The Ranger Coffeehouse

"Opening Night"

Chipper and Kuwani appeared outside the Coffeehouse. The (miniaturized) 
Tari was wearing a sleeveless, blue silk dress and the chipmunk was 
wearing his best suit. From the outside, the place reminded Chipper 
of his Treehouse.  Beside the main door stood Tom, the mechanical 
cat--who was closer to the size of a kitten than a cat at the moment. 
(Now Kuwani understood why Kat had borrowed TPL's shrink ray.) 
On the other side stood a small, white dragon who looked like Ruth from Pern.
Tom wished them, " Good e-e-evening."
To which Kuwani replied, "Yes, it -is- a good one." Chipper gave her an 
odd look and she returned an impish grin.
Reaching into his pocket, Chipper withdrew a coin and flipped it at the doormen.  
"Take good care of the car, gentlebeings."   
He held out his arm and Kuwani linked hers through it.  The door opened 
with a *Fsssst!* and the couple stepped through.
Tom looked over at his companion and wondered aloud, "B-b-but they teleported in..."  
The dragon just smiled and flipped the coin.

The walls and ceiling had a wooden look to them, as if they had been carved 
from a tree. A large Rescue Rangers symbol hung above the stage area.  
Countless tables and building-block chairs filled the dinning area. 
There weren't many small animals there, but the night was still young. 
Tammy and Wescott sat at a table near the stage, across the room, where a 
band composed of small rodents played a catchy tune (see "Ranger Coffeehouse
Theme"). Several tables away, Dr. O'Connor was sipping from a coffee cup.  
Chip Maplewood and a chipmunk in a suit (Erick Rosewood) seemed to be having 
a good time. Foxglove, Dale, and Magnolia were eating dinner. 
Another Foxglove and Dale (wearing pants) walked by and waved to Wescott and Tammy. 
The two squirrels waved back and a waiter (carrying a coffee pot) approached 
their table. The waiter was a gray mouse, who -might- have been a member of 
the Cola Cult at one time. He placed two coffee cups on the table.  
Wescott shook his head and pulled his own mug, seemingly from out of thin air, 
and presented it. Even from where Kuwani was standing she could see that the 
large (the squirrel equivalent of a "Big Gulp") mug was golden. The waiter 
shrugged and then poured the coffee.
Chipper saw it, too. "What's up with that?" he asked his companion.
"His special mug." she told him. "It has his name embossed on it. He must have 
ordered roast Kenya AA."
Chipper gave her a puzzled look.
"That's his favorite blend--and the -only- thing he puts in THAT mug." Kuwani explained.
Chipper gave her his "whatever" look and thought, "Wescott must really love his coffee."

 A few tables away, a female mouse with brown hair and eyes (who you might recognize 
as Silvia if you've been to TAOGH) was talking to Gadget (daughter of Geegaw and 
Helen Hackwrench, that is). Near the center of the room, Lawhiney and Shake'a Bake'a 
seemed to be conversing with Lawainee Lait (whose arm was in a cast), Gidget, and 
Alex McDougal.
"I'll bet Kat's happy to have the dastardly duo out of her Lair--and her hair!" 
thought Kuwani with a grin. 
Chipper was about to ask Kuwani why she was grinning, when an electric-blue jacket 
appeared in front of him. The jacket had a purple name-tag pinned to it which said 
(in day-glo orange letters), "My Name Is: The Phantom Lord". 
Seconds later, the rest of TPL was visible.
"Kuwani! You made it!" he exclaimed enthusiastically.
"Of course, silly! You know I wouldn't miss opening night!" she replied as she feigned 
annoyance. "This is Chipper. He's a Jedi chipmunk."
Chipper held out his paw. "So, you're the one who put the silver archway in Kat's 
Workshop, right?"
"Yeah, that's me. I have arches all over space and time."
"I have to admit, TPL, the place looks nice." commented Kuwani.
"Thanks. Shall I give you the 'nickel tour'?"
The Tari mage looked at Chipper.
"Okay; sure." replied Chipper, uncertainly.
"This is the main room--complete with bar, stage, state of the art lighting and sound, 
and video wall." TPL gestured toward the wall, which was showing an Iron Goose music video.

TPL pushed open a set of double swinging doors and they entered the kitchen.  
It was a large kitchen which contained an industrial stove (with an induction 
cook-top), a hot plate, a wok, a pizza oven, an automatic ultra-sonic dishwasher, 
several counters which had many drawers, a large refrigerator and an even larger 
freezer. It was quite impressive; so was the cook. She was a tall mouse with 
red hair. As she turned toward the group who had dared to enter her domain, 
they saw that she bore an uncanny resemblance to Gadget.
"What are you...?!? Oh. Hello, TPL," was her response as she gazed at the group 
with her dark, almost forest green, eyes. She stirred the contents of a large pot. 
Then she dumped rice from a smaller pot into a wooden bowl, added some soy sauce, 
and began to separate the clumps.
"Hi, Gizmo. I'm just showing off the place." declared TPL.
"Gizmo?!?" Chipper asked, confused.
"One of Gadget's sisters. She's able to cook and manage the place full-time, 
ince her Writer wrote her out of his series. Excellent cook, by the way." explained Kuwani.
Confusion, which tonight seemed to be his dominant expression, was once again 
written on Chipper's face.  "But I thought Gadget's sister was Widget."
"Silly," replied Kuwani.  "You know that there are many different dimensional 
versions around here.   Why, you and Chip Maplewood are virtually identical 
biologically except for the Jedi thing, but you personalities are different.  
Though if you want to see Widget, she might be in later if she can find a sitter 
for Gimcrack."
"Oh." Chipper said.  "I knew that."   He made a mental note that sometimes it's 
better to not ask.  Then he smiled dashingly and addressed the redhead.
"Hello, Gizmo."
"Hello." the mouse replied, with her back to him, as she finished preparing some sushi.
Chipper's smile dropped when he saw that his dashing grin was being wasted on her 
backside.  Not that Gizmo's backside was unpleasant to look at…
Fortunately TPL continued the tour, "Now if you'll follow me, I'll show you the 
convention center."
"Convention center?!? I didn't see -that- in the plans!" declared Kuwani as they 
left the kitchen.
"Well, Gadget and I modified the blueprints a bit." he explained.
"Um, how much is 'a bit' TPL?" Kuwani asked, uncertain if she -really- wanted to know.
TPL pulled a roll of blue plastic out of a pocket.  He unrolled it and pressed an icon 
on one of the edges; plans appeared.  The three studied the blueprints.
"I see you and Gadget got a little carried away..." understated Kuwani.
Chipper scanned over the plans.  "Wow, looks like you've got just about everything 
except a Jacuzzi and a zero-G dance floor," he joked.
 "The Jacuzzi is out back," replied TPL, "But a zero-G dance floor. Hmmmmm."  
TPL started looking thoughtful.
Gadget, who had stepped out of the Control Room for a few moments, walked by and 
noticed that TPL was studying the blueprints.  She stopped and examined the plans.
"What's all this?" asked Gadget, pointing to a column of notes down one side.
"Ok, that's just some preliminary ideas for the theater." answered TPL.
"Theater?!  You were going to put in a theater and didn't even tell me?!?" 
growled Gadget, getting worked up.
"Well, yeah, but then I realized Caprice and the rest of the Nut Squad won't be 
able to perform here." muttered TPL.
"Why not?" asked the mouse.
"Because her Writer likes to keep a tight continuity, and since her characters 
are a big part of her continuity, she doesn't let them go outside their universe." 
Explained the energy-based entity.
"Oh.  That would explain it." Gadget commented.
Kuwani looked around for a distraction and found it when the door opened.  
A large group entered. A dark gray cat with light gray paws followed Sewernose 
to a nearby table.  Gadget and a gray mouse came in next. The gray mouse had 
black hair and was dressed in a black jacket and pants. His shirt was green. 
The couple found a table near the stage.
Kuwani pulled out a scroll and looked at it. She check the scroll and mumbled, 
"That would have to be Shadow. So, Mittens must be the cat." The Tari looked 
back toward the door in time to see another mouse couple enter the main room.  
The female was an albino with gray hair; she was dressed all in black. The male 
wore some sort of dress naval uniform.
"Well, it looks like Widget and Jurgen found a sitter." commented the Jedi.
"Sure does." Kuwani replied as she grinned and put away the scroll.
TPL put his blueprints away. His mind locked not on the mouse but on her l
eft arm, "Now, that's one fine bit of work." he declared. "I'll have to talk 
to her later."
Kuwani grinned impishly, "Flirting with a -married- woman, TPL?  You sure know 
how to live dangerously!"
"I was referring to her arm. For something purely mechanical, it's quite 
brilliant." replied TPL absently, still studying the movements of the arm. 
The door opened again and a miniaturized mountain lion strolled inside, 
followed by two mice and a rat. The first one was a tall, gray mouse who 
wore a black cloak.  A scar ran down the right side of his face.  The other mouse 
was shorter and slightly chubby.  Kuwani brought out her scroll and checked it.
"Leviathan.  So, the guy with him is probably Don.  Hmm.  It's interesting to 
note how many non-villains here like to wear black." commented Kuwani as the 
scroll vanished.  "Perhaps I should start wearing -black- samite tunics?"
"I think you look better in blue--it goes so well with your eyes." declared Chipper.
"But I thought you liked my purple outfit." commented Kuwani.
"I do." Chipper said with a dashing grin.
The mountain lion sat down at the bar, near the cappuccino machine.  The rat also 
sat at the bar, but not close to the mountain lion. 
Leviathan & Don found a table. 
"Hmm. I hope Hawnurra can behave himself." declared the Tari.
"Oh, he'll be fine." replied TPL. "He'll probably hang out at the bar all night & 
talk to the cappuccino machine." (Which would probably talk back, knowing TPL.)
Kuwani & Chipper laughed as they imagined that. The Jedi then noticed that the 
door was still open. "Mechanical failure?" he wondered. Just as he was about to 
say something about the door, a smoke bomb bounced through it.
Everyone stopped talking and stared, not quite knowing what to expect. 
Then Lawhiney asked (very loudly), "Did someone invite Darkwing Duck?!?"
The main spotlight flashed on and shone toward the cloud of smoke.  
A hook with a line attached to it snagged a rafter. Less than a second later, 
a figure in a black trenchcoat swung through the air. A gray hand released the line 
and a gray, squirrel tail became visible as the figure performed a triple somersault 
and landed on the stage, with the spot tracking him the whole time. Most of the 
crowd applauded.
Kuwani grinned impishly. "Hey, Bandit!" she shouted. "That was -almost- as flashy 
as your exits!"
The gray squirrel pushed up his dark-colored goggles, bowed, and smiled broadly.  
"Service with a smile!" he shouted back.  Then he added, "What's with the light?!?". 
The light blinked once and vanished. Satisfied, the Smiling Bandit pulled his fedora 
out of his pocket, donned it, then jumped off the stage in search of a table in a 
nice, dark corner.
"I just HAD to pick the lighting computer with a theatrical streak!" TPL muttered, 
then looked puzzled. "I don't remember giving the Smiling Bandit an invitation."
Kuwani laughed. "You didn't. -I- did."
"Oh. That would explain it." replied the energy-based entity.
Chipper leaned over to his date and whispered, "I've never met this Smiling Bandit 
before, but he looks like somebody on the side of truth and justice.
Kuwani replied, "Well, he's more like Gambit or Robin Hood--a thief with a conscience.  
He'll usually steal from villains, like Fat Cat for example."
"Well, I think I'll go over and introduce myself," continued Chipper.  "We might 
have some interesting stories to swap."  He then kissed Kuwani on the cheek and 
wandered over to the dark corner that the Smiling Bandit had faded into. 
TPL watched Chipper walk toward the shadowy corner.  The energy-based entity then 
turned toward Kuwani, as though he wanted to say something.  Instead, he sat down 
and just looked at her.  The Tari mentally debated whether or not to force the issue.  
“You don’t have much experience with women, do ya TPL?”  she finally asked.
“About as much as Gadget does with guys.” TPL confessed.
Kuwani nodded.  “It doesn’t take a telepath to figure out what’s on your mind.  
You’ve been waiting all night for Chipper to leave me alone for a few minutes, right?”
The Phantom Lord nodded. “Ever since that first transmission, I’ve felt drawn to you.”
“I have that effect on guys.” she replied with an impish grin and a wink.  
She stopped grinning and inquired, “Seriously, though; exactly -how- drawn?”
“Very.” he replied.
“The fact that I physically resemble Gadget _might_ account for that.” declared Kuwani.
TPL frowned, “It’s not -just- your looks.”
The Tari looked at him thoughtfully.  “Do you realize that I could have easily been 
like Lawhiney?  Do you know that my initial reasons for learning magic were selfish ones?”
“But something obviously made you change your mind.  You aren’t like Lawhiney.” 
TPL commented.
“Point taken.” Kuwani replied.  “But my point is that you don’t know me very well.”
“I’d like to remedy that.” TPL said with a grin.
The Tari looked at him thoughtfully.  “You know there’s something between Chipper 
and me, right?”
TPL looked crestfallen.  “Yeah.” he sighed.  “But I was wondering if there was 
something between -us-.”
“I wouldn’t feel right exploring that ‘til I figure out what I have with Chipper.” 
she responded.
TPL nodded slowly and replied, "I see."  With that he stood up and walked into the 
control room; the door closed behind him.
Kuwani watched TPL leave and decided not to follow.   
"Gadget is in there, anyway." she said to herself, knowing that a good debate 
with Gadget over some small technical matter always cheered him back up.
Kuwani looked toward the bar and saw two mouse girls talking to Hawnurra.  
One looked almost identical to Gadget and wore a white T-shirt and purple 
overalls.  Her purple bracelets were the same shade as the overalls.  
The other girl had brown eyes and darker fur.  Otherwise, she resembled the 
first mouse girl.  
"When did Widget and Grace come in?" the Tari asked, perplexed.  She didn't realize 
she had spoken aloud until a passing dragon replied, "Them?  Oh, they came in 
before Wescott."  Seeing that further explanation was necessary, he continued, 
"They were working on a class project which involved setting up a connection 
to the IDWW, so TPL let them connect one of the Coffeehouse's terminals."
"IDWW?" inquired the mage.
"Inter-Dimension Wide Web."  answered the red dragon.  "Part of Glacta-Net." 
he clarified.  The Tari still looked confused.  "Um, ask TPL or Kat to 
explain it to you sometime.  Oh, that reminds me; is Kat coming?"
"I'm not sure.  She said something about it not seeming right since she's 
from a Marvel universe instead of a Rescue Ranger universe." explained the Tari.
"Oh, really?  Excuse me, I need to ask the boss about something." The dragon said 
in a slightly annoyed manner before he left.  Kuwani thought she heard him mumble 
something about Kat and her computer being turned on.
Kuwani shrugged and wandered toward the bar.  Grace Gigabyte and Widget Bernouli 
were sitting next to Hawnurra.  
"What are you girls doing?  Are you bothering this poor gentleman?" Kuwani inquired, 
nearly choking on the word "gentleman".
The blue-eyed mouse (Widget) replied, "Oh, we were just talking to the 
cappuccino machine."
"And telling Hawnurra here that he should try the decaf Hazelnut Hurricane." 
quipped the brown-eyed mouse.
"Hey, Widget.  There's someone I think you should meet." suggested the Tari.
"Who?" asked the blue-eyed mouse.
"Is he cute?" asked the brown-eyed mouse.
"Not a -he-, Grace." clarified Kuwani.
"Oh, darn!" declared Grace with mock irritation.
Kuwani led the girls toward the table where the albino was sitting.
Kuwani had been looking forward to this. "Widget, meet Widget."
The older mouse extended her right paw. "I don't believe I know you...?"
"Hence the word, 'meet'," the younger mouse said with a grin, extending her paw. 
"I'm Widget Bernouli," the younger mouse continued, as she shook paws, "one of 
Gadget's great-granddaughters."
The albino mouse smiled back. "Widget Hackwrench.  I am one of Gadget's potential sisters."
"From the Nowak continuity." added Kuwani. 
Both Widgets looked at the Tari.
"Um, nevermind." said Kuwani.
"Mechanical?" asked Grace.
"Excuse me?" asked Widget H, face neutral.
"Your arm.  Is it mechanical?" Grace clarified her question.
"Gra-a-ace!  You're rude!" admonished Widget B.
 Widget H. lifted her eyebrows and touched her left arm self-consciously. 
"You noticed?"
"No," Grace said with a quick shake of her head.  "I heard about it.  
My cousin here also wears a prosthetic."
"Grace!" snarled Widget B.
Widget H. looked back at Widget B. "Maim stories," she said with a shrug.
Widget B. choked back a laugh. Kuwani looked confused and Widget H. explained, 
addressing her comments to the Tari. "When you're missing a body part and you 
meet someone new, half the time they start talking about their third cousin's 
best friend's sister who lost three fingers in a freak bowling accident. Maim stories."
Grace looked uncomfortable and Widget B. reflexively acted to defend her. "I'm sorry, 
potential great-grandaunt," Widget B. said, "Grace and I tease each other a lot."
"I don't suppose you'd let me examine it, huh?" Grace added, hoping to at least get 
a look at said appendage. 
Kuwani flinched.
Widget H. got a glazed look in her eyes and seemed to shake it off as an act of will. 
"Great-granddaughter," she mused. "So there's at least a forty-year gap?"
"Closer to sixty," Widget B. said, seating herself.  She raised her left arm and 
rotated it at the wrist in a full, 360-degree circle. "A fluid with variable viscosity." 
Widget looked startled. "Modifiable inter-atomic forces? A solid that changes shape?" 
 "Exactly," Widget B. nodded. "My great-grandmother invented it while she was trying 
to build the perfect toothpick."  
Grace began to laugh and Widget B. joined her.  Widget H. looked, perplexed, at Kuwani.  
The Tari just shrugged.
"Just kidding." Widget B. managed to get out between giggles.  "Inside joke." 
"Actually, her grandmother invented it quite by accident." explained Grace.
"I couldn't help overhearing discussion involving inter-atomic forces." commented 
TPL, who seemed to have popped up at the table from out of nowhere.
"Did a red dragon come into your control room ?" asked Kuwani.
"Yes, and I had a chat with Kat." he replied.
"Um, why were you talking to my Writer?" asked Grace.
"Not Kat the Writer, Kat the character." clarified TPL.  "She said that Jason Briggs 
had talked her into it, so they'll drop by later with Psycoke and a few friends.  
Now, back to inter-atomic forces.  Gadget and I were just debating atomic 
instabilities in relation to changing..."
This conversation was flying way over Kuwani's head, so she excused herself and 
mumbled, "I hope she's not bringing Wolverine.  He'll be at the bar all night 
if she does."  As the Tari looked around for Gadget, she observed another group 
entering the Coffeehouse.  
A gray, rabbit girl walked inside.   She had blonde hair, green eyes and was 
wearing blue shorts and a white tank top.  She looked around, saw Chip, and dashed 
toward the chipmunk.  A sexy mouse woman with black hair took a puff on her 
cigarette and entered.  She was escorted to the smoking area by one of the 
blue dragons (not Electra).  A female badger reluctantly entered.  She looked 
around the coffeehouse cautiously and slowly walked around the place. 
Bringing up the rear was a dragon who looked suspiciously like Mushu (from "Mulan").  
He was wearing a bus driver's cap and he carried a large bag toward the kitchen.  
This reminded the Tari that she was slightly hungry.  
While she walked back toward her table, she overheard Lawhiney talking to Gadget.
"Hey, Gadget.  I was wondering if I could check my e-mail from here..."
"Sure, you can." replied Gadget as she sat down. "Watch."
Gadget put her paw on a slightly raised bit near the center of the building block 
and pressed.  There was a faint "click".  Gadget withdrew her paw as a small 
section of the wooden top slid away to reveal a faintly glowing screen.  
Gadget tapped it and it displayed:

--The Dragon Planet--
Main Computer Network
Node: 77640639
Welcome, Gadget
Please select an option...

An impressive Dragon Planet logo and a menu with cute dragon-themed icons were 
visible from where Kuwani was standing.  Curious, the Tari stopped and watched.  
Gadget hit the button next to the "Glacta-net" option and the screen changed 
to a "Welcome to Glacta-net" page.
"There." declared Gadget as she rose from her seat, "You're connected now.  
Just remember to put '.Earth' at the end of any Earth address."
Lawhiney examined the panel.  Instead of a separate keyboard and screen, 
the two seemed to be merged into one.  
Seeing Lawhiney's confusion, Gadget reached over and tapped her finger on the panel.  
The top edge of the panel projected a 3D-holoscreen.  The panel also reformed into 
a QWERTY keyboard with slightly raised keys.  Lawhiney looked at the new setup 
and quickly figured it out.  Gadget left and headed toward the Control Room.  
Kuwani returned to her table to find Chipper waiting for her.
	Chipper was eating something Kuwani didn't recognize.  To his left, 
there was a sushi plate and a glass.  "I took the liberty of ordering diner.  
Hope you don't mind." He explained as he gestured toward the plate and the 
empty seat.
Kuwani sat down in the building block chair to Chipper's left and replied, 
"No.  I was getting hungry anyway.  How'd you know I wanted sushi?"
"Ancient Jedi secret." He answered with a grin.  "Well, that and the way you 
eyed the sushi Gizmo was preparing in the kitchen earlier."
While they ate their meal, the main door opened and a group of  (mouse-sized) 
humans entered.  If you've read "Extended Vacation", you might recognize 
the youngest as Jason Briggs, a 14-year-old AIA agent who had an unusual 
encounter with the Rescue Rangers.  The girl with cat-like ears was Kat T'Shober 
and the furry, blue man next to her was Kurt Wagner (a.k.a. Nightcrawler).  
The woman wearing a white gi (and "psycho-dellic" tie) was Psycoke (who 
appeared in "Excessive Farce") and the cajun (wearing a trenchcoat) was 
none other than Gambit.  
TPL came up to greet them and then escorted them to another area.  
Kuwani grinned impishly when she noticed that Wolverine wasn't with them.
Kuwani shook her head.  “Why am I not surprised that Kat and Jason showed up 
in blue jeans?”
Chipper replied, “Because that’s what they normally wear?  At least they 
-finally- showed up.”
Wescott and Faith (the gray rabbit girl) took to the stage, accompanied by a 
set of Rescue Rangers (which included Foxglove and the Dale who wore pants).  
Wescott took the microphone.  Tammy readied her acoustic guitar Claw (a wolf 
cub Wescott had adopted) joined the group (with his bass guitar) while Faith 
checked out the drums. Dale and Foxy held their horns ready, even though they 
were just doing background vocals for the first number.
The audience was treated to their unique renditions of "Love Shack" and 
"Love Potion #9".  During their third number, TPL popped up at Chipper’s table.
“Hey, Kuwani!  Do you want to help me with the fireworks?” asked the energy-based entity.
“Fireworks?” asked Chipper.
“What would opening night be without fireworks?” TPL responded.
“Pretty boring.” replied Kuwani, “Sure, I’ll help.  They had such a magnificent 
display at Shadowdale once and it gave me a few ideas.”
“Er, well I hadn’t planned on generating the display -magically-...", TPL explained 
as they stepped out back, toward what looked like an open-air barge full of crates.  
They climbed aboard it.
“Incendiaries!  Cool!” exclaimed the Tari while TPL hit some buttons on a panel.  
The barge levitated and moved away from the Coffeehouse.
“That’s one word I wouldn’t associate with rockets, Kuwani.” quipped Chipper as 
he examined the crates.  Most of them were criss-crossed with labels saying 
“Danger”, “Caution” and “Explosives”.
“Um, TPL, are these safe?” inquired the Jedi chipmunk.
“Sure!  Don’t worry; there’s nothing over 2 megatons here” replied TPL while 
looking back, “except for those there.” he pointed to three tall crates that 
were neatly labeled “WARNING!!  Anti-Plasma missiles!”
“Anit-Plasma missiles??  Just -what- are they?” asked Kuwani, who wouldn’t 
know anti-plasma from anti-matter, anyway.
“Oh. just something that the Federation, Imperial Empire or Humanx Commonwealth 
would give just about anything to get their claws on.” smiled TPL, who seemed 
very proud at the moment.  “Their full name is actually “implosive, recurring, 
anti-plasma, induction missiles”.  Just one of those babies is capable of splitting 
a planet clean in half”
Chipper shuddered, Kuwani looked pensive, and TPL just smiled.  “But with a few 
modifications they make the most spectacular fireworks display you’ll ever likely to see.”
“But are they -safe-?” Chipper asked once more.
“Sure they are.”  TPL paused for a second and looked thoughtful.  “Well, I’ve 
never -actually- tried them out yet. I’ve only just finished them.” he explained.
Chipper suddenly looked quite unwell.
“Aw, Chipper, it’ll be fine.  Even if something -does- go wrong, TPL is a master 
of space & time.  He could just move the planet or put up a containment field or 
several other things to prevent mass destruction.” declared Kuwani.  
Chipper did not look relieved.
After everything was in place, Chipper crossed his fingers while TPL launched 
the rockets.   The sky was soon lit  with multi-colored showers of light.  
"So far, so good." commented Chipper as he sat down beside Kuwani.  
"Yeah," replied Kuwani, "A nice show so far.  I -love- fireworks!"
TPL rubbed his hands and grinned like the Cheshire cat.  "Now for the anti-plasma 
rockets!"
Chipper closed his eyes as TPL pressed a large, red button on the control panel.  
The missiles launched with a loud roar and sped through the sky.  When Chipper 
opened his eyes, he saw the most spectacular array of multi-colored lights.
"Wow!" was the only thing he could say.  Kuwani nodded and hugged the Jedi.
TPL jumped up and hopped around while hooting and cheering.  "YES!  It worked!" 
the energy-based entity declared, "And it didn't level the planet, either!"  
He resumed his hopping and hooting.
The magnificent fireworks display was visible through the coffeehouse's skylight.  
Thanks to TPL's video feed, it also appeared on the video wall.   And since the 
planet stayed in one piece, opening night was considered a success.

END (?)


Special "ThanX" to Eddie for letting me use his characters and providing feedback.
Special "Thanx" to Chipper for correcting a few minor things and for letting me use
the Jedi chipmunk like this. ;)
Special "Thanx" to TheBoz for helping me with some of the dialogue & making
all of this possible.