Gathering Intelligence (T.O.M. & Moltar)

[T.O.M.]

Reclining in his chair, T.O.M. watched the data stream fly across on the screen in front of him. He sighed. "We've been here for a few months now, and we've only gotten this far? I'd hoped for more."

He looked down at his body, now reverted back to the form it took after he was remodeled a second time. "Well, at least I'm back in my favorite design now. If I'd been stuck in that last one for much longer, I'd have lost it." He sighed again. "Even so...things were a lot easier when all I was doing was watching. You'd have thought this place would have come up on my scanners before."

If T.O.M. had lips, he would have smiled. At least I'm not alone anymore. Sara and the others may be temporarily offline, but there's always good-old Moltar. Chuckling, T.O.M. pressed the intercom button in front of him and called out to Moltar in the main lobby. "Hey Moltar, do me a favor would you? I could really use a fresh cup of java. Thanks, your great man." he said without even giving his companion a chance to reply. T.O.M. reclined again, crossing his legs and laying them on the console in front of him.

[Moltar]

Day 69

It's been a little over a few months now since I've been rescued by T.O.M. and we crashlanded in this strange inter-deminsional rift. T.O.M.'s changed quite a bit since he first started. He's...matured a lot since he began...

Moltar's writing was interupted by T.O.M.'s voice through the intercom. "Hey Moltar, do me a favor would you? I could really use a fresh cup of java. Thanks, your great man."

Moltar sighed.

...Well..he's KIND OF matured. His body and vocal processor may have changed but his attitude's mostly the same as when I built the plans. Why'd I ever make him such a smart aleck?

Moltar closed his journal and stored it in a subspace pocket. "Man...I didn't sign up for coffee duty when I joined Space Ghost's talk show either. Is there no respect for a former badguy?" Moltar sighed and walked over to the coffee machine.

"Hm, well I CAN give T.O.M. this...he's been staring at those monitors for hours. I'd need a cup of coffee too...or a good helping of the Sailor Scouts. Mmm...Sailor Scouts."

Moltar stared into space for a few moments before shaking his head and pouring T.O.M. and himself each a mug of coffee. Moltar grabbed a straw and stuck it in his mug before walking through the sliding doors and into the Captain's Quarters.

He noticed T.O.M. sitting in his chair pouring over the data stream. "You'd think either one of us would have picked up this place ages ago. I didn't just sit up there doing nothing you know. Yet I NEVER picked up any of this. I picked up all of your distress signals and mishaps but by the time I was able to send help your little "weekly events" were already over."

Moltar handed T.O.M. his coffee as the smaller robot threw him a look.

"So...have you found out anything yet?"

[T.O.M.]

T.O.M. sipped his coffee and continued to watch the data stream.

"So...have you found out anything yet?"

He took another loud slurp, making it ring throughout the room on purpose. "Nope."

They sat there in silence for a while before even T.O.M. grew bored of it. He was about to make Moltar get him something to eat, when a small blip appeared on the radar screen. "Ok...now what is that?" His fingers flew across the keys, as he tried to isolate the reading. Finally getting it up on the screen, he began analyzing it. "Hmm...this energy reading seems vaguely familiar to me. It's kind-of like..."

Suddenly, T.O.M. sputtered and dropped his coffee cup on the floor. "It can't be! This reading...it's of a life-form very similar to the blob thing that killed me once!" He looked at Moltar and sighed. "And here's where it gets bad. According to the reading, that thing is getting closer."

As soon as he spoke, the screens turned red and started flashing 'WARNING!', and the sirens around the ship went off. "...Crap."

[Moltar]

Moltar's eyes widened.

"Crap? CRAP?! DIDN'T YOU KILL THAT THING ALREADY? I MEAN, YOU BLEW UP THE ENGINES ON THE ABSOLUTION TO GET RID OF THE THING!"

Moltar jogged over to a glass panel near the doorway and smashed his fist into it.

"Well, we can't exactly abandon the Absolution...and we can't readily blow up an engine. Time to bring out the big guns."

The sirens stopped wailing but the red lights continued to flash.

"What did you do?!"

Moltar shook his hand as glass shards fell to the floor. "This switch is an emergency measure. It opens up all the secret access ways for personel and soldiers. Seeing as this place doesn't have any we'll have to do. Come on...time to go get some firepower." Moltar waved to T.O.M. over his shoulder as a door appeared in the wall in front of him.

Moltar jogged down the hidden hallway. "Now let's see...if explosions are the only thing that will work, then it looks like I'm on my home turf. But we still need some extra protection. Aha, grenades and shock bombs should at least keep the thing occupied or buy us some time."

Moltar mumbled to himself as he continued his jog down the metal catwalk, the sound of his boots pounding in his ears.

[T.O.M.]

T.O.M. followed as quickly as he could, but Moltar had always been quicker on his feet than his comrade. However, he also knew exactly which of the weapons he wanted. So, he activated his boosters and flew ahead of Moltar, and landed next to the weapons display. "Sorry friend, but you snooze, you lose. Besides..." he said, picking up a smaller gun. "You know the freeze one is my favorite."

Moltar made some remark, but it didn't register with him. T.O.M. barely had time for anything, as he saw the blob thing come around the corner towards them. Motioning for Moltar to move out of the way, he readied the freeze gun for firing. "Sure hope this works. Well, it's gotta do something at least." Finally, he pointed it straight at the blob.

"Bang." he said, firing the freeze gun.

[Moltar]

Moltar barely had time to turn around as T.O.M. fired the freeze ray. The blob in front of them seemed to freeze for a few moments before slivers of ice cracked off it's form and fell to the floor.

"I think you just pissed it off more..." Moltar clenched his fist as the blob shuddered and shook itself.

"MOVE T.O.M.!"

T.O.M. activated his boosters and flew out of the way as Moltar threw a fire ball at it.

"You want explosions? You've GOT explosions!" Moltar threw his hands palm out at the creature as bursts of fire and magma shot forth.

Moltar growled. "I'm not sure how long this is going to keep it at bay! We need to figure out a way to kill this thing fast or it'll devour the ship AND us!!!"

The blob started to slowly inch forward.

"DAMNIT!!! This isn't going too well. T.O.M. I NEED YOUR HELP!"

[T.O.M.]

T.O.M. just barely flew out of the way as Moltar threw his fireball at the thing. It wasn't any more effective than the freeze gun. "Well that's just great."

"DAMNIT!!! This isn't going too well. T.O.M. I NEED YOUR HELP!"

He turned back and saw that the creature was slowly inching it's way closer to Moltar. "Oh great. Now he's about to get eaten. Not that his body couldn't use a nice remodeling but...COMING!" he yelled and flew right up next to the creature.

"Well...if this doesn't work, I don't know what will." he said, and popped open a panel on his left arm. He pulled out a small orb, and poked it inside the blob without touching it. He then used all of his thrusters at once and pushed himself out of the room, back onto the main ship. Landing, he put his finger right next to the door close button. "Hey uh Moltar...you might want to get out of there."

[Moltar]

Moltar noticed T.O.M. fly up to the blob and press a panel on his left arm.

"What in the HELL do you think you're doing?!" T.O.M. seemed unable to hear him as Moltar yelled obsenities at the robot.

Moltar noticed T.O.M. insert a small orb into the blob before racing out of the room.

"Wait a second...what is that? I don't remember giving him those kinds of weapons." Moltar kept his barrage of fire and magma shooting at the blob as he backed out the door.

Moltar stopped his barrage as the blob seemed to freeze in place and jiggle. "I hope you know what you're doing..."

An explosion covered the strange creature in smoke and ash. Moltar blinked and tried to peer for the creature through the smoke. Suddenly, a red tendril of goop came out of the smoke and reached towards them.

Moltar and T.O.M. glanced at each other before looking back at the now obviously pissed off red blob.

"...Oh crap."

[T.O.M.]

"You said it, old man." T.O.M. said, stepping back a few feet. "This is just great. Oh well, I'd rather die in this body than my last new one. At least this one got better reviews." he said.

Suddenly, the radar on T.O.M.'s other arm went off. Backing away the entire time, he flipped open the panel and connected the radar to the main ship's so he could see what was going on. It wasn't until it was booting up that he had noticed the blob was no longer advancing on them. "The hell?" he said, right as he heard the jingle telling him that the connection was made.

Reading the data stream, he looked over at Moltar. "Uh hey...there's a transmission coming in for that blob. Since the blob lacks a fully articulated body, we were able to pick it up too. It's...a homing beacon of sorts I guess. It's calling it back. Only thing is, I can't figure out where to."

As the blob slowly leaked it's way through a hull of the ship, T.O.M. eyed his friend again. "Well...this is new. Any chance that if I isolate the signal, you can track it down?"

[Moltar]

Moltar blinked as the blob melted through the hull of the ship.

"Uh...it's possible. It might take me some time since all of our systems aren't online. It'd certainly help if Sara was operational but we don't have that luxury."

Moltar walked towards the wall once the blob disappeared and touched his fingers to the wall and inspected the remains of goo as it dripped from his glove.

"This is disgusting..."

Moltar frowned and took a small vial out of a subspace pocket before collecting some of the goop. He rubbed his fingers together as the closed the stopper on the vial.

"Well, I can at least try to anaylze this. It seems our friend here wasn't too good at keeping house. But if that thing comes back, we're going to have a lot more to worry about than cleaning up a mess."

Moltar pocketed the vial in subspace and walked past T.O.M. towards the Captain's Quarters. "If that thing comes back we won't be alive long enough to send out a distress transmission. ...We're going to need some help." Moltar mumbled as he walked through the sliding door behind T.O.M.

[T.O.M.]

T.O.M. nodded. "You're right. I think it may be time we start investigating some of these other power signatures we're picking up on our radar lately. Chances are, we've got some old friends here." he said, smirking in his program. Then he laughed. "Well, at least we know them at any rate. So I guess we're stalkers."

[Moltar]

Moltar stopped in his tracks.

"Power signatures? What power signatures?" He blinked and looked back at T.O.M.

"AND HEY, I AM NOT A STALKER OKAY!!!! Sure the Sailor Scouts are cute and all and they are technically of legal age but that's besides the point...wait...DAMNIT!!!!!"

Moltar pouted and grabbed his head in his hands.

"I DIDN'T MEAN IT THAT WAY!!!!"

Moltar banged his head against the wall a few times before sighing and glancing over at T.O.M.

"Getting off of THAT subject...what do you mean energy signatures? I mean, I know tons of people are here but you've found signatures of people we actually know? Oh God...Space Ghost, Brak, and Zorak BETTER NOT be here."

Moltar pouted once again. "If they are here this is seriously going to suck." He thought to himself as he turned his full attention to T.O.M.

[T.O.M.]

T.O.M. just stared at his friend's breakdown. He sighed. "Having fun? Are you done now? Sheesh, drama-queen." he said. I'll be sure to warn the Scouts if I see them though. Pervert.

He chuckled. "No, nobody we actually know. But there's quite a few signals from people we know from the Viewing Room, so you were on the right track with the Scouts. And there's quite a few that I know from there that we never got to broadcast, but I still knew they were out there. The problem is convincing them to join us."

He leaned against a counter. "I know we're stressed for time here, but I vote we see how things play out just a little longer before we make our move. Agreed?"

[Moltar]

Moltar nodded. "Agreed."

He looked at T.O.M. and leaned on the counter next to him. "Besides...it's going to be a little risky to try and convince these people that they're all just things imagined by other people. Though...it'd probably be safer to never tell ANY of them that and to keep the Viewing Room off limits to them."

Moltar nodded. "I'll get on that goo analysis ASAP...but I need you to get through that data and try to gather some more info while I'm busy."

Moltar stood up from leaning on the counter and waved over his shoulder at T.O.M. "If you need me I'll be in the lab studying this gross stuff."

[T.O.M.]

T.O.M. nodded. "No problem, I'll get right on it. Geez this'd be a lot easier with Sara. Or heck, Flash would be helpful too. And nobody knows where the heck Big Guy went too."

His hands flew over the keyboard again, analyzing data as fast as he could. One things for sure...if there's more than one of those blob things here, we're in trouble. And I don't even want to think about who could control a thing like that...Hmm...

Pressing the intercom key with one finger while continuing to scan with the other hand, T.O.M. said "Hey Moltar, you know what'd really be helpful right about now? A couple Super Saiyans." He chuckled, returning to his work.