Fry, Leela and Bender are sitting in front of the TV, watching a cop
and his robot compagnion beating the crap out of two civilians for no appearent
reason on "Cought on Tape 3". It has been a stressful day for all of them,
with two deliveries and loads of minor maintainance jobs on the ship.
Bender: "Hey Fry, you feel like going to the new pub arround the corner?
They say its got a really good Band playing tonight, and the hookers are
all state-of-the-art models.."
Fry: "Hey, yea! What kind of music do they play?"
Bender: "I dunno, probably the usual smoochy-human stuff..."
Fry: "Wanna come Leela? It'll be fun!"
Leela: "Great Idea! Exactly what I need..."
Leela, Bender and Fry leave the PE building and walk to the new pub.
They pass by other people who are part of the NNYC night-life, a few of
them are also headed for the new place. The pub is called "Uniquoxon's
Hangout" and looks new and shiny. It's pretty big for a pub, almost a nightclub,
but the band that plays is too tame to fit into a that category- they play
something that sounds remotly like a mixture between Jive and Jazz. Not
bad at all, Fry thinks. They sit down at a table and order some drinks
as they observe their surroundings.
Bender: "This place isn't bad... If you don't mind I'll just invite
myself to the robot-section over there" and points at a little section
of the bar that seems to belong to the robots. Fry and Leela watch Bender
walk off eagerley to the robot section where he is soon greeted by two
hookerbots. Fry and Leela very soon get bored over their drinks.
Fry: "Hey, this tune has rythm... you wanna dance?"
Leela: "Umm... okay!" They both leave their table and head for the
dancefloor. Other people are alsy jigging arround, and Fry has no trouble
adapting to this style of dancing - they're all the same. Leela is a little
shy and doesn't move arround too much, but as she sees Fry jumping arround
like a maniac she soon joins in. Leela has to scream to oversound the music:
"Hey Fry - where did you learn to dance like that?" Fry shouts back: "You
don't learn it, you do it!" and demonstrates another 15 seconds of improvised
dancing madness, only to collapse into a nearby chair after that. "Phu...
Gimme a second...Pfft..." The band finishes the song, and the pub erupst
in cheer. After the applause ceased they tune into something more sensitive.
Leela and Fry have another drink and get bored again. Fry has recovered
and is eager to get out on the dancefloor again, but he hasn't got a dancepartner.
Leela: "That is more my kind of dance. C'mon!" Looks like the drinks
are doing their work....
Fry asks: "How do you dance to this? It sounds weird"
Leela: "Just do what I do." and as she says that she takes his arms
and puts them on her waist. She puts hers arround his neck. Fry gets a
surprised look and acts a little clumsy in the first moment because of
the surprise - he didn't exactly expect that. But Leela doesn't seem to
mind and leans her head on his shoulder as they slowly step together arround
the dancefloor - Leela must have had one too much. But he doesn't plan
to complain, he had a couple himself. They dance like that for the rest
of the tune which lasts almost 20 minutes. When the song stops Leela and
Fry loosen their hold on each other, but they both obviously enjoyed it.
Fry: "I like this dance! Hope they play it again." The announcer steps
in front of the microphone: "We all enjoyed that one?" The guests cheer.
"That's good to hear, because our next song .."
Late at night Fry and Leela leave the pub. Bender probably won't come
before tomorrow morning. As they walk down the road policecars pass by.
Leela: "I really enjoyed this. We have to go there again." and smiles
at Fry.
Fry: "Yea, the band was great... Are you sure you'll be alright going
home?"
Leela giggles: "Are you kidding? You had more then me"
Fry: "Fine. Just be careful." Leela has to take another way then: "Well,
I'll see you tomorrow."
Fry: "Yea, See ya" and watches dreamily as she walks of, then shakes
his head and walks home himself.
Next morning Leela awakes with a massive headache. She isn't used to
drinking at all, and what she had last night was a fair ammount, if not
enough to make her really drunk. When she arrives at the PE Fry and Bender
are already there. Bender hums happily, Fry looks terribly tired.
Fry: "Hi Leela"
Leela: "Hi Fry... you look terrible"
Bender: "Just speak for yourself"
The crew has gathered arround the conference table. Leela and Fry stare
deep down their coffee mug when Hermes comes in.
Hermes: "All present?"
Everyone: "Yea.."
Hermes: "I will now.." and was interrupted by a massive breaking sound
from the landing bay. Everyone gets up and runs to the ship to find a hole
in the ceiling of the hangar. A little smoldering object has left a crater
in the floor.
Professor: "By God, its a spaceship!" True enough, its a little flying
saucer, about two feet wide. An opening appears on the top of it and a
tiny omicronian crawls out, clad in a layer of transparent skin and coughing
hard: "*cough* I am Trrr, from the Planet Omicron Persei 8"
Zoidberg: "Not them again..."
Leela: "What do you want?"
Trrr: "A terrible disease has broken out in our system, you have to
help us!"
Trrr is standing in the middle of the conference table, the crew is
gathered arround him.
Leela: "So tell us what's happened"
Trrr: "Very well then. I don't know much. A desease has infected our
people and is resistant to all our cures. All elder omicronians are infected,
and many are dead."
Fry: "You little ones don't get infected?"
Trrr: "No. Not yet. It will only be a matter of time until we grow
old enough to catch it as well."
Leela: "Why did you come to us?"
Trrr: "Jrrr couldn't come himself but he told me about you. You are
the only ones we can ask for help now."
Professor: "Would the desease attack humans as well?"
Trrr: "By our knowledge not. It only attacks elder omicronians. You
are safe."
Amy: "Are you sure?"
Trrr: "Very sure."
Zoidberg: "What does the desease do?"
Trrr: "Some go mad. Some grow sick and weak. Eventually they all die."
"The younger ones have gathered for protection in the caves of a moon in
orbit arround our planet. Some of the elder ones have turned into cannibals
when they were infected!"
Leela: "Oh my god..."
Trrr: "Please help us...."
Leela: "We have to help them! Their entire civilisation is at stake!"
Bender: "Who who... they tried to distroy us twice. Who says they won't
do so now?"
Trrr: "I give you my word"
Bender: " Who gave you authority? I'm a conscientus objector..."
Leela: "Well, I don't care. We have to help them!"
Professor: "She is right. Think of how they would repay us..."
Fry: "But what can we do?"
Leela: "I dunno. But we have to try - if we are resistant to the disease
nothing much can happen to us."
The crew have decided on what plan of action to take. Leela, Fry, Bender and the Professor will go on the mission. Zoidberg, Amy and Hermes want to stay behind. Leela and Fry are busy loading the Professors scientific equipment onto the ship, amongst loads of other things you need for a mission this magnitude. Soon, they are on their way, Trrr with them on board.
Leela, Fry and Trrr are on the bridge.
Fry: "What's that skin-thing you're wearing?"
Trrr: "That's our shell"
Leela: "Shell?"
Trrr: "It protects us from hazardous enviroments"
Cut to outer space - the PE ship enters the omicronian system. Omicron
Persei 8 is a huge brown-green planet surrounded by several small moons.
They land on one of the moons where Trrr told them they would be expected
by the younger ones. The crew steps out of the ship and is lead by Trrr
across the barren landscape.
Fry: "I don't like this world."
Leela: "Me neither..."
Bender: "You people are too picky..."
They arrive in at a cave and are lead into it by Trrr. They soon find
that they just entered one entrance of many to a vast system of gigantic
caves and tunnels. Finally they arrive in a huge cave, filled with chattering
little omicronians. At the sight of the visitors they all grow quiet.
Trrr: "Listen Everyone! I have bought the humans. They will help us!"
The little crowd cheers, happy to have something to look forward to instead
of just hiding and waiting. One creature emerges.
Leela: "Jrrr?"
Jrrr: "Yes. How are ya Mom?"
Leela: "Great to see you again. What is happening here?"
Jrrr: "Trrr told you about the disease?"
Fry: "Yep" Jrrr *sighs*: "Then from now on it's up to you. I will help
you but all we have are millions of little omicronians - our fait lies
in your hands.
Professor: "Well, I'll start working. I have to set up my Lab here
and get tissue samples from the infected omicronians."
Jrrr: "That won't be a problem. We will help you set up your lab. But
you have to go to the planet to get near the infected Elder ones. Just
don't reveal our position!"
The little omicronians spill out of the cave in hundreds and go to the
ship where they transport the lab equipment piece by piece over their heads
like on a living conveyer belt. The crew looks impressed.
Leela: "We have to get down on the Planet and talk to their Leaders"
Fry: "Yea, well, good luck. Didn't you hear what he said? Some of them
went mad?! Cannibals. I don't want to know what they'll do with us - we
will just be an afternoon snack to them!"
Leela: "There's gotta be a way arround this..."
The professor is busy setting up his Lab in the cave and is happy to
have so many helpful assistants arround. Leela, Bender and Fry are in the
spaceship, leaving the moon. Leela pulls down her vidphone and dials a
number. After some time, the face of Lrrr appears on the Screen. He appears
weak and sick, and looks tired.
Lrrr: "Who speaks?"
Leela: "This is Leela, from the Planet Express Delivery Ship. We have
heard that you need our help" Lrrr has lost all of his former dignity:
"Yes. Good. Land near our Castle. Coordinates follow." and hangs up. Fry
and Bender look concerned.
The ship sets down on Omicron Persei 8. The buildings are as huge as
the planet and its inhabitants. Buildings, that look more like they were
grown rather then build, reach up so far their tips are hidden in the clouds.
Leela set down the ship on a platform high above the ground, just below
the clouds. Lrrr and Ndndn are waiting for them. The three leave the ship
and are greeted by
Lrrr: "Welcome and thank you for coming. Follow us into our conference
room, but beware, many behave strange." Leela, Fry and Bender follow the
huge omicronians. Ndndn leans upon Lrrr, both look weak. As they walk through
the huge corridors they can hear groans, screams and cries from below and
above, but the echo makes impossible to determine the direction from which
the sound is coming. Bender pockets the one or other weird item as he passes.
They pass something like a sickbay where they find many omicronians lying
and sitting, giving a miserable scene. Many seem dead and are brought away
by others, but their strength is also fading. Ndndn: "This is were were
we keep our sick. All our technology and knowledge fail to produce a cure
against this desease. Many have turned mad and agressive, the streets are
roamed with dead and dying omicronians that have died fighting and brawling.
The crowds have gone wild, mobs rule the street. We have drawn refuge up
here, where it is safe."
They arrive in the conference room, which is as huge as everything else.
Lrrr and Ndndn are glad to sit down again.
Leela: "We want to help"
Nrnrn: "we will give you what you want - all we know about the desease
is on this disk" she hands Leela the disk.
Fry: "The professor said we need tissue samples."
Lrrr: "We can provide you with all the tissue samples you need."
The three are back in the ship. With them is the memory disk and a stack
of tissue samples for the professor to work on. As they take of one of
the huge buildings under them is torn apart in a massive explosion which
sends a shockwave up to the ship. Leela almost looses control.
Fry: "Watch ouuuuuuut!!!" as they pass by the tip of a tower, scratching
the hull.
Bender: "Phuuu.. It's getting dangerous out there."
Leela: "One more reason to get this to the professor quickly"
The Crew arrive at the caves, carying the material for the professor.
Professor: "Excellent. All the information is on this disk you say?"
Leela: "That's what they told us."
Professor: "I'll get to work on this" and leaves into his lab with
his flock of little assistants.
Bender is out exploring the caves, Leela and Fry sit against a wall.
Fry: "Do you think we'll ever have to get down there?"
Leela: "We might have to..."
Fry: "Don't we have guns?"
Leela: "Yes, but do you know how to use one?"
Fry: "I've seen it in movies..."
Leela: "Not good enough. C'mon.." and she helps Fry up ".. I'll teach
you."
Leela is busy showing Fry how to use the laser (the opposite wall has lots of holes blown into it) when the Professor enters. "Good news everyone. I have found out that the desease broke out first in a deserted mountain region on the planet. You two should take a look arround."
The ship lands on the slope of a huge mountain. The three of them leave
the ship, armed. Fry acts like a gunslinger and is enjoying his role. He
makes a determined face and quickdraws the gun to shoot a bird-like thing
that just flew by. He drops the gun and almost shoots his foot of."
Leela: "You idiot! Don't shoot at harmless animals. Especially not
for fun!" In that moment the bird charges down and carries an elephant-like
lizard away with its claws, gutting it with one claw as he flies.
Bender: "umm... I don't like the local fauna"
Bender: "So this is where it broke out first?" In front of them lies
a deserted town, all huge in proportion to the ones that lived in it. The
streets are roamed with dead omicronians. The athmosphere is creepy. One
of the birds can be heard having a meal behind a wall. Luckily the crew
are spared the gruesome sight.
Fry: "I don't like this place."
Leela: "Do you think I do? Lets take a look arround, and be careful!"
The three of them walk down what appears to be the main street.
Leela: "I dunno, I can't find anything here. Have you seen anything
guys?"
Bender: "naa"
Fry: "Hey what's this?"
Leela and Bender gather arround what Fry pointed at. It is a human boot print, the track leading into a "forest" nearby....
Stay tuned for the second part coming out soon.