So, here I am, posting another prompt for you all. It's certainly been a long time, but I'm sure we all appreciate EW's efforts for continuing with them throughout what must have been a difficult time for her. So let's put our thinking caps on and come up with something to say Thank You for the commitment she's put in to keep these prompts going.

Just popped in for a second... to say "Thank you" to EW for the prompts -- and to KT for continuing her work!

And thank you too, DT, it's nice to know that your efforts, however small they may be, are appreciated.

[unrecoverable text]

OK, I first thought Stacey wanted to get Joe dressed, and I was wondering why anyone would want that, but she got her priorities right quickly.

Thanks to everyone who helps keep these BJs going.

DT: LOL KT: Joe's survival instincts are in full gear finally.

//"Hey, Jason, want to come to Princess's tonight? We're going to have a marathon Battlestar Galactica session. The new one. The one with Starbuck being a girl." Jason looked up from his magazine at Mark, who was standing by the door. "Thank you, but no thank you. I've got a date." "A date? Really? Should I call security?" smirked Mark. "Your last few dates had a...how can I call it...danger element." "Nah, I met this girl at the Snack J. And, by the way, she doesn't know I know you. Any of you. And let's keep it this way, ok?" "Suit yourself," shrugged Mark, and left. A couple of hours later, Jason's blonde-bombshell-of-the-week walked into his pad. After the greet-and-peck-on-the-cheek, she turned to him, all excited. "I've got the BEST idea for tonight! You'll never guess!" Jason could guess many things, but, prudently, didn't say anything. "You know my friend Princess, from the J? Well, her brothers and she are organising a Battlestar Galactica marathon, and she asked me if I'd like to join. I said no, initially, as we had a date, but I think it's such a cool idea! Let's go!" Suddenly, the idea of calling security didn't sound so bad.//

Gee, Jason can't catch a break with anything, huh?

DT: LOLOL poor Jason

Thank you for the kind words, KT! Now for my response! ========== "Doesn't that damned thing ever shut up?!" Roy, the chief mechanic on Jason's pit crew, grumbled through clenched teeth. "Hasn't happened yet." Jason replied. "Well, hopefully Grizz'll take care of that." Jason stepped past Roy and entered the prep area where three more mechanics surrounded 7-Zark-7. Well, at least he didn't wear that stupid helmet! Jason thought. "Aw, c'mon, Zark!" Joan pleaded, "There's nothing wrong -- " "What if I strain a triode while riding?" the robot replied, "I'm sure my ambulatory capability is more than satisfactory." "Jason, talk to him!" John, Joan's twin brother, sounded just as exasperated. G-Force's second glared at the mechanic. "Oh, Jason!" Zark chirped as his head rotated around to face the person he was addressing, "They want to wheel me out onto the stage as if I'm incapable of moving on my own!" Jason silently cursed; the last thing he needed was a bit of pre-programmed pride to sink his plan. What could he do to get Zark back on track? Inspiration came out of nowhere. "That's not the idea." he explained to the robot. "It's not?" "No. It's...uh...well, it's like in the ancient times when great people were carried around..." He silently cursed himself for floundering. "Oh!" Zark cried, "That's different!" Jason's jaw nearly hit the floor. It worked?!? "I'm so glad you cleared that up." the bot continued, "It's a shame the rest of the team isn't here --" "They're out in the audience. They don't know you're here -- " "Then I'd better let Mark know -- I'm sure he'd be quite upset that he wasn't informed that I'm away from my post!" "NO!" Jason cried. But then he regained his composure. "I wanted it to be a surprise." He could feel his heart pounding in his throat -- could he convince that bucket of bolts? "I don't understand." "Well, do you remember the other day, when I hand-delivered that report from Chief Anderson because the internal mainframe was down?" Jason struggled to keep his breathing at a calm rate. "Why, yes, of course I do." "Well," Jason could taste a little bit of bile as he said this, "when I saw you rehearsing your martial arts, I realized that nobody else knew of, let alone appreciated all your talents." When he saw Zark's crappy chops and pathetic kicks, Jason knew a cat riding a Roomba could clobber the annoying rustbucket. "Nobody realizes what a multifaceted...person you are." As soon as he said that, Jason vomited in his mouth a little. "And that's why you got me onto this talent show?" "Exactly! I can't think of a better way to drive home the point." He placed his hand on the robot's shoulder for emphasis. For just a brief moment, 7-Zark-7 was silent. "I suppose you're right. My, Jason, you've been especially thoughtful lately! Much better than your hotheaded self." "Thanks, Zark." Jason muttered. Then he added, "Look, I gotta get outta here before it's time for you to go on stage." With that, he quickly walked out. "Thank you, Jason!" Zark called. After a detour to the men's room to wash any hint of Zark off his hands, Jason made his way through the maze of people and equipment until he found the section where the rest of G-Force was sitting. Each of the other members noticed the feral grin on Jason's face. But, before anyone could say anything, an enormous, electronic voice shook the entire stadium. "Battlebots...activate! "

Lol, EW! That's simply perfect.

EW: Bad Jason! Bad! Well, okay, good idea, hehe.

I want to add my thanks to all (especially EW!) who have kept the Jar going! KT: Ah, yes, nothing like being in a fine hotel with someone else picking up the tab! Good to see that Joe and Stacy are taking full advantage of it, too! LOL DT: Isn't that always the way? Poor Jason! EW: I'm thinking Zark is going to be calling Jason more than hotheaded after this ... if there's anything left of him, that is!

Red Impulse pushed his seat back as far as it would go and popped open the glove compartment, banging his knees in the process.  Cursing under his breath, he began to rummage through its contents. "What are you looking for?" "Just keep your eyes on the road." "I am."  Out of the corner of her eye, she was surprised to see him unfolding a paper map.  "Why don't you just use your phone?" "I would if that were a regular car behind us," Red Impulse said, "but vans can carry more equipment and it's possible that they could trace us through a cell signal." "I thought that was a disposable phone." "It is, but if I use it now, they'll definitely be able to track the signal." "Oh.  Right."  She kept forgetting that the one distinct advantage of their wrist communicators was the fact that they used such high frequencies, most equipment couldn't trace it for the sole reason that they didn't go up that high.  Normal cell phones, however, were fair game. And he had used his right before the van appeared .... "Is your cell still turned on?" she asked, glancing into the mirror for the tenth time in as many seconds.  "If so, turn it off." "Thank you, dear."  His words were heavy with sarcasm, but she noticed that he stopped what he was doing with the map to fish his phone out of his pocket and turn it off.  Then he went back to looking through the glove compartment, ultimately pulling out a folded map.  It was not as detailed as he would have liked, showing only the major, more frequently traveled routes, but it was still better than nothing. "Let's see what this will tell us," he said out loud, giving a sideways look to the rearview mirror on his side.  Again, the van was no closer, but no further back either. Ahead, all Jun saw was open, empty road.  As Red Impulse unfolded the map, the small interior seemed to get even more cramped. "They're obviously expecting us to head back towards Reading, so we need to throw them off and go somewhere else." "Like?  In case you haven't noticed, there haven't been too many exits on this road." "I realize that," he replied dryly, "but that doesn't mean there can't be some small off-shoots at some point.  They aren't trying to run us off the road, so it is entirely possible that the van is just another vehicle on this road and not connected to Galactor or Parnell." Jun gave another quick look in the mirror.  She could see its day-running headlights holding steady behind her. "Then why don't they pass us?" "Probably because we're going so fast." "So should I slow down?" Jun waited as Red Impulse mulled this over.  The idea had merit; if it truly was as innocent as just an ordinary van on the road, unconnected to anything with Galactor, then it would pass them.  However, when the van first appeared, they were going the speed limit, more or less, and it had not passed them then.  Why not?  And then there was the fact that when Jun sped up, the van likewise increased its speed. "No," he said, pressing his lips into a thin line.  "Stay at this speed for as long as you can and we'll see if there's any other roads off of this one.  It can't remain straight forever." Jun simply nodded, concentrating on the road ahead and keeping the car straight in between glimpses in the mirror.  It did not seem that the van was getting any closer, but she wanted to be ready if they decided to make a move.  Her entire body practically trembled with tension in anticipation. "Have you seen any road markers?" he asked. Jun scanned the roadside as they roared by.  "Not recently.  Oh, wait -- I think I see something up ahead."  Jun locked her eyes onto the small green rectangle mounted on a steel post.  It flashed by in a heartbeat and it took Jun's mind a second to register what her eyes saw. "It said fifty-seven," she reported.  Red Impulse pursed his lips and frowned as he scrutinized the map.  "Here," he said, stabbing at the map with a forefinger.  "All right.  Here.  Looks like there's some sort of cross road about ten kilometers from here." Jun glanced into the mirror.  The van clung to them like a burr.  "Well, I'm willing to try it if you are." "That's the spirit." Jun gave a small snort.  Since she never knew exactly when he was being serious and when he was just being sarcastic, she decided to take everything he said as his way of being amusing.  So far, it was working. At least for her, it was. What was not amusing, however, was the way the van stayed with them.  Jun had seriously been hoping that it was simply a matter of two vehicles being on the same, straight, monotonous road together, traveling at about the same speeds, but the longer this went on, the more that hope faded. Fortunately, in the miles since they picked up the van, the tree line had crept in towards the road once again, so at certain curves and dips, the line of sight between them and the van disappeared.

Sounds like Jun may get to see how a car handles for stunt driving.

Originally posted by Daniella T OK, I first thought Stacey wanted to get Joe dressed, and I was wondering why anyone would want that, but she got her priorities right quickly.

My thoughts exactly! DT: Oooh, Mark's snarky sense of humor! Jason should ditch the blondes and date another haircolor! He's not having any luck with them. LOL. EW: Let's just hope Zark isn't expecting anymore niceties from Jason from now on! RIGirl: Man, Jun is just stuck on a never-ending roadtrip!

Redbird: But wait! There's more!

EW -- they were going to get Zark one day...and they did! RI girl -- If Red Impulse continues like this, Jun has every right to punch him! I'd be very frustrated being in a car with him.