Rick Daring and The Brilliant 5 – Chapter Ten: The Spectre Strikes!

THE SPECTRE – Sets his sights on Dr. Edwards, who has the last piece of the mysterious project the Spectre wants.
DEKKER – Set free by the Spectre, opens free on his captors as they supposedly enter the room.

Daring and Sara had just left the interrogation room and went down the hallway. They entered a room at the corner as the hallway continued to the left. Inside were Old Timer and Dr. Sergoff, sitting by the table where a large monitoring keep tabs of the whole level.

“Get anything out of him?” asked Old Timer.

“Not yet,” admitted Sara.

“He probably won’t buy our bluff either,” remarked Daring.

“So, what do we do now?” asked Old Timer.

“Excuse me,” asked Sergoff. “Who or what is that?” They all turned to look at the security screen. There, a shadow of a man entered the interrogation room and handed Dekker something.

“The Spectre!” gasped Sergoff in horror.

“And now we know how he can get by our security,” said Daring. “Look!” They watched as the screen switched to the hallway camera, and the Spectre disappeared into a secret passage.

“That’s impossible!” shouted Sergoff. “It was the five of us who designed this building in the first place. Only one of us…”
“Are you saying one of your colleagues is the Spectre?” asked Old Timer.

“But three of them are dead,” said Sara.

“Are they?” asked Daring. “In any case, alert security. Lock down the building. We’re going to catch that Spectre, once and for all.” He pulled two guns out of a drawer. He handed one to Sara, but she declined. “Old Timer, find Junior and Dr. Edwards and get them to a secure location. Sara and I will secure our prisoner.”

But down in Dr. Edwards’s laboratory, it was already too late, because he was face to face with the Spectre! Edwards nervously looked down at the automatic leveled at him.

“We are going for a trip,” stated the Spectre.

“Why?” asked Edwards, stalling for time.

“I know how you work,” replied the Spectre. “By now, you will have destroyed your section of the plans, but only after memorizing them.”

“But how could you know that unless…”

Edwards was interrupted as a beaker smashed into the Spectre’s hand, disarming the super-foe. Turning, the Spectre caught sight of Junior, who had slipped into the room.

“I knew you weren’t the type to talk to yourself,” remarked Junior. “Give up, Spectre. I’m not letting you out of this room.” But the Spectre had already launched himself at Junior. The two crashed against a nearby table, sending test tubes to the ground. A lucky punch from Junior bought him some breathing room as the Spectre stumbled backwards.

It was time for Junior to spring into action, but the Spectre easily dodged his tackle. The villain grabbed a nearby chair and swung it madly at Junior. Junior tried to stay out of the reach of the makeshift weapon. He tossed a couple beakers at the Spectre, but the villain batted them away.

Glancing around him, Junior noticed the gun lying on the ground. He tried to make a dash for it, but the Spectre beat him to it, and the last thing Junior would remember was the hard chair crashing down onto his head. Tossing away the remains of the chair, the Spectre picked up the automatic and jabbed Edwards with it.

“Now, as I was saying…” said the Spectre.

Meanwhile, Daring and Sara approached the interrogation room. “How do you want to play it?” asked Daring; their backs to the wall.

“Cautiously,” replied Sara. Daring reached beside them and turned the doorknob. Using his elbow, he gave the door a slight push. No sooner did he do this, than Dekker opened fire. The bullets went through the doorway, past them, and into the opposite wall across from them.

After the firing stopped, Daring listened for the rushed footsteps approaching the doorway. Sara and Daring leapt onto Dekker as he pasted the door’s threshold. Sara took away the gun as Daring pinned him down. Sara helped hold him down as Daring put the cuffs on him.

As Sara finished securing the prisoner, Daring heard a familiar buzzing sound. He pulled out a small transmitter from his pocket.

“Daring here.”

“We found Junior,” came Old Timer’s voice. “He’s out like a light. No sign of Edwards. Looks like the Spectre beat us to him.”
“Thanks,” replied Daring. “Over and out.”

Daring raced down the hall, kicking open the door to the stairs. He went down them two at a time, level by level, until he reached the bottom. Opening the door, he found himself in the basement parking lot. He scanned the area, hoping he wasn’t too late. There, a few yards away, was the Spectre herding Edwards into a unmarked van.

Unfortunately, it was at this time that the Spectre noticed Daring. The sinister man started to fire at Daring. The gunshots reverberated in the small area. Daring ducked behind a concrete column for cover. He still had his own gun, but couldn’t risk firing upon the Spectre without risk hitting Edwards. He glanced around and noticed another column closer to the van. He waited for the shooting to end before making a dash for the other column.

Halfway there, Daring tripped and fell. He expected to be shot then and there, but no shot came. Instead, he heard the van’s engine roar to life. Its large headlights blinded Daring. It lurched forward, picking up speed, intent on running him over.

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Written by J M Emmons. The story and all characters are copyrighted by J M Emmons.

Review: Clone Wars C-3PO

I recently bought the C-3PO figure modeled off of the new animated series, The Clone Wars. This particular figure is a mixed bag. Let's start with what's good about the figure. Hasbro, as always, has done a good job capturing the animated look of the figure. Unlike Obi-Wan and Anakin, C-3PO has the same look as in the live-action films, only a little more streamlined and simplified. The figure has a ton of articulation: neck, shoulders, elbows, mid-chest, knees, ankles, etc.

The bad thing is that C-3PO doesn't come with anything. Nothing. He only has a "light-up" feature, thanks to a transparent spot in the back of his head, which will light up his eyes when a strong beam of light is directed through said spot. The figure also seemed small, but he's as tall as Hasbro's other C-3PO figures. His arms are very thin, and feel, at times, like they're fragile.

Hasbro also decided to make the animated C-3PO with a dark bronze finish, instead of their usual golden chrome finish. The pictures I've seen of C-3PO in the show has him as more of a bright yellow-orange sheen. I'm not sure why they did this. I'm not saying that I don't like it, but it makes the figure less accurate. C+

(The other C-3PO pictured is the 2006-2007 figure with the Ewok chair. It, in my opinion, is the best mold Hasbro has made for C-3PO. The second best would be 2005's ROTS figure which is very similar except for the lack of knee joints.)

Music Review: X-Files I Want to Believe Soundtrack

With the X-Files movie coming out onto DVD soon, i thought I'd stop putting off the review to Mark Snow's score, and here it is.

I'd like to begin with saying how surprised I am to find so little X-Files soundtracks there was produced. For the television series, only one album and one score album were made, along with a soundtrack for each movie. (I think Fight the Future had both an album and score, but don't quote me on that.) A lot of science fiction/cult shows seem to have a lot of music released to appease their crazed fans (i.e. Star Trek), but X-Files does not seem to be one of them.

Which is a shame because Mark Snow's music has really grown on me, just as X-Files has over the last year or so. I Want to Believe is different kind of score compared to the previous Fight the Future, but this is because they're two different kinds of films. Fight the Future is more a straight action - suspense piece while I Want to Believe has more of the ambient feel of Snow's earlier seasons.

The title theme of X-Files is present, but Snow does not utilize it as much as in FTF. There are a couple nice hints of it in "Looking for Mulder" and "March and Dig," but it's not until "Home again" that we hear the biggest quote of the theme, and still it's mostly in fragments. Surprisingly, the remix after that is pretty good, It manages to stay true to Snow's theme while being original in its arrangement. Best of all, it still fits in with Snow's score.

There is a secondary theme, heard in "Ybara the Strange" and "The Surgery." It's a haunting and mournful tune that helps fill in for the absence of the main theme. "Box Them" has this theme, present on piano, playing into another short quote of the X-Files theme.

The rest of the score has a lot of tense moments with some quiet ones, but on the whole, nothing too remarkable. "Foot Chase" has some great energized string movement. "The Trip to DC" should sound very familiar to FTF fans. "Can't Sleep" sounds like something I've heard in the series. I enjoyed the music on the soundtrack, but it's too restrained to be put in the same category as Fight the Future. B-

Recommended Tracks:
2. No Cures/Looking for Fox
8. March and Dig/ Girl in the Box
10. The Surgery
13. Foot Chase
15. Photo Evidence
19. Box Them
20. Home Again

Rick Daring and The Brilliant 5 – Chapter Nine: A Shot in the Dark

DEKKER – Silenced Thaddeus from talking to Daring and Sara. During the ensuing fight, Dekker sends the car lift down on top of Daring.

As the car lift came rushing down to crush him, Richard Darington rolled towards the lift, falling into the worker’s pit beneath it. Daring looked up from within the pit as the descending lift came to an abrupt stop.

Dekker tried to peered underneath the car, hoping to catch a glimpse of Daring so that he could shoot him. He turned around as someone tapped him on the shoulder. Sara socked him in the jaw. Dekker stumbled backwards, hitting his head on the wall.

“Let’s see how much he likes being unconscious,” she said, pushing the lever until the car lift was back in its upright position. “Honestly, Richard, I think I need to wear a helmet whenever I go out with you,” she said, rubbing her neck as she helped Daring out of the pit.

“Finally,” said Daring as he approached the unconscious Dekker. “Some answers at last.”

Dekker awoke with a piercing pain in the back of his skull. He was chained to his chair. Looking around, he found himself in a plain-looking room. The only door was across from him with the room’s single table between him and the door. There were no windows, so there was no way for him to know where he was.

The door opened and in came Daring and Sara. Daring plopped a large folder onto the table. “You’ve got quite a large rap sheet, Jason Dekker,” said Daring. “Enough to put you back in Sing Sing for a long, long time.”

“So?” spat back Dekker.

“You’re a known associate of the super criminal calling himself, the Spectre. Give us everything you know on him, and we’ll be able to commute your sentence,” stated Sara.

“I don’t have to tell you nothing,” shouted Dekker. “I got rights. Rights to a lawyer, in fact.”

“We are aware of the fact that you’ve been in and out of prison most of your life,” said Sara. “But this concerns the attempted thieft of government equipment.”

“And the government doesn’t like people who try and steal their secrets,” interrupted Daring. “In fact, there’s a pair of agents right outside that door. They think we’re wasting our time, ‘pussyfooting around with you.’ Do you think they’re right?”

“I ain’t talking,” insisted Dekker. “I’m a dead man if I talk. I just saw my partner get disintegrated. What could you possibly do to me that’s worst?”

“You’re right. We can’t do anything, but those government agents can do plenty,” replied Sara. “They can erase you from everyone’s records. You’d be a ghost, then.”

“I can’t. I can’t,” repeated Dekker.

“Looks like you need time to think it over,” said Daring. “We’ll be back in ten minutes.”

In the hallway, Daring asked, “What do you think?”

“He’s hard to read,” admitted Sara. “But if he calls our bluff, we’re done for.”

“What? We’ve got Old Timer and Junior here.”

“There’s no way we could pass them as government agents,” replied Sara.

“It’s worth a shot,” countered Daring. “We’ve got nothing to lose.”

Sara shook her head. “It’s not going to work. He’s too afraid of the Spectre. We could dangle him off a building, and he’d still not talk.”

“Then, how are we?” asked Daring.

Five minutes later, the door opened into the interrogation cell. Dekker was expecting Daring and Sara, but had the shock of his life. The Spectre had walked into his very room! But Dekker held no joy at this sight, for in the hands of his master was a .45 caliber automatic!

“Did you tell them anything?” asked the Spectre with menace beyond description.

“No, nothing. I swear,” blurted Dekker.

Apparently satisfied with his answer, the Spectre set the automatic down on the table and started to undo Dekker’s restrains. Dekker started to get up, but the Spectre motioned for him to sat in the seat.

“Your captors will be back at any moment,” stated the Spectre as he handed Dekker the automatic. “The instant they enter the room, kill them. When you’re sure you’ve eliminated them, then make your escape.”

“What are you going to do?” asked Dekker, but got no response. The Spectre went out of the room and stalked down the hall. He paused in the middle of the hall, at a most unremarkable section. Pressing a hidden button, a section of the wall opened, and the Spectre disappeared into the secret passage. He squeezed down the tight corridor that went between walls. The hooded man grasped at the shadows as he made his way through the maze of hidden corridors. Coming to the end, the Spectre pressed another switch and another door opened up, letting out into a different section of the facility.

The Spectre walked down the hallway, stopping at a particular door. Opening it, he produced a second automatic. He crept up to the lone man working in the laboratory. The Spectre poked the gun into the back of the unaware man. He turned with a start.

“Good evening Dr. Edwards,” said the Spectre. “We have a lot to talk about.”

Meanwhile, back in the interrogation room, Dekker waited nervously for Daring and Sara to return. The automatic felt heavy and cold in his sweaty hands. Without a clock present, it seemed like the whole world had stopped. He strained his ears, trying to listen for approaching footsteps.

Dekker knew that he had only one shot at this. The Spectre would reward him greatly, if he succeeded. Fail and he would die just like Ox. He pushed these thoughts aside as he heard a confident stride echoing the hallways outside. It must be Daring, returning to further their interrogation.

The door opened, and not waiting a second, Dekker stood up and started to empty the gun into the open doorway and whomever was standing there.

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Written by J M Emmons. The story and all characters are copyrighted by J M Emmons.