sets up a FAN inside the MAGNIFICENT SPACEPLANE and VOLUNTEERS to REMAIN BEHIND.
SUAVE PLAYBOY APPEARS after SPENDING a few HOURS in the HANGAR OFFICE with the TROPICAL BEAUTY. He is CONCENTRATING MIGHTILY in an ATTEMPT to UNDERSTAND what she is SAYING. TROPICAL BEAUTY appears to be WORRIED and IMPATIENT.
SUAVE PLAYBOy RECOGNIZES some WORDS from his SPECIALIZED VOCABULARY. Namely: MARRIAGE, ELOPING TOGETHER, MANY KIDS, QUICKLY and ANGRY FAMILY/CLAN/TRIBE. There is ALSO a PROFOUND SENSE of URGENCY in her TONE.
IVAN IVANOV CONSULTS with MILDLY DERANGED PHYSICIST on a proper SOLVENT and CLEANS the WINDSHIELD of EQUATIONS. He then CHECKS UP on the RUSSIAN COMPANY and FINDS OUT some VAGUE INFORMATION. He then RECEIVES more DETAILED data from an UNKNOWN but OMINOUS source. The INFORMATION claims RUSPROM makes 3/4 of the world's COMMERCIAL LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS for SPACECRAFT and SPACE STATIONS.
COMBAT JANITOR CACKLES
While WALKING about the BASE IVAN IVANOV APPREHENDS a GUY who CLAIMS to be a QUIET HISTORIAN. It is not the MOST MYSTERIOUS thing to have HAPPENED today. The GUY BEGS for his LIFE. It is QUITE PATETHIC.
RI'ANN SHAPP has WALKED his DOG. The DOG now has a SEVERELY DAMAGED RECTUM for SOME REASON. He might BLEED OUT unless SAVED by a show of GUILE and SKILL at DOG MEDICINE. Possibly an ACT of GOD.
WHITE CHINESE DELIVERY GUY manages to USE some of the SUPPLIES in the JEEP to FASHION an UPGRADE for your AIR PURIFIERS. You no longer HAVE the POSSIBLY DANGEROUS PIECE OF MACHINERY.
WHITE CHINESE DELIVERY GUY EMAILS his MOM. He does not RECEIVE an IMMEDIATE RESPONSE.
MILDLY DERANGED PHYSICIST begins to WORK on your ROUTE. He CONSIDERS several OPTIONS, but a SUBORBITAL HOP is a BIT TRICKY. He EVENTUALLY uses his SLIDERULE to DETERMINE that an OPTIMAL ROUTE is EITHER a POLAR SUBORBITAL HOP and then a SCRAM ATMOSPHERIC FLIGHT, or a FULL POLAR ORBIT which OVERFLIES several COUNTRIES. Unless you want to fly to OKHOTSK, which is FAR EASIER to REACH without PISSING OFF several GOVERNMENTS, but FAR AWAY from your CUSTOMERS. The LAUNCH WINDOW is IRRELEVANT.
He also WARNS you about RENEGADE RUSSIAN MISSILEERS who MIGHT try to SHOOT YOU DOWN unless you PAY them PROTECTION FEES. That is PROBABLY a very RELEVANT CONCERN.
COMBAT JANITOR CACKLES
IVAN IVANOV BREAKS SUAVE PLAYBOY'S CONCENTRATION by TELLING him to DRIVE COMBAT JANITOR to the SHORE. SUAVE PLAYBOY is VERY UNPOLITE and REFUSES to do SO.
MILDLY DERANGED PHYSICIST MUTTERS something about US WARSHIPS to HIMSELF. He also STUMBLES on ANOTHER PROBLEM related to your FLIGHT to the MOON. It is RELATED to POSSIBLE ORBITAL INCLINATIONS and your FUEL RESERVES. It DOESN'T looks very GOOD.
The MAGNIFICENT SPACEPLANE is FULLY FUELLED with MAIN ENGINE FUEL MIX, KEROSENE for the SCRAM ENGINES and HYDRAZINE for the APU and RCS systems.
WHITE CHINESE DELIVERY GUY suddenly COLLAPSES after DETACHING the HYDRAZINE HOSE from its proper PORT. ETERNAL FREEDOM HURLS his BREAKFAST and begins to COUGH BLOOD.
You MIGHT have FORGOTTEN about SOMETHING.
There is a DISTANT SOUND of VEHICLE ENGINES coming from the JUNGLE. It is VERY OMINOUS.
COMBAT JANITOR DISAPPEARS into the BUSHES. It APPEARS he wants to do SOMETHING OBSCENE once again.
COMBAT JANITOR CACKLES
What do you do? _
"
- PeZook
