//------------------------------// // This Oughta Work // Story: Innavedr // by Imploding Colon //------------------------------// Pilate would have had a better time holding his breath if he wasn't so tired, not to mention frustrated. The zebra had spent the last several hours sneaking his way from one building to the next, taking a bridge connected between a pair of Blue Nova spires at what Simon helped him discover was the twenty-fifth story. It was not a smooth transition; two-thirds of the journey was spent hiding in alcoves along the main corridors, avoiding the eyesight of guards and salvage workers rushing to the sight of the zeppelin crash in the office complex. With a groan, Pilate crouched against the locked door to a utility closet. He craned his ear against the frame, feeling the twitch of Simon's bushy tail against his shoulder. With each pulse of O.A.S.I.S. through the squirrel's buffer, he sensed a pair of guards situated in front of the door to his destination, located several yards down the immediate hallway. The stallions' muffled voices came to him with half the clarity as their bodies were illuminated by his manasphere, but he concentrated in order to make out their conversation as well as we could. "...—for another hour, at least..." "You've got to be kidding... —I'm starving! When will... —that is why we're keeping him, right? Otherwise, he's worthless, compared to the other two." "... —not up to us. The pressure's on Fatch. Nightshade will... —if he doesn't get to the bottom... —not like ...—to our knees already with setbacks." "When's Seclorum expecting Nightshade to... —him and his armada?" "That's just it. Fatch can't be expected... —with the power source, or else... —left cold in the field, surrounded by Xonans and... —to the machine level." "Brrrr. It chills me just thinking about it." "But... —the possibilities! Unlimited... —better than coal or even mana!" "What in Spark's name could be better than mana?" "... —why you're just a grunt." "Doesn't that...?" "Oh shut up." "Hahahahaha... Whoops..." "What... —being paged? "Yeah. ...—us to take him from the commisary." "Ugh. Is this what our jobs have been reduced to?" "You'd rather... —the zeppelin?" "Hell no. But anything beats babysitting these two. Let's jet." "After you." Pilate held his breath. He sensed the two guards marching towards an elevator. They waited for the car, murmuring further towards each other. They were too far away for him to hear anything. Once they descended, he counted thirty mental seconds, then opened the door. Poking his head out, he allowed the O.A.S.I.S. sphere to fly high. "Pssst. Simon. Give it the gas." A chattering voice enthusiastically replied. Pilate felt a pulse of information ripping through his metal plate. He "saw" in every direction at once, and in that very splash he sensed the door where the guards had been standing for the past hour. Rushing over, he waited for another pulse before concentrating on the mechanisms. "Hmmm... how quaint..." The thing was rigged like a bank safe, with at least three spinning locks fastened to its structure. "Whatever... or whoever is in here, they sure don't want them receiving any visitors." Concentrating, Pilate gestured towards the rodent on his shoulder once more. Another pulse: he felt two bodies in the room, along with several tables full of metal scrap, a standing board of sorts, three lonely cots, a lavatory, and a thin sheet stretched out against the far end of the compartment. "Hold on a second..." Pilate's metal brow furrowed. "That's no normal wall..." He waited on Simon to give him another "glance." This time, he concentrated on the wall, on its thinness, on its smooth texture. "That's not a wall," he muttered. "It's a window." He rubbed his chin in thought. "Which means..." Pricking his ears about, he heard nothing, save for the pitch of his and Simon's breaths. Shuffling, he bounded towards the next room and tried the lock. It opened easily, and he slithered his way inside. The air there was warm, and he sensed Simon shading his furry face. "I'm guessing the sun's up," Pilate said, closing the door behind him and creeping forward with an even pace. "And I'm also guessing there's a window here all the same." He stretched his hoof forward and felt the cool kiss of glass. Running it along the surface, he found the frame, then felt it with O.A.S.I.S. With the aid of Simon, he discovered a latch. He struggled with it, but it wouldn't budge. "Blast it, come on..." Using his teeth, the zebra blindly unlocked the window. He pushed it open. A heavy gust of wind flew into the room. Pilate heard tables knocking over and scraps of paper flying towards the far corners of the place. "Whoah! Whew... that's certainly a wake-up call." Gulping, Pilate squatted down before the window and snaked his forelimb out like the trunk of an elephant. He felt around the outside of the window, reaching a far as he could without putting himself in danger. "Great... no ledge," he grumbled. "Well, I'm not sure what I was even thinking." He sighed, then pivoted about towards the center of the wind-swept room. "I seriously doubt there's a way to get to the two through the wall—" Just then, Simon started chattering madly. Pilate flinched. "Huh? What?! What is it?" Simon tugged and tugged on the zebra's fetlocks. "I... I'm sorry, friend. I think the communication divide is just far too great at this point." The squirrel barked, then stood still. Pilate heard several electrical sparks snapping. Then O.A.S.I.S. went into overdrive. Instead of a single pulse, the zebra felt a lengthy, continuous stream of data filtering through his head. While he felt this, he could sense the rodent telekinetically lifting several objects in the room at once, then lowering them. Just as the sensory field faded, Simon pointed out the window, then at the zebra. Pilate followed the gesture, tilting towards the source of the high winds. He stood in a space of blank thought, then felt his jaw dropping. "Oh goodness, no..." Simon kicked him. "Gah!" He stumbled and sighed. "Nnngh... Nancy Jane, I do hope you love your beloved as much as I love mine." Trying to shake loose the shivers, he allowed Simon to mount his shoulders as he approached the window. "You can levitate a body and open windows at the same time, right?" The squirrely marely barked twice in sequence. "I don't find that very reassuring..."