General Canadian actions

[Subtleknifewielder]

Anderson nodeded in sympathy--that kind of news would get old fast. At the last comment, however, he raised an eyebrow.

"A moon laser?" He shook his head as he grinned. "Would you like a moon-base to go with that?" he asked in a perfect, straight-faced imitation of a teller in a fast-food restaurant.

[Lynneth]

"A moon base? Sure. Oh, and why not some loyal goons and death-traps to go with it. And never forget the secret agent who destroys it."

He chuckled, longer than the last time, but then cringed again due to the pain from the broken ribs. "Ah, that would be great."

He looked at Anderson. "What do you think? Would you like to be my trusted right hand?" A grin made its way onto his face.

[Subtleknifewielder]

"A moon base? Sure. Oh, and why not some loyal goons and death-traps to go with it. And never forget the secret agent who destroys it."

He chuckled, longer than the last time, but then cringed again due to the pain from the broken ribs. "Ah, that would be great."

He looked at Anderson. "What do you think? Would you like to be my trusted right hand?" A grin made its way onto his face.

Anderson struggled to contain his laughter at those words. However, after a few seconds, he managed to recover enough to speak.

"As long as I escape from the final battle with the enemy agent to loyally continue your work and plot revenge on said agent, sure." He grinned.

[Lynneth]

Anderson struggled to contain his laughter at those words. However, after a few seconds, he managed to recover enough to speak.

"As long as I escape from the final battle with the enemy agent to loyally continue your work and plot revenge on said agent, sure." He grinned.

"Well, that will obviously be a given. How else could we be recurring villains to the world?"

He stared intensely at the ceiling for a few seconds. "That gives me an idea. Why don't we just get someone to make a movie about something like that? Alternate history movie or something, Saboria and Promised land working together to conquer the world?"

[Subtleknifewielder]

"Well, that will obviously be a given. How else could we be recurring villains to the world?"

He stared intensely at the ceiling for a few seconds. "That gives me an idea. Why don't we just get someone to make a movie about something like that? Alternate history movie or something, Saboria and Promised land working together to conquer the world?"

Anderson propped up his chin with his hand as he leaned forward in the chair.

"Now that's a most inriguing idea...what nation would we set up as the heroes? Hmm. Oh, I know...Nordland." He thought for a few seconds, then changed his mind. "No, wait, even better, Kyokujitsu Teikoku!"

[Lynneth]

Anderson propped up his chin with his hand as he leaned forward in the chair.

"Now that's a most inriguing idea...what nation would we set up as the heroes? Hmm. Oh, I know...Nordland." He thought for a few seconds, then changed his mind. "No, wait, even better, Kyokujitsu Teikoku!"

"Kyokujitsu Teikoku? Now, if that's not a grand idea, then I don't know what is. Rich, we have to do that somehow. It'll also need some kind of mechas, though. Kyokujitsu are japanese, after all."

The smiles that had worked its way into the Chairman's face could be considered akin to that of a mad scientist. Were his ribs not broken, he'd probably laugh crazily, but that was not the case, thus he just chuckled a bit, and once again cringed from the pain. "Argh...Anyways, you wouldn't happen to know some guys in the movie-production business?"

[Subtleknifewielder]

"Of COURSE we'd have mechas. It wouldn't be a respectable futuristic action movie if we didn't!" Anderson mock protested.

"As for connections...even if I didn't know someone actually in the business, I'd know someone who did. As it is, I think I know just the person. As long as he's not busy at the moment, I think he'd jump at the chance to do something like this." He checked his pockets for his phone, only to realize he'd rushed directly from class and stopped only to grab his wallet on the way. He'd forgotten the stupid thing. He slapped a hand to his forehead.

"I can;t believe I forgot my cell...Uh, you wouldn't happen to know where I can find a phone capable of international calls, would you?"

[Lynneth]

Once again, the Chairman grinned, then pointed to a phone besides his bed.

"I'm the Chairman of Saboria. If I need a phone, I get one, and if that means moving the Himalaya into North America, then by god it will be done."

[Subtleknifewielder]

Once again, the Chairman grinned, then pointed to a phone besides his bed.

"I'm the Chairman of Saboria. If I need a phone, I get one, and if that means moving the Himalaya into North America, then by god it will be done."

He grinned in relief when Lynneth pointed to the phone, then laughed out loud at the idea of moving the Himalayas. Though something told him the Chairman was only half-joking...

He stood up and walked over to the phone to dial the number he knew well.

He waited while the phone rang, which wasn't long. It had only rugn twice when someone answered on the other end.

He gave his name, then asked to speak to a Mr. Henson. Once the man was put on, he began pitching the idea, then listened to the answer. He pursed his lips, thanking the other person, then hung up. turning to face the chairman, he schooled his expression into one of disappointment--only to trabsform it into an enthusiastic grin and two thumbs up.

"He'll do it."

[Lynneth]

He grinned in relief when Lynneth pointed to the phone, then laughed out loud at the idea of moving the Himalayas. Though something told him the Chairman was only half-joking...

He stood up and walked over to the phone to dial the number he knew well.

He waited while the phone rang, which wasn't long. It had only rugn twice when someone answered on the other end.

He gave his name, then asked to speak to a Mr. Henson. Once the man was put on, he began pitching the idea, then listened to the answer. He pursed his lips, thanking the other person, then hung up. turning to face the chairman, he schooled his expression into one of disappointment--only to trabsform it into an enthusiastic grin and two thumbs up.

"He'll do it."

"Oh hell yes. This is the best news since I woke up from that damned accident that got me here. In fact-"

Just then, the phone started ringing, and the Chairman looked at it for a second or two, dumfounded. He wasn't expecting a call.

"Who could that be..?"

He took it and held the receiver to his ear, listening to what the person on the other end of the line had to say. His face darkened and got more serious. After a while, he nodded. "Yes. I see. Defcon two. Mobilize one group and three divisions. We'll be helping a bit."

Then, he put the phone back and sighed. "Jesus Christ in a waffle. Tashta - China's new dynasty - and Forever Battlefield are going to war with each other. FB called for help from their friends, so we'll be sending a division or two to support them."

[Subtleknifewielder]

Anderson's good mood evaporated instantly.

"Lovely," he snarled. "Just what Asia needs--another f***ing war!"

In his frustration, he raised his fist and slammed it against the wall, not caring who heard.

"What's the Casus belli? Is it clear who started it?"

Edited November 27, 2008 by Subtleknifewielder

[Lynneth]

Anderson's good mood evaporated instantly.

"Lovely," he snarled. "Just what Asia needs--another f***ing war!"

In his frustration, he raised his fist and slammed it against the wall, not caring who heard.

"What's the Casus belli? Is it clear who started it?"

"It's not completely clear who started it. Forever Battlefield claims that Tashtan soldiers attacked military outposts, even using the Tashtan flag and whatnot. Meanwhile, Tashta claims these men were terrorists and the action wasn't endorsed by the government. And some other stuff, too. Complicated thing, but we'll stand by out friends in Forever Battlefield. Although I'm not sending many troops due to the weird circumstances..."

He sighed. "Why can't the world just stop with the wars for a while and let me finish the plans for taking it over? Ah, damnit."

[Subtleknifewielder]

"It's not completely clear who started it. Forever Battlefield claims that Tashtan soldiers attacked military outposts, even using the Tashtan flag and whatnot. Meanwhile, Tashta claims these men were terrorists and the action wasn't endorsed by the government. And some other stuff, too. Complicated thing, but we'll stand by out friends in Forever Battlefield. Although I'm not sending many troops due to the weird circumstances..."

He sighed. "Why can't the world just stop with the wars for a while and let me finish the plans for taking it over? Ah, damnit."

"Look at it this way..." Anderson winked as he sat back down, trying to inject some humor back into the situation. "With them all fighting each other, they'll be distracted from your actions. 'Divide and conquer,' am I right?"

[Lynneth]

"Look at it this way..." Anderson winked as he sat back down, trying to inject some humor back into the situation. "With them all fighting each other, they'll be distracted from your actions. 'Divide and conquer,' am I right?"

"Heh...Divide and conquer, indeed. It's merely a question of time until all will worship their new Saborian and Promised Land overlords."

He yawned. "Sorry that I'll have to interrupt the conversation...But it seems I'm getting a bit tired. If you don't mind, I'll try to get some sleep."

[Subtleknifewielder]

"Heh...Divide and conquer, indeed. It's merely a question of time until all will worship their new Saborian and Promised Land overlords."

He yawned. "Sorry that I'll have to interrupt the conversation...But it seems I'm getting a bit tired. If you don't mind, I'll try to get some sleep."

"All right. I've gotta get back to my training anyway. Hope you get better soon..."

As he entered the doorway, he remembered one more thing, and turned back.

"Oh, and beforwe I forget, I've got a little gift for you." He pulled something out of his pocket and tossed it at the Chairman. It was an origami bird, a swan, to be exact.

"I made it on the way here."

With that, he really did leave, to let the Chairman get his rest.

[Lynneth]

The Chairman looked for a few seconds at the origami swan after putting it onto the small table to the side of the bed. "Well...Thanks, Anderson."

Afterwards, he went to sleep.

______________[some time later]______________

After several weeks of being in the hospital, most of the Chairman's wounds were healed. In actuality, it had taken only two weeks, thanks to Saboria's genetic manipulation prowess. However, the Chairman decided to stay for six, seven weeks, just to get a bit of a vacation and to keep the genetic manipulation secret.

Probably not even Anderson who visited regularly, would suspect anything. At a later time, Lynneth would travel to Nordland to get help with his legs, although he was not yet sure if he should get any fancy gadgets with them. Probably an extendable sword or something and a good pistol, but he couldn't think of much else at the time.

That did now matter much, however. Firstly, the Nordlanders could surely help him a bit with the decisions and secondly, there were preparations to be done. After all, he and Anderson would travel to the moon within the next 24 hours.

He sat in a wheelchair in one of the command centers of the Saborian Spaceport, Richard Anderson to his right. The Chairman wore his usual clothes as well as his hair (wig, although luckily only few knew he wore one - among them Anderson, as is was impossible to convince the doctors to let him (the Chairman) wear the wig during the stay in the hospital, unless Reporters were nearby).

"Well, Anderson. Excited about the trip? I heard you did pretty well in your Astronaut training."

[Subtleknifewielder]

During the last six weeks, Anderson had been busy, too, though never too much for an occasional visit to the hospital. He suspected something was up with the Chairman during those six weeks, but it was none of his business. Probably some top-secret project he himself would rather not know about.

But that was the last think on his mind right now. He was almost literally floating on air, and so much nervous energy was contained within him it was impossible for him to stand completely still, as the energy seemed determine to find a way out, as he rocked back and forth from the balls of his feet to the heels. He was, of course, wearing the grin that was his trademark.

"Yep. Passed with flying colors. The training I did for that HALO drop where I first met you probably didn't hurt, either." He did not mention that he was top in the class, as the Chairman probably already knew that, and was undoubtedly just trying to make conversation.

As he answered the man's question, Anderson's head also moved around wildly, taking in all the activity around him. If one did not know him, they'd think his head was about to twist right off his shoulders--or that he possibly had some Owl genes somewhere in his ancestry.

[Lynneth]

The Chairman watched Anderson look around and chuckled. "If I didn't know it better, I'd think you're part owl, Richard. Your head moves similarly."

He drove a bit closer to the computer console in front of him and typed a few things on it. "Well, the launch is in about three hours. we gotta get dressed, unless you want to miss your flight."

Just in that moment, one of the other astronauts, like the Chairman and Anderson not yet in his gear, approached Anderson. "Yo. You're the man from Promised Land, right? 'S an honour to be going to the moon with you, Sir." The astronaut - a black man with the name Elijah Johnson - saluted. It took him a second to realize that the Chairman was less than three meters away, in his wheelchair, but then saluted again, saying the word "Chairman" clearly. Hearing this, Lynneth turned around and smiled at the astronaut. "Ah, Johnson." He nodded, a move which the astronaut took as 'Relax, I won't eat you if you stop saluting' and got into a more relaxed pose. "Good to see you. Are the others already getting prepared?"

Johnson nodded. "Yes, Sir. Captain O'Connor is already in full gear, the others are getting into it right now."

"I see. Well, let's go to get the suits, yes?" He looked at Anderson, nodded once again and then followed Elijah towards the part of the building where they would put the suits on.

Edited November 29, 2008 by Lynneth

[Subtleknifewielder]

Anderson grinned even wider, if that were possible, at the Chariman's "owl" comment, and the enthusiasm of the other Astronaut. He answered the man's question and returned the salute.

When Johnson and the Chairman (he chuckled at the current literalness of that title) began heading toward the 'dressing room,' as he called it, he followed. This was certainly one appointment he didn't want to be late for!

"So, you think I'm part Owl, eh?" He would have elbowed the Chairman, but refrained. The man's ears were about at that level sitting down, and elbowing someone in the head wasn't quite the same as doing it in the ribs or side. "I've always been rather flexible..."

[Lynneth]

"Yes, you're an owl, Richard. As for you being flexible...I'll not comment on that, aside from saying that your girl or wife must be quite lucky with such a flexible man."

He grinned and elbowed Anderson, although he could only hit the legs or hips, due to the wheelchair being so low. He was seriously considering of getting a treaded wheelchair. Driving over someone's foot would be fun.

But the thoughts were halted when they arrived in the dressing cabin. There, eight other people waited, two not yet dressed, while the others already had the full gear on. They saluted as the Chairman entered. "Sir."

Lynneth smiled. "Well then. Anderson, Elijah will help you into your suit. For me, it'll be a little harder, not able to stand and whatnot."

He shrugged and three of the astronauts went to help the Chairman - one already in the suit, the other two being those not yet dressed. The procedure would include, but not be limited to taking off all clothes except for the underwear, putting a specially made full bodysuit on, additionally to a multitude of devices that would measure blood pressure, oxygen % in the blood, heart rate, et cetera. Only after all this would the suit itself be put on.

It took almost an hour to put the suit onto the Chairman, while Anderson would be done after only 30 minutes. Of course, it was made sure that they didn't have to go to the toilet before the suits were put on. While the spacesuits indeed had systems that would take care of human wasted, this system was made to work at .4 G and less.

Only a minute after they were done, an announcement came from a speaker.

"T-minus 2 hours. Astronauts, please go to the shuttle. Astronauts, please go to the shuttle."

"Let's get going." said the Captain of the mission, O'Connor.

With that, they began moving towards the shuttle, the Chairman sitting on a four-wheeled cart that was being pushed by another of the astronauts. Unfortunately, a wheelchair for astronauts hadn't been made yet.

Edited November 29, 2008 by Lynneth

[Subtleknifewielder]

Anderson pretended to take offernse at the innuendo and turned away to hide a slight tinge of pink in his cheeks. He could have easily avoided the elbow if he had been looking.

He had already used the...facilities, so it would be a while until that particular aspect of the suit would be needed.

As they were walking out after Captain O'Connor, he couldn't resist making one more joke. "Well, Chairman, looks like this is it...or should I call you 'Cartman,' as you seem to be missing your chair?" He made sure to stay well away from the man's elbows this time.

[Lynneth]

Anderson pretended to take offernse at the innuendo and turned away to hide a slight tinge of pink in his cheeks. He could have easily avoided the elbow if he had been looking.

He had already used the...facilities, so it would be a while until that particular aspect of the suit would be needed.

As they were walking out after Captain O'Connor, he couldn't resist making one more joke. "Well, Chairman, looks like this is it...or should I call you 'Cartman,' as you seem to be missing your chair?" He made sure to stay well away from the man's elbows this time.

The Chairman stared at Anderson for a second or two, then, quite suddenly, broke into laughter. It lasted for a good minute or two until he finally had calmed down again. Meanwhile, the astronauts either joined with the laughing - although not as loud as the Chairman - or simply chuckled and grinned wide.

"Bwahahaha, oh geez. Anderson, you're a genius. Just don't make that joke too often, or I'll have to get my sword-cane and get you a new haircut."

After this little episode of hilarity, they arrived at the shuttle and entered it, then got to their seats. The Chairman's seat was one of those in the rear, as he couldn't climb upwards into the pilot center of the shuttle. Anderson's chair was in the named center, and thus the two couldn't exchange jokes for the duration of the flight.

Meanwhile, the other astronauts did checks on the shuttle, similarly to the technicians outside.

[Subtleknifewielder]

The Chairman stared at Anderson for a second or two, then, quite suddenly, broke into laughter. It lasted for a good minute or two until he finally had calmed down again. Meanwhile, the astronauts either joined with the laughing - although not as loud as the Chairman - or simply chuckled and grinned wide.

"Bwahahaha, oh geez. Anderson, you're a genius. Just don't make that joke too often, or I'll have to get my sword-cane and get you a new haircut."

After this little episode of hilarity, they arrived at the shuttle and entered it, then got to their seats. The Chairman's seat was one of those in the rear, as he couldn't climb upwards into the pilot center of the shuttle. Anderson's chair was in the named center, and thus the two couldn't exchange jokes for the duration of the flight.

Meanwhile, the other astronauts did checks on the shuttle, similarly to the technicians outside.

OK, he'd expected some laughter, but not to that degree. Nevertheless, it obviously did its job to relieve tension. Laughing himself, he pretended to flinch away from the Chairman. He commented dryly just before they had to separate. "Just don't cut too low...I'm rather attached to my head."

After that, he just had to make sure he was strapped into his seat, then wait for the countdown and flight.

[Lynneth]

OK, he'd expected some laughter, but not to that degree. Nevertheless, it obviously did its job to relieve tension. Laughing himself, he pretended to flinch away from the Chairman. He commented dryly just before they had to separate. "Just don't cut too low...I'm rather attached to my head."

After that, he just had to make sure he was strapped into his seat, then wait for the countdown and flight.

For the two of them, it would be rather boring, waiting for the countdown to get to fifteen minutes.

"T-minus 15 minutes. All non-essential personnel, clear the launching area."

By now, internal checks had been completed. All astronauts were in their chairs and waited.

Civilians and other non-essential workers left the launching area, heading for safety in the command centers or other buildings.

"T-minus 10 minutes."

When the first shuttle to the moon had launched, countless of people had gathered to watch it take off. Since then, there were less and less people, but today, it was different.

Their leader, the Chairman would visit the moon. He'd not only be the first national leader to visit the moon, he'd at the same time also be the first disabled person to visit Bob's satellite, getting two spots in the Guiness Book of World Records.

This was also the time when the astronauts had to put on their helmets and were required to check their seatbelts again. Anderson would notice that while the training models had HUDs like the real suits, it was more minimalistic than what he could see now. It was, however, very easy to understand, and he had more than enough time to experiment with it, during the flight to the moon.

"T-minus 5 minutes. All personnel, clear the area. All personnel, clear the area."

The orders were obeyed.

Within less than a minute, there was not a single soul within 150 meters of the shuttle, and those closer than 300 meters wore protective suits.

"T-minus one minute."

Most non-essential work had ceased, everyone waiting for the take-off, looking at the shuttle.

"T-minus ten seconds.

Nine.

Eight.

Seven.

Six.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

Zero!"

The shuttle's rockets roared and soon, it would begin moving upwards, into the sky. Saboria's people watched their Chairman leave into space.

Minutes later, the people on the shuttle would already feel gravity weakening. Anderson would be able to watch the blue of the atmosphere be replaced by the dark of space, sprinkled with stars everywhere. A magnificent sight.

Two hours after take-off, they were be allowed to unfasten the seatbelts and do what they wanted to do.

[JEDCJT]

OOC: Niiiice, Lynneth.