Planet Terry: Difference between revisions
no edit summary
mNo edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| (9 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown) | |||
Line 18:
The Yungmun recoiled on hearing a boo, and his reaction encouraged the rest of the assembled crowd to join in, driving the comedian away. The grateful locals decided to give Terry their highest honour. Dashing his hopes of help in the quest for his parents, they told him to take the pick of the litter – literally, encouraging him to take anything he wanted from a scrap heap. Unsure of finding anything helpful, Terry went along with it so as to not hurt their feelings. Reaching into the pile, his hand activated some kind of switch, and [[Robota]], a disused robot, clawed her way out of the heap and thanked him for turning her grid on. {{storylink|The Search}}
[[File:Planet Terry why were you in that junk pile.jpg|thumb|upright=0.825]]
Terry introduced himself and his mission to Robota, showing her the wrist bracelet from which he took his name. Robota, a Servant Robot outmoded by the [[Servant Robot, Series IV|newer model]], volunteered to join him on his quest, and he happily took her aboard. When she complimented his piloting, he told her he'd been born on a space ship, and proved it wasn't just a figure of speech by showing her his life ship.
A klaxon sounded, telling Terry he had engine trouble, and he was forced to make an emergency landing on a nearby planetoid. On hearing applause, Terry and Robota exited the ship to find prospector [[Enoch Diggs]] (and his Burrobot, [[Hee Haw]]), who congratulated him on his landing. Before being a prospector, Diggs was an old space hound, and volunteered to take a look at Terry's engine. Diggs was stunned by the sight of Terry's life ship, and asked if Terry was also wearing a wrist bracelet. When Diggs confirmed his suspicions that he knew who Terry's parents were, the boy was elated. {{storylink|A Clue}}
At Terry's insistence, Diggs tried to remember what he knew of his parents. Diggs related how he'd served on the ''[[Space Warp]]'' under Terry's dad, the ship's captain, as well as the day of Terry's birth, on which he'd become separated by the life ship's activation. Diggs was pleased to find that the life ship's educational module had made the boy as bright as the 7th Sun of [[Nimrax]]. Unfortunately, Diggs' own recall was nowhere near as sharp, and as Terry asked for more answers, he encouraged the boy to travel to the [[Milk Toast Malt Shop]] on [[Asteroid 43KX]], where he could find [[Squink]], the ''Space Warp''{{'}}s retired radioman. After Diggs fixed up the engine, Terry thanked him for everything he'd done, and he and Robota set off for the deceptively-named drinks establishment. {{storylink|Some Answers}}
[[File:Planet Terry bad manners.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|left|]]
Terry was hopeful for some resolution when he and Robota landed on Asteroid 43KX. He touched the ship down within walking distance of the Milk Toast Malt Shop, but the next obstacle in their path was a moat infested with critters Terry identified as hungry [[Crocogater]]s. Gulping down his fear, Terry and Robota began the careful journey across the moat's log bridge. Their path was blocked by [[Omnus]], a fearsome alien that threatened that nothing got in his way. Terry stood up to Omnus, telling him that he had bad manners. Omnus swung for him, but when Terry ducked, the alien's momentum caused him to lose his balance, and he fell into the moat. When Omnus called for help, Robota dived in to the moat to rescue him, though she told him he didn't deserve it. Omnus took their names and sheepishly walked away, telling them he owed them one.
Line 30 ⟶ 31:
The pair were rescued by Omnus, who had come to return his favour. The three of them fled the malt shop with the unconscious body of Squink carried over Robota's shoulder. With the bar staff chasing after them with weapons, Terry had the idea to kick the log bridge loose from its moorings, trapping their pursuers on the other side of the Crocogater-infested waters. Omnus admitted that he was now Asteroid 43KX's public enemy, and asked if he good join Terry's crew for refuge... and because he started darn good fights. Terry accepted, and as they left the asteroid, he mused that he may not yet have found his parents, but with Robota and Omnus, he sure had found a family. {{storylink|Malt Shop Menace}}
Speeding through space, Terry was excited that he was closer to finding his parents than ever before; all they needed was for Squink to regain consciousness to give them more clues. Unfortunately, Squink was already up and had grabbed a blaster, drawing it on Terry and vowing that no one must learn the secret of the ''Space Warp''. Despite Terry imploring him that he was his only hope, Squink refused to answer any of his questions as Terry's father had blamed him for what had happened to the ship. Despite Robota's warnings of an incoming astro tornado, Squink grabbed a jet pack and jumped ship, his chances of survival slim.
[[File:Planet Terry close enough.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|]]
Terry's ship was tossed around by the astro tornado, and it landed on the [[Gorkel|world]] of the [[Gorkels]]. Their spiritual leader, the [[Wise One]], had the Gorkels throw a banquet for Terry and his friends, as they were "close enough" to fulfilling a prophecy from their [[Book of the Gorkels|holy book]]. The Wise One explained that it was foretold that alien creatures would arrive to save their beloved [[Princess Ugly|Princess<sub> (shudder) </sub>Ugly]] from her uncle, [[Vermin the Vile]], who had placed her under a sleeping spell. After consulting with his prized picture frame, and with encouragement from Omnus and Robota that they were a family that worked together, Terry accepted the mission of rescuing the princess, especially as the Wise One would reward their deed by repairing the ship and allowing him to continue his quest. After the Wise One told them the job would be a piece of cake, another Gorkel reminded him of the myriad dangers between their settlement and the far-off [[Domed City]], but Terry, Robota, and Omnus marched forward with a determined war cry of "close enough!" {{storylink|The Saga of Princess Ugly}}
Equipped with a [[vibro-compass]] to lead the way, Terry and his friends breached the impenetrable forest. Omnus ripped through the trees; Terry had to intervene when the alien suggested that Robota wasn't manly enough for the task. When they came across a cute parrot, Terry fed it a space cookie, and it flew away after thanking him. Unknown to the three of them, the parrot was actually the shapeshifting vulture [[Scavage]], who reported back to Vermin the Vile that the meddling interlopers were coming to rescue the princess. Using the [[Mayhem Maker]], Vermin observed Terry and friends and put a number of obstacles in their way.
The first obstacle was a patch of tickle vines, which ensnared Terry and Omnus and made them helpless with laughter. Robota proved immune to being tickled, and defeated the vines with her strength and her robot ray beam. Next, they were surprised when a sudden earthquake developed into an active volcano; Omnus protected his companions from danger by swinging them on a vine across the molten lava. Terry began to suspect that they were being deliberately impeded on their journey to the Domed City.
They next encountered a seemingly ordinary steam. Terry deployed an [[aqua-analyzer]], which told him that it was two feet deep and devoid of hostile life forms. As they waded through, Vermin transformed the stream into a strong whirlpool, and they were shot out of the vortex and into a bubble cell. They landed on the outskirts of the Domed City, visible now that Vermin had lifted the mist, and the evil uncle was there to personally greet them. Terry questioned him about why it was called the Domed City when it had no dome, but Vermin simply dismissed it as something probably written in the dumb book of the Gorkels. When Terry refused to recognise Vermin's authority over Princess<sub> (shudder) </sub>Ugly, Vermin placed them under arrest... and soon called attention to the fact that Robota was fainting from rapid onset rust. {{storylink|Too Close (Enough) for Comfort}}
As Vermin left them alone to brainstorm a suitably evil punishment for them, Terry and Omnus tended to Robota. Terry had the idea of running the bubble cell over the edge of the cliff, which had the intended result of bursting it. Finding themselves in a rocket graveyard, Terry and Omnus set about using grease to derust Robota. Once she was back in working order, Terry led his friends into the Domed City, unimpeded due to an unrelated malfunction affecting the Mayhem Maker.
Following the sounds of monstrous snoring, Terry entered the dungeon, where he demanded the [[Dungeon guard|guard]] release Princess<sub> (shudder) </sub>Ugly... and when the turn key was unconvinced, Omnus made a more persuasive and violent argument. Inside the cell, Terry was flabbergasted to find that Princess Ugly was, in fact, beautiful, though Robota responded "Only if you think beauty is beautiful!" with a scowl.
[[File:Planet Terry sleeping princess.jpg|thumb|left]]
Calling upon his knowledge of sleeping princesses, Terry gave Princess Ugly a kiss on the cheek, which did awaken her – only for her to slap him around the face and chew him out for kissing a girl he didn't even know. The dungeon guard led the celebrations now that the princess was awakened and Vermin deposed. While the crowd cheered, Terry asked a passer-by why the Domed City was so named if it had no dome. Correcting the man's suggestion that it was written in the book, Princess Ugly explained that it was due to the prophecy that once the evil spell was broken, the Mayhem Maker would go haywire and destroy the citadel – rather than the ''Domed'' City, it was the ''Doomed'' City. This was "close enough!" for its citizens, who scattered to escape.
Terry led his comrades to "borrow" a [[skimmer craft]] that was parked nearby, and they escaped the city just in time for the Mayhem Maker to explode, levelling the structure. The group returned to the Gorkels, who were overjoyed to be reunited with their precious princess – though the Wise One had been assured of their success thanks to the book. Princess Ugly shyly asked Terry to stay with her... er, them, but Robota dragged him away, reminding him of their mission. Terry told her that he had to resume the search for his parents and their ship, the ''Space Warp''. The Gorkels were astonished – the wreck of the ''Space Warp'' was nearby on Gorkel! {{storylink|The Doom of the Domed City}}
==Notes==
| |||