The Uli Rouge

[Craines]

The old Bretonian had an ornate looking shotgun aimed at the man in the strange looking gear. The flak hadn't been able to penetrate it, Richard thought, but these special 'bullets' would be just the trick...

Fiona made a sign across her neck, indicating to Walters that these people were friends. Lowering the weapon, the old man walked forwards and raised the goggles from his face. "You are in a heap of trouble, you rapscallion! How you survived the aerial barrage is beyond me, but do one wrong thing and I'll... rectify it. Madam deLuna! What should I do with this fool?"

"Mr. Walters, this is Rick. And that pod is where Fnordie is... although I advise keeping the little pup inside it for a moment longer. The defenses, such as that Nova missile, were simply against air. I don't fear that front as much as ground: ever heard of a Tremor? Nasty device deSicev whipped up... it literally emits sonic waves so high that it juggles your insides out. Can be deadly, he speculates... I'll just need a hair sample from Fnordie and we'll be good to go. I don't know if the little doggie could protect himself against it, but I don't really want to find out, either! Okay, here is the hair; deSicev, go and program it in, please."

"Irritated statement: Mistress, I am not some AI that will allow itself to be degraded in such a manner! I am highly sophisticated! I can play the Immortal Game out easily! Run//:command/%sound/sigh.wav. Resigned sigh: If I must, I see I have no choice in the matter."

Rick looked at the little droid, about to bustle on with it's work. "Can you... show me that chess game you were talking about?"

"Angry response: Obviously, you fool. I have over 1,000,000 LED Optic Devices installed in this screen! I could show you your own face in clearer detail than you've ever seen! But, since you asked so nicely... I apologize. Matter-of-fact addendum: Here are all the steps that must be taken to replicate the Immortal Game:

Does that make sense, sir?"

"Perfect..." Rick said, trying to remember something. Something he had seen before... but it had to have been nothing. The image in his mind was gone. Just like that dream he had had not to long ago.

"Rhetorical query: If there is nothing else, may I continue on my subroutine run//:defense.reprogram/insert?php%=Fnordie?" And with that, the little orb continued on, entering the house and slipping through into a specially designed chute, curved precisely to the sphere-shape of the robot.

Fiona apologized for the defensive measures. DeSicev wouldn't have let her throw the party unless she hadn't turned anything off, but simply toned everything down. It would be a horrific event for a traveler to wander up the mountainside without his or her DNA being in the defense grid, as the defenses would obliterate the poor soul. Fiona continued on to say that a bar was located in the back, next to the bathrooms, and that a billiards table was nestled in the middle. "And an old Terran game. No Limit Texas Hold'um!" she said with obvious glee. Apparently, it was authentic.

Reggie wandered in the halls, enjoying the craftsmanship of the house. The fine wood had been curved, so that the hallway had no definitive edges. If the hall began to turn, it would be impossible to see the difference, other than if you were standing in it. The lights on the ceiling were magnetically held, so they followed the inhabitant of the hall back and forth. Extremely power effective, Reggie noted.

He was looking for one thing in particular, and he wasn't proud of it. Reggie knew that the mountain had been carved out. But why? And where were the fruits of the labors? Surely not all that blasting for a few yard-deep pylons... and then he saw it. In the back of the guest bedroom, which he had inadvertently wandered into, a curtain fluttered in the breeze. The problem being, Reggie thought, that there isn't a breeze for the curtain to be fluttering in... no windows, no fans blowing, nothing. So what was causing it...?

He moved towards the curtain, arm outstretched, when a voice casually said, "Master Waverly, may I aid you in an endeavor today? The guest bedroom is nice, yes, and that old tapestry is lovely, but I do not believe that you should turn in tonight... not yet, at least. The night is still young, and only two of Mistress deLuna's guests, yourself included, have arrived! So here, let me guide you to the bar. Mr. Deckard and Mr. Fnordie are currently there as well." The old Bretonian man took Reggie by the shoulder, and led him away.

I'll be back, Reggie thought, whether this old joker wants me to or not!

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