The Bloated One
Well-Known Member
Hi Everyone,
Need a few views if possible. I am not sure the best way to go from one character in one place, to another in a different place. You'll see what I mean in the excerpt below. I've broken it up with line dividers, but is that the best way?
Sorry can't get the text to indent correctly!
TBO
End Game
Taking a mouthful of tea from his Mad Hatter mug, Jules swallowed hard and shook his head.
“Why 1891? I don’t get it,” he said, reading the Time Guardians communiqué on the wall screen in front of him.
“They want Tarquin sent to a billiard room under a lake?” said Calbhach, walking into the cockpit followed by the Leprechauns, “What nonsense is this!”
Jules, sitting in the co-pilot’s seat next to Jethro shrugged his shoulders. “That’s what they’re saying. Put the amulet on the table and then leave.” He lent across the dashboard and punched up the directions on the screen. A black and white photograph appeared. “There, Witley Park, Southern England.”
Calbhach looked up at the screen. “Why?” he asked, taking off his porkpie hat and dabbing his brow with a large blue handkerchief, “Why there?”
“No idea,” said Jules, taking another slug of tea.
“That’s a ruddy large house! Looks a right dog’s dinner of a building if you ask me,” said D’arcy, standing on his toes and holding on to Calbhach’s arm to see the screen. D’arcy was smaller than your usual Leprechaun.
“You know they’re bonkers,” said Jethro, sitting back in the pilot’s chair and throwing his army boots onto the dashboard.
“Remember what happened in New Mexico in July of 47!” He nodded several times then reached into a boot and taking out a screwdriver, began chiseling mud and grit from under his fingernails.
“But,” said Jules, clapping his hands loudly and taking the Leprechauns attention away from his tray of freshly baked Rogolian pastries, “we’ve no choice. They want the amulet and we want our friends back. We have to go along with them.”
“If it’s the only way, I’ll take it.” Everyone turned and looked at Tarquin standing in the doorway. “We have no choice,” he continued, rolling the amulet in his hands.
Jules shook his head, “I am not sending anyone down there, it’s too dangerous.”
“What choice do we have?” said Tarquin, walking into the cockpit. “Besides, Jethro can check-out the Ballroom before I go and you can rescue me if things go wrong.” He shrugged his shoulders.
“I don’t trust them,” said Jules. “Look,” with his hands, Jules constructed a box shape, then, a circle followed by a couple of horizontal lines. Finally, he simply waved his hands above his head and expelled air.
Tarquin smiled at Jules. “It’s settled then.”
“Okay, but we’ll be watching your every move.”
With all eyes on Tarquin and Jules, Shamus snaffled a pastry.
* * *
The Willerby Vogue and the Time Guardians Airsteam Bubble materialized simultaneously on the banks of the lake, less than a hundred yards apart. A violent thunderstorm raged around them. Lightning lit up the night sky outlining the vast, neo-Tudor expanse of Witley Park Mansion, the lake, lawns and ornamental gardens.
* * *
Tarquin waited nervously inside the Willerby’s transportal, the amulet in one hand and his Boson phaser in the other. He watched the lights of the Guardians Airstream Bubble flash on and off on the wall screen in front of him.
“They’re signaling you to the billiard room," said Jules, his voice crackling over the transportal’s communicator.
* * *
Jethro covered his eyes with the Look Sees and surveyed the ballroom.
“Blimey,” he said, waving his hands in front of his face, “it’s beautiful!”
What do you see?” asked Jules.
“I’ll put it on screen.”
The view through Jethro’s Look Sees appeared on the cockpit screen. Round and domed, the room was constructed of metal walls and hexagonal glass panes. Hanging from the centre of the dome was a magnificent crystal chandelier, its warm yellow light flooded the room making the gold painted walls, Chinese carpets and yellow, flagstone floor glow. Below the chandelier stood the full size billiard table. Jethro surveyed the room for signs of life.
* * *
"Okay Seebee, I’ve checked the billiard room.” Jethro’s face appeared on the transportal’s screen, his Look-See’s on his head pointing skyward like two large, brass bed-knobs.
Tarquin swallowed hard.
“There’s no one there,” he continued, “time to rock and roll."
He pulled off the Look-See’s and jabbed a finger at Tarquin. “Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway.”
“Your quoting John Wayne, now!” sighed Tarquin.
“Sending you to the ballroom in, 10-9-8-7-6-.” Jethro’s face disappeared and the screen went black, only his voice remained, “5-4-3-2-1-“.
Tarquin inhaled deeply, pulled his jacket around his neck and flexed his shoulders. He squeezed the handle of his Boson tight and thought of Rhia.
* * *
After pressing a sequence of buttons, Jethro pulled out half a dozen organ stops to varying lengths on the dashboard. As Tarquin dematerialized from the transportal, Jethro looked skyward and quietly mumbled something. The open channel to Tarquin hissed with static and died. Silence.
"Seebee, you with me?" asked Jethro, scanning the dials levers and flashing lights on the communicator panel. Jules lurched forward in his chair and pointed at the screen,
“The Guardians, they’re leaving!”
The Leprechauns rushed from the cockpit to the corridor window and joined by Archie, Alice and Doughty, they all peered through the rain at the Airstream Bubble slowly disappearing in a ball of water vapour.
“Starbards,” cursed Doughty, wheeling his pipe from one corner of his mouth to the other.
“Where’s Tarquin now?” cried Calbhach, pressing his pomegranate nose hard to the glass.
“Still in the ballroom,” shouted Jethro from the cockpit.
“They’ve left him there?” Turning to the seat next to him, he looked hard at his friend.
“What should we do Jules?”
The Willerby fell silent, save for the static from Tarquin’s communicator. Jules looked at Jethro then at the screen, then back at Jethro. The lines on his face deepened and his eyes squinted. Pursing his lips, he inhaled deeply and thumped his fist on the dashboard.
“Follow the ship, they know where our friends are. And pray Tarquin stays out of trouble until we get back.”
Jethro nodded and waved his hands over a small, glass instrument panel on the side of the dashboard. A blue, 3D hologram rose out of the panel with a miniature replica of the Bubble floating inside, together with a replica of the Willerby. Jules jumped out of his seat and helped Jethro push and pull levers and organ stops. After a series of wild hand movements, Jethro jabbed a finger at the Bubble,
“I’ve got you,” he said.
“Well done!” cried Jules, patting him on the back and settling into the co-pilot’s seat as everyone crowded around the dashboard. Deftly, Jethro typed numbers into a keyboard. Inside the hologram, the Willerby tucked in behind the bubble and slipstreamed the silver spaceship. Suddenly, Jules looked at Jethro and leapt to his feet.
"Jethro, no!" The Mad Hatter mug bounced off the dashboard’s edge and smashed on the floor. Jules grabbed his friend’s arm, "Let’s just follow and see where they go. You don't run down a Time Guardian ship!"
The crazy Russian grinned mischievously and calmly patted Jules’s hand.
"Well old friend," he said, in a low American drawl laced with a heavy, Russian accent, ”There are some things a man just can't run away from.”
"Oh sh-" groaned Jules, slumping back into his seat and buckling his seat’s harness. Behind him, everyone grabbed the nearest seat and buckled up.
Chortling, Jethro continued pushing and pulling buttons, levers and organ stops, his eyes fixed on the moving Bubble. With both hands, he grasped what looked like a red, railway signal lever next to him and waited. Looking skyward, he mumbled something in Russian, turned and stared at Jules and the sea of faces behind him with a wide-eyed, manic grin.
"Guardians are jumping,” he said, giggling like a child and running on the spot, “let’s go fishing!” He pulled the lever down, lunged across the dashboard and thumped a large, red button before screaming, “let's go, BRONCO!”
He pushed past Jules, flew from the bridge and raced down the corridor.[/CENTER][/RIGHT]
Need a few views if possible. I am not sure the best way to go from one character in one place, to another in a different place. You'll see what I mean in the excerpt below. I've broken it up with line dividers, but is that the best way?
Sorry can't get the text to indent correctly!
TBO
End Game
Taking a mouthful of tea from his Mad Hatter mug, Jules swallowed hard and shook his head.
“Why 1891? I don’t get it,” he said, reading the Time Guardians communiqué on the wall screen in front of him.
“They want Tarquin sent to a billiard room under a lake?” said Calbhach, walking into the cockpit followed by the Leprechauns, “What nonsense is this!”
Jules, sitting in the co-pilot’s seat next to Jethro shrugged his shoulders. “That’s what they’re saying. Put the amulet on the table and then leave.” He lent across the dashboard and punched up the directions on the screen. A black and white photograph appeared. “There, Witley Park, Southern England.”
Calbhach looked up at the screen. “Why?” he asked, taking off his porkpie hat and dabbing his brow with a large blue handkerchief, “Why there?”
“No idea,” said Jules, taking another slug of tea.
“That’s a ruddy large house! Looks a right dog’s dinner of a building if you ask me,” said D’arcy, standing on his toes and holding on to Calbhach’s arm to see the screen. D’arcy was smaller than your usual Leprechaun.
“You know they’re bonkers,” said Jethro, sitting back in the pilot’s chair and throwing his army boots onto the dashboard.
“Remember what happened in New Mexico in July of 47!” He nodded several times then reached into a boot and taking out a screwdriver, began chiseling mud and grit from under his fingernails.
“But,” said Jules, clapping his hands loudly and taking the Leprechauns attention away from his tray of freshly baked Rogolian pastries, “we’ve no choice. They want the amulet and we want our friends back. We have to go along with them.”
“If it’s the only way, I’ll take it.” Everyone turned and looked at Tarquin standing in the doorway. “We have no choice,” he continued, rolling the amulet in his hands.
Jules shook his head, “I am not sending anyone down there, it’s too dangerous.”
“What choice do we have?” said Tarquin, walking into the cockpit. “Besides, Jethro can check-out the Ballroom before I go and you can rescue me if things go wrong.” He shrugged his shoulders.
“I don’t trust them,” said Jules. “Look,” with his hands, Jules constructed a box shape, then, a circle followed by a couple of horizontal lines. Finally, he simply waved his hands above his head and expelled air.
Tarquin smiled at Jules. “It’s settled then.”
“Okay, but we’ll be watching your every move.”
With all eyes on Tarquin and Jules, Shamus snaffled a pastry.
* * *
The Willerby Vogue and the Time Guardians Airsteam Bubble materialized simultaneously on the banks of the lake, less than a hundred yards apart. A violent thunderstorm raged around them. Lightning lit up the night sky outlining the vast, neo-Tudor expanse of Witley Park Mansion, the lake, lawns and ornamental gardens.
* * *
Tarquin waited nervously inside the Willerby’s transportal, the amulet in one hand and his Boson phaser in the other. He watched the lights of the Guardians Airstream Bubble flash on and off on the wall screen in front of him.
“They’re signaling you to the billiard room," said Jules, his voice crackling over the transportal’s communicator.
* * *
Jethro covered his eyes with the Look Sees and surveyed the ballroom.
“Blimey,” he said, waving his hands in front of his face, “it’s beautiful!”
What do you see?” asked Jules.
“I’ll put it on screen.”
The view through Jethro’s Look Sees appeared on the cockpit screen. Round and domed, the room was constructed of metal walls and hexagonal glass panes. Hanging from the centre of the dome was a magnificent crystal chandelier, its warm yellow light flooded the room making the gold painted walls, Chinese carpets and yellow, flagstone floor glow. Below the chandelier stood the full size billiard table. Jethro surveyed the room for signs of life.
* * *
"Okay Seebee, I’ve checked the billiard room.” Jethro’s face appeared on the transportal’s screen, his Look-See’s on his head pointing skyward like two large, brass bed-knobs.
Tarquin swallowed hard.
“There’s no one there,” he continued, “time to rock and roll."
He pulled off the Look-See’s and jabbed a finger at Tarquin. “Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway.”
“Your quoting John Wayne, now!” sighed Tarquin.
“Sending you to the ballroom in, 10-9-8-7-6-.” Jethro’s face disappeared and the screen went black, only his voice remained, “5-4-3-2-1-“.
Tarquin inhaled deeply, pulled his jacket around his neck and flexed his shoulders. He squeezed the handle of his Boson tight and thought of Rhia.
* * *
After pressing a sequence of buttons, Jethro pulled out half a dozen organ stops to varying lengths on the dashboard. As Tarquin dematerialized from the transportal, Jethro looked skyward and quietly mumbled something. The open channel to Tarquin hissed with static and died. Silence.
"Seebee, you with me?" asked Jethro, scanning the dials levers and flashing lights on the communicator panel. Jules lurched forward in his chair and pointed at the screen,
“The Guardians, they’re leaving!”
The Leprechauns rushed from the cockpit to the corridor window and joined by Archie, Alice and Doughty, they all peered through the rain at the Airstream Bubble slowly disappearing in a ball of water vapour.
“Starbards,” cursed Doughty, wheeling his pipe from one corner of his mouth to the other.
“Where’s Tarquin now?” cried Calbhach, pressing his pomegranate nose hard to the glass.
“Still in the ballroom,” shouted Jethro from the cockpit.
“They’ve left him there?” Turning to the seat next to him, he looked hard at his friend.
“What should we do Jules?”
The Willerby fell silent, save for the static from Tarquin’s communicator. Jules looked at Jethro then at the screen, then back at Jethro. The lines on his face deepened and his eyes squinted. Pursing his lips, he inhaled deeply and thumped his fist on the dashboard.
“Follow the ship, they know where our friends are. And pray Tarquin stays out of trouble until we get back.”
Jethro nodded and waved his hands over a small, glass instrument panel on the side of the dashboard. A blue, 3D hologram rose out of the panel with a miniature replica of the Bubble floating inside, together with a replica of the Willerby. Jules jumped out of his seat and helped Jethro push and pull levers and organ stops. After a series of wild hand movements, Jethro jabbed a finger at the Bubble,
“I’ve got you,” he said.
“Well done!” cried Jules, patting him on the back and settling into the co-pilot’s seat as everyone crowded around the dashboard. Deftly, Jethro typed numbers into a keyboard. Inside the hologram, the Willerby tucked in behind the bubble and slipstreamed the silver spaceship. Suddenly, Jules looked at Jethro and leapt to his feet.
"Jethro, no!" The Mad Hatter mug bounced off the dashboard’s edge and smashed on the floor. Jules grabbed his friend’s arm, "Let’s just follow and see where they go. You don't run down a Time Guardian ship!"
The crazy Russian grinned mischievously and calmly patted Jules’s hand.
"Well old friend," he said, in a low American drawl laced with a heavy, Russian accent, ”There are some things a man just can't run away from.”
"Oh sh-" groaned Jules, slumping back into his seat and buckling his seat’s harness. Behind him, everyone grabbed the nearest seat and buckled up.
Chortling, Jethro continued pushing and pulling buttons, levers and organ stops, his eyes fixed on the moving Bubble. With both hands, he grasped what looked like a red, railway signal lever next to him and waited. Looking skyward, he mumbled something in Russian, turned and stared at Jules and the sea of faces behind him with a wide-eyed, manic grin.
"Guardians are jumping,” he said, giggling like a child and running on the spot, “let’s go fishing!” He pulled the lever down, lunged across the dashboard and thumped a large, red button before screaming, “let's go, BRONCO!”
He pushed past Jules, flew from the bridge and raced down the corridor.[/CENTER][/RIGHT]
Last edited by a moderator:
