X-POP3-Rcpt: parasaur@bigbyte From: Jenn The Ice Raptoress Subject: SB047: Insurance Date: Mon, 26 May 1997 01:24:56 -0800 BestServHost: lists.best.com Sender: herpetophile-errors@lists.best.com Errors-To: herpetophile-errors@lists.best.com Reply-To: herpetophile@lists.best.com To: herpetophile@lists.best.com SB047: Insurance The Center of Galactic Power: The young male sitting on the Patriarch's throne was not the Patriarch, but this did not seem to concern him very much. He was, in fact, the Patriarch's bodyguard, a normally serious individual of the same species as the ruler, and Sa as well. Presently he and Sa were alone in the throne room where the Dinosorceror had made his appearance not so very long ago, and the bodyguard's sigh echoed hollowly in the empty expanse of glass and marble. "Damn," he muttered, slouching in the ornate chair. "I rather liked Earth." Sa was sitting on the highest step leading up to the throne. She glanced at him with her large blue green eyes, appearing rather annoyed. "Deal with it. There are plenty of other Earths. The omniverse seems to be one of horrible repetition." "I liked _that_ Earth," he replied testily. "Get over it." They were quiet for several long minutes, then the male leaned forward to speak with her a bit more privately, his pale blue eyes somber and serious. "Did the Dinosorceror notice?" he asked in a low tone. Sa glanced around to be absolutely certain that they were alone. "I am not certain. If he did, he gave no indication. He did have other things on his mind at the time." The male snorted softly in disgust. Sa narrowed her eyes. "Give the boy a break, Kell. He is only newly a Dinosorceror, he has much to learn yet." "He cannot afford the luxury of wasting time." The far door of the throne room boomed open, causing Sa and Kell to move quickly apart. They gazed expectantly at the Patriarch who strode through the room with his usual imperious air, ornate robes swirling in his wake. It was obvious to his two closest compatriots that he was quite irritated about something. Kell stood, automatically straightening his uniform, looking quite sharp with his pale striped hide and rich black hair. Technically he was older then the Patriarch, but looked only slightly more filled out. "You wished to speak with us, my Lord?" "Yes," the Patriarch claimed his place on the throne and immediately began to drum his taloned fingers on the arm. "We have lost the pieces of the Device which Loophole so stupidly destroyed, and now that inept Dinosorceror is on the alert where I am concerned. I have been searching for an upper hand, a way to keep the Dinosorceror in line and in control." "I trust you have found something," Kell said simply. Sa frowned however, "My Lord, if I may say so, it seems unlikely to me that you could do anything at this point to bring the Dinosorceror back under control short of killing him. . ." "And I cannot do that, I know," the Patriarch said lowly, obviously disturbed that she had reminded him of that point. He silently cursed universal rules he could not break while at the same time reminding himself that there were always ways around rules. "Have some faith in your Patriarch, lovely Sa. Even unsolvable problems are child's play when one looks hard enough for a solution. And I have, of course, found one. I have a job for you two." The Patriarch smiled, showing his fangs, and allowing himself an evil sounding chuckle. "The Dinosorceror plays by _my_ rules, kids, or he does not play at all." The Apotheosis: Shipboard night. The Dinosorceror was tired from a long day of getting used to his new ship and the new knowledge he had acquired from his fateful final meeting with Loophole. As everyone retired for a well deserved rest, dividing into informal pairs to share the unfamiliar crew quarters, Watson had metallically assured Dino that all seemed at ease in the omniverse for the moment. He promised to alert Dino if any of the Objects or remaining Dinosorcerii were in peril, but Dino did not expect any trouble. He was starting to get the Patriarch's drift now, and he knew that the spoiled boy would probably let him stew for at least a few days before trying anything. They set a course for the nearest Object. Dino thought it would make sense to check out its care and introduce himself to the Dinosorceror in charge of it. So Dino found himself in his own quiet sleeping quarters, pondering recent events. He spent some time on the terminal, trying to absorb as much information as possible about recent galactic history, but for some reason the records were spotty. He reflected it might be a smart move to find a library somewhere along the way. He was just stretching and yawning, contemplating getting some sleep, when he received an unexpected hologram. It popped up in the middle of his room, shimmering prettily with a swirl of pastel rainbow colors. He blinked for a moment, wondering what to make of it, and was considering alerting Watson and the others, when the colors coalesced into a familiar face. "Sa." Dino was not sure how to react to the female who sometimes appeared to be his friend, but was usually backing the Patriarch's evil plays. The hologram of Sa smiled, showing her lovely fangs in a way Dino judged to be predatorily friendly. "Greetings Dinosorceror," she purrled in the back of her throat. "It is a pleasure to see you again." "Hmm. So you say, but it seems that every time I see you, something happens that totally boggles my day." Sa tipped her head in a slight nod. "What do you want?" She surprised him with a brief look of remorse. "I wish only to warn you, Dinosorceror, that the Patriarch is no longer playing games with you. The stakes have just gotten much higher." "Higher?! The destruction of my home world wasn't high enough for him?" Dino sputtered. "Worlds are created and destroyed every second, Dino. It does not really mean much in the overall scheme of things. But other things do." Sa paused for a moment, looking uncertain. "Be aware of everything, Dino, and keep a close eye on all you hold dear." Dino narrowed his eyes tightly. "You're threatening me!" "Its my job. Dinosorceror, do not listen to my words, pay attention to their meaning!" Dino's narrowed eyes fell into a squint. What on the nonexistent Earth did she mean by that? He decided to dissect what she was saying and see if it made any more sense that way. He started with the first part of her statement: be aware of everything. His mind wandered back to the recent encounter with Loophole and the Patriarch in Washington. He thought of how annoyingly and eerily calm the Patriarch had seemed, as if he held all the cards in the universe. In a way, he had, for he was in control of the Scepter, and not even Loophole had been strong enough to counter its power. The Scepter wasn't even complete yet and . . . Dino rewound his memory. He saw the Patriarch standing there among the cherry blossoms of Washington, looking imperious and annoyed. Sa stood behind him, his perpetual shadow it seemed . . . holding the Scepter! "Wait a minute," Dino growled. "You were holding the Scepter." Sa nodded patiently. "Did I not tell you that the Patriarch was not the only one who could touch it? It is genetically tuned to the energy signatures of the line of Patriarchs, of which I am a part." Dino snorted softly, not sure if this was suppose to be welcome news or not. "So, what the hell does that mean to me?" "Information, Dino, can be more valuable then gold." Dino pondered that for a moment, then thought about something else. "Sa, Loophole said the Patriarch used to be a Dinosorceror. What happened?" Sa shook her head, a dark twinkle looking perfectly at home in her bright eyes. "Nothing that concerns you." "Bloody hell!" "Look!" she snapped, "Pay attention to what I am telling you, nothing else is important right now. I have brought you a warning, Dinosorceror. I am putting myself on the line for you, so make good use of it." Dino rumbled in his crest, irritated by her attitude, "I never asked for your help, toots." She set her jaw tight enough that her stripes stood out darker against her pearly hide. When she spoke, her tone was a contemptuous hiss. "If you knew, Dinosorceror, how many times over you would be dead if not for my help, you would be mortified. I have delivered my warning, use it as you will." With that, the hologram shimmered again, drew up into itself and disappeared with a haughty sounding *pip!* Dinosorceror seethed. And yet, in the part of his walnut brain that was storing information and actually learning from it, he thought about what she had said and wondered about it. Be aware of everything, Dino, and keep a close eye on all you hold dear. Planet Pollux: The Dark Jerhevon was feeling mighty good. He certainly had things well in hand in the galaxy, though exactly how he had come to be in charge of piecing it back together he still wasn't certain. It had probably come about from the fact that the Dark Dinosorceror was still only a few centimeters tall, and meek little Jenn was. . . well, meek. She was much better suited to telling him how fabulously he was doing than actually issuing any orders herself, still Jerhevon thought she was nice to have around sometimes. She was very good at peeling grapes and getting him a cold beer when he felt the need for one. She had been absent quite a bit lately, though, preparing for the hatching of her small clutch of eggs. Jerhevon did not mind that, though he knew it irked the Dinosorceror because she forgot to change the newspapers in his cage when she was occupied. The one eyed stegosaur thought he might pop in to see her on his way to bed, make sure everything was going well with her eggs, and tell her the news from the front. She would be sure to lavish praise on him for the wonderful job he was doing, and that would make him feel even better then he already felt. Jerhevon had discovered that yes-men were handy to have around. So, Jerhevon closed up shop in the command center of the ice and crystal Fortress of Solitude, leaving the reptilian troops in charge of monitoring various goings-ons in the galaxy. He stopped for a moment to poke at the teeny Dinosorceror with a sharp stick as he passed by the displaced leader's gilded cage, and was about to head for Jenn's private quarters when the first of the explosions rocked the fragile palace. Chaos, ice and crystal rained everywhere. Despite how well Jerhevon had trained the troops, within moments the Fortress was in the hands of the Patriarch's forces. In charge of the invasion, Sa and Kell ordered that no quarter be shown, and soon the shiny floors of the palace ran slick with blood of various colors. The Patriarch's troops swarmed throughout the Fortress, slaughtering anyone they found. The battle was quick, gory, and completely one sided. Sa herself ventured into the living quarters, two dozen compies watching her back, ready to swarm over any one that might dare threaten their mistress. Sa hardly needed the backup, Jerhevon's tyranno troops fell beneath her energized sword one after the other. She cleared a path straight to Jenn's quarters. Jenn stood protectively over her nest, her twin eggs covered snugly in soft electric blankets. Perhaps she was normally a meek thing, but when it came to her children, Jenn was determined that nothing would harm them. She snarled viciously at Sa's intrusion, valiantly fought back the swarms of compies, and defended her offspring with every ounce of her strength. Sa made short work of her. The Patriarch entered the Fortress, barely surveying the massacred reptiles which littered the floors. Kell straighten from where he had just finished off Jerhevon and nodded at his ruler that the palace was secure. The Patriarch returned the nod, his blue grey eyes twinkling with a strange combined light of coldness and pleasure. He was distracted by a tiny blue green parasaur at his feet. The Dinosorceror's cage had been knocked down during the fighting, and the Dinosorceror had escaped the carnage by hiding behind a doorstop. Now, outraged, he stormed the Patriarch and savagely kicked at his toe. "You!" the Dinosorceror, still in denial concerning his new place in the scheme of things, pointed up at the Patriarch accusingly. "What is the meaning of this invasion?! This isn't your reality! Get back where you belong!" "You have obviously forgotten that I am in charge of all realities, little bug," the Patriarch snorted. "Not this one! We had a deal, Patriarch! Get the hell out of here!" "Please," the Patriarch rolled his eyes, and casually stepped on the tiny Dinosorceror, effectively grinding him into a fine filmy paste. "If only it could be that easy in every reality," he lamented. He forgot quickly about that particular Dinosorceror, however, as Sa emerged from one of the side hallways, eager compies bouncing merrily all around her. The Patriarch's eyes lit up when he saw she carried a small basket filled with blankets and two very special eggs. He took it from her and set it carefully on an intact table, tenderly removing the blanket from one of the eggs which wobbled slightly. "I believe, my Lord, that they are just about to hatch," Sa told him. He laid a hand on the trembling egg. "The mother?" he asked. "No longer a concern," Sa replied tightly. Kell joined them, glancing briefly at the greasy stain that was once the Dinosorceror with a heavy frown. "Its best these little ones be raised in a proper environment." The Patriarch mused to himself, "After all, with their mother tragically dead, and their father running wild about the omniverse, these hatchlings are going to need a stable home and a responsible role model." He chuckled as the egg beneath his hand cracked and a soft chirping sound came from within. Gently, the Patriarch lifted away a piece of shell to reveal the beautiful solid black eyes of a female velocilophus. He ran a tender finger down her teeny muzzle and she squeaked softly, delighted to imprint on him. The Apotheosis: The Dinosorceror sat up from a sound sleep, snapping awake violently, with a feeling a dread filling his lungs. He caught his breath and looked around his quarters, seeking a source for his anxious feeling. There was nothing, and around him the Apotheosis hummed softly as it made its way through the cosmos. Nothing was amiss. The Dinosorceror shivered. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- .*&#, ______, ##mmWWWU-^~ -' `^4Xz. Jenn _7/ Joy and Raptors! raptor@mosquitonet.com -Raptor X- Future Dinosorceroress and Hoarder of Spoons