The Second Dark Age

[Monk]

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

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]

this is a cool story i havent seen many future stories here i will keep an eye on it.

[frogbeastegg]

A new Monk story You're still on form.

[Monk]

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!”

[Monk]

Thank you froggy, good to see I still have a bit of talent left

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!”

[zelda12]

'Please sir, may I have some more?'

This is really good monk, I'm looking forward to the next installment.

[Ludens]

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..

[Monk]

I think it's a typo, yes, that's it *subtle edit* ...and now it's gone, nothing to see here...

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.

[zelda12]

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.

[Monk]

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...

[zelda12]

*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.*

[scooter_the_shooter]

this is a good unpredictable story... good job monk

[Monk]

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?”

[Monk]

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]

This is a good story; keep it up! I'd write more comments, but it's late and I need to go to bed...

[zelda12]

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)

[Ludens]

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 .

[Monk]

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. 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.

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 .

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 . 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]

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!

[frogbeastegg]

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

[Ludens]

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 .

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