"We're on in 5,4,3,2,..."
"Hello, and welcome to the first installment of the Channel 5 News Report. Reporting to you live from Megapolis. I'm Elcine Blake and this is my co-anchor, Clyde Hambridge." [He says nothing and nods, being overly cool about it] "...Right, well today's main topics will include : A new game of chance, The struggle for recruitment, as well as our regular segments of awards, weather, character tracking, and a special guest interview."
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"Our top story today, Cayden's Caravan will be hosting a new way to risk your gold to attempt to make a fortune. The 'Caravan Lotto' costs 500 gold per ticket. You may purchase one ticket per day. To purchase a ticket, simply send a trade of 500 gold to x- Elci -x, that's me; I will be sending the proceeds directly to Cayden. Then send a PM to Jade Ralden, the guild Vice Captain, stating that you sent the trade along with your choice of a three digit number. Example PM: 'I sent a trade to x- Elci -x, and my numbers are 123'. The Caravan Lotto's pot starts at 10,000 gold and the 500 gold from each ticket is added to the pot. A random three digit number will be drawn at the beginning of every 2nd month of the year. Example: February 1st, April 1st, June 1st, August 1st, October 1st, and December 1st. If the random three digit number that is drawn matches the three digit number of those that were submitted, that member will win the whole pot and a new pot will begin at 10,000 gold again. If there is no winner, the gold remains in the pot and continues to build and the old tickets are then voided. You can use the same 3 digits on a new ticket in the next 2 month drawing as the random number that is chosen could be that number next time. In the rare event of a tie, the pot is split between the winners. I certainly hope us Channel 5 employees can participate! Anyhow, moving on..."
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"Our next story... the guild is rather low on members. Though we value our current members and are thrilled by their dedication, we would still like to see TDC grow. The crew+ is doing what they can to invite more people to view the guild. They have placed information on deviantART as well as put together a recruiting thread that you can visit often and bump so that it gets pushed to the top of the forum and seen. They ask that you reach out to your family and friends that may be interested. You can also use our guid link:"
"To post our guild link elsewhere in gaia, and to stop straining your eyesight, simply use this code:"
[url=http://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds-home/the-darkroot-chronicles-accepting/g.198697/][img]http://sadpanda.us/images/427011-GC8DEQD.jpg[/img][/url]
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"I'd like to take a quick moment to give a shout out to the members with birthdays that have passed thus far during this year:"
TheChosenOne777 - February 24th
Puff O Puff - March 1st
Jade Ralden - March 22nd
izzabella11 - May 16th
"Happy Birthday to all of you!"
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"In this next segment, we have a few awards to announce that were earned during these last couple months (April-May):"
Member of the Month (April) - TheChosenOne777
Poster of the Month (April) - Nan Shala
Pandamonium - izzabella11
Linkage - izzabella11
Pupil - izzabella11
Embracing Echoes - TheChosenOne777
Member of the Month (May) - izzabella11
Poster of the Month (May) - Clutch 45
"Congratulations to each of you! I know how difficult it can be getting those things, and good luck to everyone in the future."
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"We now move to our Weather and Character tracking segment. Give us one moment to bring up our forecast..."
"As you can see, it's 41 degrees here in Megapolis. You'll find that it's mostly cloudy with some rain popping up... oddly near the southwest edge of the wastes as well. Up in Rapture, it's 45 degrees and mostly cloudy with partial rainfall to the south and the east. Over in Sayer it's 56 degrees and cloudy. On to Midway, it's 79 degrees with some refreshing western winds coming down from the mountains. This should bring some relief from the regularly stiffling heat of the wastes. Down to the ruins of Darkroot, it's 69 degrees with some partial clouds covering the Darkroot Forest. Lastly, up in Criofan, it's mostly sunny with a chance of Godzilla and some strong west winds... wait a minute... Godzilla? Damn it, who put that there!?....."
"We are experiencing technical difficulties. Please enjoy a word from our sponsors while we attempt to fix the issue."
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Green energy. It's effin everywhere. There are green furnaces.
Green cars that think they're smarter than us.
There are even green T.V.'s.
Heck, even nature's doing it, nowadays.
With all this green energy everywhere, I'll bet the last thing YOU want is to be left out.
Well, we're here to fix that. Introducing the only green energy that's fit for consumption.
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"And now, back to our regularly scheduled news report. Thank you for your patience."
"Welcome back, sorry about the small confusion there." [she glares at the guy that runs the weather feed] "Anyhow, here's our Character Tracker:"
"This program will track all of the characters in the RP that are controlled by members. Basically every character that isn't an NPC. We'll make sure to have it updated every report we do, along with the weather."
"Next up, we have Clyde Hambridge with his segment, 'Bridging the Gap', take it away Clyde."
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"Welcome to my brand new segment, 'Bridging the Gap'. I'm Clyde Hambridge. Everyone's favorite co-Anchor! For those of ya who're knew here n' tryin' to find your way around, this is the part of the news where I give ya the jist of everythin' that's happened from page 1, all the way up to current events. That's right. No need to fumble though pages and pages of posts that I'm not in! If you're still confused by the end of this, then read the damn stuff yourself. I'm doin' the best I can here.
The best place to start is always the beginning. The twelfth of January, 3390. Day of the fifth Annual Artisans Cup semi-finals. I was at home, checkin' out the first half, when suddenly, without no warning. BAM! The damn screen went black! Not only mine, but everybody else followin' the game. Damn shame too. I had good money on the Marauders. They'd been a close second two years runnin'. This was gonna be their year! But of course the whole gosh-damn city had to go n' explode!
...I'm currently being told by the higher-ups that I need to apologize to you all for my last comment. If anybody lost loved ones who were rootin' for the Marauders during the Darkroot Massacre. I'm really, truly sorry.
Anyway. Turns out the Army came in n' just bombed the hell outta everything! We're not really sure why, 'cause that ain't in the story yet. All we know is that they did. Not many people survived the attack. I'm serious, we lost a whole damn city. But every cloud's got a silver gosh-darnit. Some people were lucky enough to make it out alive. Practically all of which are main characters.
We got Charlie n' his brother What's-his-douche from Midway. Jeremy. That was it, little p***k. Some egotistical jackass and a rebellious jackass. I'll explain their part later.
Jason, Roni- ...Ethan, Rose, an' Miguel lived in Darkroot their entire lives. They were all close. Childhood friends n' what-not. But all of them were forced to go seperate ways in order to survive. Jason was met by some p***k by the name of James. (names gettin' confusin' yet?) Now James isn't really good for anythin' yet. All ya need to know his he got his arm taken off during the attack. Funny as hell really. Jason got caught in some big explosion n' nobody's seen anythin' about him since. Some say he's dead, but c'mon. That happened two years ago, and nobody's ever taken his profile off the cast list. Hell, he's near the very top! He'll probably be back eventually.
Rose n' Miguel, they both escaped. Miguel got shot as he was flyin' towards the woods, he made it, I think. Not really sure. Rose just hauled a** outta town. She made it. Miguel was really bleedin' out though. Even if he escaped, I doubt he made it through the night. Still, profile's still up. I bet he'll return somehow.
Now Ethan... Ethan ran, n' ran, 'n ran, n' threw up, then ran some more. Nobody's really sure how long he managed to keep it up, but he had made it to the foot of the mountains outside of Darkroot Forest. Apparently, he collapsed n' some old geezer found him. A lot seemingly happened there, but we have no info on just what.
Charlie n' his dickhole brother tried gettin' out, but Jeremy took a bad hit. He wasn't dead, but I betcha he saw some sorta light. At least he lived though. Charlie had to see the bodies of his parents. One second. He had everything. Next second... Y'know where I'm taking this.
Night. (doubt that's her real name) Don't know why she came to Darkroot, but she did. Just in time to see Charlie carryin' his brother outta town. He collapsed not far from her. And for some strange reason, she feels obligated to carry 'em both to a clinic. Next thing ya know, she's bein' held captive by the military. That's the life of a supporting character though, Ya save the hero when he needs help, but besides that, nobody cares about you. Like me! I'm not even in the damn story. All I am is the guy who brings you up to speed. In other words. If you've already read the story, I'm USELESS!!! I might as well not even exist. Hell, Elci could do my part. Look, my point is, she was captured and NOT killed for some reason. Moving on!
Rook Felid jumped through the trees and killed stuff.
Rob was travellin' to Darkroot when everythin' got out of control. He was with a small group of unimportant people that all died. Except for one p***k who's name was mentioned for future reference. Point is, they're toast. Rob managed to kill the military machine that took 'em all out though. Using his ball. It's a cool ball. Ya see, it- READ THE DAMN STORY IF YOU WANT THE DETAILS! He was last seen draggin' himself to shelter with a bad foot that would never heal correctly. At least, not yet.
Rage is one twisted f***er. He's the guy who bombed the hell outta Darkroot. Rage killed stuff, got promoted, his voices made me laugh, he captured Night, got promoted again. Basically, he's got tiger blood. Since Rage's plotline so far is mostly made up of just his voices, I think I've pretty much covered him.
Private "Kenderson" Hamburger is just some whiny b**** under Rage's command. He honestly does nothing but whine. I'm serious! Every post of his is mostly just him whining about different things. Wait, what's that? Oh. Never mind. Kenderson is an amazing soldier who really contributes to the army. He's not a whiny b****. In fact, he's probably the bravest man in the ranks, and I am NOT saying all of this because He's on the show later.
Z-77 was the mastermind that kicked Darkroot's teeth in. It was his objective to make sure that the majority of Darkroot's population was in the stadium prior to the attack. It was halfly 'cause of him Darkroot got it's teeth kicked in so badly. In fact, he did it so well that he was promoted to Colonel shortly after. Now that's a scary thought. Takin' orders from a robot. That's how it starts, you let them command our soldiers. Soon, they're gonna rise up through the ranks and seize control. Than, it's bye-bye organics. We're gonna be hunted down and slaughtered. Society's gonna crumble. And on top of all of it. The damn vending machine in the lobby's gonna stop working!
Colonel Winters was a sorta 'overseer' on the attack. The attack was left to Rage, and Winters observed it. He came in after everythin' went down so that he could talk promotions, but besides that, he wasn't really seen for the first part.
Darkroot's long gone. But we've got bigger problems, no less than 2 days ago, Rapture went dark. The army has yet again decided to flatten an entire city. Some of the unfortunate bastards I mentioned earlier somehow got mixed up in this attack too. Plus, some new unfortunate bastards join the ranks of the unlucky.
So Ethan's back. That old geezer taught him some funky stuff. Chaotic energy or somethin' like that. Basically, he makes armories explode now. Which he actually did. Pretty awesome. I mean, this guy let the army capture him JUST so he could escape n' blow the crap outta everythin'! He was sent to the Protagonist Containment Facility where he met Night, (who was still in captivity) and Rook. Rook isn't really a nice guy or a bad guy. He just kills stuff. He decided to kill a soldier and take his place. So the psychopathic killer was in charge of a military prison cell. Ethan (who's now called Ronin, whatever the hell that means.) busted out using some chaotic mumbo-jumbo, and then the god-modding started. What happens when an unstoppable bad-a** meets an unmovable bad-a**? They make fools of themselves for at least 4 or 5 posts. But after a lenghtly lesson on the human anatomy, they made up. Ronin, Night, and Rook escaped. That's where Ronin decided to kick the armory's a**, it's a shame Rook n' Night weren't there when he did so. Would've made this damn thing a lot shorter.
Rob found some sorta house in the forest of Darkroot. He took that robot that killed his little group of nomads. S.A.M. So, S.A.M. was his b**** for a year, until Rob's resources ran out. He took a pimped out dune buggy he just found (seriously! He just found it!) and started driving for his hometown, Rapture. But not before activating S.A.M.
Z-77 got a new name, Nevermore. (yeah. From the Edgoat Allen Poe poem.) Now he's one of the big bad guys. I think I mentioned his promotion earlier. Nevermore was takin' a pleasant stroll through the warzone of Rapture when he found a weakened Ronin. There was a small fight, and Nevermore smashed Ronin's face in. Moving on, he found the remains of some sorta military machine that was obviously classified. Something about a strange gem that was kept inside it.
That machine was Titan. Nothing's really known about Titan 'cept he's big, angry, n' doesn't like anything. We first saw him in combat with Night. She went out on her own after the group escaped from the prison. Given to her was Rook's diary. In it... well, stuff Rook wrote. While trying to find a quiet place to calm down, big ol' Titan decided he wanted to go a few rounds with her. Blah blah blah, action scene. She got away. Soon after though, a new character (Yeah, another) had his turn with Titan.
Weyetek is from some group of native-ish people that lived in Darkroot forest. Titan himself was sent to wipe his tribe out while the Darkroot Massacre was taking place. Poor Weyetek was the sole survivor. ...Ok really? Sole survivor? How come there's ALWAYS a sole survivor? I understand it's a good character device, but you can only do it so many times! Anyway, He's out to avenge his people by killing Titan. Later in Rapture, he finds him, and does just that. Soon after, he meets Cain. His great-great-great-great-great uncle's landlord or somethin' like that. I'll get back to them.
Charlie n' Jeremy moved back to their parent's house. Of course, they were arguing. But things got worse when Jeremy ran away. Charlie tried to get help by going to the local police. All the did was taze some punks and let Jeremy get away. Charlie tried to find him using his kick-a** harley, but it got pretty banged up. As in... a scratch. So, Mr. High and Mighty decides to travel all the way to Megaopolis to get it fixed. Who knows what happened to Jeremy? Nah, better question, who cares?
Rose actually opened a mechanic shop in Megaopolis, so guess who happened to stroll into it? Charlie. Currently, they're just talkin' over his ordeal with the bike.
Rob drove his buggy straight into Rapture while the invasion was taking place. Did a boss flip, n' ran like hell. He'd cornered himself pretty quickly, when Night found him and saved his punk a**. There was arguing, and they seperated. Rob kept on pissin' and moanin' over everything until he got to a shelter he'd built back when he lived in Rapture. The warehouse it was located in was right across the street from where Night and Weyetek had their seperate encounters with Titan. After some more emotional B.S. Rob decided to go look around, when he met Night again. They fought... well, not really 'fought'. Night pounded his face in and he took it like the wussy he was.
Night forced Rob to take them back to his shelter, where he collapsed, and she started reading through Rook's journal. Only to have who enter the shelter? Rook himself!
Rook (with the name 'John Able') was roamin' around the city with Scooby-Doo n' Rocky. Apparently, he's been disguisin' himself in military uniform for quite some time now. So he's been gettin' some connections. Just what he's planning, nobody knows. Where we're currently at, Rook has just walked in on a sleepy, pissed off Rob. And a moody, exhausted Night. I'm sensin' some soap-opera-status conflicts comin' up.
Rage has been livin' large since he slaughtered thousands of innocent lives back in Darkroot. He's getting promoted AGAIN! I know! I don't get it either! For some reason, they let him lead ANOTHER attack! He's the douche that took down Rapture as well! Now, he's becomin' a General. Can you believe it? The guys obviously got some massive skizofrenia, (...Did I spell that right Elci?" *Elci's response is interrupted* "sure that's great gorgeous.) He's a total lunatic!!! I really don't know who'd appoint him as a military leader... well, actually. I do. But I'm gettin' there.
Shane was an ordinary soldier with a semi-ordinary objective. carry some thing somewhere. What matters is what he found along the way. A strange stone, a gem. Similar to what was planted in Titan. He tried to grab it from the bottom of a creek to no avail. But it left some sort of lasting effect on him. Pretty soon, he as throwin' water all over the place. Not like, splashing people with a bucket. I mean, manipulting the stuff! Crazy huh? Well ya see, something screwy was definitely going on, and he'd never really felt at home with the military, so he chose to try and leave it behind. But not before he was forced to go one on one with some giant beat up machine. Good fight, but Shane lived, which means I've got another damn protagonist to follow.
Brom Wolfe was some poor sucker who lost his arm to Ronin while he was in the new holding area. Not only that. Soon after, he receives a text from that kid on Heroes to make sure Ronin gets out alive. For some reason, Brom decides to follow through. Now, If I were him, I'd be pissed! Arms don't just grow back! Now he's gonna make sure that the dude that crippled him doesn't get harmed just 'cause Micah told him to? Forget that!
Caden's lived in the poor side of Megaopolis his whole life. We first see him walkin' home to his apartment. The problem is, the guys got teberkulosis. (Stop snickering Elci! I'm not a damn doctor) He's got... tuhberculos- ...he's sick. Like, really sick. Caughing up blood and everything. As far as I know, he's only been gettin' worse n' worse. One of his only hopes is to sign up for this cybernetic program the military's runnin'. How it's gonna work, I don't know. All I know is that I don't trust the military.
So, Cain told Weyetec that they were goin’ ta find someone who’d help em, an’ everything, so they hop in some guy’s truck and just drive off. Eventually, they end up somewhere in the middle of… well, NOwhere, and run into some echidna chick with a sword and issues. Weyetec promptly falls head over heels in love… Wait. Isn’t his head over his heels already? That’s a stupid saying. They hit it off an’ she gets all shy an’ it just goes south from there. He goes out ta hunt, and that’s the end of that.
Ronin got all pissy at Brom, so they had ta go an’ get his sword. I mean, I know it’s like, special or somethin’, but come ON. Goin’ back for it took another three posts! Well, at least now they’re FINALLY done with that Jack who’sit, the idjit. Guy’s part of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.’s team of jerks. Yeah, I know, you don’t have a flippin clue who I’m talkin about. It’s James Hunt. Y’know, that total a** who helped the military find Darkroot? Well, now he’s all suited up an’ givin orders. May as well be a short little mix between a cat and Robo Cop. I’d tell ya about his meeting with General Winters, but it’s really a sleeper. So, he sent one of his cronies to meet Ronin, but he just up an’ GAVE UP when his gun jammed. So now Ronin an’ Brom are walkin’ out the door and are finally gonna meet up with another character.
That’d be Shane, standin’ there all smug and s***. Least now he gets what he can do. Good thing, too, cuz that big ol’ beat up bot he smashed to bits has been callin for backup. You thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’? Yeah, I know ya are.
In the background, cuz nobody cares about him, S.A.M.’s been draggin’ himself back to the base in Megaopolis, an’ he finally made it. Took a while. Too bad the posts are right next to each other. Why can’t these guys ever keep track of what time it is when they‘re posting? Doesn’t even ONE of the character own a watch?
Oh, great, an’ I almost forgot about this new Nan Shala person. Mobian. Guy. Girl. Yeah. That’s the one. She’s really not doin much though, just sorta sittin in Midway, conveniently where Charlie and his idiot brother live. Last thing that happened to her was just a feeling that it wasn’t gonna be a good day. Yeah, I felt like that this mornin’… but ya can’t just complain about it!
Nevermore went an’ had a big ol’ chat with Mr. Important, leader of the Army (I’m getting at him, hold your horses already!) He spilled the beans about Ronin and guys with powers and Titan and all that sh**. Then he got ANOTHER new name when he was leavin’ the room, and now there’s one guy who’s callin’ him Seth.
That one guy is Mr. Important himself, the General. But he’s not just some General anymore, nope, he went all Napolean an’ decided he was the Emporer! He just DECIDED! Like it’s his choice, and all that! So now, he’s not just Mr. Important of the Army, now he’s Mr. Darkroot Today Tomorrow The World! Just ‘cause he SAYS so! And the last thing we saw him do, after “Seth” spilled the Titan Beans, he called some line and arranged blackmail and murder!! And he did it all with a bored tone in his voice!! That’s who we got to look forward at bein’ our fearless leader!! This can’t go well, there’s no doubt in MY mind. I’ll tell ya what. Anyhoo, looks like my segment's almost done. Whew! About time too. It’s gettin’ a little hot in here…
Well, my time’s up, so even though you couldn’t be bothered to actually READ the story, now you know what’s goin’ on around here. Back to the show hoggin’ little bi-- uh, beauty of a news anchor, Elci!"
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"We now move to the section of this news cast where I interview someone in the story itself." [She walks over to sit in a chair next to another identical empty chair] "We have with us today Master Sergeant John Kenderson. Sergeant Kenderson would you join us?"
"H- hello, miss, uhm, what was your name again?"
"Elcine Blake. Please, have a seat Sergeant"
"Ok, Elcine. Thanks.Where should I-- just here?"
[She smiled, hoping that he was joking about not seeing the chair literally right in front of him, with no other chairs around]
[He quickly looked around for a less conspicuous chair, and seeing nothing nicely off to the far side of the stage, he sat]
"So, Sergeant Kenderson tell us a little about you, how long have you been with the Army?"
"Well... Um, it's been... um, a little over a year? Yeah, a few months more, I guess."
"A little over a year, and already a Master Sergeant, you must do well."
[He shifted in his seat a little before speaking]
"Oh! I, um... Yeah, I guess I have... done well. Whenever I got the chance to, I did the very best I could... And, I, um... I'm... well liked."
"You're well liked? You mean your superiors like you?"
"I... that's... quite an understatement."
"Do you like your superiors?"
[He visibly shifted in his seat for some time, apparently unable to find a comfortable spot. He half stood at one point, thinking better of it and sitting back down]
"Of... um... this... it isn't... live, right...?"
"Oh, yes, we're Live to millions across the country."
[He gave a weak smile and just barely stifled a small whimper as he sat back in his chair. With his shoulders slumped, he sighed heavily.]
"I'll... well, the truth is... I, um... You know? I really like working with... erm, my commanding officer. It's been... an, uh... enlightening experience. I've learned... a lot... about... er, well, I've learned a lot."
"Perhaps you could tell us of some of your enlightening experiences with your commanding officer"
[A look of terror flashed across his face. He stifled it, though poorly, and cleared his throat loudly]
"I... That's... Well, I'm afraid I can't give such information out, it's, uh, still... not supposed to be... talked about. Um! It's classified. Very classified. Can't talk about it. At all. Because it hasn't been... erm... UN... classified. That's why it's...Um...It's still classified."
"I see, well then, perhaps you could tell us how many missions you've been on?"
"I... Well, so far, I've been on six, but only two... um, bigger ones."
"Would you say you enjoy your work?"
[He spoke slowly and carefully, working madly in his head to try to find good wording]
"I-- It's been... necessary... I feel I'm... doing the world a favor... In more ways than it can know... Really, it's not about me enjoying it, it's about what I can do to make things better."
"Do you feel that you make a difference in the world and is that difference positive or negative?"
"I... Well, I know that... I'm making a positive difference... I'm doing all I can to... well, I follow orders with the best interests of the people who... aren't in the army at heart."
"What would you say was the main idea behind the takeover of the village of Darkroot?"
[He gasped audibly, and tried desperately to show off a small fit of momentary coughing. He continued with a tiny squeak of a voice.]
"Th-- You... D-darkroot was... I don't... I'm not aware... of... of the, uh... uhm, the reasoning that... the reason... they... At that time I was so low in rank... I really don't know... I mean, you know... I was... it was really too big of a... thing... for me to even be noticed... or really to be there... I mean, I wasn't... or, well, yeah, I... uum, yeah, no. I was too low rank."
"Ok, It seems that you're unable to talk about certain parts of your job, for confidentiality and whatnot. So let's move on with some questions a little less invasive for a change of pace. Could you tell all the female fans out there where you like to spend your time when you're not on duty."
"Huh? Um, female fans? O-off duty...? Well... I, uh... They don't give me a whole lot of time to myself, but, um, if I were to... uh, do something, I think I'd maybe go to the coffee shop, or something. Maybe... walk around downtown? I dunno... I like to read... maybe somewhere quiet where I could... er, do that. Read."
"Well it's always nice to be able to just relax and read a good book now and then. What would you say is one of your favorites?"
"Oh, well... Um, I like lots of different ones. Um. Boar of the Rings was a great series... so well written, and full of suspense and action. And just scary enough... but not in a horror sense, more of a close to home sense."
"I'd say my favorite would have to be the Harry Otter series. Hopefully J.K. Owling will be coming out with something new in the future. I just loved those books.
"Yeah, she, uh, did really well with the Harry Otter books, but I'll always be a Tolkitten fan."
"So, Sergeant, do you have any family?"
[He sighs as he thinks of family]
"Yeah, I do. I have my parents... it's been so long since I've had the chance to go see them... I... Well, I sure miss them. I hope... they're doing ok... If you're watching... mom and dad, I promise I'm doing well! Don't worry... Um, sorry. That's all I have, just my parents."
"I see, well I hope one day soon you'll get the chance to visit them. I'm sure they miss you. What was your childhood like? Did you always want to join the army?"
"Er... well, I lived a pretty normal childhood, really... I, uh... didn't have a whole lot of friends, but the couple I had were the best. They were always there for me, and I would've done anything for them. I still would... if I knew where they were now... I haven't seen them in almost a decade... And, well... actually, I, um... I've... always wanted to... well, write. We used to sit in the dining room at my house and just.... make stories. We'd do that for hours. When everyone else was out fighting over each other's toys, we'd be creating worlds! It was... It was the best time I've ever had. That's... um, well, that's what I really want to do."
"You want to be an author?"
"I... yeah. I'd love to follow in the footsteps of Tolkitten... or Lewis Catroll? Or Sir Arthur Conan Doggyl...?? If I could get the chance... that's what I'd do. But... well, there are more important things. I have an obligation to do my job with the Army."
"And you do it well Sergeant! [she gives him a playful salute] So it's about time we wrap this news segment up. Anything you want to say to the viewers?"
[He flinches slightly, returning the salute more properly, though somewhat quickly and restrained]
"Oh... uh, me? Er... Well, I don't... uh... No, I don't think so... I mean... well, uh, I guess I should say something... Well... I, uh, hope you have a good evening... everybody... and, er, thanks for... putting up with me, Elcine. It, uh, it was good to mee.." {CLANG!}
[Just as Sergeant Kenderson was saying his goodbyes, the studio door was broken down and 8 or 9 armed soldiers came bursting onto the set. Startled by the sudden noise, the cameraman accidentally knocked the camera to the floor. The lens cracked, but it continued to film.] "Channel 5 News and all its employees are to be taken into custody and questioned; by order of the Emperor's recent decree of Broadcast Regulations. Cease all transmissions and do not attempt to leave the premises. All who disobey these orders will be punished to the fullest extent of the law." [The employees scrambled; some standing still with their hands raised for fear of the repercussions, while others ran for their freedom. As the commotion scaled, the camera was further damaged and ended all visual transmission.] "Apprehend those fugitives! Use lethal force if necessary! Cut all remaining transmissions!" [gun shots and screaming could be heard through the audio feed that remained intact]"Sir, some of the fugitives have fled the building. Should we pursue?" "Of course you should pursue you moron! Get your a** in gear and find th.."{Crunch!} "Wh-- the hel- -s thi-?... a micr---one? I --ld you -- cut th- --ans--ssions! --- --- - -- --
"I'd like to take a quick moment to give a shout out to the members with birthdays that have passed thus far during this year:"
TheChosenOne777 - February 24th
Puff O Puff - March 1st
Jade Ralden - March 22nd
izzabella11 - May 16th
"Happy Birthday to all of you!"
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"In this next segment, we have a few awards to announce that were earned during these last couple months (April-May):"
Member of the Month (April) - TheChosenOne777
Poster of the Month (April) - Nan Shala
Pandamonium - izzabella11
Linkage - izzabella11
Pupil - izzabella11
Embracing Echoes - TheChosenOne777
Member of the Month (May) - izzabella11
Poster of the Month (May) - Clutch 45
"Congratulations to each of you! I know how difficult it can be getting those things, and good luck to everyone in the future."
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"We now move to our Weather and Character tracking segment. Give us one moment to bring up our forecast..."
"As you can see, it's 41 degrees here in Megapolis. You'll find that it's mostly cloudy with some rain popping up... oddly near the southwest edge of the wastes as well. Up in Rapture, it's 45 degrees and mostly cloudy with partial rainfall to the south and the east. Over in Sayer it's 56 degrees and cloudy. On to Midway, it's 79 degrees with some refreshing western winds coming down from the mountains. This should bring some relief from the regularly stiffling heat of the wastes. Down to the ruins of Darkroot, it's 69 degrees with some partial clouds covering the Darkroot Forest. Lastly, up in Criofan, it's mostly sunny with a chance of Godzilla and some strong west winds... wait a minute... Godzilla? Damn it, who put that there!?....."
"We are experiencing technical difficulties. Please enjoy a word from our sponsors while we attempt to fix the issue."
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Green energy. It's effin everywhere. There are green furnaces.
Green cars that think they're smarter than us.
There are even green T.V.'s.
Heck, even nature's doing it, nowadays.
With all this green energy everywhere, I'll bet the last thing YOU want is to be left out.
Well, we're here to fix that. Introducing the only green energy that's fit for consumption.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
"And now, back to our regularly scheduled news report. Thank you for your patience."
"Welcome back, sorry about the small confusion there." [she glares at the guy that runs the weather feed] "Anyhow, here's our Character Tracker:"
"This program will track all of the characters in the RP that are controlled by members. Basically every character that isn't an NPC. We'll make sure to have it updated every report we do, along with the weather."
"Next up, we have Clyde Hambridge with his segment, 'Bridging the Gap', take it away Clyde."
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"Welcome to my brand new segment, 'Bridging the Gap'. I'm Clyde Hambridge. Everyone's favorite co-Anchor! For those of ya who're knew here n' tryin' to find your way around, this is the part of the news where I give ya the jist of everythin' that's happened from page 1, all the way up to current events. That's right. No need to fumble though pages and pages of posts that I'm not in! If you're still confused by the end of this, then read the damn stuff yourself. I'm doin' the best I can here.
The best place to start is always the beginning. The twelfth of January, 3390. Day of the fifth Annual Artisans Cup semi-finals. I was at home, checkin' out the first half, when suddenly, without no warning. BAM! The damn screen went black! Not only mine, but everybody else followin' the game. Damn shame too. I had good money on the Marauders. They'd been a close second two years runnin'. This was gonna be their year! But of course the whole gosh-damn city had to go n' explode!
...I'm currently being told by the higher-ups that I need to apologize to you all for my last comment. If anybody lost loved ones who were rootin' for the Marauders during the Darkroot Massacre. I'm really, truly sorry.
Anyway. Turns out the Army came in n' just bombed the hell outta everything! We're not really sure why, 'cause that ain't in the story yet. All we know is that they did. Not many people survived the attack. I'm serious, we lost a whole damn city. But every cloud's got a silver gosh-darnit. Some people were lucky enough to make it out alive. Practically all of which are main characters.
We got Charlie n' his brother What's-his-douche from Midway. Jeremy. That was it, little p***k. Some egotistical jackass and a rebellious jackass. I'll explain their part later.
Jason, Roni- ...Ethan, Rose, an' Miguel lived in Darkroot their entire lives. They were all close. Childhood friends n' what-not. But all of them were forced to go seperate ways in order to survive. Jason was met by some p***k by the name of James. (names gettin' confusin' yet?) Now James isn't really good for anythin' yet. All ya need to know his he got his arm taken off during the attack. Funny as hell really. Jason got caught in some big explosion n' nobody's seen anythin' about him since. Some say he's dead, but c'mon. That happened two years ago, and nobody's ever taken his profile off the cast list. Hell, he's near the very top! He'll probably be back eventually.
Rose n' Miguel, they both escaped. Miguel got shot as he was flyin' towards the woods, he made it, I think. Not really sure. Rose just hauled a** outta town. She made it. Miguel was really bleedin' out though. Even if he escaped, I doubt he made it through the night. Still, profile's still up. I bet he'll return somehow.
Now Ethan... Ethan ran, n' ran, 'n ran, n' threw up, then ran some more. Nobody's really sure how long he managed to keep it up, but he had made it to the foot of the mountains outside of Darkroot Forest. Apparently, he collapsed n' some old geezer found him. A lot seemingly happened there, but we have no info on just what.
Charlie n' his dickhole brother tried gettin' out, but Jeremy took a bad hit. He wasn't dead, but I betcha he saw some sorta light. At least he lived though. Charlie had to see the bodies of his parents. One second. He had everything. Next second... Y'know where I'm taking this.
Night. (doubt that's her real name) Don't know why she came to Darkroot, but she did. Just in time to see Charlie carryin' his brother outta town. He collapsed not far from her. And for some strange reason, she feels obligated to carry 'em both to a clinic. Next thing ya know, she's bein' held captive by the military. That's the life of a supporting character though, Ya save the hero when he needs help, but besides that, nobody cares about you. Like me! I'm not even in the damn story. All I am is the guy who brings you up to speed. In other words. If you've already read the story, I'm USELESS!!! I might as well not even exist. Hell, Elci could do my part. Look, my point is, she was captured and NOT killed for some reason. Moving on!
Rook Felid jumped through the trees and killed stuff.
Rob was travellin' to Darkroot when everythin' got out of control. He was with a small group of unimportant people that all died. Except for one p***k who's name was mentioned for future reference. Point is, they're toast. Rob managed to kill the military machine that took 'em all out though. Using his ball. It's a cool ball. Ya see, it- READ THE DAMN STORY IF YOU WANT THE DETAILS! He was last seen draggin' himself to shelter with a bad foot that would never heal correctly. At least, not yet.
Rage is one twisted f***er. He's the guy who bombed the hell outta Darkroot. Rage killed stuff, got promoted, his voices made me laugh, he captured Night, got promoted again. Basically, he's got tiger blood. Since Rage's plotline so far is mostly made up of just his voices, I think I've pretty much covered him.
Private "Kenderson" Hamburger is just some whiny b**** under Rage's command. He honestly does nothing but whine. I'm serious! Every post of his is mostly just him whining about different things. Wait, what's that? Oh. Never mind. Kenderson is an amazing soldier who really contributes to the army. He's not a whiny b****. In fact, he's probably the bravest man in the ranks, and I am NOT saying all of this because He's on the show later.
Z-77 was the mastermind that kicked Darkroot's teeth in. It was his objective to make sure that the majority of Darkroot's population was in the stadium prior to the attack. It was halfly 'cause of him Darkroot got it's teeth kicked in so badly. In fact, he did it so well that he was promoted to Colonel shortly after. Now that's a scary thought. Takin' orders from a robot. That's how it starts, you let them command our soldiers. Soon, they're gonna rise up through the ranks and seize control. Than, it's bye-bye organics. We're gonna be hunted down and slaughtered. Society's gonna crumble. And on top of all of it. The damn vending machine in the lobby's gonna stop working!
Colonel Winters was a sorta 'overseer' on the attack. The attack was left to Rage, and Winters observed it. He came in after everythin' went down so that he could talk promotions, but besides that, he wasn't really seen for the first part.
Darkroot's long gone. But we've got bigger problems, no less than 2 days ago, Rapture went dark. The army has yet again decided to flatten an entire city. Some of the unfortunate bastards I mentioned earlier somehow got mixed up in this attack too. Plus, some new unfortunate bastards join the ranks of the unlucky.
So Ethan's back. That old geezer taught him some funky stuff. Chaotic energy or somethin' like that. Basically, he makes armories explode now. Which he actually did. Pretty awesome. I mean, this guy let the army capture him JUST so he could escape n' blow the crap outta everythin'! He was sent to the Protagonist Containment Facility where he met Night, (who was still in captivity) and Rook. Rook isn't really a nice guy or a bad guy. He just kills stuff. He decided to kill a soldier and take his place. So the psychopathic killer was in charge of a military prison cell. Ethan (who's now called Ronin, whatever the hell that means.) busted out using some chaotic mumbo-jumbo, and then the god-modding started. What happens when an unstoppable bad-a** meets an unmovable bad-a**? They make fools of themselves for at least 4 or 5 posts. But after a lenghtly lesson on the human anatomy, they made up. Ronin, Night, and Rook escaped. That's where Ronin decided to kick the armory's a**, it's a shame Rook n' Night weren't there when he did so. Would've made this damn thing a lot shorter.
Rob found some sorta house in the forest of Darkroot. He took that robot that killed his little group of nomads. S.A.M. So, S.A.M. was his b**** for a year, until Rob's resources ran out. He took a pimped out dune buggy he just found (seriously! He just found it!) and started driving for his hometown, Rapture. But not before activating S.A.M.
Z-77 got a new name, Nevermore. (yeah. From the Edgoat Allen Poe poem.) Now he's one of the big bad guys. I think I mentioned his promotion earlier. Nevermore was takin' a pleasant stroll through the warzone of Rapture when he found a weakened Ronin. There was a small fight, and Nevermore smashed Ronin's face in. Moving on, he found the remains of some sorta military machine that was obviously classified. Something about a strange gem that was kept inside it.
That machine was Titan. Nothing's really known about Titan 'cept he's big, angry, n' doesn't like anything. We first saw him in combat with Night. She went out on her own after the group escaped from the prison. Given to her was Rook's diary. In it... well, stuff Rook wrote. While trying to find a quiet place to calm down, big ol' Titan decided he wanted to go a few rounds with her. Blah blah blah, action scene. She got away. Soon after though, a new character (Yeah, another) had his turn with Titan.
Weyetek is from some group of native-ish people that lived in Darkroot forest. Titan himself was sent to wipe his tribe out while the Darkroot Massacre was taking place. Poor Weyetek was the sole survivor. ...Ok really? Sole survivor? How come there's ALWAYS a sole survivor? I understand it's a good character device, but you can only do it so many times! Anyway, He's out to avenge his people by killing Titan. Later in Rapture, he finds him, and does just that. Soon after, he meets Cain. His great-great-great-great-great uncle's landlord or somethin' like that. I'll get back to them.
Charlie n' Jeremy moved back to their parent's house. Of course, they were arguing. But things got worse when Jeremy ran away. Charlie tried to get help by going to the local police. All the did was taze some punks and let Jeremy get away. Charlie tried to find him using his kick-a** harley, but it got pretty banged up. As in... a scratch. So, Mr. High and Mighty decides to travel all the way to Megaopolis to get it fixed. Who knows what happened to Jeremy? Nah, better question, who cares?
Rose actually opened a mechanic shop in Megaopolis, so guess who happened to stroll into it? Charlie. Currently, they're just talkin' over his ordeal with the bike.
Rob drove his buggy straight into Rapture while the invasion was taking place. Did a boss flip, n' ran like hell. He'd cornered himself pretty quickly, when Night found him and saved his punk a**. There was arguing, and they seperated. Rob kept on pissin' and moanin' over everything until he got to a shelter he'd built back when he lived in Rapture. The warehouse it was located in was right across the street from where Night and Weyetek had their seperate encounters with Titan. After some more emotional B.S. Rob decided to go look around, when he met Night again. They fought... well, not really 'fought'. Night pounded his face in and he took it like the wussy he was.
Night forced Rob to take them back to his shelter, where he collapsed, and she started reading through Rook's journal. Only to have who enter the shelter? Rook himself!
Rook (with the name 'John Able') was roamin' around the city with Scooby-Doo n' Rocky. Apparently, he's been disguisin' himself in military uniform for quite some time now. So he's been gettin' some connections. Just what he's planning, nobody knows. Where we're currently at, Rook has just walked in on a sleepy, pissed off Rob. And a moody, exhausted Night. I'm sensin' some soap-opera-status conflicts comin' up.
Rage has been livin' large since he slaughtered thousands of innocent lives back in Darkroot. He's getting promoted AGAIN! I know! I don't get it either! For some reason, they let him lead ANOTHER attack! He's the douche that took down Rapture as well! Now, he's becomin' a General. Can you believe it? The guys obviously got some massive skizofrenia, (...Did I spell that right Elci?" *Elci's response is interrupted* "sure that's great gorgeous.) He's a total lunatic!!! I really don't know who'd appoint him as a military leader... well, actually. I do. But I'm gettin' there.
Shane was an ordinary soldier with a semi-ordinary objective. carry some thing somewhere. What matters is what he found along the way. A strange stone, a gem. Similar to what was planted in Titan. He tried to grab it from the bottom of a creek to no avail. But it left some sort of lasting effect on him. Pretty soon, he as throwin' water all over the place. Not like, splashing people with a bucket. I mean, manipulting the stuff! Crazy huh? Well ya see, something screwy was definitely going on, and he'd never really felt at home with the military, so he chose to try and leave it behind. But not before he was forced to go one on one with some giant beat up machine. Good fight, but Shane lived, which means I've got another damn protagonist to follow.
Brom Wolfe was some poor sucker who lost his arm to Ronin while he was in the new holding area. Not only that. Soon after, he receives a text from that kid on Heroes to make sure Ronin gets out alive. For some reason, Brom decides to follow through. Now, If I were him, I'd be pissed! Arms don't just grow back! Now he's gonna make sure that the dude that crippled him doesn't get harmed just 'cause Micah told him to? Forget that!
Caden's lived in the poor side of Megaopolis his whole life. We first see him walkin' home to his apartment. The problem is, the guys got teberkulosis. (Stop snickering Elci! I'm not a damn doctor) He's got... tuhberculos- ...he's sick. Like, really sick. Caughing up blood and everything. As far as I know, he's only been gettin' worse n' worse. One of his only hopes is to sign up for this cybernetic program the military's runnin'. How it's gonna work, I don't know. All I know is that I don't trust the military.
So, Cain told Weyetec that they were goin’ ta find someone who’d help em, an’ everything, so they hop in some guy’s truck and just drive off. Eventually, they end up somewhere in the middle of… well, NOwhere, and run into some echidna chick with a sword and issues. Weyetec promptly falls head over heels in love… Wait. Isn’t his head over his heels already? That’s a stupid saying. They hit it off an’ she gets all shy an’ it just goes south from there. He goes out ta hunt, and that’s the end of that.
Ronin got all pissy at Brom, so they had ta go an’ get his sword. I mean, I know it’s like, special or somethin’, but come ON. Goin’ back for it took another three posts! Well, at least now they’re FINALLY done with that Jack who’sit, the idjit. Guy’s part of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.’s team of jerks. Yeah, I know, you don’t have a flippin clue who I’m talkin about. It’s James Hunt. Y’know, that total a** who helped the military find Darkroot? Well, now he’s all suited up an’ givin orders. May as well be a short little mix between a cat and Robo Cop. I’d tell ya about his meeting with General Winters, but it’s really a sleeper. So, he sent one of his cronies to meet Ronin, but he just up an’ GAVE UP when his gun jammed. So now Ronin an’ Brom are walkin’ out the door and are finally gonna meet up with another character.
That’d be Shane, standin’ there all smug and s***. Least now he gets what he can do. Good thing, too, cuz that big ol’ beat up bot he smashed to bits has been callin for backup. You thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’? Yeah, I know ya are.
In the background, cuz nobody cares about him, S.A.M.’s been draggin’ himself back to the base in Megaopolis, an’ he finally made it. Took a while. Too bad the posts are right next to each other. Why can’t these guys ever keep track of what time it is when they‘re posting? Doesn’t even ONE of the character own a watch?
Oh, great, an’ I almost forgot about this new Nan Shala person. Mobian. Guy. Girl. Yeah. That’s the one. She’s really not doin much though, just sorta sittin in Midway, conveniently where Charlie and his idiot brother live. Last thing that happened to her was just a feeling that it wasn’t gonna be a good day. Yeah, I felt like that this mornin’… but ya can’t just complain about it!
Nevermore went an’ had a big ol’ chat with Mr. Important, leader of the Army (I’m getting at him, hold your horses already!) He spilled the beans about Ronin and guys with powers and Titan and all that sh**. Then he got ANOTHER new name when he was leavin’ the room, and now there’s one guy who’s callin’ him Seth.
That one guy is Mr. Important himself, the General. But he’s not just some General anymore, nope, he went all Napolean an’ decided he was the Emporer! He just DECIDED! Like it’s his choice, and all that! So now, he’s not just Mr. Important of the Army, now he’s Mr. Darkroot Today Tomorrow The World! Just ‘cause he SAYS so! And the last thing we saw him do, after “Seth” spilled the Titan Beans, he called some line and arranged blackmail and murder!! And he did it all with a bored tone in his voice!! That’s who we got to look forward at bein’ our fearless leader!! This can’t go well, there’s no doubt in MY mind. I’ll tell ya what. Anyhoo, looks like my segment's almost done. Whew! About time too. It’s gettin’ a little hot in here…
Well, my time’s up, so even though you couldn’t be bothered to actually READ the story, now you know what’s goin’ on around here. Back to the show hoggin’ little bi-- uh, beauty of a news anchor, Elci!"
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"We now move to the section of this news cast where I interview someone in the story itself." [She walks over to sit in a chair next to another identical empty chair] "We have with us today Master Sergeant John Kenderson. Sergeant Kenderson would you join us?"
"H- hello, miss, uhm, what was your name again?"
"Elcine Blake. Please, have a seat Sergeant"
"Ok, Elcine. Thanks.Where should I-- just here?"
[She smiled, hoping that he was joking about not seeing the chair literally right in front of him, with no other chairs around]
[He quickly looked around for a less conspicuous chair, and seeing nothing nicely off to the far side of the stage, he sat]
"So, Sergeant Kenderson tell us a little about you, how long have you been with the Army?"
"Well... Um, it's been... um, a little over a year? Yeah, a few months more, I guess."
"A little over a year, and already a Master Sergeant, you must do well."
[He shifted in his seat a little before speaking]
"Oh! I, um... Yeah, I guess I have... done well. Whenever I got the chance to, I did the very best I could... And, I, um... I'm... well liked."
"You're well liked? You mean your superiors like you?"
"I... that's... quite an understatement."
"Do you like your superiors?"
[He visibly shifted in his seat for some time, apparently unable to find a comfortable spot. He half stood at one point, thinking better of it and sitting back down]
"Of... um... this... it isn't... live, right...?"
"Oh, yes, we're Live to millions across the country."
[He gave a weak smile and just barely stifled a small whimper as he sat back in his chair. With his shoulders slumped, he sighed heavily.]
"I'll... well, the truth is... I, um... You know? I really like working with... erm, my commanding officer. It's been... an, uh... enlightening experience. I've learned... a lot... about... er, well, I've learned a lot."
"Perhaps you could tell us of some of your enlightening experiences with your commanding officer"
[A look of terror flashed across his face. He stifled it, though poorly, and cleared his throat loudly]
"I... That's... Well, I'm afraid I can't give such information out, it's, uh, still... not supposed to be... talked about. Um! It's classified. Very classified. Can't talk about it. At all. Because it hasn't been... erm... UN... classified. That's why it's...Um...It's still classified."
"I see, well then, perhaps you could tell us how many missions you've been on?"
"I... Well, so far, I've been on six, but only two... um, bigger ones."
"Would you say you enjoy your work?"
[He spoke slowly and carefully, working madly in his head to try to find good wording]
"I-- It's been... necessary... I feel I'm... doing the world a favor... In more ways than it can know... Really, it's not about me enjoying it, it's about what I can do to make things better."
"Do you feel that you make a difference in the world and is that difference positive or negative?"
"I... Well, I know that... I'm making a positive difference... I'm doing all I can to... well, I follow orders with the best interests of the people who... aren't in the army at heart."
"What would you say was the main idea behind the takeover of the village of Darkroot?"
[He gasped audibly, and tried desperately to show off a small fit of momentary coughing. He continued with a tiny squeak of a voice.]
"Th-- You... D-darkroot was... I don't... I'm not aware... of... of the, uh... uhm, the reasoning that... the reason... they... At that time I was so low in rank... I really don't know... I mean, you know... I was... it was really too big of a... thing... for me to even be noticed... or really to be there... I mean, I wasn't... or, well, yeah, I... uum, yeah, no. I was too low rank."
"Ok, It seems that you're unable to talk about certain parts of your job, for confidentiality and whatnot. So let's move on with some questions a little less invasive for a change of pace. Could you tell all the female fans out there where you like to spend your time when you're not on duty."
"Huh? Um, female fans? O-off duty...? Well... I, uh... They don't give me a whole lot of time to myself, but, um, if I were to... uh, do something, I think I'd maybe go to the coffee shop, or something. Maybe... walk around downtown? I dunno... I like to read... maybe somewhere quiet where I could... er, do that. Read."
"Well it's always nice to be able to just relax and read a good book now and then. What would you say is one of your favorites?"
"Oh, well... Um, I like lots of different ones. Um. Boar of the Rings was a great series... so well written, and full of suspense and action. And just scary enough... but not in a horror sense, more of a close to home sense."
"I'd say my favorite would have to be the Harry Otter series. Hopefully J.K. Owling will be coming out with something new in the future. I just loved those books.
"Yeah, she, uh, did really well with the Harry Otter books, but I'll always be a Tolkitten fan."
"So, Sergeant, do you have any family?"
[He sighs as he thinks of family]
"Yeah, I do. I have my parents... it's been so long since I've had the chance to go see them... I... Well, I sure miss them. I hope... they're doing ok... If you're watching... mom and dad, I promise I'm doing well! Don't worry... Um, sorry. That's all I have, just my parents."
"I see, well I hope one day soon you'll get the chance to visit them. I'm sure they miss you. What was your childhood like? Did you always want to join the army?"
"Er... well, I lived a pretty normal childhood, really... I, uh... didn't have a whole lot of friends, but the couple I had were the best. They were always there for me, and I would've done anything for them. I still would... if I knew where they were now... I haven't seen them in almost a decade... And, well... actually, I, um... I've... always wanted to... well, write. We used to sit in the dining room at my house and just.... make stories. We'd do that for hours. When everyone else was out fighting over each other's toys, we'd be creating worlds! It was... It was the best time I've ever had. That's... um, well, that's what I really want to do."
"You want to be an author?"
"I... yeah. I'd love to follow in the footsteps of Tolkitten... or Lewis Catroll? Or Sir Arthur Conan Doggyl...?? If I could get the chance... that's what I'd do. But... well, there are more important things. I have an obligation to do my job with the Army."
"And you do it well Sergeant! [she gives him a playful salute] So it's about time we wrap this news segment up. Anything you want to say to the viewers?"
[He flinches slightly, returning the salute more properly, though somewhat quickly and restrained]
"Oh... uh, me? Er... Well, I don't... uh... No, I don't think so... I mean... well, uh, I guess I should say something... Well... I, uh, hope you have a good evening... everybody... and, er, thanks for... putting up with me, Elcine. It, uh, it was good to mee.." {CLANG!}
[Just as Sergeant Kenderson was saying his goodbyes, the studio door was broken down and 8 or 9 armed soldiers came bursting onto the set. Startled by the sudden noise, the cameraman accidentally knocked the camera to the floor. The lens cracked, but it continued to film.] "Channel 5 News and all its employees are to be taken into custody and questioned; by order of the Emperor's recent decree of Broadcast Regulations. Cease all transmissions and do not attempt to leave the premises. All who disobey these orders will be punished to the fullest extent of the law." [The employees scrambled; some standing still with their hands raised for fear of the repercussions, while others ran for their freedom. As the commotion scaled, the camera was further damaged and ended all visual transmission.] "Apprehend those fugitives! Use lethal force if necessary! Cut all remaining transmissions!" [gun shots and screaming could be heard through the audio feed that remained intact]"Sir, some of the fugitives have fled the building. Should we pursue?" "Of course you should pursue you moron! Get your a** in gear and find th.."{Crunch!} "Wh-- the hel- -s thi-?... a micr---one? I --ld you -- cut th- --ans--ssions! --- --- - -- --