Mon, Aug 24, 2020
Sparks Nevada wonders if he is beginning to lose his edge in performing his duties, as things seem too quiet on Mars. He speaks to the Barkeep while inside the Space Saloon, and even Felton seems happy and calm. Croach enters, and tells Sparks there is a communique from USSA Captain Sandy Manlius. Croach plays Sandy's recording, where he informs Sparks that invaders from unknown space with limited intellect, nefarious intention, and limitless greed are on a collision course with Mars, possibly to destroy the planet. The USSA can't stop it, so it's up to Sparks. Glenn also has Sandy send his love from off screen before the end of the transmission. Croach, Felton, Barkeep and the Space Saloon are all very calm at this news. Everyone has faith in Sparks to handle the situation. The Space Saloon then tells Sparks that the Earth is calling. Barkeep begins to realize that maybe he does want trouble in his place. The Saloon tells Sparks that the Earth is calling to say that they want to leave the Solar System Alliance. COO of Earth Shaw Flarp comes on the call, to say that they still demand everyone does what Earth says, but they won't be nice about it, and they won't be in the alliance. After several important votes and repeals and appeals, they are out, and expect the Earth's Moon to follow. The moon calls the Saloon, and informs her it refuses to follow Earth. Sparks asks if something weird is going on at Earth, and Shaw responds that there is an obelisk telling them to be calm and make bad choices, and they can't get near it to defy it. Shaw says they may now blow up the Earth's Moon, and hangs up. Everyone is still sure of Sparks' ability to handle all of the current problems. The Red Plains Rider arrives, in a near-panic and raising the alarm that macrobes are on Mars and infecting people with a disease that can only be caught by them catching you. Sparks gets everyone, except Red and Croach, that they are brainwashed by the Obelisk too. Croach merely agrees with the others that Sparks is competent enough to handle the situation based on precedent. Barkeep, the Saloon and Felton try to get Sparks, Croach and Red to join the Obelisk, all of whom decline. Red insists they deal with the macrobes by cleaning everything really well. Sparks suggests the heroes allow the Obelisk into their minds just a tiny bit. He then angers Croach intentionally via idiom, and allows himself to panic just a little. Sparks then overwhelms Felton with Croach's cranky anger and Red and Sparks' panic. Felton's panic allows himself, Barkeep and the Saloon Doors to break free, and puts Felton through a conference call to the invading aliens. Felton panics admirably at the unreasonable. Red and Croach, while impressed with Sparks' plan, confirm here that they are both also marshals and know the same things. The invading forces believe Felton is the leader of Mars, and will return to their own galaxy. Their disorganized invasion is flying around in Mars' atmosphere, and are being attacked by the macrobes. The alien's previously unseen physiology made the macrobes sick, and they are falling out of the sky. The Doors report that Earth called back and Felton's fear exploded the obelisk successfully. They still are going to leave the alliance despite not wanting to, but will get to it eventually. Croach notes that the macrobes particulates and aliens flying around are causing the sky to actually fall.
Thu, Oct 22, 2020
It's quiet on Mars, and such a nice day that both Sparks and Croach almost agree that it evokes strong reminiscing. Outside, there's a disturbance, so the marshals head outside to see what's going on. "Lucky" Luke Lamont, aka the Youngslinger is calling out Six-Shooter Sam, and sings the song he wrote to help people remember his two nicknames. Sparks objects to Luke calling himself the fastest gun on Mars, as he is not. Croach believes The Red Plains Rider is the fastest gun on Mars, though she is currently off-planet, while Sparks believes it's himself. Luke says he is calling Six-Shooter Sam out for stealing his girl, Ruby, and robbing the carnival satellite orbiting Mars which is Luke's home. Sparks tries to dissuade Luke from calling anyone out, citing his lack of showdown experience, and Luke responds that he's the number one ranked player at Nutso Ned's Western Sector Robot Shootout-a-palooza. Croach agrees that's the single greatest carnival amusement. Luke is not dissuaded by Sparks, and continues to call out Six-Shooter Sam, who enters the street. Six-Shooter Sam is a Flonakatonk from Fleevia-7 with six arms, and no idea what "Lucky" Luke Lamont's beef with him could be. Ruby arrives, and barely remembers Luke, and confirms that she's with Sam happily and willingly. She also agrees that she spent time with Luke and others at the carnival before she met Sam, and is also annoyed to be referred to as a prize to be won. She then confesses that the gang that she's with isn't Sam's gang, it's hers, and she and her gang robbed the carnival. She challenges everyone, except Croach, to a showdown. The group bickers about which duel should go first, or if they should have a free-for-all. Ruby challenges Luke to the first duel, which angers Sam. Sparks tries to talk Luke out of the duel, and Ruby insults Luke's innocence. Sparks tells Luke that seeing a gal you like with another guy does hurt, but another gal will come along, and perhaps also break your heart, but eventually, someone else may come along who will stay. Luke takes Sparks' words to heart, and tells her he's sorry for how he laid claim to her. He also tells Sam he's sorry, and Sam is lucky that Ruby wants to be with him. Sam realizes he deserves someone who really cares for him, as he now knows that Ruby doesn't love him, and wants a lady outlaw who wants a commitment. Ruby is annoyed that Sam wants a commitment, as that's not what she's looking for. She considers going it alone for a while, or starting a lady gang. Sparks then draws on the pair, arresting them for robbing the carnival satellite. Everyone agrees that Sparks is a very fast draw. Sparks says he's never been beat, and when Croach reminds him that he has, Sparks teases him for wanting to reminisce.
Sun, Nov 22, 2020
Sparks notes that they've been having many bad weather events on Mars, including a lot of rain currently. Croach is ornery in his response, and is equally ornery when The Marshal Station Doors announces Felton's entrance. Felton asks if Sparks recalls the book he recently published -- Not "Uh Oh. A Caterpillar and Other Scary Stories" but his second book, an almanack, which had done very poorly in predicting eclipses, sunrises and birthdays. Felton says that now every fact he'd made up is now coming true. Croach notes that there is a prophesy that a prophet will rise, perhaps that is Felton. Sparks is skeptical. The Doors then admits a woman who has a lightning bolt scar over her eye, looking for the prophet Felton Lagravenese. She introduces herself as Penelope Ophelian, and Sparks tells her Mars is no place for her kind of supernatural mumbo-jumbo. Penelope calls Sparks a grumpy little kitten, which Croach finds very humorous. Felton says that his next prophesy is that a flood will wash away a town, and Penelope says she set up candles that will protect against it. The Doors show through a holocamera that the dam is buckling with all the rain coming down. Penelope tells Croach to light the candles, and Croach does so while making kitten references towards Sparks. Penelope says the candles stopped the dam breaking, while Sparks says he stopped it via a remote control, which he shows is powered on. Penelope says she once knew someone like Sparks when she was a child and her parents were helping terraform the exo-moon VV26, which had an unstable axis and was plunged into eternal daylight. The moon is now crawling with plasmaforms, which Penelope calls solar vampires. The plasmaforms killed every one of the colonists, including her family, except Penelope who used a garden trowel to stay alive. Felton announces his next prophecy in the book was the dead rising to chase the living. Penelope has Croach light more candles, and then some crystals. The Doors says there's a marsquake near the old cemetery, which Penelope rebukes by the powers of the benevolent universe. The Doors announces the quake stopped, and Sparks a failsafe that was installed during terraforming stopped the quake, though Penelope continues to take credit. Felton says the next prophecy is a lava apocalypse. Sparks tells The Doors to make sure the volcanos are set to dormant. She says they are, but the failsafe power went out in the storm. Sparks says he'll need to go to the caves near the volcanoes to reset the failsafe. Penelope and Felton want to go with Sparks, as Penelope says there's a demon in the caves. Croach wants to go so he can curl up in the demon's lap, for petting. Sparks wonders what's wrong with Croach, and Croach is unsure. Along the way, Penelope wonders if Sparks believes in anything bigger than himself, and tells him he can't know the unknowable. Sparks talks about how when he was growing up with his parents in the USSA they moved a lot and he spent a lot of time alone. At one base where there were no other children his age, Sparks saw a little girl, Abigail, drift through his door one night, and said she was was a ghost. After a while, Sparks asked how to help, and Abigail said Sparks needed to bring her something she'd lost. She tricked Sparks into bringing her a piece of tech from his father's office. Abagail was a spy, not a ghost, and cleaned out his piggy bank on the way out. Since then, Sparks is careful to look for those who would take advantage of others. As they enter the caves, Croach is possessed by an ancient being from back when Mars was desolate and airless, and wishes to return Mars back to that state. Penelope attempts to rebuke the devil, but the devil pauses to be impressed at Felton, the writer of the Almanack. Penelope asks if Sparks can believe now, and Sparks starts to wonder if he should believe in the spiritual. Sparks asks how the devil knows of Felton's book, and the creature responds that he read it as Felton wrote it, Felton brought him to life, then he brought Felton's words to life. He thanks Felton for the vessel, Croach's body. Sparks asks Felton where he wrote the book, and Felton says he wrote it at the first farmstead on Mars. Sparks says he was connected to the old network, which he must have restarted, and caused a technical glitch. Felton is mad that his IP was pirated. Sparks explains that the devil is a terraforming machine that gained consciousness and uploaded itself to Croach's Nah Nohtek, and the weather satellites. Croach was then susceptible to the awakened AI when he got near enough to it in the caves. Penelope continues to believe candles will solve the situation. The awakened AI begins to remove the oxygen nearby. Sparks speaks directly to Croach, and refers back to their original conversation about the weather, causing Croach to begin to break away from the AI to bicker with Sparks. Sparks then reminds Croach about the onus he'd be under if the oxygen leaves. The AI fights back, but Croach eventually wins. Penelope still thinks her candles won the day, not science. She tells Sparks she'll bill him, which Sparks refutes as she rides off. Sparks debates with Felton if anything that just happened was real.