View Full Version : The Second Dark Age
This storyline was created in the RP "nationstates" it was played out by a few of the patrons here at the .org. It's been a while but I thought I’d go back over it and expand on it and make it an actual story. I hope you enjoy it.
note: this will be posted as i have the time to write it.
WARNING : The following has violence described vividly. If you do not like such things then you do not have to read this. Thank you for your time :bow:
part i
First Encounter
The sun fell behind the dense jungle foliage as dusk settled in. The horizon was ablaze with a fiery display of colors, mostly being of bright orange and red as the great star receded behind the thick layer of trees. Yet below the canopy of the trees, it was as dark as night, in this area of the world it always was. These were the Jungles of Solicous, as a howl of a wolf was heard in the darkness, the trees were silent as they stood, the animals who had survived the long wars of man had learned to be quiet at the slightest noise, and perhaps it was an instinct to them now.
The silence would be broken momentarily by strange screeching noises, sounds that had never been heard before. Each time they were sounded the fauna would run amok, animals of every kind could be heard wailing and shouting, and then they'd go silent, and the strange screeching could be heard again and the entire process would start again.
The snapping of a twig sent the entire jungle quiet as a man cam skulking out of the brush, he looked around and put his hand on his head "now where is that damn thing?" he said a bit worried. He stood as if thinking and then suddenly snapped his fingers "Ah! I remember!" his voice changed to a relieved sigh and he knelt down and began to search the jungle floor. His hands ran across the ground covered in leaves until he felt the cold surface of metal, he grasped onto it and pulled it from a small ditch, it was a listening device.
He couldn't help but shiver as he held it, "Damn" he said looking about him. "This place gives me the creeps." the same loud screeching noise as before rose up from the silence; it was shrill and put the man into immediate fear. He clutched the listening device close to him and looked around, his voice was frantic as he spoke "...I hope...they will know...what that is!" he turned and ran as fast as he could back into the brush to the dirt path a few meters away. Soon after the entire jungle erupted into the fear filled howls of every creature imaginable, the Man ran as fast as he could, the fear growing within him with every step, though he had no idea what he feared. He looked in front of him and saw the dim lights of the research station glowing along the path, but he didn't slow down, close was not enough...
Research Station 82
0300 hours
"I'm not sure what we have here!" the head scientist had to hold back from shouting over the phone. His anger was growing in his face, yet from hearing his voice you might not pick up on it, he was very good at hiding his emotions when he talked. As the voice on the other end talked he stood listening, his door opened suddenly and one of his fellow scientists peeked his head in. He waved him inside as he spoke nearly grinding his teeth together, "Yes I understand..." The voice on the other end continued and he again said "yes, we'll get it under control" With that he slowly hung up the phone and for a moment, stared silently at it.
"Professor Elder?" the scientist said as he looked at his boss concerned. The man at the phone turned his head and responded in a low and nearly audible voice "what is it?"
"We have it sir, the tapes you wanted" the scientist replied holding up two small discs. "Our scout retrieved them from the third sector."
"What of the others?" the professor asked as his eyes settled on the discs.
"...they have failed to report in" the scientist answered him looking down.
"Then we must consider them lost." Professor elder said, "play the recordings for me." he sat down and let out a heavy sigh, the conversation he was having with the voice on the phone still in his mind. The scientist moved over to his desk and planted the discs in a recording device and hit the playback button. He took a few steps back and listened as the playback began. At first, there was silence, a breeze could be heard blowing into the listening device, and then the sound of a creature of some kind in the brush off to the left, rustling and moving along. Elder rolled his eyes as he looked at the machine, "this is..." his thought was interrupted by a sudden and shrill screech that echoed out from the recording. As before when it happened, the sound was followed by the frightened howls of creatures of all sorts before silence overtook the room again.
The scientist looked at Elder "sir...is it what we believed?" his voice seemed to shake as if from fear. Elder looked at him and nodded his head in quiet disbelief. "Then it is the specimen...but...how could it get so far away from the test site!?" he shouted in desperation. The Professor looked at him and shook his head.
"We should have never created them." he said looking at the scientist, his eyes holding guilt.
"Sir..." yet before the scientist could finish his sentence, a blaring alarm was sounded, red lights began to flash quickly and a voice came over the communication system, it was the automated warning. "Warning! Warning! Perimeter has been breached by unknown contacts! Automated defenses engaged!"
Elder looked about and then at the scientist who was nearly frantic as he shouted" Professor, what's going on!?" Professor Elder just sat in his chair for a moment without saying a word, though his frightened college shouted his question again forcing him to respond, and when he did his voice was emotionless "get to the armory, those automatic cannons will run out of ammo in about 5 minutes."
"Sir?" the scientist questioned.
"It's time for mankind to correct our mistake" Elder got up and rushed out of the room, already personnel were rushing about as the second warning came shouting over the com system "Warning...warning, Automated Defenses at 50% strength, security teams 1-4 report to defensive position 1."
The scientist sat in the flashing red lights for a moment before finally finding the strength to stand up, he ran out the door leaving the recording still playing.
scooter_the_shooter
11-24-2004, 01:13
this is a cool story i havent seen many future stories here i will keep an eye on it. :book:
frogbeastegg
11-24-2004, 17:58
A new Monk story :gring: You're still on form.
part ii
Confused Signals
"Silent Mountain” outpost
0700 hours
"I want to know what that is!" shouted the sergeant as he stood over the Communications officer in the confined space of the radio room. Loud noises echoed from the machine that they were in front off, mostly static, yet they could make out gunfire and loud screeching noises. Each time those noises came over the com system they couldn't help but grind their teeth as the piecing shrill cry slowly filtered out.
"I don't know sir!" The corporal said as he adjusted nods and smashed buttons desperately trying to filter out the static. "I've never heard that sound in my entire life!"
"So it's not interference?" The sergeant asked in wonder.
"No sir!" replied the corporal as he tried to clean up the transmission. "Whatever it is...it's got nothing to do with signal jamming or a weak signal"
"What about the ORDER?"
The corporal turned in his seat and looked at the sergeant, "If the ORDER wanted to block out communication they wouldn't have any trouble!" he turned back to the system and worked frantically before finally shouting in joy, "I think I got it!"
"Well don't just sit there!" the sergeant smiled, "play it!"
"Yes sir!" the soldier shouted as he hit a button and he turned up the volume. a large amount of static could be heard. "This is the best we're going to get it" he added. The two listened for a moment, and suddenly the sound of gunfire overtook the static and then shouts and screams.
"...Ov.r..here!" the signal was overcome with static as a voice came through followed by a hail of gunfire and then what sounded like a small explosion. "Thi...Res..arch...eighty-two...An..one..Read?"
The sergeant hit a button to broadcast a reply, "This is Silent Mountain, What's your situation?"
Their was intense static as they awaited a response, it was the only sound they heard for quite some time, it seemed to fill the room and deny any other sound from being heard until finally a voice came through. "St..tion...o.er run... Ne..d..." The transmission cut out suddenly before he could finish.
"Overrun?" the corporal said confused, not really sure what was going on. "What did he mean? Solicous isn't at war with anyone."
The sergeant stood up straight and looked at the communication system puzzled, he was just as confused as the corporal beside him. "I've no idea." he finally said.
"Sir," The corporal began to readjust the system looking concerned, "we're receiving a distress beacon, and it’s the Research Station..."
"What the hell do they think they're doing!?" The sergeant couldn't hold back his anger. "They know if the ORDER catches wind of this they will pounce on it!"
"Too late sir..." The corporal sighed, "This is broadcast on all channels, the ORDER will is hearing the same thing we are." The sergeant shook his head.
"We're about five kilometers from Station 82..." he looked at the communication system again. "i want you to forward this message to the government...there's something going on here."
A sudden red flash on the communications board got their attention; the corporal began to press buttons and brought up a screen on the side of the machine, displaying an infrared scan of the areas around the mountain down in the jungles below. They looked in horror as the screen showed that the entire area was covered in movement.
"That's not possible..." The corporal said as he read the screen, he was completely in awe at what it was telling him. "If this is correct...something has us completely surrounded. Whatever it is, I’m not detecting power sources."
"What about life signs?" the sergeant asked urgently.
"...No human life signs..."
"Send the message to the higher ups! They will know what to do!" the sergeant shouted as he watched the red markers on the screen slowly begin to climb the mountain. By now they had triggered the perimeter defenses, and a warning started shouting loudly over the inner base communication system.
"Sir what are we doing?!" The corporal shouted in fear as he began to relay the message received from research station 82. Yet as he did the sergeant just looked up “We'll hold here as long as we can." he said with determination. "Sound the alarm! Whatever these things are, we're gonna’ give them one hell of a fight!"
The corporal smashed a red button and the entire base came alive with blaring alarms and flashing lights. A warning came over the system "Warning! Outer Defenses have been penetrated! Unknown Contacts are inside the base!”
Thank you froggy, good to see I still have a bit of talent left ~D
Glad to see some like this, I’ll keep it going then.
part iii
The New War
The sun was had already risen and was well on it's way to settling into the western sky when the members of the high council met to discuss what was happening in the south of their own nation, slowly they had lost contact with every outpost and station in the southern jungles, and by 1400 hours, the only response they received from communications was a thick layer of static. Already questions were being raised as to what was going on, confusion was sweeping military installations and government positions like a wave hitting a beach. Their only salvation was perhaps that the Public was not yet aware of the situation.
High Council Chambers
1700 hours
A long hall, filled with shadows and the echoes of ages passed sat in the center of the government building in the capitol city. It was dimly lit, with a single, long table in the center of the room. For years it sat empty, but when the civil war had ended the new king decided to elect a number of council members, deeming them the "high council" It was to ensure that a power mad individual could not plunge the nation into war like had happened not too long ago. The members of the council had come together to discuss the events conspiring in the south, already three hours had passed since they began, and no progress had been made. They sat together, cloaked in darkness as their voices sounded loudly in the hall.
"How many times must I tell you people," a council man said as the darkness around the table seemed to swell as the sun finally escaped sight. "The ORDER is not what we need to worry about... they clearly have nothing to do with this!"
"How can you say that!?" a second council member said as he rolled his eyes, "The ORDER has been a threat to us ever since the Civil War!"
"A threat that could destroy us if they wished." the man at the end of the table said, his voice silenced the room, perhaps because he was their eldest and wisest member. "Let's get serious" he continued, his voice seemed to show no emotion, only logic, "The ORDER is vastly larger than Solicous, and vastly advanced when it comes to technology. As of now they are our "allies", mainly because of the deal that was made in the days of the war."
"How could I forget?" The first voice grunted in anger, "It pains me to think that they have absolute power and there is not a thing we can do about it!"
"Learn to deal with it." the council leader responded in his normal tone, "The ORDER wouldn't waste time with our far flung outposts in the jungle, most are just scientific or listening stations."
"If not the ORDER," a council man began to question; he had until this point stayed silent. "then...who?"
"I don't know" the second man said, "but I know a way to find out. We send the Black Dragons in on recon." The room was filled with gasps of shock at the last two words. A horrible silence filled the room as they were not sure why he could even suggest such a thing. Shouts of "are you mad!?" and "You can't be serious" became common place for quite some time. Finally though the eldest among them threw his hands up and silenced them all at once, their eyes turned to him and awaited his words. Even though it was a council meeting, he still held absolute authority.
"We have nothing to lose by sending them in." he said with an unusual smile on his face, strange for he rarely showed any emotion at all. "They are known for causing lots of damage, and these areas are covered with hostiles. They may be just what we need..."
“What of the King?” one questioned
“I think we should leave the King out of this…for now” the Council leader said “perhaps it’s best if we only informed him if things get, out of hand.”
Troop transport
2030 hours
The sound of the helicopter blades cutting into the wind could be heard for long distances, as the land below was full of silence. Nothing made a sound as the troop transport thundered over head and over the horizon speeding to the jungles in the south. The cracked and dried land below was one of many spots that were affected by the nuclear fallout after the great Civil war. A once thriving land of grass and beautiful meadows was in a flash transformed into a broken and brown land that could never be compared to what it used to be. It was like that all over the Nation of Solicous sadly, before the attacks most of its landscape was considered harsh, but now it was in many aspects uninhabitable, yet still people thrived there, for if nothing else, the people of Solicous were determined to survive.
Inside the transport, a dim red light illuminated the cargo hold which was otherwise sealed off from the world, and inside this hold sat 14 soldiers. Covered from head to toe in black armor that gave a haunting shine in the dim light, the only marking was their insignia on the right shoulder guard and the chest plate, that of a silver dragon seething downward, they were the Black Dragons, an ancient order of knights that had served the nation of Solicous since it’s founding, only called into action when the situation was grave. As they approached their destination, there was an uneasy calm among them as they stared emptily before themselves, battle was close, and they could feel it.
The main lights in the confined space of the hold came up in a flash and the red light drew away. They turned their attention to a man who stood up before them, their commander; he looked over them as he put his hand upon the top of the hold to steady himself as he stood. His face held a great scar over his right eye, no doubt received during the war, and finally when he spoke his voice seemed to be weathered by time, but still carried with it a sense of pride and respect, the kind that one follows willingly.
“Alright Dragons!” he said with a smile on his face, “On your feet! We’re hittin’ the LZ in five!” The Dragons put their helmets on and each hit a button that resided on the chin guard, almost instantly on each helmet a face guard deployed itself with a slight scratching noise, it covered their face until all that was seen was a fully armored person, not a single inch of flesh was exposed. Their eyes were covered with a green material that went only as far as their eyes, it which locked into the face guards; they seemed inhuman to look upon. A voice came over the speaker, “ETA, two minutes to Landing Zone,” it was the voice of the pilot; they had already passed over the jungles and were now deep into them.
“Squad one.” the commander said, as he spoke about 5 soldiers looked to him and held their weapons to their chests. Their hands clutched around the S-23 rifles which held enough fire power to stop any enemy they knew of, their black surface was like their armor and refused to reflect any light but still looked deadly. The commander continued to issue his order, “Secure the LZ and stay on the heliport until otherwise commanded!” a sergeant in command of the squad saluted, his voice did not reach outside of his armor but instead sounded over the communication channel “Yes sir!”
“Squads two and three, I want you in that station as quickly as you can!”
A second voice came over the channel, “Thirty seconds! Get ready!”
The Chopper thundered down low skimming the treetops, the sky above was clouded and dark as the night sky held no light, no stars and no moon was out this night, the only light came from the research station that the transport now fast approached, and the scars of battle were ripped into it. The transport shot up and then hovered over the station, an opening appeared in its bottom and ropes were thrown from the hovering machine, and one after another the Dragons descended upon the station, putting a three hundred and sixty degree field of fire. The five members of squad one came down first and secured the small heliport, the sound of the word “clear!” signaled squads two and three to descend, followed by their commander.
When finally all fourteen members of the dragons were on the ground, the chopper withdrew it’s ropes and sped off. As the sounds of the whirling blades disappeared into the distance, the air about them was overcome with silence. Red lights were flashing on the structure, a voice came over the com system “Emergancy power engaged…all personnel please report to evac area three, base defenses have been breached!”
The Commander took point by the single door leading off the heliport and motioned squad two to advance up, “Alright!” he said as he kept his weapon ready, “Let’s get to work dragons!”
'Please sir, may I have some more?'
This is really good monk, I'm looking forward to the next installment. ~:cheers:
Very good Monk. I like the way in which you started the mysteries in the first parts but start to clarify them in the third part. The third part is certainly better than the two preceding ones. Please write more.
P.s. it's scar, not scare. A scare is a fright. It could be a typo, but you made this mistake twice in succession..
I think it's a typo, yes, that's it :embarassed: *subtle edit* ...and now it's gone, nothing to see here... ~D :bow:
part iv
A Strange Enemy
Research station 82
Squads two and three took positions around the door as the five members of squad one hung back on the heliport, keeping the area secured, their eyes scanning the area around them. The flashing lights and the automated voice coming over the speakers was the only sign of life the otherwise silent station gave off. The Dragons' audio receivers were picking up the evacuation order sounding loudly as they began to tap into the security system on the door, something was amiss, the air about them was strangely calm especially for the jungles.
"Got it!" Shouted the technician from squad two, he pulled his hacking tool out of the door's security panel and hit the open button. The dragons readied their weapons and took aim into the door as it shot open, and as it suddenly flew open a loud and repeating alarm flooded outward from inside the base breaking the harsh silence that had fallen. Beyond the doorway the only light inside the base was that of red warning lights upon the wall, flashing endlessly accompanying the alarm that was still sounding. The lights attached their rifles engaged to reveal a thirty foot long hallway with but a single door at it's end. Yet distance was not what concerned them, their attention quickly turned to the splattered pools of red liquid laying on the floor and the hundreds of bullet holes upon the walls and ceiling. The lights were all short out, and in some cases hanging down from above, sparks shooting out from their circuits. Yet among the carnage, one thing was missing, there were no corpses.
"...what the?" a voice came over the com system. It didn't really matter exactly who it came from, for it seemed to speak for each and every person looking in. There were signs of battle, and even blood, but no bodies.
"Alright! You've seen battle before!" the commander said displeased with the reactions of his troops. "Now keep it moving, Third Squad take point." His troops obeyed his orders and four soldiers went inside went inside followed by the rest, their eyes scanning the hall looking for some sign of life, any sign of threats, yet they saw nothing. At this point, even a sign of their enemy would have been better than finding nothing in that first moment, for they needed some sign of life in what seemed to be a dead station, some indication of who would do this, and of what happened to the bodies of the people who surely fell here.
Squad Three's sergeant was in front of them, moving silent with his rifle pointing directly at the door down the hall way, he was completely silent until a drop of liquid fell in front of him. He looked down to his feet and he pointed his flashlight downward confused at what he saw, for he was standing in a section of the hall stained green. Slowly his eyes moved upward and unto the ceiling where gathered was a pool of a strange green substance, dripping down at an enormous rate.
He began to lower his rifle as his eyes studied the ceiling; his mouth opened to say a word, yet before he could a strange sound was heard. It filled the hall and completely drowned out the screaming alarms and made them sound like a whisper when compared. It was a horrible and shrill scream, the kind no human can make, it seemed to resonate from within the walls themselves, and as it filled their ears the black dragons pointed their weapons in all directions, left right up and down, it seemed to be all around them at once. Their eyes darted back in forth as fear was rising in pit of their stomach, fear of something they couldn't see, not even their commander attempted to reestablish their courage after that sound was heard, for he did not know what it was either.
Suddenly the left wall burst open, and a huge talon like arm came racing into the hall, it sliced into a member of the dragons with ease, cutting his armor into pieces and running him through, pinning him against the opposite wall in a split second. The Dragons turned as their comrade was impaled and opened fire upon what seemed to be a giant arm, their bullets ripped through it with the ease it showed in killing their comrade, and it was severed from its host, a pain filled howl filled the hall as it hit the ground with the dead dragon falling with it. Fresh blood spilled onto the ground, a mix of red and green formed onto the floor as the strange limb sat lifeless. It appeared to be hardened and some sort of brownish black color, it was at least the length of six foot, yet it was as inhuman as an object could be.
"W...What was that!?" The freighted voice of a black dragon nearly screamed over the communication channel, yet no one could answer him. It was like nothing they had ever seen before; all they could do was stare in complete shock at how easily it had killed their own, and at the large hole in the wall.
Another scream was heard, like the first, but this time it was followed by more, many more. There was a sound of movement all about them, from ahead, above, below, left, and right. Their hands shook and their rifles did with them. The commander was just about to order his men out of the station to regroup when the worst happened, the black dragons were attacked again. Yet this time, not from a single direction, but all of them at once. Long slick legs that looked like natural scythes burst from the walls, too many to count and skewered the members of the black dragon. Those who survived the initial attack opened fire again as the sound of screaming and screeching filled the air, gunfire echoed from out of the station, but it did not last long. The door to the hall burst open and large creatures stepped inward as the door flew from its hinges. They appeared tall and slim, and their hides looked black and evil. Their arms appeared to be long swords, they stood like a human but were slumped over in an arch and their faces held only a large mouth full of teeth. Their black hideous eyes on the sides of their heads reflected no light, they seemed to be an endless void.
The creatures screamed, and their cry made any who stilled lived cover their ears, they raced forward and cut into the black dragons, in an instant ripping their human enemy apart with ease.
Outside, the heliport was turned into a bloodbath, for as the members of squad one were about to run to their comrade's aid, large beasts appeared from the jungles. They were twice larger than any human, and they had many legs and arms, all looked sharp as a needlepoint, the dragons on the heliport opened fire upon them, only to find their bullets bouncing off their black hides. They screamed in fear as their weapons proved useless, They had nowhere to run, The creatures before them were different than those in the station, yet no less deadly. The dragons continued to fire at them until the creatures charged...ending the battle quickly and brutally, literally ripping them apart.
The encounter had lasted forty-five seconds. In forty-five seconds, from the first attack to the last death, three squads of the Black dragons were wiped out. As soon as all the humans were dead, the creatures began to take their bodies and they disappeared into the station carrying them.
Whoa. That was... that was... That was brilliant. I was actually there, I could feel my heart beating faster just reading that. I say again, brilliant. ~:cheers:
very glad you liked it zelda
it's going to be about a week until i can post anymore updates to this. I'm in the middle of a move right now (typing on the floor can be hard) and it willl take some time to get internet set up over there. I'm hoping not to long, but i wouldn't be surprised if it took about a week... things can be slow when i want them to hurry.
I'll sweep the floors and leave the door to the mead hall unlocked, sorry but i have to take the restroom key so you'll have to use the one in the throne room ~;) Drinks are behind the bar.
until i return then... ~:wave:
*Notices Monk's gone.*
*Looks around furtively*
*Unhooks the barrle of guinness and all the other beer barrels in the cellar loads them into a truck and goes to seel them down Peckam Market.* ~:cheers:
scooter_the_shooter
12-05-2004, 19:30
this is a good unpredictable story... good job monk ~:cheers:
Very good, Monk. I was just wondering: isn't it time to try another theme? All the stories you've posted in the Mead Hall are about a desperate fight against an almost invincible, inhuman enemy. Don't get me wrong: it is a good theme (be it a bit simple) and very popular, but isn't it time to branch out somewhat?
Otherwise, fine work and I am looking forward to reading more.
well finally got my internet hooked up and working...looks like i should update this soon.
@ ceasar: glad you like it...
@ Ludens: yes, i realize that i've probably almost worn this theme out in regards to plot twists that i could take with it. Yet still, i've always managed to do a decent job in presenting the plot (sometimes better than others). I've kept the same theme, for the most part, but i've always tried to make the ending different with each story i do, even if the differences are few they are there, so i've not yet felt i need to change the theme. As to branching out to a new theme, i hadn't given a thought as to what i'd do next, because this current project will take a lot of lime to finish, but i am most likely going to try something new.
But i'm not going to worry about that now since i'm working on this, i'll think about my next story/theme when i get done with this one. i'm glad you enjoyed it...
Ahh, the Holidays are a good time...Half-life 2 has been bought and finished, so now i can concentrate on this again ~D hope everybody else had a nice holiday. This part is small(or at least seems small...maybe it's me), the next will be bigger if so
and before you ask (for those who notice it) Yes, the guy who ruled the "ORDER" had a military like the one in warhammer 40k
part v
The Serpent Strikes
Ever since ancient times, the vast Imperium of the Knightly Order has stood, shrouded in mysteries more numerous than the salts of the seas, Those who live within are feared by all who border them, for the technology of what has become known simply as "The ORDER" vastly surpasses any others known on the earth. Yet Solicous, one of many small nations that bordered the vast Imperium, never once feared them. Instead, a strange bond of friendship had formed between the two over many centuries...a bond that was shattered quite easily...
"Prometheus" Outpost, Upper Earth Orbit
0400 hours, First encounter +2 (days)
The warning alarms of the space station were sounding, yellow lights were flashing on the hull and in the hallways of the orbiting outpost which spun high above the earth's surface. The huge station was busy with activity, the proximity alarms were raging, but what set them off was unknown. Security teams were already arming themselves, not knowing what to expect. Power was feeding into the auto-cannons mounted upon the hull, they were charging up incase they needed to be used.
Command Bridge
A door on the bridge opened swiftly with a smooth sound, the metal door receded and a single man walked on the bridge, it was the captain. He rubbed his weary eyes and held back a yawn, this was the third time in the last five hours the proximity alert had sounded, the other two times he was greatly annoyed to find nothing as the scanners swept the area about the station, yet this time, there would be a terrible surprise.
He hurried over to the long line of technicians sitting at their stations, each doing their jobs working everything from communications to sensors at a large control center that sat in front of a huge force field protected view of earth. As he passed by the large window looking down on the world, his mind wondered why they had not received a transmission from their home nation of Solicous in the last two days; it was not common for protocol to be broken like this. He sighed and kept walking; first he had to worry about the proximity alert that was sounding over head. The captain moved to the tech monitoring the scanners, who sat in front of a large green screen with a circling bright green sweeper, and as it moved in a clockwise motion, large blips appeared in its wake.
"What do we got?" the captain asked as he slowly bent down and looked at the screen, his voice was tired as his eyes settled upon the green arm moving in a clockwise motion, one could also detect how annoyed he was that this was the third time he had been summoned to the bridge on his off hours.
"Not looking good sir." the technician replied, his voice was full of worry as he reviewed the readings on the screen "I've got three objects moving toward the station at high speed, contact in..." he checked the read outs quickly and sighed. "One hundred thirty seconds."
"Are they asteroids?" the captain asked partly confused, yet before the tech replied he almost figured out the answer himself.
"No sir! Too sophisticated." the tech replied, his hands bean punching keys on the board. "They are metal...they appear to be some type of ship"
The captain's hair on the back of his neck slowly stood as he asked another question, he had to keep his own fear from straying into his voice as he said in a low tone "Do the ships match anything on file?" As the tech finished pressing buttons his mouth slowly opened in quiet shock. A readout screen slowly came up and displayed a list of design figures of the object currently being scanned.
"thre..th.....Three ORDER battle barges!" the tech could barely summon the breath to make the words necessary, his eyes opened wide and his voice was frantic. The entire Bridge crew heard him and immediately they stopped their work and turned their eyes to him. The ORDER had agreed to keep its battleships away from earth, their arrival could only mean a single thing; war. The captain stood up straight and sighed, he knew the station could not hope to repel an organized attack by the ORDER, yet with communications with Solicous down and time short, he knew that those on the station were on their own.
“Alright” he said as the crew looked at him, his voice seemed to hold nothing but a sense of desperate hope, one that said he would do all he could to survive. “Bring the station up to combat alert and charge up the main guns. Once those Ships are in range I want a full barrage!” the crew began getting back to work, an “Aye sir!” from the weapons officer was the only response anyone offered to him.
The captain moved to the intercom and spoke, opening a channel to all decks. “Listen up!” an alarm began to sound, telling the crew they were at combat alert. “ORDER troops are inbound, hostile contacts will board Prometheus in 60 seconds, Security teams Alpha through Gamma report to deck 5 and Fortify the main hall between the decks. All others report to designated….” Suddenly the intercom cut out, the ORDER had begun their particle broadcast, inner station communications were now down.
Deck 10, science station
The security teams began to fill hallways with rubble, setting charges and blowing out elevators, and closing blast doors, doing everything they could to limit the number of access ways the ORDER troops could use once they hit the station. The seconds ticked away and soon the loud echoes of the auto-cannons outside began to filter into the station, the ships were close. Booming explosions were heard as the loud repeating of the cannons kept sounding, however, on deck 10 a loud bang was heard and the whole station seemed to rock. An ORDER transport had connected to the station, soon beams of pure energy shot through the hall, cutting out a doorway for them to use to enter the station.
The hallway that the transport connected to was on deck 10, and in the hall gathered six members of one of the stations security teams, as the beams of energy cut through the metal hull they took cover on the side and readied their weapons, pointing in the direction of the energy beams. Sparks were shooting outward from the hull and the loud cutting noise was all that was heard on the silent deck, the sergeant of the six man team put his hand out and the men’s fingers on the triggers of their weapons tightened. “Once they get through” he said in a low voice, “fire at will”
Suddenly the wall burst open, and as it did, strangely all the lights in the corridor failed at once leaving utter darkness. The security team stood in the hall, their eyes scanning for any sign of life. Then out of the darkness red eyes appeared, and the sound of a scrapping metal could be heard. The defenders of the station opened fire, and the muzzle flashes of their weapons light the area around them. Yet the eyes came closer, and more sets appeared out from the whole in the hull. Bullets bounced off what sounded like some metallic surface and slammed into the walls. And then silence fell, the security team had emptied their clips. Then suddenly the lights came back up, and standing before the security team was more than ten men. They were tall, and their entire body was covered in armor, armor which covered their entire body, like that of the Black Dragons of Solicous, yet more advanced…much more. It was a dark hue of green with a symbol of a sword, wings coming out of that very sword on their shoulder pads, and upon their chest was a golden skull. They were soldiers of the Deathwing Company…the most feared of the ORDER.
The soldiers of the ORDER suddenly cried “For the Emperor!” and rushed toward the security teams, their huge rifles blazing. They cut into them easily, slaying all six members of the force sent to hold the hallway.
Their leader scanned the hallway and brought his hand up, touching the side of his helmet “we’re in..."
Grrr, silly doublepost.
Delete this.
Yay space marines. Dark Angels are really cool. ~:)
Really liked the last part.
By the way would it be right to assume that the critters from the beggining are Tyrinids or close contemporaries.
part vi
When the Walls Fell...
A huge explosion rocked the station, sending all within who were not already bracing themselves to their knees with their heads spinning. The last of the auto-cannons were destroyed, they had thus far kept order landing craft at a distance, and the only squads who had penetrated the tight defense were the legendary Deathwing. Yet now, as the scanners swept the area, a wave of movement was headed directly to the station. The warriors of the Deathwing were already cutting the defenders to pieces in exchanges of gunfire on decks 9 and 10, they were slaughtering any who came before them.
Deck 8
Access ladder passage
A long corridor separated the access ladder that would go to deck 7 from the rest of deck 8. With the main lifts destroyed, the ladder was the only way both up and down in that entire section of the station, and the Solician security teams knew that all to well. They threw debris into then hall, thick steel tables, old control systems that were no longer needed, everything they could to give themselves cover and to make the hallway as difficult to capture as it could be. It didn't take them long before they were done, and when they were the hall was strewn with toppled computer systems and old building materials along with the few scattered hull panels. Hiding in the mess they themselves had created, were four security teams, sixteen men ready to stop whatever was thrown at them. or so they hoped.
The sound of heavy footsteps was heard pounding down the hall, the men in the corridor took cover and readied their weapons immediately after hearing it. ORDER troops were close, very close. They knew this was it, if they couldn't stop them here, they'd likely move on and take the bridge in a matter of minutes. The cold sound of ammunition being loaded seethed through the hall as the security teams were ready for the coming attack. One of the men let out a heavy sigh as he put his back to the cold surface of the wall he was leaning against, he could feel a gentle vibration moving through the metal, and a soft humming along with it. A smile came over his face as he said "so gentle" his voice was very soft, barely above a whisper. "Hard to believe...something as violent as a hull breach could make such a soothing noise." the words he used carried a sense of happiness, however small it may have been, it was there. He removed his dark green helmet and let his dark hair loose; his green eyes stared down the hallway where he could hear the muttering of strange voices. It was the ORDER troops, something had delayed their attack. The men of the security teams kept their weapons trained down the hallway, but they saw no combatant come to meet them, only soft whispers and the echos that they created, fear was sweeping over both forces like the light of the sun sweeps out across the land in the early morning, yet for very different reasons.
Deck 8
outside Access ladder passage
The advancing squad of ORDER marines came to a stop; their leader leaned his left hand out and took hold of the wall bracing himself from something. His other hand went up to his head and rested there, he was murmuring softly, but the five men behind were unclear as to what he was saying. The men of the Deathwing squad looked at one another in confusion for a few moments, before one went forth to speak with him.
"Brother Gabriel." the marine said, his harsh voice emanating through his mask sounded metallic and emotionless, yet to the space marines, it was a sound they were used to. Gabriel now placed both hands on his head, he was the only one among the squad not wearing a helmet, the hair on his head was white, and while the others amour was dark green, his was a light blue, he held near him a long blue sword that surged with electric energy, yet it made a resounding sound as it fell from his hand and found a home on the hall floor, he was a Chapter Librarian, with his physic powers he had helped track down many dissenters among the Imperium, yet... the ORDER had internal problems of it's own, and most Librarians died in the great civil strife that had taken hold of the mighty nation some generations ago. With his vast knowledge of the Imperium and it's enemies, he was valued...but what he saw before him was disturbing. An image only he saw, something his powers aloud him to see. "Brother Gabriel?" the marine said again, yet to Gabriel his voice seemed to be slow and he could barely hear it.
Finally he looked up at him, his eyes were wide with fear and he said "Can...you not see it?" his voice was shaking, he did not even stop to think he was the only phsyker in the squad. When the marine shook his head, looking at the others in the squad who did so as well Gabriel looked at him and said "I envy you...then"
"What is it? What does your mind see?" the marine asked, he looked into Gabriel's eyes which were now overcome with fear. For him to show fear was extraordinary, no marine ever felt fear, they never admitted to it at least. Yet here he was nearly on his knees, his eyes wide and his breath shaking.
Gabriel looked up and replied, "I can see them...scratching in my mind..."
"Who? What do you see?" asked another marine confused.
"so many voices...scratching, roaring, screaming - so...so many!!" Gabriel looked up at him. "They are coming for us."
Suddenly a piercing scream was heard, and be the man from the Imperium or Solicous, they held their ears and nearly shouted in agony. As the sound slowly filtered out, there was silence. No one knew that it was the creatures who were destroying Solicous were on the space station. The captain on the bridge knew right away what it was, now everything was clear, the shipment of test specimens they received last week... in an instant the attack on the space station by the order made sense. they knew something about these specimens he didn't.
ahh now that is done ~D
Zelda, Tyranids? more like Tyranids with a twist ~;) you'll find out the twist later. i won't say anything more than that as i might give something away. Glad to see we've got some w/h 40k fans reading this. and don't worry about the double post, it happens.
i think i got all my typos, but as with all my work i'm sure there's a few (or more) that got through, sorry in advance ~D
Alexander the Pretty Good
01-04-2005, 04:03
Sounds like StarCraft.
But with much, much (much x 17) better writing.
I must confess my heart had started beating a little faster. ~D
Brialliant. ~:cheers:
part vii
Loss of "containment"
The Scrams rose up again, this time more shrill and terrifying than before. The sounds filled the station which was already throwing the sound of battle about; the two sides stopped fighting for a moment, looking all around them for signs of what was going on. Then the ORDER began to pull back, the station security teams doing the same, distancing themselves from their enemy, and from the unseen threat. Even the battle hardened strike force from the ORDER battleships could not deny that the screams were horrid, filled with pain and some sick emotion that was impossible to identify.
ORDER lead battleship
Command bridge
The captain stared out the main viewer, looking directly at the station. His dark black uniform seemed to blend in with the vast dark of space before him, his long cape came down to his knees and moved as he shifted his weight. He wore a shinning black breastplate that seemed to look part of his uniform, except that the edge of his armour was lined with red. His old wrinkled face showed the passage of time he had seen, yet his silver eyes stared with cold resolve, they appeared much younger than he, as if his eyes, and indeed maybe even his spirit, were untouched by the years.
Slowly Frantic radio messages were filtering onto the Bridge, As the words of panic stricken warriors sounded over the communication system, the captain could do nothing but sigh heavily. "Containment lost!" one nearly screamed, the loud noises of gun fire followed his voice as did pain filled howls that seemed inhuman. "Specimens released! We...we have to get out of here!!" again the sound of gun fire was heard, followed by the shouts and screams as before. Yet this time one or two human screams found their way into the transmission, angry shouts were heard and then a loud crash.
A second transmission came through, "Command, contact with Second squad lost." his voice was far more composed and showed no hint of fear, clearly he had not heard the other communication.
The captain leaned his head forward and began to speak, as he did the communications officer pressed a button to respond. his voice was smooth, and strangely held no emotion what-so-ever. "Containment breach has been detected... Diverting to Secondary tactics." There was silence after he said that. Hs troops knew what that meant and gave no response, slowly more and more transmitters were recording the sounds of gunfire and agony stricken screams from things that could never be human. Suddenly the channel closed with a hard sound and the captain looked to the weapons officer. "Target the station..." he was planning to open fire with his men still on the station.
The weapons officer looked at his shocked, "sir" he said puzzled. "We would be killing our own men..."
“I’m aware of that" the captain said as he closed his eyes and put his head up a bit. "Carry out my order." The entire bridge was silent save the humming of the different stations. No one offered a word of objection to the captain; they sat doing their jobs not saying a word. Blips from the weapon station broke the harsh silence as the weapons officer did as he was instructed. he looked up, the guilt of what he was about to do was upon his face, he knew as soon as he said the next words he would have to kill his own countrymen.
"Locked on Target." he said slowly.
"Prometheus" outpost
deck 9, starboard section
A line of ORDER troops advanced through the hallway, their heavy boots pounding loudly, their sergeant was in the lead moving them quickly past the view ports. then suddenly he stopped and looked out, as his men filed past, however soon the men who were following him stopped and looked out into space, searching for what he was staring at. Soon enough they saw it, blue energy particles were surrounding the main guns of the lead Battleship, they were being sucked into the large barrels and forming into a light inside the great gun. The weapon was charging, and it was aimed directly at the space station.
"What are they doing!?" one soldier said, he couldn't believe they were about to fire with soldiers still onboard. Their sergeant sighed heavily.
"Containment must have been lost" he said sadly, his hand reached out and touched the wall of the station just by the "window" if you would call it that.
"But... sir? What of us?" another soldier asked, looking back and forth from the sergeant and the ship which was on the verge of firing. the bright blue light from the energy weapon seemed to illuminate the space around it.
"We...knew the risks..." the sergeant said as he lifted his head. and looked at them all, one by one. Then he looked back at the ship and said "The creatures must be contained... For the Emperor."
Suddenly the ship fired, and a thick stream of blue energy shot out heading straight for the station. it traveled quickly and slammed into the station, slicing through the metal hull panels and bulkheads. The decks were ripped apart as the energy beam went all the way through the station. As it disappeared fire came in its wake and huge explosions erupted in the decks it had hit, as the beam traveled it finally hit the generator room, the very thing it had been locked onto, a great fireball consumed the station. The once mighty space station was turned into a ball of fire that broke up and lost it's orbit, it broke into several pieces and began to fall toward earth. The creatures had been contained, but as the broken station plummeted toward earth the Captain of the ORDER battleship let out a heavy sigh. “Blockade the Planet…nothing gets through” without waiting for his men to give an acknowledgement he turned around and walked off the bridge, not even bothering to look at the exploding station
the last parts were a bit short (just noticed this), but no matter. i'll make the next longer
part viii
Classified
The violent storm raged high above the broken, dried and completely dead land below. Jagged cliffs of shattered mountains and hollow ditches from dried riverbeds below were silent as the thunder cracked overhead. Endless the storm was, thunder louder than the largest guns of Solicous sounded and shook the land, pockets of gas drifted upon the dead ground, gas toxic to any human who would breath it. Again lightning, or something of the sort flashed and a booming noise followed in its wake. No light ever seeped through the thick black clouds, only the brightest of the flashes from the lighting ever found their way to the area below, yet eventhey fell dim. This was the cost of "Plasma technology", failed experiments by the ORDER turned a thriving rainforest... into nothing. Now a huge Plasma storm resided overhead, and thick gases roamed the dried land. A nameless region from a forgotten time, yet there was a simple name that it had come to bear, "the Wasteland".
Suddenly there was a bright light shinning behind the clouds, the dark veil that had even kept the sun from shinning through slowly melted away, the dark clouds fled and coming crashing down was a huge ball of fire, coming at high speed toward the wasteland. The dark clouds swirled about as if allowing the fireball to pass; it was Prometheus, recently destroyed by the ORDER. Down it came and it crashed into the ground with a horrible sound, then suddenly all went quiet, as if all sound was sucked from the land. Then a giant explosion was ignited sending metal pieces in all directions. The clouds covered the hole that the falling station of man had made, and the fires slowly died away. A huge graveyard of twisted metal was all that was left of the once proud space station. It would now lay alone, with only the howling winds to speak to it, no more would it stand as Solicous' outpost.
Solician Royal Palace
Capitol city - Solace
0630 hours, First Encounter +2
The sudden sound of a ringing phone cried out into the night, shattering a pleasant morning that was dawning in the city of Solace. Again it called out for someone to answer it, but there was no one around, it was still early and with no issues at hand, the King was sleeping peacefully. Again it rang, and again...and yet again, until finally it the repeating sound was heard by the ruler of the Solician Nation. He summoned the strength to move his tired muscles and rose up from bed; he wiped his eyes and let out a weary yawn. It was dark, but through his door he could hear the phone ringing in his office. He stood up, a sudden pain filled his head and a small smile appeared on his face. His vision was blurred as he chuckled, "I must've drank to much". He walked to his door and opened it, moving through into his office where the ringing phone was only getting louder, making his head hurt even worse. he quickened his pace trying to get there soon, and he nearly slipped and fell, he grabbed onto a chair nearby just in time to stop himself from smashing into the floor.
His office was, for once, cleaned up. Normally it had clothes strewn about or dirty plates left out. He may have been a king, but he was only twenty three, and he didn't care much for cleaning up after himself. He regained his balance and walked to the phone, he extended his hand and grabbed it, pulling it near his ear. His mouth opened and he was about to say "hello" when a deep and haunting voice on the other end said " Good morning...'Your Majesty'" the last two words were said with disgust, yet there was something about it’s tone that made the king listen closely, slowly confusion set in, how in the world had he obtained the number at the palace?
"Who is this?" He asked, keeping his voice from shaking too much.
"Your savior" The strange voice laughed. The king was confused at the remark to say the least. "I have information you may find useful."
"What are you talking about?" the king asked still not sure of who, or what, he was speaking to.
"In-for-mation," the voice replied, nearly spelling out the word as if he was speaking to an infant who did not know how to speak. “about the creatures.” The king was overcome with rage as the man patronized him as if he was nothing but a child. Yet as he heard the last three words, his anger was taken by confusion in an instant.
“Creatures? What are you talking about?”
The voice on the other end was overcome with laughter, that is, until he realized the King was quite serious. “Do you mean” he said, “you don’t know?”
“Know what?” inquired the king. Now both were confused equally, but their reasons could not be more different. “who are you” he said asked again, “…and what is it you are asking me?”
“I cannot tell you my name” the voice said, “but I am an ORDER scientist.” He sighed and the rustling of papers could be heard in the background. “But seriously…you don’t know?”
“…obviously not. I am being upfront with you” The king was being serious as a man could be. The man on the phone was trying to give him information about the creatures, perhaps something that could help the Solician nation defeat them, yet the King had no idea they existed.
“Then I suggest you ask your ‘Council Leader’ he knows all about them.” The voice said, the sound of static was slowly filtering into the conversation.
“The…council?” the king said to himself in a low voice.
“Regardless, I’m sure you are aware that you’ve lost contact with “Prometheus”?”
“Yes” the king sighed, “I assume that was you’re doing?”
The voice laughed again, “We had to contain them”
“Who is ‘them’” the king asked, yet as he did so he realized it must be the thing he knew not of, it had to be…
“The Creatures of course.” The voice replied, his words were starting to quicken, as if he was getting nervous for some reason. The static coming into the conversation was getting louder, and a strange clicking noise, however faint, could be heard. “I must go…” he said fear had made it’s way into his words, again the sound of papers being moved about could be heard, this time much louder than before.
“Wait!” the king nearly shouted, “what about these ‘creatures’?”
“…your Council knows…ask th…” the line suddenly cut out. And a harsh silence fell upon the ears of the King. The voice was gone, as if it had never been there, and now the ruler of Solicous was standing with the phone to his ear and no one on the other end. “The council?” he thought. His confusion had only tripled from the time he had picked up the phone. That man claimed to have answers to something he had no knowledge of. He looked to the window; in the east a warm bright light was melting away the cold dark sky before it. It was Sunrise, without a word he placed the phone down and hung it up. The coming day held a strange air, within the light of the rising sun, there was fear.
Cryo-Stasis chamber 01
Underground, Capitol city – Solace
The cold stale air of the cryo room drifted about, around the chambers of frozen warriors who were locked away after the civil war. Row upon row and isle upon isle of Soldiers who were genetically enhanced through cybernetic implants and bio- therapy were locked away due to high levels of nuclear radiation they sustained in the fallout after the war. Yet among them, there were three who stirred in their frozen sleep, three whose minds had been infiltrated by great fear, and great anger. Their minds saw fire, they saw the murder and death of thousands…no more than that their minds thought, millions. No, yet more their minds said; billions. The images the three saw were to horrible for any human to bear. Yet they were no longer human, they appeared human in every sense of the word, but they were something different now. Suddenly, on the chamber marked “0231” an arm burst through the glass that encased a man, his eyes opened suddenly as he felt himself fully awake, his red irises seemed to reflect the anger in him. He shouted loudly as his entire body burst through the chamber and onto the floor, sending glass flying everywhere.
The man fell to his knees breathing heavily. He looked up slowly and saw that he was the only one to awake. He looked to his arms and noticed a few tubes sticking into his arms, no doubt meant to keep him sustained while he had “slept”, quickly he grabbed hold of them and ripped them from his flesh, blood flowed immediately afterward yet he made no indication he felt the pain. He drew in a deep breath and listened for a moment, he could hear the waking of two others as glass shattered in the distance. He spoke, and when he did his voice was deep and seemed to be rigid “What could give such horrible visions?”
part ix
Desperate Policies
A sudden explosion lit up the southern region of the ORDER, tucked away in a rural part of the country it engulfed a single facility that seemed to dominate the landscape. With no clear sign of enemy forces around, it was clear that some sort of aerial projectile had hit the structure, leveling it in a matter of seconds. Giving information to other nations was considered treason, even if that information would help them solve a problem that threatened the Imperium, it was a crime punishable by one way only; death. Slowly the sun had risen in the east, finally driving away the moon from her place in the sky, not a cloud could be seen in the deep blue sky, not one single cloud for miles. It was a perfect day, yet it was also a day that begged to be ruined.
High Council chambers
0830 hours, First Encounter +2
"Damn it!" a council member slammed his fist into the wooden table as he shouted, the strong oak repelled the blow with ease and refused to shake a centimeter, even before the furious echo of his voice in the empty hall. The man's fist was overcome with pain and slowly began to shake as he lifted it; his knuckles were a deep shade of red from the impact. He held it close to him, silently cursing himself for doing such a thing. Now his anger was directed at himself, the only two other members who were present just shook their heads at him.
"Two days" another said his voice was ripe with uncertainty, "We've lost contact with Prometheus, and the Black Dragons."
"Not to mention every outpost in the jungle" their leader said in his normal, emotionless tone. "Perhaps sending the Dragons was not such a good idea."
"Must we consider them lost?" the first asked, he still felt shockwaves of pain in his arm from hitting the table out of rage for the situation they were in, he held his hand trying to keep it from shaking.
"Of course" the council leader said. "Prometheus is lost as well, as are the 250 crew members that were on board." he seemed to have no concern for the over two hundred people he was speaking of. No remorse for their loss, and no anger. Indeed all the men of the council seemed to act as he, perhaps they were trying to think rationally, or perhaps they truly did not care.
The second sighed, they were the only three members of council at the meeting; the rest had not showed up for some reason. Yet they paid it no heed, their minds were focused on their plight. “Yet it’s no doubt” began the second again, “that the ORDER is clearly responsible for Prometheus, our satellites caught sight of three battleships before they began their particle broadcast and cut out communications.”
“Is it so obvious?” asked the first curiously, “We did, after all, send samples of the specimen to the station.”
The second laughed, “Are you suggesting that ten larval stage specimens took down the entire station?” he grinned at the very thought, it was ridiculous to him. “A station, mind you, that served as a military outpost!” he emphasized the word ‘military’ as it was true that nearly 70% of the former crew was combat personnel.
The council leader sighed, “You of all people should know. Their genetic material is highly unstable, our tests show that each generation is different, more adapted to the harsh world we live in…”
“What are you saying?” confusion was nearly flowing out of the other two as they both asked the same question at the exact same moment. In fact, they had not even allowed him to finish, yet he would not get the chance. Suddenly the huge doors to the hall burst open and three highly armed men armed with rifles rushed in, clearing the room. The three council members looked at them shocked as two more descended from the ceiling; they trained their weapons upon the council and waited, in all there were five of them. They wore dark green helmets that covered the tops of their head, on their chest was a plate that covered their upper body, it to was green and appeared to be a very strong type of metal. Under the armor was their uniform, a very light tan suit, very plain and unassuming, they were the soldiers of the Solician Military, of no special unit, but fine combatants nonetheless. The rifles they held were long and black, and upon their sides above the clip holder was a pair of wings, hawks wings. The Hawk was Solicous’ national animal, it symbolized death coming upon swift wings from their hands to their enemy.
“What is this!?” shouted the council leader, anger flared in his eyes as he knocked his chair away.
“Sit down!” one of the soldiers shouted, he pointed his rifle directly at him. Another stepped forward and pulled out a small piece of paper, he held his rifle up with one hand and read off the paper with the other.
“Members of the high council.” he said trying to keep an eye on them and the words at the same time. “Proof has been found that you are responsible for breaking military protocol 023, and have violated the Abaddon treaty under section 21, paragraph 1, sentence 2 which states: “The Nation of Solicous hereby agrees to end all research in biological, nuclear, or otherwise “doomsday” weapons in exchange for coexistence with the Imperium of the Knightly Order.” Finishing he dropped the paper and placed both hands on his weapon, the small piece of paper fluttered to the ground and found a place near his feet.
“How have we Violated the treaty!” the first councilman nearly shouted, he made no attempt to hide his anger, trying to hide the fact they were right. “We have done no such thing!”
Their leader simply smiled a chilling smile, it was hard to place the emotion behind it, but if anything it was arrogance. “The king is such a fool.” He said as he stared them directly in the eyes, his cold glare was unnerving as he slowly raised his hands signaling he would give them no resistance. Who could know what worked in his mind behind those eyes that looked to be a mix of green and yellow.
“You hold your tongue!” Another soldier shouted in frustration, he held his rifle a little closer. “It’s you who are the fool; we are at war because of you!”
“Tell me…” the council leader said slowly, his speaking was low in tone and was hard to hear. “Have…the Guardians awoken?” The soldiers looked at each other and then back at him.
“I thought you knew.” A corporal said, “The guardian’s cybernetic implants were damaged from the nuclear fall out from the destruction of Abaddon.” The council member sighed as he looked up at the ceiling, he saw ports that let the bright morning light in from outside, no doubt used by the soldiers who came through before.
“I hope…you’re wrong” he said as he closed his eyes.
Suddenly without warning, the sergeant in the group gave a signal and they all aimed their weapons, he repeated a few words and then cried out the order to fire. All five of them pulled the trigger at once, each hitting their mark. Red clouds burst from the bodies of the councilmen as the bullets ripped into them, all save the leader shouted in sudden pain before dying shortly afterward. The leader himself seemed to have known it was coming and he did not even offer a final shout of agony as he felt life flee from him. The three fell to the ground, a pool of blood forming beneath them.
The soldiers lowered their weapons. “Alright” the sergeant said, a click filled the silence that fell and he spoke over the radio. “Targets eliminated. Awaiting orders…” There was silence for a moment until a responding voice was heard.
“This is HQ,” it was their commander, “creatures sighted 4 kilometers from 'Old city' ruins. All units of the 5th Solace are to report to mobilization port 9. Repeat…” The sergeant turned the radio off and looked at his men.
“You heard him!” he shouted, he couldn’t help but sense fear moving into his stomach, like a cold knife settling into his body. “Let’s move!” They hurried out, not bothering to do anything about the three dead men, their blood still spilling unto the floor.
Kommodus
01-13-2005, 05:47
This is a good story; keep it up! I'd write more comments, but it's late and I need to go to bed...
~D
I like.
(Theres only so many ways to say I like things so a smiely will suffice, but I know that ots nice to know people appreciate your work. So I'll try to reply each time)
I am usually a bit hesitant to comment on matters of language because English is not my native tongue, but I do have to ask: have you edited this story thoroughly? There are at least a couple of long sentences that look like several short ones pasted together and the introductory paragraph contains a line that is completely out of place. There are also a number of other style issues that seem rather 'unprofessional' from a good writer like you.
But, I like it. The way you avoid picking a main character is very good, though it may turn out to be a weakness unless you have got the plot worked out thoroughly. Keep posting, please ~:thumb: .
I need to answer a few things before i continue...
@Kommodus: thank you, glad you like it.
@zelda12: sometimes a smiley face and a few words says all that needs to be said.
@Ludens:
I do have to ask: have you edited this story thoroughly?
the short answer, No. ~D the last one was edited but not as much as i did with the last few. For that i apologize
the introductory paragraph contains a line that is completely out of place.
~:confused: usually the only things that slip through are punctuation or spelling errors. The only one (in this last part, part XI) that seems to be anywhere near that is the third sentence, if that's the case then it's supposed to be there. That sentence informs you (or should have, my fault for not making this clear) that the voice from part VIII was tracked down and eliminated by his own government.
"Your savior" The strange voice laughed. The king was confused at the remark to say the least. "I have information you may find useful."
and after i gave a short description of the call cutting out and an explosion following...
Giving information to other nations was considered treason, even if that information would help them solve a problem that threatened the Imperium, it was a crime punishable by one way only; death.
If that was not it please tell me... And don't hesitate to point something out like this, more often than not you're right.
There are at least a couple of long sentences that look like several short ones pasted together. There are also a number of other style issues that seem rather 'unprofessional' from a good writer like you.
a slip of the pen (or should i say finger?). it can sometimes be easy to overlook commas and making sure the sentence is not to long when editing, at least for me it sometimes is. I did find what you meant, Thank you for pointing it out :bow: .
The way you avoid picking a main character is very good, though it may turn out to be a weakness unless you have got the plot worked out thoroughly.
Ah! i'm so glad i'm not the only one who thought that was a good thing ~D. As i've said before, i am not the only one who created this storyline. it was done by two patrons on "Nationstates.net", the plot is already there, from start to finish it's developed. I intend to keep it that way and i won't change a thing about it, keeping to the rp that was done.
Thank you for taking the time to comment, i'll be more careful from now on. Really i promise!
CrackedAxe
01-15-2005, 02:00
Thanks monk, I enjoyed this and it kept me to interested to the end, which is an achievement in itself as I've such a lousy attention span! Keep up with the writing!
:Jester:
Monk, did you deliberately put all your 'I's as 'i's.
frogbeastegg
01-16-2005, 18:50
sometimes a smiley face and a few words says all that needs to be said.
Good, because that means I can get away with saying :rtwyes:
:winkg:
the introductory paragraph contains a line that is completely out of place.
The only one (in this last part, part XI) that seems to be anywhere near that is the third sentence, if that's the case then it's supposed to be there. That sentence informs you (or should have, my fault for not making this clear) that the voice from part VIII was tracked down and eliminated by his own government.
Yes, that was it. The problem is that those two scenes (the telephone call and the explosion) are not continuous: they are separated by the scene of the man escaping from the cryo pod (not to mention that they were posted three days apart).
There were also a few style issues I wanted to comment on. First, your use of extremely long sentences. Long sentences are part of your style, and I am not saying you should stop using them, but making the really long ones somewhat shorter will make the story easier to scan. It often looks like you are trying to make one sentence do the work of two.
Two other things:
The second laughed, “Are you suggesting that ten larval stage specimens took down the entire station?” he grinned at the very thought, it was ridiculous to him. “A station, mind you, that served as a military outpost!” he emphasized the word ‘military’ as it was true that nearly 70% of the former crew was combat personnel.
Both 'military' and the councilman's ridicule are stressed thrice! You are not developing a habit of over-explaining yourself, are you? This can be very hard to get rid of, as yours truly can attest ~D .
Seriously, this about the only place where you overemphasize explanations, but it is rather obvious here.
“How have we Violated the treaty!” the first councilman nearly shouted, he made no attempt to hide his anger, trying to hide the fact they were right.
In the first place: this sentence is actually two sentences separated by a comma. This is grammatically wrong: if you have to put two independent sentences in one sentence, separate them with a semicolon. Secondly, for the entire scene we cannot read the thoughts of any character, except here, were you tell us one character is lying. It would have been better if you had used another way to make clear that they had broken the treaty. “Show, don’t tell”, as they say.
I hope you found this helpful and I eagerly await your next episode,
Ludens
part x
Bloody Twelve
In the middle of a vast and open plain, down upon the brown land next to a dried river a city was built in generations past. Constructed by the ancestors of the Solician people, it had been forgotten and left to the cruel keeper of time. Yet one hundred years ago, the city was found again. Its huge towers long since had fallen into decay and its streets were now broken. It was renamed “The Old City” simply because no one knew its true name, at least no one could remember. Being nothing but a heap of twisted stone and broken memories, it was unlikely that any sort of military force would ever try and seize it. However, the 5th Solace was organized and deployed there for no clear reason; and the troops were given no real answer as to why.
Indeed, even when four thousand men arrived they had no idea what they were doing. Their orders were simple, if not a bit vague; “Deploy defenses along south edge of city, man defenses and await orders.” Something wasn’t right; the Old City held no tactical advantage whatsoever, if so then it would not have been left alone for thousands of years. Yet here and now fully half of the most experienced fighting regiment in the Solician military was deployed; and with nothing to keep the troops company but the whispers of the wind. If the commanders of the unit could, they would surely have questioned their orders. Perhaps they should have, but the “soldier must do what he’s told” or so thought the colonel in charge of the force.
The Old City, remnants of the inner walls
1130 hours, First Encounter +2
The sun was almost in the center of the sky above, the deep blue still seemed to overpower and push all clouds from sight on this morning. Twelve noon was fast approaching as the soldiers of the 5th Solace dug defenses along what was now a ruin of a wall. They brought heavy equipment from the capitol city; Auto-turrets, anti vehicle and personnel mines and explosives which they deployed near and around their positions. Soon a long trench line formed with gun emplacements settled along the way. The troops continued to work, still unsure why they were there, when a sudden sound was heard. It was a piercing scream on the horizon, a sound that cut into their heads like a knife and scratched their minds. Hearing it was almost painful to them, but when the sound died away no sign was shown of what may have created it.
The colonel knew something was wrong as he emerged from a nearly broken stone tower. His eyes scanned the area about him, yet all he saw was his men stunned by the horrid sound. He stood as a harsh silence fell, the wind ceased to blow and all about the army seemed to die. The troops began to man their defensive positions as three scouts were sent to secure the areas on the horizon. Down away to the east there was a small farming village that had also fallen to ruin, after the layer of confusion had melted away the colonel thought he caught sight of movement there through his binoculars. Therefore the three scouts were dispatched. They hurried along on foot, moving fast away from the trench lines.
“Charge up the Auto Cannons!” the colonel shouted as he hopped into the trench, his men were rushing about getting into position. His shout was loud and seemed to call the attention of all near him. His men obeyed his order and finished the uplink on the cannons, as power flowed into the machines a humming noise drifted on the air. “Good.” The colonel sighed as he looked to the small village on the horizon. “We need to be ready.”
Time passed by, what seemed like hours was in fact minutes. The sun had just set into its highest point in the sky when a single man was seen stumbling toward the lines. His movement was erratic and one hand seemed to clutch his side, he wasn’t far off and some could tell his armor had been ripped apart. With each stumble a scarlet liquid fell from his body, until finally he fell to the ground motionless. He wasn’t but thirty feet from the lines when his strength failed him. An apothecary jumped from the lines and ran out to him, his white armor and the badge that he wore on his shoulder guard signified he was a man of medicine. However as the apothecary neared the fallen man a series of piercing screams was heard; his eyes darted to the horizon where a black image filled the land. The soldiers in the lines readied their weapons as it came near him.
It looked like a sheet of ice sliding upon the land; countless limbs of terrible design propelled a number of creatures too many to count. The eyes of the apothecary swelled as he saw them, rows of jagged teeth dripping with saliva as thousands of screams all sounded at once. He turned to flee, but as he did so they were upon him, the creatures rose from the ground to their full height and erupted in an attack. They changed from ice to a wall of claw, tooth and bone as they consumed the healer and tore him apart. With the apothecary dispatched the creatures screamed in delight and turned their black eyes to the prepared defenses, where in two trenches awaited the warriors of man. They sighted their prey, and went forth into an attack; the creatures moved with incredible speed as they charged the humans they hated with a passion.
The soldiers of the 5th solace were terrified, seeing their comrade ripped into pieces before their eyes caused them to tremble in place; to afraid to even fire their weapons. The creatures neared them and with a roar of thunder the auto-cannons opened fire, not needing permission from their creators to act. The bullets that fired from them sprayed into the line of advancing creatures and slowed them down, but didn’t stop them. They kept moving forward, despite the number in which their kind was slain. The thunderous fire of the auto-cannons broke the humans from their terror, and as they realized how close the creatures had gotten they began firing their weapons. An entire line of steel and cold death erupted from the trenches as the guns let lose into the black mass of creatures that raced forward. The creatures fell in massive numbers now, yet they did not stop. Their bodies piled up as little as ten feet from the human lines, they advanced and yet more died and fell upon the already fallen creatures.
They kept attacking with a furious tenacity, charging screaming loudly and brandishing their teeth and claws only to be mowed down by the humans. A wall of corpses was formed in front of the humans as they never stopped firing. Their fingers keeping the trigger pulled back until they had no ammo in their clips, at which point they reloaded and kept firing. The heat rising from their weapons and auto-cannons was unspeakable, almost making the trenches unbearable on a day as hot as it was. The screams of the dying creatures still ceased to stop as they pushed forward, death cries and final screams from inhuman things overshadowed the rumble of the guns of the Solician defenders. The bodies of the fallen creatures began to become an impediment to the ones that lived; and as they tried to climb over them they were killed, causing the bodies to pile yet higher. A small wall had formed ten feet from the human lines, a wall of twisted limbs and lifeless bodies when suddenly the creatures stopped advancing.
Silence overtook the land as the attacked ceased. The troops lowered their already overheating weapons, their ammo was low and they breathed a sigh of relief. However before the first “what was that about?” could even be uttered, another wave of creatures exploded over the wall of corpses and leapt upon the humans. They tore and ripped them into pieces without mercy. The auto-cannons had long since run out of munitions and offered little help as the creatures attacked the humans in close quarters, however the tired humans were not about to give up. They suffered terrible losses as they fought back, trying desperately to fend off the creatures. They might have done so if their enemy was not so numerous; another wave hit the trench and pushed the humans from their positions. Those who could not get out of the trench and fox holes were consumed by the creatures and cut up quickly.
The second line of trenches was ready; however it held fewer men and they could not hope to fend off the creatures’ assault. Still they clenched their weapons tightly and readied themselves for the creatures to organize for their attack. They were a hundred miles from nowhere; their transports were to far away and they’d never get to them. The creatures cried out and charged them, hoping to overwhelm them as well. The surviving troops let loose and opened fire, however their numbers were cut in half. Yet as the creatures neared the seconded line explosions burst from the ground, they had entered the minefield. The creatures seemed to ignore the fire erupting all around them and pressed forward, taking yet heavier losses. Soon their relentless tactics pushed them out of the minefield; in fact all the mines had exploded. They were about to jump upon the defenders of the ruins and slaughter them when blue projectiles strafed the ground, massacring their frontal “ranks”.
A huge vessel strode through the air above the creatures and countless guns began to open fire; repaying the toll of slaughter they had done to the humans a thousand times over. A door opened in the side of the mysterious ship and armored warriors starred out. They tossed bombs from the ship which landed in the mist of the creatures’ ranks and exploded killing yet more of them.
A loud and deafening scream, which silenced even the huge guns of the ship was heard. It died away slowly and quickly after the creatures began pulling back. However, as they did so twenty warriors appeared in their midst, they materialized out of the air with bands of blue energy moving over them. They wore no armor at all, only dressed in dark robes that covered them from head to toe, their faces covered by dark masks. Out from under their hoods a red light glowed from their eyes. They carried large swords that pulsed with energy. In their retreat, the creatures attacked them trying to get away, however the men brought their blades down on them, cutting their limbs and what seemed to be their heads from their bodies. They stood their ground as the ship above kept firing, killing any creature that dared go near them. However they were outnumbered hundreds to one and their force began to thin. If it was not for their retreat, the creatures would have soon overcame the small number of warriors who had teleported into their midst. Yet when all the creatures had finally forsaken the battle, a second wall of corpses had formed. In the center stood three figures, their dark robes torn and their masks ripped from their faces. They were the last guardians of Solicous, cyberneticaly and biologically enhanced warriors. The ship thundered off, making sure the creatures retreated.
Exhausted they fell to the ground breathing deeply the air which tasted like blood, the scent was so thick. The colonel of the surviving troops walked up to them, he grinned widely as he shouted “Good thing you boys showed up!”
The only one who could manage it looked up; his blazing red eyes pieced the colonel’s and stared into his mind. “You’ve lost three thousand men…” he said in a cold and nearly hate filled voice.
The colonel looked surprised, “I have? Well… whatever the number we did our job.” He couldn’t help but feel confusion as to why his men were dead, yet he shed no tears for them. Before he could ask exactly what had just happened, the guardian spoke interrupting his thoughts. However his words were not to him, but to his comrades
“Azreal…” he was exhausted as he pushed the words out forcefully, “are they falling back?” a man with blue eyes looked up, he replied in a quiet voice that was hardly above a whisper.
“Yes brother…” his voice was smoother than that of the red eyed guardian, and it seemed much softer. “But they only retreat to regroup.” slowly the three men were regaining their strength as their cybernetic and biological enhancements slowly returned their stamina.
“Then let’s go.” the first guardian said, all three slowly rose to their feet and put their swords at the ready. As they as surveyed the ground, strewn with the slain of both species; the guardian with red eyes stared upon the human dead. His brothers looked on the dead and felt sorrow and regret in their hearts that they had died, however he did not.
“…how is it” he said muttering to himself, “that I feel nothing?”
“Did you say something Uriel?” Azreal asked as he turned to his brother.
“No, nothing at all.” Uriel replied.
@CrackedAxe: thanks. i'm glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for taking time to read it.
@zelda12: did i put all my "I" as "i" on purpose? yes. why? Your guess is as good as mine ~D . just something i do.
@Shadow: thank you, i'm glad you liked it.
@Froggy: ~D :bow: (since you complement with smilies, i will thank you with smilies ~D ~;) )
@Ludens: Looking back you're right. when i actually take time and look at that paragraph i can see i could have picked a better spot to say that, or maybe even have placed it into the previous part. anyway, thank you for pointing it out.
The other things you said i've worked on and i made an attempt at keeping sentence length down this time around. I hope i did a decent job at it.
Yes, i found what you said very useful. anything to help me improve.
Brilliant, superb and really exciting.
CrackedAxe
01-23-2005, 11:39
Another gripping installment, thanks Monk. Your description was very atmospheric. The only thing I would have asked for would be some dialogue in the actual battle part of the story, to get us IN the trenches with the fighting men. The point of view was a little omnipresent for the most part (the same critiscism was given to the early paragraphs of my own story 'The Battle of Maldon' on another forum, read it on this forum to see what I mean) and I think that the description of the battle might have been even more immersive if told from the point of view of a particular soldier or soldiers. Apart from that minor gripe though, well done!
part xi
Lost Knowledge
Godsend, Imperium’s North Shore
1600 hours, First Encounter +4
A Scientist sat alone in the lab, the dark room about him was silent with only the hum of the computer in the corner to keep him company. Dim light shined forth from the monitor as white text appeared letter by letter. The man brought up his right hand and rubbed his weary eyes and sighed, they ached from looking upon the screen for so long. As the text finally stopped appearing he read over the file on which he had searched for. They were records of the treaty of Abbadon, an agreement signed by three nations that seemed so long ago in time. “Solicous” he spoke for the first time in hours, his voice barely above a whisper. He coughed suddenly as he grasped his throat, ‘so dry’ he thought to himself. His eyes scanned the darkness for his cup of water, and to his right the faint outline of it stood; quickly grabbing it he poured it down his throat. the rush of the cool liquid washed away the dry feeling and he smiled.
The Scientist sat down the now empty container and read the file on the treaty, his heart was starting to beat faster for some reason as he did so. Slowly he felt a strange anxiety rising, he took a deep breath and tried to calm himself but to no avail. The words before him seemed meaningless and served to the Imperium’s great advantage; but why now after so long would he be ordered to review it?
“This is pointless.” he said aloud to himself in frustration, it must have been the fourth time in the last seven hours he had read over the document. Still the words were the same; nothing was different save maybe his attitude toward his assignment. It did not help matters that the only copies were made in the Solician Language; a clumsy and unpredictable language hardly fit of civilized people. He grinned to himself as he thought that. He leaned back in the chair and looked at the ceiling; the darkness around was like a shroud, he could barely see beyond the dim illumination that his monitor provided. As he took his eyes away from the screen his eyes slowly began to stop hurting, he closed them for a moment and was about to try to rest them when he heard the sound of footsteps.
His eyes suddenly sprung open as a set of footsteps echoed down the hall just outside his door. The scientist turned and looked at the door. His stomach was tying itself in knots nearly making him fall upon the floor. Slowly the foot falls got closer; each step echoing in the perfect silence until they were directly outside the doorway. Slowly the knob turned and the door then flew open quickly. The scientist was blinded by a sudden rush of light, as he tried to adjust his eyes the only thing he saw was a dark figure standing in the doorway. He did his best to conceal his fear, raising an arm to try to shield his eyes from the light attempting to see who stood before him.
“Have you found it?” the figure said, his voice was low and rigid. He stood perfectly still as he said those words, yet as he spoke one could not help but feel afraid for some reason. As if this one man had enough power to end your life. That is the exact way the scientist felt as he looked upon him. In an instant his covered fear came screaming to the surface, he could feel his gut wrenching about, making him sick to his stomach. He cleared his throat and managed to keep his voice from cracking.
“No…” he replied softly, his eyes were slowly adjusting to the light yet all he saw was still a dark figure.
The dark figure sighed slightly, however it was barely noticeable. “I don’t think you realize what’s at stake here” his frustration found its way into his voice, despite his control over his reactions.
“Of course!” the scientist said, slight desperation setting in. “Of course I do! I…I just need more time!” his thoughts were denying his words even as he tried to reassure this man he could complete the task he was given.
“The Berserkers Jarls no doubt already have the Information we need.” The figure clenched his fist showing his anger. “Must I remind you the penalty of failing the Emperor?”
“No!” the scientist shouted in pure fear, he knew he couldn’t find what they wanted him too. However to fail was to die. His hands began to tremble slightly as he rose to his feet, pushing back the chair against the desk, making a soft noise as it hit the two crashed together. “I’ll find it!” he was praying that his lie went unnoticed.
The figure thought for a moment, or at least appeared to think. He finally made a movement, yet to the scientist’s dismay his hand traveled to the gun that was strapped to his side. He removed it from the holster and stood with it drawn. “You had seven hours to accomplish the mission.”
“Please!” the scientists shouted, nearly begging as he spoke desperately. His heart was racing from his fear and the sickness he felt in his stomach turned into a slight pain. “I beg of you…I have served the Emperor countless times” He had jusr begged for his life, and he was hearing a voice screaming in his mind to run. His eyes scanned the room quickly; no way out. “…please more time!”
The figure raised the weapon to the scientist’s head, the scientist’s bottom lip was trembling as the shadowy figure spoke; “You have failed.” He slowly squeezed the trigger and the gun fired, the noise filled the room and silenced all about as the bullet exited the chamber. The scientist’s head was thrown back as the bullet hit, his blood splattered on the wall behind and his lifeless body fell to the ground; his eyes frozen open in pure horror. Blood began to flow from an exit wound on the back of his head. A spent bullet casing fell to the ground and bounced toward his body, it rolled on to its side and rested beside him.
The figure put his gun away and walked over to the monitor, he wiped the blood that had splashed onto the screen away and then looked at the words. He input a command and jumped to the third page of the document, where he saw words that translated to “Resolution of DEFENSE.” He read on to where the text displayed an agreement between the Imperium, The Kingdom of Solicous, and a third party called The Dominion of Berserker Jarls that stated “Technology will hereby be put forth and shared between all nations. As payment to The Imperium, the Nation of Solicous agrees to give 1/6 of unoccupied land to the Imperium and puts at their disposal the minds of their research teams.”
The figure opened a new file with the punch of a few buttons, he read over the first few lines and smiled, it was the information he needed. He read over the first line aloud to himself “The Imperium enacts power given to it by the Treaty of Abbadon and demands that the Kingdom of Solicous provide it with a new weapon, as payment for assistance in their Second Civil War.” He shook his head and laughed slightly. He was looking at the secret agreement between the two nations, forged shortly after the war.
“The fool” he said as he looked at the dead scientist. “He was interpreting their archaic language wrong.” He reached down to his side and flipped a switch on his personal communicator. As he did so a voice came over the channel. “Unit 2463, Report!”
“This is 2463” he replied, “mission complete.”
“You found it then?” the voice on the other end asked.
“Of course” he answered as he smiled to himself.
“Good job brother. Purge said item from system mainframe.” The channel was closed as the voice ended the transmission.
The dark figure leaned over the interface and punched in a series of commands; the screen suddenly flashed and went blank. After a few moments, the words “File deleted by order of the Emperor” appeared. Satisfied with his work the man turned and walked out, grabbing the door handle and closing it behind him. The dead body of the scientist was cloaked in darkness as the computer shut itself down, leaving a terrible silence behind.
-
what do you say when you forget to update something in 13 days? ...oops? seriously, sorry for taking so long in this one everybody. hope you enjoy this part at least a little bit :stwshame:
btw, i hope some of you are starting to figure out what is going on. if not, i screwed up ~D
I'm getting a vague inkling of whats happening. Something to do with experiments on test subjects by Solicious or something. Which, as will always happen in such circumstances, leads to some undefinable evil being created. ~:)
Part xii
Old Allies
Arctic outpost, Berserker Dominion
16:34 hours, First Encounter +4
The sky above was grey and bright as a chilling wind blew in from the north. It was just another day on the edge of the world for the Berserker Jarls, a people who had built themselves an empire that matched the Imperium’s in both land and power of technology. A fierce warrior people, much like that of ancient Vikings in days past; not even the Imperium wished to evoke their wrath. This outpost was one of many stations in the frozen north, stationed around a huge white wreckage of some sort of vessel. One that was nearly as big as the continent on which it rested. The mangled armor torn from ages of the ice’s wear stood silent, echoing the shouts and loud noises by workers who worked tirelessly to uncover the entire structure. Its origin was unknown and after years of study its secrets were slowly being revealed. However this day, an even colder wind would blow from the south, one of treachery and war.
The lord of the camp stood in the middle of the blowing wind which held a thick blanket of snow and ice. He was unshaken by the gnawing cold of the wind that seemed to cut straight into one’s veins and chill their blood. After years of this weather day in and out, one ceases to care or notice. In his hands was plans of the giant wreckage they were uncovering, all indications was that is was some sort of ship. However it was not an ORDER vessel; its design was much to alien. Strange that an unidentifiable ship would be found here, the place where all scholars claim the Berserker Jarls had from come countless millennia ago. “Careful there!” he shouted to a couple of workers removing some radioactive substance from the ship. His voice rose above even the howl of the wind and startled workers, and they nearly dropped their load.
They grasped onto the handles of the radiation shielded container and pulled it up just in time keeping it from smashing on the ground. Their lord laughed, “Gotta be careful like I said!” he grinned at them. Strangely they couldn’t help but smile and nod as he did so, seeing such a hard and tough guy like him laugh could make anyone feel at ease. They moved on inside a lab a little ways from him, no doubt to study their find.
The Lord rolled up the plans he had and was about to walk away when a messenger ran up to him. He was going as fast as he could, which wasn’t very fast at all as he was trudging through the snow. “Lord!” he cried, his voice was nearly over taken by the wind, and his shout was nearly silence to a whisper but his commander heard him. He turned around and replied “yes? What is it?” only now after being in the cold overseeing operations for six long hours was he feeling the cold creep up on him.
“Call for you sir!” the messenger replied; even though he was wearing a thick coat he was visibly shaking. To used to the southern climates no doubt.
“I’ll go to my office.” replied the Lord. “I’ll take it there.”
“Yes sir!” replied the messenger, he turned around and moved as fast as he could to get back inside. The Lord just laughed seeing him shutter so easily. He walked away to a large building in the center of the outpost; it was in fact the central command for the entire northern continent. Uninhabited except for the Outposts of the berserkers, it held no real strategic advantage for any nation to control it, no recourses and no military advantage. Yet for the last ten years the Dominion of Berserker Jarls had occupied it, claiming to be doing “archeological” study.
The Lord of the camp reached the building and opened the door; the snow blew in quickly as did the loud scream of the wind outside. He stepped in and slammed the door behind him; a warm light greeted him and melted the snow on the floor almost instantly. He set the plans down and walked up a flight of stairs, moving through the base at a rather lax pace. He reached the door to his office and opened it, inside was his desk and pictures hung on the walls of his accomplishments and medals he had won. A few weapons were also hung on the wall; close combat weapons that were rarely used in war but still a symbol of pride for all Berserkers. His phone was silent as he closed the door, but as he took a step toward his desk it began to ring. ‘This had better be good’ he thought to himself, he was tired after a long day of excavating.
He extended his hand and picked up the phone and slowly brought it up to his ear. He cleared his throat and spoke; “Yes?” he said in his normal tone, though it was deep and menacing even when he was relaxed.
“Am I speaking to the Commander of this outpost?” a voice on the other end asked. Emotion was hard to find in the words, perhaps because it was a simple question.
“Yes you are.” Answered the Lord, “what do you want?”
“Good.” The voice said as a background voice could be heard speaking, though it was nothing but a mutter to the man in the office. “I’m going to have to recall all the soldiers from the Northern Continent.” It was now that the Lord realized who this was, it was the leader of the Berserker nation. He was startled by the comment to say the least.
“Sire?” he said as confusion set in his voice. “May I ask why?”
The voice on the other end took a deep breath and said “thank you” in a low voice, but it wasn’t directed into the phone. “Four days ago” he began saying speaking to the Lord again “One of our sleeper agents working in Solicous went missing. He missed a contact and is presumed lost.” It sounded as if a few papers were being shifted around and a pen was writing on something as the Master Berserker spoke. “However…before contact was lost we received an unexpected piece of information.”
“What do you mean; “unexpected”?” asked the Lord, he would have questioned why he was receiving this information had it not been for the fact he was in command of nearly all of the Berserkers northern assets.
“Something worse than seven years ago.” the Master spoke in a low tone, in a way he himself was unable to accept the horrible truth of his own words.
“Worse than the Plasma Explosion?” the Lord was completely shocked, how could anything be worse than that? It was hard to imagine something had happened that was worse than an explosion that nearly destroyed the world.
“…Indeed.” the Master’s reply was slow. He spoke off to someone else, not into the phone again saying “mobilize our assets; I want them ready to march ASAP.” The Lord was getting nervous; he had heard that last sentence even though it wasn’t spoken to him. War was coming again.
“Sir, what happened?” he asked, trying to keep his composure.
“We were sent plans for a new weapon by the spy.” The Master said, the Lord could not see him to notice his head was looking at his ceiling wondering how he could contain the situation. “A weapon that is unlike anything I’ve seen in my many years.”
“What is it?” The lord inquired, now seeds of strange curiosity had been set and he desired to know. Even if the information filled him with fear he felt he must know; as if his destiny would be decided by that said weapon. “Did the ORDER master Plasma technology?” there was no answer. “Did Solicous introduce a new breed of Guardian?” silence greeted him once more.
“Yes…and No.” The Master finally answered. His voice held dismay, and a strange one at that. He never had showed such emotion to any of his military officers or to the public, always remaining a strong pillar of resolve. What could drive him to show his true feelings?
“Sire, I don’t…” understand was the lord’s next choice of word. But he was cut off by the Master.
“You don’t need to.” he said, knowing what he’d say. “I’m going to tell you. Were you there a few years back, the aftermath of the Second Solician Civil War?”
“Yes I was.” The Lord answered, ‘who could forget?’ He thought.
“The Abbadon treaty was signed by the two greater powers as both intervened.” The Master seemed distracted as he spoke, probably doing multiple things at once. “Because the man who grabbed power had launched nuclear weapons, a new government was installed with both nations support.” The lord was wondering where this was going, “The compromise said Solicous would help the Imperium research a number of things. It was to ‘Double the research power’ in the treaty’s own words.”
“Sire…I fail to see…” again the Lord’s words were cut off; if he was speaking to a lesser man he would be enraged. Yet despite talking to the Master Berserker and leader of his nation, he was becoming a bit irritated all the same.
“The Imperium demands of a new weapon have fallen into our hands.” The Master’s words calmed the irritation in the Lord shocked him slightly, ORDER transmissions were hard to intercept.
“What is it?” As he said that he heard a loud crash on the door downstairs, he lowered the phone from his ear even as the Master was explaining the situation. The crash repeated itself, this time even louder. His first thought was that one of his workers had crashed one of their heavy lifting vehicles into the base again. It happened when rookies took the control; however as he was raising the phone to his ear another crash hit the entrance door, busting it from its hinges and sending it flying into the base. And following it was a loud piercing scream.
His eyes set upon his door through which he could hear all this happening. His Master was shouting on the phone, he heard the sounds too but had no idea what was going on. Fear was rising in the Lord’s chest; it felt like an iron hand had grasped onto his heart as another scream was heard echoing through the base. He heard what must have been countless limbs pounding on the stairs rushing toward his door.
He dropped the phone and grabbed an axe off the wall; the frantic shouts of the Master on the phone were warnings telling him to get out of the room. Yet there was no way out as something crashed into his own door, denting it. Another crash hit the door; the hinges were giving way visible as the Berserker stood with the weapon of his ancestors in hand. He could hear a snarling as the door gave way under another hit, and in stepped a creature that was an abomination to the gods. There were six arms on it not counting the two legs; the arms were shaped thinner than humans deceiving the power they held. The creature stood slumped over, it had an elongated neck and a head that was dominated by a huge mouth; filled with teeth sharp as a needlepoint.
The creature charged screaming and the Lord swung his axe into it. The creature underestimated his strength raising two of its arms to stop the blow, only to have them hemmed off. The Berserker screamed in rage and swung his axe around severing its head. A green blood sprayed out and covered both him and the room. As he brought his axe down he could hear even more coming into the base, literally pouring through the door below. He readied his axe and waited for them to come bursting through the walls.
“Father Odin” he said as the lifeless body of the creature sat before him. His breathing was a bit heavy as he had put tremendous power into his swings. He had no doubt in his mind that if he attacked with any less power; the creature would have easily blocked him. “Give me strength.”
----
And so Enters the Dominion of Berserker Jarls, the third and last major player in this story. Hope you enjoyed this last part. This story is now over 30 pages long (MS word) ~D.
if you spot some editing screw ups I apologize. I’ve gone through it a few times but I’m seriously tired at the moment. I'll look over it once more after I’ve got some rest.
@zelda: ah, yes. partly true, but it's not exactly that simple as you shall find out in later parts.
Very good, ~:D descriptions were a bit thin on the ground as far as the people/buildings/environment goes, but thats just your writing style.
as for the people: that is done purposely. No one character is described in great detail. Even the guardians (the only characters who have names) have no basic description. This is done for a reason, so no one person becomes the main character. In a sense Humanity is the main character, by taking char. desc out you find yourself thinking about the entire people instead of one or two of them.
I thought about how to write this for a long time, and everytime i tried to do it with main characters it failed and turned out horrible. I kept trying until i came across this style of writting. This style places the focus on the race/people instead of individuals. I like it because it fits well with the theme and you don't get bogged down describing some people who you know might die in five minutes (that's imo at least). In that sense this story is very experimental for me. But i have given descriptions for certain characters, i.e the ORDER ship captain, the Solician Army, Black Dragons, Colonel at the Old City (you get the idea).
as for buildings/environment: same reason. I do give desc of Environment when i think it's needed, but here the outpost is not important. All i wanted you to see was a small outpost in the middle of an arctic continent situatied around a huge vessel of some kind.
but i'm glad you liked it ~D
very nice
I like your style of writing.
Greetings Master Monk,
It was by chance I found this story and I must say; you give it a new and an exciting twist.
I am flattered you give the Jarls such credit and I am anxiously awaiting the continuance of this master piece.
Good work!!
part xiii
Not so Human
Blast zone 002, Quarantined area of Solicous.
21:00 hours, first encounter +4
Uriel kicked a stone as hard as he could, the rock speed over the cracked earth and bounced up before crashing down and shattering into a number of fragments. “We’ve lost them!” he cried in frustration, his brother Azreal was a few feet away and scanning the ground below him looking for some indication of where the creatures had gone. And the third guardian; Tanthius, stood upon a smoldering wreckage looking into the horizon. The wreckage he stood on was their ship, the very same they had teleported from at the Battle of the Old City. Its armor was ripped open and the crew inside was slaughtered; however there was no sign of any creature for kilometers.
“Would you keep it down?” the voice of Azreal hummed as he looked over the ground for any tracks. “Tracking these things is hard enough without you throwing a fit.”
“Well I’m sorry” Uriel laughed as he sat down on the dusty earth; his voice was worlds different from his brother, being hard and wrathful. Yet that was how he always spoke. “We can’t all be pacifists like you.” He turned to Tanthius who was standing silently on the wrecked ship and shouted, “Ain’t that right Tanthius?” However he gave no response, only staring emotionlessly into the horizon. A gentle breeze picked up and a strong silence fell between them.
Azreal rose to his feet and looked at Uriel, “You shouldn’t waste your time. First generation Guardians lack all emotion…you know that.” He sighed slightly as he said that, feeling strange sympathy for his brother who felt nothing.
“I know.” Uriel said, “but at least he isn’t consumed with worry and sorrow like you” Uriel grinned at his brother teasingly, such a joke was out of character for him. Azreal gave a slightly laugh and his soft voice emitted a strange hum as he responded.
“Yeah, and Gods forbid he be like you third ‘genys’ …full of hate and wrath!” He smiled at his brother as thunder boomed overhead. Their joking came to an end as lighting streaked across the dark sky above, each of them could sense the ominous feel of the wind. Azreal could feel a strange emotion floating on the air but could not place it, Tanthius put his hand on his sword as bands of energy began to pulse through it.
“The enemy is approaching” he said as he saw a band of creatures closing in fast, his voice was metallic and lacked all emotion, just as Azreal had said. Uriel smiled and quickly stood up readying his weapon; Tanthius leaped from the smoking heap of metal and joined his brothers and waited the arrival of the Creatures. They each held pistols and power swords at the ready awaiting their enemy; as they did the wind began to howl and above the rain broke and poured down. However as they stood, no creature appeared. Azreal used his mental prowess to scan the area around them but could sense nothing, he began to think Tanthius’ eyes had deceived him when suddenly from all around them the earth was broken and shot up into the sky by some great force. Through the dust of the shattered land the creatures jumped on the guardians; their number was small but they were confident having the element of surprise. However the swords of the Guardians flew through the air, cutting through the falling rain and finding their way through the tough flesh of their enemy. Within seconds three creatures had fallen.
The surviving creatures screamed in anger at the fall of their comrades and brought their claws to bear upon the guardians, only to meet the same fate. Tanthius swung his sword around, hemming one in half just as Uriel struck down one who was about to rip into his brother. Azreal stabbed his sword through the chest of a creature; the abomination fell upon its hind legs and slumped against the guardian. Azreal lifted his leg and placed it on what could be considered it’s “shoulder” and used his foot to push it down on the ground. The creature’s eyes were frozen in an instant of anger that it took to its death. The last creature attacked Uriel as he turned from slaying one, and in pure hatred drove three arms through the warrior. A strange dark green substance flowed from Uriel as the creature’s arms began to withdraw themselves from his body; however Uriel looked directly into its coal black eyes. He smiled a sick smile, “Not bad…” he said in a low voice, his wrath was rising in his eyes as his blood dripped down his body. The creature looked at the way he seemed to feel no pain, and for the first time in its existence, knew fear. It desperately tried to withdraw its limbs from Uriel and screamed in pure terror, yet the guardian raised his pistol quickly and jammed it into its mouth, shattering its huge teeth.
“My turn…” he pulled the trigger and his weapon fired, blowing a hole into the creatures head sending its brain and pieces of flesh scattering into the air. Uriel pushed the dead creature from him and screamed aloud in anger, firing a number of rounds into the its body. As he looked around he saw that both his brothers had survived the attack, but something was different. He looked down and saw that from his wound was flowing a green substance, it was his own blood. As his eyes looked on his brothers he noticed for the first time his blood was that of a different color, theirs was red and his was green. More shocking, his blood was the same color as that of the creatures’. The other guardians took no notice to this, assuming that it was the creatures’ blood. Before they could examine his wound more Uriel covered it quickly.
Tanthius looked down into one of the holes the creatures came from and saw a metal corridor, it appeared to be some type of hall way. If he could feel confusion, now would be the time he’d feel it. “Brothers…” he said in a slightly weary voice. “To me.” Azreal and Uriel quickly came over and looked down into the hole; they were greatly shocked to see what looked to be the hallway of some underground base.
“Good work Tanthius.” Azreal said as he looked down, “we’ll keep moving from here.” His eyes set on his brother Uriel who was holding his covered up shoulder. “Something wrong?” he asked concerned.
Uriel shook his head “No…I’m alright.” Azreal could sense deceit in his words however Uriel was always secretive to some degree, he paid it no heed.
“Very well, let’s move through here” Azreal motioned to the hallway as Tanthius dropped down into the hole without waiting another moment. The sound from his landing echoed through the dark corridor, he looked around seeing no threat and motioned to his brothers that it was all clear. Azreal then descended into the hall followed lastly by Uriel.
The guardians readied themselves and moved down the hall, being cautious and alert to any sign of the creatures. Yet as they traversed the metal corridor there was neither sight nor sound of them. The only thing that greeted them was the whispers of an age gone by. The darkness was thick as they moved slightly quicker, around them they were slowly starting to hear noises; that of a computer processing something. The sound seemed to go hand in hand with the silence making them all a bit uneasy. After what seemed like hours they came out of the darkness into a fairly sized room with a large computer and screen on the north wall. On the left wall there was a door and the right wall there was a map of Solicous with areas marked out. Much of the north was a red color and marked “Loyalist”, the south western portion was covered in blue and had “Alliance” written on it. Finally the jungles of Solicous and the south-eastern area of the map was a color of green and labeled “NR rebels”.
Azreal laughed “I don’t believe it.” He looked at the high tech equipment in the room and smiled.
“What is it? Where are we?” Uriel asked; his usual anger ravaged voice was now taken by confusion as he looked around. Tanthius scanned the hall behind and made sure it was secure; lacking emotion he did what he normally did at this moment which was his job.
“It’s one of the Berserker’s bases they established in the Civil war.” Azreal said rather anxiously as he walked over to the computer, he punched in a few commands and quickly text displayed itself. The words were in the berserker’s language; which if you had an understanding of Old Norse, was not that difficult to understand. Of course, knowledge of foreign languages was something implanted into all guardians since the first one was created.
“So…how does that help us?” Uriel rolled his eyes, his annoyed and hateful voice now found its way back to the surface surpassing his confusion.
Azreal was punching in commands to the system as he responded, “You have to think of the bigger picture dear brother.” He couldn’t help but smile, “From here I can access the Solician Mainframe, maybe there’s info about those things in there.”
“Oh” Uriel said, a bit embarrassed he didn’t think of that. “Well then go ahead.” In a few moments Azreal had established an uplink to the Solician mainframe network and gained access using his authorization code. As he did so though, a question appeared on the screen. Yet it wasn’t a search question or a password requirement; displayed in perfect Solician was the question “Just what do you think you’re doing Azreal?”
Uriel was astounded as he saw the text display itself on the screen, as was Azreal. “What the hell? Did someone track the link?” Uriel asked worried
“No.” Azreal replied. “It’s coming from…” there was a beep from the machine as he found the location of the sender, “inside the mainframe.”
Tanthius heard that and said “It must be Andy”. He turned and faced Azreal who in turn did the same. “The A.I” as normal his voice was emotionless, but his eyes reflected his confidence that he was right.
“I thought that thing was deactivated.” Uriel said as he looked at the screen.
“Apparently not,” Azreal said as he punched a few keys. “Maybe he knows what’s going on.” The guardian punched the keys before him and asked the A.I a simple question, “What do you know about the creatures?” there was a moment of silence before a line of text flashed into place. “Be specific Guardian.” The A.I responded.
Azreal shook his head, computers are stubborn they need the right info. So he rephrased his question. The sound of him hitting keys filled the room as the others watch the words form on the screen. “What do you know about the creatures met by the 5th Solace at the Old City?”
The A.I responded rather quickly; “Quite a lot. What do you wish to know?” Azreal smiled and typed a simple word “Everything”
What followed was a lengthy silence before a number of lines appeared below Azreal’s query. It was a .dat file that the A.I retrieved and opened for the guardian, within which was a shocking amount of information that Azreal read aloud, perhaps some lines he should have kept to himself though. It read as followed:
“Specimen 04, starting as a bipedal organism created as a weapon of last resort. First test subject was created in the aftermath of Second Solician civil war, also known as G102”
Azreal couldn’t help but notice that was the designation for the second generation of Guardians. He stopped for a moment and thought of what that could mean before continuing.
“G102 was found to be too compassionate, not fitting with project outlines. Furthermore, subject’s Humanoid form created sympathy for “fellow” humans. Type G102 frozen following creation of fifty test specimens.”
‘That would explain why I awoke frozen in a cryo-pod’ Azreal thought. ‘But.. this can’t be right…’
“Experiments on second generation guardians yielded the creation of G103”
Azreal was starting to see a pattern; that was the designation for the third generation guardians. The same type Uriel was. Uriel upon hearing this became greatly confused as Azreal read on.
“G103 met outlined requirements of project, but Solician government was unwilling to follow through with experiments. Subject’s mental capacities proved unstable. Demand for a non-humanoid Specimen was first raised, G103 placed in cryo-stasis. G104 created some time later using the same method used for G103; manipulation and combination of DNA from various sources yielded the creation of what is officially named “specimen 04” or G104.”
“…what?” Uriel said. “This can’t be saying what I think it is.” Azreal ignored the silent words of his brother and kept reading, his own voice beginning to shake as he did so.
“G104 moved to Research station 82 for further experimentation and testing. Genetic material of subject is unstable and adapts to environment over a single generation.” The file ended, it seemed unfinished. Azreal couldn’t believe the words before him, if this was true, the guardians were created the same way those creatures were.
Uriel leaned against the wall; he couldn’t understand what he heard. Thoughts were racing in his mind, thoughts that sickened him but at the same time made sense. Neither of his brothers noticed the change taking place in him; Azreal was to busy asking the A.I if the information was accurate and Tanthius just didn’t care. Uriel closed his eyes, he kept seeing scenes of death and destruction and no matter what he did he couldn’t drive them from his mind. All at once a cruel realization dawned on him, he wasn’t human at all. He was one of these creatures just in human form. That’s why he bled the same color and felt no remorse for the dead at the Old city. As it all set in his hate seemed to flare up again, driving away his confusion. He understood it all clearly now, it was like a dam in his mind broke and every horrible thought he had fled into his conscience mind. But instead of being sickened by the images he saw, he smiled in delight. Any shred of humanity he had in him was lost in that instant.
He stood up straight and raised his pistol to Tanthius’ head, without hesitation he fired into the back of the guardian’s skull shattering the bone and ending the life of his brother. Azreal turned and saw Uriel standing over the fallen body of Tanthius, his mouth slowly opened in utter shock and fear as he saw the look on Uriel’s face. One of pure hatred like that he had never seen him show. Uriel pointed his pistol at Azreal and fired; his brother was fast and could have easily dodged the shot. Yet the sight his brother killing Tanthius was too much; he was frozen in place and the bullet hit him in the chest. The bullet raced through his chest and cut through his heart, ending his existence as well.
As if on cue screams echoed down the hall and Uriel turned to see two creatures coming out of the shadows. They looked upon him in a twisted sense of respect and bowed before him. The creatures had psychic powers as Azreal had, and they could sense Uriel had changed and was now like them to some extent. Strangely they now regarded him as as a leader figure. Uriel smiled as he spoke, his voice seemed a thousand times more ravaged by hate than it had been before. “Go now my brothers” he said, “gather our kin.”
--------
ok i lied... 1 main character (sorta ~;) ) .
@ shadow: thank you :bow: glad you like it.
@ Sigurd: ~D i've been hoping those who were on NS at the time would come by and read this. i'm very glad you like it and the Jarls deserve all the credit i give them. very glad you enjoy it
part xiv
There is one truth
Solace – Capitol of Solicous
6:00 hours, first encounter +6
The darkness held sway in the high council chambers, dim lights were placed here and there but they did little to hold back the void into which all sight was lost. The king was sitting alone, with papers strewn about him. He was reading over them endlessly trying to take in all the information at once; it seemed each time he had a grasp on the situation another messenger would burst through the door with yet more bad reports for him to read. Some were inferred readings taking by satellites; others were first hand reports from scouts. The later being very small in number, it seemed hardly anyone ever saw the creatures and lived to tell about them. Every shred of information at his disposal told him they were advancing, consuming all in their path.
He raised his hand and wiped the sweat from his forehead and yawned. He looked up at the clock but he couldn’t see the hands on its face. Though the way he felt it must have been early, or perhaps late. He was losing track of time; after four days without sleep that tends to happen. He looked wearily at a scouting report, his eyes barely open. Slowly his head was moving toward the table, yet he didn’t seem to notice. Before he realized it his head was resting on the wooden table and his eyes were closed. He might have found peace in his sleep if at that very moment a messenger burst through the doors to the hall; sending them flying open and hitting the walls with a huge crash that echoed in the empty room. The king sat straight up and looked at the frantic messenger, his weariness melting in an instant being replaced by concern.
“Sir!” the messenger shouted as he rushed in, from the way his breathing was heavy he had no doubt been running for some time. “I’ve…been trying to find you!” he stood by the king and bowed.
“What is it?” the king asked worriedly, seeing the look of terror in his face.
“The creatures” he gasped between heavy pants. “They’ve…overrun Arcadia…”
“Damn…” the king stood and hung his head low as he walked a few paces along the smooth floor. “But I thought the 17th mech division was stationed at Arcadia?” he turned back to the messenger and studied his face; as if drawing the information from him he sighed. He knew the answer before it was given to him.
“The 17th has been wiped out.” the messenger replied regretfully. He was finally catching his breath but as he now had time to “digest” the information he carried; he was overcome with sympathy.
“Then that puts them somewhere outside blast zone 02” the king was speaking to himself, putting his thoughts into words trying to make a plan. It was not uncommon, but the messenger could not help but speak to him.
“Sire.” He said glancing over the reports the king had been reading, “after they took Arcadia. They stopped…” The king’s pacing suddenly stopped, he turned around and looked upon the messenger.
“What do you mean stopped?” he asked confused.
“I mean they stopped” the messenger said again, “as in they refused to keep advancing.”
“They haven’t stopped once since we encountered them” the king let his mind wander again trying to find meaning in that piece of information. “it has been one city falling after another.” He looked at the messenger and asked “What’s in Arcadia?”
The messenger shrugged his shoulders “not much sire, just a typical small city. No real strategic advantages.” The king had hoped that he’d know more; some piece of intelligence that had been over looked. Arcadia was indeed not important; the only importance it carried was the 17th mech division patrolled in the area.
“First the Old City” the king looked up into the darkness above him, he couldn’t see the ceiling. “Now Arcadia. Just what is it they’re after?”
Another messenger ran into the room, he took no notice of the other standing by the table; instead he shouted directly at the king. “Sir!” his voice was less tired than the other’s. The king turned to him, still lost in his thoughts. “call for you sire!”
“I don’t want to speak to anyone now” the king sighed.
“It’s Olav Grimsson” as the king heard the name of the caller his attitude changed almost immediately. He smiled slightly, that was the leader of the Berserker nation’s name.
“I’ll take it here, thank you” the king turned around and began walking to the other end of the hall, the two messengers bowed again and walked out. The king moved down the table to the far wall where he hit a button and lights came up slowly; the wall opened slightly and a monitor appeared out of a small compartment. He reached out and turned the monitor on, for a few moments the screen was scrambled; but as the signal was redirected soon an image formed. The face of a bearded man appeared out of the static; slowly the transmission was cleaned up and a strong wise leader’s image was before the king.
“Olav…good to see you” the king smiled at seeing his old friend once more.
“You too kid!” Olav laughed, “Been a long time eh?”
The king nodded, “Yes, since the Abbadon treaty. What can I do for you?” he got to the point quickly; despite how nice it was to see an old ally he didn’t want him knowing the troubles within Solicous.
“I think you should know.” Olav answered quickly. His eyes were unmoving and slightly intimidating to look into; despite being on a monitor. “We know of the daemons.”
The king was confused for a moment, but he quickly realized he meant; “the creatures…”
“Aye, call them what you will.” Olav said. There was no hint of friendship in his voice; his tone had drastically changed.
“How have you found out?” the king asked, his thoughts quickly moving to suspicion that someone had leaked information out.
“The question is not how I know of them” Olav responded, not able to keep himself from displaying disappointment at something. “The question is; what were you and the ORDER thinking?”
“If you mean their creation,” the king began only to be cut off.
“I do.” the berserker said. “I’d have expected better from you.”
“I didn’t give the order for their creation” the king said defending himself. “It-” he quickly found himself cut off again.
“It was your high council?” the berserker asked already knowing the answer. “Of course. But have you ever asked yourself why they did it?”
“I’ve been doing that since I was told of them” the king replied quickly. He started thinking to himself and said openly “perhaps I should not have killed them.”
“Dead men do not speak” the berserker couldn’t help but laugh; his laughter was strange and menacing to hear. ‘is that a joke?’ the king began to wonder. The berserker calmed himself, gaing control over his laughter. “Your council did not act alone” he said calmly, it was amazing to see how easily his emotions were put in check.
“Wait…then who-” the king was yet again cut off and becoming very annoyed. It was as if he was getting no respect from this man.
“We’re not sure.” Olav said, his own words intersecting the king’s. “Our sources show it was elements in the ORDER government; done without the Emperor’s knowledge.” The king’s annoyance was overcome with confusion, not the first time in this past week that had happened.
“But isn’t that treason?” he asked
“It is, as I’m sure it’s treason for what the council did.” Olav pointed out. “Two nation’s governments are hiding what their left hand is doing from the right.” As Olav was saying this the king realized what it might be. It was something that little remembered and if it was true, would make complete sense.
“Tharkkad!” he shouted. Olav was speaking at the time but the king had not even heard his words; he was taken aback by both the sudden outburst and by the choice of the word. The king smiled, he had to be right. “It’s Tharkkad.”
“What are you babbling about?” Olav asked. “Tharkkad annexed into the Imperium years ago.”
“I know” the king said, he would have been happy for figuring it all out if the whole situation the truth put them in was not so dark. “But, remember years back…when the Imperium was nearly toppled by a civil war.”
“I do” Olav nodded in response, still unclear what the young king was getting at.
“It’s well known that the ORDER government was infiltrated by Tharkkad officials” the king explained, trying to be as detailed as he could. “they tried to seize power in a civil war.”
“Ah yes” said the berserker. “I remember now; but if I recall the Emperor returned and purged the Tharkkad officials from the government. Indeed he purged all who fought him.”
“Yes” the king replied. “But…what if some survived the purge?” the questioned raised the berserker’s eyebrow.
“What are you saying?” Olav asked.
“What if the remnants of a Tharkkad government acted on the Abbadon treaty?” the king said asking a question that was not meant to be answered. Even as he spoke he knew the words that came from his lips were true. “Think about it; their power is broken, but they still wanted revenge.”
“So they use the Solician’s vulnerability to get them to build a new weapon?” the berserker was started to understand what was being said.
“Yes” the king responded. “Why not? If the reports I’ve read are correct; the specimen would have been shipped to the ORDER today if it had not gotten free.” Olav began to comprehend the information, he looked up and was about to say something when suddenly the screen went black. The light the monitor emitted was gone, but the silent hum of technology could still be heard. The king stepped back puzzled; trying to understand what was wrong when suddenly white text started to appear on the screen.
He read the words, and as he did he was overcome with anger because he knew he was right. His entire theory was proved by the words that appeared before him. In all five simple words were all that displayed, but it was enough to show a world of meaning; “Signal jammed by unknown source”
part xv
Little Arcadia
ORDER battleship, Cargo hold 02, Upper Earth Orbit
07:20 hours, first encounter +6
“And give thy thanks to thine Emperor!” shouted the chaplain, his voice echoed in the cargo bay bouncing off the drop pods behind him; being carried far above before falling silent. Before him stood hundreds of armored warriors, their eyes turned down at the ground; their silent lips and near glazed over looks did much to hide the activities of their minds. Inside of which thoughts of battle, death and war raged on; finally after so long they would taste battle. After countless days of peace the chance to crush their Emperor’s enemies had come once more; and they could hardly wait.
Amael was standing perfectly still; his eyes were upon the ground as morning prayers were coming to an end. He was of the Deathwing; he was one of the first into battle aboard Prometheus station and one of the only men who escaped its destruction. His flesh had been scarred in many places from the burns he had received from two sources; from the guns of the Solician security teams, and from daemons to horrid to look upon. The company chaplain began to bless each warrior, walking down the line telling them to praise the Emperor as they went to battle; Amael would normally be attentive at this time, yet now his thoughts were turning to his dead brothers. Each soldier of the Deathwing considered themselves closer than brothers; for the training was so rigorous and intense only ten percent of those who sought entry every made it through. And in many aspects they were much like the guardians of Solicous; manipulated through genetic enhancements and surgical implants. Yet even their strength did little to stop the creatures as they ripped through their ranks. ‘How could our strength fail us so?’ he thought to himself.
The ship communications engaged and a voice came over the intercom; it was the base commander. His voice held no emotion, only honor and duty. He gave orders to his men, telling them to board the drop pods and cleanse the Solician City of Arcadia. The name sounded familiar to Amael yet he did not understand why, perhaps an old memory forgotten long ago. A certain stress came over him as he realized he had heard the name but his mind failed him; yet he would have no time to gather his thoughts. For the commander’s voice dictated that the Deathwing should be the first into battle. “Destroy the xenos!” he said, if the troops could see him they would have seen a smile on his face. “For the emperor!”
Amael put his helmet on and linked it to his suit, his near silent breathing now moved through the metal face guard making an eerie sound. All the troops did as he; and soon they were ready to do battle. He grabbed his bolter and held it close to him, the huge rifle held immense power. Yet at Prometheus he had watched his comrades empty entire clips at a terrible looking creature and hit nothing but the metal hull. As the troops began to board the drop pods the images flooded back; the howling screams, the sound of flesh and metal being ripped open as blood flowed freely from severed arms and legs. The death cries from his friends; the charge of infuriated brothers in arms at the death of a comrade, and the sound of bone breaking. The undeniable crack from the communications system as another squad lost contact with him. It was too much; he grabbed his head and knelt upon the ground. Desperately he tried to drive the images from his mind but the more he tried the stronger they became.
He closed his eyes and said aloud “enough” his voice; normally quiet and calm came out metallic and menacing. Such was the way a helmet warped once voice to sound intimidating. Yet as Amael felt all the sorrow and loss building up; he felt a hand upon his shoulder. Slowly he looked up; his eyes wandered up the arm of a mysterious figure until he came to a face that was strangely calm. It was an ORDER admiral. He smiled; the wrinkles on his face became defined as he stared down at the troubled warrior. His eyes were a bright green; within them a strange light was glowing. They were the exact opposite of the dark voids that he saw within the creature’s eyes.
“Everything alright?” the admiral asked, he wasn’t actually concerned for Amael; instead he was concerned that the troubles the soldier showed would spread to the others. Even so Amael smiled beneath the cover of his helmet, even if the admiral didn’t care about him; it was nice to have someone ask that question once in a while.
“Yes my lord” he said and raised to his feet, for a strange reason he found it easier to drive away the horrible thoughts that had plagued him moments before. Maybe it was the strange calm within the Admiral’s eyes; or maybe it was the false sense of care that he showed. Whatever the case may be, Amael was finding his resolve returning to him.
“Good, we’d better get to the drop pods” the admiral patted Amael on the shoulder guard reassuring him. “After all, we don’t want to be left behind.” He walked ahead with the rest of the troops boarding and Amael followed soon after. About a hundred soldiers were crammed into countless drop pods. Drop ships that looked like a pod of some kind, enough for one or two squads; they were a one way trip to earth. The ORDER soldiers secured themselves and one by one the green light came from each pod. The battle ship then opened it’s cargo bay doors and a countdown began; on the bridge the commander of the vessel looked upon the earth as he nodded, giving the order for them to drop. The pods’ engines fired and down they went at an incredible speed. They shot from the hold and streaked into the atmosphere; the heat on their outer hulls rising at an amazing speed but inside the temperature remained the same. The troops inside the pods were being shaken about as they carved their way through the earth’s ozone and came falling through the morning sky.
Creature infested Arcadia
07:31 hours
Thousands of screams were echoing about at once; praising the day’s kill and the bounty of flesh they now could consume. Houses were broken and nearly torn apart and farms that had helped sustain an entire region were now being ravaged for sustenance by strange beings who seemed to care not who or what they ate. They were rampaging through an empty city; but as their “celebration’ went on; the sound of air being cut though could be heard. The creatures stopped and looked about puzzled; they had heard that sound before but their minds were all screaming and speaking at once. They could not silence them long enough to think properly and call the information they needed. The sound became more numerous and sounded as if something was on the way; yet as they turned and looked about them they saw nothing. They began running about in confusion before they saw it. Dark specks had formed in the sky above; the creatures looked at them curiously; turning their heads from side to side trying to analyze what they could be.
More and more of the objects appeared by the moment, and the sound of air being cut slowly changed to the sound of an object plummeting to the ground. Some of the more intelligent creatures screamed out and like ants running from a fire they scattered. Their timing seemed perfect as the ORDER drop pods slammed into the ground; destroying streets and breaking concrete sending huge cracks running from the impact. All about the land silenced as more and more of the pods fell until there was many throughout the entire city. Just as the creatures were about to show themselves the pod’s sides opened with the sound of air being released; as if a seal of some kind was broken and the doors to then flew open.
Amael and his squad ended up in the center of the city; three other pods had hit near by so they were not isolated as one or two squads found themselves. The ORDER troops disembarked cautiously; they were hit with a silence as they stepped from their drop pods. A silence that seemed to beg for an ambush and cry out for deception; it was unnerving. Amael moved his squad away from the landing and expected heavy resistance, but there was no sign of the creatures. Even more strange was the lack of corpses around him; he would not have expected corpses had the road not been literally “paved” in blood. It was sickening to see, and he could not deny a turning in his stomach as he saw entire streets covered in the scarlet liquid.
“Fifth squad come in.” it was the commander calling for Amael, the voice echoes inside his helmet as he gave a reply quickly. “Fifth squad reporting.”
“Looks like the Solician mech corps was wiped out.” He said as Amael detected a sigh upon his voice. “We’ve got downed Thunder-swords everywhere.” Amael was taken aback by the statement; the thunder-swords were formidable mech units and not taken down easily.
“Sir; we’ve got blood here, the streets covered in it” Amael replied as he tried to control his emotions; a squad of troops began advanced past him and his men. Moving slowly and cautiously down the blood soaked road. “I think whatever happened we missed it.” Yet even as he said that screams erupted all over the city at once. It was as if the creatures had tired of waiting and had sprung their ambush. Gunfire echoed over the city and the commander’s com link was severed abruptly. “Damn!” Amael shouted; he could sense moving all about him. The entire city seemed alive as the sounds of the creatures’ limbs upon the concrete could be heard; gunfire and death cries from both species raising up over buildings and echoing inside his helmet on the com system. The squad moving down the street ahead of him was suddenly over taken as a swarm of creatures bursting from a house nearby. Their weapons blazed with fire as their bullets cut into their enemy and slain many, but it seemed for every creature slain another appeared.
Amael ordered his squad fall back to the drop pod and call for reinforcements. He could hear the sound of death and battle raging around him as they pulled back; he reached the pod and moved inside. As he did so from all directions the creatures poured from their hiding places. From windows, doors and side streets they came like a wave. Amael’s squad opened fire into them; yet even as their shots hit the dead only seemed to anger the living. The creatures pressed forward, and with the way the ORDER troops landed scattered found them easy to rip apart and literally feast upon them.
The squad around the drop pod fired in every direction, but as the creatures came close they jumped to their hind legs and brandished their claws and arms. Rushing their armored foe in a frenzy cutting into them; even if the troops could stop one of their arms another three would slay them with ungodly speed. Amael turned and looked outside the pod to see his men being slain; grabbing his weapon he opened fire out of the pod. His bolter echoed in the confined space and the shell casing bounced from wall to wall being hitting the ground. His bullets cut into one; and then sliced into another shattering their bones and ripping their flesh apart. Yet as they turned their attention to him and moved upon the pod they became what seemed a wall of claw, tooth, bone and arm. They moved with such speed that even though he kept firing he could not tell if he killed any; they swarmed the pod moving inside even as the sound of the bolter continued. The last thing his sight saw was the jaws of a creature as its saliva dripped from a tooth before darkness fell upon him.
Within hours the ORDER assault on Arcadia was over; it had failed miserably.
-------------
so tired...but if i had put off posting this i was going to forget to; again!
the previous part was sloppy i know, i hope this one makes up for that. now i'm going to rest. (expect a few typoes as is my style ~;) ) :bow:
AntiochusIII
03-01-2005, 01:01
~:eek: Incredible. You are an excellent writer :bow:
Though I noticed that in part III (I've just read them all right now) your speechs sound - extremely - similar to the Warcraft III's "The Scourge of Lordaeron" opening movie ~;)
Am I right? ~D ~D ~D
Though I noticed that in part III (I've just read them all right now) your speechs sound - extremely - similar to the Warcraft III's "The Scourge of Lordaeron" opening movie
does it? i've not played warcraft 3 in ages.
i went over the third part and when i compared them there are some similarities i guess. both are discussing a threat of unknown source. The only part that actually sounds the same is the first guy, who now that i think of it does sound a bit like one of the men from that cut-scene.
oh well... if it came out that way i guess it's a coincidence; didn't mean to give that impression :stwshame:
i'm off to sleep now. i'm glad you enjoyed it though ~:cheers: ~D
part xvi
The Infected
“Shadow” station, Solician mountain cluster
19:01 hours, first encounter +6
The sun was falling into the west; the orange fire burning in the sky was fading fast as the night poured into place filling the void left behind. The purple mists of the darkness settled in as bright white stars peeked out from behind the veil. Not a cloud could be seen as a cold winter breeze drifted down from the peaks all surrounding the station, it was freezing cold. It always seemed to be here in the north where mountain peaks ran together; forming an almost impenetrable shield for Solicous to the south. Only the strongest ever survived in these conditions; fewer still would build their science stations in such a land. As the breeze turned into a howling wind; there was a strange noise on the air. A sound that echoed industry and mighty machines, yet as it was thrown from mountain peak to peak; it at the same time sounded almost ancient.
Matiel yawned as he drew in the cold dry air of the mountains. He stretched his tired arms before letting them fall and sighed frustrated. ‘Some job’ the words sounded loud inside his tired mind, yet if he had spoken them they might have only been a whisper. He looked around himself to see no one in sight; nothing but the biting wind that was freezing him in place. The mountain trail was already gathering a light frost and the lights on the side of the station gave the only illumination in the darkening landscape. The jagged outcrops that rose high above the station on all sides cast deep and dark shadows as the sun was setting in the west. Matiel was considering going back inside; after all why should he freeze out here when Solicous wasn’t at war with anyone. The wind blew harder suddenly and he heard it scream as it passed through the metal of the only mining mech they had.
“That’s it” he said finally; his eyes felt as if they were turning to ice in his very sockets. He turned quickly and extended his hand to the keypad near the metal door leading into the station; he punched in his access code. As he did so a series of beeps followed his finger movements. Words on the keypad flashed “Access Granted” and the door unlocked. Matiel smiled slightly as he grabbed hold of the handle and pulled quickly; yet as the door flew open he heard it for the first time. It was very faint but there all the same; two sounds were gliding on the wind and piercing the silence of the mountains. Matiel stopped immediately as he heard them; they were worlds apart and barely even audible as he turned and starred at the mountain trail in front of the station. One sounded like a mech column; but the sounds were louder and heavier than that like a thunder-sword might make. The other sound seemed to blend into the wind; and its screaming noise became apart of the howl of the wind making Matiel think it was just his imagination.
His mind focused on the machine sound; he couldn’t help but feel uneasy the more he listened. For the more he listened the more he thought, and the more he thought the more he realized something was amiss. There were no mechanized divisions in this area; at least there shouldn’t be. His confusion was cut through and disappeared in a flash of laughter as he shook his head and spoke to himself “Easy Matiel” he calmed himself; “no one would dare try to get through these mountains.” He looked to the trail, his eyes slowly roamed along the sides of a mountain that skirted the small road. “It’s probably just the 81st…yeah that’s it” his words were hollow holding no confidence; yet he nodded his head quickly trying to convince himself he was right.
Matiel turned and before he could think anymore he walked into the station; the warmth of the base quickly drove away the ice that had been settling into his blood and his worries quickly. He placed his rifle at ease and began to make his way through the concrete halls of the base. He sighed as he moved through the science station; this had to have been the dullest post he’d ever received. Why the 10th Kanak had to baby sit a bunch of scientists and their little “pets” was beyond him. Day in and out nothing but guard duty; he’d much rather have a post in Solace, or maybe even Tartarus. ‘I’d much sooner rebuild Abaddon then stay here’ Matiel thought to himself, he couldn’t help but crack a smile.
He reached the inner security door and punched in the access code; he looked around for the usual site of about a hundred scientists running about. Each spouting their own version of ‘techno nonsense’, holding clip boards and trying to do their job as he; yet he was all alone. The hall was deafly silent; his finger pressed down on the “enter” button on the keypad as his eyes scanned around. The pad quickly accepted his code clearance and the door slide open quickly. As he looked in the door he still saw no one around; not a single soul was in site where normally you could barely push your way through at this hour. The soldier could feel his uneasiness creeping back; and a slight sense of fear slowly churning its way into his chest. “Where is everyone?” his voice was but a whisper and meant for no one but him to hear; even so he half- expected someone to answer.
There was a chilling wind pushing through the base as he moved through the door; it almost felt like someone had left the hanger door open a few sections down the hall. Matiel kept moving; passed the security station where everything seemed in order, except no one was there. The gurgle of the coffee pot was the only thing making noise aside from his footsteps. He stopped immediately; suddenly he felt his fear come screaming into the forefront of his mind. Matiel felt his hands tremble around his rifle as he looked about in near panic. There was something close; he could feel the movement through the air. The soft currents of the wind were being disrupted. Maybe it was his imagination but he could swear something wasn’t right. He took a deep breath and felt the cool wind enter his lungs; he held his rifle close to him and kept moving.
Suddenly out from a side passage a figure bolted from cover and ran frantically toward him. Matiel nearly screamed in pure terror as he raised his rifle at the darkened shape of a man charging at him. It was making strange moaning noises; almost screaming but in a shredded and muffled voice. Matiel locked eyes with it, unsure of what to do for a moment. His finger tightened around the trigger and he was about to squeeze it fully when he a saw sharp object in the shape of an arm bust from the figure’s body in an explosion of blood. The figure let out of horrible shout and stumbled back; it fell to its knees letting out a wail as blood dripped from the new limb. A short and harsh breathing was coming from the man, if that was indeed what it was. Matiel could see he was a soldier; but his armor had been ripped in a number of places. The man’s skin was turned brown and his eyes were a mix between half black and half white; two voids of different colors. The limb that had burst from his left side was thin and elongated; much longer than his others. It dripped a dark blood that seemed a mix of scarlet and green; turning it to a fiery color that was strange in everyway.
Matiel held his rifle pointed directly whatever this thing was; its face was disfigured almost as if the bone structure was twisting about making the mouth larger. He could hear its heavy breathing through its teeth, causing a hissing sound. It looked almost human, yet it was changing into something else. Almost like… “No…” Matiel thought out loud, his voice taken by both fear and surprise. “Don’t tell me.” He looked at the figure sitting in front of him again and stepped back, yet as he did it let out a piercing scream unlike he had heard before. It caused him to drop his weapon and cover his ears and close his eyes tightly.
Slowly it rose to its feet and screamed again. Matiel could not stop from falling down on his knees as it did so. Two more arms ripped through its flesh with a sickening sound and dripped with its blood which was increasingly turning a dark green. He could hear bones cracking as his eyes wondered up; seeing the man’s eyes turn completely black and his face transform to complement ever growing jaws in his mouth. Gathering what sense he had Matiel grabbed his rifle and pointed it up toward the creature. It was preoccupied with its transformation as he took aim and fired; in an instant a bright wave of energy shot from the barrel of his gun and traveled through the creature’s chest. Developing bone and flesh were cut through in an instant as a cloud of its blood filled the air in a mist. It dropped to its knees, still breathing. Matiel stood up and let out a shout as he pointed his rifle at the creature’s head. As he pulled the trigger this time it did not get up. The energy beam passed through the head of the creature, slicing through its twisted brain and throwing the lifeless body onto the floor.
As life faded in the creature a hundred more screams rose up in an instant; Matiel readied himself as he stood. He could feel his heart in an iron grip; as if his fear had grown a hand and was holding onto it trying to make him fall before whatever awaited him. Yet as the blood was forming on the floor he stood firm, his mind reached a terrible realization. The rumors of test subjects were true, how could he have not seen it sooner? “how could I be that blind?” he thought to himself. As he stood rifle in hand the slight pain in his chest multiplied by one hundred fold; it felt like someone had stabbed him numerous times through his heart and he could not keep his strength. Once more he fell to the ground; he could feel something moving through his skin. His veins felt as if they would pop all at once any moment. “What…” he could barely manage the words as his breathing became shallow. “Is…ha...” his voice was warping; and before he could finish the last word he felt pain in every inch of his body. He shouted in pain as his eyes turned a black color; slowly his shout turned to a shrill scream.
ORDER bomber formation
Solician Mountain cluster; 2k from Shadow Station
A formation of lumbering bombers cut a way through the sky. Their black surface seemed to become lost in the approaching night. The air shifted about their wings as they thundered toward their destination.
The pilot flipped a few switches as he made the last course correction; he looked about him and spoke “flying over Solicous” he was reporting back to HQ as he was ordered to do. The co-pilot was scanning the sky; looking for any opposition but he saw none. “On target” the pilot sighed as he guided his plane through the airspace of another nation. He was piloting the lead bomber; another 5 were following his lead. He knew what he was about to do might spark open war, yet at the same time he had no choice. The co-pilot leaned forward and flipped a number of switches; they both heard the bomb bay doors open slowly.
“30 seconds.” he said quietly as he looked into the sunset before him.
A voice came over the com system quickly; it held no emotion which seemed typical for Order officers. “Do not let Infected humans escape” the voice said.
“I know sir.” the pilot responded as he looked at his co-pilot and then back at the sun. “But…I just don’t understand. Can we not leave this problem to the Solicians?” the co-pilot glanced at him but did not speak. The voice on the comms was silent for a moment, possibly wondering who this bomber pilot was to question him.
After a slight pause the voice spoke again. “Do not question the Emperor” it said as a hint of anger could be hear rising, though it was clear the voice tried to keep composed. “To question is to doubt… and to doubt your Emperor is treason.” The comm link was cut suddenly as the last words rang in the pilot’s mind. He shook his head and sighed, turning to the co-pilot he nodded slowly. He then flipped a switch and said “firing on target” and then pulled down a lever, the clamps on the bombs were released and they fell through the sky. The other bombers followed quickly releasing their payload. The bombs fell from the heavens and crashed into the station below causing a great explosion that rocked the mountains; a fireball rose up from the smoldering wreckage before being silenced by the cold wind.
Communications was re-established with their base of operations. “Target destroyed” rang over the open channel. A familiar voice responded; “Any sign of the berserkers?”
The pilot had no idea he was looking for them in this area, so he replied quickly “no sir.”
The voice laughed slightly; “I should have guessed…perhaps it’s impossible to get mechs through those mountains after all. Return to base”
“Yes sir” the pilot responded relieved; happy to be heading out of the Solician nation. Yet as the formation turned and flew back toward the Imperium; the earthshaking sound of heavy machinery could be heard in the mountains. Echoing through the mountaintops the sound moved south.
_________________
ok...had to write this two times to get it to come out right. some parts still seem a bit off but i think it's ok. please tell me what you all think.
just to clear something up; when i say "mech" i do not mean "mechanized". think "mech" like "mechwarrior" or a similiar universe. in otherwords; a battlemech which became common place in the armies of the region toward the end of the rp.
I sense a shift in technology from bullet-spraying to energy weapons. I guess it is time for pushing top secret technology into production.
I don’t mind spelling errors and whatnot when the story is as enthralling as this… I am waiting with anticipation for the next part.
Alexander the Pretty Good
03-13-2005, 01:38
"Game over, man, game over!"
That seemed a little like Aliens with the infestation... but I bet that's a pretty widespread Sci-fi thing.
Very, very good, as usual.
~:cheers:
Alexander the Pretty Good
03-19-2005, 01:15
I hope Monk didn't die at his computer. I want to hear the end of the story! :charge:
part xvii
Slow Genocide
City of Tartarus, Solicous
05:30 hours, first encounter +7
The night sky, normally a vast ocean of darkness looking down on the world was covered by a thick blanket of clouds. Thunder cracked above and rain burst forth, falling to the ground in a terrible storm. Lighting streaked across the sky as water covered the streets of Tartarus. Another cry of thunder sounded in the brooding morning sky; this time it was much louder. It shook the buildings of man to their very foundations, testing their strength before finally silencing itself. The people of the city, those who were not sleeping, fled for cover in the downpour. All accept those who had long since lost their way.
Corallis slumped down against the streetlight; its bright light warming his shoulders despite the freezing cold rain pouring down upon him at that exact moment. He closed his eyes and tried to forget what he saw; but the images had become imprinted into his skull. How a routine archeological study could go so wrong just didn’t seem possible. He closed his eyes even tighter trying to forget; however the more he did so the clearer the images became. The pain of lose cut through his heart like a knife; everyone he knew was gone now. ‘What were those things?’ he wondered to himself, even his mind was wrought with sorrow and confusion. Unfortunately no answer was given to him as a howling wind began to blow from the south; driving the wind down even harder than before.
Corallis opened his eyes slightly; small slits appeared in his eyelids allowing him to peek out unto an empty street filling with water. The grey buildings around him seemed hollow, only serving to throw his emotions screaming back into his mind as he searched for answers. Slowly he slide down the streetlight until he found himself sitting, his back still propped against the pole. Nothing made sense anymore; he let his shoulders slump and he closed his eyes tight once more. Finally admitting his spirit was broken Corallis gave up on everything all at once.
Yet even as he did so a sound came screaming into his mind, slicing through his confusion and his pain in an instant. The sound seemed to echo outside of the events of the world somehow; as if the thunderous storm above could not overshadow them no matter what it did. Closer and closer the sound got to him; and that’s when he realized it. It was nothing but footsteps! Footsteps were sounding clearly above the rain, the splashes of water and the thunder all at once. Corallis turned his head and focused upon where the sound was emitting from, and to his surprise he saw a lone figure. His vision was blurred from having his eyes closed so tightly, but he swore he could see that it walked at an angle. The figure was covered in some sort of shroud keeping his prying eyes at bay; for some reason it did not stand up straight. Moving slowly down the street it made no indication it even notice the broken shell of a man; or perhaps it did not care.
A strange curiosity filled Corallis as his vision cleared and he continued to examine this figure. He couldn’t even tell if it was a man or a woman, but it was very tall despite its bad posture. As the figure got closer he could hear a strange muttering of some sort. Words mingling together into incoherent gibberish seemed to settle on the winds about the figure; the mouth uttering such nonsense he couldn’t see. The more he observed the more Corallis felt a strange fear rising inside the pit of his stomach. The figure kept to the street and did not come near him; however as it reached a point directly across from him it stopped.
Corallis could not tear his eyes from it; whatever that thing was it was standing in the middle of the street muttering to itself. ‘What does he think he’s doing?’ He asked to himself, making the assumption it was a man. It was after all dangerous to stand in the middle of a street. ‘I should warn ‘im’ another thought crossed Corallis’ mind; yet when he opened his mouth to speak he found his voice was not with him. Nothing came out but a slight whisper as he tried to shout a warning. Quickly he cleared his throat; he could feel fear ruling his actions but for an unknown reason. Each time he tried to place the cause of this emotion he failed. His curiosity was buried by panic of sorts.
The figure suddenly turned and walked toward a bar across the street; the one Corallis himself had come out of not an hour ago. It took a step forward, and as its foot met the ground Corallis felt the sound echo into his mind. It was a strange sensation; one he did not fully understand. It was almost as if the sounds this creature made were amplified by a hundred fold when it willed it so. The rain began to ease up as the figure reached the door, it extended its hand and grab the knob and for the first time the broken man saw flesh upon this figure. Yet his hand was covered in gruesome scars, places where his flesh had been ripped clean and some sort of green substance had filled its place.
Corallis shifted his legs and placed his hands on the streetlight behind him, somehow he found the strength to lift himself up. It seemed he was not as broken in his spirit as he thought he was. A slight smile appeared over his face and he moved to walk away; yet as he did so the door to the bar slammed shut and the figure disappeared. As if he was chained to the ground he stopped in mid stride; slowly his head turned and his eyes settled on the bar door. He felt an urge to go there for some reason, yet not to drink as he had done so hours ago. Corallis felt a calling within his mind; stronger than he had ever felt in his life. As if a voice summoned him, at that moment all traces of his fear were stripped away and he took a step forward. ‘What am I doing?” he thought to himself. He couldn’t even answer his own question yet his legs did not stop moving. ‘This is insane, I need to get’ the word home never entered his mind, his thoughts quickly shifted to who that figure might have been. Corallis shook his head as he came to the door; it felt like he was losing control over himself. He tried to open his mouth but nothing happened. Slowly his hand moved to the door knob; he tried to jerk it away but still nothing happened. His hand grasped the knob and slowly it turned; Corallis’ right foot moved itself inward, and before he could struggle more the door shut behind him.
The figure was sitting at the edge of the bar; not many people where here at this time of day but there were a few. Most of the rough looking sort, the kind Corallis tried to avoid. The bartender served the figure a drink and then quickly stepped away, as if he wanted nothing to do with him. Corallis tried to leave but his body was still not reacting to his wishes; now not even his mind worked correctly. As he tried to scream out a strange and alien voice came into his thoughts. “Be silent!” it barked; a voice so horrible and ravaged by hate that it was hard not to be fearful at that very moment. Corallis did as instructed by the strange voice and stood at the door without another struggle.
Two drunken soldiers in the corner had been looking at the shroud of a figure sense the moment he walked through the door. Mocking whatever it was and having their fun at its expense. Eventually though they found some reason that their drunken minds considered an insult. That guy was sitting in their favorite chair at the bar; he didn’t even ask their permission! They talked about that subject, and the more they did so the angrier they became. Eventually they had had enough and rose up from their seats. Their minds overcome with alcohol and anger at no one thing in particular led them to the figure. The walked up to him; one of the soldiers tapped him on the shoulder but the figure gave no response.
“Heyy,” one slurred a word out, barely able to keep his own footing. “yous in my seat!” Again the figure gave no indication that he even acknowledged their presence.
“Yo!” the other shouted, his vision ‘blinded’ just as much as his friend’s “we’re talkin’ to you!” However this time the figure did respond he set down his drink and lifted his head slightly; the soldiers were expecting him to get up and fight but instead he remained sitting. He only uttered one word, and it was so silent they could barely hear it.
“Why?” he spoke softly, they could not even hear his tone of voice. If they had they would have surely ran in terror. Yet they laughed instead. Their laughter was silented soon enough as he spoke again. This time though his voice spoke not to their ears but to their minds. “Why is it you insult the bringer of your destruction?” The drunken men were confused by the statements made by this figure, and why his voice seemed so clear. They had no idea that he had not spoken at all; instead using his mind to speak directly to theirs.
“Y’know” the first spoke, “you don’t make much sense” he took a step back as the figure rose and discarded the hood he had worn. He turned slowly and looked upon them, his eyes were red and furious and his flesh looked like it had been ripped from his body and a newer, brownish color of a hide was growing in its place. Even their drunken state did not protect them from disgust, and they nearly threw up at the very sight of him. His eyes looked deep into their minds, throwing his own mix of sorrow hate and insanity into them as he wished.
“Very well” a sick smile appeared on his face as his voice appeared for what it was; full of hate and unlike any human sound ever uttered. “You shall be first!” The soldiers upon hearing his horrible voice could not help but cover their ears. In the blink of an eye he drew a weapon from his clothes and shoved it in one of the soldier’s faces. It was a pistol, the same kind the guardians used.
Terror overtook the drunken man as he stumbled back and tried to get out of the way; yet even as he did so the figure pulled the trigger and the hammer fell. His arm kicked back as a bullet traveled down the gun’s chamber and exited quickly; it hurled into the forehead of the soldier. The bullet punched a hole through his skull and traveled through the back of his head, throwing it back as a trail of blood left an exit wound. The surviving soldier fell back to the ground as he looked upon his dead friend, his eyes wide with terror and his bottom lip trembling. The man turned his attention to him and pointed his gun directly to his chest, and just as before fired without hesitation. A bullet flew from the pistol and ripped the soldier’s flesh, cutting through a rib before lodging into his heart. The soldier cried out in pain for an instant before his body went limp and he fell back unto the ground.
The figure grinned as he surveyed his work. He knelt down and placed a hand upon the wound in the second soldier’s chest; he wiped the blood from it onto his hand and brought it to his face. He put one finger into his mouth and cleaned the blood off, tasting the bounty of his kill. He then stood and let out a piercing scream that was more inhuman than anything he had done thus far. Those who had no fled in terror did so now, running from this man whoever he may be. Corallis just stood at the door; for some reason his body was still frozen. Now his fear had returned ten fold, his heart felt as if someone had stabbed him and let out all his blood.
The figure looked at Corallis and smiled. “Another tainted one” his voice seemed to sound strangely familiar to him. Yet before he could question that pain filled his entire body; he grabbed his chest and fell to one knee. Something was moving inside him, it felt as if he was changing. Pain like that he had never known before surged through his veins as he felt thousands of cracks form all at once in his bones. Only now had he regained control of his body, much too late.
The figure took a few steps over to him and looked around. “This city shall make a wonderful Hive” he laughed. His laugh was sickening to behold, but Corallis did not even take notice. He screamed out in pain, only to find his voice was so shrill it echoed nothing of what it used to be. The figure spoke again; but this time Corallis heard him, though he no longer cared. His mind was warping along with everything else about him. “These humans,” he said in utter disgust, “shall know the name Uriel…and they shall fear it!” He then threw his head back and screamed out again.
As his scream echoed into the darkness of the morning, the horizon was overtaken by a black object. Gliding at an ungodly speed it was heading for the city…
_________
~D no i'm not dead...yet. I've editted this but it's quite possible i missed a few things. If so i'm sure i'll spot them when i go over this again and i'll fix them soon enough :bow:
Alexander the Pretty Good
03-22-2005, 00:31
You had me worried, you hadn't posted in so long...
I like it. When you finish, you should compile it all into one post. Unless that is too long for some kind of posting limit.
master of the puppets
03-24-2005, 02:45
holy crap you guys write alot
part xviii
Gates of Solace
Slowly the bright star dawned over the eastern horizon and morning finally broke the dark night into pieces. The sky exploded in warmth as the deep blue was revealed after a long night of silent slaughter in the south. Black smoke now rose from the city of Tartarus; the once high spires of the industrial sector thrown down and in ruinous heaps. Horrified screams that had, for a brief time traveled on the morning wind now had fallen silent forever.
Solace Palace walls
10:21 hours, first encounter +7
Aradiel once more looked out over the citadel walls; his gaze now directed down toward the city below which was busy with activity. People were about going to work this morning as they always had in days before conflict found them. A slight smile formed upon his face as he spoke for the first time in many hours. “The cover story is holding” he said silently to himself. His mind traced back to the words of the King an hour before, as he addressed the nation about the stories of war. How blame was cast so easily upon the Imperium; he couldn’t believe how eagerly the people believed the lie fed to them.
As Aradiel lifted his eyes tracing the cityscape until his vision was upon the plains, until his sight met the southern horizon where the deep blue was utterly covered by a vast cloud of smoke. The guard sighed; he knew what it meant all too well. He could nearly hear the screams of the dead as they cried out for help before being suddenly cut off.
As he was thinking of the lost a footfall echoed past him; sending a sudden chill down his spine. Aradiel turned quickly to see his commander; the guard said nothing as he turned and looked into the horizon again. His commander calmly walked up beside him and did the same; both pairs of eyes settled on the smoke of Tartarus rising ever more.
“Terrible isn’t it?” the commander finally said after what seemed ages. The fragile silence was shattered before his voice, which itself was such a quiet thing. Aradiel turned and looked him in the eyes; within which a strange serenity held sway.
“What do you mean?” he asked in response to the sudden statement. The commander closed his eyes and bowed his head slightly; as if he was listening for something. Aradiel tried to do the same, but he heard nothing but the slight howl of a growing wind. As the eyes of the commander opened he took in a deep breath of the cool morning air, slowly letting it out.
“Can’t you hear them?” he turned to Aradiel and starred directly into the young guard’s eyes. Aradiel felt as if the man looked directly into his soul when he gazed liked that. He was so calm despite the fires of war being brought to the capitol of Solicous; his peace didn’t seem human.
“Hear what?” Aradiel finally responded, unsure of what was being asked of him.
“Listen!” the commander said harshly as he raised his hand. The wind seemed to blow harder upon his word; rising up in a thunderous cry all at once before slowly calming. “The ghosts in the wind… Can’t you hear them calling?”
Aradiel opened his mouth to give a reply; yet even before he could a horrible sound drove off the wind. It was a cry that held so much pain and suffering all thrown into one sound, it overwhelmed and cast down all human senses before it withdrew itself. Both the commander and Aradiel looked to the south, where now they could see black objects moving toward the city of Solace.
“And so it begins again.” the commander spoke; his calm attitude was not affected in the slightest by what approached. Aradiel’s eyes met with the onrushing wave of darkness heading toward the defensive positions on the city outskirts; he could feel his heart beating faster and sweat forming on his hands. His eyes became wide in his masked sense of fear; as the wind rose up once more in a terrible scream, he heard it. It was a vice calling to him…
Defense Outpost 01
Solace perimeter
“Get those Cannons charged up!” cried the captain as he pushed one of his men up onto the wall. The stone fortification was one of many on the perimeter designed to hold enemy forces at bay. The captain climbed up onto the low wall where already his men had their weapons displayed and pointed at their foe. A sudden humming noise on the air told him the auto-cannons were operational; power fed into them warming the cold metal.
The men surrounding him were the remnants of the 5th solace; whose ranks were decimated at the Old City. Veterans of that battle were all around, their green armor plating ripped in many places showing the true color of their armor below. Blood stained uniforms were a common sight; it had been five full days since the battle had took place but they bothered not to clean the blood from their clothing. They wore it now as a badge of their courage and skill; some even took trophies of the kills they had made. Many soldiers had parts of their armor rebuilt by using the hides off fallen creatures.
“Captain!” a voice shouted from behind him, the officer turned to see corporal holding two las-rifles. He smiled slightly as he tossed one up to the captain; without hesitation the officer reached out and grabbed the weapon. Quickly he checked the power levels and switched to ‘full stream’ mode. However as he looked down to thank the soldier, he was gone. The captain turned and looked out over the plains, mouthing a simple “thanks soldier” to himself. By now he could see them coming ever closer; the creatures he had heard horrible tales of were closing in fast. Fear began to rise ever slowly as thousands of screams echoed before their advance; they were like nothing he’d ever laid eyes on before. The ‘common stock’ was among them, however leading this terrible charge was a kind he had never beheld; neither in reports or by his own eyes.
Propelling themselves forward with two legs they moved faster than the others; they had upon their bodies what seemed to be four arms. Each long and slender until it reached the hands where claws stretched forth almost to the very ground. Beasts whose heads were elongated; their faces dominated by both eyes and a huge mouth. And strangely enough, their hides held a lighter hue than that of the others. Not dark but more of a tan, flesh color. Unknown to anyone, they were The Infected.
The captain held his rifle and shouted “Steady! Hold your ground!” his men shifted in place as they stood, the mass of creatures storming ever closer. In their hands they held their experimental rifles; and in their minds they prayed to the gods that they would not overheat before the day was won. Another batch of shrill cries rose up high and the creatures broke into a full charge. Their speed increased by five fold as if they were holding back before. A single voice met theirs in a thunderous shout; sending their shrill scream back into their faces. “Fire ‘em up!” the captain shouted as he squeezed the trigger as hard as he could.
All at once from the low wall came an arch of brightly colored energy beams; they shot from their homes within the rifles and traveled into the world ahead. Like lightning they sliced through the hides of the creatures; rending bone and skin without exception. The fastest of the creatures were the first to fall in this attack; falling upon the earth their brethren seemed to care not and kept moving forward. The soldiers opened fire again and once more numerous creatures fell in the hail of energy; yet unlike five days before they showed no concern for their dead. The creatures pushed forward without hate or fear, it appeared their minds were no longer their own.
Pulling back the safety lever the caption ejected a steaming energy cartridge; it was all but spent. The tiny energy generator fell unto the ground below him as he loaded another in. As his eyes settled on the tide of enemies before him; he saw for the first time how human some appeared. The creatures hurtled their dead as they came closer to the outpost, they were nearly upon the walls! The defenders kept firing; each shot sending another to the ground. Yet as one creature fell dead, ten more seemed to take their place in a never ending wave of attack.
The creatures finally reached the walls and leaped over them. The human defenders drew their knives and close combat weapons ready as they were fallen upon. They were not about to flee with Solace so close; this was it, it was all or nothing. Creatures of all shapes and sizes burst over the barricade and wall that had shielded the human forces; cutting through any who came against them with ease. They ripped men apart; slicing through their chests with their fingers alone and throwing their bodies aside they pushed on. Unlike before they made no attempt to feast on the flesh of their kills; this time they only attempted to kill any human they encountered.
The captain jumped from the wall just as they powered their way over and began their slaughter. He stood and began to back away slowly, holding his rifle at the ready. He could not comprehend the images he saw before him; he stopped at the other end of the outpost as the scene of death in front of his eyes played on. As what little soldiers that were not on the wall began to move to reinforce their fighting comrades, the captain stopped them. He rallied them around him and prepared for their stand.
The creatures threw the final soldier from the wall and screamed in delight; as their eyes turned to the captain and the few men he could gather they charged again. The surviving troops fired; their already overheating las-rifles let another wave of energy go into the dark mass of bodies. The creatures were nearly upon them when the captain drew his knife and held it high. In the morning sun, light was reflected off it as he stood amongst the last of his men. With nothing but his own pride and an over-heating weapon he cried “For the King!” and attacked…
The battle for Solace and all Solicous…had now begun in proper…
_________________
took me long enough didn't it? sorry bout that, i'll try to be quicker next time.
@ AtPG: this thing has just reached over 55 pages long in MS word. I'd say that's way too long ~D :book:
Alexander the Pretty Good
04-01-2005, 17:48
That was awesome.
It deserves a top-notch video game.
Congrats on 1000 views… and… well frankly, even I am getting a little impatient to read the next chapter of this marvellous story.
:book:
Great story Monk! ~;) Keep it coming! & Congrats on the 1000 view!
part xix
Siege of Solace
The black storm clouds that had broken the peaceful night sky at Tartarus and helped throw the city into chaos now floated on heavy winds moving toward Solace. The sun above was slowly losing its sway over the sky as slowly; a roar of thunder echoed across the earth. Yet when the boom rolled its way into the city it found itself thrown back and put to shame by the cries of humanity. Gunfire the likes of which not seen in years echoed throughout the streets of the city; sounding loudly like weapons of the gods themselves. Then the screams of frightened humans as their souls were ripped from their bodies would rise above all else; flesh was torn and thrown aside as the creatures advanced.
Intersection – 24th and Main Str
13:02 hours, first encounter +7
Hour three of the assault
Bethor threw himself against the cracked stone of the building on the corner; he could feel the strength draining from him as he held his overheating las-gun in his hands. Steam rose from within the chamber and the energy cell making the air he drew in even harder to process. Each time he drew breath he felt his throat being cut it seemed dry; it had been hours since he’d gotten water. His mind flashed to an hour before when he had consumed the last of his drink; how he cursed himself now. The soldier’s armor was ripped in many places; its green surface that reflected the pride within his heart was in tatters after heavy combat with the creatures.
In the distance Bethor could hear the sound of battle raging, countless weapons discharging as artillery shells exploded breaking the streets of Solace. Screams of both human and inhuman origin echoed through the buildings, rising and meshing together in a horrible chorus singing the song of the city’s destruction. For a brief moment his thoughts dwelled upon the civilians within the city limits. He could nearly see the images of a creature bursting through a door to some random home; screaming in some alien language and rushing forward with its claws glistening in the sun shinning through the window.
An exploding shell hitting only a single street away shook Bethor from his vision. He looked around himself to see only the bodies of fallen soldiers and dead creatures lining the road. The blood of the slain ran together and fell into the sewer. Before him laid the remnants of his squad; memories were now burned into his skull of their attempt to fall back to the palace. Now only he remained, and he had not the strength to even make the trip to save his own life. He could feel his weapon slowly cooling down in his hands. “Just a bit more” he said in a forced whisper to himself. “Don’t give up on me now.”
Bethor looked around the corner and gazed down the street. Not a soul or soulless being walked in his sight. “Alright Bethor” his mind spoke for him; words seemed meaningless at this point. “You can do it.” He pushed his body to move and was about to round the corner when suddenly a creature burst through a nearby wall. With lightning speed it slammed an object into the opposite wall across the street; it moved so quick the stone debris from the broken wall had not even hit the ground. Bethor stopped in his tracks as he saw it; the thing was only ten meters away and yet it had not spotted him. Then as his eyes turned to the object pinned in its grasp he understood why. With a sharp talon buried into its shoulder, blood was gushing down the body of a Solician soldier. His armor was sliced through like paper as he struggled and groaned in pain trying to get free. Bethor looked down at his las-gun hoping to lend a hand; the indicator still displayed it was too hot to fire. His grip tightened on his weapon as he felt helplessness wash over him.
The Soldier grabbed onto the talon like arms of the creature and shouted in pure agony. As if responding in sick enjoyment the creature pushed its arm further through him. Bethor watched as more and more of its arm disappeared into the man’s flesh and through the wall behind him. The soldier replied, he shouted as pain traced its way through his body and into his voice. Again Bethor looked down but the same words were displayed on his rifle’s energy cell; “Cell overheated”. He mashed his teeth together in frustration; his comrade was being murdered and he could do nothing!
The creature began to remove its arm; believing its prey all but dead. Slowly and with a sickening slide it removed its sharp talon from the flesh of its human kill, letting the man slide down to a sitting position on the ground. In his place on the wall was a huge impact mark; covered in his scarlet blood. Bethor hung his head, defeated in spirit as his brother in arms seemed to pass from this realm. The creature let out scream of delight and turned to seek out another kill. Yet as it turned the eyes of the soldier opened; drawing to him every ounce of strength in his body he drew his combat knife and hurled himself forward. A red mist followed his movement as he plunged the blade deep within what would be the creature’s skull; green blood sprayed freely from the wound as the creature screamed and turned quickly. Slicing the man in two as its arms came around.
Bethor watched in complete shock as the man was cloven in two; yet as his eyes turned to the creature as it too fell to the ground. No more did it scream or move, the life fled from it and ceased to be. He flattened his back against the wall and sighed; another hero of Solicous made and slain before his very eyes. As he stood in silence his communications headset crackled to life and a voice filtered through the static.
“All…nits” he could barely make it out; the static seemed all consuming as the voice continued. “be ..advi…ed…Berserker...” the transmission cut out suddenly. Bethor smiled even though he had not gotten the entire message; he knew what it meant. At that exact moment five aircraft flew overhead, rocking the buildings below and causing the creatures in the city to scream. His eyes wandered into the sky, the sun reflected off the metal of the f-24 “dragon II ”s as the passed over the urban zone. At that exact moment Bethor felt hope filling his heart once more, for he knew that now that truly the Berserkers had arrived.
Yet even as his hopes were rising, his ears heard the sound he had been dreading. The sound that can only be made by a thousand limbs pounding all at once; as he looked down the street passed the bodies of his squad mates he saw them. The creatures had organized and were attacking again; they filled the street and seemed to even topple themselves they were so numerous. He could not count the rows of teeth they thrust before themselves as they moved at an ungodly speed toward him.
Bethor could feel fear grip his muscles; yet even so he knew if he ran there was no guarantee he’d live another moment in this hell of a city. He glanced down at his las-rifle; finally the energy cell had cooled down completely. He raised it to his shoulder and stared down the rifle pointing directly into the eyes of his enemies. Bethor drew in a deep breath of the dry stale air about him and held his weapon tightly. His eyes closed as he pulled the trigger and a bright stream of energy flew from the barrel. He didn’t witness his shot slice through the brain of a charging creature sending it to the ground. After all, enough horrible memories were now his forever to treasure.
As his eyes opened the creatures were close and ready to spring upon him; as they drew ready their claws he felt his anger explode from him suddenly. Where none had been before now there was a torrent of rage; the memories of all the dead flushed into his mind as he fired his weapon in quick succession sending many creatures to the ground. Their blood splattered on the ground as their brethren hurtled their bodies and leapt into the air ready to rip the lone soldier to pieces. Bethor’s eyes remained open the entire time, awaiting the death blow, but none came.
From behind him came a loud and menacing sound; like that of gunfire but repeating so fast it sounded like one continuous shot. A huge spray of bullets swept through the creatures throwing their bodies back into the air like rag dolls and slaughtering them as they advanced. The entire line of creatures was torn apart in moments as the line of fire engulfed them.
As the weary and slightly confused soldier turned he saw standing some distance away what looked like a pillar of metal. Yet as his eyes adjusted he saw what he had longed to see for many hours; an Odin battlemech of the Berserker Dominion. A mech whose arms were nothing but large weapon platforms; it stood proudly with a huge cannon extending out from the main body on its back. Steam slowly rose from its arms where it had fired. Bethor smiled but suddenly felt pain course through his veins. It overcame him quickly and caused him to fall to his knees; as his eyes moved to his chest he saw a large cut tracing his torso. He could feel his blood leaking from him at an enormous rate. He dropped his weapon and lifted his tired arms up to his wound; he inserted a finger inside his own body and felt deep inside him was lodged a sharp piece of hide. He closed his eyes; the image of a creature’s arm being blown off its body ran through his mind. And then the memory came, the image of that very arm slicing into his chest. With a final look toward the berserker mech he took a deep breath for a final time and fell to the ground.
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Holy crap! ~D i go away for a little bit and this thing gets over 1k views :dizzy2: ~:eek: wow...thanks to everybody who's been reading this!
@Sigurd Fafnesbane: Patience is a virtue my friend. i do apologise for taking so long... glad you like it. :bow:
@Shadow: glad you're enjoying this still. :bow:
@Alexander the Pretty Good: why thank you. i'm glad you like it :bow:
@Shadow: glad you're enjoying this still. :bow:
Of course! It’s just that I was busy with my assignments and semester exam so I didn’t visit the forum in awhile. Who won’t want to know the ending for such a great story ~D
part xx
The Lord of All
Caliban Dr. – only remaining road to the Citadel Gates
14:20 hours, first encounter +7
Hour four of the assault
Commissar Czevak stared down the street littered with debris and fallen bodies. As he inhaled deeply the stench of death assaulted his nostrils. The scent of burning flesh, over heating weapons and smoke meshed together into a torturous nightmare for the senses. He sighed as he looked upon the mounds of dead human fighters; scattered across the hot pavement like paper on parade day. Yet before them, passed a number of abandoned sandbag positions lay a wall of creatures. All of them dead, the life sapped from their horrible bodies. Their limbs were twisted and mingled together; one creature inseparable from another. Many blown apart from close fighting, many more drenched in Human blood.
Czevak held his pistol up, the energy within pulsed through the sides, causing a purple aura to shine softly from within the chamber. The assault had stopped but he knew the peace wouldn’t last, already he could hear the thunderous guns of the nearly arrived berserkers echoing through the buildings around him. Wings of fighters flew overhead; their jets screaming as they thundered by the buildings. Their guns opening up in a cry equal to that of a deity; strafing city streets and slaughtering the creatures. Yet somehow, the Commissar knew it wasn’t enough. He and the 14th Guard division were standing in the center of the only road leading to the citadel gates; the buildings along the side of the road packed so tightly it turned the street into a half-mile corridor. Yet even so, they had suffered terrible loses.
“Sir.” a voice rolled on the air behind Czevak, he bothered not to even look upon who spoke at first. The voice was hard and deep, it could only be his second in command. “What are your orders?” it asked him plainly. The commissar turned to see his lieutenant saluting him. The black armor of the Guard regiment he wore was torn to shreds, huge claw marks were ripped into it where below now white bandages could be seen. Czevak couldn’t help but smile as he glanced over his remaining troops; not one of the survivors was without wound or mark of battle. Yet they all stood proudly, ready for service. The old veteran for the first time in many years showed emotion; his scarred face reflected his pride in both his soldiers and nation.
“Redeploy here.” he said finally, his voice was deep and slightly menacing. The kind you’d expect a man of his stature to have. He gazed down the street, looking toward the pile of creature corpses. “They cannot reach the Citadel. No matter what…” Even though he was aging, his mind still grasped the tactical situation. If the street fell, the creatures would break through the gate, and the palace would fall.
The troops obeyed his order and began to set up make-shift defenses. Even though they went about their task without protest; the commissar knew better than to assume they were strong in their resolve. He could see the fear moving beneath the surface of their eyes; like a snake waiting to attack their fear slithered in their hearts. Czevak could not deny his own fear; these creatures were like nothing he had ever combated before. They moved forward without fear no matter how strong the defense; showing no emotion, no joy or hatred in their kills or casualties. It was as if they cared not whether they lived or died; as long as they served some purpose.
Only those alone, not following the mobs, showed any emotion at all. The commissar could not help but feel sickened when he realized how much the loners looked like humans. Their faces, while twisted and horrible to behold, held a human quality and shape. Their arms while thin and oddly shaped like the others; held knife like fingers. He had seen them rip apart many men easily; ambushing squads and striking before any reaction could be taken.
Czevak took out his canteen and unscrewed the top, he placed the container to his lips as a cool and refreshing liquid filled his mouth. It was strange how something with no taste could give one such a vibrant feeling. He tilted his head back until he felt the last drops rush down his throat, with a sigh the commissar threw down his canteen and kicked it down the street. No sense in keeping it now that it’s empty after all.
The empty container bounced off the street a number of rimes and fell to its side with a slightly louder than normal crash. It rolled on its side for some distance before coming to a stop finally; rocking back and forth as it tried to find a balance. The old commissar stared at it as it moved on its sides, unable to stop in its own momentum. He slowly turned and was about to aid his men in the building of a defense. Yet as he took a single step, the concrete under the canteen suddenly cracked. The pavement was split quickly as the cracks traveled out in all directions; causing the ground to grunt and cry as if in pain. Czevak turned quickly; with a loud crash a circle of cracks appeared on the street. The ground shook violently as if something had hit it, but there was nothing in site.
Again a thunderous quake shook the ground, sending men to their knees. Eyes looked abroad for any sign of what was doing this; minds became colored with fear as hope sank. Then a low and ominous sound filled the air, it was the snarl of a beast. It twisted on the air; so deep and menacing even the old commissar felt fear grip his muscles. A feeling unlike any he had known before washed over his body; pure terror. His eyes traced down to the cracking pavement, he knew what was coming in an instant. “Gods help us.” He whispered to himself.
A scream louder than a thousand crashes of thunder rose up; throwing down every human within the city and causing them to shout in fear. The scream was so shrill and terrible that to behold it was nearly painful. The commissar held his ears and closed his eyes, not wanting to open them to see what made such a sound. The ground was overcome by a sudden rumble as the entire city seemed to shake. Without warning; the area of pavement that had been cracking suddenly broke and shattered in a huge explosion of rock, dirt, and dust. Another horrible scream filled the air; this one more clear than that of the first. The men of the 14th div shouted in agony as they held their ears; it felt like sharp objects were being plunged into their skulls. Countless rocks and pieces of pavement slammed into the ground as a deep and chilling snarl filled the air.
The old commissar opened his eyes, but at that very moment he wished by the four gods he had kept them shut. For before his was the sum of all his terrors; the greatest and most terrifying thing he had ever laid eyes on in his life. Three times as high as he stood a creature that had no eyes; an elongated head on top of a snake like body that had scales and jagged bones like that of a spinal cord. Its entire head seemed to be a huge mouth; wherein countless rows of teeth resided; all sharp and jagged. Powerful enough to rip a mech to pieces. Below its hideous mouth were two huge arms like that of scythes. Below those two more arms, slightly smaller but no less menacing. The creature’s chest was dark and stained with red, it appear much like a human’s chest cavity only much larger. Its entire body seemed to stem from it.
It screamed again and swung its mighty arms; Czevak turned and could only watch in horror as in one swift attack the creature slaughtered his men. Their bodies were cut so easily on the arms of the creature. As it withdrew its arms it slammed them into buildings, throwing rubble about as if they were not even there.
Czevak stood in awe of its sheer power as it towered over him. The eyeless abomination seemed to wait for him to move, to strike him down and end his existence once and for all. The commissar drew his power sword from his side; quickly blue waves of energy pulsed through it. His fear was overwhelming, but so too was his rage. All his men were now dead, and behind him his king was in the palace. “I will not let this daemon pass” he breathed in silence. He gathered every ounce of strength he still had in his aging body and looked upon it, it was so great and so terrifying he could feel his arms shaking. “I failed you once Solicous.” his eyes closed before a moment, remembering the civil war of days gone by. Suddenly his eyes darted open as he set his sights on the creature. His hatred displayed for all to see in his dark green eyes; burning brightly like a fire in the night. “..Not…Again!”
“Do you hear me!?” he shouted loudly; his voice rose up above all else in the street and echoed back toward him. He could feel his strength pulsing through his veins; this was it. Before his gods and his king he’d make one last stand. “You end here!” he slammed his sword into the ground with a shout; his blade pierced deep into the pavement sending cracks in all directions. The creature used its senses and located the commissar; it swung its arm around to destroy the human commander.
Czevak quickly leapt onto the hilt of the sword and jumped with all his might into the air. Just as his feet left the edge of his sword the creature sliced it in two; the bands of energy ceased to flow as the metal fell onto the ground with a cold sound. The commissar drew his pistol on level with his eye and pulled the trigger in rapid succession. The chamber threw itself back as beams of energy flew toward the creature and found their mark; slicing its flesh and bringing forth a green blood.
The creature screamed in anger and drew up another of its arms; it stabbed forward in an attempt to skewer the commissar. Czevak felt its hard and sharp talon cut through his stomach, traveling through his body and out his lower back. He cried out in pain as a red cloud of blood surrounded him. His hang slowly let go of his pistol as the weapon sailed through the air, moving toward the ground. Yet before his weapon could even reach the street the creature drew its arm up then jerked it forcefully downward. Freeing the commissar from grasp but sending him screaming into the ground. His bones shattered as he hit the pavement, blood flowing from his large wound. The eyes of the commissar were still open as his lifeless body lay on the ground; his pistol dropped by his side as smoke rose from the chamber.
The huge creature let out a scream as it reared its head back; calling to it brethren to follow it. The gate had fallen, only one goal remained; the palace.
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and he's back! sorry guys. was busy with school work mostly, this took low priority as my creativeness had to go toward other things. But here you are! ~D
@shadow: yeah i know how that can be.
Alexander the Pretty Good
05-07-2005, 19:12
Hey! Thanks Monk! I was wondering if I'd ever know what happened to the poor human defenders... it doesn't look too good for them! :help:
part xxi
Death of a Lord
Intersection – 1st and 3rd streets
14:56 hours, first encounter +7
Hour four of the assault
Marcus coughed violently again as he lay on his back; his stomach convulsing and compressing in on itself as he tried to draw breathe. Suddenly his lungs seized up as he threw his body back onto the hard, hot pavement. So much pain was coursing through his body; each breath he took turned into a nightmare that he was forced to live over again. He could smell it all around him; the undeniable smell only created when human flesh is burned. The disgusting scent was all around him and he had not the strength to stand, it was a miracle he yet still lived.
The wounded soldier’s hand slowly moved; it felt numb as he laid it gently on his chest. There running from a large hole in his once thick armor he could feel a cold liquid; his near lifeless hand twitched slightly as he forced the near dead muscles to act. Slowly his arm moved up and he for a split second held his hand before his eyes. No sooner had he got it there he let it fall, the strain of lifting his limb to much to bear. Even through his now blurring vision he knew that liquid’s site, its smell. The scarlet life-force of all humans was slowly leaving him, and with it he could feel his nerves slowly dying. A slight tingle filled his chest, slowly moving through his arms before trickling down to his legs. Marcus’ bottom lip began to tremble lightly as he blinked; his dark green eyes looking off into the sky above.
His throat was drying quickly as he tried to move again, yet this time he could not even lift a finger. The tingling feeling he felt in his body slowly began to cease, and where it had been there was nothing now. Marcus felt not even the slightest breeze from the gentle wind. The tingling was traveling up his neck as he felt his lungs close suddenly, he tried to draw breath but found he couldn’t. A slight panic overtook him as he struggled to grasp life even as it faded from him. There was so much he had to live for, so many things left to do. This couldn’t be the end! A tear fell from his still open eyes as his vision blackened, he gasped again for air but could find none. Without even the strength to give a parting cry, darkness claimed him at last.
Even as life faded from Marcus a sound took to the air; like the beating of echoing drums the sound of running feet pounded upon the broken blacktop. A soldier quickly rounded the corner and ran as fast as his feet could take him down Third Street; sweat dropping from his brow as he knew he couldn’t escape his fate. His green armor appeared ripped open in many places, blood taking the path down unto his skin. His pant legs were covered in energy burns and a red liquid both mingled now together until one was inseparable from the other.
Leaping over the lifeless Marcus he turned quickly, doing a complete 180. He pulled his pistol up to his eye level and pointing it down the street. His shoulders moved up and down with his heavy breathing, making aiming a near impossibility. He swallowed hard, feeling a growing dehydration as he starred back at the intersection. There was nothing there. The wind picked up and gave a soft, gentle whistle as it passed through the breaking buildings around. An old shop sign made of wood rocked back and forth a few feet from him.
The soldier’s lungs opened up as he drew to him a deep breath; slowly his pistol lowered as a slight feeling of security washed over his mind. Yet even so his head felt light as a feather. His eyes half closed and he had to catch himself from stumbling. As he breathed in the air around he could smell battle, in the distance the sounds of war still echoed, but seemed so far away to him.
As the soldier tried to gather himself a scream filled the air. His eyes shot open as he looked around him, his pistol pointing all over as he tried to find the source of the noise. His feeling of security was in an instant burned and splintered into pieces. Panic overtook him as his eyes darted all around, he himself turning quickly from direction to direction searching for an enemy. His eyes settled on the buildings, he’d seen them burst from them before. Not this time! He thought.
Yet the threat came from below, not the side. The ground suddenly burst open with a slight cry and a sharp, sword like talon came rushing forth. The soldier had not the time to even bring his pistol down before the strange limp cut into his soft flesh; cutting past the tattered remnants of his armor like it was not even there. It moved with ungodly speed yet the soldier felt no pain as the talon cut into him. The nerves around the wound were all dead. Even so he felt his strength leaving him almost at once. The talon lifted him up as a number of creatures began to spill forth from the hole; he rose into the air as a creature emerged holding him high for all to see.
Blood began to sprinkle down over and around the creature. Running down its arm like a river before it threw down the lifeless defender of humanity. More creatures appeared from the hole in the street when suddenly a huge and ominous snarl took the air. As the final creature appeared from the hole a scream louder than any one single creature can make overtook their senses; and forth from the street burst the Lord of All. He made his own way through the highway of man; cutting through the road and pushing himself through with ease. Debris filled the air as he came into view and looked around, sensing the landscape.
Suddenly an axe flew out of a shadow; the blade of which glowing red as it sailed through the air and found its mark on the skull of a creature. The sound of its bone splitting filled the air as it fell to the ground, leaving behind a mist of greed blood. The creatures turned, their black coal eyes settling upon the alleyway from which it came. Not even they could protect themselves from a feeling of complete shock when from it came a number of warriors. They burst forth from the darkness with amazing speed, all of them wielding axes whose blades glowed with an inner light. They were human but much taller than the Solicians; wearing almost no armor they charged forth screaming at the top of their lungs. The warrior’s eyes were overcome with rage and yet, a strange look of joy at the same time. They were berserkers…
The Lord of All ordered his creatures to charge them, and with single minded obedience they did so. The creatures let out a scream and charged forth, brandishing their teeth and claws that were now covered with Human blood. Yet they saw no change in the berserkers, it was as if the fact these creatures had slaughtered countless humans did not affect them. If anything it made them charge faster. The two sides collided as a berserker smashed his two handed axe into the chest of a creature; cutting the abomination down easily. The creatures attacked with a ferocity not commonly seen, yet so did the berserkers. They matched their close combat skills, and then topped them. Poweraxes swung through the air, rending bow and mutated flesh without problem. Green blood shot from numerous creatures as they were being overpowered quickly. They tried to push their way through the band of berserkers but without luck. Each time they came close the berserkers became of whirlwind of death; their axes swinging through the air as they moved forward, cutting down anything that attacked.
Creature by creature dropped to the ground before them, the berserkers stepped over them as they pushed them back. Cutting through arms, chests, and decapitating at will. They pushed them back as the Lord of All watched, not caring his minions were being annihilated methodically. Yet when the last fell he struck; two of his arms came around as he tried to butcher the berserkers with one swing. Coming to their senses the many of them took cover, save two. Turning to run they found themselves to slow, and were cut down without problem.
Their bodies found a resting place on the ground as their life force flowed upon the blacktop. They moved no more, the Lord of All let out a deep growl that signified its own amusement. It sensed the ground and felt nothing moving, it believed it had killed them all. Confident in victory it began to snake its way back into the sewers below when it picked up a single human.
Toradir stepped out from behind a ruinous building. His deep brown beard catching the warmth of the sun as it reappeared in the sky. His eyes were ablaze with his furry as he starred at the Lord of All, gripping his power axe tightly in his right hand. A bright red glow took to the blade as he looked at the creature’s head; there were no eyes to look into after all. “You killed my men.” Toradir spoke in a menacing voice; his tone was very deep as his fiery blue eyes were like raging gales. Anger flowed from his soul as the Lord of All straightened its snake like body, extending to its full height over him. However instead of fear; all Toradir felt was rage. He looked up at it, his eyes watching every movement it made as he took his battle stance. The poweraxe in his hand was glowing brightly, still dripping with the green blood of his kills. “Make your move!” he shouted demandingly.
The Lord of All wasted no time and brought one of its arms up high, and then brought it straight down in an attempted to kill him in one strike. The sharp, scythe-like limb was easy for Toradir dodge. He jumped aside as it punched through the street down into the sewers. A cloud of dust filled the air as the street collapsed around the section of the impact. Toradir needed not wait long before the creature made another move; it swung another arm around on level with him to cut him in two. The strike sailed through the air and would have killed the berserker if he had not jumped forward at the last moment. The Lord of All instead smashed his arm into a building, destroying its base and sending it crashing down onto its limb. Brick and mortar tumbled down, crushing its arm and causing the creature to howl in pain. “Now’s my chance!” Toradir pushed his body forward, running as fast as he could. A cloud of dust, dirt and debris rose up around the buried limb, into which the berserker warrior disappeared.
The huge creature was too preoccupied to notice Toradir was gone until it felt something moving upon its arm, it turned its head and sensed him moving up its arm. The berserker had climbed upon the trapped limb and was climbing up to his head. For the first time in its existence the Lord of All showed panic, it screamed in fear as two limbs were now trapped. It brought around one of its only arms not used in the fight, sending it straight at his enemy. Toradir smiled as he leapt from the body of the large creature; just in time to miss being killed he fell to the ground. Hitting it he rolled and looked up, ending up back where he started. The creature sliced deep into its arm and cried the loudest it ever had; pain filling its scream. It slumped forward and lowered its head almost onto the street as blood flowed easily from the huge self inflicted wound. The berserker rushed forward as it began to draw its head back. Quickly he grabbed onto the base of one of its mighty teeth, as the Lord of All lifted its head it also unknowingly lifted Toradir.
The berserker held onto the tooth with one hand and his axe in the other, quickly the Lord of All realized what was happening and jerked its head back. Its attempt to shake Toradir succeeded as he was thrown up, but quickly turned from success into failure when the berserker landed on the top of the creature’s head. Toradir found balance on the moving creature as he held high his axe, his remaining men watched as he brought it down into the side of the creature’s skull. Its head flew to the right, reeling in pain. With a cry of anger the warrior lifted it and brought it back around, slamming it into the right side of the creature’s head. Blood flowed easily as with each swing Toradir’s poweraxe cut through the Lord of All’s bones. The berserker then lifted his axe and brought it around one last time, smashing it into the front of the creature’s head as deep as he could. Toradir felt his weapon punch deep, passed the skull and into the brain. The huge creature let out a horrible cry as it lost balance and began falling to the ground. Toradir used his axe, which was deep inside the creature’s head as an anchor to keep his balance. He held on tightly as the creature fell to the ground, hitting the street with a rumble causing the earth to shake. Blood flowed from it like a river; its green sight was satisfaction to the berserkers who had lost two friends.
The Berserker removed his axe as he jumped from the dead creature; his breathing heavy and every muscle in his body exhausted. Suddenly as he did so every creature in the city cried out in anguish. Their minds felt ravaged as their suppressed emotions returned. They felt their Lord’s demise and the fear it had felt overcame their minds. They screamed into the air, searching for their leader vainly. It became clear to them all in an instant their leader was dead, but there was one who could still lead them. Shrill cries filled the air as slowly they began to leave the city, leaving behind a horrible toll of death and destruction.
--------
"if ya hate Final Exams, give me a hell yea!" :bow: j/k ~D
Sorry guys. Been studying for finals cuz i REALLY need to do good to pass. Here's something though, I hope you enjoy it.
AtPG: ~D was you expecting this?
also added A warning to the start of the thread, i've noticed this thing is really violent and bloody ~:cheers:
I can see it now ~:cool:
Human wins Creature loses ~:cheers:
Alexander the Pretty Good
05-25-2005, 00:23
"if ya hate Final Exams, give me a hell yea!" j/k
Sorry guys. Been studying for finals cuz i REALLY need to do good to pass. Here's something though, I hope you enjoy it.
AtPG: was you expecting this?
also added A warning to the start of the thread, i've noticed this thing is really violent and bloody
hell yea! ~:cool:
Hehe. I figured it would be down to the wire for good ole humanity. But I suspect it isn't over... :book:
Yeah, it is pretty bloody. Bloody good! ~:cheers:
Monk, this is getting better and better by the chapters… the death of Marcus was brilliantly narrated and it moved me.
I got a tear in my eye when the berserkers entered the scene. Let the tide turn. :charge:
part xxii
No Escape
5 kilometers south of Solace
00:42, first encounter +8
The sky above flashed with lightning as a low rumble took to the land. Thunder rolled upon the air, rising higher in sound before falling into humble silence that left the world without noise. A mist formed upon the wind as the dark clouds above began to let their rain fall. Slowly the mist formed into rain and before long lighting streaked across the sky as water pounded into the earth. A crackle of thunder rand another streak of lighting flashed across the sky, revealing something that had gone unnoticed by the spirits of the world. Down upon the ground, gliding silently like a black ocean of despair, a mass of creatures moved with great speed away from Solace. Their hides punctured, ripped and cut open; many spilling their life force upon the earth they so desired to burn. Yet they were changed. No longer did they scream out in their anger and hate, no longer did they feel a buried sense of pride floating in their twisted minds. They could feel it when their Lord was slain, like a bursting dam emotion flooded into their minds. Emotion that had lain buried before.
They were so angry, so full of hate for humanity. Never did a being feel such malice toward another as they felt at this moment. Yet, for all the rage burning inside each of them; there was something else they felt. Hidden behind the veil of hate and failure was fear, wrenching their hearts and coloring their minds. Overtaking their actions and causing them to run from their hated enemy. They knew they had failed, and he would surely punish them. They had to prove themselves before their lives were ended.
Suddenly the wind seemed to draw back and like a huge explosion a great blast of sound entered all their minds at once. It overloaded their senses causing them to lose control of themselves. All of the creatures fell upon the earth at once, falling face first into the mud as their open wounds were filled with water and dirt. Others tripped over their fallen comrades, having no time to stop. The sound was sudden and like none they had ever felt before, for it was not heard, but felt. Slowly creature by creature staggered to their twisted feet; their eyes searching the landscape for what had caused such confusion. A thick layer of confusion settled upon them as they could not even find the courage to speak in their horrid language.
Their eyes soon went wide as they felt the sensations they dreaded. Whispers crawled in their skulls, as if someone was speaking to them but no one was there. Shivers traveled up their spines as the wind picked up slightly. Their skin crawled as they knew what this meant, he was near! For the first time in many hours they cried out, shouting into the air their shrill screams echoed back to them over the landscape. They were begging. Their scream died away, but not of their choice. They could feel something hushing them, a voice in their mind at the edge of hearing yet somehow controlling them. Fear dripped from their corrupted souls, and they hated the feeling.
Slowly they could feel the voice changing, first from a distant statement to a whisper, and then hearing it clearly. It spoke directly into each of their minds; ravaged by hatred it was the single voice they did not wish to hear. “So…” its words slithered through their minds like a snake. Try as they might, nothing they could do would shut it out. “You failed your master” The wind died away and the world became quiet. “Solace was in your grasp, yet you fled…” Where was this voice coming from? They cared not; all they wanted was it to stop.
“You may have failed” a laugh overcame the voice as it spoke, “but now I control all of my true brothers. Except you!” Screams echoed out from every direction, the mass of creatures looking all around. They could not comprehend what was happening. “This will soon be corrected” The voice stop as a low rumble took to the earth; the creatures could feel the vibrations echoing through the soaking wet mud. Something was coming, yet it was not human. Their black eyes settled on the horizon as figures appeared in the distance; moving at high speed they could see them perfectly despite their great distance.
Countless figures whose hides were a mix of black and a brownish color raced toward them. Moving not on all fours to obtain great speed, they ran upon their hind legs like a human. Their bodies were thick and covered in what appeared to them a tougher exoskeleton than even their own. They stood hunched over; their heads holding what looked like scales doubling as a thick armor. Their faces were elongated and they held rows of teeth that all appeared sharp. Hanging from their mouths was a large tongue that almost begged for subsistence. Their legs were shorter but only aided in propelling them further as they moved, their arms were long and their fingers thin but sharp as knives. They appeared like the human creatures, only more…advanced.
Among them at the head of their main thrust from the south was a single figure. He was tall and his skin was overcome with a green and brown mix of liquid and twisted skin. He walked upright like a human but appeared to be no such thing. His arms were thin and elongated like the creatures he led, but in his hand he held a great scythe that appeared to be made from the steel of a fallen building. They knew that man; even though they had never seen him in their life they knew him. It was Uriel.
These new creatures seemed to appear from every direction; and from their stance it was clear they wished to do battle. The mass of creatures that had run from Solace were surrounded and there was no escape no matter where they looked. Yet now it mattered not, they damned their fate and screamed loudly; breaking the ‘block’ Uriel had placed on them. Their fear evaporated in a mist of rage as they prepared themselves for the onrushing charge. Lightning flashed in the sky, reflecting in the red eyes of these new creatures. With a cry deeper and more horrid than older species they slammed into their hated brethren who had failed their task. They dug their claws into the creatures and ripped into them, releasing blood and cutting through them with ease.
The survivors of Solace tried to fight back, but these new creatures had tougher hide. As they thrust their hand and limbs forward they found they could not penetrate through. Pain would trace through their limbs before the creature they attacked ripped out their throat, or sliced through their chest. It was brutal, Uriel cut a swath through his former ‘brothers’; cutting them down as he saw fit and wiping clean their failure. They were superior in everyway to the old creatures, and they slaughtered them without mercy.
The last of the creatures that had attacked solace fell with a blood curdling scream, its chest ripped open and blood spraying upon its attacker. The deed was done, and Uriel smiled in sick delight. He turned to his newly bred creatures; they had performed better than he ever thought possible. Their eyes emitted a red glow, a strong contrast to the old creature’s black void. They let out a low rumble of praise to their victory, again very different from the previous creatures that had terrified their enemies. Uriel knew that now nothing could stop him, and he laughed.
Yet before he could even raise his scythe in victory he heard a strange sound. The wind being cut through like a knife as a jet engine thundered through the sky toward him. He turned around and looked up as the rain came down harder. This battle was far from over…
____________________
~D Finals be over! I'm off on that great release known as summer break. And thus updates will be much more frequent. I'd like to thank everyone who's stuck with me, i know it can be hard waiting for me to get my act together and write some. Really, it means a lot :bow:
@Shadow: maybe ~;) maybe not.
@Alexander the Pretty Good: ~D thank you. very glad you like it
@Sigurd Fafnesbane: :bow: you honour me with your words. thank you.
part xxiii
Allies and Enemies
ORDER battleship, Upper Earth Orbit
01:32, first encounter +8
Nathaniel sighed as his back flattened against the worn down seat inside the cockpit of his mech. The green monitor before him was the only light within the confined space; he watched as line upon line of text displayed technical information. His right eye twitched as he blinked quickly, his only source of light was irritating his sight. As his eyes opened he looked up, the many switches around him were like home he’d been there so many times. Yet pushed between the metal panels, sitting beside the main power switch there resided a photo; a simple piece of paper upon which an image of great importance resided.
Yet it wasn’t of tactical information; some sort of military importance or anything. It was important to Nathaniel alone. Upon the paper a little girl smiled up toward the camera; her blond hair reflecting a ray of sunlight as she held a ball in her hands. It was his little girl; Nathaniel’s one and only child. His eyes slowly closed again as a smile etched across his weary face. He could almost hear her sweet voice when he was silent, calling out to her father. Only another three months and he’d be home for good.
The radio suddenly burst with activity as a voice came flooding through the speakers. “10 minutes to drop. Begin Equipment Checks” Nathaniel’s vision of his daughter was cut short at that moment; he watched her image flutter away and fade into the metal hull around him. Her voice was gone from his hearing; being driven back into his memories to reside. The soldier looked about him as he flipped a number of switches; the onboard computer reacted as it began the start up sequence. A near unnoticeable vibration began moving through the cockpit, one that is only felt by someone who has spent years inside it. It was subtle, but Nathaniel felt it. All too often he had known it. However, for the first time in his many years, he was uncertain about the day ahead of him. His fate seemed elusive, as did this new enemy.
A red window appeared upon his monitor as the onboard sensors came online. It was a message from his commander to all the mech units. The message displayed itself quickly on the screen and was simple. “Solician battle Net Intercepted, Battle progress available”. Following the sentence, a frequency was displayed. The message suggested that they tune in and give a listen. Nathaniel was not one to listen to fighting when he himself was not doing it; but something compelled him. The creatures were, after all, supposed to be ever changing. He needed all the information he could get. “Alright” he spoke in a whisper to himself. “Let’s see what we have here.” His arm slowly extended to the frequency tuner, but strangely he hesitated. A strange feeling traced through his body before residing in the pit of his stomach. He almost didn’t want to hear what may lie behind a simple button push. With a quick sigh he put his mind at ease and pressed the button, adjusting the frequency to that the ORDER was playing the Intercepted messages on.
Static came over the speakers at first; there was no sound that came to him but a slight crackle and a buzzing noise from interference. Yet soon enough sound exploded forth, filling Nathaniel’s mech as well as many others who listened at that moment. A sudden blast lasgun fire echoed out as a voice screamed into the radio “Contact lost: Squad nine!” the radio cut out with a sharp electrical noise as another voice came through “726 is down!” a thunderous boom followed his voice as an explosion sounded nearby. A sudden cry of pain came over the radio as another soldier pleaded for reinforcements on the right flank. Voices cluttered the air waves as many were cut down and their radios stopped receiving; screams of the dying filled every moment before a voice came through. “I’m hit! Losing Containment…Rea-” a high pitched screech cut off his voice and sent a cold chill down Nathaniel’s spine. Someone’s reactor core on their mech just went critical. “I don’t know how long we can last sir” a pain filled voice breathed into the frequency as a lasgun echoed in the background. “They’re everywhere!”
Nathaniel smashed the button on the radio and turned it off. He couldn’t stand to listen any longer. He knew well the battle was going against the Solicians. His eyes slowly moved to the picture of his daughter as he reached out, a single finger moving over her face. “I guess…I won’t be taking you on that trip after all.” He sighed sadly. A tear began to form in his eye as a voice sounded loudly in his mech. “Prepare to drop. Activate mechs… The Emperor protects…” The soldier’s eyes closed slowly as the tear escaped, running down his cheek. He weakly flipped the switch and all systems came online. “And may you’re mother protect you.” he spoke softly as he looked upon the picture of his daughter. A red light began to flash on the side panel, it was time. Nathaniel’s heart slowly began to beat faster as his hands rested on the controls; the tear upon his cheek fell from his face as he guided his mech into the drop pod.
5 kilometers south of Solace
01:55 hours, First encounter +8
The creatures charged again as a wave of purple energy shot forth from the human lines to meet them. Their hides cracking and breaking under the fire as blood spilled into the air, another orchestra of their deep screams calling out into the sky. Yet this time they did not stop their charge. Their red eyes glowing with their growing hate, their teeth covered in a thin layer of red from the kills they had already made. It was time to end the battle. The already overheating lasguns of the Solicians now refused to fire. Their eyes became wide with their fear as the creatures charged ever closer. Yet one by one a smile came across their faces. For just as the creatures were about to fall upon them, out from behind the Solicians came charging the berserkers; led by their Odin mechs.
The weapons of the berserker mechs opened fire into the creatures, ripping into their frontal charge and spraying their life force about as the counter attack burst from all around them. The berserkers holding high their poweraxes and driving them home. The already exhausted Solicians rose and drew their knives, charging in behind the berserkers. Yet even so these new creatures were a breed apart from the old. As the rallying forces of Humanity charged forward, they were met with heavy resistance. Countless creatures wre hemmed down by the close quarter skills of the berserkers, yet even so, against such odds even the best fall. Claws found their home in the chest cavities of many as they tried to hold back the time. Poweraxes dropped from hands and their light faded as their masters passed.
Toradir swung his axe around as hard as he could, breaking through the thick hide of a creature and sending it to the ground. He jerked his axe from its torn flesh as a trail of blood followed his axe’s movement. He turned around in place, bringing his axe around and slicing through many creatures as he created a three hundred and sixty degree range of attack, yet for all his efforts the berserker felt himself tiring. A berserker nearest to him slammed an axe through a creature’s chest, yet even as he did so a limb soared through the air toward him. As the berserker turned a hand of sharpened fingers sliced through his neck, releasing the scarlet liquid within him. Toradir turned just in time to see a creature driving its arm through his comrade.
Anger filled his face as he forsook his exhaustion; he slowly raised his power axe as its blade glowed brightly. Yet even before he could take the first step to charge he felt a sharp pain jab its way through him. The pain took to his veins as he screamed in agony. As he looked down his eyes caught sight of a jagged, scythe-like piece of rusted metal sticking through him; covered in blood that now made its way down his body. Slowly the blade withdrew as he heard a voice close to his ear. It was so full of hate and rage, like he’d never heard before.
“You’re turn to die” the words seethed through mashed teeth as Uriel Took his weapon from the berserkers body and let him fall to the earth. He smiled as he saw his legions advancing. Soon it’d all be his. He’d repay the suffering done to him ten fold, he and his brothers would make Humanity pay for their sins! Yet suddenly the creature attack slowed as a strange sound filled the air. It had gone unnoticed until it was practically upon them due to the battle. Their eyes looked to the heavens and to their horror they saw them coming. More black dots than they could count filled the air; it was the ORDER.
The drop pods came screaming through the atmosphere and smashed into the earth, causing impact craters wherever they hit. Countless pods hit all along the battleground, their smooth metal surfaces still steaming from the heat of re-entry. The creatures smiled sickly, they knew what to expect thanks to their brothers at Arcadia. Or at least, so they thought.
One by one the ramps came down, and to their shock what stepped forward were not members of the Deathwing or an infantry force, but mechs twice as tall as they. Their arms and shoulders covered with weapons and their armor appearing thicker than the mightiest rocks. Nathaniel surveyed the battlefield; it was as if time had stopped with their arrival. Yet that feeling did not last long; the creatures in a fit of rage threw themselves upon the ORDER mechs, yet they only received the full force of the guns of the ORDER as they opened up. Countless streams of energy and projectiles fired all at once at the creatures, ripping their bodies into pieces. However Uriel would not have defeat, he gripped his scythe and charged at the mechs even through they towered over him. His so called brothers rallied behind him, their screams of death filling the air as one by one they were killed following his charge. The bloodied berserkers and Solicians watched as the creatures threw themselves without thought against these mechs. They were ready to die to serve their one and only Lord.
Uriel brought his scythe up as he charged as hard as he could toward the closest mech, piloted by Nathaniel. His anger consumed him as he was ready to rip it apart with his now ungodly strength. Nathaniel was in a state of panic, he had to stop him. He pointed his weapons at him and got a lock, the screen flashed with the words “Target Acquired” and no sooner did he read that then he fire. A beam of blue energy streaked from his mech’s cannon and impacted the earth just in front of Uriel, throwing a veil of dust around the fallen guardian.
“Did I get him!?” Nathaniel asked out loud, a silence befell him and his mech as he listened for a moment and watched the monitor that displayed what was in front of him. All he saw was dust. That changed as suddenly out from the cloud of dirt came flying an object, thrown with such speed and force he had not the time to react. Nathaniel’s eyes opened wide as he watched a scythe slice through the center of his mech and into his cockpit, stopping only inches from his face. Fear took him fully as His systems failed and power began to drain from the controls. His hands moved to activate the auxiliary systems when a huge crash took his mech. Something just had slammed into the legs of his fighting machine and there was not a thing he could do. The mech could not withstand the force without main power and tipped back, falling like a tower and crashing into the ground. Nathaniel’s body was thrown about in the cockpit and his head smashed into a consol, his blood exited from a cut on his forehead and a little smeared on the picture of his daughter.
Nathaniel’s vision blurred as he looked over to a switch he never though he’d use in his life time. Under a plastic cover a red button labeled “self destruct” sat humbly. He reached out to it weakly as he heard footsteps upon the hull of his mech. He could hardly breath his fear was so thick, he knew who it was; he had to reach the button! He forced his battered body to react as the scythe was withdrawn and a pair of hands grasped onto the sliced metal.
Uriel grinned As he grunted, calling to him all his might and ripping the cockpit open. Tearing the metal with ease thanks to his strength. Yet as he did he could not believe what he saw; he swallowed hard as his eyes looked upon the ORDER soldier within whos finger was on the self destruct button and ready to push it. It was as if all his anger faded and became forgotten, being replaced by the highest level of fear a man can know. The fear of Death.
Nathaniel’s eyes looked up to the picture of his daughter one last time as Uriel in desperation clenched a fist and threw a punch toward him. Nathaniel closed his eyes tightly as he pushed the button. In an instant the mech induced a core breach on the mech’s nuclear reactor; and at that instant all sound was sucked from the world. Time itself stood still for a one thousandth of a second before a ball of fire erupted from the downed mech, consuming all in its path.
____________________________
*salute* brave men of the battle I salute thee...
IC:
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Toradir (where did you get the name?), thy axe shall be remembered and revered until the Fenris Wolf consumes all at Ragnarok.
Until we meet again in the halls of Odin I shall shed a tear on this day.
OOC:
Your story has picked up an emotional quality not unlike the best of stories.
This is a trait of good story writers; the ability to let go of your favourite characters.
The emotional part of Nathaniel was really well written and I like it ~D
Keep them coming :charge:
TheSilverKnight
06-16-2005, 03:30
Give us an update you wanker ~D
Nah, just playin mate.
Take your time on the story, it's great, going just great. Was just re-reading the past few parts, tears coming to my eyes. *Wipes them away* so emotional.
keep working hard, but take your time to make it the best!
Cheers - TheSilverKnight
part xxiv
Third wave
5 kilometers south of Solace
05:43 hours, first encounter +8
The dark night sky slowly began to change. A light on the eastern horizon appeared sending waves of blue and green echoing outwards like a ripple on a calm pond. Sunrise was at last approaching. Slowly in the distance, birds could be heard chirping for the first time in days. Yet even their songs fell upon a deaf audience. As the bright light of the world appeared over the brown earth, revealed was the carnage that had befallen humanity. Bodies lay mingled together, their life force falling from open wounds. Creature and human alike had fallen side by side; in many places knives still grasped tightly by soldiers who would not let go of their hate. However it was not over.
A sudden cry silenced the earth and summoned to it all ears; a deep ominous groan that made the earth nearly quake. As it ended, the same sound was repeated, not once or twice, but many times over. Uriel’s creatures were gone; the true creature threat was content to reveal itself. Like a shadow overcoming a fading candle they appeared on the southern horizon; four creatures that fit the description of the Lord of All at Solace led them. Yet this time their hides were red, shinning in the emerging sunlight their teeth dripped with saliva in anticipation of battle. And behind them were creatures of all kinds that had so far revealed themselves. United in their bloodlust and hatred at last they quickened their pace, eager for the kills that lay ahead. Their number was legion, and they would stop for nothing.
Lucius lowered his binoculars and took a deep breath. The scent of blood was all around him and suddenly he coughed violently, though he couldn’t escape it. The smell fluttered around him as he drew his senses to him and looked at the on coming creatures. His peaceful blue eyes did much to hide the turmoil in his soul, “Why?” he spoke softly, his voice disappearing into a gentle breeze and becoming audible only to him. “Why do they keep coming?” He closed his eyes for a moment to hide the fate that was coming screaming toward him; yet what he saw was worse. The mounds of dead bodies, their blood running like rivers and their eyes still open; frozen in a moment of pure anguish. His eyes shot open quickly enough, yet when he did so, he saw the same thing. It was hard to tell if one was truly alive, or already in hell.
“General.” a voice suddenly broke his concentration, if it could be called that. He turned to see his wounded captain. The man’s arm was in a sling and blood was a hallmark on his uniform. Yet there was no sorrow in his eyes, just pain. The images that had passed into his mind were now his forever, and he wished it different. “New orders sir.” Finally the order had come, the order to withdraw north had come in. yet now, it was too late. The coming tide of enemies would not stop to allow the humans to pack up and leave. They were trapped.
Lucius let his exhaustion overcome him at last and he nearly collapsed to a sitting position on the ground. His limbs were so tired, by the gods they felt like they could fall off at any moment. “Sir?” the voice of his captain bounced off the surface of his thoughts, going unheeded. He closed his eyes again, hoping to not see the images of death again. It was as if a veil had covered the memories, for all he saw was darkness. Sweet, forgiving darkness; how he loved the sight after the horror he’d seen. Berserkers slicing their way through the creatures even as the Solicians fell around them. Mechs wading into waves of foes, only to be overcome and their pilots killed. Somehow without his knowledge the images had returned; yet Lucius couldn’t help but smile. The human mind was surely an frightening organ. “Sir?” the voice came again, this time he heard it.
“How many survived the attack?” Lucius asked wearily. His pride was stripped from him, and all he could feel was envy for the fallen. Envy that they were released from the memories while he still suffered them. The captain went about listing to the best of his knowledge how many men still remained; and as the weary general calculated everything it all seemed like a low number. In fact, less than ten percent truly lived.
“And sir.” the captain said as he bit his lip, feeling a sharp pain in his arm. “The berserkers were wiped out.” The information was no surprise, and in fact was already known to Lucius. After the creatures overran the second trench line the remaining berserkers put up a stout defense, allowing the Solicians to fall back to a third line. Yet the berserkers themselves were overrun. One could still find a ring of their bodies lying halfway between the second trench and the third; their hands still holding their poweraxes tightly.
A deep growl was head as Lucius looked at the horizon, the creatures were drawing ever closer. He knew what had to be done as he slowly stood, his strength was all but gone yet somehow he found the will to stand again. He looked to his captain, and without a word the message was conveyed. The general’s second in command nodded in understanding, retreat wasn’t an option. “Take up defensive positions!” he cried loudly, switching on his radio he said the same thing again.
The surviving Solicians moved as fast as their weary bodies could take them to the blood soaked trenches. With deep sighs they entered them and starred out on the advancing creatures. Yet their bodies were exhausted, they could hardly lift their lasrifles. A thousand more cries of varying decimal rose up all at once; but the humans did not even try to fight. Their bodies were so exhausted, and their minds were already filled with more horrid images than one should ever know. One by one their strength failed them, and they waited for death.
Closer and closer the creatures got yet not a shot was fired toward them. None had the strength or will to fight anymore. The noise of the thousands of limbs rose ever higher as again voices of terrible design echoed ahead of their makers; and to meet them came no rifle shot, no shout or obscene curse. Only men whose will and minds have been sapped of their strength remained. Lucius watched as the red creatures drew ever closer, he could hear a voice in his mind telling him to just let them take him. Let death take these horrid memories away.
Yet when another round of voices cried loudly, he saw them again. The vision of all the dead men that had fallen fighting for him and in the name of Solicous flashed before his eyes. They had fought hand to hand; throwing aside their weapons of technology and charging in to take a toll of revenge for all the innocents had been killed. They had not given up. Even when all around them was crumbling they stood their ground; their hatred for their enemy far outweighing their fear of death. The general could feel his heart slowly being set alight with his anger. How could he let himself even consider giving up!? “No” he said slowly, throwing back his weary shoulders and looking into the red wave of enemies. “I may die, but I shall never be broken!”
Lucius drew his knife and held it high; when he did so a strange blue light took to it. He smiled as he gripped it tightly. Drawing a deep breath his eyes slowly closed, and then he charged. He ran as hard as he could toward his enemy; his men were stunned when he leaped their lines with his powerknife in the air. It was as if he didn’t care anymore. So long as his enemy was killed; the price no longer mattered. His men looked upon the dead, and much the same came over them. So many had died, could they truly just give up now? They drew every ounce of strength in their tired bodies and charged forward. One last time they raised their lasrifles for their gods, their king, and their country.
A sudden explosion rocked the mass of charging creatures as an F-24 Dragon thundered overhead. The abominations stopped in their tracks as the sun rose fully. Light quickly flooded into the sky; and there coming toward them over the northern horizon were more bombers and planes than they could count. The ORDER and the Berserkers had sent everything they had to wipe them out, and even the creatures knew it was enough. As their eyes came down they saw coming toward them the remaining human fighters of the battle. Their lasrifles suddenly opened fire and a number of creatures were overcome in clouds of green mist. Without care the creatures charged forward; their end was in sight but they would take all the humans they could with them.
Lucius cried out loudly as he brought down his knife into the skull of a creature; at the same moment the bombers passed overhead and the bombs came whistling down. The creatures cried in anger as their doom came hurdling toward them. The remaining humans cut into the front rank of the creatures, determined to fight to the end. The bombs hit, and in a moment the battlefield was cleansed in a baptism of fire.
The battle for Solace had finally ended.
______________
ok...it's 5 am...i'm so tired...so...so tired...
thanks for commenting guys, for a while I was worried everyone had stopped reading.
@Sigurd: I got the name from one of the files you sent me to help me remember the backstory. I hope you do not mind but the list of names I use for ORDER and Solicians didn't sound right for a Berserker. But i'm really glad you enjoyed it. again :bow:
@Shadow: I'm glad you like it. I thought I needed to add something for the Humans. they were coming off as bland and faceless so i added the emotional bits, glad I'm not the only one who thought it was a good idea.
@TheSilverKnight: ...wanker? bah! ~D told you i'd get it done and i did...*mumbles* yeh smartass ~;) j/k mate.
Alexander the Pretty Good
06-16-2005, 22:15
No one reading... anymore... ???
Monk, I eagerly await any and all new chapters to this very good saga. But it looks like it has ended. Not too shabby at all.
Have a tankard and a good rest on me, mate. ~:cheers:
Have a tankard and a good rest on me, mate. ~:cheers:
wish i could enjoy that, but it's not over yet. ~:cheers:
[gandalf voice] the battle for Solace has ended, the battle for Solicous, has just begun...[/gandalf voice]
Alexander the Pretty Good
06-16-2005, 22:56
Holy crap! It isn't over!
Cool. I was worried you would just kinda end it there.
But you can still have a tankard, in between writing new chapters.
[Gollum voice]My precious story... my precious...[/Gollum voice]
Glad to know that it does stop here ~D
part xxv
Stand
Ruins of Solace
Ruins of Industrial spire.
09:50 hours, first encounter +14
Aradiel quickly threw down the overheating energy pack on his lasrifle and slammed into its place another. A smooth sound emitted from the gun as the compressed energy within traversed into the machine; the ammo figure came up displayed in white text. He was ready. Yet as he looked around him all lights faded. The world seemed to disappear from his vision as a shade covered all he looked upon. His breathing heightened as he could feel fear and urgency creeping up his spine. He could still see a limited distance; and if the gods would help him his enemy would not take him again. Suddenly a scream came from the darkness; it started as a hiss, slowly churning its way around his head before rising in a shrill pitch that made his eyes want to water. He pointed his lasrifle directly to where he though the sound came; yet at that moment all went quiet. Aradiel’s eyes darted here and there, searching for movement; however to his misfortune the shadow was all consuming.
Another scream rose up, and then another, and then to his disbelief another! They were all around him. He could hear their twisted limbs clunking on the metal floor, moving in circles around him. They were toying with him. A creature darted into the light for a split second, the soldier’s eyes widened as he turned and fired quickly. Yet he was too slow. The creature seemed to meld back into the darkness disappearing, his shot missing amazingly. The soldier swallowed hard. This was it, he knew their strike was coming and he could do nothing to stop it. Suddenly from the shadows they all burst at once, their eyes growing like the fires of sunset. Aradiel mashed his teeth, anger overpowering his fear as he raised his lasrifle, he pull the trigger just as one of their arms thrust forward. A flash of darkness suddenly took his eyes and the sounds faded away.
Aradiel awoke screaming, he sat up in hasting looking around him; his eyes wide with fear and his breathing heavy. The soldier scanned the room; the solemn beep of the heart monitor beside him was the only noise. No dark hall did he see, no creatures, just the wounded of his unit lying around him in silent. Aradiel smiled weakly, he was safe for the moment. Now he remembered; he’d been wounded in the battle for Solace. Wait, his wounds? Aradiel threw back the light sheet covering him, digging under a torn piece of armor to see his ribs bandaged heavily, a red stain of blood in their center. Well, he was alive at least. He couldn’t help but give a soft laugh as he let himself lay back upon the worn cot. Drawing to him a deep breath he let his eyes closed. For some reason his muscles felt very tired.
Yet before sleep could take him, voices from the next room slipped under the door and found their way into his mind. The soldier’s eyes opened as he couldn’t help but listen. The beeping of the heart monitor a subtle distraction, but even despite it he heard them. “Look” said a hardened voice, the kind only carried by one whose life is changed by war.
“I sympathize with the ORDER’s…‘Request’. But I will not authorize such force.” Aradiel heard footsteps trace across the room before another voice made itself known. It was deep and menacing; it reminded him of a berserker he had once met.
“I agree.” said the second voice, “We have no way of knowing how they would react to a Nuclear attack. We might make them even stronger.” Quickly, a third voice spoke just as he finished eager to prove him wrong.
“Be reasonable! You saw what happened here six days ago!” it pleaded with the others. “We must use this opportunity to destroy the creatures, while they are still weak!”
Six days? By the gods thought Aradiel; the last memory he held to him was trying to hold back a wave of charging creatures when darkness overcame him. What had knocked him unconscious he did not know, but perhaps now that did not matter.
“Do what you wish.” The third voice said finally. “I still can’t understand why you’re staying. This city has been destroyed.”
“Time” the second answered, walking across the room and pressing his hands on a table, Aradiel heard the slight creaking in the wood from his spot on the floor. “The Solicians are evacuating their civilians to the north; they need a few more days to get away.”
“Right.” the first continued, letting out a weary sigh. “Even if the creatures don’t attack, we need to hold here just in case.”
“I suppose we all have our orders then.” The third responded to their statements, tired of speaking with them and not caring to stay and die. “Remaining mech units under my command are pulling out. We’ve got to regroup…” there came a long pause between the three voices, Aradiel was about to stop listening when the words “May the Emperor protect you.” shot from the silence suddenly. Silence came after it before the second voice answered him smugly.
“I’ve got all the protection I need in my axe” the first and seconded gave slight laughs at this. Though the third didn’t find it funny in the least bit, sneered at thim and then turned, opening the door and walking out. Aradiel yawned as he tried to listen some more but his tiredness was getting the better of him. Even as he tried to stay away he felt his eyes slowly closing. Before he even realized it he had been taken by sleep.
City Sector 2
Outlying CP for Ruins
18:53 hours
Octavius sighed as he surveyed the tumbled and ruined buildings lining the street. He and his squad mate had even set up a Command post in the ruins of one such building. The brick and mortar crumbled into dirt, steel twisted into shapes indescribable; his eyes took all the images in. The same images his mind had a hard time processing. It was truly amazing to see the city like this, thrown down and in ruins, the same city that had been called a candle in a sea of darkness was now no better than The Old City. As Octavius’ eyes searched the broken skyline of his home his squad mate sat upon a pile of ruble. The soldier let out a sigh and looked to Octavius. “No sign of ‘em, call it in.”
Octavius looked at him and shouldered his lasrifle, he walked over to the radio lying upon what used to be a windowsill and hit the send button. “This is CP zero-two, no sign of them” he spoke plainly; soon a voice came in response, a slight static in the background. “Roger that zero-two. Your next report is in 30 minutes, out.” The com link cut and the radio was perfectly silent. Everything seemed just fine; maybe the creatures were wiped out after all.
A gentle breeze picked up as Octavius sat down, resting his tired legs and his troubled mind. Yet as he took his seat, a strange noise could be heard drifting on the wind. There, weaving in and out of the sound of the wind there was a voice. As soft as a whisper but strangely alien, Octavius lifted his head as he heard it. The wind picked up yet the voice remained constant, neither rising nor being overshadowed. A chill creped up his spine as a cruel realization dawned on him. He’d heard that voice before…
“You hear that?” he said looking upon his comrade, and as their eyes met Octavius knew he was not alone in believing it similar. Yet even words escaped Octavius’ lips, a deep, menacing rumble overcame all other sound. The soldiers’ eyes darted about as they grabbed their lasrifles, putting them at the ready. They knew that sound, and as that fact appeared in their minds they felt fear crawl along the surfaces of their skin. Moving easily into their hearts and making a home for itself. The creatures were back.
“Call Command” Octavius said silently as he looked around himself, searching for his enemy. His squad mate nodded slowly and walked to the radio. His finger pressed down upon the button and a link up was established. However at that moment a dark object passed before him. Octavius turned in surprise as he pointed his rifle at his fellow soldier. “Pluvius?” he spoke hesitantly, the soldier didn’t move.
A scream filled the air as suddenly his squad mate fell to the ground, his head slipping from his body and falling to the ground rolling. Now before Octavius was a creature, of the same ilk raised by Uriel, it stood with saliva dripping from its teeth and blood flowing from its sharp claws and its eyes redder than the sky. The radio came screaming to life as a voice inquired “Zero-two, your transmission cut out, something wrong?” Octavius could not believe his eyes; his eyes were wide as he stood with his lasrifle ready to fire. However he could feel his muscles paralyzed by fear. He couldn’t even bring himself to pull the trigger. The voice on the radio spoke again, “Zero-two? Everything alright?” The creature stepped forward as a loud explosion overcame the silence the wind, one could hear stone being tossed about as loud snarls echoed in the city. They were coming.
Octavius swallowed hard and in that instant the creature charge, letting out a low roar and brandishing his claws. The soldier shouted in fear as he pulled the trigger in desperation, he watched his energy beam seem to absorb into the hide of the creature, not even cutting into it. The creature showed a sick smile as it plunged its claw deep into the defender of humanity, letting his blood trickle down over his now shredded armor. Octavius cried in anguish as he felt the creature slam another hand through his chest, and using its strength it ripped the man into pieces.
The radio was still on; even as his life force sprayed upon it a voice came through the speaker. “Zero-two respond!”
Ruins of Industrial spire
19:03 hours
The door slid open with a silent hiss as the captain stepped through, his face marked with the scars of battle and in his hand he held a lasrifle. His armor was slightly torn and around his neck, on a small necklace sat a piece of creature hide; it appeared to have energy burns on it. Taking a step forward the door behind him shut. Sounds assaulted him as he walked forward and listened, there were many soldiers sitting around control consoles, radio transmissions bursting from all of them and making it all hard to hear coming from so many directions. He looked around him as a sergeant walked up to him.
“Sir! We’ve got…” the man could not finish before the captain opened his mouth and spoke.
“Creatures?” the captain asked plainly, as if knowing the answer before hand. His silver lined green eyes settled on the sergeant, they were strange in both their color and their calmness. The horrors this man must have seen were numerous as the scars attested, and yet he spoke so easily. He stepped forward and placed his lasrifle on a line of controls. The numerous transmissions rising in varying decimal before a clear call to the captain came through.
“Command HQ! This is zero one!” it shouted over the com system, the sound of screeching followed by lasgun fire. “We can’t hold on! Retr…” suddenly the signal cut out wit ha sharp noise. The Captain sighed as he pressed a button. The radio came to life as his voice went over the waves. “This is HQ to all units…” he took a deep breath, pushing aside a sense of hesitation “fall back, I say again, fall back.” Yet there was silence, no acknowledgement came, it was unknown it anyone outside the now broken spire still lived.
ruins of Industrial spire
First floor
19:05 hours
A long corridor separated the main double doors, now reinforced with whatever could be found to keep them shut; from the winding stair case that led to the upper levels of command. Only four floors remained in what was once a high tower that some said touched the heavens themselves. The stairwell was the only way, the elevator behind disabled and other ways blocked by debris. Soldiers rushed down the stairs and as they reached the door to the corridor threw up their weapons, their eyes fixed upon the doors. However just as the troops reached their destination a loud bang echoed down the hall; the doors rocked back and forth slightly. The soldiers shifted in place as they felt fear churning inside them. Another crash sent the doors reeling, a large dent appearing in the metal surface; it wouldn’t withstand another. Yet just as the soldiers were about to run in terror, a men stepped from their midst.
He wore no armor at all, yet instead he had adorned all over his body, hanging from him, trophies. Eyes, teeth, pieces of ripped creature flesh. He had so many it looked as if he could assemble his own from the spare parts! The Solicians looked upon him in awe, who was this man? A third and final crash hit the door; breaking the hinges and sending the door flying inward, and from the opening they came. The creatures had finally renewed their attack on Solace. The soldiers each took a step back, unsure of what to do. But the man didn’t move. A soldier shouted “Hey! Get out of there man!” but he didn’t move. One by one he began to shed his many trophies until all he wore was his simple clothes, and in his hand he held a large axe; the blade of which glowed red like the fires that consumed Abbadon. The soldiers knew who he was at once, the axe was proof enough; he was a berserker.
The lead creature, one who was bigger than the rest but appeared of the same kind, stepped forward to him. Even its twisted mind knew what this man wanted, it brandished its claws and let out a low, tumbling roar that seemed to circle around the room and freeze the hearts of the soldiers. Yet the berserker just looked upon his enemy, a strange smile forming on his face. Suddenly he let out a scream and drove his axe into the floor, cutting past the tiles easily. Withdrawing his weapon and howling like a great wolf he spun around and drove his axe into the wall, slicing past the already weakened building and leaving a deep cut. “Come on!” he screamed as the creature looked upon him.
His enemy was quick to fulfill his request and charge him, its claws out to the side ready to attack from both sides. It let out a raging snarl as it got into range and brought down its fingers attempting to skewer the berserker, yet to his surprise all he hit was air. The Berserker leaped back slightly, dodging the strike and then bringing his axe along the ground he cut into him, slicing open its chest and letting loose his life force. Its body fell upon the ground, life still hanging by a thread. The Berserker cried in pure anger as he swung his axe around and slammed it into the creature’s neck. Ending his enemy’s life easily he looked upon the other creatures whose eyes were full of anger, he could tell they would charge at any moment.
The Berserker turned and looked at the soldiers “Get out of here!” he shouted loudly, his voice commanding and frightening to behold. “I can hold here, your captain needs you on the fourth floor!” Without another word, he charged forward into the fray, the soldiers unable to believe what they saw him do. All alone and against all odds he cut into the creatures; his axe cutting a path and painting the alls anew. The soldiers knew there was no retreat, if they were to die then on what floor did it matter?
They drew their power knives. Slowly a blue light entered each of them as they discarded their lasrifles. They had to hold out as long as they could, their families were counting on them. They shouted as loud as they could and fell upon their hated foe.
___________________
took me a while, been busy with social stuff. but hey, at least i didn't take a month right? ~D
Alexander the Pretty Good
06-29-2005, 01:18
Get back to work, lazybones! :whip:
~D
Seriously, good work as always, Monk. I await further bloodsh- I mean, installments. ~D
part xxvi
Betrayal
Spire Ruins
19:17 hours, first encounter +14
Lionus heaved a grenade down the stairwell with all his might, yet it felt like he had thrown his limb along with it. The small ball of death soared through the air and bounced off a wall, making a cold and metallic noise as it then tumbled toward its own destruction. The soldier could hear his enemy coming up even as his grenade fell to them; the slow, agonizing pounding of their limbs upon the stairs seemed to cause his head to pound slightly. Whispers coming from their hideous mouths and seeping into his mind, it only made the hatred in his heart burn hotter. Finally, after what seemed an eternity of waiting, they appeared. A creature of about his height turned the corner, blood falling from his claws and staining his hide. It bore many cuts and gashes which now dripped its life force upon the ground, as well as holding a red hue from the humans it had dispatched. Yet there was not one single energy burn, despite the heavy gunfire Lionus had heard from below.
The creature let out a low snarl as it opened its mouth, a large tongue dangled between its sharp teeth as it set its eyes to Lionus, the prospect of a fresh kill now in its near future. Yes this would be fun. However a strange beeping then started to draw the creature’s attention, as even more of its kind began to climb the stairs; it looked about trying to trace the annoyance. Suddenly it saw the grenade sitting humbly by its left leg. It looked back at Lionus and snarled in anger, but to its surprise the soldier was nowhere to be seen. It roared loudly just as the grenade exploded; a wave of fire shooting from the small device and flowing down the stair way, burning everything in its path.
Lionus took a deep breath as the ruins of the structure rocked; he looked down the stairs as he heard screams of agony being raised before falling silent. A smirk appeared upon his lips as he knew what happened. Maybe next time they’d think twice before attacking up the stairs. His eyes settled on a soft cloud of smoke that now resided where he had stood; a feeling of satisfaction came over him, one that seemed to make all the loss he had felt worthwhile. Lionus drew to him a deep breathe and let out a sigh as he stood at the ready; waiting for the creatures to reappear. The cool metal surface of his lasrifle seemed to deny any feeling of security it had once given him. He’d seen the creatures push forward and slaughter men even as they tried to gun them down. Something was changing, they were different somehow.
A pain filled screech sent his skin crawling; causing the soldier to raise his gun in the direction of the stairs. “Show yourselves…” he said in a ragged and weary voice. Gripping his rifle tightly his shifted his weight, getting a better footing. A subtle and short vibration traveled through the stairs, moving into his body and causing his hands to shake. It repeated itself again, only this time the rumble was greater. Lionus could feel his heart pounding faster with every moment as his eyes opened slightly wider; again he felt it, and to it he could now hear an almost masked breathing. The sound was horrible to behold, as if someone put their hand upon their mouth and then drew breathe, over and over as the great rumbling continued. Something was drawing closer to him.
The glow of two red eyes caught Lionus’ gaze and sent a feeling of terror rushing through his veins, though he was not sure why. They seemed to appear out of nowhere from the cloud of smoke and refused to move; as if studying him. The grey smoke began to clear and a dark silhouette slowly appeared as the creature took shape. Lionus gasped in both horror and disgust as he took a step back, he could feel his lasrifle shaking in his hands. Before him was a creature unlike any he had seen. It was clinging to the stairs, its arms thin yet holding their own aura of power. It had two arms and upon which four fingers, each long and sharp as they clung to the stairs. It had a long, thick body protected by a thick exoskeleton. If it were standing it would be twice the height as Lionus. As the human drew the courage to look upon its head, he could feel revulsion in the pit of his stomach.
The creature’s head was elongated like many of the creatures, yet where its mouth should be tentacles hung from its head. They were long and thick, moving about as if they had their own mind. And above them, red eyes that glowed with intense hate for Lionus. The soldier was frozen in place, his eyes wide as he starred upon the creature. His body was overcome with fear and yet he couldn’t find within him the wisdom to run. Sensing his hesitation, the creature sprung over the steps that separated the two enemies; too late Lionus learned its hideousness was only overcome by its strength and agility. Still gliding through the air the creature ripped into the soldier; Lionus screamed in anguish as he pulled the trigger, trying to fend off his attacker. Yet his incredible pain didn’t save him from the horror he saw, his energy beam absorbed into the creatures hide.
He fell back onto the stairs, squirming in pain and trying to get away. Yet as he grasped for the stair above him the creature drove its limb through his body; cutting his heart and lungs into pieces with one strike. Lionus could feel his body seize up, and at that instant all functions of his body failed. His life ended suddenly even as he tried to find safety. The creature withdrew its arm from his body and grinned sickly, knowing the human was all but dead despite his still open eyes. It cried loudly, letting out a shrill scream. Just at that moment numerous soldiers came rushing down the stairs; hearing the sounds of combat and ready to fight they had their weapons charged and ready to fire at a moments notice. Their eyes fell upon the strange new creature, causing them to stop dead in their tracks. It stood over their fallen comrade and even displayed his blood proudly on its hide.
Yet they did not have a chance to enact revenge; for at that moment a wave of creatures flooded toward them, appearing from around the corner of the stairs and seeming to turn into a wall of tooth, claw, and bone. The soldiers screamed in terror as they fired, only to see their shots absorb into the mass of creatures. Like a whirlwind the creatures hit them, and the soldiers were overcome and torn limb from limb. However that was not enough, the creatures could smell their victory over this pathetic human defense effort, all that remained was their command post.
Fourth Floor,
Command HQ for Solace.
The door was overcome by another crash and was visibly giving way as the captain turned to his communications officer. “Damn it!” he shouted in frustration. “I said get that transmission sent!” Already all the soldiers were lining themselves before the captain with their lasrifles pointed at the door. They were ready to make their last stand in the city of sorrow. With each crash that echoed upon the door, they couldn’t help but move in slight shock. For them it was truly like starring upon one’s fate about to be decided.
The communications officer continued to tur nobs and flip switches until finally he stopped, a look of confusion overtaking him as he looked back at the captain. “s…sir?” His voice was shaking as he looked upon his commander, his eyes overcome with terror. Yet it was not from the creatures…
“What is it?” the captain turned and looked at him, his own curiosity practically bursting from his armor.
“T..take a listen!” the com officer said frantically as he put what he was hearing on the speakers by him, quickly cranking up the volume. A field of static was overcome by voices, radio chatter of a bomb group. Talk of coordinates and the target, Solace, followed by a confirmation from their HQ. “Drop on grid 2185; Solace. Make sure the target is destroyed in the explosion”.
The captain closed his eyes and sighed, as the words “the emperor protects’ fluttered into the room, he knew his warning had been ignored. The ORDER was about to Nuke Solace. “God damned fools” he whispered to himself as he placed his hands on the cool metal surface of a control console. A final crash came on the door as a sharp talon ripped into the metal, tearing the door outward the creatures looked in. The soldiers opened fire upon them with no effect. Yet none of it mattered anymore, The sound of a rumble could be heard filling the sky as the creatures further torn the door open, finally opening a way for them to enter.
They seemed to file into the room, one by one even as the Solicians fired upon them, shouting angrily trying to push them back. Their eyes opened widely as fear overcame their souls. The captain however sighed as if a greater defeat was laid on his feet than it really was; he looked out the window at the still setting sun despite the chaos behind him. “Forgive us…my gods” he said as he closed his tired eyes. In that instant a flash overcame the creatures and caused them to scream in sudden terror, and following that flash a wall of fire consumed the ruined spire. The voices of both human and creature became lost in the earth shattering explosion that followed.
__________
your wish is my command ~D...or rather, my two/three/four hours spent typing...
TheSilverKnight
07-01-2005, 02:27
*eyes go wide, jaw opens*...wow... ~D
Keep going, Monk! *sits back* Keep the explosions coming as well! Those are fun! ~:cheers: ~D
Wow!... what a great read. Man, you should publish this...
discovery1
07-11-2005, 07:01
NOOOO!! I read to the last update. Well, I still have music to feed my anger.
Alexander the Pretty Good
07-12-2005, 01:05
See Monk? If you don't get working, discovery is gonna kill someone. Hurry up! ~D
I hate to clutter up this thread with yet another post from me without a part to the tale here; but i feel everyone deserves an update on my situation. Just so you can se I'm not dead ~D.
My life is getting hectic, yet again! :furious3: Never a dull moment around here, and i've been running from one place to the other for the last three days. Yet before it gets any crazier, i've decided to put aside my tiredness and stick this thing out. I don't want to let you guys go a month without an update like what happened before...
The end is in sight for this story. I don't want to stop writing it but the fact is the plot is coming to an end; I can't expand upon it without betraying the "plot rules" i've developed for it. Which basically means, if it goes further it will feal like its being repeated.
In *looks at watch* i'm gonna say probably 12-20 hours something will be here, an ending (i hope) enjoyable for everyone. Wagers on the ending are now being accepted ~D. The current situation doesn't look good for humanity, one must wonder if there is a way to end the threat of the creatures... Or perhaps have i left something out? is there yet one more secret to be unvieled that will save the humans? Only time will tell (well actually three people know the ending. but they aren't going to say a word :bow: )
TheSilverKnight
07-13-2005, 03:49
In *looks at watch* i'm gonna say probably 12-20 hours something will be here, an ending (i hope) enjoyable for everyone. Wagers on the ending are now being accepted ~D.
20 quid on Tiger Woods! That's my bet... ~:cheers: ~;)
(well actually three people know the ending. but they aren't going to say a word :bow: )
Ok who are those three :devilish:
part xxvii
Hammer of the Gods
“Ahriman’s Point”, Old Solician Outpost.
North Mountain cluster, Solicous
11:32 hours, first encounter +25
The door burst open with a violent kick; a bone shattering echo of the wood splintering waded into the thick darkness ahead like a ripple in a pond. The door flew back on its hinges as it reared from the assault; and where it once stood thrust weapons as curious eyes peered from side to side. The darkness these eyes witnessed was all consuming; as was the silence that went with it. Like a creeping beast it snaked around their ears. A silent hiss reminding them not a soul could they see; and yet anything might be waiting behind the veil of shadow. “Lights!” a coarse voice barked. In an instant flashlights were engaged and slowly the darkness fled from the shining lights of a group of soldiers. Yet they were not ready for what they saw.
Sitting in a simple wooden chair, in the exact center of the room, was a single man. His shoulders slumped over and his eyes staring down at the ground; twitching slightly every other moment. The soldiers moved into the room keeping their weapons trained upon him; their hands gripping their rifles tightly and their hearts filled with uncertainty. The man made no move despite the soldiers walking toward him, he was breathing slowly and silently, as if nothing mattered anymore. “Hey” one of the soldiers spoke softly, trying to determine who this man was. “You alright?”
Suddenly the man threw his head back, his graying hair thrashed from side to side as his eyes widened and set their gaze upon the soldiers. His breathing was heavy and sweat dripped down his brow, fear had overtaken him. The soldiers jumped back, pointing their rifles at him and keeping a close eye on him. The sudden movement he had made was not expected.
His shoulders heaved up and down as if he was short of breath, yet he appeared to have been sitting within this room, alone in the dark for quite some time. Slowly his mouth opened to speak, yet no sound came from it. As if fate had robbed him of a voice the only noise was a slight hiss from the back of his throat. “Hey!” another soldier shouted, “What are you trying to say? Speak up!” his voiced seemed to bounce from the walls and ring in their ears. Yet the mysterious man said nothing still; his deep brown eyes trembling violently, and seeming to only become filled with more fear and disbelief as the moments ticked away.
Finally, he managed a word. Deep and mangled as it was, it made perfect sense to the soldiers. “Demons” he said, struggling to keep his sanity together. The soldiers, one by one, lowered their weapons. He was of no threat if he couldn’t even manage to speak from his fear.
Sindri sighed softly as he looked at him and surveyed the room, the darkness outside their flashlight beams seemed so thick. As he drew in a deep breath of the warm, stale air he felt hesitation creep through his mind. The hesitation to think this place was not as secure as intel had indicated. If this place had fallen it would be over, Solicous was in ruins, where could they go now? Bringing Sindri’s thoughts to an end the mysterious man led out a loud scream of terror, drawing the eyes of all near him. His back straightened as his fear seemed to seep into their souls. Slowly his cry ended and he frantically tried to draw breath,; his eyes scanning around him as if searching for something. Shocking the soldiers investigating the room he spoke, this time very clear. “I saw…I saw it.” The soldiers looked at him confusedly, their minds colored with their own senses of fear and unknowing.
“Saw what?” the leader of the soldiers said, stepping forward while keeping his rifle at the ready, he nodded to his second in command who in turn took two men to guard the door. Sindri looked at his commander and then at the strange man, his eyes finally adjusting to the blanket of shadows. What exactly was this man trying to say?
“It!” the man shouted frustrated. “I saw…the end”
“What?” the leader said uncertainly. “You’re not making sense.”
“Listen to me you fool!” the man shouted, his anger pushes his fear back into his mind, an anger that he knew not from where it appeared. “I saw the end... The end of us all!”
The leader of the soldiers just gave a slight laugh; taking a deep breath and clearing his mind his gaze set upon the man. “I’m the fool? Look who’s talking crazy.” Sindri could do nothing but watch as this conversation become stranger and stranger.
“Do you not care of our fate as a race?” the mysterious man asked, his strange anger still burning brightly for all to see.
“Yes I do!” shouted the leader right back, his own impatience and anger taking the better of him. “But you’re just taking crazy nonsense. ‘I saw the end’ Just what the hell does that mean!?”
The man closed his eyes and took a deep breath, clearing the troubled anger he felt rising within his soul for this man. “Please, just listen… what have you to lose?” his voice seemed overcome with serenity, the fear and anger no longer present. Sindri walked up to his commander, he knew this man must know something. The soldier was not sure why, but something within the pit of his soul told him to hear him out.
“Please, Captain,” Sindri said, making sure to keep his voice low enough so the man could not hear. “We’ve got orders to pursue any and all leads into stopping the creatures…making he can help?” The captain eyed Sindri, a dark glare setting into him and forcing Sindri to take a step back. He’d seen that look before; and it wasn’t a good idea to be near the captain when he got it. He shifted his gaze back upon the man and nodded.
“Go on then” he said, clearly not happy about it. “Tell us what you ‘saw’.” The mysterious man nodded, his eyes looking to Sindri and nodding in a strange gesture of thank you. He could tell whatever he said convinced his leader to hear the truth.
“I saw it” he said plainly. “The end of this war. I saw the enemy’s highest creature coming here, and I saw the king of Solicous coming here.” Slowly, every ear began to turn to this man. He had a strange hint of power in his voice that couldn’t be ignored, even if he was crazy. “You came here fleeing the creatures…yes?”
The captain couldn’t help but nod; his eyes were closed in disgust that he’d even considered listening to him. The man continued without stopping, as if his answer didn’t matter. “And, all of the Survivors of Solace are with you…yes?” Again, he was answered with a nod from the captain. Yet at this the man smiled strangely, a small light appearing within his right pupil. “I saw it all. I saw the hammer of the gods falling upon this land, striking it down and turning the land to ash. And I saw one more thing.”
The captain opened his eyes, looking upon the man with skeptical eyes. He now noticed a growing light in one of his eyes, the only side of his face not illuminated by a flashlight. Turning his curiosity inward he tried not to let on that he noticed, letting this man continue. With a strange laugh the man said “I saw fields of dead, their blood running like rivers into the earth which slowly devoured their broken bodies.” He seemed to take delight in using such graphic descriptions; and a smile was growing on his face. A mucles in his cheek suddenly twitched causing him to draw back a bit when his entire face fell into shadow. That is when the captain saw it and cruel realization dawned on him. Glowing in both eyes, deep in the pupil were whit lights. His face was overtaken by fear and went as wide as the rising sun. This man, he wasn’t human at all! He was…some sort of copy.
Realizing the captain had found him out, the man let out a maniacal laugh and grinned widely; his eyes being overcome with a strange sense of anger and joy meshed into one. With a sickening thud arms burst from his torso and he leaped upon the captain, tearing and clawing flesh as it struck. The soldiers jumped back in panic, the fear all consuming as they horrible truth was setting in. They would have no idea that the nuclear blast at solace had done more harm than good, the berserkers were right. It had meshed Human and creature DNA into a terrifying new organism.
Sindri shouted loudly in anger as he fired his lasgun; a bright stream of energy shot out into the darkness and slamming into the creature, only to have nothing happen. He watched his beam sink into the strange creature’s skin, absorbing it with ease. He fired again as his heart began to race. Yet nothing! Blood was flying from side to side of the room, staining the walls as the creature ripped their captain apart. Taking its time completely confident they could not kill it.
“Clear the room!” a voice shouted from the doorway. Sindri looked to see a huge man standing with what appeared to be a model-298-S-78, or as the Solician military knew it, the chaingun. E stood ready to fire, and the warning they were given was all the soldiers needed to get out of his way. The creature looked up from its kill as blood dripped from the skin that had burst from a human shell; multiple arms with flesh hanging from them still held power beyond a human could imagine. It shrieked with delight of the thought of another kill. Yet the soldier just mashed his teeth together, his finger waving over the trigger. “Yeah?! To hell with you too!” he squeezed the trigger and what followed can only be described as a whirlwind of destruction and fire, erupting from the spinning barrels hundreds of rounds ripped through the creature in an instant. Its body was shredded to pieces by his furious onslaught, leaving behind a mist of red blood, not green.
Sindri’s eyes were wide with fear, what else could go wrong he thought. Slowly he turned his gaze over to the man with the chaingun, the barrels still spinning with a smooth hum. The man looked at, his breathing heavy as he could barely believe what he had seen/ “get to the king” he said in-between his attempts to make sense of things. “we have an attack to prepare for…” Sindri needed to other order. He drew himself to his feet; he could still feel his heart beating like a drum in his chest. Walked to the door he looked at the dead bodies; giving his captain a final salute before running off down the corridor.
Arhiman’s Point
Main corridor
19:45 hours, first encounter +26
The sun was falling behind the western horizon as a shrill cry of hatred rose up. The sharp mountain peaks around the last base of the Solicians throwing the sound around a thousand times in an echo. Then another came, and to answer it a hundred more. They came from all around the only base of the Solicians left, they were coming to finish what was started at Solace.
Sindri shifted in place as he stood at the first barricade behind the main door. The images of hours earlier still burned into his mind. He had no doubt that the images he’d witnessed, these horrors too indescribable to repeat would be his forever to ‘cherish’. The sense of battle and death, the realization of creature evolution; it was all so unreal how could any person bare it for their life? The soldier sighed, feeling a deep and lasting depression that had no lifted since the afternoon. His heard seemed to be frozen in place.
Suddenly his head was thrown up and his eyes settled on the main doors as a huge crash overtook them. The mighty metal dented easily under the assault. Sindri Readied his rifle as did the others at his defense station; however he knew they’d be no good. Slowly he began to lower it as he wondered what the point was. The creatures were so strong, their physiology so adaptive. Even if the Solicians won here, how long was it until they were wiped out? Suddenly his rifle slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground, at the same time another crash took to the door; it would fall any moment. Sindri was ready to abandon all hope; yet like a lightning flash his memory turned to the civilians. His eyes widened with guilt, they were below, defenseless. Could he really just leave them to die without lifting a finger?
Drawing a deep breath Sindri set his eyes on the door. He drew his power sword with the sound of sliding metal and watched as a blue light appeared within. If this was to be his end, then he’d spend it fighting, not cowering. Gripping the hilt of the sword tightly the light grew bright just as another crash took to the door, this time bashing it down and throwing it in. And in its place stepped a creature that was looked like a human meshed inside a creature. Its mouth had been elongated but the head was the shape of a humans. The body had been charred and thinned and the arms, the three sets of them, where tin and elongated, each seemed to hold a human quality. The soldiers opened fire but they killed nothing; the creatures entered the base slowly as if taking their time and enjoying it.
Sindri became filled with rage as he saw how they acted toward their defense. Leaping the barricade he stood out from the soldiers, and without a word to his comrades charged the creatures. He cried t the top of his lungs as he rushed into his doom. Bringing up his power sword he slashed a creature across the chest, driving his sword through and cleaving it in two. A cloud of red appeared as a fountain of blood splashed around the room and onto Sindri, the scarlet liquid just like his own. The Creatures could not believe their eyes. The nerve of this human! In rage they charged Sindri who stood his ground.
Arhiman’s Point
Vehicle hanger
19:55 hours, first encounter +26
The creatures screamed in a fit of rage as they threw themselves upon the human defenders again, leaping the line of bodies left behind from their first wave they charged with a mission to avenge their brethren. Yet the Solicians of this area were determined not to fail. Like a sturdy rock they broke the wave of creatures, their swords slashing and stabbing as their rifles were all but useless. The creatures though, whose strength was great, were undeterred. A third wave raced through the broken hanger doors and slammed into the line of humans, this time causing the defender’s line to collapse in on itself. The Solicians however would not fall back. They stood their ground even as their number thinned. Fighting like demons they made the creatures pay for every man lost. The floor became as a sea of red…
With a shrill cry a creature buried its claw into the last defender, ripping his insides out while he still live it threw the weak and dieing human to the ground. Yet even as they had won this sector a strange noise filled the air, a silent hum trickled through the metal floor and through the walls; causing a layer of confusion to fall upon the creatures. Suddenly out from the walls and floor burst automated turrets. The creatures could do nothing but stand min horrified shock as they opened fire, ripping into their flesh and slaughtering them as they stood. Soon not a single remained alive.
With a grievous smile the king of Solicous appeared out of the doorway, his face and hands covered with that of his blood and his enemy’s. The price was high but the sector had been defended, he could feel pain in his arm from using his powersword. He dropped the blade for it was broken; he watched as the light faded and ceased to shine. Yet as he turned to leave a thunderous boom took to the ground, nearly causing him to fall on the floor. It was followed by another which seemed to shake the entire facility; it was all the King could do just to stand. He turned and looked at the hanger doors just in time to see them ripped completely open, from the very top to bottom by a huge scythe-like arm. Through the cut burst a single monstrous creature. It had all the signs of being a Lord of All, yet it was greater in size than all others reported; and it had three sets of arms where the last had two. This one, had eyes; and they glowed brightly like fiery suns. The creature had a larger back body, as it if could spawn others. It was the master creature, the first created.
The king set his eyes on the creature, the automated cannons were all out of munitions and he had no weapon. The fiery red gaze of the creature was hard to look into; as if it inspired fear at a whim. Opening its mouth the creature let out a deep and tremendous roar that shook the facility and caused the king to fall back it was so great. His eyes were wide with terror as he knew he couldn’t defeat it. The king steeled himself and drew his pistol; without hesitation he fired off a number of shots at the creature; yet he watched the streams of energy be absorbed. His one and only weapon were useless. The creature let out a strong laugh as it realized its prey had no chance; yet even as it was about to close in, the door behind the king opened.
With a smooth sliding sound the door receded and there standing with a glowing red axe in hand was the Wolf-General Digre. He wore the symbol of the berserkers, and he was the last surviving of their order left in Solicous As he set eyes on the carnage before him he drew a breath and began working himself into a deep, unstoppable rage. Yet even as he did so, the king stopped him.
“No!” the king cried as he extended his hand quickly. His voice was commanding and stopped the berserker in his rage. Digre looked upon him curiously. The berserker was ready to fight, why should he not help? “This is my battle!” the king’s body was already injured yet he held out a hand, asking for the berserker’s axe. “I want to fight him. please…I just need a weapon.”
The berserker stood up straight and studied him for a moment; the creature seemed to tower above them, just waiting for someone to fight it so it could test itself at last. Digre looked upon his axe, and then the face of the king who was on the ground begging for a weapon. As their eyes met the berserker got a glimpse into his soul, a look into terrible anguish at the slaughtering of one’s people. He saw a mighty fire burning within the young man’s heart, one set by war and could only be put out by death. The warrior nodded and tossed his great axe to the king. The king caught the weapon but could not stop it from slamming, blade first, into the ground. It was far heavier than it looked. Placing two hands upon the hilt he drew the strength to stand, and at last lift his weapon.
The axe seemed to glow bright like an evening star as he took hold of it. The weapon sensing his rage and hurt seemed to become amplified in power because of it. The king held the axe ready just as the creature screamed in rage; their eyes met and the hatred they held for one another seemed to pour from their souls. Drawing upon his emotions the king found strength within himself, letting out a great cry he charged at the creature. It was time to end it once and for all.
The great creature brought one of its scythe like arms down to cut the king in two, yet the king saw it coming and jumped back just in time to miss it. Not wasting a moment he brought the axe around and down upon what looked like a weak part in the arm. The bright glowing axe ripped through the flesh and severed the arm, sending it frying to the side and slamming into a wall.
The creature howled in pain as it thrust one of its human like arms at the king. Still trying to bring the axe around the king could not move out of the way in time and felt the sharp fingers of the hand slice through his flesh. Ripping into his stomach with ease and then out the back side; he could feel blood running freely. Yet his anger had taken control of him. Despite a wave of pain that flowed through him his spirit would not cease. He brought the axe down and sliced through the arm, cutting it off and leaving it sticking in his stomach.
The great creature screamed out again, backing up slightly and giving some ground. The king took a step to charge forward but the creature thrust its head at him, attempting to rip him into pieces with its teeth. The weakened king dove out of the way just in time, but in doing so dropped the axe. He fell upon the ground with a loud grunt of pain. His adrenaline dropping into nothingness and the pain he felt becoming all-consuming. The axe sat humbly a few away and slowly lost its glow; the creature could sense victory and cried a loud war cry, lunging at the fallen king.
The King could hear the creature coming, and summoning the last vintages of his strength he drew a knife he had hidden and slammed it into the eye of the creature; just as it was about to close its jaws upon him. Too shocked to simply finish the king off, the creature reared back; it could feel the cold steel dug in deeply. The king knew it was now or never, he rose to his feet and grabbed the axe. With single-minded survival on mid he readied himself as the creature lunged again. Just as it got close the King swung the axe, and buried the powerful weapon into the side of the creature’s skull. The great weapon punched deep into the skin; feeding on the king’s emotion and growing in power it didn’t stop until it was rending the creature’s brain. Scarlet blood sprayed from the cut as the creature let out a ear piercing screech. It lifted up and then back onto its back. Life draining from it.
The King fell onto his back at the same time, the axe falling from his grasp and his eyes drained of strength. He felt the hard impact of the ground and the discomfort of the metal. Yet somehow that didn’t mind now. A wave of pain ripped through his chest as he could feel his lungs starting to fail. Closing his eyes the king saw nothing but darkness, and for once, that wasn’t so bad…
Epilogue
The Solicians stand at Arhiman’s Point signaled the end of the Kingdom of Solicous. It’s people were scattered and disoriented at the loss of their king, and before any could make a difference the Creatures easily mopped up the pockets of resistance. The only survivors of the great legacy that was the once Kingdom were the civilians that survived at Arhiman. They were later rescued by ORDER and berserker task forces.
The war did not end there sadly, with Solicous in ruins the creatures wanted more. They expanded and slaughtered all in their way. Launching their invasion on Berserker Dominion and the ORDER; they succeeded in claiming vast tracks of the earth for their own. Yet the combined might of Humanity was enough to stop them, and soon the war bogged down into a bloody stalemate. Day by day the creatures assaulted the last bastions of human civilization, and time after time they failed. Seeing no winner, the creatures expanded in the other directions, and soon all the earth became there’s…all but the Berserker Dominion and the ORDER.
Both became fortress nations. Using their technology to stay one step ahead of the monstrous creatures, the humans were able to survive. For six long millennia, earth was overcome with this war, until one day…it stopped. Scout parties were sent out and found fields of dead creatures. Upon further examination it was found they died from starvation; they had exhausted all food sources on the earth. Because they had a telepathic link with one another, could not bring themselves to cannibalize their own kind. Therefore by simple way of outlasting their enemy, humanity won the war; but all they retained was a broken planet.
The ORDER used its colonies on mars and phobos to begin crafting new foods, and the berserkers began to gather food from the one place untouched by the creatures; the ocean.
Yet the scar of the horrible war would be felt foever; for the final total of the dead: six hundred billion…
*end file*
:Credits:
-.Org members who took part in RP-
Monk - The Kingdom of Solicous
Sigurd Fafnesbane - The Dominion of BerserkerJarls
Dramicus - The Imperium of the Knightly ORDER
-Brief backstory of cultures and militaries-
Solicous - Warhammer 40k Imperial Guard with a mix of the mechwarrior universe. Tribal people who united under the their first Emperor and became a nation. After Second Solician Civil War, a people who find comfort in their sorrow (hence the name of their capitol city). A people who dislike war.
Berserkers - Modern day humans decended from a highly advanced race of Aliens that crash landed in the north. Technology highly advanced due to their uncovering of their past the the find of a downed spaceship in the arctic. A warrior people where honour is very important. Allies of Solicous, founder of the "DEFENSE" alliance. Military based loosely on Battlemech universe with a mix of modern and ancient weapons. (i took the liberty here mate, i hope you don't mind. and I hope i captured the essense of the berserkers)
Imperium - based on the space marine armies of Warhammer 40k with some of the battletech universe. A mysterious and secretive people living under a dictatorship not afraid to kill to keep secrets. Founder of the "ORDER", a military alliance that fell apart just before Imperial Civil war. ORDER remained name of Imperium's millitary and was feared in Solicous.
Creatures - Their concept changed a bit from the original RP, but their mentality has remained the same. They are a mix between "Aliens", the "Tyranids" from Warhammer 40k, and the organism from "John Carpenter's 'The Thing'".
-Story-
Original concept: Monk
Main Plotline: Monk, Dramicus, Sigurd Fafnesbane
Characters: Monk, names used from varius sources (any i could find really :P)
Epilogue: Dramicus
Backstory: Sigurd Fafnesbane
-Special thanks-
Sigurd Fafnesbane - For sending me most of the Information I needed about Nationstates. As well as a set of links where i could find the images needed to describe his Mechs and military.
Dramicus - For coming up with an ending that rounded out everything.
Nationstates - For allowing such a great plot to be expressed by a few people in such a way.
And A big thanks to everyone who read this and gave their comments. I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I did writing it. Until next time, see you around the Mead Hall! ~:D
edyzmedieval
07-28-2005, 16:08
Too bad Monk you're finishing it.
Oh well, do you plan any new stories?! ~D
I expected a stalemate but human won because of starvation that is unexpected ~D
Any the less a well written story :bow:
Oh well, do you plan any new stories?!
got one in the works but it's gonna be a long time before i start it properly, maybe a month or so. maybe sooner, been busy as of late (the reason this thing almost didn't get posted).
I expected a stalemate but human won because of starvation that is unexpected
yes! ~D i surprised someone! wooh!
anyway. this is the end; been a great ride and i can't thank you enough, everyone whos stuck with me through my busy times. Really, you guys rock ~:cheers:
*end file**Applause* BRAVO!! BRAVO!! *Applause*
A great read Monk.
All credits to you for taking “our” universe and making such a great story of it.
BTW: You treated the Berserkers honorably. :bow:
Yes, I know, I should have resumed my function as Mead Hall critic much earlier, but there was so much to read so I kept putting it off. In the first place: a great story, Monk. The atmosphere was, as always, very well done and the point-of-view you used was novel and worked well. The story was concentrated, fast paced, and it is quite an achievement that it didn't get repetitive.
Still, I have a few comments. Firstly, while the atmosphere is well done, the situations you describe are sometimes over-the-top. For example, in the fight scène in the Old City, you describe troops that, against all military procedures and common sense, are not told what they are going to face, are all four thousand of them so terrified that they cannot pull their triggers when the creatures approach, and for some idiotic reason have placed the minefield behind them, so it’s no use to them and cuts off their retreat. You achieve your goal, to describe the terror of the soldiers, but the situation is rather unlikely.
Secondly, you do need to work on subtle emotions. I know the kind of story does not require it, but I think it will improve your writing immensely if you can add some more. The mech-pilot worrying about his little daughter is a good start. In a related note: at one point you tell us in one sentence that a person is normally very collected, but now losing his calm. I could not find the sentence again, but it is not a very elegant way of doing it. Show us that the person is usually calm by dropping hints ("his voice did not betray his emotions", "the man did not appear shocked", etc.), don't tell us. And don't do it the same sentence where you make him also feel the opposite.
Thirdly, I have written that the story did not get repetitive, but during the battle of Solace I was getting tired of fight-scenes. I think you should have put a rest in the story somewhat earlier than you did. More variety in the scenes would have helped too. That said, some of the later fight scenes (scene xx and the one with the photograph) were IMO the best scenes of the entire story. The scène I liked the least was Uriel betraying his brothers, because it was such a cliché.
Lastly, and this is not so much directed at you as at popular culture in general: why do people always assume that mutant means deadly, fast-spreading, hard-to-stop creature that will destroy humanity? I must assume it's because it gives good stories, because this assumption has nothing to do with genetics. ~D
I hope you found this usefull, and I look forward to your next story.
Yes, I know, I should have resumed my function as Mead Hall critic much earlier, but there was so much to read so I kept putting it off. In the first place: a great story, Monk. The atmosphere was, as always, very well done and the point-of-view you used was novel and worked well. The story was concentrated, fast paced, and it is quite an achievement that it didn't get repetitive.
Finally! you read it! ~D good to have ya back Ludens, i'm a terrible critic.
Still, I have a few comments.
Firstly, while the atmosphere is well done, the situations you describe are sometimes over-the-top.
for example, in the fight scène in the Old City, you describe troops that, against all military procedures and common sense, are not told what they are going to face, are all four thousand of them so terrified that they cannot pull their triggers when the creatures approach,
I was trying to describe that the creature's had a telepathic ability to throw dibilitating emotions into the minds of humans. at this stage in this story the concept wasn't fully developed (wasn't sure how far i wanted to take it) and so it wasn't explained all the way. but that is what i was trying to convey. Though in retrospect i should have reworked that part.
and for some idiotic reason have placed the minefield behind them, so it’s no use to them and cuts off their retreat. You achieve your goal, to describe the terror of the soldiers, but the situation is rather unlikely.
As stated in the credits i based my military off the Warhammer 40k Imperial Guard. in the w/h universe they are not allowed to retreat, if they do they are killed on the spot. its a shot back to ww2's soviet army...not one step back. The minefield was placed there to ensure no soldiers lost their faith. This concept wasn't explained fully and that is my fault. For that i apologise. I was working under the assumption my readers knew that and that was a mistake. I broke my own rule "the reader won't know unless you say so/show them in your own little way"
Secondly, you do need to work on subtle emotions. I know the kind of story does not require it, but I think it will improve your writing immensely if you can add some more. The mech-pilot worrying about his little daughter is a good start. In a related note: at one point you tell us in one sentence that a person is normally very collected, but now losing his calm. I could not find the sentence again, but it is not a very elegant way of doing it.
Yes i know what you mean. and toward the end i began working on the little things about people that make them people. if you compare the start of the story with the near ending you'll find its vastly different in the way i go about describing emotion (atleast imho).
Show us that the person is usually calm by dropping hints ("his voice did not betray his emotions", "the man did not appear shocked", etc.), don't tell us. And don't do it the same sentence where you make him also feel the opposite.
Indeed, that is a terrible habbit of mine. I just want to get out what i want to put into the reader's mind i many times just come out and say it. Something i really need to break myself of.
Thirdly, I have written that the story did not get repetitive, but during the battle of Solace I was getting tired of fight-scenes. I think you should have put a rest in the story somewhat earlier than you did. More variety in the scenes would have helped too.
phew. you and me both brother. I was tired of writing them and i was worried people were tired of reading them, so i tried to add as many little things in there aside from fighting as i could. Though most times i tried to write scenes that didn't do fighting (in the style I chose to do this story) it just didn't read well. Its perhaps the format i chose for the story, it supports war and not much else if you get my meaning.
That said, some of the later fight scenes (scene xx and the one with the photograph) were IMO the best scenes of the entire story. The scène I liked the least was Uriel betraying his brothers, because it was such a cliché.
1. thank you, my fav as well.
2. yeah a cliché, but what is a story without atleast one ~:joker: :book:
Lastly, and this is not so much directed at you as at popular culture in general: why do people always assume that mutant means deadly, fast-spreading, hard-to-stop creature that will destroy humanity? I must assume it's because it gives good stories, because this assumption has nothing to do with genetics. ~D
people like to think that humanity's greatest threat does not lay with themselves, their own darkside as it truely does. They would believe that there is some force, some evil, inhuman, incarnation of all things negative that will appear and challenge their goodness. Yet the true is that when it comes down to it, you'll find more of my creatures in actual people in this world, than anywhere else.(all that imho) This is my last story about "ultamite good fighting evil" for a long time.
Because lets face it, the world is not divided in clear black and white. No matter how much we want it to be; there are always shades of grey.
I hope you found this usefull, and I look forward to your next story.
Won't be for a while, but I thank your comments :bow:
I was trying to describe that the creature's had a telepathic ability to throw dibilitating emotions into the minds of humans. at this stage in this story the concept wasn't fully developed (wasn't sure how far i wanted to take it) and so it wasn't explained all the way. but that is what i was trying to convey. Though in retrospect i should have reworked that part.
I missed that entirely. You make every effort to make the creatures appear terrifying in that particular scene, but I see nothing of any psychic effects.
As stated in the credits i based my military off the Warhammer 40k Imperial Guard. in the w/h universe they are not allowed to retreat, if they do they are killed on the spot.
I see. I know nothing of that universe, except that I recently played the Dawn of War Demo ~D .
Yes i know what you mean. and toward the end i began working on the little things about people that make them people. if you compare the start of the story with the near ending you'll find its vastly different in the way i go about describing emotion (atleast imho).
Indeed, it did improve a lot towards the end. The pieces I had in mind were mainly at the beginning.
people like to think that humanity's greatest threat does not lay with themselves, their own darkside as it truely does. They would believe that there is some force, some evil, inhuman, incarnation of all things negative that will appear and challenge their goodness. Yet the true is that when it comes down to it, you'll find more of my creatures in actual people in this world, than anywhere else.(all that imho) This is my last story about "ultamite good fighting evil" for a long time.
You are probrably right about this. People like to project their problems on outside causes, ranging from Satan and Aliens to Jews and Communists.
But the fear of genetics seems to me more of a Frankenstein-motif. Something intended to serve us runs out of control and destroys us.
Too bad for all those eager SF-writers that for anyone who knows how the genome works their stories are nonsense. The Human genome is finely balanced instrument. If you make major changes, it will just topple and collapse. ~D
Because lets face it, the world is not divided in clear black and white. No matter how much we want it to be; there are always shades of grey.
I coulnd't agree more.
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